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CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 BOUGHT NX^ITH THE INCOME 
 OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT 
 FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY 
 
 HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE 
 
THE SPY 
 
Slluatrateii QIabttttt E&Utntt 
 
 THE SPY 
 
 A Tale of the Neutral Ground 
 
 By 
 
 James Fenimore Cooper 
 
 Boston 
 Dana Estes & Company 
 
 Publishers 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 THE SPY 
 
 PAGB 
 
 As QUICK AS THOUGHT, BiRCH WAS ON HIS FEET AGAIN 
 
 Frontispiece 
 Photogravure from Barley steel plate 
 
 " Berry well; now look him t'rough," said the 
 
 BLACK .... 142 
 
 Photogravure from Darley steel plate 
 
 General Washington and the Spy . . . 445 
 
 steel Engraving 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The author has often been asked if there were any founda- 
 tion in real life for the delineation of the principal charac- 
 ter in this book. He can give no clearer answer to the 
 question than by laying before his readers a simple state- 
 ment of the facts connected with its original publication. 
 
 Many years since, the writer of this volume was at the 
 residence of an illustrious man, who had been employed in 
 various situations of high trust during the darkest days of 
 the American revolution. The discourse turned upon the 
 effects which great political excitement produce on charac- 
 ter, and the purifying consequences of a love of country, 
 when that sentiment is powerfully and generally awakened 
 in a people. He who, from his years, his services, and his 
 knowledge of men, was best qualified to take the lead in 
 such a conversation, was the principal speaker. After 
 dwelling on the marked manner in which the great struggle 
 of the nation, during the war of 1775, had given a new and 
 honorable direction to the thoughts and practices of multi- 
 tudes whose time had formerly been engrossed by the most 
 vulgar concerns of life, he illustrated his opinions by relat- 
 ing an anecdote, the truth of which he could attest as a 
 personal witness. 
 
 The dispute between England and the United States of 
 America, though not strictly a family quarrel, had many of 
 the features of a civil war. The people of the latter were 
 never properly and constitutionally subject to the people of 
 the former, but the inhabitants of both countries owed alia- 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 giance to a common king. The Americans, as a nation, 
 disavowed this allegiance, and, the English choosing to sup- 
 port their sovereign in the attempt to regain his power, most 
 of the feelings of an internal struggle were involved in the 
 conflict. A large proportion of the emigrants from Europe, 
 then established in the colonies, took part with the crown ; 
 and there were many districts in which their influence, 
 united to that of the Americans who refused to lay aside 
 their allegiance, gave a decided preponderance to the royal 
 cause. America was then too young, and too much in need 
 of every heart and hand, to regard these partial divisions, 
 small as they were in actual amount, with indifference. 
 The evil was greatly increased by the activity of the Eng- 
 lish in profiting by these internal dissensions ; and it became 
 doubly serious when it was found that attempts were made 
 to raise various corps of provincial troops, who were to be 
 banded with those from Europe, to reduce the young repub- 
 lic to subjection. Congress named an especial and a secret 
 committee, therefore, for the express purpose of defeating 
 
 this object. Of this committee Mr. , the narrator of the 
 
 anecdote, was chairman. 
 
 In the discharge of the novel duties which now devolved 
 
 on him, Mr. had occasion to employ an agent whose 
 
 services differed but little from those of a common spy. 
 This man, as will easily be understood, belonged to a con- 
 dition in life which rendered him the least reluctant to apn 
 pear in so equivocal a character. He was poor, ignorant, so 
 far as the usual instruction was concerned ; but cool, shrewd, 
 and fearless by nature. It was his office to learn in what 
 part of the country the agents of the crown were making 
 their efforts to embody men, to repair to the place, enlist, 
 appear zealous in the cause he affected to serve, and other- 
 wise to get possession of as many of the secrets of the ene- 
 my as possible. The last he of course communicated to his 
 employers, who took all the means in their power to coun- 
 teract the plans of the English, and frequently with success. 
 
INTRODUCTION. "J 
 
 It will readily be conceived that a service like this was 
 attended with great personal hazard. In addition to the 
 danger of discovery, there was the daily risk of falling into 
 the hands of the Americans themselves, who invariably 
 visited sins of this nature more severely on the natives of 
 the country than on the Europeans who fell into their hands. 
 
 In fact, the agent of Mr. was several times arrested by 
 
 the local authorities; and, in one instance, he was actually 
 condemned by his exasperated countrymen to the gallows. 
 Speedy and private orders to his jailer alone saved him 
 from an ignominious death. He was permitted to escape; 
 and this seeming, and indeed actual, peril was of great aid 
 in supporting his assumed character among the English. 
 By the Americans, in his little sphere, he was denounced as 
 a bold and inveterate Tory. In this manner he continued 
 to serve his country in secret during the early years of the 
 struggle, hourly environed by danger, and the constant 
 subject of unmerited opprobrium. 
 
 In the year Mr. was named to a high and 
 
 honorable employment at a European court. Before vacat- 
 ing his seat in Congress, he reported to that body an outline 
 of the circumstances related, necessarily suppressing the 
 name of his agent, and demanding an appropriation in be- 
 half of a man who had been of so much use, at so great 
 risk. A suitable sum was voted, and its delivery was con- 
 fided to the chairman of the secret committee. 
 
 Mr. • took the necessary means to summon his agent 
 
 to a personal interview. They met in a wood, at midnight. 
 
 Here Mr. complimented his companion on his fidelity 
 
 and adroitness; explained the necessity of their communi- 
 cations being closed; and finally tendered the money. The 
 other drew back, and declined receiving it. " The country 
 has need of all its means," he said; "as for myself, I can 
 work, or gain a livelihood in various ways." Persuasion 
 was useless, for patriotism was uppermost in the heart of 
 this remarkable individual; and Mr. departed, bearing 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 with him the gold he had brought, and a deep respect for 
 the man who had so long hazarded his life, unrequited, for 
 the cause they served in common. 
 
 The writer is under an impression that, at a later day, the 
 
 agent of Mr. consented to receive a remuneration for 
 
 what he had done ; but it was not until his country was 
 entirely in a condition to bestow it. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to add that an anecdote like this, 
 simply but forcibly told by one of its principal actors, made 
 a deep impression on all who heard it. Many years later, 
 circumstances which it is unnecessary to relate, and of an 
 entirely adventitious nature, induced the writer to publish a 
 novel, which proved to be, what he little foresaw at the 
 time, the first of a tolerably long series. The same adven- 
 titious causes which gave birth to the book determined its 
 scene and its general character. The former was laid in a 
 foreign country ; and the latter embraced a crude effort to 
 describe foreign manners. When this tale was published, 
 it became matter of reproach among the author's friends, 
 that he, an American in heart as in birth, should give to the 
 world a work which aided perhaps, in some slight degree, 
 to feed the imaginations of the young and unpractised among 
 his own countrymen, by pictures drawn from a state of so- 
 ciety so different from that to which he belonged. The 
 writer, while he knew how much of what he had done was 
 purely accidental, felt the reproach to be one that, in a meas- 
 ure, was just. As the only atonement in his power, he de- 
 termined to inflict a second book, whose subject should ad- 
 mit of no cavil, not only on the world, but on himself. He 
 chose patriotism for his theme ; and to those who read this 
 introduction and the book itself it is scarcely necessary to 
 add that he took the hero of the anecdote just related as the 
 best illustration of his subject. 
 
 Since the original publication of "The Spy," there have 
 appeared several accounts of different persons who are sup- 
 posed to have been in the author's mind while writing the . 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 book. As Mr. did not mention the name of his agent, 
 
 the writer never knew any more of his identity with this or 
 that individual than has been here explained. Both Wash- 
 ington and Sir Henry Clinton had an unusual number of 
 secret emissaries ; in a war that partook so much of a do- 
 mestic character, and in which the contending parties were 
 people of the same blood and language, it could scarcely be 
 otherwise. 
 
 The style of the book has been revised by the author in 
 this edition. In this respect, he has endeavored to make it 
 more worthy of the favor with which it has been received; 
 though he is compelled to admit there are faults so inter- 
 woven with the structure of the tale that, as in the case of a 
 decayed edifice, it would cost perhaps less to reconstruct 
 than to repair. Five-and-twenty years have been as ages 
 with most things connected with America. Among other 
 advances, that of her literature has not been the least. So 
 little was expected from the publication of an original work 
 of this description, at the time it was written, that the first 
 volume of "The Spy" was actually printed several months, 
 before the author felt a sufficient inducement to write a line 
 of the second. The efforts expended on a hopeless task are 
 rarely worthy of him who makes them, however low it may 
 be necessary to rate the standard of his general merit. 
 
 One other anecdote connected with the history of this 
 book may give the reader some idea of the hopes of an 
 American author, in the first quarter of the present century. 
 As the second volume was slowly printing, from manuscript 
 that was barely dry when it went into the compositor's 
 hands, the publisher intimated that the work might grow to 
 a length that would consume the profits. To set his mind 
 at rest, the last chapter was actually written, printed, and 
 paged, several weeks before the chapters which precede it 
 were even thought of. This circumstance, while it cannot 
 excuse, may serve to explain the manner in which the actors 
 are hurried off the scene. 
 
lO INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A great change has come over the country since this book 
 was originally written. The nation is passing from the 
 gristle into the bone, and the common mind is beginning 
 to keep even pace with the growth of the body politic. The 
 march from Vera Cruz to Mexico was made under the or- 
 ders of that gallant soldier who, a quarter of a century before, 
 was mentioned with honor in the last chapter of this very 
 book. Glorious as was that march, and brilliant as were its 
 results in a military point of view, a stride was then made 
 by the nation, in a moral sense, that has hastened it by an 
 age in its progress toward real independence and high po- 
 litical influence. The guns that filled the valley of the 
 Aztecs with their thunder have been heard in echoes on the 
 other side of the Atlantic, producing equally hope or 
 apprehension. 
 
 There is now no enemy to fear, but the one that resides 
 within. By accustoming ourselves to regard even the people 
 as erring beings, and by using the restraints that wisdom 
 has adduced from experience, there is much reason to hope 
 that the same Providence which has so well aided us in our 
 infancy may continue to smile on our manhood. 
 
 CoorsRSTOWN, March a«, iSm. 
 
THE SPY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 And though amidst the calm of thought entire. 
 Some high and haughty features might betray 
 
 A soul impetuous once — t'was earthly fire 
 That fled composure's intellectual ray. 
 As Etna's fires grow dim before the rising day. 
 
 Girrtrude o/ Wyoming. 
 
 It was near the close of the year 1780 that a solitary 
 traveller was seen pursuing his way through one of the 
 numerous little valleys of West-Chester.* The easterly 
 wind, with its chilling dampness and increasing violence, 
 gave unerring notice of the approach of a storm, which as 
 usual might be expected to continue for several days: and 
 the experienced eye of the traveller was turned in vain, 
 through the darkness of the evening, in quest of some con- 
 venient shelter, in which, for the term of his confinement 
 by the rain that already began to mix with the atmosphere 
 in a thick mist, he might obtain such accommodations as 
 his purposes required. Nothing however offered but the 
 small and inconvenient tenements of the lower order of the 
 inhabitants, with whom, in that immediate neighborhood, 
 he did not think it either safe or politic to trust himself. 
 
 The county of West-Chester, after the British had ob- 
 tained possession of the island of New York.f became com- 
 
 • As each State of the American Union has its own counties, it often happens that 
 therv are several which bear the same name. The scene of this tale is in New York, 
 whose county of West-Chester is the nearest adjoining to the city. 
 
 t The city of New York is situate on an island called Manhattan ; but it is, at one 
 point, separated from the county of West-Chester by a creek of only a few feet io 
 width. The bridge at this spot is called King's Bridge. It was the scene of many 
 
12 THE SPY. 
 
 mon ground, in which both parties continued to act for the 
 remainder of the war of the revolution. A large proportion 
 of its inhabitants, either restrained by their attachments, or 
 influenced by their fears, affected a neutrality they did not 
 feel. The lower towns were, of course, more particularly 
 under the dominion of the crown, while the upper, finding 
 a security from the vicinity of the continental troops, were 
 bold in asserting their revolutionary opinions and their 
 right to govern themselves. Great numbers, however, wore 
 masks, which even to this day have not been thrown aside ; 
 and many an individual has gone down to the tomb, stig- 
 matized as a foe to the rights of his countrymen, while in 
 secret he has been the useful agent of the leaders of the 
 revolution ; and, on the other hand, could the hidden reposi- 
 tories of divers flaming patriots have been opened to the 
 light of day, royal protections would have been discovered 
 concealed under piles of British gold. 
 
 At the sound of the tread of the noble horse ridden by 
 the traveller, the mistress of the farmhouse he was passing 
 at the time might be seen cautiously opening the door of the 
 building to examine the stranger; and perhaps, with an 
 averted face, communicating the result of her observations 
 to her- husband, who, in the rear of the building, was pre- 
 pared to seek, if necessary, his ordinary place of conceal- 
 ment in the adjacent woods. The valley was situated about 
 midway in the length of the county, and was sufficiently 
 near to both armies to make the restitution of stolen goods 
 no uncommon occurrence in that vicinity. It is true, the 
 same articles were not always regained; but a summary 
 substitute was generally resorted to, in the absence of legal 
 justice, which restored to the loser the amount of his loss, 
 and frequently with no inconsiderable addition for the tem- 
 
 skirmishes during the war, and is alluded to in this tale. Every Manhattanese knows 
 the difference between " Manhattan Island " and " the island of Manhattan." The 
 first is applied to a small district in the vicinity of Corlaer's Hook, while the last 
 embraces the whole island ; or the city and county of New York, as it is termed in 
 the laws. 
 
THE SPY. 13 
 
 porary use of his property. In short, the law was momen- 
 tarily extinct in that particular district, and justice was ad- 
 ministered subject to the bias of personal interests and the 
 passions of the strongest. 
 
 The passage of a stranger, with an appearance of some- 
 what doubful character, and mounted on an animal which, 
 although unfurnished with any of the ordinary trappings of 
 war, partook largely of the bold and upright carriage that 
 distinguished his rider, gave rise to many surmises among 
 the gazing inmates of the different habitations ; and in some 
 instances, where conscience was more than ordinarily awake, 
 to no little alarm. 
 
 Tired with the exercise of a day of unusual fatigue, and 
 anxious to obtain a speedy shelter from the increasing vio- 
 lence of the storm, that now began to change its character 
 to large drops of driving rain, the traveller determined, as 
 a matter of necessity, to make an application for admission 
 to the next dwelling that offered. An opportunity was not 
 long wanting; and, riding through a pair of neglected bars, 
 he knocked loudly at the outer door of a building, of a very 
 humble exterior, without quitting his saddle. A female of 
 middle age, with an outward bearing but little more pre- 
 possessing than that of her dwelling, appeared to answer 
 the summons. The startled woman half closed her door 
 again in affright, as she saw, by the glare of a large wood 
 fire, a mounted man so unexpectedly near its threshold ; and 
 an expression of terror mingled with her natural curiosity, 
 as she required his pleasure. 
 
 Although the door was too nearly closed to admit of a 
 minute scrutiny of the accommodations within, enough had 
 been seen to cause the horseman to endeavor, once more, 
 to penetrate the gloom, with longing eyes, in search of a 
 more promising roof, before, with an ill-concealed reluc- 
 tance, he stated his necessities and wishes. His request 
 was listened to with evident unwillingness, and, while yet 
 unfinished, it was eagerly interrupted by the reply: 
 
14 THE SPY. 
 
 " I can't say I like to give lodgings to a stranger in these 
 ticklish times," said the female in a pert, sharp key ; " I'm 
 nothing but a forlorn lone body ; or, what's the same thing, 
 there's nobody but the old gentleman at home ; but a half 
 mile further up the road is a house where you can get en- 
 tertainment, and that for nothing. I am sure 'twill be much 
 convenienter to them, and more agreeable tome; because, 
 as I said before, Harvey is away — I wish he'd take advice, 
 and leave off wandering; he's well to do in the world, by 
 this time ; and he ought to leave off his uncertain courses, 
 and settle himself handsomely in life, like other men of his 
 years and property. But Harvey Birch will have his own 
 way, and die vagabond after all!" 
 
 The horseman did not wait to hear more than the advice 
 to pursue his course up the road ; but he had slowly turned 
 his horse toward the bars, and was gathering the folds of 
 an ample cloak around his manly form, preparatory to fac- 
 ing the storm again, when something in the speech of the 
 female suddenly arrested the movement. 
 
 "Is this, then, the dwelling of Harvey Birch?" he in- 
 quired, in an involuntary manner, apparently checking him- 
 self, as he was about to utter more. 
 
 " Why, one can hardly say it is his dwelling," replied the 
 other, drawing a hurried breath, like one eager to answer; 
 " he is never in it, or so seldom, that I hardly remember his 
 face, when he does think it worth his while to show it to 
 his poor old father and me. But it matters little to me, I'm 
 sure, if he ever comes back again, or not ; — turn in the first 
 gate on your left; — no, I care but little for my part, whether 
 Harvey ever shows his face again or not — not I" ; — and she 
 closed the door abruptly on the horseman, who gladly ex- 
 tended his ride a half mile further, to obtain lodgings which 
 promised both more comfort and greater security. 
 
 Sufficient light yet remained to enable the traveller to 
 distinguish the improvements* which had been made in the 
 
 • Improvements is used by the Americans to express every degree of change in 
 
THE SPY. 15 
 
 cultivation, and in the general appearance of the grounds 
 around the building to which he was now approaching. 
 The house was of stone, long, low, and with a small wing 
 at each extremity. A piazza, extending along the front, 
 with neatly turned pillars of wood, together with the good 
 order and preservation of the fences and outbuildings, gave 
 the place an air altogether superior to the common farm- 
 houses of the country. After leading his horse behind an 
 angle of the wall, where it was in some degree protected 
 from the wind and rain, the traveller threw his valise over 
 his arm, and knocked loudly at the entrance of the building 
 for admission. An aged black soon appeared; and without 
 seeming to think it necessary, under the circumstances, to 
 consult his superiors — first taking one prying look at the 
 applicant, by the light of the candle in his hand — he acceded 
 to the request for accommodations. The traveller was 
 shown into an extremely neat parlor, where a fire had been 
 lighted to cheer the dulness of an easterly storm and an 
 October evening. After giving the valise into the keeping 
 of his civil attendant, and politely repeating his request to 
 the old gentleman, who arose to receive him, and paying his 
 compliments to the three ladies who were seated at work 
 with their needles, the stranger commenced laying aside 
 some of the outer garments which he had worn in his ride. 
 On taking an extra handkerchief from his neck and re- 
 moving a cloak of blue cloth, with a surtout of the same 
 material, he exhibited to the scrutiny of the observant 
 family party a tall and extremely graceful person, of ap- 
 parently fifty years of age. — His countenance evinced a 
 settled composure and dignity; his nose was straight, and 
 approaching to Grecian ; his eye, of a gray color, was quiet, 
 thoughtful, and rather melancholy; the mouth and lower 
 part of his face being expressive of decision and much char- 
 converting land from its state of wilderness to that of cultivation. In this meaning 
 of the word it is an improvement to fell the trees ; and it is valued precisely by the 
 supposed amount of the cost. 
 
l6 THE SPY. 
 
 acter. His dress, being suited to the road, was simple and 
 plain, but such as was worn by the higher class of his coun- 
 trymen ; he wore his own hair, dressed in a manner that gave 
 a military air to his appearance, and which was rather 
 heightened by his erect and conspicuously graceful carriage. 
 His whole appearance was so impressive and so decidedly 
 that of a gentleman that, as he finished laying aside the 
 garments, the ladies arose from their seats, and, together 
 with the master of the house, they received anew and re- 
 turned the complimentary greetings which were again offered. 
 
 The host was by several years the senior of the traveller, 
 and, by his manner, dress, and everything around him, 
 showed he had seen much of life and the best society. The 
 ladies were a maiden of forty and two much younger, who 
 did not seem, indeed, to have reached half those years. 
 The bloom of the elder of these ladies had vanished, but 
 her eyes and fine hair gave an extremely agreeable expres- 
 sion to her countenance; and there was a softness and an 
 affability in her deportment that added a charm many more 
 juvenile faces do not possess. The sisters, for such the re- 
 semblance between the younger females denoted them to be, 
 were in all the pride of youth, and the roses, so eminently 
 the property of the West-Chester fair, glowed on their 
 cheeks and lighted their deep blue eyes with that lustre 
 which gives so much pleasure to the beholder and which 
 indicates so much internal innocence and peace. There 
 was much of that feminine delicacy in the appearance of 
 the three which distinguishes the sex in this country; and, 
 like the gentleman, their demeanor proved them to be 
 women of the higher order of life. 
 
 After handing a glass of excellent Madeira to his guest, 
 Mr. Wharton, for so was the owner of this retired estate 
 called, resumed his seat by the fire, with another in his own 
 hand. For a moment he paused, as if debating with his 
 politeness, but at length threw an inquiring glance on the 
 stranger, as he inquired: 
 
THE SPY 17 
 
 "To whose health am I to have the honor of drinking?" 
 
 The traveller had also seated himself, and he sat uncon- 
 sciously gazing on the fire, while Mr. Wharton spoke ; turn- 
 ing his eyes slowly on his host with a look of close observa- 
 tion, he replied, while a faint tinge gathered on his features : 
 
 "Mr. Harper." 
 
 "Mr. Harper," resumed the other, with the formal pre- 
 cision of that day, " I have the honor to drink your health, 
 and to hope you will sustain no injury from the rain to 
 which you have been exposed." 
 
 Mr. Harper bowed in silence to the compliment, and he 
 soon resumed the meditations from which he had been in- 
 terrupted, and for which the long ride he had that day made, 
 in the wind, might seem a very natural apology. 
 
 The young ladies had again taken their seats beside the 
 workstand, while their aunt. Miss Jeanette Peyton, with- 
 drew, to superintend the preparations necessary to appease 
 the hunger of their unexpected visitor. A short silence pre- 
 vailed, during which Mr. Harper was apparently enjoying 
 the change in his situation, when Mr. Wharton again broke 
 it, .by inquiring whether smoke was disagreeable to his 
 companion; to which, receiving an answer in the negative, 
 he immediately resumed the pipe which had been laid aside 
 at the entrance of the traveller. 
 
 There was an evident desire on the part of the host to 
 enter into conversation, but either from an apprehension of 
 treading on dangerous ground, or an unwillingness to in- 
 trude upon the rather studied taciturnity of his guest, he 
 several times hesitated, before he could venture to make any 
 further remark. At length, a movement from Mr. Harper, 
 as he raised his eyes to the party in the room, encouraged 
 him to proceed. 
 
 "I find it very difficult," said Mr. Wharton, cautiously 
 avoiding, at first, such subjects as he wished to introduce, 
 " to procure that quality of tobacco for my evenings' amuse- 
 ment to which I have been accustomed." 
 2 
 
1 8 THE SPY. 
 
 " I should think the shops in New York might furnish 
 the best in the country," calmly rejoined the other. 
 
 "Why — yes," returned the host, in rather a hesitating 
 manner, lifting his eyes to the face of Harper, and lowering 
 them quickly under his steady look, " there must be plenty 
 in town; but the war has made communication with the 
 city, however innocent, too dangerous to be risked for so 
 trifling an article as tobacco." 
 
 The box from which Mr. Wharton had just taken a supply 
 for his pipe was lying open, within a few inches of the 
 elbow of Harper, who took a small quantity from its con- 
 tents, and applied it to his tongue, in a manner perfectly 
 natural, but one that filled his companion with alarm. 
 Without, however, observing that the quality was of the 
 most approved kind, the traveller relieved his host by re- 
 lapsing again into his meditations. Mr. Wharton now felt 
 unwilling to lose the advantage he had gained, and, making 
 an effort of more than usual vigor, he continued : 
 
 " I wish, from the bottom of my heart, this unnatural 
 struggle was over, that we might again meet our friends and 
 relatives in peace and love." 
 
 " It is much to be desired," said Harper emphatically, 
 again raising his eyes to the countenance of his host. 
 
 " I hear of no movement of consequence, since the arrival 
 of our new allies," said Mr. Wharton, shaking the ashes 
 from his pipe, and turning his back to the other, under the 
 pretence of receiving a coal from his youngest daughter. 
 
 " None have yet reached the public, I believe." 
 
 " Is it thought any important steps are about to be 
 taken?" continued Mr. Wharton, still occupied with his 
 daughter, yet unconsciously suspending his employment, in 
 expectation of a reply. 
 
 "Is it intimated any are in agitation?" 
 
 " Oh ! nothing in particular ; but it is natural to expect 
 some new enterprise from so powerful a force as that under 
 Rochambeau." 
 
THE SPY. ig 
 
 Harper made an assenting inclination with his head, but 
 no other reply, to this remark; while Mr. Wharton, after 
 lighting his pipe, resumed the subject. 
 
 "They appear more active in the south; Gates and Corn- 
 wallis seem willing to bring the war to an issue, there." 
 
 The brow of Harper contracted, and a deeper shade of 
 melancholy crossed his features; his eye kindled wilh a 
 transient beam of fire, that spoke a latent source of deep 
 feeling. The admiring gaze of the younger of the sisters 
 had barely time to read its expression before it passed away, 
 leaving in its room the acquired composure which marked 
 the countenance of the stranger, and that impressive dignity 
 which so conspicuously denotes the empire of reason. 
 
 The elder sister made one or two movements in her chair, 
 before she ventured to say, in a tone which partook in no 
 small measure of triumph : 
 
 " General Gates has been less fortunate with the earl than 
 with General Burgoyne." 
 
 " But General Gates is an Englishman, Sarah," cried the 
 younger lady, with quickness ; then, coloring to the eyes at 
 her own boldness, she employed herself in tumbling over 
 the contents of her workbasket, silently hoping the remark 
 would be unnoticed. 
 
 The traveller had turned his face from one sister to the 
 other as they had spoken in succession, and an almost im- 
 perceptible movement of the muscles of his mouth betrayed 
 a new emotion, as he playfully inquired of the younger: 
 
 " May I venture to ask what inference you would draw 
 from that fact?" 
 
 Frances blushed yet deeper at this direct appeal to her 
 opinions upon a subject on which she had incautiously 
 spoken in the presence of a stranger ; but, finding an answer 
 necessary, after some little hesitation and with a good deal 
 of stammering in her manner, she replied : 
 
 "Only — only — sir — my sister and myself sometimes 
 differ in our opinions of the prowess of the British." A 
 
20 THE spy. 
 
 smile of much meaning played on a face of infantile inno- 
 cency, as she concluded. 
 
 "On what particular points of their prowess do you 
 differ?" continued Harper, meeting her look of animation 
 with a smile of almost paternal softness. 
 
 " Sarah thinks the British are never beaten, while I do not 
 put so much faith in their invincibility." 
 
 The traveller listened to her with that pleased indulgence 
 with which virtuous age loves to contemplate the ardor of 
 youthful innocence ; but, making no reply, he turned to the 
 fire, and continued for some time gazing on its embers, in 
 silence. 
 
 Mr. Wharton had in vain endeavored to pierce the dis- 
 guise of his guest's political feelings; but, while there was 
 nothing forbidding in his countenance, there was nothing 
 communicative ; on the contrary, it was strikingly reserved ; 
 and the master of the house arose, in profound ignorance of 
 what, in those days, was the most material point in the char- 
 acter of his guest, to lead the way into another room and to 
 the supper table. Mr. Harper offered his hand to Sarah 
 Wharton, and they entered the room together; while Fran- 
 ces followed, greatly at a loss to know whether she had not 
 wounded the feelings of her father's inmate. 
 
 The storm began to rage with great violence without; and 
 the dashing rain on the sides of the building awakened that 
 silent sense of enjoyment which is excited by such sounds 
 in a room of quiet comfort and warmth, when a loud sum- 
 mons at the outer door again called the faithful black to the 
 portal. In a minute the servant returned, and informed his 
 master that another traveller, overtaken by the storm, de- 
 sired to be admitted to the house for a shelter through the 
 night. 
 
 At the first sounds of the impatient summons of this new 
 applicant, Mr. Wharton had risen from his seat in evident 
 uneasiness; and, with eyes glancing with quickness from his 
 guest to the door of the room, he seemed to be expecting 
 
THE SPY. 21 
 
 something to proceed from this second interruption, con- 
 nected with the stranger who had occasioned the first. He 
 scarcely had time to bid the black, with a faint voice, to 
 show this second comer in, before the door was thrown has- 
 tily open, and the stranger himself entered the apartment. 
 He paused a moment, as the person of Harper met his view, 
 and then, in a more formal manner, repeated the request he 
 had before made through the servant. Mr. Wharton and 
 his family disliked the appearance of this new visitor exces- 
 sively ; but the inclemency of the weather, and the uncer- 
 tainty of the consequences if he were refused the desired 
 lodgings, compelled the old gentleman to give a reluctant 
 acquiescence. 
 
 Some of the dishes were replaced by the orders of Miss 
 Peyton, and the weather-beaten intruder was invited to par- 
 take of the remains of the repast from which the party had 
 just risen. Throwing aside a rough great-coat, he very 
 composedly took the offered chair, and unceremoniously 
 proceeded to allay the cravings of an appetite which ap- 
 peared by no means delicate. But at every mouthful he 
 would turn an unquiet eye on Harper, who studied his ap- 
 pearance with a closeness of investigation that was very 
 embarrassing to its subject. At length, pouring out a glass 
 of wine, the new-comer nodded significantly to his examiner, 
 previously to swallowing the liquor, and said, with some- 
 thing of bitterness in his manner : 
 
 " I drink to our better acquaintance, sir ; I believe this 
 is the first time we have met, though your attention would 
 seem to say otherwise." 
 
 The quality of the wine seemed greatly to his fancy, for, 
 on replacing the glass upon the table, he gave his lips a 
 smack that resounded through the room ; and, taking up the 
 bottle, he held it between himself and the light, for a mo- 
 ment, in silent contemplation of its clear and brilliant color. 
 
 " I think we have never met before, sir," replied Harper, 
 with a slight smile on his features, as he observed the move- 
 
22 THE SPY. 
 
 ments of the other; but, appearing satisfied with his scru- 
 tiny, he turned to Sarah Wharton, who sat next him, and 
 carelessly remarked: 
 
 "You doubtless find your present abode solitary, after 
 being accustomed to the gayeties of the city." 
 
 " Oh ! excessively so," said Sarah hastily. " I do wish, 
 with my father, that this cruel war was at an end, that we 
 might return to our friends once more." 
 
 "And you. Miss Frances, do you long as ardently for 
 peace as your sister?" 
 
 " On many accounts I certainly do," returned the other, 
 venturing to steal a timid glance at her interrogator; and, 
 meeting the same benevolent expression of feeling as before, 
 she continued, as her own face lighted into one of its ani- 
 mated and bright smiles of intelligence, "but not at the 
 expense of the rights of my countrymen." 
 
 "Rights!" repeated her sister impatiently; "whose rights 
 can be stronger than those of a sovereign ; and what duty is 
 clearer than to obey those who have a natural right to com- 
 mand?" 
 
 "None, certainly," said Frances, laughing with great 
 pleasantry ; and, taking the hand of her sister affectionately 
 within both of her own, she added, with a smile directed 
 toward Harper: 
 
 " I gave you to understand that my sister and myself 
 differed in our political opinions; but we have an impartial 
 umpire in my father, who loves his own countrymen, and he 
 loves the British — so he takes sides with neither." 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Wharton, in a little alarm, eyeing first 
 one guest, and then the other ; " I have near friends in both 
 armies, and I dread a victory by either, as a source of certain 
 private misfortune." 
 
 " I take it you have little reason to apprehend much from 
 the Yankees, in that way," interrupted the guest at the table, 
 coolly helping himself to another glass from the bottle he 
 had admired. 
 
THE SPY. 23 
 
 " His Majesty may have more experienced troops than the 
 Continentals," answered the host fearfully, " but the Ameri- 
 cans have met with distinguished success." 
 
 Harper disregarded the observations of both ; and, rising, 
 he desired to be shown to his place of rest. A small boy 
 was directed to guide him to his room ; and, wishing a cour- 
 teous good-night to the whole party, the traveller withdrew. 
 The knife and fork fell from the hands of the unwelcome 
 intruder, as the door closed on the retiring figure of Harper ; 
 — he arose slowly from his seat; — listening attentively he 
 approached the door of the room — opened it — seemed to at- 
 tend to the retreating footsteps of the other — and, amid the 
 panic and astonishment of his companions, he closed it 
 again. In an instant, the red wig which concealed his black 
 locks, the large patch which hid half his face from observa- 
 tion, the stoop that had made him appear fifty years of age, 
 disappeared. 
 
 "My father! my dear father!" cried the handsome young 
 man; "and you, my dearest sisters and aunt! — have I at 
 last met you again?" 
 
 " Heaven bless you, my Henry, my son!" exclaimed the 
 astonished but delighted parent; while his sisters sunk on 
 his shoulders, dissolved in tears. 
 
 The faithful old black, who had been reared from infancy 
 in the house of his master, and who, as if in mockery of his 
 degraded state, had been complimented with the name of 
 Caesar, was the only other witness of this unexpected dis- 
 covery of the son of Mr. Wharton. After receiving the ex- 
 tended hand of his young master, and imprinting on it a 
 fervent kiss, Cssar withdrew. The boy did not re-enter the 
 room ; and the black himself, after some time, returned, just 
 as the young British captain was exclaiming: 
 
 "But who is this Mr. Harper? — is he likely to betray 
 me?" 
 
 " No — no — no — Massa Harry," cried the negro, shaking 
 his gray head confidently ; " I been to see — Massa Harpet 
 
24 THE SPY. 
 
 on he knee — pray to God — no gemman who pray to Godj 
 tell of good son come to see old fader — Skinner do that — 
 no Christian!" 
 
 This poor opinion of the Skinners was not confined to 
 Mr. Caesar Thompson, as he called himself — but Caesar 
 Wharton, as he was styled by the little world to which he 
 was known. The convenience, and perhaps the necessities, 
 of the leaders of the American arms in the neighborhood of 
 New Vork had induced them to employ certain subordinate 
 agents of extremely irregular habits in executing their les- 
 ser plans of annoying the enemy. It was not a moment for 
 fastidious inquiries into abuses of any description, and op- 
 pression and injustice were the natural consequences of the 
 possession of a military power that was uncurbed by the 
 restraints of civil authority. In time, a distinct order of 
 the community was formed, whose sole occupation appears 
 to have been that of relieving their fellow-citizens from any 
 little excess of temporal prosperity they might be thought to 
 enjoy, under the pretence of patriotism and the love of 
 liberty. 
 
 Occasionally, the aid of military authority was not want- 
 ing, in enforcing these arbitrary distributions of worldly 
 goods ; and a petty holder of a commission in the State mili- 
 tia was to be seen giving the sanction of something like le- 
 gality to acts of the most unlicensed robbery, and, not infre- 
 quently, of bloodshed. 
 
 On the part of the British, the stimulus of loyalty was 
 by no means suffered to sleep, where so fruitful a field 
 offered on which it might be expended. But their free- 
 booters were enrolled, and their efforts more systematized. 
 Long experience had taught their leaders the efficacy of 
 concentrated force; and, unless tradition does great injus- 
 tice to their exploits, the result did no little credit to their 
 foresight. The corps — we presume, from their known affec- 
 tion to that useful animal — had received the quaint appel- 
 lation of " Cow-Boys." 
 
THE spy. 25 
 
 Caesar was, however, far too loyal to associate men who 
 held the commission of George III. with the irregular war- 
 riors whose excesses he had so often witnessed, and from 
 whose rapacity neither his poverty nor his bondage had 
 suffered even him to escape uninjured. The Cow-Boys, 
 therefore, did not receive their proper portion of the black's 
 censure, when he said no Christian, nothing but a " Skin- 
 ner," could betray a pious child, while honoring his father 
 with a visit so full of peril. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ** And many a halcyon day he liv'd to sec 
 Unbroken, but by one misfortune dire, 
 When fate had reft his mutual heart — but she 
 Was gone — ^and Gertrude climb'd a widow'd father*s knee." 
 
 Gertrude 0/ Wyoming, 
 
 The father of Mr. Wharton was a native of England, and of 
 a family whose parliamentary interest had enabled them to 
 provide for a younger son in the colony of New York. The 
 young man, like hundreds of others in his situation, had 
 settled permanently in the country. He married ; and the 
 sole issue of his connection had been sent early in life to 
 receive the benefits of the English schools. After taking 
 his degrees at one of the universities of the mother country, 
 the youth had been suffered to acquire a knowledge of life 
 with the advantages of European society. But the death 
 of his father recalled him, after passing two years in this 
 manner, to the possession of an honorable name and a very 
 ample estate. 
 
 It was much the fashion of that day to place the youth of 
 certain families in the army or navy of England, as the reg- 
 ular stepping-stones to preferment. Most of the higher 
 offices in the colonies were filled by men who had made 
 arms their profession ; and it was even no uncommon sight 
 
26 THE SPY. 
 
 to see a veteran warrior laying aside the sword to assume 
 the ermine on the benches of the highest judicial authority. 
 
 In conformity with this system, the senior Mr. Wharton 
 had intended his son for a soldier; but a natural imbecility 
 of character in his child interfered with his wishes. 
 
 A twelvemonth had been spent by the young man in 
 weighing the comparative advantages of the different classes 
 of troops, when the death of his father occurred. The ease 
 of his situation, and the attentions lavished upon a youth in 
 the actual enjoyment of one of the largest estates in the col- 
 onies, interfered greatly with his ambitious projects. Love 
 decided the matter; and Mr. Wharton, in becoming a hus- 
 band, ceased to think of becoming a soldier. For many 
 years he continued happy in his family, and sufficiently 
 respected by his countrymen, as a man of integrity and con- 
 sequence, when all his enjoyments vanished, as it were, at a 
 blow. His only son, the youth introduced in the preceding 
 chapter, had entered the army, and had arrived in his native 
 country but a short time before the commencement of hos- 
 tilities, with the reinforcements the ministry had thought it 
 prudent to throw into the disaffected parts of North America. 
 His daughters were just growing into life, and their educa- 
 tion required all the advantages the city could afford. His 
 wife had been for some years in declining health, and had 
 barely time to fold her son to her bosom and rejoice in the 
 reunion of her family, before the revolution burst forth, in 
 a continued blaze, from Georgia to Massachusetts. The 
 shock was too much for the feeble condition of the mother, 
 who saw her child called to the field to combat against the 
 members of her own family in the South, and she sunk 
 under the blow. 
 
 There was no part of the continent where the manners of 
 England, and its aristocratical notions of blood and alliances, 
 prevailed with more force than in a certain circle immedi- 
 ately around the metropolis of New York. The customs of 
 the early Dutch inhabitants had, indeed, blended in some 
 
THE spy. 27 
 
 measure with the English manners; but still the latter pre- 
 vailed. This attachment to Great Britain was increased by 
 the frequent intermarriages of the officers of the mother- 
 country with the wealthier and more powerful families of 
 the vicinity, until, at the commencement of hostilities, their 
 united influence had very nearly thrown the colony into the 
 scale on the side of the crown. A few, however, of the 
 leading families espoused the cause of the people; and a 
 sufficient stand was made against the efforts of the ministe- 
 rial party to organize, and, aided by the army of the con- 
 federation, to maintain, an independent and republican form 
 of government. 
 
 The city of New York and the adjacent territory were 
 alone exempted from the rule of the new commonwealth, 
 while the royal authority extended no further than its dig- 
 nity could be supported by the presence of an army. In 
 this condition of things, the loyalists of influence adopted 
 such measures as best accorded with their different charac- 
 ters and situations. Many bore arms in support of the 
 crown, and, by their bravery and exertions, endeavored to 
 secure what they deemed to be the rights of their prince, 
 and their own estates from the effects of the law of attainder. 
 Others left the country ; seeking in that place they emphat- 
 ically called home an asylum, as they fondly hoped, for a 
 season only, against the confusion and dangers of war. A 
 third, and a more wary portion, remained in the place of 
 their nativity, with a prudent regard to their ample posses- 
 sions, and, perhaps, influenced by their attachments to the 
 scenes of their youth. Mr. Wharton was of this description. 
 After making a provision against future contingencies, by 
 secretly transmitting the whole of his money to the British 
 funds, this gentleman determined to continue in the theatre 
 of strife, and to maintain so strict a neutrality as to insure 
 the safety of his large estate, whichever part}' succeeded. 
 He was apparently engrossed in the education of his daugh- 
 ters, when a relation, high in office in the new State, inti- 
 
28 THE SPY. 
 
 mated that a residence in what was now a British camp 
 differed but little, in the eyes of his countrymen, from a 
 residence in the British capital. Mr. Wharton soon saw 
 this was an unpardonable offence in the existing state of 
 things, and he instantly determined to remove the difficulty 
 by retiring to the country. He possessed a residence in the 
 county of West-Chester; and, having been-for many years in 
 the habit of withdrawing thither during the heats of the 
 summer months, it was kept furnished, and ready for his 
 accommodation. His eldest daughter was already admitted 
 into the society of women ; but Frances, the younger, re- 
 quired a year or two more of the usual cultivation, to appear 
 with proper tdat : at least so thought Miss Jeanette Peyton; 
 and as this lady, a younger sister of their deceased mother, 
 had left her paternal home in the colony of Virginia, with 
 the devotedness and affection peculiar to her sex, to super- 
 intend the welfare of her orphan nieces, Mr. Wharton felt 
 that her opinions were entitled to respect. In conformity to 
 her advice, therefore, the feelings of the parent were made 
 to yield to the welfare of his children. 
 
 Mr. Wharton withdrew to the " Locusts," with a heart rent 
 with the pain of separating from all that was left him of a 
 wife he had adored, but in obedience to a constitutional 
 prudence that pleaded loudly in behalf of his worldly goods. 
 His handsome town residence was inhabited, in the mean 
 while, by his daughters and their aunt. The regiment to 
 which Captain Wharton belonged formed part of the perma- 
 nent garrison of the city ; and the knowledge of the pres- 
 ence of his son was no little relief to the father, in his un- 
 ceasing meditations on his absent daughters. But Captain 
 Wharton was a young man and a soldier; his estimate of 
 character was not always the wisest; and his propensities 
 led him to imagine that a red coat never concealed a dis- 
 honorable heart. 
 
 The house of Mr. Wharton became a fashionable lounge 
 to the officers of the royal army, as did that of every other 
 
THE SPY. 29 
 
 lamily that was thought worthy of their notice. The conse- 
 quences of this association were, to some few of the visited, 
 fortunate; to more, injurious, by exciting expectations 
 which were never to be realized, and, unhappily, to no small 
 number ruinous. The known wealth of the father, and, pos- 
 sibly, the presence of a high-spirited brother, forbade any 
 apprehension of the latter danger to the young ladies ; but 
 it was impossible that all the admiration bestowed on the 
 fine figure and lovely face of Sarah Wharton should be 
 thrown away. Her person was formed with the early matur- 
 ity of the climate, and a strict cultivation of the graces had 
 made her, decidedly, the belle of the city. No one prom- 
 ised to dispute with her this female sovereignty, unless it 
 might be her younger sister. Frances, however, wanted 
 some months to the charmed age of sixteen ; and the idea of 
 competition was far from the minds of either of the affec- 
 tionate girls. Indeed, next to the conversation of Colonel 
 Wellmere, the greatest pleasure of Sarah was in contemplat- 
 ing the budding beauties of the little Hebe, who played 
 around her with all the innocency of youth, with all the en- 
 thusiasm of her ardent temper, and with no little of the 
 archness of her native humor. Whether or not it was owing 
 to the fact that Frances received none of the compliments 
 which fell to the lot of her elder sister, in the often-repeated 
 discussions on the merits of the war, between the military 
 beaus who frequented the house, it is certain their effects 
 on the sisters were exactly opposite. It was much the 
 fashion then for the British officers to speak slightingly of 
 their enemies; and Sarah took all the idle vaporing of her 
 danglers to be truths. The first political opinions which 
 reached the ears of Frances were coupled with sneers on 
 the conduct of her countrymen. At first she believed them ; 
 but there was occasionally a general who was obliged to do 
 justice to his enemy in order to obtain justice for himself; 
 and Frances became somewhat sceptical on the subject of 
 the inefficiency of her countrymen. Colonel Wellmere was 
 
30 THE SPY. 
 
 among those who delighted most in expending his wit on 
 the unfortunate Americans; and, in time, Frances began to 
 listen to his eloquence with great suspicion, and sometimes 
 with resentment 
 
 It was on a hot sultry day, that the three were in the par- 
 lor of Mr. Wharton's house, the Colonel and Sarah seated 
 on a sofa, engaged in a combat of the eyes, aided by the 
 usual flow of small talk, and Frances was occupied at her 
 tambouring frame, in an opposite comer of the room, when 
 the gentleman suddenly exclaimed : 
 
 " How gay the arrival of the army under General Bur- 
 goyne will make the city. Miss Wharton!" 
 
 " Oh ! how pleasant it must be," said the thoughtless Sa- 
 rah, in reply ; " I am told there are many charming women 
 with that army ; as you say, it will make us all life and 
 gayety." 
 
 Frances shook back the abundance of her golden hair, 
 and raised her eyes, dancing with the ardor of national feel- 
 ing; then laughing, with a concealed humor, she asked: 
 
 " Is it so certain that General Burgoyne will be permitted 
 to reach the city?" 
 
 "Permitted!" echoed the colonel; "who is there to pre- 
 vent it, my pretty Miss Fanny?" 
 
 Frances was precisely at that age when young people are 
 most jealous of their station in society; neither quite a 
 woman, nor yet a child. The " pretty Miss Fanny" was too 
 familiar to be relished, and she dropped her eyes on her 
 work again, with cheeks that glowed like crimson. 
 
 " General Stark took the Germans into custody," she an- 
 swered, compressing her lip ; — " may not General Gates think 
 the British too dangerous to go at large ?" 
 
 "Oh! they were Germans, as you say," cried the colonel, 
 excessively vexed at the necessity of explaining at all; 
 " mere mercenary troops ; but when the really British regi- 
 ments come in question, you will see a very different result." 
 
 " Of that there is no doubt," cried Sarah, without in the 
 
THE SPY. 31 
 
 least partaking of the resentment of the colonel to her sis- 
 ter, but hailing already in her heart the triumph of the 
 British. 
 
 " Pray, Colonel Wellmere," said Frances, recovering her 
 good humor, and raising her joyous eyes once more to the 
 face of the gentleman, " was the Lord Percy of Lexington a 
 kinsman of him who fought at Chevy Chase ?" 
 
 " Why, Miss Fanny, you are becoming a rebel," said the 
 colonel, endeavoring to laugh away the anger he felt ; " what 
 you are pleased to insinuate was a chase at Lexington was 
 nothing more than a judicious retreat — a — kind of " 
 
 " Running fight," interrupted the good-humored girl, lay- 
 ing great emphasis on the first word. 
 
 " Positively, young lady " Colonel Wellmere was 
 
 interrupted by a laugh from a person who had hitherto been 
 unnoticed. 
 
 There was a small family apartment, adjoining the room 
 occupied by the trio, and the air had blown open the door 
 communicating between the two. A fine young man was 
 now seen sitting near the entrance, who, by his smiling 
 countenance, was evidently a pleased listener to the conver- 
 sation. He rose instantly, and coming through the door, 
 with his hat in his hand, appeared a tall, graceful youth, of 
 dark complexion, and sparkling eyes of black, from which 
 the mirth had not yet entirely vanished, as he made his bow 
 to the ladies. 
 
 "Mr. Dunwoodie!" cried Sarah, in surprise; "I was ig- 
 norant of your being in the house; you will find a cooler 
 seat in this room." 
 
 " I thank you," replied the young man, " but I must go 
 and seek your brother, who placed me there in ambuscade, 
 as he called it, with a promise of returning an hour ago." 
 Without making any further explanation, the youth bowed 
 politely to the young women, distantly and with hauteur to 
 the gentleman, and withdrew. Frances followed him into 
 \he hall, and, blushing richly, inquired, in a hurried voice: 
 
32 THE SPY. 
 
 "But why — why do you leave us, Mr. Dunwoodie? — 
 Henry must soon return." 
 
 The gentleman caught one of her hands in his own, and 
 the stern expression of his countenance gave place to a 
 look of admiration, as he replied: 
 
 "You managed him famously, my dear little kinswoman; 
 never — no, never, forget the land of your birth ; remember, 
 if you are the granddaughter of an Englishman, you are, 
 also, the granddaughter of a Peyton." 
 
 "Oh!" returned the laughing girl, "it would be difficult 
 to forget that, with the constant lectures on genealogy before 
 us, with which we are favored by Aunt Jeanette — but why 
 do you go?" 
 
 " I am on the wing for Virginia, and have much to do." 
 He pressed her hand as he spoke, and looking back, while 
 in the act of closing the door, exclaimed : " Be true to your 
 country — be American." The ardent girl kissed her hand 
 to him as he retired, and then, instantly applying it with its 
 beautiful fellow to her burning cheeks, ran into her own 
 apartment to hide her confusion. 
 
 Between the open sarcasm of Frances and the ill-con- 
 cealed disdain of the young man, Colonel Wellmere had felt 
 himself placed in an awkward predicament; but, ashamed to 
 resent such trifles in the presence of his mistress, he satis- 
 fied himself with observing superciliously, as Dunwoodie 
 left the room: 
 
 "Quite a liberty for a youth in his situation; a shop-boy 
 with a bundle, I fancy." 
 
 The idea of picturing the graceful Peyton Dunwoodie as 
 a shop-boy could never enter the mind of Sarah, and 
 she looked around her in surprise, when the colonel con- 
 tinued : 
 
 "This Mr. Dun— Dun " 
 
 "Dunwoodie! Oh, no — he is a relation of my aunt," 
 cried the young lady, " and an intimate friend of my brother; 
 they were at school together, and only separated in Eng- 
 
THE SPY. 33 
 
 land, when one went into the army and the other to a 
 French military academy." 
 
 " His money appears to have been thrown away," observed 
 the colonel, betraying the spleen he was unsuccessfully 
 striving to conceal. 
 
 " We ought to hope so," added Sarah, with a smile ; " for 
 it is said he intends joining the rebel army. He was 
 brought in here, in a French ship, and has just been 
 exchanged; you haay soon meet him in arms." 
 
 "Well, let him — I wish Washington plenty of such he- 
 roes" ; and he turned to a more pleasant subject, by chang- 
 ing the discourse to themselves. 
 
 A few weeks after this scene occurred, the army of Bur- 
 goyne laid down their arms. Mr. Wharton, beginning to 
 think the result of the contest doubtful, resolved to concili- 
 ate his countrymen, and gratify himself, by calling his 
 daughters into his own abode. Miss Peyton consented to 
 be their companion; and from that time, until the period at 
 which we commenced our narrative, they had formed one 
 family. 
 
 Whenever the main army made any movements. Captain 
 Wharton had, of course, accompanied it; and once or twice, 
 under the protection of strong parties, acting in the neigh- 
 borhood of the Locusts, he had enjoyed rapid and stolen 
 interviews with his friends. A twelvemonth had, however, 
 passed without his seeing them ; and the impatient Henry 
 had adopted the disguise we have mentioned, and unfortu- 
 nately arrived on the very evening that an unknown and 
 rather suspicious guest was an inmate of the house, which 
 seldom contained any other than its regular inhabitants. 
 
 "But do you think he suspects me?" asked the captain, 
 with anxiety, after pausing to listen to Caesar's opinion of 
 the Skinners. 
 
 "How should he?" cried Sarah, "when your sisters and 
 father could not penetrate your disguise." 
 
 "There is something mysterious in his manner; his looks 
 3 
 
34 THE SPY. 
 
 are too prying for an indifferent observer," continued young 
 Wharton thoughtfully, " and his face seems familiar to me. 
 The recent fate of Andrd has created much irritation on 
 both sides. Sir Henry threatens retaliation for his death; 
 and Washington is as firm as if half the world were at his 
 command. The rebels would think me a fit subject for their 
 plans just now, should I be so unlucky as to fall into their 
 hands." 
 
 " But, my son," cried his father, in great alarm, " you are 
 not a spy; you are not within the rebel — that is, the Ameri- 
 can lines ; there is nothing here to spy." 
 
 "That might be disputed," rejoined the young man, mus- 
 ing ; " their pickets were as low as the White Plains when I 
 passed through in disguise. It is true my purposes are 
 innocent; but how is it to appear? My visit to you would 
 seem a cloak to other designs. Remember, sir, the treat- 
 ment you received not a year since, for sending me a supply 
 of fruit for the winter." 
 
 " That proceeded from the misrepresentations of my kind 
 neighbors," said Mr. Wharton, " who hoped, by getting my 
 estate confiscated, to purchase good farms at low prices. 
 Peyton Dunwoodie, however, soon obtained our discharge; 
 we were detained but a monthj" 
 
 "We!" repeated the son, in amazement; "did they take 
 my sisters, also? — Fanny, you wrote me nothing of this." 
 
 " I believe," said Frances, coloring highly, " I mentioned 
 the kind treatment we received from your old friend. Major 
 Dunwoodie; and that he procured my father's release." 
 
 "True; — but were you with him in the rebel camp?" 
 
 "Yes," said the father kindly; " Fanny would not suffer 
 me to go alone. Jeanette and Sarah took charge of the Lo- 
 custs, and this little girl was my companion in captivity." 
 
 " And Fanny returned from such a scene a greater rebel 
 than ever," cried Sarah indignantly ; " one would think the 
 . hardships her father suffered would have cured her of such 
 whims." 
 
THE SPY. 35 
 
 "What say you to the charge, my pretty sister?" cried the 
 captain gayly ; — " did Peyton strive to make you hate your 
 king more than he does himself?" 
 
 "Peyton Dunwoodie hates no one," said Frances quickly; 
 then, blushing at her own ardor, she added immediately, 
 " he loves you, Henry, I know ; for he has told me so again 
 and again." 
 
 Young Wharton tapped his sister on the cheek, with a 
 smile, as he asked her, in an affected whisper : "Did he 
 tell you also that he loved my little sister Fanny?" 
 
 " Nonsense," said Frances; and the remnants of the sup- 
 per-table soon disappeared under her superintendence. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 *Twas when the fields were swept of autumn's store, 
 And growling winds the fading foliage tore, 
 Behind the Lowinon hill, the short-lived light, 
 Descending slowly, usher'd in the night ; 
 When from the noisy town, with mournful look, 
 His lonely way the meagre peddler took. 
 
 — Wilson. 
 
 A STORM below the highlands of the Hudson, if it be in- 
 troduced with an easterly wind, seldom lasts less than two 
 days. Accordingly, as the inmates of the Locusts assem- 
 bled, on the following morning, around their early break- 
 fast, the driving rain was seen to strike in nearly horizontal 
 lines against the windows of the building, and forbade the 
 idea of exposing either man or beast to the tempest. Har- 
 per was the last to appear: after taking a view of the state 
 of the weather, he apologized to Mr. Wharton for the neces- 
 sity that existed for his trespassing on his goodness for a 
 longer time. To appearances, the reply was as courteous 
 as the excuse; yet Harper wore a resignation in his deport- 
 ment that was widely different from the uneasy manner of 
 the father. Henry Wharton had resumed his disguise with a 
 
36 THE spy. 
 
 reluctance amounting to disgust, but in obedience to tlie com- 
 mands of his parent. No communications passed between 
 him and the stranger, after the first salutations of the morning 
 had been paid by Harper to him, in common with the rest of 
 the family. Frances had, indeed, thought there was some- 
 thing like a smile passing over the features of the traveller, 
 when, on entering the room, he first confronted her brother ; 
 but it was confined to tlie eyes, seeming to want power to 
 affect the muscles of the face, and was soon lost in the set- 
 tled and benevolent expression which reigned in his counte- 
 nance, with a Gway but seldom interrupted. The eyes of 
 the affectionate sister were turned in anxiety, for a moment, 
 on her brother, and, glancing again on their unknown guest, 
 met his look, as he offered her, with marked attention, one 
 of the little civilities of the table ; and the heart of the girl, 
 which had begun to throb with violence, regained a pulsation 
 as tempered as youth, health, and buoyant spirits could 
 allow. While yet seated at the table, Caesar entered, and, 
 laying a small parcel in silence by the side of his master, 
 modestly retired behind his chair, where, placing one hand 
 on its back, he continued in an attitude half familiar, half 
 respectful, a listener, 
 
 "What is this, Caesar?" inquired Mr. Wharton, turning 
 the bundle over to examine its envelope, and eyeing it rather 
 suspiciously. 
 
 "The 'baccy, sir; Harvey Birch, he got home, and he 
 bring you a little good 'baccy from York." 
 
 "Harvey Birch!" rejoined the master, with great deliber- 
 ation, stealing a look at his guest. " I do not remember 
 desiring him to purchase any tobacco for me ; but as he has 
 brought it, he must be paid for his trouble." 
 
 For an instant only, as the negro spoke, did Harper 
 suspend his silent meal ; his eye moved slowly from the 
 servant to the master, and again all remained in its impene- 
 trable reserve. 
 
 To Sarah Wharton, this intelligence gave unexpected 
 
THE SPY. 37 
 
 pleasure; rising from her seat with impatience, she bade 
 the black show Birch into the apartment; when, suddenly 
 recollecting herself, she turned to the traveller with an apol- 
 ogizing look, and added, " If Mr. Harper will excuse the 
 presence of a peddler." 
 
 The indulgent benevolence expressed in the countenance 
 of the stranger, as he bowed a silent acquiescence, spoke 
 more eloquently than the nicest framed period, and the 
 young lady repeated her order, with a confidence in its truth 
 that removed all embarrassment. 
 
 In the deep recesses of the windows of the cottage were 
 seats of panelled work ; and the rich damask curtains, that 
 had ornamented the parlor in Queen Street,* had been trans- 
 ferred to the Locusts, and gave to the room that indescriba- 
 ble air of comfort which so gratefully announces the ap- 
 proach of a domestic winter. Into one of these recesses 
 Captain Wharton now threw himself, drawing the curtain 
 before him in such a manner as to conceal most of his per- 
 son from observation ; while his younger sister, losing her 
 natural frankness of manner in an air of artificial constraint, 
 silently took possession of the other. 
 
 Harvey Birch had been a peddler from his youth ; at least 
 so he frequently asserted, and his skill in the occupation 
 went far to prove the truth of the declaration. He was a 
 native of one of the eastern colonies ; and, from something 
 of superior intelligence which belonged to his father, it was 
 thought they had known better fortunes in the land of their 
 nativity. Harvey possessed, however, the common manners 
 of the country, and was in no way distinguished from men 
 of his class but by his acuteness and the mystery which 
 enveloped his movements. Ten years before, they had ar- 
 rived together in the vale, and, purchasing the humble dwel- 
 
 * The Americans changed the names of many towns and streets at the revolution, 
 as has since been done in France. Thus, in the city of New York, Crown Street has 
 become Liberty Street ; King Street, Pine Street ; and Queen Street, then one of the 
 most fashionable quarters of the town. Pearl Street. Pearl Street is now chiefly 
 occupied by the auction dealers and the wholesale dry-goods merchants, for ware- 
 bouses and counting-rooms. 
 
38 THE SPV. 
 
 ling at which Harper had made his unsuccessful application, 
 continued ever since peaceful inhabitants, but little noticed 
 and but little known. Until age and infirmities had pre- 
 vented, the father devoted himself to the cultivation of the 
 small spot of ground belonging to his purchase, while the 
 son pursued with avidity his humble barter. Their orderly 
 quietude had soon given them so much consideration in the 
 neighborhood as to induce a maiden of five-and-thirty to 
 forget the punctilio of her sex, and to accept the office of 
 presiding over their domestic comforts. The roses had long 
 before vanished from the cheeks of Katy Haynes, and she 
 had seen in succession both her male and female acquain- 
 tances forming the union so desirable to lier sex, with but 
 little or no hope left for herself, when, with views of her 
 own, she entered the family of the Birches. Necessity is a 
 hard master, and, for the want of a better companion, the 
 father and son were induced to accept her services; but still 
 Katy was not wanting in some qualities which made her a 
 very tolerable housekeeper. On the one hand, she was neat, 
 industrious, honest, and a good manager. On the other, she 
 was talkative, selfish, superstitious, and inquisitive. By 
 dint of using the latter quality with consummate industry, 
 she had not lived in the family five years when she trium- 
 phantly declared that she had heard, or rather overheard, 
 sufficient to enable her to say what had been the former fate 
 of her associates. Could Katy have possessed enough of 
 divination to pronounce upon their future lot, her task 
 would have been accomplished. From the private conver- 
 sations of the parent and child, she learnt that a fire had 
 reduced them from competence to poverty, and at the same 
 time diminished the number of their family to two. There 
 was a tremulousness in the voice of the father, as he touched 
 lightly on the event, which affected even the heart of Katy; 
 but no barrier is sufficient to repel vulgar curiosity. She 
 persevered, until a very direct intimation from Harvey, by 
 threatening to supply her place with a female a few years 
 
THE SPY. 39 
 
 younger than herself, gave her awful warning that there were 
 bounds beyond which she was not to pass. From that pe- 
 riod the curiosity of the housekeeper had been held in such 
 salutary restraint that, although no opportunity of listening 
 was ever neglected, she had been able to add but little to 
 her stock of knowledge. There was, however, one piece of 
 intelligence, and that of no little interest to herself, which 
 she had succeeded in obtaining; and from the moment of 
 its acquisition she directed her energies to the accomplish- 
 ment of one object, aided by the double stimulus of love 
 and avarice. 
 
 Harvey was in the frequent habit of paying mysterious 
 visits, in the depth of the night, to the fireplace of the apart- 
 ment that served for both kitchen and parlor. Here he was 
 observed by Katy; and, availing herself of his absence and 
 the occupations of the father, by removing one of the hearth- 
 stones she discovered an iron pot, glittering with a metal 
 that seldom fails to soften the hardest heart. Katy suc- 
 ceeded in replacing the stone without discovery, and never 
 dared to trust herself with another visit. From that moment, 
 however, the heart of the virgin lost its obduracy ; and noth- 
 ing interposed between Harvey and his happiness but his 
 own want of observation. 
 
 The war did not interfere with the traffic of the peddler, 
 who seized on the golden opportunity which the interrup- 
 tion of the regular trade afforded, and appeared absorbed in 
 the one grand object of amassing money. For a year or two, 
 his employment was uninterrupted, and his success propor- 
 tionate; but, at length, dark and threatening hints began to 
 throw suspicion around his movements, and the civil author- 
 ity thought it incumbent on them to examine narrowly into 
 his mode of life. His imprisonments, though frequent, 
 were not long, and his escapes from the guardians of the 
 law easy, compared to what he endured from the persecution 
 of the military. Still Birch survived, and still he continued 
 his trade, though compelled to be very guarded in his move- 
 
40 THE SPY. 
 
 ments, especially whenever he approached the northern 
 boundaries of the county ; or, in other words, the neighbor- 
 hood of the American lines. His visits to the Locusts had 
 become less frequent, and his appearance at his own abode 
 so seldom, as to draw forth from the disappointed Katy, in 
 the fulness of her heart, the complaint we have related in 
 her reply to Harper. Nothing, however, seemed to interfere 
 with the pursuits of this indefatigable trader; who, with a 
 view to dispose of certain articles for which he could only 
 find purchasers in the very wealthiest families of the county, 
 had now braved the fury of the tempest, and ventured to 
 cross the half-mile between his own residence and the house 
 of Mr. Wharton. 
 
 In a few minutes after receiving the commands of his 
 young mistress, Caesar reappeared, ushering into the apart- 
 ment the subject of the foregoing digression. In person, 
 the peddler was a man above the middle height, spare, but full 
 of bone and muscle. At first sight, his strength seemed 
 unequal to manage the unwieldy burden of his pack; yet he 
 threw it on and off with great dexterity, and with as much 
 apparent ease as if it had been filled with feathers. His 
 eyes were gray, sunken, restless, and, for the flitting mo- 
 ments that they dwelt on the countenances of those with 
 whom he conversed, they seemed to read the very soul. 
 They possessed, however, two distinct expressions, which, 
 in a great measure, characterized the whole man. When 
 engaged in traffic, the intelligence of his face appeared 
 lively, active, and flexible, though uncommonly acute; if 
 the conversation turned on the ordinary transactions of life, 
 his air became abstracted and restless ; but if, by chance, 
 the revolution and the country were the topic, his whole 
 system seemed altered — all his faculties were concentrated: 
 he would listen for a great length of time, without speaking, 
 and then would break silence by some light and jocular 
 remark, that was too much at variance with his former 
 manner not to be affectation. But of the war, and of his 
 
THE SPY. 41 
 
 father, he seldom spoke, and always from some very obvious 
 necessity. 
 
 To a superficial observer, avarice would seem his ruling 
 passion — and, all things considered, he was as unfit a sub- 
 ject for the plans of Katy Haynes as can be readily imag- 
 ined. On entering the room, the peddler relieved himself 
 from his burden, which, as it stood on the floor, reached 
 nearly to his shoulders, and saluted the family with modest 
 civility. To Harper he made a silent bow, without lifting 
 his eyes from the carpet ; but the curtain prevented any no- 
 tice of the presence of Captain Wharton. Sarah gave but 
 little time for the usual salutations, before she commenced 
 her survey of the contents of the pack; and, for several 
 minutes, the two were engaged in bringing to light the va- 
 rious articles it contained. The tables, chairs, and floor 
 were soon covered with silks, crapes, gloves, muslins, and all 
 the stock of an itinerant trader. Caesar was employed to hold 
 open the mouth of the pack, as its hoards were discharged, 
 and occasionally he aided his young lady, by directing her 
 admiration to some article of finery, which, from its deeper 
 contrast in colors, he thought more worthy of her notice. 
 At length, Sarah, having selected several articles, and satis- 
 factorily arranged the prices, observed in a cheerful voice: 
 
 " But, Harvey, you have told us no news. Has Lord 
 Cornwallis beaten the rebels again?" 
 
 The question could not have been heard ; for the peddler, 
 burying his body in the pack, brought forth a quantity of 
 lace of exquisite fineness, and, holding it up to view, he re- 
 quired the admiration of the young lady. Miss Pe)fton 
 dropped the cup she was engaged in washing, from her 
 hand ; and Frances exhibited the whole of that lovely face, 
 which had hitherto only suffered one of its joyous eyes to 
 be seen, beaming with a color that shamed the damask 
 which enviously concealed her figure. 
 
 The aunt quitted her employment; and Birch soon dis- 
 posed of a large portion of this valuable article. The 
 
42 THE SPY. 
 
 praises of the ladies had drawn the whole person of the 
 younger sister into view; and Frances was slowly rising 
 from the window, as Sarah repeated her question, with an 
 exultation in her voice that proceeded more from pleasure 
 in her purchase than her political feelings. The younger 
 sister resumed her seat, apparently examining the state of 
 the clouds, while the peddler, finding a reply was expected, 
 answered slowly: 
 
 " There is some talk, below, about Tarleton having de- 
 feated General Sumpter, on the Tiger River." 
 
 Captain Wharton now involuntarily thrust his head be- 
 tween the opening of the curtains into the room; and 
 Frances, turning her ear in breathless silence, noticed the 
 quiet eyes of Harper looking at the peddler, over the book 
 he was affecting to read, with an expression that denoted 
 him to be a listener of no ordinary interest. 
 
 "Indeed!" cried the exulting Sarah; "Sumpter — Sump- 
 ter — who is he? I'll not buy even a pin, until you tell me 
 all the news," she continued, laughing, and throwing down 
 a muslin she had been examining. 
 
 For a moment the peddler hesitated; his eye glanced 
 toward Harper, who was yet gazing at him with settled 
 meaning, and the whole manner of Birch was altered. Ap- 
 proaching the fire, he took from his mouth a large allowance 
 of the Virginian weed, and depositing it, with the superabun- 
 dance of its juices, without mercy to Miss Peyton's shining 
 andirons, he returned to his goods. 
 
 " He lives somewhere among the niggers to the south," 
 answered the peddler abruptly. 
 
 " No more nigger than be yourself. Mister Birch," inter- 
 rupted Caesar tartly, dropping, at the same time, the covering 
 of the goods in high displeasure. 
 
 " Hush, Csesar — hush — never mind it now," said Sarah 
 Wharton soothingly, impatient to hear further. 
 
 "A black man so good as white, Miss Sally," continued 
 the offended negro, " so long as he behave heself." 
 
THE SPY. 43 
 
 "And frequently he is much better," rejoined his mis- 
 tress; "but, Harvey, who is this Mr. Sumpter?" 
 
 A slight indication of humor showed itself on the face of 
 the peddler — but it disappeared, and he continued as if the 
 discourse had met with no interruption from the sensitive- 
 ness of the domestic. 
 
 " As I was saying, he lives among the colored people in 
 the south" — Caesar resumed his occupation — " and he has 
 lately had a scrimmage with this Colonel Tarleton " 
 
 "Who defeated him, of course," cried Sarah, with confi- 
 dence. 
 
 " So say the troops at Morrisania." 
 
 " But vihzt do you say?" Mr. Wharton ventured to inquire, 
 yet speaking in a low tone. 
 
 " I repeat but what I hear," said Birch, offering a piece 
 of cloth to the inspection of Sarah, who rejected it in si- 
 lence, evidently determined to hear more before she made 
 another purchase. 
 
 " They say, however, at the Plains," the peddler continued, 
 first throwing his eyes again around the room, and letting 
 them rest for an instant on Harper, " that Sumpter and one 
 or two more were all that were hurt, and that the rig'lars 
 were all cut to pieces, for the militia were fixed snugly in a 
 log barn." 
 
 " Not very probable," said Sarah contemptuously, " though 
 I make no doubt the rebels got behind the logs." 
 
 " I think," said the peddler coolly, again offering the silk, 
 " it's quite ingenious to get a log between one and a gun, 
 instead of getting between a gun and a log." 
 
 The eyes of Harper dropped quietly on the pages of the 
 volume in his hand, while Frances, rising, came forward 
 with a smile in her face, as she inquired, in a tone of affa- 
 bility that the peddler had never before witnessed from the 
 younger sister: 
 
 "Have you more of the lace, Mr. Birch?" 
 
 The desired article was immediately produced, and 
 
44 THE SPY. 
 
 Frances became a purchaser also. By her order a glass of 
 liquor was oifered to the trader, who took it with thanks, 
 and, having paid his compliments to the master of the house 
 and the ladies, drank the beverage. 
 
 " So it is thought that Colonel Tarleton has worsted Gen- 
 eral Sumpter?" said Mr. Wharton, affecting to be employed 
 in mending the cup that was broken by the eagerness of his 
 sister-in-law. 
 
 " I believe they think so at Morrisania," said Birch drily. 
 "Have you any other news, friend?" asked Captain 
 Wharton, venturing to thrust his face without the curtains 
 again. 
 
 " Have you heard that Major Andr^ has been hanged ?" 
 Captain Wharton started, and for a moment glances of 
 great significance were exchanged between him and the 
 trader, when he observed, with affected indifference, " That 
 must have been some weeks ago." 
 
 " Does his execution make much noise?" asked the father, 
 striving to make the broken china unite. 
 "People will talk, you know, squire.'' 
 " Is there any probability of movements below, my friend, 
 that will make travelling dangerous?" asked Harper, look- 
 ing steadily at the other, in expectation of his reply. 
 
 Some bunches of ribands fell from the hands of Birch; 
 his countenance changed instantly, losing its keen expres- 
 sion in intent meaning as he answered slowly: "It is some 
 time since the rig'lar cavalry were out, and I saw some of 
 De Lancey's men cleaning their arms, as I passed their 
 quarters ; it would be no wonder if they took the scent soon, 
 for the Virginia horse are low in the county." 
 
 "Are they in much force?" asked Mr. Wharton, suspend- 
 ing all employment in anxiety. 
 " I did not count them." 
 
 Frances was the only observer of the change in the man- 
 ner of Birch, and, on turning to Harper, he had resumed his 
 book in silence. She took some of the ribands in her hand 
 
THE SPV. 45 
 
 — laid them down again — and, bending over the goods, so 
 that her hair, falling in rich curls, shaded her face, she 
 observed, blushing with a color that suffused her neck: 
 
 " I thought the southern horse had marched toward the 
 Delaware." 
 
 " It may be so," said Birch ; " I passed the troops at a 
 distance." 
 
 Ca;sar had now selected a piece of calico, in which the 
 gaudy colors of yellow and red were contrasted on a white 
 ground, and, after admiring it for several minutes, he laid it 
 down with a sigh, as he exclaimed, " Berry pretty calico." 
 
 "That," said Sarah; "yes, that would make a proper 
 gown for your wife, Caesar." 
 
 " Yes, Miss Sally," cried the delighted black, " it make 
 old Dinah heart leap for joy — so berry genteel." 
 
 "Yes," added the peddler quaintly, "that is only wanting 
 to make Dinah look like a rainbow." 
 
 Caesar eyed his young mistress eagerly, until she inquired 
 of Harvey the price of the article. 
 
 "Why, much as I light of chaps," said the peddler. 
 
 "How much?" demanded Sarah in surprise. 
 
 "According to my luck in finding purchasers; for my 
 friend Dinah, you may have it at four shillings." 
 
 "It is too much," said Sarah, turning to some goods for 
 herself. 
 
 " Monstrous price for coarse calico, Mister Birch," grum- 
 bled Csesar, dropping the opening of the pack again. 
 
 "We will say three, then," added the peddler, "if you 
 like that better." 
 
 " Be sure he like 'em better," said Cassar, smiling good- 
 humoredly, and reopening the pack — "Miss Sally like a 
 free shilling when she give, and a four shilling when she 
 take." 
 
 The bargain was immediately concluded; but in measur- 
 ing the cloth wanted a little of the well-known ten yards 
 required by the dimensions of Dinah. By dint of a strong 
 
46 THE SPY. 
 
 arm, however, it grew to the desired length, under the expe- 
 rienced eye of the peddler, who conscientiously added a 
 riband of corresponding brilliancy with the calico; and 
 Caesar hastily withdrew, to communicate the joyful intelli- 
 gence to his aged partner. 
 
 During the movements created by the conclusion of the 
 purchase. Captain Wharton had ventured to draw aside the 
 curtain, so as to admit a view of his person, and he now 
 inquired of the peddler, who had begun to collect the 
 scattered goods, at what time he had left the city. 
 
 " At early twilight," was the answer. 
 
 "So lately!" cried the other in surprise; and then cor- 
 recting his manner, by assuming a more guarded air, he 
 continued : " Could you pass the pickets at so late an hour?" 
 
 " I did," was the laconic reply. 
 
 " You must be well known by this time, Harvey, to the 
 officers of the British army," cried Sarah, smiling knowingly 
 on the peddler. 
 
 " I know s''.me of them by sight," said Birch, glancing his 
 eyes round the apartment, taking in their course Captain 
 Wharton, anc' resting for an instant on the countenance of 
 Harper. 
 
 Mr. Wharton had listened to each speaker, in succession, 
 and had so far lost the affectation of indifference as to be 
 crushing in his hand the pieces of china on which he had 
 expended so much labor in endeavoring to mend it; when, 
 observing the peddler tying the last knot in his pack, he 
 asked abruptly: 
 
 "Are we about to be disturbed again with the enemy?" 
 
 "Who do you call the enemy?" said the peddler, raising 
 himself erect, and giving the other a look, before which the 
 eyes of Mr. Wharton sunk in instant confusion. 
 
 "All are enemies who disturb our peace," said Miss Pey- 
 ton, observing that her brother was unable to speak. " But 
 are the royal troops out from below?" 
 
 " 'Tis quite likely they soon may be," returned Birch, 
 
THE SPY. 47 
 
 raising his pack from the floor, and preparing to leave the 
 
 room. 
 
 " And the Continentals," continued Miss Peyton mildly ; 
 
 " are the Continentals in the county?" 
 
 Harvey was about to utter something in reply, when the 
 
 door opened, and Cassar made his appearance, attended by 
 
 his delighted spouse. 
 
 The race of blacks of which Cffisar was a favorable speci- 
 men is becoming very rare. The old family servant, who, 
 born and reared in the dwelling of his master, identified 
 himself with the welfare of those whom it was his lot to 
 serve, is giving place in every direction to that vagrant class 
 which has sprung up within the last thirty years, and whose 
 members roam through the country unfettered by principles 
 and uninfluenced by attachments. For it is one of the 
 curses of slavery that its victims become incompetent to the 
 attributes of a freeman. The short curly hair of Csesar had 
 acquired from age a coloring of gray, that added greatly to 
 the venerable cast of his appearance. Long and indefatiga- 
 ble applications of the comb had straightened the close 
 curls of his forehead, until they stood erect in a stiff and 
 formal brush, that gave at least two inches to his stature. 
 The shining black of his youth had lost its glistening hue, 
 and it had been succeeded by a dingy brown. His eyes, 
 which stood at a most formidable distance from each other, 
 were small, and characterized by an expression of good 
 feeling, occasionally interrupted by the petulance of an in- 
 dulged servant; they, however, now danced with inward de- 
 light. His nose possessed, in an eminent manner, all the 
 requisites for smelling, but with the most modest unobtru- 
 siveness; the nostrils being abundantly capacious, without 
 thrusting themselves in the way of their neighbors. His 
 mouth was capacious to a fault, and was only tolerated on 
 account of the double row of pearls it contained. In person 
 Caesar was short, and we should say square, had not all the 
 angles and curves of his figure bid defiance to anything like 
 
48 THE SPY. 
 
 mathematical symmetry. His arms were long and muscu- 
 lar, and terminated by two bony hands, that exhibited on 
 one side a coloring of blackish gray, and on the other a 
 faded pink. But it was in his legs that nature had indulged 
 her most capricious humor. There was an abundance of 
 material injudiously used. The calves were neither before 
 nor behind, but rather on the outer side of the limb, inclin- 
 ing forward, and so close to the knee as to render the free 
 use of that joint a subject of doubt. In the foot, consider- 
 ing it as a base on which the body was to rest, Caesar had 
 no cause of complaint, unless, indeed, it might be that the 
 leg was placed so near the centre, as to make it sometimes 
 a matter of dispute whether he was not walking backwards. 
 But whatever might be the faults a statuary could discover 
 in his person, the heart of Caesar Thompson was in the right 
 place, and, we doubt not, of very just dimensions. 
 
 Accompanied by his ancient companion, Caesar now ad- 
 vanced, and paid his tribute of gratitude in words. Sarah 
 received them with great complacency, and made a few 
 compliments to the taste of the husband and the probable 
 appearance of the wife. Frances, with a face beaming with 
 a look of pleasure that corresponded to the smiling counte- 
 nances of the blacks, offered the service of her needle in fit- 
 ting the admired calico to its future uses. The offer was 
 humbly and gratefully accepted. 
 
 As Cffisar followed his wife and the peddler from the 
 apartment, and was in the act of closing the door, he in- 
 dulged himself in a grateful soliloquy, by saying aloud: 
 
 "Good little lady — Miss Fanny — take care of he fader — 
 love to make a gown for old Dinah, too." What else his 
 feelings might have induced him to utter is unknown, but 
 the sound of his voice was heard some time after the dis- 
 tance rendered his words indistinct. 
 
 Harper had dropped his book, and he sat an admiring 
 witness of the scene ; and Frances enjoyed a double satis- 
 faction, as she received an approving smile from a face 
 
THE SPY. 49 
 
 which concealed, under the traces of deep thought and en- 
 grossing care, the benevolent expression which characterizes 
 all the best feelings of the human heart. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 *' It is the form, the eye, the word. 
 The bearing of that stranger Lord; 
 His stature, manly, bold, and tall, 
 Built like a castle's battled wall. 
 Yet moulded in such just degrees. 
 His giant strength seems lightsome ease; 
 Weather and war their rougher trace 
 Have left on that majestic face ; — 
 But 'tis his dignity of eye ! 
 There, if a suppliant, would I fly. 
 Secure, 'mid danger, wrongs, and grief, 
 Of sympathy, redress, relief — 
 That glance, if guilty, would I dread 
 More than the doom that spoke me dead." 
 " Enough, enough !" the princess cried, 
 ** 'Tis Scotland's hope, her joy, her pride !" 
 
 Walter Scott. 
 
 The party sat in silence for many minutes after the peddler 
 had withdrawn. Mr. Wharton had heard enough to increase 
 his uneasiness, without in the least removing his apprehen- 
 sions on behalf of his son. The captain was impatiently 
 wishing Harper in any other place than the one he occupied 
 with such apparent composure, while Miss Peyton completed 
 the disposal of her breakfast equipage, with the mild com- 
 placency of her nature, aided a little by an inward satisfac- 
 tion at possessing so large a portion of the trader's lace. 
 Sarah was busily occupied in arranging her purchases, and 
 Frances was kindly assisting in the occupation, disregard- 
 ing her own neglected bargains, when the stranger suddenly 
 broke the silence by saying : 
 
 " If any apprehensions of me induce Captain Wharton to 
 maintain his disguise, I wish him to be undeceived ; had I 
 motives for betraying him, they could not operate under 
 present circumstances." 
 4 
 
50 THE SPY. 
 
 The younger sister sank into her seat colorless and aston- 
 ished. Miss Peyton dropped the tea-tray she was lifting 
 from the table, and Sarah sat with her purchases unheeded 
 in her lap, in speechless surprise. Mr. Wharton was stupe- 
 fied; but the captain, hesitating a moment from astonish- 
 ment, sprang into the middle of the room, and exclaimed, as 
 he tore off the instruments of his disguise: 
 
 " I believe you from my soul, and this tiresome imposition 
 shall continue no longer. Yet I am at a loss to conceive in 
 what manner you should know me." 
 
 " You really look so much better in your proper person. 
 Captain Wharton," said Harper, with a slight smile, " I 
 would advise you never to conceal it in future. There is 
 enough to betray you, if other sources of detection were 
 wanting:" as he spoke, he pointed to a picture suspended 
 over the mantelpiece, which exhibited the British officer in 
 his regimentals. 
 
 " I had flattered myself," cried young Wharton, with a 
 laugh, " that I looked better on the canvas than in a mas- 
 querade. You must be a close observer, sir." 
 
 " Necessity has made me one," said Harper, rising from 
 his seat. 
 
 Frances met him as he was about to withdraw, and, tak- 
 ing his hand between both her own, said with earnestness, 
 her cheeks mantling with their richest vermilion: "You 
 cannot — you will not betray my brother." 
 
 For an instant Harper paused in silent admiration of the 
 lovely pleader, and then, folding her hands on his breast, he 
 replied solemnly: " I cannot, and I will not." He released 
 her hands, and, laying his own on her head gently, contin- 
 ued : " If the blessing of a stranger can profit you, receive 
 it." He turned, and, bowing low, retired, with a delicacy 
 that was duly appreciated by those he quitted, to his own 
 apartment. 
 
 The whole party were deeply impressed with the ingenu- 
 ous and solemn manner of the traveller, and all but the 
 
THE spy. 51 
 
 father found immediate relief in his declaration. Some of 
 the cast-off clothes of the captain, which had been removed 
 with the goods from the city were produced; and young 
 Wharton, released from the uneasiness of his disguise, be- 
 gan at last to enjoy a visit which had been undertaken at so 
 much personal risk to himself. Mr. Wharton retiring to 
 his apartment, in pursuance of his regular engagements, the 
 ladies, with the young man, were left to an uninterrupted 
 communication on such subjects as were most agreeable. 
 Even Miss Peyton was affected with the spirits of her young 
 relatives; and they sat for an hour enjoying, in heedless 
 confidence, the pleasures of an unrestrained conversation, 
 without reflecting on any danger which might be impending 
 over them. The city and their acquaintances were not long 
 neglected; for Miss Peyton, who had never forgotten the 
 many agreeable hours of her residence within its bounda- 
 ries, soon inquired, among others, after their old acquaint- 
 ance. Colonel Wellmere. 
 
 "Oh!" cried the captain gaily, "he yet continues there, 
 as handsome and as gallant as ever." 
 
 Although a woman be not actually in love, she seldom 
 hears without a blush the name of a man whom she mighi 
 love, and who has been connected with herself, by idle gos- 
 sips, in the amatoiy rumor of the day. Such had been the 
 case with Sarah, and she dropped her eyes on the carpet 
 with a smile, that, aided by the blush which suffused her 
 cheek, in no degree detracted from her native charms. 
 
 Captain Wharton, without heeding this display of interest 
 in his sister, immediately continued : " At times he is mel- 
 ancholy — we tell him it must be love." Sarah raised her 
 eyes to the face of her brother, and was consciously turning 
 them on the rest of the party, when she met those of her 
 sister, laughing with good humor and high spirits, as she 
 cried: "Poor man, does he despair?" 
 
 " Why, no — one would think he could not; the eldest son 
 of a man of wealth, so handsome, and a colonel. ■* 
 
52 THE SPY. 
 
 "Strong reasons, indeed, why he should prevail," said 
 Sarah, endeavoring to laugh; "more particularly the lat- 
 ter." 
 
 "Let me tell you," replied the captain gravely, "a lieu- 
 tenant-colonelcy in the Guards is a very pretty thing." 
 
 "And Colonel Wellmere a very pretty man," added 
 Frances. 
 
 "Nay, Frances," returned her sister, " Colonel . Wellmere 
 was never a favorite of yours ; he is too loyal to his king to 
 be agreeable to your taste?" 
 
 Frances quickly answered: "And is not Henry loyal to 
 his king?" 
 
 " Come, come," said Miss Peyton, " no difference of opin- 
 ion about the colonel — he is a favorite of mine." 
 
 "Fanny likes majors better," cried the brother, pulling 
 her upon his knee. 
 
 " Nonsense," said the blushing girl, as she endeavored to 
 extricate herself from the grasp of her laughing brother. 
 
 " It surprises me," continued the captain, " that Peyton, 
 when he procured the release of my father, did not endeavor 
 to detain my sister in the rebel camp." 
 
 " That might have endangered his own liberty," said the 
 smiling girl, resuming her seat; "you know it is liberty for 
 which Major Dunwoodie is fighting." 
 
 "Liberty!" exclaimed Sarah; "very pretty liberty which 
 exchanges one master for fifty." 
 
 "The privilege of changing masters at all is a liberty." 
 
 " And one you ladies would sometimes be glad to exercise," 
 cried the captain. 
 
 "We like, I believe, to have the liberty of choosing whom 
 they shall be in the first place," said the laughing girl ; 
 "don't we. Aunt Jeanette?" 
 
 "Me!" cried Miss Pe)rton, starting; "what do I know of 
 such things, child ? You must ask some one else, if you wish 
 to learn such matters." 
 
 "Ah! you would have us think you were never young; 
 
THE SPY. 53 
 
 but what am I to believe of all the tales I have heard about 
 the handsome Miss Jeanette Peyton?" 
 
 " Nonsense, my dear, nonense," said the aunt, endeavor- 
 ing to suppress a smile; " it is very silly to believe all you 
 hear." 
 
 "Nonsense, do you call it?" cried the captain gaily; "to 
 this hour General Montrose toasts Miss Peyton ; I heard 
 him within the week, at Sir Henry's table." 
 
 "Why, Henry, you are as saucy as your sister; and to 
 break in upon your folly, I must take you to see my new 
 home-made manufactures, which I will be bold enough to 
 put in contrast with the finery of Birch." 
 
 The young people rose to follow their aunt, in perfect 
 good humor with each other and the world. On ascending 
 the stairs to the place of deposit for Miss Peyton's articles 
 of domestic economy, she availed herself, however, of an 
 opportunity to inquire of her nephew whether General Mon- 
 trose suffered as much from the gout as he had done when 
 she knew him. 
 
 It is a painful discovery we make, as we advance in life, 
 that even those we most love are not exempt from its frail- 
 ties. When the heart is fresh, and the view of the future 
 unsullied by the blemishes which have been gathered from 
 the experience of the past, our feelings are most holy ; we 
 love to identify with the persons of our natural friends all 
 those qualities to which we ourselves aspire, and all those 
 virtues we have been taught to revere. The confidence with 
 which we esteem seems a part of our nature; and there is a 
 purity thrown around the affections which tie us to our kin- 
 dred that after life can seldom hope to see uninjured. The 
 family of Mr. Wharton continued to enjoy, for the remainder 
 of the day a happiness to which they had long been stran- 
 gers; and one that sprung, in its younger members, from 
 the delights of the most confident affection and the exchange 
 of the most disinterested endearments. 
 
 Harper appeared only at the dinner-table, and he retired 
 
54 THE spr. 
 
 with the cloth, under the pretence of some engagements in 
 his own room. Notwithstanding the confidence created by 
 his manner, the family felt his absence a relief; for the visit 
 of Captain Wharton was necessarily to be confined to a very 
 few days, both from the limitation of his leave of absence 
 and the danger of a discovery. 
 
 All dread of consequences, however, was lost in the 
 pleasure of the meeting. Once or twice during the day, Mr. 
 Wharton bad suggested a doubt as to the character of his 
 unknown guest, and the possibility of the detection of his 
 son proceeding in some manner from his information ; but 
 the idea was earnestly opposed by all his children ; even 
 Sarah uniting with her brother and sister in pleading warmly 
 in favor of the sincerity expressed in the outward appearance 
 of the traveller. 
 
 " Such appearances, my children," replied the desponding 
 parent, " are but too often deceitful ; when men like Major 
 Andrd lend themselves to the purposes of fraud, it is idle to 
 reason from qualities, much less externals." 
 
 "Fraud!" cried his son quickly; "surely, sir, you forget 
 that Major Andrd was serving his king, and that the usages 
 of war justified the measure." 
 
 " And did not the usages of war justify his death, Henry?" 
 inquired Frances, speaking in a low voice, unwilling to 
 abandon what she thought the cause of her country, and yet 
 unable to suppress her feelings for the man. 
 
 "Never!" exclaimed the young man, springing from his 
 seat, and pacing the floor rapidly — " Frances, you shock 
 me; suppose it should be my fate, even now, to fall into the 
 power of the rebels; you would vindicate my execution — 
 perhaps exult in the cruelty of Washington." 
 
 "Henry!" said Frances solemnly, quivering with emo- 
 tion, and with a face pale as death, " you little know my 
 heart." 
 
 "Pardon me, my sister — my little Fanny,'' cried the re- 
 pentant youth, pressing her to his bosom, and kissing off 
 
THE SPY. 55 
 
 the tears which had burst, spite of her resolution, from hei 
 eyes. 
 
 " It is very foolish to regard your hasty words, I know," 
 said Frances, extricating herself from his arms, and raising 
 her yet humid eyes to his face with a smile; " but reproach 
 from those we love is most severe, Henry; particularly — ■ 
 where we — we think — we know" — her paleness gradually 
 gave place to the color of the rose, as she concluded in a 
 low voice, with her eyes directed to the carpet, "we are 
 undeserving of it." 
 
 Miss Peyton moved from her own seat to the one next her 
 niece, and, kindly taking her hand, observed : " You should 
 not suffer the impetuosity of your brother to affect you so 
 much; boys, you know, are proverbially ungovernable." 
 
 " And, from my conduct, you might add cruel," said the 
 captain, seating himself on the other side of his sister; 
 "but on the subject of the death of Andrd we are all of us 
 uncommonly sensitive. You did not know him; he was all 
 that was brave — that was accomplished — that was estimable." 
 Frances smiled faintly, and shook her head, but made no 
 reply. Her brother, observing the marks of incredulity in 
 her countenance, continued : " You doubt it, and justify his 
 death?" 
 
 " I do not doubt his worth," replied the maid mildly, " nor 
 his being deserving of a more happ)' fate; but I cannot 
 doubt the propriety of Washington's conduct. I know but 
 little of the customs of war, and wish to know less; but 
 with what hopes of success could the Americans contend, 
 if they yielded all the principles which long usage had 
 established, to the exclusive purposes of the British?" 
 
 "Why contend at all?" cried Sarah impatiently; "be- 
 sides, being rebels, all their acts are illegal." 
 
 " Women are but mirrors, which reflect the images before 
 them," cried the captain good-naturedly. "In Frances I 
 see the picture of Major Dunwoodie, and in Sarah " 
 
 "Colonel Wellmere," interrupted the younger sister, 
 
56 THE SPY. 
 
 laughing, and blushing crimson. " I must confess I am 
 indebted to the major for my reasoning — am I not, Aunt 
 Jeanette ? 
 
 " I believe it is something like his logic, indeed, child." 
 
 " I plead guilty ; and you, Sarah, have not forgotten the 
 learned discussions of Colonel Wellmere." 
 
 " I trust I never forget the right," said Sarah, emulating 
 her sister in color, and rising, under the pretence of avoiding 
 the heat of the fire. 
 
 Nothing occurred of any moment during the rest of the 
 day; but in the evening Cassar reported that he had over- 
 heard voices in the room of Harper conversing in a low 
 tone. The apartment occupied by the traveller was the 
 wing at the extremity of the building, opposite to the parlor 
 in which the family ordinarily assembled; and it seems that 
 C«sar had established a regular system of espionage, with a 
 view to the safety of his young master. This intelligence 
 gave some uneasiness to all the members of the family; but 
 the entrance of Harper himself, with the air of benevolence 
 and sincerity which shone through his reserve, soon removed 
 the doubts from the breast of all but Mr. Wharton. His 
 children and sister believed Csesar to have been mistaken, 
 and the evening passed off without any additional alarm. 
 
 On the afternoon of the succeeding day, the party were 
 assembled in the parlor around the tea-table of Miss Peyton, 
 when a change in the - weather occurred. The thin scud, 
 that apparently floated but a short distance above the tops 
 of the hills, began to drive from the west toward the east 
 in astonishing rapidity. The rain yet continued to beat 
 against the eastern windows of the house with fury ; in that 
 direction the heavens were dark and gloomy. Frances was 
 gazing at the scene with the desire of youth to escape from 
 the tedium of confinement, when, as if by magic, all was 
 still. The rushing winds had ceased, the pelting of the 
 storm was over, and, springing to the window, with delight 
 pictured in her face, she saw a glorious ray of sunshine 
 
THE SPY. 57 
 
 lighting the opposite wood. The foliage glittered with the 
 checkered beauties of the October leaf, reflecting back from 
 the moistened boughs the richest lustre of an American 
 autumn. In an instant, the piazza, which opened to the 
 south, was thronged with the inmates of the cottage. The 
 air was mild, balmy, and refreshing; in the east, clouds, 
 which might be likened to the retreating masses of a dis- 
 comfited army, hung around the horizon in awful and in- 
 creasing darkness. At a little elevation above the cottage, 
 the thin vapor was still rushing toward the east with amaz- 
 ing velocity ; while in the west the sun had broken forth 
 and shed his parting radiance on the scene below, aided by 
 the fullest richness of a clear atmosphere and a freshened 
 herbage. Such moments belong only to the climate of 
 America, and are enjoyed in a degree proportioned to the 
 suddenness of the contrast, and the pleasure we experience 
 in escaping from the turbulence of the elements to the quiet 
 of a peaceful evening, and an air still as the softest mornings 
 in June. 
 
 "What a magnificent scene!" said Harper, in a low tone; 
 "how grand! how awfully sublime! — may such a quiet 
 speedily await the struggle in which my country is engaged, 
 and such a glorious evening follow the day of her adversity!" 
 
 Frances, who stood next to him, alone heard the voice. 
 Turning in amazement from the view to the speaker, she 
 saw him standing bareheaded, erect, and with his eyes 
 lifted to heaven. There was no longer the quiet which had 
 seemed their characteristic, but they were lighted into some- 
 thing like enthusiasm, and a slight flush passed over his 
 features. 
 
 There can be no danger apprehended from such a man, 
 thought Frances ; such feelings belong only to the virtuous. 
 
 The musings of the party were now interrupted by the 
 sudden appearance of the peddler. He had taken advantage 
 of the first gleam of sunshine to hasten to the cottage. 
 Heedless of wet or dry as it lay in his path, with arms 
 
58 THE SPY. 
 
 swinging to and fro, and with his head bent forward of his 
 body several inches, Harvey Birch approached the piazza, 
 with a gait peculiarly his own. It was the quick, length- 
 ened pace of an itinerant vender of goods. 
 
 "Fine evening," said the peddler, saluting the party, 
 without raising his eyes ; " quite warm and agreeable for 
 the season." 
 
 Mr. Wharton assented to the remark, and inquired kindly 
 after the health of his father. Harvey heard him, and con- 
 tinued standing for some time in moody silence; but the 
 question being repeated, he answered with a slight tremor 
 in his voice: 
 
 "He fails fast; old age and hardships will do their work." 
 The peddler turned his face from the view of most of the 
 family ; but Frances noticed his glistening eyes and quiver- 
 ing lip, and, for the second time, Harvey rose in her esti- 
 mation. 
 
 The valley in which the residence of Mr. Wharton stood 
 ran in a direction from northwest to southeast, and the house 
 was placed on the side of a hill which terminated its length 
 in the former direction. A small opening, occasioned by 
 the receding of the opposite hill, and the fall of the land to 
 the level of the tide-water, afforded a view of the Sound * 
 over the tops of the distant woods on its margin. The sur- 
 face of the water which had so lately been lashing the shores 
 with boisterous fury was already losing its ruffled darkness 
 in the long and regular undulations that succeeded a tem- 
 pest, while the light air from the southwest was gently touch- 
 ing their summits, lending its feeble aid in stilling the 
 waters. Some dark spots were now to be distinguished, 
 occasionally rising into view, and again sinking behind the 
 lengthened waves which interposed themselves to the sight 
 They were unnoticed by all but the peddler. He had 
 
 * An island more than forty leagues in length lies opposite the coasts of New York 
 and Connecticut. The arm of the sea which separates it from the main is technically 
 called a sound, and in that part of the country, ^ar excellence^ The Sound. This 
 sheet of water varies in its breadth from five to thirty miles. 
 
THE SPY. 59 
 
 seated himself on the piazza, at a distance from Harper, 
 and appeared to have forgotten the object of his visit. His 
 roving eye, however, soon caught a glimpse of these new 
 objects in the view, and he sprang up with alacrity, gazing 
 intently toward the water. He changed his place, glanced 
 his eye with marked uneasiness on Harper, and then said, 
 with great emphasis: 
 
 " The rig'lars must be out from below." 
 "Why do you think so?" inquired Captain Wharton ea- 
 gerly. " God send it maybe true; I want their escort in 
 again." 
 
 " Them ten whale-boats would not move so fast unless 
 they were better manned than common." 
 
 " Perhaps," cried Mr. Wharton in alarm, " they are — they 
 are Continentals returning from the island." 
 
 "They look like rig'lars," said the peddler, with meaning. 
 "Look!" repeated the captain; "there is nothing but 
 spots to be seen." 
 
 Harvey disregarded his observation, but seemed to be so- 
 liloquizing, as he said in an undertone: " They came out 
 before the gale — have laid on the island these two days — 
 horse are on the road — there will soon be fighting near us." 
 During this speech, Birch several times glanced his eye 
 toward Harper, with evident uneasiness, but no correspond- 
 ing emotion betrayed any interest of that gentleman in the 
 scene. .He stood in silent contemplation of the view, and 
 seemed enjoying the change in the air. As Birch concluded, 
 however. Harper turned to his host, and mentioned that his 
 business would not admit of unnecessary delay; he would, 
 therefore, avail himself of the fine evening to ride a few 
 miles on his journey. Mr. Wharton made many professions 
 of regret at losing so agreeable an inmate ; but was too 
 mindful of his duty not to speed the parting guest, and 
 orders were instantly given to that effect. 
 
 The uneasiness of the peddler increased in a manner for 
 which nothing apparent could account; his eye was con- 
 
60 THE SPY. 
 
 stantly wandering toward the lower end of the vale, as if In 
 expectation of some interruption from that quarter. At 
 length Caesar appeared, leading the noble beast which was 
 to bear the weight of the traveller. The peddler officiously 
 assisted to tighten the girths, and fasten the blue cloak and 
 valise to the mail-straps. 
 
 Every preparation being completed, Harper proceeded to 
 take his leave. To Sarah and her aunt he paid his compli- 
 ments with ease and kindness; but when he came to 
 Frances, he paused a moment, while his face assumed an 
 expression of more than ordinary benignity. His eye re- 
 peated the blessing which had before fallen from his lips, 
 and the girl felt her cheeks glow and her heart beat, with a 
 quicker pulsation, as he spoke his adieus. There was a 
 mutual exchange of polite courtesy between the host and 
 his parting guest; but as Harper frankly offered his hand to 
 Captain Wharton, he remarked, in a manner of great 
 solemnity : 
 
 " The step you have undertaken is one of much danger, 
 and disagreeable consequences to yourself may result from 
 it; in such a case, I may have it in my power to prove the 
 gratitude I owe your family for its kindness." 
 
 " Surely, sir," cried the father, losing sight ot delicacy in 
 apprehension for his child, " you will keep secret the dis- 
 covery which your being in my house has enabled you to 
 make." 
 
 Harper turned quickly to the speaker, and then, losing 
 the sternness which had begun to gather on his countenance, 
 he answered mildly: " I have learnt nothing in your family, 
 sir, of which I was ignorant before ; but your son is safer 
 from my knowledge of his visit than he would be without it." 
 
 He bowed to the whole party, and without taking any no- 
 tice of the peddler, other than by simply thanking him for 
 his attentions, mounted his horse, and, riding steadily and 
 gracefully through the little gate, was soon lost behind the 
 hill which sheltered the valley to the northward. 
 
THE spy. 6 1 
 
 The eyes of the peddler followed the retiring figure of the 
 horseman so long as it continued within view, and as it dis- 
 appeared from his sight, he drew a long and heavy sigh, as 
 if relieved from a load of apprehension. The Whartons had 
 meditated in silence on the character and visit of their un- 
 known guest for the same period, when the father approached 
 Birch, and observed: 
 
 " I am yet your debtor, Harvey, for the tobacco you were 
 so kind as to bring me from the city." 
 
 " If it should not prove so good as the first," replied the 
 peddler, fixing a last and lingering look in the direction 
 of Harper's route, " it is owing to the scarcity of the ar- 
 ticle." 
 
 "I like it much," continued the other- "but you have 
 forgotten to name the price." 
 
 The countenance of the trader changed, and, losing 
 its expression of deep care in a natural acuteness, he 
 answered : 
 
 " It is hard to say what ought to be the price ; I believe I 
 must leave it to your own generosity." 
 
 Mr. Wharton had taken a hand well filled with the 
 images of Carolus III. from his pocket, and now extended 
 it toward Birch with three of the pieces between his finger 
 and thumb. Harvey's eyes twinkled as he contemplated the 
 reward; and, rolling over in his mouth a large quantity of 
 the article in question, coolly stretched forth his hand, into 
 which the dollars fell with a most agreeable sound; but, not 
 satisfied with the transient music of their fall, the peddler 
 gave each piece in succession a ring on the stepping-stone 
 of the piazza, before he consigned it to the safe keeping of 
 a huge deerskin purse, which vanished from the sight of the 
 spectators so dexterously that not one of them could have 
 told about what part of his person it was secreted. 
 
 This very material point in his business so satisfactorily 
 completed, the peddler rose from his seat on the floor of the 
 piazza, and approached to where Captain Wharton stood, 
 
62 THE SPY. 
 
 supporting his sisters on either arm, as they listened with 
 the lively interest of affection to his conversation. 
 
 The agitation of the preceding incidents had caused such 
 an expenditure of the juices which had become necessary to 
 the mouth of the peddler that a new supply of the weed was 
 required before he could turn his attention to business of 
 lesser moment. This done, he asked abruptly: 
 
 "Captain Wharton, do you go in to-night?" 
 
 "No!" said the captain laconically, and looking at his 
 lovely burdens with great affection. " Mr. Birch, would you 
 have me leave such company so soon, when I may never 
 enjoy it again.'" 
 
 "Brother!" said Frances, "jesting on such a subject is 
 cruel." 
 
 " I rather guess," continued the peddler coolly, " now the 
 storm is over, the Skinners may be moving; you had better 
 shorten your visit, Captain Wharton." 
 
 "Oh!" cried the British officer, "a few guineas will buy 
 off those rascals at any time, should I meet them. No, no, 
 Mr. Birch ; here I stay until morning.'' 
 
 " Money could not liberate Major Andrd," said the peddler 
 drily. 
 
 Both the sisters now turned to the captain in alarm, and 
 the elder observed : 
 
 "You had- better take the advice of Harvey; rest assured, 
 brother, his opinion in such matters ought not to be disre- 
 garded." 
 
 "Yes," added the younger; "if, as I suspect, Mr. Birch 
 assisted you to come here, your safety, our happiness, dear 
 Henry, requires you to listen to him now.'' 
 
 " I brought myself out, and can take myself in," said the 
 captain positively; "our bargain went no further than to 
 procure my disguise, and to let me know when the coast was 
 clear; and in the latter particular, you were mistaken, Mr. 
 Birch." 
 
 "I was," said the peddler, with some interest, "and the 
 
THE SPY. 63 
 
 greater is the reason why you should get back to-night; the 
 pass I gave you will serve but once.'' 
 "Cannot you forge another.'" 
 
 The pale cheek of the trader showed an unusual color, 
 but he continued silent, with his eyes fixed on the ground, 
 until the young man added, with great positiveness : " Here 
 I stay this night, come what will." 
 
 " Captain Wharton," said the peddler, with great deliber- 
 ation and marked emphasis, " beward a tall Virginian, with 
 huge whiskers! he is below you to my knowledge; the 
 devil can't deceive him; I never could but once." 
 
 "Let him beware of me," said Wharton haughtily; "but, 
 Mr. Birch, I exonerate you from further responsibility." 
 
 "Will you give me that in writing.'" asked the cautious 
 Birch. 
 
 "Oh! cheerfully," cried the captain, with a laugh; "Cae- 
 sar! pen, ink, and paper, while I write a discharge for my 
 trusty attendant, Harvey Birch, peddler, etc., etc." 
 
 The implements for writing were produced, and the cap- 
 tain, witli great gayety, wrote the desired acknowledgment 
 in language of his own; which the peddler took, and, care- 
 fully depositing it by the side of the images of his Catholic 
 Majesty, made a sweeping bow to the whole family, and 
 departed as he had approached. He was soon seen at 
 a distance, stealing into the door of his own humble dwell- 
 ing. 
 
 The father and sisters of the captain were too much re- 
 joiced in retaining the young man to express, or even en- 
 tertain, the apprehensions his situation might reasonably 
 excite; but on retiring to their evening repast, a cooler re- 
 flection induced the captain to think of changing his mind. 
 Unwilling to trust himself out of the protection of his 
 father's domains, the young man despatched Caesar to desire 
 another interview with Harvey. The black soon returned 
 with the unwelcome intelligence that it was now too late. 
 Katy had told him that Harvey must be miles on his road 
 
64 THE SPY. 
 
 to the northward, " having left home at early candle-light 
 with his pack." Nothing now remained to the captain but 
 patience, until the morning should afford further opportunity 
 of deciding on the best course for him to pursue. 
 
 " This Harvey Birch, with his knowing looks and porten- 
 tous warnings, gives me more uneasiness than I am willing 
 to own," said Captain Wharton, rousing himself from a fit 
 of musing, in which the danger of his situation made no 
 small part of his mediiations. 
 
 " How is it that he is able to travel to and fro in these 
 difficult times, without molestation.'" inquired Miss Pey- 
 ton. 
 
 " Why the rebels suffer him to escape so easily is more 
 than I can answer," returned the other; "but Sir Henry 
 would not permit a hair of his head to be injured." 
 
 "Indeed!" cried Frances, with interest; "is he then 
 known to Sir Henry Clinton?" 
 
 " At least he ought to be." 
 
 " Do you think, my son," asked Mr. Wharton, " there is 
 no danger of his betraying you?" 
 
 " Why — no ; I reflected on that before I trusted myself to 
 his power," said the captain thoughtfully; "he seems to be 
 faithful in matters of business. The danger to himself, 
 should he return to the city, would prevent such an act of 
 villainy." 
 
 "I think," said Frances, adopting the manner of her 
 brother, "Harvey Birch is not without good feelings; at 
 least, he has the appearance of them at times." 
 
 "Oh!" cried his sister, exulting, "he has loyalty, and 
 that with me is a cardinal virtue." 
 
 " I am afraid," said her brother, laughing, " love of money 
 is a stronger passion than love of his king." 
 
 " Then," said the father, " you cannot be safe while in his 
 power — for no love will withstand the temptation of money, 
 when offered to avarice." 
 
 " Surely, sir," cried the youth, recovering his gayety, 
 
THE SPY. 65 
 
 " there must be one love that can resist anything — is there 
 not, Fanny?" 
 
 " Here is your candle ; you keep your father up beyond 
 his usual hour." 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ** Through Solway sands, through Taross moss, 
 Blindfold he knew the paths to cross ; 
 By wily turns, by desperate bounds. 
 Had baffled Percy's best blood-hounds. 
 In Eske, or Liddel, fords were none. 
 But he would ride them one by one ; 
 Alike to him was time, or tide, 
 December's snow, or July's pride ; 
 Alike to him was tide, or time, 
 Moonless midnight, or matin prime." 
 
 Walter Scott, 
 
 All the members of the Wharton family laid their heads 
 on their pillows that night, with a foreboding of some inter- 
 ruption to their ordinary quiet. Uneasiness kept the sisters 
 from enjoying their usual repose, and they rose from their 
 beds, on the following morning, unrefreshed, and almost 
 without having closed their eyes. 
 
 On taking an eager and hasty survey of the valley from 
 the windows of their rooms, nothing, however, but its usual 
 serenity was to be seen. It was glittering with the opening 
 brilliancy of one of those lovely, mild days, which occur 
 about the time of the falling of the leaf; and which, by their 
 frequency, class the American autumn with the most de- 
 lightful seasons of other countries. We have no spring; 
 vegetation seems to leap into existence, instead of creeping, 
 as in the same latitudes of the old world ; but how gracefully 
 it retires! September, October, even November and De- 
 cember, compose the season for enjoyment in the open air; 
 they have their storms, but they are distinct and not of 
 long continuance, leaving a clear atmosphere and a cloudless 
 sky. 
 
 5 
 
66 THE SPY. 
 
 As nothing could be seen likely to interrupt the enjoy- 
 ments and harmony of such a day, the sisters descended to 
 the parlor, with a returning confidence in their brother's 
 security and their own happiness. 
 
 The family were early in assembling around the breakfast- 
 table; and Miss Peyton, with a little of that minute preci- 
 sion which creeps into the habits of single life, had pleas- 
 antly insisted that the absence of her nephew should in no 
 manner interfere with the regular hours she had established ; 
 consequently, the party were already seated when the cap- 
 tain made his appearance ; though the untasted coffee suffi- 
 ciently proved that by none of his relatives was his absence 
 disregarded. 
 
 "I think I did much better," he cried, taking a chair 
 between his sisters, and receiving their offered salutes, " to 
 secure a good bed and such a plentiful breakfast, instead of 
 trusting to the hospitality of that renowned corps, the Cow- 
 Boys." 
 
 " If you could sleep," said Sarah, " you were more for- 
 tunate than Frances and myself; every murmur of the 
 night air sounded to me like the approach of the rebel 
 army." 
 
 " Why," said the captain, laughing, " I do acknowledge a 
 little inquietude myself^but how was it with you?" turning 
 to his younger and evidently favorite sister, and tapping her 
 cheek; "did you see banners in the clouds, and mistake 
 Miss Peyton's .^olian harp for rebellious music?" 
 
 " Nay, Henry," rejoined the maid, looking at him affec- 
 tionately, " much as I love my own country, the approach of 
 her troops just now would give me great pain." 
 
 The brother made no reply; but, returning the fondness 
 expressed in her eye by a look of fraternal tenderness, he 
 gently pressed her hand in silence ; when Caesar, who had 
 participated largely in the anxiety of the family, and who 
 had risen with the dawn, and kept a vigilant watch on the 
 surrounding objects, as he stood gazing fronj one of the 
 
THE SPY. 6j 
 
 ■windows, exclaimed, with a face that approached to some- 
 thing like the hues of a white man: 
 
 " Run — Massa Harry — run — if he love old Caesar, run — 
 here come a rebel horse." 
 
 "Run!" repeated the British officer, gathering himself 
 up in military pride; "no, Mr. Csesar, running is not my 
 trade." While speaking, he walked deliberately to the 
 window, where the family were already collected in the 
 greatest consternation. 
 
 At the distance of more than a mile, about fifty dragoons 
 were to be seen, winding down one of the lateral entrances 
 of the valley. In advance with an officer was a man attired 
 in the dress of a countryman, who pointed in the direction 
 of the cottage. A small party now left the main body, and 
 moved rapidly toward the object of their destination. 
 
 On reaching the road which led through the bottom of the 
 valley, they turned their horses' heads to the north. The 
 Whartons continued chained in breathless silence to the 
 spot, watching their movements, when the party, having 
 reached the dwelling of Birch, made a rapid circle around 
 his grounds, and in an instant his house was surrounded by 
 a dozen sentinels. 
 
 Two or three of the dragoons now dismounted and disap- 
 peared; in a few minutes, however, they returned to the 
 yard, followed by Katy, from whose violent gesticulations 
 it was evident that matters of no trifling concern were on 
 the carpet. A short communication with the loquacious 
 housekeeper followed the arrival of the main body of the 
 troop, and, the advanced party remounting, the whole moved 
 toward the Locusts with great speed. 
 
 As yet none of the family had sufficient presence of mind 
 to devise any means of security for Captain Wharton; but 
 the danger now became too pressing to admit of longer de- 
 lay, and various means of secreting him were hastily pro- 
 posed; but they were all haughtily rejected by the young 
 man, as unworthy of his character. It was too late to retreat 
 
68 THE SPY. 
 
 to the woods in the rear of the cottage, for he ■would unavoid- 
 ably be seen, and, followed by a troop of horse, as inevitably 
 taken. 
 
 At length, his sisters, with trembling hands, replaced his 
 original disguise, the instruments of which had been care- 
 fully kept at hand by Caesar, in expectation of some sudden 
 emergency. 
 
 This arrangement was hastily and imperfectly completed, 
 as the dragoons entered the lawn and orchard of the Locusts, 
 riding with the rapidity of the wind ; and in their turn the 
 Whartons were surrounded. 
 
 Nothing' remained now but to meet the impending exam- 
 ination with as much indifference as the family could as- 
 sume. The leader of the horse dismounted, and, followed 
 by a couple of his men, he approached the outer door of the 
 building, which was slowly and reluctantly opened for his 
 admission by Caesar. The heavy tread of the trooper, as 
 he followed the black to the door of the parlor, rang in the 
 ears of the females as it approached nearer and nearer, and 
 drove the blood from their faces to their hearts, with a chill 
 that nearly annihilated feeling. 
 
 A man, whose colossal stature manifested the possession 
 of vast strength, entered the room, and, removing his cap, he 
 saluted the family with a mildness his appearance did not 
 indicate as belonging to his nature. His dark hair hung 
 around his brow in profusion, though stained with the pow- 
 der which was worn at that day, and his face was nearly hid 
 in the whiskers by which it was disfigured. Still, the ex- 
 pression of his eye, though piercing, was not bad, and his 
 voice, though deep and powerful, was far from unpleasant. 
 Frances ventured to throw a timid glance at his figure as he 
 entered, and saw at once the man from whose scrutiny, Har- 
 vey Birch had warned them, there was so much to be appre- 
 hended. 
 
 "You have no cause for alarm, ladies," said the officer, 
 pausing a moment, and contemplating the pale faces around 
 
THE SPY. 69 
 
 him — "my business will be confined to a few questions, 
 which, if freely answered, will instantly remove us from 
 your dwelling." 
 
 "And what may they be, sir?" stammered Mr. Wharton, 
 rising from his chair, and waiting anxiously for the reply. 
 
 " Has there been a strange gentleman staying with you 
 during the storm?" continued the dragoon, speaking with 
 interest, and in some degree sharing in the evident anxiety 
 of the father. 
 
 "This gentleman — here— favored us with his company 
 during the rain, and has not yet departed." 
 
 "This gentleman!" repeated the other, turning to Captain 
 Wharton, and contemplating his figure for a moment, until 
 the anxiety of his countenance gave place to a lurking smile. 
 He approached the youth with an air of comic gravity, and 
 with a low bow, continued : " I am sorry for the severe cold 
 you have in your head, sir." 
 
 " I !" exclaimed the captain, in surprise ; " I have no cold 
 in my head." 
 
 " I fancied it, then, from seeing you had covered such 
 handsome black locks with that ugly old wig; it was my 
 mistake, you will please to pardon it." 
 
 Mr. Wharton groaned aloud ; but the ladies, ignorant of 
 the extent of their visitor's knowledge, remained in trem- 
 bling yet rigid silence. The captain himself moved his 
 hand involuntarily to his head, and discovered that the 
 trepidation of his sisters had left some of his natural hair 
 exposed. The dragoon watched the movement with a con- 
 tinued smile, when, seeming to recollect himself, turning to 
 the father, he proceeded : 
 
 " Then, sir, I am to understand there has not been a Mr. 
 Harper here, within the week." 
 
 " Mr. Harper," echoed the other, feeling a load removed 
 from his heart — " yes — I had forgotten ; but he is gone ; and 
 if there be anything wrong in his character, we are in entire 
 ignorance of it — to me he was a total stranger." 
 
TO THE SPY. 
 
 "Vou have but little to apprehend from his character," 
 answered the dragoon drily ; " but he is gone — how — when 
 — and whither?" 
 
 " He departed as he arrived," said Mr. Wharton, gather- 
 ing renewed confidence from the manner of the trooper; 
 " on horseback, last evening, and he took the northern road." 
 
 The officer listened to him with intense interest, his coun- 
 tenance gradually lighting into a smile of pleasure; and the 
 instant Mr. Wharton concluded his laconic reply he turned 
 on his heel and left the apartment. The Whartons, judging 
 from his manner, thought he was about to proceed in quest 
 of the object of his inquiries. They observed the dragoon, 
 on gaining the lawn, in earnest, and apparently pleased 
 conversation with his two subalterns. In a few moments 
 orders were given to some of the troop, and horsemen left 
 the valley, at full speed, by its various roads. 
 
 The suspense of the party within, who were all highly 
 interested witnesses of this scene, was shortly terminated; 
 for the heavy tread of the dragoon soon announced his sec- 
 ond approach. He bowed again politely as he re-entered 
 the room, and, walking up to Captain Wharton, said, with 
 comic gravity: 
 
 " Now, sir, my principal business being done, may I beg 
 to examine the quality of that wig?" 
 
 The British officer imitated the manner of the other, as 
 he deliberately uncovered his head, and, handing him the 
 wig, observed: " I hope, sir, it is to your liking." 
 
 " I cannot, without violating the truth, say it is," returned 
 the dragoon ; " I prefer your ebony hair, from which you 
 seem to have combed the powder with great industry. But 
 that must have been a sad hurt you have received under this 
 enormous black patch." 
 
 " You appear so close an observer of things, I should like 
 your opinion of it, sir," said Henry, removing the silk, and 
 exhibiting the cheek free from blemish. 
 
 " Upon my word, you improve most rapidly in externals," 
 
THE SPY. 71 
 
 added the trooper, preserving his muscles in inflexible grav- 
 ity ; " if I could but persuade you to exchange this old sur- 
 tout for that handsome blue coat by your side, I think I 
 never could witness a more agreeable metamorphosis, since 
 I was changed myself from a lieutenant to a captain." 
 
 Young Wharton very composedly did as was required; 
 and stood an extremely handsome, well-dressed young man. 
 The dragoon looked at him for a minute with the drollery 
 that characterized his manner, and then continued: 
 
 " This is a new comer in the scene ; it is usual, you know, 
 for strangers to be introduced ; I am Captain Lawton, of the 
 Virginia horse." 
 
 " And I, sir, am Captain Wharton, of his Majesty's 60th 
 regiment of foot," returned KTenry, bowing stiffly, and recov- 
 ering his natural manner. 
 
 The countenance of Lawton changed instantly, and his 
 assumed quaintness vanished. He viewed the figure of 
 Captain Wharton, as he stood proudly swelling with a pride 
 that disdained further concealment, and exclaimed, with 
 great earnestness: 
 
 " Captain Wharton, from my soul I pity you!" 
 
 " Oh ! then," cried the father, in agonj', " if you pity him, 
 dear sir, why molest him? He is not a spy; nothing but a 
 desire to see his friends prompted him to venture so far from 
 the regular army in disguise. Leave him with us; there is 
 no reward, no sum, which I will not cheerfully pay." 
 
 " Sir, your anxiety for your friend excuses your language," 
 said Lawton haughtily; "but you forget I am a Virginian, 
 and a gentleman." Turning to the young man, he contin- 
 ued: "Were you ignorant. Captain Wharton, that our 
 pickets have been below you for several days?" 
 
 " I did not know it until I reached them, and it was then 
 too late to retreat,'' said Wharton sullenly. " I came out, as 
 my father has mentioned, to see my friends, understanding 
 your parties to be at Peekskill, and near the Highlands, or 
 surely I would not have ventured." 
 
72 THE SPY. 
 
 " All this may be very true ; but the affair of Andrd has 
 made us on the alert. When treason reaches the grade of 
 general officers, Captain Wharton, it behooves the friends of 
 liberty to be vigilant." 
 
 Henry bowed to this remark in distant silence, but Sarah 
 ventured to urge something in behalf of her brother. The 
 dragoon heard her politely, and apparently with commisera- 
 tion; but, willing to avoid useless and embarrassing peti- 
 tions, he answered mildly: 
 
 " I am not the commander of the party, madam ; Major 
 Dqnwoodie will decide what must be done with your broth- 
 er; at all events, he will receive nothing but kind and 
 gentle treatment." 
 
 "Dunwoodie!" exclaimed Frances, with a face in which 
 the roses contended for the mastery with the paleness of 
 apprehension; "thank God! then Henry is safe!" 
 
 Lawton regarded her with a mingled expression of pity 
 and admiration; then, shaking his head doubtingly, he 
 continued: 
 
 " I hope so; and with your permission, we will leave the 
 matter for his decision." 
 
 The color of Frances changed from the paleness of fear to 
 the glow of hope. Her dread on behalf of her brother was 
 certainly greatly diminished; yet her form shook, her 
 breathing became short and irregular, and her whole frame 
 gave tokens of extraordinary agitation. Her eyes rose from 
 the floor to the dragoon, and were again fixed immovably on 
 the carpet — she evidently wished to utter something, but was 
 unequal to the effort. Miss Peyton was a close observer of 
 these movements of her niece, and, advancing with an air of 
 feminine dignity, inquired: 
 
 " Then, sir, we may expect the pleasure of Major Dun- 
 woodie's company shortly?" 
 
 " Immediately, madam," answered the dragoon, withdraw- 
 ing his admiring gaze from the person of Frances; "ex- 
 presses are already on the road to announce to him our 
 
THE SPY. 73 
 
 Situation, and the intelligence will speedily bring him to 
 this valley; unless, indeed, some private reasons may exist 
 to make a visit particularly unpleasant." 
 
 " We shall always be happy to see Major Dunwoodie." 
 
 " Oh ! doubtless ; he is a general favorite. May I presume 
 on it so far as to ask leave to dismount and refresh my men, 
 who compose a part of his squadron?" 
 
 There was a manner about the trooper that would have 
 made the omission of such a request easily forgiven by Mr. 
 Wharton, but he v/as fairly entrapped by his own eagerness 
 to conciliate, and it was useless to withhold a consent which 
 he thought would probably be extorted ; he, therefore, made 
 the most of necessity, and gave such orders as would 
 facilitate the wishes of Captain Lawton. 
 
 The officers were invited to take their morning's repast at 
 the family breakfast-table, and, having made their arrange- 
 ments without, the invitation was frankly accepted. None 
 of the watchfulness, which was so necessary to their situa- 
 tion, was neglected by the wary partisan. Patrols were 
 seen on the distant hills, taking their protecting circuit 
 around their comrades, who were enjoying, in the midst of 
 dangers, a security that can only spring from the watchful- 
 ness of discipline and the indiiference of habit. 
 
 The addition to the party at Mr. Wharton's table was only 
 three, and they were all of them men who, under the rough 
 exterior induced by actual and arduous service, concealed the 
 manners of gentlemen. Consequently, the interruption to 
 the domestic privacy of the family was marked by the obser- 
 vance of strict decorum. The ladies left the table to their 
 guests, who proceeded, without much superfluous diffidence, 
 to do proper honors to the hospitality of Mr. Wharton. 
 
 At length. Captain Lawton suspended for a moment his 
 violent attacks on the buckwheat cakes, to inquire of the 
 master of the house if there was not a peddler of the name 
 of Birch who lived in the valley at times. 
 
 "At times only, I believe, sir," replied Mr. Wharton 
 
74 
 
 THE SPY. 
 
 cautiously: "he is seldom here; I may say t never see 
 him." 
 
 " That is strange, too," said the trooper, looking at the 
 disconcerted host intently, "considering he is your next 
 neighbor; he must be quite domestic, sir; and to the ladies 
 it must be somewhat inconvenient. I doubt not that that 
 muslin in the window-seat cost twice as much as he would 
 have asked them for it." 
 
 Mr. Wharton turned in consternation, and saw some of 
 the recent purchases scattered about the room. 
 
 The two subalterns struggled to conceal their smiles ; but 
 the captain resumed his breakfast with an eagerness that 
 created a doubt whether he ever expected to enjoy another. 
 The necessity of a supply from the dominion of Dinah soon, 
 however, afforded another respite, of which Lawton availed 
 himself. 
 
 " I had a wish to break this Mr. Birch of his unsocial 
 habits, and gave him a call this morning," he said; "had I 
 found him within, I should have placed him where he would 
 enjoy life in the midst of society, for a short time at least." 
 
 "And where might that be, sir?" asked Mr. Wharton, 
 conceiving it necessary to say something. 
 
 " The guard-room,'' said the trooper drily. 
 
 " What is the offence of poor Birch ?" asked Miss Peyton, 
 handing the dragoon a fourth dish of coffee. 
 
 " Poor !" cried the captain ; " if he is poor, King George 
 is a bad paymaster.'' 
 
 " Yes, indeed," said one of the subalterns, " his Majesty 
 owes him a dukedom." 
 
 "And Congress a halter," continued the commanding 
 officer, commencing anew on a fresh supply of the cakes. 
 
 " I am sorry," said Mr. Wharton, " that any neighbor of 
 mine should incur the displeasure of our rulers." 
 
 " If I catch him," cried the dragoon, while buttering an- 
 other cake, "he will dangle from the limbs of one of his 
 namesakes." 
 
THE SPY. 75 
 
 " He would make no bad ornament, suspended from one 
 of those locusts before his own door," added the lieutenant. 
 
 "Never mind," continued the captain; "I will have him 
 yet before I'm a major." 
 
 As the language of these officers appeared to be sincere, 
 and such as disappointed men in their rough occupations 
 are but too apt to use, the Whartons thought it prudent to 
 discontinue the subject. It was no new intelligence to any 
 of the family that Harvey Birch was distrusted, and greatly 
 harassed, by the American army. His escapes from their 
 hands, no less than his imprisonments, had been the conver- 
 sation of the country in too many instances, and under cir- 
 cumstances of too great mystery to be easily forgotten. In 
 fact, no small part of the bitterness, expressed by Captain 
 Lawton against the peddler, arose from the unaccountable 
 disappearance of the latter, when intrusted to the custody 
 of two of his most faithful dragoons. 
 
 A twelvemonth had not yet elapsed, since Birch had been 
 seen lingering near the headquarters of the commander-in- 
 chief, and at a time when important movements were expected 
 hourly to occur. So soon as the information of this fact was 
 communicated to the officer whose duty it was to guard the 
 avenues of the American camp, he despatched Captain 
 Lawton in pursuit of the peddler. 
 
 Acquainted with all the passes of the hills, and indefatig- 
 able in the discharge of his duty, the trooper had, with 
 much trouble and toil, succeeded in effecting his object. 
 The party had halted at a farmhouse for the purposes of re- 
 freshment, and the prisoner was placed in a room by him- 
 self, but under the keeping of the two men before men- 
 tioned ; all that was known subsequently is, that a woman 
 was seen busily engaged in the employments of the house- 
 hold near the sentinels, and was particularly attentive to 
 the wants of the captain, until he was deeply engaged in fhe 
 employments of the supper-table. 
 
 Afterward neither woman nor peddler was to be found. 
 
76 THE SPY. 
 
 The pack, indeed, was discovered open, and nearly empty, 
 and a small door, communicating with a room adjoining to 
 the one in which the peddler had been secured, was ajar. 
 
 Captain Lawton never could forgive the deception : his 
 antipathies to his enemies were not very moderate, but this 
 was adding an insult to his penetration that rankled deeply. 
 He sat in portentous silence, brooding over the exploit of 
 his prisoner, yet mechanically pursuing the business before 
 him, until, after sufficient time had passed to make a very 
 comfortable meal, a trumpet suddenly broke on the ears of 
 the party, sending its martial tones up the valley, in start- 
 ling melody. The trooper rose instantly from the table, 
 exclaiming: 
 
 "Quick, gentlemen, to your horses; there comes Dun- 
 woodie"; and, followed by his officers, he precipitately left 
 the room. 
 
 With the exception of the sentinels left to guard Captain 
 Wharton, the dragoons mounted, and marched out to meet 
 their comrades. 
 
 None of the watchfulness necessary in a war in which 
 similarity of language, appearance, and customs, rendered 
 prudence doubly necessary, was omitted by the cautious 
 leader. On getting sufficiently near, however, to a body of 
 horse of more than double his own number, to distinguish 
 countenances, Lawton plunged his rowels into his charger, 
 and in a moment he was by the side of his commander. 
 
 The ground in front of the cottage was again occupied by 
 the horse ; and, observing the same precautions as before, 
 the newly arrived troops hastened to participate in the cheer 
 prepared for their comrades. 
 
THE SPY. 77 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 *' and let conquerors boast 
 
 Their fields of fame — he who in virtue arms 
 A young warm spirit against beauty's charms, 
 Who feels her brightness, yet defies her thrall. 
 Is the best, bravest conqueror of them all. " 
 
 Moore. 
 
 The ladies of the Wharton family had collected about a 
 window, deeply interested in the scene we have related. 
 
 Sarah viewed the approach of her countrymen with a 
 smile of contemptuous indifference; for she even underval- 
 ued the personal appearance of men whom she thought ar- 
 rayed in the unholy cause of rebellion. Miss Peyton looked 
 on the gallant show with an exulting pride, which arose in 
 the reflection that the warriors before her were the chosen 
 troops of her native colony ; while Frances gazed with a 
 singleness of interest that absorbed all other considerations. 
 
 The two parties had not yet joined, before her quick eye 
 distinguished one horseman in particular from those around 
 him. To her it appeared that even the steed of this youth- 
 ful soldier seemed to be conscious that he sustained the 
 weight of no common man : — his hoofs but lightly touched 
 the earth, and his airy tread was the curbed motion of a 
 blooded charger. 
 
 The dragoon sat in the saddle with a firmness and ease 
 that showed him master of himself and horse — his figure 
 uniting the just proportions of strength and activity, being 
 tall, round, and muscular. To this officer Lawton made his 
 report, and, side by side, they rode into the field opposite to 
 the cottage. 
 
 The heart of Frances beat with a pulsation nearly stifling, 
 as he paused for a moment, and took a survey of the build- 
 ing, with an eye whose dark and sparkling glance could be 
 seen, notwithstanding the distance: — her color changed, ana 
 
78 THE SPY. 
 
 for an instant, as she saw the youth throw himself from the 
 saddle, she was compelled to seek relief for her trembling 
 limbs in a chair. 
 
 The officer gave a few hasty orders to his second in com- 
 mand, walked rapidly into the lawn, and approached the 
 cottage. Frances rose from her seat, and vanished from the 
 apartment. The dragoon ascended the steps of the piazza, 
 and had barely time to touch the outer door when it opened 
 to his admission. 
 
 The youth of Frances, when she left the city, had pre- 
 vented her sacrificing, in conformity to the customs of that 
 day, all her native beauties on the altar of fashion. Her 
 hair, which was of a golden richness of color, was left, un- 
 tortured, to fall in the natural ringlets of infancy, and it 
 shaded a face which was glowing with the united charms of 
 health, youth, and artlessness; — her eyes spoke volumes, 
 but her tongue v.-as silent; — her hands were interlocked be- 
 fore her, and, aided by her taper form, bending forward in 
 an attitude of expectation, gave a loveliness and an interest 
 to her appearance, that for a moment chained her lover in 
 silence to the spot. 
 
 Frances silently led the way into a vacant parlor, opposite 
 to the one in which the family were assembled, and, turning 
 to the soldier frankly, placing both her hands in his own, 
 exclaimed: 
 
 "Ah, Dunwoodie! how happy, on many accounts, I am to 
 see you ! I have brought you in here, to prepare you to 
 meet an unexpected friend in the opposite room." 
 
 " To whatever cause it may be owing," cried the youth, 
 pressing her hands to his lips, "I, too, am happy in being 
 able to see you alone. Frances, the probation you have de- 
 creed is cruel ; war and distance may shortly separate us 
 forever." 
 
 " We must submit to the necessity which governs us. But 
 it is not love speeches I would hear now: I have other and 
 more important matter for your attention." 
 
THE SPY. 79 
 
 " What can be of more importance than to make you mine 
 by a tie that will be indissoluble! Frances, you are cold 
 to me — me — from whose mind, days of service and nights of 
 alarm have never been able to banish your image for a 
 single moment." 
 
 " Dear Dunwoodie," said Frances, softening nearly to 
 tears, and again extending her hand to him, as the rich- 
 ness of her color gradually returned, " you know my senti- 
 ments — this war once ended, and you may take that hand 
 forever — but I can never consent to tie myself to you by any 
 closer union than already exists, so long as you are arrayed 
 in arms against my only brother. Even now, that brother 
 is awaiting your decision to restore him to liberty, or to 
 conduct him to a probable death." 
 
 "Your brother!" cried Dunwoodie, starting and turning 
 pale; "your brother! explain yourself — what dreadful 
 meaning is concealed in your words?" 
 
 " Has not Captain Lawton told you of the arrest of Henry 
 by himself this very morning?" continued Frances, in a 
 voice barely audible, and fixing on her lover a look of the 
 deepest concern. 
 
 " He told me of arresting a captain of the 6oth in dis- 
 guise, but without mentioning where or whom," replied the 
 major, in a similar tone; and, dropping his head between 
 his hands, he endeavored to conceal his feelings from his 
 companion. 
 
 "Dunwoodie! Dunwoodie!" exclaimed Frances, losing 
 all her former confidence in the most fearful apprehensions, 
 "what means this agitation?" As the major slowly raised 
 his face, in which was pictured the most expressive concern, 
 she continued : " Surely, surely, you v.'ill not betray your 
 friend — my brother — your brother — ^to an ignominious 
 death." 
 
 "Frances!" exclaimed the young man, in agony, "what 
 can I do?" 
 
 "Do!" she repeated, gazing at him wildly; "would 
 
So THE SPY, 
 
 Major Dunwoodie yield his friend to his enemies — the 
 brother of his betrothed wife?" 
 
 " Oh, speak not so unkindly to me, dearest Miss Wharton 
 — my own Frances. I would this moment die for you — for 
 Henry — but I cannot forget my duty — cannot forfeit my 
 honor ; you yourself would be the first to despise me if I did." 
 
 "Peyton Dunwoodie!" said Frances solemnly, and with a 
 face of ashy paleness, " you have told me — you have sworn 
 that you loved me " 
 
 "I do," interrupted the soldier, with fervor; but, motion- 
 ing for silence, she continued, in a voice that trembled with 
 her fears : 
 
 " Do you think I can throw myself into the arms of a man 
 whose hands are stained with the blood of my only brother!" 
 
 "Frances! you wring my very heart;" then, pausing to 
 struggle with his feelings, he endeavored to force a smile, 
 as he added, " but, after all, we may be torturing ourselves 
 with unnecessary fears, and Henry, when I know the cir- 
 cumstances, may be nothing more than a prisoner of war ; 
 in which case, I can liberate him on parole." 
 
 There is no more delusive passion than hope; and it 
 seems to be tlae happy privilege of youth to cull all the 
 pleasures that can be gathered from its indulgence. It is 
 when we are most worthy of confidence ourselves that we 
 are least apt to distrust others ; and what we think ought to 
 be we are prone to think will be. 
 
 The half-formed expectations of the young soldier were 
 communicated to the desponding sister, more by the eye 
 than the voice, and the blood rushed again to her cheek, as 
 she cried: 
 
 " Oh ! there can be no just grounds to doubt it : I knew — 
 I knew — Dunwoodie, you would never desert us in the hour 
 of our greatest need!" The violence of her feelings pre- 
 vailed, and the agitated girl found relief in a flood of tears. 
 
 The office of consoling those we love is one of the dearest 
 prerogatives of affection ; and Major Dunwoodie, although 
 
THE SPY. gl 
 
 but little encouraged by his own momentary suggestion of 
 relief, could not undeceive the lovely girl, who leaned on 
 his shoulder, as he wiped the traces of her feeling from her 
 face, with a trembling, but reviving confidence, in the 
 safety of her brother, and the protection of her lover. 
 
 Frances having sufficiently recovered her recollection to 
 command herself, now eagerly led the way into the opposite 
 room, to communicate to her family the pleasing intelligence 
 which she already conceived so certain. 
 
 Dunwoodie followed her reluctantly, and with forebodings 
 of the result; but a few moments brought him into the pres- 
 ence of his relatives, and he summoned all his resolution to 
 meet the trial with firmness. 
 
 The salutations of the young men were cordial and frank, 
 and, on the part of Henry Wharton, as collected as if noth- 
 ing had occurred to disturb his self-possession. 
 
 The abhorrence of being, in any manner, auxiliary to the 
 arrest of his friend; the danger to the life of Captain 
 Wharton ; and the heart-breaking declarations of Frances, 
 had, however, created an uneasiness in the bosom of Major 
 Dunwoodie, which all his efforts could not conceal. His 
 reception by the rest of the family was kind and sincere, 
 both from old regard and a remembrance of former obliga- 
 tions, heightened by the anticipations they could not fail to 
 read in the expressive eyes of the blushing girl by his side. 
 After exchanging greetings with every member of the family, 
 Major Duiiwoodie beckoned to the sentinel, whom the wary 
 prudence of Captain Lawton had left in charge of the pris- 
 oner, to leave the room. Turning to Captain Wharton, he 
 inquired mildly: 
 
 "Tell me, Henry, the circumstances of this disguise, in 
 which Captain Lawton reports you to have been found, and 
 remember — remember — Captain Wharton — your answers are 
 entirely voluntary." 
 
 "The disguise was used by me, Major Dunwoodie," re- 
 plied the English officer gravely, " to enable me to visit my 
 6 
 
82 THE SPY. 
 
 friends, without incurring the danger of becoming a prisoner 
 of war." 
 
 " But you did not wear it, until you saw the troop of 
 T.awton approaching.'" 
 
 "'Oh! no," interrupted Frances eagerly, forgetting all 
 the circumstances in her anxiety for her brother; "Sarah 
 and myself placed them on him when the dragoons 
 appeared; it was our awkwardness that led to the dis- 
 covery." 
 
 The countenance of Dunwoodie brightened, as, turning 
 his eyes in fondness on the speaker, he listened to her 
 explanation. 
 
 " Probably some articles of your own," he continued, 
 " which were at hand, and were used on the spur of the 
 moment." 
 
 "No," said Wharton, with dignity; "the clothes were 
 worn by me from the city ; they were procured for the pur- 
 pose to which they were applied, and I intended to use 
 them in my return this very day." 
 
 The appalled Frances shrunk back from between her 
 brother and lover, where her ardent feelings had carried 
 her, as the whole truth glanced over her mind, and she sunk 
 into a seat, gazing wildly on the young men. 
 
 " But the pickets — the party at the Plains?" added Dun- 
 woodie, turning pale. 
 
 " I passed them, too, in disguise. I made use of this 
 pass, for which I paid; and, as it bears the name of Wash- 
 ington, I presume it is forged." 
 
 Dunwoodie caught the paper from his hand eagerly, and 
 stood gazing on the signature for some time in silence, dur- 
 ing which the soldier gradually prevailed over the man ; 
 when he turned to the prisoner, with a searching look, as 
 he asked: 
 
 "Captain Wharton, whence did you procure this paper?" 
 
 "That is a question, I conceive, Major Dunwoodie has 
 no right to ask." 
 
THE SPY. 83 
 
 "Your pardon, sir; my feelings may have led me into an 
 impropriety." 
 
 Mr, Wharton, who had been a deeply interested auditor, 
 now so far conquered his feelings as to say : " Surely, Major 
 Dunwoodie, the paper cannot be material; such artifices 
 are used daily in war." 
 
 " This name is no counterfeit," said the dragoon, study- 
 ing the characters, and speaking in a low voice : " is trea- 
 son yet among us undiscovered ? The confidence of Wash- 
 ington has been abused, for the fictitious name is in a 
 different hand from the pass. Captain Wharton, my duty 
 will not suffer me to grant you a parole : you must accom- 
 pany me to the Highlands." 
 
 " I did not expect otherwise, Major Dunwoodie." 
 
 Dunwoodie turned slowly toward the sisters, when the 
 figure of Frances once more arrested his gaze. She had 
 risen from her seat, and stood again with her hands clasped 
 before him in an attitude of petition : feeling himself unable 
 to contend longer with his feelings, he made a hurried ex- 
 cuse for a temporary absence, and left the room. Frances 
 followed him, and, obedient to the direction of her eye, the 
 soldier re-entered the apartment in which had been, their 
 first interview. 
 
 " Major Dunwoodie," said Frances, in a voice barely 
 audible, as she beckoned to him to be seated; her cheek, 
 which had been of a chilling whiteness, was flushed with a 
 suffusion that crimsoned her whole countenance ; she strug- 
 gled with herself for a moment, and continued: "I have 
 already acknowledged to you my esteem ; even now, when 
 you most painfully distress me, I wish not to conceal it. 
 Believe me, Henry is innocent of everything but imprudence. 
 Our country can sustain no wrong." Again she paused, and 
 almost gasped for breath; her color changed rapidly from 
 red to white, until the blood rushed into her face, covering 
 her features with the brightest vermilion ; and she added 
 hastily, in an undertone, "I have promised, Dunwoodie, 
 
84 THE SPY. 
 
 when peace shall be restored to our country, to become your 
 wife; give to my brother his. liberty on parole, and I will 
 this day go with you. to the altar, follow you to the camp, 
 and, in becoming a soldier's bride, learn to endure a sol- 
 dier's privations." 
 
 Dunwoodie seized the hand which the blushing girl, in 
 her ardor, had extended toward him, and pressed it for a 
 moment to his bosom ; then, rising from his seat, he paced 
 the room in excessive agitation. 
 
 " Frances, say no more, I conjure you, unless you wish to 
 break my heart." 
 
 " You then reject my offered hand.'"' she said, rising with 
 dignity, though her pale cheek and quivering lip plainly 
 showed the conflicting passions within. 
 
 "Reject it! Have I not sought it with entreaties — with 
 tears? Has it not been the goal of all my earthly wishes? 
 But to take it under such conditions would be to dishonor 
 both. We will hope for better things. Henry must be. 
 acquitted ; perhaps not tried. No intercession of mine shall 
 be wanting, you must well know; and believe me, Frances, 
 I am not without favor with Washington." 
 
 " That very paper, that abuse of his confidence, to which 
 you alluded, will steel him to my brother's case. If threats 
 or entreaties could move his stern sense of justice, would 
 Andre have suffered?" As Frances uttered these words, 
 she fled from the room in despair. 
 
 Dunwoodie remained for a minute nearly stupefied; and 
 then he followed with a view to vindicate himself, and to 
 relieve her apprehensions. On entering the hall that divid- 
 ed the two parlors, he was met by a small ragged boy, who 
 looked one'raoment at his dress, and, placing a piece of pa- 
 per in his hands, immediately vanished through the outer 
 door of the building. The bewildered state of his mind, 
 and the suddenness of the occurrence, gave the major barely 
 time to observe the messenger to be a country lad, meanly 
 attired, and that he held in his hand one of those toys which 
 
THE SPY. 85 
 
 are to be bought in cities, and which he now apparently con- 
 templated with the conscious pleasure of having fairly pur- 
 chased, by the performance of the service required. The 
 soldier turned his eyes to the subject of the note. It was 
 written on a piece of torn and soiled paper, and in a hand 
 barely legible; but, after some little labor, he was able to 
 make out as follows : 
 
 " The rigUars are at hand, horse andfoot,^' * 
 
 Dunwoodie started, and, forgetting everything but the 
 
 * There died a few years since, in Bedford, West-Chester, a yeoman named Elisha 
 
 H . This person was employed by Washington as one of his most confidential 
 
 spies. By the conditions of their bargain, H was never to be required to deal 
 
 with third parties, since his risks were too imminent. He was allowed to enter also 
 into the service of Sir Henry Clinton ; and so much confidence had Washington in 
 his love of country and discretion that he was often intrusted with the minor mili- 
 tary movements, in order that he might enhance his value with the English general by 
 
 communicating them. In this manner, H had continued to serve for a long 
 
 period, when chance brought him into the city (then held by the British) at a moment 
 when an expedition was about to quit it, to go against a small post established at 
 
 Bedford, his native village, where the Americans had a depot of provisions. H 
 
 easily ascertained the force and destination of the detachment ordered on this service, 
 but he was at a loss in what manner to communicate his information to the officer in 
 command at Bedford, without betraying his own true character to a third person. 
 There was not time to reach Washington, and, under the circumstances, he finally 
 resolved to hazard a short note to the American commandant, stating the danger, 
 and naming the time when the attack might be expected. To this note he even 
 ventured to affix his own initials, E. H,, though he had disguised the hand, under a 
 behef that, as he knew himself to be suspected by his countrymen, it might serve to 
 give more weight to the warning. His family being at Bedford, the note was trans- 
 mitted with facility, and arrived in good season, H himself remaining in New 
 
 York. 
 
 The American commandant did what every sensible officer, in a similar case, 
 would have done. He sent a courier with a note to Washington, demanding orders, 
 while he prepared his little party to make the best defence in his power. 
 
 The headquarters of the American army were, at that time, in the Highlands. 
 Fortunately the express met Washington, on a tour of observation near their entrance. 
 The note was given to hJra, and he read it in the saddle ; adding, in pencil, " Believe 
 all that E. H. tells you. George Washington." He returned it to the courier, with 
 an injunction to ride for life or death. 
 
 The courier reached Bedford after the British had made their attack. The com- 
 mandant read the reply, and put it in his pocket. The Americans were defeated, and 
 
 their leader killed. The note of H , with the line written on it by Washington, 
 
 was found on his person. 
 
 The following day H was summoned to the presence of Sir Henry Clinton. 
 
 After the latter had put several general questions, he suddenly gave the note to the 
 spy, and asked him if he knew the handwriting, and demanding who the E. H. was. 
 ** It is Elijah Hadden, the spy you hanged yesterday at Powles Hook." The readi- 
 ness of this answer, connected with the fact that a spy having the same initials had 
 
 been executed the day before, and the coolness of H , saved him. Sir Henry 
 
 Clinton allowed him to quit his presence, and he never saw him afterward. 
 
86 THE SPY, 
 
 duties of a soldier, he precipitately left the house. While 
 walking rapidly toward the troops, he noticed on a distant 
 hill a vidette riding with speed : several pistols were fired 
 in quick succession ; and the next instant the trumpets of 
 the corps rang in his ear with the enlivening strain of "To 
 arms!" By the time he had reached the ground occupied 
 by his squadron, the major saw that every man was in active 
 motion. Lawton was already in the saddle, eyeing the op- 
 posite extremity of the valley with the eagerness of expecta- 
 tion, and crying to the musicians, in tones but little lower 
 than their own : 
 
 " Sound away, my lads, and let these Englishmen know 
 that the Virginia horse are between them and the end of 
 their journey." 
 
 The videttes and patrols now came pouring in, each mak- 
 ing in succession his hasty report to the commanding offi- 
 cer, who gave his orders coolly, and with a promptitude that 
 made obedience certain. Once only, as he wheeled his 
 horse to ride over the ground in front, did Dunwoodie trust 
 himself with a look at the cottage, and his heart beat with 
 unusual rapidity as he saw a female figure standing, with 
 clasped hands, at a window of the room in which he had 
 met Frances. The distance was too great to distinguish her 
 features, but the soldier could not doubt that it was his 
 mistress. The paleness of his cheek and the languor of his 
 eye endured but for a moment longer. As he rode toward 
 the intended battle-ground, a flush of ardor began to show 
 itself on his sunburnt features; and his dragoons, who stud- 
 ied the face of their leader, as the best index to their own 
 fate, saw again the wonted flashing of the eyes, and the 
 cheerful animation, which they had so often witnessed on 
 the eve of battle. By the additions of the videttes and par- 
 ties that had been out, and which now had all joined, the 
 whole number of the horse was increased to nearly two hun- 
 dred. There was also a small body of men, whose ordinary 
 duties were those of guides, but who, in cases of emergency, 
 
THE SPY. 87 
 
 were embodied and did duty as foot-soldiers; these were 
 dismounted, and proceeded, by the order of Dunwoodie, to 
 level the few fences which might interfere with the intended 
 movements of the cavalry. The neglect of husbandry, 
 which had been occasioned by the war, left this task com- 
 paratively easy. Those long lines of heavy and durable 
 walls, which now sweep through every part of the country, 
 forty years ago were unknown. The slight and tottering 
 fences of stone were then used more to clear the land for the 
 purposes of cultivation than as permanent barriers, and re- 
 quired the constant attention of the husbandman, to preserve 
 them against the fury of the tempests and the frosts of win- 
 ter. Some few of them had been built with more care im- 
 mediately around the dwelling of Mr. Wharton ; but those 
 which had intersected the vale below were now generally a 
 pile of ruins, over which the horses of the Virginians would 
 bound with the fleetness of the wind. Occasionally a short 
 line yet preserved its erect appearance; but as none of these 
 crossed the ground on which Dunwoodie intended to act, 
 there remained only the slighter fences of rails to be thrown 
 down. Their duty was hastily, but effectually, performed; 
 and the guides withdrew to the post assigned to them for the 
 approaching fight. 
 
 Major Dunwoodie had received from his scouts all the 
 intelligence concerning his foe which was necessary to ena- 
 ble him to make his arrangements. The bottom of the val- 
 ley v/as an even plain, that fell with a slight inclination 
 from the foot of the hills on either side, to the level of a 
 natural meadow that wound through the country on the 
 banks of a small stream, by whose waters it was often in- 
 undated and fertilized. This brook was easily forded in 
 any part of its course; and the only impediment it offered 
 to the movements of the horse was in a place where it 
 changed its bed from the western to the eastern side of the 
 valley, and where its banks were more steep and difficult of 
 access than common. Here the highway crossed it by a 
 
88 THE SPY. 
 
 rough wooden bridge, as it did again at the distance of half 
 a mile above the Locusts. 
 
 The hills on the eastern side of the valley were abrupt, 
 and frequently obtruded themselves in rocky prominences 
 into its bosom, lessening the width to half the usual dimen- 
 sions. One of these projections was but a short distance in 
 the rear of the squadron of dragoons, and Dunwoodie directed 
 Captain Lawton to withdraw, with two troops, behind its 
 cover. The officer obeyed with a kind of surly reluctance, 
 that was, however, somewhat lessened by the anticipations 
 of the effect his sudden appearance would make on the 
 enemy. Dunwoodie knew his man, and had selected the 
 captain for this service, both because he feared his precipi- 
 tation in the field, and knew, when needed, his support 
 would never fail to appear. It was only in front of the 
 enemy that Captain Lawton was hasty; at all other times 
 his discernment and self-possession were consummately 
 preserved ; but he sometimes forgot tliem in his eagerness 
 to engage. On the left of the ground on which Dunwoodie 
 intended to meet his foe, was a close wood, which skirted 
 that side of the valley for the distance of a mile. Into this, 
 then, the guides retired, and took their station near its edge 
 in such a manner as would enable them to maintain a scat- 
 tering, but effectual fire, on the advancing column of the 
 enemy. 
 
 It cannot be supposed that all these preparations were 
 made unheeded by the inmates of the cottage; on the con- 
 trary, every feeling which can agitate the human breast, in 
 witnessing such a scene, was actively alive. Mr. Wharton 
 alone saw no hopes to himself in the termination of the con- 
 flict. If the British should prevail, his son would be liber- 
 ated, but what would then be his own fate ! He had hitherto 
 preserved his neutral character in the midst of trying cir- 
 cumstances. The fact of his having a son in the royal, or, 
 as it was called, the regular army, had very nearly brought 
 his estates to the hammer. Nothing had obviated this re- 
 
THE SPY. 89 
 
 suit, but the powerful interest of the relation who held a 
 high political rank in the State, and his own vigilant pru- 
 dence. In his heart, he was a devoted loyalist; and when 
 the blushing Frances had communicated to him the wishes 
 of her lover, on their return from the American camp the 
 preceding spring, the consent he had given to her future 
 union with a rebel was as much extracted by the increasing 
 necessity which existed for his obtaining republican sup- 
 port, as by any considerations for the happiness of his 
 child. Should his son now be rescued, he would, in the 
 public mind, be united with him as a plotter against the 
 freedom of the States ; and should he remain a captive, and 
 undergo the impending trial, the consequences might be 
 still more dreadful. Much as he loved his wealth, Mr. 
 Wharton loved his children better; and he sat gazing on the 
 movements without, with a listless vacancy in his counte- 
 nance that fully denoted his imbecility of character. 
 
 Far different were the feelings of the son. Captain 
 Wharton had been left in the keeping of two dragoons; 
 one of whom marched to and fro on the piazza with a meas- 
 ured tread, and the other had been directed to continue in 
 the same apartment with his prisoner. The young man had 
 witnessed all the movements of Dunwoodie with admiration 
 mingled with fearful anticipations of the consequences to 
 his friends. He particularly disliked the ambush of the 
 detachment under Lawton, who could be distinctly seen 
 from the windows of the cottage, cooling his impatience, 
 by pacing on foot the ground in front of his men. Henry 
 Wharton threw several hasty and inquiring glances around, 
 to see if no means of liberation would offer, but invariably 
 found the eyes of his sentinel fixed on him with the watch- 
 fulness of an Argus. He longed, with the ardor of youth, 
 to join in the glorious fray, but was compelled to remain a 
 dissatisfied spectator of a scene in which he would so cheer- 
 fully have been an actor. Miss Peyton and Sarah continued 
 gazing on the preparations with varied emotions, in which 
 
go THE SPY. 
 
 concern for the fate of the captain formed the most promi- 
 nent feeling, until the moment the shedding of blood seemed 
 approaching, when, with the timidity of their sex, they 
 sought the retirement of an inner room. Not so Frances ; 
 she returned to the apartment wliere she had left Dunwoodie, 
 and, from one of its windows, had been a deeply interested 
 spectator of all his movements. The wheelings of the 
 troops, the deadly preparations, had all been unnoticed; she 
 saw her lover only, and with mingled emotions of admira- 
 tion and dread that nearly chilled her. At one moment the 
 blood rushed to her heart, as she saw the young warrior 
 riding through his ranks, giving life and courage to all 
 whom he addressed; and the next, it curdled with the 
 thought, that the very gallantry she so much valued might 
 prove the means of placing the grave between her and the 
 object of her regard. Frances gazed until she could look 
 no longer. 
 
 In a field on the left of the cottage, and at a short distance 
 in the rear of the troops, was a small group, whose occupa- 
 tion seemed to differ from that of all around them. They 
 were in number only three, being two men and a mulatto 
 boy. The principal personage of this party was a man, 
 whose leanness made his really tall stature appear exces- 
 sive. He wore spectacles — was unarmed, had dismounted, 
 and seemed to be dividing his attention between a cigar, a 
 book, and the incidents of the field before him. To this 
 party Frances determined to send a note, directed to Dun- 
 woodie. She wrote hastily, with a pencil, " Come to me, 
 Fey ton, if it be but for a moment," and Caesar emerged from 
 the cellar kitchen, taking the precaution to go by the rear 
 of the building, to avoid the sentinel on the piazza, who had 
 very cavalierly ordered all the family to remain housed. 
 The black delivered the note to the gentleman, with a re- 
 quest that it might be forwarded to Major Dunwoodie. It 
 was the surgeon of the horse to whom Caesar addressed him- 
 self; and the teeth of the African chattered, as he saw dis- 
 
THE SPY. 91 
 
 played about the ground the several instruments which were 
 in preparation for the anticipated operations. The doctor 
 himself seemed to view the arrangement with great satisfac- 
 tion, as he deliberately raised his eyes from his book to 
 order the boy to convey the note to his commanding officer, 
 and then, dropping them quietly on the page, he continued 
 his occupation. Caesar was slowly retiring, as the third 
 personage, who by his dress might be an inferior assistant 
 of the surgical department, coolly inquired " if he would 
 have a leg taken off?" This question seemed to remind 
 the black of the existence of those limbs ; for he made such 
 use of them as to reach the piazza at the same instant that 
 Major Dunwoodie rode up, at half-speed. The brawny 
 sentinel squared himself, and poised his sword with military 
 precision, as he stood on his post, while his officer passed ; 
 but no sooner had the door closed than, turning to the 
 negro, he said, sharply : 
 
 " Harkee, blackey, if you quit the house again without 
 my knowledge, I shall turn barber, and shave off one of 
 those ebony ears with this razor." 
 
 Thus assailed in another member, Csesar hastily retreated 
 into his kitchen, muttering something, in which the words 
 " Skinner, and rebel rascal," formed a principal part of his 
 speech. 
 
 " Major Dunwoodie," said Frances to her lover as he en- 
 tered, "I may have done you injustice; if I have appeared 
 harsh " 
 
 The emotions of the agitated girl prevailed, and she burst 
 into tears. 
 
 "Frances," cried the soldier with warmth, "you are never 
 harsh, never unjust, but when you doubt my love." 
 
 "Ah! Dunwoodie," added the sobbing girl, "you are 
 about to risk your life in battle; remember that there is one 
 heart whose happiness is built on your safety; brave I know 
 you are; be prudent " 
 
 "For your sake?" inquired the delighted youth. 
 
92 THE SPV. 
 
 " For my sake," replied Frances, in a voice barely audi- 
 ble, and dropping on his bosom. 
 
 Dunwoodie folded her to his heart, and was about to 
 speak, as a trumpet sounded in the southern end of the 
 vale. Imprinting one long kiss of affection on her unre- 
 sisting lips, the soldier tore himself from his mistress, and 
 hastened to the scene of strife. 
 
 Frances threw herself on a sofa, buried her head under 
 its cushion, and with her shawl drawn over her face, to ex- 
 clude as much of sound as possible, continued there until 
 the shouts of the combatants, the rattling of the firearms, 
 and the thundering tread of the horses had ceased. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The game's afoot ; 
 
 Follow your spirit. 
 
 Shakspeare. 
 
 The rough and unimproved face of the country, the fre- 
 quency of covers, together with the great distance from their 
 own country, and the facilities afforded them for rapid move- 
 ments to the different points of the war by the undisputed 
 command of the ocean, had united to deter the English from 
 employing a heavy force in cavalry, in their early efforts to 
 subdue the revolted colonies. 
 
 . Only one regiment of regular horse was sent from the 
 mother country, during the struggle. But legions and in- 
 dependent corps were formed in different places, as it best 
 accorded with the views of the royal commanders, or suited 
 the exigency of the times. These were not unfrequently 
 composed of men raised in the colonies, and at other times 
 drafts were had from the regiments of the line, and the sol- 
 dier was made to lay aside the musket and bayonet, and 
 taught to wield the sabre and carbine. One particular 
 body of the subsidiary troops was included in this arrange- 
 
THE SPY. 93 
 
 ment, and the Hessian yagers were transformed into a corps 
 of heavy and inactive horse. 
 
 Opposed to them were the hardiest spirits of America. 
 Most of the cavalry regiments of the Continental army were 
 led and officered by gentlemen from the South. The high 
 and haughty courage of the commanders had communicated 
 itself to the privates, who were men selected with care and , 
 great attention to the service they were intended to perform. 
 
 While the British were confined to their empty conquests 
 in the possession of a few of the larger towns, or marched 
 through counties that were swept of everything like military 
 supplies, the light troops of their enemies had the range of 
 the whole interior. 
 
 The sufferings of the line of the American army were 
 great beyond example ; but possessing the power, and feel- 
 ing themselves engaged in a cause which justified severity, 
 the cavalry officers were vigilant in providing for their 
 wants, and the horse were well mounted, well fed, and con- 
 sequently eminently effective. Pehaps the world could not 
 furnish more brave, enterprising, and resistless corps of light 
 cavalry than a few that were in the Continental service at 
 the time of which we write. 
 
 Dunwoodie's men had often tried their prowess against 
 the enemy, and they now sat panting to be led once more 
 against foes whom they seldom charged in vain. Their 
 wishes were soon to be gratified; for their commander had 
 scarcely time to regain his seat in the saddle, before a body 
 of the enemy came sweeping round the base of the hill, 
 which intersected the view to the south. A few minutes 
 enabled the major to distinguish their character. In one 
 troop he saw the green coats of the Cow- Boys, and in the 
 other the leathern helmet and wooden saddles of the yagers. 
 Their numbers were about equal to the body under his im- 
 mediate orders. 
 
 On reaching the open space near the cottage of Harvey 
 Birch, the enemj halted and drew up his men in line, evi- 
 
94 THE spy. 
 
 dently making preparations for a charge. At this moment 
 a column of foot appeared in the vale, and pressed forward 
 to the bank of the brook we have already mentioned. 
 
 Major Dunwoodie was not less distinguished by coolness 
 and judgment than, where occasion offered, by his daunt- 
 less intrepidity. He at once saw his advantage, and deter- 
 mined to profit by it. The column he led began slowly to 
 retire from the field, when the youthful German, who com- 
 manded the enemy's horse, fearful of missing an easy con- 
 quest, gave the word to charge. Few troops were more 
 hardy than the Cow-Boys; they sprang eagerly forward in 
 the pursuit, with a confidence created by the retiring foe and 
 the column in their rear; the Hessians followed more 
 slowly, but in better order. The trumpets of the Virginians 
 now sounded long and lively ; they were answered by a 
 strain from the party in ambush that went to the hearts of 
 their enemies. The column of Dunwoodie wheeled in per- 
 fect order, opened, and, as the word to charge was given, 
 the troops of Lawton emerged from their cover, with their 
 leader in advance, waving his sabre over his head, and 
 shouting in a voice that was heard above the clangor of 
 the martial music. 
 
 The charge threatened too much for the refugee troop. 
 They scattered in every direction, flying from the field as 
 fast as their horses, the chosen beasts of West-Chester, 
 could carry them. Only a few were hurt: but such as did 
 meet the arms of their avenging countrymen never survived 
 the blow to tell who struck it. It was upon the poor vassals 
 of the German tyrant that the shock fell. Disciplined to the 
 most exact obedience, these ill-fated men met the charge 
 bravely, but they were swept before the mettled horses and 
 nervous arms of theii* antagonists like chaff before the wind. 
 Many of them were literally ridden down, and Dunwoodie 
 soon saw the field without an opposing foe. The proximity 
 of the infantry prevented pursuit, and behind its column the 
 few Hessians who escaped unhurt sought protection. 
 
THE SPY. 95 
 
 The more cunning refugees dispersed in small bands, tak- 
 ing various and devious routes back to their old station in 
 front of Harlaem. Many was the sufferer, in cattle, furni- 
 ture, and person, that was created by this rout; for the dis- 
 persion of a troop of Cow-Boys was only the extension of 
 an evil. 
 
 Such a scene could not be expected to be acted so near 
 them, and the inmates of the cottage take no interest in the 
 result. In truth, the feelings it excited pervaded every 
 bosom, from the kitchen to the parlor. Terror and horror 
 had prevented the ladies from being spectators, but they 
 did not feel the less. Frances continued lying in the 
 posture we have mentioned, offering up fervent and inco- 
 herent petitions for the safety of her countrymen, although 
 in her inmost heart she had personified her nation by 
 the graceful image of Peyton Dunwoodie. Her aunt and 
 sister were less exclusive in their devotions; but Sarah 
 began to feel, as the horrors of war were thus brought 
 home to her senses, less pleasure in her anticipated tri- 
 umphs. 
 
 The inmates of Mr. Wharton's kitchen were four — namely, 
 Cffisar and his spouse, their granddaughter, a jet-black 
 damsel of twenty, and the boy before alluded to. The 
 blacks were the remnants of a race of negroes which had 
 been entailed on his estate from Mr. Wharton's maternal 
 ancestors, — who were descended from the early Dutch colo- 
 nists. Time, depravity, and death had reduced them to this 
 small number; and the boy, who was white, had been added 
 by Miss Peyton to the establishment, as an assistant, to per- 
 form the ordinary services of a footman. Caesar, after first 
 using the precaution to place himself under the cover of an 
 angle in the wall, for a screen against any roving bullet 
 which might be traversing the air, became an amused 
 spectator of the skirmish. The sentinel on the piazza was 
 at the distance of but a few feet from him, and he entered 
 into the spirit of the chase with all the ardor of a tried 
 
96 THE SPY. 
 
 bloodhound : he noticed the approach of the black, and his 
 judicious position, with a smile of contempt, as he squared 
 himself toward the enemy, offering his unprotected breast 
 to any dangers which might come. 
 
 After considering the arrangement of Csesar, for a mo- 
 ment, with ineffable disdain, the dragoon said, with great 
 coolness : 
 
 " You seem very careful of that beautiful person of yours, 
 Mr. Blueskin." 
 
 " A bullet hurt a colored man as much as a white," mut- 
 tered the black surlily, casting a glance of much satisfac- 
 tion at his rampart. 
 
 " Suppose I make the experiment," returned the sentinel : 
 as he spoke, he deliberately drew a pistol from his belt, and 
 levelled it at the black. Caesar's teeth chattered at the ap- 
 pearance of the dragoon, although he believed nothing seri- 
 ous was intended. At this moment the column of Dun- 
 woodie began to retire, and the royal cavalry commenced 
 their charge. 
 
 "There, Mister Light-Horseman," said Caesar eagerly, 
 who believed the Americans were retiring in earnest ; " why 
 you rebels don't fight — see — see how King George's men 
 make Major Dunwoodie run ! Good gentleman, too, but he 
 don't like to fight a rig'Iar." 
 
 " Damn your regulars !" cried the other, fiercely ; " wait a 
 minute, blackey, and you'll see Captain Jack Lawton come 
 out from behind yonder hill, and scatter these Cow-Boys 
 like wild geese who've lost their leader." 
 
 Caesar supposed the party under Lawton to have sought 
 the shelter of the hill from motives similar to that which 
 had induced him to place the wall between himself and 
 the battle-ground ; but the fact soon verified the trooper's 
 prophecy, and the black witnessed with consternation the 
 total rout of the royal horse. 
 
 The sentinel manifested his exultation at the success of 
 his comrades with loud shouts, which soon brought his com- 
 
THE SPY. 97 
 
 panion, who had been left in the more immediate charge of 
 Henry Wharton, to the open window of the parlor. 
 
 "See, Tom, see," cried the delighted trooper, "how Cap- 
 tain Lawton makes that Hessian's leather cap fly ; and now 
 the Major has killed the officer's horse — zounds, why didn't 
 he kill the Dutchman, and save the horse.'"' 
 
 A few pistols were discharged at the flying Cow-Boys, 
 and a spent bullet broke a pane of glass within a few feet 
 of Caesar. Imitating the posture of the great tempter of our 
 race, the black sought the protection of the inside of the 
 building, and immediately ascended to the parlor. 
 
 The lawn in front of thejLocusts was hidden from the 
 view of the road by a close lirte of shrubbery, and the horses 
 of the two dragoons had been left, linked together, under 
 its shelter to await the movements of their masters. 
 
 At this moment two Cow-Boys, who had been cut off from 
 a retreat to their own party, rode furiously through the gate, 
 with an intention of escaping to the open wood in the rear 
 of the cottage. 
 
 The victorious Americans pressed the retreating Germans 
 until they had driven them under the protection of the fire 
 of the infantry; and feeling themselves, in the privacy of 
 the lawn, relieved from any immediate danger, the predatory 
 warriors yielded to a temptation that few of the corps were 
 ever known to resist — opportunity and horseflesh. With a 
 hardihood and presence of mind that could only exist from 
 long practice in similar scenes, they made toward their in- 
 tended prizes by an almost spontaneous movement. They 
 were busily engaged in separating the fastenings of the 
 horses, when the trooper on the piazza discharged his pis- 
 tols, and rushed, sword in hand, to the rescue. 
 
 The entrance of Caesar into the parlor had induced the 
 wary dragoon within to turn his attention more closely on 
 his prisoner; but this new interruption drew him again to 
 the window. He threw his body out of the building, and 
 with dreadful imprecations endeavored, by his threats and 
 7 
 
98 THE SPY. 
 
 appearance, to frighten the marauders from their prey. The 
 moment was enticing. Three hundred of his comrades were 
 within a mile of the cottage; unridden horses were running 
 at large in every direction, and Henry Wharton seized the 
 unconscious sentinel by his legs, and threw him headlong 
 into the lawn. — Caesar vanished from the room, and drew a 
 bolt of the outer door. 
 
 The fall of the soldier was not great, and, recovering his 
 feet, he turned his fury for a moment on his prisoner. To 
 scale the window in the face of such an enemy, was, how- 
 ever, impossible, and on trial he found the main entrance 
 barred. 
 
 His comrade now called loudly upon him for aid, and, 
 forgetful of every thing else, the discomfited trooper rushed 
 to his assistance. One horse was instantly liberated, but 
 the other was already fastened to the saddle of a Cow-Boy, 
 and the four retired behind the building, cutting furiously 
 at each other with their sabres and making the air resound 
 with their imprecations. Caesar threw the outer door open, 
 and pointing to the remaining horse, that was quietly biting 
 the faded herbage of the lawn, he exclaimed : 
 
 " Run— now — run — Massa Harry, run." 
 
 " Yes," cried the youth as he vaulted into the saddle, 
 "now indeed, my honest fellow, is the time to run." He 
 beckoned hastily to his father, who stood at the window in 
 speechless anxiety, with his hands extended toward his 
 child in the attitude of benediction, and adding, " God bless 
 you, Caesar, salute the girls," he dashed through the gate 
 with the rapidity of lightning. 
 
 The African watched him with anxiety as he gained the 
 highway, saw him incline to the right, and riding furiously 
 under the brow of some rocks, which on that side rose per- 
 pendicularly, disappear behind a projection, which soon hid 
 him from view. 
 
 The delighted Caesar closed the door, pushing bolt after 
 bolt, and turning the key until it would turn no more, 
 
THE SPY. 99 
 
 soliloquizing the whole time on the happy escape of his 
 young master. 
 
 " How well he ride — teach him good deal myself — salute 
 a young lady — Miss Fanny wouldn't let old colored man 
 kiss a red cheek." 
 
 When the fortune of the day was decided, and the time 
 arrived for the burial of the dead, two Cow-Boys and a 
 Virginian were found in the rear of the Locusts, to be in- 
 cluded in the number. 
 
 Happily for Henry Wharton, the searching eyes of his 
 captor were examining, through a pocket-glass, the column 
 of infantry that still held its position on the bank of the 
 stream, while the remnants of the Hessian yagers were seek- 
 ing its friendly protection. His horse was of the best blood 
 of Virginia, and carried him with the swiftness of the wind 
 along the valley; and the heart of the youth was already 
 beating tumultuously with pleasure at his deliverance, 
 when a well-known voice reached his startled ear, crying 
 aloud: 
 
 " Bravely done, captain! Don't spare the whip, and turn 
 to your left before you cross the brook." 
 
 Wharton turned his head in surprise, and saw, sitting on 
 the point of a jutting rock that commanded a bird's-eye view 
 of the valley, his former guide, Harvey Birch. His pack, 
 much diminished in size, lay at the feet of the peddler, who 
 waved his hat to the youth exultingly, as the latter flew by 
 him. The English captain took the advice of this mysteri- 
 ous being and finding a good road, which led to the high- 
 way that intersected the valley, turned down its direction, 
 and was soon opposite to his friends. The next minute he 
 crossed the bridge, and stopped his charger before his old 
 acquaintance. Colonel Wellmere. 
 
 "Captain Wharton!" exclaimed the astonished comman- 
 der of the English troops, " dressed in mohair, and mounted 
 on a rebel dragoon horse ! are you from the clouds in this 
 attire, and in such a style?" 
 
100 THE SPY. 
 
 "Thank God!" cried the youth, recovering his breath, 
 " I am safe, and have escaped from the hands of my enemies ; 
 but five minutes since and I was a prisoner, and threatened 
 with the gallows." 
 
 " The gallows, Captain Wharton ! surely those traitors to 
 the king would never dare to commit another murder in cold 
 blood; is it not enough that they took the life of Andr^? 
 Wherefore did they threaten you with a similar fate?" 
 
 "Under the pretence of a similar offence," said the cap- 
 tain, briefly explaining to tlie group of listeners the manner 
 of his capture, the grounds of his personal apprehensions, 
 and the method of his escape. By the time he had con- 
 cluded his narration, the fugitive Germans were collected 
 in the rear of the column of infantry, and Colonel Wellmere 
 cried aloud : 
 
 " From my soul I congratulate you, my brave friend ; 
 mercy is a quality with which these traitors are unac- 
 quainted, and you are doubly fortunate in escaping from 
 their hands uninjured. Prepare yourself to grant me your 
 assistance, and I will soon afford you a noble revenge.'" 
 
 " I do not think there was danger of personal outrage to 
 any man. Colonel Wellmere, from a party that Major Dun- 
 woodie commands," returned young Wharton, with a slight 
 glow on his face ; " his character is above the imputation 
 of such an offence ; neither do I think it altogether prudent 
 to cross this brook into the open plain, in the face of those 
 Virginian horse, flushed as they must be with the success 
 they have just obtained." 
 
 " Do you call the rout of those irregulars and these slug- 
 gish Hessians a deed to boast of.'" said the other with a 
 contemptuous smile; "you speak of the affair, Captain 
 Wharton, as if your boasted Mr. Dunwoodie, for major 
 he is none, had discomfited the body-guards of your 
 king." 
 
 "And I must be allowed to say, Colonel Wellmere, that 
 if the body-guards of my king were in yon field, they would 
 
THE spy. lOI 
 
 meet a foe that it would be dangerous to despise. Sir, my 
 boasted Mr. Dunwoodie is the pride of Washington's army 
 as a cavalry officer," cried Henry, with warmth. 
 
 " Dunwoodie — Dunwoodie !" repeated the Colonel slowly; 
 "surely I have met the gentleman before." 
 
 " I have been told you once saw him for a moment, at the 
 town residence of my sisters," replied Wharton, with a lurk- 
 ing smile. 
 
 " Ah ! I do remember me of such a youth ; and does the 
 most potent congress of these rebellious colonies intrust 
 their soldiers to the leading of such a warrior?" 
 
 " Ask the commander of yon Hessian horse, whether he 
 thinks Major Dunwoodie worthy of the confidence." 
 
 Colonel Wellmere was far from wanting that kind of 
 pride which makes a man bear himself bravely in the pres- 
 ence of his enemies. He had served in America a long 
 time, without ever meeting with any but new-raised levies, 
 or the militia of the country. These would sometimes fight, 
 and that fearlessly, but they as often chose to run away 
 withoiit pulling a trigger. He was too apt to judge from 
 externals, and thought it impossible for men whose gaiters 
 were so clean, whose tread so regular, and who wheeled 
 with so much accuracy, to be beaten. In addition to all 
 these, they were Englishmen, and their success was certain. 
 Colonel Wellmere had never been kept much in the field, 
 or these notions, which he had brought with him from home, 
 and which had been greatly increased by the vaporing of a 
 garrisoned town, would have long since vanished. He list- 
 ened to the warm reply of Captain Wharton with a super- 
 cilious smile, and then inquired : 
 
 " You would not have us retire, sir, before these boasted 
 horsemen, without doing something that may deprive them 
 of part of the glory which you appear to think they have 
 gained?" 
 
 " I would have you advised. Colonel Wellmere, of the 
 danger you are about to encounter." 
 
I02 THE SPY. 
 
 " Danger is but an unseemly word for a soldier," con- 
 tinued the British commander with a sneer. 
 
 " And one as little dreaded by the 6oth as any corps who 
 wear the royal livery," cried Henry Wharton, fiercely; 
 "give but the word to charge, and let our actions speak." 
 
 "Now again I know my young friend," said Wellmere 
 soothingly ; " but if you have anything to say before we 
 fight, that can in any manner help us in our attack, we'll 
 listen. You know the force of the rebels: are there more 
 of them in ambush?" 
 
 "Yes," replied the youth, chafing still with the other's 
 sneers, " in the skirt of this wood on our right are a small 
 party of foot; their horse are all before you." 
 
 " Where they will not continue long," cried Wellmere, 
 turning to the few officers around him. "Gentlemen, we 
 will cross the stream in column, and display in the plain 
 beyond, or else we shall not be able to entice these valiant 
 Yankees within the reach of our muskets. Captain Whar- 
 ton, I claim your assistance as an aide-de-camp." 
 
 The youth shook his head in disapprobation of a move- 
 ment which his good sense taught him was rash, but pre- 
 pared witli alacrity to perform his duty in the impending 
 trial. 
 
 During this conversation, which was held at a small dis- 
 tance in advance of the British column, and in full view of 
 the Americans, Dunwoodie had been collecting his scattered 
 troops, securing his few prisoners, and retiring to the ground 
 where he had been posted at the first appearance of his 
 enemy. Satisfied with the success he had already obtained, 
 and believing the English too wary to give him an oppor- 
 tunity of harassing them farther, he was about to withdraw 
 the guides; and, leaving a strong party on the ground to 
 watch the movement of the regulars, to fall back a few 
 miles, to a favorable place for taking up his quarters for the 
 night. Captain Lawton was reluctantly listening to the 
 reasoning of his commander, and had brought out his favor- 
 
THE SPY. 103 
 
 ite glass, to see if no opening could be found for an advan- 
 tageous attack, when he suddenly exclaimed: 
 
 "How's this? a blue coat among those scarlet gentry. 
 As I hope to live to see old Virginia, it is my masquerad- 
 ing friend of the 60th, the handsome Captain Wharton, 
 escaped from two of my best men !" 
 
 He had not done speaking when the survivor of these 
 heroes joined his troop, bringing with him his own horse 
 and those of the Cow-Boys. He reported the deuth of his 
 comrade, and the escape of his prisoner. As the deceased 
 was the immediate sentinel over the person o' young 
 Wharton, and the other was not to be blamed for defend- 
 ing the horses, which were more particularly under his 
 care, his captain heard him with uneasiness, but without 
 anger. 
 
 This intelligence made an entire change in the views of 
 Major Dunwoodie. He saw at once that his own reputation 
 was involved in the escape of his prisoner. The order to 
 recall the guides was countermanded, and he now joined 
 his second in command, watching as eagerly as the impetu- 
 ous Lawton himself for some opening to assail his foe to 
 advantage. 
 
 But two hours before, and Dunwoodie had felt the chance 
 which made Henry Wharton his captive as the severest 
 blow he had ever sustained. Now he panted for an oppor- 
 tunity in which, by risking his own life, he might recapture 
 his friend. AH other considerations were lost in the goad- 
 ings of a wounded spirit, and he might have soon emulated 
 Lawton in hardihood, had not Wellmere and his troops at 
 this moment crossed the brook into the open plain. 
 
 " There," cried the delighted captain, as he pointed out 
 the movement with his finger, "there comes John Bull into 
 the mousetrap, and with eyes wide open." 
 
 " Surely," said Dunwoodie eagerly, " he will not display 
 his column on that flat. Wharton must tell him of the am- 
 bush. But if he does " 
 
I04 THE SPY. 
 
 " We will not leave him a dozen sound skins in his bat- 
 talion," interrupted the other, springing into his saddle. 
 
 The truth was soon apparent ; for the English column, 
 after advancing for a short distance on the level land, dis- 
 played with an accuracy that would have done them honor 
 on a field-day in their own Hyde Park. 
 
 "Prepare to mount — mount!" cried Dunwoodie; the last 
 word being repeated by Lawton in a tone that rang in the 
 ears of Caesar, who stood at the open window of the cottage. 
 The black recoiled in dismay, having lost all his confidence 
 in Captain Lawton's timidity ; for he . thought he yet saw 
 him emerging from his cover and waving his sword on high. 
 
 As the British line advanced slowly and in exact order, 
 the guides opened a galling fire. It began to annoy that 
 part of the royal troops which was nearest to them. Well- 
 mere listened to the advice of the veteran who was next to 
 him in rank, and ordered two companies to dislodge the 
 American foot from their hiding-place. The movement 
 created a slight confusion ; and Dunwoodie seized the op- 
 portunity to charge. No ground could be more favorable 
 for the manoeuvres of horse, and the attack of the Virgin- 
 ians was irresistible. It was aimed chiefly at the bank op- 
 posite to the wood, in order to clear the Americans from the 
 fire of their friends who were concealed; and it was com- 
 pletely successful. Wellmere, who was on the left of his 
 line, was overthrown by the impetuous fury of his assailants. 
 Dunwoodie was in time to save him from the impending 
 blow of one of his men, and raised him from the ground, 
 had him placed on a horse, and delivered to the custody of 
 his orderly. The officer who had suggested the attack 
 upon the guides had been intrusted with its execution, but 
 the menace was sufficient for these irregulars. In fact, 
 their duty was performed, and they retired along the skirt 
 of the wood, with intent to regain their horses, which had 
 been left under a guard at the upper end of the valley. 
 
 The left of the British line was outflanked by the Ameri- 
 
THE SPY. 105 
 
 cans, who doubled in their rear, and thus made the rout in 
 that quarter total. But the second in command, perceiving 
 how the battle went, promptly wheeled his party, and threw 
 in a heavy fire on the dragoons, as they passed him to the 
 charge; with this party was Henry Wharton, who had vol- 
 unteered to assist in dispersing the guides. A ball struck 
 his bridle-arm, and compelled him to change hands. As 
 the dragoons dashed by them, rending the air with their 
 shouts, and with trumpets sounding a lively strain, the 
 charger ridden by the youth became ungovernable — he 
 plunged, reared, and his rider being unable, with his 
 wounded arm, to manage the impatient animal, Henry 
 Wharton found himself, in less than a minute, unwillingly 
 riding by the side of Captain Lawton. The dragoon com- 
 prehended at a glance the ludicrous situation of his new 
 comrade, but had only time to cry aloud, before they plunged 
 into the English line: 
 
 " The horse knows the righteous cause better than his 
 rider. Captain Wharton, you are welcome to the ranks of 
 freedom." 
 
 No time was lost, however, by Lawton, after the charge 
 was completed, in securing his prisoner again ; and, per- 
 ceiving him to be hurt, he directed him to be conveyed to 
 the rear. 
 
 The Virginian troopers dealt out their favors with no 
 gentle hands on that part of the royal foot who were thus 
 left in a great measure at their mercy. Dunwoodie, ob- 
 serving that the remnant of the Hessians had again ventured 
 on the plain, led on in pursuit, and, easily overtaking their 
 light and half-fed horses, soon destro3'ed the remainder of 
 the detachment. 
 
 In the mean while, great numbers of the English, taking 
 advantage of the smoke and confusion in the field, were en- 
 abled to get in the rear of the body of their countrymen, 
 which still preserved its order in a line parallel to the wood, 
 but which had been obliged to hold its fire, from the fear of 
 
I06 THE SPY. 
 
 injuring friends as well as foes. The fugitives were di- 
 rected to form a second line within the wood itself, and 
 under cover of the trees. This arrangement was not yet 
 completed, when Captain Lawton called to a youth, who 
 commanded the other troop left with that part of the force 
 which remained on the ground, and proposed charging the 
 unbroken line of the British. The proposal was as promptly 
 accepted as it had been made, and the troops were arrayed 
 for the purpose. The eagerness of their leader prevented 
 the preparations necessary to ensure success, and the horse, 
 receiving a destructive fire as they advanced, were thrown 
 into additional confusion. Both Lawton and his more 
 juvenile comrade fell at this discharge. Fortunately for 
 the credit of the Virginians, Major Dunwoodie re-entered 
 the field at this critical instant ; he saw his troops in disor- 
 der; at his feet lay weltering in blood George Singleton, a 
 youth endeared to him by numberless virtues, and Lawton 
 was unhorsed, and stretched on the plain. The eye of the 
 youthful warrior flashed fire. Riding between this squadron 
 and the enemy, in a voice that reached the hearts of his 
 dragoons, he recalled them to their duty. His presence 
 and words acted like magic. The clamor of voices ceased; 
 the line was formed promptly and with exactitude; the 
 charge sounded; and, led on by their commander, the Vir- 
 ginians swept across the plain with an impetuosity that 
 nothing could withstand, and the field was instantly cleared 
 of the enemy; those who were not destroyed sought a shel- 
 ter in the woods. Dunwoodie slowly withdrew from the 
 fire of the English who were covered by the trees, and 
 commenced the painful duty of collecting his dead and 
 wounded. 
 
 The sergeant, charged with conducting Henry Wharton to 
 a place where he might procure surgical aid, set about per- 
 forming his duty with alacrity, in order to return as soon as 
 possible to the scene of strife. They had not reached the 
 middle of the plain, before the captain noticed a man whose 
 
THE SPY. 107 
 
 appearance and occupation forcibly arrested his attention. 
 His head was bald and bare, but a well-powdered wig was 
 to be seen, half-concealed, in the pocket of his breeches. 
 His coat was off, and his arms were naked to the elbow; 
 blood had disfigured much of his dress, and his hands, and 
 even face, bore this mark of his profession; in his mouth 
 was a cigar; in his right hand some instruments of strange 
 formation, and in his left the remnants of an apple, with 
 which he occasionally relieved the duty of the before-men- 
 tioned cigar. He was standing lost in the contemplation 
 of a Hessian, who lay breathless before him. At a little 
 distance were three or four of the guides, leaning on their 
 muskets, and straining their eyes in the direction of the 
 combatants, and at his elbow stood a man who, from the 
 implements in his hand, and his bloody vestments, seemed 
 an assistant. 
 
 " There, sir, is the doctor," said the attendant of Henry, 
 very coolly; "he will patch up your arm in the twinkling of 
 an eye"; and, beckoning to the guides to approach, he whis- 
 pered and pointed to his prisoner, and then galloped furi- 
 ously toward his comrades. 
 
 Wharton advanced to the side of this strange figure, 
 and, observing himself to be unnoticed, was about to re- 
 quest his assistance, when the other broke silence in a 
 soliloquy: 
 
 " Now, I know this man to have been killed by Captain 
 Lawton, as well as if I had seen him strike the blow. 
 How often have I strove to teach him the manner in which 
 he can disable his adversary, without destroying life! It 
 is cruel thus unnecessarily to cut off the human race, and, 
 furthermore, such blows as these render professional assist- 
 ance unnecessary; it is in a measure treating the lights of 
 science with disrespect." 
 
 " If, sir, your leisure will admit," said Henry Wharton, 
 " I must beg your attention to a slight hurt." 
 
 "Ah!" cried the other, starting, and examining him from 
 
108 THE SPY, 
 
 head to foot, " you are from the field below ; is there much 
 business there, sir?" 
 
 "Indeed," answered Henry, accepting the offer of the 
 surgeon to assist in removing his coat, " 'tis a stirring time, 
 I can assure you." 
 
 "Stirring!" repeated the surgeon, busily employed with 
 his dressings ; "you give me great pleasure, sir; for so long 
 as they can stir there must be life ; and while there is life, 
 you know, there is hope ; but here my art is of no use. I 
 did put in the brains of one patient, but I rather think the 
 man must have been dead before I saw him. It is a curious 
 case, sir; I will take you to see it— only across the fence 
 there, where you may perceive so many bodies together. 
 Ah! the ball has glanced around the bone without shatter- 
 ing it; you are fortunate in falling into the hands of an old 
 practitioner, or you might have lost this limb." 
 
 "Indeed!" said Henry, with a slight uneasiness; "I did 
 not apprehend the injury to be so serious." 
 
 " Oh ! the hurt is not bad, but you have such a pretty arm 
 for an operation ; the pleasure of the thing might have 
 tempted a novice." 
 
 "The devil!" cried the captain; "can there be any pleas- 
 ure in mutilating a fellow-creature?" 
 
 " Sir," said the surgeon, with gravity, " a scientific ampu- 
 tation is a very pretty operation, and doubtless might tempt 
 a younger man, in the hurry of business, to overlook all the 
 particulars of the case." 
 
 Further conversation was interrupted by the appearance 
 of the dragoons, slowly marching toward their former halt- 
 ing-place, and new applications from the slightly wounded 
 soldiers, who now came riding in, making hasty demands 
 on the skill of the doctor. 
 
 The guides took charge of Wharton, and, with a heavy 
 heart, the young man retraced his steps to his father's cot- 
 tage. 
 
 The English had lost in the several charges about one- 
 
THE SPY. 109 
 
 third of their foot, but the remainder were rallied in the 
 wood ; and Dunwoodie, perceiving them to be too strongly 
 posted to assail, had left a strong party with Captain Law- 
 ton, with orders to watch their motions, and to seize every 
 opportunity to harass them before they re-embarked. 
 
 Intelligence had reached the major of another party being 
 out, by the way of the Hudson, and his duty required that 
 he should hold himself in readiness to defeat the intentions 
 of these also. Captain Lawton received his orders, with 
 strong injunctions to make no assault on the foe, unless a 
 favorable chance should offer. The injury received by 
 this officer was in the head, being stunned by a glanc- 
 ing bullet; and, parting with a laughing declaration 
 from the major that if he again forgot himself, they 
 should all think him more materially hurt, each took his 
 own course. 
 
 The British were a light party without baggage, that had 
 been sent out to destroy certain stores, understood to be col- 
 lecting for the use of the American army. They now retired 
 through the woods to the heights, and, keeping the route 
 along their summits, in places unassailable by cavalry, 
 commenced a retreat to their boats. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 With fire and sword the country round 
 
 Was wasted far and wide ; 
 And many a childing mother then, 
 
 And new-born infant, died ; 
 But things like these, you know, must be 
 At every famous victory. 
 
 SOUTHEY. 
 
 The last sounds of the combat died on the ears of the anx- 
 ious listeners in the cottage, and were succeeded by the still- 
 ness of suspense. Frances had continued by herself, striv- 
 ing to exclude the uproar, and vainly endeavoring to sum- 
 mon resolution to meet the dreaded result. The ground 
 
no THE SPY. 
 
 where the charge on the foot had taken place was but a short 
 mile from the Locusts, and, in the intervals of the musketry^ 
 the cries of the soldiers had even reached the ears of its in- 
 habitants. After witnessing the escape of his son, Mr. 
 Wharton had joined his sister and eldest daughter in their 
 retreat, and the three continued fearfully waiting for news 
 from the field. Unable longer to remain under the painful 
 uncertainty of her situation, Frances soon added herself to 
 the uneasy group, and Csesar was directed to examine into 
 the state of things without, and report on whose banners 
 victory had alighted. The father now briefly related to his 
 astonished children the circumstance and manner of their 
 brother's escape. They were yet in the freshness of their 
 surprise, when the door opened, and Captain Wharton, at- 
 tended by a couple of the guides, and followed by the black, 
 stood before them. 
 
 " Henry — my son, my son," cried the agitated parent, 
 stretching out his arms, yet unable to rise from his seat; 
 "what is it I see? are you again a captive, and in danger 
 of your life?" 
 
 " The better fortune of these rebels has prevailed," said 
 the youth, endeavoring to force a cheerful smile, and taking 
 a hand of each of his distressed sisters. ." I strove nobly 
 for my liberty; but the perverse spirit of rebellion has even 
 lighted on their horses. The steed I mounted carried me, 
 greatly against my will, I acknowledge, into the very centre 
 of Dunwoodie's men." 
 
 "And you were again captured," continued the father, 
 casting a fearful glance on the armed attendants who had 
 entered the room. 
 
 "That, sir, you may safely say: this Mr. Lawton, who 
 sees so far, had me in custody again immediately." 
 
 "Why you no hold 'em in, Massa Harry?" cried Cassar 
 pettishly. 
 
 " That," said Wharton, smiling, " was a thing easier said 
 than done, Mr. Caesar, especially as these gentlemen" (glanc- 
 
THE SPY. Ill 
 
 ing his eyes at the guides) " had seen proper to deprive me 
 of the use of my better arm." 
 
 "Wounded!" exclaimed both sisters, in a breath. 
 
 "A mere scratch, but disabling me at a most critical mo- 
 ment," continued the brother kindly, and stretching out the 
 injured limb to manifest the truth of his declaration. Cae- 
 sar threw a look of bitter animosity on the irregular war- 
 riors who were thought to have had an agency in the deed, 
 and left the room. A few more words sufficed to explain all 
 that Capain Wharton knew relative to the fortune of the 
 day. The result he thought yet doubtful, for when he left 
 the ground, the Virginians were retiring from the field of 
 battle. 
 
 " They had tree'd the squirrel," said one of the sentinels 
 abruptly, "and didn't quit the ground without leaving a 
 good hound for the chase, when he comes down." 
 
 "Ay," added his comrade drily; "I'm thinking Captain 
 Lawton will count the noses of what are left before they see 
 their whale-boats." 
 
 Frances had stood supporting herself by the back of a 
 chair, during this dialogue, catching in breathless anxiety 
 every syllable as it was uttered ; her color changed rapidly ; 
 her limbs shook under her; until, with desperate resolution, 
 she inquired: 
 
 " Is any officer hurt on — the — on either side .'" 
 
 "Yes," answered the man cavalierly, "these southern 
 youths are so full of mettle, that it's seldom we fight but 
 one or two gets knocked over; one of the wounded, who 
 came up before the troops, told me that Captain Singleton 
 was killed, and Major Dunwoodie " 
 
 Frances heard no more, but fell lifeless in the chair be- 
 hind her. The attention of her friends soon revived her, 
 when the captain, turning to the man, said fearfully: 
 
 "Surely Major Dunwoodie is unhurt?" 
 
 "Never fear him," added the guide, disregarding the agi- 
 tation of the family; "they say a man who is born to be 
 
I 1 2 THE SPY. 
 
 hanged will never be drowned: if a bullet could kill the 
 major, he would have been dead long ago. I was going to 
 say that the major is in a sad taking because of the captain's 
 being killed ; but had I known how much store the lady set 
 by him, I wouldn't have been so plain-spoken." 
 
 Frances now rose quickly from her seat, with cheeks 
 glowing with confusion, and, leaning on her aunt, was 
 about to retire, when Dunwoodie himself appeared. The 
 first emotion of the agitated girl was unalloyed happiness; 
 in the next instant she shrank back appalled from the 
 unusual expression that reigned in his countenance. The 
 sternness of battle yet sat on his brow ; his eye was fixed 
 and severe. The smile of affection that used to lighten his 
 dark features on meeting his mistress was supplanted by 
 the lowering look of care ; his whole soul seemed to be ab- 
 sorbed in one engrossing emotion, and he proceeded at once 
 to his object. 
 
 " Mr. Wharton," he earnestly began, " in times like these, 
 we need not stand on idle ceremony: one of my officers, I 
 am afraid, is hurt mortally; and, presuming on your hospi- 
 tality, I have brought him to your door." 
 
 " I am happy, sir, that you have done so," said Mr. 
 Wharton, at once perceiving the importance of conciliating 
 the American troops ; " the necessitous are always welcome, 
 and doubly so, in being the friend of Major Dunwoodie." 
 
 " Sir, I thank you for myself, and in behalf of him who 
 is unable to render you his thanks," returned the other has- 
 tily; "if you please, we will have him conducted where the 
 surgeon may see and report upon his case, without delay." 
 To this there could be no objection ; and Frances felt a 
 chill at her heart, as her lover withdrew, without casting a 
 solitary look on herself. 
 
 There is a devotedness in female love that admits of no 
 rivalry. All the tenderness of the heart, all the powers of 
 the imagination, are enlisted in behalf of the tyrant passion ; 
 and where all is given, much is looked for in return. 
 
THE SPY. 113 
 
 Frances had spent hours of anguish, of torture, on account 
 of Dunwoodie, and he now met her without a smile and left 
 her without a greeting. The ardor of her feelings was 
 unabated, but the elasticity of her hopes was weakened. As 
 the supporters of the nearly lifeless body of Dunwoodie's 
 friend passed her, in their way to the apartment prepared 
 for his reception, she caught a view of this seeming rival. 
 
 His pale and ghastly countenance, sunken eye, and diffi- 
 cult breathing, gave her a glimpse of death in its most fear- 
 ful form. Dunwoodie was by his side, and held his hand, 
 giving frequent and stern injunctions to the men to proceed 
 with care, and, in short, manifesting all the solicitude that 
 the most tender friendship could, on such an occasion, in- 
 spire. Frances moved lightly before them, and, with an 
 averted face, she held open the door for their passage to the 
 bed;' it was only as the major touched her garments, on en- 
 tering the room, that she ventured to raise her mild blue 
 eyes to his face. But the glance was unreturned, and 
 Frances unconsciously sighed as she sought the solitude of 
 her own apartment. 
 
 Captain Wharton voluntarily gave a pledge to his keepers 
 not to attempt again escaping, and then proceeded to execute 
 those duties, on behalf of his father, which were thought 
 necessary in a host. On entering the passage for that pur- 
 pose, he met the operator who had so dexterously dressed 
 his arm, advancing to the room of the wounded officer. 
 
 "Ah!" cried the disciple of Esculapius, "I see you are 
 doing well ; but stop ; have you a pin ? No ! here, I have 
 one ; you must keep the cold air from your hurt, or some of 
 the youngsters will be at work at you yet." 
 
 "God forbid," muttered the captain, in an undertone, 
 attentively adjusting the bandages; when Dunwoodie 
 appeared at the door, impatiently crying aloud : 
 
 "Hasten, Sitgreaves, hasten; or George Singleton will 
 die from loss of blood." 
 
 "What! Singleton! God forbid! Bless me— is it 
 8 
 
114 ""^ SP^- 
 
 George — poor little George?" exclaimed the surgeon, as he 
 quickened his pace with evident concern, and hastened to 
 the side of the bed; "he is alive, though, and while there 
 is life there is hope. This is the first serious case I have 
 had to-day, where the patient was not already dead. Cap- 
 tain Lawton teaches his men to strike with so little discre- 
 tion — poor George — bless me, it is a musket bullet." 
 
 The youthful sufferer turned his eyes on the man of sci- 
 ence, and with a faint smile endeavored to stretch forth his 
 hand. There was an appeal in the look and action that 
 touched the heart of the operator. The surgeon removed 
 his spectacles to wipe an unusual moisture from his eyes, 
 and proceeded carefully to the discharge of his duty. While 
 the previous arrangements were, however, making, he gave 
 vent in some measure to his feelings, by saying: 
 
 "V/hen it is only a bullet, I have always some hopes; 
 there is a chance that it hits nothing vital; but, bless me. 
 Captain Lawton's men cut so at random — generally sever 
 the jugular or the carotid artery, or let out the brains, and 
 all are so difficult to remedy — the patient mostly dying be- 
 fore one can get at him. I never had success but once in 
 replacing a man's brains, although I have tried three this 
 very day. It is easy to tell where Lawton's troop charge in 
 a battle, they cut so at random." 
 
 The group around the bed of Captain Singleton were too 
 much accustomed to the manner of their surgeon to regard 
 or to reply to his soliloquy; but they quietly awaited the 
 moment when he was to commence his examination. This 
 now took place, and Dunwoodie stood looking the operator 
 in the face, with an expression that seemed to read his soul. 
 The patient shrunk from the application of the probe, and 
 a smile stole over the features of the surgeon, as he mut- 
 tered : 
 
 " There has been nothing before it in that quarter." He 
 now applied himself in earnest to his work, took off his 
 spectacles, and threw aside his wig. All this time Dun- 
 
THE SPY. IIJ 
 
 woodie stood in feverish silence, holding one of the hands 
 of the sufferer in both his own, watching the countenance of 
 Doctor Sitgreaves. At length Singleton gave a slight groan, 
 and the surgeon rose with alacrity, and said aloud: 
 
 "Ah! there is some pleasure in following a bullet; it 
 may be said to meander through the human body, injuring 
 nothing vital ; but as for Captain Lawton's men " 
 
 "Speak," interrupted Dunwoodie; "is there hope — can 
 you find the ball?" 
 
 " It's no difficult matter to find that which one has in his 
 hand. Major Dunwoodie," replied the surgeon coolly, pre- 
 paring his dressings; " it took what that literal fellow. Cap- 
 tain Lawton, calls a circumbendibus, a route never taken by 
 the swords of his men, notwithstanding the multiplied pains 
 I have been at to teach him how to cut scientifically. Now, 
 I saw a horse this day with his head half severed from his 
 body." 
 
 "That," said Dunwoodie, as the blood rushed to his 
 cheeks again, and his dark eyes sparkled with the rays of 
 hope, "was some of my handiwork; I killed that horse 
 myself." 
 
 "You!" exclaimed the surgeon, dropping his dressing in 
 surprise; "you! but you knew it was a horse!" 
 
 " I had such suspicions, I own," said the major, smiling, 
 and holding a beverage to the lips of his friend. 
 
 " Such blows alighting on the human frame are fatal," 
 continued the doctor, pursuing his business; "they set at 
 naught the benefits which flow from the lights of science; 
 they are useless in a battle, for disabling your foe is all that 
 is required. I have sat, Major Dunwoodie, many a cold 
 hour, while Captain Lawton has been engaged, and after all 
 my expectation, not a single case worth recording has oc- 
 curred — all scratches or death-wounds ; ah ! the sabre is a 
 sad weapon in unskilful hands! Yes, Major Dunwoodie, 
 many are the hours I have thrown away in endeavoring to 
 impress this truth on Captain John Lawton." 
 
ii6 THE spy. 
 
 The impatient major pointed silently to his friend, and 
 the surgeon quickened his movements. 
 
 "Ah! poor George, it is a narrow chance; but " He 
 
 was interrupted by a messenger requiring the presence of 
 the commanding officer in the field. Dunwoodie pressed 
 the hand of his friend, and beckoned the doctor to follow 
 him, as he withdrew. 
 
 " What think you ?" he whispered, on reaching the passage; 
 "will he live?" 
 
 " He will." 
 
 "Thank God!" cried the youth, hastening below. 
 
 Dunwoodie for a moment joined the family, who were 
 now collecting in the ordinary parlor. His face was no 
 longer wanting in smiles, and his salutations, though hasty, 
 were cordial. He took no notice of the escape and recap- 
 ture of Henry Wharton, but seemed to think the young man 
 had continued where he had left him before the encounter. 
 On the ground they had not met. The English officer with- 
 drew in haughty silence to a window, leaving the major 
 uninterrupted to make his communications. 
 
 The excitement produced by the events of the day in the 
 youthful feelings of the sisters had been succeeded by a 
 languor that kept them both silent, and Dunwoodie held his 
 discourse with Miss Peyton. 
 
 " Is there any hope, my cousin, that your friend can sur- 
 vive his wound?" said the lady, advancing toward her 
 kinsman, with a smile of benevolent regard. 
 
 " Everything, my dear madam, everything," answered the 
 soldier cheerfully. " Sitgreaves says he will live, and he 
 has never deceived me." 
 
 " Your pleasure is not much greater than my own at this 
 intelligence. One so dear to Major Dunwoodie cannot fail 
 to excite an interest in the bosom of his friends." 
 
 " Say one so deservedly dear, madam," returned the major, 
 with warmth; "he is the beneficent spirit of the corps, 
 equally beloved by us all ; so mild, so equal, so just, so gen- 
 
THE SPY. 117 
 
 erous, with the meekness of a lamb and the fondness of a 
 dove — it is only in the hour of battle that Singleton is a 
 lion." 
 
 " You speak of him as if he were your mistress, Major 
 Dunwoodie," observed the smiling spinster, glancing her 
 eye at her niece, who sat pale and listening, in a corner of 
 the room. 
 
 " I love him as one," cried the excited youth ; " but he 
 requires care and nursing ; all now depends on the attention 
 he receives." 
 
 "Trust me, sir, he will want for nothing under this roof." 
 
 " Pardon me, dear madam ; you are all that is benevolent, 
 but Singleton requires a care which many men would feel 
 to be irksome. It is at moments like these, and in suffer- 
 ings like this, that the soldier most iinds the want of female 
 tenderness." As he spoke, he turned his eyes on Frances 
 with an expression that again thrilled to the heart of his 
 mistress; she rose from her seat with burning cheeks, and 
 said: 
 
 " All the attention that can with propriety be given to a 
 stranger will be cheerfully bestowed on your friend." 
 
 " Ah !" cried the major, shaking his head, " that cold word 
 propriety will kill him; he must be fostered, cherished, 
 soothed." 
 
 " These are offices for a sister or a wife." 
 
 "A sister!" repeated the soldier, the blood rushing to his 
 own face tumultuously ; "a sister! he has a sister; and one 
 that might be here with to-morrow's sun.'' He paused, 
 mused in silence, glanced his eyes uneasily at Frances, and 
 muttered in an undertone : " Singleton requires it, and it 
 must be done." 
 
 The ladies had watched his varying countenance in some 
 surprise, and Miss Peyton now observed that — 
 
 " If there were a sister of Captain Singleton near them, 
 her presence would be gladly requested both by herself and 
 nieces." 
 
Il8 THE SPY. 
 
 " It must be, madam ; it cannot well be otherwise," re- 
 plied Dunwoodie, with a hesitation that but ill agreed with 
 his former declarations; "she shall be sent for express this 
 very night." And then, as if willing to change the subject, 
 he approached Captain Wharton, and continued mildly: 
 
 " Henry Wharton, to me honor is dearer than life ; but in 
 your hands I know it can safely be confided; remain here 
 unwatched, until we leave the county, which will not be for 
 some days." 
 
 The distance in the manner of the English officer van- 
 ished, and taking the offered hand of the other, he replied 
 with warmth : " Your generous confidence, Peyton, will not 
 be abused, even though the gibbet on which your Washing- 
 ton hung Andr^ be ready for my own execution." 
 
 " Henry, Henry Wharton," said Dunwoodie reproachfully, 
 " you little know the man who leads our armies, or you would 
 have spared him that reproach; but duty calls me without. 
 I leave you where I could wish to stay myself, and where you 
 cannot be wholly unhappy." 
 
 In passing Frances, she received another of those smiling 
 looks of affection she so much prized, and for a season the 
 impression made by his appearance after the battle was 
 forgotten. 
 
 Among the veterans that had been impelled by the times 
 to abandon the quiet of age for the service of their country, 
 was Colonel Singleton. He was a native of Georgia, and 
 had been for the earlier years of his life a soldier by pro- 
 fession. When the struggle for liberty commenced, he 
 offered his services to his country, and from respect to his 
 character they had been accepted. His years and health 
 had, however, prevented his discharging the active duties of 
 the field, and he had been kept in command of different 
 posts of trust, where his country might receive the benefits 
 of his vigilance and fidelity without inconvenience to him- 
 self. For the last year he had been intrusted with the 
 passes into the Highlands, and was now quartered, with his 
 
THE SPV. iig 
 
 daughter, but a short day's march above the valle)' where 
 Dunwoodie had met the enemy. His only other child was 
 the wounded officer we have mentioned. Thither, then, the 
 major prepared to despatch a messenger with the unhappy 
 news of the captain's situation, and charged with such an 
 invitation from the ladies as he did not doubt would speedily 
 bring the sister to the couch of her brother. 
 
 This duty performed, though with an unwillingness that 
 only could make his former anxiety more perplexing, Dun- 
 woodie proceeded to the field where his troops had halted. 
 The remnant of the English were already to be seen, over 
 the tops of the trees, marching along the heights toward 
 their boats, in compact order and with great watchfulness. 
 The detachment of the dragoons under Lawton were a short 
 distance on their flank, eagerly awaiting a favorable moment 
 to strike a blow. In this manner both parties were soon lost 
 to view. 
 
 A short distance above the Locusts was a small hamlet, 
 where several roads intersected each other, and from which, 
 consequently, access to the surrounding country was easy 
 It was a favorite halting-place of the horse, and frequently 
 held by the light parties of the American army during their 
 excursions below. Dunwoodie had been the first to discover 
 its advantages, and, as it was necessary for him to remain in 
 the county until further orders from above, it cannot be sup- 
 posed he overlooked them now. To this place the troops 
 were directed to retire, carrying with them their wounded ; 
 parties were already employed. in the sad duty of interring 
 the dead. In making these arrangements, a new object of 
 embarrassment presented itself to our young soldier. In 
 moving through the field, he was struck with the appearance 
 of Colonel Wellmere, seated by himself, brooding over his 
 misfortunes, uninterrupted by anything but the passing 
 civilities of the American officers. His anxiety on behalf 
 of Singleton had hitherto banished the recollection of his 
 captive from the mind of Dunwoodie, and he now approached 
 
I20 THE SPY. 
 
 him with apologies for his neglect. The Englishman re- 
 ceived his courtesies with coolness, and complained of being 
 injured by what he affected to think was the accidental 
 stumbling of his horse. Dunwoodie, who had seen one of 
 his own men ride him down, and that with ver)' little cere- 
 mony, slightly smiled, as he offered him surgical assistance. 
 This could only be procured at the cottage, and thither they 
 both proceeded. 
 
 "Colonel Wellmerel" cried young Wharton in astonish- 
 ment as they entered, " has the fortune of war been thus cruel 
 to you also ? — but you are welcome to the house of my father, 
 although I could wish the introduction to have taken place 
 under more happy circumstances." 
 
 Mr. Wharton received this new guest with the guarded 
 caution that distinguished his manner, and Dunwoodie left 
 the room to seek the bedside of his friend. Everything here 
 looked propitious, and he acquainted the surgeon that an- 
 other patient waited his skill in the room below. The 
 sound of the word was enough to set the doctor in motion, 
 and, seizing his implements of office, he went in quest of 
 this new applicant. At the door of the parlor he was met 
 by the ladies, who were retiring. Miss Peyton detained 
 him for a moment, to inquire into the welfare of Captain 
 Singleton. Frances smiled with something of her natural 
 archness of manner, as she contemplated the grotesque ap- 
 pearance of the bald-headed practitioner; but Sarah was 
 too much agitated with the surprise of the unexpected in- 
 terview with the British colonel, to observe him. It has 
 already been intimated that Colonel Wellmere was an old 
 acquaintance of the family. Sarah had been so long absent 
 from the city, that she had in some measure been banished 
 from the remembrance of the gentleman ; but the recollec- 
 tions of Sarah were more vivid. There is a period in the 
 life of every woman when she may be said to be predis- 
 posed to love; it is at the happy age when infancy is lost 
 in opening maturity — when the guileless heart beats with 
 
THE SPY. 121 
 
 those anticipations of life which the truth can never realize 
 — and when the imagination forms images of perfection that 
 are copied after its own unsullied visions. At this happy 
 age Sarah left the city, and she had brought with her a pic- 
 ture of futurity, faintly impressed, it is true, but which 
 gained durability from her solitude, and in which Well- 
 mere had been placed in the foreground. The surprise of 
 the meeting had in some measure overpowered her, and af- 
 ter receiving the salutations of the colonel, she had risen, 
 in compliance with a signal from her observant aunt, to 
 withdraw. 
 
 "Then, sir," observed Miss Peyton, after listening to the 
 surgeon's account of his young patient, " we may be flattered 
 with the expectation that he will recover." 
 
 " 'Tis certain, madam," returned the doctor, endeavoring, 
 out of respect to the ladies, to replace his wig; " 'tis certain, 
 with care and good nursing." 
 
 " In those he shall not be wanting," said the spinster 
 mildly. " Everything we have he can command, and Major 
 Dunwoodie has despatched an express for his sister." 
 
 "His sister!" echoed the practitioner, with a look of par- 
 ticular meaning; "if the major has sent for her, she will 
 come." 
 
 " Her brother's danger would induce her, one would 
 imagine." 
 
 " No doubt, madam," continued the doctor laconically, 
 bowing low, and giving room to the ladies to pass. The 
 words and the manner were not lost oh the younger sister, 
 in whose presence the name of Dunwoodie was never men- 
 tioned unheeded. 
 
 " Sir," cried Dr. Sitgreaves, on entering the parlor, ad- 
 dressing himself to the only coat of scarlet in the room, " I 
 am advised you are in want of my aid. God send 'tis not 
 Captain Lawton with whom you came in contact, in which 
 case I may be too late." 
 
 "There must be some mistake, sir," said Wellmere 
 
122 THE SPY. 
 
 haughtily ; " it was a surgeon that Major Dunwoodie was to 
 send me, and not an old woman." 
 
 "'Tis Dr. Sitgreaves," said Henry Wharton quickly, 
 though with difficulty suppressing a laugh ; "the multitude 
 of his engagements, to-day, has prevented his usual attention 
 to his attire." 
 
 " Your pardon, sir," added Wellmere, very ungraciously 
 proceeding to lay aside his coat, and exhibit what he called 
 a wounded arm. 
 
 " If, sir," said the surgeon drily, " the degrees of Edin- 
 burgh — walking your London hospitals — amputating some 
 hundreds of limbs — operating on the human frame in every 
 shape that is warranted by the lights of science, a clear 
 conscience, and the commission of the Continental Congress, 
 can make a surgeon, I am one." 
 
 " Your pardon, sir," repeated the colonel stiffly. " Cap- 
 tain Wharton has accounted for my error." 
 
 " For which I thank Captain Wharton," said the surgeon, 
 proceeding coolly to arrange his amputating instruments, 
 with a formality that made the colonel's blood run cold. 
 "Where are you hurt, sir? What! is it then this scratch in 
 your shoulder? In what manner might you have received 
 this wound, sir?" 
 
 " From the sword of a rebel dragoon," said the colonel, 
 with emphasis. 
 
 "Never. Even the gentle George Singleton would not 
 have breathed on you so harmlessly." He took a piece of 
 sticking-plaster from his pocket, and applied it to the part. 
 " There, sir ; that will answer your purpose, and I am certain 
 it is all that is required of me." 
 
 " What do you take to be my purpose, then, sir?" 
 
 " To report yourself wounded in your despatches," replied 
 the doctor, with great steadiness ; " and you may say that an 
 old woman dressed your hurts — for if one did not, one easily 
 might!" 
 
 " Very extraordinary language," muttered the Englishman. 
 
THE SPY. 123 
 
 Here Captain Wharton interfered; and, by explaining the 
 mistake of Colonel Wellmere to proceed from his irritated 
 mind and pain of body, he in part succeeded in mollifying 
 the insulted practitioner, who consented to look further into 
 the hurts of the other. They were chiefly bruises from his 
 fall, to which Sitgreaves made some hasty applications, and 
 withdrew. 
 
 The horse, having taken their required refreshment, pre- 
 pared to fall back to their intended position, and it became 
 incumbent on Dunwoodie to arrange the disposal of his 
 prisoners. Sitgreaves he determined to leave in the cot- 
 tage of Mr. Wharton, in attendance on Captain Singleton. 
 Henry came to him with a request that Colonel Wellmere 
 might also be left behind, under his parole, until the troops 
 marched higher into the country. To this the major cheer- 
 fully assented; and, as all the rest of the prisoners were of 
 the vulgar herd, they were speedily collected, and, under 
 the care of a strong guard, ordered to the interior. The 
 dragoons soon after marched; and the guides, separating 
 in small parties, accompanied by patrols from the horse, 
 spread themselves across the country, in such a manner as 
 to make a chain of sentinels from the waters of the Sound 
 to those of the Hudson.* 
 
 Dunwoodie had lingered in front of the cottage, after he 
 paid his parting compliments, with an unwillingness to 
 return, that he thought proceeded from his solicitude for his 
 wounded friends. The heart which has not become callous 
 soon sickens with the glory that has been purchased with a 
 waste of human life. Peyton Dunwoodie, left to himself, 
 and no longer excited by the visions which youthful ardor 
 had kept before him throughout the day, began to feel there 
 were other ties than those which bound the soldier within 
 the rigid rules of honor. He did not waver in his duty, yet 
 he felt how strong was the temptation. His blood had 
 
 * The scene of this tale is between these two waters, which are but a few mile« 
 from each other. 
 
124 THE SP7. 
 
 ceased to flow with the impulse created by the battle. The 
 stern expression of his eye gradually gave place to a look of 
 softness; and his reflections on the victory brought with 
 them no satisfaction that compensated for the sacrifices by 
 which it had been purchased. While turning his last lin- 
 gering gaze on the Locusts, he remembered only that it con- 
 tained all that he most valued. The friend of his youth 
 was a prisoner, under circimistances that endangered both 
 life and honor. The gentle companion of his toils, who 
 could throw around the rude enjoyments of a soldier the 
 graceful mildness of peace, lay a bleeding victim to his suc- 
 cess. The image of the maid who had held, during the day, 
 a disputed sovereignty in his bosom, again rose to his view 
 with a loveliness that banished her rival, glory, from his 
 mind. 
 
 The last lagging trooper of the corps had already disap- 
 peared behind the northern hill, and the major unwillingly 
 turned his horse in the same direction. Frances, impelled 
 by a restless inquietude, now timidly ventured on the piazza 
 of the cottage. The day had been mild and clear, and the 
 sun was shining brightly in a cloudless sky. The tumult 
 which so lately disturbed the valley was succeeded by the 
 stillness of death, and the fair scene before her looked as if 
 it had never been marred by the passions of men. One 
 solitary cloud, the collected smoke of the contest, hung over 
 the field; and this was gradually dispersing, leaving no 
 vestige of the conflict above the peaceful graves of its vic- 
 tims. All the conflicting feelings, all the tumultuous cir- 
 cumstances of the eventful day, appeared like the deceptions 
 of a troubled vision. Frances turned, and caught a glimpse 
 of the retreating figure of him who had been so conspicuous 
 an actor in the scene, and the illusion vanished. She recog- 
 nized her lover, and, with the truth, came other recollec- 
 tions that drove her to the room, with a heart as sad as that 
 which Dunwoodie himself bore from the valley. 
 
THE SPY. I2S 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A moment gazed adown the dale, 
 A moment snufE'd the tainted gale, 
 A moment listen'd to the cry, 
 That thickenM as the chase drew nigh ; 
 Then, as the headmost foe appearM, 
 With one brave bound the copse he clear'd, 
 And, stretching forward free and far. 
 Sought the wild heaths of Uam-Var. 
 
 Walter Scott. 
 
 The party under Captain Lawton had watched the retiring 
 foe at his boats with the most unremitting vigilance, with- 
 out finding any fit opening for a charge. The experienced 
 successor of Colonel Wellmere knew too well the power of 
 his enemy to leave the uneven surface of the heights, until 
 compelled to descend to the level of the water. Before he 
 attempted this hazardous movement, he threw his men into 
 a compact square, with its outer edges bristling with bayo- 
 nets. In this position, the impatient trooper well under- 
 stood that brave men could never be assailed by cavalry 
 with success, and he was reluctantly obliged to hover near 
 them, without seeing any opportunity of stopping their slow 
 but steady march to the beach. A small schooner, which 
 had been their convoy from the city, lay with her guns bear- 
 ing on the place of embarkation. Against this combina- 
 tion of force and discipline, Lawton had sufficient prudence 
 to see it would be folly to contend, and the English were 
 suffered to embark without molestation. The- dragoons lin- 
 gered on the shore till the last moment, and then they reluc- 
 tantly commenced their own retreat back to the main body 
 of the corps. 
 
 The gathering mists of the evening had begun to darken 
 the valley, as the detachment of Lawton made its reappear- 
 ance, at its southern extremity. The march of the troops 
 was slow, and their line extended, for the benefit of ease. 
 
126 THE SPY. 
 
 In the front rode the captain, side by side with his senior 
 subaltern, apparently engaged in close conference, while the 
 rear was brought up by a young cornet, humming an air, 
 and thinking of the sweets of a straw bed after the fatigues 
 of a hard day's duty. 
 
 "Then it struck you too?" said the captain. "The in- 
 stant I placed my eyes on her, I remembered the face ; it is 
 one not easily forgotten. By my faith, Tom, the girl does 
 no discredit to the major's taste." 
 
 " She would do honor to the corps," replied the lieutenant, 
 with some warmth; "those blue eyes might easily win a 
 man to gentler employments than this trade of ours. In 
 sober truth, I can easily imagine such a girl might tempt 
 even me to quit the broadsword and saddle for a darning- 
 needle and pillion." 
 
 " Mutiny, sir, mutiny," cried the other, laughing ; " what, 
 you, Tom Mason, dare to rival the gay, admired, and withal 
 rich. Major Dunwoodie in his love! You, a lieutenant of 
 cavalry, with but one horse, and he none of the best! 
 whose captain is as tough as a peperage log, and has as 
 many lives as a cat." 
 
 "Faith," said the subaltern, smiling in his turn, "the log 
 may yet be split, and Grimalkin lose his lives, if you often 
 charge as madly as you did this morning. What think you 
 of many raps from such a beetle as laid you on your back 
 to-day?" 
 
 " Ah I don't mention it, my good Tom ; the thought makes 
 my head ache," replied the other, shrugging up his shoul- 
 ders; " it is what I call forestalling night." 
 
 "The night of death?" 
 
 "No, sir; the night that follows day. I saw myriads of 
 stars, things which should hide their faces in the presence 
 of the lordly sun. I do think nothing but this thick cap 
 saved me for your comfort a little longer, maugre the cat's 
 lives." 
 
 "I have much reason to be obliged to tlie cap," said 
 
THE SPY. 127 
 
 Mason drily; "that or the skull must have had a reasonable 
 portion of thickness, I admit.'' 
 
 " Come, come, Tom, you are a licensed joker, so I'll not 
 feign anger with you," returned the captain good-humor- 
 edly; "but Singleton's lieutenant, I am fearful, will fare 
 better than yourself for this day's service." 
 
 " I believe both of us will be spared the pain of receiving 
 promotion purchased by the death of a comrade and friend," 
 observed Mason kindly; "it was reported that Sitgreaves 
 said he would live." 
 
 " From my soul I hope so," exclaimed Lawton ; " for a 
 beardless face, that boy carries the stoutest heart I have 
 ever met with. It surprises me, however, that, as we both 
 fell at the same instant, the men behaved so well." 
 
 " For the compliment, I might thank you," cried the lieu- 
 tenant, with a laugh; "but modesty forbids; J did my best 
 to stop them, but without success," 
 
 "Stop them!" roared the captain; "would you stop men 
 in the middle of a charge?" 
 
 " I thought they were going the wrong way." answered 
 the subaltern. 
 
 "Ah! our fall drove them to the right about?' 
 
 "It was either your fall, or apprehensions of their own; 
 until the major rallied us, we were in admirable disorder." 
 
 "Dunwoodie! the major was on the crupper of the 
 Dutchman." 
 
 "Ah! but he managed to get off the crupper of the 
 Dutchman. He came in, at half -speed, with the other two 
 troops, and riding between us and the enemy, with th?t im- 
 perative way he has when roused, brought us in line in the 
 twinkling of an eye. Then it was," added the lieutenant, 
 with animation, "that we sent John Bull to the bushes. 
 Oh ! it was a sweet charge — heads and tails, until we wsr« 
 upon them." 
 
 " The devil ! What a sight I missed!" 
 
 " You slept through it all." 
 
128 THE SPY. 
 
 " Yes," returned the other, with a sigh ; " it was all lost 
 to me and poor George Singleton. But, Tom, what will 
 George's sister say to this fair-haired maiden, in yonder 
 white building?" 
 
 " Hang herself in her garters," said the subaltern. " I 
 owe a proper respect to my superiors, but two such angels 
 are more than justly falls to the share of one man, unless 
 he be a Turk or a Hindoo." 
 
 " Yes, yes," said the captain quickly, " the major is ever 
 preaching morality to the youngsters, but he is a sly fellow 
 in the main. Do you observe how fond he is of the cross 
 roads above this valley? Now, if I were to halt the troops 
 twice in the same place, you would all swear there was a 
 petticoat in the wind." 
 
 " You are well known to the corps." 
 
 " Well, Tom, a slanderous propensity is incurable — but," 
 stretching forward his body in the direction he was gazing, 
 as if to aid him in distinguishing objects through the dark- 
 ness, "what animal is moving through the field on our 
 right?" 
 
 " 'Tis a man," said Mason, looking intently at the 
 suspicious object. 
 
 "By his hump 'tis a dromedary!" added the captain, eye- 
 ing it keenly. Wheeling his horse suddenly from the high- 
 way, he exclaimed: "Harvey Birch! — take him, dead or 
 alive!" 
 
 Mason and a few of the leading dragoons only understood 
 the sudden cry, but it was heard thoughout the line. A 
 dozen of the men, with the lieutenant at their head, followed 
 the impetuous Lawton, and their speed threatened the pur- 
 sued with a sudden termination of the race. 
 
 Birch prudently kept his position on the rock, where he 
 had been seen by the passing glance of Henry Wharton, 
 until evening had begun to shroud the surrounding objects 
 in darkness. From this height he had seen all the events 
 of the day as they occurred. He had watched, with a beat- 
 
THE SPY. 129 
 
 ing heart, the departure of the troops under Dunwoodie, 
 and with difficulty had curbed his impatience until the ob- 
 scurity of night should render his moving free from danger. 
 He had not, however, completed a fourth of his way to his 
 own residence, when his quick ear distinguished the tread 
 of the approaching horse. Trusting to the increasing dark- 
 ness, he determined to persevere. By crouching and mov- 
 ing quickly along the surface of the ground, he hoped yet to 
 escape unseen. Captain Lawton was too much engrossed 
 with the foregoing conversation to suffer his eyes to indulge 
 in their usual wandering; and the peddler, perceiving by 
 the voices that the enemy he most feared had passed, yielded 
 to his impatience, and stood erect, in order to make greater 
 progress. The moment his body arose above the shadow of 
 the ground, it was seen and the chase commenced. For a 
 single instant. Birch was helpless, his blood curdling in his 
 veins at the imminence of the danger, and his legs refusing 
 their natural and necessary office. But it was only for a 
 moment. Casting his pack where he stood, and instinctively 
 tightening the belt he wore, the peddler betook himself to 
 flight. He knew that by bringing himself in a line with his 
 pursuers and the wood, his form would be lost to sight. 
 This he soon effected, and he was straining every nerve to 
 gain the wood itself, when several horsemen rode by him 
 but a short distance on his left, and cut him off from this 
 place of refuge. The peddler threw himself on the ground 
 as they came near him, and was passed unseen. But delay, 
 now, became too dangerous for him to remain in that posi- 
 tion. He accordingly arose, and still keeping in the shad- 
 ow of the wood, along the skirts of which he heard voices 
 crying to each other to be watchful, he ran with incredible 
 speed in a parallel line, but in an opposite direction, to the 
 march of the dragoons. 
 
 The confusion of the chase had been heard by the whole 
 of the men, though none distinctly understood the order of 
 Lawton but those who followed. The remainder were lost 
 9 
 
I30 THE SPY. 
 
 in doubt as to the duty that was required of them ; and the 
 aforesaid comet was making eager inquiries of the trooper 
 near him on the subject, when a man, at a short distance in 
 his rear, crossed the road at a single bound. At the same 
 instant, the stentorian voice of Lawton rang through the 
 valley, shouting: 
 
 " Harvey Birch — take him, dead or alive!" 
 
 Fifty pistols lighted the scene, and the bullets whistled 
 in every direction round the head of the devoted peddler. 
 A feeling of despair seized his heart, and in the bitterness 
 of that moment he exclaimed : 
 
 " Hunted like a beast of the forest!" 
 
 He felt life and its accompaniments to be a burden, and 
 was about to yield himself to his enemies. Nature, how- 
 ever, prevailed. If taken, there was great reason to appre- 
 hend that he would not be honored with the forms of a trial, 
 but that most probably the morning sun would witness his 
 ignominious execution; for he had already been condemned 
 to death, and had only escaped that fate by stratagem. 
 These considerations, with the approaching footsteps of his 
 pursuers, roused him to new exertions. He again fled be- 
 fore them. A fragment of a wall, that had withstood the 
 ravages made by war in the adjoining fences of wood, for- 
 tunately crossed his path. He hardly had time to throw his 
 exhausted limbs over this barrier, before twenty of his ene- 
 mies reached its opposite side. Their horses refused to 
 take the leap in the dark, and amid the confusion of the 
 rearing chargers, and the execrations of their riders, Birch 
 was enabled to gain a sight of the base of the hill, on whose 
 summit was a place of perfect security. The heart of the 
 peddler now beat high with hope, when the voice of Cap- 
 tain Lawton again rang in his ears, shouting to his men to 
 make room. The order was obeyed, and the fearless trooper 
 rode at the wall at the top of his horse's speed, plunged the 
 rowels in his charger, and flew over the obstacle in safety. 
 The triumphant hurrahs of the men, and the thundering 
 
THE SPY. 131 
 
 tread of the horse, too plainly assured the peddler of the 
 emergency of his danger. He was nearly exhausted, and 
 his fate no longer seemed doubtful. 
 
 "Stop, or die!" was uttered above his head, and in fear- 
 ful proximity to his ears. 
 
 Harvey stole a glance over his shoulder, and saw, within 
 a bound of him, the man he most dreaded. By the light of 
 the stars he beheld the uplifted arm and the threatening 
 sabre. Fear, exhaustion, and despair seized his heart, and 
 the intended victim fell at the feet of the dragoon. The 
 horse of Lawton struck the prostrate peddler, and both 
 steed and rider came violently to the earth. 
 
 As quick as thought. Birch was on his feet again, with 
 the sword of the discomfited dragoon in his hand. Ven- 
 geance seems but too natural to human passions. There are 
 few who have not felt the seductive pleasure of making our 
 injuries recoil on their authors; and yet there are some who 
 know how much sweeter it is to return good for evil. 
 
 All the wrongs of the peddler shone on his brain with a 
 dazzling brightness. For a moment the demon within him 
 prevailed, and Birch brandished the powerful weapon in the 
 air; in the next, it fell harmless on the reviving but helpless 
 trooper. The peddler vanished up the side of the friendly 
 rock. 
 
 "Help Captain Lawton, there!" cried Mason, as he rode 
 up, followed by a dozen of his men ; " and some of you dis- 
 mount with me, and search these rocks; the villain lies here 
 concealed." 
 
 "Hold!" roared the discomfited captain, raising himself 
 with difficulty on his feet ; " if one of you dismount, he dies. 
 Tom, my good fellow, you will help me to straddle Roanoke 
 again." 
 
 The astonished subaltern complied in silence, while the 
 wondering dragoons remained as fixed in their saddles as if 
 they composed part of the animals they rode. 
 
 " You are much hurt, I fear," said Mason, with something 
 
132 THE SPY. 
 
 of condolence in his manner, as they re-entered the high- 
 way, and biting off the end of a cigar for |the want of a 
 better quality of tobacco. 
 
 " Something so, I do believe,'' replied the captain, catch- 
 ing his breath, and speaking with difficulty ; " I wish our 
 bone-setter was at hand, to examine into the state of my 
 ribs." 
 
 " Sitgreaves is left in attendance on Captain Singleton, at 
 the house of Mr. Wharton." 
 
 " Then there I halt for the night, Tom. These rude times 
 must abridge ceremony; besides, you may remember the old 
 gentleman professed a kinsman's regard for the corps. I 
 can never think of passing so good a friend without a 
 halt." 
 
 " And I will lead the troop to the Four Comers; if we all 
 halt there, we shall breed a famine in the land." 
 
 " A condition I never desire to be placed in. The idea 
 of that graceful spinster's cakes is no bad solace for twenty- 
 four hours in the hospital." 
 
 " Oh ! you won't die if you can think of eating," said 
 Mason, with a laugh. 
 
 " I should surely die if I could not," observed the captain 
 gravely. 
 
 " Captain Lawton," said the orderly of his troop, riding 
 to the side of his commanding officer, "we are now passing 
 the house of the peddler spy ; is it your pleasure that we 
 burn it?" 
 
 " No!" roared the captain, in a voice that startled the dis- 
 appointed sergeant; "are you an incendiary? Would you 
 burn a house in cold blood ? Let but a spark approach, and 
 the hand that carries it will never light another." 
 
 "Zounds!" muttered the sleepy cornet in the rear, as he 
 was nodding on his horse, " there is life in the captain, 
 notwithstanding his tumble." 
 
 Lawton and Mason rode on in silence, the latter rumi- 
 nating on the wonderful change produced in his commander 
 
THE SPY. 133 
 
 by his fall, when they arrived opposite to the gate before 
 the residence of Mr. Wharton. The troop continued its 
 march; but the captain and his lieutenant dismounted, and, 
 followed by the servant of the former, they proceeded slowly 
 to the door of the cottage. 
 
 Colonel Wellmere had already sought a retreat in his own 
 room ; Mr. Wharton and his son were closeted by themselves ; 
 and the ladies were administering the refreshments of the 
 tea-table to the surgeon of the dragoons, who had seen one 
 of his patients in his bed, and the other happily enjoying 
 the comforts of a sweet sleep. A few natural inquiries from 
 Miss Peyton had opened the soul of the doctor, who knew 
 every individual of her extensive family connection in Vir- 
 ginia, and who even thought it possible that he had seen 
 the lady herself. The amiable spinster smiled as she felt 
 it to be improbable that she should ever have met her new 
 acquaintance before, and not remember his singularities. 
 It, however, greatly relieved the embarrassment of their sit- 
 uation, and something like a discourse was maintained be- 
 tween them; the nieces were only listeners, nor could the 
 aunt be said to be much more. 
 
 "As I was observing. Miss Peyton, it was merely the 
 noxious vapors of the low lands that rendered the plantation 
 of your brother an unfit residence for man ; but quadrupeds 
 were " 
 
 "Bless me, what's that?" said Miss Peyton, turning pale 
 at the report of the pistols fired at Birch. 
 
 " It sounds prodigiously like the concussion on the at- 
 mosphere made by the explosion of firearms," said the sur- 
 geon, sipping his tea with great indifference. " I should 
 imagine it to be the troop of Captain Lawton returning, did 
 I not know the captain never uses the pistol, and that he 
 dreadfully abuses the sabre." 
 
 "Merciful Providence!" exclaimed the agitated maiden, 
 "he would not injure one with it certainly." 
 
 " Injure" repeated the other quickly ; " it is certain death, 
 
134 THE SPY. 
 
 madam; the most random blows imaginable; all that I can 
 say to him will have no effect." 
 
 " But Captain Lawton is the officer we .saw this morning, 
 and is surely your friend," said Frances hastily, observing 
 her aunt to be seriously alarmed. 
 
 "I find no fault with his want of friendship; the man is 
 well enough if he would learn to cut scientifically. All 
 trades, madam, ought to be allowed to live ; but what is to 
 become of a surgeon, if his patients are dead before he sees 
 them!" 
 
 The doctor continued haranguing on the probability and 
 improbability of its being the returning troop, until a loud 
 knock at the door gave new alarm to the ladies. Instinc- 
 tively laying his hand on a small saw, that had been his 
 companion for the whole day, in the vain expectation of an 
 amputation, the surgeon, coolly assuring the ladies that he 
 would stand between them and danger, proceeded in person 
 to answer to the summons. 
 
 "Captain Lawton!" exclaimed the surgeon, as he beheld 
 the trooper leaning on the arm of his subaltern, and with 
 difficulty crossing the threshold. 
 
 " Ah ! my dear bone-setter, is it you ? You are here very 
 fortunately to inspect my carcass; but do lay aside that 
 rascally saw!" 
 
 A few words from Mason explained the nature and man- 
 ner of his captain's hurts, and Miss Peyton cheerfully ac- 
 corded the required accommodations. While the room in- 
 tended for the trooper was getting ready, and the doctor was 
 giving certain portentous orders, the captain was invited to 
 rest himself in the parlor. On the table was a dish of more 
 substantial food than ordinarily adorned the afternoon's re- 
 past, and it soon caught the attention of the dragoons. 
 Miss Peyton, recollecting that they had probably made their 
 only meal that day at her own table, kindly invited them to 
 close it with another. The offer required no pressing, and 
 in a few minutes the two were comfortably seated, and en- 
 
THE SPY. 135 
 
 gaged in an employment that was only interrupted by an 
 occasional wry face from the captain, who moved his body 
 in evident pain. These interruptions, however, interfered 
 but little with the principal business in hand; and the cap- 
 tain had got happily through with this important duty, before 
 the surgeon retiu:ned to announce all things ready for his 
 accommodation, in the room above stairs. 
 
 "Eating!" cried the astonished physician; "Captain 
 Lawton, do you wish to die?" 
 
 "I have no particular ambition that way," said the 
 trooper, rising, and bowing good-night to the ladies, " and, 
 therefore, have been providing the materials necessary to 
 preserve life." 
 
 The surgeon muttered his dissatisfaction, while he fol- 
 lowed Mason and the captain from the apartment. 
 
 Every house in America had, at that day, what was em- 
 phatically called its best room, and this had been allotted, 
 by the unseen influence of Sarah, to Colonel Wellmere. 
 The down counterpane, which a clear frosty night would 
 render extremely grateful over bruised limbs, decked the 
 English officer's bed. A massive silver tankard, richly em- 
 bossed with the Wharton arms, held the beverage he was to 
 drink during the night; while beautiful vessels of china 
 performed the same office for the two American captains. 
 Sarah was certainly unconscious of the silent preference she 
 had been giving to the English officer; and it is equally 
 certain that, but for his hurts, bed, tankard, and everything 
 but the beverage would have been matters of indifference 
 to Captain Lawton, half of whose nights were spent in his 
 clothes, and not a few of them in the saddle. After 
 taking possession, however, of a small but very comfort- 
 able room. Doctor Sitgreaves proceeded to inquire into 
 the state of his injuries. He had begun to pass his 
 hand over the body of his patient, when the latter cried 
 impatiently : 
 
 "Sitgreaves, do me the favor to lay that rascally saw 
 
136 THE SPY. 
 
 aside, or I shall have recourse to my sabre in self-defence; 
 the sight of it makes my blood cold." 
 
 " Captain Lawton, for a man who has so often exposed 
 life and limb, you are unaccountably afraid of a very useful 
 instrument." 
 
 " Heaven keep me from its use," said the trooper, with a 
 shrug. 
 
 " You would not despise the lights of science, nor refuse 
 surgical aid, because this saw might be necessary?" 
 
 " I would." 
 
 "You would!" 
 
 "Yes; you shall never joint me like a quarter of beef, 
 while I have life to defend myself," cried the resolute dra- 
 goon. "But I grow sleepy; are any of my ribs broken?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Any of my bones?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Tom, I'll thank you for that pitcher." As he ended his 
 draught, he very deliberately turned his back on his com- 
 panions, and good-naturedly cried: "Good-night, Mason; 
 good-night, Galen." 
 
 Captain Lawton entertained a profound respect for the 
 surgical abilities of his comrade, but he was very sceptical 
 on the subject of administering internally for the ailings of 
 the human frame. With a full stomach, a stout heart, and a 
 clear conscience, he often maintained that a man might bid 
 defiance to the world and its vicissitudes. Nature provided 
 him with the second, and, to say the truth, he strove man- 
 fully himself to keep up the other two requisites in his 
 creed. It was a favorite maxim with him that the last thing 
 death assailed was the eyes, and, next to the last, the jaws. 
 This he interpreted to be a clear expression of the intention 
 of nature that every man might regulate, by his own voli- 
 tion, whatever was to be admitted into the sanctuary of his 
 mouth; consequently, if the guest proved unpalatable, he 
 had no one to blame but himself. The surgeon, who was 
 
THE SPY. 137 
 
 well acquainted with these views of his patient, beheld him, 
 as he cavalierly turned his back on Mason and himself, with 
 a commiserating contempt, replaced in their leathern repos- 
 itory the vials he had exhibited, with a species of care that 
 was allied to veneration, gave the saw, as he concluded, a 
 whirl of triumph, and departed, without condescending to 
 notice the compliment of the trooper. Mason, finding, by 
 the breathing of the captain, that his own good-night would 
 be unheard, hastened to pay his respects to the ladies — after 
 which he mounted, and followed the troop at the top of his 
 
 horse's speed. 
 
 . » 
 
 CHAPTER X, 
 
 On some fond breast the parting soul relies. 
 Some pious drops the closing eye requires ; 
 
 EVn from the tomb the voice of nature cries. 
 E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires. 
 
 Gray. 
 
 The possessions of Mr. Wharton extended to some distance 
 on each side of the house in which he dwelt, and most of 
 his land was unoccupied. A few scattered dwellings were 
 to be seen in different parts of his domains, but they were 
 fast falling to decay, and were untenanted. The proximity 
 of the country to the contending armies had nearly banished 
 the pursuits of agriculture from the land. It was useless 
 for the husbandman to devote his time, and the labor of his 
 hands, to obtain overflowing garners, that the first foraging 
 party would empty. None tilled the earth with any other 
 view than to provide the scanty means of subsistence, except 
 those who were placed so near to one of the adverse parties 
 as to be safe from the inroads of the light troops of the 
 other. To these the war offered a golden harvest, more 
 especially to such as enjoyed the benefits of an access to the 
 royal army. Mr. Wharton did not require the use of his 
 lands for the purposes of subsistence; and he willingly 
 adopted the guarded practice of the day, limiting his atten- 
 
138 THE SPY. 
 
 tion to such articles as were soon to be consumed within his 
 own walls, or could be easily secreted from the prying eyes 
 of the foragers. In consequence, the ground on which the 
 action was fought had not a single inhabited building, be- 
 sides the one belonging to the father of Harvey Birch. 
 This house stood between the place where the cavalry had 
 met, and that where the charge had been made on the party 
 of Wellmere. 
 
 To Katy Haynes it had been a day fruitful of incidents. 
 The prudent housekeeper had kept her political feelings in 
 a state of rigid neutrality ; her own friends had espoused the 
 cause of the country, but the maiden herself never lost sight 
 of that important moment, when, like females of more illus- 
 trious hopes, she might be required to sacrifice her love of 
 country on the altar of domestic harmony. And yet, not- 
 withstanding all her sagacity, there were moments when the 
 good woman had grievous doubts into which scale she ought 
 to throw the weight of her eloquence, in order to be certain 
 of supporting the cause favored by the peddler. There was 
 so much that was equivocal in his movements and manner, 
 that often, when, in the privacy of their household, she was 
 about to utter a philippic on Washington and his followers, 
 discretion sealed her mouth, and distrust beset her mind. 
 In short, the whole conduct of the mysterious being she 
 studied was of a character to distract the opinions of one 
 who took a more enlarged view of men and life than came 
 within the competency of his housekeeper. 
 
 The battle of the Plains had taught the cautious Wash- 
 ington the advantages his enemy possessed in organization, 
 arms, and discipline. These were difficulties to be mas- 
 tered by his own vigilance and care. Drawing off his 
 troops to the heights, in the northern part of the county, he 
 had bidden defiance to the attacks of the royal army, and 
 Sir William Howe fell back to the enjoyment of his barren 
 conquest — a deserted city. Never afterward did the oppos- 
 ing armies make the trial of strength within the limits of 
 
THE SPY. 139 
 
 West-Chester ; yet hardly a day passed, that the partisans 
 did not make their inroads ; or a sun rise, that the inhabi- 
 tants were spared the relation of excesses which the preced- 
 ing darkness had served to conceal. Most of the move- 
 ments of the peddler were made at the hours which others 
 allotted to repose. The evening sun would frequently leave 
 him at one extremity of the county, and the morning find 
 him at the other. His pack was his never-failing compan- 
 ion; and there were those who closely studied him, in his 
 moments of traffic, and thought his only purpose was the 
 accumulation of gold. He would be often seen near the 
 Highlands, with a body bending under its load; and again 
 near the Harlaem River, travelling with lighter steps, with 
 his face toward the setting sun. But these glances at him 
 were uncertain and fleeting. The intermediate time no 
 eye could penetrate. For months he disappeared, and no 
 traces of his course were ever known. 
 
 Strong parties held the Heights of Harlaem, and the north- 
 em end of Manhattan Island was bristling with the bayo- 
 nets of the English sentinels, yet the peddler glided among 
 them unnoticed and uninjured. His approaches to the 
 American lines were also frequent; but generally so con- 
 ducted as to baffle pursuit. Many a sentinel, placed in the 
 gorges of the mountains, spoke of a strange figure that had 
 been seen gliding by them in the mists of the evening. 
 These stories reached the ears of the officers, and, as we 
 have related, in two instances the trader had fallen into tlie 
 hands of the Americans. The first time he had escaped 
 from Lawton, shortly after his arrest; but the second he was 
 condemned to die. On the morning of his intended execu- 
 tion, the cage was opened, but the bird had flown. This 
 extraordinary escape had been made from the custody of a 
 favorite officer of Washington, and sentinels who had been 
 thought worthy to guard the person of the commander-in- 
 chief. Bribery and treason could not be imputed to men so 
 well esteemed, and the opinion gained ground among the 
 
I40 THE SPY. 
 
 common soldiery that the peddler had dealings with the 
 dark one. Katy, however, always repelled this opinion 
 with indignation; for within the recesses of her own bosom, 
 the housekeeper, in ruminating on the events, concluded 
 that the evil spirit did not pay in gold. Nor, continued the 
 wary spinster in her cogitations, does Washington; paper 
 and promises were all that the leader of the American 
 troops could dispense to his servants. After the alliance 
 with France, when silver became more • abundant in the 
 country, although the scrutinizing eyes of Katy never let 
 any opportunity of examining into the deerskin purse pass 
 unimproved, she was never able to detect the image of Louis 
 intruding into the presence of the well-known countenance 
 of George III. In short, the secret hoard of Harvey suffi- 
 ciently showed in its contents that all its contributions had 
 been received from the British. 
 
 The house of Birch had been watched at different times 
 by the Americans, with a view to his arrest, but never with 
 success ; the reputed spy possessing a secret means of in- 
 telligence that invariably defeated their schemes. Once, 
 when a strong body of the Continental army held the Four 
 Corners for a whole summer, orders had been received from 
 Washington himself, never to leave the door of Harvey 
 Birch unwatched. The command was rigidly obeyed, and 
 during this long period the peddler was unseen; the de- 
 tachment was withdrawn, and the following night Birch re- 
 entered his dwelling. The father of Harvey had been 
 greatly molested, in consequence of the suspicious character 
 of the son. But, notwithstanding the most minute scrutiny 
 into the conduct of the old man, no fact could be substan- 
 tiated against him to his injury, and his property was too 
 small to keep alive the zeal of patriots by profession. Its 
 confiscation and purchase would not have rewarded their 
 trouble. Age and sorrow were now about to spare him fur- 
 ther molestation, for the lamp of life had been drained of 
 its oil. The recent separation of the father and son had 
 
THE SPY. 141 
 
 been painful, but they had submitted in obedience to what 
 both thought a duty. The old man had kept his dying sit- 
 uation a secret from the neighborhood, in the hope that he 
 might still have the company of his child in his last mo- 
 ments. The confusion of the day, and his increasing dread 
 that Harvey might be too late, helped to hasten the event 
 he would fain arrest for a little while. As night set in, his 
 illness increased to such a degree that the dismayed house- 
 keeper sent a truant boy, who had shut up himself with 
 them, during the combat, to the Locusts, in quest of a com- 
 panion to cheer her solitude. Caesar, alone, could be 
 spared, and, loaded with eatables and cordials by the 
 kindhearted Miss Peyton, the black had been despatched 
 on this duty. The dying man was past the use of medi- 
 cines, and his chief anxiety seemed to centre in a meeting 
 with his child. 
 
 The noise of the chase had been heard by the group in 
 the house, but its cause was not understood ; and, as both 
 the black and Katy were apprised of the detachment of 
 American horse being below them, they supposed it to pro- 
 ceed from the return of that party. They heard the dra- 
 goons, as they moved slowly by the building ; but, in com- 
 pliance with the prudent injunction of the black, the house- 
 keeper forbore to indulge her curiosity. The old man had 
 closed his eyes, and his attendants believed him to be 
 asleep. The house contained two large rooms, and as many 
 small ones. One of the former served for kitchen and sit- 
 ting-room ; in the other lay the father of Birch ; of the lat- 
 ter, one was the sanctuary of the vestal, and the other con- 
 tained the stock of provisions. A huge chimney of stone 
 rose in the centre, serving, of itself, for a partition between 
 the larger rooms; and fireplaces of corresponding dimen- 
 sions were in each apartment. A bright flame was burning 
 in that of the common room, and within the very jambs of 
 its monstrous jaws sat Caesar and Katy, at the time of which 
 we write. The African was impressing his caution on the 
 
142 THE SPY. 
 
 housekeeper, and commenting on the general danger of in- 
 dulging an idle curiosity. 
 
 " Best nebber tempt a Satan," said Caesar, rolling up his 
 eyes till the whites glistened by the glare of the fire; "I 
 berry like heself to lose an ear for carrying a little bit of a 
 letter; dere much mischief come of curiosity. If dere had 
 nebber been a man curious to see Africa, dere would be no 
 coulour people out of deir own country : but I wish Har- 
 vey get back." 
 
 " It is very disregardful in him to be away at such a time," 
 said Katy imposingly. " Suppose now his father wanted to 
 make his last will in the testament, who is there to do so 
 solemn and awful an act for him ? Harvey is a very wasteful 
 and a very disregardful man!" 
 
 "Perhap he make him afore?" 
 
 " It would not be a wonderment if he had," returned the 
 housekeeper; "he is whole days looking into the Bible." 
 
 " Then he read a berry good book," said the black sol- 
 emnly. " Miss Fanny read in him to Dinah now and den." 
 
 " You are right, Caesar. The Bible is the best of books, 
 and one that reads it as often as Harvey's father should 
 have the best of reasons for so doing. This is no more than 
 common sense." 
 
 She rose from her seat, and, stealing softly to a chest of 
 drawers in the room of the sick man, she took from it a 
 large Bible, heavily bound, and secured with strong clasps 
 of brass, with which she returned to the negro. The volume 
 was eagerly opened, and they proceeded instantly to exam- 
 ine its pages. Katy was far from an expert scholar, and to 
 Caesar the characters were absolutely strangers. For some 
 time the housekeeper was occupied in finding out the word 
 Matthew, in which she had no sooner succeeded than she 
 pointed out the word, with great complacency, to the atten- 
 tive Cassar. 
 
 "Berry well; now look him t'rough," said the black, 
 peeping over the housekeeper's shoulder, as he held a long. 
 
THE SPY. 143 
 
 lank candle of yellow tallow, in such a manner as to throw 
 its feeble light on the volume. 
 
 " Yes, but I must begin with the very beginning of the 
 book," replied the other, turning the leaves carefully back, 
 until, moving two at once, she lighted upon a page covered 
 with writing. " Here," said the housekeeper, shaking with 
 the eagerness of expectation, " here are the very words 
 themselves; now I would give the world itself to know 
 whom he has left the big silver shoe-buckles to." 
 
 " Read 'em," said Csesar laconically. 
 
 "And the black walnut drawers; for Harvey could never 
 want furniture of that quality, as long as he is a bachelor!" 
 
 "Why he no want 'em as well as he fader?" 
 
 " And the six silver table-spoons ; Harvey always uses the 
 iron!" 
 
 " P'r'ap he say, widout so much talk," returned the sen- 
 tentious black, pointing one of his crooked and dingy fingers 
 at the open volume. 
 
 Thus repeatedly advised, and impelled by her own curi- 
 osity, Katy began to read. Anxious to come to the part 
 which most interested herself, she dipped at once into the 
 centre of the subject. 
 
 " Chester Birch, born September ist, I7S5" — read the spin- 
 ster, with a deliberation that did no great honor to her 
 scholarship. 
 
 "Well, what he gib him?" 
 
 '^Abigail Birch, born July 12th, 1737," — continued the 
 housekeeper, in the same tone. 
 
 " I t'ink he ought to gib her 'e spoon." 
 
 "June 1st, iy6o. On this awful day, the judgment of an 
 offended God lighted o;i my house." — A heavy groan from the 
 adjoining room made the spinster instinctively close the 
 volume, and Cffisar, for a moment, shook with fear. Neither 
 possessed sufficient resolution to go and examine the condi- 
 tion of the sufferer, but his heavy breathing continued as 
 usual. Katy dare not, however, reopen the Bible, and, care- 
 
144 THE SPY. 
 
 fully securing its clasps, it was laid on the table in silence. 
 Caesar took his chair again, and after looking timidly round 
 the room, remarked: 
 
 "I t'ought he time war' come!" 
 
 "No," said Katy solemnly, "he will live till the tide is 
 out, or the first cock crows in the morning." 
 
 "Poor man!" continued the black, nestling still farther 
 into the chimney-corner, " I hope he lay quiet after he die." 
 
 " 'T would be no astonishment to me if he didn't; for they 
 say an unquiet life makes an uneasy grave." 
 
 " Johnny Birch a berry good man in he way. All man- 
 kind can't be a minister; for if he do, who would be a 
 congregation?" 
 
 " Ah ! Cassar, he is good only who does good — can you 
 tell me why honestly gotten gold should be hidden in the 
 bowels of the earth!" 
 
 "Grach! — I t'ink it must be to keep t'e Skinner from 
 findin' him; if he know where he be, why don't he dig 
 him up?" 
 
 " There may be reasons not comprehendible to you," said 
 Katy, moving her chair so that her clothes covered the 
 charmed stone, underneath which lay the secret treasures of 
 the peddler, unable to refrain speaking of that which she 
 would have been very unwilling to reveal ; " but a rough 
 outside often holds a smooth inside." Caesar stared around 
 the building, unable to fathom the hidden meaning of his 
 companion, when his roving eyes suddenly became fixed, 
 and his teeth chattered with affright. The change in the 
 countenance of the black was instantly perceived by Katy, 
 and turning her face, she saw the peddler himself, stand- 
 ing within the door of the room. 
 
 "Is he alive?" asked Birch tremulously, and seemingly 
 afraid to receive the answer. 
 
 " Surely," said Katy, rising hastily, and officiously offer- 
 ing her chair; "he must live till day, or till the tide is 
 down." 
 
THE SPY. 145 
 
 Disregarding all but the f^ct that his father still lived, 
 the peddler stole gently into the room of his dying parent. 
 The tie which bound the father and son was of no ordinary 
 kind. In the wide world they were all to each other. Had 
 Katy but read a few lines farther in the record, she would 
 have seen the sad tale of their misfortunes. At one blow 
 competence and kindred had been swept from them, and 
 from that day to the present hour persecution and distress 
 had followed their wandering steps. Approaching the bed- 
 side, Harvey leaned his body forward, and, in a voice nearly 
 choked by his feelings, he whispered near the ear of the 
 sick: 
 
 " Father, do you know me?" 
 
 The parent slowly opened his eyes, and a smile of satis- 
 faction passed over his pallid features, leaving behind it the 
 impression of death, more awful by the contrast. The ped- 
 dler gave a restorative he had brought with him to the 
 parched lips of the sick man, and for a few minutes new 
 vigor seemed imparted to his frame. He spoke, but slowly, 
 and with difficulty. Curiosity kept Katy silent; awe had 
 the same effect on Caesar; and Harvey seemed hardly to 
 breathe, as he listened to the language of the departing 
 spirit. 
 
 " My son," said the father, in a hollow voice, " God is as 
 merciful as he is just: if I threw the cup of salvation from 
 my lips when a youth, he graciously offers it to me in mine 
 age. He has chastised to purify, and I go to join the spir- 
 its of our lost family. In a little while, my child, you will 
 be alone. I know you too well not to foresee you will be a 
 pilgrim through life. The bruised reed may endure, but it 
 will never rise. You have that within you, Harvey, that 
 will guide you aright; persevere, as you have begun, for the 
 
 duties of life are never to be neglected- — and " A noise 
 
 in the adjoining room interrupted the dying man, and the 
 impatient peddler hastened to learn the cause, followed by 
 Katy and the black. The first glance of his eye on the fig- 
 10 
 
146 THE SPY. 
 
 ure in the doorway told the trader but too well his errand, 
 and the fate that probably awaited himself. The intruder 
 was a man still young in years, but his lineaments bespoke 
 a mind long agitated by evil passions. His dress was of 
 the meanest materials, and so ragged and unseemly as to 
 give him the appearance of studied poverty. His hair was 
 prematurely whitened, and his sunken, lowering eye avoided 
 the bold, forward look of innocence. There was a restless- 
 ness in his movements, and an agitation in his manner, that 
 proceeded from the workings of the foul spirit within him, 
 and which was not less offensive to otliers than distressing 
 to himself. This man was a well-known leader of one of 
 those gangs of marauders who infested the county with a 
 semblance of patriotism, and who were guilty of every 
 grade of offence, from simple theft up to murder. Behind 
 him stood several other figures clad in a similar manner, 
 but whose countenances expressed nothing more than the 
 indifference of brutal insensibility. They were all well 
 armed with muskets and bayonets, and provided with the 
 usual implements of foot-soldiers. Harvey knew resistance 
 to be vain, and quietly submitted to their directions. In the 
 twinkling of an eye both he and Csesar were stripped of their 
 decent garments, and made to exchange clothes with two of 
 the filthiest of the band. They were then placed in sepa- 
 rate corners of the room, and, under the muzzles of the mus- 
 kets, required faithfully to answer such interrogatories as 
 were put to them. 
 
 "Where is your pack?" was the first question to the 
 peddler. 
 
 " Hear me," said Birch, trembling with agitation ; " in the 
 next room is my father, now in the agonies of death; let me 
 go to him, receive his blessing, and close his eyes, and you 
 shall have all — ay, all." 
 
 " Answer me as I put the questions, or this musket shall 
 send you to keep the old driveller company : — where is your 
 pack?" 
 
THTC SPV, 147 
 
 "I will tell you nothing, unless you let rae go to my 
 father," said the peddler resolutely. 
 
 His persecutor raised his arm with a malicious sneer, and 
 was about to execute his threat, when one of his companions 
 checked him. 
 
 "What would you do.'" he said; "you surely forget the 
 reward. Tell us where are your goods, and you shall go to 
 your father." 
 
 Birch complied instantly, and a man was despatched in 
 quest of the booty; he soon returned, throwing the bundle 
 on the floor, swearing it was as light as feathers. 
 
 " Ay," cried the leader, " there must be gold somewhere 
 for what it did contain. Give us your gold, Mr. Birch ; we 
 know you have it; you will not take Continental, not 
 you." 
 
 " You break your faith," said Harvey. 
 
 "Give us your gold," exclaimed the other furiously, 
 pricking the peddler with his bayonet until the blood fol- 
 lowed his pushes in streams. At this instant a slight move- 
 ment was heard in the adjoining room, and Harvey cried 
 imploringly : 
 
 "Let me — let me go to my father, and you shall have all." 
 
 " I swear you shall go then," said the Skinner. 
 
 " Here, take the trash," cried Birch, as he threw aside the 
 purse, which he had contrived to conceal, notwithstanding 
 the change in his garments. 
 
 The robber raised it from the floor with a hellish laugh. 
 
 " Ay, but it shall be to your father in heaven." 
 
 "Monster! have you no feeling, no faith, no honesty?" 
 
 " To hear him, one would think there was not a rope 
 around his neck already," said the other, laughing. " There 
 is no necessity for your being uneasy, Mr. Birch ; if the old 
 man gets a few hours the start of you in the journey, you 
 will be sure to follow him before noon to-morrow." 
 
 This unfeeling communication had no effect on the ped- 
 dler, who listened with gasping breath to every sound from 
 
148 THE SPY. 
 
 the room of his parent, until he heard his own name spoken 
 in the hollow, sepulchral tones of death. Birch could 
 endure no more, but shrieking out : 
 
 "Father! hush — father! I come — I come!" he darted by 
 his keeper, and was the next moment pinned to the wall by 
 the bayonet of another of the band. Fortunately, his quick 
 motion had caused him to escape a thrust aimed at his life, 
 and it was by his clothes only that he was confined. 
 
 " No, Mr. Birch," said the Skinner, " we know you too 
 well for a slippery rascal, to trust you out of sight — your 
 gold, your gold !" 
 
 " You have it," said the peddler, writhing with agony. 
 
 " Ay, we have the purse, but you have more purses. King 
 George is a prompt paymaster, and you have done him many 
 a piece of good service. Where is your hoard? Without it 
 you will never see your father." 
 
 " Remove the stone underneath the woman," cried the 
 peddler eagerly — " remove the stone." 
 
 "He raves! he raves!" said Katy, instinctively moving 
 her position to a different stone from the one on which she 
 had been standing. In a moment it was torn from its bed, 
 and nothing but earth was seen beneath. 
 
 " He raves ! you have driven him from his right mind," 
 continued the trembling spinster; "would any man in his 
 senses keep gold under a hearth?" 
 
 " Peace, babbling fool !" cried Harvey. " Lift the corner 
 stone, and you will find that which will make you rich, and 
 me a beggar." 
 
 " And then you will be despisable," said the housekeeper 
 bitterly. " A peddler without goods and without money is 
 sure to be despisable." 
 
 "There will be enough left to pay for his halter," cried 
 the Skinner, who was not slow to follow the instructions of 
 Harvey, soon lighting upon a store of English guineas. 
 The money was quickly transferred to a bag, notwithstand- 
 ing the declarations of the spinster that her dues were un- 
 
THE SPY. 149 
 
 satisfied, and that, of right, ten of the guineas were her 
 property. 
 
 Delighted with a prize that greatly exceeded their expec- 
 tations, the band prepared to depart, intending to take the 
 peddler with them, in order to give him up to the American 
 troops above, and to claim the reward offered for his appre- 
 hension. Everything was ready, and they were about to lift 
 Birch in their arms, for he resolutely refused to move an 
 inch, when a form appeared in their midst which appalled 
 the stoutest heart among them. The father had arisen from 
 his bed, and he tottered forth at the cries of his son. 
 Around his body was thrown the sheet of the bed, and his 
 fixed eye and haggard face gave him the appearance of a 
 being from another world. Even Katy and Cffisar thought 
 it was the spirit of the elder Birch, and they fled the house, 
 followed by the alarmed Skinners in a body. 
 
 The excitement, which had given the sick man strength, 
 soon vanished, and the peddler, lifting him in his arms, re- 
 conveyed him to his bed. The reaction of the system which 
 followed hastened to close the scene. 
 
 The glazed eye of the father was fixed upon the son ; his 
 lips moved, but his voice was unheard. Harvey bent down, 
 and, with the parting breath of his parent, received his dy- 
 ing benediction. A life of privation and of wrongs embit- 
 tered most of the future hours of the peddler. But under 
 no sufferings, in no misfortunes, the subject of poverty and 
 obloquy, the remembrance of that blessing never left him ; 
 it constantly gleamed over the images of the past, shedding 
 a holy radiance around his saddest hours of despondency; 
 it cheered the prospect of the future with the prayers of a 
 pious spirit; and it brought the sweet assurance of having 
 faithfully and truly discharged the sacred offices of filial 
 love. 
 
 The retreat of Caesar and the spinster had been too pre- 
 cipitate to admit of much calculation; yet they themselves 
 instinctively separated from the Skinners. After fleeing a 
 
I JO THE SPY. 
 
 short distance they paused, and the maiden commenced, in 
 a solemn voice: 
 
 " Oh ! Caesar, was it not dreadful to walk before he had 
 been laid in his grave ! It must have been the money that 
 disturbed him : they say Captain Kidd walks near the spot 
 where he buried gold in the old war." 
 
 "I neber t'ink Johnny Birch hab such a big eye!" said 
 the African, his teeth yet chattering with the fright. 
 
 " I'm sure 'twould be a botherment to a living soul to 
 lose so much money. Harvey will be nothing but an utter- 
 ly despisable, poverty-stricken wretch. I wonder who he 
 thinks would be even his housekeeper!" 
 
 " Maybe a spook take away Harvey, too,'' observed Caesar, 
 moving still nearer to the side of the maiden. But a new 
 idea had seized the imagination of the spinster. She 
 thought it not improbable that the prize had been forsaken 
 in the confusion of the retreat ; and after deliberating and 
 reasoning for some time with Caesar, they determined to 
 venture back, and ascertain this important fact, and, if pos- 
 sible, learn what had been the fate of the peddler. Much 
 time was spent in cautiously approaching the dreaded spot; 
 and, as the spinster had sagaciously placed herself in the 
 line of the retreat of the Skinners, every stone was exam- 
 ined in the progress in search of the abandoned gold. But 
 although the suddenness of the alarm and the cry of Caesar 
 had impelled the freebooters to so hasty a retreat, they 
 grasped the hoard with a hold with death itself would not 
 have loosened. Perceiving everything to be quiet within, 
 Katy at length mustered resolution to enter the dwelling, 
 where she foi;:-!d the peddler, with a heavy heart, performing 
 the last sad offices for the dead. A few words sufficed to 
 explain to Katy the nature of her mistake; but Csesar con- 
 tinued to his dying day to astonish the sable inmates of the 
 kitchen with learned dissertations on spooks, and to relate 
 how direful was the appearance of that of Johnny Birch. 
 
 The danger compelled the peddler to abridge even the 
 
THE SPY. rjl 
 
 short period that American custom leaves the deceased with 
 us ; and, aided by the black and Katy, his painful task was 
 soon ended. Caesar volunteered to walk a couple oE miles 
 with orders to a carpenter; and, the body being habited in 
 its ordinary attire, was left, with a sheet thrown decently 
 over it, to await the return of the messenger. 
 
 The Skinners had fled precipitately to the wood, which 
 was but a short distance from the house of Birch, and, once 
 safely sheltered within its shades, they halted, and mustered 
 their panic-stricken forces. 
 
 "What in the name of fury seized your coward hearts.-'" 
 cried their dissatisfied leader, drawing his breath heavily. 
 
 " The same question might be asked yourself," returned 
 one of the band sullenly. 
 
 " From your fright, I thought a party of De Lancy's men 
 were upon us! Oh! you are brave gentlemen at a race!" 
 
 " We follow our captain." 
 
 " Then follow me back, and let us secure the scoundrel, 
 and receive the reward." 
 
 " Yes ; and by the time we reach the house, that black 
 rascal will have the mad Virginian upon us: by my soul, I 
 would rather meet fifty Cow-Boys than that single man." 
 
 "Fool!" cried the enraged leader, "don't you know Dun- 
 woodie's horse are at the Corners, full two miles from here ?" 
 
 " I care not where the dragoons are, but I will swear that 
 I saw Captain Lawton enter the house of old Wharton, 
 while I lay watching an opportunity of getting the British 
 colonel's horse from the stable." 
 
 " And if he should come, won't a bullet silence a dragoon 
 from the South as well as one from old England?" 
 
 " Ay, but I don't choose a hornet's nest about my ears; 
 rase the skin of one of that corps, and you will never see 
 another peaceable night's foraging again." 
 
 " Well," muttered the leader, as they retired deeper into 
 the wood, "this sottish peddler will stay to see the old devil 
 buried ; and though we cannot touch him at the funeral (for 
 
152 THE SPY. 
 
 that would raise every old woman and priest in America 
 against us), he'll wait to look after the movables, and to- 
 morrow night shall wind up his concerns." 
 
 With this threat they withdrew to one of their usual 
 places of resort, until darkness should again give them an 
 opportunity of marauding on the community without danger 
 of detection. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 O wo !0 woful, woful, woful day ! 
 Most lamentable day : most woful day, 
 That ever, ever, I did yet behold ! 
 O day ! O day ! O day ! O hateful day ! 
 Never was seen so black a day as this; 
 O woful day I O woful day ! 
 
 Shakspearb. 
 
 The family at the Locusts had slept, or watched, through 
 all the disturbances at the cottage of Birch, in perfect igno- 
 rance of their occurrence. The attacks of the Skinners 
 were always made with so much privacy as to exclude the 
 sufferers, not only from succor, but frequently, through a 
 dread of future depredations, from the commiseration of 
 their neighbors also. Additional duties had drawn the 
 ladies from their pillows at an hour somewhat earlier than 
 usual ; and Captain Lawton, notwithstanding the sufferings 
 of his body, had risen in compliance with a rule from 
 which he never departed, of sleeping but six hours at a 
 time. This was one of the few points, in which the care of 
 the human frame was involved, on which the trooper and 
 the surgeon of horse were ever known to agree. The doctor 
 had watched, during the night, by the side of the bed of 
 Captain Singleton, without once closing his eyes. Occa- 
 sionally he would pay a visit to the wounded Englishman, 
 who, being more hurt in the spirit than in the flesh, toler- 
 ated the interruptions with a very ill grace; and once, for 
 an instant, he ventured to steal softly to the bed of his ob- 
 
THE SPY. 153 
 
 stinate comrade, and was near succeeding in obtaining a 
 touch of his pulse, when a terrible oath, sworn by the trooper 
 in a dream, startled the prudent surgeon, and warned him of 
 a trite saying in the corps, " that Captain Lawton always 
 slept with one eye open." This group had assembled in 
 one of the parlors as the sun made its appearance over the 
 eastern hill, dispersing the columns of fog which had envel- 
 oped the low land. 
 
 Miss Peyton was looking from a window in the direction 
 of the tenement of the peddler, and was expressing a kind 
 anxiety after the welfare of the sick man, when the person 
 of Katy suddenly emerged from the dense covering of an 
 earthly cloud, whose mists were scattering before the cheer- 
 ing rays of the sun, and was seen making hasty steps toward 
 the Locusts. There was that in the air of the housekeeper 
 which bespoke distress of an unusual nature, and the kind- 
 hearted mistress of the Locusts opened the door of the room, 
 with the benevolent intention of soothing a grief that seemed 
 so overwhelming. A nearer view of the disturbed features 
 of the visitor confirmed Miss Peyton in her belief; and, 
 with the shock that gentle feelings ever experience at a sud- 
 den and endless separation from even the meanest of their 
 associates, she said hastily : 
 
 "Katy, is he gone?" 
 
 "No, ma'am," replied the disturbed damsel, with great 
 bitterness, " he is not yet gone, but he may go as soon as he 
 pleases now, for the worst is done. I do verily believe. 
 Miss Peyton, they haven't so much as left him money 
 enough to buy him another suit of clothes to cover his na- 
 kedness, and those he has on are none of the best, I can tell 
 you." 
 
 " How," exclaimed the other, astonished, " could any one 
 have the heart to plunder a man in such distress?" 
 
 "Hearts!" repeated Katy, catching her breath; "men 
 like them have no bowels at all. Plunder and distress, in- 
 deed ! Why, ma'am, there were in the iron pot, in plain 
 
154 THE SPY. 
 
 sight, fifty-four guineas of gold, besides what lay underneath, 
 which I couldn't count without handling; and I didn't like 
 to touch it, for they say that another's gold is apt to stick — 
 so, judging from that in sight, there wasn't less than two 
 hundred guineas, besides what might have been in the deer- 
 skin purse. But Harvey is little better now than a beggar; 
 and a beggar. Miss Jeanette, is the most awfully despisable 
 of all earthly creatures." 
 
 " Poverty is to be pitied, and not despised," said the lady, 
 still unable to comprehend the extent of the misfortune that 
 had befallen her neighbor during the night. " But how is 
 the old man, and does this loss affect him much?" 
 
 The countenance of Katy changed, from the natural ex- 
 pression of concern, to the set form of melancholy, as she 
 answered : 
 
 " He is happily removed from the cares of the world ; the 
 chinking of the money made him get out of his bed, and the 
 poor soul found the shock too great for him. He died about 
 two hours and ten minutes before the cock crowed, as near 
 as we can say" ; — she was interrupted by the physician, who, 
 approaching, inquired, with much interest, the nature of 
 the disorder. Glancing her eye over the figure of this 
 new acquaintance, Katy, instinctively adjusting her dress, 
 replied : 
 
 " 'Twas the troubles of the times, and the loss of proper- 
 ty, that brought him down ; he wasted from day to day, and 
 all my care and anxiety were lost; for now Harvey is no 
 better than a beggar, and who is there to pay me for what I 
 have done?" 
 
 " God will reward you for all the good you have done," 
 said Miss Peyton mildly. 
 
 " Yes," interrupted the spinster hastily, and with an air 
 of reverence that was instantly succeeded by an expression 
 that denoted more of worldly care ; " but then I have left my 
 wages for three years past in the hands of Harvey, and how 
 am I to get them ? My brothers told me, again and again, 
 
THE SPY. 155 
 
 to ask for my money; but I always thought accounts 
 between relations were easily settled." 
 
 "Were you related, then, to Birch?" asked Miss Peyton, 
 observing her to pause. 
 
 " Why," returned the housekeeper, hesitating a little, " I 
 thought we were as good a^ so. I wonder if I have no claim 
 on the house and garden ; though they say, now it is Har- 
 vey's it will surely be confisticated" ; turning to Lawton, 
 who had been sitting in one posture, with his piercing eyes 
 lowering at her through his thick brows, in silence, " per- 
 haps this gentleman knows — he seems to take an interest in 
 my story." 
 
 "Madam," said the trooper, bowing very low, "both you 
 and the tale are extremely interesting" — Katy smiled invol- 
 untarily — " but my humble knowledge is limited to the set- 
 ting of a squadron in the field, and using it when there. I 
 beg leave to refer you to Dr. Archibald Sitgreaves, a gentle- 
 man of universal attainments and unbounded philanthropy; 
 the very milk of human sympathies, and a mortal foe to all 
 indiscriminate cutting." 
 
 The surgeon drew up, and employed himself in whistling 
 a low air, as he looked over some vials on a table; but the 
 housekeeper, turning to him with an inclination of the head, 
 continued : 
 
 " I suppose, sir, a woman has no dower in her husband's 
 property, unless they be actually married?" 
 
 It was a maxim with Dr. Sitgreaves, that no species of 
 knowledge was to be despised; and, consequently, he was 
 an empiric in everything but his profession. At first, in- 
 dignation at the irony of his comrade kept him silent; but, 
 suddenly changing his purpose, he answered the applicant 
 with a good-natured smile: 
 
 "I judge not. If death has anticipated your nuptials, 
 I am fearful you have no remedy against his stern de- 
 crees." 
 
 To Katy this sounded well, although she understood noth- 
 
156 THE SPV. 
 
 ing of its meaning but "death" and "nuptials." To this 
 part of his speech, then, she directed her reply. 
 
 " I did think he only waited the death of the old gentle- 
 man before he married," said the housekeeper, looking on 
 the carpet, "but now he is nothing more than despisable, 
 or, what's the same thing, a peddler without house, pack, or 
 money. It might be hard for a man to get a wife at all in 
 such a predicary — don't you think it would. Miss Peyton?" 
 
 " 1 seldom trouble myself with such things," said the lady 
 gravely. 
 
 During this dialogue Captain Lawton had been studying 
 the countenance and manner of the housekeeper, with a most 
 ludicrous gravity ; and, fearful the conversation would cease, 
 he inquired, with an appearance of great interest: 
 
 " You think it was age and debility that removed the old 
 gentleman at last?" 
 
 " And the troublesome times. Trouble is a heavy pull- 
 down to a sick-bed ; but I suppose his time had come, and 
 when that happens, it matters but little what doctor's stuff 
 we take." 
 
 " Let me set you right in that particular," interrupted the 
 surgeon; "we must all die, it is true, but it is permitted us 
 to use the lights of science, in arresting dangers as they 
 occur, until " 
 
 " We can die secundum artem," cried the trooper. 
 
 To this observation the physician did not deign to reply; 
 but, deeming it necessary to his professsional dignity that 
 the conversation should continue, he added . 
 
 " Perhaps, in this instance, judicious treatment might 
 have prolonged the life of the patient. Who administered 
 to the case?" 
 
 " No one yet," said the housekeeper, with quickness ; " I 
 expect he has made his last will in the testament." 
 
 The surgeon disregarded the smile of the ladies, and 
 pursued his inquiries. 
 
 "It is doubtless wise to be prepared for death. But 
 
THE SPY. 157 
 
 under whose care was the sick man during his indisposi- 
 tion?" 
 
 "Under mine," answered Katy, with an air of a little im- 
 portance; " and care thrown away, I may well call it; for 
 Harvey is quite too despisable to be any sort of compensa- 
 tion at present." 
 
 The mutual ignorance of each other's meaning made very 
 little interruption to the dialogue, for both took a good deal 
 for granted, and Sitgreaves pursued the subject. 
 
 "And how did you treat him?" 
 
 " Kindly, you may be certain," said Katy, rather tartly. 
 
 " The doctor means medically, madam," observed Cap- 
 tain Lawton, with a face that would have honored the 
 funeral of the deceased. 
 
 " I doctor'd him mostly with yarbs," said the housekeeper, 
 smiling, as if conscious of error. 
 
 " With simples," returned the surgeon ; " they are safer in 
 the hands of the unlettered than more powerful remedies; 
 but why had you no regular attendant?" 
 
 " I'm sure Harvey has suffered enough already from hav- 
 ing so much concerns with the rig'lars," replied the house- 
 keeper; "he has lost his all, and made himself a vagabond 
 through the land; and I have reason to rue the day I ever 
 crossed the threshold of his house." 
 
 " Dr. Sitgreaves does not mean a rig'lar soldier, but a 
 regular physician, madam," said the trooper. 
 
 "Oh!" cried the maiden, again correcting herself, "for 
 the best of all reasons ; there was none to be had, so I took 
 care of him myself. If there had been a doctor at hand, I 
 am sure we would gladly have had him; for my part, I am 
 clear for doctoring, though Harvey says I am killing myself 
 with medicines; but I am sure it will make but little differ- 
 ence to him, whether I live or die." 
 
 " Therein you show your sense," said the surgeon, ap- 
 proaching the spinster, who sat holding the palms of her 
 hands and the soles of her feet to the genial heat of a fine 
 
IS8 THE SPY. 
 
 fire, making the most of comfort amid all her troubles; 
 " you appear to be a sensible, discreet woman, and some 
 who have had opportunities of acquiring more correct views 
 might envy you your respect for knowledge and the lights 
 of science." 
 
 Although the housekeeper did not altogether comprehend 
 the other's meaning, she knew he used a compliment, and as 
 such was highly pleased with what he said ; with increased 
 animation, therefore, she cried : " It was always said of me 
 that I wanted nothing but opportunity to make quite a phy- 
 sician myself; so long as before I came to live with Har- 
 vey's father, they called me the petticoat doctor.'' 
 
 " More true than civil, I dare say," returned the surgeon, 
 losing sight of the woman's character in his admiration of 
 her respect for the healing art. " In the absence of more 
 enlightened counsellors, the experience of a discreet matron 
 is frequently of great efficacy in checking the progress of 
 disease; under such circumstances, madam, it is dreadful to 
 have to contend with ignorance and obstinacy.'' 
 
 " Bad enough, as I well know from experience," cried 
 Katy, in triumph. " Harvey is as obstinate about such 
 things as a dumb beast; one would think the care I took of 
 his bedridden father might learn him better than to despise 
 good nursing. But some day he may know what it is to 
 want a careful woman in his house, though now I am sure 
 he is too despisable himself to have a house." 
 
 " Indeed, I can easily comprehend the mortification you 
 must have felt in having one so self-willed to deal with," 
 returned the surgeon, glancing his eyes reproachfully at his 
 comrade; "but you should rise superior to such opinions, 
 and pity the ignorance by which they are engendered." 
 
 The housekeeper hesitated a moment, at a loss to compre- 
 hend all that the surgeon expressed, yet she felt it was both 
 complimentary and kind; therefore, suppressing her natural 
 flow of language a little, she replied : 
 
 " I tell Harvey his conduct is often condemnable, and last 
 
THE SPY. 159 
 
 night he made my words good ; but the opinions of such 
 unbelievers is not very consequential ; yet it is dreadful to 
 think how he behaves at times ; now, when he threw away 
 the needle " 
 
 "What!" said the surgeon, interrupting her; "does he 
 affect to despise the needle? But it is my lot to meet with 
 men, daily, who are equally perverse, and who show a still 
 more culpable disrespect for the information that flows from 
 the lights of science." 
 
 The doctor turned his face toward Captain Lawton while 
 speaking, but tlie elevation of the head prevented his eyes 
 from resting on the grave countenance maintained by the 
 trooper. Katy listened with admiring attention, and when 
 the other had done she added : 
 
 "Then Harvey is a disbeliever in the tides." 
 
 " Not believe in the tides!" repeated the healer of bodies, 
 in astonishment; "does the man distrust his senses? But 
 perhaps it is the influence of the moon that he doubts.'' 
 
 "That he does!" exclaimed Katy, shaking with delight at 
 meeting with a man of learning who could support her favor- 
 ite opinions. " If you was to hear him talk, you would 
 think he didn't believe there was such a thing as a moon 
 at all." 
 
 " It is the misfortune of ignorance and incredulity, mad- 
 am, that they feed themselves. The mind once rejecting 
 useful information, insensibly leans to superstition and con- 
 clusions on the order of nature, that are not less prejudicial 
 to the cause of truth than they are at variance with the first 
 principles of human knowledge." 
 
 The spinster was too much awestruck to venture an undi- 
 gested reply to this speech; and the surgeon, after pausing 
 a moment in a kind of philosophical disdain, continued: 
 
 " That any man in his senses can doubt of the flux of the 
 tides is more than I could have thought possible; yet ob- 
 stinacy is a dangerous inmate to harbor, and may lead us 
 into any error, however gross.'' 
 
l60 THE SPY. 
 
 "You think, then, they have an effect on the flux?" said 
 the housekeeper inquiringly. 
 
 Miss Peyton rose, and beckoned her nieces to give her 
 their assistance in the adjoining pantry, while for a moment 
 the dark visage of the attentive Lawton was lighted by an 
 animation that vanished by an effort, as powerful and as 
 sudden, as the one that drew it into being. 
 
 After reflecting whether he rightly understood the mean- 
 ing of the other, the surgeon, making due allowance for 
 the love of learning, acting upon a want of education, re- 
 plied: 
 
 "The moon, you mean; many philosophers have doubted 
 how far it affects the tides; but I think it is wilfully reject- 
 ing the lights of science not to believe it causes both the 
 flux and reflux.'' 
 
 As reflux was a disorder with which Katy was not ac- 
 quainted, she thought it prudent to be silent; yet, burning 
 with curiosity to know the meaning of certain portentous 
 lights to which the other so often alluded, she ventured to 
 ask: 
 
 " If them lights he spoke of were what was called north- 
 ern lights in these parts?" 
 
 In charity to her ignorance, the surgeon would have en- 
 tered into an elaborate explanation of his meaning, had 
 he not been interrupted by the mirth of Lawton. The 
 trooper had listened so far with great composure; but now 
 he laughed until his aching bones reminded him of his fall, 
 and the tears rolled over his cheeks in larger drops than had 
 ever been seen there before. At length the offended physi- 
 cian seized an opportunity of a pause to say: 
 
 " To you, Captain Lawton, it may be a source of triumph 
 that an uneducated woman should make a mistake in a sub- 
 ject on which men of science have long been at variance ; 
 but yet you find this respectable matron does not reject the 
 lights — does not reject the use of proper instruments in re- 
 pairing injuries sustained by the human frame. You may 
 
THE SPY. 161 
 
 possibly remember, sir, lier allusion to the use of the 
 needle." 
 
 " Ay," cried the delighted trooper, " to mend the peddler's 
 breeches." 
 
 Katy drew up in evident displeasure, and, prompt to 
 vindicate her character for more lofty acquirements, she 
 said: 
 
 " 'Twas not a common use that I put that needle to — but 
 one of much greater virtue." 
 
 " Explain yourself, madam," said the surgeon impa- 
 tiently, " that this gentleman may see how little reason he 
 has for exultation." 
 
 Thus solicited, Katy paused to collect sufficient elo- 
 quence to garnish her narrative. The substance of her tale 
 was that a child who had been placed by the guardians of 
 the poor in the keeping of -Harvey had, in the absence of 
 its master, injured itself badly in the foot by a large needle. 
 The offending instrument had been carefully greased, 
 wrapped in woollen, and placed in a certain charmed nook 
 of the chimney; while the foot, from a fear of weakening 
 the incantation, was left in a state of nature. The arrival 
 of the peddler had altered the whole of this admirable treat- 
 ment; and the consequences were expressed by Katy, as 
 she concluded her narrative, by saying: 
 
 "'Twas no wonder the boy died of a lockjaw!" 
 
 Doctor Sitgreaves looked out of the window in admira- 
 tion of the brilliant morning, striving all he could to avoid 
 the basilisk eyes of his comrade. He was impelled, by a 
 feeling that he could not conquer, however, to look Captain 
 Lawton in the face. The trooper had arranged every mus- 
 cle of his countenance to express sympathy for the fate of 
 the poor child; but the exultation of his eyes cut the as- 
 tounded man of science to the quick; he muttered some, 
 thing concerning the condition of his patients, and retreated 
 with precipitation. 
 
 Miss Peyton entered into tlie situation of things at the 
 II 
 
1 62 THE SPY. 
 
 house of the peddler, with all the interest of her excellent 
 feelings; she listened patiently while Katy recounted, more 
 particularly, the circumstances of the past night as they had 
 occurred. The spinster did not forget to dwell on the mag- 
 nitude of the pecuniary loss sustained by Harvey, and in no 
 manner spared her invectives at his betraying a secret 
 which might so easily have been kept. 
 
 " For, Miss Peyton," continued the housekeeper, after a 
 pause to take breathe, " I would have given up life before I 
 would have given up that secret. At the most, they could 
 only have killed him, and now a body may say that they 
 have slain both soul and body ; or, what's the same thing, 
 they have made him a despisable vagabond. I wonder who 
 he thinks would be his wife, or who would keep his house. 
 For my part, my good name is too precious to be living with 
 a lone man; though, for the matter of that, he is never 
 there. I am resolved to tell him this day that stay there, 
 a single woman, I will not, an hour after the funeral ; and 
 marry him I don't think I will, unless he becomes steadier, 
 and more of a home body." 
 
 The mild mistress of the Locusts suffered the exuberance 
 of the housekeeper's feeling to expend itself, and then, by 
 one or two judicious questions, that denoted a more inti- 
 mate knowlege of the windings of the human heart in mat- 
 ters of Cupid than might fairly be supposed to belong to a 
 spinster, she extracted enough from Katy to discover the 
 improbability of Harvey's ever presuming to offer himself, 
 with his broken fortunes, to the acceptance of Katharine 
 Haynes. She, therefore, mentioned her own want of assist- 
 ance in the present state of her household, and expressed a 
 wish that Katy would change her residence to the Locusts, 
 in case the peddler had no further use for her services. 
 After a few preliminary conditions on the part of the waiy 
 housekeeper, the arrangement was concluded; and, making 
 a few more piteous lamentations on the weight of her own 
 losses, the stupidity of Harvey, united with some curiosity 
 
THE spy. 163 
 
 to know the future fate of tlie peddler, Katy withdrew to 
 make the necessary preparations for the approaching funeral, 
 which was to take place that day. 
 
 During the interview between the two females, Lawton, 
 through delicacy, had withdrawn. Anxiety took him to the 
 room of Captain Singleton. The character of this youth, 
 it has already been shown, endeared him in a peculiar man- 
 ner to every officer in the corps. The singularly mild de- 
 portment of the young dragoon had, on so many occasions, 
 been proved not to proceed from want of resolution, that 
 his almost feminine softness of manner and appearance had 
 failed to bring him into disrepute, even in that band of 
 partisan warriors. 
 
 To the major he was as dear as a brother, and his easy 
 submission to the directions of his surgeon had made him 
 a marked favorite with Dr. Sitgreaves. The rough usage 
 the corps often received in its daring attacks had brought 
 each of its officers, in succession, under the temporary keep- 
 ing of the surgeon. To Captain Singleton the man of sci- 
 ence had decreed the palm of docility, on such occasions, 
 and Captain Lawton he had fairly blackballed. He fre- 
 quently declared, with unconquerable simplicity and ear- 
 nestness of manner, that it gave him more pleasure to see the 
 former brought in wounded than any officer in the squadron, 
 and that the latter afforded him the least; a compliment 
 and condemnation that were usually received by the first of 
 the parties with a quiet smile of good-nature, and by the 
 last with a grave bow of thanks. On the present occasion, 
 the mortified surgeon and exulting trooper met in the room 
 of Captain Singleton, as a place where they could act on 
 common ground. Some time was occupied in joint atten- 
 tions to the comfort of the wounded officer, and the doctor 
 retired to an apartment prepared for his own accommoda- 
 tion; here, within a few minutes, he was surprised by the 
 entrance of Lawton. The triumph of the trooper had been 
 so c^.nplete that he felt he could afford to be generous, and, 
 
l64 THE SPY. 
 
 commencing by voluntarily throwing aside his coat, he cried 
 
 carelessly : 
 
 "Sitgreaves, administer a little of the aid of the lights of 
 science to my body, if you please." 
 
 The surgeon was beginning to feel this was a subject that 
 was intolerable, but, venturing a glance toward his com- 
 rade, he saw with surprise the preparations he had made, 
 and an air of sincerity about him that was unusual to his 
 manner when making such a request. Changing his intended 
 burst of resentment to a tone of civil inquiry, he said : 
 
 "Does Captain Lawton want anything at my hands?" 
 
 "Look for yourself, my dear sir," said the trooper mildly; 
 " here seem to be most of the colors of the rainbow on this 
 shoulder." 
 
 " You have reason for saying so," said the other, han- 
 dling the part with great tenderness and consummate skill; 
 "but happily nothing is broken. It is wonderful how well 
 you escaped!" 
 
 " I have been a tumbler from my youth, and I am past 
 minding a few falls from a horse; but, Sitgreaves," he 
 added, with affection, and pointing to a scar on his body, 
 "do you remember this bit of work?" 
 
 " Perfectly well, Jack ; it was bravely obtained, and neatly 
 extracted; but don't you think I had better apply an oil to 
 these bruises?" 
 
 "Certainly," said Lawton, with unexpected condescen- 
 sion. 
 
 " Now, my dear boy," said the doctor exultingly, as he 
 busied himself in applying the remedy to the hurts, " do 
 you not think it would have been better to have done all 
 this last night?" 
 
 "Quite probable." 
 
 " Yes, Jack, but if you had let me perform the operation 
 of phlebotomy when I first saw you, it would have been of 
 infinite service." 
 
 " No phlebotomy," said the other positively. 
 
THE SPY. 165 
 
 " It is now too late ; but a dose of oifl would carry off the 
 humors famously." 
 
 To this the captain made no reply, but grated his teeth, 
 in a way that showed the fortress of his mouth was not to be 
 assailed without a resolute resistance ; and the experienced 
 physician changed the subject by saying: 
 
 " It is a pity, John, that you did not catch the rascal, 
 after the danger and trouble you incurred." 
 
 The captain of dragoons made no reply; and, while plac- 
 ing some bandages on the wounded shoulder, the surgeon 
 continued : 
 
 " If I have any wish at all to destroy human life, it is to 
 have the pleasure of seeing that traitor hanged." 
 
 " I thought your business was to cure and not to slay," 
 said the trooper drily. 
 
 " Ay ! but he has caused us such heavy losses by his in- 
 formation that I sometimes feel a very unphilosophical tem- 
 per toward that spy." 
 
 " You should not encourage such feelings of animosity to 
 any of your fellow-creatures," returned Lawton, in a tone 
 that caused the operator to drop a pin he was arranging in 
 the bandages from his hand. He looked the patient in the 
 face to remove all doubts of his identity; finding, however, 
 it was his old comrade. Captain John Lawton, who had 
 spoken, he rallied his astonished faculties, and proceeded 
 by saying: 
 
 " Your doctrine is just, and in general I subscribe to it. 
 But, John, my dear fellow, is the bandage easy?" 
 
 " Quite." 
 
 "I agree with you as a whole; but, as matter is infinitely 
 divisible, so no case exists without an exception. Lawton, 
 do you feel easy.'" 
 
 "Very." 
 
 "It is not only cruel to the sufferer, but sometimes unjust 
 to others, to take human life where a less punishment would 
 answer the purpose. Now, Jack, if you were only — move 
 
1 66 THE SPY. 
 
 your arm a little — if you were only — I hope you feel easier, 
 my dear friend?" 
 
 " Much." 
 
 " If, my dear John, you would teach your men to cut with 
 more discretion, it would answer you the same purpose — 
 and give me great pleasure." 
 
 The doctor drew a heavy sigh, as he was enabled to get 
 rid of what was nearest to his heart; and the dragoon coolly 
 replaced his coat, saying with great deliberation as he 
 retired: 
 
 "I know no troop that cut more judiciously; they gener- 
 ally shave from the crown to the jaw." 
 
 The disappointed operator collected his instruments, and 
 with a heavy heart proceeded to pay a visit to the room of 
 Colonel Wellmere. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 This fairy form contains a soul as mighty 
 As that which lives within a giant's frame ; 
 These slender limbs, that tremble like the aspea 
 At summer evening's sigh, uphold a spirit. 
 Which, roused, can tower to the height of heaven. 
 And light those shining windows of the face 
 With much of heaven's own radiance. 
 
 Duo. 
 
 The number and character of her guests had greatly added 
 to the cares of Miss Jeanette Peyton. The morning found 
 them all restored, in some measure, to their former ease of 
 body, with the exception of the youthful captain of dra- 
 goons, who had been so deeply regretted by Dunwoodie. 
 The wound of this officer was severe, though the surgeon 
 persevered in saying that it was without danger. His com- 
 rade, we have shown, had deserted his couch; and Henry 
 Wharton awoke from a sleep that had been undisturbed by 
 anything but a dream of suffering amputation under the 
 hands of a surgical novice. As it proved, however, to be 
 
THE SPY. 167 
 
 nothing but a dream, the youth found himself much re- 
 freshed by his slumbers; and Dr. Sitgreaves removed all 
 further apprehensions by confidently pronouncing that he 
 would be a well man within a fortnight. 
 
 During all this time Colonel Wellmere did not make his 
 appearance; he breakfasted in his own room, and, notwith- 
 standing certain significant smiles of the man of science, 
 declared himself too much injured to rise from his bed. 
 Leaving him, therefore, endeavoring to conceal his chagrin 
 in the solitude of his chamber, the surgeon proceeded to the 
 more grateful task of sitting an hour by the bedside of 
 George Singleton. A slight flush was on the face of the 
 patient as the doctor entered the room; and the latter ad- 
 vanced promptly, and laid his fingers on the pulse of the 
 youth, beckoning to him to be silent, while he muttered to 
 himself: 
 
 " Growing symptoms of a febrile pulse — no, no, my dear 
 George, you must remain quiet and dumb ; though your eyes 
 look better, and your skin has even a moisture." 
 
 "Nay, my dear Sitgreaves," said the youth, taking his 
 hand, " you see there is no fever about me ; look, is there 
 any of Jack Lawton's hoar-frost on my tongue?" 
 
 " No, indeed," said the surgeon, clapping a spoon in the 
 mouth of the other, forcing it open, and looking down his 
 throat as if disposed to visit the interior in person ; " the 
 tongue is well, and the pulse begins to lower again. Ah! 
 the bleeding did you good. Phlebotomy is a sovereign 
 specific for southern constitutions. But that madcap Law- 
 ton obstinately refused to be blooded for a fall he had from 
 his horse last night. Why, George, your case is becoming 
 singular," continued the doctor, instinctively throwing aside 
 his wig; "your pulse even and soft, your skin moist, but 
 your eye fiery, and cheek flushed. Oh! I must examine 
 more closely into these symptoms." 
 
 " Softly, my good friend, softly," said the youth, falling 
 back on his pillow, and losing some of that color which 
 
1 68 THE SPY. 
 
 alarmed his companion ; " I believe, in extracting the ball, 
 you did for me all that is required. I am free from pain, 
 and only weak, I do assure you." 
 
 " Captain Singleton," said the surgeon, with heat, " it is 
 presumptuous in you to pretend to tell your medical atten- 
 dant when you are free from pain; if it be not to enable us 
 to decide in such matters, of what avail the lights of science? 
 For shame, George, for shame! even that perverse fellow, 
 John Lawton, could not behave with more obstinacy." 
 
 His patient smiled, as he gently repulsed his physician in 
 an attempt to undo the bandages, and, with a returning glow 
 to his cheeks, inquired : 
 
 " Do, Archibald" — a term of endearment that seldom 
 failed to soften the operator's heart — " tell me what spirit 
 from heaven has been gliding around my apartment, while 
 I lay pretending to sleep?" 
 
 " If any one interferes with my patients," cried the doctor 
 hastily, " I will teach them, spirit or no spirit, what it is to 
 meddle with another man's concerns." 
 
 " Tut — my dear fellow, there was no interference made, 
 nor any intended; see," exhibiting the bandages, "every- 
 thing is as you left it — but it glided about the room with the 
 grace of a fairy, and the tenderness of an angel." 
 
 The surgeon, having satisfied himself that everything was 
 as he had left it, very deliberately resumed his seat and re- 
 placed his wig, as he inquired, with a brevity that would 
 have honored Lieutenant Mason: 
 
 "Had it petticoats, George?" 
 
 "I saw nothing but its heavenly eyes — its bloom — its 
 
 majestic step — its grace," replied the young man, with rather 
 
 more ardor than his surgeon thought consistent with his de- 
 
 ' bilitated condition ; and he laid his hand on his mouth to 
 
 stop him, saying himself: 
 
 " It must have been Miss Jeanette Peyton — a lady of fine 
 accomplishments, with — hem — with something of the kind 
 of step you speak of — a very complacent eye ; and as to the 
 
THE SPY. 169 
 
 bloom, I dare say offices of charity can summon as fine a 
 color to her cheeks as glows in the faces of her more 
 youthful nieces." 
 
 "Nieces! has she nieces, then? The angel I saw may 
 be a daughter, a sister, or a niece — but never an aunt." 
 
 "Hush, George, hush; your talking has brought your 
 ^■ilse up again. You must observe quiet, and prepare for a 
 meeting with yojr own sister, who will be here within an 
 hour." 
 
 "What, Isabella! and who sent for her?" 
 
 "The major." 
 
 "Considerate Dunwoodie!" murmured the exhausted 
 youth, sinking again on his pillow, where the commands of 
 his a!:tendant compelled him to remain silent. 
 
 Even Captain Lawton had been received with many and 
 courteous inquiries after the state of his health, from all the 
 members of the family, when he made his morning entrance; 
 but an invisible spirit presided over the comforts of the 
 English colonel. Sarah had shrunk with consciousness 
 from entering the room ; yet she knew the position of every 
 glass, and had, with her own hands, supplied the contents of 
 every bowl that stood on his table. 
 
 At the time of our tale, W2 were a divided people, and 
 Sarah thought it was no more than her duty to cherish the 
 institutions of that country to which she yet clung as the 
 land of her forefathers ; but there were other and more co- 
 gent reasons for the silent preference she was giving to the 
 Englishman. His image had first filled the void in her 
 youthful fancy, and it was an image that was distinguished 
 by many of those attractions that can enchain a female 
 heart. It is true, he wanted the personal excellence of Pey- 
 ton Dunwoodie, but his pretensions were far from contemp- 
 tible. Sarah had moved about the house during the morn- 
 ing, casting frequent and longing glances at the door of 
 Wellmere's apartment, anxious to learn the condition of his 
 wounds, and yet ashamed to inquire; conscious interest 
 
I70 THE SPY-. 
 
 kept her tongue tied, until her sister, with the frankness of 
 innocence, had put the desired question to Dr. Sitgreaves. 
 
 " Colonel Wellmere," said the operator gravely, " is in 
 what I call a state of free-will, madam. He is ill, or he is 
 well, as he pleases. His case, young lady, exceeds my art 
 to heal; and I take it Sir Henry Clinton is the best adviser 
 he can apply to; though Major Dunwoodie has made the 
 communication with his leech rather difficult." 
 
 Frances smiled, but averted her face, while Sarah moved, 
 with the grace of an offended Juno, from the apartment. 
 Her own room, however, afforded her but little relief, and 
 in passing through the long gallery that communicated with 
 each of the chambers of the building she noticed the door 
 of Singleton's room to be open. The wounded youth 
 seemed sleeping, and was alone. She had ventured lightly 
 into the apartment, and busied herself for a few minutes in 
 arranging the tables, and the nourishment provided for the 
 patient, hardly conscious of what she was doing, and possi- 
 bly dreaming that these little feminine offices were per- 
 formed for another. Her natural bloom was heightened by 
 the insinuation of the surgeon, nor was the lustre of her eye 
 in any degree diminished. The sound of the approaching 
 footstep of Sitgreaves hastened her retreat down a private 
 stairway, to the side of her sister. The sisters then sought 
 the fresh air on the piazza; and as they pursued their walk, 
 arm in arm, the following dialogue took place: 
 
 " There is something disagreeable about this surgeon of 
 Dunwoodie," said Sarah, "that causes me to wish him away 
 most heartily." 
 
 Frances fixed her laughing eyes on her sister; but for- 
 bearing to speak, the other readily construed their expres- 
 sion, and hastily added : " But I forget he is one of your 
 renowned corps of Virginians, and must be spoken of 
 reverently." 
 
 "As respectfully as you please, my dear sister; there is 
 but little danger of exceeding the truth." 
 
THE SPV. 17 1 
 
 "Not in your opinion," said the elder, with a little 
 warmth; "but I think Mr. Dunwoodie has taken a liberty 
 that exceeds the rights of consanguinity; he has made our 
 father's house a hospital.'' 
 
 " We ought to be grateful that none of the patients it con- 
 tains are dearer to us." 
 
 " Your brother is one." 
 
 " True, true," interrupted Frances, blushing to the eyes ; 
 "but he leaves his room, and thinks his wound lightly pur- 
 chased by the pleasure of being with his friends. If," she 
 added, with a tremulous lip, " this dreadful suspicion that is 
 affixed to his visit were removed, I could consider his 
 wound of little moment." 
 
 "TTou now have the fruits of rebellion brought home to 
 you ; a brother wounded and a prisoner, and perhaps a vic- 
 tim ; your father distressed, his privacy interrupted, and not 
 improbably his estates torn from him, on account of his 
 loyalty to his king." 
 
 Frances continued her walk in silence. While facing the 
 northern entrance to the vale, her eyes were uniformly fast- 
 ened on the point where the road was suddenly lost by the 
 intervention of a hill; and at each turn, as she lost sight of 
 the spot, she lingered until an impatient movement of her 
 sister quickened her pace to an even motion with that of her 
 own. At length, a single horse-chaise was seen making its 
 way carefully among the stones which lay scattered over the 
 country road that wound through the valley, and approached 
 the cottage. The color of Frances changed as the vehicle 
 gradually drew nearer; and when she was enabled to see 
 a female form in it by the side of a black in livery, her 
 limbs shook with an agitation that compelled her to lean on 
 Sarah for support. In a few minutes the travellers ap- 
 proached the gate. It was thrown open by a dragoon who 
 followed the carriage, and who had been the messenger dis- 
 patched by Dunwoodie to the father of Captain Singleton. 
 Miss Peyton advanced to receive their guest, and the sisters 
 
172 THE SPY. 
 
 united in giving her the kindest welcome; still Frances 
 could with difficulty withdraw her truant eyes from the 
 countenance of their visitor. She was young, and of a light 
 and fragile form, but of exquisite proportions. Her eye 
 WAS large, full, black, piercing, and at times a little wild. 
 Her hair was luxuriant, and, as it was without the powder it 
 was then the fashion to wear, it fell in raven blackness. A 
 few of its lock^had fallen on her cheek, giving its chilling 
 whiteness by the contrast a more deadly character. Dr. Sit- 
 greaves supported her from the chaise ; and when she gained 
 the floor of the piazza, she turned an expressive look on the 
 face of the practitioner. 
 
 " Your brother is out of danger, and wishes to see you, 
 Miss Singleton," said the surgeon. 
 
 The lady burst into a flood of tears. Frances had stood 
 contemplating the action and face of Isabella with a kind 
 of uneasy admiration, but she now sprang to her side with 
 the ardor of a sister, and, kindly drawing her arm within 
 her own, led the way to a retired room. The movement was 
 so ingenuous, so considerate, and so delicate, that even Miss 
 Peyton withheld her interference, following the youthful 
 pair with only her eyes and a smile of complacency. The 
 feeling was communicated to all the spectators, and they 
 dispersed in pursuit of their usual avocations. Isabella 
 yielded to the gentle influence of Frances without resist- 
 ance; and, having gained the room where the latter con- 
 ducted her, wept in silence on the shoulder of the observant 
 and soothing girl, until Frances thought her tears exceeded 
 the emotion natural to the occasion. The sobs of Miss 
 Singleton for a time were violent and uncontrollable, until, 
 with an evident exertion, she yielded to a kind observation 
 of her companion, and succeeded in suppressing her tears. 
 Raising her face to the eyes of Frances, she rose, while a 
 smile of beautiful radiance passed over her features; and, 
 making a hasty apology for the excess of her emotion, she 
 desired to be conducted to the room of the invalid. 
 
THE SPY. 173 
 
 The meeting between the brother and sister was warm, 
 but, by an effort on the part of the lady, more composed than 
 her previous agitation had given reason to expect. Isabella 
 found her brother looking better, and in less danger than 
 her sensitive imagination had led her to suppose. Her spir- 
 its rose in proportion; from despondency, she passed to 
 something like gaiety; her beautiful eyes sparkled with ren- 
 ovated brilliancy; and her face was lighted with smiles so 
 fascinating that Frances, who, in compliance with her ear- 
 nest entreaties, had accompanied her to the sick-chamber, 
 sat gazing on a countenance that possessed so wonderful va- 
 riability, impelled by a charm that was beyond her control. 
 The youth had thrown an earnest look at Frances, as soon 
 as his sister raised herself from his arms, and perhaps it was 
 the first glance at the lovely lineaments of our heroine, when 
 the gazer turned his eyes from the view in disappointment. 
 He seemed bewildered, rubbed his forehead like a man 
 awakening from a dream, and mused. 
 
 "Where is Dunwoodie, Isabella?" he said; "the excel- 
 lent fellow is never weary of kind actions. After a day of 
 such service as that of yesterday, he has spent the night in 
 bringing me a nurse, whose presence alone is able to raise 
 me from my couch.'' 
 
 The expression of the lady's countenance changed; her 
 eye roved round the apartment with a character of wildness 
 in it that repelled the anxious Frances, who studied her 
 movements with unabated interest. 
 
 " Dunwoodie ! is he then not here ? I thought to have 
 met him by the side of my brother's bed." 
 
 " He has duties that require his presence elsewhere ; the 
 English are said to be out by the way of the Hudson, and 
 they give us light troops but little rest; surely nothing else 
 could have kept him so long from a wounded friend. But, 
 Isabella, the meeting has been too much for you; you 
 tremble." 
 
 Isabella made no reply; she stretched her hand toward 
 
174 THE SPY. 
 
 the table which held the nourishment of the captain, and 
 the attentive Frances comprehended her wishes in a mo- 
 ment. A glass of water in some measure revived the sister, 
 who was enabled to say : 
 
 " Doubtless it is his duty. 'Twas said above, a royal 
 party was moving on the river ; though I passed the troops 
 but two miles from this spot." The latter part of the sen- 
 tence was hardly audible, and it was spoken more in the 
 manner of a soliloquy, than as if intended for the ears of 
 her companions. 
 
 "On the march, Isabella.'" eagerly inquired her brother. 
 "No: dismounted, and seemingly at rest," was the reply. 
 The wondering dragoon turned his gaze on the counte- 
 nance of his sister, who sat with her eye bent on the carpet 
 in unconscious absence, but found no explanation. His 
 look was changed to the face of Frances, who, startled by 
 the earnestness of his expression, arose, and hastily inquired 
 if he would have any assistance. 
 
 " If you can pardon the rudeness,'' said the wounded offi- 
 cer, making a feeble effort to raise his body, " I would re- 
 quest to have Captain Lawton's company for a moment." 
 
 Frances hastened instantly to communicate his wish to 
 that gentleman, and, impelled by an interest she could not 
 control, she returned again to her seat by the side of Miss 
 Singleton. 
 
 "Lawton," said the youth impatiently, as the trooper 
 entered, "hear you from the major.''" 
 
 The eye of the sister was now bent on the face of the 
 trooper, who made his salutations to the lady with ease, 
 blended with the frankness of a soldier. 
 
 "His man has been here twice, " he said, "to inquire 
 how we fared in the Lazaretto." 
 "And why not himself?" 
 
 " That is a question the major can answer best ; but you 
 know the redcoats are abroad, and Dunwoodie commands in 
 the county; these English must be looked to." 
 
THE SPY. 175 
 
 "True," said Singleton slowly, as if struck with the oth- 
 er's reasons; "but how is it that you are idle, when there is 
 work to do?" 
 
 " My sword arm is not in the best condition, and Roanoke 
 has but a shambling gait this morning; besides, there is 
 another reason I could mention, if it were not that Miss 
 Wharton would never forgive me." 
 
 "Speak, I beg, without dread of my displeasure," said 
 Frances, returning the good-humored smile of the trooper 
 with the archness natural to her own sweet face. 
 
 "The odors of your kitchen, then," cried Lawton bluntly; 
 "forbid my quitting the domains, until I qualify myself to 
 speak with more certainty concerning the fatness of the 
 land." 
 
 " Oh! Aunt Jeanette is exerting herself to do credit to my 
 father's hospitality," said the laughing girl, "and I am a 
 truant from her labors, as I shall be a stranger to her favor, 
 unless I proffer my assistance." 
 
 Frances withdrew to seek her aunt, musing deeply on the 
 character and extreme sensibility of the new acquaintance 
 chance had brought to the cottage. 
 
 The wounded officer followed her with his eyes, as she 
 moved, with infantile grace, through the door of his apart- 
 ment, and, as she vanished from his view, he observed : 
 
 " Such an aunt and niece are seldom to be met with, 
 Jack; this seems a fairy, but the aunt is angelic." 
 
 "You are doing well, I see; your enthusiasm for the sex 
 holds its own." 
 
 " I should be ungrateful as well as insensible, did I not 
 bear testimony to the loveliness of Miss Peyton." 
 
 " A good motherly lady, but as to love, that is a matter 
 of taste. A few years younger, with deference to her 
 prudence and experience, would accord better with my 
 fancy." 
 
 " She must be under twenty," said the other quickly. 
 
 " It depends on the way you count. If you begin at the 
 
176 THE SPY. 
 
 heel of life, well; but if you reckon downward, as is most 
 common, I think she is nearer forty." 
 
 " You have mistaken an elder sister for the aunt," said 
 Isabella, laying her fair hand on the mouth of the invalid; 
 "you must be silent! your feelings are beginning to affect 
 your frame." 
 
 The entrance of Dr. Sitgreaves, who, in some alarm, no- 
 ticed the increase of feverish symptoms in his patient, en- 
 forced this mandate; and the trooper withdrew to pay a visit 
 of condolence to Roanoke, who had been an equal sufferer 
 with himself in their last night's somerset. To his great 
 joy, his man pronounced the steed to be equally convales- 
 cent with the master ; and Lawton found that by dint of rub- 
 bing the animal's limbs, several hours without ceasing, he 
 was enabled to place his feet in what he called systematic 
 motion. Orders were accordingly given to be in readiness 
 to rejoin the troop at the Four Corners, as soon as his mas- 
 ter had shared in the bounty of the approaching banquet. 
 
 In the mean time, Henry Wharton entered the apartment 
 of Wellmere, and by his sympathy succeeded in restoring 
 the colonel to his own good graces. The latter was conse- 
 quently enabled to rise, and prepared to meet a rival of 
 whom he had spoken so lightly, and, as the result had 
 proved, with so little reason. Wharton knew that their mis- 
 fortune, as they both termed their defeat, was owing to the 
 other's rashness ; but he forbore to speak of anything except 
 the unfortunate accident which had deprived the English of 
 their leader, and to which he good-naturedly ascribed their 
 subsequent discomfiture. 
 
 "In short, Wharton," said the colonel, putting one leg 
 cut of bed, " it may be called a combination of untoward 
 events; your own ungovernable horse prevented my orders 
 from being carried to the major, in season to flank the 
 rebels." 
 
 "Very true," replied the captain, kicking a slipper toward 
 the bed; "had we succeeded in getting a few good fires 
 
THE SPY. 177 
 
 upon them in flank, we should have sent these brave Vir- 
 ginians to the right about." 
 
 "Ay! and that in double-quick time," cried the colonel, 
 making the other leg follow its companion ; " then it was 
 necessary to rout the guides, you know, and the movement 
 gave them the best possible opportunity to charge." 
 
 " Yes," said the other, sending the second slipper after 
 the first; "and this Major Dunwoodie never overlooks an 
 advantage." 
 
 " I think if we had the thing to do over again," continued 
 the colonel, raising himself on his feet, " we might alter the 
 case very materially, though the chief thing the rebels have 
 now to boast of is my capture ; they were repulsed, you saw, 
 in their attempt to drive us from the wood." 
 
 " At least they would have been, had they made an at- 
 tack," said the captain, throwing the rest of his clothes 
 within reach of the colonel. 
 
 " Why, that is the same thing," returned Wellmere, be- 
 ginning to dress himself ; " to assume such an attitude as 
 to intimidate your enemy, is the chief art of war." 
 
 " Doubtless, then, you may remember in one of their 
 charges they were completely routed." 
 
 " True — true," cried the colonel, with animation : " had 
 I been there to have improved that advantage, we might 
 have turned the table on the Yankees"; saying which, he 
 displayed still greater animation in completing his toilet; 
 and he was soon prepared to make his appearance, fully re- 
 stored to his own good opinion, and fairly persuaded that 
 his capture was owing to casualties absolutely beyond the 
 control of man. 
 
 The knowledge that Colonel Wellmere was to be a guest 
 at the table in no degree diminished the preparations which 
 were already making for the banquet; and Sarah, after re- 
 ceiving the compliments of the gentleman, and making 
 many kind inquiries after the state of his wounds, pro- 
 ceeded in person to lend her counsel and taste to one of 
 12 
 
178 THE SPY. 
 
 those labored entertainments, which at that ^ay were so fre- 
 quent in country life, and which are not entirely banished 
 from our domestic economy at the present moment 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 1 will stand to and feed. 
 Although my last. 
 
 Tempat. 
 
 The savor of preparation which had been noticed by Cap- 
 tain Lawton began to increase within the walls of the cot- 
 tage. Certain sweet-smelling odors, that arose from the 
 subterranean territories of Cassar, gave to the trooper the 
 most pleasing assurances that his olfactory nerves, which 
 on such occasions were as acute as his eyes on others, had 
 faithfully performed their duty ; and for the benefit of en- 
 joying the passing sweets as they arose, the dragoon so 
 placed himself at a window of the building that not a vapor 
 charged with the spices of the east could exhale on its pas- 
 sage to the clouds, without first giving its incense to his 
 nose. Lawton, however, by no means indulged himself in 
 this comfortable arrangement, without first making such 
 preparations to do meet honor to the feast, as his scanty 
 wardrobe would allow. The uniform of his corps was 
 always a passport to the best tables, and this, though some- 
 what tarnished by faithful service and unceremonious usage, 
 was properly brushed and decked out for the occasion. His 
 head, which nature had ornamented with the blackness of a 
 crow, now shone with the whiteness of snow; and his bony 
 hand, that so well became the sabre, peered from beneath a 
 ruffle with something like maiden coyness. The improve- 
 ments of the dragoon went no further, excepting that his 
 boots shone with more than holiday splendor, and his spurs 
 glittered in the rays of the sun, as became the pure ore of 
 which they were composed. 
 
THE SPY. 179 
 
 Ceesar moved through the apartments with a face charged 
 with an importance exceeding even that which had accom- 
 panied him in his melancholy task of the morning. The 
 black had early returned from the errand on which he had 
 been despatched by the pedler, and, obedient to the com- 
 mands of his mistress, promptly appeared to give his ser- 
 vices, where his allegiance was due; so serious, indeed, was 
 his duty now becoming that it was only at odd moments he 
 was enabled to impart to his sable brother, who had been 
 sent in attendance on Miss Singleton to the Locusts, any 
 portion of the wonderful incidents of the momentous night 
 he had so lately passed. By ingeniously using, however, 
 such occasions as accidentally offered, Caesar communicated 
 so many of the heads of his tale as served to open the eyes 
 of his visitor to their fullest width. The gusto for the mar- 
 vellous was innate in these sable worthies; and Miss Pey- 
 ton found it necessary to interpose her authority, in order 
 to postpone the residue of the history to a more befitting 
 opportunity. 
 
 "Ah! Miss Jinnett," said Caesar, shaking his head, and 
 looking all that he expressed, " 'twas awful to see Johnny 
 Birch walk on a feet when he lie dead!" 
 
 This concluded the conversation ; though the black prom- 
 ised himself the satisfaction, and did not fail to enjoy it, of 
 having many a good gossip on the solemn subject at a future 
 period. 
 
 The ghost thus happily laid, the department of Miss Pey- 
 ton flourished; and by the time the afternoon's sun had 
 travelled a two hours' journey from the meridian, the formal 
 procession from the kitchen to the parlor commenced, under 
 the auspices of Caesar, who led the van, supjjorting a turkey 
 on the palms of his withered hands with the dexterity of a 
 balance-master. 
 
 Next followed the servant of Captain Lawton, bearing, as 
 he marched stiffly, and walking wide, as if allowing room 
 for his steed, a ham of true Virginian flavor; a present 
 
l80 THE SPY. 
 
 from the spinster's brother in Accomac. The supporter of 
 this savory dish kept his eye on his trust with military 
 precision; and by the time he reached his destination it 
 might be difficult to say which contained the most juice, his 
 own mouth or the Accomac bacon. 
 
 Third in the line was to be seen the valet of Colonel 
 Wellmere, who carried in either hand chickens fricasseed 
 and oyster patties. 
 
 After him marched the attendant of Dr. Sitgreaves, who 
 had instinctively seized an enormous tureen, as most resem- 
 bling matters he understood, and followed on in place until 
 the steams of the soup so completely bedimmed the specta- 
 cles he wore, as a badge of office, that, on arriving at the 
 scene of action, he was compelled to deposit his freight on 
 the floor, until, by removing the glasses, he could see his 
 way through the piles of reserved china and plate-warmers. 
 
 Next followed another trooper, whose duty it was to attend 
 on Captain Singleton; and, as if apportioning his appetite 
 to the feeble state of his master, he had contented himself 
 with conveying a pair of ducks, roasted, until their tempting 
 fragrance beg<in to make him repent his having so lately de- 
 molished a breakfast that had been provided for his master's 
 sister, with another prepared for himself. 
 
 The white boy who belonged to the house brought up the 
 rear, groaning under the load of sundry dishes of vegetables, 
 that the cook, by way of climax, had unwittingly heaped on 
 him. 
 
 But this was far from all of the preparations for that day's 
 feast. Caesar had no sooner deposited his bird, which but 
 the week before had been flying among the highlands of 
 Dutchess, little dreaming of so soon heading such a goodly 
 assemblage, than he turned mechanically on his heel, and 
 took up his line of march again for the kitchen. In this 
 evolution the black was imitated by his companions in suc- 
 cession, and another procession to the parlor followed in 
 the same order. By this admirable arrangement whole 
 
THE SPY. l8l 
 
 flocks of pigeons, certain bevies of quails, shoals of flat-fish, 
 bass, and sundry woodcock, found their way into the pres- 
 ence of the company. 
 
 A third attack brought suitable quantities of potatoes, 
 onions, beets, cold-slaw, rice, and all the other minutiae of 
 a goodly dinner. 
 
 The board now fairly groaned with American profusion ; 
 and Caesar, glancing his eye over the show with a most ap- 
 proving conscience, after readjusting every dish that, had 
 not been placed on the table with his own hands, proceeded 
 to acquaint the mistress of the revels that his task was hap- 
 pily accomplished. 
 
 Some half-hour before the culinary array just recorded 
 took place, all the ladies disappeared, much in the same 
 unaccountable manner that swallows flee the approach of 
 winter. But the springtime of their return had arrived, 
 and the whole party were collected in an apartment that, in 
 consequence of its containing no side-table, and being fur- 
 nished with a chintz coverlet settee, was termed a with- 
 drawing-room. 
 
 The kind-hearted spinster had deemed the occasion 
 worthy not only of extraordinary preparations in the culi- 
 nary department, but had seen proper to deck her own per- 
 son in garments suited to the guests whom it was now her 
 happiness to entertain. 
 
 On her head Miss Peyton wore a cap of exquisite lawn, 
 which was ornamented in front with a broad border of lace, 
 that spread from the face in such a manner as to admit of a 
 display of artificial flowers, clustered in a group on the sum- 
 mit of her fine forehead. 
 
 The color of her hair was lost in the profusion of powder 
 with which it was covered; but a slight curling of the ex- 
 tremities in some degree relieved the formality of its ar- 
 rangement, and gave a look of feminine softness to the 
 features. 
 
 Her dress was a rich, heavy silk, of violet color, cut low 
 
1 82 THE SPY. 
 
 around the bust, with a stomacher of the same material that 
 fitted close to the figure and exhibited the form, from the 
 shoulders to the waist, in its true proportions. Below the 
 dress was full, and sufficiently showed that parsimony in 
 attire was not a foible of the day. A small loop displayed 
 the beauty of the fabric to advantage, and aided in giving 
 majesty to the figure. 
 
 The tall stature of the lady was heightened by shoes of 
 the same material with the dress, whose heels added more 
 than ai inch to the liberality of nature. 
 
 The' sleeves were short and close to the limb, until they 
 fell off at the elbows in large rufiles, that hung in rich pro- 
 fusion from the arm when extended; and duplicates and 
 triplicates of lawn, trimmed with Dresden lace, lent their 
 aid in giving delicacy to a hand and arm that yet retained 
 their whiteness and symmetry. A treble row of large pearls 
 closely encircled her throat ; and a handkerchief of lace par- 
 tially concealed that part of the person that the silk had left 
 exposed, but which the experience of forty years had warned 
 Miss Peyton should now be veiled. 
 
 Thus attired, and standing erect with the lofty grace that 
 distinguished the manners of that day, the maiden would 
 have looked into nothingness a bevy of modern belles. 
 
 The taste of Sarah had kept even pace with the decora- 
 tions of her aunt ; and a dress, differing in no respect from 
 the one just described but in material and tints, exhibited 
 her imposing form to equal advantage. The satin of her 
 robe was of a pale bluish color. Twenty years did not, 
 however, require the screen that was prudent in forty, and 
 nothing but an envious border of exquisite lace hid, in some 
 measure, what the satin left exposed to view. The upper 
 part of the bust and the fine fall of the shoulders were blaz- 
 ing in all their native beauty, and, like the aunt, the throat 
 was ornamented by a treble row of pearls, to correspond 
 with which were rings of the same quality in the ears. The 
 head was without a cap, and the hair drawn up from the 
 
THE SPY. 183 
 
 countenance so as to give to the eye all the loveliness of a 
 forehead as polished as marble and as white as snow. A 
 few straggling curls fell gracefully on the neck, and a bou- 
 quet of artificial flowers was also placed like a coionet, over 
 her brow. 
 
 Miss Singleton had resigned her brother to the advice of 
 Dr. Sitgreaves, who had succeeded in getting his patient 
 into a deep sleep, after quieting certain feverish symptoms 
 that followed the agitation of the interview. The sister was 
 persuaded by the observant mistress of the mansion to make 
 one of the party, and she sat by the side of Sarah, differing 
 but little in appearance from that lady, except in refusing 
 the use of powder on her raven locks, and that her unusually 
 high forehead and large, brilliant eyes gave an expression 
 of thoughtfulness to her features, that was possibly height- 
 ened by the paleness of her cheek. 
 
 Last and least, but not the most unlovely, in this display 
 of female charms, was the youngest daughter of Mr. Whar- 
 ton. Frances, we have already mentioned, left the city be- 
 fore she had attained to the age of fashionable womanhood. 
 A few adventurous spirits were already beginning to make 
 inroads in those customs which had so long invaded the 
 comforts of the fair sex ; and the youthful girl had ventured 
 to trust her beauty to the height which nature had bestowed. 
 This was but little, but that little was a masterpiece. Fran- 
 ces several times had determined in the course of the morn- 
 ing to bestow more than usual pains in the decoration of 
 her person. Each time, in succession, as she formed this 
 resolution, she spent a few minutes in looking earnestly 
 toward the north, and then she as invariably changed it. 
 
 At the appointed hour our heroine appeared in the draw- 
 ing-room, clothed in a robe of pale blue silk, of a cut and 
 fashion much like that worn by her sister. Her hair was 
 left to the wild curls of nature, its exuberance being con- 
 fined to the crown of her head by a long, low comb, made 
 of light tortoise-shell ; a color barely distinguishable in the 
 
184 THE SPY. 
 
 golden hue of her tresses. Her dress was without a plait 
 or a wrinkle, and fitted the form with an exactitude that 
 might lead one to imagine the arch girl more than suspected 
 the beauties it displayed. A tucker of rich Dresden lace 
 softened the contour of the figure. Her head was without 
 ornament ; but around her throat was a necklace of gold 
 clasped in front with a rich carnelian. 
 
 Once, and once only, as they moved toward the repast, 
 did Lawton see a foot thrust itself from beneath the folds of 
 her robe, and exhibit its little beauties encased in a slipper 
 of blue silk, clasped close to the shape by a buckle of bril- 
 liants. The trooper caught himself sighing as he thought, 
 though it was good for nothing in the stirrup, how enchant- 
 ingly it would grace a minuet. 
 
 As the black appeared on the threshold of the room, mak- 
 ing a low reverence which has been interpreted for some 
 centuries into " Dinner waits," Mr. Wharton, clad in a dress 
 of drab, bedecked with enormous buttons, advanced formally 
 to Miss Singleton, and, bending his powdered head nearly 
 to the level of the hand he extended, received hers in return. 
 
 Dr. Sitgreaves offered the same homage to Miss Peyton, 
 and met with equal favor; the lady first pausing to draw on 
 her gloves. 
 
 Colonel Wellmere was honored with a smile from Sarah 
 while performing a similar duty; and Frances gave the ends 
 of her taper fingers to Captain Lawton with maiden bash- 
 fulness. 
 
 Much time and some trouble were expended before the 
 whole party were, to the great joy of Caesar, comfortably 
 arranged around the table, with proper, attention to all points 
 of etiquette and precedence. The black well knew the 
 viands were not improving; and, though abundantly able to 
 comprehend the disadvantage of eating a cold dinner, it 
 greatly exceeded his powers of philosophy to weigh all the 
 latent consequences to society which depend on social order. 
 
 For the first ten minutes all but the captain of dragoons 
 
THE SPY. 185 
 
 found themselves in a situation much to their liking. Even 
 Lawton would have been perfectly happy, had not excess of 
 civility on the part of his host and Miss Jeanette Peyton 
 kept him from the more agreeable occupation of tasting 
 dishes he did want, in order to decline those he did not. 
 At length, however, the repast was fairly commenced, and a 
 devoted application to the viands was more eloquent than a 
 thousand words in favor of Dinah's skill. 
 
 Next came drinking with the ladies ; but as the wine was 
 excellent, and the glasses ample, the trooper bore this inter- 
 ruption with consummate good-nature. Nay, so fearful was 
 he of giving offence and of omitting any of the nicer points 
 of punctilio, that having commenced this courtesy with the 
 lady who sat next him, he persevered until not one of his 
 fair companions could, with justice, reproach him with par- 
 tiality in this particular. 
 
 Long abstemiousness from anything like generous wine 
 might plead the excuse of Captain Lawton, especially when 
 exposed to so strong a temptation as that now before him. 
 Mr. Wharton had been one of a set of politicians in New 
 York whose principal exploits before the war had been to 
 assemble, and pass sage opinions on the signs of the times, 
 under the inspiration of certain liquor made from a grape 
 that grew on the south side of the island of Madeira, and 
 which found its way into the colonies of North America 
 through the medium of the West Indies, sojourning a while 
 in the Western Archipelago, by way of proving the virtues 
 of the climate. A large supply of this cordial had been 
 drawn from his storehouse in the city, and some of it now 
 sparkled in a bottle before the captain, blushing in the rays 
 of the sun, which were passing obliquely through it, like 
 amber. 
 
 Though the meat and vegetables had made their entrance 
 with perfect order and propriety, their exeunt was effected 
 much in the manner of a retreat of militia. The point was 
 to clear the board something after the fabled practice of the 
 
1 86 THE SPY. 
 
 harpies, and by dint of scrambling, tossing, breaking, and 
 spilling, the remnants of the overflowing repast disappeared. 
 And now another series of processions commenced, by vir- 
 tue of which a goodly display of pastry, with its usual ac- 
 companiments, garnished the table. 
 
 Mr. Wharton poured out a glass of wine for the lady who 
 sat on his right hand, and, pushing the bottle to a guest, 
 said, with a low bow: 
 
 " We are to be honored with a toast from Miss Singleton." 
 
 Although there was nothing more in this movement than 
 occurred every day on such occasions, yet the lady trembled, 
 colored, and grew pale again, seemingly endeavoring to 
 rally her thoughts, until, by her agitation, she had excited 
 the interest of the whole party; when, by an effort, and in a 
 manner as if she had striven in vain to think of another, 
 Isabella said faintly: 
 
 " Major Dunwoodie." 
 
 The health was drunk cheerfully by all but Colonel Well- 
 mere, who wet his lips, and drew figures on the table with 
 some of the liquor he had spilt. 
 
 At length Colonel Wellmere broke silence by saying 
 aloud to Captain Lawton : 
 
 " I suppose, sir, this Mr. Dunwoodie will receive promo- 
 tion in the rebel army, for the advantage my misfortune 
 gave him over my command." 
 
 The trooper had supplied the wants of nature to his per- 
 fect satisfaction ; and, perhaps, with the exception of Wash- 
 ington and his immediate commander, there was no mortal 
 whose displeasure he regarded a tittle. First helping him- 
 self, therefore, to a little of his favorite bottle, he replied, 
 with admirable coolness: 
 
 " Colonel Wellmere, your pardon ; Major Dunwoodie 
 owes his allegiance to the confederated States of North 
 America, and where he owes it, he pays it. Such a man is 
 no rebel. Promoted I hope he may be, both because he 
 deserves it, and because I am next in rank in the corps; 
 
THE SPY. 187 
 
 and I know not what you call a misfortune, unless you deem 
 meeting the Virginia horse as such." 
 
 "We will not differ about terms, sir," said the colonel 
 haughtily ; " I spoke as duty to my sovereign prompted ; but 
 do you not call the loss of a commander a misfortune to a 
 party?" 
 
 " It certainly may be so," said the trooper, with emphasis. 
 
 "Miss Peyton, will you favor us with a toast?" cried the 
 master of the house, anxious to stop this dialogue. 
 
 The lady bowed her head with dignity as she named 
 " General Montrose'' ; and the long-absent bloom stole 
 lightly over her features. 
 
 " There is no term more doubtful than that word misfor- 
 tune," said the surgeon, regardless of the nice manoeuvres 
 of the host; "some deem one thing a misfortune; others its 
 opposite. Misfortune begets misfortune: life is a misfor- 
 tune, for it may be the means of enduring misfortune ; and 
 death is a misfortune, as it abridges the enjoyments of life." 
 
 " It is a misfortune that our mess has no such wine as 
 this," interrupted the trooper. 
 
 "We will pledge you a sentiment in it, sir, as it seems to 
 suit your taste," said Mr. Wharton. 
 
 Lawton filled to the brim, and drank, " A speedy peace, 
 or a stirring war." 
 
 " I drink your toast. Captain Lawton, though I greatly 
 distrust your construction of activity," said the surgeon. 
 " In my poor judgment, cavalry should be kept in the rear, 
 to improve a victory, and not sent in front to gain it. Such 
 may be said to be their natural occupation, if the term can 
 be used in reference to so artificial a body; for all history 
 shows that the horse have done most when properly held in 
 reserve." 
 
 This dissertation, uttered in a sufficiently didactic manner, 
 was a hint that Miss Peyton did not neglect. She arose 
 and retired, followed by her juniors. 
 
 Nearly at the same moment, Mr. Wharton and his son 
 
1 88 THE SPY. 
 
 made an apology for their absence, which was required on 
 account of the death of a near neighbor, and withdrew. 
 
 The retreat of the ladies was the signal for the appearance 
 of the surgeon's cigar, which, being established in a corner 
 of his mouth, in a certain knowing way, caused not the 
 slightest interruption to his discourse : 
 
 " If anything can sweeten captivity and wounds, it must 
 be the happiness of suffering in the society of the ladies 
 who have left us," gallantly observed the colonel, as he 
 resumed his seat after closing the door. 
 
 " Sympathy and kindness have their influence on the hu- 
 man system," returned the surgeon, knocking the ashes from 
 his cigar, with the tip of a little finger, in the manner of an 
 adept. " The connection is intimate between the moral and 
 physical feelings ; but still, to accomplish a cure, and restore 
 nature to the healthy tone it has lost from disease or acci- 
 dent, requires more than can flow from unguided sympa- 
 thies. In such cases, the lights '' The surgeon acci- 
 dentally caught the eye of the trooper, and he paused. 
 Taking two or three hasty puffs, he essayed to finish the 
 sentence : " In such cases, the knowledge that flows from the 
 lights " 
 
 " You were saying, sir '' said Colonel Wellmere, sip- 
 ping his wine. 
 
 "The purport of my remark went to say," continued Sit- 
 greaves, turning his back on Lawton, "that a bread poultice 
 would not set a broken arm." 
 
 " More is the pity,'' cried the trooper, "for, next to eating, 
 the nourishment could not be more innocently applied." 
 
 "To you, Colonel Wellmere," said the surgeon, "as a 
 man of education, I can with safety appeal." The colonel 
 bowed. " You must have observed the dreadful havoc made 
 in your ranks by the men who were led by this gentleman" ; 
 the colonel looked grave again; "how, when blows lighted 
 on their frames, life was invariably extinguished, beyond all 
 hope of scientific reparation ; how certain yawning wounds 
 
THE SPY. 189 
 
 were inflicted, that must set at defiance the art of the most 
 experienced practitioner; now, sir, to you I triumphantly 
 appeal, therefore, to know whether your detachment would 
 not have been as effectually defeated, if the men had all lost 
 a right arm, for instance, as if they had all lost their 
 heads." 
 
 " The triumph of your appeal is somewhat hasty, sir," 
 said Wellmere. 
 
 " Is the cause of liberty advanced a step by such injudi- 
 cious harshness in the field?" continued the surgeon, bent 
 on the favorite principle of his life. 
 
 " I am yet to learn that the cause of liberty is in any 
 manner advanced by the services of any gentleman in the 
 rebel army," rejoined the colonel. 
 
 " Not liberty ! Good God ! for what then are we con- 
 tending?" 
 
 "Slavery, sir: yes, even slavery; you are putting the tyr- 
 anny of a mob on the throne of a kind and lenient prince; 
 where is the consistency of your boasted liberty?" 
 
 "Consistency!" repeated the surgeon, looking about him 
 a little wildly, at hearing such sweeping charges against a 
 cause he had so long thought holy. 
 
 " Ay, sir, your consistency. Your congress of sages have 
 published a manifesto, wherein they set forth the equality of 
 political rights." 
 
 " 'Tis true, and it is done most ably." 
 
 "I say nothing of its ability; but if true, why not set 
 your slaves at liberty?" This argument, Viihich is thought 
 by most of the colonel's countrymen a triumphant answer to 
 a thousand eloquent facts, lost none of its weight by the 
 manner in which it was uttered. 
 
 Every American feels humbled at the necessity of vindi- 
 cating his country from the apparent inconsistency and in- 
 justice of the laws alluded to. His feelings are much like 
 those of an honorable man who is compelled to exonerate 
 himself from a disgraceful charge, although he may know 
 
I go THE SPY. 
 
 the accusation to be £alse. At the bottom, Sitgreaves had 
 much good sense, and, thus called on, he took up the cud- 
 gels of argument in downright earnest. 
 
 " We deem it a liberty to have the deciding voice in the 
 councils by which we are governed. We think it a hard- 
 ship to be ruled by the king of a people who live at a dis- 
 tance of three thousand miles, and who cannot, and who do 
 not, feel a single political interest in common with our- 
 selves. I say nothing of oppression ; the child was of age, 
 and was entitled to the privileges of majority. In such 
 cases, there is but one tribunal to which to appeal for a 
 nation's rights — it is power, and we now make the appeal." 
 
 " Such doctrines may suit your present purposes," said 
 Wellmere, with a sneer; "but I apprehend it is opposed to 
 all the opinions and practices of civilized nations." 
 
 " It is in conformity with the practices of all nations," 
 said the surgeon, returning the nod and smile of Lawton, 
 who enjoyed the good sense of his comrade as much as he 
 disliked what he called " his medical talk." " Who would 
 be ruled when he can rule ? The only rational ground to take 
 is that every community has a right to govern itself, so that 
 in no manner it violates the laws of God." 
 
 " And is holding your fellow-creatures in bondage in con- 
 formity to those laws?" asked the colonel impressively. 
 
 The surgeon took another glass, and, hemming once, re- 
 turned to the combat. 
 
 " Sir," said he, " slavery is of very ancient origin, and it 
 seems to have been confined to no particular religion or 
 form of government; every nation of civilized Europe does, 
 or has held their fellow-creatures in this kind of duresse." 
 
 "You will except Great Britain, sir," cried the colonel 
 proudly. 
 
 "No, sir," continued the surgeon confidently, feeling that 
 he was now carrying the war out of his own country; "I 
 cannot except Great Britain. It was her children, her ships, 
 and her laws, that first introduced the practice into these 
 
THE SPY. 191 
 
 states; and on her institutions the judgment must fall. 
 There is not a foot of ground belonging to England, in 
 which a negro would be useful, that has not its slave. Eng 
 land herself has none, but England is overflowing with 
 physical force, a part of which she is obliged to maintain in 
 the shape of paupers. The same is true of France, and 
 most other European countries. So long as we were content 
 to remain colonies, nothing was said of our system of do- 
 mestic slavery; but now, when we are resolute to obtain as 
 much freedom as the vicious system of metropolitan rule 
 has left us, that which is England's gift has become our re- 
 proach. Will your master liberate the slaves of his subjects 
 should he succeed in subduing the new states, or will he 
 condemn the whites to the same servitude as that in which 
 he has been so long content to see the blacks ? It is true, 
 we continue the practice ; but we must come gradually to 
 the remedy, or create an evil greater than that which we 
 endure at present: doubtless, as we advance, the manumis- 
 sion of our slaves will accompany us, until happily these 
 fair regions shall exist, without a single image of the Crea- 
 tor that is held in a state which disqualifies him to judge of 
 that Creator's goodness." 
 
 It will be remembered that Doctor Sitgreaves spoke forty 
 years ago, and Wellmere was unable to contradict his pro- 
 phetic assertion. 
 
 Finding the subject getting to be knotty, the Englishman 
 retired to the apartment in which the ladies had assembled; 
 and, seated by the side of Sarah, he found a more pleasing 
 employment in relating the events of fashionable life in 
 the metropolis, and in recalling the thousand little anecdotes 
 of their former associates. Miss Peyton was a pleased lis- 
 tener, as she dispensed the bounties of the tea-table, and 
 Sarah frequently bowed her blushing countenance to her 
 needlework, as her face glowed at the flattering remarks of 
 her companion. 
 
 The dialogue we have related established a perfect truce 
 
192 THE SPY. 
 
 between the surgeon and his comrade ; and, the former hav- 
 ing paid a visit to Singleton, they took their leave of the 
 ladies, and mounted ; the former to visit the wounded at the 
 encampment, and the latter to rejoin his troop. But their 
 movements were arrested at the gate by an occurrence that 
 we shall relate in the next chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 •* 1 see no more those white locks thinly spread 
 Round the bald polish of that honorM head : 
 No more that meek, that suppliant look in prayer. 
 Nor that pure faith that gave it force, are there : 
 But he is blest, and I lament no more, 
 A wise good man, contented to be poor." 
 
 Crabbe. 
 
 We have already said that the customs of America leave the 
 dead but a short time in the sight of the mourners; and the 
 necessity of providing for his own safety had compelled the 
 peddler to abridge even this brief space. In the confusion 
 and agitation produced by the events we have recorded, the 
 death of the elder Birch had occurred unnoticed; but a suffi- 
 cient number of the immediate neighbors were hastily col- 
 lected, and the ordinary rites of sepulture were now about 
 to be paid to the deceased. It was the approach of this 
 humble procession that arrested the movements of the trooper 
 and his comrade. Four men supported the body on a rude 
 bier; and four others walked in advance, ready to relieve 
 their friends from their burden. The peddler walked next 
 the coffin, and by his side moved Katy Haynes, with a 
 most determined aspect of woe, and next to the mourners 
 came Mr. Wharton and the English captain. Two or three 
 old men and women, with a few straggling boys, brought up 
 the rear. Captain Lawton sat in his saddle, in rigid silence, 
 until the bearers came opposite to his position, and then, for 
 the first time, Harvey raised his eyes from the ground, anc' 
 
THE SPY. 193 
 
 saw the enemy that he dreaded so near him. The first im- 
 pulse of the peddler was certainly flight; but, recovering 
 his recollection, he fixed his eye on the coffin of his parent, 
 and passed the dragoon with a firm step but swelling heart. 
 The trooper slowly lifted his cap, and continued uncovered 
 until Mr. Wharton and his son had moved by, when, accom- 
 panied by the surgeon, he rode leisurely in the rear, main- 
 taining an inflexible silence. 
 
 Caesar emerged from the cellar kitchen of the cottage, 
 and, with a face of settled solemnity, added himself to the 
 number of the followers of the funeral, though with an hum- 
 ble mien, and at a most respectful distance from the horse- 
 men. The old negro had placed around his arm, a little 
 above the elbow, a napkin of unsullied whiteness, it being 
 the only time since his departure from the city that he had 
 enjoyed an opportunity of exhibiting himself in the garni- 
 ture of servile mourning. He was a great lover of pro- 
 priety, and had been a little stimulated to this display by a 
 desire to show his sable friend from Georgia all the decen- 
 cies of a New York funeral; and the ebullition of his zeal 
 went off very well, producing no other result than a mild 
 lecture from Miss Peyton at his return, on the fitness of 
 things. The attendance of the black was thought well 
 enough in itself; but the napkin was deemed a superfluous 
 exhibition of ceremony, at the funeral of a man who had 
 performed all the menial offices in his own person. 
 
 The graveyard was an enclosure on the grounds of Mr. 
 Wharton, which had been fenced with stone, and set apart 
 for the purpose, by that gentleman, some years before. It 
 was not, however, intended as a burial-place for any of his 
 own family. Until the fire, which raged as the British 
 troops took possession of New York, had laid Trinity in 
 ashes, a goodly gilded tablet on its walls proclaimed the 
 virtues of his deceased parents, and beneath a flag of 
 marble, in one of the aisles of the church, their bones were 
 left to moulder in aristocratical repose. Captain Lawton 
 13 
 
194 THE SPY. 
 
 made a movement as if he was disposed to follow the pro- 
 cession, when it left the highway, to enter the field which 
 contained the graves of the humble dead, but he was re- 
 called to recollection by a hint from his companion that he 
 was taking the wrong road. 
 
 " Of all the various methods which have been adopted by 
 man for the disposal of his earthly remains, which do you 
 prefer. Captain Lawton?" said the surgeon, as they sepa- 
 rated from the little procession: "in some countries the 
 body is exposed to be devoured by wild beasts; in others 
 it is suspended in the air to exhale its substance in the 
 manner of decomposition ; in other regions it is consumed 
 on the funeral pile, and, again, it is inhumed in the bowels 
 of the earth ; every people have their own particular fashion, 
 and to which do you give the preference ?" 
 
 " All are agreeable," said the trooper, following the group 
 they had left with his eyes ; " though the speediest interments 
 give the cleanest fields. Of which are you an admirer.'" 
 
 " The last, as practised by ourselves, for the other three 
 are destructive of all the opportunities for dissection; 
 whereas, in the last, the coffin can lie in peaceful decency, 
 while the remains are made to subserve the useful purposes 
 of science. Ah! Captain Lawton, I enjoy comparatively 
 but few opportunities of such a nature, to what I expected 
 on entering the army." 
 
 " To what may these pleasures numerically amount in a 
 year?" said the Captain, withdrawing his gaze from the 
 graveyard. 
 
 "Within a dozen, upon my honor; my best picking is 
 when the corps is detached ; for when we are with the main 
 arm)' there are so many boys to be satisfied that I seldom 
 get a good subject. Those youngsters are as wasteful as 
 prodigals, and as greedy as vultures." 
 
 "A dozen!" echoed the trooper, in surprise; "why, I 
 furnish you that number with my own hands." 
 
 " Ah ! Jack," returned the doctor, approaching the subject 
 
THE SPY. 195 
 
 with great tenderness of manner, " it is seldom I can do 
 anything with your patients; you disfigure them wofully; 
 believe me, John, when I tell you as a friend that your 
 system is all wrong; you unnecessarily destroy life, and 
 then you injure the body so that it is unfit for the only use 
 that can be made of a dead man." 
 
 The trooper maintained a silence, which he thought 
 would be the most probable means of preserving peace be- 
 tween them ; and the surgeon, turning his head from taking 
 a last look at the burial, as they rode round the foot of the 
 hill that shut the valley from their sight, continued with a 
 suppressed sigh: 
 
 " One might get a natural death from that graveyard to- 
 night, if there was but time and opportunity! The patient 
 must be the father of the lady we saw this morning." 
 
 "The petticoat doctor! — she with the Aurora Borealis 
 complexion," said the trooper, with a smile, that began to 
 cause uneasiness to his companion; "but the lady was not 
 the gentleman's daughter, only his medico-petticoat atten- 
 dant; and the Harvey, whose name was made to rhyme with 
 every word in her song, is the renowned peddler-spy." 
 
 "What! he who unhorsed you?" 
 
 "No man ever unhorsed me. Dr. Sitgreaves," said the 
 dragoon gravely; " I fell by a mischance of Roanoke; rider 
 and beast kissed the earth together." 
 
 " A warm embrace, from the love-spots it left on your 
 cuticle; 'tis a thousand pities that you cannot find where 
 the tattling rascal lies hid." 
 
 " He followed his father's body." 
 
 "And you let him pass!" cried the surgeon, checking his 
 horse; " let us return immediately and take him; to-morrow 
 you shall have him hanged. Jack, — and, damn him, I'll dis- 
 sect him !" 
 
 " Softly, softly, my dear Archibald, would you arrest a man 
 while paying the last oflices to a dead father? Leave him 
 to me, and I pledge myself he shall have justice." 
 
196 THE SPY. 
 
 The doctor muttered his dissatisfaction at any postpone- 
 ment of vengeance, but he was compelled to acquiesce, from 
 a regard to his reputation for propriety ; and they continued 
 their ride to the quarters of the corps, engaged in various 
 discussions concerning the welfare of the human body. 
 
 Birch supported the grave and collected manner that was 
 thought becoming in a male mourner on such occasions, 
 and to Katy was left the part of exhibiting the tenderness 
 of the softer sex. There are some people whose feelings 
 are of such a nature that they cannot weep unless it be in 
 proper company, and the spinster was a good deal addicted 
 to this congregational virtue. After casting her eyes round 
 the small assemblage, the housekeeper found the counte- 
 nances of the few females who were present fixed on her in 
 solemn expectation, and the effect was instantaneous; the 
 maiden really wept, and she gained no inconsiderable sym- 
 pathy, and Sonne reputation for a tender heart, from the 
 spectators. The muscles of the peddler's face were seen to 
 move, and as the first clod of earth fell on the tenement of 
 his father, sending up that dull, hollow sound that speaks 
 so eloquently the mortality of man, his whole frame was for 
 an instant convulsed. He bent his body down, as if in 
 pain, his fingers worked while the hands hung lifeless by 
 his side, and there was an expression in his countenance 
 that seemed to announce a writhing of the soul ; but it was 
 not unresisted, and it was transient. He stood erect, drew 
 a long breath, and looked around him with an elevated face, 
 that even seemed to smile with a consciousness of having 
 obtained the mastery. The grave was soon filled; a rough 
 stone, placed at either extremity, marked its position, and 
 the turf, whose faded vegetation was adapted to the fortunes 
 of the deceased, covered the little hillock with the last office 
 of seemliness. This office ended, the neighbors, who had 
 officiously pressed forward to offer their services in perform- 
 ing this solemn duty, paused, and, lifting their hats, stood 
 looking toward the mourner, who now felt himself to be 
 
THE SPY. 197 
 
 really alone in the world. Uncovering his head also, the 
 peddler hesitated a moment, to gather energy, and spoke. 
 
 " My friends and neighbors," he said, " I thank you for 
 assisting me to bury my dead out of my sight." 
 
 A solemn pause succeeded the customary address, and 
 the group dispersed in silence, some few walking with the 
 mourners back to their own habitation, but respectfully 
 leaving them at its entrance. The peddler and Katy were 
 followed into the building by one man, however, who was 
 well known to the surrounding country by the significant 
 term of " a speculator." Katy saw him enter, with a heart 
 that palpitated with dreadful forebodings, but Harvey civilly 
 handed him a chair, and evidently was prepared for the visit. 
 
 The peddler went to the door, and, taking a cautious 
 glance about the valley, quickly returned, and commenced 
 the following dialogue : 
 
 "The sun has just left the top of the eastern hill; my 
 time presses me: here is the deed for the house and lot; 
 everything is done according to law." 
 
 The other took the paper, and conned its contents with a 
 deliberation that proceeded partly from his caution, and 
 partly from the unlucky circumstance of his education hav- 
 ing been much neglected when a youth. The time occupied 
 in this tedious examination was employed by Harvey in 
 gathering together certain articles, which he intended to in- 
 clude in the stores that were to leave the habitation with 
 himself. Katy had already inquired of the peddler whether 
 the deceased had left a will; and she saw the Bible placed 
 in the bottom of a new pack, which she had made for his 
 accommodation, with a most stoical indifference ; but, as the 
 six silver spoons were laid carefully by its side, a sudden 
 twinge of her conscience objected to such a palpable waste 
 of property, and she broke silence. 
 
 " When you marry, Harvey, you may miss those spoons." 
 
 " I never shall marry." 
 
 "Well, if you don't, there's no occasion to make rash 
 
198 THE SPY. 
 
 promises even to yourself. One never knows what one may 
 do, in such a case. I should like to know, of what use so 
 many spoons can be to a single man : for my part, I think 
 it is a duty for every man who is well provided to have a 
 wife and family to maintain." 
 
 At the time when Katy expressed this sentiment, the 
 fortune of women in her class of life consisted of a cow, a 
 bed, the labors of their own hands in the shape of divers 
 pillow-cases, blankets, and sheets, with, where fortune was 
 unusually kind, a half-dozen silver spoons. The spinster 
 herself had obtained all the other necessaries by her own 
 industry and prudence, and it can easily be imagined that 
 she saw the articles she had long counted her own vanish 
 in the enormous pack, with a dissatisfaction that was in no 
 degree diminished by the declaration that had preceded the 
 act. Harvey, however, disregarded her opinions and feel- 
 ings, and continued his employment of filling the pack, 
 which soon grew to something like the ordinary size of the 
 peddler's burden. 
 
 " I'm rather timersorae about this conveyance," said the 
 purchaser, having at length waded through the covenants 
 of the deed. 
 
 "Why so?" 
 
 "I'm afraid it won't stand good in law. I know that two 
 of the neighbors leave home to-morrow morning, to have 
 the place entered for confistication ; and if I should give 
 forty pounds, and lose it all, 'twould be a dead pull-back 
 to me." 
 
 "They can only take my right," said the peddler; "pay 
 me two hundred dollars, and the house is yours: you are a 
 well-known Whig, and you at least they won't trouble." 
 As Harvey spoke, there was a strange bitterness of manner, 
 mingled with the shrewd care he expressed concerning the 
 sale of his property. 
 
 " Say one hundred, and it is a bargain," returned the 
 man, with a grin that he meant for a good-natured smile. 
 
THE SPY. 199 
 
 " A bargain !" echoed the peddler, in surprise ; " I thought 
 the bargain already made." 
 
 "Nothing is a bargain," said the purchaser, with a 
 chuckle, "until papers are delivered, and the money paid 
 in hand." 
 
 " You have the paper." 
 
 "Ay, and will keep it, if you will excuse the money; 
 come, say one hundred and fifty, and I won't be hard; here — 
 here is just the money." 
 
 The pedler looked from the window, and saw with dis- 
 may that the evening was fast advancing, and knew well 
 that he endangered his life by remaining in the dwelling 
 after dark; yet he could not tolerate the idea of being de- 
 frauded in this manner, in a bargain that had already been 
 fairly made; he hesitated. 
 
 " Well," said the purchaser, rising, " mayhap you can 
 find another man to trade with between this and morning; 
 but, if you don't, your title won't be worth much afterward." 
 
 " Take it, Harvey," said Katy, who felt it impossible to 
 resist a tender like the one before her; for the purchase- 
 money was in English guineas. Her voice roused the 
 peddler, and a new idea seemed to strike him. 
 
 "I agree to the price," he said; and, turning to the 
 spinster, he placed part of the money in her hand, as he 
 continued, "had I other means to pay you, I would have 
 lost all, rather than have suffered myself to be defrauded of 
 part." 
 
 " You may lose all yet," muttered the stranger, with a 
 sneer, as he rose and left the building. 
 
 " Yes," said Katy, following him with her eyes; "he 
 knows your failing, Harvey; he thinks with me, now the 
 old gentleman is gone, you will want a careful body to take 
 care of your concerns." 
 
 The peddler was busied in making arrangements for his 
 departure, and he took no notice of this insinuation, while 
 the spinster returned again to the attack. She had lived so 
 
200 THE SPV. 
 
 many years in expectation of a termination to her hopes so 
 different from that which now seemed likely to occur, that 
 the idea of separation began to give her more uneasiness 
 than she had thought herself capable of feeling, about a 
 man so destitute and friendless. 
 
 " Have you another house to go to?" inquired Katy. 
 
 " Providence will provide me with a home." 
 
 "Yes," said the housekeeper; "but maybe 'twill not be 
 to your liking." 
 
 " The poor must not be difficult." 
 
 " I'm sure I'm anything but a difficult body," cried the 
 spinster, very hastily ; " but I love to see things becoming, 
 and in their places; yet I wouldn't be hard to persuade to 
 leave this place myself. I can't say I altogether like the 
 ways of the people hereabouts." 
 
 " The valley is lovely," said the peddler, with fervor, " and 
 the people like all the race of man. But to me it matters 
 nothing; all places are now alike, and all faces equally 
 strange" ; as he spoke he dropped the article he was pack- 
 ing from his hand, and seated himself on a chest, with a 
 look of vacant misery. 
 
 " Not so, not so," said Katy, shoving her chair nearer to 
 the place where the peddler sat ; " not so, Harvey ; you must 
 know me at least; my face cannot be strange to you, cer- 
 tainly." 
 
 Birch turned his eyes slowly on her countenance, which 
 exhibited more of feeling, and less of self, than he had ever 
 seen there before: he took her hand kindly, and his own 
 features lost some of their painful expression, as he said : 
 
 "Yes, good woman, you, at least, are not a stranger to 
 me; you may do me partial justice; when others revile me, 
 possibly your feelings may lead you to say something in 
 my defence." 
 
 "That I will; that I would!" said Katy eagerly; " I will 
 defend you, Harvey, to the last drop ; let me hear them that 
 dare revile you ! You say true, Harvey, I am partial and just 
 
THE SPY. 20 1 
 
 to you; what if you do like the king? I have often heard 
 it said he was at the bottom a good man ; but there's no re- 
 ligion in the old country, for everybody allows the ministers 
 are desperate bad !" 
 
 The peddler paced the floor in evident distress of mind; 
 his eye had a look of wildness that Katy had never wit- 
 nessed before, and his step was measured, with a dignity 
 that appalled the housekeeper. 
 
 " While my father lived," murmured Harvey, unable to 
 smother his feelings, "there was one who read my heart; 
 and oh! what a consolation to return from my secret 
 marches of danger, and the insults and wrongs that I suf- 
 fered, to receive his blessing and his praise; but he is 
 gone," he continued, stopping and gazing wildly toward the 
 corner that used to hold the figure of his parent, " and who 
 is there to do me justice?" 
 
 "Why, Harvey! Harvey!" 
 
 "Yes, there is one who will, who must know me before 
 Idle! Oh! it is dreadful to die, and leave such a name 
 behind me." 
 
 " Don't talk of dying, Harvey," said the spinster, glanc- 
 ing her eye around the room, and pushing the wood in the 
 fire to obtain a light from the blaze. 
 
 The ebullition of feeling in the peddler was over. It had 
 been excited by the events of the past day, and a vivid per- 
 ception of his sufferings. It was not long, however, that 
 passion maintained an ascendency over the reason of this 
 singular man; and, perceiving that the night had already 
 thrown an obscurity around objects without doors, he hastily 
 threw his pack over his shoulders, and taking Katy kindly 
 by the hand, in leave-taking : 
 
 " It is painful to part with even you, good woman," he 
 said; " but the hour has come, and I must go. What is left 
 in the house is yours ; to me it could be of no use, and it 
 may serve to make you more comfortable. Farewell — we 
 shall meet hereafter." 
 
202 THE SPY. 
 
 " In the regions of darkness,' cried a voice that caused 
 the peddler to sink on the chest from which he had risen in 
 despair. 
 
 " What ! another pack, Mr. Birch, and so well stuffed so 
 soon !" 
 
 " Have you not done evil enough?" cried the peddler, re- 
 gaining his firmness, and springing on his feet with energy; 
 " is it not enough to harass the last moments of a dying 
 man; to impoverish me; what more would you have?" 
 
 "Your blood," said the Skinner, with cool malignity. 
 
 "And for monej'," cried Harvey bitterly; "like the an- 
 cient Judas, you would grow rich with the price of blood!" 
 
 " Ay ! and a fair price it is, my gentleman ; fifty guineas ; 
 nearly the weight of that scarecrow carcass of yours in gold." 
 
 " Here," said Katy, promptly ; " here are fifteen guineas, 
 and these drawers, and this bed, are all mine; if you will 
 give Harvey but one hour's start from the door, they shall 
 be yours." 
 
 "One hour?" said the Skinner, showing his teeth, and 
 looking with a longing eye at the money. 
 
 " But a single hour; here, take the money." 
 
 " Hold!" cried Harvey; "put no faith in the miscreant." 
 
 " She may do what she pleases with her faith," said the 
 Skinner, with malignant pleasure; "but I have the money 
 in good keeping; as for you, Mr. Birch, we will bear your 
 insolence, for the fifty guineas that are to pay for your 
 gallows." 
 
 "Go on," said the peddler proudly; "take me to Major 
 Dunwoodie; he, at least, may be kind, although he may be 
 just." 
 
 " I can do better than by marching so far in such dis- 
 graceful company; this Mr. Dunwoodie has let one or two 
 Tories go at large; but the troop of Captain Lawton is 
 quartered some half-mile nearer, and his receipt will get me 
 the reward as soon as his major's; how relish you the idea 
 of supping with Captain Lawton, this evening, Mr. Birch?" 
 
THE SPY. 203 
 
 "Give me my money, or set Harvey free," cried the 
 spinster in alarm. 
 
 " Your bribe was not enough, good woman, unless there 
 is money in this bed." Thrusting his bayonet through the 
 ticking, and ripping it for some distance, he took a mali- 
 cious satisfaction in scattering its contents about the room. 
 " If," cried the housekeeper, losing sight of her personal 
 danger, in care for her newly acquired property, " there is 
 law in the land, I will be righted!" 
 
 " The law of the neutral ground is the law of the strong- 
 est; but your tongue is not as long as my bayonet; you had, 
 therefore, best not set them at loggerheads, or you might be 
 the loser." 
 
 A figure stood in the shadow of the door, as if afraid to 
 be seen in the group of Skinners; but a blaze of light, 
 raised by some articles thrown in the fire by his persecu- 
 tors, showed the peddler the face of the purchaser of his little 
 domain. Occasionally there was some whispering between 
 this man and the Skinner nearest him, that induced Harvey 
 to suspect he had been the dupe of a contrivance in which 
 that wretch had participated. It was, however, too late to 
 repine; and he followed the party from the house with a 
 firm and collected tread, as if marching to a triumph, and 
 not to a gallows. In passing through the yard, the leader 
 of the band fell over a billet of wood, and received a 
 momentary hurt from the fall : exasperated at the incident, 
 the fellow sprang on his feet, filling the air with execra- 
 tions. 
 
 "The curse of Heaven light on the log!" he exclaimed; 
 "the night is too dark for us to move in: throw that brand 
 of fire in yon pile of tow, to light up the scene." 
 
 "Hold!" roared the speculator; "you'll fire the house." 
 
 " And see the farther," said the other, hurling the brand 
 in the midst of the combustibles. In an instant the build- 
 ing was in flames. " Come on ; let us move toward the 
 heights while we have light to pick our road." 
 
204 THE SPY. 
 
 " Villain !" cried the exasperated purchaser, " is this your 
 friendship — this my reward for kidnapping the peddler?" 
 
 " 'Twould be wise to move more from the light, if you 
 mean to entertain us with abuse, or we may see too well to 
 miss our mark," cried the leader of the gang. The next 
 instant he was as good as his threat, but happily missed 
 the terrified speculator and equally appalled spinster, who 
 saw herself again reduced from comparative wealth to 
 poverty, by the blow. Prudence dictated to the pair a 
 speedy retreat; and the next morning, the only remains of 
 the dwelling of the peddler was the huge chimney we have 
 already mentioned. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Trifles, light as air, 
 
 Are to the jealous confinnatioas strong 
 
 As proofs from holy writ. 
 
 Moor of Venice^ 
 
 The weather, which had been mild and clear since the 
 storm, now changed with the suddenness of the American 
 climate. Toward evening the cold blasts poured down from 
 the mountains, and flurries of snow plainly indicated that 
 the month of November had arrived ; a season whose tem- 
 perature varies from the heats of summer to the cold of 
 winter. Frances had stood at the window of her own apart- 
 ment, watching the slow progress of the funeral procession, 
 with a melancholy that was too deep to be excited by the 
 spectacle. There was something in the sad office that was 
 in unison with her feelings. As she gazed around, she saw 
 the trees bending to the force of 'the wind, that swept 
 through the valley with an impetuosity that shook even the 
 buildings ; and the forest, that had so lately glittered in the 
 sun with its variegated hues, was fast losing its loveliness, 
 as the leaves were torn from the branches, and were driv- 
 ing irregularly before the eddies of the blast. A few of 
 
THE SPY. 205 
 
 the southern dragoons, who were patrolling the passes which 
 led to the encampment of the corps, could be distinguished 
 at a distance on the heights, bending to their pommels as 
 they faced the keen air which had so lately traversed the 
 great fresh-water lakes, and drawing their watchcoats about 
 them in tighter folds. 
 
 Frances witnessed the disappearance of the wooden tene- 
 ment of the deceased, as it was slowly lowered from the 
 light of day; and the sight added to the chilling dreariness 
 of the view. Captain Singleton was sleeping under the care 
 of his own man, while his sister had been persuaded to take 
 possession of her room, for the purpose of obtaining the 
 repose of which her last night's journeying had robbed her. 
 The apartment of Miss Singleton communicated with the 
 room occupied by the sisters, through a private door, as 
 well as through the ordinary passage of the house; this 
 door was partly open, and Frances moved toward it, with 
 the benevolent intention of ascertaining the situation of her 
 guest, when the surprised girl saw her whom she had 
 thought to be sleeping not only awake, but employed in a 
 manner that banished all probability of present repose. 
 The black tresses, that during the dinner had been drawn 
 in close folds over the crown of the head, were now loos- 
 ened, and fell in profusion over her shoulders and bosom, 
 imparting a slight degree of wildness to her countenance ; 
 the chilling white of her complexion was strongly contrasted 
 with eyes of the deepest black, that were fixed in rooted at- 
 tention on a picture she held in her hand. Frances hardly 
 breathed, as she was enabled, by a movement of Isabella, 
 to see that it was the figure of a man in the well-known 
 dress of the Southern horse ; but she gasped for breath, and 
 instinctively laid her hand on her heart to quell its throb- 
 bings, as she thought she recognized the lineaments that 
 were so deeply seated in her own imagination. Frances 
 felt she was improperly prying into the sacred privacy of 
 another; but her emotions were too powerful to permit her 
 
206 THE SPY. 
 
 to speak, and she drew back to a chair, where she still re- 
 tained a view of the stranger, from whose countenance she 
 felt it to be impossible to withdraw her eyes. Isabella was 
 too much engrossed by her own feelings to discover the trem- 
 bling figure of the witness to her actions, and she pressed the 
 inanimate image to her lips, witli an enthusiasm that de- 
 noted the most intense passion. The expression of the 
 countenance of the fair stranger was so changeable, and the 
 transitions were so rapid, that Frances had scarcely time to 
 distinguish the character of the emotion, before it was suc- 
 ceeded by another, equally powerful and equally attractive. 
 Admiration and sorrow were, however, the preponderating 
 passions; the latter was indicated by large drops that fell 
 from her eyes on the picture, and which followed each other 
 over her cheek at such intervals as seemed to pronounce the 
 grief too heavy to admit of the ordinary demonstrations of 
 sorrow. Every movement of Isabella was marked by an en- 
 thusiasm that was peculiar to her nature, and every passion 
 in its turn triumphed in her breast. The fury of the wind, 
 as it whistled round the angles of the building, was in con- 
 sonance with those feelings, and she rose and moved to a 
 window of her apartment. Her figure was now hid from the 
 view of Frances, who was about to rise and approach her 
 guest, when tones of a thrilling melody chained her in 
 breathless silence to the spot. The notes were wild, and 
 the voice not powerful, but the execution exceeded any- 
 thing that Frances had ever heard; and she stood, endeav- 
 oring to stifle the sounds of her own gentle breathing, until 
 the following song was concluded : 
 
 Cold blow the blasts o'er the tops of the mountain. 
 
 And bare is the oak on the hill ; 
 Slowly the vapors exhale from the fountain, 
 
 And bright gleams the ice-borderM rill ; 
 All nature is seeking its annual rest, 
 But the slumbers of peace have deserted my breast. 
 
 Ix>ng has the storm pour'd its weight on my nation. 
 And long have her brave stood the shock ; 
 
THE SPY. 307 
 
 Lon^ has our chieftain ennobled his 5U.tioni 
 
 A bulwark on liberty's rock ; — 
 UnUcensed ambition relaxes its toil. 
 Yet blighted affection represses my smile. 
 
 Abroad the wild fury of winter is lowering, 
 
 And leafless and drear is the tree ; 
 But the vertical sun of the south appears pouring 
 
 Its fierce killing heats upon me ;— 
 Without all the season's chill symptoms begin — 
 But the fire of passion is raging within. 
 
 Frances abandoned her whole soul to the suppressed 
 melody of the music, though the language of the song ex- 
 pressed a meaning which, united with certain events of that 
 and the preceding day, left a sensation of uneasiness in the 
 bosom of the warm-hearted girl, to which she had hitherto 
 been a stranger, Isabella moved from the window as her 
 last tones melted on the ear of her admiring listener, and, 
 for the first time her eye rested on the pallid face of the 
 intruder, A glow of fire lighted the countenance of both 
 at the same instant, and the blue eye of Frances met the 
 brilliant black one of her guest for a single moment, and 
 both fell in abashed confusion on the carpet; they advanced, 
 however, until they met, and had taken each other's hand, be- 
 fore either ventured again to look her companion in the face, 
 
 "This sudden change in the weather, and perhaps the 
 situation of my brother, have united to make me melancholy, 
 Miss Wharton," said Isabella, in a low tone, and in a voice 
 that trembled as she spoke. 
 
 " 'Tis thought you have little to apprehend for your 
 brother," said Frances, in the same embarrassed manner; 
 "had you seen him when he was brought in by Major 
 Dunwoodie " 
 
 Frances paused, with a feeling of conscious shame, for 
 which she could not account; and, in raising her eyes, she 
 saw Isabella studying her countenance with an earnestness 
 that again drove the blood tumultuously to her temples. 
 
 " You were speaking of Major Dunwoodie," said Isabella 
 faintly. 
 
208 THE SPY. 
 
 " He was with Captain Singleton." 
 
 "Do you know Dunwoodie? have you seen him often?" 
 Once more Frances ventured to look her guest in the face, 
 and again she met the piercing eyes bent on her, as if to 
 search her inmost heart. " Speak, Miss Wharton ; is Major 
 Dunwoodie known to you?" 
 
 " He is my relative," said Frances, appalled at the man- 
 ner of the other. 
 
 "A relative!" echoed Miss Singleton; "in what degree? 
 — speak. Miss Wharton, I conjure you to speak." 
 
 " Our parents were cousins," faintly replied Frances. 
 
 "And he is to be your husband!" said the stranger im- 
 petuously. 
 
 Frances felt shocked, and all her pride awakened, by this 
 direct attack upon her feelings, and she raised her eyes 
 from the floor to her interrogator a little proudly, when the 
 pale cheek and quivering lip of Isabella removed her re- 
 sentment in a moment. 
 
 "It is true! my conjecture is true: speak to me. Miss 
 Wharton; I conjure you, in mercy to my feelings, to tell 
 me — do you love Dunwoodie?" There was a plaintive 
 earnestness in the voice of Miss Singleton that disarmed 
 Frances of all resentment, and the only answer she could 
 make was hiding her burning face between her hands, as 
 she sunk back in a chair to conceal her confusion. 
 
 Isabella paced the floor in silence for several minutes, 
 until she had succeeded in conquering the violence of her 
 feelings, when she approached the place where Frances yet 
 sat, endeavoring to exclude the eyes of her companion from 
 reading the shame expressed in her countenance, and, tak- 
 ing the hand of the other, she spoke with an evident effort 
 at composure. 
 
 " Pardon me, Miss Wharton, if my ungovernable feelings 
 have led me into impropriety; the powerful motive — the 
 
 cruel reason " she hesitated ; Frances now raised her 
 
 face, and their eyes once more met; they fell in each other's 
 
THE SPY. 209 
 
 arms, and laid their burning cheeks together. The embrace 
 was long — was ardent and sincere — but neither spoke ; and 
 on separating Frances retired to her own room without 
 further explanation. 
 
 While this extraordinary scene was acting in the room of 
 Miss Singleton, matters of great importance were agitated 
 in the drawing-room. The disposition of the fragments of 
 such a dinner as the one we have recorded was a task that 
 required no little exertion and calculation. Notwithstand- 
 ing several of the small game had nestled in the pocket of 
 Captain Lawton's man, and even the assistant of Dr. Sit- 
 greaves had calculated the uncertainty of his rememaining 
 long in such good quarters, still there was more left, uncon- 
 sumed, than the prudent Miss Peyton knew how to dispose 
 of to advantage. Caesar and his mistress had, therefore, a 
 long and confidential communication on this important 
 business; and the consequence was that Colonel Wei Imere 
 was left to the hospitality of Sarah Wharton. All the ordi- 
 nary topics of conversation were exhausted, when the colo- 
 nel, with a little of the uneasiness that is in some degree 
 inseparable from conscious error, touched lightly on the 
 transactions of the preceding day. 
 
 " We little thought. Miss Wharton, when I first saw this 
 Mr. Dunwoodie in your house in Queen Street, that he was 
 to be the renowned warrior he has proved himself," said 
 Wellmere, endeavoring to smile away his chagrin. 
 
 " Renowned, when we consider the enemy he overcame," 
 said Sarah, with consideration for her companion's feelings. 
 " 'Twas most unfortunate, indeed, in every respect, that you 
 met with the accident, or doubtless the royal arms would 
 have triumphed in their usual manner." 
 
 " And yet the pleasure of such society as this accident 
 has introduced me to would more than repay the pain of a 
 mortified spirit and wounded body," added the Colonel, in 
 a manner of peculiar softness. 
 
 " I hope the latter is but trifling," said Sarah, stooping 
 14 
 
210 THE SPY. 
 
 to hide her blushes under the pretext of biting a thread from 
 the work on her knee. 
 
 " Trifling, indeed, compared to the former," returned the 
 Colonel, in the same manner. " Ah ! Miss Wharton, it is 
 in such moments that we feel the full value of friendship 
 and sympathy." 
 
 Those who have never tried it cannot easily imagine 
 what a rapid progress a warm-hearted female can make in 
 love, in the short space of half an hour, particularly where 
 there is a predisposition to the distemper. Sarah found the 
 conversation, when it began to touch on friendship and 
 sympathy, too interesting to venture her voice with a reply. 
 She, however, turned her eyes on the Colonel, and saw him 
 gazing at her fine face with an admiration that was quite as 
 manifest, and much more soothing, than any words could 
 make it. 
 
 Their tete-k-tete was uninterrupted for an hour; and al- 
 though nothing that would be called decided, by an experi- 
 enced matron, was said by the gentleman, he uttered a thou- 
 sand things that delighted his companion, who retired to 
 her re.st with a lighter heart than she had felt since the arrest 
 of her brother by the Americans. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 And let me the canakin clink, clink, 
 And let me the canakin clink. 
 
 A soldier^s a man ; 
 
 A life's but a span ; 
 Why then, let a soldier drink. 
 
 The position held by the corps of dragoons, we have al- 
 ready said, was a favorite place of halting with their com- 
 mander. A cluster of some half-dozen small and dilap- 
 idated buildings formed what, from the circumstance of 
 two roads intersecting each other at right angles, was called 
 
THE SPY. 211 
 
 the village of the Four Corners. As usual, one of the most 
 imposing of these edifices had been termed, in the language 
 of the day, " a house of entertainment for man and beast." 
 On a rough board suspended from the gallows-looking post 
 that had supported the ancient sign was, however, written 
 in red chalk, "Elizabeth Flanagan, her hotel" an ebullition 
 of the wit of some of the idle wags of the corps. The 
 matron, whose name had thus been exalted to an office of 
 such unexpected dignity, ordinarily discharged the duties 
 of a female sutler, washerwoman, and, to use the language 
 of Katy Haynes, petticoat doctor to the troops. She was 
 the widow of a soldier who had been killed in the service, 
 and who, like herself, was a native of a distant island, and 
 had early tried his fortune in the colonies of North America. 
 She constantly migrated with the troops; and it was seldom 
 that they became stationary for two days at a time, but the 
 little cart of the bustling woman was seen driving into the 
 encampment, loaded with such articles as she conceived 
 would make her presence most welcome. With a celerity 
 that seemed almost supernatural, Betty took up her ground 
 and commenced her occupation. Sometimes the cart itself 
 was her shop; at others the soldiers made her a rude shelter 
 of such materials as offered ; but on the present occasion 
 she had seized on a vacant building, and, by dint of stuffing 
 the dirty breeches and half-dried linen of the troopers into 
 the broken windows, to exclude the cold, which had now 
 become severe, she formed what she herself had pronounced 
 to be "most illigant lodgings." The men were quartered 
 in the adjacent barns, and officers collected in the " Hotel 
 Flanagan," as they facetiously called headquarters. Betty 
 was well known to every trooper in the corps, could call 
 each by his Christian or nickname, as best suited her fancy; 
 and, although absolutely intolerable to all whom habit had 
 not made familiar with her virtues, was a general favorite 
 with these partisan warriors. Her faults were a trifling 
 love of liquor, excessive filthiness, and a total disregard of 
 
212 THE SPY. 
 
 all the decencies of language ; her virtues, an unbounded 
 love for her adopted country, perfect honesty when dealing 
 on certain known principles with the soldiery, and great 
 good-nature. Added to these, Betty had the merit of being 
 the inventor of that beverage which is so well known, at 
 the present hour, to all the patriots who make a winter's 
 march between the commercial and political capitals of this 
 great state, and which is distinguished by the name of 
 "cocktail." Elizabeth Flanagan was peculiarly well quali- 
 fied, by education and circumstances, to perfect this im- 
 provement in liquors, having been literally brought up on 
 its principal ingredient, and having acquired from her Vir- 
 ginian customers the use of mint, from its flavor in a julep 
 to its height of renown in the article in question. Such, 
 then, was the mistress of the mansion, who, reckless of the 
 cold northern blasts, showed her blooming face from the 
 door of the building to welcome the arrival of her favorite, 
 Captain Lawton, and his companion, her master in matters 
 of surgery. 
 
 "Ah! by my hopes of promotion, my gentle Elizabeth, 
 but you are welcome!" cried the trooper, as he threw him- 
 self from his saddle; "this villanous fresh-water gas from 
 the Canadas has been whistling among my bones till they 
 ache with the cold, but the sight of your fiery countenance 
 is as cheering as a Christmas fire.'' 
 
 " Now sure. Captain Jack, yee's always full of your com- 
 plimentaries," replied the sutler, taking the bridle of her 
 customer; "but hurry in for the life of you, darling; the 
 fences hereabouts are not so strong as in the Highlands, 
 and there's that within will warm both sowl and body.'' 
 
 " So you have been laying the rails under contribution, I 
 see; well, that may do for the body," said the captain, 
 coolly; " but I have had a pull at a bottle of cut-glass with 
 a silver stand, and I doubt my relish for your whiskey for a 
 montia to come." 
 
 " If it's silver or goold that ye're thinking of, it's but little 
 
THE SPY. 213 
 
 I have, though I've a trifling bit of the Continental," said 
 Betty, with a look of humor; "but there's that within that's 
 fit to be put in vissels of di'monds." 
 
 "What can she mean, Archibald?" asked Lawton; "the 
 animal looks as if it meant more than it says!" 
 
 " 'Tis probably a wandering of the reasoning powers, 
 created by the frequency of intoxicating draughts," observed 
 the surgeon, as he deliberately threw his left leg over the 
 pommel of the saddle, and slid down on the right side of 
 his horse. 
 
 " Faith, my dear jewel of a doctor, but it was this side 
 I was expicting you ; the whole corps come down on this 
 side but yeerself," said Betty, winking at the trooper; "but 
 I've been feeding the wounded, in yeer absence, with the 
 fat of the land." 
 
 "Barbarous stupidity!" cried the panic-stricken physi- 
 cian, " to feed men laboring under the excitement of fever 
 with powerful nutriment; woman, woman, you are enough 
 to defeat the skill of Hippocrates!" 
 
 "Pooh!" said Betty, with infinite composure, "what a 
 botheration yee make about a little whiskey ; there was but 
 a gallon betwixt a good two dozen of them, and I gave it to 
 the boys to make them sleep asy; sure, jist as slumbering- 
 drops." 
 
 Lawton and his companion now entered the building, and 
 the first objects which met their eyes explained the hidden 
 meaning of Betty's comfortable declaration. A long table, 
 made of boards torn from the side of an outbuilding, was 
 stretched through the middle of the largest apartment, or 
 the barroom, and on it was a very scanty display of crockery- 
 ware. The steams of cookery arose from an adjoining 
 kitchen, but the principal attraction was in a demijohn of 
 fair proportions, which had been ostentatiously placed on 
 high by Betty as the object most worthy of notice. Lawton 
 soon learnt that it was teaming with the real amber-colored 
 juice of the grape, and had been sent from the Locusts, as 
 
214 THE SPY. 
 
 an offering to Major Dunwoodie, from his friend Captain 
 Wharton, of the royal army. 
 
 " And a royal gift it is," said the grinning subaltern, who 
 made the explanation. " The major gives us an entertain- 
 ment in honor of our victory, and you see the principal ex- 
 pense is borne, as it should be, by the enemy. Zounds, I 
 am thinking that after we have primed with such stuff, we 
 could charge through Sir Henry's headquarters, and carry 
 off the knight himself." 
 
 The captain of dragoons was in no manner displeased at 
 the prospect of terminating so pleasantly a day that had 
 been so agreeably commenced. He was soon surrounded 
 by his comrades, who made many eager inquiries concern- 
 ing his adventures, while the surgeon proceeded, with cer- 
 tain quakings of the heart, to examine into the state of his 
 wounded. Enormous fires were snapping in the chimneys 
 of the house, superseding the necessity of candles, by the 
 bright light which was thrown from the blazing piles. The 
 group within were all young men, and tried soldiers; in 
 number they were rather more than a dozen, and their man- 
 ners and conversation were a strange mixture of the blunt- 
 ness of the partisan with the manners of gentlemen. Their 
 dresses were neat, though plain; and a never-failing topic 
 among them was the performance and quality of their 
 horses. Some were endeavoring to sleep on the benches 
 which lined the walls, some were walking the apartments, 
 and others were seated in earnest discussion on subjects 
 connected with the business of their lives. Occasionally, 
 as the door of the kitchen opened, the hissing sounds of the 
 frying-pans and the inviting savor of the food created a 
 stagnation in all other employments; even the sleepers, at 
 such moments, would open their eyes, and raise their heads, 
 to reconnoitre the state of the preparations. All this time 
 Dunwoodie sat by himself, gazing at the fire, and lost in 
 reflections which none of his officers presumed to disturb. 
 He had made earnest inquiries of Sitgreaves after the con- 
 
THE SPV. 215 
 
 dition of Singleton, during which a profound and respectful 
 silence was maintained in the room ; but as soon as he had 
 ended, and resumed his seat, the usual ease and freedom 
 prevailed. 
 
 The arrangement of the table was a matter of but little 
 concern to Mrs. Flanagan; and Caesar would have been 
 sadly scandalized at witnessing the informality with which 
 various dishes, each bearing a wonderful resemblance to the 
 others, were placed before so many gentlemen of considera- 
 tion. In taking their places at the board, the strictest at- 
 tention was paid to precedency; for, notwithstanding the 
 freedom of manners which prevailed in the corps, the points 
 of military etiquette were at all times observed, with some- 
 thing approaching to religious veneration. Most of the 
 guests had been fasting too long to be in any degree fas- 
 tidious in their appetites; but the case was different with 
 Captain Lawton ; he felt an unaccountable loathing at the 
 exhibition of Betty's food, and could not refrain from mak- 
 ing a few passing comments on the condition of the knives, 
 and the clouded aspect of the plates. The good-nature and 
 the personal affection of Betty for the offender restrained her, 
 for some lime, from answering his innuendoes, until Lawton, 
 having ventured to admit a piece of the black meat into his 
 mouth, inquired, with the affectation of a spoiled child: 
 
 " What kind of animal might this have been when living, 
 Mrs. Flanagan?" 
 
 " Sure, captain, and wasn't it the ould cow," replied the 
 sutler, with a warmth that proceeded partly from dissatis- 
 faction at the complaints of her favorite, and partly from 
 grief at the loss of the deceased. 
 
 "What!" roared the trooper, stopping short as he was 
 about to swallow his morsel, "ancient Jenny!" 
 
 " The devil !" cried another, dropping his knife and fork, 
 "she who made the campaign of the Jerseys with us?" 
 
 "The very same," replied the mistress of the hotel, with 
 a piteous aspect of woe ; " a gentle baste, and one that could 
 
2l6 THE SPY. 
 
 and did live on less than air, at need. Sure, gentlemen, 
 'tis awful to have to eat sitch an ould friend." 
 
 " And has she sunk to this?" said Lawton, pointing with 
 his knife to the remnants on the table. 
 
 " Nay, captain," said Betty, with spirit, " I sould two of 
 her quarters to some of your troop ; but divil the word did 
 I tell the boys what an ould frind it was they had bought, 
 for fear it might damage their appetites." 
 
 "Fury!" cried the trooper, with affected anger, "I shall 
 have my fellows as limber as supple-jacks on such fare ; afraid 
 of an Englishman as a Virginian negro is of his driver." 
 
 " Well," said Lieutenant Mason, dropping his knife and 
 fork in a kind of despair, " my jaws have more sympathy 
 than many men's hearts. They absolutely decline making 
 any impression on the relics of their old acquaintance." 
 
 " Try a drop of the gift," said Betty soothingly, pouring 
 a large allowance of the wine into a bowl, and drinking it 
 off as taster to the corps. " Faith, 'tis but a wishy-washy 
 sort of stuff after all !" 
 
 The ice once broken, however, a clear glass of wine was 
 handed to Dunwoodie, who, bowing to his companions, 
 drank the liquor in the midst of a profound silence. For a 
 few glasses there was much formality observed, and sundry 
 patriotic toasts and sentiments were duly noticed by the 
 company. The liquor, however, performed its wonted office, 
 and before the second sentinel at the door had been re- 
 lieved, all recollection of the dinner and their cares was lost 
 in the present festivity. Dr. Sitgreaves did not return in 
 season to partake of Jenny, but he was in time to receive 
 his fair proportion of Captain Wharton's present. 
 
 "A song, a song from Captain Lawton!" cried two or 
 three of the party in a breath, on observing the failure of 
 some of the points of good-fellowship in the trooper; "si- 
 lence, for the song of Captain Lawton." 
 
 "Gentlemen," returned Lawton, his dark eyes swimming 
 with the bumpers he had finished, though his head was as 
 
THE SPY. 217 
 
 impenetrable as a post, "I am not much of a nightingale, 
 but, under the favor of your good wishes, I consent to com- 
 ply with the demand." 
 
 "Now, Jack," said Sitgreaves, nodding on his seat, "re- 
 member the air I taught you, and — stop, I have a copy of 
 the words in my pocket," 
 
 " Forbear, forbear, good doctor," said the trooper, filling 
 his glass with great deliberation; "I never could wheel 
 round those hard names! Gentlemen, I will give you a 
 humble attempt of my own." 
 
 "Silence, for Captain Lawton's song!" roared five or six 
 at once ; when the trooper proceeded, in a fine full tone, to 
 sing the following words to a well-known bacchanalian air, 
 several of his comrades helping him through the chorus 
 with a fervor that shook the crazy edifice they were in: 
 
 Nov push the mug, my jolly boys, 
 
 And live, while live we can ; 
 To-morrow's sun may end your joys. 
 
 For briefs the hour of man ; 
 And he who bravely meets the foe 
 His lease of life can never know. 
 Old mother Flanagan 
 Come and fill the can again ; 
 For you can fill, and we can swill. 
 Good Belty Flanagan, 
 If love of life pervades your breast, 
 
 Or love of ease your frame, 
 Quit honor's path for peaceful rest. 
 
 And bear a coward's name ; 
 For soon and late, we danger know. 
 And fearless on the saddle go. 
 Old mother, etc. 
 
 When foreign foes invade the land. 
 
 And wives and sweethearts call. 
 In freedom's cause we'll bravely stand. 
 
 Or will as bravely fall. 
 In this fair home the fates have given, 
 We'll live as lords, or live in heaven. 
 Old mother, etc. 
 
 At each appeal made to herself, by the united voices of 
 the choir, Betty invariably advanced and complied literally 
 with the request contained in the chorus, to the infinite de- 
 light of the singers, and with no small participation in the 
 
2l8 THE SPY. 
 
 satisfaction on her own account. The hostess was provided 
 with a beverage more suited to the high seasoning to which 
 she had accustomed her palate, than the tasteless present of 
 Captain Wharton; by which means Betty had managed, 
 with tolerable facility, to keep even pace with the exhila- 
 ration of her guests. The applause received by Captain 
 Lawton was general, with the exception of the surgeon, who 
 rose from the bench during the first chorus, and paced the 
 floor, in a flow of classical indignation. The bravos and 
 bravissimos drowned all other noises for a short time; but, 
 as they gradually ceased, the doctor turned to the musician, 
 and exclaimed, with heat: 
 
 " Captain Lawton, I marvel that a gentleman, and a gal- 
 lant officer, can find no other subject for his muse, in these 
 times of trial, than in such beastly invocations to that noto- 
 rious follower of the camp, the filthy Elizabeth Flanagan. 
 Methinks the goddess of Liberty could furnish a more noble 
 inspiration, and the sufferings of your country a more be 
 fitting theme." 
 
 "Heyday!" shouted the hostess, advancing toward him 
 in a threatening attitude; "and who is it that calls me 
 filthy.' Master squirt! Master pop-gun " 
 
 "Peace!" said Dunwoodie, in a voice that was exerted 
 but a little more than common, but which was succeeded by 
 the stillness of death; "woman, leave the room. Dr. Sit- 
 greaves, I call you to your seat, to wait the order of the revels." 
 
 "Proceed, proceed," said the surgeon, drawing himself 
 up in an attitude of dignified composure; "I trust, Major 
 Dunwoodie, I am not unacquainted with the rules of de- 
 corum, nor ignorant of the by-laws of good-fellowship." 
 Betty made a hasty but somewhat devious retreat to her own 
 dominions, being unaccustomed to dispute the orders of the 
 commanding officer. 
 
 " Major Dunwoodie will honor us with a sentimental 
 song," said Lawton, bowing to his leader, with the collected 
 manner he so well knew how to assume. 
 
THE SPY. 219 
 
 The major hesitated a moment, and then sang, with fine 
 execution, the following words: 
 
 Some love the heats of southern suns, 
 Where life's warm current maddening ruo 
 
 In one quick circling stream ; 
 But dearer far's the mellow light 
 Which trembling shines, reflected brigh 
 
 In Luna's milder beam. 
 
 Some love the tulip's gaudier dies. 
 Where deepening blue with yellow viea, 
 
 And gorgeous beauty glows ; 
 But happier he, whose bridal wreath. 
 By love entwined, is found to breathe 
 
 The sweetness of the rose. 
 
 The voice of Dunwoodie never lost its authority with his 
 inferiors; and the applause which followed his song, though 
 by no means so riotous as that which succeeded the effort 
 of the captain, was much more flattering. 
 
 " If, sir," said the doctor, after joining in the plaudits of 
 his companions, "you would but learn to unite classical 
 allusions with your delicate imagination, you would become 
 a pretty amateur poet." 
 
 " He who criticises ought to be able to perform," said 
 Dunwoodie, with a smile. "I call on Dr. Sitgreaves for a 
 specimen of the style he admires." 
 
 "Dr. Sitgreaves' song! Dr. Sitgreaves' song!" echoed 
 all at the table with delight; "a classical ode from Dr. 
 Sitgreaves!" 
 
 The surgeon made a complacent bow, took the remnant 
 of his glass, and gave a few preliminary hems, that served 
 hugely to delight three or four young cornets at the foot of 
 the table. He then commenced singing, in a cracked voice, 
 and to anything but a tune, the following ditty : 
 
 Hast thou ever felt love's dart, dearest. 
 
 Or breathed his trembling sigh- 
 Thought him, afar, was ever nearest. 
 
 Before that sparkling eye ? 
 Then hast thou known what *tis to feel 
 The pain that Galen could not heal. 
 
 "Hurrah!" shouted Lawton; "Archibald eclipses the 
 
220 THE SPY. 
 
 muses themselves; his words flow like the sylvan stream by 
 moonlight, and his melody is a cross-breed of the nightin- 
 gale and the owl." 
 
 " Captain Lawton," cried the exasperated operator, " it is 
 one thing to despise the lights of classical learning, and 
 another to be despised for your own ignorance!" 
 
 A loud summons at the door of the building created a 
 dead halt in the uproar, and the dragoons instinctively 
 caught up their arms, to be prepared for the worst. The 
 door was opened, and the Skinners entered, dragging in the 
 peddler, bending beneath the load of his pack. 
 
 "Which is Captain Lawton?" said the leader of the 
 gang, gazing around him in some little astonishment. 
 
 " He waits your pleasure," said the trooper drily. 
 
 "Then here I deliver to your hands a condemned traitor; 
 this is Harvey Birch, the peddler-spy." 
 
 Lawton started as he looked his old acquaintance in the 
 face, and, turning to the Skinner with a lowering look, he 
 asked : 
 
 "And who are you, sir, that speak so freely of your 
 neighbors? But," bowing to Dunwoodie, "your pardon, 
 sir ; here is the commanding officer ; to him you will please 
 address yourself." 
 
 " No," said the man sullenly, " it is to you I deliver the 
 pedler, and from you I claim my reward." 
 
 "Are you Harvey Birch?" said Dunwoodie, advancing 
 with an air of authority that instantly drove the Skinner to 
 a corner of the room. 
 
 " I am," said Birch proudly. 
 
 "And a traitor to your country," continued the major, 
 with sternness; "do you know that I should be justified in 
 ordering your execution this night?" 
 
 " 'Tis not the will of God to call a soul so hastily to his 
 presence," said the peddler, with solemnity. 
 
 " You speak truth," said Dunwoodie ; " and a few brief 
 hours shall be added to your life. But as your offence is 
 
THE SPY. 221 
 
 most odious to a soldier, so it will be sure to meet with the 
 soldier's vengeance; you die to-morrow.'' 
 
 '"Tis as God wills." 
 
 "I have spent many a good hour to entrap the villain," 
 said the Skinner, advancing a little from his corner, " and I 
 hope you will give me a certificate that will entitle us to 
 the reward; 'twas promised to be paid in gold." 
 
 " Major Dunwoodie," said the officer of the day, entering 
 the room, "the patrols report a house to be burnt near 
 yesterday's battle-ground." 
 
 " 'Twas the hut of the peddler," muttered the leader of the 
 gang; "we have not left him a shingle for shelter; I should 
 have burnt it months ago, but I wanted his shed for a trap 
 to catch the sly fox in." 
 
 " You seem a most ingenious patriot," said Lawton. 
 " Major Dunwoodie, I second the request of this worthy 
 gentleman, and crave the office of bestowing the reward on 
 him and his fellows." 
 
 "Take it; — -and you, miserable man, prepare for that fate 
 which will surely befall you before the setting of to- 
 morrow's sun." 
 
 "Life offers but little to tempt me with," said Harvey, 
 slowly raising his eyes, and gazing wildly at the strange 
 faces in the apartment. 
 
 "Come, worthy children of America!" said Lawton, 
 "follow, and receive your reward." 
 
 The gang eagerly accepted the invitation, and followed 
 the captain toward the quarters assigned to his troop. 
 Dunwoodie paused a moment, from reluctance to triumph 
 over a fallen foe, before he proceeded. 
 
 " You have already been tried, Harvey Birch ; and the 
 truth has proved you to be an enemy too dangerous to the 
 liberties of America to be suffered to live." 
 
 "The truth!" echoed the peddler, starting, and raising 
 himself in a manner that disregarded the weight of his pack. 
 
 " Ay ! the truth ; you were charged with loitering near the 
 
222 THE SPY. 
 
 Continental army, to gain intelligence of its movements, 
 and, by communicating them to the enemy, to enable him to 
 frustrate the intentions of Washington." 
 
 "Will Washington say so, think you?" 
 
 "Doubtless he would; even the justice of Washington 
 condemns you." 
 
 " No, no, no," cried the peddler, in a voice and with a 
 manner that startled Dunwoodie ; " Washington can see be- 
 yond the hollow views of pretended patriots. Has he not 
 risked his all on the cast of a die? If a gallows is ready for 
 me, was there not one for him also? No, no, no, no — 
 Washington would never say, 'Lead him to a gallows.' " 
 
 " Have you anything, wretched man, to urge to the com- 
 mander-in-chief why you should not die?" said the major, 
 recovering from the surprise created by the manner of the 
 other. 
 
 Birch trembled, for violent emotions were contending in 
 his bosom. His face assumed the ghastly paleness of 
 death, and his hand drew a box of tin from the folds of his 
 shirt; he opened it, showing by the act that it contained a 
 small piece of paper; on this document his eye was for an 
 instant fixed — he had already held it toward Dunwoodie, 
 when, suddenly withdrawing his hand, he exclaimed : 
 
 " No — it dies with me ; I know the conditions of my ser- 
 vice, and will not purchase life with their forfeiture — it dies 
 with me." 
 
 " Deliver that paper, and you may possibly find favor," 
 cried Dunwoodie, expecting a discovery of importance to 
 the cause. 
 
 " It dies with me," repeated Birch, a flush passing over 
 his pallid features, and lighting them with extraordinary 
 brilliancy. 
 
 "Seize the traitor!" cried the Major, "and wrest the 
 secret from his hands." 
 
 The order was immediately obeyed; but the movements 
 of the peddler were too quick ; in an instant he swallowed 
 
THE SPV. 223 
 
 the paper. The officers paused in astonishment; but the 
 surgeon cried eagerly : 
 
 " Hold him, while I administer an emetic." 
 
 "Forbear!" said Dunwoodie, beckoning him back with 
 his hand; " iE his crime is great, so will his punishment be 
 heavy." 
 
 " Lead on," cried the peddler, dropping his pack from his 
 shoulders, and advancing toward the door with a manner of 
 incomprehensible dignity. 
 
 "Whither.?" asked Dunwoodie, in amazement. 
 
 "To the gallows." 
 
 " No," said the major, recoiling in horror at his own jus- 
 tice. " My duty requires that I order you to be executed, 
 but surely not so hastily; take until nine to-morrow to pre- 
 pare for the awful change." 
 
 Dunwoodie whispered his orders in the ear of a subaltern, 
 and motioned to the peddler to withdraw. The interruption 
 caused by this scene prevented further enjoyment around 
 the table, and the officers dispersed to their several places 
 of rest. In a short time the only noise to be heard was the 
 heavy tread of the sentinel, as he paced the frozen ground 
 in front of the Hotel Flanagan, 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 There are, whose changing lineanaents 
 Express his guileless passion of the breast ; 
 Where Love, and Hope, and tender-hearted Pity 
 Are seen reflected, as from a mirror's face ; 
 But cold experience can veil these hues 
 With looks, invented shrewdly to encompass 
 The cunning purposes of base deceit. 
 
 Duo. 
 
 The officer to whose keeping Dunwoodie had committed 
 the peddler transferred his charge to the custody of the regu- 
 lar sergeant of the guard. The gift of Captain Wharton 
 had not been lost on the youthful lieutenant; and a certain 
 
224 THE SPY. 
 
 dancing motion that had taken possession of objects before 
 his eyes gave him warning of the necessity of recruiting 
 nature by sleep. After admonishing the non-commissioned 
 guardian of Harvey to omit no watchfulness in securing the 
 prisoner, the youth wrapped himself in his cloak, and, 
 stretched on a bench before a fire, soon found the repose he 
 needed. A rude shed extended the whole length of the rear 
 of the building, and from off one of its ends had been par- 
 titioned a small apartment, that was intended as a repository 
 for many of the lesser implements of husbandry. The law- 
 less times had, however, occasioned its being stripped of 
 everything of value ; and the searching eyes of Betty Flana- 
 gan selected this spot, on her arrival, as the storehouse for 
 her movables, and a sanctuary for her person. The spare 
 arms and baggage of the corps had also been deposited 
 here; and the united treasures were placed under the eye 
 of the sentinel who paraded the shed as a guardian of the 
 rear of the headquarters. A second soldier, who was sta- 
 tioned near the house to protect the horses of the officers, 
 could command a view of the outside of the apartment; and, 
 as it was without window or outlet of any kind, excepting 
 its door, the considerate sergeant thought this the most be- 
 fitting place in which to deposit his prisoner until the 
 moment of his execution. Several inducements urged Ser- 
 geant Hollister to this determination, among which was the 
 absence of the washerwoman, who lay before the kitchen 
 fire, dreaming that the corps was attacking a party of the 
 enemy, and mistaking the noise that proceeded from her 
 own nose for the bugles of the Virginians sounding the 
 charge. Another was the peculiar opinions that the veteran 
 entertained of life and death, and by which he was distin- 
 guished in the corps as a man of most exemplary piety and 
 holiness of life. The sergeant was more than fifty years of 
 age, and for half that period he had borne arms. The con- 
 stant recurrence of sudden deaths before his eyes had pro- 
 duced an effect on him diifering greatly from that which 
 
THE SPY. 225 
 
 was the usual moral consequence of such scenes; and he 
 had become not only the most steady, but the most trust- 
 worthy soldier in his troop. Captain Lawton had rewarded 
 his fidelity by making him its orderly. 
 
 Followed by Birch, the sergeant proceeded in silence to 
 the door of the intended prison, and, throwing it open with 
 one hand, he held a lantern with the other to light the 
 peddler to his prison. Seating himself on a cask, that con- 
 tained some of Betty's favorite beverage, the sergeant mo- 
 tioned to Birch to occupy another, in the same manner. 
 The lantern was placed on the floor, when the dragoon, after 
 looking his prisoner steadily in the face, observed 
 
 "You look as if you would meet death like a man; and I 
 have brought you to a spot where you can tranquilly ar- 
 range your thoughts, and be quiet and undisturbed." 
 
 " 'Tis a fearful place to prepare for the last change in," 
 said Harvey, gazing around his little prison with a vacant eye. 
 
 " Why, for the matter of that," returned the veteran, " it 
 can reckon but little, in the great account, where a man 
 parades his thoughts for the last review, so that he finds 
 them fit to pass the muster of another world. I have a 
 small book here, which I make it a point to read a little 
 in, whenever we are about to engage, and I find it a great 
 strengthener in time of need." While speaking, he took a 
 Bible from his pocket, and offered it to the peddler. Birch 
 received the volume with habitual reverence; but there was 
 an abstracted air about him, and a wandering of the eye, 
 that induced his companion to think that alarm was getting 
 the mastery of the pedler's feelings; accordingly, he pro- 
 ceeded in what he conceived to be the offices of consolation. 
 
 " If anything lies heavy on your mind, now is the best 
 time to get rid of it — if you have done any wrong to any 
 one, I promise you, on the word of an honest dragoon, to 
 lend you a helping hand to see them righted." 
 
 " There are few who have not done so," said the peddler, 
 turning his vacant gaze once more on his companion. 
 IS 
 
226 THE SPY. 
 
 "True — 'tis natural to sin — but it sometimes happens 
 that a man does what at other times he may be sorry for. 
 One would not wish to die with any very heavy sin on his 
 conscience, after all." 
 
 Harvey had by this time thoroughly examined the place 
 in which he was to pass the night, and saw no means of 
 escape. But as hope is ever the last feeling to desert the 
 human breast, the peddler gave the dragoon more of his at- 
 tention, fixing on his sunburnt features such searching looks, 
 that Sergeant HoUister lowered his eyes before the wild 
 expression which he met in the gaze of his prisoner. 
 
 " I have been taught to lay the burden of my sins at the 
 feet of my Saviour," replied the peddler. 
 
 "Why, yes — all that is well enough," returned the other; 
 "but justice should be done while there is opportunity. 
 There have been stirring times in this country since the 
 war began, and many have been deprived of their rightful 
 goods. I oftentimes find it hard to reconcile even my law- 
 ful plunder to a tender conscience." 
 
 "These hands," said the peddler, stretching forth his 
 meagre, bony fingers, " have spent years in toil, but not a 
 moment in pilfering." 
 
 "It is well that it is so," said the honest-hearted soldier; 
 " and, no doubt, you now feel it a great consolation. There 
 are three great sins, that, if a man can keep his conscience 
 clear of, why, by the mercy of God he may hope to pass 
 muster with the saints in heaven ; they are stealing, mur- 
 dering, and desertion." 
 
 "Thank God!" said Birch with fervor, " I have never yet 
 taken the life of a fellow-creature." 
 
 "As to killing a man in lawful battle, that is no more 
 than doing one's duty. If the cause is wrong, the sin of 
 such a deed, you know, falls on the nation, and a man re- 
 ceives his punishment here with the rest of the people; but 
 murdering in cold blood stands next to desertion as a crime 
 in the eye of God." 
 
THE SPY. 227 
 
 "I never was a soldier, therefore never could desert," 
 said the peddler, resting his face on his hand in a melan- 
 choly attitude. 
 
 " Why, desertion consists of more than quitting your 
 colors, though that is certainly the worst kind ; a man may 
 desert his country in the hour of need." 
 
 Birch buried his face in both his hands, and his whole 
 frame shook; the sergeant regarded him closely, but good 
 feelings soon got the better of his antipathies, and he con- 
 tinued more mildly: 
 
 " But still that is a sin which I think may be forgiven, if 
 sincerely repented of; and it matters but little when or how 
 a man dies, so that he dies like a Christian and a man. I 
 recommend you to say your prayers, and then to get some 
 rest, in order that you may do both. There is no hope of 
 your being pardoned; for Colonel Singleton has sent down 
 the most positive orders to take your life whenever we met 
 you. No — no — nothing can save you.'' 
 
 " You say the truth," cried Birch. " It is now too late — 
 I have destroyed my only safeguard. But he will do my 
 memory justice at least." 
 
 "What safeguard?" asked the sergeant, with awakened 
 curiosity. 
 
 " 'Tis nothing," replied the peddler, recovering his natural 
 manner, and lowering his face to avoid the the earnest looks 
 of his companion. 
 
 "And who is he?" 
 
 " No one," added Harvey, anxious to say no more. 
 
 " Nothing, and no one, can avail but little now," said the 
 sergeant, rising to go ; " lay yourself on the blanket of Mrs. 
 Flanagan, and get a little sleep; I will call you betimes in 
 the morning; and, from the bottom of my soul, I wish I 
 could be of some service to you, for I dislike greatly to see 
 a man hung up like a dog." 
 
 " Then you might save me from this ignominious death," 
 said Birch, springing on his feet, and catching the dragoon 
 
228 THE SPY. 
 
 by the arm — "and, oh! what will I not give you in re- 
 ward!" 
 
 "In what manner?" asked the sergeant, looking at him 
 in surprise. 
 
 " See,'' said the peddler, producing several guineas from 
 his person; "these are nothing to what I will give you, if 
 you will assist me to escape." 
 
 " Were you the man whose picture is on the gold, I would 
 not listen to such a crime," said the trooper, throwing the 
 money on the floor with contempt. " Go^go — poor wretch, 
 and make your peace with God ; for it is He only that can 
 be of service to you now." 
 
 The sergeant took up the lantern, and, with some indig- 
 nation in his manner, he left the peddler to sorrowful medi- 
 tations on his approaching fate. Birch sunk, in momentary 
 despair, on the pallet of Betty, while his guardian proceeded 
 to give the necessary instructions to the sentinels for his 
 safe-keeping. 
 
 Hollister concluded his injunctions to the man in the 
 shed, by saying: "Your life will depend on his not escap- 
 ing. Let none enter or quit the room till morning.'' 
 
 " But,'' said the trooper, " my orders are to let the wash- 
 erwoman pass in and out, as she pleases." 
 
 " Well, let her then ; but be careful that this wily peddler 
 does not get out in the folds of her petticoats.'' He then 
 continued his walk, giving similar orders to each of the 
 sentinels near the spot 
 
 For some time after the departure of the sergeant, silence 
 prevailed within the solitary prison of the peddler, until the 
 dragoon at his door heard his loud breathings, which soon 
 rose into the regular cadence of one in a deep sleep. The 
 man continued walking his post, musing on an indifference 
 to life which could allow nature its customary rest even on 
 the threshold of the grave. Harvey Birch had, however, 
 been a name too long held in detestation by every man in 
 the corps, to suffer any feelings of commiseration to mingle 
 
THE SPY. 229 
 
 with these reflections of the sentinel ; for, notwithstanding 
 the consideration and kindness manifested by the sergeant, 
 there probably was not another man of his rank in the 
 whole party who would have discovered equal benevolence 
 to the prisoner, or who would not have imitated the veteran 
 in rejecting the bribe, although probably from a less worthy 
 motive. There was something of disappointed vengeance 
 in the feelings of the man who watched the door of the 
 room on finding his prisoner enjoying a sleep of which he 
 himself was deprived, and at his exhibiting such obvious 
 indifference to the utmost penalty that military rigor could 
 inflict on all his treason to the cause of liberty and America. 
 More than once he felt prompted to disturb the repose of 
 the peddler by taunts and revilings; but the discipline he 
 was under, and a secret sense of shame at the brutality of 
 the act, held him in subjection. 
 
 His meditations were, however, soon interrupted by the ap- 
 pearance of the washerwoman, who came staggering through 
 the door that communicated with the kitchen, muttering 
 execrations against the servants of the officers, who, by their 
 waggery, had disturbed her slumbers before the fire. The 
 sentinel understood enough of her maledictions to compre- 
 hend the case ; but all his efforts to enter into conversation 
 with the enraged woman were useless, and he suffered her 
 to enter her room without explaining that it contained an- 
 other inmate. The noise of her huge frame falling on the 
 bed was succeeded by a silence that was soon interrupted 
 by the renewed respiration of the peddler, and within a few 
 minutes Harvey continued to breathe aloud, as if no inter- 
 ruption had occurred. The relief arrived at this moment. 
 The sentinel, who felt nettled at the contempt of the peddler, 
 after communicating his orders, while he was retiring, ex- 
 claimed to his successor : 
 
 "You may keep yourself warm by dancing, John; the 
 peddler spy has tuned his fiddle, you hear, and it will not be 
 long before Betty will strike up, in her turn." 
 
23© THE SPY, 
 
 The joke was followed by a general laugh from the party, 
 who marched on in the performance of their duty. At this 
 instant the door of the prison was opened, and Betty reap- 
 peared, staggering back again toward her former quarters. 
 
 "Stop," said the sentinel, catching her by her clothes; 
 "are you sure the spy is not in your pocket?" 
 
 " Can't you hear the rascal snoring in my room, you dirty 
 blackguard?" sputtered Betty, her whole frame shaking with 
 lage ; " and is it so yee would sarve a dacent f amale, that a 
 man must be put to sleep in the room wid her, yee rapscal- 
 libn?" 
 
 " Pooh ! do you mind a fellow who's to be hanged in the 
 morning? You see he sleeps already — to-morrow he'll take 
 a longer nap." 
 
 " Hands off, yee villain!" cried the washerwoman, relin- 
 quishing a small bottle that the trooper had succeeded in 
 wresting from her. 
 
 " But I'll go to Captain Jack, and know if it's orders to 
 put a hang-gallows spy in my room ; ay, even in my widowed 
 bed, you tief !" 
 
 "Silence, old Jezebel!" said the fellow with a laugh, 
 taking the bottle from his mouth to breathe, " or you will 
 wake the gentleman — would you disturb a man in his last 
 sleep?" 
 
 "I'll awake Captain Jack, you reprobate villain, and 
 bring him here to see me righted; he will punish yee all, 
 for imposing on a dacent widowed body, you marauder!" 
 
 With these words, which only extorted a laugh from the 
 sentinel, Betty staggered round the end of the building, and 
 made the best of her way toward the quarters of her favorite. 
 Captain John Lawton, in search of redress. Neither the 
 officer nor the woman, however, appeared during the night, 
 and nothing further occurred to disturb the repose of the 
 peddler, who, to the astonishment of the different sentinels, 
 continued by his breathing to manifest how little the gal- 
 lows could affect his slumbers. 
 
THE SPY, 231 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 A Daniel come to jud£:inent t yea, a Daniel I — 
 O wise young judge, how 1 do honor thee ! 
 
 Merchant 0/ Venice, 
 
 The Skinners followed Captain Lawton with alacrity 
 toward the quarters occupied by the troop of that gentleman. 
 The captain of dragoons had on all occasions manifested so 
 much zeal for the cause in which he was engaged, was so 
 regardless of personal danger when opposed to the enemy, 
 and his stature and stern countenance contributed so much 
 to render him terrific, that these qualities had, in some 
 measure, procured him a reputation distinct from the corps 
 in which he served. His intrepidity was mistaken for 
 ferocity ; and his hasty zeal for the natural love of cruelty. 
 On the other hand, a few acts of clemency, or, more properly 
 speaking, of discriminating justice, had, with one portion 
 of the community, acquired for Dunwoodie the character of 
 undue forbearance. It is seldom that either popular con- 
 demnation or popular applause falls, exactly in the quanti- 
 ties earned, where it is merited. 
 
 While in the presence of the major, the leader of the 
 gang had felt himself under that restraint which vice must 
 ever experience in the company of acknowledged virtue; 
 but having left the house, he at once conceived that he was 
 under the protection of a congenial spirit. There was a 
 gravity in the manner of Lawton that deceived most of 
 those who did not know him intimately; and it was a com- 
 mon saying in his troop "that when the captain laughed, 
 he was sure to punish.'' Drawing near his conductor, there- 
 fore, the leader commenced a confidential dialogue. 
 
 " 'Tis always well for a man to know his friends from his 
 enemies," said the half-licensed freebooter. 
 
 To this prefatory observation the captain made no other 
 reply than a sound, which the other interpreted into assent 
 
232 THE SPY. 
 
 " I suppose Major Dunwoodie has the good opinion of 
 Washington?" continued the Skinner, in a tone that rather 
 expressed a doubt than asked a question. 
 
 "There are some who think so." 
 
 " Many of the friends of Congress in this count)'," the 
 man proceeded, "wish the horse was led by some other 
 officer; for my part, if I could only be covered by a troop 
 now and then, I could do many an important piece of ser- 
 vice to the cause, to which this capture of the peddler would 
 be a trifle." 
 
 "Indeed! such as what?" 
 
 " For the matter of that, it could be made as profitable to 
 the officer as it would be to us who did it," said the Skin- 
 ner, with a look of the most significant meaning. 
 
 "But how?" asked Lawton, a little impatiently, and 
 quickening his step to get out of the hearing of the rest of 
 the party. 
 
 " Why, near the royal lines, even under the very guns 
 of the heights, might be good picking if we had a force to 
 guard us from De Lancey's * men, and to cover our retreat 
 from being cut off by the way of King's-bridge." 
 
 " I thought the Refugees took all that game to them- 
 selves." 
 
 "They do a little at it; but they are obliged to be spar- 
 ing among their own people. I have been down twice, 
 under an agreement with them: the first time they acted 
 with honor; but the second they came upon us and drove 
 us off, and took the plunder to themselves." 
 
 * The partisan corps, called Cow-boys in ttie parlance of the country, was com- 
 manded by a Colonel De Lancey, This gentleman, for such he was by birth and 
 education, rendered himself very odious to the Americans by his fancied cruelty, 
 though there is no evidence of his being guilty of any acts unusual in this species of 
 warfare. 
 
 Colonel De Lancey belonged to a family of the highest consequence in the Ameri- 
 can colonies, his uncle having died in the administration of the government of that of 
 New York. He should not be confounded with other gentlemen of his name and fam- 
 ily, many of whom served in the royal army. His cousin. Colonel Oliver De Lancey, 
 was, at the time of our tale, adjutant-general of the British forces in America, having 
 succeeded to the unfortunate Andre. The Cow-boys were sometimes called Refugees, 
 in consequence of their having taken refuge under the protection of the crown. 
 
THE SPY. 233 
 
 "That was a very dishonorable act, indeed; I wonder 
 that an honorable man will associate with such rascals." 
 
 " It is necessary to have an understanding with some of 
 them, or we might be taken; but a man without honor is 
 worse than a brute. Do you think Major Dunwoodie is to 
 be trusted?" 
 
 " You mean on honorable principles ?" 
 
 " Certainly ; you know Arnold was thought well of until 
 the royal major v/as taken." 
 
 " Why, I do not believe Dunwoodie would sell his com- 
 mand as Arnold wished to do; neither do I think him 
 exactly trustworthy in a delicate business like this of 
 yours." 
 
 "That's just my notion," rejoined the Skinner, with a 
 self -approving manner that showed how much he was satis- 
 fied with his own estimate of character. 
 
 By this time they had arrived at a better sort of farm- 
 house, the very extensive outbuildings of which were in 
 tolerable repair, for the times. The barns were occupied 
 by the men of the troop, while the horses were arranged 
 under the long sheds which protected the yard from the 
 cold north wind. The latter were quietly eating, with sad- 
 dles on their backs and bridles thrown on their necks, ready 
 to be bitted and mounted at the shortest warning. Lawton 
 excused himself for a moment, and entered his quarters. 
 He soon returned, holding in his hand one of the common 
 stable-lanterns, and led the way toward a large orchard that 
 surrounded the buildings on three sides. The gang fol- 
 lowed the trooper in silence, believing his object to be 
 facility of communicating further on this interesting topic, 
 without the danger of being overheard. 
 
 Approaching the captain, the Skinner renewed the dis- 
 course, with a view of establishing further confidence, and 
 of giving his companion a more favorable opinion of his 
 own intellects. 
 
 " Do you think the colonies will finally get the better of 
 
234 THE SPY. 
 
 the king?" he inquired, with a little of the importance of a 
 politician. 
 
 "Get the better!" echoed the captain, with impetuosity 
 — then checking himself, he continued, " no doubt they 
 will. If the French will give us arms and money, we can 
 drive out the royal troops in six months." 
 
 " Well, so I hope we shall soon ; and then we shall have 
 a free government, and we, who fight for it, will get our 
 reward." 
 
 "Oh!" cried Lawton, "your claims will be indisputable; 
 while all these vile Tories who live at home peaceably, to 
 take care of their farms, will be held in the contempt they 
 merit. You have no farm, I suppose?" 
 
 " Not yet — but it will go hard if I do not find one before 
 the peace is made." 
 
 " Right; study your own interests, and you study the in- 
 terests of your country; press the point of your own ser- 
 vices, and rail at the Tories, and I'll bet my spurs against 
 a rusty nail that you get to be a county clerk at least." 
 
 " Don't you think Paulding's * party were fools in not 
 letting the royal adjutant-general escape?" said the man, 
 thrown off his guard by the freedom of the captain's 
 manner. 
 
 "Fools!" cried Lawton, with a bitter laugh ; "ay, fools 
 indeed ; King George would have paid them better, for he 
 is richer. He would have made them gentlemen for their 
 lives. But, thank God! there is a pervading spirit in the 
 people that seems miraculous. Men who have nothing, act 
 as if the wealth of the Indies depended on their fidelity; 
 all are not villains like yourself, or we should have been 
 slaves to England years ago." 
 
 " How!" exclaimed the Skinner, starting back, and drop- 
 
 * The author must have intended some allusion to an individual, which is too local 
 to be understood by the general reader. 
 
 Andre, as is well known, was arrested by three countrymen, who were on the look- 
 •jut for predatory parties of the enemy ; the principal man of this party was named 
 Paulding. The disinterested manner in which they refused the offers of their cap- 
 tive is matter of history. 
 
THE SPV. 23 s 
 
 ping his musket to the level of the other's breast; "am I 
 betrayed, and are you my enemy?" 
 
 "Miscreant!" shouted Lawton, his sabre ringing in its 
 steel scabbard, as he struck the musket of the fellow from 
 his hands, "offer but again to point your gun at me, and 
 I'll cleave you to the middle." 
 
 "And you will not pay us, then, Captain Lawton?" said 
 the Skinner, trembling in every joint, for just then he saw a 
 party of mounted dragoons silently encircling the whole 
 party. 
 
 "Oh! pay you — yes, you shall have the full measure of 
 your reward. There is the money that Colonel Singleton 
 sent down for the captors of the spy," throwing a bag of 
 guineas with disdain at the other's feet. " But ground your 
 arms, you rascals, and see that the money is truly told." 
 
 The intimidated band did as they were ordered; and 
 while they were eagerly employed in this pleasing avoca- 
 tion, a few of Lawton's men privately knocked the flints out 
 of their muskets. 
 
 "Well," cried the impatient captain, "is it right? — have 
 you the promised reward?" 
 
 " There is just the money," said the leader; " and we will 
 now go to our homes, with your permission." 
 
 " Hold! so much to redeem our promise — now for justice; 
 we pay you for taking a spy, but we punisli you for burning, 
 robbing, and murdering. Seize them, my lads, and give 
 each of them the law of Moses — forty, save one." 
 
 This command was given to no unwilling listeners; and 
 in the twinkling of an eye the Skinners were stripped and 
 fastened, by the halters of the party, to as many of the 
 apple-trees as were necessary to furnish one to each of the 
 gang. Swords were quickly drawn, and fifty branches were 
 cut from the trees, like magic : from these were selected a 
 few of the most supple of the twigs, and a willing dragoon 
 was soon found to wield each of the weapons. Captain 
 Lawton gave the word, humanely cautioning his men not to 
 
236 THE SPY, 
 
 exceed the discipline prescribed by the Mosaic law, and the 
 uproar of Babel commenced in the orchard. The cries of 
 the leader were easily to be distinguished above those of 
 his men ; a circumstance which might be accounted for, by 
 Captain Lawton's reminding his corrector that he had to 
 deal with an officer, and he should remember and pay him 
 unusual honor. The flagellation was executed with great 
 neatness and despatch, and it was distinguished by no 
 irregularity, excepting that none of the disciplinarians be- 
 gan to count until they had tried their whips by a dozen or 
 more blows, by the way, as they said themselves, of finding 
 out the proper places to strike. As soon as this summary 
 operation was satisfactorily completed, Lawton directed his 
 men to leave the Skinners to replace their own clothes, and 
 to mount their horses; for they were a party who had been 
 detached for the purpose of patrolling lower down in the 
 county. 
 
 " You see, my friend," said the captain to the leader of 
 the Skinners, after he had prepared himself to depart, " I 
 can cover you to some purpose, when necessary. If we 
 meet often, you will be covered with scars, which, if not 
 very honorable, will at least be merited." 
 
 The fellow made no reply. He was busy with his mus- 
 ket, and hastening his comrades to march; when, every- 
 thing being ready, they proceeded sullenly toward some 
 rocks at no great distance, which were overhung by a deep 
 wood. The moon was just rising, and the group of dra- 
 goons could easily be distinguished where they had been 
 left. Suddenly turning, the whole gang levelled their pieces 
 and drew the triggers. The action was noticed, and the 
 snapping of the locks was heard by the soldiers, who re- 
 turned their futile attempt with a laugh of derision, the cap- 
 tain crying aloud: 
 
 "Ah! rascals, I knew you, and have taken away your 
 flints." 
 
 " You should have taken away that in my pouch too," 
 
THE spy. 237 
 
 shouted the leader, firing his gun in the next instant. The 
 bullet grazed the ear of Lawton, who laughed as he shook 
 his head, saying, "A miss was as good as a mile." One of 
 the dragoons had seen the preparations of the Skinner — 
 who had been left alone by the rest of his gang, as soon as 
 they had made their abortive attempt at revenge — and was 
 in the act of plunging his spurs into his horse as the fellow 
 fired. The distance to the rocks was but small, yet the speed 
 of the horse compelled the leader to abandon both money 
 and musket, to effect his escape. The soldier returned with 
 his prizes, and offered them to the acceptance of his cap- 
 tain ; but Lawton rejected them, telling the man to retain 
 them himself, until the rascal appeared in person to claim 
 his property. It would have been a business of no small 
 difficulty for any tribunal then existing in the new states to 
 have enforced a restitution of the money ; for it was shortly 
 after most equitably distributed, by the hands of Sergeant 
 Hollister, among a troop of horse. The patrol departed, 
 and the captain slowly returned to his quarters, with an 
 intention of retiring to rest. A figure moving rapidly 
 among the trees, in the direction of the wood whither the 
 Skinners had retired, caught his eye, and, wheeling on his 
 heel, the cautious partisan approached it, and, to his aston- 
 ishment, saw the washerwoman at that hour of the night, 
 and in such a place. 
 
 "What, Betty! walking in your sleep, or dreaming while 
 awake?" cried the trooper; "are you not afraid of meeting 
 with the ghost of ancient Jenny in this her favorite pasture?" 
 
 " Ah, sure, Captain Jack," returned the sutler in her native 
 accent, and reeling in a manner that made it difficult for her 
 to raise her head, " it's not Jenny, or her ghost, that I'm 
 saaking, but some yarbs for the wounded. And it's the var- 
 tue of the rising moon, as it jist touches them, that I want. 
 They grow under yon rocks, and I must hasten, or the charm 
 will lose its power." 
 
 " Fool, you are fitter for your pallet than for wandering 
 
238 THE SPY. 
 
 among those rocks : a fall from one of them would break 
 your bones; besides, the Skinners have fled to those heights, 
 and should you fall in with them they would revenge on 
 you a sound flogging they have just received from me. 
 Better return, old woman, and finish your nap ; we march in 
 the morning." 
 
 Betty disregarded his advice, and continued her devious 
 route to the hillside. For an instant, as Lawton mentioned 
 the Skinners, she had paused, but, immediately resuming her 
 course, she was soon out of sight, among the trees. 
 
 As the captain entered his quarters, the sentinel at the 
 door inquired if he had met Mrs. Flanagan, and added that 
 she had passed there, filling the air with threats against her 
 tormentors at the " Hotel," and inquiring for the captain in 
 search of redress. Lawton heard the man in astonishment 
 — appeared struck with a new idea — walked several yards 
 toward the orchard, and returned again; for several min- 
 utes he paced rapidly to and fro before the door of the 
 house, and then, hastily entering it, he threw himself on a 
 bed in his clothes, and was soon in a profound sleep. 
 
 In the mean time the gang of marauders had successfully 
 gained the summit of the rocks, and, scattering in every 
 direction, they buried themselves in the depths of the wood. 
 Finding, however, there was no pursuit, which indeed would 
 have been impracticable for horse, the leader ventured to 
 call his band together with a whistle, and in a short time 
 he succeeded in collecting his discomfited party, at a point 
 where they had but little to apprehend from any enemy. 
 
 "Well," said one of the fellows, while a fire was lighting 
 to protect them against the air, which was becoming severely 
 cold, "there is an end to our business in West-Chester. 
 The Virginia horse will soon make the county too hot to 
 hold us." 
 
 " I'll have his blood," muttered the leader, " if I die for 
 it the next instant." 
 
 " Oh, you are very valiant here, in the wood," cried the 
 
THE spy. 239 
 
 other, with a savage laugh; "why did you, who boast so 
 much of your aim, miss your man, at thirty yards?" 
 
 " 'Twas the horseman that disturbed me, or I would have 
 ended this Captain Lawton on the spot ; besides, the cold 
 had set me a-shivering, and I had no longer a steady hand." 
 
 " Say it was fear, and you will tell no lie," said his com- 
 rade with a sneer. " For my part, I think I shall never be 
 cold again ; my back burns as if a thousand gridirons were 
 laid on it." 
 
 "And you would tamely submit to such usage, and kiss 
 the rod that beat you?" 
 
 " As for kissing the rod, it would be no easy matter. 
 Mine was broken into so small pieces, on my own shoul- 
 ders, that it would be difficult to find one big enough to 
 kiss; but I would rather submit to lose half my skin, than 
 to lose the whole of it, with my ears in the bargain. And 
 such will be our fates, if we tempt this mad Virginian 
 again. God willing, I would at any time give him enough 
 of my hide to make a pair of jack-boots, to get out of his 
 hands with the remainder. If you had known when you 
 were well off, you would have stuck to Major Dunwoodie, 
 who don't know half so much of our evil-doings." 
 
 "Silence, you talking fool!" shouted the enraged leader; 
 "your prating is sufficient to drive a man mad; is it not 
 enough to be robbed and beaten, but we must be tormented 
 with your folly? — help to get out the provisions, if any is 
 left in the wallet, and try and stop your mouth with food." 
 
 This injunction was obeyed, and the whole party, amid 
 sundry groans and contortions, excited by the disordered 
 state of their backs, made their arrangements for a scanty 
 meal. A large fire of dry wood was burning in the cleft of 
 a rock, and at length they began to recover from the confu- 
 sion of their flight, and to collect their scattered senses. 
 Their hunger being appeased, and many of their garments 
 thrown aside for the better opportunity of dressing their 
 wounds, the gang began to plot measures of revenge. An 
 
240 THE SPY. 
 
 hour was spent in this manner, and various expedients were 
 proposed; but as they all depended on personal prowess ior 
 their success, and were attended by great danger, they were 
 of course rejected. There was no possibility of approach- 
 ing the troops by surprise, their vigilance being ever on the 
 watch ; and the hope of meeting Captain Lawton, away from 
 his men, was equally forlorn, for the trooper was constantly 
 engaged in his duty, and his movements were so rapid that 
 any opportunity of meeting with him, at all, must depend 
 greatly on accident. Besides, it was by no means certain 
 that such an interview would result happily for themselves. 
 The cunning of the trooper was notorious; and, rough and 
 broken as was West-Chester, the fearless partisan was 
 known to take desperate leaps, and stone walls were but 
 slight impediments to the charges of the Southern horse. 
 Gradually, the conversation took another direction, until 
 the gang determined on a plan which should both revenge 
 themselves, and at the same time offer some additional 
 stimulus to their exertions. The whole business was ac- 
 curately discussed, the time fixed, and the manner adopted; 
 in short, nothing was wanting to the previous arrangement 
 for this deed of villany, when they were aroused by a voice 
 calling aloud : 
 
 " This way, Captain Jack — here are the rascals ating by 
 a fire — this way, and murder the tieves where they sit — 
 quick, lave your horses and shoot your pistols!" 
 
 This terrific summons was enough to disturb all the phi- 
 losophy of the gang. Springing on their feet they rushed 
 deeper into the wood, and having already agreed upon a 
 place of rendezvous previously to their intended expedition, 
 they dispersed toward the four quarters of the heavens. 
 Certain sounds and different voices were heard calling on 
 each other, but, as the marauders were well trained to speed 
 of foot, they were soon lost in the distance. 
 
 It was not long before Betty Flanagan emerged from the 
 darkness, and very coolly took possession of what the Skin- 
 
THE SPY. 241 
 
 ners had left behind them ; namely, food, and divers articles 
 of dress. The washerwoman deliberately seated herself, 
 and made a meal with great apparent satisfaction. For an 
 hour, she sat with her head upon her hand, in deep musing; 
 then she gathered together such articles of the clothes as 
 seemed to suit her fancy, and retired into the wood, leaving 
 the fire to throw its glimmering light on the adjacent rocks, 
 until its last brand died away, and the place was abandoned 
 to solitude and darkness. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 No longer then perplex the breast- 
 When thoughts torment, the first are best 
 *Tis mad to go, 'tis death to stay ! 
 Away, to Orra, haste away. 
 
 Lapland Love Song. 
 
 While his comrades were sleeping, in perfect forgetful- 
 ness of their hardships and dangers, the slumbers of Dun- 
 woodie were broken and unquiet. After spending a night 
 of restlessness, he arose, unrefreshed, from the rude bed 
 where he had thrown himself in his clothes, and, without 
 awaking any of the group around him, he wandered into the 
 open air in search of relief. The soft rays of the moon 
 were just passing away in the more distinct light of the 
 morning; the wind had fallen, and the rising mists gave the 
 promise of another of those autumnal days which, in this 
 unstable climate, succeed a tempest with the rapid transi- 
 tions of magic. The hour had not yet arrived when he in- 
 tended moving from his present position; and, willing to 
 allow his warriors all the refreshment that circumstances 
 would permit, he strolled toward the scene of the Skinners' 
 punishment, musing upon the embarrassments of his situa- 
 tion, and uncertain how he should reconcile his sense of 
 duty with his love. Although Dunwoodie himself placed 
 the most implicit reliance on the captain's purity of inten- 
 16 
 
242 THE SPY. 
 
 tion, he was by no means assured that a board o£ officers 
 would be equally credulous ; and, independently of all feel- 
 ings of private regard, he felt certain that with the execution 
 of Henry would be destroyed all hopes of a union with his 
 sister. He had despatched an officer, the preceding even- 
 ing, to Colonel Singleton, who was in command of the ad- 
 vance posts, reporting the capture of the British captain, 
 and, after giving his own opinion of his innocence, request- 
 ing orders as to the manner in which he was to dispose of 
 his prisoner. These orders might be expected every hour, 
 and his uneasiness increased, in proportion as the moment 
 approached when his friend might be removed from his pro- 
 tection. In this disturbed state of mind, the major wan- 
 dered through the orchard, and was stopped in his walk by 
 arriving at the base of those rocks which had protected the 
 Skinners in their flight before he was conscious whither his 
 steps had carried him. He was about to turn, and retrace 
 his path to his quarters, when he was startled by a voice, 
 bidding him: 
 
 "Stand or die!" 
 
 Dunwoodie turned in amazement, and beheld the figure 
 of a man placed at a little distance above him on a shelving 
 rock, with a musket levelled at himself. The light was not 
 yet sufficiently powerful to reach the recesses of that gloomy 
 spot, and a second look was necessary before he discovered, 
 to his astonishment, that - the peddler stood before him. 
 Comprehending, in an instant, the danger of his situation, 
 and disdaining to implore mercy or to retreat, had the latter 
 been possible, the youth cried firmly: 
 
 " If I am to be murdered, fire ! I will never become your 
 prisoner." 
 
 " No, Major Dunwoodie," said Birch, lowering his mus- 
 ket, " it is neither my intention to capture nor to slay." 
 
 "What then would you have, mysterious being?" said 
 Dunwoodie, hardly able to persuade himself that the form 
 he saw was not a creature of the imagination. 
 
THE SPY. 243 
 
 " Your good opinion," answered the peddler, with emotion ; 
 "I would wish all good men to judge me with lenity." 
 
 " To you it must be indifferent what may be the judgment 
 of men ; for you seem to be beyond the reach of their sen- 
 tence." 
 
 " God spares the lives of his servants to his own time," 
 said the peddler solemnly : " a few hours ago I was your 
 prisoner, and threatened with the gallows; now you are 
 mine ; but. Major Dunwoodie, you are free. There are men 
 abroad who would treat you less kindly. Of what service 
 would that sword be to you against my weapon and a steady 
 hand? Take the advice of one who has never harmed you, 
 and who never will. Do not trust yourself in the skirts of 
 any wood, unless in company and mounted." 
 
 " And have you comrades, who have assisted you to es- 
 cape, and who are less generous than yourself.'" 
 
 " No — no, I am alone truly — none know me but my God 
 and Him." 
 
 "And who?" asked the major, with an interest he could 
 not control. 
 
 " None," continued the peddler, recovering his composure. 
 "But such is not your case, Major Dunwoodie; you are 
 young and happy; there are those that are dear to you, and 
 such are not far away — danger is near them you love most 
 — danger within and without; double your watchfulness — 
 strengthen your patrols — and be silent. With your opinion 
 of me, should I tell you more, you would suspect an am- 
 bush. But remember and guard them you love best." 
 
 The peddler discharged the musket in the air, and threw 
 it at the feet of his astonished auditor. When surprise and 
 the smoke allowed Dunwoodie to look again on the rock 
 where he had stood, the spot was vacant. 
 
 The youth was aroused from the stupor, which had been 
 created by this strange scene, by the trampling of horses, 
 and the sound of the bugles. A patrol was drawn to the 
 spot by the report of the musket, and the alarm had been 
 
244 THE SPV. 
 
 given to the corps. Without entering into any explanation 
 with his men, the major returned quickly to his quarters, 
 where he found the whole squadron under arms, in battle 
 array, impatiently awaiting the appearance of their leader. 
 The officer whose duty it was to superintend such matters 
 had directed a party to lower the sign of the Hotel Flanagan, 
 and the post was already arranged for the execution of the 
 spy. On hearing from the major that the musket was dis- 
 charged by himself, and was probably one of those dropped 
 by the Skinners (for by this time Dunwoodie had learnt 
 the punishment inflicted by Lawton, but chose to conceal 
 his own interview with Birch), his officers suggested the 
 propriety of executing their prisoner before they marched. 
 Unable to believe that all he had seen was not a dream, 
 Dunwoodie, followed by many of his officers, and preceded 
 by Sergeant HoUister, went to the place which was sup- 
 posed to contain the peddler. 
 
 " Well, sir," said the major to the sentinel who guarded 
 the door, "I trust you have your prisoner in safety." 
 
 " He is yet asleep," replied the man, " and he makes such 
 a noise I could hardly hear the bugles sound the alarm." 
 
 " Open the door, and bring him forth." 
 
 The order was obeyed ; but, to the utter amazement of 
 the honest veteran who entered the prison, he found the 
 room in no little disorder — the coat of the peddler where his 
 body ought to have been, and part of the wardrobe of Betty 
 scattered in disorder on the floor. The washerwoman her- 
 self occupied the pallet, in profound mental oblivion, clad 
 as when last seen, excepting a little black bonnet, which 
 she so constantly wore that it was commonly thought she 
 made it perform the double duty of both day and night cap. 
 The noise of their entrance, and the exclamations of the 
 party, awoke the woman. 
 
 "Is it the breakfast that's wanting?" said Betty, rubbing 
 her eyes ; " faith, yee look as if yee would ate myself — but pa- 
 tience a little, darlings, and ye'll see sich a fry as never was." 
 
THE SPY. 24 s 
 
 "Fry!" echoed the sergeant, forgetful of his religious 
 philosophy, and the presence of his officers ; " we'll have 
 you roasted, Jezebel! — you've helped that damn'd peddler to 
 escape." 
 
 "Jezebel back agin in your teeth, and damn'd piddler too, 
 Mister Sargeant!" cried Betty, who was easily roused; 
 " what have I to do with piddlers, or escapes? I might have 
 been a piddler's lady, and worn my silks, if I'd had Sawny 
 M'Twill, instead of tagging at the heels of a parcef of 
 dragooning rapscallions, who don't know how to trate a 
 lone body with dacency." 
 
 "The fellow has left my Bible," said the veteran, taking 
 the book from the floor; "instead of spending his time in 
 reading it to prepare for his end, like a good Christian, he 
 has been busy in laboring to escape." 
 
 "And who would stay and be hanged like a dog?" cried 
 Betty, beginning to comprehend the case ; " 'tisn't every one 
 that's born to meet with sich an ind — like yourself, Mister 
 Hollister." 
 
 "Silence!" said Dunwoodie. "This must be inquired 
 into closely, gentlemen; there is no outlet but the door, 
 and there he could not pass, unless the sentinel connived 
 at his escape or was asleep on his post: — call up the guard." 
 
 As these men were not paraded, curiosity had already 
 drawn them to the place, and they one and all, with the ex- 
 ception of him before mentioned, denied that any person 
 had passed out. The individual in question acknowledged 
 that Betty had gone by him, but pleaded his orders in justi- 
 fication. 
 
 "You lie, you tief — you lie!" shouted Betty, who had im- 
 patiently listened to his exculpation ; " would yee slanderize 
 a lone woman, by saying she walks a camp at midnight? — 
 Here have I been slaaping the long night, swaatly as the 
 sucking babe." 
 
 " Here, sir," said* the sergeant, turning respectfully to 
 Dimwoodie, " is something written in my Bible that was not 
 
246 THE SPY. 
 
 in it before; for, having no family to record, I would never 
 suffer any scribbling in the sacred book." 
 
 One of the officers read aloud : " These certify, that if 
 suffered to get free, it is by God's help alone, to whose diviiu 
 aid I humbly ricommiiid myself. I'm forced to take the 
 woman's clothes, but in her pocket is a ricompinse. — Witness 
 my hand — Harvey Birch." 
 
 "What!" roared Betty, "has the tief robbed a lone 
 woman of her all? — hang him — catch him and hang him, 
 major; if there's law or justice in the land." 
 
 " Examine your pocket," said one of the youngsters, who 
 was enjoying the scene, careless of the consequences. 
 
 "Ah! faith," cried the washerwoman, producing a guinea, 
 " but he is a jewel of a piddler ! Long life and a brisk trade 
 to him, say I; he is wilcome to the duds — and if he is ever 
 hanged, many a bigger rogue will go free." 
 
 Dunwoodie turned to leave the apartment, and he saw 
 Captain Lawton standing with folded arms, contemplating 
 the scene in profound silence. His manner, so different 
 from his usual impetuosity and zeal, struck his commander 
 as singular. Their eyes met, and they walked together for 
 a few minutes in close conversation, when Dunwoodie re- 
 turned, and dismissed the guard to their place of rendezvous. 
 Sergeant HoUister, however, continued along with Betty, 
 who, having found none of her vestments disturbed but such 
 as the guinea more than paid for, was in high good-humor. 
 The washerwoman had for a long time looked on the veteran 
 with the eyes of affection; and she had determined within 
 herself to remove certain delicate objections which had long 
 embarrassed her peculiar situation, as respected the corps, 
 by making the sergeant the successor of her late husband. 
 For some time past the trooper had seemed to flatter this 
 preference; and Betty, conceiving ■ that her violence might 
 have mortified her suitor, was determined to make him all 
 the amends in her power. Besides, rough and uncouth as 
 she was, the washerwoman had still enough of the sex to 
 
THE SPY. 247 
 
 know that the moments of reconciliation were he moments 
 of power. She therefore poured out a glass of her morning 
 beverage, and handed it to her companion as a peace-offering. 
 
 " A few warm words between frinds are a trifle, yee must 
 be knowing, sargeant," said the washerwoman; "it was 
 Michael Flanagan that I ever calumnated the most when I 
 was loving him the best." 
 
 " Michael was a good soldier and a brave man," said the 
 trooper finishing the glass; "our troop was covering ftie 
 flank of his regiment when he fell, and I rode over his body 
 myself during the day; poor fellow! he lay on his back, 
 and looked as composed as if he had died a natural death 
 after a year's consumption." 
 
 "Oh! Michael was a great consumer, and be sartain ; two 
 such as us make dreadful inroads in the stock, sargeant. 
 But yee'r a sober, discrate man, Mister Hollister, and would 
 be a helpmate indeed." 
 
 " Why, Mrs. Flanagan, I've tarried to speak on a subject 
 that lies heavy at my heart, and I will now open my mind, 
 if you've leisure to listen." 
 
 "Is it listen?" cried the impatient woman; "and I'd 
 listen to you, sargeant, if the officers never ate another 
 mouthful : but take a second drop, dear, 'twill encourage you 
 to spake freely." 
 
 " I am already bold enough in so good a cause," returned 
 the veteran, rejecting her bounty. " Betty, do you think it 
 was really the peddler-spy that I placed in this room, the 
 last night?" 
 
 " And who should it be else, darling?" 
 
 "The evil one." 
 
 "What, thedivil?" 
 
 "Ay, even Belzebub, disguised as the peddler; and them 
 fellows we thought to be Skinners were his imps!" 
 
 "Well sure, sargeant, dear, ye're but little out this time, 
 any way; for if the divil's imps go at large in the county 
 West-Chester, sure it is the Skinners themselves." 
 
248 THE SPY. 
 
 " Mrs. Flanagan, I mean in their incarnate spirits ; the 
 evil one knew that there was no one we would arrest sooner 
 than the peddler Birch, and he took on his appearance to 
 gain admission to your room." 
 
 "And what should the divil be wanting of me?" cried 
 Betty tartly; "and isn't there divils enough in the corps 
 already, without one's coming from the bottomless pit to 
 frighten a lone body?" 
 
 " 'Twas in mercy to you, Betty, that he was permitted to 
 come. You see he vanished through the door in your form, 
 which is a symbol of your fate, unless you mend your life. 
 Oh! I noticed how he trembled when I gave him the good 
 book. Would any Christian, think you, my dear Betty, 
 write in a Bible in this way; unless it might be the matter 
 of births and deaths, and such lawful chronicles?" 
 
 The washerwoman was pleased with the softness of her 
 lover's manner, but dreadfully scandalized at his insinua- 
 tion. She, however, preserved her temper, and with the 
 quickness of her own country's people rejoined : 
 
 "And would the divil have paid for the clothes, think ye? 
 — ay, and overpaid." 
 
 " Doubtless the money is base," said the sergeant, a little 
 staggered at such an evidence of honesty in one of whom, 
 as to generals, he thought so meanly. " He tempted me 
 with his glittering coin, but the Lord gave me strength to 
 resist." 
 
 " The goold looks well ; but I'll change it, any way, with 
 Captain Jack, the day. He is niver a bit afeard of any 
 divil of them all!" 
 
 " Betty, Betty," said her companion, " do not speak so 
 disreverently of the evil spirit; he is ever at hand, and will 
 owe you a grudge for your language." 
 
 "Pooh! if he has any bowels at all, he won't mind a filip 
 or two from a poor lone woman ; I'm sure no other Chris- 
 tian would." 
 
 " But the dark one has no bowels, except to devour the 
 
THE SPY. 249 
 
 children of men," said the sergeant, looking around him in 
 horror; " and it's best to make friends everywhere, for there 
 is no telling what may happen till it comes. But, Betty, no 
 man could have got out of this place, and passed all the 
 sentinels without being known; take awful warning from 
 the visit, therefore ■" 
 
 Here the dialogue was interrupted by a peremptory sum- 
 mons to the sutler to prepare the morning's repast, and they 
 were obliged to separate; the woman secretly hoping that 
 the interest the sergeant manifested was more earthly than 
 he imagined, and the man bent on saving a soul from the 
 fangs of the dark spirit that was prowling through their 
 camp in quest of victims. 
 
 During the breakfast several expresses arrived, one of 
 which brought intelligence of the actual force and destina- 
 tion of the enemy's expedition that was out on the Hudson ; 
 and another, orders to send Captain Wharton to the first 
 post above, under the escort of a body of dragoons. These 
 last instructions, or rather commands, for they admitted of 
 no departure from their letter, completed the sum of Dun- 
 woodie's uneasiness. The despair and misery of Frances 
 were constantly before his eyes, and fifty times he was 
 tempted to throw himself on his horse and gallop to the 
 Locusts; but an uncontrollable feeling prevented. In 
 obedience to the commands of his superior, an officer, with a 
 small party, was sent to the cottage to conduct Henry Whar- 
 ton to the place directed ; and the gentleman who was in- 
 trusted with the execution of the order was charged with a 
 letter from Dunwoodie to his friend, containing the most 
 cheering assurances of his safety, as well as the strongest 
 pledges of his own unceasing exertions in his favor. Law- 
 ton was left with part of his own troop, in charge of the few 
 wounded ; and, as soon as the men were refreshed, the en- 
 campment broke up, the main body marching toward the 
 Hudson. Dunwoodie repeated his injunctions to Captain 
 Lawton again and again — dwelt on every word that had 
 
250 THE SPY. 
 
 fallen from the peddler, and canvassed, in every possible 
 manner that his ingenuity could devise, the probable mean- 
 ing of his mysterious warnings, until no excuse remained 
 for delaying his own departure. Suddenly recollecting, 
 however, that no directions had been given for the disposal 
 of Colonel Wellmere, instead of following the rear of the 
 column, the major yielded to his desires, and turned down 
 the road which led to the Locusts. The horse of Dunwoodie 
 was fleet as the wind, and scarcely a minute seemed to have 
 passed before he gained sight, from an eminence, of the 
 lonely vale, and, as he was plunging into the bottom-lands 
 that formed its surface, he caught a glimpse of Henry 
 Wharton and his escort, at a distance, defiling through a 
 pass which led to the posts above. This sight added to the 
 speed of the anxious youth, who now turned the angle of the 
 hill that opened to the valley, and came suddenly on the 
 object of his search. Frances had followed the party which 
 guarded her brother at a distance; and as they vanished 
 from her sight, she felt deserted by all that she most prized 
 in this world. The unaccountable absence of Dunwoodie, 
 with tlie shock of parting from Henry under such circum- 
 stances, had entirely subdued her fortitude, and she had 
 sunk on a stone by the roadside, sobbing as if her heart 
 would break. Dunwoodie sprang from his charger, threw 
 the reins over the neck of the animal, and in a moment he 
 was by the side of the weeping girl. 
 
 "Frances — my own Frances!" he exclaimed, "why this 
 distress.' — let not the situation of your brother create any 
 alarm. As soon as the duty I am now on is completed, I 
 will hasten to the feet of Washington, and beg his release. 
 The Father of his Country will never deny such a boon to 
 one of his favorite pupils." 
 
 " Major Dunwoodie, for your interest in behalf of my 
 poor brother, I thank you," said the trembling girl, drying 
 her eyes, and rising with dignity ; " but such language ad- 
 dressed to me, surely, is improper." 
 
THE SPY. 251 
 
 "Improper! are you not mine — by the consent of your 
 father — your aunt — your brother — nay, by your own con- 
 sent, my sweet Frances?" 
 
 "I wish not, Major Dunwoodie, to interfere with the 
 prior claims that any other lady may have to your affec- 
 tions," said Frances, struggling to speak with firmness. 
 
 "None other, I swear by Heaven, none other has any 
 claim on me!" cried Dunwoodie, with fervor ; "you alone 
 are mistress of my inmost soul." 
 
 " You have practised so much, and so successfully. Major 
 Dunwoodie, that it is no wonder you excel in deceiving the 
 credulity of my sex," returned Frances, attempting a smile, 
 which the tremulousness of her muscles smothered in its 
 birth. 
 
 " Am I a villain. Miss Wharton, that you receive me with 
 such language? — when have I ever deceived you, Frances? 
 who has practised in this manner on your purity of heart?" 
 
 " Why has not Major Dunwoodie honored the dwelling of 
 his intended father with his presence lately? Did he for- 
 get it contained one friend on a bed of sickness, and an- 
 other in deep distress? Has it escaped his memory that it 
 held his intended wife? Or is he fearful of meeting more 
 than one that can lay a claim to that title? Oh, Peyton — 
 Peyton, how have I been deceived in you! with the foolish 
 credulity of my youth, I thought you all that was brave, 
 noble, generous, and loyal." 
 
 " Frances, I see how you have deceived yourself," cried 
 Dunwoodie, his face in a glow of fire; "you do me in- 
 justice ; I swear by all that is most dear to me, that you do 
 me injifstice." 
 
 " Swear not. Major Dunwoodie," interrupted Frances, her 
 fine countenance lighting with the lustre of womanly pride; 
 "the time is gone by for me to credit oaths." 
 
 " Miss Wharton, would you have me a coxcomb — make 
 me contemptible in my own eyes, by boasting with the hope 
 of raising myself in your estimation?" 
 
252 THE SPY. 
 
 " Flatter not yourself that the task is so easy, sir," re- 
 turned Frances, moving toward the cottage ; " we converse 
 together in private for the last time; — but — possibly — my 
 father would welcome my mother's kinsman." 
 
 "No, Miss Wharton, I cannot enter his dwelling now: I 
 should act in a manner unworthy of myself. You drive me 
 from you, Frances, in despair. I am going on desperate 
 service, and may not live to return. Should fortune prove 
 severe, at least do my memory justice; remember that the 
 last breathings of my soul will be for your happiness." So 
 saying, he had already placed his foot in the stirrup, but 
 his youthful mistress, turning on him an eye that pierced 
 his soul, arrested the action. 
 
 "Peyton — Major Dunwoodie,'' she said, "can you ever 
 forget the sacred cause in which you are enlisted? Duty 
 both to your God and to your country forbids you doing 
 anything rashly. The latter has need of your services ; be- 
 sides — " but her voice became choked, and she was unable 
 to proceed. 
 
 "Besides what?" echoed the youth, springing to her 
 side, and offering to take her hand in his own. Frances 
 having, however, recovered herself, coldly repulsed him, 
 and continued her walk homeward. 
 
 "Is this our parting!" cried Dunwoodie, in agony; "am 
 I a wretch, that you treat me so cruelly? You have never 
 loved me, and wish to conceal your own fickleness by ac- 
 cusations that you will not explain." 
 
 Frances stopped short in her walk, and turned on him a 
 look of so much purity and feeling, that, heart-stricken, 
 Dunwoodie would have knelt at her feet for pardon ; but 
 motioning him for silence, she once more spoke: 
 
 "Hear me, Major Dunwoodie, for the last time; it is a 
 bitter knowledge when we first discover our own inferiority; 
 but it is a truth that I have lately learnt. Against you I 
 bring no charges — make no accusations; no, not willingly 
 in my thoughts. Were my claims to your heart just, I am 
 
THE SPY. 253 
 
 not worthy of you. It is not a feeble, timid girl, like me, 
 that could make you happy. No, Peyton ; you are formed 
 for great and glorious actions, deeds of daring and renown, 
 and should be united to a soul like your own; one that can 
 rise above the weakness of her sex. I should be a weight 
 to drag you to the dust ; but with a different spirit in your 
 companion, you might soar to the very pinnacle of earthly 
 glory. To such a one, therefore, I resign you freely, if not 
 cheerfully; and pray, oh, how fervently do I pray! that 
 with such a one you may be happy." 
 
 "Lovely enthusiast!" cried Dunwoodie, "you know not 
 yourself, nor me. It is a woman, mild, gentle, and depen- 
 dent as yourself, that my very nature loves ; deceive not your- 
 self with visionary ideas of generosity, which will only 
 make me miserable." 
 
 "Farewell, Major Dunwoodie," said the agitated girl, 
 pausing for a moment to gasp for breath ; " forget that you 
 ever knew me — remember the claims of your bleeding coun- 
 try ; and be happy." 
 
 "Happy!" repeated the youthful soldier bitterly, as he 
 saw her light form gliding through the gate of the lawn, and 
 disappearing behind its shrubbery ; " yes, I am now happy, 
 indeed." 
 
 Throwing himself into the saddle, he plunged his spurs 
 into his horse, and soon overtook his squadron, which was 
 marching slowly over the hilly roads of the country, to gain 
 the banks of the Hudson. 
 
 But painful as were the feelings of Dunwoodie at this 
 unexpected termination of the interview with his mistress, 
 they were but light compared with tliose which were experi- 
 enced by the fond girl herself. Frances had, with the keen 
 eye of jealous love, easily detected the attachment of Isa- 
 bella Singleton to Dunwoodie. Delicate and retiring her- 
 self, it never could present itself to her mind that this love 
 had been unsought. Ardent in her own affections, and art- 
 less in their exhibition, she had early caught the eye of the 
 
254 THE SPY. 
 
 young soldier; but it required all the manly frankness of 
 Dunwoodie to court her favor, and the most pointed devo- 
 tion to obtain his conquest. This done, his power was 
 durable, entire, and engrossing. But the unusual occur- 
 rences of the few preceding days, the altered mien of her 
 lover during those events, his unwonted indifference to her- 
 self, and chiefly the romantic idolatry of Isabella, had 
 aroused new sensations in her bosom. With a dread of her 
 lover's integrity had been awakened the never-failing con- 
 comitant of the purest affection, a distrust of her own 
 merits. In the moment of enthusiasm, the task of resign- 
 ing her lover to another, who might be more worthy of him, 
 seemed easy ; but it is in vain that the imagination attempts 
 to deceive the heart. Dunwoodie had no sooner disap- 
 peared, than our heroine felt all the misery of her situation; 
 and if the youth found some relief in the cares of his com- 
 mand, Frances was less fortunate in the performance of a 
 duty imposed on her by filial piety. The removal of his 
 son had nearly destroyed the little energy of Mr. Wharton, 
 who required all the tenderness of his remaining children 
 to convince him that he was able to perform the ordinary 
 functions of life. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Flatter and praise, commend, extol their g^-aces. 
 Though ne'er so blaclc, say they have angels' faces; 
 That man who bath a tongue I say is no man, 
 If with that tongue he cannot win a woman. 
 
 Two Gentlemen o/ Verona. 
 
 In making the arrangements by which Captain Lawton 
 had been left, with Sergeant Hollister and twelve men, as a 
 guard over the wounded, and heavy baggage of the corps, 
 Dunwoodie had consulted not only the information which 
 had been conveyed in the letter of Colonel Singleton, but 
 the bruises of his comrade's body. In vain Lawton de- 
 
THE SPY. 2SS 
 
 clared himself fit for any duty that man could perform, or 
 plainly intimated that his men would never follow Tom 
 Mason to a charge with the alacrity and confidence with 
 which they followed himself; his commander was firm, and 
 the reluctant captain was compelled to comply with as good 
 a grace as he could assume. Before parting, Dunwoodie 
 repeated his caution to keep a watchful eye on the inmates 
 of the cottage; and especially enjoined him, if any move- 
 ments of a particularly suspicious nature were seen in the 
 neighborhood, to break up from his present quarters, and to 
 move down with his party, and take possession of the do- 
 mains of Mr. Wharton. A vague suspicion of danger to the 
 family had been awakened in the breast of the major, by 
 the language of the peddler, although he was unable to refer 
 it to any particular source, or to understand why it was to 
 be apprehended. 
 
 For some time after the departure of the troops, the cap- 
 tain was walking before the door of the " Hotel," inwardly 
 cursing his fate, that condemned him to an inglorious idle- 
 ness, at a moment when a meeting with the enemy might be 
 expected, and replying to the occasional queries of Betty, 
 who, from the interior of the building, ever and anon de- 
 manded, in a high tone of voice, an explanation of various 
 passages in the peddler's escape, which as yet she could not 
 comprehend. At this instant he was joined by the surgeon, 
 who had hitherto been engaged among his patients in a dis- 
 tant building, and was profoundly ignorant of everything 
 that had occurred, even to the departure of the troops. 
 
 "Where are all the sentinels, John?" he inquired, as he 
 gazed around with a look of curiosity, "and why are you 
 here, alone?" 
 
 "Off — all off, with Dunwoodie, to the river. You and I 
 are left here to take care of a few sick men and some 
 women." 
 
 " I am glad, however," said the surgeon, " that Major 
 Dunwoodie had consideration enough not to move the 
 
2S6 THE SPY. 
 
 wounded. Here, you Mrs. Elizabeth Flanagan, hasten with 
 some food, that I may appease my appetite. I have a dead 
 body to dissect, and am in haste." 
 
 "And here, you. Mister Doctor Archibald Sitgreaves," 
 echoed Betty, showing her blooming countenance from a 
 broken window of the kitchen, "you are ever a coming too 
 late ; here is nothing to ate but the skin of Jenny, and the 
 body ye're mintioning." 
 
 "Woman!" said the surgeon, in anger, "do you take me 
 for a cannibal, that you address your filthy discourse to me 
 in this manner? I bid you hasten with such food as may 
 be proper to be received into the stomach fasting." 
 
 " And I'm sure it's for a popgun that I should be taking 
 you sooner than for a cannon-ball," said Betty, winking at 
 the captain ; " and I tell yee that it's fasting you must be, 
 unless yee'l let me cook yee a steak from the skin of Jenny. 
 The boys have ate me up intirely." 
 
 Lawton now interfered to preserve the peace, and assured 
 the surgeon that he had already despatched the proper per- 
 sons in quest of food for the party. A little mollified with 
 this explanation, the operator soon forgot his hunger, and 
 declared his intention of proceeding to business at once. 
 
 "And where is your subject?" asked Lawton. 
 
 " The peddler," said the other, glancing a look at the sign- 
 post. " I made Hollister put a stage so high that the neck 
 would not be dislocated by the fall, and I intend making 
 as handsome a skeleton of him as there is in the States of 
 North America; the fellow has good points, and his bones 
 are well knit. I will make a perfect beauty of him. I 
 have long been wanting something of this sort to send as a 
 present tc my old aunt in Virginia, who was so kind to me 
 when a boy." 
 
 "The devil!" cried Lawton; "would you send the old 
 woman a dead man's bones?" 
 
 "Why not?" said the surgeon; "what nobler object is 
 there in nature than the figure of a man — and the skeleton 
 
THE SPY. 257 
 
 may be called his elementary parts. But what has been 
 done with the body?" 
 
 " Off too." 
 
 " Off ! and who has dared to interfere with my perquisites ?" 
 
 "Sure, jist the divil," s?id Betty; "and who'll be taking 
 yeerself away some of these times too, without asking yeer 
 iave." 
 
 "Silence, you witch!" said Lawton, with difficulty sup- 
 pressing a laugh; " is this the manner in which to address 
 an officer?" 
 
 "Who called me the filthy Elizabeth Flanagan?" cried 
 the washerwoman, snapping her fingers contemptuously ; " I 
 can remimber a frind for a year, and don't forgit an inimy 
 for a month." 
 
 But the friendship, or enmity of Mrs. Flanagan was alike 
 indifferent to the surgeon, who could think of nothing but 
 his loss; and Lawton was obliged to explain to his friend 
 the apparent manner in which it had happened. 
 
 " And a lucky escape it was for yee, my jewel of a doc- 
 tor," cried Betty, as the captain concluded. " Sargeant 
 HoUister, who saw him face to face, as it might be, says 
 it's Beelzeboob, and no piddler unless it may be in a small 
 matter of lies and thefts, and sich wickedness. Now a 
 pretty figure yee would have been in cutting up Beelzeboob, 
 if the major had hanged him. I don't think it's very asy 
 he would have been under yeer knife." 
 
 Thus doubly disappointed in his meal and his business, 
 Sitgreaves suddenly declared his intention of visiting the 
 " Locusts," and inquiring into the state of Captain Single- 
 ton. Lawton was ready for the excursion ; and mounting, 
 they were soon on the road, thougli the surgeon was obliged 
 to submit to a few more jokes from the washerwoman, before 
 he could get out of hearing. For some time the two rode in 
 silence, when Lawton, perceiving that his companion's tem- 
 per was somewhat ruffled by his disappointments and Betty's 
 attack, made an effort to restore the tranquillity of his feelings. 
 17 
 
258 THE SPY. 
 
 "That was a charming song, Archibald, that you com- 
 menced last evening, when we were interrupted by the party 
 that brought in the peddler," he said ; " the allusion to Galen 
 was much to the purpose." 
 
 " I knew you would like it, Jack, when you had got the 
 fumes of the wine out of your head. Poetry is a respect- 
 able art, though it wants the precision of the exact sciences, 
 and the natural beneficence of the physical. Considered 
 in reference to the wants of life, I should define poetry as 
 an emollient, rather than as a succulent." 
 
 " And yet your ode was full of the meat of wit." 
 
 " Ode is by no means a proper term for the composition ; 
 I should term it a classical ballad." 
 
 "Very probably," said the trooper; "hearing only one 
 verse, it was difficult to class the composition." 
 
 The surgeon involuntarily hemmed, and began to clear 
 his throat, although scarcely conscious himself to what the 
 preparation tended. But the captain, rolling his dark eyes 
 toward his companion, and observing him to be sitting with 
 great uneasiness on his horse, continued ; 
 
 " The air is still, and the road solitary — why not 
 give the remainder? It is never too late to repair a 
 loss." 
 
 " My dear John, if I thought it would correct the errors 
 you have imbibed, from habit and indulgence, nothing could 
 give me more pleasure." 
 
 " We are fast approaching some rocks on our left ; the 
 echo will double my satisfaction." 
 
 Thus encouraged, and somewhat impelled by the opinion 
 that he both sang and wrote with taste, the surgeon set about 
 complying with the request in sober earnest. Some little 
 time was lost in clearing his throat, and getting the proper 
 pitch of his voice; but no sooner were these two points 
 achieved, than Lawton had the secret delight of hearing his 
 friend commence — 
 
 '* * Hast thou ever — ' " 
 
THE SPY. 259 
 
 "Hush!" interrupted the trooper; "what rustling noise 
 is that among the rocks?" 
 
 " It must ha;ve been the rushing of the melody. A power- 
 ful voice is like the breathing of the winds. 
 
 " * Hast thou ever — ' " 
 
 "Listen!" said Lawton, stopping his horse. He had not 
 done speaking, when a stone fell at his feet, and rolled 
 harmlessly across the path. 
 
 " A friendly shot, that," cried the trooper ; " neither the 
 weapon, nor its force, implies much ill-will." 
 
 " Blows from stones seldom produce more than con- 
 tusions," said the operator, bending his gaze in every 
 direction in vain, in quest of the hand from which the 
 missile had been hurled ; " it must be meteoric ; there is no 
 living being in sight, except ourselves." 
 
 " It would be easy to hide a regiment behind those 
 rocks," returned the trooper, dismounting, and taking the 
 stone in his hand. "Oh! here is the explanation along 
 with the mystery.'' So saying, he tore a piece of paper 
 that had been ingeniously fastened to the small fragment of 
 rock which had thus singularly fallen before him; and 
 opening it, the captain read the following words, written 
 in no very legible hand : 
 
 " A musket bullet will go farther than a stone, and things 
 more dangerous than yarbsfor ivoundad men lie hid in the rocks 
 of West-Chester. The horse may be good, but can he mount a 
 precipice ? " 
 
 " Thou sayest the truth, strange man," said Lawton ; 
 "courage and activity would avail but little against assassi- 
 nation and these rugged passes.'' Remounting his horse, 
 he cried aloud : " Thanks, unknown friend ; your caution 
 will be remembered." 
 
 A meagre hand was extended for an instant over a rock, 
 in the air, and afterward nothing further was seen, or heard, 
 in that quarter, by the soldiers. 
 
260 THE SPY. 
 
 "Quite an extraordinary interruption," said the aston- 
 ished Sitgreaves, " and a letter of a very mysterious meaning.'" 
 
 "Oh! 'tis nothing but the wit of some bumpkin, who 
 thinks to frighten two of the Virginians by an artifice of 
 this kind," said the trooper, placing the billet in his pocket; 
 " but let me tell you, Mr. Archibald Sitgreaves, you were 
 wanting to dissect, just now, a damn'd honest fellow." 
 
 " It was the peddler — ^one of the most notorious spies in 
 the enemy's service; and I must say that I think it would be 
 an honor to such a man to be devoted to the uses of science." 
 
 " He may be a spy — he must be one," said Lawton, mus- 
 ing; "but he has a heart above enmity, and a soul that 
 would honor a soldier." 
 
 The surgeon turned a vacant eye on his companion as 
 he uttered this soliloquy, while the penetrating looks of the 
 trooper had already discovered another pile of rocks, which, 
 jutting forward, nearly obstructed the highway that wound 
 directly around its base. 
 
 " What the steed cannot mount, the foot of man can over- 
 come," exclaimed the wary partisan. Throwing himself 
 again from his saddle, and leaping a wall of stone, he 
 began to ascend the hill at a pace which would soon have 
 given him a bird's-eye view of the rocks in question, to- 
 gether with all their crevices. This movement was no 
 sooner made than Lawton caught a glimpse of the figure 
 of a man stealing rapidly from his approach, and dis- 
 appearing on the opposite side of the precipice. 
 
 " Spur, Sitgreaves — spur," shouted the trooper, dashing 
 over every impediment in pursuit, " and murder the villain 
 as he flies." 
 
 The former part of the request was promptly complied 
 ■with, and a few moments brought the surgeon in full view 
 of a man armed with a musket, who was crossing the road, 
 and evidently seeking the protection of the thick wood on 
 its opposite side. 
 
 " Stop, my friend — stop until Captain Lawton comes up, 
 
THE SPY. 261 
 
 if you please," cried the surgeon, observing him to flee with 
 a rapidity that baffled his horsemanship. But as if the in- 
 vitation contained new terrors, the footman redoubled his 
 efforts, nor paused even to breathe, until he had reached 
 his goal, when, turning on his heel, he discharged his mus- 
 ket toward the surgeon, and was out of sight in an instant. 
 To gain the highway, and throw himself into his saddle, 
 detained Lawton but a moment, and he rode to the side of 
 his comrade just as the figure disappeared. 
 
 "Which way has he fled?" cried the trooper. 
 
 "John," said the surgeon, "am I not a non-combatant?" 
 
 " Whither has the rascal fled?" cried Lawton impatiently. 
 
 " Where you cannot follow — into that wood. But I repeat, 
 John, am I not a non-combatant?" 
 
 The disappointed trooper, perceiving that his enemy had 
 escaped him, now turned his eyes, which were flashing with 
 anger, upon his comrade, and gradually his muscles lost 
 their rigid compression, his brow relaxed, and his look 
 changed from its fierce expression, to the covert laughter 
 which so often distinguished his countenance. The sur- 
 geon sat in dignified composure on his horse; his thin body 
 erect, and his head elevated with the indignation of one 
 conscious of having been unjustly treated. 
 
 "Why did you suffer the villain to escape?" demanded 
 the captain. " Once within reach of my sabre, and I would 
 have given you a subject for the dissecting-table." 
 
 " 'Twas impossible to prevent it," said the surgeon, point- 
 ing to the bars, before which he had stopped his horse. 
 "The rogue threw himself on the other side of this fence, 
 and left me where you see ; nor would the man in the least 
 attend to my remonstrances, or to an intimation that you 
 wished to hold discourse with him." 
 
 " He was truly a discourteous rascal ; but why did you 
 not leap the fence, and compel him to a halt? You see but 
 three of the bars are up, and Betty Flanagan could clear 
 them on her cow." 
 
262 THE SPY. 
 
 The surgeon for the first time withdrew his eyes from the 
 place where the fugitive had disappeared, and turned his 
 look on his comrade. His head, however, was not per- 
 mitted to lower itself in the least, as he replied: 
 
 " I humbly conceive. Captain Lawton, that neither Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Flanagan, nor her cow, is an example to be emu- 
 lated by Doctor Archibald Sitgreaves : it would be but a 
 sorry compliment to science, to say that a Doctor of Medi- 
 cine had fractured both his legs, by injudiciously striking 
 them against a pair of bar-posts." While speaking, the 
 surgeon raised the limbs in question to a nearly horizontal 
 position, an attitude which really appeared to bid defiance 
 to anything like a passage for himself through the defile; 
 but the trooper, disregarding this ocular proof of the impos- 
 sibility of the movement, cried hastily : 
 
 " Here was nothing to stop you, man. I could leap a 
 platoon through, boot and thigh, without pricking with 
 a single spur. Pshaw! I have often charged upon the 
 bayonets of infantry, over greater difficulties than 
 this." 
 
 " You will please to remember. Captain John Lawton, 
 that I am not the riding-master of the regiment- — nor a drill- 
 sergeant — nor a crazy cornet; no, sir — and I speak it with 
 a due respect for the commission of the Continental Con- 
 gress — ^nor an inconsiderate captain, who regards his own 
 life as little as that of his enemies. I am only, sir, a poor 
 humble man of letters, a mere Doctor of Medicine, an un- 
 worthy graduate of Edinburgh, and a surgeon of dragoons ; 
 nothing more, I do assure you. Captain John Lawton." So 
 saying, he turned his horse's head toward the cottage, and 
 recommenced his ride. 
 
 " Ay ! yo'j speak the truth," muttered the dragoon ; " had 
 I but the meanest rider of my troop with me, I should have 
 taken the scoundrel, and given at least one victim to the 
 laws. But, Archibald, no man can ride well who straddles 
 in this manner like the Colossus of Rhodes. You should 
 
THE SPY. 263 
 
 depend less on your stirrup, and keep your seat by the 
 power of the knee.'' 
 
 " With proper deference to your experience, Captain Law- 
 ton," returned the surgeon, " I conceive myself to be no in- 
 competent judge of muscular action, whether in the knee, or 
 any other part of the human frame. And although but 
 humbly educated, I am not now to learn that the wider the 
 base, the more firm is the superstructure." 
 
 " Would you fill a highway, in this manner, with one pair 
 of legs, when half a dozen might pass together in comfort, 
 stretching them abroad like the scythes of the ancient char- 
 iot wheels?" 
 
 The allusion to the practice of the ancients somewhat 
 softened the indignation of the surgeon, and he replied with 
 rather less hauteur: 
 
 " You should speak with reverence of the usages of those 
 who have gone before us, and who, however ignorant they 
 were in matters of science, and particularly that of surgery, 
 yet furnished many brilliant hints to our own improvements. 
 Now, sir, I have no doubt that Galen has operated on 
 wounds occasioned by these very scythes that you mention, 
 although we can find no evidence of the fact in contem- 
 porary writers. Ah! they must have given dreadful injuries, 
 and, I doubt not, caused great uneasiness to the medical 
 gentlemen of that day." 
 
 " Occasionally a body must have been left in two pieces 
 to puzzle the ingenuity of those gentry to unite. Yet vener- 
 able and learned as they were, I doubt not they did it." 
 
 "What! unite two parts of the human body, that have 
 been severed by an edged instrument, to any of the pur- 
 poses of animal life?" 
 
 " That have been rent asunder by a scythe, and are united 
 to do military duty," said Lawton. 
 
 '"Tis impossible — quite impossible," cried the surgeon; 
 " it is in vain, Captain Lawton, that human ingenuity en- 
 deavors to baffle the efforts of nature. Think, my dear sir, 
 
264 THE SPY. 
 
 in this case you separate all the arteries — injure all of the 
 intestines — sever all of the nerves and sinews, and, what is 
 of more consequence, you — ■ — " 
 
 " You have said enough. Dr. Sitgreaves, to convince a 
 member of a rival school. Nothing shall ever tempt me 
 willingly to submit to be divided in this irretrievable 
 manner." 
 
 " Certes, there is little pleasure in a wound which, from 
 its nature, is incurable." 
 
 " I should think so," said Lawton drily. 
 
 "What do you think is the greatest pleasure in life?" 
 asked the operator suddenly. 
 
 "That must greatly depend on taste." 
 
 " Not at all," cried the surgeon ; " it is in witnessing, or 
 rather feeling, the ravages of disease repaired by the lights 
 of science co-operating with nature. I once broke my little 
 finger intentionally, in order that I might reduce the frac- 
 ture and watch the cure: it was only on a small scale, you 
 know, dear John; still the thrilling sensation excited by 
 the knitting of the bone, aided by the contemplating of the 
 art of man thus acting in unison with nature, exceeded any 
 other enjoyment that I have ever experienced. Now, had it 
 been one of the more important members, such as the leg 
 or arm, how much greater must the pleasure have been!" 
 
 "Or the neck," said the trooper; but their desultory dis- 
 course was interrupted by their arrival at the cottage of Mr. 
 Wharton. No one appearing to usher them into an apart- 
 ment, the Captain proceeded to the door of the parlor, 
 where he knew visitors were commonly received. On open- 
 ing it, he paused for a moment in admiration at the scene 
 within. The person of Colonel Wellmere first met his eye, 
 bending toward the figure of the blushing Sarah, with an 
 earnestness of manner that prevented the noise of Lawton's 
 entrance from being heard by either of the parties. Cer- 
 tain significant signs, which were embraced at a glance by 
 the prying gaze of the trooper, at once made him a master 
 
THE SPY. 265 
 
 of their secret; and he was about to retire as silently as he 
 had advanced, when his companion, pushing himself through 
 the passage, abruptly entered the room. Advancing in- 
 stantly to the chair of Wellmere, the surgeon instinctively 
 laid hold of his arm, and exclaimed: 
 
 " Bless me! — a quick and irregular pulse — flushed cheek 
 and fiery eye — strong febrile symptoms, and such as must 
 be attended to." While speaking, the doctor, who was 
 much addicted to practising in a summary way, — a weak- 
 ness of most medical men in military practice, — had already 
 produced his lancet, and was making certain other indica- 
 tions of his intentions to proceed at once to business. But 
 Colonel Wellmere recovering from the confusion of the 
 surprise, arose from his seat haughtily, and said : 
 
 " Sir, it is the warmth of the room that lends me the color, 
 and I am already too much indebted to your skill to give 
 you any farther trouble; Miss Wharton knows that I am 
 quite well, and I do assure you that I never felt better or 
 happier in my life." 
 
 There was a peculiar emphasis on the latter part of this 
 speech, that, however it might gratify the feelings of Sarah, 
 brought the color to her cheeks again ; and Sitgreaves, as 
 his eye followed the direction of those of his patient, did 
 not fail to observe it. 
 
 " Your arm, if you please, madam," said the surgeon, ad- 
 vancing with a bow; "anxiety and watching have done 
 their work on your delicate frame, and there are symptoms 
 about you that must not be neglected." 
 
 "Excuse me, sir," said Sarah, recovering herself with 
 womanly pride; "the heat is oppressive, and I will retire 
 and acquaint Miss Peyton with your presence." 
 
 There was but little difficulty in practising on the ab- 
 stracted simplicity of the surgeon ; but it was necessary for 
 Sarah to raise her eyes to return the salutation of Lawton, 
 as he bowed his head nearly to a level with the hand that 
 held open the door for her passage. One look was suffi- 
 
266 THE SPY. 
 
 cient; she was able to control her steps sufficiently to retire 
 with dignity; but no sooner was she relieved from the pres- 
 ence of all observers, than she fell into a chair, and aban- 
 doned herself to a feeling of mingled shame and pleasure. 
 
 A little nettled at the contumacious deportment of the 
 British colonel, Sitgreaves, after once more tendering ser- 
 vices that were again rejected, withdrew to the chamber of 
 young Singleton, whither Lawton had already preceded him. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Oh ! Heary, when thou deign'st to sue, 
 
 Can I thy suit withstand ? 
 When thou, lov'd youth, hast won my heart. 
 
 Can 1 refuse my hand ? 
 
 Hermit of Warkwortk. 
 
 The graduate of Edinburgh found his patient rapidly im- 
 proving in health, and entirely free from fever. His sister, 
 with a cheek that was, if possible, paler than on her arrival, 
 watched around his couch with tender care ; and the ladies 
 of the cottage had not, in the midst of their sorrows and 
 varied emotions, forgotten to discharge the duties of hos- 
 pitality. Frances felt herself impelled toward their discon- 
 solate guest, with an interest for which she could not ac- 
 count, and with a force that she could not control. She 
 had unconsciously connected the fates of Dunwoodie and 
 Isabella in her imagination, and she felt, with the romantic 
 ardor of a generous mind, that she was serving her former 
 lover most, by exhibiting kindness to her he loved best. 
 Isabella received her attentions with gratitude, but neither 
 of them indulged in any allusions to the latent source of 
 their uneasiness. The observation of Miss Peyton seldom 
 penetrated beyond things that were visible, and to her the 
 situation of Henry Wharton seemed to furnish an awful ex- 
 cuse for the fading cheeks and tearful eyes of her niece. If 
 
THE SPY. 267 
 
 Sarah manifested less of care than her sister, still the un- 
 practised aunt was not at a loss to comprehend the reason. 
 Love is a holy feeling with the virtuous of the female sex, 
 and it hallows all that comes within its influence. Al- 
 though Miss Peyton mourned with sincerity over the danger 
 which threatened her nephew, she well knew that an active 
 campaign was not favorable to love, and the moments that 
 were thus accidentally granted were not to be thrown away. 
 
 Several days now passed without any interruption of the 
 usual avocations of the inhabitants of the cottage, or the 
 party at the Four Corners. The former were supporting 
 their fortitude with the certainty of Henry's innocence, and 
 a strong reliance on Dunwoodie's exertions in his behalf, 
 and the latter waiting with impatience the intelligence that 
 was hourly expected, of a conflict, and their orders to de- 
 part. Captain Lawton, however, waited for both these 
 events in vain. Letters from the major announced that the 
 enemy, finding that the party which was to co-operate with 
 them had been defeated, and was withdrawn, had retired 
 also behind the works of Fort Washington, where they con- 
 tinued inactive, threatening constantly to strike a blow in 
 revenge for their disgrace. The trooper was enjoined to 
 vigilance, and the letter concluded with a compliment to his 
 honor, zeal, and undoubted bravery. 
 
 " Extremely flattering. Major Dunwoodie," muttered the 
 dragoon, as he threw down this epistle, and stalked across 
 the floor to quiet his impatience. " A proper guard have 
 you selected for this service: let me see — I have to watch 
 over the interests of a crazy, irresolute old man, who does 
 not know whether he belongs to us or to the enemy; four 
 women, three of whom are well enough in themselves, but 
 who are not immensely flattered by my society; and the 
 fourth, who, good as she is, is on the wrong side of forty; 
 some two or three blacks; a talkative housekeeper, that 
 does nothing but chatter about gold and despisables, and 
 signs and omens; and poor George Singleton. Well, a 
 
268 THE SPY. 
 
 comrade in suffering has a claim on a man — so I'll make 
 the best of it." 
 
 As he concluded this soliloquy, the trooper took a seat 
 and began to whistle, to convince himself how little he cared 
 about the matter, when, by throwing his booted leg care- 
 lessly round, he upset the canteen that held his whole stock 
 of brandy. The accident was soon repaired, but in replac- 
 ing the wooden vessel, he observed a billet lying on the 
 bench, on which the liquor had been placed. It was soon 
 opened, and he read : " The moon -will not rise till after mid- 
 night — a fit time for deeds of darkness." There was no mis- 
 taking the hand ; it was clearly the same that had given him 
 the timely warning against assassination, and the trooper 
 continued, for a long time, musing on the nature of these 
 two notices, and the motives that could induce the peddler 
 to favor an implacable enemy in the manner that he had 
 latterly done. That he was a spy of the enemy, Lawton 
 knew; for the fact of his conveying intelligence to the 
 English commander-in-chief, of a party of Americans that 
 were exposed to the enemy, was proved most clearly against 
 him on the trial for his life. The consequences of his 
 treason had been avoided, it is true, by a lucky order from 
 Washington, which withdrew the regiment a short time be- 
 fore the British appeared to cut it off, but still the crime 
 was the same ; perhaps, thought the partisan, he wishes to 
 make a friend of me against the event of another capture ; 
 but, at all events, he spared my life on one occasion, and 
 saved it on another. I will endeavor to be as generous as 
 himself, and pray that my duty may never interfere with my 
 feelings. 
 
 Whether the danger, intimated in the present note, threat- 
 ened the cottage or his own party, the captain was uncer- 
 tain, but he inclined to the latter opinion, and determined 
 to beware how he rode abroad in the dark. To a man in a 
 peaceable country, and in times of quiet and order, the in- 
 difference with which the partisan regarded the impending 
 
THE SPY. 269 
 
 danger would be inconceivable. His reflections on the 
 subject were more directed toward devising means to entrap 
 his enemies, than to escape their machinations. But the 
 arrival of the surgeon, who had been to pay his daily visit 
 to the Locusts, interrupted his meditations. Sitgreaves 
 brought an invitation from the mistress of the mansion to 
 Captain Lawton, desiring that the cottage might be hon- 
 ored with his presence at an early hour on that evening. 
 
 "Ha!" cried the trooper; "then they have received a 
 letter also." 
 
 "I think nothing more probable," said the surgeon; 
 " there is a chaplain at the cottage from the royal army, who 
 has come out to exchange the British wounded, and who has 
 an order from Colonel Singleton for their delivery. But a 
 more mad project than to remove them now was never 
 adopted." 
 
 "A priest, say you!^ — is he a hard drinker — a real camp- 
 idler — a fellow to breed a famine in a regiment? or does he 
 seem a man who is in earnest in his trade?" 
 
 " A very respectable and orderly gentleman, and not un- 
 reasonably given to intemperance, judging from the outward 
 symptoms," returned the surgeon ; " and a man who really 
 says grace in a very regular and appropriate manner." 
 " And does he stay the night?" 
 
 " Certainly, he waits for his cartel ; but hasten, John, we 
 have but little time to waste. I will just step up and bleed 
 two or three of the Englishmen who are to move in the 
 morning, in order to anticipate inflammation, and be with 
 you immediately." 
 
 The gala suit of Captain Lawton was easily adjusted to 
 his huge frame, and, his companion being ready, they once 
 more took their route toward the cottage. Roanoke had 
 been as much benefited by a few days' rest as his master; 
 and Lawton ardently wished, as he curbed his gallant steed, 
 on passing the well-remembered rocks, that his treacherous 
 enemy stood before him, mounted and armed as himself. 
 
270 THE SPY. 
 
 But no enemy, nor any disturbance whatever, interfered with 
 their progress, and they readied the Locusts just as the sun 
 was throwing his setting rays on the valley, and tinging the 
 tops of the leafless trees with gold. It never required more 
 than a single look to acquaint the trooper with the particu- 
 lars of every scene that was not uncommonly veiled, and the 
 first survey that he took on entering the house told him 
 more than the observations of a day had put into the posses- 
 sion of Dr. Sitgreaves. Miss Peyton accosted him with a 
 smiling welcome, that exceeded the bounds of ordinary 
 courtesy, and which evidently flowed more from feelings 
 that were connected with the heart than from manner. 
 Frances glided about, tearful and agitated, while Mr. Whar- 
 ton stood ready to receive them, decked in a suit of velvet 
 that would have been conspicuous in the gayest drawing- 
 room. Colonel Wellmere was in the uniform of an officer 
 of the household troops of his prince, and Isabella Single- 
 ton sat in the parlor, clad in the habiliments of joy, but 
 with a countenance that belied her appearance; while her 
 brother, by her side, looked, with a cheek of flitting color, 
 and an eye of intense interest, like anything but an invalid. 
 As it was the third day that he had left his room. Dr. Sit- 
 greaves, who began to stare about him in stupid wonder, 
 forgot to reprove his patient for imprudence. Into this 
 scene Captain Lawton moved with all the composure and 
 gravity of a man whose nerves were not easily discomposed 
 by novelties. His compliments were received as graciously 
 as they were offered, and, after exchanging a few words with 
 the different individuals present, he approached the surgeon, 
 who had withdrawn, in a kind of confused astonishment, to 
 rally his senses. 
 
 " John," whispered the surgeon, with awakened curiosity, 
 "what means this festival?" 
 
 " That your wig and my black head would look the better 
 for a little of Betty Flanagan's flour; but it is too late now, 
 and we must fight the battle armed as you see." 
 
THE SPY. 271 
 
 " Observe, here comes the army chaplain in his full robes, 
 as a Doctor Divinitatis; what can it mean?" 
 
 " An exchange," said the trooper; " the wounded of Cupid 
 are to meet and settle their accounts with the god, in the 
 way of plighting faith to suffer from his archery no more." 
 
 The surgeon laid a finger on the side of his nose, and he 
 began to comprehend the case. 
 
 " Is it not a crying shame, that a sunshine-hero, and an 
 enemy, should thus be suffered to steal away one of the fair- 
 est plants that grows in our soil?" muttered Lawton; "a 
 flower fit to be placed in the bosom of any man." 
 
 " If he be not more accommodating as a husband than as 
 a patient, John, I fear me that the lady will lead a troubled 
 life." 
 
 " Let her," said the trooper indignantly ; " she has chosen 
 from her country's enemies, and may she meet with a for- 
 eigner's virtues in her choice." 
 
 Further conversation was interrupted by Miss Peyton, 
 who, advancing, acquainted them that they had been invited 
 to grace the nuptials of her eldest niece and Colonel Well- 
 mere. The gentlemen bowed; and the good aunt, with an 
 inherent love of propriety, went on to add, that the acquain- 
 tance was of an old date, and the attachment by no means a 
 sudden thing. To this Lawton merely bowed still more 
 ceremoniously; but the surgeon, who loved to hold converse 
 with the virgin, replied: 
 
 "That the human mind was differently constituted in dif- 
 erent individuals. In some, impressions are vivid and 
 transitory; in others, more deep and lasting: — indeed, there 
 are some philosophers who pretend to trace a connection 
 between the physical and mental powers of the animal; 
 but, for my part, madam, I believe that the one is much 
 influenced by habit and association, and the other subject 
 altogether to the peculiar laws of matter." 
 
 Miss Peyton, in her turn, bowed her silent assent to this 
 remark, and retired with dignity, to usher the intended bride 
 
2/2 THE SPY. 
 
 into the presence of the company. The hour had arrived 
 when American custom has decreed that the vows of wed- 
 lock must be exchanged ; and Sarah, blushing with a variety 
 of emotions, followed her aunt to the drawing-room. Well- 
 mere sprang to receive the hand that, with an averted face, 
 she extended toward him, and, for the first time, the English 
 colonel appeared fully conscious of the important part that 
 he was to act in the approaching ceremony. Hitherto his 
 air had been abstracted, and his manner uneasy ; but every- 
 thing, excepting the certainty of his bliss, seemed to vanish 
 at the blaze of loveliness that now burst on his sight. All 
 arose from their seats, and the reverend gentleman had al- 
 ready opened the sacred volume, when the absence of 
 Frances was noticed: Miss Peyton withdrew in search of 
 her youngest niece, whom she found in her own apartment, 
 and in tears. 
 
 " Come, my love, the ceremony waits but for us," said the 
 aunt, affectionately entwining her arm in that of her niece; 
 " endeavor to compose yourself, that proper honor may be 
 done to the choice of your sister." 
 
 " Is he — can he be worthy of her?" 
 
 "Can he be otherwise?" returned Miss Peyton; " is he 
 not a gentleman ? — a gallant soldier, though an unfortunate 
 one? and certainly, my love, one who appears every way 
 qualified to make any woman happy.'' 
 
 Frances had given vent to her feelings, and, with an 
 effort, she collected sufficient resolution to venture to join 
 the party below. But to relieve the embarrassment of this 
 delay, the clergyman had put sundry questions to the bride- 
 groom ; one of which was by no means answered to his 
 satisfaction. Wellmere was compelled to acknowledge that 
 he was unprovided with a ring ; and to perform the marriage 
 ceremony without one, the divine pronounced to be canoni- 
 cally impossible. His appeal to Mr. Wharton, for the prop- 
 riety of this decision, was answered affirmatively, as it would 
 have been negatively, had the question been put in a manner 
 
THE spy. 273 
 
 to lead to such a result. The owner of the Locusts had 
 lost the little energy he possessed, by the blow recently 
 received through his son, and his assent to the objection of 
 the clergyman was as easily obtained as had been his con- 
 sent to the premature proposals of Wellmere. In this stage 
 of the dilemma, Miss Peyton and Frances appeared. The 
 surgeon of dragoons approached the former, and as he 
 handed her to a chair, observed : 
 
 " It appears, madam, that untoward circumstances have 
 prevented Colonel Wellmere from providing all of the deco- 
 rations that custom, antiquity, and the canons of the church 
 have prescribed as indispensable to enter into the honorable 
 state of wedlock." 
 
 Miss Peyton glanced her quiet eye at the uneasy bride- 
 groom, and, perceiving him to be adorned with what she 
 thought sufficient splendor, allowing for the time and the 
 suddenness of the occasion, she turned her look on the 
 speaker, as if to demand an explanation. 
 
 The surgeon understood her wishes, and proceeded at 
 once to gratify them. 
 
 "There is," he observed, "an opinion prevalent that the 
 heart lies on the left side of the body, and that the connec- 
 tion between the members of that side and what may be 
 called the seat of life is more intimate than that which 
 exists with their opposites. But this an error that grows 
 out of an ignorance of the organic arrangement of the 
 human frame. In obedience to this opinion, the fourth 
 finger of the left hand is thought to contain a virtue that 
 belongs to no other branch of that digitated member; and 
 it is ordinarily encircled, during the solemnization of wed- 
 lock, with a cincture or ring, as if to chain that affection to 
 the marriage state, which is best secured by the graces of 
 the female character." While speaking, the operator laid 
 his hand expressively on his heart, and he bowed nearly to 
 the floor when he had concluded. 
 
 "I know not, sir, that I rightly understand your mean- 
 
274 THE SPY. 
 
 ing," said Miss Peyton, whose want of comprehension was 
 sufficiently excusable. 
 
 " A ring, madam — a ring is wanting for the ceremony." 
 The instant that the surgeon spoke explicitly, the awk- 
 wardness of the situation was understood. She glanced her 
 eyes at her nieces, and in the younger she read a secret ex- 
 ultation that somewhat displeased her ; but the countenance 
 of Sarah was suffused, with a shame that the considerate 
 aunt well understood. Not for the world would they vio- 
 late any of the observances of female etiquette. It sug- 
 gested itself to all the females at the same moment that the 
 wedding-ring of the late mother and sister was reposing 
 peacefully amid the rest of her jewelry, in a secret recep- 
 tacle, that had been provided at an early day, to secure the 
 valuables against the predatory inroads of the marauders 
 who roamed through the county. Into this hidden vault, 
 the plate, and whatever was most prized, made a nightly 
 retreat, and there the ring in question had long lain, for- 
 gotten until at this moment. But it was the business of 
 the bridegroom, from time immemorial, to furnish this in- 
 dispensable to wedlock, and on no account would Miss 
 Peyton do anything that transcended the usual reserve of 
 the sex on this solemn occasion ; certainly not until suffi- 
 cient expiation for the offence had been made by a due por- 
 tion of trouble and disquiet. This material fact, therefore, 
 was not disclosed by either; the aunt consulting female 
 propriety ; the bride yielding to shame ; and Frances rejoic- 
 ing that an embarrassment, proceeding from almost any 
 cause, should delay her sister's vow. It was reserved for 
 Dr. Sitgreaves to interrupt the awkward silence. 
 
 " If, madam, a plain ring, that once belonged to a sister 
 
 of my own " He paused, and hemmed — " If, madam, a 
 
 ring of that description might be admitted to this honor, I 
 have one that could be easily produced from ray quarters at 
 the Corners, and I doubt not it would fit the finger for which 
 it is desired. There is a strong resemblance between — hem 
 
THE SPY. 275 
 
 — between my late sister and Miss Wharton, in stature and 
 anatomical figure; and, in all eligible subjects, the propor- 
 tions are apt to be observed throughout the whole animal 
 economy." 
 
 A glance of Miss Peyton's eye recalled Colonel Wellmere 
 to a sense of his duty, and, springing from his chair, he as- 
 sured the surgeon that in no way could he confer a greater 
 obligation on himself than by sending for that very ring. 
 The operator bowed a little haughtily, and withdrew to 
 fulfil his promise, by despatching a messenger on the errand. 
 The aunt suffered him to retire; but unwillingness to admit 
 a stranger into the privacy of their domestic arrangements 
 induced her to follow and tender the services of Caesar, in- 
 stead of those of Sitgreaves' man, who had volunteered for 
 this duty. Katy Haynes was accordingly directed to sum- 
 mon the black to the vacant parlor, and thither Miss Peyton 
 and the surgeon repaired, to give their several instruc- 
 tions. 
 
 The consent to this sudden union of Sarah and Wellmere, 
 and especially at a time when the life of a member of the 
 family was in such imminent jeopardy, was given from a 
 conviction that the unsettled state of the country would 
 probably prevent another opportunity of the lovers' meeting, 
 and a secret dread on the part of Mr. Wharton that the 
 death of his son might, by hastening his own, leave his 
 remaining children without a protector. But notwithstand- 
 ing Miss Peyton had complied with her brother's wish to 
 profit by the accidental visit of a divine, she had not thought 
 it necessary to blazon the intended nuptials of her niece to 
 the neighborhood, had even time been allowed. She thought, 
 therefore, that she was now communicating a profound secret 
 to the negro and her housekeeper. 
 
 " Caesar," she commenced, with a smile, " you are now to 
 learn that your young mistress, Miss Sarah, is to be united 
 to Colonel Wellmere this evening." 
 
 "I tink I see him afore," said Csesar, chuckling; 
 
276 THE SPY. 
 
 "old black man can tell when a young lady make up he 
 mind." 
 
 " Really, Csesar, I find I have never given you credit for 
 half the observation that you deserve; but as you already 
 know on what emergency your services are required, listen 
 to the directions of this gentleman, and take care to observe 
 them strictly." 
 
 The black turned in quiet submission to the surgeon, 
 who commenced as follows: 
 
 " Cassar, your mistress has already acquainted you with 
 the important event about to be solemnized within this hab- 
 itation; but a cincture or ring is wanting to encircle the 
 finger of the bride ; a custom derived from the ancients, and 
 which has been continued in the marriage forms of several 
 branches of the Christian church, and which is even, by a 
 species of typical wedlock, used in the installation of pre- 
 lates, as you doubtless understand." 
 
 " Pr'aps massa doctor will say him over ag'in," inter- 
 rupted the old negro, whose memory began to fail him, just 
 as the other made so confident an allusion to his powers of 
 comprehension; " I tink I get him by heart dis time." 
 
 "It is impossible to gather honey from a rock, Caesar, 
 and therefore I will abridge the little I have to say. Ride 
 to the Four Corners, and present this note to Sergeant Hol- 
 iister, or to Mrs. Elizabeth Flanagan, either of whom will 
 furnish the necessary pledge of connubial affection; and 
 return forthwith." 
 
 The letter which the surgeon put into the hands of his 
 messenger, as he ceased, was conceived in the following 
 terms: 
 
 " If the fever has left Kinder, give him nourishment. 
 Take three ounces more of blood from Watson. Have a 
 search made that the woman Flanagan has left none of her 
 jugs of alcohol in the hospital. Renew the dressings of 
 Johnson, and dismiss Smith to duty. Send the ring, which 
 
THE spy. 277 
 
 is pendent from the chain of the watch, that I left with you 
 to time the doses, by the bearer. 
 
 Archibald Sitgreaves, M.D., 
 
 "Surgeon of Dragoons." 
 
 " Casar," said Katy, when she was alone with the black, 
 " put the ring, when you get it, in your left pocket, for that 
 is nearest your heart; and by no means endeavor to try it 
 on your finger, for it is unlucky." 
 
 "Try um on he finger.?" interrupted the negro, stretching 
 forth his bony knuckles; "tink a Miss Sally's ring go on 
 old Caesar finger?" 
 
 " 'Tis not consequential whether it goes on or not," said 
 the housekeeper; "but it is an evil omen to place a mar- 
 riage-ring on the finger of another after wedlock, and of 
 course it may be dangerous before." 
 
 " I tell you, Katy, I neber tink to put um on a finger." 
 
 "Go then, Caesar, and do not forget the left pocket; be 
 careful to take off your hat as you pass the graveyard, and 
 be expeditious; for nothing, I am certain, can be more try- 
 ing to the patience than thus to be waiting for the cere- 
 mony, when a body has fully made up her mind to marry." 
 
 With this injunction Cassar quitted the house, and he was 
 soon firmly fixed in the saddle. From his youth, the black, 
 like all of his race, had been a hard rider; but, bending 
 under the weight of sixty winters, his African blood had 
 lost some of its native heat. The night was dark, and the 
 wind whistled through the vale with the dreariness of No- 
 vember. When Caesar reached the graveyard, he uncovered 
 his grizzled head with superstitious awe, and he threw 
 around him many a fearful glance, in momentary expecta- 
 tion of seeing something superhuman. There was sufficient 
 light to discern a being of earthly mould stealing from 
 among the graves, apparently with a design to enter the 
 highway. It is in vain that philosophy and reason contend 
 with early impressions, and poor Caesar was even without 
 
278 THE SPY, 
 
 the support of either of these frail allies. He was, how- 
 ever, well mounted on a coach-horse of Mr. Wharton's, and, 
 clinging to the back of the animal with instinctive skill, he 
 abandoned the rein to the beast. Hillocks, woods, rocks, 
 fences, and houses flew by him with the rapidity of light- 
 ning, and the black had just begun to think whither and on 
 what business he was riding in this headlong manner, when 
 he reached the place where the roads met, and the " Hotel 
 Flanagan" stood before him in its dilapidated simplicity. 
 The sight of a cheerful fire first told the negro that he had 
 reached the habitation of man, and with it came all his 
 dread of the bloody Virginians; — his duty must, however, 
 be done, and, dismounting, he fastened the foaming animal 
 to a fence, and approached the window with cautious steps, 
 to reconnoitre. 
 
 Before a blazing fire sat Sergeant Hollister and Betty 
 Flanagan, enjoying themselves over a liberal potation. 
 
 " I tell yee, sargeant, dear," said Betty, removing the mug 
 from her mouth, " 'tis no rasonable to think it was more 
 than the piddler himself; sure now, where was the smell of 
 sulphur, and the wings, and the tail, and the cloven foot? 
 Besides, sargeant, it's no dacent to tell a lone famale that 
 she had Beelzeboob for a bedfellow." 
 
 " It matters but little, Mrs. Flanagan, provided you es- 
 cape his talons and fangs hereafter," returned the veteran, 
 following the remark by a heavy draught. 
 
 Caesar heard enough to convince him that little danger 
 from this pair was to be apprehended. His teeth already 
 began to chatter, and the cold without and the comfort 
 within stimulated him greatly to enter. He made his ap- 
 proaches with proper caution, and knocked with extreme 
 humility. The appearance of Hollister with a drawn sword, 
 roughly demanding who was without, contributed in no de- 
 gree to the restoration of his faculties; but fear itself lent 
 him power to explain his errand. 
 
 "Advance," said the sergeant, throwing a look of close 
 
THE SPY. 279 
 
 scrutiny on the black, as he brought him to the light; "ad- 
 vance, and deliver your despatches : have you the counter- 
 sign?" 
 
 " I don't tink he know what dat be," said the black, shak- 
 ing in his shoes, " dough massa dat sent me gib me many 
 tings to carry, dat he little understand." 
 
 " Who ordered you on this duty, did you say?" 
 
 " Well, it war he doctor, heself ; so he come up on a gal- 
 lop, as he alway do on a doctor's errand." 
 
 "'Twas Doctor Sitgreaves; he never knows the counter- 
 sign himself. Now, blackey, had it been Captain Lawton, 
 he would not have sent you here, close to a sentinel, with- 
 out the countersign ; for you might get a pistol bullet through 
 your head, and that would be cruel to you ; for, although you 
 be black, I am none of them who thinks niggers have no 
 souls." 
 
 " Sure a nagur has as much sowl as a white," said Betty ; 
 " come hither, ould man, and warm that shivering carcase of 
 yeers by the blaze of this fire. I'm sure a Guinea nagur 
 loves hate as much as a souldier loves his drop." 
 
 Csesar obeyed in silence, and a mulatto boy, who was 
 sleeping on a bench in the room, was bidden to conve)' the 
 note of the surgeon to the building where the wounded were 
 quartered. 
 
 " Here," said the washerwoman, tendering to Caesar a 
 taste of the article that most delighted herself, " try a drop, 
 smooty; 'twill warm the black sowl within your crazy body, 
 and be giving you spirits as you are going homeward." 
 
 " I tell you, Elizabeth," said the sergeant, " that the souls 
 of niggers are the same as our own ; how often have I heard 
 the good Mr. Whitfield say that there was no distinction of 
 color in heaven. Therefore it is reasonable to believe that 
 the soul of this here black is as white as my own, or even 
 Major Dunwoodie's." 
 
 " Be sure he be," cried Caesar, a little tartly, whose cour- 
 age had revived by tasting the drop of Mrs. Flanagan. 
 
280 THE SPY. 
 
 " It's a good sowl that the major is, any. way," returned 
 the washerwoman ; " and a kind sowl — ay, and a brave sowl, 
 too ; and yee'll say all that yeerself , sargeant, I'm thinking." 
 
 " For the matter of that," returned the veteran, " there is 
 one above even Washington, to judge of souls; but this I 
 will say, that Major Dunwoodie is a gentleman who never 
 says, 'Go, boys' — but always says, 'Come, boys'; and if a 
 poor fellow is in want of a spur or a martingale, and the 
 leather-whack is gone, there is never wanting the real silver 
 to make up the loss, and that from his own pocket too." 
 
 " Why, then, are you here idle when all that he holds 
 most dear are in danger?" cried a voice with startling 
 abruptness; "mount, mount, and follow your captain; arm 
 and mount, and that instantly, or you will be too late!" 
 
 This unexpected interruption produced an instantaneous 
 confusion among the tipplers. Csesar fled instinctively into 
 the fireplace, where he maintained his position in defiance 
 of a heat that would have roasted a white man. Sergeant 
 Hollister turned promptly on his heel, and, seizing his sabre, 
 the steel was glittering by the firelight, in the twinkling of 
 an eye ; but, perceiving the intruder to be the peddler, who 
 stood near the open door that led to the lean-to in the rear, 
 he began to fall back toward the position of the black, with 
 a military intuition that taught him to concentrate his forces. 
 Betty alone stood her ground, by the side of the temporary 
 table. Replenishing the mug with a large addition of the 
 article known to the soldiery by the name of " choke-dog," 
 she held it toward the peddler. The eyes of the washer- 
 woman had for some time been swimming with love and 
 liquor, and, turning them good-naturedly on Birch, she 
 cried : 
 
 "Faith, but yee're wilcome, Mister Fiddler, or Mister 
 Birch, or Mister Beelzeboob, or what's yeer name. Yee're 
 an honest divil any way, and I'm hoping that you found the 
 pitticoats convanient. Come forward, dear, and fale the 
 fire ; Sargeant Hollister won't be hurting you, for the fear 
 
THE SPY. 28 r 
 
 of an ill turn you may be doing him hereafter — will yee, 
 sargeant, dear?" 
 
 " Depart, ungodly man !" cried the veteran, edging still 
 nearer to Csesar, but lifting his legs alternately as they 
 scorched with the heat ; " depart in peace ! There is none here 
 for thy service, and you seek the woman in vain. There is a 
 tender mercy that will save her from thy talons." The sergeant 
 ceased to utter aloud, but the motion of his lips continued, 
 and a few scattering words of prayer were alone audible. 
 
 The brain of the washerwoman was in such a state of 
 confusion that she did not clearly comprehend the meaning 
 of her suitor, but a new idea struck her imagination, and 
 she broke forth: 
 
 "If it's me the man saaks, where's the matter, pray? Am 
 I not a widowed body, and my own property? And you 
 talk of tinderness, sargeant; but it's little I see of it any 
 way; who knows but Mr. Beelzeboob here is free to spake 
 his mind? I'm sure it is willing to hear I am." 
 
 "Woman," said the peddler, "be silent; and you, foolish 
 man, mount — arm and mount, and fly to the rescue of your 
 officer, if you are worthy of the cause in which you serve, 
 and would not disgrace the coat you wear." The peddler 
 vanished from the sight of the bewildered trio, with a 
 rapidity that left them uncertain whither he had fled. 
 
 On hearing the voice of an old friend, Caesar emerged 
 from his corner, and fearlessly advanced to the spot where 
 Betty had resolutely maintained her ground, though in a 
 state of utter mental confusion. 
 
 " I wish Harvey stop," said the black ; " if he ride down 
 a road, I should like he company; I don't tink Johnny 
 Birch hurt he own son." 
 
 "Poor, ignorant wretch!" exclaimed the veteran, recover- 
 ing his voice with a long-drawn breath; "think you that 
 figure was made of flesh and blood?" 
 
 " Harvey an't fleshy," replied the black, " but he berry 
 clebber man." 
 
282 THE SPY. 
 
 " Pooh ! sargeant, dear," exclaimed the washerwoman, 
 " talk rason for once, and mind what the knowing one tells 
 yee; call out the boys, and ride a bit after Captain Jack; 
 rimimber, darling, that he told yee, the day, to be in readi- 
 ness to mount at a moment's warning." 
 
 "Ay, but not at a summons from the foul fiend. Let 
 Captain Lawton, or Lieutenant Mason, or Cornet Skipwith, 
 say the word, and who is quicker in the saddle than I?" 
 
 " Well, sargeant, how often is it that yee've boasted to 
 myself that the corps wasn't a bit afeard to face the divil?" 
 
 "No more are we, in battle array, and by daylight; but 
 it's foolhardy and irreverent to tempt Satan, and on such a 
 night as this; listen how the wind whistles through the 
 trees; and hark! there is the howling of evil spirits abroad." 
 
 " I see him," said Caesar, opening his eyes to a width that 
 might have embraced more than ideal form. 
 
 "Where?" interrupted the sergeant, instinctively laying 
 his hand on the hilt of his sabre. 
 
 " No — no," said the black, " I see a Johnny Birch come 
 out of he grave— Johnny walk afore he buried." 
 
 " Ah ! then he must have led an evil life, indeed," said 
 Hollister; "the blessed in spirit lie quiet until the general 
 muster, but wickedness disturbs the soul in this life as well 
 as in that which is to come." 
 
 "And what is to come of Captain Jack.'" cried Betty 
 angrily, " is it yeer orders that yee won't mind, nor a warn- 
 ing given ? I'll jist git my cart, and ride down and tell him 
 that yee're afeard of a dead man and Beelzeboob ; and it 
 isn't succor he may be expicting from yee. I wonder who'll 
 be the orderly of the troop the morrow, then? — his name 
 won't be Hollister, any way." 
 
 " Nay, Betty, nay," said the sergeant, laying his hand 
 familiarly on her shoulder; "if there must be riding to- 
 night, let it be by him whose duty it is to call out the men 
 and to set an example. The Lord have mercy, and send us 
 enemies of flesh and blood!" 
 
THE SPY. 283 
 
 Another glass confirmed the veteran in a resolution that 
 was only excited by a dread of his captain's displeasure, 
 and he proceeded to summon the dozen men who had been 
 left under his command. The boy arriving with the ring, 
 Caesar placed it carefully in the pocket of his waistcoat next 
 his heart, and, mounting, shut his eyes, seized his charger 
 by the mane, and continued in a state of comparative in- 
 sensibility, until the animal stopped at the door of the 
 warm stable whence he had started. 
 
 The movements of the dragoons being timed to the order 
 of a march, were much slower, for they were made with a 
 watchfulness that was intended to guard against surprise 
 from the evil one himself. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Be not your tongue thy own shame's orator ; 
 11.00k sweet, speak fair, become disloyalty, 
 Apparel vice like virtue's harbinger. 
 
 Comedy 0/ Errors. 
 
 The situation of the party in Mr. Wharton's dwelling was 
 sufficiently awkward during the hour of Caesar's absence; 
 for such was the astonishing rapidity displayed by his 
 courser, that the four miles of road was gone over, and the 
 events we have recorded had occurred, somewhat within 
 that period of time. Of course, the gentlemen strove to 
 make the irksome moments fly as swiftly as possible ; but 
 premeditated happiness is certainly of the least joyous kind. 
 The bride and bridegroom are immemorially privileged to 
 be dull, and but few of their friends seemed disposed, on 
 the present occasion, to dishonor their example. The Eng- 
 lish colonel exhibited a proper portion of uneasiness at this 
 unexpected interruption of his felicity, and he sat with a 
 varying countenance by the side of Sarah, who seemed to 
 be profiting by the delay to gather fortitude for the solemn 
 
284 THE SPY. 
 
 ceremony. In the midst of this embarrassing silence, Dr. 
 Sitgreaves addressed himself to Miss Peyton, by whose side 
 he had contrived to procure a chair. 
 
 " Marriage, madam, is pronounced to be honorable in the 
 sight of God and man: and it may be said to be reduced in 
 the present age to the laws of nature and reason. The an- 
 cients, in sanctioning polygamy, lost sight of the provisions 
 of nature, and condemned thousands to misery, but with the 
 increase of science have grown the wise ordinances of soci- 
 etys which ordain that man should be the husband of but 
 one woman." 
 
 Wellmere glanced a fierce expression of disgust at the 
 surgeon that indicated his sense of the tediousness of the 
 other's remarks; while Miss Peyton, with a slight hesita- 
 tion, as if fearful of touching on forbidden subjects, re- 
 plied: 
 
 " I had thought, sir, that we were indebted to the Chris- 
 tian religion for our morals on this subject." 
 
 " True, madam, it is somewhere provided in the prescrip- 
 tions of the apostles, that the sexes should henceforth be on 
 an equality in this particular. But in what degree could 
 polygamy affect holiness of life? It was probably a wise 
 arrangement of Paul, who was much of a scholar, and prob- 
 ably had frequent conferences on this important subject 
 with Luke, whom we all know to have been bred to the 
 practice of medicine " 
 
 There is no telling how far the discursive fancy of Sit- 
 greaves might have led him, on this subject, had he not 
 been interrupted. But Lawton, who had been a close though 
 silent observer of all that passed, profited by the hint to ask 
 abruptly : 
 
 ■' Pray, Colonel Wellmere, in what manner is bigamy 
 punished in England.'" 
 
 The bridegroom started, and his lip blanched. Recover- 
 ing himself, however, on the instant, he answered with a 
 suavity that became so happy a man : 
 
THE SPY. 285 
 
 " Death ! — as such an offence merits," he said. 
 
 "Death and dissection," continued the operator:, "it is 
 seldom that the law loses sight of eventual utility in a 
 malefactor. Bigamy, in a man, is a heinous offence!" 
 
 "More so than celibacy?" asked Lawton. 
 
 " More so," returned the surgeon, with undisturbed sim- 
 plicity ; " he who remains in a single state may devote his 
 life to science and the extension of knowledge, if not of his 
 species; but the wretch who profits by the constitutional 
 tendency of the female sex to credulity and tenderness, in- 
 curs the wickedness of a positive sin, heightened by the 
 baseness of deception." 
 
 " Really, sir, the ladies are infinitely obliged to you, for 
 attributing folly to them as part of their nature." 
 
 " Captain Lawton, in man the animal is more nobly 
 formed than^in woman. The nerves are endowed with less 
 sensibility; the whole frame is less pliable and yielding; 
 is it, therefore, surprising, that a tendency to rely on the 
 faith of her partner is more natural to woman than to the 
 other sex?" 
 
 Wellmere, as if unable to listen with any degree of pa- 
 tience to so ill-timed a dialogue, sprang from his seat and 
 paced the floor in disorder. Pitying his situation, the rev- 
 erend gentleman, who was patiently awaiting the return of 
 Csesar, changed the discourse, and a few minutes brought 
 the black himself. The billet was handed to Dr. Sitgreaves ; 
 for Miss Peyton had expressly enjoined Cassar not to im- 
 plicate her, in any manner, in the errand on which he was 
 despatched. The note contained a summary statement of 
 the several subjects of the surgeon's directions, and referred 
 him to the black for the ring. The latter was instantly de- 
 manded, and promptly delivered. A transient look of mel- 
 ancholy crowded the brow of the surgeon, as he stood a 
 moment, and gazed silently on the bauble ; nor did he re- 
 member the place, or the occasion, while he soliloquized as 
 follows : 
 
286 THE spy. 
 
 " Poor Anna ! gay as innocence and youth could make 
 thee was thy heart, when this cincture was formed to grace 
 thy nuptials; but ere the hour had come, God had taken 
 thee to himself. Years have passed, my sister, but never 
 have I forgotten the companion of my infancy!" He ad- 
 vanced to Sarah, and, unconscious of observation, placing 
 the ring on her finger, continued : " She for whom it was 
 intended has long been in her grave, and the youth who be- 
 stowed the gift soon followed her sainted spirit ; take it, 
 madam, and God grant that it may be an instrument in 
 making you as happy as you deserve!" 
 
 Sarah felt a chill at her heart, as this burst of feeling 
 escaped the surgeon ; but Wellmere offering his hand, she 
 was led before the divine, and the ceremony began. The 
 first words of this imposing office produced a dead stillness 
 in the apartment; and the minister of God proceeded to the 
 solemn exhortation, and witnessed the plighted troth of the 
 parties, when the investiture was to follow. The ring had 
 been left, from inadvertency, and the agitation of the mo- 
 ment, on the finger where Sitgreaves had placed it: — the 
 slight interruption occasioned by the circumstance was 
 over, and the clergyman was about to proceed, when a figure 
 gliding into the midst of the party, at once put a stop to the 
 ceremony. It was the peddler. His look was bitter and 
 ironical, while a finger, raised toward the divine, seemed 
 to forbid the ceremony to go any farther. 
 
 "Can Colonel Wellmere waste the precious moments 
 here, when his wife has crossed the ocean to meet him ? 
 The nights are long, and the moon bright;— a few hours 
 will take him to the city." 
 
 Aghast at the suddenness of this extraordinary address, 
 Wellmere for a moment lost the command of his faculties. 
 To Sarah, the countenance of Birch, expressive as it was, 
 produced no terror, but the instant she recovered from the 
 surprise of his interruption, she turned her anxious gaze on 
 the features of the man to whom she had just pledged her 
 
THE SPY. 287 
 
 troth. They afforded the most terrible confirmation of all 
 that the peddler affirmed; the room whirled round, and she 
 fell lifeless into the arms of her aunt. There is an instinc- 
 tive delicacy in woman, that seems to conquer all other 
 emotions; and the insensible bride was immediately con- 
 veyed from sight, leaving the room to the sole possession of 
 the other sex. 
 
 The confusion enabled the peddler to retreat with a rapid- 
 ity that would have baffled pursuit, had any been attempted, 
 and Wellmere stood with every eye fixed on him, in ominous 
 silence. 
 
 "'Tis false — 'tis false as hell!" he cried, striking his 
 forehead. "I have ever denied her claim; nor will the 
 laws of my country compel me to acknowledge it.'' 
 
 "But what will conscience and the laws of God do?" 
 asked Lawton. 
 
 " 'Tis well, sir," said Wellmere haughtily, and retreating 
 toward the door — "my situation protects you now; but a 
 time may come " 
 
 He had reached the entry, when a slight tap on his 
 shoulder caused him to turn his head; — it was Captain 
 Lawton, who, with a smile of peculiar meaning, beckoned 
 him to follow. The state of Wellmere's mind was such 
 that he would gladly have gone anywhere to avoid the gaze 
 of horror and detestation that glared from every eye he met. 
 They reached the stables before the trooper spoke, when he 
 cried aloud: 
 
 "Bring out Roanoke!" 
 
 His man appeared with the steed caparisoned for its 
 master. Lawton, coolly throwing the bridle on the neck of 
 the animal, took his pistols from the holsters, and continued: 
 " Here are weapons that have seen good service before to- 
 day — ay, and in honorable hands, sir. These were the 
 pi.stols of my father, CoJonel Wellmere; he used them with 
 credit in the wars with France, and gave them to me to fight 
 the battles of my country with. In what better way can 
 
288 THE SPY. 
 
 I serve her than in exterminating a wretch who would have 
 blasted one of her fairest daughters ?" 
 
 " This injurious treatment shall meet with its reward," 
 cried the other, seizing the offered weapon ; " the blood lie 
 on the head of him who sought it!" 
 
 " Amen ! but hold a moment, sir. You are now free, and 
 the passports of Washington are in your pocket; I give you 
 the fire; if I fall, there is a steed that will outstrip pursuit; 
 and I would advise you to retreat without much delay, for 
 even Archibald Sitgreaves would fight in such a cause — nor 
 will the guard above be very apt to give quarter." 
 
 "Are you ready?" asked Wellmere, gnashing his teeth 
 with rage. 
 
 "Stand foward, Tom, with the lights;— fire!" 
 
 Wellmere fired, and the bullion flew from the epaulette 
 of the trooper. 
 
 " Now the turn is mine," said Lawton, deliberately level- 
 ling his pistol. 
 
 "And mine!" shouted a voice, as the weapon was struck 
 from his hand " By all the devils in hell, 'tis the mad 
 Virginian! — fall on, my boys, and take him; this is a prize 
 not hoped for!" 
 
 Unarmed, and surprised as he was, Lawton's presence of 
 mind did not desert him ; he felt that he was in the hands 
 of those from whom he was to expect no mercy ; and, as 
 four of the Skinners fell upon him at once, he used his 
 gigantic strength to the utmost. Three of the band grasped 
 him by the neck and arms, with an intent to clog his efforts, 
 and pinion him with ropes. The first of these he threw 
 from him, with a violence that sent him against the build- 
 ing, where he lay stunned with the blow. But the fourth 
 seized his legs; and, unable to contend with such odds, the 
 trooper came to tlie earth, bringing with him all of his as- 
 sailants. The struggle on the ground was short but terrific; 
 - — curses and the most dreadful imprecations were uttered 
 by the Skinners, who in vain called called on more of their 
 
THE SPY. 289 
 
 band, who were gazing on the combat in nerveless horror, 
 to assist. A difficulty of breathing, from one of the com- 
 batants, was heard, accompanied by the stifled moanings of 
 a strangled man ; and directly one of the group arose on 
 his feet, shaking himself free from the wild grasp of the 
 others. Both Wellmere and the servant of Lawton had fled ; 
 the former to the stables, and the latter to give the alarm, 
 leaving all in darkness. The figure that stood erect sprang 
 into the saddle of the unheeded charger; sparks of fire, 
 issuing from the armed feet of the horse, gave a momentary 
 light by which the captain was seen dashing like the wind 
 toward the highway. 
 
 "By hell, he's off!" cried the leader, hoarse with rage 
 and exhaustion; "fire! — bring him down — fire, or you'll be 
 too late." 
 
 The order was obeyed, and one moment of suspense fol- 
 lowed, in the vain hope of hearing the huge frame of Law- 
 ton tumbling from his steed. 
 
 " He would not fall if you had killed him," muttered one; 
 " I've known these Virginians sit their horses with two or 
 three balls through them ; ay, even after they were dead." 
 
 A freshening of the wind wafted the tread of a horse 
 down the valley, which, by its speed, gave assurance of a 
 rider governing its motion. 
 
 " These trained horses always stop when the rider falls/' 
 observed one of the gang. 
 
 "Then," cried the leader, striking his musket on the 
 ground in a rage," the fellow is safe ! — to yourbusiness at once. 
 A short half-hour will bring down that canting sergeant 
 and the guard upon us. 'Twill be lucky if the guns don't 
 turn them out. Quick, to your posts, and fire the house in 
 the chambers; smoking ruins are good to cover evil deeds.'' 
 
 "What is to be done with this lump of earth?" cried an- 
 other, pushing the body that yet lay insensible, where it 
 had been hurled by the arm of Lawton; "a little rubbing 
 would bring him to." 
 19 
 
290 
 
 THE SPY. 
 
 "Let him lie," said the leader fiercely; "had he been 
 half a man, that dragooning rascal would have been in my 
 power ; enter the house, I say, and fire the chambers. We 
 can't go amiss here ; — there is plate and money enough to 
 make you all gentlemen — and revenge too." 
 
 The idea of silver in any way was not to be resisted; 
 and, leaving their companion, who began to show faint 
 signs of life, they rushed tumultuously toward the dwelling. 
 Wellmere availed himself of the opportunity, and, stealing 
 from the stable with his own charger, he was able to gain 
 the highway unnoticed. For an instant he hesitated, 
 whether to ride toward the point where he knew the guard 
 was stationed, and endeavor to rescue the family, or, profit- 
 ing by his liberty, and the exchange that had been effected 
 by the divine, to seek the royal army. Shame, and a con- 
 sciousness of guilt, determined him to take the latter course, 
 and he rode toward New York, stung with the reflection of 
 his own baseness, and harassed with the apprehension of 
 meeting with an enraged woman, that he had married dur- 
 ing his late visit to England, but whose claims, as soon as 
 his passion was sated, he had resolved never willingly to 
 admit. In the tumult and agitation of the moment, the re- 
 treat of Lawton and Wellmere was but little noticed ; the 
 condition of Mr. Wharton demanding the care and consola- 
 tion of both the surgeon and the divine. The report of the 
 firearms first roused the family to the sense of a new 
 danger, and but a moment elapsed before the leader and 
 one more of the gang entered the room. 
 
 "Surrender! you servants of King George," shouted the 
 leader, presenting his musket to the breast of Sitgreaves, 
 " or I will let a little Tory blood from your veins." 
 
 "Gently — gently, my friend," said the surgeon; "you are 
 doubtless more expert in inflicting wounds than in healing 
 them ; the weapon that you hold so indiscreetly is extremely 
 dangerous to animal life." 
 
 " yield, or take its contents." 
 
THE SPY. 291 
 
 "Why and wherefore should I yield? — I am a non-com- 
 batant. The articles of capitulation must be arranged with 
 Captain John Lawton ; though yielding, I believe, is not a 
 subject on which you will find him particularly complying." 
 
 The fellow had by this time taken such a survey of the 
 group, as convinced him that little danger was to be appre- 
 hended from resistance, and, eager to seize his share of the 
 plunder, he dropped his musket, and was soon busy, with 
 the assistance of his men, in arranging divers articles of 
 plate in bags. The cottage now presented a singular 
 spectacle ; — the ladies were gathered around Sarah, who yet 
 continued insensible, in one of the rooms that had escaped 
 the notice of the marauders. Mr. Wharton sat in a state of 
 perfect imbecility, listening to, but not profiting by, the un- 
 meaning words of comfort that fell from the lips of the 
 clergyman. Singleton was lying on a sofa, shaking with 
 debility, and inattentive to surrounding objects; while the 
 surgeon was administering restoratives, and looking at the 
 dressings with a coolness that mocked the tumult. Caesar, 
 and the attendant of Captain Singleton, had retreated to the 
 wood in the rear of the cottage, and Katy Haynes was fly- 
 ing about the building busily employed in forming a bundle 
 of valuables, from which, with the most scrupulous honesty, 
 she rejected every article that was not really and truly her 
 own. 
 
 But to return to the party at the Four Comers. When 
 the veteran had got his men mounted and under arms, a 
 restless desire to participate in the glory and dangers of the 
 expedition came over the washerwoman. Whether she was 
 impelled to the undertaking by a dread of remaining alone, 
 or a wish to hasten in person to the relief of her favorite, 
 we will not venture to assert; but, as Hollister was giving 
 the orders to wheel and march, the voice of Betty was heard 
 exclaiiriing: 
 
 " Gtop a bit, sargeant dear, till two of the boys git out 
 the cart, and I'll jist ride wid yee ; 'tis like there'll be 
 
292 
 
 THE SPY. 
 
 wounded, and it will be mighty convanient to bring them 
 home in." 
 
 Although injvardly much pleased with any cause of delay 
 to a service that he so little relished, HoUister affected some 
 displeasure at the detention. 
 
 " Nothing but a cannon-ball can take one of my lads from 
 his charger,'' he said; "and it's not very likely that we 
 shall have as fair fighting as cannon and musketry, in a 
 business of the evil one's inventing; so, Elizabeth, you may 
 go if you will, but the cart will not be wanting." 
 
 " Now, sargeant dear, you lie, anyway," said Betty, who 
 was somewhat unduly governed by her potations; "and 
 wasn't Captain Singleton shot off his horse but tin days 
 gone by? ay, and Captain Jack himself too; and didn't he 
 lie on the ground, face uppermost, and back downward, 
 looking grim ? and didn't the boys tink him dead, and turn 
 and lave the rig'lars the day?" 
 
 "You lie back again," cried the sergeant fiercely: 
 "and so does any one who says that we didn't gain the 
 day." 
 
 " For a bit or so — only I mane for a bit or so," said the 
 washerwoman; "but Major Dunwoodie turned you, and so 
 you licked the rig'lars. But the captain it was that fell, 
 and I'm thinking that there's no better rider going; so, 
 sargeant, it's the cart will be convanient. Here, two of 
 you, jist hitch the mare to the tills, and it's no whiskey that 
 yee'U be wanting the morrow; and put the piece of Jenny's 
 hide under the pad ; the baste is never the better for the 
 rough ways of the county West- Chester." The consent of 
 the sergeant being obtained, the equipage of Mrs. Flanagan 
 was soon in readiness to receive its burden. 
 
 "As it is quite uncertain whether we shall be attacked in 
 front, or in rear," said Hollister, " five of you shall march 
 in advance, and the remainder shall cover our retreat 
 toward the barrack, should we be pressed. 'Tis an awful 
 moment to a man of little learning, Elizabeth, to command 
 
THE spy. 293 
 
 in such a service; for my part, I wish devoutly that one of 
 the officers were here; but my trust is in the Lord." 
 
 " Pooh ! man, away wid yea," said the washerwoman, who 
 had got herself comfortably seated ; " the divil a bit of an 
 inimy is there near. March on, hurry-skurry, and let the 
 mare trot, or it's but little that Captain Jack will thank yee 
 for the help." 
 
 " Although unlearned in matters of communicating with 
 spirits, or laying the dead, Mrs. Flanagan," said the veteran, 
 " I have not served through the old war, and five years in 
 this, not to know how to guard the baggage. Doesn't, 
 Washington always cover the baggage? I am not to be 
 told my duty by a camp-follower. Fall in as you are 
 ordered, and dress, men." 
 
 "Well, march, anyway," cried the impatient washer- 
 woman; "the black is there already, and it's tardy the 
 captain will think yee." 
 
 " Are you sure that it was really a black man that brought 
 the order?" said the sergeant, dropping in between the 
 platoons, where he could converse with Betty, and be at 
 hand to lead on an emergency, either on an advance or on 
 a retreat. 
 
 " Nay — and I'm sure of nothing, dear. But why don't 
 the boys prick their horses and jog a trot? The mare is 
 mighty unasy, and it's no warm in this cursed valley, 
 riding as much like a funeral party as old rags is to Con- 
 tinental." * 
 
 "Fairly and softly, ay, and prudently, Mrs. Flanagan; 
 it's not rashness that makes the good officer. If we have 
 to encounter a spirit, it's more than likely he'll make his 
 attack by surprise; horses are not very powerful in the 
 dark, and I have a character to lose, good woman." 
 
 * The paper money issued by Congress was familiarly called Continental money. 
 This term '* Continental " was applied to the army, the Congress, the ships of war, 
 and, in short, to almost every thing or interest which belonged to the new govern- 
 ment. It would seem to have been invented as the opposite of the insular position of 
 the mother country. 
 
294 
 
 THE SPY. 
 
 "Caractur! and isn't it caracturand life too that Captain 
 Jack has to lose?" 
 
 "Halt!" cried the sergeant; "what is that lurking near 
 the foot of the rock, on the left?" 
 
 " Sure, it's nothing, unless it be matter of Captain Jack's 
 sowl that's come to haunt yee, for not being brisker on the 
 march." 
 
 " Betty, your levity makes you an unfit comrade for such 
 an expedition. Advance, one of you, and reconnoitre the 
 spot; — draw swords! — rear rank, close to the front!" 
 
 "Pshaw!" shouted Betty, " is it a big fool or a big coward 
 that yee are? Just wheel from the road, boys, and I'll shove 
 the mare down upon it in the twinkling of an eye — and it's 
 no ghost that I fear." 
 
 By this time one of the men had returned, and declared 
 there was nothing to prevent their advancing, and the party 
 continued their march, but with great deliberation and 
 caution. 
 
 " Courage and prudence are the jewels of a soldier, Mrs. 
 Flanagan," said the sergeant: "without the one, the other 
 may be said to be good for nothing." 
 
 "Prudence without courage: is it that you mane? — and 
 it's so that I'm thinking myself, sargeant. This baste pulls 
 tight on the reins anyway." 
 
 "Be patient, good woman — hark! what is that?" said 
 Hollister, pricking up his ears at the report of Wellmere's 
 pistol ; " I'll swear that was a human pistol, and one from 
 our regiment. Rear rank, close to the front! — Mrs. Flana- 
 gan, I must leave you." So saying, having recovered all 
 his faculties by hearing a sound that he understood, he 
 placed himself at the head of his men with an air of mili- 
 tary pride, that the darkness prevented the washerwoman 
 from beholding. A volley of musketry now rattled in the 
 night wind, and the sergeant exclaimed: 
 
 "March! — quick time!" 
 
 The next instant the trampling of a horse was heard com- 
 
THE SPY. 29 s 
 
 ing up the road, at a rate that announced a matter of life or 
 death ; and Hollister again halted his party, riding a short 
 distance in front himself, to meet the rider. 
 
 "Stand! — who goes there?" shouted Hollister. 
 
 "Ha! Hollister, is it you?" cried Lawton, "ever ready, 
 and at your post; but where is the guard?" 
 
 " At hand, sir, and ready to follow you through thick and 
 thin," said the veteran, relieved at once from responsibility 
 and as eager as a boy to be led against his enemy. 
 
 "'Tis well!" said the trooper, riding up to his men; 
 then, speaking a few words of encouragement, he led them 
 down the valley at a rate but little less rapid than his ap- 
 proach. The miserable horse of the sutler was soon dis- 
 tanced, and Betty, thus thrown out in the chase, turned to 
 the side of the road, and observed : 
 
 " There — it's no difficult to tell that Captain Jack is wid 
 'em, anyway; and away they go like so many nagur boys to 
 a husking frolic; — well, I'll jist hitch the mare to this bit 
 of a fence, and walk down and see the sport afoot — it's no 
 reasonable to expose the baste to be hurted." 
 
 Led on by Lawton, the men followed, destitute alike of 
 fear and reflection. Whether it was a party of the refugees, 
 or a detachment from the royal army, that they were to as- 
 sail, they were profoundly ignorant; but they knew that the 
 officer in advance was distinguished for courage and personal 
 prowess ; and these are virtues that are sure to captivate the 
 thoughtless soldiery. On arriving near the gates of the Lo- 
 custs, the trooper halted his party, and made his arrangements 
 for the assault. Dismounting, he ordered eight of his men 
 to follow his example, and, turning to Hollister, said: 
 
 " Stand you here, and guard the horses ; if any thing at- 
 tempt to pass, stop it, or cut it down, and " The flames 
 
 at this moment burst through the dormer-windows and cedar 
 roof of the cottage, and a bright light glared on the dark- 
 ness of the night. "On!" shouted the trooper, "on! — give 
 quarter when you have done justice !" 
 
296 
 
 THE SPY. 
 
 There was a startling fierceness in the voice of the trooper 
 that reached to the heart, even amid the horrors of the cot- 
 tage. The leader of the Skinners dropped his plunder, 
 and, for a moment, he stood in nerveless dread ; then rush- 
 ing to a window, he threw up the sash; — at this instant 
 Lawton entered, sabre in hand, into the apartment. 
 
 "Die, miscreant!" cried the trooper, cleaving a marauder 
 to the jaw : but the leader sprang into the lawn, and escaped 
 his vengeance. The shrieks of the females restored Lawton 
 to his presence of mind, and the earnest entreaty of the 
 divine induced him to attend to the safety of the family. 
 One more of the gang fell in with the dragoons, and met his 
 death; but the remainder had taken the alarm in season. 
 Occupied with Sarah, neither Miss Singleton, nor the ladies 
 of the house, had discovered the entrance of the Skinners, 
 though the flames were raging around them with a fury that 
 threatened the building with rapid destruction. The shrieks 
 of Katy and the terrified consort of Caesar, together with the 
 noise and uproar in the adjacent apartment, first roused 
 Miss Peyton and Isabella to a sense of their danger. 
 
 "Merciful Providence!" exclaimed the alarmed aunt; 
 " there is a dreadful confusion in the house, and there will 
 be bloodshed in consequence of this affair." 
 
 " There are none to fight," returned Isabella, with a face 
 paler than that of the other; " Dr. Sitgreaves is very peace- 
 able in his disposition, and surely Captain Lawton would 
 not forget himself so far." 
 
 " The Southern temper is quick and fiery," continued 
 Miss Peyton ; " and your brother, feeble and weak as he is, 
 has looked the whole afternoon flushed and angry." 
 
 "Good Heaven!" cried Isabella, with difficulty support- 
 ing herself on the couch of Sarah ; " he is gentle as the 
 lamb by nature, though the lion is not his equal when 
 roused." 
 
 "We must interfere: our presence will quell the tumult, 
 and possibly save the life of a fellow-creature." 
 
THE SPY. 297 
 
 Miss Peyton, excited to attempt what she conceived a 
 duty worthy of her sex and nature, advanced with the dignity 
 of injured female feeling to the door, followed by Isabella. 
 The apartment to which Sarah had been conveyed was in 
 one of the wings of the building, and it communicated with 
 the principal hall of the cottage by a long and dark passage. 
 This was now light, and across its termination several figures 
 were seen rushing with an impetuosity that prevented an 
 examination of their employment. 
 
 " Let us advance," said Miss Peyton, with a firmness her 
 face belied : " they must respect our sex." 
 
 " They shall," cried Isabella, taking the lead in the en- 
 terprise. Frances was left alone with her sister. A few 
 minutes were passed in silence; when a loud crash, in the 
 upper apartments, was succeeded by a bright light that 
 glared through the open door, and made objects as distinct 
 to the eye as if they were placed under a noon-day sun. 
 Sarah raised herself on her bed, and, staring wildly around, 
 pressed both her hands on her forehead, endeavoring to 
 recollect herself : 
 
 "This, then, is heaven — and you are one of its bright 
 spirits. Oh! how glorious is its radiance! I had thought 
 the happiness I have lately experienced was too much for 
 earth. But we shall meet again — yes — yes — we shall meet 
 again." 
 
 "Sarah! Sarah!" cried Frances, in terror; "my sister — 
 my only sister — oh! do not smile so horridly: know me, or 
 you will break my heart." 
 
 "Hush," said Sarah, raising her hand for silence; "you 
 may disturb his rest — surely, he will follow me to the grave. 
 Think you there can be two wives in the grave ? No — no 
 — no — one — one — one — only one." 
 
 Frances dropped her head into the lap of her sister, and 
 wept in agony. 
 
 "Do you shed tears, sweet angel?" continued Sarah, 
 soothingly; "then heaven is not exempt from grief. But 
 
298 THE SPY. 
 
 where is Henr)' ? He was executed, and he must be here, 
 too; perhaps they will come together. Oh, how joyful will 
 be the meeting!" 
 
 Frances sprang on her feet, and paced the apartment. 
 The eye of Sarah followed her in childish admiration of her 
 beauty. 
 
 "You look like my sister; but all good and lovely spirits 
 are alike. Tell me, were you ever married? Did you 
 ever let a stranger steal your affections from father, and 
 brother, and sister? If not, poor wretch, I pity you, al- 
 though you may be in heaven." 
 
 "Sarah — peace, peace — I implore you to be silent," 
 shrieked Frances, rushing to her bed, " or you will kill me 
 at your feet." 
 
 Another dreadful crash shook the building to its centre. 
 It was the falling of the roof, and the flames threw their 
 light abroad, so as to make objects visible around the cot- 
 tage, through the windows of the room. Frances flew to 
 one of them, and saw the confused group that was collected 
 on the lawn. Among them were her aunt and Isabella, 
 pointing with distraction to the fiery edifice, and apparently 
 urging the dragoons to enter it. For the first time she 
 comprehended their danger; and uttering a wild shriek, 
 she flew through the passage without consideration or 
 object. 
 
 A dense and suffocating column of smoke opposed her 
 progress. She paused to breathe, when a man caught her 
 in his arms, and bore her, in a state of insensibility, through 
 the falling embers and darkness, to the open air. The in- 
 stant that Frances recovered her recollection, she perceived 
 that she owed her life to Lawton, and, throwing herself on 
 her knees, she cried : 
 
 "Sarah! Sarah! Sarah! save my sister, and may the 
 blessing of God await you!" 
 
 Her strength failed, and she sunk on the grass in insen- 
 sibility. The trooper pointed to her figure, motioned to 
 
THE SPY. 299 
 
 Katy for assistance, and advanced once more to the build- 
 ing. The fire had already communicated to the woodwork 
 of the piazzas and windows, and the whole exterior of the 
 cottage was covered with smoke. The only entrance was 
 through these dangers, and even the hardy and impetuous 
 Lawton paused to consider. It was for a moment only, 
 when he dashed into the heat and darkness, where, missing 
 the entrance, he wandered for a minute, and precipitated 
 himself back again, upon the lawn. Drawing a single 
 breath of pure air, he renewed the effort, and was again un- 
 successful. On a third trial, he met a man staggering under 
 the load of a human body. It was neither the place, nor 
 was there time, to question or to make distinctions ; seizing 
 both in his arms, with gigantic strength, he bore them 
 through the smoke. He soon perceived, to his astonish- 
 ment, that it was the surgeon, and the body of one of the 
 Skinners, that he had saved. 
 
 " Archibald !" he exclaimed, " why, in the name of justice, 
 did you bring this miscreant to light again? His deeds 
 are rank to heaven!" 
 
 The surgeon, who had been in imminent peril, was too 
 much bewildered to reply instantly, but, wiping the moisture 
 from his forehead, and clearing his lungs from the vapor he 
 had inhaled, he said piteously: 
 
 " Ah ! it is all over ! Had I been in time to have stopped 
 the effusion from the jugular, he might have been saved; 
 but the heat was conducive to hemorrhage; life is extinct 
 indeed. Well, are there any more wounded?" 
 
 His question was put to the air, for Frances had been re- 
 moved to the opposite side of the building, where her friends 
 were collected, and Lawton once more had disappeared in 
 the smoke. 
 
 By this time the flames had dispersed much of the suffo- 
 cating vapor, so that the trooper was able to find the door, 
 and in its very entrance he was met by a man supporting 
 the insensible Sarah. There was but barely time to reach 
 
300 THE SPY. 
 
 the lawn again, before the fire broke through the windows, 
 and wrapped the whole building in a sheet of flame. 
 
 "God be praised!" ejaculated the preserver of Sarah; 
 " it would have been a dreadful death to die." 
 
 The trooper turned from gazing at the edifice, to the 
 speaker, and to his astonishment, instead of one of his own 
 men, he beheld the peddler. 
 
 " Ha ! the spy," he exclaimed : " by heavens, you cross 
 me like a spectre." 
 
 " Captain Lawton," said Birch, leaning in momentary ex- 
 haustion against the fence, to which they had retired from 
 the heat, " I am again in your power, for I can neither flee, 
 nor resist." 
 
 " The cause of America is dear to me as life,'' said the 
 trooper; "but she cannot require her children to forget 
 gratitude and honor. Fly, unhappy man, while yet you are 
 unseen, or it will exceed my power to save you." 
 
 " May God prosper you, and make you victorious over 
 your enemies," said Birch, grasping the hand of the dragoon 
 with an iron strength that his meagre figure did not indicate. 
 
 "Hold!" said Lawton; "but a word — are you what you 
 seem? — can you — are you " 
 
 " A royal spy," interrupted Birch, averting his face, and 
 endeavoring to release his hand. 
 
 "Then go, miserable wretch," said the trooper, relinquish- 
 ing his grasp " either avarice or delusion has led a noble 
 heart astray !" 
 
 The bright light from the flames reached a great distance 
 around the ruins, but the words were hardly past the lips of 
 Lawton, before the gaunt form of the peddler had glided over 
 the visible space, and plunged into the darkness beyond. 
 
 The eye of Lawton rested for a moment on the spot where 
 he had last seen this inexplicable man, and then, turning to 
 the yet insensible Sarah, he lifted her in his arms, and bore 
 her, like a sleeping infant, to the care of her friends. 
 
THE SPY. 301 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 And now her charms are fading fast, 
 Her spirits now no more are gay : 
 Alas ! that beauty cannot last ! 
 That flowers so sweet so soon decay ! 
 How sad appears 
 The vale of years. 
 How changed from youth's too flattering scene ! 
 Where are her fond admirers gone ? 
 Alas I and shall there then be none 
 On whom her soul may lean ? 
 
 Cyntkia^s Grave. 
 
 The walls of the cottage were all that was left of the 
 building; and these, blackened by smoke, and stripped of 
 their piazzas and ornaments, were but dreary memorials of 
 the content and security that had so lately reigned within. 
 The roof, together with the rest of the woodwork, had 
 tumbled into the cellars, and a pale and flitting light, 
 ascending from their embers, shone faintly through the 
 windows. The early flight of the Skinners left the dragoon 
 at liberty to exert themselves in saving much of the furni- 
 ture, which lay scattered in heaps on the lawn, giving the 
 finishing touch of desolation to the scene. Whenever a 
 stronger ray of light than common shot upward, the com- 
 posed figures of Sergeant HoUister and his associates, sit- 
 ting on their horses in rigid discipline, were to be seen in 
 the background of the picture, together with the beast of 
 Mrs. Flanagan, which, having slipped its bridle, was quietly 
 grazing by the highway. Betty herself had advanced to 
 the spot where the sergeant was posted, and, with an in- 
 credible degree of composure, witnessed the whole of the 
 events as they occurred. More than once she suggested to 
 her companion, that, as the fighting seemed to be over, the 
 proper time for plunder had arrived; but the veteran ac- 
 quainted her with his orders, and remained both inflexible 
 and immovable; until the washerwoman, observing Law- 
 ton come round the wing of the building with Sarah, 
 
302 THE SPY. 
 
 ventured among the warriors. The captain, after placing 
 Sarah on a sofa that had been hurled from the building by 
 two of his men, retired, that the ladies might succeed him 
 in his care. Miss Peyton and her niece flew, with a rapture 
 that was blessed with a momentary forgetfulness of all but 
 her preservation, to receive Sarah from the trooper ; but the 
 vacant eye and flushed cheek restored them instantly to 
 their recollection. 
 
 " Sarah, my child, my beloved niece," said the former, 
 folding the unconscious bride in her arms, " you are saved, 
 and may the blessing of God await him who has been the 
 instrument." 
 
 " See," said Sarah, gently pushing her aunt aside, and 
 pointing to the glimmering ruins, "the windows are illu- 
 minated in honor of my arrival. They always receive a bride 
 thus — he told me they would do no less ; listen, and you 
 will hear the bells." 
 
 "Here is no bride, no rejoicing, nothing but woe!" cried 
 Frances, in a manner but little less frantic than that of her 
 sister; "Oh! may Heaven restore you to us — to yourself!" 
 
 "Peace, foolish young woman," said Sarah, with a smile 
 of affected pity; "all cannot be happy at the same moment; 
 perhaps you have no brother, or husband, to console you; 
 you look beautiful, and you will yet find one; but," she 
 continued, dropping her voice to a whisper, " see that he 
 has no other wife — 'tis dreadful to think what might hap- 
 pen, should he be twice married." 
 
 "The shock has destroyed her mind," cried Miss Peyton: 
 "my child, ray beauteous Sarah is a maniac!" 
 
 "No, no, no," cried Frances, "it is fever; she is light- 
 headed — she must recover — she shall recover." 
 
 The aunt caught joyfully at the hope conveyed in this 
 suggestion, and despatched Katy to request the immediate 
 aid and advice of Dr. Sitgreaves. The surgeon was found 
 inquiring among the men for professional employment, and 
 inquisitively examining every bruise and scratch that he 
 
THE SPY. 303 
 
 could induce the sturdy warriors to acknowledge they had 
 received. A summons of the sort conveyed by Katy was 
 instantly obeyed, and not a minute elapsed before he was 
 by the side of Miss Peyton. 
 
 " This is a melancholy termination to so joyful a com- 
 mencement of the night, madam," he observed, in a soothing 
 manner; " but war must bring its attendant miseries ; though 
 doubtless it often supports the cause of liberty and im- 
 proves the knowledge of surgical science." 
 
 Miss Peyton could make no reply, but pointed to her 
 niece, in agony. 
 
 " 'Tis fever," answered Frances ; " see how glassy is her 
 eye, and look at her cheek, how flushed." 
 
 The surgeon stood for a moment, deeply studying the 
 outward symptoms of his patient, and then he silently took 
 her hand in his own. It was seldom that the hard and ab- 
 stracted features of Sitgreaves discovered any violent emo- 
 tion; all his passions seemed schooled, and his countenance 
 did not often betray what, indeed, his heart frequently felt. 
 In the present instance, however, the eager gaze of the aunt 
 and sister quickly detected his emotions. After laying his 
 fingers for a minute on the beautiful arm, which, bared to 
 the elbow, and glittering with jewels, Sarah suffered him to 
 retain, he dropped it, and, dashing a hand over his eyes, 
 turned sorrowfully away. 
 
 " Here is no fever to excite — 'tis a case, my dear madam, 
 for time and care only; these, with the blessing of God, 
 may effect a cure." 
 
 "And where is the wretch who has caused this ruin?" 
 exclaimed Singleton, rejecting the support of his man, and 
 making an effort to rise from the chair, to which he had 
 been driven by debility. " It is in vain that we overcome 
 our enemies, if, conquered, they can inflict such wounds as 
 this." 
 
 "Dost think, foolish boy," said Lawton, with a bitter 
 smile, "that hearts can feel in a colony? What is America 
 
304 THE spy. 
 
 but a satellite of England— to move as she moves, follow 
 where she wists, and shine, that the mother country may be- 
 come more splendid by her radiance? Surely you forget 
 that it is honor enough for a colonist to receive ruin from 
 the hand of a child of Britain." 
 
 " I forget not that I wear a sword," said Singleton, fall- 
 ing back exhausted ; " but was there no willing arm ready 
 to avenge that lovely sufferer — to appease the wrongs of 
 this hoary father?" 
 
 "Neither arms, nor hearts are wanting, sir, in such a 
 cause"; bustling up to his side; "but chance oftentimes 
 helps the wicked. By heavens, I'd give Roanoke himself 
 for a clear field with the miscreant!" 
 
 " Nay ! captain, dear, no be parting with the horse, any- 
 way," said Betty ; "it is no trifle that can be had by jist 
 asking of the right person, if ye're in need of silver, and 
 the baste is sure of foot, and jumps like a squirrel." 
 
 " Woman, fifty horses, ay, the best that were ever reared 
 on the banks of the Potomac, would be but a paltry price 
 for one blow at a villain.'' 
 
 "Come," said the surgeon, "the night air can do no ser- 
 vice to George, or these ladies, and it is incumbent on us 
 to remove them where they can find surgical attendance and 
 refreshment. Here is nothing but smoking ruins and t^e 
 miasma of the swamps." 
 
 To this rational proposition no objection could be raised, 
 and the necessary orders were issued by Lawton to remove 
 the whole party to the Four Corners. 
 
 America furnished but few and very indifferent carriage- 
 makers at the period of which we write, and every vehicle, 
 that in the least aspired to that dignity, was the manufacture 
 of a London mechanic. When Mr. Wharton left the city, 
 he was one of the very few who' maintained the state of a 
 carriage; and, at the time Miss Peyton and his daughters 
 joined him in his retirement, they had been conveyed to the 
 cottage in the heavy chariot that had once so imposingly 
 
THE SPY. 305 
 
 rolled through the windings of Queen Street, or emerged, 
 with sombre dignity, into the more spacious drive of Broad- 
 way. This vehicle stood, undisturbed, where it had been 
 placed on its arrival, and the age of the horses alone had 
 protected the favorites of Caesar from sequestration by the 
 contending forces in their neighborhood. With a heavy 
 heart, the black, assisted by a few of the dragoons, pro- 
 ceeded to prepare it for the reception of the ladies. It was 
 a cumbrous vehicle, whose faded linings and tarnished 
 hammercloth, together with its panels of changing color, 
 denoted the want of that art which had once given it lustre 
 and beauty. The " lion couchant" of the Wharton arms 
 was reposing on the reviving splendor of a blazonry that 
 told the armorial bearings of a prince of the church; and 
 the mitre, that already began to shine through its American 
 mask, was a symbol of the rank of its original owner. The 
 chaise which conveyed Miss Singleton was also safe, for 
 the stable and outbuildings had entirely escaped the flames: 
 it certainly had been no part of the plan of the marauders 
 to leave so well-appointed a stud behind them, but the sud' 
 denness of the attack by Lawton not only disconcerted 
 their arrangements on this point, but on many others also. 
 A guard was left on the ground, under the command of 
 Hollister, who, having discovered that his enemy was of 
 mortal mould, took his position with admirable coolness, 
 and no little skill, to guard against surprise. He drew off 
 his small party to such a distance from the ruins that it 
 was effectually concealed in the darkness, while at the same 
 time the light continued sufficiently powerful to discover 
 any one who might approach the lawn with an intent to 
 plunder. 
 
 Satisfied with this judicious arrangement. Captain Law- 
 ton made his dispositions for the march. Miss Peyton, her 
 two nieces, and Isabella, were placed in the chariot, while 
 the cart of Mrs. Flanagan, amply supplied with blankets 
 and a bed, was honored with the person of Captain Single- 
 
306 THE SPY. 
 
 ton. Dr. Sitgreaves took charge of the chaise and Mr. 
 Wharton. What became of the rest of the family, during 
 that eventful night, is unknown : for Cassar alone, of the 
 domestics, was to be found, if we except the housekeeper. 
 Having disposed of the whole party in this manner. Law- 
 ton gave the word to march. He remained himself, for a 
 few minutes, alone on the lawn, secreting various pieces of 
 plate and other valuables, that he was fearful might tempt 
 the cupidity of his own men; when, perceiving nothing 
 more that he conceived likely to overcome their honesty, 
 he threw himself into the saddle with the soldierly inten- 
 tion of bringing up the rear. 
 
 " Stop, stop," cried a female voice: "will you leave me 
 alone to be murdered? The spoon is melted, I believe, and 
 I'll have compensation, if there's law or justice in this un- 
 happy land." 
 
 Lawton turned an eye in the direction of the sound, and 
 perceived a female emerging from the ruins, loaded with a 
 bundle, that vied in size with the renowned pack of the 
 peddler. 
 
 "Who have we here," said the trooper, "rising like a 
 phoenix from the flames. Oh! by the soul of Hippocrates, 
 but it is the identical she-doctor, of famous needle reputa- 
 tion. Well, good woman, what means this outcry?" 
 
 "Outcry!" echoed Katy, panting for breath; "is it not 
 disparagement enough to lose a silver spoon, but I must be 
 left alone in this lonesome place, to be robbed, and perhaps 
 murdered? Harvey would not serve me so: when I lived 
 with Harvey, I was always treated with respect, at least, if he 
 was a little close with his secrets, and wasteful of his money." 
 
 " Then, madam, you once formed part of the household 
 of Mr. Harvey Birch?" 
 
 " You may say I was the whole of his household," re- 
 turned the other; "there was nobody but I, and he, and 
 the old gentleman; you didn't know the old gentleman, 
 perhaps?" 
 
THE SPY. 307 
 
 "That happiness was denied me: how long did you live 
 in the family of Mr. Birch?" 
 
 " I disremember the precise time, but it must have been 
 hard on upon nine years: and what better am I for it 
 all?" 
 
 " Sure enough ; I can see but little benefit that you have 
 derived from the association, truly. But is there not some- 
 thing unusual in the movements and character of this Mr. 
 Birch?" 
 
 "Unusual is an easy word for such unaccountables!" re- 
 plied Katy, lowering her voice, and looking around her; 
 " he was a wonderful disregardf ul man, and minded a guinea 
 no more than I do a kernel of corn. But help me to some 
 way of joining Miss Jinitt, and I will tell you prodigies of 
 what Harvey has done, first and last." 
 
 "You will!" exclaimed the trooper, musing ; "here, give 
 me leave to feel your arm above the elbow. There — ^you 
 are not deficient in bone, let the blood be as it may." So 
 saying, he gave the spinster a sudden whirl, that effectually 
 confused all her faculties, until she found herself safely, if 
 not comfortably, seated on the crupper of Lawton's steed. 
 
 " Now, madam, you have the consolation of knowing that 
 you are as well mounted as Washington. The nag is sure 
 of foot, and will leap like a panther." 
 
 "Let me get down," cried Katy, struggling to release 
 herself from his iron grasp, and yet afraid of falling; "this 
 is no way to put a woman on a horse ; besides, I can't ride 
 without a pillion." 
 
 " Softly, good madam," said Lawton ; " for although Ro- 
 anoke never falls before, he sometimes rises behind. He 
 is far from being accustomed to a pair of heels beating 
 upon his flanks like a drum-major on a field-day; a single 
 touch of the spur will serve him for a fortnight; and it is by 
 no means wise to be kicking in this manner, for he is a 
 horse that but little likes to be outdone." 
 
 "Let me down, 1 say," screamed Katy; "I shall fall and 
 
308 THE SPT. 
 
 be killed. Besides, I have nothing to hold on with; my 
 arms are full of valuables." 
 
 "True," returned the trooper, observing that he had 
 brought bundle and all from the ground ; " I perceive that 
 you belong to the baggage-guard ; but my sword-belt will 
 encircle your little waist, as well as my own." 
 
 Katy was too much pleased with this compliment to make 
 any resistance, while he buckled her close to his own hercu- 
 lean frame, and, driving a spur into his charger, they flew 
 from the lawn with a rapidity that defied further denial. 
 After proceeding for some time, at a rate that a good deal 
 discomposed the spinster, they overtook the cart of the 
 washerwoman driving slowly over the stones, with a proper 
 consideration for .the wounds of Captain Singleton. The 
 occurrences of that eventful night had produced an excite- 
 ment in the young soldier, that was followed by the ordi- 
 nary lassitude of reaction, and he lay carefully enveloped 
 in blankets, and supported by his man, but little able to 
 converse, though deeply brooding over the past. The dia- 
 logue between Lawton and his companion ceased with the 
 commencement of their motions, but, a foot-pace being more 
 favorable to speech, the trooper began anew : 
 
 " Then, you have been an inmate in the same house with 
 Harvey Birch?" 
 
 " For more than nine years," said Katy, drawing her 
 breath, and rejoicing greatly that their speed was abated. 
 
 The deep tones of the trooper's voice were no sooner con- 
 veyed to the ears of the washerwoman, than, turning her 
 head, where she sat directing the movements of the mare, 
 she put into the discourse at the first pause : 
 
 " Belike, then, good woman, yee'r knowing whether or no 
 he's akin to Beelzeboob," said Betty ; " it's Sargeant Hol- 
 lister who's* saying the same, and no fool is the sargeant, 
 any way." 
 
 " It's a scandalous disparagement," cried Katy vehe- 
 mently; "no kinder soul than Harvey carries a pack; and 
 
THE SPV. 309 
 
 for a gownd or a tidy apron, he will never take a king's 
 farthing from a friend. Beelzebub, indeed! For what 
 would he read the Bible, if he had dealings with the evil 
 spirit?" 
 
 " He's an honest divil, any way ; as I was saying before, 
 the guinea was pure. But then the sargeant thinks him 
 amiss, and it's no want of larning that Mister Hollister 
 has." 
 
 "He's a fool!" said Katy tartly; " Harvey might be a 
 man of substance, were he not so disregardful. How often 
 have I told him, that if he did nothing but peddle, and 
 would put his gains to use and get married, so that things 
 at home could be kept within doors, and leave off his deal- 
 ings with the rig'lars, and all incumberments, that he would 
 soon become an excellent liver. Sargeant Hollister would 
 be glad to hold a candle to him, indeed !" 
 
 "Pooh!" said Betty, in her philosophical way; "yee'r no 
 thinking that Mister Hollister is an officer, and stands next 
 the cornet, in the troop. But this piddler gave warning of 
 the brush the night, and it's no sure that Captain Jack 
 would have got the day, but for the reinforcement." 
 
 "How say you, Betty," cried the trooper, bending for- 
 ward on his saddle, "had you notice of our danger from 
 Birch.?" 
 
 "The very same, darling; and it's hurry I was till the 
 boys was in motion ; not but I knew ye're enough for the 
 Cow-Boys any time, But wid the divil on your side, I was 
 sure of the day. I'm only wondering there's so little plun- 
 der in a business of Beelzeboob's contriving." 
 
 " I'm obliged to you for the rescue, and equally indebted 
 to the motive." 
 
 "Is it the plunder? But little did I tink of it till I saw 
 the movables on the ground, some burnt, and some broke, 
 and other some as good as new. It would be convanient to 
 have one feather bed in the corps> any way." 
 
 "By heavens, 'twas timely succor! Had not Roanoke 
 
3IO THE SPY. 
 
 been swifter than their bullets, I must have fallen. The 
 animal is worth his weight in gold." 
 
 " It's Continental, you mane, darling. Goold weighs 
 heavy, and is no plenty in the States. If the nagur hadn't 
 been staying and frighting the sargeant with his copper- 
 colored looks, and a matter of blarney 'bout ghosts, we 
 should have been in time to have killed all the dogs, and 
 taken the rest prisoners." 
 
 " It is very well as it is, Betty," said Lawton ; " a day 
 will yet come, I trust, when these miscreants shall be re- 
 warded, if not in judgments upon their persons, at least in 
 the opinions of their fellow-citizens. The time must arrive 
 when America will learn to distinguish between a patriot 
 and a robber." 
 
 " Speak low," said Katy; "there's some who think much 
 of themselves, that have doings with the Skinners." 
 
 " It's more they are thinking of themselves, then, than 
 other people thinks of them," cried Betty ; " a tief's a tief , any 
 way; whether he stales for King George or for Congress." 
 
 "I know'd that evil would soon happen," said Katy; 
 " the sun set to-night behind a black cloud, and the house- 
 dog whined, although I gave him his supper with my own 
 hands; besides, it's not a week sin' I dreamed the dream 
 about the thousand lighted candles, and the cakes being 
 burnt in the oven." 
 
 "Well," said Betty, "it's but little I drame, anyway. 
 Jist keep an asy conscience and a plenty of the stuff in yee, 
 and ye'U sleep like an infant. The last drame I had was 
 when the boys put the thistle-tops in the blankets, and then 
 I was thinking that Captain Jack's man was currying me 
 down for the matter of Roanoke; but it's no trifle I mind 
 either in skin or stomach." 
 
 " I'm sure," said Katy, with a stiff erection that drew 
 Lawton back in his saddle, " no man shall ever dare to lay 
 hands on bed of mine; it's undecent and despisable con- 
 duct" 
 
THE SPY. 311 
 
 "Pooh! pooh!" cried Betty; " if you tag after a troop of 
 horse, a small bit of a joke must be borne; what would be- 
 come of the States and liberty, if the boys had never a clane 
 shirt, or a drop to comfort them ? Ask Captain Jack, there, 
 if they'd fight, Mrs. Beelzeboob, and they no clane linen to 
 keep the victory in." 
 
 "I'm a single woman, and my name is Haynes,'' said 
 Katy, " and I'd thank you to use no disparaging terms when 
 speaking to me." 
 
 " You must tolerate a little license in the tongue of Mrs. 
 Flanagan, madam," said the trooper; "the drop she speaks 
 of is often of an extraordinary size, and then she has ac- 
 quired the freedom of a soldier's manner. 
 
 "Pooh! captain, darling," cried Betty, "why do you 
 bother the woman ? Talk like yeerself , dear, and it's no fool 
 of a tongue that yee've got in yeer own head. But it's here 
 away that the sargeant made a halt, thinking there might 
 be more divils than one stirring, the night. The clouds 
 are as black as Arnold's heart, and deuce the star is there 
 twinkling among them. Well, the mare is used to a march 
 after nightfall, and is smelling out the road like a pointer 
 slut." 
 
 " It wants but little to the rising moon," observed the 
 trooper. He called a dragoon, who was riding in advance, 
 issued a few orders and cautions relative to the comfort and 
 safety of Singleton, and, speaking a consoling word to his 
 friend himself, gave Roanoke the spur, and dashed by the 
 cart, at a rate that again put to flight all the philosophy of 
 Catharine Haynes. 
 
 "Good luck to yee, for a free rider and a bold!" shouted 
 the washerwoman, as he passed; " if yee're meeting Mister 
 Beelzeboob, jist back the baste up to him, and show him 
 his consort that yee've got on the crupper. I'm thinking 
 It's no long he'd tarry to chat. Well, well, it's his life that 
 we saved, he was saying so himself — though the plunder is 
 nothing to signify." 
 
312 
 
 THE SPY. 
 
 The cries of Betty Flanagan were too familiar to the ears 
 of Captain Lawton to elicit a reply. Notwithstanding the 
 unusual burden that Roanoke sustained, he got over the 
 ground with great rapidity, and the distance between the 
 cart of Mrs. Flanagan and the chariot of Miss Peyton was 
 passed in a manner that, however it answered the intentions 
 of the trooper, in no degree contributed to the comfort of his 
 companion. The meeting occurred but a short distance 
 from the quarters of Lawton, and at the same instant the 
 moon broke from behind a mass of clouds, and threw its 
 light upon objects. 
 
 Compared with the simple elegance and substantial com- 
 fort of the Locusts, the " Hotel Flanagan" presented but a 
 dreary spectacle. In the place of carpeted floors and cur- 
 tained windows, were the yawning cracks of a rudely con- 
 structed dwelling, and boards and paper were ingeniously 
 applied to supply the place of the green glass in more than 
 half the lights. The care of Lawton had anticipated every 
 improvement that their situation would allow, and blazing 
 fires were made before the party arrived. The dragoons 
 who had been charged with this duty had conveyed a few 
 necessary articles of furniture, and Miss Peyton and her 
 companions, on alighting, found something like habitable 
 apartments prepared for their reception. The mind of 
 Sarah had continued to wander during the ride, and, with 
 the ingenuity of the insane, she accommodated every cir- 
 cumstance to the feelings that were uppermost in her own 
 bosom. 
 
 " It is impossible to minister to a mind that has sustained 
 such a blow," said Lawton to Isabella Singleton; "time and 
 God's mercy can alone cure it ; but something more may be 
 done toward the bodily comfort of all. You are a soldier's 
 daughter, and used to scenes like this; help me to exclude 
 some of the cold air from these windows.'' 
 
 Miss Singleton acceded to his request, and while Lawton 
 was endeavoring, from without, to remedy the defect of 
 
THE SPY. 313 
 
 broken panes, Isabella was arranging a substitute for a cur- 
 tain within. 
 
 " I hear the cart," said the trooper, in reply to one of her in- 
 terrogatories. " Betty is tender-hearted in the main ; believe 
 me, poor George will not only be safe, but comfortable." 
 
 "God bless her, for her care, and bless you all," said 
 Isabella fervently. "Dr. Sitgreaves has gone down the 
 road to meet him, I know — what is that glittering in the 
 moon?" 
 
 Directly opposite the window where they stood were the 
 out-buildings of the farm, and the quick eye of Lawton 
 caught at a glance the object to which she alluded. 
 
 " 'Tis the glare of firearms," said the trooper, springing 
 from the window toward his charger, which yet remained 
 caparisoned at the door. His movement was quick as 
 thought, but a flash of fire was followed by the whistling 
 of a bullet, before he had proceeded a step. A loud shriek 
 burst from the dwelling, and the captain sprang into his 
 saddle: the whole was the business of but a moment. 
 
 "Mount — mount, and follow!" shouted the trooper ; and 
 before his astonished men could understand the cause of 
 alarm, Roanoke had carried him in safety over the fence 
 which lay between him and his foe. The chase was for life 
 or death, but the distance to the rocks was again too short, 
 and the disappointed trooper saw his intended victim van- 
 ish in their clefts, where he could not follow. 
 
 " By the life of Washington," muttered Lawton, as he 
 sheathed his sabre, " I would have made two halves of him 
 had he not been so nimble on the foot — but a time will 
 corfie!" So saying, he returned to his quarters, with the 
 indifference of a man who knew his life was at any moment 
 to be offered a sacrifice to his country. An extraordinary 
 tumult in the house induced him to quicken his speed, and 
 on arriving at the door, the panic-stricken Katy informed 
 him that the bullet, aimed at his own life, had taken effect 
 in the bosom of Miss Singleton. 
 
314 THE SPY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 HushM were his Gertrude's lips ! but still their bland 
 And beautiful expression seem'd to melt 
 With love that could not die ! and still his hand 
 She presses to the heart no more that felt. 
 
 Gertrude of IVyatuing. 
 
 The brief arrangements oE the dragoons had prepared two 
 apartments for the reception of the ladies, the one being in- 
 tended as a sleeping-room, and situated within the other. 
 Into the latter Isabella was immediately conveyed, at her 
 own request, and placed on a rude bed by the side of the 
 unconscious Sarah. When Miss Peyton and Frances flew 
 to her assistance, they found her with a smile on her pallid 
 lip, and a composure in her countenance, that induced them 
 to think her uninjured. 
 
 "God be praised!" exclaimed the trembling aunt; "the 
 report of firearms, and your fall, had led me into an error. 
 Surely, surely, there was enough of horror before ; but this 
 has been spared us." 
 
 Isabella pressed her hand upon her bosom, still smiling, 
 but with a ghastliness that curdled the blood of Frances. 
 
 " Is George far distant?" she asked, " let him know — has- 
 ten him, that I may see my brother once again." 
 
 "It is as I apprehended!" shrieked Miss Peyton; "but 
 you smile — surely you are not hurt!" 
 
 " Quite well — quite happy," murmured Isabella ; " here 
 is a remedy for every pain." 
 
 Sarah arose from the reclining posture she had taken.'and 
 gazed wildly at her companion. She stretched forth her 
 own hand, and raised that of Isabella from her bosom. It 
 was dyed in blood. 
 
 "See," said Sarah, "but will it not wash away love? 
 Marry, young woman, and then no one can expel him from 
 your heart, unless" — she added, whispering, and bending 
 
THE SPY. 315 
 
 over the other, — " you find another there before you ; then 
 die, and go to heaven — there are no wives in heaven." 
 
 The lovely maniac hid her face under the clothes, and 
 continued silent during the remainder of the night. At 
 this moment Lawton entered. Inured as he was to danger 
 in all its forms, and accustomed to the horrors of a partisan 
 war, the trooper could not behold the ruin before him, un- 
 moved. He bent over the fragile form of Isabella, and his 
 gloomy eye betrayed the workings of his soul. 
 
 " Isabella," he at length uttered, " I know you to possess 
 a courage beyond the strength of women." 
 
 "Speak," she said earnestly; "if you have anything to 
 say, speak fearlessly." 
 
 The trooper averted his face as he replied, " None ever 
 receive a ball there, and survive." 
 
 "I have no dread of death, Lawton," returned Isabella; 
 " I thank you for not doubting me ; I felt it from the first." 
 
 " These are not scenes for a form like yours," added the 
 trooper: "'tis enough that Britain calls our youth to the 
 field; but when such loveliness becomes the victim of war 
 I sicken of my trade." 
 
 " Hear me. Captain Lawton," said Isabella, raising her- 
 self with difficulty, but rejecting aid: "from early woman- 
 hood to the present hour have I been an inmate of camps 
 and garrisons. I have lived to cheer the leisure of an aged 
 father, and think you I would change those days of danger 
 and privation for any ease ? No ! I have the consolation of 
 knowing, in my dying moments, that what woman could do 
 in such a cause I have done." 
 
 "Who could prove a recreant, and witness such a spirit! 
 Hundreds of warriors have I witnessed in their blood, but 
 never a firmer soul among them all." 
 
 " 'Tis the soul only," said Isabella ; " my sex and strength 
 have denied me the dearest of privileges. But to you, Cap- 
 tain Lawton, nature has been more bountiful : you have an 
 arm and a heart to devote to the cause ; and I know they 
 
3l6 THE SPY. 
 
 are an arm and a heart that will prove true to the last. And 
 
 George — and " she paused, her lip quivered, and her eye 
 
 sunk to the floor. 
 
 "And Dunwoodie!" added the trooper; "would you 
 speak of Dunwoodie?" 
 
 "Name him not," said Isabella, sinking back, and con- 
 cealing her face in her garments : " leave me, Lawton — pre- 
 pare poor George for this unexpected blow.'' 
 
 The trooper continued for a little while gazing, in melan- 
 choly interest, at the convulsive shudderings of her frame, 
 which the scanty covering could not conceal, and withdrew 
 to meet his comrade. The interview between Singleton and 
 his sister was painful, and, for a moment, Isabella yielded 
 to a burst of tenderness; but, as if aware that her hours 
 were numbered, she was the first to rouse herself to exer- 
 tion. At her earnest request, the room was left to herself, 
 the captain, and Frances. The repeated applications of the 
 surgeon, to be permitted to use professional aid, were stead- 
 ily rejected, and at length he was obliged unwillingly to 
 retire. 
 
 " Raise me," said the dying young woman, " and let me 
 look on a face that I love, once more." Frances silently 
 complied, and Isabella turned her eyes in sisterly affection 
 upon George. "It matters but little, my brother; — a few 
 hours must close the scene." 
 
 "Live, Isabella, my sister, my only sister!" cried the 
 youth, with a burst of sorrow that he could not control ; 
 " my father ! my poor f ather^ " 
 
 " There is the sting of death ; but he is a soldier and a 
 Christian. Miss Wharton, I would speak of what interests 
 you, while yet I have strength for the task." 
 
 "Nay," said Frances tenderly, "compose yourself; let 
 no desire to oblige me endanger a life that is precious to — 
 to — so many." The words were nearly stifled by her emo- 
 tions, for the other had touched a chord that thrilled to her 
 heart. 
 
THE SPY. 317 
 
 "Poor, sensitive girl!" said Isabella, regarding her with 
 tender interest; "but the world is still before you, and why 
 should I disturb the little happiness it may afford! Dream 
 on, lovely innocent! and may God keep the evil day of 
 knowledge far distant!" 
 
 " Oh, there is even now little left for me to enjoy," said 
 Frances, burying her face in the clothes ; " I am heart- 
 stricken, in all that I most loved." 
 
 "No!" interrupted Isabella; " you have one inducement 
 to wish for life, that pleads strongly in a woman's breast. 
 It is a delusion that nothing but death can destroy " Ex- 
 haustion compelled her to pause, and her auditors continued 
 in breathless suspense, until, recovering her strength, she 
 laid her hand on that of Frances, and continued more mildly -. 
 " Miss Wharton, if there breathes a spirit congenial to Dun- 
 woodie's, and worthy of his love, it is your own." 
 
 A flush of fire passed over the face of the listener, and 
 she raised her eyes, flashing with an ungovernable look of 
 delight, to the countenance of Isabella; but the ruin she 
 beheld recalled better feelings, and again her head dropped 
 upon the covering of the bed. Isabella watched her emo- 
 tion with a look that partook both of pity and admiration. 
 
 " Such have been the feelings that I have escaped," she 
 continued; "yes. Miss Wharton, Dunwoodie is wholly 
 yours." 
 
 " Be just to yourself, my sister," exclaimed the youth ; 
 " let no romantic generosity cause you to forget your own 
 cliaracter." 
 
 She heard him, and fixed a gaze of tender interest on his 
 face, but slowly shook her head as she replied : 
 
 " It is not romance, but truth, that bids me speak. Oh ! 
 how much have I lived within an hour! Miss Wharton, I 
 was born under a burning sun, and my feelings seem to 
 have imbibed its warmth ; I have existed for passion only." 
 
 " Say not so — say not so, I implore you," cried the agi- 
 tated brother; "think how devoted has been your love to 
 
3l8 THE SPY. 
 
 our aged father; how disinterested, how tender, your affec- 
 tion to me!" 
 
 " Yes," said Isabella, a smile of mild pleasure beaming 
 on her countenance ; " that, at least, is a reflection which 
 may be taken to the grave." 
 
 Neither Frances nor her brother interrupted her medita- 
 tions, which continued for several minutes ; when, suddenly 
 recollecting herself, she continued: 
 
 "I remain selfish even to the last; with me, Miss Whar- 
 ton, America and her liberties was my earliest passion, 
 
 and " Again she paused, and Frances tliought it was the 
 
 struggle of death that followed ; but reviving, she proceeded : 
 " Why should I hesitate, on the brink of the grave ! Dun- 
 woodie was my next and my last. But," burying her face 
 in her hands, " it was a love that was unsought." 
 
 "Isabella!" exclaimed her brother, springing from the 
 bed, and pacing the floor in disorder. 
 
 " See how dependent we become under the dominion of 
 worldly pride ; it is painful to George to learn that one he 
 loves had not feelings superior to her nature and education." 
 
 " Say no more," whispered Frances ; " you distress us 
 both — say no more, I entreat you." 
 
 " In justice to Dunwoodie I must speak; and for the same 
 reason, my brother, you must listen. By no act or word has 
 Dunwoodie ever induced me to believe he wished me more 
 than a friend: nay, latterly, I have had the burning shame 
 of thinking that he avoided my presence." 
 
 "Would he dare!" said Singleton fiercely. 
 
 " Peace, my brother, and listen," continued Isabella, 
 rousing herself with an effort that was final; "here is the 
 innocent, the justifiable cause. We are both motherless; 
 but that aunt — that mild, plain-hearted, observing aunt, has 
 given you the victory. Oh ! how much she loses, who loses 
 a female guardian to her youth. I have exhibited those 
 feelings which you have been taught to repress. After this, 
 can I wish to live?" 
 
THE SPY. 
 
 319 
 
 "Isabella! my poor Isabella 1 you wander in your 
 mind." 
 
 " But one word more — for I feel that blood, which ever 
 flowed too swiftly, rushing where nature never intended it 
 t9 go. Woman must be sought to be prized; her life is 
 one of concealed emotions; blessed are they whose early 
 impressions make the task free from hypocrisy, for such 
 only can be happy with men like — like Dunwoodie." Her 
 voice failed, and she sunk back on her pillow in silence. 
 The cry of Singleton brought the rest of the party to her 
 bedside, but death was already upon her countenance; her 
 remaining strength just sufficed to reach the hand of George, 
 and, pressing it to her bosom for a moment, she relinquished 
 her grasp, and, with a slight convulsion, expired. 
 
 Frances Wharton had thought that fate had done its 
 worst, in endangering the life of her brother, and destroy- 
 ing the reason of her sister; but the relief conveyed by the 
 dying declaration of Isabella taught her that another sorrow 
 had aided in loading her heart with grief. She saw the 
 whole truth at a glance; nor was the manly delicacy of 
 Dunwoodie lost upon her — everything tended to raise him 
 in her estimation; and, for mourning that duty and pride 
 had induced her to strive to think less of him, she was com- 
 pelled to substitute regret that her own act had driven him 
 from her in sorrow, if not in desperation. It is not in the 
 nature of youth, however, to despair; and Frances knew a 
 secret joy in the midst of their distress, that gave a new 
 spring to her existence. 
 
 The sun broke forth, on the morning that succeeded this 
 night of desolation, in unclouded lustre, and seemed to 
 mock the petty sorrows of those who received his rays. 
 Lawton had early ordered his steed, and was ready to mount 
 as the first burst of light broke over the hills. His orders 
 were already given, and the trooper threw his leg across the 
 saddle, in silence; and, casting a glance of fierce chagrin 
 at the narrow space that had favored the flight of the Skin- 
 
320 THE SPY. 
 
 ner, he gave Roanoke the rein, and moved slowly toward 
 the valley. 
 
 The stillness of death pervaded the road, nor was there a 
 single vestige of the scenes of the night, to tarnish the love- 
 liness of a glorious morn. Struck with the contrast between 
 man and nature, the fearless trooper rode by each pass of 
 danger, regardless of what might happen ; nor did he rouse 
 himself from his musing, until the noble charger, snuffing 
 the morning air, greeted the steeds of the guard under Ser- 
 geant HoUister. 
 
 Here, indeed, was to be seen sad evidence of the mid- 
 night fray ; but the trooper glanced his eye over it with the 
 coolness of one accustomed to such sights. Without wast- 
 ing the moments in useless regrets, he proceeded at once to 
 business : 
 
 " Have you seen anything?" he demanded of the orderly. 
 
 " Nothing, sir, that we dared to charge upon," returned 
 HoUister; "but we mounted once, at the report of distant 
 firearms." 
 
 " 'Tis well," said Lawton gloomily. "Ah! HoUister, I 
 would give the animal I ride, to have had your single arm 
 between the wretch who drew that trigger and these useless 
 rocks, which overhang every bit of ground, as if they grudged 
 pasture to a single hoof." 
 
 " Under the light of day, and charging man to man, I am 
 as good as another; but I can't say that I'm over fond of 
 fighting with those that neither steel nor lead can bring 
 down." 
 
 " What silly crotchet is uppermost, now, in that mystified 
 brain of thine, Deacon HoUister?" 
 
 " I like not the dark object that has been manoeuvring in 
 the skirt of the wood since the first dawn of day; and twice, 
 during the night, it was seen marching across the fire-light, 
 no doubt with evil intent." 
 
 " Is it yon ball of black, at the foot of the rock-maple, 
 that you mean ? In truth it moves." 
 
THE SPY. 321 
 
 " But without mortal motion," said the sergeant, regarding 
 it with awful reverence : " it glides along, but no feet have 
 been seen by any who watch here." 
 
 " Had it wings," cried Lawton, " it is mine ; stand fast, 
 until I join." The words were hardly uttered before Roa- 
 noke was flying across the plain, and apparently verifying 
 the boast of his master. 
 
 "Those cursed rocks!" ejaculated the trooper, as he saw 
 the object of his pursuit approaching the hill-side; but, 
 either from want of practice or from terror, it passed the 
 obvious shelter they offered, and fled into the open plain. 
 
 "I have you, man or devil!" shouted Lawton, whirling 
 his sabre from its scabbard. " Halt, and take quarter!" 
 
 His proposition was apparently acceded to; for, at the 
 sound of his powerful voice, the figure sunk upon the ground, 
 exhibiting a shapeless ball of black, without life or motion. 
 
 "What have we here?" cried Lawton, drawing up by its 
 side; "a gala suit of the good maiden, Jeanette Peyton, 
 wandering around its birthplace, or searching in vain for its 
 discomfited mistress?" He leaned forward in his stirrups 
 and, placing the point of his sword under the silken gar- 
 ment, by throwing aside the covering discovered part of the 
 form of the reverend gentleman who had fled from the Lo- 
 custs, the evening before, in his robes of office. 
 
 "In truth, HoUister had some ground for his alarm; an 
 army chaplain is, at any time, a terror to a troop of horse." 
 
 The clergyman had collected enough of his disturbed 
 faculties to discover that it was a face he knew, and, some- 
 what disconcerted at the terror he had manifested, and the 
 indecent attitude in which he had been found, he endeav- 
 ored to rise, and offer some explanation. Lawton received 
 his apologies good-humoredly, if not with much faith in 
 their truth; and, after a short communication upon the 
 state of the valley, the trooper courteously alighted, and 
 they proceeded toward the guard. 
 
 " I am so little acquainted, sir, with the rebel uniform. 
 
 31 
 
322 THE SPY. 
 
 that I really was unable to distinguish whether those men, 
 whom you say are your own, did or did not belong to the 
 gang of marauders." 
 
 " Apology, sir, is unnecessary," replied the trooper, curl- 
 ing his lip ; it is not your task, as a minister of God, to take 
 note of the facings of a coat. The standard under which 
 you serve is acknowledged by us all." 
 
 " I serve under the standard of his gracious majesty, 
 George III.," returned the priest, wiping the cold sweat 
 from his brow ; " but really the idea of being scalped has 
 a strong tendency to unman a new beginner, like myself." 
 
 "Scalped!" echoed Lawton, stopping short in his walk; 
 then recollecting himself, he added, with composure, "If 
 it is to Dunwoodie's squadron of Virginia light dragoons 
 that you allude, it may be well to inform you that they gen- 
 erally take a bit of the skull with the skin." 
 
 " Oh ! I can have no apprehensions of gentlemen of your 
 appearance," said the divine, with a smirk; " it is the na- 
 tives that I apprehend." 
 
 " Natives ! I have the honor to be one, I do assure you, 
 sir." 
 
 " Nay, I beg that I may be understood — I mean the In- 
 dians; they who do nothing but rob, and murder, and 
 destroy." 
 
 "And scalp!" 
 
 " Yes, sir, and scalp too," continued the clergyman, eye- 
 ing his companion a little suspiciously; "the copper- 
 colored, savage Indians." 
 
 " And did you expect to meet those nose-jewelled gentry 
 in the neutral ground?" 
 
 " Certainly ; we understand in England that the interior 
 swarms with them." 
 
 "And call you this the interior of America?" cried Law- 
 ton, again halting, and staring the other in the face, with a 
 surprise too naturally expressed to be counterfeited. 
 
 " Surely, sir, I conceive myself to be in the interior." 
 
THE SPY. 323 
 
 " Attend," said Lawton, pointing toward the east; "see 
 you not that broad sheet of water which the eye cannot 
 compass? Thither lies the England you deem worthy to hold 
 dominion over half the world. See you the land of your 
 nativity ?'' 
 
 " 'Tis impossible to behold objects at a distance of three 
 thousand miles!" exclaimed the wondering priest, a little 
 suspicious of his companion's sanity. 
 
 " No ! what a pity it is that the powers of man are not 
 equal to his ambition. Now turn your eyes westward ; ob- 
 serve that vast expanse of water which rolls between the 
 shores of America and China." 
 
 "I see nothing but land," said the trembling priest; 
 " there is no water to be seen." 
 
 " 'Tis impossible to behold objects at a distance of three 
 thousand miles!" repeated Lawton, pursuing his walk: " if 
 you apprehend the savages, seek them in the ranks of your 
 prince. Rum and gold have preserved their loyalty." 
 
 " Nothing is more probable than my being deceived," 
 said the man of peace, casting furtive glances at the colossal 
 stature andwhiskeredfrontofhiscompanion; " but the rumors 
 we have at home, and the uncertainty of meeting with such 
 an enemy as yourself, induced me to fly at your approach." 
 
 " 'Twas not judiciously determined," said the trooper, 
 " as Roanoke has the heels of you greatly ; and flying from 
 Scylla, you were liable to encounter Charybdis. Those 
 woods and rocks cover the very enemies you dread." 
 
 "The savages!" exclaimed the divine, instinctively plac- 
 ing the trooper in the rear. 
 
 " More than savages ; men who, under the guise of pa- 
 triotism, prowl through the community, with a thirst for 
 plunder that is unsatiable, and a love of cruelty that mocks 
 the ingenuity of the Indian. Fellows whose mouths are 
 filled with liberty and equality, and whose hearts are over- 
 flowing with cupidity and gall — gentlemen that are yclep'd 
 the Skinners." 
 
324 THE SPY. 
 
 " I have heard them mentioned in our army," said the 
 frightened divine, " and had thought them to be the aborig- 
 ines." 
 
 " You did the savages injustice." 
 
 They now approached the spot occupied by Hollister, 
 who witnessed with surprise the character of the prisoner 
 made by his captain. Lawton gave his orders, and the 
 men immediately commenced securing and removing such 
 articles of furniture as were thought worthy of the trouble; 
 and the captain, with his reverend associate, who was 
 mounted on a mettled horse, returned to the quarters of 
 the troop. 
 
 It was the wish of Singleton that the remains of his sis- 
 ter should be conveyed to the post commanded by his 
 father, and preparations were early made to this effect. 
 The wounded British were placed under the control of the 
 chaplain; and toward the middle of the day Lawton saw all 
 the arrangements so far completed as to render it probable 
 that in a few hours he would be left, with his small party, 
 in undisturbed possession of the Corners. 
 
 While leaning in the doorway, gazing in moody silence 
 at the ground which had been the scene of the last night's 
 chase, his ear caught the sound of a horse, and the next 
 moment a dragoon of his own troop appeared dashing up 
 the road, as if on business of the last importance. The 
 steed was foaming, and the rider had the appearance of 
 having done a hard day's service. Without speaking, he 
 placed a letter in the hand of Lawton, and led his charger 
 to the stable. The trooper knew the hand of the major, 
 and ran his eye over the following: 
 
 " I rejoice it is the order of Washington, that the family 
 of the Locusts are to be removed above the Highlands. 
 They are to be admitted to the society of Captain Wharton, 
 who waits only for their testimony to be tried. You will 
 communicate this order, and with proper delicacy I do not 
 
THE SPY. 325 
 
 doubt The English are moving up the river; and the mo- 
 ment you see the Whartons in safety, break up, and join 
 your troop. There will be good service to be done when 
 we meet, as Sir Henry is reported to have sent out a real 
 soldier in command. Reports must be made to the com- 
 mandant at Peekskill, for Colonel Singleton is withdrawn 
 to headquarters, to preside over the inquiry upon poor 
 Wharton. Fresh orders have been sent to hang the peddler 
 if we can take him, but they are not from the commander- 
 in-chief. — Detail a small guard with the ladies, and get 
 into the saddle as soon as possible. 
 
 " Yours, sincerely, 
 
 "Peyton Dunwoodie." 
 
 This communication entirely changed the whole arrange- 
 ment. There was no longer any motive for removing the 
 body of Isabella, since her father was no longer with his 
 command, and Singleton reluctantly acquiesced in an im- 
 mediate interment. A retired and lovely spot was selected, 
 near the foot of the adjacent rocks, and such rude prepara- 
 tions were made as the time and the situation of the coun- 
 try permitted. A few of the neighboring inhabitants col- 
 lected from curiosity and interest, and Miss Peyton and 
 Frances wept in sincerity over her grave. The solemn 
 offices of the church were performed by the minister, who 
 had so lately stood forth to officiate in another and very 
 different duty; and Lawton bent his head, and passed his 
 hand across his brow, while the words that accompanied the 
 first clod were uttered. 
 
 A new stimulus was given to the Whartons by the intelli- 
 gence conveyed in the letter of Dunwoodie; and Caesar, 
 with his horses, was once more put in requisition. The 
 relics of the property were entrusted to a neighbor, in whom 
 they had confidence; and, accompanied by the unconscious 
 Sarah, and attended by four dragoons and all of the Ameri- 
 can wounded, Mr. Wharton's party took their departure. 
 
326 THE SPY. 
 
 They were speedily followed by the English chaplain, with 
 his countrymen, who were conveyed to the water-side, where 
 a vessel was in waiting to receive them. Lawton joyfully 
 witnessed these movements ; and as soon as the latter were 
 out of sight, he ordered his own bugle to sound. Every- 
 thing was instantly in motion. The mare of Mrs. Flanagan 
 was again fastened to the cart ; Dr. Sitgreaves exhibited his 
 shapeless form once more on horseback; and the trooper 
 appeared in the saddle, rejoicing in his emancipation. 
 
 The word to march was given ; and Lawton, throwing a 
 look of sullen ferocity at the place of the Skinner's con- 
 cealment, and another of melancholy regret toward the 
 grave of Isabella, led the way, accompanied by the surgeon 
 in a brown study; while Sergeant Hollister and Betty 
 brought up the rear, leaving a fresh southerly wind to whis- 
 tle through the open doors and broken windows of the 
 " Hotel Flanagan," where the laugh of hilarity, the joke of 
 the hardy partisan, and the lamentations of the sorrowing, 
 had so lately echoed. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 No vernal blooms their torpid rocks array. 
 But winter, lingering, chills the lap of May ; 
 No zephyr fondly sues the mountain's breast. 
 But meteors glare, and stormy glooms invest. 
 
 Goldsmith. 
 
 The roads of West-Chester are, at this hour, below the im- 
 provements of the country. Their condition at the time 
 of the tale has already been alluded to in these pages; and 
 the reader will, therefore, easily imagine the task assumed 
 by Caesar, when he undertook to guide the translated chariot 
 of the English prelate through their windings, into one of 
 the less frequented passes of the Highlands of the Hudson, 
 While Caesar and his steeds were contending with these 
 difficulties, the inmates of the carriage were too much en- 
 
THE SPY, 327 
 
 grossed with their own cares to attend to those who served 
 them. The mind of Sarah had ceased to wander so wildly 
 as at first; but at every advance that she made toward 
 reason, she seemed to retire a step from animation; from 
 being excited and flighty, she was gradually becoming 
 moody and melancholy. There were moments, indeed, 
 when her anxious companions thought that they could dis- 
 cern marks of recollection; but the expression of exquisite 
 woe that accompanied these transient gleams of reason 
 forced them to the dreadful alternative of wishing that she 
 might forever be spared the agony of thought. The day's 
 march was performed chiefly in silence, and the party found 
 shelter for the night in different farmhouses. 
 
 The following morning the cavalcade dispersed. The 
 wounded diverged toward the river, with the intention of 
 taking water at Peekskill, in order to be transported to the 
 hospitals of the American army above. The litter of Sin- 
 gleton was conveyed to a part of the Highlands where his 
 father held his quarters, and where it was intended that the 
 youth should complete his cure ; the carriage of Mr. Whar- 
 ton, accompanied by a wagon conveying the housekeeper 
 and what baggage had been saved, and could be trans- 
 ported, resumed its route toward the place where Henry 
 Wharton was held in duresse, and where he only waited 
 their arrival to be put on trial for his life. 
 
 The country which lies between the waters of the Hudson 
 and Long Island Sound is, for the first forty miles from 
 their junction, a succession of hills and dales. The land 
 bordering on the latter then becomes less abrupt, and grad- 
 ually assumes a milder appearance, until it finally melts 
 into the lovely plains and meadows of the Connecticut. 
 But as you approach the Hudson, the rugged aspect in- 
 creases, until you at length meet with the formidable bar- 
 rier of the Highlands. Here the Neutral Ground ceased. 
 The royal army held the two points of land that com- 
 manded the southern entrance of the river into the moun- 
 
328 THE SPY. 
 
 tains; but all the remaining passes were guarded by the 
 Americans. 
 
 We have already stated that the pickets of the Continen- 
 tal army were sometimes pushed low into the country, and 
 that the hamlet of the White Plains was occasionally main- 
 tained by parties of its troops. At other times, the ad- 
 vanced guards were withdrawn to the northern extremity of 
 the county, and, as has been shown, the intermediate coun- 
 try was abandoned to the ravages of the miscreants who 
 plundered between both armies, serving neither. 
 
 The road taken by our party was not the one that com- 
 municates between the two principal cities of the State, but 
 was a retired and unfrequented pass, that to this hour is 
 but little known, and which, entering the hills near the east- 
 ern boundary, emerges into the plain above, many miles 
 from the Hudson. 
 
 It would have been impossible for the tired steeds of Mr. 
 Wharton to drag the heavy chariot up the lengthened and 
 steep ascents which now lay before them; and a pair of 
 country horses were procured, with but little regard to their 
 owner's wishes, by the two dragoons who still continued to 
 accompany the party. With their assistance, Caesar was 
 enabled to advance, by slow and toilsome steps, into the 
 bosom of the hills. Willing to relieve her own melancholy 
 by breathing a fresher air, and also to lessen the weight, 
 Frances alighted as they reached the foot of the mountain. 
 She found that Katy had made similar preparations, with 
 the like intention of walking to the summit. It was near 
 the setting of the sun, and, from the top of the mountain, 
 their guard had declared that the end of their journey might 
 be discerned. Frances moved forward with the elastic step 
 of youth ; and, followed by the housekeeper at a little dis- 
 tance, she soon lost sight of the sluggish carriage, that was 
 slowly toiling up the hill, occasionally halting to allow the 
 cattle to breathe. 
 
 "Oh, Miss Fanny, what dreadful times these be!" said 
 
THE SPY. 329 
 
 Katy, when they paused for breath themselves ; " I know'd 
 that calamity was about to befall, ever sin' the streak of 
 blood was seen in the clouds." 
 
 "There has been blood-upon earth, Katy, though but lit- 
 tle is ever seen in the clouds." 
 
 "Not blood in the clouds!" echoed the housekepeer ; 
 "yes, that there has, often, and comets with fiery, smoking 
 tails. Didn't people see armed men in the heavens, the 
 year the war begun ? and, the night before the battle of the 
 Plains, wasn't there thunder, like the cannon themselves? — 
 Ah ! Miss Fanny, I'm fearful that no good can follow rebel- 
 lion against the Lord's anointed!" 
 
 " These events are certainly dreadful," returned Frances, 
 " and enough to sicken the stoutest heart. But what can be 
 done, Katy? Gallant and independent men are unwilling 
 to submit to oppression; and I am fearful that such scenes 
 are but too common in war." 
 
 " If I could but see anything to fight about," said Katy, 
 renewing her walk as the young lady proceeded, " I shouldn't 
 mind it so much. 'Twas said the king wanted all the tea 
 for his own family at one time; and then again, that he 
 meant the colonies should pay over to him all their earn- 
 ings. Now this is matter enough to fight about — for I'm 
 sure that no one, however he may be lord or king, has a 
 right to the hard earnings of another. Then it was all con- 
 tradicted, and some said Washington wanted to be king 
 himself; so that, between the two, one doesn't know which 
 to believe." 
 
 " Believe neither — for neither is true. I do not pretend 
 to understand, myself, all the merits of this war, Katy ; but 
 to me it seems unnatural, that a country like this should be 
 ruled by another so distant as England." 
 
 " So I have heard Harvey say to his father, that is dead 
 in his grave," returned Katy, approaching nearer to the 
 young lady, and lowering her voice. " Many is the good 
 time that I've listened to them talking, when all the neigh- 
 
33© THE SPY. 
 
 borhood was asleep; and such conversations, Miss Fanny, 
 that you can have no idea on! — Well, to say the truth, 
 Harvey was a mystified body, and he was like the winds in 
 the good book; no one could tell whence he came, or whither 
 he went." 
 
 ■ Frances glanced her eye at her companion with an appar- 
 ent desire to hear more. 
 
 "There are rumors abroad relative to the character of 
 Harvey," she said, " that I should be sorry were true." 
 
 "'Tis a disparagement, every word on't," cried Katy 
 vehemently; " Harvey had no more dealings with Belzebub 
 than you or I had. I'm sure if Harvey had sold himself, 
 he would take care to be better paid ; though, to speak the 
 truth, he was always a wasteful and disregardful man." 
 
 "Nay, nay," returned the smiling Frances, "I have no 
 such injurious suspicion of him ; but has he not sold him- 
 self to an earthly prince — one too much attached to the 
 interests of his native island to be always just to this 
 country?" 
 
 "To the king's majesty!" replied Katy. "Why, Miss 
 Fanny, your own brother that is in jail serves King 
 George." 
 
 " True," said Frances, " but not in secret — openly, man- 
 fully, and bravely.'' 
 
 " 'Tis said he is a spy, and why an't one spy as bad as 
 another?" 
 
 "'Tis untrue; no act of deception is worthy of my 
 brother ; nor of any would he be guilty, for so base a pur- 
 pose as gain or promotion." 
 
 " Well, I'm sure," said Katy, a little appalled at the man- 
 ner of the young lady, " if a body does the work, he should 
 be paid for it. Harvey is by no means partic'lar about 
 getting his lawful dues; and I dar'st to say, if the truth 
 was forthcoming. King George owes him money this very 
 minute." 
 
 " Then you acknowledge his connection with the British 
 
THE SPY. 331 
 
 army," said Frances ; " I confess there have been moments 
 when I have thought differently." 
 
 " Lord, Miss Fanny, Harvey is a man that no calculation 
 can be made on. Though I lived in his house for a long 
 concourse of years, I have never known whether he be- 
 longed above or below.* The time that Burg'yne was taken, 
 he came home, and there was great doings between him and 
 the old gentleman, but for the life I couldn't tell if 'twas 
 joy or grief. Then, here, the other day, when the great 
 British general — I'm sure I have been so flurried with losses 
 and troubles, that I forget his name " 
 
 " Andrd," said Frances. 
 
 " Yes, Ondree ; when he was hanged, acrost the Tappaan, 
 the old gentleman was near hand to going crazy about it, 
 and didn't sleep for night nor day, till Harvey got back; 
 and then his money was mostly golden guineas; but the 
 Skinners took it all, and now he is a beggar, or, what's the 
 same thing, despisable for poverty and want." 
 
 To this speech Frances made no reply, but continued her 
 walk up the hill, deeply engaged in her own reflections. 
 The allusion to Andrd had recalled her thoughts to the sit- 
 uation of her own brother. 
 
 They soon reached the highest point in their toilsome 
 progress to the summit, and Frances seated herself on a 
 rock to rest and to admire. Immediately at her feet lay a 
 deep dell, but little altered by cultivation, and dark with 
 the gloom of a November sunset. Another hill rose oppo- 
 site to the place where she sat, at no great distance, along 
 whose rugged sides nothing was to be seen but shapeless 
 rocks, and oaks whose stinted growth showed a meagre soil. 
 
 To be seen in their perfection, the Highlands must be 
 passed immediately after the fall of the leaf. The scene 
 is then the finest, for neither the scanty foliage which the 
 summer lends the trees, nor the snows of winter, are present 
 
 * The American party was called the party belonging " above," and the British 
 that of ** below." The terms had reference to the course of the Hudson, 
 
332 THE SPY. 
 
 to conceal the minutest objects from the eye. Chilling sol- 
 itude is the chacteristic of the scenery ; nor is the mind at 
 liberty, as in March, to look forward to a renewed vegeta- 
 tion that is soon to check, without improving, the view. 
 
 The day had been cloudy and cool, and thin fleecy clouds 
 hung around the horizon, often promising to disperse, but 
 as frequently disappointing Frances in the hope of catch- 
 ing a parting beam from the setting sun. At length a soli- 
 tary gleam struck on the base of the mountain on which she 
 was gazing, and moved gracefully up its side, until, reach- 
 ing the summit, it stood for a minute, forming a crown of 
 glory to the sombre pile. So strong were the rays that 
 what was before indistinct now clearly opened to the view. 
 With a feeling of awe at being thus unexpectedly admitted, 
 as it were, into the secrets of that desert place, Frances 
 gazed intently, until, among the scattered trees and fantas- 
 tic rocks, something like a rude structure was seen. It was 
 low, and so obscured by the color of its materials, that but 
 for its roof, and the glittering of a window, it must have 
 escaped her notice. While yet lost in the astonishment 
 created by discovering a habitation in such a spot, on mov- 
 ing her eyes she perceived another object that increased her 
 wonder. It apparently was a human figure, but of singular 
 mould and unusual deformity. It stood on the edge of a 
 rock, a little above the hut, and it was no difficult task for 
 our heroine to fancy it was gazing at the vehicles that were 
 ascending the side of the mountain beneath her. The dis- 
 tance, however, was too great to distinguish with precision. 
 After looking at it a moment in breathless wonder, Frances 
 had just come to the conclusion that it was ideal, and that 
 what she saw was a part of the rock itself, when the object 
 moved swiftly from its position, and glided into the hut, 
 at once removing every doubt as to the nature of either. 
 Whether it was owing to the recent conversation that she 
 had been holding with Katy, or to some fancied resem- 
 blance that she discerned, Frances thought, as the fig^ure 
 
THE SPY. 333 
 
 vanished from her view, that it bore a marked likeness to 
 Birch, moving under the weight of his pack. She contin- 
 ued to gaze toward the mysterious residence, when the gleam 
 of light passed away, and at the same instant the tones of a 
 bugle rang through the glens and hollows, and were re- 
 echoed in every direction. Springing on her feet, the 
 alarmed girl heard the trampling of horses, and directly 
 a party in the well-known uniform of the Virginians came 
 sweeping round the point of a rock near her, and drew up 
 at a short distance. Again the bugle sounded a lively 
 strain, and before the agitated Frances had time to rally 
 her thoughts, Dunwoodie dashed by the party of dragoons, 
 threw himself from his charger, and advanced to her side. 
 
 His manner was earnest and interested, but in a slight 
 degree constrained. In a few words he explained that he 
 had been ordered up, with a party of Lawton's men, in the 
 absence of the captain himself, to attend the trial of Henry, 
 which was fixed for the morrow ; and that, anxious for their 
 safety in the rude passes of thet mountain, he had ridden a 
 mile or two in quest of the travellers. Frances explained, 
 with trembling voice, the reason of her being in advance, 
 and taught him momentarily to expect the arrival of her 
 father. • The constraint of his manner had, however, un- 
 willingly on her part, communicated itself to her own de- 
 portment, and the approach of the chariot was a relief to 
 both. The major handed her in, spoke a few words of en- 
 couragement to Mr. Wharton and Miss Peyton, and, again 
 mounting, led the way toward the plains of Fishkill, which 
 broke on their sight, on turning the rock, with the effect of 
 enchantment A short half -hour brought them to the door 
 of the farmhouse, which the care of Dunwoodie had already 
 prepared for their reception, and where Captain Wharton 
 was anxiously expecting their arrival. 
 
334 THE SPY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 These limbs are strengthenM with a soldier's toQ, 
 
 Nor has this cheek been ever blanch'd with fear — 
 
 But this sad tale of thine enervates all 
 
 Within me that I once could boast as man ; 
 
 Chill tremblin£^ agues seize upon my frame, 
 
 And tears of childish sorrow pour, apace. 
 
 Through scarred channels Chat were mark'd by wounds. 
 
 Duo. 
 
 The friends of Henry Wharton had placed so much re- 
 liance on his innocence, that they were unable to see the 
 full danger of his situation. As the moment of trial, how- 
 ever, approached, the uneasiness of the youth himself in- 
 creased; and, after spending most of the night with his 
 afflicted family, he awoke, on the following morning, from 
 a short and disturbed slumber, to a clearer sense of his 
 condition, and a survey of the means that were to extricate 
 him from it with life. The rank of Andr^, and the impor- 
 tance of the measures he was plotting, together with the 
 powerful intercessions that had been made in his behalf, 
 occasioned his execution to be stamped with greater notoriety 
 than the ordinary events of the war. But spies were fre- 
 quently arrested ; and the instances that occurred of sum- 
 mary punishment for this crime were numerous. These 
 were facts that were well known to both Dunwoodie and 
 the prisoner ; and to their experienced judgments the prepa- 
 rations for the trial were indeed alarming. Notwithstand- 
 ing their apprehensions, they succeeded so far in conceal- 
 ing them that neither Miss Peyton nor Frances was aware 
 of their extent. A strong guard was stationed in the out- 
 building of the farmhouse where the prisoner was quar- 
 tered, and several sentinels watched the avenues that ap- 
 proached the dwelling. Another was constantly near the 
 room of the British officer. A court was already detailed 
 to examine into the circumstances; and upon their decision 
 the fate of Henry rested. 
 
THE spy. 335 
 
 The moment at length arrived, and the different actors in 
 the approaching investigation assembled. Frances experi- 
 enced a feeling like suffocation, as, after taking her seat in 
 the midst of her family, her eyes wandered over the group 
 who were thus collected. The judges, three in number, sat 
 by themselves, clad in the vestments of their profession, and 
 maintained a gravity worthy of the occasion and becoming 
 in their rank. In the centre was a man of advanced years, 
 and whose whole exterior bore the stamp of early and long- 
 tried military habits. This was the president of the court ; 
 and Frances, after taking a hasty and unsatisfactory view 
 of his associates, turned to his benevolent countenance as 
 to the harbinger of mercy to her brother. There was a 
 melting and subdued expression in the features of the 
 veteran that, contrasted with the rigid decency and com- 
 posure of the others, could not fail to attract her notice. 
 His attire was strictly in conformity to the prescribed rules 
 of the service to which he belonged; but, while his hair was 
 erect and military, his fingers trifled, with a kind of con- 
 vulsive and unconscious motion, with a bit of crape that 
 entwined the hilt of the sword on which his body partly re- 
 clined, and, which, like himself, seemed a relic of older 
 times. There were the workings of an unquiet soul within ; 
 but his military front blended awe with the pity that its ex- 
 hibition excited. His associates were officers selected from 
 the eastern troops, who held the fortresses of West Point 
 and the adjacent passes; they were men who had attained 
 the meridian of life, and the eye sought in vain the expres- 
 sion of any passion or emotion on which it might seize as 
 an indication of human infirmity. In their demeanor, there 
 was a mild, but a grave, intellectual reserve. If there was 
 no ferocity nor harshness to chill, neither was there com- 
 passion nor interest to attract. They were men who had 
 long acted under the dominion of a prudent reason, and 
 whose feelings seemed trained to a perfect submission to 
 their judgments. 
 
336 THE SPY. 
 
 Before these arbiters of his fate Henry Wharton was 
 ushered, under the custodj' of armed men. A profound and 
 awful silence succeeded his entrance, and the blood of 
 Frances chilled as she noted the grave character of the 
 whole proceedings. There was but little of pomp in the 
 preparations to impress her imagination ; but the reserved, 
 business-like air of the whole scene made it seem, indeed, 
 as if the destinies of life awaited the result. Two of the 
 judges sat in grave reserve, fixing their inquiring eyes on 
 the object of their investigation; but the president con- 
 tinued gazing around with uneasy, convulsive motions of 
 the muscles of the face, that indicated a restlessness foreign 
 to his years and duty. It was Colonel Singleton, who, but 
 the day before, had learned the fate of Isabella, but who 
 stood forth in the discharge of a duty that his country re- 
 quired at his hands. The silence, and the expectation in 
 every eye, at length struck him, and, making an effort to 
 collect himself, he spoke, in the tones of one used to au- 
 thority. 
 
 " Bring forth the prisoner," he said, with a wave of the 
 hand. 
 
 The sentinels dropped the points of their bayonets toward 
 the judges, and Henry Wharton advanced, with a firm step, 
 into the centre of the apartrosnt. All was now anxiety and 
 eager curiosity. Frances turned for a moment in grateful 
 emotion, as the deep and perturbed breathing of Dunwoodie 
 reached her ears; but her brother again concentrated all her 
 interest in one feeling of intense care. In the background 
 were arranged the inmates of the family who owned the 
 dwelling, and behind them, again, was a row of shining 
 faces of ebony, glistening with pleased wonder. Among 
 these was the faded lustre of Caesar Thompson's counte- 
 nance. 
 
 " You are said," continued the president, " to be Henry 
 Wharton, a captain in his Britannic majesty's 6oth regiment 
 of foot" 
 
THE SPY. 337 
 
 "lam." 
 
 "I like your candor, sir; it partakes of the honorable 
 feelings of a soldier, and cannot fail to impress your judges 
 favorably." 
 
 " It would be prudent," said one of his companions, " to 
 advise the prisoner that he is bound to answer no more than 
 lie deems necessary: although we are a court of martial 
 law, yet, in this respect, we own the principles of all free 
 governments." 
 
 A nod of approbation from the silent member was be- 
 stowed on this remark, and the president proceeded with 
 caution, referring to the minutes he held in his hand. 
 
 " It is an accusation against you, that, being an officer of 
 the enemy, you passed the pickets of the American army at 
 the White Plains, in disguise, on the 29th of October last, 
 whereby you are suspected of views hostile to the interests 
 of America, and have subjected yourself to the punishment 
 of a spy." 
 
 The mild but steady tones of the speaker, as he slowly 
 repeated the substance of this charge, were full of authority. 
 The accusation was so plain, the facts so limited, the proof 
 so obvious, and the penalty so well established, that escape 
 seemed impossible. But Henry replied, with earnest 
 grace: 
 
 " That I passed your pickets in disguise, is true ; but——" 
 
 "Peace!" interrupted the president; "the usages of war 
 are stern enough in themselves ; you need not aid them to 
 your own condemnation." 
 
 "The prisoner can retract that declaration, if he please," 
 remarked another judge " His confession, if taken, goes 
 fully to prove the charge." 
 
 " I retract nothing that is true," said Henry proudly. 
 
 The two nameless judges heard him in silent composure, 
 yet there was no exultation mingled with their gravity. 
 The president now appeared, however, to take new interest 
 in the scene. 
 33 
 
338 THE SPY. 
 
 " Your sentiment is noble, sir," he said ; " I only regret 
 that a youthful soldier should so far be misled by loyalty 
 as to lend himself to the purposes of deceit." 
 
 " Deceit !" echoed Wharton ; " I thought it prudent to 
 guard against capture from my enemies.'' 
 
 " A soldier, Captain Wharton, should never meet his 
 enemy but openly, and with arms in his hands. I have 
 served two kings of England, as I now serve my native 
 land; but never did I approach a foe, unless under the light 
 of the sun, and with honest notice that an enemy was 
 nigh." 
 
 "You are at liberty to explain what your motives were in 
 entering the ground held by our army in disguise," said 
 the other judge, with a slight movement of the muscles of 
 his mouth. 
 
 " I am the son of this aged man before you," continued 
 Henry. " It was to visit him that I encountered the danger. 
 Besides, the country below is seldom held by your troops, 
 and its very name implies a right to either party to move at 
 pleasure over its territory." 
 
 "Its name, as a neutral ground, is unauthorized by 
 law; it is an appellation that originates with the condition 
 of the country. But wherever an army goes it carries 
 its rights along, and the first is the ability to protect 
 itself." 
 
 " I am no casuist, sir," returned the youth ; " but I feel 
 that my father is entitled to my affection, and I would en- 
 counter greater risks to prove it to him in his old age." 
 
 " A very commendable spirit," cried the veteran ; " come, 
 gentlemen, this business brightens. I confess, at first, it 
 was very bad ; but no man can censure him for desiring to 
 see his parents." 
 
 " And have j'ou proof that such only was your intention ?" 
 
 "Yes — here," said Henry, admitting a ray of hope; 
 " h2'.e is proof — my father, my sister. Major Dunwoodie, 
 all know it" 
 
THE SPY. 339 
 
 "Then, indeed," returned his immovable judge, "we may 
 be able to save you. It would be well, sir, to examine 
 further into this business." 
 
 "Certainly," said the president, with alacrity; "let the 
 elder Mr. Wharton approach and take the oath." 
 
 The father made an effort at composure, and, advancing 
 with a feeble step, he complied with the necessary forms of 
 the court. 
 
 "You are the father of the prisoner?" said Colonel 
 Singleton, in a subdued voice, after pausing a moment in 
 respect for the agitation of the witness. 
 
 " He is my only son." 
 
 " And what do you know of his visit to your house, on 
 the 29th day of October last?" 
 
 " He came, as he told you, to see me and his sisters." 
 
 "Was he in disguise?" asked the other judge. 
 
 " He did not wear the uniform of the 60th." 
 
 "To see his sisters, too!" said the president with great 
 emotion. "Have you daughters, sir?" 
 
 " I have two — both are in this house." 
 
 "Had he a wig?" interrupted the officer. 
 
 "There was some such thing, I do believe, upon his head." 
 
 "And how long had you been separated?" asked the 
 president. 
 
 " One year and two months." 
 
 " Did he wear a loose greatcoat of coarse materials ?" 
 inquired the officer, referring to the paper that contained 
 the charges. 
 
 " There was an overcoat." 
 
 " And you think that it was to see you, only, that he came 
 out?" 
 
 " Me, and my daughters." 
 
 " A boy of spirit," whispered the president to his silent 
 comrade. "I see but little harm in such a freak; 'twas 
 imprudent, but then it was kind." 
 
 " Do you know that your son was intrusted with no com- 
 
340 THE SPY. 
 
 mission from Sir Henry Clinton, and that the visit to you 
 was not merely a cloak to other designs?" 
 
 "How can I know it?" said Mr. Wharton, in alarm; 
 "would Sir Henry intrust me with such a business?" 
 
 " Know you anything of this pass?" exhibiting the paper 
 that Dunwoodie had retained when Wharton was taken. 
 
 "Nothing — upon my honor, nothing," cried the father, 
 shrinking from the paper as from contagion. 
 
 "On your oath?" 
 
 "Nothing." 
 
 "Have you other testimony? — this does not avail you. 
 Captain Wharton. You have been taken in a situation 
 where your life is forfeited ; the labor of proving your in- 
 nocence rests with yourself. Take time to reflect, and be 
 cool." 
 
 There was a frightful calmness in the manner of this 
 judge that appalled the prisoner. In the sympathy of 
 Colonel Singleton he could easily lose sight of his danger; 
 but the obdurate and collected air of the others was ominous 
 of his fate. He continued silent, casting imploring glances 
 toward his friend. Dunwoodie understood the appeal, and 
 offered himself as a witness. He was sworn, and desired 
 to relate what he knew. His statement did not materially 
 alter the case, and Dunwoodie felt that it could not. To 
 him personally but little was known, and that little rather 
 militated against the safety of Henry than otherwise. His 
 account was listened to in silence, and the significant shake 
 of the head that was made by the silent member spoke too 
 plainly what effect it had produced. 
 
 " Still you think that the prisoner had no other object 
 than what he has avowed?" said the president, when he had 
 ended. 
 
 " None other, I will pledge my life," cried the major, 
 with fervor. 
 
 "Will you swear it?" asked the immovable judge. 
 
 "How can I? God alone can tell the heart; but I have 
 
THE SPY. 341 
 
 known this gentleman from a boy; deceit never formed part 
 of his character. He is above it." 
 
 "You say that he escaped, and was retaken in open 
 arms.'" said the president. 
 
 " He was; nay, he received a wound in the combat. You 
 see he yet moves his arm with difficulty. Would he, think 
 you, sir, have trusted himself where he could fall again into 
 our hands, unless conscious of innocence.'" 
 
 "Would Andrd have deserted a field of battle, Major 
 Dunwoodie, had he encountered such an event, near Tarry- 
 town?" asked his deliberate examiner. "Is it not natural 
 to youth to seek glory?" 
 
 "Do you call this glory?" exclaimed the major; "an 
 ignominious death, and a tarnished name." 
 
 " Major Dunwoodie," returned the other, still with invet- 
 erate gravity, "you have acted nobly; your duty has been 
 arduous and severe, but it has been faithfully and honora- 
 bly discharged; ours must not be less so." 
 
 During the examination, the most intense interest prevailed 
 among the hearers. With that kind of feeling which could 
 not separate the principle from the cause, most of the auditors 
 thought that, if Dunwoodie failed to move the hearts of 
 Henry's judges, no other possessed the power. Caesar thrust 
 his misshapen form forward; and his features, so expressive 
 of the concern he felt, and so different from the vacant curios- 
 ity pictured in the countenances of the other blacks, caught 
 the attention of the silent judge. For the first time he spoke : 
 
 " Let that black be brought forward." 
 
 It was too late to retreat, and Caesar found himself con- 
 fronted with a row of rebel officers, before he knew what 
 was uppermost in his thoughts. The others yielded the 
 examination to the one who suggested it, and, using all due 
 deliberation, he proceeded accordingly. 
 
 "You know the prisoner?" 
 
 " I tink he ought," returned the black, in a manner as 
 sententious as that of his examiner. 
 
342 THE SPY. 
 
 "Did he give you the wig, when he threw it aside?" 
 
 " I don't want 'em," grumbled Cassar; " got a berry good 
 hair he'self." 
 
 " Were you employed in carrying any letters or messages 
 while Captain Wharton was in your master's house?" 
 
 " I do what a tell me," returned the black. 
 
 " But what did they tell you to do?" 
 
 " Sometime a one ting — sometime anoder." 
 
 "Enough," said Colonel Singleton, with dignity; "you 
 have the noble acknowledgment of a gentleman — what more 
 can you obtain from this slave ? Captain Wharton, you per- 
 ceive the unfortunate impression against you. Have you 
 other testimony to adduce?" 
 
 To Henry there now remained but little hope ; his confi- 
 dence in his security was fast ebbing, but, with an indefinite 
 expectation of assistance from the loveliness of his sister, 
 he fixed an earnest gaze on the pallid features of Frances. 
 She arose, and with a tottering step moved toward the 
 judges ; the paleness of her cheek continued but for a mo- 
 ment, and gave place to a flush of fire, and with a light but 
 firm tread she stood before them. Raising her hand to her 
 polished forehead, Frances threw aside her exuberant locks, 
 and displayed a picture of beauty and innocence to their 
 view that might have moved even sterner natures. The 
 president shrouded his eyes for a moment, as if the wild eye 
 and speaking countenance recalled the image of another. 
 The movement was transient, and, recovering himself, he 
 said, with an earnestness that betrayed his secret wishes : 
 
 " To you, then, your brother previously communicated his 
 intention of paying your family a secret visit?" 
 
 " No! — no!" said Frances, pressing her hand on her brain, 
 as if to collect her thoughts; "he told me nothing — we 
 knew not of the visit until he arrived; but can it be neces- 
 sary to explain to gallant men that a child would incur haz- 
 ard to meet his only parent, and that in times like these, 
 and in a situation like ours?" 
 
THE SPY. 343 
 
 "But was this the first time? Did he never even talk of 
 doing so before?" inquired the colonel, leaning toward her 
 with paternal interest. 
 
 "Certainly — certainly," cried Frances, catching the ex- 
 pression of his own benevolent countenance. " This is but 
 the fourth of his visits." 
 
 "I knew it!" exclaimed the veteran, rubbing his hands 
 with delight; "an adventurous, warm-hearted son — I war- 
 rant me, gentlemen, a fiery soldier in the field ! In what 
 disguises did he come?" 
 
 " In none, for none were then necessary ; the royal troops 
 covered the country, and gave him safe passage." 
 
 "And was this the first of his visits out of the uniform of 
 his regiment?" asked the colonel, in a suppressed voice, 
 avoiding the penetrating looks of his companions. 
 
 " Oh ! the very first," exclaimed the eager girl ; " his first 
 offence, I do assure you, if offence it be." 
 
 " But you wrote him — you urged the visit ; surely, young 
 lady, you wished to see your brother?" added the impatient 
 colonel. 
 
 "That we wished it, and prayed for it — oh, how fervently 
 we prayed for it! — is true; but to have held communion 
 with the royal army would have endangered our father, and 
 we dared not." 
 
 " Did he leave the house until taken, or had he intercourse 
 with any out of your own dwelling?" 
 
 " With none — no one, excepting our neighbor, the peddler 
 Birch." 
 
 "With whom?" exclaimed the colonel, turning pale, and 
 shrinking as from the sting of an adder. 
 
 Dunwoodie groaned aloud, and, striking his head with his 
 hand, cried, in piercing tones, "He is lost!" and rushed 
 from the apartment. 
 
 " But Harvey Birch," repeated Frances, gazing wildly at 
 the door through which her lover had disappeared. 
 
 " Harvey Birch !" echoed all the judges. The two im- 
 
344 THE SPY. 
 
 movable members of the court exchanged looks, and threw 
 an inquisitive glance at their prisoner. 
 
 "To you, gentlemen, it can be no new intelligence to 
 hear that Harvey Birch is suspected of favoring the royal 
 cause," said Henry, again advancing before the judges; 
 " for he has already been condemned by your tribunals to 
 the fate that I now see awaits myself. I will therefore ex- 
 plain that it was by his assistance I procured the disguise, 
 and passed your pickets ; but to my dying moment, and with 
 my dying breath, I will avow that my intentions were as 
 pure as the innocent being before you." 
 
 " Captain Wharton," said the president solemnly, " the 
 enemies of American liberty have made mighty and subtle 
 efforts to overthrow our power. A more dangerous man, for 
 his means and education, is not ranked among our foes than 
 this peddler of West-Chester. He is a spy — artful, delu- 
 sive, and penetrating, beyond the abilities of any of his 
 class. Sir Henry could not do better than to associate him 
 with the officer in his next attempt. He would have saved 
 Andr^. Indeed, young man, this is a connection that may 
 prove fatal to you!" 
 
 The honest indignation that beamed on the countenance 
 of the aged warrior was met by a look of perfect conviction 
 on the part of his comrades. 
 
 "I have ruined him!" cried Frances, clasping her hands 
 in terror; "do you desert us? Then he is lost, indeed!" 
 
 "Forbear! — lovely innocent — forbear!" said the colonel, 
 with strong emotion; "you injure none, but distress us all." 
 
 "Is it then such a crime to possess natural affection?" 
 said Frances wildly; " would Washington — the noble, up- 
 right, impartial Washington, judge so harshly? Delay, till 
 Washington can hear his tale." 
 
 " It is impossible," said the president, covering his eyes, 
 as if to hide her beauty from his view. 
 
 " Impossible ! Oh ! but for a week suspend your judg- 
 ment. On my knees I entreat you, as you will expect mercy 
 
THE SPY. 345 
 
 yourself, when no human power can avail you, give him but 
 a day." 
 
 " It is impossible," repeated the colonel, in a voice that 
 was nearly choked; "our orders are peremptory, and too 
 long delay has been given already." 
 
 He turned from the kneeling suppliant, but could not, or 
 would not, extricate the hand that she grasped with frenzied 
 fervor. 
 
 " Remand your prisoner," said one of the judges to the 
 officer who had the charge of Henry. " Colonel Singleton, 
 shall we withdraw?" 
 
 "Singleton! Singleton!" echoed Frances; "then you are 
 a father, and know how to pity a father's woes : you cannot, 
 will not, wound a heart that is now nearly crushed. Hear 
 me. Colonel Singleton ; as God will listen to your dying 
 prayers, hear me, and spare my brother!" 
 
 " Remove her," said the colonel, gently endeavoring to 
 extricate his hand; but none appeared disposed to obey. 
 Frances eagerly strove to read the expression of his averted 
 face, and resisted all his efforts to retire. 
 
 " Colonel Singleton I how lately was your own son in 
 suffering and in danger ! under the roof of my father he was 
 cherished — under my father's roof he found shelter and 
 protection. Oh! suppose that son the pride of your age, 
 the solace and protection of your infant children, and then 
 pronounce my brother guilty, if you dare!" 
 
 "What right has Heath to make an executioner of me!" 
 exclaimed the veteran fiercely, rising with a face flushed 
 like fire, and every vein and artery swollen with suppressed 
 emotion. " But I forget myself ; come, gentlemen, let us 
 mount; our painful duty must be done." 
 
 "Mount not! go not!" shrieked Frances; "can you tear a 
 son from his parent, a brother from his sister, so coldly ? 
 Is this the cause I have so ardently loved? Are these the 
 men that I have been taught to reverence? But you relent, 
 you do hear me, you will pity and forgive." 
 
346 THE SPY. 
 
 " Lead on, gentlemen," said the colonel, motioning toward 
 the door, and erecting himself into an air of military gran- 
 deur, in the vain hope of quieting his feelings. 
 
 " Lead not on, but hear me," cried Frances, grasping his 
 hand convulsively. "Colonel Singleton, you are a father! 
 — pity — mercy — mercy for the son! — mercy for the daugh- 
 ter ! Yes — you had a daughter. On this bosom she poured 
 out her last breath ; these hands closed her eyes ; these very 
 hands, that are now clasped in prayer, did those offices for 
 her that you condemn my poor, poor brother to require." 
 
 One mighty emotion the veteran struggled with, and 
 quelled; but with a groan that shook his whole frame. He 
 even looked around in conscious pride at his victory; but a 
 second burst of feeling conquered. His head, white with 
 the frost of seventy winters, sunk upon the shoulder of the 
 frantic suppliant. The sword that had been his companion 
 in so many fields of blood dropped from his nerveless hand, 
 and as he cried — 
 
 " May God bless you for the deed !" he wept aloud. 
 
 Long and violent was the indulgence that Colonel Single- 
 ton yielded to his feelings. On recovering, he gave the 
 senseless Frances into the arms of her aunt, and, turning 
 with an air of fortitude to his comrades, he said: 
 
 " Still, gentlemen, we have our duty as officers to dis- 
 charge; — our feelings as men maybe indulged hereafter. 
 What is your pleasure with the prisoner?" 
 
 One of the judges placed in his hand a written sentence 
 that he had prepared while the colonel was engaged with 
 Frances, and declared it to be the opinion of himself and 
 his companion. 
 
 It briefly stated that Henry Wharton had been detected 
 in passing the lines of the American army as a spy, and in 
 disguise. That thereby, according to the laws of war, he 
 was liable to suffer death, and that this court adjudged him 
 to the penalty ; recommending him to be executed by hang- 
 ing, before nine o'clock on the following morning. 
 
THE SPY. 347 
 
 It was not usual to inflict capital punishments, even on 
 the enemy, without referring the case to the commander-in- 
 chief, for his approbation ; or, in his absence, to the ofiicer 
 commanding for the time being. But, as Washington held 
 his headquarters at New- Windsor, on the western bank of 
 the Hudson, sufficient time was yet before them to receive 
 his answer. 
 
 " This is short notice," said the veteran, holding the pen 
 in his hand, in a suspense that had no object; "not a day 
 to fit one so young for heaven ?" 
 
 " The royal officers gave Hale * but an hour," returned 
 his comrade ; " we have granted the usual time. But Wash- 
 ington has the power to extend it, or to pardon." 
 
 " Then to Washington will I go," cried the colonel, re- 
 turning the paper with his signature ; " and if the services 
 of an old man like me, or that brave boy of mine, entitle me 
 to his ear, I will yet save the youth." 
 
 So saying, he departed, full of his generous intentions in 
 favor of Henry Wharton. 
 
 The sentence of the court was communicated, with proper 
 tenderness, to the prisoner ; and after giving a few neces- 
 sary instructions to the officer in command, and despatching 
 a courier to headquarters with their report, the remaining 
 judges mounted, and rode to their own quarters, with the 
 same unmoved exterior, but with the consciousness of the 
 same dispassionate integrity, that they had maintained 
 throughout the trial. 
 
 ♦ An American officer of this name was detected within the British lines, in dis- 
 ^ise, in search of military information. He was tried and executed, as stated in the 
 text, as soon as the preparations could be made. It is said that he was reproached 
 under the gallows with dishonoring the rank he held by his fate. " What a death 
 for an oflicer to die ! " said one of his captors. — '* Gentlemen, any death is honorable 
 when a man dies in a cause like that of America," was his answer. 
 
 Andr^ was executed amid the tears of his enemies ; Hale died unpitied, and with 
 reproaches in his ears ; and yet one was the victim of ambition, and the other o£ 
 devotion to his countty. Posterity will do justice between them. 
 
348 THE SPY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Have you no countermaad for Claudio yet^? 
 But he must die to-morrow ? 
 
 Measure /or Measure. 
 
 A FEW hours were passed by the prisoner, after his sen- 
 tence was received, in the bosom of his family. Mr. Whar- 
 ton wept in hopeless despondency over the untimely fate of 
 his son ; and Frances, after recovering from her insensi- 
 bility, experienced an anguish of feeling to which the bit- 
 terness of death itself would have been comparatively light. 
 Miss Peyton alone retained a vestige of hope, or presence 
 of mind to suggest what might be proper to be done under 
 their circumstances. The comparative composure of the 
 good aunt arose in no degree from any want of interest in 
 the welfare of her nephew, but it was founded in a kind of 
 instinctive dependence on the character of Washington. 
 He was a native of the same colony with herself; and al- 
 though his early military services, and her frequent visits to 
 the family of her sister, and subsequent establishment at 
 its head, had prevented their ever meeting, still she was 
 familiar with his domestic virtues, and well knew that the 
 rigid inflexibility for which his public acts were distin- 
 guished formed no part of his reputation in private life. He 
 was known in Virginia as a consistent, but just and lenient 
 master; and she felt a kind of pride in associating in her 
 mind her countryman with the man who led the armies, and 
 in a great measure controlled the destinies, of America. 
 She knew that Henry was innocent of the crime for which 
 he was condemned to suffer, and, with that kind of simple 
 faith that is ever to be found in the most ingenuous char- 
 acters, could not conceive of those constructions and inter- 
 pretations of law that inflicted punishment without the 
 actual existence of crime. But even her confiding hopes 
 were doomed to meet with a speedy termination. Toward 
 
THE SPY. 349 
 
 noon a regiment of militia, that was quartered on the banks 
 of the river, moved up to the ground in front of the house 
 that held our heroine and her family, and deliberately 
 pitched their tents, with the avowed intention of remaining 
 until the following morning, to give solemnity and effect to 
 the execution of a British spy. 
 
 Dunwoodie had performed all that was required of him 
 by his orders, and was at liberty to retrace his steps to his 
 expecting squadron, which was impatiently waiting his re- 
 turn, to be led against a detachment of the enemy, that was 
 known to be slowly moving up the banks of the river, in 
 order to cover a party of foragers in its rear. He was 
 accompanied by a small party of Lawtpn's troop, under the 
 expectation that their testimony might be required to con- 
 vict the prisoner; and Mason, the lieutenant, was in com- 
 mand. But the confession of Captain Wharton had re- 
 moved the necessity of examining any witnesses on behalf 
 of the people.* The major, from an unwillingness to 
 encounter the distress of Henry's friends, and a dread of 
 trusting himself within its influence, had spent the time we 
 have mentioned in walking by himself, in keen anxiety, at 
 a short distance from the dwelling. Like Miss Peyton, he 
 had some reliance on the mercy of Washington, although 
 moments of terrific doubt and despondency were continu- 
 ally crossing his mind. To him the rules of service were 
 familiar, and he was more accustomed to consider his gen- 
 eral in the capacity of a ruler than as exhibiting the char- 
 acteristics of the individual. A dreadful instance had too 
 recently occurred, which fully proved that Washington was 
 above the weakness of sparing another in mercy to himself. 
 While pacing, with hurried steps, through the orchard, 
 laboring under these constantly recurring doubts, enlivened 
 by transient rays of hope. Mason approached, accoutred com- 
 pletely for the saddle. 
 
 * In America, justice is administered in the name of " the good people," etc. , etc, 
 the sovereignty residing with them. 
 
3 so THE SPY. 
 
 "Thinking you might have forgotten the news brought 
 this morning from below, sir, I have taken the liberty to 
 order the detachment under arms," said the lieutenant very 
 coolly, cutting down with his sheathed sabre the mullen 
 tops that grew within his reach. 
 
 "What news?" cried the major, starting. 
 
 " Only that John Bull is out in West-Chester, with a train 
 of wagons, which, if he fills, will compel us to retire through 
 these cursed hills in search of provender. These greedy 
 Englishmen are so shut up on York Island, that when they 
 do venture out they seldom leave straw enough to furnish 
 the bed of a Yankee heiress." 
 
 " Where did the express leave them, did you say ? The 
 intelligence has entirely escaped my memory." 
 
 "On the heights above Sing-Sing," returned the lieuten- 
 ant, with no little amazement. " The road below looks like 
 a hay-market, and all the swine are sighing forth their lam- 
 entations, as the corn passes them toward Kingsbridge. 
 George Singleton's orderly, who brought up the tidings, says 
 that our horses were holding consultation if they should not 
 go down without their riders, and eat another meal, for it is 
 questionable with them whether they can get a full stomach 
 again. If they are suffered to get back with their plunder, 
 we shall not be able to find a piece of pork at Christmas fat 
 enough to fry itself." 
 
 " Peace, with all this nonsense of Singleton's orderly, Mr. 
 Mason," cried Dunwoodie impatiently; "let him learn to 
 wait the orders of his superiors." 
 
 " I beg pardon in his name. Major Dunwoodie," said the 
 subaltern; "but, like myself, he was in error. We both 
 thought it was the order of General Heath to attack and 
 molest the enemy whenever he ventured out of his nest." 
 
 " Recollect yourself, Lieutenant Mason," said the major, 
 " or I may have to teach you that your orders pass through 
 me." 
 
 "I know it. Major Dunwoodie — I know it; and I am 
 
THE SPY. 351 
 
 sorry that your memory is so bad as to forget that I never 
 have yet hesitated to obey them." 
 
 " Forgive me, Mason," cried Dunwoodie, taking both his 
 hands ; " I do know you for a brave and obedient soldier ; 
 forget my humor. But this business — Had you ever a 
 friend?" 
 
 " Nay, nay," interrupted the lieutenant ; " forgive me and 
 my honest zeal. I knew of the orders, and was fearful that 
 censure might fall on my officer. But remain, and let a man 
 breathe a syllable against the corps, and every sword will 
 start from the scabbard of itself; besides, they are still 
 moving up, and it is a long road from Croton to Kings- 
 bridge. Happen what may, I see plainly that we shall be 
 on their heels before they are housed again." 
 
 "Oh that the courier was returned from headquarters!" 
 exclaimed Dunwoodie. " This suspense is insupportable." 
 
 " You have your wish," cried Mason ; " here he is at the 
 moment, and riding like the bearer of good news. God 
 send it may be so; for I can't say that I particularly like 
 myself to see a brave young fellow dancing upon nothing." 
 
 Dunwoodie heard but very little of this feeling declara- 
 tion ; for, ere half of it was uttered, he had leaped the fence, 
 and stood before the messenger. 
 
 "What news?" cried the major, the moment that the sol- 
 dier stopped his horse. 
 
 "Good!" exclaimed the man; and, feeling no hesitation 
 to intrust an officer so well known as Major Dunwoodie, he 
 placed the paper in his hands, as he added, " but you can 
 read it, sir, for yourself." 
 
 Dunwoodie paused not to read ; but flew, with the elastic 
 spring of joy, to the chamber of the prisoner. The sentinel 
 knew him, and he was suffered to pass without question. 
 
 " Oh ! Peyton," cried Frances, as he entered the anart- 
 ment, "you look like a messenger from heaven! bring you 
 tidings of mercy?" 
 
 " Here, Frances — here, Henry — here, dear cousin Jean- 
 
352 THE SPY. 
 
 ette," cried the youth, as with trembling hands he broke the 
 seal ; " here is the letter itself, directed to the captain of the 
 guard. But listen " 
 
 All did listen with intense anxiety; and the pang of 
 blasted hope was added to their misery, as they saw the 
 glow of delight which had beamed on the countenance of 
 the major give place to a look of horror. The paper con- 
 tained the sentence of the court, and underneath was writ- 
 ten these simple words : 
 
 " Approved — Geo. Washington." 
 
 "He's lost! he's lost!" cried Frances, sinking into the 
 arms of her aunt. 
 
 "My son! my son!" sobbed the father; "there is mercy 
 in heaven, if there is none on earth. May Washington 
 never want that mercy he thus denies to my innocent 
 child!" 
 
 "Washington!" echoed Dunwoodie, gazing around him 
 in vacant horror. " Yes, 'tis the act of Washington himself ; 
 these are his characters; his very name is here, to sanction 
 the dreadful deed." 
 
 "Cruel, cruel Washington!" cried Miss Peyton; "how 
 has familiarity with blood changed his nature!" 
 
 "Blame him not," said Dunwoodie; "it is the general, 
 and not the man; my life on it, he feels the blow he is 
 compelled to inflict." 
 
 "I have been deceived in him!" cried Frances. "He is 
 not the saviour of his country, but a cold and merciless 
 tyrant. Oh, Peyton, Peyton! how have you misled me in 
 his character!" 
 
 " Peace, dear Frances ; peace for God's sake ; use not such 
 language. He is but the guardian of the law." 
 
 " You speak the truth. Major Dunwoodie," said Henry, 
 recovering from the shock of having his last ray of hope 
 extinguished, and advancing from his seat by the side of his 
 father. " I, who am to suffer, blame him not. Every in- 
 dulgence has been granted me that I can ask. On the verge 
 
THE SPY. 353 
 
 of the grave, I cannot continue unjust. At such a moment, 
 with so recent an instance of danger to your cause from 
 treason, I wonder not at Washington's unbending justice. 
 Nothing now remains but to prepare for that fate which so 
 speedily awaits me. To you. Major Dunwoodie, I make my 
 first request." 
 
 " Name it," said the major, giving utterance with diffi- 
 culty. 
 
 Henry turned, and, pointing to the group of weeping 
 mourners near him, he continued : 
 
 " Be a son to this aged man, help his weakness, and de- 
 fend him from any usage to which the stigma thrown upon 
 me may subject him. He has not many friends among the 
 rulers of this country; let your powerful name be found 
 among them." 
 
 " It shall." 
 
 " And this helpless innocent," continued Henry, pointing 
 to where Sarah sat, unconscious of what was passing — " I 
 had hoped for an opportunity to revenge her wrongs"; a 
 flush of excitement passed over his features; "but such 
 thoughts are evil — I feel them to be wrong. Under your 
 care, Peyton, she will find sympathy and refuge." 
 
 "She shall," whispered Dunwoodie. 
 
 "This good aunt has claims upon you already; of her I 
 will not speak: but here," taking the hand of Frances, and 
 dwelling upon her countenance with an expression of frater- 
 nal affection — "here is the choicest gift of all. Take her 
 to your bosom, and cherish her as you would cultivate inno- 
 cence and virtue." 
 
 The major could not repress the eagerness with which he 
 extended his hand to receive the precious boon ; but Fran- 
 ces, shrinking from his touch, hid her face in the bosom of 
 her aunt. 
 
 "No, no, no!" she murmured; "none can ever be anyj 
 thing to me who aid in my brother's destruction." 
 
 Henry continued gazing at her in tender pity for several 
 23 
 
354 THE spy. 
 
 moments, before he again resumed a discourse that all felt 
 was most peculiarly his own. 
 
 " I have been mistaken, then. I did think, Peyton, that 
 your worth, your noble devotion to a cause that you have 
 been taught to revere, that your kindness to our father when 
 in imprisonment, your friendship for me — in short, that your 
 character was understood and valued by my sister." 
 
 " It is — it is," whispered Frances, burying her face still 
 deeper in the bosom of her aunt. 
 
 " I believe, dear Henry," said Dunwoodie, " this is a sub- 
 ject that had better not be dwelt upon now." 
 
 " You forget," returned the prisoner, with a faint smile, 
 "how much I have to do, and how little time is left to do 
 it in." 
 
 " I apprehend," continued the major, with a face of fire, 
 "that Miss Wharton has imbibed some opinions of me that 
 would make a compliance with your request irksome to 
 her — opinions that it is now too late to alter." 
 
 " No, no, no," cried Frances quickly ; " you are exonerat- 
 ed, Peyton — with her dying breath she removed my doubts." 
 
 " Generous Isabella !" murmured Dunwoodie ; " but still, 
 Henry, spare your sister now ; nay, spare even me." 
 
 " I speak in pity to myself," returned the brother, gently 
 removing Frances from the arms of her aunt. " What a 
 time is this to leave two such lovely females without a pro- 
 tector! — Their abode is destroyed, and misery will speedily 
 deprive them of their last male friend," looking at his 
 father; "can I die in peace with the knowledge of the dan- 
 ger to which they will be exposed?" 
 
 "You forget me," said Miss Peyton, shrinking at the 
 idea of celebrating nuptials at such a moment. 
 
 " No, my dear aunt, I forget you not, nor shall I, until I 
 cease to remember ; but you forget the times and the danger. 
 The good woman who lives in this house has already des- 
 patched a messenger for a man of God, to smooth my pas- 
 sage to another world. Frances, if you would wish me to 
 
THE SPY. 355 
 
 die in peace, to feel a security that will allow me to turn my 
 whole thoughts to heaven, you will let this clergyman unite 
 you to Dunwoodie." 
 
 Frances shook her head, but remained silent. 
 
 " I ask for no joy — no demonstration of a felicity that 
 you will not, cannot feel, for months to come; but obtain a 
 right to his powerful name — give him an undisputed title to 
 protect you " 
 
 Again the maid made an impressive gesture of denial. 
 
 " For the sake of that unconscious sufferer — " pointing to 
 Sarah ; " for your sake — for my sake — my sister " 
 
 " Peace, Henry, or you will break my heart," cried the 
 agitated girl ; " not for worlds would I at such a moment 
 engage in the solemn vows that you wish. It would render 
 me miserable for life." 
 
 " You love him not," said Henry reproachfully. " I cease 
 to importune you to do what is against your inclinations." 
 
 Frances raised one hand to conceal her countenance, as 
 she extended the other toward Dunwoodie, and said ear- 
 nestly : 
 
 " Now you are unjust to me — before, you were unjust to 
 yourself." 
 
 "Promise me, then," said Wharton, musing a while in 
 silence, " that as soon as the recollection of my fate is soft- 
 ened, you will give my friend that hand for life, and I am 
 satisfied." 
 
 " I do promise," said Frances, withdrawing the hand that 
 Dunwoodie delicately relinquished, without even presuming 
 to press it to his lips. 
 
 " Well, then, my good aunt," continued Henry, "will you 
 leave me for a short time alone with my friend? I have a 
 few melancholy commissions with which to intrust him, and 
 would spare you and my sister the pain of hearing them." 
 
 "There is yet time to see Washington again," said Miss 
 Peyton, moving toward the door; and then, speaking with 
 extreme dignity, she continued: "I will go myself; surely 
 
356 THE spy. 
 
 he must listen to a -woman from his own colony! — and we 
 are in some degree connected with his family." 
 
 "Why not apply to Mr. Harper?" said Frances, recollect- 
 ing the parting words of their guest for the first time. 
 
 "Harper!" echoed Dunwoodie, turning toward her with 
 the swiftness of lightning; "what of him? do you know 
 him?" 
 
 " It is in vain," said Henry, drawing him aside; " Fran- 
 ces clings to hope with the fondness of a sister. Retire, 
 my love, and leave me with my friend." 
 
 But Frances read an expression in the eye of Dunwoodie 
 that chained her to the spot. After struggling to command 
 her feelings, she continued : 
 
 " He stayed with us for two days — he was with us when 
 Henry was arrested." 
 
 "And — and — did you know him?" 
 
 "Nay," continued Frances, catching her breath as she 
 witnessed the intense interest of her lover, " we knew him 
 not; he came to us in the night, a stranger, and remained 
 with us during the severe storm; but he seemed to take an 
 interest in Henry, and promised him his friendship." 
 
 "What!" exclaimed the youth, in astonishment; "did he 
 know your brother?" 
 
 " Certainly ; it was at his request that Henry threw aside 
 his disguise." 
 
 " But," said Dunwoodie, turning pale with suspense, " he 
 knew him not as an officer of the royal army?" 
 
 " Indeed he did," cried Miss Peyton ; " and he cautioned 
 us against this very danger." 
 
 Dunwoodie caught up the fatal paper, that still lay where 
 it had fallen from his own hands, and studied its characters 
 intently. Something seemed to bewilder his brain. He 
 passed his hand over his forehead, while each eye was 
 fixed on him in dreadful suspense — all feeling afraid to 
 admit those hopes anew that had once been so sadly de- 
 stroyed. 
 
THE SPY. 357 
 
 "What said he? what promised he?" at length Dun- 
 woodie asked, with feverish impatience. 
 
 " He bid Henry apply to him when in danger, and prom- 
 ised to requite the son for the hospitality of the father." 
 
 " Said he this, knowing him to be a British officer?" 
 
 " Most certainly ; and with a view to this very danger." 
 
 " Then," cried the youth aloud, and yielding to his rap- 
 ture, " then you are safe — then will I save him ; yes. Har- 
 per will never forget his word." 
 
 "But has he the power?" said Frances; "can he move 
 the stubborn purpose of Washington?" 
 
 " Can he ! If he cannot," shouted the youth, " if he can- 
 not, who can? — Greene, and Heath, and young Hamilton, 
 are nothing, compared to this Harper. But," rushing to 
 his mistress, and pressing her hands convulsively, "repeat 
 to me — you say you have his promise?" 
 
 "Surely, surely, Peyton; his solemn, deliberate promise, 
 knowing all of the circumstances." 
 
 " Rest easy," cried Dunwoodie, holding her to his bosom 
 for a moment, " rest easy, for Henry is safe." 
 
 He waited not to explain, but darting from the room, he 
 left the family in amazement. They continued in silent 
 wonder until they heard the feet of his charger, as he dashed 
 from the door with the speed of an arrow. 
 
 A long time was spent after this abrupt departure of the 
 youth, by the anxious friends he had left, in discussing the 
 probability of his success. The confidence of his manner 
 had, however, communicated to his auditors something of 
 his own spirit. Each felt that the prospects of Henry were 
 again brightening, and with their reviving hopes they ex- 
 perienced a renewal of spirits, which in all but Henry him- 
 self amounted to pleasure : with him, indeed, his state was 
 too awful to admit of trifling, and for a few hours he was 
 condemned to feel how much more intolerable was suspense 
 than even the certainty of calamity. Not so with Frances. 
 She, with all the reliance of affection, reposed in security 
 
3 $8 THE spy. 
 
 on the assurance of Dunwoodie, without harassing herself 
 with doubts that she possessed not the means of satisfying; 
 but believing her lover able to accomplish everything that 
 man could do, and retaining a vivid recollection of the 
 manner and benevolent appearance of Harper, she aban- 
 doned herself to all the felicity of renovated hope. 
 
 The joy of Miss Peyton was more sobered, and she took 
 frequent occasions to reprove her niece for the exuberance 
 of her spirits, before there was a certainty that their expec- 
 tations were to be realized. But the slight smile that hov- 
 ered around the lips of the virgin contradicted the very 
 sobriety of feeling that she inculcated. 
 
 " Why, dearest aunt," said Frances playfully, in reply to 
 one of her frequent reprimands, " would you have me repress 
 the pleasure that I feel at Henry's deliverance, when you 
 yourself have so often declared it to be impossible that such 
 men as ruled in our country could sacrifice an innocent 
 man?" 
 
 " Nay, I did believe it impossible, my child, and yet think 
 so ; but still there is a discretion to be shown in joy as well 
 as in sorrow." 
 
 Frances recollected the declaration of Isabella, and 
 turned an eye filled with tears of gratitude on her excellent 
 aunt, as she replied : 
 
 "True: but there are feelings that will not yield to 
 reason. Ah! here are those monsters, who have come to 
 witness the death of a fellow-creature, moving around yon 
 field, as if life was, to them, nothing but a military 
 show." 
 
 " It is but little more to the hireling soldier," said Henry, 
 endeavoring to forget his uneasiness. 
 
 " You gaze, my love, as if you thought a military show 
 of some importance," said Miss Peyton, observing her niece 
 to be looking from the window with a fixed and abstracted 
 attention. But Frances answered not. 
 
 From the window where she stood, the pass that they had 
 
THE SPY. 359 
 
 travelled through the Highlands was easily to be seen ; and 
 the mountain which held on its summit the mysterious hut 
 was directly before her. Its side was rugged and barren ; 
 huge and apparently impassable barriers of rocks present- 
 ing themselves through the stunted oaks, which, stripped of 
 their foliage, were scattered over its surface. The base of 
 the hill was not half a mile from the house, and the object 
 which attracted the notice of Frances was the figure of a 
 man emerging from behind a rock of remarkable formation, 
 and as suddenly disappearing. This manoeuvre was several 
 times repeated, as if it were the intention of the fugitive 
 (for such by his air he seemed to tie) to reconnoitre the 
 proceedings of the soldiery, and assure himself of the 
 position of things on the plain. Notwithstanding the dis- 
 tance, Frances instantly imbibed the opinion that it was 
 Birch. Perhaps this impression was partly owing to the 
 air and figure of the man, but in a great measure to the idea 
 that presented itself on formerly beholding the object at the 
 summit of the mountain. That they were the same figure 
 she was confident, although this wanted the appearance 
 which, in the other, she had taken for the pack of the ped- 
 dler. Harvey had so connected himself with the mysterious 
 deportment of Harper, within her imagination, that, under 
 circumstances of less agitation than those in which she had 
 labored since her arrival, she would have kept her sus- 
 picions to herself. Frances, therefore, sat ruminating on 
 this second appearance in silence, and endeavoring to trace 
 what possible connection this extraordinary man could have 
 with the fortunes of her own family. He had certainly 
 saved Sarah, in some degree, from the blow that had par- 
 tially alighted on her, and in no instance had he proved 
 himself to be hostile to their interests. 
 
 After gazing for a long time at the point where she had 
 last seen the figure, in the vain expectation of its reappear- 
 ance, she turned to her friends in the apartment. Miss 
 Peyton was sitting by Sarah, who gave some slight addi- 
 
360 THE SPY. 
 
 tional signs of observing what passed, but who still con- 
 tinued insensible either to joy or grief. 
 
 "I suppose, by this time, my love, that you are well 
 acquainted with the manoeuvres of a regiment," said Miss 
 Peyton; "it is no bad quality in a soldier's wife, at all 
 events." 
 
 " I am not a wife yet," said Frances, coloring to the eyes ; 
 " and we have little reason to wish for another wedding in 
 our family." 
 
 "Frances!" exclaimed her brother, starting from his seat, 
 and pacing the floor in violent agitation, " touch not the 
 chord again, I entreat you. While my fate is uncertain, I 
 would wish to be at peace with all men." 
 
 " Then let the uncertainty cease," cried Frances, spring- 
 ing to the door, "for here comes Peyton with the joyful in- 
 telligence of your release.'' 
 
 The words were hardly uttered, before the door opened, 
 and the major entered. In his air there was the appearance 
 of neither success nor defeat, but there was a marked dis- 
 play of vexation. He took the hand that Frances, in the 
 fulness of her heart, extended toward him, but, instantly 
 relinquishing it, threw himself into a chair, in evident 
 fatigue. 
 
 " You have failed," said, Wharton, with a bound of his 
 heart, but an appearance of composure. 
 
 "Have you seen Harper?" cried Frances, turning pale. 
 
 "I have not; I crossed the river in one boat as he must 
 have been coming to this side in another. I returned with- 
 out delay, and traced him for several miles into the High- 
 lands, by the western pass, but there I unaccountably lost 
 him. I have returned here to relieve your uneasiness; but 
 see him I will this night, and bring a respite for Henry." 
 
 "But saw you Washington?" asked Miss Peyton. 
 
 Dunwoodie gazed at her a moment in abstracted musing, 
 and the question was repeated. He answered gravely, and 
 with some reserve : 
 
THE SPY. 361 
 
 "The commander-in-chief had left his quarters." 
 
 "But, Peyton," cried Frances, in returning terror, "if 
 they should not see each other, it will be too late. Harper 
 alone will not be sufficient." 
 
 Her lover turned his eyes slowly on her anxious counte- 
 nance, and, dwelling a moment on her features, said, still 
 musing: 
 
 " You say that he promised to assist Henry." 
 
 "Certainly, of his own accord, and in requital for the 
 hospitality he had received." 
 
 Dunwoodie shook his head, and began to look grave. 
 
 " I like not that word hospitality — it has an empty 
 sound; there must be something more reasonable to tie 
 Harper. I dread some mistake: repeat to me all that 
 passed." 
 
 Frances, in a hurried and earnest voice, complied with 
 his request. She related particularly the manner of his ar- 
 rival at the Locusts, the reception that he received, and the 
 events that passed, as minutely as her memory could supply 
 her with the means. As she alluded to the conversation 
 that occurred between her father and his guest, the major 
 smiled, but remained silent. She then gave a detail of 
 Henry's arrival, and the events of the following day. She 
 dwelt upon the part where Harper had desired her brother 
 to throw aside his disguise, and. recounted, with wonderful 
 accuracy, his remarks upon the hazard of the step that the 
 youth had taken. She even remembered a remarkable ex- 
 pression of his to her brother, "that he was safer from Har- 
 per's knowledge of his person than he would be without 
 it." Frances mentioned, with the warmth of youthful ad- 
 miration, the benevolent character of his deportment to 
 herself, and gave a minute relation of his adieus to the 
 whole family. 
 
 Dunwoodie at first listened with grave attention; evident 
 satisfaction followed as she proceeded. When she spoke 
 of herself, in connection with their guest, he smiled with 
 
362 THE SPY. 
 
 pleasure, and as she concluded, he exclaimed, with de- 
 light: 
 
 "We are safe! — we are safe!" 
 
 But he was interrupted, as will be seen in the following 
 
 chapter. 
 
 « 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 The owlet loves the gloom of night, 
 
 The lark salutes the day. 
 The timid dove will coo at hand — 
 
 But falcons soar away. 
 
 Son^ in Duo. 
 
 In a country settled, like these States, by a people who fied 
 their native land and much-loved firesides, victims of con- 
 sciences and religious zeal, none of the decencies and so- 
 lemnities of a Christian death are dispensed with, when cir- 
 cumstances will admit of their exercise. The good woman 
 of the house was a strict adherent to the forms of the church 
 to which she belonged; and having herself been awakened 
 to a sense of her depravity, by the ministry of the divine 
 who harangued the people of the adjoining parish, she 
 thought it was from his exhortations only that salvation 
 could be meted out to the short-lived hopes of Henry Whar- 
 ton. Not that the kind-hearted matron was so ignorant of 
 the doctrines of the religion which she professed, as to de- 
 pend, theoretically, on mortal aid for protection; but she 
 had, to use her own phrase, " sat so long under the preach- 
 ing of good Mr. ," that she had unconsciously imbibed 
 
 a practical reliance on his assistance, for that which her 
 faith should have taught her could come from the Deity 
 alone. With her, the consideration of death was at all 
 times awful ; and the instant that the sentence of the pris- 
 oner was promulgated, she despatched Csesar, mounted on 
 one of her husband's best horses, in quest of her clerical 
 monitor. This step had been taken without consulting 
 either Henry or his friends ; and it was only when the ser- 
 
THE SPY. 363 
 
 vices of Caesar were required on some domestic emergency, 
 that she explained the nature of his absence. The youth 
 heard her, at first, with an unconquerable reluctance to ad- 
 mit of such a spiritual guide ; but as our view of the things 
 of this life becomes less vivid, our prejudices and habits 
 cease to retain their influence; and a civil bow of thanks 
 was finally given, in requital for the considerate care of the 
 well-meaning woman. 
 
 The black returned early from his expedition, and, as well 
 as could be gathered from his somewhat incoherent narra- 
 tive, a minister of God might be expected to arrive in the 
 course of the day. The interruption that we mentioned in 
 our preceding chapter was occasioned by the entrance of the 
 landlady. At the intercession of Dunwoodie, orders had 
 been given to the sentinel who guarded the door of Henry's 
 room, that the members of the prisoner's family should, at 
 all times, have free access to his apartment : Caesar was in- 
 cluded in this arrangement, as a matter of convenience, by 
 the officer in command ; but strict inquiry and examination 
 was made into the errand of every other applicant for ad- 
 mission. The major had, however, included himself among 
 the relatives of the British officer ; and one pledge, that no 
 rescue should be attempted, was given in his name for them 
 all. A short conversation was passing between the woman 
 of the house and the corporal of the guard, before the door 
 that the sentinel had already opened in anticipation of the 
 decision of his non-commissioned commandant 
 
 " Would you refuse the consolations of religion to a fel- 
 low-creature about to suffer death?" said the matron, with 
 earnest zeal. " Would you plunge a soul into the fiery fur- 
 nace, and a minister at hand to point out the straight and 
 narrow path.'" 
 
 " I'll tell you what, good woman," returned the corporal, 
 gently pushing her away; "I've no notion of my back being 
 a highway for any man to walk to heaven upon. A pretty 
 figure I should make at the pickets, for disobeying orders. 
 
364 THE SPY. 
 
 Just Step down and ask Lieutenant Mason, and you may 
 bring in the whole congregation. We have not taken the 
 guard from the foot-soldiers but an hour, and I shouldn't 
 like to have it said that we know less of our duty than the 
 militia." 
 
 " Admit the woman," said Dunwoodie sternly, observing, 
 for the first time, that one of his own corps was on post. 
 
 The corporal raised his hand to his cap, and fell back in 
 silence; the soldier stood to his arms, and the matron 
 entered. 
 
 " Here is a reverend gentleman below, come to soothe the 
 parting soul, in the place of our own divine, who is engaged 
 with an appointment that could not be put aside; 'tis to 
 bury old Mr. ." 
 
 " Show him in," said Henry, with feverish impatience. 
 
 "But will the sentinel let him pass.' I would not wish 
 
 a friend of Mr. to be rudely stopped on the threshold, 
 
 and he a stranger." 
 
 All eyes were now turned on Dunwoodie, who, looking at 
 his watch, spoke a few words with Henry, in an undertone, 
 and hastened from the apartment, followed by Frances. 
 The subject of their conversation was a wish expressed by 
 the prisoner for a clergyman of his own persuasion, and a 
 promise from the major that one should be sent from Fish- 
 kill town, through which he was about to pass, oui his way 
 to the ferry to intercept the expected return of Harper. 
 Mason soon made his bow at the door, and willingly com- 
 plied with the wishes of the landlady; and the divine was 
 invited to make his appearance accordingly. 
 
 The person who was ushered into the apartment, preceded 
 by Caesar, and followed by the matron, was a man beyond 
 the middle age, or who might rather be said to approach the 
 downhill of life. In stature he was above the size of ordi- 
 nary men, though his excessive leanness might contribute in 
 deceiving as to his height; his countenance was sharp and 
 unbending, and every muscle seemed set in rigid compres- 
 
THE SPV. 365 
 
 sion. No joy, or relaxation, appeared ever to have dwelt on 
 features that frowned habitually, as if in detestation of the 
 vices of mankind. The brows were beetling, dark, and for- 
 bidding, giving the promise of eyes of no less repelling ex- 
 pression ; but the organs were concealed beneath a pair of 
 enormous green goggles, through which they glared around 
 with a fierceness that denounced the coming day of wrath. 
 All was fanaticism, uncharitableness, and denunciation. 
 Long, lank hair, a mixture of gray and black, fell down his 
 neck, and in some degree obscured the sides of his face, and, 
 parting on his forehead, fell in either direction in straight 
 and formal screens. On the top of this ungraceful exhibi- 
 tion was laid, impending forward, so as to overhang in 
 some measure the whole fabric, a large hat of three equal 
 cocks. His coat was of a rusty black, and his breeches and 
 stockings were of the same color; his shoes without lustre, 
 and half concealed beneath huge plated buckles. 
 
 He stalked into the room, and, giving a stiff nod with his 
 head, took the chair offered him by the black in dignified 
 silence. For several minutes no one broke this ominous 
 pause in the conversation; Henry feeling a repugnance to 
 his guest, that he was vainly endeavoring to conquer, and 
 the stranger himself drawing forth occasional sighs and 
 groans, that threatened a dissolution of the unequal connec- 
 tion between his sublimated soul and its ungainly tenement. 
 During this deathlike preparation, Mr. Wharton, with a 
 feeling nearly allied to that of his son, led Sarah from the 
 apartment. His retreat was noticed by the divine, in a kind 
 of scornful disdain, who began to hum the air of a popular 
 psalm tune, giving it the full richness of the twang that dis- 
 tinguishes the Eastern* psalmody. 
 
 " Caesar," said Miss Peyton, " hand the gentleman some 
 refreshment; he must need it after his ride." 
 
 " My strength is not in the things of life," said the di- 
 
 * By ** Eastern '* is meant the states of New England, which, being originally set 
 tied by Puritans, still retain many distinct shades of character. 
 
366 THE SPY. 
 
 vine, speaking in a tiollow, sepulchral voice. " Thrice have 
 I this day held forth in my Master's service, and fainted 
 not; still it is prudent to help this frail tenement of clay, 
 for, surely, ' the laborer is worthy of his hire.' " 
 
 Opening a pair of enormous jaws, he took a good meas- 
 ure of the proffered brandy, and suffered it to glide down- 
 ward, with that sort of facility with which man is prone 
 to sin. 
 
 " I apprehend, then, sir, that fatigue will disable you from 
 performing the duties which kindness has induced you to 
 attempt." 
 
 "Woman!" exclaimed the stranger, with energy, "when 
 was I ever known to shrink from a duly? But ' judge not, 
 lest ye be judged,' and fancy not that it is given to mortal 
 eyes to fathom the intentions of the Deity." 
 
 " Nay," returned the maiden meekly, and slightly dis- 
 gusted with his jargon, " I pretend not to judge of either 
 events or the intentions of my fellow-creatures, much less 
 of those of Omnipotence." 
 
 " 'Tis well, woman — 'tis well," cried the minister, waving 
 his head with supercilious disdain ; " humility becometh thy 
 sex, and lost condition ; thy weakness driveth thee on head- 
 long, like ' unto the besom of destruction.' " 
 
 Surprised at this extraordinary deportment, but yielding 
 to that habit which urges us to speak reverently on sacred 
 subjects, even when perhaps we had better continue silent. 
 Miss Peyton replied: 
 
 " There is a Pow&v" above, that can and will sustain us 
 all in well-doing, if we seek its support in humility and 
 truth." 
 
 The stranger turned a lowering look at the speaker, and 
 then composing himself into an air of self-abasement, he 
 continued in the same repelling tones: 
 
 " It is not every one that crieth out for mercy, that will 
 be heard. The ways of Providence are not to be judged by 
 men — 'Many are called, but few chosen.' It is easier tp 
 
THE spy. 367 
 
 talk of humility than to feel it. Are you so humble, vile 
 worm, as to wish to glorify God by your own damnation ? 
 If not, away with you for a publican and a Pharisee!" 
 
 Such gross fanaticism was uncommon in America, and 
 Miss Peyton began to imbibe the impression that her guest 
 was deranged ; but remembering that he had been sent by 
 a well-known divine, and one of reputation, she discarded 
 the idea, and, with some forbearance, observed : 
 
 "I may deceive myself, in believing that mercy is 
 proffered to all, but it is so soothing a doctrine that I would 
 not willingly be undeceived." 
 
 " Mercy is only for the elect," cried the stranger, with an 
 unaccountable energy ; " and you are in the ' valley of the 
 shadow of death.' Are you not a follower of idle ceremo- 
 nies, which belong to the vain church that our tyrants 
 would gladly establish here, along with their stamp-acts 
 and tea-laws? Answer me that, woman; and remember, 
 that Heaven hears your answer : are you not of that idola- 
 trous communion?" 
 
 " I worship at the altars of my fathers," said Miss Pey- 
 ton, motioning to Henry for silence ; " but bow to no other 
 idol than my own infirmities." 
 
 "Yes, yes, I know ye, self-righteous and papal that ye 
 are — followers of forms, and listeners to bookish preaching; 
 think you, woman, that holy Paul had notes in his hand to 
 propound the word to the believers?" 
 
 "My presence disturbs you," said Miss Peyton, rising; 
 " I will leave you with my nephew, and offer those prayers 
 in private that I did wish to mingle with his." 
 
 So saying, she withdrew, followed by the landlady, who 
 was not a little shocked, and somewhat surprised, by the 
 intemperate zeal of her new acquaintance ; for, although the 
 good woman believed that Miss Peyton and her whole 
 church were on the highroad to destruction, she was by no 
 means accustomed to hear such offensive and open avowals 
 of their fate. 
 
368 THE SPY. 
 
 Henry had with difficulty repressed the indignation ex- 
 cited by this unprovoked attack on his meek and unresisting 
 aunt; but, as the door closed on her retiring figure, he gave 
 way to his feelings: 
 
 "I must confess, sir," he exclaimed, with heat, "that in 
 receiving a minister of God I thought I was admitting a 
 Christian; and one who, by feeling his own weaknesses, 
 knew how to pity the frailties of others. You have wounded 
 the meek spirit of an excellent woman, and I acknowledge 
 but little inclination to mingle in prayer with so intolerant 
 a spirit" 
 
 The minister stood erect, with grave composure, follow- 
 ing with his eyes, in a kind of scornful pity, the retiring 
 females, and suffered the expostulation of the youth to be 
 given, as if unworthy of his notice. A third voice, how- 
 ever, spoke: 
 
 " Such a denunciation would have driven many women 
 into fits; but it has answered the purpose well enough, as 
 it is." 
 
 "Who's that?" cried the prisoner, in amazement, gazing 
 around the room in quest of the speaker. 
 
 " It is I, Captain Wharton," said Harvey Birch, removing 
 the spectacles, and exhibiting his piercing eyes, shining 
 under a pair of false eyebrows. 
 
 "Good heavens — Harvey!" 
 
 "Silence!" said the peddler solemnly; "'tis a name not 
 to be mentioned, and least of all here, within the heart of 
 the American army." Birch paused and gazed around him 
 for a moment, with an emotion exceeding the base passion 
 of fear, and then continued in a gloomy tone : " There are 
 a thousand halters in that very name, and little hope would 
 there be left me of another escape, should I be again 
 taken. This is a fearful venture that I am making; but 
 I could not sleep in quiet, and know that an innocent 
 man was about to die the death of a dog, when I might 
 save him." 
 
THE SPY. 309 
 
 " No," said Henry, with a glow of generous feeling on 
 his cheek ; " if the risk to yourself be so heavy, retire as you 
 came, and leave me to my fate. Dunwoodie is making, 
 even now, powerful exertions in my behalf ; and if he meets 
 with Mr. Harper in the course of the night, my liberation is 
 certain." 
 
 "Harper!" echoed the peddler, remaining with his hands 
 raised, in the act of replacing the spectacles; "what do 
 you know of Harper? and why do you think he will do 
 you service?" 
 
 " I have his promise ; — you remember our recent meeting 
 in my father's dwelling, and he then gave an unasked prom- 
 ise to assist me." 
 
 " Yes — but do you know him ? that is — why do you think 
 he has the power? or what reason have you for believing he 
 will remember his word?" 
 
 " If there ever was the stamp of truth, or simple, honest 
 benevolence, in the countenance of man, it shone in his," 
 said Henry ; " besides, Dunwoodie has powerful friends in 
 the rebel army, and it would be better that I take the chance 
 where I am, than thus to expose you to cerain death, if 
 detected." 
 
 "Captain Wharton," said Birch, looking guardedly 
 around, and speaking with impressive seriousness of man- 
 ner, " if I fail you, all fail you. No Harper nor Dun- 
 woodie can save your life; unless you get out with me, and 
 that within the hour, you die to-morrow on the gallows of 
 a murderer. Yes, such are their laws ; the man who fights, 
 and kills, and plunders, is honored ; but he who serves his 
 country as a spy, no matter how faithfully, no matter how 
 honestly, lives to be reviled, or dies like the vilest crimi- 
 nal!" 
 
 " You forget, Mr. Birch," said the youth, a little indig- 
 nantly, " that I am not a treacherous, lurking spy, who de- 
 ceives to betray ; but innocent of the charge imputed to me." 
 
 The blood rushed over the pale, meagre features of the 
 24 
 
370 THE spy. 
 
 peddler, until his face was one glow of fire; but it passed 
 quickly away, and he replied : 
 
 " I have told you truth. Caesar met me, as he was going 
 on his errand this morning, and with him I have laid the 
 plan which, if executed as I wish, will save you — otherwise 
 you are lost ; and I again tell you that no other power on 
 earth, not even Washington, can save you." 
 
 "I submit," said the prisoner, yielding to his earnest 
 manner, and goaded by the fears that were thus awakened 
 anew. 
 
 The peddler beckoned him to be silent, and, walking to 
 the door, opened it, with the stiff, formal air, with which he 
 had entered the apartment. 
 
 " Friend, let no one enter," he said to the sentinel ; " we 
 are about to go to prayer, and would wish to be alone." 
 
 " I don't know that any will wish to interrupt you," re- 
 turned the soldier, with a waggish leer of his eye; "but 
 should they be so disposed, I have no power to stop them, 
 if they be of the prisoner's friends ; I have my orders, and 
 must mind them, whether the Englishman, goes to heaven, 
 or not." 
 
 "Audacious sinner!" said the pretended priest; "have 
 you not the fear of God before your eyes ! I tell you, as 
 you will dread punishment at the last day, to let none of 
 the idolatrous communion enter, to mingle in the prayers of 
 the righteous." 
 
 " Whew — ew — ew — what a noble commander you'd make 
 for Sergeant Hollister! you'd preach him dumb in a roll- 
 call. Hark'ee, I'll thank you not to make such a noise 
 when you hold forth, as to drown our bugles, or you may get 
 a poor fellow a short horn at his grog, for not turning out 
 to the evening parade; if you want to be alone, have you no 
 knife to stick over the door-latch, that you must have a 
 troop of horse to guard your meeting-house?" 
 
 The peddler took the hint, and closed the door immedi- 
 ately, using the precaution suggested by the dragoon. 
 
THE SPY. 371 
 
 " You overact your part," said young Wharton, in con- 
 stant apprehension of discovery; "your zeal is too intem- 
 perate." 
 
 " For a foot-soldier and them Eastern militia, it might 
 be," said Harvey, turning a bag upside down that Cassar 
 now handed him ; " but these dragoons are fellows that you 
 must brag down. A faint heart. Captain Wharton, would 
 do but little here; but come, here is a black shroud for 
 your good-looking countenance," taking, at the same time, 
 a parchment mask, and fitting it to the face of Henry. 
 " The master and the man must change places for a season." 
 
 " I don't tink he look a bit like me," said Caesar, with 
 disgust, as he surveyed his young master with his new com- 
 plexion. 
 
 " Stop a minute, Caesar," said the peddler, with the lurk- 
 ing drollery that at times formed part of his manner, " till 
 we get on the wool." 
 
 " He worse than ebber now," cried the discontented Afri- 
 can. "A tink colored man like a sheep! I nebber see 
 sich a lip, Harvey; he most as big as a sausage!" 
 
 Great pains had been taken in forming the different arti- 
 cles used in the disguise of Captain Wharton, and when ar- 
 ranged, under the skilful superintendence of the peddler, 
 they formed together a transformation that would easily 
 escape detection, from any but an extraordinary observer. 
 
 The mask was stuffed and shaped in such a manner as to 
 preserve the peculiarities, as well as the color, of the Afri- 
 can visage ; and the wig was so artfully formed of black and 
 white wool, as to imitate the pepper-and-salt color of Cae- 
 sar's own head, and to exact plaudits from the black him- 
 self, who thought it an excellent counterfeit in everything 
 but quality. 
 
 " There is but one man in the American army who could 
 detect you, Captain Wharton," said the peddler, surveying 
 his work with satisfaction, " and he is just now out of our 
 ■way." 
 
372 THE SPY. 
 
 "And who is he?" 
 
 " The man who made you prisoner. He would see your 
 white skin through a plank. But strip, both of you ; your 
 clothes must be exchanged from head to foot." 
 
 Caesar, who had received minute instructions from the 
 peddler in their morning interview, immediately commenced 
 throwing aside his coarse garments, which the youth took 
 up and prepared to invest himself with ; unable, however, to 
 repress a few signs of loathing. 
 
 In the manner of the peddler there was an odd mixture of 
 care and humor; the former was the result of a perfect 
 knowledge of their danger, and the means necessary to be 
 used in avoiding it; and the latter proceeded from the una- 
 voidably ludicrous circumstances before him, acting on an 
 indifference which sprung from habit, and long familiarity 
 with such scenes as the present. 
 
 " Here, captain," he said, taking up some loose wool, and 
 beginning to stuff the stockings of Caesar, which were 
 already on the leg of the prisoner; "some judgment is nec- 
 essary in shaping this limb. You will have to display it on 
 horseback; and the Southern dragoons are so used to the 
 brittle-shins, that should they notice your well-turned calf, 
 they'd know at once it never belonged to a black." 
 
 "Golly!" said Caesar, with a chuckle that exhibited a 
 mouth open from ear to ear, " Massy Harry breeches fit." 
 
 " Anything but your leg," said the peddler, coolly pursu- 
 ing the toilet of Henry. " Slip on the coat, captain, over 
 all. Upon my word, you'd pass well at a pinkster frolic; 
 and here, Caesar, place this powdered wig over your curls, 
 and be careful and look out of the window, whenever the 
 door is open, and on no account speak, or you will betray 
 all." 
 
 " I s'pose Harvey tink a color'd man an't got a tongue 
 like Oder folk," grumbled the black, as he took the station 
 assigned to him. 
 
 Everything now was arranged for action, and the peddler 
 
THE SPY. 373 
 
 very deliberately went over the whole of his injunctions to 
 the two actors in the scene. The captain he conjured to 
 dispense with his erect military carriage, and for a season 
 to adopt the humble paces of his father's negro; and Caesar 
 he enjoined to silence and disguise, so long as he could 
 possibly maintain them. Thus prepared, he opened the 
 door, and called aloud to the sentinel, who had retired to 
 the farthest end of the passage, in order to avoid receiving 
 any of that spiritual comfort, which he felt was the sole 
 property of another. 
 
 " Let the woman of the house be called," said Harvey in 
 the solemn key of his assumed character ; " and let her come 
 alone. The prisoner is in a happy train of meditation, and 
 must not be led from his devotions." 
 
 Caesar sunk his face between his hands ; and when the 
 soldier looked into the apartment, he thought he saw his 
 charge in deep abstraction. Casting a glance of huge con- 
 tempt at the divine, he called aloud for the good woman of 
 the house. She hastened at the summons, with earnest zeal, 
 entertaining a secret hope that she was to be admitted to the 
 gossip of a death-bed repentance. 
 
 " Sister," said the minister, in the authoritative tones of a 
 master, " have you in the house ' The Christian Criminal's 
 Last Moments, or Thoughts on Eternity, for Them who Die 
 a Violent Death' ? " 
 
 " I never heard of the book ! " said the matron, in aston- 
 ishment. 
 
 " 'Tis not unlikely; there are many books you have never 
 heard of : it is impossible for this poor penitent to pass in 
 peace, without the consolations of that volume. One hour's 
 reading in it is worth an age of man's preaching." 
 
 " Bless me, what a treasure to possess! — when was it put 
 out?" 
 
 " It was first put out at Geneva in the Greek language, 
 and then translated at Boston. It is a book, woman, that 
 should be in the hands of every Christian, especially such 
 
374 THE SPY. 
 
 as die upon the gallows. Have a horse prepared instantly 
 
 for this black, who shall accompany me to my Brother , 
 
 and I will send down the volume yet in season. — Brother, 
 compose thy mind; you are now in the narrow path to 
 glory." 
 
 Cassar wriggled a little in his chair, but he had sufficient 
 recollection to conceal his face with hands that were, in 
 their turn, concealed by gloves. The landlady departed, to 
 comply with this very reasonable request, and the group of 
 conspirators were again left to themselves. 
 
 "This is well," said the peddler; "but the difficult task 
 is to deceive the officer who commands the guard — he is 
 lieutenant to Lawton, and has learned some of the captain's 
 own cunning in these things. Remember, Captain Whar- 
 ton," continued he, with an air of pride, " that now is the 
 moment when everything depends on our coolness." 
 
 " My fate can be made but little worse than it is at pres- 
 ent, my worthy fellow," said Henry ; " but for your sake I 
 will do all that in me lies." 
 
 " And wherein can I be more forlorn and persecuted than 
 I now am?" asked the peddler, with that wild incoherence 
 which often crossed his manner. " But I have promised one 
 to save you, and to him I never have yet broken my word." 
 
 "And who is he?" said Henry, with awakened interest. 
 
 "No one." 
 
 The man soon returned, and announced that the horses 
 were at the door. Harvey gave the captain a glance, and 
 led the way down the stairs, first desiring the woman to 
 leave the prisoner to himself, in order that he might digest 
 the wholesome mental food that he had so lately received. 
 
 A rumor of the odd character of the priest had spread from 
 the sentinel at the door to his comrades; so that when Har- 
 vey and Wharton reached the open space before the building, 
 they found a dozen idle dragoons loitering about, with the 
 waggish intention of quizzing the fanatic, and employed in 
 affected admiration of the steeds. 
 
THE SPY. 375 
 
 "A fine horse!" said the leader in this plan of mischief; 
 " but a little low in flesh ; I suppose from hard labor in your 
 calling." 
 
 "My calling may be laborsome to both myself and this 
 faithful beast, but then a day of settling is at hand, that will 
 reward me for all my outgoings and incomings," said Birch, 
 putting his foot in the stirrup, and preparing to mount. 
 
 "You work for pay, then, as we fight for't?" cried another 
 of the party. 
 
 " Even so — ' is not the laborer worthy of his hire.-" " 
 
 "Come, suppose you give us a little preaching; we have 
 a leisure moment just now, and there's no telling how much 
 good you might do a set of reprobates like us, in a few 
 words; here, mount this horseblock, and take your text 
 where you please." 
 
 The men now gathered in eager delight around the ped- 
 dler, who, glancing his eye expressively toward the captain, 
 who had been suffered to mount, replied: 
 
 " Doubtless, for such is my duty. But, Caesar, you can 
 ride up the road and deliver the note— the unhappy prisoner 
 will be wanting the book, for his hours are numbered." 
 
 "Ay — ay, go along, Caesar, and get the book," shouted 
 half a dozen voices, all crowding eagerly around the ideal 
 priest, in anticipation of a frolic. 
 
 The peddler inwardly dreaded that, in their unceremo- 
 nious handling of himself and garments, his hat and wig 
 might be displaced, when detection would be certain; he 
 was therefore fain to comply with their request. Ascending 
 the horseblock, after hemming once or twice, and casting 
 several glances at the captain, who continued immovable, 
 he commenced as follows : 
 
 "I shall call your attention, my brethren, to that portion 
 of Scripture which you will find in the second book of Sam- 
 uel, and which is written in the following words: ^ And the 
 king lamented oj<er Aimer, and said, Died Abner as a fool 
 diethi Thy hands were not bounds nor thy Jeet put intofet- 
 
376 THE SPY. 
 
 ters : as a manfalleth before wicKil men, so fellest thou. And 
 all the people wept again over him.' Caesar, ride forward, I 
 say, and obtain the book as directed; thy master is groan- 
 ing in spirit even now for the want of it." 
 
 "An excellent text!" cried the dragoons." "Go on — go 
 on — let the snowball stay; he wants to be edified as well as 
 another." 
 
 " What are you at there, scoundrels ?" cried Lieutenant 
 Mason, as he came in sight from a walk he had taken to 
 sneer at the evening parade of the regiment of militia; 
 " away with every man of you to your quarters, and let me 
 find that each horse is cleaned and littered, when I come 
 round." The sound of the officer's voice operated like a 
 charm, and no priest could desire a more silent congrega- 
 tion, although he might possibly have wished for one that 
 was more numerous. Mason had not done speaking, when 
 it was reduced to the image of Caesar only. The peddler 
 took that opportunity to mount, but he had to preserve the 
 gravity of his movements, for the remark of the troopers 
 upon the condition of their beasts was but too just, and a 
 dozen dragoon horses stood saddled and bridled at hand, 
 ready to receive their riders, at a moment's warning. 
 
 "Well, have you bitted the poor fellow within," said Ma- 
 son, " that he can take his last ride under the curb of divin- 
 ity, old gentleman?" 
 
 " There is evil in thy conversation, profane man," cried 
 the priest, raising his hands, and casting his eyes upward in 
 holy horror ; " so I will depart from thee unhurt, as Daniel 
 was liberated from the lions' den." 
 
 " Off with you, for a hypocritical, psalm-singing, canting 
 rogue in disguise," said Mason scornfully; "by the life of 
 Washington ! it worries an honest fellow to see such vora- 
 cious beasts of prey ravaging a country for which he sheds 
 his blood. If I had you on a Virginia plantation for a 
 quarter of an hour, I'd teach you to worm the tobacco, with 
 the turkeys." 
 
THE SPY. 377 
 
 " I leave you, and shake the dust off my shoes, that no 
 remnant of this wicked hole may tarnish the vestments of 
 the godly." 
 
 " Start, or I will shake the dust from your jacket, design- 
 ing knave ! A fellow to be preaching to my men ! There's 
 Hollisterput the devil in them by his exhorting; the rascals 
 were getting too conscientious to strike a blow that would 
 rase the skin. But hold! whither do you travel, master 
 blackey, in such godly company?" 
 
 " He goes," said the minister, hastily speaking for his 
 companion, " to return with a book of much condolence and 
 virtue to the sinful youth above, whose soul will speedily 
 become white, even as his outwards are black and unseemly. 
 Would you deprive a dying man of the consolation of 
 religion ?" 
 
 "No, no, poor fellow, his fate is bad enough; a famous 
 good breakfast his prim body of an aunt gave us. But 
 harkee, Mr. Revelations, if the youth must die secundum 
 artem, let it be under a gentleman's directions; and my 
 advice is that you never trust that skeleton of yours 
 among us again, or I will take the skin off and leave you 
 naked." 
 
 "Out upon thee for a reviler and scoffer of goodness!" 
 said Birch, moving slowly, and with a due observance of 
 clerical dignity, down the road, followed by the imaginary 
 Caesar; "but I leave thee, and that behind me that will 
 prove thy condemnation, and take from thee a hearty and 
 joyful deliverance." 
 
 "Damn him," muttered the trooper; "the fellow rides 
 like a stake, and his legs stick out like the cocks of his hat. 
 I wish I had him below these hills, where the law is not 
 over-particular, I'd " 
 
 " Corporal of the guard ! — corporal of the guard I" shouted 
 the sentinel in the passage to the chambers; "corporal of 
 the guard! — corporal of the guard!" 
 
 The subaltern flew up the narrow stairway that led to the 
 
378 THE SPY. 
 
 room of the prisoner, and demanded the meaning of the 
 outcry. 
 
 The soldier was standing at the open door of the apart- 
 ment, looking in with a suspicious eye on the supposed Brit- 
 ish officer. On observing his lieutenant, he fell back with 
 habitual respect, and replied, with an air of puzzled thought : 
 
 "I don't know, sir; but just now the prisoner looked 
 queer. Ever since the preacher has left him, he don't look 
 as he used to do — but," gazing intently over the shoulder 
 of his officer, "it must be him, too! There is the same 
 powdered head, and the dam in the coat, where he was hit 
 the day we had the last brush with the enemy." 
 
 " And then all this noise is occasioned by your doubting 
 whether that poor gentleman is your prisoner, or not, is it, 
 sirrah? Who the devil do you think it can be, else?" 
 
 " I don't know who else it can be," returned the fellow 
 sullenly; "but he is grown thicker and shorter, if it is he; 
 and see for yourself, sir, he shakes all over, like a man in 
 an ague." 
 
 This was but too true. Caesar was an alarmed auditor of 
 this short conversation, and, from congratulating himself 
 upon the dexterous escape of his young master, his thoughts 
 were very naturally beginning to dwell upon the probable 
 consequences to his own person. The pause that succeeded 
 the last remark of the sentinel in no degree contributed to 
 the restoration of his faculties. Lieutenant Mason was 
 busied in examining with his own eyes the suspected person 
 of the black, and Caesar was aware of the fact, by stealing a 
 look through a passage under one of his arms, that he had 
 left expressly for the purpose of reconnoitring. Captain 
 Lawton would have discovered the fraud immediately, but 
 Mason was by no means so quick-sighted as his commander. 
 He therefore turned rather contemptuously to the soldier, 
 and, speaking in an undertone, observed: 
 
 "That anabaptist, methodistical, quaker, psalm-singing 
 rascal has frightened the boy, with his farrago about flames 
 
THE SPY. 379 
 
 and brimstone. I'll step in and cheer him with a little 
 rational conversation." 
 
 " I have heard of fear making a man white," said the 
 soldier, drawing back, and staring as if his eyes would start 
 from their sockets, " but it has changed the royal captain to 
 a black!" 
 
 The truth was that Caesar, unable to hear what Mason 
 uttered in a low voice, and having every fear aroused in 
 him by what had already passed, incautiously removed the 
 wig a little from one of his ears, in order to hear the better, 
 without in the least remembering that its color might prove 
 fatal to his disguise. The sentinel had kept his eyes fas- 
 tened on his prisoner, and noticed the action. The atten- 
 tion of Mason was instantly drawn to the same object; and, 
 forgetting all delicacy for a brother officer in distress, or 
 in short, forgetting everything but the censure that might 
 alight on his corps, the lieutenant sprang forward and seized 
 the terrified African by the throat ; for no sooner had Caesar 
 heard his color named, than he knew his discovery was cer- 
 tain ; and at the first sound of Mason's heavy boot on the 
 floor, he arose from his seat, and retreated precipitately to a 
 corner of the room. 
 
 "Who are you?" cried Mason, dashing the head of the 
 old man against the angle of the wall at each interrogatory ; 
 " who the devil are you, and where is the Englishman ? 
 Speak, thou thundercloud! Answer me, you jackdaw, or 
 I'll hang you on the gallows of the spy!" 
 
 Cffisar continued firm. Neither the threats nor the blows 
 could extract any reply, until the lieutenant, by a very natu- 
 ral transition in the attack, sent his heavy boot forward in a 
 direction that brought it in direct contact with the most sen- 
 sitive part of the negro — his shin. The most obdurate heart 
 could not have exacted further patience, and Caesar in- 
 stantly gave in. The first words he spoke were : 
 
 "Golly! massa, you t'ink I got no feelin'?" 
 
 "By heavens!" shouted the lieutenant, " it is the negro 
 
380 THE SPY. 
 
 himself! Scoundrel! where is your master, and who was 
 the priest?" While speaking, he made a movement, as if 
 about to renew the attack ; but Caesar cried aloud for mercy, 
 promising to tell all that he knew. 
 
 "Who was the priest?" repeated the dragoon, drawing 
 back his formidable leg, and holding it in threatening sus- 
 pense. 
 
 "Harvey, Harvey!" cried Caesar, dancing from one leg to 
 the other, as he thought each member in turn might be as- 
 sailed. 
 
 "Harvey who, you black villain?" cried the impatient 
 lieutenant, as he executed a full measure of vengeance by 
 letting his leg fly. 
 
 "Birch!" shrieked Caesar, falling on his knees, the tears 
 rolling in large drops over his shining face. 
 
 " Harvey Birch I" echoed the trooper, hurling the black 
 from him, and rushing from the room. " To arms! to arms! 
 Fifty guineas for the life of the peddler spy — give no quar- 
 ter to either. Mount! mount! to arms! to horse!" 
 
 During the uproar occasioned by the assembling of the 
 dragoons, who all rushed tumultuously to their horses, Cae- 
 sar rose from the floor, where he had been thrown by Mason, 
 and began to examine into his injuries. Happily for him- 
 self, he had alighted on his head, and consequently sustained 
 no material damage. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Away went Gilpin, neck or noughtf 
 
 Away went hat and wig ; 
 He little dreamt, when he set out. 
 
 Of running such a rig. 
 
 Cawper. 
 
 The road which it was necessary for the peddler and the 
 English captain to travel, in order to reach the shelter of the 
 hills, lay, for a half-mile, in full view from the door of the 
 
THE SPY. 381 
 
 building that had so recently been the prison of the latter; 
 running for the whole distance over the rich plain that 
 spreads to the very foot of the mountains, which here rise in 
 a nearly perpendicular ascent from their bases; it then 
 turned short to the right, and was obliged to follow the 
 windings of nature, as it won its way into the bosom of the 
 Highlands. 
 
 To preserve the supposed difference in their stations, 
 Harvey rode a short distance ahead of his companion, and 
 maintained the sober, dignified pace that was suited to his 
 assumed character. On their right, the regiment of foot, 
 that we have already mentioned, lay in tents ; and the sen- 
 tinels who guarded their encampment were to be seen mov- 
 ing with measured tread under the skirts of the hills them- 
 selves. 
 
 The first impulse of Henry was, certainly, to urge the 
 beast he rode to his greatest speed at once, and by a coup-de- 
 main not only accomplish his escape, but relieve himself 
 from the torturing suspense of his situation. But the for- 
 ward movement that the youth made for this purpose was 
 instantly checked by the peddler. 
 
 "Hold up!" he cried, dexterously reining his own horse 
 across the path of the other ; " would you ruin us both ? 
 Fall into the place of a black, following his master. Did 
 you not see their blooded chargers, all saddled and bridled, 
 standing in the sun before the house? How long do you 
 think that miserable Dutch horse you are on would hold his 
 speed, if pursued by the Virginians? Every foot that we 
 can gain, without giving the alarm, counts a day in our 
 lives. Ride steadily after me, and on no account look back. 
 They are as subtle as foxes, ay, and as ravenous for blood 
 as wolves!" 
 
 Henry reluctantly restrained his impatience, and followed 
 the direction of the peddler. His imagination, however, 
 continually alarmed him with the fancied sounds of pursuit; 
 though Birch, who occasionally looked back under the pre- 
 
382 THE SPY. 
 
 tence of addressing his companion, assured him that all 
 continued quiet and peaceful. 
 
 " But," said Henry, " it will not be possible for Ca^sar 
 to remain long undiscovered. Had we not better put our 
 horses to the gallop, and by the time they can reflect on the 
 cause of our flight, we can reach the corner of the woods?" 
 
 "Ah! you little know them, Captain Wharton," returned 
 the peddler; "there is a sergeant at this moment looking 
 after us, as if he thought all was not right; the keen-eyed 
 fellow watches me like a tiger lying in wait for his leap. 
 When I stood on the horseblock, he half suspected that 
 something was wrong. Nay, check your beast — we must let 
 the animals walk a little, for he is laying his hand on the 
 pommel of his saddle. If he mounts, we are gone. The 
 foot-soldiers could reach us with their muskets." 
 
 "What does he now?" asked Henry, reining his horse to 
 a walk, but at the same time pressing his heels into the ani- 
 mal's side, to be in readiness for a spring. 
 
 " He turns from his charger, and looks the other way ; 
 now trot on gentl)' — not so fast — not so fast. Observe the 
 sentinel in the field, a little ahead of us — he eyes us 
 keenly." 
 
 " Never mind the footman," said Henry impatiently ; " he 
 can do nothing but shoot us — whereas these dragoons may 
 make me a captive again. Surely, Harvey, there are horses 
 moving down the road behind us. Do you see nothing par- 
 ticular?" 
 
 "Humph!" ejaculated the peddler; "there is something 
 particular indeed, to be seen behind the thicket on our left. 
 Turn your head a little, and you may see and profit by it 
 too." 
 
 Henry eagerly seized this permission to look aside, and 
 the blood curdled to his heart as he observed that they were 
 passing a gallows, which unquestionably had been erected 
 for his own execution. He turned his face from the sight, 
 in undisguised horror. 
 
THE SPY. 383 
 
 " There is a warning to be prudent," said the peddler, in 
 the sententious manner that he often adopted. 
 
 "It is a terrific sight, indeed!" cried Henry, for a mo- 
 ment veiling his eyes with his hand, as if to drive a vision 
 from before "him. 
 
 The peddler moved his body partly around, and spoke 
 with energetic but gloomy bitterness: "And yet, Captain 
 Wharton, you see it where the setting sun shines full upon 
 you; the air you breathe is clear, and fresh from the hills 
 before you. Every step that you take leaves that hated gal- 
 lows behind; and every dark hollow, and every shapeless 
 rock in the mountains, offers yoU a hiding-place from the 
 vengeance of your enemies. But I have seen the gibbet 
 raised, when no place of refuge offered. Twice have I been 
 buried in dungeons, where, fettered and in chains, I have 
 passed nights in torture, looking forward to the morning's 
 dawn that was to light me to a death of infamy. The sweat 
 has started from limbs that seemed already drained of their 
 moisture; and if I ventured to the hole that admitted air 
 through grates of iron to look out upon the smiles of nature, 
 which God has bestowed for the meanest of his creatures, 
 the gibbet has glared before my eyes, like an evil con- 
 science harrowing the soul of a dying man. Four times 
 have I been in their power, besides this last; but — twice — 
 did I think my hour had come. It is hard to die at the 
 best. Captain Wharton; but to spend your last moments 
 alone and unpitied, to know that none near you so much as 
 think of the fate that is to you the closing of all that is 
 earthly; to think that in a few hours you are to be led from 
 the gloom, which, as you dwell on what follows, becomes 
 dear to you, to the face of day, and there to meet all eyes 
 fixed upon you, as if you were a wild beast; and to lose 
 sight of everything amid the jeers and scoffs of your fel- 
 low-creatures — that, Captain Wharton, that indeed is to 
 die!" 
 
 Henry listened in amazement, as his companion uttered 
 
384 THE SPY. 
 
 this speech with a vehemence ahogether new to him ; both 
 seemed to have forgotten their danger and their disguises. 
 
 "What! were you ever so near death as that?" 
 
 " Have I not been the hunted beast of these hills for three 
 years past?" resumed Harvey; "and once they even led me 
 to the foot of the gallows itself, and I escaped only by an 
 alarm from the royal troops. Had they been a quarter of 
 an hour later, I must have died. There was I placed in the 
 midst of unfeeling men, and gaping women and children, as 
 a monster to be cursed. When I would pray to God, my 
 ears were insulted with the history of my crimes ; and when, 
 in all that multitude, I looked around for a single face that 
 showed me any pity, I could find none — no, not even one; 
 all cursed me as a wretch who would sell his country for 
 gold. The sun was brighter to my eyes than common — but 
 it was the last time I should see it. The fields were gay 
 and pleasant, and everything seemed as if this world was a 
 kind of heaven. Oh! how sweet life was to me at that mo- 
 ment! 'Twas a dreadful hour, Captain Wharton, and such 
 as you have never known. You have friends to feel for you, 
 but I had none but a father to mourn my loss, when he 
 might hear of it; but there was no pity, no consolation near, 
 to soothe my anguish. Everything seemed to have deserted 
 me. I even thought that he had forgotten that I lived." 
 
 " What ! did you feel that God himself had forsaken you, 
 Harvey?" 
 
 " God never forsakes his servants," returned Birch, with 
 reverence, and exhibiting naturally a devotion that hitherto 
 he had only assumed. 
 
 "And who did you mean by he?" 
 
 The peddler raised himself in his saddle to the stiff and 
 upright posture that was suited to his outward appearance. 
 The look of fire, that for a short time glowed on his counte- 
 nance, disappeared in the solemn lines of unbending self- 
 abasement, and, speaking as if addressing a negro, he re- 
 plied: 
 
THE Spy. 385 
 
 " In heaven there is no distinction of color, my brother ; 
 therefore you have a precious charge within you, that you 
 must hereafter render an account of;" dropping his voice — 
 " this is the last sentinel near the road ; look not back, as 
 you value your life." 
 
 Henry remembered his situation, and instantly assumed 
 the humble demeanor of his adopted character. The unac- 
 countable energy of the peddler's manner was soon forgotten 
 in the sense of his own immediate danger ; and with the 
 recollection of his critical situation, returned all the uneasi- 
 ness that he had momentarily forgotten. 
 
 " What see you, Harvey?" he cried, observing the peddler 
 to gaze toward the building they had left, with ominous in- 
 terest; "what see you at the house?" 
 
 " That which bodes no good to us," returned the pretended 
 priest. " Throw aside the mask and wig ; you will need all 
 your senses without much delay ; throw them in the road : 
 there are none before us that I dread, but there are those 
 behind who will give us a fearful race!" 
 
 " Nay, then," cried the captain, casting the implements 
 of his disguise into the highway, " let us improve our time 
 to the utmost. We want a full quarter to the turn ; why not 
 push for it, at once?" 
 
 "Be cool; they are in alarm, but they will not mount 
 without an officer, unless they see us fly — now he comes, he 
 moves to the stables ; trot briskly ; a dozen are in their 
 saddles, but the officer stops to tighten his girths ; they hope 
 to steal a march upon us ; he is mounted ; now ride, Cap- 
 tain Wharton, for your life, and keep at my heels. If you 
 quit me, you will be lost!" 
 
 A second request was unnecessary. The instant that 
 Harvey put his horse to his speed, Captain Wharton was at 
 his heels, urging the miserable animal he rode to the ut- 
 most. Birch had selected his own beast; and although 
 vastly inferior to the high-fed and blooded chargers of the 
 dragoons, still it was much superior to the little pony that 
 25 
 
386 THE SPV. 
 
 had been thought good enough to carry Caesar Thompson 
 on an errand. A very few jumps convinced the captain that 
 his companion was fast leaving him, and a fearful glance 
 thrown behind informed the fugitive that his enemies were 
 as speedily approaching. With that abandonment that 
 makes misery doubly grievous, when it is to be supported 
 alone, Henry cried aloud to the peddler not to desert him. 
 Harvey instantly drew up, and suffered his companion to 
 run alongside of his own horse. The cocked hat and wig of 
 the peddler fell from his head the moment that his steed 
 began to move briskly, and this development of their dis- 
 guise, as it might be termed, was witnessed by the dragoons, 
 who announced their observation by a boisterous shout, that 
 seemed to be uttered in the very ears of the fugitives; so 
 loud was the cry, and so short the distance between them. 
 
 " Had we not better leave our horses," said Henry, " and 
 make for the hills across the fields, on our left.' — the fence 
 will stop our pursuers." 
 
 "That way lies the gallows," returned the peddler; 
 " these fellows go three feet to our two, and would mind the 
 fences no more than we do these ruts ; but it is a short quar- 
 ter to the turn, and there are two roads behind the wood. 
 They may stand to choose until they can take the track, and 
 we shall gain a little upon them there." 
 
 " But this miserable horse is blown already," cried Henry, 
 urging his beast with the end of his bridle, at the same time 
 that Harvey aided his efforts by applying the lash of a 
 heavy riding-whip he carried; "he will never stand it for 
 half a mile farther." 
 
 "A quarter will do; a quarter will do," said the peddler; 
 " a single quarter will save us, if you follow my directions." 
 
 Somewhat cheered by the cool and confident manner of his 
 companion, Henry continued silently urging his horse for- 
 ward. A few moments brought them to the desired turn, 
 and as they doubled round a point of low underbrush the 
 fugitives caught a glimpse of their pursuers scattered along 
 
THE SPY. 387 
 
 the highway. Mason and the sergeant, being better mounted 
 than the rest of the party, were much nearer to their heels 
 than even the peddler thought could be possible. 
 
 At the foot of the hills, and for some distance up the dark 
 valley that wound among the mountains, a thick underwood 
 of saplings had been suffered to shoot up, where the heavier 
 growth was felled for the sake of the fuel. At the sight of 
 this cover, Henry again urged the peddler to dismount, and 
 to plunge into the woods ; but his request was promptly re- 
 fused. The two roads, before mentioned, met at a very 
 sharp angle, at a short distance from the turn, and both 
 were circuitous, so that but little of either could be seen at 
 a time. The peddler took the one which led to the left, 
 but held it only a moment; for, on reaching a partial open- 
 ing in the thicket he darted across into the right-hand path, 
 and led the way up a steep ascent, which lay directly before 
 them. This manoeuvre saved them. On reaching the fork, 
 the dragoons followed the track, and passed the spot where the 
 fugitive had crossed to the other road, before they missed 
 the marks of the footsteps. Their loud cries were heard by 
 Henry and the peddler, as their wearied and breathless ani- 
 mals toiled up the hill, ordering their comrades in the rear 
 to ride in the right direction. The captain again proposed 
 to leave their horses and dash into the thicket. 
 
 " Not yet, not yet," said Birch, in a low voice ; " the road 
 falls from the top of this hill as steep as it rises; first let 
 us gain the top." While speaking they reached the desired 
 summit, and both threw themselves from their horses, Henry 
 plunging into the thick underwood, which covered the side 
 of the mountain for some distance above them. Harvey 
 stopped to give each of their beasts a few severe blows of 
 his whip, that drove them headlong down the path on the 
 other side of the eminence, and then followed his example. 
 
 The peddler entered the thicket with a little caution, and 
 avoided, as much as possible, rustling or breaking the 
 branches in his way. There was but time only to shelter 
 
388 THE SPY. 
 
 his person from view, when a dragoon led up the ascent; 
 and on reaching the height he cried aloud : 
 
 "I saw one of their horses turning the hill this min- 
 ute." 
 
 "Drive on; spur forward, my lads," shouted Mason; 
 " give the Englishman quarter, but cut down the peddler, and 
 make an end of him." 
 
 Henry felt his companion gripe his arm hard, as he lis- 
 tened in a great tremor to this cry, which was followed by 
 the passage of a dozen horsemen, with a vigor and speed 
 that showed too plainly how little security their over-tired 
 steeds could have afforded them. 
 
 " Now," said the peddler, rising from the cover to recon- 
 noitre, and standing for a moment in suspense, " all that we 
 gain is clear gain ; for, as we go up, they go down. Let 
 us be stirring." 
 
 " But will they not follow us, and surround this moun- 
 tain?" said Henry, rising, and imitating the labored but 
 rapid progress of his companion; "remember, they have 
 foot as well as horse, and, at any rate, we shall starve in the 
 hills." 
 
 " Fear nothing. Captain Wharton," returned the peddler, 
 with confidence ; " this is not the mountain that I would be 
 on, but necessity has made me a dexterous pilot among these 
 hills. I will lead you where no man will dare to follow. 
 See, the sun is already setting behind the tops of the west- 
 ern mountains, and it will be two hours to the rising of the 
 moon. Who, think you, will follow us far, on a November 
 night, among these rocks and precipices?" 
 
 "Listen!" exclaimed Henry; "the dragoons are shout- 
 ing to each other; they miss us already." 
 
 " Come to the point of this rock, and you may see them," 
 said Harvey, composedly seating himself down to rest. 
 " Nay, they can see us — observe, they are pointing up with 
 their fingers. There ! one has fired his pistol, but the dis- 
 tance is too great even for a musket." 
 
THE SPY. 389 
 
 "They will pursue us," cried the impatient Henry; "let 
 us be moving." 
 
 " They will not think of such a thing," returned the ped- 
 dler, picking the chicker-berries that grew on the thin soil 
 where he sat, and very deliberately chewing them, leaves 
 and all, to refresh his mouth. " What progress could they 
 make here, in their heavy boots and spurs, and long swords ? 
 No, no — they may go back and turn out the foot, but the 
 horse pass through these defiles, when they can keep the sad- 
 dle, with fear and trembling. Come, follow me. Captain 
 Wharton; we have a troublesome march before us, but I 
 will bring you where none will think of venturing this 
 night." 
 
 So saying they both arose, and were soon hid from view 
 among the rock and caverns of the mountain. 
 
 The conjecture of the peddler was true. Mason and his 
 men dashed down the hill, in pursuit, as they supposed, of 
 their victims, but on reaching the bottom lands they found 
 only the deserted horses of the fugitives. Some little time 
 was spent in examining the woods near them, and in endeav- 
 oring to take the trail on such ground as might enable the 
 horse to pursue, when one of the party descried the peddler 
 and Henry seated on the rock already mentioned. 
 
 "He's off," muttered Mason, eyeing Harvey with fury; 
 " he's off, and we are disgraced. By heavens, Washington 
 will not trust us with the keeping of a suspected tory, if we 
 let the rascal trifle in this manner with the corps; and there 
 sits the Englishman, too, looking down upon us with a smile 
 of benevolence ! I fancy that I can see it. Well, well, my 
 lad, you are comfortably seated, I will confess, and that is 
 something better than dancing upon nothing; but you are 
 not to the west of the Harlaem River yet, and I'll try your 
 wind before you tell Sir Henry what you have seen, or I'm 
 no soldier." 
 
 " Shall I fire, and frighten the peddler?" asked one of the 
 men, drawing his pistol from the holster. 
 
390 THE SPY. 
 
 " Ay, startle the birds from their perch — let us see how 
 they can use the wing." The man fired the pistol, and 
 Mason continued — " Tore George, I believe the scoundrels 
 laugh at us. But homeward, or we shall have them rolling 
 stones upon our heads, and the Royal Gazettes teeming 
 with an account of a rebel regiment routed by two loyalists. 
 They have told bigger lies than that, before now." 
 
 The dragoons moved sullenly after their officer, who rode 
 toward their quarters, musing on the course it behoved him 
 to pursue in the present dilemma. It was twilight when 
 Mason's party reached the dwelling, before the door of 
 which were collected a great number of the officers and 
 men, busily employed in giving and listening to the most 
 exaggerated accounts of the escape of the spy. The morti- 
 fied dragoons gave their ungrateful tidings with the sullen 
 air of disappointed men ; and most of the officers gathered 
 round Mason, to consult of the steps that ought to be taken. 
 Miss Peyton and Frances were breathless and unobserved 
 listeners to all that passed between them, from the window 
 of the chamber immediately above their heads. 
 
 " Something must be done, and that speedily," observed 
 the commanding officer of the regiment, which lay encamped 
 before the house: "this English officer is doubtless an 
 instrument in the great blow aimed at us by the enemy 
 lately; besides, our honor is involved in his escape." 
 
 "Let us beat the woods!" cried several at once; "by 
 morning we shall have them both again." 
 
 "Softly, softly, gentlemen," returnd the colonel; "no 
 man can travel these hills after dark, unless used to the 
 passes. Nothing but horse can do service in this business, 
 and I presume Lieutenant Mason hesitates to move without 
 the orders of his major." 
 
 " I certainly dare not," replied the subaltern, gravely 
 shaking his head, "unless you will take the responsibility 
 of an order; but Major Dunwoodie will be back again in 
 two hours, and we can carry the tidings through the hills 
 
THE SPY. 391 
 
 before daylight; so that by spreading patrols across, 
 from one river to the other, and offering a reward to the 
 country people, their escape will yet be impossible, unless 
 they can join the party that is said to be out on the Hud- 
 son." 
 
 "A very plausible plan," cried the colonel, "and one 
 that must succeed; but let a messenger be despatched to 
 Dunwoodie, or he may continue at the ferry until it proves 
 too late; though doubtless the runaways will lie in the 
 mountains to-night." 
 
 To this suggestion Mason acquiesced, and a courier was 
 sent to the Major with the important intelligence of the 
 escape of Henry, and an intimation of the necessity of his 
 presence to conduct the pursuit. After this arrangement, 
 the officers separated. 
 
 When Miss Peyton and her niece first learnt the escape of 
 Captain Wharton, it was with difficulty they could credit 
 their senses. They both relied so implicitly on the success 
 of Dunwoodie's exertions, that they thought the act, on the 
 part of their relative, extremely imprudent; but it was now 
 too late to mend it. While listening to the conversation of 
 the officers, both were struck with the increased danger of 
 Henry's situation, if recaptured, and they trembled to 
 think of the great exertions that would be made to accom- 
 plish this object. Miss Peyton consoled herself, and 
 endeavored to cheer her niece, with the probability that 
 the fugitives would pursue their course with unremitting 
 diligence, so that they might reach the Neutral Ground 
 before the horse would carry down the tidings of their flight. 
 The absence of Dunwoodie seemed to her all -important, 
 and the artless lady was anxiously devising some project 
 that might detain her kinsman, and thus give her nephew 
 the longest possible time. But very different were the 
 reflections of Frances. She could no longer doubt that the 
 figure she had seen on the hill was Birch, and she felt cer- 
 tain that, instead of flying to the friendly forces below, her 
 
392 THE SPY. 
 
 brother would be taken to the mysterious hut to pass the 
 night. 
 
 Frances and her aunt held a long and animated dis- 
 cussion by themselves, when the good spinster reluctantly 
 yielded to the representation of her niece, and, folding her 
 in her arms, she kissed her cold cheek, and, fervently bless- 
 ing her, allowed her to depart on an errand of fraternal 
 love. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 And here, forlorn and lost, I tread, 
 
 With falntin^r steps, and slow ; 
 Where wilds, immeasurably spread, 
 
 Seem length'ning as I go. 
 
 Goldsmitk, 
 
 The night had set in dark and chilling, as Frances Whar- 
 ton, with a beating heart but light step, moved through the 
 little garden that lay behind the farmhouse which had 
 been her brother's prison, and took her way to the foot of 
 the mountain, where she had seen the figure of him she sup- 
 posed to be the peddler. It was still early, but the darkness 
 and the dreary nature of a November evening would, at any 
 other moment, or with less inducement to exertion, have 
 driven her back in terror to the circle she had left. With- 
 out pausing to reflect, however, she flew over the ground 
 with a rapidity that seemed to bid defiance to all impedi- 
 ments, nor stopped even to breathe, until she had gone half 
 the distance to the rock that she had marked as the spot 
 where Birch made his appearance on that very morning. 
 
 The good treatment of their women is the surest evidence 
 that a people can give of their civilization; and there is no 
 nation which has more to boast of, in this respect, than the 
 Americans. Frances felt but little apprehension from the 
 orderly and quiet troops who were taking their evening's 
 repast on the side of the highway, opposite to the field 
 
THE SPY. 393 
 
 through which she was flying. They were her countrymen, 
 and she knew that her sex would be respected by the East- 
 ern militia, who composed this body; but in the volatile 
 and reckless character of the Southern horse she had less 
 confidence. Outrages of any description were seldom com- 
 mitted by the really American soldiery; but she recoiled, 
 with exquisite delicacy, from even the appearance of humili- 
 ation. When, therefore, she heard the footsteps of a horse 
 moving slowly up the road, she shrank timidly into a little 
 thicket of wood which grew around the spring that bubbled 
 from the side of a hillock near her. The vidette, for such 
 it proved to be, passed her without noticing her form, which 
 was so enveloped as to be as little conspicuous as possible, 
 humming a low air to himself, and probably thinking of 
 some other fair that he had left on the banks of the Poto- 
 mac. 
 
 Frances listened anxiously to the retreating footsteps of 
 his horse, and, as they died upon her ear, she ventured from 
 her place of secrecy, and advanced a short distance into the 
 field, where, startled at the gloom, and appalled with the 
 dreariness of the prospect, she paused to reflect on what she 
 had undertaken. Throwing back the hood of her cardinal, 
 she sought the support of a tree, and gazed toward the sum- 
 mit of the mountain that was to be the goal of her enter- 
 prise. It rose from the plain like a huge pyramid, giving 
 nothing to the eye but its outlines. The pinnacle could be 
 faintly discerned in front of a lighter background of clouds, 
 between which a few glimmering stars occasionally twin- 
 kled in momentary brightness, and then gradually became 
 obscured by the passing vapor that was moving before 
 the wind, at a vast distance below the clouds themselves. 
 Should she return, Henry and the peddler would most prob- 
 ably pass the night in fancied security upon that very hill, 
 toward which she was straining her eyes, in the vain hope 
 of observing some light that might encourage her to pro- 
 ceed. The deliberate, and what to her seemed cold-blooded. 
 
394 THE SPY. 
 
 project of the officer for the recapture of the fugitives, still 
 rang in her ears, and stimulated her to go on ; but the soli- 
 tude into which she must venture, the time, the actual dan- 
 ger of the ascent, and the uncertainty of her finding the hut, 
 or, what was still more disheartening, the chance that it 
 might be occupied by unknown tenants, and those of the 
 worst description — urged her to retreat. 
 
 The increasing darkness was each moment rendering 
 objects less and less distinct, and the clouds were gathering 
 more gloomily in the rear of the hill, until its form could 
 no longer be discerned. Frances threw back her rich curls 
 with both hands on her temples, in order to possess her 
 senses in their utmost keenness; but the towering hill was 
 entirely lost to the eye. At length she discovered a faint 
 and twinkling blaze in the direction in which she thought 
 the building stood, that by its reviving and receding lustre, 
 might be taken for the glimmering of a fire. But the delu- 
 sion vanished, as the horizon again cleared, and the star of 
 evening shone forth from a cloud, after struggling hard, as 
 if for existence. She now saw the mountain to the left of 
 the place where the planet was shining, and suddenly a 
 streak of mellow light burst upon the fantastic oaks that 
 were thinl)' scattered over its summit, and gradually moved 
 down its side, until the whole pile became distinct under 
 the rays of the rising moon. Although it would have been 
 physically impossible for our heroine to advance without 
 the aid of the friendly light, which now gleamed on the 
 long line of level land before her, yet she was not encour- 
 aged to proceed. If she could see the goal of her wishes, 
 she could also perceive the difficulties that must attend her 
 reaching it. 
 
 While deliberating in distressing incertitude, now shrink- 
 ing with the timidity of her sex and years from the enter- 
 prise, and now resolving to rescue her brother at every haz- 
 ard, Frances turned her looks toward the east, in earnest 
 gaze at the clouds which constantly threatened to involve 
 
THE SPY. 395 
 
 her again in comparative darkness. Had an adder stung 
 her, she could not have sprung with greater celerity than she 
 recoiled from the object against which she was leaning, and 
 which she, for the first time, noticed. The two upright 
 posts, with a cross-beam on their tops, and a rude platform 
 beneath, told but too plainly the nature of the structure ; 
 even the cord was suspended from an iron staple, and was 
 swinging to and fro in the night air. Frances hesitated 
 no longer, but rather flew than ran across the meadow, and 
 was soon at the base of the rock, where she hoped to find 
 something like a path to the summit of the mountain. Here 
 she was compelled to pause for breath, and she improved 
 the leisure by surveying the ground about her. The ascent 
 was quite abrupt, but she soon found a sheep-path that 
 wound among the shelving rocks and through the trees, so 
 as to render her labor much less tiresome than it otherwise 
 would have been. Throwing a fearful glance behind, the 
 determined girl commenced her journey upward. Young, 
 active, and impelled by her generous motive, she moved up 
 the hill with elastic steps, and very soon emerged from the 
 cover of the woods into an open space of more level ground, 
 that had evidently been cleared of its timber for the pur- 
 pose of cultivation. But either the war, or the sterility of 
 the soil, had compelled the adventurer to abandon the ad- 
 vantages that he had obtained over the wilderness, and 
 already the bushes and briers were springing up afresh, as 
 if the plough had never traced its furrows through the mould 
 which nourished them. 
 
 Frances felt her spirits invigorated by these faint vestiges 
 of the labor of man, and she walked up the gentle acclivity 
 with renewed hopes of success. The path now diverged in 
 so many different directions that she soon saw it would be 
 useless to follow their windings, and abandoning it, at the 
 first turn, she labored forward toward what she thought was 
 the nearest point of the summit. The cleared ground was 
 soon past, and woods and rocks, clinging to the precipitous 
 
396 THE SPY. 
 
 sides of the mountain, again opposed themselves to her 
 progress. Occasionally, the path was to be seen running 
 along the verge of the clearing, and then striking off into 
 the scattering patches of grass and herbage, but in no in- 
 stance could she trace it upward. Tufts of wool, hanging 
 to the briers, sufiSciently denoted the origin of these tracks, 
 and Frances rightly conjectured that whoever descended the 
 mountain would avail himself of their existence, to lighten 
 the labor. Seating herself on a stone, the wearied girl 
 again paused to rest and to reflect : the clouds were rising 
 before the moon, and the whole scene at her feet lay pic- 
 tured in the softest colors. 
 
 The white tents of the militia were stretched in regular 
 lines, immediately beneath her. The light was shining in 
 the window of her aunt, who, Frances easily fancied, was 
 watching the mountain, racked with all the anxiety she might 
 be supposed to feel for her niece. Lanterns were playing 
 about in the stable-yard, where she knew the horses of the 
 dragoons were kept, and, believing them to be preparing. for 
 their night march, she again sprang upon her feet, and re- 
 newed her toil. 
 
 Our heroine had to ascend more than a quarter of a mile 
 farther, although she had already conquered two-thirds of 
 the height of the mountain. But she was now without a 
 path, or any guide to direct her in her course. Fortunately, 
 the hill was conical, like most of the mountains in that 
 range, and, by advancing upward, she was certain of at 
 length reaching the desired hut, which hung, as it were, on 
 the very pinnacle. Nearly an hour did she struggle with 
 the numerous difficulties that she was obliged to overcome, 
 when, having been repeatedly exhausted with her efforts, 
 and, in several instances, in great danger from falls, she 
 succeeded in gaining the small piece of tableland on the 
 summit. 
 
 Faint with her exertions, which had been unusually severe 
 for so slight a frame, she sank on a rock, to recover her 
 
THE SPY. 397 
 
 strength and fortitude for the approaching interview. A 
 few moments sufficed for this purpose, when she proceeded 
 in quest of the hut. All of the neighboring hills were dis- 
 tinctly visible by the aid of the moon, and Frances was 
 able, where she stood, to trace the route of the highway 
 from the plains into the mountains. By following this line 
 with her eyes, she soon discovered the point whence she had 
 seen the mysterious dwelling, and directly opposite to that 
 point she well knew the hut must stand. 
 
 The chilling air sighed through the leafless branches of 
 the gnarled and crooked oaks, as, with a step so light as 
 hardly to rustle the dry leaves on which she trod, Frances 
 moved forward to that part of the hill where she expected to 
 find this secluded habitation ; but nothing could she dis- 
 cern that in the least resembled a dwelling of any sort. In 
 vain she examined every recess of the rocks, or inquisitively 
 explored every part of the summit that she thought could 
 hold the tenement of the peddler. No hut, nor any vestige 
 of a human being, could she trace. The idea of her solitude 
 struck on the terrified mind of the affrighted girl, and, ap- 
 proaching to the edge of a shelving rock, she bent forward 
 to gaze oh the signs of life in the vale, when a ray of keen 
 light dazzled her eyes, and a warm air diffused itself over 
 her whole frame. Recovering from her surprise, Frances 
 looked on the ledge beneath her, and at once perceived that 
 she stood directly over the object of her search. A hole 
 through its roof afforded a passage to the smoke, which, as 
 it blew aside, showed her a clear and cheerful fire crackling 
 and snapping on a rude hearth of stone. The approach to 
 the front of the hut was by a winding path around the point 
 of the rock on which she stood, and by this she advanced to 
 its door. 
 
 Three sides of this singular edifice, if such it could be 
 called, were composed of logs laid alternately on each other, 
 to a little more than the height of a man ; and the fourth 
 was formed by the rock against which it leaned. The roof 
 
398 THE SPY. 
 
 was made of the bark of trees, laid in long strips from the 
 rock to its eaves ; the fissures between the logs had been 
 stuffed with clay, which in many places had fallen out, and 
 dried leaves were made use of as a substitute to keep out 
 the wind. A single window of four panes of glass was in 
 front, but a board carefully closed it, in such a manner as 
 to emit no light from the fire within. After pausing some 
 time to view this singularly constructed hiding-place, for 
 such Frances well knew it to be, she applied her eye to a 
 crevice to examine the inside. There was no lamp or can- 
 dle, but the blazing fire of dry wood made the interior of 
 the hut light enough to read by. In one corner lay a bed 
 of straw, with a pair of blankets thrown carelessly over it, 
 as if left where they had last been used. Against the walls 
 and rock were suspended, from pegs forced into the crev- 
 ices, various garments, and such as were apparently fitted 
 for all ages and conditions, and for either sex. British and 
 American uniforms hung peaceably by the side of each 
 other; and on the peg that supported a gown of striped cal- 
 ico, such as was the usual country wear, was also depending 
 a well-powdered wig : in short, the attire was numerous, and 
 as various as if a whole parish were to be equipped from 
 this one wardrobe. 
 
 In the angle against the rock, and opposite to the fire 
 which was burning in the other corner, was an open cup- 
 board, that held a plate or two, a mug, and the remains of 
 some broken meat. Before the fire was a table, with one of 
 its l;gs fractured, and made of rough boards; these, with a 
 single stool, composed the furniture, if we except a few arti- 
 cles of cooking. A book that, by its size and shape, ap- 
 peared to be a Bible, was lying on the table, unopened. 
 But it was the occupant of the hut in whom Frances was 
 chiefly interested. This was a man, sitting on the stool, 
 with his head leaning on his hand, in such a manner as to 
 conceal his features, and deeply occupied in examining 
 some open papers. On the table lay a pair of curiously and 
 
THE SPY. 399 
 
 richly mounted horseman's pistols, and the handle of a 
 sheathed rapier, of exquisite workmanship, protruded from 
 between the legs of the gentleman, one of whose hands care- 
 lessly rested on its guard. The tall stature of this unex- 
 pected tenant of the hut, and his form, much more athletic 
 than that of either Harvey or her brother, told Frances, 
 without the aid of his dress, that it was neither of those she 
 sought. A close surtout was buttoned high in the throat of 
 the stranger, and, parting at his knees, showed breeches of 
 buff, with military boots and spurs. His hair was dressed 
 so as to expose the whole face ; and, after the fashion of 
 that day, it was profusely powdered. A round hat was laid 
 on the stones that formed a paved floor to the hut, as if to 
 make room for a large map, which, among the other papers, 
 occupied the table. 
 
 This was an unexpected event to our adventurer. She 
 had been so confident that the figure twice seen was the 
 peddler, that, on learning his agency in her brother's escape, 
 she did not in the least doubt of finding them both in the 
 place which, she now discovered, was occupied by another 
 and a stranger. She stood, earnestly looking through the 
 crevice, hesitating whether to retire, or to wait with the ex- 
 pectation of yet meeting Henry, as the stranger moved his 
 hand from before his eyes, and raised his face, apparently 
 in deep musing, when Frances instantly recognized the be- 
 nevolent and strongly marked, but composed, features of 
 Harper. 
 
 All that Dunwoodie had said of his power and disposi- 
 tion ; all that he had himself promised her brother, and all 
 the confidence that had been created by his dignified and 
 paternal manner, rushed across the mind of Frances, who 
 threw open the door of the hut, and, falling at his feet, 
 clasped his knees with her arms, as she cried : 
 
 " Save him — save him— save my brother; remember youi 
 promise, and save him!" 
 
 Harper had risen as the door opened, and there was a 
 
400 THE SPY. 
 
 slight movement of one hand toward his pistols ; but it was 
 cool, and instantly checked. He raised the hood of the 
 cardinal, which had fallen over her features, and exclaimed, 
 with some uneasiness: 
 
 " Miss Wharton! But you cannot be alone?" 
 
 " There is none here but my God and you ; and by his 
 sacred name, I conjure you to remember your promise, and 
 save my brother!" 
 
 Harper gently raised her from her knees, and placed her 
 on the stool, begging her at the same time to be composed, 
 and to acquaint him with the nature of her errand. This 
 Frances instantly did, ingenuously admitting him to a knowl- 
 edge of all her views in visiting that lone spot at such an 
 hour, and by herself. 
 
 It was at all times difficult to probe the thoughts of one 
 who held his passions in such disciplined subjection as 
 Harper, but still there was a lighting of his thoughtful eye, 
 and a slight unbending of his muscles, as the hurried and 
 anxious girl proceeded in her narrative. His interest, as 
 she dwelt upon the manner of Henry's escape, and the flight 
 to the woods, was deep and manifest, and he listened to the 
 remainder of her tale with a marked expression of benevo- 
 lent indulgence. Her apprehensions that her brother might 
 still be too late through the mountains seemed to have 
 much weight with him, for, as she concluded, he walked a 
 turn or two across the hut, in silent musing. 
 
 Frances hesitated, and unconsciously played with the 
 handle of one of the pistols, and the paleness that her fears 
 had spread over her fine features began to give place to a 
 rich tint, as, after a short pause, she added : 
 
 "We can depend much on the friendship of Major Dun- 
 woodie, but his sense of honor is so pure, that — that — not- 
 withstanding his — his — feelings — his desire to serve us — he 
 will conceive it to be his duty to apprehend my brother 
 again. Besides, he thinks there will be no danger in so 
 doing, as he relies greatly on your interference." 
 
THE SPY. 401 
 
 "On mine!" said Harper, raising his eyes in surprise. 
 
 " Yes, on yours. When we told him of your kind lan- 
 guage, he at once assured us all that you had the power, 
 and if you had promised would have the inclination, to 
 procure Henfy's pardon." 
 
 "Said he more?" asked Harper, who appeared slightly 
 uneasy. 
 
 "Nothing but reiterated assurances of Henry's safety; 
 even now he is in quest of you." 
 
 " Miss Wharton, that I bear no mean part in the unhappy 
 struggle between England and America, it might now be 
 useless to deny. You owe your brother's escape, this night, 
 to my knowledge of his innocence, and the remembrance 
 of my word. Major Dunwoodie is mistaken, when he says 
 that I might openly have procured his pardon. I now, in- 
 deed, can control his fate, and I pledge to you a word which 
 has some influence with Washington, that means shall be 
 taken to prevent his recapture. But from you, also, I exact 
 a promise, that this interview, and all that has passed be- 
 tween us, remain confined to your own bosom, until you 
 have my permission to speak upon the subject." 
 
 Frances gave the desired assurance, and he continued : 
 
 " The peddler and your brother will soon be here, but I 
 must not be seen by the royal officer, or the life of Birch 
 might be the forfeiture." 
 
 "Never!" cried Frances ardently; " Henry could never 
 be so base as to betray the man who saved him." 
 
 " It is no childish game that we are now playing, Miss 
 Wharton. Men's lives and fortunes hang upon slender 
 threads, and nothing must be left to accident that can be 
 guarded against. Did Sir Henr)^ Clinton know that the 
 peddler had communion with me, and under such circum- 
 stances, the life of the miserable man would be taken in- 
 stantly; therefore, as you value human blood, or remember 
 the rescue of your brother, be prudent, and be silent. Com- 
 municate what you know to them both, and urge them to 
 
 26 
 
402 THE SPY. 
 
 instant departure. If they can reach the last pickets of 
 our army before morning, it shall be my care that there are 
 none to intercept them. There is better work for Major 
 Dunwoodie than to be exposing the life of his friend." 
 
 While Harper was speaking, he carefully rolled up the 
 map he had been studying, and placed it, together with sun- 
 dry papers that were also open, into his pocket. He was 
 still occupied in this manner, when the voice of the ped- 
 dler, talking in unusually loud tones, was heard directly 
 over their heads. 
 
 " Stand further this way. Captain Wharton, and you can 
 see the tents, in the moonshine. But let them mount and 
 ride; I have a nest here that will hold us both, and we will 
 go in at our leisure." 
 
 "And where is this nest? I confess that I have eaten 
 but little the last two days, and I crave some of the cheer 
 you mention." 
 
 "Hem!" said the peddler, exerting his voice still more; 
 " hem— this fog has given me a cold ; but move slow — and 
 be careful not to slip, or you may land on the bayonet of the 
 sentinel on the flats; it is a steep hill to rise, but one can 
 go down it with ease." 
 
 Harper pressed his finger on his lip, to remind Frances 
 of her promise, and, taking his pistols and hat, so that no 
 vestige of his visit remained, he retired deliberately to a far 
 corner of the hut, where, lifting several articles of dress, he 
 entered a recess in the rock, and, letting them fall again, 
 was hid from view. Frances noticed, by the strong firelight, 
 as he entered, that it was a natural cavity, and contained 
 nothing but a few more articles of domestic use. 
 
 The surprise of Henfy and the peddler, on entering and 
 finding Frances in possession of the hut, may be easily im- 
 agined. Without waiting for explanations or questions, the 
 warm-hearted girl flew into the arms of her brother, and gave 
 a vent to her emotions in tears. But the peddler seemed 
 struck with very different feelings. His first look was at 
 
THE SPY. 403 
 
 the fire, which had been recently supplied with fuel ; he 
 then drew open a small drawer of the table, and looked a 
 little alarmed at finding it empty. 
 
 "Are you alone. Miss Fanny?" he asked, in a quick 
 voice; "you did not come here alone?" 
 
 "As you see me, Mr. Birch," said Frances, raising herself 
 from her brother's arms, and turning an expressive glance 
 toward the secret cavern, that the quick eye of the peddler 
 instantly understood. 
 
 " But why and wherefore are you here ?" exclaimed her 
 astonished brother ; " and how knew you of this place at all ?" 
 
 Frances entered at once into a brief detail of what had 
 occurred at the house since their departure, and the motives 
 which induced her to seek them. 
 
 " But," said Birch, " why follow us here, when we were 
 left on the opposite hill?" 
 
 Frances related the glimpse that she had caught of the 
 hut and peddler, in her passage through the Highlands, as 
 well as her view of him on that day, and her immediate 
 conjecture that the fugitives would seek the shelter of this 
 habitation for the night. Birch examined her features as, 
 with open ingenuousness, she related the simple incidents 
 that had made her mistress of his secret; and, as she ended, 
 he sprang upon his feet, and, striking the window with the 
 stick in his hand, demolished it at a blow. 
 
 " 'Tis but little luxury or comfort that I know," he said, 
 "but even that little cannot be enjoyed in safety! Miss 
 Wharton," he added, advancing before Fanny, and speaking 
 with the bitter melancholy that was common to him, " I am 
 hunted through these hills like a beast of the forest; but 
 whenever, tired with my toils, I can reach this spot, poor 
 and dreary as it is, I can spend my solitary nights in safety. 
 Will you aid to make the life of a wretch still more misera- 
 ble?" 
 
 "Never!" cried Frances, with fervor; "your secret is 
 safe with me." 
 
404 
 
 THE SPY. 
 
 " Major Dunwoodie " said the peddler slowly, turn- 
 ing an eye upon her that read her soul. 
 
 Frances lowered her head upon her bosom, for a moment, 
 in shame ; then, elevating her fine and glowing face, she 
 added, with enthusiasm: 
 
 "Never, never, Harvey, as God may hear my prayers!" 
 
 The peddler seemed satisfied; for he drew back, and, 
 watching his opportunity, unseen by Henry, slipped behind 
 the screen, and entered the cavern. 
 
 Frances and her brother, who thought his companion had 
 passed through the door, continued conversing on the lat- 
 ter's situation for several minutes, when the former urged 
 the necessity of expedition on his part, in order to precede 
 Dunwoodie, from whose sense of duty they knew they had 
 no escape. The captain took out his pocketbook, and wrote 
 a few lines with his pencil; then, folding the paper, he 
 handed it to his sister. 
 
 " Frances," he said, " you have this night proved yourself 
 to be an incomparable woman. As you love me, give that 
 unopened to Dunwoodie, and remember that two hours may 
 save my life." 
 
 "I will — I will; but why delay.' Why not fly, and im- 
 prove these precious moments?" 
 
 "Your sister says well, Captain Wharton," exclaimed 
 Harvey, who had re-entered unseen ; " we must go at once. 
 Here is food to eat, as we travel." 
 
 "But who is to see this fair creature in safety?" cried the 
 captain. " I can never desert my sister in such a place as 
 this." 
 
 " Leave me ! leave me !" said Frances ; " I can descend as 
 I came up. Do not doubt me ; you know not my courage 
 nor my strength." 
 
 " I have not known you, dear girl, it is true ; but now, as 
 I learn your value, can I quit you here? Never, never!" 
 
 " Captain Wharton," said Birch, throwing open the door, 
 "you can trifle with your own lives, if you have many to 
 
THE SPY. 405 
 
 spare ; I have but one, and must nurse it. Do I go alone, 
 or not?" 
 
 "Go, go, dear Henry," said Frances, embracing him; 
 "go; remember our father ; remember Sarah." She waited 
 not for his answer, but gently forced him through the door, 
 and closed it with her own hands. 
 
 For a short time there was a warm debate between Henry 
 and the peddler; but the latter finally prevailed, and the 
 breathless girl heard the successive plunges, as they went 
 down the sides of the mountain at a rapid rate. 
 
 Immediately after the noise of their departure had ceased, 
 Harper reappeared. He took the arm of Frances in silence, 
 and led her from the hut. The way seemed familiar to 
 him ; for, ascending to the ledge above them, he led his com- 
 panion across the tableland tenderly, pointing out the little 
 difficulties in their route, and cautioning her against injury. 
 
 Frances felt, as she walked by the side of this extraordi- 
 nary man, that she was supported by one of no common 
 stamp. The firmness of his step, and the composure of his 
 manner, seemed to indicate a mind settled and resolved. 
 By taking a route over the back of the hill, they descended 
 with great expedition, and but little danger. The distance 
 it had taken Frances an hour to conquer was passed by 
 Harper and his companion in ten minutes, and they entered 
 the open space already mentioned. He struck into one of 
 the sheep-paths, and, crossing the clearing with rapid steps, 
 they came suddenly upon a horse, caparisoned for a rider of 
 no mean rank. The noble beast snorted and pawed the 
 earth, as his master approached and replaced the pistols in 
 the holsters 
 
 Harper then turned, and, taking the hand of Frances, 
 spoke as follows : 
 
 " You have this night saved your brother, Miss Wharton. 
 It would not be proper for me to explain why there are lim- 
 its to my ability to serve him ; but if you can detain the 
 horse for two hours, he is assuredly safe. After what you 
 
406 THE SPY. 
 
 have already done, I can believe you equal to any duty. 
 God has denied to me children, young lady ; but if it had 
 been his blessed will that my marriage should not have 
 been childless, such a treasure as yourself would I have 
 asked from his mercy. But you are my child: all who 
 dwell in this broad land are my children, and my care ; and 
 take the blessing of one who hopes yet to meet you in hap- 
 pier days." 
 
 As he spoke, with a solemnity that touched Frances to 
 the heartj he laid his hand impressively upon her head. 
 The guileless girl turned her face toward him, and the hood 
 again falling back exposed her lovely features to the moon- 
 beams. A tear was glistening on either cheek, and her mild 
 blue eyes were gazing upon him in reverence. Harper bent 
 and pressed a paternal kiss upon her forehead, and contin- 
 ued: "Any of these sheep-paths will take you to the plain; 
 but here we must part — I have much to do, and far to ride ; 
 forget me in all but your prayers." 
 
 He then mounted his horse, and, lifting his hat, rode 
 toward the back of the mountain, descending at the same 
 time, and was soon hid by the trees. Frances sprang for- 
 ward with a lightened heart, and, taking the first path that 
 led downward, in a few minutes she reached the plain in 
 safety. While busied in stealing through the meadows 
 toward the house, the noise of horse approaching startled 
 her, and she felt how much more was to be apprehended 
 from man, in some situations, than from solitude. Hiding 
 her form in the angle of a fence near the road, she remained 
 quiet for a moment, and watched their passage. A small 
 party of dragoons, whose dress was different from the Vir- 
 ginians, passed at a brisk trot. They were followed by a 
 gentleman, enveloped in a large cloak, whom she at once 
 knew to be Harper. Behind him rode a black in livery, 
 and two youths in uniform brought up the rear. Instead of 
 taking the road that led by the encampment, they turned 
 short to the left, and entered the hills. 
 
THE SPV. 407 
 
 Wondering who this unknown but powerful friend of her 
 brother could be, Frances glided across the fields, and, 
 using due precautions in approaching the dwelling, regained 
 her residence undiscovered and in safety. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Hence, bashful cunning, 
 And prompt me, plain and holy innocence 
 I am your wife, if you will marry me. 
 
 Tempest. 
 
 On joining Miss Peyton, Frances learnt that Dunwoodie 
 was not yet returned ; although, with a view to relieve Henry 
 from the importunities of the supposed fanatic, he had de- 
 sired a very respectable divine of their own church to ride 
 up from the river and offer his services. This gentleman 
 was already arrived, and had been passing the half-hour he 
 had been there, in a sensible and well-bred conversation 
 with the spinster, that in no degree touched upon their do- 
 mestic affairs. 
 
 To the eager inquiries of Miss Peyton relative to her 
 success in her romantic excursion, Frances could say no 
 more than that she was bound to be silent, and to recom- 
 mend the same precaution to the good maiden also. There 
 was a smile playing around the beautiful mouth of Frances, 
 while she uttered this injunction, which satisfied her aunt 
 that all was as it should be. She was urging her niece to 
 take some refreshment after her fatiguing expedition, when 
 the noise of a horseman riding to the door announced the 
 return of the major. He had been found by the courier, 
 who was despatched by Mason, impatiently waiting the 
 return of Harper to the ferry, and immediately flew to the 
 place where his friend had been confined, tormented by a 
 thousand conflicting fears. The heart of Frances bounded 
 
408 THE SPY. 
 
 as she listened to his approaching footsteps. It wanted yet 
 an hour to the termination of the shortest period that the 
 peddler had fixed as the time necessary to effect his escape. 
 Even Harper, powerful and well-disposed as he acknowl- 
 edged himself to be, had laid great stress upon the impor- 
 tance of detaining the Virginians during that hour. She, 
 however, had not time to rally her thoughts, before Dun- 
 woodie entered one door, as Miss Peyton, with the readiness 
 of female_ instinct, retired through another. 
 
 The countenance of Peyton was flushed, and an air of 
 vexation and disappointment pervaded his manner. 
 
 "'Twas imprudent, Frances; nay, it was unkind," he 
 cried, throwing himself in a chair, "to fly at the very mo- 
 ment that I had assured him of safety ! I can almost per- 
 suade myself that you delight in creating points of differ- 
 ence in our feelings and duties." 
 
 " In our duties there may very possibly be a difference," 
 returned his mistress, approaching, and leaning her slender 
 form against the wall; "but not in our feelings, Peyton. 
 You must certainly rejoice in the escape of Henry !" 
 
 " There was no danger impending. He had the promise 
 of Harper; and it is a word never to be doubted. Oh! 
 Frances! Frances! had you known the man, you would 
 never have distrusted his assurance; nor would you have 
 again reduced me to this distressing alternative." 
 
 " What alternative ?" asked Frances, pitying his emotions 
 deeply, but eagerly seizing upon every circiunstance to pro- 
 long the interview. 
 
 " What alternative ! Am I not compelled to spend this 
 night in the saddle to recapture your brother, when I had 
 thought to lay my head on its pillow, with the happy con- 
 sciousness of having contributed to his release? You make 
 me seem your enemy ; I, who would cheerfully shed the last 
 drop of blood in your service. I repeat, Frances, it was 
 rash ; it was unkind ; it was a sad, sad mistake." 
 
 She bent toward him, and timidly took one of his hands. 
 
THE SPY, 409 
 
 while with the other she gently removed the curls from his 
 burning brow. 
 
 "Why go at all, dear Peyton?" she asked. "You have 
 done much for your country, and she cannot exact such a 
 sacrifice as this at your hand." 
 
 "Frances! Miss Wharton!" exclaimed the youth, spring- 
 ing on his feet, and pacing the floor with a cheek that burnt 
 through its brown covering, and an eye that sparkled with 
 wounded integrity ; " it is not my country, but my honor, 
 that requires the sacrifice. Has he not fled from a guard of 
 my own corps? But for this, I might have been spared 
 the blow ! But if the eyes of the Virginians are blinded to 
 deception and artifice, their horses are swift of foot, and 
 their sabres keen. We shall see, before to-morrow's sun, 
 who will presume to hint that the beauty of the sister fur- 
 nished a mask to conceal the brother! Yes, yes; I should 
 like, even now," he continued, laughing bitterly, " to hear 
 the villain who would dare to surmise that such treachery 
 existed!" 
 
 " Peyton, dear Peyton," said Frances, recoiling from his 
 angry eye, " you curdle my blood • — would you kill my 
 brother?" 
 
 " Would I not die for him!" exclaimed Dunwoodie, as he 
 turned to her more mildly; "you know I would; but I am 
 distracted with the cruel surmise to which this step of 
 Henry's subjects me. What will Washington think of me, 
 should he learn that I ever became your husband?" 
 
 " If that alone impels you to act so harshly toward my 
 brother," returned Frances, with a slight tremor in her 
 voice, " let it never happen for him to learn." 
 
 "And this is consolation, Frances!" 
 
 " Nay, dear Dunwoodie, I meant nothing harsh or unkind; 
 but are you not making us both of more consequence with 
 Washington than the truth will justify?" 
 
 " I trust that my name is not entirely unknown to the 
 commander-in-chief," said the major, a little proudly ; " nor 
 
4IO THE SPY. 
 
 are you as obscure as your modesty would make you. I 
 believe you, Frances, when you say that you pity me, and 
 it must be my task to continue worthy of such feelings. 
 But I waste the precious moments ; we must go through the 
 hills to-night, that we may be refreshed in time for the duty 
 of to-morrow. Mason is already waiting my orders to 
 mount. Frances, I leave you with a heavy heart; pity me, 
 but feel no concern for your brother ; he must again become 
 a prisoner, but every hair of his head is sacred." 
 
 "Stop! Dunwoodie, I conjure you," cried Frances, gasp- 
 ing for breath, as she noticed that the hand of the clock 
 still wanted many minutes to the desired hour; "before you 
 go on your errand of fastidious duty, read this note that 
 Henry has left for you, and which, doubtless, he thought he 
 was writing to the friend of his youth." 
 
 " Frances^ I excuse your feelings ; but the time will come 
 when you will do me justice." 
 
 " That time is now," she answered, extending her hand, 
 unable any longer to feign a displeasure that she did not 
 feel. 
 
 "Where got you this note?" exclaimed the }'0uth, glanc- 
 ing his eyes over its contents. " Poor Henry, you are in- 
 deed my friend ! If any one wishes me happiness, it is 
 you!" 
 
 "He does, he does," cried Frances eagerly; "he wishes 
 you every happiness ; believe what he tells you ; every word 
 is true." 
 
 " I do believe him, lovely girl, and he refers me to you 
 for its confirmation. Would that I could trust equally to 
 your affections!" 
 
 " You may, Peyton," said Frances, looking up with inno- 
 cent confidence toward her lover. 
 
 " Then read for yourself, and verify your words," inter- 
 rupted Dunwoodie, holding the note toward her. 
 
 Frances received it in astonishment, and read the follow 
 ing: 
 
THE SPY. 411 
 
 " Life is too precious to be trusted to uncertainties. I leave 
 you, Peyton, unknown to all but Ccesar, and I recommend him 
 to your fnercy. But there is a care that weighs me to the 
 earth. Look at my aged and infirm parent. He will be re- 
 proached for the supposed crime of his son. Look at those 
 helpless sisters that I leave behind me without a protector. 
 Prove to me that you love us all. Let the clergyman whom 
 you will bring with you unite you this night to Frances, and 
 become at once brother, son, and husband." 
 
 The paper fell from the hands of Frances, and she en- 
 deavored to raise her eyes to the face of Dunwoodie, but 
 they sank abashed to the floor. 
 
 " Am I worthy of this confidence? Will you send me out 
 this night, to meet my own brother? or will it be the officer 
 of Congress in quest of the officer of Britain?" 
 
 " And would you do less of your duty because I am your 
 wife. Major Dunwoodie ? in what degree would it better the 
 condition of Henry?" 
 
 "Henry, I repeat, is safe. The word of Harper is his 
 guarantee ; but I will show the world a bridegroom," con- 
 tinued the youth, perhaps deceiving himself a little, 
 "who is equal to the duty of arresting the brother of his 
 bride." 
 
 "And will the world comprehend this refinement?" said 
 Frances, with a musing air, that lighted a thousand hopes 
 in the bosom of her lover. In fact, the temptation was 
 mighty. Indeed, there seemed no other way to detain Dun- 
 woodie until the fatal hour had elapsed. The words of 
 Harper himself, who had so lately told her that openly he 
 could do but little for Henry, and that everything depended 
 upon gaining time, were deeply engraved upon her memory. 
 Perhaps there was also a fleeting thought of the possibility 
 of an eternal separation from her lover, should he proceed 
 and bring back her brother to punishment. It is difficult at 
 all times to analyze human emotions, and they pass through 
 
412 THE SPY. 
 
 the sensitive heart of a woman with the rapidity and nearly 
 with the vividness of lightning. 
 
 "Why do you hesitate, dear Frances?" cried Dunwoodie, 
 who was studying her varying countenance; "a few minutes 
 might give me a husband's claim to protect you." 
 
 Frances grew giddy. She turned an anxious eye to the 
 clock, and the hand seemed to linger over its face, as if with 
 intent to torture her. 
 
 " Speak, Frances," murmured Dunwoodie ; " may I sum- 
 mon my good kinswoman ? Determine, for time presses." 
 
 She endeavored to reply, but could only whisper some- 
 thing that was inaudible, but which her lover, with the privi- 
 lege of immemorial custom, construed into assent. He 
 turned and flew to the door, when his mistress recovered her 
 voice : 
 
 " Stop, Peyton ! I cannot enter into such a solemn en- 
 gagement with a fraud upon my conscience. I have seen 
 Henry since his escape, and time is all-important to him. 
 Here is my hand ; if, with this knowledge of the conse- 
 quences of delay, you will not reject it, it is freely yours." 
 
 "Reject it!" cried the delighted youth; "I take it as the 
 richest gift of Heaven. There is time enough for us all. 
 Two hours will take me through the hills ; and by noon, to- 
 morrow, I will return with Washington's pardon for your 
 brother, and Henry will help to enliven our nuptials." 
 
 "Then meet me here, in ten minutes," said Frances, 
 greatly relieved by unburdening her mind, and filled with 
 the hope of securing Henry's safety, " and I will return and 
 take those vows, which will bind me to you forever." 
 
 Dunwoodie paused only to press her once to his bosom, 
 and flew to communicate his wishes to the priest. 
 
 Miss Peyton received the avowal of her niece with infin- 
 ite astonishment, and a little displeasure. It was violating 
 all the order and decorum of a wedding to get it up so has- 
 tily, and with so little ceremony. But Frances, with modest 
 firmness, declared that her resolution was taken ; she had 
 
THE SPY. 413 
 
 long possessed the consent of her friends, and their nuptials, 
 for months, had only waited her pleasure. She had now 
 promised Dunwoodie, and it was her wish to comply; more 
 she dare not say without committing herself, by entering 
 into explanations that might endanger Birch, or Harper, or 
 both. Unused to contention, and really much attached to 
 her kinsman, the feeble objections of Miss Peyton gave way 
 to the firmness of her niece. Mr. Wharton was too com- 
 pletely a convert to the doctrine of passive obedience and 
 non-resistance, to withstand any solicitation from an officer 
 of Dunwoodie's influence in the rebel armies ; and the maid 
 returned to the apartment, accompanied by her father and 
 aunt, at the expiration of the time that she had fixed. Dun- 
 woodie and the clergyman were already there. Frances, 
 silently, and without the affectation of reserve, placed in his 
 hand the wedding-ring of her own mother, and after some 
 little time spent in arranging Mr. Wharton and herself. Miss 
 Peyton suffered the ceremony to proceed. 
 
 The clock stood directly before the eyes of Frances, and 
 she turned many an anxious glance at the dial; but the 
 solemn language of the priest soon caught her attention, 
 and her mind became intent upon the vows she was uttering 
 The ceremony was quickly over, and, as the clergyman 
 closed the words of benediction, the clock told the hour of 
 nine. This was the time that Harper had deemed so im- 
 portant, and Frances felt as if a mighty load was at once 
 removed from her heart. 
 
 Dunwoodie folded her in his arms, saluted the mild aunt 
 again and again, and shook Mr. Wharton and the divine re- 
 peatedly by the hands. In the midst of the felicitation, a 
 tap was heard at the door. It was opened, and Mason 
 appeared. 
 
 " We are in the saddle," said the lieutenant, " and, with 
 your permission, I will lead on ; as you are so well mounted, 
 you can overtake us at your leisure." 
 
 "Yes, yes, my good fellow; march," cried Dunwoodie, 
 
414 THE SPY. 
 
 gladly seizing an excuse to linger; "I will reach you at the 
 first halt." 
 
 The subaltern retired to execute these orders; he was fol- 
 lowed by Mr. Wharton and the divine. 
 
 " Now, Peyton," said Frances, " it is indeed a brother that 
 you seek; I am sure I need not caution you in his behalf, 
 should you unfortunately find him." 
 
 " Say fortunately," cried the youth ; " for I am determined 
 he shall yet dance at my wedding. Would that I could 
 win him to our cause! it is the cause of his country; and I 
 could fight with more pleasure, Frances, with your brother 
 by my side." 
 
 "Oh! mention it not! you awaken terrible reflections." 
 
 " I will not mention it," returned her husband ; " but I 
 must now leave you. But the sooner I go, Frances, the 
 sooner I shall return." 
 
 The noise of a horseman was heard approaching the 
 house, and Dunwoodie was yet taking leave of his bride 
 and her aunt, when an officer was shown into the room by 
 his own man. 
 
 The gentleman wore the dress of an aid-de-camp, and 
 the major at once knew him to be one of the military family 
 of Washington. 
 
 " Major Dunwoodie," he said, after bowing to the ladies, 
 "the commander-in-chief has directed me to give you these 
 orders." 
 
 He executed his mission, and, pleading duty, took his 
 leave immediately. 
 
 " Here, indeed!" cried the major, " is an unexpected turn 
 in the whole affair; but I understand "it; Harper has got 
 my letter, and already we feel his influence." 
 
 " Have you news affecting Henry?" cried Frances, spring- 
 ing to his side. 
 
 " Listen, and you shall judge." 
 
 "Sir — Upon the receipt of this, you will concentrate your 
 
THE SPY. 415 
 
 iquadron, so as to be in front 0/ a covering party which the 
 enemy has sent up in front of his foragers, by ten o'clock to- 
 morrow, on the heights of Croton, where you will find a body 
 of foot to support you. The escape of the English spy has 
 been reported to me, but his arrest is unimportant, compared 
 with the duty T now assign you. You will, therefore, recall 
 your men, if any are in pursuit, and endeavor to defeat the 
 enemy forthwith. 
 
 " Your obedient Servant, 
 
 "Geo. Washington." 
 
 "Thank God!" cried Dunwoodie, "my hands are washed 
 of Henry's recapture; I can now move to my duty with 
 honor." 
 
 " And with prudence too, dear Peyton," said Frances, 
 with a face as pale as death ; " remember, Dunwoodie, you 
 leave behind you new claims on your life." 
 
 The youth dwelt on her lovely but pallid features with 
 rapture ; and, as he folded her to his heart, exclaimed : 
 
 "For your sake, I will, lovely innocent!" Frances 
 sobbed a moment on his bosom, and he tore himself from 
 her presence. 
 
 Miss Peyton retired with her niece, to whom she con- 
 ceived it necessary, before they separated for the night, to 
 give an admonitory lecture on the subject of matrimonial 
 duty. Her instruction was modestly received, if not prop- 
 erly digested. We regret that history has not handed down 
 to us this precious dissertation ; but the result of all our 
 investigation has been to learn that it partook largely of 
 those peculiarities which are said to tincture the rules pre- 
 scribed to govern bachelors' children. We shall now leave 
 the ladies of the Wharton family, and return to Captain 
 Wharton and Harvey Birch. 
 
4l6 THE SPY. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Allow him not a parting word ; 
 
 Short be the shrift^ and sure the cord ! 
 
 Rokefy. 
 
 The peddler and his companion soon reached the valley, 
 and after pausing to listen, and hearing no sounds which 
 announced that pursuers were abroad, they entered the high- 
 way. Acquainted with every step that led through the 
 mountains, and possessed of sinews inured to toil, Birch led 
 the way, with the lengthened strides that were peculiar to 
 the man and his profession ; his pack alone was wanting to 
 finish the appearance of his ordinary business air. At 
 times, when they approached one of those little posts held 
 by the American troops, with which the Highlands abound- 
 ed, he would take a circuit to avoid the sentinels, and plunge 
 fearlessly into a thicket, or ascend a rugged hill, that to the 
 eye seemed impassable. But the peddler was familiar with 
 every turn in their difficult route, knew where the ravines 
 might be penetrated, or where the streams were fordable. 
 In one or two instances, Henry thought that their further 
 progress was absolutely at an end, but the ingenuity, or 
 knowledge, of his guide, conquered every difficulty. After 
 walking at a great rate for three hours, they suddenly di- 
 verged from the road, which inclined to the east, and held 
 their course directly across the hills, in a due south direc- 
 tion. This movement was made, the peddler informed his 
 companion, in order to avoid the parties who constantly pa- 
 trolled in the southern entrance of the Highlands, as well as 
 to shorten the distance by travelling in a straight line. 
 After reaching the summit of a hill, Harvey seated himself 
 by the side of a little run, and opening a wallet, that he had 
 slung where his pack was commonly suspended, he invited 
 his comrade to partake of the coarse fare it contained. 
 Henry had kept pace with the peddler, more by the excite- 
 
THE SPY. 417 
 
 ment natural to his situation, than by the equality of his 
 physical powers. The idea of a halt was unpleasant, so 
 long as there existed a possibility of the horse getting below 
 him, in time to intercept their retreat through the neutral 
 ground. He, therefore, stated his apprehensions to his 
 companion, and urged a wish to proceed. 
 
 " Follow my example, Captain Wharton," said the peddler, 
 commencing his frugal meal ; " if the horse have started, it 
 will be more than man can do to head them ; and if they 
 have not, work is cut out for them that will drive all 
 thoughts of you and me from their brains." 
 
 " You said yourself that two hours' detention was all- 
 important to us, and if we loiter here of what use will be 
 the advantage that we may have already obtained?" 
 
 " The time is passed, and Major Dunwoodie thinks little 
 of following two men, when hundreds are waiting for him, 
 on the banks of the river." 
 
 "Listen!" interrupted Henry; "there are horse at this 
 moment passing the foot of the hill. I hear them even 
 laughing and talking to each other. Hist! there is the 
 voice of Dunwoodie himself ; he calls to his comrade in a 
 manner that shows but little uneasiness. One would think 
 that the situation of his friend would lower his spirits; 
 surely Frances could not have given him the letter." 
 
 On hearing the first exclamation of the captain, Birch 
 arose from his seat, and approached cautiously to the brow 
 of the hill, taking care to keep his body in the shadow of 
 the rocks, so as to be unseen at any distance, and earnestly 
 reconnoitred the group of passing horsemen. He continued 
 listening, until their quick footsteps were no longer audible, 
 and then quietly returned to his seat, and with incomparable 
 coolness resumed his meal. 
 
 " You have a long walk, and a tiresome one, before you, 
 Captain Wharton ; you had better do as I do — you were eager 
 for food at the hut above Fishkill, but travelling seems to 
 have worn down your appetite." 
 
 27 
 
41 8 THE SPY. 
 
 " I thought myself safe then, but the information of my 
 sister fills me with uneasiness, and I cannot eat." 
 
 " You have less reason to be troubled now than at any 
 time since the night before you were taken, when you refused 
 my advice, and an offer to see you in, in safety," returned 
 the peddler. " Major Dunwoodie is not a man to laugh and 
 be gay, when his friend is in difficulty. Come, then, and 
 eat, for no horse will be in our way, if we can hold our legs 
 for four hours longer, and the sun keeps behind the hills as 
 long as common." 
 
 There was a composure in the peddler's manner that en- 
 couraged his companion; and, having once determined to 
 submit to Harvey's government, he suffered himself to be 
 persuaded into a tolerable supper, if quantity be considered 
 without any reference to the quality. After completing their 
 repast, the peddler resumed his journey. 
 
 Henry followed in blind submission to his will. For 
 two hours more they struggled with the difficult and danger- 
 ous passes of the Highlands, without road, or any other 
 guide than the moon, which was travelling the heavens, 
 now wading through flying clouds, and now shining brightly. 
 At length they arrived at a point where the mountains sunk 
 into rough and unequal hillocks, and passed at once from 
 the barren sterility of the precipices, to the imperfect culture 
 of the neutral ground. 
 
 The peddler now became more guarded in the manner in 
 which they proceeded, and took divers precautions to pre- 
 vent meeting any moving parties of the Americans. With 
 the stationary posts he was too familiar to render it probable 
 he might fall upon any of them unawares. He wound 
 among the hills and vales, now keeping the highways and 
 now avoiding them, with a precision that seemed instinctive. 
 There was nothing elastic in his tread, but he glided over 
 the ground with enormous strides, and a body bent forward, 
 without appearing to use exertion or know weariness. 
 
 The moon had set, and a faint streak of light was begin- 
 
THE SPY, 419 
 
 ning to show itself in the east. Captain Wharton ventured 
 to express a sense of fatigue, and to inquire if they were not 
 yet arrived at a part of the country where it might be safe 
 to apply at some of the farmhouses for admission. 
 
 " See here," said the peddler, pointing to a hill, at a short 
 distance in their rear; "do you not see a man walking on 
 the point of that rock? Turn, so as to bring the daylight 
 in the range — now, see, he moves, and seems to be looking 
 earnestly at something to the eastward. That is a royal 
 sentinel; two hundred of the rig'lar troops lay on that hill, 
 no doubt sleeping on their arms." 
 
 "Then," cried Henry, "let us join them, and our danger 
 is ended." 
 
 "Softly, softly. Captain Wharton," said the peddler drily; 
 " you've once been in the midst of three hundred of them, 
 but there was a man who could take you out ; see you not 
 yon dark body, on the side of the opposite hill, just above 
 the corn-stalks? There are the — the rebels (since that is 
 the word for us loyal subjects), waiting only for day, to see 
 who will be master of the ground." 
 
 " Nay, then," exclaimed the fiery youth, " I will join the 
 troops of my prince, and share their fortunes, be it good or 
 be it bad." 
 
 " You forget that you fight with a halter round your neck ; 
 no, no — I have promised one whom I must not disappoint, 
 to carry you safe in; and unless you forget what I have 
 already done, and what I have risked for you. Captain 
 Wharton, you will turn and follow me to Harlaem." 
 
 To this appeal the youth felt unwillingly obliged to sub- 
 mit; and they continued their course toward the city. It 
 was not long before they gained the banks of the Hudson. 
 After searching for a short time under the shore, the peddler 
 discovered a skiff, that appeared to be an old acquaintance ; 
 and, entering it with his companion, he landed him on the 
 south side of the Croton. Here Birch declared they were in 
 safety ; for the royal troops held the Continentals at bay, 
 
420 THE SPY. 
 
 and the former were out in too great strength for the light 
 parties of the latter to trust themselves below that river, on 
 the immediate banks of the Hudson. 
 
 Throughout the whole of this arduous flight, the peddler 
 had manifested a coolness and presence of mind that noth- 
 ing appeared to disturb. All his faculties seemed to be of 
 more than usual perfection, and the infirmities of nature to 
 have no dominion over him. Henry had followed him like 
 a child in leading-strings, and he now reaped his reward, as 
 he felt a bound of pleasure at his heart, on hearing that he 
 was relieved from apprehension, and permitted to banish 
 every doubt of security. 
 
 A steep and laborious ascent brought them from the level 
 of the tide-waters to the high lands that form, in this part 
 of the river, the eastern banks of the Hudson. Retiring a 
 little from the highway, under the shelter of a thicket of 
 cedars, the peddler threw his form on a flat rock, and an- 
 nounced to his companion that the hour for rest and refresh- 
 ment was at length arrived. The day was now opened, and 
 objects could be seen in the distance, with distinctness. Be- 
 neath them lay the Hudson, stretching to the south in a 
 straight line, as far as the eye could reach. To the north, 
 the broken fragments of the Highlands threw upward their 
 lofty heads, above masses of fog that hung over the water, 
 and by which the course of the river could be traced into 
 the bosom of hills, whose conical summits were grouping 
 together, one behind another, in that disorder which might 
 be supposed to have succeeded their gigantic, but fruitless, 
 efforts to stop the progress of the flood. Emerging from 
 these cor.fused piles, the river, as if rejoicing at its release 
 from the struggle, expanded into a wide bay, which was or- 
 namented by a few fertile and low points that jutted humbly 
 into its broad basin. On the opposite, or western shore, 
 the rocks of Jersey were gathered into an array that has ob- 
 tained for them the name of the " palisadoes" elevating them- 
 selves for many hundred feet, as if to protect the rich coun- 
 
THE SPY. 421 
 
 try in their rear from the inroads of the conqueror ; but, 
 disdaining such an enemy, the river swept proudly by their 
 feet, and held its undeviating way to the ocean. A ray of 
 the rising sun darted upon the slight cloud that hung over 
 the placid river, and at once the whole scene was in motion, 
 changing and assuming new forms, and exhibiting fresh ob- 
 jects in each successive moment. At the daily rising of this 
 great curtain of nature, at the present time, scores of white 
 sails and sluggish vessels are seen thickening on the water, 
 with that air of life which denotes the neighborhood to the 
 metropolis of a great and flourishing empire ; but to Henry 
 and the peddler it displayed only the square yards and lofty 
 masts of a vessel of war, riding a few miles below them. 
 Before the fog had begun to move, the tall spars were seen 
 above it, and from one of them a long pennant was feebly 
 borne abroad in the current of night air, that still quivered 
 along the river; but as the smoke arose, the black hull, the 
 crowded and complicated mass of rigging, and the heavy 
 yards and booms, spreading their arms afar, were succes- 
 sively brought into view. 
 
 " There, Captain Wharton," said the peddler, " there is a 
 safe resting-place for you; America has no arm that can 
 reach you, if you gain the deck of that ship. She is sent up to 
 cover the foragers, and support the troops ; the rig'lar officers 
 are fond of the sound of cannon from their shipping." 
 
 Without condescending to reply to the sarcasm conveyed 
 in this speech, or perhaps not noticing it, Henry joyfully 
 acquiesced in the proposal, and it was accordingly arranged 
 between them that, as soon as they were refreshed, he should 
 endeavor to get on board the vessel. 
 
 While busily occupied in the very indispensable opera- 
 tion of breaking their fast, our adventurers were startled with 
 the sound of distant firearms. At first a few scattering 
 shots were fired, which were succeeded by a long and ani- 
 mated roll of musketry » and then quick and heavy volleys 
 followed each other. 
 
422 THE SPY. 
 
 "Your prophecy is made good," cried the English officer, 
 springing upon his feet. " Our troops and the rebels are at 
 it! — I would give six months' pay to see the charge." 
 
 "Umph!" returned his companion, without ceasing his 
 meal ; " they do very well to look at from a distance : I can't 
 say but the company of this bacon, cold as it is, is more to 
 my taste, just now, than a hot fire from the Continentals." 
 
 " The discharges are heavy for so small a force ; but the 
 fire seems irregular." 
 
 " The scattering guns are from the Connecticut militia," 
 said Harvey, raising his head to listen; "they rattle it oil 
 finely, and are no fools at a mark. The volleys are the 
 rig'lars, who, you know, fire by word — as long as they can." 
 
 "I like not the warmth of what you call a scattering fire," 
 exclaimed the captain, moving about with uneasiness ; " it 
 is more like the roll of a drum than the shooting of skir- 
 mishers." 
 
 "No, no; I said not skrimmagers," returned the other, 
 raising himself upon a knee, and ceasing to eat; "so long 
 as they stand, they are too good for the best troops in the 
 royal army. Each man does his work, as if fighting by the 
 job ; and then, they think while they fight, and don't send 
 bullets among the clouds, that were meant to kill men upon 
 earth." 
 
 " You talk and look, sir, as if you wished them success," 
 said Henry sternly. 
 
 " I wish success to the good cause only, Captain Wharton. 
 I thought you knew me too well, to be uncertain which party 
 I favored." 
 
 " Oh ! you are reputed loyal, Mr. Birch. — But the volleys 
 have ceased!" 
 
 Both now listened intently for a little while, during 
 which the irregular reports became less brisk, and suddenly 
 heavy and repeated volleys followed. 
 
 "They've been at the bayonet," said the peddler; "the 
 rig'lars have tried the bayonet, and the rebels are driven." 
 
THE SPY. 423 
 
 " Ay, Mr. Birch, the bayonet is the thing for the British 
 soldier, after all. They delight in the bayonet!" 
 
 " Well, to my notion," said the peddler, " there's but little 
 delight to be taken in any such fearful weapon. I dare say 
 the militia are of my mind, for half of them don't carry the 
 ugly things. — Lord! Lord! captain, I wish you'd go with 
 me once into the rebel camp, and hear what lies the men 
 will tell about Bunker Hill and Burg'yne: you'd think they 
 loved the bayonet as much as they do their dinners." 
 
 There was a chuckle, and an air of affected innocency 
 about his companion, that rather annoyed Henry, and he 
 did not deign to reply. 
 
 The firing now became desultory, occasionally intermin- 
 gled with heavy volleys. Both of the fugitives were standing, 
 listening with much anxiet}', when a man, armed with a 
 musket, was seen stealing toward them, under the shelter of 
 the cedar bushes, that partially covered the hill. Henry 
 first observed this suspicious-looking stranger, and instantly 
 pointed him out to his companion. Birch started, and cer- 
 tainly made an indication of sudden flight ; but, recollecting 
 himself, he stood, in sullen silence, until the stranger was 
 within a few yards of them. 
 
 " 'Tis friends," said the fellow, clubbing his gun, but ap- 
 parently afraid to venture nearer. 
 
 " You had better retire," said Birch; "here are rig'lars 
 at hand. We are not near Dunwoodie's horse now, and you 
 will not find me an easy prize to-day." 
 
 " Damn Major Dunwoodie and his horse!" cried the leader 
 of the Skinners (for it was he) ; " God bless King George ! 
 and a speedy end to the rebellion, say I. If you would 
 show me the safe way in to the refugees, Mr. Birch, I'll 
 pay you well, and ever after stand your friend, in the bar- 
 gain." 
 
 "The road is as open to you as to me," said Birch, turn- 
 ing from him in ill-concealed disgust; " if you want to find 
 the refugees, you know well where they lay." 
 
424 THE SPY. 
 
 " Ay, but I'm a little doubtful of going in upon them by 
 myself : now, you are well known to them all, and it will be 
 no detriment to you just to let me go in with you." 
 
 Henry here interfered, and after holding a short dialogue 
 with the fellow, he entered into a compact with him, that, 
 on condition of surrendering his arms, he might join the 
 part}'. The man complied instantly, and Birch received his 
 gun with eagerness ; nor did he lay it upon his shoulder to 
 renew their march, before he had carefully examined the 
 priming, and ascertained, to his satisfaction, that it con- 
 tained a good dry ball-cartridge. 
 
 As soon as this engagement was completed, they com- 
 menced their journey anew. By following the bank of the 
 river. Birch led the way free from observation, until they 
 reached the point opposite to the frigate, when, by making 
 a signal, a boat was induced to approach. Some time was 
 spent, and much precaution used, before the seamen would 
 trust themselves ashore; but Henry having finally succeeded 
 in making the officer who commanded the party credit his 
 assertions, he was able to rejoin his companions in arms in 
 safety. Before taking leave of Birch, the captain handed 
 him his purse, which was tolerably well supplied for the 
 times; the peddler received it, and, watching an opportu- 
 nity, he conveyed it, unnoticed by the Skinner, to a part of 
 his dress that was ingeniously contrived to hold such treas- 
 ures. 
 
 The boat pulled from the shore, and Birch turned on his 
 heel, drawing his breath like one relieved, and shot up the 
 hills with the strides for which he was famous. The Skin- 
 ner followed, and each party pursued the common course, 
 casting frequent and suspicious glances at the other, and 
 both maintaining a most impenetrable silence. 
 
 Wagons were moving along the river road, and occasional 
 parties of horse were seen escorting the fruits of the inroad 
 toward the city. As the peddler had views of his own, he 
 rather avoided falling in with any of these patrols, than 
 
THE spy. 425 
 
 sought their protection. But, after travelling a few miles on 
 the immediate banks of the river, during which, notwith- 
 standing the repeated efforts of the Skinner to establish 
 something like sociability, he maintained a most determined 
 silence, keeping a firm hold of the gun, and always main- 
 taining a jealous watchfulness of his associate, the peddler 
 suddenly struck into the highway, with an intention of cross- 
 ing the hills toward Harlaem. At the moment he gained 
 the path, a body of horse came over a little eminence, and 
 was upon him before he perceived them. It was too late to 
 retreat, and after taking a view of the materials that com- 
 posed this party. Birch rejoiced in the rencontre, as a prob- 
 able means of relieving him from his unwelcome compan- 
 ion. There were some eighteen or twenty men, mounted 
 and equipped as dragoons, though neither their appearance 
 nor manners denoted much discipline. At their head rode 
 a heavy, middle-aged man, whose features expressed as 
 much of animal courage, and as little of reason, as could be 
 desired for such an occupation. He wore the dress of an 
 officer, but there was none of that neatness in his attire, nor 
 grace in his movements, that was usually found about the 
 gentlemen who bore the royal commission. His limbs were 
 firm, and not pliable, and he sat his horse with strength and 
 confidence, but his bridle-hand would have been ridiculed 
 by the meanest rider among the Virginians. As he ex- 
 pected, this leader instantly hailed the peddler, in a voice 
 by no means more conciliating than his appearance. 
 
 "Hey! my gentlemen, which way so fast?" he cried. 
 "Has Washington sent you down as spies?" 
 
 " I am an innocent peddler," returned Harvey meekly, 
 " and am going below, to lay in a fresh stock of goods." 
 
 " And how do you expect to get below, my innocent ped- 
 dler? Do you think we hold the forts at Kingsbridge to 
 cover such peddling rascals as you, in your goings in and 
 comings out?" 
 
 "I believe I hold a pass that will carry me through," said 
 
426 THE SPY. 
 
 the peddler, handing him a paper, with an air of great in- 
 difference. 
 
 The officer, for such he was, read it, and cast a look of 
 surprise and curiosity at Harvey, when he had done. 
 
 Then, turning to one or two of his men, who had offi- 
 ciously stopped the way, he cried : 
 
 "Why do you detain the man? give way, and let him pass 
 in peace. But who have we here ? Your name is not men- 
 tioned in the pass!" 
 
 "No, sir," said the Skinner, lifting his hat with humility; 
 " I have been a poor deluded man, who has been serving in 
 the rebel army ; but, thank God, I've lived to see the error 
 of my ways, and am now come to make reparation, by en- 
 listing under the Lord's anointed." 
 
 "Umph! a deserter — a Skinner, I'll swear, wanting to 
 turn Cow-boy ! In the last brush I had with the scoundrels, 
 I could hardly tell my own men from the enemy. We are 
 not over well supplied with coats, and as for countenances, 
 the rascals change sides so often, that you may as well count 
 their faces for nothing; but trudge on — we will contrive to 
 make use of you, sooner or later." 
 
 Ungracious as was this reception, if you could judge of 
 the Skinner's feelings from his manner, it nevertheless de- 
 lighted him. He moved with alacrity toward the city, and 
 really was so happy to escape the brutal looks and frightful 
 manner of his interrogator, as to lose sight of all other con- 
 siderations. But the man who performed the functions of 
 orderly in the irregular troop rode up to the side of his 
 commander, and commenced a close and apparently a con- 
 fidential discourse with his principal. They spoke in whis- 
 pers, and cast frequent and searching glances at the Skin- 
 ner, until the fellow began to think himself an object of 
 more than common attention. His satisfaction at this dis- 
 tinction was somewhat heightened, at observing a smile on 
 the face of the captain, which, although it might be thought 
 grim, certainly denoted satisfaction. This pantomime oc- 
 
THE SPY. 427 
 
 cupied the time they were passing a hollow, and concluded 
 as they rose another hill. Here the captain and his ser- 
 geant both dismounted, and ordered the party to halt. The 
 two partisans each took a pistol from his holster, a move- 
 ment that excited no suspicion or alarm, as it was a precau- 
 tion always observed, and beckoned to the peddler and the 
 Skinner to follow. A short walk brought them to a spot 
 where the hill overhung the river, the ground falling nearly 
 perpendicularly to the shore. On the brow of the eminence 
 stood a deserted and dilapidated barn. Many boards of its 
 covering were torn from their places, and its wide doors 
 were lying, the one in front of the building, and the other 
 half-way down the precipice, whither the wind had cast it. 
 Entering this desolate spot, the refugee officer very coolly 
 took from his pocket a short pipe, which, from long use, had 
 acquired not only the hue but the gloss of ebony, a tobacco- 
 box, and a small roll of leather, that contained steel, flint, 
 and tinder. With this apparatus, he soon furnished his 
 mouth with a companion that habit had long rendered nec- 
 essary to reflection. So soon as a large column of smoke 
 arose from this arrangement, the captain significantly held 
 forth a hand toward his assistant. A small cord was pro- 
 duced from the pocket of the sergeant, and handed to the 
 other. The refugee threw out vast puffs of smoke, until 
 nearly all of his head was obscured, and looked around the 
 building with an inquisitive eye. At length he removed 
 the pipe, and, inhaling a draught of pure air, returned it to 
 its domicile, and proceeded at once to business. A heavy 
 piece of timber lay across the girths of the barn, but a little 
 way from the southern door, which opened directly upon a 
 full view of the river, as it stretched far away toward the 
 bay of New York. Over this beam the refugee threw one 
 end of the rope, and, regaining it, joined the two parts in 
 his hand. A small and weak barrel, that wanted a head, 
 the staves of which were loose, and at one end standing 
 apart, was left on the floor, probably as useless. The ser- 
 
428 THE SPY. 
 
 geant, in obedience to a look from his officer, placed it be- 
 neath the beam. All of these arrangements were made with 
 immovable composure, and they now seemed completed to 
 the officer's perfect satisfaction. 
 
 " Come," he said coolly to the Skinner, who, admiring the 
 preparations, had stood a silent spectator of their progress. 
 He obeyed; and it was not until he found his neckcloth 
 removed, and hat thrown aside, that he took the alarm. But 
 he had so often resorted to a similar expedient to extort in- 
 formation, or plunder, that he by no means felt the terror an 
 unpractised man would have suffered, at these ominous 
 movements. The rope was adjusted to his neck with the 
 same coolness that formed the characteristic of the whole 
 movement, and a fragment of board being laid upon the 
 barrel, he was ordered to mount. 
 
 " But it may fall," said the Skinner, for the first time be- 
 ginning to tremble. " I will tell you anything — even how 
 to surprise our party at the Pond, without all this trouble, 
 and it is commanded by my own brother." 
 
 " I want no information," returned his executioner (for 
 such he now seemed really to be), throwing the rope repeat- 
 edly over the beam, first drawing it tight so as to annoy the 
 Skinner a little, and then casting the end from him, beyond 
 the reach of any ona 
 
 " This is joking too far," cried the Skinner, in a tone of 
 remonstrance, and raising himself on his toes, with the vain 
 hope of releasing himself from the cord, by slipping his 
 head through the noose. But the caution and experience 
 of the refugee officer had guarded against this escape. 
 
 " What have you done with the horse you stole from me, 
 rascal?" muttered the officer of the Cow-boys, throwing out 
 columns of smoke while he waited for a reply. 
 
 "He broke down in the chase," replied the Skinner 
 quickly; "but I can tell you where one is to be found that 
 is worth him and his sire." 
 
 "Liar! I will help myself when I am in need; you had 
 
THE SPY. 429 
 
 better call upon God for aid, as your hour is short." On 
 concluding this consoling advice, he struck the barrel a 
 violent blow with his heavy foot, and the slender staves flew 
 in every direction, leaving the Skinner whirling in the air. 
 As his hands were unconfined, he threw them upward, and 
 held himself suspended by main strength. 
 
 " Come, captain," he said coaxingly, a little huskiness 
 creeping into his voice, and his knees beginning to shake 
 with tremor, " end the joke ; 'tis enough to make a laugh, 
 and my arms begin to tire — I can't hold on much 
 longer." 
 
 " Harkee, Mr. Peddler," said the refugee, in a voice that 
 would not be denied, " I want not your company. Through 
 that door lies your road — march ! offer to touch that dog, 
 and you'll swing in his place, though twenty Sir Henries 
 wanted your services." So saying, he retired to the road 
 with the sergeant, as the peddler precipitately retreated 
 down the bank. 
 
 Birch went no farther than a bush that opportunely 
 offered itself as a screen to his person, while he yielded to 
 an unconquerable desire to witness the termination of this 
 extraordinary scene. 
 
 Left alone, the Skinner began to throw fearful glances 
 around, to espy the hiding-places of his tormentors. For 
 the first time the horrid idea seemed to shoot through his 
 brain that something serious was intended by the Cow-boy. 
 He called entreatingly to be released, and made rapid and 
 incoherent promises of important information, mingled with 
 affected pleasantry at their conceit, which he would hardly 
 admit to himself could mean anything so dreadful as it 
 seemed. But as he heard the tread of the horses moving on 
 their course, and in vain looked around for human aid, vio- 
 lent trembling seized his limbs, and his eyes began to start 
 from his head with terror. He made a desperate effort to 
 reach the beam; but, too much exhausted with his previous 
 exertions, he caught the rope in his teeth, in a vain effort to 
 
430 THE SPY. 
 
 sever the cord, and fell to the whole length of his arms. 
 Here his cries were turned into shrieks : 
 
 "Help! cut the rope! Captain! — Birch! good peddler I 
 Down with the Congress! — Sergeant! — for God's sake, help! 
 Hurrah for the king! — Oh God! Oh God! — mercy— mercy 
 — mercy !" 
 
 As his voice became suppressed, one of his hands endeav- 
 ored to make its way between the rope and his neck, and 
 partially succeeded ; but the other fell quivering by his side. 
 A. convulsive shuddering passed over his whole frame, and 
 he hung a hideous corpse. 
 
 Birch continued gazing on this scene with a kind of in- 
 fatuation. At its close he placed his hands to his ears, and 
 rushed toward the highway. Still the cries for mercy rang 
 through his brain, and it was many weeks before his memory 
 ceased to dwell on the horrid event. The Cow-boys rode 
 steadily on their route, as if nothing had occurred; and the 
 body was left swinging in the wind, until chance directed 
 the footsteps of some straggler to the place. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Green be the turf above thee. 
 
 Friend of my better days ; 
 None knew thee but to love thee, 
 
 None named thee but to praise. 
 
 Hallbck. 
 
 While the scenes and events that we have recorded were 
 occurring, Captain Lawton led his small party, by slow and 
 wary marches, from the Four Corners to the front of a body 
 of the enemy; where he so successfully manoeuvred, for a 
 short time, as completely to elude all their efforts to entrap 
 him, and yet so disguised his own force as to excite the con- 
 stant apprehension of an attack from the Americans. This 
 forbearing policy on the side of the partisan was owing ta 
 
THE SPY. 431 
 
 positive orders received from his commander. When Dun- 
 woodie left his detachment, the enemy were known to be 
 slowly advancing, and he directed Lawton to hover around 
 them, until his own return, and the arrival of a body of foot, 
 might enable him to intercept their retreat. 
 
 The trooper discharged his duty to the letter, but with no 
 little of the impatience that made part of his character when 
 restrained from the attack. 
 
 During these movements, Betty Flanagan guided her little 
 cart with indefatigable zeal among the rocks of West-Ches- 
 ter, now discussing with the sergeant the nature of evil 
 spirits, and now combating with the surgeon sundry points 
 of practice that were hourly arising between them. But the 
 moment at length arrived that was to decide the temporary 
 mastery of the field. A detachment of the Eastern militia 
 moved out from their fastnesses, and approached the enemy. 
 The junction between Lawton and his auxiliaries was 
 made at midnight, and an immediate consultation was held 
 between him and the leader of the foot-soldiers. After lis- 
 tening to the statements of the partisan, who rather despised 
 the prowess of his enemy, the commandant of the party de- 
 termined to attack the British, the moment daylight enabled 
 him to reconnoitre their position, without waiting for the aid 
 of Dunwoodie and his horse. So soon as this decision was 
 made, Lawton retired from the building where the consulta- 
 tion was held, and rejoined his own small command. 
 
 The few troopers who were with the captain had fastened 
 their horses in a spot adjacent to a haystack, and laid their 
 own frames under its shelter, to catch a few hours' sleep. 
 But Dr. Sitgreaves, Sergeant Hollister, and Betty Flanagan 
 were congregated at a short distance by themselves, having 
 spread a few blankets upon the dry surface of a rock. Law- 
 ton threw his huge frame by the side of the surgeon, and, 
 folding his cloak about him, leaned his head upon one hand, 
 and appeared deeply engaged in contemplating the moon as 
 it waded through the heavens. The sergeant was sitting 
 
432 THE SPY. 
 
 upright, in respectful deference to the surgeon, and the 
 washerwoman was now raising her head, in order to vindi- 
 cate some of her favorite maxims, and now composing it on 
 one of her gin-casks, in a vain effort to sleep. 
 
 " So, sergeant," continued Sitgreaves, following up a pre- 
 vious position, " if you cut upward, the blow, by losing the 
 additional momentum of your weight, will be less destruc- 
 tive, and at the same time effect the true purposes of war, 
 that of disabling your enemy." 
 
 "Pooh! pooh! sargeant dear," said the washerwoman, 
 raising her head from the blanket ; " where's the harm of 
 taking a life, jist in the way of battle? Is it the rig'lars 
 who'll show favor, and they fighting? Ask Captain Jack 
 there, if the country could get the liberty, and the boys no 
 strike their might. I wouldn't have them disparage the 
 whiskey so much." 
 
 " It is not to be expected that an ignorant female like 
 yourself, Mrs. Flanagan," returned the surgeon, with a 
 calmness that only rendered his contempt more stinging to 
 Betty, " can comprehend the distinctions of surgical science ; 
 neither are you accomplished in the sword exercise; so that 
 dissertations upon the judicious use of that weapon could 
 avail you nothing, either in theory or in practice." 
 
 " It's but little I care, any way, for such botherments ; but 
 fighting is no play, and a body shouldn't be partic'lar how 
 they strike, or who they hit, so it's the inimy." 
 
 "Are we likely to have a warm day. Captain Lawton?" 
 
 "'Tismore than probable," replied the trooper; "these 
 militia seldom fail of making a bloody field, either by their 
 cowardice or their ignorance, and the real soldier is made 
 to suffer for their bad conduct." 
 
 "Are you ill, John?" said the surgeon, passing his hand 
 along the arm of the captain, until it instinctively settled 
 on his pulse ; but the steady, even beat announced neither 
 bodily nor mental malady. 
 
 " Sick at heart, Archibald, at the folly of our rulers, in 
 
THE SPY. 433 
 
 believing that battles are to be fought, and victories won, 
 by fellows who handle a musket as they would a flail ; lads 
 who wink when they pull a trigger, and form a line like a 
 hoop-pole. The dependence we place on these men spills 
 the best blood of the country." 
 
 The surgeon listened with amazement. It was not the 
 matter, but the manner that surprised him. The trooper 
 had uniformly exhibited, on the eve of battle, an animation, 
 and an eagerness to engage, that was directly at variance 
 with the admirable coolness of his manner at other times. 
 But now there was a despondency in the tones of his voice, 
 and a listlessness in his air, that was entirely different. 
 The operator hesitated a moment, to reflect in what manner 
 he could render this change of service in furthering his fa- 
 vorite system available, and then continued : 
 
 " It would be wise, John, to advise the colonel to keep at 
 long shot; a spent ball will disable " 
 
 -"No!" exclaimed the trooper impatiently; "let the ras- 
 cals singe their whiskers at the muzzles of the British mus- 
 kets, if they can be driven there. — But enough of them. 
 Archibald, do you deem that moon to be a world like this, 
 containing creatures like ourselves?" 
 
 " Nothing more probable, dear John ; we know its size, 
 and, reasoning from analogy, may easily conjecture its use. 
 Whether or not its inhabitants have attained to that perfec- 
 tion in the sciences which we have acquired, must depend 
 greatly on the state of its society, and in some measure upon 
 its physical influences." 
 
 " I care nothing about their learning, Archibald ; but 'tis 
 a wonderful power that can create such worlds, and control 
 them in their wanderings. I know not why, but there is a 
 feeling of melancholy excited within me as I gaze on that 
 body of light, shaded as it is by your fancied sea and land. 
 It seems to be the resting-place of departed spirits!" 
 
 " Take a drop, darling," said Betty, raising her head once 
 more, and proffering her own bottle; "'tis the night damp 
 28 
 
434 THE SPY. 
 
 that chills the blood — and then the talk with the cursed 
 militia is no good for a fiery temper. Take a drop, darling, 
 and ye'll sleep till the morning. I fed Roanoke myself, for 
 I thought ye might need hard riding the morrow." 
 
 "'Tis a glorious heaven to look upon," continued the 
 trooper, in the same tone, disregarding the offer of Betty, 
 " and 'tis a thousand pities that such worms as men should 
 let their vile passions deface such goodly work." 
 
 " You speak the truth, dear John ; there is room for all to 
 live and enjoy themselves in peace, if each could be satis- 
 fied with his own. Still, war has its advantages; it particu- 
 larly promotes the knowledge of surgery ; and " 
 
 "There is a star," continued Lawton, still bent on his 
 own ideas, "struggling to glitter through a few driving 
 clouds ; perhaps that too is a world, and contains its crea- 
 tures endowed with reason like ourselves; think you that 
 they know of war and bloodshed?" 
 
 " If I might be so bold," said Sergeant Hollister, mechani- 
 cally raising his hand to his cap, " 'tis mentioned in the 
 good book that the Lord made the sun to stand still while 
 Joshua was charging the enemy, in order, sir, as I suppose, 
 that they might have daylight to turn their flank, or perhaps 
 make a feint in the rear, or some such manoeuvre. Now, if 
 the Lord would lend them a hand, fighting cannot be sinful. 
 I have often been nonplushed, though, to find that they used 
 them chariots instead of heavy dragoons, who are, in all 
 comparison, better to break a line of infantry, and who, for 
 the matter of that, could turn such wheel-carriages, and, 
 getting in the rear, play the very devil with them, horse and 
 all." 
 
 " It is because you do not understand the construction of 
 those ancient vehicles. Sergeant Hollister, that you judge of 
 them so erroneously," said the surgeon. " They -were armed 
 with sharp weapons that protruded from their wheels, and 
 which broke up the columns of foot, like dismembered par- 
 ticles of matter. I doubt not, if similar instruments were 
 
THE SPY. 435 
 
 affixed to the cart of Mrs. Flanagan, that great confusion 
 might be carried into the ranks of the enemy thereby, this 
 very day." 
 
 " It's but little that the mare would go, and the rig'lars 
 firing at her," grumbled Betty, from under her blanket; 
 " when we got the plunder, the time we drove them through 
 the Jarseys it was, I had to back the baste up to the dead ; 
 for the divil the foot would she move, forerient the firing, 
 wid her eyes open. Roanoke and Captain Jack are good 
 enough for the redcoats, letting alone myself and the mare." 
 
 A long roll of the drums, from the hill occupied by the 
 British, announced that they were on the alert ; and a corre- 
 sponding signal was immediately heard from the Americans. 
 The bugle of the Virginians struck up its martial tones ; 
 and in a few moments both the hills, the one held by the 
 royal troops, and the other by their enemies, were alive with 
 armed men. Day had begun to dawn, and preparations 
 were making by both parties to give and to receive the at- 
 tack. In numbers the Americans had greatly the advan- 
 tage; but in discipline and equipments the superiority was 
 entirely with their enemies. The arrangements for the bat- 
 tle were brief, and by the time the sun had risen the militia 
 moved forward. 
 
 The ground did not admit of the movements of horse ; 
 and the only duty that could be assigned to the dragoons 
 was to watch the moment of victory, and endeavor to im- 
 prove the success to the utmost. Lawton soon got his war- 
 riors into the saddle; and, leaving them to the charge of 
 Hollister, he rode himself along the line of foot, who, in 
 varied dresses, and imperfectly armed, were formed in a 
 shape that in some degree resembled a martial array. A 
 scornful smile lowered about the lip of the trooper as he 
 guided Roanoke with a skilful hand through the windings 
 of their ranks; and when the word was given to march he 
 turned the flank of the regiment, and followed close in the 
 rear. The Americans had to descend into a little hoi- 
 
436 THE spy. 
 
 low, and rise a hill on its opposite side, to approach the 
 enemy. 
 
 The descent was made with tolerable steadiness, until 
 near the foot of the hill, when the royal troops advanced in 
 a beautiful line, with their flanks protected by the forma- 
 tion of the ground. The appearance of the British drew a 
 fire from the militia, which was given with good effect, and 
 for a moment staggered the regulars. But they were rallied 
 by their officers, and threw in volley after volley with great 
 steadiness. For a short time the fire was warm and destruc- 
 tive, until the English advanced with the bayonet. This 
 assault the militia had not sufficient discipline to withstand. 
 Their line wavered, then paused, and finally broke into com- 
 panies and fragments of companies, keeping up at the same 
 time a scattering and desultory fire. 
 
 Lawton witnessed these operations in silence, nor did he 
 open his mouth until the field was covered with parties of 
 the flying Americans. Then, indeed, he seemed stung with 
 the disgrace thus heaped upon the arms of his country. 
 Spurring Roanoke along the side of the hill, he called to 
 the fugitives, in all the strength of his powerful voice. He 
 pointed to the enemy, and assured his countrymen that they 
 had mistaken the way. There was such a mixture of in- 
 difference and irony in his exhortations, that a few paused 
 in surprise — more joined them, until, roused by the example 
 of the trooper, and stimulated by their own spirit, they de- 
 manded to be led against their foe once more. 
 
 "Come on, then, my brave friends!" shouted the trooper, 
 turning his horse's head toward the British line, one flank 
 of which was very near him ; " come on, and hold your fire 
 until it will scorch their eyebrows!" 
 
 The men sprang forward, and followed his example, 
 neither giving nor receiving a fire until they had come within 
 a very short distance of the enemy. An English sergeant, 
 who had been concealed by a rock, enraged with the audacity 
 of the officer who thus dared their arms, stepped from be- 
 
THE SPY. 437 
 
 hind his cover, and, advancing within a few yards of the 
 trooper, levelled his musket. 
 
 " Fire, and you die!" cried Lawton, spurring his charger, 
 which leaped forward at the instant. The action and the 
 tone of his voice shook the nerves of the Englishman, who 
 drew his trigger with an uncertain aim. Roanoke sprang 
 with all his feet from the earth, and, plunging, fell headlong 
 and lifeless at the feet of his destroyer. Lawton kept his 
 feet, standing face to face with his enemy. The latter pre- 
 sented his bayonet, and made a desperate thrust at the 
 trooper's heart. The steel of their weapons emitted sparks 
 of fire, and the bayonet flew fifty feet in the air. At the next 
 moment its owner lay a quivering corpse. 
 
 "Come on!" shouted the trooper, as a body of English 
 appeared on the rock, and threw in a close fire. " Come 
 on !" he repeated, and brandished his sabre fiercely. Then 
 his gigantic form fell backward, like a majestic pine yield- 
 ing to the axe; but still, as he slowly fell, he continued to 
 wield his sabre, and once more the deep tones of his voice 
 were heard uttering, " Come on !" 
 
 The advancing Americans paused aghast, and, turning, 
 they abandoned the field to the royal troops. 
 
 It was neither the intention nor the policy of the English 
 commander to pursue his success, for he well knew that 
 strong parties of the Americans would soon arrive; accord- 
 ingly, he only tarried to collect his wounded, and, forming 
 in a square, he commenced his retreat toward the shipping. 
 Within twenty minutes of the fall of Lawton, the ground 
 was deserted by both English and Americans. 
 
 When the inhabitants of the country were called upon to 
 enter the field, they were necessarily attended by such surgi- 
 cal advisers as were furnished by the low state of the pro- 
 fession in the interior at that day. Dr. Sitgreaves enter- 
 tained quite as profound a contempt for the medical 
 attendants of the militia as the captain did of the troops 
 themselves. He wandered, therefore, around the field, cast- 
 
43^ THE SPY, 
 
 ing many a glance of disapprobation at the slight operations 
 that came under liis eye ; but when, among the flying troops, 
 he found that his comrade and friend was nowhere to be 
 seen, he hastened back to the spot at which Hollister was 
 posted, to inquire if the trooper had returned. Of course, 
 the answer was in the negative. Filled with a thousand 
 uneasy conjectures, the surgeon, without regarding, or in- 
 deed without at all reflecting upon any dangers that might 
 lie in his way, strode over the ground at an enormous rate, 
 to the point where he knew the final struggle had been. 
 Once before, the surgeon had rescued his friend from death 
 in a similar situation ; and he felt a secret joy in his own 
 conscious skill, as he perceived Betty Flanagan seated on 
 the ground, holding in her lap the head of a man whose 
 size and dress he knew could belong only to the trooper. 
 As he approached the spot, the surgeon became alarmed at 
 the aspect of the washerwoman. Her little black bonnet 
 was thrown aside, and her hair, which was already streaked 
 with gray, hung around her face in disorder. 
 
 "John! dear John!" said the doctor tenderly, as he bent 
 and laid his hand upon the senseless wrist of the trooper, 
 from which it recoiled with an intuitive knowledge of his 
 fate; "John! dear John! where are you hurt? — can I help 
 you?" 
 
 " Yee talk to the senseless clay," said Betty, rocking her 
 body, and unconsciously playing with the raven ringlets of 
 the trooper's hair; "it's no more will he hear, and it's but 
 little will he mind yee'r probes and yee'r med'cines. Och 
 hone, och hone! — and where will be the liberty now? or 
 who will there be to fight the battle, or gain the day?" 
 
 "John!" repeated the surgeon, still unwilling to believe 
 the evidence of his unerring senses, " dear John, speak to 
 me; say what you will, that you do but speak. Oh, God! 
 he is dead; would that I had died with him!" 
 
 "There is but little use in living and fighting now," said 
 Betty ; " both him and the baste ! see, there is the poor era- 
 
THE SPY. 439 
 
 tur, and here is the master ! I fed the horse with my own 
 hands, the day ; and the last male that he ate was of my own 
 cooking. Och hone! och hone !— that Captain Jack should 
 live to be killed by the rig'lars!" 
 
 "John! my dear John!" said the surgeon, with convulsive 
 sobs, " thy hour has come, and many a more prudent man 
 survives thee ; but none better, nor braver. Oh ! John, thou 
 wert to me a kind friend, and very dear; it is unphilosophi- 
 cal to grieve ; but for thee, John, I must weep, even in bit- 
 terness of heart!" 
 
 The doctor buried his face in his hands, and for several 
 minutes sat yielding to an ungovernable burst of sorrow ; 
 while the washerwoman gave vent to her grief in words; 
 moving her body in a kind of writhing, and playing with 
 different parts of her favorite's dress with her fingers. 
 
 "And who'll there be to incourage the boys now?" she 
 said. "Oh! Captain Jack! Captain Jack! yee was the sowl 
 of the troop, and it was but little we know'd of the danger, 
 and yee fighting. Och ! he was no maly mouth'd, that quar- 
 relled wid a widowed woman for the matter of a burn in the 
 mate, or the want of a breakfast. Taste a drop, darling, and 
 it may be 'twill revive yee. Och! and he'll nivir taste 
 agin; here's the doctor, honey, him yee used to blarney wid, 
 wapeing as if the poor sowl would die for yee. Och ! he's 
 gone, he's gone ; and the liberty is gone wid him." 
 
 A thundering sound of horses' feet came rolling along the 
 road which led near the place where Lawton lay, and directly 
 the whole body of Virginians appeared, with Dunwoodie at 
 their head. The news of the captain's fate had reached 
 him ; for the instant that he saw the body he halted the 
 squadron, and, dismounting, approached the spot. The 
 countenance of Lawton was not in the least distorted, but 
 the angry frown which had lowered over his brow during 
 the battle was fixed even in death. His frame was com- 
 posed, and stretched as in sleep. Dunwoodie took hold of 
 his hand, and gazed a moment in silence ; his own dark eye 
 
440 THE SPY. 
 
 kindled, and the paleness which had overspread his features 
 was succeeded by a spot of deep red in either cheek. 
 
 " With his own sword will I avenge him !" he cried, en- 
 deavoring to take the weapon from the hand of Lawton ; but 
 the grasp resisted his utmost strength. " It shall be buried 
 with him. Sitgreaves, take care of our friend, while I re- 
 venge his death." 
 
 The major hastened back to his charger, and led the way 
 in pursuit of the enemy. 
 
 While Dunwoodie had been thus engaged, the body of 
 Lawton lay in open view of the whole squadron. He was 
 a universal favorite, and the sight inflamed the men to the 
 utmost: neither officers nor soldiers possessed that coolness 
 which is necessary to ensure success in military operations; 
 but they spurred ardently after their enemies, burning with 
 a wish for vengeance. 
 
 The English were formed in a hollow square, which con- 
 tained their wounded, who were far from numerous, and 
 were marching steadily across a very uneven country as the 
 dragoons approached. The horse charged in column, and 
 were led by Dunwoodie, who, burning with revenge, 
 thought to ride through their ranks, and scatter them at a 
 blow. But the enemy knew their own strength too well, and, 
 standing firm, they received the charge on the points of their 
 bayonets. The horses of the Virginians recoiled, and the 
 rear rank of the foot throwing in a close fire, the major, 
 with a few men, fell. The English continued their retreat 
 the moment they were extricated from their assailants; and 
 Dunwoodie, who was severely, but not dangerously wounded, 
 recalled his men from further attempts, which, in that stony 
 country, must necessarily be fruitless. 
 
 A sad duty remained to be fulfilled. The dragoons re- 
 tired slowly through the hills, conveying their wounded com- 
 mander, and the body of Lawton. The latter they interred 
 under the ramparts of one of the Highland forts, and the 
 former they consigned to the tender care of his affiicted bride. 
 
THE SPY. 441 
 
 Many weeks were gone before the major was restored 
 to sufficient strength to be removed. During those weeks, 
 how often did he bless the moment that gave him a right to 
 the services of his beautiful nurse! She hung around his 
 couch with fond attention ; administered with her own hands 
 every prescription of the indefatigable Sitgreaves, and grew 
 each hour in the affections and esteem of her husband. An 
 order from Washington soon sent the troops into winter 
 quarters, and permission was given to Dunwoodie to repair 
 to his own plantation, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, in 
 order to complete the restoration of his health. Captain 
 Singleton made one of the party; and the whole family re- 
 tired from the active scenes of the war, to the ease and 
 plenty of the major's own estate. Before leaving Fishkill, 
 however, letters were conveyed to them, through an unknown 
 hand, acquainting them with Henry's safety and good 
 health; and also that Colonel Wellmere had left the conti- 
 nent for his native island, lowered in the estimation of 
 every honest man in the royal army. 
 
 It was a happy winter for Dunwoodie, and smiles once 
 more began to play around the lovely mouth of Frances. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 'Midst furs, and silks, and jewels* sheen, 
 He stood, in simple Lincoln green, 
 The centre of the glittering ring ; 
 And Snowdon's knight is Scotland's king! 
 
 Lady o/the Lake. 
 
 The commencement of the following year was passed, on 
 the part of the Americans, in making great preparations, in 
 conjunction with their allies, to bring the war to a close. 
 In the south, Greene and Rawdon made a bloody campaign, 
 that was highly honorable to the troops of the latter, but 
 
442 THE SPY. 
 
 which, by terminating entirely to the advantage of the 
 former, proved him to be the better general of the two. 
 
 New York was the point that was threatened by the allied 
 armies ; and Washington, by exciting a constant apprehen- 
 sion for the safety of that city, prevented such reinforce- 
 ments from being sent to Cornwallis as would have enabled 
 him to improve his success. 
 
 At length, as autumn approached, every indication was 
 given that the final moment had arrived. 
 
 The French forces drew near to the royal lines, passing 
 through the Neutral Ground, and threatened an attack in 
 the direction of Kingsbridge, while large bodies of Ameri- 
 cans were acting in concert. By hovering around the Brit- 
 ish posts, and drawing nigh in the Jerseys, they seemed to 
 threaten the royal forces from that quarter also. The prep- 
 arations partook of the nature of both a siege and a storm. 
 But Sir Henry Clinton, in the possession of intercepted let- 
 ters from Washington, rested securely within his lines, and 
 cautiously disregarded the solicitations of Cornwallis for 
 succor. 
 
 It was at the close of a stormy day in the month of Sep- 
 tember, that a large assemblage of officers was collected 
 near the door of a building that was situated in the heart of 
 the American troops, who held the Jerseys. The age, the 
 dress, and the dignity of deportment of most of these war- 
 riors, indicated them to be of high rank : but to one in par- 
 ticular was paid a deference and obedience that announced 
 him to be of the highest. His dress was plain, but it bore 
 the usual military distinctions of command. He was 
 mounted on a noble animal, of a deep bay; and a group of 
 young men, in gayer attire, evidently awaited his pleasure, 
 and did his bidding. Many a hat was lifted as its owner 
 addressed this officer; and when he spoke, a profound at- 
 tention, exceeding the respect of mere professional etiquette, 
 was exhibited on every countenance. At length the general 
 raised his own hat, and bowed gravely to all around bim. 
 
THE SPY. 443 
 
 The salute was returned, and the party dispersed, leaving 
 the officer without a single attendant, except his body-ser- 
 vants and one aid-de-camp. Dismounting, he stepped back 
 a few paces, and for a moment viewed the condition of his 
 horse with the eye of one who well understood the animal, 
 and then, casting a brief but expressive glance at his aid, he 
 retired into the building, followed by that gentleman. 
 
 On entering an apartment that was apparently fitted for 
 his reception, he took a seat, and continued for a long time 
 in a thoughtful attitude, like one in the habit of communing 
 much with himself. During this silence, the aid-de-camp 
 stood in expectation of his orders. At length the general 
 raised his eyes, and spoke in those low, placid tones that 
 seemed natural to him. 
 
 " Has the man whom I wished to see arrived, sir?" 
 " He waits the pleasure of your excellency." 
 " I will receive him here, and alone, if you please." 
 The aid bowed and withdrew. In a few minutes the door 
 again opened, and a figure, gliding into the apartment, 
 stood modestly at a distance from the general, without 
 speaking. His entrance was unheard by the officer, who sat 
 gazing at the fire, still absorbed in his own meditations. 
 Several minutes passed, when he spoke to himself in an 
 undertone : 
 
 " To-morrow we must raise the curtain, and expose our 
 plans. May heaven prosper them !" 
 
 A slight movement made by the stranger caught his ear, 
 and he turned his head, and saw that he was not alone. He 
 pointed silently to the fire, toward which the figure ad- 
 vanced, although the multitude of his garments, which 
 seemed more calculated for disguise than comfort, rendered 
 its warmth unnecessary. A second mild and courteous ges- 
 ture motioned to a vacant chair, but the stranger refused it 
 with a modest acknowledgment. Another pause followed, 
 and continued for some time. At length the officer arose, 
 and, opening a desk that was laid upon the table near 
 
444 THE SPY. 
 
 which he sat, took from it a small, but apparently heavy 
 bag. 
 
 " Harvey Birch," he said, turning to the stranger, " the 
 time has arrived when our connection must cease ; hence- 
 forth and forever we must be strangers.'' 
 
 The peddler dropped the folds of the greatcoat that con- 
 cealed his features, and gazed for a moment earnestly at the 
 face of the speaker; then, dropping his head upon his bo- 
 som, he said meekly: 
 
 " If it be your excellency's pleasure." 
 
 " It is necessary. Since I have filled the station which I 
 now hold, it has become my duty to know many men, who, 
 like yourself, have been my instrimients in procuring intel- 
 ligence. You have I trusted more than all ; I early saw in 
 you a regard to truth and principle, that, I am pleased to 
 say, has never deceived me — you alone know my secret 
 agents in the city, and on your fidelity depend, not only 
 their fortunes, but their lives." 
 
 He paused, as if to reflect, in order that full justice might 
 be done to the peddler, and then continued : 
 
 " I believe you are one of the very few that I have em- 
 ployed who have acted faithfully to our cause; and, while 
 you have passed as a spy of the enemy, have never given in- 
 telligence that you were not permitted to divulge. To me, 
 and to me only of all the world, you seem to have acted with 
 a strong attachment to the liberties of America." 
 
 During this address, Harvey gradually raised his head 
 from his bosom, until it reached the highest point of eleva- 
 tion ; a faint tinge gathered in his cheeks, and, as the officer 
 concluded, it was diffused over his whole countenance in a 
 deep glow, while he stood proudly swelling with his emo- 
 tions, but with eyes that modestly sought the feet of the 
 speaker. 
 
 " It is now my duty to pay you for these services ; hither- 
 to you have postponed receiving your reward, and the debt 
 has become a heavy one — I wish not to undervalue your 
 
THE SPY. 445 
 
 dangers ; here are a hundred doubloons ; you will remember 
 the poverty of our country, and attribute to it the smallness 
 of your pay." 
 
 The peddler raised his eyes to the countenance of the 
 speaker ; but, as the other held forth the money, he moved 
 back, as if refusing the bag. 
 
 " It is not much for your services and risks, I acknowl- 
 edge," continued the general, " but it is all that I have to 
 offer; at the end of the campaign, it may be in my power to 
 increase it." 
 
 "Does your excellency think that I have exposed my life, 
 and blasted my character, for money ?" 
 
 "If not for money, what then.'" 
 
 " What has brought your excellency into the field ? For 
 what do you daily and hourly expose your precious life to 
 battle and the halter? What is there about me to mourn, 
 when such men as you risk their all for our country? No 
 — no — no — not a dollar of your gold will I touch; poor 
 America has need of it all!" 
 
 The bag dropped from the hand of the officer, and fell at 
 the feet of the peddler, where it lay neglected during the 
 remainder of the interview. The officer looked steadily at 
 the face of his companion, and continued : 
 
 " There are many motives which might govern me, that to 
 you are unknown. Our situations are different; I am known 
 as the leader of armies — but you must descend into the 
 grave with the reputation of a foe to your native land. Re- 
 member that the veil which conceals your true character 
 cannot be raised in years — perhaps never." 
 
 Birch again lowered his face, but there was no yielding 
 of the soul in the movement. 
 
 " You will soon be old ; the prime of your days is already 
 past; what have you to subsist on?" 
 
 "These!" said the peddler, stretching forth his hands, 
 that were already embrowned with toil. 
 
 " But those may fail you ; take enough to secure a support 
 
446 THE SPY. 
 
 to your ag& Remember your risks and cares. I have told 
 you that the characters of men who are much esteemed in 
 life depend on your secrecy ; what pledge can I give them 
 of your fidelity?" 
 
 " Tell them," said Birch, advancing, and unconsciously 
 resting, one foot on the bag, " tell them that I would not take 
 the gold!" 
 
 The composed features of the officer relaxed into a smile 
 of benevolence, and he grasped the hand of the peddler 
 firmly. 
 
 " Now, indeed, I know you ; and although the same rea- 
 sons which have hitherto compelled me to expose your valu- 
 able life will still exist, and prevent my openly asserting 
 your character, in private I can always be your friend ; fail 
 not to apply to me when in want or suffering, and, so long as 
 God giveth to me, so long will I freely share with a man 
 who feels so nobly and acts so well. If sickness or want 
 should ever assail you, and peace once more smile upon our 
 efforts, seek the gate of him whom you have so often met as 
 Harper, and he will not blush to acknowledge you in his true 
 character." 
 
 "It is little that I need in this life," said Harvey; "so 
 long as God gives me health and honest industry, I can 
 never want in this country ; but to know that your excel- 
 lency is my friend, is a blessing that I prize more than all 
 the gold of England's treasury." 
 
 The officer stood for a few moments in the attitude of in- 
 tense thought. He then drew to him the desk, and wrote a 
 few lines on a piece of paper, and gave it to the peddler. 
 
 " That Providence destines this country to some great and 
 glorious fate I must believe, while I witness the patriotism 
 that pervades the bosoms of her lowest citizens," he said. 
 " It must be dreadful to a mind like yours to descend into 
 the grave, branded as a foe to liberty; but you already know 
 the lives that would be sacrificed, should your real character 
 be revealed. It is impossible to do you justice now, but I 
 
THE SPY. 447 
 
 fearlessly entrust you with this certificate ; should we never 
 meet again, it may be serviceable to your children." 
 
 "Children!" exclaimed the peddler. "Can I give to a 
 family the infamy of my name!" 
 
 The officer gazed at the strong emotion he exhibited with 
 pain, and he made a slight movement toward the gold; but 
 it was arrested by the expression of his companion's face. 
 Harvey saw the intention, and shook his head, as he con- 
 tinued more mildly: 
 
 " It is, indeed, a treasure that your excellency gives me ; 
 it is safe too. There are men living who could say that my 
 life was nothing to me, compared to your secrets. The 
 paper that I told you was lost I swallowed when taken last 
 by the Virginians. It was the only time I ever deceived 
 your excellency, and it shall be the last; yes, this is, indeed, 
 a treasure to me ; perhaps," he continued, with a melancholy 
 smile, " it may be known after my death who was my friend ; 
 but if it should not, there are none to grieve for me." 
 
 " Remember," said the officer, with strong emotion, " that 
 in me you will always have a secret friend; but openly I 
 cannot know you." 
 
 " I know it, I know it," said Birch ; " I knew it when I 
 took the service. 'Tis probably the last time that I shall 
 ever see your excellency. May God pour down his choicest 
 blessings on your head!" He paused, and moved toward 
 the door. The officer followed him with eyes that expressed 
 deep interest. Once more the peddler turned, and seemed to 
 gaze on the placid, but commanding features of the general 
 with regret and reverence, and then, bowing low, he with- 
 drew. 
 
 The armies of America and France were led by their 
 illustrious commander against the enemy under Cornwallis, 
 and terminated a campaign in triumph that had commenced 
 in difficulties. Great Britain soon after became disgusted 
 with the war; and the independence of the States was ac- 
 knowledged. 
 
448 THE spy. 
 
 As years rolled by, it became a subject of pride among 
 the different actors in the war, and their descendants, to 
 boast of their efforts in the cause which had confessedly 
 heaped so many blessings upon their country ; but the name 
 of Harvey Birch died away among the multitude of agents 
 who were thought to have labored in secret against the 
 rights of their countrymen. His image, however, was often 
 present to the mind of the powerful chief, who alone knew 
 his true character; and several times did he cause secret 
 inquiries to be made into the other's fate, one of which only 
 resulted in any success. By this he learned that a peddler 
 of a different name, but similar appearance, was toiling 
 through the new settlements that were springing up in every 
 direction, and that he was struggling with the advance of 
 years and apparent poverty. Death prevented further in- 
 quiries on the part of the oS&cer, and a long period passed 
 before he was again heard of. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Some village Hampden, that with dauntless breast 
 
 The little tyrant of his fields withstood— 
 Some mute, inglorious Milton here may rest ; 
 
 Some Cromwell, guiltless of his country's blood. 
 
 Gray. 
 
 It was thirty-three years after the interview which we 
 have just related that an American army was once more 
 arrayed against the troops of England ; but the scene was 
 transferred from the banks of the Hudson to those of the 
 Niagara. 
 
 The body of Washington had long lain mouldering in 
 the tomb; but as time was fast obliterating the slight im- 
 pressions of political enmity or personal envy, his name was 
 hourly receiving new lustre, and his worth and integrity 
 each moment became more visible, not only to his country- 
 
THE SPY. 449 
 
 men, but to the world. He was already the acknowledged 
 hero of an age of reason and truth ; and many a young 
 heart, among those who formed the pride of our army in 
 1814, was glowing with the recollection of the one great 
 name of America, and inwardly beating with the sanguine 
 expectation of emulating, in some degree, its renown. In 
 no one were these virtuous hopes more vivid than in the 
 bosom of a young officer who stood on the table-rock, con- 
 templating the great cataract, on the evening of the 25 th of 
 July of that bloody year. The person of this youth was tall 
 and finely moulded, indicating a just proportion between 
 strength and activity ; his deep black eyes were of a search- 
 ing and dazzling brightness. At times, as they gazed upon 
 the flood of waters that rushed tumultuously at his feet, 
 there was a stern and daring look that flashed from them, 
 which denoted the ardor of an enthusiast. But this proud 
 expression was softened by the lines of a mouth, around 
 which there played a suppressed archness, that partook of 
 feminine beauty. His hair shone in the setting sun like 
 ringlets of gold, as the air from the falls gently moved the 
 rich curls from a forehead whose whiteness showed that 
 exposure and heat alone had given their darker hue to a face 
 glowing with health. There was another officer standing by 
 the side of this favored youth ; and both seemed, by the in- 
 terest they betrayed, to be gazing, for the first time, at the 
 wonder of the western world. A profound silence was ob- 
 served by each, until the companion of the officer that we 
 have described suddenly started, and, pointing eagerly with 
 his sword into the abyss beneath, exclaimed: 
 
 " See ! Wharton, there is a man crossing in the very 
 eddies of the cataract and in a skiff no bigger than an egg- 
 shell." 
 
 " He has a knapsack — it is probably a soldier," returned 
 the other. "Let us meet him at the ladder, Mason, and 
 learn his tidings." 
 
 Some time was expended in reaching the spot where the 
 
450 THE SPY, 
 
 adventurer was intercepted. Contrary to the expectations 
 of the young soldiers, he proved to be a man far advanced 
 in life, and evidently no follower of the camp. His years 
 might be seventy, and they were indicated more by the thin 
 hairs of silver that lay scattered over his wrinkled brow, 
 than by any apparent failure of his system. His frame was 
 meagre and bent; but it was the attitude of habit, for his 
 sinews were strung with the toil of half a century. His 
 dress was mean, and manifested the economy of its owner, 
 by the number and nature of its repairs. On his back was 
 a scantily furnished pack, that had led to the mistake in his 
 profession. A few words of salutation, and, on the part of 
 the young men, of surprise, that one so aged should venture 
 so near the whirlpools of the cataract, were exchanged; 
 when the old man inquired, with a voice that began to 
 manifest the tremor of age, the news from the contending 
 armies. 
 
 "We whipped the red-coats here the other day, among 
 the grass on the Chippewa plains," said the one who was 
 called Mason ; " since when, we have been playing hide- 
 and-go-seek with the ships ; but we are now marching back 
 from where we started, shaking our heads, and as surly as 
 the devil." 
 
 " Perhaps you have a son among the soldiers," said his 
 companion, with a milder demeanor, and an air of kindness; 
 " if so, tell me his name and regiment, and I will take you 
 to him." 
 
 The old man shook his head, and, passing his hand over 
 his silver locks, with an air of meek resignation, he an- 
 swered : 
 
 "No; I am alone in the world!" 
 
 " You should have added, Captain Dunwoodie," cried his 
 careless comrade, " if you could find either ; for nearly half 
 our army has marched down the road, and may be, by this 
 time, under the walls of Fort George, for anything that we 
 know to the contrary." 
 
THE SPY. 451 
 
 The old man stopped suddenly, and looked earnestly 
 from one of his companions to the other ; the action being 
 observed by the soldiers, they paused also. 
 
 "Did I hear right?" the stranger uttered, raising his 
 hand to screen his eyes from the rays of the setting sun ; 
 "what did he call you?" 
 
 "My name is Wharton Dunwoodie," replied the youth, 
 smiling. 
 
 The stranger motioned silently for him to remove his hat, 
 which the youth did accordingly, and his fair hair blew 
 aside like curls of silk, and opened the whole of his ingenu- 
 ous countenance to the inspection of the other. 
 
 "'Tis like our native land!" exclaimed the old man with 
 vehemence, " improving with time — God has blessed both." 
 
 "Why do you stare thus, Lieutenant Mason?" cried Cap- 
 tain Dunwoodie, laughing a little; "you show more aston- 
 ishment than when you saw the tails." 
 
 "Oh, the falls! — they are a thing to be looked at on a 
 moonshiny night, by your aunt Sarah and that gay old 
 bachelor, Colonel Singleton; but a fellow like myself never 
 shows surprise, unless it may be at such a touch as this." 
 
 The extraordinar)' vehemence of the stranger's manner 
 had passed away as suddenly as it was exhibited, but he 
 listened to this speech with deep interest, while Dunwoodie 
 replied a little gravely: 
 
 "Come, come, Tom, no jokes about my good aunt, I beg; 
 she is kindness itself; and I have heard it whispered that 
 her youth was not altogether happy." 
 
 " Why, as to rumor," said Mason, "there goes one in Ac- 
 comac, that Colonel Singleton offers himself to her regularly 
 every Valentine's day ; and there are some who add, that 
 your old great-aunt helps his suit." 
 
 " Aunt Jeanette!" said Dunwoodie, laughing; "deargood 
 soul, she thinks but little of marriage in any shape, I be- 
 lieve, since the death of Dr. Sitgreaves. There were some 
 whispers of a courtship between them formerly, but it ended 
 
452 THE SPY, 
 
 in nothing but civilities, and I suspect that the whole story 
 arises from the intimacy of Colonel Singleton and my 
 father. You know they were comrades in the horse, as 
 indeed was your own father." 
 
 "I know all that, of course; but you must not tell me 
 that the particular, prim bachelor goes so often to General 
 Dunwoodie's plantation merely for the sake of talking old 
 soldier with your father. The last time I was there, that yel- 
 low, sharp-nosed housekeeper of your mother's took me into 
 the pantry, and said that the colonel was no despisable 
 match, as she called it, and how the sale of his plantation 
 in Georgia had brought him — oh. Lord ! I don't know how 
 much." 
 
 " Quite likely," returned the captain ; " Katy Haynes is 
 no bad calculator." 
 
 They had stopped during this conversation, in uncertainty 
 whether their new companion was to be left or not. 
 
 The old man listened to each word as it was uttered, with 
 the most intense interest ; but, toward the conclusion of the 
 dialogue, the earnest attention of his countenance changed 
 to a kind of inward smile. He shook his head, and, pass- 
 ing his hand over his forehead, seemed to be thinking of 
 other times. Mason paid but little attention to the expres- 
 sion of his features, and continued : 
 
 "To me, she is selfishness embodied!" 
 
 " Her selfishness does but little harm," returned Dun- 
 woodie. " One of her greatest difficulties is her aversion to 
 the blacks. She says that she never saw but one that she 
 liked." 
 
 "And who was he?" 
 
 "His name was Csesar; he was a house-servant of my 
 late grandfather Wharton. You don't remember him, I be- 
 lieve ; he died the same year with his master, while we were 
 children. Katy yearly sings his requiem, and, upon my 
 word, I believe he deserved it. I have heard something of 
 his helping my English uncle, as we call General Wharton, 
 
THE SPY. 453 
 
 in some difficulty that occurred in the old war. My mother 
 always speaks of him with great affection. Both Caesar and 
 Katy came to Virginia with my mother when she married. 
 My mother was " 
 
 "An angel!" interrupted the old man, in a voice that 
 startled the young soldiers by its abruptness and energy. 
 
 " Did you know her," cried the son, with a glow of pleas- 
 ure on his cheek. 
 
 The reply of the stranger was interrupted by sudden and 
 heavy explosions of artillery, which were immediately fol- 
 lowed by continued volleys of small-arms, and in a few 
 minutes the air was filled with the tumult of a warm and 
 well-contested battle. 
 
 The two soldiers hastened with precipitation toward the 
 camp, accompanied by their new acquaintance. The ex- 
 citement and anxiety created by the approaching fight pre- 
 vented a continuance of the conversation, and the three held 
 their way to the army, making occasional conjectures on the 
 cause of the fire, and the probability of a general engage- 
 ment. During their short and- hurried walk, Captain Dun- 
 woodie, however, threw several friendly glances at the old 
 man, who moved over the ground with astonishing energy 
 for his years, for the heart of the youth was warmed by an 
 eulogium on a mother that he adored. In a short time, 
 they joined the regiment to which the officers belonged, 
 when the captain, squeezing the stranger's hand, earnestly 
 begged that he would make inquiries after him on the fol- 
 lowing morning, and that he might see him in his own tent. 
 Here they separated. 
 
 Everything in the American camp announced an ap- 
 proaching struggle. At a distance of a few miles, the sound 
 of cannon and musketry was heard above the roar of the 
 cataract. The troops were soon in motion, and a movement 
 made to support the division of the army which was already 
 engaged. Night had set in before the reserve and irregu- 
 lars reached the foot of Lundy's Lane, a road that diverged 
 
454 THE SPY. 
 
 from the river and crossed a conical eminence, at no great 
 distance 'from the Niagara highway. The summit of this 
 hill was crowned with the cannon of the British, and in the 
 flat beneath was the remnant of Scott's gallant brigade, 
 which for a long time had held an unequal contest with dis- 
 tinguished bravery. A new line was interposed, and one 
 column of the Americans directed to charge up the hill, 
 parallel to the road. This column took the English in 
 flank, and, bayoneting their artillerists, gained possession 
 of the cannon. They were immediately joined by their 
 comrades, and the enemy was swept from the hill. But 
 large reinforements were joining the English general mo- 
 mentarily, and their troops were too brave to rest easy under 
 the defeat. Repeated and bloody charges were made to re- 
 cover the guns, but in all they were repulsed with slaughter. 
 During the last of these struggles, the ardor of the youthful 
 captain whom we have mentioned urged him to lead his 
 men some distance in advance, to scatter a daring party of 
 the enemy. He succeeded, but in returning to the line 
 missed his lieutenant from the station that he ought to have 
 occupied. Soon after this repulse, which was the last, 
 orders were given to the shattered troops to return to the 
 camp. The British were nowhere to be seen, and prepara- 
 tions were made to take in such of the wounded as could be 
 moved. At this moment Wharton Dunwoodie, impelled by 
 affection for his friend, seized a lighted fusee, and taking 
 two of his men, went himself in quest of his body, where he 
 was supposed to have fallen. Mason was found on the side 
 of the hill, seated with great composure, but unable to walk 
 from a fractured leg. Dunwoodie saw and flew to the side 
 of his comrade, exclaiming : 
 
 " Ah ! dear Tom, I knew I should find you the nearest 
 man to the enemy." 
 
 " Softly, softly ; handle me tenderly," replied the lieuten- 
 ant; "no, there is a brave fellow still nearer than myself, 
 and who he can be I know not. He rushed out of our 
 
THE SPY. 455 
 
 smoke, near my platoon, to make a prisoner or some such 
 thing, but, poor fellow, he never came back; there he lies 
 just over the hillock. I have spoken to him several times, 
 but I fancy he is past answering." 
 
 Dunwoodie went to the spot, and to his astonishment be- 
 held the aged stranger. 
 
 "It is the old man who knew my mother!" cried the 
 youth; "for her sake he shall have honorable burial; lift 
 him, and let him be carried in; his bones shall rest on 
 native soil." 
 
 The men approached to obey. He was lying on his 
 back, with his face exposed to the glaring light of the fusee ; 
 his eyes were closed, as if in slumber; his lips, sunken with 
 years, were slightly moved from their natural position, but 
 it seemed more like a smile than a convulsion which had 
 caused the change. A soldier's musket lay near him ; his 
 hands were pressed upon his breast, and one of them con- 
 tained a substance that glittered like silver. Dunwoodie 
 stooped, and removing the limbs, perceived the place where 
 the bullet had found a passage to his heart. The subject of 
 his last care was a tin box, through which the fatal lead had 
 gone; and the dying moments of the old man must have 
 passed in drawing it from his bosom. Dunwoodie opened 
 it, and found a paper in which, to his astonishment, he read 
 the following: 
 
 "Circumstances of political importance, which involve 
 the lives and fortunes of many, have hitherto kept secret 
 what this paper now reveals. Harvey Birch has for years 
 been a faithful and unrequited servant of his country. 
 Though man does not, may God reward him for his con- 
 duct! Geo. Washington." 
 
 It was the spy of the neutral ground, who died as 
 he had lived, devoted to his country, and a martyr to her 
 liberties.