My Lady of Doubt

body rested. The door of the shop remained wide open, and Farrell sat there, his eyes upon the roa

coming within. "You have slept soundly for six hours, an' we mu

re the meal, whil

but now am ready for any service.

om all I hear will need every rifle. Grant's purpose is, as I supposed, to guard the forage train into Philadelphia. He expects to meet them somewhere be

the summit of the ridges with constant vigilance. Just before dusk we overtook a dozen horsemen in the breaks of a creek bottom, roughly dressed fellows, heavily armed, riding in the same direction as ourselves, and, after the exchange of a word or two, the whole party of us jogged along together. Others straggled in, singly, or by small groups, as darkness closed about, until we formed quite a respectable company. It was rather a silent, weird procession, scarcely a word being spoken, and no sound heard, other than the dull reverberation of unshod hoofs on the soft turf. To me, glancing back from where I held position beside Farrell, they seemed like spectral figures, with no rattle of accoutrements, no glimmer of steel, no

al light, barely making those faces nearest me visible. At the summit of the clay bank, shadowed by the forest growth encircling them, were the others who had gathered at this war rendezvous, the majority dismounted, holding their horses in r

e commented briefly. "What wa

, and high pitched. "The men from Orchard and Spri

n if the others fail us. This is Ma

hand, marking the iro

rsey fighting to-night, Major," he said

d I had witnes

some outrage to revenge. Our quarrel is a personal one aga

from all reports. He has a wagon train loaded with stuff gathered up between Medfo

what

ced this afternoon with as many more to

unt

foragers were afoot; they were Hessians; th

ads? It's Dutchmen and Tories we're against to-night. Be Gorry! I would

men, and an ominous movement of bodies p

. "God help those poor devils when we cut the le

urns in between the high clay banks. We'll leave our hors

led only by force of character. Without orders the horses were led away, tied securely in the black depths of the woods, and the men came straggling back, rifles in

briefly. "All right, boys, come on, a

, coming out upon a well-travelled road. A hundred feet beyond was the cleft through the clay, and there Farrell halted us, dividing the men into two parties. Under

or feel your way along to the top, an' discover what i

tance over a level country, dimly revealed under the new moon. There was nothing in sight, and no sound disturbed

there?" I questioned at last

even at that. We were over at Germantown, and down at Brandywine. Farrell's got a commission, but the rest of us are taking our chances. It's neighbor against neighbor. Whatever we've got left has been held at the point of the rifle. We're doing our share in this war, an' Washington knows it. Over there to the east 'Red' Fagin, Old Man Kelly, an' their gangs of Pine

d on whenever F

ighbors there. I belong in Camden, and don't go outside very often, but there is a sort of organization all the way between here and New York. Whenever there is a big fight on

ere came to our ears the far-off crack of a whip. We drew farther back against the bank, pausing to make sure there was no deception. One by one we could perceive those vague shadows topping the rise and disappearing. I counted ten, convinced they were covered wagons, and then the night wind brought to

re they

plied Duval brusquely. "I

ighting for. Take the left,

t us lying low in their coverts, breathless and intent. There was a faint ripple of water to our rear where the stream ran, and a rustle of leaves overhead in