you know. Now tell me," he went on kindly to Peggy, "have you seen a wounded Continental soldier here?" "Ye-ye-yes, sir," said Peg, and I feared we were lost. "What did I tell you!" cried Blundell, in triumph. "And is he very ill?" asked the colonel. A hush settled over the room while all waited for her answer. "Oh!" said Peg, "wo-wo-worse than that. He 's de-de-dead!" ing Captain Blundell ride off to Philadelphia the next morning, and heard from Lieutenant Rollins, the young officer who had spoken for me at the table, that he had changed his command, and that we were rid of him for a while at least. Our chief worry now was the fate of Bart, for we had had no news of him; but we consoled ourselves with the thought that bad news travels apace, and hoped that "no news was good news," as the saying is. In the next two or three days, Brother John improved wonderfully, and was wild to be gone. "What!" exclaimed the colonel, "dead! where He fumed around the little secret room, vowing is he?" "Ri-ri-right he-here," said Peg, and she took from under her apron our poor wounded doll. A shout of laughter went up that shook the roof. Colonel Taunton wiped the tears from his eyes to discover that little Peggy was in real tears, for she thought they were laughing at her, and did not like it. "I think there is no need of a search, Mistress Travers," he said, “and I will be your guarantee against annoyance in the future." Then he sought a gift for Peg, but could find nothing but a tiny gold snuff-box. that there was work for him to do, and that he must be about it. But Colonel Taunton was too good a soldier to suit our purposes. The lax discipline that had prevailed heretofore was now amended, and, had it been a fort they guarded, the regulations could not have been more strictly enforced. The question how he was to get free of the house and grounds was most perplexing, and Brother John puzzled over it day and night. "That crack on the head stole away my brains!" he grumbled. "My wits are addled! Faith, were Allan here, he would have a thousand plans for "'T will do for patches," he said, dusting out playing with these British officers." the snuff and offering it to her. But she demurred. "Nay," I answered, for I wished to keep him, and feared to have him run any risks; "nay, Cap"C-c-can I ta-take it, Bub-Bee, from a real tain McLane, nor any other man, could come B-B-B-Britisher?" she asked. She was so innocent of offense that Colonel Taunton laughed as heartily as any one over this sally. And Peggy thanked him very prettily, and even offered him a kiss, when I said that she might keep the box. "And how was the soldier shot?" asked Colonel Taunton, who was evidently loath to let Peg go. "In the discharge of his du-du-duty," said Peg, gravely. "Then," said the colonel, "he must be buried with all the honors of war, and, as his comrades are not here, we must do it for them." And so it came about that, next day, Colonel Taunton directed the funeral, and one unknown private of the Continental army was buried with most unusual honors. Thus, for the time being, we were no longer troubled by Captain Blundell; but he was a bitter enemy, and the hour came when he returned to take such a revenge that even now I tremble to think of it. CHAPTER XXV AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR My direct appeal to Colonel Taunton had the effect we desired, and I had the satisfaction of seeVOL. XXXIX.—125. through their lines!" "Bee, you don't know McLane!" exclaimed Brother John, his eyes lighting with enthusiasm. "There is none like him. He goes straight to his point, caring little what may be between. 'T is boldness does the trick, Bee, and no lion is bolder than Allan McLane. I give myself two days more to get back the strength in my legs, and then I'll break for it, come what may !" It was that very same afternoon that I heard voices in Peggy's room, and, knowing that Polly and Betty were in the great hall with certain of the British officers, I wondered greatly who could be there, and straightway went in to see. In the dim light I could distinguish the figure of a man, and caught my breath anxiously. "John!" I exclaimed, for I thought, of course, that it was he, "how can you take such risks?" The man turned a smiling face to me, and Peggy giggled, whereat I saw that I was mistaken, for, though the stranger wore much the same uniform as Brother John, he was at least ten years older. "T is Mistress Bee!" he said, bowing. "Faith, I'd know you anywhere by John's description. I'm Allan McLane, very much at your service," and he bowed again, advancing a few paces. I curtseyed, yet here was another danger added, and already I seemed to have enough to do to hide one Continental soldier in a house full of the British. "But what brought you here?" I asked, "and how did you get in?" "I came for news of John, and I entered through the front door," he answered calmly. "Through the front door?" I gasped. "Then they know you 're here, for the place is full of them!" "Nay, they know naught!" he chuckled. "Though 't is true enough that there were many of them. Had there been less, I might have had to go out again, but one lone Continental among all those redcoats was never noticed. So I came in, without ostentation I may say, and seeing Peggy's black head at the top of the stair, I made for her. John told me she was never far from your side." "And I bu-bu-brought him he-here," Peggy put in seriously. "It was qu-qu-quieter." "Don't worry your head about me, Mistress Bee," Captain McLane said, reassuringly. "And now tell me of John? We have been most anxious on his account. We found no trace of him after the battle nor any news of his capture; so, thinking he might be trapped here at home, I came in to see. Peggy tells me I am right, and that he is here." "Now, how did you know that?" I demanded of Peggy, and she, with a most injured air, replied: "Well, I knowed it was n't a ki-ki-kitty, c-c-cause you would n't act like a he-hen with one du-du-duck for any one else but C-C-Cousin J-J-John." "Nay, do not torture yourself so," he said most gently. "Truly I am Allan McLane." "Oh, Bub-Bub-Bee," said Peggy, giggling again, "don't be a ni-ni-nizzy! Sure 't is Captain McLane. I've seen him at ho-home with Fa-FaFather." "Are you sure?" I asked anxiously, and she nodded her small head positively. "In that case I can only ask your pardon, Captain McLane," I begged; "but I am so put to it at times that I scarce know how I stand." "Nay, child, you are quite right," he returned; "and now let's to John." "If you will wait a moment," I said, "I will speak to him," and, leaving them, I locked the outer door and went in, setting the panel open as I sometimes did to freshen the air. But instead of telling Brother John, as I had first thought to do, it struck me as fun to surprise him, so I returned without a word. Leaving Peg with instructions to call me if she heard any unusual sounds in the hall, I took Captain McLane in, and if there had been any lingering doubt in my mind, it was at once put away when I saw them meet. "Allan!" cried Brother John, in a voice of surprised delight. ""T is impossible 't is you!” and he grasped the outstretched hand eagerly. Captain McLane seemed equally affected, though he began at once to jest. "You look like a plucked fowl, man!" he cried, standing off and regarding Brother John critically. "I knew there were short commons in the British camp, but had I known they were starving you in your own house, I would have driven in a herd of beeves with my compliments." "Nay, I am stronger than I look!" John re There was a laugh, of course, but I was too plied, "and had it not been for this tyrant here, troubled to forget my anxieties for long. "And now take me to John," said Captain McLane, "for I am anxious to set eyes on him." As he spoke a great doubt gripped me, and the thought of Captain Blundell popped into my mind. Was this a trick to gain my secret? "Nay!" I answered. "I shall not take you to John until I know who you are. I have naught but your word, and your coming in so easily scarce seems credible." "'T is a little late to think of that, Mistress Beatrice," he answered evenly; "but take me to John, and you will be well assured." "Assured of what?" I demanded, now thoroughly aroused. "Nay, though you have trapped me into admitting he is here, 't is another matter to find him; but 't is a scurvy trick to play upon a child, if it is true you are a British officer disguised in the uniform of our Continentals." I should have made a dash for it long since." "And have been shot for your pains," I put in, "or taken prisoner, which is almost as bad.” "Aye, you 're right there!" John agreed, and with that Peg called me softly, and I went out, leaving the men together. "What is it?" I asked, for I saw by Peggy's face that she had news of some sort. "They are ta-ta-talking of Allan McLane do-do-down there," she whispered. I hurried to the top of the stairs to listen, and, sure enough, Peg was right. "Faith!" we heard Mr. Rollins say, "I love the man! I wish we had a few such in our army. A dozen troopers, you say? And he knocked them all about him and came through? Faith, 't is fine!" "Of whom are you speaking, Mr. Rollins?" I heard Colonel Taunton demand sharply. "Of Allan McLane, sir," the former replied unabashed. "Word has just come that he is within our lines, having bested a little matter of a dozen troopers." "And you applaud him? Are you, then, a rebel sympathizer?" "Nay, sir, I applaud him not as a rebel but as a brave man and a ready. I say had we more such, we would be better off." "I cannot gainsay you," answered Colonel Taunton, “and I know well that, notwithstanding your admiration, you will not let McLane slip through your fingers if he comes within your grasp. As for me, I only wish he would make Germantown his goal! I'd like to see him! I think our British troopers might end by teaching him a lesson." "But, sir," some one broke in, "did you not understand that he was seen coming into Germantown less than an hour ago?" "Is that a fact!" cried the colonel. "Then we will have him within the next hour. You will see that the guards are doubled, Mr. Rollins, and we will issue further orders for the apprehension of this pestiferous rebel !" Thereupon he sent out commands right and left, many of which I remembered and hastened to tell Brother John and Captain McLane. "Nay, by my faith!" said Captain McLane, thoughtfully, "this gentleman would like to see me, I am thinking. Sure 't would be discourteous to disappoint him, for 't is in my mind to ask his help to pass the lines into Philadelphia." "Nay, that you cannot do!" said Brother John. "Howe guards the city as a treasure. What mad idea have you in your mind?" "Naught that is mad," answered Captain McLane, reproach fully, as one unjustly accused. "I think I will dine with Colonel Taunton and his officers to-night, that 's all. And to do it, I shall have to leave you now." "But you cannot get out of here," Brother John demurred. "Oh, can't I?" returned Captain McLane. "You leave that to Peggy and me. We talked that over the first thing. But ere I leave you, I must tell you that Bart won through the battle safely. I caught him, and I vow I thought the young rascal an.Indian till I saw his light eyes." "'T is good news!" cried John. "We have been much worried about him, and I suppose I should have put a collar and chain on him; but I confess I love his spirit." "He is well and much puffed up with pride," Captain McLane went on. "He is inclined to think that if the war were but carried on under his orders, 't would soon be over. I sent him to headquarters, where his advice will be appreciated, and incidentally he will see his father there and get the trouncing he stands in need of." "That's good of you," said John, warmly. "No thanks," interrupted Captain McLane. “I must be off. You have my orders to remain here for three days more. Nay, do not grumble at your superior officer." Then he turned to Peggy. "Now, little lady, whenever you are ready." Peggy, looking very important, left the room for a moment, and upon her return began to issue orders. "You stay he-here, Bub-Bub-Bee, and listen. for un-un-unusual n-n-noises, and, Allan McLane, yo-you c-c-come with m-me.” He lingered a moment to bid me adieu and to assure me that John would soon be right; but Peg stamped her foot. "Did you n-n-not hear me say 'c-c-come'?" she demanded. Captain McLane straightened, gravely saluting. "At your command, General!" he said, and Peg, disdaining to reply, led him away. Much to our surprise, she returned very shortly. "Is he gone?" I asked. "How did he get out?" "Th-th-through the mo-mo-mouse's hole," said Peg, with a wise smile. "A mouse's hole for that great man!" I cried. "What nonsense!" "Nay, yo-you have your se-se-secrets, and I have m-m-mine," and that was all she would say of the matter. CHAPTER XXVI FRIEND WALN STEPS IN THAT same day, when I took up Brother John's evening meal, I asked about Captain McLane's proposal to dine with the British officers. "You don't think he really meant to do it?" I questioned, for it seemed wholly impossible to me, unless he wished to be captured. "Aye, he meant it," replied Brother John; "and what's more, he 'll do it!” "I should love to see him catch them napping!" I cried; "but if he should be taken-" "He won't be," Brother John interrupted confidently. "He goes about as if he had a charmed life, though often enough the charms are shrewd blows, as many a British trooper knows to his He'll be there, Bee, I promise you, and come away with some information. If you want to see him, 't will be easy to sit in the pantry behind the panel. I would I could be with you, for 't is like to be amusing." cost. So then and there I made up my mind to play eavesdropper at the officers' dinner that night. We of the family held to our quiet country ways, but the officers dined, as we thought, very late, and often sat long over their wine, so it was well into the night ere they rose from the table. On this evening, I took my way to the pantry, knowing that from there I could watch all that went on, and remain unobserved. The way of this was very simple. In the fat days before the war, when the great roast which was then known as "a baron of beef" was served to the first table, to have a slice or two cut from it, and then go back for the servants, such barons were too large for easy handling, so slides had been made in the paneling through which they could be passed directly to a servingtable in the dining-room. Now, when Mrs. Mummer was put to it to make a little go a long way, the slides remained closed, but upon opening them a crack, I could see all that went on, while I remained unobserved. So I settled myself for a long evening. When the officers came in, I was, of course, disappointed, for somehow I had expected Captain McLane to appear with them, though how he was to manage it I could not guess. However, the officers seated themselves and their dinner began. They were at their soup when a loud knocking sounded at the door, and, as visitors after nightfall were rare, the conversation ceased while Mummer went to answer the summons. Soon a fretful voice was heard demanding food and rest, after which, the visitor said, he would pass on. Mummer replied that the family had finished their meal, but that if the gentleman would step into the library, he would send a boy to attend to his wants. The British officers were at meat in the dining-room, he explained. "The Society of Friends has ever been on the side of lawful authority," came the querulous voice. "That it has, the trimmers !" murmured one of the younger men. "If thou wilt go and tell the officers who waits without, I think they will admit me to their table," the visitor insisted. the saddle-bags. There 's naught there for thee!" Within, Colonel Taunton spoke to his officers in an undertone. "The Quakers are well affected. 'T is not our policy to offend them. Bid the gentleman enter, Mummer!" he went on, raising his voice, “and set a place for him upon my right." I watched with interest as an oldish man, clad in the plain garb of the members of the Society of Friends, entered. He glanced around under lowered lids, and, with a rather pinched mouth, spoke: "Friends, I give ye greeting!" Then, as he was shown to his seat, he said, with a great show of humility, "I asked but a place at the foot of thy table." And again, as he helped himself to enormous quantities of the dishes Mummer presented to him, "We are of the lowly on earth. A piece of bread and a few herbs will suffice for me." "Nay, now," said Colonel Taunton, "'t is well known that the Quakers are an influential and wealthy people, Mr. Waln." "Call me not that!" said the guest with a pained look. "We hold not with vain titles. 'Friend' is a word I would liefer hear." "Friend Waln, then!" said the colonel, a trifle impatiently. "And now may I ask you where you come from and whither you mean to go?" "I came from Philadelphia this morning, having business in Whitemarsh, and to-night I return to Philadelphia. Had I not fallen in with some of Allan McLane's rabble, I had passed here long since and entered the city before nightfall." "But why should they detain you? I thought 't was well understood that the Quakers were non-combatants." "They took me for other than I am; for one of those who are known as fighting Quakers in fact," he explained. "I hold that a man who fights, aye, even one who resists oppression, is no longer a member of our society, for they seek in this world naught but peace and truth and righteousness, with equal rights for all men." At this I heard a murmur among the younger men that they had not bargained for a "sermon," "Who shall I say?" asked Mummer, frostily, but Lieutenant Rollins leaned forward. for he liked not Tories. "Hast never heard of Joshua Waln?" asked the man, his tone showing surprise, and Mummer returned to the dining-room. Then all could hear the man without giving directions for the care of his animal. "Feed the jennet well. A warm mash would not go amiss. A merciful man is merciful to his beast. Harry her not, and speak gently, nor meddle not with "Then," said he, "you have no servants among you?" "Surely!" replied Friend Waln, with a great show of surprise. "And call you that equal rights?" demanded Mr. Rollins, triumphantly. "Aye," answered the Quaker, with a twinkle in his eye, "for to serve is a privilege. It is their right not to live out if they prefer to starve!" |