Prince
George. The youngster to whom he was talking, clad in the scarlet and
buff of the Maryland Line, was a young dandy from Annapolis.

And so it was all through the crowd, the frontiersman, the hard-riding
country squire, and the city swell, all mingled together, and all
animated with one all-pervading and all-engrossing thought--how best
to secure the freedom of the country and resist the tyranny of the
King.

As we made our way through the crowd the faces grew dark as they saw
the Tory, but as Dick and I rode on either hand, with our black
cockades, the crowd murmuringly gave way before us, and though all the
people were hostile to him, and he could not help but see it, he
coolly looked them over and rode as if he had no enemy within a
hundred miles.

But the colour in Mistress Jean's cheek flamed high, and I saw her
little hands clenched together, as if she would like to tell these
rebels what she thought of their treatment of her father. And I,
seeing the war signal so clearly on her cheek, and daring not the
batteries of her eyes and wit, was discreet and said not a word.

We took our way to the inn, kept by one John McLean, a genial host and
Scotchman, who was well known in three provinces, and kept the finest
inn for many miles around.

He received us in a jovial way, for though he was a stanch patriot, he
and Gordon had been friends for many years.

"So, Mistress Jean, you have deigned to honour my roof with your
presence. Welcome, welcome, all of you."

And though I had swung myself off Toby to assist Mistress Jean to
dismount, he was before me and swung her lightly to the ground.

"I declare," he said, "you grow bonnier every day, lassie," which
brought a blush to her cheek. Then, turning, he called his wife and
placed Mistress Jean in her charge.

"I am sorry to say, gentlemen, that the inn is very crowded, as you
see, but I think I can find a place for you." Then drawing the Tory
aside for a little way, we heard him remonstrating with him for coming
to the town at such a time, when the feeling ran so strong and high
against the Loyalist.

"You risk your life," he said, "for the slightest spark or
indiscretion will bring a mob, boiling and seething around you. The
officers will not be able to hold the men in, as they are only
volunteers, and have not yet felt the hand of discipline."

But Charles Gordon shrugged his shoulders, and his reply came
distinct and clear: "I thought you knew me b