nded me to detail for the guard, five are
missing. I set them down as deserters."

"Deserters!--This is serious, indeed; let the signal be made for a
general parade--the people cannot yet have gone to bed; we will look
into this."

As Joyce made it matter of religion "to obey orders," this command was
immediately put in execution. In five minutes, a messenger came to
summon the captain to the court, where the garrison was under arms. The
serjeant stood in front of the little party, with a lantern, holding
his muster-roll in his hand. The first glance told the captain that a
serious reduction had taken place in his forces, and he led the
serjeant aside to hear his report.

"What is the result of your inquiries, Joyce?" he demanded, with more
uneasiness than he would have liked to betray openly.

"We have lost just half our men, sir. The miller, most of the Yankees,
and two of the Dutchmen, are not on parade; neither is one of them to
be found in his quarters. They have either gone over to the enemy,
captain Willoughby, or, disliking the appearance of things here, they
have taken to the woods for safety."

"And abandoned their wives and children, serjeant! Men would scarcely
do that."

"Their wives and children have deserted too, sir. Not a chick or child
belonging to either of the runaways is to be found in the Hut."

Chapter XIX.

"For all the Welshmen, hearing thou wert dead,
Are gone to Bolingbroke, dispersed and fled."

_Richard III_

This was startling intelligence to receive just as night had shut in,
and under the other circumstances of the case. Touching the men who
still remained, captain Willoughby conceived it prudent to inquire into
their characters and names, in order to ascertain the ground he stood
on, and to govern his future course accordingly. He put the question to
the serjeant, therefore, as soon as he could lead him far enough from
the little array, to be certain he was out of ear-shot.

"We have Michael O'Hearn, Jamie Allen, the two carpenters, the three
niggers, Joel, and the three Dutchmen that last came into the
settlement, and the two lads that Strides engaged at the beginning of
the year, left," was the answer. "These, counting your honour and
myself, make just fifteen men; quite enough yet, I should think, to
make good the house, in case of an assault--though I fear everything
like an outwork must be abandoned."

"On the whole, these are the best of our men," retu