itty was a reigning belle,
and the toast of the British officers as she had been of the
Continentals, and she liked Yorke and Yorke's attentions. If Betty had
only known whose face came oftenest in Kitty's dreams, and that a blue
sword-knot was her most cherished possession, perhaps the dawning
jealousy which she felt toward her would never have existed. Who can
say?

The winter had set in with great rigor, and the troops had even crossed
on the ice from Staten Island to the city; sad tales reached Betty's
watchful ears of privations endured in the army of General Washington,
and it made her cheeks burn and tingle to hear the jests and laughter of
the Tory guests who visited the house, at the expense of the so-called
"rebels" against King George. Of Oliver, Betty had no sign; whether he
had been in the city and accomplished whatever mission he had in view,
she knew not. She did not dare to confide in Clarissa, for even had her
sister's health permitted, Betty deemed it scarcely safe to put her to
the test of loyalty as between husband and brother.

All these thoughts and many more were crowding Betty's brain as she ran
down the steps of the Verplanck mansion and followed Peter toward Queen
Street, where Kitty lived. The sun shone brightly and the air was crisp
and clear; Betty looked charming in her dainty hood, tied with a
rose-colored ribbon which nestled softly under her chin and played at
confining the dancing curls. Contrary to Peter's expectations, Kitty was
watching for them, and they proceeded with some speed along the snowy
streets until they reached the Minetta Water, as the small stream was
called which wound its way across the Lispenard Meadows, and connected
the "Collect" (or Fresh Water Pond) with the Hudson River. At the end of
Great Queen Street was a wooden bridge, and crossing it, the little
party continued up Magazine Street until they reached the Collect Pond,
on two sides of which were low buildings of various kinds, being
rope-walks, furnaces, tanneries, and breweries, all run by water from
the pond. Betty thought she should some day like to come out and
investigate them with Peter; they were not very sightly, but they might
prove interesting. These buildings shut out the view, and until Betty
stood on the very bank she had no idea how brilliant a scene the Collect
presented. The ground on the north side between them and Broadway rose
to the height of a hundred feet, and this hillside was covered