r Wolcott, pulling his hat further down over his
eyes, and motioning Kitty to walk a few steps away from the door: "I
must be there."

"You are mad!" and Kitty turned pale at the idea.

"Oh, no, I am coming as one Diedrich Gansevoort, from Albany. Do not
fear for me; my disguise will be very perfect, and I go introduced by
Abram Lansing, from whom I bring a letter to Madam De Lancey. They are
old friends, though he is as stanch a Whig as she a Tory. I tell you,
Kitty, 't is of vital importance that I ascertain the facts of this
rumored raid upon the patriots, and I must risk all to gain it. Warn
Betty, lest she give way to alarm; be brave and fear nothing."

"A Happy New Year, Mistress Kitty," said a gentleman who approached her,
followed by his negro servant. "I shall do myself the honor to pay my
respects to your mother a little later;" and Mr. Van Brugh raised his
three-cornered hat in courtly salute, staring hard at Kitty and the
fisherman as he passed them.

"We are noticed," said Oliver calmly; "go on and do your errand."

"But I am so fearful for you," gasped poor Kitty, whose usual composure
seemed to be deserting her. "You try me too far, unless I may do
something to aid your escape, for a horrible sinking of my heart seems
to bode no good to you."

"Put no faith in omens," answered Oliver, with a smile. "I shall be off
at daybreak. Farewell, Kitty, and have no fear; I am well protected,"
and mingling in the crowd, he passed out of the market door and was
gone.

With what courage she could summon, Kitty sped on to Fran Hansel's
stand. The seedcakes had been weighed, decked with a handful of
Christmas greens, and placed in the basket, and Kitty, after a few kind
words to the old Dutch market-woman, made her way swiftly through the
crowd and gained the street.

"I must warn Betty," she thought an she proceeded up Maiden Lane, and as
she came to Queen Street she paused. "Go directly home," she said to her
servant; "tell my mother I have stopped to see Grandma Effingham and
wish her a Happy New Year. I will be back in time to dress," and off she
sped in the direction of Wall Street.

Betty, who like Kitty, had been spending her morning assisting in
preparations for the New Year callers who would present themselves later
in the day, was dusting the quaint Dresden Shepherdess who presided over
a corner of the drawing-room mantel, when a sharp knock at the front
door announced a visitor; and she fled out of