"'Ware the wood!" he said sharply, and none too soon, for even as he
spoke the glade at our left filled as by magic with a motley troop
deploying into the road as to surround us.

"Now who are these?" I asked; "friends or foes?"

"Foes who will hang you in your own halter strap; Jan Howart's
Tories--the same that burned the Westcotts in their cabin a fortnight
since. Will your horse take that barricade, think you?"

"Aye,--standing, if need be."

"Then at them, in God's name. Charge!"

It needed but the word and we were in the thick of it. I remembered my
old field-marshal's maxim, _Von Feinden umringt, ist die Zeit zu
zerschmettern_; and truly, being so plentifully outnumbered, we did
strike both first and hard.

A line of the ragged horsemen strung itself awkwardly across the road to
guard the flimsy barricade, and at this we charged, stirrup to stirrup.
In the dash there was a scattering volley from the wood, answered
instantly by the bellowings of Jennifer's great pistols; and then we
came to the steel.

It was my first fleshing of the good old Andrea, and a better balanced
blade I had never swung in hand-to-hand mellay. As we closed with the
half-dozen defenders of the barrier, Jennifer reined aside to give me
room to play to right and left, and in the midst of it went nigh to
death because he held his hand to watch a cut and double thrust of mine.

"Over with you!" I shouted, pricking the man who would have mowed him
down with a great scythe handled as a sword.

Our horses took the barrier in a flying leap, straining themselves for
the race beyond. When we had pulled them down to a foot pace we were
safely out of rifle shot and there was space to count the cost.

There was no cost worth counting. A saddle horn bullet-shattered for me,
and the back of Jennifer's sword hand scored lightly across by another
of the random missiles summed up our woundings. Dick whipped out his
kerchief to twist about the scored hand, while I glanced back to see if
any Tory cared to follow.

"Lord, Jack! I owe you one to keep and one to pay back," quoth my
youngster, warmly. "I never saw a swordsman till this day!"

"Mere tricks, Dick, my lad; I have had fifteen years in which to learn
them. And these were but country yokels armed with farming tools. The
two with swords had little wit to use them."

"Oh, come!" said he. "I know a pretty bit of sword play when I see it.
If we come whole out of this adventure with the bar