realized what she was about, had opened the rear
door of the kitchen and darted out.

A shout went up from the raiders, telling that she had been seen. A
few scattering shots followed, then the clarion tones of the leader
rang out:

"Don't shoot, boys. Take him alive. We've got him now."

"Mother!" cried Fairfax, springing toward the door. Tom Ashley caught
him in an iron grip.

"Be quiet, nevvy," he said sternly. "Hannah's got too much wit to be
taken, and she hath saved you; and all of us, for that matter. You
are too valuable to the country to be given to such wretches. Even
though all the rest of us perish, you must live. Now help me put out
this fire. Peggy, do you run up-stairs, and see what's happening."

Up the stairs darted Peggy, with Mrs. Ashley and Sally following
after. Too eager to be cautious she flung back a shutter, and looked
out. The night was now far spent, and in the dim gray light of early
dawn Nurse Johnson's tall figure was not unlike that of her son. The
intrepid woman had cleared the open spaces of the yard, and was now
under the great trees of the forest, with the raiders in full pursuit.
A few moments, and hunted and hunters were swallowed up by the long
dark shadows of the woods.

CHAPTER XIV

MARCHING ORDERS

"Our bugles sound gayly. To horse and away!
And over the mountains breaks the day;
Then ho! brothers, ho! for the ride or the fight,
There are deeds to be done ere we slumber to-night!
And whether we fight or whether we fall
By saber-stroke or rifle ball,
The hearts of the free will remember us yet,
And our Country, our Country will never forget."

--_Rossiter Worthington Raymond._

It was not until morning that the farmer and his nephew succeeded in
getting control of the fire. When at length it was extinguished only a
few charred timbers remained of the lean-to, and the dwelling itself
was badly damaged. A heap of ashes marked the spot where the barn had
stood, and the scene was one of desolation. The day had come, but
there was no glory in the sunshine. The dank smell of early morning
rose from the dew-drenched earth, but its freshness and fragrance were
marred by the overpowering odor of smoke, and wet, charred wood. In
the countless trees of the forest the birds were singing, but their
songs fell upon unheeding ears. To the inmates of the farmhouse
instead of melody the pines whispered a message of menace and despair.

"A