from the Council of Safety,
so he would have had to go to Tom's River. Edwards, I hear, is
sentenced to be hanged; naturally the Tories would have been after
the boy hot-foot."

After the total annihilation of the village of Tom's River, the damage
to the farmhouse seemed inconsiderable, and it was with a sense of
rest that the girls entered the pleasant and homey kitchen. And now
for a time there was peace from molestation of any sort, and the short
period of repose brought healing to their bruised spirits.

In some manner Thomas Ashley contrived to learn that Fairfax had been
carried to New York, and subsequently to Sandy Hook, where he was
confined in the hold of a guard-ship. Simultaneously with this
information came the news that Edwards, the refugee leader whom the
young captain had captured, had been shot while attempting to escape,
and the county exulted that at last it was rid of such a desperado.

So the soft days of April passed until ten had elapsed since the
return from Tom's River. It seemed to Peggy that never before had
there been so beautiful a spring, and she spent much time among the
sweet scented things of the garden. There came a morning when all the
earth was kissed with scent, and all the air caressed by song. The
two maidens were out under the blossoming trees, and their talk
turned, as it frequently did, upon the absent Fairfax.

"'Tis such a lovely day, but poor Fairfax cannot enjoy it," uttered
Sally pensively. "How long doth it take for an exchange, Peggy?"

"I believe 'tis done in order of capture, Sally. Those who are taken
first are first to be liberated. And rank also hath much to do with
it. A captain would not be exchanged until a captain of equal rank
could be given for him. As to militia officers I know not how 'tis
managed. But whatever can be done, Friend Ashley will do. He hath
influence with the principal men of the county, and will no doubt use
it for Fairfax's release. He is proud of his nephew. Methinks he
grieves over the lad's imprisonment as much as his mother does."

"I think he does, Peggy. Then too, he hath the welfare of Monmouth
County so much at heart, and Fairfax was especially vigilant in
suppressing the incendiary acts of the Tories and refugees, that he
is missed. I hope he is well treated. 'Tis dreadful to be confined in
such weather!"

"I like not to think of it," remarked Peggy with a sigh. "I wish we
had not teased him so; yet what sport it was to see h