" exclaimed Lawrence.

"There's nothing for us but to go ahead," said Rodney, passing one of
his two pistols over to Lawrence.

"I'm with you to the finish," replied the latter, his face very grim
and determined.

"Halt!" cried one of the marauders, who waved a sword as if to enforce
his authority.

"Get out of the way. We are on our own business!" cried Rodney.

The second marauder lifted his pistol, but Rodney anticipated him with
a quick shot which brought the man's arm down, while the pistol
clattered to the road.

"That's a lucky shot," thought the boy.

His companion was not so lucky; he had fired and missed his opponent,
who rode forward with drawn sword evidently resolved on cutting him
down.

Rodney seized his pistol by the barrel and hurled it straight for the
trooper's head and hit the mark squarely, the man pitching out of his
saddle like a log! Not in vain had been those hours the boy had spent
with Conrad learning to throw the tomahawk.

"I'll buy you the finest pistols in Norfolk if we ever get there,"
said Lawrence, thus expressing the gratitude he felt.

Having distanced their pursuers, the remainder of their journey was
without incident; but from report of conditions in Norfolk, where
Dunmore had seized Mr. Holt's printing press and was enforcing martial
law so far as he could, they decided it was not a safe place for them
to visit and turned aside to join the volunteers they heard were
approaching under command of Colonel Woodford, who had done such good
service at Hampton.

Dunmore also had heard of the approach of the Culpeper men, and
resolved to keep them at a distance from Norfolk.

Knowing that they would have to cross what was known as Great Bridge,
about nine miles from Norfolk, he forwarded troops under Captains
Fordyce and Leslie to check the Virginians at the bridge.

The British had thrown up earthworks at the Norfolk end of the bridge
when the Americans arrived. The latter built an entrenchment at their
end of the bridge. Lieutenant Travis with nearly one hundred men
occupied this, while Woodford, with the remainder of the Virginian
forces, was stationed at a church about four hundred yards distant,
when the British came across the bridge to make an attack. The British
fired as they approached, while their two field pieces in the rear
kept up a cannonade.

Travis ordered his men to withhold their fire until the enemy should
almost reach the entrenchments. Captain Fordyc