hat hour when I set off for the Bridewell."

"Tell me what happened there?"

"It isn't much of a story, for the plan worked as if it had been
greased, though I'm free to confess that I had but little hope of
pulling through when I left you. My heart was thumping fit to burst when
I called for the officer on duty, holding my head high as if General
Gage had been my brother. The lieutenant who gave me a hearing was by no
means the dullard you might have expected him to be, and eyed me in a
way that wasn't comforting. Of course I had to explain that Master Lord
wasn't quite in condition to venture out, and that I was helping him in
setting a trap for the rebels. While you might have counted twenty I
felt certain he was minded to send to headquarters to learn if the order
was all right, and I made bold to urge that a delay of half an hour
would set all our plans awry, which you'll agree was nothing more than
solemn truth."

"Then he allowed you to take Silas?" I asked eagerly.

"Yes, after considerable humming and hawing; but I'm of the belief that
if the lobster back hadn't been with me it would have been a different
matter. The lieutenant couldn't fail of being impressed by the fact that
I had come with one of his own kidney as escort, and from this out I
shall have a kindly feeling for a red coat, even though I fail to love
the one that wears it."

"And now we'll give the officer at the battery the surprise of his life,
when we show him Job Lord as prisoner after he sent us to him with such
recommendations as to his loyalty," I cried with a laugh, whereupon
Hiram replied gravely:

"If I have my way, we'll give the battery a wide berth, lad, and for two
reasons. The first is that I'm not minded to be delayed on the journey
to Cambridge, and who can say that the lieutenant wouldn't insist on
taking charge of our prisoner, which would be depriving us of the credit
we deserve. The second reason is more serious. Because the officer at
the battery vouched so strongly for Job Lord, it is barely possible that
he may be as great a traitor as our captive, and I'll give him no chance
to set his partner free."

"Of course you'll have your way, so far as leading us lads is
concerned," I said quickly. "Surely you have earned the right an hundred
times over, even though we were disposed to contest it, which we are
not. How do you count on getting to Cambridge?"

"We'll pull up the creek as far as is possible to take the skiff,