d. He had no wish or motive to detain the private soldiers
as prisoners of war, and would at once have dismissed them, if he could
have assured himself that they would not make the earliest use of their
liberty to convey information of their misadventure to the first corps
of loyalists they should meet, and thus get up a hot pursuit of him
through the whole district. But he had cogent and most important reasons
for holding the ensign, St. Jermyn, in close custody. It occurred to
him, that this officer might be used to control the procedure that
should be adopted by those who meditated injury to Arthur Butler; and he
therefore, at once formed the resolution of communicating with the
nearest British authorities, in order to assure them that he would
retaliate upon the Ensign any pain that might be inflicted upon his late
comrade. His plan was speedily formed--it was to keep his prisoners
until night-fall, move off under cover of the darkness to some remote
and concealed spot with St. Jermyn, and release the others, on their
parole or pledge not to take up arms until regularly exchanged.

Whilst the sergeant was deliberating over these arrangements, the
prisoners were allowed to shelter themselves from the rain under a shed
near the door of the dwelling, where Andrew, with all the pride and
importance of his new station, marched to and fro, before them, like a
trained sentinel. There was a small log building in the yard of Ramsay's
mansion, which had been recently erected as a store-house, and which
being well secured at the door by a padlock, Robinson determined to
convert for the nonce into a prison. It contained but one room, not
above twelve feet square, with an earthen floor, and received no light
except such as was admitted under the door, and through a few crannies
about the roof. Into this narrow apartment the soldiers were now
marched; a bundle of straw was thrown upon the floor; sundry flitches of
bacon, that hung upon the walls, were removed; and a few comforts, in
the way of food and drink, were supplied to render the accommodation as
tolerable to the inmates as was compatible with their safe custody. This
being done, our friend Andrew was posted in the passage-way of the
dwelling, in full view of the door of the store-house, which was
carefully locked, with a musket in his hand, and with orders to make a
circuit every five minutes round the little building, to guard against
any attempts at escape by under-minin