the
mornin'," he said. "An' to-morrow night I want you to come an' try some
o' the new cider. You come too, son," he added, turning to John.

The boys thanked him heartily, for well they might esteem it a great
favor and an honor to receive this invitation from the warlike old
veteran. Again they inquired for the latest news of Jim Huson, and
learning that he was likely to recover, set out for their homes.

"I have a presentiment that we shall see Big Pete again," said Ree
thoughtfully.

"Are you afraid of him?" John quietly asked.

"No, I am not afraid of him, yet I would rather we should never meet
again. But I think he will go west and though it is a big country, we
might find him there. By the way, John, Capt. Bowen is just the man to
give us advice about our expedition. Meet me about sundown at the old
place. We will have a lot to talk about as we are on the way to make our
call."

A few minutes later the boys separated. John going to the overcrowded
little house of his parents; Ree to the Henry Catesby farm, which was the
only home he had known since childhood. As he crept into bed in his attic
room, and stretched his full length restfully on the straw-filled tick,
again there came to him a vision of an unmarked grave in the quiet
burying-ground, bringing an influence of sadness to all his thoughts.

"Oh, mother, my memory of you is the dearest thing in life," he softly
whispered to himself, and his mind turned fondly to his childhood.
Faintly he remembered his father. More vividly he recalled the coming of
a neighbor with the news of his father's death--killed by Gen. Howe's
troops as they advanced on Philadelphia, after succeeding in defeating
the American soldiers at Wilmington, because Gen. Washington was misled
by false information.

Poor Ree! How well did he remember his mother's grief, though he was too
young to understand--too care-free to grieve long or deeply himself. Many
times he had heard the story in after days, how his father and two
companions were fired upon as they were hurrying forward to give notice
of the enemy's coming; and one of the three being wounded, his father
would not leave him, though in trying to save him, his own life was
sacrificed. It was the third man, who escaped, who spread the news of the
bravery and death of the elder Return Kingdom.

Ree did not know how long a time had elapsed, but it seemed a very little
while after this sad story reached his mother that she remo