l my armies desert, the war shall go on. If I must,
I'll gather my faithful followers in Virginia, retreat to the mountains
and fight until our country is free!'

"His words cheered the despairing men and they stood by him. We were
saved at last because help came in time. Lord Cornwallis had laid the
South in ashes, and camped at Yorktown, his army of veterans laden with
spoils. He was only waiting for the transports from New York to take his
victorious men North, join the army there and end the war, and then----"

She drew a deep breath and her eyes sparkled:

"And then, Boy, it happened--the miracle! Into the Chesapeake Bay in
Virginia, three big ships dropped anchor at the mouth of the York River.
Our people on the shore thought they were the transports and that the
end had come. But the ships were too far away to make out their flags,
and so they sent swift couriers across the Peninsula, to see if there
were any signs in the roadstead at Hampton. There--Glory to God! lay a
great fleet flying the flag of France. The French had loaned us twenty
millions of dollars, and sent their navy and their army to help us. Had
the Lord sent down a host from the sky we couldn't have been more
surprised. They landed, joined with General Washington's ragged men, and
closed in on Cornwallis. Surprised and trapped he surrendered and we
won.

"But there never was a year before that, my Boy, that we were strong
enough to resist the British army had the mother country sent a real
general here to command her troops."

"Why didn't she?" the Boy interrupted.

Again the mother's voice dropped low:

"Because God wouldn't let her--that's the only reason. If Lord Clive had
ever landed on our shores, Washington might now be sleeping in a
traitor's grave."

The voice again became soft and dreamy--almost inaudible.

"And he didn't come?" the Boy whispered.

"No. On the day he was to sail he put the papers in his pocket, went
into his room, locked the door and blew his own brains out. This is
God's country, my son. He gave us freedom. He has great plans for us."

The fire flickered low and the Boy's eyes glowed with a strange
intensity.

VIII

A barbecue, with political speaking, was held at the village ten miles
away. The family started at sunrise. The day was an event in the lives
of every man, woman and child within a radius of twenty miles. Many came
as far as thirty miles and walked the whole distance. Before nine
o'clock a