pment. There was little need to visit
the Tory quarters, for, as it seemed to me, all those renegades were
present, taking part in the orgy.

With no care as to advancing noiselessly, but keeping a sharp lookout lest
we come upon sober men, the sergeant and I moved about at will, finding
everywhere the same condition of affairs, and when half an hour had passed
it was positive our people might come into the enemy's lines and gather up
prisoners by the hundreds without being molested in any way, for I
question if their presence would have been suspected.

During all this time of inspection we saw nothing of St. Leger, Sir John,
or Thayendanega, and I was of the opinion that they had run away; but
Sergeant Corney held to it that most like they were in the Indian
encampment, proposing that we cross the river in order to hunt them up,
but to this I would not listen.

According to my mind, such of the Indians as remained sober, if there were
any, would be in their own lodges, and because we had had such singular
success in our scout thus far was no reason why we might not suddenly find
ourselves face to face with the gravest danger, if we acted the fools by
poking our noses among the camps of the savages.

"Why not go to the fort?" I asked. "There is nothin' more to be learned
here. We know to a certainty that the greater portion of all the Tories
an' Indians are hereabout, and every one of them so drunk that the army
will be harmless, save as to each other, until daybreak. Let us go back by
way of the batteries, an' we can reach the fort almost as soon as will
Jacob, if perchance he went to the northward of the hill."

The sergeant was not inclined to leave the encampment immediately,
although he agreed that we could learn nothing further of importance; it
was as if the scene of confusion had a certain fascination for him. He
finally agreed, however unwillingly, to my proposition, and we set out
leisurely on the return, being forced to pass once more in the rear of all
the British camps because of having continued our investigations to the
easternmost line of tents.

We began the return without thought of haste or of danger, and were come
midway between headquarters and the most southerly battery, when without
warning we arrived face to face with a party of six Tories, who, with
their arms around each other's necks, were reeling to and fro in the most
convivial fashion on what was probably intended to be a pleasant str