tore a portion of their befuddled senses. The entire
party halted as if with one accord, and would have turned to look at us,
but that the sergeant said, sharply, emphasizing the words by the click of
his rifle-lock as he cocked the weapon:

"Keep a-movin' unless you're achin' to have a bullet put through the back
of every blessed one in the gang!"

"But, look here, this is too much of a joke," one of them cried, with a
drunken laugh. "We can't go very far on this course without bein' seen by
the rebels."

"You've been seen by 'em already, an' that's why we've got you in charge.
We count on movin' the whole of St. Leger's force over to the fort in
squads, an' you're the first that has been started on the road."

By this time the renegades had a fairly good idea of the situation, and I
fully expected they would turn upon us, but each of them was a coward. If
they wheeled about suddenly, taking the chances that one might be killed
in the squabble, it would have been possible to overpower us, even though
they were without firearms; but it was the probability of our doing some
considerable execution before knocking under that prevented them from
escaping at the favorable moment.

I walked with my rifle cocked and pointed at the man directly in front of
me, prodding him with the muzzle now and then that he might know I was
ready for action, and Sergeant Corney kept the whole party moving at a
good smart pace, for we had no assurance that there were not sober men
enough in the enemy's camp to play the mischief with our bold plan.

Before we were hailed by the sentinels I came to believe that every member
of the besieging army was more or less incapacitated for duty through
having drank too much rum, for we heard nothing whatsoever from any one in
the enemy's camp, although we were in fairly good view of them for no less
than half an hour.

When the sentinel hailed we were yet half a musket-shot distant, and my
companion answered it by shouting:

"Report to the officer of the day that Captain Campbell, of the Minute
Boys, an' Sergeant Braun, unattached, are come with a few prisoners as
sample of what may be had for the takin'."

This reply caused some mystification among the sentinels, as we could
understand by the hum of conversation which followed; but the old man did
not call a halt, and we continued straight on toward the sally-port, I
feeling more than a bit nervous lest the sergeant's loud words might have
been