my to me, as you have since yesterday morning, I count on standing
up manfully, accusing him of his crime instead of crawling around like a
red Indian, hiding my own feelings with the hope of getting the
advantage of him in some way."

"Well, now that you have stood up, as you call it, what do you count on
doing?" Horry asked with a sneer, and Saul, shaking him vigorously,
replied threateningly:

"I count on flogging you until it is a question whether you can leave
this town without assistance."

"It may not be safe to venture anything of the kind," and Horry looked
around in the hope that some of the Britishers might be near at hand.
"Of course when there are three to one, I cannot expect to hold my
ground; but let me warn you of this, Saul Ogden: Whatever you do to me
while the odds are in your favor, shall be paid back an hundred fold
before you are outside these lines! Now I know why that little French
sneak claimed that there was a short cut through the woods from the York
road to the Hamilton plantation. You fellows were hiding somewhere
nearabout, and he counted on joining you without my knowledge."

"Well, is it necessary we shall explain to you what we do, or where we
are going?" Saul shrieked, anger now having so far gotten the better of
him that he was hardly responsible for the words which came from his
mouth.

Pierre and I looked at each other in dismay which amounted almost to
fear. We had but just succeeded in paving a way for ourselves to enter
the town at will, and through Saul's hasty temper all the fat was in the
fire!

I could see no other course than to warn Uncle 'Rasmus as soon as might
be possible. Then take to our heels, trusting to the poor chance that we
might gain the plantation without being laid by the heels, and all
through an unthinking lad who had agreed, equally with us, that we must
not let Horry Sims know we were aware of his treachery.

"It's a case of getting away from here as soon as may be," I whispered
to Pierre, while Saul stood shaking Horry Sims and uttering threats
which might have been heard fifty yards away. "My cousin must pay the
penalty for thus losing his temper and destroying all our chances of
regaining the horses, for in order to save Uncle 'Rasmus, as well as
ourselves, we must leave him here to fight his battles with the Tory."

"I am not so certain that we should leave either of them," little
Frenchie said thoughtfully, and seemingly forgetting to shrug h