had expected to find a bad-tempered, ill-conditioned woman; and they
were agreeably surprised when they found, instead, a woman who could
match their rude jests, and make herself thoroughly entertaining.

The Tories had brought a jug with them, and they were so pleased with
Aunt Nancy's seeming friendliness that they invited her to drink with
them. "I'll take one swig with you," said Aunt Nancy, "if it kills every
cow on the Island," meaning a neck of land at the junction of river and
creek where the Whig families of the neighborhood pastured their cattle
and hid them. The Tories laughed and drank, and then they laughed and
drank again. They kept this up until the old gobbler had been cooked to
Aunt Nancy's satisfaction; and by the time they were ready to sit down
to table they were in a very merry mood indeed.

They had stacked their arms within easy reach of where they had been
sitting and drinking; but Aunt Nancy had moved her table to the middle
of the floor, so as to be able to walk around it on all sides while
waiting on the Tories. In helping the men to the turkey and other
eatables that she had prepared, she frequently came between them and
their muskets. The Tories had hardly begun to eat before they called for
water. Aunt Nancy, expecting this, had used up in cooking all that had
been brought: consequently her daughter had to take the piggin and go
to the spring after a fresh supply. She went with instructions to signal
her father, and the neighbors who were with him, to come immediately to
the cabin. While her daughter was at the spring, Aunt Nancy managed to
pull off one of the boards that filled the space between the logs of the
house, and through this crack she slipped two of the muskets. She was
slipping the third through when her movements caught the eye of one of
the Tories. Instantly the men sprang to their feet, but Aunt Nancy
was now in her element. Quick as a flash she clapped the musket to her
shoulder, and threatened to shoot the first man that approached her. The
men, knowing her reputation as a fighter, and awed by her appearance,
hesitated. At last one bolder than the rest began to advance toward her.
She fired promptly, and at the report of the gun the man fell dead on
the floor.

Before the others could recover from their consternation, Aunt Nancy
had seized another musket, and held it in readiness to fire again. Her
daughter had now returned from the spring with the information that her
fa