"Heavens! but you look like your sister!"

"Like Claire! they all say so; you know her?"

"It is at her request I am here; you need not fear to tell me your story."

"Oh, I do not. I can see your uniform. But d.a.m.n it, I don't know any too much about what is up myself. This is Red f.a.gin's outfit."

"I thought so. Where did he get you? How long have you been a prisoner?"

The boy laughed recklessly, his eyes upon the others.

"Well, my story is a short one, Lawrence. I had a fellow in the British service who occasionally gave me information. Word came to me to meet him at a certain spot--"

"You mean Captain Grant?"

"h.e.l.l! How did you know that?"

"Never mind; I do know--so you can go on."

He hesitated, as though suspicious of me, yet finally resumed.

"I had no intention of speaking names."

"Oh, let that pa.s.s. You may think Grant all right, but the rest of us know he is at the bottom of the whole matter."

"You mean he betrayed me?"

"There is no doubt of it. He is in with f.a.gin."

The lad drew a long breath.

"I half suspected it," he said slowly, "only it didn't seem possible. Now listen, and perhaps together we can make something out of all this. I went to the place where we were to meet, and had a talk with Grant--yes, it was Grant all right. He told me some things, but needed a day or two to get other information. While waiting I came over here to Elmhurst, and found Claire. She's the kind of a girl you can tell things to, and I wrote out what I had learned, and left some of my papers. Then I went back to Lone Tree. It was dark when I got there, and I rode right into f.a.gin and three of his men. They had me before I could lift a hand."

"Just wait a minute, Mortimer," I broke in, becoming suddenly aware there was a grayness in the eastern sky. "I want to creep in toward the house while it remains dark. You can tell the rest as we go along. Tom, take these ropes and tie your man up. Make him safe, and then come along after us."

"All right, sir. I'll fix the lad so he'll be safe enough for a while."

CHAPTER x.x.xII

WE ATTAIN THE HOUSE

"Come on, Mortimer, and we'll soon find out what is going on." I turned to the prisoner. "Where are the rest of your gang?"

"You'll find out fer yerself, Mister," he answered sullenly, "an' maybe d.a.m.n quick too."

"They are in the grape arbor to the south of the house," broke in Eric.

"That was where f.a.gin told them to lie quiet and wait orders."

"Then we will explore along the north side, keeping the fence between us.

I've got a handful of men over there in the orchard. If you are both ready we'll go."

I took a look myself at Tom's rope-tying, and found it satisfactory.

Indeed, in remembrance of my own suffering, I even loosened the strain a little, confident the fellow could never free himself unaided. Then the three of us, Mortimer armed with his late guard's gun, crawled up over the edge of the bank, ran without stopping across the open s.p.a.ce, and crouched in the shadow of the fence. It was still dark, although a faint gray tinged the eastern sky-line, barely perceptible through the intervening trees. The great house, a hundred yards away, was but a blurred outline, distinguishable by the lights shining out through open windows. At that distance no sound reached us. However, if Mortimer was right, the way would be clear for our pa.s.sage along the front, under shelter of the fence, even though a sentry was posted there, and we could creep up to the walls on the opposite side un.o.bserved. All we needed to do was to advance with caution. Whispering directions into the ears of the others, I moved forward slowly, Mortimer close to my shoulder. I could see across the top rail of the fence, and the open s.p.a.ce beyond yielded no point of concealment.

"Tell me the rest of your story," I said, speaking softly, "as we go along. Where did f.a.gin take you?"

"To a sand cave; we rode a night and a day to get there."

"Treat you all right?"

"Well as he could, I suppose. I had enough to eat, but was guarded closely, and the fellows were a bit rough."

"Did you gain no inkling of what they were up to?"

"No; the men I saw knew nothing, or pretended not to. I only saw f.a.gin twice. Once he came to a.s.sure himself that I was really myself. Somebody told him I was with Delavan in a fight over near Lone Tree."

"That was your sister."

"What! You don't mean it was Claire?"

"But I do. I chanced to be in that affair myself, and saw her. Later she, with three others--Peter, an Indian, and an Irishman--captured me, mistaking me for some one else, and took me to Elmhurst. As soon as she learned my ident.i.ty she acknowledged her error. But I have not learned yet why she was with Delavan, or for whom she mistook me."

The lad drew in his breath sharply, gripping me by the shoulder.

"By the Lord Harry!" he exclaimed excitedly. "There isn't another girl in the Colonies who would have done it. I'll bet I can explain, but even I didn't think she would ever have the nerve to perform such a deed. I told you I left my papers there. I forgot them when I changed my clothes. You see I came out wearing the uniform of a British Dragoon Lieutenant, and had it all planned out to join Delavan, and guide him toward Philadelphia over the Lone Tree road. Just before I left our camp at Valley Forge on this trip I received orders from Washington to keep my eyes open for a courier riding from Philadelphia to New York with Clinton's plans of evacuation. Hamilton seemed to know all about this, and sent me special instructions. I talked of it with Claire, planned how I was going to waylay him, and together we fixed up those servants as soldiers to help me carry out the deception."

He paused, chuckling, and I halted, eager to learn the rest.

"And when you disappeared; when, perhaps, she heard of your capture, or suspected it, she a.s.sumed the discarded uniform and went forth in your stead."

"That's it, Lawrence. She would, if she thought it was right; if she believed such an act necessary to save my reputation. I'll bet she found the papers in my pocket, and mistook you for Clinton's despatch bearer."

"There is no doubt of it," I said soberly. "And that wasn't all she did to protect you. It was the talk at Lee's headquarters that you had deserted. She stamped that a lie, by riding into our lines day before yesterday, bringing an exact report of where Clinton was marching. I didn't see her, but I heard all about it, and you get the credit.

Washington told me with his own lips, and granted her permission to remove your father, who was badly wounded, to Elmhurst."

"Good G.o.d! Are they here now?"

"They must have reached here early yesterday morning. I pa.s.sed them on the road at ten o'clock. Grant had just joined their party, claiming to be hunting after deserters."

He clung to the fence rail, staring out toward the house.

"Grant! Do you know, I believe that fellow is at the bottom of this whole affair. He's in love with Claire, and--and he's working some scheme to gain power over her."

"Several schemes, I think," I returned heartily. "I've nipped two of them in the bud already. Someway, Mortimer, he got possession of those instructions you received from Washington and Hamilton. I ran into him over there on the lawn, back of the summer-house. He was threatening Claire, trying to drive her into marrying him offhand. We had a bit of a fight, and I got the best of it. When I left I wore his coat, and later found your papers in his pocket. Do you remember how they were addressed?"