attic; but as the roof shelves, you
know, it became pretty hot, especially when the fires began, and then
mother did get frightened, more especially when she saw the blaze of the
Woolford house, down the street. Didn't I just wish I was a man, to go
and help father that day! Luckily for us, the wind was in the other
direction; father said that was all that saved us."

"And Divine Providence, my son," said Mrs. Beebe's soft voice, as she
laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Billy's only experience of war was a
sharp one for a few hours. He has been longing ever since to join his
father, but I can only find it in my mother's heart to rejoice that he
is too young to do so. Now, Billy, light the candles; for if our friends
must resume their journey to-morrow, it is full time to retire."

Betty found the little room assigned to her, with Billy's assistance,
but before he left her he pointed out two small holes near the window
frame, where bullets had entered and remained buried in the woodwork;
and as Betty curled herself up in the centre of the great feather-bed,
she thought, with a throb of her girlish heart, that perhaps she, too,
might see some of the terrors of war before she returned to the shelter
of her dear Litchfield home.

The next morning dawned cold and chilly; a few flakes of snow floated
through the air, and Mrs. Beebe urged strongly the wisdom of lying over
for twenty-four hours, lest a storm should come and render the roads
impassable. But Mrs. Seymour, after a consultation with Caesar, decided
that it was best to push on; winter was approaching, and each day made
the journey less feasible. There was a fairly good road between them and
White Plains, and now that she had started she was impatient to reach
the city. Betty, too, was eager to be off, so with many warm thanks,
they again packed the coach and said farewell to the hospitable Beebes,
who had insisted on adding fresh stores of provisions to their hamper;
and Billy's last act of friendliness was to slip into Betty's hand a
package of taffy, of his own manufacture, which he assured her "was not
over-sticky, provided you use care in biting it."

This part of the journey was cold and cheerless enough. The road wound
somewhat, and the settlements were few, even the houses were far apart
from each other; and although the hills were fewer, they heard Caesar
admonish his horses more frequently than usual, and about four o'clock
in the day they came to a f