arance they had spent much of the night in
a wild carousal. They were huddled in various grotesque shapes, and
several were snoring loudly.

In about fifteen minutes a sound, scarcely audible, was heard near
Dane's side, and glancing around, he saw Davidson creeping toward him.

"The trap is all set," the leader whispered as he came close. "It only
waits to be sprung."

"Are the men all arranged?" Dane asked.

"They are in fine order, and all in line, only a few feet from one
another. The Loyalists caught on in no time. I am surprised that the
rebels are all asleep. It's a wonder they didn't place some one on
guard."

"I believe they did. Look," and Dane motioned to a huddled form
somewhat apart from the others. "There is the guard, but the rum must
have affected him like it did the rest. Anyway, they were not
suspicious, and had no idea that their plot was known."

"Now get ready," Davidson ordered. "We must round up this bunch before
any more arrive."

Then from his lips sounded forth a clear peculiar whistle. Almost
immediately wild yells from a score of rangers rent the air, followed
by ringing cheers of defiance. Dazed and startled, a number of rebels
threw aside their blankets, scrambled to their knees, and looked
around. Flazeet and Rauchad were the first to comprehend the
situation. Yelling to their still sleeping comrades, they leaped to
their feet, and were about to seize their muskets, when Davidson
sternly ordered them to desist.

"Hands up," he commanded.

The ringleaders instantly obeyed, for they at once recognised the
King's purveyor, the one man they so greatly feared. But one
dare-devil rebel sprang for his gun a few feet away. He never reached
it, however, for from the border of the forest two muskets spoke, and
he crumpled in his tracks upon the sand. This was sufficient warning
to the rest, and all now awake stood sullenly and silently staring hard
at their captors who had come into full view.

"Get over there, and be quick about it," Davidson ordered, motioning to
the left.

The rebels at once obeyed, and standing huddled together, awaited
further developments. Most of the men had no heart for any opposition,
even if they had the opportunity. They had been promised plenty of
rum, a good time, and no end of fun with the Loyalists. Such a
disastrous outcome as this had been far from their minds. The Indians
now realised that they had been led into a trap, and their