RTON'S TRIAL.

The following morning the cavalcade[99] dispersed. The wounded
diverged towards the river, with the intention of taking water at
Peekskill, in order to be transported to the hospital of the American
army above.

[Footnote 99: a procession of persons on horseback.]

The road taken by our party was not the one that communicates between
the two principal cities of the State, but was a retired and
unfrequented pass, that to this hour is but little known, and which,
entering the hills near the eastern boundary, emerges into the plain
above, many miles from the Hudson.

It would have been impossible for the tired steeds of Mr. Wharton to
drag the heavy chariot up the lengthened and steep ascents which now
lay before them; and a pair of country horses was procured, with but
little regard to their owner's wishes, by the two dragoons, who still
continued to accompany the party. With their assistance, Caesar was
enabled to advance, by slow and toilsome steps, into the bosom of the
hills.

The day had been cloudy and cool, and thin fleecy clouds hung
around the horizon, often promising to disperse, but as frequently
disappointing Frances in the hope of catching a parting beam from
the setting sun. At length a solitary gleam struck the base of the
mountain on which she was gazing, and moved gracefully up its side,
until, reaching the summit, it stood for a minute, forming a crown
of glory to the sombre pile. With a feeling of awe at being thus
unexpectedly admitted, as it were, into the secrets of that desert
place, Frances gazed intently, until, among the scattered trees and
fantastic rocks, something like a rude structure was seen. It was low,
and so obscured by the color of its materials, that but for its roof,
and the glittering of a window, it must have escaped her notice. While
yet lost in the astonishment created by discovering a habitation in
such a spot, on moving her eyes she perceived another object that
increased her wonder. It apparently was a human figure, but of
singular mould and unusual deformity. It stood on the edge of a rock,
a little above the hut, and it was no difficult task for our heroine
to fancy it was gazing at the vehicles that were ascending the side of
the mountain beneath her. The distance, however, was too great for her
to distinguish with precision. She continued to gaze at the mysterious
residence, when the tones of a bugle rang through the glens and
hollows, and were