when I came to
realize my stupidity. Then saluting, even though his back was turned
toward me, I went out and ran with all speed to where I had left Silas
and Hiram.

They were awaiting me patiently, evidently counting on my coming
directly back, and once I was within speaking distance Hiram asked
laughingly:

"Well, did the colonel send for you that he might learn whether the
Minute Boys had any complaint to make regarding their quarters or their
rations?"

"We are ordered to assemble in front of General Ward's headquarters an
hour before sunset!" I replied breathlessly, giving no heed to his
banter.

"Then there is some work to be done!" Silas cried joyfully.

"It must be so since we are to provide ourselves with blankets and a
day's ration."

"I'm thinking that Colonel Prescott would have been wiser had he
forgotten the blankets and ordered more food," Hiram said with an odd
expression on his face, and I taxed him with knowing more regarding the
purpose for which we were to assemble than he had told us.

"Nay, lad, whatever may be in my head is only suspicion, aroused by a
word here and a word there dropped by some of our officers. You know I
always hold that a man should gather all the information he can when
there is nothing else to be done. I've had my ears opened mighty wide
since knowing the Committee of Safety held a secret session not long
ago, and from that time out it strikes me there have been many
conversations between our commanders."

"Tell us what you suspect," Silas demanded, and Hiram shook his head
with the air of one who has come to an end of his budget of news.

"It is only that we are to make some important move mighty soon, and
more than that I am in the dark. You can set it down as a fact, however,
that this ordering of the Minute Boys to be ready for what looks like
special duty, goes to prove that our people are aiming to give General
Gage a black eye inside of a short time."

We speculated upon what might be in the wind, during ten minutes or more
without coming to any satisfactory conclusion, and then I realized it
was my duty to make the other lads acquainted with the orders of the
day, so far as they concerned us, therefore I hastened away in order to
find them, for my Minute Boys were prone to scatter all over the
encampment, instead of remaining in any one particular place.

There is little reason why I should waste words in trying to repeat all
that we said regarding this