ood to know how
thoroughly we have outwitted the Britishers," I replied gleefully. "It's
almost certain there will be a battle soon, and most like that cur comes
no nearer than the shore of the town; but let him stick ever so close to
his red-coated friends, the day must dawn when we Minute Boys will have
a chance to pay the debt we owe him."

"That is if so be we live long enough," Silas suggested, and for the
instant I fancied it possible to detect a tremor in his voice. "Instead
of watching yonder curious ones who can do nothing for nor against us,
look around at the king's ships, and see what a force General Gage has
got behind him when he sends the lobster backs to shoot us down."

Now, strange though it may seem, while saying to myself that before many
hours had passed the red-coats would be upon us, I had failed to
consider, even for a moment, how much of strength the enemy had; I had
given no thought to the thousands upon thousands of men who could be
sent across from Boston to over-run the hill we were fortifying.

Directly in front of our intrenchments was, as I have already said, the
_Lively_, a ship of twenty guns, and, as I afterward learned, carrying
an hundred and thirty men; northward, over away somewhere opposite the
brick kilns, was the _Falcon_, which must have been as heavily manned as
the _Lively_; nearly abreast of the town hall was the _Somerset_, of
sixty-eight guns, and having on board five hundred and twenty men, then
came the _Cerberus_ of thirty-six guns; the _Glasgow_, twenty-four
guns, and the transport _Symetry_.

Taking it all in all, as nearly as a landsman like me could figure it,
there must have been among that shipping of his majesty's no less than
one hundred and eighty-six guns, with somewhere about twelve to thirteen
hundred men. In addition to these, General Gage could transport anywhere
from five to eight thousand men, landing them upon Charlestown shore
close under our noses.

Now as all this came to my mind, with the proof so distinctly before me,
I am not ashamed to say that for the moment I grew timorous, believing
the time was near at hand when I should fall as had fallen those two
brave comrades of ours in the engagement off Hog island, and, let him
laugh who will, there came into my heart a feeling of regret because I
could not hope to be laid away in Mother Earth as they had been.

Those aboard the _Lively_ must have understood that her shots were doing
no damage, f