words, that he set his face against any movement
of the kind, and I fancied the three were waiting to hear whether I
counted to crawl back from the enterprise, therefore it was I said
promptly:

"The attempt shall be made, and because of having been chosen captain of
the company it is my duty to go, and go alone."

"Why alone?" Harvey asked.

"Because there is no reason why the lives of four Minute Boys be
sacrificed. If there is any show of coming upon the lad, I may be able
to aid him single-handed, and for all of us to venture into town would
be increasing the chances of detection."

"You could not have released me single-handed," Archie cried, "however
might have been your inclination, and therefore it is I shall go whether
you are willing or not."

The other two were quite as decided in their intention to take part in
the venture, and, realizing how useless it would be to make any effort
at bringing about a change of opinion, I agreed that we would all go,
even though believing that we were not warranted in so doing.

Once this matter had been settled Hiram seemed to consider himself the
leader of our party, regardless of the fact that I had been chosen
captain of the company, and straightway began to lay plans, thus
showing, to my mind at least, that he had decided, even before awakening
me, on some such scheme.

Had the matter been left to my decision, I would have held that our
efforts at gaining the town must be made by water, either from Mystic
river or Willis creek; but Hiram said in a tone which admitted of no
argument:

"We'll go down the Cambridge to Muddy river in a skiff, and from there
strike into Dorchester where we shall find a small body of our own
troops."

"And also, where we'll be bottled up in great shape, for even you cannot
believe there will be any chance of our getting past the British
fortifications on Boston Neck," I said, believing I had found such a
defect in his plan that he would not attempt to carry it out.

"I'm at a loss to see how we are bottled up any worse in Dorchester,
than here, and because our people haven't been making many attempts to
get into the town from that direction, I believe our best chance of
success lies there. It is not absolutely necessary we attempt to go over
the Neck; but it should be possible, on a dark night, to slip across in
a boat from nearabout Nook's hill to some part of the town south of
Windmill point."

"And what then?" I asked with n