ause."

Such words silenced me. I had come to believe that Hiram could see
treachery in Master Lord's course; but until this moment had no idea he
believed the situation to be so desperate. It must have been that he saw
what was very like to fear written on my face, for he added after a
short pause:

"Nay, nay, lad, do not let me persuade you into making mountains out of
mole hills; but let us not fall into the mistake of failing to see the
mole hills. You stood up bravely when we were on Breed's hill with
three or four thousand lobster backs striving to kill us, and I saw no
sign of fear on your face. Now we have but one man against us, and it
will go hard indeed if we four cannot outwit the scoundrel, if scoundrel
he be, providing he gives us time."

"But why should he give us time?" Harvey persisted, and again Hiram
said:

"That's what puzzles me lad; but I am hoping to find out before many
hours have passed. In the meanwhile, when he comes here it is for us to
make him believe we are not only willing, but pleased to remain as he
would have us. Do not let it appear that we have any suspicions of him
whatsoever, but fall in with all he suggests, for indeed we can do no
less while shut up here."

"If that rubbish hole leads outside, why may we not escape by means of
it?" I asked, and the reply came promptly:

"Because we would be jumping from the frying pan into the fire. It is
evidently not Master Lord's intention to deliver us over to the lobster
backs yet a while, providing we remain quietly here as he desires; but
let us once take to flight, as he would discover within an hour or more
after we had gone, and our liberty is not worth a day's purchase. You
can see plainly that if he is the traitor we are beginning to believe
him, it would be impossible for us to find another hiding-place in this
town which the Britishers could not discover."

"We are setting it down as a fact that this Job Lord, who has probably
made many of our people believe him true to the Cause, is a traitor,"
Archie said thoughtfully, as if he had been turning the matter over and
over in his mind. "It seems to me that we should, until knowing to the
contrary, at least put it in our reckoning that the chances are even he
may be doing according to his professions. If that be the case, then we
are making as much progress toward giving Silas aid as if we were on the
outside; perhaps more, because Master Lord can succeed where we would
fail."