lost no time in telling Faith that their father was an English
officer, stationed at Fort Ticonderoga; and this made Faith look at
them with even more interest. Both the sisters were rather scornful in
their manner toward the other school children. As Faith was a
newcomer, and a stranger, they were more cordial to her.

"You must come to the fort with us some day," Caroline suggested, when
the little girls had known each other for several weeks; and Faith
accepted the invitation with such eagerness that the sisters looked at
her approvingly. Their invitations to some of the other children had
been rudely refused, and the whispered "Tories" had not failed to
reach their ears.

"We like you," Caroline had continued in rather a condescending
manner, "and we have told our mother about you. Could you go to the
fort with us to-morrow? It's Saturday."

"Oh, yes; I'm sure I may. I have wanted to go to the fort ever since I
came. You are real good to ask me," Faith had responded gratefully, to
the evident satisfaction of the English girls who felt that this new
little girl knew the proper way to receive an invitation.

It was settled that they would call for Faith early on Saturday
afternoon.

"I may go, mayn't I, Aunt Prissy?" Faith asked, as she told her aunt
of the invitation, and was rather puzzled to find that Aunt Prissy
seemed a little doubtful as to the wisdom of permitting Faith visiting
the fort with her new friends.

"It is a mile distant, and while that is not too long a walk, I do not
like you to go so far from home with strangers," she said; but on
Faith's declaring that the sisters were the best behaved girls in
school, and that she had promised to go, Mrs. Scott gave her consent;
and Faith was ready and waiting when Caroline and Catherine arrived,
soon after dinner on Saturday.

"Is your father an officer?" asked Caroline, as the little girls
started off.

Faith walked between her new friends, and looked from one to the other
with admiring eyes.

"No, my father is a miller. And he owns a fine lot of land, too," she
answered smilingly.

"Our father is a major. He will go back to Albany in the spring, and
that is a much better place to live than this old frontier town," said
Catherine. "We shan't have to play with common children there."

Faith did not quite know what Catherine meant, so she made no
response, but began telling them of her own journey through the
wilderness and across the lake. But h