es below.

"We must be off, sir," said he; "the red-coats are forming outside, and
from what I can make out there is likely to be a scrimmage."

I shook the ladies warmly by the hand. In vain I endeavoured to get
them to tell me where they believed Madeline Carlyon then was. One
spoke, then another; mentioning the names of different places, which of
course I did not know, nor could I conceive by their descriptions in
what direction they were to be found. Several shots were heard; again
the bugle sounded. I dared not remain another moment. I tore myself
away, still ignorant of a point I would have given much to ascertain,
and rushed out. My own men had formed outside the house; the other
different parties who had been carrying on the examination of the town
were hurrying into the square from all quarters. Some of them brought
us the information that our advanced guard was attacked.

"Then the hostages must answer for it," said Captain Hawthorne.

The no-little-alarmed old gentlemen we had in our power entreated that
they might be allowed to try and stop the attack. We, of course, were
glad enough of this, and we let them go to the front in charge of a
strong body of our men. In a short time they returned, well contented
to find that the attack had been made merely by a hundred volunteers or
so, who on finding our strength had retreated. We knew, however, that
they would not go far-off, and felt the unpleasant assurance that we
should, in all probability, be continually harassed during the whole of
our march back, and perhaps even have to fight our way through a crowd
of active enemies.

Under these circumstances Hawthorne and I agreed that we should, without
a moment's delay, commence our march. It was now about two o'clock in
the morning. We had performed the service we had come on, and gained
all the information we required. We had ascertained that the
surrounding country would supply us amply with provisions; that the
vessels which had taken refuge in the creek could not be cut out without
a strong force, and that the people were, if not actually in arms
against us, far from favourable to the royal cause, as Arnold had led us
to suppose they would be. We had also distributed large numbers of his
address. Discharging some of the more elderly of our prisoners, we
began our march, carrying with us the younger men and those whom we had
picked up on the way. We soon found that our retreat was to be anyt