desire to give
at once into the hands of General Washington. You may be detained here
some time, but I have with me an Indian who could take them across the
Delaware to-night. It is not the first time he has made that journey.
Will you confide them to me?"

Our eyes were looking directly into each other. I may have hesitated an
instant, confused by the unexpected request, yet there was something in
the expression of the girl's face which swept doubt swiftly aside. I
could not question her honesty, her faith. Strange as her actions seemed
I was compelled to trust her. Why should I not? She was saving my life,
and she had it in her power, by the mere speaking of a word, to betray me
to those who would take the papers from me by force. Without a word I
took them from an inner pocket, and gave them to her. The red lips
smiled, the blue eyes brightening.

"Tonepah shall leave within the hour," she promised, thrusting the small
packet into the bosom of her dress. "Now step within, Major, and I will
close the door."

I did as she requested, hearing the click of the lock behind me, and
being as instantly plunged into darkness. I waited a moment, my foot upon
the first narrow stair, listening. No sound reached me from without, and,
with her animated face still before me in memory, I began to slowly feel
my way down the circular staircase. There was nothing dangerous about the
passage, but with only the bare stone wall to touch with the hand I was
obliged to grope along blindly. The huge chimney had evidently been
erected merely for concealment, and I marvelled at the ingenuity of its
construction. I failed to count the steps, but I went around and around
so many times, pressed against the smooth wall, that I knew I must be
well below the basement of the house before I finally stood at the
bottom. I groped forward in the intense darkness, feeling with
outstretched hands. The first object encountered was a rough table, the
surface of which I explored, discovering thereon a candlestick with flint
and steel beside it. With relief I struck a spark, and a yellow flame
revealed my surroundings.

What I saw was a low room some fifteen feet square, the walls and roof
apparently of stone securely mortared, the only exit the narrow circular
stairs. The floor was of earth. Opposite me was a bunk slightly elevated,
containing a blanket or two, and a fairly comfortable chair built from a
barrel. An old coat and hat hung from a nail at th