ut little fear,
believing that every one of Thayendanega's followers would be hugging his
lodge closely, while the Tories would find it difficult to discern us from
any great distance as we lay prone upon the ground.

Lest I spend too many words in the telling of it, let me say, in short,
that we gained the thicket without causing an alarm, and, what was really
strange, made our way through it in a westerly direction for fully a mile
without meeting any living being.

Then it was that Sergeant Corney came to a halt, and, taking the corn
bread from his pocket, began to munch it greedily as he said to me,
speaking indistinctly because of the fulness of his mouth:

"I reckon, lad, we've passed the Britishers' lines, an' can begin to
circle southward from this point."

While we were creeping away from the fort, beginning the second journey
before having had time to rest from the first, I had said to myself again
and again that it was the act of madmen for us to make any attempt at
gaining General Herkimer's forces. In the first place there was no real
necessity for such dangerous labor, because the signal could have been
given by Colonel Gansevoort at a reasonably early hour next morning, and
thus our commander would have known that the message was delivered. We
were risking our lives foolishly, and when the old soldier spoke of making
a circle from that point, in a tone which told that he was very well
contented with himself and what he had done, I lost my temper, and
replied, sharply:

"Ay, we have got through the lines safely because of the storm, which was
a lucky chance in our favor, and one we could not have foreseen when you
were so foolish as to propose that we go back to-night."

"It would have pleased you better had we made the attempt to get into the
fort?"

"Ay, ten times over, for then instead of roaming these woods, taking a
fool's chances of bein' shot down, we might be comfortable and in safety."

"An' remained there so long as pleased Colonel Gansevoort, for once inside
that fort we placed ourselves under his command."

"Well, and why not?" I asked, in surprise.

"Because it does not please me to linger when there is other work to be
done."

"But there was no real need of undertakin' this task," I said, with
irritation.

"Yet it gave us an excuse to which he would listen for leavin', when, had
we told the truth, I question if he had not tried to stop us."

"Well, what is the truth?" I cried,