she had so opportunely
learned.

Fortunately, she had not far to go. At a short distance out
she met Lieutenant-Colonel Craig, who had been sent out by
Washington on a scouting expedition in search of
information. She told him her story begged him to hasten to
Washington with the momentous tidings and not to reveal her
name and hurried back to the mill. Here she shouldered the
bag of flour, and trudged her five miles home, reaching
there in as reasonably short a time as could have been
expected.

Night came. The next day passed. They were a night and day
of anxious suspense for Lydia Darrah. From her window, when
night had again fallen, she watched anxiously for movements
of the British troops. Ah! there at length they go, long
lines of them, marching steadily through the darkness, but
as noiselessly as possible. It was not advisable to alarm
the city. Patriot scouts might be abroad.

When morning dawned the restless woman was on the watch
again. The roll of a drum came to her ears from a distance.
Soon afterwards troops appeared, weary and discontented
warriors, marching back. They had had their night's journey
in vain. Instead of finding the Americans off their guard
and an easy prey, they had found them wide awake, and ready
to give them the hottest kind of a reception. After
manoeuvring about their lines for a vulnerable point, and
finding none, the doughty British warriors turned on their
track and marched disconsolately homeward, having had their
labor for their pains.

The army authorities were all at sea. How had this
information got afoot? Had it come from the Darrah house?
Possibly, for there the conference had been held. The
adjutant-general hastened to his quarters, summoned the fair
Quakeress to his room, and after locking the door against
intrusion, turned to her with a stern and doubting face.

"Were any of your family up, Lydia," he asked, "on the night
when I had visitors here?"

"No," she replied; "they all retired at eight o'clock."

This was quite true so far as retiring went. Nothing was
said about a subsequent rising.

"It is very strange," he remarked, musingly. "You, I know,
were asleep, for I knocked at your door three times before
you heard me; yet it is certain that we were betrayed. I am
altogether at a loss to conceive who could have given
Washington information of our intended attack. But on
arriving near his camp we found him ready, with troops under
arms and cannon plante