ed
my lord the bread he wanted he would hang him for his insolence. I got
the bread. For the first time and the last I have been a serving man.
Now, back, back as fast as we can go to our hungry comrades."

After they left the town Donald Ward grew grave again.

"My lad," he said, "we shall have a fight to-day--a fight worth
fighting. It won't be the first time I've looked on bare steel or heard
the bullets sing. I know what fighting means, and I know this, that many
of us will lie low enough before the sun sets. It may be my luck to come
through or it may not. I have a sort of feeling that I am to fire my
last shots to-day. Don't look at me like that, boy, I'm not frightened.
I'll fight none the worse. But I want to settle a little bit of business
with you now that we are alone. I have a paper here, I wrote it
last night while you slept; I signed it this morning, and I have it
witnessed. I got a parson to witness it, a kind of curate man, a poor
creature. I caught him going into the church to say prayers, and made
him witness my signature. I had time enough, for you were longer at the
inn than I was at the baker's. Here it is for you, Neal. In case of my
death it makes you owner of my share of a little business in the town
of Boston. My partner is managing it now. We own a few ships, and were
making money when I left. But it did not suit me. I got the fighting
fever into my blood during the war. I couldn't settle down to books and
figures. Maybe you'll take to the work. If you do you ought to stand a
good chance of dying a rich man, and you'll be comfortably off the day
you hand that paper to my partner. Not a word now, not a word. I know
what you want to say. Twist your lips into a smile again. Look as if you
were happy whatever you feel, and when all's said and done you ought to
be happy. Whatever the end of it may be we'll get our bellies full of
fighting to-day, and what has life got to give a man better than that?"

CHAPTER XII

After breakfast Donald Ward led his party along the road up which
M'Cracken's force must march to reach Antrim. At about noon he met the
advance guard of United Irishmen. Several of Donald's companions were
recognised by these men, and his party were led back to where M'Cracken
himself marched with the central division of his army. It was then
that Neal first saw this leader--a tall, fair-haired, gentle-faced man,
dressed in a white and green uniform, armed with a sword. He spoke