as Pierre afterward told me, he refrained from
speaking because of not understanding whether it would be safe to admit
the truth.

"You need have no fear in speaking plainly before me," the man
continued. "I am wearing a British uniform, and mayhap am putting my
life in jeopardy and doing a grievous injury to the Cause by interfering
in this matter while you have a prisoner who may be able later to carry
to headquarters information of what you have done this night. I beg you
to trust me for the time being, and tell me who is this lad that you
have brought from yonder hiding place gagged lest he make an outcry?"

I was yet too thoroughly bewildered to make an intelligent reply; but
fortunately little Frenchie had begun to get his wits together, and most
like to suspect at least a portion of the truth, for he answered
promptly, not only giving the young Tory's name, but explaining why we
thus held him.

To my alarm he went so far as to tell the whole story, even though more
than once I clutched him by the arm to prevent his laying bare all our
secrets; but he threw me off with friendly violence, and continued until
the red-coated man who lay by the fireplace had full knowledge, not only
of what we had done, but of what we would do.

Then Pierre was come to an end of his story, and so seemingly eager was
he to give all the details to this stranger, who by his costume was an
enemy and by the tones of his voice a friend, that he spent no little
time in the telling of it, while I was nearly beside myself with grief
and rage because we had thus put ourselves wholly within the man's
power.

It would have been better, so I said to myself with bitterness, if we
held our peace. In case he charged us with being spies, as I counted he
intended to do, let him prove what we were, rather than that we should
give him all the evidence, making his way plain if he would hang us, and
I cried out to Pierre, my voice trembling with anger:

"Now that you have doomed us, lad, tell me in what better position you
stand than if we had held our peace? Of what advantage can it be to us
to proclaim ourselves spies in intent if not in deed, to this soldier of
the king?"

Before I could say more, and the hot words of anger were slipping from
my mouth so rapidly that I might have continued casting reproaches upon
little Frenchie until many moments had passed, the stranger interrupted
me by asking calmly:

"Now that you have brought your priso