selves could indulge in, whereupon he said gravely:

"If any go hungry it must not be the prisoner. We are holding him here,
and it is for our honor that he be not allowed to suffer."

"It is for our own safety that he be kept on short allowance," I cried.
"How do you allow we can add to our store now that it is no longer
possible, according to Morgan's story, for us to make our way through
the lines?"

"It makes no difference how we can add to the store, or whether we spend
this day without breaking our fast, the Tory prisoner is to be fed, and
I shall see to it that so long as we have a morsel in the cupboard so
long shall the greater portion of it be his."

I had never heard Pierre Laurens speak so decidedly, and with such an
assumption of authority, as at this time, and surprise silenced me that
the little lad should have taken it upon himself to say this thing,
should, or that thing should not be, when, without having actually done
so in words, I claimed to be the leader of the company.

Pierre took care to feed Horry Sims before he served out any food for
Uncle 'Rasmus and me, and when we sat on the floor near the window
breaking our fast, my heart smote me as I took note that he had given
both to the old negro and me a portion twice as large as that which he
reserved for himself.

The lad was ready to sacrifice his own need to our pleasure, and I would
have forced upon him some portion of the provisions which he had given
me, but that he resolutely refused to take it, saying he was not hungry;
that the news brought by Morgan had driven all thoughts of food from his
mind, and such other excuses which I knew had been invented simply to
force me to take more than my share.

Fortunately for my peace of mind even at this late day, I refused to eat
more than did he, and the keenness of my anger was not yet dulled when I
carried the remainder of the portion allotted me to the cupboard, saying
in what I intended should be a jovial tone:

"The knowledge that your stomach is set against food has weakened my
appetite, and perhaps it will be as well, for we have the more when the
time comes for serving dinner."

The old negro insisted that both Pierre and I should go through the town
to put ourselves in the way of learning whether any further information
had come in from the outside, and declaring that he would take care of
Horry Sims providing we brought him down on the floor once more.

I would have refused to a