ord Cornwallis should make their escape, now that he held them as one
might say in the hollow of his hand.

Although we could not see anything in the rear of York village, we knew
full well, because of the incessant cannonading, that our people must be
advancing by land as well as by water, and the one question in our minds
was whether a battle might be fought that very day, for then, as can
readily be understood, we had no idea that a regular siege was to be
begun before York.

It was when the British vessels slipped their moorings to pour a
broadside into the little fleet of Americans that Pierre Laurens saw
clear before him the plan which we should follow, and running with all
speed toward where the skiff had been hidden in the foliage, he shouted
to me:

"Make haste, Fitz, make haste! Now is the time when we can gain the
village with but little danger of attracting unpleasant notice, for
while the Britishers have their hands full with trying to hold our
people back, two lads like us may slip in without heed from friend or
foe."

"But why shall we strive to enter York?" I cried, growing timorous once
more. "If there is to be a battle it were safer we stayed here, rather
than took our chances of being killed by cannon ball or musket-shot from
our own people."

"It is not allowed that we shall stay here, Fitz Hamilton!" Pierre cried
almost angrily. "Do you forget that Uncle 'Rasmus, with that Tory
prisoner of his, yet remains in York awaiting our coming and needing us
most sorely? Even though it were certain we would be shot immediately
after gaining old Mary's cabin, then are we bound to keep on. Are we to
stay here simply to insure our own safety, when Saul is in the
Britishers' guard-house exposed to even as much danger as we would be
with Uncle 'Rasmus?"

It was not needed the lad should say more in order to recall me to a
sense of duty. A red flush of shame came over my face as I realized that
I would have played the part of a coward, forgetting that there were in
York those who needed me, and from that instant Pierre had no reason to
complain because I moved too slowly or failed to display an equal amount
of enthusiasm with him.

Immediately the skiff was water borne we lost no time in setting off on
what might prove to be a perilous passage, and yet there was none of
danger whatsoever in it as we soon came to know.

The men on the British ships had sufficient to occupy their attention
without giving h