e strove
manfully to repress any show of fear as he said in what he counted
should be a cheery tone:

"I dare venture to say that neither red-coat nor Tory will go abroad
this night while the storm is so furious, therefore we had best make
ourselves as comfortable as possible," and he set about kindling a fire,
for surely it was needed that we might dry our clothing which had been
thoroughly saturated.

"We will take our comfort for the last time," Saul said bitterly, as he
threw himself down upon the floor like one from whom all hope has fled,
and Uncle 'Rasmus, for the first time since we had left the Hamilton
plantation, seeming to count himself as one of us lads, said in a tone
of deepest satisfaction:

"Ef it's de las' time, honey, we'll make it mighty oncomfortable for
whoever comes to drive us off, kase we'se inside our own fortifications,
an' I'se 'lowin' dat ef de Americans keep it up as lively to-morrow as
dey did dis yere day, den can we hol' de fort quite a spell afore dey
work dere will."

It was this remark which showed Pierre Laurens the single ray of light
remaining for us, and, ceasing his task of building the fire, he sprang
excitedly to his feet as he cried joyously:

"Uncle 'Rasmus is right! Cornwallis has begun to retreat and sent a
portion of his troops to the other shore. Now he's weaker than before,
and if we can hold our own in this cabin four and twenty hours, then is
there good reason to believe the Americans will have possession of York
Town. If we made a blunder in freeing the prisoners, it was not so great
as that which my Lord Cornwallis has made because of not first looking
at the signs of the weather before he began to move his forces. When day
breaks our people must see what has been done, and seeing, will strive
to take every advantage. We will hold this fort, and it must be that
some power beyond that of earth paved the way for our safety, else had
we not been provided with weapons and ammunition. Through the death of
the red-coats who were shirking their duty, we may hold quite a force of
the enemy for a considerable time."

"How long can you hold your own in this miserable hovel with two of
three hundred Britishers surrounding it?" Saul cried, and Pierre added
yet more cheerily:

"Do you believe for an instant, Saul Ogden, that while matters are so
bad with him, General Cornwallis will call off three or four hundred
soldiers to obey the behest of such as Abel Hunt? Even tho