miles, while his two pursuers followed with unwearied
eagerness. The pursuit at length waxed so hot, as the colonel's horse
stepped out of a small brook which crossed the road, his pursuers
entered it at the opposite margin. In ascending a little hill, the
horses of the three were greatly exhausted, so much so that neither
could be urged faster than a walk. Occasionally, as one of the troopers
pursued on a little in advance of his companion, the colonel slackened
his pace, anxious to be attacked by one of the two; but no sooner was
his willingness discovered, than the other fell back to his station.
They at length approached so near, that a conversation took place
between them; the troopers calling out, 'Surrender, you damn'd rebel, or
we'll cut you in pieces!' Suddenly one of them rode up on the right side
of the colonel, and, without drawing his sword, laid hold of the
colonel's collar. The latter, to use his own words, 'had pistols which
he knew he could depend upon.' Drawing one from the holster, he placed
it to the heart of his antagonist, fired, and tumbled him dead on the
ground. Instantly the other came on his left, with his sword drawn, and
also seized the colonel by the collar of his coat. A fierce and deadly
struggle here ensued, in the course of which Col. M'Lean was
desperately wounded in the back of his left hand, the sword of his
antagonist cutting asunder the veins and tendons. Seizing a favourable
opportunity, he drew his other pistol, and with a steadiness of purpose
which appeared even in his recital of the incident, placed it directly
between the eyes of his adversary, pulled the trigger, and scattered his
brains on every side of the road! Fearing that others were in pursuit,
he abandoned his horse in the highway: and apprehensive, from his
extreme weakness, that he might die from loss of blood, he crawled into
an adjacent mill-pond, entirely naked, and at length succeeded in
stopping the profuse flow of blood occasioned by his wound. Soon after,
his men came to his relief. Now, I think, Mr. Pitts, your hero was at
least equalled in Col. M'Lean."

[Illustration: EXPLOIT OF COLONEL M'LEAN.]

"Beaten, beaten!" exclaimed Pitts. "I admit that, in resolution and
daring, Francisco was surpassed by M'Lean. He _was_ a hero!"

"Major Garden, in his Anecdotes of the Revolution, eulogizes McLean's
courage and enterprise," said Hand.

"If courage and resolution make up the hero, our country didn't hunger
for