reach the army, I shall do what I
can to drive the British from Boston. If we do, the probabilities are
that your father, holding office under the crown, will be obliged to
leave the Colony: and his daughter"--

He could say no more. His lips were quivering, and tears coursing his
cheeks. Her hand wiped them away; and her arm pillowed his bowed head.

"You are all the world to me. It is for you to say. Shall I go, or
shall I stay?" he said.

The words were faintly spoken.

"Go, and God be with you. If it be his will, we shall meet again."

Oh brave heart! The world's redemption rests with such as you!

The busy brain of Berinthia planned the way. The British had seized
all the boats along the wharves, and sentinels were guarding them, but
there was an Indian canoe in the loft of the shipyard. Abraham Duncan
would put it in trim and render all possible assistance.

No tears dimmed Ruth Newville's eyes when she bade him good-by and
gave him a parting kiss. Not till she was in the seclusion of her own
chamber were the fountains unsealed. Alone, she gave way to grief, to
be comforted by her faith in One Unseen.

Many soldiers had deserted, so every night, at sundown, sentinels
patroled the wharves, and boats manned by sailors and marines kept
vigilant watch in Charles River and far down the harbor. Robert must
go to the shipyard before sundown and remain secreted till well into
the night. The new moon would go down at nine o'clock; the tide then
would be half flood. What route should he take? Were he to go directly
up the Charles River to join the army at Cambridge, he must run the
gauntlet, not only of three or four of the warships, but of the marine
patrol in the river and the sentinels on both banks. If he were to
strike eastward toward the Mystic, he would encounter the guard in
that direction and the warship Scarborough anchored in the channel.
The route up the Charles was most direct and inviting, though beset
with greatest danger.

During the day Abraham placed the canoe beneath the wharf of the
shipyard. Bidding his friends good-by, with an overcoat to protect him
from the cold, Robert made his way to the shipyard, secreting himself
in one of the buildings just before the hour for placing the
sentinels. The young tide was already setting up the bay, and a gentle
wind blowing from the east, alike favorable for the execution of his
plan; but with the sea-breeze came the fog, thick and dense, shrouding
ship