the road, an' I gave him one clip on the jaw that I counted would
knock him down an' out; but my calkerlations was wrong. Instead of
topplin' over as a decent man would have done after gettin' the full
weight of my fist, he began to screech an' yell fit to raise the dead.
My legs moved mighty lively jest then, for a blind man could have seen
what might happen; but the Britishers had me foul before I'd more'n
got well started. No less than six grappled me, an' I hauled down my
flag, 'cause there wasn't any sense in makin' a bad matter worse.

"Them soldiers must have had orders in advance to lug any prisoners
they might take, to the shanty back of the arsenal, for they steered a
straight course for the place without stoppin' to ask any man's
advice, an' what chafed me more'n everythin' else was that rat of a
Macomber, close at my heels, as he told what he would do now that his
friends had taken possession of the country. I contrived to give him
one kick on the shins which I'll guarantee he remembers this minute,
an' then he kept well back in the rear. That's the end of the yarn,
lads."

"But where did you meet Bill?" I asked.

"In the jail. He was brought up with a sharp turn durin' the retreat,
bein' so stuffy that he kept well in the rear, instead of pushin'
ahead as he might have done."

"Did Macomber succeed in getting into the prison?"

"He wasn't inside, an' that's a fact; but he stood at the window, an'
kept shoutin' all kinds of threats till one of the sentries drove him
away, havin' had too much of his yip."

"You saw me quickly enough."

"Well, you see, lad, I had my eye on the window, countin' to throw my
shoe through the glass when he showed his ugly face again, hopin' that
he'd get cut a bit, an', besides, I somehow had it in my head that you
an' Jerry would flash up sooner or later."

"But how did you contrive to come at the scuttle?" Captain Hanaford
asked.

"That was plain sailin'. Bill was one of the first put into the place,
an' knowin' he'd take a trip to the yard-arm when the Britishers found
out who he was, he naturally took advantage of the chance to snoop
'round a bit. We had the run of the whole buildin', seein's there
wasn't many of us, an' when he went in the prisoners didn't number
more'n twenty. He found a key in the door that led up to the attic,
which seemed to be a sort of store-room, an', thinkin' it might come
in handy if the others didn't know the lay of the land, he locked