Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-01-06

were in the room on which my closet
opened.
"Put down the candles. Simpson, +"
heard in clear, authoritative voice.
"Well, sergeant, you can't find himT'
"No, sir; he's gone.
"He slipped through your line some
where. With companies about here it
seems as if he might have been caught. ="
Hes vanished, sir. "
Somebody will have to be court
martialed for this. "
ut isn't my mems fault if it please
you, colonel.
mo you oughtn't to be blamed for
what happened in the guardhouse
There's that blessed meeting in the Irish
line, and the dinner, where the young
sters lost their heads.
cts remarkable, sir" said the 9TH
| er.
81 don't understand it. But it ism t
my matter. It's Sir Henry's. But here
isyour prisoner reaching my grounds
He's gone, sir, " the sergeant repeat
ed
$50 it seems. l know, I know. he's
gone. But I'm dragged into the mat
ter. "
"Not you, sir. "
"Well, find him. Go over the ground
again, do you hear? don II believe any
thing like this ever happened in an
English regiment.
ut ought not now, sir, - said the ser.
geant's gruff voice. 81 only can account
for it in Sergeant Timms being excited
by the noises outside. There have been
many arrests, sir. "
well, Timms will have chance to
explain to the proper authorities Now
do your best"
"I'm afraid he's gone too far, sir.
You know there are many houses in
New York that would like nothing bet
ter than to hide rebel "
Nothing in the world better" said
the colonel.
GOOD night, sir. I"
Good night to you, sergeant, and
better luck. ="
II hope for it, sir"
His steps sounded and the door OPEN
ed and closed. The candles still burned
in the outer room, for the light entered
through the chinks of the closet door
And then | heard the scratching of a
quill. He was writing, and suddenly 1
thought who he might be. remember
ed the exact situation and indeed the
colonel himself
Now in all this account the sudden
ness of the adventure must explain the
daze i'll which had been. Even had 1
been dropped down in a place l knew
better than New York these events
would have been enough to have con.
fused me, and | was not particularly
familiar with New York. / had passed
the summer of IVA there l remember
ed the location of certain streets, and
among many other features | remember
ed the Van Halo manor on its hill. The
place became as clear as if / saw il in
the light This was Colonel Van Halo's
manor. That was indeed no other than
the Tory colonel himself.
need not explain who he was to Won.
You will know the man who put his
great estates at the kings service be-
cause he believed that no good nothing
but disaster, would come of our success.
He was honest and brave and strong and
troop which had been enlisted for the
king. l had fallen into his house, and
he was sitting out there-beyond the
door-writing
Then, as l stood there in that dark
hole, like cornered fox, l remembered
where the shop of Hosea Pringle stood
-Pringle, the cobbler, who was a spy
in our service. 1t was down a turn at
the hills foot. If l could reach there,
Pringle would hide me. That was one
of the houses the sergeant had referred
to, one of the spies they not SO much as
suspected. This much was plain. If
Pringle should be in, he would find
means of sending me across the river.
My heart beat till | could hear its
humping as thought of my position
then, as l saw how near and yet how
far Twas from that Jail. must get out
of this house unobserved not only for
my own sake, but as well because could
not lead to Pringle's. The discovery
that the honest fellow was spy would
lead him to his execution.
Yet even with this suddenly present.
ed chance the situation was not much
happier. The great Colonel Van Halo
after Colonel de Lancy, one of the rich
est and stanchest New York Tories
was outside that door. My exultation
suddenly died, the chance was indeed
so small one. And then / thought of
my father. l thought of Peggy-the
one girl in all the world who ever was
worth while. They all seemed very far
away that moment. If they took me,
they now wouldn't take my parole,
which, after all, was thankful not to
have given.
And time passed, and the quill still
scratched on, to stop at last. 1t must
have been after two hours. 1 was
cramped and stiff. Then heard him
rising. He might have turned to the
closet, suddenly recolleoted, but he
didn't. The light in the chinks flick |
cred, and as l heard his steps the door
shut and the outer room was dark
Then, you may believe, watched |
watched till thought l should venture |
1t, when threw back my closet door.
was startled by noting the light |
through the keyhole. Some one was be-
hind that outer door then, and suddenly
the door was thrown wide and a tall |
figure stood there, holding the candle |
high above his head.
"Who's there?" Colonel Van Halo
asked.