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extend every favor to those of rofesscd sympathy
with th: king; and this gives he enemy's spies ii
olden opportunity by their taking mlviiiilage of our
Eincliicss. Oil the other liaiid, ii frieiul of ours can
Inektno rt-di‘lil.i.;;o in thin Aiifitl-li'ictiiii calimp, ct’t‘5‘lltlitly Hie
inns per ious an art l reiic ii-rv. ,1 is
re ails, ii ni:iii must either be El.’l:3()l1.l.lL:l"lllEI thPfli‘ ranks,
are so he is persecuted as it or '. ‘ ere are our
spies have ii dozen dangers to risk where the l‘ebcl
:spios)linv.e but one."
lrodr.,'ul Toni, my lord, has been a successful
," said one of the generals.
?uI‘ Xvln-ni‘.'"
the king, of course," a.uswci-ed the offlci-l',
s ll'pl‘lls'(‘( at (‘ornwnllis's question.
At this juncture an orderly entered and iiiiiiuiini-efd
the presence of one Wesle lllnrblo, who was estr-
ou.-; of seeing the coininan er.
" Show him in at once," said C0l'!.‘lWt1'lll.S, eagerly,
“I desire a private interview with him
This wasahint for the oflicers to retire, and the
next. moment Wesley Marble, the Tory, was ushered
liito the geneml‘s presence.
“ Well, . Marble," said the commandant, “ I
sup iose you have been busy since we last int-t.”
‘ es, indeed general," replied Marble, " but not
as busy as Was ington has kept you. I <lidn‘t think
he'll nien enough to whip 0. corp0ru.l‘s guard.“
“ Of this, Mr. Marble, you can speak another
tinie," said the ritish general displeased at being
reminded by every Tory of his late disastrous cani-
peiign; “but if you have anytliing to rcport con-
CBl'llllltg‘l.ll0 lilelinott family, I shall be pleased to
ear I .‘
“ I have a good report to make, general," answer-
ed the old Tory; “ b tracing them up, I succeeded
l.1Llfll1t.l.ll.lg the widow clinott and her daughter, Ger-
ine.’
“ Ah, indeed!" exclaimed the general.
“Yes: and what is more, they are living in New
Bninswick, and upon tins very street, three doors
‘ nth “
“Tlicn one or both of them shall be summoned
here at once," said Cornwallis and touching a hell
on the table at his side, an orderly immediately an-
Swerctl the c .
“ Glaston," the general said, addressing the order-
ly, “ I have a request to make of you. It is that you
grocccd to the residence of the widow Melinott three
oors south on this street, and request the widow
tndylier daughte to call at my quarters without dc-
. ,.
"‘ But, suppose they refuse to come, general," said
the orderly.
“Impress upon their minds the importance of
their coming without delay. Tell them that I desire
tosce them upon a. matter of interest to theni-
se 'es.”
(Huston retired and at once proceeded to the resi-
dence designatcd. He found the mother and
daughter alone. The former was an elderly lady of
some llfty years, whose calm. composed features
were indicative of patient sudcring and silent forti-
tut .-.
Tue dau liter was not over eighteen, and possessed
of a state y form and features that were wonde-rt'ul
in their beauty and power of expression. Her eyes
were of a dark brown and as they met those of the
orderly, he felt that they were ossesscd of a necro-
mantic power-the power of no lc womanhood radi-
ated from a um and spotless soul.
Orderly G nston at once introduced himself, and
turning to the elderly female, said:
“ Madame, I am requested to say, that the pres-
ence of yourself and daughter is required at the quar-
ters of his excellency Lord Cornwallis."
“ For what?" asked Gcraldiiie, with imperious dig-
nit .
‘ I know not, more than that it is for something
concernin yourse 'es."
oi. er and daughter exchanged glances, and
while the color faded from the face of the tornier
and fear seemed to seize u ion her heai t, the face of
the other flushed crimson, cr eyes flashed scorn, and
her whole countenance assumed a look of disdain.
“ Has Cornwallis come here to make war upon wo-
men?” the young woman demanded.
“Not at all, niadame," answered the oitlccr, po-
i .
“ guppose, then, we ignore his summons?"
“ I advise you, ladies, to see him. It will save you
the embarrassment of having the general CZ].l.l upon
you.
“Mother," said Geraldine, “I will go alone to
Qoi-nvv‘allis’s presence. I fear him not, nor his dc-
To this the mother made no dissent, and so attir-
ing herself, Geraldine set. out for thc commz1ndaut‘s
head quarters, accoinpanietl by Orderly Gliiston. In
a few minutes she was ushered into the genera]‘s
presence, and introduced to him.
d melisi rcceivztlzld hit‘ Vgllillhai ilpuch CeI'el"?t:Iiy
an 130 ncss as on s c a ceii one 0 lie
highest born ladies of l o realm; and as soon as she
had been seated, he. said:
“ iss Melinott, it almost seems that I am ac-
uainted with you, having known your brother
rodi-ral Toni so long. And I have met your broth-
er, Da.’)iWal'6 Pick, to whom you bear a remarkable
esem ance.
‘ “ You have heard have you not, general, that m
. 1 . Y
gzother Diclawaasldkrilled 151 the Baritan valley a few
sage?" er ‘ne sai .
'yTl.lB sad intelligence reached my ears yesterday;
and I now desire to express my heartfelt sym athy
for on and our mo ' ' sin-
her in your atlliction.
care y regret at Dick ever espoused the cause that
arrayed him against his brother and king, and led to
his untimely death."
" I am sorry, general," Geraldine exclaimed, with
Beadle’s Half-Dime Library.“
l
i
ll
all the fcrveney of her soul that I hni'c D0 01114:!‘
friends to give in the cause of fri-(-(loin.
" You lu.-ivc already lostn father and brother, 1 be-
lieve," observed Cornwallis. ' . , ‘
“ Y my fiithler ' s murdered by British Bills
not killc ."
," said Cornwallis, flxinga scnrcli-
in luok upon the young woman s fact-, “ liaiv--JU-9’
lI‘lll'liL‘(l that you mrer liad but orig, lnollm: 117111 UNI!
lllh‘ name I['(LS TIIOIILHA‘ R. Jlelirwtt ,
U('l'LlllllIlt.‘. was taken 'L'0lll[)lL‘M:ly by sur risc. ‘
tliunxlvrbolt from the uintry sky would not inru sni-
lwi,-,.,1 her nlul'e' '11“; cfvlur rt-ceded ll‘1:lIl ll(‘l' face,
illlll tiiiiigii lllllf-(lt?.“2].)(llI'llIglOuk upon lliu lace of the
v. ily (.:L‘llt-'l'lll, she sai :
" Who is it that pr:-suines to know more of my fam-
ily, than I do niyso.-lf‘. ' r ,
“ One W4.-slvy Marble,“ rcphed Cornwallis. "
“ As vile a 'lor ' as ever burned a Pi1:l‘lOt’ll0Ille-
returned Gt:l'tLl(.llul:, her eyes tlnsliing with indigna-
tion. , . .
"Then you do not deny his assertion, Miss Meli-
,..
“ deny nothing-I make no concessions one way
or another. You know who Delaware Dick was, and
who Prodigal Tom and so let that suflice."
H Very well ii 153 'Mulinou " the British general
said toucliiuvlthe bell at his side, in answer to which
the orderly ifppeared “ this is all that I wished to
see you about You will please accept in ' kindest
wishes and regards for ‘our and your niot lBl"‘S.VVl1l-
gm-e, ygmstou, you w‘ now escort Illiss Mehnott
odldgnwallis accompanied her to the door and kindly
bidding hergood-day, returned to his table nnd scint-
ing hiinself, took up a pen and basil!-‘Y dubbed 0 3
miltlilcn he summoned Sergeant Lovcrid89y his 5130531
- . . - 1, - > , i ,-in :
C04‘-‘gill-'-$33“; hfulilanlzlg g&al]l;l'L'tlLrl'()lal.Plfll‘)l'b;lZ)ui take this
dis me and ride with all s ed to Fairmont Place.
twzlanty-live miles south of hire, and deliver it into
the hands of Captain Walton. alias British Bill.
Guard it with your life, and halt not until the camp
“Ht 1(.li':lli):iF1:l,S $33 zgiliflleadd shall bqobeyed," re lied
Sergeant Loveridge; and bowing hinilfelf out oi tllilo
eneral s presencgj liJ:;)il3:l6 0150 E11 8
0 (hit lliltltllg’ lllhouthehthoiisands, who had heard the
name of Delaware Dick and odigal Tom mentioned
daily for the past ylear in the valley of.the Delaware,
dream of the start 'ng facts contained in the dispatch
sent to British Bill gr
CHAPTER XXI.
NOT APPROVED.
As the courier, sent to obtain Washington's approv-
al of Pl‘0lll;ZO.l Tom's sentence as a British spy, would
be compelled to journey to Morristown where the
general had taken up his winter- uarters, he could
not reasonably be expected back s ort of two days;
and for fear of an attempt being made by the enemy
to release the condemned man, Major Dalryiirplu, of
the ilragoons, and Lieutenant Banks, of the bciirlet
V:Vhigs,
little ' J.‘-‘C0 or settlement of about a do7'.cn‘ log hou-
ses, half of which were IUIQCE-'UI11e,"1-, “HS lllu‘-‘ed
them about six miles from British Bill s camp. ‘
They took up their quarters in the ( -. itcd cabins'
and as the co le rcniaiiiing in the “Illa:-‘B l)"-‘Fe 111]
Patriots, the so diers were hosjgitably entertained.
Guards were )0Sie(l. on all L e roads and by-ways
converging at t ‘at point; and evcry,prccau‘.iou tak-
en to (guard against surprise. And it was well that
they id all this, for they had scarcely passed a day
in the village when British Bill came swec ing down
from Fziirmoiit Place like awhirlwind, an attem t-
ed to carry every thing before them by storm
they were romptiy met by it deadly
Patriots w win the had ex cctcd to take by sur-
prise, but who re y turne out to be the Sl.lI'pI‘lS8
arty.
p A dozen of the enemy were unhorsed at the first
tire, which tcrribl: loss caused the Tories to check
their advzin -c when they were soon driven Jack un-
der cover of l, ie woods.
Feeling certain, however, of their ability to dis-
lodge the patriots, the enemy dismounted, and form-
<
the Americans again.
The latter wcrc posted in a good position behind a
moment they issued from the woods and pour it do-
structive Ilre into their ranks. Before half the ills-
tance between the woods and f.-nco had been tra-
vcrscd, British Bill fell serious] wounded. This
teriniiiated the battle, and, with t eir wounded co. )-
tain, the cries again withdrew into the woo 5.
Here they held a short consultation, when it was
decided to give up the battle, and withdraw in the
direction of -airmont Place to await reinforcements.
Ignorant of this decision, however, our friends ex-
pectcd another attack the coming night, and so they
made PI‘0I[)l1l‘tJ.lSl0lJS to meet it. Prodigal Tom was
sccure y ockcd in one of the strongest buildings
and a double guard placed over him. W n the sol-
diers lay down to rest, it was with their guns at their
si 05.
Thus the first hours of night passed quietly away;
a horseman, galloping up from the direction of New
Brunswick was suddenly halted byavoice issuing
from the shadows b the roadside; and two patriot
sentinels confrontedy him.
Involuntarily the man drew up, and before he
could recover from his surprise sunicieiitly to act,
one of the sentinels seized his animal by the bit
while the other, presenting; the muzzle of a muskgt
to his breast, said:
fire 1' min the .
rv
l
A .
moved their camp down to Clay's I'oint, 8- ‘
‘ words of I e Scarlet Wing soon became kindled
ing upon foot within the forest, they charged upon ;
garden-wall, and were enabled to soc the enemy the .
. the victim of an in uriatcd mob.
W... . .. u- .. ,....n..m‘g‘g‘
“ Dismount, sir Britishcr, or you'll receive tho 3“.
tents of! thislgiln.“ 1 1 k. be ,1
“Con ouiir yuurre )E s ins," gant e man;
tile -Wuh'dpl'L)lAlplly chcckcd by the sentinel, who 2::
c aime :
“ Notra word, or I‘ll splatter your brajns an over
the nig it."
“it's strength that gives you courage "
man dismountin , and giving himself up’; ‘Fail,
hi ' you know t int Gt‘Thli4lllI Lovcridge is no C
, nor is ho a fool to cl nu-nd with such odds n0w'
'Oi‘ course not, Ge liom," replied one .5; M3
captors. “ We tJl)H'I‘V(‘ you are a brave and sensible
mail and, lll-l'I‘('f0l‘l', will march you up to hi,
quarters and ‘introduce you to Major Dalrymplg H
Havini; relieved the courier of his wenpcng 3,1,
S(‘(ll'L'llI'il his pockets, his boots, iind, in fact, eve,
place where any secret pa iers mi Iht be conceale .
and the very nst llacet ey loo 'ed they found at
folded paper. Ho ding it ‘up to t e i:noonl' ht,‘
they were enabled to see it was supcrscribelf 3,0
Cuptaiii William Walton.
without attempting to read the note,
waived umil the coiporal of the guard came around
and relieved them, when they proceeded at once to
camp, and delivered the piisoner and ' dispatch
over to Major Dalrymple. I
The latter was seated, in coinpan with H
Banks and sew.-rnl of the Scarlet in s,1;efo,-e 3
roaiiiig fire, in one of the cabins; and 81513 took the
dispatch and turned to the light to read it, the door
opcned, and a man entered t e room amid the mar.
niur of excited voices.
Dalryniple turned to the newcomer and, to ma
surprise, saw that itwas the courier whom he had
dispatched to Washington‘s headquarters for thg
generals signature to Prodigal Tom's death-sen.
I.
the sentinel;
0Il(.‘8.
“Why, Corporal Jarvis!" he exclaimed
have taken us completely by surprise. We
not expecting you so soon.“
“ I have had a long, hard ride of it through frosty
nights and chilly winds,“ replied the courier, seating
himself beiore the cheery lire.
“ A d you saw Wasliington, of course,“ said D5,].
in e.
ry" yes; he is at Morristown, and will remain there
thi-on h the winter," the corporal answered, with 3
provo ing ease of manner, as if courtin the inter.
est centered in him, and, apparently, esirous of
working his friends‘ anxiety up to the highest pitch
of excitement. He removed his gloves, and held
' alins before the glowing tire. He warmed big
feet, one at a time; yawned drowsily, then arose
and from the lining of his hat produced a papeil
which he placed in Dahym le’s hand.
All knew what it was, an as the major unfolded
the pn er, his friends gathered around him almost
breath ess with i-us .-ense.
“ Let us have or er now
commandant, “and I will
proval.”
A dead silence, broken only by the roar of the tire
on tho hgarth and the whistle of the wind outside,
prcvn e .
In a deep, strong voice, the major read:
“ The sentence of Prodigal Tom, as ii British S
is not approved. You will therefore, release til;
prisoner. Gnonoi: WASEIhG'ION."
The little band of patriots were thunderstruck by
this order of their commander-in-chief; and amur.
mm‘ of dissatisfaction and dissent rose from every
lip. The major himself was astonished. He could
see nol-iiust reason for liberating the oiiiig Tory and
spy. e had been ].rovcu guilty by I enlc-rt convin.
cing evidence; but llils, it is true, had not been sub.
mitted to Washington, as Dalryniple did not supp
thc;:eiicra.l “ould take exceptions to his course
action after hzuing intrusted the trial of Prodigal
Tom to him and his commaii .
" 0 xx," the major said, “I am astonished by
Wasliington’s course in this matter.“
“We are all astonished, major,“ cried a Scarlet
Win--, “and I, for one, declare that Prodigal Tom
slLulfd1'e.’"
“Ayl ii !” chorused a dozen voices. And the
into
uyou
were
soldiers,v” exclaimed the
read Washington's up.
a ilizlutinous blaze that spread through the camp like
‘VI - ‘B.
Major Da mple saw at once the course the muti-
ny would to 2., and endeavored to quell it; butu
well might he have attl mpted to check the onw
rut-:)i of a torrent. Never before had his followers
shown such an utter disregard of his commands;
their very souls seemed hlled with the spirit of re-
bcllious nature; and he knew that Washiugtons own
orders would be i nored, and the prisoner become
' In such D. case, tho
- major knew that he would be held amenable for tho
deed, and to avert such a calamity now became an
great object of his mind.
Finding that there was no prospect of uellinv tho
riot, he stole out of his quarters toward t e build
in which Prodigal Tom was confined. A..rI'lV9d att
door, he made himself known to the guard, who per-
mitted him to pass into the prison.
In a few moments he came rushing out, and ex.
claimed:
“Mani what are you 1-ding here?"
“ prisoner-Prodig Tom, of course," was the
answer.
f‘ You are ‘not-you areguardin an emptyhouse,"
said the major :1 ‘ Prodigal Tom as escaped. Ens
reaclrery or bribery set him at liberty?"
‘ " Neither, major, ‘ rephed the guard, with terror;
upon my word and honor as a soldier-as true as
there is a heaven I have let no one but you pass out
, .
at this door to-ii .
“ dare suj 3, have not. for the b::ck-s‘.uci- is