Chapter IIIBen FosterBrings Important News“Oh,Dick, is it true that you andTomare going to enter the army and fight for liberty?”“Yes, it is true, Elsie. Aren't you glad?”“Y-yes,Dick,” repliedElsie Foster, hesitatingly. “I'm glad you are to be a soldier, but I–well, you might get killed you know, and–and–”“Would you care, Elsie?”Elsie Fosterwas the daughter ofRobert Foster, the nearest neighbor of the Dares.Mr. Fosterwas a king's man, but he was different from the other Tories of the neighborhood, in that he was an honest, honorable man, and was a friend of the Dares. He had had nothing to do with the capture ofMr. Dare, and was outspoken in his denunciation of his Tory neighbors for the deed they had committed.Dickhad gone over to the Foster home to borrow something for his mother, and had met Elsie out in the yard, and the girl had greetedDickas above. The truth was thatDickand Elsie were great friends. They were school-mates, and whenever there was anything going on in the neighborhood, such as spelling schools, skating parties, etc.,Dickwas Elsie's companion. Elsie was seventeen, and she had a brother,Ben, he being her twin, and a sister, Lucy, aged fifteen. The three young folks of the Dare family and the three of the Foster family often got together of evenings and had a pleasant time, but now thatDickandTomwere going away to the war, it would break into this arrangement.WhenDickasked Elsie if she would care if he should get killed in battle, she blushed and looked confused at first, and then she looked him frankly in the eyes and said, softly. “You know I would,Dick.”“I'm glad to know that, Elsie,” saidDick, earnestly.At this momentBen Fostercame running up. He was a manly-looking youth, and was lively and jolly as a rule. But now he was very sober-looking, for he realized thatDick, whose father had been captured by the Tories only the day before, was in no mood for jollity. There was an eager expression onBen'sface, however, and after greetingDick, he asked:“Are you really going to join the Continental army,Dick, you andTom!”“Yes,Ben,” was the reply.“Well, say, I'm going to go with you,” declaredBen.“Oh,Ben!” exclaimed Elsie. “What will father say?”“Father's all right, sis. He is a king's man, everybody knows that, but he is reasonable, and lets other people think as they like. He knows that I'm a patriot, and he won't object.”Dick'sface lighted up, for he likedBenvery much, and the idea of having him along was a pleasing one.“That would be fine,Ben,” he said. “But I wouldn't want you to do anything contrary to the wishes of your father.”“Oh, that will be all right,”Benassured him. “He won't care, I am sure.”“Goodness, what will Mary do if you go away?” said Elsie.Benseemed to think as much of Mary Dare asDickdid of Elsie, and he flushed slightly at his sister's words, and then retorted:“I guess she'll do about the same thing that you will whenDickgoes–go up into the attic and have a good cry.”“You're a mean brother,” said Elsie in pretended anger, lifting her hand as if to slap him, “and if it wasn't that I will likely soon lose you, I would box your ears soundly.”They talked awhile, and thenDickattended to the errand that had brought him there and went home.“I guess we will have company when we go to war,Tom” he said to his brother.“Is that so?” with an interested ear. “Who?”“Ben Foster.”“You don't mean it,Dick?”“Yes. He just told me he intends to accompany us.”“But–his father's a Tory!”“Yes, but he is a reasonable man, andBensays that he will not object.”“Well, that will be fine. I'd like to haveBenalong.”“So would I. And I guess he'll go.”“I hope he will. He's such a lively, jolly fellow that he is good company, and will help keep us from getting homesick.”“I guess,Tom, that we will be kept too busy to get homesick.”“You think there will be lots of fighting, then? You feel certain that there will be war?”“War has really existed for more than a year,Tom. You know the battle of Lexington was fought April the nineteenth of last year, and that was the first battle of the Revolution. And since that there has been more or less skirmishing between the ‘Minute Men’ of New England and theBritish, the most important of all these being the battle of Bunker Hill, which took place on the seventeenth day of June of last year.”“Our soldiers defeated theBritishthere, didn't they,Dick!”“Yes, they got all the better of the battle, but their ammunition gave out and they had to retreat. Still, it was equivalent to a victory.”“That's what I thought.”“Yes, and thenGeneral Washington–who was appointed commander-in-chief of the army by the Second Continental Congress, at Philadelphia in May of last year, and who went toBostonand took charge of the army on July third–kept theBritishpenned up inBostontill about the middle of last March, when he fortifiedDorchester Heights, overlookingBoston, the work being performed in one night, and next morning theBritish, seeing what had been done and realizing that they would be at the mercy of the patriot army if they remained inBoston, hurriedly boarded the ships of theBritishfleet, then in the harbor, and sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia.”“AndGeneral Washingtonand his patriot troops went down and took possession ofBoston!” saidTom, his eyes shining.“Yes,Tom. ButGeneral Howe, theBritishcommander-in-chief, did not keep his troops long in Halifax, but sailed to New York, where he was soon joined by theBritishfleet under his brother,Admiral Howe, and byGeneral Clinton.”“AndGeneral Washingtonand his patriot army came to New York and took possession of that city,” saidTom.“Yes, and he's there now, and that is where we are going,Tom.”“Hurrah,Dick! Say, I'm glad of it. I want to join the army, and fight the redcoats. I want to fight for liberty and independence.”“So do I. And we will, too.”“When will we go,Dick?”“In a few days, likely. We have to get things in shape so that mother and sister Mary can get along without us, you know.”“Yes, but that won't take long. Most of the work for the summer is done, and all there will be to do on the farm is to wait for the crops to ripen.”“True. Well, we'll go in a few days, now, likely.”“Don't be in too big a hurry to go, sons,” saidMrs. Daresadly, when they were discussing the matter, that evening at supper. “Think how lonesome Mary and I will be when you are gone.”“Mrs. Fosterand the girls will come over often,” saidDick. “They will keep you cheered up.”“It will help,” was the reply. “But we will be lonely, just the same.”“You might try to be cheerful, mother,” saidTom. “Dickand I won't want to think of you as being lonely.”“Oh, I will get along all right, sons,” said the brave woman, forcing a smile. She wanted to have the boys go away feeling that she was in good spirits.They had just finished eating supper, whenBen Fostercame in. There was an eager, excited look on his face, and he said earnestly:“There's a plot on foot againstDickandTom, and I came right over to let you know about it.”“A plot!” exclaimedMrs. Dare, her face paling and her voice trembling. “By whom!”“The Tories.”“Ah!” breathed the woman, a look of anxiety on her face. “This is terrible!”“Don't worry, mother,” saidDick. “We know of it, now, and can prepare for them. It will not be as if we were to be taken by surprise.”“No, don't be afraid,Mrs. Dare,” saidBen. “We'll make the Tories wish they had attended to their own business.”“How did you learn about it,Ben?” askedTom.“Father found it out this afternoon. You know, he's a king's man, and they weren't as careful as they might have been, and he heard them talking about it.”“What are their plans?” askedDick.“They are going to come here to-night at about midnight and break in, take you andTomout and tie you to trees and whip you–at least, that is their intention. They won't succeed, though, you may be sure.”“Indeed they will not!” smiledDick. “There will be some sadder and wiser Tories before the night is ended.”“Oh, I am sore afraid, son!” saidMrs. Dare. “There will be a dozen or more of the Tories, and what can you andTomdo against so many?”“I'll come over and helpDickandTom,Mrs. Dare,” saidBen. “As soon as father told me about the plan, I made up my mind that I would come here to-night and help fight the Tories.”“Say, you are all right,Ben!” saidTom, slapping his friend on the shoulder.“That is good of you, old fellow,” saidDick, seizingBen'shand and shaking it heartily. “We thank you.”“Yes, indeed!” said Mary, who saw thatBen'seyes were on her, as if he wished to hear what she thought about it. “It is indeed good of you,Ben, to volunteer to do that.”“Oh, that's all right,” saidBen, a pleased look in his eyes. “I tell you we will make it lively for those Tories when they come sneaking around here.”“We'll do our best to give them a warm reception, at any rate,” saidDick.“I'll be over in an hour or so,” saidBen, “and I'll bring a musket and a pistol along. But how aboutMrs. Dareand Mary? Hadn't they better come over to our house until after the attack has been made? The folks told me to ask you to come,Mrs. Dareand Mary.”“Perhaps it would be best,” agreedMrs. Dare. “But still, I hate to go away and leave you boys here. You might be reckless, when if I were to stay you would be more careful.”“Don't think that, mother,” saidDick. “We are going to go to war soon, and you can't be with us then, and if you and Mary stayed here, you might get hit with a stray bullet. There is no use of your taking the risk. We'll be as careful with you away as if you were here; and we will be in a position to fight with more freedom and effect if you are not here.”“Very well, then,Dick. If that is the case, we will go over toMr. Foster's. But we will return after the attack has been made, for we wouldn't want any of the neighbors to see us coming away from there in the morning, as that would cause them to suspect thatMr. Fosterhad warned us, and might cause him trouble.”“True, mother. That will be all right. You and Mary can come home after we have driven the Tories away.”“We'll go over toMr. Foster'sas soon as it is dark,” saidMrs. Dare.Shortly after dark,Dick, accompanied by his mother and Mary, went over to the Foster home, andBenreturned with him.“So you're here, eh?” greetedTom. “That's fine. I guess when those cowardly Tories put in an appearance, they will get something that they are not looking for.”“That's what they will,” noddedBen. “At any rate, I hope so.”“So do I,” saidDick.“I wishZekeandLemwould be in the party,” saidTom, grinning. “I'd like to give them another thrashing.”“When did you thrash them, before?” queriedBen.“InPhiladelphia, yesterday. Didn'tDicktell you about it?”“No, you tell me now,” eagerly.ThenTomdid so, detailing the encounter on the streets ofPhiladelphia, and when he had heard all,Bensaid:“Good! I'm glad you thrashed them.”
“Oh,Dick, is it true that you andTomare going to enter the army and fight for liberty?”
“Yes, it is true, Elsie. Aren't you glad?”
“Y-yes,Dick,” repliedElsie Foster, hesitatingly. “I'm glad you are to be a soldier, but I–well, you might get killed you know, and–and–”
“Would you care, Elsie?”
Elsie Fosterwas the daughter ofRobert Foster, the nearest neighbor of the Dares.Mr. Fosterwas a king's man, but he was different from the other Tories of the neighborhood, in that he was an honest, honorable man, and was a friend of the Dares. He had had nothing to do with the capture ofMr. Dare, and was outspoken in his denunciation of his Tory neighbors for the deed they had committed.
Dickhad gone over to the Foster home to borrow something for his mother, and had met Elsie out in the yard, and the girl had greetedDickas above. The truth was thatDickand Elsie were great friends. They were school-mates, and whenever there was anything going on in the neighborhood, such as spelling schools, skating parties, etc.,Dickwas Elsie's companion. Elsie was seventeen, and she had a brother,Ben, he being her twin, and a sister, Lucy, aged fifteen. The three young folks of the Dare family and the three of the Foster family often got together of evenings and had a pleasant time, but now thatDickandTomwere going away to the war, it would break into this arrangement.
WhenDickasked Elsie if she would care if he should get killed in battle, she blushed and looked confused at first, and then she looked him frankly in the eyes and said, softly. “You know I would,Dick.”
“I'm glad to know that, Elsie,” saidDick, earnestly.
At this momentBen Fostercame running up. He was a manly-looking youth, and was lively and jolly as a rule. But now he was very sober-looking, for he realized thatDick, whose father had been captured by the Tories only the day before, was in no mood for jollity. There was an eager expression onBen'sface, however, and after greetingDick, he asked:
“Are you really going to join the Continental army,Dick, you andTom!”
“Yes,Ben,” was the reply.
“Well, say, I'm going to go with you,” declaredBen.
“Oh,Ben!” exclaimed Elsie. “What will father say?”
“Father's all right, sis. He is a king's man, everybody knows that, but he is reasonable, and lets other people think as they like. He knows that I'm a patriot, and he won't object.”
Dick'sface lighted up, for he likedBenvery much, and the idea of having him along was a pleasing one.
“That would be fine,Ben,” he said. “But I wouldn't want you to do anything contrary to the wishes of your father.”
“Oh, that will be all right,”Benassured him. “He won't care, I am sure.”
“Goodness, what will Mary do if you go away?” said Elsie.Benseemed to think as much of Mary Dare asDickdid of Elsie, and he flushed slightly at his sister's words, and then retorted:
“I guess she'll do about the same thing that you will whenDickgoes–go up into the attic and have a good cry.”
“You're a mean brother,” said Elsie in pretended anger, lifting her hand as if to slap him, “and if it wasn't that I will likely soon lose you, I would box your ears soundly.”
They talked awhile, and thenDickattended to the errand that had brought him there and went home.
“I guess we will have company when we go to war,Tom” he said to his brother.
“Is that so?” with an interested ear. “Who?”
“Ben Foster.”
“You don't mean it,Dick?”
“Yes. He just told me he intends to accompany us.”
“But–his father's a Tory!”
“Yes, but he is a reasonable man, andBensays that he will not object.”
“Well, that will be fine. I'd like to haveBenalong.”
“So would I. And I guess he'll go.”
“I hope he will. He's such a lively, jolly fellow that he is good company, and will help keep us from getting homesick.”
“I guess,Tom, that we will be kept too busy to get homesick.”
“You think there will be lots of fighting, then? You feel certain that there will be war?”
“War has really existed for more than a year,Tom. You know the battle of Lexington was fought April the nineteenth of last year, and that was the first battle of the Revolution. And since that there has been more or less skirmishing between the ‘Minute Men’ of New England and theBritish, the most important of all these being the battle of Bunker Hill, which took place on the seventeenth day of June of last year.”
“Our soldiers defeated theBritishthere, didn't they,Dick!”
“Yes, they got all the better of the battle, but their ammunition gave out and they had to retreat. Still, it was equivalent to a victory.”
“That's what I thought.”
“Yes, and thenGeneral Washington–who was appointed commander-in-chief of the army by the Second Continental Congress, at Philadelphia in May of last year, and who went toBostonand took charge of the army on July third–kept theBritishpenned up inBostontill about the middle of last March, when he fortifiedDorchester Heights, overlookingBoston, the work being performed in one night, and next morning theBritish, seeing what had been done and realizing that they would be at the mercy of the patriot army if they remained inBoston, hurriedly boarded the ships of theBritishfleet, then in the harbor, and sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia.”
“AndGeneral Washingtonand his patriot troops went down and took possession ofBoston!” saidTom, his eyes shining.
“Yes,Tom. ButGeneral Howe, theBritishcommander-in-chief, did not keep his troops long in Halifax, but sailed to New York, where he was soon joined by theBritishfleet under his brother,Admiral Howe, and byGeneral Clinton.”
“AndGeneral Washingtonand his patriot army came to New York and took possession of that city,” saidTom.
“Yes, and he's there now, and that is where we are going,Tom.”
“Hurrah,Dick! Say, I'm glad of it. I want to join the army, and fight the redcoats. I want to fight for liberty and independence.”
“So do I. And we will, too.”
“When will we go,Dick?”
“In a few days, likely. We have to get things in shape so that mother and sister Mary can get along without us, you know.”
“Yes, but that won't take long. Most of the work for the summer is done, and all there will be to do on the farm is to wait for the crops to ripen.”
“True. Well, we'll go in a few days, now, likely.”
“Don't be in too big a hurry to go, sons,” saidMrs. Daresadly, when they were discussing the matter, that evening at supper. “Think how lonesome Mary and I will be when you are gone.”
“Mrs. Fosterand the girls will come over often,” saidDick. “They will keep you cheered up.”
“It will help,” was the reply. “But we will be lonely, just the same.”
“You might try to be cheerful, mother,” saidTom. “Dickand I won't want to think of you as being lonely.”
“Oh, I will get along all right, sons,” said the brave woman, forcing a smile. She wanted to have the boys go away feeling that she was in good spirits.
They had just finished eating supper, whenBen Fostercame in. There was an eager, excited look on his face, and he said earnestly:
“There's a plot on foot againstDickandTom, and I came right over to let you know about it.”
“A plot!” exclaimedMrs. Dare, her face paling and her voice trembling. “By whom!”
“The Tories.”
“Ah!” breathed the woman, a look of anxiety on her face. “This is terrible!”
“Don't worry, mother,” saidDick. “We know of it, now, and can prepare for them. It will not be as if we were to be taken by surprise.”
“No, don't be afraid,Mrs. Dare,” saidBen. “We'll make the Tories wish they had attended to their own business.”
“How did you learn about it,Ben?” askedTom.
“Father found it out this afternoon. You know, he's a king's man, and they weren't as careful as they might have been, and he heard them talking about it.”
“What are their plans?” askedDick.
“They are going to come here to-night at about midnight and break in, take you andTomout and tie you to trees and whip you–at least, that is their intention. They won't succeed, though, you may be sure.”
“Indeed they will not!” smiledDick. “There will be some sadder and wiser Tories before the night is ended.”
“Oh, I am sore afraid, son!” saidMrs. Dare. “There will be a dozen or more of the Tories, and what can you andTomdo against so many?”
“I'll come over and helpDickandTom,Mrs. Dare,” saidBen. “As soon as father told me about the plan, I made up my mind that I would come here to-night and help fight the Tories.”
“Say, you are all right,Ben!” saidTom, slapping his friend on the shoulder.
“That is good of you, old fellow,” saidDick, seizingBen'shand and shaking it heartily. “We thank you.”
“Yes, indeed!” said Mary, who saw thatBen'seyes were on her, as if he wished to hear what she thought about it. “It is indeed good of you,Ben, to volunteer to do that.”
“Oh, that's all right,” saidBen, a pleased look in his eyes. “I tell you we will make it lively for those Tories when they come sneaking around here.”
“We'll do our best to give them a warm reception, at any rate,” saidDick.
“I'll be over in an hour or so,” saidBen, “and I'll bring a musket and a pistol along. But how aboutMrs. Dareand Mary? Hadn't they better come over to our house until after the attack has been made? The folks told me to ask you to come,Mrs. Dareand Mary.”
“Perhaps it would be best,” agreedMrs. Dare. “But still, I hate to go away and leave you boys here. You might be reckless, when if I were to stay you would be more careful.”
“Don't think that, mother,” saidDick. “We are going to go to war soon, and you can't be with us then, and if you and Mary stayed here, you might get hit with a stray bullet. There is no use of your taking the risk. We'll be as careful with you away as if you were here; and we will be in a position to fight with more freedom and effect if you are not here.”
“Very well, then,Dick. If that is the case, we will go over toMr. Foster's. But we will return after the attack has been made, for we wouldn't want any of the neighbors to see us coming away from there in the morning, as that would cause them to suspect thatMr. Fosterhad warned us, and might cause him trouble.”
“True, mother. That will be all right. You and Mary can come home after we have driven the Tories away.”
“We'll go over toMr. Foster'sas soon as it is dark,” saidMrs. Dare.
Shortly after dark,Dick, accompanied by his mother and Mary, went over to the Foster home, andBenreturned with him.
“So you're here, eh?” greetedTom. “That's fine. I guess when those cowardly Tories put in an appearance, they will get something that they are not looking for.”
“That's what they will,” noddedBen. “At any rate, I hope so.”
“So do I,” saidDick.
“I wishZekeandLemwould be in the party,” saidTom, grinning. “I'd like to give them another thrashing.”
“When did you thrash them, before?” queriedBen.
“InPhiladelphia, yesterday. Didn'tDicktell you about it?”
“No, you tell me now,” eagerly.
ThenTomdid so, detailing the encounter on the streets ofPhiladelphia, and when he had heard all,Bensaid:
“Good! I'm glad you thrashed them.”