Show in the days aaa IV y 7 s U of ic poor bor to RIC richard M D 0 ha rd by IRVING BACHELLER copyright by IRVING IMLER U CHAPTER XV continued 15 1 I got sick one ilay day tin in tilde hide cause I 1 were tricks I 1 in ili the snow so I 1 lind had to pho give in sald solomon soloman Alti rgaret lins has been hut but they wont let ier or cattle no more inore count 0 tile lie smallpox t solids in ine suthon euthin tasty evry lily er two to I 1 to tol er till lout bout ye I 1 guess the keep er cr way may it slie site knowel you was here lint but site sho wont bo be lloyed ocil to know it it tills cro clarko boy tills lins pl tile jall dyll conic liere here capt lineal dragged line cl lies ilas got it nil taxed fixed far yo ye I 1 wonder tt it pod aid bo be glad to kivo so c rotted up tit w matli alth I 1 jact nil ciul solomon weeks in tills dirty ti jall where their treatment tient wim well vell to change opinions ant deeply rooted in it farm soil boll they billil not iu ivar lip smallpox its 18 both were ille hut their confinement was IR ii doubtless 48 it will Inteli ded to bo be they wore were rebels lui mail rubbish whose elioso of fensom bordered ordered ti upon treason the smallpox patI viii wits was soon taken away bill ollar conditions were not improved they slept on straw infested with vermin cover and foot food were aind not it far a dog in lie bo words worda atif if solomon sonio sonic of oc tile boys gave in and were set free on oil parole lind there was one nt at least who went to work in tile ranks of tile DrI tIsh henrly ono one morning shells beann to fo fau fail in the city suddenly the lie firing ceased at nine nil all in the jell were sent for to ile bo ex cx changed preston came with tile the order from inowe and pews newa of a truce tills roenna means yer army to Is out solomon said to him the city will bo be evacuated wits was Pres tons answer could I 1 send a 11 to claral iharos douso the general and ills brigade anti and family sailed for another port lit at eight if you wish visit ill take your message solomon delivered livered je to pl Ir estoll caton a letter written by jack to margaret it told of ills his capture tind tile tho third jf f march had bad conle coine the sun sim was shining tile wind wag wn in ill tile south they nero ro nat strong to walk so preston imd hot brought for thorn thein to tide fide kliore were long patches f snodon tile tho Dor corchel chel ter er Il eights A little beyond they met tho the brigade of it was moving toward ilie alie city tind and lint had st stopped ton for its ira noon mess the odor of fresh beat and nd oklona was in ili tile air cats blood nil an gunpowder I 1 suld sald solomon tie tile me to a tree what for preston asli ed ill kill Itly myself self ea enten batill till i tile the de declared cland im so got gol durn hungry I 1 kint kant ile be trusted 11 1 I I 1 V well have bavo to put the lie brakes brake on oil each other joel jack an ali lie ile steep gain suld sold solomon mon rodo rode up tip to the crimp with it a squad of cavalry while they were enting lie he had a kind word for every eairy liberated man ann to jack lie in sidd 1 I am glad to you its as colonel ienna you lieve much hut but it will lie be a comfort for you to know that the information you ought brought ili en tibler tile me to hasten tile the deli departure arture of tile BrIt brittsan tsa turning to solomon lie oddal colonel I 1 am indebted to you for faithful effective anti service you shall have it modal goodal gineal Gl Gi nral washington were alln a coln to lick ew said Soloi Solon iou boru a coln to break their pecks colonel you tire are very confident tile general answered with it smile see solomon continued continue god almighty ta Is sick 0 tyrants tyri doo doomed nied ilet let ug its hope so said the command er ln in chalef hut but let us not forget tile the words of poor It Ichard sod bod those who mho help themselves CHAPTER XVI the great ally tile selectmen of boston seeing the lie city threatened with destruction had made feia with washington lignon for far the british army it wits to bu be allowed to abandon the ilie city and withdraw in its left or one tit hundred indred and fifty vessels tile the Ainer lenn army wits now well organized and in high 11 spirit washington walled mulled on oil D dorchester heights for the of boston to le be completed Moin while a lauge force wit ana sent to new york to assist lit in the defense of mat city jack slid and So solomon lonion went with it ott on tie nc count of their physical condition were provided for them anti ori on their arnival each uis its to have a leave of two weeks for i repairs pairs at as solo toon nion put 4 t they went up to albany fur for a rest est nil and a visit lint aej returned enger or the work which then them they spent a spring all and suni summer nier of henvy toll in hulling defenses and training recruits the country was with excitement island and connecticut declared hec lared for nde the flie anre ran ran across their heir borders tint and down the tl ie seaboard other colonies were making or discussing itka doel arnt lorm john adonis adams on oil hl hla avny to congress told of tile the defeat of tile lio northern army in canada anil and how it ya ayas heading southward eaten with vert vermin nin diseased se tittered dispirited unclad unfed disgraced 11 colonies were ignoring tile older ador order of things lilagi lil ngi electing their own assemblies seni hIles and their own laws the tory arm provincial inclan assemblies were nvere unable to got get men enough together to make a pre pretend tenpo of doing business in june by a narrow margin the cong congress reps declared for indexer lence on oil tile the motion of It Ichard henry lee of virginia A declaration was aa drafted and soon BUOI adopted by till nil the provincial congresses it ani engrossed on oil parchment ani signed by tile the delegates of tile thirteen states on oil tile second of august jack went totham to eliat arable scene us its on nn old to jolin john adams who lio was lion dien the liend head of the war board lio nril in august howe had and moved it part of lits ills army from halifax to stuten islaub bild offensive operations were dally finlly expected in n armity jack hurried to ills regiment nent then in ili camp others other on the heights back of Illo oklyn the troops there evere not ready for a strong attack general greant Ore Gre ent aijo lio was in ili command or of the division had suddenly fa llen ill anck crossed the river the alie night of ills nr rival a message to general washington tho the totter returned with the young colonel to survey the situation they found solomon tit nt headquarters lie ile had find discovered british scouts in the wooded country near Grave gravesend send ila iio rind jack were det detailed tilled toi to i keep keel watch of that part of the island and its ta shores with horses posted nt at convenient lez ilent points so dint if necessary they could make quick reports next day clay far beyond the outposts in ili the bush they tied their horses dil in tile the attle little stable near Ilenise ns cabin 09 or tile the south road and went on oil afoot through the baili suddenly solomon stopped anti and lifted ills his hand and listened then lie he dropped and put tits hi cur car to the ground ile iio beckoned to jack elio crept near him nigh us afore an behind it lie whispered we better little hide till dark cornea you crawl into tha hut 1 01 ol ito holler iler log ill biose myself u under 1 idar a br sp tj a 1 they verp mere in a burnt slash where tile the soft timber aind been cut ut some ell before the land wils was covered with it a thick spotty sporty growth of poplar aey 0 ANO SOL HID his canor IN A thicket W lei will wild cherry tint and brush brugh heaps anti loss ings liula tile piece of timber thither to which So solomon lonion ind had referred was the base log of 1 I giant hemlock abal abair boned no doubt lipi iise when cut cul it t was found to be it shell it was alj oleu u only lit the bult end its opening WAS covered ly by on nil cob cobweb wel jack brushed it away tind crept backward into the shell hell lie ie that black hairs were caught tile the rough sides of tills singular chamber clinin ber through lie alil winter it must have hoen been the din den oft a black hear As soon us its lie he lind had settled down with ills face 1 two feet front tile sunlit air of tile lie outer world citek observed oli served that bijl industrious spider lintl arr bagull again to throw his silvery veil over the lie grent great liole hole in the end ile he watched the process first tile the outer lines of the structure were woven beress the edges of the opening and made fust fast at points around its imperfect circle then the lie weaver dipped to opposite osite lin points Ints ills his slender rope behind till idia find snaking it taut und fust fast lie wits no slow ind and wor workman kinan lie ile knew ills ids tusk and rushed about rapidly strengthen ing tits ills structure with parallel lines it con donivion ivion center until ids 1114 bloor ens in place agatin and ready for the death ounce dunce of hies flies nil and bi ates Ps and wasps soon 0 bumble bee wits kicking hicking anti quivering like ilke il stridden stricken ox on its surface sur fuce the spider rustled upon blin tind burled ills his knives in ill the back bacic and sides of his prey the rite young mans observation ot of tills this interesting ter te process was interrupted by the sound of voices and the trend of feet they voices ithe the cattle came tits tha way I 1 saw I 1 when they turned a voice wits saying illel if 1 lind been a little closer I 1 could have potted both men with one bullet eliy you take a shot any liow another asked 1 I las creeping up tip trying g to to ket get clo closer ser they have had to tilde or run upon tile libels of our people A number of men were 11 now ow sitting on oil tile the very tery jog in which jack t was hidden the young voting scout saw aw the ca legs ft af a man standing opposite tit the 0 open end of tile log then these memorable words were spoken tills this log la Is good cov cover er for it man inan to hide ino in but nobody Is hid in it I lieres a big spiders web over the opening there was wai more talk in which it that nine thousand men were crossing to gravesend Grave send conio collie on oil boys im going illicit back said one of the patty party whereupon they wont went aay away dusk was mas falling jack waited batted for n move from solomon in a n few min utes aites lia ha heard a stir in the brush brudi then lie he could dimly see tile the face ance of ills his friend beyond tile spiders web come coine on my lily son soil the latter wills whis gerld with a feeling of real regret anch rent the lie veil of the spider and came out place lie brushed tile the silken silicon threads from ills his hair and brow as lie whispered that ott old spider saved ine good luck to halml well keep clua aclus together solomon whispered we got to push right on oil an work round em if anyone gatt in our way hell lan have a to change worlds sudden all we git to them bosses fore midnight darkness lind fallen but the moon was rising whon when they set out solomon led the way with that long loose stride of his hii their feet were about as noiseless us a cats op and on oil they went until solomon stopped suddenly anti and stood listening and peering into tile tho dark bush beyond jack could hear and see nothing solomon turned and took n new direction without a word and moving with the stealth or of a hunted indian jack followed closely soon they were sinking to their knees in n mossy taibi tamarack artick swail swamp lp but a few minutes of hard travel brought ali them tn to the shore of a pond walt here till I 1 git tile canoe solomon whispered the latter crept into it thicket an and soon jack could hear him cautiously shoving ills canoe into no tile water A little later the young nian anin slit sat in ili tile the middle of the shell of birch bark while So solomon lonion knelt in its stern with tits paddle pa d d I 1 e silently lie he pushed through gli the alie tilled giai margin gin of the pond into clear water the moon was hidden behind the alio woods the still surface of the lie pond was now a glossy oark dark plane between two tarry starry deeps ond above the other beneath in the shadow or of the alip forest near the far shore so solomon soloman 01 stopped anti and lifted tits ills voice in tile the long ong weird cry of tile great bush owl tills lie repented tareo times when there then britne an answer out of the woods Tl ints a barnin ter for ol OF joe thrash er solomon whispered Il hell lell go out tin nn wake up till tile llie folks on tits hla r road oad an start em cm movin 11 they landed and solomon hid ill his canoe in a thicket before midnight they reached riem ilem sens san i born nil and about two entered the cilip caina on lathering In horses As aa they dismounted looking back from tile heights of brooklyn toward the southeast they could see a grent great light from ninny many tiros fires the blames of which bete leaping into the sky alq guess the far farmers have sit their wheat stacks affre said solomon all tin an started fey town washington was with ills forces sonic some miles north of the other shore of oc the river A messenger was sint sent for filin next day the common coni inan der in ailef found hla lal long island brigades in ili a condition of disorder and panic squads ind and coln companies Pallies eager for it eglit were prowling through gli tile the bush in the south ilk like hunters after game A number of the new connecticut boys lind bud deserted sonic some of them had been captured and brought anck lick in speaking of the mutter matter washington said p must ile be those these lads tire are timid 4 they have been dragged from the lie tender scenes of domestic lit life they jhc thc y tire are unused to tile restraints of war we IVO net 1 be ie 1 too a severe ver e jack heard the commander in clieaf when lie spoke thee the e words TO BE |