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Show "" i r -T i -: v-.:: rv ' 'C : faw living Bacliellei1 I ills I Copyright 193 by Trvln Baehener WNTJ 8ervlc 3 I these the kind of men I must depend de-pend upon?" In anger he turned his horse toward to-ward the enemy. It seemed as if he were of a mind to end his humiliation hu-miliation in a brave and sudden sacrifice rather than join the rout of men fleeing from their duty. Colin Cabot seized the bridle of the white horse and turned his head. In a moment they were behind a hill riding rapidly northward. The Chief was himself again. The revolution rev-olution was not dead. In the two minutes of time just behind them the tide of war had turned. A sense of shame overtook the fleeing men. The next day they fought well. A force of English light troops were roughly handled by Connecticut and Virginia men and nearly destroyed, three hundred hun-dred of the enemy being killed and wounded. It was a victory. Followed Fol-lowed by the British the American army made its way to the western side of the Bronx River valley where retreat was possible. The Chief advised the evacuation evacua-tion of Fort Washington on the North river. Greene, in whom he had much confidence, opposed his plan. The blustering, rococo General Gen-eral Lee was in command of it. He was then saying that his army and that of Washington must each stand on its own bottom. Soon the fort surrendered with a loss of two thousand men. It was not an unqualified un-qualified misfortune, for Lee was at heart a traitor. The less power in his hands the better. Late in November, Washington defeated an effort to surround him while he was retreating with dally losses to New Jersey. When he had crossed the North river only three thousand of his men were with him. They were dependable. They were willing to die for the man who led them. The retreat continued to the shore of the Delaware Dela-ware without tents or entrenching tools. The weather resisted them with snow and cold wind. The men were poorly clad. The feet of i for' CHAPTER XII Continued 1C" 17 hen he had finished reading the r he. said with action fitting words: "I kiss your forehead as she did. You have been a friend to us. Neither Pat nor n ever forget what you have have more to tell you," the woman went on. "I gave her )f the letters which I had found e pocket of the scout. I did it jse I recognized the handwrit-t handwrit-t was addressed to Co). Harry . I knew the deviltry that was , If you ask how I knew It I ' er only because I am a wom-I wom-I gave the letter to Pat. She at the address. 'That is .handwriting of Nancy Wood- ', "Sne,' sayg Se ij .jgf, at I 1 m what is In that letter.' et me look at it,' I said. 'ie gave it to me. I tore it open oloaVead It to her. Here it is. I ;ht it with the other hidden un- 1S H eT he lining of my coat. The pen- ( hip Is that of a man. The en- ' le was addressed by Nancy. It's lutiful plot to capture you and ,; I put my heel on- the serpent's 3 m mi- jjjlin read this letter written in ,lu'York: bm2ar Colonel: It's a stupid place s (by nothing going on but tavern lu)le and old ladies' teas and dinner lorii ;s. The loyalists are mostly the save those who are stricken to F palsy. The beautiful Nancy The bridge is here exclusively for .atDjntertainment of Colonel Cabot ep 0I2 Washington ragamuffins. He flatten with her until midnight. prov(inughty old baroness, her aunt, unjsySliing their little romance. I . rea that there will be a wedding )ttle( ln September. This news of r jp.ri va 1 is all I have to send save. 3(-in,ove to my father, and best able'3 t0 yu- From ip our bored and devoted friend j anj "Robert St. Leger. ivels. S. As 1 write my name 1 am n tt'itly called to New Jersey so I ome his to a friend who agrees to le such it for me." ! J1A ihns been a lucky trip," Mrs. y went on. "That man's let- is the best part of it. Nancy pj,,: of gunpowder. She's harm- "o far as Pat Is concerned, rangfcnnst be a cute miss; she and lulsie, were a g00( team. Pat told mtoi NjlnCy'S beauty. Don't let her ESS' tier arm around your neck. dangerous. You helped me in z isro,,l)'e wil;n tlie Indians. I've forgotten it. I like you and i glad to help you." ! masterful Mrs. Bowlby arose tffered him her hand, l great. Intrepid, woman pio-he pio-he exclaimed. "I wonder If an could have done what you si done. You have a singular i'th'sh and there are few men Jiave your strength nnd cour- SeSotn the cradle I have had the 'in" "S'of all that. Men have It. My ftJnil Is like me. But I am mor-J'i'ind mor-J'i'ind of a love story. I'd foot p.o. Canada any time to keep a 1 1 story from going on the j I. A man wouldn't. I get j-.vd up when I see low-down work." ted E'lve her a five-pound note say- .butfr jgjl'U would make a good soldier." Jien the British come from la 1 may be fighting with my 0!(nd. A lame man nnd his wife Walking after the children." In went to his task. He took 0, () to Albany. veIo days later Clinton landed isein'thmisand British on York is-il is-il hree miles above the city un-iwiule un-iwiule cover of f,ve u'g gunboats. 1. Ijvas an Impressive array that nnnnd'd the llrouwer farm that day id rtpS toward the American line. 22(5 a variety of color I Horse sjs; Fusileers! Dragoons! Red-n Red-n glj.with blue and yellow facings, n ft' belts over the shoulder, "Jd hair tied In ribbons, offl-!iKbt offl-!iKbt hats laced with silver and , noil' the polished metal gorgets their chins . glowing in the rfht! As they advanced the can-"vJing can-"vJing was severe. The Ameri- . -'ie could have boon defended, i(s ,,g,lU'rs wore sorely out of j)ze since their recent drub-dder drub-dder They had seen men shattered p at nnon-balls and ripped by bay-he. bay-he. With little experience they disow heart for that kind of weath conA panic spread among them e rf'oon they were all in retre.it dfo'eral Washington hurrying to MtC ''"P 1,101 n'Ul triei1 t0 rn"-v joW They could not be turned went on leaving him exposed e advancing enemy. A new iiiton was now with Colin who had been riding at nis Mortified and dismayed, the fflj "'us In a rage, lie snapped Wistol at the retreating men. KAlirew It on the ground. He y toned them with his sword. ' G dl" he exclaimed, "are the inhabitants of the Pennsylvania city were in a panic Many were leaving their homes. Soon there were few carriages In the city. He was happy who could press a milk cart or a market wagon, to move his family. They took to the river on "wood flats" in whose grimy cabins no one could sit erect. Refined Re-fined ladies slept on deck - until driven to cover by falling snow. The British were in need of rest and, sheltered in their retreats from the severity of an American winter, with taverns and markets to satisfy every need of the body, the spirit of joy and slumber fell upon them. They were rudely awakened on Christmas night. Snow was falling in a bitter northwest wind. It was no time for any sane person to be out-of-doors. Colonel Rail, in command com-mand at Trenton, had had a merry dinner and with other officers and their ladies was dancing in the public hall. The fiddlers were playing. Between dances they could hear the cold wind in the chimney-top and snow pelting the window-panes. What a night 1 They shivered and gathered before the fireplace and filled and drained their glasses again. It was a night for joy with nothing to fear. About midnight a uniformed lackey brought a letter to Colonel Rail who was in command. Engaged in a pretty story, he put the letter in his pocket. Then in the whir of gaiety he forgot it. Nine miles from Trenton, a loyalist loyal-ist woman had seen Washington with two thousand men crossing the Delaware In the darkness. She had ridden post haste through the storm with the warning, now hidden in the pocket of Colonel Rail. Who but an American would think of crossing cross-ing a big river filled with broken ice nnd marching nine miles with a storm raging in which two men were frozen to death? The Europeans Euro-peans were to learn that fighting for liberty and fighting for pay were a different kind of business. At eight o'clock in the morning, Washington fell on the city with two detachments. Rail's Hessians surrendered, while other enemy troops fled in panic. The whole British Brit-ish structure on the Delaware was shattered by this stroke. General Donop's army -retreated. General Cornwallis abandoned his plan of going to Europe and took command in New Jersey. Washington occupied occu-pied Trenton. Soon Cornwallis and his men came on to give him battle. On the second of January, '77, the American commander crossed As-sanpink As-sanpink creek and made a pretense of throwing up intrenchments. Cornwallis tried to follow and was repulsed by artillery. Night came and Cornwallis decided to wait until un-til morning. Washington slipped away in the night, leaving men to keep the campfires burning and to imitate the chorus of picks, shovels, axes and ox leams at work. At daylight, day-light, Cornwallis began to throw his cannon balls upon empty ground. He attacked nothing. The American Ameri-can camp was deserted. "The d d Yankees" were of course far on their way to Princeton. Before he could arrive there that link in the British chain would be broken and Washington on his way to safety Cornwallis had made a shrewd guess. Four hundred men were taken at Princeton with guns and stores. The remainder of the British force scattered, scat-tered, having suffered a severe drubbing. drub-bing. This winter fighting with wounded wound-ed men floundering in pools of blood, unabsorbed on frozen ground, wns revolting. At Princeton the bleeding was not severe, less than three hundred on both sides having been killed or wounded, but the men engaged saw more blood than then had seen since the war began. Our men were at first severely set upon and began to retreat, but the Chief rallied them and they came througli with a handsome victory. The enlistment period of two regiments reg-iments expired that day. The men had long been looking forward eagerly to the hour of their release. It came. Light-hearted they were going home. They applied for their discharges. General Washington met them with a grave countenance. He reminded them that It was a critical time. Their country and their homes were now In greater danger than ever before. Success depended on the dogged faithfulness faithful-ness of this body of men. He knew that the feet of many were bleeding, bleed-ing, that all were weary but relief was near. The men got together for a conference con-ference and presently announced that they had decided to go home. They were sick of the hardships anil the blood-letting. Again Washington appealed to them and now with very solemn words. A time had come when each and every man of them should know and feel that he held in his hands the fate of America. Under those circumstances could they bear the shame of leaving him and going to their homes? Or would they continue con-tinue to be heroes and set a needed need-ed example to the youth of our land? Why stop now when the weary march was near its end? There were many who heard the Chief. Among them was old Amos Farns-worth Farns-worth who shouted : "They won't leave us. Lord God o' Israel! A man that leaves oughter be hung an' thar ain't no mistake." A thousand men began cheering. cheer-ing. Those who sought discharges abandoned their design and soon fell In the march to Plunkemin on the way to Morristown. It had taken Howe's powerful army six months to drive General Washington across the Delaware. The "good fighting weather" was gone. Winter operations In a strange country were "skunk meat" to the European. Washington knew it. Soon Heath and Putnam in the Highlands began to threaten New York, whereupon the British set out for that safe retreat where they could find comfort and security and be done with unexpected deviltries in a treacherous" countryside. So the American Commander in Chief had gained time for needed recuperation. recuper-ation. The spirit of army and people had improved. The New Jersey folk had been aroused to fever heat by outrages which are the inevitable result of occupation by the troops of an enemy. It was a favorable time for recruiting, but compared with the British army, Washington had a feeble force of men, billeted in Morristown. Young Alexander Hamilton was in great favor with the Chief. At a dinner of the staff Washington called on him for a speech. The young man acquitted himself with such wit and charm that the General Gen-eral arose and shook his hand. After that all the officers showed him great respect and the boy was often in their councils. Summer came. The last detachment detach-ment of the British had left Am-boy Am-boy for Staten Island. Burgoyne was expected in northern New York with an army from Canada. The most difficult problem of the revolution now challenged the ingenuity in-genuity of the Commander in Chief. He must prevent the formidable army of Howe on York Island from going up the Hudson to aid Burgoyne. Bur-goyne. The force in the Highlands was strengthened. Putnam had put a powerful chevaux-de-frise across the Hudson near Fort Montgomery to prevent ships from passing and to hold them under ruinous gunfire. It was an immense iron chain supported sup-ported by log booms a few feet apart and securely anchored to both shores. Two forts on the river were well manned and must be reduced before ships could pass. Beacon lights on Butter hill at the northern entrance of the Highlands would flash the news of an attack to Beacon hill and on southward to Mullender's hill and Snake hill and the lower Hudson. Howe might win his way but it would be a slow-footed, slow-footed, perilous undertaking. Washington's Wash-ington's problem was to detain Howe and encompass Burgoyne who, once landed at the head of Lake Champlain, could never hope to return. Howe, having waited long for reinforcements from Europe, Eu-rope, embarked his army. He started start-ed southward, evidently heading for Philadelphia. Washington now said to his Jersey Jer-sey yeomen : "Go home and do your harvesting and return as soon as possible." In a camp almost deserted he sat down with members of his staff to consider the great problem. Plans for the encompassment of Burgoyne were complete when a messenger came from congress to announce that Gates had been given full command in the north. Washington had ample evidence of the ambition of Gates to supplant him and of his unwholesome political polit-ical Influence. Schuyler, commanding command-ing in upper New York, was a gen tleman to his liking and in the Chief's opinion quite equal to the task ahead of him. Still, as usual, he must bow to the will of congress. con-gress. Gates was a cunning politician. poli-tician. Morgan's riflemen nnd Arnold's Ar-nold's brigade were to be sent north to help him. CHAPTER XIII The Coming of Pat and the British From the North and the Battle. GENERAL WASHINGTON wanted want-ed reliable and early Information Informa-tion as to the force of Burgoyne. Colonel Cabot, eager for news of his sweetheart, had applied for service in the north. An express messenger had just arrived with a dispatch announcing that Bur-goyne's Bur-goyne's army expected to embark from St. John's by the tenth of June. (TO BE CONTINUED.) In Anger He Turned His Horse Toward the Enemy. many were naked or covered with blanket rags. Those were the first days of shivering and bloody footprints. foot-prints. Lee was ordered to cross the river. He loitered at his post and was captured on the way by dragoons. But the time was near when the enemy was to be filled with dismay by the genius of the big American Chief in the Fabian arts of swift movement, frustration and delay. Preparation for a decisive battle is expensive and when it is suddenly discovered that the enemy has safely moved to parts unknown, the effect is disheartening. Crossing Cross-ing three thousand miles of sen to make war In a strange, unfamiliar setting, is at best a costly enterprise. enter-prise. General Washington knew that continued frustration nnd delay de-lay must, soon or late, break the spirit of tlie strongest empire. ! December 8, 1770, Washington crossed the Delaware and broke down all the bridges. Me had commandeered com-mandeered every boat on many miles of the river. While the Inst men in the rear were landing, the British van, baffled In its pursuit, arrived on the shore behind them. The little army was safe in the shelter of a forest. Col. Alexander Hamilton, a slight but handsome youth, scarcely twenty years of age, had handled his artillery company so admirably in the retreat that Washington summoned him to headquarters that evening. The young man spent an hour In conference with the Chief. With no bridges nnd no boats, Howe cantoned his troops on tlie New Jersey shore at Trenton, Bor-dentown. Bor-dentown. White Horse and Burlington. Burling-ton. They settled down comfortably comfort-ably to wait for a time when the river would be roofed with Ice to give them a smooth march upon Philadelphia. Congress prepared to move :ind |
