"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 then General 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 to Boston and took charge of the army on July third-kept the British penned up in Boston till about the middle of last March, when he fortified Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston, the work being performed in one night, and next morning the British, seeing what had been done and realizing that they would be at the mercy of the patriot army if they remained in Boston, hurriedly boarded the ships of the British fleet, then in the harbor, and sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia."
"And General Washington and his patriot troops went down and took possession of Boston!" said Tom, his eyes shining.
"Yes, Tom. But General Howe, the British commander-in-chief, did not keep his troops long in Halifax, but sailed to New York, where he was soon joined by the British fleet under his brother, Admiral Howe, and by General Clinton."
"And General Washington and his patriot army came to New York and took possession of that city," said Tom.
"Yes, and he"s there now, and that is where we are going, Tom."
"Hurrah, d.i.c.k! 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, d.i.c.k?"
"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," said Mrs. Dare sadly, when they were discussing the matter, that evening at supper. "Think how lonesome Mary and I will be when you are gone."
"Mrs. Foster and the girls will come over often," said d.i.c.k. "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," said Tom. "d.i.c.k and 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, when Ben Foster came in. There was an eager, excited look on his face, and he said earnestly:
"There"s a plot on foot against d.i.c.k and Tom, and I came right over to let you know about it."
"A plot!" exclaimed Mrs. 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," said d.i.c.k. "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," said Ben. "We"ll make the Tories wish they had attended to their own business."
"How did you learn about it, Ben?" asked Tom.
"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?" asked d.i.c.k.
"They are going to come here to-night at about midnight and break in, take you and Tom out 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!" smiled d.i.c.k. "There will be some sadder and wiser Tories before the night is ended."
"Oh, I am sore afraid, son!" said Mrs. Dare. "There will be a dozen or more of the Tories, and what can you and Tom do against so many?"
"I"ll come over and help d.i.c.k and Tom, Mrs. Dare," said Ben. "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!" said Tom, slapping his friend on the shoulder.
"That is good of you, old fellow," said d.i.c.k, seizing Ben"s hand and shaking it heartily. "We thank you."
"Yes, indeed!" said Mary, who saw that Ben"s eyes 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," said Ben, 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," said d.i.c.k.
"I"ll be over in an hour or so," said Ben, "and I"ll bring a musket and a pistol along. But how about Mrs. Dare and 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. Dare and Mary."
"Perhaps it would be best," agreed Mrs. 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," said d.i.c.k. "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, d.i.c.k. If that is the case, we will go over to Mr.
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 that Mr. Foster had 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 to Mr. Foster"s as soon as it is dark," said Mrs. Dare.
Shortly after dark, d.i.c.k, accompanied by his mother and Mary, went over to the Foster home, and Ben returned with him.
"So you"re here, eh?" greeted Tom. "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," nodded Ben. "At any rate, I hope so."
"So do I," said d.i.c.k.
"I wish Zeke and Lem would be in the party," said Tom, grinning. "I"d like to give them another thrashing."
"When did you thrash them, before?" queried Ben.