"Aunt Deborah, the English have not captured Lafayette, have they?" she asked earnestly.
For once Aunt Deborah was startled from her usual calmness.
"For pity's sake, child! What dost thou mean?" she responded. "I have heard naught of such a thing."
Ruth gave a sigh of relief. "I just wanted to be sure," she replied.
CHAPTER XX
LAFAYETTE'S VISIT
The May sun streamed warmly into the big square chamber where Ruth slept, and she awoke to the song of birds, and the fragrance of blossoming lilacs.
For a few moments she lay quite still, looking wonderingly about the room. It seemed a "shining" room to Ruth, with its whitewashed walls, and its smooth polished floor, and only a chest of drawers, a light-stand and a rush-bottomed chair for furniture.