The next Saturday was perfect outdoor weather, with blue skies and crisp air that invited one to the gorgeous October woodlands. Early in the afternoon, Anne, who was spending the day with Alice Blair, came running to The Roost.
“Patsy! Patsy! Where’s Patsy?� she called.
“I sent her to carry Mrs. Hight some wool,� said Mrs. Osborne. “She’ll be back in an hour or so.�
“Oh, dear!� Anne exclaimed. “I can’t wait. Tell her I’ve gone—she knows where—about the secret. Tell her to follow to the last place, please, Cousin Miranda. She’ll understand. I must run.�
Away she sped, to pass the mill while Dick was at Larkland and get to the chosen covert on the Old Plank Road. Near the mill the mail hack passed her, with passengers that excited a sensation when they came to The Village. They were the sheriff and a deputy with two of the negro deserters, Bill and Martin Toole.
“Where d’you catch them?� asked Mr. Blair, neglecting his mail bags.
“Not so far from you folks,� answered the sheriff. “Lewis Jones saw two men sneaking ’round that old sawmill place in the Big Woods; he came and told me, and Tom Robson and me went and nabbed these fellows. We’ve brought them here to jail to-night; to-morrow we’ll deliver them to army folks.�
Just then Mrs. Red Mayo Osborne came in, hurried and anxious looking.
“Will,� she called to Mr. Blair, “have you seen Anne Lewis this afternoon?�
“Not since directly after dinner,� he answered. “She passed the post office then.�