"That I cannot say. I think not."
"We'll soon find out," said the lieutenant, leading the way to the ford.
The men all followed him, but as the water came well up to their horses' flanks, it was at once evident that Clinton would find great difficulty in getting his baggage train across. The party halted near the bank after they had crossed the stream, and the lieutenant had an earnest conversation with one of his men.
Tom could not hear their words, but he had no doubt that they were discussing the possibilities of Clinton's march by the way they had come that night.
"We'll go on a bit farther," said the lieutenant at last, and the men obediently mounted and followed their leader.
The gray of the dawn had just appeared in the east, and the air was filled with the songs of the birds. They were now in the township of Cranberry, and the end of their journey could not be far away, Tom thought, although he did not know what that end was to be. Thus far they had come without trouble, but with the coming of the morning, and their proximity to the American army, their difficulties were likely soon to be increased.
The men were silent as they rode slowly forward, and were keeping a constant watch on every side. The sun by this time had made its appearance, and the day gave promise of being even warmer than the preceding one. Before them they could see two rude little houses on opposite sides of the road and at the end of lanes which led back from the roadside. The one on the left Tom instantly recognized as the abode of a Quaker named Nathan Brown, or "Friend Nathan," as his neighbors called him. Many a time had Tom been there, and even then he recalled many of the quaint expressions of the gentle man who had steadily opposed all the hostilities, in accordance with his creed which forbade even the resistance to tyrants.
As the lieutenant saw the two houses he drew the rein on his horse, and the party halted.
"It's time we had some breakfast," he said. "I am wondering whether we can't find something here in these houses. Do you know anything about them, my lad?"
"I know the man that lives in the house on the left. He is a Quaker," replied Tom.