Amazed by the sudden and unexpected appearance of his friend, he stood still and watched him as he rode swiftly up the lane directly toward the approaching men. Gordon was leaning low on his horse's neck, and Tom could see that he was grasping a pistol in his right hand.
Before the startled lad could fairly realize what was occurring, he saw the young lieutenant raise his weapon and aim it at the approaching horseman. He waited for the report, but none came. Again Gordon raised his pistol, and once more it flashed without a report.
His heart almost stopped when he perceived that the other members of the band had now entered the lane and were riding towards their leader, although as yet they were far behind him. The young lieutenant had also discovered them, and, instantly turning his horse about, dashed back up the lane, with the British lieutenant in swift pursuit.
Unmindful of Tom, they swept past him, and Gordon turned the corner of the barn. Twice around the barn the men raced their horses, and then Gordon turned his horse into the open doorway and dashed through to the other side.
After him followed the leader of the British band in desperate pursuit, and then, as Tom glanced up, he saw his recent companions come shouting and hallooing into the yard which was between the barn and Friend Nathan's little house.
CHAPTER XV
THE BOAT ON THE BAR
When Little Peter discovered the presence of the men before him, his first impulse had been to turn and make a dash into the woods; but the call which he heard quickly changed all that. As one after another of the band appeared, he recognized some of them as men who had been enrolled in the local militia, and his alarm for a moment subsided.