"'I remember,' said Gilbert, laughing; 'you left me looking at the clouds on the banks of the Lehigh; and, perhaps, you imagine that I was taken up into them, and dropped down in that horrible place as a punishment for my toryism!'
"'And if that was not the case, pray throw a little light on the mystery.'
"'Have patience, then, and let me tell my story my own way. The getting into the labyrinth was a trifle in comparison to the getting out. Believe me, the tales of romance are nothing to the tremendous horrors of that march. Why do you look incredulous?'
"'You know your love of the marvellous, Gilbert—but go on; only don't out-Herod Herod in your description.'
"'There is no danger of that—no description can come up to the truth. I looked upon that whole army in the desert as destined to make their next general parade in the heavens—and fancied you would see our poor, unhappy apparitions gliding through the sky; and, perhaps, exclaim, 'Poor Gilbert; he died in the good cause at last. It seems, however, that the necessity is spared of my making so pathetic an apostrophe. You had the good fortune to escape.'
'It was little less than a miracle that we did so, I assure you,' replied Gilbert.
'Your preservation, then, should be a more convincing proof to your mind, that the Lord is on our side, and will not forsake us in this unequal strife.'
'Ah,' replied Lester, 'you may beat me in faith, Vincent, but I will contend that I have beaten you in works. Had you waded, as we did, through those hideous bogs, which a poor Irishman, whose bones we left on the way, declared, 'bate all the bogs of Ireland!' you would have said the Israelites in the wilderness had a happy time of it, compared to us. Why, we were drowned, and starved, and frozen, till we had nearly given up all hope of the honor of being shot.'
'But you forget that I am still in ignorance of the preceding causes, which produced the revolution in your sentiments, and consequently influenced your actions after I left the farm,' said Murray, interrupting him.
"'You are right,' replied Gilbert; 'I am before my story. My head was so completely filled with the images on the way, that I was obliged to dispose of them first, ere I could clear a passage in my memory to relate what came before. It would, however, require too much time, at this moment, to enter into all the detail of argument and persuasion that gradually undermined my first principles. My imagination was a little excited by the whole scene at our last harvest festival. The sudden interruption in the dancing by the singular phenomena in the heavens, and the termination, from that evening, of all our accustomed mirth and gaiety, made a strong impression, which led me to inquire and reflect on passing events, connected with the disturbances in the country, much more closely and anxiously than I had done before. The result was a determination, in my own mind, to follow you. Knowing your admiration of General Washington, I instantly jumped at the conclusion that you had proceeded to Cambridge, in order to be guided in your future movements by the commander-in-chief; and so, without the least hesitation, I straightway decided on pursuing the same course. You are well aware, Vincent, that I am a creature of impulse. My arrival at head-quarters happened to be at the moment when Colonel Arnold was fitting out his troops for this unhappy expedition; and meeting accidentally with an acquaintance among the Pennsylvania riflemen, I enlisted in the same regiment, under Captain Morgan. A spice of romance, which I believe nature infused into my disposition, and which was increased among the mountain passes and wild fastnesses of our native scenery, induced me to look forward with a kind of adventurous pleasure, to the projected passage through the unexplored wilderness. The probable hazard and difficulty of the exploit presented only a spur to my newly awakened ardor; and thus, with my usual impetuosity of feeling, I pushed on among the most enthusiastic followers of Colonel Arnold. The concluding part of the history is written in the blood of our brave and gallant general; and now, in the closing scene of the drama, I find myself, by a singular freak of fortune, thrown again in your company, in a place where I had little dreamed of such a meeting.'