Even a stronger lad than Ephraim Sowers would have gone down before this sudden attack as quickly as did he, and in a twinkling the prisoners held him upon the floor in such fashion that only one arm remained free.
Evan sat upon his feet, while Nathan, in addition to covering his mouth, held his right arm firmly.
With his left hand Ephraim struck out to the best of his ability, but without accomplishing anything whatsoever, and he was permitted to thus thrash around, doing no harm to any save himself, until he had been thoroughly wearied by the struggle.
"I reckon we have got time enough to teach you quite a lesson," Nathan whispered with but slight show of anger. "You are supposed to be guarding us prisoners, and the redcoats will give little heed to you for some hours to come. While we are alone you shall get a taste of what you would deal out to others."
As a matter of course Ephraim made no reply, because it was impossible so to do; but his captors could read in his eyes the threats his tongue was powerless to utter.
"I know what you would say, my fine Tory spy. You have in your mind the thought that we must in time let you up, and then it shall be your turn, for the soldiers will be called in to perform what you fail in doing. How well would that plan work if we did our duty, and killed you here and now? It is what should be done to a lad who, having received nothing but favors in this section of the colony, betrays to their death a hundred or more of his neighbors."
Anger had rapidly died out of Ephraim's eyes as Nathan spoke, for by the tone of the latter, one would have said that he was in deadly earnest, and really questioned whether or no it was not his duty to take this worthless life.
"It would not be a hard matter to let his life-blood out," Evan added, intent only on doing his share toward frightening the spy, "and perhaps it will be best even though he had not betrayed Colonel Clarke and his men, for we can have a very fair idea of what he will be, once power is his."
"Find something with which to tie his feet and hands, and then we will contrive a gag so that it is not necessary to sit over him in this fashion."
Evan obeyed the command by tearing from the lad's hunting-shirt two or three strips of material sufficiently stout to resist all his struggles, and in a comparatively short space of time the Tory was bound hand and foot, with one sleeve of his own garment stuffed inside his mouth as a gag.