Sidney insisted that he or I should be allowed to perform such task, arguing with great force, so I thought, that it would be of but little consequence if one of us lads was captured, while it could not be reckoned anything short of a disaster if harm befell either of the deputies.
Master Howell turned a deaf ear to his arguments and entreaties, replying again and again that he would not put a dangerous duty upon a boy when he was able to perform the task himself.
Even while we strove to restrain him, he went out into the night, as if bent on visiting the stable, and when he had arrived at that building it was no longer possible for us to distinguish his form.
Master Hunter kept watch alone at the front of the house, and in the rear Sidney and I strained our ears for some token of disaster or success.
The deputy had been absent a full half hour, during which time we heard nothing save the movements of the servants, or the stamping of the horses in the winter kitchen, and then suddenly, as if he had risen from the ground, appeared Master Howell.
We lads raised our rifles, not knowing for the instant whether it was friend or foe who had come upon us so silently, and then we heard his voice:
"I have returned; do not fire."
He stood on the porch an instant to tell us in whispers the result of his investigations.
"They have surrounded the buildings in such manner that we cannot leave secretly, and appear to be content with that. As I look at the matter, they, having trapped us, are waiting for reinforcements, or, possibly, officers of the law."
"But you have said that Governor Tryon does not dare to cause our arrest now that the people of Brunswick have heard all the story," I suggested, not a little alarmed by the information that the enemy appeared well content to wait until we might be captured with greater ease.