Abel continued to threaten, declaring he would send us to the gallows before many days had passed, if we failed to release him, and he went on in such strain until even Pierre lost his temper, and roughly told him that unless he made ready for eating he would get no food until next morning, whereupon the fellow opened his mouth obediently, much like a calf.
Mine was the disagreeable task to feed him, and it may be I thrust the pudding into his mouth with unnecessary force; but certain it is I was in no wise tender with the scoundrel, for I knew to a certainty that if the tables were turned, and we in his power, we might hold ourselves fortunate indeed if we were given the slightest morsel to eat.
That night we lads took turns standing guard in the loft, each remaining on duty two hours, although as Saul said, if we had been willing to cause Horry Sims suffering, all of us might, by gagging him, have taken the rest which we needed. I am not sorry that we failed of following my cousin's suggestion, for since that day I have come to know from painful experience how much suffering may be caused by a gag firmly fixed between one's jaws.
There is no good reason why I should strive to set down all the doings of each day while it seemed to me much as if our people were making slow progress in this work of capturing my Lord Cornwallis.
Having been so successful in our first attempt at foraging, we went almost boldly around the village when our store of provisions ran low, begging at this house or at that without questioning whether the occupants might be for the king or for the colony, receiving sometimes with a generous hand, and then again in niggardly manner, at least enough of food to keep us alive, although I am free to confess that never once from the day the Jerseyman left us until I was home again on the plantation, did I feel as though my stomach was well filled.
Instead of striving to tell what we lads did, which is of little consequence compared with what was going on around us, I had best hold this poor apology for a story to the movements of those brave fellows who had come down from the North to rid our colony of Virginia from red-coated invaders.
During all the while, whether by day or by night, one of us three lads remained in the loft doing guard duty, while the other two, if by any fortunate chance we had a small store of provisions on hand, were at liberty to watch our people. It can well be understood how greedily we gazed out upon that army which we counted friendly, watching for the least change of position, and even questioning with impatience how long it would be before the end came.
It was as if the Britishers gave no heed whatsoever to anything save their own defense, and I question whether we lads might not have boldly presented ourselves to the quartermaster begging for food and receiving it, instead of striving as we did to keep ourselves from their particular notice.
We could see day after day our people bringing up heavy guns, digging ditches which Pierre called parallels, meaning embankments thrown up to protect the advance of a besieging army, and otherwise seemingly making preparations to fall upon the enemy in overwhelming force.
I remember well on going out early one morning, after it seemed to me that we had been shut up in this town of York weeks and weeks instead of only a few days, and seeing much to my surprise a parallel, or embankment, not more than five or six hundred yards from the outermost of the British works, which had been completed during the hours of darkness. With a great joy in my heart I ran into the cabin to make known the welcome news, for surely did it seem as if the American army had taken their first step toward entering the village.