Both Saul and I came to a sudden halt, astonished by the quick change in Pierre's manner, for now his voice was filled with scorn, and one might have said he was chiding us as an elder chides a child.
"There is little need of telling why we have come," I replied, impatient because the lad would thus delay us. "Surely we may wander at will through the town of York."
"In New Orleans I have been among soldiers who were encamped and did not find it possible to wander at will," Pierre said, again shrugging his shoulders in that peculiar manner which set my nerves atingling. "It will be strange indeed if my Lord Cornwallis allows the rabble to enter his lines at pleasure."
"Rabble?" Saul cried in anger. "Do you call us of Hamilton plantation a rabble?"
"I am not the one who would thus misname you," and Pierre held out his hands deprecatingly; "but unless I am much mistaken in these red-coated followers of the king, they will give even worse names to those who are suspected of being friendly to the Cause which the colonists have thus far upheld so nobly. It might be, mayhap, that if you were of the rabble you would be permitted to enter the enemy's lines simply because of your curiosity; but I doubt me much whether a Minute Boy would be allowed to inspect the encampment lest he give information to General Lafayette."
"We are not known as Minute Boys!" Saul cried fiercely, striving to wave Pierre aside, but the little Frenchie held his ground as he said with a peculiar laugh:
"Ay, but you are known as worse, my lad; you are known as coming from the Hamilton plantation—from a place which General Cornwallis and Colonel Simcoe have set down as a nest of rebels, otherwise they would not have made such a wholesale seizure of horse-flesh without having given some notice. Once let you be recognized, and I question whether you may not have some trouble to return at will."
"Who knows—" Saul began, and then stopped abruptly because, as I understood full well, he realized that Horry Sims was somewhere nearabout York Town, perhaps within the British encampment, and he must have stood fairly well with a certain portion of Simcoe's Rangers after giving such information as he did concerning the Hamilton plantation.
If we were seen loitering about the works, it was certain Horry would point us out as having a leaning toward the Cause. As much as this last did he know for a fact, because many a time since General Cornwallis had come into Virginia had we lads discussed the situation, when neither Saul nor I were backward in saying that it would give us greatest pleasure if we were of age to be taken into the ranks of the American army as soldiers.
"Perhaps you who have seen so much of military encampments can tell us what we ought to do," Saul said sneeringly, and a deep flush came over Pierre's face as he understood the meaning of my cousin's tone; but like the true little comrade that he was, he gave due heed to the grief in Saul's heart and seemingly paid no attention to the sneer, as he replied in a friendly tone: