"Then it must be your eyes are grown dim with age," I said, now joining my brother in his mirth, for the old man's anger was comical rather than serious. "We unsaddled our horses in this spot, and have remained until within ten minutes under this same tree, therefore it could not have been a difficult matter to find us."
"But there is no reason for fault-finding, and we have little time to spend in conversation," Percy added.
"You will speak with me though!" Gavin said, seizing the bridle of my horse as if fearing I was about to ride away. "In what direction are you two lads going?"
"That we may not say," Percy replied quickly. "It is enough that we are acting upon General Marion's orders."
"That is as I suspected," Gavin cried, shaking his fist at Percy as if the lad had proven himself guilty of some serious crime. "You would slip away from the old man, believing yourselves so wondrous brave that he isn't fit to join in any adventure however trifling?"
"Now you are talking wildly, Gavin Witherspoon," I said, losing my patience, for, knowing we had but little time at our disposal, I was fretted by what seemed to me no more than folly. "We have been entrusted with a duty which must be performed immediately, and may not stand here parleying with you over trifling matters."
"It is my intention you shall remain until I can have speech with General Marion, or failing him, with Major James."
"Why should we wait for that?" Percy asked, leaping into the saddle, and as he did so the old man seized the bridle of his horse also.
"Because I am counting on going with you. I promised your mother six months or more ago that when you two lads were minded to turn soldiers I would keep an eye upon you, and now has come the time when I must fulfil the pledge, or write myself down a liar."
I knew enough of the old man's character to understand that we could not browbeat him into loosing his hold of the bridle, and was not minded to ride over him. Therefore said with as much of patience as I could assume: