"Of that I have no question; but these people, knowing fully the country, can easily disperse between the time we come upon them, and word has been sent to the command. Then again, we must trust to your finding them, which I misdoubt greatly, else are you a keener lad than I have seen in the Carolinas."
It was the eldest of the three men who said this, and as he moved slightly I saw that his uniform, which I knew full well, was that of the Prince of Wales' regiment, to which organization Sam Lee had referred.
"You may do as you please," the young Troy said angrily. "I have told the colonel that I could lead you to where the scarecrow Marion was encamped and put you on their trail wheresoever the forces might be going; but if, now that we are hardly more than started, you choose to turn back, it is none of my affair, I have done my part."
No reply was made to this, and for a time the men were silent, while I, speculating as to what might be their purpose, believed it was a simple matter to guess why they were there.
We knew full well that Sam Lee had been in Captain Barfield's encampment, and, like the coward that he was, fled when our troops came up. He also must have ridden all day in order to gain Nelson's Ferry; had most likely met this regiment of the king's, and claimed ability to deliver our people into their hands. It seemed also true that these troopers had ridden in advance of the command, as had we three, and we were thus come together at a place midway between the Britishers and our own force.
Up to this point I had no difficulty in forming a satisfactory conclusion; but beyond that I was all at sea, and naturally thought the proper course was to return and give information to Gavin Witherspoon.
In fact I was in the act of turning when one of the soldiers said grumblingly:
"Even though the rebels may be where this lad has stated, I fail to see why we should have left the camp and ridden half a dozen miles in advance. What good can be gained by spending the night here, when we might have done so with our comrades?"
"For my part," the third trooper added, "I would rather sleep here than do my share of guarding an hundred or more scurvy rebels. Had we stayed in camp some portion of the duty would have come upon us, whereas we may lie down under these bushes and sleep until it pleases us to open our eyes next morning."
"That is all very true," the first speaker replied; "yet there were good quarters to be found at Nelson's Ferry, and here a bed upon the ground is the best to be had."