“I do,” replied Nat; “the minutemen are up. Surely you heard the guns and alarm bells awhile ago.”
“Yes, I know. I understand. But,” hurriedly, “the British officers will not fire upon them—they will not permit their men to do so.”
Nat turned his face toward the speaker curiously.
“You seem to be very anxious to make yourself believe that,” he said.
“If I did not believe it,” replied the other boy, “I should not be here.”
A thought came to Nat like an inspiration. Lowering his voice to almost a whisper, he said:
“I think I understand. You mean that if you thought they would fire upon the colonists, you would not be upon the British side.”
“Yes,” returned the other.
“And that can only mean that you would be——” Nat paused without completing the sentence.
