At the same moment he felt a hand touch his elbow and heard the boy at his side say, quietly:
“But the third one—look at him.”
The last of the three was a boy; he held a rifle in his hand and seemed to be guarding the two with the box. The face was turned with eagerness toward the British, and as Nat’s eyes fell upon it, he stopped, rooted to the spot with bewilderment.
For the boy was Ezra Prentiss!
CHAPTER XXII
TELLS HOW A MYSTERY WAS SOLVED AND HOW
VICTORY CAME TO THE COLONIES
For an instant only did Nat Brewster stand still; the British battalion, pushing forward, forced him on. But as the boy still remained at his side, Nat clutched him by the arm and demanded:
“If that is Ezra Prentiss, who are you?”
The other looked at him squarely; even through the trouble that was plain in his face, a flicker of amusement showed at Nat’s amazement.
“I am his twin brother, George,” he answered, quietly.
At this Nat was almost overwhelmed once more. Then his mind began to work like lightning. He had been mistaken all along. It was this brother—this twin, who looked so astonishingly like Ezra—who had figured in all the incidents which he had accepted as proof of treachery. One by one he began to go over them; but just then he was aroused by Major Pitcairn calling sternly and at the top of his voice: