“Ah, yes, of course, you have not heard; but since the army of Lord Howe has been in the possession of Philadelphia, my father has changed his place of residence to the town of York.”
“Many have done the like,” said Ben Cooper. “My own father has been forced from his house at Germantown and is now at Reading.” They discussed the situation for a time and then Ben said: “You must have suffered great hardship in the long journey across the Jerseys.”
“Not so much as you might think,” replied Lieutenant Claflin with a laugh. “Here’s Molly, wife to a fine fellow who is a sergeant in the artillery, Hayes by name; and she’s stood between me and all the hard knocks I would otherwise have had.”
“Arrah, then, sir,” said Molly Hayes, “is it leaving you to die I’d be doing? And you with the young sister and old father you’ve so often told me about! Anybody could see by the way you speak of them, sir, that it’s the world they think of you; and if you’d a-died what would they have done at all, at all?”
“Sure enough, Molly,” said young Claflin, soberly; “sure enough. Well, they will have you to thank when we get to York.”
“It’s little enough they have to thank me for!” protested Molly. “Sure, anybody would have done the like.”
“Well, nobody but you made any attempt at it,” said Claflin. “You must know,” and the speaker turned to Ben, “that Molly is a great girl.”
“So I should think,” laughed Ben, “after the few exhibitions of her prowess which I have witnessed to-night.”
Molly laughed and flushed at this.
“Arrah, don’t be judging me from that, young gintleman,” she pleaded.