“Robbers!” exclaimed the farmer and his wife simultaneously. “Why did you not tell us sooner? Was any one hurt?”
“No,” answered the youth. “Of course we were upset, which is small cause for wonderment.”
“Tell us about it, nevvy,” began Thomas Ashley eagerly, but his wife interposed:
“Now, father, if no one hath received a hurt let’s eat before the supper gets cold. A good story will keep better than hot victuals. We shall have the night to talk in. ’Tis a long journey from Virginia, and belike they are hungry. But first, Hannah, tell us who these young friends are.”
“Mercy on me, Mary,” gasped Nurse Johnson, drawing the girls forward. “I clear forgot my manners. This is Mistress Margaret Owen, who went back with me to Williamsburgh when I was here last year. I have writ you anent her visit, as I make no doubt you remember. And this is her friend, Mistress Sarah Evans. She hath been ailing of late, and methought the change would be of benefit. We call them Peggy and Sally.”
“You are both welcome,” said the hostess warmly, “though I would the times were not so troublous. What with the pine robbers, the freebooters and the Tories we are in daily dread of attack.”
“A plague take the rascals,” cried Mr. Ashley excitedly. “No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe these days. We are set upon in the fields, and upon the highways. Our dwellings are sacked and burned, and we are thankful if life is left. I tell ye,” he cried bringing down his fist upon the table with so much vim that the dishes rattled, “I tell ye New Jersey hath stood the brunt of the war. She hath been, and is now, the battle-field of the new nation. Things have come to such a pass that some way, somehow, relief must be had from these internal enemies.”
“But hath nothing been done to rid the state of them?” asked the youth.
“Done? Everything hath been done, nevvy. We have not only furnished our quota of men to the main army, but also formed companies of militia, both cavalry and infantry, to fight these pests. The Legislature is endeavoring to establish a strict patrol of the coast and the highways. In addition, we men who are too old for constant service have formed an association to retaliate upon our greatest enemies, the Tories, and to go out as necessity demands. Why, think of it! Up there in New York City are many of our friends and neighbors formed into a corps called The Associated Loyalists, under the leadership of our former governor, William Franklin. An unworthy son of a great father! At his command this corps harasses the state at will. Knowing the country ’tis easy for it to slip in where the greatest harm can be done, and out it goes before we know ’tis here. Staten Island and Sandy Hook are handy refuges for such raiders. We might handle the robbers, could we be rid of these incursions. We hoped for peace after Yorktown, but the depredations are now worse than ever. Something must be done, for New Jersey’s very existence is threatened.”
“There seems to be a need of men,” remarked the young man musingly. “When am I to report for duty, Uncle Tom?”