“I do not know how far it was,” replied Peggy thoughtfully, “but thee was not with me, Harriet.”
“Where did you find it, Miss Peggy?” asked the general turning to her. “You must see that it proves that there is a spy amongst us, and the place where ’twas found may aid somewhat to his capture. Tell me as nearly as possible where you found it.”
“Does thee remember where three pines stand together at a bend in the pike about ten miles from Elizabethtown?” she asked. Then as he nodded assent she continued: “It was just in front of those pines, Friend Washington, that it was lying. I caught sight of it and thought some one had lost a letter, and so dismounted and picked it up. Then Harriet returned and—and we had some talk.” Peggy was so candid that she found it hard to gloss over the conversation with her cousin, but she went on after a pause so slight as not to be noticeable. “’Twas deemed best to ride direct to the governor’s house, and Harriet’s Fleetwood being swifter than my Star, reached the Hall first.”
“It could not have lain long,” he said, selecting the missive from among a pile of papers. “The road was muddy and the paper is scarcely soiled. Then, too, there was a wind blowing, and ’twould have been taken up from the road had it been there long. According to this the person who dropped it must have been so short a distance ahead of you that you could not have failed to see him.”
“There were but we two on the road, sir,” spoke Harriet, although the question was directed to Peggy. “We neither met any one, Your Excellency, nor did we see any one until we reached Liberty Hall.”
“That being the case,” he said rising, “I will no longer risk Mrs. Washington’s disfavor by keeping you from her. Permit me to thank you both and particularly Miss Harriet for the judgment you showed. You did the only thing that could be done, and ’tis rare indeed that maidens so young show such thought. I hope that you will both pleasure us frequently with your presence.”
He opened the door for them with stately courtliness. Curtseying deeply the maidens reached the threshold just as a group of soldiers bustled unceremoniously into the hall, and blocked the exit.
“A spy, Your Excellency,” cried an orderly, excitedly saluting.
The soldiers drew apart as the orderly spoke and from their midst came John Drayton leading the very private soldier to whom Peggy had given Harriet’s note.
“Your Excellency,” said the ensign saluting, “I caught this fellow just as he was stealing from the lines. He had a most incriminating note upon his person. His actions for some time have been most suspicious, and——”