| “Had your watch been good, This sudden mischief never could have fallen.” —First Part Henry VI. |
Had Peggy been in the lead she would have headed at once for the “Great Raritan Road,” a highway which ran down the valley of the river directly to the town of New Brunswick, which lay but a few miles west of Amboy. Harriet, on the contrary, turned toward Bound Brook, and entered the dense wood which stood between that village and the hills.
“This is not the way to Amboy, Harriet,” remonstrated Peggy.
“No,” answered her cousin briefly. Then, after a moment: “’Tis the only way to get through the lines without the countersign. We must not talk.”
“Hasn’t thee the countersign?” asked Peggy, dismayed.
“No; don’t talk, Peggy.”
And Peggy, wondering much how with two horses they could pass the pickets unchallenged, relapsed into silence. But the lack of the password did not seem to daunt Harriet. She pushed ahead as rapidly as was consistent with rough ground, thickly growing trees and underbrush, and the gloom of the forest. At length as they entered a shallow ravine Harriet drew rein, and, as Peggy came up beside her, she spoke:
“Are you afraid, Peggy?”
“No,” replied Peggy, “but the stillness is monstrously wearing. And ’tis so dark, Harriet.”
“Which is to our benefit,” returned Harriet. “As for the quiet, once we are clear of the lines we can chat, and so will not mind it. But come!”