"Their volley had killed three British soldiers, two of whom were left on the ground. The Americans afterward buried them, and we shall find their graves only a few feet from the monument."
But other passengers had entered the car, and the train was now in motion.
"There, that must do for the present," the Captain said; "the story will have to be finished after we leave the train."
Their first halt was at Lexington where they viewed with much interest the ground where the skirmish took place, the monument commemorating the devotion of those who fell, and everything to be found that had any connection with the events which have made the place famous in the annals of our country.
Evelyn Leland gazed long at the inscription on the monument, then read aloud,—
"Sacred to the Liberty and the Rights of Mankind!!! The Freedom and Independence of America—sealed and defended with the blood of her sons—This Monument is erected by the Inhabitants of Lexington ... to the memory of their fellow citizens ... the first victims of the sword of British Tyranny and Oppression, on the morning of the ever-memorable nineteenth of April, A. D. 1775. The Die was Cast!!! The blood of these Martyrs in the Cause of God and their Country was the Cement of the Union of these States, then Colonies, and gave the Spring to the Spirit, Firmness and Resolution of their Fellow citizens. They rose as one man to revenge their Brethren's blood and at the point of the sword to assert and defend their native Rights. They nobly dared to be Free!!! The contest was long, bloody and affecting. Righteous Heaven approved the Solemn Appeal; Victory crowned their Arms, and the Peace, Liberty and Independence of the United States of America was their glorious Reward. Built in the year 1799."
"You didn't read it all, Eva," said Walter; "you skipped the names."
"Yes," she said, "because I didn't want to take time to read it all; though I'd be ever so unwilling to rob the poor, dear, brave fellows of any of the credit that belongs to them."