CHAPTER III—Lizzie Santon
Lizzie Santon, the daughter of John Santon, a patriot who lived about halfway between the Tory and the patriot settlements, was out searching for their cow, that had wandered away, and the girl, humming a song, made her way through the timber, looking about her keenly and searchingly.
It was now growing dusk, and the girl hastened her footsteps, for she was a mile from home and still had seen no signs of the sought for animal.
Suddenly she saw a form moving in the woods at a distance of perhaps one hundred yards, and she uttered an exclamation of satisfaction and hastened in that direction.
But when she was within perhaps twenty yards of the approaching object, she saw that it was a human being, but with the upper portion of the body covered with feathers.
“What can that mean?” the girl murmured, stopping and staring in wonder, amazement and horror. “Why, that is terrible! Who would dare treat a human being in that barbarous fashion?”
She stood there a few moments, and then noticing that the tarred and feathered man was walking in a zigzag fashion, as if unable to see, she advanced till close to the person, and then she said:
“Who are you? And who did this?”
It was the teacher, of course, and at the sound of the voice he came to a stop and exclaimed, joyously: “Thank goodness I have found somebody. I am Herbert Miller, and some Tories did this, because they believed me to be a patriot.”
“What villains!” exclaimed the girl. “This is terrible, Mr. Miller.”