“Whirl your body around and stick your heels in the earth,” was the suggestion from another.
On rolled Tom, and although he did his best to lessen his speed, he could do little, and he went down the side of the mountain with terrible speed. Fortunately, however, he was able to grasp a long trailing vine and this enabled him to twist himself into a more perpendicular position. Presently, when about one hundred feet down, he shot over a little precipice and went fifteen or twenty feet downward, directly into the top of a stunted fir tree. On through the branches he went, being buffeted first one way and then the other, and finally fell to the ground alighting upon the mossy bank of a little rivulet. Had he had in advance the slightest conception of the danger of his undertaking, he certainly would not have made the venture.
Luckily the branches of the tree had broken his fall considerably, and although he was somewhat stunned by the fall, and dazed by the swift whirling, he was not seriously injured, and in a few moments he was enabled to sit up, and a little later he rose to his feet, shook himself, and began figuring on getting to the settlement ahead of the redcoats.
Then to his hearing came the words, from the lieutenant: “Tom Dare! Are you alive? Where are you?”
“They’ll be looking for me in a few moments,” thought Tom. “I must hurry away from here.”
He set out in the direction of the settlement, picking his way along carefully, and gradually he worked his way upward, and when he had gone about a mile, he reached the path the soldiers had been following when he rolled down the mountain-side.
Tom looked back, but saw no signs of the British soldiers. He could see only about two hundred yards, however, as the path bent around the side of the mountain.
Tom did not linger there, however, and after one swift glance back, he set out along the path on the run, and in about ten minutes emerged from the path into a high valley of perhaps three or four miles long and a mile and a half in width. At a point near the center he saw a group of log houses, and toward these he hastened.
It was now about supper time, and Tom decided that the settlers were all at their homes. This would be better than if the men were scattered about, in the fields, at work, for they could make preparations for defense quickly.
Tom kept glancing back over his shoulder as he ran toward the houses, and each time he looked, he expected to see the British soldiers coming. He had gone about halfway to the houses, however, before he caught sight of the redcoats. They were just entering the valley, and they must have caught sight of Tom and guessed what he was intending to do, for a yell went up from their lips that came to his hearing.