The man took Neil’s horse by the bridle. “You don’t deny that you’re Neil Davidson, and you’re my prisoner,� he said. “That’s Tarleton’s Legion. I was waiting here till it came by.�
“Why do you think I’m Neil Davidson?�
“Can’t you guess?� For the first time the man’s voice had a troubled sound. “It was when you got so mad. Your eyes blazed just as hers always did, and then all at once I could see your baby face—changed a lot, but looking right out at me. You always looked like mother.�
Neil’s hand closed on the horn of the side-saddle. The name “Sandy Davidson� had not prepared him; the resemblance had seemed only an added insult.
“You needn’t be afraid,� the other said, noticing how pale he had grown under his tan. “Since I heard of you in Greene’s army I’ve vowed I’d catch you, and now I have. Our family has done enough against the king. But I’ll see that nobody hurts you.�
Neil straightened himself with a jerk. His timidity was gone and his bewilderment was yielding to an understanding of what his mother had meant when she said that the Tories had killed Sandy. “And since I’ve heard of a Tory with my brother’s name, I’ve vowed to capture him!� he cried. “I’ve vowed that no Tory named Sandy Davidson should live, for mother said they’d killed you.�
The other gave an impatient laugh. “Why don’t you capture me, then?� he asked. “Here I am. I told mother I was on the king’s side, and she said I was dead to her. She was growing crazy and driving me crazy begging me to revenge father’s death, when father was a rebel and deserved what he got. She drove me out of the house when I said I was a king’s man.� He shrugged his shoulders as if to put an end to accounting for himself. “Of course you’ve got messages on you, or you’d not be disguised. Hand them over and it will save you trouble. I’m your very affectionate brother, though you would like to collect that reward for me, but I can tell you Tarleton’s a very affectionate brother to nobody!�
The sunbonnet with the letter in it was still in the front of Sandy’s hunting-shirt. “You can search me,� Neil said. “You’ll find no letters.�
“Then what were you sent for?�
“To practise riding on a side-saddle. You noticed that I don’t take very kindly to sitting this way.�