watch! Beshrew me, won't he be chagrined when I tell him, for he hath ever declared he be as alert as any!"
"Nay, do not tell him!" begged Sally. "'Twill only hurt his pride and do no good! Mayhap he did leave the door ope for Master Alling—which only shows his love for his grandson and needs no rebuking! Besides," she blushed, "it did—did help us out mightily, for—for we were nigh to starvation, it did seem to us!"
So the young man promised, and an old gentleman was saved from hurt.
As Sally waited before the house, while Zenas and Ezra went to secure the horses, she could plainly hear sounds of battle coming from the riverfront and from the ravines north of the village. There was a queer contrast in this distant din and noise of strife and the peace which brooded over this part of the little hamlet, for the Broad Lane at this point was deserted, as were sundry cross lanes, while those still forms, at which Sally had previously shuddered, had been carried away. The air of peace was further enhanced by the sight of Major Alling's aged grandfather sitting at his upper window, dreaming in the afternoon sunshine. And yet the devastation wrought by the British belied this false calm and security, and Sally, hearing the distant boom of cannon, knew that the brave New Jersey militia were swarming down
