The dominie
sneered at him for the latter; but, when he saw his friend sally forth
with loaded pistol to the post of danger, his enmity died, and, rising,
he silently shook hands with him at the door. Returning to the
guard-room, he breathed a silent prayer for his friend's safety, and
then fortified his inner man with the fare provided. Conversation
accompanied the impromptu supper, and the subsequent cigar or pipe, at
first led by the divines, but afterwards taken clean out of their mouths
by the Captain and the veteran, who furnished exciting accounts of their
experience in critical situations.
The Squire had gone out for the second time to inspect the sentries. It
was eleven o'clock. Coristine, who was first visited, reported a sound
of voices at the back of the house, and Toner confirmed the report. The
commander-in-chief hastened to the gate leading into the hill meadow,
and perceived a figure struggling in the strong grasp of Sylvanus. The
sentinel's left arm was round the prisoner, and the gun was in his right
hand. As they came towards the gate, the Squire heard piteous entreaties
in a feminine voice to be let go, and the answer: "'Tain't no kind o'
use, Tryphosy, even ef ye was arter Timotheus an' not me; that ain't it,
at all.
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