"Into the canoe with you!" Darius cried, "an' listen well to what I say. Tell the commodore that we came upon the advance ships of one fleet five miles below Benedict, and are waitin' here to make certain what they will do. He is to give these Byard boys three dollars for takin' you to Nottingham. Make the best time possible, for the fate of all our vessels in the river may hang on you're gettin' there quickly." The Byards dug their paddles deep in the water as if determined to obey orders as promptly as possible, and in twenty seconds from the time Darius ceased speaking the canoe was around the bend of the river, Jim waving us a mournful adieu as he disappeared from view. "Joshua Coburn is to go with me to hide the boat further up-stream," the old man said with the air of a general giving his commands. "The others may stroll around the village; but in half an hour every one must be here on the shore to meet me." I gave no heed to my companions; but ran at full speed toward home, answering curtly the greetings from the neighbors as I passed, and soon I was where every fellow longs to be--in mother's arms. She, good soul, had heard from those who saw us, that we passed the village more than once; but never a word of complaint because I had not stopped to see her. The first question was whether I had come to Benedict under orders of the commodore, or if I was taking time to visit her which should be devoted to some other purpose. I speedily soothed all such fears, and frightened her by saying that Darius believed the Britishers would make a halt at the village. At first it was my belief that she should take the children and go far into the thicket; but she, good soul, soon convinced me that such a course would be unwise, since it was not known how long the enemy would remain, and she could not stay in the forest very many hours with the young ones. "We will wait here, Amos dear. The British cannot be so barbarous as to make war upon the helpless. If you or father was near at hand, and I could go to you, the situation would be far different." Then she insisted that I should tell her all I had been doing, and by the time that long story was come to an end I had need to join Darius on the shore, having stayed the full length of the furlough he gave us. It was not certain but that I could see my mother again before we went up river, therefore our parting was not as sorrowful as it would have been had I known all the perils which were to be encountered ere I looked upon her dear face again. The village was in even a greater state of confusion and bustle than when I first passed through it. A full half of the people were on the point of running away, taking with them as many household belongings as could be carried or transported in carts or boats. A large number stood on the streets undecided what course to pursue, and asking each person they saw for advice, while not a few were apparently bent on following the example set by my mother.