"From what I've seen of these folk," he said, now half aloud, "it will be no easy matter to suppress their meetings and make them obey His Majesty's laws. They seem not to know what fear or submission may mean." Then, after pondering a few minutes, "I wonder if it would not be a wise thing for me to call upon this man Devereux, as he is so old and feeble, and assure him and his women-folk that I will see to it they be not molested--annoyed in any way? I might see her again,--I might come to know her; and this would be very pleasant." And now his thoughts trailed away into rosy musings. If Johnnie Strings had not added fresh fuel to the fire already kindled in the breast of the impetuous young Englishman by Dorothy's sweet face and pitying eyes,--had he not made it burn more fiercely by giving him reason to believe that she had sent to inquire for his welfare,--he might not have thought to carry out his present impulse. He was seized by a strong desire to see for himself the place where she dwelt,--to look upon her surroundings,--to make more perfect the picture already in his mind, by adding to it the scenes amid which her daily life was passed. Such was the young man's desire; and his was a nature whose longing was likely to manifest itself by acts, and more especially now, in the very first heart affair of his life. As soon as the guards were posted and the countersign given out, he discarded his uniform for a fisherman's rough coat, and put on a large slouch hat, which covered his head, bandage and all. And thus attired, he set forth alone to visit the scene of his morning's adventure, and to investigate its surroundings. CHAPTER XIII The night was clear, bright, and starlit, with not a wreath of vapor drifting. The rising wind moaned through the woods about the Devereux homestead, that loomed, a dark mass, and silent as a deserted house. From the shore below came the hoarse roar of the tumbling water, to mingle with the wailing murmur of the wind; and now and then could be heard, clear-cut and eerie, the cry of a screech-owl from the woods. As evening closed in, Joseph Devereux had ordered that no lights be shown about the house, lest they might attract the attention of any straggling soldiers; and he felt assured that this warning would be sufficient to intimidate the women into the greatest caution. As for the men, they were all, even old Leet, out with the party watching at the "Black Hole,"--a bit of the sea shut in by a wood that bordered a wide sweep of meadow known as the "Raccoon Lot." It was here that the expected powder and arms were to be concealed by burying them in the earth, after being wrapped in oilskin coverings. Johnnie Strings had gone alone to the Sachem's Cave, ready to give the signal. The cave was somewhat farther down the shore, and a light shown above it could be plainly seen from the open sea.