This reference to the British reminded Morgan of his old enemy, the Tory boy, whose dog had killed Black Baby. The boy must now have reached man’s estate, and Morgan wondered if he would recognize him if he saw him, and if Allah was planning an opportunity for him to give his promised kick. In all these years he had never forgotten his vow. Kelsey was a very skillful rider, and could do wonderful things from a horse’s back, which Morgan enjoyed, for it showed off his smooth and easy gaits. Sometimes, after slipping off his heavy boots and tying them to his stirrup, he would spring to his feet on the horse’s back, and stand balancing himself while Morgan glided evenly along under him; or, riding hard, he would stoop and pick up a stone or stick; or, if there chanced to be a pretty flower beside the road, he would set the horse running and lean swiftly down, pluck the flower, and wait for the coach to catch up, that he might hand it to some lady passenger, with a bow and sweep of his hat. One of his anecdotes, which always brought a laugh from the passengers--especially if they were from New York--was how the tract of land, now known as Vermont, was granted to Dominie Dillius, of Albany, in 1696, for the “annuall rente of one racoon skinne.” “The New York legislature,” Kelsey always finished, “later called this ‘rente’ _excessive_!” During that spring there came a scourge of locusts. They ate up the trees and all green things. Wise old women declared them a sign of coming disaster--disaster enough they were of themselves! With their strident cries they drowned the prayers of the Righteous who sat in meeting praying to be delivered from them and their consequences. One day at noon a darkness fell over everything; cocks crew; pigs squealed; cows came home, lowing; dogs howled, dismally; and cats mewed, distressingly. Morgan, sensitive to all influences, shivered and moaned, softly. One of the most fearsome calamities in the history of Vermont was, indeed, about to descend. Masses of clouds rose and blotted out the sun; the storm came closer; thunder crashed; the wind howled; rain began to fall. Day after day lightning flashed, thunder jarred the earth, and the rain fell unceasingly. There seemed no end to it! Creek and river beds lost all identity; mountains were obscured in the downpour. In lowlands, beaver meadows and swampy places the water rose, and kept rising. Mountain streams became torrents, creeks became rivers. It was a deluge! Birds, drenched through their feathers, starved and fell to the earth, chilled to death; insects were washed out of the air; late-hatched broods of wild ducks were drowned and the eggs of wild-fowl floated on the surface of the waters.