But I understood the quiet as soon as I came in sight of the village. The church bell was slowly tolling and there seemed to be thousands of people upon the village green. At sight of the crowd the old man's words regarding the probable fate of Duncan Hale flashed upon my mind. For a moment my heart stood still. Was the crowd in the distance a mob bent on vengeance? And yet, why was the bell tolling? In spite of the feeling that I might be acting unwisely, I urged my horse rapidly on toward the village that lay in the valley before me. I was out in search of information, and must obtain it. Chapter III Made Prisoner I had scarcely reached the village, when I learned that I had been quite wrong in supposing that violence was intended by the people. 'It's the funeral,' a man on the fringe of the crowd told me. 'It was here the first of the shootin' was done day before yesterday. The eight of our men who were killed all belonged in this neighbourhood, an' attended this church. They are all to be buried here this afternoon.' He pointed to a row of eight graves near the church. 'They'll bury first,' he said, 'an' without takin' the coffins into the church. Ye'll see that done among the Tories, but not here. Ye'll be wantin' to hear the sermon, I suppose. Well that's my barn over there. Go an' put up yer horse, for he's lookin' tired.' I did as I was instructed, and a little later I was wandering about among the people. It was a strangely mixed crowd. There were many farmers dressed as for work in the fields. Others had evidently on 'Sunday clothes.' Women and children, boys and girls, made up a great part of the immense company. Though they could not be distinguished by either their dress or bearing, I soon learned that many of the men had been engaged in the fighting of two days before. These were usually the centre of interested groups of people, who listened with eager attention to the various accounts of the day that marked the opening of the unfortunate war. Being convinced by this time that I was in no danger, and having seen many others dressed exactly as I was, I pushed my way almost to the centre of a group close to the church. A man with his arm in a sling was speaking.