There was a short, ominous silence--then a great uproar. 'Traitor!' yelled several at once, as they sprang upon the benches, waving their arms wildly. 'Shoot him,' shouted others; 'he let him go purposely.' But I heard little more, for the individual voices became indistinct in the general chorus of angry shouts that burst from every part of the room. Friends and defenders crowded near the 'Colonel,' and soon the house was divided against itself. Had it not been that two armed guards stood at the door, I think I would have broken for liberty. Finally, standing upon the table behind which he had sat with so much of badly simulated dignity, the chairman, very red and very hoarse, succeeded in restoring order. 'We have agreed,' he said, 'that this whole matter shall be fully investigated, and justice shall be done. It is certainly unwelcome news to hear that the notorious Hale is still at large. If he has escaped, as this lad declares, if among ourselves there are some who are unworthy of our confidence, it is well that these things be known. Everything will be fully investigated, and'--he roared the words so loudly that they were almost unintelligible--'and justice shall be done to both friend and foe.' The whole assembly cheered mightily. Then the man on the table spoke again. 'Now in the name,' he said, 'and by authority of the Committee of Safety for the township of Lexington, I adjourn this meeting for one week, and order that this boy Davis and Colonel John Griffin be kept close prisoners till that time.' I was not taken back to the mine, but was put in a comparatively comfortable prison. That night--a little after midnight--I was aroused by a low tapping on my door. As I drew near this it opened. I stepped out. The brilliant May night was all about me: and it was very still. Without a word a figure that crouched in the shadow of the door motioned me toward the great black wood that stretched from the edge of the prison yard away up the mountain. I flew off like a bird. I was free at last, but whether they were friends of the 'Colonel,' or friends of my own, who accomplished my release, I was never able to discover. Chapter VI King or People? The road between Lexington and Cambridge lay well in the valley. But I kept to the hill country. I knew that all the roads must be avoided. I felt sure that I could keep the course, which I knew was easterly, and tramp home by way of the low, timber-crowned ridge of mountains. I set down the danger of getting lost as light compared with that of arrest which might await me on the road in the valley, for I was by no means anxious to return to my former quarters in either mine or prison. Then I recalled having seen many clearings, and several small farmhouses, dotted along the ridge, all well up toward the top of the wooded slope. I resolved to work my way from one to another of these until I reached home.