All was quiet till noon, and then as he saw the soldiers eating their dinners, he was assailed by a feeling of hunger. He resolutely dismissed the thought of food, however, and stuck to his position. He was determined to stay till evening, at any rate, and then if he had not secured any information, he would go to a farmhouse which he saw about a mile distant, to the eastward, and get something to eat, after which he would return to his post. He was determined to remain in the vicinity of the army till he learned something of value in the way of news regarding the intentions of the British, if it took him a week. He climbed down out of the tree presently and walked about, in the thicket, stretching in legs and feeling much better afterward, for his position had been a cramped one at the best. When the British soldiers began moving around again, after dinner, Dick climbed up into the tree once more, for some of the redcoats might visit the clump of trees at any time. A party of four of the soldiers did enter the thicket an hour or so later, and throwing themselves down in the shade, talked and laughed for some time, but although Dick listened with intense eagerness, no words were spoken that gave him any information. If the soldiers knew of any intended move on the part of the British army, they did not mention the fact in their conversation, which was made up of idle talk, of the kind as such men would naturally indulge in. When they left and returned to the encampment Dick drew a breath of relief, for he felt that every minute they remained in the clump of trees he was in danger of discovery. He might make a noise, in shifting his position, and be heard, or he might have to sneeze, or cough. And if he were to be discovered, it would go hard with him, for he would undoubtedly be deemed a spy. After the redcoats returned to the encampment, Dick descended to the ground and walked about a while, being careful to keep the most of the thicket between himself and the enemy. After half an hour on the ground, he again climbed up into the tree. Dick began to think the day was to be barren of results, as evening drew near; but a little while before sundown he caught sight of a couple of soldiers approaching the clump of trees. As the two drew near, he got a fair view of their faces, and he had all he could do to keep from uttering an exclamation, for-the two approaching British soldiers were no others than Zeke Boggs and Lem Hicks, Dick's enemies, the Tory youths from over in New Jersey! "Well, this is a surprise!" thought Dick. "But I remember now, that Ben said Zeke told him he and Lem were going to join the British army and be British soldiers, that they were not going to let Tom, Ben, and myself get ahead of them. I wonder what they would say if they knew I was so near them?"