Then I had succeeded in warning every member of the company, even including Seth Jepson, to be at the rope walk on Barton's point, recommending that they come singly, rather than in couples or squads, so that there might be less chance to arouse suspicion, and right weary was I from much running to and fro. Mother had made ready a hearty supper because of my having fasted at noon, and Hiram and I ate until the wonder was that we were not so heavy as to be incapable of active exercise. But when we set out for the rendezvous I speedily learned that whether my companion had spared the food, or devoured more than his share, it was possible for him to move at such a pace as caused me to breathe quickly and hard in the effort to keep at his heels. It is not to be supposed that we could go from my home to Barton's point through the streets without coming upon some of the lobster backs, for since the town was put under martial law the watch had been replaced by soldiers, and there were so many of them patrolling the streets 'twixt sunset and sunrise that one could hardly poke his nose outside the door without brushing it against half a dozen. We were not delayed in the short journey, however, because of my familiarity with the gardens and byways on the route, which admitted of our making fair progress while shunning the streets, and he who could have pounced upon us would indeed have been a quicker-witted lobster back than I have yet seen. When we arrived at the rope walk we found some of the lads overly impatient, as indeed they had good cause to be, for those whom I warned earlier in the day had gone immediately to the rendezvous, therefore were forced to cool their heels there from six to eight hours, which must have seemed a long time when you realize that they were literally burning with impatience to play the part of soldiers, and I could not but ask myself with somewhat of anxiety, how they might view the situation when coming to understand that they were to be employed as drovers, or in carrying bags of grain from the shore to the vessels? "Are they all here?" Hiram asked me when standing beneath the shelter of a lean-to which served as store-house, as he surveyed my company. "Ay, every one of them," I replied carelessly, believing it was possible to see them all, and as I spoke Harvey Pearson piped up in his shrill voice: "All save Seth Jepson. An hour ago he suddenly remembered that he must attend to some work which his mother had laid out for him, and went off at full speed, promising to come back before you showed yourselves." "So! He's the lad you believed might have a leaning toward Toryism," Hiram said sharply as he wheeled about to face me, and on the instant I understood that he doubted the truth of Seth Jepson's excuse for leaving the company. "How long did he stay here?" I asked of Harvey, whom I knew to have been one of the first to arrive at the rendezvous.