I dare venture to say that Farmer Weston's grain was never handled more quickly than on this occasion, and we had all of it aboard, with the exception of mayhap ten bags, when a cry from the shore warned us that the enemy had approached to within the distance set by our leader. Now it must be borne in mind that all these goods had been put aboard one of the sloops, leaving the other clean, so far as concerned a cargo, and I was not a little surprised when Hiram gave the word for the four men to go on board the laden vessel to make ready for getting under way. Then we lads were sent into the empty craft, in which was stored the ammunition, and word was given to "up anchor and hoist the canvas." "Is it a case of running away?" I asked sharply of the leader, who, with half a dozen of the lads, was swaying down on the mainsail, and he replied, speaking with difficulty because of his heavy breathing: "One of the sloops will try to run away; but it won't be ours." I now understood full well what was his plan. We were to engage the enemy in a regular battle so that the other sloop, laden with provisions, might succeed in going free. I am willing to confess that despite all my previous longings to show myself worthy of being a soldier, the cold chill of fear began to run up and down my spine, as I realized that the time was come when we must strive to kill while others were doing their best to shed our blood. I question much, now that I have taken part in other conflicts, whether any one, man or lad, ever looks forward to an action at arms without a certain degree of uneasiness, even of fear. If there had been on board the laden sloop a party of our people whom we were struggling to save, then there would have been something heroic in thus engaging in an unequal struggle to the end that better lives than ours might not be taken. As it was, however, we would be fighting for a lot of sheep and a certain amount of grain, which seemed to me worthless in comparison with the life of any one member of the company. I failed to take heed of the fact that by getting the cargo past the Britishers, thus preserving it for the use of our people, we might be sparing those who had devoted themselves to the Cause much of suffering by way of hunger, and this would be a good and sufficient reason why we should shed our blood. All this which I have set down passed through my mind as does a flash of lightning across a darkened sky, and meantime we were forging toward the schooner, while the second sloop was being got under way more leisurely, swinging around in such position that we remained between her and the Britishers.