As the full realization of the danger burst upon us, my first thought was that we should ride at full speed until having gained the highway, and almost at the same instant I came to understand that in the darkness, on that narrow trail, we could not hope to make very much speed save at great risk of coming to grief. I believe of a verity, had I been in command of the Minute Boys I should have lost my head entirely, so critical did the situation appear, and even at this late day I am convinced that the peril was not overestimated. During a full minute we stood there motionless and silent, my comrades most like turning over in their minds, as did I, the folly which had marked our approach. The king’s soldiers themselves could not have made a poorer feint at the job than had we. I fancied Gabriel was nearly as disturbed in mind as myself, for he gave no word of command until Master Sawyer said to him in a low tone: “By remaining here we are simply offering ourselves as targets to those who are hidden in the thicket, and if I mistake not--” He did not finish the sentence, for at that instant the report of a musket rang out wondrously sharp on the still air, and the whistle of the missile as it passed above our heads sounded to me almost as loud as the singing of a bird. After that first signal that the enemy were not minded to run away, leaving us in undisputed possession of the field, there was no need for a command; with one accord we lads spurred our horses forward until we were partially sheltered by the shack, and even while we were thus moving to a more favorable position came the report of half a dozen weapons. One of the bullets thus sent at random struck the flank of my horse, causing him to plunge and prance until I was like to have spread disorder throughout the entire line. It was Master Sawyer who first bethought himself to make reply to this salute of lead, and when he discharged his musket in the direction from which we had seen a tiny jet of fire, nearly all our lads followed the example; thus it became a question of reloading while mounted, which is no small task, as any one will learn who attempts a similar feat. It seemed to me as if our fellows had fired at least twenty shots, the enemy meanwhile replying vigorously, when I heard Gabriel say, as if he was suddenly awakened to the full sense of the situation: “This shooting at random in the dark can have no effect, and we are only wasting our ammunition. What do you say, Master Sawyer, if we ride up the trail in order to get out of this trap?” “It is a trap, and no mistake,” the gentleman replied, as if thinking aloud; “but for my advice you lads would have done the work properly, and by this time most like be holding all those renegades prisoners!” “Why do you say that?” Gabriel asked quickly.