“I think we shall, lad, and regardless of their numbers, else why have we gathered here?” “But they are in reasonably large force,” I ventured to say, and the young general answered stoutly: “Though they outnumbered us three to one, yet would we do it, so that every man among us might strike an effective blow, for it is work of such nature that will bring more recruits to the rendezvous than could be persuaded to join our forlorn hope under any other circumstances.” Then the commander of this “ragged regiment,” as the king’s soldiers were afterward pleased to term the company, turned away with Captain Horry, whom we soon came to learn was looked upon as second in command of this slender force, and the remainder of the party plied us with questions concerning what we had seen and heard since we fled from Charleston, until I was fairly weary with so much tongue-wagging. Less than an hour after we arrived I observed that Captain Horry and another man crossed the river in one of the dugouts which were concealed along the shore of the swamp, and because they went on foot I knew full well they had gone to learn what might be possible regarding the approach of the enemy. With this departure the men left off questioning us, to make ready for the encounter which they had every reason to believe was near at hand, and we, who had already begun to call ourselves Minute Boys, made a survey of this island which was destined to become the headquarters of as active a body of rangers as ever did service for the Colonies. As I have already said, it was situated just below the point where Lynch’s Creek flows into the Pedee, and to my surprise I found that while it really deserved the name of swamp, for the land was evidently wet and marshy during such times as the river was filled with water, now the soil was comparatively dry, while the greater portion of the island was covered with trees, among which we were told could be found no small amount of game. The lower end of it was thickly grown up with cane-brake, and during our hurried exploration we found that already was corn planted here and there where nature had left open spaces. I questioned as to whether it was so late in the season that the grain would not arrive at maturity; but Archie, who had the eye of a farmer, suggested that even if it did not, the leaves would make excellent fodder for the horses, and surely the question of feeding the animals in this place where no grass grew was a matter which required considerable attention.