I had lost sight entirely of this fact, and it was as if some fresh disaster caused by our folly had come upon us. Perhaps there had been in my mind a hopeful thought that we might be able to get out of the building during the hours of darkness, but now it seemed improbable we could remain hidden even until night had come. I will not undertake to set down all that was said in that room by us despairing lads. We remained conversing in whispers near the window, where it was possible to have a view of the outside while we ourselves remained unseen, and it began to appear as if all the king’s troops in the Carolinas were to rendezvous at the Sinclair plantation. During the hour which followed our entering the trap that no one had set, there was hardly a moment when we could not see a greater or less number coming up the road, until I believed of a verity there were no less than five hundred horsemen scattered around the estate, or rummaging through the different buildings. Very shortly after the first squad had come up, ten or twelve officers arrived, and they took quarters in the building, consequently the rank and file were forced to give the place a wide berth. Therefore was there less fear that we should be discovered immediately, for, judging from the sounds, those in command of the king’s army were engaged in feasting, having ransacked the cellars rather than the attics. It was at the moment when we were hemmed in by such a troop as made it seem impossible for our friends to deliver us, even though they came in full force, that Jacob Breen found somewhat of cheer in the situation. “Since they haven’t already dragged us out from this place, we stand a fair chance of being able to remain in secret until morning.” “How have you contrived to figure out any such possibility as that?” Archie Gordon asked petulantly, and Jacob said with a smile: “Where so many horses are stabled, ours will attract but little attention. If the men who have come up last see them, they will believe the steeds belong to their comrades, and if those who first arrived should now make the discovery, they would have good reason for supposing the animals belonged to some of the later arrivals.” There was no question but that the lad was correct in so far as this went, and it was indeed a slender thread upon which to build hope, but when one is in the desperate situation we then were, he is inclined to catch at any straw whatsoever. The possibility of remaining yet a few hours longer in that hiding-place served to cheer us ever so little for a few moments, and then were we plunged into gloom again, knowing full well the evil moment could only be postponed for a comparatively brief time.