Phil gave the tub a final push, and it passed from his view, out into the night and into the current of the fast-rolling stream. It was then that Phil gave the signal whistle that told Andy Sabine that the coast was clear. Phil hurried to the ground floor of the mill and peered out of one of its south windows. He saw Jasper Bram's hired man still on guard, with his musket, but now facing towards his companions at the front of the structure. Phil quickly glanced towards the river. The fast gathering darkness made him strain his gaze to make anything out. The surface of the river was turbid and broken, and only because he sought a definite object was he enabled to catch a fleeting view of the floating tub that he had just sent adrift. It moved along with ice-cakes, scarcely noticeable amid the gloom. Phil watched it rock and drift with the current, and where the river curved lost sight of it. Then Phil whistled again, and joined Andy near the front door. "Did you manage it?" inquired Andy eagerly. "Yes. Burt is safe out of this place," reported Phil with satisfaction. "It was a grand idea of yours, Andy. We have outwitted the enemy." "Hear them grumble!" said Andy. There was a great hubbub outside. Jasper Bram, his son, Greg, and the officer were all talking together at once. Each was suggesting some different plan to assail the stout barrier and force a way to the interior of the old mill. Phil ended the commotion by abruptly removing the bar to the big elm door, pushing it back, and stepping into the midst of the attacking party, Andy promptly following him. "Where's the other boy?" yelled Jasper Bram, with a ferocious look of hatred at Phil. "This is a pretty serious affair, obstructing the majesty of the law," began the officer, in his former poll-parrot fashion. "Obstructing nothing!" interrupted Andy bluffly. "The door's open, isn't it? If you're looking for any one, you had better be brisk and find him." "If we don't, we'll remember your share in this affair, young man!" snarled old Bram venomously. "You want to be quick about it, then," retorted Andy spicily. "If I know anything about it, this town will be too hot to hold Tories of your stripe before long. Come on, Phil, let them have their turn at the fun, now." The boys proceeded from the spot. As they crossed an old bridge, Phil, who had kept a sharp lookout all along the river bank, pointed to a place where some ice-cakes had massed in a sort of crevasse. "There's the old cooper's tub, Andy," he remarked. "Yes," nodded Andy complacently, peering, too. "The cover is off, so I reckon our friend is safe and far on his way to Boston."