"You have done us a great service, lads," he said. "The book and papers thrown from the upper story of the town hall comprise the secret records of the Sons of Liberty, a dangerous document for us, in the hands of the enemy. It seems that the man in charge of the hall is a traitor, and had agreed for a bribe to give the record to emissaries of the British, who have mysteriously disappeared. We don't know how to thank you for all you have done for the cause. It seems hardly right to ask you to hasten on your mission, to reach Mr. Adams and Mr. Hancock and warn them of their intended arrest. "We'll be only too glad, won't we Phil?" cried Andy. Definite arrangements were made and detailed instructions given to the boys. They were warned to look out for British spies. At earliest daylight, Phil and Andy, mounted on their refreshed steeds set off to continue their dangerous but necessary mission. CHAPTER X LOST "Phil, I'm clear tuckered out." "Don't say that, Andy." "I do say it, and I mean it, too," declared Andy Sabine in a vehement tone. "Whew! roar ye winds, and blow ye tempests, blow! I'm chock-full of snow. Oh! it's great to be a hero on a smooth road in fine weather, but this--. I wish I was back in Concord." "Why not Boston? so brace up and get there!" cried Phil doughtily. "Leave the reins alone, Andy, we've got to a pass where horse sense is better than human sense. If old Dobbin's instinct can't direct us to a harbor of safety and a haven of rest,--well, we've just got to stand it, that's all." It was three days after the boys had met Dr. Warren. Both mounted on one horse slowly, tediously traversing a dreary solitude amid snow at some places two feet deep, surrounded by black, tempestuous night, Phil and Andy realized what it was to be lost in a gloomy New England forest. Everything "had gone just lovely!" Andy had declared only that morning when they had left Brookton in gay, hopeful spirits. Without mar or adventure they had executed their mission for Dr. Warren. They had taken his message to Adams and Hancock, had been praised and rewarded by those two sterling patriots, had sent the two horses belonging to Mr. Sabine home and had started for Boston mounted on the only horse they were able to hire. They had taken turns ambling along on the slow-paced old nag. Then as night came on and a blinding snow storm set in, they had gotten off the road in some way, and now knew they were lost in a vast gloomy forest, far from any human habitation. The horse steaming, panting, and his head bent low, was plowing his way forward. Phil called a halt. He got as much shelter as some fir trees afforded, and spreading out a blanket placed nearly the last of their oats before the tired animal. Then he and Andy divided some bread and cheese they had bought in the last town visited.