The Rangers; or, The Tory's Daughter: A Tale Illustrative of the Revolutionary History of Vermont and the Northern Campaign of 1777Thompson, Daniel P. (Daniel Pierce)
History
The Rangers; or, The Tory's Daughter: A Tale Illustrative of the Revolutionary History of Vermont and the Northern Campaign of 1777
Thompson, Daniel P. (Daniel Pierce)
Vermont -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Fiction
“It is as I feared,” observed Allen, turning to the daughter; “but your
efforts to rescue your father, Miss Haviland, and the noble stand
you have taken on this occasion and before, are, let me assure you,
appreciated by myself, and will not fail to be so by those of more
controlling influence. And although this property will, in a few days,
be sold by those duly appointed, and now here to guard and dispose of
it, yet the government, which has the power to confiscate, will have
the power to restore; and I have no fears that your own interests will
eventually be made to suffer by a measure which may now appear as harsh
to you as it appeared necessary to the upright and patriotic men who
felt themselves constrained to adopt it. In this you may trust, I think,
as regards the future. As for the present, I am only empowered to offer
you an asylum in some friendly family of the neighborhood, with ample
means of support, or, if you prefer, a safe conveyance, with a female
attendant, should you desire it, to any family in a more distant part of
the state.”
“My daughter will probably go with me, sir,” said Haviland, resentfully.
“No, father,” said the girl, firmly; “that army is no proper place for
a young lady and especially one of my views. I shall for the present,
go into the family of our neighbor Risdon; but in a few days, I will
gratefully accept of Mr. Allen's offer of a conveyance, and, as I
proposed to you a short time ago, go to my connections on the other side
of the mountains.”
“Your wishes will be attended to in this or any other respect as soon
as you shall please to signify them, Miss Haviland,” said the secretary,
as, bowing a respectful adieu, he now departed with part of his
armed attendants, for other and similar visits which remained to be
accomplished that night among the unsuspecting tories of that vicinity.
Within an hour or two after the departure of Allen, or as soon as the
growing darkness would enable a skulker to approach unseen, a man, who
was of the latter description evidently, might have been discovered
slowly and cautiously making a circuit round the house, but at so
respectable distance from it as to escape the observation of the guard
now stationed at three or four commanding points about the premises.
When he had reached a point nearly opposite to the back door, he
ventured up to the border of the intervening garden, and gave a low,
significant whistle. After a momentary silence, a slight rustling was
heard in a thick patch of corn occupying a portion of the garden, and
Peters, who, it will be recollected, passed out in this direction, and
who, perceiving his retreat cut off by men already posted in the fields,
had here lain concealed till now, cautiously emerged from his covert,
and came forward to the spot where the other stood awaiting his
approach.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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