"Some fools would ha’ tried to run astarn," said old Mr. Philpot, his companion, "an’ the suck o’ the water would ha’ catched ’em side up ag’in’ us; no, she knowed what she was about. Kind of scairt me, though. Look at her set her paddle, strong as a man! Lord, she ’s a beauty, an’ ’s good ’s they make ’em!" "Folks all thinks, down our way, she ’ll take it master hard the way young Wallin’ford went off, ’thout note or warnin’. They ’ve b’en a-hoverin’ round all ready to fall to love-makin’, till this objection got roused ’bout his favorin’ the Tories. There’d b’en trouble a’ready if he’d stayed to home. I misdoubt they’d smoked him out within half a week’s time. Some o’ them fellows that hangs about Dover Landin’ and Christian Shore was bent on it, an’ they’d had some better men ’long of ’em." "Then ’t would have been as black a wrong as ever was done on this river!" exclaimed the elder man indignantly, looking back over his shoulder toward the long house of the Wallingfords, that stood peaceful in the autumn sunshine high above the river. "They ’ve been good folks in all their generations. The lad was young, an’ had n’t formed his mind. As for Madam,—why, women folks is natural Tories; they hold by the past, same as men are fain to reach out and want change. She ’s feeble and fearful since the judge was taken away, an’ can’t grope out to nothin’ new. I heared tell that one o’ her own brothers is different from the rest as all holds by the King, an’ has given as much as any man in Boston to carry on this war. There ain’t no Loyalist inside my skin, but I despise to see a low lot o’ fools think smart o’ theirselves for bein’ sassy to their betters." The other man looked a little crestfallen. "There’s those as has it that the cap’n o’ the Ranger would n’t let nobody look at young miss whilst he was by," he hastened to say. "Folks say they ’re good as promised an’ have changed rings. I al’ays heared he was a gre’t man for the ladies; loves ’em an’ leaves ’em. I knowed men that had sailed with him in times past, an’ they said he kept the highest company in every port. But if all tales is true"— "Mostly they ain’t," retorted old Mr. Philpot scornfully.