If the dispatch-bearer got into the yard safely he could leap upon the back of the black mare now standing impatiently on the barn floor, and escape his pursuers through the fields and orchard back of the outbuildings. No ordinary horse would be able to leap the high gate, and Hadley did not believe the dragoons were overly well mounted. As the dispatch-bearer dashed up, foam flying from his horse’s mouth and the blood dripping from its flanks where the cruel spurs had done their work, it looked to Colonel Knowles as though the American would ride right by, and he raised his pistol in a deliberate intention of bringing the man to earth. But as he pulled the trigger old Jonas stumbled against him and the ball went wide of its mark. The shot did much harm, however, for it frightened the already maddened horse, which leaped to one side, pitching the man completely over its head upon the paving of the yard. The horse fell, too, but outside the gate, and Hadley was able to slam the barrier and drop the bar into place before the dragoons arrived. The explosion of the colonel’s pistol and that officer’s angry shout warned Hadley of the added and closer danger. He darted to the side of the fallen messenger. The poor fellow had struggled partly up and was tearing at his coat. His face was covered with blood, for he was badly injured by his fall; but one thought kept him conscious. [Illustration: HE DARTED TOWARD THE FALLEN MESSENGER] “The papers--the papers, lad!” he gasped. “For General Washington--quick!” But he had only half pulled the packet from his inner pocket when he dropped back upon the flagstones, and, with a groan, lay still. Hadley seized the precious packet and leaped to his feet. With a clatter of hoofs and amid a cloud of dust the dragoons arrived at the yard gate. “There he is! He’s down--down!” shouted the leader. “We’ve got him safe! Hi, there landlord! open your gate or we’ll batter it in!” “They’ve got him safe, that’s a fact,” muttered Hadley, in distress. “But--but they haven’t got the papers!” He turned swiftly and ran toward the barn. “There goes one of them running!” shouted a voice behind. Then a pistol exploded and Hadley leaped forward as though the ball had stung him, although it whistled far above his head. “Look out for that boy!” he heard Colonel Knowles say, and, glancing back, Hadley saw the officer leaning out of one of the windows which overlooked the yard. At a neighboring casement the fleeing youth saw Miss Lillian. Even at that distance, and in so perilous a moment, Hadley noted that the girl’s face was very pale and that she watched him with clasped hands and anxious countenance. One of the dragoons had dismounted and now unbarred the gate. Before Hadley reached the wide doorway of the great barn the soldiers were trooping through into the yard.