Breathless and disposed to believe the worst of his captors, Hadley fought with all his strength to retain the packet; but Bumbler tore open his coat, and his big hand sought the boy’s inner pocket, where the precious papers lay. CHAPTER V THE MAGIC OF A NAME Flat upon his back on the hard roadway, with the knee of Bumbler pressing upon his chest, Hadley Morris was little able to defend the dispatches which he had received from the injured courier in the yard of the Three Oaks Inn. The man tore his coat apart, felt first in one inner pocket and then in the other, and finally, with a grunt of satisfaction, brought the sealed packet to light. “Dispatches, Corporal, as sure as aigs is aigs!” he exclaimed, passing the packet up to the officer. “Huh! we’d better go careful here, Bumbler--we’d better go careful,” said the portly man, doubtfully. “None of you know the boy?” The men, who had crowded around, all shook their heads. “Like enough he’s no business with the papers,” Bumbler declared. “He’s no regular dispatch bearer, an’ mayhap those papers came from York.” “They’re addressed to nobody,” grumbled the corporal. “Open ’em and see what’s in ’em,” suggested Bumbler, his sharp eyes twinkling. He was still on his knees and holding Hadley on the ground. There was just enough light now for the boy to see the faces of the men rather more distinctly than at first. The mist grew thinner as the dawn advanced, and there was a faint flush of pink in the east above the treetops. While he lay there on the ground, wondering how he might escape, his ear caught the sudden rumble of carriage wheels coming swiftly along the pike. In a few moments a heavy carriage drawn by four fine horses dashed into view. It was indeed a chariot, as the private traveling coaches of England were called at that day, and this vehicle was evidently of English manufacture. Besides the coachman there was a footman, or outrider, on a fifth horse and a darkey in livery sat up behind. The corporal shouted hoarsely to the coachman, and the presentation of five muskets, Bumbler still holding on to Hadley, quickly brought the carriage to a halt. In answer to the challenge the door of the coach opened and a sharp voice demanded the cause of the disturbance. “Travelers on this road must have the password, master,” the corporal said. “You are near the outposts of the army.”