,iiilrHfei*ii%irr; 
 
 .'P 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924075886568 
 
CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 3 1924 075 886 568 
 
Then he caught sight of a startling face. 
 
= Dare Boys 
 
 in 
 
 the 
 
 Red City 
 
 BY I 
 
 STEPHEN A^GUS COX 
 
 Illustrations by RUDOLF MENCL 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 A. L. CHATTERTON CO. 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
THE DARE BOYS 
 
 Stephen Angus Cox, the author of the Dare Boys Series is 
 specially equipped through long study and research to -write 
 upon the life and adventures of these two daring sons of the 
 revolutionary period. Every item of historical reference is 
 absolutely correct. The trials and inherent bravery of the 
 sturdy warriors of this epeth are always subjects worth while, 
 but here the dash and bravery ' f the two Dare boys adds im- 
 measurably to the interest. 
 
 THE DARE BOYS OF 1776 
 
 THE DARE BOYS ON THE HUDSON 
 
 THE DARE BOYS IN TRENTON 
 
 THE DARE BOYS ON THE BRANDYWINB 
 
 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 THE DARE BOYS AFTER BENEDICT ARNOLD 
 
 THE DARE BOYS IN VIRQIMA 
 
 THE DARE BOYS WITH GENERAL GREENE 
 
 THE DARE BOYS WITH LAFAYETTE 
 
 THE DARE BOYS AND THE " SWAMP FOX " 
 
 Illustrated, Cloth izmo. Price per volume so cents. 
 CoPYKiGirr, xgxo 
 
 BY 
 
 Thh a. L, Chatterton Co. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. In the Red City ,. . 9 
 
 II. The Fahley Home 19 
 
 III. The Search ,. . 29 
 
 IV. At Work ,38 
 
 V» Tom's Adventure 49 
 
 VI. Ben's Adventures . 58 
 
 Vll. Dick at Valley Forge 65 
 
 VIII. What Happened to Tom 78 
 
 IX. The Whereabouts of Tim and Fritz . . 86 
 
 X. Tom Finds Tim and Fritz 93 
 
 XT. Turning the Tables 104 
 
 XII. The Red City Again 117 
 
 XIII. Dick's Plan is Approved 123 
 
 XIV. Concerning Provision-Wagons . . . .130 
 XV. Hunting and Foraging 143 
 
 XVI. In the Red City Again 150 
 
 XVII. A Close Call IS9 
 
 XVIII. The British Foiled 167 
 
 XIX. Interesting News 176 
 
 XX. The Mischianza 185 
 
THE DARE BOYS IN THE 
 RED CITY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 In the Red City 
 
 ONE afternoon, about the middle of the 
 month of December, of the yeai* 1777, three 
 boys were walking slowly along one of the main 
 streets of The Red Cityj as Philadelphia, owing 
 to the fact that the majority of the houses were 
 built of red brick, was then often called. 
 
 These three boys were bright, manly-looking 
 youtlis, and two of them seemed to be about nine- 
 teen years of age, while the other was perhaps 
 seventeen. They were dressed in the common 
 blue homespun suits worn in those days by the 
 farmers and peasants of the country. 
 
 These youths were Dick and Tom Dare, and a 
 neighbor boy named Ben Foster, and their homes 
 were across the Delaware, about three miles east 
 of the river, in New Jersey. But the boys were 
 
 9 
 
10 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 not now living at their homes, for they were — 
 and had been for more than a year past — sol- 
 diers in the patriot army of America, which was 
 now in winter camp at Valley Forge, about 
 twenty-five miles west and north of The Red 
 City. 
 
 Dick Dare, in addition to being a soldier, had 
 during the year that he had been in the army 
 acted frequently in the capacity of a spy, and 
 had indeed done such work spying on the British 
 that he had earned the good will and confidence 
 of the commander-in-chief of the patriot army 
 to a remarkable degree. Tom, his brother, and 
 their friend, Ben Foster, had helped Dick on 
 several occasions, by going with him and acting 
 as messengers, carrying news to General Wash- 
 ington, after Dick had secured it. And now, 
 here the three were in The Red City on this De- 
 cember afternoon, bent on taking up their tem- 
 porary residence in town, with the intention of 
 spying on the redcoats, and keeping General 
 Washington informed regarding what was going 
 on there, it being thought by the commander- 
 in-chief that the British might at any time make 
 arrangements and slip out and make an attack oh 
 his army at Valley Forge. 
 
IN THE RED CITY 11 
 
 "Where are we going to find a place to stay 
 while in Philadelphia, Dick ? " asked Tom, as 
 the three walked slowly along the street. 
 
 "I don't know, Tom," was the reply. "At 
 a tavern, I suppose, if we can find one on a side 
 street, somewhere, where we won't be likely to 
 attract the attention of the British." 
 
 " I guess we can find such a place, can't we, 
 Dick? "said Ben. 
 
 " I think so. There had ought to be lots of 
 taverns in Philadelphia, where we can get ac- 
 commodations at a reasonable price." 
 
 The question of a stopping place was discussed 
 
 at considerable length, and an understanding was 
 
 reached as to the name by which each should be 
 
 - known. It was deemed best that they should not 
 
 address one another by their right name. 
 
 They continued onward up the street, talking in 
 low voices, for they did not want anyone to over- 
 , hear what they were saying, and presently as they 
 were approaching a cross-street, Dick gave utter- 
 ance to an exclamation of amazement. 
 
 " Look yonder, boys ! " he said, in a low, in- 
 tense voice of excitement. He did not point, as 
 that would have attracted attention, but nodded 
 his head, and his companions, looking in the 
 
12 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 direction indicated, saw three girls crossing the 
 street, and at sight of them exclamations escaped 
 the lips of Tom and Ben, and Tom exclaimed, 
 in a low, but excited voice : 
 
 " By all that's wonderful, it is Mary (his own 
 sister), and Ben's sisters, Elsie and Lucy! " 
 
 " You are right, Tom," said Ben. " I won- 
 der what they are doing here ? " 
 
 "Come on, and we'll find out," said Tom, 
 starting forward eagerly, but Dick seized him by 
 the arm and held him back. 
 
 " Hold on, Tom," he said. " You must re- 
 member that we are here to act as spies, and we 
 must not do anything to attract attention to our- 
 selves. We mustn't say anything to the girls 
 now, for they would be excited and attract at- 
 tention by their exclamations of joy at seeing us, 
 and would likely call us by name, and that might 
 cause us to be captured by the redcoats." 
 
 " What will we do, then ? " queried Tom. 
 ' " We'll follow the girls, and see where they go, 
 and then we can later call at the house and see 
 them." 
 
 " Yes, that will be the thing to do," said Ben. 
 
 " Be careful, boys, and not let the girls see 
 U9. We don't want them to know of our pres- 
 
IN THE RED CITY 13 
 
 ence till we can see them inside the house, where 
 their exclamations won't attract attention." 
 
 The youths followed the girls, keeping about 
 half a block behind, and as the igirls, engrossed 
 in conversation, did not look back, the youths 
 felt that they were not in much danger of being 
 discovered. 
 
 " What do you suppose they are doing in Phil- 
 adelphia ? " queried Tom. 
 
 " I'll tell you what I think," said Ben. " I 
 have just thought of it. I have an aunt, here, a 
 Mrs. Farley, my mother's sister, and I have an 
 idea that the girls are visiting her." 
 
 "Likely that is it," agreed Dick and Tom. 
 And Dick added: "I didn't know you had an 
 aunt here in Philadelphia, Ben." 
 
 " Yes. Mr. Farley is in business here, keeps 
 a store of some kind." 
 
 " And the girls have been shopping, I guess," 
 said Dick. " They have some packages in their 
 hands." 
 
 " That's it, I guess," acquiesced Tom. 
 
 "By the way, Ben," inquired Dick. "What 
 is the politics of your uncle ? Is he a loyalist or 
 a patriot ? " 
 
 Ben shook his head. "I don't know, Dick. 
 
14 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 I never heard the folks at home say anything 
 about his politics." 
 
 "Your father is a loyalist," resumed Dick, 
 " and if it should happen that your Uncle Farley 
 is also, then it would not be policy for us to en- 
 ter his house and make ourselves known, or let 
 our business in the city be suspected, for that 
 would spoil our plans." 
 
 " That's so," agreed Ben. " What had we bet- 
 ter do?" 
 
 " It does not seem wise to me," put in Tom, 
 " to take any chances. We are here on important 
 duty." 
 
 " I guess we had better wait till the girls reach 
 a point where there are not many people on the 
 streets, and then call to them, and have a talk 
 with them," said Dick. " That won't be as dan- 
 gerous as to venture to call at the house, when 
 the Parleys may be loyalists who would deem it 
 their duty to inform General Howe of the fact 
 that three patriots were in the city." 
 
 " That will be the best plan, I guess, Dick." 
 
 " Yes, let's get closer, so we can approach them 
 when they reach a point where there are not 
 many people," said Tom, hastening his footsteps 
 
 His companions also accelerated their foot- 
 
IN THE RED CITY 15 
 
 Steps, and they gradually drew nearer to the 
 girls, who, however, did not glance back, so they 
 did not notice that they were being followed. 
 
 " Say, they'll be surprised when they see us, 
 all right," said Tom, a grin of anticipation on his 
 face. 
 
 " You are right, they will," said Ben. 
 
 " Yes," agreed Dick, " they likely have no idea 
 that we are closer than the patriot encampment." 
 
 " If they think of us at all," said Tom, with a 
 whimsical air. 
 
 " That's what is worrying Tom," smiled Ben. 
 " He is afraid that Lucy doesn't think of him 
 as often as he would like." Tom Dare and Lucy 
 Foster had been much in each other's company, 
 and so this shot from Ben hit the mark, Tom 
 flushing up in great shape, but he was always 
 quick-witted, and said quickly: 
 
 " That's all right, Ben. I guess you are wor- 
 ried about as much regarding whether Sister 
 Mary thinks of you as I am about whether Lucy 
 thinks of me." 
 
 It was Ben's turn to flush, and he did so, but 
 laughed good-naturedly and said : " I guess 
 you're right, Tom. We're about even on that 
 score, likely." 
 
16 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 " I'll bet sve are," with a chuckle, and then he 
 went on : " And I'll wager that Dick, if he were 
 to own up, is wondering if Elsie ever thinks of 
 him, eh, Dick?" 
 
 Dick laughed. He thought a great deal of 
 Elsie Foster, and he knew his companions were 
 aware of the fact, so he saw no reason to deny 
 what Tom said, but remarked, quietly : " If she 
 thinks of me as often as I think of her, I'll feel 
 very well satisfied, boys." 
 
 They were now within perhaps twenty-five 
 yards of the girls, who were almost at a cross- 
 street, and just at this moment four British sol- 
 diers turned the corner and stood facing the 
 girls. That the redcoats had beien drinking more 
 than was good for them was apparent, for one 
 or two of them staggered slightly, and the four 
 were singing a drinking song as they came into 
 sight. 
 
 The moment they came face to face with the 
 three girls, however, the British soldiers ceased 
 singing, and they also stopped and spread out 
 so as to block the progress of the girls. The- 
 three patriot youths were close enough so that 
 they heard one of the redcoats say, in rather an 
 impudent, but authoritative voice: 
 
IN THE RED CITY lY 
 
 "Hold on, girls. What's your hurry? Stop 
 a moment, please. We want to tailk to you." 
 
 The girls stopped, but the youths heard one 
 say, in a sweet, musical voice, but which trembled 
 perceptibly : " Stand aside, sirs, and let us pass. 
 You have no right to stop us." 
 
 " We may not have the right, but we have the 
 might," retorted the redcoat who had spoken 
 before, in a loud, boisterous voice. " So, don't 
 be in a rush, pretty misses. We haven't had a 
 chance to talk to such nice-looking girls in a long 
 time, and I, for one, feel greatly tempted to take 
 a kiss. How about you, comrades? " 
 
 " Yes, yes, so do we," was the reply, and then 
 the redcoats stepped quickly forward, with arms 
 outstretched, evidently intending to seize hold of 
 the girls. 
 
 But they were not to be permitted to do so, for 
 Dick and Tom Dare and Ben Foster had has- 
 tened forward the moment they saw the red- 
 coats put in an appearance and halt the girls. 
 They were now close upon the party, and as the 
 redcoats started forward, the three youths, sud- 
 denly thrusting Elsie, Lucy and Mary aside, 
 gently, leaped forvi'ard and confronted the aston- 
 ished redcoats. 
 
18 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 " You cowards ! " cried Dick, looking fiercely 
 at the soldiers in uniform, " go on about your 
 business and leave these girls alone, or it will be 
 the worse for you." 
 
 The redcoats were taken slightly aback, at the 
 sudden appearance of the youths, but quickly re- 
 covered from their surprise, and the leader ex- 
 claimed, derisively: "Ho, ho, just look at the 
 little bantams, comrades! At them, and give 
 them the lesson they are needing so badly." 
 
 Then the four redcoats, their attention diverted 
 from the girls, rushed upon the three patriot 
 youths, evidently expecting to overcome them 
 'easily. 
 
CHAPTER II u 
 
 The Farley Home 
 
 HAD the British soldiers been sober, they 
 would probably have been too much foi*" 
 the three patriot youths, but they were partly in- 
 toxicated, so were not very steady on their legs, 
 and the result was that, after a clash with the 
 youths, the redcoats lay on the ground in a half- 
 dazed condition, where they had been knocked, 
 by blows from the fists of the sturdy youths. 
 
 When the girls caught sight of their boy 
 friends, they gave utterance to excited exclama- 
 tions. 
 
 " Well, of all things, it's Dick, and Tom and 
 Ben ! " cried Elsie, and the others similarly voiced 
 their astonishment. 
 
 "I wonder how they happened to be here!" 
 murmured Elsie. 
 
 19 
 
20 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 "I don't know," answered Lucy, "but, see, 
 they're whipping the redcoats. Oh, goody ! " 
 
 This was said as the four redcoats lay on the 
 ground, knocked there, and to their intense sur- 
 prise overcome by the youths. 
 
 Dick at this moment turned to the girls and 
 said: 
 
 " You had better hasten on. We'll follow you 
 in a few moments." 
 
 "We're at Aunt Farley's, Ben," said Elsie. 
 " You boys come there at once." 
 
 " Perhaps, but first we must take care of these 
 redcoats," said Dick. 
 
 " Yes, hurry, girls, before they get up again," 
 said Ben. 
 
 " We can manage them easily enough," said 
 Tom, " and then we'll be with you very quickly." 
 
 The girls hastened past the redcoats, who were 
 beginning to scramble to their feet, and by the 
 time the girls were acro^^he street, the British 
 soldiers one at a time were gaining their equilib- 
 rium. With cries of rage, they rushed, first one 
 of them, then another, upon the boys, but the 
 youths met each with a fusillade of blows, dazing 
 the somewhat demoralized and half-drunken sol- 
 diers, and presently down all four were again, 
 
THE FARLEY HOME 21 
 
 and this time they lay still, having hit the ground 
 so hard as to render thiem temporarily willing to 
 admit defeat. The youths were aided in bring- 
 ing this about so easily by the liquor which the 
 redcoats had drunk, the fumes going to their 
 heads and assisting in rendering the four unequal 
 to the emergency. 
 
 " Let's go, now," said Dick. " These redcoats 
 have had punishment enough to teach them a de- 
 served lesson." 
 
 " Yes, let's overtake the girls now," said Tom, 
 eagerly. 
 
 They hastened after their friends. They were 
 walking slowly, looking back over their shoul- 
 ders, anxiously observant. The youths were soon 
 up with them, and were welcomed with a joyous 
 greeting. 
 
 " Oh, we are so glad that you came just when 
 you did," said Elsie, .earnestly. " I don't know 
 what we should hav^done, but for your appear- 
 ance." 
 
 " We are glad to have gotten there just when 
 we did, too," said Dick. 
 
 "Well, come, let's hasten on to Aunt Far- 
 ley's, before those dreadful redcoats again come 
 after us," said Elsie. 
 
22 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 " They have had quite enough of fighting for 
 one day, but hold on, Elsie," said Ben. " I want 
 to ask you a question before we go home with 
 you." 
 
 " What is the question, Ben? " looking at him 
 in surprise. 
 
 " I want to know what Uncle Farley's politics 
 are. Is he a patriot, or a Tory? " 
 
 " He's a Tory, Ben," was the reply. " He's 
 loyal to the king, but what difference does that 
 make? He and his wife are our uncle and aunt, 
 and he'll be glad to see you, also Dick and Tom, 
 your comrades, and our friends." 
 
 " I'm not so sure about that," protested Dick, 
 with a shake of the head. " I don't think we had 
 better go there, Elsie." 
 
 " Why not ? " in a disappointed voice. 
 
 " Because, we are here in Philadelphia on busi- 
 ness. We are here to do work for General 
 Washington, and we wouldn't want to risk enter- 
 ing the house of a Tory, even though he is your 
 own and Ben's uncle. I don't hesitate to tell 
 you why we are here, for I know you won't say 
 anything to anybody about it." 
 
 " Of course we won't, Dick," earnestly. " But 
 I think it will be all right for you boys to come 
 to the house with us." 
 
THE FARLEY HOME 23 
 
 Dick shook his head. " I don't think we had 
 better do it," he determined. " Your uncle knows 
 that we are patriot soldiers, and he would feel 
 that it was his duty to turn us over to the Brit- 
 ish commander-in-chief, even though we are your 
 friends." 
 
 " I think it would be all right for you to come 
 there, just as if you had come on a visit," said 
 Lucy. " Of course, you won't let uncle or aunt 
 know that you are here to stay. You can just 
 say you are here for a short time and are going 
 to return to your encampment, and then I don't 
 think uncle would feel called upon to say any- 
 thing to the British general about you." 
 
 " Yes, do that, boys," said Elsie. " I feel sure 
 it will be all right with uncle." 
 
 " What do you say, boys ? " asked Dick. 
 
 "What do you think about it, Ben?" asked 
 Tom. " Mr. Farley is your uncle, not ours." 
 
 " I haven't seen him in several months and 
 don't know anything about him," said Ben, " but 
 I'm willing to risk going there, if we pretend that 
 we are here in the city for only a brief visit. 
 He won't be likely to think any harm could come 
 to the British as a result of that." 
 
 "All right, we'll go to the house with you. 
 
24: XHE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 girls," said Dick. "We will claim that we are 
 merely here for a few hours, which may be the 
 case, and then perhaps your uncle will not think 
 it worth while bothering with us." 
 
 " Oh, goody ! " exclaimed Lucy. 
 
 Elsie and Mary said nothing, but there was a 
 pleased look on thieir faces, and the little party 
 set out up the street. In about fifteen minutes 
 the home of the Farleys was reached. 
 
 The girls led the way into the house, the youths 
 following, and the boys were shown into the 
 parlor, while the girls hastened away to doif their 
 wraps. 
 
 They were gone only a few minutes, and when 
 they returned, they were accompanied by a good- 
 looking, middle-aged woman, who a good deal re- 
 sembled Mrs. Foster, Ben's mother. It was easy 
 to see that she was the sister of Mrs. Foster. 
 
 Mrs. Farley gave the boys a cordial greeting, 
 and later asked them how long they expected to 
 be in Philadelphia. 
 
 " Oh, a few hours, I guess, Mrs. Farley," re- 
 plied Dick. Which was true. The youths did 
 expect to be in Philadelphia a few hours. Also, 
 if necessary, a good many hours. 
 
 " Well, you must stay to supper, and all night 
 
THE FARLEY HOME 25 
 
 also," invited the woman with considerable cor- 
 diality. 
 
 " We will accept your invitation to supper," 
 said Dick, " but we will not stay all night." 
 
 " You will return to your encampment to- 
 night?" 
 
 " Possibly," was the reply. 
 
 " It is lucky that you are mere boys," said Mrs. 
 Farley, " for otherwise you could not have ven- 
 tured into Philadelphia. As it is, I fear Mr. 
 Farley may feel that he ought to report your 
 presence here to the British officers. I will speak 
 to him, however, and try to get him not to do 
 so." 
 
 " Perhaps we had better not encroach upon his 
 hospitality, then, if he is so loyal to the king as 
 that," said Dick. " We have no wish to place 
 him in an awkward position, as our host, and 
 at the same time a loyal subject of the king." 
 
 " Don't go," said Mrs. Farley. " I will speak 
 to him and explain matters, and I don't believe 
 that he will feel called upon to let your presence 
 here be known. He will feel kindly toward you 
 for having protected his nieces from those 
 drunken redcoats. I have heard him speak some- 
 what angrily and disgustedly of the fact that the 
 
26 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 British soldiers drink a good deal. I believe he 
 will be glad to entertain you at supper, and this 
 evening, and will not feel that he is acting in a 
 manner false to his principles as a loyal subject 
 of the king. He will regard you boys in a meas- 
 ure as relatives here for a brief visit." 
 
 " Then we will stay, Mrs. Farley," said Dick. 
 " But if your husband feels at all put out about 
 our presence here, let us know, and we will go 
 at once. I know that the British are sometimes 
 pretty severe with people for harboring patriots, 
 in towns where they have control, as the British 
 have here." 
 
 " It will be all right, I feel certain," said Mrs. 
 Farley, "for no one need know about your pres- 
 ence here. The British soldiers that you had the 
 encounter with did not see you come here, did 
 they?" 
 
 " No, I'm sure they didn't," said Tom. " They 
 were staggering oflF in another direction when we 
 turned a corner and left that street." 
 
 It was decided that it would be all right for 
 the youths to stay at the Farley home for supper, 
 and for a while during the evening, at any rate, 
 so the young folks at once began talking and 
 asking one another questions, the boys and girls 
 
THE FARLEY HOME 27 
 
 being eager to hear how the others had fared dur- 
 ing the interval since they had last met. 
 
 Of course, Dick and Tom asked repeatedly how 
 their mother was getting along, and when they 
 were told that Mrs. Dare, and Mr. and Mrs. Fos- 
 ter were in good health and getting along as well 
 as could be expected, the three boys es^pressed 
 themselves as being very well satisfied. 
 
 " Have you heard any word regarding father, 
 in the past few months, Dick? " then asked Mary 
 Dare. 
 
 Mr. Dare, the father of Dick, Tom and Mary, 
 had been made a prisoner by a party of Tory 
 neighbors, more than a year before, and had been 
 turned over to the British, and was, a few months 
 before, a prisoner in one of the military prisons 
 in New York. And Dick told his sister that the 
 last he had heard of his father, Mr. Dare was 
 still there. 
 
 Then they talked rapidly, asking and answering 
 questions, as only young people like them can do. 
 It was supper time almost before they knew it. 
 Then Mr. Farley came home and found the 
 youths there, and broke up their happy party, by 
 saying, as soon as he had greefed the youths : 
 
 " I don't think you had better stay here, boys. 
 
28 ,THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 I would like to have you stay, and would be 
 pleased to entertain you, but I saw a British sol- 
 dier out in front, as I came in, and he seemed to ; 
 be watching the house. I think it must be they f 
 know that you are here and that a party of sol- ' 
 diers are likely to come at any moment and place 
 you under arrest. That would make me feel 
 very badly, as well as cause the British comman- 
 der-in-chief to look upon me with suspicion as 
 having harbored rebels. So I guess you had bet- 
 ter go." 
 
 "Very well, sir," said Pick. "We will de- 
 part at once. I told your wife that I thought 
 perhaps it would be best for us not to stay." 
 
 " I am sorry, Dick," said the man, " but these 
 are troublous times, and I cannot afford to get 
 myself under the displeasure of the British." 
 
 " Of course not, Mr. Farley. I understand 
 that. We will go at once." 
 
 At this moment there sounded a trampling of 
 feet on the piazza, and then there came a loud 
 peal at the bell, and Elsie, who had rushed to the 
 window and looked out, came tiptoeing back, say- 
 ing, in a low, but excited and thrilling voice : 
 
 " They have come ! There is a party of Brit- 
 ish soldiers out there ! " 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 The Search 
 
 CCXTOU can escape by way of the rear door," 
 X advised Mr. Farley. 
 
 " Yes, yes," cried Elsie. " Come. We will 
 show you the way." 
 
 " I'll go to the front door, but will use up as 
 much time as possible, so as to give you time to 
 escape," said Mr. Farley. 
 
 " Thank you, indeed, sir," said Dick. 
 
 The girls scurried along the passageway, to the 
 rear end of the hall, but on reaching the door, 
 they stood there, a feeling of dismay gripping 
 them, for they heard voices out of doors, and it 
 seemed evident that there were soldiers there, 
 ready to seize the patriot youths if they tried to 
 Sscape that way. 
 
 " There are redcoats out there ! What shall 
 we do ? " whispered Elsie to Dick. 
 29 
 
30 'the dare boys in the red city 
 
 "Is there any place in the house where we 
 could hide?" 
 
 " There are a number of empty spaces up 
 attic," replied Elsie. " But I don't know whether 
 there are any places that you could successfully 
 hide in or not." 
 
 "We must needs try it, at any rate," said 
 Dick. " It won't do for us to venture to leave 
 the house, now. The redcoats would make pris- 
 oners of us, sure, and Mr. Farley would get into 
 trouble as well. If we can hide and escape being 
 found, it will be all right for us and for him, 
 too." 
 
 " There's a back stairway," said Elsie. " We'll 
 show you the way." 
 
 So the party made their way up the back stairs, 
 to the second floor, and thence up into the at- 
 tic, where they looked around for a place where 
 the boys could conceal themselves. 
 
 "You girls had better go back downstairs 
 now," ordered Dick. "Leave us. We'll find 
 a place to hide, if there is any place up here to 
 be found." 
 
 " I guess we had better go down," said Elsie, 
 and the three girls made their way back down- 
 stairs. The youths at once began a search for a 
 
THE SEARCH 31 
 
 suitable place in which to conceal themselves. 
 
 The attic was one big room, but there was a 
 thin partition-wall built around on two sides, and 
 reaching to the roof. In feeling of this parti- 
 tion, Dick discovered a piece about two feet wide 
 that was loosely fastened. This he pulled away, 
 disclosing what looked to be a very fair hiding- 
 place. It was all that offered, anyway, and Dick 
 turned to Tom and Ben and told them to crawl 
 through the opening. 
 
 " Keep on the rafters," he whispered. " If 
 you step on the laths and plastering, you'll break 
 through and tumble down into one of the rooms 
 on the second floor." 
 
 Tom and Ben crawled carefully through the 
 opening, and Dick followed. As he was placing 
 the loose section of the partition in place, the 
 youths heard the sound of footsteps and voices 
 coming up the stairs leading to the attic. 
 
 " I tell you, there is no one here," the boys 
 heard Mr. Farley's voice say, somewhat testily. 
 " You know I am a loyal subject of the king, and 
 would not think of harboring any one who would 
 attack his soldiers." 
 
 "But the three young fellows that knocked 
 down the British soldiers on the street a few hours 
 
32 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 ago were seen to enter this house, in company 
 with some young ladies," said a voice in reply. 
 " They were not seen to leave the house, and con- 
 sequently it stands to reason that they are still 
 here." 
 
 " Search for them, then," said Mr. Farley, who 
 believed that they had gone. " You will not find 
 them. They did not stay here." 
 
 The youths, listening eagerly, judged that there 
 were three or four of the searchers. They were 
 soon in the attic-room, where they looked around 
 them, and quickly determined that the youths 
 they were in search of were not there. Dick and 
 his companions almost held their breath, and won- 
 dered if the soldiers would think to test thie par- 
 tition, to see if it were solid. 
 
 " You see, there is no one here," the boys 
 heard Mr. Farley say. " Now, I guess you are 
 satisfied, are you not?" 
 
 " Well, it does look like you've told the truth, 
 sir," was the reply. 
 
 " Of course I have." 
 
 " I'm sorry to have caused all this trouble," 
 said the redcoat, " but I was ordered to come 
 here and secure three youths, and to search the 
 house, if they were not in evidence, so I have 
 
THE SEARCH 33 
 
 only done my duty, as you can very readily see." 
 
 "Oh, that is all right," replied Mr. Farley, 
 and then he and the soldiers tramped back down 
 the $tairs, and Dick, Tom and Ben breathed more 
 freely. 
 
 " Say, that was a narrow escape, boys," whis- 
 pered Tom. 
 
 " Yes, the redcoats came pretty near getting 
 us, that's a fact," replied Dick. 
 
 " But, we're all right, now," said Ben. " Let's 
 get out of here, before we fall through the plas- 
 tering and into the room below." 
 
 " Let's don't be in too big a hurry," cautioned 
 Dick. "Wait till the redcoats have gotten 
 downstairs." 
 
 Presently they could not hear the voices of the 
 searchers. Then Dick removed the loose piece 
 of the partition, and the three crawled out, into 
 the attic-room, Dick carefully replacing the" sec- 
 tion of the partition. It had served them in good 
 stead once, and might do so again. 
 
 They stretched themselves, which was a com- 
 fort, after having been in such cramped quarters, 
 and then Tom asked: 
 
 "What shall we do now, Dick? " 
 
 "I guess we will wait a while, and the girls 
 
34 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 will come up and tell us when the coast is cleat, 
 likely," was the reply. 
 
 They waited) as patiently as possible, but it 
 was at least half an hour before they heard the 
 sound of footsteps on the stair. 
 
 Then they heard voices, and after listening a 
 moment at the opening to the stairs, it was easily 
 learned that it was the girls coming, and not an- 
 other party of redcoats. The girls were talking 
 in low tones, however, and the youths jumped 
 to the conclusion that some of the redcoats were 
 still in the house, and that the girls were speaking 
 low for fear the British soldiers would hear 
 them. 
 
 But when the three put in an appearance, it 
 was found that this was not the case. Elsie car- 
 ried a lamp, which she placed on the floor, and 
 Lucy and Mary were carrying a lot of food that 
 had evidently been taken off the supper-table. 
 
 " Oh, say, but that grub looks good ! " ex- 
 claimed Tom. " You are kind to think of us." 
 
 " Are any of the redcoats still in the house?" 
 queried Dick. 
 
 "No," replied Elsie. "They have all gone, 
 and they think that you in some manner managed 
 to escape from the house." 
 
THE SEARCH 35 
 
 " Yes, and even Uncle Farley thinks you have 
 gone," said Lucy. 
 
 "That is all right, too," said Dick. "He 
 won't feel ill at ease, then, if he doesn't know we 
 are here." 
 
 " No," said Elsie, eagerly. " And, Dick, we 
 girls have figured out a scheme, and I hope you 
 will approve of it. You haven't decided where 
 you will stay while in Philadelphia, have you?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Then, why not stay here ? " 
 
 " But, Mr. Farley wouldn't like it," said Dick. 
 
 " He won't need know about it. We will 
 bring up blankets and you will be comfortable 
 up here, and we'll bring you your food, and then 
 you can slip out Whenever you like, the rear way, 
 and spy on the British." 
 
 " But, if your uncle should find it out he would 
 be very angry," said Dick. 
 
 " Possibly," agreed Elsie. " But, it is a seri- 
 ous matter you boys going out to look for a place 
 to stay, here in Philadelphia, where there are 
 thousands of redcoats, and where those who are 
 not redcoats are mostly Tories. We are think- 
 ing of you boys, and believe it is right for you 
 to take advantage of this opportunity to have a 
 
36 :THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 safe place to stay — and just think how pleased 
 we girls will be to know that we are doing some- 
 thing to help in the Great Cause. We three are 
 patriots, you know, the same as you boys are." 
 
 " Yes, we know that, and are very glad of it, 
 too," acknowledged Dick. Then he looked at 
 Tom and Ben and said : " What do you say, 
 boys ? Shall we act upon the plan the girls have 
 outlined?" 
 
 " I'm for doing it," said Tom, promptly. 
 
 " And so am I," acquiesced Ben. " I think it 
 the safest plan that we could think of, and it will 
 be a big help to have a secure place to stay, while 
 spying on the British." 
 
 " Oh, good for you, boys ! " said Lucy, and 
 Elsie and Mary expressed satisfaction that the 
 plan was to be adopted, also. 
 
 It was decided to keep the matter secret from 
 Mrs. Farley, also, and the girls said it would not 
 be difficult to do this. 
 
 When the boys had eaten, the girls carried the 
 remnants of the food downstairs, and a little 
 later they brought up a number of blankets and 
 some pillows. The boys felt that they would 
 be comfortable indeed in their quarters in Mr. 
 Farley's house. 
 
THE SEARCH 37 
 
 The girls said that they were going to stay in 
 Philadelphia till after the holidays, perhaps all 
 winter, and that they were doing the housework 
 while there, so this would make it easy for the 
 boys to be furnished with plenty of food, and, 
 too, they would have no difficulty in slipping out 
 of the house and into it whenever they wished, 
 without being seen by Mrs. Farley or Mr. Far- 
 ley either, though as he was only at home of 
 evenings, he was not likely to see them. 
 
 The boys decided not to venture out on the 
 streets that evening, as the rjedcoats were likely 
 looking for them. 
 
 " But to-morrow evening we will start on the 
 work of spying on the redcoats," said Dick. 
 
CHAPTER rv; 
 
 At Work 
 
 THE three patriot youths slept well that 
 night, and the next day they remained in 
 their room in the attic, the girls slipping up there 
 to talk to them occasionally, and bringing their 
 food morning, noon and night. 
 
 There was much to talk about, as Dick, Tom 
 and Ben had not been home in months, and had 
 not seen their parents for so long that they were 
 eager to hear all the news. 
 
 When evening came, and the boys were getting 
 ready to start out on a reconnoitering and spying 
 expedition, the girls cautioned them not to get 
 into any trouble or fall into the hands of the 
 British. 
 
 " I'm afraid the redcoats will be on the lookout 
 for you, because of what you did to those four 
 ruffians who intercepted us yesterday," cautioned 
 Elsie. 
 
 38 
 
AT WORK 39 
 
 " Ofi, I hardly think so," said Dick. " They 
 probably looked for us a bit to-day, but not see- 
 ing anything of us, they probably have forgotten 
 all about us." ^ 
 
 "But if either of those redcoats that you 
 knocked down were to see you, they would rec- 
 ognize you," said Mary. 
 
 " That is not likely," asserted Dick. " Their 
 brains were confused by the liquor they had 
 drunk. Besides, there is not much chance that 
 we will run across any of those particular men." 
 The youths then said good-night, as they said 
 they did not expect to be back till late, and took 
 their departure, slipping out by way of the rear 
 door. 
 
 It was a dark night, there being no moon, and 
 the youths felt that it was favorable to their 
 work of seeking information, without detection. 
 True, the main streets were lighted fairly well, 
 but amid a crowd of soldiers, and citizens, all 
 moving in various directions, there would not 
 be much danger that they would be seen and 
 recognized by the redcoats they had had the en- 
 counter with. Still, as there was a chance of 
 this happening, the youths were determined to 
 exercise caution, and keep a sharp lookout. 
 
40 ,THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 They crossed the yard at the rear of the Farley 
 home, stepped into the alley, and then made their 
 way up to the street. Here they turned toward 
 the main street of the city, and were soon ming- 
 ling with the throngs thereon. 
 
 The shops were brilliantly lighted, for the red- 
 coats had their wages to spend, and they usually 
 got their leave of absence in the evening, so this 
 was the best time for trade, the stores keeping 
 open till nearly midnight. 
 
 It was a lively scene, and the three patriot 
 youths enjoyed the spiectacle very much. They 
 were young and full of life, and it thrilled them 
 to be here in the heart of The Red City, mingling 
 with the soldiers of the king, and with the citi- 
 zens who were mostly loyal to the king. They 
 felt enthused to think that they were fcngaged 
 in work for the Great Cause, and the danger only 
 added zest to the work. 
 
 Dick, Tom and Ben made their way slowly 
 along the main thoroughfare, but presently they 
 turned down a cross-street, being led to do this 
 by seeing a good many people going in that di- 
 rection. They guessed that something was going 
 on down that way, and decided to see what it was. 
 
 Soon they came to a large house, which stood 
 
AT WORK 41 
 
 back from the street quite a ways, in a large 
 yard, in which were a good many trees and lots 
 of shrubbery. People were entering the yard and 
 house. The boys paused and stood in a good- 
 sized crowd in the street, looking toward the bril- 
 liantly-lighted house with interest. 
 
 " What^s happening here, sir ? " Dick asked of 
 a man who stood beside him. 
 
 " Oh, a big party or ball of the big-wigs among 
 the British officers," was the reply. " This is 
 the home of one of the leading loyalists of the 
 city, and he is giving the party in honor of the 
 British officers." 
 
 " Oh, that's it, eh? " remarked Dick. " I sup- 
 pose all the British officers of any note will be 
 here?" 
 
 " Yes. They won't want to miss anything 
 like this, where they can dance, have plenty to 
 eat and to drink." 
 
 They stood there perhaps half an hour, watch- 
 ing with interest the scene of life and animation. 
 Then they turned and made their way through 
 the crowd of onlookers, and up the street about 
 a block. Here they stopped and Dick said : 
 
 " Boys, I've got a scheme." 
 
 They were interested at once, and Tom ex- 
 
42 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 claimed eagerly : " Tell us what it is, Dick ? " 
 
 " Why, my plan is this : You know, the Brit- 
 ish officers are all at that party at the house back 
 yonder, and so there will be nobody at their 
 headquarters, and I figure it that it will be a 
 good chance for us to go there and enter and 
 search for valuable papers and documents, 
 which might be of interest to General Washing- 
 ton." 
 
 "That's a good scheme," said Ben. "Let's 
 do it." 
 
 " Where is headquarters, Dick ? " asked Tom. 
 
 " I don't know, but we can find out. I will 
 ask the first passerby that we see." This they 
 soon had opportunity to do, and following the di- 
 rections given, they were soon at the building, 
 which they recognized from the description given. 
 It was a large two-story-and-a-half building, and 
 stood flush with the street, but with a large yard 
 at one side, separated from the street by a high 
 fence. This, however, the boys felt confident 
 they could climb. 
 
 All was quiet within the building. There was 
 a dim light burning in the front room, down- 
 stairs, but there were no lights showing upstairs. 
 
 After surveying the structure a few minutes, 
 
AT WORK 43 
 
 the youths glanced up and then down the street, 
 saw that there were no pedestrians in sight, and 
 then Dick and Tom proceeded to mount the fence. 
 
 This was not very hard to do. Ben was first 
 boosted up by the other two. Then with the aid 
 of Tom below and Ben at the top Dick clambered 
 up. Dick and Ben were soon over, and found 
 themselves standing in the yard. They listened, 
 to make sure that their advent had not been seen 
 by anyone on the inside or on the street. Tom, 
 it was arranged, was to act as guard in the 
 street to give, by means of a determined signal, 
 timely warning of the approach of any soldiers. 
 
 All was quiet, and with their hearts beating 
 with eager excitement, the two patriot youths 
 stole toward the rear of the building occupied by 
 the British officers as headquarters. 
 
 Here they tried the door, but found it fastened. 
 Then they tried the windows, and found these 
 fastened also, but one was rather loose, and Dick 
 said he believed it could be gotten open. 
 
 They worked at the window a while, prying at 
 it, and pushing upward till they finally got it up, 
 and then they climbed through, into the room be- 
 yond. 
 
 Dick whispered to his companion to follow 
 
44 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 him. They crossed the room, passed into the 
 hall, and here found a stairway leading to the 
 upper floor. Up this they went, and when they 
 reached the hall, they paused and listened in- 
 tently, but did not hear a sound to indicate the 
 presence of anyone in the building. 
 
 " I believe that everyone connected with head- 
 quarters has gone to the ball," whispered Dick. 
 
 "If that is so we are indeed in great luck," 
 answered Ben, speaking in a subdued undertone. 
 " It's kind of scarey business though, don't you 
 think?" 
 
 Dick laughed quietly and said something re- 
 assuring to his comrade. He had had experi- 
 ence, had been " under fire," if one may so put 
 it, many a time and was gifted with unusual as- 
 surance. Success in the past, too, now inspired 
 confidence. 
 
 They moved slowly along the passageway, try- 
 ing the doors, and as these were not fastened, 
 they easily entered the various rooms, but found 
 that the rooms in question were sleeping-cham- 
 bers. They were looking for an apartment that 
 would be used as an office, or council-room, and 
 presently they found it, at the front of the build- 
 ing, directly over the main entrance. The room 
 
AT WORK 45 
 
 was a good-sized one, and in a fire-place at one 
 side a fire was burning which gave the place a 
 very pleasing warmth, which to the youths, who 
 were chilled by the cold night air, was very grate- 
 ful. The fire gave light enough for them to see 
 dimly the interior of the room, and the furnish- 
 ings. Sufficient light there was to enable them 
 to make a thorough search for papers. 
 
 " I don't believe there is anyone in the House, 
 other than ourselves," whispered Dick. " So 
 let's sit down here by the fire and get warm, and 
 then we can look in the desk there, and see if 
 there are any important documents to be found." 
 
 "There may be some servants in the house, 
 Dick," whispered Ben. "They might be up- 
 stairs in the attic." 
 
 "True. iWell, we will be careful, and not 
 make any more noise than we can help. I wish 
 Tom were here to get warmed up, but we need 
 him on the outside in case the officers return." 
 
 They sat down in front of the grate, and 
 warmed themselves, and it was so comfortable 
 there that they remained several minutes. Then 
 Dick got up and went to the desk, which stood at 
 one side, and tried to open it, but found it was 
 locked^ 
 
46 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 He Stepped back to the fire-place, got the poker, 
 and returning to the desk, began prying at it, and 
 finally succeeded in getting the lid unfastened. 
 
 There were a number of pigeon-holes in the 
 desk, and these were filled with papers, which 
 might or might not bs of value, or contain in- 
 formation that would interest General Washing- 
 
 tCMl. 
 
 Dick decided to take plenty of time, and that 
 the only thing to do was to take the papers to 
 the fire-place, where they would have sufficient 
 light for the purpose, and go over them thor- 
 oughly. He felt that he would know whether 
 or not a document would be of value to his gen- 
 eral. 
 
 So he brought the contents o£ one of the pig- 
 eon-holes to the hearth, and began making a care- 
 ful examination of the documents. There were 
 letters from persons in England, addressed to 
 General Howe, and other papers and documents 
 of interest, but Dick did not find any among this 
 lot that he deemed of real importance, or that 
 would be of any value to the patriot commander- 
 in-chief. 
 
 Having looked tHrougE this padcage, Ke re- 
 turned it to the pigeon-hole and brought the con- 
 
AT WORK 47 
 
 I 
 
 tents of another pigeon-hole, and these papers he 
 examined carefully, as he had done before. 
 
 He found one document in this package, that 
 related to the number of soldiers in the British 
 army in America, and this Dick placed in his 
 pocket. There were no others of importance in 
 the package, however, and he replaced the lot in 
 the pigeon-hole and got another bunch. 
 
 He kept this up, till he had gone through all 
 the papers in the pigeon-holes, and he had found 
 five or six documents that he deemed of sufficient 
 importance to keep. 
 
 Then he forced the drawers of the desk open, 
 but did not find an3rthing of interest, until he 
 reached the last one. 
 
 In the last drawer that Dick emptied, he found 
 two documents that were exactly alike. They 
 were addressed to Baron yon Honfold, 143 
 Beaver street. New York City, and inscribed on 
 them was the following: "This will be sent in 
 duplicate by messengers over divergent routes, at 
 3 o'clock in the afternoon of December 18, 1777, 
 at which hour word will have been received from 
 General Howe." 
 
 Just at this moment Dick heard the signal 
 whistle agreed upon with Tom, and knew that 
 
48. THE DARE BOYS IN. THE RED CITY 
 
 somebody was approaching the house. He 
 leaped up, stepped quickly to the door, and glanc- 
 ing out into the hall, only faintly lighted by the 
 flames in the fire-place, he there caught sight 
 of a startling face and saw the glint of metal in 
 a hand. 
 
 So close were the two, Dick and the newcomer 
 on the scene, that determination upon some ac- 
 tion must be instantaneous and a false move 
 might mean death. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 Tom's Adventure 
 
 TOM, on being left on guard by Dick and 
 Ben, took up his station in a convenient 
 doorway and sheltered himself from the freezing 
 atmosphere as best he could, it being quite cold 
 that night. 
 
 He kept a sharp lookout up and down the 
 street, but did not see anybody, and so took it as 
 easy as possible. He shivered from the cold, 
 but danced from one foot to the other, and man- 
 aged to keep fairly comfortable. He wondered 
 how Dick and Ben were getting along. 
 
 Perhaps three-quarters of an hour elapsed, and 
 then he saw two men, British ofificers, approach- 
 ing. There was a street-lamp not far distant, 
 and by its light, as the two passed beneath it, 
 the youth saw that one was middle-aged, while 
 49 
 
50 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 the Other was perhaps twenty-four or twenty- 
 , five years of age. 
 
 Tom had thought of slipping away, but feared 
 he would attract the attention of the two, and as 
 he did not wish to do this, he decided to stay 
 where he was, and trust to his ability to make 
 them think he was merely loitering carelessly in 
 the neighborhood. 
 
 Uncertain as to the men's intentions, Tom con- 
 siflered it prudent and wise to signal Dick so that 
 the latter could be on his guard. This he imme- 
 diately did. Then two other officers turned into 
 the street at just this moment, while Tom stood 
 quiet and unconcerned, awaiting the outcome. 
 
 On came the first two, and when they caught 
 sight of Tom, they paused, and one said : " How 
 are you, my young friend ? " 
 
 " Good evening," replied Tom. 
 
 " What are you doing here ? " asked the other, 
 the younger man, eyeing Tom curiously. 
 
 " Nothing, sir," was the reply. 
 
 The young man turned to the other, and said : 
 " Say, why won't he do ? " 
 
 "He might," was the reply. "Though he's 
 rather young, isn't he? " 
 
 "Yes, but that won't matter." Then he ad- 
 
tom's adventure 51 
 
 ( 
 
 dressed Tom : " Come with us, young fellow." 
 
 "Where to?" asked Tom, reluctant to stir 
 from his post. 
 
 " We'll show you. Just a little ways. You 
 need not fear that harm will come to you." 
 
 Tom did some quick thinking, and decided that 
 it would be best to go with them, to divert sus- 
 picion. And besides, they might mal^ him ac-r 
 company them anyhow, and so he said, with an 
 assumption of willingness he did not feel : 
 
 " Very well. But tell me, what is it you wish 
 with me?" 
 
 " We'll tell you that when we get there," was 
 the reply. " Come, my boy." 
 
 They set out down the street, turned the fi^t 
 comer, and about the middle of the block they 
 entered a coffee-house, then proceeded to a rear 
 room. Here they turned to Tom, and the young 
 man said : " What we want you to do is to carry 
 a message for us. We will pay you well to do 
 the errand. Will you do it ? " 
 
 "Where do you want me to take the mes- 
 sage ? " asked Tom. 
 
 "It isn't far. We'll tell you that after you 
 agree and are ready to do the work." 
 
 Tom felt that he might as well consent to take 
 
52 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 the message, now that he had come here with 
 them; it would be an easy way of getting back 
 to his post, so he said he would do so. 
 
 " Very well," said the young man. " Go into 
 that room, yonder, and don the British uniform 
 that you will find in this bundle which I give you. 
 Then come out here, and we will have the mes- 
 sage ready for you, and will tell you where to 
 take it." 
 
 " Very well," and Tom entered the room, leav- 
 ing the two British officers laughing and talking. 
 Closing the door, he proceeded to doff the suit 
 of citizen's clothing and don the British uniform. 
 It was by no means a perfect fit, nor did Tom 
 relish the task, but it was in a good cause. While 
 putting it on he was thinking of Dick and Ben. 
 He did not like the idea of being away from his 
 post as sentinel to warn them of the approach of 
 anybody, but he had acted in what he believed 
 was the best manner, and he thought that he 
 would likely be able to deliver the message and 
 get back to the British headquarters pretty 
 quickly. 
 
 He was not long in getting the uniform on, 
 and then he started to open the door, — only to 
 find it locked. 
 
jom's adventure 53 
 
 I 
 
 He tried the door again, thinking he might 
 have been mistaken; but found that he wasn't; 
 that the door was really securely locked, and he 
 a prisoner. 
 
 "What does that mean, I wonder?" he mur- 
 mured. He knocked on the door, and called out : 
 " Why have you locked the door? Let me out." 
 
 There was no reply, and Tom at once leaped 
 to the conclusion that he had been tricked, that 
 the two British officers knew he was on guard at 
 headquarters, and had gotten him away on the 
 pretext that they wanted him to carry a message, 
 had locked him up, and had now probably re- 
 turned to headquarters, and would likely dis- 
 cover and capture Dick and Ben. 
 
 As he thought of this, and how his permitting 
 himself so easily to be deceived might cause his 
 comrades to be captured, a groan escaped the 
 lips of Tom, and he tried to jerk the door open, 
 but could not. 
 
 " I must get out of here ! " he murmured. " I 
 must try to get to headquarters and warn the boys 
 of their danger." 
 
 He hastened to a window, and tried it, but 
 found it securely fastened on the outside. He 
 did his best to get the window loosened, so he 
 
54 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 could raise it, but this he found that he could not 
 do. Then he hastened to another window, and 
 tried it. He found this window not so tightly 
 fastened, and worked at it feverishly, in an at- 
 tempt to get it open. 
 
 Finally he succeeded, and he was glad to find 
 that right underneath the window was the roof 
 of a one-story room, probably a kitchen. He 
 got out on this roof, made his way cautiously 
 down to the edge, and dropped to the ground, the 
 distance being only about ten or twelve feet. 
 Tom was not hurt by the fall, but dropped to his 
 knees, and as he rose to his feet, two men came 
 around the comer, and seized hold of him. They 
 were the two British officers, and the younger 
 man said fiercely : 
 
 " So you thought you would escape, eh ? " 
 
 " Why did you deceive me ? " asked Tom, by 
 way of an answer. 
 
 " That is none of your business. .Why didn't 
 you stay in the room ? " 
 
 " Because, I supposed there was some mistake 
 about my being fastened in." 
 
 " Well, there won't be any mistake about your 
 being fastened in, this time," and the officer 
 laughed immoderately. " Come with us. I will 
 
TOM's adventure 55 
 
 see to it that you are placed where you can't 
 make your escape." 
 
 " And you don't want me to take a message 
 for you ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 Tom knew it would do no good to try to re- 
 sist, the odds were too great. So he went along 
 with the two, each holding to an arm, and pres- 
 ently they came to a one-story, stone building, 
 into which they conducted him. This proved to 
 be a guard-house, or prison, and Tom was placed 
 in one of the strongest of the rooms, and farthest 
 from the front. 
 
 "You will stay in there, I guess," said the 
 younger officer, viciously. Then he called the 
 man that stood guard into the hall, and said 
 very impressively : " Keep a close watch on the 
 prisoner in this room, and see to it that he doesn't 
 escape. I have heard that his friends meditate 
 a rescue to-night." 
 
 " AH right, sir. There's no danger of his es- 
 caping while I am here," was the reply. 
 
 " Good." Then the two officers took their de- 
 parture, leaving Tom to ponder on the peculiar 
 and unpleasant adventure, and to wish that he 
 had slipped away when he saw them coming to- 
 
56 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 ward headquarters, instead of waiting till they 
 approached and accosted him. 
 
 There was a rude pallet at one side of the 
 room, and Tom finally threw himself down on 
 this, and lay there, thinking, wondering what was 
 happening to Dick and Ben, and blaming himself 
 for being tricked away from his post as guard. 
 He had the satisfaction, however, of thinking 
 that he had given a warning signal. What had 
 been the outcome ? 
 
 Finally he ceased thinking about the affair, 
 and tried to go to sleep, but found this very 
 difficult, but eventually he had dozed off, and was 
 nearly asleep, when he heard the guard in the 
 hall talking to somebody, evidently a comrade. 
 He heard him give utterance to a statement that 
 made his blood run cold with horror. The state- 
 ment made by the guard was as follows : 
 
 "Yes, he's a desperate rebel spy, that was 
 caught spying by a couple of British officers, this 
 evening. They took him to headquarters, and 
 the commander-in-chief kept him there till an 
 hour or so ago, when the officers brought him 
 here. He will be taken out in the morning, at 
 dawn, and shot." 
 
 To be taken out in the morning at dawn, and 
 
TOm's adventure 57 
 
 shot! As the full meaning of the words pene- 
 trated to Tom's consciousness, he shuddered, and 
 then rising to his feet, he began walking back- 
 ward and forward across the floor. 
 
 To be taken out at dawn and shot! These 
 words passed through his mind again and again, 
 and as he realized that he was likely to be ex- 
 ecuted as a spy, the cold perspiration oozed out 
 on his forehead. 
 
 He was to be taken out at dawn and shot! 
 The thought was indeed a terrible one. Then 
 he wondered if by any possible chance he might 
 make his escape, and it did not take much ex- 
 amination to prove to him that it would be im- 
 possible to get out of the room and jail. He 
 could not escape, but would have to stay and meet 
 his fate, as stated by the guard. 
 
 He would have to stay — and in the morn- 
 ing he would be taken out and shot! 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 Ben's Adventures 
 
 WHILE Dick was examining the papers, 
 searching for documents of importance, 
 Ben was reconnoitering and searching the house, 
 and he found that a window opening onto an 
 alley Was uijjfastened. Also he discovered that 
 the front door was unlocked. This was an odd 
 thing. Evidently the officers occupying the build- 
 ing had such assurance that no outsider would 
 enter as to make tljem over-confident. The boys 
 could then, had they but known, entered the un- 
 guarded structure by the front door without the 
 formality of knocking. 
 
 He made his way upstairs and told Dick this, 
 sometime before Dick completed his task of look- 
 ing through the papers. Dick had told Ben that 
 he was glad to know that there were ready means 
 
 58 
 
ben's adventures 59 
 
 of exit, and that if the necessity arose they could 
 get out of the building quickly. 
 
 " Yes, for some of the redcoats might come 
 at any moment," was the reply. 
 
 " You had better go downstairs again and keep 
 watch, Ben," suggested Dick. " Tom is watch- 
 ing on the outside, but it will do no harm for 
 you to keep your eyes open as well." 
 
 " True, Dick; I'll go down and keep watch." 
 
 Ben made his way downstairs, and stationed 
 himself in the hall. He s^d there a half^hour 
 at least, and then suddenly he saw the front door 
 open, and two men entered. It was light enough 
 out in front so that he was enabled to see that 
 the two men were British ofBibrs.*''He was 
 startled, for he had not thought that anyone 
 could reach the door and enter without being 
 seen by Tom in time so that he could give warn- 
 ing of their approach. Tom, as we know had 
 given the signal agreed upon, but Ben had not 
 heard and the snow upon the ground had pre- 
 vented him from hearing footsteps. 
 
 Then Ben thought that he must warn Dick, 
 and at the same moment he was cognizant of the 
 fact that he could not get up the stairs without 
 being seen. 
 
.60 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY, 
 
 Then, just as he realized this, 4iie officers 
 caught sight of Ben, and gave utterance to ex- 
 clamations and leaped forward and seized hold 
 of him before he could make a move to es- 
 cape. He struggled, however, being determined 
 not to yield easily. And, too, by struggling he 
 would make a noise and would give Dick more 
 time to make his escape. Finally however his 
 arms were bound behind him. 
 
 Then there came from the upstairs a cry, in a 
 sharp, querulous voice ; " Who is there ? " 
 
 The officers ceased trying to make a prisoner 
 of Ben, having securely bound his hands behind 
 his back, and listened, and again there came the 
 voice: "Quick! Help! Come up here, who- 
 ever you are ! " 
 
 The officers uttered exclamations of recogni- 
 tion and amazement. Letting go of Ben, they 
 bounded up the stairs. As they reached the top 
 landing, they saw a form running back along the 
 hall, and dashed in that direction, one crying 
 sternly : " Stop ! You cannot escape ! " 
 
 Ben, on being left in this manner, decided that 
 he had better without further ceremony take his 
 departure. He believed that Dick had escaped, 
 for the struggle in the hall downstairs had made 
 
ben's adventures 61 
 
 a lot of noise, and he could not have helped hear- 
 ing it. 
 
 So he opened the front door and stepped out 
 upon the street. He looked around him, to see 
 where Tom was. He thought his comrade must 
 be somewhere in the vicinity of the headquarters 
 building — unless he had been captured. And 
 then Ben thought that perhaps Twn had fallen 
 into the hands of the same two officers who were 
 now in the building. This was an alarming 
 thought, but it did not seem reasonable, as 
 TSpm naturally would have given warning of the 
 approach of the officers, and then have gotten 
 away. "An3rway," concluded Ben, "I had 
 better make the most of my opportunity and get 
 away from here while I can." 
 
 He stopped at the next corner, however, and 
 waited a little while in the shadow of a doorway, 
 thinking he might see Dick, but that youth did 
 not put in an appearance, and so Ben set out in 
 the direction of the Farley home. He judged 
 that Dick would get there about as soon as him- 
 self, or soon afterward. 
 
 He reached the Farley house presently, and 
 advanced through the short covered shrubbery 
 to the rear entrance and succeeded in making 
 
'62 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 known his presence. The door was opened pres- 
 ently by Elsie, who, when she saw only Ben, 
 asked, somewhat excitedly and anxiously: 
 " Where are Dick and Tom? " 
 
 " I don't know," replied Ben. "But I do not 
 doubt that they will be here pretty soon, I guess 
 — but just now won't you release my arms 
 which are tightly tied?" This done after the 
 expenditure of considerable effort on the part of 
 the girl he explained as best he could regarding 
 the happenings at headquarters. 
 
 He had only an imperfect knowledge of the 
 matter however, and what he told Elsie only 
 made her the more excited and anxious. " I 
 fear something has happened to Dick and Tom ! " 
 she exclaimed. 
 
 " I am afraid that something has happened to 
 Dick," said Ben, "but I think Tom escaped 
 and that he will be here in a few minutes." 
 
 " And you think Dick has been captured ? " 
 
 " I should not be surprised if those two officers 
 captured him. Surely he ought to have reached 
 here before this if he were free. Tom without 
 full knowledge of the facts may be still on guard. 
 
 " I hope 1 no harm will come to either," said 
 Elsie. Then she told Ben to go upstairs and tell 
 
ben's adventures 63 
 
 Mary and Lucy, and she said she would stay 
 down by the door and be ready to let Dick and 
 Tom in as soon as they came. 
 
 Ben went upstairs as suggested and found 
 Mary and Lucy in the hall, they accompanied 
 him to the attic-room, where he told them the 
 same story he had told to Elsie. 
 
 Mary and Lucy were alarmed also, and said 
 they feared that Tom and perhaps Dick had been 
 captured. " Likely those two officers that seized 
 you captured Dick and took him away," said 
 Lucy. 
 
 "That is my idea, too," said Ben. "But I 
 think Tom will be here presently." 
 
 The girls said they hoped the boys would 
 come soon, and then they waited as patiently as 
 possible, but one, two, three hours slipped away 
 and neither Dick nor Tom were to be accounted 
 for. 
 
 Midnight came, and still neither of the Dare 
 Boys had put in an appearance, and Ben and the 
 girls came to the conclusion that, much as they 
 disliked to think it, the youths had been captured 
 by the British. Ben was left alone in the attic 
 hiding place. 
 
 The girls took turns sitting up, however, to be 
 
i64 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 on hand at the rear door in case Dick or Tom 
 appeared upon the scene. It was a lonely and 
 profitless vigil, however, for when morning came, 
 the youths were still absent. 
 
 It now seemed evident that Dick and Tom had 
 lallen into the hands of the redcoats; or at least 
 so it appeared to Ben and the girls. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 Dick at Valley Forge 
 
 THE face Dick saw when he looked out in 
 the hall was unusual enough to startle any- 
 one. It was that of a man past middle-age, and 
 was wrinkled greatly. The eyes at first sight 
 appeared to be closed, but when Dick stepped 
 out into the hall and got a closer look, he saw 
 that the man was blind. The bright object in 
 his hand was a bunch of keys. Dick had picked 
 up a metal seal off the desk, thinking to use it 
 as a missile to throw, but now he stuck it into 
 his pocket. 
 
 Dick was about to address the man, when he 
 heard the sound of shuffling feet downstairs, and 
 at the same moment the blind man called out: 
 "Who is there?" Then after a brief interval 
 he added : " Quick ! Help ! Come up here, 
 whoever you are." 
 
 65 
 
66 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 Then Dick heard muttered exclamations down- 
 stairs, followed by the sound of footsteps on the 
 stairs, and realizing that somebody was coming, 
 he slipped the document ,which he had in his 
 hand, into his pocket, and hastened along the 
 hall. He had almost reached the farther end 
 of the hall, when he heard a voice cry sternly: 
 " Stop ! You cannot escape ! " 
 
 The patriot youth knew that the voice was that 
 of a British officer, but he paid no attention to 
 it, instead he opened the door of a room and 
 running through, he reached a staircase leading 
 to the lower hall. There he found the window 
 which Ben had located and this he opened. 
 Clambering over the ledge, he lowered himself 
 by his hands, and dropped, just as two red- 
 coats came rushing into the passageway he had 
 left. 
 
 He was not injured by the fall upon the 
 banked-up snow, and at once hastened down the 
 street. The officers stuck their heads out through 
 the window just as he turned a corner and fired 
 a couple of shots after Dick, but he was already 
 safe. He soon turned down an alley of which 
 there are many in Philadelphia, and went through 
 to the next street, into which he turned. He was 
 
DICK AT VALLEY FORGE 67 
 
 walking, now, for there was no one pursuing 
 him, and to run would be to attract attention. 
 
 And now, having no fear of pursuit, Dick got 
 to thinking about the document of seeming im- 
 portance he had found, and one copy of which 
 was in his pocket. It might be of vital im- 
 portance, and as it, as well as the duplicate were 
 to be despatched on the morrow, at three o'clock, 
 it seemed to Dick that the quicker he got the doc- 
 ument into Washington's hands, the better. So it 
 did not take him long to make up his mind to gb 
 at once to Valley Forge. As it would take con- 
 siderable time to go around by the way of the 
 Farley home, Dick decided to not go there at 
 all. He judged that Tom and Ben were all right, 
 and did not think they or the girls would be 
 very uneasy about him, therefore he set out for 
 the edge of the city. Had he known that Tom 
 was a prisoner, and in great danger of being 
 shot next morning, he would not have gonCj but 
 would have remained and tried to rescue his 
 brother, but it was a case of "where ignorance 
 is bliss " ; he did not know of Tom's serious pre- 
 dicament. 
 
 So he made his way to the edge of the city • 
 and tried in his usual manner to slip past the 
 
'&8 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 sentinels. He found himself, however, suddenly 
 confronted by a man in uniform who stepped 
 from behind a tree and right in front of him 
 ordering him to halt. 
 
 Dick would have made a dash and tried to 
 escape, but the officer had grasped his arm none 
 too gently and two other soldiers with guns in 
 hand were quickly approaching. Dick thought of 
 a way that promised to get him out of the dif- 
 ficulty, anyway it was worth the trial. He 
 stopped and stood still apparently unconcerned. 
 
 "What is wanted?" he asked, calmly. He 
 had had so much experience as a spy, and had 
 been in so many dangerous situations that he was 
 fenabled to act calmly and cool, even if his heart 
 was beating rapidly. 
 
 "We want you to give an account of your- 
 self," was the reply. " Who are you, and where 
 are you going?" 
 
 " I am a courier of the king," was the reply, 
 " and I am carrying an important message from 
 .General Howe to a man in New York." 
 
 "Why are you not in uniform?" 
 
 "I am in civilian's dress the better to pass 
 through the rebel lines if needs be." 
 
 "That may be, but you will have to satisfy 
 
DICK AT VALLEY FORGE 69 
 
 US that what you say is true, my young man." 
 
 "Very well, I can do that," he said without 
 hesitation for a bright idea had come to him. 
 " Here is the document. Look at the super- 
 scription and you will see that it is as I say." 
 
 He drew the document from his pocket, and 
 the soldier, holding to his arm, went to a lamp- 
 post several yards distant and took a look at 
 the paper. He noted that it was as the youth 
 had said, and officially marked document from 
 General Howe, addressed to Baron von Hon- 
 fold. New York. 
 
 They gave the valuable paper back to Dick, 
 who placed it in his pocket. Then after asking 
 him a few more questions, which he answered 
 satisfactorily, they let him go. Needless to say 
 he hastened away in the darkness. 
 
 "That was lucky for me, having that docu- 
 ment," thought Dick. " If I had not had that 
 and could not have convinced them that I was 
 a messenger of General Howe, they would have 
 surely taken me prisoner." 
 
 He made his way along the road as swiftly as 
 the conditions would permit and succeeded in 
 reaching Valley Forge about half-past three 
 in the morning. He knew that Washington 
 
70 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 was an early riser and would be up about six 
 o'clock, anyway, and so he decided not to ask 
 that he be roused now, but to wait till the early 
 morning. Dick then entered the cabin where he 
 had his quarters, made his way to his bunk, 
 threw himself upon it dead tired from his long 
 tramp and exciting adventures and dropped 
 asleep almost at once. 
 
 He was awake early, however, ate his break- 
 fast, and was at the building occupied by the 
 commander-in-chief as headquarters soon after 
 General Washington had finished his morning 
 repast. 
 
 Dick was ushered into the presence of the 
 commander-in-chief by the orderly, who knew 
 him well now, and was given a hearty greeting 
 by Washington, who said i " Have you any 
 news, my boy ? " 
 
 "Yes, your excellency," was the youth's re- 
 ply. " I succeeded in entering the building oc- 
 cupied by the British as headquarters, last night, 
 and found some documents which I think may be 
 of importance. I have brought them to you." 
 He drew the papers and documents out of his 
 pocket, handed them to the commander-in-chief 
 and then withdrew to secure additional sleep of 
 
DICK AT VALLEY FORGE Tl 
 
 ■which he stood in sore need. Later in the day, 
 fully rested he was again summoned to head- 
 quarters. 
 
 General Washington had fexamined carefully 
 the results of Dick's raid but said that they were 
 of no very great importance. " This, however," 
 he went on, holding up the letter that was ad- 
 dressed to Baron von Honfold, New York City, 
 " while it is not important of itself, if it could 
 be delivered and the answer could be brought to 
 me, that would perhaps be of inestimable value." 
 
 " Suppose I'll take it to New York and de- 
 liver it to Baron von Honfold and bring his an- 
 swer to you ! " iexclaimed Dick, eagerly and ex- 
 citedly. 
 
 General Washington looked thoughtfully at the 
 paper lying in his hand, then fastened his in- 
 tent gaze upon Dick, and said : " I wish you 
 could do that, my boy. But the trouble is, this 
 document is without seal. Baron von. Honfold 
 would notice that and I fear be suspicious, for 
 mention is made by the sender of this very thing." 
 
 Dick uttered an exclamation of satisfaction, 
 and plunging his hand into his coat-pocket, drew 
 forth the metal seal of the British Council, that 
 was used by General Howe to seal important 
 
72 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 documents. He handed it to General Washing- 
 ton, with the words: 
 
 " There is the seal, your excellency. I picked 
 it up and put it in my pocket, last night, and you 
 can now seal the document as you desire, and 
 Baron von Honfold will not know it has been 
 intercepted." The sudden interruption that had 
 induced Dick to gfrasp the first object available 
 as a means of defense the night before in the 
 British headquarters had proved to be a most 
 fortunate incident, for otherwise Dick would not 
 have possessed himself of the government seaL 
 
 "That is indeed fortunate," said General 
 iWashington, and he quickly proceeded to seal 
 the document and gave it to Dick. 
 
 Then the commander-in-chief summoned the 
 orderly and told him to saddle a horse. " Let 
 it be an animal of stamina and one well rested," 
 were the instructions. The orderly indicated 
 his ability to secure just the mount required, 
 and his return outside the house was soon evi- 
 denced by the prancing of the steed itself. As 
 Dick was ready, he mounted, and with a salute 
 to General Washington, who replied with a 
 "Good-by, and good luck, my boy," he rode 
 away in the direction of New York. 
 
DICK AT VALLEY FORGE IS 
 
 Dick proceeded up the bank of the Delaware 
 River for about ten miles, and crossed on a ferry, 
 after which he continued onward toward New 
 York City. He rode at a swift pace, but it 
 began to grow dark before he was within twenty 
 miles of the city. 
 
 Suddenly he noticed a horse lying beside the 
 road, and stopping, he dismounted to see what 
 was the matter with the animal. He decided 
 that the horse had been ridden beyond its strength 
 by some heartless person, and then abandoned 
 when the poor beast could no longer serve his 
 master's purpose. He determined to seek out 
 the first habitated place and report his discovery. 
 He deemed it wisdom to break the trip for the 
 night, and so began to look about for a place 
 to stop for supper and for a rest. 
 
 Thus resolved, Dick mounted his horse and 
 rode onward, and just as it was becoming pitchy 
 dark, he came to a tavern beside the road, and 
 in a heavy forest with sizable hills all about. It 
 was a lonesome, gloomy place, and Dick would 
 not ordinarily have considered it an attractive 
 stopping place, but on this occasion, even had 
 he thought there might be another tavern near, 
 he'would have given it preference. He wanted 
 
li THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 to attract as little attention, and to answer as 
 few questions as possible. 
 
 The landlord, when he came to the door, on 
 Dick knocking, seemed to be an honest man, and 
 Dick was glad to note that no one was about. 
 He told him he wished supper for himself and 
 feed for his horse. 
 
 "All right, sir," said the landlord, and he 
 summoned the stable-boy who led the horse to 
 the stable, while Dick entered the tavern's main 
 room. 
 
 It turned out that there was another guest 
 there, and he gave Dick a rather searching glance, 
 the youth thought. At once Dick leaped to the 
 conclusion that this was the rider of the hotse 
 lying in distress back on the road, and he gave the 
 fellow considerable quiet attention, without seem- 
 ing to do so. When Dick told the landlord about 
 the discovery heliad made a few moments be-' 
 fore, he observed that neither of his listeners, 
 expressed surprise or interest. 
 
 Supper was ready, presently, and Dick and the 
 other guest went in and ate a satisfying meal. 
 The man ate rapidly, got through before Dick, 
 and went into an adjacent room. Dick heard him 
 talking in a low voice to the landlord. 
 
DICK AT VALLEY FORGE 75 
 
 Dick finished his meal presently, and started to 
 leave the dining-room. He proposed seeing for 
 himself that the horse was well cared for. As 
 he stepped through into the hallway, he was 
 struck a severe blow on the head by a club in 
 the hand of an unseen foe. The blow rendered 
 him unconscious, and when he came to it must 
 have been a long time after, he was in a dark 
 room, lying on a couch, with his arms tied tightly 
 together behind his back. What time it was, or 
 how many hours had elapsed, he could not esti- 
 mate, and his head ached severely. He did not 
 mind that so much as the idea that he had let 
 himself be trapped by some miscreant. Then a 
 thought came to him and repeated itself with 
 startling insistency. Who was the man who had 
 struck him down and what was his purpose? 
 Might he not be a messenger — the other mes- 
 senger sent by General Howe? 
 
 The patriot youth began trying to free his 
 arms, but could not. Still he could feel that the 
 jnoney carried in his belt had not been taken. 
 But the precious paper, that was gone. Then 
 he called loudly for the landlord, but that worthy 
 did not come. If he heard Dick's voice, he paid 
 no attention. Dick gave up the idea of getting 
 
76 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 free presently, or of making the landlord come 
 to his assistance, and so he ceased calling and 
 struggling with his bonds. 
 
 But he was greatly disappointed. His heart 
 was grieved indeed, for he had been ^ven a 
 very important assignment by General Washing- 
 ton, and had made a failure of it. Oh, why, he 
 asked himself bitterly, had he not been more care- 
 ful ? Why had he permitted himself to be caught 
 at a disadvantage by the redcoat messenger and 
 knocked senseless? He felt that he had not 
 proven himself to be as successful as the com- 
 mander-in-chief had supposed he would be, and 
 he felt very badly as a result. 
 
 He could not help matters, however. He was 
 a prisoner, the redcoat had the document ad- 
 dressed to the Baron von Honfold, and more 
 than likely long ere this was gone on his way, 
 probably riding his own horse, and the Tory land- 
 lord would probably hold him a prisoner till next 
 day, so he would have no chance to overtake the 
 redcoat and get the document away from him. 
 
 So, bitterly disappointed and deeply grieved, 
 Dick lay there, wishing that it were morning, 
 so that he could get word with the landlord. 
 At intervals he struggled with the cords that 
 
DICK AT VALLEY FORGE 77 
 
 bound his arms, and now and then dropped into 
 fitful sleep. 
 
 Dick was unable to really rest, and the hours 
 rolled slowly, oh so slowly away. He wondered 
 if it would ever come morning. And he won- 
 dered if the landlord would listen to reason when 
 morning did come, and accord him his freedom 
 so that he might remedy the error of his care- 
 lessness. And General Washington, what would 
 he say now of the messenger he had trusted. 
 Disgraced, everlastingly disgraced he felt him- 
 self to be. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 What Happened to Tom 
 
 AS may be supposed, Tom was greatly wor- 
 riec' by his situation in the prison. He did 
 not sleep much, that night, for he could not keep 
 from thinking of what was to happen in the 
 morning, when he would be taken out and the 
 time for his end should come. 
 
 But when morning came, and he had eaten 
 breakfast, a sergeant entered and told Tom to 
 come with him. 
 
 "Where to?" asked Tom, his face paling 
 slightly. He thought that he was now to be 
 taken out and shot, as he had been told would 
 be done. 
 
 "I have orders to conduct you to headquar- 
 ters," was the reply. " Greneral Howe wishes 
 to see you before you die." 
 78 
 
WHAT HAPPENED TO TOM 79 
 
 Tom felt his position to be a well nigh hope- 
 less one. But while there is life there is hope. 
 Who could tell, perhaps he could persuade the 
 British commander-in-chief to send him to prison 
 or inflict some penalty less drastic than death. 
 He felt that there was some mistake, perhaps 
 he would now have an opportunity to explain. 
 If he could get thei British General to hear him 
 there might still be a chance. 
 
 They were soon at headquarters, and the ser- 
 geant ushered Tom into the presence of Gen- 
 eral Howe, who looked at the youth in amaze- 
 ment. 
 
 "Why, who is this boy?" he asked, looking 
 inquiringly at the sergeant. " I sent for that 
 rebel spy, a man grown, who was captured last 
 night and placed in prison. This is not he. 
 Who is this boy and why is he here ? " 
 
 " This is the only rebel prisoner in the jail, 
 your excellency," was the reply. 
 
 "What!" cried General Howe. "Then 
 there has been some mistake. The rebel has 
 escaped ! " 
 
 " I know nothing about that, sir," was the 
 rieply. " I have brought you the only prisoner in 
 the jail." 
 
80 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 General Howe, looked wonderingly at Tom, 
 and asked him how he came to be in the prison, 
 and Tom told him the story, of how the two 
 British officers had pretended that they wanted 
 him to carry a message for them, and had then 
 made a prisoner of him and placed him in jail. 
 
 The British commander-in-chief listened with 
 interest, and then asked Tom who he was, the 
 youth giving a fictitious name, and after a few 
 moments of thought, he told Tom that he could 
 go free. 
 
 "There was a rebel prisoner, and he must 
 have escaped," said the General. " I must look 
 into this matter. Sergeant, find out who those 
 two officers were that made a prisoner of this 
 boy, if you can. They must have let the rebel 
 spy escape, through carelessness, and got this 
 boy instead." 
 
 "Very well, your excellency," was the reply, 
 and the sergeant took his departure. Then the! 
 commander-in-chief told Tom he could go, and 
 thanking him, the youth took his departure. 
 
 He made his way to the Farley home, and at 
 the risk of being seen by Mrs. Farley, he slipped 
 up to the back-door, and entered. He found 
 Elsie in the kitchen, however, and she gave him 
 
WHAT HAPPENED TO TOM 81 
 
 an eager greeting, and accompanied him up to 
 the attic-room, where he found Ben. He greeted! 
 Tom joyously, and later when the young people 
 were all together, Tom quickly told his story. 
 They listened with intense interest, uttering ex- 
 clamations frequently, in their excitement. 
 
 Then, when he had finished, Tom asked wherfe 
 Dick was, and they told him they did not know. 
 He had not returned, the night before, and they 
 did not know what had become of him. They 
 said they feared he had been captured. 
 
 "One thing we have thought, that possibly 
 he got hold of some valuable documents and 
 hastened to Valley Forge to place them in Gen- 
 eral Washington's hands," said Ben. 
 
 "That is possible," agfreed Tom; "and I 
 think we had better go to Valley Forge to-night, 
 Ben, and see if he is there." 
 
 " All right, that's what we will do." 
 
 The day passed slowly, but evening came at 
 last, and then Tom and Ben said good-by to 
 the girls, and promising that they would be back 
 in two or three days, at the farthest, took their 
 departure. 
 
 They managed to slip through the lines in 
 safety, and then set out for Valley Forge. They; 
 
82 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 kept steadily going, and arrived at their destina- 
 tion about three o'clock in the morning. They 
 went to their cabin, where they looked in the 
 bunk usually occupied by Dick, hoping to see 
 him there. But in this they were disappointed. 
 Dick was not in the cabin. 
 
 They were so anxious regarding Dick, how- 
 ever, that they awoke Tim Murphy, who greeted 
 them with delight, and asked him if Dick had 
 been at Valley Forge. 
 
 "Yis, he was afther bein' here yestherday," 
 was the reply. 
 
 "But, where is Dick, then?" asked Tom. 
 " Did he go back to Philadelphia ? We just 
 came from there, and didn't meet him on the 
 road." 
 
 " No, he wint to New York wid a paper av 
 some kind thot he brought from Philadelphy last 
 noight." 
 
 "So that's it, eh?" exclaimed Ben. "He's 
 got hold of a valuable document of some kind 
 in British headquarters, Tom, I'll wager." 
 
 " Likely you're right." 
 
 "Yis, thot's the way av it, byes," said Tim. 
 " He's pretty well on his way to New York by 
 now." 
 
WHAT HAPPENED TO TOM 83 
 
 "I wonder when he'll get back?" said Tom. 
 
 " Sure an' there's no knowin' whin he'll get 
 back," said Tim, 
 
 They talked a while longer, and then lay down, 
 and were soon sound asleep. They were up 
 reasonably early next morning, however, and ate 
 a hearty breakfast. 
 
 As there was nothing to do in camp, Tom 
 presently suggested that they should go hunting. 
 " We are going to stay here till Dick gets back 
 from New York, Ben," he said, " and as he can't 
 get back before to-morrow, we may as well put 
 in to-morrow hunting." 
 
 " AU right, I shall enjoy a tramp through the 
 timber in search of game," said Ben. " And I 
 guess Tim and Fritz would like to go." 
 
 " Sure an' we will be glad to go wid ye," said 
 Tim. 
 
 " Yah, T lige to hunt, und dot is so," said 
 Fritz. 
 
 "Good," said Tonx "Get ready, and we'll 
 start at once." 
 
 It did not take long to get ready, and then 
 the four set out 
 
 Tim and Fritz were loud in their boasts of 
 what they were going to do, and how much 
 
84 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 game they were going to kill, and Tom and 
 Ben had lots of fun listening to them. 
 
 The party made its way two or three miles, 
 to the Schuylkill River forests, and plunging into 
 this, began the play-work. They separated, so 
 as to cover as much territory as possible, and 
 agreed to meet in two or three hours,, at a point 
 known to all of them. 
 
 Tom and Ben liked to hunt, and they were 
 successful in bagging a lot of game, mostly 
 squirrels, but they got a few wild turkeys. 
 
 Ben was the first at the appointed place, and 
 then came Tom. 
 
 " What luck, Tom?" asked Ben. 
 
 "Pretty fair," said Tom.. "I killed sixteen 
 squirrels and a turkey." 
 
 " I got twelve squirrels and two turkeys," re- 
 ported Ben. 
 
 " Just wait till those two mighty hunters, Tim 
 and Fritz, get here," chuckled Tom. "They 
 will have more game than either of us." 
 
 "I don't think so," said Ben. "They are 
 better at arguing regarding which is the better 
 hunter than they are at the sport itself." 
 
 "Oh, they have killed considerable game in 
 their attempts to demonstrate their hunting 
 
WHAT HAPPENED TO TOM 85 
 
 abilities," said Tom. " I look for them to put 
 in an appearance pretty well loaded down with 
 game." 
 
 "Well, I wish they would put in an appear- 
 ance pretty quick," said Ben. " I'm getting cold 
 standing still, after tramping through the snow 
 for two or three hours." 
 
 " They'll be here pretty soon, doubtless." 
 
 But Tim and Fritz did not put in an appear- 
 ance, though the two waited more than an hour. 
 
 " I wonder where they are, anyhow ? " said 
 Tom, slapping his arms across his chest to keep 
 them warm. 
 
 " I don't know. I guess we had better go 
 and look for them," said Ben. " Something 
 might have happened to them." 
 
 " I hardly think so," said Tom. 
 
 " They should have been here before this," 
 said Ben. "I'll tell you what we'll do. You 
 take the game and go on to camp and have supper 
 ready, Ben, . and I'll go and hunt up Tim and' 
 Fritz." 
 
 It was finally settled that way, and- Ben, 
 loaded down with the game, started for camp, 
 and Tom went in the other direction, determined 
 to find Tim and Fritz as soon as possible, for 
 he feared that something had happened to them. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 The Whereabouts of Tim and Fritz 
 
 TIM and Fritz had hunted energetically till 
 they thought it was time to go to the place 
 where it had been agreed that they would meet 
 their comrades, and then they set out to do so. 
 
 They had been about a mile apart when they 
 started for the rendezvous, but they came to- 
 gether presently, and it happened that they had 
 got turned around and were going in the wrong, 
 direction. Neither was aware that this was the 
 case, however, and they compared their game, 
 found that each had killed about the same 
 amount, and then they again set out, but as be- 
 fore, they went in the wrong direction, and every 
 step took them farther away from the rendez- 
 vous. 
 
 On they went, getting deeper and deeper into 
 86 
 
THE WHEREABOUTS OF TIM AND FRITZ 87 
 
 the forest, and finally doubtful as to the wisdom 
 of proceeding further they stopped, and Tim ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 " Begorra, Oi'm thinkin', Fritz, thot we have 
 got off the track. What do be your impression 
 as it were ? " 
 
 " Ve had ought to have been at def place vere 
 ve vos to meet der boys by dis time, Tim," was 
 the assertive reply. 
 
 " That's the way it looks to me, an' thot's a 
 fact, begorra." 
 
 "Vot then shall vedo?" 
 
 " Shall we try our luck in some other direc- 
 tion, me bye?" 
 
 " All right," was the stoical reply. 
 
 They set out in a direction that they deter- 
 mined upon as the right one, and kept onward 
 for nearly half an hour, then they again called 
 a halt. 
 
 " We must be goin' the wrong way yet, b<S- 
 gorra," said Tim. 
 
 " Id loogs dot vay," agreed Fritz. 
 
 " Let's try this direction, Fritz," pointing. 
 
 " All right, Tim." 
 
 Again they set out, and they proceeded in the 
 new direction half an hour, and then stopped 
 
88 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 again, both being now very tired, for the game 
 they were carrying was very heavy and every 
 step they took their task seemed the more tiring 
 and exhausting. 
 
 Fritz mopped his brow, and said: "Vere 
 are we now, Tim Murphies?" 
 
 " Ye'll have to answer thot question yoursilf, 
 Fritz," was the very decided reply. 
 
 " Veil, I'm tired, und dot iss so." 
 
 "So am Oi, begorra." 
 
 " Und I don'd believe dot ve vill find der bojrs 
 dis evenin' yet, Tim." This was more of a 
 question than a determined condition. 
 
 " It don't look loike it, an' thot's a fact." 
 
 "Vat shall we do, yetz?" 
 
 "Oi guiss we'll have to go into camp for 
 thie night." 
 
 "Dot vill suit me better as nottings else." 
 
 "Tired, are ye, Fritz?" with a grin. 
 
 " Yah. Und I t'ink you are yourself tired al- 
 ready. No? Yes?" 
 
 "Ye bet Oi am." 
 
 " Veil, let's make a camp, then." 
 
 Tim glanced around him, and did not seem 
 to be very favorably impressed with the place 
 where they stood for a camping-out place. 
 
THE WHEREABOUTS OF TIM AND FRITZ 89 
 
 " Let's look up a better location than this, 
 Fritz," he said. " Come on, and we'll soon have 
 a fire and be resting aisy." 
 
 They again set out, and now they were merely 
 looking for a good place to make a camp. They 
 had gone perhaps a third of a mile, when sud- 
 denly Fritz gave utterance to an exclamation of 
 delight, and pointing ahead, cried : 
 
 " Dere iss a cabin. Now ve vill have a good 
 place to stay all night." 
 
 " Roight ye are, Dootchy," said Tim. 
 " There is a cabin, sure enough. But Oi don't 
 see inny smoke comin' out av the chimney, so 
 Oi guiss the cabin is empty alretty. Yes? 
 No?" 
 
 " Oh, veil, ve gan have a good fire und cook 
 some uf der game, und so vill be comfortable," 
 proposed Fritz. 
 
 " Yis, thot's so," asquiesced his companion, 
 too tired to be argumentative, and willing to ac- 
 cept any haven of rest. 
 
 They hastened their footsteps, for now it was 
 growing dark, and they were soon at the cabin, 
 and on entering, found that as they had sus- 
 pected, it was a vacant cabin. It looked as if 
 no one had lived here in months. 
 
90 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 The soldiers dumped their game on the floor, 
 then Fritz hunted about for dry wood and 
 started a fire, while Tim prepared some of the 
 game for cooking. Soon the pleasing odor of 
 the squirrels cooking arose on the air, and the 
 two soldiers sniffed hungrily. 
 
 "Dot vos smelled bretty good, Tim," said 
 Fritz. 
 
 "Sure an' it does, Fritz," was the reply. 
 "Ye can bate me cookin', av ye can't bate me 
 huntin'." 
 
 "I gan beat you hunting, too, Tim Mur- 
 phies," said Fritz. " You know dot iss so." 
 
 "Oi don't know innything av the kind, 
 Dootchy," was the reply. 
 
 Just then there was a rattling sound above the 
 heads of the two, causing them to forget their 
 argument as to their relative abilities as hunters, 
 in their curiosity as to what caused the noise. 
 They glanced upward, and noted that there was 
 a kind of loft, extending about halfway across 
 the upper part of the cabin, and the rattling 
 sound had been caused by the movement of the 
 boards, many of which were loose. 
 
 But what made the boards move? This was 
 the question that was in the mind of ,the twain, 
 
THE WHEREABOUTS OF TIM AND FRITZ 91 
 
 and Tim, who was the bolder of the two, called 
 out, authoritatively: 
 
 " Who is up there ? Come down out av thot, 
 d'ye hear me spaken' to yez ? " 
 
 Tim meant what he said. He wanted the 
 person — if person there was up there — to 
 come down, but he did not expect, when he 
 gave the command, to have it obeyed so 
 promptly. Scarcely had the words left his lips, 
 when several of the boards, right above the heads 
 of the two soldiers, tipped downward — they 
 projected out over the beam that reached from 
 one side of the room to the other — and down 
 straight toward the two astonished soldier- 
 hunters shot a human form. 
 
 The person in question, as he descended, gave 
 utterance to a wild yell of terror or exultation. 
 Then, when he alighted if was on top of Tim 
 and Fritz, upsetting them on the floor and 
 knocking the wind out of their bodies. At the 
 same time giving them the surprise of their lives. 
 
 " Ged off me ! " howled Fritz, kicking wildly 
 and energetically. "Ged off, I said." And 
 then, as one of his feet happened to catch the in- 
 truder just right, as they thrashed about, the 
 stranger got away from Fritz rather suddenly, 
 
92 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 and went rolling across the floor to bring up in 
 the corner. From this place of vantage he rose 
 to a sitting posture, and sat there gasping and 
 groaning at a great rate, seemingly not feeling 
 very well. 
 
 " I told you to ged off me," said Fritz, glar- 
 ing at the stranger. 
 
 " An' he moinded yez, too, Dootchy," grinned 
 Tim, who was now staring wonderingly at the 
 fellow also. I 
 
CHAPTER X 
 Tom Finds Tim and Fritz 
 
 TOM DARE searched for Tim and Fritz pa- 
 tiently and persistently, and at last found 
 the place where the two had met, as he could 
 tell by the tracks in the snow. 
 
 "They stood here and talked a while," mur- 
 mured Tom, laughing to himself, "and when 
 they left, brilliant pair that they are, they went 
 in the wrong direction." 
 
 He could distinctly see their trail, which led in 
 almost the opposite direction from the camp at 
 Valley Forge. 
 
 "They never could find their way about in 
 the woods very well," the youth mused, as he 
 set out on the trail of the two hunters. " I'll 
 have to catch up with them and get them headed 
 back for camp." 
 
 Tom hastened onward at a swift pace, and he 
 93 
 
94 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 felt confident that he would soon overtake the 
 two. But when darkness came stealing down 
 upon hiift, he had not yet sighted the hunters. 
 They had had a bigger start of him than he had 
 supposed. 
 
 When it grew dark, Tom had to go slower, as 
 it was difficult to follow the trail in the snow. 
 It was not so dark but what he could do this, 
 however, and nearly an hour later, he came to 
 the old cabin in which Tim and Fritz had taken 
 refuge for the night. 
 
 " Ah, I'll find them here, I'm sure," murmured 
 Tom. 
 
 He made his way to the door, pushed it open 
 and entered, and sure enough, there were Tim 
 and Fritz, and also another man, a rough-look- 
 ing fellow whose face Tom did not like, even at 
 first glance. 
 
 "Id's Tom!" exclaimed Fritz. " Vere did 
 you gome from, anyhow ? " 
 
 " I came to find you fellows," replied Tom, in 
 a disgruntled tone. 
 
 " Dot was very goot of you already yet. Yes ? 
 No?" queried Fritz, who noted the look of dis- 
 gust upon the face of the tired searcher. 
 
 " You are a pretty pair, I must say, to go strag- 
 
TOM FINDS TIM AND FRITZ 95 
 
 gling off in the opposite direction from the 
 camp." 
 
 "It was Dootchy's doin's, Tom, me bye," 
 grinned Tim. " I was for goin' the other way, 
 but he wouldn't have it at all, and said thot this 
 was the way to the camp." 
 
 " I didn't vos said anything uf der kind, 
 Tom," disputed Fritz. " Dot is der vay mit Tim 
 Murphies, always wantin' to makes ouid dot I 
 am der vun vot is to blame, ven id is not der 
 case." 
 
 " Well, I've found you, now," said Tom, " so 
 it's all right. We'll stay here till morning, I 
 guess, and then go to the camp. Ben has al- 
 ready returned." 
 
 " Yah, dot viU be der best vay," said Fritz. 
 " I haf got seddled down here now, und id is 
 comfortable, und I vould rather vait till momin' 
 to go to camp." 
 
 "An' so would Oi," said Tim. "It's tired 
 Oi am, from trampin' in the snow." 
 
 " All right, just as you say," said Tom. 
 " But, who is your friend ? " nodding toward 
 the stranger, who had sat silent, looking keenly, 
 but rather furtively at Tom. 
 
 "I gannod say dot he iss my friend, Tom," 
 
96 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 said Fritz, rubbing the top of his head, and 
 grimacing, " Vould you loog upon a man as 
 your friend uf he vos to tumble down on top 
 of your head und almost break your neck, hey, 
 midout first delling you dot he vos goin' to do 
 anything uf der gind ? " 
 
 Tom laughed, and looked at the stranger with 
 interest. "Did he do that, Fritz?" the youth 
 asked. 
 
 " Yah, he did do dot very thing, Tom." 
 
 " Well, if it were an accident, I guess I would 
 not let it interfere with friendship, Fritz. Did 
 he tumble down out of the loft?" glancing up- 
 ward. 
 
 " Sure an' he did, Tom," said Tim. " An' he 
 knocked Fritz an' me down an' gave us a head- 
 ache, but as he said it was an axcident, we didn't 
 do annythin' to him." There was a note of re- 
 gret in the Irishman's voice, and Tom could un- 
 derstand how hard it must have been for Tim 
 to keep his hands off the fellow. 
 
 " I wuz goin' to stay in ther cabin all night," 
 the stranger now explained, " and I heard some- 
 body talking and looked out and saw these here 
 two fellers coming, and not knowing anything 
 about them, I climbed up in the loft. Then they 
 
TOM FINDS TIM AND FRITZ 97 
 
 come in, and as I was moving around up there, 
 getting ready to come down, I got too far out 
 on the end of the boards and they tipped with 
 me, and I come tumbling down on top uv yer 
 friends. I'm sorry." 
 
 "Oh, that's all right," said Tom. "What's 
 your name, sir ? " 
 
 "Jim Hanley." 
 
 "Well, I guess there's room enough in the 
 cabin for all of us, to-night," said Tom. 
 
 "I guess so," was the reply. 
 
 "Have ye had annythin' to eat, Tom?" 
 queried Tim. 
 
 " Not since noon, Tim." 
 
 " Thin ye must be hungry, begorra." 
 
 "Yes, lam." 
 
 "Fritz'U cook ye some supper. Hey, 
 Dootchy, get to work an' cook some squirrels 
 for Tom. Oi'U get thim ready fur yez." 
 
 "All righd, Tim," and Fritz busied himself 
 fixing the fire. 
 
 A few minutes later he had some of the squir- 
 rels roasting, and when they were done, Tom 
 ate heartily, at the same time stating that they 
 tasted better than an)rthing he had ever eaten, 
 
 "I dell you I vos been a sblendid cook, al- 
 
98 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CIXY. 
 
 retty," said Fritz, smiling with huge satisfaction. 
 
 When Tom had finished eating, he made in- 
 quiries as to which of the two had killed the 
 most game, and was informed that they had 
 each killed about the same amount. 
 
 " So it isn't settled as to which is the better 
 hunter, eh? " the youth remarked, smilingly. 
 
 " Yah, id iss settled alretty," said Fritz. " Id 
 iss alvays seddled dot I am der best hunter, but 
 Tim Murphies von't acknowledge it, dot is all." 
 
 " Sure I won't," grinned Tim. " For yez are 
 not the best hunter, Fritz, an' ye know it." 
 
 They wrangled good-humoredly for a while,' 
 and then Tom suggeked that they lie down and 
 get to sleep, as he wished to start for camp early 
 in the morning. 
 
 " They might be alarmed about us and send 
 out searching parties, likely, if we don't reach 
 camp pretty early," he said. 
 
 "Thot's so," said Tim. "They wouldn't be 
 afther wantin' to lose Dootchy, for he is so big 
 he makes good breastworks for the soldiers to 
 get behind when advancing on the inimy." 
 
 " Go on mit you, Tim Murphies," said Fritz. 
 " I am not such bigness as dot, alretty, und you 
 vos know id." 
 
TOM FINDS TIM AND FRITZ 99 
 
 Tom offered to share his blanket with the 
 stranger, but Hanley shook his head and said he 
 would sit up by the fire, as he would be com- 
 fortable that way, and could get enough sleep 
 to do him. 
 
 The three patriot soldiers spread their blankets 
 ' on the floor, and lay down in front of the fire, 
 and were soon asleep, being very tired as a re- 
 sult of their hard day's tramp through the snow, 
 hunting. 
 
 Tom was a sound, and at the same time an 
 easily awakened sleeper, and sometime during the 
 night he awoke suddenly, but as a result of hav- 
 ing become accustomed to danger, in his work 
 of spying among the British, he did not make 
 any movement to show that he was awake, but 
 lay there perfectly still and kept his eyes shut. 
 
 His reason for this was because he realized 
 that a dark form was bending over him, and that 
 light, nimble fingers were feeling in his pockets. 
 
 Tom opened his eyes slightly, and, peering up 
 through the narrow apertures thus made, saw that 
 it was their stranger companion for the night, 
 Jim Hanley, who was bending over him, and 
 searching his pockets. 
 
 Tom was surprised, and could not think what 
 
100 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 the fellow meant by such a proceeding. Then 
 a feeling of anger took hold upon the youth, and 
 suddenly he reached up and caught hold of the 
 fellow, grasping him by the neck. 
 
 It was Jim Hanley's turn to be surprised, now, 
 and with a yell of amazement and terror, he 
 jerked back, and managed to tear Tom's hold 
 loose. Then, as Tim and Fritz rose to a sitting 
 posture, aroused by the yell from Hanley's lips, 
 the fellow bounded to the door, opened it, leaped 
 through without ceremony, and disappeared into 
 the night. 
 
 Tom was on his feet instantly, and bounded 
 out through the open doorway, and looked 
 around him, but could not see anything of Han- 
 ley, nor could he hear him. 
 
 "Oh, well, there is no use trying to follow 
 him," murmured Tom. "He is doubtless a 
 great deal better acquainted with the country 
 hereabouts than we are, and could easily evade 
 us, if we went in pursuit." 
 
 Tom then reentered the cabin, and found Tim 
 and Fritz, with muskets in hand, just getting 
 ready to emerge. 
 
 "Vos iss der droubles, Tom?" asked Fritz, 
 excitedly. 
 
TOM FINDS TIM AND FRITZ 101 
 
 " An' where is thot fellow, Hanley ? " queried 
 ,Tim. 
 
 "He's gone," said Tom. "It was Hanley 
 that caused the disturbance." 
 
 "How vos dot, Tom?" 
 
 Tom closed the door, and then explained the 
 occurrence of a few minutes before, when he 
 had been aroused by feeling Hanley rifling his 
 pockets. 
 
 "Well, what do ye think of thot, now?" re- 
 marked Tim, when Tom had finished. " The 
 unmannerly rascal, to thry to rob the people what 
 were good to him, givin' him food to ate an' 
 a place to slape, begorra. It was the height av 
 ingratitude, yis, sir." 
 
 " He vos ein bad mans. I could see dot in 
 his eyes, alretty, yah," said Fritz. 
 
 " I didn't exactly fancy his looks," said Tom, 
 " but I didn't size him up as being a robber." 
 
 " Veil, dot iss vot he vos, all righd." 
 
 "Did he get annything- av yours, Tom, me 
 bye?" asked Tim. 
 
 " I never thought to look," was the reply. 
 Then Tom felt in his pockets, and after taking 
 an inventory of his possessions, he said that he 
 was sure that Hanley had not taken anything. 
 
102 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 " I guess he had just begun investigating my 
 pockets when I woke up and caught him at it," 
 the youth said. 
 
 " Loikely," said Tim. 
 
 " I'll bet dot he vos ein Tory," said Fritz. 
 
 "That is likely," said Tom. "Well, he is 
 gone, and we may as well lie down and get some 
 sleep." 
 
 "Yah, I vos been sleebiness, alretty," said 
 Fritz, yawning. 
 
 " Sure an' hadn't we betther fasten the door, 
 Tom?" asked Tim. 
 
 " Yes, Tim. You may do that, although I am 
 sure that fellow will not return. He has had 
 scare enough for one night." 
 
 They quickly fastened the door so that it could 
 not be opened from the outside, and then lay 
 down again and were soon asleep. Nor were 
 they bothered again during the night. 
 
 After a brieakfast of game, cooked by Fritz, 
 they set out for the encampment, and reached 
 there about tlie middle of the forenoon, tired 
 as a result of their long tramp. 
 
 Ben was eager to learn where the three had 
 spent the night, and all about it, and when the 
 three told the story of their adventure with Han- 
 
TOM FINDS TIM AND FRITZ 103 
 
 ley, Ben said he wished he had been there. 
 
 There was some further conversation and then 
 Ben asked: 
 
 " Which killed the most game, Tim or Fritz? " 
 
 "Each killed about the same," said Tom. 
 
 Then followed a discussion of the relative 
 hunting abilities of Tim and Fritz, and they got 
 into one of their disputes, which went on till 
 dinner time, Tim stopping arguing in order that 
 Fritz might have time to cook thie meal for the 
 rest of them. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 Turning the Tables 
 
 WE left Dick Dare a prisoner in a room at 
 the old tavern over in New Jersey, 
 jvhere he had been placed by the redcoat courier 
 and the landlord, after being knocked senseless 
 by the messenger, who had then taken the pre- 
 cious letter addressed to Baron von Honf old and 
 had gone on to New York, leaving Dick dis- 
 consolate. It was a sad proposition all together. 
 Not only had Dick failed utterly in task but 
 the enemy had profited by his carelessness. The 
 British agents horse having been ridden to a con- 
 dition of uselessness, he had doubtless availed 
 himself of the opportunity and had gone forward 
 mounted on Dick's steed. 
 
 The hours rolled slowly away, and finally Dick 
 did sleep in a fitful manner, but he was not much 
 
 104 
 
TURNING THE TABLES 105 
 
 rested or refreshed when morning came. He 
 was glad and it was a relief when the door 
 opened and the landlord entered, bringing some 
 food for the prisoner. 
 
 " Well, my redcoat friend," said the inn- 
 keeper, " I see you have your eyes open. A 
 pretty savage blow that was the patriot soldier 
 delt you, though I don't feel sorry. How are 
 you this morning? " 
 
 Dick started in surprise. The sneering speech 
 of the speaker started a new thought in his mind. 
 Till then he had believed the landlord in league 
 with the one who had made the attack. 
 
 " I'm no redcoat." 
 
 " Oh, say you so ? " was the questioning reply. 
 " Guess you forget what happened last night. I 
 don't mind telling you. I saw the patriot who 
 put you to sleep, find on your person a document 
 closed with great seals and addressed to a con- 
 fidential agent of the British government. 
 
 " Then he took the document?" cried Dick'. 
 
 "Sure, why should he not? It was a triclj 
 well worth while." 
 
 " I see it all now," murmured Dick, his gloom 
 and depression more defined than ever. 
 
 " Of course," continued the talkative man. 
 
106 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 " General Howe will probably promote you for 
 your able service." 
 
 "My dear sir," said Dick, earnestly, "you 
 have made a great mistake. That man deceived 
 you. He was the redcoat, not me. And I am 
 a patriot. That was a message from the British 
 9ommander-in-chief to another British officer in 
 New York, but I was taking it there, with the 
 hope of securing some information that would 
 be of value to Greneral Washington. You let 
 that fellow deceive you, and helped him spoil the 
 plans of General Washington." 
 ' " Is that so ? " the landlord asked, struck by 
 Dick's straight-forward, earnest manner and 
 looking worried at this turn of events. 
 
 " Indeed, yes," said Dick. " Now kindly free 
 my hands at once, please." 
 
 The landlord, after a brief hesitation, did as 
 requested, and then while. eating the meal pro- 
 vided, Dick told the true story of how he hap- 
 pened to be there, carrying the British mes- 
 sage. 
 
 "Well, I'm sorry that I was fooled into let- 
 ting that rascally redcoat do as he did," said the 
 landlord. " I wish I could do something to make 
 up for what I did." 
 
TURNING THE TABLES 107 
 
 "Too late, I fear," said Dick in deep de- 
 spondency. 
 
 " The fellow took your horse also," volun- 
 teered the landlord, now that he was convinced 
 of the facts. " I have been up the road this 
 morning and have brought in the animal the 
 Britisher rode." 
 
 "You did that? Then I must take him and 
 ride after the rascal." 
 
 Dick was relieved now that there was oppor- 
 tunity for action, and he rose to put into effect 
 his decision, but he reeled from a momentary 
 dizziness. His head was still affected by the 
 blow received the night before. 
 
 "No use attempting that," remonstrated the 
 inn-keeper. " The horse has a sprained leg, is in 
 bad shape, and couldn't make better progress 
 than a walk." 
 
 "Then there is nothing for me to do," de- 
 jectedly acquiesced Dick, " except perhaps to 
 blow out my brains, or walk back to the en- 
 campment, and confess my failure." 
 
 "Tarry to-day, and rest up," suggested the 
 good man, who was now full of sympathy for 
 the disappointed, and sorely-tried lad. " As 
 you must walk, get well balanced first, and don't 
 
i08 JHE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 take this event so much to heart. It is the for- 
 tunes of war." 
 
 The reasonableness of this advice was con- 
 vincing, and Dick felt the need of the rest. He 
 laid himself down therefore, in the room where 
 he had spent the night. 
 
 The day passed slowly for the lad, and when 
 evening came, Dick was refreshed in body, if 
 not in spirit. He ate an early supper, and then 
 went to the stable to look over the British mes- 
 senger's mount. The animal, he found to be, as 
 the landlord had stated, in no condition for im- 
 /nfediate use. 
 
 Dick had just determined upon this fact, and 
 was counting the change taken from his pocket, 
 preparatory to a settlement of his account with 
 the landlord, when the sound of horses feet on 
 the roadway attracted his attention. 
 
 " Glory be," exclaimed the youth. " If there, 
 coming down the road, isn't the very Britisher, 
 as the landlord calls him, that did me up last 
 night. 'Mayhap the tables wUl turn." 
 
 Grasping a bar of metal in his hand, unob- 
 served, he crept into the house, and took a posi- 
 tion where, unseen, from his view-point he could 
 command the situation. The landlord, he felt. 
 
TURNING THE TABLES 109 
 
 was true, and on his side, but he was for taking 
 no chances. Soon he heard the messenger in 
 the stable yard, then he entered the house, call- 
 ing loudly for wine and sustenance. 
 
 " Did you keep my prisoner secure ? " Dick 
 heard him inquire, and the landlord's reply was 
 reassuring. 
 
 " He was unable to release his arms ; you 
 made a good job of it." 
 
 " That's well. I shall ride on in an hour, then 
 you can let him go. Well, I fancy he has had 
 enough of interfering with other people's busi- 
 ness to last him a bit." 
 
 The inn-keeper busied himself about the room, 
 providing from his store the refreshments or- 
 dered. Then he left the room to attend to other 
 duties in the bam. 
 
 Dick's intention had been an attack from the 
 rear, but this was revolting to his spirit of fair- 
 ness. He noticed that the traveler had laid 
 aside his coat and belt of pistols, so he stepped 
 now into the lighted room and faced his antago- 
 nist of the night before. 
 
 " I will relieve you now of the letter you have, 
 addressed to General Howe." 
 
 The man addressed, sprang to his feet, crying : 
 
110 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 "By what authority?" 
 
 " By the authority of this." It was a pistol 
 in Dick's hand, cocked, ready for use, and men- 
 acingly pointed. 
 
 Truly a dramatic situation. In the dimly, 
 candle-lighted room, stood the English officer, 
 a young man of high breeding, and dignified 
 mien. His face was clouded by uncertainty, and 
 chagrin. Opposite him was Dick Dare, with 
 pistol in readiness, and with its aid, dominating 
 the situation. 
 
 " I have a letter," this words were hesitatingly 
 uttered. " I will get it from the pocket of my 
 coat, though I protest against this act It is 
 robbery, highway robbery." 
 
 " Stay. Your pistol is beside your coat, don't 
 move. Abusive speech will help you not in the 
 least. I have the most need to complain. Did 
 you not last night sneak up and take me un- 
 awares ? " 
 
 The man made no response, and Dick con- 
 tinued : 
 
 " As to the letter, I will myself examine your 
 pocket." 
 
 " You will be punished for this. The king 
 will—" 
 
By the authority of this. 
 
TURNING THE TABLES 113 
 
 " I care nothing for your king,-' Dick again 
 interrupted, " but I am interested in you. Turn 
 now, about-face," Dick commanded, "and put 
 your arms behind your back." 
 
 "What will you do?" 
 
 " Tie you up as you did me, and leave you 
 here to think matters over as you did me. I will 
 take your place as messenger." 
 
 " Never. You would not dare." 
 
 "Dare I would, and Dare I am," said Dick 
 smiling at his own pleasantry. " Now to busi- 
 ness, any false move on your part, means a bullet 
 in your brain." 
 
 The officer, thus compelled, reluctantly sub- 
 mitted to being bound. Then his prisoner 
 secured, Dick searched his coat pockets, and 
 quickly brought forth the document sought It 
 was addressed to General Howe. 
 
 "You will be kept here for an interval," said 
 Dick, as he pocketed the paper, " and then you 
 will be set free. Now enter the room at your 
 right." 
 
 The man reluctantly did as directed, and the 
 door was locked upon him. 
 
 " So far so good," thought Dick. " No one 
 is about and no one is likely to arrive in time to 
 
114 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 help my adversary till I am well on my way." 
 
 Dick now went to the rear of the house where 
 he found the landlord busy in the stable yard. 
 
 " I thought you had gone," whispered the inn- 
 keeper, when the youth appeared, "you had 
 better go at once, the Britisher is here again." 
 
 " So I have found out," laughed Dick, " and 
 indeed I have given him my room, for the night, 
 and shall as you suggest make tracks for camp." 
 
 " That would be wise, you have a long tramp 
 ahead of you." 
 
 " Not so bad as it might be," said Dick, smil- 
 ing, " I shall ride. My horse is here now." 
 
 " True," said the inn-keeper. " I had forgot- 
 ten that." 
 
 Dick saddled his horse, mounted, and said : — 
 
 " I have a request to make." 
 
 "It is?" 
 
 " That you keep your new g^est until to-mor- 
 row morning. That is if it will not cause you 
 any trouble with the authorities. He is tied up 
 and won't bother anyone till you are willing to 
 let him go." 
 
 Without waiting to hear the landlord's ex- 
 clamations of astonishment, he was quickly away 
 on the road to Valley Forge. 
 
TURNING THE TABLES 115 
 
 As soon as Dick was gone, the redcoat tried 
 to persuade the landlord, whom he could hear 
 moving about the main room, to set him free. 
 Then he tried to bribe him, and finally had re- 
 course to threats, but the landlord was deaf to 
 persuasion, bribery or threats, and left his pris- 
 oner in the same room that Dick had occupied 
 during the preceding night. 
 
 " You will have to stay in there till morn- 
 ing," said the landlord. " Then I will set you 
 free. I was asked to do so. Good-night." 
 Then he went about his duties, paying no atten- 
 tion to the threats that the prisoner gave utter- 
 ance to. 
 
 Dick reached Valley Forge early in the morn- 
 ing, and after getting a little sleep, he ate break- 
 fast and took to General Washington the mes- 
 sage that he had taken from the redcoat. 
 
 The commander-in-chief read the letter with 
 deepest interest, and when he had finished, he 
 said: "This contains important information, 
 my boy, and I thank you for securing it for 
 me." 
 
 " I am glad that I was able to do something of 
 value to you, your excellency," said Dick. 
 
 " The information will be of great value to 
 
116 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 me in the future. And now, I suppose you will, 
 when you are well rested, return to Philadel- 
 phia?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, I shall start soon after dinner to- 
 day, and will reach Philadelphia about half-past 
 nine o'clock. This will enable me to slip into the 
 city in the dark." 
 
 " Call at headquarters before you go, Dick." 
 "Very well, sir, I will do so," and Dick 
 saluted and took his departure, rejoining his com- 
 rades in the cabin. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 The Red City Again 
 
 TOM and Ben wanted to hear the story of 
 Dick's adventures, and he told the tale, 
 dwelling on the events lightly, for he was mod- 
 est, and never liked to say anything about him- 
 self that would sound at all like boasting. 
 
 "I wish Ben and me had been with you," 
 said Tom, when Dick had finished. " That red- 
 coat would not have gotten the better of you, 
 there at the tavern, if we had been along." 
 
 " Oh, well, it worked out just as well, any- 
 how," said Dick. " He carried the letter to 
 Baron von Honfold, and got an answer, I might 
 not have been so fortunate. Then he brought it 
 back to the tavern, and I got it away from him, 
 the same as he had gotten the letter away from 
 me. 
 
 " Yes, that was ail right," said Ben. 
 117 
 
118 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 " When are we going back to Philadelphia? " 
 asked Tom, after a few moments of silence. 
 " Your sister does not know what become of you, 
 Dick, and is no doubt anxious." 
 
 " I will start after dinner," said Dick. " And 
 will be at the Farley home soon after night- 
 fall." 
 
 They took it easy till after dinner, Dick sleep- 
 ing soundly, and then he set out for Philadelphia. 
 He did not hurry, for he had the whole after- 
 noon to reach the vicinity of the Red City, and 
 it was getting toward evening when he reached 
 the home of Mr. Rogers, the patriot settler living 
 in the woods on the east side of the Schuylkill 
 River. The youth took supper there, and as 
 soon as it was dark he set out, and was not 
 long in arriving at the city line. He slipped 
 through the lines of sentinels, and made his way 
 to the Farley home, where he gave the prear- 
 ranged signal at the rear door. 
 
 There was no response to his repeated calls. 
 He couldn't make known his presence in any 
 other way, and had to infer that the girls, his 
 allies, had gone to their homes for the holidays. 
 This left him without a safe place to stay in the 
 city. A blustering storm was in progress, ac- 
 
THE RED CITY AGAIN 119 
 
 companied by a heavy fall of snow. This de- 
 cided his immediate course. 
 
 It was reasonable to presume that the British 
 would not resume activities under such weather 
 conditions. Some guarded inquiries on the 
 street confirmed this impression. 
 
 It was possible to reach his mother's home that 
 evening, and this move he determined upon. 
 He had little difficulty that night in passing the 
 outposts. Vigilance had been relaxed because of 
 the storm. When later he rapped at the well 
 remembered door of his home, a surprise was 
 in store for him, but an agreeable one, for his 
 knock was responded to by his own father. 
 
 It will be remembered that his paternal parent 
 had been made captive early in the struggle made 
 by his country for freedom. He had long been 
 detained a prisoner in the British lines, but had 
 now secured his freedom. 
 
 It. was a joyous reunion of father, mother, 
 sister, and brother. Only one of the family was 
 absent, that was Tom, and they knew that he 
 was well. But this chronicle has to do with 
 sterner incident than a happy family reunion. 
 
 Dick's stay was necessarily short, and he was 
 soon again at Valley Forge with his company. 
 
120 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 He arrived late at night, and retired without 
 having a chance to speak to any of his more in- 
 timate associates. 
 
 When he awoke in the morning, he found that 
 the majority of his comrades were up, and that 
 a glowing fire was burning in the fireplace. 
 
 The youth was given a hearty reception by 
 the others. 
 
 "When did ye get in, me bye?" asked Tim 
 Murphy. 
 
 " Oh, about three o'clock, Tim," replied Dick. 
 
 " Sure, an' it wuz cold out, last noight, Oi'm 
 thinkin'." 
 
 " Yes, it was cold, but I walked fast and kept 
 warm," said Dick. 
 
 " Anything new in Philadelphia, Dick? " asked 
 another soldier. 
 
 "No, sir," was the reply. "Everything 
 seems to be quiet." 
 
 " The weather is too bad for the redcoats to 
 do any marching into the country to make an 
 attack, I guess." 
 
 After a rather frugal breakfast, Dick went to 
 the house occupied by General Washington, and 
 was soon in the presence of the commander-in- 
 chief, who greeted him cordially. 
 
XHE RED CITY AGAIN 121 
 
 " I was beginning to look for you, Dick," 
 Washington said. " I had an idea there wouldn't 
 be much stir among the British this kind of 
 weather." 
 
 " You are right, sir," said Dick. " There is 
 absolutely nothing doing, excepting in a social 
 way." 
 
 The commander-in-chief smiled. " The Brit- 
 ish are enjoying themselves, are they, Dick? " he 
 asked. 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 " I suppose that the loyalist families of Phila- 
 delphia are giving lots of parties and balls to 
 the British officers." 
 
 " Yes, indeed. I don't believe there has been 
 a night in many weeks past that there hasn't been 
 a big party or ball somewhere in the city." 
 
 The commander-in-chief nodded. "Well," 
 he remarked slowly, as if speaking to himself 
 more than to Dick, " that is good for us, for it 
 keeps the British pleasantly employed, and they 
 are not likely to leave such pleasing occupation 
 to march twenty-five miles through the cold and 
 snow, to engage in a battle, in which many lives 
 might be lost and little gained." 
 
 Then General Washington asked the youth a 
 
122 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 number of questions regarding the British, all 
 of which Dick was able to answer satisfactorily. 
 He had gained quite considerable information 
 from his father. 
 
 "As long as the weather stays so severe, I 
 don't think there will be any necessity for you 
 to be in Philadelphia," said Washington, in con- 
 clusion, "but when the weather grows warmer, 
 then you will return to the city and resume the 
 work of keeping an eye on the movements of the 
 British," 
 
 " Very well, sir," said Dick. 
 
 Then he saluted and withdrew, and rietumed 
 to the cabin, where he sat down and talked to 
 his comrades. No responsibilities for the time 
 rested on his shoulders. It seemed almost like 
 a new experience to him, so full to overflowing 
 had been his chapter of daring and adventure. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 Dick's Plan is Approved 
 
 DICK remained in the cabin till after dinner, 
 and then he went again to headquarters. 
 He had been doing a lot of thinking that morn- 
 ing, and had been struck by an idea that he 
 believed was a good one, and one that Washing- 
 ton would approve of. He made up his mind to 
 place the matter before the commander-in-chief, 
 anyway, and see what he thought about it. 
 
 On reaching the house occupied by the com- 
 mander-in-chief, Dick told the orderly that he 
 wished to have an interview with General Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 " I'll see if he will grant you the interview," 
 said the orderly, and leaving Dick in the hall, he 
 went to the general's room, but was quickly 
 back, with the information that Dick would be 
 seen. 
 
 123 
 
124 JHE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 He then led the way, and ushered Dick into 
 the room, where he was given a cordial greet- 
 ing. General Washington seeming glad to see 
 him. 
 
 " Be seated, Dick," said the general, indicating 
 a chair, and Dick took the proffered seat. 
 
 " What can I do for you, my boy ? " was the 
 query. 
 
 "I'll tell you, sir," said Dick. "I got to 
 thinking, a while ago, about the condition of 
 our soldiers — how they do not have enough 
 to eat, sir, and I thought of a plan that would, 
 I believe, result in securing a lot of provisions, 
 if you cared to adopt it." 
 
 General Washington looked at Dick, and there 
 was an air of interest about him, as he said: 
 " I shall be glad to hear your plan, my boy, for 
 I will acknowledge to you that the condition of 
 our troops has given me a great deal of worry. 
 If they could have sufficient good, solid food, 
 they would be able to endure the rigors of this 
 severe winter weather much better." 
 
 "True, sir. They need clothing, too, and 
 blankets, but I don't know of any way to secure 
 anything but provisions. I do think I know how; 
 that may be done." 
 
dick's plan is approved 125 
 
 "Let us hear your idea, Dick." 
 
 " Very well, sir. You know, I have been to 
 Philadelphia several times, and I have noticed 
 that every day a good many wagons enter the 
 city loaded down with provisions from the farms 
 of the Tories who live around Philadelphia, 
 within a radius, I suppose, of eight or ten miles." 
 
 "Yes," said General Washington, an inter- 
 ested light in his eyes. " And what is your plan 
 regarding those wagons?" 
 
 " That you send some of your soldiers, sir, 
 and have them stop some of the wagons, and 
 bring the provisions here to Valley Forge, in- 
 stead of letting them enter Philadelphia where 
 of course the provisions get into the hands of 
 the British." 
 
 The commander-in-chief nodded approvingly. 
 " That is a good plan, Dick," he said. " And I 
 think that I shall act upon it. You would like 
 to be a member of the force of soldiers that I 
 send, I suppose?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed, your excellency," said Dick, his 
 eyes lighting up. "And my brother Tom, and 
 my comrades, Ben Foster, Tim Murphy and 
 Fritz Schmockenburg would like to be with the 
 party, also, I am sure." 
 
126 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 " I shall select Captain Morgan's company for 
 the work that you have suggested, Dick," said 
 the commander-in-chief, " and then you and your 
 comrades will be members of the party, of 
 course." 
 
 " Yes, sir, and thank you. I feel certain that 
 Captain Morgan will be glad to undertake the 
 work of securing some of those wagons." 
 
 "When you return to your quarters, send 
 Captain Morgan here, Dick." 
 
 "I will do so, your excellency." Then, after 
 answering a few questions regarding the wagons, 
 Dick saluted and withdrew, and was soon at the 
 cabin occupied by a number of the under officers. 
 Calling Captain Morgan to the door, Dick told 
 him that the commander-in-chief wished his 
 presence at headquarters at once. 
 
 " Very well, Dick," was the captain's reply, 
 and he started for the quarters of the general, 
 while Dick went to the cabin occupied by himself 
 and comrades, and told them what was in the 
 wind. 
 
 They were greatly excited and interested, and 
 were delighted as well, and at once began dis- 
 cussing the matter eagerly. 
 
 " Say, that'll be great, going over in the 
 
dick's plan is approved 127 
 
 vicinity of Philadelphia and capturing some of 
 the provision-wagons of the Tories," said Tom, 
 his eyes shining. 
 
 "Yah, dot vill be der vay to do, you bet," 
 said Fritz. 
 
 " Sure, an' thot was a broight oidea av yours, 
 Dick, me bye, whin ye thought av doin' thot," 
 exclaimed Tim. 
 
 " We certainly need the provisions," said Ben. 
 " If we can capture five or six wagon-loads of 
 food supplies, it will help a great deal. The 
 soldiers don't have half enough to eat, and that 
 makes the cold take hold of them so much 
 easier." 
 
 " You are right, Ben," agreed Dick. " Food 
 is fuel, you know, and if the men have plenty 
 to eat, they will be able to keep warm much 
 easier." 
 
 "You say he sent for Captain Morgan?" 
 asked Tom. 
 
 "Yes, the captain is at headquarters now." 
 
 " Then our company will be sent to do the 
 work," said Ben. 
 
 "Yes, so General Washington said," said 
 Dick. 
 
 "Dot vill be fine, alretty," said Fritz. 
 
128 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 "Sure an', it will," said Tim. 
 
 They waited as patiently as possible, for the 
 word to be given for them to get ready to make 
 the trip to the vicinity of Philadelphia, but 
 Captain Morgan did not give the order that af- 
 ternoon. The three youths, and Tim and Fritz 
 were greatly disappointed, and finally, on being 
 pressed to do so by his comrades, Dick went 
 to the cabin and asked Captain Morgan if the 
 idea of capturing the provision-wagons had been 
 given up. 
 
 " No, indeed, Dick," was the reply. " Gen- 
 eral Washington thinks iexceedingly well of that 
 plan, and we are going to start early in the 
 morning, so as to get to our place of operations 
 about the middle of the forenoon, and then we 
 will have a good chance to head off and capture 
 any provision-wagons that may put in an ap- 
 pearance. It would be evening before we got 
 there, if we started now, and most all the wagons 
 would already be in the city." 
 
 " True, sir," said Dick. " Some of my com- 
 rades were eager to know if we were to go on 
 the trip, and asked me to come and inquire of 
 you. They will be pleased when I tell them we 
 are to start early in the morning." 
 
dick's plan is approved 129 
 
 " I am glad you thought of the plan, Dick — 
 you see, the commander-in-chief told me it was 
 your suggestion — for we need the provisions 
 badly, and if we secure a few wagon-loads, it 
 will do much to make the men stronger and more 
 able to withstand the severe weather." 
 
 "Yes, indeed, sir." Then, thanking the cap- 
 tain, and saluting, Dick went back and told his 
 comrades what Captain Morgan had said, and 
 they were delighted and at once began making 
 preparations for the trip they were to make on 
 the morrow. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 Concerning Provision-Wagons 
 
 EARLY next morning the members of Cap- 
 tain Morgan's company were up and stir- 
 ring. They cooked their frugal breakfasts, and 
 ate, and then reported to the captain, at his 
 cabin. 
 
 Foremost among these soldiers were Dick and 
 Tom Dare, Ben Foster and Tim Murphy and 
 Fritz Schmockenburg. They were eager to get 
 started on what they believed would likely be an 
 exciting adventure, fraught with considerable 
 danger, and possibly some fighting. 
 
 Presently the captain gave the command for 
 his soldiers to march, and they set out eastward. 
 The road was pretty well packed down, there 
 having been wagons and pedestrians enough on 
 the road since the snow fell to beat the snow- 
 ISO 
 
CONCERNING PROVISION-WAGONS 131 
 
 down and make it possible to walk with compara- 
 tive ease. 
 
 They walked rapidly, for it was cold, and it 
 materially helped to keep them warm to move 
 swiftly. 
 
 " Exercise in the crisp air is bracing and in- 
 vigorating," cried Dick. This sentiment the oth- 
 ers echoed. 
 
 They reached the Schuylkill River after a 
 walk of nearly three hours, and crossed it, and 
 then kept onward till they were within about 
 two miles of The Red City. Here the captain 
 ordered a halt, and then he proceeded to divide 
 the force into three parties, which were to pro- 
 ceed to watch that many roads, which were the 
 main ones entering Philadelphia. 
 
 Captain Morgan had a great deal of confidence 
 in the discretion and courage of Dick Dare, and 
 he knew, also, that the soldiers all liked the 
 brave young fellow. So he told Dick that he 
 was to have charge of the party that was to 
 stay where they then were, and watch the road 
 leading into the city. 
 
 " The commander-in-chief instructed me to 
 give you command of one of the parties," the 
 captain said. " He said it was your due, for 
 
132 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 having suggested trying to capture some of the 
 provision-wagons." 
 
 " I thank him, and you also, Captain Mor- 
 gan," said Dick, earnestly, his eyes shining with 
 pleasure. " I shall do my best to act in a man- 
 ner that will not cause you or the commander- 
 in-chief to be sorry that I was given command 
 of the party." 
 
 "I am sure of that, Dick," was the reply. 
 " I will have command of one of the other 
 parties, and my sergfeant will command the re- 
 maining one. Now we will be off. It won't 
 be necessary for me to give you any instructions, 
 as you know what is required of you as well 
 as I could tell you." 
 
 "I will do my best, sir," said Dick. "And 
 if it is possible to do so, I will capture some 
 provision-wagons." 
 
 " I hope that each of the parties may do so, 
 Dick." 
 
 Then Captain Morgan told the soldiers in the 
 party that was to remain where they were that 
 Dick Dare was to have command of them, that 
 they were to render him strict obedience, the 
 same as to himself, and they said they would do 
 so. 
 
CONCERNING PROVISION-WAGONS 133 
 
 "Dick is all right," said one of the soldiers, 
 a man at least of middle age, and a sober, sen- 
 sible man. "We will obey him, sir, and we 
 know that he will be a sensible and efficient 
 commander." 
 
 "Yah, ve vill mind vot Dick says, alretty," 
 said Fritz Schmockenburg, nodding energetically. 
 
 " Sure an' we will," said Tim Murphy. 
 " Hurroo for Captain Dick Dare." 
 
 Captain Morgan smiled, and then ba,de Dick 
 and the soldiers good-by, and set out for another 
 road that led into the city, with one of the com- 
 plements of men, and the sergeant headed for 
 another road, with the remaining party. 
 
 As soon as the two parties had taken their 
 departure, Dick told the soldiers to conceal them- 
 selves behind trees and brush-piles, near the 
 road and to be ready to spring out and stop any 
 Tory that happened along with a load of pro- 
 visions for the redcoats in The Red City. 
 
 The men obeyed, taking up positions as di- 
 rected, and a few minutes later it would have 
 taken a very sharp eye indeed to have detected 
 the presence in the vicinity of anybody, much 
 less a goodly portion of an entire company of 
 I>atriot soldiers. 
 
134: THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 Slowly the time rolled away. One, two hours 
 passed, and no wagon had appeared. The sol- 
 diers began to grow cold and stiff as a result of 
 staying in a cramped-up position, in the snow 
 and cold. Dick, Tom and Ben were cold, and 
 realized that the other soldiers must be suffer- 
 ing also. 
 
 " Sure, an' it's stiff as a board Oi am, Dick, 
 me bye," said Tim, who happened to be near 
 Dick. 
 
 " I'm cold, too, Dick," said Tom. 
 
 "How about you, Fritz?" asked Dick. 
 
 " I am nod so very coldness, Dick," was the 
 reply. 
 
 " Dootchy's so fat thot the cold can't get deep 
 enough in to make Im fale it, begorra," said 
 Tim. " It's different wid the rist av us." 
 
 Dick decided upon a plan, at once, which he 
 felt would fix it so that the men would not suf- 
 fer with the severe conditions. He divided his 
 party into two sections, and sent one back into 
 the woods a ways, where they could walk around, 
 take exercise and get warm, while the other 
 party remained and kept watch on the road ; and 
 then, when the first party had gotten warmed 
 up, it could return, the other party would go 
 
Stop sit, at once!** 
 
CONCERNING PROVISION-WAGONS 137 
 
 into the timber and do the same way. This 
 plan worked very well, and the soldiers did not 
 suffer with the cold from that time on. 
 
 About an hour later, Dick, who had been look- 
 ing up the road, suddenly uttered an exclama- 
 tion : " I see a wagon coming ! " 
 
 " Hurrah ! " cried Tom. " Do you think it is 
 a provision-wagon, Dick?" 
 
 "I hope that it is, Tom." Then Dick gave 
 the men instructions to be ready for action, and 
 as the wagon drew nearer and nearer, it was 
 seen to be moving slowly, as if heavily laden. 
 
 There was only one man on the seat in front, 
 and it would not be difficult to capture the prize, 
 if it contained provisions. Otherwise they 
 would not want it. 
 
 Presently the wagon was almost even with the 
 soldiers, and Dick suddenly gave the command 
 agreed upon. The soldiers, headed by the 
 youth, leaped out in the road in front of the 
 team, and Dick called out sternly: 
 
 " Stop, sir, at once ! " 
 
 The man stopped the team quickly, a look of 
 amazement and fear on his face. It was evi- 
 dent that he had not been expecting to be held 
 up in this fashion. 
 
138 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 "Who are ye fellers, ennyhow?" he asked, 
 his voice trembling somewhat. 
 
 " .We are patriot soldiers," said Dick. " And 
 we want the provisions that are in that wagon." 
 
 " But — ye — ain't got no right ter them pro- 
 visions," said the man. " They belong ter me." 
 
 " Not now, they don't," said Dick. " Those 
 provisions belong to us." 
 
 " Ye're robbers, thet's what ye arg," the man 
 cried. 
 
 "Oh, no, nothing of the kind," denied Dick. 
 " We are simply soldiers who are in need of 
 food, and we are going to take the provisions, 
 as is the custom in war times." 
 
 "Ye hadn't better do it," snarled the man. 
 " If ye do, Gin'ral Howe will git arter ye." 
 
 " We have no fear of General Howe," said 
 Dick. "Turn your horses around and head 
 your team in the other direction." 
 
 "But — " began the man, evidently with the 
 intention of arguing the matter. Dick, however, 
 leveled his musket and cried sharply : 
 
 "There are no buts except on my end of the 
 musket." A little pleasantry that was hardly 
 appreciated. " Do as I tell you ! " commanded 
 Dick. 
 
CONCERNING PROVISION-WAGONS 139 
 
 The man looked frightened indeed, and after 
 a brief hesitation, turned his team. When he 
 was headed in the other direction, he stopped 
 and looked around at Dick inquiringly. 
 
 " Now what's to be done? " 
 
 " I'll send some of my men with you, to show 
 you where to go," said Dick. Then he named 
 two of the soldiers, and they got up on the 
 wagon. Immediately the man started the team, 
 and drove slowly away in the direction he had 
 come from. 
 
 "Well, that worked all right," said Dick. 
 " Get back in the edge of the woods, men, and 
 be ready when another opportunity comes." 
 
 The soldiers obeyed, and then ensued another 
 period of waiting. No other wagon appeared 
 before noon, and they ate the frugal supply of 
 food that they had brought along. Then again 
 they settled down to wait and watch for the 
 coming of a provision-wagon. 
 
 It was slow and tiresome work, and it was not 
 till about the middle of the afternoon that an- 
 other wagon appeared. 
 
 "Be ready, men, and when I give the com- 
 mand, step out in front of the wagon," ordered 
 Dick. 
 
140 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 When the wagon was almo^: there, Dick gave 
 the command, and the soldiers once again leaped 
 out in the road while the youth commanded the 
 driver to stop. 
 
 He obeyed promptly, and stared at the sol- 
 diers with a frightened look on his face. 
 
 "What d'ye want?" he asked. 
 
 Dick told him, briefly, and then ordered him 
 to turn around and head in the other direction. 
 This he did without arguing. He evidently 
 realized that it would be useless to protest, when 
 opposed by a little army. 
 
 As before, Dick named two of the soldiers, 
 who got up on the wagon, and then the man 
 drove away in the direction of Valley Forge. 
 
 " We are doing first rate," said Dick, with an 
 air of satisfaction. " There will be a lot of 
 provisions in those two wagon-loads." 
 
 "You're right, Dick," said Tom. 
 
 " Sure an' thot's so," said Tim. 
 
 "Yah, you bet dot iss der case, all righd," 
 nodded Fritz. " And dar comes another." 
 
 A couple of minutes later the patriot soldiers 
 stopped the vehicle and headed it in the other 
 direction. As it was now getting along toward 
 the middle of the afternoon Dick gave the order 
 
CONCERNING PROVISION-WAGONS 14:1 
 
 for the remnant of his command to accompany 
 the wagon. 
 
 " It'll be well into the afternoon when we get 
 there," he said, "and likely we would not cap- 
 ture another wagon if we were to stay here 
 longer." 
 
 " Likely you are right," said Tom. 
 
 They reached Valley Forge in due time, and 
 found that the provisions had been unloaded 
 from the wagons after which the men had been 
 permitted to go home, which they hastened to do. 
 Careful inquiry was made in each case, and if 
 on investigation it was later found that the own- 
 ers of the produce were patriots they were paid in 
 full. The Tories, on the contrary, had to con- 
 tribute their stock, however unwillingly, and with- 
 out even a " thank you." 
 
 Dick's party had thus secured three wagon- 
 loads of provisions, and the captain's party had 
 captured the same number, while the sergeant's 
 party had possessed themselves of two wagon- 
 loads, which made a total of eight. This was 
 ~a lot of provisions, indeed, and the food thus 
 secured was indeed a boon to the soldiers. 
 
 General Washington summoned Dick to head- 
 quarters and complimented him on the success 
 
142 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 that had attended the putting into effect of his 
 plan, and thanked him for having suggested it, 
 and Dick Dare was indeed a happy and proud 
 youth when he returned to the cabin and told 
 his comrades what the commander-in-chief had 
 said. 
 
 "Well, you deserved the praise, Dick," said 
 Ben. " It was a lucky idea, and the provisions 
 will be a big help to the soldiers, and that's a 
 fact." 
 
 " Yes, it was a fine idea," said Tom. 
 
 And Tim and Fritz said the same. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 Hunting and Foraging 
 
 THE following day Captain Morgan's com- 
 pany of soldiers again went out and 
 stopped some provision-wagons, and this time 
 they secured six, and the provisons thus secured 
 would be very valuable to the soldiers of Valley 
 Forge. 
 
 The next day they tried it again, and captured 
 only three wagons, and on the fourth day they 
 did not secure any. Evidently the Tories 
 in the vicinity of Philadelphia had learned of 
 what was going on, from their neighbors who 
 had been held up and forced to drive to Valley 
 Forge with their loads, and they probably de- 
 cided that it would be better to wait a while, 
 before trying to get to the city to sell their pro- 
 visions. 
 
 143 
 
144: THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 General Washington, on hearing the report of 
 Captain Morgan on the fourth day, to the effect 
 that no more wagons had been secured, ordered 
 that no further raids be made. 
 
 Dick, Tom and Ben, and also Tim and Fritz, 
 were not idle any of the time, however. They 
 put in the time for several days, chopping wood 
 for the fire-places in the cabins, and they could 
 chop a lot of wood in a few hours daily as they 
 were strong and healthy, and enjoyed the work. 
 
 Hundreds of the soldiers were too sick to do 
 such laborious work. It was for these poor 
 fellows that the youths did the cutting, and they 
 carried the wood to the various cabins and 
 stacked it up beside the door, handy to get hold 
 of. 
 
 Then, having stocked up all the cabins where 
 the soldiers were on the sick list, the three youths 
 and Tim and Fritz looked around for some- 
 thing else to do. They decided that as good 
 work as they could do would be to go hunting 
 and secure as much game as possible, for the 
 wild game made splendid food. 
 
 They readily secured permission, and set out, 
 making their way to the forest where Tim and 
 Fritz had gotten lost the last time they were 
 
HUNTING AND FORAGING 145 
 
 hunting. Here they separated, and before doing 
 so, Dick cautioned Tim and Fritz not to get lost 
 again. 
 
 " Keep the directions in your mind," he said, 
 "and be at the meeting-place ■ between four and 
 five o'clock." 
 
 " All righd, Dick, ve'll be dere," said Fritz. 
 
 " Sure an' we will, Dick, me bye," said Tim. 
 " We won't be afther gettin' lost, this toime." 
 
 "All right. And, now, get to work, and see 
 which of you can kill the most game." 
 
 The hunters separated, then, and were quickly 
 lost to the view of one another. 
 
 They had good luck hunting, that day, and 
 when they met at the rendezvous in the even- 
 ing, they had game enough, so it seemed, to keep 
 all the soldiers of Valley Forge supplied for 
 several days. 
 
 Tim and Fritz had each killed about the same 
 amount, so neither could boast much. 
 
 " You didn't get lost, this time, anyhow," 
 smiled Dick. 
 
 " No, ve got here all righd, Dick," grinned 
 Fritz. 
 
 "Yis, we didn't have inny trhouble foindin' 
 the rendezvous this toime, Dick," said Tim. 
 
146 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 Then they set out for camp, reaching there 
 about dark, and distributed their game, sending 
 a liberal supply to the cabins occupied by the 
 officers, also to the cabins where the soldiers were 
 sick, and there was sufficient, when combined 
 with the bag of another party of hunters, so that 
 practically all the soldiers could have enough 
 game for a supper. 
 
 " Those three boys, and their friends, Tim 
 and Fritz, are certainly a boon to the camp, Cap- 
 tain Morgan," said one of the officers, as they 
 were eating their suppers. 
 
 " Yes, they are indeed," agreed the captain. 
 
 " They can't be still at all," said another. 
 "They seem to be happy only when they are 
 stirring." 
 
 " Yes, and it's a good thing they are that 
 way," said another officer. 
 
 "True," said still another, "and it would be 
 better if there were a great many more that were 
 like them." 
 
 " So it would," agreed Captain Morgan. 
 " Anyway I feel that they are a credit to my 
 company." 
 
 About the same time that the officers were 
 discussing the youths and Tim and Fritz, the 
 
HUNTING AND FORAGING 147 
 
 five were engaged in the pleasing occupation of 
 eating their supper, which consisted largely of 
 game that they had killed that afternoon, and 
 which had been cooked by Fritz, who really en- 
 joyed cooking. 
 
 The youths complimented Fritz heartily on his 
 abilities as a cook, for none of them liked to 
 cook, and they were very glad to get that work 
 off their hands. 
 
 Then the youths got to talking of what they 
 should do on the morrow, and it was decided 
 that they would do some foraging. 
 
 " There are two or three Tories living a few 
 miles distant that we have not made contribute 
 anything in the way of provisions," said Dick. 
 " And we will visit them to-morrow and secure 
 all the provisions that we can." 
 
 They were up early, next morning, and Dick 
 got permission from Captain Morgan to go for- 
 aging, and then the little party set out. 
 
 They were pretty successful, for at the first 
 place they went, they found quantities of pro- 
 visions. Evidently this Tory had not hauled any 
 of his produce to Philadelphia. He spluttered 
 and threatened at a great rate, but it did no good. 
 The patriots loaded the captured provisions into 
 
148 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 a wagon, and made the Tory accompany them 
 to Valley Forge, to bring the team badk, which 
 he did, but he was indeed a sullen and angry 
 man. 
 
 The three youths and Tim and Fritz then went 
 to the home of another Tory, and repeated this 
 operation, and by this time it was getting along 
 toward evening, and so they decided that they 
 had done enough for that day. 
 
 The provisions secured by them did much to 
 replenish the supply on hand in the camp, and 
 they felt very well satisfied. 
 
 " I tell ye, we are the byes to kape the camp 
 in grub," said Tim. 
 
 " Yah, ve haf done a lot dot vay," said Fritz. 
 
 " I'd rather be doing something like that than 
 sitting around," said Tom. 
 
 " So would I," from Ben. 
 
 " Yes, we feel much better as a result of keep- 
 ing busy," said Dick. 
 
 " Yis, av coorse we do," said Tim. " It's 
 good for our health, begorra. Just see how fat 
 Fritz is afther gettin'." 
 
 " Yah, but I am dot vay all der time," said 
 Fritz. 
 
 " How soon will we visit Philadelphia, to do 
 
HUNTING AND FORAGING 149 
 
 some more spy work, Dick? " asked Tom, chang- 
 ing the subject of conversation. 
 
 " I don't know," was the reply. " In two or 
 three weeks, likely." 
 
 They went to discussing this kind of work, 
 then, and kept it up for quite a while. The 
 three were eager to go to The Red City again, 
 and would be glad when Washington gave them 
 the order to again go to Philadelphia. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 In The Red City Again 
 
 IT was not until after the first of February 
 that General Washington ordered EMck to go 
 to Philadelphia to report respecting the move- 
 ments of the British. There had come a warm 
 spell, and the commander-in-chief feared that 
 the enemy might take advantage of it to come 
 out to Valley Forge and make an attack. 
 
 As before, Tom and Ben accompanied Dick, 
 and they left Valley Forge at an hour that would 
 enable them to reach Philadelphia about half- 
 past nine or ten o'clock, when it would be dark 
 enough so that they could hope to slip past the 
 sentinels. 
 
 They took supper at the home of the patriot 
 across the Schuylkill River, where Dick had 
 stopped on two or three former occasions, and 
 
 150 
 
IN THE RED CITY AGAIN 151 
 
 then they continued onward, reaching the city 
 about half-past nine, and then followed the diffi- 
 cult and somewhat dangerous work of slipping 
 past the sentinels. 
 
 It did not prove to be so very difficult, this 
 time, however, for they got across the line with- 
 out having been discovered. Possibly the sen- 
 tinels had become careless, as they knew there 
 was no danger to be apprehended from the 
 patriot army. 
 
 Having crossed the line, the three youths 
 walked openly and boldly, and were soon down 
 in the main part of The Red City. They paused 
 at a point on a side-street, where they would not 
 be observed, and held a council. 
 
 "Shall we go to a tavern?" queried Dick. 
 " Or shall we go and see if the girls are at the 
 home of Mr. Farley ? " 
 
 " Let's go and see if the girls are at Mr. Far- 
 ley's," said Tom. "What do you say, Ben?" 
 
 " That will suit me," Ben replied. " I think 
 we would be safer there than at a tavern, but 
 of course, if the girls are not there, we'll have 
 to go to a tavern." 
 
 "All right. That suits me also," said Dick. 
 " Come on." 
 
152 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 They set out for the Farley home, and were 
 not long in reaching there, but they went around 
 to the rear, as they knew that if the girls were 
 there, they would be found in the kitchen, prob- 
 ably, attending to the housework, as when they 
 were there before. 
 
 From the alley the youths saw that the rear 
 rooms doTvnstairs were lighted, and they guessed 
 that the girls were there. .They advanced across 
 the yard and approached very carefully, how- 
 ever, for it might be Mrs. Farley at work there. 
 
 As they reached the door, however, they 
 heard a peal of laughter in girlish voices, and 
 Tom fcxclaimed delightedly: "The girls are 
 here, sure enough." 
 
 "Yes, that is them laughing," said Ben. 
 
 Dick said nothing, but at once knocked on the 
 door, in the peculiar manner that the boys had 
 used when they were there before, and instantly 
 there was silence in the house, followed almost 
 immediately, however, by the sound of footsteps 
 approaching the door, and then there came a 
 whispered inquiry. 
 
 "Who is there? Is it you Dick?" 
 
 "Yes," he replied, in a cautious voice. 
 " Open the door, Elsie." 
 
IN THE RED CITY AGAIN 153 
 
 There was a little exclamation of joy from 
 within, and then the boys heard the key turn in 
 the lock, and the next moment the door opened, 
 and there stood the three girls, Elsie, Lucy and 
 Mary. 
 
 And when the girls saw the thriee youths, they 
 gave utterance to little exclamations of joy, but 
 in a low voice, for they did not want Mrs. Farley 
 to hear them. 
 
 " Come in, boys," said Elsie, in a low voice. 
 " You had better slip upstairs to your room, and 
 we girls will be up there pretty soon, with your 
 suppers." 
 
 " We've had supper," said Dick. " We ate at 
 the home of a patriot, only an hour or so ago." 
 
 " Very well." 
 
 The youths made their way cautiously up- 
 stairs, and to the room in the attic that they had 
 occupied when there before, and a few minutes 
 later the girls appeared, and they brought a can- 
 dle with them. Then followed questions and 
 answers from the girls and the boys, until they 
 were informed regarding what had been going on 
 since they had seen one another. 
 
 " It seems good to be here again," said Dick, 
 looking at Elsie. 
 
154 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 " It seems good to me, anyhow," said Tom. 
 "How about you, Lucy? " 
 
 " Oh, I'm glad to see Dick and Ben again," 
 was the mischievous reply. Lucy was a bit of a 
 tease and liked to pretend that she didn't care 
 for Tom. 
 
 They talked and laughed in a lively manner 
 for a while longer, and then Dick said he would 
 go out and take a look around the city. 
 
 " Something might be on foot for the even- 
 ing," he said, "and I would hate to have the 
 British make a move to-night, with us here in 
 the city, and we fail to learn respecting it and 
 not send any word to General Washington." 
 
 "Shall we go with you?" asked Tom. 
 
 " No, you boys stay here. I won't be gone 
 liiore than an hour, and can get around faster 
 and get over more ground alone than if the 
 three of us were together." 
 
 "Be careful, Dick," said Elsie, as they were 
 going downstairs together, she accompanying 
 him to the rear door, to fasten it after he went 
 out. 
 
 " I will, Elsie," was the reply. 
 
 He was soon out of doors, and then he made 
 his way around to the main street of the city. 
 
IN THE RED CITY AGAIN 155 
 
 He traveled along this street quite a ways, and 
 then he headed for British headquarters. 
 
 " If there should be any move on foot for 
 to-night there would be some signs of excitement 
 and stir there," thought the youth. 
 
 When he reached British headquarters, how- 
 ever, ever3rthing seemed to be quiet thereabouts, 
 and after watching the building ten or fifteen 
 minutes, he made his way back to the business 
 portion of the city. 
 
 Presently Dick came to a large building, built 
 ' of brick, with people going in and coming out 
 every few moments, and he approached, to see 
 what was going on. He discovered that a fancy 
 dress ball was under way, the building being a 
 sort of hall, consisting of one large room, with 
 a tier of seats along the walls, these being pretty 
 well filled witj^ spectators. 
 
 A goodly proportion of the men present were 
 British soldiers, and Dick shrewdly reasoned that 
 there would be no such affair going on in The 
 Red City if there was any movement on foot to 
 advance to Valley Forge and make an attack on 
 the patriot army. 
 
 Dick was standing near the doorway, and now 
 a group of people came up behind him and en- 
 
156 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 tered, and he was not unwillingly carried with 
 them into the building. He disengaged himself 
 from the crowd after getting through the door- 
 way, but now that he was iti there notwithstand- 
 ing the fact that he was not disguised, he 
 decided to stay a little while, and watch the 
 scene, which was indeed a lively one. 
 
 Dick took a seat, up near the top of the higher 
 tier, then suddenly the musicians struck up a 
 lively air, and the floor, which was already filled 
 with couples, became the scene of activity on 
 the part of the dancers, who moved about the 
 floor with considerable grace, in time with the 
 music. 
 
 Dick enjoyed the music, and was interested by 
 the scene before him, but after the finish of the 
 first dance, he decided that he would go. 
 
 " Everything is quiet in the city to-night," he 
 thought, " and so I may as well go back to the 
 house." 
 
 He did not say so, to himself, but he would 
 enjoy being in the company of the young people 
 much more than in being here, watching the 
 dancers. 
 
 A few moments before Dick came to this de- 
 cision, two young British soldiers had entered the 
 
IN THE RED CITY AGAIN 157 
 
 hall. They came slowly in the direction of the 
 place where Dick sat, and at first their eyes were 
 on the dancers, but presently they began glancing 
 at the people sitting on the seats along the wall. 
 
 Suddenly one of these young soldiers gave a 
 start and uttered an excited exclamation. 
 
 "Look there, Lem," he said. "As sure as 
 we're standing here, yonder sits that young rebel, 
 Dick Dare!" 
 
 The speaker was Zeke Boggs, and his com- 
 panion was Lem Hicks. Dick's two most bitter 
 enemies had discovered his presence, and he was 
 in great danger, though as yet he did not know 
 it 
 
 A moment later, however, he looked around, 
 and his eyes fell upon Zeke and Lem, who were 
 gazing straight at him and talking together in 
 low tones, but fexcitedly. Then Dick realized his 
 danger. 
 
 "Great Guns, there's Zeke Boggs and Lem 
 Hicks," he thought, in dismay. " And they see 
 me. I must get out of here, and quickly; but 
 how am I to manage it ? " 
 
 The two youths in British uniforms realized 
 that their intended prey had seen them, and knew 
 that he had been observed, and Zeke Boggs at 
 
158 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 once cried out, in a voice that was heard by 
 everyone in the hall: 
 
 "Attention, everybody- You have all heard 
 uv the rebel spy, Dick Dare, I guess. .Well, 
 th'ere he sits, right up there, and we must cap- 
 ture him. That's him, right there," and Zeke 
 pointed straight at Dick. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 A Close Call 
 
 INSTANTLY every eye was turned in the di- 
 rection indicated by the speaker. Nearly 
 everybody present had heard of Dick Dare, the 
 brave and daring young patriot who had done 
 great spy-work for the commander-in-chief of 
 the patriot army for more than a year past. 
 
 A number of British soldiers, deserting their 
 partners in the dance rushed toward the point 
 where Dick sat, eager to be the one to capture 
 the patriot spy. 
 
 For one brief moment Dick had sat there, 
 motionless. He felt that he was in great danger 
 of being captured, but he was determined to es- 
 cape if he could, and though he had sat still, mak- 
 ing no move, he was doing some swift thinking 
 and trying to figure out a plan of escape. 
 159 
 
160 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 A number of soldiers and Tory citizens had 
 pushed in between Dick and the door, at once, 
 and it did not seem possible that he could escape 
 that way. In fact, it did not seem possible that 
 he could get away at all. But Dick was a brave 
 and determined youth, and he would make an 
 effort to escape, at any rate. But what could 
 he do? 
 
 He glanced around, and noted that there was 
 a window ahnost behind him. There were 
 several persons between him and the window, 
 but they were mostly old men and women, and 
 Dick did not think they would offer much bar 
 to his progress. He decided instantly that he 
 would try to reach and get out through the win- 
 dow, and rising quickly, he shoved the people 
 aside that were in his way, and was beside the 
 window at a single bound. 
 
 Instantly wild yells went up from the red- 
 coats and Tories. 
 
 " Don't let him escape." 
 
 "Head him off." 
 
 "Catch him." 
 
 " Stop him, somebody." 
 
 Such were a few of the cries given utterance 
 to by the spectators, and a number of the red- 
 
A CLOSE CALL 161 
 
 coats started up the tier of seats, with the evi- 
 dent intention of seizing the youth. 
 
 Dick had seized hold of the window and 
 pushed it up, and just as he was on the point of 
 leaping tlirough, he felt himself seized from be- 
 hind. 
 
 "I've got 'im!" Dick heard, in the voice of 
 Zeke Boggs. " Help me, somebody, quick." 
 
 But Dick was not captured yet, by any means, 
 and he was determined to make his escape, so 
 with Zeke clinging to him, he pulled himself up 
 onto the window-ledge, dragging Zeke with him, 
 and leaped out, and the young British soldier 
 was jerked through the window also, he still 
 holding to Dick, and down they went to the 
 ground, where they struck with a thump and a 
 jolt. In falling, Dick had managed to give Zeke 
 a twist that had turned him underneath, and so 
 Dick alighted on his enemy, and was not injured 
 by the fall, though the wind was knocked out of 
 Zeke, who lay still when Dick scrambled to his 
 feet. 
 
 There was a wild outcry from within the 
 building, however, and the clattering of foot- 
 steps, and Dick realized that the soldiers and 
 Tories would be out and after him very quickly. 
 
162 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY, 
 
 SO he did not lose a moment, but made a dash for 
 the alley at the rear of the hall at the top of 
 his speed. 
 
 And as he did so, around the corner of the 
 building came a crowd of excited redcoats and 
 Tories. They caught sight of Dick, and set up 
 a yell. 
 
 " There he goes." 
 
 " After him, boys." 
 
 " Yes, we must capture him." 
 
 "Look there. He's killed the soldier he 
 dragged through the window ! " 
 
 Such were a few of the exclamations that were 
 uttered by the excited pursuers, and the majority 
 kept on in pursuit of Dick, but two or three 
 stopped to look after Zeke Boggs, whom they 
 supposed to be dead, or at least badly injured. 
 
 On Dick ran, and as he was drawing away 
 from his pursuers, they began firing at him 
 with their pistols. Evidently they were deter- 
 mined to stop him with a bullet, if they could 
 not catch him. 
 
 But in firing while running, they were unable 
 to take aim, and so none of the bullets took ef- 
 fect. In fact, most of them were wild, and did 
 not come anywhere near Dick. 
 
A CLOSE CALL 163 
 
 He kept on running, and gradually increased 
 his lead, till he was out of sight of his pursuers, 
 and presently he could not even hear them. He 
 had kept to side-streets, where there were 
 scarcely any pedestrians to be encountered, so he 
 had not been headed off. 
 
 Dick presently slowed to a walk, and after 
 going a block or two, without hearing anything 
 of his late pursuers, he decided that he was safe,, 
 and set out in the direction of the Farley home. 
 
 Dick was sorry he had been seen and recog- 
 nized, for now the British, knowing he was in 
 the city, would be on the lookout for him, and 
 it would be a difficult matter for him to get 
 around and secure the information he wished to 
 obtain. He would simply have to be careful, 
 that was all. 
 
 Presently he reached the rear of the Farley 
 house, and he knocked on the door, which was 
 opened a few moments later by Elsie. 
 
 " So you're back again, Dick," said Elsie, in a 
 tone of satisfaction. 
 
 " Yes, but I — " at this moment there sounded 
 a loud knocking on the front door, and Elsie gave 
 utterance to a little exclamation of surprise and 
 fear. 
 
164 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 " Who can it be ? " she whispered. 
 
 " Redcoats, likely," replied Dick. " I was rec- 
 ognized by some redcoats, and was chased by 
 them. Likely they have come here to search 
 your uncle's house, as they did before, thinking 
 I am here." 
 
 " Then you must get up into the attic, quick, 
 Dick, and hide the bedclothing and conceal your- 
 selves," said Elsie. " You'll have time, I guess, 
 before they get up that far in their search, if 
 they do search the house." 
 
 " Possibly they'll take your uncle's word that 
 we are not here," said Dick. 
 
 " Perhaps, Dick. I hope so." 
 
 Dick hastened up into the attic, leaving Elsie 
 on the second floor, and he told the boys the 
 redcoats were downstairs, and that they must 
 hide. They liastened to take out the loose 
 panel in the wall, and then they shoved the 
 blankets through, and followed, after which they 
 put the panel in place again. 
 
 They remained quiet, and listened intently, 
 but they did not hear anything for quite a while, 
 and had about come to the conclusion that the 
 redcoats had accepted Mr. Farley's word that 
 the patriot youths were not there, when they 
 
A CLOSE CALL 165 
 
 heard voices and footsteps on the floor below. 
 The redcoats were searching the house, after 
 all. 
 
 They finally reached the attic, and found no 
 signs of the youth they were searching for, and 
 the boys heard Mr. Farley say, in a tone of tri- 
 umph : " Now, gentlemen, you see that I told 
 you the truth. This is the second time you have 
 searched my house, and I hope that you won't 
 bother me again. I give you my word that I 
 would not give those youths shelter, if they were 
 to come here, for I am a loyal king's man, and 
 will not render assistance to rebels." 
 
 "That is good, Mr. Farley," said a voice in 
 in reply. "We are glad to hear you say that. 
 Well, I am sorry to have had to bother you again, 
 but that young rebel, Dick Dare, is such a bold, 
 daring chap that General Howe is eager to get 
 hold of him." 
 
 " Well, you won't find him in my house, sir," 
 replied Farley. 
 
 The youths, listening to this, smiled to them- 
 selves as they thought of how surprised Mr. Far- 
 ley would be if he knew that the yxjuth they were 
 speaking of was in the house at that very mo- 
 ment. 
 
166 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 The redcoats tramped back downstairs, and the 
 youths came forth from their hiding-place, and 
 presently the girls stole up into the attic, and then 
 Dick told the story of his adventure of the even- 
 ing. 
 
 They listened with deepest interest, and Tom 
 and Ben were especially well pleased when Dick 
 told about having fallen on top of Zeke Boggs 
 when he leaped through the window, and had 
 left the Tory youth lying motionless on the 
 ground as he ran away to escape the redcoats. 
 
 " Served him right," chuckled Tom. " Zeke 
 Boggs is about as mean a fellow as ever lived." 
 
 " Yes, you're right about that, Tom," said Ben. 
 
 The girls went back to their rooms, presently, 
 and then the boys, after talking a few minutes 
 longer, lay down on their blankets and were soon 
 asleep. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 The British Foiled 
 
 DICK, Tom and Ben remained in The Red 
 City three weeks, without having gotten 
 hold of any information that was of value, but 
 at the end of that time Dick succeeded in learn- 
 ing that an attempt was to be made ^to attack the 
 patriot army at Valley Forge. 
 
 Having secured this information and that the 
 attack was to be made the next morning, after 
 a night naarch to Valley Forge, Dick, Tom and 
 Ben slipped out of the city, and hastened toward 
 the patriot encampment. 
 
 They went as rapidly as they could, so as to 
 give General Washington as much time as possi- 
 ble to get ready to resist the attack. 
 
 They reached Valley Forge about midnight, 
 and at once went to headquarters, and to the 
 167 
 
168 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 orderly, who came to the door in response to 
 their knocking, Dick said that they wished to s^ 
 the commander-in-chief as quickly as possible. 
 
 " But, he is in bed, asleep," objected the or- 
 derly, "and unless the business that you have 
 with him is very important, you had better wait 
 till morning." 
 
 "The business is very important," said Dick. 
 " I will take the responsibility of asking you to 
 awaken him at once." 
 
 "Very well," was the reply. "Step into the 
 hall, and I'll awaken his excellency and explain 
 who wishes to see him." 
 
 The boys entered, and the orderly closed the 
 door, after which he went to General Washing- 
 ton's room, but was back after a brief interval, 
 and said that the commander-in-chief was dress- 
 ing and would be ready to see them in a few 
 minutes. 
 
 Presently the voice of the commander-in-chief 
 was heard, summoning the youths. 
 
 " What is the news, my boy ? " asked General 
 Washington, somewhat eagerly. " You must be 
 the bearer of important news, to come to me at 
 this time of the night." 
 
 " You are right, sir," said Dick. " I learned 
 
THE BRITISH FOILED 169 
 
 late this evening that an attack is to be made on 
 your army in the morning." 
 
 " Say you so, my boy? " with considerable ex- 
 citement. " Well, that is indeed important news. 
 Tell me about it as quickly as possible, so that I 
 can summon the members of my staff and lay 
 the matter before them and then begin prepara- 
 tions for the defense of the encampment." 
 
 Then Dick told him all he knew about the mat- 
 ter, which was that the British were even now 
 marching toward Valley Forge, doubtless, it 
 being their intention to make a night march and 
 then attack early in the morning. When the com- 
 mander-in-chief had heard all, he thanked the 
 youths earnestly, and summoned the orderly and 
 told him to arouse the members of the staff at 
 once, and have them come to his room. Then 
 he dismissed the youths, who went to their cabin, 
 but not to sleep. Instead, they woke Tim and 
 Fritz, and the other occupants of the cabin, and 
 told them the news, after which they sat there 
 discussing the matter of the expected attack with 
 considerable interest. 
 
 Perhaps an hour and a half passed, and then 
 Captain Morgan appeared and ordered them to 
 get ready to march. 
 
170 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 " The commander-in-chief has ordered that 
 three or four companies go out and arrange am- 
 bushes and open fire upon, and retard the prog- 
 ress of the British as much as possible, so as 
 to give more time to get ready for the attack," 
 he explained. "And oyr company is one of 
 those selected for the work. Report to me in 
 front of my cabin as quickly as possible." 
 
 "We'll be there in a few minutes, sir," said 
 Dick, and suiting action to his words he ran 
 promptly to his quarters, calling to any standing 
 about who were wanted. 
 
 Then there was lively work in the cabin, the 
 soldiers making preparations for their journey, 
 and a few minutes later they emerged and ap- 
 peared in front of the captain's cabin. Soon 
 they were joined by other soldiers, till the en- 
 tire company was present. And at three other 
 cabins companies were forming also. Presently 
 Captain Morgan took his place at the head of his 
 company and it set out along the road, heading 
 toward the east. And the other three companies 
 were soon following. 
 
 These companies marched eastward five or six 
 miles, and then stationed themselves beside the 
 road, in the heavy timber, at a distance of about 
 
THE BRITISH FOILED ITI 
 
 half a mile from one another. Then they waited, 
 as patiently as possible, for the coming of the 
 British. 
 
 They had to wait two or three hours, and 
 finally the advance guard of the British force put 
 in an appearance. Captain Morgan's company 
 was the one farthest advanced, and as soon as the 
 British force came within range, the captain gave 
 the command to fire. The soldiers obeyed, firing 
 a volley that must have done considerable dam- 
 age, judging by the yells and cries of surprise, 
 pain and anger that the redcoats gave utterance 
 to. 
 
 The British advanced steadily, however, and 
 fired a volley, but the bullets did not do much 
 damage, as the patriot soldiers were sheltered by 
 the trees. 
 
 As the redcoats came nearer, however, the pa- 
 triot soldiers opened fire with their pistols, and 
 did considerable execution in this manner. 
 
 Then the patriot soldiers deployed through the 
 woods, and made their way back, joining the 
 second company. Here they hastily reloaded their 
 muskets and pistols, took up their positions be- 
 hind trees, and when the British put in an ap- 
 pearance, they emptied their weapons again, as 
 
172 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 did the members of the other company engaged. 
 
 Nevertheless the British kept on advancing, 
 firing volleys as they did so, but it is likely that 
 they did not fancy the reception they were meet- 
 ing with. 
 
 These two advanced companies now fell back 
 and joined the third one, loading as they ran. 
 The combined fire of the members of the three 
 companies did considerable execution in the Brit- 
 ish force. 
 
 The redcoats fired several volleys, however, 
 and the patriot soldiers, retreating toward their 
 lines, joined the fourth company, and here they 
 waited for the redcoats to put in an appearance, 
 but in vain. Half an hour, an hour passed, and 
 still the redcoats did not show themselves, and 
 finally Captain Morgan sent Dick Dare to recon- 
 noiter. The youth, after an absence of half an 
 hpur, returned and reported that he could not see 
 any signs of the British. 
 
 " They must have given up the idea of making 
 the attack on Valley Forge," he said. 
 
 " It looks that way," agreed Captain Morgan. 
 " Well, it is to be hoped that such is the case." 
 
 They remained where they were a while longer, 
 and then as the redcoats did not show up, the 
 
THE BRITISH FOILED 1T3 
 
 patriot soldiers marched back to the encampment. 
 
 Here they found everything quiet, and it 
 seemed apparent that the British had given up 
 the idea of making the attack. 
 
 General Washington and the members of his 
 staff thought thus, and they complimented the sol- 
 diers who had done such good work in discourag- 
 ing the British. 
 
 " There can be no doubt that they have given 
 up the idea of attacking, and gone back to Phila- 
 delphia," said the commander-in-chief. " Doubt- 
 less, realizing that their coming was known, and 
 that they could not take us by surprise, they de- 
 cided to return without striking a blovy." 
 
 The other officers coincided with this opinion, 
 but with the idea of not permitting the enemy 
 to take the camp by surprise, an extra number 
 of sentinels were stationed, and pickets were 
 placed at a distance of a half mile and a mile 
 from the encampment, so the British could not 
 possibly get within striking distance without their 
 coming being known. 
 
 The rest of the night passed quietly. The 
 British did not appear, and it was undoubtedly 
 due to the fact that Dick Dare had learned of 
 the attempt that was to be made to attack, and 
 
174 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY. 
 
 had brought the news to Washington, that the 
 British had been foiled. 
 
 Dick, Tom and Ben remained in the camp next 
 day, but about the middle of the afternoon set 
 out for Philadelphia, as General Washington 
 wished to know whether the British contemplated 
 making another attempt to attack, or whether 
 they had given up the idea. 
 
 They succeeded in getting into the city, and 
 in taking up their quarters in the Farley home, 
 the girls still being there, and Dick reconnoitered 
 carefully, for several nights, and succeeded in 
 learning that the idea of inaking an attack on 
 Valley Forge had been given up. The first at- 
 tempt had proven a failure, and so it was not 
 thought worth while to try it again. 
 
 Dick and the boys then got ready to return ta 
 Valley Forge, and the girls said they would go 
 home on the morrow, to stay a couple of months, 
 probably. 
 
 When evening came, the youths said good-by 
 to the girls, sent their love to Mr. and Mrs. Fos- 
 ter and Mr. and Mrs. Dare, and then left the 
 house and set out upon the journey they had so 
 many times taken under varying conditions, but 
 always with the same commendable object in 
 
THE BRITISH FOILED 175 
 
 view, the gaining of liberty for a worthy people. 
 They succeeded in slipping through the lines 
 and getting out into the open country, and shortly 
 after midnight they reached Valley Forge. 
 They went to their cabin, and lay down and were 
 soon sound asleep, and next morning Dick made 
 his report to General Washington. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 Interesting News 
 
 GENERAL WASHINGTON had supposed 
 that with the coming of spring, the British 
 would try to make an attack on the patriot army, 
 and so he kept Dick Dare pretty busy traveling 
 back and forth between Valley Forge and Phila- 
 delphia. Dick had manufactured a disguise 
 which gave him the appearance of a very old 
 man, and made his work comparatively easy. 
 To Washington's surprise, however, the BritisH 
 did not show any disposition to make an attack 
 in force. 
 
 It was not until nearly the middle of May that 
 Dick succeeded in learning anything of impor- 
 tance, and then he obtained some information 
 that he felt certain would interest General Wash- 
 ington. He at once hastened to Valley Forge, 
 176 
 
INTERESTING NEWS 177 
 
 and was soon in the presence of the commander- 
 in-chief, who after greeting Dick, said: 
 
 "What is it, my boy? From your looks, I 
 should say that you have some news this time." 
 
 " Yes, sir, I have," said Dick. " I learned, 
 your excellency, that General Howe has resigned 
 as commander-in-chief of the British army in 
 America, and that he is soon to return to Eng- 
 land." 
 
 General Washington looked surprised indeed. 
 "Say you so?" he exclaimed. "Well, that is 
 news indeed." 
 
 After a few moments of thought, he went on : 
 " Did you learn why he resigned, Dick-? " 
 
 " I heard considerable talk among the soldiers, 
 sir, and they said that General Howe's campaign 
 in America has not been satisfactory in England, 
 that he has been severely criticised, and he then 
 sent in his resignation and is going to start across 
 the ocean soon. There is to be a big farewell 
 celebration held in Philadelphia on the eighteenth, 
 and then the general will sail." 
 
 " What kind of a celebration are they going 
 to have?" 
 
 " They call it the Mischianza, and as I gath- 
 ered from what I heard, it is to be a sort of pa- 
 
1T8 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 rade and tournament, with a fancy dress ball in 
 the evening." 
 
 " Humph." And then, after a few moments. 
 General Washington asked : " Did you learn 
 who is to be General Howe's successor ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. That is, I heard several say that 
 likely Sir Henry Clinton would receive the ap- 
 pointment." 
 
 General Washington nodded. " So I would 
 suppose," he said. 
 
 He asked Dick a number of questions,^ and 
 when he had learned all that the youth could tell 
 him, he thanked Dick for the information and 
 dismissed him. Then he summoned his staff and 
 told them the news, and they discussed it at 
 length, the concensus of opinion being that Gen- 
 eral Howe's resignation and return to England 
 was favorable to the American Cause, since it was 
 an indication that the war, from the British point 
 of view, had been a failure. 
 
 Dick went to the cabin and told Tom and Ben 
 and the other soldiers the news, and it created 
 considerable interest, and was discussed at al- 
 most as great length as was the case with the 
 commander-in-chief's staff. 
 
 Tom and Ben were greatly interested in Dick's 
 
INTERESTING NEWS 179 
 
 statement about the Mischianza, the big farewell 
 celebration and parade that was to be held on 
 the 1 8th. They said they wanted to be in the 
 city and see the celebration. 
 
 " It surely will be something fine to see," said 
 Tom. 
 
 " Yes," agreed Ben. " The British officers and 
 soldiers, and the Tories will want to make a big 
 show." 
 
 " I'm going to be there and see it," said Tom. 
 
 " I'd like to be there and see what they do," 
 said Ben. 
 
 " Und so vould I, alretty," said Fritz Schmock- 
 enburg. " Dick, I vunder if der gommander-in- 
 chief vould let me go to der city mit you, eh ? " 
 
 " Perhaps, Fritz." 
 
 " Sure an' av he lets Dootchy go, it's mesilf 
 wull be afther goin', too, moind thot," said Tim 
 Murphy. 
 
 "You ask der gommander-in-chief to let us 
 go mit you, Dick," said Fritz, persuasively. 
 
 " I'll see about it," was the reply. 
 
 " Oh, he'll get General Washington to let you 
 go with us," said Tom. " It will be fun to have 
 you two fellows along with us." 
 
 "Yah, ve vill haf lots uf funniness alretty," 
 said Fritz. 
 
180 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 They talked of this for quite a while, and 
 Fritz and Tim seemed to take it as a settled fact 
 that they would get pennission to go to Philadel- 
 phia, for they knew that Dick stood high in the 
 commander-in-chief's regards, and were confident 
 that if he asked that they might be permitted to 
 accompany him, the permission would be granted. 
 
 And such proved to be the case, for when Dick, 
 on being told by General Washington to go to 
 Philadelphia, to be present at the big celebration 
 and report anything of interest that he might 
 learn, asked that Tom, Ben, Tim and Fritz be 
 permitted to accompany him, was informed that 
 they might go, if Dick wished them to do so. 
 
 " Thank you, sir," said Dick. " They wanted 
 to go, and so I will take them along with me. 
 I don't think there will be much danger of their 
 being captured, as everybody will have their 
 minds on the celebration and will not be thinking 
 or caring an3i:hing about a few patriots that 
 might be in the city. As you know, for myself 
 I have a disguise now that defies detection." 
 
 " I think you are right, as to your young 
 friends, Dick," was the reply. "But it will be 
 well to exercise due caution, nevertheless." 
 
 " Yes, indeed, and we will do so, your excel- 
 
INTERESTING NEWS 181 
 
 lency." Then Dick made his way to the cabin 
 and told the youths, and Tim and Fritz that they 
 were to go with him, and to be ready to start 
 soon after dinner. "Let's get away promptly, 
 then we will not need to hurry." 
 
 " Ve'U be ready, Dick," said Fritz. 
 
 " Sure an' we will," nodded Tim. 
 
 Tom and Ben said they were ready to start at 
 any moment. 
 
 They made their preparations, Fritz cooked' 
 their dinner, and about an hour later they set out, 
 as they were going to take it easy. 
 
 They easily reached the home of the patriot 
 across the Schuylkill before nightfall, and stopped 
 there and ate supper. The man had heard about 
 the big time that was to be had in the city on 
 the morrow, and he said that he guessed he would 
 be there and take in the sights. 
 
 Dick and his comrades remained an hour or 
 so after supper, and then set out, and when they 
 reached the edge of the city it was as dark as it 
 would be, that night, and they proceeded to slip 
 through the line of sentinels, which was not a 
 difficult matter, as there were not a great many 
 sentinels on duty, and the few were not very 
 alert, but stood talking to one another about the 
 
182 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 big celebration that was to be held on the mor- 
 row. 
 
 Dick, Tom and Ben were sure Elsie, Lucy and 
 Mary would be at the Farley home, and they 
 were going there, with the intention o£ making 
 that place their quarters while in the city, but 
 Tim and Fritz said they did not want to go there, 
 but would put up at a tavern. The boys argued 
 with them, but their arguments had no effect, 
 and Tim and Fritz were permitted to take up their 
 quarters at a tavern only a few blocks from the 
 Farley home. Dick cautioned the two to be 
 careful, and not get into trouble with redcoats or 
 Tories. 
 
 The two said they would be careful, that they 
 were there to enjoy themselves and see the sights, 
 and did not want to have any trouble. And 
 Dick said that was the way to look at it, and 
 then the three youths made their way to the Far- 
 ley home. 
 
 As they had expected, the girls were there, and 
 they gave the youths a joyous greeting. When 
 they were up in the attic-room, they laid plans 
 to enjoy the celebration on the morrow in each 
 other's company. They agreed upon a certain 
 point as a meeting-place, and they would get to- 
 
INTERESTING NEWS 183 
 
 gether there and spend the most of the day in 
 company. 
 
 " What about Tim and Fritz? " queried Tom. 
 
 " They can be with us, if they like," said Dick. 
 
 " I don't think they will want to be with us," 
 said Ben. " Likely they'll want to chase around 
 together." 
 
 "I think you are probably right about that, 
 Ben," agreed Dick. 
 
 " We girls would enjoy their company, if they 
 are anjrwhere near as funny as you say they are," 
 said Lucy. 
 
 " They're funny, all right," grinned Tom. 
 " It would be almost as much fun to watch them 
 as to look at the celebration." 
 
 The boys and girls continued talking quite a 
 while, and then the girls said good-night and 
 went downstairs to their rooms, and presently 
 the boys lay down and went to sleep. 
 
 They were up early, however, and slipped out 
 the rear way before it was light, and the girls 
 said they would be at the meeting-point at the 
 appointed time, with a full determination to have 
 an enjoyable time indeed. 
 
 The three went to the tavern and ate break- 
 fast. Tim and Fritz came in while they were 
 
184 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 eating, and greeted the three joyously. Then the 
 five left the tavern in company, and made their 
 •way over to the main thoroughfare, which was al- 
 ready thronged with people. There did not seem 
 to be much danger that the patriots would be 
 noticed or recognized by any of the redcoats or 
 Tories. Dick had on his disguise and might 
 easily be taken for the aged father of Tom and 
 Ben. 
 
 The youths were at the meeting-place at tlie 
 appointed time, and the girls appeared soon after- 
 ward. Tim and Fritz had gone off t^ them- 
 selves, as they said they did not want to intrude 
 on the party of yqung people. The girls said 
 they were disappointed, but they looked happy, 
 and the six young people at once set about taking 
 in the celebration. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 The Mischianza 
 
 THE three boys and their companions did 
 have an enjoyable time, indeed. They 
 watched the parade, and later on the tournament, 
 in which seven silk-clad knights of the Blended 
 Rose and seven knights of the Burning Moun- 
 tain had a friendly contest with lances, in honor 
 of fourteen beautiful young ladies dressed in 
 Turkish costumes. 
 
 This interested the young people greatly, and 
 they were as enthusiastic as only young people 
 can be. When the contest was over, they wan- 
 dered up and down the main street, looking at 
 the people, and into the shop-windows, appre- 
 ciative of their opportunity to be in the city to 
 enjoy the big celebration. 
 
 "I wouldn't have missed this for anything," 
 said Tom, enthusiastically. 
 185 
 
186 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 " I guess there are not many people who have 
 seen any such grand affair as this," said Elsie. 
 
 " It is the first that has been held in this coun- 
 try, I guess," said Dick. " But they have such 
 celebrations in the old countries of Europe, once 
 in a while, doubtless." 
 
 " Yes, I suppose so." 
 
 They kept on strolling along, and talking, and 
 the musical laughter of the party often caused 
 people to turn and look at them. Although the 
 youths talked and laughed, they kept a rather 
 sharp lookout around them, at the same time, 
 for Tom and Ben did not want to be seen and 
 recognized. 
 
 They were walking down the street, thus hap- 
 pily engaged, when they saw a crowd in front of 
 them, and they heard high-pitched voices, as if 
 engaged in an altercation. 
 
 " Something going on, there," said Tom, eag- 
 erly. "Let's see what it is, boys." 
 
 "Oh, don't go in among those men," said 
 Uucy. " You may get hurt." 
 
 " What, soldiers like us ? " said Tom, in fine 
 scorn. " We can take care of ourselves." 
 
 Dick, however, thought it would be better not 
 to intrude in the affair, and was about to say so. 
 
THE MISCHIANZA 187 
 
 when he heard a voice that he recognized. It 
 was that of Tim Murphy, and he was evidently- 
 disputing with somebody. Dick at once leaped 
 to the conclusion that Tim and Fritz were the 
 ones in trouble, and that they were perhaps threat- 
 ened by redcoats and Tories. 
 
 The other two boys recognized the voice also, 
 and Ben exclaimed : " That's Tim's voice ! " 
 
 " That's what it is," cried Tom. " Come on, 
 Dick and Ben. Tim and Fritz are in trouble, 
 and we must go and help them." 
 
 Dick looked at the girls, a puzzled expression 
 on his face. 
 
 " We ought to go and help our comrades," he 
 said. "But, what about you?" 
 
 " We can take care of ourselves and make our 
 way back to Aunt Farley's house," said Elsie. 
 " But — I'm afraid you boys will get into seri- 
 ous trouble, Dick." 
 
 " We'll be careful, Elsie. Well, you girls stay 
 back here, and we may rejoin you in a little 
 while." Then Dick nodded to Tom and Ben, 
 and they hastened to where the crowd had con- 
 gregated. They pushed their way through, till 
 they obtained a place at the inner edge of the 
 ring, in which stood, as they had expected, Tim 
 
188 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 Murphy and Fritz Schmockenburg, who were en- 
 gaged in an angry altercation with a soldier in 
 uniform and a number of Tories. 
 
 " So I have found you at last," cried Dick, 
 breaking in upon the controversy. Then turn- 
 ing to the redcoat, he said, " What is the matter 
 here?" 
 
 ^The onlookers saw, what appeared to them to 
 be, an elderly, but stalwart man, and his two 
 sturdy companions, and now all turned their at- 
 tention to them. The elderly appearing man was 
 Dick, of course, in disguise. 
 
 Tim and Fritz were about to utter exclama- 
 tions of joy at the prospects of having Dick's 
 help in extracting them from their predicament. 
 Dick gave the two patriots a warning glance, 
 whith, fortunately, they understood. It seems 
 that some incautious words of theirs had at- 
 tracted the attention of the passing redcoat, who 
 was suspicious that they were rebels. 
 
 Dick at once recognized the seriousness of the 
 situation, and had done some quick thinking. If 
 he were to merely join forces with his two 
 cronies, he might, by some diversion, secure their 
 temporary release. Some might get away, but 
 all could not expect to. 
 
THE MISCHIANZA 189 
 
 " What is the matter here ? " repeated Dick. 
 
 The redcoat looked at his interrogator and his 
 youthful companions in surprise and with dis- 
 dain. 
 
 " What business is that of yours ? " 
 
 " Every business," answered Dick with assur- 
 ance. 
 
 " These two men are rebels. I overheard them 
 talk, and spotted them for spies." 
 
 Dick laughed heartily. His companions were 
 amazed, and wondered what game it might be 
 that their leader was playing. 
 
 " Fine specimen for a spy, this is," cried Dick, 
 pointing his finger at Fritz's rotund form. Then 
 the speaker was seemingly doubled up with mirth, 
 and in his infectious laughter, some of the by- 
 standers joined. 
 
 " But seriously," he resumed, " you are right 
 as to their being known as rebels. At least they 
 were. Maybe they will reform now." 
 
 " You say they are rebels, then, my aged 
 friend, why do you interfere ? I shall take them 
 to headquarters." Evidently Dick's disguise was 
 entirely effective, for the British soldier addressed 
 him as " my aged friend." 
 
 "I will save you any further trouble," an- 
 
190 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 nounced Dick, " although these fellows have been 
 trouble enough to me." 
 
 " Explain what you mean." 
 
 The redcoat was not the only one in the dark 
 as to Dick's intentions. Curiosity was written 
 upon the face of each of his four comrades. 
 
 " Why merely this. These young fellows are 
 my prisoners, who escaped. I am the jailer of 
 the Spruce Street lock-up. Tom, Ben, each of 
 yoy," he ordered, " take an arm of the prisoners, 
 and if you let either escape again, I will shoot 
 the first man who blunders." 
 
 Then turning to the soldier, with a most courte- 
 ous bow, he said : " Thank you, officer, for your 
 help. I don't know what I should have done 
 without your assistance." 
 
 The soldier, evidently entirely satisfied, saluted, 
 while the patriot party, two and two, with Dick 
 at the rear, marched down the street. 
 
 They proceeded first in the direction Dick had 
 indicated, and the soldier, nothing loath, feeling 
 he had done his duty, went on his way to enjoy 
 the holiday celebration. 
 
 The crowd of onlookers, finding that there was 
 to be no scrap to interest them, gradually melted 
 avvay. Two or three, perhaps a little skeptical. 
 
THE MISCHIANZA 191 
 
 followed, but when the party had turned a cor- 
 ner, Dick held back and sternly ordered the oth- 
 ers to go about their business. 
 
 Later they all made their way to their respec- 
 tive stopping places, and did not venture out 
 again till evening. Then, under the cover of the 
 dark, they were able to go about with safety, and 
 to enjoy to the full the unique entertainments 
 offered. This was well, for those who read the 
 book to follow " The Dare Boys After Benedict 
 Arnold," with its exciting episodes and experi- 
 ences, will not withhold from the daring youths 
 this brief interlude of pleasure. 
 
 The next day General Howe set sail for Eng- 
 land, and Philadelphia settled down to a quiet ex- 
 istence once more. 
 
 The only difference to be noticed was that the 
 soldiers drank more, and seemed to be less care- 
 ful regarding their actions, and there were fre- 
 quent encounters, more often between British sol- 
 diers, but sometimes between the soldiers and 
 some of the Tory citizens. 
 
 The boys remained several days, and then, feel- 
 ing certain that the British did not contemplate 
 making any move, they set out, one night, after 
 bidding good-by to the girls, and returned to 
 
192 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 
 Valley Forge. Tim and Fritz were already 
 there, having left the night after the celebration. 
 Dick reported to General Washington, and 
 then went to the cabin and the youths talked of 
 their experiences in the city. Tim and Fritz, 
 greatly pleased with their experiences there, dis- 
 cussed with animation what they had seen, and 
 especially dwelt upon the adventure where they 
 had come very near being captured by the British. 
 
 THE END 
 
TT H B 
 
 DARE BOYS OF 1776 
 
 By STEPHEN ANGUS COX 
 
 77l« luitst votctme 
 
 The Dare Boys and the 
 "Swamp Fox" 
 
 Campaigning tdth Morgan is a tale> 
 which will thrill and entertaui eveiy 
 boy. The story deals with facts of 
 history not generally known. 
 
 The avthor of the Dare Bogt of 1776 is speeiaUy equipped 
 through long study and research to write upon the life and 
 ttdventuree of these two daring »ona of the revolutionary period. 
 Svery item of historical reference is absolutely correct. The 
 triais and inherent bravery of the sturdy vaovrriers of this epocA 
 are cUvMys subjects worth nhile, but here the dash and bravery 
 tfihe two Dare boys adds immeasurably to the interest. 
 
 Dick Dare and his younger brother Tom are two typical 
 youths of the hardy, indomitably brave company which 
 fought for the liberty this great nation now enjoys. Their 
 personal experiences were many and of a character to try 
 their metal That they were not found wanting the stories 
 evidence. There is mystery, spy-work, night adventures and 
 fighting in the open. The interest never flags. 
 THE DARE BOYS OF 1776 
 THE DARE BOYS ON THE HUDSON 
 THE DARE BOYS IN TRENTON 
 THE DARE BOYS ON THE BRANDYWINE 
 THE DARE BOYS IN THE RED CITY 
 THE DARE BOYS AFTER BENEDICT ARNOLD 
 THE DARE BOYS IN VIRGINIA 
 THE DARE BOYS WITH GENERAL GREENE 
 THE DARE BOYS WITH LAFAYETTE 
 THE DARE BOYS AND THE "SWAMP FOX" 
 JUlustrated, Cloth 12mo. Price per volume 60 cents. 
 
«om«l FRONTIER 
 BOYS I BOYS 
 
 ONTHt OVERLANDTPML 
 
 THE 
 
 FRONTIER BOYS 
 
 5Xe ncTj» book for t9i0 
 Frontier Boys 
 
 in the Saddle 
 
 By Capt. Wyn Roose-oett 
 
 This noted scout and author, known to every plains 
 tnan, has lived a life of stirring adventure. In boyhood, 
 he traveled the overland route to the West — a trip of 
 hardships and trials that would have daunted a heart 
 less brave. His life has been spent in the companionship 
 tf the typically brave adventures, gold seekers, cowboys 
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 sure to win the heart of every boy. 
 
 This series tells the adyeutures of Jim, Jo, and Tom Dar- 
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 thrilling adventures and encounters, stirring incidents are the 
 rule, not exception. 
 
 FRONTIER BOYS ON THE OVERLAND TRAIL 
 FRONTIER BOYS IN COLORADO 
 FRONTIER BOYS IN THE ROCKIES 
 FRONTIER BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON 
 FRONTIER BOYS IN MEXICO 
 FRONTIER BOYS ON THE COAST 
 FRONTIER BOYS IN HAWAII 
 FRONTIER BOYS IN THE SIERRAS 
 • FRONTIER BOYS IN THE SADDLE 
 Finely illustrated. Cloth. 12 mo. 
 Price, 60 cents per Volume.