Chapter 29

Away went Gilpin, neck or nought,
Away went hat and wig;
He little dreamt, when he set out,
Of running such a rig.
--COWPER.

The road which it was necessary for the peddler and the English captain
to travel, in order to reach the shelter of the hills, lay, for a half
mile, in full view from the door of the building that had so recently
been the prison of the latter; running for the whole distance over the
rich plain, that spreads to the very foot of the mountains, which here
rise in a nearly perpendicular ascent from their bases; it then turned
short to the right, and was obliged to follow the windings of nature, as
it won its way into the bosom of the Highlands.

To preserve the supposed difference in their stations, Harvey rode a
short distance ahead of his companion, and maintained the sober,
dignified pace, that was suited to his assumed character. On their
right, the regiment of foot, that we have already mentioned, lay, in
tents; and the sentinels who guarded their encampment were to be seen
moving with measured tread under the hills themselves.

The first impulse of Henry was, certainly, to urge the beast he rode to
his greatest speed at once, and by a coup de main not only accomplish
his escape, but relieve himself from the torturing suspense of his
situation. But the forward movement that the youth made for this purpose
was instantly checked by the peddler.

"Hold up!" he cried, dexterously reining his own horse across the path
of the other. "Would you ruin us both? Fall into the place of a black,
following his master. Did you not see their blooded chargers, all
saddled and bridled, standing in the sun before the house? How long do
you think that miserable Dutch horse you are on would hold his speed, if
pursued by the Virginians? Every foot that we can gain, without giving
the alarm, counts a day in our lives. Ride steadily after me, and on no
account look back. They are as subtle as foxes, aye, and as ravenous for
blood as wolves!"

Henry reluctantly restrained his impatience, and followed the direction
of the peddler. His imagination, however, continually alarmed him with
the fancied sounds of pursuit, though Birch, who occasionally looked
back under the pretense of addressing his companion, assured him that
all continued quiet and peaceful.

"But," said Henry, "it will not be possible for Caesar to remain long
undiscovered. Had we not better put our horses to the gallop, and by the
time they can reflect on the cause of our flight, we can reach the
corner of the woods?"

"Ah! you little know them, Captain Wharton," returned the peddler.
"There is a sergeant at this moment looking after us, as if he