The mother could not share the buoyancy of her son. She stepped
outside, so as to be beyond the hearing of the little ones.
"Omas has been here; that is his little girl that you hear laughing
with Alice. He has told me the same as you--the Tories and Indians
are coming, and he wants us to flee with him."
"What does he mean by that?" asked the half indignant boy.
"He says they will put us all to death, and if we do not go with
him, we will be killed too."
The handsome face of Benjamin Ripley took on an expression of
scorn, and as he straightened up, he seemed to become several inches
taller.
"He forgets that I am with you! Omas is very kind; but he and his
Tory friends had better look out for themselves. Why, with the men
at the fort, Colonel Butler will have several hundred."
"But they are mostly old men and boys."
"Well," said the high spirited lad, with a twinkle of his fine hazel
eyes, "add up a lot of old men and boys, and the average is the
same number of middle aged men, isn't it? Don't you worry, mother
--things are all right. If Omas comes back, give him our thanks,
and tell him we are not going to sneak off when we are needed at
home."
It was hard to resist the contagion of Ben's hopefulness. The
mother not only loved but respected him as much as she could have
done had he been several years older. He had been her mainstay for
the two years past, during which the father was absent with the
patriot army; and she came to lean upon him more and more, though
her heart sank when Ben began to talk of following his father into
the ranks, to help in the struggle for independence.
She found herself looking upon the situation as Ben did. If so
great danger threatened Wyoming, it would be cowardly for them to
leave their friends to their fate. It was clear all could not find
safety by going, and she would feel she was doing wrong if she gave
no heed to the others.
Ben was tall and strong for his years, and the fact that he had
taken the gun from Colonel Butler to be used in taking care of the
settlement bound the youth in honor to do so.
"It shall be as you say," said the mother; "I cannot be as hopeful
as you, but it is our duty to stay. We will not talk about it before
the children."