When I recovered from my swoon, I felt weak but
comparatively well. I opened my eyes and looked
around. The horrible images, with which my fevered
brain had been filled, had vanished. I was reclining on
a bed of leaves, over which a sort of awning was stretched.

[figure description] Page 285.[end figure description]

A young girl, with large black eyes, sat near me; she
was murmuring in a low tone to herself. At a little
distance I saw half-a-dozen dusky forms squatting near
a fire. Besides these, I saw two others who appeared to
be prisoners. The face of one was familiar to me; it
was Welcome Dodge. Those near the fire appeared to
be British Indians. Besides these, I noted two or three
soldiers. Judging from their uniform, I took them to be
Hessians. The truth now burst upon my mind. It was
evident that I had been taken prisoner.

I sought to raise myself a little. For the first time I
perceived that my head was supported on the lap of some
person. I looked up. I saw the sweet eyes of Mayflower
fixed with ineffable tenderness upon my own.
I stretched out my arms and clasped her neck. She
bent down. Our lips met in one long embrace. Overpowered
by the throng of my emotions, and weak with
my loss of blood, I again fainted.

I revived soon afterwards. I heard from Mayflower's
lips the detail of our situation. She had saved my life;
she had tended my wounds; she had been my champion,
my guardian, my nurse. Even now I lay powerless as
a child in her arms. None of my wounds were dangerous;
though some of them had been very painful.
The fever into which I had been thrown, had however
prostrated my strength.

While Mayflower had been succouring me upon the
field of battle, night arrived; she would not leave me,
and we had both been made captive by a straggling
party of Indians and Hessians.

I am determined not to profane the holiness of the
feelings which surrounded and hallowed the image of
Mayflower in my mind. I am determined not to

[figure description] Page 286.[end figure description]

enlarge upon the course of our love after this moment. I
feel that I have no longer the nerve to lay bare my own
mental anatomy. I feel that there are fibres in my
system which shrink from the scalpel. They shall not
be exposed.

Accordingly, as I know that the case is likely to prove
less interesting to the world than to myself, I shall say
no more on the subject; and shall confine myself to recording
whatever important event may happen, until I
arrive at the point where I intend to close my biography.

We remained where we were for a day or two. We
were strictly guarded, and our captors did not seem to
have made up their minds as to their destination. Before
we left our present encampment I was able to walk about.
I succeeded in holding an interview with Quarter-master
Dodge. Neither of us had any exact knowledge of our
position, or of the events, the principal part of which I
have recorded in the preceding chapter.

Dodge informed me of the event of the battle, but
knew nothing more. He had been taken by the same
party that had captured us; but the coalition was by
the purest accident. He had remained on the field with
the economical intention of collecting and carrying away
a quantity of swords and muskets. While he was thus
occupied, he had been suddenly taken prisoner.

To my surprise, I found that the young girl, who was
very beautiful, was a perfect mistress of the English.
Furthermore, I observed that she had enjoyed and profited
by the best education that the Colonies could afford.
Moreover, she was in the entire confidence of Mayflower,
who of course still retained her uniform and man's apparel.
She was the only one who was aware of the
secret of Mayflower's sex. All this surprised me. Her
name was Neida.

[figure description] Page 287.[end figure description]

The name excited my wonder. I was curious to
know her history. She informed me that she believed
herself to be of English parentage, but that there was a
mystery about her birth and education, which she had not
been able to solve. Her earliest recollections were of a
convent in Montreal; it was there she had been educated.

Judging from a variety of causes, but more than all in
obedience to the promptings of my own heart, I felt that
she was the sister of whom my father had spoken. I
clasped her in my arms, much to her surprise, and to the
chagrin of Mayflower.

I explained my feelings and my hopes as well as I
could. Their feminine imaginations were exactly of
that construction which lends a ready faith to any thing
which is at once plausible and romantic.

We resolved to call ourselves brother and sister, even
if the event should prove that I was mistaken.

But it will soon be seen that I was not mistaken.

I shall not enter, however, into a detail of my sister's
history, because in the first place it is unnecessary; and
secondly, because it is so long and complicated that it
would fatigue rather than interest, an indifferent reader.

I already fear that I have trespassed too much upon
my reader's forbearance by introducing the prolix narrative
of my father's adventures, and I feel that I have
no excuse for again imploring their patience.

Let it suffice then, that I had the satisfaction of embracing
my long-lost sister, and that the hopes of my
father were indeed realized.

It is perhaps not inexpedient to add, that the agent of
my parent's second bereavement, was not (as the reader
may suppose,) the Indian Wahquimacutt, but the French
priest, Father Simon.

[figure description] Page 288.[end figure description]

At night, Dodge and I were enabled to hold a conference.
We concerted various means of escape. When
I was again by myself, I heard the Hessian officer, who
appeared to be the commander of the party, giving his
directions.

It seemed from his conversation, that we were not far
from the enemy's camp; but that they had lost their
way. Besides this, they were sadly in want of provisions.
They were to disperse in search of forage, and to
reconnoitre; the next morning they intended to steal
away for an hour or two unperceived, and before their
prisoners were awake. They intended to leave only
two Indians (one very old man and a boy,) to guard us.
They had a number of pistols, and some ammunition,
more than they required to take with them. They mentioned
to each other a hole in the stump of a tree where
they intended to conceal them. All this conversation
was carried on in German. They spoke in a low tone,
but as they were without suspicion that the language
could be understood by any but themselves, it was loud
enough to be intelligible.

When I heard all this, my heart bounded within
me. I watched anxiously till they slept, and I was
then able to convey by a few whispers to the sagacious
Dodge, the principal part of the conversation I had
heard. We waited anxiously for the morning. By daybreak,
we heard them rouse themselves. They went to
the tree they had spoken of. They set the guard over
us. We still pretended to sleep. They came up to us,
and bound our arms and legs, and then they went away.
Soon after this, Mayflower and Neida came out of the
hut. They awoke us, and dressed my wounds. They
were nearly well. In the meantime I had grown

[figure description] Page 289.[end figure description]

tolerably strong. I communicated to Mayflower and Neida
what I had heard, and our intentions. The beautiful
savage was enabled to deceive the Indians. They were
not aware of her treachery. We waited till time enough
had elapsed for the Hessians to be some miles distant. Our
bonds were then suddenly cut by Neida; with one bound
we sprang upon the two remaining Indians. They were
dozing, and unsuspicious of the attack. We had no difficulty
in binding and gagging them. We fastened them
to a tree. We searched out the pistols and ammunition,
and then we started on our retreat. Our “partie carr
ée” consisted of Neida and Mayflower, Welcome Dodge
and myself.

We wandered the whole day through the woods.
We hardly knew which way to turn our steps, for we
were totally ignorant of our situation. We were also
convinced that the savages would be on our trail the
moment that the Hessians returned. Towards nightfall,
we saw the figure of a man at some distance. We
hesitated whether we should advance or retreat. We
feared an ambush. We dreaded to fall again into the
enemy's hands.

We stole a little nearer. We could distinguish the
gleam of a musket. It was a sentinel, and directly afterward,
we saw indistinctly the forms of half-a-dozen
more, It was evidently the advanced picket of a camp.
We feared that it was Burgoyne's; and we were retiring
that we might again reconnoitre.

Suddenly the sentinel perceived us. He hailed us —
it was decidedly an English voice. We attempted to
retreat. He levelled his musket.

“You'd better come in, stranger, or I guess I shall
shoot you right-away?” said he.

[figure description] Page 290.[end figure description]

We were delighted. It was after all the American
camp. We all advanced.

“Why!” cried the sentinel, lowering his musket,
“Ain't that Quarter-master Dodge?”

“I shouldn't wonder,” was the reply.

At the conclusion of this pithy dialogue, we entered
the camp, and reported ourselves to the General.

I went immediately in search of my father. He was
in the hospital. The surgeon informed me that his
wounds were very dangerous. I had been absent more
than a week. It was the evening of the fifth of October.
He had frequently inquired for me, and had manifested
so much anxiety for my fate that the surgeon had been
afraid to tell him, I was among the missing.

I entered cautiously — my father was awake — he embraced
me affectionately, and I then entertained him with
a detail of my adventures.

He was overcome with rapture, when he was informed
of the discovery of my sister. For that it was my sister,
the information which he already possessed, united to
various other evidence, enabled us in a few moments to
decide. The door opened. The lovely Neida sprang
into the room, and was soon locked in her father's arms.