We felt that Aunt Polly would take care of
us, let what would come.
"The hours dragged slowly away. Aunt Polly told us that the
distant firing meant that our men had not retreated without an
effort to defend the village. When this firing ceased, we began
to watch and hope that some message would come from our fathers
and mothers. But none came. We wondered among our little selves
if they all had been put to death by the British, and even the
oldest among us shed some dreary tears.
"Dan Parsons, who was the biggest boy among us and of an
adventurous turn, went in the gathering twilight gloom down as
near the village as he dared. He came shivering back to us with
such tales of vague horror that our very hearts stopped beating
while we listened.
" 'I crep' along under the shadder of the alders and black-berry
bushes,' he began, ' 'til I got close ter De'con Milleses house.
'Twas as still as death 'round there, but jest as I turned the
corner by the barn I see somethin' gray a-flappin' and
a-flutterin' jest inside the barn door. I stopped, kind o'
wonderin' what it could be, when all at once I thought I should
'a' dropped, for it came over me like a flash that it might be'--
" 'What, what, Dan?' cried a score of frightened voices; and Dan
replied solemnly:
" 'THE OLD DEACON'S SKULP!'
" 'Oh dear! oh dear!' sobbed the terrified chorus.
"Aunt Polly could do nothing with us; and little Dolly Miles, the
deacon's granddaughter, burst into a series of wild lamentations
that called Farmer Gubtil to the door to know the cause of the
commotion.
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