said Ruyven.

"Excepting the Johnsons and the Butlers," corrected Sammy.

"And then everybody geths tight; they were here lath night and Uncle
Varick is sthill abed," said little Benny, innocently.

"Will you all hold your tongues?" cried Dorothy, fiercely. "Father said
we were not to tell anybody that Sir John and the Ormond-Butlers
visited us."

"Why not?" I asked.

Dorothy clasped both hands under her chin, rested her bare elbows on the
table, and leaned close to me, whispering confidentially: "Because of
the war with the Boston people. The country is overrun with
rebels--rebel troops at Albany, rebel gunners at Stanwix, rebels at
Edward and Hunter and Johnstown. A scout of ten men came here last week;
they were harrying a war-party of Brant's Mohawks, and Stoner was with
them, and that great ox in buckskin, Jack Mount. And do you know what he
said to father? He said, 'For Heaven's sake, turn red or blue, Sir
Lupus, for if you don't we'll hang you to a crab-apple and chance the
color.' And father said, 'I'm no partisan King's man'; and Jack Mount
said, 'You're the joker of the pack, are you?' And father said, 'I'm not
in the shuffle, and you can bear me out, you rogue!' And then Jack Mount
wagged his big forefinger at him and said, 'Sir Lupus, if you're but a
joker, one or t'other side must discard you!' And they rode away,
priming their rifles and laughing, and father swore and shook his
cane at them."