sound of the departing army reached them. The point where they embarked
was close by where the East River Bridge now touches the Brooklyn shore.
It was daylight before the last of the troops got aboard, but a heavy
fog shielded them as well as had the darkness.

When the sun swept the fog away, General Howe gazed in wonder at the
spot where the American forces had been the night before. But they
were gone, with the swiftness and silence of magic! The magician was
Washington, who had not slept from the hour of defeat until his men were
safe again in New York. But they were not to remain there long, as more
exciting work was before them.




CHAPTER XXVI


THE BRITISH OCCUPY NEW YORK

Miles and miles above the little city of New York, on a road which led
up through the Island of Manhattan, there was a stately house in a
stretch of country and forest land overlooking the Hudson River. This
was the house of Charles Ward Apthorpe and was known as the Apthorpe
mansion. Here General Washington went after the retreat from Long
Island, to devise a plan for the battles that were to come.

The city was well fortified, but Washington understood full well that
it could not be held long against a British attack. For the British
soldiers were already on the islands of the East River, and the British