must see him at once."

"The Major is out at present," the soldier replied. "But let me have
your message and I shall give it to him as soon as he comes back."

"I have orders to give it to the Major himself and to no one else," the
courier explained. "It is very important."

"It certainly must be," and the soldier smiled. "But the Major is very
busy to-day, so may not have time to see you. He is down at the
trading post just now looking after the wants of those people who have
come in the ships. They have upset things in general, and are making
matters pretty lively around here, let me tell you that. The Major is
almost at his wits' end."

"Who are they?" Dane eagerly asked, "and where did they come from?"

"Why, don't you know?" the soldier asked in surprise.

"No, I have not the least idea. When I heard the Fort guns roar, I
thought maybe old Crabtree had come back again."

The soldier laughed and looked curiously at the young man.

"Say, where do you hail from, anyway, that you haven't heard about the
coming of the Loyalists? Why, we've been expecting them for some time."

"I never heard of them," Dane confessed, "and have no idea who they
are."