"No ma'am," said Oscar; "I've read about General Burgoyne's retreat;
but I never heard of Widow Storey before: who was she?"

"O, it was n't that kind of a retreat that I meant," said his
grandmother; "but I will tell you who she was. She lived in Salisbury,
some twenty or thirty miles from where I belong. Her husband was the
first man who settled in Salisbury, but he was very unfortunate. After
he had worked hard, and got a log cabin ready for his family, it took
fire, and was destroyed; and he himself was killed by the fall of a
tree, soon after. But his widow was a very smart woman; and though she
had eight or ten small children, she moved on to the place her husband
had selected; and the proprietors of the township gave her a hundred
acres of land to encourage and reward her. She worked just like a man,
and didn't mind chopping down trees, and cultivating the soil, with her
own hands. But by-and-bye the Revolution broke out, and as there were
British soldiers in the neighborhood, she was afraid they would make
her a visit. She fled several times to another town, where there was
less danger; but after awhile a new idea entered her head, and she
proceeded to carry it out, with the aid of a man who lived near her.
The idea was, to construct a hiding-place, where the British could not
find them, if they should pay her a visit. They selected a spot on
Otter Creek, and dug a hole right into the bank, horizontally. The
hole was a little above the water, and was just large enough for a
person to crawl into. It was so covered up by bushes that hung from
the bank, that a stranger would not notice it. This passage led to a
large lodging-room, the bottom of which was covered with straw. Good
comfortable beds were prepared, and here the families found a secure
retreat, until the danger was past."

"That was complete," said Oscar; "but I should think the British might