host could not but believe he was fully and properly prepared for the long
journey before him.

Walter did not have as good fortune on his return as in the morning. When
he arrived at the shore he saw several boats going to and fro, but the
afternoon was considerably more than half spent before he succeeded in
finding a boatman who would allow him to work his passage.

Then, when he finally landed on the opposite shore, an hour was spent in
searching for the horse, which had wandered into the woods, and by the
time the boy was ready to begin the return journey the sun hung low in the
sky.

"It will be another night-ride," he muttered, as he leaped into the
saddle. "I did hope to reach Salem early in the evening, and so I might
have done had I been possessed of enough money to pay my ferriage. Master
Revere would have given it to me, but I could not tell him that I, who had
been received into the ranks of the Sons of Liberty, had not so much as a
shilling."

He was comparatively fresh when he drew rein in front of Master Cotton's
stable shortly before midnight, and although the time could well have been
spent in slumber, he devoted an hour to caring for the weary steed who had
borne him so bravely.

To awaken Master Cotton was not a portion of Walter's plan. That gentleman
had shown himself to be of such a timid nature that the young messenger
believed he would pot be pleased at receiving any information; therefore,
as soon as the horse had been cared for, he started out of Salem on foot,
intending to make himself a bed on the ground when he should be within