fields above. In one place a Hessian skull had been snapped from the
buried skeleton, and was rolled to light, among the mud and pebbles. Not
far off, something was moving among the bushes, and he involuntarily
drew rein.

The form stopped, appeared to crouch down for a moment, then suddenly
rose and strode forth upon the grass. It was a woman, wearing a man's
flannel jacket, and carrying a long, pointed staff in her hand. As she
approached with rapid strides, he recognized Deb. Smith.

"Deborah!" he cried, "what are you doing here?"

She set her pole to the ground and vaulted over the high picket-fence,
like an athlete.

"Well," she said, "if I'd ha' been shy o' you, Mr. Gilbert, you wouldn't
ha' seen me. I'm not one of them as goes prowlin' around among dead
bodies' bones at midnight; what I want, I looks for in the daytime."

"Bones?" he asked. "You're surely not digging up the Hessians?"

"Not exackly; but, you see, the rain's turned out a few, and some on
'em, folks says, was buried with lots o' goold platted up in their
pig-tails. I know o' one man that dug up two or three to git their
teeth, (to sell to the tooth-doctors, you know,) and when he took hold
o' the pig-tail to lift the head by, the hair come off in his hand, and
out rattled ten good goolden guineas. Now, if any money's washed out,
there's no harm in a body's pickin' of it up, as I see."

"What luck have you had?" asked Gilbert.