of the Dares. Mr. Foster was a king's man, but he was different from
the other Tories of the neighborhood, in that he was an honest,
honorable man, and was a friend of the Dares. He had had nothing to do
with the capture of Mr. Dare, and was outspoken in his denunciation of
his Tory neighbors for the deed they had committed.

Dick had gone over to the Foster home to borrow something for his
mother, and had met Elsie out in the yard, and the girl had greeted
Dick as above. The truth was that Dick and Elsie were great friends.
They were school-mates, and whenever there was anything going on in
the neighborhood, such as spelling schools, skating parties, etc.,
Dick was Elsie's companion. Elsie was seventeen, and she had a
brother, Ben, he being her twin, and a sister, Lucy, aged fifteen. The
three young folks of the Dare family and the three of the Foster
family often got together of evenings and had a pleasant time, but now
that Dick and Tom were going away to the war, it would break into this
arrangement.

When Dick asked Elsie if she would care if he should get killed in
battle, she blushed and looked confused at first, and then she looked
him frankly in the eyes and said, softly. "You know I would, Dick."

"I'm glad to know that, Elsie," said Dick, earnestly.

At this moment Ben Foster came running up. He was a manly-looking
youth, and was lively and jolly as a rule. But now he was very
sober-looking, for he realized that Dick, whose father had been
captured by the Tories only the day before, was in no mood for
jollity. There was an eager expression on Ben's face, however, and
after greeting Dick, he asked: