About half-past one o'clock in the afternoon, however, he was given a
shock: He saw half a dozen British soldiers approaching the encampment
from the north, and in their midst was-his brother Tom!

"They've captured Tom!" he exclaimed mentally, in dismay. "Goodness,
that is bad! I wonder how it happened?"

This was a simple matter. The half dozen redcoats had been up in the
hills nearby the Heights, where Dick and Tom had had the adventure the
night before, when in passing the clump of trees, some one of them
happened to catch a glimpse of Tom, who was seated under a tree,
eating some food that he had procured t a farmhouse early that
morning. The soldiers had advanced, and their sudden appearance had
startled Tom to such an extent that when they asked who he was and
what he was doing there, he stammered and was unable to make a
satisfactory reply offhand, with the result that the redcoats seized
him and made him a prisoner, their idea being that even though he were
a boy he might be a "rebel" spy.

As may well be supposed, when Dick saw the redcoats approaching with
his brother a prisoner in their midst, his heart sank. He had been
figuring on getting his brother to help him in rescuing the patriot
spies and soldiers, and here was Tom in the enemy's hands, a prisoner.

"I'll have to begin by rescuing Tom, I guess," was Dick's thought.

The soldiers entered the encampment, with the youth in their midst,
and conducted him to where in front of his tent the general was
sitting on a camp-stool. The officer looked up as the party
approached, and he eyed the prisoner in some surprise.