Buffalo?"

"I have harde from both places," returned Tom, "and everythin looks
well; but how are things here, and are you all prepared to assist the
invading army when they cross the lines; and what number of men can
we fairly count upon?"

"It has, I believe, been ascertained beyond a shadow of doubt,"
replied Burk, "that there are upwards of one hundred thousand men
throughout the Provinces who would at once rush to arms if they found
the flag of the Irish Republic firmly planted at any one point within
our borders; while it is known or believed, that more than twice that
number would follow in their wake, if Toronto was once in the hands
of the invaders. In fact, Toronto and Montreal once taken, the day is
ours, for we should have the French almost to a man, no matter what
Monsieur George Etienne or Master John Alexander may say to the
contrary. Canada is evidently tired of British rule, and is only kept
from kicking over the traces by a pack of government officials who
hold the purse strings, and a subsidized press that destroys the
homogeneity of the people, by making them doubt each other, and
impressing every man disaffected to the Crown, with the idea that
every other individual Colonist, or nearly so, is opposed to him. In
this way, the sentiment of independence which underlies the nine
tenths of our population is obstructed and embarrassed, and one man
prompted to look with distrust upon another, although both may
entertain precisely the same sentiments in relation to the
desirability of throwing off the British yoke. As to how the army
stands, Nick here can tell you more about that than I can."

"The army," said Barry, "is just as you might expect it to be. The