] party were fools in not letting the royal adjutant general
escape?" said the man, thrown off his guard by the freedom of the
captain's manner.
"Fools!" cried Lawton, with a bitter laugh. "Aye, fools indeed; King
George would have paid them better, for he is richer. He would have made
them gentlemen for their losses. But, thank God! there is a pervading
spirit in the people that seems miraculous. Men who have nothing, act as
if the wealth of the Indies depended on their fidelity; all are not
villains like yourself, or we should have been slaves to England
years ago."
"How!" exclaimed the Skinner, starting back, and dropping his musket to
the level of the other's breast; "am I betrayed, and are you my enemy?"
"Miscreant!" shouted Lawton, his saber ringing in its steel scabbard, as
he struck the musket of the fellow from his hands, "offer but again to
point your gun at me, and I'll cleave you to the middle."
"And you will not pay us, then, Captain Lawton?" said the Skinner,
trembling in every joint, for just then he saw a party of mounted
dragoons silently encircling the whole party.
"Oh! pay you--yes, you shall have the full measure of your reward. There
is the money that Colonel Singleton sent down for the captors of the
spy," throwing a bag of guineas with disdain at the other's feet.
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