Page:Dorothy's spy; a story of the first "fovrth of Jvly" celebration, New York, 1776.djvu/160

Rh he cried sternly. "If it so be that these kindly neighbors of ours deprive us of a shelter, we will stand by and see it done, rejoicing that we are free and in each other's company. To kill a Tory would be the same as signing your own death warrant, whatever might be the provocation, for my lord Howe would not scruple to hang every Whig in the colony." Then, seeing that Master Dean was not to be dissuaded because of possible danger to himself, he tried another line of argument. "Think you that your wife and child are not in sore straits enough already, that you must prepare your neck for a British rope so they may be left without a protector? Who would feed or shelter them after you were hanged? Life is not yours to throw away while you have a woman and a child dependent upon you!"

"Enough, Anthony Lamb! Enough! I am ever quick to speak without first weighing the cost. If it be that these scoundrelly Tories destroy our property without our striking a blow in self-defense, you shall see that I can look on as calmly as you, and when this dwelling has been burned, my shop and your buildings will be given over to the torch."

"Since we can do nothing to prevent it, save at the expense of leaving our families alone in this world, let it be done, and we will say to ourselves, even when all we own is in ashes, that God