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 to General Clinton. "Is that not so, sir?" he demanded.

General Clinton strode forward. "What know ye o' this matter, little mistress?" he asked.

"I will tell ye, sir," said Sally, and plunged forthwith into the tale of Jerry Lawrence's first appearance at the Mountain, of his being wounded, of Stockton's treachery and her own kidnapping, of Stockton's hatred of Jerry, of Jerry's escape and his subsequent recapture. She ended upon the high note of Stockton's death and Jerry's danger, while the pigeon pasties, to the hostess's dismay, cooled upon the dinner table in the next room and were removed by the interested Cudje to be reheated.

"See that the lass's story be investigated, and push the matter o' young Lawrence's exchange," ordered General Clinton at last; and, taking out his snuffbox, he turned suggestively toward the dining room.

Her plan had worked! Yet, glancing at the set, unhappy face of Lady Holden who, though she sat at the table, neither ate nor drank, Sally felt no elation. What was there, anyway, in the atmosphere that evening which made everyone tense and restless? The pigeon pasties were at length carried back to the kitchen almost untasted, and soon afterward General Clinton and Major André excused themselves and hurried away to more congenial quarters.