Page:Tomlinson--The rider of the black horse.djvu/164

148 Dirck Rykman, the full sense of his own peril returned once more in full force upon him, It was here that he had first encountered danger on his journey up the shore, and the sharp recollection of what General Clinton had informed him concerning the arrest of the young Dutchman brought back to him forcefully the knowledge that he himself was on dangerous ground, and that, if reports were to be believed, even his trusted friend had proved recreant to the cause of the struggling Americans.

At the thought he checked the speed of his horse and, as he proceeded more slowly, gazed keenly about him. The singing birds, the metallic sounds of crickets, the chattering of squirrels, were all that broke in upon the silence of the summer day. Not a man had been seen since he had departed from the fort, but Robert was aware now that all these things did not protect him from the sudden call, or the sharp report of guns of men who might be concealed somewhere within the silence of the woods through which he was passing. His anxiety increased, and, as he climbed the hill and perceived the humble abode of Dirck Rykman, not many yards in advance of him, he increased his precautions