“Hard to tell—­one fight, t’other fight.  Red-coat take de ground; Yankee kill.  If Yankee could take scalp of all he kill, he whip.  But, poor warriors at takin’ scalp.  No know how.”

“Upon my word, Woods, there does seem to be something in all this!  It can hardly be possible that the Americans would dare to attack Boston, defended as it is, by a strong army of British regulars.”

“That would they not,” cried the chaplain, with emphasis.  “This has been only another skirmish.”

“What you call skirmge?” asked Nick, pointedly.  “It skirmge to take t’ousand scalp, ha?”

“Tell us what has happened, Tuscarora?” said the captain, motioning his friend to be silent.

“Soon tell—­soon done.  Yankee on hill; reg’lar in canoe.  Hundred, t’ousand, fifty canoe—­full of red-coat.  Great chief, dere!—­ten—­six—­ two—­all go togeder.  Come ashore—­parade, pale-face manner—­march—­ booh—­booh—­dem cannon; pop, pop—­dem gun.  Wah! how he run!”

“Run!—­who ran, Nick?—­Though I suppose it must have been the poor Americans, of course.”

“Red-coat run,” answered the Indian, quietly.

This reply produced a general sensation, even the ladies starting, and gazing at each other.

“Red-coat run”—­repeated the captain, slowly.  “Go on with your history, Nick—­where was this battle fought?”

“T’other Bos’on—­over river—­go in canoe to fight, like Injin from Canada.”

“That must have been in Charlestown, Woods—­you may remember Boston is on one peninsula, and Charlestown on another.  Still, I do not recollect that the Americans were in the latter, Beekman—­you told me nothing of that?”

“They were not so near the royal forces, certainly, when I left Albany, sir,” returned the colonel.  “A few direct questions to the Indian, however, would bring out the whole truth.”

“We must proceed more methodically.  How many Yankees were in this fight, Nick?—­Calculate as we used to, in the French war.”

“Reach from here to mill—­t’ree, two deep, cap’in.  All farmer; no sodger.  Carry gun, but no carry baggonet; no carry knapsack.  No wear red-coat. Look like town-meetin’; fight like devils.”

“A line as long as from this to the mill, three deep, would contain about two thousand men, Beekman.  Is that what you wish to say, Nick?”

“That about him—­pretty near—­just so.”

“Well, then, there were about two thousand Yankees on this hill—­how many king’s troops crossed in the canoes, to go against them?”

“Two time—­one time, so many; t’other time, half so many.  Nick close by; count him.”

“That would make three thousand in all!  By George, this does look like work.  Did they all go together, Nick?”

“No; one time go first; fight, run away.  Den two time go, fight good deal—­run away, too.  Den try harder—­set fire to wigwam—­go up hill; Yankee run away.”