The night was star-light, but the elevation at which the two watchers were placed, was unfavourable to catching glimpses of any lurking enemy.  The height confounded objects with the ground on which they were placed, though Blodget told the captain he did not think a man could cross the palisades without his being seen.  By moving along the staging on the southern side of the quadrangle, he could keep a tolerable look-out, on the front and two flanks, at the same time.  Still, this duty could not be performed without considerable risk, as the head and shoulders of a man moving along the ridge of the building would be almost certain to attract the eye of any Indian without.  This was the first circumstance that the captain remarked on joining his companion, and gratitude induced him to point it out, in order that the other might, in a degree at least, avoid the danger.

“I suppose, Blodget, this is the first of your service,” said captain Willoughby, “and it is not easy to impress on a young man the importance of unceasing vigilance against savage artifices.”

“I admit the truth of all you say, sir,” answered Blodget, “though I do not believe any attempt will be made on the house, until the other side has sent in what the serjeant calls another flag.”

“What reason have you for supposing this?” asked the captain, in a little surprise.

“It seems unreasonable for men to risk their lives when an easier way to conquest may seem open to them.  That is all I meant, captain Willoughby.”

“I believe I understand you, Blodget.  You think Joel and his friends have succeeded so well in drawing off my men, that they may be inclined to wait a little, in order to ascertain if further advantages may not be obtained in the same way.”

Blodget confessed that he had some such thoughts in his mind, while, at the same time, he declared that he believed the disaffection would go no further.

“It is not easy for it to do so,” returned the captain, smiling a little bitterly, as he remembered how many who had eaten of his bread, and had been cared for by him, in sickness and adversity, had deserted him in his need, “unless they persuade my wife and daughters to follow those who have led the way.”

Respect kept Blodget silent for a minute; then uneasiness induced him to speak.

“I hope captain Willoughby don’t distrust any who now remain with him,” he said.  “If so, I know I must be the person.”

“Why you, in particular, young man?  With you, surely, have every reason to be satisfied.”

“It cannot be serjeant Joyce, for he will stay until he get your orders to march,” the youth replied, not altogether without humour in his manner; “and, as for the Scotchman, he is old, and men of his years are not apt to wait so long, if they intend to be traitors.  The negroes all love you, as if you were their father, and there is no one but me left to betray you.”