Chapter 4 Summary

Tim is excited that Sam is back and has to struggle to keep the secret to himself. He has difficulty thinking of an excuse to sneak away, but while he is chopping wood, he hears the sound of horses. A party of about twenty rebel troops approaches. Tim ducks and hides, but he sees four men stop at the tavern and go inside. Tim is nervous, but he wants to see what is going on. He takes the ax and goes back to the house. As he approaches, he hears shouting. He peers through the back door and sees the men threatening his parents. The men are holding his mother by the fireplace, and one man is threatening Tim's father with a sword, demanding that he give them the family gun. Father refuses, and the soldier hits him with the flat of the...