“Was this done by the banditti from the lower party?”

“Yes, sir; and by the leather-caps, too. The leather-caps stood guard while the Tories plundered and killed. It is usually that way, sir. And our own renegades are as bad. We in Westchester have to entertain them all.”

“But they burn no houses?”

“Not yet, sir. They have promised to do so next time.”

“Are there no troops here?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What troops?”

“Colonel Thomas’s Regiment and Sheldon’s Horse and the Minute Men.”

“Well, what the devil are they about to permit this banditti to terrify and ravage a peaceful land?”