They were not more than a hundred yards behind the redcoats when the latter reached the houses. Tim and Fritz stopped and now lay down on the ground, and watched and listened.
They saw lights appear in the houses presently, and heard the voices of the redcoats raised in tones of seeming anger. Tim chuckled and said:
“They seem to be disappointed, Dootchy, me bye.”
“Yah, dot is der vay id seems, Tim,” was the reply.
“Looks loike the settlers found out thot the ridcoats was comin’ an’ slipped away, hey?”
They rose to their feet and approached the cluster of houses, and on reaching the nearest one, they peered in at the window. There were two or three redcoats in the room, in which there was little furniture or household goods of any description, and the British soldiers were talking and gesticulating angrily.
“Der settlers moved ouid und took der important goods mit dem,” whispered Fritz.
“So it would seem, Fritz,” was the reply.
Then they went to the next house and looked in, and the scene there was practically the same as at the other house. After looking through the window a few moments, the two went to the next house, and found the same situation there.
“The settlers all got away before the ridcoats got here, an’ they took their valuable goods wid thim,” said Tim.
“Yah, und der retgoads are pretty mad, alretty,” replied Fritz.
“Thot’s what they are, an’ av they lay oyes on us, it’ll go hard wid us, Fritz, me bye.”
“Dot is so. But ve must not let dem see us.”
Just at this moment some redcoats emerged from the house beyond where the two soldiers stood, and they were talking excitedly.
“They’ve gone into the swamp, that’s certain,” the two heard one of the redcoats say. “And we’ll follow them. We’ll have that plunder, in spite of the trick they have played. We’ll follow them into the swamp.”
Tim and Fritz dropped to the ground, close beside the building, and remained there till the redcoats had come forth from the houses and had all set out in a direction which the two supposed led to the swamp, and then they rose and followed.
“We’ll kape afther thim, me bye,” said Tim.
“Yah, ve vill do dot, Tim, und maybe ve gan do somedings to help der settlers, alretty.”
They followed the redcoats to the edge of the swamp, and remained concealed till the British soldiers lighted a torch and set out along the tortuous path into the swamp. Then they sat down, to wait and discuss the situation.