Chapter 11-- The Spy

Several weeks passed without incident. Robyn and Ben went about their daily business with their ears open and pricked for anything about the Redcoats plan or someone who needed to be rescued. Nothing came for a while. When it finally did, it wasn’t from the side they expected.
When Robyn was just crawling into bed, someone knocked on her door. She slid out and leaned against it to stop whoever it was from forcing it open.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Robyn,” came Ben’s voice. “Get your cloak on, there’s a man asking for the Shadow Fox. He says he’s from the militia and has a message from General Washington.”
“Alright, I’ll be right out.”
Ben’s footsteps retreated down the stairs as Robyn slammed a foot down on one end of a loose floorboard near the window. It tilted up, and the girl pulled her cloak and sword out.
Swiftly, Robyn pulled on a black shirt and black breeches. She tugged on her boots then fastened the cloak around her neck. She buckled her sword belt around her waist. Finally, she rubbed off the stage makeup and pulled the cloak’s hood over her head. She checked her reflection in the mirror, deemed it good, and strode to the window. Silently as possible, the girl lifted it up.
A large oak tree grew right next to the house. Robyn had the good fortune of having a large sturdy branch right next to her window. She scrambled out on it. Where the branch grew from the trunk, she had fashioned a pulley system with a plank at the end. Carefully, she lowered herself out of the tree on the plank and pulley system. It reached the ground, and Robyn set off in the direction of the barn.
Ben was waiting for her just outside the close door to make it appear he had gone a little ways to get the Shadow Fox instead of right in his house. He pushed it open, and the two strode in.
A tall man—he could have been any Boston resident--slipped from the shadows. He smiled. “Ah, good. I’m glad you came. General Washington sent me.”
“Really?” Robyn lifted her eyebrows.
“Oh, of course. He figured you’d want proof.” The man handed her a small slip of paper.
Robyn took it and immediately recognized the seal imprinted on the wax. Nodding for the man to continue, she slid the piece of paper into her pocket.
“General Washington figured you could help us with a problem we have since you brought us information in the past.”
“And that is?”
“We have a man in the British barracks in town. He has been giving us information. We haven’t heard from him for a week. This is unusual. The general wants to know what has happened.”
“How am I to contact you once I find out?” The Shadow Fox asked.
The man lifted his eyebrows. “So you’ll do it?”
“Of course. I’ll also attempt to rescue him if he is in need of it. What is the man’s name or the one he’s using?”
“William Fenn is his name. He’s been using his true name. To contact me, simply ask at the tavern closest to here for Ronald Underwood.”
Robyn nodded. “Alright. I’ll contact you as soon as I find something out.”
“Good night.” Ronald Underwood slipped out into the night.
As soon as he was out of earshot Ben turned to his sister. “General Washington himself asked for you! That’s impressive.”
Robyn nodded. “You’ll help me listen for news?”
Ben patted her arm. “Of course I will. Agent Chaplen thinks I’m your main informer. I have to live up to that.”
She laughed. “Well, good night.”

~~~~
The next day, Ben climbed to Robyn’s room. She hadn’t been about all morning. After knocking for several minutes, he pushed open the door. It was empty. Sighing, he walked back down the stairs and back out to the barn.
He froze. A young Redcoat sprang off of a hay bale as Ben strode in the barn. His hair was sandy blonde, and his clothes were slightly muddied. Ben guessed that he was a drummer. The boy stood at attention and saluted him.
Ben was more that a little surprised. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
The boy grinned but said nothing.
Ben lifted his eyebrows. “If you are looking for Captain Long, I can go get him.”
The boy simply grinned wider.
Ben was really getting annoyed. “Who are you?!” he demanded.
The boy actually laughed at him. “Don’t you recognize me?”
His mouth dropped open. “Robyn?”
His sister bowed. “Good, don’t you think?”
“Wow, Robyn, that’s brilliant! Is this to sneak around the camp?”
The girl nodded. “I think I can go about unhindered. It should be relatively easy to get the information I need.”
Ben nodded. “I believe so. What if some one realized that you shouldn’t belong there?”
“I’ll merely tell them I’m a new recruit.”
“Do you have a name?”
“Daniel Dale.”
“Seems you have it all planned out.”
Robyn smiled the Shadow Fox‘s mischievous smile. “Of course.”

The British were camped on the Boston Commons. The Shadow Fox slipped into the camp unnoticed. Once she was farther in its boundaries, she received a few glances, but no one asked any questions. Smiling at her success thus far, she moved into the center of the camp and looked around. Undoubtedly, the spy would have many guards surrounding him, so she looked for the smallest area with the largest concentration of people.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be that easy. The largest amount of people in the smallest place was around one of the fires. A large pot was simmering over it and a plump man stood by it with a ladle in his hand.
Having a sudden idea, the Shadow Fox dropped into a crouch and began digging in the pack she had brought. Silently thanking George Duncan, she pulled out a bowl and a spoon. She stepped into the line that was forming in front of the man with the ladle.
After receiving her portion of stew, the girl folded herself into a sitting position. All the other soldiers did likewise. They talked about this and that. Some conversed about the war, others spoke of sweethearts they had back home, and some even discussed the Shadow Fox. None spoke of the spy.
“You three over there. You are taking the place of the other three guarding the spy, yes?”
Robyn’s head jerked up. Standing right next to her, was agent Chaplen.

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I looooooooove this chapter! It and the next are two of my favorites! I love Robyn's disguise! Hope you had as much fun with it as I did!
Hm, something interesting. I don't say much about her parents, other than this whole thing is her dad's fault, haha. Her mom was a traveling actress (Yes, Babs, a gypsy!), which is where she gets her talent for disguising herself with stage make-up. And yes, she uses--for this disguise, at least--some to change the angle and appearance of her face, so Chaplen can't recognize her because she looks very, very different with only the make-up covering her scar. Her mom's dad--the one who taught her to fight and all those crazy acrobatics--was a wealthy merchant. Robyn sailed around with him for a while. Currently, he's a privateer for the Americans. She has a pretty cool family.
See ya'll next week!