Chapter 19-- Ben to the Rescue

Ben decided to follow Chaplen. Granted, it took him some amount of time to don his Redcoat guise, saddle Apollo, and find one of the papers with Agent Chaplen’s seal on it. He had to stomp around her attic room until he found the loose floorboard containing all the Shadow Fox’s possessions. Then, he grabbed his doctor’s bag in case who ever she had gone to save was hurt.
Finally, he was galloping across the flats hoping Robyn was okay. He was getting worried she was becoming too sure of herself. He half wished something would come about to remind her of the dangerous road she trod.
~~~~~
Suddenly, the pound of galloping hoof beats reached their ears. The soldiers quickly loaded their muskets and pistols. As the horse loomed out of the darkness, they noticed something small running beside it. The small something began to bark.
The Shadow Fox lifted his uninjured arm. “Don’t shoot. It’s just Midnight ad Patriot.”
His voice was so soft that only Chaplen heard him. “Stand down, men. These animals pose no threat to us.”
The animal duo trotted through the camp to the boy’s side. The horse nuzzled him affectionately. Smiling, he rubbed her nose with the back of his left hand.
“Hey girl. Did you get General Washington to safety?” The horse nickered, and he smiled weakly. “Good girl.”
The dog pushed his way to the Shadow Fox and licked his right hand.
“Hello, Patriot. Thanks for all your help, boy.”
The agent lifted an eyebrow. “Interesting name. Who named him?”
“Ben.”
The tall man frowned, remembering something. “I heard Miss Robyn Rivers say she had an idea for a name.”
The boy smiled. “Yes. I think it was Fluffy or something similar.”
Chaplen shook his head. “Silly girl.”
Smiling crookedly, the Shadow Fox nodded.
Noticing this, Agent Chaplen said, “You’ve met her, then.”
“Aye, but she didn’t know who I was, so don’t bother questioning her.”
Patriot sniffed the Shadow Fox’s right shoulder and whined. He cocked his head at Midnight and barked. The horse whinnied and looked in the direction of Boston. Barking, Patriot bounded out of the camp and set off at a run.
The soldiers looked in confusion at the agent, who turned to the boy. “What is he doing?”
Smiling, the Shadow Fox patted Midnight. “He’s gone to fetch Ben.”
~~~~
Benjamin Rivers had only been riding for a little while when he was met by a frantically barking Patriot. The dog circled Apollo several times then set off in the direction he had come. Ben knew his dog’s behavior could only mean one thing: Robyn was hurt. He nudged Apollo and the horse picked up speed. He wasn’t as fast as Midnight, but he could still move at a high speed.
After chasing Patriot for a ways, he spotted a glow in the distance. He quickly recognized it as a fire. Patriot headed straight for it. He guessed his sister was there. Then, he noticed at least seven figures around the fire, plus around seven horses nearby. One horse stood closer than the others, the firelight reflecting of her glossy black coat. One of the figures stood up. His silhouette was unmistakable. Ben would recognize the tall broad-shouldered man anywhere.
He nudged the dappled grey again. As they raced towards the encampment, the men around the fire stood and shouldered their guns. However, Agent Chaplen raised his hand.
“Don’t shoot.”
Seeing the red uniform as he rode up, they lay down their weapons. Ben leapt off, not caring that he was surrounded by seven Redcoats. He shoved them out of the way and knelt next to the Shadow Fox.
“You idiot.”
Robyn chuckled. “How’d you arrive so quickly?”
“Honestly!” He moved the hand clutching the wound in her right arm. “You are bleeding all over the place!”
“But luckily,” his sister pointed out, “the bullet when all the way though.”
Ben ignored her. Turning, he glared at Chaplen. “Did you not think to put a bandage on this?”
Chaplen was unmoved, but the British soldiers seemed blown away by the force of the youth’s accusations.
He turned his glare back to his sister. She just grinned at him as he opened his doctor’s bag. “You idiot.” Ben said again, trying to knock the grin off her face. “What have I told you? One day, you’re going to get yourself killed. Stay out of the line of fire. Or, better yet, stay home! Really, you can’t keep this up. You’re going to get hurt beyond repair one day!” His lecture continued the entire time he cleaned and bandaged the Shadow Fox’s wound.
All the men stood staring at Ben as he continually scolded his wounded patient. Long leaned over to Chaplen. “This boy wants to be a doctor? He wouldn’t have any patients with enough patience.”
The sharp eared Shadow Fox lifted a finger. “He only does this to me. He’s a great doctor to other people.”
“Silence!” Ben glared half-heartedly at his sister.
She only grinned back.
“Did you not hear a word I said? Why can’t you just be like everyone else? No, you have to help the Patriots.”
“You do, too.”
“Yes, well…” he couldn’t finish his sentence. Not only would Robyn hit him for saying a girl shouldn’t be risking her life, but the agent would over-hear.
She rolled her eyes, and he guessed she knew what he was thinking. Ben returned his tools to his bag and turned toward the agent with a frown. At that instant, Chaplen knew what the boy intended to do. The man considered for several second, then made no move to stop him.
Ben slid him arms carefully under his sister’s back and legs. Easily, he picked her up and carried her to Apollo. He slid her onto the stallion’s back and mounted behind her. Wrapping an arm around Robyn’s waste, he nudged the horse with his feet. Apollo trotted out of the camp in the direction of the Continental Army’s camp.
The soldiers stood and shouldered their rifles. Agent Chaplen waved them down. “Let them go.”
Long stared at him in surprise. “Why, sir?”
Chaplen didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure why.


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Happy New Year, everyone! Woot, it's 2011. That's weird.
Pooor Chaplen. So conflicted. He wants to win by his superior mind so bad.
Oooooh, the next chapter introduces a most amusing character! I think you'll like her.