The younger one quickly drew his legs closer to his body before the general decided to kick him again.
Howe glared at them both. He was about to order the truth beaten out of them, when a calm voice behind him stated, “The questions is not who sent them, General, because we already know that. The question is: who’s the smaller one?”
Howe turned to see Chaplen’s green eyes regarding him evenly. “Who sent them, then, if you’re so clever?”
Chaplen smiled, and forced the drummer boy in his grip to his knees. “Why, he did, of course.”
Howe frowned, a look that seemed to wonder at the agent’s sanity on his face. “A drummer boy, Chaplen?”
The other hauled the boy up. “Perhaps,” he replied, smoothly pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, “this will help you a bit.” He rubbed it along the left side of the boy’s face. There was a gasp as everyone recognized the scar that had been revealed.
“He’s the-the Shadow Fox!” Howe frowned. “Where did he get that uniform?!”
Agent Chaplen eyed his captive thoughtfully. “That young deserter gave it to him, no doubt.”
Howe waved his arms at various officers. “Well don’t just stand there! Tie him to the post near the middle of the camp! I want five men around him at all times! I want no chance of him escaping or being rescued, understand?!”
Ben and Sovay watched in despair as Robyn was tied to a post several yards in front of them. The men didn’t seem to mind jostling her a bit and forcing her to her knees before binding her to the post. They jeered as her shoulders slumped.
“Now what?” Sovay hissed.
Ben was glaring murderously at them. “I don’t know! How did he know sh-he was there?”
Sovay shushed him as the agent crouched in front of Robyn. “Oh, no, what is he doing?!”
His voice carried across the yards to their ears.
“Why so sad, my little fox? Do you feel hopeless?”
Robyn was silent.
They could see his grin. “You feel betrayed, don’t you? That lad should have been grateful and aided you, shouldn’t he?”
Ben frowned and whispered, “What, Jacob didn’t even help her? That good-for-nothing—“
Sovay shushed him again.
“Tell me, who are those lads?”
Robyn spoke for the first time. “Not a clue. Never seen them before in my life.”
“Wha—“
Ben kicked Sovay. “Shh!”
Chaplen laughed. “Oh, so noble! I think they will hang on the morrow.”
“They have not committed a hanging crime, and you know it!”
He smiled. “Ah, but they are the accomplices of the Shadow Fox.”
“You have no proof.”
“My boy, these days, I don’t need proof.” He smiled, and stood up.
The boy looked up at him. Well, not quite at him. His eyes were on the sword in his hands. Chaplen smiled. “This is a nice sword, my boy.” He slid it partially out of the scabbard and eyed the fox carved into the ricasso. “Was it made especially for you?”
His silence might as well have been a yes.
The agent smiled. “It will do well above my desk in England.”
The Shadow Fox glared at him, and he laughed. He was about to turn but paused, a slight frown on his face. He hadn’t even tried to escape on the way to the camp. Was he planning something? Chaplen smiled at the question. Of course he was. The question he should have asked was what was he planning? He pointed at the five guards. “You five, watch this boy very carefully. In fact, it would be in your best interests if you didn’t even blink.”
Once he was out of earshot, the men sat down. “Huh, thinks he’s all big and tough. ‘Do not even blink.’ Huh, idiot.”
“It’s not as if he’s going to escape right out from under our noses. What is he, smoke?”
“He’s a mere lad, for pity’s sake!”
As the others murmured, Robyn let out a low whistle. Patriot trotted in the camp. Wagging his tail, he circled behind her and crouched. Very carefully, she slid the dirk from his collar. With a bit of difficulty, she managed to remove the blade from its sheath and cut her bonds. She slid it back into the sheath and replaced it in the dog’s collar. “Take it to Ben,” she whispered.
The dog trotted over and repeated the process with Ben. He cut Sovay free and looked to Robyn. She mouthed “Wait for my signal.” He nodded, and returned to his former position. Sovay grinned, loving every second.
Robyn let out a different whistle. Several seconds later, Midnight appeared. The five guards looked at the black horse with surprise. “What?”
Robyn looked at her two companions. Swiftly, she pulled her hands from behind her back and made a few hand motions at Ben. He nodded and translated quietly for Sovay. “We’re going to knock out the guards.”
“Right.”
Robyn flashed them a grin and nodded at the guards.“Now!” she whispered. She, Ben, and Sovay leaped to their feet and grabbed the nearest heavy object. With a little too much enthusiasm, they bashed the five over the head. The men sank to the ground silently.
Sovay grinned. “Let’s do that again!”
Robyn chuckled. “Alright, you two get on Midnight.”
“What about you,” Ben asked with a slight frown.
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m going to retrieve my sword.”
“Leave it. Your life is more important.”
“Grandfather had that specially made for me.”
“You can get it later!”
The sound of Chaplen’s annoyed voice reached their ears. “I just saw that boy’s horse come through the camp. What are you—“
His question was cut off by his arrival at the scene. “Curses! Men!”
A second later, a cloaked figure on horseback burst through the tents. He grabbed Sovay and pulled her up in front of him. Ben swung onto Midnight. He grabbed Robyn and pulled her after him.
“No! Let go of me! I need to get my sword!”
“No, you can get it later, Rob-“
“Come on, you two! Let’s get out of here.”
Chaplen stood, a slight smile on his face. He had a feeling the cloaked rider had been Jacob Sumpters. His smile widened. No matter that they had escaped. He looked down at the sword in his hand. The boy would be back. Besides, if he was truthful with himself, he would never be satisfied until he captured the boy because he had discovered his identity.
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Yikes. That was rather interesting. Robyn triumphed in the end, though. However, now she has to get her sword back. That's a pain.
Happy
See you all next week!
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