… Nason watched him go: then turned to us. “There’s just one more thing: your requirements. Living isn’t any too easy in Canada, and you’ll need the requirements: yes, and some old clothes to have the smallpox in. Repeat the requirements, Cap.”

Cap looked up at the ceiling with eyes a little crossed and made his recitation in a high, artificial tone. “Each man enlisting for scout duty expected to serve for period three years an required equip self an be constantly provided with good firearm ramrod worm priming-wire brush bayonet scabbard belt cutting-sword tomahawk or hatchet a pouch containing cartridge box that’ll hold at least fifteen rounds hundred buck-shot jackknife tow for wadding six flints one pound powder forty leaden balls to fit firearm knapsack blanket canteen or wooden bottle capacity one quart provisions for three days.”

He lowered his eyes and spoke naturally. “Get yourself a tow-cloth coat same as we had on. You can drop things down inside it—things like chickens or wine bottles. Mine’s outside. It’s kind of ripe, but it’ll do for your womenfolks to get a pattern off of. You get the brown color into it by putting it to boil with brown ears of corn.”

“All right,” I said. “We’ll be ready, but it’s got to be understood, before we go, that there’s to be no more talk in this town about my father or any other member of my family being a Loyalist.”

“I’ll send Cap to see somebody,” Nason said.

“Yes,” Cap agreed hoarsely, “there’s a few people I ought to see. Maybe I’ll have to start a little later than you, Steven, but I can catch up in no time.” The two of them eyed us solemnly as they moved toward the door; and their minds, I could see, were already on other matters.

The door closed behind them: then opened again, and the moist red face of Cap Huff re-appeared. He spoke in a whisper so harsh it set the fire-irons to vibrating. “I’ll tend to Theodore Lyman for you! Where’d you say he lived?”

VII

BY SIX o’clock the following morning our new belongings were laid out on the front steps in the brilliant sunlight, so we could see what we had and what we lacked.

Early as the hour was, our unnoticeable, quiet guest, Mr. Leonard, had departed, saying no more than that he had a mind to see something of the country, and might not soon return, and that if he did not return, he would write to us; but the truth is that as Nathaniel and I looked over what Nason had called our requirements, we had already forgotten the existence of this shadowy companion of ours.