align="right">165

XX. Rallying Virginia’s Minute Men 176 XXI. Virginians Learning to Shoot British Troops 184 XXII. Rodney’s Sacrifice and His Mother’s 195 XXIII. In the Thick of It 205 XXIV. The Rangers Sent Against Burgoyne 218 XXV. Put to the Test 228 XXVI. Tricked, and by His Friend 240 XXVII. A Blended Rose 249 XXVIII. New Ventures With Old Acquaintances 256 XXIX. What the Package Contained 271 XXX. Rodney Rides With the Dragoons 280 XXXI. Home Again 288 XXXII. A Reward Greater Than Promotion 294

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ILLUSTRATIONS

	PAGE
“That morning, a canoe containing two savages came up past him.”	Frontispiece
“He rolled the dazed man on to his face and bound his arms behind his back.”	88
“He seized the money and threw it in the Chevalier’s face.”	140
“‘Say, you fellers as hev breeches ought ter bring us in a bite ter eat.’”	244

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Rodney, the Ranger

A sturdy boy in homespun, a lad of nearly fourteen years, whose eyes were clear and gray and whose face was resolute and honest, led his little sister by the hand, for she was small and the road was rough.

“We’ll rest, ’Omi, when we come to the big tree. Are you cold?” he asked, for there was the chill of March in the wind, though the sun lay very warm in the sheltered places.

“No. Who?” she asked, pointing a tiny hand at two riders turning the corner, a youth of about seventeen and a young girl. Their horses were spirited and the black groom following urged his horse.

The youth was not attractive, though his riding habit was the fashionable product of a London tailor in the style of 1772. His hair was dark, his eyes steely blue and set close to a long nose; his mouth was ill adapted to a pleasant smile.

The girl was attractive, a fact people were quick to recognize, and she was so accustomed to seeing them turn and look after her that she would have been piqued had