“Thank you. Is there anything else?”
“No, Sir, that is the entire message,” replied the Molly.
“Thank you, Miss. You can tell the Prophet that his message has been delivered.”
The British officer looked down and began to write again without dismissing the young woman. Molly stood in front of him for a few moments and slowly turned around and walked out of the tent. As she walked back along the path toward the road, she failed to notice the two buckskin-clad men who were following her at a distance in the cover of the nearby trees. One of the two men was Jonas Dunne, and no one had ever been wily enough to detect being followed by Jonas so far. Jonas was a mountain man as well as a frontiersman, and he blended into the wilderness seamlessly. He had lived in the frontier all his life and didn’t like the east and the people who lived there. He always wore buckskins and looked a lot like the Longhunter with his gaunt frame and piercing gaze.
“Has anyone ever seen her before?” asked Robert, dressed in the uniform of a British Army major and sitting behind the desk in the tent, as Alex, Hugh, Big Mike, and the Longhunter walked in through a flap in the rear of the tent.
Robert had played the role of a British officer before, when he had rescued Hugh, after Hugh’s capture by the British Army in England, so he knew the role well. The other men had been standing behind the tent and observing the conversation between Robert and Molly through a small slit near a fold in the rear of the tent. Robert had hatched the plan to uncover the identity of the spy. They had used captured British Army uniforms to pull off the ruse. It had been a gamble, and they were lucky that the young woman couldn’t tell the difference in the rank on the uniform between a captain and a major in the British Army. Robert and Alex had thought that she might appear again as she had in the past before a major battle. So Robert had come up with the idea to set up a tent as close to the British lines as possible and intercept her no matter whom she asked for. The sentries on the road and outside the tent were also patriots disguised as British soldiers.
“She’s the one that I stopped at the Assunpink Creek Bridge, the one who said she had a message from the Prophet, and the same one I followed to the Trenton Ferry before we set up the fortifications at Assunpink Creek and fought at Princeton. The Prophet is our spy. If we follow her, she should lead us to the Prophet, and we will have our man,” said Alex.
“I saw her and her sister several times in Philadelphia. Her name is Molly Ludwig and she has a sister named Maggie. Both sisters disappeared some time ago, and there was a rumor that they had committed some sort of crime, but no one ever heard what it was. I had assumed that she and her sister had moved on to live somewhere else,” said Big Mike Finn.
“Weel, the men trailing her won’t lose her. I’ll put my life on that. They’ll stake out where she holds up until they have something to report,” said the Longhunter.
* * * *
Captain Ferguson
“Gentlemen, our advance scouts have reported that all the fords along the Brandywine River both north and south of the pike into Philadelphia are occupied by Continental Army troops. We don’t know if this is the main Continental Army or not. We must assume that Washington is going to make a stand somewhere along our route into the rebel capital. If it’s going to be at this ford on the Brandywine, so be it. We may finally have him exactly where we want him. But we must take all precautions,” said General Howe to the British officers assembled in his war council tent at Kennett Square.
Later that day, Moses Doan, who was called the “Eagle Spy,” confirmed that it was indeed General Washington and the Continental Army who occupied the Chadds Ford on the Brandywine. He also reported that they had dug into strong defensive positions. On September 10, 1777, General Howe called his officers into another war council at his tent at Kennett Square.
“Tomorrow morning we will not attack Washington’s well prepared defensive positions as he expects us to do. For us to do so would be a disaster of major proportions. Lieutenant-General Baron Wilhelm von Knyphausen will lead about sixty-eight hundred troops directly toward Washington’s trap at Chadds Ford just to keep the Continental troops occupied, but he will not cross the Brandywine River and step into the trap. Von Knyphausen’s frontal feint will be led by the Tory vanguard of the Queen’s Rangers and Captain Ferguson’s riflemen because of their superior firepower and outstanding marksmanship. My command will break off from the main road with eighty-two hundred men and march northeast up the Great Valley Road. We will cross the Brandywine’s west branch at Trimble’s Ford and then cross the Brandywine’s east branch at Jeffries’ Ford. Our scouts report that Washington’s troops have not occupied those fords because they are so far north of the pike. They do not expect that we would march that far north. After we make the crossing, I will proceed south around Washington’s right flank, attacking him with full strength. Once I have engaged Washington’s flank, the troops deployed in the frontal feint will cross the Brandywine River, and we will have him in a pincer.”
“That will be all gentlemen. Please prepare to leave the camp before first light tomorrow. You are all dismissed. Captain Ferguson, if you will please wait, I would have a word with you,” concluded General Howe.
Captain Ferguson rose from his chair with the rest of the officers but stepped back to allow the others to leave the tent. As soon as the last officer had left the tent, General Howe turned to the captain.
“Captain Ferguson, do you have anything to add to my battle plan regarding your riflemen?” asked the general.
“Excellent plan, sir; I expect a full rout of the rebels,” replied the smiling Captain Ferguson.
“My thoughts also,” said General Howe.
“During your attack tomorrow morning at Chadds Ford, I want you and your men to concentrate on trying to kill Continental Army officers, rather than firing at ordinary soldiers. With the expert marksmanship skills of your men and the superior range of your rifles, I think that we stand of good chance of depleting Washington’s ranks of skilled leaders in this engagement. You and your men should get as close to the Brandywine as you can, remaining under cover, so that you will have the best chances to snipe Washington’s officers,” continued the general.
“It would be my pleasure,” replied the captain, his smile even wider.
“Have you heard from the Prophet?” asked the general.
“I have not, Sir.”
“Well, no matter, I doubt there is anything he could tell us that we don’t already know anyway. The Eagle Spy has already given us everything we need to know. But I would like to meet with the Prophet anyway, since this battle will probably end the war. I would like to personally thank him for his service to the crown. I would also like to discuss my plans for him after the war. He has been a very valuable asset to us, and I would like for that to continue.”
“I know that we should contact him under only the most extreme circumstances, but I want you to arrange for the Eagle Spy, Moses Doan, to secretly deliver a message to him later today. Tomorrow afternoon, before we attack, I would like to meet with him along the north River Road on the east side of the Brandywine, south of Sconneltown. Tell him to meet me only if he can get away to meet with me without jeopardizing his position.”
“I will make the arrangements, sir,” replied the captain.
* * * *
Samuel
“Did you deliver the message?” asked Major Samuel Ruskin.
“Indeed I did, sir,” replied Molly, looking down at the dirt floor of her tent.
“What did Captain Ferguson say in response?”
“He said to tell you that the message had been delivered,” replied Molly still staring at the floor.
Samuel Ruskin was pleased that she had delivered his message, and he was in a hurry, so he left the tent without any further discussion.
On his walk back to his tent, Samuel spied a very large poorly dressed Continental Army soldier walking toward him. The large man was ambling along the same path a
t a place where the narrow path passed through a grove of trees. Rather than yield and step off the path so that Major Ruskin could pass, the large soldier stayed on the path and bumped into Samuel, knocking him down.
“What do you think you are doing?” said the indignant major, still lying on the ground.
“Sorry, sir, I must have been daydreaming,” replied the solider.
“I’ll see that you daydream your way into a court martial and out of this army.”
“I hope thee are not hurt,” said the soldier, extending his hand to help the major up.
After Samuel was back on his feet, as the soldier was brushing off Samuel’s clothes, he leaned close to Samuel’s ear.
“I bear a message for thee from General Howe,” the large soldier whispered in Samuel’s ear. “He wants to meet with thee if possible, just south of Sconneltown tomorrow afternoon, if thee canst get away without being seen.”
“Tell the general that I will be there,” whispered Samuel.
“Thy wish in my command,” said the large Quaker, Moses Doan, called the Eagle Spy, who immediately disappeared into the trees.
* * * *
Alex
Outside Molly’s tent, two buckskin-clad men who were hidden in the trees near the camp followers’ tents saw Major Ruskin leave. But they did not see his encounter with the Eagle Spy as the Quaker delivered the message to him from General Howe. They huddled together to discuss what to do next.
“Clem, you stay here and watch to see if anything else develops. I’ll go tell Robert and Lieutenant Mackenzie what is going on here,” said Jonas Dunne to his companion.
The other man’s name was Clemet Jackson, but everyone called him Clem. He was also a frontiersman and scout, and he had been partnered with Jonas Dunne for many years. They were best friends and had hunted together since they were young men. When they were younger, they had married two sisters in a double wedding ceremony. But both women had died several years earlier during a yellow fever epidemic that swept through the frontier. The men had remained close.
Alex, Robert and Hugh were in Alex’s tent when the lanky Jonas walked in.
“Sir, may I come in?” asked Jonas.
“Certainly. Do you have anything to report?” asked Alex.
“Sir, as you know, we followed the young woman from the tent across the Brandywine, all the way back to the camp followers’ tents near our camp. She never caught sight of us, I am real sure of that. She went to her own tent and immediately went in it. We staked out her tent from the trees across the clearing and took turns watching it. About a half hour ago Major Samuel Ruskin walked into her tent without announcing himself. He stayed only for about one or two minutes and then left. We were too far away to hear anything or say what transpired in the tent while Major Ruskin was inside. Clem Jackson is still watching the tent,” said Jonas.
“Very good. You have done well, Jonas. Go back to Clem and see if anything else happens or if anyone else visits her tent,” said Alex.
Jonas Dunne left the tent immediately and headed back the way he had come to rejoin his partner in watching the young girl’s tent.
“What do you think, Robert?” asked Alex, who had already formed his own opinion about it.
“I think that Major Ruskin is our spy, but we can’t prove it. The girl won’t talk, and without her testimony, it his word against ours.”
“My thoughts exactly. What do you think we ought to do?”
“There’s nothing we can do right now, but at least we know who the spy is. We can focus our efforts on him and not spend any more resources on the girl. She may be his pawn in this game. He must be holding something over her head and forcing her to do his bidding,” replied Robert.
“Lots of things can happen during a war. We need to task some men to watch him during the upcoming battle. just to make sure that nothing unfortunate happens to him. There is more than one way to deal with a traitor and Reivers can be ruthless,” continued Robert with a sly smile.
“Aye, they can,” piped up Hugh.
“Do you mean lots of things can happen in war or that Reivers can be ruthless?” asked Alex.
“Aye,” answered Hugh. “And I think that we ought to watch him, just to make sure that he stays safe during the battle,” continued Hugh with a guilelessly blank expression.
Robert and Alex turned to look at each other and then simultaneously nodded.
That evening, just after dark, Robert walked along the path to the camp followers’ tents. He soon found Jonas and his partner, Clem, watching the girl’s tent from the trees across the way.
“Has there been any more activity here?” asked Robert.
“Nothing to report, Robert; I think she has gone to sleep,” replied Jonas.
“Okay, I want you two to head back to camp to eat and get some sleep. Tomorrow morning at first light, I want you two to follow Major Ruskin all day. Don’t let him see you, and if he does anything strange, report back to me or Alex.”
“Will do,” replied Jonas, who immediately left with his partner Clem Jackson.
Robert gazed at the girl’s tent for a few minutes and then turned and went back to camp to tell Alex the plan he had set in motion.
* * * *
Alex
“Lieutenant Mackenzie, I want you to split your cavalry unit into two groups,” said General Washington. “I want one group to scout north all the way up past Sconneltown. I want the other group to scout south at least five miles past Pyle’s Ford. The morning fog has obscured the British troop movements. We are aware that they are on the march, but I am getting conflicting reports regarding their disposition. I need a set of eyes I can trust to warn me personally if we are being flanked from the north or from the south. Don’t send a courier back with reports on what you find. I want you and or one of your brothers to ride back and give me the report face-to-face. I want to be able to depend on what you and your brothers say to me.”
“I understand, sir,” replied Alex.
“How will you split up your unit?” asked General Washington.
“Sir, I will send my brothers, Robert and Hugh north with half of my men. Alexander Glendenning and I will take the other half south.”
“Very good. Please depart immediately. I am in dire need of information that I can trust,” said General Washington, turning to handle another conference with waiting Continental Army officers.
It was already noon, and the Continental Army had been awakened early that morning by the reports and sounds of British troop movements on the west side of the Brandywine River. Washington’s defense of Philadelphia at Chadds Ford was going to be tested that day, and they all knew it. Alex had been summoned to General Washington’s field headquarters on the heights overlooking Chadds Ford, where the general could observe the battle firsthand. The action between the British and the Continental Army at Chadds Ford had lapsed into inactivity after the initial British attacks. General Washington feared that the British were up to something. He wanted more information, and he needed reliable information. Alex left the meeting at a trot and soon arrived where his men were assembled just behind the hill where General Washington’s headquarters was located.
“Robert and Hugh, I want you take Big Mike and half the men north and scout the area all the way past Sconneltown. I will take Alexander and the other half of the men and scout south about five miles past Pyle’s Ford. When you have finished your reconnaissance, I want you or Hugh to meet me back here at General Washington’s field headquarters. Do not send a man back to report. General Washington wants to hear the report from you or Hugh from the north and a report from me from the south. I will meet you two back here at the general’s headquarters in no more than two hours from now.”
“Have you heard anything from Jonas and Clem?” asked Alex.
“Nothing yet,” replied Robert.
“Let’s ride,” said Alex as leaped into his saddle.
* * * *
Robert and Hugh
“Weel, there
appears to be nae sign up here,” said Hugh as they reined in their horses about two miles north of Wister’s Ford.
“Let’s travel on north to Sconneltown, just to make sure,” replied Robert.
They hadn’t ridden far when they spied a horseman riding south at a gallop along the River Road from Sconneltown.
“That looks like Jonas,” said Hugh.
“It is Jonas,” replied Robert as Jonas arrived and halted his horse, almost running into them.
“Whoa there Jonas. What goes?” asked Robert.
“Hello, Robert. Clem and I followed Major Ruskin all day like you said. He didn’t see us, we’re sure of that. Long about noon, he saddled up and rode north with two soldiers. We followed almost a mile behind him. We heard a shot about thirty minutes ago, so we rode hard to see what it was. We found the two soldiers who were riding with Major Ruskin lying on the side of the trail. One was dead from a gunshot through the back and the other one had been stabbed and was almost dead. We tried to save the one that was stabbed, but he was too far gone. Before he died, he told us that Major Ruskin had attacked him and the other man when they stopped and got off to water their horses. Major Ruskin shot the one man in the back and then drew his knife and stabbed other man before he could escape. The major then mounted up and rode north alone. We laid out the two men so that we could bury them later. Then we mounted up and followed Major Ruskin north until we saw a big dust cloud,” said Jonas as he took a drink from his canteen.
“We got off the road and worked our way through the trees north to about a mile south of Sconneltown. When we crested a ridge, we saw that Major Ruskin had dismounted and was standing in the middle of the road, holding his rifle with a white rag tied at the end of the barrel. He was standing in front of what looked like the whole British Army marching south from Sconneltown. I told Clem to stay and see what happened and I high-tailed it back to report,” said Jonas.
“How many British do you think are coming down the road?” asked Robert.
“We didn’t get a count, but from what I saw and the size of the dust cloud, I would say that there’s more than five thousand,” replied Jonas.
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