James Cooper - The Spy - Condensed for use in schools

Wharton’s horse was of the best Virginian blood, and carried him with the swiftness of the wind along the valley; and the heart of the youth was already beating tumultuously with pleasure of his deliverance, when a well-known voice reached his startled ear, crying loudly:

“Bravely done, captain! Don’t spare the whip, and turn to your left before you cross the brook.”

Wharton turned his head in surprise, and saw, sitting on the point of a jutting rock that commanded a bird’s-eye view of the valley, his former guide, Harvey Birch. The English captain took the advice of this mysterious being, and finding a good road which led to the highway that intersected the valley, turned down its direction, and was soon opposite to his friends. The next minute he crossed the bridge, and stopped his charger before his old acquaintance, Colonel Wellmere.

“Captain Wharton!” exclaimed the astonished commander of the English troops.

“Thank God!” cried the youth, recovering his breath, “I am safe, and have escaped from the hands of my enemies.”

The captain briefly explained to the group of listeners the manner of his capture, the grounds of his personal apprehensions, and the method of his escape. By the time he had concluded his narration, the fugitive Germans were collected in the rear of the column of infantry, and Colonel Wellmere cried aloud:

“From my soul I congratulate you, my brave friend; prepare yourself to grant me your assistance, and I will soon afford you a noble revenge.”

“I do not think it altogether prudent to cross this brook into the open plain, in the face of those Virginian horse, flushed as they must be with the success they have just obtained,” returned young Wharton.

“Do you call the rout of those irregulars and these sluggish Hessians a deed to boast of?” said the other.

“And I must be allowed to say, Colonel Wellmere, that if the body-guards of my king were in yon field, they would meet a foe that it would be dangerous to despise. Sir, Mr. Dunwoodie is the pride of Washington’s army as a cavalry officer,” cried Henry, with warmth.

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The term “Continental” was applied to the army of the Colonies, to their Congress, to the money issued by Congress, etc.

guesses.

wrapper.

declared.

sharpness.

eagerness.

exactness in conduct.

quickness and skill.

centred upon one thing.

looking at the surface only.

love of gain.

a door cut into halves, upper and lower.

extreme.

a British colonel.

an American general; also spelled Sumter.

a branch of the Broad, which is a branch of the Congaree River, South Carolina.

irons for supporting wood in a fire-place.

a village in Westchester County, north of the Harlem River.

White Plains.

regular troops, British.

with scorn.

readiness to converse.

British spy, captured near Tarrytown, and hanged near Tappan.

The glances conveyed a hidden meaning.

DeLancey was a British officer in command of the Cow-Boys

overspread.

fears.

a bright red color.

open; frank.

defeated.

ended.

Long Island Sound.

waves.

readiness.

thinking.

entertaining guests without pay.

disturbed condition of mind.

a stringed instrument that is caused to sound by the impulse of the air.

fright.

from the side.

signs or motions.

very great.

using but few words.

overcoat.

change.

on the Hudson, forty miles north of New York.

is the duty of.

to make easy.

very hastily.

trial.

never to be loosened.

free from blame.

a mounted sentinel.

These were Hessian soldiers (from Hesse-Cassel, in Germany) hired by Great Britain. The Cow-Boys were Americans enlisted as soldiers in the British army. On the next page they are referred to as the “refugee troop.”