Rodney, the Ranger - With Daniel Morgan on Trail and Battlefield
133 pages
English

Rodney, the Ranger - With Daniel Morgan on Trail and Battlefield

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133 pages
English
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The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rodney, the Ranger, by John V. Lane This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: Rodney, the Ranger With Daniel Morgan on Trail and Battlefield Author: John V. Lane Illustrator: John Goss Release Date: August 3, 2009 [EBook #29589] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RODNEY, THE RANGER *** Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net “THAT MORNING, A CANOE CONTAINING TWO SAVAGES CAME UP PAST HIM.” (See page 119) Copyright, 1911 By L. C. Page & Company (INCORPORATED) All rights reserved Made in U. S. A. New Edition, May, 1925 Electrotyped and Printed by THE COLONIAL PRESS C. H. Simonds & Co., Boston, U. S. A. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. “You––You Simpleton!” 1 II. Several People Have Troubles 12 III. How Rodney and Angus Became Friends 19 IV. Rodney’s Visit to Monticello 26 V. A Plunge Into the Forest 36 VI. A Wild Flight 48 VII. Lisbeth Writes from London 57 VIII. The Chief Who Demanded the Truth 64 IX. A White Boy Adopted by the Indians 74 X. Hating, but Waiting 80 XI. Father Mourning for Son 89 XII. In the Midst of Increasing Perils 95 XIII. The Beginning of War 104 XIV. Hornets With and Without Wings 112 XV.

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Publié le 08 décembre 2010
Nombre de lectures 44
Langue English

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rodney, the Ranger, by John V. Lane
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Rodney, the Ranger
With Daniel Morgan on Trail and Battlefield
Author: John V. Lane
Illustrator: John Goss
Release Date: August 3, 2009 [EBook #29589]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RODNEY, THE RANGER ***
Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net“THAT MORNING, A CANOE CONTAINING TWO SAVAGES CAME UP PAST HIM.”
(See page 119)Copyright, 1911
By L. C. Page & Company
(INCORPORATED)
All rights reserved
Made in U. S. A.
New Edition, May, 1925
Electrotyped and Printed by
THE COLONIAL PRESS
C. H. Simonds & Co., Boston, U. S. A.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGEI. “You––You Simpleton!” 1
II. Several People Have Troubles 12
III. How Rodney and Angus Became Friends 19
IV. Rodney’s Visit to Monticello 26
V. A Plunge Into the Forest 36
VI. A Wild Flight 48
VII. Lisbeth Writes from London 57
VIII. The Chief Who Demanded the Truth 64
IX. A White Boy Adopted by the Indians 74
X. Hating, but Waiting 80
XI. Father Mourning for Son 89
XII. In the Midst of Increasing Perils 95
XIII. The Beginning of War 104
XIV. Hornets With and Without Wings 112
XV. A Welcome Voice 119
XVI. Rodney Meets With Reverses 130
XVII. Somewhat of a Mystery 142
XVIII. Rodney Rides With Dispatches 153
XIX. Rodney to the Rescue 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
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.’” 2441Rodney, the Ranger
CHAPTER I
“YOU––YOU SIMPLETON!”
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.
2The 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 they not done so. Her ways were wilful but there was a grace in
them all. Mischief lurked in the dark blue eyes, which now lighted with genuine
pleasure. She fluttered from her horse as a bird alights and threw her arms
around the child, exclaiming, “And how is little Naomi?” Then, holding the
child from her, she looked in her face and said, “You are a dear. Aren’t you
proud of her, Rodney?”
“She’s just as good as she looks,” the boy replied, blushing with pleasure, and
then glanced at the youth, who did not appear to notice him but slyly spurred
his horse, so that the animal in swerving would have knocked Rodney into the
ditch had the lad not been nimble.
“Nith; red,” said the child, clutching the girl’s scarlet cloak.
“Yes, and you like my poor, old red hat, too, don’t you? though Cousin
Mogridge says it ill becomes me.”
“Eth, pretty too,” and the child pouted her lips for a kiss.
Not one, but several, were most graciously given her with the admonition:
“Next time you be sure and remember me and my name. Say Lisbeth
Danesford.”
3“Lithbeth Danethford,” repeated the child, looking up into the face of the girl,
her big, brown eyes full of seriousness. “I like ’oo.”
“Have a care, ’Omi, for once Lisbeth knows that she’ll treat you as she does
her other admirers.”
This remark was surprisingly impolite for Master Rodney Allison, but he was
offended that Lisbeth had not introduced him to her London cousin, whom he
was itching to thump. Moreover he had experienced Lisbeth’s fickleness.She ignored him and said: “’Omi, where did you find such eyes? They are like
stars with dew on them,” but suddenly she broke off and, with a bound,
snatched from her cousin’s hand the whip with which he was about to lash
Rodney.
The youth, evidently not liking the conversation, had again spurred his horse
against young Allison, who without ceremony had seized the bit and set the
animal on his haunches, nearly upsetting the rider.
Lisbeth had seen enough to know what had caused the trouble. “Boys are
bullies,” she cried. “Here’s a test for your valour. Who’ll rescue my abused hat
from the dragon?” saying which she sent it spinning over the fence.
Now the dragon was nothing less than a full grown and surly bull grazing in
the pasture.
Rodney, enraged at Mogridge’s insolence and taunted by her words and the
sight of the hat scaling like a low-flying swallow, yielded to the mad impulse to
follow it. He would show the arrogant London youth what a Virginia boy dared
do!
4The bull had lifted his head in amazement, which gave place to rage at the red
thing flashing before his sullen eyes. Snorting, he charged just as the lad
snatched the hat from the ground and, turning, ran toward the fence.
It was a foolhardy deed, and the boy’s chance of escape seemed hopeless,––
when the unexpected happened.
A little figure climbed the fence and with a shrill cry ran to meet him, waving
her red cloak to distract the brute’s attention.
The boy started to run between the bull and the girl, but she shrieked, “I’m all
right. Run for your life!”
Had not the beast hesitated, uncertain which of the two was his tormenter, this
story would be brief indeed. Before Mogridge had dismounted the two had
reached safety.
The girl, almost breathless, turned to Rodney, stamped her foot and between
her gasps cried: “You––you––simpleton!”
Rodney Allison, being now in his right mind and a sensible lad, realized the
merited rebuke, though scarcely from the girl who had dared him to make the
venture.
“I fancy Squire Danesford will think you one too, Bess, when he hears of you
facing charging bulls like a Spanish picador, all to save churlish fools from
their folly,” said her cousin, sneeringly.
5“Don’t you dare tell him! If you do I’ll never speak to you again.” There was a
tearful note in the girl’s voice and a disagreeable one in the youth’s laugh.
Again he laughed and with flaming face she cried, “Perhaps you had better tell
him all while you’re about it; how you sat your horse like a pat of dough and
watched me do it.”
It was Rodney’s turn to laugh, which he did most heartily, and Mogridge, his
face redder than his fancy waistcoat, wheeled his horse and rode after the girl
who was spurring ahead.
“I’d like to roll him in the mud and you’d like to have me do it, wouldn’t you,
’Omi?”
Naomi, trudging confidingly by his side, looked inquiringly out of her big eyes,
stars with plenty of dew on them now, for during the excitement she had lifted
up her voice in wailing and the tears had flowed freely.Not until the riders drew rein at “The Hall” did Henry Mogridge overtake his
cousin in the headlong race home. As it was, she dismounted before he could
offer assistance and ran up the steps and across the white pillared veranda
into the great wainscoted hall. An instant she paused, looking up at the portrait
of a beautiful woman hanging there, and then went to her room.
The flickering light from the logs in the big fireplace relieved the shadows on
the face in the frame, a face so like that of the girl’s as to leave no doubt
whence she had inherited her char

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