The Liberty Boys Running the Blockade Part 14

"Yes, if you will take me."

"Very good. You are young, but not too young, and you are strong and willing, and that is a good deal. I will see your mother, Tom, and I do not think there will be any trouble about your joining."

Tom returned to his mother and in a day or so d.i.c.k saw her and found that she was willing that Tom should join the company. Tom went back with d.i.c.k, therefore, and was sworn in as one of the Liberty Boys, to his great delight. The boys cheered him for they had all heard of him and knew of his sterling character and manly qualities. He fought with the Liberty Boys at White Plains and Fort Was.h.i.+ngton and went into the Jerseys with the troop when they joined the commander after the fall of the fort. He was at Trenton and Princeton, where he did brave work with the boys and fought through the succeeding campaign, doing good service at Brandywine and Germantown and going into camp at Valley Forge, where he bore with fort.i.tude all the hards.h.i.+ps of that rigorous winter, one of the severest ever known. During the next spring he was with the Liberty Boys in Connecticut and lost his life during a fight with Tryon's raiders. His mother had married in the meantime and was in comfortable circ.u.mstances, and this was a great comfort to the boy, who said to d.i.c.k:

"I have done my duty, Captain?"

"Yes, Tom, and well."

"And mother and the children are well and happy?"

"Yes, they are, Tom."

"We are sure to win this fight for freedom, Captain?"

"Yes, Tom, we cannot do otherwise."

"Then I have not died in vain in giving my life for my country?"

"No, Tom, you have not."

"Then I have nothing to regret. Good-by, Captain. You have been very good to me."

d.i.c.k took the boy's hand and held it till the grip relaxed, when he placed it at his side and spread the flag over the young hero.

Next week's issue will contain "THE LIBERTY BOYS AND CAPTAIN HUCK; or, ROUTING A WICKED LEADER."

A reporter was interviewing Thomas A. Edison. "And you, sir," he said to the inventor, "made the first talking machine?" "No," Mr. Edison replied, "the first one was made long before my time--out of a rib."

THE LIBERTY BOYS OF '76

- - LATEST ISSUES - -

1064 The Liberty Boys in Kentucky; or, After the Redskins and Renegades.

1065 " and Old Moll; or, The Witch of Red Hook Point.

1066 " Secret Cave; or, Hiding From Tryon.

1067 " and the Jailer; or, Digging Out of Captivity.

1068 " Trumpet Blast; or, The Battle Cry of Freedom.

1069 " Call to Arms; or, Was.h.i.+ngton's Clever Ruse.

1070 " Whirlwind Attack; or, A Terrible Surprise to Tarleton.

1071 " Out With Brave Barry; or, The Battle With the "Unicorn."

1072 " Lost Trail: or, The Escape of the Traitor.

1073 " Beating the Skinners; or, Clearing Out a Bad Lot.

1074 " Flank Move; or, Coming Up Behind the British.

1075 " as Scouts; or, Skirmis.h.i.+ng Around Valley Forge.

1076 " Forced March: or, Caught in a Terrible Trap.

1077 " Defending Bennington; or, Helping General Stark.

1078 " Young Messenger; or, Storming the Jersey Batteries.

1079 " and the Indian Fighter; or, Saving the Southern Settlers.

1080 " Running Fight; or, After the Redcoat Rangers.

1081 " Fighting Doxstader; or, The Destruction of Currytown.

1082 " and the Miller; or, Routing the Tory Bandits.

1083 " Chasing "Wild Bill"; or, Fighting a Mysterious Troop.

1084 " Hidden Swamp: or, Hot Times Along the Sh.o.r.e.

1085 " and the Black Horseman; or, Defeating a Dangerous Foe.

1086 " After the Cherokees; or, Battling With Cruel Enemies.

1087 " River Journey; or, Down the Ohio.

1088 " at East Rock; or, The Burning of New Haven.

1089 " in the Drowned Lands; or, Perilous Times Out West.

1090 " on the Commons; or, Defending Old New York.

1091 " Sword Charge; or, The Fight at Stony Point.

1092 " After Sir John; or, d.i.c.k Slater's Clever Ruse.

1093 " Doing Guard Duty; or, The Loss of Fort Was.h.i.+ngton.

1094 " Chasing a Renegade; or, The Worst Man on the Ohio.

1095 " and the Fortune Teller; or, The Gypsy Spy of Harlem.

1096 " Guarding Was.h.i.+ngton, or, Defeating a British Plot.

1097 " and Major Davie; or, Warm Work in the Mecklenburg District.

1098 " Fierce Hunt; or, Capturing a Clever Enemy.

1099 " Betrayed; or, d.i.c.k Sister's False Friend.

1100 " on the March: or, After a Slippery Foe.

1101 " Winter Camp; or, Lively Times in the North.

1102 " Avenged; or, The Traitor's Doom.

1103 " Pitched Battle; or, The Escape of the Indian Spy.

1104 " Light Artillery; or, Good Work At the Guns.

1105 " and "Whistling Will"; or, The Mad Spy of Paulus Hook.

1106 " Underground Camp; or, In Strange Quarters.

1107 " Dandy Spy; or, Deceiving the Governor.

1108 " Gunpowder Plot; or, Failing by an Inch.

1109 " Drummer Boy; or, Sounding the Call to Arms.