Surprise at Yorktown by Marianne Hering & Nancy I. Sanders

Author:Marianne Hering & Nancy I. Sanders
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUVENILE FICTION / Religious / Christian, JUVENILE FICTION / Readers / Chapter Books
ISBN: 9781624052231
Publisher: Focus on the Family
Published: 2014-11-01T04:00:00+00:00

“General Washington?” the young Frenchman asked in his thick accent.

Beth was aware of the two guards from the campfire. They were coming up behind her.

Something was terribly wrong. What were the French doing on the American side? Where was General Washington? What had become of James Armistead?

A French officer shouted at the guards. They stepped forward to grab the cousins.

Skunked

Things happened quickly. The two guards lunged for Patrick and Beth. The cousins dodged them, knocking over the table. Patrick nearly fell. Then Beth grabbed his hand. She pulled him toward the back of the tent. Patrick saw the opening there.

Noises and shouts came from behind them. But the cousins made it outside.

“This way!” Patrick cried. He dropped Beth’s hand and raced behind a nearby tent.

“They’re coming,” Beth gasped.

Patrick peered around the edge of the tent. The two guards ran toward them.

Patrick saw a corral filled with horses. Roughly cut logs had been set up as a fence. “There!” he whispered.

The cousins scrambled over to the corral. The horses stirred as they leaped over the fence. The cousins crouched down and moved among the horses.

One French soldier climbed over the fence to the corral. A horse stepped in front of him, blocking him. The soldier shouted at the horse. It moved with a snort.

The other soldier came into the corral. He was bumped around by the nervous animals.

Patrick and Beth crawled under the other side of the fence. They faced a field. There were woods on the far side.

“To the woods,” Patrick said.

They dashed into the field. They ran as fast as they could.

The soldiers shouted at the cousins in French from the corral.

The cousins reached the edge of the woods. Patrick was out of breath.

“They’re still chasing us,” Beth said, panting.

Three soldiers in white uniforms now ran across the field.

Patrick knew they couldn’t outrun them much longer. He needed a plan. His eye went to the fallen log he’d seen before. He ran over to it.

“We have to keep going,” Beth said.

He pointed to a large tree. “Hide behind that,” he said. “When I say ‘run’ then run as fast as you can into the woods.”

Patrick went to the back end of the fallen log. He grabbed a stick and began to beat on the top. Patrick watched the edge of the woods for the soldiers.

Beth looked confused. “What are you doing?” she shouted.

“I’m trying to get the skunks out,” Patrick said.

Beth blinked. “Why didn’t you say so?” she asked. “But pounding won’t help.”

“Then how do we get them out?” he asked.

Beth frowned. Then her face lit up. “Skunks hate strange noises.” She took the fife out of her pocket. She blew a high-pitched note. Nothing happened.

One of the soldiers reached the woods. He saw Patrick and Beth.

Patrick looked at Beth in panic. He jumped on top of the log and stomped his feet. He hoped the skunks hadn’t left the log.

The French soldier stopped. He looked puzzled by the cousins’ strange behavior. He called out to them in French.

Beth changed her fingering on the fife.

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