There was something in the way they moved that told
they had news, and when they reached Cedar House, the whole household
was breathlessly waiting for them. The white family was gathered inside
the front door, and the black people, running up from the quarters,
crowded round the door on the outside, with ashen faces, for their fear
of the savages was, if possible, greater than the white people's. All
pressed around Toby, and Father Orin told the good news as quickly as he
could, without taking time to dismount; but his voice trembled so that
he could hardly speak, and his eyes were so full of tears that he could
not see. He was not yet able to rejoice over a victory which had cost
the life of a dear friend.
"And Joe Daviess?" asked Philip Alston.
Father Orin silently turned his face toward the river and made the sign
of the cross; but he turned back and patted Ruth's head when she pressed
it against Toby's mane and burst into sobbing.
"It was he who saved the day," the priest said huskily. "He led the
desperate charge that won the battle, when everything seemed lost.
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