Early the next morning, Tavington took his dragoons out in the field to start looking for Benjamin Martin and son, Gabriel. He'd decided to backtrack to the plantation, as Charlotte had told him it was quite possible that Martin would head there to seek shelter for his children. The dragoon also intended to revisit the Martin farm, in the odd chance that the rebel colonist had stupidly decided to rebuild on the same site.

As the dragoon column moved rapidly through the countryside, Tavington turned to Wilkins, whom he'd ordered to ride beside him, and asked, "Captain, what can you tell me about Benjamin Martin?" Not waiting for the other man to reply, he added, "How well do you know him?"

"Well, I've known him as long as I've known Charlotte," the dragoon replied. "He's a few years older than me, but he grew up in the same area and our fathers were well acquainted. We've never been particularly close, but we'd always had a lot of respect for each other."

"Do you think him capable of leading a group of partisans?" Tavington asked "And which of your neighbours do you think he'd choose for it?"

"Yes, I'd say he's quite capable of leading a partisan militia," Wilkins assured him. "He was a captain during the French and Indian war and he has quite a reputation in these parts. He participated in some of the bloodiest and most gruesome fighting of that war. Some of the men he served with still live in the general area and I know they'd follow him again at a moment's notice. Most of them are tough backwoods types and would make dangerous opponents. Not a gentleman among them."

"Is Martin himself a 'backwoods' type," Tavington queried. "I can't imagine that any sister of Charlotte's would marry such a man."

"No, sir," Wilkins told him. "His family didn't travel in quite the same circles as my family and the Putnams, but the Martins are by no means backwoodsmen. They're respectable gentry, though Benjamin did not get the chance to go to England for his education." After a pause, he added, "But I'd not underestimate him, sir. He's quite clever, despite his lack of sufficient formal education."

"I don't intend to, Captain," Tavington assured him firmly. "But I intend to track him down like a fox."

Wilkins swallowed a lump that had suddenly filled his throat. He did not envy Benjamin Martin once Tavington had caught up with him.

About an hour later, the dragoons rode up to what was left of the Martin farm, which gave every sign of being deserted. The remains of the farmhouse still gave off a strong odour of charred wood and there were no signs of even clearing away any of the burned lumber, let alone attempts at rebuilding.

"Let's take a look around," Tavington decided after dismounting near the ruined home. "Martin might have left some clues as to where they were going."

Captains Bordon and Wilkins accompanied the Colonel as he walked around the grounds behind the house. Lt. Ogilvie led a group of men to hunt for clues near the edges of the property. Most of the other dragoons took the horses to be watered down at the creek.

The three dragoon officers walked toward the remains of the barn, which had also been torched during their raid. Wilkins and Bordon poked around the remains, as Tavington stood by, watching. His eyes fell on the family cemetery, which was near a grove of trees between the ruined structures of the house and barn.

As his two subordinates continued to sift through the debris, Tavington wandered down to the cemetery. Looking through the wrought iron fence, he noticed a freshly dug grave, no doubt that of the boy he'd had to kill. As he moved closer, he noticed the plain wooden cross that marked the grave.

Gazing down intently at the grave, he whispered to himself, "Stupid boy!" As he continued to stare at the freshly turned soil, he couldn't help but think of how all this could have been avoided if Benjamin Martin had not so foolishly put the lives of his children in danger by allowing his traitor son to stay in the home. And if the misguided Martin had taught his children anything about loyalty, he would have perhaps had Charlotte's oldest nephew riding along with him as a dragoon, rather than being hunted down as a traitor.

"Colonel Tavington!" Tavington's ruminations were suddenly interrupted by his second-in-command, who was striding briskly toward him.

Turning away from the grave with nary a backward glance, he said, "What is it, Bordon? Did you find something?"

"Yes, sir," the other man affirmed. " Behind the wreckage of the barn, we found the door to Martin's root cellar that we missed on our previous visit here."

"And?" Tavington prodded.

"It was obvious that someone had been down there recently and removed quite a few items," Bordon explained as they reached the open trap door to the cellar.

They met Wilkins coming up the cellar steps, gingerly holding a broken jar that oozed fermented peaches. Looking up at Tavington as he ascended the steps, he said firmly, "I think they're gone, Colonel."

"What makes you so certain?" Tavington asked.

"I've known Ben Martin for a long time," Wilkins began. "He's always been quite meticulous with his belongings and has always kept a neat, fully stocked cellar. When I went down there just now, I found very little food, and what was left had been knocked over, broken, and ripped open. It looked as if goats had been down there. It appears to me that the Martins must have left in a hurry and quickly grabbed whatever they could carry. I'm guessing they probably left the same night their house was burned."

Tavington stood for a long moment considering Wilkins' words, then mentally went over what Charlotte had told him about her former brother in law. She'd been of the opinion that he'd likely try to bring the children to her home, rather than try to rebuild right away.

Before he could reply to Wilkins, Lt. Ogilvie came hurrying toward the three senior officers.

As Tavington gave the junior officer an expectant look, Ogilvie said, "Colonel, I think I've found which way they went." After pausing to take a deep breath, he elaborated, "I found quite a number of fresh footprints in a muddy area on the southern edge of the property. Most of the footprints were child-sized."

"Tell the men to mount up, Ogilvie," Tavington said. "We're headed to the plantation."

As the dragoon group neared the plantation some time later, Tavington called for a brief rest period. He'd decided to send a few scouts ahead to reconnoiter to see if Martin and his family were in residence.

Tavington wanted to avoid a skirmish at his new marital home if at all possible and secretly hoped that Martin was not on the premises, And if Martin was there and a confrontation could not be avoided, he wanted to have the element of surprise in order to have the upper hand to take out his enemy quickly.

Within a reasonably short time, the scouts had returned, hurrying to where Tavington stood under a tree after they'd emerged from the woods.

"Well?" Tavington said after the men had dismounted. He was eager to get on with it.

"There was no sign that Martin or his family were there, sir," Sergeant Tomlinson reported. "We surveyed the property from all possible angles while still remaining concealed and saw only those who belonged there. We saw no children other than slave children."

"Excellent," Tavington said, glad not to have to confront Martin at the plantation.

Turning to his two adjutants, he said, "I'll still need to question the house slaves in case Martin has been here at some point. We'll spend the night at the plantation and get a fresh start in the morning." Turning to mount his horse, he ordered, "Let's go, gentlemen."

The dragoon column thundered up the lane to the plantation a short while later, finding nothing out of the ordinary as they drew to a halt in front of the mansion. After ordering the men to make camp for the night, he hurried up the steps to the house, followed by Bordon and Wilkins.

Rufus met him at the door, unsurprised to see his new master back so soon. After Benjamin Martin had turned up on the doorstep and told his tale of woe, the slave knew that it would be only a matter of time before Tavington would come looking for him.

"You got here just in time, Colonel," Rufus said. "Magnolia is just about finished cooking supper."

"Excellent," Tavington replied. "There will be three for dinner in the dining room."

"Is Miss Charlotte with you?" the slave inquired.

"No, Rufus," Tavington told him. "I'm here on business. In fact, I'll need to speak to you and Magnolia directly after dinner."

"Yes, sir," Rufus replied. "We'll be in the kitchen waiting until you're ready for us."

Immediately after the slave had left the room to go check on dinner, Tavington spoke to Wilkins. "Captain, as soon as I determine whether or not Martin was here, I want you to go out and ask the overseer, Stanton, to see what he knows. If Martin has been here, he might have told him something we could use."

Twenty minutes later, Tavington stood up from the dinner table. Turning to the slave girl, Pansy, who had come into the dining room to clear the dishes, he said, "Tell Rufus and Magnolia to meet me in the study right away."

"Yes, suh," the young girl murmured, eyes downcast. "Right away, suh."

Tavington headed straight to a wooden cabinet near a window that overlooked the front lawn as soon as he entered the commodious study a couple of moments later. Reaching inside, he brought out a large bottle of brandy, along with three small goblets. Holding up the bottle, he asked, "Brandy, gentlemen?"

Both men nodded and after pouring them each a portion, the dragoon leader seated himself behind the heavy oak desk that had once belonged to Charlotte's first husband. Wilkins and Bordon each took seats near the window.

No sooner had the three dragoons settled themselves comfortably than a soft knock came at the door.

"Come in!" Tavington barked.

"You wanted to see us, sir?" Rufus asked as he and his wife stood hesitantly in the doorway.'

"I just have a few questions," Tavington told them smoothly. Attempting to put the anxious slave couple at ease, he continued. "It won't take long."

Pausing to take a sip of his brandy, the dragoon looked up sharply at the slaves and asked, "I need to know if Benjamin Martin has been here since Mistress Tavington and I left for Fort Carolina."

Rufus and Magnolia exchanged nervous wide eyed glances. After swallowing a lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, Rufus finally answered, "Yes, sir. He turned up here no more 'n a half hour after you left. He frightened us nearly to death, he did."

"We was just sittin' in the kitchen having our breakfasts after you left and he done snuck up on us like a prowler," Magnolia added.

"That's very interesting," Tavington said, steepling his fingers as he pondered what they'd told him. No doubt Martin had been watching, waiting for the dragoons to leave before making an appearance. He gestured to Wilkins, who got up to go find the overseer.

"What did he want?" Tavington pressed, once Wilkins had left the room. "And how long did he stay?"

"He wanted a place for his children to rest for a few days," Rufus explained. "I'm thinking he wanted them to move in for good, but then he saw you with Miss Charlotte. He come in here askin' what was goin' on and we had to tell him that she was married to you."

"And how did he react when you told him that," Tavington asked, chucking, wishing he could have been a fly on the wall at that particular moment.

"Oh, he didn't like that one bit, no sir," Magnolia put in, giving Tavington a conspiratorial grin. "He turned as red as a beet until I thought he was fixin' to have a fit."

Tavington laughed out loud at this, with Bordon joining in.

"Did he, now?" Tavington asked, unable to hide his mirth.

"Oh, he was right disappointed, that's for sure," Rufus recalled, shaking his head slowly. "He's always been kind of sweet on Miss Charlotte and wanted to marry her himself."

"Too bad for him, then," The dragoon said insincerely, laughing yet again at the hapless rebel's plight.

Now serious once more, Tavington turned back to Rufus. "When did he leave?" he demanded. "And did he say where he was going?"

"Mister Martin knew you'd probably come back this way lookin' for him and that oldest boy of his," Rufus reported. "So they moved the rest of the family out of here early yesterday morning'. He said something about takin' them to an Aunt Sarah's, I think."

"He didn't happen to mention where this Aunt Sarah lived, did he?" Tavington queried.

"No, sir, I'm sorry," Rufus told the dragoon. "But I heard him talkin' to young Mister Gabriel before they left and I don't think they're going to stay there with the young ones. He said something about the two of them goin' 'round to see if they could get enough men to start their own militia. Mister Ben said he'd go visitin' some of the men he'd fought the French and the Indians with and Mister Gabriel said they should also go see some of their friends in Pembroke."

"Thank you very much, Rufus," Tavington said, now smiling broadly. "You've been very helpful."

Shortly after the two slaves had left, Wilkins returned. After he'd told Tavington essentially the same things that Rufus and Magnolia had, Tavington said, "Now I have evidence to present to the Lord General that Benjamin Martin is starting a new resistance group in this area. We'll head back to the fort first thing in the morning, as I see no point in trying to locate this Aunt Sarah at the present time. It's more important that Cornwallis gets this information right away so we can begin chasing this particular fox."

Next Chapter: Martin Recruits a Militia