A Little Maid of Old Philadelphia | Page 5

Ruth.

"Oh, yes! Father said 'hero' meant courage and honor; and so it was the
right name for such a fine dog," Ruth answered quickly. "Aunt Deborah!
What was that?" she added, stopping short. For she had heard a familiar
bark.
But Aunt Deborah had heard nothing. They were passing a house
where a number of soldiers were sitting on the porch smoking.
"I heard Hero bark. He is in that house," Ruth declared, and before
Aunt Deborah could say a word to prevent such a rash act Ruth had run
up the steps.
"Have you found a lost dog, if you please?" she asked, half-frightened,
when she found herself facing two red-faced soldiers who looked at her
as if she were some wild bird that had flown to the porch. Before they
could reply Aunt Deborah's hand was on Ruth's arm, and the little girl
heard her aunt saying: "Thee must pardon the child. She has lost her
dog, and is greatly troubled. She means no harm."
The younger of the two men stood up and bowed politely, and held his
hat in his hand until Aunt Deborah had led Ruth back to the street; but
neither of the men had answered her question.
"Oh, Aunt Deborah! What made you? I know Hero is in that house. I
heard him bark. You spoiled it all," sobbed Ruth, as Aunt Deborah,
holding her fast by the hand, hurried toward home, quite forgetting the
errands she wished to do.
Aunt Deborah sighed to herself. She began to fear that Ruth was a
difficult child; and that perhaps she did not know the right way to deal
with little girls. But she did not reprove Ruth either for her rash act or
for speaking with so little regard of Aunt Deborah's authority.
"May I go in and see Winifred?" Ruth asked when they reached home,
and Aunt Deborah gave her permission.
"Oh, Winifred! I know where Hero is," Ruth declared, as the two
friends went up to Winifred's room, and she hastened to tell the

adventures of the walk with Aunt Deborah.
"I am going back after him, Winifred, and you must come with me,"
she concluded.
But Winifred said that her mother was out, and that she must not leave
the house until her return. She looked at Ruth admiringly.
"I think you were brave, Ruth, to ask those soldiers. But I don't believe
they would give you back Hero if you do go back. Perhaps they would
make you a prisoner," she said a little fearfully; and at last Ruth
reluctantly agreed not to go after the dog that day. The little girls
decided that the best way would be to go straight to General Howe and
tell him that one of his soldiers had taken Hero, and was keeping him
from his rightful owner.
"I'll go to-morrow. But we must not let Aunt Deborah know," said Ruth,
and Winifred promised to keep the plan a secret.
Now that there seemed a hope of rescuing her dog Ruth was nearly her
own happy self again. Winifred got out some squares of pasteboard and
very carefully marked out patterns of the back and sides, as well as for
the seat, for the dolls' chair. Then she went to find Gilbert to borrow his
knife with which to cut the cardboard; and before Ruth started for home
the pieces were all ready to be covered. As the two little friends sat in
the pleasant window-seat Winifred said: "What do you think, Ruthie!
Gilbert wants to change his name. He wants us to call him Lafayette!"
and Winifred laughed, as if she thought the idea very funny.
"Why, I think that is splendid!" Ruth replied, her blue eyes shining at
the thought of a "Lafayette" next door to her own home. For all the
children of Philadelphia knew the story of the brave young Frenchman,
hardly more than a boy himself, who had left all the comforts of his
Paris home to share the danger and privations of the American soldiers.
He had visited Philadelphia the previous summer, 1777, soon after his
arrival in America. Gilbert had seen the handsome young officer, and
ever since then he had pleaded that he might be called "Lafayette"
instead of Gilbert.

"If I were a boy I should wish my name 'Lafayette,'" declared Ruth. "I
wish we could do something for him, don't you, Winifred?"
"Yes; but what could two little girls do for him? Why, he is a hero, and
a friend of Washington's," Winifred responded. Neither Ruth nor
Winifred imagined that it would be only a few months before one of
them would do a great service for the gallant young Frenchman.
CHAPTER III
RUTH VISITS GENERAL HOWE
Aunt Deborah was unusually quiet in her manner toward