CHAPTER XXIII
STRAIGHT ARROW RETURNS
Though the rain was ended in less than an hour, it had served to so dampen the enemy’s spirits that not again during the night did he renew the attack. Darkness and silence shrouded the garrison so soon as the storm had rumbled away into the south. There was sleep for some, while others remained on guard, and to all came a new hope and encouragement. Even Captain Hutchinson, in bad case though he was from wounds that caused his death many days later, spoke words of cheer from his bed of pain.
It proved a long night, but morning dawned at last bringing clear skies and radiant sunlight, the latter serving to accentuate the desolation that met the sorrowful view of the townsfolk. Sodden heaps of blackened ruins lay on every side. Only a few scattered houses remained undamaged. The granary had escaped demolition, though a part of its roof was gone. At daybreak food was eaten and a service of prayer and thanksgiving held in the garrison house.
