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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Hero of Ticonderoga + or Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys + +Author: John de Morgan + +Release Date: June 6, 2008 [EBook #25708] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF TICONDEROGA *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-front"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT=""Almost silently, with his stick drew the wallet toward him."" BORDER="2" WIDTH="407" HEIGHT="634"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 407px"> +"Almost silently, with his stick drew the wallet toward him." +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +THE HERO OF TICONDEROGA +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +OR +</H4> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +ETHAN ALLEN AND HIS GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BY +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +JOHN DE MORGAN +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +AUTHOR OF +<BR><BR> +"Paul Revere,"<BR> +"The Young Ambassador,"<BR> +"The First Shot for Liberty."<BR> +"The Young Guardsman," etc.<BR> +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +PHILADELPHIA +<BR> +DAVID McKAY, PUBLISHER +<BR> +610 SOUTH WASHINGTON SQUARE +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +Copyright, 1896 +<BR> +By NORMAN L. MUNRO +<BR><BR> +The Hero of Ticonderoga +</H5> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +Table of Contents +</H2> + +<BR> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">Chapter</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">At the Courthouse</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">The Green Mountain Boys</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">A Child of Nature</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">"The Rising of the Moon"</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">Defiance</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">Before the Governor</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">An Ambuscade</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">The Convention</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">Treachery</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">Zeb's Double Dealing</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">The Tables Turned</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">The Opening of the War</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">Benedict Arnold</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap14">Arnold's Powers of Fascination</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap15">The Hero of Ticonderoga</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap16">The Temptation</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap17">Crown Point</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap18">"Who is Commander?"</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap19">News from Boston</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap20">A Roadside Adventure</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap21">The Continental Progress</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap22">Eben's Adventures</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap23">Foraging</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap24">Secret Service</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap25">Diplomacy</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap26">An Interesting Experiment</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap27">A Prisoner</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap28">On the Gaspee</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap29">Arrival in England</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap30">Irish Hospitality</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap31">A Daring Swim</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap32">How England Treated Prisoners of War</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap33">Beverly Robinson's Offer</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +THE HERO OF TICONDEROGA. +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AT THE COURTHOUSE. +</H3> + +<P> +It was a cold, bleak and freezing day, was that second day of the year +1764, in the good town of Bennington. +</P> + +<P> +The first day of the year had been celebrated in a devout fashion by +nearly all the inhabitants of the district. Truly, some stayed away +from the meeting-house, and especially was the absence of one family +noticed. +</P> + +<P> +"It seems to me kind of strange and creepy-like that those Allen boys +will never come to meeting," good old Elder Baker had said, and the +people shook their heads, and were quite ready to believe that the +Allen boys were uncanny. +</P> + +<P> +But after meeting, when the social celebration was at its height, the +absence from the meeting-house was not thought of, and Ethan Allen and +his brothers were welcomed as among the best farmers of the district. +</P> + +<P> +When the farmers separated on that New Year's Day they had no thought +of trouble, and each and all were planning what crops they should plant +that year, and how much land they should reserve for pasture. +</P> + +<P> +The snow was falling fast, and the Green Mountains looked grandly +glorious as they, capped with the white snow, reflected into the +valleys the feeble rays of the sun which were struggling through the +clouds. +</P> + +<P> +The hour of noon had arrived, and the good farmers were sitting down to +good boiled dinners, which were as seasonable as the weather, when the +ringing of the crier's bell caused every man and woman and child to +leave the hot dinner and hurry to the door to hear the news. +</P> + +<P> +All public and important events were announced in that manner, and it +would not do to miss an announcement. +</P> + +<P> +"Wonder what is in the wind now, eh, master?" +</P> + +<P> +"Cannot say, but it's likely to be important, for Faithful Quincy has +on his best coat." +</P> + +<P> +Faithful Quincy was the official crier, or announcer of events, and was +a most important character. +</P> + +<P> +He never spoke one word, though everyone asked him what he had to +announce, but he stood as silent as a statue, and as rigid until he +thought the people had time to assemble. +</P> + +<P> +Then he rang his bell once more, and followed the last sound of the +brass with a most solemn appeal for attention: +</P> + +<P> +"Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!" +</P> + +<P> +Three times the phrase had to be repeated. Faithful would not have +done his duty if he had only repeated it twice. +</P> + +<P> +"This is to give notice, in the name of his majesty and of his +excellency, the governor, that all true and faithful residents of the +Green Mountain district must assemble at the courthouse at two hours +after noon, on this second day of January. So let it be!" +</P> + +<P> +That was all, but it was enough to set all the people wondering what +was to be heard at the courthouse. +</P> + +<P> +They returned to their homes, and finished their dinners, scarcely +noticing that the dumplings were cold or that the boiled carrots had +got soggy through long standing. +</P> + +<P> +At two a large crowd had assembled at the courthouse, and all were in +great excitement. +</P> + +<P> +It was just three minutes after the hour, as shown by the sundial, +which stood in front of the courthouse, that the sheriff appeared. +</P> + +<P> +Not a murmur was heard. Even the children were silent. +</P> + +<P> +The sheriff was trembling. +</P> + +<P> +He held in his hand a piece of parchment, bearing a big red seal at the +bottom, and he tried to read it, but his voice failed him. +</P> + +<P> +After several attempts he succeeded, and the people learned that he had +received a proclamation from Gov. Tryon, of the Colony of New York, in +which he claimed all the territory west of the Connecticut River, and +ordering him to send a list of all persons holding land under grants +from the Colony of New Hampshire. +</P> + +<P> +The country west of the Connecticut, now known as Vermont, was then +only known as "New Hampshire grants." +</P> + +<P> +When the sheriff had finished he asked what he should do. +</P> + +<P> +"Why did you receive it?" asked one of the oldest residents. +</P> + +<P> +"It was sent to me as sheriff." +</P> + +<P> +"Even so, but you are the sheriff of the district which holds its lands +from the Colony of New Hampshire." +</P> + +<P> +The sheriff trembled, fearing he had done some wrong. +</P> + +<P> +"It is in the name of his majesty, the king," he muttered; "and I was +bound to receive it." +</P> + +<P> +Through the crowd a young man pushed his way. He reached the side of +the sheriff, and in a mild but firm voice asked to be allowed to look +at the proclamation. +</P> + +<P> +It was no ordinary man who made the demand. He would have attracted +attention anywhere, and among those who knew him best he was esteemed, +though the devout believed there was something uncanny about him and +his family. +</P> + +<P> +He was Ethan Allen, the head of the Allen boys, who had stayed away +from the meeting the day before. +</P> + +<P> +"Men," he said, after glancing at the proclamation, "we hold our lands +from the governor of the Colony of New Hampshire. Is it not so?" +</P> + +<P> +"You are right, Ethan." +</P> + +<P> +"We pay our quota to the expenses of that colony. Is it not so?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we have nothing to do with the Colony of New York." +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing, and never want to have anything to do with that colony." +</P> + +<P> +"You are right, Seth Warner; so I tell you what we will do with this +piece of parchment." +</P> + +<P> +The people looked at the speaker, and wondered what he was about to +propose. +</P> + +<P> +When they saw him take a knife from his pocket and slit the parchment +through the middle, they dare not speak, they were so astonished. +</P> + +<P> +In four pieces he cut the proclamation, and then handed it back to the +sheriff, who dropped it as though it had been plague infected. +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen picked up the four pieces. +</P> + +<P> +"You did well not to receive it. I have a better use for it." +</P> + +<P> +He took out his tinder box, and after a little effort, for the snow +made the tinder damp, he got a light. +</P> + +<P> +This he applied to the parchment, which sputtered and crinkled up in +all sorts of strange shapes, until the great red seal, the token of +authority, melted, and the wax ran on the ground. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, let the sheriff acquaint the governor of New Hampshire with what +I have done." +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen stepped down, and walked through the crowd. +</P> + +<P> +Not one person spoke to him, his act had so taken them by surprise. +</P> + +<P> +It was a boldness that perhaps was criminal, they thought. +</P> + +<P> +"What think you?" asked one. +</P> + +<P> +"It was awful. I wonder the fire from Heaven did not consume him, for +the king is the Lord's anointed, and it was in the king's name." +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder if they will hang him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Who, the king?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Ethan; most like they will." +</P> + +<P> +"I guess he knew what he was doing." +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, and he did right. We want men of pluck like him." +</P> + +<P> +"Take care, Seth Warner; Ethan may get into trouble——" +</P> + +<P> +"And I will stand by him." +</P> + +<P> +"So will I," said Peleg Sunderland. +</P> + +<P> +"And here is another," spoke up Remember Baker. "The lad hath the +right spunk. I like him." +</P> + +<P> +There was nothing done that day but talk over Ethan Allen's strange and +daring conduct. +</P> + +<P> +For days the people spoke of it in bated breath, for they had never +heard of such opposition to authority in the district, and they were +afraid of the consequences. +</P> + +<P> +Gov. Wentworth, of New Hampshire, issued a counter proclamation, in +which he said that King Charles had never given the land to New York. +</P> + +<P> +The governor of New York appealed to King George, and he decided in +favor of New York, and so, at the end of six years, the battle of +titles stood just where it did when Ethan Allen tore up the +proclamation. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS. +</H3> + +<P> +"What news?" +</P> + +<P> +"Welcome back, Ethan. Is it good news?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, man, tell us; what say the men in Albany?" +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen jumped from his horse, and stood among his countrymen, the +most honored man among them. +</P> + +<P> +He had been sent to Albany to represent the farmers who held the lands +from the governor of New Hampshire. +</P> + +<P> +New York had commenced a suit against New Hampshire, and the trial was +in Albany. +</P> + +<P> +"Men, I know not whether you call the news good or bad, but it is just +as I tell you; New York has won." +</P> + +<P> +"And all our titles are upset?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, that is just what it means." +</P> + +<P> +"What are we to do?" +</P> + +<P> +"I know not what you will do; I know what I shall do." +</P> + +<P> +"What will you do, Ethan?" +</P> + +<P> +"When the sheriff comes to dispossess me I shall be there with my +musket, and if I fall Ira will be there, and if he falls Ebenezer will +have a musket, and if he, too, falls, then John will try what he can +do. That is what I shall do." +</P> + +<P> +"But the decision says that New York is in the right." +</P> + +<P> +"Courts have made mistakes before, and the strong right arm of good +mountaineers have set them right." +</P> + +<P> +"What said they in Albany?" +</P> + +<P> +Allen told them of the trial, and then, with a glow on his face, he +added: +</P> + +<P> +"They told me that the gods were against me, and I retorted that the +gods of the valleys are not the gods of the hills." +</P> + +<P> +"Bravo, Ethan! you are a brave chap." +</P> + +<P> +"If I had a score of men I would tell the New Yorkers to stay at home, +and, if they did not, I would send them home." +</P> + +<P> +"A score, did you say?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, a score would do." +</P> + +<P> +"Count me one." +</P> + +<P> +"Just as I expected, Seth Warner; you know no danger when homes are to +be protected." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall join you." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, Peleg Sunderland! you know what you will risk?" +</P> + +<P> +"My neck, I guess; but, as I have only one, the risk is not much." +</P> + +<P> +This was said with such seriousness that the people could not help +laughing. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't forget me," said Remember Baker. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be sure to remember you, Remember." +</P> + +<P> +"If my man won't join you, I will." +</P> + +<P> +The people turned to look at the speaker, and as they encountered the +firm face of Mistress Cochrane, they knew she meant it. +</P> + +<P> +"But I will join, Ethan," her husband, Robert Cochrane, said. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course you will, Robert; but I don't know but I'd prefer a score of +women like Mistress Cochrane to twoscore men." +</P> + +<P> +Mistress Cochrane was a big, well-formed woman, and as her sleeves were +rolled up above her elbows, she showed a wealth of muscle which many a +man might envy. +</P> + +<P> +Twenty men gave in their names, and Ethan was delighted. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm proud of my Green Mountain Boys," he said, "and I shall be prouder +still when we have won the victory." +</P> + +<P> +"Hurrah for our leader!" shouted Seth Warner. +</P> + +<P> +The next day Allen called his men together, and put them through their +drill. +</P> + +<P> +He wanted them to be soldiers, and so the discipline was strict. +</P> + +<P> +He was elected colonel of the regiment, and Seth Warner was made +captain. +</P> + +<P> +The fame of the Green Mountain Boys grew, and many of the men around +wished to join, but Allen had no idea of forming a large army, for his +object was defense, not defiance. +</P> + +<P> +He was sitting by the great open fireplace, looking at the blazing logs +and watching the curling smoke ascend the chimney, when his brother, +Ira, came in, and threw himself on the settee in the chimney corner +opposite Ethan. +</P> + +<P> +Ira was thirteen years younger than Ethan, but as bold and daring as +his brother. +</P> + +<P> +At the date of the formation of the Green Mountain Boys, Ira was +eighteen, and as bright a lad as ever shouldered musket or hunted a +bear. +</P> + +<P> +"Ethan, I saw Eben Pike to-night." +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" +</P> + +<P> +"He wants to join us." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh!" +</P> + +<P> +"Won't you let him?" +</P> + +<P> +"What to do? If we wanted a kitchenmaid he might apply." +</P> + +<P> +"I told him I would speak to you." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, you have done so." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish you would admit him." +</P> + +<P> +"Into the ranks?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"My dear Ira, you forget that we may have to fight." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't." +</P> + +<P> +"What use would Eben be in a fight? He could run." +</P> + +<P> +"That is just it; he might be serviceable when you wanted a message +sent." +</P> + +<P> +"I will see him." +</P> + +<P> +Ira went to the door. +</P> + +<P> +"Come in, Eben. The colonel will talk to you." +</P> + +<P> +Ethan had no idea that the youth was outside, and he blushed like a +girl as he thought the boy might have heard all he said. +</P> + +<P> +Eben Pike was an orphan, and was not generally liked by the people of +the district, simply because he was unlike the general run of boys. +</P> + +<P> +He was very effeminate, and with his hair worn long, looked more like a +girl than a boy of sixteen. +</P> + +<P> +He was soft and gentle in his dealings with everyone. He had often +shuddered as he saw a sheep killed by the butcher, and refused to hunt +because it was cruel. +</P> + +<P> +It was a strange freak for him to take, when he expressed his wish to +join the mountain boys, and Ethan could not understand it. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Eben, I hear that you are ambitious." +</P> + +<P> +"No, Master Allen, not ambitious, but I want only to be of some use." +</P> + +<P> +"Can you fight?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not want to do so, but if we have to—well, I'd do my best." +</P> + +<P> +"None of us could do more. Why do you wish to join the boys?" +</P> + +<P> +Eben's face was scarlet; he hung his head, and looked very sheepish. +</P> + +<P> +"Because, sir, the boys all say I am girlish, and I want to prove that +I am no girl." +</P> + +<P> +"But you might get hurt." +</P> + +<P> +"I can stand that. When the bear attacked me last summer he tore +pieces out of my thighs. Did I complain?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Eben, I will give you credit for pluck. As to joining us, why, I +will think over that." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you. I am sure I could be of use to you." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A CHILD OF NATURE. +</H3> + +<P> +Several weeks had passed since Eben Pike had signified his wish to join +the ranks of the Green Mountain Boys, and not once had he been summoned +to take part in their drills. +</P> + +<P> +"It is always the same," he murmured; "they think me too girlish for +men's work. I will show them yet that I can be of use." +</P> + +<P> +Every day he wandered through the country, and even crossed into New +York Colony, hoping to find out if any attempt was to be made to carry +out the decision of the courts. +</P> + +<P> +One bright day in May he reached Eagle Bridge, as the point is still +called, when he saw a number of men carrying muskets half concealed, +and walking toward the mountains. +</P> + +<P> +He kept up with them, eager to know where they were going and what was +their errand. +</P> + +<P> +They sat down under some trees to eat their mid-day meal, and Eben +crept close to them. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll bag the two to-day, just see if we don't," said one of the men. +"Zounds! I'd give a crown to have Ethan Allen in a line with my +musket." +</P> + +<P> +"You are more likely to look down the barrel of his," retorted another, +laughing. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll surprise him. You see, the governor has waited until the Green +Mountain Boys, as they call themselves, got tired, and then he sends +us; 'cause why? There isn't another sheriff in the colony as could bag +a fellow like that same Allen." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know the way to his farm?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, every turn in the road. We shall reach there soon after sunset, +and then I'll walk right up to him, and say: 'In the name of the king, +surrender!' and he will be so surprised that he will almost drop dead +with fright." +</P> + +<P> +"But suppose he is not alone?" +</P> + +<P> +"He will be; at least, there will only be the young boys, and they will +not fight." +</P> + +<P> +"He will not expect us." +</P> + +<P> +"No; and, seeing so many, all armed, he will surrender at once. Then +we go to Seth Warner's place, and he might show fight, for there are +two others live with him, but we will silence him by keeping Allen in +the front rank, so that, if he shoots, he has to kill the leader first. +Ha, ha, ha! It will be as good as play-acting, and the fun will be +something to talk about as long as we live." +</P> + +<P> +"Aren't you afraid to leave this wallet on the grass?" asked one of the +men. +</P> + +<P> +"I shouldn't forget it, for in that wallet is the order to eject and +capture one Ethan Allen, a rebel and traitor." +</P> + +<P> +Every word was heard by Eben Pike. +</P> + +<P> +"If I could get that wallet!" he thought; but it was kept pretty close +to the sheriff. +</P> + +<P> +Eben crawled a little nearer, sheltered by the thick undergrowth of the +wood. +</P> + +<P> +He cut a long stick and-held it ready to use if he should be +discovered, for he fancied they would not be very lenient with him if +he should be caught. +</P> + +<P> +The sheriff and his posse sat talking, and telling of their deeds of +daring. Each one seemed to try to out-bid the other for bravery. +</P> + +<P> +The conversation became animated, and a strange idea entered the +listener's head. +</P> + +<P> +He crawled still nearer, taking care that he did not move far without +resting, so that he might be sure he was not observed. +</P> + +<P> +He pushed his stick a little closer to the wallet, and found that he +only needed to be six inches nearer. +</P> + +<P> +After a little more inaction he wriggled his body a few inches farther, +and then, quickly and almost silently, with his stick drew the wallet +toward him. +</P> + +<P> +He secured it, and fastened it under his vest, the safest place he +could think of. +</P> + +<P> +Backward he crawled, as noiselessly as possible, until he reached a +clump of sumach bushes. Then he rose to his feet and ran. +</P> + +<P> +Eben was a child of nature, and, as Ira Allen had said, he would be +useful in carrying a message quickly. +</P> + +<P> +He had been in the possession of the wallet less than five minutes when +the sheriff proposed that the journey should be continued. +</P> + +<P> +He sprang to his feet, and looked for the wallet; he could not see it +in the long grass. +</P> + +<P> +He felt in his pockets, but it was not there. +</P> + +<P> +"I say, men, that isn't a fair joke." +</P> + +<P> +"What isn't?" +</P> + +<P> +"Who has the wallet?" +</P> + +<P> +"Now, that's a good one! Who should have it but the sheriff?" +</P> + +<P> +"Come, a joke's a joke, but don't carry it too far." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"One of you has got the wallet, and the writs of dispossess are in it." +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't." +</P> + +<P> +"Neither have I." +</P> + +<P> +"One of you must have got it." +</P> + +<P> +"It's a lie!" +</P> + +<P> +"Call me a liar?" asked the sheriff, of his deputies. +</P> + +<P> +"If you say we have got the writs, yes." +</P> + +<P> +The sheriff raised his musket club fashion, and would have brained the +speaker had not Isaac Gerston, one of the posse, caught his arm. +</P> + +<P> +"Father Abraham!" he ejaculated, "are you mad? What if the wallet is +in the grass? Have you searched everywhere?" +</P> + +<P> +The sheriff lowered his weapon, and all went on their hands and knees +and felt among the grass, searching very diligently, but no wallet +could be found. +</P> + +<P> +A council of war was held. If the writs could not be found the sheriff +would be punished. What excuse could be given? +</P> + +<P> +"What shall we do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Let us go to this man Allen's house, and surprise him. He will not +resist, and we can take him prisoner, and in the meantime another writ +can be obtained." +</P> + +<P> +It was a risky thing to attempt, but there seemed no other course open, +so the march was recommenced. +</P> + +<P> +The loss of the wallet was a mystery. Not one of the posse believed it +had been stolen, for they could not think a thief could have escaped +detection. +</P> + +<P> +The only surmise was that some squirrels had carried it up a tree. It +was a ridiculous assumption, but the only one tenable. +</P> + +<P> +When within a mile of Bennington Crossroads, where the Allens lived, +one of the posse caught his foot in the root of a tree and fell flat on +his face. +</P> + +<P> +As he raised himself he felt something soft and slippery. He picked it +up, and holding it above his head, cried out: +</P> + +<P> +"The wallet! The wallet!" +</P> + +<P> +The others, who had been a little behind, ran forward, and the sheriff +at once accused him of having had the wallet all the time, and only +when he fell and dropped it would admit its possession. +</P> + +<P> +The man was indignant at the charge, but the suspicion was so strong +that most of his companions believed the sheriff was right. +</P> + +<P> +The latter opened the wallet and saw the great red seal. That was all +he cared about it, and, placing it in his pocket securely, he very +generously proposed that no more should be said about it. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +"THE RISING OF THE MOON." +</H3> + +<P> +Eben Pike burst open the door of Ethan Allen's house without any +ceremony. +</P> + +<P> +Ethan and Seth Warner were sitting on the settee in the chimney, +talking about the inaction of the governor of New York. +</P> + +<P> +Off flew one of the bolts, and Ethan jumped to his feet and caught the +lad by the shoulder, and was giving him a good shaking, when Eben cried +out: +</P> + +<P> +"Kill me if you like, colonel, but hear me first." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, what is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"The sheriff of Albany and a big lot of armed men are on their way +here. I heard all their plans, and I have run all the way from Eagle's +Bridge to tell you. You, colonel, are to be dispossessed first, and +then Seth Warner, and if they can kill you, colonel, they will do so." +</P> + +<P> +"Is this true?" +</P> + +<P> +"Every word. I stole the wallet containing the writs, and here they +are. I took them out of the wallet and threw that away, 'cause they +might recognize it and find out how it was lost. Then I tore the +governor's seal off the writs, 'cause that would be treason to steal +them." +</P> + +<P> +Eben handed the mutilated writs to Allen, and he saw that they were +genuine enough. +</P> + +<P> +"Will they come, now that they have lost the writs?" asked Warner. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, they will make believe they have got them." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we must rally all the boys. Eben, you are a brave boy." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, colonel. Do you want to shake me now?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, my boy, and you can break off the bolts from every door in the +house if you like." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll go and fetch the boys." +</P> + +<P> +"You are tired." +</P> + +<P> +"No, Col. Allen, running never tired me yet. Let Ira go one way and I +will go the other, for no time must be lost." +</P> + +<P> +"You ought to be a general; you know just what should be done." +</P> + +<P> +If Eben had been tired, those words of praise would have been enough to +take away all feeling of fatigue. +</P> + +<P> +Ethan made out a list of the men he wanted and gave each boy a copy. +</P> + +<P> +"Keep as quiet as you can. Whisper your instructions. All you need +say is, 'The moon will rise tonight,' and then the answer will be, 'At +what time?' to which you will reply, 'As early as you are ready to see +it.' That is all you need say." +</P> + +<P> +"Will they come here then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, at once." +</P> + +<P> +Warner hurried home to see that all was in readiness there to withstand +an attack, and he left a speedy messenger to hurry to Allen's house in +case the sheriff should go to Warner's first. +</P> + +<P> +The first man met by Eben was Silvanus Brown. +</P> + +<P> +"Silvanus, the moon will rise to-night." +</P> + +<P> +Silvanus looked at the boy for a moment as though bewildered, but that +feeling passed away, and he asked: +</P> + +<P> +"At what time?" +</P> + +<P> +"As early as you are ready to see it." +</P> + +<P> +"Good! I am ready." +</P> + +<P> +Silvanus stepped quite lively, and Eben, on looking back, saw him going +toward the colonel's with his musket over his shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +The next farm was occupied by John Smith. +</P> + +<P> +"John Smith, are you there?" shouted Eben, as he opened the door and +looked in. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, my boy! What brings you here now?" +</P> + +<P> +"The moon will rise to-night." +</P> + +<P> +"Is that so? That is great news. At what time?" +</P> + +<P> +"As early as you are ready to see it." +</P> + +<P> +"Good! I would leave the best boiled dinner or get up at any hour of +the night to see the moon rise. What do you think? Will there be any +bears about a night like this?" +</P> + +<P> +"Most likely." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will take my old musket; it may be handy to have." +</P> + +<P> +A like reception Eben met with at Peleg Sunderland's and James +Breakenridge's houses. +</P> + +<P> +Within an hour thirty of the Green Mountain boys had gathered in the +home of their colonel, Ethan Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"Boys, we are in for it this night. Remember that it is your own kith +and kin that will be opposed to you. They are brothers, all these +Yorkers, and we do not want to be the first to shed blood; but if they +fire, that will be our signal. By the great mountains! we will give +two bullets for their one, and may victory be with the right!" +</P> + +<P> +After giving instructions as to the mode of procedure, Allen told them +how he had heard the news. +</P> + +<P> +"Never let any of the boys call Eben Pike a sissy any more. He has won +his spurs as a true knight." +</P> + +<P> +Had Ethan not cautioned the boys against loud talking, there would have +been a rousing cheer given for the youthful hero. +</P> + +<P> +"Whenever we have to distinguish our hero," said Allen, "we will call +him Eben Pike, the hero of Eagle's Bridge." +</P> + +<P> +There is no doubt that Eben's face flushed when he heard the words of +praise, but he could not speak a word, for his tongue seemed too large +for his mouth, and his heart would beat so rapidly that it made him +believe he was going to choke. +</P> + +<P> +It was Allen's plan to hide all the boys and appear as though he was +unarmed and unprepared when the sheriff came. +</P> + +<P> +Seth Warner had returned to his colonel's house and reported that he +had made all arrangements for a speedy message if the sheriff from +Albany went to his house first. +</P> + +<P> +Eben had slipped out and had gone to reconnoiter. +</P> + +<P> +It was unknown to Allen, or he would not have allowed the brave boy to +run any more risks. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is Pike?" he asked, as soon as he missed him. +</P> + +<P> +"He went out a moment ago," answered Ira. +</P> + +<P> +And in another moment he returned, the perspiration running down his +cheeks. +</P> + +<P> +"They are coming!" he almost shouted, so excited had he become. +</P> + +<P> +"Where are they?" +</P> + +<P> +"Less than half a mile." +</P> + +<P> +"How many?" +</P> + +<P> +"Twenty, at least." +</P> + +<P> +"You did not see so many before." +</P> + +<P> +"No; they have another sheriff with them." +</P> + +<P> +"To your quarters, boys; and remember, not a sound until the signal. +When I say, 'The moon has risen,' be ready; and when I say, 'It is at +the full,' fight like turkey cocks." +</P> + +<P> +In another minute only Ethan and Ira were visible, and no one would +have imagined, from the appearance of the house, that others were in +hiding, well armed to resist the foe. +</P> + +<P> +Sheriff Merrit was the first to reach the house, and he signaled to his +men to come forward. +</P> + +<P> +He rapped on the door, and Ethan opened it. +</P> + +<P> +"Does one Ethan Allen reside here?" asked the sheriff. +</P> + +<P> +"I am he." +</P> + +<P> +"Then in the name of the king I am here." +</P> + +<P> +"Pleased to see you, sir. But I cannot think of any business the king +may have with me." +</P> + +<P> +"I am a sheriff." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed! and I should fancy a credit to the shrievalty." +</P> + +<P> +Merrit bowed. The reception was far different to what he had expected. +</P> + +<P> +He glanced into the room, and saw only the younger man sitting in the +chimney corner. +</P> + +<P> +"You are a loyal man?" queried the officer. +</P> + +<P> +"I am loyal to king and country," answered Allen, boldly. +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad to hear that, for my business would be unpleasant were it +not that you are loyal." +</P> + +<P> +"Sheriff, tell your business without delay." +</P> + +<P> +"I have a writ of dispossession, and I am to enforce it. It means that +you are required to give up and surrender this farm, and afterward to +make such terms with His Excellency Gov. Tryon as he may suggest." +</P> + +<P> +Allen had allowed the sheriff to finish his speech. In fact, it really +appeared to the Yorker that Allen was afraid. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me see the writ." +</P> + +<P> +"You do not doubt my word?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, only as I am a loyal subject I have a right to see that the order +is in a legal form." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, it is legal enough, and properly sealed as well." +</P> + +<P> +"In that case there ought to be no difficulty. Let me see the writ." +</P> + +<P> +Sheriff Merrit opened his wallet, never once doubting that he had the +writs and warrants safe in his possession. +</P> + +<P> +He drew forth the seal and was ready to drop with excitement, for the +seal was all he had; the writ had been torn away. +</P> + +<P> +"I have been robbed," he cried. "Gerston, I have been robbed!" +</P> + +<P> +"That is a pretty tough thing to say. Do you mean to say that you have +not the writ you spoke about?" +</P> + +<P> +"I had. I have been robbed. See, that is the seal which was at the +bottom of it. You see that seal?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but I am not going to surrender the farm unless you can produce +the writ." +</P> + +<P> +"You refuse?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do." +</P> + +<P> +"Then, by thunder, I shall have to arrest you." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed, you are mistaken. The moon has risen." +</P> + +<P> +"What has that to do with the matter? I tell you that you are my +prisoner." +</P> + +<P> +"And I say that the moon has risen and therefore I am not your +prisoner." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +DEFIANCE. +</H3> + +<P> +"We will soon settle that. Men of New York, in the King's name I call +on you to arrest Ethan Allen, rebel and traitor. Kill him if he will +not submit." +</P> + +<P> +The sheriff's posse rushed forward, and Ethan stood in the doorway, +unarmed, and calmly said: +</P> + +<P> +"The moon is at the full." +</P> + +<P> +Instantly the Green Mountain Boys filled the room. +</P> + +<P> +They came from all sorts of hiding places and all were armed. +</P> + +<P> +The sheriff fell back, but only for a moment. +</P> + +<P> +Advancing again, he asked: +</P> + +<P> +"Do you intend to resist by force?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do. I shall fight for my home against the governor of New York—ay, +against the king himself. Stand back! You have no warrant for my +arrest and no writ of dispossession." +</P> + +<P> +"I had, but I have been robbed," +</P> + +<P> +"A likely story that. If it is as you say, then you are not a fit +person to be a sheriff." +</P> + +<P> +"I own I was careless, but that will not help you." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall not surrender without a writ." +</P> + +<P> +"But you will be a prisoner, anyway, for there is a warrant out for +your arrest as a rebel and a traitor." +</P> + +<P> +"Was that stolen, also?" +</P> + +<P> +"Mine was but a duplicate; the original has been sent by the hand of +Sheriff Alston." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is he?" +</P> + +<P> +A man stepped forward and announced himself as Alston, a sheriff duly +appointed by Gov. Tryon, of the Colony of New York. +</P> + +<P> +"It is enough." +</P> + +<P> +"You surrender?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, by heaven, no! The Yorkers have no power over me. I hold my farm +from New Hampshire, and only to the governor of New Hampshire will I +relinquish it." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we shall use force." +</P> + +<P> +"So shall we." +</P> + +<P> +"It is treason." +</P> + +<P> +"It is loyalty to my country. Boys, these men are crazy; they are so +because the moon is at the full." +</P> + +<P> +Instantly the Green Mountain Boys were ready to resist any attack. +</P> + +<P> +The sheriff gave the order to fire. +</P> + +<P> +Both sides obeyed the sheriff, and a blinding smoke rose from the old +muskets. +</P> + +<P> +No one was hurt, for neither side liked to be the first to shed blood. +</P> + +<P> +Another volley was fired, and one of the defenders was wounded. +</P> + +<P> +At the word they rushed out and threw themselves on the sheriff's +posse, and, with muskets clubbed, they drove the Yorkers back, breaking +many a head and inflicting more damage than they received. +</P> + +<P> +The Yorkers rallied and loaded their muskets. +</P> + +<P> +Sheriff Merrit, with a courage worthy of a better cause, addressed his +men. +</P> + +<P> +"Yorkers, we must have the body of Ethan Allen, dead or alive. We must +quell this revolt against lawful authority. Will you follow me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, to the death!" +</P> + +<P> +"The courts have decided that the land belongs to New York; the king, +God bless him! has confirmed the decree, and opposition to it is +treason. Ay, treason, which our king has called upon us to stamp out. +Are you ready?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, we will give our lives for the king." +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen knew that the very name of the king was sufficient to +strike awe into the minds of the people. +</P> + +<P> +At that time the king was looked upon as the anointed of Heaven, and +only the boldest would dare to say a word against him. +</P> + +<P> +Allen was too democratic to look upon George as infallible, and to him +he was only the head of the nation, and no better than any other man. +</P> + +<P> +But the mass of the people had not shaken off their Old World ideas of +royalty. +</P> + +<P> +"Boys, it may be that his majesty has confirmed the decree," said +Allen, "but he was misinformed, and when he hears from our own +governor, the governor from whom we hold our lands, he will change his +opinion and secure us in our titles. Until then shall we defend them +ourselves?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, to the death," answered Seth Warner. +</P> + +<P> +"Then load your guns, and let us drive back these Yorkers into their +own colony." +</P> + +<P> +The Green Mountain Boys fell into line, Ethan Allen and Seth Warner in +front, and in that order they marched against the sheriff's posse. +</P> + +<P> +Volley after volley was fired, and several on each side fell wounded, +some fatally. +</P> + +<P> +Back fell the Yorkers, and still onward went the gallant boys under +Allen's lead. +</P> + +<P> +Allen thought the march too slow, and he gave the order to go at double +quick. +</P> + +<P> +The Yorkers had but little time to load their muskets, and they had not +the quickness possessed by the mountaineers. +</P> + +<P> +The unfortunate Sheriff Merrit many times tried to halt his men so that +they might pour a volley into the ranks of the mountain boys, but they +had become too demoralized to make any determined stand. +</P> + +<P> +Merrit, with the courage which almost ennobled him, snatched a musket +from the hands of one of his men and, standing in the middle of the +road, took deliberate aim at Ethan Allen and fired. +</P> + +<P> +The ball went wide of its mark, but the intrepid sheriff loaded quickly +and again attempted to fire, but he spilled the powder from his pan, +and the spark did not fire the musket. +</P> + +<P> +Then he clubbed the weapon and rushed forward to meet the brave leader +of the Mountain Boys, and was within a few feet of Allen when he +tripped and fell. +</P> + +<P> +His musket fell under him, and by some unaccountable chance was fired, +blowing off the top of Merrit's head. +</P> + +<P> +The Yorkers were thrown in a panic by the sight, and ran faster than +they had ever thought possible until they were over the border and +considered themselves safe from pursuit. +</P> + +<P> +The victory was with the Mountain Boys, but Allen feared that it would +prove dearly bought, for the laws were so strict at that time, and all +his party might be held responsible for the death of the sheriff, who, +being a king's officer, was sacred. +</P> + +<P> +He gave the order to march back to their homes and see to the wounded. +</P> + +<P> +Only one man died from the effects of his wounds, though others were in +a bad way. +</P> + +<P> +Save for the attendance upon the wounded, the farmers of Bennington +might have thought the fight with and pursuit of the Yorkers only a +dream, so readily did they settle down to their farm duties. +</P> + +<P> +Several weeks passed and no sign of any move was made by the Yorkers. +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen had sent a full account of the affair to the Governor of +New Hampshire, by the hands of his brother Ira, but save for saying +that the account should be read carefully, the governor had taken no +further notice. +</P> + +<P> +Seth Warner had a cousin in Albany, and he induced him to send regular +reports of the doings in New York, in so far as they effected the New +Hampshire grants. +</P> + +<P> +And during all those weeks the news came that nothing was being done. +Ethan believed in the old adage that a quiet always preceded a storm, +and he held himself in readiness to meet it. +</P> + +<P> +The Green Mountain Boys were drilled regularly, and the watchword was +looked for whenever any met the chosen messengers of the colonel. +</P> + +<P> +Eben had proved himself very useful, but for several days he had been +away, and Ethan was getting uneasy about him. +</P> + +<P> +July had come, with all its heat and unpleasantness, and still Eben was +absent. +</P> + +<P> +That something had happened to him all believed, for he had never been +known to absent himself from his friends for so long a time before. +</P> + +<P> +It was on the tenth of July that Eben craved entrance to the residence +of Ethan Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"Where have you been?" asked the colonel. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not be cross with me. I have only been doing what I thought ought +to be done. I have been in Concord." +</P> + +<P> +"What have you been doing there?" +</P> + +<P> +"Keeping my mouth shut and my ears open." +</P> + +<P> +"And what have you heard?" +</P> + +<P> +"Much that you ought to know, and I will tell you if you are not cross +with me." +</P> + +<P> +"I am never cross with you, Eben." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you are to be sent for to Concord, and will be sent as a prisoner +to Albany. Gov. Tryon says he will hang you as soon as you reach that +city." +</P> + +<P> +"How learned you this?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nay, should I tell you I might never learn anything more." +</P> + +<P> +"When am I to be sent for?" +</P> + +<P> +"The messenger is on his way. If you do as we would like you would not +go." +</P> + +<P> +"Why?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because the governor will purchase peace for himself by having you +hanged." +</P> + +<P> +"Hush! there is some one even now at the door." +</P> + +<P> +"Welcome, most worthy Talbot!" exclaimed Allen, when Assistant District +Attorney Talbot entered. "What brings you so far from Concord?" +</P> + +<P> +"A message to you, Ethan Allen." +</P> + +<P> +"To me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, from the governor." +</P> + +<P> +"A message from Gov. Wentworth is always welcome." +</P> + +<P> +"It may not be so in this case. I will explain. An application has +been made for your extradition by the governor of New York." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed! And what have I done?" +</P> + +<P> +"You are charged with killing a king's officer and robbing him of +certain documents which bore the seal of the Colony of New York." +</P> + +<P> +"Of both of which crimes I am innocent." +</P> + +<P> +"And so the governor thinks, but he has commanded me to explain that it +is necessary that you return with me to Concord, there to satisfy the +court of your innocence." +</P> + +<P> +Ethan looked at Eben, and the youth made a sign to convey that the +information he had given was correct and that treachery was intended. +</P> + +<P> +"And if I decline to go?" +</P> + +<P> +"You will not decline." +</P> + +<P> +"I may." +</P> + +<P> +"You must not." +</P> + +<P> +"I may do so; what then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Then I shall order you into arrest." +</P> + +<P> +"And take me by force to Concord, and from thence to Albany?" +</P> + +<P> +"If the governor so orders." +</P> + +<P> +"Then go straight back to the governor and tell him that, with all due +respect to him and his authority, I will not go until I am ready, and +that if you attempt to arrest me I shall resist by force. I am a free +man, and by the grant signed by the governor I am free from arrest +unless the local tribunal so orders, and you cannot get any justice in +all the Green Mountains to order me into arrest. So go back and learn +that Ethan Allen can take care of himself." +</P> + +<P> +"But that is treason." +</P> + +<P> +"Call it what you like. I shall defend myself when the time comes, and +will never submit to tyranny, even from the governor of New Hampshire, +nor the king himself." +</P> + +<P> +"But I must do as I am bade." +</P> + +<P> +"Try to do so, you mean. Let me tell you that Ethan Allen is in the +right, and the governor is in the wrong, and I defy you and all the +power at your back." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BEFORE THE GOVERNOR. +</H3> + +<P> +Mr. Talbot knew not what to do. +</P> + +<P> +Had he lived in the days of the electric telegraph he would have used +the wire to obtain instructions. But in those days only a horse was at +his disposal, and that was a slow means of travel. +</P> + +<P> +He knew that he must act as he thought best. +</P> + +<P> +If he offended the governor he might be removed from his position and +disgraced. +</P> + +<P> +If he offended the mountaineers they might make terms with New York, +and New Hampshire might lose all the debatable land. +</P> + +<P> +There was a degree of sturdy independence shown by the mountaineers +which, while commendable, was slightly awkward at times. +</P> + +<P> +It is in the mountains that freemen are born, and, as Ethan Allen often +told the people of the valleys, the men of the hills were a race of +free men, who could never be enslaved. +</P> + +<P> +Talbot thought over the difficulty and resolved to try diplomacy. +</P> + +<P> +"You hold your farm under a grant from Gov. Wentworth?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do?" +</P> + +<P> +"You owe allegiance to him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly." +</P> + +<P> +"You ought to obey his commands." +</P> + +<P> +"Stay! I am a freeborn man. I willingly give service where service is +needed, I willingly obey laws which are for the good of all, but I +never yet agreed to obey any one man, whether he be governor or even +king." +</P> + +<P> +"And yet you have no right to the farm, save such as you received from +the governor." +</P> + +<P> +"You mistake the position. The original grant was for a tract of +mountain land. That land is now mine because I have improved it, made +it of value, and all I owe to the governor is the value of the +unreclaimed lands. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you not go to Concord and obey the governor's mandate?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not until the governor himself asks me. When he invites me I will go; +when he only commands I refuse to obey. Return and tell him so." +</P> + +<P> +"I dare not." +</P> + +<P> +"Then stay here and you will learn what freemen think, and see how they +act." +</P> + +<P> +"I dare not stay." +</P> + +<P> +"What a sorry specimen of a man you are. You dare not, forsooth! is +that the expression of a free man?" +</P> + +<P> +"You taunt me." +</P> + +<P> +"Taunt you? No, I only say that I dare do aught that does become a +man." +</P> + +<P> +Seth Warner entered the house and was welcomed by Ethan. +</P> + +<P> +The colonel told the farmer of the order received. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you go?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"I should say not, indeed. Let the governor come here if he wants to +talk with you." +</P> + +<P> +Talbot could make no headway, so he left the house in disgust. +</P> + +<P> +He went to Faithful Quincy, the town crier, and bade him summon the men +to assemble at the courthouse at once. +</P> + +<P> +Quincy looked at the attorney and waited until the order was given. +</P> + +<P> +"In whose name am I to give the notice?" +</P> + +<P> +"That of the governor." +</P> + +<P> +"Then, please your honor, you must go to the sheriff and get his order." +</P> + +<P> +"Is that necessary?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is, if you want to have the people assemble." +</P> + +<P> +Talbot wished himself back at Concord. +</P> + +<P> +With Quincy he went to the house of the sheriff and obtained his +permission to call the men together. +</P> + +<P> +Every man, it seemed, was at the meeting. +</P> + +<P> +Talbot told them that he was sent by the governor of New Hampshire with +a message for Ethan Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"Then why don't you give him the message?" asked Remember Baker. +</P> + +<P> +"I have done so and he refuses to accede to the governor's request." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you may be sure that the governor is in the wrong." +</P> + +<P> +"What is the message?" asked Peleg Sunderland. +</P> + +<P> +Talbot told them all he was instructed to do, and a loud laugh went up +from every man as he heard. +</P> + +<P> +"So Col. Allen refuses to go?" +</P> + +<P> +"He does." +</P> + +<P> +"Then that is an end of the matter." +</P> + +<P> +"No, it is not," answered Talbot, quickly; "you are all bound to give +such military service as the governor may require." +</P> + +<P> +"That is true." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I call upon you to arrest and convey to Concord the body of Ethan +Allen." +</P> + +<P> +Seth Warner moved up to the judge's bench. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you jesting?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"You mean to insist that we shall do such service as you have outlined?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is my order, acting in the name of the governor." +</P> + +<P> +"Then tell the governor that there is not a man in all the grants that +will lay a finger on Col. Ethan Allen." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, my friends," Allen said, speaking for the first time; "I +refuse to obey the order to go under arrest, but I will go voluntarily +and tell the chief executive officer of the colony that free men are +not going to be ordered about like lackeys." +</P> + +<P> +"And quite right, too. We will go with you." +</P> + +<P> +"No, Seth Warner, I will go alone." +</P> + +<P> +"Excuse me, colonel, but we have something to say about that. We shall +take a few days off and go to Concord." +</P> + +<P> +And as Allen had refused to obey the governor, so the Green Mountain +Boys declined to stay at home, even when their leader so requested. +</P> + +<P> +On the next morning fifteen of the brave mountaineers accompanied their +colonel to the seat of government of the colony. +</P> + +<P> +It was not a formidable military force, but it was sufficient to show +the governor that he had to deal with sturdy men. +</P> + +<P> +Gov. Wentworth received the mountain heroes at ones [Transcriber's +note: once?]. +</P> + +<P> +Talbot told his story of how he had been received by Ethan Allen, and +he did not spare the young leader. +</P> + +<P> +Then came Allen's turn. +</P> + +<P> +"It hath been made known to me that the Colony of New York has asked +that I be sent a prisoner to Albany, there to be tried for certain +crimes. Is that so?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is." +</P> + +<P> +"It hath been told me that I am charged with killing a king's officer, +one Sheriff Merrit. Is that so?" +</P> + +<P> +"You are rightly informed." +</P> + +<P> +"Then hear me. Merrit died in New Hampshire, and, even if I had killed +him, I claim I must be tried in my own colony and not in York." +</P> + +<P> +"You admit killing him?" +</P> + +<P> +"I did not kill him. His death was an accident. There are plenty of +witnesses to prove that. Then I am told I am charged with stealing +documents bearing the seal of New York. Is that so?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is." +</P> + +<P> +"I can prove that when the sheriff did unlawfully enter my house at the +Crossroads he had not the documents with him, but he had seals only. +Now, your excellency, I am here to tell you that I hold my land from +you, that I live in the Colony of New Hampshire, and that the sheriff +of New York has no right to invade this colony, and if I had shot him +as he entered my house I should have done right. What have you to say +to that?" +</P> + +<P> +Gov. Wentworth remained silent. +</P> + +<P> +He knew that Allen was right. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you relinquish all right to the grants?" asked Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Then tell the governor of York to mind his own business. I have not +yet finished. I am a free man, a subject of his majesty, the King of +England. And, as a free man, I ask you, his representative, whether +you have made a promise that I shall be surrendered to Albany?" +</P> + +<P> +"I decline to answer." +</P> + +<P> +"You were to get me here by a trick, and then without trial send me to +Albany, there to be hanged as a rebel and murderer. All I have done +has been to protect the title you gave me, and my own labor, and I will +protect that labor as long as my arm retains its strength." +</P> + +<P> +"I am no traitor, Ethan Allen. I would have given you a fair trial." +</P> + +<P> +"You promised to surrender me." +</P> + +<P> +"I did not." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, you did; I heard you!" +</P> + +<P> +Even Ethan was surprised and startled by the voice. +</P> + +<P> +Young Eben Pike had stepped close up to the governor, and was shaking +his fist in his face. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am Ebenezer Pike, and I heard you promise that Col. Ethan Allen +should be given up to Albany, and your secretary added that he hoped to +hear that the rebel was hanged quickly." +</P> + +<P> +"It is false!" +</P> + +<P> +"Eben speaks the truth!" hotly retorted Allen. "I would rather believe +him than anyone I know. He is a child of nature and knows not how to +be false. I am here to tell you, Gov. Wentworth, that we of the +mountains are ready to give our lives in defense of the colony, but we +will not sell our freedom!" +</P> + +<P> +Wentworth knew not what to make of such men. +</P> + +<P> +He admired their boldness. +</P> + +<P> +He was afraid to lose their services, for he saw that troubles were +brewing that would need the aid of men like Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"I will see you again on the morrow. In the meantime you will all stay +at my expense at the inn." +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir. We ask no favors, neither do we accept any. We men of the +mountains are independent." +</P> + +<P> +"As you please. This young spy will remain with me." +</P> + +<P> +"Eben Pike goes with us. He is of the mountains, also." +</P> + +<P> +"But I must know more of his methods of spying." +</P> + +<P> +"Ask him what you please; but he must be free. If he is imprisoned I +will call upon the men of Concord to aid the men of the mountains to +release him." +</P> + +<P> +"You are bold, Sir Ethan." +</P> + +<P> +"I am a free man, and I allow no one who serves me to be injured +without calling the offender to account." +</P> + +<P> +"But if he hath broken the laws?" +</P> + +<P> +"Then let him be tried and punished." +</P> + +<P> +"That is all we intend doing." +</P> + +<P> +"What charge is there against him?" +</P> + +<P> +"That we shall have to determine." +</P> + +<P> +"Until then he will stay with us. I will be personally responsible for +him." +</P> + +<P> +Nothing more was said, and Allen and his Mountain Boys walked out of +the governor's presence, taking Eben with them. +</P> + +<P> +"Talbot, I would rather have that man as a friend than an enemy," said +Wentworth when he was alone with the attorney-general. +</P> + +<P> +"It will be better policy to please Ethan Allen and his mountaineers +than Gov. Tryon of York." +</P> + +<P> +"I am thinking you are right." +</P> + +<P> +"If we do not placate Allen he will make terms with New York." +</P> + +<P> +"But would Tryon agree to terms?" +</P> + +<P> +"The Yorkers would make Allen deputy-governor, and Allen could take all +the land west of the Connecticut over with him." +</P> + +<P> +"What would you have me do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Send for Allen; make him a deputy in the mountain district; give him +more power than any other man in the district, and then tell Gov. Tryon +to capture Allen if he can." +</P> + +<P> +"Your advice may be good; I will think over it and will decide before I +see these men on the morrow." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AN AMBUSCADE. +</H3> + +<P> +The energetic governor of New York had a spy present during the +interview between the Green Mountain leader and the governor of New +Hampshire. +</P> + +<P> +Tryon had made up his mind to use his influence—and it was great—to +have England amalgamate the two colonies and make him the ruler of the +consolidated district. +</P> + +<P> +In fact, he had already planned a scheme by which all of New England +should be federated under his lead, thus creating a vice-gerency in the +New World which should be all-powerful. +</P> + +<P> +To carry out this plan he hoped to embroil the governor of New +Hampshire with the mountaineers, and thus, by creating dissensions, +show to England that a strong hand was needed. +</P> + +<P> +When his trusted deputy heard from the spy the result of the interview +between Allen and the governor, he called his aids together and asked +their advice. +</P> + +<P> +"Wentworth will give that fellow Allen all he asks," he said, "and our +mission will be a failure." +</P> + +<P> +"Cannot we capture this rebel and carry him over the border?" +</P> + +<P> +"If we could we should be masters of the situation." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we will do it." +</P> + +<P> +"How?" +</P> + +<P> +"Leave that to me. You must not know anything about it or it will +compromise you." +</P> + +<P> +"But, Edwards, unless I know the details how can I advise the governor +or prove to him that it was justifiable?" +</P> + +<P> +"That is the very thing you must not do until Allen and perhaps his men +are in New York Colony. Then you can boldly say: 'Here is the rebel; +hang him!'" +</P> + +<P> +That evening, when the mountaineers were smoking their pipes in front +of the inn, a man strolled leisurely along the street and looked at +Allen and Warner, who were talking together. +</P> + +<P> +He retraced his steps and stared at the men, hoping that they would +resent the impertinence; but Allen did not notice him and Warner only +smiled to himself. +</P> + +<P> +"Can you tell me where I shall find a man they call Ethan Allen?" asked +the man, after passing and repassing several times. +</P> + +<P> +"I have the right to bear that name," answered Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh!" +</P> + +<P> +"Why did you ask?" +</P> + +<P> +"I wanted to see him." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, you have seen him," Warner said, angrily. +</P> + +<P> +"And who are you?" +</P> + +<P> +"A better man than you." +</P> + +<P> +"That I doubt." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well; you are perfectly within your rights." +</P> + +<P> +"I know that, but I would like to know your name." +</P> + +<P> +"Seth Warner." +</P> + +<P> +"I am Jack Edwards, at your service." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, Mr. Jack Edwards, you can serve me by going about your +business." +</P> + +<P> +"So I will, now that I have seen you. Good-day." +</P> + +<P> +Warner did not answer the valedictory, and the man stooped down, and, +picking up a handful of gravel, threw it at Warner. +</P> + +<P> +"That's for your bad manners." +</P> + +<P> +Warner, quick-tempered, was about to seize Edwards, when Allen pulled +him back. "Sit down, Seth; the fellow is only trying to embroil us, +so that our enemies may get the better of us." +</P> + +<P> +"You may be right, Ethan, but I have got that fellow's face printed on +my mind, and when I meet him, as I shall, I will pay him with compound +interest." +</P> + +<P> +Edwards saw that he could not provoke a breach of the peace, so he +walked down the street, wondering of what sort of stuff this mountain +hero was made, when he would restrain his friend from avenging an +insult. +</P> + +<P> +Early in the morning Gov. Wentworth sent for Ethan Allen and told him +that he should refuse to meddle with the application for extradition, +and that Allen could go back to the mountains and defend his right and +title to the lands in any way he chose. +</P> + +<P> +"Go tell your men that I have created an office for you. You shall be +called the high custodian of the grants, and whatever you think +necessary to repel the claims of the Yorkers you can do in my name." +</P> + +<P> +Thus we have seen that the man sent for as a prisoner, with a gallows +staring him in the face, left Concord a victor. +</P> + +<P> +The conflict between the two colonies was to assume a new phase, and in +that conflict Ethan Allen was to bear a most prominent part. +</P> + +<P> +The Mountain Boys did not believe in wasting time, so they rallied +their forces and started back as soon as they had attended to their +horses and provided themselves with provisions for the journey. +</P> + +<P> +Allen rode first with Seth Warner. +</P> + +<P> +"Seth, what was that man's object in provoking a quarrel?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am at a loss to understand." +</P> + +<P> +"He was a Yorker." +</P> + +<P> +"Think so?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sure of it." +</P> + +<P> +"Then it was mere curiosity to see you, and when he saw you he could +not restrain his temper? He wanted to fight?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think so." +</P> + +<P> +"What is your idea then, colonel?" +</P> + +<P> +"He wanted to embroil us in a quarrel so that the watch could be called +out and we should be placed in the wrong." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you are right. Anyway, we are rid of him." +</P> + +<P> +"Are we?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, of course." +</P> + +<P> +"Do not be too sure. The Yorkers will be mad enough to follow us, and, +if a chance offers, we shall have to fight." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you think of the dispute with the king?" +</P> + +<P> +"For my part, I think the colonies should have the right to make their +own laws." +</P> + +<P> +"The king will give that right." +</P> + +<P> +"No. George has all the pig-headedness of his ancestors. If the +colonies get the right they will have to fight for it." +</P> + +<P> +"You do not think there will be war between England and the colonies?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know, but if there should be I shall ask that our mountain +lands shall be independent." +</P> + +<P> +"With you as first governor." +</P> + +<P> +"I care not for that. I only want to see the people get all they +deserve. Look, Seth! What do you see over there?" +</P> + +<P> +"It looks to me like a number of horsemen." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and they are trying to head us off." +</P> + +<P> +"Think so?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, look! Baker, come here. What are those men doing over there?" +</P> + +<P> +Remember Baker shaded his eyes with his hand and looked for several +minutes before speaking. +</P> + +<P> +"'Pears like as though they were trying to ambush by the side of the +road and stop us." +</P> + +<P> +"Just what I thought. Ask Sunderland to come here." +</P> + +<P> +Peleg Sunderland was a good scout. He was a hunter from Wayback, and +could find the trail of a deer or a bear quicker than any man in the +Green Mountains. +</P> + +<P> +"Colonel, we are in for it. Them fellows are waiting for us." +</P> + +<P> +"Dismount!" +</P> + +<P> +The order was obeyed, though many of the men wondered what could be the +reason. +</P> + +<P> +"We will have lunch——" +</P> + +<P> +"But, colonel, I——" +</P> + +<P> +"We will have lunch." +</P> + +<P> +"Eben, get onto the trail, my boy. Find out who those men are about a +mile ahead of us, and report quickly. Take care you are not seen." +</P> + +<P> +The boy started off in a direction which was at right angles with the +road by which the men were camped. +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen bade the men appear to eat, whether they were hungry or not. +</P> + +<P> +He told them that he feared a surprise. +</P> + +<P> +The mountaineers rather liked the idea of a fight, though the odds were +against them. +</P> + +<P> +Every man had his musket ready for use and awaited the order to move. +</P> + +<P> +Eben returned and reported that there were twenty-two men, well armed +and apparently waiting for the Vermonters. +</P> + +<P> +"They are led by that man who wanted to fight you, captain." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you sure?" +</P> + +<P> +"I took his measure when he was at the inn and I cannot be mistaken." +</P> + +<P> +"Then they are Yorkers." +</P> + +<P> +"That is just what they are. And, colonel, would it not be better to +pass them on the road to the right, and then return and fight?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Eben. If we pass them we will not return. If we are attacked we +shall give as good as we receive." +</P> + +<P> +"Fight it will be." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Seth, and we shall have tough work before we are through." +</P> + +<P> +"We are ready to follow you." +</P> + +<P> +"Boys, are you all ready?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, Allen." +</P> + +<P> +"I think they will let us reach them before they emerge, and they will +fire at us from each side; so, Seth, you take half our men and I will +look after the others. You give back good answers to the men on the +right; we will take notice of those on the left." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Mount!" +</P> + +<P> +The men swung themselves in the saddles as unconcerned as though they +had been partaking of lunch and suspected no enemy to be on the lookout +for them. +</P> + +<P> +They rode forward, and were within a few yards of the enemy, when the +Yorkers leaped from their ambush and massed themselves on the road. +</P> + +<P> +"In the name of the king, surrender, Ethan Allen!" +</P> + +<P> +"In the name of common sense, who are you? A lot of clowns from a +country fair?" +</P> + +<P> +"We are the king's good subjects, and command you to surrender yourself +a prisoner." +</P> + +<P> +"Stand out of the way, you fool, or I will have to teach you a lesson." +</P> + +<P> +Allen had spoken sharply, for he was sick of the formality which +prefaced the fight which was to come. +</P> + +<P> +Both sides were well matched. All were on good horses, and every man +possessed a heavy musket. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you refuse to surrender?" +</P> + +<P> +"A Green Mountain Boy only surrenders to superiors." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we shall have to make you, unless you acknowledge us as your +superiors." +</P> + +<P> +"Men of the mountains!" shouted Allen, "ride through these +fellows—ride over them if they will not get out of the way." +</P> + +<P> +Edwards ordered his men to resist and to fire upon the mountaineers. +</P> + +<P> +"So you want to play the part of highwaymen, do you? Boys, return the +fire." +</P> + +<P> +One volley was fired by each party, and then the two opposing bodies +became mixed up in inextricable confusion. +</P> + +<P> +Muskets were clubbed and heads were cracked as the heavy butts +descended on them. +</P> + +<P> +Horses reared, and plunged, and knocked down those men who had become +unhorsed. +</P> + +<P> +The fight was furious for a few minutes. +</P> + +<P> +Ethan and his brother, Ira, were in the thick of the struggle all the +time, while Seth Warner seemed a very Trojan in valor. +</P> + +<P> +Both sides fought well, and had the contest been a short one it would +have been impossible to say which would have been the victor, but it +was prolonged, and the mountaineers had the physical stamina which the +men of the valleys lacked, and the longer the fight lasted the greater +was the victory of the brave followers of Ethan Allen. +</P> + +<P> +Edwards was taken prisoner, and on the understanding that he would +reveal all he knew of the plot against the men of the grants, Allen +allowed all the others to go free. +</P> + +<P> +Two Yorkers were killed, while Allen's ranks had lost only one, and he +only wounded, though severely. +</P> + +<P> +In triumph the boys returned to the green hills of Vermont, and were +received with many congratulations. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE CONVENTION. +</H3> + +<P> +Edwards was brought to trial on the charge of leading an armed invasion +of New Hampshire. +</P> + +<P> +He declared that he alone was responsible for the foray, and doubtless +his statement was a true one, though Allen did not believe it. +</P> + +<P> +The district court condemned Edwards to death by hanging, for his act +was one of high treason, and the sentence was sure to be confirmed by +the king, to whom it had to be sent. +</P> + +<P> +When Gov. Tryon heard of the fight and the capture of Edwards, and his +subsequent trial and sentence, he resolved on two things. He would +bring all the pressure to bear on the king that he could to prevent the +sentence being confirmed, and he would capture Allen and his friends, +no matter what the consequences might be. +</P> + +<P> +A proclamation was printed and sent through all the grants, in which +the governor of New York offered a reward of one hundred and fifty +pounds sterling for the capture of Ethan Allen, dead or alive, and a +further sum of fifty pounds each for the bodies, dead or alive, of Seth +Warner, Remember Baker, Sylvanus Brown, Robert Cochrane, Peleg +Sunderland, James Breakenridge and John Smith. +</P> + +<P> +When the proclamation had been well discussed the people got another +sensation in a counter proclamation, signed by Ethan Allen on behalf of +the mountaineers, offering two hundred pounds for the capture of the +attorney-general of New York. +</P> + +<P> +Both proclamations started out with a command to the parties named to +surrender themselves within thirty days under pain of the forfeiture of +all their property, of conviction of felony and sentence of death +without benefit of clergy. +</P> + +<P> +These proclamations placed the two sections on a war footing, and Ethan +saw that it was necessary to organize on a larger scale than had been +done. +</P> + +<P> +He consulted his trusty friend, Seth Warner, and as a result a +convention was called at Bennington. +</P> + +<P> +"It is no use calling on New Hampshire to aid us. We must rely on +ourselves," Allen told all with whom he came in contact. +</P> + +<P> +A larger number gathered at the convention than he expected, and his +heart was full of joy. +</P> + +<P> +He was the more pleased that he had called the men together, when, on +the very morning of the gathering, he received a notice from Concord +that the king had forbidden the colony to take an active part against +New York in the matter of the grants. +</P> + +<P> +In other words it meant that the king would protect New York and oppose +all claims of New Hampshire to the lands. +</P> + +<P> +"Men of the mountains," Allen commenced, "we are met to form laws to +protect ourselves and our property. We must rely on ourselves alone. +I think that the time has come when we should declare ourselves +independent of any colony, and apply to the king for a charter." +</P> + +<P> +"Good!" +</P> + +<P> +"That is talk of the right kind." +</P> + +<P> +"Why cannot we have our own laws, our own governor and our own army?" +</P> + +<P> +"You are rather previous, Sunderland." +</P> + +<P> +"Not a bit of it. I say that the king has never done anything for us, +and New Hampshire has betrayed us into the hands of the Yorkers." +</P> + +<P> +"We will call ourselves the Green Mountain Colony." +</P> + +<P> +"I think, if you will let me suggest, that if we are going to have a +new name it should be a pretty one." +</P> + +<P> +"Is not the Green Mountain Colony pretty?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; but I have thought that Vermont—it means Green Mountains—would +sound good." +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing could be better," assented Allen, "so we will commence our +deliberations with the declaration: 'We, the men of Vermont, in +convention assembled'; that will place our name above controversy." +</P> + +<P> +"I propose that Ethan Allen be our governor." +</P> + +<P> +"Stay, that will never do. The king must appoint a governor, so we can +only declare our desire to be independent of New Hampshire, and until +the king accepts our independence we must nominally recognize Gov. +Wentworth as our governor." +</P> + +<P> +It is not our purpose to give the proceeding of that convention <I>in +extenso</I>, but this much we have given, in order that the whole country +may know that the sturdy mountain boys talked of independence and +liberty with spirit even before the Revolution began. +</P> + +<P> +Warner stood on a chair and waved his hand for attention. +</P> + +<P> +"I have heard," he said, "that Gen. Gates is pressing the people of +Boston so hard that the English are getting themselves disliked in that +city, and I should not be surprised if a rebellion was talked of." +</P> + +<P> +"The sooner the better, say I." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; why should England govern us?" +</P> + +<P> +"We are too far away. The king——" +</P> + +<P> +"Leave his name out of the question. We can be loyal to him, even if +we become independent as a new nation." +</P> + +<P> +"We want no kings——" +</P> + +<P> +"Silence!" shouted Allen; "I will not listen to treason to the king." +</P> + +<P> +Warner continued: +</P> + +<P> +"If the people of Boston talk of rebellion, so will the people of New +Hampshire, and we Green—I beg pardon, Vermonters—we, too, can govern +ourselves. Then, when two or three colonies show some spirit, New York +will have to tackle us all, instead of a few mountaineers." +</P> + +<P> +"That is for the future, Capt. Warner; what we have to think of is, are +we going to protect our farms?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, to the death!" +</P> + +<P> +The sentiment was the occasion for such cheering as Bennington had +never heard before. +</P> + +<P> +"We will hold our lands, even if every man has to carry a musket when +he plows the ground or sows the seed or reaps the harvest." +</P> + +<P> +"Good for you, Warner! Now, then, let us have a good militia." +</P> + +<P> +Every man present enrolled his name on the list, and a very excellent +start was made to form an army to defend the farms. +</P> + +<P> +The district was divided into two parts, the northern part of the New +Hampshire grants being under the command of Allen, the southern under +the guidance of Warner. +</P> + +<P> +Rules were laid down for the guidance of the mountaineers, and as good +a system of government was inaugurated as existed in New Hampshire +itself. +</P> + +<P> +The strongest contingent of militia was sent with Allen to the north, +for it was thought that the next attempt of New York would come from +the Champlain section instead of Albany. +</P> + +<P> +Everywhere Ethan Allan was received with open arms. +</P> + +<P> +The farmers had reclaimed the lands from the mountain sides, and made +them fruitful, and it was extremely hard that they should be turned +from their farms without receiving compensation. +</P> + +<P> +Resistance was popular, and the men who had taken the lead in +organizing the farmers were looked upon as heroes. +</P> + +<P> +Allen had taken Eben with him, and the young lad was the most useful +member of his staff. +</P> + +<P> +Eben had all the faithfulness of a hound, with the sagacity of a +trained scout. +</P> + +<P> +He was invaluable. +</P> + +<P> +In some of the districts it was necessary to conceal their identity, +for until the sentiment of the people was known treachery might be +expected. +</P> + +<P> +The reward offered for Allen was a large one for those days, and was a +great temptation to the poor, struggling farmers. +</P> + +<P> +So the leader had to be on the alert all the time, and Eben proved his +usefulness by finding out all about the men before Allen made himself +known. +</P> + +<P> +The Green Mountain Boys camped on the shore of Lake Dunmore, and made +the place their headquarters for the district. +</P> + +<P> +Eben was returning to the camp one night when he was accosted by a lad +about his own age. +</P> + +<P> +"You're a stranger about here, eh?" said the lad. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; just looking about." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, from New York?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I come from New Hampshire." +</P> + +<P> +"So did I. I used to live in Concord. Ever in Concord?" +</P> + +<P> +"Many times," answered Eben. +</P> + +<P> +"Then we ought to be friends. Looking for work?" +</P> + +<P> +"Partly. My folks want a good grant somewhere, and I'm looking about +for one." +</P> + +<P> +"There aren't many good places now; most have been taken. They do say +that a man called Ethan Allen is round stirring up the people so that +he may get them their lands free." +</P> + +<P> +"So I have heard." +</P> + +<P> +"But some say that he wants the lands for himself." +</P> + +<P> +"How is that?" asked Eben, innocently. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, I have heard a man say—he came from Fort Ticonderoga—that if +Allen can get his way there will be a fight. Then he will surrender +and will recognize York, and as a reward will get the best farms." +</P> + +<P> +"It's a——" +</P> + +<P> +Eben was about to give the boy a piece of his mind, but checked himself +in time. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a what?" asked the lad. +</P> + +<P> +"Very unlikely story, I was about to say, but thought that I would not." +</P> + +<P> +"Why?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because a man who would think such a thing about Col. Allen is not +worth contradicting." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, that is it. So you believe in this man, Allen?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do." +</P> + +<P> +"So does father. He says that he will stick by him as long as he has a +hand to hold a gun." +</P> + +<P> +"What is your father's name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you want to know?" +</P> + +<P> +"Only he might help me to find a good piece of farm land which I could +get by applying." +</P> + +<P> +"So he might. Well, my father is Ezekiel Garvan—Old Zeke, they call +him round about. Glad to see you when you are near. See, that is our +house over yon, where the smoke is rising up from among the trees." +</P> + +<P> +"And what is your name?" asked Eben. +</P> + +<P> +"I am called Zeb; it is short for Zebedee. What is your name?" +</P> + +<P> +Incautiously he answered, truthfully: +</P> + +<P> +"Ebenezer Pike is my name." +</P> + +<P> +The boys separated, and Eben returned to the camp, feeling pleased with +himself to think he had found a good friend, as he never doubted old +Zeke would be. +</P> + +<P> +Zeb stood watching Eben for a time, and then he too returned home. +</P> + +<P> +"My old dad used to blame me for listening, and used to say that little +pitchers had big ears, when anyone was there, just to prevent them +talking, but the big ears will be useful now, or I am not fit to be my +father's son." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TREACHERY. +</H3> + +<P> +Zebedee was flushed and excited when he entered the paternal dwelling. +</P> + +<P> +He had been away all day, and knew that he was likely to get a good +thrashing for neglect of his work. +</P> + +<P> +Ezekiel was waiting for him very patiently. +</P> + +<P> +Zeb had taken all in at a glance. There was a thick beechen stick +standing by the chimney corner, and old Zeke was not far from it. +</P> + +<P> +One of his most favored passages of the Bible was the one in which the +spoiling of the child is said to be caused by the small use of the rod. +</P> + +<P> +Zeb knew what it meant. +</P> + +<P> +He had often felt the strength of his father's muscles, and he fully +realized that if he was spoiled it was not because the rod had been +spared. +</P> + +<P> +Only three mornings before Zeb had entered the kitchen, which served as +dining room as well, and had partaken of his breakfast standing, and at +the midday meal he still preferred an upright position instead of the +one adopted by the other members of his family. +</P> + +<P> +To be accurate and truthful, it was a rare thing for Zeb to be able to +sit down with any comfort, for his interviews with his father were very +frequent and generally of a very painful nature. +</P> + +<P> +He entered the kitchen looking more defiant than his brothers or sister +had ever seen him. +</P> + +<P> +Zeke did not speak. +</P> + +<P> +He took off his coat and rolled up his homespun linen shirt sleeves. +</P> + +<P> +Then he reached out and got the beechen stick. +</P> + +<P> +Zebedee waited. +</P> + +<P> +He knew that there was a certain formula to be gone through. +</P> + +<P> +His father never thrashed him while angry; he always catechised him, +then waited a few minutes before plying the stick or the whip. +</P> + +<P> +"Zeb, did you sort those potatoes?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you learn that verse from the Bible the elder told you to commit +to memory?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Playing all day?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I must use the rod, or my son will be ruined." +</P> + +<P> +Everything had been calm up to that point. +</P> + +<P> +The other members of the family had gone out. +</P> + +<P> +Zeb was alone with his father. +</P> + +<P> +"Come here." +</P> + +<P> +"What for?" +</P> + +<P> +"Come here, I say, and place yourself across my knee." +</P> + +<P> +"Not this time, dad." +</P> + +<P> +If Zebedee had drawn a pistol and shot at his father that worthy could +not have been more astonished. He almost dropped the stick. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"Just what I say. You are never going to beat me again." +</P> + +<P> +"What?" +</P> + +<P> +"Just what I say, dad. I'm going to make a bargain with you. You +swear that you will never hit me again and I'll make you a rich man." +</P> + +<P> +Ezekiel dropped the stick. +</P> + +<P> +He opened his ponderous jaws and looked at his eldest son much as he +might at a wild beast. +</P> + +<P> +"You—what?" +</P> + +<P> +"Just what I say, dad. Little pitchers have big ears. Well, the big +ears have heard that you hate Ethan Allen." +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" +</P> + +<P> +"You would get the reward if you could." +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" +</P> + +<P> +"Swear that you will never hit me again——" +</P> + +<P> +"I will not. Come here, you rapscalion, and I'll teach you to make a +laughingstock of me." +</P> + +<P> +Zeb saw his father pick up the stick again, and he got into the corner, +and picking up a chair, held it so that his father could not strike him. +</P> + +<P> +"See here, father," he said, very quietly, "you are stronger than I am. +You have a right to whip me, and I perhaps deserve it; that isn't +saying much, but it's enough. Now I want to tell you that if you +strike me I'll leave you this very night, and either join the Green +Mountain Boys, or I'll get the reward and go to York and never see you +again." +</P> + +<P> +"What has come over you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing, only I see a way to make some money for you, or myself, and +I'll give it to you if you swear never to strike me again." +</P> + +<P> +"It's a bargain." +</P> + +<P> +"Honor bright?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, honor bright." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, father. Pull down your sleeves and come with me where no +one can hear what I have to say." +</P> + +<P> +To the great surprise of the family, no sounds of crying or sobbing +came from the kitchen, and when Zeb's mother—a little, frail woman, +who had never had her own way since she had been married to Zeke, +opened the door an hour later and peeped in, she screamed out: +</P> + +<P> +"It's all over! I felt he would do it some day." +</P> + +<P> +"Do what, mother?" asked a girl of twelve. +</P> + +<P> +"Your father has killed Zeb. He said he would, and now he has done it, +and he has gone to bury him." +</P> + +<P> +Then there was a scene of shrieking and weeping and sobbing. +</P> + +<P> +All the children joined in, and the mother was heart-broken. +</P> + +<P> +In the midst of it all father and son walked in, radiant and smiling. +</P> + +<P> +If Zeb had been really dead and made himself visible to his astonished +family, they could not have been more alarmed. +</P> + +<P> +"Mistress Garvan, stop your blubbering. We shall have visitors this +night; sha'n't we, Zeb?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, dad." +</P> + +<P> +"Friends of mine. Oh, it will be a great time. Mistress, I'll buy the +childer new clothes, ay, that I will, and I'll have a new ox for the +farm. It is good, I tell you, to have friends." +</P> + +<P> +Mistress Garvan wondered what had come over her stern husband. +</P> + +<P> +She knew he had not been drinking, for he would not allow even as much +as a drop of dry cider to come into the house. +</P> + +<P> +"What have you been doing, Zeke?" she asked him. +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing; it's only a little surprise we have. Isn't it so, Zeb?" +</P> + +<P> +But Zeb had disappeared, and so no answer was forthcoming from him. +</P> + +<P> +Zeb had seen more than he had heard, and he knew of the encampment on +Lake Dunmore. +</P> + +<P> +He had watched the men, and found out that they drilled at night. He +had become suspicious, but had no means of verifying his suspicions +until that conversation with Eben. +</P> + +<P> +When Eben had incautiously mentioned his name, Zeb remembered that he +had heard a man tell his father that Allen was accompanied by a young +scout whose name was Pike. +</P> + +<P> +Zeke was getting very fidgety. +</P> + +<P> +He kept looking at the tall clock, which his father had brought from +England many years before, and wondered whether his plot had failed. +But his face brightened when a knock at the door betokened the presence +of visitors. +</P> + +<P> +He opened the door himself, and Ethan Allen and Remember Baker stepped +in. +</P> + +<P> +"Welcome, most welcome! I would rather see you here than the king of +England." +</P> + +<P> +Allen placed his finger on his lip as a hint not to speak too loudly. +</P> + +<P> +Zeke laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"I respect your caution; a day will come when your name will be shouted +from the housetops." +</P> + +<P> +"You are too flattering, farmer." +</P> + +<P> +"Not so; but come to supper. My good wife knows how to tickle the +palate of my friends, and you are my friends. Where's Zeb, mother?" +</P> + +<P> +"He went out." +</P> + +<P> +"He is a bad fellow; I am sure I shall never tame him. I would he were +old enough to join the——" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; what age is he?" +</P> + +<P> +"Only sixteen." +</P> + +<P> +"He is old enough if he has inclination——" +</P> + +<P> +"A truce to such talk; let us get some supper. By my father's memory, +I smell pig's head and cabbage. Good thing, even if it is late at +night. Come, friends, and we will talk after." +</P> + +<P> +Zeke led the way into the kitchen and bade his guest be seated. +</P> + +<P> +Scarcely had they commenced eating when a knock at the back door caused +the farmer to drop his knife. +</P> + +<P> +The door opened and a man's voice was heard: +</P> + +<P> +"In the king's name surrender, Ethan Allen, and you, Remember Baker!" +</P> + +<P> +"Treason!" exclaimed Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"Trapped!" added Baker. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, rebels, and the reward will be mine!" shouted the farmer in a +joyous voice. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ZEB'S DOUBLE DEALING. +</H3> + +<P> +"Scoundrel!" shouted Baker. +</P> + +<P> +Allen was dignified even under such trying circumstances. He calmly +waited the pleasure of the soldiers, knowing that resistance was +useless; but Remember Baker was impetuous, and would have fought even +against such odds if he had not been overpowered. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you any cords?" asked the young officer. +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, faith I'll get the strongest cords that ye ever saw," exclaimed +Zeb. +</P> + +<P> +"You young imp, it was you who betrayed us," Baker said, bitterly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, you are right. You see, I bear you no ill will," said the young +scoundrel, "but money is useful, and they perhaps won't hang you, and +if they do—well, you've got to die sometime, and you might as well +make us comfortable by your death——" +</P> + +<P> +Zeke was a little ashamed of his part in the transaction, though he had +been ready enough to adopt his son's suggestion. But now that the deed +was done, he would not allow the prisoners to be insulted by Zeb, and +the boy's unfeeling remarks were cut short by a vigorous kick on his +nether part which completely lifted him off the floor. +</P> + +<P> +"You said you'd never—hit—me," he blubbered. +</P> + +<P> +"I never said I'd never kick you, and I'll kick all I want to, you +young rascal!" +</P> + +<P> +"No, you won't," the young hopeful retorted. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I will, and if you don't get those cords in a brace of shakes +I'll make you so you won't sit down for a month." +</P> + +<P> +Zeb knew enough of his father to be sure that he meant what he said, so +he hurried to the barn, and soon returned with some strong rope, with +which the two prisoners were securely bound. +</P> + +<P> +The boy was a shrewd fellow, and as bad as any that lived in those +parts. His father had not half the quick wit possessed by Zeb. +</P> + +<P> +"Dad, get the reward," he whispered. +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, who will pay me the reward?" he asked the officer. +</P> + +<P> +"I will certify that you are entitled to it, and you can get it from +Albany any time." +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, so I must needs trudge to Albany. Must I go with the prisoners?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, you have nothing to do with them now; they are in my care." +</P> + +<P> +"So if they get away——" +</P> + +<P> +"But they cannot get away." +</P> + +<P> +"But if they did?" Zeb persisted. +</P> + +<P> +"That would be my loss. You and your father have earned the reward." +</P> + +<P> +"Where shall you keep them to-night?" asked Zeke. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall take them to—— Well, never mind where; it will make no +difference to you." +</P> + +<P> +"No, I suppose not." +</P> + +<P> +Zeb overheard this conversation and determined to profit by it. +</P> + +<P> +He felt sore, both physically and mentally. +</P> + +<P> +He felt that his father had not kept to the meaning of his oath, and +had evaded it by kicking instead of striking, which to Zeb was just as +bad. +</P> + +<P> +"I might just as well have let him hit me," he soliloquized; "he laughs +now; perhaps he will not when I am through." +</P> + +<P> +He ran, and none could go faster when he liked to exert himself, and +did not rest until he was in sight of the Mountain Boys' camp. +</P> + +<P> +Then he halted. +</P> + +<P> +He needed to be cool. +</P> + +<P> +"Zebedee, my boy, now you can make or mar your life. Which are you +going to do?" +</P> + +<P> +He thought for a moment and chuckled to himself as he defined, +mentally, his plan of action. +</P> + +<P> +Peleg Sunderland was in command in the absence of the colonel and Capt. +Baker, and to him Zeb asked to be conducted. +</P> + +<P> +But the sentinel refused. +</P> + +<P> +"You haven't got the word, and I will not let anyone pass; no, not even +the colonel himself without it." +</P> + +<P> +"But I have important news." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course you have." +</P> + +<P> +"You do not believe me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I do. I know all you can tell me, so there!" +</P> + +<P> +"Have you anyone here called Eben Pike?" +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps we have, perhaps we haven't." +</P> + +<P> +"Do not be sassy or——" +</P> + +<P> +"You'll march away from this or I'll shoot; them's my orders." +</P> + +<P> +Zeb saw that the man would not allow him to pass, and he was at his +wits' end to know what to do. +</P> + +<P> +As good fortune would have it, who should pass but Eben. +</P> + +<P> +"Eben, I want you." +</P> + +<P> +"Is that you, Zeb?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you want?" +</P> + +<P> +"You." +</P> + +<P> +"What for?" +</P> + +<P> +"Come here and I will tell you." +</P> + +<P> +The sentry warned Eben not to pass out of the lines, but the young +scout took no notice. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, what is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Come a little farther away and I will tell you." +</P> + +<P> +Eben knew not what fear was, though that was saying a great deal. One +of the kings of Spain once sent for a man who was heard to say that he +did not know the meaning of fear. +</P> + +<P> +"My good man," said the king, "they tell me that you were never afraid." +</P> + +<P> +"That is true, your majesty." +</P> + +<P> +"And you do not know what fear is?" +</P> + +<P> +"That also was true." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you ever put your hand into a wasps' nest?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, your majesty." +</P> + +<P> +"Then never again say you do not know what fear is." +</P> + +<P> +Eben might find something of which he would be afraid, but he had not +done so up to that time. +</P> + +<P> +When the two boys had got some distance away, Eben asked: +</P> + +<P> +"Well, what have you to tell me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Where is Col. Ethan Allen?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is Capt. Baker?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know." +</P> + +<P> +"I do." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, what of that?" +</P> + +<P> +"When I last saw them they had some good strong cords bound round their +limbs, and a Yorker was holding a gun at their heads." +</P> + +<P> +"Prisoners?" +</P> + +<P> +"It looked very like it." +</P> + +<P> +"Where are they? Tell me all you know." +</P> + +<P> +"Not much; the news is worth something." +</P> + +<P> +"How much do you want?" +</P> + +<P> +"How much what?" +</P> + +<P> +"Did you not say you wanted to sell the news?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; but, now you mention it, I might do so. Take me to the fellow who +commands the boys." +</P> + +<P> +"Will you tell him?" +</P> + +<P> +"I came to do so, only that fellow with the gun would not let me pass." +</P> + +<P> +"I will take you to Lieut. Sunderland." +</P> + +<P> +"Lead on; I am ready." +</P> + +<P> +Eben conducted the boy to Sunderland, and to him Zeb told a most +wonderful yarn. +</P> + +<P> +It was so plausible that he was complimented on his patriotism, and +rewarded by the faithful lieutenant as well as his purse would permit. +</P> + +<P> +Zeb trusted to the inspiration of the moment for most of his narrative. +He told how his father was a loyal Vermonter, and in the fullness of +his heart had invited Allen and Baker to a late supper, and in their +honor had prepared boiled pig's head and cabbage, and that while they +were eating supper some soldiers burst open the door and took all +prisoners. Zeb said his father was released on condition that he would +find ropes to bind Allen and Baker. Thinking that he could be of +service to the colonel by remaining at liberty, he consented, and then +sent Zeb to the Mountain Boys' camp. +</P> + +<P> +Zeb embellished the story in many ways, but he was so good a +story-teller that every word he uttered was believed. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE TABLES TURNED. +</H3> + +<P> +Ethan Allen could see no possible chance of escape. +</P> + +<P> +He was not afraid to meet the punishment, but he felt it galling to be +trapped in such a way. +</P> + +<P> +If he had not been a bitter opponent of New York before, that treachery +would have made him one. +</P> + +<P> +For greater security the two mountaineers had been bound together, so +that they could be more easily guarded. +</P> + +<P> +Nearly an hour passed before the officer determined to march. +</P> + +<P> +He had sent out scouts to ascertain if the Mountain Boys were in the +vicinity, and the men had returned to report all quiet. +</P> + +<P> +Then the small company, with its valuable captives, set out to cross +into York at the nearest point. +</P> + +<P> +For about an hour the march was continued in silence, and the men were +fatigued, for they had to carry the prisoners, both Allen and Baker +refusing to walk one step. +</P> + +<P> +A halt was called, and the soldiers were told they could rest for one +hour. +</P> + +<P> +They were delighted at the prospect, and laid themselves down on the +grass. +</P> + +<P> +So secure did they feel that they relaxed their watchfulness and +allowed the prisoners to lie down by themselves a little distance away, +yet not so far that they had any chance of escape. +</P> + +<P> +Allen was singing a song of freedom; it was an old French ditty he had +learned and often sung. +</P> + +<P> +He sang, not because his spirits were light, but simply to prevent a +feeling of melancholy overmastering him. +</P> + +<P> +The singing satisfied his captors that he was resigned, and was not +meditating any plan of escape. +</P> + +<P> +In the midst of his song he heard a soft, low voice say: +</P> + +<P> +"Do not speak, but listen." +</P> + +<P> +Baker had fallen asleep, and Allen knew that it was Eben who spoke; but +how the boy got there, or, in fact, where he was, Allen could not +conjecture. +</P> + +<P> +"Here is a knife," said Eben; "I am going to cut the cords which bind +your hands; you can then liberate Baker. When you are both free, keep +still until you hear the cry of the catbird, and then leap to your feet +and run, taking a course direct to the left; the boys are there in +ambush, and you will be safe." +</P> + +<P> +While Eben was speaking he succeeded in cutting the cords, and Allen's +hands were free. +</P> + +<P> +Eben glided away as noiselessly as he came, and Allen woke Baker as +quickly as possible. +</P> + +<P> +"Heigho! Have we to continue our journey?" +</P> + +<P> +"Hush! do not utter a word! We have a chance to escape, if you will +listen and not speak." +</P> + +<P> +Allen told him all that had been done, and then quietly cut the other's +cords. +</P> + +<P> +Both men were free. +</P> + +<P> +They lay as still as though the cords still bound their bodies. +</P> + +<P> +Allen sang another song in a low, tremulous voice. +</P> + +<P> +Again it had the effect of disarming suspicion. +</P> + +<P> +A bird warbled in a tree, rather strangely for so late at night, but as +one of the men remarked that it was the bird's lookout and not his, no +notice was taken of it. +</P> + +<P> +And then the warbling ceased and the peculiar call of the catbird was +heard. +</P> + +<P> +Instantly the two prisoners were on their feet and making for the wood. +</P> + +<P> +They had got some yards before their movement was noticed. +</P> + +<P> +At once the soldiers seized their guns, and a volley was fired after +the fugitives. +</P> + +<P> +The shots did not reach the mark, and pursuit was commenced. +</P> + +<P> +Allen heard the catbird again and again, and by its sound guided his +footsteps. +</P> + +<P> +The soldiers were close behind and were gaining every minute, but the +Mountain Boys ran pluckily, for it was a race for life in reality. +</P> + +<P> +They rushed into the dense wood and followed the narrow path, which was +really a deer run. +</P> + +<P> +Some of the soldiers fired again, and a ball struck a tree and +ricochetted, injuring the leader of the little band of pursuers. +</P> + +<P> +The accident made the men more furious, and they ran so fast that it +seemed Allen and Baker must certainly fall into their hands. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly the scene changed. +</P> + +<P> +From behind every tree there leaped out a Mountain Boy, and with one +voice a shout went up: +</P> + +<P> +"Surrender!" +</P> + +<P> +It was no use resisting. +</P> + +<P> +The Yorkers were outnumbered. +</P> + +<P> +They were blown with the long run, while their enemies were fresh and +their muskets loaded. +</P> + +<P> +"To whom are we to surrender?" asked the officer. +</P> + +<P> +"To Col. Allen and his Green Mountain Boys," was the answer. +</P> + +<P> +"On what terms?" +</P> + +<P> +"The same you gave us," answered Baker. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, you are invaders of another colony, and must be treated as +marauders," added Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"We are prisoners of war." +</P> + +<P> +"Not any more than we were, but you bound us with cords, and you must +submit to the same treatment." +</P> + +<P> +"It is an outrage." +</P> + +<P> +"Very likely you think so, but you should do to others as you would +they should do to you. The example was set by you, not me." +</P> + +<P> +Turning to his men, Allen ordered them to convey the prisoners to the +camp by the lake, and added: +</P> + +<P> +"Shoot anyone who attempts to escape." +</P> + +<P> +The order was unnecessary, for the Yorkers were too much frightened to +think of escaping. +</P> + +<P> +When the camp was reached Ethan Allen gave orders for the Garvans, +father and son, to be arrested and brought to the camp. +</P> + +<P> +Peleg Sunderland told how the rescue had been accomplished, but when he +gave Zeb's version of the affair Allen shook his head and told his +friends of the arch treachery of the elder Garvan, whatever his son +might say to the contrary. +</P> + +<P> +Before morning Zeke Garvan and his hopeful son, Zeb, were prisoners at +the camp of the Mountain Boys. +</P> + +<P> +Zeke expected to be shot, and whimpered like a child. +</P> + +<P> +His son, Zeb, was brave, and showed that death had no terrors for him. +</P> + +<P> +There was a sort of bulldog courage about him which won the admiration +of even his enemies. He faced the Mountain Boys with a defiance which +seemed to mean: +</P> + +<P> +"What are you going to do about it?" +</P> + +<P> +When Allen asked him why he had been so treacherous, he laughed as +though the question was a good joke. +</P> + +<P> +"I worsted the enemy, didn't I?" +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +Zeb screwed up his mouth as though about to whistle, then suddenly +changed and burst into another laugh. +</P> + +<P> +"Come, my boy, we do not make war on boys, so tell me your motive." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I?" +</P> + +<P> +"It will be for your advantage, and your father——" +</P> + +<P> +"Don't mention him. Let every tub stand on its own bottom, my father +always taught me. Talk about me, if you like, but leave dad alone." +</P> + +<P> +"Then, for your own sake, tell me why you did it. Did others prompt +you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know what you mean by prompt, but if you mean did anyone tell +me to do it, I say no. I thought of it all by myself, and I made a +bargain with father, which he didn't keep; but he was a long time +before he saw it as I did." +</P> + +<P> +"Tell all your story, and leave the rest to me." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, you see, father wanted money——" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah! so money stands before country?" +</P> + +<P> +"Let me tell my story." +</P> + +<P> +"Go on, I will not interrupt you again." +</P> + +<P> +"You had better not if you want to hear what I have to say. I said +father wanted money, and as the Yorkers wanted you, and offered a big +sum of good money for your capture, why, I suggested to father that he +get the reward. Now, don't wince; wait until you have heard all. So I +got father to agree, and then you were invited to supper. I had gone +for the soldiers, and there you were trapped as nicely as any bear in +the mountains. Well, when you were secured I put up dad to ask when he +would get the reward, and he was told he would have to go to Albany for +it, and I found that he could get the reward even if you were rescued, +so I wanted to make myself solid with the boys, and I came and told +them which way you would be taken, and how to rescue you. So if you +will let us go we shall get the reward, but the Yorkers won't get you." +</P> + +<P> +Zeb spoke with such a feeling of exultation that Allen had to laugh. +</P> + +<P> +"So you tried to please both parties?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, yes; but if ye don't get the money we shan't be pleased with the +result." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you told me the truth?" +</P> + +<P> +"Of course I have, and I am itching to get the reward so that I may +laugh at the enemy." +</P> + +<P> +"And try to play the same prank again." +</P> + +<P> +"No, I want to join you; I am tired of home. My, won't the Yorkers be +mad at having to pay the money and not get you anyway?" +</P> + +<P> +"They will not pay the reward." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I'll fight until they do." +</P> + +<P> +Allen called a council of the boys and asked what should be done with +the prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +"Hang them all, every one of them," was the advice of Peleg Sunderland. +</P> + +<P> +"I say, keep them as hostages, and if any of our men are caught, deal +with the Yorkers as they deal with our men," said Baker. +</P> + +<P> +"And I think," remarked Allen, slowly and with great deliberation, +"that we ought to liberate the soldiers, who only did as they were +ordered, and punish Farmer Garvan." +</P> + +<P> +"Let us leave the whole matter to the colonel." +</P> + +<P> +"Good! he is always right." +</P> + +<P> +This course was adopted, and Allen accepted the trust. +</P> + +<P> +He ordered the soldiers to be brought before him, and then addressed +them, telling them how some had counseled hanging, but as they were +fellow-Americans it was resolved to liberate them, because they had +only obeyed orders. +</P> + +<P> +He expressed a wish that they would go back to their own colony and +tell the Yorkers that the men of the mountains would never give up +their lands while one of them remained alive. +</P> + +<P> +The officer in charge spoke for his men. +</P> + +<P> +He thanked Allen for his merciful conduct, and declared that the duty +had been distasteful, but that as soldiers they must act without +question. +</P> + +<P> +After the Yorkers left the camp, Allen ordered the farmer to be brought +before him. +</P> + +<P> +"Farmer Garvan," he said, "you have been guilty of the greatest crime +it is possible for a man to commit. You offered hospitality, and then, +like Judas, you betrayed those who trusted you. Your offense is worse, +seeing that you are a grantee of New Hampshire. By all the laws of war +you ought to be hanged——" +</P> + +<P> +"Spare me!" whined the farmer. +</P> + +<P> +"You did not spare me, but for the sake of a little money would have +condemned me to death. You are a coward, or you would meet your fate +boldly. A man who risks so much should not cry out for mercy when his +rascality fails. I will not hang you——" +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you. Heaven——" +</P> + +<P> +"Stay! Do not call Heaven into a defense of treachery. I order that +you be stripped and receive one hundred lashes on the bare back, such +punishment to be meted out to you in accordance with the laws laid down +by the convention at Bennington." +</P> + +<P> +Garvan fell on his knees and with uplifted hands prayed for mercy. +</P> + +<P> +"It will kill me, I know it will. Oh, spare me, and I will serve you, +I——" +</P> + +<P> +"Each of my men will give you a stroke with a good, strong oaken or +beechen stick, and may the punishment teach you that treachery never +pays." +</P> + +<P> +In vain the man cried for mercy. +</P> + +<P> +Allen could never forgive treachery. +</P> + +<P> +The Green Mountain Boys hurried to cut sticks from the trees which grew +by the lake, and each submitted his stick to Allen, who rejected quite +a number because they were too large. +</P> + +<P> +Zeke was stripped and tied to a tree, his hands above his head. The +first man was called to administer his stroke, when Zeb, who had been +standing, listening to the decision, rushed forward, and placing +himself between his father and the mountaineer, said: +</P> + +<P> +"Strike, but not father. Let me bear the punishment, for it was all my +fault, it was all my doing." +</P> + +<P> +"Stand aside." +</P> + +<P> +"I will not." +</P> + +<P> +"Drag him away," commanded Baker. +</P> + +<P> +Two of the mountaineers stepped up to the boy, who had clasped his arms +around his father's waist. +</P> + +<P> +He held on so tightly that to drag him away they must hurt him. +</P> + +<P> +Baker ordered the men to whip him until he loosed his grasp, but Allen +stopped the execution of this order. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop! Boy, you have won. I thought you were bad at heart, but I see +you love your father, and for your sake I remit the punishment." +</P> + +<P> +Zeb fell on his knees and clasped Allen's legs. +</P> + +<P> +"Bless you! If anyone ever says a word against you in my hearing he +shall die, that he shall." +</P> + +<P> +"Release the prisoner." +</P> + +<P> +When Zeke was free Allen ordered him to give up the paper signed by the +soldiers. +</P> + +<P> +"And lose my reward?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I will not allow you to be rewarded for treachery." +</P> + +<P> +Garvan had no option in the matter, and so he gave up the document, +which certified that he was entitled to the reward for the capture of +Ethan Allen and Remember Baker. +</P> + +<P> +Zeb pleaded hard to be allowed to join the Mountain Boys, and Allen +consented provisionally that he should stay in the camp and hold no +conversation with his old companions. +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid you acted foolishly," said Baker. "Others will follow the +farmer's example." +</P> + +<P> +"I think not. Mercy never yet failed; sternness often leads to +disaster. I am satisfied with what has been done." +</P> + +<P> +In this, as in many other instances, Ethan Allen, rebel though he was +called, outlaw as he was decreed to be, showed the largeness of his +heart. +</P> + +<P> +"We shall have to break camp. It is possible others besides those who +have been liberated will know of our nearness and profit by it." +</P> + +<P> +"Where shall we go, colonel?" +</P> + +<P> +"To Middlebury. We will not secrete ourselves, but openly show that we +are in the field to oppose New York in its pretensions." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE OPENING OF THE WAR. +</H3> + +<P> +The people of Middlebury welcomed Allen and his Green Mountain Boys +with enthusiasm. +</P> + +<P> +They knew that their only chance of maintaining their lands—lands +which they had reclaimed and made valuable—was by assisting Allen in +his crusade against the pretensions of New York. +</P> + +<P> +Success perched upon his banner, and not only was he able to hold the +lands for the people, but he drove the New York settlers out of the +district. +</P> + +<P> +He had drafted a petition to the English king, asking that Vermont +should be a separate colony, having its own governor and its +legislature. +</P> + +<P> +But before that petition reached England the revolution had broken out. +</P> + +<P> +The Boston Port bill had been passed, which enacted that no kind of +merchandise should any longer be shipped or landed at the wharves of +Boston. +</P> + +<P> +The custom house was removed to Salem, but the people of that town +refused the honor conferred on them by the tyrant who ruled the +destinies of England and the colonies. +</P> + +<P> +The inhabitants of Marblehead offered the free use of their warehouses +to the merchants of Boston. The Colonial Assembly stood by the people. +</P> + +<P> +Then England passed an act of parliament annuling the charter of +Massachusetts. The people were declared rebels, and the governor was +ordered to send to England for trial all persons who should resist the +royal officers. +</P> + +<P> +A colonial congress was called to assemble at Philadelphia. Eleven +colonies were represented, and it was unanimously agreed to sustain +Massachusetts in her conflict with parliament. +</P> + +<P> +An address was sent to King George, another to the English nation, and +a third to the people of Canada. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as England received the addresses an order was made by which +the governor was directed to reduce the colonists by force. +</P> + +<P> +So we see that England took the initiative in the war which was to +deprive her of her richest colonies. +</P> + +<P> +A fleet and an army of ten thousand men were sent to America to aid in +the work of subjugation. +</P> + +<P> +Gov. Gage seized Boston Neck and fortified it. The military stores in +the arsenals of Cambridge and Charlestown were conveyed to Boston, and +the general assembly was ordered to disband. +</P> + +<P> +Instead of accepting their dismissal, the members resolved themselves +into a provincial congress, and voted to equip an army of twelve +thousand men to defend the colony. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as the people of Boston learned the intentions of the governor, +they concealed their ammunition in carts of rubbish and conveyed it to +Concord, sixteen miles away. +</P> + +<P> +The wrath of the governor was especially directed against Samuel Adams +and John Hancock, who were looked upon as the leaders of the rebellion. +</P> + +<P> +An expedition was sent against Concord, and eight hundred men marched +toward the town. +</P> + +<P> +But the people of Boston were not to be taken by surprise. +</P> + +<P> +Bells were rung and cannon fired, and the citizens were informed of the +expedition. +</P> + +<P> +Joseph Warren—all honor to him—had dispatched Paul Revere and William +Dawes to ride with all speed to Concord and Lexington and rouse the +whole country to resistance. +</P> + +<P> +A company of one hundred and thirty Minute Men assembled on Lexington +Common and awaited the approach of the enemy, but after staying some +hours they dispersed. +</P> + +<P> +At five o'clock in the morning the English appeared, led by the +notorious Pitcairn. +</P> + +<P> +The Minute Men had gone back to their homes, tired of waiting; but +seventy, led by Capt. Parker, were roused and reached the common before +the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +Pitcairn rode up to them and exclaimed: +</P> + +<P> +"Disperse, you villains! Throw down your arms, ye rebels, and +disperse!" +</P> + +<P> +The Minute Men stood defiant and still. +</P> + +<P> +Pitcairn discharged his pistol at them and shouted to his men: +</P> + +<P> +"Fire!" +</P> + +<P> +The first volley whistled through the air, and sixteen of the Minute +Men fell, dead or wounded. +</P> + +<P> +The rest fired a few random shots and dispersed. +</P> + +<P> +The English pressed on to Concord. +</P> + +<P> +The people had quietly removed most of the ammunition, and the English +found but little worth taking. They started to sack the town. +</P> + +<P> +While they were doing this the Minute Men had rallied and began to +assemble from all quarters. +</P> + +<P> +A company of English guarded the bridge over Concord River. They were +attacked by the Minute Men and two English soldiers were killed. The +Minute Men captured the bridge, and the enemy began a retreat into the +town, and then on the road to Lexington. +</P> + +<P> +On every side the patriots assembled. For six miles the battle waged. +</P> + +<P> +Every tree, every house and barn sheltered the patriots, who poured a +murderous fire into the ranks of the retreating English. +</P> + +<P> +Had it not been for the arrival of reinforcements under Lord Percy, the +English army would have been completely routed. +</P> + +<P> +The fight continued right up to Charlestown, and only ceased because +the people feared the fleet would burn the city. +</P> + +<P> +The first battle had been fought. +</P> + +<P> +The English had suffered a loss of two hundred and seventy-three, while +the patriots lost only eighty-three in dead and wounded. +</P> + +<P> +The battle of Lexington fired the country. +</P> + +<P> +Within a few days an army of twenty thousand men had gathered round +Boston. +</P> + +<P> +New Hampshire sent its militia, with John Stark at its head; Rhode +Island sent her quota under the leadership of Nathaniel Greene. +</P> + +<P> +New Haven was not behind, for a regiment was dispatched from that city +with Benedict Arnold as leader. +</P> + +<P> +All this news was conveyed to Ethan Allen by Eben Pike, who had been +dispatched on the dangerous mission to Boston to find out what the +Provincials meant to do. No more trusty messenger could have been +found than the young scout of the Green Mountains. +</P> + +<P> +"What shall we do?" asked Baker. +</P> + +<P> +"Fight!" was Allen's curt reply. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall we join the patriots at Boston?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; Connecticut has offered a thousand dollars toward the expenses of +capturing Ticonderoga, and that reward we will win." +</P> + +<P> +To capture the fort with its treasures would be to strike a blow at +England's supremacy which would tell more than any concerted action at +Boston. +</P> + +<P> +"Call the roll," ordered Allen. +</P> + +<P> +Two hundred and seventy men answered the call, and Allen shouted for +joy. +</P> + +<P> +"Men of the Great Mountains, we are strong, because a mountain boy is +worth ten men of the valleys. We shall capture Ticonderoga. I cannot +offer you life; many may be killed, more wounded; but remember we have +fought for our homes, we must now fight for our country. We have +driven the Yorkers out of the Green Mountains, we must now drive the +English out of America, or compel them to recognize our right to govern +ourselves. Will you follow me?" +</P> + +<P> +A tremendous shout in the affirmative went up from those brave +patriots, and Ethan Allen was so overcome with emotion that for a few +moments he could not speak. +</P> + +<P> +Then, raising his sword above his head, he shouted: +</P> + +<P> +"On to Ticonderoga! Victory and freedom, or death, for every man who +hears my voice!" +</P> + +<P> +And the Green Mountain Boys took up the cry: +</P> + +<P> +"On to Ticonderoga! Victory or death!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BENEDICT ARNOLD. +</H3> + +<P> +"At last I see my way to a position. They said I was a ne'er-do-well. +We shall see!" +</P> + +<P> +The speaker, a fine, handsome-looking man, paced the floor of a small +room in Cambridge. +</P> + +<P> +It was one week after the battle of Lexington. +</P> + +<P> +He was restless; every muscle in his body seemed to quiver with +excitement. +</P> + +<P> +Anyone looking at him would prefer him as a friend rather than an +enemy, for there was that in his face which betokened strong passion. +</P> + +<P> +He was ambitious. For the gratification of that ambition he would +sacrifice anything, even honor. +</P> + +<P> +He had been brought up as a merchant, and had splendid opportunities in +his native Colony of Connecticut for success, but he was restless, and +wanted a fame greater than he could obtain as a merchant. +</P> + +<P> +He had suggested the formation of a company of militia, to be called +the "Governor's Guards," and had also hinted that they should rival the +royal guards of England in appearance and attire. +</P> + +<P> +The governor was pleased with the suggestion, for he loved display, and +commissioned Benedict Arnold to put into effect his suggestion, and to +take the rank of captain. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold cared less for the career of a merchant than ever. +</P> + +<P> +He designed a uniform which should outshine even the famous Life Guards +of London in splendor. +</P> + +<P> +Buckling on a sword, he would pose before a mirror and salute his own +reflected image in the glass. +</P> + +<P> +Gathering around him a number of well-connected young men, men of good +figure and tall in stature, he proceeded to impress upon them his own +importance, and made them believe that all the honor of their position +depended upon his favor. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold was a favorite, and so the young men of New Haven accepted his +authority and became the willing followers of Capt. Arnold. +</P> + +<P> +The governor threw a wet blanket on his scheme when he told him that if +the guards wanted uniforms they must purchase them, for the funds of +the colony could not be used for such a purpose. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold had to moderate his gorgeousness and accept a much plainer +uniform for his guards. +</P> + +<P> +The company was formed, and drill commenced. The young captain showed +that he knew more about the manual of arms than he did of mercantile +practices. +</P> + +<P> +The militia grumbled at the harshness of the discipline, but a few +words from their captain won them over. +</P> + +<P> +When the war commenced Arnold was a strong royalist, or tory. +</P> + +<P> +He wanted the guards to be recognized by England as a part of the royal +forces. In fancy he saw himself driving the "rebels" into the sound +and being sent for to London to receive the thanks of the king in +person; he imagined himself promoted to the rank of general, and +perhaps made life governor of one of the colonies. +</P> + +<P> +But the airy castles he built fell to the ground when he was bluntly +told that the king could do without his "guards," and that when there +was need of soldiers the king could provide them. +</P> + +<P> +From that moment Arnold resolved on throwing in his lot with the very +men he had asked permission to shoot down. He became a "rebel." +</P> + +<P> +When the news of the battle of Lexington reached New Haven he clapped +his hands and became more excited than he had ever known himself to be. +</P> + +<P> +He called his guards together, and in an impassioned speech bade them +be ready to march against the English, and win freedom for their native +land and honor and renown for themselves. +</P> + +<P> +He denounced the king. +</P> + +<P> +He ridiculed the parliament. +</P> + +<P> +The tories were treated to such an outburst of eloquent denunciation +that, had any of them heard him, they would have trembled. +</P> + +<P> +"Guards! soldiers of the nation! I salute you. To you is intrusted a +banner which must ever be kept in the front of the battle. Some of us +may fall, but, if we do, our names shall be writ on our country's +history in imperishable letters. To those who survive no honor will be +begrudged, no reward will be too ample for a proud country to bestow. +</P> + +<P> +"We shall meet the foe. We shall cross swords with the hirelings of a +tyrant. Our arms will be triumphant, for justice is with us, and God +will bless our swords. To-morrow we march to Massachusetts, to join +our brothers there, and all the world shall ring with the doings of the +Governor's Guards of Connecticut." +</P> + +<P> +He fired his men with enthusiasm, and they were ready to follow him to +death, if need be. +</P> + +<P> +Arrived at Cambridge, he was received warmly, but so was John Stark and +his New Hampshire militia, and equally well did he find the men of +Massachusetts greet Nathaniel Greene and his militia from Rhode Island. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold had expected a greater enthusiasm. In his heart he had fancied +himself appointed general of the army of the Provincials, and therefore +he was hurt when he learned that he was only one among many. +</P> + +<P> +"The king insulted me," he said, as he paced the floor, "the tories did +not care for me, and now these Provincials treat me as if I were one of +them, instead of being—— Well, what is it, Eli?" +</P> + +<P> +Sergt. Eli Forest, of the Governor's Guards, entered the room. +</P> + +<P> +"Captain, I have just heard that one Ethan Allen has undertaken to +capture Ticonderoga, for which our governor has offered a thousand +dollars for expenses." +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" +</P> + +<P> +"Would it not be well for us to join with Col. Allen——" +</P> + +<P> +"Eh?" +</P> + +<P> +"Do not think me rash, captain, but you have given me permission to +speak as I think." +</P> + +<P> +"So I have, Eli, and for the sake of our old college days and the good +times we shared, you can always speak your mind to me." +</P> + +<P> +"Then, captain, I thought that this man, Allen, knew nothing of +fighting save a sheriff's posse, and you could become the general and +lead the men to Ticonderoga and then to Crown Point, and who knows, you +might drive the English back into Canada, and, joining with the French, +compel England to sue for peace, and you could name your own terms." +</P> + +<P> +"Talk, talk, talk! How easy it is to talk, Eli, but how different is +action. Go; when I have thought over your suggestion I will let you +know my decision." +</P> + +<P> +Eli Forest had the most implicit confidence in Benedict Arnold. As +boys they had gone to the same school, and when they left school they +entered college and graduated at the same time. During all those years +Eli had always looked upon Arnold as a superior being. When the men +were enrolled as guards Eli felt that the height of his ambition was +reached, for, with Arnold as captain, the guards would rival any +military body in the country. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold was as fond of his friend as he could be of anyone; he gave him +greater freedom of speech, and listened to him when others would have +been treated very cavalierly. +</P> + +<P> +When Benedict Arnold was alone he showed by every line on his face how +pleased he was with the suggestion made by his old-time friend. +</P> + +<P> +"It is the opportunity of my life. What does Ethan Allen know about +war? He is a country farmer, and can fight a sheriff's posse, and +perhaps a few soldiers in his mountains; but to take Ticonderoga? Bah! +He will fail unless I help him, and then the glory shall be mine." +</P> + +<P> +Arnold walked quickly up and down the floor, his hands clinched, his +face lighted up with ambitious fire. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, the glory shall be mine," he continued, "and once let me have +Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and then—— Ah! what then?" +</P> + +<P> +He crossed to the window and looked out. +</P> + +<P> +John Stark was marching past at the head of his sturdy New Hampshire +boys, and the people cheered. +</P> + +<P> +"If I hold Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains I can dictate my own +terms. I shall hold the key to the situation. Canada can be mine, and +Massachusetts will be glad to make terms with me. If I fail to make +good terms with the colonies I can go to England and say: 'You will be +driven out of America unless I say stay, and I shall not say that +unless you give me——' Well, what now?" +</P> + +<P> +The orderly entered and told Arnold that he was wanted at the +headquarters of the Provincial army at once. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell the council that I—will not—— I mean I will not delay." +</P> + +<P> +Once more alone, he showed his restlessness. +</P> + +<P> +"They order me—me!—Capt. Benedict Arnold! Well, let me join Allen +and his Green Mountain Boys, and I shall do the ordering, or my star +has dimmed its luster." +</P> + +<P> +One hour later he called together his guards and told them that they +were to be ready to march at a moment's notice. +</P> + +<P> +"A soldier's first lesson is that of obedience," he said to them, "and +I am going to try you in many ways. In the expedition we are about to +undertake I shall only be of the same rank as yourselves. Obey whoever +may be your commander, but be ready to accept me as your leader at any +time." +</P> + +<P> +Eli, on behalf of the guards, promised that whatever Arnold might order +it would be their pleasure to obey. +</P> + +<P> +"Sergt. Eli Forest, stand forward." +</P> + +<P> +Eli obeyed and saluted. +</P> + +<P> +"Lieut. Percival has obtained leave of absence. He will join the army +in Cambridge when that leave expires. The grade of lieutenant is an +important one, and I appoint you, Eli Forest, first lieutenant of the +Governor's Guards." +</P> + +<P> +Eli thanked his chief for the new honor, and Arnold had bound him still +closer to him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ARNOLD'S POWERS OF FASCINATION. +</H3> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"On the choice of friends<BR> +Our good or evil name depends."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"Colonel, a number of armed men are marching this way, and I like not +their appearance," said the young Eben Pike, hurriedly and with gasping +breath, as he entered the presence of Ethan Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"They most likely are friends, Eben." +</P> + +<P> +"They may be, colonel, but I thought you ought to know." +</P> + +<P> +"You acted wisely, as you usually do. Did you meet Mistress Baker?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, colonel, and a fair young maiden she is. I wish I had a sister +like her." +</P> + +<P> +Allen laughed and looked at the boy, whose face was a brighter color +than usual. +</P> + +<P> +"You will learn to like some one else's sister better than your own, if +you had one." +</P> + +<P> +Eben blushed still more and was about to leave when the colonel made +him send Baker at once. +</P> + +<P> +Remember Baker had a sister, pretty and winsome. She had been visiting +for a year in New Haven, and decided to return to her brother's home at +the very time he was on the march with Allen. +</P> + +<P> +Baker had an aunt living near Lake Champlain, and he decided to place +Martha with her. Good friends escorted Martha to a place a few miles +from where the Mountain Boys were to camp prior to their attack on Fort +Ticonderoga, and Eben was dispatched to escort the young maiden to her +brother. Eben had fulfilled the task and wished the distance had been +several times as far; but a few miles from the camp he had seen the +regiment of guards on the march, and at once thought it his duty to +report. +</P> + +<P> +Remember Baker entered the presence of Ethan Allen and listened to the +story told by Eben. +</P> + +<P> +"Martha saw them," said Baker, "and she declared that their leader was +a man who was noted for being a great loyalist in New Haven." +</P> + +<P> +"So! Let all the men be ready in case of emergency, and do you see +that they are well prepared for attack!" +</P> + +<P> +"I shall see to it." +</P> + +<P> +"Does Mistress Martha feel tired after her long journey?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; she very naively says that she was tired until she was met by +Eben, and from that time her weariness ceased." +</P> + +<P> +"Natural, very. Eben felt that way also, and his face was as red as a +turkey gobbler's comb when he entered here." +</P> + +<P> +In less than an hour Lieut. Eli Forest approached the camp, bearing a +white flag. +</P> + +<P> +He asked to be admitted to the presence of Ethan Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"Col. Allen, this gentleman craves an interview." +</P> + +<P> +"Capt. Baker, I shall be pleased to confer with him." +</P> + +<P> +Eli was rather surprised at the courtesy shown by Ethan and Baker to +each other. He had been led to believe the Mountain Boys to be a lot +of uneducated, boorish farmers. +</P> + +<P> +He, a college graduate, knew that he was in the presence of his equals. +</P> + +<P> +"I am commissioned by my superior, Col. Arnold, to ask you to favor him +with an audience." +</P> + +<P> +"Might I ask who I am speaking with?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have the honor to be lieutenant of the Connecticut Guards. I am Eli +Forest." +</P> + +<P> +"Tell Col. Arnold that I shall be pleased to see him, and, believe me, +I am proud to have met Lieut. Forest." +</P> + +<P> +When Forest returned to Arnold he found the New Haven colonel very +anxious. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, what says the farmer?" +</P> + +<P> +"He may be a farmer, but he is a well-educated gentleman." +</P> + +<P> +"You don't mean——" +</P> + +<P> +"We have been deceived. You will find that he is our—my equal." +</P> + +<P> +"So much the better; I shall win the surer." +</P> + +<P> +In the camp of the mountaineers the center of attraction was Martha +Baker. Many of the Bennington boys knew her, though she had greatly +improved during her stay at New Haven. +</P> + +<P> +She sought the presence of Col. Allen and besought him to be careful of +his treatment of the guardsman of New Haven. +</P> + +<P> +"If it is Benedict Arnold who is coming, he means you no good," she +said, very earnestly; "my friend in New Haven knew him well, and she +was certain that he was in favor of England." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Martha; I will know how to deal with him. I am glad that +you have told me." +</P> + +<P> +Benedict Arnold lost no time in seeking an audience with Ethan Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"I have come from Cambridge," he said, "with but one object in view." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be very pleased to hear your project, if you care to confide +it to me." +</P> + +<P> +"I heard of your fame"—Ethan bowed—"and I felt that if there was to +be any great work accomplished, Col. Ethan Allen was the man to make it +apparent." +</P> + +<P> +Arnold had spoken with great deference. "I was appointed colonel by +the Provincial Council; but when I heard that Ethan Allen and his Green +Mountain Boys were about to attack Fort Ticonderoga, I thought that I +could serve my country best by offering myself and my guards to him, +and I ask no other favor than to be allowed to enlist under your banner +as a private soldier." +</P> + +<P> +"My dear colonel, I cannot think of such a thing." +</P> + +<P> +"On no other terms would I consent. My men are all well drilled and +are ready to join you under the same conditions." +</P> + +<P> +"Let us meet on equal terms; we will jointly command." +</P> + +<P> +"No, Col. Allen; in military matters there should be no divided +authority. I will serve under you, and if you wish my advice I shall +be ready to give it, but I will not accept a share in the command." +</P> + +<P> +The interview was a long one. +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen was completely fascinated with Arnold. He believed that if +there was a genuine patriot in the colony it was he. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold, having recovered from his surprise at finding Allen an educated +man, conceived a liking for him and resolved to act squarely in all his +dealings with him. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold was better read in history than the mountaineer, and he knew the +history of Ticonderoga as well as he knew the later history of New +Haven. +</P> + +<P> +"The French knew what they were doing when they fortified Ticonderoga," +Arnold remarked, when the strength of the fort was being discussed. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me all you know about it, will you not?" +</P> + +<P> +"My dear Allen, I am always at your service. You remember—but no, you +would be too young; we were but boys then—but in 1755 Gen. William +Johnson was ordered by the British to drive the French from the shores +of Lake Champlain. Johnson had a fine body of men, three thousand four +hundred in number, including a body of friendly Mohawks. Oh, those +Mohawks! They are fighters, every one of them. I wish we had a +thousand of them with us." +</P> + +<P> +"We do not need them." +</P> + +<P> +"No, but we shall before the English are taught the lesson we intend to +teach them—that is, to mind their own business. The French general, +Dieskau, who was commandant at Crown Point, was one of the most daring +men of whom I have ever heard. He had only fourteen hundred men, +French, Indians and Canadians, all told, but with this force he made up +his mind he would anticipate the movements of the English and drive +them back to Albany. He sailed up the lake to South Bay. From there +he marched to the upper springs of Wood Creek, intending to pass the +English army and capture Fort Edward before the alarm could be given. +But the news was carried to Gen. Johnson. A natural, a boy, half an +idiot, ran into the general's presence and cried out: 'The French are +marching like mad!' A scout was sent out and the truth learned. Col. +Williams, with a force of a thousand men, accompanied by Mohawk Chief +Hendrick, with two hundred warriors, set out to relieve the threatened +fort." +</P> + +<P> +"Hendrick was a very old man, was he not?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, he was gray-headed, and though very old he was as stalwart as any +of the younger men of the tribe. Dieskau had been misled as to the +route, and found himself four miles to the north of Fort Edward, when +he should have been there. His scouts reported that Williams and +Hendrick were marching to the fort, and the daring Frenchman quickly +ordered his forces into ambush, and the English were entrapped. Both +Williams and Hendrick fell dead, and the English were badly routed. +Johnson heard the noise of battle and quickly extemporized breastworks +by felling trees; the cannon were brought into position and then the +English awaited the triumphant French. It must have been a glorious +fight. +</P> + +<P> +"The Indians, with Dieskau, when they saw the cannon, quietly walked to +a hill at a safe distance, and watched the battle. The Canadians, who +had hoped the Indians would have done the most of the fighting, were +disheartened and left the French to make the onset alone. Bravely they +fought, and for five hours, the battle raged. Johnson was wounded +early in the tight, and the men fought without a leader." +</P> + +<P> +"But Johnson got the credit?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and was made a baronet by England; but, between you and I, the +man was only slightly wounded, and was glad of an excuse to escape the +danger of the battle." +</P> + +<P> +"Johnson was no coward." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps not; but have you not heard of that commander who, when +wounded, insisted on staying on the field and giving orders until he +dropped dead? That was a true hero, if you like. Then note the +difference. Dieskau was wounded three times and would not retire. He +sat on a tree stump and refused to be carried off the field. A +renegade Frenchman who had joined the English went up to him to make +him a prisoner. Dieskau was about to hand the man his watch as a token +of surrender, but the Frenchman, thinking the general intended to draw +a pistol, fired, and the brave commander dropped, mortally wounded. +But though the victory was with the English, it was dearly purchased. +The French were not disheartened, for they reinforced Crown Point and +seized Ticonderoga, which they fortified." +</P> + +<P> +"Is Ticonderoga so very strong?" asked Allen, who had listened so +attentively to the historical narrative told by Arnold. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Abercrombie for four hours stormed it. Column after column +dashed with great bravery against the breastworks, but only to meet +with failure. Abercrombie could have returned with a larger army and +heavier guns, but he did not. He had fifteen thousand men, while the +French had not more than eight thousand on the outside. In 1759 the +French, being hard pressed, dismantled the fort and the English walked +into it. It cost the English eight million pounds to repair, enlarge +and strengthen it." +</P> + +<P> +"And in a few days it will be in our possession." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope so." +</P> + +<P> +"It must be." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you sent out any scouts to find its strength?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, one—a boy named Ebenezer Pike." +</P> + +<P> +"A boy?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, a boy that I would back against all the men I ever saw." +</P> + +<P> +"He may betray you." +</P> + +<P> +"Col. Arnold, that makes three times you have expressed a fear of some +one betraying our cause. Do not do it again, or I may——" +</P> + +<P> +Allen paused. He did not wish to give offense. +</P> + +<P> +"What? Speak out, man!" +</P> + +<P> +"I may doubt you. I always was taught to think that a suspicious +person was to be feared." +</P> + +<P> +"Ha, ha, ha! Allen, do you see that sun?" +</P> + +<P> +"Of course." +</P> + +<P> +"It shines for all?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"It is always constant? It never refuses to shine?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Then do not doubt me until that sun ceases to be constant and true." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE HERO OF TICONDEROGA. +</H3> + +<P> +Arnold appeared to agree with every suggestion made by Allen, and no +man could be more pleasant. +</P> + +<P> +Not one atom of distrust of Arnold was to be found in the whole of the +mountaineer's mind. +</P> + +<P> +Certainly he had no reason for it save the strong distrust manifested +by Remember Baker because of the stories Martha had brought from New +Haven. +</P> + +<P> +On the evening of the ninth of May the combined forces of Allen and +Arnold appeared on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, opposite +Ticonderoga. +</P> + +<P> +The march had been so well planned and executed that the English had no +knowledge of the movement of the Mountain Boys. +</P> + +<P> +A difficulty, which had not been foreseen, had to be overcome. +</P> + +<P> +There were only three small boats in which the men could be conveyed +across the lake. +</P> + +<P> +Usually there was quite a fleet of boats there, but the soldiers had +taken most of the boats farther up the lake. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold suggested the construction of rafts, but the felling of trees +might make so much noise that the attention of the garrison might be +called to it and the whole plan fail. +</P> + +<P> +Men were sent up the shore to search for boats, while others were +instructed to look for anything which could be utilized for rafts. +</P> + +<P> +Half the night was wasted in the vain search, and some of the boys were +discouraged. +</P> + +<P> +Allen called the leaders together and asked the simple question: +</P> + +<P> +"What shall we do?" +</P> + +<P> +Let it not be thought that he hesitated. No, Ethan Allen never did +that; he knew just what would be best, but he also knew that the men +were more confident if they were consulted. +</P> + +<P> +Eli Forest was the first to answer. +</P> + +<P> +"It is impossible for us to cross, so I think it would be best to +retire into the woods and fell trees, so that we might fashion rafts." +</P> + +<P> +"How long would that delay us?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not more than a week." +</P> + +<P> +"What say you, Baker?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not like delay, yet—Ticonderoga is strong, and ten men could +hold the place against a hundred." +</P> + +<P> +"And you, Col. Arnold?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am a soldier, and am ready to follow my superior. What he orders I +shall loyally help to carry out." +</P> + +<P> +"We will all do that," said Baker, half ashamed that he had shown any +shadow of doubt about the advisability of attacking the fort. +</P> + +<P> +"I know you are all true soldiers," replied Allen, "and I am ready to +lead you against the fort. I think we can breakfast on the rations +England has provided." +</P> + +<P> +"Lead on and we will follow." +</P> + +<P> +"Forest, do you pick the men in your company who have the strongest +nerves and the pluckiest spirits to cross first; take the largest of +the two large boats and get as many of the men over as possible." +</P> + +<P> +"It shall be done." +</P> + +<P> +"And you, Baker, follow the same instruction in reference to the +Mountain Boys. The small boat we will reserve for Col. Arnold and +myself. When you reach the other side, remember that there must not be +a sound. No word must be uttered, no fire made, but let every man lie +in the long grass and wait for orders." +</P> + +<P> +A crew was selected for each boat, and the work of transporting the +little army across the lake was commenced. +</P> + +<P> +The men pulled steadily and noiselessly across the waters of the +beautiful lake which the Indians called "Troquois," [Transcriber's +note: Iroquois?] and the early French settlers, who objected to +honoring the explorer, Samuel de Champlain, "Mere les Iroquois," and +still later, "Iracosia." +</P> + +<P> +It was slow work, and the men asked permission to swim across, but +Allen was afraid the swim would be too exhausting. +</P> + +<P> +When day broke the work had to cease, for the men at the fort would +have seen the boats and been put on their guard. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold looked at the handful of men and predicted failure. +</P> + +<P> +Allen counted the men and found eighty-three. +</P> + +<P> +That was the strength of his little army. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed absurd to think of attacking one of the strongest fortresses +on the continent with such a handful of men. +</P> + +<P> +True, the garrison was small, but it was intrenched behind strong +walls, a well-filled moat and a line of breastworks carefully designed, +and improved bastions. +</P> + +<P> +Allen called all his men together and addressed them. +</P> + +<P> +"It is for your country that you will risk your lives," he said, "and +while you take care not to run into needless danger, remember that only +the daring will succeed. If we enter the fort, as we shall undoubtedly +do, set up a shout which shall make the garrison think we have eight +hundred instead of eighty men. Be brave, and the victory will be ours." +</P> + +<P> +A thrill of excitement made every heart beat fast; cheeks glowed with +pleasure, heads were borne erect with pride, and the few men looked +invincible. +</P> + +<P> +Allen and Arnold led the way; they never were in the rear. +</P> + +<P> +When close to the fort they made a dash and gained the gateway. +</P> + +<P> +"Stand back!" exclaimed the sentry. +</P> + +<P> +He raised his musket to fire, but Allen knocked it on one side. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you mad? Do you want to die?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Better die than be craven," answered the English soldier, bravely. +</P> + +<P> +Allen had seized him round the waist and thrown him to the floor; he +picked himself up and ran into the fort, closely followed by the +mountaineers. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly the Green Mountain Boys set up such a shout as few garrisons +had ever heard. +</P> + +<P> +"We are inside," said Baker, exultingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, but not out," answered Forest, rather gloomily. +</P> + +<P> +"Form into line!" shouted Arnold. +</P> + +<P> +The men formed, facing the barracks, and were ready to fire should the +garrison show fight. +</P> + +<P> +Allen left the command of the men in the hands of Arnold, while he +rushed to the quarters of the commandant. +</P> + +<P> +Capt. Delaplace was asleep. +</P> + +<P> +He had not heard the shout, though it was loud enough to wake the dead +almost. +</P> + +<P> +A sentinel stood guard outside the commandant's door. +</P> + +<P> +Allen placed a pistol at his head and ordered him to stand aside. +</P> + +<P> +The man obeyed like one in a dream. +</P> + +<P> +Allen stood by the bedside of the sleeping commandant. +</P> + +<P> +"Get up!" shouted the mountaineer. +</P> + +<P> +The voice was loud enough to rouse the sleeper, who thought that the +French had taken a fancy to come down the lake and try to recapture the +fortress. +</P> + +<P> +"Get up!" +</P> + +<P> +The commandant sat up in bed. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you want? Who are you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Surrender this fortress instantly." +</P> + +<P> +"By what authority?" +</P> + +<P> +Allen flourished his sword as he replied: +</P> + +<P> +"In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!" +</P> + +<P> +Delaplace did not hesitate. +</P> + +<P> +A sword was in close proximity to his heart, the shouts of the men +outside showed that the enemy was in possession of the fort, so what +could he do but surrender? +</P> + +<P> +He reached to the side of the bed and took his sword. +</P> + +<P> +"There is my sword, sir. I trust that you will allow me to dress." +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly; report to me in half an hour. Sorry to disturb your sleep, +captain, but war, you know, is not always considerate." +</P> + +<P> +The English flag was borne on the breeze, and floated proudly over the +fort. +</P> + +<P> +Allen looked up at it and sighed. +</P> + +<P> +It was a gallant flag, and a brave man does not like to see a flag of a +great nation humiliated, even though he is fighting against it. +</P> + +<P> +"Haul down the flag!" +</P> + +<P> +"What shall we run up, colonel?" +</P> + +<P> +The Provincials had no flag, and Allen ordered the English flag to be +again run up, but with the Union down. +</P> + +<P> +Across the waters of the lake the men were watching, and when they saw +the flag run up, with the Union down, they knew that the fort had been +taken, and they set up a cheer that could be heard across the water. +</P> + +<P> +A hundred and twenty cannon and a vast amount of military stores fell +into the hands of the Americans. +</P> + +<P> +Great Britain had expended forty million dollars on Fort Ticonderoga +from first to last, and a few undisciplined Mountain Boys wrested this +proud possession from her. +</P> + +<P> +Boats brought over the rest of the combined forces of Arnold and Allen, +and the leader of the mountaineers made good his promise that they +should breakfast in the fort on rations paid for by their enemy. +</P> + +<P> +When an inventory had been made and sent in duplicate to the assembly +of Connecticut and of Massachusetts by trusty messengers, Allen called +together his officers and thrilled them by declaring that their work +had only just begun. +</P> + +<P> +"To-day we have captured the strongest fortress in America; in two days +more we must be in Crown Point." +</P> + +<P> +"And again we pledge ourselves to the hero of Ticonderoga, who will +lead us to triumph!" exclaimed Baker. +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, and our cry shall be," echoed Forest, "Liberty Freedom and +Independence!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE TEMPTATION. +</H3> + +<P> +Capt. Delaplace was fretful and soured by his defeat. +</P> + +<P> +"If it had been in open fight," he said, "I should not have cared so +much; but to be caught in a trap, it is enough to make a man kill +himself." +</P> + +<P> +He was speaking to Benedict Arnold, and that patriot was ready to +listen almost gloatingly to the story. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold was a peculiar man; he was kind and sympathetic, yet was ready +to rejoice over the sufferings of the fallen. +</P> + +<P> +Allen had asked Arnold to spend a portion of the day with the defeated +officer, so that he might be more consoled, for company is always +soothing. +</P> + +<P> +Delaplace was a diplomat; he had imbibed the idea that every man had +his price; in other words, that every man could be influenced for or +against a cause by bribery in some form or other. +</P> + +<P> +Being a quick reader of character, he saw that Arnold was ambitious, +and he at once began to wonder whether ambition would lead him to be +false to Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"You have treated me very kindly," he said to Arnold, "and I shall +report to my superiors, though——" +</P> + +<P> +He paused, and there was a world of meaning in that sudden silence. +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you hesitate? I know what you would say." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; shall I tell you?" +</P> + +<P> +"If you please." +</P> + +<P> +"And you will tell me whether I am right?" +</P> + +<P> +"On my honor as a soldier and a gentleman." +</P> + +<P> +"You were about to say that such a recommendation would not even be a +plea in mitigation of the death penalty if I should fall into the hands +of the English." +</P> + +<P> +Again there was silence. +</P> + +<P> +"I am answered. Your silence proves that I am right. You need not +think I am offended. I know I should be treated as a rebel, not as a +prisoner of war." +</P> + +<P> +"And, knowing this, you joined these men against the rule of your +sovereign?" +</P> + +<P> +"I knew that if the colonists failed the leaders would be hanged; if +they succeeded they would found a new nation, and the chances were +worth risking." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you not think that England has a large army and a strong navy at +her back?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and I knew it had strong forts; this is one of them." +</P> + +<P> +"You sneer! I admit that England behaved scurvily in allowing me to +have so few men." +</P> + +<P> +"Nay, nay, captain. Fifty men, if they felt an interest in their work, +could hold this fort against an army." +</P> + +<P> +"You are the victor and so have a right to rebuke me. But do not think +England will allow the colonies to be independent." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps not, but at any rate the colonies will have won respect for +themselves." +</P> + +<P> +"But the leaders will be hanged." +</P> + +<P> +"So let it be." +</P> + +<P> +"Can you face the thought of death like that?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can, for my country will be saved from a serfdom which no +self-respecting nation should submit to." +</P> + +<P> +"If—mind, I say if, for I do not think there is the remotest +chance—but if the colonies were successful, what could they do for +you? I suppose you might be a governor, or something like that, with +no salary to speak of, while if you had remained loyal to your king you +might have a chance——" +</P> + +<P> +"Of being snubbed, insulted and laughed at." +</P> + +<P> +Delaplace smiled. He had learned the cause of Arnold's action in +joining the colonists—it was disappointed ambition. Could he play on +that and win over Arnold? If so, then he would regain the fort, and +that by treachery; but what of that? Would not the result justify the +means? +</P> + +<P> +"My dear general"—Arnold smiled at the title—"if anyone insulted or +snubbed you it was through a misunderstanding. Tell me about it, and I +think all can be rectified." +</P> + +<P> +"It is too late." +</P> + +<P> +"Not so; it is never too late for a great nation to rectify a wrong +done to even the humblest of its subjects, let alone a man of such +undoubted courage and rectitude as Gen. Arnold." +</P> + +<P> +"I am not a general, but only a captain—in this adventure only a +private." +</P> + +<P> +"You should be a general. If the king knew you as well as I have +learned to do in these few hours, you most likely would have the +control of the army in the colonies." +</P> + +<P> +"But the king will never have an opportunity to know me." +</P> + +<P> +"Why not?" +</P> + +<P> +"Only success can make me known to the king." +</P> + +<P> +"Or failure; and then it would be too late." +</P> + +<P> +"You see how impossible it would be for the king to know me." +</P> + +<P> +"If I speak confidentially will you treat it as sacred to you alone?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly." +</P> + +<P> +"Pledge me your honor that you will never divulge what I am going to +say." +</P> + +<P> +"I am a soldier and a gentleman. My word is enough." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will accept your word. If I were free I could gain the ear of +the king's advisers." +</P> + +<P> +"But you are not free yet, and it may be some time before an exchange +can be made." +</P> + +<P> +"Exchange! Do you not know that there will be no exchange possible? +If any of the rebels fall into the hands of the English they will be +shot or hanged at once." +</P> + +<P> +"In that case you would stand a poor showing." +</P> + +<P> +"How so?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because the first man taken by your side and hanged would lead us to +hang an equal number of your men, and officers would have the first +piece of rope." +</P> + +<P> +Delaplace had not expected to hear such strong sentiments from Arnold, +but he laughed and said that a soldier dealing with rebels knew that he +took great risks, and that he must be prepared for them. +</P> + +<P> +"But," he added, in a whisper, "if I could slip out of this fort and +gain the English lines——" +</P> + +<P> +"But you cannot slip out." +</P> + +<P> +"If you were to help me I would guarantee that you would be a general +of the English army in less than forty-eight hours, and, once gain that +position, there is no limit to your success." +</P> + +<P> +Arnold listened. +</P> + +<P> +It was wrong of him to do so. +</P> + +<P> +There was a temporary hesitation, but in a few seconds of time that +passed. +</P> + +<P> +"Captain, you have dishonored yourself by suggesting treason, and I +have dishonored myself in listening. Know this: I have given my +allegiance to the cause of the Provincials, and I will rise or fall +with them." +</P> + +<P> +"Be it so. I shall live to see you hanged as a rebel." +</P> + +<P> +Arnold bowed very low in acknowledgment of the kindly expression of +opinion. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Capt. Delaplace. I have no wish to see you hanged, but +should the English hang even a private in our ranks, I should have no +hesitation in hanging you with my own hands." +</P> + +<P> +Questionable sentiments on both sides, but Arnold felt strongly at that +time, and expressed himself as he thought. +</P> + +<P> +He left the room and called the sergeant on guard. +</P> + +<P> +"Double your guard. If Capt. Delaplace escapes I shall hold you +responsible, and your neck will feel the effects of a tightened noose." +</P> + +<P> +It was a blunt way of speaking, but Arnold never was very courteous to +those of lesser rank. +</P> + +<P> +"I hate that man," Arnold soliloquized, "and yet—well, the die is +cast. I might have risen to a proud distinction had I remained loyal +to the king, but I have not, and so my lot is with the colonists, and +may they win, or our lives are of but little value. How could +Delaplace get the ear of the king? Zounds! I believe it was only to +tempt me into disloyalty to the colonies that he made the proposition." +</P> + +<P> +His soliloquy was interrupted by the entrance of Eli Forest. +</P> + +<P> +"Colonel, your advice is needed. Col. Allen wishes to confer with you." +</P> + +<P> +"I will be with him immediately. Ah! here he is. You honor me too +much, Gen. Allen." +</P> + +<P> +"Nay, we are on equal footing, my dear Arnold. I wanted to consult +with you about two things. We must secure Crown Point, that is a +settled fact, and we must maintain our possession of this fort. Now, +what shall we do with the prisoners?" +</P> + +<P> +"Keep them well guarded and wait until some of our men fall into the +hands of the enemy, and then act with them as they do with us." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps that will be the wisest plan. I had thought of liberating +them on parole." +</P> + +<P> +"It would be madness." +</P> + +<P> +"You think so?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am sure of it. In the eyes of these men we are rebels and outlaws, +and their parole would not prevent them from bringing the whole force +of the English against us." +</P> + +<P> +"You are right. Will you appoint the guard?" +</P> + +<P> +"Let Forest have charge of the prisoners and the fort." +</P> + +<P> +"An admirable suggestion! So it shall be done." +</P> + +<P> +"Ay, Forest, and shoot anyone who attempts to leave the fort, whether +friend or foe." +</P> + +<P> +"You are very stern, Arnold." +</P> + +<P> +"These times demand sternness." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CROWN POINT. +</H3> + +<P> +"Colonel, an army is approaching." +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen at once thought that a regiment of English was about to try +and wrest the fort from him. +</P> + +<P> +He was agreeably disappointed when he saw that the men were his own +Green Mountain Boys, led by Seth Warner. +</P> + +<P> +Warner had been doing good work in Vermont, and, finding it +advantageous to join his chief, he had marched his men to Ticonderoga. +</P> + +<P> +A warm welcome was accorded the captain and his men, and Allen at once +gave the command of the operations against Crown Point to Seth Warner. +</P> + +<P> +The fortifications at Crown Point were erected at a cost of ten million +dollars, and up to that time had never a shot been fired from them. +</P> + +<P> +Trusting to the strength of the stone barracks and the extensive +earthworks, England had kept only a small force at the fort, and at the +time of the capture of Ticonderoga only a sergeant and twelve men +composed the garrison. +</P> + +<P> +Seth Warner was delighted at the honor conferred upon him by his chief. +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen had a reason for keeping as strong a garrison at +Ticonderoga as possible, for he feared that Delaplace might try to +escape and perhaps recapture the fort. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold was surly. He thought that Allen had lost confidence in him, +but Allen reasoned the matter with his Connecticut hero, and satisfied +him that no insult was intended. +</P> + +<P> +Crown Point is about eleven miles north of Ticonderoga. The town +itself lies six miles away from the fort. +</P> + +<P> +Seth Warner started on his march, his men highly elated at the prospect +of winning renown. +</P> + +<P> +When about halfway they were met by a man dressed in the garb of a monk. +</P> + +<P> +He carried a crucifix and a long staff. +</P> + +<P> +His hair was white, and a long beard, which reached nearly to his +waist, was as white as driven snow. +</P> + +<P> +Waving his staff above his head, he called to the soldiers to stop. +</P> + +<P> +Warner had no great liking for monks, though he was honest enough to +respect every man's religion. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it you would have, good father?" asked Warner. +</P> + +<P> +"In the name of the ever true and good, I crave your assistance, and, +if you will grant it, I will give you my blessing, which is better than +rubies and more valuable than gold." +</P> + +<P> +"In what way can we assist you, good father?" +</P> + +<P> +"You are soldiers of liberty. Heaven will bless your swords, and you +will live to see the flag of the tyrant go down in the dust, and a flag +of a free nation will float over a free people. I am not allowed to +fight, or I would gird on a sword and smite me right and left until the +friends of the tyrant were all beneath the sod!" +</P> + +<P> +"We thank you for your patriotic exhortation, but we have a mission to +fulfill and we must not loiter." +</P> + +<P> +"The mission is one which will not fail; I know that you have captured +the strong fort at Ticonderoga, and that you will enter within the +fortifications of Crown Point, but will you assist me?" +</P> + +<P> +"What would you have us do?" +</P> + +<P> +"To the east of you, one mile and one hundred yards, stands a house. +It is a farmhouse. Its owner is no friend of the Provincials, and has +a captive whom he holds for ransom." +</P> + +<P> +"A captive? Held for ransom? Explain yourself!" +</P> + +<P> +"This farmer, fearing that the English might be driven out of the +country and that he would lose his possessions, because he is a great +worker for the enemy, did find a young girl, who was related to one of +the leaders of your holy cause, and he lured her into his house and +holds her as a hostage. Should the Provincials take possession of his +farm, he will kill the girl, so he says, and a man's word should be +believed, and therefore I did make a vow to rescue this maiden from the +grasp of the ungodly and restore her to her friends." +</P> + +<P> +"Where did you say the farm was?" +</P> + +<P> +"Tarry not, I beseech you, but travel to the east one mile and one +hundred yards, and you will come to a snake fence; cross the field and +you will see a house with a number of vines growing up its sides. Then +ask for Farmer Mervale, and you have the man who dares to imprison one +of the maidens the Lord loves." +</P> + +<P> +Warner consulted with his friends, and they agreed that it would be +well to rescue the maiden. +</P> + +<P> +"You will go with us?" asked Warner. +</P> + +<P> +"Nay, my duty lies in another direction." +</P> + +<P> +The monk started away in an opposite direction to that which he had +directed the army to take, and was soon lost to sight. +</P> + +<P> +Then the men began to discuss his appearance and story. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not believe him," said one. +</P> + +<P> +"Yet he is a religious man, and therefore his word should be believed." +</P> + +<P> +"He may be a spy." +</P> + +<P> +"But why should he direct us to the farm?" +</P> + +<P> +"The English may be in ambush." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we must go, for, being forewarned we are forearmed, and shall +gain a victory." +</P> + +<P> +This idea prevailed, and the Mountain Boys commenced their march to the +east. +</P> + +<P> +When a mile had been traversed, as near as they could guess, Warner +sent a scout forward to reconnoiter. +</P> + +<P> +He returned quickly and said that there was no sign of an ambush, but +the snake fence was there and the vine-covered house also. +</P> + +<P> +"Go forward, Letsom, and find out all you can about the farmer and his +household." +</P> + +<P> +The man was an excellent fellow for such a purpose, though Seth Warner +expressed a wish that Eben had been there, so that he might have gone. +</P> + +<P> +Letsom returned an hour later. +</P> + +<P> +"Farmer Mervale is a bitter Britisher," he reported, "and told me that +if any of the rebels came to his house he would know how to deal with +them. I asked him what he would do, and he replied that he would ask +them to dine and would poison their soup." +</P> + +<P> +"The villain!" +</P> + +<P> +"He further said that every rebel, as he called us, should be shot like +a rat." +</P> + +<P> +"He is quite strong in his views." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and one of his farm hands told me that a mad monk had been there, +and it would be a wonder if he were alive on the morrow." +</P> + +<P> +"A mad monk, said he?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, those were his words—a mad monk." +</P> + +<P> +"Boys, you have heard the report; shall we beard this Britisher in his +home and find out if any maiden is imprisoned by him?" +</P> + +<P> +A loud shout of assent rose from the Mountain Boys, and almost before +it died away the men were on the march. +</P> + +<P> +Farmer Mervale was at the door, an old musket in his hand, waiting for +the "rebels." +</P> + +<P> +"In the name of the king, what do you want here?" +</P> + +<P> +Seth Warner answered: +</P> + +<P> +"In the name of the Colonial Congress I demand the surrender of this +house for the purpose of a search." +</P> + +<P> +"Search! for what?" +</P> + +<P> +"Guns, ammunition or anything that may be useful to the cause of +liberty." +</P> + +<P> +"Thieves! Whoever passes this door will have to do it over my dead +body." +</P> + +<P> +"Farmer Mervale, we mean you no harm if you are innocent, but if you +are guilty then you must bear the punishment." +</P> + +<P> +"Of what do you accuse me?" +</P> + +<P> +Warner was about to equivocate and say that he believed arms were +secreted on the premises, but he was too open for subterfuge, so he +replied: +</P> + +<P> +"We charge you with abducting and imprisoning a young maiden——" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah! you have seen the mad monk?" +</P> + +<P> +"Answer. Have you any maiden imprisoned on your premises?" +</P> + +<P> +"If I had I should deny it, and if I have not I should still say that +you are impertinent and a rebel who ought to be shot down." +</P> + +<P> +The farmer had his weapon pointed at Warner and was about to shoot him, +when his arm was knocked up from behind and the ball passed over his +intended victim's head. +</P> + +<P> +Instantly the man was seized and bound. +</P> + +<P> +The musket had been seized by the hired hand, who had been the cause of +the farmer's intention being frustrated. +</P> + +<P> +"If you will let me join you I will fight for the cause of liberty," +the man said, very earnestly. +</P> + +<P> +"You must report to Col. Allen at Ticonderoga." +</P> + +<P> +"I will go at once." +</P> + +<P> +"Better stay with us and return when we do; we can vouch for your good +act." +</P> + +<P> +The farmer changed his tone when he was bound and therefore helpless. +He cried out for mercy, declared that all he had said was in a joking +sense, and that he hoped the Provincials would win in their fight +against England. +</P> + +<P> +"You coward!" hissed Warner. "I have a great mind to shoot you as an +example and a warning to others." +</P> + +<P> +"Spare me! I am old and——" +</P> + +<P> +"Old? Why, man, you cannot be forty. Search the house!" +</P> + +<P> +In a few minutes the searchers returned, leading Martha Baker, who was +almost too weak to stand unsupported. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, Master Warner, I am so glad you came. I think I should have died +if I had stayed another day in this horrid house." +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me your story, Martha." +</P> + +<P> +"I was sent by my aunt to Farmer Mervale to arrange for an exchange of +eggs. You see, aunt had a lot of hen's eggs and Farmer Mervale had a +lot of duck's eggs, and the two wanted to exchange. When I reached +here the farmer asked me my name, and then if I was any relation of +Remember Baker, and I told him that I was his sister. Then he asked me +to go upstairs to help count the eggs. I did so, and the farmer told +me that he was going to keep me there, because if my brother attempted +to do anything to his brother, who was a soldier in Ticonderoga, he +would kill me. Then he tortured me by saying that he would poison some +soup and invite the rebels to dinner with him, and that when they had +all eaten heartily he would kill me before their eyes." +</P> + +<P> +The farmer heard the girl's statement, and, instead of denying it, +declared it was all a joke, which, perhaps, it was, but it was cruel, +and the perpetrator of such a joke deserved punishment. +</P> + +<P> +Warner ordered his men to strip the farmer to the waist and introduce +him to the "birch dance," as summary punishment was called. +</P> + +<P> +Fifty good, sharp strokes across the bare back with strong beechen +sticks made Farmer Mervale wish he had been less fond of joking and +illegally imprisoning a girl. +</P> + +<P> +Martha told how she had seen the monk, and had called to him through +the open window, telling him how she had been served, and also asking +him to let the Mountain Boys know of her detention. +</P> + +<P> +How well the eccentric monk had fulfilled his mission we have seen. +</P> + +<P> +It was rather late in the afternoon when the strong fort at Crown Point +was reached. +</P> + +<P> +Seth Warner called to the sentinel who stood guard at the gate. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell your commander that I must see him at once." +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot leave my post." +</P> + +<P> +"Spoken like a brave soldier. Surrender!" +</P> + +<P> +"To whom?" +</P> + +<P> +"To the army of the Continental Congress." +</P> + +<P> +"I am a soldier of the king, and to no one else will I surrender my +gun, except my superior so wills it." +</P> + +<P> +"Brave soldier. I shall be under the necessity of taking the gun away +from you by force." +</P> + +<P> +The man fired the musket in the air. +</P> + +<P> +That was a signal for the garrison to assemble. +</P> + +<P> +Seeing a hundred men with Warner, the sergeant quickly raised the white +flag, and so, without the shedding of a drop of blood, two of the +strongest forts on Lake Champlain passed into the hands of the brave +men who were fighting for the liberty of their native land. +</P> + +<P> +A garrison was left in charge of Crown Point, and then Warner marched +back to Ticonderoga. +</P> + +<P> +Remember Baker was full of gratitude for the rescue of his sister, and +would have liked to meet Farmer Mervale at that hour, for the farmer +had got off too easily, he thought. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap18"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +"WHO IS COMMANDER?" +</H3> + +<P> +Within five days of the capture of Ticonderoga, the Green Mountain +Boys, under the command of Capt. Herrick, had captured Skenesborough, +while another detachment under Capt. Douglass had taken Panton, a +strong fort on the lake. +</P> + +<P> +As the Assembly of Connecticut had authorized the capture of Fort +Ticonderoga, Allen dispatched two trusty messengers to New Haven to +acquaint the governor and assembly. +</P> + +<P> +So that no unfairness could be charged, the two selected were Eli +Forest and Remember Baker. +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen was seated in his room in the barracks alone smoking a +corncob pipe, a favorite with him and most Green Mountain farmers. +</P> + +<P> +A timid knock was heard at the door, and Allen called out cheerily: +</P> + +<P> +"Come in!" +</P> + +<P> +The door opened and Eben entered. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, Eben, you are a stranger; where have you been?" +</P> + +<P> +"In the fort, colonel, almost a prisoner." +</P> + +<P> +"A prisoner?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, colonel. That man—pardon me, I mean Col. Arnold—has told me to +keep to my own quarters and not move about the fort until I am ordered." +</P> + +<P> +"By what authority?" +</P> + +<P> +"He says he is commander of the fort and will not have me spying round; +that is what he calls it." +</P> + +<P> +"I am commander here, and I expect you to obey me." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, colonel. Did you know that the colonel—Arnold, I mean—is +arranging to send ammunition to New Haven?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"I heard him give the order." +</P> + +<P> +"You did?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, colonel." +</P> + +<P> +"Is Martha Baker still in the fort?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, colonel; and I think she would like to stay here until her +brother can look after her." +</P> + +<P> +"And you would not object to her staying?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; why should I?" +</P> + +<P> +"I thought that you liked her society." +</P> + +<P> +"So I do, colonel, when I can see her, but Col. Arnold has kept her +pretty close in the room which was assigned her." +</P> + +<P> +It was the end of May, and Ethan Allen was waiting news from Boston. +</P> + +<P> +News had just reached him that the Continental Congress, sitting in +Philadelphia, had drawn up articles of confederation, and that those +articles had been signed by the representatives of thirteen colonies. +</P> + +<P> +And the news also came that on the same day the people of North +Carolina had held a convention at Charlotte and declared themselves +independent of the British crown, and that they had organized a local +government and pledged themselves to raise and equip an army. +</P> + +<P> +This was pleasing news, but Allen wanted to hear more from Boston. +</P> + +<P> +The information conveyed to him by Eben was disquieting. +</P> + +<P> +Was it possible that Benedict Arnold was taking things into his own +hands and acting without consulting him? +</P> + +<P> +He sent for Arnold. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, sir, you wished to see me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, colonel; I wanted to know if it were true that you had arranged +to send a portion of our cannon and ammunition to New Haven?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is quite true." +</P> + +<P> +"Why did you not consult me?"' +</P> + +<P> +"It was not necessary." +</P> + +<P> +"I am commander here." +</P> + +<P> +"I beg your pardon, Mr. Allen." +</P> + +<P> +Allen passed over the insulting way in which Benedict Arnold addressed +him, and very calmly replied: +</P> + +<P> +"You came to me as a volunteer, and I accepted your services and those +of your men." +</P> + +<P> +"Quite true." +</P> + +<P> +"Since when, then, have you been given the command?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is time, Mr. Allen, that we should understand each other. I am a +commissioned colonel. I bear that rank according to the laws of my +colony, Connecticut. Moreover, I was commissioned a colonel by the +Provincial Assembly at Cambridge. You hold no rank except that given +you by some farmers who have not even the right to elect a +representative, but are only squatters on land belonging either to New +Hampshire or New York. When the fort was captured it became a military +necessity that some one should be in command who would have power to +treat with the enemy, and, as you were only—well, a Green Mountain +Boy, the command fell upon me." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and I was thinking of asking you to retire, as your plebeian +conduct with the men is apt to injure discipline, and so demoralize the +small army." +</P> + +<P> +"You are very considerate." +</P> + +<P> +"It is my duty. I shall take care that your bravery shall be +acknowledged." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you!" +</P> + +<P> +"I must confess that for one who has had no military training you have +behaved wonderfully well. The thanks of Connecticut will be awarded to +you in due season, and I will see that whatever personal expense you +may have been put to shall be reimbursed to you out of the amount voted +by the assembly." +</P> + +<P> +"And I suppose you wish the Green Mountain Boys to leave the same time +you desire me to go?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, we have need of men. I shall call them all together and ask them +to volunteer as soldiers in the new Continental army, and the officers +shall retain the rank they hold at present." +</P> + +<P> +"You have developed the plan very fully." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and believe me, Mr. Allen, that I only wish that I could ask you +to volunteer; you see yourself that it would be impossible." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, it would." +</P> + +<P> +"Having been the commander, it would be humiliating for you to accept a +lower rank, and besides, the men might think you had a right to give +general orders, and thus there would be confusion." +</P> + +<P> +"You are right." +</P> + +<P> +"When can you be ready to leave?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you say to the first of June?" +</P> + +<P> +"It depends." +</P> + +<P> +"On what? I will give you an escort." +</P> + +<P> +"When I leave I will arrange for my own escort, should I need one. But +it was not of that I was thinking." +</P> + +<P> +"Of what, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"The return of the messengers from New Haven." +</P> + +<P> +"That need not bother you. The report will be made to me, as +commanding officer." +</P> + +<P> +"Will it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly, so you can arrange to leave on the first of the month." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you." +</P> + +<P> +"That is settled, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. I am very glad, for I have had a very unpleasant task." +</P> + +<P> +Allen had remained so calm that Arnold was deceived. +</P> + +<P> +He staggered like a drunken man when Allen turned on him, and, in tones +which could not be misunderstood, said: +</P> + +<P> +"I have heard all you have to say, and I now tell you that in the name +of the Great Jehovah I shall remain here as long as I please, or until +the general of the Continental Congress removes me, and, what is more, +I shall remain in command, and if you dare to interfere with me or my +command, by the Great Jehovah I will send you to Philadelphia in irons! +You are removed from all responsibility until further orders. Go, or I +may forget myself!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap19"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +NEWS FROM BOSTON. +</H3> + +<P> +Benedict Arnold had found his master. +</P> + +<P> +This man, whose ambition was colossal, had imagined that the Green +Mountain farmer would quail before him and surrender the command. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold's ambition was plausible. What could a farmer know of military +affairs? True, Arnold had been a merchant, but then he had studied at +Yale and had made military subjects his special forte, and he had been +complimented by soldiers of high repute. +</P> + +<P> +Then, had not the English Capt. Delaplace told him he should be a +general, and if he remained with the colonies he should have the +command of all the forces the young nation could put into the field? +</P> + +<P> +All this had made him believe himself a great man. +</P> + +<P> +But he had encountered a greater. +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen, mountaineer, farmer, amateur soldier, as Arnold had called +him, proved to be the superior of the polished Yale graduate. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold retired to his quarters, feeling very glum. +</P> + +<P> +Allen sent for Seth Warner. He wanted some one on whom he could rely. +</P> + +<P> +He told Warner what had happened, and the honest Vermonter suggested +that Arnold should be placed under arrest and tried by court-martial. +</P> + +<P> +But such a course Allen would not countenance. He felt that Arnold was +not dangerous, and that he could afford to leave him to his own +conscience. +</P> + +<P> +"I hear that cannon and ammunition was about to be shipped to New +Haven?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, colonel; most of the spoil was to be sent there. We all thought +that it was by your order." +</P> + +<P> +"Zounds, man! I never heard of it until young Eben told me just now." +</P> + +<P> +"We all thought that he was obeying your instructions, and, therefore, +why should we come and tell you?" +</P> + +<P> +"That is so. Do not allow one gun to leave the fort." +</P> + +<P> +Eben entered the room, and was out of breath. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, Eben?" +</P> + +<P> +"If you please—I—have—news——" +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I—have been—across—the lake. I——" +</P> + +<P> +"Sit down and get your breath; you will be able to talk plainer. No +danger threatens us?" +</P> + +<P> +"No—I—don't think so." +</P> + +<P> +Eben fanned himself and gradually became calmer. But he was so eager +to tell his news that he could not wait long enough to be quite +coherent. +</P> + +<P> +"News from Boston," he jerked out; and at once Ethan Allen was as much +excited as Eben. +</P> + +<P> +"What news? Who brought it? Quick, Eben; don't you see how anxious I +am to hear all about it?" +</P> + +<P> +"All the English army has landed at Boston, and they have hanged the +men we loved. At least, I think so; I was in so great a hurry that I +did not wait to hear all." +</P> + +<P> +"Who brought the news?" +</P> + +<P> +"No one yet. They are riding like the mischief, but I jumped in my +boat and paddled across, and then ran like the wind to be first. They +are here now." +</P> + +<P> +Two men were admitted into the presence of Ethan Allen and Seth Warner. +</P> + +<P> +After the usual salutes and the presentation of a short letter from Sam +Adams, telling Allen that he could believe all the men told him, they +were asked to tell their story. +</P> + +<P> +"On the twenty-fifth we saw the great gunboats and the men-of-war in +the harbor getting ready for some move. We wondered what they could be +doing, but only for a few minutes, for we saw other vessels moving into +the harbor, and then the cannon belched forth in salute. The noise +deafened us, and the jarring broke lots of windows. We soon knew that +ten thousand men had arrived in the harbor, and that England was going +to crush us——" +</P> + +<P> +"You mean to try and crush us." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Three generals had come over with reinforcements; they were +Howe, Clinton and Burgoyne. Gage was like a mad creature. He danced +and shouted like a boy getting an unexpected vacation. Then he said he +would hang Adams and Hancock with his own hands on Boston Common, but +Burgoyne stopped him and suggested trying an offer of pardon——" +</P> + +<P> +"Of pardon?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. There is a proclamation signed by Gage, offering pardon to all +who will surrender and acknowledge that they have done wrong, except +Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and these are said to be guilty of +treason and must die; that is, when Gage catches them." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, what say the people?" +</P> + +<P> +"That we will fight it out." +</P> + +<P> +"Good!" +</P> + +<P> +"And that if Adams and Hancock are traitors, so are they all." +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" +</P> + +<P> +"Gage heard of the defiance, and at once gave notice that he should +sally out of Boston and burn all the neighboring towns and devastate +the country." +</P> + +<P> +"He did, eh?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and the people say they will give him a warm reception." +</P> + +<P> +"Warner, shall we join the men at Boston?" +</P> + +<P> +"You are commissioned to hold Ticonderoga," said the messenger, "and so +prevent the British using it against us." +</P> + +<P> +"That we will do. Warner, give orders that all the cannon and the +ammunition we can spare be sent as rapidly as possible to the patriots. +We must help them all we can." +</P> + +<P> +"That is the right way to talk, colonel; I feel ever so much better +now; there is a rope ready for my neck if I fail." +</P> + +<P> +The messengers who brought the news from the patriots of Massachusetts +were entertained right royally, and took back with them a good +impression of Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys. +</P> + +<P> +But it was not an opinion only that they took back with them, for they +had an escort of fifty men, and with them were twenty heavy cannon, +with good ammunition, and a promise of as many more heavy guns as soon +as horses could be procured to haul them. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell Gen. Gage, if you see him," said Allen, "that the rope which he +has for Sam Adams must be long enough and strong enough for Ethan Allen +and his Mountain Boys, for they will never surrender as long as they +have strength to shoulder a musket or draw a sword." +</P> + +<P> +The day after the men left for Boston a letter from the governor of New +Hampshire was received by Allen, ordering him to return home and lay +down his sword. +</P> + +<P> +To this letter Allen replied: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"I will gladly lay down my sword, for I hate fighting, but cannot do so +until England recognizes the independence of the colonies or until the +people themselves have concluded an honorable peace with Great Britain." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Arnold contrived to send a letter to New Hampshire and one to New +Haven, in which he reported the "treachery and tyranny of the man Ethan +Allen." +</P> + +<P> +There is no proof that either of the recipients did anything save throw +the letters into the fire. +</P> + +<P> +On the following day Baker and Forest returned from New Haven, bearing +with them the thanks of the colony to Col. Ethan Allen and Col. +Benedict Arnold. The latter containing the thanks of the assembly, +engrossed on parchment and sealed with the seal of the colony, placed +Allen in the first place, and only mentioned Arnold as a coadjutor. +</P> + +<P> +The two emissaries were escorted to Ticonderoga by Col. Hinman and a +regiment of Connecticut soldiers. +</P> + +<P> +Hinman was commissioned to aid Allen in any way that he could, and to +act under his direction. +</P> + +<P> +Allen, however, determined on a wider field for himself and men than +merely remaining as a garrison of a fort, with the mild excitement of +an occasional scrimmage with the enemy when out on a foraging +expedition, so he handed over the forts to Col. Hinman, taking a +receipt for the same. +</P> + +<P> +That curious old document is perhaps the only one in existence of the +kind, for it is a receipt for the delivery of the forts of Ticonderoga, +Crown Point and Skenesburgh, and is made out much in the same way as a +receipt for a few dollars would be. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold was to remain with Hinman for a time, but with the lower rank of +major. +</P> + +<P> +With only a small number of followers, including Seth Warner, Remember +Baker, Eben Pike and twenty trusty mountaineers, Allen, the hero of +Ticonderoga, left the fort and proceeded to Albany. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap20"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A ROADSIDE ADVENTURE. +</H3> + +<P> +It was a daring thing to do, but Ethan Allen thought only of his +country, and how to benefit the national cause. +</P> + +<P> +The proclamation offering a large reward for him, dead or alive, was +still to be seen on the public buildings of the towns and villages +through which he passed. +</P> + +<P> +Though every one knew him, for his identity could not be concealed, he +was as safe as in his mountain home. +</P> + +<P> +The people of New York were ready to cast in their lot with the +colonies which had declared their independence, and, though nominally +loyal to England, the Yorkers were only waiting an opportunity to +openly throw off the yoke and declare themselves independent. +</P> + +<P> +"The Hero of Ticonderoga," as Allen was called everywhere, was lionized +by the people, though those in authority were compelled to appear as +though they did not recognize him. +</P> + +<P> +When Allen reached Albany he at once went to the Assembly Hall. +</P> + +<P> +Marching up to the speaker's desk he said, in a loud voice: +</P> + +<P> +"I am Ethan Allen, leader of the Green Mountain Boys, and I have come, +not to surrender to you or to lower my claims to the lands in the New +Hampshire grants, which we now call Vermont, but to ask you to listen +to a plan by which our country may become a nation, free and +independent." +</P> + +<P> +"I propose that the assembly go into secret session to hear the Hero of +Ticonderoga." +</P> + +<P> +The speaker was one who had been most bitter against Allen when he had +appeared there sometime before to argue in favor of the men of Vermont. +</P> + +<P> +"Let it be understood that New York, in listening to Ethan Allen, does +not relinquish its claims to the lands which he culls Vermont." +</P> + +<P> +"That matter can well be left in abeyance," said Allen. "There is a +greater one—that of our independence as a nation." +</P> + +<P> +"On that subject we will hear you!" +</P> + +<P> +"I ask that the proceedings shall be secret." +</P> + +<P> +"That is understood." +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen, with a natural eloquence and rugged fervor, laid before +the representatives of the people a plan for the invasion of Canada. +</P> + +<P> +He showed how, with daring and quickness, the country north of the St. +Lawrence could be captured, thereby inflicting an injury on the +British, and taking from them a large tract of country, which could be +made so valuable an adjunct of the colonies south of the St. Lawrence +when they became independent. +</P> + +<P> +He had gathered information which showed how easily all Canada could be +captured, save, perhaps, the citadel of Quebec. +</P> + +<P> +He was listened to patiently. He was cheered when he spoke of the +gallant attack on Quebec by Wolfe and the heroic defense of the French +general, Montcalm; and tears rolled down many cheeks when he recalled +how the French hero, wounded unto death, expressed a pleasure that he +should not live to witness the surrender of Quebec. +</P> + +<P> +Then, with solemn voice, he told how the English had but a small +garrison at the citadel, and how it could be taken unawares and maybe +captured as easily as Ticonderoga. +</P> + +<P> +In one thing did Ethan Allen fail. +</P> + +<P> +He hinted that perhaps the French Canadians would help the Yorkers and +participate in the driving out of the British from North America. +</P> + +<P> +We say that was a mistake, because the people still remember the great +struggle against the French, and the fierce war between the colonies +acknowledging England and France. +</P> + +<P> +One man, afterward one of the foremost to welcome Lafayette to New +York, declared that it would be better to be the slaves of England than +the friends of France. +</P> + +<P> +"Better serfdom, degradation, death under England's flag than liberty +if obtained by the assistance of France." +</P> + +<P> +His fiery speech turned the tide of feeling against Ethan Allen and the +invasion of Canada, and the assembly absolutely refused to listen any +further to Allen. +</P> + +<P> +Some were ungenerous enough to taunt him with suggesting the plan on +purpose to save himself from arrest. +</P> + +<P> +Others wanted to know if he expected to be the general commanding. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I should have asked permission to join as a private soldier, for I +have no ambition to command even a squad." +</P> + +<P> +"What, then, was your object?" +</P> + +<P> +"I live to serve my country; I hope to see her free and independent." +</P> + +<P> +Saying which, he left the hall, and his Mountain Boys were downhearted +at the treatment he had received. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall we return to our mountains?" asked Baker. +</P> + +<P> +"No; at least I shall not. I shall journey to Philadelphia and see +what the Continental Congress is doing." +</P> + +<P> +"We will go with you." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be glad of your company, though maybe you have more urgent +matters at home to attend to." +</P> + +<P> +"That was unkind, colonel," Seth Warner murmured. +</P> + +<P> +"I meant it not so, believe me. I know that all of you are ready to +serve your country." +</P> + +<P> +Albany was left behind and the party started south for Philadelphia. +</P> + +<P> +After a long march a place of rest was sought. +</P> + +<P> +It was nothing unusual for a semi-military company to be on the march, +and so the party did not attract any extraordinary attention. +</P> + +<P> +A farmhouse seemed best suited for the refreshment and rest required, +and one was found which seemed to answer all purposes. +</P> + +<P> +Warner went forward to interview the farmer, and soon returned with the +pleasing news that the party could have supper, rest for the night, and +breakfast in the morning for a most moderate sum. +</P> + +<P> +The farmer was hospitable. +</P> + +<P> +He killed some chickens and a young pig, and in a very short time the +odor of cooking was very appetizing. +</P> + +<P> +After supper the farmer insisted on bringing out several flagons of +good cider, strong and old, for it was the last year's make. +</P> + +<P> +Song and story enlivened the evening. +</P> + +<P> +Warner told of the days when he had hunted the wild bear and met with +some startling adventures. +</P> + +<P> +Baker recounted many a stirring episode in the life of a hunter, and +Allen, who passed under an assumed name, kept up the interest by +narrating a story of ancient knighthood. +</P> + +<P> +"Seems to me that there are as great heroes to-day as in olden times," +the farmer remarked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I suppose so." +</P> + +<P> +"Now, in the troubles we are just encountering, there will be +opportunities for heroism." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and many a brave boy will sleep in a nameless grave." +</P> + +<P> +"That is true; but if we get rid of England's rule and that of the +tones, these same boys will rest well in their graves." +</P> + +<P> +"You seem to think the patriots are right." +</P> + +<P> +"I know they are, and I tell you, my masters, that as long as I have a +stalk of corn on my farm I'll divide it with any boy who fights against +the oppressor." +</P> + +<P> +"Bravo! but methinks the people round about do not think as you do." +</P> + +<P> +"Many are afraid to speak, because, if they did, and the English were +successful, they would be made to suffer; and if the patriots win, as I +am sure they will, then the silent man may be counted a patriot." +</P> + +<P> +"Very wisely stated." +</P> + +<P> +"My idea of a great man is——" +</P> + +<P> +The farmer paused. +</P> + +<P> +"Excuse me, I thought I heard some one at the window. No, I was wrong, +and yet I could have sworn I saw a face as I looked up." +</P> + +<P> +"You were saying that your ideal of a man was——" +</P> + +<P> +"Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga. I tell you, he is right all the +time. He was right about those land grants. If the land had been of +no value New Hampshire might have had all the land, but because it +proved rich, of course York coveted it." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you ever seen Ethan Allen?" Warner asked. +</P> + +<P> +"No. I would give half my farm to do so." +</P> + +<P> +"You needn't do that. Look at him; that is the hero of Ticonderoga, +and I am Seth Warner who tells you so." +</P> + +<P> +The farmer was overjoyed, and became so excited that he shouted and +danced with joy. +</P> + +<P> +There was a sudden stop put to his merriment. Something fell over +outside the window. +</P> + +<P> +"I could have sworn it before, but now I know some one was there. That +milk can could not fall down without hands. I'll find the scurvy +wretch and thrash him into sense!" +</P> + +<P> +The milk can had been thrown down, but no one was in sight, and after a +search the party returned to the large kitchen, where they again +replenished their glasses with cider. +</P> + +<P> +In an interval of the fraternal mirth Eben got close to Allen and asked +him to spare a few moments. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, Eben?" +</P> + +<P> +"I like it not, colonel. Some one was at that window at the time you +were discovered, and the knocking over of the milk can was an accident; +the man who did it has gone to find some English who will pay well for +your capture." +</P> + +<P> +"You are too suspicious, Eben." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps so, colonel, but do be careful." +</P> + +<P> +"I will. I have no desire to get into any jail, and I am sure that I +like life too well to risk it needlessly." +</P> + +<P> +It was after ten o'clock, a late hour in those days, before the farmer +would listen to any suggestion of retiring for the night. +</P> + +<P> +He wanted Allen to sleep in the house—the others were to occupy the +hay loft—but Allen declared that he would share the loft with his +friends, and that no man should say that he had accepted better +treatment than his followers. +</P> + +<P> +As it was impossible for all to stay in the house, the farmer gave way +and allowed Allen to share the hay loft. +</P> + +<P> +It was a happy party that climbed up the stairs into the place, where +the sweet odor of the hay created a desire for sleep. +</P> + +<P> +In less than ten minutes the hay had been too much for them, and all +were asleep. +</P> + +<P> +No, not all, for Eben only pretended to sleep; he was wide awake, for +he feared treachery, and determined to be on the alert. +</P> + +<P> +The boy was a natural wonder. He never knew what it was to be tired. +He could march farther than most men, eat less and do without sleep, +and never did he appear to be the least wearied. +</P> + +<P> +The hour of midnight had passed and the early morning, according to the +manner of marking time, had commenced; in other words, it was one +o'clock when Eben fancied he heard a slight noise. +</P> + +<P> +He was in a position where he could see everything outside, and as the +moon was shining brightly he was not long in discerning a number of men +moving toward the barn. +</P> + +<P> +He crawled across to Ethan and gently shook him. +</P> + +<P> +"Colonel, we are betrayed." +</P> + +<P> +Allen was about to jump, when Eben whispered: +</P> + +<P> +"Lie still or you will be seen; the loft door is open. I can wake the +others, and would it not be well to let them come right up into the +loft before we strike?" +</P> + +<P> +"Eben, you ought to be a general. Wake the others and caution them to +lie still." +</P> + +<P> +The boy crawled round the loft and quickly did his work. +</P> + +<P> +When Ethan knew that all were awake he spoke in a loud whisper to them: +</P> + +<P> +"Eben has suggested a plan of campaign and I shall adopt it. We must +all pretend to be asleep. Let the English enter the loft, and, when +the opportunity arises, let the English be on the ground and the +patriots above them." +</P> + +<P> +Every man lay perfectly still, and it really seemed as though Eben had +been mistaken, for the time was so long before any attempt was made to +enter the loft. +</P> + +<P> +Eben knew all that was transpiring. He saw a man's head rise above the +floor and look around, and then he heard the man descend the ladder. +</P> + +<P> +It was fully five minutes after he had reached the ground before he +again ascended. +</P> + +<P> +The man crawled along the floor and lay perfectly still. +</P> + +<P> +Another, then another, ascended the ladder, until a dozen soldiers in +uniform were in the loft. +</P> + +<P> +Eben was not the only one who had watched their movements, for each of +the Mountain Boys had one eye sufficiently open to see them. +</P> + +<P> +A rustling of the hay was the signal given by the sergeant for the +English to rise. +</P> + +<P> +Each man rose to his feet and stood over the apparently sleeping +colonials. +</P> + +<P> +But no sooner had the enemy taken its position than the mountaineers +put out their hands suddenly and grasped the soldiers by the legs. +</P> + +<P> +In an instant every soldier was on his back, thrown to the floor with a +violence which he did not relish. +</P> + +<P> +And over each man stood one of the mountaineers, ready to blow out the +soldier's brains did he attempt to move. +</P> + +<P> +"Get up!" commanded Allen. +</P> + +<P> +Each man rose, looking very sheepish. +</P> + +<P> +"Hand over your guns and other weapons." +</P> + +<P> +The soldiers obeyed. Not because they desired to do so, but at each +man's head was a pistol, and in each pistol was a bullet which meant a +nameless grave for the man who received it. +</P> + +<P> +The captured men were made to descend the ladder, but no chance of +escape was given them, for at the foot of the ladder stood some of the +Mountain Boys, ready to fire if necessary. +</P> + +<P> +There was a coil of rope in the barn, and this Allen utilized in +securing the prisoners in a novel fashion. He ordered the men to be +tied in couples, the right leg of one to the left leg of his mate, +after the fashion of a three-legged race. Then the couples were united +by a rope which wound round their arms and passed from one couple to +another, to prevent the party separating. +</P> + +<P> +Warner roused the farmer, and that man was so indignant that he +proposed shooting each of the prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +"No, no," said Allen, "they only obeyed orders. I shall let them go +this time, if they will tell me the name of the informer." +</P> + +<P> +The English soldiers were loyal and refused to purchase their release +on such terms. +</P> + +<P> +After an early breakfast Allen was ready to resume his journey, and he +ordered the prisoners to march before him. +</P> + +<P> +When the farm had been left behind a distance of a mile, he told the +prisoners they were free to go where they liked, but as a precaution +against being followed, he did not unfasten them, knowing that it might +be hours before they succeeded in getting loose. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap21"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. +</H3> + +<P> +The old hall in Philadelphia, where the city fathers met, was filled with +a notable gathering, representing eleven colonies. +</P> + +<P> +Those men constituted the Second Continental Congress. +</P> + +<P> +The first had been held in October, 1765, and a resolution was adopted +declaring that the American colonists, as Englishmen, would not and could +not consent to be taxed but by their own representatives. This +resolution was called forth through the passage of the "Stamp Act." +</P> + +<P> +The Second Congress assembled in Philadelphia in September, 1774, and +pledged the colonies to support Massachusetts in her conflict with the +English ministry, and after petitioning the king and the English people, +adjourned to meet, as it happened, on the very day that Ethan Allen +captured Ticonderoga. +</P> + +<P> +The members of that Congress were all loyal to England. The time for +independence had not come. +</P> + +<P> +But what a galaxy of men! +</P> + +<P> +There were such giants among men as Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, +Samuel and John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. +</P> + +<P> +But among all those men there was not one whose ambition led him to place +self above country. +</P> + +<P> +John Adams told the Congress that the time had come when the English +people must learn that it would be better to die fighting for liberty +than to live in perpetual slavery. +</P> + +<P> +Not a man wanted war. +</P> + +<P> +Washington had been a soldier with Braddock, and had won distinction, but +he was for peace. Jefferson demanded liberty, but he deprecated war. +Sam Adams startled the members by saying that if England persisted in a +policy of coercion it would be necessary to fight, yet even Adams +believed in peace. +</P> + +<P> +John Adams made a strong speech, in which he asked why a tyrant ever +exercised tyranny, and he answered the question by saying it was because +the people were unable to resist. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us be strong enough to enforce our demands," said he, "and the king +or his ministers will fall back and concede all we ask." +</P> + +<P> +He waited to see the effect of his words. +</P> + +<P> +There was silence. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, brothers, it is only the strong that obtain justice. The weak +petition and are spurned, the strong ask and they are listened to with +attention, and their demands granted. +</P> + +<P> +"These colonies should be Great Britain's strength, they are her +weakness. Give us the right to make our own laws, to raise the taxation +as we please, to defend our coasts from external assaults and our land +from internal troubles, and we shall honor the king and prove that the +American Confederation of Colonies is the strength of that country. Let +us tell the king plainly what we want. Let our petition be backed by a +good army, and we shall win." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you propose?" asked Jefferson. +</P> + +<P> +"I propose that we organize an army, not of one colony, but of a +confederation of all colonies, and that we appoint a commander-in-chief, +a man who shall be able to organize the army and to lead it, ay, even if +it be necessary until we have entire independence." +</P> + +<P> +"Where could we find such a man?" asked one of the Northern delegates. +</P> + +<P> +"We have one here. The man who saved the wreck of Braddock's army is +just the one to build a nation. I nominate George Washington as the +commander-in-chief of the army of liberation!" +</P> + +<P> +There was an outburst of cheering such as the Quaker City had but seldom +heard. +</P> + +<P> +The delegates knew Washington. +</P> + +<P> +He was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and had previously +made a name for himself with Braddock. +</P> + +<P> +When his name was mentioned by Adams he left the hall. +</P> + +<P> +He was afraid to remain for fear he should be called upon to accept. +</P> + +<P> +He wanted time for deliberation. +</P> + +<P> +The congress adjourned until the following Thursday. +</P> + +<P> +The delegates talked the matter over, and when the Congress reassembled +George Washington was the unanimous choice of the delegates. +</P> + +<P> +But before he was asked to give his answer, articles of confederation +were drawn up and signed, and the colonies became one for the purposes of +mutual defense. +</P> + +<P> +"I fear that this day will mark the downfall of my reputation," said +Washington to Patrick Henry when he heard he was unanimously selected to +organize an army of twenty thousand men, who were undisciplined, without +weapons, without arms of any kind worth speaking of, and having no money +to pay for the food they would require, not mentioning arms. +</P> + +<P> +The question of salary was next discussed, but Washington stopped it by +emphatically declaring that he would not touch one penny of salary, and +only asked that out-of-pocket expenses should be paid. +</P> + +<P> +In the midst of the cheering which these words evoked, Ethan Allen +entered the hall. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is that man?" asked John Hancock. +</P> + +<P> +"Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga," answered Sam Adams. +</P> + +<P> +The cheering broke out again, but this time it was for the Green Mountain +leader. +</P> + +<P> +Again and again did the walls re-echo with the plaudits. +</P> + +<P> +Then Sam Adams called Ethan Allen to the chairman's desk, and John +Hancock warmly congratulated the hero. +</P> + +<P> +A resolution of thanks was passed, and Allen was asked to introduce his +friends. +</P> + +<P> +Seth Warner and Remember Baker were welcomed as able coadjutors, and +Allen took care to say that they were typical of all the Mountain Boys, +and that what they had done was only a foretaste of what they would do if +necessary. +</P> + +<P> +Eben Pike was called up, and the boy bashfully wriggled—no one could +call it walking—up to John Hancock's desk. +</P> + +<P> +When Allen told of the bravery of the young scout and of the way in which +he had so recently saved his friends from falling into the hands of the +English, Hancock rose from his seat and called for three hearty cheers +for the young hero. +</P> + +<P> +Then the Congress settled down to work and appointed officers to assist +Washington. +</P> + +<P> +What a brave lot of men! Their names cannot be too often repeated. +</P> + +<P> +The major-generals were Artemus Ward, Charles Lee, Phillip Schuyler and +Israel Putnam—the famous wolf-den Putnam. Then the brigadier-generals +comprised Richard Montgomery, Seth Pomeroy, David Wooster, William Heath, +Joseph Spencer, John Thomas and Nathaniel Greene. The adjutant-general +was Horatio Gates. +</P> + +<P> +Allen overheard Gen. Schuyler speak of Canada and of its importance. +</P> + +<P> +Allen made his acquaintance and asked him to allow him to tell of the +plan New York had rejected. +</P> + +<P> +Schuyler was delighted, and thanked the Vermonter warmly. +</P> + +<P> +"If ever you are in command of such an army of invasion," said Allen, "I +shall ask to be allowed to join as a volunteer." +</P> + +<P> +"My dear Allen, there is not a man in all Philadelphia at the present +moment I would rather have," answered the general. +</P> + +<P> +Alas! what suffering was to follow that conversation! +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap22"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +EBEN'S ADVENTURES. +</H3> + +<P> +Among the men who were to lead the colonial armies Allen had his +attention attracted to Richard Montgomery, who was to share with +Schuyler the responsibility of the invasion of Canada. +</P> + +<P> +Montgomery was one of the most fascinating men who rallied to the +standard of the colonies. +</P> + +<P> +He was an Irishman, the son of a member of the British parliament, and +was educated in Trinity College, Dublin. +</P> + +<P> +In 1754 he obtained a commission in the army, and with his regiment +came to this country, and, although only eighteen years old, he +distinguished himself for personal bravery in many an action. +</P> + +<P> +In 1760 he was with Gen. Wolfe, and became the adjutant of the regiment. +</P> + +<P> +After distinguishing himself in the expedition against Havana and +Martinique, he returned to England and stayed there nine years. +</P> + +<P> +But he yearned for America, and so sold his commission and came to New +York, where he married and took a leading part with the sturdy men who +refused to bow the knee to English tyranny. +</P> + +<P> +When the Continental Congress was held Montgomery was a delegate, and +he pledged his sword in defense of the popular rights. +</P> + +<P> +No wonder that Ethan Allen should be pleased with the Irishman. They +were kindred spirits. +</P> + +<P> +Montgomery asked Allen to tell him of the struggle of the Vermonters +against the pretensions of New York. +</P> + +<P> +Allen did so, but somewhat bitterly. +</P> + +<P> +"Nay, my dear Allen, do not let that irritate you. We shall soon make +common cause, and instead of the colonies we shall have a nation, and +we shall be citizens, not subjects." +</P> + +<P> +"Citizens!" Allen repeated. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, mark me. If the colonies become a nation there will be a free +government based on equal rights, and none will be subject to another, +but all be equal before the law." +</P> + +<P> +Montgomery saw more clearly into the future than did even Washington. +</P> + +<P> +When the Congress was over, and Washington commenced his work of +creating an army, Allen returned home, somewhat disappointed. +</P> + +<P> +He had expected a commission in the new army, but his name was passed +over by Congress. +</P> + +<P> +It was afterward proved that the omission was the result of +inadvertence, for it was supposed that he had a commission from the +general in command of the Colonials at Boston, and the order was made +confirming all such commissions. +</P> + +<P> +The summer was passing, and no action had been taken. +</P> + +<P> +Allen was getting weary of the delay. +</P> + +<P> +He could not understand why Boston had not been taken and the English +driven out. Then he heard that Benedict Arnold had received a +commission, and was leading an army into Canada to attack Quebec. +</P> + +<P> +In despair Allen left his home and crossed to Ticonderoga, determined +to offer his services to the Connecticut captain who was in command of +the little garrison. +</P> + +<P> +He was sitting on a gun on the day of his arrival on the scene of his +great exploit, when a boy, dirty, ragged and half starved, entered the +fort and stood opposite Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you know me, colonel?" +</P> + +<P> +"Is that you, Eben?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. I am Eben Pike, and right glad I am to see you." +</P> + +<P> +"How did you enter? Where have you been?" +</P> + +<P> +Eben did not answer. He was too weak. His body swayed, his limbs +trembled, and he would have fallen had not Allen caught him. +</P> + +<P> +As gently as a mother carries her child, the hero of Ticonderoga bore +the half-famished boy into the barracks and asked that he should +receive attention. +</P> + +<P> +The boy was undressed and washed, then little sips of beef tea were +given him. +</P> + +<P> +In an hour he showed signs of returning vitality, and they knew that he +would live. +</P> + +<P> +"He left here a month ago," explained the captain; "I sent him on a +delicate mission, knowing that he could be trusted. When he did not +return I thought him dead." +</P> + +<P> +"You knew I should be true to the cause then?" whispered Eben. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, my boy; no one would ever doubt your loyalty. You shall tell +your adventures later. You must rest and get stronger." +</P> + +<P> +"But I have news I must tell. Gen. Montgomery is on his way to +Ticonderoga to join Arnold in his invasion of Canada. He will be here +to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +The speech was long for him, and his flushed cheek and quivering voice +told how the message had shaken his frame. +</P> + +<P> +Late that night he woke from a good sleep, and seeing Allen by his bed, +he put out one hand. +</P> + +<P> +"I am so glad to see you, colonel. I feel all right now. I thought I +should die without seeing you." +</P> + +<P> +"Where have you been?" +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot tell you all, but when I left here I fell into the hands of a +tory, and he knew me. He called me a spy, and wanted to hang me, but +before he could get a rope a new idea came to him. He called some more +tories together and they laughed at his suggestion. He wanted to cover +me with tar and then set light to it." +</P> + +<P> +"His name? I will serve him that way." +</P> + +<P> +"The tar was poured all over me, and my clothes were saturated with it. +But when he went for a light to set me on fire, his little boy, a sweet +little fellow, ran from the house and called 'fire,' and just then a +flame did break out through the windows. The tory thought more of his +house than he did of me, so I ran away as fast as I could." +</P> + +<P> +Eben rested after telling that adventure, and it was more than an hour +before he could resume his narrative. +</P> + +<P> +"I ran as fast as I ever did in my life, and, as bad luck would have +it, I fell into the hands of some English soldiers. They did not know +me, and thought I was some ignorant country lad, so I fared pretty +well, and only stayed with them two days. When they broke camp they +insisted that I should go with them, and as I had told them I was going +in the very direction they intended going, I could not help myself." +</P> + +<P> +"You were in hard luck." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but that was not the last of my adventures, for I was recognized +by another tory, who had been birched by some of our men for his +treachery. He claimed me as his prisoner, and to get me had to swear +that I was his apprentice, who had run away." +</P> + +<P> +"And of course the soldiers gave you to him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and a nice time I had of it. The farmer stripped me and then +gave me fifty strokes with a strong cane——" +</P> + +<P> +"The villain!" +</P> + +<P> +"But that was not the worst. He threw me naked into a cellar and kept +me without food until I began to lose my senses, and then he gave me +these old clothes and some food. I managed after a long time to +escape, and for a week I wandered about the woods, living on what I +could pick up, until I managed to reach here. I dare not go to a +house, for the tories were searching for me, and I was afraid to even +jump into the river for fear that I might be seen and have no chance of +escape." +</P> + +<P> +"Poor fellow. So you failed in obtaining the information for which you +set out." +</P> + +<P> +"Failed? No, I got it, and though it is a trifle late, I find it is in +time." +</P> + +<P> +Col. Hinman was so pleased with the thoroughness of Eben in everything +he undertook that he sent a special dispatch to Gen. Washington, +commending Pike as one of the best scouts and secret service officers +any country could produce. +</P> + +<P> +Hinman tried to persuade Ethan Allen to join him, but the Green +Mountain hero wanted more stirring work than could be found in a fort +which might never be attacked. +</P> + +<P> +The news that Montgomery was near the fort was sweetest music to him, +and he resolved to unite with his army, even as a private soldier. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap23"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FORAGING. +</H3> + +<P> +Eben's news was in every point correct. Gen. Schuyler had been +stricken down by sickness, and Montgomery assumed command of one of the +armies of invasion. +</P> + +<P> +Allen went out to meet the Irish general and received a warm welcome. +</P> + +<P> +Montgomery was full of praise of the plan of invasion. +</P> + +<P> +Arnold and Morgan were marching through Maine to attack the citadel of +Quebec, and Montgomery was to march into Canada to the westward, and +after capturing Montreal and other important places, form a junction +with Arnold and drive the English out of Quebec. +</P> + +<P> +"That man has a great brain," Montgomery remarked, as he told Allen the +plan. +</P> + +<P> +"To whom do you refer?" +</P> + +<P> +"Gen. Benedict Arnold." +</P> + +<P> +"What has he done?" +</P> + +<P> +"He formulated the plan and sent it to Gen. Washington——" +</P> + +<P> +"He did?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and the commander was so pleased with it that he wrote a personal +letter to Arnold, thanking him and saying that the plan should be put +into immediate execution." +</P> + +<P> +"And Arnold really took the credit, if credit there be?" +</P> + +<P> +"Of course; why not?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am not surprised, and yet——" +</P> + +<P> +"You are not jealous?" +</P> + +<P> +"Jealous? No, not of a thief." +</P> + +<P> +"A thief?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, a thief. I drew up that plan and copied it in duplicate, so that +if one got lost the other would remain. I took one copy to Albany and +laid it before the assembly." +</P> + +<P> +"And the copy?" +</P> + +<P> +"I left it at Ticonderoga." +</P> + +<P> +"What became of it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know; at least I find that I know now, though I had no +suspicion. When I returned from the Continental Congress I asked for +the plan, and was told it had been lost. The truth is that Arnold took +it away with him." +</P> + +<P> +"Gen. Washington shall know this." +</P> + +<P> +"No, never mind. I care not who gets credit for the plan if it is only +successful; but if I should fall let the people of Vermont know that +the plan was mine." +</P> + +<P> +"Rest assured of that." +</P> + +<P> +"I have the original with me, and you shall read it, for I want no one +to accept my word for anything." +</P> + +<P> +Allen was right. Benedict Arnold had read the plan, and had actually +appropriated the copy and sent it in Allen's writing to Philadelphia. +</P> + +<P> +Once he was asked about Allen's statement, and he replied that he had +employed Ethan Allen to make copies from his rough draft. +</P> + +<P> +The young Irish general of division did not believe in loitering, and +after a day's rest at Ticonderoga the march was resumed. +</P> + +<P> +Allen had joined, but having no commission, he was placed in rather a +delicate position, though the very fact that he was, in a sense, a +freelance, made him more valuable to Montgomery. +</P> + +<P> +A promise was given that, should an opportunity offer, Allen was to +command a regiment under Montgomery. +</P> + +<P> +After leaving Ticonderoga the march was easy for two days, for the +country was peopled by friends of the colonial cause; but after that +the farmers were decidedly hostile. +</P> + +<P> +There was great difficulty in feeding the army, and although the +general offered to purchase food, the tories refused to sell any. +</P> + +<P> +Allen was commissioned to take twenty men and forage. +</P> + +<P> +He knew that the farmers were tories, but he shrank not from his task. +</P> + +<P> +He was supplied with a small amount of money, and was empowered to pay, +by notes, for any food he secured. +</P> + +<P> +About a mile from camp a poultry farm was reached, and Allen at once +requisited all the poultry. +</P> + +<P> +The farmer demurred, but the soldiers were the strongest, and very soon +a quantity of young turkeys, hens and ducks were in the wagons, much to +the delight of the foragers. +</P> + +<P> +At the next house a determined opposition was organized. +</P> + +<P> +At the fence the patriots were met by a number of men, armed with all +sorts of weapons. +</P> + +<P> +"We are prepared to pay for what we get," said Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"I guess you will pay for what you get; that would be right easy, for +you'll not get a durn thing." +</P> + +<P> +"My friend, you make a mistake." +</P> + +<P> +"Move on there or I'll set the dogs on you." +</P> + +<P> +To emphasize his assertion he whistled, and immediately two splendid +animals sprang to his side. +</P> + +<P> +"Call off those dogs; we do not war on dumb animals," Allen called. +</P> + +<P> +"I guess I'll not call 'em off. At' em, beauties." +</P> + +<P> +The dogs sprang over the fence, and with glaring eyes and open mouths +made for the nearest soldier. +</P> + +<P> +Two pistol shots prevented them doing any damage, and Allen gave the +order to his men to charge the obstructives and take whatever food they +could find. +</P> + +<P> +However determined men may be, they cannot stand against muskets and +swords, when their weapons are only hay forks and crowbars. +</P> + +<P> +The farm helpers were driven back, and a wagon was quickly loaded with +flour and grain and vegetables. +</P> + +<P> +The foraging expedition was a great success, though Allen would have +preferred purchasing the food, if any could have been found to sell. +</P> + +<P> +The next day he was sent out again, and met with good success until he +was ready to return. +</P> + +<P> +A company of soldiers had been quartered on one of the farms by the +English, and Allen was unprepared for the encounter. +</P> + +<P> +When he found he was in for a fight, he felt better satisfied to think +he met foemen worthy of his steel, instead of a set of half-fed and +badly armed farmers' men. +</P> + +<P> +The English can fight well, and Allen knew that his troops were +inferior in every way to the enemy, but he did not hesitate. +</P> + +<P> +"Men, we are outnumbered, but we are not beaten; shall we retire as +prisoners, or fight until death claims us?" +</P> + +<P> +"Fight!" +</P> + +<P> +"We cannot surrender without a struggle." +</P> + +<P> +"Who can tell but we may defeat them?" +</P> + +<P> +Allen, pleased with the speeches of his comrades, gave the order to +charge the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +The fight was a sharp one. +</P> + +<P> +Hand-to-hand struggles always partake more of the brutish, and the +truth about such encounters is far more horrible than any description. +</P> + +<P> +Allen was in the thickest of the fight all the time; his sword was +dripping with blood every time he raised it above his head, and that +was just as frequently as he could free his arm from the crush to wield +his weapon. +</P> + +<P> +Only a few minutes did the struggle last, but the carnage was out of +all proportion to the number engaged. +</P> + +<P> +Seven of Allen's men were killed, while the enemy lost twelve, and what +seemed remarkable, all who fell were dead. No one seemed to be wounded +or maimed; death came to all who were stricken. +</P> + +<P> +The return journey was a sad one, though from the point of view of a +soldier it was glorious. +</P> + +<P> +Montgomery congratulated the mountaineer on his bravery, and told him +that his record should be known at headquarters. +</P> + +<P> +The next day the march was resumed, and through lack of guides the army +took a wrong course. +</P> + +<P> +The vanguard, in crossing a wide stretch of what seemed level country, +found themselves in a marsh, and up to their waists in water. +</P> + +<P> +The worst of it was that the bottom was treacherous, for the soil +seemed like quicksand, and drew them in until they had difficulty in +raising their feet. +</P> + +<P> +After considerable floundering about they got out of the marsh just in +time to warn the main body of the army. +</P> + +<P> +The adventure was amusing except to the participants, and many a laugh +was had at the expense of the unlucky men. +</P> + +<P> +After a number of strange adventures the army reached Isle-aux-Noix, +where Montgomery intended to camp for a time. +</P> + +<P> +Two days after reaching there Allen was delighted to welcome Eben Pike, +who had promised to follow as soon as his strength was regained. +</P> + +<P> +He looked as hearty as ever, though less effeminate than when he first +joined the Green Mountain Boys. +</P> + +<P> +He had a man's strength, though his appearance was deceiving. +</P> + +<P> +He had such an excellent idea of topography that Allen knew he would be +extremely useful to the army of invasion. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap24"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +SECRET SERVICE. +</H3> + +<P> +Gen. Montgomery summoned Allen to his presence one morning early. +</P> + +<P> +"Ethan Allen, you are the one man wanted in this crisis." +</P> + +<P> +"What crisis? What can I do?" asked Allen, looking somewhat surprised +at the general's earnestness. +</P> + +<P> +"We are about to invade Canada, and the people ought not to be hostile." +</P> + +<P> +"I fancy you will find them to be so." +</P> + +<P> +"That's just where you will be of value?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not understand." +</P> + +<P> +"I want you to go into Canada and tell the people that we are not going +to fight against them, their country or religion, but only against the +English garrisons." +</P> + +<P> +"And I suppose you mean enlist the French on our side?" +</P> + +<P> +"If you can do so, yes." +</P> + +<P> +"When am I to start?" +</P> + +<P> +"As early as possible. Take some good interpreters with you, for +French and Indians must be reached and converted." +</P> + +<P> +"The less number of men the better." +</P> + +<P> +"I agree with you, though you know the consequence if you fall into the +hands of the enemy." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, life would be short; but if I can serve my country I will dare +anything." +</P> + +<P> +"Spoken like a brave man." +</P> + +<P> +"I am ready. I will take Eben Pike with me, and Remember Baker." +</P> + +<P> +"But you will want an interpreter." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, one who can talk with the Indians as well as the French." +</P> + +<P> +"You do not mean to enlist the Indians?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I will attract to our side every man, and I would every animal, +if that were possible." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you think of Old Buckskin?" +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and he is with us." +</P> + +<P> +"Just the man. Old Buckskin knows every inch of the ground from here +to Quebec. I am glad he is ready to go with me." +</P> + +<P> +The man called Old Buckskin was an eccentric trapper. No one knew his +real name, and it is within the realm of probability that he had +forgotten it himself. +</P> + +<P> +Allen had met him frequently in the Green Mountains, and knew that he +was an excellent guide, a fearless man and a good hunter. +</P> + +<P> +The next day the little party started from St. Valentin and worked +northward in the direction of St. John. +</P> + +<P> +The people of Pte. la Mull received Allen with great acclaim, for they +were French and had suffered much from the constant interference of the +English with their customs and the exercise of their religion. But +they warned him against the people of Sabrevous, for they were so much +opposed to the New Yorkers that they could not believe anyone who +hailed from that colony, or any colony south of the St. Lawrence, could +be friendly to them. +</P> + +<P> +That was enough for Ethan Allen. +</P> + +<P> +His mission was not to convert those who were friendly, but to gather +in those who were ranked among his enemies. +</P> + +<P> +Turning eastward, he started for Sabrevous, and with greater enthusiasm +than he had felt up to that time. +</P> + +<P> +Allen and his party were dressed ostensibly as merchants, and he +professed to be in search of rare skins, to fill an order. +</P> + +<P> +To give color to this assertion, Old Buckskin had brought with him a +skin of the rarest color and kind, and Allen declared he should never +rest until he had matched it. +</P> + +<P> +No one knew better than Allen, unless it was Old Buckskin, that it +would be the most difficult thing to find that shade of natural wool, +and so the ruse was successful. +</P> + +<P> +Early one morning, for the march was slow, a man approached the party +and stopped Allen. +</P> + +<P> +In French he asked if he was the merchant in search of a peculiar skin. +</P> + +<P> +Allen answered in the affirmative. +</P> + +<P> +"I can take you to the place where you can get as many as you want." +</P> + +<P> +"I will reward you." +</P> + +<P> +"Follow me." +</P> + +<P> +"Where to?" +</P> + +<P> +"Follow me and you shall have the skins at your own price." +</P> + +<P> +"Remember that you have said at my own price." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; my friends are poor and they will sell cheaply, for food to a +starving person is better than the most costly skins." +</P> + +<P> +Old Buckskin whispered: +</P> + +<P> +"Be on your guard." +</P> + +<P> +Allen nodded. +</P> + +<P> +Remember Baker was bolder and asked the French Canadian how he knew +they wanted skins. +</P> + +<P> +The man laughed, and answered with an appearance of genuine truth: +</P> + +<P> +"I was at La Mull and heard the monsieur ask about skins." +</P> + +<P> +"Then why did you not speak?" +</P> + +<P> +"I had to see if my friends would sell." +</P> + +<P> +"And you saw the sample?" +</P> + +<P> +"I saw the skin that trapper carried." +</P> + +<P> +That seemed satisfactory, and Allen was quite prepared to follow the +Canadian. +</P> + +<P> +Eben was the next to express a doubt. He drew Allen on one side. +</P> + +<P> +"I have seen him somewhere before; do not trust him." +</P> + +<P> +"Imagination, my dear Eben, pure imagination. The man is a French +Canadian." +</P> + +<P> +The man had stood on one side, apparently taking no notice of the +whispered conversation, but a close observer would have seen that he +was watching through the corner of his eye every movement, and if he +could read the lips, as so many of his countrymen could, he doubtless +knew what was being said. +</P> + +<P> +"Will the monsieur come and see the skins?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; lead on." +</P> + +<P> +The man led the way and Allen and his little band followed. +</P> + +<P> +Many times the guide turned round to see if all were following. +</P> + +<P> +A dense wood lay right before them, and the prospect did not seem very +inviting, though no danger could come to them, seeing that they were +six in all, and the Frenchman was alone. +</P> + +<P> +"Where are you taking us?" Allen asked. +</P> + +<P> +"To where the skins are." +</P> + +<P> +"How far is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not far; if my friends did not want the money very badly I should not +bother so much." +</P> + +<P> +As he spoke he fell back so that he was beside Ethan Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"You come from York?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, monsieur, it is a pity that the Yorkers like us not." +</P> + +<P> +"But they do like you." +</P> + +<P> +"You may; your heart is large, and you would buy from a poor Canadian; +most Yorkers would steal the skins and kill the Canadian." +</P> + +<P> +"You are wrong. The Yorkers are very anxious to be friends with the +people of Canada." +</P> + +<P> +"They hate the Anglais?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, they do not hate the English, though they would like to see the +English leave the country, so that the Canadians and the Americans +could govern themselves." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think there will be war?" +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps." +</P> + +<P> +"Monsieur knows there will be." +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know. I hope not. War would interfere with business." +</P> + +<P> +The Canadian laughed heartily, as though Allen had perpetrated a good +joke. +</P> + +<P> +Then he broke into a French song, full of life and character, such as +the French peasantry love to indulge in. +</P> + +<P> +Eben took advantage of the song to walk beside Alien and whisper to him +his doubts. +</P> + +<P> +"That man is not a Canadian, or if he is, he is an English Canadian." +</P> + +<P> +"What makes you think so?" +</P> + +<P> +"His accent." +</P> + +<P> +"But, Eben, he speaks French fluently." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, like a Frenchman, not a Canadian." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you know about it?" +</P> + +<P> +"In my young days"—Allen had to smile at the boy referring to his +young days—"in my young days I used to know a French boy and a +Canadian Frenchman, and they could scarcely understand one another. +The French boy used to say, 'You talk French, bah, bah!' and the +Canadian used to ask the other why he did not speak proper French." +</P> + +<P> +"I had no idea that you were a linguist." +</P> + +<P> +"If you mean by that that I can talk languages, you are wrong, for I +cannot, but I am sure that our guide is not a French Canadian." +</P> + +<P> +"You are too suspicious, and I really do not see what difference it +makes what he is; we shall get to know the country and——" +</P> + +<P> +"Miss our way back." +</P> + +<P> +"You think that it is all a trap?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do." +</P> + +<P> +"You will see that you are wrong." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope so, but I am going forward a little." +</P> + +<P> +Eben did not wait for permission, but ran ahead of the party like a +wild boy out for a holiday. +</P> + +<P> +The Canadian called him back, but Eben professed not to hear. +</P> + +<P> +In a few minutes he was seen running back toward them. +</P> + +<P> +"Where have you been, Eben?" +</P> + +<P> +"In the forest." +</P> + +<P> +In a lower voice he said: +</P> + +<P> +"There are three houses just ahead, and I am sure I saw a redcoat at +one of the doors." +</P> + +<P> +Did the Canadian hear him, or did he judge by intuition? +</P> + +<P> +"Did you see the houses?" he asked Eben, and the question was +translated. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and I saw a man with a red coat." +</P> + +<P> +"That is good; my brother has got home. He always wears a red shirt. +I am so glad." +</P> + +<P> +And to prove his joy he began singing loudly, and through the trees +came back the echo of the refrain. +</P> + +<P> +"That is Jacques; I should know his voice wherever I heard it," said +the Canadian, resuming his singing as soon as he had uttered the words. +</P> + +<P> +"Please turn back," pleaded Eben. +</P> + +<P> +"You silly fellow, what harm can we come to?" +</P> + +<P> +Although Allen spoke lightly he whispered to his followers to have +their pistols ready in case of a surprise. +</P> + +<P> +All saw the houses, poor, miserable dwellings they were, too, but such +as were often met with in the woods of Canada. +</P> + +<P> +"Here we are!" cried out the Canadian, "and monsieur shall soon see the +skins. Will he pay a good price for them?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, if they are what I require." +</P> + +<P> +"They will be." +</P> + +<P> +There was no sign of life at the house, though the guide called: +</P> + +<P> +"Jacques—Jacques!" +</P> + +<P> +"Where can he have got to? Enter, monsieur, and I will find the man +who has the skins." +</P> + +<P> +Allen, followed by the others, entered the house, which seemed to +consist of one room and an extension kitchen downstairs, and a room +upstairs. +</P> + +<P> +In a few minutes a man dressed in a red shirt entered, and said his +brother had sent him to entertain them, as he would be detained getting +some skins he believed the messieurs wanted. +</P> + +<P> +Everything seemed so quiet and innocent that even Eben was inclined to +think he had been unjustly suspicious. +</P> + +<P> +But while Jacques chattered—and he did so rattle along that it was +quite impossible for anyone to get in a word—there was a movement +outside which was ominous had Allen but known it. +</P> + +<P> +Jacques was telling a hunting story and raised his voice at a most +exciting point, when the door was quickly opened and a dozen soldiers +from the neighboring garrison sprang into the room and demanded the +surrender of the party. +</P> + +<P> +It was impossible to decline the unpleasant invitation, for at each +head was a pistol. +</P> + +<P> +As Allen raised his head and looked at the door, he saw the pseudo +guide, grinning like a hyena, and in a voice which was very English the +man emphasized his laugh by saying: +</P> + +<P> +"Ha, ha, ha! trapped! I have followed Ethan Allen all the way from +Ticonderoga, and waited until I could be sure he would be hanged. Now +I denounce him as a spy!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap25"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +DIPLOMACY. +</H3> + +<P> +"You denounce me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I say that you are Ethan Allen, the man who surprised the +garrison at Ticonderoga." +</P> + +<P> +"Am I to understand that these soldiers have listened to the ravings of +a creature like you?" +</P> + +<P> +The sergeant in command of the squad saluted Allen, and replied: +</P> + +<P> +"I am compelled to obey orders. This man reported that he could lead +into ambush one Ethan Allen, and I was detailed to effect his arrest." +</P> + +<P> +"Sergeant, I acknowledge that you have a duty to perform, but cannot a +merchant pass through Canada without being suspected of being a spy?" +</P> + +<P> +"With that I have nothing to do; I must ask you to surrender." +</P> + +<P> +"The asking is compulsion. With a pistol at each head, how can we do +anything else but surrender?" +</P> + +<P> +Allen wished to delay surrender as long as possible, for he was a firm +believer in the doctrines of possibility, and a chance of escape might +present itself. +</P> + +<P> +The sergeant laughed at Allen's question. +</P> + +<P> +"It does look like surrender or death, but my orders were to take Ethan +Allen, dead or alive." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he then so much feared?" +</P> + +<P> +"If you are Ethan Allen it may be some consolation to know that he is +hated by the British authorities more than any man who has joined the +American rebels; and if you are not Ethan Allen, as I hope you are not, +then you may know that it is a great honor to be mistaken for such a +rebel." +</P> + +<P> +"Logical, very. We are merchants in search of skins of a very peculiar +shade of color. We work for a customer who is willing to pay largely +for such skins—dyed ones will not do—and this fellow pretended that +he was French, could not speak English, and told my trapper that he +knew where we could get the skins. In all trust we followed. Now I +ask you: Is it likely that this Ethan Allen would allow himself to be +entrapped?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, you are right; but I am not the judge, and you will have to go to +Sabrevous and see the colonel." +</P> + +<P> +"That will take time, and I am anxious to get the skins. I will make +you a proposition: I will go with you to Sabrevous, but this man must +go with me, and as a prisoner, for I have charges to make against him +which will cause him to be hanged. My friends must go free to search +for the skins." +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot accept the offer—all must go." +</P> + +<P> +"But you said you were to arrest Ethan Allen; now, we cannot all be +Ethan Allen, and I am the one accused." +</P> + +<P> +Allen knew just as well as the officer that all must surrender, but he +wanted to confuse the Englishman, and perhaps find a way of escape. +</P> + +<P> +"I am very sorry, but if you are Allen, the party with you may be also +wanted. I must demand the surrender of all." +</P> + +<P> +"Before I surrender I demand the arrest of that man." +</P> + +<P> +"What for?" +</P> + +<P> +"Murder!" +</P> + +<P> +The informer almost shrieked as he heard the charge. His knees +trembled, the blood left his cheeks, and he looked a most guilty wretch. +</P> + +<P> +"Look at him," Allen exclaimed. "Tell me, is he not guilty?" +</P> + +<P> +"I did not do it. He—he shot himself." +</P> + +<P> +"And you took the skins. Ah, my fine friend, Frenchman or Canadian, +you may well tremble. England does not accept the services of +murderers. You sought to save yourself by denouncing me. Your trick +has failed. I shall not surrender on the accusation of a murderer. I +will give my parole to appear against you on your trial." +</P> + +<P> +"You refuse to surrender?" asked the sergeant, in amazement. +</P> + +<P> +"If my accuser was a man of honor instead of a murderer I should bow to +fate, but unless you have some one to accuse me who is not tainted I +shall resist you, and if I fall my family will hold you accountable for +my death." +</P> + +<P> +The sergeant was in a quandary. +</P> + +<P> +He had been ordered to arrest Ethan Allen, and here was a man who had +put him to the proof. The only accuser was one whose word was of no +account, for he was a self-confessed murderer. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you Ethan Allen?" the sergeant asked, most innocently. +</P> + +<P> +"If you think so arrest me. I shall not answer any questions except +before a proper tribunal." +</P> + +<P> +"You are a brave fellow, and I wish there was some one here who knew +you." +</P> + +<P> +"I know him!" +</P> + +<P> +All turned toward the door and saw a man with a long white beard and +patriarchal appearance, though his garb was that of a monk. +</P> + +<P> +"I know him," the monk repeated. "And I say that, whatever his name +may be, he is an honest man." +</P> + +<P> +"You said you knew him, and yet do not know his name; is not that +strange?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not at all. In these troublous days a man may have more names than +there are days in the week, and yet be honest." +</P> + +<P> +"By what name did you know him?" asked the officer. +</P> + +<P> +"As one who did good wherever he might be." +</P> + +<P> +"He is accused——" +</P> + +<P> +"The man who accuses him of wrongdoing must be bad at heart, for I will +swear that he is innocent." +</P> + +<P> +"But they say he is a spy?" +</P> + +<P> +"A spy? Accuse him of being a spy? Why, one might as well accuse me. +He is too open for a spy, and if he was one he would acknowledge it." +</P> + +<P> +"And so criminate himself?" +</P> + +<P> +"If he were a spy, I repeat, he would never deny it if put to the test. +Who is his accuser?" +</P> + +<P> +"This man——" +</P> + +<P> +"That shivering wretch! He looks half dead." +</P> + +<P> +"He will be dead soon," Allen interjected, "for he is a murderer, as +well as one who bears false witness against his fellows." +</P> + +<P> +"You say that you believe that miserable reptile, instead of this +honest man? Beside, think of the illogical position. If this man is a +spy, you have to admit that there is a war between your people and his, +and that your government denies." +</P> + +<P> +"I am a soldier and must obey orders." +</P> + +<P> +Allen rose in the dignity of his manhood, and rather startled his own +friends by saying: +</P> + +<P> +"I never asked a man yet to disobey orders. Do your duty. I will go +with you to Sabrevous; but, mark me, I shall hold your government +responsible for my loss of time and for the indignity of this arrest." +</P> + +<P> +Eben Pike had not been under arrest, and now he stood at the door, +waiting developments. He saw clearly what should be done. If Allen +was condemned, then Montgomery must be informed, and a quick move made +on Sabrevous and Allen liberated. +</P> + +<P> +The procession was formed and Eben walked at a little distance from the +party, apparently taking no more interest in the affair than one of +idle curiosity. +</P> + +<P> +The accuser was pinioned, a musket being secured under his arms across +his back, but Allen and his friends were allowed to march entirely +unfettered. +</P> + +<P> +The monk, whom we have recognized as the "mad monk" who rescued Martha +Baker, walked by the side of the sergeant, while Remember Baker walked +with Allen, the soldiers marching in front and rear of the small party. +</P> + +<P> +"How did you know that he was a murderer?" Baker whispered, pointing to +the miserable informer. +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot tell. I felt that he was. I had but one thing to guide me. +A trapper was found murdered near Ticonderoga, and I heard that the one +last seen with him was a fellow who could talk French as well as +English, and I guessed this man might be the one, so I hazarded the +accusation, and struck the bull's-eye." +</P> + +<P> +"What will become of us?" +</P> + +<P> +"Cannot say; but Eben is on the alert, and unless they shoot us without +the usual twenty-four hours' reprieve, he will have Montgomery come to +our rescue." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you give him instructions?" +</P> + +<P> +"Only general ones; he is wide awake, and knows just as well as I do +what ought to be done." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you think the 'mad monk' will betray us?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; he is a sympathizer with our cause, and—— Let us change the +subject; one of these soldiers is getting suspicious." +</P> + +<P> +When the party reached Sabrevous the sergeant handed his prisoners over +to the proper authorities and reported that he was convinced that a +mistake had been made, and that the prisoners were peaceful merchants +and not American rebel spies. +</P> + +<P> +The monk was examined in secret, and he also bore testimony to the +truth and honor of the chief prisoner. +</P> + +<P> +The accuser was called and asked about the murder he had committed, and +under the terror of the accusation he made a full confession, but asked +for mercy, because he had followed Ethan Allen and handed him over to +the authorities. +</P> + +<P> +His plea for mercy helped Allen, for the English officer believed that +the accusation against Allen was only made to obtain favor with the +authorities. +</P> + +<P> +He was remanded to prison until the civil power could take him and mete +out the punishment he merited. +</P> + +<P> +Allen and his party received the apologies of the officers for their +arrest and detention, and were at once liberated. +</P> + +<P> +It had been a narrow escape, but they did not value their liberty any +the less for that fact. +</P> + +<P> +Some weeks afterward Allen learned that the officers had been severely +reprimanded for allowing the "rebel spy" to escape. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap26"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT. +</H3> + +<P> +Two days later Allen was not so fortunate. +</P> + +<P> +He had been talking to the people and urging them to remain neutral, +allowing the soldiers on each side to fight out the issue, when one of +the people of the little town, near which was a small fort, left the +house and ran to the fort. +</P> + +<P> +"Ethan Allen, the rebel, is at my house," he cried, almost +breathlessly, as he reached the outworks. Instantly there was +commotion among the garrison. It was true Allen was dreaded by the +British more than the men who were besieging Boston. +</P> + +<P> +He was a freelance, and it was never known where he might strike. +</P> + +<P> +His daring at Ticonderoga was not forgotten, and although no money +reward was offered for his arrest, it was known that promotion would be +the reward of those who captured him. +</P> + +<P> +A small force was sent at once to the farmhouse and Allen called on to +surrender. +</P> + +<P> +The lieutenant who had been consigned to the lead was of a different +nature to the sergeant of Sabrevous, for he would not listen to any +speech. +</P> + +<P> +"I am here to arrest you and your party, and save your breath, for you +will need it at the court-martial. Surrender or we shall make you." +</P> + +<P> +"We shall not surrender," answered Allen, calmly. +</P> + +<P> +Allen, Baker and Old Buckskin had got into a corner of the room and +dragged tables and a heavy dresser in front of them. +</P> + +<P> +The English fired at the "rebels" and succeeded only in damaging the +walls and furniture. +</P> + +<P> +Old Buckskin raised his musket, an old friend that had brought down +many a bear and wolf in the forests; he patted it affectionately and +took aim. +</P> + +<P> +Every movement was as calm as though the enemy was a defenseless animal +destined to fall beneath the unerring aim of the hunter. +</P> + +<P> +The soldiers had reloaded and awaited the order to fire. +</P> + +<P> +The musket belched forth its leaden fury, and the lieutenant fell dead. +</P> + +<P> +"No use tackling small fry when the big uns are there," explained the +hunter, as he reloaded. +</P> + +<P> +Allen and Baker had both fired their pistols and wounded two of the +soldiers. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us charge them," suggested Allen, and almost before the words were +uttered the little band of patriots had emerged from behind their +barricade and were pressing the English toward the door. +</P> + +<P> +With their leader dead, and four more dead or wounded, the soldiers +became demoralized, and throwing away their guns, ran just as fast as +they would had a pack of hungry wolves been in pursuit. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall we pursue?" asked Baker. +</P> + +<P> +"No, we will return to the camp. I think we have done all we can this +trip." +</P> + +<P> +The return to the Isle-aux-Noix was accomplished without any adventure, +and Allen was warmly welcomed by Gen. Montgomery. +</P> + +<P> +The young Irish leader had just determined on the siege of St. John, +and the information that Allen could give him proved very useful. +</P> + +<P> +The whole plan of campaign was discussed and considerably modified +after Allen had given his views on the subject. +</P> + +<P> +The Green Mountain warrior suggested that the besiegers should be +protected by what is termed circumvallation—that is, by a line or +series of works surrounding the place, not to serve offensively against +the place, but to defend the siege army from an attack from without. +</P> + +<P> +His plan was adopted and the work was intrusted to him. +</P> + +<P> +The English in St. John watched the preparations and laughed at the +absurdity of the affair. +</P> + +<P> +"Those rebels think they can fight," said the colonel in command. "Let +them make all their preparations, and we will blow them all into +smithereens in no time." +</P> + +<P> +But as he watched the works proceed he was not quite so sanguine. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is leading the rebels?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Gen. Richard Montgomery." +</P> + +<P> +"Montgomery? Not the Irish general who was with the British at +Martinique?" +</P> + +<P> +"The same, Colonel." +</P> + +<P> +"By Jove! by Jupiter! he knows what he is doing. Who is second in +command?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ethan Allen." +</P> + +<P> +"By Jove! we have blundered. We ought never to have allowed them to +come so near. I thought that they were an undisciplined lot of +peasants, who knew nothing about war, and would flee as soon as we +opened fire on them." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps the rank and file will." +</P> + +<P> +"They dare not." +</P> + +<P> +"Why?" +</P> + +<P> +"I was with Montgomery at Havana, and I know that he would turn his gun +on his own men if they showed any signs of retreating. He is the very +devil when fighting." +</P> + +<P> +"What shall we do?' +</P> + +<P> +"I must think." +</P> + +<P> +The colonel had shown his anxiety more than he had intended, and he +must have some time to recover his equilibrium. +</P> + +<P> +In a few minutes he had taken his glass and scanned the enemy's works. +</P> + +<P> +He saw the weak spots and gave orders that they should be charged. +</P> + +<P> +A regiment sallied out and marched with band playing and banners flying. +</P> + +<P> +Allen saw them approach, and at once communicated with Montgomery. +</P> + +<P> +Orders were given to defend the weak places and to be content in +holding the line. +</P> + +<P> +The British had underestimated the courage of the Americans. +</P> + +<P> +They had yet to learn that men fighting for a principle were stronger +than those who fought to obey orders. +</P> + +<P> +Allen knew that many of his men were raw, never having stood up before +an enemy, and that when it came to fighting they might be frightened. +</P> + +<P> +He called his officers together and addressed them. +</P> + +<P> +"It is necessary that we reduce St. Johns, and as it is our first real +battle you must each be responsible for your men. Don't let any +falter. At the first sign of retreat, unless I order it, shoot the +leader; that will prevent the others from running. It is harsh, but +necessary. Now remember that our country depends on us for victory. +We must prove ourselves worthy. Address your companies and inspire +them with courage. Let each man do his duty." +</P> + +<P> +There was a magnetism about Allen which won respect and obedience. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you not think he blundered?" an officer once asked another about +the great Napoleon. +</P> + +<P> +"Blundered? Perhaps he did. But if he ordered me to cut off my hand I +would do it. He owns me body and soul." +</P> + +<P> +And it was just this kind of feeling which animated the men who +followed Ethan Allen. +</P> + +<P> +The British regiment charged the earthworks, and the Americans had all +they could do to hold their position. +</P> + +<P> +The slaughter was large in proportion to the number engaged, and Allen +feared for the result. +</P> + +<P> +But when the English began to retire he ordered his men to follow and +challenge to another combat. +</P> + +<P> +The enemy, seeing the move, turned and prepared to resist the charge of +the Americans. +</P> + +<P> +Then commenced a series of masterly feints which won renown for the +Green Mountain hero. +</P> + +<P> +His men fell back after the first volley, and the English pursued. +</P> + +<P> +Again Allen rallied his men and charged the enemy, only to retreat as +quickly as before. +</P> + +<P> +Three times was this maneuver practiced, and each time the English were +drawn nearer the strongest points of the line of circumvallation. +</P> + +<P> +Montgomery saw, at first with surprise, the movements of his able +coadjutor; then, when the object became apparent, he ordered his +division to be in readiness, and after the third feint, with a loud +shout the entire force of the Americans charged the English and pursued +them into the town, slaughtering them like sheep. +</P> + +<P> +Allen advised forcing an entrance into the town, but Montgomery knew +that the enemy would have every advantage, and that success was very +doubtful. +</P> + +<P> +He preferred to wait, and by strengthening his position compel the +garrison to surrender. +</P> + +<P> +The afternoon saw the white flag floating over both fort and +earthworks. The emblem of peace meant that both sides wished to care +for the wounded and bury the dead. +</P> + +<P> +It is a strange feature of civil war, and the war between the English +and the Americans might be so called, that when the flag of truce is +hoisted the men of both sides are ready to fraternize. +</P> + +<P> +It was so in this instance before St. Johns. +</P> + +<P> +Men who had been aiming at each other an hour previously now drank from +the same canteen and helped to bury each other's dead. +</P> + +<P> +Among the wounded was young Eben Pike. +</P> + +<P> +He was not a soldier; that is, he had never been enrolled among the +men, but, as it was afterward known, he had borrowed the uniform of a +sick soldier and had answered the name when it was called. +</P> + +<P> +Remember Baker was in command of the burying party, and when he saw +Eben he could not help the tears falling on the white face of the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"My poor fellow, are you badly hurt?" he asked, in a tremulous voice. +</P> + +<P> +"I think I have received my call," answered Eben, bravely. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope not. But is there anything I can do for you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I would like to see the colonel." +</P> + +<P> +Eben was placed on a stretcher and carried to the rear. +</P> + +<P> +Very soon Allen was bending over him and asking him about his wounds. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know; I don't seem to bleed much, and yet I am so weak." +</P> + +<P> +The surgeon came quickly at the request of Allen, and made a thorough +examination of the boy. +</P> + +<P> +He was very silent, and no one knew what his verdict would be. +</P> + +<P> +"Am I going home?" asked Eben. +</P> + +<P> +"Going home? Are you tired of fighting?" the surgeon queried. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no, I would like to live and fight until my country is free." +</P> + +<P> +The speech was too much for Eben, for he fainted, and the doctor, after +leaving instructions, went out of the shed which served as hospital, +and called Allen on one side. +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" +</P> + +<P> +"That boy is shocked. It is a peculiar case. Not once in a score of +years do we find such a case. Every nerve is numb, every muscle +relaxed, and whether he will live or die depends on arousing him from +that numbness." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he wounded?" +</P> + +<P> +"Only slightly. A spent ball may have caused the shock. What can we +do to rouse him?" +</P> + +<P> +"That is for you to suggest. What do you think necessary?" +</P> + +<P> +"A counter shock of some kind. Its effects would soon be apparent. If +it succeeds he will be all right in a day; if it fails he will die." +</P> + +<P> +"And without the counter shock?" +</P> + +<P> +"His life is in a very precarious condition." +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know—how would it be to make believe I am killed?" +</P> + +<P> +"The very thing. I will arrange it." +</P> + +<P> +The doctor laid his plans for the very interesting experiment with +great care. +</P> + +<P> +After giving instructions he returned to Eben's cot and felt his pulse. +It was very feeble, and life was fast ebbing away. That was the best +moment to shock him, and on the effect of that shock his life would +depend. +</P> + +<P> +The doctor gave the signal he had arranged, and almost instantly a +pistol shot was heard. +</P> + +<P> +Then a second followed. +</P> + +<P> +Eben opened his eyes and looked round. +</P> + +<P> +A cry pierced the walls of the miserable temporary hospital. +</P> + +<P> +"Ethan Allen killed! Who could be his murderer?" +</P> + +<P> +The words were shouted out as though some one was in great distress +over the great tragedy. +</P> + +<P> +"What did he say?" asked Eben. +</P> + +<P> +"It sounded like 'Ethan Allen murdered,' but, perhaps, I am mistaken." +</P> + +<P> +"Go and see. Stay, I will go, and if any one has killed the best man +on earth I will find him and kill him!" +</P> + +<P> +The blood was coursing faster through the boy's veins; the color had +come back to his cheeks and he forgot his wound. His only thought was +about Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"You stay here; I will go and see about it." +</P> + +<P> +"Let me go, please do, doctor?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, you stay here. If the report is true you will need all your +strength to avenge the death of the brave man." +</P> + +<P> +"You are right. But, doctor, I feel right enough. I wonder what made +me think I was going to die?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will tell you all later. Now lie still. I will not be gone long." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be a minute, please, doctor, or I shall have to come after you." +</P> + +<P> +The surgeon smiled to himself with great satisfaction as he sought the +presence of Ethan Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, how did it go?" asked the mountaineer. +</P> + +<P> +"Like magic. No sooner did he hear the cry than he wanted to get up +and seek your murderer. He is as well as ever he was, though he will +be weak for a day or so." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I go and see him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not yet. Wait until I summon you." +</P> + +<P> +The doctor returned to Eben. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, doctor, it is not true—say it is not true!" +</P> + +<P> +"No, the alarm was a false one." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank Heaven!" +</P> + +<P> +"I am just as well pleased as you. Now try and get some sleep." +</P> + +<P> +"Will you ask the colonel to call and see me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Ah, here he is." +</P> + +<P> +Eben caught Allen's hand and the hot tears flowed over it. He kissed +the hard hand of the mountaineer and stroked it until nature came to +the rescue and Eben fell back asleep. +</P> + +<P> +"He is saved. The countershock did what nothing else could. It was an +interesting experiment." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap27"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A PRISONER. +</H3> + +<P> +Three days later Allen received another command to penetrate into +Canada and seek to interest the Canadians, especially the French, in +the colonial cause. +</P> + +<P> +The Green Mountain Boy would have preferred to stay with the army and +participate in the siege of St. John, but he was a soldier, and a +soldier's first duty is obedience. +</P> + +<P> +He addressed the people in every town and village, and the result was +far beyond his expectations. +</P> + +<P> +In a week he had traversed the country as far as St. Ours, twelve miles +south of Sorel, and had enlisted two hundred and fifty Canadians and +had armed them. +</P> + +<P> +He wrote to Montgomery, telling him of his success, and adding that he +hoped to be with him in three days to take part in the assault on St. +John. +</P> + +<P> +The return march was commenced, and on the second day the advance guard +encountered a regiment of Americans under command of Maj. Brown. +</P> + +<P> +Allen was delighted to meet a brother officer, and regretted that he +had sent half his men forward under command of Remember Baker. +</P> + +<P> +Brown was sanguine and saw a chance of striking a great blow at the +English power. +</P> + +<P> +"Montreal," he said, "is defenseless, and, with your forces united to +mine, we can capture it." +</P> + +<P> +Allen fell in with the suggestion, and a plan was discussed. +</P> + +<P> +The men had met on the east bank of the St. Lawrence, between Longueuil +and Laprairie, and it was arranged that Allen was to cross the river in +canoes a little north of the city, while Brown and the men under his +command were to cross to the south, and, advancing from different +directions, make themselves masters of the works and the garrison. +</P> + +<P> +The difficulty of obtaining canoes delayed Allen. +</P> + +<P> +He sent up and down the river to get boats, either by purchase or by +force, but only succeeded in getting a very few. +</P> + +<P> +He had to cross and recross three times before he landed his little +party on the opposite side. +</P> + +<P> +The night was squally. The wind blew in fearful gusts, and often the +frail boats were in danger of being wrecked. +</P> + +<P> +Allen cheered his men and promised them a glorious victory. +</P> + +<P> +It was sunrise before all had crossed, and then the little party +awaited the signal from Maj. Brown. +</P> + +<P> +An hour passed and no signal was heard. +</P> + +<P> +Half an hour more, and then Allen knew that Brown had not crossed. +</P> + +<P> +His position was critical. +</P> + +<P> +He would have retreated had it been possible, but he would be seen by +the enemy, and a fire opened on the canoes would speedily sink them. +</P> + +<P> +"Men, we are lost. Brown has failed to cross the river. If we could +retreat we would, but that would mean death without glory. We must +stand our ground and die with glory. Our country must never say we +were cowards." +</P> + +<P> +There was a suppressed cheer, and Allen knew that his few men were +ready to make a determined stand. +</P> + +<P> +Very soon they were to be put to the test. +</P> + +<P> +The gates of the city were opened and a body of red-coated British +regulars was seen to emerge; after them came two hundred Canadians, and +an equal number of Indians. +</P> + +<P> +The Americans saw they were outnumbered five to one. +</P> + +<P> +"We will resist to the death!" Allen said to one of his officers, and +the men heard the words and got ready to fight like brave heroes. +</P> + +<P> +Although the British outnumbered the Americans five to one, they acted +with the greatest caution, sheltering themselves behind woodpiles, +houses and in ditches. +</P> + +<P> +Allen's men returned the fire with vigor, and for two hours prevented +the enemy from emerging into the open. +</P> + +<P> +The British regulars began to be irritated at the stubborn resistance +of the few Americans, and made a move which Allen knew was to be an +attempt to flank him. +</P> + +<P> +He called Capt. Lossier and bade him take fifty men and advance to the +right and post himself in an advantageous ditch and to maintain his +position there. +</P> + +<P> +Lossier and his men advanced, but as soon as they came in sight of the +redcoats they made a wild rush for the woods and scattered in all +directions. +</P> + +<P> +To make Allen's position worse, a small detachment on the left, under +the command of Lieut. Young, a Canadian volunteer, also broke rank and +fled, giving the enemy a chance to take up several strong positions. +</P> + +<P> +Allen now found himself with only forty-five men, including the brave +young Eben Pike. +</P> + +<P> +They poured in their volleys as fast as they could load and fire. +</P> + +<P> +In order to do more effective work five men were told off to load, and +as the men who had run away had thrown down their muskets, there was a +good chance to keep the guns cool. +</P> + +<P> +But what could forty-five do against five hundred? +</P> + +<P> +Allen saw that unless he retreated while his rear was open, he would be +surrounded and all his men slaughtered, for he knew the command had +gone out to butcher all found with arms in their hands. +</P> + +<P> +With great reluctance he gave the order to retreat. The Indians were +rapidly gaining in the direction of the rear, and only fleet feet would +give the Americans a chance. +</P> + +<P> +Although the Americans could run, they were no match for the Indians, +and Allen found himself surrounded. +</P> + +<P> +He had only twenty-eight men left, and yet he would not surrender. +</P> + +<P> +With fixed bayonets the little band waited the onslaught of the +British, who were only a few yards away on all sides. +</P> + +<P> +An English captain, mad at the way in which his men had been kept at +bay, snatched a musket from the hands of one of his men and fired at +Allen. +</P> + +<P> +Although only a few yards distant, the ball missed, and Allen, not to +be thought wanting in reciprocal feelings, fired at the captain, but +both were too much blown to take aim, so the shots were wasted. +</P> + +<P> +"Coward!" shouted Allen—"cowards all! To think that it took five +hundred men to capture twoscore patriots!" +</P> + +<P> +The captain answered back and demanded surrender. +</P> + +<P> +"As prisoners of war?" asked Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"No. As rebels." +</P> + +<P> +"Then, by the great Jehovah, I will die fighting! Men, let us resist +to the death!" +</P> + +<P> +To the surprise of the English, a volley was fired into their ranks, +and the Americans prepared to load again. +</P> + +<P> +Seven more of Allen's men had fallen wounded, while twelve of the +English had been made to bite the dust. +</P> + +<P> +"On what terms will you surrender?" asked the captain. +</P> + +<P> +"That we shall all be recognized as prisoners of war and receive +honorable treatment." +</P> + +<P> +"On the word of a British officer, your terms shall be accepted." +</P> + +<P> +The Americans threw down their arms. +</P> + +<P> +As Allen presented his sword to the officer a naked savage, with +hellish visage, made still more repulsive by the fact that half his +head was shaved and the other half adorned with feathers, rushed at +Allen and placed his musket at his head. +</P> + +<P> +Allen caught the English captain and swung him between the Indian and +himself, but the savage flew round with incredible swiftness and great +fury, trying to kill the brave mountaineer without injuring the officer. +</P> + +<P> +Allen succeeded in keeping the Englishman between him and the savage, +but another Indian came rushing up and Allen gave all up as lost. +</P> + +<P> +"Arrah, be jabers, if I can shtand that same!" shouted an Irishman in +the service of England. +</P> + +<P> +He rushed forward with fixed bayonet, risking punishment for breaking +rank, and swearing by his forefathers that he would kill the "haythen," +rescued Allen. +</P> + +<P> +Thus, while Montgomery was waiting for him at St. John, Ethan Allen was +a prisoner in the hands of the English and being marched into Montreal +a captive. +</P> + +<P> +In the barrack yard Gen. Prescott confronted him. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you the Col. Allen who captured Ticonderoga?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I am." +</P> + +<P> +A long string of expletives poured from the general's lips, and he +swore that Allen should be shot. +</P> + +<P> +He raised his cane to strike Allen across the face, but the Green +Mountain Boy placed himself in fighting attitude. +</P> + +<P> +"I am unarmed, you coward, but strike me and I will show you that my +fists can smash your dastardly head." +</P> + +<P> +An officer pulled the English general away, and Allen had no +opportunity to avenge himself at that time. +</P> + +<P> +"By Jove! I'll hang every one of you," shouted Gen. Prescott. +"Colonel, see that thirteen of these d—d rebels are hanged within an +hour; take the first thirteen—quick—there shall be no delay." +</P> + +<P> +"If you dare to do it, I swear that you shall die within an hour +after," shouted Allen, defiantly. +</P> + +<P> +It was a strange threat for an unarmed prisoner to make. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap28"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ON THE GASPEE. +</H3> + +<P> +Never before had English officer been spoken to in that manner by +prisoner. +</P> + +<P> +Prescott knew not what to make of it. Had he dared he would have shot +Allen on the spot, but he well knew that to do so would be the cause of +an investigation into his conduct, and Prescott was guilty of many +things which, if sworn to before a court-martial, would have led to his +dismissal from the army, if no other punishment was incurred. +</P> + +<P> +So he allowed himself to be led away, but as he went he shook his fist +at Allen and shouted: +</P> + +<P> +"I will not hang them just now, but you, you infernal rebel, shall +grace a halter at Tyburn." +</P> + +<P> +Even the soldiers shuddered as they heard the threat, for Tyburn was +the place, in England, where the most brutal murderers and criminals +were hung in chains and allowed to stay there until their flesh rotted +from their bones. +</P> + +<P> +To be hung at Tyburn carried with it disgrace throughout all +generations. +</P> + +<P> +Gen. Prescott was in a fury; why, it was difficult to say, for Allen +had never injured him personally. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll hang that fellow," he reiterated to the colonel of his own +regiment. +</P> + +<P> +"My dear Prescott, you will do nothing of the kind; he is a prisoner of +war." +</P> + +<P> +"War be hanged! he is a rebel, not a soldier." +</P> + +<P> +"And being a rebel, he must be tried by the home authorities." +</P> + +<P> +"Col. Gilmartin, answer me; if he were to be on board a war ship and +fall overboard and be drowned, could I be blamed?" +</P> + +<P> +"Of course not." +</P> + +<P> +"If by accident he should be given a dose of oxalic acid in mistake for +Epsom salts, would that be charged against me?" +</P> + +<P> +"What are you hinting at, general?" +</P> + +<P> +"That fellow threatened me——" +</P> + +<P> +"He was exasperated." +</P> + +<P> +"What right had he to be? A man who rebels should be ready for any +treatment by his superiors. Hang me, if I dared, I would cut every +rebel into pieces and send the parts to his friends with my +compliments. They deserve such treatment. Hang me, what right have +they to rebel?" +</P> + +<P> +"They think they have a right." +</P> + +<P> +"They think! Who are they? A lot of rapscalions who could not be +content with their own country, but must come out here, and when we +allow them to do so, they rebel. Englishmen worthy of the name never +rebel." +</P> + +<P> +"And yet, general, there were a good many worthy Englishmen who +rebelled against James and supported William the Third." +</P> + +<P> +"That was different, Gilmartin, different; they were patriots, and not +rebels." +</P> + +<P> +"As these men will be if they are successful." +</P> + +<P> +"But they cannot be successful—they cannot be. This fellow, Allen, +was a farmer. He calls himself colonel. Fancy, of the same rank as +you, Gilmartin, while you were trained in your boyhood for the army, +and when you were old enough got a commission——" +</P> + +<P> +"Which I purchased, as I have had to every promotion." +</P> + +<P> +Col. Gilmartin felt sore over his tardy promotions, and never waited a +second opportunity to tell his grievances. +</P> + +<P> +Prescott had been one of the fortunates ones; he had obtained his +promotion easily, so he was satisfied with the condition of the army. +</P> + +<P> +He was in no humor to listen to any complaints, and so he stopped his +brother officer by saying: +</P> + +<P> +"Order at once the placing of that fellow, Allen, in the heaviest +irons—stay, I will give the order myself." +</P> + +<P> +He sent for his orderly and gave instructions for Allen to be placed in +heavy irons and taken at once on board the <I>Gaspee</I>, war ship, and all +the other prisoners to be ironed and placed on board the other ships in +the river. +</P> + +<P> +The soldiers were pleased with the order, and proceeded to carry it out +to the extreme limit. +</P> + +<P> +Ordinary handcuffs were used for the wrists, two prisoners being +manacled together, Allen being fortunate in having Eben for his fellow. +</P> + +<P> +But on the legs the irons were simply horrible. +</P> + +<P> +Anklets, very tight, were locked on each leg, and attached, in the +middle of the connecting chain, to a bar of iron weighing forty pounds. +</P> + +<P> +The soldiers laughed as they fastened this heavy weight on Allen's +legs, telling him that it was the "king's plate." +</P> + +<P> +The irons were so close that it was impossible for the prisoner to lie +in any position save on his back. +</P> + +<P> +Allen and Eben were taken to the lowest deck of the schooner <I>Gaspee</I>, +and a more stifling, filthy, ill-ventilated place it would be +impossible to find. +</P> + +<P> +A mock salute was tendered to the hero of Ticonderoga as he entered the +place, and out of consideration of his rank he was accorded a tool +chest on which to sit, and which was also to serve as sleeping place. +</P> + +<P> +"Can I help you any?" whispered the guard, about an hour after Allen +had been placed on the chest. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish you could get me some little blocks of wood to rest the iron +on," answered Allen, gratefully. +</P> + +<P> +The man secured the blocks and so saved the constant strain of forty +pounds of iron pulling at the victim's legs. +</P> + +<P> +While the men were kind and considerate, those in authority were just +the reverse. +</P> + +<P> +Every indignity possible was heaped on the unfortunate prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +It was midnight, on the first day of Allen's imprisonment, and the +Americans had managed to fall asleep. +</P> + +<P> +Eben was lying at Allen's feet, enduring the most horrible tortures +because of the irons, but never complaining for fear that he might be +separated from his hero. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly their sleep was disturbed by a loud voice asking where the +rebels had been placed. +</P> + +<P> +It was the captain's voice, and he knew well, for he had ordered every +detail. +</P> + +<P> +"They are here, captain." +</P> + +<P> +"Let them stand up." +</P> + +<P> +Allen rose with difficulty, and staggered as he tried to stand at +"attention." +</P> + +<P> +"Drunk, eh? Here, sergeant, see to it that this rebel does not have a +drop of anything to drink for twenty-four hours." +</P> + +<P> +"Except water, captain?" +</P> + +<P> +"I said not a drop of anything. He is drunk." +</P> + +<P> +"Please, sir, he has had nothing to——" +</P> + +<P> +"Silence! Do you want to be ordered to the hold?" +</P> + +<P> +The sergeant was silent, though his whole nature rebelled against such +treatment. +</P> + +<P> +The captain looked at Allen for a minute, then he asked: +</P> + +<P> +"You were at Ticonderoga?" +</P> + +<P> +"And I treated the prisoners with justice," answered Allen. +</P> + +<P> +The only reply was a vigorous kick from the officer's well-shod foot. +</P> + +<P> +Allen bit his lips, but did not resent the affront. +</P> + +<P> +He knew that it was done to provoke him so that his persecutors might +have an excuse for inflicting some terrible punishment on him. +</P> + +<P> +"See to it that these rebels do not sit down until I give permission." +</P> + +<P> +It was the parting order of the captain, and the sergeant blushed with +shame as he heard the command. +</P> + +<P> +When the officer left the deck Allen sat down. +</P> + +<P> +"You must not do that, sir," said the sergeant, kindly; "you heard my +orders." +</P> + +<P> +"I know, but I shall die unless——" +</P> + +<P> +"Lie down, sir; I shall not stop you doing that. The orders were that +you must not sit." +</P> + +<P> +Once more the two prisoners were lying down on their backs; the irons +prevented their reposing on their sides. +</P> + +<P> +By daylight the prisoners were nearly dead with thirst, but not a drop +of water was allowed them. +</P> + +<P> +The captain made his round of inspection at seven o'clock, and Allen +asked if they were to be allowed to have anything to eat or drink. +</P> + +<P> +"No. You will get a rope round your necks soon, and it won't matter +whether you are hungry or not." +</P> + +<P> +"But, sir, you have no right——" +</P> + +<P> +"Stay, there! You are a rebel and have forfeited all right to be +considered in the matter." +</P> + +<P> +Eben listened to the insulting words, and he was in such a position +that he was able to drag his iron bar right across the captain's path. +</P> + +<P> +As the officer stepped back he tripped over the iron and fell sprawling +on the deck. +</P> + +<P> +"Beg your pardon, captain, but I am not accustomed to move about with a +bar of iron on my leg, so couldn't tell where it was going to land." +</P> + +<P> +Eben spoke so seriously that even the captain thought it might have +been an accident; so, after cursing the young Vermonter, he left the +place. +</P> + +<P> +Then Eben laughed heartily. +</P> + +<P> +"Forfeited all right, have we? Well, I have found one way of humbling +an Englishman." +</P> + +<P> +"Eben, you ought not to have done it." +</P> + +<P> +"Ought not? Why, I only regretted that we were not near enough to the +side so that he would have fallen into the water." +</P> + +<P> +"Hush!" +</P> + +<P> +"You are not to have anything to drink, nor anything to eat, but hang +me if I'm going to see you starve, so here, stow this into your mouth +and suck like mad." +</P> + +<P> +The kind-hearted sergeant pushed a piece of hard boiled beef into +Allen's mouth. +</P> + +<P> +Allen was too good a hunter not to know that the beef was prepared in +such a way that, though tasteless, it nourished, and by sucking on it +the saliva was promoted and thirst quenched. +</P> + +<P> +After Eben had been served in the same way the sergeant laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't give you aught to drink, nor aught to eat, but you'll get +there all the same, and I ain't broken the rule." +</P> + +<P> +"If ever I get the chance to remember your kindness, my memory will +serve me." +</P> + +<P> +"That's all right. I expect you'll get hanged, but blow me if I could +see a dog starve, and you're a trump anyway, though you be a rebel." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap29"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND. +</H3> + +<P> +Three days after his capture, Ethan Allen heard an extraordinary noise +on the upper deck, and he knew that the <I>Gaspee</I> was about to sail. +But its destination he did not know. +</P> + +<P> +After the first day the prisoners were allowed to have one meal a day, +for, as Prescott told Allen, he did not want to cheat the gallows. +</P> + +<P> +The <I>Gaspee</I> was bound for Quebec, and the prisoners were overjoyed at +the prospect of a change. +</P> + +<P> +"It cannot be for the worse," said one of the Americans to Allen; +"therefore we shall be the gainers." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish they would hang us right away," answered the hero of +Ticonderoga, "for I am tired of this life." +</P> + +<P> +"We shall all be free——" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, when in our graves." +</P> + +<P> +"Do not get downhearted, colonel; we have pulled through many a hard +row before now." +</P> + +<P> +There was a consolation in having company, and the prisoners from the +other ships had been crowded on the <I>Gaspee</I>. +</P> + +<P> +"March out the rebels." +</P> + +<P> +All heard the order given, and each looked at his fellow with anxious +glance. +</P> + +<P> +It might be a farewell to them. Who could tell? +</P> + +<P> +The leg irons were unlocked and the prisoners marched up the +companionway to the upper deck. +</P> + +<P> +As they reached the deck the fresh air was almost overwhelming, for +they had not breathed any for several days. +</P> + +<P> +They were marshaled in line and awaited their doom. +</P> + +<P> +Soon a bedecked officer appeared on deck accompanied by one of the most +villainous-looking seamen that ever stepped upon a deck. +</P> + +<P> +"Are these all?" asked the English officer. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, general." +</P> + +<P> +"Which is Ethan Allen?" +</P> + +<P> +Allen was pointed out, and the gold-laced, red-coated officer raised +his pince-nez and looked at Allen as he would at any curiosity. +</P> + +<P> +"Which is Eben Pike?" +</P> + +<P> +The young scout was pointed out by the officer in charge, and he had to +undergo a similar inspection. +</P> + +<P> +"And these are rebels? Well, well! England has nothing to fear if +this is a sample of those fighting against her. So you are Ethan +Allen? You are the man who broke into Ticonderoga? Well, well, well! +You achieved fame, but whether it will avail you much when you stand on +the gallows is for you to say." +</P> + +<P> +The English officer had jerked out these sentences more to himself than +to the prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +He turned to the villainous old salt by his side. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you think of your cargo?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'd rather have pigs." +</P> + +<P> +"You show sense, but as you cannot have pigs you must take these. You +are under bonds to land them in England—how I don't care—only they +must have strength enough to stand upright on the gallows, for Jack +Ketch must not have too great a task." +</P> + +<P> +The seaman chuckled. +</P> + +<P> +"I've carried lots of cattle afore, and I never lose any, save a few I +toss overboard to save trouble. I'll land these or give an account of +'em." +</P> + +<P> +Every word was uttered with a view of enraging the prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +Allen learned afterward that the provocation was intended and +deliberate, its object being to get him to commit some overt act so +that he could be hanged or shot for insubordination. +</P> + +<P> +The seaman was the captain of a sailing merchantman bound for England, +who had been engaged to transport the Americans to that country. +</P> + +<P> +After a list had been made of the prisoners they were marched off the +<I>Gaspee</I> onto a barge, which was towed out to a merchantman lying in +the bay. Four rowboats were engaged to tow the barge, and just as they +started the hawser broke and the barge was adrift. +</P> + +<P> +After several minor accidents the prisoners were landed on the deck of +the merchantman, and soon found they had exchanged bad for worse. +</P> + +<P> +A portion of the vessel had been boarded off by white oak planks, +making a space about twenty-two feet long by twenty feet wide. +</P> + +<P> +Into this space thirty-four American prisoners were pushed, handcuffed +in pairs. +</P> + +<P> +Allen refused to enter. +</P> + +<P> +The captain asked who he was that he should dare to disobey orders. +</P> + +<P> +"I surrendered to the British under a pledge that I should be treated +as a prisoner of war, and I demand that we shall all be treated as +human beings, not as cattle." +</P> + +<P> +The captain laughed brutishly. +</P> + +<P> +"Ha! ha! ha! That is good! Do you think I would treat cattle that +way? They would all be dead before they reached England. No, no, my +dear rebel! you are treated as rebels, not cattle." +</P> + +<P> +Two seamen took hold of Allen and threw him into the little inclosure, +closing the door as soon as he was within. +</P> + +<P> +An hour later Allen was called out. +</P> + +<P> +A lieutenant had asked to see him. +</P> + +<P> +"So you are Ethan Allen?" the English lieutenant asked. +</P> + +<P> +"That is my name." +</P> + +<P> +"Then, apart from the pleasure I have in seeing you here, I have but +one greater joy, and that is that I am able to treat you like this." +</P> + +<P> +The officer spat in Allen's face. +</P> + +<P> +The Green Mountain hero's hands were manacled, but he raised them and +brought them down with such force on the man's face that he fell +headlong on the deck. +</P> + +<P> +Instantly Allen was surrounded with bayonets. +</P> + +<P> +He was considered dangerous, and had to be forced back into the prison +inclosure. +</P> + +<P> +The vessel set sail, and every day the captain taunted the prisoners +with their captivity, and took every means to make them suffer. +</P> + +<P> +Some days, when the weather was more than ordinarily oppressive, he +would order that no water should be given, and as the food consisted of +salt pork and bread, or ship's biscuit, it can be well imagined how +much they all suffered. +</P> + +<P> +After the vessel had been out twenty days one of the prisoners crawled +up to Allen and whispered into his ear: +</P> + +<P> +"Can we live much longer like this?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid not." +</P> + +<P> +"Then let us put an end to it." +</P> + +<P> +"How?" +</P> + +<P> +"Will you agree to join us?" +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot answer that until I know what is proposed." +</P> + +<P> +"If you do not want to join, you will not betray us?" +</P> + +<P> +"What do you think of me? Have I ever been a sneak?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, colonel, but the scheme is a desperate one." +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"To seize the ship and then take her into port as a captured vessel." +</P> + +<P> +"How can it be done?" +</P> + +<P> +"Jack—you know Jack, the one who brings us tobacco?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; he is a kind-hearted Englishman." +</P> + +<P> +"He isn't English, he is Irish. Now, he will file off these handcuffs +and give me the file. By working at every opportunity we can all be +free in a few days; then all we have to do is to force our way out and +seize the skipper. We will throw him overboard, and kill all who +oppose us; then the ship will be ours and we can sell it and divide the +prize money." +</P> + +<P> +"My good fellow, we cannot do it." +</P> + +<P> +"Why?" +</P> + +<P> +"If we seized the ship we should have to sink it, for no one would +purchase it. But I will not countenance murder." +</P> + +<P> +"It is not murder, it is war." +</P> + +<P> +"War is brutal, I know, but when it comes to seizing a captain on board +his own vessel and killing him, that is not war, but murder, or piracy." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, you will not betray us?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. Only give me a chance to fight openly and I will do so, but I +will not kill a man in cold blood." +</P> + +<P> +"But, colonel, you will not interfere with us?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. Only do not tell me anything you are doing." +</P> + +<P> +Allen did not understand that in war all things were justifiable. +</P> + +<P> +He was a gentleman all the way through, and would not fight unless he +could do so honorably. +</P> + +<P> +Whether Jack failed to find the file, or that the prisoners decided not +to mutiny, Allen never knew, but no attempt was ever made to secure +freedom, and after forty days' torture land was sighted. +</P> + +<P> +The prisoners were ordered on deck. +</P> + +<P> +It was a glorious change for them, for they had not breathed a breath +of pure air for forty days. +</P> + +<P> +As they stood on the deck the captain pointed out the distant land. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know what land that is?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +There was no response; the American prisoners were too much engaged in +inhaling all the fresh air they could to care about talking. +</P> + +<P> +"That is Land's End, in England. You will soon be there, and then you +will all be hanged. A short life and a wretched one will be yours from +now on. That is all. Take the prisoners back to their palatial +quarters." +</P> + +<P> +The captain may have thought he was inflicting torture on the +prisoners, but he was mistaken. They were not afraid of the fate which +awaited them. +</P> + +<P> +If they were to die, they would prefer to die on land to being tortured +to death in the hold of a small ship. +</P> + +<P> +As one of the prisoners quoted the words of an older rebel in England: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"The noblest place for man to die<BR> +Is where he dies for man."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +So all felt that if they were to be hanged in England they would be +tried, and on their trial they would be able to make their defense and +let the world know under what grievances the American colonies were +suffering. +</P> + +<P> +In two days the vessel landed in Falmouth Harbor. +</P> + +<P> +The news that the vessel had on board a number of American prisoners +caused thousands of people to flock to the wharf. +</P> + +<P> +The greatest curiosity was manifested. +</P> + +<P> +Had a cargo of wild beasts entered port the curiosity could not have +been greater. +</P> + +<P> +In fact, Allen soon learned that the Americans were looked upon as wild +beasts or savages, and certainly not as civilized beings. +</P> + +<P> +The windows were filled with members of the fair sex, the sidewalks of +the old English town were closely packed by men and children. +</P> + +<P> +Hour after hour they waited to see the show. +</P> + +<P> +A lot of detail, commonly called "red tape," had to be attended to +before the prisoners were allowed to land. +</P> + +<P> +A military band escorted a regiment of redcoats down to the dock, and +the necessary papers for the transfer of the prisoners were exchanged. +</P> + +<P> +Then across the gangplank walked Ethan Allen and Eben Pike, handcuffed +together. +</P> + +<P> +The people on the dock pushed and stared at the Green Mountain men. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, they aren't green!" exclaimed one of the bystanders with disgust. +</P> + +<P> +"No, they aren't Americans; they're Irish," said another. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course they're Irish; Americans are black." +</P> + +<P> +"No, red." +</P> + +<P> +"Not by a long shot; they're all as yellow as guineas." +</P> + +<P> +Absurd as it may appear at this day to have to record such ideas, it is +an absolute fact that when it was rumored that the Green Mountain +heroes were on their way to England the prevalent idea was that they +derived their name from the color of their skin. +</P> + +<P> +When the other prisoners disembarked the march was commenced to the +barracks. +</P> + +<P> +The people flocked round the prisoners so that progress was impeded. +</P> + +<P> +The soldiers had to charge the crowd with bayonets many times. +</P> + +<P> +"What did they mean by saying they thought we were Irish?" asked Eben. +"I heard an Englishman say in New York that if it had not been for the +Irish the Americans would not have rebelled. Of course it was +nonsense, but the people do not know us yet, while they do know the +Irish." +</P> + +<P> +At the barracks the prisoners were received with as much curiosity as +we can imagine was shown by Ferdinand and Isabella when Columbus +presented the American Indians in 1492. +</P> + +<P> +Every man was made to answer a lot of questions, and many times over. +</P> + +<P> +Allen was questioned about the strength of the American army, and +replied: +</P> + +<P> +"I know not its numbers, but it is well equipped and can beat all the +armies you can send over there." +</P> + +<P> +"They are rebels, and only the lowest people sympathize with them." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you call George Washington a common man?" asked Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"He is a rebel, and ought to know better." +</P> + +<P> +"And Richard Montgomery, who fought with you at Havana and Martinique?" +</P> + +<P> +"Is he with the rebels?" +</P> + +<P> +"I had the honor of serving under him." +</P> + +<P> +"He will be hanged, for he was a soldier of his majesty." +</P> + +<P> +"You will have to capture him first." +</P> + +<P> +They could not make anything of Allen, so they desisted questioning and +sent all the prisoners to the guardroom. +</P> + +<P> +It was a difficult question for the government of England to decide. +</P> + +<P> +The men were locked up in the barracks at Falmouth, but England did not +know what to do with them. +</P> + +<P> +If the prisoners were hanged as rebels, England would be blamed by +other civilized nations, and yet it would not do to pardon them. +</P> + +<P> +There was a very powerful opposition among the English people to harsh +measures, and, in fact, many English wished America success in its +struggle with the tory ministry. +</P> + +<P> +And so Allen and his friends remained in jail, simply because the +ministry did not know what to do with them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap30"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +IRISH HOSPITALITY. +</H3> + +<P> +Some months later the ministry decided to deport the American +prisoners, and the captain of the <I>Solebay</I>, man-of-war, was ordered to +take the prisoners back to America under sealed orders. +</P> + +<P> +It was a pleasant change to leave the barrack prison, even for +captivity on board a man-of-war. +</P> + +<P> +Gradually the strictness had relaxed and the prisoners were treated +better, and Allen fully believed that the meaning of the return to +America was that they were to be liberated in exchange. +</P> + +<P> +The master of arms on the <I>Solebay</I> was an Irishman named Michael +Gilligan, and the vessel had only been out two nights when Gilligan +sought Allen and offered him his friendship. +</P> + +<P> +"And it's meself as would be a rebel if I were free, but, bad cess to +it, I was pressed, and so I made the best of a bad job, and will fight +for the flag because it is my duty." +</P> + +<P> +"I admire a brave Englishman——" Allen commenced, but was cut short +with the remark: +</P> + +<P> +"I'm not an Englishman, but I'm Irish, and my people are all rebels. +Will ye let me be your friend?" +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be only too pleased." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you'll berth with me. Sure it's not such a place as I'd like to +be offering you, but it's better than this." +</P> + +<P> +Gilligan held a similar rank to that of a sergeant of a regiment, and +was a man of considerable importance on board. +</P> + +<P> +He had a berth between decks, inclosed in canvas, and, as it was large, +Allen had plenty of room. +</P> + +<P> +When Cork, or rather the Cove of Cork, now called Queenstown, was +reached and the <I>Solebay</I> cast anchor, the rumor spread through the +cove that a number of American rebels were on board. +</P> + +<P> +Allen was standing on deck looking over the finest harbor in Europe, +when his attention was called to a small boat hailing the war ship. +</P> + +<P> +Some men climbed up on deck and asked for Col. Allen, of America. +</P> + +<P> +Allen was so close that he could not help hearing, and he answered that +he was Ethan Allen. +</P> + +<P> +John Hays, a merchant of Cork, clasped Allen's hand and tried to speak, +but, instead of words, tears flowed down his cheeks and his voice was +choked. +</P> + +<P> +When he did master his emotion he exclaimed, with patriarchal fervor: +</P> + +<P> +"Heaven bless you and all brave men like you who are fighting for +liberty." +</P> + +<P> +He introduced his friend, merchant Clark, also of Cork, and said their +mission was to offer the patriots such things as they stood in need of. +</P> + +<P> +Clothes, or money, or food would be willingly given if Allen would only +say what was most needed. +</P> + +<P> +The offer was gratifying, and Allen expressed a wish for clothes for +the prisoners. He explained that, though prisoners for several months, +they had not received a change of clothes, and that some were +absolutely in rags. +</P> + +<P> +The next day a boat well laden pulled to the <I>Solebay</I>, and suits of +clothes were found for each of the thirty-four prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +A complete suit of underwear, an outer suit of warm material, an +overcoat and two extra shirts, were bestowed on each of the prisoners, +while Allen received superfine broadcloth sufficient for two jackets, +and two pairs of breaches, in addition to a suit already made. He also +received eight fine Holland shirts and socks ready made, a number of +pairs of silk hose, two pairs of shoes, two beaver hats, one of which, +richly laced with gold, came from James Bonwell, a wealthy merchant of +Cork. +</P> + +<P> +On the following day the boat returned to the ship laden with wines, +spirits, sugar, tea and chocolate, a large round of picked +[Transcriber's note: pickled?] beef, a number of fat turkeys and many +other articles for Allen's personal use, while each of the men received +two pounds of tea and six pounds of sugar, with plenty of meat, +chickens and turkeys for the mess table of the prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +Two days after the receipt of the stores the captain prohibited +anything more being delivered to the prisoners, and took away +everything which the men of Cork had given except the clothing. +</P> + +<P> +He shouted himself hoarse about the way the rebels were being feasted. +</P> + +<P> +"I heard him say," says Ethan Allen, in his autobiography, "that by all +that was holy the American rebels should not be feasted by the rebels +of Ireland." +</P> + +<P> +An application was made by the Mayor of Cork for permission to be +granted to Ethan Allen to attend a banquet to be given in his honor by +the city, the mayor and ten leading citizens being willing to give bond +for his return to the ship the next morning. +</P> + +<P> +The application was refused, and the captain gave order to weigh anchor +and put out to sea. +</P> + +<P> +"Sure and the skipper is as hot as a roast pertater," said Gilligan; +"he thinks for sure that the rebels of Cork will take you all off the +ship by force, so he is going to put out to sea." +</P> + +<P> +The <I>Solebay</I> left Cork harbor that day and did not return. +</P> + +<P> +After a long sail the shore of North Carolina was reached, and the +hearts of the Americans beat high with hope. +</P> + +<P> +The captain was almost amiable, but it was with a fiendish glee caused +by the belief that the American prisoners were to be hanged on American +soil. +</P> + +<P> +"I want to see," he said, to Allen, "American trees bearing the best +fruit, and plenty of it." +</P> + +<P> +"I am sure I re-echo your wish," answered Allen, whereupon the captain +laughed and declared that the fruit he meant was dead Americans hanging +from the boughs. +</P> + +<P> +For several weeks the <I>Solebay</I> stayed at Cape Fear, and the prisoners +were treated with great harshness. +</P> + +<P> +One morning their hopes were again raised by an order for all to appear +on deck. +</P> + +<P> +"Stand in line!" ordered the officer. +</P> + +<P> +The men did so and the roll was called. +</P> + +<P> +"Colonel Allen, step forward!" +</P> + +<P> +It was the first time he had been addressed by his title, and all +thought it meant an exchange at least. +</P> + +<P> +"Now select fifteen of the most deserving men among your company, and +order them to stand out." +</P> + +<P> +Allen selected the desired number. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Col. Allen. The fifteen will remain, the others can go +below. The fifteen will be hanged to-morrow morning at sunrise. I +thank you in the name of his majesty for having selected the most +worthy." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap31"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A DARING SWIM. +</H3> + +<P> +"Coward!" +</P> + +<P> +It was only one word, but that one word contained a wealth of contempt +and scorn which made the officer tremble. +</P> + +<P> +"Place those men in chains!" +</P> + +<P> +The sergeant of marines saluted and gave the order to the remaining +prisoners to return to their prison place. +</P> + +<P> +Allen countermanded the order. +</P> + +<P> +"Listen to me. I am a freeborn man, and, though a prisoner, I am a +prisoner of war. I was promised fair treatment for myself and men if +we would surrender at Quebec. Is this what you call fair treatment?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am very sorry for you, Col. Allen; but, since I am a soldier, I am +compelled to obey orders." +</P> + +<P> +"And who gave you such an order?" +</P> + +<P> +"That I may not answer—as you ought to know, being a soldier yourself." +</P> + +<P> +"Are these men to be hanged?" +</P> + +<P> +"So I was ordered to say. I have only acted according to instructions." +</P> + +<P> +It was the man that spoke, not the officer. His softened voice showed +that he had carried out a very distasteful order, and that his manhood +revolted at it. +</P> + +<P> +"Can I not make an appeal personally to the general commanding?" +</P> + +<P> +"That would be impossible." +</P> + +<P> +"Are these men to be hanged without trial?" +</P> + +<P> +"Col. Allen, you are a brave man, and can face the worst. I am told, +though I ought not to tell you, that the American rebels have gained +several advantages lately, and the British authorities are determined +to stamp out the rebellion; so——" He paused. The man was ashamed to +utter what he had heard. Gathering courage from Allen's silence he +continued: "We are told that no prisoners are to be treated as +prisoners of war, but as outlaws and rebels, to shoot whom will be +considered a meritorious act." +</P> + +<P> +"And the object?" +</P> + +<P> +"Can you not see? It is to strike terror into the rebels." +</P> + +<P> +"So be it! But, mark me, I speak as a rebel, but also as a man, and I +tell you that for every American hanged without due process of law, ten +Englishmen shall die. Do not mistake me! I shall be a free man again, +and shall make England suffer. The leaders of the Americans, called by +you rebels, will know of this murder and will avenge it." +</P> + +<P> +The British officer made no reply, but waved his hand to the sergeant, +who removed the ill-fated fifteen. +</P> + +<P> +By some chance Allen had omitted Eben's name from the fifteen, and +while he regretted it at first, he was more than pleased now that the +oversight had occurred. +</P> + +<P> +When the prisoners were removed to their part of the lower deck, Eben +managed to get close to Allen. +</P> + +<P> +"You don't think they will hang those?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know, my boy. I think they are vile enough for anything." +</P> + +<P> +"I heard that officer, who came aboard with dispatches, say that there +was a lot of the patriots close here." +</P> + +<P> +"Of our people?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"That accounts for it, then. They will hang the prisoners as an act of +defiance." +</P> + +<P> +"Colonel, I have an idea." +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, Eben?" +</P> + +<P> +"Come closer to me, for I must whisper very softly." +</P> + +<P> +Eben managed so that his mouth was very close to Allen's ear, and then +he told of his plan. +</P> + +<P> +"I can slip over into the water when it is quite dark and swim to land; +then I can make my way to the patriots and tell them the straits we are +in." +</P> + +<P> +"You could not reach the land." +</P> + +<P> +"Not reach it? Why, colonel, have you forgotten how I swam across dear +old Champlain and then back again?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am not likely to forget that." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I am sure I can do this little bit." +</P> + +<P> +"But they will fire on you?" +</P> + +<P> +"If they see me; and that is just what I am going to prevent." +</P> + +<P> +"How?" +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind that, colonel. Only give your consent and I will succeed, +and I think I can save the lives of our friends." +</P> + +<P> +"Eben, you are very brave. Can you bear to think of your fate?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have thought of it. If we stay here we shall be hanged; if I fail +to reach land I shall drown, and I think I would rather drown than be +hanged. What say you, colonel?" +</P> + +<P> +"My dear fellow, you must act as you think best." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, colonel. Good-by; I may never see you again." +</P> + +<P> +"Good-by, Eben. Take care of yourself, and may Heaven bless you." +</P> + +<P> +Several times Allen tried to communicate with Eben, and to try to +dissuade him from his hazardous undertaking, but the youth felt +instinctively that he would do so, and remained out of reach of his +beloved colonel's voice. +</P> + +<P> +When night came Eben managed to get to the side of the ship unobserved, +and in a few moments he had dropped noiselessly into the water. +</P> + +<P> +But, as ill luck would have it, he got entangled in some chains as he +struck out from the ship, and the noise attracted the attention of the +guard. +</P> + +<P> +"Man overboard!" he cried. +</P> + +<P> +Allen heard the cry and his heart stood still, for he was sure Eben +would be captured, and then nothing could save his life. +</P> + +<P> +The officer in charge of the prisoners heard the cry also, and at once +ordered every man to answer to his name. +</P> + +<P> +It was the work of but a few minutes, and it was ascertained that Eben +had really escaped. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you see him?" asked the captain. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Fire on him!" +</P> + +<P> +Several muskets were fired, and had not the Vermonter been an excellent +swimmer he would have been killed. But Eben dived and swam under the +water a great distance, and the bullets were deflected by the water. +</P> + +<P> +A boat was lowered and the stoutest sailors, with four marines, manned +it. +</P> + +<P> +"Ten pounds to the man who kills him," said the captain, "and twenty +for the man who brings him in alive." +</P> + +<P> +There was a stimulus in the offer of reward, although the Englishmen, +every one of them, would have gloried in the chase and in hunting the +boy to his death without even the chance of a reward. +</P> + +<P> +Eben saw the boat coming after him, and he knew that he was in a race +for life. +</P> + +<P> +He was not daunted. +</P> + +<P> +He watched the boat skim through the moonlit water, and he floated for +some little distance to ascertain whether he was seen. +</P> + +<P> +Assured of that, he laughed quietly to himself over the chase he would +give them. +</P> + +<P> +He dashed the water about as though he was about to sink, and instantly +a musket ball struck the water within a few feet of him. +</P> + +<P> +Then he dived and swam in another direction, knowing that the boat +would continue on its straight track. +</P> + +<P> +When he reappeared above the water he saw that he had gained very +materially on his pursuers, and as he did not care what part of the +coast he reached, he again dived and swam farther down the shore. +</P> + +<P> +When he came to the surface and floated, he looked round and saw that +the boat's crew had given him up for lost. +</P> + +<P> +The boat was circling round and round, and every eye was strained to +find his dead body. +</P> + +<P> +Eben leisurely swam to the shore, and was glad when he reached land, +for he was nigh exhausted. +</P> + +<P> +He had to be very cautious, for many tories resided on the shore, and +he knew that he would be treated as a suspicious character. +</P> + +<P> +He found a wood which afforded him shelter. +</P> + +<P> +Undressing, he hung his clothes out to dry, while he climbed into a +tree, with the double object of not being found in a state of undress +and be the better able to see if anyone approached. +</P> + +<P> +There was a warm breeze blowing, and his clothes soon dried, and once +again he felt like a human being. +</P> + +<P> +A new trouble arose. He found his limbs so weak that he could not +stand. +</P> + +<P> +His flesh was hot and dry, his mouth parched, and his eyes were like +burning coals. +</P> + +<P> +He had fever. +</P> + +<P> +The fact was appalling enough at ordinary times, but how much more so +under the circumstances? +</P> + +<P> +He dare not seek a house, even if he could crawl as far, for he knew +that fever meant delirium, and in his delirium he might betray himself +and so injure the cause he loved so well. +</P> + +<P> +He had not lived in the mountains without knowing the value of herbs, +so he looked around to find those natural medicines which at home had +been used by the Indians and most of the white folks of the Green +Mountains. +</P> + +<P> +He wanted agrimony, but did not see any; but he did find yarrow in +abundance. +</P> + +<P> +Now, the leaves and flowers of the common yarrow, or the <I>achillea +milefolium</I> of botanists, are an excellent thing in fevers, producing +perspiration and cleansing the blood at the same time; but Eben knew +that it should be macerated in boiling water. +</P> + +<P> +Boiling water was out of the question, and, in fact, there seemed to be +no water save sea water near, so he gathered a quantity of the leaves +and chewed them. The taste was bitter and aromatic, but refreshing to +the fever-stricken boy. +</P> + +<P> +After a time he felt a nausea, and stopped eating. +</P> + +<P> +He turned over on his back and fell asleep. +</P> + +<P> +When he awoke the sun was high in the heavens and he fancied he had +slept four or five hours; in reality he had slept nearly thirty hours. +</P> + +<P> +His body was covered with a cold perspiration and his mouth seemed less +parched. +</P> + +<P> +As he raised himself to look around he saw that he was not alone. +</P> + +<P> +A man, evidently poor, if judged by his dress, stood some distance +away, watching him closely. +</P> + +<P> +"So you did wake, eh? I reckon'd that you were going to sleep till +Gabriel blew his trump." +</P> + +<P> +"Have I slept long?" asked Eben. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, now, I can't say 'zactly, for I reckon you had been asleep a +long time when I found you, and I've been here nigh on to ten hours." +</P> + +<P> +"You have been watching me that long? Why?" +</P> + +<P> +"Mebbe I took a fancy to you, and mebbe I know you." +</P> + +<P> +"You know me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, now, I reckon if I were to call you Ebenezer Pike——" +</P> + +<P> +"If you did?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I was saying I reckon that you would have to say that was your +name." +</P> + +<P> +"What gave you that idea? And who is Ebenezer Pike?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am no tory. Yesterday I heard that a prisoner had escaped from the +war ship out there, and that the one who had got away was at the bottom +of the sea. I was curious, and I asked all about it. Then I was asked +if a body wouldn't float into land; and I said mebbe; and then the +bluejacket told me he would give me ten shillings if I found the body +and gave it up to him. So I searched and found—you." +</P> + +<P> +"And discovered that I was not worth ten shillings?" +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind what I found; I tell you I ain't no tory, and ten pounds, +nor ten hundred pounds, would make me give up a live American hero. +His dead body wouldn't be of no account to him, so I might give up +that." +</P> + +<P> +"And you think I am this escaped prisoner! Well, what do you want to +do with me? for I am too weak to oppose your silly whim." +</P> + +<P> +"I am going to take you to my house, and when you get strong you shall +go just where you please." +</P> + +<P> +"You mean this?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do; and I tell you that if we could liberate Col. Ethan Allen we +would, for he is wanted just now; Carolina means to be free and +independent, so it does." +</P> + +<P> +Eben did not attempt any resistance; in fact, he was too weak to oppose +his discoverer, so he allowed himself to be lifted on the man's +shoulder and be carried to a cabin on the other side of the wood. +</P> + +<P> +Here he was tended as well as if he had been among relatives or his +friends of the Green Mountains. +</P> + +<P> +After a few days he was strong enough to go out, and he walked down to +the beach and saw the vessel from which he had escaped lying at anchor. +</P> + +<P> +But he saw something more—something which made his blood run cold. +</P> + +<P> +As he was returning he saw five trees growing on the banks of the river +near the cape, and from each tree there dangled a human body. +</P> + +<P> +On closer inspection he found—what he had dreaded to find—that the +bodies were those of some of his fellow prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +"Come away, my boy," said his new friend. "Those men gave their lives +for a sacred cause, and I wish every Carolinian could see and know +them. It is a good thing for us that the cowardly tories hanged them, +for every one hanged means a surer vengeance." +</P> + +<P> +"It is horrible! Will they dare to serve Col. Allen so?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think so, but they may. What are your plans?" +</P> + +<P> +"I want to find the army of America and get the men to liberate Col. +Allen." +</P> + +<P> +"Praiseworthy, but we shall have a weary tramp before we reach the +patriots. Things have changed and many difficulties will confront us." +</P> + +<P> +"You say 'us,' as though you were going?" +</P> + +<P> +"Where you go, so shall I." +</P> + +<P> +Once more the two walked down to the beach, and Eben gave a cry of pain +as he saw the war ship slowly sailing away. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap32"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +HOW ENGLAND TREATED PRISONERS OF WAR. +</H3> + +<P> +After Eben had escaped the captain of the war ship was furious. +</P> + +<P> +He found out that five of the prisoners shared the same room with the +escaped one, and he closely questioned them about the escape. They +refused to speak a word; perhaps they knew nothing, but their mouths +were closely sealed. +</P> + +<P> +Orders were given to take the five prisoners to the shore and hang them +in such a conspicuous place that the rebels might see them and take +warning. +</P> + +<P> +This cruel and uncivilized act was carried out by men who loathed the +work, but who had to obey the orders of their superior. +</P> + +<P> +Fearing that unpleasantness might ensue from the order, which, when too +late, the captain regretted, orders were given to sail north, and Ethan +Allen was taken to New York, where he was landed and thrown into a +prison cell. +</P> + +<P> +While it was a change to be on land, the treatment was more severe. +</P> + +<P> +Every indignity was heaped upon the unfortunate prisoners by the tories +who ruled the city. +</P> + +<P> +There was but one gleam of sunshine in the hero's life. +</P> + +<P> +He often heard news of the outside world. +</P> + +<P> +A Congress had been called, and its deliberations were of vital +importance. +</P> + +<P> +The tories talked about it in Allen's presence. +</P> + +<P> +They denounced men whose names Allen had not heard before, but who were +becoming prominent. But they also talked of Sam Adams and John +Hancock, of Patrick Henry and George Washington, and then they told +each other that it was seriously proposed to create a new nation out of +the colonies and declare the independence of the colonies. +</P> + +<P> +All this was glorious news to the prisoner, and he listened in silence, +afraid that his joy, if known, would prevent further conversation in +his presence. +</P> + +<P> +One hot, stifling day in July there was considerable commotion in the +prison, and Allen knew that something more than the ordinary had caused +the excitement. +</P> + +<P> +How anxiously he waited to hear the news! +</P> + +<P> +How tedious the hours passed before the change of guards gave the +desired few minutes for conversation. +</P> + +<P> +At last the hour came! +</P> + +<P> +"The Declaration of Independence has been signed!" +</P> + +<P> +"You do not mean it? The rebels would never dare!" +</P> + +<P> +"But they have dared. They say that a new nation has been born. Ha, +ha, ha! He, he, he! Ha, ha, ha!" +</P> + +<P> +"Will all the prisoners have to be shot now?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, they will be hanged, same as before. England has not recognized +the new nation; but England has hired a lot of Hessians——" +</P> + +<P> +"What are they?" +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you know? They come from some place in Europe; their king sells +or leases them out to fight." +</P> + +<P> +"And they must fight whether they like it or not?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, they like fighting; they are trained to fight. It is the only +thing they can do, and they do it well. You see, they do it all the +better because they can't talk English, so they kill all who do——" +</P> + +<P> +"Then they may kill us." +</P> + +<P> +"No, I do not mean that, but they kill all they are told to kill." +</P> + +<P> +A warden entered the long corridor and called out the name of Ethan +Allen. +</P> + +<P> +Allen stepped from his cell and submitted to his arms and legs being +heavily ironed. +</P> + +<P> +He was then marched through the city to the Battery, where he was +placed on board a war ship, with other prisoners, and taken to Halifax. +</P> + +<P> +For nearly two years he suffered the most horrible tortures in prisons +and prison ships. He seemed to have been forgotten. +</P> + +<P> +For weeks at a time he was absolutely silent, no one being allowed to +speak to him, and silence was strictly enforced among the prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +Once Allen got a little paper and a pencil, and a friendly jailer +promised to have the letter sent to its destination. +</P> + +<P> +Allen addressed it to his brother at Bennington, in the Green +Mountains, and it duly reached its destination, but the brother was +away with the patriot army, the letter was kept, however, and read over +and over again by the old friends of the hero of Ticonderoga. +</P> + +<P> +In that letter he says: +</P> + +<P> +"I have seen American patriot prisoners begging for food and being +laughed at for their request. They have bitten pieces of wood to get +little chips to eat and so satisfy their hunger. I was imprisoned for +a time in a church, watched over by Hessians who would not let us leave +to satisfy the wants of nature, and mid excrements the poor wretches, +who only loved their country, died in horrible tortures." +</P> + +<P> +It was a wonder that the letter ever reached Bennington, but the jailer +who passed it out was a warm-hearted man, a son of the soil from +Ireland. +</P> + +<P> +It was in the early spring of 1778 that Allen heard his name called as +he sat in the hold of a war ship lying off New York. +</P> + +<P> +He dragged his legs wearily up the steps to the deck. +</P> + +<P> +He had aged much during those two years, and his friends would scarcely +have known him. +</P> + +<P> +As he reached the deck he heard a voice, which seemed very familiar, +say: +</P> + +<P> +"Colonel, don't you know me?" +</P> + +<P> +A tall, bearded young man stood before him with extended hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Eben!" +</P> + +<P> +"Ah! then I have not changed so much." +</P> + +<P> +It was Eben Pike, dressed in the uniform of a lieutenant of the +American army. +</P> + +<P> +"What brings you here? You are not a prisoner?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; at this moment I am a guest of His Majesty the King of England, +and am acting on behalf of the United States of America, and more +especially the commander-in-chief, Gen. Washington, and——" +</P> + +<P> +"I am so glad to see you, Eben, that I do not know what you have been +saying. I feared you were dead." +</P> + +<P> +"No, colonel, I had a work to do, and I have done it. You see, we, +that is, the American army, took a certain English colonel prisoner, +and England wanted him very badly, so Gen. Washington said: 'You shall +have him in exchange for Col. Ethan Allen,' and at last the order for +the exchange was made and you are free." +</P> + +<P> +What did it mean? +</P> + +<P> +Allen heard the word "free," but it seemed like an echo of fairyland, +having nothing in common with this matter-of-fact, cruel world. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Col. Allen, you are free." +</P> + +<P> +This time the word was spoken by an English officer. +</P> + +<P> +Allen staggered like a drunken man, and would have fallen had not Eben +caught him. +</P> + +<P> +"Come, colonel, we must not trespass on the hospitality of the King of +England any longer; I have promised to escort you with all due +diligence to the headquarters of the commander-in-chief." +</P> + +<P> +Allen stood still, looking, with glassy eyes, at the speaker. +</P> + +<P> +In a few moments he asked; +</P> + +<P> +"Am I dreaming?" +</P> + +<P> +"It looked very like it, colonel, for you acted as though you were +asleep; but come now, we must be going." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you mean it? Are you really Eben Pike?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ask the captain here. He will vouch for that. The document reads: +'The bearer, Lieut. Pike, of the Army of the United States of America,' +does it not?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Col. Allen, the whole thing means that you are exchanged. We +have got our man, and we pay for his liberty by giving you yours. +Good-day, and may I never see you again—at least under recent +conditions." +</P> + +<P> +Allen entered a small boat with Eben, and two stout seamen pulled the +boat to the dock, where a carriage was in waiting. +</P> + +<P> +Eben almost pushed the astonished and half-dazed Green Mountain hero +into the carriage, and soon the waterside was left far behind and the +carriage rolled along the roads to the place where Gen. Washington had +made his headquarters. +</P> + +<P> +By that time Allen had begun to realize that he was really free. +</P> + +<P> +Washington met him at the door and grasped his hand warmly. +</P> + +<P> +"For over a year we have been trying to secure your release, but could +not get the English to consent. You have to thank Lieut. Eben Pike for +your release. He is a real hero." +</P> + +<P> +"General, I only did my duty." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish every soldier did his duty as well. I must tell Col. Allen; I +am sure he will be prouder than ever." +</P> + +<P> +"No, general, it was a mere nothing." +</P> + +<P> +"I am the best judge of that. You must understand, colonel, that Pike +enlisted in the cavalry and did excellent service as a private soldier; +he was speedily promoted, for he deserved it. But it was at the battle +of White Plains that he distinguished himself. Almost single-handed he +fought a company of cavalry when most of our men had retreated. He was +surrounded and refused to surrender. 'I have been a prisoner of +England once,' he said, and that was enough for him. He cut his way +through the enemy, and even that enemy has borne testimony to his great +bravery. I am proud of him." +</P> + +<P> +"I am sure that a braver man than my young friend, Pike, never drew +sword," added Allen, proudly. +</P> + +<P> +"After he had gallantly cut his way through the enemy, he says he +thought he could have done better, so he turned his horse and rode +after the British. They evidently thought that he was the advance +guard of a regiment, for they stuck their rowels into the horses and +rode for life. Pike followed up closely and overtook Col. Jameson; he +demanded his surrender, and Jameson had to submit, for Pike had the +advantage." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, he could not help himself and live," Eben said, with a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"Pike took his captive into camp, and the affair was reported to me. +Sergt. Pike became lieutenant, but he was not satisfied. He knew that +Jameson was a most important personage, almost as valuable as +Cornwallis himself, so what does the young lieutenant do but ask me to +refuse to exchange Jameson unless you were the captive given up by the +British. The difficulty had been that you had no commission; I did not +know it until I heard it from Montgomery and Schuyler, and so the +British looked upon you as an outsider; but they wanted Jameson, and +they got him, and you owe your freedom to Pike's pertinacity." +</P> + +<P> +We can easily imagine Allen's feelings as he listened to the account +given by Washington. +</P> + +<P> +The pride he had felt in Eben's career was intensified, and he felt +that the young Green Mountain scout would become one of the great +heroes of the Revolution. +</P> + +<P> +Allen was so broken down by his long and cruel imprisonment that he +took a vacation and retired to Bennington to recuperate. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap33"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BEVERLY ROBINSON'S OFFER. +</H3> + +<P> +As though the colonies had not enough work on hand in fighting the +great power of Britain, they must needs quarrel among themselves, or at +least New York picked a quarrel with New Hampshire over the title to +Vermont. +</P> + +<P> +Vermont was more than ever determined to remain independent of either +New Hampshire or New York, and Ethan Allen admired the sturdy spirit of +his mountaineers. +</P> + +<P> +He was urged to take command of the Green Mountain forces, and he +consented, writing Gen. Washington and telling him how he regretted the +necessity of staying at home instead of entering the army of +emancipation. +</P> + +<P> +Washington replied in a friendly letter, reminding him that he deserved +a rest after his trials, and also telling him that a man's first duty +was to his own people and country. +</P> + +<P> +Acting on this letter, Allen applied to the Congress for the admission +of Vermont into the Confederation of States; but the rivals of New York +and New Hampshire were too powerful in the councils of the new nation +for Allen, and Vermont remained outside, a debatable territory. +</P> + +<P> +Ethan Allen was sitting by the great, open fireplace in his house one +evening in the early fall, when a visitor was announced. +</P> + +<P> +"You have forgotten me, Col. Allen?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not remember having had the pleasure of your acquaintance." +</P> + +<P> +"I am Beverly Robinson." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed! Ah, now I remember. May I ask what brought you here?" +</P> + +<P> +The tory did not like the brusque question, but he was a diplomat and +fenced ably. +</P> + +<P> +"I have heard of your prowess on the field and of your sufferings in +captivity, and I have felt that, though we differ in politics, we are +children of the same mountains and ought to be friends." +</P> + +<P> +"If you are loyal to Vermont, differences of opinion will not affect +me." +</P> + +<P> +"Spoken like the brave man I knew you to be." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you come here to tell me this?" +</P> + +<P> +"Partly, and more especially to discuss the future of Vermont." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; we are in a strange predicament. We have cut loose from the +mother country, and the new country will not have us." +</P> + +<P> +"That is one way of looking at the matter." +</P> + +<P> +"Is it not the true one?" +</P> + +<P> +"It may be." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, why not pledge ourselves to remain neutral?" +</P> + +<P> +"To remain neutral?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. If we were to call a convention and pass a resolution to the +effect that in the war between England and the colonies—I beg pardon, +States—Vermont would remain absolutely neutral, we should be in a good +position." +</P> + +<P> +"In what way?" +</P> + +<P> +"England would protect us against New York, and we could protect +ourselves against New Hampshire." +</P> + +<P> +"And you would ask me to make terms with England?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why not? You do not believe that Washington will succeed. He cannot. +England will triumph. The best men feel that it will be so. Benedict +Arnold told me it was only a question of time and terms." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; he knows that all Washington is fighting for now is to get the +best terms he can from Great Britain." +</P> + +<P> +"Arnold told you this?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, no, not exactly in those words. But let me carry to +headquarters your pledge of neutrality." +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Robinson, you may be honest in this, but I am afraid you are being +made a tool of some designing person. Carry this back with you"—Allen +stood up and folded his arms defiantly, as he said: "Tell England that +Ethan Allen will never be neutral, never make terms with England, but +will fight her power as long as he lives! Good-day, and never enter my +house again as the agent of England." +</P> + +<P> +Beverly Robinson retired second in the contest. Allen had won. +</P> + +<P> +Though the tory had failed, he felt a respect for Allen, who had been +so bold and courageous, and, though Allen never knew it, he was the +means of saving Vermont from any attacks of the British. +</P> + +<P> +Allen served his State and defended it against enemies without and +within. He lived to see it recognized as a State, free and independent. +</P> + +<P> +He also witnessed, with shame, the treachery of Benedict Arnold, and +was glad that he had never recognized the traitor as a man of honor. +</P> + +<P> +In the annals of the Revolution the name of Ethan Allen will ever shine +conspicuously, and, though he fought but few battles, and remained in +the army but a few months, England hated the mention of his name, and +looked upon him as one of the men who fired the hearts of the Americans +and encouraged them in the demand for freedom. +</P> + +<P> +In the hearts of his countrymen he will ever be held in the highest +estimation, and all ages will greet the Green Mountain Boy as the "Hero +of Ticonderoga." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="finis"> +THE END. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Hero of Ticonderoga, by John de Morgan + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF TICONDEROGA *** + +***** This file should be named 25708-h.htm or 25708-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/7/0/25708/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Hero of Ticonderoga + or Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys + +Author: John de Morgan + +Release Date: June 6, 2008 [EBook #25708] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF TICONDEROGA *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +[Frontispiece: "Almost silently, with his stick drew the +wallet toward him."] + + + + + + +THE HERO OF TICONDEROGA + + +OR + +ETHAN ALLEN AND HIS GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS + + +BY + +JOHN DE MORGAN + + + +AUTHOR OF + + "Paul Revere," + "The Young Ambassador," + "The First Shot for Liberty." + "The Young Guardsman," etc. + + + + +PHILADELPHIA + +DAVID McKAY, PUBLISHER + +610 SOUTH WASHINGTON SQUARE + + + + +Copyright, 1896 + +By NORMAN L. MUNRO + + +The Hero of Ticonderoga + + + + +Table of Contents + + +Chapter + + I. At the Courthouse + II. The Green Mountain Boys + III. A Child of Nature + IV. "The Rising of the Moon" + V. Defiance + VI. Before the Governor + VII. An Ambuscade + VIII. The Convention + IX. Treachery + X. Zeb's Double Dealing + XI. The Tables Turned + XII. The Opening of the War + XIII. Benedict Arnold + XIV. Arnold's Powers of Fascination + XV. The Hero of Ticonderoga + XVI. The Temptation + XVII. Crown Point + XVIII. "Who is Commander?" + XIX. News from Boston + XX. A Roadside Adventure + XXI. The Continental Progress + XXII. Eben's Adventures + XXIII. Foraging + XXIV. Secret Service + XXV. Diplomacy + XXVI. An Interesting Experiment + XXVII. A Prisoner + XXVIII. On the Gaspee + XXIX. Arrival in England + XXX. Irish Hospitality + XXXI. A Daring Swim + XXXII. How England Treated Prisoners of War + XXXIII. Beverly Robinson's Offer + + + + +THE HERO OF TICONDEROGA. + + +CHAPTER I. + +AT THE COURTHOUSE. + +It was a cold, bleak and freezing day, was that second day of the year +1764, in the good town of Bennington. + +The first day of the year had been celebrated in a devout fashion by +nearly all the inhabitants of the district. Truly, some stayed away +from the meeting-house, and especially was the absence of one family +noticed. + +"It seems to me kind of strange and creepy-like that those Allen boys +will never come to meeting," good old Elder Baker had said, and the +people shook their heads, and were quite ready to believe that the +Allen boys were uncanny. + +But after meeting, when the social celebration was at its height, the +absence from the meeting-house was not thought of, and Ethan Allen and +his brothers were welcomed as among the best farmers of the district. + +When the farmers separated on that New Year's Day they had no thought +of trouble, and each and all were planning what crops they should plant +that year, and how much land they should reserve for pasture. + +The snow was falling fast, and the Green Mountains looked grandly +glorious as they, capped with the white snow, reflected into the +valleys the feeble rays of the sun which were struggling through the +clouds. + +The hour of noon had arrived, and the good farmers were sitting down to +good boiled dinners, which were as seasonable as the weather, when the +ringing of the crier's bell caused every man and woman and child to +leave the hot dinner and hurry to the door to hear the news. + +All public and important events were announced in that manner, and it +would not do to miss an announcement. + +"Wonder what is in the wind now, eh, master?" + +"Cannot say, but it's likely to be important, for Faithful Quincy has +on his best coat." + +Faithful Quincy was the official crier, or announcer of events, and was +a most important character. + +He never spoke one word, though everyone asked him what he had to +announce, but he stood as silent as a statue, and as rigid until he +thought the people had time to assemble. + +Then he rang his bell once more, and followed the last sound of the +brass with a most solemn appeal for attention: + +"Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!" + +Three times the phrase had to be repeated. Faithful would not have +done his duty if he had only repeated it twice. + +"This is to give notice, in the name of his majesty and of his +excellency, the governor, that all true and faithful residents of the +Green Mountain district must assemble at the courthouse at two hours +after noon, on this second day of January. So let it be!" + +That was all, but it was enough to set all the people wondering what +was to be heard at the courthouse. + +They returned to their homes, and finished their dinners, scarcely +noticing that the dumplings were cold or that the boiled carrots had +got soggy through long standing. + +At two a large crowd had assembled at the courthouse, and all were in +great excitement. + +It was just three minutes after the hour, as shown by the sundial, +which stood in front of the courthouse, that the sheriff appeared. + +Not a murmur was heard. Even the children were silent. + +The sheriff was trembling. + +He held in his hand a piece of parchment, bearing a big red seal at the +bottom, and he tried to read it, but his voice failed him. + +After several attempts he succeeded, and the people learned that he had +received a proclamation from Gov. Tryon, of the Colony of New York, in +which he claimed all the territory west of the Connecticut River, and +ordering him to send a list of all persons holding land under grants +from the Colony of New Hampshire. + +The country west of the Connecticut, now known as Vermont, was then +only known as "New Hampshire grants." + +When the sheriff had finished he asked what he should do. + +"Why did you receive it?" asked one of the oldest residents. + +"It was sent to me as sheriff." + +"Even so, but you are the sheriff of the district which holds its lands +from the Colony of New Hampshire." + +The sheriff trembled, fearing he had done some wrong. + +"It is in the name of his majesty, the king," he muttered; "and I was +bound to receive it." + +Through the crowd a young man pushed his way. He reached the side of +the sheriff, and in a mild but firm voice asked to be allowed to look +at the proclamation. + +It was no ordinary man who made the demand. He would have attracted +attention anywhere, and among those who knew him best he was esteemed, +though the devout believed there was something uncanny about him and +his family. + +He was Ethan Allen, the head of the Allen boys, who had stayed away +from the meeting the day before. + +"Men," he said, after glancing at the proclamation, "we hold our lands +from the governor of the Colony of New Hampshire. Is it not so?" + +"You are right, Ethan." + +"We pay our quota to the expenses of that colony. Is it not so?" + +"It is." + +"Then we have nothing to do with the Colony of New York." + +"Nothing, and never want to have anything to do with that colony." + +"You are right, Seth Warner; so I tell you what we will do with this +piece of parchment." + +The people looked at the speaker, and wondered what he was about to +propose. + +When they saw him take a knife from his pocket and slit the parchment +through the middle, they dare not speak, they were so astonished. + +In four pieces he cut the proclamation, and then handed it back to the +sheriff, who dropped it as though it had been plague infected. + +Ethan Allen picked up the four pieces. + +"You did well not to receive it. I have a better use for it." + +He took out his tinder box, and after a little effort, for the snow +made the tinder damp, he got a light. + +This he applied to the parchment, which sputtered and crinkled up in +all sorts of strange shapes, until the great red seal, the token of +authority, melted, and the wax ran on the ground. + +"Now, let the sheriff acquaint the governor of New Hampshire with what +I have done." + +Ethan Allen stepped down, and walked through the crowd. + +Not one person spoke to him, his act had so taken them by surprise. + +It was a boldness that perhaps was criminal, they thought. + +"What think you?" asked one. + +"It was awful. I wonder the fire from Heaven did not consume him, for +the king is the Lord's anointed, and it was in the king's name." + +"I wonder if they will hang him?" + +"Who, the king?" + +"No, Ethan; most like they will." + +"I guess he knew what he was doing." + +"Ay, and he did right. We want men of pluck like him." + +"Take care, Seth Warner; Ethan may get into trouble----" + +"And I will stand by him." + +"So will I," said Peleg Sunderland. + +"And here is another," spoke up Remember Baker. "The lad hath the +right spunk. I like him." + +There was nothing done that day but talk over Ethan Allen's strange and +daring conduct. + +For days the people spoke of it in bated breath, for they had never +heard of such opposition to authority in the district, and they were +afraid of the consequences. + +Gov. Wentworth, of New Hampshire, issued a counter proclamation, in +which he said that King Charles had never given the land to New York. + +The governor of New York appealed to King George, and he decided in +favor of New York, and so, at the end of six years, the battle of +titles stood just where it did when Ethan Allen tore up the +proclamation. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS. + +"What news?" + +"Welcome back, Ethan. Is it good news?" + +"Ay, man, tell us; what say the men in Albany?" + +Ethan Allen jumped from his horse, and stood among his countrymen, the +most honored man among them. + +He had been sent to Albany to represent the farmers who held the lands +from the governor of New Hampshire. + +New York had commenced a suit against New Hampshire, and the trial was +in Albany. + +"Men, I know not whether you call the news good or bad, but it is just +as I tell you; New York has won." + +"And all our titles are upset?" + +"Ay, that is just what it means." + +"What are we to do?" + +"I know not what you will do; I know what I shall do." + +"What will you do, Ethan?" + +"When the sheriff comes to dispossess me I shall be there with my +musket, and if I fall Ira will be there, and if he falls Ebenezer will +have a musket, and if he, too, falls, then John will try what he can +do. That is what I shall do." + +"But the decision says that New York is in the right." + +"Courts have made mistakes before, and the strong right arm of good +mountaineers have set them right." + +"What said they in Albany?" + +Allen told them of the trial, and then, with a glow on his face, he +added: + +"They told me that the gods were against me, and I retorted that the +gods of the valleys are not the gods of the hills." + +"Bravo, Ethan! you are a brave chap." + +"If I had a score of men I would tell the New Yorkers to stay at home, +and, if they did not, I would send them home." + +"A score, did you say?" + +"Ay, a score would do." + +"Count me one." + +"Just as I expected, Seth Warner; you know no danger when homes are to +be protected." + +"I shall join you." + +"Why, Peleg Sunderland! you know what you will risk?" + +"My neck, I guess; but, as I have only one, the risk is not much." + +This was said with such seriousness that the people could not help +laughing. + +"Don't forget me," said Remember Baker. + +"I shall be sure to remember you, Remember." + +"If my man won't join you, I will." + +The people turned to look at the speaker, and as they encountered the +firm face of Mistress Cochrane, they knew she meant it. + +"But I will join, Ethan," her husband, Robert Cochrane, said. + +"Of course you will, Robert; but I don't know but I'd prefer a score of +women like Mistress Cochrane to twoscore men." + +Mistress Cochrane was a big, well-formed woman, and as her sleeves were +rolled up above her elbows, she showed a wealth of muscle which many a +man might envy. + +Twenty men gave in their names, and Ethan was delighted. + +"I'm proud of my Green Mountain Boys," he said, "and I shall be prouder +still when we have won the victory." + +"Hurrah for our leader!" shouted Seth Warner. + +The next day Allen called his men together, and put them through their +drill. + +He wanted them to be soldiers, and so the discipline was strict. + +He was elected colonel of the regiment, and Seth Warner was made +captain. + +The fame of the Green Mountain Boys grew, and many of the men around +wished to join, but Allen had no idea of forming a large army, for his +object was defense, not defiance. + +He was sitting by the great open fireplace, looking at the blazing logs +and watching the curling smoke ascend the chimney, when his brother, +Ira, came in, and threw himself on the settee in the chimney corner +opposite Ethan. + +Ira was thirteen years younger than Ethan, but as bold and daring as +his brother. + +At the date of the formation of the Green Mountain Boys, Ira was +eighteen, and as bright a lad as ever shouldered musket or hunted a +bear. + +"Ethan, I saw Eben Pike to-night." + +"Well?" + +"He wants to join us." + +"Oh!" + +"Won't you let him?" + +"What to do? If we wanted a kitchenmaid he might apply." + +"I told him I would speak to you." + +"Well, you have done so." + +"I wish you would admit him." + +"Into the ranks?" + +"Yes." + +"My dear Ira, you forget that we may have to fight." + +"I don't." + +"What use would Eben be in a fight? He could run." + +"That is just it; he might be serviceable when you wanted a message +sent." + +"I will see him." + +Ira went to the door. + +"Come in, Eben. The colonel will talk to you." + +Ethan had no idea that the youth was outside, and he blushed like a +girl as he thought the boy might have heard all he said. + +Eben Pike was an orphan, and was not generally liked by the people of +the district, simply because he was unlike the general run of boys. + +He was very effeminate, and with his hair worn long, looked more like a +girl than a boy of sixteen. + +He was soft and gentle in his dealings with everyone. He had often +shuddered as he saw a sheep killed by the butcher, and refused to hunt +because it was cruel. + +It was a strange freak for him to take, when he expressed his wish to +join the mountain boys, and Ethan could not understand it. + +"Well, Eben, I hear that you are ambitious." + +"No, Master Allen, not ambitious, but I want only to be of some use." + +"Can you fight?" + +"I do not want to do so, but if we have to--well, I'd do my best." + +"None of us could do more. Why do you wish to join the boys?" + +Eben's face was scarlet; he hung his head, and looked very sheepish. + +"Because, sir, the boys all say I am girlish, and I want to prove that +I am no girl." + +"But you might get hurt." + +"I can stand that. When the bear attacked me last summer he tore +pieces out of my thighs. Did I complain?" + +"No, Eben, I will give you credit for pluck. As to joining us, why, I +will think over that." + +"Thank you. I am sure I could be of use to you." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A CHILD OF NATURE. + +Several weeks had passed since Eben Pike had signified his wish to join +the ranks of the Green Mountain Boys, and not once had he been summoned +to take part in their drills. + +"It is always the same," he murmured; "they think me too girlish for +men's work. I will show them yet that I can be of use." + +Every day he wandered through the country, and even crossed into New +York Colony, hoping to find out if any attempt was to be made to carry +out the decision of the courts. + +One bright day in May he reached Eagle Bridge, as the point is still +called, when he saw a number of men carrying muskets half concealed, +and walking toward the mountains. + +He kept up with them, eager to know where they were going and what was +their errand. + +They sat down under some trees to eat their mid-day meal, and Eben +crept close to them. + +"We'll bag the two to-day, just see if we don't," said one of the men. +"Zounds! I'd give a crown to have Ethan Allen in a line with my +musket." + +"You are more likely to look down the barrel of his," retorted another, +laughing. + +"We'll surprise him. You see, the governor has waited until the Green +Mountain Boys, as they call themselves, got tired, and then he sends +us; 'cause why? There isn't another sheriff in the colony as could bag +a fellow like that same Allen." + +"Do you know the way to his farm?" + +"Yes, every turn in the road. We shall reach there soon after sunset, +and then I'll walk right up to him, and say: 'In the name of the king, +surrender!' and he will be so surprised that he will almost drop dead +with fright." + +"But suppose he is not alone?" + +"He will be; at least, there will only be the young boys, and they will +not fight." + +"He will not expect us." + +"No; and, seeing so many, all armed, he will surrender at once. Then +we go to Seth Warner's place, and he might show fight, for there are +two others live with him, but we will silence him by keeping Allen in +the front rank, so that, if he shoots, he has to kill the leader first. +Ha, ha, ha! It will be as good as play-acting, and the fun will be +something to talk about as long as we live." + +"Aren't you afraid to leave this wallet on the grass?" asked one of the +men. + +"I shouldn't forget it, for in that wallet is the order to eject and +capture one Ethan Allen, a rebel and traitor." + +Every word was heard by Eben Pike. + +"If I could get that wallet!" he thought; but it was kept pretty close +to the sheriff. + +Eben crawled a little nearer, sheltered by the thick undergrowth of the +wood. + +He cut a long stick and-held it ready to use if he should be +discovered, for he fancied they would not be very lenient with him if +he should be caught. + +The sheriff and his posse sat talking, and telling of their deeds of +daring. Each one seemed to try to out-bid the other for bravery. + +The conversation became animated, and a strange idea entered the +listener's head. + +He crawled still nearer, taking care that he did not move far without +resting, so that he might be sure he was not observed. + +He pushed his stick a little closer to the wallet, and found that he +only needed to be six inches nearer. + +After a little more inaction he wriggled his body a few inches farther, +and then, quickly and almost silently, with his stick drew the wallet +toward him. + +He secured it, and fastened it under his vest, the safest place he +could think of. + +Backward he crawled, as noiselessly as possible, until he reached a +clump of sumach bushes. Then he rose to his feet and ran. + +Eben was a child of nature, and, as Ira Allen had said, he would be +useful in carrying a message quickly. + +He had been in the possession of the wallet less than five minutes when +the sheriff proposed that the journey should be continued. + +He sprang to his feet, and looked for the wallet; he could not see it +in the long grass. + +He felt in his pockets, but it was not there. + +"I say, men, that isn't a fair joke." + +"What isn't?" + +"Who has the wallet?" + +"Now, that's a good one! Who should have it but the sheriff?" + +"Come, a joke's a joke, but don't carry it too far." + +"What do you mean?" + +"One of you has got the wallet, and the writs of dispossess are in it." + +"I haven't." + +"Neither have I." + +"One of you must have got it." + +"It's a lie!" + +"Call me a liar?" asked the sheriff, of his deputies. + +"If you say we have got the writs, yes." + +The sheriff raised his musket club fashion, and would have brained the +speaker had not Isaac Gerston, one of the posse, caught his arm. + +"Father Abraham!" he ejaculated, "are you mad? What if the wallet is +in the grass? Have you searched everywhere?" + +The sheriff lowered his weapon, and all went on their hands and knees +and felt among the grass, searching very diligently, but no wallet +could be found. + +A council of war was held. If the writs could not be found the sheriff +would be punished. What excuse could be given? + +"What shall we do?" + +"Let us go to this man Allen's house, and surprise him. He will not +resist, and we can take him prisoner, and in the meantime another writ +can be obtained." + +It was a risky thing to attempt, but there seemed no other course open, +so the march was recommenced. + +The loss of the wallet was a mystery. Not one of the posse believed it +had been stolen, for they could not think a thief could have escaped +detection. + +The only surmise was that some squirrels had carried it up a tree. It +was a ridiculous assumption, but the only one tenable. + +When within a mile of Bennington Crossroads, where the Allens lived, +one of the posse caught his foot in the root of a tree and fell flat on +his face. + +As he raised himself he felt something soft and slippery. He picked it +up, and holding it above his head, cried out: + +"The wallet! The wallet!" + +The others, who had been a little behind, ran forward, and the sheriff +at once accused him of having had the wallet all the time, and only +when he fell and dropped it would admit its possession. + +The man was indignant at the charge, but the suspicion was so strong +that most of his companions believed the sheriff was right. + +The latter opened the wallet and saw the great red seal. That was all +he cared about it, and, placing it in his pocket securely, he very +generously proposed that no more should be said about it. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +"THE RISING OF THE MOON." + +Eben Pike burst open the door of Ethan Allen's house without any +ceremony. + +Ethan and Seth Warner were sitting on the settee in the chimney, +talking about the inaction of the governor of New York. + +Off flew one of the bolts, and Ethan jumped to his feet and caught the +lad by the shoulder, and was giving him a good shaking, when Eben cried +out: + +"Kill me if you like, colonel, but hear me first." + +"Well, what is it?" + +"The sheriff of Albany and a big lot of armed men are on their way +here. I heard all their plans, and I have run all the way from Eagle's +Bridge to tell you. You, colonel, are to be dispossessed first, and +then Seth Warner, and if they can kill you, colonel, they will do so." + +"Is this true?" + +"Every word. I stole the wallet containing the writs, and here they +are. I took them out of the wallet and threw that away, 'cause they +might recognize it and find out how it was lost. Then I tore the +governor's seal off the writs, 'cause that would be treason to steal +them." + +Eben handed the mutilated writs to Allen, and he saw that they were +genuine enough. + +"Will they come, now that they have lost the writs?" asked Warner. + +"Yes, they will make believe they have got them." + +"Then we must rally all the boys. Eben, you are a brave boy." + +"Thank you, colonel. Do you want to shake me now?" + +"No, my boy, and you can break off the bolts from every door in the +house if you like." + +"I'll go and fetch the boys." + +"You are tired." + +"No, Col. Allen, running never tired me yet. Let Ira go one way and I +will go the other, for no time must be lost." + +"You ought to be a general; you know just what should be done." + +If Eben had been tired, those words of praise would have been enough to +take away all feeling of fatigue. + +Ethan made out a list of the men he wanted and gave each boy a copy. + +"Keep as quiet as you can. Whisper your instructions. All you need +say is, 'The moon will rise tonight,' and then the answer will be, 'At +what time?' to which you will reply, 'As early as you are ready to see +it.' That is all you need say." + +"Will they come here then?" + +"Yes, at once." + +Warner hurried home to see that all was in readiness there to withstand +an attack, and he left a speedy messenger to hurry to Allen's house in +case the sheriff should go to Warner's first. + +The first man met by Eben was Silvanus Brown. + +"Silvanus, the moon will rise to-night." + +Silvanus looked at the boy for a moment as though bewildered, but that +feeling passed away, and he asked: + +"At what time?" + +"As early as you are ready to see it." + +"Good! I am ready." + +Silvanus stepped quite lively, and Eben, on looking back, saw him going +toward the colonel's with his musket over his shoulder. + +The next farm was occupied by John Smith. + +"John Smith, are you there?" shouted Eben, as he opened the door and +looked in. + +"Ah, my boy! What brings you here now?" + +"The moon will rise to-night." + +"Is that so? That is great news. At what time?" + +"As early as you are ready to see it." + +"Good! I would leave the best boiled dinner or get up at any hour of +the night to see the moon rise. What do you think? Will there be any +bears about a night like this?" + +"Most likely." + +"Then I will take my old musket; it may be handy to have." + +A like reception Eben met with at Peleg Sunderland's and James +Breakenridge's houses. + +Within an hour thirty of the Green Mountain boys had gathered in the +home of their colonel, Ethan Allen. + +"Boys, we are in for it this night. Remember that it is your own kith +and kin that will be opposed to you. They are brothers, all these +Yorkers, and we do not want to be the first to shed blood; but if they +fire, that will be our signal. By the great mountains! we will give +two bullets for their one, and may victory be with the right!" + +After giving instructions as to the mode of procedure, Allen told them +how he had heard the news. + +"Never let any of the boys call Eben Pike a sissy any more. He has won +his spurs as a true knight." + +Had Ethan not cautioned the boys against loud talking, there would have +been a rousing cheer given for the youthful hero. + +"Whenever we have to distinguish our hero," said Allen, "we will call +him Eben Pike, the hero of Eagle's Bridge." + +There is no doubt that Eben's face flushed when he heard the words of +praise, but he could not speak a word, for his tongue seemed too large +for his mouth, and his heart would beat so rapidly that it made him +believe he was going to choke. + +It was Allen's plan to hide all the boys and appear as though he was +unarmed and unprepared when the sheriff came. + +Seth Warner had returned to his colonel's house and reported that he +had made all arrangements for a speedy message if the sheriff from +Albany went to his house first. + +Eben had slipped out and had gone to reconnoiter. + +It was unknown to Allen, or he would not have allowed the brave boy to +run any more risks. + +"Where is Pike?" he asked, as soon as he missed him. + +"He went out a moment ago," answered Ira. + +And in another moment he returned, the perspiration running down his +cheeks. + +"They are coming!" he almost shouted, so excited had he become. + +"Where are they?" + +"Less than half a mile." + +"How many?" + +"Twenty, at least." + +"You did not see so many before." + +"No; they have another sheriff with them." + +"To your quarters, boys; and remember, not a sound until the signal. +When I say, 'The moon has risen,' be ready; and when I say, 'It is at +the full,' fight like turkey cocks." + +In another minute only Ethan and Ira were visible, and no one would +have imagined, from the appearance of the house, that others were in +hiding, well armed to resist the foe. + +Sheriff Merrit was the first to reach the house, and he signaled to his +men to come forward. + +He rapped on the door, and Ethan opened it. + +"Does one Ethan Allen reside here?" asked the sheriff. + +"I am he." + +"Then in the name of the king I am here." + +"Pleased to see you, sir. But I cannot think of any business the king +may have with me." + +"I am a sheriff." + +"Indeed! and I should fancy a credit to the shrievalty." + +Merrit bowed. The reception was far different to what he had expected. + +He glanced into the room, and saw only the younger man sitting in the +chimney corner. + +"You are a loyal man?" queried the officer. + +"I am loyal to king and country," answered Allen, boldly. + +"I am glad to hear that, for my business would be unpleasant were it +not that you are loyal." + +"Sheriff, tell your business without delay." + +"I have a writ of dispossession, and I am to enforce it. It means that +you are required to give up and surrender this farm, and afterward to +make such terms with His Excellency Gov. Tryon as he may suggest." + +Allen had allowed the sheriff to finish his speech. In fact, it really +appeared to the Yorker that Allen was afraid. + +"Let me see the writ." + +"You do not doubt my word?" + +"No, only as I am a loyal subject I have a right to see that the order +is in a legal form." + +"Oh, it is legal enough, and properly sealed as well." + +"In that case there ought to be no difficulty. Let me see the writ." + +Sheriff Merrit opened his wallet, never once doubting that he had the +writs and warrants safe in his possession. + +He drew forth the seal and was ready to drop with excitement, for the +seal was all he had; the writ had been torn away. + +"I have been robbed," he cried. "Gerston, I have been robbed!" + +"That is a pretty tough thing to say. Do you mean to say that you have +not the writ you spoke about?" + +"I had. I have been robbed. See, that is the seal which was at the +bottom of it. You see that seal?" + +"Yes, but I am not going to surrender the farm unless you can produce +the writ." + +"You refuse?" + +"I do." + +"Then, by thunder, I shall have to arrest you." + +"Indeed, you are mistaken. The moon has risen." + +"What has that to do with the matter? I tell you that you are my +prisoner." + +"And I say that the moon has risen and therefore I am not your +prisoner." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +DEFIANCE. + +"We will soon settle that. Men of New York, in the King's name I call +on you to arrest Ethan Allen, rebel and traitor. Kill him if he will +not submit." + +The sheriff's posse rushed forward, and Ethan stood in the doorway, +unarmed, and calmly said: + +"The moon is at the full." + +Instantly the Green Mountain Boys filled the room. + +They came from all sorts of hiding places and all were armed. + +The sheriff fell back, but only for a moment. + +Advancing again, he asked: + +"Do you intend to resist by force?" + +"I do. I shall fight for my home against the governor of New York--ay, +against the king himself. Stand back! You have no warrant for my +arrest and no writ of dispossession." + +"I had, but I have been robbed," + +"A likely story that. If it is as you say, then you are not a fit +person to be a sheriff." + +"I own I was careless, but that will not help you." + +"I shall not surrender without a writ." + +"But you will be a prisoner, anyway, for there is a warrant out for +your arrest as a rebel and a traitor." + +"Was that stolen, also?" + +"Mine was but a duplicate; the original has been sent by the hand of +Sheriff Alston." + +"Where is he?" + +A man stepped forward and announced himself as Alston, a sheriff duly +appointed by Gov. Tryon, of the Colony of New York. + +"It is enough." + +"You surrender?" + +"No, by heaven, no! The Yorkers have no power over me. I hold my farm +from New Hampshire, and only to the governor of New Hampshire will I +relinquish it." + +"Then we shall use force." + +"So shall we." + +"It is treason." + +"It is loyalty to my country. Boys, these men are crazy; they are so +because the moon is at the full." + +Instantly the Green Mountain Boys were ready to resist any attack. + +The sheriff gave the order to fire. + +Both sides obeyed the sheriff, and a blinding smoke rose from the old +muskets. + +No one was hurt, for neither side liked to be the first to shed blood. + +Another volley was fired, and one of the defenders was wounded. + +At the word they rushed out and threw themselves on the sheriff's +posse, and, with muskets clubbed, they drove the Yorkers back, breaking +many a head and inflicting more damage than they received. + +The Yorkers rallied and loaded their muskets. + +Sheriff Merrit, with a courage worthy of a better cause, addressed his +men. + +"Yorkers, we must have the body of Ethan Allen, dead or alive. We must +quell this revolt against lawful authority. Will you follow me?" + +"Ay, to the death!" + +"The courts have decided that the land belongs to New York; the king, +God bless him! has confirmed the decree, and opposition to it is +treason. Ay, treason, which our king has called upon us to stamp out. +Are you ready?" + +"Ay, we will give our lives for the king." + +Ethan Allen knew that the very name of the king was sufficient to +strike awe into the minds of the people. + +At that time the king was looked upon as the anointed of Heaven, and +only the boldest would dare to say a word against him. + +Allen was too democratic to look upon George as infallible, and to him +he was only the head of the nation, and no better than any other man. + +But the mass of the people had not shaken off their Old World ideas of +royalty. + +"Boys, it may be that his majesty has confirmed the decree," said +Allen, "but he was misinformed, and when he hears from our own +governor, the governor from whom we hold our lands, he will change his +opinion and secure us in our titles. Until then shall we defend them +ourselves?" + +"Ay, to the death," answered Seth Warner. + +"Then load your guns, and let us drive back these Yorkers into their +own colony." + +The Green Mountain Boys fell into line, Ethan Allen and Seth Warner in +front, and in that order they marched against the sheriff's posse. + +Volley after volley was fired, and several on each side fell wounded, +some fatally. + +Back fell the Yorkers, and still onward went the gallant boys under +Allen's lead. + +Allen thought the march too slow, and he gave the order to go at double +quick. + +The Yorkers had but little time to load their muskets, and they had not +the quickness possessed by the mountaineers. + +The unfortunate Sheriff Merrit many times tried to halt his men so that +they might pour a volley into the ranks of the mountain boys, but they +had become too demoralized to make any determined stand. + +Merrit, with the courage which almost ennobled him, snatched a musket +from the hands of one of his men and, standing in the middle of the +road, took deliberate aim at Ethan Allen and fired. + +The ball went wide of its mark, but the intrepid sheriff loaded quickly +and again attempted to fire, but he spilled the powder from his pan, +and the spark did not fire the musket. + +Then he clubbed the weapon and rushed forward to meet the brave leader +of the Mountain Boys, and was within a few feet of Allen when he +tripped and fell. + +His musket fell under him, and by some unaccountable chance was fired, +blowing off the top of Merrit's head. + +The Yorkers were thrown in a panic by the sight, and ran faster than +they had ever thought possible until they were over the border and +considered themselves safe from pursuit. + +The victory was with the Mountain Boys, but Allen feared that it would +prove dearly bought, for the laws were so strict at that time, and all +his party might be held responsible for the death of the sheriff, who, +being a king's officer, was sacred. + +He gave the order to march back to their homes and see to the wounded. + +Only one man died from the effects of his wounds, though others were in +a bad way. + +Save for the attendance upon the wounded, the farmers of Bennington +might have thought the fight with and pursuit of the Yorkers only a +dream, so readily did they settle down to their farm duties. + +Several weeks passed and no sign of any move was made by the Yorkers. + +Ethan Allen had sent a full account of the affair to the Governor of +New Hampshire, by the hands of his brother Ira, but save for saying +that the account should be read carefully, the governor had taken no +further notice. + +Seth Warner had a cousin in Albany, and he induced him to send regular +reports of the doings in New York, in so far as they effected the New +Hampshire grants. + +And during all those weeks the news came that nothing was being done. +Ethan believed in the old adage that a quiet always preceded a storm, +and he held himself in readiness to meet it. + +The Green Mountain Boys were drilled regularly, and the watchword was +looked for whenever any met the chosen messengers of the colonel. + +Eben had proved himself very useful, but for several days he had been +away, and Ethan was getting uneasy about him. + +July had come, with all its heat and unpleasantness, and still Eben was +absent. + +That something had happened to him all believed, for he had never been +known to absent himself from his friends for so long a time before. + +It was on the tenth of July that Eben craved entrance to the residence +of Ethan Allen. + +"Where have you been?" asked the colonel. + +"Do not be cross with me. I have only been doing what I thought ought +to be done. I have been in Concord." + +"What have you been doing there?" + +"Keeping my mouth shut and my ears open." + +"And what have you heard?" + +"Much that you ought to know, and I will tell you if you are not cross +with me." + +"I am never cross with you, Eben." + +"Then you are to be sent for to Concord, and will be sent as a prisoner +to Albany. Gov. Tryon says he will hang you as soon as you reach that +city." + +"How learned you this?" + +"Nay, should I tell you I might never learn anything more." + +"When am I to be sent for?" + +"The messenger is on his way. If you do as we would like you would not +go." + +"Why?" + +"Because the governor will purchase peace for himself by having you +hanged." + +"Hush! there is some one even now at the door." + +"Welcome, most worthy Talbot!" exclaimed Allen, when Assistant District +Attorney Talbot entered. "What brings you so far from Concord?" + +"A message to you, Ethan Allen." + +"To me?" + +"Yes, from the governor." + +"A message from Gov. Wentworth is always welcome." + +"It may not be so in this case. I will explain. An application has +been made for your extradition by the governor of New York." + +"Indeed! And what have I done?" + +"You are charged with killing a king's officer and robbing him of +certain documents which bore the seal of the Colony of New York." + +"Of both of which crimes I am innocent." + +"And so the governor thinks, but he has commanded me to explain that it +is necessary that you return with me to Concord, there to satisfy the +court of your innocence." + +Ethan looked at Eben, and the youth made a sign to convey that the +information he had given was correct and that treachery was intended. + +"And if I decline to go?" + +"You will not decline." + +"I may." + +"You must not." + +"I may do so; what then?" + +"Then I shall order you into arrest." + +"And take me by force to Concord, and from thence to Albany?" + +"If the governor so orders." + +"Then go straight back to the governor and tell him that, with all due +respect to him and his authority, I will not go until I am ready, and +that if you attempt to arrest me I shall resist by force. I am a free +man, and by the grant signed by the governor I am free from arrest +unless the local tribunal so orders, and you cannot get any justice in +all the Green Mountains to order me into arrest. So go back and learn +that Ethan Allen can take care of himself." + +"But that is treason." + +"Call it what you like. I shall defend myself when the time comes, and +will never submit to tyranny, even from the governor of New Hampshire, +nor the king himself." + +"But I must do as I am bade." + +"Try to do so, you mean. Let me tell you that Ethan Allen is in the +right, and the governor is in the wrong, and I defy you and all the +power at your back." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +BEFORE THE GOVERNOR. + +Mr. Talbot knew not what to do. + +Had he lived in the days of the electric telegraph he would have used +the wire to obtain instructions. But in those days only a horse was at +his disposal, and that was a slow means of travel. + +He knew that he must act as he thought best. + +If he offended the governor he might be removed from his position and +disgraced. + +If he offended the mountaineers they might make terms with New York, +and New Hampshire might lose all the debatable land. + +There was a degree of sturdy independence shown by the mountaineers +which, while commendable, was slightly awkward at times. + +It is in the mountains that freemen are born, and, as Ethan Allen often +told the people of the valleys, the men of the hills were a race of +free men, who could never be enslaved. + +Talbot thought over the difficulty and resolved to try diplomacy. + +"You hold your farm under a grant from Gov. Wentworth?" + +"I do?" + +"You owe allegiance to him?" + +"Certainly." + +"You ought to obey his commands." + +"Stay! I am a freeborn man. I willingly give service where service is +needed, I willingly obey laws which are for the good of all, but I +never yet agreed to obey any one man, whether he be governor or even +king." + +"And yet you have no right to the farm, save such as you received from +the governor." + +"You mistake the position. The original grant was for a tract of +mountain land. That land is now mine because I have improved it, made +it of value, and all I owe to the governor is the value of the +unreclaimed lands. + +"Will you not go to Concord and obey the governor's mandate?" + +"Not until the governor himself asks me. When he invites me I will go; +when he only commands I refuse to obey. Return and tell him so." + +"I dare not." + +"Then stay here and you will learn what freemen think, and see how they +act." + +"I dare not stay." + +"What a sorry specimen of a man you are. You dare not, forsooth! is +that the expression of a free man?" + +"You taunt me." + +"Taunt you? No, I only say that I dare do aught that does become a +man." + +Seth Warner entered the house and was welcomed by Ethan. + +The colonel told the farmer of the order received. + +"Will you go?" + +"No." + +"I should say not, indeed. Let the governor come here if he wants to +talk with you." + +Talbot could make no headway, so he left the house in disgust. + +He went to Faithful Quincy, the town crier, and bade him summon the men +to assemble at the courthouse at once. + +Quincy looked at the attorney and waited until the order was given. + +"In whose name am I to give the notice?" + +"That of the governor." + +"Then, please your honor, you must go to the sheriff and get his order." + +"Is that necessary?" + +"It is, if you want to have the people assemble." + +Talbot wished himself back at Concord. + +With Quincy he went to the house of the sheriff and obtained his +permission to call the men together. + +Every man, it seemed, was at the meeting. + +Talbot told them that he was sent by the governor of New Hampshire with +a message for Ethan Allen. + +"Then why don't you give him the message?" asked Remember Baker. + +"I have done so and he refuses to accede to the governor's request." + +"Then you may be sure that the governor is in the wrong." + +"What is the message?" asked Peleg Sunderland. + +Talbot told them all he was instructed to do, and a loud laugh went up +from every man as he heard. + +"So Col. Allen refuses to go?" + +"He does." + +"Then that is an end of the matter." + +"No, it is not," answered Talbot, quickly; "you are all bound to give +such military service as the governor may require." + +"That is true." + +"Then I call upon you to arrest and convey to Concord the body of Ethan +Allen." + +Seth Warner moved up to the judge's bench. + +"Are you jesting?" he asked. + +"No." + +"You mean to insist that we shall do such service as you have outlined?" + +"It is my order, acting in the name of the governor." + +"Then tell the governor that there is not a man in all the grants that +will lay a finger on Col. Ethan Allen." + +"Thank you, my friends," Allen said, speaking for the first time; "I +refuse to obey the order to go under arrest, but I will go voluntarily +and tell the chief executive officer of the colony that free men are +not going to be ordered about like lackeys." + +"And quite right, too. We will go with you." + +"No, Seth Warner, I will go alone." + +"Excuse me, colonel, but we have something to say about that. We shall +take a few days off and go to Concord." + +And as Allen had refused to obey the governor, so the Green Mountain +Boys declined to stay at home, even when their leader so requested. + +On the next morning fifteen of the brave mountaineers accompanied their +colonel to the seat of government of the colony. + +It was not a formidable military force, but it was sufficient to show +the governor that he had to deal with sturdy men. + +Gov. Wentworth received the mountain heroes at ones [Transcriber's +note: once?]. + +Talbot told his story of how he had been received by Ethan Allen, and +he did not spare the young leader. + +Then came Allen's turn. + +"It hath been made known to me that the Colony of New York has asked +that I be sent a prisoner to Albany, there to be tried for certain +crimes. Is that so?" + +"It is." + +"It hath been told me that I am charged with killing a king's officer, +one Sheriff Merrit. Is that so?" + +"You are rightly informed." + +"Then hear me. Merrit died in New Hampshire, and, even if I had killed +him, I claim I must be tried in my own colony and not in York." + +"You admit killing him?" + +"I did not kill him. His death was an accident. There are plenty of +witnesses to prove that. Then I am told I am charged with stealing +documents bearing the seal of New York. Is that so?" + +"It is." + +"I can prove that when the sheriff did unlawfully enter my house at the +Crossroads he had not the documents with him, but he had seals only. +Now, your excellency, I am here to tell you that I hold my land from +you, that I live in the Colony of New Hampshire, and that the sheriff +of New York has no right to invade this colony, and if I had shot him +as he entered my house I should have done right. What have you to say +to that?" + +Gov. Wentworth remained silent. + +He knew that Allen was right. + +"Do you relinquish all right to the grants?" asked Allen. + +"No." + +"Then tell the governor of York to mind his own business. I have not +yet finished. I am a free man, a subject of his majesty, the King of +England. And, as a free man, I ask you, his representative, whether +you have made a promise that I shall be surrendered to Albany?" + +"I decline to answer." + +"You were to get me here by a trick, and then without trial send me to +Albany, there to be hanged as a rebel and murderer. All I have done +has been to protect the title you gave me, and my own labor, and I will +protect that labor as long as my arm retains its strength." + +"I am no traitor, Ethan Allen. I would have given you a fair trial." + +"You promised to surrender me." + +"I did not." + +"Yes, you did; I heard you!" + +Even Ethan was surprised and startled by the voice. + +Young Eben Pike had stepped close up to the governor, and was shaking +his fist in his face. + +"Who are you?" + +"I am Ebenezer Pike, and I heard you promise that Col. Ethan Allen +should be given up to Albany, and your secretary added that he hoped to +hear that the rebel was hanged quickly." + +"It is false!" + +"Eben speaks the truth!" hotly retorted Allen. "I would rather believe +him than anyone I know. He is a child of nature and knows not how to +be false. I am here to tell you, Gov. Wentworth, that we of the +mountains are ready to give our lives in defense of the colony, but we +will not sell our freedom!" + +Wentworth knew not what to make of such men. + +He admired their boldness. + +He was afraid to lose their services, for he saw that troubles were +brewing that would need the aid of men like Allen. + +"I will see you again on the morrow. In the meantime you will all stay +at my expense at the inn." + +"No, sir. We ask no favors, neither do we accept any. We men of the +mountains are independent." + +"As you please. This young spy will remain with me." + +"Eben Pike goes with us. He is of the mountains, also." + +"But I must know more of his methods of spying." + +"Ask him what you please; but he must be free. If he is imprisoned I +will call upon the men of Concord to aid the men of the mountains to +release him." + +"You are bold, Sir Ethan." + +"I am a free man, and I allow no one who serves me to be injured +without calling the offender to account." + +"But if he hath broken the laws?" + +"Then let him be tried and punished." + +"That is all we intend doing." + +"What charge is there against him?" + +"That we shall have to determine." + +"Until then he will stay with us. I will be personally responsible for +him." + +Nothing more was said, and Allen and his Mountain Boys walked out of +the governor's presence, taking Eben with them. + +"Talbot, I would rather have that man as a friend than an enemy," said +Wentworth when he was alone with the attorney-general. + +"It will be better policy to please Ethan Allen and his mountaineers +than Gov. Tryon of York." + +"I am thinking you are right." + +"If we do not placate Allen he will make terms with New York." + +"But would Tryon agree to terms?" + +"The Yorkers would make Allen deputy-governor, and Allen could take all +the land west of the Connecticut over with him." + +"What would you have me do?" + +"Send for Allen; make him a deputy in the mountain district; give him +more power than any other man in the district, and then tell Gov. Tryon +to capture Allen if he can." + +"Your advice may be good; I will think over it and will decide before I +see these men on the morrow." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +AN AMBUSCADE. + +The energetic governor of New York had a spy present during the +interview between the Green Mountain leader and the governor of New +Hampshire. + +Tryon had made up his mind to use his influence--and it was great--to +have England amalgamate the two colonies and make him the ruler of the +consolidated district. + +In fact, he had already planned a scheme by which all of New England +should be federated under his lead, thus creating a vice-gerency in the +New World which should be all-powerful. + +To carry out this plan he hoped to embroil the governor of New +Hampshire with the mountaineers, and thus, by creating dissensions, +show to England that a strong hand was needed. + +When his trusted deputy heard from the spy the result of the interview +between Allen and the governor, he called his aids together and asked +their advice. + +"Wentworth will give that fellow Allen all he asks," he said, "and our +mission will be a failure." + +"Cannot we capture this rebel and carry him over the border?" + +"If we could we should be masters of the situation." + +"Then we will do it." + +"How?" + +"Leave that to me. You must not know anything about it or it will +compromise you." + +"But, Edwards, unless I know the details how can I advise the governor +or prove to him that it was justifiable?" + +"That is the very thing you must not do until Allen and perhaps his men +are in New York Colony. Then you can boldly say: 'Here is the rebel; +hang him!'" + +That evening, when the mountaineers were smoking their pipes in front +of the inn, a man strolled leisurely along the street and looked at +Allen and Warner, who were talking together. + +He retraced his steps and stared at the men, hoping that they would +resent the impertinence; but Allen did not notice him and Warner only +smiled to himself. + +"Can you tell me where I shall find a man they call Ethan Allen?" asked +the man, after passing and repassing several times. + +"I have the right to bear that name," answered Allen. + +"Oh!" + +"Why did you ask?" + +"I wanted to see him." + +"Well, you have seen him," Warner said, angrily. + +"And who are you?" + +"A better man than you." + +"That I doubt." + +"Very well; you are perfectly within your rights." + +"I know that, but I would like to know your name." + +"Seth Warner." + +"I am Jack Edwards, at your service." + +"Very well, Mr. Jack Edwards, you can serve me by going about your +business." + +"So I will, now that I have seen you. Good-day." + +Warner did not answer the valedictory, and the man stooped down, and, +picking up a handful of gravel, threw it at Warner. + +"That's for your bad manners." + +Warner, quick-tempered, was about to seize Edwards, when Allen pulled +him back. "Sit down, Seth; the fellow is only trying to embroil us, +so that our enemies may get the better of us." + +"You may be right, Ethan, but I have got that fellow's face printed on +my mind, and when I meet him, as I shall, I will pay him with compound +interest." + +Edwards saw that he could not provoke a breach of the peace, so he +walked down the street, wondering of what sort of stuff this mountain +hero was made, when he would restrain his friend from avenging an +insult. + +Early in the morning Gov. Wentworth sent for Ethan Allen and told him +that he should refuse to meddle with the application for extradition, +and that Allen could go back to the mountains and defend his right and +title to the lands in any way he chose. + +"Go tell your men that I have created an office for you. You shall be +called the high custodian of the grants, and whatever you think +necessary to repel the claims of the Yorkers you can do in my name." + +Thus we have seen that the man sent for as a prisoner, with a gallows +staring him in the face, left Concord a victor. + +The conflict between the two colonies was to assume a new phase, and in +that conflict Ethan Allen was to bear a most prominent part. + +The Mountain Boys did not believe in wasting time, so they rallied +their forces and started back as soon as they had attended to their +horses and provided themselves with provisions for the journey. + +Allen rode first with Seth Warner. + +"Seth, what was that man's object in provoking a quarrel?" + +"I am at a loss to understand." + +"He was a Yorker." + +"Think so?" + +"Sure of it." + +"Then it was mere curiosity to see you, and when he saw you he could +not restrain his temper? He wanted to fight?" + +"I don't think so." + +"What is your idea then, colonel?" + +"He wanted to embroil us in a quarrel so that the watch could be called +out and we should be placed in the wrong." + +"Perhaps you are right. Anyway, we are rid of him." + +"Are we?" + +"Yes, of course." + +"Do not be too sure. The Yorkers will be mad enough to follow us, and, +if a chance offers, we shall have to fight." + +"What do you think of the dispute with the king?" + +"For my part, I think the colonies should have the right to make their +own laws." + +"The king will give that right." + +"No. George has all the pig-headedness of his ancestors. If the +colonies get the right they will have to fight for it." + +"You do not think there will be war between England and the colonies?" + +"I do not know, but if there should be I shall ask that our mountain +lands shall be independent." + +"With you as first governor." + +"I care not for that. I only want to see the people get all they +deserve. Look, Seth! What do you see over there?" + +"It looks to me like a number of horsemen." + +"Yes, and they are trying to head us off." + +"Think so?" + +"Why, look! Baker, come here. What are those men doing over there?" + +Remember Baker shaded his eyes with his hand and looked for several +minutes before speaking. + +"'Pears like as though they were trying to ambush by the side of the +road and stop us." + +"Just what I thought. Ask Sunderland to come here." + +Peleg Sunderland was a good scout. He was a hunter from Wayback, and +could find the trail of a deer or a bear quicker than any man in the +Green Mountains. + +"Colonel, we are in for it. Them fellows are waiting for us." + +"Dismount!" + +The order was obeyed, though many of the men wondered what could be the +reason. + +"We will have lunch----" + +"But, colonel, I----" + +"We will have lunch." + +"Eben, get onto the trail, my boy. Find out who those men are about a +mile ahead of us, and report quickly. Take care you are not seen." + +The boy started off in a direction which was at right angles with the +road by which the men were camped. + +Ethan Allen bade the men appear to eat, whether they were hungry or not. + +He told them that he feared a surprise. + +The mountaineers rather liked the idea of a fight, though the odds were +against them. + +Every man had his musket ready for use and awaited the order to move. + +Eben returned and reported that there were twenty-two men, well armed +and apparently waiting for the Vermonters. + +"They are led by that man who wanted to fight you, captain." + +"Are you sure?" + +"I took his measure when he was at the inn and I cannot be mistaken." + +"Then they are Yorkers." + +"That is just what they are. And, colonel, would it not be better to +pass them on the road to the right, and then return and fight?" + +"No, Eben. If we pass them we will not return. If we are attacked we +shall give as good as we receive." + +"Fight it will be." + +"Yes, Seth, and we shall have tough work before we are through." + +"We are ready to follow you." + +"Boys, are you all ready?" + +"Ay, Allen." + +"I think they will let us reach them before they emerge, and they will +fire at us from each side; so, Seth, you take half our men and I will +look after the others. You give back good answers to the men on the +right; we will take notice of those on the left." + +"All right, sir." + +"Mount!" + +The men swung themselves in the saddles as unconcerned as though they +had been partaking of lunch and suspected no enemy to be on the lookout +for them. + +They rode forward, and were within a few yards of the enemy, when the +Yorkers leaped from their ambush and massed themselves on the road. + +"In the name of the king, surrender, Ethan Allen!" + +"In the name of common sense, who are you? A lot of clowns from a +country fair?" + +"We are the king's good subjects, and command you to surrender yourself +a prisoner." + +"Stand out of the way, you fool, or I will have to teach you a lesson." + +Allen had spoken sharply, for he was sick of the formality which +prefaced the fight which was to come. + +Both sides were well matched. All were on good horses, and every man +possessed a heavy musket. + +"Do you refuse to surrender?" + +"A Green Mountain Boy only surrenders to superiors." + +"Then we shall have to make you, unless you acknowledge us as your +superiors." + +"Men of the mountains!" shouted Allen, "ride through these +fellows--ride over them if they will not get out of the way." + +Edwards ordered his men to resist and to fire upon the mountaineers. + +"So you want to play the part of highwaymen, do you? Boys, return the +fire." + +One volley was fired by each party, and then the two opposing bodies +became mixed up in inextricable confusion. + +Muskets were clubbed and heads were cracked as the heavy butts +descended on them. + +Horses reared, and plunged, and knocked down those men who had become +unhorsed. + +The fight was furious for a few minutes. + +Ethan and his brother, Ira, were in the thick of the struggle all the +time, while Seth Warner seemed a very Trojan in valor. + +Both sides fought well, and had the contest been a short one it would +have been impossible to say which would have been the victor, but it +was prolonged, and the mountaineers had the physical stamina which the +men of the valleys lacked, and the longer the fight lasted the greater +was the victory of the brave followers of Ethan Allen. + +Edwards was taken prisoner, and on the understanding that he would +reveal all he knew of the plot against the men of the grants, Allen +allowed all the others to go free. + +Two Yorkers were killed, while Allen's ranks had lost only one, and he +only wounded, though severely. + +In triumph the boys returned to the green hills of Vermont, and were +received with many congratulations. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE CONVENTION. + +Edwards was brought to trial on the charge of leading an armed invasion +of New Hampshire. + +He declared that he alone was responsible for the foray, and doubtless +his statement was a true one, though Allen did not believe it. + +The district court condemned Edwards to death by hanging, for his act +was one of high treason, and the sentence was sure to be confirmed by +the king, to whom it had to be sent. + +When Gov. Tryon heard of the fight and the capture of Edwards, and his +subsequent trial and sentence, he resolved on two things. He would +bring all the pressure to bear on the king that he could to prevent the +sentence being confirmed, and he would capture Allen and his friends, +no matter what the consequences might be. + +A proclamation was printed and sent through all the grants, in which +the governor of New York offered a reward of one hundred and fifty +pounds sterling for the capture of Ethan Allen, dead or alive, and a +further sum of fifty pounds each for the bodies, dead or alive, of Seth +Warner, Remember Baker, Sylvanus Brown, Robert Cochrane, Peleg +Sunderland, James Breakenridge and John Smith. + +When the proclamation had been well discussed the people got another +sensation in a counter proclamation, signed by Ethan Allen on behalf of +the mountaineers, offering two hundred pounds for the capture of the +attorney-general of New York. + +Both proclamations started out with a command to the parties named to +surrender themselves within thirty days under pain of the forfeiture of +all their property, of conviction of felony and sentence of death +without benefit of clergy. + +These proclamations placed the two sections on a war footing, and Ethan +saw that it was necessary to organize on a larger scale than had been +done. + +He consulted his trusty friend, Seth Warner, and as a result a +convention was called at Bennington. + +"It is no use calling on New Hampshire to aid us. We must rely on +ourselves," Allen told all with whom he came in contact. + +A larger number gathered at the convention than he expected, and his +heart was full of joy. + +He was the more pleased that he had called the men together, when, on +the very morning of the gathering, he received a notice from Concord +that the king had forbidden the colony to take an active part against +New York in the matter of the grants. + +In other words it meant that the king would protect New York and oppose +all claims of New Hampshire to the lands. + +"Men of the mountains," Allen commenced, "we are met to form laws to +protect ourselves and our property. We must rely on ourselves alone. +I think that the time has come when we should declare ourselves +independent of any colony, and apply to the king for a charter." + +"Good!" + +"That is talk of the right kind." + +"Why cannot we have our own laws, our own governor and our own army?" + +"You are rather previous, Sunderland." + +"Not a bit of it. I say that the king has never done anything for us, +and New Hampshire has betrayed us into the hands of the Yorkers." + +"We will call ourselves the Green Mountain Colony." + +"I think, if you will let me suggest, that if we are going to have a +new name it should be a pretty one." + +"Is not the Green Mountain Colony pretty?" + +"Yes; but I have thought that Vermont--it means Green Mountains--would +sound good." + +"Nothing could be better," assented Allen, "so we will commence our +deliberations with the declaration: 'We, the men of Vermont, in +convention assembled'; that will place our name above controversy." + +"I propose that Ethan Allen be our governor." + +"Stay, that will never do. The king must appoint a governor, so we can +only declare our desire to be independent of New Hampshire, and until +the king accepts our independence we must nominally recognize Gov. +Wentworth as our governor." + +It is not our purpose to give the proceeding of that convention _in +extenso_, but this much we have given, in order that the whole country +may know that the sturdy mountain boys talked of independence and +liberty with spirit even before the Revolution began. + +Warner stood on a chair and waved his hand for attention. + +"I have heard," he said, "that Gen. Gates is pressing the people of +Boston so hard that the English are getting themselves disliked in that +city, and I should not be surprised if a rebellion was talked of." + +"The sooner the better, say I." + +"Yes; why should England govern us?" + +"We are too far away. The king----" + +"Leave his name out of the question. We can be loyal to him, even if +we become independent as a new nation." + +"We want no kings----" + +"Silence!" shouted Allen; "I will not listen to treason to the king." + +Warner continued: + +"If the people of Boston talk of rebellion, so will the people of New +Hampshire, and we Green--I beg pardon, Vermonters--we, too, can govern +ourselves. Then, when two or three colonies show some spirit, New York +will have to tackle us all, instead of a few mountaineers." + +"That is for the future, Capt. Warner; what we have to think of is, are +we going to protect our farms?" + +"Ay, to the death!" + +The sentiment was the occasion for such cheering as Bennington had +never heard before. + +"We will hold our lands, even if every man has to carry a musket when +he plows the ground or sows the seed or reaps the harvest." + +"Good for you, Warner! Now, then, let us have a good militia." + +Every man present enrolled his name on the list, and a very excellent +start was made to form an army to defend the farms. + +The district was divided into two parts, the northern part of the New +Hampshire grants being under the command of Allen, the southern under +the guidance of Warner. + +Rules were laid down for the guidance of the mountaineers, and as good +a system of government was inaugurated as existed in New Hampshire +itself. + +The strongest contingent of militia was sent with Allen to the north, +for it was thought that the next attempt of New York would come from +the Champlain section instead of Albany. + +Everywhere Ethan Allan was received with open arms. + +The farmers had reclaimed the lands from the mountain sides, and made +them fruitful, and it was extremely hard that they should be turned +from their farms without receiving compensation. + +Resistance was popular, and the men who had taken the lead in +organizing the farmers were looked upon as heroes. + +Allen had taken Eben with him, and the young lad was the most useful +member of his staff. + +Eben had all the faithfulness of a hound, with the sagacity of a +trained scout. + +He was invaluable. + +In some of the districts it was necessary to conceal their identity, +for until the sentiment of the people was known treachery might be +expected. + +The reward offered for Allen was a large one for those days, and was a +great temptation to the poor, struggling farmers. + +So the leader had to be on the alert all the time, and Eben proved his +usefulness by finding out all about the men before Allen made himself +known. + +The Green Mountain Boys camped on the shore of Lake Dunmore, and made +the place their headquarters for the district. + +Eben was returning to the camp one night when he was accosted by a lad +about his own age. + +"You're a stranger about here, eh?" said the lad. + +"Yes; just looking about." + +"Oh, from New York?" + +"No, I come from New Hampshire." + +"So did I. I used to live in Concord. Ever in Concord?" + +"Many times," answered Eben. + +"Then we ought to be friends. Looking for work?" + +"Partly. My folks want a good grant somewhere, and I'm looking about +for one." + +"There aren't many good places now; most have been taken. They do say +that a man called Ethan Allen is round stirring up the people so that +he may get them their lands free." + +"So I have heard." + +"But some say that he wants the lands for himself." + +"How is that?" asked Eben, innocently. + +"Why, I have heard a man say--he came from Fort Ticonderoga--that if +Allen can get his way there will be a fight. Then he will surrender +and will recognize York, and as a reward will get the best farms." + +"It's a----" + +Eben was about to give the boy a piece of his mind, but checked himself +in time. + +"It's a what?" asked the lad. + +"Very unlikely story, I was about to say, but thought that I would not." + +"Why?" + +"Because a man who would think such a thing about Col. Allen is not +worth contradicting." + +"Oh, that is it. So you believe in this man, Allen?" + +"I do." + +"So does father. He says that he will stick by him as long as he has a +hand to hold a gun." + +"What is your father's name?" + +"Why do you want to know?" + +"Only he might help me to find a good piece of farm land which I could +get by applying." + +"So he might. Well, my father is Ezekiel Garvan--Old Zeke, they call +him round about. Glad to see you when you are near. See, that is our +house over yon, where the smoke is rising up from among the trees." + +"And what is your name?" asked Eben. + +"I am called Zeb; it is short for Zebedee. What is your name?" + +Incautiously he answered, truthfully: + +"Ebenezer Pike is my name." + +The boys separated, and Eben returned to the camp, feeling pleased with +himself to think he had found a good friend, as he never doubted old +Zeke would be. + +Zeb stood watching Eben for a time, and then he too returned home. + +"My old dad used to blame me for listening, and used to say that little +pitchers had big ears, when anyone was there, just to prevent them +talking, but the big ears will be useful now, or I am not fit to be my +father's son." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +TREACHERY. + +Zebedee was flushed and excited when he entered the paternal dwelling. + +He had been away all day, and knew that he was likely to get a good +thrashing for neglect of his work. + +Ezekiel was waiting for him very patiently. + +Zeb had taken all in at a glance. There was a thick beechen stick +standing by the chimney corner, and old Zeke was not far from it. + +One of his most favored passages of the Bible was the one in which the +spoiling of the child is said to be caused by the small use of the rod. + +Zeb knew what it meant. + +He had often felt the strength of his father's muscles, and he fully +realized that if he was spoiled it was not because the rod had been +spared. + +Only three mornings before Zeb had entered the kitchen, which served as +dining room as well, and had partaken of his breakfast standing, and at +the midday meal he still preferred an upright position instead of the +one adopted by the other members of his family. + +To be accurate and truthful, it was a rare thing for Zeb to be able to +sit down with any comfort, for his interviews with his father were very +frequent and generally of a very painful nature. + +He entered the kitchen looking more defiant than his brothers or sister +had ever seen him. + +Zeke did not speak. + +He took off his coat and rolled up his homespun linen shirt sleeves. + +Then he reached out and got the beechen stick. + +Zebedee waited. + +He knew that there was a certain formula to be gone through. + +His father never thrashed him while angry; he always catechised him, +then waited a few minutes before plying the stick or the whip. + +"Zeb, did you sort those potatoes?" + +"No." + +"Did you learn that verse from the Bible the elder told you to commit +to memory?" + +"No." + +"Playing all day?" + +"Yes." + +"Then I must use the rod, or my son will be ruined." + +Everything had been calm up to that point. + +The other members of the family had gone out. + +Zeb was alone with his father. + +"Come here." + +"What for?" + +"Come here, I say, and place yourself across my knee." + +"Not this time, dad." + +If Zebedee had drawn a pistol and shot at his father that worthy could +not have been more astonished. He almost dropped the stick. + +"What do you mean?" + +"Just what I say. You are never going to beat me again." + +"What?" + +"Just what I say, dad. I'm going to make a bargain with you. You +swear that you will never hit me again and I'll make you a rich man." + +Ezekiel dropped the stick. + +He opened his ponderous jaws and looked at his eldest son much as he +might at a wild beast. + +"You--what?" + +"Just what I say, dad. Little pitchers have big ears. Well, the big +ears have heard that you hate Ethan Allen." + +"Well?" + +"You would get the reward if you could." + +"Well?" + +"Swear that you will never hit me again----" + +"I will not. Come here, you rapscalion, and I'll teach you to make a +laughingstock of me." + +Zeb saw his father pick up the stick again, and he got into the corner, +and picking up a chair, held it so that his father could not strike him. + +"See here, father," he said, very quietly, "you are stronger than I am. +You have a right to whip me, and I perhaps deserve it; that isn't +saying much, but it's enough. Now I want to tell you that if you +strike me I'll leave you this very night, and either join the Green +Mountain Boys, or I'll get the reward and go to York and never see you +again." + +"What has come over you?" + +"Nothing, only I see a way to make some money for you, or myself, and +I'll give it to you if you swear never to strike me again." + +"It's a bargain." + +"Honor bright?" + +"Yes, honor bright." + +"All right, father. Pull down your sleeves and come with me where no +one can hear what I have to say." + +To the great surprise of the family, no sounds of crying or sobbing +came from the kitchen, and when Zeb's mother--a little, frail woman, +who had never had her own way since she had been married to Zeke, +opened the door an hour later and peeped in, she screamed out: + +"It's all over! I felt he would do it some day." + +"Do what, mother?" asked a girl of twelve. + +"Your father has killed Zeb. He said he would, and now he has done it, +and he has gone to bury him." + +Then there was a scene of shrieking and weeping and sobbing. + +All the children joined in, and the mother was heart-broken. + +In the midst of it all father and son walked in, radiant and smiling. + +If Zeb had been really dead and made himself visible to his astonished +family, they could not have been more alarmed. + +"Mistress Garvan, stop your blubbering. We shall have visitors this +night; sha'n't we, Zeb?" + +"Yes, dad." + +"Friends of mine. Oh, it will be a great time. Mistress, I'll buy the +childer new clothes, ay, that I will, and I'll have a new ox for the +farm. It is good, I tell you, to have friends." + +Mistress Garvan wondered what had come over her stern husband. + +She knew he had not been drinking, for he would not allow even as much +as a drop of dry cider to come into the house. + +"What have you been doing, Zeke?" she asked him. + +"Nothing; it's only a little surprise we have. Isn't it so, Zeb?" + +But Zeb had disappeared, and so no answer was forthcoming from him. + +Zeb had seen more than he had heard, and he knew of the encampment on +Lake Dunmore. + +He had watched the men, and found out that they drilled at night. He +had become suspicious, but had no means of verifying his suspicions +until that conversation with Eben. + +When Eben had incautiously mentioned his name, Zeb remembered that he +had heard a man tell his father that Allen was accompanied by a young +scout whose name was Pike. + +Zeke was getting very fidgety. + +He kept looking at the tall clock, which his father had brought from +England many years before, and wondered whether his plot had failed. +But his face brightened when a knock at the door betokened the presence +of visitors. + +He opened the door himself, and Ethan Allen and Remember Baker stepped +in. + +"Welcome, most welcome! I would rather see you here than the king of +England." + +Allen placed his finger on his lip as a hint not to speak too loudly. + +Zeke laughed. + +"I respect your caution; a day will come when your name will be shouted +from the housetops." + +"You are too flattering, farmer." + +"Not so; but come to supper. My good wife knows how to tickle the +palate of my friends, and you are my friends. Where's Zeb, mother?" + +"He went out." + +"He is a bad fellow; I am sure I shall never tame him. I would he were +old enough to join the----" + +"Yes; what age is he?" + +"Only sixteen." + +"He is old enough if he has inclination----" + +"A truce to such talk; let us get some supper. By my father's memory, +I smell pig's head and cabbage. Good thing, even if it is late at +night. Come, friends, and we will talk after." + +Zeke led the way into the kitchen and bade his guest be seated. + +Scarcely had they commenced eating when a knock at the back door caused +the farmer to drop his knife. + +The door opened and a man's voice was heard: + +"In the king's name surrender, Ethan Allen, and you, Remember Baker!" + +"Treason!" exclaimed Allen. + +"Trapped!" added Baker. + +"Yes, rebels, and the reward will be mine!" shouted the farmer in a +joyous voice. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +ZEB'S DOUBLE DEALING. + +"Scoundrel!" shouted Baker. + +Allen was dignified even under such trying circumstances. He calmly +waited the pleasure of the soldiers, knowing that resistance was +useless; but Remember Baker was impetuous, and would have fought even +against such odds if he had not been overpowered. + +"Have you any cords?" asked the young officer. + +"Ay, faith I'll get the strongest cords that ye ever saw," exclaimed +Zeb. + +"You young imp, it was you who betrayed us," Baker said, bitterly. + +"Yes, you are right. You see, I bear you no ill will," said the young +scoundrel, "but money is useful, and they perhaps won't hang you, and +if they do--well, you've got to die sometime, and you might as well +make us comfortable by your death----" + +Zeke was a little ashamed of his part in the transaction, though he had +been ready enough to adopt his son's suggestion. But now that the deed +was done, he would not allow the prisoners to be insulted by Zeb, and +the boy's unfeeling remarks were cut short by a vigorous kick on his +nether part which completely lifted him off the floor. + +"You said you'd never--hit--me," he blubbered. + +"I never said I'd never kick you, and I'll kick all I want to, you +young rascal!" + +"No, you won't," the young hopeful retorted. + +"Yes, I will, and if you don't get those cords in a brace of shakes +I'll make you so you won't sit down for a month." + +Zeb knew enough of his father to be sure that he meant what he said, so +he hurried to the barn, and soon returned with some strong rope, with +which the two prisoners were securely bound. + +The boy was a shrewd fellow, and as bad as any that lived in those +parts. His father had not half the quick wit possessed by Zeb. + +"Dad, get the reward," he whispered. + +"Ay, who will pay me the reward?" he asked the officer. + +"I will certify that you are entitled to it, and you can get it from +Albany any time." + +"Ay, so I must needs trudge to Albany. Must I go with the prisoners?" + +"No, you have nothing to do with them now; they are in my care." + +"So if they get away----" + +"But they cannot get away." + +"But if they did?" Zeb persisted. + +"That would be my loss. You and your father have earned the reward." + +"Where shall you keep them to-night?" asked Zeke. + +"I shall take them to---- Well, never mind where; it will make no +difference to you." + +"No, I suppose not." + +Zeb overheard this conversation and determined to profit by it. + +He felt sore, both physically and mentally. + +He felt that his father had not kept to the meaning of his oath, and +had evaded it by kicking instead of striking, which to Zeb was just as +bad. + +"I might just as well have let him hit me," he soliloquized; "he laughs +now; perhaps he will not when I am through." + +He ran, and none could go faster when he liked to exert himself, and +did not rest until he was in sight of the Mountain Boys' camp. + +Then he halted. + +He needed to be cool. + +"Zebedee, my boy, now you can make or mar your life. Which are you +going to do?" + +He thought for a moment and chuckled to himself as he defined, +mentally, his plan of action. + +Peleg Sunderland was in command in the absence of the colonel and Capt. +Baker, and to him Zeb asked to be conducted. + +But the sentinel refused. + +"You haven't got the word, and I will not let anyone pass; no, not even +the colonel himself without it." + +"But I have important news." + +"Of course you have." + +"You do not believe me?" + +"Yes, I do. I know all you can tell me, so there!" + +"Have you anyone here called Eben Pike?" + +"Perhaps we have, perhaps we haven't." + +"Do not be sassy or----" + +"You'll march away from this or I'll shoot; them's my orders." + +Zeb saw that the man would not allow him to pass, and he was at his +wits' end to know what to do. + +As good fortune would have it, who should pass but Eben. + +"Eben, I want you." + +"Is that you, Zeb?" + +"It is." + +"What do you want?" + +"You." + +"What for?" + +"Come here and I will tell you." + +The sentry warned Eben not to pass out of the lines, but the young +scout took no notice. + +"Well, what is it?" + +"Come a little farther away and I will tell you." + +Eben knew not what fear was, though that was saying a great deal. One +of the kings of Spain once sent for a man who was heard to say that he +did not know the meaning of fear. + +"My good man," said the king, "they tell me that you were never afraid." + +"That is true, your majesty." + +"And you do not know what fear is?" + +"That also was true." + +"Did you ever put your hand into a wasps' nest?" + +"No, your majesty." + +"Then never again say you do not know what fear is." + +Eben might find something of which he would be afraid, but he had not +done so up to that time. + +When the two boys had got some distance away, Eben asked: + +"Well, what have you to tell me?" + +"Where is Col. Ethan Allen?" + +"I do not know." + +"Where is Capt. Baker?" + +"I do not know." + +"I do." + +"Well, what of that?" + +"When I last saw them they had some good strong cords bound round their +limbs, and a Yorker was holding a gun at their heads." + +"Prisoners?" + +"It looked very like it." + +"Where are they? Tell me all you know." + +"Not much; the news is worth something." + +"How much do you want?" + +"How much what?" + +"Did you not say you wanted to sell the news?" + +"No; but, now you mention it, I might do so. Take me to the fellow who +commands the boys." + +"Will you tell him?" + +"I came to do so, only that fellow with the gun would not let me pass." + +"I will take you to Lieut. Sunderland." + +"Lead on; I am ready." + +Eben conducted the boy to Sunderland, and to him Zeb told a most +wonderful yarn. + +It was so plausible that he was complimented on his patriotism, and +rewarded by the faithful lieutenant as well as his purse would permit. + +Zeb trusted to the inspiration of the moment for most of his narrative. +He told how his father was a loyal Vermonter, and in the fullness of +his heart had invited Allen and Baker to a late supper, and in their +honor had prepared boiled pig's head and cabbage, and that while they +were eating supper some soldiers burst open the door and took all +prisoners. Zeb said his father was released on condition that he would +find ropes to bind Allen and Baker. Thinking that he could be of +service to the colonel by remaining at liberty, he consented, and then +sent Zeb to the Mountain Boys' camp. + +Zeb embellished the story in many ways, but he was so good a +story-teller that every word he uttered was believed. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE TABLES TURNED. + +Ethan Allen could see no possible chance of escape. + +He was not afraid to meet the punishment, but he felt it galling to be +trapped in such a way. + +If he had not been a bitter opponent of New York before, that treachery +would have made him one. + +For greater security the two mountaineers had been bound together, so +that they could be more easily guarded. + +Nearly an hour passed before the officer determined to march. + +He had sent out scouts to ascertain if the Mountain Boys were in the +vicinity, and the men had returned to report all quiet. + +Then the small company, with its valuable captives, set out to cross +into York at the nearest point. + +For about an hour the march was continued in silence, and the men were +fatigued, for they had to carry the prisoners, both Allen and Baker +refusing to walk one step. + +A halt was called, and the soldiers were told they could rest for one +hour. + +They were delighted at the prospect, and laid themselves down on the +grass. + +So secure did they feel that they relaxed their watchfulness and +allowed the prisoners to lie down by themselves a little distance away, +yet not so far that they had any chance of escape. + +Allen was singing a song of freedom; it was an old French ditty he had +learned and often sung. + +He sang, not because his spirits were light, but simply to prevent a +feeling of melancholy overmastering him. + +The singing satisfied his captors that he was resigned, and was not +meditating any plan of escape. + +In the midst of his song he heard a soft, low voice say: + +"Do not speak, but listen." + +Baker had fallen asleep, and Allen knew that it was Eben who spoke; but +how the boy got there, or, in fact, where he was, Allen could not +conjecture. + +"Here is a knife," said Eben; "I am going to cut the cords which bind +your hands; you can then liberate Baker. When you are both free, keep +still until you hear the cry of the catbird, and then leap to your feet +and run, taking a course direct to the left; the boys are there in +ambush, and you will be safe." + +While Eben was speaking he succeeded in cutting the cords, and Allen's +hands were free. + +Eben glided away as noiselessly as he came, and Allen woke Baker as +quickly as possible. + +"Heigho! Have we to continue our journey?" + +"Hush! do not utter a word! We have a chance to escape, if you will +listen and not speak." + +Allen told him all that had been done, and then quietly cut the other's +cords. + +Both men were free. + +They lay as still as though the cords still bound their bodies. + +Allen sang another song in a low, tremulous voice. + +Again it had the effect of disarming suspicion. + +A bird warbled in a tree, rather strangely for so late at night, but as +one of the men remarked that it was the bird's lookout and not his, no +notice was taken of it. + +And then the warbling ceased and the peculiar call of the catbird was +heard. + +Instantly the two prisoners were on their feet and making for the wood. + +They had got some yards before their movement was noticed. + +At once the soldiers seized their guns, and a volley was fired after +the fugitives. + +The shots did not reach the mark, and pursuit was commenced. + +Allen heard the catbird again and again, and by its sound guided his +footsteps. + +The soldiers were close behind and were gaining every minute, but the +Mountain Boys ran pluckily, for it was a race for life in reality. + +They rushed into the dense wood and followed the narrow path, which was +really a deer run. + +Some of the soldiers fired again, and a ball struck a tree and +ricochetted, injuring the leader of the little band of pursuers. + +The accident made the men more furious, and they ran so fast that it +seemed Allen and Baker must certainly fall into their hands. + +Suddenly the scene changed. + +From behind every tree there leaped out a Mountain Boy, and with one +voice a shout went up: + +"Surrender!" + +It was no use resisting. + +The Yorkers were outnumbered. + +They were blown with the long run, while their enemies were fresh and +their muskets loaded. + +"To whom are we to surrender?" asked the officer. + +"To Col. Allen and his Green Mountain Boys," was the answer. + +"On what terms?" + +"The same you gave us," answered Baker. + +"Yes, you are invaders of another colony, and must be treated as +marauders," added Allen. + +"We are prisoners of war." + +"Not any more than we were, but you bound us with cords, and you must +submit to the same treatment." + +"It is an outrage." + +"Very likely you think so, but you should do to others as you would +they should do to you. The example was set by you, not me." + +Turning to his men, Allen ordered them to convey the prisoners to the +camp by the lake, and added: + +"Shoot anyone who attempts to escape." + +The order was unnecessary, for the Yorkers were too much frightened to +think of escaping. + +When the camp was reached Ethan Allen gave orders for the Garvans, +father and son, to be arrested and brought to the camp. + +Peleg Sunderland told how the rescue had been accomplished, but when he +gave Zeb's version of the affair Allen shook his head and told his +friends of the arch treachery of the elder Garvan, whatever his son +might say to the contrary. + +Before morning Zeke Garvan and his hopeful son, Zeb, were prisoners at +the camp of the Mountain Boys. + +Zeke expected to be shot, and whimpered like a child. + +His son, Zeb, was brave, and showed that death had no terrors for him. + +There was a sort of bulldog courage about him which won the admiration +of even his enemies. He faced the Mountain Boys with a defiance which +seemed to mean: + +"What are you going to do about it?" + +When Allen asked him why he had been so treacherous, he laughed as +though the question was a good joke. + +"I worsted the enemy, didn't I?" + +"What do you mean?" + +Zeb screwed up his mouth as though about to whistle, then suddenly +changed and burst into another laugh. + +"Come, my boy, we do not make war on boys, so tell me your motive." + +"Shall I?" + +"It will be for your advantage, and your father----" + +"Don't mention him. Let every tub stand on its own bottom, my father +always taught me. Talk about me, if you like, but leave dad alone." + +"Then, for your own sake, tell me why you did it. Did others prompt +you?" + +"I don't know what you mean by prompt, but if you mean did anyone tell +me to do it, I say no. I thought of it all by myself, and I made a +bargain with father, which he didn't keep; but he was a long time +before he saw it as I did." + +"Tell all your story, and leave the rest to me." + +"Well, you see, father wanted money----" + +"Ah! so money stands before country?" + +"Let me tell my story." + +"Go on, I will not interrupt you again." + +"You had better not if you want to hear what I have to say. I said +father wanted money, and as the Yorkers wanted you, and offered a big +sum of good money for your capture, why, I suggested to father that he +get the reward. Now, don't wince; wait until you have heard all. So I +got father to agree, and then you were invited to supper. I had gone +for the soldiers, and there you were trapped as nicely as any bear in +the mountains. Well, when you were secured I put up dad to ask when he +would get the reward, and he was told he would have to go to Albany for +it, and I found that he could get the reward even if you were rescued, +so I wanted to make myself solid with the boys, and I came and told +them which way you would be taken, and how to rescue you. So if you +will let us go we shall get the reward, but the Yorkers won't get you." + +Zeb spoke with such a feeling of exultation that Allen had to laugh. + +"So you tried to please both parties?" + +"Well, yes; but if ye don't get the money we shan't be pleased with the +result." + +"Have you told me the truth?" + +"Of course I have, and I am itching to get the reward so that I may +laugh at the enemy." + +"And try to play the same prank again." + +"No, I want to join you; I am tired of home. My, won't the Yorkers be +mad at having to pay the money and not get you anyway?" + +"They will not pay the reward." + +"Then I'll fight until they do." + +Allen called a council of the boys and asked what should be done with +the prisoners. + +"Hang them all, every one of them," was the advice of Peleg Sunderland. + +"I say, keep them as hostages, and if any of our men are caught, deal +with the Yorkers as they deal with our men," said Baker. + +"And I think," remarked Allen, slowly and with great deliberation, +"that we ought to liberate the soldiers, who only did as they were +ordered, and punish Farmer Garvan." + +"Let us leave the whole matter to the colonel." + +"Good! he is always right." + +This course was adopted, and Allen accepted the trust. + +He ordered the soldiers to be brought before him, and then addressed +them, telling them how some had counseled hanging, but as they were +fellow-Americans it was resolved to liberate them, because they had +only obeyed orders. + +He expressed a wish that they would go back to their own colony and +tell the Yorkers that the men of the mountains would never give up +their lands while one of them remained alive. + +The officer in charge spoke for his men. + +He thanked Allen for his merciful conduct, and declared that the duty +had been distasteful, but that as soldiers they must act without +question. + +After the Yorkers left the camp, Allen ordered the farmer to be brought +before him. + +"Farmer Garvan," he said, "you have been guilty of the greatest crime +it is possible for a man to commit. You offered hospitality, and then, +like Judas, you betrayed those who trusted you. Your offense is worse, +seeing that you are a grantee of New Hampshire. By all the laws of war +you ought to be hanged----" + +"Spare me!" whined the farmer. + +"You did not spare me, but for the sake of a little money would have +condemned me to death. You are a coward, or you would meet your fate +boldly. A man who risks so much should not cry out for mercy when his +rascality fails. I will not hang you----" + +"Thank you. Heaven----" + +"Stay! Do not call Heaven into a defense of treachery. I order that +you be stripped and receive one hundred lashes on the bare back, such +punishment to be meted out to you in accordance with the laws laid down +by the convention at Bennington." + +Garvan fell on his knees and with uplifted hands prayed for mercy. + +"It will kill me, I know it will. Oh, spare me, and I will serve you, +I----" + +"Each of my men will give you a stroke with a good, strong oaken or +beechen stick, and may the punishment teach you that treachery never +pays." + +In vain the man cried for mercy. + +Allen could never forgive treachery. + +The Green Mountain Boys hurried to cut sticks from the trees which grew +by the lake, and each submitted his stick to Allen, who rejected quite +a number because they were too large. + +Zeke was stripped and tied to a tree, his hands above his head. The +first man was called to administer his stroke, when Zeb, who had been +standing, listening to the decision, rushed forward, and placing +himself between his father and the mountaineer, said: + +"Strike, but not father. Let me bear the punishment, for it was all my +fault, it was all my doing." + +"Stand aside." + +"I will not." + +"Drag him away," commanded Baker. + +Two of the mountaineers stepped up to the boy, who had clasped his arms +around his father's waist. + +He held on so tightly that to drag him away they must hurt him. + +Baker ordered the men to whip him until he loosed his grasp, but Allen +stopped the execution of this order. + +"Stop! Boy, you have won. I thought you were bad at heart, but I see +you love your father, and for your sake I remit the punishment." + +Zeb fell on his knees and clasped Allen's legs. + +"Bless you! If anyone ever says a word against you in my hearing he +shall die, that he shall." + +"Release the prisoner." + +When Zeke was free Allen ordered him to give up the paper signed by the +soldiers. + +"And lose my reward?" + +"Yes; I will not allow you to be rewarded for treachery." + +Garvan had no option in the matter, and so he gave up the document, +which certified that he was entitled to the reward for the capture of +Ethan Allen and Remember Baker. + +Zeb pleaded hard to be allowed to join the Mountain Boys, and Allen +consented provisionally that he should stay in the camp and hold no +conversation with his old companions. + +"I am afraid you acted foolishly," said Baker. "Others will follow the +farmer's example." + +"I think not. Mercy never yet failed; sternness often leads to +disaster. I am satisfied with what has been done." + +In this, as in many other instances, Ethan Allen, rebel though he was +called, outlaw as he was decreed to be, showed the largeness of his +heart. + +"We shall have to break camp. It is possible others besides those who +have been liberated will know of our nearness and profit by it." + +"Where shall we go, colonel?" + +"To Middlebury. We will not secrete ourselves, but openly show that we +are in the field to oppose New York in its pretensions." + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE OPENING OF THE WAR. + +The people of Middlebury welcomed Allen and his Green Mountain Boys +with enthusiasm. + +They knew that their only chance of maintaining their lands--lands +which they had reclaimed and made valuable--was by assisting Allen in +his crusade against the pretensions of New York. + +Success perched upon his banner, and not only was he able to hold the +lands for the people, but he drove the New York settlers out of the +district. + +He had drafted a petition to the English king, asking that Vermont +should be a separate colony, having its own governor and its +legislature. + +But before that petition reached England the revolution had broken out. + +The Boston Port bill had been passed, which enacted that no kind of +merchandise should any longer be shipped or landed at the wharves of +Boston. + +The custom house was removed to Salem, but the people of that town +refused the honor conferred on them by the tyrant who ruled the +destinies of England and the colonies. + +The inhabitants of Marblehead offered the free use of their warehouses +to the merchants of Boston. The Colonial Assembly stood by the people. + +Then England passed an act of parliament annuling the charter of +Massachusetts. The people were declared rebels, and the governor was +ordered to send to England for trial all persons who should resist the +royal officers. + +A colonial congress was called to assemble at Philadelphia. Eleven +colonies were represented, and it was unanimously agreed to sustain +Massachusetts in her conflict with parliament. + +An address was sent to King George, another to the English nation, and +a third to the people of Canada. + +As soon as England received the addresses an order was made by which +the governor was directed to reduce the colonists by force. + +So we see that England took the initiative in the war which was to +deprive her of her richest colonies. + +A fleet and an army of ten thousand men were sent to America to aid in +the work of subjugation. + +Gov. Gage seized Boston Neck and fortified it. The military stores in +the arsenals of Cambridge and Charlestown were conveyed to Boston, and +the general assembly was ordered to disband. + +Instead of accepting their dismissal, the members resolved themselves +into a provincial congress, and voted to equip an army of twelve +thousand men to defend the colony. + +As soon as the people of Boston learned the intentions of the governor, +they concealed their ammunition in carts of rubbish and conveyed it to +Concord, sixteen miles away. + +The wrath of the governor was especially directed against Samuel Adams +and John Hancock, who were looked upon as the leaders of the rebellion. + +An expedition was sent against Concord, and eight hundred men marched +toward the town. + +But the people of Boston were not to be taken by surprise. + +Bells were rung and cannon fired, and the citizens were informed of the +expedition. + +Joseph Warren--all honor to him--had dispatched Paul Revere and William +Dawes to ride with all speed to Concord and Lexington and rouse the +whole country to resistance. + +A company of one hundred and thirty Minute Men assembled on Lexington +Common and awaited the approach of the enemy, but after staying some +hours they dispersed. + +At five o'clock in the morning the English appeared, led by the +notorious Pitcairn. + +The Minute Men had gone back to their homes, tired of waiting; but +seventy, led by Capt. Parker, were roused and reached the common before +the enemy. + +Pitcairn rode up to them and exclaimed: + +"Disperse, you villains! Throw down your arms, ye rebels, and +disperse!" + +The Minute Men stood defiant and still. + +Pitcairn discharged his pistol at them and shouted to his men: + +"Fire!" + +The first volley whistled through the air, and sixteen of the Minute +Men fell, dead or wounded. + +The rest fired a few random shots and dispersed. + +The English pressed on to Concord. + +The people had quietly removed most of the ammunition, and the English +found but little worth taking. They started to sack the town. + +While they were doing this the Minute Men had rallied and began to +assemble from all quarters. + +A company of English guarded the bridge over Concord River. They were +attacked by the Minute Men and two English soldiers were killed. The +Minute Men captured the bridge, and the enemy began a retreat into the +town, and then on the road to Lexington. + +On every side the patriots assembled. For six miles the battle waged. + +Every tree, every house and barn sheltered the patriots, who poured a +murderous fire into the ranks of the retreating English. + +Had it not been for the arrival of reinforcements under Lord Percy, the +English army would have been completely routed. + +The fight continued right up to Charlestown, and only ceased because +the people feared the fleet would burn the city. + +The first battle had been fought. + +The English had suffered a loss of two hundred and seventy-three, while +the patriots lost only eighty-three in dead and wounded. + +The battle of Lexington fired the country. + +Within a few days an army of twenty thousand men had gathered round +Boston. + +New Hampshire sent its militia, with John Stark at its head; Rhode +Island sent her quota under the leadership of Nathaniel Greene. + +New Haven was not behind, for a regiment was dispatched from that city +with Benedict Arnold as leader. + +All this news was conveyed to Ethan Allen by Eben Pike, who had been +dispatched on the dangerous mission to Boston to find out what the +Provincials meant to do. No more trusty messenger could have been +found than the young scout of the Green Mountains. + +"What shall we do?" asked Baker. + +"Fight!" was Allen's curt reply. + +"Shall we join the patriots at Boston?" + +"No; Connecticut has offered a thousand dollars toward the expenses of +capturing Ticonderoga, and that reward we will win." + +To capture the fort with its treasures would be to strike a blow at +England's supremacy which would tell more than any concerted action at +Boston. + +"Call the roll," ordered Allen. + +Two hundred and seventy men answered the call, and Allen shouted for +joy. + +"Men of the Great Mountains, we are strong, because a mountain boy is +worth ten men of the valleys. We shall capture Ticonderoga. I cannot +offer you life; many may be killed, more wounded; but remember we have +fought for our homes, we must now fight for our country. We have +driven the Yorkers out of the Green Mountains, we must now drive the +English out of America, or compel them to recognize our right to govern +ourselves. Will you follow me?" + +A tremendous shout in the affirmative went up from those brave +patriots, and Ethan Allen was so overcome with emotion that for a few +moments he could not speak. + +Then, raising his sword above his head, he shouted: + +"On to Ticonderoga! Victory and freedom, or death, for every man who +hears my voice!" + +And the Green Mountain Boys took up the cry: + +"On to Ticonderoga! Victory or death!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +BENEDICT ARNOLD. + +"At last I see my way to a position. They said I was a ne'er-do-well. +We shall see!" + +The speaker, a fine, handsome-looking man, paced the floor of a small +room in Cambridge. + +It was one week after the battle of Lexington. + +He was restless; every muscle in his body seemed to quiver with +excitement. + +Anyone looking at him would prefer him as a friend rather than an +enemy, for there was that in his face which betokened strong passion. + +He was ambitious. For the gratification of that ambition he would +sacrifice anything, even honor. + +He had been brought up as a merchant, and had splendid opportunities in +his native Colony of Connecticut for success, but he was restless, and +wanted a fame greater than he could obtain as a merchant. + +He had suggested the formation of a company of militia, to be called +the "Governor's Guards," and had also hinted that they should rival the +royal guards of England in appearance and attire. + +The governor was pleased with the suggestion, for he loved display, and +commissioned Benedict Arnold to put into effect his suggestion, and to +take the rank of captain. + +Arnold cared less for the career of a merchant than ever. + +He designed a uniform which should outshine even the famous Life Guards +of London in splendor. + +Buckling on a sword, he would pose before a mirror and salute his own +reflected image in the glass. + +Gathering around him a number of well-connected young men, men of good +figure and tall in stature, he proceeded to impress upon them his own +importance, and made them believe that all the honor of their position +depended upon his favor. + +Arnold was a favorite, and so the young men of New Haven accepted his +authority and became the willing followers of Capt. Arnold. + +The governor threw a wet blanket on his scheme when he told him that if +the guards wanted uniforms they must purchase them, for the funds of +the colony could not be used for such a purpose. + +Arnold had to moderate his gorgeousness and accept a much plainer +uniform for his guards. + +The company was formed, and drill commenced. The young captain showed +that he knew more about the manual of arms than he did of mercantile +practices. + +The militia grumbled at the harshness of the discipline, but a few +words from their captain won them over. + +When the war commenced Arnold was a strong royalist, or tory. + +He wanted the guards to be recognized by England as a part of the royal +forces. In fancy he saw himself driving the "rebels" into the sound +and being sent for to London to receive the thanks of the king in +person; he imagined himself promoted to the rank of general, and +perhaps made life governor of one of the colonies. + +But the airy castles he built fell to the ground when he was bluntly +told that the king could do without his "guards," and that when there +was need of soldiers the king could provide them. + +From that moment Arnold resolved on throwing in his lot with the very +men he had asked permission to shoot down. He became a "rebel." + +When the news of the battle of Lexington reached New Haven he clapped +his hands and became more excited than he had ever known himself to be. + +He called his guards together, and in an impassioned speech bade them +be ready to march against the English, and win freedom for their native +land and honor and renown for themselves. + +He denounced the king. + +He ridiculed the parliament. + +The tories were treated to such an outburst of eloquent denunciation +that, had any of them heard him, they would have trembled. + +"Guards! soldiers of the nation! I salute you. To you is intrusted a +banner which must ever be kept in the front of the battle. Some of us +may fall, but, if we do, our names shall be writ on our country's +history in imperishable letters. To those who survive no honor will be +begrudged, no reward will be too ample for a proud country to bestow. + +"We shall meet the foe. We shall cross swords with the hirelings of a +tyrant. Our arms will be triumphant, for justice is with us, and God +will bless our swords. To-morrow we march to Massachusetts, to join +our brothers there, and all the world shall ring with the doings of the +Governor's Guards of Connecticut." + +He fired his men with enthusiasm, and they were ready to follow him to +death, if need be. + +Arrived at Cambridge, he was received warmly, but so was John Stark and +his New Hampshire militia, and equally well did he find the men of +Massachusetts greet Nathaniel Greene and his militia from Rhode Island. + +Arnold had expected a greater enthusiasm. In his heart he had fancied +himself appointed general of the army of the Provincials, and therefore +he was hurt when he learned that he was only one among many. + +"The king insulted me," he said, as he paced the floor, "the tories did +not care for me, and now these Provincials treat me as if I were one of +them, instead of being---- Well, what is it, Eli?" + +Sergt. Eli Forest, of the Governor's Guards, entered the room. + +"Captain, I have just heard that one Ethan Allen has undertaken to +capture Ticonderoga, for which our governor has offered a thousand +dollars for expenses." + +"Well?" + +"Would it not be well for us to join with Col. Allen----" + +"Eh?" + +"Do not think me rash, captain, but you have given me permission to +speak as I think." + +"So I have, Eli, and for the sake of our old college days and the good +times we shared, you can always speak your mind to me." + +"Then, captain, I thought that this man, Allen, knew nothing of +fighting save a sheriff's posse, and you could become the general and +lead the men to Ticonderoga and then to Crown Point, and who knows, you +might drive the English back into Canada, and, joining with the French, +compel England to sue for peace, and you could name your own terms." + +"Talk, talk, talk! How easy it is to talk, Eli, but how different is +action. Go; when I have thought over your suggestion I will let you +know my decision." + +Eli Forest had the most implicit confidence in Benedict Arnold. As +boys they had gone to the same school, and when they left school they +entered college and graduated at the same time. During all those years +Eli had always looked upon Arnold as a superior being. When the men +were enrolled as guards Eli felt that the height of his ambition was +reached, for, with Arnold as captain, the guards would rival any +military body in the country. + +Arnold was as fond of his friend as he could be of anyone; he gave him +greater freedom of speech, and listened to him when others would have +been treated very cavalierly. + +When Benedict Arnold was alone he showed by every line on his face how +pleased he was with the suggestion made by his old-time friend. + +"It is the opportunity of my life. What does Ethan Allen know about +war? He is a country farmer, and can fight a sheriff's posse, and +perhaps a few soldiers in his mountains; but to take Ticonderoga? Bah! +He will fail unless I help him, and then the glory shall be mine." + +Arnold walked quickly up and down the floor, his hands clinched, his +face lighted up with ambitious fire. + +"Yes, the glory shall be mine," he continued, "and once let me have +Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and then---- Ah! what then?" + +He crossed to the window and looked out. + +John Stark was marching past at the head of his sturdy New Hampshire +boys, and the people cheered. + +"If I hold Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains I can dictate my own +terms. I shall hold the key to the situation. Canada can be mine, and +Massachusetts will be glad to make terms with me. If I fail to make +good terms with the colonies I can go to England and say: 'You will be +driven out of America unless I say stay, and I shall not say that +unless you give me----' Well, what now?" + +The orderly entered and told Arnold that he was wanted at the +headquarters of the Provincial army at once. + +"Tell the council that I--will not---- I mean I will not delay." + +Once more alone, he showed his restlessness. + +"They order me--me!--Capt. Benedict Arnold! Well, let me join Allen +and his Green Mountain Boys, and I shall do the ordering, or my star +has dimmed its luster." + +One hour later he called together his guards and told them that they +were to be ready to march at a moment's notice. + +"A soldier's first lesson is that of obedience," he said to them, "and +I am going to try you in many ways. In the expedition we are about to +undertake I shall only be of the same rank as yourselves. Obey whoever +may be your commander, but be ready to accept me as your leader at any +time." + +Eli, on behalf of the guards, promised that whatever Arnold might order +it would be their pleasure to obey. + +"Sergt. Eli Forest, stand forward." + +Eli obeyed and saluted. + +"Lieut. Percival has obtained leave of absence. He will join the army +in Cambridge when that leave expires. The grade of lieutenant is an +important one, and I appoint you, Eli Forest, first lieutenant of the +Governor's Guards." + +Eli thanked his chief for the new honor, and Arnold had bound him still +closer to him. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +ARNOLD'S POWERS OF FASCINATION. + + "On the choice of friends + Our good or evil name depends." + + +"Colonel, a number of armed men are marching this way, and I like not +their appearance," said the young Eben Pike, hurriedly and with gasping +breath, as he entered the presence of Ethan Allen. + +"They most likely are friends, Eben." + +"They may be, colonel, but I thought you ought to know." + +"You acted wisely, as you usually do. Did you meet Mistress Baker?" + +"Yes, colonel, and a fair young maiden she is. I wish I had a sister +like her." + +Allen laughed and looked at the boy, whose face was a brighter color +than usual. + +"You will learn to like some one else's sister better than your own, if +you had one." + +Eben blushed still more and was about to leave when the colonel made +him send Baker at once. + +Remember Baker had a sister, pretty and winsome. She had been visiting +for a year in New Haven, and decided to return to her brother's home at +the very time he was on the march with Allen. + +Baker had an aunt living near Lake Champlain, and he decided to place +Martha with her. Good friends escorted Martha to a place a few miles +from where the Mountain Boys were to camp prior to their attack on Fort +Ticonderoga, and Eben was dispatched to escort the young maiden to her +brother. Eben had fulfilled the task and wished the distance had been +several times as far; but a few miles from the camp he had seen the +regiment of guards on the march, and at once thought it his duty to +report. + +Remember Baker entered the presence of Ethan Allen and listened to the +story told by Eben. + +"Martha saw them," said Baker, "and she declared that their leader was +a man who was noted for being a great loyalist in New Haven." + +"So! Let all the men be ready in case of emergency, and do you see +that they are well prepared for attack!" + +"I shall see to it." + +"Does Mistress Martha feel tired after her long journey?" + +"No; she very naively says that she was tired until she was met by +Eben, and from that time her weariness ceased." + +"Natural, very. Eben felt that way also, and his face was as red as a +turkey gobbler's comb when he entered here." + +In less than an hour Lieut. Eli Forest approached the camp, bearing a +white flag. + +He asked to be admitted to the presence of Ethan Allen. + +"Col. Allen, this gentleman craves an interview." + +"Capt. Baker, I shall be pleased to confer with him." + +Eli was rather surprised at the courtesy shown by Ethan and Baker to +each other. He had been led to believe the Mountain Boys to be a lot +of uneducated, boorish farmers. + +He, a college graduate, knew that he was in the presence of his equals. + +"I am commissioned by my superior, Col. Arnold, to ask you to favor him +with an audience." + +"Might I ask who I am speaking with?" + +"I have the honor to be lieutenant of the Connecticut Guards. I am Eli +Forest." + +"Tell Col. Arnold that I shall be pleased to see him, and, believe me, +I am proud to have met Lieut. Forest." + +When Forest returned to Arnold he found the New Haven colonel very +anxious. + +"Well, what says the farmer?" + +"He may be a farmer, but he is a well-educated gentleman." + +"You don't mean----" + +"We have been deceived. You will find that he is our--my equal." + +"So much the better; I shall win the surer." + +In the camp of the mountaineers the center of attraction was Martha +Baker. Many of the Bennington boys knew her, though she had greatly +improved during her stay at New Haven. + +She sought the presence of Col. Allen and besought him to be careful of +his treatment of the guardsman of New Haven. + +"If it is Benedict Arnold who is coming, he means you no good," she +said, very earnestly; "my friend in New Haven knew him well, and she +was certain that he was in favor of England." + +"Thank you, Martha; I will know how to deal with him. I am glad that +you have told me." + +Benedict Arnold lost no time in seeking an audience with Ethan Allen. + +"I have come from Cambridge," he said, "with but one object in view." + +"I shall be very pleased to hear your project, if you care to confide +it to me." + +"I heard of your fame"--Ethan bowed--"and I felt that if there was to +be any great work accomplished, Col. Ethan Allen was the man to make it +apparent." + +Arnold had spoken with great deference. "I was appointed colonel by +the Provincial Council; but when I heard that Ethan Allen and his Green +Mountain Boys were about to attack Fort Ticonderoga, I thought that I +could serve my country best by offering myself and my guards to him, +and I ask no other favor than to be allowed to enlist under your banner +as a private soldier." + +"My dear colonel, I cannot think of such a thing." + +"On no other terms would I consent. My men are all well drilled and +are ready to join you under the same conditions." + +"Let us meet on equal terms; we will jointly command." + +"No, Col. Allen; in military matters there should be no divided +authority. I will serve under you, and if you wish my advice I shall +be ready to give it, but I will not accept a share in the command." + +The interview was a long one. + +Ethan Allen was completely fascinated with Arnold. He believed that if +there was a genuine patriot in the colony it was he. + +Arnold, having recovered from his surprise at finding Allen an educated +man, conceived a liking for him and resolved to act squarely in all his +dealings with him. + +Arnold was better read in history than the mountaineer, and he knew the +history of Ticonderoga as well as he knew the later history of New +Haven. + +"The French knew what they were doing when they fortified Ticonderoga," +Arnold remarked, when the strength of the fort was being discussed. + +"Tell me all you know about it, will you not?" + +"My dear Allen, I am always at your service. You remember--but no, you +would be too young; we were but boys then--but in 1755 Gen. William +Johnson was ordered by the British to drive the French from the shores +of Lake Champlain. Johnson had a fine body of men, three thousand four +hundred in number, including a body of friendly Mohawks. Oh, those +Mohawks! They are fighters, every one of them. I wish we had a +thousand of them with us." + +"We do not need them." + +"No, but we shall before the English are taught the lesson we intend to +teach them--that is, to mind their own business. The French general, +Dieskau, who was commandant at Crown Point, was one of the most daring +men of whom I have ever heard. He had only fourteen hundred men, +French, Indians and Canadians, all told, but with this force he made up +his mind he would anticipate the movements of the English and drive +them back to Albany. He sailed up the lake to South Bay. From there +he marched to the upper springs of Wood Creek, intending to pass the +English army and capture Fort Edward before the alarm could be given. +But the news was carried to Gen. Johnson. A natural, a boy, half an +idiot, ran into the general's presence and cried out: 'The French are +marching like mad!' A scout was sent out and the truth learned. Col. +Williams, with a force of a thousand men, accompanied by Mohawk Chief +Hendrick, with two hundred warriors, set out to relieve the threatened +fort." + +"Hendrick was a very old man, was he not?" + +"Yes, he was gray-headed, and though very old he was as stalwart as any +of the younger men of the tribe. Dieskau had been misled as to the +route, and found himself four miles to the north of Fort Edward, when +he should have been there. His scouts reported that Williams and +Hendrick were marching to the fort, and the daring Frenchman quickly +ordered his forces into ambush, and the English were entrapped. Both +Williams and Hendrick fell dead, and the English were badly routed. +Johnson heard the noise of battle and quickly extemporized breastworks +by felling trees; the cannon were brought into position and then the +English awaited the triumphant French. It must have been a glorious +fight. + +"The Indians, with Dieskau, when they saw the cannon, quietly walked to +a hill at a safe distance, and watched the battle. The Canadians, who +had hoped the Indians would have done the most of the fighting, were +disheartened and left the French to make the onset alone. Bravely they +fought, and for five hours, the battle raged. Johnson was wounded +early in the tight, and the men fought without a leader." + +"But Johnson got the credit?" + +"Yes, and was made a baronet by England; but, between you and I, the +man was only slightly wounded, and was glad of an excuse to escape the +danger of the battle." + +"Johnson was no coward." + +"Perhaps not; but have you not heard of that commander who, when +wounded, insisted on staying on the field and giving orders until he +dropped dead? That was a true hero, if you like. Then note the +difference. Dieskau was wounded three times and would not retire. He +sat on a tree stump and refused to be carried off the field. A +renegade Frenchman who had joined the English went up to him to make +him a prisoner. Dieskau was about to hand the man his watch as a token +of surrender, but the Frenchman, thinking the general intended to draw +a pistol, fired, and the brave commander dropped, mortally wounded. +But though the victory was with the English, it was dearly purchased. +The French were not disheartened, for they reinforced Crown Point and +seized Ticonderoga, which they fortified." + +"Is Ticonderoga so very strong?" asked Allen, who had listened so +attentively to the historical narrative told by Arnold. + +"Yes. Abercrombie for four hours stormed it. Column after column +dashed with great bravery against the breastworks, but only to meet +with failure. Abercrombie could have returned with a larger army and +heavier guns, but he did not. He had fifteen thousand men, while the +French had not more than eight thousand on the outside. In 1759 the +French, being hard pressed, dismantled the fort and the English walked +into it. It cost the English eight million pounds to repair, enlarge +and strengthen it." + +"And in a few days it will be in our possession." + +"I hope so." + +"It must be." + +"Have you sent out any scouts to find its strength?" + +"Yes, one--a boy named Ebenezer Pike." + +"A boy?" + +"Yes, a boy that I would back against all the men I ever saw." + +"He may betray you." + +"Col. Arnold, that makes three times you have expressed a fear of some +one betraying our cause. Do not do it again, or I may----" + +Allen paused. He did not wish to give offense. + +"What? Speak out, man!" + +"I may doubt you. I always was taught to think that a suspicious +person was to be feared." + +"Ha, ha, ha! Allen, do you see that sun?" + +"Of course." + +"It shines for all?" + +"Yes." + +"It is always constant? It never refuses to shine?" + +"No." + +"Then do not doubt me until that sun ceases to be constant and true." + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE HERO OF TICONDEROGA. + +Arnold appeared to agree with every suggestion made by Allen, and no +man could be more pleasant. + +Not one atom of distrust of Arnold was to be found in the whole of the +mountaineer's mind. + +Certainly he had no reason for it save the strong distrust manifested +by Remember Baker because of the stories Martha had brought from New +Haven. + +On the evening of the ninth of May the combined forces of Allen and +Arnold appeared on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, opposite +Ticonderoga. + +The march had been so well planned and executed that the English had no +knowledge of the movement of the Mountain Boys. + +A difficulty, which had not been foreseen, had to be overcome. + +There were only three small boats in which the men could be conveyed +across the lake. + +Usually there was quite a fleet of boats there, but the soldiers had +taken most of the boats farther up the lake. + +Arnold suggested the construction of rafts, but the felling of trees +might make so much noise that the attention of the garrison might be +called to it and the whole plan fail. + +Men were sent up the shore to search for boats, while others were +instructed to look for anything which could be utilized for rafts. + +Half the night was wasted in the vain search, and some of the boys were +discouraged. + +Allen called the leaders together and asked the simple question: + +"What shall we do?" + +Let it not be thought that he hesitated. No, Ethan Allen never did +that; he knew just what would be best, but he also knew that the men +were more confident if they were consulted. + +Eli Forest was the first to answer. + +"It is impossible for us to cross, so I think it would be best to +retire into the woods and fell trees, so that we might fashion rafts." + +"How long would that delay us?" + +"Not more than a week." + +"What say you, Baker?" + +"I do not like delay, yet--Ticonderoga is strong, and ten men could +hold the place against a hundred." + +"And you, Col. Arnold?" + +"I am a soldier, and am ready to follow my superior. What he orders I +shall loyally help to carry out." + +"We will all do that," said Baker, half ashamed that he had shown any +shadow of doubt about the advisability of attacking the fort. + +"I know you are all true soldiers," replied Allen, "and I am ready to +lead you against the fort. I think we can breakfast on the rations +England has provided." + +"Lead on and we will follow." + +"Forest, do you pick the men in your company who have the strongest +nerves and the pluckiest spirits to cross first; take the largest of +the two large boats and get as many of the men over as possible." + +"It shall be done." + +"And you, Baker, follow the same instruction in reference to the +Mountain Boys. The small boat we will reserve for Col. Arnold and +myself. When you reach the other side, remember that there must not be +a sound. No word must be uttered, no fire made, but let every man lie +in the long grass and wait for orders." + +A crew was selected for each boat, and the work of transporting the +little army across the lake was commenced. + +The men pulled steadily and noiselessly across the waters of the +beautiful lake which the Indians called "Troquois," [Transcriber's +note: Iroquois?] and the early French settlers, who objected to +honoring the explorer, Samuel de Champlain, "Mere les Iroquois," and +still later, "Iracosia." + +It was slow work, and the men asked permission to swim across, but +Allen was afraid the swim would be too exhausting. + +When day broke the work had to cease, for the men at the fort would +have seen the boats and been put on their guard. + +Arnold looked at the handful of men and predicted failure. + +Allen counted the men and found eighty-three. + +That was the strength of his little army. + +It seemed absurd to think of attacking one of the strongest fortresses +on the continent with such a handful of men. + +True, the garrison was small, but it was intrenched behind strong +walls, a well-filled moat and a line of breastworks carefully designed, +and improved bastions. + +Allen called all his men together and addressed them. + +"It is for your country that you will risk your lives," he said, "and +while you take care not to run into needless danger, remember that only +the daring will succeed. If we enter the fort, as we shall undoubtedly +do, set up a shout which shall make the garrison think we have eight +hundred instead of eighty men. Be brave, and the victory will be ours." + +A thrill of excitement made every heart beat fast; cheeks glowed with +pleasure, heads were borne erect with pride, and the few men looked +invincible. + +Allen and Arnold led the way; they never were in the rear. + +When close to the fort they made a dash and gained the gateway. + +"Stand back!" exclaimed the sentry. + +He raised his musket to fire, but Allen knocked it on one side. + +"Are you mad? Do you want to die?" he asked. + +"Better die than be craven," answered the English soldier, bravely. + +Allen had seized him round the waist and thrown him to the floor; he +picked himself up and ran into the fort, closely followed by the +mountaineers. + +Suddenly the Green Mountain Boys set up such a shout as few garrisons +had ever heard. + +"We are inside," said Baker, exultingly. + +"Ay, but not out," answered Forest, rather gloomily. + +"Form into line!" shouted Arnold. + +The men formed, facing the barracks, and were ready to fire should the +garrison show fight. + +Allen left the command of the men in the hands of Arnold, while he +rushed to the quarters of the commandant. + +Capt. Delaplace was asleep. + +He had not heard the shout, though it was loud enough to wake the dead +almost. + +A sentinel stood guard outside the commandant's door. + +Allen placed a pistol at his head and ordered him to stand aside. + +The man obeyed like one in a dream. + +Allen stood by the bedside of the sleeping commandant. + +"Get up!" shouted the mountaineer. + +The voice was loud enough to rouse the sleeper, who thought that the +French had taken a fancy to come down the lake and try to recapture the +fortress. + +"Get up!" + +The commandant sat up in bed. + +"What do you want? Who are you?" + +"Surrender this fortress instantly." + +"By what authority?" + +Allen flourished his sword as he replied: + +"In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!" + +Delaplace did not hesitate. + +A sword was in close proximity to his heart, the shouts of the men +outside showed that the enemy was in possession of the fort, so what +could he do but surrender? + +He reached to the side of the bed and took his sword. + +"There is my sword, sir. I trust that you will allow me to dress." + +"Certainly; report to me in half an hour. Sorry to disturb your sleep, +captain, but war, you know, is not always considerate." + +The English flag was borne on the breeze, and floated proudly over the +fort. + +Allen looked up at it and sighed. + +It was a gallant flag, and a brave man does not like to see a flag of a +great nation humiliated, even though he is fighting against it. + +"Haul down the flag!" + +"What shall we run up, colonel?" + +The Provincials had no flag, and Allen ordered the English flag to be +again run up, but with the Union down. + +Across the waters of the lake the men were watching, and when they saw +the flag run up, with the Union down, they knew that the fort had been +taken, and they set up a cheer that could be heard across the water. + +A hundred and twenty cannon and a vast amount of military stores fell +into the hands of the Americans. + +Great Britain had expended forty million dollars on Fort Ticonderoga +from first to last, and a few undisciplined Mountain Boys wrested this +proud possession from her. + +Boats brought over the rest of the combined forces of Arnold and Allen, +and the leader of the mountaineers made good his promise that they +should breakfast in the fort on rations paid for by their enemy. + +When an inventory had been made and sent in duplicate to the assembly +of Connecticut and of Massachusetts by trusty messengers, Allen called +together his officers and thrilled them by declaring that their work +had only just begun. + +"To-day we have captured the strongest fortress in America; in two days +more we must be in Crown Point." + +"And again we pledge ourselves to the hero of Ticonderoga, who will +lead us to triumph!" exclaimed Baker. + +"Ay, and our cry shall be," echoed Forest, "Liberty Freedom and +Independence!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE TEMPTATION. + +Capt. Delaplace was fretful and soured by his defeat. + +"If it had been in open fight," he said, "I should not have cared so +much; but to be caught in a trap, it is enough to make a man kill +himself." + +He was speaking to Benedict Arnold, and that patriot was ready to +listen almost gloatingly to the story. + +Arnold was a peculiar man; he was kind and sympathetic, yet was ready +to rejoice over the sufferings of the fallen. + +Allen had asked Arnold to spend a portion of the day with the defeated +officer, so that he might be more consoled, for company is always +soothing. + +Delaplace was a diplomat; he had imbibed the idea that every man had +his price; in other words, that every man could be influenced for or +against a cause by bribery in some form or other. + +Being a quick reader of character, he saw that Arnold was ambitious, +and he at once began to wonder whether ambition would lead him to be +false to Allen. + +"You have treated me very kindly," he said to Arnold, "and I shall +report to my superiors, though----" + +He paused, and there was a world of meaning in that sudden silence. + +"Why do you hesitate? I know what you would say." + +"Do you?" + +"Yes; shall I tell you?" + +"If you please." + +"And you will tell me whether I am right?" + +"On my honor as a soldier and a gentleman." + +"You were about to say that such a recommendation would not even be a +plea in mitigation of the death penalty if I should fall into the hands +of the English." + +Again there was silence. + +"I am answered. Your silence proves that I am right. You need not +think I am offended. I know I should be treated as a rebel, not as a +prisoner of war." + +"And, knowing this, you joined these men against the rule of your +sovereign?" + +"I knew that if the colonists failed the leaders would be hanged; if +they succeeded they would found a new nation, and the chances were +worth risking." + +"Did you not think that England has a large army and a strong navy at +her back?" + +"Yes, and I knew it had strong forts; this is one of them." + +"You sneer! I admit that England behaved scurvily in allowing me to +have so few men." + +"Nay, nay, captain. Fifty men, if they felt an interest in their work, +could hold this fort against an army." + +"You are the victor and so have a right to rebuke me. But do not think +England will allow the colonies to be independent." + +"Perhaps not, but at any rate the colonies will have won respect for +themselves." + +"But the leaders will be hanged." + +"So let it be." + +"Can you face the thought of death like that?" + +"I can, for my country will be saved from a serfdom which no +self-respecting nation should submit to." + +"If--mind, I say if, for I do not think there is the remotest +chance--but if the colonies were successful, what could they do for +you? I suppose you might be a governor, or something like that, with +no salary to speak of, while if you had remained loyal to your king you +might have a chance----" + +"Of being snubbed, insulted and laughed at." + +Delaplace smiled. He had learned the cause of Arnold's action in +joining the colonists--it was disappointed ambition. Could he play on +that and win over Arnold? If so, then he would regain the fort, and +that by treachery; but what of that? Would not the result justify the +means? + +"My dear general"--Arnold smiled at the title--"if anyone insulted or +snubbed you it was through a misunderstanding. Tell me about it, and I +think all can be rectified." + +"It is too late." + +"Not so; it is never too late for a great nation to rectify a wrong +done to even the humblest of its subjects, let alone a man of such +undoubted courage and rectitude as Gen. Arnold." + +"I am not a general, but only a captain--in this adventure only a +private." + +"You should be a general. If the king knew you as well as I have +learned to do in these few hours, you most likely would have the +control of the army in the colonies." + +"But the king will never have an opportunity to know me." + +"Why not?" + +"Only success can make me known to the king." + +"Or failure; and then it would be too late." + +"You see how impossible it would be for the king to know me." + +"If I speak confidentially will you treat it as sacred to you alone?" + +"Certainly." + +"Pledge me your honor that you will never divulge what I am going to +say." + +"I am a soldier and a gentleman. My word is enough." + +"Then I will accept your word. If I were free I could gain the ear of +the king's advisers." + +"But you are not free yet, and it may be some time before an exchange +can be made." + +"Exchange! Do you not know that there will be no exchange possible? +If any of the rebels fall into the hands of the English they will be +shot or hanged at once." + +"In that case you would stand a poor showing." + +"How so?" + +"Because the first man taken by your side and hanged would lead us to +hang an equal number of your men, and officers would have the first +piece of rope." + +Delaplace had not expected to hear such strong sentiments from Arnold, +but he laughed and said that a soldier dealing with rebels knew that he +took great risks, and that he must be prepared for them. + +"But," he added, in a whisper, "if I could slip out of this fort and +gain the English lines----" + +"But you cannot slip out." + +"If you were to help me I would guarantee that you would be a general +of the English army in less than forty-eight hours, and, once gain that +position, there is no limit to your success." + +Arnold listened. + +It was wrong of him to do so. + +There was a temporary hesitation, but in a few seconds of time that +passed. + +"Captain, you have dishonored yourself by suggesting treason, and I +have dishonored myself in listening. Know this: I have given my +allegiance to the cause of the Provincials, and I will rise or fall +with them." + +"Be it so. I shall live to see you hanged as a rebel." + +Arnold bowed very low in acknowledgment of the kindly expression of +opinion. + +"Thank you, Capt. Delaplace. I have no wish to see you hanged, but +should the English hang even a private in our ranks, I should have no +hesitation in hanging you with my own hands." + +Questionable sentiments on both sides, but Arnold felt strongly at that +time, and expressed himself as he thought. + +He left the room and called the sergeant on guard. + +"Double your guard. If Capt. Delaplace escapes I shall hold you +responsible, and your neck will feel the effects of a tightened noose." + +It was a blunt way of speaking, but Arnold never was very courteous to +those of lesser rank. + +"I hate that man," Arnold soliloquized, "and yet--well, the die is +cast. I might have risen to a proud distinction had I remained loyal +to the king, but I have not, and so my lot is with the colonists, and +may they win, or our lives are of but little value. How could +Delaplace get the ear of the king? Zounds! I believe it was only to +tempt me into disloyalty to the colonies that he made the proposition." + +His soliloquy was interrupted by the entrance of Eli Forest. + +"Colonel, your advice is needed. Col. Allen wishes to confer with you." + +"I will be with him immediately. Ah! here he is. You honor me too +much, Gen. Allen." + +"Nay, we are on equal footing, my dear Arnold. I wanted to consult +with you about two things. We must secure Crown Point, that is a +settled fact, and we must maintain our possession of this fort. Now, +what shall we do with the prisoners?" + +"Keep them well guarded and wait until some of our men fall into the +hands of the enemy, and then act with them as they do with us." + +"Perhaps that will be the wisest plan. I had thought of liberating +them on parole." + +"It would be madness." + +"You think so?" + +"I am sure of it. In the eyes of these men we are rebels and outlaws, +and their parole would not prevent them from bringing the whole force +of the English against us." + +"You are right. Will you appoint the guard?" + +"Let Forest have charge of the prisoners and the fort." + +"An admirable suggestion! So it shall be done." + +"Ay, Forest, and shoot anyone who attempts to leave the fort, whether +friend or foe." + +"You are very stern, Arnold." + +"These times demand sternness." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +CROWN POINT. + +"Colonel, an army is approaching." + +Ethan Allen at once thought that a regiment of English was about to try +and wrest the fort from him. + +He was agreeably disappointed when he saw that the men were his own +Green Mountain Boys, led by Seth Warner. + +Warner had been doing good work in Vermont, and, finding it +advantageous to join his chief, he had marched his men to Ticonderoga. + +A warm welcome was accorded the captain and his men, and Allen at once +gave the command of the operations against Crown Point to Seth Warner. + +The fortifications at Crown Point were erected at a cost of ten million +dollars, and up to that time had never a shot been fired from them. + +Trusting to the strength of the stone barracks and the extensive +earthworks, England had kept only a small force at the fort, and at the +time of the capture of Ticonderoga only a sergeant and twelve men +composed the garrison. + +Seth Warner was delighted at the honor conferred upon him by his chief. + +Ethan Allen had a reason for keeping as strong a garrison at +Ticonderoga as possible, for he feared that Delaplace might try to +escape and perhaps recapture the fort. + +Arnold was surly. He thought that Allen had lost confidence in him, +but Allen reasoned the matter with his Connecticut hero, and satisfied +him that no insult was intended. + +Crown Point is about eleven miles north of Ticonderoga. The town +itself lies six miles away from the fort. + +Seth Warner started on his march, his men highly elated at the prospect +of winning renown. + +When about halfway they were met by a man dressed in the garb of a monk. + +He carried a crucifix and a long staff. + +His hair was white, and a long beard, which reached nearly to his +waist, was as white as driven snow. + +Waving his staff above his head, he called to the soldiers to stop. + +Warner had no great liking for monks, though he was honest enough to +respect every man's religion. + +"What is it you would have, good father?" asked Warner. + +"In the name of the ever true and good, I crave your assistance, and, +if you will grant it, I will give you my blessing, which is better than +rubies and more valuable than gold." + +"In what way can we assist you, good father?" + +"You are soldiers of liberty. Heaven will bless your swords, and you +will live to see the flag of the tyrant go down in the dust, and a flag +of a free nation will float over a free people. I am not allowed to +fight, or I would gird on a sword and smite me right and left until the +friends of the tyrant were all beneath the sod!" + +"We thank you for your patriotic exhortation, but we have a mission to +fulfill and we must not loiter." + +"The mission is one which will not fail; I know that you have captured +the strong fort at Ticonderoga, and that you will enter within the +fortifications of Crown Point, but will you assist me?" + +"What would you have us do?" + +"To the east of you, one mile and one hundred yards, stands a house. +It is a farmhouse. Its owner is no friend of the Provincials, and has +a captive whom he holds for ransom." + +"A captive? Held for ransom? Explain yourself!" + +"This farmer, fearing that the English might be driven out of the +country and that he would lose his possessions, because he is a great +worker for the enemy, did find a young girl, who was related to one of +the leaders of your holy cause, and he lured her into his house and +holds her as a hostage. Should the Provincials take possession of his +farm, he will kill the girl, so he says, and a man's word should be +believed, and therefore I did make a vow to rescue this maiden from the +grasp of the ungodly and restore her to her friends." + +"Where did you say the farm was?" + +"Tarry not, I beseech you, but travel to the east one mile and one +hundred yards, and you will come to a snake fence; cross the field and +you will see a house with a number of vines growing up its sides. Then +ask for Farmer Mervale, and you have the man who dares to imprison one +of the maidens the Lord loves." + +Warner consulted with his friends, and they agreed that it would be +well to rescue the maiden. + +"You will go with us?" asked Warner. + +"Nay, my duty lies in another direction." + +The monk started away in an opposite direction to that which he had +directed the army to take, and was soon lost to sight. + +Then the men began to discuss his appearance and story. + +"I do not believe him," said one. + +"Yet he is a religious man, and therefore his word should be believed." + +"He may be a spy." + +"But why should he direct us to the farm?" + +"The English may be in ambush." + +"Then we must go, for, being forewarned we are forearmed, and shall +gain a victory." + +This idea prevailed, and the Mountain Boys commenced their march to the +east. + +When a mile had been traversed, as near as they could guess, Warner +sent a scout forward to reconnoiter. + +He returned quickly and said that there was no sign of an ambush, but +the snake fence was there and the vine-covered house also. + +"Go forward, Letsom, and find out all you can about the farmer and his +household." + +The man was an excellent fellow for such a purpose, though Seth Warner +expressed a wish that Eben had been there, so that he might have gone. + +Letsom returned an hour later. + +"Farmer Mervale is a bitter Britisher," he reported, "and told me that +if any of the rebels came to his house he would know how to deal with +them. I asked him what he would do, and he replied that he would ask +them to dine and would poison their soup." + +"The villain!" + +"He further said that every rebel, as he called us, should be shot like +a rat." + +"He is quite strong in his views." + +"Yes, and one of his farm hands told me that a mad monk had been there, +and it would be a wonder if he were alive on the morrow." + +"A mad monk, said he?" + +"Yes, those were his words--a mad monk." + +"Boys, you have heard the report; shall we beard this Britisher in his +home and find out if any maiden is imprisoned by him?" + +A loud shout of assent rose from the Mountain Boys, and almost before +it died away the men were on the march. + +Farmer Mervale was at the door, an old musket in his hand, waiting for +the "rebels." + +"In the name of the king, what do you want here?" + +Seth Warner answered: + +"In the name of the Colonial Congress I demand the surrender of this +house for the purpose of a search." + +"Search! for what?" + +"Guns, ammunition or anything that may be useful to the cause of +liberty." + +"Thieves! Whoever passes this door will have to do it over my dead +body." + +"Farmer Mervale, we mean you no harm if you are innocent, but if you +are guilty then you must bear the punishment." + +"Of what do you accuse me?" + +Warner was about to equivocate and say that he believed arms were +secreted on the premises, but he was too open for subterfuge, so he +replied: + +"We charge you with abducting and imprisoning a young maiden----" + +"Ah! you have seen the mad monk?" + +"Answer. Have you any maiden imprisoned on your premises?" + +"If I had I should deny it, and if I have not I should still say that +you are impertinent and a rebel who ought to be shot down." + +The farmer had his weapon pointed at Warner and was about to shoot him, +when his arm was knocked up from behind and the ball passed over his +intended victim's head. + +Instantly the man was seized and bound. + +The musket had been seized by the hired hand, who had been the cause of +the farmer's intention being frustrated. + +"If you will let me join you I will fight for the cause of liberty," +the man said, very earnestly. + +"You must report to Col. Allen at Ticonderoga." + +"I will go at once." + +"Better stay with us and return when we do; we can vouch for your good +act." + +The farmer changed his tone when he was bound and therefore helpless. +He cried out for mercy, declared that all he had said was in a joking +sense, and that he hoped the Provincials would win in their fight +against England. + +"You coward!" hissed Warner. "I have a great mind to shoot you as an +example and a warning to others." + +"Spare me! I am old and----" + +"Old? Why, man, you cannot be forty. Search the house!" + +In a few minutes the searchers returned, leading Martha Baker, who was +almost too weak to stand unsupported. + +"Oh, Master Warner, I am so glad you came. I think I should have died +if I had stayed another day in this horrid house." + +"Tell me your story, Martha." + +"I was sent by my aunt to Farmer Mervale to arrange for an exchange of +eggs. You see, aunt had a lot of hen's eggs and Farmer Mervale had a +lot of duck's eggs, and the two wanted to exchange. When I reached +here the farmer asked me my name, and then if I was any relation of +Remember Baker, and I told him that I was his sister. Then he asked me +to go upstairs to help count the eggs. I did so, and the farmer told +me that he was going to keep me there, because if my brother attempted +to do anything to his brother, who was a soldier in Ticonderoga, he +would kill me. Then he tortured me by saying that he would poison some +soup and invite the rebels to dinner with him, and that when they had +all eaten heartily he would kill me before their eyes." + +The farmer heard the girl's statement, and, instead of denying it, +declared it was all a joke, which, perhaps, it was, but it was cruel, +and the perpetrator of such a joke deserved punishment. + +Warner ordered his men to strip the farmer to the waist and introduce +him to the "birch dance," as summary punishment was called. + +Fifty good, sharp strokes across the bare back with strong beechen +sticks made Farmer Mervale wish he had been less fond of joking and +illegally imprisoning a girl. + +Martha told how she had seen the monk, and had called to him through +the open window, telling him how she had been served, and also asking +him to let the Mountain Boys know of her detention. + +How well the eccentric monk had fulfilled his mission we have seen. + +It was rather late in the afternoon when the strong fort at Crown Point +was reached. + +Seth Warner called to the sentinel who stood guard at the gate. + +"Tell your commander that I must see him at once." + +"I cannot leave my post." + +"Spoken like a brave soldier. Surrender!" + +"To whom?" + +"To the army of the Continental Congress." + +"I am a soldier of the king, and to no one else will I surrender my +gun, except my superior so wills it." + +"Brave soldier. I shall be under the necessity of taking the gun away +from you by force." + +The man fired the musket in the air. + +That was a signal for the garrison to assemble. + +Seeing a hundred men with Warner, the sergeant quickly raised the white +flag, and so, without the shedding of a drop of blood, two of the +strongest forts on Lake Champlain passed into the hands of the brave +men who were fighting for the liberty of their native land. + +A garrison was left in charge of Crown Point, and then Warner marched +back to Ticonderoga. + +Remember Baker was full of gratitude for the rescue of his sister, and +would have liked to meet Farmer Mervale at that hour, for the farmer +had got off too easily, he thought. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +"WHO IS COMMANDER?" + +Within five days of the capture of Ticonderoga, the Green Mountain +Boys, under the command of Capt. Herrick, had captured Skenesborough, +while another detachment under Capt. Douglass had taken Panton, a +strong fort on the lake. + +As the Assembly of Connecticut had authorized the capture of Fort +Ticonderoga, Allen dispatched two trusty messengers to New Haven to +acquaint the governor and assembly. + +So that no unfairness could be charged, the two selected were Eli +Forest and Remember Baker. + +Ethan Allen was seated in his room in the barracks alone smoking a +corncob pipe, a favorite with him and most Green Mountain farmers. + +A timid knock was heard at the door, and Allen called out cheerily: + +"Come in!" + +The door opened and Eben entered. + +"Why, Eben, you are a stranger; where have you been?" + +"In the fort, colonel, almost a prisoner." + +"A prisoner?" + +"Yes, colonel. That man--pardon me, I mean Col. Arnold--has told me to +keep to my own quarters and not move about the fort until I am ordered." + +"By what authority?" + +"He says he is commander of the fort and will not have me spying round; +that is what he calls it." + +"I am commander here, and I expect you to obey me." + +"Yes, colonel. Did you know that the colonel--Arnold, I mean--is +arranging to send ammunition to New Haven?" + +"No." + +"I heard him give the order." + +"You did?" + +"Yes, colonel." + +"Is Martha Baker still in the fort?" + +"Yes, colonel; and I think she would like to stay here until her +brother can look after her." + +"And you would not object to her staying?" + +"No; why should I?" + +"I thought that you liked her society." + +"So I do, colonel, when I can see her, but Col. Arnold has kept her +pretty close in the room which was assigned her." + +It was the end of May, and Ethan Allen was waiting news from Boston. + +News had just reached him that the Continental Congress, sitting in +Philadelphia, had drawn up articles of confederation, and that those +articles had been signed by the representatives of thirteen colonies. + +And the news also came that on the same day the people of North +Carolina had held a convention at Charlotte and declared themselves +independent of the British crown, and that they had organized a local +government and pledged themselves to raise and equip an army. + +This was pleasing news, but Allen wanted to hear more from Boston. + +The information conveyed to him by Eben was disquieting. + +Was it possible that Benedict Arnold was taking things into his own +hands and acting without consulting him? + +He sent for Arnold. + +"Well, sir, you wished to see me?" + +"Yes, colonel; I wanted to know if it were true that you had arranged +to send a portion of our cannon and ammunition to New Haven?" + +"It is quite true." + +"Why did you not consult me?"' + +"It was not necessary." + +"I am commander here." + +"I beg your pardon, Mr. Allen." + +Allen passed over the insulting way in which Benedict Arnold addressed +him, and very calmly replied: + +"You came to me as a volunteer, and I accepted your services and those +of your men." + +"Quite true." + +"Since when, then, have you been given the command?" + +"It is time, Mr. Allen, that we should understand each other. I am a +commissioned colonel. I bear that rank according to the laws of my +colony, Connecticut. Moreover, I was commissioned a colonel by the +Provincial Assembly at Cambridge. You hold no rank except that given +you by some farmers who have not even the right to elect a +representative, but are only squatters on land belonging either to New +Hampshire or New York. When the fort was captured it became a military +necessity that some one should be in command who would have power to +treat with the enemy, and, as you were only--well, a Green Mountain +Boy, the command fell upon me." + +"Indeed!" + +"Yes, and I was thinking of asking you to retire, as your plebeian +conduct with the men is apt to injure discipline, and so demoralize the +small army." + +"You are very considerate." + +"It is my duty. I shall take care that your bravery shall be +acknowledged." + +"Thank you!" + +"I must confess that for one who has had no military training you have +behaved wonderfully well. The thanks of Connecticut will be awarded to +you in due season, and I will see that whatever personal expense you +may have been put to shall be reimbursed to you out of the amount voted +by the assembly." + +"And I suppose you wish the Green Mountain Boys to leave the same time +you desire me to go?" + +"No, we have need of men. I shall call them all together and ask them +to volunteer as soldiers in the new Continental army, and the officers +shall retain the rank they hold at present." + +"You have developed the plan very fully." + +"Yes, and believe me, Mr. Allen, that I only wish that I could ask you +to volunteer; you see yourself that it would be impossible." + +"Yes, it would." + +"Having been the commander, it would be humiliating for you to accept a +lower rank, and besides, the men might think you had a right to give +general orders, and thus there would be confusion." + +"You are right." + +"When can you be ready to leave?" + +"I do not know." + +"What do you say to the first of June?" + +"It depends." + +"On what? I will give you an escort." + +"When I leave I will arrange for my own escort, should I need one. But +it was not of that I was thinking." + +"Of what, then?" + +"The return of the messengers from New Haven." + +"That need not bother you. The report will be made to me, as +commanding officer." + +"Will it?" + +"Certainly, so you can arrange to leave on the first of the month." + +"Thank you." + +"That is settled, then?" + +"Is it?" + +"Yes. I am very glad, for I have had a very unpleasant task." + +Allen had remained so calm that Arnold was deceived. + +He staggered like a drunken man when Allen turned on him, and, in tones +which could not be misunderstood, said: + +"I have heard all you have to say, and I now tell you that in the name +of the Great Jehovah I shall remain here as long as I please, or until +the general of the Continental Congress removes me, and, what is more, +I shall remain in command, and if you dare to interfere with me or my +command, by the Great Jehovah I will send you to Philadelphia in irons! +You are removed from all responsibility until further orders. Go, or I +may forget myself!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +NEWS FROM BOSTON. + +Benedict Arnold had found his master. + +This man, whose ambition was colossal, had imagined that the Green +Mountain farmer would quail before him and surrender the command. + +Arnold's ambition was plausible. What could a farmer know of military +affairs? True, Arnold had been a merchant, but then he had studied at +Yale and had made military subjects his special forte, and he had been +complimented by soldiers of high repute. + +Then, had not the English Capt. Delaplace told him he should be a +general, and if he remained with the colonies he should have the +command of all the forces the young nation could put into the field? + +All this had made him believe himself a great man. + +But he had encountered a greater. + +Ethan Allen, mountaineer, farmer, amateur soldier, as Arnold had called +him, proved to be the superior of the polished Yale graduate. + +Arnold retired to his quarters, feeling very glum. + +Allen sent for Seth Warner. He wanted some one on whom he could rely. + +He told Warner what had happened, and the honest Vermonter suggested +that Arnold should be placed under arrest and tried by court-martial. + +But such a course Allen would not countenance. He felt that Arnold was +not dangerous, and that he could afford to leave him to his own +conscience. + +"I hear that cannon and ammunition was about to be shipped to New +Haven?" + +"Yes, colonel; most of the spoil was to be sent there. We all thought +that it was by your order." + +"Zounds, man! I never heard of it until young Eben told me just now." + +"We all thought that he was obeying your instructions, and, therefore, +why should we come and tell you?" + +"That is so. Do not allow one gun to leave the fort." + +Eben entered the room, and was out of breath. + +"What is it, Eben?" + +"If you please--I--have--news----" + +"What is it?" + +"I--have been--across--the lake. I----" + +"Sit down and get your breath; you will be able to talk plainer. No +danger threatens us?" + +"No--I--don't think so." + +Eben fanned himself and gradually became calmer. But he was so eager +to tell his news that he could not wait long enough to be quite +coherent. + +"News from Boston," he jerked out; and at once Ethan Allen was as much +excited as Eben. + +"What news? Who brought it? Quick, Eben; don't you see how anxious I +am to hear all about it?" + +"All the English army has landed at Boston, and they have hanged the +men we loved. At least, I think so; I was in so great a hurry that I +did not wait to hear all." + +"Who brought the news?" + +"No one yet. They are riding like the mischief, but I jumped in my +boat and paddled across, and then ran like the wind to be first. They +are here now." + +Two men were admitted into the presence of Ethan Allen and Seth Warner. + +After the usual salutes and the presentation of a short letter from Sam +Adams, telling Allen that he could believe all the men told him, they +were asked to tell their story. + +"On the twenty-fifth we saw the great gunboats and the men-of-war in +the harbor getting ready for some move. We wondered what they could be +doing, but only for a few minutes, for we saw other vessels moving into +the harbor, and then the cannon belched forth in salute. The noise +deafened us, and the jarring broke lots of windows. We soon knew that +ten thousand men had arrived in the harbor, and that England was going +to crush us----" + +"You mean to try and crush us." + +"Yes. Three generals had come over with reinforcements; they were +Howe, Clinton and Burgoyne. Gage was like a mad creature. He danced +and shouted like a boy getting an unexpected vacation. Then he said he +would hang Adams and Hancock with his own hands on Boston Common, but +Burgoyne stopped him and suggested trying an offer of pardon----" + +"Of pardon?" + +"Yes. There is a proclamation signed by Gage, offering pardon to all +who will surrender and acknowledge that they have done wrong, except +Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and these are said to be guilty of +treason and must die; that is, when Gage catches them." + +"Well, what say the people?" + +"That we will fight it out." + +"Good!" + +"And that if Adams and Hancock are traitors, so are they all." + +"Well?" + +"Gage heard of the defiance, and at once gave notice that he should +sally out of Boston and burn all the neighboring towns and devastate +the country." + +"He did, eh?" + +"Yes, and the people say they will give him a warm reception." + +"Warner, shall we join the men at Boston?" + +"You are commissioned to hold Ticonderoga," said the messenger, "and so +prevent the British using it against us." + +"That we will do. Warner, give orders that all the cannon and the +ammunition we can spare be sent as rapidly as possible to the patriots. +We must help them all we can." + +"That is the right way to talk, colonel; I feel ever so much better +now; there is a rope ready for my neck if I fail." + +The messengers who brought the news from the patriots of Massachusetts +were entertained right royally, and took back with them a good +impression of Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys. + +But it was not an opinion only that they took back with them, for they +had an escort of fifty men, and with them were twenty heavy cannon, +with good ammunition, and a promise of as many more heavy guns as soon +as horses could be procured to haul them. + +"Tell Gen. Gage, if you see him," said Allen, "that the rope which he +has for Sam Adams must be long enough and strong enough for Ethan Allen +and his Mountain Boys, for they will never surrender as long as they +have strength to shoulder a musket or draw a sword." + +The day after the men left for Boston a letter from the governor of New +Hampshire was received by Allen, ordering him to return home and lay +down his sword. + +To this letter Allen replied: + + +"I will gladly lay down my sword, for I hate fighting, but cannot do so +until England recognizes the independence of the colonies or until the +people themselves have concluded an honorable peace with Great Britain." + + +Arnold contrived to send a letter to New Hampshire and one to New +Haven, in which he reported the "treachery and tyranny of the man Ethan +Allen." + +There is no proof that either of the recipients did anything save throw +the letters into the fire. + +On the following day Baker and Forest returned from New Haven, bearing +with them the thanks of the colony to Col. Ethan Allen and Col. +Benedict Arnold. The latter containing the thanks of the assembly, +engrossed on parchment and sealed with the seal of the colony, placed +Allen in the first place, and only mentioned Arnold as a coadjutor. + +The two emissaries were escorted to Ticonderoga by Col. Hinman and a +regiment of Connecticut soldiers. + +Hinman was commissioned to aid Allen in any way that he could, and to +act under his direction. + +Allen, however, determined on a wider field for himself and men than +merely remaining as a garrison of a fort, with the mild excitement of +an occasional scrimmage with the enemy when out on a foraging +expedition, so he handed over the forts to Col. Hinman, taking a +receipt for the same. + +That curious old document is perhaps the only one in existence of the +kind, for it is a receipt for the delivery of the forts of Ticonderoga, +Crown Point and Skenesburgh, and is made out much in the same way as a +receipt for a few dollars would be. + +Arnold was to remain with Hinman for a time, but with the lower rank of +major. + +With only a small number of followers, including Seth Warner, Remember +Baker, Eben Pike and twenty trusty mountaineers, Allen, the hero of +Ticonderoga, left the fort and proceeded to Albany. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +A ROADSIDE ADVENTURE. + +It was a daring thing to do, but Ethan Allen thought only of his +country, and how to benefit the national cause. + +The proclamation offering a large reward for him, dead or alive, was +still to be seen on the public buildings of the towns and villages +through which he passed. + +Though every one knew him, for his identity could not be concealed, he +was as safe as in his mountain home. + +The people of New York were ready to cast in their lot with the +colonies which had declared their independence, and, though nominally +loyal to England, the Yorkers were only waiting an opportunity to +openly throw off the yoke and declare themselves independent. + +"The Hero of Ticonderoga," as Allen was called everywhere, was lionized +by the people, though those in authority were compelled to appear as +though they did not recognize him. + +When Allen reached Albany he at once went to the Assembly Hall. + +Marching up to the speaker's desk he said, in a loud voice: + +"I am Ethan Allen, leader of the Green Mountain Boys, and I have come, +not to surrender to you or to lower my claims to the lands in the New +Hampshire grants, which we now call Vermont, but to ask you to listen +to a plan by which our country may become a nation, free and +independent." + +"I propose that the assembly go into secret session to hear the Hero of +Ticonderoga." + +The speaker was one who had been most bitter against Allen when he had +appeared there sometime before to argue in favor of the men of Vermont. + +"Let it be understood that New York, in listening to Ethan Allen, does +not relinquish its claims to the lands which he culls Vermont." + +"That matter can well be left in abeyance," said Allen. "There is a +greater one--that of our independence as a nation." + +"On that subject we will hear you!" + +"I ask that the proceedings shall be secret." + +"That is understood." + +Ethan Allen, with a natural eloquence and rugged fervor, laid before +the representatives of the people a plan for the invasion of Canada. + +He showed how, with daring and quickness, the country north of the St. +Lawrence could be captured, thereby inflicting an injury on the +British, and taking from them a large tract of country, which could be +made so valuable an adjunct of the colonies south of the St. Lawrence +when they became independent. + +He had gathered information which showed how easily all Canada could be +captured, save, perhaps, the citadel of Quebec. + +He was listened to patiently. He was cheered when he spoke of the +gallant attack on Quebec by Wolfe and the heroic defense of the French +general, Montcalm; and tears rolled down many cheeks when he recalled +how the French hero, wounded unto death, expressed a pleasure that he +should not live to witness the surrender of Quebec. + +Then, with solemn voice, he told how the English had but a small +garrison at the citadel, and how it could be taken unawares and maybe +captured as easily as Ticonderoga. + +In one thing did Ethan Allen fail. + +He hinted that perhaps the French Canadians would help the Yorkers and +participate in the driving out of the British from North America. + +We say that was a mistake, because the people still remember the great +struggle against the French, and the fierce war between the colonies +acknowledging England and France. + +One man, afterward one of the foremost to welcome Lafayette to New +York, declared that it would be better to be the slaves of England than +the friends of France. + +"Better serfdom, degradation, death under England's flag than liberty +if obtained by the assistance of France." + +His fiery speech turned the tide of feeling against Ethan Allen and the +invasion of Canada, and the assembly absolutely refused to listen any +further to Allen. + +Some were ungenerous enough to taunt him with suggesting the plan on +purpose to save himself from arrest. + +Others wanted to know if he expected to be the general commanding. + +"No, I should have asked permission to join as a private soldier, for I +have no ambition to command even a squad." + +"What, then, was your object?" + +"I live to serve my country; I hope to see her free and independent." + +Saying which, he left the hall, and his Mountain Boys were downhearted +at the treatment he had received. + +"Shall we return to our mountains?" asked Baker. + +"No; at least I shall not. I shall journey to Philadelphia and see +what the Continental Congress is doing." + +"We will go with you." + +"I shall be glad of your company, though maybe you have more urgent +matters at home to attend to." + +"That was unkind, colonel," Seth Warner murmured. + +"I meant it not so, believe me. I know that all of you are ready to +serve your country." + +Albany was left behind and the party started south for Philadelphia. + +After a long march a place of rest was sought. + +It was nothing unusual for a semi-military company to be on the march, +and so the party did not attract any extraordinary attention. + +A farmhouse seemed best suited for the refreshment and rest required, +and one was found which seemed to answer all purposes. + +Warner went forward to interview the farmer, and soon returned with the +pleasing news that the party could have supper, rest for the night, and +breakfast in the morning for a most moderate sum. + +The farmer was hospitable. + +He killed some chickens and a young pig, and in a very short time the +odor of cooking was very appetizing. + +After supper the farmer insisted on bringing out several flagons of +good cider, strong and old, for it was the last year's make. + +Song and story enlivened the evening. + +Warner told of the days when he had hunted the wild bear and met with +some startling adventures. + +Baker recounted many a stirring episode in the life of a hunter, and +Allen, who passed under an assumed name, kept up the interest by +narrating a story of ancient knighthood. + +"Seems to me that there are as great heroes to-day as in olden times," +the farmer remarked. + +"Yes, I suppose so." + +"Now, in the troubles we are just encountering, there will be +opportunities for heroism." + +"Yes, and many a brave boy will sleep in a nameless grave." + +"That is true; but if we get rid of England's rule and that of the +tones, these same boys will rest well in their graves." + +"You seem to think the patriots are right." + +"I know they are, and I tell you, my masters, that as long as I have a +stalk of corn on my farm I'll divide it with any boy who fights against +the oppressor." + +"Bravo! but methinks the people round about do not think as you do." + +"Many are afraid to speak, because, if they did, and the English were +successful, they would be made to suffer; and if the patriots win, as I +am sure they will, then the silent man may be counted a patriot." + +"Very wisely stated." + +"My idea of a great man is----" + +The farmer paused. + +"Excuse me, I thought I heard some one at the window. No, I was wrong, +and yet I could have sworn I saw a face as I looked up." + +"You were saying that your ideal of a man was----" + +"Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga. I tell you, he is right all the +time. He was right about those land grants. If the land had been of +no value New Hampshire might have had all the land, but because it +proved rich, of course York coveted it." + +"Have you ever seen Ethan Allen?" Warner asked. + +"No. I would give half my farm to do so." + +"You needn't do that. Look at him; that is the hero of Ticonderoga, +and I am Seth Warner who tells you so." + +The farmer was overjoyed, and became so excited that he shouted and +danced with joy. + +There was a sudden stop put to his merriment. Something fell over +outside the window. + +"I could have sworn it before, but now I know some one was there. That +milk can could not fall down without hands. I'll find the scurvy +wretch and thrash him into sense!" + +The milk can had been thrown down, but no one was in sight, and after a +search the party returned to the large kitchen, where they again +replenished their glasses with cider. + +In an interval of the fraternal mirth Eben got close to Allen and asked +him to spare a few moments. + +"What is it, Eben?" + +"I like it not, colonel. Some one was at that window at the time you +were discovered, and the knocking over of the milk can was an accident; +the man who did it has gone to find some English who will pay well for +your capture." + +"You are too suspicious, Eben." + +"Perhaps so, colonel, but do be careful." + +"I will. I have no desire to get into any jail, and I am sure that I +like life too well to risk it needlessly." + +It was after ten o'clock, a late hour in those days, before the farmer +would listen to any suggestion of retiring for the night. + +He wanted Allen to sleep in the house--the others were to occupy the +hay loft--but Allen declared that he would share the loft with his +friends, and that no man should say that he had accepted better +treatment than his followers. + +As it was impossible for all to stay in the house, the farmer gave way +and allowed Allen to share the hay loft. + +It was a happy party that climbed up the stairs into the place, where +the sweet odor of the hay created a desire for sleep. + +In less than ten minutes the hay had been too much for them, and all +were asleep. + +No, not all, for Eben only pretended to sleep; he was wide awake, for +he feared treachery, and determined to be on the alert. + +The boy was a natural wonder. He never knew what it was to be tired. +He could march farther than most men, eat less and do without sleep, +and never did he appear to be the least wearied. + +The hour of midnight had passed and the early morning, according to the +manner of marking time, had commenced; in other words, it was one +o'clock when Eben fancied he heard a slight noise. + +He was in a position where he could see everything outside, and as the +moon was shining brightly he was not long in discerning a number of men +moving toward the barn. + +He crawled across to Ethan and gently shook him. + +"Colonel, we are betrayed." + +Allen was about to jump, when Eben whispered: + +"Lie still or you will be seen; the loft door is open. I can wake the +others, and would it not be well to let them come right up into the +loft before we strike?" + +"Eben, you ought to be a general. Wake the others and caution them to +lie still." + +The boy crawled round the loft and quickly did his work. + +When Ethan knew that all were awake he spoke in a loud whisper to them: + +"Eben has suggested a plan of campaign and I shall adopt it. We must +all pretend to be asleep. Let the English enter the loft, and, when +the opportunity arises, let the English be on the ground and the +patriots above them." + +Every man lay perfectly still, and it really seemed as though Eben had +been mistaken, for the time was so long before any attempt was made to +enter the loft. + +Eben knew all that was transpiring. He saw a man's head rise above the +floor and look around, and then he heard the man descend the ladder. + +It was fully five minutes after he had reached the ground before he +again ascended. + +The man crawled along the floor and lay perfectly still. + +Another, then another, ascended the ladder, until a dozen soldiers in +uniform were in the loft. + +Eben was not the only one who had watched their movements, for each of +the Mountain Boys had one eye sufficiently open to see them. + +A rustling of the hay was the signal given by the sergeant for the +English to rise. + +Each man rose to his feet and stood over the apparently sleeping +colonials. + +But no sooner had the enemy taken its position than the mountaineers +put out their hands suddenly and grasped the soldiers by the legs. + +In an instant every soldier was on his back, thrown to the floor with a +violence which he did not relish. + +And over each man stood one of the mountaineers, ready to blow out the +soldier's brains did he attempt to move. + +"Get up!" commanded Allen. + +Each man rose, looking very sheepish. + +"Hand over your guns and other weapons." + +The soldiers obeyed. Not because they desired to do so, but at each +man's head was a pistol, and in each pistol was a bullet which meant a +nameless grave for the man who received it. + +The captured men were made to descend the ladder, but no chance of +escape was given them, for at the foot of the ladder stood some of the +Mountain Boys, ready to fire if necessary. + +There was a coil of rope in the barn, and this Allen utilized in +securing the prisoners in a novel fashion. He ordered the men to be +tied in couples, the right leg of one to the left leg of his mate, +after the fashion of a three-legged race. Then the couples were united +by a rope which wound round their arms and passed from one couple to +another, to prevent the party separating. + +Warner roused the farmer, and that man was so indignant that he +proposed shooting each of the prisoners. + +"No, no," said Allen, "they only obeyed orders. I shall let them go +this time, if they will tell me the name of the informer." + +The English soldiers were loyal and refused to purchase their release +on such terms. + +After an early breakfast Allen was ready to resume his journey, and he +ordered the prisoners to march before him. + +When the farm had been left behind a distance of a mile, he told the +prisoners they were free to go where they liked, but as a precaution +against being followed, he did not unfasten them, knowing that it might +be hours before they succeeded in getting loose. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. + +The old hall in Philadelphia, where the city fathers met, was filled with +a notable gathering, representing eleven colonies. + +Those men constituted the Second Continental Congress. + +The first had been held in October, 1765, and a resolution was adopted +declaring that the American colonists, as Englishmen, would not and could +not consent to be taxed but by their own representatives. This +resolution was called forth through the passage of the "Stamp Act." + +The Second Congress assembled in Philadelphia in September, 1774, and +pledged the colonies to support Massachusetts in her conflict with the +English ministry, and after petitioning the king and the English people, +adjourned to meet, as it happened, on the very day that Ethan Allen +captured Ticonderoga. + +The members of that Congress were all loyal to England. The time for +independence had not come. + +But what a galaxy of men! + +There were such giants among men as Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, +Samuel and John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. + +But among all those men there was not one whose ambition led him to place +self above country. + +John Adams told the Congress that the time had come when the English +people must learn that it would be better to die fighting for liberty +than to live in perpetual slavery. + +Not a man wanted war. + +Washington had been a soldier with Braddock, and had won distinction, but +he was for peace. Jefferson demanded liberty, but he deprecated war. +Sam Adams startled the members by saying that if England persisted in a +policy of coercion it would be necessary to fight, yet even Adams +believed in peace. + +John Adams made a strong speech, in which he asked why a tyrant ever +exercised tyranny, and he answered the question by saying it was because +the people were unable to resist. + +"Let us be strong enough to enforce our demands," said he, "and the king +or his ministers will fall back and concede all we ask." + +He waited to see the effect of his words. + +There was silence. + +"Yes, brothers, it is only the strong that obtain justice. The weak +petition and are spurned, the strong ask and they are listened to with +attention, and their demands granted. + +"These colonies should be Great Britain's strength, they are her +weakness. Give us the right to make our own laws, to raise the taxation +as we please, to defend our coasts from external assaults and our land +from internal troubles, and we shall honor the king and prove that the +American Confederation of Colonies is the strength of that country. Let +us tell the king plainly what we want. Let our petition be backed by a +good army, and we shall win." + +"What do you propose?" asked Jefferson. + +"I propose that we organize an army, not of one colony, but of a +confederation of all colonies, and that we appoint a commander-in-chief, +a man who shall be able to organize the army and to lead it, ay, even if +it be necessary until we have entire independence." + +"Where could we find such a man?" asked one of the Northern delegates. + +"We have one here. The man who saved the wreck of Braddock's army is +just the one to build a nation. I nominate George Washington as the +commander-in-chief of the army of liberation!" + +There was an outburst of cheering such as the Quaker City had but seldom +heard. + +The delegates knew Washington. + +He was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and had previously +made a name for himself with Braddock. + +When his name was mentioned by Adams he left the hall. + +He was afraid to remain for fear he should be called upon to accept. + +He wanted time for deliberation. + +The congress adjourned until the following Thursday. + +The delegates talked the matter over, and when the Congress reassembled +George Washington was the unanimous choice of the delegates. + +But before he was asked to give his answer, articles of confederation +were drawn up and signed, and the colonies became one for the purposes of +mutual defense. + +"I fear that this day will mark the downfall of my reputation," said +Washington to Patrick Henry when he heard he was unanimously selected to +organize an army of twenty thousand men, who were undisciplined, without +weapons, without arms of any kind worth speaking of, and having no money +to pay for the food they would require, not mentioning arms. + +The question of salary was next discussed, but Washington stopped it by +emphatically declaring that he would not touch one penny of salary, and +only asked that out-of-pocket expenses should be paid. + +In the midst of the cheering which these words evoked, Ethan Allen +entered the hall. + +"Who is that man?" asked John Hancock. + +"Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga," answered Sam Adams. + +The cheering broke out again, but this time it was for the Green Mountain +leader. + +Again and again did the walls re-echo with the plaudits. + +Then Sam Adams called Ethan Allen to the chairman's desk, and John +Hancock warmly congratulated the hero. + +A resolution of thanks was passed, and Allen was asked to introduce his +friends. + +Seth Warner and Remember Baker were welcomed as able coadjutors, and +Allen took care to say that they were typical of all the Mountain Boys, +and that what they had done was only a foretaste of what they would do if +necessary. + +Eben Pike was called up, and the boy bashfully wriggled--no one could +call it walking--up to John Hancock's desk. + +When Allen told of the bravery of the young scout and of the way in which +he had so recently saved his friends from falling into the hands of the +English, Hancock rose from his seat and called for three hearty cheers +for the young hero. + +Then the Congress settled down to work and appointed officers to assist +Washington. + +What a brave lot of men! Their names cannot be too often repeated. + +The major-generals were Artemus Ward, Charles Lee, Phillip Schuyler and +Israel Putnam--the famous wolf-den Putnam. Then the brigadier-generals +comprised Richard Montgomery, Seth Pomeroy, David Wooster, William Heath, +Joseph Spencer, John Thomas and Nathaniel Greene. The adjutant-general +was Horatio Gates. + +Allen overheard Gen. Schuyler speak of Canada and of its importance. + +Allen made his acquaintance and asked him to allow him to tell of the +plan New York had rejected. + +Schuyler was delighted, and thanked the Vermonter warmly. + +"If ever you are in command of such an army of invasion," said Allen, "I +shall ask to be allowed to join as a volunteer." + +"My dear Allen, there is not a man in all Philadelphia at the present +moment I would rather have," answered the general. + +Alas! what suffering was to follow that conversation! + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +EBEN'S ADVENTURES. + +Among the men who were to lead the colonial armies Allen had his +attention attracted to Richard Montgomery, who was to share with +Schuyler the responsibility of the invasion of Canada. + +Montgomery was one of the most fascinating men who rallied to the +standard of the colonies. + +He was an Irishman, the son of a member of the British parliament, and +was educated in Trinity College, Dublin. + +In 1754 he obtained a commission in the army, and with his regiment +came to this country, and, although only eighteen years old, he +distinguished himself for personal bravery in many an action. + +In 1760 he was with Gen. Wolfe, and became the adjutant of the regiment. + +After distinguishing himself in the expedition against Havana and +Martinique, he returned to England and stayed there nine years. + +But he yearned for America, and so sold his commission and came to New +York, where he married and took a leading part with the sturdy men who +refused to bow the knee to English tyranny. + +When the Continental Congress was held Montgomery was a delegate, and +he pledged his sword in defense of the popular rights. + +No wonder that Ethan Allen should be pleased with the Irishman. They +were kindred spirits. + +Montgomery asked Allen to tell him of the struggle of the Vermonters +against the pretensions of New York. + +Allen did so, but somewhat bitterly. + +"Nay, my dear Allen, do not let that irritate you. We shall soon make +common cause, and instead of the colonies we shall have a nation, and +we shall be citizens, not subjects." + +"Citizens!" Allen repeated. + +"Yes, mark me. If the colonies become a nation there will be a free +government based on equal rights, and none will be subject to another, +but all be equal before the law." + +Montgomery saw more clearly into the future than did even Washington. + +When the Congress was over, and Washington commenced his work of +creating an army, Allen returned home, somewhat disappointed. + +He had expected a commission in the new army, but his name was passed +over by Congress. + +It was afterward proved that the omission was the result of +inadvertence, for it was supposed that he had a commission from the +general in command of the Colonials at Boston, and the order was made +confirming all such commissions. + +The summer was passing, and no action had been taken. + +Allen was getting weary of the delay. + +He could not understand why Boston had not been taken and the English +driven out. Then he heard that Benedict Arnold had received a +commission, and was leading an army into Canada to attack Quebec. + +In despair Allen left his home and crossed to Ticonderoga, determined +to offer his services to the Connecticut captain who was in command of +the little garrison. + +He was sitting on a gun on the day of his arrival on the scene of his +great exploit, when a boy, dirty, ragged and half starved, entered the +fort and stood opposite Allen. + +"Don't you know me, colonel?" + +"Is that you, Eben?" + +"Yes. I am Eben Pike, and right glad I am to see you." + +"How did you enter? Where have you been?" + +Eben did not answer. He was too weak. His body swayed, his limbs +trembled, and he would have fallen had not Allen caught him. + +As gently as a mother carries her child, the hero of Ticonderoga bore +the half-famished boy into the barracks and asked that he should +receive attention. + +The boy was undressed and washed, then little sips of beef tea were +given him. + +In an hour he showed signs of returning vitality, and they knew that he +would live. + +"He left here a month ago," explained the captain; "I sent him on a +delicate mission, knowing that he could be trusted. When he did not +return I thought him dead." + +"You knew I should be true to the cause then?" whispered Eben. + +"Yes, my boy; no one would ever doubt your loyalty. You shall tell +your adventures later. You must rest and get stronger." + +"But I have news I must tell. Gen. Montgomery is on his way to +Ticonderoga to join Arnold in his invasion of Canada. He will be here +to-morrow." + +The speech was long for him, and his flushed cheek and quivering voice +told how the message had shaken his frame. + +Late that night he woke from a good sleep, and seeing Allen by his bed, +he put out one hand. + +"I am so glad to see you, colonel. I feel all right now. I thought I +should die without seeing you." + +"Where have you been?" + +"I cannot tell you all, but when I left here I fell into the hands of a +tory, and he knew me. He called me a spy, and wanted to hang me, but +before he could get a rope a new idea came to him. He called some more +tories together and they laughed at his suggestion. He wanted to cover +me with tar and then set light to it." + +"His name? I will serve him that way." + +"The tar was poured all over me, and my clothes were saturated with it. +But when he went for a light to set me on fire, his little boy, a sweet +little fellow, ran from the house and called 'fire,' and just then a +flame did break out through the windows. The tory thought more of his +house than he did of me, so I ran away as fast as I could." + +Eben rested after telling that adventure, and it was more than an hour +before he could resume his narrative. + +"I ran as fast as I ever did in my life, and, as bad luck would have +it, I fell into the hands of some English soldiers. They did not know +me, and thought I was some ignorant country lad, so I fared pretty +well, and only stayed with them two days. When they broke camp they +insisted that I should go with them, and as I had told them I was going +in the very direction they intended going, I could not help myself." + +"You were in hard luck." + +"Yes, but that was not the last of my adventures, for I was recognized +by another tory, who had been birched by some of our men for his +treachery. He claimed me as his prisoner, and to get me had to swear +that I was his apprentice, who had run away." + +"And of course the soldiers gave you to him?" + +"Yes, and a nice time I had of it. The farmer stripped me and then +gave me fifty strokes with a strong cane----" + +"The villain!" + +"But that was not the worst. He threw me naked into a cellar and kept +me without food until I began to lose my senses, and then he gave me +these old clothes and some food. I managed after a long time to +escape, and for a week I wandered about the woods, living on what I +could pick up, until I managed to reach here. I dare not go to a +house, for the tories were searching for me, and I was afraid to even +jump into the river for fear that I might be seen and have no chance of +escape." + +"Poor fellow. So you failed in obtaining the information for which you +set out." + +"Failed? No, I got it, and though it is a trifle late, I find it is in +time." + +Col. Hinman was so pleased with the thoroughness of Eben in everything +he undertook that he sent a special dispatch to Gen. Washington, +commending Pike as one of the best scouts and secret service officers +any country could produce. + +Hinman tried to persuade Ethan Allen to join him, but the Green +Mountain hero wanted more stirring work than could be found in a fort +which might never be attacked. + +The news that Montgomery was near the fort was sweetest music to him, +and he resolved to unite with his army, even as a private soldier. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +FORAGING. + +Eben's news was in every point correct. Gen. Schuyler had been +stricken down by sickness, and Montgomery assumed command of one of the +armies of invasion. + +Allen went out to meet the Irish general and received a warm welcome. + +Montgomery was full of praise of the plan of invasion. + +Arnold and Morgan were marching through Maine to attack the citadel of +Quebec, and Montgomery was to march into Canada to the westward, and +after capturing Montreal and other important places, form a junction +with Arnold and drive the English out of Quebec. + +"That man has a great brain," Montgomery remarked, as he told Allen the +plan. + +"To whom do you refer?" + +"Gen. Benedict Arnold." + +"What has he done?" + +"He formulated the plan and sent it to Gen. Washington----" + +"He did?" + +"Yes, and the commander was so pleased with it that he wrote a personal +letter to Arnold, thanking him and saying that the plan should be put +into immediate execution." + +"And Arnold really took the credit, if credit there be?" + +"Of course; why not?" + +"I am not surprised, and yet----" + +"You are not jealous?" + +"Jealous? No, not of a thief." + +"A thief?" + +"Yes, a thief. I drew up that plan and copied it in duplicate, so that +if one got lost the other would remain. I took one copy to Albany and +laid it before the assembly." + +"And the copy?" + +"I left it at Ticonderoga." + +"What became of it?" + +"I do not know; at least I find that I know now, though I had no +suspicion. When I returned from the Continental Congress I asked for +the plan, and was told it had been lost. The truth is that Arnold took +it away with him." + +"Gen. Washington shall know this." + +"No, never mind. I care not who gets credit for the plan if it is only +successful; but if I should fall let the people of Vermont know that +the plan was mine." + +"Rest assured of that." + +"I have the original with me, and you shall read it, for I want no one +to accept my word for anything." + +Allen was right. Benedict Arnold had read the plan, and had actually +appropriated the copy and sent it in Allen's writing to Philadelphia. + +Once he was asked about Allen's statement, and he replied that he had +employed Ethan Allen to make copies from his rough draft. + +The young Irish general of division did not believe in loitering, and +after a day's rest at Ticonderoga the march was resumed. + +Allen had joined, but having no commission, he was placed in rather a +delicate position, though the very fact that he was, in a sense, a +freelance, made him more valuable to Montgomery. + +A promise was given that, should an opportunity offer, Allen was to +command a regiment under Montgomery. + +After leaving Ticonderoga the march was easy for two days, for the +country was peopled by friends of the colonial cause; but after that +the farmers were decidedly hostile. + +There was great difficulty in feeding the army, and although the +general offered to purchase food, the tories refused to sell any. + +Allen was commissioned to take twenty men and forage. + +He knew that the farmers were tories, but he shrank not from his task. + +He was supplied with a small amount of money, and was empowered to pay, +by notes, for any food he secured. + +About a mile from camp a poultry farm was reached, and Allen at once +requisited all the poultry. + +The farmer demurred, but the soldiers were the strongest, and very soon +a quantity of young turkeys, hens and ducks were in the wagons, much to +the delight of the foragers. + +At the next house a determined opposition was organized. + +At the fence the patriots were met by a number of men, armed with all +sorts of weapons. + +"We are prepared to pay for what we get," said Allen. + +"I guess you will pay for what you get; that would be right easy, for +you'll not get a durn thing." + +"My friend, you make a mistake." + +"Move on there or I'll set the dogs on you." + +To emphasize his assertion he whistled, and immediately two splendid +animals sprang to his side. + +"Call off those dogs; we do not war on dumb animals," Allen called. + +"I guess I'll not call 'em off. At' em, beauties." + +The dogs sprang over the fence, and with glaring eyes and open mouths +made for the nearest soldier. + +Two pistol shots prevented them doing any damage, and Allen gave the +order to his men to charge the obstructives and take whatever food they +could find. + +However determined men may be, they cannot stand against muskets and +swords, when their weapons are only hay forks and crowbars. + +The farm helpers were driven back, and a wagon was quickly loaded with +flour and grain and vegetables. + +The foraging expedition was a great success, though Allen would have +preferred purchasing the food, if any could have been found to sell. + +The next day he was sent out again, and met with good success until he +was ready to return. + +A company of soldiers had been quartered on one of the farms by the +English, and Allen was unprepared for the encounter. + +When he found he was in for a fight, he felt better satisfied to think +he met foemen worthy of his steel, instead of a set of half-fed and +badly armed farmers' men. + +The English can fight well, and Allen knew that his troops were +inferior in every way to the enemy, but he did not hesitate. + +"Men, we are outnumbered, but we are not beaten; shall we retire as +prisoners, or fight until death claims us?" + +"Fight!" + +"We cannot surrender without a struggle." + +"Who can tell but we may defeat them?" + +Allen, pleased with the speeches of his comrades, gave the order to +charge the enemy. + +The fight was a sharp one. + +Hand-to-hand struggles always partake more of the brutish, and the +truth about such encounters is far more horrible than any description. + +Allen was in the thickest of the fight all the time; his sword was +dripping with blood every time he raised it above his head, and that +was just as frequently as he could free his arm from the crush to wield +his weapon. + +Only a few minutes did the struggle last, but the carnage was out of +all proportion to the number engaged. + +Seven of Allen's men were killed, while the enemy lost twelve, and what +seemed remarkable, all who fell were dead. No one seemed to be wounded +or maimed; death came to all who were stricken. + +The return journey was a sad one, though from the point of view of a +soldier it was glorious. + +Montgomery congratulated the mountaineer on his bravery, and told him +that his record should be known at headquarters. + +The next day the march was resumed, and through lack of guides the army +took a wrong course. + +The vanguard, in crossing a wide stretch of what seemed level country, +found themselves in a marsh, and up to their waists in water. + +The worst of it was that the bottom was treacherous, for the soil +seemed like quicksand, and drew them in until they had difficulty in +raising their feet. + +After considerable floundering about they got out of the marsh just in +time to warn the main body of the army. + +The adventure was amusing except to the participants, and many a laugh +was had at the expense of the unlucky men. + +After a number of strange adventures the army reached Isle-aux-Noix, +where Montgomery intended to camp for a time. + +Two days after reaching there Allen was delighted to welcome Eben Pike, +who had promised to follow as soon as his strength was regained. + +He looked as hearty as ever, though less effeminate than when he first +joined the Green Mountain Boys. + +He had a man's strength, though his appearance was deceiving. + +He had such an excellent idea of topography that Allen knew he would be +extremely useful to the army of invasion. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +SECRET SERVICE. + +Gen. Montgomery summoned Allen to his presence one morning early. + +"Ethan Allen, you are the one man wanted in this crisis." + +"What crisis? What can I do?" asked Allen, looking somewhat surprised +at the general's earnestness. + +"We are about to invade Canada, and the people ought not to be hostile." + +"I fancy you will find them to be so." + +"That's just where you will be of value?" + +"I do not understand." + +"I want you to go into Canada and tell the people that we are not going +to fight against them, their country or religion, but only against the +English garrisons." + +"And I suppose you mean enlist the French on our side?" + +"If you can do so, yes." + +"When am I to start?" + +"As early as possible. Take some good interpreters with you, for +French and Indians must be reached and converted." + +"The less number of men the better." + +"I agree with you, though you know the consequence if you fall into the +hands of the enemy." + +"Yes, life would be short; but if I can serve my country I will dare +anything." + +"Spoken like a brave man." + +"I am ready. I will take Eben Pike with me, and Remember Baker." + +"But you will want an interpreter." + +"Yes, one who can talk with the Indians as well as the French." + +"You do not mean to enlist the Indians?" + +"Yes; I will attract to our side every man, and I would every animal, +if that were possible." + +"What do you think of Old Buckskin?" + +"Do you know him?" + +"Yes, and he is with us." + +"Just the man. Old Buckskin knows every inch of the ground from here +to Quebec. I am glad he is ready to go with me." + +The man called Old Buckskin was an eccentric trapper. No one knew his +real name, and it is within the realm of probability that he had +forgotten it himself. + +Allen had met him frequently in the Green Mountains, and knew that he +was an excellent guide, a fearless man and a good hunter. + +The next day the little party started from St. Valentin and worked +northward in the direction of St. John. + +The people of Pte. la Mull received Allen with great acclaim, for they +were French and had suffered much from the constant interference of the +English with their customs and the exercise of their religion. But +they warned him against the people of Sabrevous, for they were so much +opposed to the New Yorkers that they could not believe anyone who +hailed from that colony, or any colony south of the St. Lawrence, could +be friendly to them. + +That was enough for Ethan Allen. + +His mission was not to convert those who were friendly, but to gather +in those who were ranked among his enemies. + +Turning eastward, he started for Sabrevous, and with greater enthusiasm +than he had felt up to that time. + +Allen and his party were dressed ostensibly as merchants, and he +professed to be in search of rare skins, to fill an order. + +To give color to this assertion, Old Buckskin had brought with him a +skin of the rarest color and kind, and Allen declared he should never +rest until he had matched it. + +No one knew better than Allen, unless it was Old Buckskin, that it +would be the most difficult thing to find that shade of natural wool, +and so the ruse was successful. + +Early one morning, for the march was slow, a man approached the party +and stopped Allen. + +In French he asked if he was the merchant in search of a peculiar skin. + +Allen answered in the affirmative. + +"I can take you to the place where you can get as many as you want." + +"I will reward you." + +"Follow me." + +"Where to?" + +"Follow me and you shall have the skins at your own price." + +"Remember that you have said at my own price." + +"Yes; my friends are poor and they will sell cheaply, for food to a +starving person is better than the most costly skins." + +Old Buckskin whispered: + +"Be on your guard." + +Allen nodded. + +Remember Baker was bolder and asked the French Canadian how he knew +they wanted skins. + +The man laughed, and answered with an appearance of genuine truth: + +"I was at La Mull and heard the monsieur ask about skins." + +"Then why did you not speak?" + +"I had to see if my friends would sell." + +"And you saw the sample?" + +"I saw the skin that trapper carried." + +That seemed satisfactory, and Allen was quite prepared to follow the +Canadian. + +Eben was the next to express a doubt. He drew Allen on one side. + +"I have seen him somewhere before; do not trust him." + +"Imagination, my dear Eben, pure imagination. The man is a French +Canadian." + +The man had stood on one side, apparently taking no notice of the +whispered conversation, but a close observer would have seen that he +was watching through the corner of his eye every movement, and if he +could read the lips, as so many of his countrymen could, he doubtless +knew what was being said. + +"Will the monsieur come and see the skins?" he asked. + +"Yes; lead on." + +The man led the way and Allen and his little band followed. + +Many times the guide turned round to see if all were following. + +A dense wood lay right before them, and the prospect did not seem very +inviting, though no danger could come to them, seeing that they were +six in all, and the Frenchman was alone. + +"Where are you taking us?" Allen asked. + +"To where the skins are." + +"How far is it?" + +"Not far; if my friends did not want the money very badly I should not +bother so much." + +As he spoke he fell back so that he was beside Ethan Allen. + +"You come from York?" he asked. + +"Yes." + +"Ah, monsieur, it is a pity that the Yorkers like us not." + +"But they do like you." + +"You may; your heart is large, and you would buy from a poor Canadian; +most Yorkers would steal the skins and kill the Canadian." + +"You are wrong. The Yorkers are very anxious to be friends with the +people of Canada." + +"They hate the Anglais?" + +"No, they do not hate the English, though they would like to see the +English leave the country, so that the Canadians and the Americans +could govern themselves." + +"Do you think there will be war?" + +"Perhaps." + +"Monsieur knows there will be." + +"I do not know. I hope not. War would interfere with business." + +The Canadian laughed heartily, as though Allen had perpetrated a good +joke. + +Then he broke into a French song, full of life and character, such as +the French peasantry love to indulge in. + +Eben took advantage of the song to walk beside Alien and whisper to him +his doubts. + +"That man is not a Canadian, or if he is, he is an English Canadian." + +"What makes you think so?" + +"His accent." + +"But, Eben, he speaks French fluently." + +"Yes, like a Frenchman, not a Canadian." + +"What do you know about it?" + +"In my young days"--Allen had to smile at the boy referring to his +young days--"in my young days I used to know a French boy and a +Canadian Frenchman, and they could scarcely understand one another. +The French boy used to say, 'You talk French, bah, bah!' and the +Canadian used to ask the other why he did not speak proper French." + +"I had no idea that you were a linguist." + +"If you mean by that that I can talk languages, you are wrong, for I +cannot, but I am sure that our guide is not a French Canadian." + +"You are too suspicious, and I really do not see what difference it +makes what he is; we shall get to know the country and----" + +"Miss our way back." + +"You think that it is all a trap?" + +"I do." + +"You will see that you are wrong." + +"I hope so, but I am going forward a little." + +Eben did not wait for permission, but ran ahead of the party like a +wild boy out for a holiday. + +The Canadian called him back, but Eben professed not to hear. + +In a few minutes he was seen running back toward them. + +"Where have you been, Eben?" + +"In the forest." + +In a lower voice he said: + +"There are three houses just ahead, and I am sure I saw a redcoat at +one of the doors." + +Did the Canadian hear him, or did he judge by intuition? + +"Did you see the houses?" he asked Eben, and the question was +translated. + +"Yes, and I saw a man with a red coat." + +"That is good; my brother has got home. He always wears a red shirt. +I am so glad." + +And to prove his joy he began singing loudly, and through the trees +came back the echo of the refrain. + +"That is Jacques; I should know his voice wherever I heard it," said +the Canadian, resuming his singing as soon as he had uttered the words. + +"Please turn back," pleaded Eben. + +"You silly fellow, what harm can we come to?" + +Although Allen spoke lightly he whispered to his followers to have +their pistols ready in case of a surprise. + +All saw the houses, poor, miserable dwellings they were, too, but such +as were often met with in the woods of Canada. + +"Here we are!" cried out the Canadian, "and monsieur shall soon see the +skins. Will he pay a good price for them?" + +"Yes, if they are what I require." + +"They will be." + +There was no sign of life at the house, though the guide called: + +"Jacques--Jacques!" + +"Where can he have got to? Enter, monsieur, and I will find the man +who has the skins." + +Allen, followed by the others, entered the house, which seemed to +consist of one room and an extension kitchen downstairs, and a room +upstairs. + +In a few minutes a man dressed in a red shirt entered, and said his +brother had sent him to entertain them, as he would be detained getting +some skins he believed the messieurs wanted. + +Everything seemed so quiet and innocent that even Eben was inclined to +think he had been unjustly suspicious. + +But while Jacques chattered--and he did so rattle along that it was +quite impossible for anyone to get in a word--there was a movement +outside which was ominous had Allen but known it. + +Jacques was telling a hunting story and raised his voice at a most +exciting point, when the door was quickly opened and a dozen soldiers +from the neighboring garrison sprang into the room and demanded the +surrender of the party. + +It was impossible to decline the unpleasant invitation, for at each +head was a pistol. + +As Allen raised his head and looked at the door, he saw the pseudo +guide, grinning like a hyena, and in a voice which was very English the +man emphasized his laugh by saying: + +"Ha, ha, ha! trapped! I have followed Ethan Allen all the way from +Ticonderoga, and waited until I could be sure he would be hanged. Now +I denounce him as a spy!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +DIPLOMACY. + +"You denounce me?" + +"Yes, I say that you are Ethan Allen, the man who surprised the +garrison at Ticonderoga." + +"Am I to understand that these soldiers have listened to the ravings of +a creature like you?" + +The sergeant in command of the squad saluted Allen, and replied: + +"I am compelled to obey orders. This man reported that he could lead +into ambush one Ethan Allen, and I was detailed to effect his arrest." + +"Sergeant, I acknowledge that you have a duty to perform, but cannot a +merchant pass through Canada without being suspected of being a spy?" + +"With that I have nothing to do; I must ask you to surrender." + +"The asking is compulsion. With a pistol at each head, how can we do +anything else but surrender?" + +Allen wished to delay surrender as long as possible, for he was a firm +believer in the doctrines of possibility, and a chance of escape might +present itself. + +The sergeant laughed at Allen's question. + +"It does look like surrender or death, but my orders were to take Ethan +Allen, dead or alive." + +"Is he then so much feared?" + +"If you are Ethan Allen it may be some consolation to know that he is +hated by the British authorities more than any man who has joined the +American rebels; and if you are not Ethan Allen, as I hope you are not, +then you may know that it is a great honor to be mistaken for such a +rebel." + +"Logical, very. We are merchants in search of skins of a very peculiar +shade of color. We work for a customer who is willing to pay largely +for such skins--dyed ones will not do--and this fellow pretended that +he was French, could not speak English, and told my trapper that he +knew where we could get the skins. In all trust we followed. Now I +ask you: Is it likely that this Ethan Allen would allow himself to be +entrapped?" + +"No, you are right; but I am not the judge, and you will have to go to +Sabrevous and see the colonel." + +"That will take time, and I am anxious to get the skins. I will make +you a proposition: I will go with you to Sabrevous, but this man must +go with me, and as a prisoner, for I have charges to make against him +which will cause him to be hanged. My friends must go free to search +for the skins." + +"I cannot accept the offer--all must go." + +"But you said you were to arrest Ethan Allen; now, we cannot all be +Ethan Allen, and I am the one accused." + +Allen knew just as well as the officer that all must surrender, but he +wanted to confuse the Englishman, and perhaps find a way of escape. + +"I am very sorry, but if you are Allen, the party with you may be also +wanted. I must demand the surrender of all." + +"Before I surrender I demand the arrest of that man." + +"What for?" + +"Murder!" + +The informer almost shrieked as he heard the charge. His knees +trembled, the blood left his cheeks, and he looked a most guilty wretch. + +"Look at him," Allen exclaimed. "Tell me, is he not guilty?" + +"I did not do it. He--he shot himself." + +"And you took the skins. Ah, my fine friend, Frenchman or Canadian, +you may well tremble. England does not accept the services of +murderers. You sought to save yourself by denouncing me. Your trick +has failed. I shall not surrender on the accusation of a murderer. I +will give my parole to appear against you on your trial." + +"You refuse to surrender?" asked the sergeant, in amazement. + +"If my accuser was a man of honor instead of a murderer I should bow to +fate, but unless you have some one to accuse me who is not tainted I +shall resist you, and if I fall my family will hold you accountable for +my death." + +The sergeant was in a quandary. + +He had been ordered to arrest Ethan Allen, and here was a man who had +put him to the proof. The only accuser was one whose word was of no +account, for he was a self-confessed murderer. + +"Are you Ethan Allen?" the sergeant asked, most innocently. + +"If you think so arrest me. I shall not answer any questions except +before a proper tribunal." + +"You are a brave fellow, and I wish there was some one here who knew +you." + +"I know him!" + +All turned toward the door and saw a man with a long white beard and +patriarchal appearance, though his garb was that of a monk. + +"I know him," the monk repeated. "And I say that, whatever his name +may be, he is an honest man." + +"You said you knew him, and yet do not know his name; is not that +strange?" + +"Not at all. In these troublous days a man may have more names than +there are days in the week, and yet be honest." + +"By what name did you know him?" asked the officer. + +"As one who did good wherever he might be." + +"He is accused----" + +"The man who accuses him of wrongdoing must be bad at heart, for I will +swear that he is innocent." + +"But they say he is a spy?" + +"A spy? Accuse him of being a spy? Why, one might as well accuse me. +He is too open for a spy, and if he was one he would acknowledge it." + +"And so criminate himself?" + +"If he were a spy, I repeat, he would never deny it if put to the test. +Who is his accuser?" + +"This man----" + +"That shivering wretch! He looks half dead." + +"He will be dead soon," Allen interjected, "for he is a murderer, as +well as one who bears false witness against his fellows." + +"You say that you believe that miserable reptile, instead of this +honest man? Beside, think of the illogical position. If this man is a +spy, you have to admit that there is a war between your people and his, +and that your government denies." + +"I am a soldier and must obey orders." + +Allen rose in the dignity of his manhood, and rather startled his own +friends by saying: + +"I never asked a man yet to disobey orders. Do your duty. I will go +with you to Sabrevous; but, mark me, I shall hold your government +responsible for my loss of time and for the indignity of this arrest." + +Eben Pike had not been under arrest, and now he stood at the door, +waiting developments. He saw clearly what should be done. If Allen +was condemned, then Montgomery must be informed, and a quick move made +on Sabrevous and Allen liberated. + +The procession was formed and Eben walked at a little distance from the +party, apparently taking no more interest in the affair than one of +idle curiosity. + +The accuser was pinioned, a musket being secured under his arms across +his back, but Allen and his friends were allowed to march entirely +unfettered. + +The monk, whom we have recognized as the "mad monk" who rescued Martha +Baker, walked by the side of the sergeant, while Remember Baker walked +with Allen, the soldiers marching in front and rear of the small party. + +"How did you know that he was a murderer?" Baker whispered, pointing to +the miserable informer. + +"I cannot tell. I felt that he was. I had but one thing to guide me. +A trapper was found murdered near Ticonderoga, and I heard that the one +last seen with him was a fellow who could talk French as well as +English, and I guessed this man might be the one, so I hazarded the +accusation, and struck the bull's-eye." + +"What will become of us?" + +"Cannot say; but Eben is on the alert, and unless they shoot us without +the usual twenty-four hours' reprieve, he will have Montgomery come to +our rescue." + +"Did you give him instructions?" + +"Only general ones; he is wide awake, and knows just as well as I do +what ought to be done." + +"Don't you think the 'mad monk' will betray us?" + +"No; he is a sympathizer with our cause, and---- Let us change the +subject; one of these soldiers is getting suspicious." + +When the party reached Sabrevous the sergeant handed his prisoners over +to the proper authorities and reported that he was convinced that a +mistake had been made, and that the prisoners were peaceful merchants +and not American rebel spies. + +The monk was examined in secret, and he also bore testimony to the +truth and honor of the chief prisoner. + +The accuser was called and asked about the murder he had committed, and +under the terror of the accusation he made a full confession, but asked +for mercy, because he had followed Ethan Allen and handed him over to +the authorities. + +His plea for mercy helped Allen, for the English officer believed that +the accusation against Allen was only made to obtain favor with the +authorities. + +He was remanded to prison until the civil power could take him and mete +out the punishment he merited. + +Allen and his party received the apologies of the officers for their +arrest and detention, and were at once liberated. + +It had been a narrow escape, but they did not value their liberty any +the less for that fact. + +Some weeks afterward Allen learned that the officers had been severely +reprimanded for allowing the "rebel spy" to escape. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT. + +Two days later Allen was not so fortunate. + +He had been talking to the people and urging them to remain neutral, +allowing the soldiers on each side to fight out the issue, when one of +the people of the little town, near which was a small fort, left the +house and ran to the fort. + +"Ethan Allen, the rebel, is at my house," he cried, almost +breathlessly, as he reached the outworks. Instantly there was +commotion among the garrison. It was true Allen was dreaded by the +British more than the men who were besieging Boston. + +He was a freelance, and it was never known where he might strike. + +His daring at Ticonderoga was not forgotten, and although no money +reward was offered for his arrest, it was known that promotion would be +the reward of those who captured him. + +A small force was sent at once to the farmhouse and Allen called on to +surrender. + +The lieutenant who had been consigned to the lead was of a different +nature to the sergeant of Sabrevous, for he would not listen to any +speech. + +"I am here to arrest you and your party, and save your breath, for you +will need it at the court-martial. Surrender or we shall make you." + +"We shall not surrender," answered Allen, calmly. + +Allen, Baker and Old Buckskin had got into a corner of the room and +dragged tables and a heavy dresser in front of them. + +The English fired at the "rebels" and succeeded only in damaging the +walls and furniture. + +Old Buckskin raised his musket, an old friend that had brought down +many a bear and wolf in the forests; he patted it affectionately and +took aim. + +Every movement was as calm as though the enemy was a defenseless animal +destined to fall beneath the unerring aim of the hunter. + +The soldiers had reloaded and awaited the order to fire. + +The musket belched forth its leaden fury, and the lieutenant fell dead. + +"No use tackling small fry when the big uns are there," explained the +hunter, as he reloaded. + +Allen and Baker had both fired their pistols and wounded two of the +soldiers. + +"Let us charge them," suggested Allen, and almost before the words were +uttered the little band of patriots had emerged from behind their +barricade and were pressing the English toward the door. + +With their leader dead, and four more dead or wounded, the soldiers +became demoralized, and throwing away their guns, ran just as fast as +they would had a pack of hungry wolves been in pursuit. + +"Shall we pursue?" asked Baker. + +"No, we will return to the camp. I think we have done all we can this +trip." + +The return to the Isle-aux-Noix was accomplished without any adventure, +and Allen was warmly welcomed by Gen. Montgomery. + +The young Irish leader had just determined on the siege of St. John, +and the information that Allen could give him proved very useful. + +The whole plan of campaign was discussed and considerably modified +after Allen had given his views on the subject. + +The Green Mountain warrior suggested that the besiegers should be +protected by what is termed circumvallation--that is, by a line or +series of works surrounding the place, not to serve offensively against +the place, but to defend the siege army from an attack from without. + +His plan was adopted and the work was intrusted to him. + +The English in St. John watched the preparations and laughed at the +absurdity of the affair. + +"Those rebels think they can fight," said the colonel in command. "Let +them make all their preparations, and we will blow them all into +smithereens in no time." + +But as he watched the works proceed he was not quite so sanguine. + +"Who is leading the rebels?" he asked. + +"Gen. Richard Montgomery." + +"Montgomery? Not the Irish general who was with the British at +Martinique?" + +"The same, Colonel." + +"By Jove! by Jupiter! he knows what he is doing. Who is second in +command?" + +"Ethan Allen." + +"By Jove! we have blundered. We ought never to have allowed them to +come so near. I thought that they were an undisciplined lot of +peasants, who knew nothing about war, and would flee as soon as we +opened fire on them." + +"Perhaps the rank and file will." + +"They dare not." + +"Why?" + +"I was with Montgomery at Havana, and I know that he would turn his gun +on his own men if they showed any signs of retreating. He is the very +devil when fighting." + +"What shall we do?' + +"I must think." + +The colonel had shown his anxiety more than he had intended, and he +must have some time to recover his equilibrium. + +In a few minutes he had taken his glass and scanned the enemy's works. + +He saw the weak spots and gave orders that they should be charged. + +A regiment sallied out and marched with band playing and banners flying. + +Allen saw them approach, and at once communicated with Montgomery. + +Orders were given to defend the weak places and to be content in +holding the line. + +The British had underestimated the courage of the Americans. + +They had yet to learn that men fighting for a principle were stronger +than those who fought to obey orders. + +Allen knew that many of his men were raw, never having stood up before +an enemy, and that when it came to fighting they might be frightened. + +He called his officers together and addressed them. + +"It is necessary that we reduce St. Johns, and as it is our first real +battle you must each be responsible for your men. Don't let any +falter. At the first sign of retreat, unless I order it, shoot the +leader; that will prevent the others from running. It is harsh, but +necessary. Now remember that our country depends on us for victory. +We must prove ourselves worthy. Address your companies and inspire +them with courage. Let each man do his duty." + +There was a magnetism about Allen which won respect and obedience. + +"Do you not think he blundered?" an officer once asked another about +the great Napoleon. + +"Blundered? Perhaps he did. But if he ordered me to cut off my hand I +would do it. He owns me body and soul." + +And it was just this kind of feeling which animated the men who +followed Ethan Allen. + +The British regiment charged the earthworks, and the Americans had all +they could do to hold their position. + +The slaughter was large in proportion to the number engaged, and Allen +feared for the result. + +But when the English began to retire he ordered his men to follow and +challenge to another combat. + +The enemy, seeing the move, turned and prepared to resist the charge of +the Americans. + +Then commenced a series of masterly feints which won renown for the +Green Mountain hero. + +His men fell back after the first volley, and the English pursued. + +Again Allen rallied his men and charged the enemy, only to retreat as +quickly as before. + +Three times was this maneuver practiced, and each time the English were +drawn nearer the strongest points of the line of circumvallation. + +Montgomery saw, at first with surprise, the movements of his able +coadjutor; then, when the object became apparent, he ordered his +division to be in readiness, and after the third feint, with a loud +shout the entire force of the Americans charged the English and pursued +them into the town, slaughtering them like sheep. + +Allen advised forcing an entrance into the town, but Montgomery knew +that the enemy would have every advantage, and that success was very +doubtful. + +He preferred to wait, and by strengthening his position compel the +garrison to surrender. + +The afternoon saw the white flag floating over both fort and +earthworks. The emblem of peace meant that both sides wished to care +for the wounded and bury the dead. + +It is a strange feature of civil war, and the war between the English +and the Americans might be so called, that when the flag of truce is +hoisted the men of both sides are ready to fraternize. + +It was so in this instance before St. Johns. + +Men who had been aiming at each other an hour previously now drank from +the same canteen and helped to bury each other's dead. + +Among the wounded was young Eben Pike. + +He was not a soldier; that is, he had never been enrolled among the +men, but, as it was afterward known, he had borrowed the uniform of a +sick soldier and had answered the name when it was called. + +Remember Baker was in command of the burying party, and when he saw +Eben he could not help the tears falling on the white face of the boy. + +"My poor fellow, are you badly hurt?" he asked, in a tremulous voice. + +"I think I have received my call," answered Eben, bravely. + +"I hope not. But is there anything I can do for you?" + +"I would like to see the colonel." + +Eben was placed on a stretcher and carried to the rear. + +Very soon Allen was bending over him and asking him about his wounds. + +"I do not know; I don't seem to bleed much, and yet I am so weak." + +The surgeon came quickly at the request of Allen, and made a thorough +examination of the boy. + +He was very silent, and no one knew what his verdict would be. + +"Am I going home?" asked Eben. + +"Going home? Are you tired of fighting?" the surgeon queried. + +"Oh, no, I would like to live and fight until my country is free." + +The speech was too much for Eben, for he fainted, and the doctor, after +leaving instructions, went out of the shed which served as hospital, +and called Allen on one side. + +"Well?" + +"That boy is shocked. It is a peculiar case. Not once in a score of +years do we find such a case. Every nerve is numb, every muscle +relaxed, and whether he will live or die depends on arousing him from +that numbness." + +"Is he wounded?" + +"Only slightly. A spent ball may have caused the shock. What can we +do to rouse him?" + +"That is for you to suggest. What do you think necessary?" + +"A counter shock of some kind. Its effects would soon be apparent. If +it succeeds he will be all right in a day; if it fails he will die." + +"And without the counter shock?" + +"His life is in a very precarious condition." + +"I do not know--how would it be to make believe I am killed?" + +"The very thing. I will arrange it." + +The doctor laid his plans for the very interesting experiment with +great care. + +After giving instructions he returned to Eben's cot and felt his pulse. +It was very feeble, and life was fast ebbing away. That was the best +moment to shock him, and on the effect of that shock his life would +depend. + +The doctor gave the signal he had arranged, and almost instantly a +pistol shot was heard. + +Then a second followed. + +Eben opened his eyes and looked round. + +A cry pierced the walls of the miserable temporary hospital. + +"Ethan Allen killed! Who could be his murderer?" + +The words were shouted out as though some one was in great distress +over the great tragedy. + +"What did he say?" asked Eben. + +"It sounded like 'Ethan Allen murdered,' but, perhaps, I am mistaken." + +"Go and see. Stay, I will go, and if any one has killed the best man +on earth I will find him and kill him!" + +The blood was coursing faster through the boy's veins; the color had +come back to his cheeks and he forgot his wound. His only thought was +about Allen. + +"You stay here; I will go and see about it." + +"Let me go, please do, doctor?" + +"No, you stay here. If the report is true you will need all your +strength to avenge the death of the brave man." + +"You are right. But, doctor, I feel right enough. I wonder what made +me think I was going to die?" + +"I will tell you all later. Now lie still. I will not be gone long." + +"Don't be a minute, please, doctor, or I shall have to come after you." + +The surgeon smiled to himself with great satisfaction as he sought the +presence of Ethan Allen. + +"Well, how did it go?" asked the mountaineer. + +"Like magic. No sooner did he hear the cry than he wanted to get up +and seek your murderer. He is as well as ever he was, though he will +be weak for a day or so." + +"Shall I go and see him?" + +"Not yet. Wait until I summon you." + +The doctor returned to Eben. + +"Well, doctor, it is not true--say it is not true!" + +"No, the alarm was a false one." + +"Thank Heaven!" + +"I am just as well pleased as you. Now try and get some sleep." + +"Will you ask the colonel to call and see me?" + +"Yes. Ah, here he is." + +Eben caught Allen's hand and the hot tears flowed over it. He kissed +the hard hand of the mountaineer and stroked it until nature came to +the rescue and Eben fell back asleep. + +"He is saved. The countershock did what nothing else could. It was an +interesting experiment." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +A PRISONER. + +Three days later Allen received another command to penetrate into +Canada and seek to interest the Canadians, especially the French, in +the colonial cause. + +The Green Mountain Boy would have preferred to stay with the army and +participate in the siege of St. John, but he was a soldier, and a +soldier's first duty is obedience. + +He addressed the people in every town and village, and the result was +far beyond his expectations. + +In a week he had traversed the country as far as St. Ours, twelve miles +south of Sorel, and had enlisted two hundred and fifty Canadians and +had armed them. + +He wrote to Montgomery, telling him of his success, and adding that he +hoped to be with him in three days to take part in the assault on St. +John. + +The return march was commenced, and on the second day the advance guard +encountered a regiment of Americans under command of Maj. Brown. + +Allen was delighted to meet a brother officer, and regretted that he +had sent half his men forward under command of Remember Baker. + +Brown was sanguine and saw a chance of striking a great blow at the +English power. + +"Montreal," he said, "is defenseless, and, with your forces united to +mine, we can capture it." + +Allen fell in with the suggestion, and a plan was discussed. + +The men had met on the east bank of the St. Lawrence, between Longueuil +and Laprairie, and it was arranged that Allen was to cross the river in +canoes a little north of the city, while Brown and the men under his +command were to cross to the south, and, advancing from different +directions, make themselves masters of the works and the garrison. + +The difficulty of obtaining canoes delayed Allen. + +He sent up and down the river to get boats, either by purchase or by +force, but only succeeded in getting a very few. + +He had to cross and recross three times before he landed his little +party on the opposite side. + +The night was squally. The wind blew in fearful gusts, and often the +frail boats were in danger of being wrecked. + +Allen cheered his men and promised them a glorious victory. + +It was sunrise before all had crossed, and then the little party +awaited the signal from Maj. Brown. + +An hour passed and no signal was heard. + +Half an hour more, and then Allen knew that Brown had not crossed. + +His position was critical. + +He would have retreated had it been possible, but he would be seen by +the enemy, and a fire opened on the canoes would speedily sink them. + +"Men, we are lost. Brown has failed to cross the river. If we could +retreat we would, but that would mean death without glory. We must +stand our ground and die with glory. Our country must never say we +were cowards." + +There was a suppressed cheer, and Allen knew that his few men were +ready to make a determined stand. + +Very soon they were to be put to the test. + +The gates of the city were opened and a body of red-coated British +regulars was seen to emerge; after them came two hundred Canadians, and +an equal number of Indians. + +The Americans saw they were outnumbered five to one. + +"We will resist to the death!" Allen said to one of his officers, and +the men heard the words and got ready to fight like brave heroes. + +Although the British outnumbered the Americans five to one, they acted +with the greatest caution, sheltering themselves behind woodpiles, +houses and in ditches. + +Allen's men returned the fire with vigor, and for two hours prevented +the enemy from emerging into the open. + +The British regulars began to be irritated at the stubborn resistance +of the few Americans, and made a move which Allen knew was to be an +attempt to flank him. + +He called Capt. Lossier and bade him take fifty men and advance to the +right and post himself in an advantageous ditch and to maintain his +position there. + +Lossier and his men advanced, but as soon as they came in sight of the +redcoats they made a wild rush for the woods and scattered in all +directions. + +To make Allen's position worse, a small detachment on the left, under +the command of Lieut. Young, a Canadian volunteer, also broke rank and +fled, giving the enemy a chance to take up several strong positions. + +Allen now found himself with only forty-five men, including the brave +young Eben Pike. + +They poured in their volleys as fast as they could load and fire. + +In order to do more effective work five men were told off to load, and +as the men who had run away had thrown down their muskets, there was a +good chance to keep the guns cool. + +But what could forty-five do against five hundred? + +Allen saw that unless he retreated while his rear was open, he would be +surrounded and all his men slaughtered, for he knew the command had +gone out to butcher all found with arms in their hands. + +With great reluctance he gave the order to retreat. The Indians were +rapidly gaining in the direction of the rear, and only fleet feet would +give the Americans a chance. + +Although the Americans could run, they were no match for the Indians, +and Allen found himself surrounded. + +He had only twenty-eight men left, and yet he would not surrender. + +With fixed bayonets the little band waited the onslaught of the +British, who were only a few yards away on all sides. + +An English captain, mad at the way in which his men had been kept at +bay, snatched a musket from the hands of one of his men and fired at +Allen. + +Although only a few yards distant, the ball missed, and Allen, not to +be thought wanting in reciprocal feelings, fired at the captain, but +both were too much blown to take aim, so the shots were wasted. + +"Coward!" shouted Allen--"cowards all! To think that it took five +hundred men to capture twoscore patriots!" + +The captain answered back and demanded surrender. + +"As prisoners of war?" asked Allen. + +"No. As rebels." + +"Then, by the great Jehovah, I will die fighting! Men, let us resist +to the death!" + +To the surprise of the English, a volley was fired into their ranks, +and the Americans prepared to load again. + +Seven more of Allen's men had fallen wounded, while twelve of the +English had been made to bite the dust. + +"On what terms will you surrender?" asked the captain. + +"That we shall all be recognized as prisoners of war and receive +honorable treatment." + +"On the word of a British officer, your terms shall be accepted." + +The Americans threw down their arms. + +As Allen presented his sword to the officer a naked savage, with +hellish visage, made still more repulsive by the fact that half his +head was shaved and the other half adorned with feathers, rushed at +Allen and placed his musket at his head. + +Allen caught the English captain and swung him between the Indian and +himself, but the savage flew round with incredible swiftness and great +fury, trying to kill the brave mountaineer without injuring the officer. + +Allen succeeded in keeping the Englishman between him and the savage, +but another Indian came rushing up and Allen gave all up as lost. + +"Arrah, be jabers, if I can shtand that same!" shouted an Irishman in +the service of England. + +He rushed forward with fixed bayonet, risking punishment for breaking +rank, and swearing by his forefathers that he would kill the "haythen," +rescued Allen. + +Thus, while Montgomery was waiting for him at St. John, Ethan Allen was +a prisoner in the hands of the English and being marched into Montreal +a captive. + +In the barrack yard Gen. Prescott confronted him. + +"Are you the Col. Allen who captured Ticonderoga?" he asked. + +"I am." + +A long string of expletives poured from the general's lips, and he +swore that Allen should be shot. + +He raised his cane to strike Allen across the face, but the Green +Mountain Boy placed himself in fighting attitude. + +"I am unarmed, you coward, but strike me and I will show you that my +fists can smash your dastardly head." + +An officer pulled the English general away, and Allen had no +opportunity to avenge himself at that time. + +"By Jove! I'll hang every one of you," shouted Gen. Prescott. +"Colonel, see that thirteen of these d--d rebels are hanged within an +hour; take the first thirteen--quick--there shall be no delay." + +"If you dare to do it, I swear that you shall die within an hour +after," shouted Allen, defiantly. + +It was a strange threat for an unarmed prisoner to make. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +ON THE GASPEE. + +Never before had English officer been spoken to in that manner by +prisoner. + +Prescott knew not what to make of it. Had he dared he would have shot +Allen on the spot, but he well knew that to do so would be the cause of +an investigation into his conduct, and Prescott was guilty of many +things which, if sworn to before a court-martial, would have led to his +dismissal from the army, if no other punishment was incurred. + +So he allowed himself to be led away, but as he went he shook his fist +at Allen and shouted: + +"I will not hang them just now, but you, you infernal rebel, shall +grace a halter at Tyburn." + +Even the soldiers shuddered as they heard the threat, for Tyburn was +the place, in England, where the most brutal murderers and criminals +were hung in chains and allowed to stay there until their flesh rotted +from their bones. + +To be hung at Tyburn carried with it disgrace throughout all +generations. + +Gen. Prescott was in a fury; why, it was difficult to say, for Allen +had never injured him personally. + +"I'll hang that fellow," he reiterated to the colonel of his own +regiment. + +"My dear Prescott, you will do nothing of the kind; he is a prisoner of +war." + +"War be hanged! he is a rebel, not a soldier." + +"And being a rebel, he must be tried by the home authorities." + +"Col. Gilmartin, answer me; if he were to be on board a war ship and +fall overboard and be drowned, could I be blamed?" + +"Of course not." + +"If by accident he should be given a dose of oxalic acid in mistake for +Epsom salts, would that be charged against me?" + +"What are you hinting at, general?" + +"That fellow threatened me----" + +"He was exasperated." + +"What right had he to be? A man who rebels should be ready for any +treatment by his superiors. Hang me, if I dared, I would cut every +rebel into pieces and send the parts to his friends with my +compliments. They deserve such treatment. Hang me, what right have +they to rebel?" + +"They think they have a right." + +"They think! Who are they? A lot of rapscalions who could not be +content with their own country, but must come out here, and when we +allow them to do so, they rebel. Englishmen worthy of the name never +rebel." + +"And yet, general, there were a good many worthy Englishmen who +rebelled against James and supported William the Third." + +"That was different, Gilmartin, different; they were patriots, and not +rebels." + +"As these men will be if they are successful." + +"But they cannot be successful--they cannot be. This fellow, Allen, +was a farmer. He calls himself colonel. Fancy, of the same rank as +you, Gilmartin, while you were trained in your boyhood for the army, +and when you were old enough got a commission----" + +"Which I purchased, as I have had to every promotion." + +Col. Gilmartin felt sore over his tardy promotions, and never waited a +second opportunity to tell his grievances. + +Prescott had been one of the fortunates ones; he had obtained his +promotion easily, so he was satisfied with the condition of the army. + +He was in no humor to listen to any complaints, and so he stopped his +brother officer by saying: + +"Order at once the placing of that fellow, Allen, in the heaviest +irons--stay, I will give the order myself." + +He sent for his orderly and gave instructions for Allen to be placed in +heavy irons and taken at once on board the _Gaspee_, war ship, and all +the other prisoners to be ironed and placed on board the other ships in +the river. + +The soldiers were pleased with the order, and proceeded to carry it out +to the extreme limit. + +Ordinary handcuffs were used for the wrists, two prisoners being +manacled together, Allen being fortunate in having Eben for his fellow. + +But on the legs the irons were simply horrible. + +Anklets, very tight, were locked on each leg, and attached, in the +middle of the connecting chain, to a bar of iron weighing forty pounds. + +The soldiers laughed as they fastened this heavy weight on Allen's +legs, telling him that it was the "king's plate." + +The irons were so close that it was impossible for the prisoner to lie +in any position save on his back. + +Allen and Eben were taken to the lowest deck of the schooner _Gaspee_, +and a more stifling, filthy, ill-ventilated place it would be +impossible to find. + +A mock salute was tendered to the hero of Ticonderoga as he entered the +place, and out of consideration of his rank he was accorded a tool +chest on which to sit, and which was also to serve as sleeping place. + +"Can I help you any?" whispered the guard, about an hour after Allen +had been placed on the chest. + +"I wish you could get me some little blocks of wood to rest the iron +on," answered Allen, gratefully. + +The man secured the blocks and so saved the constant strain of forty +pounds of iron pulling at the victim's legs. + +While the men were kind and considerate, those in authority were just +the reverse. + +Every indignity possible was heaped on the unfortunate prisoners. + +It was midnight, on the first day of Allen's imprisonment, and the +Americans had managed to fall asleep. + +Eben was lying at Allen's feet, enduring the most horrible tortures +because of the irons, but never complaining for fear that he might be +separated from his hero. + +Suddenly their sleep was disturbed by a loud voice asking where the +rebels had been placed. + +It was the captain's voice, and he knew well, for he had ordered every +detail. + +"They are here, captain." + +"Let them stand up." + +Allen rose with difficulty, and staggered as he tried to stand at +"attention." + +"Drunk, eh? Here, sergeant, see to it that this rebel does not have a +drop of anything to drink for twenty-four hours." + +"Except water, captain?" + +"I said not a drop of anything. He is drunk." + +"Please, sir, he has had nothing to----" + +"Silence! Do you want to be ordered to the hold?" + +The sergeant was silent, though his whole nature rebelled against such +treatment. + +The captain looked at Allen for a minute, then he asked: + +"You were at Ticonderoga?" + +"And I treated the prisoners with justice," answered Allen. + +The only reply was a vigorous kick from the officer's well-shod foot. + +Allen bit his lips, but did not resent the affront. + +He knew that it was done to provoke him so that his persecutors might +have an excuse for inflicting some terrible punishment on him. + +"See to it that these rebels do not sit down until I give permission." + +It was the parting order of the captain, and the sergeant blushed with +shame as he heard the command. + +When the officer left the deck Allen sat down. + +"You must not do that, sir," said the sergeant, kindly; "you heard my +orders." + +"I know, but I shall die unless----" + +"Lie down, sir; I shall not stop you doing that. The orders were that +you must not sit." + +Once more the two prisoners were lying down on their backs; the irons +prevented their reposing on their sides. + +By daylight the prisoners were nearly dead with thirst, but not a drop +of water was allowed them. + +The captain made his round of inspection at seven o'clock, and Allen +asked if they were to be allowed to have anything to eat or drink. + +"No. You will get a rope round your necks soon, and it won't matter +whether you are hungry or not." + +"But, sir, you have no right----" + +"Stay, there! You are a rebel and have forfeited all right to be +considered in the matter." + +Eben listened to the insulting words, and he was in such a position +that he was able to drag his iron bar right across the captain's path. + +As the officer stepped back he tripped over the iron and fell sprawling +on the deck. + +"Beg your pardon, captain, but I am not accustomed to move about with a +bar of iron on my leg, so couldn't tell where it was going to land." + +Eben spoke so seriously that even the captain thought it might have +been an accident; so, after cursing the young Vermonter, he left the +place. + +Then Eben laughed heartily. + +"Forfeited all right, have we? Well, I have found one way of humbling +an Englishman." + +"Eben, you ought not to have done it." + +"Ought not? Why, I only regretted that we were not near enough to the +side so that he would have fallen into the water." + +"Hush!" + +"You are not to have anything to drink, nor anything to eat, but hang +me if I'm going to see you starve, so here, stow this into your mouth +and suck like mad." + +The kind-hearted sergeant pushed a piece of hard boiled beef into +Allen's mouth. + +Allen was too good a hunter not to know that the beef was prepared in +such a way that, though tasteless, it nourished, and by sucking on it +the saliva was promoted and thirst quenched. + +After Eben had been served in the same way the sergeant laughed. + +"I didn't give you aught to drink, nor aught to eat, but you'll get +there all the same, and I ain't broken the rule." + +"If ever I get the chance to remember your kindness, my memory will +serve me." + +"That's all right. I expect you'll get hanged, but blow me if I could +see a dog starve, and you're a trump anyway, though you be a rebel." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND. + +Three days after his capture, Ethan Allen heard an extraordinary noise +on the upper deck, and he knew that the _Gaspee_ was about to sail. +But its destination he did not know. + +After the first day the prisoners were allowed to have one meal a day, +for, as Prescott told Allen, he did not want to cheat the gallows. + +The _Gaspee_ was bound for Quebec, and the prisoners were overjoyed at +the prospect of a change. + +"It cannot be for the worse," said one of the Americans to Allen; +"therefore we shall be the gainers." + +"I wish they would hang us right away," answered the hero of +Ticonderoga, "for I am tired of this life." + +"We shall all be free----" + +"Yes, when in our graves." + +"Do not get downhearted, colonel; we have pulled through many a hard +row before now." + +There was a consolation in having company, and the prisoners from the +other ships had been crowded on the _Gaspee_. + +"March out the rebels." + +All heard the order given, and each looked at his fellow with anxious +glance. + +It might be a farewell to them. Who could tell? + +The leg irons were unlocked and the prisoners marched up the +companionway to the upper deck. + +As they reached the deck the fresh air was almost overwhelming, for +they had not breathed any for several days. + +They were marshaled in line and awaited their doom. + +Soon a bedecked officer appeared on deck accompanied by one of the most +villainous-looking seamen that ever stepped upon a deck. + +"Are these all?" asked the English officer. + +"Yes, general." + +"Which is Ethan Allen?" + +Allen was pointed out, and the gold-laced, red-coated officer raised +his pince-nez and looked at Allen as he would at any curiosity. + +"Which is Eben Pike?" + +The young scout was pointed out by the officer in charge, and he had to +undergo a similar inspection. + +"And these are rebels? Well, well! England has nothing to fear if +this is a sample of those fighting against her. So you are Ethan +Allen? You are the man who broke into Ticonderoga? Well, well, well! +You achieved fame, but whether it will avail you much when you stand on +the gallows is for you to say." + +The English officer had jerked out these sentences more to himself than +to the prisoners. + +He turned to the villainous old salt by his side. + +"What do you think of your cargo?" + +"I'd rather have pigs." + +"You show sense, but as you cannot have pigs you must take these. You +are under bonds to land them in England--how I don't care--only they +must have strength enough to stand upright on the gallows, for Jack +Ketch must not have too great a task." + +The seaman chuckled. + +"I've carried lots of cattle afore, and I never lose any, save a few I +toss overboard to save trouble. I'll land these or give an account of +'em." + +Every word was uttered with a view of enraging the prisoners. + +Allen learned afterward that the provocation was intended and +deliberate, its object being to get him to commit some overt act so +that he could be hanged or shot for insubordination. + +The seaman was the captain of a sailing merchantman bound for England, +who had been engaged to transport the Americans to that country. + +After a list had been made of the prisoners they were marched off the +_Gaspee_ onto a barge, which was towed out to a merchantman lying in +the bay. Four rowboats were engaged to tow the barge, and just as they +started the hawser broke and the barge was adrift. + +After several minor accidents the prisoners were landed on the deck of +the merchantman, and soon found they had exchanged bad for worse. + +A portion of the vessel had been boarded off by white oak planks, +making a space about twenty-two feet long by twenty feet wide. + +Into this space thirty-four American prisoners were pushed, handcuffed +in pairs. + +Allen refused to enter. + +The captain asked who he was that he should dare to disobey orders. + +"I surrendered to the British under a pledge that I should be treated +as a prisoner of war, and I demand that we shall all be treated as +human beings, not as cattle." + +The captain laughed brutishly. + +"Ha! ha! ha! That is good! Do you think I would treat cattle that +way? They would all be dead before they reached England. No, no, my +dear rebel! you are treated as rebels, not cattle." + +Two seamen took hold of Allen and threw him into the little inclosure, +closing the door as soon as he was within. + +An hour later Allen was called out. + +A lieutenant had asked to see him. + +"So you are Ethan Allen?" the English lieutenant asked. + +"That is my name." + +"Then, apart from the pleasure I have in seeing you here, I have but +one greater joy, and that is that I am able to treat you like this." + +The officer spat in Allen's face. + +The Green Mountain hero's hands were manacled, but he raised them and +brought them down with such force on the man's face that he fell +headlong on the deck. + +Instantly Allen was surrounded with bayonets. + +He was considered dangerous, and had to be forced back into the prison +inclosure. + +The vessel set sail, and every day the captain taunted the prisoners +with their captivity, and took every means to make them suffer. + +Some days, when the weather was more than ordinarily oppressive, he +would order that no water should be given, and as the food consisted of +salt pork and bread, or ship's biscuit, it can be well imagined how +much they all suffered. + +After the vessel had been out twenty days one of the prisoners crawled +up to Allen and whispered into his ear: + +"Can we live much longer like this?" + +"I am afraid not." + +"Then let us put an end to it." + +"How?" + +"Will you agree to join us?" + +"I cannot answer that until I know what is proposed." + +"If you do not want to join, you will not betray us?" + +"What do you think of me? Have I ever been a sneak?" + +"No, colonel, but the scheme is a desperate one." + +"What is it?" + +"To seize the ship and then take her into port as a captured vessel." + +"How can it be done?" + +"Jack--you know Jack, the one who brings us tobacco?" + +"Yes; he is a kind-hearted Englishman." + +"He isn't English, he is Irish. Now, he will file off these handcuffs +and give me the file. By working at every opportunity we can all be +free in a few days; then all we have to do is to force our way out and +seize the skipper. We will throw him overboard, and kill all who +oppose us; then the ship will be ours and we can sell it and divide the +prize money." + +"My good fellow, we cannot do it." + +"Why?" + +"If we seized the ship we should have to sink it, for no one would +purchase it. But I will not countenance murder." + +"It is not murder, it is war." + +"War is brutal, I know, but when it comes to seizing a captain on board +his own vessel and killing him, that is not war, but murder, or piracy." + +"Well, you will not betray us?" + +"No. Only give me a chance to fight openly and I will do so, but I +will not kill a man in cold blood." + +"But, colonel, you will not interfere with us?" + +"No. Only do not tell me anything you are doing." + +Allen did not understand that in war all things were justifiable. + +He was a gentleman all the way through, and would not fight unless he +could do so honorably. + +Whether Jack failed to find the file, or that the prisoners decided not +to mutiny, Allen never knew, but no attempt was ever made to secure +freedom, and after forty days' torture land was sighted. + +The prisoners were ordered on deck. + +It was a glorious change for them, for they had not breathed a breath +of pure air for forty days. + +As they stood on the deck the captain pointed out the distant land. + +"Do you know what land that is?" he asked. + +There was no response; the American prisoners were too much engaged in +inhaling all the fresh air they could to care about talking. + +"That is Land's End, in England. You will soon be there, and then you +will all be hanged. A short life and a wretched one will be yours from +now on. That is all. Take the prisoners back to their palatial +quarters." + +The captain may have thought he was inflicting torture on the +prisoners, but he was mistaken. They were not afraid of the fate which +awaited them. + +If they were to die, they would prefer to die on land to being tortured +to death in the hold of a small ship. + +As one of the prisoners quoted the words of an older rebel in England: + + "The noblest place for man to die + Is where he dies for man." + + +So all felt that if they were to be hanged in England they would be +tried, and on their trial they would be able to make their defense and +let the world know under what grievances the American colonies were +suffering. + +In two days the vessel landed in Falmouth Harbor. + +The news that the vessel had on board a number of American prisoners +caused thousands of people to flock to the wharf. + +The greatest curiosity was manifested. + +Had a cargo of wild beasts entered port the curiosity could not have +been greater. + +In fact, Allen soon learned that the Americans were looked upon as wild +beasts or savages, and certainly not as civilized beings. + +The windows were filled with members of the fair sex, the sidewalks of +the old English town were closely packed by men and children. + +Hour after hour they waited to see the show. + +A lot of detail, commonly called "red tape," had to be attended to +before the prisoners were allowed to land. + +A military band escorted a regiment of redcoats down to the dock, and +the necessary papers for the transfer of the prisoners were exchanged. + +Then across the gangplank walked Ethan Allen and Eben Pike, handcuffed +together. + +The people on the dock pushed and stared at the Green Mountain men. + +"Why, they aren't green!" exclaimed one of the bystanders with disgust. + +"No, they aren't Americans; they're Irish," said another. + +"Of course they're Irish; Americans are black." + +"No, red." + +"Not by a long shot; they're all as yellow as guineas." + +Absurd as it may appear at this day to have to record such ideas, it is +an absolute fact that when it was rumored that the Green Mountain +heroes were on their way to England the prevalent idea was that they +derived their name from the color of their skin. + +When the other prisoners disembarked the march was commenced to the +barracks. + +The people flocked round the prisoners so that progress was impeded. + +The soldiers had to charge the crowd with bayonets many times. + +"What did they mean by saying they thought we were Irish?" asked Eben. +"I heard an Englishman say in New York that if it had not been for the +Irish the Americans would not have rebelled. Of course it was +nonsense, but the people do not know us yet, while they do know the +Irish." + +At the barracks the prisoners were received with as much curiosity as +we can imagine was shown by Ferdinand and Isabella when Columbus +presented the American Indians in 1492. + +Every man was made to answer a lot of questions, and many times over. + +Allen was questioned about the strength of the American army, and +replied: + +"I know not its numbers, but it is well equipped and can beat all the +armies you can send over there." + +"They are rebels, and only the lowest people sympathize with them." + +"Do you call George Washington a common man?" asked Allen. + +"He is a rebel, and ought to know better." + +"And Richard Montgomery, who fought with you at Havana and Martinique?" + +"Is he with the rebels?" + +"I had the honor of serving under him." + +"He will be hanged, for he was a soldier of his majesty." + +"You will have to capture him first." + +They could not make anything of Allen, so they desisted questioning and +sent all the prisoners to the guardroom. + +It was a difficult question for the government of England to decide. + +The men were locked up in the barracks at Falmouth, but England did not +know what to do with them. + +If the prisoners were hanged as rebels, England would be blamed by +other civilized nations, and yet it would not do to pardon them. + +There was a very powerful opposition among the English people to harsh +measures, and, in fact, many English wished America success in its +struggle with the tory ministry. + +And so Allen and his friends remained in jail, simply because the +ministry did not know what to do with them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +IRISH HOSPITALITY. + +Some months later the ministry decided to deport the American +prisoners, and the captain of the _Solebay_, man-of-war, was ordered to +take the prisoners back to America under sealed orders. + +It was a pleasant change to leave the barrack prison, even for +captivity on board a man-of-war. + +Gradually the strictness had relaxed and the prisoners were treated +better, and Allen fully believed that the meaning of the return to +America was that they were to be liberated in exchange. + +The master of arms on the _Solebay_ was an Irishman named Michael +Gilligan, and the vessel had only been out two nights when Gilligan +sought Allen and offered him his friendship. + +"And it's meself as would be a rebel if I were free, but, bad cess to +it, I was pressed, and so I made the best of a bad job, and will fight +for the flag because it is my duty." + +"I admire a brave Englishman----" Allen commenced, but was cut short +with the remark: + +"I'm not an Englishman, but I'm Irish, and my people are all rebels. +Will ye let me be your friend?" + +"I shall be only too pleased." + +"Then you'll berth with me. Sure it's not such a place as I'd like to +be offering you, but it's better than this." + +Gilligan held a similar rank to that of a sergeant of a regiment, and +was a man of considerable importance on board. + +He had a berth between decks, inclosed in canvas, and, as it was large, +Allen had plenty of room. + +When Cork, or rather the Cove of Cork, now called Queenstown, was +reached and the _Solebay_ cast anchor, the rumor spread through the +cove that a number of American rebels were on board. + +Allen was standing on deck looking over the finest harbor in Europe, +when his attention was called to a small boat hailing the war ship. + +Some men climbed up on deck and asked for Col. Allen, of America. + +Allen was so close that he could not help hearing, and he answered that +he was Ethan Allen. + +John Hays, a merchant of Cork, clasped Allen's hand and tried to speak, +but, instead of words, tears flowed down his cheeks and his voice was +choked. + +When he did master his emotion he exclaimed, with patriarchal fervor: + +"Heaven bless you and all brave men like you who are fighting for +liberty." + +He introduced his friend, merchant Clark, also of Cork, and said their +mission was to offer the patriots such things as they stood in need of. + +Clothes, or money, or food would be willingly given if Allen would only +say what was most needed. + +The offer was gratifying, and Allen expressed a wish for clothes for +the prisoners. He explained that, though prisoners for several months, +they had not received a change of clothes, and that some were +absolutely in rags. + +The next day a boat well laden pulled to the _Solebay_, and suits of +clothes were found for each of the thirty-four prisoners. + +A complete suit of underwear, an outer suit of warm material, an +overcoat and two extra shirts, were bestowed on each of the prisoners, +while Allen received superfine broadcloth sufficient for two jackets, +and two pairs of breaches, in addition to a suit already made. He also +received eight fine Holland shirts and socks ready made, a number of +pairs of silk hose, two pairs of shoes, two beaver hats, one of which, +richly laced with gold, came from James Bonwell, a wealthy merchant of +Cork. + +On the following day the boat returned to the ship laden with wines, +spirits, sugar, tea and chocolate, a large round of picked +[Transcriber's note: pickled?] beef, a number of fat turkeys and many +other articles for Allen's personal use, while each of the men received +two pounds of tea and six pounds of sugar, with plenty of meat, +chickens and turkeys for the mess table of the prisoners. + +Two days after the receipt of the stores the captain prohibited +anything more being delivered to the prisoners, and took away +everything which the men of Cork had given except the clothing. + +He shouted himself hoarse about the way the rebels were being feasted. + +"I heard him say," says Ethan Allen, in his autobiography, "that by all +that was holy the American rebels should not be feasted by the rebels +of Ireland." + +An application was made by the Mayor of Cork for permission to be +granted to Ethan Allen to attend a banquet to be given in his honor by +the city, the mayor and ten leading citizens being willing to give bond +for his return to the ship the next morning. + +The application was refused, and the captain gave order to weigh anchor +and put out to sea. + +"Sure and the skipper is as hot as a roast pertater," said Gilligan; +"he thinks for sure that the rebels of Cork will take you all off the +ship by force, so he is going to put out to sea." + +The _Solebay_ left Cork harbor that day and did not return. + +After a long sail the shore of North Carolina was reached, and the +hearts of the Americans beat high with hope. + +The captain was almost amiable, but it was with a fiendish glee caused +by the belief that the American prisoners were to be hanged on American +soil. + +"I want to see," he said, to Allen, "American trees bearing the best +fruit, and plenty of it." + +"I am sure I re-echo your wish," answered Allen, whereupon the captain +laughed and declared that the fruit he meant was dead Americans hanging +from the boughs. + +For several weeks the _Solebay_ stayed at Cape Fear, and the prisoners +were treated with great harshness. + +One morning their hopes were again raised by an order for all to appear +on deck. + +"Stand in line!" ordered the officer. + +The men did so and the roll was called. + +"Colonel Allen, step forward!" + +It was the first time he had been addressed by his title, and all +thought it meant an exchange at least. + +"Now select fifteen of the most deserving men among your company, and +order them to stand out." + +Allen selected the desired number. + +"Thank you, Col. Allen. The fifteen will remain, the others can go +below. The fifteen will be hanged to-morrow morning at sunrise. I +thank you in the name of his majesty for having selected the most +worthy." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +A DARING SWIM. + +"Coward!" + +It was only one word, but that one word contained a wealth of contempt +and scorn which made the officer tremble. + +"Place those men in chains!" + +The sergeant of marines saluted and gave the order to the remaining +prisoners to return to their prison place. + +Allen countermanded the order. + +"Listen to me. I am a freeborn man, and, though a prisoner, I am a +prisoner of war. I was promised fair treatment for myself and men if +we would surrender at Quebec. Is this what you call fair treatment?" + +"I am very sorry for you, Col. Allen; but, since I am a soldier, I am +compelled to obey orders." + +"And who gave you such an order?" + +"That I may not answer--as you ought to know, being a soldier yourself." + +"Are these men to be hanged?" + +"So I was ordered to say. I have only acted according to instructions." + +It was the man that spoke, not the officer. His softened voice showed +that he had carried out a very distasteful order, and that his manhood +revolted at it. + +"Can I not make an appeal personally to the general commanding?" + +"That would be impossible." + +"Are these men to be hanged without trial?" + +"Col. Allen, you are a brave man, and can face the worst. I am told, +though I ought not to tell you, that the American rebels have gained +several advantages lately, and the British authorities are determined +to stamp out the rebellion; so----" He paused. The man was ashamed to +utter what he had heard. Gathering courage from Allen's silence he +continued: "We are told that no prisoners are to be treated as +prisoners of war, but as outlaws and rebels, to shoot whom will be +considered a meritorious act." + +"And the object?" + +"Can you not see? It is to strike terror into the rebels." + +"So be it! But, mark me, I speak as a rebel, but also as a man, and I +tell you that for every American hanged without due process of law, ten +Englishmen shall die. Do not mistake me! I shall be a free man again, +and shall make England suffer. The leaders of the Americans, called by +you rebels, will know of this murder and will avenge it." + +The British officer made no reply, but waved his hand to the sergeant, +who removed the ill-fated fifteen. + +By some chance Allen had omitted Eben's name from the fifteen, and +while he regretted it at first, he was more than pleased now that the +oversight had occurred. + +When the prisoners were removed to their part of the lower deck, Eben +managed to get close to Allen. + +"You don't think they will hang those?" he asked. + +"I do not know, my boy. I think they are vile enough for anything." + +"I heard that officer, who came aboard with dispatches, say that there +was a lot of the patriots close here." + +"Of our people?" + +"Yes." + +"That accounts for it, then. They will hang the prisoners as an act of +defiance." + +"Colonel, I have an idea." + +"What is it, Eben?" + +"Come closer to me, for I must whisper very softly." + +Eben managed so that his mouth was very close to Allen's ear, and then +he told of his plan. + +"I can slip over into the water when it is quite dark and swim to land; +then I can make my way to the patriots and tell them the straits we are +in." + +"You could not reach the land." + +"Not reach it? Why, colonel, have you forgotten how I swam across dear +old Champlain and then back again?" + +"I am not likely to forget that." + +"Then I am sure I can do this little bit." + +"But they will fire on you?" + +"If they see me; and that is just what I am going to prevent." + +"How?" + +"Never mind that, colonel. Only give your consent and I will succeed, +and I think I can save the lives of our friends." + +"Eben, you are very brave. Can you bear to think of your fate?" + +"I have thought of it. If we stay here we shall be hanged; if I fail +to reach land I shall drown, and I think I would rather drown than be +hanged. What say you, colonel?" + +"My dear fellow, you must act as you think best." + +"All right, colonel. Good-by; I may never see you again." + +"Good-by, Eben. Take care of yourself, and may Heaven bless you." + +Several times Allen tried to communicate with Eben, and to try to +dissuade him from his hazardous undertaking, but the youth felt +instinctively that he would do so, and remained out of reach of his +beloved colonel's voice. + +When night came Eben managed to get to the side of the ship unobserved, +and in a few moments he had dropped noiselessly into the water. + +But, as ill luck would have it, he got entangled in some chains as he +struck out from the ship, and the noise attracted the attention of the +guard. + +"Man overboard!" he cried. + +Allen heard the cry and his heart stood still, for he was sure Eben +would be captured, and then nothing could save his life. + +The officer in charge of the prisoners heard the cry also, and at once +ordered every man to answer to his name. + +It was the work of but a few minutes, and it was ascertained that Eben +had really escaped. + +"Do you see him?" asked the captain. + +"Yes." + +"Fire on him!" + +Several muskets were fired, and had not the Vermonter been an excellent +swimmer he would have been killed. But Eben dived and swam under the +water a great distance, and the bullets were deflected by the water. + +A boat was lowered and the stoutest sailors, with four marines, manned +it. + +"Ten pounds to the man who kills him," said the captain, "and twenty +for the man who brings him in alive." + +There was a stimulus in the offer of reward, although the Englishmen, +every one of them, would have gloried in the chase and in hunting the +boy to his death without even the chance of a reward. + +Eben saw the boat coming after him, and he knew that he was in a race +for life. + +He was not daunted. + +He watched the boat skim through the moonlit water, and he floated for +some little distance to ascertain whether he was seen. + +Assured of that, he laughed quietly to himself over the chase he would +give them. + +He dashed the water about as though he was about to sink, and instantly +a musket ball struck the water within a few feet of him. + +Then he dived and swam in another direction, knowing that the boat +would continue on its straight track. + +When he reappeared above the water he saw that he had gained very +materially on his pursuers, and as he did not care what part of the +coast he reached, he again dived and swam farther down the shore. + +When he came to the surface and floated, he looked round and saw that +the boat's crew had given him up for lost. + +The boat was circling round and round, and every eye was strained to +find his dead body. + +Eben leisurely swam to the shore, and was glad when he reached land, +for he was nigh exhausted. + +He had to be very cautious, for many tories resided on the shore, and +he knew that he would be treated as a suspicious character. + +He found a wood which afforded him shelter. + +Undressing, he hung his clothes out to dry, while he climbed into a +tree, with the double object of not being found in a state of undress +and be the better able to see if anyone approached. + +There was a warm breeze blowing, and his clothes soon dried, and once +again he felt like a human being. + +A new trouble arose. He found his limbs so weak that he could not +stand. + +His flesh was hot and dry, his mouth parched, and his eyes were like +burning coals. + +He had fever. + +The fact was appalling enough at ordinary times, but how much more so +under the circumstances? + +He dare not seek a house, even if he could crawl as far, for he knew +that fever meant delirium, and in his delirium he might betray himself +and so injure the cause he loved so well. + +He had not lived in the mountains without knowing the value of herbs, +so he looked around to find those natural medicines which at home had +been used by the Indians and most of the white folks of the Green +Mountains. + +He wanted agrimony, but did not see any; but he did find yarrow in +abundance. + +Now, the leaves and flowers of the common yarrow, or the _achillea +milefolium_ of botanists, are an excellent thing in fevers, producing +perspiration and cleansing the blood at the same time; but Eben knew +that it should be macerated in boiling water. + +Boiling water was out of the question, and, in fact, there seemed to be +no water save sea water near, so he gathered a quantity of the leaves +and chewed them. The taste was bitter and aromatic, but refreshing to +the fever-stricken boy. + +After a time he felt a nausea, and stopped eating. + +He turned over on his back and fell asleep. + +When he awoke the sun was high in the heavens and he fancied he had +slept four or five hours; in reality he had slept nearly thirty hours. + +His body was covered with a cold perspiration and his mouth seemed less +parched. + +As he raised himself to look around he saw that he was not alone. + +A man, evidently poor, if judged by his dress, stood some distance +away, watching him closely. + +"So you did wake, eh? I reckon'd that you were going to sleep till +Gabriel blew his trump." + +"Have I slept long?" asked Eben. + +"Well, now, I can't say 'zactly, for I reckon you had been asleep a +long time when I found you, and I've been here nigh on to ten hours." + +"You have been watching me that long? Why?" + +"Mebbe I took a fancy to you, and mebbe I know you." + +"You know me?" + +"Well, now, I reckon if I were to call you Ebenezer Pike----" + +"If you did?" + +"Yes, I was saying I reckon that you would have to say that was your +name." + +"What gave you that idea? And who is Ebenezer Pike?" + +"I am no tory. Yesterday I heard that a prisoner had escaped from the +war ship out there, and that the one who had got away was at the bottom +of the sea. I was curious, and I asked all about it. Then I was asked +if a body wouldn't float into land; and I said mebbe; and then the +bluejacket told me he would give me ten shillings if I found the body +and gave it up to him. So I searched and found--you." + +"And discovered that I was not worth ten shillings?" + +"Never mind what I found; I tell you I ain't no tory, and ten pounds, +nor ten hundred pounds, would make me give up a live American hero. +His dead body wouldn't be of no account to him, so I might give up +that." + +"And you think I am this escaped prisoner! Well, what do you want to +do with me? for I am too weak to oppose your silly whim." + +"I am going to take you to my house, and when you get strong you shall +go just where you please." + +"You mean this?" + +"I do; and I tell you that if we could liberate Col. Ethan Allen we +would, for he is wanted just now; Carolina means to be free and +independent, so it does." + +Eben did not attempt any resistance; in fact, he was too weak to oppose +his discoverer, so he allowed himself to be lifted on the man's +shoulder and be carried to a cabin on the other side of the wood. + +Here he was tended as well as if he had been among relatives or his +friends of the Green Mountains. + +After a few days he was strong enough to go out, and he walked down to +the beach and saw the vessel from which he had escaped lying at anchor. + +But he saw something more--something which made his blood run cold. + +As he was returning he saw five trees growing on the banks of the river +near the cape, and from each tree there dangled a human body. + +On closer inspection he found--what he had dreaded to find--that the +bodies were those of some of his fellow prisoners. + +"Come away, my boy," said his new friend. "Those men gave their lives +for a sacred cause, and I wish every Carolinian could see and know +them. It is a good thing for us that the cowardly tories hanged them, +for every one hanged means a surer vengeance." + +"It is horrible! Will they dare to serve Col. Allen so?" + +"I don't think so, but they may. What are your plans?" + +"I want to find the army of America and get the men to liberate Col. +Allen." + +"Praiseworthy, but we shall have a weary tramp before we reach the +patriots. Things have changed and many difficulties will confront us." + +"You say 'us,' as though you were going?" + +"Where you go, so shall I." + +Once more the two walked down to the beach, and Eben gave a cry of pain +as he saw the war ship slowly sailing away. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +HOW ENGLAND TREATED PRISONERS OF WAR. + +After Eben had escaped the captain of the war ship was furious. + +He found out that five of the prisoners shared the same room with the +escaped one, and he closely questioned them about the escape. They +refused to speak a word; perhaps they knew nothing, but their mouths +were closely sealed. + +Orders were given to take the five prisoners to the shore and hang them +in such a conspicuous place that the rebels might see them and take +warning. + +This cruel and uncivilized act was carried out by men who loathed the +work, but who had to obey the orders of their superior. + +Fearing that unpleasantness might ensue from the order, which, when too +late, the captain regretted, orders were given to sail north, and Ethan +Allen was taken to New York, where he was landed and thrown into a +prison cell. + +While it was a change to be on land, the treatment was more severe. + +Every indignity was heaped upon the unfortunate prisoners by the tories +who ruled the city. + +There was but one gleam of sunshine in the hero's life. + +He often heard news of the outside world. + +A Congress had been called, and its deliberations were of vital +importance. + +The tories talked about it in Allen's presence. + +They denounced men whose names Allen had not heard before, but who were +becoming prominent. But they also talked of Sam Adams and John +Hancock, of Patrick Henry and George Washington, and then they told +each other that it was seriously proposed to create a new nation out of +the colonies and declare the independence of the colonies. + +All this was glorious news to the prisoner, and he listened in silence, +afraid that his joy, if known, would prevent further conversation in +his presence. + +One hot, stifling day in July there was considerable commotion in the +prison, and Allen knew that something more than the ordinary had caused +the excitement. + +How anxiously he waited to hear the news! + +How tedious the hours passed before the change of guards gave the +desired few minutes for conversation. + +At last the hour came! + +"The Declaration of Independence has been signed!" + +"You do not mean it? The rebels would never dare!" + +"But they have dared. They say that a new nation has been born. Ha, +ha, ha! He, he, he! Ha, ha, ha!" + +"Will all the prisoners have to be shot now?" + +"No, they will be hanged, same as before. England has not recognized +the new nation; but England has hired a lot of Hessians----" + +"What are they?" + +"Don't you know? They come from some place in Europe; their king sells +or leases them out to fight." + +"And they must fight whether they like it or not?" + +"Oh, they like fighting; they are trained to fight. It is the only +thing they can do, and they do it well. You see, they do it all the +better because they can't talk English, so they kill all who do----" + +"Then they may kill us." + +"No, I do not mean that, but they kill all they are told to kill." + +A warden entered the long corridor and called out the name of Ethan +Allen. + +Allen stepped from his cell and submitted to his arms and legs being +heavily ironed. + +He was then marched through the city to the Battery, where he was +placed on board a war ship, with other prisoners, and taken to Halifax. + +For nearly two years he suffered the most horrible tortures in prisons +and prison ships. He seemed to have been forgotten. + +For weeks at a time he was absolutely silent, no one being allowed to +speak to him, and silence was strictly enforced among the prisoners. + +Once Allen got a little paper and a pencil, and a friendly jailer +promised to have the letter sent to its destination. + +Allen addressed it to his brother at Bennington, in the Green +Mountains, and it duly reached its destination, but the brother was +away with the patriot army, the letter was kept, however, and read over +and over again by the old friends of the hero of Ticonderoga. + +In that letter he says: + +"I have seen American patriot prisoners begging for food and being +laughed at for their request. They have bitten pieces of wood to get +little chips to eat and so satisfy their hunger. I was imprisoned for +a time in a church, watched over by Hessians who would not let us leave +to satisfy the wants of nature, and mid excrements the poor wretches, +who only loved their country, died in horrible tortures." + +It was a wonder that the letter ever reached Bennington, but the jailer +who passed it out was a warm-hearted man, a son of the soil from +Ireland. + +It was in the early spring of 1778 that Allen heard his name called as +he sat in the hold of a war ship lying off New York. + +He dragged his legs wearily up the steps to the deck. + +He had aged much during those two years, and his friends would scarcely +have known him. + +As he reached the deck he heard a voice, which seemed very familiar, +say: + +"Colonel, don't you know me?" + +A tall, bearded young man stood before him with extended hand. + +"Eben!" + +"Ah! then I have not changed so much." + +It was Eben Pike, dressed in the uniform of a lieutenant of the +American army. + +"What brings you here? You are not a prisoner?" + +"No; at this moment I am a guest of His Majesty the King of England, +and am acting on behalf of the United States of America, and more +especially the commander-in-chief, Gen. Washington, and----" + +"I am so glad to see you, Eben, that I do not know what you have been +saying. I feared you were dead." + +"No, colonel, I had a work to do, and I have done it. You see, we, +that is, the American army, took a certain English colonel prisoner, +and England wanted him very badly, so Gen. Washington said: 'You shall +have him in exchange for Col. Ethan Allen,' and at last the order for +the exchange was made and you are free." + +What did it mean? + +Allen heard the word "free," but it seemed like an echo of fairyland, +having nothing in common with this matter-of-fact, cruel world. + +"Yes, Col. Allen, you are free." + +This time the word was spoken by an English officer. + +Allen staggered like a drunken man, and would have fallen had not Eben +caught him. + +"Come, colonel, we must not trespass on the hospitality of the King of +England any longer; I have promised to escort you with all due +diligence to the headquarters of the commander-in-chief." + +Allen stood still, looking, with glassy eyes, at the speaker. + +In a few moments he asked; + +"Am I dreaming?" + +"It looked very like it, colonel, for you acted as though you were +asleep; but come now, we must be going." + +"Do you mean it? Are you really Eben Pike?" + +"Ask the captain here. He will vouch for that. The document reads: +'The bearer, Lieut. Pike, of the Army of the United States of America,' +does it not?" + +"Yes, Col. Allen, the whole thing means that you are exchanged. We +have got our man, and we pay for his liberty by giving you yours. +Good-day, and may I never see you again--at least under recent +conditions." + +Allen entered a small boat with Eben, and two stout seamen pulled the +boat to the dock, where a carriage was in waiting. + +Eben almost pushed the astonished and half-dazed Green Mountain hero +into the carriage, and soon the waterside was left far behind and the +carriage rolled along the roads to the place where Gen. Washington had +made his headquarters. + +By that time Allen had begun to realize that he was really free. + +Washington met him at the door and grasped his hand warmly. + +"For over a year we have been trying to secure your release, but could +not get the English to consent. You have to thank Lieut. Eben Pike for +your release. He is a real hero." + +"General, I only did my duty." + +"I wish every soldier did his duty as well. I must tell Col. Allen; I +am sure he will be prouder than ever." + +"No, general, it was a mere nothing." + +"I am the best judge of that. You must understand, colonel, that Pike +enlisted in the cavalry and did excellent service as a private soldier; +he was speedily promoted, for he deserved it. But it was at the battle +of White Plains that he distinguished himself. Almost single-handed he +fought a company of cavalry when most of our men had retreated. He was +surrounded and refused to surrender. 'I have been a prisoner of +England once,' he said, and that was enough for him. He cut his way +through the enemy, and even that enemy has borne testimony to his great +bravery. I am proud of him." + +"I am sure that a braver man than my young friend, Pike, never drew +sword," added Allen, proudly. + +"After he had gallantly cut his way through the enemy, he says he +thought he could have done better, so he turned his horse and rode +after the British. They evidently thought that he was the advance +guard of a regiment, for they stuck their rowels into the horses and +rode for life. Pike followed up closely and overtook Col. Jameson; he +demanded his surrender, and Jameson had to submit, for Pike had the +advantage." + +"Yes, he could not help himself and live," Eben said, with a smile. + +"Pike took his captive into camp, and the affair was reported to me. +Sergt. Pike became lieutenant, but he was not satisfied. He knew that +Jameson was a most important personage, almost as valuable as +Cornwallis himself, so what does the young lieutenant do but ask me to +refuse to exchange Jameson unless you were the captive given up by the +British. The difficulty had been that you had no commission; I did not +know it until I heard it from Montgomery and Schuyler, and so the +British looked upon you as an outsider; but they wanted Jameson, and +they got him, and you owe your freedom to Pike's pertinacity." + +We can easily imagine Allen's feelings as he listened to the account +given by Washington. + +The pride he had felt in Eben's career was intensified, and he felt +that the young Green Mountain scout would become one of the great +heroes of the Revolution. + +Allen was so broken down by his long and cruel imprisonment that he +took a vacation and retired to Bennington to recuperate. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +BEVERLY ROBINSON'S OFFER. + +As though the colonies had not enough work on hand in fighting the +great power of Britain, they must needs quarrel among themselves, or at +least New York picked a quarrel with New Hampshire over the title to +Vermont. + +Vermont was more than ever determined to remain independent of either +New Hampshire or New York, and Ethan Allen admired the sturdy spirit of +his mountaineers. + +He was urged to take command of the Green Mountain forces, and he +consented, writing Gen. Washington and telling him how he regretted the +necessity of staying at home instead of entering the army of +emancipation. + +Washington replied in a friendly letter, reminding him that he deserved +a rest after his trials, and also telling him that a man's first duty +was to his own people and country. + +Acting on this letter, Allen applied to the Congress for the admission +of Vermont into the Confederation of States; but the rivals of New York +and New Hampshire were too powerful in the councils of the new nation +for Allen, and Vermont remained outside, a debatable territory. + +Ethan Allen was sitting by the great, open fireplace in his house one +evening in the early fall, when a visitor was announced. + +"You have forgotten me, Col. Allen?" + +"I do not remember having had the pleasure of your acquaintance." + +"I am Beverly Robinson." + +"Indeed! Ah, now I remember. May I ask what brought you here?" + +The tory did not like the brusque question, but he was a diplomat and +fenced ably. + +"I have heard of your prowess on the field and of your sufferings in +captivity, and I have felt that, though we differ in politics, we are +children of the same mountains and ought to be friends." + +"If you are loyal to Vermont, differences of opinion will not affect +me." + +"Spoken like the brave man I knew you to be." + +"Did you come here to tell me this?" + +"Partly, and more especially to discuss the future of Vermont." + +"Ah!" + +"Yes; we are in a strange predicament. We have cut loose from the +mother country, and the new country will not have us." + +"That is one way of looking at the matter." + +"Is it not the true one?" + +"It may be." + +"Well, why not pledge ourselves to remain neutral?" + +"To remain neutral?" + +"Yes. If we were to call a convention and pass a resolution to the +effect that in the war between England and the colonies--I beg pardon, +States--Vermont would remain absolutely neutral, we should be in a good +position." + +"In what way?" + +"England would protect us against New York, and we could protect +ourselves against New Hampshire." + +"And you would ask me to make terms with England?" + +"Why not? You do not believe that Washington will succeed. He cannot. +England will triumph. The best men feel that it will be so. Benedict +Arnold told me it was only a question of time and terms." + +"Indeed!" + +"Yes; he knows that all Washington is fighting for now is to get the +best terms he can from Great Britain." + +"Arnold told you this?" + +"Well, no, not exactly in those words. But let me carry to +headquarters your pledge of neutrality." + +"Mr. Robinson, you may be honest in this, but I am afraid you are being +made a tool of some designing person. Carry this back with you"--Allen +stood up and folded his arms defiantly, as he said: "Tell England that +Ethan Allen will never be neutral, never make terms with England, but +will fight her power as long as he lives! Good-day, and never enter my +house again as the agent of England." + +Beverly Robinson retired second in the contest. Allen had won. + +Though the tory had failed, he felt a respect for Allen, who had been +so bold and courageous, and, though Allen never knew it, he was the +means of saving Vermont from any attacks of the British. + +Allen served his State and defended it against enemies without and +within. He lived to see it recognized as a State, free and independent. + +He also witnessed, with shame, the treachery of Benedict Arnold, and +was glad that he had never recognized the traitor as a man of honor. + +In the annals of the Revolution the name of Ethan Allen will ever shine +conspicuously, and, though he fought but few battles, and remained in +the army but a few months, England hated the mention of his name, and +looked upon him as one of the men who fired the hearts of the Americans +and encouraged them in the demand for freedom. + +In the hearts of his countrymen he will ever be held in the highest +estimation, and all ages will greet the Green Mountain Boy as the "Hero +of Ticonderoga." + + + + +THE END. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Hero of Ticonderoga, by John de Morgan + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO OF TICONDEROGA *** + +***** This file should be named 25708.txt or 25708.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/7/0/25708/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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