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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hero of Ticonderoga, by John de Morgan
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  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
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