UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA LIBRARY
X004383920
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
LIBRARY
PRESERVED
BY A GIFT
IN MEMORY OF
CHARLES GLENN WALLIS

*
J
1
1
1
1
LIBRARY OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
ITY
UNIVERSI
1819
OF
VIRGINIA
GIFT OF
Lo A. CALKINS


THE GREEN
MOUNTAIN BOYS
Bors
A HISTORICAL TALE OF THE EARLY
SETTLEMENT OF VERMONT
BY
D. P. THOMPSON
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
CHICAGO
W. B. CONKEY COMPANY
ALD
PS
3031
.77
67
19009
IN UNIFORM STYLE
Copiously Illustrated
ARABIAN NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENTS…………….
FRESH WATER EXPLORERS, Wallace P. Stanley
JOE AND I...
TREASURE ISLAND..
UNCLE TOM'S CABIN.
GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES.
Wallace P. Stanley
Robert Louis Stevenson
.Harriet Beecher Stowe
.Brothers Grimm
ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES...Hans C. Andersen
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON... ..Jean W. Wyss
AESOP'S FABLES….
GULLIVER'S TRAVELS..
...Aesop
.Dean Swift
TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS.... Thos. Hughes
TOM BROWN AT OXFORD... ....... Thos. Hughes
THE BOY SCOUT..
.Forrest Crissey
THE VOYAGE OF THE SUNBEAM, Lady Brassey
STANLEY IN AFRICA..
ROBINSON CRUSOE..
J. T. Headley
.Daniel Defoe
SAMANTHA AT SARATOGA, Josiah Allen's Wife
PECK'S BAD BOY, complete..
SWEDISH FAIRY TALES.
THE SPY.....
...Geo. W. Peck
Herman Hofberg
..J. Fenimore Cooper
GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS........D. P. Thompson
HISTORY OF ENGLAND, A CHILD'S.....Dickens
CHICAGO
W. B. CONKEY COMPANY
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
CHAPTER I
"And now for scenes where nature in her pride
Roar'd in rough floods, and wav'd in forests wide-
Where men were taught the desert path to trace,
And the rude pleasures of the mountain chase-
With light canoe to plough the glassy lake,
And from its depths the silvery trout to take-
Where nerves of iron grew, and souls of tone
To soft refinement's tranquil scenes unknown."
Those who have wandered along the banks of the
Otter Creek, in search of the beautiful and picturesque,
may have extended their rambles, perhaps, to Lake
Dunmore, which lies embosomed among the hills a
few miles to the eastward of that quiet stream.
If so,
their taste for natural scenery has doubtless been
amply gratified; for there is no spot in the whole range
of the Green Mountains that combines more of the
requisites for a perfect landscape than this romantic
sheet of water and its surrounding shores. Of an
oblong form, about four miles in length and one in
breadth, this lake, or pond, as such bodies of water
are more usually denominated among us, lies extended
between the main ridge and a collateral eminence on
the west, of a height but little more than sufficient to
serve as a secure embankment to this noble reservoir
of the hills. From the eastern shore the land rises
abruptly into a lofty mountain, which, like some
mighty giantess, sits enthroned in the mid heavens,
her head turbaned with a wreath of white mist, and
looking down with seeming fondness and care upon
the bright daughter, that reflecting back her own rude
6
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
image, lies quietly reposing in her lap, receiving the
rich supply of a thousand pearly rills that come gush-
ing to her opening lips. To the north and south open
long and beautiful vistas, extending along over the
bright extremities of the lake, and terminating among
the far-off peaks of the Green Mountains; while from
the western shore the land, after a gentle rise for a
short distance, falls off rapidly toward the Otter, leaving
the broad and extensive valley of that stream open to
the vision, which now wanders unobstructed to the
western borders of the Lake Champlain, where the
long chain of mountains that rise immediately beyond,
lies sleeping in the blue distance, and bounds the view
of this magnificent scene.
It was near sunset, on one of the last days of April,
and in the same year and month as were marked by
the opening scene of our great national drama, that
four stout and hardy-looking men, two of them about
the middle age, and two considerably younger, were
seen occupying a large log canoe near the eastern
shore of the lake just described, and engaged fishing
for trout. Their success through the day in ensnaring
"the pride of the pure waters, as the trout has been
appropriately termed, had been ample, as was evinced
by the large strings of this beautiful fish lying on the
bottom of the boat beneath the feet of their respective
captors. Now, however, as the rapidly lengthening
shadows of the dark primeval forest, that thickly lined
the shore, had nearly closed over the lake, the party
began to manifest a disposition to relinquish the excit-
ing labors of the day. One sat listless and unem-
ployed in his seat; another was taking in and winding
up his line; while the third had handled the oars, and
sat patiently awaiting the movements of the fourth,
who seemed intent on securing, before quitting the
station, one more victim, as “a most severe large one,
he said, was brushing round his hook. At length the
speckled tantalizer, after playing warily round the
bait awhile, seized it with a desperation that seemed
to imply at once his suspicions and his determination
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
to test them, and was drawn flapping and floundering
into the boat, amidst a shout of exultation from the
company, who unanimously declared the fish to be a
ten-pounder, and the capital prize of all that had that
day been taken. All being now in readiness, the boat
was rowed slowly toward the shore in the direction of
a spot indicated as the place of their temporary quar-
ters by a slight, wreathy line of blue smoke, which
had risen from their boon fires, and still hung undis-
sipated along the precipitous cliffs of the mountain
above. On reaching the shore the party, after taking
out their fish and carefully concealing their canoe in
a thick clump of overhanging bushes, proceeded to
their retreat, which proved to be a cavern in the
rocks, at the foot of the mountain, here shutting down
within a dozen rods of the lake. The front of this cave
consisted of a sort of natural porch, eight or ten feet
in length, and of, perhaps, about half that number of
feet in width, formed by a projection of the rocks.
above and on each side, so as to inclose the interven-
ing space.
From the center of the area thus formed
in front, an entrance, wide enough only to admit one
person at a time, opened into the interior, or main
part of the cavern, a spacious and lofty room branch-
ing off in several dark recesses that appeared to extend
far into the rocks. This cave had once been a favorite
lodge with the Indians, as was evident from the flint
arrow-heads, and other indications of aboriginal life,
discovered in and about the place; and in late years it
had been the usual resort of professional hunters, and
others of the neighboring settlement, when out for
more than one day on fishing and hunting excursions
on the lake or its vicinity, as it afforded them com-
fortable quarters for the night, and such as could
easily be secured from the intrusion of wild beasts, or
Indians, small parties of whom, though not generally
very hostile at this period, were still occasionally seen
skulking among these mountains. The party now
present, as before remarked, were four in number.
The two eldest of these had nothing remarkable in
8
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
their appearance to distinguish them from the ordinary
run of men, except their broad chests and strong, mus-
cular limbs, which they possessed in common with
most of the settlers. Of the other two, whom we will
more particularly describe, one was a young woodsman
of very singular and striking appearance.
He was
full seven feet high, and as straight as an arrow.
From his trunk, which, though strongly made, and
quite as large as that of a common stout man, looked
like a may-pole, rose a long, slender neck, surmounted
by a small apple-shaped head. His features might
have been regular when he slept, but in conversation,
in which he was always sure to have a part, they were
made to play such antics, by way of acting as gestures
to the queer conceits with which his brain was forever
teeming, that it would have been difficult to tell what
any one of them might have been when reduced to a
state of quiescence. His mouth with a peculiar twist
seemed to move at will in a half circle from one ear to
the other; while his nose, playing at cross purposes
with his mouth, was seemingly wriggled up to the
eyebrows, or let down to the chin at the option of its
owner. These, with the eyes, which were no less sin-
gularly expressive, combined to form a countenance
to the last degree comical, though, with all its pre-
dominating humor, great good nature and consider-
able native intelligence were very visibly mingled in
its expression. This man went by the name of Pete
Jones, or long-legged Pete, as was his more common
appellation among his companions. The other person,
the only one of the party now remaining to be
described, was evidently far superior in every respect,
except physical powers, to the rest of the company.
His exterior exhibited a high degree of manly beauty,
both in form and feature, while a fine dark eye, with a
cleanly turned rectilinear nose, and a high, square
forehead, indicated tastes of an intellectual character.
His countenance was expressive of keen perceptions,
and manifested also, like that of the person last
described, a strong disposition to wit and mirthfulness;
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
9
though his disposition, unlike that of his rude compan-
ion, had been evidently chastened and trained by edu-
cation and intercourse with refined society, the
advantages of both of which his language and manners
showed he had received. His whole appearance,
indeed, was such as would induce to the probable con-
clusion that a romantic turn of mind, with a love of
the exciting scenes of the forests, or still more exciting
strife in which the settlers were engaged with the
neighboring colony, had led him to a temporary adop-
tion of his present course of life, and that he was
rather an amateur woodsman than one from habit or
necessity.
When the party reached their quarters, the person
whose description last occupied us, separated himself
from the rest, and, clambering up the steep, sat down
on a commanding cliff, some hundred feet above the
cave, leaving the duties of the camp to be performed
by those who remained below. The latter, after
kindling up a fire in front of the cave, proceeded to
bring from the interior a light, portable kettle, and
piece of salt junk, articles with which such parties
usually went provided, and soon became busily
engaged in dressing and preparing a portion of the
fruits of their day's labors for an evening repast.
"Smith," said the tall woodsman, whose peculiar-
ities we have before noted, now turning to one of his
comrades as they were proceeding with their culinary
labors; "say, Smith, what do you suppose Mr. Selden
has perched himself on that old crazy crag up there
for? He looks as glum and hazy as a cat-owl winking
at the sun with one eye and watching a tree toad with
the other.
""
"Well done for you, Pete Jones!" responded the per-
son addressed; "I rather guess you have hit the nail
on the head this time; for Selden, I've noticed, is fond
of looking at prospects-scenery, I think he calls it-
well, while he has an eye for that, it's my opinion he
is on the lookout for mischief, which he thinks may
10
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
perhaps be brewing for us somewhere--what say you,
Brown?"
"Well, I don't know," replied the latter, a plain,
blunt, and somewhat dogged looking man; "there may
be something in your idee-and come to think of it, I
guess it is so. You know we caught a glimpse or two
of a fellow skulking round the shore over yonder, last
evening, as we were coming across to take up our
quarters here; and I remember that Selden seemed to
watch his movements as if he had some suspicions that
the fellow might be a spy upon us."
"That's it," rejoined Smith; "and if Selden named
the affair to the Captain when he joined us last night,
as I'll warrant you he did, seeing they had considerable
private talk together, most likely he got orders to
keep a spare eye for breakers to-day. I have noticed
several times this afternoon that he seemed to be look-
ing round the lake rather anxiously; and it was that
which set me to thinking."
"By the way," interposed Jones; "what in the world
can have got the Captain, that he ain't in by this time?
Not a single loud word has his rifle spoken to-day, to
my hearing."
"He has doubtless taken a wide range to-day,"
replied Smith, who assumed to be the best guesser of
the trio; "but an eye as keen, and an aim as sure as
the young Captain's, never need be exercised a whole
day for nothing on these mountains. He don't come
home empty to-night, you'll find."
"I wish he would come, however," observed Brown;
"I am anxious to know what are to be the orders for
to-morrow. I hope he won't make us wait here
another day for more to join us before we proceed on
the business we came for. We have now been nearly
three days, coming and here, without a chance of set-
ting our seals to the back of a single Yorker.
wouldn't have volunteered and left my work at this
busy season but for Captain Warrington's promise to
let us have right at 'em, and be off again. And I
wouldn't at no rate, if he had not fought so like a
I
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
11
young lion for me at the time these land sharks turned
us, wife, little ones, and all, out into the snow. He
did me God's service at that time; so I thought I
ought to oblige him by coming. Though, be sure, I was
obliging my own feelings about as much; for, so help
me Heaven! I would go fourteen miles barefoot in
January for a chance to pay off scores upon those same
York gentry."
"So would I," remarked Smith; "for what was your
case may soon be mine, unless we all turn out and
drive the scoundrels from the Grants every time they
put foot within them. So we must not grudge a little
time spent in paying off our debts in this manner,
seeing we shall be doing the public a service at the
same time. Only think of Warrington! He has spent
more than half his time in this way for the last three
years; and all he has ever got by it has been to have a
price set upon his head.”
"They have set a price on my head, too," gloomily
resumed the other; "but as for the Captain, he will
have his reward in heaven; while they have made me
so savage and murderous in my feelings that I begin to
fear that heaven will be no place for me.
""
"Well, I owe the scamps nothing in particular
myself, I believe," observed Jones; but not knowing
how soon I might, seeing as how I had lately bought
a new lot down there near Old Ti, I thought I might
as well join you a spell to learn the way and manner
of fixing the chaps. And I calculated if anybody
could show me 'twas Captain Charley, who they say
is a trifle braver than Julius Cæsar, besides having a
heart as big as a meeting house.
99
"What would you say of Ethan Allen at that rate?''
asked Smith, laughing.
"Ethan Allen? Lordy! why, two Alexanders, with
half a dozen Turks thrown in to stiffen the upper lip,
would be used up in making the priming to Ethan
Allen! But hoo! what in the devil's name has come
among us now?" continued the speaker, pointing to a
new figure that had arrived unperceived, and noise-
12
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
lessly taken a station within a few yards of the com.
pany.
All eyes were now turned to the spot indicated by
the words and odd gesticulations of their companion.
There stood a young Indian, quietly looking at the
company, or rather, after the peculiarity of his race,
looking at everything else but the company, the
moment they turned and confronted him. He held a
rifle in his hand, while his dress differed but little
from the ordinary garb of the settlers.
"Umph!" he at length exclaimed in the peculiar,
jerking guttural of the native Indian; "Massa Cappen
-him no here!"
"Guessed exactly right, Tawney!" cried Jones,
awakening from the momentary surprise into which
he, as well as his companions, had been thrown by the
unexpected appearance of such a visitor; "but what
do you want with the Captain, my beauty?"
"Umph! you ask, when me tell, then you know,"
quickly replied the Indian, with the apparent object
both to evade the question and retort on the inter-
rogator for the manner in which it was put.
"Right again!" exclaimed Smith, pleased at the
rebuff thus received by the professed joker of the
party; "here, Jones, let me manage him. Where did
you leave your company, friend?" he continued,
addressing the native coaxingly-"I conclude there
are more of your people somewhere hereabouts?''
"Umph!" answered the native with a sarcastic smile;
"Now you fraid-scare-why you no run?”
"Righter than ever!" shouted Jones, laughing
heartily in turn at his baffled comrade, who had fared
even worse than himself in the re-encounter.
Other methods were then taken to draw from the
Indian his name and business, but without the least
success. He either stood mute, or answered with such
odd evasions, that they soon gave over the attempt,
and called to Selden on the hill, intimating that his
presence was needed below. That person, who proved
to be second in command in the expedition, as if
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
13
partly apprized of what was going on, immediately
came down and appeared among them.
"Leftenant Selden," said Jones, "they say you can
make poetry out of rocks and trees, if you are a mind
to-now we want to see what you can make out of this
fellow."
"He is very evidently a domesticated Indian," seri-
ously replied the person addressed, who appeared just
then in no humor to relish the jokes of the other.
"He probably resides with some family in the vicinity.
I think I have heard Warrington speak of meeting one
of his description in a hunting adventure in this
quarter."
"Well, he inquired for the Captain," observed Smith.
"Then he has some business with him, I presume,'
rejoined Selden; "some friendly message, perhaps.
"Umph! that man say it," said the subject of their
discourse, pointing to the former with an expressive
and respectful look.
""
"We will try then to hasten the Captain's return,'
observed Selden, and taking from his pocket a sort of
whistle, formed from the leg-bone of a deer, he blew
a blast whose loud, shrill note was capable of being
heard at a great distance.
A strict silence of several moments was now observed
by the whole party in listening for a reply from their
leader, who, it was understood, carried about him a
corresponding instrument. At length, instead of a
reply from a whistle, the sharp report of a rifle burst
from a neighboring glen, and echoing wildly from
cliff to cliff in the surrounding stillness, died slowly
away on the distant mountains.
""
"There he is!" "There goes the Captain's rifle-I
should know her voice among a thousand," simultane-
ously burst from the lips of several of the company.
"Just as I told you,' said Smith; "I knew he would
never return empty.
That shot, mark me, brought
down a deer, which he had in his eye when the Lef-
tenant whistled, and prevented his answering the
call, which no small game would.”
14
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
The event soon proved the truth of the last speaker's
conjecture. The heavy, slow tread, as of one carry-
ing some weighty load, now became distinguishable at
a distance in the woods, the sounds falling more and
more distinctly on the ear every moment as they
approached the spot where the expectant and excited
party stood, eagerly straining their eyes to catch the
first glimpse of their huntsman leader. At length
he emerged from the bushes, bearing a noble buck
upon his shoulders. Advancing amidst the congratu-
lations of his fellows, he came up to the spot, and,
with the air of one relieved from a heavy burden,
threw down his prize to the ground before them. Of
the probable age of twenty-six or eight, he was a man
of a very fine and even majestic appearance. Though
tall and muscular so compactly and finely set were
his limbs, that his contour presented nothing to the
eye in the least disproportioned or ungainly. His
features seemed to correspond in regularity of forma-
tion to the rest of his person, while his countenance
was rather of the cool and deliberate cast, indicative,
however, of a mild, benevolent disposition, as well as
a sound, reflecting intellect. Every development,
indeed, whether of his shapely head or manly counte-
nance, went to show a strong, well-balanced character,
and one capable of action beyond the scope of ordinary
men. His dress, which was that of a huntsman, was
neat-not rich-but tastefully arranged and well
fitted. A mahogany-stocked rifle, richly chased with
silver, with small arms partially concealed in his
dress, completed his equipments.
"Heaven save me from another such jaunt," were
his first words after he had thrown down his load and
recovered himself a little; "a noble buck, indeed, but
the chase has been rather a dear one."
"I don't see how it could well have been otherwise,
Captain," observed Selden, now evidently in high
spirits and disposed for a little merriment-
"Your huntsmen, whenever a deer's in the race,
Like your lovers, of course, must expect a dear chase."
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
15
"Mine has been somewhat dearer, however, I
think," replied the former with an appreciating smile,
"than was necessary to give zest to those savory trout,
which, by the way, I am right glad to see so nearly
ready for the partaking."
"Yes," rejoined the other, glancing around at the
Indian, who stood demure and silent in the back-
ground, with his face partly averted from the com-
pany, "and yet I know not, really, Captain Warring-
ton, but you may have other fish to fry first."
"And just about the oddest fish, too, that we have
caught to-day, Captain," said Jones, instantly under-
standing the allusion of the last speaker; "I rather
think he must be a sort of shellfish, from the difficulty
we found in getting his mouth open.
"O ho!" exclaimed Warrington, his eye now for the
first time resting on the form of the Indian, and his
countenance clearing up from the puzzled expression
that had come over it for the instant at the enigmat-
ical words of his friends; "a new recruit! that explains
your call, the wherefore I was about to ask-a new
recruit of doubtful credentials, eh?"
So saying, he advanced to the side of the Indian
youth and attentively examined his features; while
the object of scrutiny stood perfectly immovable, and
apparently unconscious of the examination he was
undergoing, till perceiving by the hesitation of the
other that he was not likely to be recognized, he,
without looking up, or varying the expression of a
single muscle of his face, quietly observed:
66
'Massa Cappen no remember Neshobee-no remem
ber shoot three wolf?"
"Aha?" said the other, recalled by the last allusion;
the same poor fellow that I so providentially came
across, and relieved from that savage pack of wolves
last year, on these very mountains? You may well
remember that escape, my friend. But it is strange
I did not know you.
"
"Neshobee hunt all day," resumed the Indian,
intent on rehearsing the event, the remembrance of
16
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
which seemed to light up his countenance to something
like the indications of feeling, and incline him to
unusual loquacity; "hunt, hunt-kill no deer-dark
come fast. Now here wolf 'way out there, howl! howl!
Now 'way out here, howl! howl! Now um
come together, howl! howl! Now near off, howl!
howl! Now me know what um want, and climb small
tree quick. Wolf come, five, six, hungry, and lap um
mouth. Me shoot; kill one, and go to load um up
again-so no think nothing, and drop um rifle low
down-wolf jump high, catch um away-now rifle all
gone-no get um-wolf get mad fast-bite um tree,
gnaw, gnaw, wolf no do so 'fore. Now tree begin
shake, shake to fall soon. Now bend, bend, slow
'long down-wolf jump, jump, snap um white teeth,
and 'most jest catch um Neshobee. Now hoo! bang!
one wolf kick over dead-Cappen out there in the
bush. Shoot again, two dead! Shoot again, three
dead! Now the rest two wolf begin to mistrust to run
away afore they dead too. Now Neshobee come down
-stay all night in cave with um Cappen-him very
good, no forget um.
"Very nearly correct, I believe, Neshobee,"
observed Warrington, as the Indian closed his recital,
the longest, perhaps he ever made in his life, for
unluckily, it may be, for the romance of our tale,
Neshobee was no Logan or Red Jacket, either in
length of speech, or that peculiar eloquence, which
most of our writers seem to delight in attributing to
the sons of the forest; "very nearly correct, but are
you out on another hunt in this quarter, or does other
business bring you here at this time?"
"No much hunt, me come for.
"What then?"
"Missus Story talk um on paper for Cappen better
nor Neshobee say," replied the Indian, handing War-
rington a small, dingy scrap of paper.
The latter, after running hastily over the contents of
the billet, which caused his eye to kindle with enthusi-
asm as he read, immediately turned to the company,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
17
and, with a cheerful, animated air observed, "It is
from our friend, Widow Story, of the Creek down
here, and contains news of interest, my boys-shall I
read it to you?"
"Aye, aye, Captain," was the eager response.
"Listen then.
""
"CAPT. W.-I tear out the blank leaf of my Bible to
say, 'the Philistines be upon thee, Samson.' They
came over the Creek somewhere north of here, and,
after a short consultation near the edge of my clearing,
from which I luckily espied them, struck off towards
the lake. Munroe, as usual, heads the party, ten in
number, as I counted. There are five of you, at least;
and that is enough, if you are of the stuff I think you,
to attend to confirming our titles in this neighborhood.
My messenger is a chance one, but true and friendly,
and may be enlisted, I think, for the night's work, if
needed.
God speed you all,
"ANN STORY."
The spirited epistle was received by the company
with a loud "hurra for the widow!" and notwithstand-
ing it brought them the startling intelligence that the
sheriff of Albany county, with an armed force of twice
their own number, was on the march to seize them,
two of whom, at least, were known to be under sen-
tence of outlawry for former resistance to the New
York authorities, while attempting to execute their
cruel mandates on the persons or property of the
settlers-notwithstanding this, the news was received
with the liveliest expressions of joy and enthusiasm.
An escape from their pursuers into the forest, or on to
the water in their canoe, which was the only one in
the lake, they well knew might easily be effected.
But this was no part of the plan of this resolute little
band of Green Mountain Boys; nor was the possibility
of their being overpowered and taken deemed by them
scarce more worthy of their consideration. Their
object was the punishment of their foes, for the accom-
18
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
plishment of which this was hailed by them all as a
golden opportunity. From the unwonted boldness
with which this noted troubler of the Grants was
attempting to push so far into the interior with so
small a number of men, all of whom were supposed to
be unacquainted with the forest in this part of the
country, it was rightly conjectured that he must have
been apprized by some traitorous settler; not only of
the exact situation of the present rendezvous, but also
of the number of those occupying it; and for similar
reasons it was concluded that this person must now be
with the approaching enemy, acting as guide in con-
ducting them to the spot, where they doubtless antic-
ipated taking their intended victims by complete sur-
prise, and then hurrying them by night over the coun-
try to the British fort at Ticonderoga, before the
settlers could be rallied for a rescue. In this opinion
our band were confirmed by the suspicious appearance
of a man, who, as we intimated, had been seen the
evening before lurking round the shores of the lake,
and who, it was now scarcely longer to be doubted,
was a spy, dogging them to such place as they might
select for their encampment. Next to the sheriff,
therefore, and even before him, was this person, whose
offense was considered the most heinous of the two,
particularly marked for punishment, and it was deter-
mined to identify and seize him, if possible, and,
whoever he might prove, make him an example to all
future traitors. To retain their stronghold, the
cavern, however defensible it might be, was no object
with our party, as their leader had already determined
to leave it the following morning to proceed on the
main purpose of their excursion, which was to break
up an establishment of their opponents, who had
obtained a strong foothold at the lower falls of Otter
Creek, and to seize a York surveyor, locating lands in
that vicinity-from which purpose they had only
turned aside for a day or two to give others an oppor-
tunity to join them on the lake, the appointed rendez-
vous, and a pleasant spot for employing the interim in

GEN. GEORGE WASHINGTON
(The First President of the United States)

BUNKER HILL MONUMENT
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
19
fishing and hunting. Accordingly it was soon con-
cluded to make no regular defense of the cave, but,
using it only so far as might best favor them in their
object of discomfiting the enemy, the modes of doing
which were yet to be devised, leave it to their possession,
and quit the place that night. Their game and such
movables as were not immediately wanted, were there-
fore now transferred to the boat, which was removed
to a secret landing, where the party were ordered to
repair at the signal-call of the whistle. These brief
arrangements having been completed, and the young
Indian, who seemed to enter with great spirit into the
enterprise, being employed to stand on the look-out,
the company, with their loaded rifles by their side, sat
down to their sylvan meal, over which they discussed
in gleeful mood the various and ingenious methods
which were successively proposed for the reception
and chastisement of their assailants, who were expected
to make their appearance as soon as it was fairly dark.
CHAPTER II
"Thus, spite of prayers, her schemes pursuing,
She went on still to work our ruin;
Annul'd our charters of releases,
And tore our title-deeds to pieces;
Then signed her warrants of ejection,
And gallows raised to stretch our necks on;
And straightway sent, like dogs to bait us,
Munroe, with posse comitatus."
Leaving our little band of Green Mountain Boys to
discuss and settle the manner of receiving their
expected visitors, and to make their dispositions for
carrying such plan, as should be finally adopted, into
effect, we will now change the scene a little, and
introducing the reader to those visitors themselves,
accompany him and them to the scene of action.
In a thickly wooded swamp, near the northern
extremity of the lake before described, were assembled
group
roup of ten men, awaiting the approach of dark-
2
20
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
ness, which was already beginning to settle in succes-
sive and fast-increasing shades upon the lowlands and
glens along the foot of the mountain. They were all
armed, though variously-some having muskets, some
large pistols, and some only oaken cudgels. Apart
from the rest stood their leader, a stern, rough-looking
personage, engaged in a low, earnest conversation with
another individual, of the apparent age of twenty-five,
whose dress and general demeanor seemed to forbid
the conclusion that he was either a common follower,
or one in any command: and yet, from the interest he
manifested in the business in hand, it was evident he
was in some way connected with the expedition. As
the last-named person may occupy considerable space
in our tale, we will pause to note his personal appear-
ance more particularly: he was of about the middle
height, well made, though of rather slight proportions.
His features, though regular, were commonplace and
inexpressive, with the exception of a pair of small,
twinkling, black eyes, in which an observant spectator
might often read meaning considerably at variance
with the import of his language, his plausible man-
ners, and the obsequious, smirking smile, which he
usually assumed while addressing those with whom he
had a point to carry. The construction of his head
seemed to be somewhat peculiar—his forehead, which
was very tall, being nearly in the shape of a triangle,
with the base resting on the eyebrows, and the sides
narrowing to an apex at the hair above; while his head,
as far back as the ears, swelling upwards into large
protuberances, might be better represented by a
triangle reversed. His dress was a finer texture than
that of any of his present associates, or that ordinarily
worn by the settlers, and his whole appearance, indeed,
denoted some connection with the more wealthy and
fashionable classes of society.
"You say, Sherwood," observed the former of the
two last-mentioned persons, at that part of their
dialogue which it concerns us to repeat; "you say that,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
21
།
from having been yourself at this cave, you know all
the surrounding localities?"
"Exactly-just as I described to you when I reached
you last night. There can be no mistaking the place.
They are still there, as is evident from the smoke
which we saw rising over the spot just now, while
passing the head of the lake. The path is now plain,
and the game sure, without further guidance; so I
think, as I began to suggest to your honor a few min-
utes ago, that you may now dispense with my further
attendance. If I should be seen by any of their party,
I should be delicately situated here in the settlement.
"To the devil with your delicacy! Why, man, do
you think I am going on in the dark, stumbling over
logs and through bogs, without a guide?
Even you
are none too good a one for this cursed hole; but such
as you are, in the king's name I retain you; so not
another word about quitting us till the scoundrels are
secured."
"I am certainly aware, Mr. Munroe, of the impor-
tance of securing this Warrington, so great a disturber
of the public peace, but-"
"Disturber! doubly damned rebel! Why, no man
in the settlement has caused me so much trouble, con-
sidering his audacious assault on me, and all. It will
do me more good to see him hung than to sit at the
king's banquet."
"O, certainly-it would me; and I would by all
means aid you even to the capture, if your honor's
well-known sagacity and bravery on such occasions
did not render my assistance wholly unnecessary."
"Well, well, Jake," replied the sheriff, relaxing a
little from his wonted roughness at the flattering
expressions of the other, "suppose I am all that you
say, it won't serve me in finding a fox's hole in these
woods any better than the instinct of any country
booby, nor half so well. I tell you, Sherwood, you
must conduct us to the place, at least; for we shall
then have enough to do to take the fellow, and, what
is worse, to get him through the settlement to Ticon-
22
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
deroga. Why, there is not an old woman in all the
Grants but will fight for the scoundrel as if he was one
of her own brats.
99
"O, there can be no great trouble, the surprise will
be so great; but as your honor desires it, I will go so
far as to point out the place, on condition that I then
be allowed to keep out of sight."
"Yes, but your half of the reward for taking the fel-
lows, for you say that there is at least one outlaw
besides Warrington; you won't claim all that, unless
you help us through the whole affair, will you?"
"Your honor forgets that I was only to conduct you
so far as to point out their retreat."
""
"Have it your own way, then-but I hate to see a
fellow so keen on the chase, and then become so dev-
ilish prudent the moment he approaches the game,"
grumbled Munroe, turning away to give some orders
to his men, preparatory to resuming their march.
It having now become sufficiently dark for their
purpose, the party were put in motion for the prose-
cution of their enterprise. And after striking a light,
and procuring some materials for torches from the
pine knots gathered in the surrounding windfalls, they
set forward towards the place of their destination,
then about a mile distant Keeping as far from the
shore of the lake as the nature of the ground would
permit, lest the gleams of their light, striking across
the water to the vicinity of the cave, should betray
their approach, they pursued their way along the foot
of the mountain with all possible silence and caution;
while the glare of their torches, glittering on the points
of the crags, and thrown back onto the dark forms,
and eager and flushed visages of the party, gliding
stealthily along in Indian file beneath the overhang-
ing cliffs, like tigers for their prey, gave them a singu-
larly wild and most unearthly appearance.
At length
they arrived at the sharp knoll, which, running down
from the main ridge above to the water, had so far
screened their approach, and enabled them to advance
with their lights unseen within a few hundred yards
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
23
of the cavern. Here they made a brief halt to arrange
their forces for the onset. As soon as this was effected,
Munroe and Sherwood crept noiselessly over the inter-
vening rise, followed at short intervals by the rest of
the party, with the exception of one man left behind
in charge of the torches. Having descended to the
level beyond, they again paused to listen and recon-
noiter before venturing any farther. All was dark
and silent before them. And concluding that their
intended victims had retired within the cave and were,
probably, by this time, reposing in unsuspecting slum-
bers, they now congratulated themselves on a certain
and easy conquest, and, with freshened impulse, once
more began to move briskly forward; when the loud
whoo' whoo!-whoo! whoo! of the "dismal bird of
night," or of something strikingly resembling it in
note, proceeding from some point above, came peal-
ing through the darkness, with fearful distinctness, to
the ears of the company. All gave an involuntary
start. Even the stout-hearted Munroe, for the
instant, could scarcely avoid quaking at the strangely
dismal notes that thus broke from utter stillness so
unexpectedly upon them. The next moment, how-
ever, as the consciousness of the insignificant cause of
their affright came over them, a half-stifled giggling
ran through the company; while their leader uttering
a dry "umph! scared at a damned owl!" motioned
Sherwood to proceed. But the latter, more accus-
tomed to the notes of the supposed animal, and think-
ing he detected something not quite natural in the
sounds they had just heard, became secretly impressed
with the fears of an ambush, and, without imparting
his suspicions, he hastily pointed out to the sheriff the
mouth of the cave, whose dim outlines had now become
discernible, and instantly returning to the rear,
quickly retreated over the hill. With a few muttered
expressions of contempt at the flight of the wary and
timid guide, Munroe once more set forward with the
determined motions of one who is resolved not again
to be interrupted by any slight causes.
And being
24
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
now promptly followed by his men, he soon, and with-
out further obstacle, arrived at the mouth of the cave,
and, bringing up his forces, immediately surrounded
it. Here they all paused, standing motionless and
silent, listening long and intensely. Everything
within and around was as still as if no living being was
within a mile of the place.
"Hallo!" at length sharply uttered the sheriff, after
waiting till he began to doubt whether his anticipated
captives had escaped, or were all snugly asleep in the
cave, "hallo! within there!"
"Hallo, without there!" was the ready reply from
the cavern.
"Ha! ye rebel dogs!" exultingly exclaimed Munroe;
"you are there, are ye? We have kenneled ye at last,
then. Now hear me-I command ye to surrender
yourselves to the king's warrant, every scoundrel of
ye-but first of all, Charles Warrington-do you hear
the summons?"
"We hear the summons, and well comprehend its
import," coolly replied the voice from the cave, which
was evidently that of the person especially named
by the sheriff; "but touching your last demand, mine
ancient friend-for in your voice I think I recognize
the person with whom I once exchanged civilities in
the southern part of our favored settlement-touching
your last demand, I beg leave to observe, that being
somewhat personally interested myself in the decision
to be made in regard to the requirement, I would
respectfully refer you to my friends here, who will
doubtless give you such answer as their unbiased judg-
ments shall dictate.'
"Do you think to dally with me, scoundrel?'' stormed
Munroe, nettled at the provoking coolness of his
antagonist, and especially at his ironical allusion to a
personal chastisement received from his hands the
year before, "such attempts will but little avail, you'll
find. Nor will it be of the least use, let me tell you
all, to think of contending against our numbers; and
the longer you hold out the worse it shall be for ye.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
25
So yield yourselves instantly, or, so help me Beelze-
bub, every dog of you shall swing for it."
"Assertions," observed Selden, who being Warring-
ton's only companion in the cave, now took up the
discourse on the hint of his superior; "assertions, sir
sheriff, sometimes, unfortunately, are more easily
made than proved. You may not find us, perhaps,
so entirely unprepared for your visit as you have
expected, notwithstanding our warder thought fit, in
his owl-like wisdom, to be somewhat tardy in announc-
ing your approach. It may not be prudent in us, how-
ever, to speak wholly without reserve in this matter,
as we know not how much aid your honor may expect
from the friend you last invoked.'
""
The intimations which they gathered from these
replies, together with the jeering calmness attending
them, which seemed to imply a sense of security in
the assailed from resources unknown to the assailants,
considerably dampened the ardor of the sheriff and his
band; and they began to suspect that their triumphs
might not prove so cheaply won as they had antici-
pated. The men, indeed, now began to show symp-
toms of fear and uneasiness at standing longer before
the mouth of the cave, from which, for aught they
could see or know, a dozen loaded rifles might be
pointed against them; and their leader shouted loudly
to the man left in the rear, directing him to come on
with lights, and declaring at the same time, with a
tremendous oath, that if the stubborn rascals didn't
instantly yield, he would send a volley of balls in
among them, and if that failed, he would smoke them
out like so many burroughed foxes. He was not
allowed, however, much time to attempt the fulfillment
of his menaces; for the Green Mountain Boys, two of
whom only, as before mentioned, were in the cave,
the rest being stationed in the nearest surrounding
coverts, now deemed it time to begin their plan of
operations. Suddenly a fearful screech, something
between that of a man and a wild brute, issuing from
the thicket above the cave, resounded through the
26
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
forest, sending its startling thrill to the very hearts of
the appalled and astonished assailants. All eyes were
involuntarily turned upwards to the spot from which
these terrific sounds seemed to proceed.
"A catamount! a catamount!" wildly shouted sev-
eral of the party.
"Where? where?" eagerly exclaimed others.
"There! up there in the fork of that tree!"' hurriedly
replied the former, pointing to the top of a leaning
tree that projected nearly over the mouth of the cave,
in a broad fork of which the outlines of a dark body,
as of some large animal crouching for a leap upon his
prey, with great, fiery eye-balls glaring down upon
them, was sufficiently discernible to justify their alarm.
"He moves!"' cried one, "hark! hear him fixing his
claws in the bark! There, he stirs again! look out!
he's going to leap down upon us-fire! quick, all
hands, fire!"
"Hold! hold!" shouted Monroe, the suspicion of a
trick now for the first time flashing across his mind.
But the command came too late; for while the words
were in his mouth, every gun and pistol in the party
except his own, were discharged at the object of their
terror, which was seen, in the expiring flash, to bound
out from the tree directly over the place where they
stood; and all, in their eagerness to avoid the clutches
of the leaping animal, well known to be terrible when
wounded, even if in the last agonies of death, broke
away, and fled in confusion from the spot, wholly
unmindful of their duty in guarding the mouth of the
cave, and everything else, but their own safety, in the
general panic that had seized them. A momentary
pause followed the explosion of the fire-arms, in which
nothing was heard save the hasty scrambling of the
terrified Yorkers in their eager efforts to escape.
an instant, however, a rushing from other quarters
was heard-dark forms were seen swiftly gliding from
the cave and the thickets above, in the direction of the
retreating party, among whom, in a moment more, a
cry of dismay rose wildly on the air. Munroe and
In
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOVS
27
three of his men were suddenly seized round their
waists or legs, from behind, by the iron grasp of
grappling arms, and, being lifted from the ground,
were upborne with resistless force and rapidity toward
the shore of the lake; all of them but their leader
verily believing, in the fright and confusion of the
moment, that it was the catamount, whose fearful
image was still uppermost in their minds, that had
seized them and was bearing them off in his grasp.
"Help! help here! He has got me! for God's sake,
help me!" screamed one in an agony of terror.
66
Murder!" exclaimed another; "Oh! get him off-
get him off! murder! murder!"
"Oh! aw!" cried the third in a yell of despair; "he
has got his claws in my throat-he'll kill me he will!
he will! yah! yah!"'
Munroe alone, of all the thus oddly captured party,
was mute. Rightly judging the character of the foe
into whose hands he had fallen, and boiling with silent
rage, he made the most desperate struggles to free
himself from the vise-like grasp of his captor, who,
he at once concluded from his great strength, the
effects of which he had before experienced, could be
no other than Warrington. But wholly failing in this
attempt, and finding himself still carried rapidly
onward, he knew not to what destination, he next tried
to disengage his dirk from its sheath, in which it was.
confined beneath the grappling arm of his opponent.
Before succeeding in this, however, and while intent
only on his murderous design, he was borne by his
intended victim to the margin of the water, and, with
a giant effort, hurled headlong over the bank. The
loud splashing that succeeded, told that he was now
struggling in the embrace of a different, though not a
much more comfortable antagonist; while three more
heavy plunges, following in irregular succession along
the bank, still further announced that the vanquished
sheriff was not without the company of a good share
of his friends to console him in the discomforts of the
new element, into which they all had been so suddenly
28
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
and unexpectedly translated. The shrill notes of
Warrington's signal whistle now sounded the precon-
certed retreat. In a moment more the victorious party
were assembled at the appointed landing-in another,
they were embarked; while their boat, by the strong
push of the last man springing in, was sent, by the
single impulse, so far into the lake as to put a safe dis-
tance between them and their foes, now beginning to
rally, with cries of rage, on the shore. An uncontroll-
able peal of laughter, ending in three loud and lively
cheers, now burst from the Green Mountain Boys,
rending the welkin above, and startling the deep
recesses of the currounding forests with the trium-
phant shout.
"The battle being over," observed Warrington,
after the noise of their merriment and exultation had
measurably subsided; "let us now turn our attention
to the wounded and missing."
"All whole of skin, I imagine," said Selden,
"though here is one, Smith, I believe it is, who comes
from the fight, as near as I can discover, like the Ben-
jaminite of the Scripture, just escaped from the Phil-
istines, with head bare and garments rent."’
"I must leave my old otter-skin cap in their hands,
I s'pose," coolly replied Smith; "I had to take it to
finish off the catamount's head with; for I couldn't
fix the fox-fire for the eyes into the end of that bundle
of dry grass, that I made the body of, so as to look
anyhow natural without it, and when I pushed the
thing out of the crotch, as I stood behind the tree with
my pole, I gave it such a hoist over into the bushes
among the scared devils, that 'twas out of the ques-
tion to think of looking for the cap, and grabbing one
of the scamps, too. But as to my coat being tore here
a little, I don't valley it a fraction, seeing as how the
ragamuffin I hove into the lake got pretty well choked
to pay for it.”
66
‘Ah, you have done well, Smith," said the leader;
all of you, indeed, have done nobly; but of that
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
29
hereafter-one of our number, I believe, is missing-
which is it?"
"It is Pete Jones," replied Brown.
"And the Indian chap," added Smith.
"The Indian," resumed Warrington, "after announc-
ing the enemy for us by his admirable imitation of the
owl, departed by himself, I presume. As near as I
could gather from him, he did not wish to be known
as acting against the Yorkers. He probably lives
with some family in the vicinity, who are trying to
stand neutral in this warfare, and who have cautioned
him to govern himself accordingly. His absence,
therefore, does not surprise me. But what can have
become of Jones? He, surely, is not a fellow to be
easily ensnared, or overpowered.”
"I rather suspect," replied Brown, "he is after that
traitor, as, when the Yorkers were creeping o!!
toward the cave, he whispered to me he thought he saw
a fellow pointing out the place, and slipping back over
the hill, who, he guessed, was the one-and the last I
saw of Pete he was working off that way. Suppose,
Captain, that we row along, so as to stand off the
shore, in that direction, to be ready to take him in,
should he give the word?"
In pursuance of this prudent suggestion, the boat
was immediately headed round to the north, and rowed
noiselessly along the shore in the direction supposed
to be taken by their missing companion. They had
made but little progress, however, before they were
startled by the sudden flash and sharp report of a
pistol, in a thicket near the shore, about a furlong
ahead.
"There goes trouble for poor Jones, I fear-the das-
tard has attempted his life!" cried Warrington, in the
varying tones of fear for the result, and indignation
for the attempt; "but if help be of any further use to
him, he shall have it. So, men, pull for it! pull for
the spot with every nerve you have got, or the York-
ers will be there before us.
""
In an instant the canoe, almost leaping from its
30
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
element at every stroke of the excited and strong-
armed oarsmen, was surging through the waters, with
bird-like velocity, towards the place. As Warrington
had predicted, the enemy on shore, on hearing the
report of the pistol, immediately started for this new
scene of action. And, quickly perceiving their oppo-
nents on the lake making rapidly for the spot, they
redoubled their speed, and rushed on as fast as the
obstacles of the woods, and the wet clothes and be-
numbed limbs of those who had been ducked, would
permit, to arrive in time to assist, or rescue, as the
case might require, their absent guide, whom they
readily concluded to be an actor in the fracas, and
revenge themselves, if possible, on the whole band of
their foes, for the sad discomfiture just experienced.
The race between the two contending parties was a
close one. The Green Mountain Boys, however, were
again in fortune. Their boat came whirling up to the
shore, adjoining the scene of action, while the fore-
most of the enemy was yet fifty yards distant.
"You may kick till all is blue," muttered Jones,
whose tall form came at that instant peering from the
thicket, while with irregular motions he made toward
the boat, bearing bolt upright in his arms before him.
his grappled foe, who was struggling with terrible
violence, and kicking desperately against every tree
within reach of his feet, with the hope of retarding the
progress of his captor till succor arrived; "you may
kick, and be hanged! but you have jest got to go, my
sweet lad, and into a little better company, too, than
you hoped for, I guess. No help for it-so in with you
-there!-now make yourself comfortable, friend,"
concluded the woodsman, pitching his captive head-
long into the boat, and leaping in himself, just in time
to escape the pursuers, now close at his heels.
"Escaped again, by the pains of tophet!" exclaimed
the enraged Munroe from the bank, as the boat, previ-
ously headed round, shot out into the lake beyond the
reach of the twice-baffled Yorkers; "fire! fire! upon
the damned rascals!"'
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
31
The command was scarcely uttered, before Jones,
having as quick as thought again grappled his captive,
and faced round toward the shore, was holding the
deprecating victim before him in the stern, so as to
cover the range of the expected volley.
"Let drive there!" exclaimed Pete, with the utmost
nonchalance, "you needn't feel any delicacy, gentle-
men, for I'll agree to take all the bullets you'll send
through this beautiful target I'm holding for you."
"Don't fire! for God's sake, don't let 'em fire, Mun-
roe!" screamed the struggling and terrified prisoner.
"You need not be much alarmed, I think, fellow,'
said Warrington; "the sheriff's pistols must be rather
too wet to be very dangerous, and as to the arms of the
rest, which were all discharged at the catamount, we
shall have but little to fear from them by the time
they can be loaded."
"I mistrusted as much, myself," observed Jones,
releasing the prisoner; "but I thought I would scare
the fellow a little, for his scurvy treatment to me.
"The pistol we heard, then, was meant, as we sus-
pected, for you?" asked the leader.
"O, yes," replied the other, carelessly; "to be sure
he showed the best good will in the world to make a
hole in me; but I shouldn't have laid that up much,
seeing he missed his aim, which is a sort of punish-
ment in itself, you know, if he hadn't afterward
offered me money to let him go, and keep his name
and all close-why, I never was so insulted in my life!''
"His name? who is it? what is his name?'' eagerly
asked several of the company.
"Mayhap you from down south never heard of him,
and don't know him, but I did, the moment I saw his
face as he passed the fellow bringing the torch-light.
His name is Sherwood, living down in New Haven,
and he is jest one of the smoothest fellows that ever
wore two faces in a day, asking his pardon."'
"Sherwood-Sherwood," said Warrington, mus-
ingly; "aha! I now remember to have heard of his
having been at Bennington, and also of his having
32
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
made some suspicious visits to Albany. But we will
examine his merits more particularly, when we reach
the opposite shore."
"See how wistful those fellows are looking after us!"
observed Jones, pointing back to the shore, now about
fifty rods distant, where the Yorkers, having procured
a light, were still standing in a dark group, evidently
trying to trace the course of the receding boat; "I
swan! if I was only bloody-minded enough, how I
would like to take a shot into that flock of York buz.
zards!"
"Hold up a little, oarsmen," said the leader; "and
we will give them a kinder compliment than that,
before entirely parting. So good-night, Mr. Munroe,
he continued, rising in the boat, and raising his loud,
clear voice to a pitch, which in the dead stillness of
night, might have been distinctly audible to a far
greater distance; "good-night! my old friend-I hope
for the pleasure of many such meetings and partings
before we die-pleasant dreams and a good-night to
you!"
"Good-night, sir sheriff," added Selden, in the same
strain of mock courtesy; "we humbly trust you will
duly appreciate our late reception of yourself and fel-
lows in imitation of the much lauded oriental custom
of regaling friends with the luxury of the cool bath,
which, together with the honor done you of being car-
ried, like other immortal heroes, on the shoulders of
men, will make out an entertainment, we flatter our-
selves, not wholly unworthy of our guests-good-
night!"
"Hallo there, sheriff!" cried Jones, determined to
have a parting shot as well as the rest; "hallo, sheriff,
won't you jest be kind enough to tell us by way of
information, before we go, what kind of a return you
calculate to make on that warrant you told us about?
We should like grandly to see it when you have got it
fixed. That 'tother poor bothered sheriff's non come-
atibus in swampo, I guess, would be a fool to it."

GENERAL BURGOYNE

BURGOYNE PLANNING WITH THE INDIANS
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
33
ļ
CHAPTER III
"Ah, me! what perils do environ
The man that meddles with cold iron-
What plaguy mischiefs and mishaps
Do dog him still with afterclaps."
Sherwood, the person we introduced in the last chap-
ter, and left a prisoner in the hands of the Green
Mountain Boys, a fair candidate for the honor of the
Beech-seal, or some other of the novel and ingenious
modes of punishment, which the settlers were accus-
tomed to inflict on their foes with equal promptitude,
whether they were foreign or domestic, was a resident
of New Haven, in the vicinity of the lower falls of
Otter Creek, then embraced within the limits of that
town, but now forming the site of Vergennes, the only
incorporated city of Vermont. He had here located
himself, ostensibly to become a permanent settler-to
share the fortunes and identify himself with the inter-
ests of the New Hampshire grantees; while, in fact,
he was a secret agent of a company of New York land-
jobbers, in their pay, and himself engaged, at the
same time, in speculating in the patents issued by the
governor of the last-named province. Through the
influence of his father, a man of reputed wealth, living
near Albany, he had been taken into the employment
of this company.
And they, soon finding him a person well fitted for
their purposes, induced him, by opening to his avari-
cious mind the prospect of making a fortune out of the
New Hampshire Grants, in addition to the stated
salary to be allowed him, to take a secret agency, and
locate himself in some part of the settlement where he
would most effectually subserve their interests. In
pursuance of this object it had been agreed that he
should first proceed to New Hampshire, and, taking
out a patent from that source, should enter Vermont
34
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
known only as a grantee of that province, in order
that he might thus be effectually secured from the
hostility of the settlers, and enabled to maintain with
them a free and unsuspected intercourse, which, at the
present juncture, could alone insure him any success
or safety. This had been accordingly done something
more than a year previous to the events of our tale.
A single lot of land had been purchased and located by
him near the Otter, in the manner agreed on by the
company. And so speciously had this wily agent con-
ducted, beginning and carrying on improvements just
sufficient to save appearances, while mainly pursuing
the objects of his residence in the settlement, that till
now he had passed wholly unsuspected of being in the
York interest, except in the slight question that had
been raised concerning his true character, on account
of his having been recognized by some settlers from
the south part of the Grants, as before intimated, while
on one of his secret journeys to Albany. With these
remarks, which will apprise the reader with all that
may at present be necessary to be known respecting
the previous character and employment of this person-
age, we will return to the thread of our narrative.
Brightly rose the waning moon over the eastern
mountains, which cast their broad, wood-fringed
shadows far into the lake, while a flood of silvery light,
falling on the sleeping waters and towering forest
beyond, was gradually unfolding the bold and magnifi-
cent outlines of this wilderness landscape, as our vic-
torious band of Green Mountain Boys merrily sped
their way to the western shore.
"What a glorious spectacle!" exclaimed Selden,
looking abroad, over the scene, as the boat emerged
from the dark, gloomy line of the mountain shadows
into the bright and cheerful tract of illumined waters,
that now met them on their course.
"Splendid? Splendid, indeed!" responded Warring-
ton, with equal enthusiasm; "such scenes, one would
think, were enough to enamor the whole world of a
sylvan life."
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
35
"And yet," observed Selden, "those city-smoked
exquisites, who claim all the taste and refinement of
the country, are horrified at the thought of the life we
here lead in the Green Mountains."'
"I don't think the creturs are so much to be blamed
for that," said Pete Jones; "for bringing them here I
calculate would be putting them pretty nearly in the
plight of frogs that are dug from the bottom of a well
-always sure to shiver and die the minute they are
brought to the pure air."
"If all this be so," rejoined Warrington, signifi-
cantly glancing at the dress and comparatively delicate
appearance of the prisoner; "I hope that such of this
class, as are connected with a certain city to the west
of us, will be less inclined to favor our settlement
with their presence hereafter. Let them stick to
their mode of life and its luxuries, and we will to our
mountains. But I am reminded, Lieutenant," he
continued, turning gayly to Selden, "of the possibility
of our being favored with something on this subject in
a more agreeable form, if I rightly divined the nature
of your employment, and the theme that occupied
your
mind there at the fire before the cave last even-
ing, after the rest of us had retired to our stone
couches for the night. Can you oblige us with the
fruits of your vigil, in the shape of a song?"
"O, yes, such as it is that is, if my music will not
jar upon the feelings of our friend in durance here,
and you are all willing to risk the same effect on
yourselves," jocosely replied the other, as he pulled
from his pocket a small roll of white birch bark (the
soft, smooth inner surface of which he had made, as
was in those times not unfrequently the case, his
papyrus in noting down his hasty effusion), and turn-
ing to the moonlight, commenced:
"In the courts of high life, and in Fashion's domain,
Where Folly is licensed by birth-right to reign,
Let the gay, idle throng, in their old, reckless measure,
Their phantoms still follow, and christen them Pleasure.
3
36
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"But we, who disdain not to follow the plough,
And our livelihood gain by the sweat of the brow-
What have we here to do with the fashions of cities?
Their levees, theatrics, and opera ditties?
"What to do with the trappings around them display'd?
Their half dress, their full dress, their dress promenade--
Their turtle-soup dinners, their port and champagne,
And knick-knacks unnumbered that follow in train?
"All these we will leave, and without one regret,
To the poor, pamper'd wights of that butterfly set,
And turn to our dainties, the fruits of our mountains,
Our wines sparkling up in their health-giving fountains.
"And wear with just pride, as forever we ought,
Our woolens and checks by our firesides wrought,
While we scout from our country those exquisite goats
Who measure their worth by the cloth of their coats."
As the clear, melodious voice of the singer, floating
free and wide over the hushed waters of the lake, died
away in the distance, and, while the shouts of applause,
which greeted him at the close of his performance
(intended, as was supposed, to hit off the York gentry,
and the last couplet to apply to the prisoner in partic-
ular) were yet echoing around, the boat of the elated
Green Mountain Boys reached its destined landing.
And immediately disembarking with their prisoner,
they proceeded to a rude, bark-covered shantee, built
by former visitors to the lake, and standing amidst a
group of large evergreens a few rods from the water.
There, after striking a light and kindling up a cheer-
ful fire, they promptly set about the business of decid-
ing upon the case of the supposed traitor. For this
purpose they formally resolved themselves, as was
usual in such cases where a resort could not readily be
had to a committee of safety, into a sort of tribunal,
very nearly resembling, we suppose, a modern Lynch
court, a form of dispensing justice which, if ever justi-
fiable, was undoubtedly so in the acts of our early set-
tlers in resisting that system of legalized plunder
attempted to be enforced on them by their oppressors.
And if the right of defending their homes and posses-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
37
sions from unwarrantable seizures be conceded them,
it was certainly not only justifiable but honorable in
them to resort, as they did, to such measures as they
judged most effectual in shielding from arrest and
threatened punishment those of their fellow-settlers,
who, by their patriotism in the common cause, had
rendered themselves obnoxious to the arbitrary enact-
ments of the usurping government. For soon after
the settlers had begun openly to resist the authorities
of New York in attempting to dispossess them, a law,
more despotic perhaps than any to be found in the
annals of legislation, had been enacted by the Assem-
bly of that province requiring some six or eight of the
settlers, who had been most conspicuous in the contro-
versy, to surrender themselves, on the order of the
executive, within seventy days, to a magistrate for
imprisonment, and, in case of neglect to be adjudged,
convicted, and, without hearing or trial, condemned to
suffer death. And not delivering themselves up, as
might well be expected, the governor issued his proc-
lamation proscribing them as felons, and offering
large rewards for their apprehension, which, while it
led to many secretly laid plots, and several open
though fruitless attempts to seize them by the Yorkers,
in concert with a few traitorous settlers, served only
to endear them to an indignant and aroused people,
who publicly resolved to protect at every hazard their
proscribed leaders, and at the same time prepare to
defend the general interest of the settlement even at
the price of their lives. Of this goodly company of
outlaws, embracing some of the first and most talented
men of the Grants, two, as before intimated, were
among the band whom we have introduced to the
reader, and to whom we will now return.
Pete Jones, the principal witness in the case now to
be decided, being called on for his testimony, related
at large and in his own vein of peculiar drollery, what
he knew of the previous life and character of the pris.
oner, who, it appeared, had been frequently absent
from home, though his excursions were generally
888
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
38
undertaken under the professed character of a sports-
man, for the employments of which he pretended a
great liking, but for what reason nobody could imag-
ine, as it never could be ascertained that he was ever
successful. It also appeared that he had been loud in
his denunciations against the Yorkers, and, as far as
words could go, a great stickler for the rights of the
settlers. The witness then related all the particulars
of his detecting and capturing the prisoner. After
this the accused was requested to make his defense,
when, to the surprise of all, he wholly denied any hos-
tile intention, or any willing participation in the recent
attempt of Munroe to surprise and seize the present
party at the cave, deliberately stating that while hunt-
ing in the woods near the Creek that afternoon, he
was met, made prisoner by the Yorkers, and compelled
to accompany them on their expedition, the object of
which they did not reveal to him. And in confirma-
tion of the truth of his statements, and of his asserted
innocence, he cited the general character he had
always sustained as a friend of the settlers.
"Do you generally manifest your friendship for the
settlers by firing pistols at their heads, sir?" asked
Warrington, casting a look of withering contempt on
the prisoner.
"O, I was trying to escape," replied Sherwood,
who had his ready answer to a question he had antici-
pated; "I was on the point of escaping, and discharged
my pistol at this man, who beset me, to prevent being
retaken, supposing him all the while to be one of the
Yorkers.
"Whew!" uttered Jones, with a whistle, prolonged
into an exclamation; "now, honestly, friend, I must
crave leave to tell you-but that wouldn't be man-
ners, and so I won't-though I should really like to
ask you if there was any one Yorker there to-night that
a fellow of my short stature-only six foot eleven, in
shirt flaps could be taken for with any sort of con-
s'tience?"
"Yes, in the dark."
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
39
"But you may remember, possibly, friend, that you
had to raise your pistol considerably higher than your
head to get aim at mine, which you seemed to fancy
shooting at in preference. Besides that, we took
what I call a fair measure of lengths on the ground in
the bit of grapple we had afterwards-now most folks
that I am acquainted with can feel in the dark, if they
can't see.'
"O, I was so confused and frightened, that I noticed
none of these circumstances, but really supposed it
was one of the Yorkers till you had got with me nearly
to the boat."
"Well, now," exclaimed Pete, dropping his head in
an affected chagrin; "I vow to Jeremiah, I never felt
so mortified in my life! To be taken for a Yorker!
only think of that!"
66
A sad mistake, truly," observed Selden, address-
ing his companions while in a side glance he kept an
eye keenly fixed on the prisoner; "but still it was
scarcely a more singular one than I made as we struck
a light just now, when, turning to look at this man,
I could have sworn he was the identical fellow we
detected skulking about the shore yesterday-the
make, motion and dress of the two being so very sim-
ilar.'
"That's false!" hastily exclaimed Sherwood, com-
pletely thrown off his guard by the roundabout way,
and designedly incorrect statement of the other, made
for the purpose of seeing its effect on the prisoner;
"that's false, for this was not the dress I wore yest—'
and he stopped short in visible confusion at the thought
of the admission he was inadvertently making; while
meaning and triumphant glances were exchanged
among the company. Soon recovering in some degree
his self-possession, however, and seeing how he had
been entrapped, he attempted to mend the matter by
explaining that he was about to say that this was not
the dress he wore yesterday, even had he been here,
instead of a dozen miles off, as he was, and could
prove, as well as his innocence of all the charges
40
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
brought against him, if time were but allowed him for
the purpose.
And this, or his acquittal, he continued
for some time to demand, becoming, however, every
moment less assured in his tone, and more abject in
his manner, as he stealthily glanced round, and read
his doom in the countenances of his judges.
"Well, gentlemen," said the leader, breaking the
brief interval of silence, which followed the last some-
what broken and confused remarks of the accused; "you
have heard the evidence against the prisoner, as well
as his defense and avowals of innocence.
Will you
offer your individual opinions on the question of his
guilt? And we will first hear what you may have to
offer on the subject, Mr. Jones."
"Why, I don't know exactly about the chap, Cap.
tain," said the latter, with a mischievous cocking of
one eye, while screwing up his mouth nearly to his
ear on the opposite side of his face; "he says he is
innocent of the traitor, and it is a poor story if he
don't know. But I have two other charges against
him, which I consider rather gravus. Firstly, accord-
ing to his own story, he suffered himself, with that
clean pair of legs of his, and the woods open for a
run, if he chose that, or with guns and pistols if he
chose to stand and fight-(now while I think on't, I
wonder what become of his gun)—he suffered himself,
I say, to be taken by the Yorkers in a way and manner
which is a burning shame to a Green Mountain Boy, if
so be he is one, as he pretends. And secondly, he
missed his aim when he leveled at my head, for which
a professed hunter like himself ought to be ridiculous.
So I think, considering, I shall vote to have him
viewed."
"And you, Smith, what is your verdict?"
"My opinion is," answered the man now addressed,
"that the fellow's plausible palaver is all nothing but
a made-up mess to bamboozle us with-I should like
to know how the Yorkers knew that we were here on
the lake, or how they happened to find the cave with-
out his help. The fact is, he brought them here to
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
41
seize us, and was probably calculating to see some of
us swinging on a York gallows within a week. My
verdict, therefore, will be pretty much such a one as
the king gave Haman."
"And what say you, Brown?"
"Guilty! guilty as a dog, and the liar knows it."
"And, lastly, your opinion, Mr. Selden?"
"Briefly told-that the fellow's guilt is equaled only
by his effrontery, and yet, as this is his first known
offense, I would recommend a milder punishment
than the one which has been hinted at."
"We are unanimous, then, in a verdict, gentlemen,"
observed the chief, "if I understand your various
modes of expressing your opinions. And it remains
only to determine in what manner the prisoner shall
be punished for his offense. You are all, including
the prisoner himself, I presume, well aware that, by
a decree of our Convention, the only source of law we
feel ourselves bound to regard in cases of this kind,
the crime of aiding the enemy to arrest one of our
citizens, who may have happened to fall under the ban
of that despotic edict by which they would terrify us
into submission, is made punishable with death. If
this were to be inflicted, however, on the prisoner, I
should be inclined to grant him a more formal trial,
before a regularly appointed committee of safety, and
allow him time for his defense, as he requests—not that
I have the least doubt of his guilt, for I believe him to
be the most precious compound of duplicity and
villainy that I have seen in the settlement, but I would
grant it on the principle of allowing every man the
best means to establish his innocence when his life is
at stake. Yet, concurring with Mr. Selden, I think
we had better adopt one of the ordinary modes of pun-
ishment, for which the evidence is abundantly suffi-
cient, administer it on the spot, and dismiss him with
the admonition it will give. What this punishment
shall be, I will leave to you to designate."
"I should like to have the title of my farm con-
firmed," said Smith, "seeing the Yorkers still continue
42
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
to dispute it, and as the Beech-seal is a sort of legal
instrument to do it with, they say, I vote that we
apply it.
"Just the thing for the double-faced scoundrel, if we
have got to let him off so cheap," bluntly remarked
Brown.
"My title to my head," said Pete Jones, "seems to
be rather questioned, and as it is an article that would
be dreadful inconvenient for me to do without, I
motion that it be confirmed, too."
"So be it, then," observed Selden; "I had, it is
true, thought of a ducking, that he might be enabled
to sympathize with his friends over the lake—I also
had thought of taking him up into the top of one of
those trees, and leaving him bound there for the night;
but neither of these punishments, probably, would so
nearly come up to the fellow's merits as the beechen
remedy. I will therefore agree to its application."
The prisoner's doom being thus unanimously settled,
preparations were immediately commenced for carry-
ing the sentence into effect. This was understood to
be, in the quaint phrase of the times, "a chastisement
with the twigs of the wilderness," or the usual number
of stripes, forty, save one, faithfully applied to the
back of the offender with a green beech rod, termed,
as before mentioned, the Beech-seal. Several rods, or
shoots of that thus oddly consecrated tree were accord-
ingly selected, cut and carefully trimmed for the pur-
pose. The prisoner was then, in despite of his alter-
nate threats and promises of good behavior in future,
stripped of his coat, and firmly bound to the body of
a large hemlock, with his face turned to the tree.
Everything being now in readiness for the execution
of the sentence, the question arose who should be the
executioner. For this honor two rival candidates now
presented themselves-Brown and Pete Jones-the
former claiming it on the ground that no one of the
present company had received injuries that so loudly
demanded a personal reciprocation as his own, and the
latter, with the greatest apparent gravity, contending
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
43
that it was his peculiar right to do the duty of punish-
ing the fellow for the unpardonable crime of missing
his aim, since the shot was intended for his own benefit.
The altercation, however, was settled by the inter-
position of their leader, who good-naturedly awarded
a division of the honors between them, directing that
the first twenty stripes should be given by Jones, while
Brown should be allowed the privilege of completing
the task.
In accordance with this arrangement, the tall woods-
man now seized a rod of his own preparing, of dimen-
sions fearfully portentious to the back of the trembling
culprit, and giving it a furious flourish in the air, he
commenced, with a look of terrible fierceness, the per-
formance of his allotted task. But malice and revenge
formed no part of the character of this jolly and good-
natured borderer. The manner in which the blows
were given, and the comparatively slight effect they
produced on their victim, made it very evident, that,
notwithstanding all his assumed wrath and fury of
countenance and manner, his humanity, combined with
a natural love of sport, which had doubtless led him
to solicit the office, was about to govern him in its
execution.
"Well, here is my respects to you, friend," he said,
commencing and keeping up a sort of loose, irregular
discourse, and counting the blows in a parenthetical
tone, as with mighty grins and flourishes he pro-
ceeded to apply the typical beech; "there is my respects
to you (one) miss your aim again, you lubber, eh? (two)
I told you that you shouldn't disgrace the cloth for noth-
ing (three), and then (four) those kicks (five), I thought
at the time (six) that you was kicking against the
pricks (seven, eight), so here is two pricks to every
kick (eight, nine), scurvy business that of you, friend
(nine, ten), that kicking against the trees (eleven,
twelve), you didn't consider (seven-no, eleven) what
a hurry I was in (twelve, thirteen), and then again
that offering me money, zounds, sir! (thirteen, four-
teen) I should like (fourteen) to know, sir-"
44
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"There! there!" hastily exclaimed the prisoner, who
had not been so much hurt amidst all this parade of
cuts and flourishes as to prevent his taking note of the
true number of the stripes which had been adminis-
tered, and which the mischief-loving woodsman had
wilfully miscounted; "hold-you have already struck
twenty-hold! I say.
"You don't say so?" replied Jones with affected sur-
prise, as he slowly lowered his uplifted arm; "why, I
thought I said fourteen-only fourteen last!"
"I care not if you did, sir," expostulated the pris-
oner, now bold from the consciousness of having at
last a little truth on his side; "you miscounted on pur-
pose to prolong my torture-I appeal to the company
-you have gone your twenty, I tell you, ruffian!''
""
"Have! well, friend, just as you say, not as I care.'
So saying, the eccentric, but kind-hearted woodsman
hurled his rod into the lake, and bounding off into the
woods, with the pretended object of procuring some
better rods for the use of his successor, but, in reality,
only to avoid the sight and sounds which, from the
determined character and exasperated feelings of the
man, he rightly anticipated would now follow, disap-
peared, with a finger thrust into each ear, in a neigh-
boring thicket.
The flagellation was now resumed. And never was
rod more effectually applied to the deserving back of
miscreant spy or traitor than now by the sinewy arm
of Brown, doubly nerved as it was by the keen sense
he harbored of the injuries he had already received
from the hands of those with whom the present victim
of his pent vengeance had been found leagued, to assist
in dragging him to a gallows, and thus completing, on
his person, the work of destruction which they had
before commenced on his property. With a pause at
every application of the rod, that no energy should be
lost or weakened by the exertion, slow and measured
fell the tremendous blows from his relentless arm, till
he had told out the full number assigned him; while
at every lash of the pliant and close-hugging instru-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
45
ment of torture, the writhing victim sent forth a
screech of agony that thrilled through the forest for
miles around him.
This painful task being performed-for painful it
was to most of the band, while the stern necessity
that required it was sincerely regretted by them all-
the prisoner was unbound, and with an earnest but
kind admonition from Warrington to profit by the
lesson he had received, set at liberty; when, mutter-
ing many a bitter execration, and breathing vows of
deadliest revenge on his captors, he sullenly departed
from the camp, and soon disappeared along the border
of the lake in a northern direction.
CHAPTER IV
'That strain again! it had a dying fall!
Oh, it came o'er my ear like the sweet south
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odor."
After the departure of Sherwood, our band, not
deeming it prudent, without precautions which must
necessarily deprive most of them of their rest for the
night, to encamp so near an exasperated enemy of
double their own numbers, determined on an imme-
diate removal from the scene of their recent exploits.
Accordingly, they packed up, and without further
delay, commenced their march by the beautiful moon-
light, which, streaming brightly through the leafless
forest, enabled them to pursue their way with as
much ease and certainty as by the broadest daylight.
Striking off westerly from the lake, they directed their
course to the nearest part of Otter Creek, where they
proposed procuring quarters for the remainder of the
night in the log houses of the only two families who
resided on the creek in that vicinity. These two
houses were situated nearly a mile apart, while the
respective openings around them were separated by a
dense wood of evergreens of about half that distance
46
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
in extent. After proceeding on together awhile, the
company separated into two parties, three of them
bending their course towards the lowest or more north-
erly opening, where they were to remain till joined in
the morning by their leader, to conduct them on their
enterprise down the creek; while the latter, with
Selden, taking their venison and a goodly portion of
their trout, continued forward directly to the upper
clearing. This last was no other than the resi-
dence of the fair and spirited friend, whose timely
notice had not only ensured their late escape, but
enabled them to gain such triumphant advantage over
their foes. And it was this friendly and patriotic act
which they were now proceeding to award, not only
with suitable acknowledgment, but with the most val-
uable portion of their game-an offering that they
supposed would be highly acceptable to one in her
situation; for this extraordinary woman, with no other
dependence than on her own hands, with the slight
assistance rendered her by her boys, the eldest of
whom was not a dozen years old, was managing to
support herself and her large family of children from
the products of a new lot of land which her husband
had commenced clearing when he lost his life by the
fall of a tree, and which she now with unexampled
fortitude persisted in improving, though in the heart
of a wilderness infested with wild beasts, and not
wholly exempt from the hostile, or at least predatory
incursions of the Indians. It was nearly midnight
when Warrington and his companion reached the log
tenement of this fearless daughter of the wilds. Much
to their surprise, they found the house entirely
deserted. Finding the door unfastened, however, they
determined on entering to note appearances within;
when it became evident that the desertion had taken
place but a few hours before; but whether it was
intended for a temporary or final removal they were
unable to determine. A bed of coals, yet alive, was
raked up on the hearth; while the beds had been taken

JOHN HANCOCK, PRESIDENT OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

SIR HENRY CLINTON
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
47
from the steads, and, with all the most necessary uten-
sils of family use, removed from the house.
"What means this sudden desertion of the family?"
observed Warrington, musingly; "and whither can
they have fled?"
To their neighbor's, down the creek, probably,'
replied Selden; "the movement has been made, I
should conjecture, in anticipation of the return of
Munroe and his party, from whose visit to-night a lone
woman, like this widow, would doubtless wish to be
excused."
"It may be so," replied the other, "but to quit her
home from any of the motives which you suggest
would be very little like Widow Story; there are few
men in this settlement who can handle not only axe,
but rifle, with more effect, though woman she be.
And as for fear, it is a sensation with which, I verily
believe, she is utterly unacquainted. But whatever
may have become of the occupants of the house, we
may as well, now we are here, make free and remain
for the night.
"It will be considered no intrusion, I suppose?"
inquiringly said Selden; "I have not the honor of an
acquaintance with your heroine, you will bear in
mind.
"
"Intrusion? not in the least; for you must know
that we are patriots here,-rebels or whatever we were
on the lake to-night," jocosely replied Warrington.
"Patriotism," said Selden, following up the train of
thought which the last remark suggested, "would seem
entirely a relative term, and like beauty, which con-
sists of black teeth, thick lips and large eyes with one
nation, and exactly the reverse with another, wholly
dependent on the pre-existing opinions of those who
claim it for this action and deny it in that. Besides
this, as the world estimates actions, success would
seem to be quite as essential to constitute the patriot
as the merits of his cause or the glory of his deeds.
Here, with the settlers, you are indeed called a patriot,
and surely there is no one who better deserves from
48
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
them the appellation; while with the people of New
York you are a rebel, outlaw, and hunted like a wild
beast. And yet, if our cause prove successful, as
Heaven grant it may, the world at large, coming in as
umpire, will side with the settlers in establishing your
name as a patriot; but if we fail, it will join with your
foes in declaring you a rebel and reckless factionist.
"Names and definitions, Selden, may be sometimes
vague and varying, but principles are immutable.
The principles which actuate us in resisting these
encroachments on our rights, are the same that have
actuated the bosoms of all those whom the world agree
in calling patriots, from the beginning of oppression to
the present time. The disposition to defend our homes
and property, besides being implanted in our bosoms
as a law of nature, indispensable to our self-protection,
and even existence in the world, seems to have been
ordained by Providence also as the natural means by
which the rapacity of tyrants should be punished.
This, indeed, is the only protection insured to industry
and virtue-it constitutes the grand cement of society,
and the main pillars of all government. This is the
foundation of patriotism, which consists only in the
defense of justly acquired rights against wrongful
aggressions. In our case, the opinions of the world
may indeed be various and fluctuating till our rights
become fairly understood, and the wrongs we have
received as fairly developed. But should men of the
intelligence to know, and the spirit to defend their
rights, stand tamely still, and see those rights wrested
from them, to be placed forever beyond their recovery,
while hesitating to know whether the world will call
their resistance patriotism or rebellion? It is not the
name of patriot that I seek, or that of rebel or outlaw
that I fear. It is results I am aiming to accomplish,
and I will never rest, nor cease my exertions till our
heaven-favored cause shall triumph, and these rupa-
cious intruders shall be driven from our soil. Could
you have witnessed, as I have, the dismay, want and
suffering, which these grasping and shameless ty.ants
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
49
have occasioned in this settlement-here, whole fam-
ilies turned from their houses in the midst of winter,
with no human habitation within miles of them to flee
to for refuge and shelter-there, property, acquired
through the severest of toil, hardship and privation,
wantonly destroyed, houses set on fire and consumed
to prevent the return of the owners-and then again,
females abused, and even the sick roughly ejected, and
left to perish miserably in the night air, or storm, for
all these ruthless aggressors could know-could you
have witnessed all this, you would not be surprised at
the exasperated feelings of our people, or the indom-
itable spirit with which they have persevered in that
cause, which brought you, till lately a stranger to our
wrongs, among us to aid in sustaining. My personal
interest, I know, suffers in consequence of devoting
so much of my time to the service of the public.
Indeed, I have, in common with my chivalrous supe-
rior, Colonel Ethan Allen, almost wholly neglected my
own concerns, while guarding the interests of others.
Even now I am the owner of a large tract of land on
the borders of Champlain, a part of which, as I have
lately been apprised, has been for several years in pos-
session of one of the York patentees, while my duties
nearer home have prevented me from ever looking
after it, or taking, since making this discovery, any
steps towards dispossessing the intruder."
But you surely will neglect it no longer," observed
the other; "since we are going into the vicinity, and
on similar business?''
"We will consider the case after we have righted
the wrongs of the houseless settlers at the Lower Falls,
and fulfilled the other objects of our mission into this
region. But let us drop this exciting subject for to-
night, that we may obtain a little rest to prepare us
for the duties of to-morrow," replied Warrington, now
rising to make such scanty preparations as might be
required for their repose.
The two friends, after barricading the door, and
spreading their blankets before the small fire they had
0
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
kindled on entering the house, now laid down to
repose on the floor, which to the hardy and tired
woodsman is generally more grateful than beds of the
softest down to the pampered sons of luxury and ease.
Selden was soon lost in slumber. But his companion,
whose mind was oppressed with more weighty cares,
and whose feelings had become somewhat excited in
recounting the wrongs of his countrymen, courted the
drowsy god in vain. And these causes, together with
his attempts to account for the absence of the family,
for whose safety he was not wholly without apprehen-
sions, continuing for some time to render all his
endeavors to sleep useless, he arose, unbarred the door,
and, without waking his more fortunate companion,
went out into the open air to try the effect of the cool
breath of heaven in allaying the excitement of his
feelings, and disposing him to slumber. The night
still continued bright and lovely. Abroad, nature
seemed sunk in death-like repose; while the deep and
solemn silence that pervaded the wilderness was
broken only by the low, but far-sounding hoot of the
sylvan watchman of the night, or the voices of the
inhabitants of the neighboring pools, who were strain-
ing their tiny throats, in notes of seeming joy and
jubilee at their recent release from a wintry thraldom.
While contemplating the scene around him, and
indulging in the moody reverie which the circum-
stances were calculated to create in the mind, the
young outlaw unconsciously wandered nearly to the
bank of the river, which was still bordered by a strip
of forest, extending from the water back almost to the
house. Here, leaning against the trunk of a large
tree, which some heavy wind had broken off about
twenty feet from the ground, he stood some minutes
looking listlessly down upon the placid waters, ar,
sparkling in the moonlight that struggled through the
trees above, they moved ceaselessly along on their
journey to the deep. Now his attention would become
riveted for a moment on some light float of wood
sweeping by in the noiseless current. And now he
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
51
would turn a half-listening ear to the sportive plunges
of the otter, here once found in such numbers as to
have naturally suggested to the hunters who first vis-
ited this stream the name which it bears. His medi-
tations, however, were at length interrupted by some
indistinct, and at first scarcely audible sounds, the
nature of which he was for some time wholly unable
to determine. At last, however, he became satisfied
it could be no other than the distinct murmur of
human voices; but from what quarter it came he was
still unable to decide. He listened intently; and
now the sounds became more distinct. Presently they
began to swell on the air in the low, melodious voice
female chanting a tune, which, though not
recently heard by him, struck nevertheless familiarly
on his ear, awakening in his mind reminiscences of
persons, time, and place, which formerly occupied a
prominent space among the objects of his peculiar
interest, but which, in the cares and turmoils of the
last few years, had been almost forgotten. Starting
as from a trance he rallied his doubting senses, and
made another effort to ascertain whence this mysterious
music could proceed, but with no better success than
before. Sometimes the sounds seemed to come from
the earth, or some subterraneous cavern far beneath
his feet. At other times the liquid notes appeared
floating high in the heavens above. He now took
another position, several paces distant from the one
first occupied, to see whether any variation would
thus be produced in the sounds. Here, however, they
were scarcely audible. Several other new positions
were then tried, but all with the same success; and he
returned to the tree where he was standing when his
attention was first arrested by these unaccountable
sounds. Here he again taxed his powers of hearing
to their utmost, when, to his increasing wonder, the
same melodious notes fell upon his ear even more
distinctly than before. Now, not only the tune seemed
familiar to him, but there was something in the voice
likewise which his bewildered senses seemed to recog-
4
52
22
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
nize something that seemed to touch a chord in his
bosom that had never vibrated save under the sweet
intonations of one whose words were even once music
to his ears-but still one, to heighten his perplexity,
who, though her residence had long been unknown to
him, could not yet be, he felt assured, within a hun-
dred miles of this spot. Curiosity, surprise, and won-
der had now raised his feelings to a pitch of almost
frantic excitement; and, without scarcely knowing
why, he struck his clenched fist two or three times
heavily against the tree, which seemed so strangely
the conductor of the sounds in question. A deep, hol-
low reverberation, indicating a large and extended
cavity within, was apparently the only effect produced
by the blows. On applying his ear once more, how-
ever, he found that the singing had ceased; and every
sound was now hushed in silence. He listened awhile
with suspended breath, in expectation of hearing the
music resumed. But he listened in vain. He then
renewed the experiment of listening from other posi-
tions; but being again unsuccessful, he returned to
the tree, and fell to beating it again, in the absurd
fancy that, if there had been any connection between
his blows and the ceasing of the sounds, the same
operation which had caused them to cease might
revive them, though deeming it, at the same time, an
utter impossibility that the cavity within the trunk
could contain the invisible songstress. All his efforts,
however, to gain a clue to the mystery proved wholly
fruitless, and, after lingering some time near the spot
of seeming enchantment, he slowly wandered back to
the house, deeply pondering over the singular and
incomprehensible incident which had attended his
nocturnal ramble. Was it within the bounds of pos-
sibility, he asked himself, that the person, the once
loved and lost one, whose voice these mysterious notes
so much resembled, could now be in this almost unin-
habited wilderness? No! no! What other female,
then, capable of such execution, could be near at such
an hour of the night? Surely none! Was it not, then,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
53
a human voice that he had heard?-Was it the voice
of an angel, of "visits few and far between," floating
high in the heavens, and hymning the stars? What
had he done to deserve such special revealment? Or
was it, as the traditions of the superstitious would
inculcate, the voice of a departing spirit, permitted to
break on the ear of a distant friend at the instant of
departure, for the purpose of apprising him of his exit
from the earth, or warning him of his own dissolution?
Or was it not more probable, he said, with an effort to
shake off these intruding fancies, that his senses had
deceived him; and that, after all, the whole was but
the work of an over-excited imagination? It must
have been so. And, as if determined to satisfy him- ·
self with this last solution of the subject, since he could
hit upon no other which reason would not sooner
reject, he quickened his pace, and like one resolved to
end a perplexing inquiry by the best argument he can
give, and call it conclusive, bustled forward, now
whistling a tune, or now affecting to run over to him-
self the intended business of to-morrow, till he had
reached the house, secured the door, and thrown him-
self down beside his still insensible companion, when
exhausted nature soon closed the scene in a profound
slumber
CHAPTER V
"If you had been the wife of Hercules,
Six of his labors you'd have done, and sav'd
Your husband so much sweat."
-Coriolanus.
Rea. causes of excitement have frequently, and per
haps generally, been found to produce the soundest
slumber; while those that are artificial, or imaginary,
have an equal tendency to prevent it, Doctor Young's
poetic philosophy to the contrary notwithstanding. It
was thus with Warrington. While the images of the
past and the future, which fancy had called up, were
54
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
operating in his bosom, he vainly sought the arms of
"tired nature's sweet restorer." But after he had
found a just cause for excitement, and experienced
the utmost of its legitimate efforts, that restorer came
unbidden and instantly. And the next morning was
considerably advanced before he and his companion
awoke from the deep and sense-absorbing slumbers
which, for many hours had sealed their every faculty
in blank oblivion. They simultaneously arose, and
went to the window to ascertain from whom proceeded
the noise of the axe, whose heavy, resounding blows, in
the adjoining forest had first awakened them from
their quiet repose. At the border of the woods, a short
distance to the south of the house, and in plain sight
of their loop-hole, for the window was nothing more,
stood the amazon owner, and almost sole creator of
this little opening in the dark wilderness, plying her
axe, with masculine dexterity and effect, into the huge
trunk of a standing hemlock. In a short time this
princely tenant of the Green Mountain forest began
to tremble, totter, and bow beneath the supple arm
of its life-sapping foe, and at length came down with
a thundering crash upon the ground, filling the air
around with a cloud of dust, splinters, broken and
powdered limbs, and causing the earth and surround-
ing woods to rebound at the shock. When the
obstructing cloud had cleared away from the spot, our
observant friends beheld the object of their attention
mounted on the trunk of the prostrate tree, and pro-
cccding to mark it off into such lengths for chopping,
as suited her purpose. While thus engaged, her
attention seemed to be suddenly arrested by some-
thing she observed about the house, or in a line with
it beyond. Hastily descending from her stand on the
trunk, and seizing her rifle, which stood at the foot of
a tree, near the stump of the one just felled, she
approached with a rapid step, and with some appear-
ance of concern, till within a few rods of the house,
when she slackened her pace and soon halted.
"Tall, stout and stately," said Selden, still standing
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
65
with his friend so near the window as to have a fair
view of the person of their hostess; "tall, stout and
stately," he repeated, running his admiring eye over
her erect and imposing figure; "face and features.
even yet handsome, despite the ravages and cares of
forty! And then that queenly port! Heavens! what
a specimen of Eve's daughters! Surely, Warrington,
she must be the very Juno of your Green Mountains!
But why not unbar the door and go out to meet her?
We shall appear a pretty brace of heroes, if she come
here and find us hid up like a couple of runaways!
She has preceived us I presume, but is doubtful
whether we are friends or foes.
"Stay a moment," said the other, who had been
regarding the movements of the woman quite as
intently as his friend, though for different purposes;
"I suspect you will soon see that other objects than
ourselves are engrossing her attention."
Scarcely had the last speaker ceased, when they
caught an oblique view of the approaching forms of a
number of men, whom they instantly recognized to be
Munroe and his party. Hastily retreating from the
window, and preparing their arms for action, should
their use become necessary either for defending them-
selves within the house, or protecting their hostess
without, our two friends took positions at small aper-
tures between the logs of the wall, where, without
revealing themselves, they could easily observe their
foes, and stood silently watching the progress of events
in the yard. Meanwhile the hardy widow had planted
herself directly in the path in which the Yorkers were
approaching from the main road to her door. And
now boldly advancing and confronting them, she
demanded what might be their object in turning into
a lone woman's dwelling.
"Why, my good woman," said the sheriff, pausing
and hesitating in evident surprise at the commanding
appearance and determined tone of the person he was
addressing; "we are all as hungry as so many kites,
after the long morning's march we have had; and
1744
56
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
now can't you contrive to work up something in the
shape of breakfast for us?"
"I know of but two reasons, sir, why I may not
comply with your request,” replied the woman, with
an air of quiet scorn.
"And what may that be, woman?" asked Munroe,
in doubt as to the drift of her discourse.
"The lack of means, and the lack of inclination, sir,"
rejoined the other in the same calm and scornful
manner.
"Short and sweet," said Munroe, "but I think we
can remove your objections easily enough, mistress;
my men here have a plenty of salt junk, and some
bread, which will make out the main materials for a
meal; so you will have nothing to do but cook and
serve up for us, and if we pay you well for your
trouble this will cure both your objections at once I
suppose.
""
"Think you, sir, I would be hired to serve a Yorker
of your stamp?" replied the woman with increasing
disdain; "why, the money got in that manner would
burn through my pockets as quick as if it came to the
call of one in league with the arch fiend, and all hiss-
ing hot from the burning mint in the regions below!
Even the very food bought with it would stick in my
throat, and poison my children to death in the eating.
"Tut, tut! madam madcap!" exclaimed the sheriff,
resuming his wonted roughness, and now beginning
to chafe under the biting sarcasm of the other; "you
show about as much of the tartar as anything I have
met with in my travels for a long while. I wish the
rebels much joy in their petticoat champion! But it
is time to look a little to such as you. The authorities
of the king are neither to be resisted nor insulted with
impunity, you will do well to bear in mind, perhaps."
"Cowards are always allowed the privilege of blus-
tering before women," tartly rejoined the other;
"your threats, valiant sheriff, will hurt me about as
much, probably, as they frighten me, and if anything
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
57
further is attempted, you will find I can defend
myself."
"We will see, my trooper!" muttered Munroe, mak-
ing a sudden movement towards the other, apparently
to disarm or seize her.
Eluding his grasp, and hastily retreating a few steps,
the fearless woman cocked her rifle and brought it to
her shoulder. "Another step towards me, sir, and
your blood be on your own head," she cried, in a cool,
determined tone.
"Hang me!" exclaimed Munroe, after standing a
moment in mute surprise at this bold and unexpected
movement of the woman, who, he began to suspect,
could scarcely have been brought to show such singu-
lar fearlessness, but from a knowledge that help was
near; "hang me if I don't believe the termagant is
standing guard to some of those skulking outlaws,
whom she has concealed in the house! We must see
to this immediately," he continued, moving round his
opponent towards the house, and beckoning his men to
follow.
"O, is that all you want?" said the widow, taking
her piece in her hand, and moving aside with the air
of one relieved from a personal fear; you are welcome
to all the outlaws you will find here, but you must
beware how you attempt to touch me. However, you
had better look out for yourself, brave sheriff," she
added in a sneering laugh; "take care, sir, that some
of those terrible Green Mountain Boys concealed
within there, don't blow you through the head with
their rifles!"
"The door is fastened, woman," said Munroe, as,
stepping up, he tried in vain to open it; "the door is
fastened on the inside; see that it is opened, or I will
force it!"
"O, no, no! why, you would spoil my door, man!”
cried the widow, with the utmost apparent concern for
the safety of her door; "yes, ruin it entirely, 'twould
cost me a hard dollar to get it mended. I forgot to
tell you it was barred up inside. We do not stay here
58
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
nights for fear of the visits of such strolling gentry as
yourselves. But if you really wish to handle over my
greasy pots and kettles, or crawl under my beds, you
can go in as I came out, by going up on the ends of
the logs at the corner, yonder, and removing a piece
of that bark roof.'
"But honestly, woman, have you seen nothing of
Warrington and his band this way last night or this
morning?" asked the sheriff, his suspicions seeming to
be pretty much allayed by the well-managed demeanor
and conduct of the other.
"Warrington-Warrington," said she, musingly, as
if attempting to recall the name of one whom she
might have perhaps heard; "not Captain Warring-
ton? Yes, I have heard of him, I am sure. Is he in
this section? Where is he? I should like to see that
brave fellow. Why, he was the one that so handsomely
beech-sealed one of the York authorities down Ben-
nington way, last year-now what was his name-I
will think in a minute-"
66
"O, no matter, no matter," hastily interrupted the
sheriff, unwilling that the story of his own former dis-
comfiture should be made known to his present follow-
ers; "come, boys," he continued, moving away from
the house and calling to his men; we shan't be able to
make anything out of this crabstick of a woman, so we
may as well be on the move again, and as we have lost
our guide, instead of going back through the woods,
we will go up the creek to the ford, and then down
the military road to Ticonderoga.
19
"Adroitly done, by heavens!" exclaimed Selden to
his companion, as the sounds of the retreating footsteps
of their foes died away on their ears; "the woman's
tact has saved us, to say the least, Captain, from a
troublesome contest. But shall I now unbar the door?"
"No-let her continue to manage in her own way,'
replied the other; "the Yorkers may take it into their
heads to stop and reconnoiter the house awhile from
the woods. And she may deem it prudent to guard
against their making any discoveries in that way by
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
59
remaining a while without, or by entering the house in
the manner she pointed out to Munroe.
The woodswoman, if the term be admissible, wary
as she was fearless, immediately adopted one of the
precautions anticipated by Warrington. And the
sheriff and his posse had no sooner fairly disappeared
in the forest than our friends heard her mounting the
house, removing one of the broad pieces of spruce
bark which constituted the rude covering of the roof,
and descending into the chamber or garret above them.
In another moment she stood before them with a
countenance animated with a look of triumph and a
smile of congratulation.
"Now a thousand thanks to Mistress Story," warmly
exclaimed Warrington, after presenting his friend and
exchanging the ordinary salutations, "a thousand
thanks, not only for yesterday's timely notice, but for
the shield which a woman's tact only could have so
successfully thrown over us this morning! But how
came you apprised that we were in possession of your
castle, as we were without the shadow of a license
from its owner?''
"Partly anticipating a visit from some of you,
replied the widow, "I purposely left the door unfast-
ened when we left last night. And a peep through
the cracks when I returned this morning, and found it
barred, told me very nearly the character of the occu-
pants. But you don't know," she added, jocosely,
"how sorely I was tempted, as I saw you lying there
on the floor asleep, as helpless as children, to creep in,
bind you, deliver you over to Munroe, and claim the
reward!"
"When you were praying, 'lead us not into tempta-
tion,' at this moment of your trial," said Warrington,
laughingly, "and thought of the next sentence, 'deliver
us from evil,' you concluded it best to take sides with
the Green Mountain Boys-did you?"
"Why," replied she, "it might certainly be a matter
of some consideration, who it were wisest to make
friends and who foes, in such a case; and especially so
6
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
since it now seems that ten Yorkers can be put to
flight by one old woman."
66
Ay, ay!" gayly responded the Captain; "and that
fact, sir," he added, turning with an arch look to
Selden, "shows the wisdom of the doubts and appre-
hensions you
seemed to entertain last night in
approaching, without leave, the house of one who
might become so formidable a foe.'
both
"I should be sorry to spoil the Captain's joke,"
replied Selden, in the same spirit; "but in taking pos-
session thus unceremoniously, I think we
depended somewhat on the effect of the peace offering
we brought," he continued, pointing to the game sus-
pended on the wall, "in appeasing the household gods
for the outrage.
“An ample atonement!" said the dame, "so much
so, indeed, that I suspect my nine little hungry house-
hold gods will think the obligation wholly on their
side. Yes, yes, that mark of your kindness, gentle-
men, I noticed when I took my stolen peep in here,
and my heart has been thanking you ever since; for
my larder, as you may well imagine, is none of the
fullest, considering the number depending upon it. It
makes my heart ache to put the little kites on so short
an allowance, as I am often compelled to do here, in a
place so difficult to obtain provisions."'
"But where are your children?” asked Warrington.
"My children? all in T'other World, sir!" replied the
woman, with a sort of mock gravity.
"In the other world! what can the woman mean?"
asked Warrington, turning a puzzled look upon his
hostess. "But for the mention you have just made
of your children, and your roguish looks, which belie
your assertions, one might be startled at the import
of your words!"
"Not so much of a belieing, neither," said the
woman, "but come, we will open Sesame now," she
continued, proceeding to unbar the door, "and after
seeing if my brood cannot be conjured back into the
world again, for the purpose of assisting me, and

KING GEORGE III.
3


A BRITISH GRENADIER
A PATRIOT RIFLEMAN
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
61
quieting your apprehensions for their safety, Captain,
we will see what can be done in the way of breakfast.
"Let me attend you to witness the process of con-
juration," said Warrington, who had more reasons for
making the request than were known to either of his
companions.
"No, sir, no! keep house till I return, or, my word
for it, you get no breakfast this time," replied the
other in a sportive, yet determined manner, as she
quitted the house on her proposed errand, leaving her
guests to indulge in such conjectures as they chose
respecting the place to which she had gone to summon
her concealed family. They were not allowed much
time, however, for discussing this curious question; for
in a short time their ears were saluted by the mingled
sounds of jabbering voices approaching from the
woods in the rear of the house, and in a moment more
the dame came up to the door, with her nearly half-
score of hardy little urchins trooping along in noisy
glee at her side.
"I will shake hands with the young Captain first!"
exclaimed one of the boys, endeavoring to outstrip the
rest, as they all made a rush at the door.
"I
"You shan't!" vociferated another, springing for-
ward, and eagerly elbowing his way through the
throng that was now choking up the entrance.
say you shan't now, Dick! He likes me best Ned,
you hold him back!”
"I don't care, I will have the first kith!'' cried a
lisping little image of her mother; "I will, mayn't I,
ma?" she added, throwing back her long, unfettered
hair from before her laughing black eyes with a pretty
toss of the head, and entering with high glee into the
keen strife going forward for obtaining the first notice.
of one, who, in former calls at the house, seemed to
have made warm friends of the whole band of these
tiny rivals for his favors.
The next moment the person of Warrington, like
that of Gulliver among the Lilliputians, was almost
literally covered by the little beings, two sitting on
62
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
each knee, shaking his imprisoned hands with all their
might; the little Julia standing between, turning up
her pretty cheek invitingly for the expected kiss,
which, for all her declaration, instinctive modesty
forbade her to ask for; one or two hold of each arm,
and one more daring and active than the rest, having
clambered aloft, was sitting astride the neck, and
crowing aloud over the rest from his elevated situa-
tion; while all were clinging, laughing and chattering
like a bevy of monkeys exhibiting on an elephant, at
the show of some traveling menagerie.
Those fashionable misanthropes of the Rochefou-
cauld or Lacon school, who are forever moralizing and
mourning over the selfishness of man; who can see no
unadulterated benevolence, no disinterested friendship
in the moral deserts of the human heart, might find
one oasis, at least, to relieve their jaundiced vision, and
go to refute the sweeping dictums of their cold and
cheerless philosophy, would they but turn their eyes to
the artless actions, and examine the untutored and
guileless hearts of children. How spontaneous their
affections! With what intuitive and unerring certainty
and quickness they single out those who love them,
whether kindred or stranger, and with what confiding
readiness and generous ardor is the friendship thus
bestowed upon them forever reciprocated; and that,
too, with no detracting alloy of selfish feeling, no
worldly calculating of results, and no influencing con-
sideration of interest! Verily! while they go to school
to us for the improvement of the head, methinks it
would be well for us if the tables were so far turned,
that they could become our only instructors in the
lessons of the heart.
The dame now calling off such of her children as
she needed to assist her, and dispatching one for
water, another for wood, and a third to go on some
whispered destination, proceeded rapidly in her prep-
arations for the promised repast. And in a short space
of time, a tempting meal from the offering of her
guests was smoking on the table. The meal, which
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
63
was enlivened by a recital of the adventures of the
band the preceding evening, was no sooner ended, than
Selden, rising first from the table, departed, at the
suggestion of his superior, to see that the party at the
other house were ready to commence their march.
"Now, Captain, where are you going with your
men?" earnestly asked the widow, as soon as Selden
was fairly gone; I have reasons for wishing to know."
Warrington, after a slight hesitation, imparted the
desired information.
"Will you make me one promise?" resumed the
woman, "and at the same time receive from me in
kindness one caution?”
"On conditions, I will venture to say yes."
"What may they be? If anything that I can prop-
erly comply with-"
"I would impose no other terms, certainly-so now
for the promise you would exact?"
"Simply this-that the family, with whom the
young Indian I sent you last evening resides-no ques-
tion now about their names or residence!—that this
family, I say, shall not be molested, should you or
your men ever come across them. They hold under a
York title, to be sure, but turned no one off to get
possession. Will you promise?"
"For your sake, and the Indian's sake, if the facts
are as you state, I will promise my influence in their
behalf.'
""
"Now hear my caution-beware of that fellow you
chastised last night-beware of that Sherwood-he
will be a serpent in your path.'
"Do you know him?"
"I think I do, but must say no more.
let's hear your conditions.
And now,
"Only that you shall expound my dream, or vision,
of last night."
"A dream! vision!"'
"Yes! a something, at all events, which conveyed to
my ear, as I thought, the sounds of a voice discours-
ing most heavenly music.
64
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"A sleeping or a waking dream?"
"The latter, I afterwards made up my mind to
believe, as the readiest way of solving the mystery;
but this morning I have begun to suspect-"
"At what time last night, and on what particular
spot, did this strange trance fall on you, sir?" inter-
rupted the widow in a bantering tone, which was accom-
panied, however, with a look, betraying considerable
curiosity and uneasiness.
"O, about the usual time of such visitations—the
witching hour of midnight. And the scene should be
laid, I think, more particularly than at any other spot,
near the foot of a certain charmed tree, or rather the
hollow trunk of one, standing not far from the bank
of the creek down here, to which, leaving my com-
panion asleep, I had wandered alone to shake off a fit
of watchfulness that the spirits of the air, or something
else, had unaccountably sent me.
""
"And did you relate your adventures to your com-
panion, on your return or since?"
"No!"
"That settles the question with me, then, as to what
I should now do," seriously observed the woman;
"Captain Warrington, I clearly see that you have acci-
dentally, and very singularly, hit upon a clue to mat-
ters which I thought most prudent to conceal, even
from you, friend to the settlers and my family as you
are. Follow me, and you shall know more.
"
So saying, with rapid step she led the way in silence
toward the creek, closely followed by her guest, eager
to witness the promised development. Passing directly
by the hollow tree, to which she pointed with a signifi-
cant smile as they went along, she conducted him to
the brink of the high, steep bank, which was here
covered with a thick growth of young evergreen, whose
tangled boughs overhung the waters below. Now
grasping firmly hold of a projecting root, she swung
herself down on to a narrow shelf or offset in the bank,
a few feet above the surface of the water. As soon as
this position was gained by them both, she proceeded
1
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
65
along the shelf a few yards, and, removing a small fir-
tree top, which had been, to all appearances, blown
down the bank, disclosed the mouth of a narrow pas-
sage running back horizontally into the earth. Into
this she immediately entered, still followed by her
companion. After groping their way about a rod
through the dark, zigzag windings of this passage, they
emerged into a spacious room, formed entirely by an
artificial excavation of the earth, which, from a begin-
ning at the outside, had been removed in small par-
cels and thrown into the stream, till the whole was
completed. The walls or sides, which had been cut
down perpendicularly from the solid mould and plas-
tered over with thin mud, now presented a hard, com-
pact surface. The ceiling, which was in the form of
an arch, coming, probably, at the top or center, within
a foot of the surface above, was supported by the
thickly spreading roots of the trees, standing, many
of them, directly over the excavation, and forming a
kind of network, curiously, and so strongly interwoven
as effectually to prevent the earth from caving in from
above. The whole interior was divided into two parts
of unequal dimensions by a slight willow-work parti-
tion, the lesser of which, being designed for the sleep-
ing apartment, was neatly carpeted with a thick, dry
moss, collected from the spruce knolls in the vicinity;
while on one side was extended, at suitable intervals,
a row of little oblong platforms, raised about a foot
above the general level by repeated doublings of the
same light, springy substance. These, on which were
laid such beds as the occupant could furnish, afforded,
with or without any further additions, soft and pleasant
couches, safely protected against the damps of a ground
floor. Beside one of the walls of the larger room was a
rude fire-place, constructed of flat stones, and built up
several feet high to receive fuel and give direction to
the smoke, which, ascending through a sort of retreat-
ing flue cut into the bank, escaped through the cavity
of the identical hollow stub that Warrington had dis-
66
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
covered to be in some way connected with the mysteri-
ous melody heard by him the evening before.
"This, Captain Warrington," said the dame, after
showing her admiring guest every part of her subter.
raneous establishment, which she had lit up on entering
by throwing a few light combustibles on the fire still
remaining on the hearth; "this is my city of refuge-
my strong-hold or my 'T'other World,' as I have accus-
tomed myself and children to call it, fancying, in my
wish to keep the secret of its existence to ourselves,
that some such name would lessen the chances of a
discovery which might accidentally be made, perhaps,
by referring to it before others by a proper designa-
tion. It was dug out by myself and my little boys,
who took to digging as naturally as young foxes, and
greatly assisted me. My neighbor below, however,
aided me in the most difficult parts of the work; and
in case of danger he is to occupy it with me.
""
"But what were the immediate dangers you appre-
hended, that led you to so uncommon an undertak-
ing?" asked the other.
For myself I might feel, perhaps, no apprehen-
sions," replied the provident mother. "For my chil-
dren I feel differently. All parents, Captain, however
brave they may be for themselves, are always cowards
for their children. No real dangers, it is true, might
beset us here for years; and then, again, they might
come like a thief in the night. To say nothing of the
heartless Yorkers, who might burn my house, or turn
us out shelterless into the snow-to say nothing of the
wolves that have been known, in the desperation of
hunger, to attack folks in their houses-to say noth-
ing of these, which are sufficiently fearful for most
people, what security have we, in these outposts of the
settlement, even in times of peace, against a hostile
visit from the Indians? But when, as now, the rumors
of war come floating on every breeze, that danger is
daily increasing. The sad experience of my father's
family, who were half slain by these hell-hounds of
the wilderness at the outbreak of the last war, has
4
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
67
taught me the wisdom of precaution. In peace they
are even to be distrusted; and the first rumor of war
that strikes their ears will put them to whetting their
knives for slaughter; while they are sure to anticipate
the coming contest by striking the first blow on the
defenseless families of the frontiers. Now with these
views, is it strange," she added with a smile, "that the
mother of nine children, with but one neighbor within
miles of her, should foresee the evil and hide herself?''
"Surely not," replied Warrington, struck not less by
the forcible language of the woman, than by her pru-
dent forecast; "you are right in believing that the
storm of a new war is gathering over us; and if you
think of remaining here, these precautions are but the
part of wisdom, as we know not when or where the
storm may burst. But do you occupy this retreat
every night, now?"
"We do.
"You enter as we did, taking your children down
the bank, I suppose?"
"Sometimes, but more generally by approaching
from the creek in my canoe (which is kept hid in the
bushes a few rods below), lest by coming down the
bank constantly, we wear a path which might lead to
a discovery of our retreat.'
“And you all lodged here last night, of course?"
"Yes.
99
"Part of the mystery, then, stands explained-why
should the rest be kept back?"
"What is there more that you do not comprehend?"
"The singing-"
You
"Might have been my own, if you heard any.
never heard any of my lullaby performances before, I
suppose?" said the woman, with an evasive smile.
"No, but I have once heard the performances of
another, whose voice is not easily to be forgotten,
replied Warrington, turning a keen, searching gaze on
the slightly confused face of the widow.
"Warrington, Warrington!" said the woman, resum-
ing a tone of seriousness, and intently reading the
5
68
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
looks of the other; "as much as I hate deception, I
wish I could have misled you. But I saw by your dis-
appointed looks, when you entered, and glanced
around these empty apartments, that you expected to
find here what you have not. And I now see, that you
still have certain impressions which I wish could have
been done away. But as you seem bent on following
up your clue, I will not attempt to mislead you.
From what I have gathered from you and others, I
have for some time secretly suspected the identity of
persons yet supposed to be different, and that I have
long known those whose present residence you have
little dreamed of: Captain Warrington, there is indeed
a rose-bud in this wilderness, which I should not have
been displeased to see placed in your bosom. But seek
it not now-there is a hedge about it too high for your
leaping."
66
Where is she? I ask but to know where," inquired
the other with impatient eagerness.
"Not here, nor near here, now," replied the woman;
"the secret is not mine to reveal; I have said too much
already; so question me no further. But come, let us
leave for the upper world," she added, rapidly leading
the way out, and allowing the other no further chance
to resume his importunities till they had gained the top
of the bank.
"But surely you will not leave the matter here,
after informing me so far?" said Warrington, in an
expostulating tone, as he perceived that the other
seemed to expect that he would now depart.
"For the present, I surely shall," replied the
woman, decidedly; "you will urge in vain one who
understands her duties to all! Go! your men await
you-good-morning, and God speed you in the cause
of the settlers," and imperiously waving her hand for
the departure of her reluctant and tantalized guest,
she suddenly turned away and disappeared in the forest.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
69
CHAPTER VI
"The sons of our mountains will sheath not the brand
Till the last base intruder is forced from the land.”
One of the most considerable openings in the wilder-
ness in the northwestern part of the New Hampshire
Grants, at the period of our story, was at the Lower
Falls of Otter Creek, at the head of the lake navigation
of that stream, and on and around that fine and fertile
swell of land, now occupied as the site of a pleasant
and flourishing village, to which, as before mentioned.
the more dignified name of city has long since been
legally applied; though not without sometimes elicit-
ing, probably, from the traveler approaching the place
with the expectations which the appellation would
naturally raise, a feeling somewhat akin, perhaps, to
that which might be experienced on hearing the
address of My Lord applied to some urchin scion of
nobility, at marbles, in his first jacket and trousers.
A pitch had been made on this spot, some years before,
by one or more of the New Hampshire patentees, a
saw and grist mill erected, and a large piece of forest
felled and partially cleared; when the whole tract,
embracing the Falls and all the improvements, was
purchased of some of the York land jobbers by one
Colonel Reed. Reed had been the commander of a
regiment of Scotch Highlanders, that came over with
General Wolfe, and was engaged with his army in that
memorable battle which gave Quebec and the Canadas
to the British crown. This regiment having been
subsequently disbanded, the Colonel, still continuing
in the new world, and, in his intercourse between
Canada and New York, becoming acquainted with the
Vermont lands, entered into the speculations then
going forward, and made the purchase as above stated.
Finding his new purchase already in the occupancy of
70
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
the New Hampshire grantees, and not inclined to be
bothered with the delays of a civil process by the York
authorities to put him in possession, what should this
military land speculator do but repair immediately to
Montreal, and, collecting a file of his old disbanded
soldiers, go on, armed and provisioned, to conquer and
keep, and forcibly drive the occupants from the ground,
taking possession of the mills, lumber, and all other
improvements? After making ample provisions for
continuing the improvement of his purchase, he left it
to be managed and defended by the men who came on
with him, placed under the command of one of his old
fear-naught Highlanders, by the name of Donald
McIntosh, formerly a brave and trusty sergeant in his
regiment, to whom he now delivered written military
instructions, setting forth the manner in which the
improvements were to be conducted, and the post
defended against any, or all, who should offer to
intrude on the premises. The Colonel, being a shrewd
man, and a close observer of character, national as
well as individual, and well knowing the inherent
respect of Scotchmen for discipline, and the orders of
a superior, would insure him. more determined
defenders of his possessions, as well as more faithful
laborers in their improvement, than all the rewards,
bribes, or other inducements he could offer, had
thrown over the whole transaction the appearance of
a military service. And, hiring his men at the
monthly compensation they had formerly received as
soldiers, and terming it an enlistment during the war,
and conducting them to their post under the discipline
to which they had been accustomed in the army, he
had the address to make these men, not the most intel-
ligent, certainly, honestly believe that they were act-
ing under their old commander, in a military capacity
only, and were really in the service of the king, to
whom this settlement, they were told, was in a state
of rebellion. And right faithfully and rigidly did the
straight-going Donald, ever continuing to act under
these impressions, execute the trust committed to his
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
71
charge. Immediately proceeding to throw up a large
log-house, and enclose a yard around it with a heavy,
compact fence of hewn timber, he soon gave the post
such an impregnable and threatening aspect as effect-
ually deterred the former occupants from attempting,
with any force they could rally in the neighborhood,
to dislodge the intruders. And, after watching a while
and seeing no diminution of the strength of their
antagonists, or relaxation of their caution, these ejected
and plundered settlers, who happened to be among the
less spirited of their countrymen, at length pretty
much relinquished the hope of regaining their posses-
sions, except in a favorable termination of the negotia-
tion still going forward at intervals between the
settlers and the government of New York.
In this manner, for nearly two years, did the min-
ions of Reed hold and manage these valuable posses-
sions, clearing land, raising crops, and exporting
lumber and other products, without being at all
molested by the settlers, or the attending circum-
stances being known, indeed, to those who had exer-
cised any general agency in resisting the aggression of
the Yorkers. At length, however, the tranquillity of
the intruders became accidentally endangered. Ira
Allen, the Green Mountain Metternich of after times,
and one of the cabinet council of those we are describ-
ing, coming through this section, on his return to his
residence in Bennington from an excursion to the
Winooski River, sought lodgings on a stormy December
night at the quarters of McIntosh and his men—a call
which came near costing the former his life at the
outset; for, while he was unsuspectingly knocking for
admission, the wary Scotchman, who had been accus-
tomed to consider all his foes, who did not give the
watchword, noiselessly opened the door wide enough
to protrude one arm, and made several desperate
lunges at his body, hit or miss, with a naked saber. Prov-
identially, however, the weapon, missing the body,
only wounded the great coat of the traveler, who, at
last succeeding in making the other believe that he
72
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
wanted nothing more than a shelter for the night, was
now admitted, and entertained till next morning.
This singular reception, as well as the odd and warlike
appearance of everything connected with the establish-
ment, awakened the curiosity and excited the suspi-
cions of Allen, who, from the information he obtained
by pumping the incautious Donald, and making inquir-
ies of the settlers before leaving the vicinity, returned
home in possession of the full history of the case.
And the consequence was, that before many months,
a small band of Green Mountain Boys came on from
the south, and finding no one about the premises, were
proceeding to clear the house and yard of all they con-
tained; when the occupants, who had been at work in
the woods, returned, and after holding a council of
war a short distance from the house, made such a furi-
ous charge with fixed bayonets on the newcomers, that
they, little dreaming of so warlike an onset, were fairly
routed from the works, and were compelled to decamp
amidst the victorious shouts of the elated Highlanders.
Chagrined and vexed on the result of this attempt, the
Green Mountain Boys, early the next spring, set on
foot another expedition for dispersing these military
tenants of the usurping Colonel. And for this, among
other objects, Warrington and his companions were
now on their way to the spot.
It was not until an advanced hour in the afternoon
of the day, which commenced by the adventures
related in the last chapter, that our band arrived at
the outskirts of the singularly guarded possession just
described. Their force, swelled by the numbers who
had joined them on the last part of their route, now
amounted to about a dozen men. They halted in the
woods, adjoining the clearing, for the purpose of con-
sultation, with a view to fix on the best mode of
attacking the place, which they were not without hope
of carrying by surprise. They had scarcely com-
menced discussing these points, however, before their
attention was arrested by two quickly successive
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
73
reports of fire-arms, proceeding from a thicket, on the
opposite side of the creek.
"What will you bate I don't know the bark of that
dog, Captain?" exclaimed Jones, tipping one of his
comical winks to his superior.
"Aha! who do you suspect, Jones?" asked Warring-
ton, with a look of interest.
"Why, I shouldn't like to make bodily oath of it,
be sure," replied the other, "but unless my ear lies like
the mischief, one of those popping noises over there
was the voice of an old acquaintance.
"To the point, man, if you possibly can!" rather
impatiently spoke the leader: "what acquaintance do
you mean?"
"The one that I was introduced to, up on the lake
there, last night, asking your pardon, Captain," replied
Pete, lowering his tone a little under the slightly
rebuking manner of his commander.
"You are in the right, Mr. Jones," said the other,
kindly, though a flash of anger passed over his face at
the discovery that now burst on his mind; "I see it
all, at last. Those were the reports of a pair of pistols,
and in the hands, too, of that traitorous Sherwood,
who has been hovering round us on our march, and
now fires his pistols as a preconcerted signal, to give
notice of our approach. It is well for the fellow that
he was wise enough to put the creek between us and
himself, before taking this last step."
"That comes of suffering the scoundrel to go
unhanged last night," grumbled Brown. "If I had
been the Captain, I would have strung him up to the
limb of a tree like a sheep-killing dog, and left him
kicking in the air.
"It is not always," said Warrington, "nor often, I
think, that we find cause to repent of the mercies we
have shown; but this fellow-let him beware!" he
added, knitting his brow, "let him beware how he is
taken again!"
All hope of taking the place by surprise being now
relinquished by our band, it was soon settled, as the
74
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
most probable way of accomplishing their object with-
out bloodshed, which they would gladly avoid, that a
feint should be made in the open field, with a view of
drawing out the enemy from their works, while the
part of their force, not thus to be engaged, should go
round in the woods, and, approaching in the rear,
endeavor to get possession of the house and enclosure.
In pursuance of this plan, Warrington, taking Selden
and two of the men with him, started off for the pur-
pose of carrying the last part of the arrangement into
execution, leaving the rest of the force under the com-
mand of Jones, whose genius, it was thought, was calcu-
lated to conduct the other part of the enterprise now
intrusted to his charge, with orders to advance through
the open grounds towards the house, and adopt such
measures on the way as circumstances might suggest
for bringing about the desired result.
After waiting a sufficient time to allow the other
party to gain a post in the woods in the rear of the
works, Pete, the new commandant, put his men in
motion, and emerging from the bushes, they com-
menced, in a widespread platoon, their ostentatious
march through the field, in order to attract the atten-
tion of the enemy, supposed to be concealed in their
enclosures at the house. It so happened that, directly
in the course of the advancing party, there lay a series
of large log-heaps, which, either by accident or design,
had been placed, in clearing the land, very nearly in
a straight line, at intervals of about a dozen rods,
beginning near the house and extending almost to the
woods. When the party had arrived within a few rods
of the first log-heap their attention was arrested by
the sound of a human voice, issuing from behind it,
and in an eager, suppressed tone, giving off some brief
orders, resembling those of military command.
"A'ready? up then, an' gie til the louns!" exclaimed
the voice of the unseen leader, in broad Scotch, as a
platoon of armed men suddenly rose from behind the
logs, and, raising their guns breast high, discharged
them full in the faces of the Green Mountain Boys.

GENERAL BENEDICT ARNOLD
ļ

MAJOR ANDRE
S
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
75
"Noo, right aboot face! and rin as if the deevil was
after ye, as he is, and mair too,' resumed the military
Donald, for it was no other than he and his men, who
had been thus lying in concealment behind the log-
heap, patiently awaiting the approach of their unsus-
pecting assailants.
The balls, just clearing the heads of our band, whis-
tled through the air, and struck with a crash among
the dry limbs of the forest behind them. As soon as
they had recovered from the surprise into which they
had been thrown by the suddenness of this unexpected
attack, they all sprang forward in the screening smoke
of the enemy's fire, and gained the cover of the log-
heap, just relinquished by the latter for the next one
in the line of their defenses.
"Well, this is what I should call rather a curious
how-d'ye-do, boys," coolly said Jones, when they had
gained their shelter; "who would have guessed the
scamps were packed away behind this old log-heap?
But one thing beats my philosophy-if the bloody dogs
really wanted to give us the lead (and they shot dread-
ful careless if they didn't), why in natur didn't they
take aim?''
"They are all regular sarvice men, "replied a settler
from the vicinity,‘and breast-high is the rule of firing
in the army."
"Then we may thank the rule for our lives, and not
the pesky fools who used it," replied the former. "It
would not be a great deal more than right to send our
rifle bullets through the whole tote of 'em. But I
should some rather not kill the sarpents, if we can get
along without; and I guess as how we can, seeing they
were kind enough to sound their rattles before trying
to bite, as that queer old codger did, in giving off word
before they let drive at us. And if they will go on as
they have begun, we'll just be making our manners
when they fire, so that the balls may pass over us, and
then follow 'em up as before-but hark! the old chap
is at it again! going the motions as regular as the
6
76
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
nightmare; there! he has got to 'cock fire-lock!' Now,
down with you, boys!"
Jones and his men had scarcely thrown themselves
onto their knees behind their log-heap breast work,
before another volley of balls, discharged with the
same military precision, whistled over them; and again
the old dry hemlocks that skirted the woods appeared
to be the only sufferers. Again retreating to their
next post, these kilted defenders of the place were fol-
lowed up as at first by their crafty assailants, who
were now becoming highly delighted with the fun of
so unique a warfare. And in this manner the fight, if
fight it be called, continued through the whole field-
one party blazing away at random from every log-heap →
they reached, and then scudding on for the next, quite
satisfied with this way of doing their duty of defending
these supposed possessions of the king, since they
were conducting their defense, as they believed,
according to military rule; while the other party,
occasionally discharging their pieces into the air, to
keep up the appearance of a hostile pursuit, and some-
times raising their hats on their ramrods, just high
enough above the logs, behind which they were
ensconced, to become visible to their foes when they
fired, that they might be thus encouraged to continue
the sport, were no less content with this fashion of
fighting, as it answered all the objects in view, with-
out putting them to the necessity of killing others,
and, what was quite as agreeable, without running
any risk of being killed themselves.
But leaving these belligerents for the present, we
will now follow those who departed to execute the
other part of this novel enterprise.
Keeping within the border of the woods, Warring-
ton and his attendants soon made the circuit round
the clearing, and arrived at the bank of the creek, in
the rear of the buildings, before the attack was made
on the other detachment. They had scarcely gained
this position, however, before they were aroused by
the rattling of McIntosh's salutatory volley on their
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
דר
companions, at the other extremity of the opening.
And, though the rise of land which intervened
between them and the scene of action prevented them
from ascertaining by sight the exact situation of
affairs, yet readily concluding that the enemy, in full
force, had taken the open field, as had been antici-
pated, they made for the house with all possible speed,
to get possession of the works before the occupants
could find time to return. On reaching the enclosure
round the house, Warrington, leaving his men in the
rear, went round to the front side, and after a moment
spent in reconnoitering, from behind a wood-pile, the
parties in the field, crept up and made an attempt to
open the gate. But to his disappointment, he soon
discovered that it was securely barred on the inside;
while the noise of some slight movement within
apprised him that the place had not been left wholly
unguarded. On making these discoveries, he imme-
diately retreated to the rear, without being seen by
the enemy.
There, standing beside the wall of the
enclosure and eagerly gazing through a small crevice
between the timbers, he found Selden, who, now
turning with an expressive look, silently beckoned him
to approach. Obeying the sign, Warrington carefully
stepped up to the spot and put his eye to the aperture
which the other, now yielding the place, pointed out
with his finger; when all that part of the arena within,
which was in front of the house, was opened to his
view. And the object that there met his eye struck
him with scarce less surprise than what had just been
manifested by his more romantic companion. Near
the barricaded entrance into the yard, instead of a
bearded warrior, stood a young and neatly dressed
female, of striking beauty, holding a musket, and
apparently enacting the part of a sentry to fire an
alarm gun, or open the gate on the signal of her
friends. She had evidently heard the movements of
those without, and was now standing, like a startled
fawn, her bosom heaving with suppressed alarm, her
lips slightly drawn apart, and her head turned in the
78
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
attitude of intense listening-all combining to give an
air of charming and picturesque wildness to her whole
appearance. A swarthy-faced girl was timidly peeping
from the nearly shut door of the house, to which, on
hearing the noise, she had apparently retreated. From
the dress and appearance of the latter, Warrington was
but at little loss in tracing between these two females
the relation of mistress and maid. And now, with a
rapid survey of the situation of the whole interior, as
far as could be seen, he hastily quitted his stand at the
crevice and turned to Selden.
"Isn't she a vision of a creature?" eagerly whis-
pered the latter, his fine dark eyes sparkling with
animation; "what, in the name of feminine wonders,
will you show us next, Warrington? But who and
what can she be?"
"I am scarcely wiser than yourself, in that respect."
"If the other was a Juno, this, I suppose, must be
some warrior sylph of the Green Mountains.
"Not of the Green Mountains, I suspect," rejoined
Warrington, "but be she sylph or satan in heavenly
guise, we must pay her a visit, and have possession
of the works within ten minutes-the enemy are on the
retreat for the gate, and there is no time to lose-
advance, boys, and lend me your shoulders for a step-
ping stone to scale this wall."
The walls of the enclosure were about ten feet high,
exclusive of the pickets which surmounted them, and
which were formed of stakes three or four feet long,
sharply pointed at the top, and set into large augur-
holes bored in the upper layer of timber.
Taking his men to a part of the wall in the rear of
the house, which would screen them, in their attempt,
from the view of the inmates in front, and thus afford
them a better chance to get over unmolested, and with-
out causing an alarm to be given too soon, the leader
mounted the shoulders of one of his men, leaped on to
the top of the timbers, and soon luckily, and without
noise, succeeded in wrenching out pickets enough to
give him a ready ingress. And taking up his rifle
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
79
from the hands of those below, and ordering two of
them to follow, and the other, who would have no
means of getting up, to act in concert with Jones, he
now swung himself down upon the ground. In another
moment, Selden and the man he had selected having
been equally successful, they all three stood undis-
covered on the ground, in the narrow space between
the wall and the back side of the house.
"Well, Selden," said Warrington, with a humorous
look; "in what manner shall we proceed with this
formidable garrison-by storm or parley?”
"The latter, certainly, unless the storm is to be a
storm of kisses," replied the other, in the same spirit;
"but seriously, lest the appearance of all of us at once
occasion unnecessary alarm, I propose that one of us
go forward alone, for this purpose.
""
"Yours shall be the chance, then, of displaying your
bravery, gallantry or diplomacy, as the case may
require, in treating with the fair commander."
Thank'ee, Captain. '
“But have a caution, sir-remember that other
things sometimes inflict wounds besides leaden
bullets!"
"O, borrow no trouble on my account, on either
score," gayly responded Selden, as he disappeared
round the corner of the house, on his delicate mission.
The merry boast of the last speaker, however, had,
but for his good fortune, been a vain one. For the
next moment after he passed out of the sight of his
friends, the stunning report of a musket saluted their
ears, while a bullet whistled by them and buried itself
in the wall of the enclosure, a few feet from where they
stood. Instantly springing forward toward the scene
of action, they found Selden standing in mute surprise,
but unhurt, a few yards in front of the house, and as
many rods from the mad girl, who, in the suddenness
of the alarm and trepidation that seized her, as she
accidentally turned round and unexpectedly beheld an
enemy within the enclosure and approaching her, had
just committed the half-involuntary, half-frenzied act
80
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
of discharging at him a well-loaded musket, whose
fatal contents he had but narrowly escaped. For a
moment there was a dead pause, during which neither
of the parties stirred from their respective positions,
being nearly invisible to each other in the smoke
which was rising in eddying whirls between them.
Soon, however, the light and airy form of the warrior
damsel became visible to her astonished besiegers.
There, pale, agitated and almost frantic with conflict-
ing emotions, she still stood, as if chained to the spot,
holding with convulsive grasp the yet smoking musket,
and apparently scarcely less frightened at what she
had done than for her own personal safety.
After gazing an instant with increasing consternation
and alarm, as she beheld the now treble number of
the enemy, she suddenly threw down her gun, and
made a desperate push to unbar the gate.
"Nay, nay! lady," exclaimed Warrington, leaping
forward to her side, and placing his hands firmly upon
the bars; "this we cannot suffer now, though we
intend you no harm," he continued in a gentler tone;
"but you had better retire-this is no place for one of
your sex. Mr. Selden, will you conduct her into the
house?"
"Touch me not!" half shrieked the baffled and mad-
dened girl, shrinking from the touch of Selden, who
now approached, and offered to lead her to the house;
"touch me not, villain-monster!''
•
"Be calm-calm your fears, dear lady!" said Selden,
in a soothing and respectful tone, "will you hear me?
Will you look me in the face? There! do I appear like
a villain? Now hear me: although we may try to
restore these possessions to their former, and, as we
believe, rightful owners, yet, in doing this, we would
not willingly injure a single man of the defenders-
much less a female. Be prevailed on, then, to retire,
and I pledge myself, on the honor of a gentleman,
that no hair of your head shall be injured."
During this address, the kind and tender manner of
which seemed to strike unexpectedly on her ears, she
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
81
turned, and looking full upon the manly and handsome
face of Selden, a change passed over her agitated coun-
tenance. Her overtasked nerves gave way, and her
assumed nature melting away into its original softness,
like a storm of March dissolving into the tears of April,
she burst into a fit of hysteric weeping, and now
suffered herself to be conducted unresistingly into the
house.
By this time Donald and his men, who, on hearing
the report of the musket just fired, as they were mak-
ing a stand behind the last log-heap of their line of
defense, hastily discharged a parting round at the
enemy, and fled for the works, had reached the enclo-
sure; and the former was now vociferating the watch-
word, and rattling away at the gate for admittance.
Meanwhile, Jones, with his detachment, being apprised
that his friends were in possession of the works by a
handkerchief which the latter had, as a preconcerted
signal, hung on a corner picket, rushed on after the
retreating Scotchmen on their way to the gate, intend-
ing to follow them so closely that they could have no
time to reload their guns before they should be com-
pelled to surrender.
Looking around and seeing his foes close upon him,
McIntosh redoubled his clamor to get in.
"O, why dinna ye open the gaet?" exclaimed the
impatient and distressed Highlander, still ignorant that
any others were within than those he left there; "thae
feckful' deevils are hard at our heels. Och! oigh!
Jessy, Jessy Reed! is it my ain Colonel's dochter that
wad be doylt at sic a time? An' Zilpah, is your mis-
tress dead, or ye a' fear't an' fasht thegithar, that ye
nae ken the coming o' us?”’
You
"Your ladies are all safe in the house, my honest
friend," cried out Warrington in reply, "but your
quarters are now in possession of other hands.
had better surrender, sir, as it will be of little use to
contend against those who are now too strong for you,
both within and without.
The astonishment and dismay of the simple-minded
82
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
Scotchman at the discovery that his foes had obtained
a lodgment within his stronghold, was unbounded; for,
having perceived nothing wrong about his works at
the time his attention was arrested by the report of the
musket within them, and soon after seeing the man
left outside by Warrington running out into the field,
he supposed the gun was fired by the bold and way-
ward girl who had volunteered for the service, only to
apprise him that some one was round the outside of
the works. And he and his men, having given a
merry hurra! for the braw lassie who frightened away
the skulking tramper, had come on and reached the
gate in the confident expectation that in another
moment they should be safely ensconced within their
works, and beyond the reach of all pursuers.
"Gude guide us!" he ejaculated, looking hurriedly
around him, while his countenance exhibited the very
picture of perplexity and distress, "Gude guide us!
gor't by the rake-hells wi'in and wi'out! O what wad
I do! what wad I do!"
"I'll jest tell you what to do, you queer old divil!"
sung out Jones, catching the last part of these excla-
mations, as he brought his men to a halt within two
rods of the Scotchmen, who now, mechanically facing
about, and presenting their fixed bayonets to their
opponents, stood glumly awaiting the commands of
their leader. "I will tell you what to do," he repeated,
"you must knuckle to, old fellow. What's the partic-
ular use in your standing out against these six loaded
rifles, to say nothing of the Captain and his folks inside,
if they should take a notion to wake you up a little?
so I take it the cunningest thing you can do jest now
is, for you all to throw down your guns and surrender.'
"Hoot awa' mon!" exclaimed McIntosh, aroused by
this fresh summons to surrender; "an' I rede ye'll
find wese fight and defend til the last drap o' our
bluide! Attention, there!" he continued, hastily turn-
ing to his men, "prime an' load!''
Warrington now sternly repeated his demand for an
immediate surrender; but the obstinate Highlander,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
83
knowing no way of obeying the military instruction of
his Colonel, "to fight and defend," but to fight on at
whatever odds, or whatever the consequences to him
and his men, deigned no answer to this repetition of
the summons than by urging his men to despatch in
loading their pieces.
"What is to be done, Captain?" coolly said Jones,
calling to his superior, and at the same time giving a
nod to his men, at which they all promptly cocked
their rifles and brought them to their shoulders; "speak
tolerable quick, if you've any orders, for they are
about loaded, and we some rather give than take under
all the circumstances.
""
"Neither!" shouted Warrington, "do neither-knock
up their guns! disarm them! grapple with them, and
if too many for you, we'll soon be among you.
A sudden furious rush was now made by the Green
Mountain Boys on their astonished antagonists, who,
not dreaming of this mode of attack, and being busily
intent on loading their guns, were taken by complete
surprise, and to a great disadvantage to themselves.
And before they had recovered from their astonish-
ment sufficiently to put themselves in a posture of
defense, most of their guns were wrenched from their
hands, their bodies seized round the waist, and some
of them thrown to the ground; while grappling man
with man, all were instantly involved helter skelter,
in the tremendous scuffle that now ensued. And
although the Green Mountain Boys were now in the
exercise of their favorite athletics, and notwithstand-
ing their great strength and suppleness of limb, they
soon found that the entire subjection of these brawny
and resolute Highlanders was no very easy task.
Though thrown to the ground, they had to be held
there; though knocked down, they again rose to the
fight, and though beaten, they yielded not. And the
victory had, perhaps, been even doubtful, had not War-
rington now thrown open the gate, and come, with a
fresh force, to the rescue. Then, indeed, it was not till
they saw their leader lying bound and helpless on the
6
84
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
ground that the pugnacious Scotchmen could be
brought to say that they yielded themselves prisoners.
"I have na yielded yet, ye hogshoutherin rap scal-
lions!" roared Donald, scornfully, as he lay on the
ground with scarcely a member of his body, except his
tongue, at liberty; "I hae na yielded, an' as muckle
victory as ye think to mak it, ye sal never say that
Donald McIntosh ca'd himself prisoner wi'out first
settling the conditions o' the surrender."
"What conditions would you have, brave Scot?"
asked Warrington, with great show of respect, as soon
as he could be heard amidst the shouts of laughter that
followed this ludicrous declaration of the vanquished
leader.
"What conditions? Why, to be allowed to march out
wi' a' the honors o' war, an' a safe passport for thae
women an' a' the gear, an' property," replied McIntosh,
somewhat soothed by the respectful manner of the
other.
"And will you quietly yield up the place and depart,
if we will allow you these conditions?" rejoined War-
rington, evidently disposed to humor the fallen warrior
in his laughable demand.
"We wael bide thae terms of surrender," replied the
other, "an' ye hae the word o' Donald McIntosh till
the bargain.
""
"We will let the man have his way for the bravery
he has shown," said Warrington, turning to his men.
"Take away their ammunition, but restore them their
guns, and unbind their leader. Now Captain McIntosh,
arise-parade your men, and conduct the surrender in
such manner as suits your pleasure.
""
Deeply impressed with a sense of what he deemed
the honor of his profession required in surrendering so
important a military post of the king, as he considered
this, McIntosh arose, formed his men, marched inte
the enclosure, halted, faced about, sent a corporal to
bring out the ladies and place them in the rear, marched
out again, grounded arms, and, with an air of great
formality and consequence, pronounced himself and
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
85
!.
followers prisoners of war, to depart on parole, to serve
no more on this coast during the war.
Warrington, from his knowledge of the national
character of his prisoners, entertaining no doubts of
their fidelity in strictly observing all the stipulations
of their leader, now cordially invited them to remain
at the post through the night. And the invitation
being as cordially accepted, both parties, within an
hour, were commingling in the greatest amity and
good feeling, the Green Mountain Boys secretly elated
with their success in reducing this stronghold of the
Yorkers, and their late opponents resting satisfied
with the gallant efforts they had made in its defense.
The next day the vanquished, availing themselves
of the permission granted them by the victors, con-
veyed all the movable property of their master on
board several large batteaux, which had been kept
there for the purpose of exporting lumber or other
products of the farm, and set sail down the creek for
St. Johns, or some one of Colonel Reed's possessions
on the York side of the lake, near its northern
extremity.
Thus terminated this unique and curious contest,
which proved to be the last one of any magnitude that
occurred between the New Hampshire grantees and
the Yorkers, for the possession of the soil within the
disputed territory. The place being thus left in the
hands of the Green Mountain Boys, they immediately
reinstated the owners and former occupants, and soon
after, strengthening and enlarging the defenses into a
more regular fortress, they posted a small, permanent
force there to prevent so important a position from
falling again into the hands of the Yorkers, or any new
set of minions which the late military aggressor might
see fit to send on for a second forcible seizure. No fur-
ther attempt, however, was made to wrest the place
from their hands; nor did any of the late offenders ever
make their appearance in the place, except the brave
and honest, though strangely mistaken McIntosh, who,
indeed, after a while returned, but with views not a
86
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
little altered. For becoming by some means unde-
ceived as to the nature of his late trust, and being
excessively mortified at the development, which robbed
him, in his own estimation, of nearly all the glory he
had gained in defending it, he seemed to have fore-
sworn the military, for a more quiet profession. And
purchasing a farm in the neighborhood, he settled
down upon it, and, in the peaceable pursuits of agricul-
ture, spent the remainder of an unusually long life, no
less respected for scrupulous honesty, than distin-
guished for the whimsical absurdities that occasionally
marked his conduct.
But there is one of the conquered band whom we
have no notion of disposing of in so summary a man-
ner—we mean the heroine of the party-the spirited,
wild, wayward, and beautiful Jessy Reed, who was,
indeed, no other than the daughter of the usurping
Colonel. The singularity of the position which our
band found her occupying at this place, and the attend-
ing circumstances, we will give her an opportunity of
hereafter explaining, and content ourselves for the
present with a few words respecting her destination,
and the manner of her departure from the scene where
she was introduced to the reader. Instead of going
with McIntosh and his men to the north, she had
expressed a wish to proceed to the residence of a fam-
ily with whom her father was intimate, living near the
south end of the lake. But the large boats being all
required to transport the effects, and the hands needed
to man them, an open skiff, and one man to row it,
were the only accommodations that could well be
afforded her. Still she persisted in her determination.
But should she be permitted to embark with no more
attendants? The air of extreme novelty attending
this singular girl, together with her personal attrac-
tions, had from the first made a strong impression on
the mind of Selden. He began with playing the
soother-succeeded, and became her attendant, the
evening after the affray, in a twilight walk along the
banks of the Otter, during which he was as much sur-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
87
prised at the exhibition of intelligence and wit, into
which he had artfully drawn her, as charmed and
interested with her beauty, and a certain piquancy and
dash of romance which nature and a semi-military edu-
cation had thrown into her character. But how far
this interest was reciprocated, he had no means of
judging. And should he now offer to become her
attendant on her proposed voyage through the lake,
would the offer be received? Would she suffer to
attend her one of those who had wrested away her
father's possessions; one from whom she yesterday
recoiled as from the touch of a viper, branding him
with the epithets of villain and monster? Sudden
metamorphoses are no miracles in this changing world,
thought Selden, and a failure in this case shall not hap-
pen from the want of any attempt. He delicately
made the proposal. She hesitated, blushed a little,
and accepted.
"Was ever woman in such humor woo'd?"
CHAPTER VII
"And I, methinks, till I am old,
A fairer maid shall ne'er behold-
The sloping lawn, the cottage small,
The outspread lake, the waterfall,
And thou the spirit of them all!"
A few miles from the eastern side of Lake Cham-
plain, and nearly opposite to Crown Point, where now
molder the ruins of one of the oldest fortresses in North
America, a bald, jagged, and desolate-looking_peak,
known by the ungracious appellation of Snake Moun-
tain, stands frowning over the surrounding levels in
solitary and repulsive grandeur. This detached and
lofty mountain, being the highest and indeed the only
eminence of any magnitude, in all that extensive and
beautiful tract of country, lying between the lake and
Otter Creek for the last thirty miles of its course,
served among the settlers, before roads were much
8888
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
opened in this part of the wilderness, as a guide, or
landmark for all those who had occasion to travel the
woodlands in this vicinity. And Warrington, after
safely establishing his friends in their possessions at
the Lower Falls, and despatching a small band of his
forces in pursuit of the York surveyor, repaired, with
the remainder of his men, to the western brow of this
mountain, as a rendezvous to which his whole party
were to assemble when the surveyor was secured,
proposing to employ the interim in making observa-
tions preparatory to some contemplated operations in
the neighborhood of the place. He was, as the reader
has already been apprised, the owner, under a New
Hampshire Grant, of a considerable body of wild land,
lying along the shore of the lake, upon a part of
which, he had been informed, some one had entered
under color of a York title. And as the tract of land
in question was situated between this mountain and
the lake, it was now his intention to ascertain whether
the information he had received was correct, and, if
found to be so, to take measures for ejecting the
intruder, whose name, even, was unknown to him.
With this object in view, our leader, leaving his men
to prepare a shelter for their temporary quarters, took
his rifle, and set off alone through the woods in the
direction in which the improvements of the supposed
intruder were said to be located. After traveling
some miles in this direction, he arrived at the top of
the last offset, in the lakeward slope of the country,
before reaching the shore, which now appeared a
short distance in front, while an opening of consider-
able extent became visible on the left. Approaching
the skirt of this opening, and carefully noticing the
natural landmarks around it, he soon became con-
vinced that the whole clearing, with all the improve-
ments, was embraced within the boundaries described
in his own patent. Having satisfied himself in this
respect, he now turned his attention more particularly
to the improvements themselves, and felt a degree of
surprise on witnessing their comparative extent and
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
89
superiority over the rest of those of this recently settled
country. The house was uncommonly neat and com-
fortable in its appearance, and very pleasantly situated
on the green and graduated margin of a beautiful little
brook, that meandered, with many a glittering cas-
cade, through a smooth meadow, and entered the
woods a few rods below the spot where he stood. The
outhouse, barn, garden, and everything around, were
in good keeping-all going to furnish unequivocal
indication, that enterprise, taste and some degree of
wealth had here been employed. Much did Warring-
ton wonder who could be the enterprising occupant,
who had accomplished all this in so short a time, and
still more, that it could have been done without more
particular intelligence reaching him respecting it. But
whoever he might be, it was not probable that he would
part with such fair possessions without a struggle; and
as a garrison was near, the troops of which were
understood to be in the York interest, and stood ready,
doubtless, to protect the intruder, Warrington at once
saw that a considerable force might be necessary to
dispossess him, and even should the attempt be suc-
cessfully made, the same force might be required to
be permanently stationed there to defend it. After
revolving this subject in his mind a while, he concluded
to defer it for further consideration, and perhaps for
a consultation with his companions; and now dismiss-
ing the matter from his mind, he again gave his
attention to the inviting prospect around him The
day was bright and tranquil; the balmy breath of
spring, wafted over flowering field and budding forest,
was dallying with the whispering pines above, thus
gratifying one sense with delicious odors, and soothing
another with the soft and dying murmurs of Eolian
melody. The long tract of the far-stretching waters of
the lake, sleeping in the rays of the descending sun,
shone with dazzling brightness, which, at intervals,
was beautifully relieved by the dark green islands
which studded the glittering expanse. The sloping
uplands beyond, which reanimating nature was just
90
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
beginning to clothe in the green vesture of summer,
rose up from the long line of nodding pines that lined
the western margin of the lake, in beautiful perspec-
tive, each individual feature of the landscape becoming
more and more indistinct in the mellowing distance,
till the view was terminated by the last long ridge of
climacteric mountains, whose tall, ice-clad peaks,
fiercely flashing in the sun, were marked in bold out-
lines against the cloudless blue of the heavens. A
solitary flag was waving over the massy and frowning
walls of the opposite fortress, on which the Mene
Tekel had already been traced by the unseen hand
that writes the destinies of nations: for the emblem
lion, that there now proudly floated on the breeze, and
glorying in his strength and prowess, seemed bidding
defiance to the world, was doomed, before many
revolving suns had finished their daily course, to be
plucked down by those, who were alike fearless in
their resistance of oppression, whether coming from a
sister colony or a parent country.
While Warrington, who was an enthusiastic admirer
of nature, with whom he particularly loved to com-
mune in the solitudes of the forest, where her empire
was undisturbed by the works of art, was giving his
soul to the magnificent prospect before him, he was
recalled from his reverie by the light plashing of oars
in the waters below. And turning his eyes in the
direction of the sound, he indistinctly discerned
through the trees a small skiff approaching the shore
of the lake, rowed by a single person, who, on reach-
ing his landing, drew up his boat, and, after taking
out of it a gun, ascended the bank. As he emerged
from the thick underwood that skirted the shore into
the more open forest, and advanced into the higher
grounds, Warrington soon discovered, from his uni-
form, that he was a soldier, or some subaltern, from
the fort, who had come over, he concluded, in search
of the partridge, or other light game, with which the
woods here very plentifully abounded. The man still
continued leisurely to advance into the forest till he
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
16
91
had reached the runlet before mentioned; when some-
thing on his right, in the direction of the clearing,
seemed suddenly to attract his notice.
And after paus-
ing a while in apparent doubt and indecision, he began
somewhat cautiously, and with an air of hesitation, to
move forward towards the object which had arrested
his attention, and which he still appeared to keep
anxiously in view. Our leader, who in the meanwhile
kept his stand unobserved, supposing the other had
sprung some game at which he was endeavoring to
obtain a favorable shot, continued, with a sort of list-
less curiosity, to watch his motions, till he had passed
out of sight behind an intervening copsewood of low
furze, that thickly extended along the slope, some half
dozen rods from the clearing. In a few moments, and
as the former yet stood patiently listening for the
report of the expected shot, the voice of a female,
coming from the quarter to which his attention was
directed, and uttering a slight cry, as of mingled sur-
prise and alarm, reached his ear. The voice of the
man was next heard in the earnest, though flurried
tones of seeming entreaty, which appeared to be fol-
lowed by a hasty movement towards the object
addressed, and in a moment more, a piercing shriek
rose wildly from the spot. Grasping his rifle, and
plunging into the thicket, Warrington bounded down
the hill with the speed of a wild deer towards the
scene; and in another instant the parties were revealed
to his sight-a young lady of the most interesting
exterior, with her hair loosened and falling in disorder
over her neck and shoulders, and her flushed counte-
nance eloquent with indignation and alarm, as with
half-averted face she struggled to free herself from
the fellow, who, by a grasp of one hand on her gar-
ment, was endeavoring to detain her in her attempted
flight. One glance at the victim of this rude assault
sufficed to tell the unexpecting and astonished War-
rington that the fair original of that picture, which had
been so long engraven on his heart, was before him,
requiring his instant aid and protection.
92
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Back, ruffian, back!"' exclaimed he, as with leveled
piece he rushed upon the soldier, who stood mute and
confounded before so unlooked-for an apparition;
"back! I say-unhand the lady, or you die on the
spot!''
Quailing beneath the stern and withering glances of
the other, the abashed aggressor immediately relin-
quished his hold on the girl, and muttering a denial of
any intentional wrong and a few curses at the inter-
ference of Warrington, shrunk away and disappeared
in the woods.
"I am much indebted to you, sir," said the still agi-
tated maiden, scarce audibly, her eyes timidly bent on
the ground, as her protector now gently advanced to
her side.
"Miss Hendee" said Warrington, hesitatingly,
after an awkward silence of a moment; "do I not
behold my former acquaintance, Miss Alma Hendee?''
"Mr. Howard?" exclaimed the girl, as with deep
surprise she now for the first time lifted her eyes to
scan the features of her before unrecognized deliverer.
A slight flush passed over the face of the other, on
hearing himself addressed by that name, and he
opened his lips as if to correct his fair friend, but a
second thought seemed to repress the expression of the
first, and, quickly recovering from his hesitation, he
observed, "I little thought to have met you here, Miss
Hendee. I could almost forgive the wretch who
caused you this fright, since he has been the means of
my meeting again with one whom I have never ceased
to remember with pleasure. But you have companions
near, surely?"
"No nearer than the house, from which I wandered
down the run just now, and, tempted by these flowrets
peeping up along the banks, extended my ramble, per
haps imprudently, thus far into the woods."
"And is this fair situation, then, your home-the
residence of your father?"’
"Certainly it is," replied Miss Hendee, resuming
her natural cheerfulness; "why, surely, Mr. Howard,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
93
you did not suppose I had turned wood-nymph to
wander in the forests, and house in the caves-did
you?"
"I hardly knew what to think, for it never occurred
to me that the father of Alma Hendee could be in
possession of this beautiful opening.'
"And why not, my dear sir? Why, we have been
here these three years. And if we have not made the
wilderness blossom like the rose, we have at least got
so far as to make the rose blossom in the wilderness-
come, you shall attend me home, and see what a pretty
flower-garden I have in progress.
"To the opening, at least," responded Warrington,
obeying the motions of his fair companion.
"And now, sir," resumed the latter, gayly, as they
proceeded on their way, "having answered your ques-
tions, let me be the catechist a while, will you? And
in the first place, from what cloud so opportunely
dropped my gallant deliverer, just at the particular
moment he was wanted?"
"I, too, am an inhabitant of the Green Mountain
settlement, though not of this vicinity," answered the
other; "and you see," he continued, smilingly point-
ing to his rifle, "that my old propensities still hang
about me; and for the present you must take this as
an explanation of my wandering into this section of the
country. I had just arrived at the border of the
woods up yonder, and was viewing your delightful
situation, when your cries brought me to your side."
"I am half ashamed of the noise I made,'' rejoined
the lady, "and I presume it was unnecessary. He has
occasionally been at our house; and how far he con-
sidered himself warranted on such an acquaintance to
obtrude himself as he did, I know not. But being
startled by the fellow's unexpected appearance, and
uncertain, from his hesitating and equivocal manner,
what might be the nature of the proposals, which he
said he wished to make, and which at last he seemed
determined I should stop to hear, I became much
alarmed, I will confess; though I should feel exces-
94
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
sively mortified to have any stir made about it. I hope
you will not mention the affair to my father when we
get home?"
"Certainly not, if it is your wish-that is, I would
not, if I were to see him," replied Warrington, paus-
ing, as they now came into the open field.
"But surely, sir, you will go to the house? My
father will be very much pleased to renew his acquaint-
ance with his Doctor Hunter, as he would always per-
sist in calling you.
"Your kind invitation, believe me, Miss Hendee, is
most gratefully received; but I think it would hardly
be advisable for me at this time to accept it.”
"And why not?—so near, and not visit us? I know
my father will be delighted to see you, and have you
spend several days with us-particularly so, I imagine,
at the present time, when he is not without apprehen-
sions of an attack from the Green Mountain Boys, as
they call them. Why, did you know that a band of
these men have, for several days past, been ravaging
the settlement along Otter Creek, headed by that ter-
rible fellow, Captain Warrington?"
"I heard," replied the other, confused and stammer-
ing at this unexpected question, and the commentary
on his own character which he perceived it involved in
the mind of his fair companion, "I heard—that is, I
was aware that the person you mention had come into
this part of the country. But your father need be
under no apprehension on that account;" he continued,
regaining his composure, "for I think I can very safely
answer for Warrington, that neither he, nor any of his
followers shall ever disturb the father of Alma
Hendee."
"You can! you can? But why couple my name so
very oddly with that of this fearful man?—I do not
fully comprehend-I know there are two parties in
this settlement, and I suppose he and his company pre-
tend to be acting for the New Hampshire party. Per-
haps you belong to this party, and know him, and
can influence him in our behalf? Oh! if you would!
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
95
55
-But come, do go to the house with me, and assure
my father of this.
"Not now-another time-perhaps to-morrow, 1
may visit you—that is if-" and Warrington paused
and hesitated, as if doubtful whether to proceed,
while, with a waiting and wondering expression, the
girl stood earnestly looking him in the face. "Miss
Hendee," he at length resumed, somewhat pensively,
"you left the place, which afforded me the pleasure of
your acquaintance, unexpectedly, quite so to me.
On my return a day or two after our last interview, to
my great disappointment, I found you were gone-
whither, I was never able to discover."
"We intended you no disrespect, however, Mr.
Howard, in leaving thus unceremoniously," replied
the girl, exchanging the free and cordial, for a more
guarded and distant manner, as if she instinctively
anticipated what was to follow. "My father, who, as
you are aware, had then become able to resume his
journey, gained some information from a traveler, who
called in your absence, which led him to determine on
leaving the place the next morning. I should certainly
have been happy at that time to see you again and
apprise you of our departure."
"At that time," rejoined the other, catching the
emphasis, and slowly, and with a tone of disappoint-
ment, repeating the expression, "at that time,-and
have Miss Hendee's feelings, then, changed since I
last saw her?"
"I then esteemed you, Mr. Howard, much-very
much, indeed," she evasively replied, looking down,
while her fingers were busy in tearing a flower that
she had plucked by the way; "I thought highly of
you-very; and I still know not why I should not
regard you with the same respect."
"Respect, my dear Miss Hendee, is a term that falls.
coldly on the ears of those who are looking, or at least
hoping, for a warmer expression. You were sensible,
were you not, that, at the time to which we have been
96
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
alluding, I was cherishing for you a tenderer senti-
ment?"
"I had no right to understand so," tremulously
replied the lovely listener, the quick heavings of
whose bosom plainly told the tumult that had been
awakened within; "you certainly made no professions
that would warrant me in such belief."
"Miss Hendee," resumed the other, after a pause,
"you were, if I rightly understood your character, as
I presume you are now, a frank and ingenuous girl.
May I then not hope, that, in kindness to me, you
will give a frank answer to a question which I would
ask you?"
"If a proper one.''
"If then a profession, which I intended to have made
you, had opportunity been allowed, were to be made
now, are there more obstacles now, than then, to pre-
vent it deing favorably received?"
She made no reply, and Warrington, stealing a
glance at her averted face, perceived that her eyes
were suffused with tears.
"There is, indeed, then, one between us," at length
said the other sadly.
""
“There is, was the reply in a tone of regret, which
should have satisfied even the monopolizing heart of
a lover. But love with men, oftener than otherwise
wholly blind to policy, is rarely content to rest satis-
fied with those indirect expressions and delicate inti-
mations, which are a surer proof of its existence in the
female heart than the most open declarations, and,
absurdly craving more, is not unfrequently compelled
to put up with less. It was thus with our lover as he
rejoined―
"May I not have the happiness to hear those lips
declare that my affection has been in some measure
reciprocated?”
Still there was no reply.
"Am I to understand," resumed Warrington, "that
Miss Hendee has pledged her hand irrevocably? And
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
97
can it be that she has pledged herself, too, for a union
into which her heart can never enter?"
"What have I said, Mr. Howard," replied the girl,
looking up with the air of offended pride, "to warrant
such questions? With some, perhaps, I might not be
slow to resent your intimation. And as it is," she
continued with great dignity, "you will hold me
excused, I trust, for declining to commune further on a
subject which should now be as uninteresting to you,
as it is embarrassing, and even painful to me.
"Surely, surely! dearest lady, you cannot believe that
I would intentionally offend?" said the disconcerted
lover. "We will, however, dismiss this subject for the
present, if so unpleasant.
""
"For the present, and forever!"
"If it must be so-and yet-"
"No more, no more-I know not even that I have
done right in listening to what you have already said,
or remaining here so long. You will now receive my
adieu, and excuse my immediate return.
""
"One moment yet-you will not deny me another
interview?”
"At my father's house, and in my father's presence,
most certainly not.”
"Even on these hard conditions, I will, then, soon
seek it cruel one, adieu.
""
"Adieu!" responded the beauteous girl, as, tripping
lightly away, she looked back with a smile so
eloquently sweet, that it erased in an instant the effect
of every frown she had given, and every negative she
had uttered, from the mind of her repulsed, but not
despairing lover.
The progress we have now made in our story makes
it necessary to recur to some incidents of an earlier
date, connected with several of our leading personages,
and having a bearing on the events yet to follow:-
Some three or four years previous to the events just
related, and when the settlers were first meditating an
open resistance to the authorities of New York, it
became an object with the former to ascertain how
98
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
far the government of that province was there
sustained in its attempted aggression on the Grants,
by the feelings and opinions of the people at large-
whether, indeed, there did not exist among that people,
especially those living near the disputed territory, a
considerable degree of sympathy for the settlers in
their unrighteous persecutions. For in the event of
such a sympathy, the latter believed that the meditated
resistance might be ventured upon with safety, or with
safety, at least, when compared with a case where the
feelings of the people were enlisted on the side of the
government. It was therefore determined that an
emissary should be sent into the part of New York
lying contiguous to the Grants, who, traveling in dis-
guise, or with disguised objects, should endeavor to
ascertain the true sentiments and feelings of the people
on this subject; and Warrington was the person selected
for this delicate, though important enterprise. Accord-
ingly, setting out alone with his rifle, and traveling on
foot under the assumed name of Howard, and in the
character of a hunter and herbalist, he traveled all
that section of the country into which he had been
particularly sent, calling at almost every house in his
course and mingling with all companies and classes in
pursuing the objects of his secret mission. And it was
while on this excursion, that he accidentally formed
the interesting acquaintance, of which the reader has
already been apprised. Happening on one of the main
roads leading from the east to Albany, he was over-
taken by a gentleman and lady in a carriage, traveling
towards the last-mentioned place. They had passed
by him but a few rods, however, before the horse
suddenly took fright and overturned the carriage, by
which the man was seriously hurt, though the lady
fortunately escaped with little injury. Springing for-
ward to their aid, Warrington, after securing the horse
with no little difficulty and danger, turned his attention
to the travelers, who proved to be a father and
daughter of the name of Hendee. Assisting the
wounded man into his vehicle, and placing his daugh-
!
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
99
ter by his side to support him, he attended them,
leading the horse to the nearest habitation, which was
a poor inn not far from the place of the accident. And
having formerly been placed in circumstances in which
he had gained considerable practical knowledge of
medicine, he, in the absence of a regular physician in
that thinly settled country, undertook the cure of the
invalid himself, closely attending him till he became
convalescent, and repeating his visits, at short inter-
vals, during the two or three weeks that elapsed before
the patient was able to resume his journey. And it
was during these visits, in which he had evidently
found great favor in the eyes of both father and daugh-
ter, by the kindness and delicacy of his attentions, that
he had contracted an intimacy with the latter, which
soon passed the ordinary boundaries of friendship, and
ripened into that blissful state of the affections, which
constitutes, perhaps, the most purely happy period in
the course of love-when the feelings of parties are
tacitly understood and appreciated by each other, before
an open avowal occurs to throw, with its business-like
aspect, the first shade of earth over this paradise of the
heart. It was at this interesting stage of the intimacy
that Warrington returned, one day, after a longer
absence than usual, and found, to his great disappoint-
ment and regret, that Hendee and his daughter had
departed the day before, without leaving any note or
message, as he then could learn, explanatory of their
unannounced, and, to him, unexpected departure.
Believing from this, that he might have been, perhaps,
deceived in regard to the nature and extent of the
interest, which he had flattered himself he had created
in the bosom of Miss Hendee, and feeling a little
piqued at this appearance of neglect on the part of both
father and daughter, he soon ceased his unavailing
inquiries concerning the family. And he had never
heard anything further respecting them, or received
the slightest information of the place of their subse
quent residence, except the vague and uncertain infor-
mation which he gathered in his adventure at the
7
100
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
subterraneous abode before described, from that time
to the present hour, when, to his utter surprise, he
found them located on his own land. And now having
no suspicion that they were conscious of intruding on
the rights of another, and, last of all, his own, in taking
up this place under a York patent, and still cherishing
all his former sentiments for the daughter, whose heart
he believed he still retained, notwithstanding the claims
of another to her hand, he resolved to relinquish his
right to the land, and even keep his ownership, if pos-
sible, a secret from the family, while he should pros-
ecute his suit with the girl, at least till he had
unraveled the mystery that still seemed to hang over
her, and become better satisfied of the hopelessness
of his case.
Revolving this subject in his mind, he returned to
his encampment, and announced to his wondering
companions, that he should have no occasion to employ
them in the affair which, as they were apprised, he had
been to investigate.
CHAPTER VIII
"Let us be conjunctive in our revenge.'
"Tis lucky! I can work my purposes,
19
While seeming but to do the state a service."
Perhaps there is no kind of hatred, that finds harbor
in the human breast, more deadly and inveterate than
that which is entertained by the perpetrators of base
actions against those who have detected them in guilt.
Nor does the degree of inveteracy with which this
fiendish feeling is secretly cherished by the former,
appear to be very often lessened by any forbearance
which may be exercised by the latter in not exposing
their baseness, or bringing them to punishment.
will not detain the reader, however, with any specula-
tions of our own on this dark and somewhat singular
leaf in the history of the human passions, but leave the
subject to be illustrated by those incidents of our story,
by which these remarks were here suggested.
We
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
101
When the discomfited soldier retreated from the
presence of Warrington and the rescued maiden, he
concealed himself in a thicket, from which he could
espy the movements of the couple till they separated.
And when this had taken place, he proceeded directly
to his boat, and entering it, pushed for the opposite
shore, plying his oars with a sort of nervous and spite-
ful energy, as if impelled by the commingling feelings
of chagrin and revenge, that were working within him
at the thoughts of his defeat, and the consciousness that
he had disgraced himself forever in the eyes of the girl,
as well as exposed himself to the contempt and abhor-
rence of her deliverer.
"Fool! fool!" he angrily muttered to himself, as he
urged his skiff through the waters, which, as if in
mockery at the dark turmoil of his breast, were now
sparkling in cheerful brightness in the rays of the set-
ting sun; "stupid fool, to think a timid girl would listen
to me in such a place! and more fool still to manage so
blunderingly as to alarm her, when, if I had begun
right, I might have told her all, or at least found out
whether she would have made it to my advantage to
do it. And then to mend the matter, I must try, in
my eagerness, to stop her! which brought down that
cursed interloper upon me, as if the old boy sent him
just at that moment to make an affair out of the trifle!
I wonder what they supposed I wanted to do?-that is
plain, however, what they thought; but they are mis-
taken. Bill Darrow for once is accused of what he is
not guilty! ha! ha! ain't that a curiosity! Well, the
plan, like every woman plan I ever laid, is all blown
to the devil now, I suppose; though I can yet bring it
about with the old man, if I choose. But that scoun-
drel, d―n him! whoever he may be, I'll dog him to
the death, but I'll pay him for his rascally interfer-
ence!"
While thus reasoning and raving by turns, in the
way of soothing his smarting feelings, he had nearly
reached his destined landing, a small cove about a
furlong north of the fort, when he caught a glimpse of
102
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
a man standing among the bushes on the shore, appar-
ently awaiting the approach of the boat.
Ah! who have we here?" resumed the desperado,
as, shading his eyes with his hand from the blinding
rays of reflected light that fell in his face, he threw a
scrutinizing glance at the person of the other; "why!
can it be?-it is-Jake Sherwood himself! What in
the devil's name brought him here just at this time?
Ah! my dear fellow, you may thank your good stars,
and evil ones, that you are not by this time pretty
devilishly well dished! But can he have mistrusted
my good will? No, no!-the secret is still my own,
and for the present shall remain so, as my best stock
in trade. Yet what can he want with me? Some
Beelzebub errand to be done. I'll warrant me! Well,
he shall pay roundly for doing it, besides shelling out
something more than promises on the old score, or I'll
yet put him in a spot he will little relish, I am think-
ing.
"
"Well, Darrow," said Sherwood, as the former now
reached the shore, and, pulling up his boat, mounted
the bank; "sporting a little over yonder, this afternoon,
eh? What luck? None! Well, that is the way, some-
times. But come, take a seat on this old log here, in
the bushes. I should like a little talk with you; so lay
aside that grim scowl of yours, and be sociable once,
if you can.
66
39
'Sociable! hum! I should like to know who in hell
could feel sociable, or wear a decent face, while his
conscience is loaded down with such soul-damning
secrets as these of yours.'
"My secrets! ha! ha!-as if they were not yours,
too!"
"And they may be somebody else's, too, unless you
mend your manners, and show yourself a little more
liberal than you have been lately, Jake Sherwood.
But what brings you here now, and what would you
have with me?”
"Oh, nothing very special-nothing of any great
consequence"-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
103
"Nothing very special, hey? When did Jake Sher-
wood, or his father before him, ever call on Bill Dar-
row without a special object, I should like to know?"
"Well, well, supposing I have an errand, what then?
--what is there so out of the way in that, you surly
one?"
"Why, nothing out of the way, but exactly in the
way, as I said.
But what is the use of puttering with
your round-about moonshine?-out with it!"
"Darrow," said the other, after glancing about him
as if to make sure that there was no one within hear-
ing; "there are several of the York outlaws prowling
about Otter Creek. We came near seizing them a few
days ago at Lake Dunmore, though they escaped us,
and that was not all—but no matter-they, day before
yesterday, went down the creek to the Lower Falls,
and took, and laid waste Colonel Reed's plantation.
there. And their leader, one Warrington, with part
of his gang, has since moved off somewhere in this
direction. Now there is a reward of about two hundred
crowns to be had for taking this fellow. I have had
my eye on him some time, and now I have some par-
ticular reasons for wishing him secured."
"What kind of a looking fellow is he?" asked Darrow,
with considerable interest. "Do you know him by
sight?"
"Yes-a tall, square built, and rather good-looking
fellow-that is, he might appear so to one who did
not know him for a scoundrel.'
"The same, by heavens!" exclaimed Darrow, after
musing a moment. "Yes, he must be the very fellow I
saw not two hours ago, as I was skirting along Captain
Hendee's clearing over yonder. He was walking with
a woman near the woods.
""
"How! what woman?-not Alma Hendee?"
"Can't say."
"No, no, it must have been the maid-and yet—but
confound the audacious scoundrel, how came he there,
and so soon acquainted with either maid or mistress,
unless my suspicions are right?"
104
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"All that you can answer as well as I-though come
to think more about the woman's make and gear, I'll
be hanged if I don't believe that it was the old man's
daughter."
"Fire and furies! it must be so."
"Why, what are you so wrathy about?" said Darrow,
with a malicious smile. "You are not afraid the fel-
low will run away with your girl, are you, Jake?"
"My girl! who told you so? Not mine, unless I
please, I would have you to know! No, no, sir, no
fear of this poltroon in that. But still, I can't exactly
comprehend the movement. If he was reconnoitering
with a view to ousting the old man, would he be walk-
ing out so familiarly with his daughter? It don't look
like it—no, it means something else, which must the
sooner be seen to. And thanks to the rascal's bold-
ness, he has put his fate in my power quicker than I
expected."
"How-in what way?"
"Why, don't you see, Bill?" said Sherwood, turning
with a familiar and coaxing air to the minion, "don't
you see how easily he can be entrapped, if he remains
at Hendee's to-night, or repeats his visit?"
"Ay, but how would you manage the business?''
"You are a sergeant-take a file of men, go over,
surround the house and take him. Your superior won't
object."
"But how am I to know when he is to be found
there?"
"I will go over myself, reconnoiter as soon as dark,
without showing myself to alarm him, and if I find
the game be there, I will make a torch signal at the
landing. You must keep watch, and as soon as you
see the light, come over with your men. If he is not
there to-night, he will be soon; Alma Hendee is not a
girl to be once seen and draw no second visit. Yes,
by the powers of darkness, I have him at last! But
supposing he does not come into this trap, he cer-
tainly is prowling somewhere near; and you can prowl,

:
INDIAN WARRIORS
כסי

INDIAN LODGES
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
105
too, Bill And-at the last pinch-you are a good rifle
shot, I think, Darrow?"
"Ha ha! out at last, then! I thought it would
finally come to that. Jake Sherwood, you are a book
that I can read by looking on the cover.'
"Then you know what I would have you do?"
"Yes, but where would be the reward in that case?
The Yorkers don't pay for heads that have been bored,
do they?''
"The governor's proclamation don't say delivered
alive, but only delivered. But whatever question there
might be about that in some cases, there shall be no
failure in this. I have influence enough at headquar-
ters to see that your bill is footed if you bring this
about, in any shape."
"And you will do it?"
"Upon honor.
19
""
"Upon interest, you mean.
"Upon both, if you please."
"That will do, and for this d
-n'd good reason-if
the security is weak, I know of that which can easily
be made to enforce the bargain. Jake Sherwood, I
am your man.
"Now that looks like a cheerful good-will, without
your usual drawback of grumbling. Well, we under-
stand each other, do we?"
"Hum! a d--n'd sight too well, Jake!"
"Why, we part friends, don't we?"
"Yes, and it rests with you whether we remain so.
But I must be back to the fort.
And as it is getting
dusk, you go directly over, I suppose?"
"Soon-but you understand that we are to try to
cage him at Hendee's first.
the signal!"'
"Ay, ay."
Remember to look out for
"Yes, my suspicions were right about him and the
girl," soliloquized the plotting agent, after the depar-
ture of his reckless minion. "But never mind, I have
put the bloodhound on the scent; and if the animal
don't forget his own nature, in addition to putting a
8
106
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
stop to this business, I shall soon have the pleasure of
seeing that haughty leader of these savage rebels atone
for every blow which he caused to be inflicted on me
at that accursed lake! And that jeering lieutenant
and all the rest, reward or no reward, shall have their
turn next. And then their executioner, if I can con-
trive to make the hated scoundrel such, must be made
in some shape to follow them. Perhaps, however, he
may be disposed of in the war said to be brewing. At
all events, he is too dangerous a fellow to my interests
to be suffered to remain here long, to say nothing of
the insults which I am compelled to bear, and seem
to take in good part, from his devil's tongue. I
wonder, though, what made him undertake this dan-
gerous business so readily?-the reward, I suppose ;—
well, let him have it, revenge is dearer to me than
money. But perhaps I can contrive to get both-if I
could but manage, after securing this renegade Captain
to make Darrow and some of the rest mutual execu-
tioners-ha! that would be glorious! But of that here-
after, now for the first object.
""
So saying, and partially arousing himself from his
reverie, he proceeded along the shore a few rods to a
point where he had left his skiff, and, entering it, began
to pull slowly for the residence, on the opposite shore,
already described, to which we will next take the
reader, for the purpose of introducing some new char-
acters, and making the place the future scene of a
large portion of the incidents to follow.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
107
CHAPTER IX
"I prythee, daughter, do not make me mad.”
It was on the second evening after the incidents
related in the two preceding chapters occurred, that an
elderly gentleman sat at the door of the pleasantly sit-
uated cottage before described, quietly indulging in
the habit-made luxury of puffing the Indian weed, as,
enjoying the bland breezes of the evening, he calmly
looked out upon the broad expanse of the lake, and
the diversified objects of the landscape around, over
which the shades of night were now rapidly gathering.
Now his eyelids would droop and his head sink,
slightly, towards his breast, under the sedative influ-
ence of the narcotic fumes he was imbibing, aided by
the ceaseless croakings of the frogs, whose evening
choruses rose from the marshy shores of the lake in
drowsy monotony on the ear. And now he would
partially arouse, and his eye would light up, for an
instant, with returning consciousness, as his ear caught
the new note of some bird of passage just returned
from his hibernal flight to the warm south, and now
for the first time heard, marking the progress of the
season. The man might have been sixty, though his
appearance indicated a greater number of years; for
his head was nearly white with the frosts that the
fatigues and privations of the camp, in which the vigor
of his manhood had been spent, had prematurely
sprinkled on his head. And yet, his erect figure, and
keenly flashing eye, as his attention became aroused
to objects around him, betokened a spirit still un-
broken, and intellect still unimpaired, in despite of
a shattered constitution, and the ravages which hard-
ships and time had depicted on his thin and war-worn
visage. Though at the same time, the rapid play of
the muscles of his face, and the combined expression
108
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
of every feature of his countenance, evidently denoted
that, with fine sensibilities, and much that was gener-
ous and noble, he naturally possessed a sanguine
temperament and a fiery disposition, which his growing
infirmities had rendered still more irascible. And
such, indeed, was the case with Captain Hendee, the
person whose appearance we have been endeavoring
to describe. His life had been one which had been
checkered with no ordinary vicissitudes. He had
been an officer in the colonial army, and out in most of
that fearful struggle with the French and Indians,
that, with little intermission, spread death and desola-
tion through all the borders of the English colonies in
America from 1744 to 1760; and he had suffered impris-
onment, sickness and all but death, in that terrible
warfare. He had also known the extremes of affluence
and poverty in his pecuniary affairs, while great felic-
ity, and uncommon bereavements, had marked his
domestic relations. He had buried two wives, each,
while she was spared him, the charm of his existence.
And, to add still more to his cup of sorrows, a darling
son, who had been entrusted to the care of an uncle in
his father's absence, soon unaccountably disappeared,
having been abducted and murdered, it was supposed,
by some lurking band of Indians. One daughter, the
child of his last wife, was now all that remained to
him to smooth the pillow of age, and prop his declining
years. And well did that beloved and truly loved
daughter fulfill the filial trust thus imposed. Aware
of her parent's infirmities, as well of temper as of
body, she became the gentle soother of the one, and
the watchful nurse of the other. And ever manifest-
ing the most affectionate solicitude for his welfare, and
always assiduously attentive to his slightest wants and
wishes, while readily overlooking the harshness, which,
in his fits of petulance, he occasionally showed her, and
which she generally answered only with a tear, she
gained over him, by this, and, the super-added influ-
ence of his affection for her, and his sense of depend-
ence on her for happiness, a control for his good, that
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
109
the whole world united would have failed in attempt-
ing to obtain.
A discreet and demure maiden of about thirty, an
old servant, who lived with them in more prosperous
days, still remained with them, and with one more
person, scarcely less regarded, completed all the per-
manent members of the family. That other person
was no other than Neshobee, the young Indian, with
whom the reader has already had a partial acquaint-
ance, without having been before apprised, however,
we believe, of his residence. He was one of Captain
Hendee's trophies of war, having been captured in an
onset on an Indian lodge, to which a band of murder-
ers had been traced, after one of their massacres on
the frontier settlement. The Indians being taken
wholly by surprise, and nearly all slain by the first
fire, this lad was found burrowed, unhurt, in a pile of
dry leaves in one of their haunts, and secured by the
victors; when the Captain declared, with a sort of
melancholy jest, that as the hell-hounds, a year or two
before, had deprived him of a son of about the same
age, he would for once follow their custom of supply-
ing the place of the slain by adopting one captured
from the enemy. And accordingly he took the boy,
then six or eight years old, back with him to his post,
and finally to his family, with whom the captive had
ever since resided.
The domicile of this strikingly contrasted family was
a common cottage, constructed after the fashion of
the better sort of houses in the settlement, of hewn
timber, so exactly squared and laid together, in the
present instance, as to make smooth, compact walls,
neatly whitewashed without, and tightly ceiled with
boards within. The interior, which was divided into
two principal rooms, parlor and kitchen, with a range
of bedrooms and other small apartments abreast,
exhibited an odd mingling of the relics of refined life,
with the crude substitutes for furniture, and the vari-
ous articles usually found in the houses of a border
settlement. On the high mantel-piece of the best room
110
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
stood the wide-spreading antlers of some noble buck,
the tips of the various branches being ornamented
with curious sea-shells, the egg-shells of rare birds, and
other devices of the tasteful young mistress of the
establishment. Rich mahogany chairs were cushioned
with the feathered skins of the loon, a large water-
fowl abounding in our northern lakes, and remarkable
for the thickness and tenacity of its skin, as well as for
the downy softness of its feathers. A light stand, of
exquisite workmanship, was supplied with a curiously
beaded miniature Indian canoe for a tray, containing
a pair of small clam-shells for snuffers. On wooden
pegs in the wall were suspended the remains of a once
superb mirror, the broken parts of which were artfully
concealed by festoons of the creeping evergreen;
while on one side a small, but well-selected assortment
of books, arranged on broad shelves, completed the
list of all the prominent articles by which the room was
furnished. The furniture of the kitchen was mostly
of the roughest kind and the whole room abounded
with evidences of the woodman's life, the walls and
ceiling above being hung with implements of hunting,
furs, pieces of drying venison, and other trophies of
the chase, taken by Neshobee, the young Esau, or red
Nimrod, if the reader please, of the family.
"Come, father," said Miss Hendee, with a look of
affectionate solicitude, as, rolling up her needlework,
she rose from her seat by his side;"had you not better
take a seat within? I fear you are exposing yourself
too much to the night air to expect quiet from your
rheumatic shoulders to-morrow.
"No, Alma," replied the old gentleman, knocking
the ashes from his pipe, "I know just what I can bear;
old Fahrenheit himself could not make an instrument
that would indicate the state of the air, whether hot or
cold, dry or humid, more exactly than these sensitive
fluids in my old, shattered frame. No, the atmosphere
is peculiarly soft and warm this evening. I think
old Boreas has nearly lost his claws for this season. I
just heard a whippoorwill, or muckawis, as the Indians
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
7111
call it, which they say never appears here in the spring
till winter has got so far towards the big ice-pond on
his return to the north, that he will no more come
back.
"I knew it was very mild to-night, father, but I
thought, perhaps, you were not aware how late you
were remaining in the open air, since you appeared so
deeply engaged in cogitation.
""
"True, girl, I have been thinking over matters a
little.'
"What matters, father, may I know?"
"Yes," replied the other, now rising and following
his daughter into the room we first described, “yes,
Alma, you shall know, for you are, yourself, one of
the parties concerned."
"I, father?"
"Yes, you are, girl; but in the first place, let me ask
you, if you did not think your cousin Sherwood's
manner, in his visit last night, rather singular?"
"I might have thought so, perhaps—in what respect
did you imagine his manner was singular, however?''
"In several-what was it that he seemed to be hint-
ing about so mysteriously? And did he not have the
air of one who is secretly suspicious of something!"
"Does my father," replied the other, evading a
direct answer, "does my father think that anything
very singular in Mr. Sherwood?''
"Why-why"-said the Captain, surprised and stag-
gered at the question. "Why, yes, I had hoped so;
for these secretly suspecting characters I dislike, Alma,
you know.
Confound them, yes, I detest them!''
"And I," rejoined the girl, with a smile, in which
the jocose and serious were significantly blended, "I
am too much my father's daughter, I confess, to
think otherwise, myself."
"Why! what? how?" hastily exclaimed the Captain,
puzzled and uneasy at the remark of the other. "Why,
what on earth can this all mean. No rupture brewing
between you and Jake, is there?”
"Not that I am aware of, as far as there are any ties
112
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
to sever-or, at least, none that I, as yet, have been
the just cause of, though"-
"Though what?" sharply demanded the father, with
increasing irritation. "Zounds! you don't think the
fellow is trying to claw off, do you? Curse the hollow-
hearted-humph, what was I going to say?"
"Nothing but the truth, father, I presume,
answered Alma, looking up with a faint smile, and a
sort of cool desperation in her manner.
"Yes, I was," quickly rejoined the other, hitching
about in his chair. "Blast it! girl, why didn't you tell
me I lied?''
"What, tell my father he lied!" said the girl, rogu-
ishly; "no, no! that would have been the worst of
manners.
"Yes, yes," pettishly returned the Captain, "but
why don't you stand up for him? I don't like this don't-
care-a-fig sort of way you have about the business.
Hang me if I don't believe you are the one, after all,
who wishes to be off?"
"And would you object to my trying to get the start
of him!" again evasively replied the girl, "if I
believed he was intending to desert me?''
"Why, no, -answered the other, "not that I know
of; no, that would be, perhaps, a decent finesse, if that
was the case, but it is not. Then what is all this
bothering and teasing me for?"-he continued, in a
vexed and expostulating tone; "this supposing things
that are not so? You will work me up to a fever;
make me mad, march mad, without letting me know
which of you to be mad at. 'Tis provoking, insuffer-
able, girl! Why not tell me in your usual direct, off-
hand way, at once, how the matter stands between you
and Jake?"
"Father," said Alma, seriously, "I most certainly
would tell you, if I knew myself.
"Well, if that don't cap the whole, now!" said the
Captain, eyeing his daughter with an incredulous and
somewhat contemptuous expression, "a courted girl
know nothing of her own courtship! your caged squir-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
113
rel, that hangs in the kitchen, yonder, knows nothing
of nuts, does he?"
"Now, father, you wrong me," said the other, a
little piqued at the taunt, and now perceiving the
necessity of being more explicit on a subject which
she felt reluctant to discuss, lest she should, by such
frankness as she could wish to use, displease her sensi-
tive parent. "Mr. Sherwood once certainly made me
proposals; and I, knowing how much you had the
project at heart, acquiesced, or rather, I did not reject
him; since that time, he has not often reminded me
of the subject. His own affairs he keeps to himself;
and a few silly compliments on his part, completes the
whole story of what you call our courtship.
"
"Beggarly account!" muttered the Captain, with an
air of disappointment; "beggarly account as the fellow
says in the play; cold business this, for a love affair, or
I am no judge, I'll be shot if I am! But, zounds!" he
continued, again kindling up, "Why, I thought it was
all a settled business! And it was settled-and would
be now, if your powers of winning were exerted to
have it so! What will become of us, the Lord only
knows, if this falls through.”
"Oh, I would borrow no trouble on that score, sir,”
observed Alma.
"But I shall, though"-rejoined the other. "The
truth is, Alma, we are poor-poor as Job, when the
devil had done his damnedest! We owe Jake's father-
which, as he is sole heir, is the same as Jake himself,-
for nearly all we have. If my little Edward could have
been spared me-but the noble boy is gone; and that
family have been the vortex in which all my property
and expectations have been swallowed up; I do not say
that the property went wrongfully; but it went. Even
before Jake came here, I had thought of the possibil-
ity, that you might become the channel by which this
property would be diverted back again into my family.
And when he made proposals to you, and I understood
you accepted them, I confess I was gratified. It glad-
dened my old desolate and despairing heart with the
114
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
thought that it would ensure my comfort in my decrepit
and helpless old age, while it would give you the home
and wealth which I never could furnish you; and now
to have the only bright streak I have seen for years in
my dark future, suddenly blotted out-to have the only
pleasant cup that has been presented to me for so long,
thus dashed from my very lips!—And by whose hand?"
he added with startling fierceness, as, trembling with
rising passion, he shook his clenched fist before the
face of his unoffending daughter. "By whose hand, I
say? Girl, girl, if I really thought"-
"I will marry him, father," replied the girl, burst-
ing into tears, which were drawn forth more, however,
by the picture he had drawn of his hopes and sorrows,
than by his menaces; “Oh, I will-I will marry him,
for your sake, dear father, if it breaks my heart!"
"Hang it! no, you shan't!" exclaimed the excitable
old man, touched to the quick at the sight of his daugh-
ter's tears, and his whole feelings undergoing a revul-
sion as sudden as rose the tempest of his passion; “no,
you shan't!
Brand me for a brute, if you shall! No-
no-no," he repeated, till his increasing emotion fairly
choked his utterance, and he could articulate no more.
The tide of passion having risen to its height, was
now left to subside in the pause that followed.
"Let us now dismiss this painful subject from our
thoughts," at length said the daughter, the first to
recover her composure, "and do not let the matter
further disturb your feelings, my dear and generous-
hearted father. For whatever be the final result, rest
assured, that I will never marry without your full
consent.'
""
"Dutiful-noble girl!" sobbed the old man, dashing
away a tear; "God has left me a consolation in you,
my dear daughter, which I ought to be thankful for,
and which, but for my accursed temper, I should repay
with better treatment.'
"Oh, do not name it, father, do not name it,"
replied the daughter with a sweet and cheering smile;
"if we should go upon faults, I may have scores of
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
115
them, any of which, perhaps, would outweigh the
solitary one you tax yourself with."
Miss Hendee had never before ventured so far in
manifesting a disposition to thwart the known feelings
and wishes of her irritable father. But her late
accidental interview with Warrington, whom she had
never expected again to see, had forced upon her mind
a comparison between her two lovers, which made her
more painfully sensible than ever how much she must
sacrifice in becoming the wife of Sherwood, whose true
character, as deeply veiled as he had endeavored to
keep it with this family, she had in some measure pene-
trated, and she could not forego this opportunity of
letting her father see how heavy upon her heart hung
the chain that she was wearing only out of regard to
his happiness; and yet scarcely more now than before,
did she meditate on throwing off this chain, by which
she had passively suffered herself to be bound. But
determining to defer any consummation, which might,
for the present, be urged upon her, she suffered her-
self only to hope the event of circumstances more aus-
picious for reconciling the now conflicting duties, which
she owed herself, and, with all his faults, her still
loved parent.
After the conversation just detailed, the parties soon
repaired to the kitchen, where, in his great arm-chair
before the cheerful fire, the Captain was accustomed
to spend his evenings, sometimes listening to the
silver-toned voice of his daughter, as she sung some
favorite song, or read some favorite author, and some-
times accounted the thrilling incidents that had marked
his adventures while battling the subtle foe of the
wilderness. One of his most attentive auditors, when
engaged in the latter employment, was Neshobee,
with whom the veteran also often amused himself in
conversation, either imparting information to the
native, or listening to the shrewd and original remarks
made by the latter in answer to the various questions
by which he was purposely interrogated. Perceiving
now, however, that the place of this almost necessary
8
116
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
adjunct to his happiness was vacant, the Captain
immediately inquired of Ruth, the servant-maid before
mentioned, if she knew whither the Indian had gone.
"He is out in the field, Captain," replied the person
addressed, with some signs of uneasiness in her looks,
“and I wonder what strange thing he sees or hears
to-night, that makes him act so oddly? I have been
out and called to him, but he paid no attention to me,
and kept on his pranks, sometimes listening with his
ear to the ground, and then dodging or crawling from
one stump to another.”
"Aha?" said the Captain, with a look of interest;
"those are generally pranks that mean something with
an Indian. I wonder who can be prowling about us
now?"
"Mercy!" exclaimed Ruth in alarm; "if it should be
the Green Mountain Boys!"-
"The worst would be their own, I think," coolly
observed the Captain; "that is, if they come to show
us such play as it is said they have shown some on
Otter Creek."
"What would you do, father, in case they should
come on such an errand?" asked Alma, with an air
of mingled curiosity and concern.
Be
"What would I do, child? Why, I would put a rifle
bullet through the first one who should attempt to
enter, even if it should be Warrington himself.
sure, I know but little of this cursed dispute about
titles. They may have as much right to lands that
they have bought, and first improved, as the Yorkers,
for aught that I know; and I was never for hanging
them for fighting in such a case. But here-why
zounds' do you think when I have got the first posses-
sion, and done so much upon the place, that I am going
to give it up to the greedy dogs? No! not if their
great devil and all generalissimo, Ethan Allen, should
come on with all his forces, would I give it up without
a fight! Hoo! they shall have my heart's blood first!"
"I trust there will be no necessity for bloodshed any-
where, father," rejoined the daughter, quite com-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
117
posedly; "I have reason to—that is, I do not believe
the Green Mountain Boys will make the least attempt
to molest us.
"
"Well-well, girl," said the Captain, scanning the
other closely, and at first with rather a puzzled air,
which soon, however, gave way to a look of approba-
tion; "I must say that does not seem much like borrow-
ing trouble, as most of you women do in such cases.
However, I have been taught by the Indians, and
sometimes have paid dear for my schooling, too, that
this borrowing trouble is not always so bad a thing
after all; as it generally keeps us well guarded against
a surprise. But here comes our scout; so let us hear
his report. Well, Neshobee, they say you are scouting
to-night-what is in the wind?"
"Me hark un, but no tell um," replied the Indian,
quietly taking his place by the fire.
The dog in the yard now gave one of those faint,
indecisive sort of yelps usual with the animal when
doubtful whether he has heard something which should
require his notice.
"Beagle thinks pretty much as you do, Neshobee,'
said the Captain, comprehending the tone of the dog;
"but hark!" he added, as the animal barked again,
and in a more decided manner; "I can't read that so
easily. What do you make of it, boy?"
"Beag say that no four-foot coming, Cappen," said
the native, unconcernedly.
"Is the rifle well loaded, Neshobee?" asked the
Captain, glancing at the fire-arms suspended by hooks
on the wall.
"Yas!"
"And the fowling-piece?"
"Me spose um.'
"Very well, down with them, then! Alma, step and
bring me my pistols! and in the meantime we will bar
the door-Ruth, lend a hand! If these fellows, con-
tinued the Captain, coolly assisting to execute the
several commands he had so rapidly given to his house-
hold-"if these fellows had any honest errand, they
118
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
would come up to the house at once like men, instead
of skulking around at a distance, as they evidently are.
We may as well be prepared for them.
""
"Father," said Alma, returning with the required
pistols, and now manifesting the most lively concern;
"father, I do beg of you not to think of firing on any
one rashly-ascertain what they want, at all events.
Your apprehensions, I think, are wholly groundless-
I cannot think-indeed, I am very sure'
A gentle rap, rap, rap! on the outside of the door
caused the speaker suddenly to suspend.
All now
stood hushed in silence, till the rapping was repeated,
in several louder and more distinct knocks.
CHAPTER X
"But who was he, that on his hunting spear
Lean'd with a prouder and more fiery bearing?
His was a brow for tyrant hearts to fear,
Within the shadow of its dark locks wearing
That which they may not tame-a soul declaring
War against earth's oppressors."
"Hallo, there!" called out Captain Hendee, in no
very gentle tones, as he cocked his pistols, and threw
himself into an attitude of defense. "Hallo! who
comes?"
"No enemy, to say the least," answered the voice
without.
"Let him in, father, do let him in!" said Miss Hen-
dee in a low, beseeching tone.
"What, without giving his name!" said the Captain.
"Why, child, I don't know that voice from Adam's!
No, no, friend or foe, he shall undergo that ceremony.'
"Well, father, you can just ask him, without being so
rough, can't you?" interposed the daughter, in an ear-
nest half whisper, quietly placing her hand on the
arm of the other.
"Friend," said Captain Hendee, softening down at
the entreaties of his daughter, and as it occurred to him
that the tones of the voice he had just heard were
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
119
entirely of a pacific character; "friend, will you favor
us with your name?"
"Captain Hendee,' said the man, seeming to hesi-
tate about complying, "I am wholly unattended; your
dog here seems to acknowledge my acquaintance, and
if you will not do the same, when I am admitted," he
added in rather a jocose tone, "I will agree to depart
as peaceably as I came.
""
'Humph! me know that man talk!
said the Indian, with a low chuckle.
Him no bad!''
The Captain, now, evidently a little chagrined at the
suspicions he had entertained, and the parade he had
made, immediately drew out the bar, and opened the
door; when the visitor entered, but quickly paused,
after entering the threshold, to receive the scrutiniz-
ing look of the other.
"What! no-yes, 'tis!"' exclaimed Hendee, between
perplexity and surprise, after looking a few seconds
into the face of the newcomer. "Well, now, by the
great Jupiter! if I am not absolutely ashamed of my.
self! Mr. Howard!" he continued, advancing, and
cordially shaking the other by the hand, "Mr. Howard,
God bless you, sir, how do you do? Apologies by the
dozen are yours!—or should be, if such moonshine con-
cerns were ever worth offering. But walk in, walk in,
sir. Here are my family-all together now-they
were not when you saw us, I think. Alma you are
acquainted with-Miss Ruth, this is Mr. Howard.
And here is another, Neshobee, we call him, a native,
as you perceive, but for all that an adopted member
of our family.
""
Miss Hendee, though much embarrassed at this meet-
ing, in spite of all her attempts to appear composed,
managed, nevertheless, to exchange the customary
salutations in such a manner as to conceal her embar-
rassment from all except her lover; between whom and
herself it seemed to be tacitly understood that they
should meet each other as for the first time, without
making the slightest allusion to their late interview.
There was another of the family group, also, that
120
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
came in for his share of surprise, at least, in some of
the circumstances attending this meeting. And that
was the Indian. Not expecting to see Warrington
here till he heard his voice at the door, and never
dreaming till this moment but that the latter and his
master's family were entire strangers, the poor fellow,
when he saw them meet as old acquaintances, and,
above all, when he heard Captain Hendee address the
other by the name of Howard, looked perfectly con-
founded, and expressed as much unfeigned astonish-
ment as an Indian countenance, perhaps, ever exhibited.
The instinctive prudence of his race, however, pre-
vented him from betraying, by words, his surprise and
perplexity, or exposing Warrington in the disguise
which he supposed was for some good reasons assumed.
"Well, Mr. Howard," resumed the Captain, after
the usual salutations were over, "I am right happy to
renew my acquaintance with you, and have the oppor-
tunity to express personally my obligations to you for
your many kindnesses to us at the time of my accident
on the road. You probably thought our departure
rather abrupt on your return. But you received my
note, did you not?"
"No, sir, neither note nor message.
""
"What! then that old heedless poodle of a landlady
forgot it, or more probably lost it, and to mend the
matter, thought she would conceal from you that I
gave her one. Well, well, you must have thought us
rather singular beings, as well for that as for some
other things you perhaps noticed in us. For I remem-
ber we kept you pretty much in the dark about our
affairs. The fact was, Mr. Howard, and I care not
now who knows it, that I was then under the appre-
hension of being pursued and taken back by creditors,
before I could reach my connections in Albany, where
I expected to obtain the means of satisfying them, as
I did before making this purchase.
"You did not return, then?"
""
"No! When I arrived there, finding that sales were
making in these lands, I concluded on a life in the
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
121
woods made a purchase-came on here the first sea-
son with hired men, and then sent for Alma from
Albany, and the rest of the family and goods from
Connecticut.'
"What directed you particularly to this location?”
"My own knowledge of the country, obtained in the
wars when I was campaigning with Put and Rogers
along the borders of this then bloody lake. I remem-
ber this spot well. A pitch had been made here by
some Frenchmen, who cleared up several acres, lived
here a few years, and then deserted the place. This
was the first opening made this side of the Connecticut
River, all the rest of the country being, at the time I
first saw the spot, one broad, unbroken wilderness.
Many a weary march, and many a cold, wet bed have
I had on these dark and tangled shores. I have often
wondered how we could have outlived such hardships.
With the constitution and spirits I then possessed,
however, I had but little dread of the woods, or the
red imps that infested them. But my days of fighting
are now over, Mr. Howard.”
"Some, in my situation, with these evidences around,
might feel disposed to doubt that, Captain," smilingly
observed Warrington, motioning to the fire-arms,
which had not been yet replaced.
“Ah, you have me there," gayly responded the
other; "but honestly, we were expecting visits of a
different character. If those rough-dealing devils, the
Green Mountain Boys, had beset us, instead of our
peaceable old friend, Dr. Hunter, there is no telling
but even so broken down an old Trojan as I am, might
have shown some fight on the occasion."
"Perhaps, sir," replied the guest in the same spirit;
"I should tender my condolence at your disappoint-
ment in not being allowed the chance to exercise your
old vocation."
"Not a whit, not a whit, sir. For I should extremely
regret to be forced into a quarrel with my countrymen
in defense of what I consider my rightful possessions.
And I hope it may never be the case. But we have
122
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
had some reason to believe otherwise within a day or
two past.
A friend apprised me that a band of these
fellows was abroad, and probably on their way to this
part of the lake shore; and our two scouts here, Ne-
shobee and Beagle, having successively made their
reports in their respective fashions, to-night, that
there were skulkers in the bush, I, for one, began really
to expect that we had got to do battle for our home.
Alma here, however, I am half ashamed to own, was
less apprehensive, and bore herself more coolly than
any of the garrison, not excepting the old soldier of
forty battles at their head! Hang me! if I don't
believe the girl, like old Falstaff, knew by instinct
who was coming! Come, child, now be honest, was
it not so?"
But Alma, whose head suddenly dropped at the
remark, and whose fair cheek glowed like the fire
before which she was sitting, was quite too busy with
her pretty fingers in tumbling over the contents of her
work-basket for a thimble, or some other article, that
became just at that moment unaccountably missing, to
heed the question, or think of answering it. Even
Warrington appeared to be a little discomposed at this
close, though random shot of the old Captain; but he
did not forget to throw a glance of gratitude towards
his fair friend for the confidence, which the Captain's
statement seemed to imply that she had placed in his
assurances at their late interview.
Captain Hendee, without seeming to notice the sen-
sation which his last remarks, intended only for a pass-
ing joke, produced on some of his auditors, at length
resumed:
"You wandered round the borders of the wood some
time before you found us, I conclude, sir, from the
noises that Neshobee heard previous to your arrival?”
"Oh, no, sir, I came direct, and without stopping.
"I don't see, then, but we have as much reason now,
as before, to expect a visit from the enemy to-night,"
musingly observed the Captain.
"Me guess um what I hear no Mountain Boys," said
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
123
Neshobee, looking significantly at Warrington, as if
he considered the latter to have the most interest in the
information thus imparted.
Neither the remark of the Indian, nor the meaning
look that accompanied it, was lost on Warrington, as
was evident from the expression of uneasiness that,
for an instant, became visible on his countenance; but
he remained silent.
"Which way did you come, Mr. Howard?" resumed
the Captain; "I believe you have not told us, nor,
indeed, how you became apprised of our present resi-
dence?"
Warrington, catching a forbidding glance from Miss
Hendee, was hesitating, on her account as well as hist
own, what answer he should frame to the embarrassing
question, when he was suddenly relieved from his
dilemma by a bold, heavy rap at the door.
Captain Hendee, feeling more assured this time from
the reinforcement received in his friend Howard, who,
as usual, had his rifle with him, immediately rose, and,
with but a slight hesitation, opened the door; when he
suddenly paused, and stood a moment gazing in mute
surprise at the figure before him. Soon recovering,
however, he, in a sort of hesitating and doubtful tone,
invited the man to enter.
And,
Acknowledging the proffered courtesy with a stately
bow, the stranger advanced, with a bold, free step and
a fearless air, into the middle of the room, where he
paused, and bowed slightly to each of the assembled
group, most of whom, however, were too much sur-
prised and overawed at the singular and formidable
appearance of the man to return his salutations.
indeed, his appearance was of so unique and striking
a character as well to warrant the sensation which his
presence seemed to produce. Of an uncommon
height, and with an extraordinary breadth of chest,
supplied with large, brawny limbs, his whole frame
constituted a figure of the most Herculean cast; while
his large, darkly bright eyes, and the air of intelli-
gence that marked the general expression of his coarse,
124
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
lion-like features, gave evidence that his intellectual
powers were not, as frequently occurs in such
instances, wholly incommensurate with his physical
proportions. A modern phrenologist, indeed, while
comparing his high and remarkably expansive fore-
head with the vast volume which composed the back
part of his head, might be much puzzled to decide
whether his intellectual or animal nature would most
predominate in his character. His dress, which was
likewise somewhat singular for the times, consisted
of high, heavy boots, buff breeches and doublet, with
a high-collared, white shag coat of the frock kind, all
of which was surmounted by a fine, though much worn
beaver, slouched, except the front part, which was
turned up so as to give an additional boldness to his
large features, and to impart somewhat of a bandit
aspect to his appearance. This, to ordinary observa-
tion, completed his outward equipment; though a
closer inspection might have revealed the shape of a
stout pistol swelling the smooth and snugly sitting
leather over each of his breeches pockets, while the
buckhorn handle of a large war-knife might occasion-
ally be seen protruding from its sheath attached to
the side lining of his coat.
Placing the heavy rifle which he bore in his hand in
a corner, the stranger now advanced, and, with an air
of easy unconcern, seated himself by the side of his
host, in the family circle around the fire.
"My name is Hendee," at length said the Captain,
evidently not wholly at ease in the presence of his bold
and fearful-looking visitor, "my name is Hendee, and
being no great stickler for ceremony, I hope I shall be
,excused, sir, in saying that it always affords me pleas-
ure to know by what name I may address my guests.'
"That's right!" bluntly commenced the stranger in
reply, "and you got at it ingeniously too, by George!"
"I meant no offense, sir."
"O, no, but let me see—it is now May, is it not?"
"Yes, sir."
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
125
"Well, then, for the month of May, my name is
Smith.
"Sir?-did I rightly understand you, sir?"
"I presume so-I said Smith, because there are more
of that name than any other.
39
"Yes, sir, but what follows from that?"
"Why, of course, sir, that you stand a better chance
to get my right name; men will lie like the devil,
sometimes, you know!'
"Really, sir!" said the Captain, his eyes beginning
to shoot fire at this apparently intended insult, "really,
sir, I cannot understand your drift, if you do not
mean to offer us an affront."
"Ha! ha! ha!" roared the stranger, in a voice that
shook the house, "well, now, if that ain't a good one!
ha! ha! ha! Why, no, friend," he continued, famili-
arly turning towards the other, and giving him a
rough slap on the shoulder, "no, no, friend, but you
just said you was no great stickler for ceremony-nor
ain't I, as you see. So let us be honest, and live up to
our professions.'
66
""
'Agreed to that. And yet-" rejoined the Captain,
perfectly at a loss what to make of his strange guest,
and though still vexed, yet now half ashamed of the
feeling he had shown-"and yet, sir, I have met, in
the course of my life, with but few honest men who
were afraid to tell their names."
"Why, the truth is," replied the other, with an air
of much seriousness, "that you are all such quarrel-
some curses, down here in the Grants, that a stranger,
like myself, can't safely travel among you by any
other name than Smith, if he had one. As to myself,
I don't exactly know, in the strictly legal sense of the
thing, that I have any name-to speak of, except
Smith, for I still stick to Smith, mind ye—that is, for
the month of May."
"Well, well, have it as you will, man," observed
Hendee, now softening down, and beginning to be
amused in spite of himself at the blunt drollery of the
126
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
other.
"But I must say you are the greatest oddity I
have met with for many a day."
"That may be, friend,” said the stranger, his coun-
tenance assuming the cast of sincerity; "but as you,
like a wise man, have concluded not to be offended at
nonsense, let us talk sense a little. Captain Hendee,
a man of your intelligence and observation cannot
but have long since noticed the quarrel that has been
brewing between us colonists and the mother
country.'
"I have, sir; and with the most painful regret," was
the guarded reply.
"And those Bostonians and Virginians, who have
taken the lead in the resistance to the King's author-
ity," resumed the stranger, again assuming an equiv
ocal look, and fixing his eyes keenly on the countenance
of the other, "those fellows are a set of Christless
knaves, for their rebellion, you agree?"
"Knaves! How so, sir?" replied the Captain,
hastily, and with a look that betrayed more of his feel-
ings than he intended should have been revealed to a
stranger, and especially one who apparently enter-
tained sentiments on this subject so different from
those which he had long privately cherished.
"Aha!" eagerly exclaimed the stranger, with evident
delight, "sits the wind in that quarter, really and
truly? Well, I am not disappointed in you, after all,
thank God!"
"Yes, but you, sir?"—said the Captain, again con-
founded at the seemingly contradictory language and
manner of the other, "what did you say but a
moment since?"
"What did I say? O, pooh! that is nothing!" replied
the stranger. "But again and seriously, Captain
Hendee (for I am now satisfied that it will do to ask
you the question), should matters proceed to open
hostilities in an attempt to burst these accursed fetters,
how far could your countenance and support be
depended on?"’
"Stranger," said Captain Hendee, looking the other
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
127
66
full in the face, as singular a man as you appear, you
nevertheless have an honest countenance, and would
not, I think, try, in my own house, to lead me into a
snare. But granting that your sentiments and mine
coincide on this subject, what could you ask, or expect,
from an infirm old man, whose only home and prop-
erty lie under the very mouths of the guns of Fort
Frederick?"
"But it may
"I see, I see!'"' answered the stranger.
be worth much to us to know that your heart is in the
right spot. For the times are coming when even
what such as you can do may be of incalculable
importance to the cause. Indeed, sir," he continued
with increasing earnestness, and with deep and start-
ling emphasis, "indeed, sir, those times are already at
the door. Blood-American blood has been shed!"
"Where? where?" simultaneously burst from the lips
of Hendee and Warrington.
""
"At Lexington, resumed the stranger, with
clenched fist and eye of fire. "Fifty American citizens
have been shot down like wild cattle by a foreign sol-
diery! and their blood has gone up to the great God in
cries of vengeance! All Massachusetts are in arms!
And are we here of the Green Mountains to remain
idle?" he added, with a look and a tone of almost
frightful energy; "by all the thrones of heaven and
hell, no, no!"
"Oh, for the renovation of one year of my man-
hood's vigor!" exclaimed the Captain, springing from
his chair, and hastily striding round the room.
"All that is well enough, but useless, my friend,"
observed the stranger, after a silence among the com-
pany of a few moments, in which he seemed to have
brought his feelings back to their usual current; "so
instead of calling on Hercules, like the man of the
fable, in prayers that never can be answered, be think-
ing what you can do. This Indian," he continued,
in an undertone, approaching close to the Captain-
"he is domesticated in your family?"
"Yes, brought up by us, mostly; a cunning, prudent
128
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
and faithful fellow," replied the Captain, in a voice
too low to be heard, as he supposed, by the rest of the
company.
"And may be made a useful friend for some emer-
gencies, with your permission, Captain?”
"You have it, that is for an occasional runner,
scout, or the like—I should not like to part with him
for any great length of time, however."
"Here, my friend," said the stranger, approaching
the native, and presenting him with a valuable pocket-
knife, "will you take this as a gift to remember me by?
Now look me in the face.
""
"Yas-umph! Ah, him good-one very good!” said
the Indian, quickly pocketing the knife.
"Now, Captain," said the stranger, putting on his
hat, and giving other indications of his intention to
depart, "I have only to say, that I am sorry I could
not have been more frank with you in some particu-
lars; but circumstances forbade it. Now I must be
off; and I have some notion, he continued, looking at
Warrington, "of inviting your guest here to accom-
pany me as a guide.''
"Mr Howard is an old acquaintance, sir, just called
after a long separation," said the Captain. "We
should be sorry to part with him so soon.
""
"Mr. Howard will remain through the night with
us, surely? interposed the musical voice of Miss Hen-
dee.
The stranger gave a scrutinizing look at the father
and daughter, and ended by exchanging with Warring-
ton looks of intelligence, which very clearly showed
that the two were by no means strangers to each other.
Seeming to satisfy himself, he was about to remark
further, when the tramp of men, now heard approach-
ing the door, arrested the attention of the company.
The rattling of guns announced them to be armed
men, among whose voices the quick ears of Miss Hen-
dee recognized that of Darrow. Instantly rising, she
hastily invited Warrington to take a seat in the other
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
129
room; and the latter complying, the lovers disappeared
through one door, just as the Lowcomers entered
another.
CHAPTER XI
"Ha! here comes those we counted not on meeting."
The company whose arrival was announced at the
close of the last chapter, proved to be a small detach-
ment of soldiers from the opposite fort. They were
seven or eight in number, under the command of their
sergeant, Darrow, who, with three others, after
knocking, though scarcely waiting for a bidding,
unceremoniously entered the kitchen, the remainder
of the force having been posted at the doors and win-
dows without, to prevent all escape from the house.
As an ostensible reason for calling at this time, Dar-
row carelessly observed, that being out in pursuit of
a deserter, a part of their company had gone up the
lake with their boat, thus depriving them of the means
of recrossing, and leaving them no other resort but to
crave a shelter of Captain Hendee for the night, or, at
least, till their boat returned. Calls of this kind by
the officers and soldiers of the garrison being of no
very unfrequent occurrence at the house, the present
visit, therefore, occasioned the Captain little or no
surprise, and being of a hospitable turn, and fond, as
might be supposed, of having those for company, who
belonged to a profession in which a great portion of
his own life had been spent, he appeared to feel quite
at ease with his new guests. Not so, however, with
all the company assembled. The meeting between
the soldiers and the stout stranger before described,
seemed to be mutually unexpected, and evidently but
little relished by the latter. For, though they were
all personally unknown to him, yet he was aware that
he might not be so to them; and should the last sup-
position be true, as, from certain sly looks which he
saw exchanged between the soldiers, he thought highly
130
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
probable, he was sensible that he had a part to play
for himself and Warrington, of whose co-operation he
felt assured, that would require all his tact, and per-
haps put to the severest test the powers of both to
extricate them from the threatened difficulty.
Nor were the stranger's suspicions by any means
groundless. Darrow had before seen the man, and at
once recognized him as one, who, if taken, would
prove a far greater prize than the person whose seizure
constituted the particular object of the present visit;
but one, at the same time, well known to be the most
formidable, and difficult of capture, of all the Green
Mountain outlaws.
That ain't the fellow we came for," whispered Dar-
row to the soldier nearest him, the first opportunity
that occurred for so doing, unobserved. "He must be
with the girl in the other room, I think. But this big
chap is one of the same kidney, only worth two of
him, if taken; secure him, as well as the other, and
your pay shall be doubled.
So keep your eyes on him
for the present, and we will wait till they go to bed,
and get to sleep; for the other is no baby for a tussle;
and this one," he continued, with a significant look, as
he cast a fearful glance at the giant-like person of the
stranger; "and this one, to say nothing of the ugly
instruments they say he carries under his clothes, he is
-he's the devil and all-he's thunder'
This information, with the orders accompanying it,
being soon passed around to all the band, every
movement of the stranger was regarded with the most
suspicious vigilance. But he, contrary to their expec-
tation, made not the slightest movement which indi-
cated that he was meditating any attempt to escape.
On the contrary, the more he was watched, the more
unconscious did he seem that he was an object of
suspicion or vigilance with any of the company; and
with the utmost unconcern he soon began to mingle in
the conversation, commencing with those blunt, cordial
kind of advances to Darrow and as many of his men
as he could find excuse for addressing individually,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
131
which are generally the surest, if not the only road to
the soldier's heart. Nor was it long before he had
succeeded in putting himself on a familiar footing with
the whole band, whose feelings and senses, in spite of
the distant restraint and guarded watchfulness they
had imposed on themselves, were fairly captivated by
his bold sallies of wit, and the irresistible drollery of
his manner. Captain Hendee, with his war stories,
was completely thrown into the shade by the extraor-
dinary convivial powers of the stranger, who, having
now fairly become the hero of the company, continued
to pour forth, from his seemingly inexhaustible
resources, sally upon sally, with increasing brilliancy,
and anecdote upon anecdote, each of which was more
ludicrous or striking than the preceding one, till the
whole party became convulsed with merriment, and
the house shook with the din of laughter.
And now
satisfied with the success that had so well crowned his
efforts in this respect, he called on Captain Hendee to
bring on glasses, and a gallon of spirits at his expense,
declaring that, "of all God's cattle, he preferred sol-
diers for companions. It was not every day that
a hunter, whose next door neighbors and common
acquaintances were bears and wolves, and whose sweet-
hearts and select friends were wolverines and cata-
mounts, had the rare luck to fall into such glorious com-
pany. He could well afford to treat and he should hold it
a privilege to have a bout with his military friends,
helping them, while he could drink health to the
King, confusion to all enemies, and shame to the
devil.
Leaving this bold, sagacious, and singularly gifted
outlaw and his companions to the merriment he had
infused into them, and the boisterous and drunken
revelry that followed, we will now repair to the other
room, where a far different, though no less interesting
scene was in progress.
When Miss Hendee, on recognizing the voice of
Darrow. among those of others about to enter the
house, so abruptly invited Warrington to take a seat
9
132
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
with her in the other room, she did so from a sudden
impulse, arising out of her secret dread of encounter-
ing one, whose recent conduct had filled her with the
deepest dislike, coupled with a sort of vague appre-
hension that the visits of these soldiers, with Darrow
at their head, at this particular time, was in some way
to affect the safety of her friend, whom she thought
thus to shield from the impending danger. And it
was not till they became seated in the room by them-
selves, that it occurred to her, that she had voluntarily
afforded her lover the very opportunity, which, at
their recent interview, he had earnestly requested, but
which she had so promptly and pointedly refused him.
Blushing deeply at the thought of her apparent incon-
sistency, and fearful that this act would be miscon-
strued by the other, she suddenly commenced uttering
an apology or explanation, but perceiving some worse.
dilemma from so doing, she stopped short in the midst
of a sentence, blushing more deeply than at first,
while an embarrassing silence ensued, which neither
party, for some moments, was able to break. War-
rington, however, comprehending the cause of her
embarrassment at a glance, and anxious to relieve it,
soon rallied, and observed:
"Fear not, Miss Hendee, that I shall misinterpret
this act of yours, in inviting me to a seat with you,
here. I believe I can appreciate the motives that led
to it, and I certainly feel very grateful for the deed."
"You are ever generous, Mr. Howard," replied
Alma, with a grateful smile, "but do you comprehend
all the motives that might have influenced me in this?"
"I may not all, but will Miss Hendee state wherein
she supposes I may not understand them?"
"Did you recognize any of the voices of these last
visitors, while they were at the door, or have you
since?"
"I can scarcely say I have, though I conclude them
to be soldiers from yonder garrison.
""
"They are all that will appear, at least, I presume,
and among them is that suspicious fellow from whose
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
133
intrusion you so kindly relieved me the other day.
He went away at that time, I think, harboring revenge-
ful feelings towards you, and does not this visit involve
some design against your safety?-Though I confess I
can hardly see how you should be sought here with
any purpose of revenge."
"You may be right, Miss Hendee," said the other,
thoughtfully, after a silence of a moment; "you may
be right in supposing me the object of this visit. I
have had some suspicions from the first that it was so;
and I have noticed some indications, indeed, since we
have been in this room, which go to confirm me. Yes,
you may be right in this, but wrong, I think, in judg-
ing of the motives that have led to the visit.
>:
"What other motive can there be but the one 1
assigned?" at length asked Alma, with an air of per-
plexity mingled with some uneasiness.
"Miss Hendee," resumed Warrington, with consid-
erable embarrassment at the effort, "your question
leads me to a declaration, which my painfully conflict-
ing obligations as a citizen, and as a gentleman who
has received much kindness from your family, will be
some excuse, I hope, for withholding till now; but
which my feelings will allow me to withhold no longer.
Miss Hendee, my name is not Howard."
"Not Howard!" exclaimed Miss Hendee, with a
look of unfeigned surprise. "Not Howard!" she
repeated, the tall arches of her beautiful brows slightly
contracting with an incipient frown. "Surely, surely,
sir!"
"Nor, is that, I fear you will think," resumed the
other seriously, and now with perfect composure, "the
worst of the avowal: I am aware what I risk-what,
indeed, I shall probably forever lose in your esteem,
fair lady. But duty to you, and respect to my own
character, compels me to disclose.-I am Charles
Warrington!"
A sharp, inarticulate exclamation burst from the
lips of the astonished and recoiling girl, at the
announcement of the name.
134
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"What is the matter there, Alma?" asked Captain
Hendee, in a tone modulated somewhere between the
jocose and anxious, as he thrust his head partly
through the door, beside which he was sitting, on the
opposite side of the partition, in the other room, "what
is the case there, girl?-Doctor Hunter is not pulling
a tooth for you, is he?"
Perceiving, however, nothing but dumb show going
on between the parties, and satisfied with the shot he
had given them, he left them to another embarrassing
silence, which, for many minutes, was broken by
neither.
"I am so surprised at this strange and unexpected
development," at length observed Miss Hendee,
though with mind and feelings still unsettled and
balancing between the former high opinion she had
entertained of her companion as Howard, and the
preconceived picture of the ruffian-like character with
which she had been accustomed to associate Warring-
ton; "so surprised that I hardly know what I should
say, or how I should act towards you, sir, in the new
character in which you now stand before me. Am I
to understand that our quiet home here is now to be
made the theater of contention in a dispute for a pos-
session?''
"Heaven forbid!" replied Warrington, eagerly,
"you have, Miss Hendee, my pledge already in this
respect, given to you at our last interview-can you
doubt my will to redeem it? And you now perceive
with what authority I could make the assurance. But
though you can have no apprehensions of this kind of
me, or my people, for whom I can safely answer, yet
what will be your opinion of one who made, and has
since sought your acquaintance under a disguised
name? It is that which troubles me, dear lady. And
in that you have an apparent right, at least, to con-
demn me, though not acting for myself, but for those
who assigned me the part in which disguise was
deemed necessary.
i,
"You need not forestall your sentence, sir," said

A SHIP FIGHT IN THE REVOLUTIONARY DAYS
10

LORD HOWE, COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH FLEET
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
135
the other, something very like a smile again lighting
up her sweetly expressive countenance, "I know too
little of the merits of this unhappy controversy, I
freely confess, to feel sure of doing justice to either
party in any opinion I might now express. I believe
I can still put trust in you-at least, I will for the
present believe so. For it would, indeed, be humili-
ating to us all, to find ourselves so much mistaken in
one whose character we had so highly estimated. Yes,
in you," she repeated with emphasis, "but in your
party"—and she paused, but soon, and without finish-
ing the sentence, resumed, "can you inform me who
is that fearful-looking, and singular stranger in the
other room?—or was I mistaken in judging from some
appearances I noticed, that you and he were ac-
quainted?"
"Your conjectures were true. His name, however,
I cannot disclose. But this I may say, that he is not
all that he may have appeared here to-night; and yet
he is far more-a man of many high and noble quali-
ties, combined with extraordinary powers of body and
mind, though now placed here in circumstances as
inauspicious as my own. These circumstances, as they
will make up an answer to the question you asked
before I announced my true name, I will now, with
your permission, briefly explain.
His fair auditor signifying a willingness, at least, to
listen to the explanation, Warrington, taking a com-
prehensive glance at the true grounds of the contro-
versy between the settlers and their opponents, drew a
vivid picture of the wrongs and consequent sufferings
which the former had endured, and which led to the
part he had taken in their behalf-explained the neces-
sity of the disguise he had assumed, related his subse-
quent career, and the consequences to himself and all
those who had taken a conspicuous part in attempting
to defend the poor settlers against the rapacity of
their oppressors.
"Is this, Mr. Howard-excuse me, Mr. Warrington,
I should say," observed the other, evidently inter
136
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
ested, and even touched by the recital she had just
heard; "is this, indeed, an impartial account of this
hapless contest? And are these armed men here to
drag you to prison, and an ignominious death, for act-
ing a part like this? Why, O why, did you venture
here into the very jaws of the lion? and now, why do
you a moment linger? why not escape while they are
at their noisy carousals in the other room?-that door
-these windows"-
"Have all been guarded; each by a soldier with a
loaded musket, from the moment we entered this
room. An ear, practiced in the forest, has not
failed to catch the sound of their cautious and stealthy
tread, the occasional rubbing of their muskets
against their buttons; and indications of their presence
and object not to be mistaken.”
"Oh! I do wonder how you can be so calm. What
hope-what resource is there left you, in which you
can now trust for escape?"
"Many! be not concerned. They probably think we
shall remain through the night, and will deem it safest
to defer any attempt to seize us till they suppose us
asleep. I trust much in my friend, ever fruitful in
expedients, and now acting a part in the other room,
as nigh as I can judge from what occasionally reaches
my ear, with reference to effecting this object. Ne-
shobee is a friend; and may I not hope an acquies-
cence, at least, from you?”
"Most certainly the latter, and if I could-but what
could I do?"
"Perhaps nothing-perhaps much. We must act on
circumstances. But had we now not better part? I
feel anxious to be co-operating with my friend," said
Warrington, rising and moving towards the door.
"One moment longer-that is, if you are not too
anxious to go," observed Alma, motioning him to
remain.
"What would my fair friend say?" asked the other,
perceiving her to hesitate.
"Should you escape this danger, as I hope you may,"
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
137
at length replied Alma, "I trust-I pray, that you
will not be so thoughtless as to venture here again?
There may be other hazards in repeating your visits
here, besides the fearful one you have already incurred
of being seized in behalf of the public authorities.
"Indeed! but in what way, lady?"
"There may be those," she answered with evident
reluctance, and with severely conflicting feelings,
"who would look on your visits here with-with sus-
picion; and who, I fear-who, perhaps, I would say,
might have a disposition—that is, he may".
I did not understand the name," said Warrington,
with the appearance of wishing to relieve the embar-
rassment of the other, and assist her to proceed.
"I did not name him, and I would gladly avoid doing
so," replied she, still hesitating.
'But of what avail will be your caution, unless I
know against whom to be on my guard?" asked he,
with a little spice of the lawyer in the question, he
being more anxious to learn the name of his unknown
rival, to whom he rightly conjectured she alluded, than
concerned on account of any danger he apprehended
from his jealousy or malice.
"But if you kept entirely away?-unless, perhaps,
you should be sought out for the crimes you have
already committed," said the girl, half-playfully. "I
much wish you could have received this intimation
from others," she continued, after a pause; "but as
you might not, and as I have ventured, perhaps, unad-
visedly, to give it, I know not but you have a just
right to require the name. It is Sherwood-one Jacob
Sherwood.
""
"Sherwood!" said Warrington in utter surprise,
"Sherwood, that, then, explains several things that to
me were mysteries. Sherwood!" he repeated, musing,
and speaking as if to himself, "yes, I know the man,
and the heart of the man. But is it possible, with
Sherwood for a rival, and Alma Hendee the object,
that she for him would"-
"Trespasser!" exclaimed the other, shaking her
138
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
head with a look in which menace and roguishness
were quietly blended, "trespasser, beware!"
"Cruel! cruel! I must not, then, even ask if there
is hope, even one ray of hope, in the future!" rejoined
Warrington, with the air of tender reproach.
"Oh, how can you ask"-replied Alma, her counte-
nance now changing to a serious, even a sad expres-
sion, "how can you ask, or expect this, when I see no
hope for myself? And how can you think of entering
into a discussion so useless, at such a moment as this?
Go, go!"
When Warrington, at the close of the interview above
described, entered the room of the revelers, he found
them at the height of their boisterous carousals. The
health of every known potentate on the earth, and
some under it, was proposed and drank, by the huge
stranger, now the undisputed master of the ceremon
ies, who at each rapidly succeeding toast, tossed off
his glass with as little apparent regard to its effect on
himself, as if the beverage had been water-such, at
least, was there every appearance of his doing: For
he always lifted a full glass to his lips, and returned
it empty to the table, while he made this his boast on
urging the same on his companions of the revel, all of
whom, with the exception of Darrow, seemed little
disposed to refuse a compliance. The latter, how-
ever, after drinking a few stinted glasses, contrived
constantly to evade a repetition which would unfit him
for the enterprise, that he, at least, had by no means
lost sight of; while it was with increasing uneasiness
that he perceived the fearful inroads which the liquor
was making on the faculties of his men. This, how-
ever, might not have alarmed the wary sergeant, had
both of his intended victims been in the same condi-
tion; since so long as they drank as freely as the rest,
the difficulty of their seizure, he knew, would be
diminished in the same proportion with the powers of
the men, upon whom he depended for its accomplish.
ment. But Warrington, he soon noticed, though
mingling gayly with the rest of the board, seemed
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
139
inclined, like himself, to drink but lightly, making the
excuse, when urged to take more, that he wished to
keep sober, in order to take care of his brother hunter,
who seemed in a fair way to require his assistance.
And the appearance of the stranger, indeed, soon well
confirmed the truth of the observation. His wit fast
grew vapid; and some of his remarks were so silly,
that none but the very drunkest of the soldiers would
join him in the maudlin roar of laughter which he
raised at each of his efforts to be witty. He began to
sway to and fro, and his huge frame to totter at every
step, like a sapped tower about to fall to the earth-all
of which was observed by Darrow with a look of
malicious satisfaction.
Warrington now proposed that the company should
break up, and all retire for the night. This proposai
was seconded, though from far different motives, by
both the Captain and Darrow. A question, however,
now arose in regard to the accommodations which
could be furnished for sleeping; the Captain stated
that he had but two spare beds, which might be made
to answer for four of the company. He should have
been extremely happy to be able to accommodate all
his guests with beds; but as it was, they must agree
among themselves who should occupy those he could
furnish. The sergeant immediately proposed that
Warrington and his drunken friend should take one
of the beds, and himself and one of his men would
occupy the other, while the rest should seek lodgings
in the barn. At this moment, the drunken outlaw,
roused from the stupor into which he seemed to have
fallen during the discussion, so far as to appear con-
scious of the point of debate, and hiccuping at every
word, swore with a big oath, "that his military friends
should have the best-they should have both the beds,
or he would fight them like h-1. And that other
scurvy hunter, who was not man enough to drink like
a gentleman, should go to the barn with him, and
sleep on the hay, or he would fight him, too, and be
d-d to him."
140
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
To this Darrow, for some reasons of his own, stren-
uously objected, and the debate was growing warm,
when Miss Hendee entered the room, and after asking
the cause of their dispute and looking a moment with
an air of disgust at the now helpless stranger, earnestly
begged of her father to let the creature have his way,
and by no means suffer him to occupy a bed in the
house.
"I think, Captain Hendee." remarked Warrington,
now for the first time offering an opinion, that the
man's notions, as bad off as he appears to be, are cor-
rect. He will probably keep the house in an uproar
half the night, if he remains. It is more suitable, I
think, that he should be taken to the barn. And it
is my duty, I suppose, to attend him."
"I by no means intended to exclude you in my pro-
hibition, sir,'' said Alma, addressing Warrington.
"Oh, no, certainly not, I presume. But I think I
ought to go with him," rejoined Warrington. "And
a bed of hay," he added gayly, "is far better than has
sometimes fallen to my lot.
"Hoy! there, Cap-Cap-Capting!" stammered out
the stranger, lifting his head, though nearly falling
out of his chair at the effort; "say, you Cap-Capting
Handy, Hindy-dev-divil knows what, take good
care-care my rifle-cost ten pounds-king's lawful
cur-cur-curren-cyation,-God d- -n-bless him!''
"And of mine too, captain, if you will. We will
leave them in the house till morning, with your per-
mission," observed Warrington, exchanging a signifi-
cant glance with Miss Hendee.
Darrow, who till now had manifested a determina-
tion that our two outlaws should remain in the house
with him, on hearing that the valuable rifles were to
be left behind, seemed no longer to entertain any sus-
picion of the arrangement last proposed, and conceded
the point without further objection.
Captain Hendee then ordered Neshobee to take the
rifles into the next room, and pointing out the beds
to be occupied by Darrow and his men, took leave of
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
141
his guests for the night, and with his daughter retired
to the other part of the house. Everything being now
settled to the apparent satisfaction of all parties, it
only remained to get the helpless and unwieldy outlaw
to his lodging in the barn. And Darrow and his men
all declaring that they would by no means consent to
quit their generous entertainer till they had seen him
safely disposed of for the night, Warrington and the
soberest soldiers to be found in the company, now
assisted him in getting on his feet, and bracing out his
legs so that he could be kept from dropping on the
floor When this, with considerable difficulty and no
little noise and merriment, had been effected, they
planted themselves firmly under each arm, and at the
word of command, sportively given by one of the com-
pany, trundled, or rather pushed his huge and stagger-
ing carcass forward toward the barn, attended by the
whole company, reeling, jostling and shouting along
by his side. After they had arrived there, and suc-
ceeded in getting their charge over the threshold, they
unceremoniously tumbled him on a pile of hay on the
barn floor; when, after exchanging mock ceremonies
of parting politeness, Darrow and all his men, now
feeling sure of an easy and safe capture as soon as
their intended victims were asleep, departed for the
house.
"Charles!" said the big outlaw, raising himself on
his elbow, as soon as the sounds of the receding foot-
steps of the soldiers had died away, "Charles!" he
repeated, in a low, though perfectly sober tone, "you
creep carefully round to those side windows, and see
if some of these curses ain't still lurking round the
barn to watch us."
The other silently complying, soon returned, and
reported that no one was visible.
"Well now, Charles," resumed the first speaker,
"you get down there at my feet, and see if you can
pull off my plaguy old boots.
quart of rum in them. I can
worth a copper with my feet in
There is more than a
neither run nor fight
such a devil's pickle."
142
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Upon my word, Colonel!" said Warrington, while
complying with the request just made, "you would
make no slouch of a juggler. I saw no chance of suc-
ceeding in any way short of drinking or openly refus-
ing. And I was not a little puzzled to decide whether
you were stark mad in taking such quantities of liquor,
or whether you had some way of otherwise disposing
of it, which I could not detect. Indeed, for the last
half hour I have been perfectly at a loss to know
whether you were drunk or sober. How did you con-
trive to cheat them so cleverly?"
"Buttoned up my high-collared coat, so as to come
up over my chin, at the outset. Then minding to
stand so as to admit no side views to that hawk-eyed
sergeant, or the others, till they were too far gone to
see straight, I dashed every glass down my bosom.
Not a spoonful has gone down my throat to-night!
so help me Peter! who never lied but three times, as
I recollect. But come, we must be thinking of some-
thing else now. And the first question to be settled
is, whether we shall go off without our rifles, and per-
haps lose them entirely, or whether we shall hatch up
some scheme to get them out of the house?"
"I have strong hope, though I may be disappointed,
said the other in reply, "that we shall soon get hold
of them through other agency than our own. I think
we had better venture on remaining here a few min-
utes longer to wait the result of an effort which, I feel
quite confident, will be made for this purpose.
""
"Aha, Charley?-been ploughing with the Captain's
heifer, hey! Well, we will wait a little. Yes, yes, I
see now what the sly jade was at, when she set in so
plausibly to have "the loathsome creature" carried off
to the barn. And, indeed, Charles, I suspected, soon
after I arrived, that you were in for it there. But
how in the name of Cupid, and Hymen, and Venus,
and all that sort of heathen cattle, did you happen to
pounce upon such a superb piece of housel stuff? I
thought you never strayed so far down here to the
land's end?”
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
143
Warrington then related to his companion all the
circumstances connected with his acquaintance with
the different members of the Hendee family, his late
discovery relative to his ownership of the land, and
the course which he had, and still intended to pursue
in that respect, without revealing, however, the
uncertain and somewhat peculiar attitude in which he
stood with the daughter.
"Right nobly said and done!" exclaimed the other,
who had listened with the appearance of much interest
to the recital, and who seemed highly to appreciate the
delicate generosity of Warrington, "nobly, indeed,
though with a higher touch of the chivalrous, I fear,
my dear fellow, than you would often find reciprocated
in this wooden age and country. However, you will
one of these days be rewarded, I suppose, by receiv-
ing the same lands, and an article with them that will
richly pay you for your forbearance: for by all the
saints, from Saint Paul down to ragged Saint Patrick,
I swear that if there be any angels of clay-that,
though, is nonsense for a married man. But seriously,
Charles, I don't know when I have seen the like of
that girl! A form and face, the mould of which, I
think, must have been broken with but one cast-eyes
with the rich and lustrous hue of good old indigo,
though pure and clear as the mudless crystal to the
very depths of the soul beyond them. And then her
smile, Charles-enough to craze an anchorite, by
heavens!"
"Really, Colonel," rejoined Warrington, jocosely,
"you would make me jealous if I had but a tithe of
the title to the girl that you seem to suppose. She is
engaged, man, to one Sherwood, the very fellow, as I
this night ascertained from her own lips, whom we
caught and beech-sealed for a spy and traitor, on our
way down the Creek, and to whom, doubtless, we are
indebted for this concerted plan for our seizure.
"I heard of your doings with that scoundrel, as I
came along a day or two after. And the only fault I
find about it is, that you did not string him up, accord-
144
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
ing to the decree of convention, in such case made and
provided. But can it be possible, Charles, that God
ever made this girl for such a fellow? I swear, I don't
believe it! And if there is not enough of you to set
him aside"-
"Well, what then?''
"Why, you don't deserve her, that's all-but whist!
I thought I heard a footstep. See to your pistols,
Charles!"
"All handy, Colonel. But what is your plan if they
beset us here?''
"Why, fight em, most likely, I think,-a d-n poor
story if we two ain't a match for those four half
fuddled devils!"
"Certainly, but there were nearly, or quite as many
more, posted round the house in ambush, or my ears
deceived me sadly."
"No, were there?"
"Yes, I am positive, Colonel."'
"Well, well, Charles, the trifling addition of three
or four more of them ain't worth standing about.
But hush again!" continued the speaker, his voice
sinking to a whisper, "I was right! I just caught the
glimpse of a head peering in at that side door. '
At
The senses of the big outlaw had not deceived him.
And the object of his suspicion now appeared several
times before the partly opened door; though at each
time suddenly, and for a moment withdrawn.
length the door was cautiously opened considerably
wider, and the questionable head thrust fairly in,
where it remained stationary as a block for a full
minute.
"Umph!" at length uttered the object, in a low, but
distinct tone.
"All right," said Warrington, "it is Neshobee, as I
expected."
"Umph! me come-got um your rifles," said the
latter, noiselessly advancing, and handing the guns to
each of their respective owners.
"You have done us no fool of a favor, my fine fel-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
145
low," said the elder Green Mountain Boy. "How did
you get the guns out of the house?"
"Missus Alma contrive um all," replied the Indian.
"She put um out her sleep-room window-then say
it-so me go bring um.
"A glorious girl, that, by Jupiter!" resumed the
former. "You and she both, my red friend, deserve
a pension at our hands. Here, take hold of this crown
piece, to begin upon.
"Him good! Cappen, him good afore," said the
native, taking the proffered coin.
·
"And I will try to continue so," said Warrington,
thrusting another crown into the Indian's ready hand.
"But anything more, Neshobee?" he continued,
judging from the other's manner, that he had some-
thing further to impart.
"Missus Alma say me tell um go-say the rest
sogers come in house now drink more rum again—
say, go straight, quick, better-no stay minute.
??
"Good advice, too," said the big outlaw, "and let
us lose no time in following it. Charles, lead the
way!"
Cautiously emerging from the barn, and clearing the
yard fence, our two friends now proceeded, with silent
but rapid steps, through the open field, till they gained
a knoll about sixty rods from the house, when the
nameless outlaw paused and looked back.
"Clear of the rascals at last, I believe," observed
Warrington.
The other made no reply, but stood as if debating
some point in his mind, which he was unable to
decide.
"Well, which way now. Colonel?'' resumed the for-
mer, thinking his companion might be hesitating about
the route they should take.
"Get thee behind me, Satan!" at length exclaimed
the other, violently dashing back both his hands.
"Give me joy, Charles," he added, without paying the
least attention to the question that had just been asked
him, "give me joy, for I have conquered,'
146
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Indeed, sir, it is quite impossible for me to com-
prehend you.
99
"Not comprehend me! Oh, true, how should you?
It only passed through my mind. Well, Charles, I
have been sorely tempted-never so tempted in my
life."
"About what, pray?"
But
Hen-
"Why, about going over and taking yonder fort to-
night. According to your account of the numbers now
on this side, there cannot be over ten or a dozen left
in the garrison. You and I could have taken their
boat here, while they were waiting for us to get to
sleep, slipped over, and made the attempt. I think
we could carry it. And, ah!" continued the speaker,
rubbing his hands in ecstasy, "there would have been
glory, glory in it, Charles! But duty forbade; for a
failure certainly, and success, probably, would have
defeated an object of two-fold importance to the coun-
try. And conscience told me I should forego my
private wishes for public good. That object, as stone
walls have ears, they say, I will not name here.
it was that which brought me into this section.
dee's situation here, so near one of the enemy's strong-
holds, made it important that his feelings should be
known. And it was for that purpose I called to-night,
when I unexpectedly found you. I intended to have
been at half a dozen other places before this, and I
should, but for this cursed bother with these minions
of hell and New York. We will now on to your
encampment. I called there at sunset. Your lieuten-
ant had returned. The party sent to seize the sur-
veyor had just been heard from, and were expected to
arrive with their prisoner to-night. He must be tried
and disposed of in a hurry. But have you made any
further discoveries about the York justice in this sec-
tion?"
"I have ascertained his residence, and discovered the
bearing of his feeling towards the enemy-nothing
further."
"Enough! I have received, since we parted, papers
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
147
which settle the case. We must have him up, and do
off all this York business in a batch in the morning;
for there is much to be done to-morrow in preparation
of a general meeting of the trusty to-morrow night, in
the vicinity of the Middle Falls. Ah! Charles, there is
something afoot, to which this petty warfare we have
been engaged in with New York, is as a rushlight to
the meridian sun! I burn to be in it; for it will be
great, daring, and glorious!"'
Leaving our two Green Mountain Boys to proceed
to their present destination, with hearts swelling at
the thought of the future, and somewhat elated, withal,
at their fortunate escape from a danger of certainly no
small magnitude, when the vicinage of the fort, and
the small chance of a rescue are considered, we will
return for a moment to the company we left at the
house. It would be difficult to describe the rage and
chagrin of Darrow, and his men, when, after waiting
till they supposed their two intended victims were
helpless in sleep, they proceeded stealthily, and with
undoubting assurance of an easy victory, to the barn,
and discovered that their birds were both flown. They
saw at once that they had been fairly outwitted by the
wily outlaws. Solacing themselves, however, with a
promise of seizing the fugitives another day, they
gave up the project for the present, well knowing that
any attempt at pursuit would now be utterly useless.
And at the command of Darrow, who kept his future
purposes, whatever they might be, to himself, they all
silently withdrew from the house, and immediately
crossed over to the fort.
10
118
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
CHAPTER XII
"They came not from the head, it was the heart that wrote them."
The next morning, after the affair at the Lower
Falls, between our Green Mountain Boys and the
hired minions of Colonel Reed, a separation, as the
reader will readily remember, took place among the
former, the several individuals who had occupied &
conspicuous place in our story departing in different
directions, and with objects as diverse as their various
destinations. Some of these individuals, still designed
to sustain a close connection with the events we have
undertaken to delineate, have been neglected through
several of our last chapters, in order to preserve, as
unbroken as possible, the chain of the leading part of
the narrative, in several scenes we had commenced,
so nearly connected as to render a break alike disa-
greeable to both reader and writer. But being
allowed a short respite before following those with
whom we have just parted, we now hasten to bestow,
in the first place, some attention on our friend Selden,
and his new charge, the volatile, but not ungifted
Jessy Reed, by following them to the destination, for
which they were on the point of embarking when we
left them. This was at Skenesboro', near the south
end of the lake, so called from the name of the propri-
etor of a large body of land at this place,-Colonel
Skene, who, being not only a wealthy landholder, but
the commander of one of the king's regiments, had
here constructed a large, strong, stone house, and
made it a sort of military post, as well as the residence
of his family and various dependents. The whole of
this curious establishment, not a little resembling that
of one of the ancient feudal lords, was, at this time,
under the command of Major Skene, a son of the pro-
prietor, the father having been some months absent,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
149
engaged in negotiating for his own aggrandizement at
the British court. It was to this place that Miss
Reed had so fearlessly undertaken a voyage in an
open skiff, with one oarsman, and Selden, her volun-
teer knight attendant. But a description of this voy-
age, together with many circumstances which preceded
it, we will now, agreeably to a previous intimation,
allow the fair voyager to give in her own language.
And for this purpose we present the following letter,
sent by her a few days after her arrival at Skenesboro',
and received on the morning following the events
recorded in the last chapter:
"To MISS ALMA HENDEE—
"I have most serious doubts, my dear Alma,
whether I am exactly myself. And should you be
equally dubious, as I expect you will, when you have
perused all that I shall now, under the rose, impart,
you may set it down, if you please, as the relation of a
pretty dream which has passed through the brain of
Philip Skene's half-courted high-flyer, while dozing
under the soporific thoughts of a matter-of-course, all
very suitable sort of a match, with his grave and calcu-
lating majorship. One thing, however, I imagine, is
certain; and that is, that I am here at Skenesboro',
snugly immured in the Major's stone castle. And
why I am so positive of this is, that I feel so sleepy,
and have felt so ever since he left us. He! who? Ah!
that sets me afloat again! But I will begin at the
beginning; and dream, or no dream, you shall have the
whole of my adventures with (now be making up your
mind for interjections!) those horrid, brave, dear,
ugly Green Mountain Boys.
66
Accompanying my father from Montreal, with my
half-Indian girl, Zilpah Wampum, under the arrange-
ment that we should be left, and stationed at Skenes-
boro' during his contemplated sojourn of some time in
the city of New York, I besought him right earnestly
on the way to let me go with him to visit his posses-
sions up Otter Creek, to which he intended to return
11
150
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
for a day after landing us at the Major's. After a few
of those not very alarming affairs, pshaws! pishes! etc.,
I carried my point, as I generally do, with my, I fear,
too indulgent parent. And what was still a greater
victory, and certainly much harder to be won, 1 pre-
vailed upon him at last to let us remain there for a
few days after he had proceeded on his journey, under
the condition that I should take a very fair, warm,
and very calm day within a week at farthest, and with
our best boat, and two of our most careful men there,
proceed to our original destination.
"Well, there we remained at that wild, romantic
place, happy as larks, by day rambling round the fields
for flowers, skirting the woods for spruce gum, boxber-
ries, and birds' nests, and at night listening to the ad-
ventures of the men, or quizzing the honest old McIn-
tosh, the commander of the post, as he calls himself—
there we remained, I say, till the fourth day after father
had left us, when, who should make his appearance but
that plausible and oily-tongued beau of yours, Jacob
Sherwood, announcing that a band of Green Mountain
Boys, headed by Warrington, the outlaw, was in full
march to lay waste, burn, and destroy our possessions,
and murder every soul to be found on the premises,
or at least to carry us off as captives to their dens in
the mountains! My heart beat like a young drummer!
And as for Zilpah, though mute as a fish, her com-
plexion wonderfully improved about that time, I assure
you. However, being a soldier's daughter, as well as
yourself, I soon made up my mind not to die of fright,
at least, so I flew round, helped the men to make cart-
ridges, and whatever else I could do, in preparation
for the expected visit. Sherwood was invited to aid
in putting the garrison in a state of defense, and
remain with us through the coming siege. But oh,
no! he couldn't possibly! He must be off to the
woods to watch the enemy's approach, and give us
signal guns when they arrived at the clearing. Well,
after the whole establishment had resounded with the
din of preparation about an hour, and everything was
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
151
us
prepared for their reception, McIntosh called
together, women and all, for a council of war, to hear
the different plans that might be offered as to the
best mode of conducting the defense, though doggedly
determined all the while that none but his own should
be adopted. And what think you that was? Why,
that all the men should take the field against the
enemy, and fight their way back, under cover of log-
heaps, to the works, leaving us, poor women, entirely
alone, to unbar the gate to recieve them, when they
should reach it and give the watch-word.
This sage
plan of operations, as you may well suppose, did not
at all strike my fancy. But finding opposition useless,
I submitted with the best grace I could, demanding,
however, as the terms of my compliance, that they
should leave me a good musket (a Major's wife at one
of our stations, some years ago, having taught me how
to load and fire one), for our defense, in case I should
have occasion to use it. This settled, McIntosh mar-
shaled his men, sallied out, and lay in ambush till the
enemy appeared, when a battle commenced in which
powder enough was burnt to have slain a regiment,
though, strange to tell, not one drop of blood was
spilled on either side.
While
"Now comes my part of this queer drama.
I stood at the gate listening, with palpitating heart,
to the thunders of the musketry in the field, and anxi-
ously awaiting the signal to open to our men, I heard
steps outside the enclosure, which I knew could not
proceed from any of our party. Almost desperate
with fear, I seized the loaded gun which had been left
for me, and stood on the defensive, while poor
Zilpah, still worse frightened, fled into the house.
for a few moments was quiet, when happening to look
around, I beheld, to my utter surprise and consterna-
tion, one of the enemy approaching me, three of them,
it seems, having already scaled the walls behind the
house. Heaven forgive me! in the desperation of the
moinent I fired my gun at him, though, thanks to the
same heaven, without hitting him. He proved to be
All
152
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
the lieutenant of Warrington, who now, with the other
man, rushed forward from behind the house, when all
stood confronting me. But what do you think they
did? Seize me like ruffians, as, from Sherwood's tale
of the horribles, I expected? No, they came forward,
and in the most mild and gentlemanly manner
advised, nay, entreated me to retire into the house, to
which I now suffered myself to be conducted by Lieu-
tenant Selden, who had just providentially escaped
death by my hand! I think I must have appeared like
a fool. I certainly felt like one.
"I need not inform you that our men now soon sur-
rendered to the Green Mountain Boys, who took pos-
session, claiming, however, none of the movables, and
asking only that the men should leave the place the
next day. The treatment I received, and the explana-
tions given me by Warrington (who, by the way, is
a noble-looking fellow; Alma, I wish you could see
him), in regard to this war about titles, soon overset
all my preconceived opinions of the Green Mountain
Boys. Indeed, if we can rely on their statements, I
hardly know how our people can be justified in driv-
ing these poor settlers from their farms.
"But what shall I say of him—Mr. Selden, I mean?
Who would credit-I would not a week ago, I am
sure that, after having first called him a ruffian and
monster to his face, as I did when he first approached
me, I was found in the twilight of the same evening,
rambling, arm in arm, with the handsome, quizzical,
audacious rogue, along the freshly flowered banks of
the Otter, quoting poetry with him, or listening to the
better poetry of his own brilliant conceptions, which
sometimes flowed from his lips in bursts of surpassing
eloquence, and sometimes in sallies of wit, so original
and irresistibly humorous, that I would defy the grav-
est puritan in the land to keep his risibles from break-
ing loose on the occasion. He volunteered to attend
me to Skenesboro', the next day, and I-now don't
suspect me of being captivated with the fellow, Alma
-I accepted the offer-how could I do less? Well, the
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
153
nex
morning, with Zilpah, bag and baggage-the
bag, you will say, perhaps, should have been given to
him—and with one of my father's trusty and strong-
armed Highlanders for an oarsman, we shipped aboard
boat, and proceeded down the creek. The day was
most serenely fair. And our voyage to the mouth of
the stream, as we glided along the gently flowing cur-
rent in its meandering course, was indeed delightful.
The forest-lined banks were beautifully frosted with
the white wood violet, or blushing with beds of wild
tulips; while the budding branches of the overhanging
trees above seemed fairly vivified by the thousand
melodious duets that were joyously bursting from the
happy little hearts of these minstrel lovers of the
grove.
"After we had reached the open lake, we found a
pretty breeze blowing freshly from the westward.
And the gentleman, fixing up a blanket for a sail, our
little craft swept through the lake right merrily, I
assure you. We were soon abreast of your charming
situation. And I could hardly consent to pass you
without hauling up for a short morning call; but the
men urging that by improving the breeze we could
easily reach our destination by night, when otherwise
we might fail of so doing, I reluctantly agreed to fore-
go the pleasure of seeing you, and introducing my
Green Mountain Phoenix-not that I am particularly
charmed with him myself, but I think you would have
been gratified in beholding so rare an avis as a gentle-
man, as he really is, from so wild and savage a region
as this Green Mountain country.
"At noon we dined quite romantically from off the
middle seat of our boat, on edibles furnished from
our store basket, and neatly arranged by Zilpah. I
never partook with greater zest; and what with the
keenness of our appetites, the novelty of the affair,
and the thousand spicy things said on the occasion, I
don't believe I should have enjoyed the banquet of a'
princess with half the pleasure that I did this meal.
"After we had taken our refreshment and again got
154
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
under way, for we had run into a little cove, beauti-
fully over-arched by a cluster of whispering pines, the
saucy rogue so managed as to get Zilpah and the oars-
man into one part of the boat, and himself and your
humble servant into the other, with our blanket sail
forming an impenetrable screen between. Here, after
sentimentalizing and poetizing a while over the ever-
changing views of scenery, alternating with the
majestic and beautiful, as we rapidly glided by them,
he began a set of compliments so very pointed, and
squinting loveward, but at the same time so oddly
framed, that I knew not whether to laugh or be angry.
I should have severely chided so much boldness in a
stranger, however, on one or two occasions, had not
the provoking creature, carefully watching my counte-
nance, thrown in some remark that gave an entirely
different turn to the whole meaning of what he had
begun to say. So you see, Alma, how far I am from
anything like the tender passion in this strangely
begun, and no less strangely maintained acquaintance.
"The remainder of our voyage was now mostly
occupied by him in giving me a history of his life as
far as he knew it himself, relating the singular, and
certainly very romantic adventures through which he
passed, from his childhood to the present hour.
ing neither time nor space to detail them now, I will
only say briefly, that he was born somewhere in New
England, as he supposes, for he neither knows his
birthplace, nor the name of his parents. But by some
means or other falling into mercenary hands, when a
mere child, he was sold as a slave,-passed through
several hands, and at length carried over the waters,
-taken into the protection of a philanthropic noble-
man in England, by whom he was liberally educated,
and furnished with a handsome outfit to purchase a
commission in the army, or seek his fortune wherever
he could find it. He then, after wandering a while in
Europe, obeyed the impulses of his own heart, and
came to visit his own country; when, being enamored
of a sylvan life, and thinking he should enjoy the
Hav-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
155
excitements usually to be found in a border settlement,
he soon found his way to the New Hampshire Grants,
and enlisted in the controversy, which he here found
going on between the settlers and the New Yorkers.
"By the time he had closed this very interesting and
delightfully told autobiography, we hove in sight of
the castellated establishment of the Skenes.
It was
then, almost for the first time, that it occurred to me,
that, attended as I was, my meeting with the family
must be an extremely awkward one, since the feelings
of the Major, as well as those of his father, the Col-
onel, are known to be hostile to the Green Mountain
Boys, and I could not forbear hinting this to Selden,
and suggesting, at the same time, the expediency of
withholding from the family, till he had gone, all
knowledge of the late affair at the Falls, or his pass-
ing incog. among them.
66
'Oh, no!' was the prompt reply, 'mince no mat-
ters on my account, fair lady. Having made my peace
with her who is most interested, and obtained an abso-
lution for my offenses-have I not? at least,' he con-
tinued, with a tone and smile so sweet, so tender, and
yet so imploring, that I found my head nodding an
assent before I knew it, 'at least, may I not be per-
mitted to hope I shall, my dear Miss Reed?-having
done this, they must be singularly disposed, indeed, to
espouse the quarrels of others if they offer me any
personal disrespect. No, no, fear it not, and should
you feel disposed to countenance my remaining at this
place through the night, I shall gladly risk all conse-
quences to myself from so doing.
"We had now reached the landing, and in a moment
the inmates of the house, who were expecting me
about these days, and had conjectured who we were,
all rushed out, and Marge and Mary Skene, with their
brother, came flying like two paper kites with a lub-
berly boy at their tails, down to the boat to receive
us. I don't know how I made my tongue do its office
in returning their salutations, for my heart certainly
leaped right up plump into my mouth, and I can..!
156
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
conceive how that poor little member, so shamefully
belied in our sex, could have possibly found room to
wag! It did, however, and I introduced Mr. Selden,
by name, to them all. The girls, I thought, seemed
rather pleased that I had brought them a new candi-
date for their toils, and so fine a looking fellow into
the bargain. But the Major, reckoning on the possi-
bility, I suppose, that the other might become a can-
didate for the toils of somebody besides sisters, looked
rather askew at my gentleman; nevertheless, not
knowing exactly what might be a safe conclusion on
such uncertain premises, he soon brought himself to
behave quite decently, and escorted us all to the
house without further ado. But further trials were in
store for me; for Mr. Selden, as soon as we had all
got comfortably seated, to my surprise, broke the ice
at once-and, after craving their attention a moment,
while he relieved Miss Reed, as he said, of a task
which he could readily conceive would be an unpleas-
ant one for her to perform, very coolly related the
whole transaction which led to his acquaintance with
me, and the consequent responsibility that devolved
on him of seeing me safe to my friends.
"I felt, though I can scarcely tell why I should, like
a criminal, while Mr. Selden was making this devel-
opment, which, I had many fears, would involve his
personal safety; notwithstanding he has done nothing,
as yet, he tells me, that the York government consider
worthy of death or bonds. All seemed much surprised
at what they heard, and in the Major's face-that is,
as soon as he could comprehend the matter, for it
takes an idea some time, you know, to get through his
cranium, and no great wonder, neither, considering
how far it has to go-in the Major's face I saw evident
signs of a gathering storm. But knowing that on a
reasonable calculation, Mr. S. might count on two
days at least before a cloud engendering in so cold a
climate would become sufficiently charged to be dan-
gerous, I did not feel greatly alarmed, and especially
so as the girls seemed disposed to laugh at the affair.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
157
And Marge, on Mr. Selden's playfully proposing to
submit himself to us ladies to pass sentence for his
crimes, quite smartly observed that we would sen-
tence him to an imprisonment of a week in their stone
jug, as she termed their house, and be let out to attend
us on horseback or in a boat-ride each day.
"We now passed the remainder of the evening very
pleasantly. And for the next two days we almost
literally inflicted on Mr. Selden the sentence which
had been so queerly imposed. We read, walked, sailed,
and rode alternately; and a right merry time we had
of it, I assure you-Mr. Selden in the meantime
becoming a great favorite with the girls, especially
with Marge, to whom I thought he was rather more
particular than he should have been in strict politeness
to the rest of us. He had an object, however, I pre-
sume, in conciliating the girls by his attentions. Do
you think, Alma, that Marge Skene is so very hand-
somne as some pretend to think her?
666
'But where was my doughty Major in the mean-
while?' you will ask. Why, he was so unaccountably
busy with the workmen in the field just about those
days, that he could not, on any account, attend us on
any of our delightful excursions. And when he joined
us at our meals, he was as grave as a Turk. Mr. S.,
however, I thought, was less alarmed than amused at
his awfulness of countenance.
"After two days thus spent, and on the morning of
the third after our arrival, Mr. S. suddenly announced
to us his intention of an immediate departure. The
girls were evidently touched with regret and disap-
pointment at this unexpected announcement, thinking,
perhaps, that their work was but half complete. But
if ever Margery or Mary Skene is selected by him.
for a cynosure, I have mistaken his taste; and yet, I
confess, his conduct has sometimes not a little puzzled
He thanked me for the consideration I had shown
him under unpleasant circumstances of our first
acquaintance in a manner so handsome and feeling
that it made me feel like a condemned and guilty one,
me.
158
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
when I thought of that mad act of mine, which marked
the introduction to which he alluded.
He then very
politely thanked the girls for their kindness and hos-
pitality, and was about to depart, when Marge found
tongue to invite him to renew his visit.
I know not,' he answered, somewhat pensively,
'that circumstances will ever permit me that pleasure
in person, but if you know of any way, fair ladies, '-
he continued, glancing quite meaningly at somebody,
as the girls in their jokes would afterwards have it-
'any way of receiving the visits I may pay you in
dreams, I doubt not that you will often be favored
with the repetition you have so kindly invited. Adieu,
ladies, adieu.'
"I do not certainly know the reason of Mr. Selden's
abrupt departure, but from what I can gather, I sus-
pect the Major had that morning despatched an
express to the authorities at Albany, with a view to
get the former arrested. This I presume, he, by
some means or other, got wind of, and I-am glad of it,
if for no other reason than that it defeated Philip's
jealous meanness. He gave us all quite a lecture that
night for being so familiar with one who was so much
a stranger, and threw out many ill-natured remarks
about Mr. S. that helped his own cause, perhaps, less
than he imagined. I wish heaven had made him such
a man.
"I must now close this long, and, I fear, very fool-
ish letter. I dare not read it over for fear I should
burn it. I shall remain here for the present-I must,
I suppose, till father returns. O, what will he say
when he hears what they have done with his posses-
sions! For myself, I care little or nothing about it.
He loses only what he paid for the land—a mere trifle.
As for the labor and improvements bestowed there,
he has been more than twice paid by the profits
received. Besides, he is wealthy enough without this
property, which, I really suspect, he cruelly took from
the poor settlers, who had as good a right to it as him-
self-perhaps better.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
159
If
"P. S. I said I must stay here till father's return,
but should he tarry some months, I might contrive,
perhaps, to come and spend a few weeks with you.
I should, as Mr. S. will be somewhere in your vicinity,
probably, and may claim me as an acquaintance, you
might possibly have an opportunity of being intro-
duced to him—that is, if he knew that I was there.
Now, my dear girl, I must bid you good-bye, with the
charge-now lift up your hand and swear-that you
will neither show this, nor breathe aught of its con-
tents to mortal ear! Remember!! Write soon-
adieu.
JESSY."
CHAPTER XIII
'You shall be viceroys here, 'tis true,
But we'll be viceroys over you."
"Wait not till things grow desperater,
For hanging is no laughing matter."
A few miles to the southward of the encampment of
the Green Mountain Boys, before described, stood
the tenement of a settler whose improvements were
somewhat in advance of the rough beginnings of those
who resided in the immediate vicinity. And the
owner and occupant, having gained that point of com-
parative thrift from which he could look down upon
his less fortunate neighbors, had lately begun to mani-
fest an ambition to outshine them also in the civil dis-
tinctions to which he believed himself now entitled.
But his solicitude for preferment not allowing him to
await the tardy honors which his fellow settlers of the
New Hampshire party might be inclined to bestow,
he had lately turned his longing eye to other dispen-
sers of these coveted favors. And the prayer of his
heart, being secretly made known in the right quarter,
was soon answered in the shape of an offer of the
office of justice of the peace from the government of
New York. Though aware of the dangerous nature
of such an honor to an inhabitant of the Grants, yet
160
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
the temptation, which was now set before him, and
which, indeed, he had indirectly sought, was altogether
too great to be resisted; and, in an evil hour he pri-
vately accepted the office, in defiance of a decree of the
Convention of his countrymen, which had placed the
acceptance of such an office, from such a source, by a
settler, high in the calendar of punishable offenses.
To the tenement of this aspiring dignitary we will now
take the reader, in anticipation of other visitors. It
was the next morning after the adventure of Warring-
ton and his friend, the stout stranger, at Captain Hen-
dee's; and the dawning light was just beginning to
appear in the dappled cast. The freshly made squire
was already awake, reflecting with peculiar inward
satisfaction on the honors of his new station, as he lay
beside his loving rib in a small bedroom adjoining the
kitchen. He had only the night before received his
commission, and his heart was full of the pleasing sub-
ject. He not only dwelt on the present consequence
which the office would confer, but his expanding
thoughts began to stretch forward to the future; and
he counted over the probabilities of his advancing, on
a stepping-stone like this, to much higher distinctions
under a government which, he was now ready to
believe-nay, secretly to wish-would soon exercise
the entire control in the settlement.
"They will call me squire, now." he soliloquized,
half aloud, "and once squire, always squire; so I shall
get the title, let what will come of it."
"Come of what, Mr. Prouty?" asked his helpmeet
with a yawn, awakening just in time to catch the last
part of the sentence.
"Why! why, I thought you was asleep, Polly. Come
of what, did you say? Oh, nothing in particular; only
I have been thinking over things a little. And I'll
tell you what it is-there will shortly be a great over-
turn in this settlement. There will, you may depend
on't."
"What, the Yorkers get the upper hand?"
"Sartain as you live, Polly!"
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
161
"Then where will go the title to our farm? That
was what you was talking to yourself about, wan't it,
now?"
"No, it wan't. And that ain't a thing, neither,
that troubles me a mite."
"Why not?"
"Because the office I have just got under the York
government I consider amounts to a security against
that. And if the Green Mountain Boys will let me
alone-but I don't intend they shall know about my
office yet a while."
"Yes, but what good will it do you to be a justice,
if you can't be squire?"
"Why, what does the woman mean?"
"I mean if you darsen't let folks know, so as to call
you squire."
"Oh, I can do some business, even now, among the
York party, without much danger. And it won't be
long before all that trouble will be over. For, as I
told you, there is about to be a complete overturn
here.
The Yorkers are preparing to come on with a strong
armed force. Now don't say anything to the neigh-
bors about this, Polly, as I had it in confidence from
Mr. Sherwood.
""
"Oh, did you? Well, that Mr. Sherwood is a com-
plete gentleman-how perlite he is! Don't you think
so, Mr. Prouty?"
"Yes, perlite enough, forzino. Well as I was going
to say, if they come on, Ethan Allen, Warrington and
Member Baker, with all they can raise, will stand no
fag at all with a regular York army. And all who
stand out then will be indicted and informationed
against. There will be plenty of warrants called for
about those days, you may depend on't. And I, being
the only government justice in this part of the Grants,
shall have the making of them. It will be money in
my pocket, I tell you, Polly. And then, when"-
"Well, I hope you will then feel like getting me a
new silk gownd. You know, Mr. Prouty, that my
162
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
white dimity is now the only dress that I have fit to
see company in."
"Oh, fudge!"
"I say there is no fudge about it, now. The neigh-
bors calls us rich, and still it is a solemn fact, Mr.
Prouty, and I don't care who knows it, that you dress
your wife a great deal worse than”.
"Well, well, don't bother me now; but hear what I
was coming at: When the York government gets
well established here, as it will be, they will want two
or three judges in this quarter, I guess, and I being
the only one in all this section, that had courage to
accept the office of justice of peace, shouldn't you
think, Polly, they would kind o' naturally hit on me.
for one of them?"
"Why, bless me! will they? So they will, won't
they? And then, certainly, Mr. Prouty"-
"Hush! hush! I hear somebody coming up to the
door. Who on earth can they be, I wonder, that's
started out so early?"
A smart rapping now being heard at the door,
Justice Prouty leaped from his bed, seized his-inex-
pressible, modern dandyism would term them, we
suppose, but finding no authority for believing our
fathers made use of any garment the appropriate
appellation of which they considered it indecent to
express, we will venture to call things by their right
names-seized his breeches, hurried them on, together
with the other parts of his outward equipment, and
emerged into the kitchen, after having twice gone back,
at his wife's hasty and imperious call, to close, and
more tightly close, the door behind him. After the
customary "walk in," distinctly pronounced by the
Squire, the door was opened, and two men entered,
both unknown to the former, though not so to those
who have followed us through all the different scenes
of the preceding pages. For, in the striking altitude
of one of the visitants, which compelled the civility
of bowing, nolens volens, as he entered the door, like
a boy coming into a country school, and in the com-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
163
ical leer of his countenance, as with one eye he seemed
to be measuring the affectedly dignified person of his
host, while the other was busily employed in taking an
inventory of the various articles about the room, the
reader will find no difficulty in recognizing our jovial
friend, Pete Jones. The other, whose dress and
gentlemanly bearing formed a striking contrast with
that of his rustic companion, was no other than Selden
who, as before intimated, having arrived the previous
evening, had volunteered with the former to make
this early call on the justice, to procure his immediate
attendance at their encampment in the woods.
"Be seated, gentlemen, pray be seated," said the
Squire, bustling about, and setting chairs for his
guests with one hand, and finishing the buttoning up
of his vest with the other, "make yourselves comfort-
able-no ceremony here—just turned out, you see.
Called on business, I take it, gentlemen?" he added,
meaning official business, on which his mind was still
running, and the wish, in this case, as often happens,
proving father to the thought.
"We have, sir," answered Selden, bowing with well
assumed respect. "You are a justice of the peace, we
are told?"
"Why, as to that, sir," replied Prouty, hesitating,
and glancing with a doubtful air, alternately at Selden
and his companion, "perhaps I may have heard that
is, I can't sartainly say, but I have heard that I was
appointed to the office; though as to accepting-you
are of the right party, I trust, gentlemen?"’
"We certainly think we are, at least, sir," rejoined
the former, gravely.
"That's as true as preaching, Squire," said Pete;
"for if we ain't on the right side, I would give my old
jack-knife to know who are.'
""
"All right, I presume, gentlemen; but rather tick-
lish times, you know-thought it no hurt to be a little
particular. But what business did you want done? No
harm in asking that, I s'pose, gentlemen?" said the
11
164
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
Squire, adding the last question by way of opening a
door for a retreat, should one be necessary.
"Oh, no," replied Selden, "but I know not that I
can state precisely the nature of the business which
those, who sent us for you, wish done, but it is some-
thing, I believe, that they think requires your pres-
ence.
29
"O, ho, not to be done here, then, gentlemen?”
observed the Squire, a little doubtingly, again.
"No, sir, the place is several miles from here, I
should think," responded Selden with an air of indiffer-
ence..
"Is Mr. Sherwood there?" asked the Squire, rather
anxiously.
"I believe not, Squire," answered Selden, with the
same indifference, "but they are anxious he should be,
and hope he will come before closing the business."
"I'll swear to that, Squire," said Jones, with a ludi-
crous effort to keep mischief from showing itself in his
countenance.
"Aye, all right then, gentlemen," rejoined the
Squire, still stupidly determined to understand the
indefinite and evasive language of his visitors in the
way that his wishes pointed. "But I thought I would
make sure. You, sir," he continued, addressing Sel-
den, "I thought from the first glance must belong to
the right party. This other gentleman, here, I don't
know so well about, but it makes no difference what I
thought, as I see you agree. I will attend you, gentle.
men. But hadn't we better stop and get some break-
fast first?"
"Oh, no," replied Selden, "they expressly told us
to come on immediately, and the folks would have a
good breakfast prepared for us all, by the time we
could arrive there.
Esquire Prouty, after notifying his wife of his
intended absence, now signified his readiness to depart;
when all three set forward towards the encampment
of the Green Mountain Boys, the former, without fur-
ther question, or any apparent distrust, putting him-

READING THE ROYAL PROCLAMATION

WIMPER SC
WINTHROP AND THE INDIANS
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
165
And
self under the guidance of his attendants.
wrapped up in self-consequence, and dreaming only
of the important figure he was shortly to make in the
first exercise of his new vocation, he unhesitatingly
followed his guides, as with rapid steps they silently
led the way, sometimes proceeding in the road, some-
times through a piece of woods, and sometimes
through open fields. At length they reached the
border of the dark, continuous forest, within which, at
the distance of about a half mile, was the encampment
to which they were destined; when the Squire, now
for the first time hesitating, or seeming to entertain
any suspicion that they were taking him to a less agree-
able destination than he had anticipated, paused in his
steps and threw a doubtful and apprehensive glance
around him.
"Never mind, Squire," cried Jones, who, having
with difficulty restrained himself from giving vent,
in some shape or other, to the secret merriment he had
been indulging on the way, at the Squire's credulity
in suffering himself to be so foolishly lured from home,
thought it would now do to begin to banter the
obtuse justice a little, "never mind, Squire, you
needn't look so streaked-we belong to the right
party, you know."
"Yes, but if you would but jest inform me, gentle-
men" said the other imploringly and with visible
perturbation "only jest inform me".
"Oh, push ahead, man!" interrupted Jones, who
purposely dropping in the rear, now urged on the
reluctant Squire with a show of pettish impatience,
as if detained by excuses too frivolous to merit a reply,
"push ahead, my stomach is getting fairly wolfish for
that breakfast. I'll be blessed if I don't almost think
ì begin to smell it at this distance!"
Somewhat assured by the other's manner of treating
his scruples, and, though not quite satisfied, yet feel-
ing a little ashamed of his fears, the Squire now pas-
sively suffered himself to be conducted forward, till,
reaching the foot of the mountain, and turning closely
156
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
round a projecting ledge of rocks, he suddenly, and to
his utter dismay, found himself in the midst of a group
of sturdy men, whom, from their appearance, he at
once knew to be a band of Green Mountain Boys.
Instantly comprehending the nature of their business
with him, he stopped short, and stood confused and
trembling in mute alarm before them. Nor were his
fears at all diminished by the array of well-known
names which his conductor the next moment
announced by way of introduction, the ceremonies of
which the latter now commenced performing very
formally with these nearest at hand.
64
Esquire Prouty, allow me to present you to Cap-
tain Remember Baker," began Selden, pompously
waving his hand towards a keen-eyed, determined-
looking man, who stood in front of the others.
The confused Squire nodded his head mechanically,
but his tongue refused to do its office, except by a half
articulated "How'd do, sir," as he heard the name of
one of that famous trio, who had so long been the ter-
ror of the New York authorities.
"Again, Esquire Prouty, will you permit me the
pleasure of presenting you to Captain Charles Warring-
ton?" proceeded Selden, as the latter advanced to favor
the introduction.
"Warrington!" gasped the Squire, with increased
trepidation, "Warrington, too!"
'And yet once more," continued the imperturbable
Lieutenant, beckoning to our Herculean hero of the
shag coat, who figured so conspicuously at Captain
Hendee's, in his adventure with the soldiers the night
previous, and who was now here and came forward at
the intimation, "once more, Esquire Prouty, shall I
have the very great honor of introducing you to Col-
onel Ethan Allen?''
"God have mercy on me! involuntarily burst from
the lips of the affrighted justice, as the announcement
of the last name capped the climax of his terror and
despair, "Oh, God have mercy! I am a lost man!''.
"Pooh! you cowardly fool!" exclaimed Allen, with
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
167
But come,
a look of mingled pity and contempt, "rouse up, and
bear it like a man, and if you promise no more to
betray your injured and bleeding country by becoming
the tool of tyrants, it shall go the lighter with you.
At all events, you need not fear that you will be pun-
ished to the extent of half your deserts.
boys, set on the breakfast. It might be hazardous to
our prisoners, the Squire and surveyor here, to proceed
with them, with the inward man in so ravenous a
plight; for Hunger and Mercy never got near enough
to each other to shake hands since the fall of Adam.
And even the awards of Justice herself might be ques-
tionable rectitude, if made under the irritations of an
empty stomach.
""
The breakfast, which consisted of a plentiful supply
of roasted venison, partridges, and other small game,
with such trimmings as the settlers living near, and
in the secret of the encampment, had sent in, was
served up on a rude kind of platform, composed of
smooth white pieces cleft from the freely rifting bass-
wood, and supported on cross-pieces laid upon forked
stakes, or crotches, as they are usually denominated
in the woodman's phrase. Around this temporary
table, benches of an equally rude construction were
placed sufficient for the accommodation of all the
company, including the prisoners, now consisting of
the Squire, the surveyor, and his assistant, all of
whom were respectfully shown places at the table.
The meal was generally partaken in silence, the
officers seeming to fear that too much sociability might
have a tendency to unnerve them for the task on
hand, and the men respectfully followed the example
of their superiors, with the exception of Pete Jones,
who could not forbear occasionally throwing a sly joke
at the chop-fallen Squire.
"Now gentlemen, for business," said Allen, rising
from the table the moment their meal was finished, as
ominously knitting his dark, heavy brows, he pulled
from his pocket, and in a loud, commanding voice, com-
menced reading a decree of the Convention, forbid-
168
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
""
ding "Each and all of the inhabitants of the New
Hampshire Grants, to hold, take, or accept, any office
of honor or profit under the colony of New York"-and
requiring All officers and others, acting under the
Governor or Legislature of that province, to suspend
their functions, on pain of being viewed. He then
produced a letter from a secret agent of the settlers at
Albany, giving the date of Prouty's commission, and
enclosing a letter from the Squire himself, accepting
the office in question. He also sent a copy of a notice
some weeks previous to the surveyor, warning him to
quit the Grants without delay.
"And now what have ye to say?" sternly demanded
Allen, turning to the prisoners as soon as he had fin-
ished reading the documents. "What have ye to say,
ye minions of York, why ye should not be viewed, to
the full extent and meaning of the decree, made and
provided for the like of ye?"
Quailing under the withering gaze of Allen, the
justice could not muster courage to lift his head, or
utter a single word in reply. But the surveyor, who
was a man of more firmness, and bore himself quite
collectedly on the occasion, attempted an argument
with the leader of the Green Mountain Boys, denying
all right of the settlers to arrest him, protesting
against being tried by any but a court acting under
the authority of New York, and appealing to that
authority for his justification.
"The authority of New York!" scornfully exclaimed
the other, "appeal to the authority of New York!
Why not appeal, at once, to the chancery of hell, the
fountain head of that stream of corruption which
comes to us under the name of New York law and
justice? We, sir, we, the poor and insufferably abused
settlers of these Grants, have often appealed to that
source of justice-appealed for protection against the
lawless aggressions of your cormorant speculators, who
have attempted to wrest from us our rightful posses-
sions, to seize, with the grasp of plunderers, our hard-
earned pittances, and turn us out, houseless and desti-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
169
tute, into the wilderness. But we have appealed in
vain, and only to learn our own folly in expecting that
sin would ever be rebuked by Satan. No, sir, we will
suffer no such appeal, but will ourselves give you a
conclusive judgment in the premises; and such an
one, too, as shall give you the wages of your iniquities.
What say you, my merry mountaineers?"
As soon as the hearty, but variously expressed
responses, by which the men testified their approbation
of the remarks of their leader, were over, Baker, War-
rington, and Selden, who, during the discussion, had
been engaged in a low conversation apart from the
rest, beckoned Allen to approach them. The latter,
obeying the intimation, advanced, and, after listening
attentively a while to some proposal or plan, which the
others appeared to be imparting to him, snapped his
fingers with delight, and exclaimed:
"Capital! capital, by Jupiter!" he repeated, bring-
ing down his huge palm upon the snugly fitting buck-
skin covering his broad thigh, with a slap that echoed
through the woods like the report of
the report of a pistol.
'Member, you shall announce it to them, and I will
see that it is carried into execution."
66
Baker accordingly stepped forward and addressing
the surveyor, gravely informed him that it had been
determined to accede to the wish he had expressed, of
being tried, if he was to be tried at all, by a court of his
own colony, and that Justice Prouty, who had lately been
commissioned by the government of New York, would
therefore now immediately proceed with the trial.
"Oh, gentleman, oh, sir!" began Prouty, beseech-
ingly, as Allen now came forward to attend to the
part he had proposed to assume in the business.
"Now don't, Justice Prouty," interrupted Selden,
with provoking irony, "don't, I beg of you, suffer
your diffidence to deprive us of the aid of your acknowl-
edged abilities in this important case. Having had
the honor of introducing you to this company, I am
very anxious that you should acquit yourself creditably
on the occasion.'
170
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Yes, sir, but then ny situation"-again began to
expostulate the troubled justice.
66
Come, your worship," interrupted Allen, with a
spice of the comic mingled with the determined
expression of his countenance, "you are to try, and to
sentence this York interloper, and no two ways about
it, neither, I will swear to you. There!" he contin-
ued, seizing the reluctant and trembling Squire, with
one hand grasping the seat of his breeches, and the
other his collar, and lifting and placing him on the
side of the platform, with the apparent ease of one
handling an infant: "There! sit on the edge of this
table, for a King's Bench. You did not think to arrive
to that honor so soon, did you, Squire?"
"Now, Squire," said Peter Jones, with one of his
mischievous looks, "may I be eternally happy, if I
don't think you a considerable dabster of a prophet!
Don't you see how cute it is all coming to pass what
you told your old woman this morning about your get-
ting to be a judge soon? Though I must axe your par-
don, Squire, for listening under your bedroom win-
dow a little, before we rapped to come in."
"Well, is the court ready to proceed?" said Allen.
Now for my opening, as the lawyers say--I am for
the prosecution, recollect."
"Now I do protest-I beseech you, sir"-once more
began to stammer the confused and dreadfully per-
plexed justice.
"Shut up, sir!" fiercely exclaimed Allen. "Hell
and Furies! who ever heard of a court before so
despotic as to refuse to hear the statements of counsel?
No, no, Mr. Court, that will never do, so now hear
me.'
The Squire, thus awed into silence, hung his head,
and sat as still as his agitation would permit, while
the other produced and again read the documents by
which he had first introduced the subject; and, after
briefly summing up the evidence, demanded that a
sentence be imposed upon the surveyor of forty lashes
of the beech rod.
1
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
171
"I dispute the authority of your pretended Conven-
tion, and I protest against the whole of these proceed-
ings as illegal and riotous," exclaimed the surveyor,
with considerable spirit.
"Well, very well, sir," said Allen, with the utmost
composure; "you have had your say, and made your
defense, as you had an undoubted right to do. Í am
always for liberty of speech when a man has really
anything to say, and also for allowing a fair hearing in
all cases, though that is more than your infernal York
tribunals will permit, in nine cases out of ten. But let
us now attend to the decision of the court.
Boys, you
may as well be getting a brace of genteel beech-seal-
ers; for I feel very confident of a decision in my favor.
Now, Mr. Justice, proceed with your sentence. Forty
stripes, with a green beech rod, is all I claim, recollect
-quite moderate, certainly; but it is always best to
lean towards the side of mercy. Proceed, sir!"
"Anything else, gentlemen," groaned the distressed
Squire, "I will do anything else you say. But this,
now, I cannot, and dare not do.'
No
"Hark'ee, Mr. Court," rejoined the other, placing
his arms akimbo, and looking at the justice with the
air of one resolved to have no more words on the sub-
ject, "a sentence out of you I will have, as sure as the
devil delays his coming for your soul long enough for
you to pronounce it. Will you proceed, sir?
answer, eh? Well, we will soon see whether Ethan
Allen has got to eat his own words, or not. Jones,
bring me that surveyor's chain in the camp, there."
Allen, taking out his pocket handkerchief, very
deliberately made a slip nocse, and adjusted it round
the neck of the trembling Squire. He next carefully
tied the tail of this noose to one end of the chain,
throwing the other end, at the same time, over the
large limb of a tree, which projected directly over their
heads, at the height of twelve or fifteen feet from the
ground.
"There, Jones, catch that end, and just straighten
her out a little, he observed, with a cool, business-
31
172
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
like air. “I have heard say that hanging was intended
to bring about justice. Let us see if a little of it
won't have that effect in the present instance."
Obeying with mischievous alacrity, Pete, now run-
ning the chain rapidly over the limb, brought it up
just "taut enough," to use a sea phrase, to make the
noose sensibly felt by the Squire; upon which the lat-
ter, staring and glaring wildly around, as a slight
sense of suffocation came over him, leaped upon his
feet, and stood upright. This shift, however, afforded
him but a momentary relief; for Jones quickly fol-
lowed up the movement, straightening the chain with
a jerk that brought the victim on his toes; in which
position, grappling the chain above his head with both
hands, and begging, like a half-whipped schoolboy, for
mercy, he was suffered to remain a moment, to give
him one more opportunity of complying with the
requisition which had been made upon him.
"Your last chance of salvation!" exclaimed the
leader, in a tone that testified his growing impatience
at the man's obstinacy. "You will comply in one
moment more, or, by the horned Lucifer, the next
shall find you dangling within a yard of yonder limb!''
"Now I would, gentlemen, sartainly would, if”—
again began to splutter the struggling, though yet
unconquered Squire.
"String him up, Jones!" cried Allen, with startling
energy.
The next instant the body of the poor justice was
spinning round on one toe, with the tip of which he
was barely able to touch the platform.
"Oh! I'm choking!" screeched the now really
suffering wretch. "Oh! ugh! ugh! ugh! I will-
will-I'll do it!”
"Ease away there, Jones!" said Allen,"he has come
to his senses at last, and I think there will be no
further trouble; so you may give him full play now."
After being again questioned as to the reality of his
intentions to proceed with the required task, the sub-
dued Squire was let fully down, and permitted to stand
1
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
173
at ease on the platform; when, as soon as he had
recovered his breath and composure sufficiently to
allow him to speak, he mumbled off the sentence which
he had run such a risk to avoid pronouncing.
"Now. Mr. Court," said Allen, with a slightly
roguish curl of the lip, "as you have been brought to
a sense of your duty, and given the sentence which
justice required of you, it is no doubt incumbent on
you, sir, to see it executed. And as all my men here
stand sworn never to execute any sentence of a York
magistrate, it follows, of course, that you must be the
executioner yourself, in the present case; so now dis-
mount, sir, if you please, take this rod, and, after I
have unnoosed you of this marvelous prompter of jus-
tice, he continued, taking off the noose, and placing
a beechen rod in the hands of the other, you will pro-
ceed to apply it in a way that shall show the sincerity
of what you have just said and done. Boys, you may
take off the surveyor's coat, and then form a ring, with
a few switches in your hands, if you will, to see that
justice is duly administered on the occasion. There,
that will do. Well, Squire, we are now ready to pro-
ed-what! hesitating again! Jones, seize the end
that chain, there, and be ready, while I replace the
noose."
But Prouty, having had quite as many of such
promptings as he felt willing to receive, did not wait
to be noosed again, but lifting the rod, moved forward,
as if ready to perform the required task, without fur-
ther resistance. Allen then advanced and threw
another rod down at the feet of the surveyor, gravely
observing-
"There, Mr. Surveyor, supposing from what you
have thrown out here, that you think the court have
sentenced you unjustly, we have concluded that, while
he is executing the sentence on you, we will give you
a chance to avenge the injury. You have therefore
our free and full permission to return blow for blow
through the whole of it. Indeed, sir, I should rather
advise you to do it; for our boys here, who are great
174
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
sticklers for fair play, may take it into their heads,
perhaps, to say that it. would be unjust for one Yorker
to receive all the honors of the day, without imparting
an equitable share to his fellow. And in case you
should neglect to do what they think is about right, I
know not what may happen to you. And now, Mr.
Justice," he continued, turning sternly to Prouty,
'now, Mr. Justice, be lively, and with the fear of God
and Ethan Allen before your eyes, lay on, sir!"
It would be difficult to conceive anything more
strangely ludicrous than the scene that followed. The
reluctant Squire, daring no longer to delay, now gave
two or three faint and harmless blows across the legs
of the surveyor; when he was admonished by Allen,
in a tone which experience had taught him pretty well
how to interpret, to lay on more seriously. Spurred
up by his fears, the justice then began to administer
the applications of his rod with about that medium
degree of violence, which, producing all the smart of
heavier blows without the benumbing antidote of
bruising, is always far more irritating, and is gen-
erally, perhaps, even more intensely painful to the
victim than blows of double the severity. At al
events, the Squire's applications soon produced a very
visible effect on the surveyor, who, till this stage of
the business, had stood eyeing the proceedings in
dogged silence. But now leaping about, and being
no longer able to stand the pain which the Squire's
applications began to impart, he hastily caught up the
rod at his feet, and, swearing with spiteful bitterness,
that he would put it on, to punish the other for suffer-
ing himself to become the tool of a mob, gave back the
blows with so much interest that it soon roused in turn
the ire of the justice, who, now beginning to dance to
the same tune, and from the same cause which had
put his opponent in motion, fell to, and laid on in good
earnest. Becoming thus mutually incensed, and the
anger of each rapidly kindling at the increased pain of
his adversary's applications, every blow from the one
was followed by a heavier blow from the other. And,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
175
the blows falling heavier and thicker every instant, it
soon grew into one of the most severe and furious
flagellations ever witnessed in the settlement, and one
that was amply satisfactory to our band of Green
Mountain Boys, who stood by, sending forth shout
after shout, and peal after peal of laughter, that fairly
shook the slumbering wilderness with the deafening
reverberations. And so deeply engaged had become
these accustomed dignitaries in administering to each.
other this whimsically conceived and queerly con-
ducted punishment, that it was not till they had
exceeded the prescribed number of stripes by nearly a
dozen, that either of them thought of yielding. Prouty,
however, being of a less obstinate disposition, and
possessing less nerve than the other, at length gave
over, and cried lustily for quarter, which, even then,
so implacable had the surveyor become, was only
granted him on the interposition of the Green Moun-
tain Boys.
"Well, Squire," said Jones, the only man who
seemed disposed to make any comments at the close of
this curious scene, "don't you think these Yorkers
most cruel bloody fellows? Ah! jest as I told you,
Squire, we belong to the right party."
The business of the morning having been thus
brought to a close, Justice Prouty, with an admonition
to go and learn wisdom from folly, was released and
sent home. The surveyor's instruments were next
broken to pieces by Allen, and the fragments hurled
into the bushes. The surveyor himself, with his assist-
ant, who had not been considered of public conse-
quence enough to be punished, was then put in charge
of Jones and Brown, who were ordered to escort them
to the New York line, and there leave them.
Within half an hour from the departure of the pris-
oners, the encampment of the Green Mountain Boys
under Snake Mountain was broken up, and the place
deserted, the different individuals composing the band,
after a brief consultation, having been dispatched by
their enterprising and impetuous leader, in various
176
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
directions on secret business connected with the im-
portant events which were in train, and the new and
untried scenes which were now soon to follow.
CHAPTER XIV
"Strong hands in harvest, daring feet in chase,
True hearts in fight, were gathered in that place
Of secret council."
If there is a town in Vermont whose first set of
inhabitants deserved the appellation of high-minded
and worthy, it was the early settlers of Middlebury.
Distinguished, from their first pitch on the fertile
banks of the Otter, for enterprise, firmness and intelli-
gence, they were among the foremost to resist the
aggressions of a government which, unwittingly, per-
haps, had lent itself to aid the unprincipled schemes
of a few rapacious land speculators; while the opening
scenes of our Revolution found them ready to engage,
with the same alacrity, and with the best of their
means in the greater work of achieving the independ-
ence of their whole country. And scarcely had the
storm of war passed over, and the sunlight of peace
began to break in on their infant settlement, before
they united, with a zeal as extraordinary, considering
their circumstances and means, as it was commendable,
in rearing, by private munificence alone, a collegiate
institution which for many succeeding years did more,
probably, towards elevating the moral and literary
character of Vermont, than any one cause operating
within her borders. And her alumni, now many of
them in eminence at the bar, and in the pulpit, and
found gracing not only every station in their own
favored country, from the humble schoolroom, to the
senate chamber of the nation, but nobly dispensing
her light among the people of every clime upon the
face of the broad earth, whither, in the fearless and
enterprising spirit of their fathers, they have scattered
themselves,-now to teach the arts to the boorish Russ
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
177
or besotted Turk, now to assist the enslaved Greek,
or South American, in his struggles for freedom, and
now to rear the standard of the Cross among the
degraded pagans of the East-her grateful alumni,
often, often turn back, in fancy, to their beloved Alma
Mater,
"To linger delighted o'er scenes recall'd there,"
and admire, and bless the noble and self-sacrificing
spirit of Painter, Chipman, Storrs, and others of her
munificent founders, who made themselves poor in
pecuniary estate that the children of their country
might become rich in knowledge.
With these remarks, suggested by the location of the
scene about to be described, and their expression here
prompted by the personal interest which the writer of
these unworthy pages must ever feel in that institu-
tion, in which he was taught at once his weakness and
his strength, and to which he is mainly indebted for the
schooling and chastening of a wild and untutored
imagination, and for the formation of whatever mental
character he may possess; with these remarks, we say,
let us now proceed in the narration of our story.
Could one of the fabled scenes drawn by the immor-
tal Homer have been so far realized, on the 4th of
May, 1775, that Mars, the supposed supervisor of every
military enterprise, had sat in his cloud-begirt chariot
over that tract of country lying between Lake Cham-
plain and the Green Mountains, to take note of what-
ever in his line of business might be on foot below, he
might have perceived, on looking down from his lofty
car, near the close of that day, movements among the
inhabitants of the particular section just named, so
simultaneous, and yet so apparently unconcerted, that
even his godship, himself, unless previously in the
secret, would have been sadly puzzled to decide in
what manner to account for them. Nearly every man
could have been seen leaving his home for some point
not far to the south of those falls on Otter Creek,
around which the flourishing village of Middlebury now
178
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
-
Near
stands. Though all would have seemed gradually
centering to this spot, yet this would have been the
only point of agreement discoverable in their move-
ments, or apparent objects. Some carried axes on
their shoulders, some hoes, or other implements of
husbandry, and some had guns, with which they ap-
peared to be amusing themselves, as they passed
along, by shooting squirrels, or whatever small game
might fall in their way. And, in no instance, were
two men seen traveling together; and, if by chance
any two happened to come across each other, they
immediately separated, one stopping till the other had
passed out of sight, or both diverging into different,
though parallel routes. The exact point of their con-
centration was at length seen to be an opening in the
wilderness, on a gentle swell of land, commanding a
view of the devious Otter from its western side.
the center of this opening stood a log house tenanted
by a hardy and enterprising settler, a confidential
friend of the master-spirit of this clandestine gathering.
A barn also of the same construction, and of dimen-
sions ample enough to hold half a regiment within its
walls, was standing some rods in the rear of the house.
This huge fabric, as it finally appeared, had been
selected, both on account of its size, and the central
position which it occupied in the northern part of the
Grants, for the approaching meeting of the Green
Mountain Boys. And as the shades of evening began
to gather over the wilderness, and individual objects
grew indistinct to the view, many a dark form might
be discovered emerging, one by one, from every point
of the surrounding woods and stealthily taking their
way in silence towards the building appointed for their
rendezvous.
But leaving this company to finish their noiseless
gathering, we will now recur to note the adventures
of one of our heroes on his way to the scene of action.
We speak in the plural here, as we do not pretend to
fix on any one of the several leading personages of our
story as the particular hero of the work.-But should

MASSACRE OF SETTLERS BY THE INDIANS

2
INDIAN MEDICINE BAG, MYSTERY WHISTLE, RATTLES AND DRUM
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
179
the reader deem such an one to be essential in the
performance, we leave him to make his own selection
from all the characters we have introduced-a privi-
lege to the reader, which, we trust, will prevent any
question in his mind whether the author himself has
selected the one for this honor who is the most worthy
of the appellation; and a privilege, too, that we the
more freely accord, since we have often wished for the
same favor ourselves, while reading works of this
kind, and bored with the everlasting recurrence of
"our hero," applied, not unfrequently, to the worst
drawn, and by far the most spiritless character in the
book.
After the separation of our band in the morning, the
leaders, as before intimated, were actively engaged
through a good part of the day in calling upon the set-
tlers to sound their views and feelings in regard to the
approaching struggle between the colonies and mother.
country, and to apprise them, if found right in senti-
ments, and ripe for action, as was generally the case,
of the contemplated meeting, and the precautions
deemed important to be observed in conducting it.
But
Warrington, having performed the task allotted to
him as his share of the delicate, and sometimes diffi-
cult duty, set out, late in the afternoon, for the
appointed rendezvous of the evening. After leaving
the vicinity of the lake, to the borders of which his
duties had been principally confined, he soon entered
the woods, and having decided on the course to be
taken, proceeded onward with a rapid step several
miles towards his destination without pausing.
at length, feeling somewhat wearied with the exertions
of the day, he sat down to rest him, for a few mo-
ments, on the trunk of a fallen tree, and was dreamily
running over in his mind the singular events of the
past few days, when his attention was arrested by a
clicking sound, resembling that which attends the
cocking of a musket. While looking around him in
doubt whether his senses had not deceived him, in
respect to the impression they conveyed of the sound,
180
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
he distinctly heard the snapping of a fire-lock in a
thicket at no great distance from the spot he occupied.
Springing upon his feet, he brought his own rifle to
his shoulder, and, stepping behind a tree, awaited in
silence the result, which, he supposed, whatever the
cause of the movement, would soon be disclosed. But
hearing nothing further, and concluding that the sound.
came from some hunter, who, having gained sight of
game, and snapping his piece at it, had noiselessly
crept off after it in another direction, he thought but
little more on the subject at this time, and soon leis-
urely proceeded on his way. The walk of half a mile
now brought him to that dead and desolate stream,
whose name, at the present day, "Lemon Fair,” has
so often proved a puzzler to the stranger traversing
this section of the country, and led him to ask the
cause of so singular an appellation. The explanation
that follows, however, reconciles the apparent incon-
gruity in a way as simple and curious as it is generally
unexpected. And the inquirer is soon enabled to trace
this before unaccountable name, from "Lemon Fair,"
through "Lamen Fair," to "the lamentable affair!''
which is said to have burst from the agonized bosom
of a traveler, who once, in attempting to ford the
stream, was doomed to the pain of witnessing his
noble steed become inextricably mired, and, sinking
deeper and deeper at every effort to clear himself,
finally disappear with fearful death-struggles, in the
bottomless quags of this Styx of Vermontane rivers.
Warrington here paused to note the air of peculiar
dreariness and gloom which, even at this day, seems to
brood over this paradise of eels and owls-the former
finding their Elysium in the stagnant, muddy and
root-tangled pools of the stream, and the latter on the
decayed limbs of the long colonnade of dead and leaf-
less trees lining the banks, where they sit moping and
gloating over their inexhaustible storehouse of count-
less reptiles swarming in the dark and turbid waters
beneath. And while standing upon the banks of this
stream. with his mind thus engrossed, he was startled
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
181
by the sharp report of a rifle, bursting from a fallen
tree-top on a knoll at the distance of some eight or ten
rods behind him; while at the same instant, a bullet,
passing through his coat between his arm and body,
struck and buried itself on the dry and barkless sur-
face of a tree, standing a few yards before him.
Whirling suddenly round towards the covert from
which the shot issued, as now plainly indicated by a
light cloud of diffusing smoke, he again quickly
brought his rifle to his shoulder, and stood for a few
seconds straining his vision for a sight of the invisible
foe. But being unable to discover any object with such
certainty as would justify his returning the fire, he
suddenly changed his purpose, and leaped forward
with all possible speed towards the place. In one
moment he stood on the spot just occupied by his das-
tard assailant, when he succeeded in catching a glimpse
of a dark form rapidly retreating over another swell
into a thick and tangled swamp. His first impulse
was to recommence the pursuit; but a second thought
told him that it would probably be in vain, while it
uselessly exposed him to the hazard of another shot of
his enemy from some concealment, which he would
have time to gain unperceived. He therefore reluc-
tantly turned and retraced his steps to the stream he
had just left.
From the form and motions of the assassin, although
in a disguised dress, Warrington was but little at loss
in identifying him with Darrow, whom he had twice
met and as often frustrated in his base, or, to say the
least, very questionable designs. And coupling the
improbability that the fellow was acting from his own
promptings in his murderous attempt, with the friendly
hints of Miss Hendee, he no longer doubted that Sher-
wood was indeed bent on his destruction, and finding
a willing instrument in Darrow, had instigated this
method of accomplishing it. But abandoning all
thoughts of any measures to punish, or circumvent,
either the base tool, or his still more dastard employer,
till his public duties should allow him more leisure,
182
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
he now hastily crossed the stream, and proceeded with
rapid steps towards the rendezvous of his assembling
companions, which he only reached just as the last
glimmerings of departing daylight were fading in the
western horizon.
"Charles, how is this!" exclaimed Colonel Allen,
breaking away, as soon as he noticed Warrington's
arrival, from a group of several of the most influential
settlers in the vicinity, with whom he appeared to
have been engaged in a low, confidential conversation;
"how is this, that you are the last man to come on the
ground? Why, I thought the devil had got you, or,
what is the same thing in Dutch, that you had gone
over to the British, to apprise them of our project.
But, come, sir, as I suppose we must allow you the
credit of having done rather better than that, I have
concluded to make you my right-hand man for the
evening. So now for business."
"In that case, Colonel," replied the other, “let me
suggest to you the precaution of placing a few senti-
nels around us, while in convention. There may be
those abroad to-night, who, if permitted to look in
upon us here, would render our enterprise as vain as
the crusades. Were it not too dark, I would show you
a hole in my coat, through which one of these prowlers
a few miles back, by a small mistake, put a bullet,
instead of through my heart, as evidently intended."
"God bless you, Charles, what do you mean?” asked
Allen, with surprise and emotion.
"I mean as I say."
"But who could it be?"
"That despicable sergeant, instigated by Sherwood,
I suspect."'
"And what was you about not to return the compli-
ment on the spot?"
"He escaped me in a thicket, and I had not time to
spend in the cautious pursuit which would be safe or
successful-would to heaven I could have had more
leisure!"
"Well, by the blessing of God, Charles, within a
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
183
week, we will have our heels on that nest of rattle-
snakes. But it is time to organize. You were right.
about a guard—will you attend to placing it, while I
assemble the company in the barn, and see that each
has the watchword?"
Allen now ordered lights to be brought, and placing
himself at the door of the building, he called to the
company to advance and enter singly. Each man, as
he presented himself, and before suffered to pass in,
was strictly required to give the watchword, which, as
a precautionary measure to prevent any one being
present whose views had not been previously ascer-
tained, had been confidentially imparted by Allen and
his associate leaders since the meeting was in agitation.
The word chosen for this purpose was Carillon, an
appellation by which Fort Ticonderoga was designated
by the French while in the possession of their govern-
ment. After every man had passed this test of admit-
tance, and thus proved himself entitled to mingle in
the deliberations of the assembly, Col. Allen called the
meeting to order, and, after stating that important
business was in contemplation, the successful result of
which might depend on the secrecy with which it was
conducted, proposed a sort of oath or affirmation,
binding all present by a solemn promise not to divulge
the proceedings of this meeting, and its consequent
measures, till the reasons, which made secrecy neces-
sary, should cease to exist. This proposition was
acceded to and the oath taken by rising. Allen then,
as the acting chairman of the assemblage, declared the
meeting open for remarks on the subject which they
had met to discuss.
The dead silence, which was now for a few moments
observed by the expectant assembly, was broken by
Warrington, who, calmly rising, proceeded, after a few
preliminary observations, to give a brief history of the
commencement and progress of the quarrel between
the colonies and mother country. He then enumer-
ated the wrongs and aggressions which the former had
suffered, while meekly and vainly petitioning for
184
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS ·
redress, and closed by a vivid picture of the recent
massacre at Lexington, and with an eloquent appeal
to the settlers to join the inhabitants of the sister
colonies in avenging the death of their slaughtered
countrymen.
As he closed his harangue, which had been listened
to with the most profound attention, a visible excite-
ment ran through the assembly. And the hasty
changing of positions, as they sat upon their rude
plank seats ranged in rows round a small table, on
which dimly burned a small taper, the glistening eye,
the indignant glance, the firmly compressed lip, and
the silent working of the muscles of the faces of these
hardy mountaineers plainly told the speaker that he
had been addressing men who neither lacked the intel-
ligence to comprehend, nor the spirit to act, as soon
as a definite object for action was set before them.
Remember Baker, one of the most shrewd, saga-
cious, and coolly calculating men of the settlement,
next arose and addressed the meeting. With a few
observations-for he was not a man of many words—
going to confirm the statements, and fortify the posi-
tions of Warrington, he told them, that although he
doubted not in the least that principle alone with
them would be sufficient to excite them to action in
the coming contest, yet their policy, as settlers
engaged in a controversy with New York for their
homes and property, demanded that they should take
a bold and decided stand against the British; for by
doing this they would at once enlist the sympathies of
the other colonies in regard to their wrongs, draw
upon themselves the attention and respect of Congress,
to which, if backed by the consideration of a merito-
rious service in the common cause of the country, they
could successfully appeal for protection against the
aggressions of New York, and thus place themselves
in an attitude in which they could not only command
justice, but finally secure the privilege of becoming
an independent state.
"'Member is right!" exclaimed one of that class
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
185
with whom this artful, and, as the event afterwards
proved, by no means ill-grounded argument, was cal-
culated to operate with particular force.
"Ay, ay!" responded another, "give me 'Member
Baker for foresight! The more birds we can kill with
one stone the better.
Although the argument of Baker was not probably
without its effect on the minds of all, situated as the
settlers were with respect to their controverted rights,
and when added to the manly appeal of Warrington to
their patriotism and principles, had wrought up the
assembly to a high pitch of feeling, yet Allen, conceiv-
ing that something more was needed to ripen them for
action, and raise their minds, as he was desirous of
doing, to a level with his own high-toned enthusiasm,
now rose, and, after looking for a moment fearlessly
and confidently around him, as he stood towering with
his giant form, like Saul among the people, began,-
"Men of the Green Mountains,-
.
But
"In the struggle in which you have been for many
years engaged, you have won among the people of
these colonies a name for valor and patriotism.
have you gained this proud distinction in surmounting
the difficulties of the past, to lose it now by inaction
in the more important stake of the present? Have
you so long, so nobly, so triumphantly, resisted arbi-
trary power in the shape of little tyrants near home,
to submit now to the lawless dictations of great ones
from abroad? Are you, who have just saved your
homes and possessions from the grasp of these, now
willing to yield them tamely to those?-to those whose
despotic dominion would soon render them but posses-
sions in name, to be transmitted to whom? to whom, I
say?—to slaves in the persons of your own children!
Yes, your own children, who, if suffered to retain
their inheritance at all, must retain it with a foot of a
lord on their necks, and the hand of a priest in their
pockets! Green Mountain Boys! could you, who have
drank in liberty, from the very air of your green hills,
never yet contaminated by the breath of a tyrant,
186
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
could you witness this and live? And, above all, can
you now look idly on, and see a hireling soldiery
swarming your country, enforcing the accursed requi-
sitions of their masters at the point of the bayonet,
shooting down your countrymen and brothers by
scores, as if they were wild beasts, for exercising but
the rights which God and nature have given them—can
you look upon a scene like this, and lift no hand for
your rights?-strike no blow to avenge the cold-
blooded murder of your countrymen at Lexington?
Great God forbid! No! no! my brave mountaineers,
you were never born to be cringing slaves! Your bold
hearts and sinewy arms were never made to be listless
and idle at a time like this! Come, then, come on!
follow me, whose heart is laboring and leaping for
the work of vengeance, and whose arm is nerved and
aching for the blow! Follow me, and I will lead you
to deeds which shall cover the Green Mountain Boys
with imperishable glory, and make their name the
watchword of liberty, while a tyrant shall remain to
disgrace the image of God, or pollute the earth with
his presence.'
During the delivery of this brief and exciting
appeal, the expectant audience at first sat in their
seats as silent and motionless as a group of statues.
Before the speaker had proceeded through many sen-
tences, however, the whole company had noiselessly
risen in their places, where they stood as if spellbound
in their tracks, every head eagerly bent forward, and
every eye, gleaming with the kindling fire within,
riveted upon their idolized leader, to catch the bold
and inspiriting thoughts that fell burning from his
lips, now with looks of fire and scorn, and now with
the intonations of thunder. And as he went on,
rising in energy and power at every sentence, eyes
were seen to flash brighter and brighter with indigna-
tion, tears of excited and overflowing feeling to gush
over many a rough cheek, while many a clenched and
brawny fist was brandished aloft, in mute response to
the heart-stirring words of the speaker. And when he
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
187
closed, "Ethan Allen, forever! Ethan Allen, forever!''
rose in one loud, convulsive shout to heaven.
All being now ripe for action, and many loudly
demanding the object which might immediately
require their services, Allen laid before them the proj-
ect of marching at once upon the British forts at
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, with the object of sur-
prising and capturing these two important though now
weakly garrisoned fortresses. The settlers being in
general well apprised of the state of these garrisons,
and entering with great zeal into the views of their
leaders respecting the importance and feasibility of
the proposed plan, the latter now made a call for vol-
unteers, and immediately commenced an enrollment
of names, which, when completed, was found, to the
joy and surprise of Allen and his colleagues, to
embrace more than three-fourths of the assemblage
now present, while even the rest expressed an earnest
wish to aid in the enterprise so far as it could be done
without leaving the neighborhood of their homes,
where their presence was demanded. All necessary
measures preparatory to the expedition, as far as
regarded the forces raised in this section of the Grants,
were then discussed and settled, and a sufficient num-
ber of men was selected to guard every road by
which any information of the contemplated movement
could be conveyed to the enemy. These were ordered
to enter upon their duties the next day; while the main
body were to equip, and otherwise prepare themselves
in the best manner the circumstances would admit,
and assemble at Castleton on the fourth day from the
present time.
After these arrangements were com-
pleted, Allen ordered his horse to be brought to the
door, and announced his intention of departing that
night for the south part of the settlement, to superin-
tend the mustering of the forces enlisting, or enlisted,
in that quarter.
"Well, my brave boys," said the Colonel, mounting
his horse, while his devoted followers were crowding
around him, "remember to meet me at Castleton on
188
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
the 8th. Captain Warrington and Lieutenant Selden
will muster and take charge of you. Captain Baker
goes to Winooski River to raise what force he can there,
and come in boats to join us on the lake.
As to my-
self, before to-morrow's sunset I must be at Holy Hill.*
And now, my fine fellows, go home, and prepare your-
selves, without letting your left hands know what your
right are doing, and may the Lord bless you all till I
see you again.'
So saying, and putting spurs to his horse, he rushed
down the road to the south and disappeared.
CHAPTER XV
"Now be thou strong! Oh! knew we not
Our path must lead to this?
A shadow and a trembling still
Were mingled with our bliss."
The following epistle from Miss Hendee to Miss
Reed, in answer to the one from the latter, inserted in
a previous chapter, was written in the interval
between the meeting of the Green Mountain Boys, last
described, and the general mustering of their forces
for their contemplated enterprise:
"Forgive me, dear Jessy, but really I could not help
laughing, on the receipt and perusal of your vivacious
and very interesting letter, to see the desperate
attempts you there repeatedly make to conceal from
me, and yourself, by naked, unmasked assertions, and
inferences without premises, the heart-hidden secret
which your every third sentence, at least, most pal-
pably discloses. Yes, my lady, whether you believe it
or not, yourself, you are but little better than a gone
girl, and your doughty major will find it out, too, as
sure as Jealousy has eyes, and Love none. But never
mind it, my dear girl, nor turn up that pretty slender
*An appellation by which Ethan Allen was in the habit of
calling Bennington.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
189
nose in a miff at what I say, since the same letter that
gives you cause of displeasure, if cause there be, will
furnish you also with the means of an ample revenge;
for I, too, have adventures to relate, of the past week's
occurrence, scarcely less extraordinary than your own.
When you said, Jessy, in that little parenthesis, which
you threw into your letter concerning Warrington, ‘A
noble-looking fellow, I wish you could see him,' you
little thought that your wish had been granted ere
expressed; and far less did you dream, when you
added, 'I think you would like him,' how much of a
prophetess you were likely to become; for Charles War-
rington I have seen, Warrington the Green Mountain
Boy, Warrington the York outlaw, and Warrington
the generous, high-minded, and, as you truly say
noble-looking fellow! And in what estimation I se-
cretly hold him, you will better understand, when I
inform you that my old acquaintance Howard, of
whom you have often heard me speak, and Warring-
ton, are one and the same person! You cannot be
more surprised at this news than I was, myself, at the
discovery. And not small was the confusion of
thought and feeling I experienced at first, I confess,
in reconciling the warring conceptions I had previously
entertained of these two, as I supposed them, differ-
ent, and almost diametrically opposite characters.
this, however, I have at length succeeded, and even to
that degree that I cannot but feel that the character
of Howard, pure and exalted as I ever thought it,
receives an additional luster from the noble and disin-
terested part he has taken in behalf of these poor, and
as I am now satisfied, unjustly treated settlers.
In
"And with this avowal of opinion, you will, of course,
understand that I think none the worse of him for
being a New York outlaw.
"We have had three interviews. The two first I
must pass over lightly, as I have much of a more inter-
esting character to communicate. I first encountered
Warrington in the border of the woods adjoining our
opening, where I wandered, a fatalist would think,
190
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
but to be frightened by the questionable appearance
of a sergeant from the fort, and to be relieved by the
opportune arrival of my knight-errant Green Moun-
tain Boy. Our next meeting was at our house, where,
in the course of the evening, he made known to me
for the first time the identity of which I have spoken,
and where also he came near being seized by this same
sergeant and his soldiers, who, I feel sure, came here
for no other purpose, being prompted by the reward,
and instigated, as I cannot but suspect, by one who
shall be nameless. But Warrington and another of
the leaders of the Green Mountain Boys, who hap-
pened here that evening, and who, by the way, was a
most extraordinary man, fairly outgeneraled their
mercenary enemies, and, by a little favoring from a
quarter which you are at liberty to guess at, both
luckily made their escape. Our last interview has
been to-day, and a most important one, too, I fear it
may prove, to the destinies of your perplexed and in
some respects truly unhappy friend. But before
entering upon particulars, I must recur to some events
which transpired in the interim. The next day after
W.'s visit and fortunate escape, Sherwood came here,
and raised a storm in our quiet family, which has not
yet wholly ceased raging. It seems this sagacious
lover of mine, who has often heard my father recount
the Samaritan kindness of Howard, and perhaps sus-
pected my own secret partialities, had discovered, by
worming himself into the confidence of the settlers,
that Howard and Warrington were the same, but, for
reasons of his own, had kept the discovery entirely to
himself, though he had been for several months in
possession of the secret. It appears, also, that he had
been apprised of each of my interviews with Warring-
ton. And coming armed with all this annihilating
array of facts, as he believed it, he, without saying a
word to me, called my father aside, and poured the
whole story into his ears, with such additions and
embellishments as he conceived would best subserve
his purpose, the amount of which was, as near as I
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
191
could gather, that my father had been harboring a
branded villain, who, in the guise of a gentleman, had
been aiming at the seduction of his daughter, and the
eventual seizure of his possessions. Trembling from
head to foot with uncontrollable rage, my father
immediately hastened to my apartment.
I will not, I
cannot even attempt a description of the painful
scene that followed. You are not unacquainted with
my father's unfortunate infirmities of temper. You
can, therefore, in some measure fancy, perhaps, how
he would feel and act under such a representation of
things, so nearly affecting his wishes and interests-a
representation in which fact and falsehood were so
artfully blended that a much cooler temperament,
under the circumstances, might have been thus
wrought up to anger. He swore and wept alternately.
1 wept freely also, but only at witnessing his distress,
and at the thought of my own luckless destiny, which
had placed me in a situation where I must sacrifice my
own happiness for life, or probably be the means of
destroying that of a parent, who, with all his faults, is
still dear to my heart. I said but little, however.
Delicacy, as well as prudence, forbade my disclosing
the state of my feelings. And as to all other charges,
I could only assert my innocence, for I had then given
Mr. W. scarce a word of encouragement.
"After my father had exhausted his store of
reproaches upon my poor head and left me, Sherwood
entered and took up the discourse. I could not but
feel amused, in spite of my indignation and contempt
at his despicable course, to see all the doubling and
shiftings he went through in his desperate attempts to
regain my favor, which my manner probably pretty
plainly told him he had put in considerable hazard.
After protesting, flattering, apologizing, and arguing
with the sycophancy of a Frenchman and the sophistry
of a Jesuit, he finally departed, leaving me to myself,
and that negative happiness which his absence has not
very lately failed to afford me.
"The next morning I reminded my father, whose
192
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
madness seemed to have something more of method in
it than the day before, of a visit which had a few days
previous been projected at his own suggestion. This
was a ride, on horseback, to Otter Creek, to carry a
few necessaries to a distant relative of ours, Aunt
Story, as we call her, whose curious subterraneous
abode I have before described to you, I believe. No
serious objection being made to the proposal, I accord-
ingly set out with Neshobee, my usual attendant on
these excursions, who, on another horse, accompanied
me in the capacity of baggage man and squire. We
had a pleasant ride, and arrived without any particu-
lar adventure at the creek, opposite her wood-begirt
residence. O, how delightful is a morning ride at this
season of the year through these flowering forests!
How fragrant the viewless odors that regale your
senses at almost every step! And, in the present
instance, as you near the Green Mountains, how pure
and invigorating the breezes that, seemingly uncon-
taminated by a contact with earth, come wafting down
their dark sides fresh from the mid-heavens! I never
approach these green-hilled monuments of sylvan
magnificence, but my physical powers receive an
impulse, and my moral nature becomes sensibly
exalted. No wonder the Green Mountain Boys should
be men of such high-toned character!
"On reaching the banks of the creek, Neshobee set
up his shrill whoop (not war whoop) to make known
our arrival to this fearless woman of the woods. This
being heard and understood by her, she quickly made
her appearance, came across with her boat, and ferried
us all safe over the stream, our horses having been left
tied to saplings on the bank behind.
"I must not stop to describe the cordial reception I
met with, as I always do in this singular, yet interest-
ing family; nor my romp with the curly-headed brood
of children, that thronged around me, capering in wild
glee at my arrival, and their eyes fairly sparkling with
joy and gratitude at the sight of the tit-bits I had
brought them. After the rumpus and romping with

"
DEATH OF GENERAL WOLFE
2
WI

QUEBEC, IN UPPER CANADA
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
193
the joyous little creatures had somewhat subsided, I
took the bright-eyed and lisping little Julia in my lap:
when the pretty rogue immediately clambered up,
and putting her arms around my neck, in the sweet.
pleading, and playful tones of infantile eloquence
exclaimed:
"Now, Couthin Alma, mayn't I kith you again?-
there, I did! I will again! There! ha ha! Now I
have kithed you ath many timeth ath I did the Young
Captain.'
666
'And who, pray, my pretty one,' said I, quite
innocently, who is this Young Captain with whom
you appear to have been so familiar?
"O, he ith the Young Captain,' replied she, hesita-
ting in her childish simplicity how to define her favor-
ite by any other appellation than the one by which she
had been accustomed to hear him called; 'he ith—
he ith a good Young Captain. I kithed him three
timeth. And wouldn't you kith him, too, Couthin
Alma, if he'd let you? Wouldn't the Young Captain
let Couthin Alma kith him, ma?'
"Puzzled and confused, at I scarcely knew what, I
turned to the mother for an explanation; when, to my
still greater confusion, I beheld her holding her sides,
while her eyes were fairly dancing in the bright tears
of suppressed risibility, to which she now gave way
in a right hearty fit of laughter.
The
"" 'Excuse me, Alma,' said she, as soon as she could
command her merry emotions sufficiently to speak;
'excuse me for laughing at the child's ludicrous intro-
duction of a subject which I was at the very moment
thinking how I could myself break to you.
Young Captain, as some of the settlers cail him, is no
other than the well-known leader of one of the bands
of the Green Mountain Boys, Charles Warrington.
Why, bless me!' she continued, with a look of surprise
as she now lifted her eyes from her work to my fea-
tures, 'what ails you, Alma? Why, your face is as
red-oh!-ah-aha!-you knew all this before, did
you? And you have seen him yourself, you rogue?'
194
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
she added mischievously, shaking her finger at me,
and fixing her keen eyes on my face; you have,
Alma, and you need not attempt to deny it.
"I have not denied it, aunt-have I?' I replied,
rallying as well as I could.
66
'Well, now, Alma Hendee,' she rejoined, with a
gratified and serious air, 'I have not heard anything
this long while that has done me more good than this
news Indeed, for the past week in particular, I have
actually prayed that you might meet him, though I
dared not be the means of bringing it about. And the
reason why I wished it is, because I think so much of
the man, and feel such an interest in the cause which
he has done so much to sustain; and, also because I
knew that you, from your intercourse and connection
with the York party, and from your hearing, as you
naturally would, nothing but slander and misrepresen-
tation of the man, and curses on the cause in which he
has been so nobly engaged, that you, I say, must
have almost necessarily imbibed wholly erroneous
opinions of both him and his cause-now, has it not
been so?'
"Such,' I answered, 'was once, I confess, too much
the case.
-
"I thought so,' she resumed, 'and but for the fear
that I might displease you, for I never know how to
hold up when I begin, and, perhaps, be led into a
quarrel with your fiery old father, who has been so
good to me, I should, before this, have spoken to you
on these matters. Why, this same Warrington and a
party of his followers were up on Lake Dunmore the
very day you were last here, and while you were here
in the house playing with the children, I discovered,
as I was out to the edge of the woods to get cedar
boughs for a broom, a gang of Yorkers going in pur-
suit of them. Don't you recollect I came in and pro-
posed sending Neshobee out to kill us a partridge?'
"I remembered it, and assented.
66
''Well,' she continued, 'it was for no other purpose
than to despatch him to Warrington with a note that I
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
195
scribbled in that closet.
friend to the Captain.'
66
Neshobee, I knew, was a
'Neshobee!' said I, in surprise, 'why, I never
heard him so much as utter the name!'
"It is true, for all that,' she rejoined; 'Warrington
once did him a service when they happened to meet
on a hunt, and Neshobee, being made acquainted with
the other's situation, and knowing yours, has been as
prudent as he is faithful.'
"
'But what became of the Yorkers?' I asked.
"The Green Mountain Boys threw them into the
lake and returned to this neighborhood,' she an-
swered. 'The Captain and his Lieutenant came and
slept that very night in this house, and were here
asleep on the floor, when I came up to the house, after
helping you off the next morning. Do you remember
singing us a song, that night, just before going to bed,
and how you were interrupted by a noise in the
woods above us?'
66
'I do, but what of that?' said I, somewhat startled.
"Why, nothing,' she replied, smiling, 'only War-
rington, who rambled out, after his friend fell asleep,
heard your performance.'
66
'You astonish me, Aunt Story,' I replied; 'but
surely he could not have distinguished my voice in that
underground abode?'
"Not exactly,' answered she, and yet he was
strangely puzzled, and seemed, when telling me of the
affair the next morning, to have some suspicions of
the truth.'
"6
But did you tell him who it was?' I eagerly
demanded.
..
''No, Alma,' she said, 'I kept your secret for rea-
sons which I have before named, and sent him off
worse puzzled than before. But how did he introduce
himself as Howard, or as Warrington? for that the
two were one and the same is a riddle that I guessed
out long ago.'
"I told her the circumstances; after which she
resumed:
13
196
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
66
'So you have a hurricane at your house. Well,
Alma, let it blow on, and overturn, till it levels false-
hood and corruption to the ground, and brings truth
and justice uppermost. And when that takes place,
if you will believe me, Jake Sherwood will be swept
into the gulf of infamy, where he ought to be now,
instead of being here among men, with the pretensions
of a man, but with the real character of a spy and
hypocrite!'
'You are very severe, aunt,' I remarked, not so
much offended, however, as I might have been.
"I hold, Alma,' she rejoined, 'that the boldness
of a truth is no reason for suppressing its utterance.
Why, Alma Hendee, whether you know it or not,—
whether you will believe it or not, it is God's truth,
that with all his smooth manners and gentlemanly
appearance, the heart of that same Jacob Sherwood is
as black as the outside of my dinner pot!'
"I began to say something which she took for a
qualified assent, when, cutting me short, she went
on,
Far
'You know that it is so, Alma. And, now, that you
have again met with Warrington, I know where your
heart is, or I should not venture to say so much.
be it from me ever to interfere with matches-matches
that are truly such. But mis-matches patched up on
earth, and accursed of heaven, I should feel myself
honored in being the instrument of breaking. And
knowing, as I think I do, all the motives and circum-
stances which led you to acquiesce in this entangle-
ment with Sherwood, and knowing, also, that a match
between you would be yoking darkness to light, I
stand prepared, as your friend, acting in the place of
your sainted mother, now in heaven, to advise you to
say, even in despite of the favorite schemes of your
mistaken and blinded father, to say to Sherwood, as
Peter said to Simon Magus, who would buy the sacred
gift with money," Thy gold perish with thee!"''
"A long conversation then ensued between us, in
which all the information possessed by either, relative
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
197
to the York controversy, and the part taken in the
same by Warrington, Sherwood, and others, was mutu-
ally imparted and received, and our opinions and feel-
ings on these subjects freely exchanged. While still
engaged on this engrossing theme, one of the children
came running into the house with the cry, 'The
Young Captain is coming! the Young Captain is com-
ing!' I was struck dumb by this unexpected announce-
ment, and so surprised and fluttered that, had I been
a bird, I believe I should have instantly clapped my
wings and flown away. But as it was, I had nothing
to do but prepare to meet the half-dreaded, half-courted
danger, as unconcernedly as possible. We had little
time allowed us for preparation, however; for scarce
had the announcement been made, before Warrington
entered the door attended by-whom think you, Jessy?
I wish you could have been there! In that case, to
follow up that odd comparison of yours, the brisk little
drummer in your heart would have found his match, I
think, to keep up the accompaniment with the lively
performer at work in my own; for Captain Warring-
ton's attendant was no other than your favored knight,
the gay, witty, and handsome Selden. An hour spent
in his company was sufficient to make me feel that
these flattering epithets, and even more, might be
justly applied to him. Now, don't be jealous, girl,
for though peculiarly pleased with him I certainly
was, yet my feelings were anything but those consti-
tuting what we define to be that undefinable concern
called love-no, no, not that, but a singular sort of
flowing away of the heart towards him, which I can
neither describe nor account for, unless the solution
be found in the prepossessions of him that your letter
had implanted.
"We were now summoned to dinner, which our free-
hearted hostess had done her best in preparing for us.
The meal itself, as you know it must have been, con-
sidering the limited store from which it had to be pre-
pared, was certainly a plain one. But partaken in
such company, how could it be other than a delightful
198
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
6
one! With me, it forcibly exemplified the proverb of
the wise man, 'Better is a dinner of herbs, where love
is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.'
"After dinner, Warrington, with his peculiar deli-
cacy of manner, proposed a ramble. My tongue would
have declined the proposal, but my heart, rising in
rebellion, suppressed the utterance, and I, silently,
and with a palpitating bosom, assented. All seemed
to understand the object of our walk, and no one, not
even a child, offered to accompany us. I felt, indeed,
myself, that my destiny for life hung on the events of
that hour. We proceeded in almost unbroken silence
to the bank of the river, when I soon found myself
seated, I scarcely know how, by his side, upon a
flowery hillock. The quiet waters, sparkling in the
rays of the meridian sun, were gently gliding along in
soft murmurs at our feet; while a spreading thorn
tree, loaded with blossoms of snowy whiteness, and
filling the air with delicious fragrance, formed the
canopy for our heads. I cannot describe what now
passed. My heart soon overflowed with contending
emotions. I found myself able to prevail against its
stronger dictates no longer; and my feelings found
vent in a flood of tears. My head involuntarily rested
on his shoulder, while he advocated his cause with all
the tender pathos of love, which found a chord in my
own bosom so powerfully responsive to its eloquent
pleadings that,
""Then our hearts together run;
And like kindred drops of water,
Met and mingled into one.'
"The winged moments flew by unheeded; and when,
at the end of an hour, which, in this sweet trance of
the affections, seemed as a moment, we rose to return,
our mutual vows of unchanging love and eternal con-
stancy had ascended to the registry of heaven.
"Soon after our return to the house, the gentlemen
apprised us of the necessity of their immediate depar-
ture; when, after an affectionate adieu, they proceeded
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
199
on their destination. This destination I am not at
liberty to unfold, and shall consequently be debarred
from some particulars connected with my parting with
W. which awakened a solicitude alike new and painful
to my feelings. I did not tarry long after they left
But after a shower of thanks, praises, and bless-
ings from our hostess, for the step, which I apprised
her I had taken, I soon set out for home, where I
arrived before sunset.
us.
"On another page of this letter I styled myself your
perplexed friend. I am so, though not because I
regret the step I have taken, but on account of the
difficulties which must soon beset me. I have also
many painful apprehensions of the effect which my
engagement may have when it becomes known, as ere
long it necessarily must, on not only my father's hap-
piness, but his property, owing to the peculiarities of
our situation. As these cannot be understood without
a knowledge of some former events connected with
our family, I will, in confidence, briefly relate to you
the leading particulars of our family history. My
paternal grandfather's family consisted of my uncle,
Gabriel Hendee, and my father, James Hendee, with
their half sister, Mary, who married John Sherwood,
father of Jacob Sherwood. To these three was left a
considerably extensive property, which was increased
as far as regarded the shares of Gabriel and his
brother-in-law, Sherwood, who, becoming partners,
engaged in the lucrative trade and commerce of the
Connecticut River, on the banks of which, within the
borders of Massachusetts, you are already aware, we
all once resided. But my father, who was of a differ-
ent disposition and less inclined to confine himself to
the details of business, entered into uncertain specula-
tions, which, instead of increasing, diminished his
original inheritance, involved him in some pecuniary
embarrassments, and finally led him to abandon trade,
for which he seemed neither to have much tact nor
inclination, and seek a commission in the army, des-
tined for the French and Indian wars, then beginning
•
200
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
to rage along our borders. Obtaining the commission.
he sought, he was soon called into active service, hav-
ing entrusted Sherwood to arrange his affairs and take
charge of our property; while Uncle Gabriel, having
no family, and becoming an invalid, retired from bus
iness, and came to reside with our family in father's
absence. Several years thus passed away, father at
intervals returning home to see his wife and son, the
darling little Edward, and spend such time with them
as his public duties would permit, scarcely troubling
himself to look into the state of his property, which he
believed to be in hands where it would be husbanded
to the best advantage. My Uncle Gabriel in the mean-
while still continuing to live in the family, and appear-
ing much attached to it, especially to his little nephew,
made his will, bequeathing his whole property to the
child, when of age, and all the income till that time,
and certain portions of it after, to my father.
But it
so happened not long after this that Mr. Sherwood,
who had taken a temporary residence further up the
river, paid our family a long visit, at the end of which
he took my uncle home with him, where he soon grew
worse and died; not, however, as it soon appeared, till
he had added a codicil to his will, making, in case of
Edward's death, Mr. Sherwood's son, Jacob, legatee,
and placing that family where the will placed ours.
From that time misfortunes seemed to fall fast and
heavy on our devoted family. My mother soon sick-
ened and died, leaving me, her youngest child, about
a year old.
Our family establishment was then broken
up. Edward was placed in the family of Mr. Sher-
wood, and I was sent to a relation of my mother in
Hartford. But father, already borne down with sorrow
at the loss of two wives (for my mother was a second
wife by whom he had no other child), was doomed to
another blow scarcely less fatal to his happiness, and
more so to his future prospects, in the further loss of
that son on whom all his hopes and dependence had
been placed. The boy had been allowed, as the story
was told, to accompany a reckless young man, then in
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
201
Sherwood's employ, many miles into the interior, and
there strayed away, and never could be found. There
was a rapid river running through the woods, in
which he might have been drowned, and swept down
into the Connecticut. But it was considered more
probable that he had been seized by some small, lurk-
ing band of Indians (traces of whom were discovered
in the vain search for the boy), and by them murdered,
as it was supposed, since no tidings of him ever
reached us. My father, when he returned, and
learned the fate of his son, was inconsolable. And
Mr. Sherwood seemed deeply to sympathize with him,
and moreover to manifest great regret that uncle had
so altered his will as to take all his property from our
family, assuring my father that he would make such
provision for us as would be a recompense. After this
visit my father remained abroad to the close of the
war, when, being discharged from the service, he
began to bethink him about the means of a future
livelihood, and called on Sherwood to account for his
property, which, to his dismay, had dwindled to a mere
pittance. And receiving it, he commenced a small
business in Hartford, where he resided till I was about
seventeen, living in good style, and bestowing on me
the best education the place afforded. But again
becoming embarrassed by expenses beyond his income,
and his pride revolting at the thought of being a bank-
rupt in this place, he took me, and secretly left town
for Albany, to avail himself of the many promises of
Mr. Sherwood, who had removed to the latter place
many years before. We were kindly received by Mr.
S., who furnished father with money to pay off his
creditors in Hartford, and subsequently to purchase
our present residence, though most of the improve-
ments have been made through the means of the half-
pay which he receives from government.
"You will now, Jessy, be able to appreciate the diffi-
culties of my situation, and perceive the reasons which
actuate my father in the strenuous course which he
has pursued, and will be likely still to pursue, in urg-
202
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
ing a connection between me and Jacob Sherwood.
Jessy, Adieu.
A. H.
"P. S.-When I closed as above, last night, I ex-
pected the letter would have been taken early this morn-
ing by Major Skene's colored man, Jack, who said he
should go up with his boat to-day; but he has just
called and says he shall not go till to-morrow morn-
ing. The main object of this postscript, is, however,
to say, that if you thought it so important that I
should keep your secret, you cannot but see how much
more so it is that you keep mine. I know not but Mr.
Warrington's life may depend on it-I did not mean
to say this, but my fears and forebodings have com-
pelled ine. You do not know Mr. S.-would to
heaven I had never known him.-Farewell.
"ALMA."
CHAPTER XVI
"They came, impatient for the fight,-
Burning to rush into the slaughter,-
Ready to pour their blood like water
For what they deem the right;-
Like men, preferring glorious graves
To life if it must be the life of slaves!"
It seems to be universally conceded that the first
settlers of Vermont were men of an iron mould, and
of an indomitable spirit. And it is no less true, we
apprehend, that with corporeal frames, unusually
large and muscular, and constitutions peculiarly
robust and enduring, they possessed, also, intelligence
and mental energies, which, considering what might
naturally be expected of men of their condition in life,
and in their situation in a wilderness affording none
of the ordinary means of intellectual culture, were
equally remarkable. The proof of these assertions is
to be abundantly found, we think, in the unequaled
stand taken by them for their rights, in their memor-
able controversy with New York, and in the multiplied
documents that grew out of it, in the shape of resolves
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
203
and decrees of conventions, addresses to the people,
memorials and remonstrances to the governor of that
province, and to the British throne itself, all drawn
up with great clearness and cogency of reasoning, and
evincing a knowledge of natural and constitutional
rights in a people, among whom law as a profession
was then entirely unknown, which are generally to be
found only in the courts and councils of old and highly
civilized countries. And even were these testimon-
ials to their character wholly wanting, ample evidence
that they were a generation of no ordinary men may
still be seen in the scattered remnant of this noble
band of heroes yet lingering among us, like the few
and aged pines on their evergreen mountains, and,
though now bowed down by the weight of nearly a
century of years, exhibiting frames which would
almost seem to indicate them as men belonging to
another race, and which are still animated by the light
of wisdom and intelligence, and warmed by the uncon-
querable spirit of freedom yet burning unwasted within
them.
Those who have treated on this subject, when allud-
ing to the facts we have stated, have generally
coupled them with observations upon the invigorating
effects of mountain air, etc., leaving us to infer that
these peculiarities of the early settlers were attribut-
able only to such causes. It is, indeed, doubtless the
case, that the wild scenery, and the pure, elastic air of
mountainous countries are the most favorable, under
the same degree of culture, to the formation of the
highest grade of physical, as well as moral and intellec-
tual character-imparting, in the one instance, that
health and peculiar vigor which brings the human
system to all the perfection that it is capable of
attaining, and, in the other, engendering, with firm-
ness of nerves and firmness of purpose, the usual
attendants of great bodily powers, a healthy and high-
toned imagination, and those lofty aspirations that
exalt the character, and prompt to great and noble
actions. But whatever influence the peculiar climate
204
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
and scenery of this Switzerland of America, as Ver-
mont may, perhaps, be appropriately termed, may
have had, in this respect, on the descendants of these
hardy settlers, little of this influence, probably, would
have been perceptible on the settlers themselves; they,
it must be recollected, were not natives of these moun-
tains, but recent emigrants from other New England
colonies. And whatever peculiarities they possessed
must mainly have originated in other causes-from
the very nature of the enterprise, probably, which
brought them together, that of settling a wild and
rough frontier country, known to be attended by a
thousand difficulties and hardships, and beset by a
thousand dangers, in which men of ordinary stamina
would never think of engaging. They, indeed, may
be looked upon in the light of picked men, or more
properly, perhaps, in that of volunteers, stepping
boldly and confidently forth for some extraordinary
enterprise, of which the hazard and difficulty are so
great, that nothing but an uncommon union of cour-
age and strength can accomplish it, and of which the
success, or even the attempt, it may be, furnishes the
best evidence of these qualities in those who volun-
tarily enlist in the undertaking. And as regards the
intelligence and mental character of these settlers,
their educations were generally equal to those usually
received among the better classes of the old settle-
ments where they were obtained, and superior, prob-
ably, to what the same men were able to furnish to
their immediate descendants. And this fact, together
with the emergencies, which not only called all the
energies of their minds into action, but constantly
improved them, and enlarged their information by the
investigations they were induced to make for the suc-
cessful prosecution of their cause in the New York con-
troversy, will sufficiently account for their intellectual
superiority over the ordinary settlers of other new
countries.
With these observations, here thrown in by way
of
showing our warrant for many of the descriptions of
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
205
character which we have introduced, and which, we
thought it not impossible, might otherwise subject us
to the charge of indulging in improbabilities, we will
now proceed with the incidents of our story.
The morning of the ninth of May broke brightly
upon the encampment of our troops at Castleton, dis-
closing to the view, now for the first time, an organ-
ized band of about three hundred as brave and hardy
men as ever assembled for deeds of daring and danger.
Of this number more than three-fourths were Green
Mountain Boys. The remainder were men collected
from the nearest parts of Massachusetts and Connecti-
cut, and led on by several enterprising militia officers
of these colonies, who had ac vely co-operated in get-
ting up the expedition. A council had been held the
night previous, for the purpose of organizing these
united forces, which had been dropping in irregularly
through the day and a greater part of the night, and
also for making all other necessary arrangements to
march for their destination on the following morning.
At this council Ethan Allen had been unanimously
appointed the commander-in-chief of the expedition.
Colonel Easton, one of the Massachusetts officers, was
placed second in command, and the third grade was
assigned to Warrington; while Selden, in making the
subordinate appointments, was raised to the post of
captain to supply the place left vacant by the promo-
tion of his superior. Even our friend, Pete Jones,
though now absent, was not forgotten in the distribu-
tion of honors, but named to take charge of the scouts,
provided he joined the expedition. All these arrange-
ments having been made the night before, as just
stated, the troops by sunrise had breakfasted, and
were now under arms, and undergoing a review pre-
paratory to marching. All were in high spirits, and
animated at the thought of being immediately led to
the important object of their enterprise. Their gal-
lant leader, now dressed and equipped in a manner
appropriate to his rank, and mounted on his own noble
charger, was riding proudly along their imposing
206
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
front-now pausing to give some directions to an
officer, now to inspect the equipments of a company,
and now backing his curveting steed to take a view of
the whole; while his towering form seemed to dilate,
and rise still higher to the view, his bosom heave with
pride, and his eyes glisten with delight, as they ran
along the lines of his stout and broad-chested Green
Mountain Boys, and read in their hardy features, lit
up with enthusiasm and eagerness for action in a
cause which every man had made his own, the same
high resolves, the same burning desires to signalize
themselves that animated his own bosom.
At this moment, a stranger, who, with a single
attendant in the capacity of a servant, had but a short
time before arrived, came on to the ground, and took
a conspicuous stand in front of the troops.
He was
of about the middle age, stout, well-made, and hand-
somely featured, while a Roman nose, a thin, curling
lip, and a black, flashing eye, with the peculiarly con-
temptuous, and even sinister expression, and reckless
air, which they combined to give his countenance,
denoted no ordinary degree of self-esteem, and a fiery
and impetuous disposition. He was richly and fash-
ionably dressed, and wore a sword, epaulet, and other
insignia usually worn by field officers of the times.
"Captain Blagden," said Selden, turning to a Con-
necticut officer near him, and pointing to the stranger
just described, "can you inform me who that proud and
scornful-looking fellow yonder may be? He belongs
not to us of the Green Mountains; nor does he appear
to have any connection with the troops from Massa-
chusetts, or with those from your own colony; and yet
his demeanor, and showy military appendages, would
lead one to suppose that he came here to take com-
mand of the whole of us."
"I have been looking at the man myself," replied
the person addressed, “and, though not quite certain,
yet I believe I know him. I think he must be one
whom I well knew when we were boys, and of whose
singular career I have since been often informed.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
207
And, if my conjectures are right, his name is Arnold,
Benedict Arnold, of New Haven.
"But what do you imagine has brought him here
with these apparent assumptions?"
"Well, now I bethink me, sir, I remember that the
day I left home a townsman of mine, who had just
returned from New Haven, reported that, when the
news of the battle of Lexington arrived at that place,
Captain Arnold, who is the commander of an inde-
pendent company there, started, with several other
military men, post-haste for the scene of action. And
as he is said to be a good officer, having been a soldier
in the army (into which he ran away and enlisted in
his youth), I should not be surprised to learn he had
received a commission from the Massachusetts Com-
mittee of Safety. And further, as he was stationed,
while a boy-soldier, at Ticonderoga, and knows,
doubtless, considerable of its situation, I will hazard a
bottle with you, Captain Selden, that he has craved,
and obtained, permission of that Committee, to take
charge of the troops which they probably heard were
collecting for this expedition."
"Aha! Colonel Allen, I imagine, will have a word
to say to that bargain. It would fairly break his heart
to be deprived of the chance of receiving the first
charge of grape or canister that shall salute us from
the wide-mouthed war-dogs of Old Ti.
And if your
surmises are correct, a collision, I fear, is unavoidable
unless Mr. Arnold should, as I think he certainly
ought, waive his pretensions to the command.'
A collision it will be, then; for Arnold, it is said,
was never yet known to yield to anything, when his
purposes were fixed. A more reckless dare-devil, I
suppose, never trod the footstool. Why, sir, when we
were but boys, I have known him spring upon a large
water-wheel in full motion, grasp one of its arms, with
his head towards the circumference, and there remain
till he had been dashed through the back-water
beneath, during forty revolutions! I have known
him, single-handed, seize and overcome a mad ox,
208
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
which had broke away from, and nearly killed a
dozen men. One or more duels he has fought abroad;
while scores of bullies have been cudgeled and con-
quered by him about home. Indeed, if one-half that
is told of him is true, the wild bulls of Bashan had not
a spirit more untamable, nor scarcely more bodily
strength to back it."
"All that may be, sir, but those who know Ethan
Allen will laugh at the very idea of there being found
a man in New England who can outdo him in feats of
either strength or courage. And when they tell you,
as they truly may, that they have seen him bite off
the heads of board nails by dozens,-seize by his teeth,
and throw over his head, bags containing each a
bushel of salt, as fast as two men could bring them
round to him,-grasp two opponents who had beset
him, one in each hand, and lifting them clear off the
ground, hold them out at arm's length, and beat them
together till they cried for mercy,-engage alone with
a York sheriff and his posse of six common men, rout
the whole, and leave them sprawling on the ground-
you will probably allow that such a man will not be
very likely to succumb to your hero. Let this Arnold
but offer to assume the command, and, unless I am
sadly mistaken, you will see what kind of stuff our old
Green Mountain lion is made of. But see! the fellow
Let us
is beckoning the officers to approach him.
move up to the spot, and hear what he has to offer on
the occasion."
Understanding and heeding the intimation of the
stranger officer, who was indeed no other than Bene-
dict Arnold, afterwards so infamously conspicuous in
the annals of our Revolution, most of the officers,
including Allen, who had dismounted for the purpose,
immediately advanced and formed an irregular line
before him.
"Gentlemen," said he, with a perfectly assured and .
confident air, after waiting till all had approached
and assumed a listening attitude, "I am personally
unknown, I presume, to most, or all of you, but hav-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
209
ing been clothed with the proper authority, and
directed to proceed to this place for the purpose, I
have the honor to announce myself to you as the com-
mander of this expedition; consequently it is now my
duty to take charge of these troops."'
44
"Sir?" said Allen, taking a step in advance of his
fellow officers, placing his arms akimbo, and turning
up his ear, as if the better to catch the words of the
speaker, whom he eyed askance, with a look of queerly
blended doubt and scorn; "sir, did I hear aright? Did
you say that you thought it your duty to take charge
of these troops?"
"I did, sir, and still so consider it," replied Arnold,
rather restively.
"Do you, indeed, sir?" rejoined Allen, with a look
of cool derision. "Then it was altogether a mistake of
mine in supposing that the reverse of your proposition
would have made out a more probable case?"
""
"I know not what you mean, said Arnold, his
voice trembling with stifled anger at the biting sig-
nificance of the other's remark. "You may learn,
however, that I am not a person to be trifled with,
sir."
"Well, I can't pretend to say what or who you are
not," replied Allen, waxing warm, and giving token
of a direct onset, "but I should like to know who the
devil you are, that come here from another colony to
take the control of men who now own allegiance to no
power short of that of the God of Heaven?'*
"My name is Arnold," replied the other, biting his
lips in suppressed rage, "and I hold a commission of
Colonel, with the orders I named, from the Massa-
chusetts Committee of Safety. There! examine it for
yourselves!" he added, pulling out a parchment, and
disdainfully hurling it at their feet.
The roll was instantly picked up, and attentively
examined by several of the officers; while Arnold
stood aloof in contemptuous silence, scarcely deigning
to bestow a glance on the company thus engaged. It
indeed proved, as he had stated, a Colonel's commis
15
210
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
sion, from the source above mentioned, enclosing
another document, signed by the same Committee,
authorizing Arnold to raise troops in Massachusetts,
or elsewhere, to the number of four hundred, and
march them for the reduction of Ticonderoga.
“Now, sir, where is your commission? I should like
to see it in turn," said Arnold, addressing Allen, and
advancing with an air of triumph, as soon as the
examination of his credentials, which he supposed
must silence all further question of the right he had
assumed, was completed.
"My commission?" promptly replied Allen, by no
means disturbed by this unexpected demand, though
in fact he had no paper commission to show, as the
council appointing him had not deemed such an
instrument essential; "where is my commission, do
you ask? There, sir!" he continued, pointing to his
troops, who, understanding Arnold's claim to take
command of them, already began to exhibit visible
tokens of displeasure at the thought of having their
idolized leader superseded by a stranger. "there, sir!
there it is, engraven on the hearts of these two hundred
and thirty Green Mountain Boys! Trace it out there
for yourself! Read it in their eyes, in every lineament
of their countenances! And if that is not enough for
you, then ask them whether Ethan Allen, who is getting
gray in their service, is to be thrust aside for a com-
mander whom they have never before seen?”
"Never! no, never!" fiercely burst from a hundred
lips along the lines, while many indignantly threw
down their arms, and all, either by word, look or
gesture, gave unequivocal indication of their determi-
nation to allow no man to usurp the place of thei
chosen leader.
The countenance of Arnold, with all his assurance,
instantly fell at so decided, and, to him, so unex-
pected a manifestation of the disposition of the troops;
and he bit his lips in vexation and mortified pride at
his defeat.
At this crisis of the affair, Warrington, fearing, in
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
211
common with the other officers, that the altercation
might prove ruinous to the enterprise, stepped for-
ward and interposed. He first, respectfully, and in a
manner calculated to soothe the irritated feelings of
Arnold, set forth the doubtfulness of his right, even
under the instructions and commission he had received,
to assume the command of troops who had not been
enlisted by him, but who had volunteered, without
any knowledge of him or his instructions, and with
the implied condition that they should be left to the
choice of their own leaders. He then appealed to
him as a gentleman, a patriot, and friend to the com-
mon cause, whether he would do well to insist on his
claim, since doing so, as he must see, would prove
destructive of their expedition. This courteous and
well-timed appeal, which opened a door by which
Arnold might honorably retreat from his awkward
position, seemed to produce on his mind an instanta-
neous effect. The dark and angry frown, which had
settled on his countenance, gave way to a bright and
cheerful look. With one hand he instantly tore the
epaulets from his shoulders, while, with the other, he
drew his sword and threw it on the ground, gallantly
exclaiming:
"Gentlemen, I most cheerfully waive all pretensions
to the command, which of right, I am now convinced,
belongs to the brave leader of the far-famed Green
Mountain Boys. But as to going with you on this
glorious enterprise, it is a privilege which, by
won't relinquish! Gentlemen, will you furnish me
with a common musket, and accept me as a volunteer
soldier of your gallant band?”’
9
I
Allen appeared to be taken completely aback by this
sudden declaration of Arnold. His naturally forgiving
and noble disposition, and quick feelings, were
instantly touched with this mark of magnanimity, as
unexpected to him as it was remarkable in the man,
being the most striking, and perhaps the only instance
of the kind ever displayed by this brave but unprin-
cipled officer in his whole public career.
+
14
212
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Done like a man, by Jove!" exclaimed the chival-
rous leader of the Green Mountain Boys, advancing
and cordially proffering the other his hand, while the
tears of admiring and grateful emotion fairly started
out on to his brawny cheeks. "Done like a man and
a hero! Here, God bless you, give us your fist!
There is about the right kind of stuff in you, after all,
my friend. Will you accept the post of my aid-de-
camp, with the rank your commission gives you?"
"Most cheerfully, sir," replied the flattered Arnold,
waving his hand with easy and grateful courtesy.
"Pick up your sword and badges, then, sir,"
resumed Allen. "Call for your horse, and we will
now on together, like brothers, in the cause of God
and the people. Officers and soldiers!" he continued,
in a loud and cheering voice, that rung like a deep-
toned trumpet far and wide over field and forest
around, while he sprang upon his impatient charger,
and waved his sword on high; "prepare to march!
Ethan Allen still commands you. Peace is in the
camp, the Lord on our side, and victory before us!
Forward, march!"
Three loud and lively cheers told the satisfaction of
the men at this double announcement; and, in another
moment, the whole corps, wheeling off to the brisk
and stirring notes of shrieking fife and rattling drum,
were sweeping down the road in full march towards
the object of their destination.
The route of the troops was along the military road,
which in the French war of 1759, had been opened
from Charleston, on Connecticut River, across the
Green Mountains to Lake Champlain, by a New
Hampshire regiment, acting under the orders of Gen-
eral Amherst. This road, leading directly through
Castleton, and taking a northerly direction, branched
off within a few miles of the lake, one fork running
down to the shore opposite to Ticonderoga, and the
other proceeding onward to Crown Point. Although
this, at the period, was perhaps the best road in the
settlement, still it was little more than a roughly cut
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
213
path through the wilderness, abounding, at this sea-
son, with deep sloughs, fallen trees and other obstacles
calculated to prevent much expedition in traveling.
But such was the spirit and constitutional vigor of the
men, that a march of four or five hours brought them
over half the distance from their late rendezvous to
their destined landing on the lake, the former place
being about thirty miles from the latter. They had
now, for several miles, been passing through a heavy
unbroken forest, and the mounted officers, riding a
short distance in advance of the men, were anxiously
looking forward for a clearing, or some suitable place
to halt for a mid-day refreshment.
"There!" said Allen, turning to his companions, as
the sound of a falling trec came booming through the
forest from a distance, “did you hear that?
We are
nearly through these endless woods at last, it seems.
"Is that so clearly proved by the falling of a tree?"
asked Arnold, who was but little of a woodsman.
"Old trees, I thought, like old men, often fell with-
out human agency.
"True, sir," rejoined Allen, "but human agency
brought that tree to the ground; and it stood beside
some opening, too, or I will agree to be reckoned, like
the prophets of old, without honor in my own country.
"Colonel Allen is right," observed Warrington.
"The falling of a green tree always produces a dull,
heavy, lumbering sound, such as we just heard, occa-
sioned by the air it gathers, or, more properly, per-
haps, disturbs in its course; while the sound of a dry
tree in falling is sharper, and comes with a single jar
to the ear. That this tree stood near an opening, is
sufficiently evident from the echoes that followed the
first sound, which, in this flat land, could only be pro-
duced by the reverberating wood-walls of an opening.
Yes, the Colonel is correct; I can now hear the chop-
per's blows quite distinctly.'
The falling of another tree in the same direction
here interrupted the conversation; while the axman's
blows, sounding in the distance, and in the tranquil
214
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
medium through which they were conveyed to the ear,
like the ticking of a clock in the stillness of night,
could now plainly be heard by all. In two or three
moments, a third tree came thundering to the earth.
Another, and yet another followed at equally brief
intervals, the noise attending each successive fall, as
well as that of the fast-repeating blows of the chopper,
who was causing such destruction among the sturdy
tenants of the forest, all growing more loud and dis-
tinct as the party approached.
"There must be more than one of them," observed
Colonel Easton, "to level so large trees at that rapid
rate."
"No, sir," replied Warrington; "the regular and
non-interfering sounds of those blows indicate but one
axman. You have not witnessed so much of the exe-
cution of which our Green Mountain Boys are capable,
as I trust you will within twenty-four hours, Colonel.
At all events, the fate of a tree under the sinewy arms
of one of them is very soon decided."
9.1.
"This fellow, however," remarked Allen, "does
indeed lay to it with a will. I think he must make a
good soldier; and as such he shall go with us, if of
the right way of thinking-if not, as a prisoner; for it
behooves us now to know pretty well the character of
every man who is permitted to remain behind.”
The party now soon came in sight of the man who
had been the subject of their conversation. He had
made an opening in the forest of about two acres,
which he was rapidly enlarging. Having just leveled
one large tree, he was now bending his tall frame in
an attack upon another, a giant hemlock, standing
near the road, and had struck two or three blows,
sending the blade of his ax into the huge circumfer-
ence up to the helve at every stroke; when the tramp
of the approaching party reached his ear, causing him
to suspend and look around him.
"As I live, it is Pete Jones!" exclaimed Warrington,
"just beginning upon his new pitch, which he men-
tioned to us, '
""
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
215
"Good!" said Allen, "I am glad we have come across
the droll devil. But we will furnish him with busi-
ness a notch or two above that; the Red Coats need
leveling a cursed sight more than the trees, at this
crisis. If nothing more, he shall lend us that everlast-
ing long body of his for a ladder to scale the walls of
Old Ti! Jupiter! if Frederick of Prussia had a regi-
ment of such chaps, how the fellow would brag!
Hallo, there!" he added, dashing forward towards the
woodsman, who stood gazing with an expression of
quizzical wonder, now at the approaching cavalcade of
officers near by, and now straining forward his long neck
to get a view of the lengthened columns of the men,
just beginning to make their appearance in the distance.
"Well, hallo, it is, then, Colonel, if there's nothing
better to be said." responded Jones, after waiting an
instant to see if the other was going to proceed. “But
now I think on't, Colonel. where did you get so much
folks? By Jehu! how they string along yonder! Why.
there's more than a hundred slew of men coming!
And then what pokerish-looking tools they've all got!
Now I wonder if they ain't a-going a visiting over to
Old Ti, or somewheres?"
"I should not be surprised if something of that kind
should prove the case," replied Allen, laughing. "But
what are you about, that you have not joined us in the
proposed visit?"
"Why, I calculate to be about this old hemlock till
I get it down, Colonel."
"Nonsense, you ninny!
Castleton last night?"
Why were you not up to
"Now, don't fret, Colonel-I did think of it, hon-
estly; but knowing you must all come this way, I
thought I might as well be making a small beginning
here till you got on. And so I put in yesterday a little,
and have now let in heaven's light on something over
two acres, I calculate. But if you are expecting to
have pretty funny times of it over there, I don't much
care if I—that is, I'll think of it, after I have brought
the top of this old hemlock a little lower-"
216
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Your most obedient, Captain Jones," gayly ex-
claimed Warrington, now riding up.
"Captain of what?" asked Jones, a little puzzled to
know whether he was to receive this address as a joke,
and let off one of his own in return, or whether some-
thing serious was intended by it; "Captain of what?—
of the surveyor, that I sent over the York line, a day
or two ago, by a gentle touch with my foot on his
northerly parts?"
"No, seriously, Jones," said Allen, "in organizing
last night, we deemed it best to have a small band of
scouts, of whom you were fairly voted in the Captain,
or Scout-master, if you like the name better.
No man
in the settlement can go before you in performing the
duties of this post. Will you, without more words,
accept it, and join us?"
"Can't you let me stop to cut this tree down first?
'Twon't take scarce a minute, Colonel.''
"No, the men are at hand.
We did think to find a
spot to halt and dine here, but as I see neither place
nor water, we must on till we find them.
shall we meet with such a place?"
How soon
"Let me see, as the blind man said-Oh, there is a
cute little beauty of a brook, with smooth banks, that's
just your sorts, not half a mile ahead.”
"Fall in here with the troops, then.
your rifle?"
But where is
"Hard by there, under a log," replied Pete. "I'll
warrant you never catch me far separated from old
Trusty, with a good store of bullets, to go on such
errands as she and I have a mind to send them. Well,
old ax," he added in an undertone, as he took up the
implement, to which he seemed addressing himself, and
carried it round to the back of the tree, "the Colonel
thinks it best that you and I should bid each other good-
bye, for a short time; and there! you may sit in that
nook between those roots till I come back again.—
""So now in the wars I go, I go,
All for to go a sodjering.
Trol, lol, lol de larly.'"
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
217
And thus, in the prompt spirit of the times, and
with the characteristic sang froid of the man, this jolly
and fearless woodsman, drawing out his rifle from
under an old log, and cheerily trolling the above-
quoted catch of some homely old song, with a chorus
of his own making, fell into the ranks of the troops
then passing, having left his favorite ax, for which he
seemed to have contracted a sort of fellow-feeling,
standing behind the tree, on which we found him
engaged, where it was destined to remain, unregarded
by its owner, during a great part of the Revolutionary
War; and where, on returning, after many years of
hardship and danger, spent in bravely battling for his
country's freedom, he found it, in the same place and
position, safe and uninjured, except in the thick coat
of rust that had gathered over it-an incident of olden
times, well known as a historical fact by many in that
section of the country where it occurred.
The spot described by Jones being found and appro-
priated, the troops partook of a dinner from the pro-
visions of their packs, after which they were allowed
an hour's rest, which was enlivened, as they were
seated along the mossy banks of the gurgling rivulet,
with song, tale, and jest, till the deep recesses of the
forest rang with the sounds of their merriment. While
the officers, who were seated in a group by themselves,
were consulting their watches, and awaiting the
moment set by them for resuming their march, a
horseman, approaching from the west, suddenly rode
dismounted, and stood before them.
up:
"Ah! Phelps!" exclaimed Colonel Allen, springing
up and shaking the newcomer heartily by the hand,
"is it possible?—a spy returned unhung from a British
fort? Well, sir, what news from the camp of the Phil-
istines?"
"Almost everything we could wish, gentlemen,'
replied the person addressed, a Connecticut gentleman
of considerable shrewdness and address, who had been
dispatched a day or two previous to go over to the fort,
enter it on some feigned errand, and gain the best
218
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
knowledge of its situation the circumstances would
permit. "I have been within the fort-mostly over
the works-staid there last night, and came away
unsuspected this morning."
Phelps then proceeded to give an account of the
manner he had effected his discoveries at the fort,
without exciting the suspicions of the garrison, relative
to the object of his visit-how, in the assumed charac-
ter of a green country bumpkin, he made it his osten-
sible errand to see a war-cannon, and also the strange
man what shaved other men, called a barber-how the
soldiers laughed at his pretended ignorance, and the
officers, coming to see the green Yankee, amused
themselves by questioning him, and listening to his
replies, at which they were amazingly tickled, and
then ordered a twenty-four pounder to be fired, for the
fun of witnessing the prodigious fright into which the
report appeared to throw him. And, finally, having
induced him, after many entreaties, to permit the
barber to shave him, how they all stood by to see the
performance, laughing heartily at the wincing and
woeful countenances he assumed, and the fears he
pretended of having his throat cut.
After finishing his diverting description of this part
of his adventures, he detailed with great accuracy the
situation of the fortress, the names and grades of the
officers, and the number of the garrison.
"But, gentlemen," said he, in conclusion, "there is
one question which I will no longer delay to ask you.
Have you made provision for boats to transport the
troops across the lake? There is not a single craft
larger than a skiff on this side, just now, within ten
miles of the fort.
"God forgive me the oversight!" exclaimed Allen.
"We must instantly set measures on foot for repairing
it. Douglass-Lieutenant Douglass, step forward here
a moment! What boats are there this side the lake to
the north of this?"
"An excellent scow for our purpose is owned by the
Smiths, a few miles this side of Crown Point," replied
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
219
the blue-eyed and broad-shouldered descendant of his
Caledonian namesakes, stepping promptly forward, and
comprehending at a glance the emergency that pro-
duced the question.
"The Smiths? Good! They are with us, too, in
heart, and should be also in person," rejoined the
Colonel. "Well, their scow we must have at all events.
And you, Douglass, are the very man to go and get it.
Will you do it?''
"I am the very man who is willing to try, Colonel
Allen," answered the other.
"And can you reach the landing against Ti with it
by nine o'clock this evening?"
"Hardly, I fear. It is nearly a dozen miles, but I'll
do my best, Colonel."
"Go, then, as if the devil kicked you on end. The
salvation of our project may depend upon your getting
back in season. But stay! We must have more boats
than one. To the south I know of none. Perhaps
you may meet with some going up or down the lake,
which might be pressed into the service, or, as the last
resort, one might possibly be got away from Crown
Point without a discovery which would endanger us.
Another man, however, will be wanted for any of
these purposes, besides the oarsmen you will pick up
on your way. And-Jones! this way! Have you
heard what we are at? Very well. You are just the
chap to go on this haphazard errand. What say you?
Can you bring anything to pass, if we send you?"
"Why, I can't exactly say, Colonel," replied Jones,
placing his feet astride, and looking up with one eye
queerly cocked on his interrogator, while the other was
tightly closed. "I ain't so much of a water-fowl as
some, but, perhaps, I mought make fetch come a
little.
"Pack up, then, and be off with Douglass in two
minutes, and remember, both of you, if you fail
us-"
"Then what?" asked Jones, suddenly stopping and
looking back. "I don't calculate to be over particular,
220
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
Colonel, but if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I
should like to know that, before we start."
"You shall be doomed to sit forty days and nights in
sackcloth and ashes," humorously said Allen.
"By Jonah!" exclaimed Pete, "the boats shall be
there by the time, Colonel!''
While the latter part of this dialogue was going on,
Warrington stood with his back to the company, with
one foot on a log, busily engaged in writing with his
pencil on a blank leaf, torn from his pocketbook and
placed on his knee.
"Aha! my lad," said Allen, in a playful undertone,
as he approached the former, and significantly placed
one finger on his shoulder, "more faith, now, than
when we two were lying on the hay, in the Captain's
barn, waiting for our rifles, eh?"
"I really wish you would mind your own business,
Colonel," replied Warrington, with affected anger.
"Well, well," resumed Allen, laughing, "send it,
my boy.
Mars, they say, never prospers so well as
when he has Cupid in his train, in any case. But with
such a piece of God's handiwork as yours, to incite to
action-heavens! if the knights of old had been blest
with such lady-loves, they would never have needed
to carry half a hundred weight of old iron on their
lubberly carcasses to make them heroes."'
Stripping off their coats to fit them for a rapid march,
these athletic and resolute woodsmen now seized their
rifles, took a glance at the sun for a hasty calculation
of the bearing of the course to be taken to lead them
to their proposed destination, and, plunging into the
woods, were soon lost to the sight of their companions.
A small guard was then sent on in advance, with
orders to pick up and detain every man on the road,
not in the secret of the expedition. Scouts to range
the woods on the right and left were also dispatched
for the same purpose; after which the main body of
the forces quietly resumed their march for the lake.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
221
CHAPTER XVII
"There are strange movements among all the troop,
And no one knows the same."
Leaving Allen and his companions in arms to make
their way to the lake shore, we will now, by way of
marking the progress of the two active foresters, who
had been dispatched northward for boats, change the
scene, for a short time, to the quiet residence of Cap-
tain Hendee.
It was a little past sunset on the evening of the day
on which the events last described transpired. It had
been a day of unusual stillness in the northern part of
the Grants. The lively sounds of the plying axmen,
which were usually heard ringing through the forests
in every direction, were all hushed. The women went
a-visiting, and were seen to whisper in the corners
apart from the children. The boys finished their tasks
by noon, and for the remainder of the day were saun-
tering round the brooks with their fishing-poles. All
the active men had disappeared; though no one men-
tioned aloud the cause of their absence. And a sort
of Sabbath-day quiet and inaction seemed to prevail
over all this section of the settlement. Captain Hendee
was sitting in his open door, enjoying, as usual, his
evening pipe, and wrapped in that placid and con-
templative mood to which this indulgence generally
disposes. His daughter was seated near him at a win-
dow, in an attitude equally calm and contemplative,
though engrossed with reflections, probably, of a far
different nature; for her fair, white hand rested on a
small volume lying on the window-sill before her,
opened upon those heart-melting strains of the hapless
Eloise, which Pope, that master of rhyme and marrer
of reason, sung with such seductive sweetness; and
her tear-moistened eye was fixed, pensively and unob-
222
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
servant, on the slumbering waters of the outspread
lake; while occasionally a gentle sigh, betokening the
inward conflicts of hope and fear, was heaving her
snowy bosom. While the father and daughter were
thus seated, and their minds thus absorbed in their
different trains of reflection, their attention was sud-
denly arrested by the sounds of advancing footsteps.
"By all the saints in the calendar"" exclaimed the
Captain, after gazing an instant in surprise at the
striking proportions of our young Anak of the woods,
for it was no other than Pete Jones, who, at the dis-
tance of eight or ten rods, was now seen stalking
towards the house, "what a cloud-brusher is there,
Alma! Can you imagine who he may be?”
"No, father," replied Alma, who was also looking
at the approaching visitor with an expression of min-
gled wonder and curiosity; "but I just noticed that
Young Tyler and Wilcox of this neighborhood passed
beyond the barn yonder, and I conclude that this man
is some friend of theirs. They are probably all going
on some fishing excursion. The man, I presume,
wishes to get a little fire for this purpose.
By this time, Jones had reached the door in which
the Captain was sitting.
"Good-evening! Will you walk in, sir?" said the
latter in an indifferent tone, and without moving, as
if he expected the other would decline the invitation,
and announce his errand at his door.
"Why, yes, I may as well," replied Jones, offering
to pass in without appearing to notice the hesitating
and inquiring look of the Captain, who now at once
yielded the space to his guest. "You see, I was bred
to manners," continued the woodsman, jocosely bow-
ing, so as to enable him to enter the door.
The Captain, smiling good-naturedly at the remark,
handed Jones a chair, took another himself, and
waited in silence, and with the same expecting air as
before, for the stranger to name his business. This,
however, Jones did not seem ready to make known,
but continued sitting in silence, with a puzzled and

WASHINGTON FIRING THE FIRST GUN AT YORKTOWN

LORD CORNWALLIS
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
223
undecided air, as if greatly at loss what to say, or how
to bring about some object he had in view, now glanc-
ing at the Captain, now at the different objects about
the room, and now at Miss Hendee, on whom his eyes
lingered with an expression of unfeigned admira-
tion.
"Very fine weather, this," remarked the Captain,
by way of breaking the silence, which he seemed to
think was becoming a little awkward.
"Very; considering the times, and the state of the
nation," responded Pete, dryly, and with the manner
of one who would show that he is too busy in thought
to engage in conversation.
The Captain then made some other commonplace
observation, which met with no reply of any kind;
when, finding himself thus defeated in every attempt
to draw the other into conversation, and tired of wait-
ing for him to name his errand, he withdrew his atten-
tion, and sunk into his own reveries.
After Jones had set a while longer chewing his cud
of perplexity, a change appeared suddenly to come
over himn A flash of intelligence and decision lit up
his countenance. And, after dropping his head an
instant, as if settling the details of a plan which he
appeared to have hit upon, he slowly drew up his
features into a sober and troubled air, and began to
catch his breath, and shiver all over, like a man taken
with an ague fit. He then rose, tottled across the floor
to the hearth, raked open the fire and spread his shak.
ing hands over the coals, at the same time attempting
to speak as he observed the eyes of the Captain and
his daughter were turned upon him with a look of
lively concern.
“O, nev-never mind!"-he said, articulating with
great apparent difficulty, in his attempt to quiet their
alarm," twill s-s-soon be
over now-
though the-the-these swamp ag-ag-agues are
bad while they last. You, you don't-keep-keep
great fires-here-I-I—I see.
"We will have one in a moment, my friend," said
224
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
the Captain, leaping up at this hint, and hobbling out
of doors after wood, with unwonted activity.
No sooner was the old gentleman fairly out of sight
than Jones' malady entirely disappeared. He quickly
drew out a billet, and turning, tossed it into the lap of
the astonished Miss Hendee.
"Here, mum," said he, in a low, confidential tone,
"there's no time to be polite; but read that, and if you
want to scrabble off two lines, or so, in answer, con-
trive to get it into my old hat there on the table, in
almost no time, as I'm in a taking of a hurry.
stay, where's the Indian?"
But
"He has gone to take a letter for me to Major
Skene's colored man, now lying with his boat down
here at the landing, I believe," replied the blushing
girl, already on her way to her apartment to read and
answer the billet, which a glance at the handwriting
told her was from her accepted lover.
"That's lucky," said Jones; "now I want that chap
to go with us. We have got a trifling chore to do to-
night somewhere in the neighborhood of Old Ti. Had
I better speak to the old gentleman about his going or
not?"
"My father should be consulted, and yet, "-an-
swered Alma, hesitating lest the suggested application
to Captain Hendee might in some way lead to a dis-
covery of her own secret-"I heard him promise
Neshobee's services to Colonel Allen for such an emer-
gency. Perhaps you had better consult no one but Ne-
shobee himself, and if he is willing to go, I will stand
his friend in defending the delinquency, if such it be.'
Captain Hendee now returned with the wood, and
found Pete's ague much as he left it. But as the fire
blazed up from the light combustibles which had been
thrown onto it, the attack seemed gradually to subside.
Meanwhile, Alma had retired, read the brief out-pour-
ing of her lover's heart, and penned in answer-
"From my heart I thank you for your kind note.
All as yet remains undiscovered,-painful, painful
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
225
exigency! which compels concealment of so important
a step from an only parent! And yet I regret not my
troth; and whatever of sorrow it may cost me, I will
not repine at the fruit of a tree of my own planting.
Heaven preserve you, my very dear friend, in the hour
of peril, and crown with success your efforts in the
cause of freedom.
Yours, but too truly,
"A. H."
By the time Alma had completed her note, and man-
aged on her return to the room to slip it, unobserved,
into the designated place of deposit, Jones had so far
recovered from his pretended indisposition, that he
announced himself in a condition for proceeding on his
way. And taking a coal of fire between a couple of
chips, by way of accounting to the Captain for his call,
and stopping a moment to listen to the sage nostrums
recommended by his host to prevent the recurrence of
his ague, he departed, and joined his two newly enlisted
associates, who were impatiently awaiting his coming
in the adjoining field. It being now sufficiently dusk
to prevent all observation from the opposite garrison,
they proceeded immediately to the landing, which they
found guarded by two Green Mountain Boys, who,
making fishing their ostensible business, had, in pur-
suance of the arrangement before mentioned, closely
watched the place during the two preceding days.
Here, also, they met Neshobee, who had just returned
in a skiff, from Major Skene's scow, in possession, as
before intimated, of a stout negro, who, with two low,
sottish fellows under his command, having spent that
day at the fort to take in some loading, and visit the
soldiers previous to starting for home, as they intended
to do, the next morning, had come over just at night
and taken a fishing station near the landing. Jones
and his companions hesitated not to open their project
of obtaining this boat to Neshobee, who very cheer-
fully agreed to co-operate with them in duping the
negro, and to assist in rowing the boat up to the land-
ing. where they were to be met by Allen's forces.
16
226
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
The boat was lying about a dozen rods from the shore;
and black Jack, as he was called, and his men, having
pulled up their anchor, were now on the point of put-
ting back for the fort; when the party on shore, their
plan of operations being all arranged, hailed the black
commander, and desired him to haul up to the landing.
"Who the debil you, who want me do all dat for
notting?" replied Jack, in a swaggering, consequential
tone.
"O, pull up to the shore," said Wilcox, "there are
three or four of us here who are wishing to make a
bargain with you.
""
"Bargain, hey? you shackaroons, you! You tink for
play some deblish trick, don't you? Guess you find
out you no catch weazel sleep so easy as all dat come
to!" responded the negro, chuckling at his own wit
and sagacity.
"No, now, honestly, Captain Jack," rejoined the
first speaker, "we want to go to Shoreham landing to-
night, to be ready to join a wolf hunt which they are
going to start there early to-morrow morning.'
"
"Gosh all fire-lock!" exclaimed the black, whose
opinion of his own importance was greatly raised by
being addressed as Captain. "You tink I row my boat
all de way up dar in de dark jest for commodate you?
No! see you all dam fus!”
"Now you are too bad, Captain; but you won't damn
our jug of old Jamaica, that we intended to offer you
for carrying us up there, will you?" said the other,
taking a jug from under his coat and swinging it over
his head, so that the black, whose taste for liquor was
well known to the young men, might catch a view of
it in the twilight.
"What you say, dere?" eagerly said Jack, stretching
forward his neck to see, and make sure of the existence
of the tempting implement.
"We say," replied the former, "that here is a gallon
of as good rum as ever run down your throat, which is
at your service, if you will close the bargain. Come,
give us your answer, for if we can't make a trade with
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
227
you, we must be off for a boat somewhere else. What
say you?-and mind ye, we will lend you a stiff hand
at the oars to boot.'
"You help row de boat, you say?" answered Jack, in
an altered and yielding tone. "Why de debil you no
Dat be a case dat alter de circumstance.
say so fore?
You werry much to blame, gemmen, dat you no men-
tion so portant a difference in fus place, added the
negro, while he and his men headed round the boat,
and handled the oars with such effect that nearly the
next moment she was lying at the landing.
Within five minutes from this time, the magic jug,
which had effected such a wonderful change in the
aspect of affairs, having been well tested in the mean-
while by Jack and his associates, all hands were
stripped and bending to the oars of the old scow,
which, under the forceful strokes of Jones and his
party, aided by the rum-power of Jack's two besotted
boatmen, was surging through the waters towards the
south, as fast as their united strength would drive her.
They were soon met, however, by puffs of south
wind, against which they found it impossible to make
but a very slow headway. And it was not till consid-
erable past midnight that they came to the last reach,
and hove in sight of the destined landing. But here,
overhauling Douglass with the other scow, and the
party he had enlisted to help man it, both boats, with
renewed efforts of rival speed, pushed forward for the
appointed shore.
"Boat ahoy!" called out Allen from the landing,
where, as the boats neared the place, his huge, tower-
like form, rising in bold relief over the stationary
group of officers around him, could now plainly be dis-
cerned by the approaching crews; "boat ahoy! who
comes there?''
"Douglass and friends, in this," was the reply from
the first boat, coming in about its length in advance of
the other.
"And who in the next?" asked Allen.
"Jones and a thunder-cloud!" responded the well-
15
228
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
known voice of the jolly woodsman. "Now you
needn't think I am fibbing, Colonel; for you will see
it lighten when we get ashore."
"All is well, then," said Allen, without heeding the
remarks of Jones, further than his announcement of
himself with a boat; "all is well, and glory to God in
the highest, that you have got here at last! I thought
you would have never come. Why, it has been an age
since dark! Some old sun-stopping Joshua must be
fighting on the other side of the earth, or, I swear, it
would have been daylight long ago!"
By this time the first boat had struck the shore, and
the crew, leaping out, were all readily recognized by
the leader, who then turned to the other boat, at that
instant driving up, with the astonished and frightened
negro (now for the first time mistrusting a trick),
gibbering and sputtering aloud,-
"What de hell all dis?-who all dese? What pretty
dam scrape you got me into here, you shackaroon
debils, you?"
"What in the name of all that is black and red have
you got here, Jones?" cried Allen, in surprise, stepping
up and peering into the boat, on hearing Jack's excla-
mations.
"Why, just what I told you, Colonel. Here! don't
you see it lighten, now?" said Pete, pointing to the
negro's eyes, which, glaring wide with fear and aston-
ishment, at what he saw and heard, glimmered like
fire-bugs in the dark. "But the English of it is,
Colonel, that we came across Major Skene's scow,
commanded by Captain Darkey, with his two oars-
men, here, who for a gallon of rum were kind enough
to bring us along to join a hunting match at Shorcham,
where we have now arrived, safe and sound," he con-
tinued, turning to the black, "so now, Captain Jack,
you have fulfilled your bargain with us; and we have
nothing more to say, as far as we are concerned. If
these rough-looking chaps here want to employ you
further, they will let you know it, likely."
"Jones, you deserve a pension for life!" exclaimed
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
229
Allen, comprehending the whole affair in an instant.
"You and your friends here have killed more birds
with one stone than you dreamed of yourselves, per-
haps. But we have not a moment to lose, so leap
out, my lads. And as to Major Skene's boat, it is my
lawful prize; and Major Skene's negro, and Major
Skene's negro's understrappers, here, are all my pris-
oners!"
"O, no, totally unpossible to stop, gemmen!" said
Jack, in a good-lord, good-devil sort of tone, being
doubtful whether they really intended to make him
prisoner, or engage him and his boat to carry them to
some other place. "I have provision for de Major's
family aboard. Dey all out ob supply for dere neces-
sity. Quite unpossible, gemmen.
""
"We will take care of the provisions.
So out with
you in no time, you black Satan!" said Allen, impa-
tiently.
"O, it be out ob all question I stop!" persisted the
negro with increasing alarm, "I have odder portant
business-I have letter from de young leddy at Cap-
tain Hendee's to de young leddy ob Colonel Reed at
de Major's dat I oblige for deliver, early in the morn-
ing.
""
"We will undertake the delivery of the letter," said
Selden and Warrington, simultaneously.
"Tumble them out, boys!" sternly exclaimed Allen.
"O, Lordy, I den be ruin! totally, foreber ruin!"
groaned the distressed and frightened black, as the
men seized him and his two drunken associates, and
led them to the rear to be put under guard.
The boats were now instantly headed round, the
oars muffled, careful oarsmen selected and placed in
their seats; when, after each boat had been filled with
as many troops as their respective burthens would
safely permit, they pushed off from the shore, pre-
ceded a short hailing distance by a skiff, occupied by
Allen and Arnold, with Phelps to pilot them to their
contemplated landing, on the opposite shore. The
wind had some time since died wholly away; and the
230
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
elements were now all hushed, as if in the slumbers
of death; while the deeply freighted crafts glided
slowly on, impelled by the light dip of the feathery
oars, which, in the hands of the experienced and care-
ful men who plied them, unitedly rose and fell as
noiseless as the feet of fairies on beds of flowers. At
length the dark, massy walls of the fortress, looming
up, and marking their broad outlines against the west-
ern sky, became discernible to the men. And yet, as
they drew near these frowning walls, pierced by a
hundred cannon, over which, for aught they knew, the
lighted matches were suspended, awaiting but the
signal to send their iron showers of death to every
man of their devoted band, no misgivings, no weak
relentings came over them; but at a moment like this,
and that which followed at the onset,-moments, fur-
nishing, perhaps, a more undoubted test of courage
than those of the half frantic, half mechanical charges
of the disciplined legions of Napoleon, at the later
fields of Austerlitz and Marengo-at a moment like
this, we say, their stout hearts, nothing daunted at the
dangers before them, beat high and proudly at the
thought of the coming encounter, and with stern
determination gleaming in every eye, and with the low-
whispered words of impatience for the moment of
action to arrive, they moved steadily on to the daring
purpose.
Passing down obliquely by the works, they landed
some distance to the north of them. The instant they
touched the shore, the troops leaped on the banks;
and scarcely had the last foot been lifted from the
boats before they were backed, wheeled, and on their
return for another load, leaving those on shore to
await in silence the arrival of a reinforcement from
their companions left behind, before marching to the
onset. Those companions, however, were not destined
to share in the glory of this splendid achievement of
the eighty Green Mountain Boys who had landed; for,
in a few moments, to the dismay of Allen, the faint
suffusions of dawning day became visible in the east.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
231
Cursing the luck which had caused such delays, and
chafing like a chained lion held back from his prey,
that impetuous leader for a few moments rapidly paced
the shore before his men, in an agony of impatience-
now casting an eager look at the fort, still silent and
undisturbed, now straining his vision after the rece-
ding boats, which, to him, seemed to move like snails
across the waters, and now throwing an uneasy glance
at the reddening east, whose twilight glow, growing
broader and brighter every instant, plainly told him
that before another detachment of troops could arrive
his forces would be discovered, and the enterprise, in
ali probability, would thus be defeated. Maddened
at the thought. he stopped short in his walk, paused
an instant, and brought his foot with a significant
stamp to the ground, showing that his resolution was
taken. And quickly calling out Jones and Neshobee,
he dispatched them to go forward, cautiously recon-
noiter the fort on all sides, and return as speedily as
possible to report their discoveries He then formed
his men in three ranks and addressed them.
"You see, my friends and fellow soldiers," he com-
menced, pointing his sword towards the east, “that
daylight will reveal us to the enemy before a reinforce-
ment can possibly arrive. But can you, who have so
long been the scourge of tyrants, bring your minds to
relinquish the noble enterprise, and with it the proud
name you have achieved, by turning your backs on
the glorious prize, when it is now almost within your
grasp?"
He paused for a reply; when "no! no! no!"' ran
through the lines in eager responses.
"I see, I see, my brave fellows," resumed the grati-
fied leader, "I see what you would do. I read it in
your deeply breathed tones of determination-in your
quick and short-drawn respirations, and in your rest-
less and impatient movements. But have you all well
considered? I now propose to lead you through yon-
der gate; and I fear not to tell men of your stamp,
that we incur no small hazard of life in the attempt.
232
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
And, as I would urge no man to engage against his
own free will, I now give free and full permission to
all who choose to remain behind. You, therefore,
who will voluntarily accompany me, poise your guns."
Every man's gun was instantly brought to a poise,
with a motion which told with what good-will it was
made.
"God bless you, my noble fellows!" exclaimed
Allen, proudly, and with emotion: "Courage like
that"-he continued, in tones of concentrated energy,
"courage like that, with hearts of oak, and nerves of
steel like yours, must, will, and, by the help of the
God of hosts, shall triumph! Come on, then! follow
me-march while I march-run and rush when I set
the example; and if I fall, still rush on, and over me,
to vengeance and victory! To the right wheel!
march!"
When the band arrived within about a furlong of
the ramparts, they were met by the scouts, who
reported that all was quiet in and about the fort, while
the open gate was guarded only by one sluggish and
sleepy-looking sentinel. Halting no longer than was
necessary to hear this report, Allen, placing himself
at the head of the center column, silently waved his
sword to the troops as a signal for resuming the
march; when they all again moved forward with rapid
but cautious steps towards the guarded gateway. And
so noiseless and unexpected was their approach, that
they came within twenty paces of the entrance before
they were discovered by the drowsy sentry, who was
slowly pacing to and fro, with shouldered musket,
before it. Turning round with a start, the aroused
soldier glared an instant at the advancing array, in
mute astonishment and alarm; when he hastily cocked,
and leveled his piece at Allen, who was striding towards
him, several yards in advance of his men. It was an
instant on which hung the fate of the hero of the
Green Mountains and, probably, also the destinies of
Ticonderoga. But the gun missed fire. The life of
the daring leader was safe, and the garrison slept on,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
233
unalarmed, and unconscious of their danger. Leaping
forward like the bounding tiger on his victim, Allen
followed up the retreating soldier so hotly that, with all
the speed which fear could lend him, he could scarcely
keep clear of the rapidly whirling sword of his fiery
pursuer, till he gained the interior of the fortress;
when he gave a loud screech of alarm, and, making a
desperate leap for a bomb proof, disappeared within
its recesses. Meanwhile, the rushing column of troops
came sweeping like a whirlwind through the gate;
when fairly gaining the parade ground in front of the
barracks, they gave three cheers which made the old
walls tremble with the deafening reverberations, and
caused the slumbering garrison to start from their
beds in wild dismay at the unwonted sound. Scarcely
had the last huzza escaped the lips of the men and
their leader, who disdained not to mingle his own
stentorian voice in the peals of exultation and defi-
ance, which rose in thunders to heaven, before the
latter was rapidly threading his way through flying
sentries and half-dressed officers, towards the quarters
of the commandant of the fortress. Pausing an instant
on his way, to chastise a dastard sentinel whom he
caught making a pass at one of our officers with his
bayonet, and whom, with one blow with the flat of his
sword, he sent reeling to the earth with the cry of
mercy on his lips, the daring leader bounded up the
stairway leading to the commandant's room, and
thundering at the door, called loudly to that officer to
come forth. Captain La Place, who had just leaped
from his bed, on hearing the tumult below, soon made
his appearance with his clothes in his hand, but
suddenly recoiling a step, he stood gazing in mute
amazement at the stern and threatening air and the
powerful and commanding figure of the man before
him.
"I come, sir, to demand the immediate surrender of
this fortress!" sternly said Allen, to the astonished
commander.
"By what authority do you make this bold demand
234
404 GREN MOJNT...N BOYS
of His Majesty's fort, sir?" said the other, almost dis-
trusting his senses
y what autority?" thundered Allen, "I demand
it, sir, in the name of the Great Jenovah and the Con-
tinental Congress.´´
"The Coatinental Congress?" stammered the hesi-
tating officer. "I know or no right—i don't acknowl-
edge it, sir"
66
'But you soon will acknowledge it, sir!" fiercely
interrupted the impatient leader. "And hesitate to
obey me one instant longer, and by the eternal heav-
ens! I will sacrifice every man in your fort!-begin-
ning the work, sir," he added, whirling his sword
furiously over the head of the other, and bringing the
murderous blade at every glittering circle it made in
the air, nearer and nearer the head of its threatened
victim, "beginning the work, sir, by sending your own
head dancing across this floor!"
"I yield, I yield!" cried the shrinking commandant.
"Down! down, then, instantly!" exclaimed Allen,
"and communicate the surrender to your men' while
any of them are left alive to hear t.
""
Scarcely allowing the crestfallen officer time to
encase his legs in his breeches, Allen hurried him
down to the scene of action, in the open parade below.
Here they found the Green Mountain Boys eagerly
engaged in the work of capturing the garrison, who
were making considerable show of resistance. Two
of the barrack doors had been beaten down, and about.
a third of the enemy already made prisoners. And
the ery Arnold was on the point of blowing a third
door from its hinges with a swivel, which he had
caused to be drawn up for the purpose; while a fourth
was shaking and tottering under the tremendous blows
of an ax, wielded by the long and powerful arms of
Pete Jones, who was found among the foremost in the
contest.
"Cease, cease ye all!" cried Allen, in a loud voice
of command, as he appeared among them with La
Place by his side.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
235
"Now, raaly, Colonel," said Jones, s::spending his
elevated implement, and holding it back over his head
in readiness for another blow, "I wish you would let
me settle with this devilish old oak door before I stop.
Why, I never was so bothered with such a small potato
in my life!"
"No, no!" answered the other, smiling, "let us have
silence a moment, and we will save you all troubles of
that kind.'
"Well, then, here goes for a parting blessing!"
exclaimed the woodsman, bringing down his ax with
a tremendous blow, which brought the shattered door
tumbling to the ground.
The British commandant, then calling his officers
around him, informed them that he had surrendered
the fortress, and ordered them to parade the men with-
out arms. While this was in performance, a second
detachment of Green Mountain Boys reached the
I shore, and, having eagerly hastened on to the fort to
join their companions, now with Warrington at their
head, came pouring into the arena. A single glance
sufficed to tell the latter that he was too late to par-
ticipate in aught but the fruits of the victory. With
a disappointed and mortified air, he halted his men,
and approached to the side of his leader.
"Ah! Colonel, said he, "is this the way you appro-
priate all the laurels to yourself, entirely forgetful of
your friends?"
"Pooh! pooh! Charles," replied Allen, turning to the
other with a soothing, yet self-complaisant smile, at
the half reproachful compliment thus conveyed, “you
need not mourn much lost glory in this affair. Why,
the stupid devils did not give us fight enough to whet
our appetites for breakfast! But never mind, Charles,
there is more business yet to be done; Crown Point and
Major Skene's stone castle must both be ours to-night.
The taking of the first shall be yours to perform. And
after breakfast and a few bumpers in honor of our
victory, we will dispatch you for that purpose, with a
corps of your own selection.
236
THE GREËN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Thank you, thank you, Colonel," replied the other
with a grateful smile. "But the expedition to Skenes-
boro'-may I not speak a word for our friend, Selden!"'
"Aha!" replied Allen, laughing, "then this offer to
take charge of the negro's letter had its meaning, eh?
I don't know exactly about that chip of a British Colo-
nel for a Yankee patriot. Now, yours, Major, I
acknowledge to be a true Cynosure. But his, I fear,
will prove a Dog-star. However, this is his own hunt;
and as he is a finished fellow, and, doubtless, brave
and true, I think I will give him the command of the
expedition unless claimed by Easton. But hush! the
commandant is about to go through the forms of the
surrender. I must away, but will see you again.
"9
The brief ceremonies of the surrender were soon
over; when, as the fortress was pronounced to be in
full possession of the conquerors, the heavens were
again rent by the reiterated huzzas of the Green
Mountain Boys, while British cannon were made to
peal forth with their deep-mouthed thunders to the
trembling hills and reverberating mountains of the
country around, the proclamation of victory!—the first
triumph of Young Freedom over the arms of her
haughty oppressor.
CHAPTER XVIII
A thousand evil things there are that hate
To look on happiness; these hurt impede,
And leagued with time, circumstance and fate,
Keep kindred heart from heart, to pine and pant and bleed."
-Mrs. Brooks.
It is time, perhaps, that we should recur a little, to
trace the operations of some personages of our story,
whose agency, though unnoted by us through several
of the last chapters, had yet, in the meanwhile, been
actively exercised in bringing about the events that
were destined to follow. And it is with a sort of
reluctance of feeling that we turn from the soul-
kindling task of describing the noble exploits of Allen

DEATH OF MAJOR PITCAIRN

མ་ལ་་་་འ་
Ny
HE PURITAN AND THE SOLDIER
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
237
"
and his patriot companions, to the low and despicable
plottings of the base Sherwood, and his still more
execrable associate in crime. Though twice foiled in
his attempts to procure the destruction of Warrington,
under the sanction of a despotic law, of which advan-
tage was taken mainly to cloak the true motives of the
act, though signally defeated in this, and the bolder
attempt at assassination, which was subsequently
made at his instigation, yet still restless as the dark
spirit of evil, this plotter of mischief, instead of relin-
quishing his object, was now only the more intently
engaged in devising and putting in practice new ways
of accomplishing his nefarious designs.
On the evening that Darrow had attempted the life
of Warrington in the woods, Sherwood was sitting in
his house, which was kept by a simple couple, wholly
in the interests of their employer. He had just arrived
from a visit to the house of Captain Hendee, where,
as the reader has been apprised, he had been sowing
the seeds of discord in that hapless family. And the
chilly reception with which his parting advances had
been met by the indignant girl, whom they were
intended to soften and deceive, more than ever con-
firming him in what his jealousy had long since sug-
gested, that her inclinations were setting strongly
towards his hated rival, and foreseeing that something
must speedily be done to counteract the current, he
was now revolving over the different schemes that rose
in his teeming brain for effecting his purpose, in case
of the failure of his minion to remove the object alike
of his hatred and his fears. While thus occupied in
mind, Darrow, whose coming was not wholly unlooked
for, arrived, and sulkily entered the apartment.
"Ah, Darrow!" exclaimed Sherwood, with his usual
hypocritical smile, "very glad to see you. I knew not
whether you would come to-night, or return to the
fort."
"Why," replied the other, "when I concluded to
give it up for a d-n bad day's work, I found myself
nearer your house than the fort; so I came, that's all."
238
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Glad you did. So come, unrig, and sit down. The
old woman, in the other room, will have us some sup-
per ready soon. But no luck with your rifle to-day?"
said Sherwood, with a significant smile.
"None-except getting half tired to death, in this
cursed wild goose chase of yours," petulantly replied
the surly minion.
"What' not even get a sight of the game, after so
much beating about the bush?''
"Yes, twice: and failed both times, as the devil, who
sent me on the errand, would have it," answered Dar-
row, with an equivocal glance at the other.
"Failed! how?" said Sherwood, without appearing
to notice the half intentional sarcasm of Darrow.
"Why, the first time, the devilish rifle missed fire,
for a rarity-the second, its owner missed his aim,
and had to take to his legs to save his bacon."
"All this is very singular, Mr. Darrow," observed
Sherwood, with a disappointed and somewhat incred-
ulous look.
"Yes, but true for all that.
you please, I care not a groat."
Believe it or not, just as
"What mean you now, Darrow?''
"Exactly what I say; and I am beginning to mean
something more, too.
"You are a strange fellow, Darrow. But let us have
all your meanings, wants, and wishes in a lump. I
am in no humor for riddles.
"Nor I, neither. Well, then, though the fellow
escaped my bullet by no intended fault of mine, yet I
am not sorry I missed him. I have been thinking of
the business coming along, and for all your talk about
his life being forfeited, I can't make it out much better
than killing-not to use a worse word,-which they
say gives a fellow ugly dreams. So I have made up
my mind to let you do your own jobs of this sort, in
future. And if you persist in urging me further-'
"Killing! who asked you to kill him?" interrupted
Sherwood, in feigned surprise.
"Curse you, Jake, you know well enough you meant
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
239
that. But I am still willing to help take the fellow,
and hand him over to the Yorkers to punish, or lend
you a hand to carry any other point, if you will do the
clean thing by me. But in the first place, you must
tell me what you fear from this fellow, and why you
are so specially set on having him taken, more than
Allen, or any other outlaw?"
"That is more than I intended to tell any one; but
as I suppose you will better serve my interests by
understanding this, you shall know the whole business.
Well, after I had been here a while, I noticed that the
girl, when the Captain said anything in praise of this
Howard, as he supposed his name was, never joined
her father in praises of the fellow, though she never
had any ears for anything else while the slightest
mention was made of him. And if I so much as asked
a question implying a doubt about the fellow's perfec-
tion, she would show resentment as plain as looks
could do it. Now, Darrow, if you would discover
whether a girl entertains any secret liking for a man,
just introduce his name in her presence, contriving
both to praise and censure him, and if she refuse to
join you in either, but is all attention when you praise,
and grows restless when you censure him, you may
safely set it down that love is secretly lurking about
her heart. It was something like this that led me to
think that this Howard had made an impression, which
I little relished. This suspicion caused me to obtain
from the old Captain a minute description of the
fellow, and having before had one of Warrington, it
occurred to me that this favorite might be no other
than the outlaw, himself. And being determined to
ascertain whether my conjectures were correct, I made
a secret journey to Bennington, where I got a sight at
Warrington, and where, by professing great wrath
against the Yorkers, I was let into secrets which con-
firmed me in my suspicions. There, also, I made
arrangements for being apprised of Warrington's
future movements with one Willoughby, who sent the
word which enabled me to ferret out him and his band
240
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
at Lake Dunmore. All this, however, I kept secret
from the Hendees, but took especial pains to inspire
the old man, and more particularly his daughter, with
a horror of the character of Warrington.
And now,
Darrow, after the insufferable scoundrel has caused
me to be tied up and whipped like a dog, and, to cap
the climax, has found his way into this family, and
attempted to beguile from me my betrothed, can you
ask why I wish to see him brought to justice?”
"Why, you seem to make out considerable of a case
of it, to be sure," replied the other carelessly, as he
rolled his tobacco quid in his lips. "But, 'betrothed,'
do you call her? Why, I thought you cared so little
about the girl that you was quite undetermined
whether you would have her or not?"
"Well, whatever I may have said before, I am not
undetermined now-for the girl, in spite of men, or
devils, I swear I will have!"
"What mighty object is there, Jake, in breaking
your neck for her? Be sure, she is a snug piece
enough, but you can catch other fish as fair, and those,
too, who will bring you hundreds to her none."'
"I have plenty of objects to answer: one is to defeat
this hated scoundrel,-another, to punish her for pre-.
suming to like him. I don't say now I will marry her.
But she shall be mine, to do with as I choose. I will
have her, and keep her in a spot where it shall be
mine, not hers, to decide whose wife she shall become.
That, indeed, was mainly my motive in drawing her
into an engagement in the first place: for you know,
Darrow, that in case the old concerns should happen
to be ripped up, a matrimonial plaster would cure all.
And so long as I kept things in this posture, I should
have the remedy at hand."
"Yes, but what chance do you consider there is of
ripping up old matters?" asked the sergeant, throwing
a keen, inquiring glance at the other.
"Why, such a thing is possible, you know. The old
man, my father, I mean, as he grows weak and child-
ish, may repent, and kick over his own kettle, and, of
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
241
course, mine. Indeed, I have great fears of this: for,
though he never said anything to me of the kind, not
dreaming that I ever met with you here, or discovered
by any other means the secrets of his former manage-
ment, yet I have lately observed in him a sort of grow-
ing uneasiness, a whining melancholy way, which,
with his great anxiety that I should marry this girl,
has made me rather jealous that his firmness is giving
way in this quarter. Besides this, there are other
dangers: that boy, who, you say the old man still
thinks was done for, may yet be alive, and return to
make me trouble.
"Well, if he should, he would be a no very lousy foe
for you to contend with, Jake,-that is, if he is as
smart for a man as he was for a boy-I tell you, he
was a bright one for a four-year-old. I liked him, and
never had the least notion of harming a hair of his
head."
"What object had you, then, in making the old man
believe as you did?"
"Why, I mistrusted that would please the old man
best, and I'll be hanged if I don't believe it did, Jake,
if he is your father.
"Well, there are these chances against me, and
then-"
"And then Bill Darrow may leak, you was going to
say, was you, Jake?" sneeringly asked the minion.
"O, no!" quickly responded the consummate dis-
sembler with a gracious smile, and a surprised air, as
if such a thought never entered his head. "No, indeed.
I should as soon fear myself. But I was thinking, and
about to say, that besides these chances, Warrington's
communication with the girl will prove dangerous to
my plans, and that they must be stopped.'
"Well, how are you going to do it, short of follow-
ing up the plan we have been already acting on to so
little purpose?''
"Why, I have already taken one step to-day, by
informing Hendee that his friend Howard was no less
than the outlaw Warrington in disguise. This was
242
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
touching the fire to his gunpowder temper; and has
pretty effectually blown the fellow up as regards any
open communication with the girl.´´
"That may be, but it has also blown up your best
trap for taking him, you see, don't you?''
Perhaps so, but I dare not risk his visits with the
standing he evidently held in their minds.
And now,
having broken off all open intercourse between the
girl and the audacious rascal, we must go to work to
sunder those ties, which may yet secretly remain."'
"Hum! That, I should think, would be like trying
to cut off sunbeams with a jack-knife. I should like to
know how the old boy you calculate to do that?"
"O, easy enough, though my plan is not quite made
up. I will tell you in the morning.
But will you
assist me in carrying it out?”
"Don't know but I will.
But supposing I do, and
see you fairly through the whole scrape, what do you
finally intend to do for me?"
You
"Anything almost that you may ask, Darrow.
will own that the earnest money I gave you the other
day was a handsome affair?''
"Hum!-Yes, decent."
"Well, from the late news, I suppose we shall have
war. Warrington and most of these rascally settlers
will be with the rebels. I, from several motives, shall
go for the King. And I have made up my mind to
get a Captain's commission, and raise a company to
act in this quarter. You shall be my Lieutenant.
And then we will use up these refractory settlers in a
way they little dream of. But hark! The old woman
is rapping for us to come to supper. I will mature
my plans, and open them to you, as I said, in the
morning.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
243
CHAPTER XIX
"I something fear my father's wrath; but nothing
(Always reserv'd my holy duty), what
His rage can do on me. You must begone:
And I shall here abide the hourly shot
Of angry eyes; not comforted to live,
But that there is this jewel in the world,
That I may see again."
The development made by Sherwood, at his late
visit, seemed to produce on Captain Hendee, whose
mind had been previously prejudiced and poisoned for
the purpose, all the effect which the former could have
desired. The Captain's feelings of pride were deeply
touched at the thought of having entertained, and
welcomed in his family, a man acting under the dis-
guise of an assumed name, and consequently harbor-
ing, as he reasoned, no honorable purposes.
And
these views going to confirm all the falsehoods and
dark insinuations, by which that lago in malice and
subtlety had accompanied his disclosures concerning
Warrington, the mind of the irritable old gentleman
had been wrought up to a pitch of exasperation and
bitterness, which he pretended neither to disguise nor
control, and which he failed not to vent on all around
him, but more particularly upon his unhappy daugh-
ter. To her, indeed, his whole demeanor became
changed; and his treatment was marked by a distrust-
ful coldness, and continued austerity of manner, which
she had never before, for so long a time, experienced
from her passionate, but hitherto quickly relenting,
parent. And yet she, who was happily the very
reverse of her father in temper, had neither mani-
fested, nor felt the least wish to resent the unkindness;
but calm and amiable in disposition, as she was fear-
less and spirited in action, she had borne all with the
most forgiving patience, prudently awaiting the subsi-
16
244
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
ding of the tempest of his passion, before she should.
attempt, as she was resolved to do, to exculpate War-
rington, and gradually bring about a change in his
views and feelings, in regard to the connection with
Sherwood. She well knew that he was now laboring
under many false impressions, which she felt conscious
of her ability to remove, as soon as he should become
sufficiently calm to listen to the voice of reason. Day
after day, therefore, she had anxiously watched for
some appearance of relenting, some more softened
mood, which should afford her an opportunity of mak-
ing this attempt with a reasonable hope of success.
But, till the evening on which Jones called at the
house, she had observed nothing that indicated the
least relaxation in her father's feelings. And being
then interrupted by the woodsman's call, at an hour
which usually afforded her the only opportunity she
had through the day of conversing with her parent
alone, she deferred her purpose to another day. But
the next day brought along with it events which so
engrossed her time and attention that this desired
object was not again sought to be obtained till circum-
stances intervened which destroyed every motive and
wish she could entertain for accomplishing it.
Such was the state of feelings, and such the relative
position in which the father and daughter stood
towards each other on the day which proved so tri-
umphant to the American arms on Lake Champlain.
In the early part of that day the attention of this fam-
ily, as well as that of all the inhabitants of the vicinity
of the lake, was aroused by heavy and repeated dis-
charges of cannon, in the direction of Ticonderoga.
Little dreaming of the fact that the cannonading,
which was filling the whole valley of the lake with its
echoing thunders, was the harbinger of a victory
already won, the whole neighborhood was instantly in
commotion-some riding posthaste into the interior to
carry the news, or rally volunteers, some flying from
house to house to interchange the expressions of their
fears and sympathies, and the greater number, rush-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
245
ing down to the nearest landing on the lake shore, to
gain the first tidings of their friends engaged in the
deadly conflict, which they supposed was at that
moment raging round the walls of the hostile fortress.
In a short time the dooryard of Captain Hendee's cot-
tage was filled with a group of excited boys and
anxious females. And agonizing were the sensations
of many an affectionate wife and sister, and oft and
fervent their trembling ejaculations to Heaven for the
preservation of husbands, brothers, and lovers, in this
hour of danger. And not the most indifferent among
those thus oppressed with painful solicitude for the
event, which they believed involved the fate of all
they held dear on earth, was Alma Hendee.
To her,
whose lover might be expected to be among the fore-
most of those engaged in the perilous assault, every
gun that came booming over the waters brought with
it a pang for her agitated bosom. Nor was her anxiety
the less painfully felt because circumstances com-
pelled her to endure it in silence. The firing at length
ceased, and all awaited in trembling solicitude some
arrival which should bring them information of the
result. This, however, continued for several, and to
most of them long and tedious hours, to rest in uncer-
tainty. But at length a horseman, covered with dust,
and lashing his foaming horse to speed, came furiously
galloping down the road to the south. All, with beat-
ing hearts and breathless expectation, awaited the
announcement of the rapidly approaching messenger.
The next moment, as he neared them, he swung his
hat round his head exclaiming, "Victory! victory!
hurra for the Green Mountain Boys! Ticonderoga is
taken, and not a man killed! hurra! hurra!" and,
without scarcely checking the speed of his horse, on
he dashed, to carry to others the joyful tidings. The
cracked voice of the war-worn and veteran Hendee
was the next instant mingling with the shrill and high-
keyed cry of the boys around him in the responsive
hurra that now involuntarily burst from their lips.
With tears of joy and thankfulness gushing over
246
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
many a fair cheek, the females hurried on such habili-
ments as they had laid aside, and the company,
immediately dispersing, hastened to their respective
homes with the gladdening news, leaving Captain
Hendee and his daughter again by themselves, and
their cottage to relapse into its usual quietness. The
day, however, was not destined to close upon them
without the occurrence of other events of stirring
interest. Towards sunset, several batteaux filled with
armed men made their appearance on the lake,
approaching from the south, and as they neared, were
soon discovered to be bearing down upon the fortress
of Crown Point.
"Bring me out my old spy-glass, Alma!"' cried Cap-
tain Hendee, hobbling from the garden, where he had
been to work, towards the house, and turning round
every few steps to look at the little armament, which
he had discovered approaching.
"Here comes more
trouble for the British-or else that fellow fooled us
with his news, and these are a reinforcement for the
garrison. Come, step quick, girl, I can't make them
out with certainty.'
"Would British troops be likely to come in that
direction, father?" said Alma, in accents tremulous
with emotion, as she approached, and handed the
required instrument to the other.
66
'Why, no, I should hardly have expected it; but let
us see," replied the Captain, adjusting his glass and
placing it to his eye. "By heavens, the girl is right!
Those boats contain anything but British regulars.
No, they must be Green Mountain Boys, about to
make an onset on the fort. See! how stiffly they bear
down towards the old walls!" he continued with ani-
mation. "Gad! they are bold fellows, to say the least,
to be sailing directly in the teeth of yonder wardogs!
But here, child, your eye is keener than mine;-take
the glass and watch their movements."
The girl took the glass, and bringing the boats
within its field of vision, looked long and intently
without speaking.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
247
"They are coming to a halt now, are they not?''
asked the Captain.
"Yes, they have nearly ceased rowing now," replied
the maiden. "Why, how plainly I can see even their
features! Now there is one, who has mounted a
bench, and appears to be giving commands to the rest.
Now he has turned his face this way, as if—as if——’
"Why! how unsteady the girl's hand is! nonsense!
child, you need not be frightened,-they are not com-
ing near us," half pettishly, half encouragingly,
exclaimed the Captain, supposing his daughter's very
visible agitation proceeded from an apprehension that
the commander was about to order the boats to cross
over the lake towards the house.
"I am not afraid, father, only-but see! their boats
are turning to the shore. They appear now to be put-
ting into a small cove.
"There is where they are cunning," observed the
other. They don't think it altogether safe to approach
much nearer in the range of those murderous long
guns. If I had been there in command of the fort, I
think they would have seen trouble some time ago.
Thank God, however, the stupid fools within there
have lost their best chance! But what are they doing
now?"
"They have landed, nearly all landed now, and seem
to be forming on the bank.
"Good! now, Alına, you will have a chance to see a
little of your father's old trade—that is, if the garrison
have sense and courage enough to make use of the
advantages they possess for repelling their assailants.
Are they moving forward yet for the fort?”
"No, the commander appears to be addressing two
men apart from the rest, one of whom seems to be
unrolling something white. Ah! I see, now; it is a
white flag. The two now advance along the path lead-
ing to the fort, while the rest appear to stand in a
waiting attitude, anxiously watching the motions of
their two companions as they approach the gate."
"It is a summons from the commander, girl—a sum-
248
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
mons for the surrender of the fort. Now you will see
whether they will obey it, and yield without a blow
the prize that cost the King so much toil and blood in
the winning, as my sad experience can well attest.
Many a dark and fearful night, Alma, have I ranged
these woods, while the savage foe were lurking around
us in every direction. Old Major Put, as we used to
call that dare-devil, and myself once-
"There! there! father," interrupted the other, "the
messengers have now approached near to the walls.
A man appears on the top. They are conferring
together. The messengers point to their companions.
The man on the walls seems to hesitate. They now
seem to direct his attention to something down the
lake. Look, father, and see if anything is to be seen
coming in that direction."
"Now the Lord be with the assailants for a sudden
rush, or their game is up!" exclaimed the Captain, as,
in compliance with his daughter's request, he turned
and threw an inquiring look along the lake towards
the north. "Two boats filled with armed men are
coming up the lake rowing for life-British, no doubt,
hastening to succor the garrison."
"No, father, no!" joyfully exclaimed the girl, as with
trembling haste she turned the glass to the armament
in question. "You are again mistaken. These, too,
are Green Mountain Boys, coming on to join their
companions."
66
'Green Mountain Boys! from that quarter? where
should they come from?"
"From the Winooski River, father. Captain Baker
has been on there, and❞—eagerly replied the other, but
stopping short and blushing, as it occurred to her that
the remark would lead to the discovery of the source of
her information.
""
"Really, girl! one would suppose you had been to
the council of war, where this campaign was planned,'
said the Captain, with an air of surprise; but being too
much occupied with present objects to trace the asso-
ciation, he, to the great relief of his confused daughter,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
249
reverted to the scene before him, and said, "You may
be right after all,-if so, victory is certain.
But turn,
now, to the fort and see what is going on there."'
"I will-I am, father," replied the flustered girl
"Ah! I have a view again; now the conference between
the commander, or man on the walls, and the two
messengers, seems to be broken off. The latter are
departing. But now the man seems to be calling them
back. They turn to him again and hold parley. Now
the messengers turn quickly round, and wave their
flag to their companions, who seem suddenly to be put
in motion. And, see! see! their whole body is rushing
towards the fort. How their guns glimmer through
the trees as they pour along the path' How their
commander's sword flashes in the sun, as half turning
he whirls it about his head to motion them on! There'
there! father, they mount the swell!-they approach
the walls-the gate is thrown open; and now they dis-
appear within the works, and all is still."
And all without a single gun being fired in defense
of Old Frederick! impossible!" exclaimed the Captain,
with mingled feelings of joy for the success of his
countrymen, and shame for the garrison, who would
surrender, without resistance, a fortress which years
of his life had been spent in helping to wrest from the
Frenchmen.
"Here! look, look, father" again exclaimed the
excited girl. "The lion flag goes down' another of a
lighter color goes up! Have they not conquered,
father? They have! They have! and oh how thank-
ful!"
"Yes! 'tis all over" responded the Captain, rubbing
his hands in ecstasy "Quick work, by heavens! Not
a gun fired!—not a man killed, and the old Lion is flat
on his back! The command of the whole of Lake
Champlain is ours! Huzza for liberty!" he shouted,
leaping from the ground, forgetful of his lameness in
the excitement of the moment, and throwing his hat
into the air. "Huzza for the Green Mountain Boys!
They deserve a hecatomb for their victories!"'
250
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
At this instant a dozen columns of smoke shot out
fiercely from the walls of the fortress, and the deafen-
ing peal of cannon which followed announced to the
shuddering hills around, the surrender of the last cou-
trolling foothold of British power on the waters of
Lake Champlain, to the prowess and patriotism of the
Green Mountain Boys.
Alma, now delivering up the spy-glass to her father,
hastened into the house, and took a seat in her win-
dow, where, unobserved by any, she could observe
what further movements might transpire at the scene
of action, and at the same time freely indulge in her
emotions of joy and gratitude for the preservation of
her lover, whom she had distinctly made out to be the
leader of the victorious party.
An hour or two after the surrender, a skiff, contain-
ing a single individual, put off from the shore under
the fort, and directed its course to the landing below
the cottage. The individual, on reaching the shore,
came directly towards the house, and was soon ascer-
tained to be Neshobee, by the Captain, who still
remaining in his garden, had been watching the com-
ing boat. The Indian rather sheepishly approached
his master, conscious, perhaps, that as far as regarded
the Captain, he had played the truant in joining the
expedition.
"Well, Neshobee," said the Captain, as the other,
with averted face, came carelessly along, "where have
you been all this time?”
"Umph! me been go learn fight um."
"I thought it likely enough they had got you away
for that, as I suspected from several things I noticed
yesterday, that this business was afoot. But how did
you know I should be willing you should join in these
doings?"
"What you tell big Cappen-Colonel, who make
believe drunk todder night?"
"Well, well, my lad, I don't mean to scold you
much for joining in so good a work, though you might
have talked with me a little before you went. But
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
251
have you been with the big Captain, who is no other
than Ethan Allen, Mr. Sherwood informed me?''
"Me have.
""
"Well, he was commander of the expedition, I sup-
pose-what did he and his men do there at Ticonde-
roga?"
66
They take um red-coats,-pile up their guns, for no
let um have um more,-fire big guns, more fifty-hoo!
bang!" replied the Indian, with significant gestures.
'And was it the big Captain who came on with the
men to take this fort?"
66
"No, young Cappen, Major, what you call Misser
Howard."
"Well, you may go now," said Hendee, impa-
tiently, motioning the other to go on to the house.
"How proud I should now be of that same Warring-
ton, outlaw though he be, but for this accursed busi-
ness!" muttered the Captain to himself, after the
Indian had departed, with a tone and manner in which
admiration and dislike, kindness and resentment,
regret and bitterness, were strangely blended. "Hang
me, if I don't almost think the better of the girl for
liking him. Though if Jake's stories be true! I won-
der, now, if the fellow did not lie to me?-would to God
things had been different! But they are not different,
and won't be, and hell town! what am I talking about?
It shan't go-no, no! and by the powers of earth! it
shan't go an inch further, or I will make the house
too hot for her!"
While the passionate and unhappy father was thus
giving went to his conflicting feelings, the Indian
entered the house and proceeded to the apartment
of the daughter, who had also noted his approach,
and beckoned him from the window to come to her
room.
"Now tell me, in the first place, Neshobee," said
she eagerly, "whether Mr. Sherwood was over there
to be taken prisoner with the rest?"
"Me no see him.
""
"You said yesterday he was then there.”
252
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Me see him, as me say, then,-no there to-day
when we come-guess him run.
""
"Very likely, but Darrow was there, of course, was
he not?"
"Him no there, too.”
"How unfortunate!" exclaimed the maiden with an
air of disappointment and regret. "Not even one of
them, then, is secured! Well, well, Heaven knows
best; and in that I will still put my trust. But what
have you there?" she added, as her quick eye caught
the hand of the other fumbling for something in his
pocket.
"Cappen send um," quietly answered Neshobee,
pulling out a billet, which was instantly snatched from
his hands by the eager girl.
But you inay
"O, why not have told me before!
go, now, Neshobee," and with a quick, impatient
waving of her hand, she motioned him away.
With a beating heart and glowing cheek, the happy
girl read and re-read, many times, the precious note;
when, after pondering anxiously and deeply, a while,
she took her sheet and wrote:-
"Your few lines, my dear sir, have been received,
and read, I know not how many times over, and with
an interest which I dare not acknowledge. Your
propositions, too, have been all candidly, and even
anxiously, weighed. And it is with many, very many
regrets, my more than friend, that I am forced to the
conclusion that, at present, it were better that they
be not complied with. You first propose to come here
openly, explain to my father the reasons which com-
pelled you to that course which he pretends so much
to censure, and claim the privilege of addressing me.
All the explanations which it may be needful to make
would, I am satisfied, with my father's present feelings
and impressions, be better listened to from me than
yourself. And most assuredly they shall be made to
him as soon as his mood shall be such as shall warrant
the belief that they will be received without passion
}
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
253
or prejudice. And before you take the step you pro-
pose, I could wish also to see some change in his views
relative to the match he has marked out for me. And
changed, believe me, they sooner or later will be.
Reason will at length resume her sway; and, to say
nothing of your character, the character of one of
whom I would not willingly speak my opinion must
soon be better known to him. And he will see, and
feel, for himself, that his present requirements are
neither wise nor generous. But do not, for my sake,
for your own sake, beloved friend, attempt to accom-
plish all this now, under circumstances so inauspicious;
for I feel it would be useless; and not only so, but
lead, probably, to the defeat of the objects, and conse-
quently the happiness of us both. No, Warrington,
be patient, trust in Heaven to expose guilt, and reward
innocence, and rely on the constancy of her, who is
resolved to bring about a state of things when her lover
can be received in her father's house with the kind-
ness and respect to which he is entitled.
"As an alternative, in case I disapprove your first
proposal, you request to be favored with secret, or
stolen interviews. Warrington, Charles Warrington!
would you recommend such a course to a beloved
sister? With your delicacy of sentiment, with your
admiration of exalted virtue, I know you would not.
Why, then, ask it of one whom you propose to make
more than a sister? Again, dearest friend, I must say
to you, no! I have ever disapproved of clandestine
meetings: there is an air of guilt about them-a
something that seems to imply a consciousness of
wrong, which innocence and rectitude of purpose
should never stoop thus tacitly to acknowledge.
the same views, which have led to the disapprobation
of these, have, in most respects, an equal application
to the measure that you hint it may be expedient for
us, as a final resort, to adopt, -a private elopement.
In some countries, and in some states of society, such
a measure may, perhaps, be sometimes justifiable; but
is it so in a land like ours, where force is rarely, if
And
254
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
ever, used to defeat the engagements of lovers? While
armed with the panoply of virtue and reason, and pos-
sessed of the moral courage which these should ever
impart, few females, I apprehend, need here resort to
this questionable practice. And were I to be wed to
you to-day, Mr. Warrington, it should be done openly,
and, if permitted, in the presence of my natural pro-
tector. But if the ceremony were forbidden, I would
then, after frankly apprising him of my intentions, as
openly depart with you to a place where it would be
allowed. And if force were employed to restrain me,
I would then throw myself on the protection of him
who would defend, or deserve to lose me.
"You know not how rejoiced is my heart to hear of
your personal safety, -how proud to learn your bril-
liant successes, and how gratified at the promotion you
have received. You say you are about to proceed
south, to make enlistments for an expedition into
Canada. Go!-deserve well of your country, be true
and constant, and, while you remain what I now
believe you, count me so, and be assured that all the
reward that this poor heart and hand can confer shall
be eventually yours. My prayers will attend you
amidst the perils of war. Apprise me often-as often
as possible, of your situation. And, notwithstanding
I have declined your present proposals, O, do not
believe me now, do not hereafter think of me, less
devotedly yours,
ALMA.
""
When Alma had finished her letter, she sought her
trusty messenger, and confided it to his charge, with
instructions to convey it to Warrington at the fort that
night, or as soon as he could absent himself without
exciting the observation of her father; after which she
again returned to her solitary apartment, and soon
sought her pillow, to escape the perplexities of the
present in the bright visions of the future. During
the next day, her time and attention were more than
usually occupied by calls at the house from those pass-
ing to and from the fort. And it was not till nearly
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
255
night that she found an opportunity to escape from
the company, with which, in successive parties, the
cottage had been thronged through the day. But
being relieved at length from these hospitable duties,
and wearied with bustle, in which she had been
engaged, she threw a light kerchief over her head,
and wandered into the fields to indulge in those soli-
tary musings so grateful to separated lovers. The
golden sun was just sinking behind the western hills.
The earth was a variegated carpet of flowers beneath
her feet; and tempted by the beauty of the evening,
she continued her course, almost unconsciously, down
the little vale towards the woods; and before she was
aware how far she had wandered, she had arrived at
the border of the field, and was standing by the tree
beneath which Warrington had first breathed to her
the word "love." After indulging a while in the
associations which this sequestered spot awakened in
her mind, she turned, and was retracing her steps
homeward, when she was startled by the sharp rattling
voice of some one a few rods below her, and turning,
she beheld Pete Jones making his way up the slope
towards her.
"Hold up a little bit there, lady, that is, if you're a
mind to," he said, respectfully approaching and hold-
ing up a letter between his thumb and finger.
"There's a little concern of a letter, which Captain
Selden handed me to give you.
"Indeed! an answer from Skenesboro' so soon?”
said Alma, with a subsiding blush, which was raised
by the thought first occurring to her mind that the
message came from another quarter.
"Answer to the letter the nigger had,-d'ye mean?
-why, yes, rather spose so. Anyhow, I believe it
came from that little hum-bird of a girl that we caught
at that small scrape we had with the old podunk of a
Scotchman and his folks, at the Lower Falls, a week
or two ago.
""
"You mean Miss Reed, probably-have you been up
to Skenesboro', since you were here?'
18
256
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"O, yes, a lot of us went up there yesterday, after
things had been pretty well fixed at Old Ti.”
"For what purpose, if I may ask, sir?"
"Why only just to let the Major there know that
the Continental Congress had kinder taken a fancy to
his stone house. At all events, Captain Selden told
them something of that sort, as we made them all
prisoners there.
"What! the ladies and all?-1 trust they will have
no reason to complain——”
""
"Ah, you needn't borry no trouble there, mum, I
guess. The ladies won't be very likely to cry their
eyes out, at falling into the hands of such a chap as
Captain Selden-now you see if they do. For instance,
mum, by way of a similar, continued Pete, beginning
to look mischievous, being no longer able to keep
down his ruling propensity for joking, "for instance,
suppose, now, that Major Warrington should come
over here with men enough-and 'twouldn't take over
a thousand, neither, mayhap——”
"You need not trouble yourself to explain, sir,”
interrupted Miss Hendee, rather flurriedly." "The
letter will inform me of all particulars, doubtless.
You will now excuse me, as I must return.
But per-
haps you will go to the house for some refreshment,
or to remain with us through the night?"
"Why, no,-thank'ee mum," replied the other, a
little abashed at the dignity which the girl had assumed.
"No, I must be off to my traps: I am a sort of a
water-mail to carry orders to-day. Captain Selden
sent me on, this morning, with dispatches to old thun-
der-bolt, Colonel Allen, you know. Well, the Col-
onel, he sent me with my little bird of a canoe agoing
again, like a foot-ball, down here to Crown Point, to
notify the Major to come up to a council there,
to-night, or in the morning. So you see I must put
on with my errand, as I haven't been to the fort yet.
You may just tell the old Captain at the house, if
you're a mind to, that my ague, since I was there,
hasn't been very desput, considering."
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
257
So saying, the jolly borderer turned, and bounded
down the slope like a young colt, giving vent to the
exuberance of his animal spirits, as soon as he was
fairly out of the restraining presence of the lady, in
his favorite old chorus, "Trol, lol, lol de larly!''
Hastening to the house, and then to her room, Miss
Hendee eagerly tore open the letter just received,
and read as follows:
"Be astonished, O, ye heavens! and Alma Hendee,
be you thunder-struck! as I know you will be, when
you learn that we are-every man of us,—the Major
and all, prisoners of war! Yes, I am a second time
prisoner to Mr. Selden! What means it, Alma?
There is some strange fatality about it, that passes
my poor comprehension. O, for some one deeply
skilled in scanning the future-some one gifted with
the second sight, which is claimed by our Highland
seers in Scotland, to divine to me the potent of this
singular happening! How very surprised we all were
when they landed-a body of armed men-and marched
up, taking possession of the yard, and disarming our
soldiers.
"The Major was in the house, and never mistrusted,
I really believe, what could be their object, till they
had seized the sloop and batteaux, and by their rapid
movements in surrounding the men, put it out of his
power to make any resistance. All this was, seem-
ingly, the work of a moment. And before we had recov-
ered from the first shock of the surprise, Mr. Selden,
who appeared to be chief in command, had entered
the house, and with drawn sword, stood before us.
The Major then, indeed, began to show some symptoms
of uneasiness-more, however, even then, I thought,
at the presence of one, whom he evidently has both
feared and hated, since the former visit, than because
he really supposed he was in earnest about capturing
the establishment. After Mr. Selden had politely
saluted us ladies, he bowed formally to the Major,
258
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
who returned the compliment only by a vain attempt
to get his organs of speech in motion.
666
Who?-what?-Hem!' he stammered, stepping
restlessly about the room, and looking daggers at the
other. Why, sir-I should like to know, sir,—yes,
sir-let me tell you, sir, what I think of you, sir'-
666
''O, never trouble yourself, Major,' replied Mr. S.,
with a satirical smile, 'it might take you a longer
time than I could possibly spare to devote to so unim-
portant a purpose.
666
'Why, sir!' resumed my doughty warrior of a lady's
parlor,-'d-n you, sir! do you mean to insult, sir?
-I'll just let you know, sir-you'll just please to
walk out of the house, sir!'
"'O, be patient, Major,' rejoined Selden, with the
most provoking coolness. 'Let me explain to these
ladies the nature of our call, lest they be unnecessarily
alarmed.'
"He then informed us of the outbreaking of the war,
the capture of Ticonderoga-and the determination
of the Americans to possess themselves of this post
also; and consequently the necessity of our removal
to some other place, to which he assured us of a safe
escort.
"Now, Major,' said he, turning to the other, who
had several times broken in on Mr. S., 'I have only
to say to you, that both you and all your men are pris-
oners of war.'
"Even then the Major could scarcely comprehend
what had befallen him; for he again began to bluster
and threaten. But Selden, at once cutting him short,
ordered him away; when they both left the house
together. I never saw creatures so puzzled and con-
founded as were Marge and Merry Skene. They
neither knew what to say or how to act. As for
myself, I could hardly hold in till the gentlemen had
left the room, when I fairly shed tears with the laugh-
ter, which I could not repress, at the ludicrous scene
I had witnessed. In regard to the valiant Major, he
will not, probably, make much more fuss about the
1
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
259
affair to-day.
To-morrow he will be considerably
moved at the disaster; and by the next day he will
have so collected his ideas and his wrath that he will
be tremendously mad.
"They took the place about noon;-since which we
ladies have held our council of war. And it has been
decided that we take our departure to-morrow morning
for Albany, where we shall at present remain, with a
connection of the Skenes'. I should have certainly pre-
ferred, for myself, to go and reside with you. But I dare
not name it to them; for the girls are already as jealous
of me as witches; and I well knew, that should I make
such a proposition, it would be attributed to a secret
wish to be where I could see more of Mr. S. And
further, I am not quite sure but they might be so kind
as to communicate their suspicions to father; for I have
a father who may claim a voice in some matters as well
as you.
Now don't draw any inferences from that
observation, Alma; because, positively, there are none
to draw.
"Mr. Selden handed me your letter, brought by
black Jack, till he fell into the hands of the powers that
be. I read it with much interest,-the more so, perhaps,
as I thought of the possibility that we may yet have
cause to mingle our sympathies.
"I shall remain with the Skenes till father returns-
if he does return; for now we have war, I am rather
uncertain what course he will pursue. Should he
receive a commission that suits him, he may engage in
the war. This, however, is doubtful. And I think it
very likely he will remain neutral, as I suspect he
thinks the government have not done him justice. At
all events, I don't believe he feels very bitter towards
the Americans; but if he does, I know of one who
don't.
"P. S.-Mr. Selden is to escort us in person to
Albany; and what is better, the Major is compelled to
go with the other prisoners to Ticonderoga. His face
is most unreasonably long at this arrangement-I think
he will be crazy by to-morrow. Marge is secretly
17
260
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
rejoiced, and I know another who is less sad about it
than she might be. I have had a conversation with
Mr. Selden alone, which has shown me that he can be
serious when he pleases. But I have no time left me
to state particulars. In my next I will be more
explicit.
Adieu, adieu.
"JESSY."'
CHAPTER XX
"With pleasures, hopes, affection gone,
The wretch may bear, and yet live on,
Like things within the cold rock found
Alive, when all's congeal'd around."
During the week succeeding the stirring and impor-
tant events which we have been endeavoring to
describe, circumstances of both a public and private
nature conspired to bring Miss Hendee in contact
with her neighbors and acquaintances, much more
than usual. The recent change of masters at the fort
having led to a new and frequent intercourse with the
inhabitants of this section of the country many of both
sexes had called at the cottage, on their visits to their
friends, who were now members of the garrison.
Business connected with her father s household con-
cerns had also caused her to make several calls, during
the period above mentioned, at the houses of the dif
ferent settlers in the neighborhood. It could not
reasonably be supposed, in a country settlement where
people, in the absence of other employment of their
leisure, are usually so curious respecting the affairs of
their neighbors, and where every kind of gossiping
always finds so ready a circulation. that the visits of
so distinguished a young gentleman as Warrington,
at a house containing one so lovely and excellent as
Alma Hendee, had been suffered to transpire without
being generally known, and commented on, by the
inhabitants of the vicinity. Such, at all events,
appeared not to have been the case in the present
instance for Miss Hendee soon discovered that her
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
261
social intercourse with her lover, as limited as it had
recently been, was well understood by nearly every
one of her acquaintance with whom she now happened
to fall in company. And many were the jokes and
banterings which she was compelled to meet on the
subject. But there was one circumstance attending
them which soon struck her as peculiar and uncom-
mon in such kind of rallyings; and this was, that,
instead of the flattering and grateful approvals and
happy predictions usually uttered on such occasions,
they were now, in almost every instance, accompanied
with some manifestations of regret or disapprobation
at the conjectured intimacy-some hesitation of man-
ner, some ominous shaking of the head or some mys-
terious hinting at the dangers that would attend the
connection, which none, at the same time, seemed to
treat as one that would terminate in marriage. At
first, Alma paid but little attention to these intima-
tions; but as they were repeated, they began to occa-
sion her considerable uneasiness. And when she
found them coming from all quarters, prudence would
no longer permit her to pass them unheeded; and
she began to busy her mind in trying to account for
impressions, which she supposed to be much too gen-
eral to be attributed to chance opinions, or personal
prejudices. She felt satisfied that this feeling could
not proceed from any wish to favor Sherwood's pre-
tensions to her hand; for she well knew he was no
favorite with the people at large. Nor could she per-
ceive how it could arise from any ill opinion enter-
tained against Warrington, who, as she had been told,
was held in the highest estimation by the settlers
generally, both for the signal services he had publicly
rendered them, and for the many excellent traits of
his private character. Although delicacy of feeling, as
well as prudence, prevented her making any inquiries
of those who had introduced this subject, yet the amount
of what she had gathered from them seemed to indicate
the existence of some insurmountable barrier to the
union, to which she had recently engaged herself. But
262
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
what the nature of this obstacle could be, she was
wholly unable to conjecture.
One day, after making one of her excursions among
the settlers, she had returned home under an unusual
depression of spirits, occasioned by some hints and
warnings of a more pointed nature than she had before
received, together with the mortifying reflection that
her views and feelings, in regard to her secretly con-
templated union, had found no response in the minds
of her acquaintance. Although an easy credulity
formed no part of the discriminating mind of Miss
Hendee, yet prudence and discretion were ever among
the leading traits of her finely balanced character.
And these taught her the necessity of pausing in the
path she had begun to tread, lest it, indeed, should be
found to be beset with dangers which had been con-
cealed from her view. She recalled to mind some
insinuations thrown out by Sherwood at his late visit,
by which, she now, on reflection, supposed he intended
she should believe that Warrington was not only a
libertine, but that he had, by a clandestine marriage,
entered into with some of his victims for the purpose
of accomplishing his designs, put it out of his own
power to contract a legal marriage with another. Con-
sidering those insinuations at the time entirely false
and malicious, she had instantly rejected them from
her mind, without paying attention enough to them to
examine the import of the words by which they were
conveyed. But now, on recurring to the subject, and
comparing Sherwood's words with the dark hints she
had since received from others, she could not but be
startled with the coincidence she perceived in all the
different intimations that she had heard. And the
more she reflected on the various remarks of her
acquaintance, all seeming to tend to the same point,
and to be strangely corroborative of each other, the
more apprehensive she became of the existence of some
fact which would not only level with the dust the fair
fabric of prospective happiness she had lately been
rearing, but would place her in no enviable position
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
263
before the public, when the step she had taken should
become known.
were
While Miss Hendee was revolving these distracting
thoughts in her mind, that had now reached that state
of uncertainty and fluctuation which peculiarly fits it
for the reception of questionable statements, her
reflections were interrupted by the entrance of a man
who announced himself as a tinker, wishing to know
whether there were any wares in the house which
required the aid of his profession. Being answered in
the affirmative, he pulled off his pack, and, producing
his tools, went to work on such utensils as
brought him for repairing. He was a man of a loqua-
cious turn; and he had scarcely become seated at his
work, before his tongue was going as rapidly as his
hammer. Being somewhat amused at the remarks she
heard him make to Ruth, the domestic of whom we
have before spoken, Alma soon quitted the adjoining
room, where she had seated herself, and, entering the
kitchen, took a seat, and fell into conversation with
the talkative stranger, occasionally asking a question
herself, and good-naturedly answering the various
questions he put to her, as he rapidly roved from sub-
ject to subject, in so disconnected a manner that it
would have puzzled a philosopher to have traced the
association of the man's ideas.
"Your fort over here has lately changed masters, I
learn," he carelessly observed, after he had started and
dispatched every other topic which he apparently could
think of as connected with the affairs of the neighbor-
hood, "I wonder who has the command of the place
under the new order of things?"
-
་
"Major Warrington, I believe," replied Alma, as a
slight tinge overspread her fair cheek.
"Major Warrington, Warrington, did you say?” said
the man inquiringly, repeating the name; "not Charles
Warrington of Bennington way?"
"Yes, the same, sir," replied the other.
"Now I want to know! Do tell us if he has got to
264
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
be Major?" half exclaimed and half inquired the
seemingly surprised tinker.
"Is he a former acquaintance of yours, sir?" asked
Alma, turning with a look of interest to the man.
"Lord, yes!" exclaimed he, with great apparent
simplicity. "Why, ma'm, I have known him ever
since he was knee high to a toad-used to live in the
same town with him and his father's family, in old
Connecticut, before they moved to the Grants, and
have seen Charles there often since, on his visits back
among his relations-and-and old sweethearts,' he
continued, looking up roguishly to Alma, as if to see
how the last remark took with her but perceiving the
uneasiness of her looks. ne jocosely added, "Why, 1
s'pose the girls know that the young men will have
sweethearts, don't they?"
"I pretend not to know young gentiemen's business,
sir," replied Alma, in a voice tremulous with sup-
pressed emotion
"Well, well, I meant no offense," rejoined the
tinker, seemingly abashed at the poor reception of his
rally.
"You have given me none, sir.'' timidly remarked
the other. "But I think you said you had kept up
your acquaintance with Mr. Warrington, and you may
know whether-that is, you and she paused, unable,
from the fluttering of her heart, to proceed with an
inquiry, the answer to which would probably involve
her every hope of happiness for life. for she felt that
this plain and apparently honest man, with his inti-
mate knowledge of Warrington's previous life and char-
acter, would be able to furnish her testimony which
would remove her apprehensions, or confirm them, and
seal her doom for ever.
"May know what, marm?" asked he, after waiting
patiently a while for her to proceed.
Alma made an effort to go on; but so great was her
agitation that she could not utter a syllable, and she
remained silent.
"Yes, I know all about Charles Warrington as well
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
265
as any other man,' resumed the fellow, after he saw
the other was not likely to go on with her inquiry.
"A considerable of a chap he is, too. In fact, he is a
smart fellow; and a lively one, too, in the main. I
never knew but one mean trick about him in my life;
and that was shuffling off and deserting that poor
simple wife of his, that he married kinder privately
there in Connecticut, a year or two ago."
Had a winged shaft from an Indian's bow at that
instant been driven through the heart of Alma
Hendee, the convulsive start, the sudden contraction
of the muscles of her face, and the fearful death-gasp,
would have been scarcely more visible than was the
effect of the words of the last speaker. She sat
a moment as if suddenly paralyzed in all her senses.
Presently commenced the twitching, nervous motion
of her fingers, as she rapidly handled over the work
in her lap. Then suddenly rising, she went to the
window, and gasping for breath, stood an instant
vacantly gazing out upon the landscape, with a face as
white as the bloodless marble. She then turned
quickly away, and, with hurried, unsteady steps,
rushed out of the room. Reaching her own apart-
ment, she again stopped short, and remained several
moments mute and motionless as a statue, while the
woe-stricken expression of her countenance and the
silent workings in the muscles of her blanched and
beautiful features, as she stood, like a tearless Niobe,
with her anguished eye upcast to heaven, and both
hands pressed tightly against her heart, told more
forcibly than language can express, the mental agony
with which she was contending.
After Alma left the room, the miserable wretch,
who had so cruelly inflicted this dreadful blow upon
her feelings, hurried through his work, received his
stipulated wages, and departed. No sooner had he
turned his back than the faithful Ruth, who had
noticed and understood all that had passed, hastened,
with looks of visible concern, to the apartment of her
idolized young mistress.
266
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Alma!" said she, tenderly placing her hand on the
now burning brow of the suffering girl, who had flung
herself upon her bed, where she was lying, with one
hand pressing her closed eyelids and the other her side:
"Alma, your forehead is very hot-shall I bathe it?''
"No, no, Ruth," faintly murmured the fair sufferer,
"it is no attack of disease: my head, I know, is some
fevered, and my eyes are sore, very sore; but the
trouble is here!" she added, indicating the spot by lift-
ing and replacing her hand upon her heart.
"I was aware of your feelings in some measure,
Alma," replied the other, soothingly, "and being, like
yourself, deceived in the character of the man of your
secret choice, I confess, I did not disapprove of your
partiality. But, now, Alma, should you not be thank-
ful that you have made this discovery in season to
retrace your steps, and escape the danger?"
"Yes, and I am, I certainly am; but O, Ruth, Ruth,
you little knew how much I loved him! and oh! how
cruelly-cruelly has he repaid my lavished affection '''
With this the sealed fountain of her tears suddenly
opened. And as the pearly drops flowed thick and
fast over her lovely cheeks, she breathed more freely;
and the torture, the scorching, tearless agony, that she
had felt withering both heart and brain, was removed,
giving place to the mitigated suffering of ordinary sor-
row, in which she long, long indulged, while her faith-
ful domestic, in character of nurse and friend, watched
over and comforted her.
The next morning, when Miss Hendee arose, she
was calm and composed, though looking extremely
pale. Her appearance very plainly told that the
struggle she had passed through had been a fearful
one; but it told, also, that she had not struggled in
vain for the mastery over her feelings. Though her
heart had been pierced and lacerated, she seemed to
have succeeded in silencing its throbbings. There
was a decision in her looks and movements, that indi-
cated the stern and unwavering resolves she had made.
And in pursuance of the course she had marked out

WASHINGTON PLANTING THE BRITISH FLAG AT FORT DUQUESNE

NEW ENGLANDERS BEFORE LOUISBURG
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
267
for herself, it was her first object to dispatch such a
notice to Warrington of her determination, as should
effectually deter him from attempting any renewal of
the intercourse. Accordingly, after she had superin-
tended, as usual, the household affairs of the family
for the morning, she retired, and penned the brief
note:-
"MAJOR WARRINGTON:-Our intimacy is forever
ended. As no explanations need be given, so none
will be received. I trust, therefore, that no further
communications on your part will be attempted.
"ALMA HENDEE.'
Sealing the note, she summoned Neshobee to her
room, and with the same desperate sort of calmness
which she had exhibited through the morning, though
with a slight tremor in her voice, she said to him:
"Here, Neshobee, take this to Major Warrington
without delay, if you can find him within twenty miles
of this place.
But I understand that there was a ves-
sel, with several boats filled with troops, arrived from
the south last night; and he probably came with them,
as he has been absent from the fort, I am told, for the
purpose of enlisting more men. Go; give it him; and
do not stay an instant for an answer, or to give him a
chance to question you.'
The Indian, who perceived, both in her words and
manner, that some sudden change had taken place in
the connection, which he was aware existed between
her and his friend, Warrington, threw a keen, inquir-
ing glance upon the face of his mistress, and seemed
to hesitate and linger, as if for an explanation of so
unexpected an errand. But receiving only an impa-
tient motion of her hand for his immediate departure,
he turned away, and with an air of mingled wonder
and regret, left the house in silence, and proceeding
to his skiff at the landing, rowed directly over to the
fort. When he arrived there he found all in bustle
and commotion, preparatory to an expedition into
268
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
Canada. Allen, Warrington, and Arnold had arrived,
as before intimated, the evening previous, with a
schooner and a number of batteaux, filled with a con
siderable body of troops, collected for the contemplated
expedition, all of whom were now on the point of
embarking,-Arnold in the schooner, with such Mas-
sachusetts troops as had arrived since the capture of
Ticonderoga, and were now properly under his com-
mand, and Allen and Warrington, with the remainder
of the forces, in the batteaux. As soon as the Indian
reached the shore, he sought out Warrington, and put
the note into his hand. Receiving it as one who might
be expecting a favor of the kind, the latter carefully
put the supposed prize into his pocket, and informing
the messenger that he had one for him to take back
to his mistress in return, he turned to finish the direc-
tions he was at the moment engaged in imparting to
his men. When he had completed the business
immediately on hand, he turned to look for Neshobee,
that he might take him into the fort to receive the
letter he intended to send back by him. But after
searching for him in vain among the men, he cast his
eye on to the lake, and to his surprise and vexation,
he beheld the native rapidly pulling for the opposite
shore, and already out of hailing distance. Still sup-
posing, however, that the messenger had misunder-
stood his request, the impatient lover hastened to a
solitary room in the fort for the purpose of reading the
precious paper alone, and adding a postscript to the
one he had written, that he might dispatch it by a
special messenger before he embarked. As soon as he
was alone, he eagerly broke the seal of Alma's brief
note, and read, with the most unmingled pain and
astonishment, its unexpected contents. Hastily rising
from the seat he had taken, he for many minutes
rapidly paced the room in silence, while the agitation
visibly depicted on his manly countenance plainly
bespoke the depth and bitterness of his emotion.
"Yes, noble girl," he at length mournfully said,
"incapable of intrigue and meanness yourself, you
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
269
have in some way, unsuspectingly become a victim to
the snares of a villain! It is-it must be so. A decep-
tion has been practiced upon you-a gross deception
could alone have prompted to a measure so sudden, so
cruel, so inconsistent, and so destructive, as I know it
must be, to your own happiness. Well, well, I have
no leisure now, even if I would, to enter the lists with
this despicable plotter of mischief, who has thus
entered our Eden, and turned its happiness to sorrow,
in trying to ferret out his villainies, or compete with
him in his low game of intrigue and deception. I
must leave you, too credulous girl, to discover for
yourself the arts by which you have been duped, and
the injustice you have done me-till then, farewell-
till then, be my country my heart's only mistress.''
Before another hour had elapsed, Warrington had
embarked with his troops, and, with the gallant and
war-like array with which he was borne down the lake,
kad passed from the scene of his love and disappoint-
ment on his way to fields of blood and glory.
It comes not within the scope of our design to accom-
pany our Green Mountain Boys through the eventful
campaign that followed their present embarkation, or
to attempt to trace the varied fortunes of their gallant
leaders, the daring, talented, and chivalrous Allen,
who, in his heroic attempt on Montreal, was taken
prisoner and carried to England in irons, and there
kept through a long and doleful captivity, which
deprived his country of the aid of one of her most
energetic sons during the most trying period of the
war, the skilful, cool, and intrepid Warrington,
whose conduct soon won for him the admiration of his
country, the gay and gifted Selden, whose sword and
pen were alike successfully wielded in the cause,—and
the jolly and fearless Jones, who became known as the
most sagacious and trusty scout-leader in the northern
army. These, and the brave, resolute, and patriotic
men under their command, who soon, by their courage
and success in battle, and their fidelity to the cause of
freedom, rendered the name of Green Mountain Boys-
270
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN B OYS
a terror to their foes, and an appellation of honor
among their admiring countrymen, we must now leave
to struggle with their enemies abroad, while we remain
on the spot we have chosen as the scene of our story,
there to wait their return to make the place once more
the theater of glorious conflict.
From this time for a period of about two years,
there was a pause in the action of our story. Although
the events which formed its commencement were
intimately connected with those attending its catas-
trophe, yet nothing occurred, during that interval,
particularly to vary the aspect of the one, or to hasten
the other. And the relative situation of all the dif-
ferent individuals of our dramatis persona, from this
time separated and scattered in various directions,
remained nearly unaltered, till the tide of war, com-
bined with other circumstances, brought them again
together to figure on the scene of action where we have
thus far described them. We propose, therefore, to
pass lightly over this interval and with a few observa-
tions, by way of noticing the situation and progress of
affairs in the Hendee family in the meanwhile, we
shall proceed at once to the closing period of our story.
From the hour of her supposed discovery of the
duplicity and base conduct of Warrington, life was
but a joyless blank to Alma Hendee. Although, by
the fortitude and firmness of her character, aided by
female pride, which had been deeply wounded by the
mortifying development, she had succeeded in her
determined efforts to keep from sinking under the
cruel disappointment, yet she could not but feel that
the young affections, which she had thus lucklessly
suffered to entwine round her heart, and root them-
selves in its very core, were withered, never to be
revived to their original freshness at the bidding of
another. In the unbounded confidence of her youthful
love, she had squandered her heart's best treasures on
one from whom neither pride nor principle would
longer suffer her to accept a return. And she was
deeply conscious that she could never gather them
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
271
again, to bestow them on a more worthy object, or
where they would yield her the earthly happiness to
which she had begun to look so fondly forward in her
anticipated connection.
It is an interesting and beautiful trait in the char-
acter of woman's affections, that she never truly wor-
ships but at one altar. If that remains to her, though
no new attraction be added, -no new inducement
offered to ensure the continuance of her devotion,—
she asks no more, but worships on, and on, more
deeply and fervently, till the heart that offers the
homage ceases in death to cling to all earthly objects.
But if that is destroyed or removed, the incense of her
heart passes away with it. She may, indeed, some-
times be found kneeling at another shrine, and offer-
ing up the forms of devotion, but the life, the spirit of
the worship is forever gone.
After the rupture between Miss Hendee and War-
rington, Sherwood became, for a while, unusually
constant in his visits at Captain Hendee's, and quite
assiduous in his attentions to the listless girl to whom
they were offered. At his first call, after that event,
he soon, and with a malicious satisfaction, discovered
that the arts he had put in practice had been crowned
with success. This he not only read in her pale face,
in which the settled air of gloom and disappointment
were visibly depicted, but also in her altered and
more respecting inanner towards himself, which, with-
out any change of opinion respecting his general char-
acter, she very naturally, though unconsciously, per-
haps, exhibited toward him, as to one whom she now
exonerated from the particular charges to which she
believed him obnoxious. Having satisfied himself of
this state of things, he at first cunningly forbore to
renew his former pretensions to her hand. In a short
time, however, he began again to make professions of
attachment, and, without asking of her any other than
the tacit acquiescence she had formerly yielded, talked
of their engagement as of a settled business and as if
nothing had occurred to alter the relation formerly
272
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
existing between them. These addresses Alma rather
suffered than received; and the affair between them
was, in this manner, allowed by her to fall into much
the same train in which it was moving on Warring-
ton's appearance. And yet she still had but little
thought of uniting her destinies with those of Sher-
wood; but continuing to hope that something would
eventually occur to save her from the dreadful fate,
she permitted the affair to glide along as she had
formerly done, solely out of regard to the feelings of
her father and the interests of the family. And,
indeed, now, more than ever, did it seem necessary
that the family should avoid a rupture with Sherwood,
as they were becoming more and more dependent on
his assistance. With the breaking out of the Revolu
tion, the half pay which Captain Hendee had before
regularly received, and which had constituted his
main dependence, ceased to be transmitted. And he
was therefore driven to avail himself, from time to
time, of the offers of Sherwood to loan him money to
meet his exigencies. In this manner Miss Hendee
wore away about two years of her duli and joyless
existence, finding nothing in the present to console or
cheer her desponding mind, and seeing nothing but
clouds and darkness in the future; when an incident
occurred that threw a new light upon her dark and
cheerless path, and produced a revolution in her whole
views and feelings, as sudden and complete as the
event which caused it was singular and unexpected.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
CHAPTER XXI
"A sudden joy lights up my loneliness."
It was a soft and balmy evening, in that loveliest of
all months of the year in our northern clime, delight-
ful June, when two ladies were seen issuing from the
Hendee cottage, to wander abroad, to enjoy the
beauties of the evening, and hold in the solitudes of
the fields, that confidential communion on the sub-
jects of mutual concern, which is ever interesting to
friends who have just met after a long separation.
One was in height something above the ordinary
standard of women, but with a form as faultless as the
chiseled marble. Her carriage and general demeanor,
though easy and graceful, were yet not of that light
and joyous kind which generally bespeaks correspond-
ing lightness of heart, but were marked, rather, by
that serious, drooping cast that tells of secret cares
and sorrows; while an air of deep and pensive thought-
fulness rested in her dark blue eyes, and overspread
her somewhat pale, though exquisitely molded fea-
tures. The other female was a trifle smaller, and as
volatile as a child in her movements.
The very
reverse of her companion, she seemed to be the crea-
ture of joyous impulses. Though both possessed far
more than an ordinary share of personal beauty, yet
their beauty was of an entirely different order; for
while the appearance of the former was calm, intellec-
tual and commanding, that of the latter was sprite-
like and playful, partaking largely of that certain
prettiness, that eccentric will-o'-wisp sort of witchery,
which men generally pursue eagerly rather than wor-
ship profcundly. They were both old acquaintances
of the reader, and we will, therefore, allow them to
announce themselves by the conversation that now
ensued between them.
274
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Now tell me, Alma," said the smaller girl, "for,
in spite of all the dogged silence you have shown in
your letters on the subject, I determined I would
know the first time I saw you tell me, I say, what
was the true reason of your dismissing Warrington.
"There are some things, Jessy," replied the other,
"which involve such imputations on our own prudence
and discernment, and are, of themselves, so humiliat-
ing to our feelings, that we can hardly bring ourselves
even in thought to recur to them,-much less to reveal
them to others. And this is the main reason why I
have never apprised you of the fact you seek to know.
""
"Yes, but I shall not let you off on such a reason,
you may depend upon it. Come, come, girl, I will be
your confessor, and the more crossing to your feelings
the confession, why, the more it will be for your good,
if the Catholic priests are in the right of it.'
""
"No, Jessy, let us forget the subject: I would not
again disturb my feelings by recalling to mind the
man who once caused me so much sorrow. It is
enough to say that I was grossly deceived in his char-
acter.
"Deceived! How deceived?-now I tell you, Alma
Hendee, I will know, and, as I am to live with you till
father returns from England, I will thorn you night
and day, till you tell me.
"Well, then, Jessy, if you must know, the cause of
my discarding him was the best of all causes; because
he could never be lawfully mine; for, wherever his
heart may have been, his hand belonged to another.
And while he was vowing his heart to me, he was the
husband of a living wife in Connecticut.
What say
you to a deception like that, Jessy?"
"Why, monster!-if so-but how know you that fact,
Alma?"
"I received intimations of it from various sources,
which I disbelieved, when a man called here who was
well acquainted with Warrington's whole career, and
he confirmed all that I had heard.
"Warrington--the high-minded and brave Colonel
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
275
Warrington, guilty of baseness like that?-Impossible!
Are you quite sure that there is not some mistake, or
some intended deception, about this, Alma?"
"Yes, yes, think not that, with my unbounded
confidence in the man, I should have been brought to
believe this easily. And oh! if you knew what the
discovery cost me!''
"But did you apprise him of this discovery?"
"No!"
"Why?"
"Simply, because, as I was fully satisfied of the fact,
all attempted explanations would not only fail to mend
the matter, but make it worse, by continuing a cor-
respondence which would be ruinous to me, and dis
graceful to us both."
"Alma Hendee, I can hardly believe this strange
story. I fear you have been deceived. I wish I had
known it before. Neither Colonel Warrington nor
Captain Selden have the least idea that such were
your reasons for the sudden, and, to them, unaccount-
able step you took. I have conversed with them both
on the subject; and they both believe, I imagine, that
you were either coerced by your father, or were labor-
ing under some misapprehension. Mr. Selden, I
know, believes this; and he told me on our way here
that if you would keep yourself from becoming en-
tangled with Sherwood, the affair might yet be recon-
ciled between you and the Colonel, who yet cherishes
for you all his former sentiments."
"It never will be reconciled, however, Jessy.
"Why, you have not seriously determined to marry
Sherwood, have you?"
"I can hardly bring myself, I own, to think seri-
ously of such a sacrifice," said Alma, mournfully. “I
certainly never should harbor the thought a moment,
if I had now any other object to live for, than to ren-
der my infirm and embarrassed father as happy as
possible. This I see but one way of doing. And as
my own hopes of happiness are gone, should it not now
be my duty to attend to his in the only way I can accom-
18
276
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
plish it? At best it is but a dark and dreary prospect
that lies before me, Jessy. And let us turn from it
now to your own, which has at least hope to brighten
it."
"Yes, hope, faith, and resolution, come what will,
except such a damper as you received. By the way,
Alma, did not you think that your father was a good
deal taken with Selden for so brief an acquaintance as
his short stay with us to-day afforded?"
"I did, indeed, and with great pleasure, notice it.
And well my father might be pleased with him; for
I know no gentleman whom I—”
"Take care! take care!" briskly interrupted the
vivacious Jessy.
"Be cautious how far you proceed
with your praises, Miss!"
"I will be moderate rather than alarm you, then,"
replied Alma, smiling.
"Well, see that you are; or I'll be jealous, as sure as
you live.
Besides, I don't care a fig about obtaining
your praises for him. But Captain Hendee's good
opinion of him is a point gained with me; for my father.
you know, has placed me, and my destinies, too, for
aught I know, in the Captain's hands for the present.
I wish I could get a peep at that letter of instructions,
as I suppose it was, which I brought from my father
to yours. What cautious old things these papas are
about us girls, are they no, now?"
"Your father, then, suspects your attachment-does
he?"
"Why, that is what I am myself puzzled to decide.
Selden contrived right cunningly to get introduced to
my father, soon after the old gentleman arrived at
Albany, where the Green Mountain troops, with their
officers, have been posted the past season, you know.
They have since met several times, and by the fact
of my being entrusted to Selden's care in coming on
here, I know father considers him a man of honor, at
least. But whether he has ever suspected the truth
about us, I have been wholly unable to ascertain. If
he has, and disapproves it, he has studied out some
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
277
sly, indirect way of breaking up the connection with-
out recourse to open opposition, which, I have often
heard him say, made ten matches where it broke one.
""
"But did not Major Skene, after his exchange and
return, or his sisters, inform Colonel Reed of their
suspicion, most probably?"
"They would have done so, perhaps, had they con-
inued as jealous as at first, but since my engagement
with Selden we have both acted in concert to blind
them, and I think they are in the dark themselves.
"And how have you disposed of the Major, in the
meanwhile?"
"I laughed him out of countenance-jeered and
joked him about his valor at Skenesboro' before the
officers, ridiculed him in every way I could devise, till
at last the fellow became so sore under the torment,
that he fairly avoided me, as if I had been a viper,
and that is the way I advise you to take with your
eternal hanger-on, who, like Major, was never man
enough to cease his attentions when he knew they
were not agreeable. But where is Sherwood now?"
"We don't know. He has been absent several
weeks. He told us he was going to Albany.
heard nothing of him there, did you?"
You
"No! but if he was there, he would hardly show
himself in public, I think. Did you know they strongly
suspected him of being a tory?"
But
"I knew not that he was suspected by others.
from his standing aloof from the contest when our
bleeding country required the aid of every friend,
from the character of his associates, and among the
rest that despicable Darrow, and more especially from
one or two secret journeys, which I feel satisfied he
has lately made into Canada, I have for some time.
known that he was anything but an American patriot.'
By this time our fair friends, having wandered down
the slope towards the lake, had reached the shore, and
seated themselves on a little grassy elevation near the
landing, where they were about to resume their con-
versation, when a skiff containing three men, whose
278
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
approach from the south had been screened from their
sight by intervening bushes, made its appearance, and
put in for the shore. The girls instantly arose, and
were hastily retiring, when they were hailed by the
leader of the party, after he had risen in his boat, and
looked intently a moment at those on shore. On turn-
-ing round, Alma at once recognized him to be the tall
woodsman, with whom she first became acquainted as
the messenger of Warrington.
"If you'll agree not to be scart much at such a
beauty as I be, gals," said Pete, leaping ashore and
striding up the bank, "I should like well enough to
have one of you stop running away long enough to
have me tell you what one of you wants, that is if I
haven't forgot the face that used to belong to her."
Jones, now advancing to the spot from which the
girls, with hesitating steps, were slowly retreating,
pulled out a soiled and crumpled letter, and offered it to
Alma. But the latter, supposing it to be from War-
rington, shook her head, and declined receiving it.
"Well, now!" said the scout, a little disconcerted at
the unexpected refusal; "by hoky! if this ain't the
first time I ever knew a body that wouldn't take a
letter that belonged to 'em! Well, I've done all that
the fellow, who asked me to bring it, could expect of
me, I consider."
"From whom did you receive the letter, sir?" asked
Jessy, who easily apprehended the reasons of her
friend for declining to receive it.
"Well, now, marm," replied Jones, scratching his
head, "that is asking a notch more than I am very
well able to answer. I partly hinted to the man to
tell me his name, but he kinder screwed round in his
talk so that he kept clear of telling me. Howsomever,
it was an honest-looking fellow enough, that I fell in
with at Skenesboro', where we stopped for breakfast,
this morning."
"O, it is not from any in the army, then," rejoined
Jessy, throwing a significant look at her companion,
intended to convey a sly joke for her over-cautiousness.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
279
"Any in the army?" said Jones, repeating the words
of the other, as he began to assume his old comic twist
of features, "no, unless you might call him a kettle-
drummer; for now I think on't when we first came
into the house where we found him, he was at it ham-
mer and tongs upon an old brass kettle, making clat-
ter enough to crazy a small nation.'
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Jones," said Alma, cour-
teously, "I was under a misapprehension in regard to
the source of this letter-I will receive it now, sir, if
you please; and thank you kindly for your trouble in
bringing it," she added, extending her hand and tak-
ing the proffered paper.
""
'Are you direct from Albany, sir?" asked Miss
Reed, preparatory to some other question, apparently.
"We started from there about twelve last night, and
in a bit of a hurry, too," replied the scout, turning and
looking upon the face of his fair interrogator, whom
he now for the first time seemed to recognize. "Why,
now, if I ain't beat, to find that queer fighting bird
again-beg pardon, marm-I didn't mean it for offense;
for I don't calculate to be very sarcy to folks, except
to the Britishers. And I kinder guess you ain't very
stiff for that side after all, or you wouldn't allow your-
self to be caught by the Green Mountain Boys so easy
and often."
It was Jessy's turn to be disconcerted now, and
blushing to the very temples, she turned confusedly
away, and pretended to be looking for wild strawber-
ries in the grass, while Alma, smiling to see the dis-
comfiture of her friend at the honest but sly hit
involved in the remark of the woodsman, now address-
ing the latter, asked:
"Has any late intelligence of the enemy's move-
ments been received at headquarters, that has caused
you to be dispatched in this direction so hastily?"
"I rather expect there has, marm.
"Any threatened invasion? I know there have
been fears of one, from Canada, but hearing nothing
of it lately, we had begun to believe it a false rumor.
280
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
After looking Alma earnestly in the face an instant,
Jones motioned her to step a little further from her
companion, when in a low tone he observed to her,
"You used to be true blue-I wonder if you are
now?"
"If you mean a friend to your cause, who can be
trusted, you may count me as one.
"I rather thought so-well, we fear there will be
hot work in this quarter in a very few days from this.
A British deserter, who was taken up over on Winooski
River, and sent on by Captain Baker, arrived at head-
quarters yesterday, and gave us the information that
General Burgoyne with an army of ten thousand men
had already reached St. John's on his way through
this settlement to Albany, if he can get there. Colonel
Warrington and his regiment of Green Mountain
Boys were to march this morning to reinforce St.
Clair at Ticonderoga. And General Schuyler's whole
army, before this, are on the move for Fort Edward, as
the place where the grand tussle is to be had, if the
enemy are not stopped before. I and my scouts in
the boat there are now on our way to reconnoiter,
and watch the progress of the Reglars as they come
on. Now, this last part of it you must keep dark
about to all where there is the least chance of its get-
ting into the wind. If I get along back as far as here,
I will try to call, and let you and the folks in this
quarter know when the enemy may be expected, tnat
you may be all out of the way before they arrive.
But I must be off; for we must row ten good miles
further to-night, before we encamp. Good nighty,
marm."
Having given this exciting piece of information,
imparted with more seriousness and directness of
manner than anything of equal length he had uttered,
perhaps, for years, Jones turned on his heel, bounded
forward to the shore, and leaped into the boat, which
the next instant shot by the landing and disappeared.
Knowing that the scout's secret would be as safe
with her companion as with herself, Alma immedi-

TO ARMS! TO 'ARMS!

...
GENERAL HORATIO GATES
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
281
ately called her, and repeated the startling news she
had just received. And the solicitude and trembling
apprehensions which filled the bosom of each, as they
thought of their respective friends in connection with
the approaching danger, for a while swallowed up
every other feeling. Even the letter, the delivery of
which had occasioned the call of the scouts, was for-
gotten, till the girls had retraced their steps more than
half the distance to the house. It being then recalled,
however, Miss Hendee seated herself on a hillock,
opened and began reading it, with an air of listless
curiosity, which showed how little she expected to be
interested in its contents, while Jessy knelt before her
on the grass, watching the varying expressions, from
simple curiosity to eager interest, and from that to
deep emotion, which successively passed over the
countenance of the other as she proceeded in the pe-
rusal. The letter was without signature, and ran thus:
"Miss Hendee, I guess, will remember how, a year
or two ago, a man came to your house and mended
the things; and how he made some statements about
Charles Warrington, the Colonel that now is. Now,
what I said at that time has worried my feelings a
great deal most ever since. Though I then really
thought what I said was justifiable, even if it was not
quite true, as I was made to believe it to be for your
good. But I soon after found out what I told you was
not so, for I didn't know myself, and only said what I
was asked to say. This was the story of it. As I
was going from house to house, working at my trade
there in your part of the settlement, I fell in with a
plausible sort of a man,-I don't think I had best call
him by name,-and we after a while got to talking
about Warrington, whom I had seen often enough,
though I knew nothing of his private affairs. Well,
he, in a smooth kind of way, said there was one thing
that hurt his feelings; and that was that Warrington
was doing the wrong thing by a relative of his, a very
likely girl, that he pretended to be courting for the
282
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
sake of getting her family on his side in the York
quarrel, when, to his certain knowledge, he had a young
wife that he had deserted down country. He said it
was a great pity to have the girl so deceived, and he
would give two gold guineas to any one who would
break up the courtship. But he said it would do no
kinder good for her relations to try; and they were
very anxious some one else should undertake to do it.
He then told me his plan was, that he and I, if I would
agree to do it, should first kinder secretly tell folks this
story about the deserted wife, so that it should get to
her, and make her begin to believe it; and then I
should go there and pretend to come from where War-
rington used to live, and let drop somehow, before
the girl, that I was knowing myself to that business
about his being married. Well, he kinder drew me
into his plan, and I, being poor, consented for the
money to do as I did. But I soon mistrusted that this
man had some wrong design, which I found out to be
the case, and I feel very sorry, and ask pardon for
what happened; and shall feel very bad if I done any
mischief by it, as I think Colonel Warrington a very
likely man. I think I shall feel easier now in my
mind, but I guess, considering, I shan't sign my name,
though I am not ashamed of it, or at least I never was
in any other affair since I was born.
"Your well-wisher to serve."
The first feeling that pervaded the bosom of Miss
Hendee, on reading this humble epistle, the truth and
genuineness of which she found it impossible to doubt,
was that of unmingled indignation at the base and
detestable conduct of the man who had instigated the
deception that had been practiced upon her with such
complete success. The whole of that transaction,
together with all the dark hints and warnings she had
previously received from her acquaintance, now stood
explained before her. She found no difficulty in tra-
cing all to the same source, and she saw at once the
motives which had actuated the subtle author of this
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
283
piece of refined villainy in the course he had pursued.
Her next feeling was that of deep and unfeigned
regret, for the injustice she had unintentionally done
one, whom, but for this erroneous belief, she would
have held, of all on earth, the most dear and honored.
At last came the heart's rich gushings of returning
love. And from the overpowering force of these
mingled emotions, she sat down and wept like
child.
CHAPTER XXII
"And how felt he, the wretched man
Reclining there-while memory ran
O'er many a year of guilt and strife,
Flew o'er the dark flood of his life,
Nor found one sunny resting-place,
Nor brought him back one branch of grace."
In the environs of Albany, at the period of which
we are writing, stood an ancient-looking tenement,
originally designed, as its general appearance indi-
cated, for a common farmhouse; though the grounds
around it seemed lately to have been left almost
wholly uncultivated; while dilapidated fences, and an
unchecked growth of rank weeds springing up every-
where about the premises, told anything but of good
husbandry in the occupant. Indeed, there was an air
of solitude and decay about the place, which might
reasonably have been taken by all as an evidence of a
corresponding decay in the circumstances of the owner
but for the fact, known to many, that he had brought
large sums of money, which he must have increased,
as he had ever lived on an economical scale, and hus-
banded his treasures with the inost miserly care,-ever
speculating upon the necessities of others, and loaning
his money at exorbitant usury. Since the commence-
ment of the unsettled times of the Revolution, how-
ever, he had been busily engaged in drawing in his
funds, while he began to talk of pretended losses,
and to feign the appearance of approaching poverty,
284
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
by suffering his farm to run to waste, as if through
inability to bestow upon it a proper cultivation. This
was attributed by many to actual impoverishment;
but those who knew more of his affairs set it down at
once to his unwillingness to trust out his property in
such fluctuating times, and his fears of being com-
pelled to loan or otherwise part with it, for maintain-
ing the American cause, to which, it was suspected,
he was not over friendly. He had ever been a man of
few friends, and still fewer confidants. And for the
last year or two, he had almost wholly withdrawn
himself from society; while, as was noticed by those
who occasionally saw him, his health appeared to be
gradually undermining, and his countenance wore an
air of deep dejection, arising, it was surmised, as he
had no visible grounds of sorrow, from remorse of
conscience, or other mental inquietudes, the causes of
which he had never divulged.
To this cheerless spot we would now invite the
reader for the purpose of introducing one to whom
allusion has been several times made, the father of
Jacob Sherwood. The unhappy old man had been for
several weeks rapidly failing, and he now lay stretched
on the bed of sickness, with the full consciousness that
the end of his earthly career was fast approaching;
while a retrospect of his life began to fill his mind with
terror and alarm, in view of the retribution which his
guilt-stricken conscience told him was at hand.
Although, by the constant exercise of that peculiar
cunning and cautiousness which were leading traits in
his character, he had always contrived to steer clear of
the penalties of the law, yet there had been certain
secret passages in his life, the memory of which now
turned his dying bed into a couch of thorns, and drove
him to think of making some atonement for the injuries
he had inflicted, before he dare go to his final account.
With this, among other views, he had, the week
previous, sent a special messenger for his son, and he
was now anxiously looking for his arrival. But the
lingering days passed on, and he came not, till the
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
285
wretched invalid, warned by his failing strength that
he could hold out but a few days longer, dared no
more delay the act of justice, which his guilty fears
had urged him to perform, to those who had been the
victims of secret villainies. But let us now enter his
gloomy abode, and proceed to his bedside. He had
been lying about an hour in a troubled sleep, from
which he had several times suddenly started up, with
a wild, apprehensive glare, and a few incoherent
mutterings, that gradually died away on his working
lips, as he relapsed into his uneasy slumbers. He
now, however, became thoroughly awakened, and
turning his face to the nurse in attendance, a wrinkled
old crone, who, with an ignorant, clownish-looking
boy, made up the rest of the family at the present
time, he eagerly inquired if his son had arrived. And
being answered in the negative, he sunk back on his
pillow with a look of blended woe and disappointment,
which told the utter wretchedness of his feelings.
'O, when will he come, when will he come!" at
length muttered to himself the hapless old man.
"I
shall die before he arrives! no, no, I must not die,
I cannot die, till I see him—till he promises. But if
he should not come! Or if he come and would not
promise, or promising, would not perform, where
would be the reparation? I fear-I fear him, with so
much interest at stake! Oh! why have I delayed this
so long! Why have I carried this dreadful weight till
now! If I had but strength to write it!-perhaps I
have-I will try-I will! Nabby!" he continued, call-
ing to the deaf old woman, "I say, Nabby! bring me
here pen and paper.
""
"Eh? O, ay!" replied the crone, bringing the
required implements.
66
'Now bolster me up on the bed, and lay that old
ledger open on the bedclothes before me. There!
that will do."
Having been a ready penman, and deriving a tem-
porary strength from the excitement of his sudden
resolution, the invalid succeeded in writing out a brief
20
286
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
statement, or confession, of the misdeeds which laid
heaviest on his troubled conscience.
"There! there!" he exclaimed in a sort of unnatural
glee, "it is on paper! it is down-thank God, it is
down! I feel easier, now-relieved-some of the poison
has passed from my heart to the paper;" and he read
over, and continued looking some time upon the lines
with a wild, exulting satisfaction, muttering at inter-
vals, "yes, thank God, it is down!"
He then, having again called the nurse, and directed
her to seal the paper securely, superscribed it to Cap-
tain James Hendee, giving the woman strict orders to
give it to his son when he arrived, or to some other
person who would promise to deliver it to the person
to whom it was addressed. After this, he fell back
exhausted, and lay some time in silent meditation.
"Yes, that is something," he said, at length, resum-
ing his soliloquy: "but will it bring back the lost, or
dead? No! Will it restore the property I took from
them? No, not a shilling without a suit, and then
Jake will find some way to defeat it-and then the
letter may be lost-he may mistrust what I have writ-
ten and destroy it. It won't do-I must make a will
and place it out of his hands-I must, O, I must-and
I will do it-I will do it, now. Ezra! Ezra!" he con-
tinued, speaking with nervous rapidity, "Nabby' tell
Ezra to come here in a minute!"
The ill-clothed and more ill-favored boy soon made
his appearance.
"Ezra, you go over to Esquire Vanderpool's, and
tell him I want he should come here as quick as pos-
sible-run! run!"'
The man who was thus summoned, and who was
an attorney whom the old gentleman had sometimes
employed and consulted, on account of the prudence
and secrecy with which he conducted all matters sub-
mitted to his charge, in a short time entered the
apartment, and quietly seated himself by the bedside
of the sick man. The old nurse was then ordered to
leave the room,
"
1
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
287
"I am going to die, Squire," said the old man,
feebly.
"I hope not," replied the attorney, casting a scru-
tinizing glance at the pallid face of the other, but with-
out betraying the least emotion.
"I know best, and have thought of making a will-
can you draw one that will hold?"
"None of my making have ever yet failed.
"So I suppose, and I believe you honest, and to
have a mind of your own, or I should not have sent
for you.
But can it all be kept a secret till the will is
proved in court?"
"Who is to be executor?"
"I have been thinking of that.
So much money is
I
a great trust, but if you are not honest, who is?
must have you.
""
"All can be managed, then."
I
"Yes, but will it be done? will you promise?
have reasons-you know Jacob-will you not let him
buy you up?"
"Never!"
"Write me a will, then; and be quick,-quick-
bequeathing a thousand pounds to Captain James
Hendee of the New Hampshire Grants, and all he
now owes me-another thousand to his daughter.
That will make them good for what I—”
"That is right! make a clean breast of it, Mr. Sher-
wood," observed the attorney, encouragingly.
Put it
"I will-God forgive me for taking that amount
from the property left with me to manage.
down in the will 'reparation.'
99
"I will. But the rest of the property?"
"All to my son-write on-be quick."
The attorney, with an acquiescing nod, proceeded
diligently with his task, while the restless invalid
again muttered to himself:
"It will be an inducement for Jake to marry the
girl, which I fear he means to avoid. But he probably
will do it now, and then nothing will be lost by this;
288
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
and if he don't, why, he has enough without it. Yes,
this will do. I shall feel better-better.
The will was very soon completed, witnesses were
called, all the requisite formalities passed through;
when, after receiving from the testator many addi-
tional injunctions, the attorney departed with the
important instrument in his pocket.
As soon as this business, for which the sick man had
summoned all his failing energies, was accomplished,
he again became as helpless as an infant, and lay sev-
eral hours in a state of exhaustion and stupor. At
length his malady began to assume a different and
more threatening aspect. The pains of approaching
dissolution set in, attended with mental anguish, even
more fearful in appearance than his bodily agony;
and to the wretched old man a night of horrors suc-
ceeded. While his limbs were writhing with pain,
and he seemed to be grappling in bodily effort with
the king of terrors, the most fearful images appeared
to rise continually before his distracted mind, to com-
plete the horrors of his situation. At one time he
seemed to be contending with desperate fierceness
against troops of fiends, that stood palpably before
him, reaching out their long, skinless claws to drag
him from his bed, while, "Keep them off! O, keep
them off," would burst in the accents of despair from
his lips. At another time, the images of those he had
injured appeared to rise upon his troubled fancy, and
stand before him, giving, even by their quiet presence,
unspeakable tortures to his feelings.
"Leave me, Brother Hendee, O, leave me!" he
would piteously exclaim, waving his hand for the
other, whom he fancied to be standing by his bedside,
to depart. "Away! away! I cannot look on you.
You forgive me? what is that to me, so long as that
great burning eye is looking down so fiercely upon me?
O! don't smile upon me! don't, Brother Hendee! It
stings-it kills me! There! that is right-kind.
is gone now. But what is that coming? O! what is
that?" he continued, starting up with a look replete
He
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
289
with horror and distress; "see, how he reaches out his
little hands as they carry him off into the woods,
crying, 'Uncle, save me, uncle, from the Indians!' It is
a lie! I say I am not your uncle! You are an imp!
-a fiend, come to torment me! There! I told you so
-I knew it-see! see, there! he is sending that troop
of devils to drag me down into that dreadful black gulf!
O! God! they have seized me! I won't, I won't go!
help! murder! O! help! help!" and with the expi-
ring efforts of his delirious energies, he rose up in his
bed, and throwing his arms wildly above him, and
uttering à fearful screech, he fell down on his face,
and the next moment was a livid corpse!
Such was the fearful end of John Sherwood, who,
with no penitence that could be acceptable in the
sight of Heaven, thus thought to compound with his
conscience, and atone for his misdeeds by offering up
a portion of that wealth which he had made the only
idol of his worship through life-a life marked, indeed,
with many acts of specious kindness, performed
towards those he had wronged, but always performed
on the principle we have mentioned, or to veil the
secret injuries he had inflicted, from the eyes of his
victims, and blind the public to his true character.
On the second day after the event just described,
and but a few hours before the time appointed for the
funeral ceremonies, Jacob Sherwood rode into the yard,
and without any previous intimation of his father's
death, entered the house.
"How is the old gentleman, Nabby?" he asked,
approaching and putting his mouth close to the ear of
the deaf old domestic.
"Eh? O,-why, don't ye know? Hain't they told
you how he is dead?"
"No! shocking!-Why, when did he die?"
"Yester night-jest 'fore day. Desput sick, the old
gentleman was that night. And he was in a terrible
taking to see you, Mister Jacob, 'fore he died.”
"What did he wish to see me for in particular, do
you know?",
290
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"No-not sartainly. But he was under some con-
sarn of mind, I reckon. It was malagantly to hear
him take on, and see him act. O, 'twas dreadful
times with us that night: I and Ezra sot up. I hope
the old gentleman never did anything that Was
wrong.
""
"Ezra, what did he say?" asked Sherwood, eagerly
turning to the boy, who was present.
"O, he talked
carrying him off.
the door."
drefful bad and scary bout somfing
I'se mortal feared, and went behind
"Nabby-say, Nabby!" said the former, again ad-
dressing the old woman, "who has been here since
father was taken sick, besides the doctor?"
"Doctor! he wouldn't have no doctor-he took his
own physics."
"Who, then, has been here?"
"Why, none but old Mrs. Chandler, to tell me about
fixing his gruel and things, except the folks that came
to lay him out, and Squire Vanderpool, the day 'fore
he died, and then the next morning, to carry off the
papers and chests.
99
"Vanderpool! papers and chests! what can all that
mean?" said Sherwood, in an undertone, and with an
air of concern. "But, say, old woman, what did
Squire Vanderpool and father do when they were
together?"
"Don't know nothing no way about it; cause they
sent me out-may be about some writing.
La! now,
I forgot the letter, added the woman, jumping up
and bringing the letter the deceased had entrusted to
her charge: "there, he told me to make you promise
to give this to Captain Hendee.
66
""
Certainly-I promise," said Sherwood, seizing the
letter and putting it in his pocket.
After a few more inquiries, Sherwood retired to
another room, when, taking out the letter and carefully
breaking it open so that it might be resealed, if he
saw fit to suffer it to go to its destination, he proceeded
to read it; after which he rose, took out a pocket pistol,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
291
drew the charge, went to the fireplace, and flashed
the priming against the letter, which he held between
his thumb and finger till it was entirely consumed.
"Well," said he to himself, as he replaced his pistol,
"that piece of evidence is at rest, I think, and if all
other matters can be managed as easily, all will be
well. But it is very evident that the old man has
been making a will; and Vanderpool, who must be
executor, I imagine, by his presuming to carry off the
papers and money, is a hard customer to manage, I
confess; though it must be done by some means or
other,—that is, if the old man's weakness and silly fears
have led him to make any serious inroad on my pros-
pects. And who knows how far he may have gone-
devil! if he has been willing away my property! But
that he could not do. He could only dispose of his own,
the lesser half, I think it must be. Well, that is mine,
too; and I won't go it. So, if he has been willing it
away, curse me, if I don't find a way to suppress or
break the will. Let's see-Vanderpool is rather poor.
That is lucky; for a cool hundred is something of a
tempter. But if that fails, then there are the deaf old
haddock of a woman and the doltish boy, ready with
their humbug stories to swear the old man insane at
the time. Good! I'll make it traverse somehow.
But the first thing is to see Vanderpool; and I may as
well do it now. No, I forgot,-the time of the funeral
is at hand, and I must be rigging up, and putting on
a sorrowful face-sorrowful! as if it was a matter of
special grief to come into possession of a clear ten
thousand!"'
Thus soliloquizing, and settling his plans for repair-
ing the rent which he feared his father had made in
his fortunes, the heartless heir dressed himself, and
joined the domestics and others, who had now come
in to assist in making arrangements for the approach-
ing obsequies. These being made, and the hour
appointed for the funeral now arriving, the ceremo-
nies were performed by a small train of the nearest
neighbors, including his executor, and one or two
19
292
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
other individuals from the city, who had sustained some
connection with the deceased in business transactions.
Though the demeanor of all present was marked with
the decency and sobriety natural on the occasion, yet
none of that emotion, which the ties of heartfelt friend-
ship, severed by death, usually produces at such times,
was visible among the company. Not a sigh was
heard, not a tear was seen to bedew a single cheek, as
they followed the old man, who had never exhibited
any feelings in common with them, unwept and
unhonored, to his long home.
That evening, and as early as he thought decency
would permit, after his father's remains were consigned
to the earth, Sherwood repaired to Vanderpool's office.
And, after what he deemed would be considered some
suitable observations upon his recent bereavement,
he carelessly remarked:
"My father made a will in his last sickness, I under-
stand."
"Well, the old gentleman undoubtedly had property
to dispose of, I think," replied the attorney, evasively.
"You drew it, I am told," observed the other, cau-
tiously approaching the point at which he was aim-
ing.
"Drafting instruments of that kind is part of my
trade, you are aware," remarked Vanderpool, still
evading any direct answer to the question implied by
the other's observation.
"You will not deem it improper, I presume," said
Sherwood, "for me to inquire what are the provisions
of the instrument, since I am the person most inter-
ested?"
"Why, sir," coolly remarked Vanderpool, "whether
you are the most interested, I should think must
depend entirely upon the will whose provisions you
seek to know. And as regards the propriety of your
making inquiries respecting those provisions, I am not
aware of any impropriety in your asking, but whether,
in the case you assume, it would be proper for me to
answer, for the present, would depend solely on the
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
293
conditions imposed on me, and the instructions I have
received."
"O, certainly, certainly, Mr. Vanderpool," rejoined
the other obsequiously, though he was evidently not
a little startled at the ominous import of some of the
attorney's remarks; "but what possible motive could
my father have for enjoining secrecy in such
case?"
a
"Why, that, Mr. Sherwood, is undoubtedly a ques-
tion that the interrogator is no less competent of
answering than the interrogatee," replied the imper-
turbable attorney.
"Why, surely, Mr. Vanderpool," said the baffled heir,
in a tone of expostulation, "you do not think I wish
you to do anything wrong, I trust. But if the will
be a just one, there can be no good reason for keeping
its provisions a secret the short time that intervenes
before it must be openly proved; and on the other
hand, if it be an unjust one, a delay can be of no benefit
to the legatees of a will which can be so easily broken.”’
"Broken! how?"
"Why, I suppose you must be aware, sir, that my
father was not in his right mind when he executed
this pretended will, as can be proved by the family."
Being a little nettled at the imputation involved in
the last remark, that he had assisted in the making of
a will when he knew the testator to be incompetent,
the conscientious attorney with considerable spirit
replied:
"Whose testimony, think you, sir, would weigh the
most in such case, two good, honest, intelligent wit-
nesses (to say nothing of myself), who were present
and heard the testator converse, or a stupid old woman,
so deaf as not to hear one word in ten of an ordinary
conversation, and a more stupid boy, who was rarely
in his presence?"
"O, I am no lawyer, sir," rejoined Sherwood, with
affected complaisance; "that must be left to gentle-
men of your profession to decide. I merely repeated
what was told me. And the only motive I have in
294
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
making these inquiries is, to obtain such knowledge of
the will as shall enable me to make my arrangements
for the future; since I am compelled to return imme-
diately to my post in the Grants. And now," he con-
tinued, cautiously veering round on another tack, "I
really don't see how I can go without knowing some-
thing about the disposition of this property. It is a
going to be such a disadvantage to me! Why, I would
not begrudge a hundred pounds. Indeed, in my
peculiar situation at this time, it might make more
than that difference in my circumstances-"
"Ah! indeed?" observed Vanderpool, beginning to
suspect the drift of the other, but wishing to see how
far he would venture to go, if encouraged a little.
"Yes, that is really the case, Squire," said Sher-
wood, thinking he had now hit upon a right course;
"and if there are some nice rules among your profes-
sion to prevent your showing this will yourself in
obedience to such very singular instructions, why,
that can be easily got along with. The will can be left,
for instance, on yonder shelf, or somewhere, so that
should I come in to-morrow to write a letter, or the
like, it might be glanced at, and still no blame could
fall on you—even if the instrument should be after-
wards missing. All would come right between you
and I, Squire, depend upon it. Now, I should suppose,
that one live client, with my means, and with my
friendship, would be worth a a dozen dead ones,
shouldn't you, Squire?"
"Why, that might depend," gravely replied the
attorney, willing to alarm the other by way of punish-
ing him for his insulting proposals, "that would
depend, I should think, somewhat on the question
whether the live client had means enough left him by
the dead one to make good his promises.
""
"What mean you, sir?" hastily asked Sherwood,
turning pale at the intimation.
"O, I am merely making suppositions by way of
answering your inquiries-you must put your own
constructions upon them," replied Vanderpool, with a

THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERF
21

TARRING AND FEATHERING A LOYALIST SYMPATHIZER
www
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
295
look so equivocal as still to leave the would-be tempter
in doubt how to proceed.
"Well, sir," said Sherwood, after a hesitating pause,
"what am I to understand you are willing to do in
this business? Really a hard case for me, Squire-
what do you say, upon the whole?"
"Upon the whole, then," replied the indignant
attorney, looking the other sternly in the face, "I say,
sir, that it does not follow that I am a villain and
unworthy the trust reposed on me, because others may
think they can make me so. I am sole executor on
your father's estate;-the real estate, which is but a
small portion of the property, you can take possession
of as soon as you please; as to the rest, I shall take and
keep charge of it for the present. Í know my duty,
both towards you, and others concerned, and you
may depend I shall do it. My supper waits. Good
evening, sir."
So saying, and taking his hat, the independent and
incorruptible attorney turned his back on the other,
and immediately left the office.
Vexed and discomfited at the failure of his attempt,
and alarmed at the startling intimations which had
fallen from Vanderpool, Sherwood turned his steps
homeward. Reasoning from his own principles and
feelings, he supposed that the attorney would never
have withstood the different temptations which had
thus been placed before him, unless he knew that the
property was about to pass into the hands of others,
whom it was now more his interest to serve. And
joining his argument, unanswerable to one who could
scarcely conceive of actions not prompted by interested
and selfish motives, with the contemptuous bearing of
the attorney, and the intimations he had dropped, the
partially deceived, though justly punished heir arrived
at the maddening conclusion that his father must
have bequeathed the greatest portion of his property
to others; and in all probability to the Hendee family,
to whom, besides being his only near relatives now
left, his penitent and remorseful feelings would natur-
296
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
ally direct his mind. And in addition to this, he was
not without strong apprehensions that his father had
imparted to Vanderpool the secret which was contained
in the letter directed to Captain Hendee, and which,
in case the son of the latter was alive, would greatly
multiply the chances of losing the other part of the
property, also. And no sooner had he become con-
firmed in these conclusions than he made up his mind
in regard to the only alternative which he believed
was now left him for securing the property.
Accord-
ingly, after making a few brief arrangements with a
neighbor for managing the farm, he started that very
night, and proceeded with all possible expedition to
the New Hampshire Grants, where we will endeavor
to meet him in another chapter.
CHAPTER XXIII
"Oh! what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive."
After a rapid journey by land, Sherwood arrived at
his house in the Grants, inauspiciously for his present
object, on the very evening on which his base and
execrable maneuvers to cause the dismissal of Warring-
ton had been discovered by Miss Hendee, in the man-
ner we have described. And deeply intent on carry-
ing into execution his project of a union with her,
whom he supposed to be still the dupe of his machina-
tions, believing this now to be his only resource for
securing the property, and being determined to accom-
plish it, if possible, before the provisions of his father's
will should be made known, to lessen his chances of
success, he, early the next morning, repaired to her
residence, for the purpose of urging an immediate
fulfillment of the engagement, which he now chose to
claim as having for several years existed between
them. And from the well-known wishes of the father,
on whom he counted for a strong ally, and the late
acquiescent manner of the daughter, he had the fullest
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
297
confidence that he should be able to bring about his
object with very little difficulty or delay. When he
arrived, however, he soon saw indications which con-
siderably lowered the tone of his assurance. In the
first place, he was not at all pleased to find, as he
unexpectedly did, that Miss Reed had taken up her
residence in the family, believing that she, from the
connection which he suspected she sustained with
Selden, the friend of Warrington, would naturally
exercise her influence against one of whom she had
doubtless received unfavorable impressions. And in
addition to this, his quick eye detected a change in
the manner of Alma herself towards him, which he
fancied had reference to the subject of his present
anxiety. And even in the demeanor of the father, he
thought he perceived a want of cordiality which never
before marked his receptions. But notwithstanding
all these discouraging appearances, he determined on
persevering in his original purpose. And, carefully
abstaining from all mention of his father's death, he
early sought a private interview with Miss Hendee,
who, with a sort of business-like promptitude, and
with the air of one who is fully prepared for an eclair-
cissement, immediately assented to his proposal.
"Mr. Sherwood has something particular to offer, I
conclude?" enquiringly said Alma, with a most freez-
ing dignity of manner, as soon as they were seated in
a room by themselves.
"Why, you know, Alma, my attentions to you have
ever been particular," replied Sherwood, with what
he intended for an endearing smile.
"Enough so, certainly," was the equivocal response.
"Well, I am happy," rejoined the other, purposely
construing the remark in his own favor, "that you
acquit me of any neglect in my attentions to one who
is so worthy of them, and one in whom I have ever
felt so deep an interest."
"You have manifested but little lack of interest in
me, or my concerns, I am free to acknowledge, sir,"
remarked Alma, in the same equivocal manner.
298
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"I hope I am not doubted in this respect," said
Sherwood, with the air of an arraigned schoolboy,
attempting to put an immaterial issue, in order to
escape or delay a blow, which he sees the disposer of
his fate is preparing to give him.
"O, not in the least, sir," said Alma, in a tone and
manner still more ironical and significant than before;
"for I have lately received a sufficient proof of the
interest you have taken in my affairs, in the confes-
sion of a certain tinker, whom you may recollect hav-
ing consulted on the subject, on a former occasion?"
"Why-now-really!" stammered Sherwood, utterly
disconcerted at this cutting allusion to a transaction
which he supposed was known only to himself and the
immediate actor in the affair; "really, Miss Hendee, I
have not the happiness of understanding your mean-
ing.
""
"Would further disclosures be likely to increase
your happiness in that respect, sir?" asked Alma, coolly.
"I did not seek this interview, Miss Hendee,"
rejoined the other, now recovering his assurance, "to
listen to a recital of all the slanders that may have
happened to reach your ears; but I sought it on more
important business."
"I will not hear your proposition, sir," said she,
without deigning any further reply.
"Why, surely, Alma," observed Sherwood, in an
expostulating tone, "I know not how I have had the
misfortune to offend you, as, from your manner, I fear
I have. I had fondly anticipated a different reception.
I had at last arranged my business so that I felt
myself, for the first time since our intimacy, at liberty
to settle down in life; and, accordingly, I came to
propose a consummation of the engagement, which
has been so long settled between us.
"I wonder, sir," said Alma, "you had not first made
known your intentions to my father, with whom the
engagement you claim to exist, was made, I believe.
Perhaps you might meet with better success in that
quarter.'
""
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
299
"You seem disposed to trifle with my feelings, Miss
Hendee," rejoined Sherwood, growing restless. "I
wish for a direct answer, whether you will, or will
not, fulfill your engagement with me.
"A direct answer, sir, then you shall have; and I
will add, I feel not a little grateful for being, for the
first time since my acquaintance with you, allowed the
opportunity of giving one. Mr. Sherwood, I shall
never voluntarily unite my destinies with yours.
""
"Surely you would not break a solemn engagement?"
"A passive acquiescence-a tacit consent, wrung
from me by the force of circumstances, is, as you well
know, sir, all the engagement that you can claim of
me. And even that, your conscience must tell you,
you have long since forfeited by your own conduct.'
'Are you prepared, Miss, for the consequences which
may follow the step you seem determined on taking?"
66
""
"You do well, sir, I acknowledge, to remind me of
that consideration," bitterly retorted the indignant
maiden; "for I am aware that it is no light matter to
brave the revenge of one who could instigate the assas-
sination of a supposed rival.
Sherwood started as if stung by an adder, at the
damning truth of the allusion. His face became fairly
livid with suppressed rage and chagrin, and biting his
bloodless lips, he rose and slunk out of the apartment,
as would a demon from the presence of some pure
being from the skies, without uttering one word in his
own defense, or even lifting his eyes to the withering
countenance which was bent upon him, with a look of
mingled pity, abhorrence, and contempt. Leaving the
house, the discomfited villain immediately sought
Captain Hendee in an adjoining field, for the purpose
of instigating the old gentleman to measures of com-
pulsion upon the refractory daughter, in furtherance
of his designs. But here, also, he was unexpectedly
doomed to disappointment and defeat. Upon Alma's
return to the house, after the receipt of the communi-
cation exposing the baseness of Sherwood, she had
sought an interview with her father, read him the let-
300
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
ter, frankly confessed her own feelings, and disclosed
all she knew, not only of the course and conduct of
Sherwood, but also that of Warrington, for a part of
which she was indebted to her fair companion, who in
turn received it from her lover, Selden, the intimate
of Warrington. And among the rest, she had made
known to the astonished father the magnanimous con-
duct of the latter in regard to his ownership of the
land on which they resided, the circumstances of which
she herself had never been apprised till that very
evening. And although the old gentleman had lis-
tened to her disclosures without uttering a single word
in reply, from which she could learn his opinions on
the subject, her communications, nevertheless, had
produced a deep impression on his mind and feelings,
that were now fluctuating back and forth, like contend-
ing currents of wind, when but a slight impulse is
required to turn them back in fury in a direction
exactly the reverse from that in which they com-
menced blowing.
"I little expected, Captain Hendee," said Sherwood,
with the air of an injured man, as he approached the
other, "I little expected, sir, when I arrived here to
have met with the reception which I have just received
from your daughter.'
"Why, what's the matter, sir,-what's the matter?”
replied the Captain, with an air of indifference.
"The matter, sir? why, your daughter refuses to
fulfill her engagement to me, sir."
"Ah! what reasons did she give for that, sir?”
"No good reasons, sir. She has been listening to
the tales of slanderers-some enemy has been preju-
dicing her mind against me, by falsehoods-utter false-
hoods, sir!"
"Or has she not heard, rather, more truth about your
manoeuvers than you intended should have reached
her ears? Come, now, be honest, Jake, and tell me.
“Are you, too, in the league against me?-am I to
understand that you, too, justify her in this course,
sir?" hastily demanded Sherwood, nettled at the cool,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
301
indifferent manner of the other, as much as at the
blunt severity involved in his question. "I had little
expected this from you, sir! I should have supposed
the interest of your family would prompt you to a
different course.
99
"Hinging on my obligations, are you, sir?" said the
Captain, turning fiercely on the other, with eyes flash-
ing indignation. "Look ye, Jake Sherwood, I have,
from the very first, used all reasonable exertions with
my daughter, to reconcile her to this match. And even
more, I have done that, which, when I have looked
upon her fading face, and knew that she was martyring
her own heart to please me, has smitten my conscience
for years.
And now I am resolved to leave her to
make her own decisions, unbiased by word of mine.
And as to your threats, sir, all I have to say is, go,
and do your worst! Take all there is here to yourself,
if that will satisfy you, or go join the enemies of your
country, as I have long suspected you intended, and
bring them down upon us to murder and destroy, if
you choose.
But don't think to buy and bribe me to
sell my own flesh and blood! And don't come here
again, sir, with accusations against us, till you can
come with cleaner hands. Good morning, sir!"
So saying, the indignant old man unceremoniously
turned his back on his abashed and astonished guest,
and hastily hobbled off to his work; while the latter,
after standing mute and motionless on the spot several
minutes, and leering on the receding form of the other,
with the concentrated malice of a fiend in his looks,
slowly turned away, muttering between his clenched
teeth, "Revenge! revenge! I wonder if they will
cheat me out of that, too?"
Feeling no desire of returning to the house, or again
encountering any of its inmates, Sherwood now struck
across the fields, and directed his course towards Snake
Mountain, at the particular spot which we have before
described as the encampment of the Green Mountain
Boys; but which was now occupied by another and a
far different company. To this place we will now take
302
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
the reader preceding the baffled intriguer a short time,
to take a glance at the party there assembled.
Sherwood had secretly been in the interests of the
Royalists for nearly two years previous to this period
of our story; and more than a year before he had
received a Captain's commission, with directions to raise
a company in the New Hampshire Grants, in which,
he had represented to the British officers, with whom
he privately kept up a communication, were to be
found many faithful adherents of the Crown. And
Darrow, through Sherwood's influence, had also been
commissioned as Lieutenant of the contemplated com-
pany. But with all that this pair of military worthies
were able to effect, they never had found more than
about a half dozen men in this settlement, to whom
they dared to propose an enlistment into the King's
service. These, with about an equal number picked
up within the borders of New York, they had at length
enrolled, and organized into a fragment of a company,
which, for the first time, had been called out a few
days previous to this time, with the view of co-operat-
ing with the invading army of Burgoyne. About a
dozen in all, they were now encamped, on the ground
formerly taken, as before mentioned, by Warrington
and his companions, and were waiting in concealment
the approach of the British hordes, that were now
pouring down upon the devoted settlement from the
north.
At the time we would introduce this group to the
reader, Darrow had just arrived from the British
camp, whither he had been despatched by Sherwood,
when the latter was on the point of setting out on his
recent visit to Albany. And having taken some
refreshment, the Lieutenant was now sitting on a rough
bench, near the entrance of their shantee, enjoying a
little repose after the fatigues of his morning's march.
He had fallen into a doze, and appeared to be lost to
all external objects; while the men within, mostly
morose, sullen-looking fellows, were some of them
playing cards, some telling stories, and others talking
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
303
over the plans they had formed to revenge themselves
upon certain families in the settlement, against whom
they entertained private grudges, as soon as they
should be let loose upon the inhabitants, at present
wholly unprotected by any military force within their
borders, and but little aware of the dangers that
awaited them.
At this moment, Sherwood, having passed the line
of sentries, posted at intervals round the encampment,
more to guard against being seen and reported by the
inhabitants, than any expected attack, approached his
sleeping subaltern, and tapped him lightly on the
shoulder. But the latter not awakening, the other
grasped his coat collar, and gave him a rough, impa-
tient shake, at which the sleeper, suddenly starting,
leaped on his feet, and dashing away the grasping
hand of his superior, fiercely exclaimed:
"I'll be d-ned, if you shall! You have come before
your time, be off! be off, I say! Oh! ah!" he con-
tinued, rubbing his eyes, and beginning to distinguish
between the reality and the image that appeared to
have been haunting his dreaming fancy: "Why, Cap-
tain, it is only you, after all, is it? Well, well, now!"
"Why, who did you suppose it was, Darrow, I should
like to know?"
"O, no matter, now,-I was in the middle of a cursed
dream, and thought a different character had waited on
me to do a little business in his line--though not so
very different, perhaps. But let the humbug go-
what is the news?"
"Everything that is bad," replied Sherwood, mo-
rosely. "The very devil himself, I would not have
believed, could baffle me so much in my plans, as I
have been, since I saw you.'
""
"Why, what now, Captain? you seem
humor-what has happened?''
"In the first place, the old man is dead.
day before I arrived."
"Well, what of that?
money with him, did he?"
rather out of
He died the
He did not carry off his
304
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"No, but he got penitent before he went off, and
wrote out a confession of that old affair, in a letter to
Hendee."
"And you let it reach him, hey?"
"Not so big a fool as you think. I gave it to the
flames, before it was read by anyone but myself, I
think.
""
"Very well, where are your great troubles, then?”
"Why-why-" replied Sherwood, hesitating to
inform the other, as he was about to do, the particulars
about the will, and the extent of his fears respecting
the disposition of the property, lest the minion might
consider it for his interest to betray him to the Hendees;
"why, I did not think to name it," continued the
artful dissembler, deciding the question he had been
debating in his mind in the negative, "but, upon the
whole, as you already know so much about the affair,
I think I will; well, getting home last night, I thought
I would go down to Hendee's this morning, so I went,
and soon found the devil to pay. That sneaking
tinker had been there and confessed all, and the girl
fairly spurned me from her presence; while her father
-curse the old dotard! he, though owing me for half
his living for years, had the audacity to insult me-
yes, insult me, Bill! But" and he nodded signifi-
cantly.
"But what?"
"I can help myself, Darrow."
"Well, I would do it, Jake, without any more put-
tering with the proud minx."
"I will. My plans are fixed. When did you return
from headquarters?”
"Not two hours ago-I left there early this morn-
ing.
66
'What is the news?"
"The whole army have moved on to the mouth of
the Boquet, where they are now encamped. A large
body of Indians joined them yesterday, and General
Burgoyne distributed presents among them, made a
speech to fix them for fight, and wound off by giving
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
305
Hell and thunder! what
them a grand war-feast.
whooping and yelling there was there, last night! one
would have thought that all tophet had been emptied.
upon the earth, and that the world was alive with
devils!"
"Good! just the instruments for our purpose in pun-
ishing the doubly damned rebels of this settlement.
But did not the General send me any directions?"
"Yes," replied Darrow, taking a letter from his.
pocket, "he sent you this, and also," he continued,
stepping within the shantee and bringing out a thick
package of papers, "and also this bundle of proclama.
tions, to be immediately distributed over the settle-
ment."
"Well, let us first see what the General has written
me," said Sherwood, breaking the superb seal, and
reading the contents of the letter, a very fair specimen
of the official fustian of its doughty author, who, it may
be recollected, was a fop in literature as well as a
braggart in arms. The communication ran thus:-
--
"J. SHERWOOD, Esq., Captain of His Majesty's Loyal
Americans in the New Hampshire Grants:-
"It is one of the felicities of soldiership, and of the
gratifications of a commander, to award the meed of
approbation to fidelity in a common cause, and fealty
to a common sovereign. This meed, sir, I deem it no
flattery to say is yours, speaking, as I do, from per-
sonal acquaintance, and on the voucher of Colonel
Beverly Robinson, a loyal American officer, of worth,
and zeal, and activity.
"The army under my command will now in a day or
two move southwardly, mainly by water, but partly
by land on either side of the lake. To you, sir, and
the brave and loyal men whom you have, and may yet
further induce to act with you, we look for a hearty
co-operation in all that can be effected on the eastern
shore, and, by the blessings of God, I will effect much,
while we proceed to the investiture, and consequent
capture of Crown Point, Ticonderoga, and all other
306
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
opposing obstacles, on our victorious march to Albany,
I send you by the bearer, Lieutenant William Darrow,
a package of proclamations, issued by me, and signed
by the same, and countersigned by Robert Kingston,
Esquire, Secretary. They are addresses to the deluded
and suffering people of your settlement. I anticipate
great and universal effect from this appeal, made irre-
sistible, as it is, by offers of royal mercy to the peni-
tent, arguments of ineffable potency to the deceived by
rebel sophistry and falsehood, and by the palpable
shadowing forth of the sword of justice, in the contin-
gent action of our red allies, to the perverse and stub-
born. You will cause one of these, my proclamations,
to be immediately left at every cottage and hamlet, if
possible, in the settlement-to the protestations of
which proclamation, together with such pecuniary
inducements as you may deem it expedient to offer
towards redeeming the land from the disgrace and
ruinous anarchy of an unnatural rebellion, and restor-
ing a government of laws, of honor, of legitimate and
happy sovereignty, you will add your own attestations.
"With sentiments, believe me, my very dear sir, of
esteem,
J. BURGOYNE.
""
"There! what think you of that, Bill?" exultingly
exclaimed Sherwood, as he concluded the perusal of
the precious document. "Is not that a handsome
thing for a man, who stands so high at the British
court, to say to and of us?"
"Why, yes, Captain, what he means is well enough,
I s'pose; but if a British General had not writ it, I
should have called some of it nothing but damn flumi-
diddle."
"O, it is a feather in our caps, Darrow, depend on't.
Burgoyne is hand and glove with the King and minis-
ters, besides being a noted warrior. He will conquer
all the northern colonies. The rebellion, indeed, is
as good as crushed already. And then the country
will be divided off into lordships, and those who have
been most active in subduing the rebels will all
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
307
receive rich rewards out of their confiscated estates.
Bright days are before us, Bill.
And while we are
thus making our fortunes, what a glorious chance to
pay off old scores upon these rascally settlers? You
can safely act out nature now, Bill, with a vengeance.
We will have our revenge, and the beauty of it is, that
others must father our deeds, and pay us well into the
bargain for what it is only a happiness to perform."
"What are your plans, Captain?"
"You, or I, must go, this very night, over to the
British camp, and get Burgoyne to let us have fifty
redskins to make up our company.
We shall want
them soon, and perhaps I may, for the first purpose.
"Damn it, Jake, you are too thirsty," said the min-
ion, looking keenly at the other and comprehending
the purpose of which he spoke; "they are your own
flesh and blood. You don't mean to let those red
devils loose upon them, do you?”
"No; but leave me to take care of them. They need
not be harmed, but prisoners they shall be till that
haughty jade's pride is brought to begging terms.
And this is the first case, Darrow, to be attended to.'
"I am not quite sure but there is another case for
you to attend to, also, Jake."
""
"What is that?" asked Sherwood, turning to the
other, with a look of blended curiosity and apprehen-
sion.
"Why, perhaps it is all nothing but a notion, after
all. But I will tell you the wrinkle that's got into my
head, and how it got there. In coming from head-
quarters to-day, I ran my canoe generally close in to
the shore of the other side of the lake, and, on arriving
within about a mile of Crown Point, and about as far
as I intended, before crossing over to this side, I took
it into my head I would go up into the woods, climb a
tree, and try to get a peep into the fort, as the general
asked me very particularly about the number of the
garrison there. Well, I went on a piece into the
woods, when I heard the steps of some one crossing
my course ahead, and taking his way to the fort; so I
20
308
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
squatted down in an old tree-top, where I could
remain unseen till he passed by. His course brought
him within a few rods of the spot where I lay; and
when nearly abreast of me, he mounted an old log,
and, without discovering me, took a sort of leisurely
survey of the woods around him, turning his face so
as to give me a fair view of his countenance-and-”
"Well, what more about it-who and what was
he?"
"Why, though not in full uniform, I think he must
be a young rebel officer, who had been out with his
gun for game. Though he must have arrived at the
fort quite lately."
"But who do you mistrust him to be?" asked Sher-
wood, with evident uneasiness.
"That is the question that has been bothering my
brains ever since. Jake, don't you think it possible
for a man to wear about the same face and look that
he did when a boy, so that one, who had never seen
him from four or five years old, would know him again
when grown up?"
"Yes, barely possible; but what the devil are you
coming to, Bill? What has that to do with this case?"
demanded Sherwood, with an agitation which he was
unable to conceal.
"May be a good deal. There was something in this
fellow's looks that struck me,-that made me ready
to swear I had seen the same countenance before,
though somehow, not just the same neither. Well, he
finally went on, and I, forgetting all about spying into
the fort, went back, and struck off for this side, this
fellow's countenance all the while haunting me, and
working up a devilish strange, streaked kind of feel-
ing, that I can't very well describe. Well, as I was
crossing over, still bothering on the subject, I hap-
pened to cast my eyes up the lake, when I caught a
glimpse of old Hendee's house through the trees; and
by heavens! it came across my mind, like a flash of
lightning, who the fellow must be."
"What mean you, Darrow?" exclaimed Sherwood,

DEFENSE OF BREED'S HILL-PRESCOTT IN THE REDOUBT
22
22

12
NIGHT MANEUVERS OF THE PATRIOTS AT BOSTON
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
309
seizing the arm of the other with a convulsive grasp,
while his face became as pale as ashes.
"I mean," replied Darrow, looking his agitated
companion full in the face, and speaking in a low,
measured, and decisive tone, "I mean, Jake Sherwood,
that if Captain Hendee's boy lived, he is now among
us!"
Long and earnestly communed these worthies in
conjectures about the person concerning whom Dar-
row had made, as he felt confident he had, so startling
a discovery. Who could he be? By what name now
known? Could he be aware of his own family history?
Had he discovered his relations? were questions which
were raised by them, but without finding any satisfac-
tory answers. The two last questions, however, were
at length settled in the negative. And, after some
further discussion, in regard to the best means of
ascertaining more about the private history of the
unconscious object of their deliberations, and the most
feasible way of disposing of him, if the information
gained rendered it probable he was the person they
feared him to be, they broke up their conference, Dar-
row retiring to rest, and Sherwood, with two of his
men, as attendants and oarsmen, setting off for head-
quarters, fifteen or twenty miles distant from the Tory
encampment.
CHAPTER XXIV
"Sounds from the waters, sounds upon the earth,
Sounds in the air of battle! Yet with these
A voice is mingling, whose deep tones give birth
To faith and courage."
The storm of war which had been gathering for
some weeks in the north, almost unnoticed by the
Americans, now began to roll down upon their frontier
settlements with a rapidity as alarming as it was
unexpected. Although the leaders of the continental
army were aware of the landing of a large British force
at Quebec, in the month of May, from which an inva-
310
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
sion was expected, either by way of Oswego, as had
previously been given out, or through the valley of
Lake Champlain; yet, counting on the same dilatory
action by which all the movements of the enemy had
been characterized ever since the battle of Bunker
Hill, they supposed it might be late in the summer
before the hostile army, should they take the eastern
route, would reach the military posts on Champlain.
But whatever might have been the errors of other
British commanders in the respect just named, none
of that kind certainly could be chargeable on General
Burgoyne. The navigable waters of the north had
scarcely burst their wintry fetters before he landed at
Montreal. And in another week he was pouring the
disciplined bands of his proud and numerous army
along the western shores of Lake Champlain. The
American generals were, in a great measure, taken by
surprise by this rapid advance of the enemy, and hav-
ing delayed to strengthen their defenses, they were but
illy prepared to meet the first shock of so powerful a
force. And if those whose duty it was to make them-
selves early acquainted with the enemy's movements
had thus been kept in the dark respecting the impor-
tant one in question, still less, as may well be sup-
posed, were the inhabitants of the country apprised of
the time and extent of the coming invasion. The set-
tlers of the New Hampshire Grants, who were directly
in the route of the enemy, were consequently almost
wholly ignorant of the dangers that awaited them till
the storm was nearly ready to burst on their defense-
less heads. And their surprise, therefore, was only
equaled by their dismay, when the American scouts,
who had been despatched to gain intelligence of the
reported invasion, returned and spread the startling
news that a British army of ten thousand regulars,
with several thousand savage foes, was within a few
miles of their borders, ready to spread death and
devastation over their whole settlement. This infor-
mation, which many still hoped might be false, or
greatly exaggerated, was fully confirmed the next
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
311
morning after it was received by the scouts, by Bur-
goyne's proclamations, which, through the activity of
Sherwood's band of tories, had been left during the
night at the door of every house, through all the
northern section of the country. This pompous and
gasconading document, however, with all its promises
and threats, had, notwithstanding its author's antici-
pations, no other effect on the inhabitants than to bring
them to the determination of driving off their stock
so far into the interior as to be out of the reach of the
enemy, and of commencing active preparations for
fleeing, themselves before the invading army.
With these general observations on the situation of
affairs at this particular juncture, we will now return
to the Hendee family, to follow their fortunes through
the fearful trials which were now shortly to await
them.
It was not till night, after the signal failure of Sher-
wood at their cottage, that Miss Hendee had an oppor-
tunity of ascertaining what had passed between that
personage and her father in their recent interview.
That evening Captain Hendee, on his return from the
labors of the day, entered the room where Alma hap-
pened at the moment to be sitting alone, and silently
took a seat at the open window. A frown was upon
his brow. The uneasiness which a man of high spirit
may be expected to feel from a sense of obligations to
one he secretly despises, combined, in the present
instance, with the mean advantage taken of such obli-
gations by Sherwood, had, all the afternoon, been
operating upon the old gentleman's irritable temper-
ament; and he was now evidently in no very pleasant
frame of mind. At the first glance his daughter
detected in his countenance the unfailing indications
of a storm; but on whom it was to burst, she was
unable to determine. From the circumstances attend-
ing the interview between Sherwood and her father,
she felt satisfied that she, herself, had been the sub-
ject of their discourse; and although extremely anx-
ious to know the result of that conference, yet she
312
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
almost feared the knowledge she wished to obtain.
And with trembling solicitude, therefore, she awaited
in silence the announcement, which she saw from her
father's mood would not long be withheld. After
sitting some minutes puffing away rapidly at his pipe,
and knitting his brows, with an angry flashing expres-
sion of countenance, he suddenly drew the implement
from his mouth, and by way of knocking out the ashes,
gave it so spiteful a rap on the window-sill as to shiver
it to pieces in his hand. Hastily dashing the broken
fragments out of the window, he turned abruptly to his
daughter, and said:
'Alma, what did Jake Sherwood say to you to-day?"
"Why, many things, father,—would you wish me to
repeat all he said?"
"Yes. I don't hold to prying into such matters, for
a general rule, but I have particular reasons for wish-
ing to know now.'
Still feeling uncertain on whom the resentment of
her father was about to fall, Alma, with some agita-
tion, proceeded to detail the conversation in question,
giving the words used by Sherwood, and the substance
of her own replies.
"Threats to you, too, hey?" said the Captain, after
listening attentively to his daughter's relation of the
affair. "Why didn't you drive the pitiful puppy from
the house with your broomstick?"
"You astonish me, father!" replied Alma, looking
up into the face of the other with an expression of joy-
ful surprise.
The old gentleman made no reply, but again relaps-
ing into moody silence, sat some time without uttering
a word. At length he brought his foot to the floor
with an angry, decisive stamp-and while the tears,
which were brought to his eyes by his keenly conflict-
ing emotions, were glimmering on the quickly moving
lashes, he again turned suddenly to his expecting
daughter and asked:
66
'Alma, are you willing to become a slave?”
"For my own, and your support, I could cheerfully
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
313
become one, dear father. But a slave to a villain I
can never be.
""
"Nobly said! spoken with the spirit of a Hendee!
would to God I was more worthy of such a daughter!''
exclaimed the passionate old man, choking with emo-
tion. "Come here, Alma, I have been wrong, and you
have been right,-come, come to me, my child, for-
give and kiss me.
In another instant the father and daughter were
locked in each other's arms, intermingling their
tears, and giving themselves up to the gush of feelings
which was overflowing their hearts at this return of
mutual love and confidence to their long estranged and
distrusting bosoms.
"I did not make any reply to you, Alma, when you
laid open to me the conduct of that base and intrigu-
ing villain," at length observed the Captain, releasing
his daughter from his embrace and regaining his
composure, though the other continued weeping.
"But it was not because I doubted the truth of what
you told me, or because I had it in my heart to try to
restrain you any further. It was because I felt self-con-
demned, guilty-guilty for what I had already done
in making war upon the happiness, and, I know not,
but upon the health, of my own and only child. O,
don't weep so-don't, my dear daughter! Thank God,
we have both now cut the ties by which we were held
in bondage, and are free. The Sherwoods may have
all; and we won't trouble them neither to drive us off.
We will leave this place, Alma, for the southern part of
the settlement. As old and infirm as I am, I can still
work. Our faithful Neshobee will also stick by us,
and work as much as an Indian will ever work, for you
know the Indians are a lazy race, and we must make
allowance for him. But at all events, as poorly as we
may fare, our poverty will be happiness compared to
the slavery that Jake Sherwood would now impose on
us if we remain. Yes, Alma, we will go-that is, if
you are willing. What say you, my daughter, are you
ready to relinquish this pleasant home, and go with
314
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
me, penniless, indeed, but with the proud and happy
consciousness that we are free?"
"O, yes, yes, indeed, my dear father," eagerly
replied the other, with a look of joy and gratitude,
that beamed brightly through her still fast-falling
tears; "and never could an eastern slave leave his
gilded fetters behind him with more pleasure than I
shall quit this place. Yes, yes; and, believe me, my
father, however hard my lot-however menial I had
known would be my employment for support, I have
not seen an hour for the last two long and joyless
years, but my heart would have leaped to hear you
make such a proposal. And if such, then, were my
feelings, judge what must now be my pleasure to hear
your announcement."
The conversation was here interrupted by a light
rap on the door, and while the Captain and his daugh-
ter were pausing for a repetition of the sound, uncer-
tain whether it proceeded from some one wishing for
admittance, the door was partly opened by a man
without, and the queer visage of our old friend Pete
Jones was protruded with a comical, inquiring look,
into the room.
"How are ye?" he said, after glancing from father
to daughter a moment, with a half sheepish, half
roguish expression, indicating his consciousness of
having, on a former occasion, played a little upon the
credulity of the old gentleman, of which he felt
slightly ashamed, though still inwardly tickled at the
recollection of the trick: "how are ye, Captain?
Sarvant, marm!”
"It is Mr. Jones of the army, father, the person
who gave me the news I imparted to you respecting
the expected invasion," observed Miss Hendee, notic-
ing that her father did not recognize the scout.
66
'Ah! the tall gentleman that called here once-I
recollect-did you try my remedy-but no matter,
now-walk in, walk in, sir," said the Captain.
"Why, no, tankee," replied Jones, leaning his long
body on his arm, and swaying it to and fro by the
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
315.
play of the door on its hinges as he grasped the handle,
"I guess I'm rather too much in a hurry about these
times.
"You called on some errand, then?-to give us some
news. perhaps?'' rejoined the Captain, expectingly.
"Why. yes-that is, if you would like to hear it-
that is, if you hain't heard it already."
"Speak on, sir."
Well, I thought I'd just pop in my countenance,
as I came along back, to see, that in case the devil was
at your heels, whether you would like to know it?"
"You speak in riddles—how shall I understand you,
sir?"
"Well, I ain't particular, how."
You said the devil?"
"Yes, and his name is Legion. Why, to be plain
about it, Captain, a British army of ten thousand,
with as many red-skins as one would wish to see, will
most likely be here before to-morrow night.'
"You astonish me, sir! Has any news of this
reached the other settlers in this quarter?"
•
I have just sent a brother scout up the road here,
to tell them they may as well be driving off their cattle,
and jogging along south themselves in the course of
to-morrow. I just come from the fort over here, and
they've pretty much concluded to pack up there, and
be off for Old Ti, to-night; so the red-coats and Indians
will have full play along the shores, till they get to Ti,
where there will be something of a brush, likely."
"You would advise us women and cripples, then, to
beat a retreat, would you?"
"Why, yes, that's rather my notion, considering.
Though Burgoyne says-haven't you seen his pro-
clamation?"
"No."
The Tories have
"Well, you will soon, I guess,
scattered 'em as thick as bumblebees along north of
here. Burgoyne says, as nigh as I can English the
high-flown concern, stay at home, sell him your cattle,
and he will protect you.
But if you budge an inch,
316
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
he will let loose the red-skins to act at their pleasure
upon you. And what that will be, you know as well
as any man, they say, Captain."'
And
"Yes, I know enough of their tender mercies.
I know also that Burgoyne, whatever he may promise,
can no more restrain the hell-hounds, after he has
once let them from their slips, than he can crupper the
whirlwinds. Montcalm tried that experiment on
that dreadful day of blood and horror, at Fort William
Henry-at least, I think he tried to avert the catas-
trophe: for Montcalm, though an enemy that troubled
us much, was yet a brave man; and as a general rule,
my friend, you will never find a truly brave man either
cruel or treacherous. The great sin is in employing
the Indians. And this circumstance will do much, in
the present case, to hasten the destruction of Burgoyne.
Even the dead, almost, will rise up to bear arms
against him.
All New England, in a week, will be
in motion. In another week, as he passes along up
the lake, they will be hanging like an angry thunder-
cloud on his flank. And, mark my word, sir, this
General will find, before he reaches Albany, that
neither his numbers nor his proclamations will save
him.'
"
"The Lord grant you may prove a true prophet, and
I think, upon the whole, you will. Howsomever,
Captain, it will be considerable of a chore to bring it
all to pass.
And while we are fixing for it, I rather
guess you, along the northern parts here, may as well
make yourselves scarce a little.
And
"We intend it, sir. Indeed, as regards my family,
we had already determined on a removal soon.
now we shall follow your advice immediately, with
many thanks to you for calling. Let me see our first
move shall be for Rutland, where we can probably
safely remain a few days, to conclude on a place for a
more permanent residence.
""
"Will you, sir," said Miss Hendee, with a slight
blush, as she perceived the scout was about to depart,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
317
"will you apprise our friends in the army of the des
tination we think of taking?"
"Will you take this, sir, to the person to whom it is
addressed?" said Miss Reed, who, during the latter
part of the conversation, had been nimbly plying her
fingers over the blank leaf of a little volume which
she had been reading in an adjoining apartment, when
the scout's voice and anticipated errand brought her
into the room. "You see, Alma, I am not afraid to
write to my beau; now I will leave it to the Captain to
say, who is the bravest?" she added, turning to the
latter with an expression in which roguish defiance,
and fear of disapprobation, were queerly blended.
"Ah, girls," said the Captain in reply, after a
moment's hesitation, which seemed to end in a con-
clusion to treat the matter good-naturedly, "you may
be setting your caps for men that will be swinging
on the gallows in three months: for you know, in
attempted revolutions, men are only patriots and
heroes when they succeed, and are but rebels and
traitors when they don't."
"We prefer, however," replied Alma, with spirit,
"to set our caps for men who may be hung on that
principle, rather than for those who should be hung
on every other.
""
"Is there not a law, Captain Hendee," asked Jessy,
archly, "that a man may be pardoned on the gallows,
if a lady can be found who will step up and marry him
on the spot?''
"Why, I have heard such stories," replied the Cap-
tain, laughing, "but supposing there was such a pro-
vision, in this country, you little quiz?''
"Why, in that case," replied Jessy, casting a
roguish look at Alma, "I think there are certain
officers in our army who need not be under any great
apprehensions of being hung at present.'
""
'Now, that is what I call grit," observed Jones,
who had been looking on the two beautiful and spirited
creatures before him, with an admiration equaled only
by his surprise. "The Colonel and Captain know con-
318
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
siderable well what they have been about, after all, I
see. Well, I must be jogging, I guess, Captain, so
good nighty. And you, gals, may the Lord bless ye
and keep you steadfast in your resolution! If I had a
hogshead of blood, it should all be shed for ye, and
the like of ye. Trol, lol, lol, lol de larly!'
During that night and the following day, all was
bustle and commotion throughout the northern part of
the settlement. "To arms! to arms!" resounded in
every direction.
And nearly all the able-bodied men,
promptly responding to the call of General Schuyler,
whose expresses were seen furiously dashing along
the roads to rally the hitherto slumbering settlement,
seized their rifles or muskets and hastened off to join
their countrymen in arms, leaving the old men, invalīds
and boys, to take charge of their families, in remov-
ing from the scene of danger. The stock was collected
in droves, marked with the initials of the owner's name
and started off for the south; while the inhabitants,
taking with them all the articles of value, which their
respective modes of traveling would permit, collected
in small companies, and soon followed.
The party
whose destinies more immediately concern our story,
consisting of Captain Hendee, Neshobee, the two
young ladies, and their respective female domestics,
in the course of the day, bade adieu to their pleasant
cottage, and mingled in the general flight, which, by
night-fall, brought them in safety to the house of a
hospitable friend, nearly twenty miles distant from
the home, to which, as they supposed, they were never
more to return.
¡
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
319
CHAPTER XXV
Not all so much for love
As for another secret close intent,
By marrying her, which I must reach unto,
But yet I run before my horse to market;
Clarence still breathes. Edward still lives, and,
When these are gone, then must I count my gains."
Several unforeseen circumstances connected with the
removal of their effects, together with the impression
that they were now so far south as to be in no very
immediate danger from any incursions of the enemy,
having induced our party to accept the invitation of
their kind entertainer to remain a few days at his
abode, nearly a week had unfortunately been suffered
to elapse without resuming their journey. Aroused,
however, at length, by the news that Burgoyne had
reached Ticonderoga, and closely invested the fortress,
while a party of Tories and Indians were ravaging the
country to the north of them, both the families of Cap-
tain Hendee and his host determined on an instant
departure for a place of more safety. Accordingly,
with a few hasty preparations, they started in their
respective carriages about the middle of the afternoon
for Castleton, which they were under the expectation
of being enabled to reach by daylight. The day being
excessively sultry, Captain Hendee, after traveling
a while at rather a brisk pace, checked his horses, and
suffered them to fall into a moderate walk, during
which the other party, who were in advance, and who
seemed less disposed to slacken their speed, passed
entirely out of sight, and soon became widely separ-
ated from their more tardy fellow-travelers. When
our party had proceeded several miles in this leisurely
manner, and while the Captain, to use a quaint and
somewhat curious expression of the poet Parnell, was
"deceiving the road," by the relation of one of his old
320
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
war stories, they were met by a stout-built, though
an ordinary-looking, and slovenly-dressed man on
horseback, who, after closely scrutinizing the com-
pany a moment, stopped his horse, indicating, at the
same time by his looks and gestures, a wish that the
others would stop also. Supposing the stranger was
desirous of making some inquiries, Captain Hendee
instantly pulled up his horses, and sat waiting, with
an air of expectation, for the man to proceed with what
he might have to propose.
"I was thinking what your name mought be, Mis-
ter," at length began the horseman, with a bold, saucy
air. "It kinder seems to me I have seen you some-
where or other."
"Very possibly, sir,” replied the Captain, in a man-
ner sufficiently cool and repulsive, as he thought, to
check the intrusive familiarity of the other.
"Well, I knowed I had," rejoined the stranger, not
at all abashed by the coolness with which his advances
had been met, "and yet I don't know as I can quite
call you by name.
??
"My name is Hendee, sir.'
??
"Ah! O, yes;-you live down there against Crown
Point?"
"Yes; or at least we did till within a few days. But
how happens it, that you are going to a part which,
at this time, the settlers are so generally deserting?"
"Why ain't it safe traveling that way?"
"It would be for some, doubtless," replied the Cap-
tain significantly.
"Well, I s'pose you've hearn of me," observed the
stranger, evidently disconcerted at the suspicions which
he perceived were beginning to be entertained of him,
"my name is David Remington. You are acquainted
in Castleton, ain't you?"
"Yes, with several individuals in that town.''
"Well, that's where I live, when I'm to home. Do
you know Mr. Woodward there?"
"I do, sir."
"I want to know? Well, now, he is one of my near
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
321
neighbors. Here's a paper he gin me, t'other day.
Jest read it, will ye?"
Captain Hendee, with an air of curiosity, not unmin-
gled, however, with surprise, at an offer so gratu-
itously made to an entire stranger, took the paper,
which the other now extended to him, and read as
follows:
This may certify that David Remington, the
bearer hereof, is thought to be a true friend to the
States of America.
"JOSEPH WOODWARD, Com. of Safety.
"Castleton, June 2d, 1777.”
"This appears to be genuine, and should be suffi-
cient," remarked the Captain, musingly, as he handed
back the paper. "Have they received any news at
Castleton within a day or two, sir?" he added, with
more freedom of manner than he had before exhibited
towards the other.
"News?-from where?"
"From our forces at Ticonderoga, I mean, of
course.
"Oh, yes, I s'pose so-why, I came from there
myself, last night.
"
"Indeed, sir? Well, what is the prospect of St.
Clair's being able to cope with the enemy, so as to put
a stop to their progress at that place?"
"Cope! hum! He will be lucky if he don't get
coped himself, I guess."
"What, sir? The garrison are in no danger of being
taken themselves, surely?"
"Well, sir, I don't pretend to know nothing about
it; but I shouldn't be surprised if the folks about here
heard news, within twenty-four hours, that made 'em
stare."
"Impossible! But what is the situation of affairs
there, that leads you to this conclusion?"
322
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Why, sir, the situation is, that General Red Hazle,*
with his Jarman brigade, has got possession on this side
of the lake, up as far as East Creek, where he is now
posted; while General Burgoyne has entirely enclosed
the fort on the t'other side. And what is still more,
hẹ has cut out a road, and drawn up a whole slew of
cannon clean to the top of Mount Defiance, which he
will have all mounted, and ready to pour hell and
thunder down on 'em in the fort before they dream
of it."
"Is it possible that St. Clair can have suffered Bur-
goyne to get possession of that commanding spot for
such a purpose!" exclaimed the Captain. "I knew,"
he continued, "that most of our officers in the old war
used to consider that mountain inaccessible with artil-
lery. I, however, always thought differently, and
agreed, in this respect, with Major Putnam, who, I
well remember, suggested the project of getting can-
non up this eminence to General Howe, as our army
was approaching the fort the day previous to the battle
which cost poor Howe his life. And had that gallant
young nobleman, who was the only lord of common
sense whom the British ever sent to America, been
spared, the thing would have been done, and we should
have taken the fortress, instead of drawing off our
army without effecting anything. But, as I said, is it
possible that St. Clair can have permitted this in an
army approaching from the north, and wholly unac-
quainted with the surrounding localities?".
"It is true, anyhow; and if they don't find them-
selves in a pickle, there in the fort, by to-morrow
morning, I lose my guess," replied the other, with a
satisfaction which he was unable wholly to conceal.
After a few apparently careless inquiries respecting
the destination of our travelers, and their expectation
of reaching it, Remington seemed suddenly to become
*From original papers, still preserved, written by those whose
spelling was evidently guided solely by the common pronunci-
ation of words, it appears that Gen. Reidesel went, to a consid.
erable extent, at least, by the name of Red Hazle.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE READ TO THE ARMY
23

GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS AT STONY POINT
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
323
convinced that it would not be prudent to proceed any
further in the land-looking excursion, which he stated
was his business to the north, and announced his
intention of immediately returning. Accordingly,
wheeling round his horse, and bidding the company
good day, with the remark that he should probably
ride rather faster than their team would travel, he
rode off at a moderate trot, till the intervening bushes
at the first turn of the road screened him, as he sup-
posed, from the sight of those he had just left, when
he applied his whip, and dashed forward at full speed.
"What opinion did you form of that man, father?”
asked Miss Hendee, after they had ridden some dis-
tance in silence.
99
"Why, but for the certificate of so true and vigilant
a friend to the cause as Woodward, who undoubtedly
signed it, I should certainly have had strong suspi-
cions that the fellow was some designing Tory,
answered the Captain, indirectly, and with the tone of
one still doubting over evidence which he could not
reject, nor yet receive as wholly conclusive.
"I know not," rejoined the other, "that I can give
any good reasons for my impressions; but there was a
certain something about the man, which, from the
first, struck me unfavorably. And is it not possible,
that he may be secretly in the interest of the enemy,
notwithstanding his certificate, which, without being
asked, he was so ready to show?"
"I noticed his readiness to show the paper," again
replied the Captain, without any direct answer to his
daughter's question. "And it also occurred to me that
he appeared to be far better acquainted with the move-
ments of the British than with those of our own
army.
""
"And did not you think, Captain Hendee," observed
Miss Reed, "that he betrayed a secret pleasure, when
relating the perilous situation in which he stated the
American forces to be placed?"
""
"I don't know that I noticed that in particular,'
said the Captain; "but if he be a Tory, and has told us
21.
324
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
the truth, I fear he has too much reason to rejoice. I
cannot, however, think that St. Clair would fail to keep
open a way for retreat, so that the garrison shall not
be taken, in any event.
""
"Here, Neshobee," said Alma, as the Indian, who
had traveled mostly on foot, keeping generally a few
rods in advance of the horses, now fell back to the side
of the carriage; "you have sometimes shown yourself
a shrewd guesser; and we will have your opinion in
this case. What did you think of the man father was
talking with, just now?"
"Me guess him have two tongue-mean something
no good," replied the native, in his usual quiet man-
ner. "Him no think me see him through the bush,
when him ride away slow-then look back for find out
we see him, then whip-off a gallop!"
"So much the better," remarked Jessy, "for the
faster he goes, the further he will get from us.
"Neshobee, perhaps, would draw a different infer-
ence," said the Captain.
"Why should he, father?" asked Alma.
But the other, not willing to alarm the ladies by
naming his secret apprehensions, which, after all,
might prove groundless, made only some evasive, or
indifferent reply, and became silent.
"He can have no immediate communication with the
Tories and Indians, by going in that direction,"
resumed Alma. "They, if we are rightly informed,
are still far behind us.
"They were behind us," observed Captain Hendee,
relapsing into silence, in which his example was soon
imitated by the rest of the company, all of whom
seemed oppressed by that undefined sense of impend-
ing danger, which is sometimes felt without the incli-
nation-on account of conscious inability, perhaps,—of
communicating it to others.
It was now drawing towards sunset; and our party
had yet nearly ten miles to travel before reaching
their proposed destination for the night. They had
been, for some miles, passing through a dark, contin-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
325
uous forest, whose unvaried gloom soon began to be
increased by the shades, which, before the usual hour,
were slowly stealing over the wilderness, in conse-
quence of the broad and deepening masses of vapor
now gathering along the western horizon.
And pres-
ently, the low, deep rumbling of distant thunder, .
heralding an approaching shower, reached the ears of
the company, and increased their anxiety to gain some
opening, at least, before storm and darkness, to say
nothing of their secret apprehensions of more terrible
foes, should overtake them. Casting an uneasy glance
at the lurid and threatening aspect of the heavens,
Captain Hendee applied the whip, and was urging on
his horses to renewed efforts of speed, when his arm
was suddenly seized by the convulsive grasp of his
daughter:
"Stop! stop! father!" she exclaimed, in a low, hur-
ried tone, "look at Neshobee! There is danger near
us!"
All eyes were at once directed towards the Indian,
who was now about a dozen rods in front of the car-
riage. He had turned round, and with quick and
eager gestures was motioning them to halt. Instantly
reining up the horses, and bringing them to a stand,
the Captain, with the rest of the company, continued,
with intense interest and alarm, silently to watch the
motions of the native, who seemed to be still in con-
siderable doubt, either of the nature of the appre-
hended danger, or of the exact point from which it was
to proceed. After standing a short time, however, in
the attitude of listening, slowly turning his head, as
his eyes were keenly searching the woods around him,
he hastily started back, and, pointing to a dark thicket.
nearly abreast of the carriage, leaped nimbly behind
a tree, and seemed awaiting some expected result.
The next moment the shrill, quavering sounds of the
terrific war-whoop, issuing from the coverts in every
direction, announced to the appalled travelers the fear-
ful character of the foe by which they were sur-
rounded. And in another instant, a score of painted
326
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
savages leaped from the bushes, and menacingly
brandishing their tomahawks aloft, closely invested
the carriage. Knowing it would be utterly useless to
attempt any resistance, the old veteran put up the pis-
tols, which he had drawn out on the first alarm, and,
while the shuddering females, with a terrified glance
at the frightful group around them, were burying their
faces in their hands, very coolly proceeded by signs,
and such phrases as he supposed might be understood,
to signify to his assailants that he yielded himself and
family as prisoners. The captors, having ordered out
their prisoners in the road, immediately fell to work
with their knives, in cutting the harness from the
horses, each of which, when released, was mounted by
one of the enemy, and ridden off into the woods; while
the carriage was run into the nearest thicket and con-
cealed. The prisoners, including Neshobee, who, in
attempting to escape, had been seized and brought
in, were then placed in Indian file, alternately with a
sufficient number of their captors to guard the whole,
and marched out of the road the same way in which
their horses had been previously taken, which soon
brought the company into an old, overgrown path,
leading through the forest in a westerly direction. In
this manner our party were urged forward at a rapid
pace for nearly an hour, during which not a word was
uttered by either captors or captured, with the excep-
tion of Captain Hendee, whose irritable temper occa-
sionally broke out in a half-suppressed anathema, as
he jarred a rheumatic limb, while hobbling along the
rough and frequently obstructed path. At length, to
the great and unexpected joy of the wearied captives,
the cheering light of an opening broke upon their
view, affording hope that the fatigues under which
they were nearly ready to sink were now to be ter-
minated for the night; and that they were to be favored
with quarters in some kind of a house, instead of an
unsheltered bed of earth in the wilderness, as they had
anticipated. The opening, consisting of thirty or forty
acres of land, and containing two small log tenements,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
327
with a barn of similar construction attached to one of
them, was situated along the margin of a picturesque
pond, embedded in a forest of majestic pines. On
entering the clearing, Captain Hendee instantly per-
ceived, from appearances about the cabins, that they
had reached the headquarters of the gang who, as he
rightly concluded, had taken possession of the place
since its desertion by the inhabitants. His horses,
that had arrived before him, had been turned out; and
were now quietly grazing in the field; while a large
number of the enemy, nearly equaling that of the
party who had been engaged in the capture, were scat-
tered about the place, some bathing in the pond, some
fishing, some pitching quoits, and others lounging
about the buildings. As he approached this portion
of the enemy, the Captain soon noticed a difference in
the appearance of many of them, as contrasted with
that of such of his captors as had come under his
inspection, which, with his acquaintance with the pecu-
liar motions and demeanor of the natives, immediately
led him to suspect that a considerable part of the
band, though painted and habited like Indians, were
white men in disguise. And he now readily understood
that he was indebted for his present misfortune to the
traitor, Remington, who, being secretly connected
with this band of Indians and Tories, had doubtless
been employed by them to bring intelligence of the
approach of such families as should be passing along
the road; though why his own family should have been
thus particularly marked for capture, while others
were suffered to escape, it did not at that time occur
to him.
When our party, with their captors, arrived at the
first cabin, which they reached about dark, they were
halted at the door, while a consultation was held at
some distance aloof between two or three, who
appeared to have the control of the band; after which
one of them came forward, and, having first caused
Neshobee to be taken to the barn, motioned to the rest
of the prisoners, except Miss Hendee, who stood in the
328
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
rear, to enter the house. Perceiving it was intended
to separate her from her friends, the alarmed maiden
suddenly darted by her immediate keepers, and
attempted to reach the door at which her father at
that moment was entering. A rough hand, however,
was instantly extended, and grasping her arm, rudely
pulled her back.
"Kill me, if you will," she exclaimed, "kill me, but
let me die with my friends."
"Prisoners can't always be choosers, my proud
one," said the apparent savage, in good English.
"It is Darrow!" said Alma, with blanching features,
and with a look of alarm, which the brandished toma-
hawk of the Indian had failed to call forth. "I see it
all, and know the design. Death I fear not; but such
a fate!-Oh! as you value the innocence and eternal.
peace of your daughter, protect me, my father.
""
Comprehending the meaning of his daughter, and
appreciating all apprehensions, even before she had
done speaking, the maddened father hastily drew a
pistol from his pocket, and discharged it full at the
head of Darrow. The bullet grazed the temple of the
astonished ruffian, and his locks were slightly singed
by the burning powder; but he escaped with no other
injury. Recovering from the shock of the explosion,
he hurriedly pulled out one of the heavy pistols which
hung in his belt, raised it to the breast of his unflinch-
ing opponent, and, with the look of a fiend, was in the
act of taking deliberate aim, when the heroic girl,
who was the innocent cause of the strife, suddenly
threw herself between her father and the weapon lev-
eled for his destruction. After holding the deadly
implement in the same threatening position nearly a
minute, as if deliberating whether he would send the
bullet through both father and daughter, for the sake
of wreaking his vengeance on the former, the balked
villain with an angry movement thrust the pistol into
its place, and turning to his men, fiercely exclaimed:
"Seize the damned old dotard! Secure him, and let
him wait for my revenge till I have disposed of this
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
329
silly jade. She will soon find out, I guess, what she
has gained by the rumpus," he added, again grasping
the arm of his recoiling victim, and, regardless of her
shrieks, roughly dragging her off to the other cabin;
while, in obedience to his orders, his painted minions
proceeded, with demoniac glee, to bind the old gentle-
man and thrust him with the rest of the prisoners into
the house. With the assistance of his men, several of
whom he ordered to attend him, Darrow soon succeeded
in forcing his half senseless victim to the other cabin,
situated on the shore of the pond, near the western
extremity of the clearing; when, opening the door, he
gave her a spiteful push, which sent her reeling
through the entrance, at the same time gruffly exclaim-
ing:
"There, madam! there are your quarters for the
present. And let me just inform your ladyship, that
the less fuss you make about the matter the better it
will be for you.
""
With this he drew the door to and, after posting a
guard round the house, returned to the main body of
his band, who were now assembled round the first-
mentioned house, busily engaged in cooking their sup-
pers in the open air, or patching up the leaky roof of
the log barn, to protect those from the threatened
storm who should be compelled to take quarters in it,
in consequence of the arrangement which the leaders
had seen fit to make of placing the prisoners in sepa-
rate houses.
After being left alone, Miss Hendee made an effort
to regain her composure. And having succeeded in a
good degree, she proceeded, by the dim twilight yet
remaining, to examine the interior of the house, con-
taining but a single room on the ground-floor. Three
or four old chairs, a rough pine table, and a straw bed
laid upon a rudely constructed bedstead, with a couple
of coarse blankets for covering, constituted all the
visible furniture of the cabin. With these observa-
tions, she seated herself in a chair, and endeavored to
think coolly on the novel and alarming situation in
330
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
which she now found herself placed. From Sherwood's
known connection with Darrow, the apparent leader
of the present band, she had but little doubt that the
former was in fact the commander of these marauders,
or at least the instigator of the seizure of herself and
family. And in either case, she was at no loss to
understand that the possession of her person was the
main, if not the only object, of the present capture.
Nor did she doubt, for similar reasons, that Sherwood
must be near,—probably already on the ground. And
from the circumstance of her being separated from her
friends, and confined alone, she felt but too fearfully
certain that a fate was in reserve for her on which, at
the best she could hope for, she shuddered to think.
After she had remained in this situation a while, list-
ening to every movement from without, and starting
at the sound of every footstep, lest it prove the herald
of a visit from Sherwood, which she now every moment
expected would be paid her, and to which she looked
forward with a dread that the anticipated presence of
no other foe could impart, the door was thrown open,
and a man unceremoniously entered. She hastily
rose from her seat and threw a look of alarm towards
the intruder. A second glance, however, told her that
he was not the dreaded visitor, but only one of the
disguised Tories come to bring her lights and refresh-
ments. Placing the torch which he bore in the chim-
ney, the man silently advanced, and set a trencher of
coarse food on the table; after which he turned, and
departed, neither questioning nor questioned. Feel-
ing no inclination to taste the food, the hapless girl
resumed her seat, and again gave herself up to the
distressing thoughts which her situation was so well
calculated to inspire. The last gleams of twilight had
now faded away, and night had fallen upon the earth
with almost Egyptian darkness. There was a low,
rushing sound abroad, betokening an approaching con-
flict of the elements. The attention of Alma being
arrested by these renewed indications of the storm,
which, for several hours, appeared to have been slowly
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
331
concentrating its forces in the distance, she arose and
went to a narrow window that opened upon the dark
waters of the forest girt pond. The ominous sounds
before heard had given place to the more audible mur
murs of the troubled air, which, in fitful and variant
undulations, now moaned dismally along the ground.
and now piped, in brief and broken strains of melan-
choly music, among the tops of the neighboring pines.
Large, black masses of jagged clouds were hurrying
through the heavens, which were occasionally made
visible by slight, quivering flashes of the electric fires,
partially disclosing the broad outlines of the convolv-
ing vapor above, and dimly lighting up the dark land-
scape of wilds and waters beneath. While the maiden
was looking abroad upon this scene of gloomy mag-
nificence, which seemed strangely to harmonize with
the kindred gloom of her own sad and desolate bosom,
a bright but far-off flash gleamed fiercely athwart her
vision. Turning her eyes to the quarter whence it
proceeded, she beheld a distinct, attenuated and
ribbon-like flame approaching from a distant part of
the horizon, and describing in its apparently slow and
crinkling movement, as it came, an arch of fearful
splendor across the illuminated heavens. The next
instant it fell upon the top of a towering dry pine,
standing on the opposite shore of the pond, and hurled
the blazing fragments of its giant trunk in every
direction over the woods, and far into the hissing and
bubbling waters around. A single stunning report
followed, and all without was again dark and silent.
Recoiling at the shock of the deafening concussion,
and almost blinded by the intensity of the flash, the
astounded girl turned suddenly from the window, and
attempted to grope her way back to her seat. Before
reaching it, however, a slight noise within the room
arrested her steps. Pressing her hand upon her eyes
an instant to enable her to discern the objects in the
dimly lighted apartment, she sent an apprehensive
glance towards the door, when, to her unspeakable
dismay, she encountered the basilisk eyes of Sher-
332
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
wood, who was quietly standing within the entrance,
and looking upon her with an expression in which
guilt, effrontery and triumph were singularly blended.
Leave me!" she exclaimed, as the other now began
to advance towards her; "leave me, sir!" she repeated
with all the firmness and decision of manner she could
command, while she gradually retreated to the oppo-
site side of the room.
"Why should I leave you, captious girl," he
responded in his usual and affectedly meek and plaus-
ible manner, “why should I leave you, or you desire
it, when I am the only friend to whom you, or your
family, can look for intercession with those into whose
power you have fallen? Having heard of your misfor-
tune, I hastened immediately to the spot, and have
but this moment arrived.
15
"Base dissembler!" said Alma, with an indignation
which, for the instant, seemed to overpower every
other feeling, "will you pretend, sir, that these are
not all your doings?"
"Why-why, I admit, he replied, considerably dis-
concerted at the question and pointed manner of the
other, which led him to suppose that she had by some
means received a much more certain knowledge of his
connection with the band than she really had; "I admit
that these men belong to a company which I have a
commission to command. But I protest, I have had
nothing to do with your capture. And why should
you always be imputing to me the worst motives for
every action I may perform? Here, now, I come to
befriend and save you; and you receive me only with
insults!"
"I will put the sincerity of your professions to the
test, sir," promptly rejoined the other. "If you really
came to befriend me and have the power, as you admit,
let me go instantly to my father and friends.
"Why, the time has arrived, it strikes me, when I
am under no very particular necessity of being further
dictated," sneeringly replied the villain, now throwing
off the mask, which he perceived was serving him but
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
333
little purpose. "I have a certain condition to propose,
and when you comply with that, neither you nor your
family are longer prisoners."'
The heart of the wretched girl sunk within her, but
she made no reply.
"You have not forgotten, probably," resumed the
other, "our late interview, when I proposed the fulfill-
ment of a long-settled engagement.-Well, if you
have, I have not, nor the manner in which my over-
tures were then treated. But notwithstanding all the
scorn and abuse I have received both from you and
your father, I still feel disposed to allow you a chance
to fulfill that engagement, which, as a prisoner, and
in my power, is more than you could reasonably expect.
I am still willing to make you my legal wife; but it
must be done on the spot. I have a clergyman within
call to perform the ceremony. Will you consent?"
"Never!" replied the indignant and yet uncon-
quered girl. "What! consent under such circum-
stances-under the menaces here held forth, and the
feelings here exhibited?—I would as soon unite myself
to a fiend! consent to such a mockery, intended only
to disguise violence and outrage, under the sacred rite
of marriage? Never! While death can be my alterna-
tive, O, never!"
"But supposing death cannot be your alternative,
you foolish girl?" said the miscreant suitor in a taunt-
ing tone. "You will do well, perhaps, to bear in mind
that your person is already in my power; and that I
am the one to name your alternative. And I shall
name one, too, in which I shall be likely to dispense
with the services of the parson.
""
"Monster!" exclaimed the aroused maiden, with an
energy which insulted virtue alone could have
excited, "begone with your polluting presence, lest
the thunders of Heaven, which are now angrily rolling
over our heads, strike you to the earth in vengeance
for your meditated villainies!''
With all the innate baseness and disguised effrontery
of his nature, Sherwood could not help quailing under
334
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
the withering scorn and almost unearthly majesty
which accompanied this bold rebuke; and unable to
suinmon the hardihood to proceed any further at pres-
ent, he turned towards the door, muttering as he went:
"Well, we will soon see who is to be balked this
time! Two hours," he added, pausing at the thresh-
old and looking back, without, however, venturing to
raise his eyes to the face of the other, who still stood
fearlessly confronting him,-"just two hours shall be
allowed you to conclude which of the two alternatives
you will embrace, and in making up your mind, you
may as well take into consideration that your father
attempted the life of my Lieutenant, who will require
such an inducement as I alone can offer him, to make
him relinquish his purpose of revenge."
After the first glad and grateful sensations of relief,
which came over the feelings of our heroine on being
freed from the dreadful presence of her relentless per-
secutor, had passed away, all the moral energy that
had sustained her through her fearful trial forsook
her, while, with it, her over-strained nerves, which so
powerful an excitement had braced for the exigency,
gave way; and weak, exhausted, and despairing, she
tottered across the room and throwing herself upon the
miserable pallet, yielded herself up, for a while, to the
dread certainties of a fate which now even ever-
flattering hope could suggest no way of escaping. For
her family she felt no great apprehensions of any fate
much more severe than that which usually falls to the
lot of ordinary prisoners; since the present contest, as
she was aware, had so far been conducted, wherever
the Indians had been employed, on altogether differ-
ent principles from the preceding wars in this country.
And contenting themselves with plunder, the savages
had generally, on making prisoners, delivered them
over unharmed to their white allies, when such only
as had been found in arms were retained, while the
rest, especially females and the young and aged, were
soon dismissed for their homes. Nor could she believe
that either Darrow or Sherwood really intended as they
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
335
had threatened, to make her father an exception for
an act which, however hasty it might have been, had
resulted in no injury. But all these considerations
could, in her present peculiar situation, be of no avail
to herself. An immediate escape, or some sudden
rescue, were apparently the only means of snatching
her from the impending doom. And yet how were
either of these to be effected? Any attempt to get
from the house, guarded as it was by posted sentries,
the sound of whose footsteps frequently reached her
ear, she knew would be utterly useless. Equally futile
also must be the hope of any rescue till long after her
fate would be decided. No other resource, therefore,
remained to her but to face the danger, as terrible as
it was to her, even in the least abhorrent of the alter-
natives which had been set before her, and persevere
in the determination she had already announced of
resistance unto death. And she earnestly besought
the great Protector of the innocent and injured to arm
her with strength and fortitude to meet the coming
trial, or interfere, in his mercy, to save her from its
terrors and perils.
While the mind of the almost frantic girl was thus
painfully engrossed, as she was reclining on the bed
with her face buried in the clothes, a noise, differing
from anything she had before heard, and proceeding
from some point above, but seemingly neither exactly
within nor without the building, had several times
reached her ear. And now it became too distinct not
to attract her particular notice. Startled, though as
yet not seriously alarmed, she hastily rose and endeav-
ored to ascertain the nature of the sounds that had
disturbed her. The rain, which had now for some
time been heavily pouring to the earth, had extin-
guished the fire, and while utter darkness pervaded
the room, nothing was to be heard but the ceaseless
roar of the descending torrents. At length, however,
the noise was repeated. It appeared to proceed from
the flue of the chimney, down which it soon became
evident that something possessing life and motion
336
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
was slowly and cautiously descending into the room;
but whether it was a man, or wild beast, she was una-
ble to determine. Presently the mysterious object
seemed to reach the hearth. And, in a short time, the
dark outlines of a seemingly shapeless figure became
discernible to the perplexed, and now thoroughly
frightened maiden. Her excited imagination instantly
took wing, and in the bewilderment of the moment,
the motionless object swelled into a ferocious mon-
ster, preparing to clutch her in his horrid embrace.
A strange feeling of undefined fear and dread took
possession of her bosom, and seemed to paralyze all
her faculties. She tried to speak, but could utter no
sound-to move, but her limbs refused to do their
office, while a peculiar, cold, curdling sensation, com-
mencing with the crown of her head, settled over her,
converting her whole system into a helpless, inani-
mate and frozen mass, alike incapable of thought and
action. At that instant a vivid flash of lightning lit
up the room with the brightness of the noonday's sun,
and broke the spell that had so strangely enthralled
her senses; for, equally to her joy and surprise, she
beheld, in the object of her alarm, no other than her
faithful friend Neshobee, who, uncertain whether the
room might not contain some of the enemy as well as
his mistress, whom he knew to be confined here, had
squatted in the fireplace, after his descent, with the
view of ascertaining the fact before he should speak or
advance.
"Umph?" uttered the Indian, apparently nearly as
much relieved as his mistress, at the mutual dis-
closure. "Missus Alma speak very no loud," he con-
tinued, in a half-whisper, as he glided noiselessly for-
ward to her side, and laid his hand on her arm in
token of caution. "Them three Tory, what stand for
watch, all gone fore side for get out of the rain, and
so no see Neshobee climb up back side and come
down chimney. But Missus talk soft, them stand
close up side, hark um, hear um, catch um Neshobee."
'How fares it with my father and the girls-are
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
337
they still in the other house, and yet unharmed?"
eagerly whispered Alma.
66 'All um there. Them Tory and Indian all in the
barn when the rain come. Leak down, make um jump,
crowd thick, so no see Neshobee creep away.
Me go
back side tother house, peep through crack, see um
there when flash come bright. Cappen hands all tie
tight. Him look sorry. Three tother girls lay on
straw in corner-cry much-all look very scare.
"And what is to become of us, Neshobee?" asked
Alma, mournfully, as she brushed away a tear, elic-
ited by the Indian's brief but graphic and touching
description of the situation of her friends.
"Neshobee no get in there for help Cappen and
them. But me help Missus Alma up chimney, get out
and they no hear so long the rain pour hard.
"No, no, Neshobee, it is impossible,” replied Alma,
after reflecting a moment on the proposal of her
friend, who had run such risks to rescue her. "Could
But
I succeed in getting out upon the house, my light
dress, if nothing else, would betray us to the guards,
and we should both be taken. And even could I
escape, how could I withstand an exposure all night in
the woods to this dreadful storm? No, Neshobee,
leave me to my fate, which will probably be decided
long before you can be the means of our rescue.
my poor father and the girls you may perhaps be
instrumental in saving. Then go, Neshobee.—If you
succeed in escaping from this place, proceed directly
to our army at Ticonderoga, and tell them that we are
prisoners to Sherwood and Darrow, with a band of
Tories and Indians. Tell Colonel Warrington, or Cap-
tain Selden, that father's life is threatened—that I—
O, heavens! but let my situation be passed over. And
should they send a force to deliver us, as I know they
will, you can guide it to the spot. Now don't hesitate
to leave me, my faithful friend,-to leave me to the
care of Heaven," sh added, laying her hand on the
other's shoulder and gently pushing him towards the
avenue by which he descended into the room. "Don't
338
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
delay an instant. Go, and I will ask the blessing of a
good Providence to speed you on your way.'
"Me go," laconically responded the native, vanish-
ing from the sight of his mistress in the darkness, and
silently ascending the chimney.
After anxiously listening a few moments to the cau-
tious egress of her messenger, and satisfying herself
that he had reached the ground, and escaped undis-
covered, the unhappy girl once more returned to her
homely couch,-not there, however, to find repose or
any alleviation of the woes that so deeply oppressed
her feelings. The distracting apprehensions, from
which her mind had been in some measure diverted by
the presence of her humble friend, now, on his depart-
ure, returned with ten-fold force to her mind. And a
feeling of utter loneliness and desolation took posses-
sion of her desponding bosom. Conscious that the
time set by Sherwood for his return, to execute one of
the dreadful alternatives with which he had brutally
menaced her, was now nearly at hand, and her feelings
becoming, at the maddening thought, too intense to
permit her to remain longer quiet, she arose, and
again took her station at the little window. The storm
cloud still girt darkly and heavily the whole visible
horizon; and the elements were in fearful commotion.
The howling of the blast, as it swept over the vexed
wilderness, attended by the crash of falling trees, the
deep, but varying roar of the deluging torrents of
wind-driven rain, and loud over all, the terrific peals
of bursting thunder, preceded by flashes of lightning
that seemed to envelop earth and heaven in a blaze,
came mingling on the senses in awful tumult. And
yet the scene, as awful as it was, and would have been
to her under ordinary circumstances, had no terrors
for the wretched captive now;-nay, as the forked
lightnings were leaping from cloud to cloud, and dart-
ing to the earth in terrific gambols around her, she
felt a strange pleasure in their fearful proximity.
And, regarding them as the instruments of Heaven,
which might, perhaps, be commissioned for her deliv
!
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
339
erance, she often, during that dreadful hour, under
the wild impulses of maidenly terror and despair, with
which the recurring thoughts of her situation filled
her, involuntarily stretched forth her hand towards the
deeply charged clouds, as if to invoke the fatal shaft
to descend, and snatch her from a doom to which death
was a boon of mercy. But that Heaven to which she
was looking to relieve her thus, had reserved her for
another fate; the storm rolled heavily away, and left
her beauteous form unscathed. The rain at length
ceased; and the lightnings, as they played along the
black parapet of clouds, that lay piled in the east,
shone with less dazzling fierceness, and only to show
the ravages which the tempest had left behind.
mute and desponding, the lovely captive stood with
her eyes still vacantly riveted on the receding storm,
she, during the continuance of a bright and lingering
flash of lightning, cast her eye obliquely towards the
quarters of her enemies, when she caught a glimpse of
a man picking his way along the half-flooded path
leading to her cabin whom she instantly recognized to
be the dreaded Sherwood. A deadly sickness came
over her, her brain begun to whirl and she sunk sense-
less on the floor.
As
CHAPTER XXVI
"For freedom's battle once begun,
Bequeathed from bleeding sire to son,
Though baffled oft, is ever won."
While the incidents last described were transpiring,
an event occurred which spread consternation and
alarm over all the neighboring country. This was the
unexpected evacuation of the important fortress of
Ticonderoga, to which the Americans seemed to have
confidently looked as a barrier which was to interpose
an effectual check to the further progress of Burgoyne
in that quarter. But whatever may have been said of
the remissness of General St. Clair in suffering the
enemy to gain those advantages which compelled him,
22
340
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
for the salvation of his army, to evacuate that post, and
whatever disasters were immediately occasioned by
the movement, the final consequences which resulted
from the event proved highly auspicious to the Amer-
ican arms.
For while it inspired the British General
with an undue confidence of success, and caused him
to push rashly into the heart of the country, it at once
aroused the Americans from the apathy with which
they seemed to have viewed the approach of the
invading army, and kindled up the flagging spirit of
patriotism to a pitch of enthusiasm that soon brought
the rallying bands of the hardy yeomen of the north
to the post of danger, and led to that series of brilliant
achievements which terminated in the entire over-
throw of this formidable array of British power.
Scarcely had St. Clair succeeded, under cover of
darkness, in reaching the eastern shore of the lake,
and getting his army in motion for the interior, before
an active pursuit was commenced by General Frazier,
with a large detachment of British regulars, followed
by General Reidesel with most of the Brunswick
forces. The Americans, however, kept some miles in
advance of the enemy through the day; and St Clair,
with the main body of his troops, pushed forward that
night as far as Castleton, leaving the rear guard of the
army, consisting of about a thousand men under the
command of Colonel Warrington on the road some
distance behind, where he encamped at a farm house
within three miles of the place which was the same
night occupied by the lawless gang of Sherwood and
their unfortunate captives, all parties being equally
ignorant of their vicinity to each other.
With this glance at the situation of our army, with
whose movements were more or less closely linked the
destinies of all those whose individual fortunes we
have undertaken to follow, we will now go on with our
tale, which the crowding events of the next twenty-
four hours were destined to bring to its catastrophe.
And leaving our fair and persecuted captive in the
happy state of insensibility in which we last described
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
341
her, we will now follow her trusty messenger on his
adventurous way to the American army, which both
he and his mistress supposed was still posted at Ticon-
deroga, some twenty miles distant.
Happily succeeding in leaving the cabin and gaining
an adjoining field, undiscovered by the guards, Nesho-
bee, after stopping a moment to pitch his course,
plunged directly into the tangled and dripping wilder-
ness lying along the northern borders of the pond.
Pausing at every considerable interval of darkness,
that still almost impenetrably shrouded the earth, and
darting forward by the views which the fast flashing
lightning afforded, he threaded the difficult mazes of
the forest with a rapidity rarely attainable by any but
natives of the wilds. Passing round the western
extremity of the pond, and bending his course in a
more southerly direction, an hour's traveling brought
him to the great military road leading directly to the
lake. The storm having now ceased, he hastily
stripped off his drenched garments, wrung out the
water to enable him to run with more expedition, rein-
vested himself, and again set off at a long trot down
the road towards his supposed destination. It was to
be his fortune, however, to travel but a short part of
the distance for which he had prepared himself. For,
after proceeding about a mile along the now unob-
structed way with a speed to which his feverish anx-
iety lent wings, he came to a large opening, which
presented the unexpected appearance of numerous
dimly-burning fires scattered through an extensive
field. Stopping short at a spectacle so unusual under
the present circumstances, the cautious native imme-
diately put his ear to the earth, and listened long and
intently. A low, mingled hum, as of a hushed and
reposing multitude, rose in a scarce perceptible mur-
mur on the air; and soon the slight jar of measured
footsteps, resembling the distant tread of slowly-
pacing sentinels, became distinguishable to his acute.
senses. No longer doubting the presence of an
encamped army in the opening, but wholly ignorant
342
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
of its character, he cautiously crept forward, rising,
from time to time, to discover, if possible, without
exposing himself, whether it was a friendly or hostile
force, which he had thus unexpectedly encountered.
Keeping within the range of a stump, or some object
by the roadside, to screen his approach, he crawled
along about a dozen rods, and again paused for a more
careful observation. The clouds were now rapidly
breaking away, and in the increasing light, he was
soon enabled to trace the outlines of a sentry, stand-
ing motionless as a post in the middle of the road, but
a few rods ahead. While he thus lay, tasking his
vision to discover something in the dress, arms, or
appearance of the man, from which the fact he sought
to know might be inferred, the waning moon shone
out through the parting clouds, and disclosed to the
startled Indian the British uniform of the sentry, and
at the same time the numerous tents of the enemy
dotting the fields in the distance beyond. The first
thought of Neshobee, on making this alarming discov-
ery, was to secure a retreat from this dangerous vicin-
ity to the sentinel, though he was wholly at a loss what
course he should now take to find those to whom he
had been despatched for succor. But his doubts in
this respect were set at rest by information he the next
moment obtained from an unexpected quarter. For,
while he lay anxiously watching a cloud that was near-
ing the moon, and promised in a few moments again
to obscure her light, which now made it hazardous for
him to move from his position, a soldier approached
to relieve the one on guard.
"Well, Tom," said the soldier just arrived, "you
have had a devil of a drenching this bout, haven't you?
Why! what! has the man turned to stone? Say, Tom,
why don't you answer me?”
"O, yes, yes," replied the other, arousing himself
from his stupor, "yes, wet enough-a ghastly time
I've had of it, Jerry, since I've been out here. Hang
me, if I haven't got quite enough of this chasing the
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
343
Yankees into the bush. I wish 'twas over. But do you
know the orders for to-morrow?"
"Why to chase the d-n'd rebels till we take them,
be sure. Our Captain has just returned from General
Frazier's quarters, and he says they have a sort of go-
between, by the name of Remington, who came
directly from the Yankee camp, and brought word
that the main body of the rebels have got about ten
miles ahead, while a regiment or two, under a Colonel
Warrington, are encamped within a league of us on
the road. And the plan is, I believe, to move on, at
daylight, to the attack of the nearest force. And if
the main body return to the rescue, why, we have
General Reidesel, with a plenty of Hessians, a few
miles behind, to back us; so very likely we may get a
tolerable bush fight of it, before it is over, particu-
larly as this Warrington, they say, is a fellow of grit;
and his men are mostly Green Mountain Boys, who
have more of the regular-built bull-dog about 'em than
anything the Yankees have got in their ragamuffin
army.
"Well, Jerry," replied the other, in accents partak-
ing somewhat of the doleful, "I can't exactly tell how
'tis, but if we do have a battle, I have a notion I
shan't live through it.
""
"Why, what makes you think so, Tom?"
"O, I don't know-I feel it creeping over me, and
that ain't all, I am very sartain-'deed I could swear
to it-that I saw a shape out there in the road yon-
der, a little while ago, that rose right up out of the
ground, and then stood kinder quivering a minute,
and vanished. I expect it was my spirit, Jerry.
"Pooh! man, your liver must have got water-soaked
here in the rain, to make you down in the mouth about
such whimsies. Here, take a suck at my canteen.
There! now back to your tent, your pluck will be up
by morning."
Animated by the cheering intelligence he had gath-
ered from the conversation above detailed, every word
of which had reached his attentive ears, the native
344
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
slowly and noiselessly withdrew from the spot in the
now favoring darkness till fairly beyond the sight and
hearing of the guard; when he began rapidly to retrace
his steps along the road towards the American encamp-
ment, to which we will now repair in anticipation of his
arrival.
It was a calm and cloudless morning that ushered in
the day so long remembered in Vermont for the san-
guinary conflict of Hubbardton, which proved so
destructive to the boastful and haughty foe, while it
widely scattered the weeds of woe throughout her
infant settlement. The sun had just burst over the
long range of eastern mountains, whose broad, empur-
pled sides lay looming in the distance and a thousand
sparkling exhalations were rising from the storm-
beaten encampment of the Green Mountain Boys.
Though deeply worn and fatigued by the forced march
of the previous day, and drenched to the skin through
the night, yet the troops were already in motion,
eagerly engaged in preparing themselves for whatever
emergency might follow, and while hastily snatching
their morning's repast, many an eye was turned
anxiously towards the quarters of their gallant com-
mander, where it was understood a council of war was
being held to determine whether to continue their flight
after the main army or remain to give battle to the
pursuing enemy. At length the officers were seen
emerging from the quarters in question, and with
quickened steps returning to their respective corps,
while the increased activity which succeeded through-
out the camp indicated the importance of the result
now communicated.
"Well, Captain Selden," said Warrington, as rous-
ing himself from the reverie into which he had fallen
after the council had broken up, he looked around and
observed that his confidential friend now remained
with him in the apartment, "what do you think of the
argument of Hale, and those who so strenuously
opposed our proposition of making a stand against the
enemy?"
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
345
"Quite as well of their arguments as their patriot-
ism, Colonel, promptly answered the person
addressed. "Shakespeare never better evinced his
knowledge of the human heart than when he put into
the mouth of one of his secretly craven boasters the
salvo argument that 'discretion is the better part of
valor.
999
"The inference is a sharp one, Captain, but I fear
me, too well deserved. There was one thing, how-
ever, which gratified me: not a single officer from the
Green Mountains opposed the proposition. And it is
so with the troops of my regiment. I was out among
them this morning by daylight to gather their feelings
on this subject; and, though the poor fellows were.
wet, weary, and war-worn, I found our Green Moun-
tain Boys universally burning for the encounter.'
"There is no doubt of it. But after all, Colonel, I
fear these preachers of prudence were prophesying by
instinct, when they told us we had a bloody day's work
before us. The force we are sure to encounter is, per-
haps, more than double our own; and we know not
how many more are on their way to reinforce them."
""
"I am aware of all this. But as soldiers can we
longer endure the thought of being driven before the
foe?-as citizens and settlers of these our mountain
homes, can we see the enemy marching into the heart
of our country, and strike no blow for its protection?
As little as the people expected our evacuation of Ticon-
deroga, much less will they expect us to continue a
flight which will soon leave the whole settlement
exposed to the ravages of the merciless minions of
Burgoyne. With my own regiment alone, I can make
a successful stand against the force which immediately
menaces us with an attack; and if more arrive, the
reinforcements which St. Clair will surely send us,
when our express shall reach him, will be in season
for the rescue.'
"General St. Clair may send us a reinforcement,
but-"
"May? he must! And if he does, and will send
346
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
another force round the rear to cut off the enemy's
retreat, they are all ours before sunset.
Think you
Ethan Allen would be found longer skulking before
the foe, or, if in St. Clair's command, would suffer a
man of them to return to the lake alive, or uncap-
tured?"
"Never! but Ethan Allen is not our general. And
the man who suffered the enemy to get possession of
every commanding post round Ticonderoga till we
had good reason to evacuate, may still, like some of
his humble imitators in our council just now, think
it prudent to take care of himself, and leave us to do
the same."
At this moment the sergeant of the guard entered
the door.
"Colonel," said he, "we have taken a prisoner this
morning, who came from the direction of the enemy;
and though he professes fair, and pretends business
with you, yet having no pass, or papers of any kind,
and refusing to give any further account of himself,
we have kept him under guard, till we thought you
might have leisure to examine him.
66
What is he,- -a British soldier?"
"No-an Indian, or part Indian, I should think."
"Bring him here, instantly," said Warrington, with
an expression of interest.
The sergeant accordingly left the apartment, and in
a few moments returned with Neshobee by his side,
when, upon an intimation from his superior, he with-
drew, leaving his prisoner and the two officers by
themselves.
"Neshobee, my good fellow," exclaimed Warring-
ton, advancing to the native, and shaking him cordially
by the hand. "I hope they have not misused you; but
how came you here?"
"Me come for purpose find you. Missus Alma—”
"Alma Hendee! where is she?" eagerly interrupted.
the Colonel.
The Indian then related to his astonished auditors,
in his peculiar manner, the particulars of the capture
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
347
of the Hendee family, and all of the subsequent occur-
rences which had come to his knowledge till he
reached the American encampment.
"Execrable villain!" exclaimed Warrington, with
unusual bitterness, after a few questions and answers
respecting the number and equipment of Sherwood's
gang had been rapidly exchanged between the excited
officers and the native, "execrable villain! but his
triumph shall be a short one!"
"God grant it!" responded Selden, with the same.
spirit, "but what do you propose, Colonel?"
"To proceed instantly to their camp, storm it, and
rescue the captives within this hour-if possible,
within this very hour!"
"And you are willing to risk, even at this emer-
gency, the absence of men enough to accomplish
it?''
"I must,
-as much as we may need them, I must
risk it. And would to God, that my duties would
permit me to head them against this farrago of fiends
incarnate. Will you perform the service, Captain
Selden?"
"Most joyfully.
""
"Go then. Take your company, including Jones
and as many of his scouts as you think best.
If you
succeed, furnish the family with an escort to a place of
safety, or bring them to the rear of the army, as cir-
cumstances shall dictate.-Stay, Selden, a moment,
he continued, approaching the side of the spirited and
impatient young officer, and speaking in a low, confi-
dential tone, "I am well aware that this may be a day
of danger of death to many of us-tell that lovely girl
her frank and noble explanation has been received and
appreciated that my heart has ever been, and is now
doubly hers-that if I survive, I will soon be by her
side, and if I fall, my last thoughts will be upon
her.
At that instant the quickly successive reports of a
dozen muskets in the direction of the expected enemy
broke the stillness of the morning, announcing a col-
348
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
lision between the opposing outposts, and the battle
at hand.
"To arms!" exclaimed the commander, rushing out
into the open air, and leaping upon his charger that,
caparisoned and ready for his gallant rider, stood
impatiently pawing the ground at the door, "to arms,
instantly to arms!"
As the loud and thrilling tones of the well-known
voice of their idolized leader rung through the camp,
falling upon the ears of the aroused and excited troops,
every man sprang for his musket, and the busy quiet,
that one moment before had reigned through the
tented lines, was at once changed into the noisy din of
preparation. Captain Selden, in accordance with the
arrangement just settled between him and his supe-
rior, hastily formed his company, briefly informed his
men of the object of their proposed expedition, and
amidst the clangor of rattling steel and rolling drums,
mingled with the stern, brief words of command, filed
off rapidly across the field towards the northern forest,
and, with Neshobee as guide, soon disappeared within
its borders.
Let us now return to the captured. The first object
that saluted the eyes of our hapless heroine, on recov-
ering her consciousness, was the dimly seen figure of
Sherwood standing in the doorway, in the attitude of
one whose attention on entering had been suddenly
arrested by some unexpected sight or sound behind
him. The next instant a man on horseback came
dashing up furiously to the spot. Hastily closing the
door behind him, Sherwood immediately advanced to
the side of the halted horseman; when the following
dialogue distinctly reached the ears of the eager
listener within:
"Captain Sherwood-ain't it?"
"Yes-Remington, I believe, from the voice?-Well,
what news?"
"Important-great-glorious!"
"Aha, what is it?"
"The rebels have evacuated Ti!"
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
349
up.
"The devil! and all escaped?"
"Every scoundrel of them, but their race is nearly
"Why? How? Where are they?"
"St. Clair, with the bulk of them, made shift to
push on to Castleton by dark,-Warrington with a
regiment or two, now lies encamped at Seleck's farm
right against us over on the military road. General
Frazier, who followed hard on their tracks through the
day, lies at Lacy's Camp, with his brigade; and Red
Hazle and his Jarmans are but a few miles behind.
"And what is Frazier's plan?"
"To move upon Warrington at daylight; and he told
me to tell you to be on hand when the attack is made,
-flank the rebels in the woods, and keep on ahead of
them to cut off their retreat. But the order needn't
interfere with your business here," added the traitor,
with a knowing chuckle, pointing towards the house.
with one hand, and giving his master a significant
nudge with the other. "There's no need of your march-
ing before break of day; so you see you'll have time
to-"
"Hush! speak lower, you prying devil,—she'll hear
you."
"Well, well; but what is to be my share for this
night's job?"
British gold,-Burgoyne will see to that."
"Yes, I know that; but I mean what share of the
same kind of coin that you are about to make free
with? You understand me, hey?"
"That's asking more than you have any right to
expect, Remington."
"The hell is it! I know there is game to be had,
and if I can't have my share, when my betters are
helping themselves, I'll know the reason why, by-"
"Yes, but don't get in a passion about it. Something
of the kind may be effected for you, perhaps. The
Scotch girl is promised to Darrow. But there are two
maids. It can be managed, possibly-"
"To-night?"
350
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Why,-why, not very conveniently-if you will
delay till to-morrow night--but hush! hush! who is
that?-who is that coming in such haste?"—hurriedly
exclaimed Sherwood, as startled by the sound of rapidly
approaching footsteps, he looked round and distin-
guished the figure of some one hastily making his way
towards them.
"It is the Lieutenant's gait," observed Remington,
whose situation on his horse enabled him best to deter-
mine the point in question. "And it is Darrow, too,
ain't it?"
"Yes, I am the chap," responded the ruffian, strid.
ing up to the spot. "Where is the Captain?-O, here!
Jake, the devil is to pay!"
"What is the matter?" eagerly asked Sherwood.
"Why, it may be matter enough for us soon, if
what Remington here says about the rebels being so
near us is true-Hendee's cursed Indian has escaped!"
"Hell and furies! Bill, who suffered that?”
"The lubberly curse that you set to guard the red
scamp in the corner of the barn got asleep, I s'pose;
and the confusion and crowding caused by the storm
prevented any one else from seeing to it."
"How long has he been gone?"
..
"These two hours, for aught I can ascertain.
"Did you see anything that could be taken for the
imp, on your route, Remington?"
"No, Captain. As soon as I found that the rebels
were on the road, I rode several miles round in by-
roads, to reach the British camp.”
"Well, Darrow, we must move," said Sherwood, after
musing a moment; "I know that fellow well. He
will know what to do without being told, and will be
as cunning as Satan in bringing it about. In beating
about for help to rescue the family, he will learn
Warrington's position, which ten to one he has reached
before this. You, as well as I, can guess what will
come next. Within an hour, a hundred of Warring-
ton's bull-dogs may be upon us, with ambuscades in
direction around us. We must march, and that
every
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
351
instantly. Our private plans, Bill, must be deferred
till another night. And, by that time, I am thinking,
there wont be enough left of the damned scoundrel, or
his men, to trouble us We will take to the hill on
the south end of the pond yonder. The moon is com-
ing out; and this breeze will shake the water from
the trees, so that we can make our way comfortably.
Go forward, Darrow, and be mustering the men.
Remington, let me mount that horse, till we enter
the woods. Guards! ho! you may close up round the
house now, and in a few moments we will relieve you
of your charge."
If ever an offering of unfeigned, unmingled grati-
tude ascended to Heaven from the lips of mortals for
boon bestowed, it was that of Alma Hendee, as on
bended knees she poured out the incense of her gush-
ing and grateful heart to her divine Preserver for this
temporary deliverance from the perils that so nearly
threatened her. She had scarcely risen from her
devotions, when a messenger from Sherwood's quar-
ters entered and summoned her to attend him to the
other cabin. She obeyed with cheerful alacrity and,
in a few moments more, was in the silent embrace of
her friends, receiving the low murmured caresses and
blessings of her overjoyed father, on whose bosom she
lay sobbing till interrupted by the stern, harsh voice
of Darrow at the door, commanding them all to come
forth, to be taken with the band in the movement
which had been so hastily concerted by the alarmed
leaders!
On emerging from the house the prisoners found the
entire band of their captors drawn up in the yard,
waiting only to receive them before commencing the
contemplated march. And, after the former had been
ordered to take their places near the center of the line,
separated from each other by the alternate inter-
mingling of guards as on the afternoon's march, the
whole moved silently forward across the pasture in the
direction previously mentioned by their leader. When
they arrived at the outskirts of the clearing, Sherwood
352
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
relinquished the horse, upon which he had thus far
superintended the march, to Remington, and after
sending off the latter on some secret destination, took
his station at the head of the forces, and plunged
directly into the forest. After many windings through
the pathless and still dripping woods, for the purpose
of confusing or misleading their enemies, in any
attempts which might be made to follow the trail, they
bore down upon the pond, and soon struck into an old
Indian path running along the margin of the water
towards the south. In this they slowly pursued their
dark, and often difficult way, till day-light; when
arriving at the southern extremity of the pond, and
being here, as they believed, out of the reach of any
immediate danger from pursuit, they withdrew a short
distance from the vicinity of the water, and halted to
wait the operations of the hostile armies, being now
within a short distance of the clearing in which the
action was expected to take place.
A
After scouts had been despatched to watch the
movements of Warrington's forces, and some time
spent in inspecting their arms, and preparing them for
instant service, the band, at the intimation of their
leaders, proceeded to partake of a hasty repast, con-
sisting mostly of bread and dried meats, which each
produced from his own knapsack, with the exception
of the officers and captives, for the supplying of whom
one of Captain Hendee's horses, loaded with provi-
sions and tent-cloths, had followed in the rear.
scanty portion of this kind of food, with a gourd-shell
of water, was, after a while, sent to the faint and
wearied prisoners by Sherwood, who seemed studi-
ously to avoid coming himself into their immediate
presence. The meal was partaken by the captives in
gloomy silence, which, except here and there in the
ribald jest of a Tory, or the low guttural grunt of a
savage, was imitated by the mongrel gang of ferocious
and brutal looking fellows around them.
Scarcely had they finished their homely repast, when
a rattling peal of distant musketry, followed by the

THE FIGHT AT CONCORD

IMPRESSING AMERICAN SEAMEN
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
353
sound of rolling drums furiously beating to arms, came
booming through the forest, awakening the echoes of
hill and dell for miles around, and startling both cap-
tives and captors by the sound, now well understood
by all as the herald of the approaching conflict.
"To the hills! forward to a station on the hills!"'
loudly shouted Sherwood, now for the first time openly
exercising the command in the presence of the
prisoners.
Hastily forming a line of march, Sherwood, with
quick and eager steps led his men up the ragged steeps
towards his proposed station, leaving the brutal Dar-
row, who had charge of the rear, in which the captives
were now placed, to goad on the infirm old Captain,
and the tender and already exhausted females, to keep
pace with the rest. After a rapid and fatiguing inarch
of half an hour, at almost every step of which the
forest around them was resounding to the roar of
thickening conflict on the plains to the right, they
reached the summit of a wood-covered hill, which
overlooked the extensive opening to the west, now
occupied as the scene of action by the contending
armies. Immediately detaching about a dozen of his
most trusty Tories with Darrow at their head to guard
the prisoners, Sherwood, with the remainder of his
force, proceeded some forty or fifty rods down the hill,
and took his station in the bushes bordering the open-
ing, to wait a favorable opportunity to co-operate with
his British friends. The guard, on the departure of
Sherwood, wishing to take a stand themselves where
they could witness the battle, ordered the captives for-
ward to the brow of the hill, and permitted them to
take seats upon the edge of a cliff, which afforded
them, through the openings of the overhanging foliage,
a distinct view of the field of conflict. A grand and
thrilling spectacle now burst upon their view. At the
distance of less than a mile, in the broad field beneath
them, stood the plain and hardy sons of liberty,
unflinchingly engaged face to face, and often arm to
arm, in deadly strife with the gorgeous and disciplined
354
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
bands of their outnumbering foes,-the fluttering
standards and glittering arms of wheeling squadrons
now flashing in the morning sun, and now enveloped
in clouds of eddying smoke, as the fires of a thousand
death-tubes blazed fiercely along the opposing lines;
while hill and forest around seemed rocking responsive
to the deafening thunders of the embattled plain. With
an interest equally intense, but with emotions widely
different, was the scene witnessed by the little group
of captives: for while Alma and Jessy gazed in silent
awe upon the fearful spectacle, trembling and amazed
at the tremendous din that rose from the spot, and with
bosoms painfully beating with secret anxiety for the
fate of their betrothed lovers, engaged, as they believed,
in the hottest of the strife, and exposed every instant
to the missiles of death, or already weltering in their
gore among the dying and dead,-while, with such
agitating emotions gazed they upon the scene, Captain
Hendee watched the progress of the contest with the
experienced eye of a soldier, and with a view to its
general results. For nearly an hour the battle raged
with unmitigated fury. Alternately driving and
driven, the contending foes, without any permanent
advantage to either, fiercely disputed for the mastery
of the field; while volley after volley, bursting in rapid
succession along the serried lines of the opposing
fronts continued to sweep the plain with the leaden
tempest, covering it with heaps of the dying and the
dead. At length there was a momentary lull in the din of
battle. Even the "stormy music" of the shriek-
drowning drum for an instant ceased to send up its
monotonous roar from the field of conflict. And all
beneath the broad and veiling cloud of smoke, that
hung over the spot, at first seemed as silent as if that
cloud had been a pall for an army of the dead. The
next moment, however, a sound reached the quick
ears of the female captives more fearful than the
thunders of battle.
"List! what is that?" asked the girls, with a simul-
taneous exclamation, and looks of horror. as the pierc-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
355
ing and mingled wail of many voices came wafting on
the breeze with awful distinctness to the ear. "Oh,
father, what dreadful sound is that?" repeated Alma,
with a shudder.
The old gentleman, whose less acute organs had not
been affected by the sound, without replying turned
an ear towards the fatal field. The same hideous,
though low and distance-mellowed screech came up
again from the spot with the succeeding undulation of
the fitful breeze, but was the next instant lost in a
fresh burst of martial music, which once more sent its
swelling roar over the surrounding hills.
"It is the cries of the wounded!" said the Captain,
turning to his unheeding auditors, for they sat with
their hands tightly pressed upon their ears to exclude
the abhorrent sound. "But it is over-it is over now,'
he continued, motioning them to withdraw their
hands.
Understanding the gesture rather than the words,
the girls hesitatingly unstopped their ears, and turned
a mute and startled look of inquiry upon the Cap-
tain.
"It was the groans of the wounded," resumed the
Captain. "It is, indeed, a dreadful sound to one not
inured to the horrors of war. The first time I ever
heard it, I well remember, it made my hair rise
upright on my head, and filled me with more terror
and dread than the bullets of the enemy. But it does
not often occur, and should never, as it disheartens the
men; yet it will sometimes happen, when some sudden
change in the order of battle is taking place on both
sides at the same moment."
"And do you suspect any important change is about
to take place in the present battle, father?" anxiously
inquired Alma.
"I do, child. I can perceive there is a movement
going on among our troops. There! do you see that
officer dashing at full speed along the lines, as he occa-
sionally appears in the openings of the lifting smoke?
He is rallying and forming for a fresh onset, and is
23
356
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
probably the chief in command, who you understood
was to be-
"It is! it is he!" exclaimed Alma, with trembling
eagerness. "Yes, it is he, and yet spared, thank
Heaven!" she added, checking herself, and sinking
her voice into an almost inaudible whisper, “but oh!
the perils which the next moment may surround him!"'
and she buried her face in her hands to conceal her
emotion.
"Well, whether Warrington or another," observed
the Captain, "the officer in command there is winning
glory for himself and his country. I have never seen
a defense against a superior force conducted with
more ability than he has displayed, nor a field disputed
with more determined intrepidity than this by the
men under him; at least by all those who have yet
engaged. But there is one battalion standing aloof
by the copse, yonder, whose movements I neither
understand nor like. I wonder who they are?"
"That is Colonel Hale's regiment, " said a voice
from the rear. "We have no great fears of him, or his
men; but them dare-devils in the thickest of it, there,
are Green Mountain Boys, and I'll own-but they've
got to knuckle soon, for Red Hazle can't now be more
than a mile or so off, and then——”
The Captain turned his head, and beheld in the
speaker the traitor Remington, who had arrived
unperceived, and now stood unblushingly, and with a
malicious and exulting leer, looking him in the face.
The double-faced villain, however, was met by the old
veteran with such a withering look of scorn and con-
tempt as caused him to pause in his remarks, and soon
to slink away behind the guards.
Muttering a few deep and bitter curses upon the
object of his aversion, on whom he looked as_the
despicable instrument of his present misfortunes, Cap-
tain Hendee again turned to watch the progress of the
battle.
"Keep your eyes on the field, girls," said the old
gentleman, after closely scanning the appearance of
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
357
the belligerent forces a moment. "They are evidently
on the eve of some important evolution. There! see
there! there goes the fire of our whole line upon them
in a single blaze! Ah! that fire must have told dread-
fully on the enemy: he continued, with an exulting
air, while waiting for the dispersion of the smoke,
that, curling its wavy folds over the American lines,
at this terrible volley, concealed for an instant both
them and their foes completely from view. "Yes,
dreadfully, as they acknowledge, by not returning the
fire. There, you can just see their scarlet lines now,
--and in confusion, staggering and recoiling in confu-
sion, as I live! And, by Jupiter! see! how like
lightning the black masses of the continentals are
throwing themselves into columns! They charge!
they charge! Heavens! what a clash of encountering
steel-but no wavering in the charging column
yet! On they move! And, by the Lord of Heavens!
the red-coats give way before them! They reel-
break, and run,—yes, see! see! the poor, beaten
devils are fairly taking to their heels! ha! ha! Hur-
rah for the Green Mountain Boys! ha! ha! ha! ha!"'
And the excited old veteran, breaking the restraint
which his situation, as a closely guarded prisoner, had
imposed, leaped up, and clapped his hands in gleeful
exultation.
"Stop that d--n'd old fool's gab!" shouted the
nettled and chafing Darrow, who, having taken å sep-
arate station in the bushes, some rods distant, stood
deeply absorbed in the movements of the field, when
the old gentleman's exclamations reached his ears:
"stop his gab, I say! or spit him on your bayonet, and
hurl him over the cliff. Hell! Here, let me come-I
may as well have my revenge now as ever!”
As with angry growls Darrow was hastening through
the bushes to the spot, the nearest guard brought down
his piece, and drew back for a thrust at the Captain
with his bayonet; but in the act, he suddenly started,
dropped his musket, gave a convulsive screech, sallied
back, and was on his way to the earth, when the sharp
25
358
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
and stunning report of a dozen rifles, from the back of
the hill, burst upon the ears of the startled captives,
and their no less astonished captors, who, in their
eagerness to see the action, had neglected to keep
watch against a surprise from pursuing enemies from
the woods.
"There! take that, damn you!" exclaimed Darrow,
as, more intent on accomplishing his meditated revenge
than attempting a defense, he sprang forward, the
instant he perceived himself attacked, within a rod of
the captives, discharged his pistol at Captain Hendee,
and, without waiting to see the effect of his shot,
which his eager haste had luckily rendered a vain one,
jumped off the cliff, and, venturously leaping from
shelf to shelf down the precipice, disappeared in the
direction of Sherwood's station at the foot of the hill.
The surviving Tories, for four of them had been
stretched lifeless upon the earth by the shot of their
assailants, discharged their guns at random towards
the covert of their yet unseen foes, and fled along the
cliff to the south, to gain the gorge where Sherwood
and his party had descended. But they were a moment
too late to effect their object. The movement having
been perceived by Selden's party, for, as the reader
has doubtless already anticipated, the assailants were
no other-they suddenly closed up that end of their
line, and cut off the retreat of the fugitives, who,
quickly tacking about, commenced their flight back
towards the captives, with the view of escaping along
the ledge to the north of them.
"Aha! ye scampering satans, you can't go that this
time!" exclaimed the sharp and rattling voice of Pete
Jones, who, with a dozen sturdy fellows at his heels,
at that instant burst through the bushes, and came
down like a whirlwind upon the baffled Tories, in time
to prevent them from gaining the thicket in the rear
of the captives—"spread out, there, boys, and be ready
to give 'em the lead at the word," continued the scout,
motioning to his men, who promptly complying, cocked
their rifles, and throwing themselves into a half circle,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
359
continued with hasty steps to advance upon the
affrighted wretches, now standing huddled together on
the brink of the precipice, and looking wildly around
them for some chance to escape.
"Now, ye painted devils, resumed Jones, still
drawing up with leveled rifle, "now you have got to
jump, or take it.”
Misunderstanding the real intentions of the scout,
which were to frighten, and then give quarter, and
expecting to be shot down the next instant, the Tories
threw down their guns, and, with one consent, plunged
madly from the cliff!
"Blood and bayonets! who would have thought
that?" exclaimed the woodsman, in tones of mingled
horror and surprise, as he stepped up and peered over
the brink, from which, down a broken, but nearly
perpendicular descent of over an hundred feet, this
desperate leap had been taken. "Now I'll be blamed,
if it don't make me feel ugly. Only see 'em there!"
he continued, gazing down upon the mangled wretches
at the foot of the precipice, with an expression of the
deepest commiseration, "only see! three or four lay
there in a heap, panting and quivering at the last
gasp! And there's the rest, just crawling off into the
bushes like snakes with their backs broke! Howsom-
ever," he added, turning away with an effort to shake
off the feeling, "we can't very well afford the poor
devils a great deal of lament, for the same sarce would
have been ours, if we'd fell into the hands of their sort
of cattle, jest as sure as Tory is their name, and infar-
nal their nater.
In the meanwhile, Selden, followed by the rest of
his company, had reached the spot; and the former
having flown to the side of his overjoyed Jessy and her
friends, the now liberated captives, was exchanging
those hasty and heartfelt greetings which the circum-
stances were so well calculated to call forth, when a
new and startling war-cry rose from the thicket below,
where he had just learned from his rescued friends that
Sherwood with the main part of his band was posted.
360
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Do you hear that, my brave fellows?" exclaimed
the young officer in a tone that rung through the
forest, as he burst from the group of his embracing
friends, and, with a look of kindling enthusiasm, leaped
forwards towards his men, "do you hear that rallying
shout below! But let them come! The red-coats are
flying in confusion before our friends in yonder field.
Let their scurvy minions here in the bush be taught
the same lesson. Every man to his post!"
Responding with hearty and reiterated cheers to the
words of their gallant leader, the men flew to their
stations along the ridge to await the approach of their
foes, who were now evidently rallying for a rescue.
At this instant a shower of bullets struck the crags
at the very feet of the captives.
"Jones, your assistance!" shouted Selden, rushing
back to the group who had thus narrowly escaped
death, and pointing him to Alma, as he himself
grasped his own affianced girl in his arms, and with
rapid steps bore her back, nestling and trembling on
his bosom, to a place of temporary safety over the
screening ridge in the rear.
Comprehending the other at a glance, the scout
bounded forward to the side of Miss Hendee, at that
instant engaged in trying to quiet the alarms of her
less self-possessed domestic, when, concluding to give
the order of his superior its most liberal construction,
he gave a swoop with his long arms, and, gathering
both mistress and maid in his grasp, and lifting them
high from the ground, bore them, blushing through
their alarms, at their novel situation aloft, over the hill,
occasionally pausing in his monstrous strides over rock
and log, to give a wink to Neshobee to follow his
example with Zilpah, the only female now left on the
spot of danger.
"Guess you catch um first," tartly observed the
yellow maiden, eluding the hesitating grasp of her
bashful gallant, and darting forward like an arrow
towards her friends.
"Where is my father?" inquired Alma, with a look
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
361
of concern, the instant she was released from the arms
of the scout.
"Your father, mum?" replied Jones. "O, didn't yer
see him? Why that careless shot of the enemy there
among you jest now, seemed to raise the old Captain's
dander right up, and, seizing the gun of that dead
Tory, that my old Trusty here brought down in such
good time for the old gentleman, I'll be blest if he
didn't hobble off like the very mischief to help the
boys man the cliff. And your tame red skin has con-
cluded to do the same thing, I reckon, seeing as how
he got the mitten," added the scout, tipping a know-
ing and saucy wink to Zilpah.
A general discharge of rifles and musketry by Sel-
den's party, along the top of the ridge to the south,
here interrupted the conversation, announcing that
the enemy had made their appearance on their way up
the hill towards the accessible points in the ledge.
"That must be a feint," observed Captain Selden;
"they cannot be serious in any attempt to mount the
ridge in the very teeth of our death-dealing rifles, can
they, Jones?"
"No, Captain, that ain't no part of their calkerla-
tion, I'll swear to it. Neither need we have any fears
of their flanking round the ledge to the north of us,
as that might bring 'em between two fires, one from
us, and another from the field. So while a few of 'em
are showing themselves, and firing just enough to
keep up the sham, the main part will push round at
the other end of the ridge, about a half mile or so, to
the south of us. And I shouldn't be surprised if the
lead was flying considerable thick along here in the
matter of twenty minutes from now-but suppose you
put the women a jogging, Captain; and let me be look-
ing to the sarpents a little," added the scout, glancing
uneasily around him, and showing signs of impatience
to be gone.
"You are right, Jones," promptly replied Selden,
"and there is now but one course to be pursued. The
ladies must pass down the hill, and, striking for the
362
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
open field, endeavor to gain the rear of our army. I
must attend them, leaving the command of the men
with you to cover our retreat-can you do it?"
"Why, I rather guess I mought; that is, if you will
clear with the women-the sight of them kinder clogs
a fellow, you know."
"Call in Captain Hendee, then. He is not nimble
enough for a bush fight. Send us also Neshobee, and
two of my men as an escort.'
"Ay, ay, Captain," cheerfully responded the scout,
loping off at a rapid pace to his charge-"ay, ay, we'll
fix it about right, won't we, old Trusty? Trol, lol,
lol de larly."
Within five minutes from the disappearance of
Jones, the family party were all collected, and in rapid
motion down the hill. Nor was the expedition with
which the movement was accomplished uncalled for
by the event. For, scarcely had they proceeded a
furlong on their route, before the cracking and irreg-
ular reports of rifles behind them announced an attack
by the foe, in a manner just predicted by the sagacious
scout. Passing onward with all the speed they were
capable of making, they paused not in their course till
they reached the spot where they and their captors
had halted in the morning. There, after taking charge
of Captain Hendee's horse, which had been left tied
to a tree, and ascertaining from the direction and dis-
tance of the firing at the scene they had just left, that
Jones was at least maintaining his position on the
hill, they turned short to the west, and made their
way immediately to the opening, where the main action,
as was evident from the heavy discharge of artillery
that occasionally came pealing through the forest, was
still kept up by the slowly retreating enemy.
arriving at the borders of the woods, our party entered
the mouth of a ravine, which, while it protected them,
by its screening banks, from the view of any spies
whom Sherwood might have posted on the hill, luckily
led up, and opened upon the plain, directly abreast of
On
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
363
the position now occupied by Warrington's regiment of
Green Mountain Boys.
Passing hastily along, in Indian file, up this ravine,
till fairly beyond rifle-shot distance from the woods,
and arriving by this time at an elevation, where, still
unseen, they could easily obtain a glance over the
scene of action, the company halted, for the purpose
of ascertaining, before proceeding any further, the
exact position of the American forces, and the prospect
of maintaining the temporary advantages which they
had evidently already gained over the boasted brigade
of the gallant, but now mortified General Frazier.
A misty veil of undissipated smoke still hung over
the field of battle, and prevented Selden and Captain
Hendee, who mounted the bank for the purpose, from
ascertaining anything more than the general positions
of the hostile armies. The Americans having pursued
their routed enemies a short distance, had fallen back
upon the ground occupied by them at the onset; while
the British, having collected and rallied their broken
and disordered forces, had made a sullen stand about
half a mile distant.
"Our troops have beaten the red-coats, and driven
them from the field of attack, it is evident," observed
Selden, musingly, as he ran his eye anxiously over
the field, "and yet, I fear, their temporary victory has
been bought too dearly to permit them to avail them-
selves of the advantages they have obtained.'
""
"I fear so, too," replied Captain Hendee. "Nor do
I exactly like the aspect and motions of the enemy
yonder. See! they are now deploying off towards the
woods against our left wing. They are either prepar-
ing for a fresh onset in a new form, or opening for a
reinforcement large enough to form a center; and I
am apprehensive the latter, as, now I bethink me, I
heard a treacherous scoundrel, who came near us a
few moments before you arrived for our rescue, mak-
ing the boast that a fresh body of Burgoyne's German
hirelings were but a mile or two distant, and in full
march for the field.”
364
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"God forbid!" exclaimed Selden, with a look of
anxiety and alarm. "But this must instantly be seen
to. Perhaps our officers are not aware of it. I must
immediately forward to Warrington. Keep your posi-
tion here, my friends, till I return, which shall be
soon, better informed how to act, and with some plan
for your disposal, or escape," added the young officer,
as, leaping down into the valley, he seized the horse
from the hands of Neshobee, mounted, and, waving a
hasty adieu to the ladies, dashed forward at full speed
over the plain to the American lines.
Captain Hendee, still retaining his post of elevation,
continued anxiously to watch those movements of the
enemy which had raised his suspicions of an approach-
ing reinforcement. Nor had many minutes elapsed
before his worst apprehensions were confirmed by the
appearance of Reidesel, who, with flying colors and
rattling drums, and all the pomp and pride of military
array, came pouring the numerous troops of his well-
trained brigade across the field, and bearing down in
solid columns directly upon the American center,
which stood calmly awaiting their approach; while, at
the same time, Frazier, with his whole force, a little
in advance of the Germans, moved rapidly along under
the woods to the south against the extreme left of the
Americans, mostly composed of the doubtful regiment
of Hale. A few moments of awful suspense followed;
and again the flash of a thousand exploding muskets
enveloped the encountering hosts in clouds of rolling
smoke, and shook the earth and heavens with the fear-
ful concussions that followed.
At that instant Selden, accompanied by a soldier
with two horses, emerged from the smoke and came
galloping to the spot.
"Prepare for instant flight!" he exclaimed, hastily
dismounting, and urging his horse down the bank.
towards the little grassy nook on which the females
stood instinctively crowding together in mute conster-
nation at the fearful noise and commotion of the plain
above. "Ten minutes' delay on this spot may again
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
365
make you prisoners, and in the hands of a brutal and
exasperated soldiery."
"There is no hope, then, that our troops can long
withstand this fresh and formidable onset?" said Cap-
tain Hendee, coolly preparing to mount the horse
allotted to carry him and his daughter, in the manner
in vogue among the settlers of carrying their females
behind them on horseback.
"Scarcely longer perhaps than to allow us time to
gain the forest," replied Selden, placing Jessy on the
crupper of his own horse, and springing himself into
the saddle before her, while the little cavalcade, the
two maids having been placed on the back of the third
horse, began to move slowly down the rocky and fre-
quently obstructed ravine.
“I feared so," said the former; "but where in the
name of Heaven is St. Clair all this time, that he sends
no reinforcement?"
"Well may you ask that, Captain Hendee," said
Selden bitterly-"within hearing of our guns-with a
full knowledge of our attack by a superior force, and
with more than two thousand troops at disposal, all
impatient to be with us, he allows not a man to come
to our assistance. God forgive him! I can't."
"Nor I; but what of that dainty-fingered colonel,
whom I noticed from the hill standing aloof and idle
with his regiment at a distance on the left?”
"Hale? Eternal infamy on his name! Having
looked coldly on, and without lifting a finger in assist-
ance through the whole of the first assault, he, on the
approach of Frazier in this last onset, hoisted a white
flag-even before it could be seen by the enemy, and
disgracefully surrendered his regiment, with all the
chance in the world to save it by retreat. And by this
craven act he has thrown all that important part of
the field into the possession of the British, who are
already sweeping past us, and securing the roads to
the south, leaving our brave friend Warrington with
his regiment of heroes (scores of whom are stretched
bleeding or lifeless on the field), and the gallant
366
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
Colonel Francis, with his battalion of Massachusetts
troops, to contend with a fresh force of more than
double their numbers. But they must soon give way
-not to retreat in a body, for every pass by which
that could be effected is now closed against them,-
much less to surrender themselves as prisoners, but to
break, scatter and save themselves as they best can,
to rally again in some appointed place round the
standard of their lion-hearted leader.
""
"And which way do you and Warrington propose
for our flight, after reaching the forest?"
"An old by-road leading from the head of yonder
pond directly across the country to Otter Creek, and
there intersecting the creek road to Pittsford and the
older settlements. One of our guards, here, must be
despatched to call in Jones with a dozen trusty men to
guard us on our way, while the rest of my company
shall keep the accursed Sherwood and his gang, if pos-
sible, engaged, that he may have no way to discover
the route we have taken till we are beyond the reach
of his malice. But hark! 'tis a shout of triumph from
the British line! Forward with all possible speed—
for God's sake, forward to the woods!"
Dashing onward at the word, the whole party in a
moment more gained the confines of the forest, and
quickly disappeared within its recesses, thus escaping
the dangers of the field, where they had been nearly
involved in the general melee of dispersing pursued
and pursuing combatants, that ensued at the close of
that fierce and bloody conflict, but escaping only to
encounter other perils, in their flight through the
woods, of a still more fearful and dreadful character
1

:
OHN SIMPSO
HOLSTERERE
LEATHE
CLOTHING WAREHOUSE
MILTON CLOTHRE
FANEUIL HALL, BOSTON, WHERE THE TEA PLOT WAS HATCHED

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
367
CHAPTER XXVII
"The hour of fate draws on."
The setting sun was throwing its parting beams of
rich and mellow light, in a thousand variegated hues,
over the intermingling foliage of the deciduous and
perennial forest, that deeply clothed the mountain
slopes to the eastward of the sluggish Otter. The
hardy and heroic woman, whose lot had been cast in the
wilderness on the banks of that stream, and whose
curious abode we have already described in a former
chapter, still fearlessly maintained her post, in spite
of all the terrors and dangers of an invasion which had
driven every settler, to the north and west of her,
from his home, and laid open all that section of the
Grants, to her very doors, to the unopposed ravages
of British and savage foes.
Her toils for the day being over, she was now sitting
at the door of her rude cabin, enjoying, with an anx-
ious and thoughtful brow, the grateful coolness of the
evening air, while her hopeful brood of embryo for-
esters were lolling upon the grass, or gamboling in
childish freaks around her.
"Oh, mother! what was it that I seed over yonder,
that twinkled kinder white in the bushes, just now?"
exclaimed one of the younger boys, starting up with
excited looks, and pointing to the opposite side of the
creek at a spot some distance up the stream, where
the clearing, extending to the water, afforded a fair
view of the forest-lined banks of the western side of
the river.
The mother started, and threw a quick glance in
the direction thus indicated, but perceiving nothing,
she sank back into her seat, and observed, “I doubt
whether you saw anything, my son; but if you did, it
368
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
was probably a flock of pigeons, or some other birds
rising from the ground.
"No, it wan't, mother," replied the boy confidently,
"it wan't birds! It was something coming proper
fast along this way, by an open place in the trees, and
looked just like folks running with white clothes on.
She
Aroused by this last remark, as well as by the eager
and confident manner in which it was made, Mrs.
Story hastily rose, advanced a few steps, and sent an
anxious and scrutinizing look along the opposite bank,
in search of the object that had so excited the boy's
attention. That object was the next moment disclosed
to her in the partial view she obtained of a small com-
pany of both sexes on horseback, urging forward their
smoking and jaded steeds with all possible haste
towards the landing on that side of the stream.
had been accidentally apprised that the Hendee family
were on their way south the day previous, and having
heard a distant, heavy firing in the direction they had
taken, the fore part of the present day, and coupling
the circumstances with the hurrying and alarmed
appearance of the approaching company, a painful
apprehension now flitted across her mind; and, with
an air of deep concern, she stepped inside the door,
took down her rifle, and began to proceed, at a hurried
pace, towards the creek. Some doubt, however, seem-
ing to arrest her steps, she stopped short, and again
gave eye and ear to objects before and around her.
The report of several rifles, some hundred yards up
the stream, followed by the distant shout of skirmish-
ers, at that instant reached the spot, and at once
resolved her doubts. Turning hastily to her children,
now huddling with looks of alarm around her, and
ordering them into the house, she flew down the path
through the woods to her landing, drew out her canoe
from its concealment, and springing in, pushed out
boldly for the opposite shore, at which she arrived just
as the fugitives, with soiled and torn garments, and
way-worn and troubled looks, came hurrying up to
the spot.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
369
"God bless you for this timely promptitude, Mrs.
Story," exclaimed Selden, leaping from his horse, and
assisting the females and the infirm and sadly jarred
old veteran to dismount.
"You are pursued?" eagerly asked the widow.
99
"We are,
answered Selden, "and have been every
step of the way from the red field of Hubbardton. We
did not, however, intend to have brought peril to your
house. But striking across the country to the creek,
with the hope of escaping up the road to Pittsford, we
discovered the road to be ambushed by a party of our
outstripping foes, and, as our only hope of escape,
turned down stream to find refuge at your abode. And
even this we never should have reached alive, but for
the protecting rifles of that noble fellow, Pete Jones,
and his brave and trusty scouts, who are still keeping
fourfold their numbers at bay till we can cross."
"Well, Heaven be praised for your deliverance so
far," rejoined the widow, who still sat in her boat,
heading it up against the bank for the others to enter;
"but come, girls, jump in here, we will take you over
first."
“Ay, ay," said Selden, "there is not a moment to
be lost. And here, Neshobee," he continued, as the
native, who had followed his friends on foot, now
arrived, "throw down your rifle, dash in there, and
swim across to bring back the boat, while I lead the
horses into a thicket-perhaps they may be saved. At
all events, there is no chance to swim them over here.
"The canoe will not carry us all safely," said Alma,
in a quiet and sorrowful tone, as her companions, who
had first entered, seated themselves in the boat.
"Oh, no danger-not the least; step in," said the
widow, encouragingly.
"There
"No, let me remain," replied the former.
will probably be no danger till the boat can return.
But if there should be, she added, in the same
plaintive and desponding accents, "if there should be,
what matters it to me?"
"Alma Hendee!" said the widow, looking up at the
370
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
other with an air of mingled surprise and expostulation
"how is this? where is your fortitude?''
The grief-stricken maiden made a slight effort to
speak, but the utterance died away on her quivering
lip, and the bright tear-drops stood in her eyes.
"What has happened to her?" asked the widow,
looking round on the company with an expression of
wonder and concern.
"Warrington has fallen in battle," replied Selden,
with an unsuccessful effort to speak without emotion.
"Now, Heaven forbid!" exclaimed the widow, in
accents which plainly told the shock which the sad
announcement had imparted to her feelings.
"Yes, the gallant fellow has left us," resumed the
other. "The melancholy tidings were received from
a soldier, who joined us in our flight, and who said he
saw him fall dead from his horse in the last moments
of the battle. But do not allow yourself to despond,
my dear Miss Hendee. You had better go over now,'
he added, soothingly, as he approached, and gently
urged the mutely sorrowful, but now passive girl into
the boat, which was instantly headed round, and, under
the strokes of the strong-armed widow, sent surging
towards the other shore.
Stopping no longer than to see the females under
way, Selden sprang up the bank, seized the horses by
their bridles, and, whipping them into a lively trot,
led them into a neighboring thicket, tied them to sap-
lings, and flew back to the shore. The active young
Indian, who had readily undertaken to swim the
stream, had already returned with the canoe, taken
in Captain Hendee, and sat impatiently waiting, with
uplifted oar, to push again from the shore.
"There! now lay to with a will, my lad," cried
Selden, leaping into the boat, just as the scattering
fire of several rifles, quickly returned by that of a
much larger number, a short distance beyond, burst
from the bushes at a point now not more than a quar-
ter of a mile up the stream, apprising them that the
enemy were rapidly driving in Jones and his party,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
371
who, as previously concerted, were retiring before
their pursuers in three divisions, each in turn coming.
in front, discharging their pieces from their coverts,
and scudding on to the rear of the others, to reload,
and await the approach of their foes.
"If we can get one boat-load of men safely over,'
resumed Selden, "we shall be able, I trust, to protect
the rest in crossing; and when all are over, I hope to
keep the rascals on their own side of the river.'
""
"That may be done till dark, perhaps," observed
Captain Hendee, "but with our small force, not after,
I think. No, Captain Selden, unless the disposition
of these Tories is less devilish than I rate it, and the
nature of their Indian allies has changed since I used
to deal with the hell-hounds, we may as well prepare
for a siege."
"Let it come, then," replied the other, determinedly
-"with the widow's 'tother world' for a concealment
and stronghold for the women and children, and those
impervious logs of her cabin to protect us while we
fight, many a Tory and red-skin must take a leaden
supper before they capture us. But here we are, safe
ashore. Neshobee, will you take back the boat, or
shall I?"
"Me go-no 'fraid," answered the native, again
pushing out into the stream.
"Very well,-I will remain to superintend the
transportation of the men. And you, Captain Hen-
dee, had better proceed immediately to the house,
and, if you will, be looking a little to the means of
defending it. An old soldier like yourself will need
no instructions in that duty. Hold out bright hopes
to the ladies, but see that they retire from the upper
world in season, and while they may, undiscovered, if
their passage to the lower, with which I am unac-
quainted, is likely to expose them to the sight of the
enemy.
""
"Ay, ay, I will see to it," replied the other, hurry-
ing off with unwonted activity to the cabin, where he
was met at the door by the widow.
24
372
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"What is the prospect, Captain?" she asked in a
low, eager tone.
"The men will get over, I think, with a few or no
losses, but—”
"But what?"
"Those untiring fiends are after blood! Our men
have already to-day made a heavy inroad on their
numbers, and they are determined on revenge. I have
no hope but that they will find means to cross the
creek and besiege us, as soon as it is dark.”
"Nor have I, the least, since Alma has told me the
particulars of your disasters, and the conduct of that
wretch who has caused them. Hendee, I have long
known that Jake Sherwood, and have wondered at
your course.
"I was duped-deceived, Ann Story, but I have
been an egregious old fool, even at that, I will own,-
besides treating my own flesh and blood like a tyrant
and a brute. Furies! I could beat my own brains
out! If you were a man, and connected with me as
you are, you ought to curse me to my face. A good
round damning from a friendly source would seem to
relieve my feelings. But where are the girls?"
They have taken a little refresh-
ment, and seen getting up their spirits a little."
"Well, we will not dampen their feelings at present;
but they, and you with your children, had better be
on the move for your underground refuge."
"All within here.
"That is easily gained now.'
"Why, you enter the creek as formerly, don't
you?"
"No, I have made an improvement this summer.
Come, attend me, and you shall see.”
"I will, but must first glance at the means we shall
have of defending the house, which we must make our
fortress, for beating off or weakening the enemy.
Your place of concealment below must be the last
resort of the men, if they enter it at all.''
They now entered the house, and were met by the
anxious and inquiring looks of the girls, who sat
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
373
silently waiting to hear the news which the Captain
might have brought from the scene of action.
44
Has heat length commenced Miss Reed, unable
longer to repress her anxiety, but stopping short and
blushing at the exclusiveness of the inquiry she was
about to make, "has-that is, is the danger over?"
"We hope so," replied the Captain, "at least, there
can be but little danger for you females. Captain
Selden trusts to prevent the enemy from crossing.
He commands without, and I, for the present, within;
and I hope to find in you a brave garrison."
"Jessy, at least, will prove no coward for herself, I
suspect," remarked the widow, a little archly.
"Well, both she and Alma are soldiers' daughters,"
resumed the Captain, “and should danger beset us to-
night, I trust they will bear themselves as they have
already done for the last twenty-four hours, with firm-
ness and fortitude. But now for the business on
hand," he added, turning to the hostess, and glancing
round the walls of the house.
"Very well, sir, and, to begin, here is my double
plank door-bullet-proof, I think, and the fastenings
abundantly secure.
"Yes, I have noticed; but what loopholes shall we
have to fire from, besides that window?"
"Here," answered the widow, stepping up to one
of the walls, and pulling out a nicely-fitting block from
a cone-shaped embrasure cut through one of the logs.
"There are two of these on each side and end of the
house, and as many more just below the eaves in the
chamber loft above.'
99
"Just the things for us-and now if we had but a
long, square block to fill that window—”
"You have it at hand, with a loop like the rest, in
that block on which the children are sitting there.
"Admirable! a regular fort, by George! Ann Story,
you ought to be the wife of a general.
Let us now
proceed to your unfindable fastness below."
"In an instant," said the widow, going to the fire,
and blowing up a torch. "Boys, lift that door," she
374
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
added, pointing to a trap door in the corner of the
room, that opened into the cellar.
Followed by the Captain, the widow now descended
through the trap in the floor on a short ladder into the
cellar, and going to the western side, and removing a
bundle of straw, standing against the wall, disclosed
the entrance of a narrow, upright passage, leading off
into the earth, in the direction of the river.
"Come on!" said the prompt and energetic woman,
plunging, with torch in hand, directly into the dark,
vaulted way before her.
After proceeding several rods through this straight
and narrow passage, all smoothly cut through the solid
earth some distance below the surface, they came to a
lateral excavation, forming an arched room about a
dozen feet square.
"This is my half-way house-my innermost recess,'
said the widow, stepping into the center of the room
and holding up the light that the other might see to
examine. "This is a much stronger place than the
outer, or western room, which you have been into
before, I believe, as the earth is here much thicker
above us, owing to a swell in the surface, over
which, to make it still more difficult to dig through,
spread the widely-branching roots of several large
maples."
"True," replied the Captain, “and one man at each
entrance might defend the place against hundreds.
Ah! I plainly see that we old soldiers have got to yield
the palm to you, Ann. In all my experience of twenty
years among these northern forests in fighting and
dodging the enemy, and planning, building, or seek-
ing out places for forts, defenses, and refuges, I never
saw or thought of anything like this establishment of
yours.
"I can think of no way by which our foes can rout
us from this," rejoined the widow, "unless they storm
us, or smoke us out. I believe I shall curtain off this
room with blankets for the children and girls to-night,
while we give up the other room, if needed, to our
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
375
defenders.
pass on."
But you have seen enough of this; let us
They now entered the remaining part of the pas-
sage, which, after running a few rods in a different
line, and then winding around to the left, brought
them into the large partitioned room we have
formerly described.
"This you have seen before," said the widow, paus-
ing as they entered the room, "and there is nothing
new to show you here, except my stores; those bar-
rels," pointing to two casks standing just within the
entrance of the smaller room, "contain provisions,
which, on the rumor of the approaching invasion, I
employed my neighbor just before he left us, to pur-
chase for me at Crown Point."
"Well, it is not impossible that we shall need
them," remarked the Captain thoughtfully.
"Famine often follows closely in the footsteps of
war," resumed the other; "so I thought I would
supply myself in season. Nor do provisions constitute
the whole of my supplies; for it occurring to me at the
same time that something like the present emergency
might happen, I made another purchase, which may
be still more important to us.
"What may that be?" asked the other.
"Stand back to the mouth of the entrance, take
and hold up this torch, and I will show you," answered
the woman, proceeding to the opposite side of the
room, taking down a broad piece of bark, which had
been snugly fitted into the mouth of a little, low cham-
ber, or recess, excavated in the earthy wall, and dis-
closing to view the ends of some half dozen strongly
bound casks, to which she now directed his attention
with her finger.
"What have you there, Ann, so mysteriously hid
up?" said the old gentleman, with a look of mingled
curiosity and surprise.
..
'Gunpowder, with an abundance of lead behind
there to serve.
""
"Indeed! but not all your own, surely?"
376
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"No;-only one is mine-the rest belong to the set-
tlers, who live north of this, and who, expecting that
a stand would have been made against the enemy in
this vicinity, had, it seems, amply provided them-
selves for the crisis. But finding that resistance
would be useless, they concluded to flee; when, get-
ting wind of my stronghold, they brought their muni-
tions, which they were unable to carry with them, to
this place for safe keeping till they should return or
send for them."
"Faith! that's lucky," exclaimed the Captain. "It
may be wanted to supply the powder horns of the
men, and-and"--he continued partly to himself, as
he glanced about the room, with a look of wild and
exulting joy at the thought which seemed to strike his
mind, and with the chance which these underground
rooms and passages afford, as a last resort, of blowing
that infernal gang nearer heaven than they will other-
wise ever get—but time enough to think of that when
other measures fail.”
"What measures?" asked the widow, who, having
been busy in replacing the door of her magazine, had
not heeded the remarks of the other, except two or
three words at the close.
"O, nothing of any present moment," answered
Captain Hendee, with the air of one willing to let the
words pass without being understood; "but let us now
see how you have fixed the outer entrance.
""
Resuming her torch, the widow immediately led the
way through the passage to the entrance at the bank
of the creek.
"There! having no further use for this entrance, I
have fastened it up," said she, pausing as she
approached the end of the avenue, which was blocked
up by a single layer of square, short timbers, placed
horizontally across the passage and let into the earth
at the ends. "It can only be opened on the inside, as
you perceive, or at least, not easily; and I have con-
sidered it a safe barrier, though, to be sure, by consid-
erable digging on the outside-but hush!-hark! Do
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
377
you hear that shouting out upon the creek, or on its
banks?"
"Ay; and it sounds as if there's trouble afoot too.
Cannot this top timber be removed without danger of
exposing the entrance to the discovery of the enemy
from the opposite bank?"
"I should think so, as the mouth is pretty thickly
overhung with bushes.'
"Let us lift it out, then, that we may see, or at least
hear, what is going on.
The timber was accordingly carefully removed;
when through the crevice thus formed, a tolerable
distinct view was obtained of a long reach of the creek
above, and a short one below. The last boatload of
Selden's men had gained the middle of the stream,
and were pulling with all possible speed for the hither
shore, on which all those who had crossed were posted
behind their coverts, keenly watching, with cocked
and leveled pieces, for the first head that should be
raised on the opposite bank to fire upon the boat. The
boat's crew, as they had been ordered, were all seated,
save one man, who had inadvertently risen on his feet
to point out to his companions on shore the object
which had caused the noise and stir that had reached
the ears of the widow and her friend. The man's arın
was still extended up the river with the motions of one
trying to count a series of some moving objects.
The widow, having the most favorable position for
the purpose, instantly turned her eyes in the direction
thus indicated.
"What can you see as the cause of the commotion?"
asked the Captain, after the other had gazed an instant
in silence.
""
"Well, I confess, I don't know exactly what to make
of them, replied the woman, as with a puzzled
expression she still kept her eyes riveted on the spot:
-"something is evidently crossing the creek, nearly
as far as I can see up the stream. At any other time,
I should think it must be a flock of cranes with their
long necks only above water."
378
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"It is the Indians!" exclaimed the Captain, in low,
startling accents-"it is the Indians, swimming the
creek on their backs, and holding their guns upright
on their breasts. I have seen their tricks before
to-day.
""
At that instant a stream of smoke, accompanied by
the sharp crack of a rifle, shot out fiercely from an
old tree-top on the opposite bank, while, at the same
time, the man standing in the boat fell over backwards
into the water, and sunk, to rise no more, beneath its
bubbling surface. An exclamation of horror rose to
the lips of the Captain and the widow; but before it
could be uttered, and while the echoes of the last shot
were yet ringing among the neighboring hills, the stun-
ning report of another rifle, bursting from the bank
directly over their heads, and followed by a hollow
groan, and a floundering in the bushes on the other
side told that the death of the victim was avenged.
"There! Jim Townley," exclaimed the well-known
voice of Pete Jones on the bank above,
"Old Trusty'
has done the business for your murderer, I guess;
though if he hadn't tore his coat so as to make a white
spot in his back, as he was slinking away, I never
could have got an aim worth firing for. Well," he
continued, soliloquizing, as he appeared to be reload-
ing his piece, "that is the way with the best of us.
Jim was a fellow of first-rate grit, and I'd rather gin
anything but old Trusty-yes, and that, too—than to
have him gone so. But if spirits can hear and see
things, as some think, it will be a grand comfort to
one of Jim's spunk and pride, on his way along up, to
know that the bloody rascal didn't live to brag
on't."
The survivors of the boat's crew, now reaching the
landing, sprang upon the bank, and took their station
among their comrades along the shore, to watch any
further appearance of their foes. But none daring to
show themselves after the lesson just received, a
silence of some minutes now prevailed. The calm was
not destined, however, to last long. Another cry of
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
379
alarm was soon raised by one of the men, eagerly call-
ing on the rest to look down the stream.
"O, the divils! the divils!"' cried the shrill voice of
Jones, "they have stole our horses, and are swimming
them across down there, with two of the lubbers on
the back of every horse. By Judas! what a chance to
plug them, if I was only forty rods nearer! Say, Cap-
tain Selden, what if I take two or three men, and send
them down that way a little?”
"No, Jones," replied Selden, "our force is too small
to scatter. The Indians in a few minutes more will
be upon us from above; besides, we have not a man
to lose in open fight. Let every one, therefore," he
continued, raising his voice to a tone of command,
"retire from the bank, and, keeping a tree in his
range, repair directly to the house. Then let them
come with a welcome.'
""
"Well, the hour of trial is at hand," observed the
widow with a sort of desperate calmness, “and may
God be merciful unto us. Assist me, Captain Hendee,
to replace this timber; and then I must instantly back
to bring down my children and the girls. The men
will reach the house by the time we can get there our-
selves. There! that will do-all safe, I think. Now
follow me as fast as your crazy old limbs will let you
come on—faster—faster—come on!-come on!"
And with the old veteran, taxing his powers of speed
to the utmost to keep up, the fearless woman, though
anxious mother, with her torch streaming behind her,
rather flew than walked, till she had gained the cellar,
and sprang up the ladder leading up into the room,
where she had left the objects of her solicitude.
"Here!" she exclaimed, raising her head through
the trap, and glancing round the room, where the
females, ignorant of what had taken place without,
were unconcernedly sitting, with the children sitting
about their chairs, "here, to the cellar, every chick and
child of you, to the cellar! And you, girls, must fol-
low, without a moment's delay," she added, seizing
the little urchins by the waists, and lifting them, one
380
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
by one, in rapid succession, down the passway, as,
alarmed by the startling tones of their mother's voice,
they ran huddling to the entrance.
"Is there any immediate danger?" asked Alma,
calmly, though with an expression of some surprise,
at the rapid and agitated manner of the widow.
"Not for us, if we are out of the way; but the Tories
are crossing below, and the Indians, on this side above,
are, by this time, perhaps, within gun-shot of us, in
the skirts of yonder woods.
"And Selden and his men?" eagerly said Jessy.
"Will be here in a moment to make this room their
fortress, for their own and our protection.
And a
shower of balls, through that open door and window,
will probably salute them as they enter.
"True, true," observed Captain Hendee, who, hav-
ing crowded by the widow on the ladder, and gained
the floor, now stepped to the door, hastily shut it, and
proceeded to bring the block for closing up the win-
dow, "true, this danger to the girls and children did
not occur to me, as it seems it did to you, by your
leading my rheumatic legs such a deuced race through
the passage from the creek. Yes, girls, down with
you all, and on to the middle room, and having no fears
but that we will defend you."
"But you, father!" said Alma, looking back as she
was descending, with an expression of solicitude, "you
are surely not to remain?-you are too old-infirm—”
"I am young again, girl. The thought of our treat-
ment, and the fate which our foes evidently design for
us still, make me a soldier again-go down, my
daughter, and may God be with you, and strike for us
all," said the old veteran, letting down the trap upon
the last of the retiring party.
Scarcely had the mingled voices of the women and
children died away, as they retreated along the pas-
sage to their refuge under the earth, before Selden
and his men came scattering along into the house,
fortunately not, however, with the danger which the
widow had anticipated. As soon as the whole com-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
381
pany, now numbering but twelve, including Captain
Hendee and Neshobee, had gained the room, they
immediately proceeded to barricade the door, and put
everything in the best
in the best possible condition for a
defense.
While they were busily engaged, unmindful of the
severe fatigues of the day, in the excitement created
by the alarming prospects of the night, which was
now about to set in, the trap door was pushed up, and
the provident widow reappeared, ascending the ladder
with a large loaf of bread and a haunch of dried veni-
son under one arm, and a pail of water, in which
floated the accustomed gourd-shell, slung on the
other. With many a blessing on the widow's head,
and many an oath to defend her and hers to the death,
the famished and wearied soldiers eagerly fell upon
the grateful repast, after which they repaired with
renewed spirits to the several stations allotted them,
above and below, along the walls.
"I wish the rascals would make themselves mani-
fest, if they are around us, as I suspect," observed
Selden, after the company had stood some time at
their respective loopholes, silently awaiting the
appearance of the enemy.
66
That they will be cunning enough not to do till
the approach of darkness," replied Captain Hendee.
"Then you will hear from them, I'll warrant you.
And as they can have but small hope of perforating
these logs with their bullets, they will probably attempt
to beat down the door, or burn the house over our
heads.
""
"They will find the latter a difficult job, I imagine,
responded Selden. "These bare logs, after the heavy
rain of last night, and that, too, at the distance at
which we can manage to keep the knaves, cannot offer
much inducement for an attempt to ignite them with
lighted arrows."
"True," replied the other, "but you forget the
roof-these bark coverings are rather combustible."
"No, I thought of that," rejoined Selden, "and was
382
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
about to remark, that if they fired the roof, we must
tear it off."
"That can be done, perhaps," replied the former.
"At all events, it will be time enough to think of it
when they arrive for the attack; for I doubt whether
there is now one of them within a quarter of a mile
of us.
"Now, I've a notion there is," said Pete Jones, who,
in the meanwhile, had been keenly watching every
appearance within the scope of his vision. 'And I
shouldn't be much surprised if some of those stumps
and log-heaps over in the widow's grass yonder, if
they could talk, would be willing to swear to it."
"Have you actually seen any of them, Jones?"
asked Selden.
"Why," answered the scout, with his peculiar
comic twist of features, "I have actually seen a sign
or two, that I have never known fail, except in the
dryest of times. And with your leave, Captain Selden,
I have thoughts of an experiment, by way of putting
the question at rest, and doing something more, per-
haps, into the bargain."'
"Well-very well-" said Selden, pausing for the
other to explain the nature of his proposal.
"Here is at it, then," said the scout, choosing to
answer by actions rather than words, the inquiry which
the manner of his superior implied, while he pro-
ceeded to strip off his coat, button it up, and, with the
brush of an old broom that stood in a corner, distend
the body, running the short handle into one arm to
keep the artificial limb thus made in a horizontal posi-
tion.
"What are you a going to do with your scare-crow
now?" asked Selden, who, with the rest of the com-
pany stood looking on, anxious to learn the character
of the proposed stratagem.
"I'll show you in a minute," replied Pete, now get-
ting the poker, and suspending his contrivance on one
end of it. "There, Captain Hendee, I want you should
take charge of this concern-you'll know how to man-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
383
age it—while the rest of us, who have keener sight for
aim in the dusk, will attend to our rifles. But mind
ye, I have first got to deliver a little bit of an oration
for the benefit of the gentlemen outside, if so be that
they're within ear-shot, as I surmise."
The scout then, after pulling out one end of the
block in the window a short space, that his voice might
the better be heard by those whom it was intended to
reach, commenced and carried on by himself a sort of
ventriloquial dialogue, purporting that a discovery
had suddenly been made, that they were out of bul-
lets, and were wishing to obtain a bar of lead that had
been left standing outside under the window, while
the question seemed to be, who should expose himself
by reaching out his hand to get it; but one at length
appearing to be found hardy enough to undertake the
task, the speaker suddenly dropped the discourse, and
turned to the company present.
"There, boys, have your muzzles to your loops, and
your eyes on the lookout for game, " he said, in a low,
eager tone.
"And you, Captain Hendee, be ready to
pass the figure up to the window, which I am about to
lay open, and which all, as they value the union of
body and soul, must keep out of the range of. Don't
fire till I give the word. All ready? well, here goes,
then," he added, swinging out the block, and stepping
quickly to his loophole.
Captain Hendee now proceeded immediately to
execute the part he had been requested to perform.
And while the company were waiting with breathless
interest the result, he moved along the effigy towards
the window, so as to show only one arm and a portion
of the bust to those who might be watching without,
skilfully imparting to the figure the cautious and hes-
itating motions of a living actor, who might be sup-
posed to be conscious of the hazard incurred, though
determined to approach. Scarcely had the protruding
arm entered the narrow opening, bringing one side
of the body in fair view to the supposed lurking enemy
without, when a bright flash suddenly gleamed through
384
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
the window, and, with the almost simultaneous report
of a dozen guns, bursting from the surrounding cov-
erts, a shower of bullets passed through the effigy,
and buried themselves in the logs of the opposite wall.
There was again a momentary silence, when, with the
lifting smoke along the line from which the fire pro-
ceeded, several dark forms became visible, peering
out from their respective coverts, and quivering and
dodging about in the dissipating vapor. Then came
the sharp word of command from the watchful scout.
"Fire!"
Eight well-aimed rifles from the loops along the
walls above and below, instantly spoke in response;
and the mingled screech of a half dozen voices, fol-
lowed by a yell of rage and disappointment from the
whole band of the besiegers, plainly told the result of
the stratagem.
"Now by hokey! if I don't keep this coat to brag
on-six bullet-holes right through the body, and the
owner still alive and kicking!" exclaimed the scout,
picking up the riddled garment, and feeling out the
bullet-holes with his fingers, as the loud shout of exul-
tation and defiance, which burst from the little band
on the occasion, died away in the surrounding for-
est.
For nearly an hour, the besieged, who had closed up
their window, and resumed their respective posts,
now strained both ear and eye in vain, to catch some
sight or sound indicating the presence of the foe
around them. But fully aware of the desperate and
wily character of those with whom they had to deal,
they determined to suffer none of their vigilance to
relax. And but a short time elapsed, before they
made a discovery, which taught them the wisdom of
the resolution:-As all stood watching at their posts
in silence, a low, short exclamation from the young
Indian, testified that
that something suspicious had
at length attracted his attention.
"What now, Neshobee?" softly asked Selden, step-
ping noiselessly towards the native, whọ was lying on
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
385
the floor in one corner, listening through a crevice
which he had found between the lower logs.
"Me no see nothing, but hark um scratch um but-
tons-guess um lift something," was the somewhat
hesitating reply.
""
"I'll grant you the best 'harkum,' as you call it,
boy," said Pete Jones, who stood near, and, on the
exclamation of the Indian, had renewedly taxed his
vision to discover the cause; "but as to eye-shot, you
have got to knuckle to me, for I can see them; and
they are at some bobbery, too-though what in the
name of reason it can be, he continued, pausing and
hesitating, as he turned his head one way and then
another, to obtain a more distinct view; "what it can
be, I am dubious whether the divil himself can tell-
unless he contrived it for 'em. They are moving
down the path this way, I believe; yes, and in pairs,
too, like new-married geese. What?-no-yes, they
have got something upon their shoulders I should
think it was one of the corpses we made for 'em,
which they were carrying to be buried, only it is as
long as a sea-sarpent.
"Aha! I understand it," cried the young leader, "it
is some long timber which they intend to use as a bat-
tering ram, to beat in our door. And thank Heaven
for the timely discovery, but for which, ten to one,
we had been lost, and even as it is, there is danger
enough. Stand to your guns, boys," he continued, in
a low, thrilling tone, though sufficiently raised to
reach every man within, "if we can but drop two or
three of the foremost, the whole probably will be
carried down by the weight of the timber-cock your
guns-keep a steady eye on the advancing column,
and be ready for the word."
Slowly, and with noiseless tread, did the performers
of this new mode of attack approach along the path,
staggering under the weight of the long, heavy pole,
or rather the trunk of a closely-trimmed tree, which
they bore on their shoulders, till within three or four
rods of the house; when, squaring round, and point-
386
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
ing the butt end of their formidable implement
directly at the door, they began to bear it forward
with mighty force towards the object of its aim,
which, the next instant must have given way before
the tremendous impetus which it was gathering for
the blow. At that critical juncture, Selden gave the
signal to his impatient men, and every gun that could
be brought to bear, was discharged upon the assail-
ants. A cry of agony rose from the spot, followed
with a shout of "Hold on! for God's sake, hold on!"'
Then was heard the sounds of floundering footsteps,
and in another breath, the whole came thundering to
the ground. Once more the house rung with the
triumphant shouts of the Green Mountain Boys, and
all again was silent.
Another long respite was allowed our little band,
and during the hour succeeding the last onset, noth-
ing could be seen or heard to betray the presence of
the enemy anywhere in the vicinity of the spot. They
had evidently retired to some distance to hold a consul-
tation, and arrange some new method of attack. At
length, however, the occasional crackling of a dry
stick, as it broke apparently under cautiously-moving
feet in the fields and woods around, apprised the
intently-listening band within that the twice baffled
foe were again stealthily drawing up to the spot, still
bent on renewing, in some shape or other, the assault.
After appearing to approach to their line of coverts,
reaching within five or six rods of the house, a dead
silence of many minutes ensued, leaving the besieged
still wholly ignorant of the form in which the threat-
ened attack was to be made, and even, at length, in
some doubt whether it was to be made at all. All at
once a tremendous outcry broke through the surround-
ing gloom, and the thrilling yells of the savages, min-
gled with the hoarser shouts of the Tories, resounded
in one unceasing din through the forest. Startled,
but not dismayed, by this sudden outbreak, the Green
Mountain Boys instantly cocked their pieces, and stood
straining their vision to catch a glimpse of the foe.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
387
But they watched in vain. No living object was to be
seen, though the noise, which seemed not to be the reg-
ular war-cry sometimes raised on the eve of an onset,
but a promiscuous clamor, was continued without the
least intermission. And together with the war-whoop
and shout, the rattling of guns and ramrods, the crash-
ing of dry brush, the beating of clubs against trees, the
mimic hooting of owls, the howling and bellowing of
wild beasts, with all imaginable noises, seemed to
unite to swell the strange uproar.
"Well, now, if I ain't beat," exclaimed Pete Jones,
as usual the first with his comments on the occasion.
"I wonder if the foolish satans expect to throw down
our walls of hard maple logs, and well locked together
at the ends to boot, by racket and roaring, as the
Jewish militia did those of old Jericho, that I've read
of in the scripter? I rather guess they will find it a
hard go, unless they blow them down with horns of
powder, as I've sometimes kinder reckoned must be
the meaning of the good book, in that business I've
just spoke of, seeing as how it was jest as easy for God
to make 'em gunpowder to do it with, as 'twas manna
to eat.
""
"to
"I think it must be a feint," replied Selden,
cover some design of a more dangerous character than
mere noise. An attack of some kind is doubtless in
preparation for us; but in what manner or place the
storm is to burst I am wholly at loss to conjecture.
Keep a keen eye abroad, boys. And you, Neshobee,
go immediately down through the passage to the
western entrance, where you heard Captain Hendee
say he would repair, when he left us a short time ago.
Tell him to keep a strict guard in that quarter, and if
beset, send instantly for a reinforcement.
And now,
my brave lads," he continued, turning to his men, "a
crisis may be at hand, which will require your coolness
and-but stay-what means this? Do my eyes deceive
me, or is it growing lighter in the room?"
"It is it certainly is!" responded several.
"The moon-the rising moon!" suggested others,
388
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"You needn't go to blaming the moon for this,"
coolly observed Jones, "for, according to my reckon-
ing, it won't be up this two hours."
"True," said the leader, "though evidently reflected
light, it is not from the moon. See! see! how rapidly
it increases!'' he continued, as a sort of flickering suf-
fusion of light, weak and scarcely perceptible at first,
but growing stronger and more distinguishable every
second, as if reflected from a steadily kindling flame
in some unseen point in the heavens, now began dimly
to light up the grounds around the house, and even
render objects in the room visible. "This light was
never made by the enemy to enable us to shoot them.
There is mischief afoot somewhere. Let every man,
then, stand to his post, and let every eye be strained
to discover the cause.
""
At that instant the appalling cry of "Fire! the roof is
on fire!'' resounded through the loft above, revealing
at once to the startled inmates below the character
of the expected danger, and the meaning of the mys-
terious uproar, which had, it was now evident, enabled
the enemy to approach the house, mount it at the cor-
ners, set fire in different places to the roof with their
ready prepared combustibles, and descend and escape
unheard and undetected.
“Cut the fastenings of the outside binders of the
roof, and stave off every bark of the covering that the
fire has reached," shouted the excited leader to the
men above.
"It will expose us to certain death from the shot of
the enemy, to make an opening while we remain here,”
was the reply.
"Rip up the floor between us, then," promptly said
Selden, "to give us a chance to do it from below here
-off with the fastenings! up with the floor!
Hand
us down two or three of those longest plank for our
purpose, and descend yourselves to our assistance.
Lively, my men! As you value your salvation, be
lively!"
In prompt obedience to the command, the men tore
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
389
up the loose boards composing the floor, and, after
passing down to their comrades below such as might
be needed, hastily threw the rest together at the ends
of the loft, leaving all the inside of the roof open to
the lower floor; when, swinging themselves down by
the bare beams, they joined in the operations already
then in rapid progress upon the frail covering above.
The long boards having been reared up endwise, and
each one placed in the hands of two strong men, were
now thrust forcibly against the roof at the different
points where the fires were supposed to be burning.
on the outside; and several breaches were made, all
expecting, that, by the removal of a few of the barks,
the flames might be extinguished. But appearances
soon taught them, that their hopes of thus conquering
the element were wholly delusive. The light above,
instead of dying away, as portions of the burning roof
were removed, continued rapidly to increase. Small
tongues of the lambent flames began to show them-
selves through the lateral crevices in the covering in
numerous places, quivering, and leaping from point to
point along the inner surface, while a general crack-
ling above, plainly told them that the fire had already
spread nearly or quite over the whole of the outside of
the roof. Perceiving that nothing short of unroofing
the whole building would stop the progress of the
flames, they now proceeded with renewed vigor in
their operations. Piece after piece of the broad barks
were beat off, and hurled blazing to the ground. And
the work was continued with unabated energy, till the
last vestige of the burning material had been removed,
and nothing but the naked rafters intervened between
the lower floor, on which all our little band were now
assembled, and the starry heavens above them.
"There, thank Heaven, we are freed from that dan-
ger at last!" exclaimed Selden, in tones of gratulation,
as he threw down the implement with which he had
been assisting the men in their labors.
"That's right enough," observed the scout, whose
attention for some moments seemed to have been
390
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
arrested by some appearance he noticed through a
loophole. "All that is right enough, mayhap; but
while we are putting up thanks for deliverance from
one danger, I am a little suspicious whether or no we
hadn't better join to 'em a small bit of a prayer to be
delivered from a worse one that we've got to see to
soon, I've a notion-jest look here, Captain."
Selden turned to the spot occupied by the speaker,
who stood silently and successively pointing to the
different loopholes along the walls, and the words of
the latter were explained. Flames, rising from the
ground on the outside, began to be visible, and their
flickering points were already darting up in fitful leaps
athwart several of the apertures, announcing to the
dismayed inmates that a fire was in rapid progress on
the outer walls of the house, from combustibles which
had been piled up against them, doubtless, at the
time of firing the roof, and which had been kindled by
fire placed there by the enemy, or by burning frag-
ments of bark falling down from above. All saw at a
glance that it was utterly impossible to arrest, by any
means now left them, the spreading conflagration,
and that, consequently, the house must soon be relin-
quished to the devouring element. And but a few
more moments had elapsed, before they were warned,
by the spouts of crackling flames now beginning to
shoot up above the tops of the roofless walls, and by the
sensibly increasing heat in the room, to prepare for
their retreat to their last refuge in the subterraneous
abode of their provident hostess. At that instant, the
voice of Sherwood, the leader of their foes, was heard
above the roaring of the flames, loudly calling on the
besieged to yield themselves as prisoners, and come
forth, lest they should perish in the fire.
"Is there a possibility of getting a glimpse of that
demon through the loops?" asked Selden, in a tone of
concentrated bitterness. "If there is, let a rifle bullet
take back his answer.'
In pursuance of the suggestion of their leader, the
inen made an attempt to get a sight of their foes, who,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
391
now sensible of their advantage, were heard shouting
within a few rods of the house. But it was useless;
for the walls, by this time, were so completely envel-
oped in fire and smoke as wholly to intercept the view
of every object without.
“Let us beat a retreat, then, for the widow's strong-
hold below," resumed Selden; "but let us pause a
moment to send a glance over yonder tree-tops, lest
they contain eyes which will discover, in our move-
ment, what I trust those exulting fiends do not, and
will not suspect-that this is not our last, nor best
resource for baffling their hellish purposes.
The last speaker had scarcely ceased, before Jones,
who seemed to have anticipated the object of his
superior, raised his rifle to his shoulder, preparatory
to an aim, while his eye continued intently fixed on
the body of a large hemlock standing eight or ten rods.
from the house.
"What now, Jones?" said the former, who had
noticed the sudden movement of the scout.
"Hold easy!” replied the other, "there's something
that acts mightily like a red-skin going up the back side
of that tree yonder. But he's so pesky delicate about
showing anything better than toes and fingers-stay
-stay"-he continued, in a low, gleeful chuckle,
"there's a large limb just above him, which, if he's
fool enough to try to pass it, must throw his body out
of the track so far that-and, by Jethro! he is a going
to try it. Now hold still as thunder, all, and I'll be
the chap to speak to the red divil."
Every eye now glanced anxiously from the long and
steadily poised tube of the scout to the tree in ques-
tion and a moment of breathless silence succeeded;
when the sharp report of the piece rung through the
forest, and the dull, heavy jar upon the earth, that
instantly followed, told that another foeman was
added to the long list of victims who had fallen beneath
the murderous bullets of the unerring old Trusty.
"Down! down with you all, before the smoke of the
392
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
piece rises," exclaimed Selden, as he now, after hurry-
ing his men through the trap into the cellar, hastily
descended himself and let the door down after him.
CHAPTER XXVIII
"The waves a moment backward bent-
The hills that shake, although unrent,
As if an earthquake pass'd-
The thousand shapeless things all driven
In cloud and flame athwart the heaven,
By that tremendous blast."
Leaving the burning building to its fate, Selden and
his men immediately entered the dark avenue below,
when, after blocking up the mouth as well as they
could, with earth and stones taken from the cellar
wall, to keep out the smoke, as well as to secure it
against the discovery and entrance of the enemy,
should they break into the house before the progress
of the flames in the interior should prevent them, they
proceeded directly to the middle excavation. Here
they met their hostess walking with restless steps and
anxious looks to and fro before the curtained apart-
ment containing her family.
"Well, Mrs. Story," said Selden, as he approached
at the head of his followers, "I regret to inform you
that your house is irrecoverably on fire. We have done
our best to avert the catastrophe, but have wholly
failed, and even have been driven to retreat to your
refuge for our own safety.
""
"I know it," replied the widow, "I have been up to
the mouth of the passage to listen every five minutes,
and know all that has happened. But let the house
go-all-everything, and I am content if my treasures
here," she continued, with a slight tremor of voice as
she pointed towards the curtained recess, "if my
treasures here can but be spared me. The little fel-
lows, thank Heaven, are now all asleep, and know
nothing of the dangers that hang over them. And
God grant that they may remain so till the hatchets of
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
393
the hell-hounds now yelling above us shall,—if it is so
ordered of Heaven,-shall be buried in their"-here
choking with emotion at the horrid thought which
her imagination began to suggest, she stopped short
and was for a moment silent.
"Captain Selden," she at length resumed, "were
my own personal safety alone concerned, I think I
could follow you to the cannon's mouth without flinch-
ing. But when I find the lives of my children at stake,
the mother instantly prevails within me, and I become,
in spite of all I can do, a poor, trembling coward. But
enough of this-have you any reason to suspect the
enemy are aware of our place of refuge?"
"None whatever; and even at the worst, we think
you have but little to fear. But where are the girls?''
"Alma and Jessy are in yonder room guarding the
hollow stub through which the smoke of our fire-place
escapes, lest some of the enemy should discover that
avenue to the room, and attempt to descend."
"Nobly employed! But the duty shall now be done
by fitter hands," said Selden, as, followed by his men,
he passed on to the main apartment.
On reaching the room they found the girls, as the
widow had named, stationed before the rude fire-place.
Alma was sitting upon a block in an attitude which
would enable her to hear the least sound connected
with the hollow trunk above; while her more volatile
companion, having chosen the part of sentry, was
silently walking back and forth before the hearth with
the widow's rifle in her hand. Nor was this weapon
their only dependence; a quantity of loose straw was
lying in the fire-place, and a slow burning torch was
at hand to apply and set the combustible material into
a blaze the instant any one should attempt to enter
the cavity above.
"Bravo! ladies," exclaimed Selden, as he approached.
"I don't now remember me," he continued, eyeing
Jessy archly, "to have seen so heroic a display of this
character since whilom at the bloody siege of the
Lower Falls,"
394
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"Now, Captain Selden," replied the other with a
half-resentful, half-deprecating look, "if you ever
mention that affair again, I will never-positively-
never forgive you. Besides, how can you feel like
joking at such an hour as this?"
"For ourselves we tremble not," interposed Miss
Hendee, rising and turning to Selden with her usual
calm dignity of manner; "but think of that distressed
mother and her helpless family, upon whose heads we
have brought this fearful peril!"
"Heaven forbid that we should be unmindful of
them," rejoined the young leader, seriously; "and
believe me, Miss Hendee, there is not a man,—not a
single man of us here, who, if need be, would hesitate
to shed his heart's blood in her defense. But we will
now relieve you of your charge here, ladies. Retire
then, and, if possible, to rest and slumber; for I well
know your exhausted systems must, by this time,
require both. Go, girls," he added, conducting them
to the entrance of the passage leading to the apartment
of their hostess, "go,-keep up bright hopes, and rely
on our disposition and ability to defend you.
99
As soon as the ladies had retired, a guard was
selected to supply the place they had just relinquished,
and another was ordered to relieve Captain Hendee
and his faithful attendant at the western entrance.
The remainder of the men, glad to seize every moment
offered them for rest, mostly threw themselves upon
the earthy floor, and fell asleep, while Selden and
Captain Hendee, willing to leave them to what repose
they might thus snatch from the duties to which they
were liable the next instant to be called, repaired to
the small partitioned room adjoining, to hold a con-
sultation and be ready for any movements which
might be made by their persevering foes. A brief
period of comparative silence now succeeded, in which
nothing was to be heard below but the deep, heavy
snoring of the wearied men, and the low, dull roaring
of the flames above. Slight jarrings of the earth,
however, showing that the enemy were again in
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
395
motion, at length began to be perceptible below; and
soon the unexpected sounds of the blows of hatchets
were added to other indications of some fresh project
about to be attempted by the besiegers, the nature
and object of which the besieged had now no means
of ascertaining.
"Now that just settles the question; for I'll be blest
if I stand it any longer," exclaimed Jones, who had for
some time manifested signs of uneasiness as he sat
listening to the movements above ground, and who,
as the last sound struck his ear, sprang upon his feet,
and began with restless steps, to pace the apartment.
"To be cribbed and holed up here like so many
hunted foxes, with forty devils over our heads, who
may be preparing to send down one of those great
hemlocks to smash ús like midgets, for anything we
know, or fixing some other contrivance for us not mucli
better, and all without allowing us the least chance to
know the how, when and whereabouts, is a thing I
don't fancy. And if I can get out there at the creek,
I swow by Lucifer's red taffeta jacket, I'll jest know
what they are up to there above ground."
66
"What do you propose to do, Jones?" asked Selden,
who, overhearing part of the scout's soliloquy, now
entered the room; 'not to go out, and alone, surely?"
"I reckon I jest do, Captain-that is, unless you
swear right down I shan't.
""
"But consider the danger of its leading to a discov-
ery of our refuge, and the fearful personal risk you
must encounter.
""
"And then again consider the chance that the satans
have smelt out that secret already, or, at the best,
that they will, when the house falls in, and they find
we ain't there. And as to my own risk in the matter,
I think you hadn't ought to grumble much, if I don't,
considering," said the scout, taking the other's remarks
for a consent to his proposed excursion, and moving
towards the entrance.
"Jones, you shall not go alone-it shall never be said
I suffered that," said Selden, calling after the scout,
396
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
and snatching up a rifle, and following him into the
passage.
Although Selden had given way to the proposal of the
scout with a mind nearly balanced between the dangers
which might be averted, and those which might
be incurred by the measure, yet, having once decided
to permit and take part in it himself, he threw aside
all his doubts, and proceeded to carry it into instant
execution. And having ordered the guard at this
post to be doubled, and leaving the command with
Captain Hendee, to act as circumstances should dic-
tate, the two adventurers removed a portion of the
block-work at the mouth of the passage sufficient for
an egress, crept cautiously and silently out into the
open air, and soon gained the top of the bank above
unmolested. Here they paused a moment to listen
and reconnoiter; and perceiving no signs of the pres-
ence of any enemy, except in the immediate vicinity
of the burning tenement, and being thus relieved from
their fears of an ambush at this spot, which they con-
sidered the greatest personal hazard that they would
be likely to incur, they again set forward towards the
scene of action, by separate and slightly diverging
routes, under the agreement that each should return
by himself, and as speedily as possible, after obtaining
the best knowledge of the situation and movements of
the enemy of which the case would admit. Carefully
keeping within the shadow of a tree or bush, lest the
light of the conflagration, which was brightly illum-
inating every open space in the woods around, should
expose him to the view of the enemy, Selden, after
leaving his companion, crawled noiselessly on to the
border of the woods, where he soon succeeded in
gaining a position in a thick clump of low evergreens,
which luckily afforded him every chance he could wish
for observation. The greater part of the enemy were
still at their station, a short distance from the house,
where they stood, peering over their coverts, with
their guns leveled at the door, which they were evi-
dently each moment expecting to see thrown open by
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
397
the besieged, whom the flames, they supposed, must
soon drive from the house. A small band was bully
engaged in the edge of the woods, some eight or ten
rods to his left, in trimming out with their hatchets a
small spruce tree, which they had just cut down, and
which, he at once concluded, was to be used as another
battering-ram; the former one being found by them,
probably, too unwieldy for their purpose. While
Selden stood making these observations, he heard the
steps and voices of persons in the open grounds,
apparently approaching from the spot at which the
engine was preparing, and, turning his head, he was
soon enabled to see two men coming from a nook in
the clearing some rods to his left, of which his situa-
tion had not permitted him a full view. Passing along
near the woods, they soon came between him and the
burning pile, when they slackened their pace; and
finally coming to a stand a little to his right, they
turned their faces towards the fire. With the first
flash of light that fell upon their features, Selden
instantly recognized in one of them Sherwood, the
leader of the band. The other he rightly judged to be
Darrow, the reckless minion of the former. Selden's
rifle was instinctively brought to his face, with an aim
at Sherwood's heart, and his finger was feeling for the
trigger, when prudence overcame the temptation of
ending the life of the villain, and slowly and reluc-
tantly lowering his piece, he gave his attention to the
dialogue which now ensued between these two
worthies.
"Yes, the tables are now turned, Darrow," were
the first words that became distinctly audible to our
listener. "We have now, singularly enough, chased
them round nearly to the spot where this same accursed
Selden was one of the foremost of the gang to have
me tied up and whipped like some scurvy thief. And
if he is the same fellow you saw in the woods, near
Crown Point-❞
"That I can swear to."
398
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"And if you are right in your suspicions as to the
other particular-"
"I am more and more convinced of it, Jake.”
"Well, I got one glance at his features to-day, and,
come to look at him with that object, I swear, I believe
you are right; and if so, both interest and revenge
demand his death while he is in our power. But I
should prefer to have this brought about before they
surrender; and that was the reason of my particular
orders to the men to pick him off as soon as possible."'
"Yes, and how the devil it has happened that he
has so long escaped the effects of that order, is more
than I can tell. I have had four fair shots at the fel-
low myself in the course of the chase to-day; and two
or three of the men say they have tried it with the
same luck. He stands fire like a salamander," added
the ruffian, with a ferocious grin at his own wit, “and,
by hell! I am beginning to think they are all of that
sort of animals, to stand out there in the flames at this
rate.
""
"Well, the worst is their own, damn 'em," rejoined
Sherwood, with a demoniac laugh; "and if they do
get baked a little, it is no more than they deserve.
But the fact is, they must have been driven out long
ago, if they had not contrived some way to keep out
the flames-the one, probably, which I suggested,
that of bringing earth from the cellar, and strewing it
over the upper floor.
""
"And still they must know, that in fifteen minutes
more, they will all be buried beneath a blazing log
heap."
"True; and I am surprised, I will own, that they
don't throw open the door, and call for quarter. But
we will now very soon save them the trouble, as I see
our men are just starting with their battering-pole to
beat in the door."
"I see; and I am glad they have got it under way,
at last; for that will tell the story, devilish quick; and
to tell the truth, Jake, I am plaguy suspicious of some
trick about this business.''
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
300
"Well, if there is, this will be the best way to dis-
cover it; but had not you better go and take the com-
mand?"
"No; Remington will know how to manage."
"Have you given him and the men their orders?"
"Yes-To let drive at the door with all vengeance.''
"And in case they rush out?"
"Why, shoot down the men, and spare the women
for our use.
19
"And supposing they cry for quarter?”
"Remington is to grant them; but three or four of
such marksmen as he shall select, are not to under-
stand the order till they have dropped Selden on your
account, the old Captain on mine, and that long-legged
devil, who has settled the fate of so many of their com-
panions to-day on their own."
"All right, Darrow; but come, let us move a little
to the south, where we can get a fairer view of the
door, when they make the trial, and where, at the
same time, we shall be out of the range of the bullets,
should the rascals be desperate enough to attempt to
fire upon us again."
It was with no small effort that Selden restrained
himself from taking immediate vengeance on the
black-hearted villain before him, as he listened in
silence to the foregoing dialogue, and discovered the
extent of his diabolical designs. The consciousness,
however, that the lives of many-and among them,
one whose life was dearer to him than his own-might
be endangered by the act, enabled him to master his
feelings to the end of the discourse. And the objects
of his indignation having now withdrawn themselves
from his view, he gave his attention, in common with
his foes, to the operations about to be commenced on
the house, being anxious to witness the result, to see
to what discoveries it might lead, and to what new
movements it might give rise, among the enemy,
before retreating from the ground; nor had he to wait
long for that object. The new battering implement,
when once fairly placed upon the shoulders of the party
400
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
immediately in charge of it, was borne round to the
front side of the house, where it was transferred to
the shoulders of those selected to employ it against
the door. For the next succeeding moment, as the
engine was being poised and directed to the object of
its aim, a breathless silence ensued, broken only by
the sharp clicking of cocking rifles, now heard in every
direction, while the dark forms of the enemy were
seen slinking behind the different objects of the
lighted landscape, and protruding their long, death-
commissioned tubes, in readiness for the expected rush
of the besieged from the house, the instant the interior
should be laid open.
"All ready?-ahead with it, then!" now shouted the
infamous villain to whom the command of the assault-
ing party had been entrusted-"ahead with it, as if
the devil drove it on end!"
Starting at the word, the men shot forward the butt
end of their engine with a desperate effort towards
its object. It struck; and the massy door flew nearly
to the opposite wall of the blazing interior; while the
sides of the fabric, already loosened, and about to sep-
arate at the corners, from the action of the fire, after
tottering a moment at the violent jar imparted by the
blow, gradually swayed inward, and finally came down
in a mass of red ruins over the cellar, sending up to
the tops of the neighboring trees, a broad gush of
flames, that flashed far and wide over the surrounding
wilderness.
The enemy, to whom this result was wholly unex-
pected, looked on in mute astonishment, not un-
mingled, apparently, with some feelings of horror, at
the terrific fate, which they took for granted had
befallen every soul of the besieged.
"The devil!" at length exclaimed Sherwood, awak-
ening from the stupor of the surprise into which he
seemed to have been thrown by the event-"so they
have all gone to hell together!"
"That don't follow, by a damned sight!" bluntly
replied Darrow.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
401
"What do you mean by that, Bill?" asked the
former, turning hastily, and with an air of concern, to
his minion.
"They have escaped, Jack!"'
"In the naine of hell, how?"
"Don't know; but depend on't they have. Why,
do you think them such cursed fools as to stay there
to be roasted alive, when the worst they could fear
from rushing out, would be the ten-fold preferable
death by the bullet? Never! I tell you they have
found some way of escape-probably by a drain, or
passage from the cellar into the woods. It began to
creep through my hair some time ago, but you were
so confident-"
“Damnation seize me for a dolt!” exclaimed the en-
raged leader. "Ho! there, men, the game has slipped
through our fingers-to the woods! to the woods, for the
trail!" he added, springing forward himself to take the
lead in the execution of the order. And so sudden
and unexpected was the movement, that before Sel-
den had become fairly aware of the dangers of his
situation, Sherwood and Darrow had entered the woods
but a few rods to the south, and were rapidly approach-
ing the spot where he stood concealed. Deeming it
impossible now to retreat from his refuge undetected,
and thinking there might be a chance that they would
pass by without discovering him, which would stil!
leave him time to escape before others of the enemy
could arrive, he prepared his arms, and silently awaited
the approach of these two deadliest of his foes.
came nearly abreast of him, and were passing by,
when the motion of his shadow, which was cast by the
bright flames of the burning pile across their path,
caught their sight, and caused them to stop short.
Turning round for the object, their eyes fell upon the
other, and they gazed at him an instant in evident
doubt and surprise.
They
"The very fellow, by hell!'' eagerly muttered Dar-
row, in an undertone to his companion.
All three simultaneously raised their weapons and
402
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
fired. But in taking a hasty step forward, Selden's
foot, as fortunately for him, perhaps, as for one of his
foes, became entangled in a small bush, and in the act
of discharging his piece, he fell to the ground. The
bullets of his foes whistled harmlessly over his head,
while his own, for the same reason, missed the object
of its aim. Leaping forward in the smoke, the desper-
adoes both grappled with their unprepared antagonist,
before he could gain his footing, and throwing him
back upon the ground, drew their knives to despatch
him. As Selden was about to shut his eyes in antici-
pation of the fatal blow, he caught a glimpse of the
well-known figure of the tall scout, coming with tre-
mendous bounds to the spot. And the next instant,
Darrow, as he turned, and was starting up at the
unexpected apparition, received a blow over his head
and shoulders from the clubbed rifle of the former,
that sent him reeling to the earth; while Sherwood
was seized by the same powerful hand, and dashed
against a tree with a force that laid him nearly sense-
less by the side of his disabled companion.
The surprise of Jones was equaled only by his joy,
as Selden, whom he supposed at least badly wounded,
and whom he was about to grasp and bear off in his
arms, now sprang upon his feet unhurt, and drawing
his rapier, turned to add the finishing blow to his two
still prostrate, but fast reviving antagonists.
At that instant, the shout of rallying foes, hurrying
to the rescue, and already entering the border of the
woods, not twenty yards distant, broke upon their
ears, warning them of the necessity of immediate flight.
"By Moses! we must leg it, Captain," said the scout,
as reluctantly relinquishing their object, they both
darted away from the spot, and, throwing each a tree
in the range behind him, commenced a rapid retreat
towards the refuge they had just left. In another
moment they had reached the creek, thrown them-
selves over the bank, entered the passage, and were
in the embrace of their alarmed and anxious friends,
while the woods above were resounding with the hide-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
403
ous yells of the disappointed foc, running about in
search of the missing objects of their rage.
Our band, having but little reason to hope that their
retreat would now long remain undiscovered, imme-
diately set about such preparations as were deemed
necessary for its defense. The short timbers, compos-
ing the barrier near the mouth of the passage, were
more firmly secured, while convenient loopholes were
formed by raising some of the upper timbers, and
inserting, at intervals, flat stones between them. An
efficient guard, with muskets and fixed bayonets, were
then stationed at the spot, the charge of which was
entrusted to the brave and trusty scout. This and the
other arrangements being completed, they awaited in
silent anxiety the approaching crisis of their fate, all
intently listening, from the different stations allotted
them in the rooms, or along the passages, for some
sound which should indicate in what shape and direc-
tion the expected assault was to be made. They were
not long in suspense. The sound of suppressed and
eager voices, and cautiously treading feet, fast gather-
ing on the bank above, soon apprised them that the
entrance to their retreat was discovered.
For some
time, however, the enemy seemed wary and fearful
about showing their persons in front of the passage.
But, after appearing to listen a while, first one, and
then another, ventured out abreast of the barricade
across the passage, which was situated about a yard
from its mouth. In the meantime Jones and his men
stood within, holding their breath in motionless
silence, with their bayonets in their loops, and their
eyes eagerly fixed on their marked victims, who, feel-
ing their dark way with the muzzles of their guns,
were slowly and cautiously approaching within reach
of the murderous blades of those of whose dangerous
proximity they were wholly unaware The assailants,
now striking the barricade with their guns, paused,
and seemed to hesitate; but, after again listening a
moment, they withdrew their pieces, and, coming up
to the timbers, were beginning to feel with their
26
404
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
hands, apparently to ascertain the nature of the
obstruction; when the death-doing bayonets were sud-
denly thrust forth, and, with horrid shrieks, the
pierced and recoiling wretches sprang back, and fell
over with a heavy splash into the water below.
Warned by the fearful reception of their comrades,
the enemy ventured not again to appear before the
mouth of the passage, but soon retired from the bank,
and for a long time gave the besieged no further
cause of alarm. So profoundly still indeed, was all
above, that our little garrison at length entertained a
strong hope that their assailants, grown wise by the
lessons they had already received, had given up their
design, and made a final retreat from the place. The
soldiers gradually relaxed from that stern and deter-
mined air which the exigencies of their situation had
thrown over their war-worn visages, and began to
exchange the careless remark or sportive jest. Mrs.
Story, and the other females, venturing from their
secluded refuge, came out into the main room, to hear
from their gallant defenders a recital of the various
occurrences of the night, to the deadened and imper-
fect sounds of which they had been listening for many
hours with the most painful anxiety. These were
accordingly narrated. And every individual feat
accomplished, or peril encountered, was made the
theme of praise or gratulation to the different actors
of the occasion; while to wind up, Pete Jones, with
his characteristic waggish gravity, displayed to the
astonished ladies his bullet-riddled coat, as a proof that
his case afforded a climax to all the hair-breadth escapes
of the night. As the attention of the company was
thus engaged, and at the instant when the eyes of all,
including those set to guard against the descent of the
foe down the hollow stub before described, were
turned upon the scout, a savage warrior dropped
- silently upon the hearth, and rearing himself partially
from his crouching attitude, and throwing a keen,
rapid glance around the apartment, glided swiftly
through the assembled group, and darted into the dark
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
405
passage leading into the interior room, where the chil-
dren were left unguarded. So sudden, so noiseless
and shadow-like, had he entered, passed through
them, and disappeared, that few heeded, and still
fewer became fully aware of the character of the appa-
rition. The eagle-eyed vigilance of the mother was
not, however, thus to be eluded. She caught a glimpse
of the flitting form of the savage, as he entered the
passage; and, with the heart-rending exclamation,
"My children! Oh! my children!" she sprang for-
ward like a maddened tigress, and disappeared in the
passage after him.
"A light! follow instantly with a light!" shouted
Selden, drawing his sword, and rushing into the dark
avenue to defend or rescue the frantic mother and her
periled children from the deadly knife of their merci-
less foe. He had scarcely passed the entrance, how-
ever, before he was met by the intrepid woman, drag-
ging back, with resistless force, the struggling savage,
who had been overtaken while groping his uncertain
way onward, and seized round the waist from behind
by the desperately grasping arms of his captor.
had just succeeded in unsheathing his knife, which was
fiercely glittering in the light of the advancing torch,
as it rose and fell in quickly repeated, but, as yet,
ineffectual passes at her body. A glance sufficed to
show the young leader the imminent danger of his
unheeding hostess, and, with the next breath, his
weapon was sent to the hilt into the body of the screech-
ing foe.
He
"Thank God! thank God!" hurriedly ejaculated the
nearly breathless and exhausted woman, casting from
her, with a shudder, the gasping and gory corpse,
which, as she now turned and hastened back to com-
fort her alarmed but untouched children, was drawn
away, and covered up in a corner.
While this was taking place, Jones had placed a
quantity of the combustible material, already prepared
for such an emergency, in the fire-place, and applied
the torch. And by the time Selden had taken breath
406
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
after his exploit, so as to turn his attention to other
objects, the rapidly kindling flames were beginning to
flash and roar along up the cavity above.
"That was well thought of, Jones," said the latter,
approaching the scout, who had dropped on one knee
in the corner of the fire-place, and was intently listen-
ing to such sounds as he could distinguish in the chim-
ney above, amidst the roaring of the fire,-"well
thought of; but what do you hear up chimney?”
"Why," replied the scout, rising at the approach of
his superior, "I got down there to see if I could find
out whether there were any more of these visitors
coming down the hollow, thinking that the way they
would scratch and scramble up back again, when the
smoke and blaze met 'em, would be a curiosity."
"And what did you discover?"'
"Jest nothing but unsartinty. Though from some
noises that reached me, I rather guess there was one
or more of the scamps at the top of the stub, harking
down, and waiting to see how the first got on, before
venturing; but that wan't what I was at, when you
spoke-'
"Well, what was it, then?"
"Why, I should rather guess there was a consider-
able party standing not far from over us, now, kinder
consulting, or mayhap waiting to have some contriv-
ances made, as the rest appear to be at work with their
hatchets round in the woods as busy as the divil in a
gale of wind.”
"Ha! what now?-felling trees upon us?"
"No-lighter work than that—and, I'm thinking
whether it an't sharpening stakes, or possibly hewing
out wooden shovels. But hush! hark!"
Every voice was instantly hushed at the ominous.
words and manner of the scout; and as the room
became silent, the sounds that had attracted his atten-
tion became distinctly audible to the whole company;
at first was heard a distant trampling of feet, appar-
ently approaching with slow, irregular movement,
from all directions towards them. Nearer and nearer
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
407
they came, pausing every few steps, and stamping
heavily upon the earth as they continued gradually to
close up to that portion of the surface which extended
over the room where our intrepid little band stood
silently awaiting the result of this new movement, the
object of which, they soon conjectured, was to ascer-
tain, by sounding the earth, the exact position of their
place of concealment before attempting to dig or other-
wise effect a breach through the surface. In a moment
more the advancing lines reached the verge of the
solid earth, on either side, and began to step over the
boundary upon the hollow ground above the room;
when, seeming to become aware of the fact, they sud-
denly paused, exchanged a few words, and commenced
a furious stamping over the whole space covering the
excavation beneath. As the trembling earth gave
back the hollow sound, thus affording unequivocal evi-
dence that the place of their search was at length dis-
covered, they raised a fierce yell of exultation, and
fell to work with their hatchets, and such rude imple-
ments as they had hastily prepared for the purpose, in
cutting away the roots, and loosening and removing
the earth in such places as they had selected for effect-
ing openings.
As soon as it was fairly ascertained that the enemy
had commenced operations for effecting a breach
through the earth above, our band, with one consent,
ceased listening, and began to prepare for action.
Every one seemed fully sensible that a fearful crisis
was now indeed at hand, and carefully examining
their arms to see that everything was in readiness for
instant action, they arranged themselves at the com-
mand of their leader, in lines around the sides of the
room, while, in the compressed lip and sternly knit-
ting brows of each, was depicted the deeply breathed
resolution to fight to the death in defense of them-
selves and the fair and tender ones whose only hope
was now in their bravery.
"Give me a place among you," cried the intrepid
widow, at this moment emerging from the inner
408
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
room, armed with her rifle and equipped for battle,
"give me a place, and see whether I am the first to
desert the post of danger."
"But, madam, dear madam," began to expostulate
Selden, "do you know the peril that now awaits us?
Do you hear the sound of those busy fiends, belabor-
ing the earth above to break through upon us? and
there! do you see those fragments falling from that
jarring and trembling ceiling? Are you aware that in
ten minutes-"
"I have heard all—I see and know all," interrupted
the woman, in tones of desperate calmness; "I am
prepared for the worst. I can never live to see my
children murdered before my eyes. Here," she con-
tinued, planting herself at the entrance of the passage,
"here I will remain, and if the enemy enter here, it
shall be over my dead body. Nay, not a word, Cap-
tain Selden, I will not be denied.
At this moment Miss Hendee and Miss Reed glided
past the widow into the room, and with looks yet
unmoved by the danger, which they well understood
now menaced every individual of the company, pre-
sented themselves before the admiring gaze of the
soldiers.
"Ah! girls, you missed the tread of your sentinel,
did you? I meant to have escaped you unnoticed,"
said the widow with a melancholy smile.
66 'Aware that the hour decisive of the fate of us all
had arrived, we came to see if we could be of any serv-
ice here, or elsewhere," replied Alma, in a firm, but
serious tone.
"God bless you, noble girls!" said Selden, with
emotion, advancing to the side of his lovely and heroic
friends. "God bless you for this fortitude and self-
sacrificing bravery.”
"O! let me die by your side," murmured Jessy,
dropping her heard on Selden's bosom.
Touched by this exhibition, so gratifying to his feel-
ings as a lover, and to his pride as a soldier, the hero,
gently putting her from him, gazed an instant on the
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
409
slight, symmetrical form, and the beautiful and soul-
speaking features of the fond and spirited young crea-
ture before him, with the mingled look which imagina-
tion would naturally ascribe to a worshiper of the
goddess beauty, while kneeling at the shrine of her
image, and proffering the strangely blended adorations
which the nature of that worship must necessarily
have inspired.
"No, no, Jessy," he at length replied, arousing him-
self from the momentary entrancement; "no, girls,
you two, at least, may not-must not remain; to say
nothing of the perils you must encounter, your pres-
ence here might more embarrass than aid us. Retire,
then, and trust to us, under Providence, for your deliv-
erance.
"Is your father asleep, Alma?" asked the widow, as
the young ladies were leaving the room.
"He is, was the reply, "for, though when he came
to our room, and threw himself down among the chil-
dren to try to get a little sleep, he desired me to
awaken him on the occurrence of any new danger, I
yet could not find it in my heart to disturb him so
soon.'
"Let him be instantly awakened," said Selden, “I
would have his counsel."
In a few moments Captain Hendee, who, nearly
ready to sink under the fatigues of the day, had retired
to the inner room in the interval of quiet which fol-
lowed the repulse of the enemy at the western entrance,
had made his appearance. A glance at the ceiling, now
visibly shaking in two different places under the rap-
idly progressing operations of the foe above, enabled
him, with the hasty intimations just imparted by his
daughter, to comprehend at once the situation of both
besiegers and besieged.
"This is a strait to which I both feared and expected
we should be finally reduced," he remarked coolly,
after a momentary pause, "but let no man despair; I
have been in situations more hopeless than this, and
yet escaped.
??
410
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"We can at least sell our lives dearly," responded
Selden.
"True," replied the old veteran thoughtfully, "even
in the method of defense which I see, from your
arrangement, you propose to adopt,-that of shooting
the assailants as they attempt to enter the breaches
that they may make. But will you be able to thus
repel them long? Every foot of this earthy covering,
which now protects us from their bullets, may be
removed, or beat in upon us, before we can bring our
guns to bear upon them with effect. And every sur-
rounding tree-top will, by that time, conceal a foe,
ready to send us death from above; while fire-brands
and combustibles will be hurled down upon us by
those remaining on the ground. And if we retreat
into our narrow passages, as we must, the same game
will follow us there.
""
"All these hazards, Captain Hendee," replied the
young leader, "I am fully aware we may encounter.
But what other mode of defense can we adopt?-A
sally from the western entrance, which is now doubt-
less closely guarded by the enemy, with the expecta-
tion that we shall soon be driven to make it, must
prove fatal to all who shall attempt it; while the
entrance at the other end of the passage is blocked up
by a red mass of burning ruins. What other expedi-
ent, then, is left for us?"
"I had thought of one," said Captain Hendee, with
some hesitation. "I had thought of one, as our last
resort, in an emergency like this. It may not be
without risk to ourselves, I am aware, but," he contin-
ued with fiercely flashing eyes, "but it must be swift
destruction to the accursed gang above who are thirst-
ing for our blood!''
"In the name of Heaven, declare it, then!" eagerly
cried Selden, casting an uneasy glance at some fresh
demonstrations of the progress of the foe in the cov-
ering above.
"I will-here, this way," replied the former, as
stepping across the room, he opened the concealed
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
411
recess in the wall, and disclosed the widow's magazine
to the wondering gaze of Selden and his men, who,
ignorant of its existence, did not at once understand
the nature of its contents or perceive the old gentle-
man's object in displaying it. "There!" he added,
significantly, pointing to the heads of the casks thus
brought to view, "there, that explains my plan.
""
"How? What do those barrels contain?" rapidly
demanded Selden, with the varying expression of
doubt, surprise, and alarm.
"Gunpowder!" was the emphatic reply.
"Good God! Captain Hendee, do you consider our
case so desperate, that, Samson-like, we should all
perish with our foes?”
"It does not follow that we shall perish with them.
I have seen somewhat of the operation of exploding
mines, and cannot believe that the effects in the pro-
posed one can reach far into that winding passage, to
the further end of which, if thought safer than the
inner room, we can all repair.
"I'll be blest if I don't think the old thrash-the-
devil is about right, Captain Selden," exclaimed Pete
Jones, leaping about, and snapping his fingers in great
glee. "Jest place them in that corner beyond the fire
there, and it must be a sort of powder that I'm not
much acquainted with, if it turns at a right angle very
far into that passage after mischief. Well, now, the
Lord be thanked for putting this into your noddle, old
friend. I had about agreed to say gone dogs for us
all, but now I can see a considerable sprinkling of
hope through them barrels of thunder yonder."
66
"And you, Mrs. Story, whose stake is the greatest
in the result," said Selden, turning to the widow,
after hastily running his eye over the different parts
of the room, as if calculating the probable extent to
which the explosion would affect the earth laterally-
"what do you say to the measure?"
"I don't know-I don't know," replied the dis-
tressed mother, who had been mutely listening to the
startling proposition, in a sort of wild amazement.
412
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
"The work of the element will be terrific-perhaps
fatal to us--but the work of the exasperated foe, unless
thus destroyed, will be, I fear, for all we can do, no
less dreadful. I leave it to you, and may God direct
the course which shall be for our good," she added,
with a shudder.
"It is a fearful experiment, but it shall be tried,'
said the young leader, turning away to begin the
required arrangement.
At that instant a large fragment of earth was sud-
denly ruptured from the ceiling, and fell heavily to
the floor, scattering dirt in every direction around,
and disclosing in the place from which it had been
detached, the point of a huge sharpened stake, pro-
truding several inches into the room; while the wild
and exultant shouting of the foe above, as the stake
was drawn up, and the redoubled fury with which they
renewed their exertions, all loudly warned our band
that there was no time to be lost in preparing for the
execution of their purpose.
"Clear the room, instantly!" cried Selden, in low,
but startling accents, "back! back! every man of you,
but Jones, to the further end of the passage-no
remonstrance-no offers!" he continued, as urging
them with drawn sword from the room, several began
to persuade him to permit them to incur the hazard of
exploding the fatal mine, "not a word! the match
shall be applied by my own hand.”
As soon as the room was fairly cleared, Selden
turned, and, with rapid steps, proceeded to the recess,
drew forth the barrels, and, carrying them to the
corner opposite to the entrance of the inner passage,
placed them firmly, and pulled out the bungs, allowing
a quantity of the powder to run out from each on to the
ground. He then laid a small continuous train of dry
powder, extending from the barrels across the room
into the entrance in question; while the scout, by his
orders, after having removed the lights to a safe dis-
tance, wet a cartridge from the contents of his can-
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
413
teen, and hastily converted it into a slow match, to
apply to the end of the train. .
"There! now leave the rest to me, Jones; take care
of yourself, and see that the passage is kept clear for
my retreat," said the leader, receiving a torch which
was brought him by the other, and taking his station
to await the fearful moment of firing the train.
The enemy, in the meantime, were making rapid
progress. Two breaches were already made through
the earth into the room, and these, as was evinced by
the almost constant falling of heavy masses of dirt,
were every moment widening; while from the tramp-
ling of feet, all gathering up to the spot, the mingled
shouts, curses, and commands of the infuriated gang
and their leaders, it was obvious that an attempt to
descend was about to be made. At this moment, they
seemed to perceive that the besieged had deserted
their room, and retreated further into the earth.
Grown madly desperate by being already so long
baffled and doubly infuriated by the discovery that
their intended victims had still a further refuge, they
were now heard hastily throwing aside their tools and
resuming their arms preparatory to entering the
breach to follow up the pursuit, little dreaming, in
the hellish joy of their anticipated revenge, that the
torch was even then suspended over the train, and
waiting only their first movement, to send them, in an
instant, with all the passions of fiends raging in their
bosoms, unannealed into the presence of their God.
But while the foe-trampled earth was jarring to the
hideous tumult above, the silence of death prevailed
through the hushed vaults beneath. The agitated
mother was breathing hurried ejaculations over her
clasped children. And near her might be seen the
huddling forms of her shuddering female companions,
with their fair hands tightly compressed over both
ears and eyes, as if to shut out from their recoiling
senses the noise of the now momentarily expected
explosion; while the men in the dark passage beyond,
stood motionless and silent, listening in the attitude of
414
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
intensely excited expectation for the awful denoue-
Selden, in the meanwhile, hesitating between
his fears that the train would get disturbed by the
entrance of the foe into the room, and his anxiety to
have the band gather over, or so closely around it, as
to bring them all within the reach of the explosion,
still held the torch suspended in his extended hand
over the train, now lowering the point of the low flick-
ering brand nearly to a contact with the powder, at
some indication of the expected descent, and now
hastily withdrawing it, as other and less decisive
sounds reached his ear. His hesitation, however, was
soon ended; at that instant, a loud yell at the western
entrance, and the sounds of thickly-trampling feet that
followed, told him that the enemy had forced the
barrier at the end of that passage, and were rushing
into the room; while another hurra from the Tories
above, and the heavy, and quickly repeated jar of feet
striking upon the floor, which accompanied it, further
announced that the latter were beginning to leap
down the breaches to join the former in the assault.
At this critical instant, and before the mingled war-
cry of the savage and Tory had died away in the echo-
ing vaults beyond him, the young leader applied the
brand to the fuse, and rapidly retreated along the
passage towards his friends. Having reached the
curtained recess containing the women and children,
and here encountering Captain Hendee and Jones, he
turned round, and with them awaited, with palpitat-
ing heart and suspended breath, the fearful result.
With the low, hissing sound of the slowly burning
match, came a cry of horror from the scrambling foe,
over whose minds, now for the first time, seemed to
flash the dreadful truth. But too late. The next
instant, with a concussion that almost threw Selden
and his companions from their feet, the earth yawned
and opened along the passage overhead nearly to the
spot where they stood; when through the long vibrat-
ing chasm, was displayed to their appalled vision, the
broad space of tree-covered earth over and around the
|
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
415
room beyond, leaping, in disrupturing masses, into
the air, along with the diverging column of fiercely
shooting smoke and flame, in which were seen, com-
mingling with rocks, earth, and the limbs and trunks
of uprooted and swiftly revolving trees, a score of
human forms, wildly throwing out their arms, as if for
aid, and distending their mouths with unheard
screeches, as, with blackened and distorted features
and dissevering limbs, they were borne upwards with
amazing force in the flaming mass to the heavens.
The chasm slowly closed over the astounded but
unharmed band, and shut out from their reeling senses
the deafening din that was breaking in crashing thun-
ders above. A momentary stillness ensued; when the
returning shower of ruins came thundering to the
earth; after which, all again relapsed into a death-like
and unbroken silence.
Once more the morning light was springing in the
golden chambers of the east, heralding the approach
of the fiery coursers of the day-god up the glowing
pathway of the sky. More and more brightly broke
the suffusing radiance over the mountains, darkly
gleaming at first, upon the quiet surface of the gently
flowing Otter, and then, gradually lighting up, one
after another, the bolder features of the altered land-
scape, till the whole scene of the last night's thrilling
drama, and its awful catastrophe, stood revealed to the
sight. The humble tenement of the lone widow,
which the last setting sun left standing unmolested, in
her toil-wrought opening in the wilderness, had disap-
peared; and in its place lay a pile of black and smoul-
dering ruins. Fences were thrown down and scattered
in every direction; while the growing crops in the
fields around, reared by the hard labors of the inde-
fatigable occupant, and constituting her sole depend-
ence for the future sustenance of her numerous family,
were scorched and withered by the falling cinders
thrown up from the burning house, or prostrated and
416
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
beat into the earth by the trampling feet of reckless
foes. The breath of war had, indeed, passed over
everything, and her little all, in one short night, had
perished.
Near the banks of the stream, where stood a thick
growth of trees, over and around the main apartment
of the subterraneous abode, now yawned a huge, black
chasm in the ground, in which scarcely a trace of the
late regular room was discernible; while the burnt
and discolored bark and foliage, marking the standing
forest around, and the broken, splintered and uprooted
trees, which had been hurled outward and prostrated
with the earth for many rods in every direction from
the spot, and which were now lying strewed over the
ground in wild disorder, intermingled with smoking
rubbish, all told the fearful power and extent of the
terrific explosion. Half buried among the wide scat-
tered ruins lay the torn, mangled and blackened
corpses of savage and Tory,-the fated victims of the
mine, which had so suddenly, so unexpectedly sprung
beneath their feet, sweeping them, in an instant,
indiscriminately away, with the cries of anticipated
victory and vengeance on their lips, like chaff in a
whirlwind of fire.
As the increasing daylight began to fall more
broadly upon this scene of death and desolation, two
human forms might have been seen cautiously break-
ing through the loose earth that closed up the mouth
of the long passage into which our little band last
retreated. The small, topling head, crane-like neck,
long body and limbs, and the peculiarly rapid and
shambling movements of the one, as now crouching,
now rearing his tall form aloft, and throwing quick
and wary glances around him, he glided round beneath
the sides of the broad, black pit into which they had
emerged, sufficiently announced him as the incompar-
able scout. The swarthy and immovable features, the
short figure, and deliberate air of the other, proclaimed
him also to be an old acquaintance of the reader, the
trusty and faithful Neshobee. Creeping out of the
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
417
excavation, the two separated and quickly disappeared
in opposite directions in the woods and bushes along
the banks of the creek. After the lapse of half an
hour, in which they had apparently made a reconnoiter-
ing circuit round the opening, they reappeared on the
banks of the excavation, communed a moment, and,
throwing aside the air of caution that had marked
their movements, approached, with bold and confident
steps, towards the choked entrance, through which
they had forced their way into the open air.
"Hurra, there, below!" shouted Pete, dropping on
one knee, and poking his head and long neck into the
dark hole before him, “hurra! ye poor, half smuddered
divils-asking the Captain's pardon for the freedom-
do you hear?"
'Ay, ay! what report—what news from the regions
above?" responded several voices from the dark, and,
till then, silent recesses within.
"The coast is as clear as a hound's tooth," replied
the scout. "Yes, all clear, and that, too, with what
I should call a considerable of a vengeance: so just troop
along out here, and see what God put it into men's
heads to make gunpowder for."
This announcement seemed to produce an instant
effect. A lively bustle was immediately heard among
the party below. And in a few moments more, the
men, followed by the women and children, came
creeping, one by one, from their crowded and uncom
fortable retreat, looking worn, haggard, and pale from
fatigue, and more especially from the want of fresh
air, with which they had but imperfectly supplied
themselves by digging, with their bayonets, small
holes through the earthy covering of their refuge, to
the surface above. After reaching the open air, the
company stood a moment on the banks of the chasm,
viewing, in silent horror, the awful spectacle that was
here presented to their sight: when, at the suggestion
of Selden, the females, accompanied by himself and all
but the common soldiers (who were busy in searching
for guns and other spoils among the ruins), hastened
418
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
And mak-
to leave a scene so revolting to the senses.
ing the best of their way over the tangled mass that
everywhere encircled the spot, with many a shudder
at the disfigured, and sometimes limbless bodies of
the slain, for which they were often compelled to turn
aside in their route, they proceeded towards the open
grounds in front of the site lately occupied by the
house.
"Umph! look! jus look um up there!" exclaimed
Neshobee, eagerly pointing up the trunk of a large dry
hemlock, which, standing some half dozen rods from
the seat of the explosion, the company were unobserv-
antly passing.
Arrested by the unusually excited manner of the
Indian, the whole party suddenly paused, and looked
upward in search of the object to which he was so
earnestly directing their attention. About half-way
up the tree, the doubling body of a man hung dangling
in the air, from a short, pointed limb, upon which he
had evidently been thrown from the earth, and liter-
ally impaled through the middle, by the force of the
explosion. His cadaverous face was turned full
towards the company, and a glance at the peculiar cast
of his death-set features, explained, at once, to Cap-
tain Hendee and the girls, the cause of the wild and
gleeful interest manifested by the native; it was the
traitor, Remington, who first betrayed the family to
their enemies, and who was afterwards discovered to
be in full league with Sherwood and Darrow, and, to
the last, in active co-operation with them, in the black
designs which they supposed themselves on the eve of
accomplishing, when thus awfully arrested in their
guilty career. Awe-struck and appalled at the strange
and dreadful fate of the villain, the company, with one
consent, turned away from the sickening sight, and,
hastening from the spot, pursued their way in thought-
ful silence, till they had passed, as they supposed,
beyond the scene of these multiplied horrors. Another
trial, however, though of a different and mingled
character, still awaited them: a deep groan, issuing
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
419
from a small covert on their left, now reached
their ears, and caused them again to pause in their
steps.
"It is a human groan," said Selden, "and doubtless
that of some poor wounded wretch, who has crawled
away from the scene of action. Perhaps his life may
yet be saved," he added, as, beckoning to Jones, he
promptly set out for the place from which the sound
had proceeded. As the two passed round to the
spot, they discovered a man lying in a state of almost
utter exhaustion in the woods behind a long log, by
which he had apparently been arrested in his course
while trying to reach a small brook a few rods beyond.
His face, with every other exposed part of his person,
was thickly besmeared with dirt, gunpowder and
blood, which last was still freshly oozing from his
mangled and broken legs; and it was only by his hair,
and the remains of his burnt and tattered dress, that
he could be distinguished as a white man. He seemed
to be aware of the presence of others, and the lips
began to move with some inaudible request.
"The poor creature is begging for water,' said
Selden, lowering his ear over the face of the invalid;
"let us remove him to the brook.
20
Raising him carefully in their arms, they accord-
ingly bore him to the bank of the rivulet, and having
placed him in a sitting position, with his back against
a large stump, they applied a gourd-shell of water to
his lips, of which he drank eagerly and deeply. They
then washed the blood and dirt from his face, when he
considerably revived; and, opening his eyes, he looked
up in evident surprise on our party, all of whom, hav-
ing gathered round him, now stood viewing his gory
and lacerated limbs in silent commiseration.
"Why! it is Darrow-the wretched and guilty Dar-
row!" exclaimed Miss Hendee, starting back in sur-
prise, and with an expression of mingled pity and
abhorrence.
"Ay, guilty enough, doubtless," responded Selden,
"but as deeply dyed in guilt as he is, there is another
27
420
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
still more guilty-wretched man, what has become of
your master?''
"He escaped unhurt from your accursed mine,"
feebly muttered the wounded ruffian in reply.
"And has fled?" asked the former.
"Yes, fled like a craven brute," said the other, with
an angry scowl; "fled with the few who were as lucky
as himself, leaving me and the rest of the wounded,
with our cries for assistance ringing in his ears, to die
like dogs, alone here in the woods. And they have
died-some of their wounds, some by crawling into
the river and drowning, and some by plunging their
knives into their own bodies, to put themselves out of
misery. Yes, all gone, but me; and I-"
"But perhaps your leader went off after a reinforce-
ment, expecting soon to return with better means of
serving you," interrupted Selden, with the view of
gathering from the other such information as would
enable him to judge of the probability of Sherwood's
return to renew the attack.
"No, damn him!" exclaimed the wretch bitterly,
"he supposed, as I did, that all of your band, as well
as most of our own, had perished in the explosion.
No! the infernal villain intended I should die," he con-
tinued, with an expression rendered fairly diabolical
with rage, combined with the bodily anguish he was
enduring. "But he did not dream I should fall alive
into your hands, else he had finished me on the spot
to prevent it, the black-souled devil! for he is well
aware that I know enough of him, and his father
before him, to make my revenge as ample as it will be
sweet."
"What do you know of his father?" asked Captain
Hendee, stepping forward, with looks of eager curios-
ity and interest.
"Enough," replied the other-"enough of both, to
my sorrow; for, between them, they have worked my
ruin and death. In aiding the old man in his villainy,
I damned my soul; and in abetting that of his son, I
have lost my life; for I feel that I must go now soon,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
421
though I might have been saved. Yes, and what have
they done for me? what can they do now? Nothing!
The old man has gone to his place; and Jake-perdi-
tion seize him!"
"What do you mean?" sharply demanded the Cap-
tain. "Is John Sherwood dead? Why, Jake told
me, before he turned devil to us, and not more than
a week since, neither, that his father was alive
and-"
"And what if he did?" interrupted Darrow, growing
restless and impatient from the pain, which was now
evidently beginning to invade the citadel of life-
"what if he did? The old man made a will-too much
in favor of your daughter here, or you, he suspects-
and all was to be kept dark till he could bring certain
things about.”’
"Man, man, you are deceiving me!" cried the other
warmly.
"Father, I believe he is speaking the truth," inter-
posed the daughter, to whose mind the late conduct of
Sherwood, before inexplicable, was now explained.
the
"Truth-truth! Alma Hendee,' resumed
wounded man, now breathing thick, and speaking with
increasing difficulty;-"it is only the beginning of
truths, that concern you all, that-that I could-that
I must and will tell, if-if soul and body will hold
together long enough for me to expose-"
Expose what?-what can you reveal?-go on!-speak
-speak!" exclaimed the old gentleman, impatiently
breaking in on the other, in a tone and air of feverish
excitement.
"Wait-wait," resumed Darrow, grating his clenched
teeth, and writhing about in a fresh paroxysm of
anguish "I will-will tell all-but wait till this is over
-Õ, that pain! O God! that pain, that pain!" and
the poor wretch gasped for breath, and wildly threw
about his arms in the insufferable pangs of his agony.
"Captain Hendee," he faintly, and in a softened
tone, resumed, after the desperate paroxysm had sub-
sided, "did you ever mistrust that John Sherwood
422
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
played you foul in respect to your property, which you
was blind enough to intrust to his management?"
"Why, I thought strange," replied the other, “and
yet I could not detect-but was he dishonest,
then?"
"Yes," exclaimed Darrow; "in that final settlement,
he defrauded you out of more than half of what was
honestly your own: and in the main instance, you
recollect a large landed lawsuit he brought in your
behalf?"
"I do," said the Captain; “and finding he must fail
in it, and subject me to ruinous costs, he compromised,
by paying a small sum, and withdrew the action, as I
understood."
"Well, now, it is God's truth, Captain," rejoined the
former, "that instead of paying anything he received
a large sum-his adversary, and not he, finding he
must fail.'
"The faithless villain!" exclaimed the astonished
Captain, "may the wrath-but I will not curse him,
now he is gone."
"No; for you can revenge yourself more effectually,
said the other; "the man with whom this compromise
was made is still alive, and though it was agreed that
the transaction should be kept a dead secret, there is
no doubt he will swear to the amount he paid Sher-
wood, as he was not privy to the fraud on you.
"9
"But how know you all this?" asked the Captain,
some new doubt seeming to arise in his mind.
"You will know directly," replied Darrow-"that
is, if-if I tell you the rest"-he continued, pausing
and hestitating, as if irresolute whether to proceed;
but at length seeming to make up his mind, he resumed,
"Captain Hendee, you once had a darling son, who
was lost?"
"I did, I did," responded the other, with visible
emotion.
"And you have heard," continued the former, "that
he was last seen with a young man in John Sherwood's
employ-did you ever see that young man?''
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
423
"No," said the Captain, "nor do I know what
became of him, or whether he is now living.
""
"He is still living, but will not be long," said Dar-
row; "you see him in the miserable, shattered, and
dying creature lying before you, Captain Hendee."
"You! you!" wildly and fiercely exclaimed the old
man, "but what of my son? wretch! did you murder
the boy?" he added, raising his voice almost to a
frantic scream, as the suspicion flashed over his antic-
ipating thoughts.
"No, I was spared that," answered the other,
"though my instigator, who was no other than the
same John Sherwood, expected it of me, I think. No,
I came across an Indian, who, for a bottle of rum,
was willing to take the boy where his friends should
never hear of him again.
"And you agreed with the hell-hound to do it, did
you, monster?" again fiercely demanded the Captain.
"Yes, I did that-I own it! I own it! aye, I confess
it!" exclaimed Darrow, eagerly repeating the words,
as if he had brought himself to this act of penitence by
some mighty effort. "There!" he added, wildly and
menacingly brandishing his fist at some imaginary
presence, as he began to draw up his limbs and glare
deliriously around him under another and fearful
attack of his pains, "there! I have confessed it, you
black fiend!" and with a terrible yell of seeming
exultation and defiance, he fell back convulsed from
head to foot; and for many moments, he appeared to
be wrestling terribly with the angel of death.
At length, however, he became calm, and again
opened his eyes upon the horror-stricken, but intensely
interested company.
"I can't live through another like that—so let me
speak while I can-you would know more of your
son?" faintly said the reviving wretch, turning his
glazed and blood-shot eye languidly upon the Captain.
"Yes, yes," replied the other, in a softened and
imploring tone, "yes, if you have strength to go on,
tell me, if you know, for God's sake tell me, whether
424
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
there is any hope for a bereaved and sorrow-stricken
old man? Did you ever hear of the boy-do you think
he is still living?"
"If that boy lived to grow up," said Darrow, in
reply, "if he be still among the living, Captain
Hendee, I believe he is now standing by your side."
Wholly unprepared for a development so unexpected
and improbable, the company stood silently gazing at
each other a moment with looks of mingled doubt and
astonishment; when Selden, who was obviously the
one alluded to by the confessant, and who had appeared
thoughtful and abstracted during the latter part of the
conversation, now turned to the other, and, with the
air of one trying to recall some indistinct image of
other days, observed:
"I have some strange, dim recollections-but what
circumstances can you name to warrant the belief you
have just expressed?"
"Why, if I am right," answered Darrow, "as I still
think I am, you must have had, for many years, if you
have not now, the proof on your person! For before
I parted from the boy, I pricked two crossed arrows,
with lasting ink, into his skin, near the elbow."
A flash of joyous intelligence instantly broke over
the beaming countenance of the young officer, and, as
quick as thought, his arm was bared and held exult-
ingly aloft, disclosing the still visibly impicted arrows
to the astonished and delighted group around him.
For one full minute not a word was uttered, and the
mute eloquence of the speaking countenance alone
told the springing emotions of those most interested
in this unexpected but happy denouement.
"My son!" at length convulsively burst from the
trembling lips of the overpowered father. "God bless
-bless-bless'—and then his voice died away in
whimpering murmurs, as father, son, and daughter
rushed into one long, sobbing embrace.
Aroused in a short time from this absorbing scene
of gushing affections, by a noise from the wounded
man, the company turned toward him.
A change
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
425
was passing over his face, and with the low muttered
words, "Revenged-revenged on the destroyers of
my soul and body, at last!" he gave one long quiver-
ing gasp and expired.
On the proposal of Selden, for such, for conve-
nience, we will for the present continue to call him, the
company now left the spot, and proceeded to an open
and unencumbered space by the roadside, where the
whole band were soon assembled preparatory to a final
removal from the scene of action.
At that instant a band of twenty armed horsemen
burst suddenly from the woods, and came pouring, in
gallant array, along the road from the south toward
the spot. From their equipments and general appear-
ance, they were instantly discovered to be a detach-
ment of mounted riflemen from the Continental army,
headed by a field officer of considerable rank.
"You are the day after the Fair, my hearties," gayly
remarked Captain Hendee, whose over-mastering feel-
ings at the recent joyful discovery, had now settled
down into a fine flow of spirits. 'But I am glad they
have come, for I want the whole world to know how
proud I feel of my new-found son.”
""
"Aye, but when they hear," replied the young offi-
cer in the same spirit, "that we owe this victory, and
with it our lives, solely to the old veteran's plan of
blowing up the enemy by wholesale, ten to one, they
don't say, that the son has far the more reason to pride
himself in the happy discovery. Seriously, however,
the arrival of these men, at this moment, is most
opportune, as some of them, doubtless, will give up
their horses to convey you, the females and children
from the place. But what ails our merry friend Jones,
yonder?" he added, pointing to the scout, who stood
in the foreground, eagerly and with mouth agape,
looking at the advancing cavalcade, and holding his
cap in his hand, as if about to hurl it into the air, in
some joyous outbreak.
"He is about to welcome them with a few cheers, I
suspect," replied the Captain. "And hang me, if I
426
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
don't join him; for if I don't give vent to my feelings
in some way, I believe my old broken shell of a heart
will burst for very joy, like some old rusty howitzer,
charged to the muzzle with gunpowder."
"No, no, father," rejoined the other good-humor-
edly, "joy rarely proves as explosive as that, I imagine.
But I must forward to attend to this reception myself,
-Jones," he continued, advancing to the front, "let
us ascertain their object, and a little more exactly
who they are, before we make up our mouths for much
of a hurra on the occasion.”
"Well, that's jest what I'm at, Captain," said the
scout; "and I calkerlate I have about two-thirds found
out both them particulars already; for, if twenty-four
hours ago, I had seen a chap riding towards me, with
the make and bearing of that officer, who sits so
splendid in his saddle yonder, I would have sworn,
with a quarter of this bothering, that it was—and, by
the living Lazarus! I'll swear it is now-so here's
hurra for the unshot Colonel! hurra! hurra!" he added,
throwing his cap thirty feet in the air, and leaping,
in the ecstasy of his joyous emotions, a yard from the
earth at each of his stentorian shouts, in the last of
which he was heartily joined by the whole band of his
delighted comrades, as their beloved commander, the
heroic Warrington, whom they had mourned as slain,
now came dashing up to the spot, bowing low in token
of acknowledgment of this flattering mark of their
esteem.
"Had you dropped down from the clouds before our
eyes, Colonel Warrington," said Selden, after the
noise and bustle of this enthusiastic reception had a
little subsided, "your presence could have scarcely
more surprised us.
"Indeed!"
"Yes, you was reported to have fallen in the last
moments of the battle.
""
"I must then have been mistaken, I think, for Colo-
nel Francis.
"Has that noble fellow then indeed been added to
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
427
the honored catalogue of martyrs in our glorious
cause?"
"I grieve to say it. He fell covered with wounds,
bravely fighting at the head of his regiment."
"But you, and your men?"
"We yet mostly live to give Burgoyne a thrashing.
But here, overpowered with numbers, by my own
orders, we broke, scattered and fled, to meet again at
Manchester. Reaching Rutland last night, and guess-
ing at your course, and at your danger, I collected this
small force, and hastened to the rescue.
And now,
Captain, for your report, which, with these evidences
of a conflict before me, I should dread to hear, but for
the merry looks of the men, and the sunny faces of
my
fair friends, whom I notice yonder in the rear.
All in good time, my dear Colonel; but come, first
go along with me," said Selden, with a significant and
slightly mischievous smile, as he took the arm of his
superior, and urged him forward to the spot where the
interesting group to which he had just alluded still
stood, in the agitation of their joyful surprise, with
sparkling eyes and happy and fluttering hearts,
eagerly waiting to greet him.
66
""
But over the touching and tender scene that fol-
lowed, marked as it was by the reuniting of long
estranged hearts, like the rushing together of kindred
waters, the surprising announcement of Selden's
recently discovered relationship, and the mad pranks
of the excited old veteran, now clamoring for the
curses of Warrington on his own head, for his blind-
ness and folly, and now eagerly bestowing the hand of
his daughter, as a compensation and reward, with
many a sob-broken ejaculation for blessings on the
happy couple-over all this we will drop the curtain,
not caring to trust the pen to vie with the reader's
outstripping fancy in filling up the picture.
Before another hour had elapsed the whole were
mounted and in motion, on their unmolested way to
the older settlements in the southern part of the
Grants.
428
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
CONCLUSION
The
The rolling seasons had nearly completed their
annual round since the stirring incidents, which we
last narrated, transpired, and nature was again enrob-
ing herself in the leafy glories of summer.
The great
struggle on the northern frontiers was over.
battle of Bennington had been fought and won,
immortalizing the name of the Roman Stark, and cov-
ering with deathless laurels the brave Green Mountain
Boys. The whole of that proud army, indeed, that
swept, the last season, so vauntingly along these des-
olated shores, had felt the vengeful arm of young
Freedom, and withered at the touch. The inhabitants
on the borders of Champlain, who had fled before the
tempest of war, had mostly returned, and were now
in possession of their unmolested homes. The seat of
their country's strife was removed to a distance. And
the husbandman was again following his plough in the
field; the peaceful sounds of the axemen were heard
in the woods, and the hunter once more roamed his
deer-trod hills unsuspicious of hostile ambush.
At the pleasant, and no longer desolate cottage of
Captain Hendee, a company, evidently much larger
than the usual family circle, were assembled. The
old veteran, as was formerly his wont, was sitting in
his easy chair before one of the open windows of the
parlor, solacing himself with his old companion, the
pipe. The other window was occupied by a fine look-
ing military person, now in the full bloom of vigorous
manhood, richly dressed in the lace-trimmed uniform,
and the surmounted badges of a field officer in the
Continental army; while by his side sat a peerless girl,
whose simple, but rich and tasteful array of spotless
white, surmounted by the emblematic rose of the
same color, instead of the dumb, unspeaking jewel,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
429
told of bridal preparation. They were gazing out
upon the glittering expanse of the breeze-ruffled
waters of the lake, and the gratified eye of the officer
was resting on the bright folds of his country's flag,
which was again proudly waving in the distance over
the walls of the opposite fortress; while the delicately.
blended fondness and respect, that marked the blissful
look of each, and the tender pathos of their low inter-
mingling voices, as they exchanged the occasional
remark, betokened the presence of mutual confidence
and love. There was another maiden in the room,
scarcely less beautiful than the one just mentioned,
but though arrayed, like her fair companion, in the
bridal garb, yet she sat unmated and alone, now list-
lessly running over the leaves of a little volume in her
hand, and now anxiously and impatiently glancing
through the window along one road to the south, as if
expecting the appearance of some one from that quar-
ter. The only other person at present in this apart-
ment, with whom the reader has been made acquainted,
a modest, staid looking female, who, though
comely, and not greatly faded, had yet evidently out-
lived, by many years, the freshness and bloom of
beauty's most favored period. She was sitting quietly
in a corner, partly screened from the rest of the com-
pany by the door that swung inward. She, also, bad
been companionless, and had not, like the restless fair
one last described, appeared to expect to be otherwise.
But at this moment, a singularly tall, woodsman-look-
ing fellow came stooping through the doorway from
the adjoining room, where part of the company still
remained; when after throwing a half-sheepish, half-
mischievous look around him, apparently to see if his
movement was particularly noticed, he sidled around
the swinging door, with a sort of hesitating, stealthy
air, and sunk by degrees into a chair beside the
demure-looking damsel of whom we were speaking.
"Well, now, if this ain't a curious fix!" were his first
words "I vow to Never-come-Jack-a sort of Satur-
day in the afternoon-chap that we used to swear by in
430
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
the army-if it ain't too bad! Don't you think so,
now, honestly, Miss Ruth?"
"What is it that you complain of as so bad, Mr.
Jones?" replied the girl, with a good-natured and
encouraging smile, which seemed instantly to reassure
her somewhat flustered companion, as he replied:
"What do I complain of?-Why to be invited, as I
was, by the Colonel and Alma there, to be here at two
o'clock, to see three weddings; when now it is well
along towards night, and one bridegroom don't get on
according to agreement, and no parson come to fix
them that are here and ready for it. Now, I like to
see folks put out of their misery in some kind of season,
and so do the rest of them, I've a notion: only jest
look at the old Captain yonder! He is getting out of
sorts at the delay, rather rapid, a body would guess,
by the manner he is puffing away at his old comforter
there. And there is the Scotch bird, too; may I miss
my next aim on Old Trusty, if I don't believe she'll
fly away, if Major Selden, as he has now got to be—
Major Hendee, I s'pose, you'll call him here-don't
come soon."
"Jessy does, indeed, appear rather uneasy, "observed
the other, "and I really wonder Edward don't come,
myself. He sent us word that he expected to get the
Sherwood property all settled, so as to start from
Albany yesterday morning. But you said three wed-
dings, didn't you?"
"Three, did I say, Ruth?" said Pete, with waggish
gravity. "Well, two then-that is, if there ain't raaly
any chance to be another, no way.
"Well, what other could there be?" said Ruth, quite
innocently.
"Well now, I can't exactly say, but I was thinking
it was rather a pity there shouldn't be another match
worked up here somehow?" replied the scout, with a
look at the other so significant that it brought the
blood into her cheeks. "You hold to save time and
expense, don't you?"
"Why, it is well enough to think of that in some
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
431
cases, perhaps,
girl.
muttered the doubtful and confused
"Then, suppose, when the priest comes," said the
other, with a roguish squint at her glowing cheeks and
downcast looks, "suppose you jest stand up with--with
-with old Captain Hendee to be noosed the same
time his children are?"
"O, nonsense, Mr. Jones," replied the girl, greatly
relieved, and yet evidently disappointed at this turn
in the scout's remarks, which she supposed were to
terminate in proposing one much nearer home-"Cap-
tain Hendee! why, he is old enough to be my father!
Besides, he would not have me.
"Yes, he would."
"No, he wouldn't."
"Well, if he should flummux at such a chance, I
know of a chap-and not too old, neither-who'll
agree to take his place.”
"Really, Mr. Jones, I think you must be trying to
trifle with me.
"Mayhap you've mistaken, now," said Jones, with
the air of one about to make some hazardous push,
but looking keenly about for some chance to secure his
retreat.
"Then how am I to consider what you say?” asked
the other, seriously.
"Why-why," said Pete, hesitating, but finding
himself at a point where he must back out entirely, or
proceed directly with his object, he added, with a sort
of desperate resolution-"yes, I will-so here goes for
dead ruin-you may consider it, Ruth, as good and
earnest an offer as ever man stuck an axe in a tree.'
"Why, surely, Mr. Jones!-this is so sudden-so
unexpected, that you cannot expect me now, as you
have never before spoken to me on the subject—”
"No; but I've looked at you on the subject, Ruth;
and that ain't all-I have thought on the subject, and
that, too, ever since I left off sogering, after we had
used up that old trooper, Burgoyne, last fall.
didn't know how to get at the bothering business.
But I
And
432
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
now I have got at it, I want to do it all up while I've
got the knack of it. Now, all I've got to say for
myself, by way of recommendation, is jest only this--
I have a farm, and can love like a two-year-old.
And,
if you can go it on that, let us agree on the spot, and
go off with the rest.
""
"Impossible, Mr. Jones-that is now—if—if—I had
a little time for reflection-perhaps-"
"Good! grand! glorious! I'll give you time, till the
parson comes-a good half hour, I'll warrant you,”
exclaimed the woodsman, leaping up, in his ecstasy,
and, with a sudden bolt through the door, bounding off
into the fields, and giving vent to his delighted feel-
ings in his old chorus, "Trol, lol, lol, de larly!''
At that moment a horseman rode hastily into the
ard, leaped from his saddle, and, with a few light
and joyous bounds, landed on the threshold.
"My brother!" exclaimed Alma, rising and rushing
to the door.
"My son, God bless you!" said the Captain, hob-
bling forward, with extended hand. "But how came
you to be lagging at such a juncture as this, you
truant?"
"O, Edward!" cried Jessy, bursting from an adjoin-
ing room, to which she had a few moments before
retired. "O, Edward!" repeated the joyful but way-
ward girl, flying to the open arms of her betrothed,
now dashing her hands about her to clear her way
among the advancing group, and now shaking her
slender finger aloft, in affected menace, as she went,
"now, if I don't punish you for this, sir! Back! back!
all of you, till 1 deal with the villain for his conduct.
"Fairly a prisoner, sir; you may as well surrender,
Major," gayly observed Warrington, to the laughing
young officer, now enclosed on every side by besieging
friends.
"Aye, aye, Colonel," blithely replied the latter;
"but I shall be upon my parole in a moment, I think;
when, I will pay my respects-I have a glad secret
for your ear, Warrington.
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
433
"A secret! a secret to be kept from us, at this hour!"
exclaimed both of the girls, at once, summoning a
storm of affected indignation to their pretty brows.
"Ah! you little tyrannizers!" said the Major,
jocosely, "you are wise to make the most of your power
now; for your reign is short. I saw the parson falling
into the road behind me, about a mile back."
The last intimation seemed to produce an instant
effect on the young officer's fair assailants. And
releasing him at once, they fled, in maidenly dismay,
to their private apartment, to compose and prepare
themselves for the happy, though half-dreaded crisis.
"Now, my son, tell us, in a word, what success
you have met with at Albany," said Captain Hendee,
turning to his son, as the girls disappeared.
"Very fair; the business is all definitely settled at
last."
"Right glad to hear that; but first, I am curious to
know with what kind of a face that black-hearted imp
of mischief, Jake Sherwood, met you, after all that
has happened?"
"It was not till after many fruitless efforts, and a
long negotiation, carried on with him by a go-between
of his own kidney, that he could be induced to come
from his lurking places, to face me at all. And when
he did, it was with the same fawning and cringing,
the same dissembling and falsehood, that has marked
his whole career."
"And what kind of a treaty did you at length con-
clude with the arch villain?"
"Better than he had any reason to expect from those
who had both the right and the power on their side:
for, after taking from the estate that part which Jake
had counted as his own, by Uncle's will, when I was
considered as disposed of, and which, of course,
became mine, on establishing my identity as your son
-after deducting also the legacies, which old Sher-
wood's conscience wrung from him, in favor of you and
Alma, together with the sums which the indefatigable
Vanderpool had found evidence of having been.
434
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
embezzled by the old man out of your property-even
after counting your legacies as so much restitution-
after deducting all these, there would have been a
mere pittance in equity, and nothing, probably, in law,
left for the miscreant. And as he had been apprised
of this by Vanderpool, whom he could neither intim-
idate nor corrupt, he chose to throw himself on my
mercy, rather than contend with us in law."
"Well, as skilfully as this web of inquity was woven,
it is all unraveled, then, at last. But what did you
finally allow him?"
"A thousand pounds; for, while I despised, I could
not but pity the abject wretch. He signed acquit-
tances, received his portion in money and drafts, and,
the same day, as I accidentally learned, started off to
join his Tory brethren at the south.'
""
an-
The conversation was here interrupted by the
arrival of the parson, who had scarcely been ushered
into the house, before yet another guest was
nounced. This was the amazon widow, who now rode
into the yard, attended by Neshobee, each having a
brace of her hardy urchins, disposed of behind and
before, on the cruppers and necks of the Captain's
thus trebly burdened horses, which had been kindly
sent for that purpose early in the morning.
"Not at the eleventh hour after all," said the woman,
as with stately tread she came sweeping into the room,
and gave her hand successively to each of the assembled
guests, who rose, and with looks of mingled cordiality
and respect, advanced to meet her. "Well, I am grat-
ified to find I am not too late to witness the ceremony,
though another motive mainly prompted my coming.
"Another motive?" said the Captain, "what might
that be?"
"Gratitude,
rejoined the widow, feelingly-"to
offer, in person, the thanks and blessing of the widow
and fatherless to these brave and generous young
officers, for their undeserved gift of fifty pounds."
"Not undeserved, especially from us, permit me to
say, Mrs. Story," replied Major Hendee.
"And our
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
435
only fear was, that it would not even requite you for
the losses you sustained on our account on that fearful
night, which none of us can ever forget."
"Not requite me? O, more-doubly so," replied.
the woman, mastering her grateful emotions, and
resuming her naturally free and easy manner: "Why,
gentlemen, if you would but visit us there now, you
would see a new house worth two of the old one;
flourishing crops, and a well provisioned and happy
family-and all from your bounty."
"Our pittance, if you please," observed the Colonel,
"and that too, under the management of one, who, I
must say, of all women—”
"Has the least patience with a flatterer, Colonel,"
interrupted the widow with good-natured bluntness,
jumping up and going to the window, as something
seemed suddenly to occur to her mind. "Now, I
should like to know if you gentlemen can tell me," she
resumed, after gazing out on the lake a moment, "I
should like to know the meaning of the great stir I
noticed over at the fort, as I came down the road: one
would think they were preparing for a battle."
"We heard a firing in the direction of Ticonderoga
an hour or two ago, which we could not account for,
but have noticed nothing unusual over here, I believe,"
said Captain Hendee, looking inquiringly at the two
officers.
"Ah! your promised secret, Major?" cried Warring-
ton, perceiving a knowing and mysterious smile upon
the countenance of the other.
"You shall have it now-the rest of the company
will know it soon," replied the Major, approaching his
superior and whispering in his ear.
"God bless you for the news!" exclaimed the Col-
onel, with a look of joyful surprise. "But where did
you meet him?"
"At Bennington, where he arrived but three days
ago amidst the roar of guns and the shouts of a rejoic-
ing people. I persuaded him to come on with me, as he
did, to Skenesboro'; when he took the water, while I
28
436
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
came by land, having first despatched a runner to
notify the garrisons at the two posts of his approach."'
"Heaven be praised!" rejoined Warrington, "and let
the Green Mountains rejoice!"
"They will, soon; for yonder he comes, by Jove!"
exclaimed the Major, eagerly pointing out upon the
lake.
At that instant the house shook and trembled to the
reverberating roar of a twenty-four pounder, belching
forth a cloud of fire and smoke from the gray walls of
the opposite fortress.
The surprised and startled company instantly rushed
into the yard. A light sail boat had just made her
appearance on the lake from the south, and with
bellying canvas, was now scudding rapidly before the
freshening breeze, with her course evidently let for the
fort. As she neared, a tall, erect, military figure
appeared conspicuously standing on the forecastle,
with folded arms, gazing steadily forward towards the
works, around whose ramparts were seen the long
rows of the expectant officers and soldiers of the gar-
rison; while, at momentary intervals, came the wel-
coming peal of the deep-mouthed gun. At length the
sails of the vessel were furled, and she swept around
and lay to, directly abreast of the fort; which, the
next instant, was suddenly enveloped in a springing
cloud of smoke, while the tall forest around nodded
to the united roar of a dozen cannon, among the broken
echoes of which, as they rolled from shore to shore and
died away among the far responding mountains, was
heard the noisy salute of drums, and the reiterated
cheers of the soldiery, once more making the welkin
ring with the name of "Ethan Allen!"
After a brief interval of silence, the same little craft
was seen, with hoisted sails, emerging from the lifting
clouds of smoke, and making her way directly across
the lake towards the cottage. And in ten minutes
more the hero of the Green Mountains, unexpectedly
returned from a long and painful captivity, was
received, and ushered into the house amidst the
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
437
warm and unfeigned congratulations of the rejoicing
party.
"Well, Colonel Allen," said Captain Hendee, scan-
ning the thin and worn person of the other, as they all
became seated in the room, "they have rather worsted
you in your captivity, I perceive: you are now hardly
the staunch and iron-bound fellow you was three years
ago, when eight or ten armed hirelings came here to
seize you as a York outlaw, but were fairly cowed out
of the attempt till they supposed you asleep, and a
little worse off than that, too, perhaps.''
“Aha! my old friend, do you remember that foolish
scrape?" replied Allen. "No, no, Captain, not the
man I was then," he added, glancing over the huge
raw bones of his shrunken frame with a melancholy
smile; "no, the British could never forgive me for
taking old Ti; so with characteristic magnanimity to
a fallen foe, they took their revenge by battering,
hewing, hacking, and starving the old body, till there
is scarcely enough left of it to furnish a habitable ten-
ement for the soul, which remains as whole and sound
as ever; for that, thank God, they could neither kill
nor bribe.
"Bribe! bribe! did they really try to do that?"
exclaimed the young officers, laughing at the thought
of an attempt to buy up Ethan Allen.
"To be sure, did the infernal fools!" said Allen,
"and that more than once; though the last, and per-
haps the best offer I ever had to induce me to damn
myself, that is, to become one of them, was made me
by a high dignitary of the crown, who, in behalf of his
prince, as he said, offered me nearly half the lands in
Vermont, if I would enter his service against my
countrymen!-the Christless knave! It was well for
him that I was handcuffed, at the time."'
"And what answer did you give him?" asked War-
rington, curiously.
"Answer?" replied Allen, smoothing his dark brows,
which had become fierce and stormy at the remembered
insult, "what answer? why, I told the royal ape to go
438
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
and tell his master, that he reminded me, in his offer
to give me lands in America, of a certain other prince,
mentioned in Scripture, who took the Savior up into
a high mountain, and showing him all the kingdoms
of the world, offered to give him the whole of them, if
he would fall down and worship him,—when the fact
was, the poor devil had not a single foot of land on
earth to give!"
The subject was here dropped by common consent;
when, after a brief pause, Major Hendee turned a
significant look upon his father, who seemed readily to
understand what was now expected of him, and he
accordingly observed:-
"I suppose you have been apprised, Colonel Allen,
of the happy occasion, upon which, after all our
troubles, we have been permitted to assemble?"
"I have, sir," gallantly answered the other, “and I
felt that my peculiar notions, relative to the certainty
of the earthly rewards of bravery and virtue, were
strikingly confirmed, when I learned that my two
friends here were about to draw such rich prizes in the
lottery of life."
"Ah! Colonel Allen," exclaimed Jessy, archly, "you,
too, caught playing the flatterer? I had thought well
enough of you to believe you an exception to the gen.
erality of men, in that respect. But I'll expose you,
my brave Colonel!-What did you say and predict at
the time you captured Ticonderoga, respecting the
intimacy which you were then accidentally led to sus-
pect existed between your then Lieutenant Selden and
Colonel Reed's daughter?"
"Why the deuce is to pay!" cried Allen, taken rather
aback by his fair antagonist-"there has been treason
here, somewhere. I recollect something about my
misgivings in the matter. But I am not a going to be
tricked out of my compliment, at all events; for if the
daughter of a British Colonel has the independence to
marry a Yankee rebel, she must be, to him, at least,
a prize richly worth the winning."
"She is not married yet," observed Captain Hendee,
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
439
with well assumed seriousness: "for before that is
suffered to take place, I, who stand as a sort of sponsor
for the girl, must be heard in the business: and to
this end, I beg leave to read a little from my letter of
instructions from her father; which I have never
before made known," he added, producing a letter,
from which he proceeded to read to his surprised and
wondering auditors the following extract:
"Wi' regard to that wayward bairn o' mine, an' that
Mr. Nabody, her rebel lover, as I became satisfied he
was, it is out o' the question I should be consentin' to
a match of sic' a sort. Na, she must be cured, an' in
some sic way as I named to you. An' that being done,
then her old lover, Major Skene, will come in for an
easy conquest. But in your moves to this object, let
me again caution you to beware how you forbid this
intimacy; for ever since mother Eve's dido wi' the
apple, the moment you forbid, the Diel taks the
woman.
"Father, how is this, and at this late hour?"
exclaimed the astonished son, glancing from the
former to the no less surprised girl at his side, who also
began to open her lips in remonstrance, when, detect-
ing a lurking smile on the old gentleman's counte-
nance, she stopped short.
"Perhaps we may as well read a passage from
another letter of a more recent date,' said the Cap-
tain, opening another paper, from which, after slyly
enjoying the perplexity of the party interested a
moment, he read,-
-
"So you sly old Yankee, you an' Jessy have con-
trived to checkmate 'me at last! This comes o' leaving
a daughter in a land o' rebellion: nathless I canna
but say, I regret that circumstances will not permit me
to be present to take my stoup on the merry occasion,
which you say, wi' my consent, is to tak place early
the coming summer: weel, you may tell the younker,
wi'out hinting my good opinion o' him as aboon writ-
ten, that, upon the whole, I will own him as a son-in-
law, provided he will tak the crap o' wild oats which
440
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
the chick, frae sa plentifu' a sowing, must now hae
ready for the reaping, as a portion o' the wife's
dowry.
"Gad! I begin to like the humorous old fellow," said
Allen, "and that stoup which he regrets he cannot
take with us, I will drink to his health as an extra
bumper after the ceremony. Though before that
takes place, I would ask if there are no more cases
which might be settled at this time?"
"We know of none," replied the Captain and his
son, to whom the last part of the speaker's remarks
had been addressed in an undertone.
"I don't know about that," rejoined the former, "I
have been looking about me a little, and it strikes
me that there are materials enough, at least. If you
will make me master of the ceremonies, with powers
to draw out the parties?"
"Certainly, certainly, Colonel," replied the others,
laughing, but shaking their heads dubiously at the
well understood suggestion.
"No faith, eh? Well, there is nothing like trying,'
rejoined Allen. "Jones," he continued, now turning
round to the scout, who had resumed his seat by the
side of Ruth, "Jones, you have been a brave fellow-
how is it that you are not to be rewarded, at this time,
as well as the rest?''
"Well, I've jest been thinking, Colonel," replied
Jones, screwing up his phiz, now queerly streaked with
blushes, "that it was rather a hard case, considering,
that I shouldn't have any share in the loaves and
fishes. But the fact is, that the fish I've had in my
eye," he added, casting a sheepish glance at Ruth,
'won't quite say whether I'm to be in luck to-day, or
not."
"Aha! just as I thought. But she shall say," cried
Allen, advancing a step towards the confused and
blushing maiden, on whom all eyes were now turned
in surprise, at this development of a courtship so little
expected; "she shall give you an answer, at least, or,
by the wrath of Cupid! she shall be punished for her
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
441
і
cruelty by running a kissing gauntlet through the
company. And I'll have the first one," he added, still
further advancing, as if to suit the action to the
word.
"It is so ridiculous!" stammered the shrinking Ruth.
"Perhaps you had rather say 'yes' to my worthy
friend, here?" said the former, his lip slightly curling
with a sportive smile.
"I should-that is, I—I should," replied the girl,
dropping her head in confusion.
"Do you see that?" exultingly said Allen-“I have
succeeded in spite of your faithlessness: nor do I believe
my triumphs need end even here.
"Ah! I will knock under, Colonel," observed the
Captain, laughing.
66
Ay, ay," responded the Major, gayly, "we must
now acknowledge your prowess in the court of Cupid,
as well as in the camp of Mars. But be not over
ambitious, lest your zeal be dampened by a failure.
Where will you find materials for another triumph?"
"Here," answered the other, pointing to Neshobee
and Zilpah, who, for reasons best understood by them-
selves, had also paired off in a corner together. "I
have been reading eyes, which are about the only book
I ever read where we are sure of the truth; and if
those who control these persons should have no objec-
tions-"
"Never mind that, Colonel, if you have faith for the
trial," exclaimed the old Captain, entering into the
full spirit of the game.
"Upon my word, Colonel Allen, I think you a most
incorrigible meddler; but you may proceed, for aught
I care, "said Miss Reed, pouting most beautifully.
said
"Ah, don't laugh, ye wise ones, till you see,
the jovial matchmaker, confidently. "Well, Miss
Zilpah," he continued, familiarly addressing the half-
blood, "you see which way your young mistress is
about to travel-now, as you intend to follow her for-
tunes, don't you think it would be more pleasant and
suitable for you, to have some such brave and trusty
442
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
companion on the road as Neshobee here would make
you?"
"Ki!" exclaimed the girl, with a blush which
brought her cheek to a fellow redness with that of the
young Indian by her side.
"He! you queer man!
But Neshobee, he no hab me.
"Good!" cried the former, "there is a challenge for
you, my red friend. She says you won't marry
her!"
"Umph!" uttered the still grave, though evidently
delighted native, "me never know Zilpah tell lie
before.
"There! you unbelievers," exclaimed Allen, look-
ing round triumphantly upon the company, "see what
a man can do. Now, parson, do your duty.'
""
Reader, our story is told, and, with a word upon
the subsequent career of those in whose destinies we
trust we have been able in some degree to interest
you, we will bid you adieu.
Of that singular, bold, rough, versatile, yet honest
and strong-minded man, Ethan Allen, little more need
be said. The remainder of his public life was devoted
to the accomplishment of that object, for which he had
so fearlessly contended before the Revolution, the
independence of his state. And her history sufficiently
attests to the importance of his services.
The gallant young officers, after their twice extended
furloughs had expired, leaving their lovely and loving
wives at the cottage of Captain Hendee, to cheer and
soothe the old veteran in his declining years, and, in
due time, to render his second childhood anything but
companionless, returned to their posts in the army in
which, honored and distinguished, they remained, till
they had witnessed the achievement of their country's
independence; when they retired to their homes in the
Green Mountains, to receive from their fellow-citizens
those substantial memorials of their esteem which may
still be found recorded among some of the early acts
of the Legislature of Vermont, granting valuable
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
443
tracts of land to certain individuals for important pub-
lic services.
Pete Jones and his staid spouse immediately repaired
to their little opening in the woods, where, having
renewed his acquaintance with his rusty axe, he caused
the forest to melt away before his powerful arm, till
his labors were rewarded by one of the best farms on
the borders of the lake; while his wife became one of
the most notable of housewives, having never had
cause to regret her abrupt connection with the eccen-
tric though amiable woodsman, as may be inferred
from the opinions she was often heard to express in
favor of long men and short courtships.
Widow Story remained on her farm, cultivating
and enlarging it with her own hands for many years;
when, her oldest son, having at length been enabled
to butt his mother, to use a chopper's phrase, that is,
to get off his cut first, in trial of skill on the same
log, she concluded to betake herself to household
duties, giving up her farm work to her sturdy little
band of foresters, who, in the process of time, let in
the sun on extensive tracts of some of the finest lands
on Otter Creek.
Neshobee and his yellow rib continued to reside on
the farm of Captain Hendee, in a log hut built
expressly for them, till the old gentleman s death;
when they removed to the woody shores of the Hori-
con, where they spent their days in a ceaseless warfare
upon the beautiful trout of the lake, and the deer,
bear, and other wild animals of its surrounding shores.
And, lastly, the miscreant Sherwood, who, through
the inscrutable ways of Providence, was permitted to
live, Cain-like, to old age, found his way, at the close
of the Revolution, to the common refuge of American
Tories in Canada, where he finished his days in poverty
and disgrace, always obtaining credit by flattery and
falsehood, always abusing it by fraud and treachery,
and living, indeed, abhorred by men, and seemingly
accursed of God.
THE END
70300-
This book is a preservation photocopy.
It is made in compliance with copyright law
and produced on acid-free archival
60# book weight paper
which meets the requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (permanence of paper)
Preservation photocopying and binding
by
Acme Bookbinding
Charlestown, Massachusetts
៣
1999