Chapter 14

ARNOLD'S POWERS OF FASCINATION.

"On the choice of friends Our good or evil name depends."

"Colonel, a number of armed men are marching this way, and I like not their appearance," said the young Eben Pike, hurriedly and with gasping breath, as he entered the presence of Ethan Allen.

"They most likely are friends, Eben."

"They may be, colonel, but I thought you ought to know."

"You acted wisely, as you usually do. Did you meet Mistress Baker?"

"Yes, colonel, and a fair young maiden she is. I wish I had a sister like her."

Allen laughed and looked at the boy, whose face was a brighter color than usual.

"You will learn to like some one else's sister better than your own, if you had one."

Eben blushed still more and was about to leave when the colonel made him send Baker at once.

Remember Baker had a sister, pretty and winsome. She had been visiting for a year in New Haven, and decided to return to her brother's home at the very time he was on the march with Allen.

Baker had an aunt living near Lake Champlain, and he decided to place Martha with her. Good friends escorted Martha to a place a few miles from where the Mountain Boys were to camp prior to their attack on Fort Ticonderoga, and Eben was dispatched to escort the young maiden to her brother. Eben had fulfilled the task and wished the distance had been several times as far; but a few miles from the camp he had seen the regiment of guards on the march, and at once thought it his duty to report.

Remember Baker entered the presence of Ethan Allen and listened to the story told by Eben.

"Martha saw them," said Baker, "and she declared that their leader was a man who was noted for being a great loyalist in New Haven."

"So! Let all the men be ready in case of emergency, and do you see that they are well prepared for attack!"

"I shall see to it."

"Does Mistress Martha feel tired after her long journey?"

"No; she very naively says that she was tired until she was met by Eben, and from that time her weariness ceased."

"Natural, very. Eben felt that way also, and his face was as red as a turkey gobbler's comb when he entered here."

In less than an hour Lieut. Eli Forest approached the camp, bearing a white flag.

He asked to be admitted to the presence of Ethan Allen.

"Col. Allen, this gentleman craves an interview."

"Capt. Baker, I shall be pleased to confer with him."

Eli was rather surprised at the courtesy shown by Ethan and Baker to each other. He had been led to believe the Mountain Boys to be a lot of uneducated, boorish farmers.

He, a college graduate, knew that he was in the presence of his equals.

"I am commissioned by my superior, Col. Arnold, to ask you to favor him with an audience."

"Might I ask who I am speaking with?"

"I have the honor to be lieutenant of the Connecticut Guards. I am Eli Forest."

"Tell Col. Arnold that I shall be pleased to see him, and, believe me, I am proud to have met Lieut. Forest."

When Forest returned to Arnold he found the New Haven colonel very anxious.

"Well, what says the farmer?"

"He may be a farmer, but he is a well-educated gentleman."

"You don't mean----"

"We have been deceived. You will find that he is our--my equal."

"So much the better; I shall win the surer."

In the camp of the mountaineers the center of attraction was Martha Baker. Many of the Bennington boys knew her, though she had greatly improved during her stay at New Haven.

She sought the presence of Col. Allen and besought him to be careful of his treatment of the guardsman of New Haven.

"If it is Benedict Arnold who is coming, he means you no good," she said, very earnestly; "my friend in New Haven knew him well, and she was certain that he was in favor of England."

"Thank you, Martha; I will know how to deal with him. I am glad that you have told me."

Benedict Arnold lost no time in seeking an audience with Ethan Allen.

"I have come from Cambridge," he said, "with but one object in view."

"I shall be very pleased to hear your project, if you care to confide it to me."

"I heard of your fame"--Ethan bowed--"and I felt that if there was to be any great work accomplished, Col. Ethan Allen was the man to make it apparent."

Arnold had spoken with great deference. "I was appointed colonel by the Provincial Council; but when I heard that Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys were about to attack Fort Ticonderoga, I thought that I could serve my country best by offering myself and my guards to him, and I ask no other favor than to be allowed to enlist under your banner as a private soldier."

"My dear colonel, I cannot think of such a thing."

"On no other terms would I consent. My men are all well drilled and are ready to join you under the same conditions."

"Let us meet on equal terms; we will jointly command."

"No, Col. Allen; in military matters there should be no divided authority. I will serve under you, and if you wish my advice I shall be ready to give it, but I will not accept a share in the command."

The interview was a long one.

Ethan Allen was completely fascinated with Arnold. He believed that if there was a genuine patriot in the colony it was he.

Arnold, having recovered from his surprise at finding Allen an educated man, conceived a liking for him and resolved to act squarely in all his dealings with him.

Arnold was better read in history than the mountaineer, and he knew the history of Ticonderoga as well as he knew the later history of New Haven.

"The French knew what they were doing when they fortified Ticonderoga," Arnold remarked, when the strength of the fort was being discussed.

"Tell me all you know about it, will you not?"

"My dear Allen, I am always at your service. You remember--but no, you would be too young; we were but boys then--but in 1755 Gen. William Johnson was ordered by the British to drive the French from the shores of Lake Champlain. Johnson had a fine body of men, three thousand four hundred in number, including a body of friendly Mohawks. Oh, those Mohawks! They are fighters, every one of them. I wish we had a thousand of them with us."

"We do not need them."

"No, but we shall before the English are taught the lesson we intend to teach them--that is, to mind their own business. The French general, Dieskau, who was commandant at Crown Point, was one of the most daring men of whom I have ever heard. He had only fourteen hundred men, French, Indians and Canadians, all told, but with this force he made up his mind he would anticipate the movements of the English and drive them back to Albany. He sailed up the lake to South Bay. From there he marched to the upper springs of Wood Creek, intending to pass the English army and capture Fort Edward before the alarm could be given. But the news was carried to Gen. Johnson. A natural, a boy, half an idiot, ran into the general's presence and cried out: 'The French are marching like mad!' A scout was sent out and the truth learned. Col. Williams, with a force of a thousand men, accompanied by Mohawk Chief Hendrick, with two hundred warriors, set out to relieve the threatened fort."

"Hendrick was a very old man, was he not?"

"Yes, he was gray-headed, and though very old he was as stalwart as any of the younger men of the tribe. Dieskau had been misled as to the route, and found himself four miles to the north of Fort Edward, when he should have been there. His scouts reported that Williams and Hendrick were marching to the fort, and the daring Frenchman quickly ordered his forces into ambush, and the English were entrapped. Both Williams and Hendrick fell dead, and the English were badly routed. Johnson heard the noise of battle and quickly extemporized breastworks by felling trees; the cannon were brought into position and then the English awaited the triumphant French. It must have been a glorious fight.

"The Indians, with Dieskau, when they saw the cannon, quietly walked to a hill at a safe distance, and watched the battle. The Canadians, who had hoped the Indians would have done the most of the fighting, were disheartened and left the French to make the onset alone. Bravely they fought, and for five hours, the battle raged. Johnson was wounded early in the tight, and the men fought without a leader."

"But Johnson got the credit?"

"Yes, and was made a baronet by England; but, between you and I, the man was only slightly wounded, and was glad of an excuse to escape the danger of the battle."

"Johnson was no coward."

"Perhaps not; but have you not heard of that commander who, when wounded, insisted on staying on the field and giving orders until he dropped dead? That was a true hero, if you like. Then note the difference. Dieskau was wounded three times and would not retire. He sat on a tree stump and refused to be carried off the field. A renegade Frenchman who had joined the English went up to him to make him a prisoner. Dieskau was about to hand the man his watch as a token of surrender, but the Frenchman, thinking the general intended to draw a pistol, fired, and the brave commander dropped, mortally wounded. But though the victory was with the English, it was dearly purchased. The French were not disheartened, for they reinforced Crown Point and seized Ticonderoga, which they fortified."

"Is Ticonderoga so very strong?" asked Allen, who had listened so attentively to the historical narrative told by Arnold.

"Yes. Abercrombie for four hours stormed it. Column after column dashed with great bravery against the breastworks, but only to meet with failure. Abercrombie could have returned with a larger army and heavier guns, but he did not. He had fifteen thousand men, while the French had not more than eight thousand on the outside. In 1759 the French, being hard pressed, dismantled the fort and the English walked into it. It cost the English eight million pounds to repair, enlarge and strengthen it."

"And in a few days it will be in our possession."

"I hope so."

"It must be."

"Have you sent out any scouts to find its strength?"

"Yes, one--a boy named Ebenezer Pike."

"A boy?"

"Yes, a boy that I would back against all the men I ever saw."

"He may betray you."

"Col. Arnold, that makes three times you have expressed a fear of some one betraying our cause. Do not do it again, or I may----"

Allen paused. He did not wish to give offense.

"What? Speak out, man!"

"I may doubt you. I always was taught to think that a suspicious person was to be feared."

"Ha, ha, ha! Allen, do you see that sun?"

"Of course."

"It shines for all?"

"Yes."

"It is always constant? It never refuses to shine?"

"No."

"Then do not doubt me until that sun ceases to be constant and true."