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."