A HERO 
 
 OF 
 
 TICONDEROGA 
 
 BY 
 
 ROWLAND E. ROBINSON 
 
 AUTHOR OF " UNCLE LISHA's SHOP," " SAM LOVEL's CAMP," 
 
 "VERMONT," IN THE AMERICAN COMMONWEALTH 
 
 SERIES, " DAVIS FOLKS," " UNCLE LISHA'S 
 
 OUTING," "in NEW ENGLAND 
 
 FIELDS AND WOODS." 
 
 BURLINGTON, VT, 
 
 HOBART J. SHANLEY & CO. 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 (898 
 
Copyright, 1898, by 
 HOBART J. SHANLEY it CO. 
 
 487881 
 
A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 COMING INTO THE WILDERNESS 
 
 The low sun of a half-spent winter 
 afternoon streaked and splashed the 
 soft undulations of the forest floor 
 with thin, infrequent lines, and scat- 
 tered blotches of yellow light among 
 the thickening shadows. 
 
 A solitary hunter, clad in buckskin 
 and gray homespun, thridded his way 
 among the gray trunks of the giant 
 trees, now blended with them and 
 their shadows, now briefly touched by 
 
2 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 a glint of sunlight, now casting up the 
 powdery snow from the toes of his 
 snowshoes in a pearly mist, now in a 
 golden shower, yet moving as silently 
 as the trees stood, or shadows brood- 
 ed, or sunlight gleamed athwart 
 them. 
 
 Presently he approached a narrow 
 road that tunnelled, rather than 
 seamed, the forest, for the giant trees 
 which closely pillared its sides spread 
 their branches across it, leaving the 
 vast forest arch unbroken. 
 
 In the silence of the hour and sea- 
 son, which was but emphasized by 
 the outcry of a suspicious jay and the 
 gentler notes of a bevy of friendly 
 chickadees, the alert ear of the hunter 
 caught a less familiar sound. Faint 
 and distant as it was, he at once re- 
 cognized in it the slow tread of oxen 
 and the creak of runners in the dry 
 snow, and, standing a little aloof from 
 
Coming into the IVilderness 3 
 
 the untrodden road, he awaited the 
 coming of the possibly unwelcome 
 inv'aders of the wilderness. 
 
 A yoke of oxen soon appeared, 
 swaying along at a sober pace, the 
 breath jetting from their nostrils in 
 little clouds that arose and dissolved 
 in the still air with that of their driver, 
 who stood on the front of a sled laden 
 with a full cargo of household stuff. 
 Far behind the sled stretched the 
 double furrow of the runners, deep- 
 scored lines of darker blue than the 
 universal shadow of the forest, a stead- 
 fast wake to mark the course of the 
 voyager till the next snow-storm or 
 the spring thaw cover it or blot it out. 
 As the oxen came opposite the mo- 
 tionless hunter, his attendant jay ut- 
 tered a sudden discordant cry. 
 
 " Whoa, hush! Whoa haw, there! 
 What are you afeard of now ? That's 
 nothin' but a jay squallin'." The 
 
4 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 strong voice of the driver rang through 
 the stillness of the woods, overbearing 
 the monotonous tread of the oxen, 
 the creak of the sled, and the respon- 
 sive swish and creak of the snow be- 
 neath feet and runners. 
 
 Unmindful of his voice, the oxen 
 still swerved from the unbeaten track 
 of the forest road and threatened to 
 bring the off runner against one of 
 the great trees that bordered it. The 
 driver sprang from his standing place, 
 and, running forward alongside the 
 cattle, quickly brought them to a halt 
 with a few reassuring words, and a 
 touch of his long, blue-beech gad 
 across their faces. 
 
 Looking into the woods to see what 
 had alarmed them, he became aware 
 of the man standing a little way off, 
 as motionless as the great tree trunks 
 around him. Seeing the oxen were 
 now under control, the latter ad- 
 
Coming into the PVilderness 5 
 
 vanced a little and spoke in a low, 
 pleasant voice : 
 
 " I didn't go to skeer your oxen, 
 stranger, and was standin' still to let 
 'em pass, but thet jay squalled at me, 
 an', lookin' this way, I s'pose they 
 ketched a glimpse of my fur cap an' 
 took it for some varmint. Cattle is 
 always lookin' for some sech, in the 
 woods. Your load's all right, I hope," 
 he seid, coming into the road and 
 looking at the sled, which, though 
 tipped on some hidden obstruction, 
 was yet in no danger of upsetting its 
 freight. 
 
 " Why, you've got women an* chil- 
 dern," and his face lighted up with 
 an expression of pleased interest. 
 " You're comin' in to make a pitch. 
 How far might you be goin', stran- 
 ger ? " 
 
 " A little beyond Fort Ti, on this 
 side, ' ' the driver of the oxen answered. 
 
A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 44 
 
 I made a pitch there last year. My 
 name's Seth Beeman, and I come from 
 Salisbury, Ccmnecticut, and them on 
 the sled are my wife and children." 
 Seth Beeman knew that, according to 
 the custom of the country and the 
 times, this information would pres- 
 ently be required of him, and the 
 hunter, for such the stranger's dress, 
 long gun and snowshoes proclaimed 
 him to be, had such an honest face 
 he did not hesitate to forestall the in- 
 evitable questions. 
 
 " I want to know ! A Beeman from 
 , ol' Salisbury," cried the other. ** An' 
 now I wonder if you be akin to my ol' 
 comrade in the Rangers, 'Zekiel Bee- 
 man?" 
 
 " My father's name was Ezekiel, 
 and he served in Roger's Rangers." 
 
 " Give me your hand, friend," cried 
 the hunter, drawing off his mitten 
 with his teeth, and extending his hand 
 
Coming into the IVilderness 7 
 
 as he came near to the other. ' ' Well, 
 I never thought to meet an ol' friend 
 here in these lonesome woods, to-day. 
 Yes, an ol' friend, for that's what a 
 son of 'Zeklel Beeman's is to me, 
 though I never sot eyes on him afore. 
 You've maybe hearn him speak of 
 Job Carpenter ? That's my name. " 
 
 " Carpenter? Yes, the name sounds 
 familiar, but you know father wa'n't a 
 man of many words and never told us 
 much of his sojerin' days." 
 
 " You're right, he wa'n't. We all 
 larnt to keep our heads shut when we 
 was a-scoutin* an* a loud word might 
 cost a man his'n an' many another 
 life." 
 
 Seth wondered how long since the 
 hunter had forgotten the lesson, yet 
 he noticed the voice of the other was 
 never high pitched and he never made 
 a sudden, abrupt movement. 
 
 ** An' so these is your wife an' chil- 
 
8 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 dern, be they?" said Job, passing 
 toward the sled, whose occupants 
 were so muffled in bed-quilts and 
 blankets that nothing of their forms, 
 and but little of their features, were 
 visible. 
 
 " How dedo, marm. How dedo, 
 little uns. Tol'able comf'table, I 
 hope?" 
 
 Ruth Beeman answered his kind 
 salutation as audibly as she could out 
 of her mufflings, and the children, a 
 boy of twelve and a girl of three years 
 younger, stared at him with round, 
 wondering eyes. 
 
 "It's a hard life that lies afore 
 women an' childern in this wilder- 
 ness," he said to himself, and then, 
 in a louder tone: " Wal, I'm glad 
 you're goin' to be nigh the Fort. 
 There's always a doctor there, an' it's 
 sort o' protection, if the garrison be 
 reg'lars. Now, Seth, start up your 
 
Coming into the Wilderness 9 
 
 team, an' I'll boost on the sled till it's 
 square on the road again." 
 
 So saying, he set his shoulder to 
 one of the sled stakes, while Seth care- 
 fully started the oxen forward. With 
 a heaving lurch and prolonged creak, 
 the sled settled upon evener ground 
 without disturbance of its passengers 
 or its burden of house gear and pro- 
 visions, which, till now, had hidden 
 from view of the hunter a gentle little 
 cow in lead close behind it. 
 
 " How far be we from the Fort?" 
 Seth asked. 
 
 " Nigh onto five mile," the hunter 
 answered, after considering their 
 whereabouts a moment. "After a 
 spell you'll come to a better road on 
 the ice of the crik, if you take the first 
 blazed path beyend here, to your left. 
 It'll^ fetch you to my cabin, where 
 you'l better stop till morning, for you 
 can't no ways git to your pitch till 
 
10 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 long arter nightfall. I know where it 
 is, for I come across it, last fall, when 
 I was trappin' m .hrat up the crik. 
 My shanty's the first thing in the shape 
 of a dwelling that you'll come to, an* 
 can't miss it if 3'ou foller the back 
 track of my snowshoes. It hain't no 
 gre?t, but it's better'n no shelter, an' 
 you're more'n welcome to it. Rake 
 open the fire an' build you a rouster, 
 an* make yourselves to home. I've 
 got some traps to tend to, but I'll be 
 back afore dark," and, almost before 
 they could thank him, he disappeared 
 among the trees. 
 
 Seth took his place upon the sled, 
 and, as it moved forward, the forest 
 again resumed its solemnity of silence, 
 that was rather made more apparent 
 than at all disturbed by the slight 
 sounds of the party's progress. It 
 was a silence that their lonely journey 
 had long since accustomed them to, 
 
Coming into the PVilderness li 
 
 but had not made less depressing, for, 
 in every waking moment, it reminded 
 Seth and his wife how every foot of 
 it withdrew them further from old 
 friends and old associations, and how 
 long and wearisome the days of its 
 endurance stretched before them. 
 
 The remainder of the day was made 
 pleasanter by the chance finding of a 
 friend in a strange land, and with a 
 prospect of spending a night under a 
 roof, for, however it might be, it could 
 but be better than the almost shelter- 
 less bivouac that had many times been 
 their night lodging since they entered 
 the great Northern Wilderness, that, 
 within a few years, had become known 
 as the New Hampshire Grants. 
 
 More than once, when they had 
 fallen asleep with only the mesh of 
 netted branches between them and 
 the serene stars, they had been awak- 
 ened by the long howl of the wolves 
 
12 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 answering one another, or by the ap- 
 palling scream of a panther. Then, 
 with frequent replenishment of the 
 fire, they had watched out the weary 
 hours till morning, alarmed by every 
 falling brand or sough of the breeze, or 
 resonant crack of frost-strained trees. 
 
 Seth looked eagerly for the prom- 
 ised trail and was glad to discover the 
 blazed trees and the netted imprint of 
 snowshoes, that, if but briefly, as cer- 
 tainly, identified the path. He turned 
 his oxen into the diverging road, 
 which, though narrow, gave ample 
 room for the sled. After a little it 
 led to the winding channel of a creek 
 crawling through a marsh, whose 
 looped and matted sedges were in 
 turn bordered by the primeval forest 
 and its bristling abatis of great trees, 
 prostrate and bent in every degree of 
 incline. 
 
 At last, as the long shadows began 
 
Coming into the Wilderness 13 
 
 to thicken into the pallid gloom of 
 winter twilight, a little cabin was dis- 
 covered in a notch of clearing, as gray 
 and silent as the gray woods around 
 it. A thin wisp of smoKe climbed 
 from the low chimney against tl'^ wall 
 of forest, and a waft of its pungent 
 odor came to the travellers. Even as 
 they drew near, its owner also arrived, 
 and gave them hospitable welcome to 
 his hearth, and presently the little 
 room was aglow with light and 
 warmth. 
 
 Here Ruth and little Martha thawed 
 away their cramps and chilliness by 
 the big fireplace, while Seth and his 
 son Nathan, with the hunter's help, 
 unhitched the oxen from the sled. 
 From this they brought the rations of 
 hay and corn, and made the oxen and 
 their comrade, the cow, contented 
 with their roofless lodging behind the 
 cabin. 
 
X4 -^ Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 Then the pork and Indian meal were 
 taken inside. Ruth mixed a johnny- 
 cake with hot water and salt, and set 
 it to bake on its board, tilted before 
 the fire. The frying-pan was filled 
 with pork, and slices of moose meat 
 contributed from Job's larder. 
 
 The little party, ranged on rude 
 seats about the fireplace, so great as 
 to be out of all proportion to the 
 room, chatted of things near and afar, 
 while they grew hungry with every 
 sniff of appetizing cookery. 
 
 Nathan was all agog at the peltry 
 that hung from innumerable pegs on 
 the rough log walls. There were skins 
 of many animals that had long been 
 rare, if not extinct, in the old colony 
 where he was born. 
 
 There were the broad, round shields 
 of beaver skins, the slenderer and 
 lighter-hued skins of otters, besides 
 the similarly shaped but smaller and 
 
Coming into the Wilderness 15 
 
 darker-colored fisher, with a bundle of 
 the lesser martins, that Job called 
 " saple," and no end of muskrats and 
 minks. There were, also, half a d >zr.in 
 wolf skins, and, conspicuous in size 
 and glossy blackness, were three bear 
 skins, and beside them hung a tawny- 
 panther hide, the huge hinder paws 
 and long tail trailing on the puncheon 
 floor, while the cat-like head seemed 
 to prowl, as stealthily as in life, among 
 the upper shadows and flickerings of 
 the firelight. 
 
 Quickly noting the boy's interest 
 in these trophies. Job made the round 
 of them all, explaining the habits of 
 each animal, the method of its cap- 
 ture, and giving brief narrations 
 of encounters with the larger ones. 
 He exhibited, with the most pride, 
 a beautiful silver-gray foxskin, and 
 an odd-looking spotted and coarse- 
 haired skin, stuffed with moss into 
 
1 6 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 some semblance of its form in the 
 flesh. This he brought to the fire- 
 side, and set on its fin-like hinder 
 feet, for the inspection of his guests. 
 
 " What on airth is it ? " Seth Bee- 
 man asked. 
 
 " 'Tain't of the airth, but of the 
 water," Job answered, with a chuckle. 
 " I killed it on the ice of the lake 
 airly in the winter. One of the sojers 
 at the Fort see it, an' he says it's a 
 seal fish belongin* to the sea, where 
 he's seen no end on 'em. But them 
 sojers to the Fort is an ign'ant set like 
 all the reg'lars, that we rangers always 
 despised as bad as they did us, an* it 
 don't look no ways reasonable that 
 sech a creatur' could come all the way 
 up the St. Lawrence, an' the Iriquois 
 River, an' most the len'th o' this lake. 
 My idee is, it's a fresh-water mare- 
 maid, an' nat'ral to this lake." 
 
 If Seth had any doubt of this 
 
Coming into the PVilderness 17 
 
 theory, he gave it no expression, and 
 the hunter went on : 
 
 " An ol' Injin told me that there's 
 always ben one o' these cretur's seen 
 in this lake a spell afore every wav 
 that's ever ben. But I hope the sign 
 *11 fail this time. I've seen enough 
 o' war an' I don't see no chance of 
 another, all Canady bein' took an' the 
 Injins in these parts bein' quilled." 
 
 The johnny-cake, having been bak- 
 ing for some time in its last turn on 
 the board, was now pronounced done. 
 The mixed contents of the frying-pan 
 were turned out on a wooden trencher, 
 and conversation was suspended for 
 the more important matter of supper. 
 Not long after this was disposed of, 
 the host and his guests betook them- 
 selves to sleep in quilts and blankets 
 on the puncheon floor, with their feet 
 to the blazing backlog and glowing 
 bed of coals. 
 a 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE NEW HOME 
 
 The light of a cloudless March morn« 
 ing pervaded the circumscribed land- 
 scape when the inmates of the cabin 
 were astir again. Not many moments 
 later, a sudden booming report broke 
 the stillness and rolled in sullen echoes 
 back and forth from mountains and 
 forested shores. 
 
 " The sunrise gun to Fort Ti," Job 
 said, in reply to the questioning look 
 of his guests. ' * They hain't no other 
 use for their powder now." 
 
 A fainter report, and its fainter an- 
 swering echoes, boomed through the 
 breathless air. 
 
 An' that's Crown P'int Fort, ten 
 
 i< 
 
The New Home 19 
 
 mile furder down the lake. They 
 help to keep us from getting lonesome 
 up here in the woods. ' ' And, indeed, 
 there was a comfortable assurance of 
 human neighborhood and helpful 
 strength in these mighty voices that 
 shook the primeval forest with their 
 dull thunder. 
 
 '' I don't sca'cely ever go nigh 
 the forts," Job continued. " I don't 
 like them reg'lars an' their toppin' 
 ways. 
 
 After fortifying themselves with a 
 breakfast, in no wise differing from 
 their last meal, the travellers set fordi 
 on the last stage of their journey, Job 
 volunteering to accompany them upon 
 it, and see them established in their 
 new home. They had not gone far 
 on their way down the narrow channel 
 of the creek when it brought them to 
 the broad, snow-clad expanse of the 
 lake, lying white and motionless be- 
 
20 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 tween its rugged shores, bristling with 
 the forest, save where, on their left, 
 was a stretch of cleared ground, in the 
 midst of which stood, like a grim sen- 
 tinel, grown venerable with long years 
 of steadfast watch, the gray battle- 
 ments of Fort Ticonderoga. 
 
 Here and there could be seen red- 
 coated soldiers, bright dots of color in 
 the colorless winter landscape, and, 
 above them, lazily flaunting in the 
 light breeze, shone the red cross of 
 England. The old ranger gave the 
 flag the tribute of a military saluie, 
 while his heart swelled with pride at 
 sight of the banner for which he had 
 fought, and which he had followed 
 almost to where it now waved, in the 
 humiliation of Abercrombie's defeat, 
 and here had seen it planted in Am- 
 herst's triumphant advance. 
 
 In Seth Beeman's breast it stirred 
 no such thrill. It had no such associa- 
 
The New Home n 
 
 tions with deeds in which he had 
 borne a part, and to him, as to mcny 
 another of his people, it was becoming 
 a symbol of oppression rather than an 
 object of pride. To Nathan's boyish 
 eyes it was a most beautiful thing, 
 without meaning, but of beauty. His 
 heart beat quick as the rattling drums 
 and the shrill notes of the fife sum- 
 moned the garrison to parade. 
 
 The oxen went at a brisker pace on 
 the unobstructed surface of the lake, 
 and the travellers soon came to a little 
 creek not far up which was the clear- 
 ing that Seth Beeman had made dur- 
 ing the previous summer. In the 
 midst of it stood the little log house 
 that was henceforth to be their home, 
 the shed for the cattle, and a stack of 
 wild hay, inconspicuous among log 
 heaps almost as large as they, looking 
 anything but homelike with the 
 smokeless chimney and pathless ap- 
 
22 A Hero of TUonderoga 
 
 proach. Nor, when entered, was the 
 bare interior much more cheerful. 
 
 A fire, presently blazing on the 
 hearth, soon enlivened it. The floor 
 was neatly swept with a broom fash- 
 ioned of hemlock twigs by Job's ready 
 hands. The little stock of furniture 
 was brought in. The pewter table- 
 ware was ranged on the rough corner 
 shelves. Ruth added here and there 
 such housewifely touches as only a 
 woman can give. The change, wrought 
 in so brief a space, seemed a magical 
 transformation. What two hours ago 
 was but a barren crib of rough, clay- 
 chinked logs, was now a furnished 
 living-room, cozy with rude, home- 
 like comfort. 
 
 Then the place was hanselled with 
 its first regularly prepared dinner, the 
 first meal beneath its roof at which a 
 woman had presided. Job, loath to 
 leave the most humanized habitation 
 
The New Home 23 
 
 that he had seen for months, set forth 
 for his own lonely cabin. Except the 
 unneighborly inmates of the Fort, 
 these were his nearest neighbors, and 
 to them, for his old comrade's sake, 
 he felt a closer friendship than had 
 warmed his heart for many a year. 
 
 Though it was March, winter lacked 
 many days of being spent in this lati- 
 tude, and, during their continuance, 
 Seth was busy with his axe, widening 
 the clearing with slow, persistent in- 
 roads upon the surrounding forest, and 
 piling the huge log heaps for next 
 spring's burning. Nathan gave a will- 
 ing and helpful hand to the piling of 
 the brush, and took practical lessons 
 in that accomplishment so necessary 
 to the pioneer — the woodsman's craft. 
 Within doors his mother, with little 
 Martha for her companion, plied cards 
 and spinning-wheel, with the frugal 
 store of wool and flax brought from 
 
24 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 the old home. So their busy hands 
 kept loneliness at bay, even amid the 
 dreariness of the wintry wilderness. 
 
 At last the south wind blew with a 
 tempered breath. Hitherto unseen 
 stumps appeared above the settling 
 snow, the gray haze of woods purpled 
 with a tinge of spring, and the caw of 
 returning crows pleased their ears, 
 tired of the winter's silence. 
 
 Seth tapped the huge old maples 
 with a gouge, and the sap, dripping 
 from spouts of sumac wood, was 
 caught in rough-hewn troughs. From 
 these it was carried in buckets on a 
 neck-yoke to the boiling place, an 
 open-fronted shanty. Before it the 
 big potash kettle was hung on a tree 
 trunk, so balanced on a stump that it 
 could be swung over or off the fire at 
 will. Sugaring brought pleasure as 
 well as hard labor to Nathan. There 
 were quiet hours spent in the shanty 
 
The New Home 25 
 
 with his father, with little to do but 
 mend the fire and watch the boiling 
 sap walloping and frothing, half hid- 
 den beneath the clouds of steam that 
 filled the woods with sweet odor. 
 
 Sometimes Job joined them and 
 told of his lonely scouts in the Ranger 
 service, and of bush fights with In- 
 dians and their French allies, and of 
 encounters with wild beasts, tales 
 made more impressive in their rela- 
 tion by the loneliness of the camp- 
 fire, with the circle of wild lights and 
 shadows leaping around it in the edge 
 of the surrounding darkness, out of 
 which came, perhaps from far away, 
 the howl of a wolf or the nearer hoot 
 of the great horned owl. 
 
 Sometimes Martha spent part of a 
 day in camp with her brother, helping 
 in womanly ways that girls so early 
 acquired in the training of those 
 times, when every one of the house- 
 
26 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 hold must learn helpfulness and self- 
 reliance. But the little sister enjoyed 
 most the evenings when the syrup 
 was taken to the house and sugared 
 off. The children surfeited them- 
 selves with sugar " waxed " on snow, 
 and their parents, and Job, if he 
 chanced to be there, shared of this 
 most delicious of the few backwoods 
 luxuries, and the five made a jolly 
 family party. 
 
 One morning, when the surface of 
 the coarse-grained old snow was cov- 
 ered with one of the light later falls, 
 known as " sugar snow," as Seth and 
 his son were on their way to the sugar 
 place, the latter called his father's 
 attention to a large track bearing 
 some resemblance to the imprint of a 
 naked human foot, and tending with 
 some meandering in the same direc- 
 tion that they were going. 
 
 "Why," said Seth, at the first 
 
The New Home I'j 
 
 glance, " it's a bear, an' if he's been 
 to the camp, I'm afraid he's done mis- 
 chief, for they're meddlesome crea- 
 tur's. But there wa'n't much left 
 there for him to hurt," he added, 
 after taking a brief mental inventory 
 of the camp's contents. 
 
 " I can't think of nothing but the 
 hunk of pork we had to keep the big 
 kittle from b'ilin' over," said Nathan, 
 " and a little mite of syrup that we 
 left in the little kittle 'cause there 
 was more'n we could carry home in 
 the pails." 
 
 "He's welcome to that if he'sleftthe 
 pork ; we hain't no pork to feed bears. ' ' 
 
 Now, as they drew near the camp, 
 they heard a strange commotion in 
 its neighborhood ; a medley of smoth- 
 ered angry growls, impatient whines, 
 unwieldy floundering, and a dull thud 
 and clank of iron, the excited squall- 
 ing of a party of jays, and the chatter- 
 
28 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 ing jeers of a red squirrel. Running 
 forward in cautious haste, they pres- 
 ently discovered the cause of this odd 
 confusion of noises to be a large black 
 bear. 
 
 His head was concealed in the pot- 
 bellied syrup kettle, held fast in that 
 position by the bail, that, in his eager- 
 ness to lick out the last drop of stolen 
 sweet, had slipped behind his ears. 
 His frantic efforts to get rid of his 
 self-imposed muzzle were so funny 
 that, after their first moment of be- 
 wilderment, the two spectators could 
 but shout with laughter. 
 
 Now upreared, the blindfolded bear 
 would strike wildly at the kettle with 
 his forepaws ; then, falling on his back, 
 claw it furiously with his hinder ones; 
 then, regaining his feet, rush headlong 
 till brought to a sudden stand by an 
 unseen tree trunk. Recovering from 
 the shock, he would remain motion- 
 
The New Home 2'9 
 
 less for a moment, as if devising some 
 new means of relief, but would pres- 
 ently resume the same round of un- 
 availing devices, with the constant 
 accompaniment of smothered expres- 
 sions of rage and terror. 
 
 But there was little time for laugh- 
 ter when a precious kettle and a fat 
 bear might at any moment be lost by 
 the fracture of one and the escape of 
 the other. Seth had no weapon but 
 his axe, but with this he essayed 
 prompt attack, the happy opportunity 
 for which was at once offered. In one 
 of his blind, unguided rushes, the bear 
 charged directly toward the camp, till 
 his iron-clad head struck with a re- 
 sounding clang against the great boil- 
 ing kettle. As he reeled backward 
 from the shock, half stunned by it, 
 and bewildered by the unaccustomed 
 sound that still rang in his ears, Seth 
 was beside him with axe uplifted. 
 
3© A Hero of Ticonderoga • 
 
 Only an instant he deliberated where 
 and how to strike; at the skull he 
 dared not with the axe-head, for fear 
 of breaking the kettle, and he disliked 
 to strike with the blade further back 
 for fear of disfiguring the skin. But 
 this was the preferable stroke, and in 
 the next instant the axe-blade fell with 
 a downright blow, so strong and well 
 aimed that it severed the spinal col- 
 umn just forward of the shoulders. 
 The great brute went down, paralyzed 
 beyond all motion, to fall in a help- 
 less heap and yield up his life with a 
 few feeble gasps. 
 
 "Oh, father," cried Nathan, the 
 first to break the sudden silence, with 
 a voice tremulous in exultation, " to 
 think we've got a bear. Won't moth- 
 er and Marthy be proud? and won't 
 Job think we're real hunters? " 
 
 Waiting but a moment to stroke the 
 glossy fur and lift a huge inert paw, 
 
The New Home 31 
 
 but such a little while ago so terrible, 
 he sped home to bring his mother and 
 sister to see the unexpected prize, 
 while the jays renewed their querulous 
 outcry, and the squirrel vociferously 
 scoffed the fallen despoiler of his stolen 
 nuts. 
 
 The flesh made a welcome addition 
 to the settler's scanty store of meat, 
 the fat furnished a medium for frying 
 the hitherto impossible doughnut, and 
 Job promised to bring them a hand- 
 some price for the skin, when he 
 should sell it with his own peltry to 
 the fur traders. But the praise he 
 bestowed upon Seth's coolness in the 
 strange encounter was sweeter to 
 Nathan than all else. 
 
 As the days went on the advance of 
 spring became more rapid and more 
 apparent. Already the clearing was 
 free from snow, and even in the 
 shadow of the forest the tops of the 
 
32 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 cradle knolls showed the brown mats 
 of last year's leaves above the surface, 
 that was no longer a pure white, but 
 littered with the winter downfall of 
 twigs, moss, and bits of bark, and 
 everywhere it was gray with innumer- 
 able swarming mites of snow fleas. 
 Great flocks of wild geese harrowed 
 the sky. Ducks went whistling in 
 swift flight just above the tree tops, 
 or settled in the puddles beginning to 
 form along the border of the marsh. 
 Here muskrats were getting first sight 
 of the sun after months of twilight 
 spent beneath the ice. 
 
 In the earliest April days of open 
 water, when the blackbirds, on every 
 bordering elm and water maple, were 
 filling the air with a jangle of harsh 
 and liquid notes, and the frogs, among 
 the drift of floating weeds, were purr- 
 ing an unremitting croak, Job took 
 Nathan out on the marshes, and in- 
 
The New Home 33 
 
 structed him in the art of shooting 
 the great pickerel now come to spawn 
 in the warm shallows. 
 
 " Never shoot at 'em," said he, 
 when a shot from his smooth-bore had 
 turned an enormous fellow's white 
 belly to the sun, and he quickly lifted 
 the fish into the canoe; " if you do, 
 you won't hit 'em. Always shoot 
 under, a mite or more, accordin* to 
 the depth o' water." 
 
 Powder and lead were too precious 
 to waste much of them on fish, so the 
 old hunter made his pupil a hornbeam 
 bow and arrows with spiked heads. 
 With these weapons the boy soon be- 
 came so skilled that he kept the table 
 well supplied with this agreeable varia- 
 tion of its frugal fare. 
 
 Song-birds came in fewer numbers 
 in those days of wide wildernesses 
 than now, but there were bluebirds 
 and song sparrows enough to enliven 
 
 3 
 
34 -^ Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 the clearing with sweet songs, and 
 little Martha found squirrel cups 
 blooming in the warmest corners of 
 the field. As the days grew longer 
 and warmer they grew busier, for Seth 
 was diligently getting his crops in 
 among the black stumps. 
 
 Job, having foreseen his friend's 
 need of some sort of water craft when 
 the lake should open, had fashioned 
 for him a log canoe from the trunk of 
 a great pine, and modelled it as grace- 
 fully as his own birch, though it was 
 many times a heavier, as it was a 
 steadier, craft. 
 
 One pleasant afternoon in early 
 May, when the lake was quite clear 
 of ice, Seth and his son, with Job as 
 their instructor in the art of canoe 
 navigation, made a trip in the new 
 boat. They paddled down the creek, 
 now a broad bit of water from the 
 spring overflow. When they came 
 
The New Home 35 
 
 to the lake, rippled with a brisk north- 
 ern breeze, they found their visit well 
 timed, for a rare and pretty sight was 
 before them, so rare and pretty that 
 Job paddled back with all speed for 
 the mother and daughter that they, 
 too, might see it. 
 
 A mile below the mouth of the 
 creek a large vessel was coming, un- 
 der all sail, with the British flag fly- 
 ing bravely above the white cloud 
 of canvas. They could hear the in- 
 spiring strains of martial music, and, 
 when the noble vessel swept past not 
 half a mile away, they could see the 
 gayly dressed officers and the blue- 
 jacketed sailors swarming on her 
 deck. 
 
 " It's the sloop from St. Johns," 
 said Job. " She comes two or three 
 times, whilst the lake's open, with 
 stores for the garrison to the Fort. 
 It's an easier trail than the road from 
 
36 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 Albany. Pretty soon you'll hear her 
 speak." 
 
 Almost at his words a puff of smoke 
 jetted out from her black side, and, 
 as it drifted across her deck, it was 
 followed by the loud, sullen roar of the 
 cannon. In response a smoke cloud 
 drifted away from the Fort, and a mo- 
 ment later a roar of welcome rein- 
 forced the failing echoes. Again and 
 again the sloop and the Fort ex- 
 changed salutes, till the new settlers 
 ceased to be startled by such thunder 
 as they had never before heard under 
 a cloudless sky. 
 
 " They hain't nothin' to do with 
 their powder nowadays, but to fool it 
 away in sech nonsense," said the 
 Ranger, as the sloop came to anchor 
 in front of the Fort. ** Arter all it's 
 a better use for it than killin' folks, 
 erless," he deliberately excepted, " it 
 might be Injins." , 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 A VISIT TO THE FORT 
 
 The summer brought more settlers 
 to these inviting lands of level, fertile 
 soil, and when the woods were again 
 bright with autumnal hues, their broad 
 expanse of variegated color was 
 blotched with many a square of un- 
 sightly new clearing. Job Carpenter 
 looked with disfavor upon such in- 
 fringement of the hunter's domain, 
 but it was welcomed by the Beemans. 
 Though Seth's active out-door em- 
 ployment and the constant compan- 
 ionship of nature made him less lonely 
 than his wife, yet he was of a social 
 nature and glad of human companion- 
 ship ; while Ruth, sometimes lonely in 
 
38 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 the isolation of her new home, rejoiced 
 in the neighborhood of other women. 
 
 Only a mile away were the New- 
 tons, a large and friendly family, and 
 within three miles were four more 
 friendly households, and another at 
 the falls of the turbid Lemon Fair. 
 At this point a saw mill was being 
 built and a grist mill talked of. With 
 that convenience established so close 
 at hand, there would be no more need 
 of the long journey to the mill at 
 Skeenesborough, a voyage that, in the 
 best of weather, required two days to 
 accomplish. 
 
 The settlers at first pounded their 
 corn into samp, or finer meal for john- 
 ny-cake, by the slow and laborious 
 plumping mill, a huge wooden mor- 
 tar with a spring pole pestle. 
 
 ** Oh, mother," said Nathan, one 
 summer aftf ■ "» >on, as for a while he 
 stopped the r <;jlar thump, thump of 
 
A Visit to the Fort 39 
 
 the plumping mill to wipe his hot face 
 and rest his arms that ached with the 
 weary downpull of the great pestle, 
 " when do you s'pose the folks to the 
 Fair will get the gris' mill done? " 
 
 " Afore long, I hope, for your sake, 
 my boy," she answered, cheerily, 
 through the window. * * Let me spell 
 you awhile and you take a good rest. ' ' 
 
 Laying her wool cards aside, she 
 came out and set her strong hands to 
 the pestle, while Nathan ran out to 
 the new road to see what ox-teamster 
 of unfamiliar voice was bawling his 
 vociferous wayalong its root-entangled 
 and miry course. Presently the boy 
 came back, breathless with the haste 
 of bearing great news. 
 
 " Oh, mother, they're carryin* the 
 stones and fixin's for the new mill, 
 and the man says they'll be ready for 
 grindin* before winter sets in. Then 
 it'll be good-by to you, old * Up-an'- 
 
40 A Hero of T'tconderoga 
 
 down,' and good riddance to bad rub- 
 bage," and he brought the pestle 
 down with energy on the half-pounded 
 grist of samp. 
 
 " Don' revile the plumpin' mill, 
 Nathan. It's been a good friend in 
 time o' need. Mebby you'll miss the 
 trips to Skeenesborough with your 
 father. You've always lotted on 
 them." 
 
 " Yes, but I'd rather go to the Fort 
 and play with the boys, any day, aid 
 I'll have more time when samp pound- 
 in' is done and ended." 
 
 He had been with his father twice 
 to the Fort to see its wonders, and, 
 brief as the visits were, they sufficed 
 to make him acquainted with the boys 
 of the garrison, and, for the time, a 
 partner in their games. Before the 
 summer was out, the little Yankee be- 
 came a great favorite with the few 
 English and Irish boys whose fathers 
 
A Visit to the Fort 41 
 
 were soldiers of the little garrison. 
 He taught them how to shoot with 
 his hornbeam bow and spiked arrows, 
 and many another bit of woodcraft 
 learned of his fast friend Job, while 
 they taught him unheard-of games, 
 and told him tales of the marvellous 
 world beyond the sea, a world that 
 was as a dream to him. 
 
 His Yankee inquisitiveness made 
 him acquainted with every nook and 
 corner of the fortification, and he was 
 even one day taken into the com- 
 mandant's quarters, that the beautiful 
 wife of that fine gentleman might see 
 from what manner of embryo grew 
 these Yankees, who were becoming 
 so troublesome to His Majesty, King 
 George. She was so pleased with his 
 frank, simple manner and shrewd an- 
 swers that she dismissed him with a 
 bright, new English shilling, the larg- 
 est sum that he had yet possessed. 
 
42 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 " Really, William," she afterwards 
 remarked to her husband, " if this be 
 a specimen of your terrible Yankees, 
 they be vtry like our own people, in 
 speech and actions, only sharper wit- 
 ted, and they surely show close kin- 
 ship with us in spite of such long 
 separation." 
 
 " You little know them," s?id Cap- 
 tain Delaplace, laughing. * * They are 
 a turbulent, upstart breed. I fear 
 only a sound drubbing, and, perhaps, 
 the hanging of a score of their leaders, 
 will teach them obedience to His 
 Majesty." 
 
 " I would be sorry to have this little 
 man drubbed or hanged," said she, 
 with a sigh; " surely he is not of the 
 stuff rebels are made of." 
 
 " The very stuff, my dear. Bold 
 and self-reliant, and impatient of con- 
 trol, as you may see. If ever there 
 comes an outbreak of these discon- 
 
A Vhit to the Fort 43 
 
 tented people, I warrant you'll find 
 this boy deserving the drubbing and 
 getting it, too, for His Majesty's 
 troops would make short work of 
 such rabble." 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS 
 
 A year later, the dispute of the Gov- 
 ernors of New York and New Hamp- 
 shire, concerning the boundaries of 
 the two provinces, was at its height, 
 and the quarrel between claimants of 
 grants of the same lands, under char- 
 ters from both governors, became 
 every day more violent. The dis- 
 puted territory was that between the 
 Connecticut River and Lake Cham- 
 plaiii, and was for a long time known 
 as the New Hampshire Grants. 
 
 If a New York grantee found the 
 claim which he had selected, or which 
 had been allotted to him, occupied by 
 a New Hampshire grantee, when the 
 
The New Hampshire Grants 45 
 
 strength of his party was sufficient he 
 would take forcible possession of the 
 land, without regard to the improve- 
 ments made upon it, and without 
 making any compensation therefor. 
 He was seldom left long in enjoyment 
 of possession thus gained, for the 
 friends of the New Hampshire grantee 
 quickly rallied to his aid and sum- 
 marily ousted the aggressor, who, if 
 he proved too stubborn, was likely to 
 be roughly handled, and have set upon 
 his back the imprint of the beech seal, 
 the name given to the blue-beech rod 
 wherewith such offenders were chas- 
 tised. The New Hampshire grantees 
 were as unscrupulous in their eject- 
 ment of New York claimants who had 
 first established themselves on the New 
 Hampshire Grants. Surveyors, act- 
 ing under the authority of New York, 
 were especially obnoxious to settlers 
 of the other party, and rough encoun- 
 
46 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 ters of the opposing claimants were 
 not infrequent. Seth Beeman and 
 his neighbors had all taken up land 
 under a New Hampshire charter, with- 
 out a thought of its validity being 
 questioned. 
 
 One bright June morning, Nathan 
 was watching the corn that, pushing its 
 tender blades above the black mould 
 in a corner of the clearing, offered 
 sweet and tempting morsels to the 
 thieving crows. It was a lazy, sleep- 
 enticing occupation, when all the 
 crows but one, who sat biding his 
 opportunity on a dry tree top, had 
 departed, cawing encouragement to 
 one another, in quest of a less vigi- 
 lantly guarded field. There was no 
 further need for beating with his im- 
 provised drumsticks on the hollow 
 topmost log of the fence, to the tune 
 of " Uncle Dan, Uncle Dan, Unck 
 Dan, Dan, Dan," which would not 
 
The New Hampshire Grants 47 
 
 scare the wise old veteran from his 
 steadfast waiting. 
 
 The indolent fluting of the hermit 
 thrushes rang languidly through the 
 leafy chambers of the forest, and the 
 wood pewees sang their pensive song 
 on the bordering boughs, too content 
 with song and mere existence to chase 
 the moth that wavered nearest their 
 perch. The languor of their notes 
 pervaded all the senses of the boy, 
 and, with his body in the shade of the 
 log fence and his bare feet in the sun- 
 shine, he fell into a doze. 
 
 Suddenly he was awakened by an 
 alarmed outcry of the crow, now 
 sweeping in narrow circles above some 
 new intruder upon his domain. Then 
 he became aware of strange voices, 
 the tramp of feet, the swish of branches 
 pushed aside regaining their places, a 
 metallic clink, and occasional lightly 
 delivered axe strokes. Mounting the 
 
4$ A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 topmost log of the fence, and shading 
 his eyes with his hands, he peered into 
 the twilight of the woods. To this 
 his eyes had hardly accustomed them- 
 selves, when he saw what sent flashes 
 of anger and chills of dread chasing 
 one another through his veins. But 
 a few rods away, and coming towards 
 him, were two men, one bearing the 
 end of a surveyor's chain and a bundle 
 of wire rods, the other carrying an axe 
 and gun. A little behind these were 
 two men similarly equipped, and still 
 further in the rear, half hidden by the 
 screen of undergrowth, more figures 
 were discovered, one of whom was 
 squinting through the sights of a com- 
 pass, whose polished brass glitter ,d in 
 a stray sunbeam. Nathan was sure 
 this must be the party of the New 
 York surveyor of whom there had 
 been a rumor in the settlement, and 
 he felt that trouble was at hand. 
 
ne New Hampshire Grants 49 
 
 t < 
 
 Hello, here's aclearin'," the fore- 
 most man, as he ran to the fence, 
 called back to the one at the other 
 end of the chain. " Jenkins, tell Mr. 
 Felton there's a fenced clearin* here, 
 — and boy," now deigning to notice 
 so insignificant an object. 
 
 " Stake," cried Jenkins. 
 
 As the first speaker planted one of 
 the wire rods beside the fence, Jenkins 
 pulled up the last one stuck in the 
 woods, at the same time shouting the 
 news back to the surveyor. 
 
 " Hold on, boy," the first speaker 
 said, as Nathan jumped from the 
 fence. " You stay here till Mr. Fel- 
 ton comes up." 
 
 "I'm going home," Nathan an- 
 swered boldly; ** if Mr. Felton wants 
 me he can come there." 
 
 " You sassy young rascal," cried 
 one of the men, who carried a gun, 
 bringing his weapon to a ready; " you 
 
5© A Hero of T'tconderoga 
 
 stand where you be or I'll — " and he 
 tapped the butt of his gun impress- 
 ively. 
 
 "You wouldn't dast to," Nathan 
 gasped defiantly, but he went no 
 further, and stood at bay, grinding 
 the soft mold under his naked heel 
 while he cast furtive glances at the 
 intruders, till the remainder of the 
 party came up. The surveyor, im- 
 pressed with the dignity of his posi- 
 tion, maintained a haughty bearing 
 toward all the members of his party 
 save one, a swarthy, thick-set, low- 
 browed man, whom he addressed as 
 Mr. Graves. 
 
 " A fine clearing, indeed," said Mr. 
 Felton when he came to the fence. 
 ** I wonder what Yankee scoundrel 
 has dared to so seize, hold and occupy 
 the lands of the Royal Colony of New 
 York." 
 . * * Mayhap this younker can tell you, 
 
The New Hampshire Grants 51 
 
 sir,** said the man guarding the boy, 
 and lowering his gun as he spoke. 
 
 " Boy, what scoundrel has dared to 
 steal this land and establish himself 
 upon it without leave or license of His 
 Excellency, the Governor of New 
 York? Yes, and cut down the pine 
 trees, especially reserved for the mast- 
 ing of His Majesty's navy," and he 
 tapped the top log impressively. 
 
 "It's holler, Mr. Felton," Jenkins 
 suggested, satisfying himself of the 
 fact by a resonant thump of his axe. 
 
 "Who stole this land? Where's 
 your tongue, boy?" Mr. Felton de- 
 manded sharply. 
 
 But the boy, out of mind an instant, 
 in that instant was out of sight. 
 Many a time he had heard Job re- 
 count the manner of retreat practised 
 by the Rangers, and now the knowl- 
 edge served him well. While the sur- 
 veryor's party was engaged with the 
 
52 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 pine, he slipped down on the same 
 side of the fence, gained the veiling of 
 a low bush, wormed his way a few 
 feet along the ground, reached the 
 protection of a large tree trunk, when 
 he leaped to his feet, and, fleet and 
 noiseless as a Ranger himself, fled 
 from tree to tree in a circuitous route 
 to his father. 
 
 Seth Becman was hard at work on 
 an extension of his clearing to the 
 westward when Nathan came up, 
 panting and breathless. 
 
 ** Oh, father, there's a whole lot of 
 Yorkers come and they're runnin' a 
 line right through our clearin'." 
 
 Seth listened attentively until the 
 men and their work had been described 
 minutely, and then, without a word, 
 resumed the trimming of the great 
 hemlock he had just felled. As 
 Nathan waited for some response, he 
 knew by his father's knitted brow that 
 
The New Hampshire Grants 53 
 
 his thoughts were busy. At length, 
 breaking off a twig of hemlock, he 
 came to his son and said, handing the 
 evergreen to him ; 
 
 " Take this to Newton's and show 
 it to the men folks, and say ' There's 
 trouble to Beeman's,' and then go on 
 and do the same at every house, 
 'round to Job's, and show it to him 
 and tell him the same, and do what- 
 ever he tells you. Be spry, my boy; 
 I must stay here and ta' care of mother 
 and Sis. Keep in the woods till you 
 get clea. of the Yorkers, then take the 
 road and clipper." 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE EVERGREEN SPRIG 
 
 Understanding the importance of 
 his errand and guessing its purpose, 
 Nathan skulked stealthily along the 
 heavily-wooded border of the high- 
 way till past all chance of discovery, 
 when he took the easier course of the 
 road. The ecstatic melody of the 
 thrushes' song and the pensive strain 
 of the pewee had not changed, yet 
 now they were instinct with cheer and 
 acceleration, as was the merry drum- 
 beat of the flicker on a dry branch 
 overhead. 
 
 Presently, as he held his steady 
 pace, splashing through puddles and 
 pattering along firmer stretches, he 
 
The Evergreen Sprig 55 
 
 heard sharp and loud footfalls in rapid 
 approach. Before his first impulse to 
 strike into the ready cover of the 
 woods was carried into effect, a horse- .' 
 man galloped around the turn, and he 
 was face to face with a handsome 
 stranger, whose tall, well-knit figure, 
 heightened by his seat on horseback, 
 towered above the boy like a giant. 
 
 ** Hello," said the man, reining up 
 his horse, " and where are you bound 
 in such a hurry, and who might you 
 be? " His clear gray eyes were fixed 
 on Nathan, who noticed pistols in the 
 holsters, a long gun across the saddle 
 bow, and, in the cocked hat, a sprig 
 of evergreen. 
 
 " I'm Seth Beeman'sboy," Nathan 
 answered, pointing in the direction of 
 his home, " and I'm goin' to neighbor 
 Newton's of an arrant." 
 
 ** Ah, — Beeman, — a good man, I'm 
 told. And what might take you to 
 
56 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 neighbor Newton's in such a hurry? 
 Has that hemlock twig in your hand 
 anything to do with your errand?" 
 demanded the stranger, in an impera- 
 tive but kindly voice. " Speak up. 
 You need not be afraid of me." 
 
 Nathan looked up inquiringly at 
 the bold, handsome face smiling down 
 on him. 
 
 " Did you ever hear of Ethan Al- 
 len?" asked the stranger. 
 
 "Oh, yes; only yesterday father 
 told about Ethan Allen's throwing the 
 Yorker's millstones over the Great 
 Falls at New Haven." 
 
 "Right and true! Well, I am 
 Ethan Allen." As he gave his name 
 in a deep-toned voice of proud assur- 
 ance, it seemed in itself a strong host. 
 " Your father sent you with that twig 
 to say there's trouble at Beeman's, 
 didn't he?" 
 
 Nathan looked up in wonder, ad- 
 
The Evergreen Sprig 57 
 
 miration, and gladness, and then, with 
 the instinctive, unreasoned confidence 
 that the famous chieftain of the Grants 
 was wont to inspire, told unreservedly 
 his father's troubles and directions. 
 When Allen had heard it, he wheeled 
 his horse beside the nearest stump 
 and bade Nathan mount behind him. 
 
 " My horse's feet will help you make 
 your rounds quicker than yours, my 
 man. We've no time to lose, for 
 there's no telling what those scoun- 
 drels may be at. Eight Yorkers! 
 Well, we'll soon raise good men 
 enough to make short work of them." 
 
 Nathan mounted nimbly to his as- 
 signed place, and, clasping as far as he 
 could the ample waist of his new 
 friend, was borne along the road at a 
 speed that soon brought them to the 
 log house of the Newtons. A man of 
 the herculean mould so common to the 
 early Vermonters came out of the 
 
58 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 house to meet the comers, with an 
 expression of pleased surprise on his 
 good-humored face. 
 
 ** Why, colonel, we wa'n't expectin* 
 on you so soon, but we hain't no less 
 glad to see you. 'Light and come in. 
 Mother' 11 hev potluck ready to rights. 
 Why, is that the Beeman boy stickin* 
 on behind you? Anything the mat- 
 ter over to Beeman's?" 
 
 •* No, we can't 'light," Allen re- 
 plied; and then, looking down over 
 his shoulder, " Do your errand, my 
 boy, and we'll push on." 
 
 Nathan held out the carefully kept 
 sprig of evergreen and repeated his 
 message. 
 
 " Trouble to Beeman's, now." 
 
 ** Yea, verily," said Allen to New- 
 ton, whose face flashed at the boy's 
 words. " Rise up and gird on your 
 swords, you and your sons. The 
 Philistines are upon you even as it 
 
The Evergreen Sprig 59 
 
 has been prophesied. Felton and his 
 gang of land thieves. The son of 
 Beh'al was warned to depart from the 
 land of the elect, but he heeds not 
 those who cry in the wilderness. Con- 
 found the rascal! He must be 
 * viewed ' ! You and your two boys 
 take your guns and jog down that 
 way, and as you go cut a goodly 
 scourge of blue beech, for verily there 
 shall be weeping and wailing and 
 gnashing of teeth. We'll rally the 
 Callenders, and Jones, and Harring- 
 ton, and North, and my friend Bee- 
 man here will tell Job. We'll gather 
 a good dozen. Enough to mete out 
 the vengeance of the Lord to eight 
 Yorkers, I'll warrant! " 
 
 Strange and abrupt as were the tran- 
 sitions from Allen's favorite Scriptural 
 manner of speech to the ordinary ver- 
 nacular, no one thought of laughing. 
 As the boy dismounted, Allen said: 
 
6o A Hero of Ttconderoga 
 
 " You go straight to Job and do as 
 he tells you;" and as he rode away 
 called back, " everybody lay low and 
 keep dark till you hear the owl hoot." 
 
 Soon Nathan turned from the road 
 into an obscure footpath that led in 
 the direction of Job Carpenter's cabin. 
 The gloom and loneliness of the mys- 
 terious forest, through which the nar- 
 row footpath wound, so pervaded it 
 that the song birds seemed awed to 
 silence, and the woodpeckers tapped 
 cautiously, as if afraid of being heard 
 by some enemy. No boy, even of 
 backwoods breeding, would care to 
 loiter had his errand been less urgent, 
 and he gave but a passing notice to 
 things ordinarily of absorbing interest. 
 
 A mother partridge fluttered along 
 the ground in simulated crippledness 
 while her callow brood vanished among 
 the low-spread leaves. A shy wood 
 bird disclosed the secret of her nest 
 
^e Evergreen Sprig 6 1 
 
 as he sped by. Against a dark pine 
 gleamed the fiery flash of a tanager's 
 plumage. A wood mouse stirred the 
 dry leaves. His own foot touched a 
 prostrate dead sapling, and the dry 
 top rustled unseen in the wayside 
 thicket. There was a sound of long, 
 swift bounds, punctuating the silence 
 with growing distinctness, and a hare, 
 in his brown summer coat, wide-eyed 
 with terror, flashed like a dun streak 
 across the path just before him, and 
 close behind the terrified creature a 
 gray lynx shot past, eager with sight 
 and scent of his prey, closing the dis- 
 tance with long leaps. Before the 
 intermittent scurry of footfalls had 
 faded out of hearing they ceased, and 
 a wail of agony announced the tragical 
 end of the race. The cry made him 
 shiver, and he could but think that 
 the lynx might have been a panther 
 and the hare a boy. 
 
62 A Hero of T'tconderoga 
 
 His heart grew lighter when he saw 
 the sunshine showing golden green 
 through the leafy screen that bordered 
 the hunter's little clearing. He found 
 Job leaning on his hoe in his patch of 
 corn, looking wistfully on the creek, 
 where the fish were breaking the sur- 
 face among the weeds that marked 
 the expanse of marsh with tender 
 green, and where the sinuous course 
 of the channel was defined by purple 
 lines of lily pads. The message was 
 received with a show of vexation, and 
 the old man exclaimed : 
 
 " Plague on 'em all with their 
 pitches and surveyin' and squabblin'. 
 Why can't folks let the woods alone? 
 There's room enough in the settle- 
 ments for sech quarrels without comin* 
 here to disturb God's peace with bick- 
 erin's over these acres o' desart. I 
 thought I'd got done wi' wars and 
 fightin's, exceptin' with varmints, 
 
The Evergreen Sprig 63 
 
 when the Frenchers and Injins was 
 whipped. But I guess there won't 
 never be no peace on airth and good 
 will to men for all it's ben preached 
 nigh onto eighteen hundred years. 
 Plague on your Hampshire Grants and 
 your York Grants, the hul bilin' ! 
 Wal, if it must come it must, and I'll 
 be skelped if I'll see Yorkers a run- 
 nin' over my own Yankee kin. York- 
 ers is next to Reg'lars for toppin* 
 ways. I never could abear 'em." 
 
 While he spoke he twirled Nathan's 
 hemlock sprig between his fingers and 
 now set it carefully in the band of his 
 hat and led the way to his cabin. 
 
 " And Ethan Allen's in these bet- 
 terments? Well, them Yorkers '11 
 wish they'd stayed to home. He's 
 hard-handed, is Ethan." 
 
 The two were now in the cabin, and 
 Job set forth a cold johnny-caks, and 
 some jerked venison that Nathan 
 
64 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 needed no urging to partake of. 
 " 'Tain't your mother's cookin', but 
 it's better'n nothin'," Job said, as 
 between mouthfuls he counted out a 
 dozen bullets from a pouch and put 
 them in his pocket. Then he held up 
 his powder horn toward the light after 
 giving it a shake, and, being satisfied 
 of its contents, slung it over his shoul- 
 der. Their hunger being satisfied, he 
 took the long smooth-bore from its 
 hooks, examined the flint, and, nod- 
 ding to Nathan to follow, went down 
 to his canoe, that lay bottom up on 
 the bank. 
 
 " It's quicker goin' by water 'n by 
 land," said Job, as he set the canoe 
 afloat and stepped into it, while 
 Nathan took his place forward. Im- 
 pelled by the two paddles, the light 
 craft went swiftly gliding down the 
 creek, and then northward, skirting 
 the wooded shore of the lake. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE YORKERS 
 
 Though the presentation of claims, 
 under the authority of the New York 
 government, to the land which Seth 
 Beeman occupied by virtue of a title 
 derived from the Governor of New 
 Hampshire, had for some time been 
 expected and resistance fully deter- 
 mined upon, Seth's heart was as hot 
 with anger and heavy with anxiety as 
 if invasion had come without warning. 
 Tenacious of his rights, he yet hated 
 strife and contention. Nor could he 
 foresee whether he must lose the 
 home he had wrought with toil and 
 privation out of the savage wilder- 
 ness, or whether, after a sharp, brief 
 5 
 
66 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 contest, he would be left in peaceable 
 possession of it, or whether he could 
 then hold it only by continued resist- 
 ance. 
 
 Nathan had not been long away 
 when he shouldered his axe and has- 
 tened toward the house. When it 
 came in view, between the tall pillars 
 of tree trunks that paled the verge of 
 the clearing, the rough- wal'^d dwell- 
 ing had never looked more homelike 
 nor better worth keeping. It had 
 overcome the strangeness of new occu- 
 pancy and settled to its place. The 
 logs had begun to gather again the 
 moss that they lost when they ceased 
 to be trees. Wild vines, trained to 
 tamer ways, clambered about the door- 
 way and deep-set windows, beneath 
 which beds of native and alien posies, 
 carefully tended, alike flourished in 
 the virgin soil. The young garden 
 stuff was p-omising, and the broader 
 
The Yorkers 67 
 
 expanse of fall-sown wheat, grown 
 tall enough to toss in the wind, made 
 a rippling green sea of the clearing, 
 with islands of blackened stumps jut- 
 ting here and there above the surface. 
 The place had outgrown its uncouth 
 newness and transient camp-like ap- 
 pearance and become a home to cling 
 to and defend. 
 
 "What is it, SetV ? " asked Ruth, 
 coming to greet him at the door, her 
 smile fading as she saw his troubled 
 face. 
 
 " The Yorkers have come." And 
 then he explained Nathan's mission. 
 " Our folks '11 come to help as soon as 
 they can, but the Yorkers '11 get here 
 first. Look a there," and, following 
 his eyes, Ruth saw the surveyor's 
 party approaching the border of the 
 clearing, just as the Beemans passed 
 into the house. 
 
 It won't come to that, will it?" 
 
 < < 
 
68 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 she asked, in a low, awed voice, as 
 Seth took down his g m. 
 
 " I hope not, but I want the gun 
 out of their reach and where I can get 
 it handy. There ain't a bullet or 
 buckshot in the house," he declared, 
 after examining the empty bullet 
 pouch. " Give me some beans. 
 They're good enough for Yorkers." 
 
 As he spoke he measured a charge 
 of powder into the long barrel, rammed 
 a tow wad upon it, poured in a half 
 handful of the beans that Ruth 
 brought him in a gourd, rammed down 
 another wad, put priming in the pan, 
 clapped down the hammer, then 
 mounted half way up the ladder that 
 served as a stair laid the gun on the 
 floor of the upper room, and was 
 down at the door when the surveyor 
 led his party to it. He saluted the 
 party civilly, and, upon demand, gave 
 his name. 
 
The Yorkers 69 
 
 '* Well, Mr. Beeman," began the 
 surveyor, in a pompous tone, " I sent 
 your son to bring you to me, but it 
 seems you did not please to come." 
 
 " No," said Seth quietly; " it does 
 not please me to leave my affairs at 
 the beck and call of every stranger 
 that comes this way." 
 
 " Well, sir, I'd have you under- 
 stand that I am Marmaduke Felton, 
 duly appointed and licensed as a sur- 
 veyor of His Majesty's lands within 
 his province of New York. Further- 
 more, be it known, I have come 
 here in the regular discharge of the 
 duties of my office, to fix the bounds 
 of land purchased by my client, Mr. 
 Erastus Graves," bowing to the per- 
 son, " of the original grantees, with 
 patent from His Excellency the Gov- 
 ernor, who alone has authority to 
 grant these lands. I find you, sir, 
 established on these same lands be- 
 
70 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 longing to my client. What have you 
 to say for yourself? By what pre- 
 tended right have you made occupa- 
 tion of lands belonging to my client? " 
 
 " I have to say for myself," Seth 
 answered, in a steady voice, ' ' that I 
 bought this pitch of the original pro- 
 prietors, and I have their deed, duly 
 signed and sealed. They got their 
 charter of His Excellency Benning 
 Wentworth, His Majesty's Governor 
 of the Province of New Hampshire." 
 
 " Your title is not worth the paper 
 it's written on," scoffed Mr. Felton. 
 " Governor Wentworth has no more 
 authority to grant lands than I have. 
 Not a whit. The east bounds of New 
 York are fixed by royal decree at the 
 west bank of Connecticut River, as 
 everybody knows, and Wentworth's 
 grants this side that limit are null and 
 void. No doubt you have acted in 
 good faith, but now there's nothing 
 
The Yorkers 7 1 
 
 for you but to vacate these better- 
 ments forthwith; yes, forthwith, if 
 you will take the advice of a friend," 
 and the little man regaled himself with 
 a pinch of snuff. 
 
 " I shall not ^o till I am forced to," 
 Seth answered with determination. 
 " When it comes to force both parties 
 may take a hand in the game." 
 
 Very well, very well ! I have 
 given you friendly advice ; if you do 
 not choose to take it the consequences 
 be on your own head. Come, Graves ; 
 come, men, let us go about our pres- 
 ent affairs;" adding, after some talk 
 with Graves, " We shall be back to 
 spend the night with you, Mr. Bee- 
 man. You cannot refuse Mr. Graves 
 the shelter of his own house." 
 
 Seth flushed with anger, but an- 
 swered steadily: " I can't help it, but 
 you will not be welcome." 
 
 The men who had been idling about, 
 
72 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 taking little interest in the parley, 
 now followed their employers back 
 to the woods, trampling through the 
 young wheat in their course. 
 
 " I wish you a pleasant night on't," 
 said Seth under his breath, and turned 
 to reassure his wife. " Don't be fright- 
 ened, my girl. They won't get us 
 out of here. Keep a stout heart and 
 wait." 
 
 With a quieter heart she went about 
 her household affairs, while her hus- 
 band busied himself nearby, weeding 
 the garden and giving to his wife's 
 posy beds the awkward care of unac- 
 customed hands. He often stopped 
 his employment to listen and intently 
 scan the border of the woods. The 
 shadows of the trees were stretching 
 far across the clearing when an owl 
 hooted solemnly in the nearest woods 
 on the bank of the creek, and, pres- 
 ently, another answered farther away. 
 
The Torkers 73 
 
 " Do hear the owls hootin', and it's 
 clear as a bell," said Ruth at the 
 door, looking up to the cloudless sky. 
 " It can't be it's a-going to storm." 
 
 " I shouldn't wonder if it did," said 
 Seth with a mirthless laugh. ' ' Where 
 was that nighest hoot?' 
 
 As he spoke the solemn hollow 
 n»' tes were repeated, and some crows 
 began to wheel and caw above the 
 spot, marking it plainly enough to 
 the eye and ear, and he set forth in 
 the direction at a quick pace. 
 
 " Why don't Nathan come home? " 
 little Martha asked. "I hain't seen 
 him all day. I wish he'd come. He'll 
 get ketched in the storm." 
 
 " Oh, don't worry, deary," said her 
 mother after she had watched her 
 husband disappear in the thickening 
 shadow of the woods. " We might 
 as well eat, for there's no telling when 
 father '11 be back." They were not 
 
74 -^ Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 half through the meal before he came, 
 and, as he took his seat at the table, 
 he said with a deep sigh of relief: 
 " I'm afeard our York friends won't 
 enjoy their lodgin's overmuch. The 
 owls are round pretty thick to-night." 
 
 " Well, I guess they've ben talking 
 to you," said Ruth, as her face lighted 
 with a comprehension of his meaning. 
 
 "Can owls talk?" Martha asked, 
 agape with wonder. 
 
 " Well, the old knowing ones. Owls 
 are turrible knowing creatur's," her 
 father said. 
 
 The twilight possessing the woods 
 had scarcely invaded the clearing when 
 the surveyor and his party came to 
 the house, bringing in blankets, pro- 
 visions, guns, tools, and instruments, 
 till the one small room was crowded 
 with them and the uninvited guests. 
 Felton and Graves made themselves 
 offensively and officiously at home. 
 
The Torkers 7 c 
 
 The cook took possession of the fire, 
 and set two frying-pans of pork sput- 
 tering grease upon the tidy hearth, to 
 the disgust of the housewife, who sat 
 with her husband and child in a dark 
 corner. At last Felton brought forth 
 a bottle of spirits from his leathern 
 portmanteau and drank to Graves. 
 
 " Here's to your speedy installment 
 in your rightful possessions. Now, 
 help yourself, and give the men their 
 tot." 
 
 Graves stood filling his measure of 
 grog in the tin cup, grinning with 
 satisfaction, when a loud knock came 
 on the door. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE "JUDGMENT SEAT" 
 
 Without waiting to be bidden, a 
 man of massive mould entered the 
 room. He strode into the firelight, 
 and, wheeling -^n the hearth, faced the 
 company, his shadow filling half the 
 room. 
 
 " Good evening, gentlemen. Good 
 evening, Mr. Felton and Graves." 
 
 The latter stood with the untasted 
 dram half way to his gaping mouth, 
 the other was as motionless, save as 
 his face expressed successively aston- 
 ishment, anger, and exultation. 
 
 " Colonel Ethan Allen," he said at 
 last, emphasizing the title. " Most 
 happy to receive a call from so dis- 
 
The * ' Judgment Seat ** 77 
 
 tinguished a person. A very fortunate 
 meeting." Then changing his tone 
 of mock politeness to one of com- 
 mand: " You are my prisoner. Men, 
 lay hold of him ! A hundred pounds 
 are offered for his head ! It is Ethan 
 Allen ! Lay hold of him, I tell you ! ' ' 
 
 There was a reluctant stir among 
 the men. One advanced toward the 
 corner near the fireplace where the 
 guns were set. With deliberate ce- 
 lerity Allen drew his hands from the 
 skirts of his coat, a cocked pistol in 
 each, and, with one of them, he cov- 
 ered the man skulking towards the 
 guns. 
 
 " The first man that draws a pistol 
 or raises a gun gets a bullet through 
 his carcass," he said with authority. 
 
 At Allen's first words Seth had 
 mounted the ladder and s quickly 
 reappeared with his gun. x >e move- 
 ment was seen in the dancing shadows, 
 
78 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 and he was covered by the other pis- 
 tol, which was lowered as he was dis- 
 tinguished to be helping a woman and 
 child to mount to the chamber. 
 
 " Down with your gun over there! 
 Oh, it is our friend Beeman ! All 
 right! " Then Allen called in a voice 
 that made the pewter dishes ring on 
 theJr shelves: 
 
 " Come in, men! ** 
 
 The door swung violently open, and 
 Job Carpenter, with all the arms-bear- 
 ing men of the wide neighborhood, to 
 the number of a dozen, came march- 
 ing in, in Indian file, with rifle or 
 smooth-bore at a trail. In the rear 
 was Nathan, unarmed, but eager to 
 see all that sii.^uld transpire. 
 
 Felton and Graves lost their bold 
 demeanor, yet held their places, while 
 their men slunk to the farther side of 
 the room in dumb affright, save Jenk- 
 ins, the cook, who, dodging this side 
 
The ^''Judgment Seat'' 79 
 
 and that of Allen's burly form, hov- 
 ered near his frying-pans in a divided 
 fear for his own safety and that of his 
 pork. 
 
 " Keep every one of these men 
 under close guard, my boys," Allen 
 commanded, " especially these two 
 chief offenders. Now, Mr. Felton, 
 perhaps it is made plain to you that I 
 am not your prisoner, and that the 
 gods of the valleys are not the gods of 
 the hills. Behold how riches take to 
 themselves wings and fly away, even 
 before they are possessed. In witness 
 whereof, consider the hundred pounds 
 offered by your Governor for an honest 
 man. No wonder he longs for the 
 sight of one, with such a pack of 
 thieves and land jobbers as he has 
 about him." 
 
 "An honest man?" cried Felton, 
 trembling with rage. " A ruffian ! A 
 rioter! A defier of law!" and he 
 
8o A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 poured forth a torrent of opprobrious 
 names, and a full measure of curses, 
 till out of breath. 
 
 " Go on, Master Felton, go on," 
 said Allen, smiling benignly upon 
 him. " Ease yourself. Unless it be 
 prayer, which you rarely employ, I 
 doubt, there is nothing like good 
 round cursing to relieve an overbur- 
 dened heart. Upon occasion I avail 
 myself of the remedy. Pray go on, or 
 give your friend a chance. Mr. Graves, 
 you have the floor," but the man ad- 
 dressed only glowered savagely. 
 
 " Well, if you have offered all your 
 burnt offerings of brimstone, let the 
 men have their supper and make 
 themselves strong for their journey. 
 Dish up the pork, cook, that you have 
 been bumping my legs to get at, and 
 bring out your bread bag. Stir your- 
 selves. We have weighty business 
 pending." 
 
The '' Judgment Seat" 8i 
 
 The men ate their meat and bread 
 with the appetite of those whom no 
 emotion can cheat of a meal, but Fel- 
 ton and Graves would have none of it. 
 The Green Mountain Boys sat apart, 
 chatting in low tones, till the smokerl 
 were filling their pipes after their 
 meal, when Allen rapped the table 
 with the butt of his pistol, and his 
 clear, deep voice broke the silence 
 that ensued. 
 
 "Friends of the Grants, you all 
 know we have come here to erect the 
 ' Judgment seat ' this night, and mete 
 out such punishment as doth unto 
 justice appertain. Yea, verily, for 
 wrongs done or sought to be done 
 upon the people of these New Hamp- 
 shire Grants. We will at once elect a 
 judge. To save time, I will nominate 
 Ethan Allen as a proper person for 
 that office. You that would elect him 
 say 'Aye.* " 
 
 6 
 
82 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 There was a unanimous affirmative 
 response, even Nathan, proud of the 
 opportunity of giving his first vote, 
 made his piping treble heard among 
 the deep voices of the men. 
 
 " Contrary minded, make the usual 
 sign." 
 
 There was only a sullen * * No ' ' from 
 Felton. 
 
 " You are not entitled to vote in this 
 meeting, sir. I have a clear majority 
 and will take my seat." So saying, 
 Allen seated himself upon the table. 
 
 "The plain facts of the case are 
 these: This Mr. Felton and this 
 Graves, also, were taken by me, and 
 certain other good men, about one 
 month ago, in the act of surveying, 
 under the pretended authority of the 
 tyrannical New York government, 
 lands already granted by His Excel- 
 lency Benning Wentworth, His Maj- 
 esty's duly appointed Governor of 
 
The '' Judgment Seat'' 83 
 
 New Hampshire. The said persons 
 were ordered to desist from such un- 
 lawful business and to depart from 
 these Grants, and were duly warned 
 not to return for a like purpose under 
 pain of being 'Viewed.' Further- 
 more, they were suffered to depart 
 without bodily harm. Here the sur- 
 veyor comes again, like a bad penny 
 as he is, bearing the King's mark, but 
 a base counterfeit none the less. And 
 this Graves pretends to own this pitch 
 by right of purchase under York gov- 
 ernment. Other than them I do not 
 recognize any among this crew who 
 have been ' Warned.' Now, friend 
 Beeman, tell us your story." 
 
 Seth told what had passed between 
 him and the surveyor, and then Nathan 
 was called to relate his meeting the 
 party in the woods, which he did in a 
 straightforward manner, except for his 
 boyish bashfulness. 
 
84 ^ Hero of T'tconderoga 
 
 " Now, you have it all. Felton and 
 Graves are here, as you see, in prose- 
 cution of their unlawful business, as 
 the testimony of this boy and his 
 father shows. In further proof where- 
 of, see the surveyor*s instruments 
 here in view. What say you, men of 
 the Grants, are they guilty or not 
 guilty?" 
 
 ** Guilty," said the various voices. 
 
 " What shall be their punishment? 
 That they be chastised with the twigs 
 of the wilderness? " 
 
 There was general affirmative re- 
 sponse, some answering loudly, others 
 faintly and hesitatingly. Then Job 
 Carpenter stepped forward, and, mak- 
 ing a military salute, said : 
 
 " I don't go agin these men a git- 
 tin* what they desarve, but I don't 
 want to have them skinned. Their 
 skins hain't worth a-hevin' only for 
 their selves, and I hate to see white 
 
The *' Judgment Seat" 85 
 
 men whipped like dogs. If they was 
 Injins I wouldn't say agin it. But, 
 bein' they hain't, I move they hev jest 
 nine cuts o' the Blue Beech apiece." 
 
 "Forty, save one," was the cus- 
 tomary award in such cases, and there 
 were a few dissenting voices, but the 
 milder punishment was finally agreed 
 upon. 
 
 If the two men under sentence felt 
 any gratitude for the mitigation of 
 the severity, they expressed none. 
 Graves maintained a sullen silence, 
 though his vengeful scowl expressed 
 as much hatred of the prosecutors of 
 the informal trial as did the storm 
 of oaths and abuse that Felton let 
 forth upon them in intermittent gusts. 
 
 So the night passed, with snatches 
 of sleep for some, with none for others, 
 while the prisoners were kept under 
 constant guard. With daylight came 
 the summary infliction of the punish- 
 
86 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 merit awarded. It was a scene so 
 cruel that Ruth and Martha could not 
 bear to hear, much less to witness it, 
 and Nathan, when an old man, said 
 it was a horrible memory. Yet, severe 
 as was the chastisement inflicted by 
 the Green Mountain Boys upon their 
 persecutors, it was no more cruel than 
 the legal punishment of many light of- 
 fences in those days, when the whip- 
 ping post was one of the f rst adorn- 
 ments of every little haiiilet. In 
 conclusion, Ethan Allen gave to Fel- 
 ton and Graves a " Certificate," writ- 
 ten by himself, to the effect: 
 
 " This is to Certify that the Bearer 
 has this day rec'd his Just Dues and 
 is permitted to pass beyond the New 
 Hampshire Grants. He Behaving as 
 Becometh. In witness whereof, see 
 the Beech Seal upon his back and our 
 Hands set Hereunto. Signed, Ethan 
 Allen and others." 
 
The " Judgment Seat'' 87 
 
 Felton cast his upon the ground and 
 stamped upon it, but Graves folded 
 and put his carefully in his pocket, 
 glowering in silence upon his enemies. 
 Then Ethan Allen broke the survey- 
 or's compass with his own hands and 
 tossed the fragments away. 
 
 " Now," said he, in an awful voice, 
 " depart, and woe be unto you, Mar- 
 maduke Felton and Erastus Graves, 
 if you ever set foot in the land of the 
 Green Mountain Boys. You other 
 men, if you come in peace and on 
 honest business, you shall not have a 
 hair of your heads hurt. But if you 
 ever venture to come on such an ini- 
 quitous errand as now brought you, 
 by the Great Jehovah, you s.' all re- 
 pent in sackcloth and ashes! For- 
 ward, march ! " 
 
 At the command, the surveyor and 
 his men filed off, and the last of the 
 sullen and chap-fallen crew soon dis- 
 
88 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 appeared among the trees. They 
 were accompanied some distance by 
 the Green Mountain Boys, when their 
 beloved chieftain rode away to redress 
 wrongs of settlers in other parts. 
 
 By noon the clearing was occupied 
 by none but its usual tenants, and, 
 henceforth, though they suffered fre- 
 quent apprehension of further trouble, 
 they were not molested by any New 
 York claimants. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 A NOVEL BEAR TRAP 
 
 " You don't know of anybody here- 
 abouts that wants to hire a good hand, 
 I s'pose ?' ' asked a stranger one August 
 afternoon, as, without unslinging his 
 pack, he set his gun against the log 
 wall beside the door, and leaned upon 
 his axe at the threshold. 
 
 By degrees Seth Beeman had en- 
 larged his clearing so far that he 
 already needed stronger hands than 
 Nathan's to help him in the care of 
 the land already in tilth and in the 
 further extension of his betterments, 
 but he scanned the man closely before 
 he answered. Though unprepossess- 
 ing, low-browed, and surly looking, 
 
9© A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 he was evidently a stout fellow, and 
 accustomed to work. At length a 
 reply was made by asking such ques- 
 tions as were a matter of course in 
 those days, and are not yet quite 
 obsolete in Yankeeland. 
 
 The stranger readily said his name 
 was Silas Toombs, that he was from 
 Jersey way, and wished, when he had 
 earned enough, to take up a right of 
 land hereabouts, in a region he had 
 often heard extolled by his father, 
 who had served here in Captain Ber- 
 gen's company of Rogers's Rangers. 
 Seth had previously ascertained that 
 no grown-up son of any of his neigh- 
 bors could be spared to help him, so 
 he finally hired this man, who proved 
 to be efficient and faithful, although 
 not a genial companion, such as an 
 old-time farmer wished to find in his 
 hired help. Ruth treated him with 
 the kindness so natural to her, though 
 
A Novel Bea • Trap 91 
 
 she could scarcely conceal her aver- 
 sion. This, if he understood, he did 
 not seem to notice any more than he 
 did the undisguised dislike of Nathan. 
 
 The remainder of the summer and 
 half of the fall passed uneventfully, 
 till one day, when Ruth had been 
 called to the bedside of Mrs. Newton, 
 who was ill of the fever so prevalent 
 in new clearings, Nathan and his sister 
 were left in charge of the house, while 
 their father and hired man worked in 
 a distant field. 
 
 The children spent half the pleasant 
 forenoon in alternate rounds of house- 
 work and out-door play, now sweep- 
 ing the floor with hemlock brooms, 
 now running out into the hazy October 
 sunshine to play "Indians" with 
 Nathan's bow and arrows and Mar- 
 tha's rag doll. This was stolen and 
 carried into captivity, from which it 
 was rescued by its heroic little mother. 
 
 r 
 
92 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 Then they threw off their assumed 
 characters and ran into the house to 
 replenish the smouldering fire, and 
 to find that the sunshine, falling upon 
 the floor through the window, was 
 creeping towards the "noon mark," 
 making it time to begin dinner. 
 
 Nathan raised the heavy trap-door 
 to the cellar and descended the ladder, 
 with butcher knife and pewter plate, 
 to get the pork, but had barely got 
 the cover off the barrel when he was 
 recalled to the upper world by a loud 
 cry from his sister: 
 
 "Nathan, Nathan, come here 
 quick! " 
 
 He scrambled up the ladder and 
 ran to her, where, just outside the 
 door, she was staring intently toward 
 the creek. 
 
 * * Who be them ? ' * she asked anx- 
 iously, as she pointed at two figures 
 just disclosed above the rushes, as 
 
A Novel Bear Trap 93 
 
 they moved swiftly up the narrow 
 channel in an unseen craft. 
 
 "I guess they're Injins," said 
 Nathan, after a moment's scrutiny, 
 " and I guess they're a-trappin' mush- 
 rat. Let's run over to the bank and 
 
 see." 
 
 So they ran to the crown of the low 
 bank, where they could command a 
 good view of the rushy level of the 
 marsh, and the narrow belt of clear 
 water that wound through it, reflect- 
 ing the hazy blue of the sky, the tops 
 of the scarlet water maples, the bronze 
 and yellow weeds, and, here and there, 
 the rough dome of a newly built musk- 
 rat house. At each of these the two 
 men, now revealed in a birch canoe 
 halted for a little space, and then,' 
 tymg a knot in the nearest tuft of 
 sedge, passed on to the next. There 
 was no mistaking the coppery hue of 
 the faces, the straight black hair, 
 
94 -^ Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 though men of another race might 
 wear the dirty, white blanket coats, 
 and as skilfully manage the light 
 craft. 
 
 Yes, they be Injins, ' ' said Nathan, 
 " and I wish they'd let my mushrat 
 alone. But I s'pose there's enough 
 for them and me." 
 
 Presently the Indians passed quite 
 near them, and one, speaking so softly 
 that the children thought his voice 
 could never have sounded the terrible 
 war-whoop, accosted them: 
 
 " How do? You Beenum boy?" 
 
 "Yes," Nathan answered; and 
 then, obeying the Yankee instinct of 
 inquiry, asked : " Be you gettin' many 
 mushrat? " 
 
 " No ketch um plenty," the Indian 
 replied. " 01' Capenteese ketch um 
 mos' all moosquas," and Nathan un- 
 derstood that he attributed the scarcity 
 of muskrats to Job, whose fame as a 
 
A Novel Bear Trap 95 
 
 hunter and trapper was known to 
 every Waubanakee who visited this 
 part of the lake. 
 
 " Me come back pooty soon," the 
 Indian said, pointing up the creek 
 with his paddle. " Den go house, see 
 um Beenum. Buy um some pig eese.* 
 S'pose he sell um lee'l bit? '* 
 
 Nathan nodded a doubtful assent, 
 and then, reminded of dinner-getting 
 by the mention of pork, caught Mar- 
 tha's hand and hurried homeward, 
 while the Indians resumed their way 
 upstream. 
 
 When the children entered the open 
 door, they were for a moment dumb 
 with amazement at the confusion that 
 had in so short a time usurped the 
 tidiness whereof they had left the 
 room possessed. The coverlets and 
 blankets of one bed were dragged from 
 their place, two or three chairs were 
 
 • Pork. 
 
96 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 overturned, and the meal barrel was 
 upset and half its contents strewn 
 across the floor. 
 
 "What in tunket," cried Nathan, 
 when speech came to his gaping 
 mouth. " Has that old sow got outen 
 the pen? " Then he saw in the scat- 
 tered meal some broad tracks that a 
 former adventure had made him fa- 
 miliar with, and he heard a sound of 
 something moving about in the cellar. 
 
 " It's a bear," he cried, " and he's 
 down cellar." 
 
 As quick as the thought and words, 
 he sprang to the open hatch, and 
 heaved it upright on the hinges, to 
 close it. But just as it hung in mid- 
 way poise, the bear, alarmed by 
 the noise overhead, gave a startled 
 " whoof," and came scrambling up 
 the ladder. His tawny muzzle was 
 above the floor, when Nathan, with 
 desperate strength, slammed down the 
 
A Novel Bear Trap 97 
 
 hatch, and its edge caught the bear 
 fairly on the neck, pressing his throat 
 against the edge of the hatchway. 
 The trap door had scarcely fallen 
 when the quick-witted boy mounted 
 it and called to his frightened sister 
 to mount beside him, and with their 
 united weight, slight as it was, they 
 kept him from forcing his way up- 
 ward, till in his frantic struggles he 
 dislodged the ladder and hung by the 
 neck helpless, without foothold. 
 
 The children held bravely to their 
 post, hand in hand, while to the gasp- 
 ing moans of the angry brute suc- 
 ceeded cries of anger, that were in 
 turn succeeded by silence and loss of 
 all visible motion but such as was 
 imparted to the head by the huge 
 body still slowly vibrating from the 
 final struggle. When this had quite 
 ceased they ventured off the trap door, 
 and, pale and panting, they stood 
 7 
 
98 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 before the ghastly head as frightful 
 now in death, with grinning, foam- 
 flecked jaws, protruding tongue, and 
 staring, bloodshot eyes, as it had been 
 in living rage. Nathan caught his sister 
 in his arms and hugged her, shouting: 
 
 " We've killed him. We've killed 
 a bear," while she, in the same breath, 
 laughed and cried, till they both be- 
 thought themselves of the dinner-get- 
 ting not yet begun. 
 
 " I can't get down cellar," said 
 Nathan, " for I dasn't open that door. 
 What be we goin' to do? " 
 
 A grunt of surprise caught his atten- 
 tion, and, looking up, he saw the two 
 Indians at the door, staring with 
 puzzled faces on the strange scene. 
 Then one, with a hatchet half uplifted, 
 cautiously approached the grim head, 
 which, after an instant's scrutiny, he 
 touched with his hatchet and then 
 with his finger. 
 
A Novel Bear Trap 99 
 
 4 1 
 
 He dead. You boy do dat?" 
 And Nathan told him all the adven- 
 ture. The Indian gave the boy an 
 approving pat on the head that made 
 Nathan's scalp shiver. 
 
 " You big Nad-yal-we-no. Too 
 much good for be Pastoniac. You 
 CO Tie 'long me to Yam-as-ka, I make 
 you Waubanakee. Den be good for 
 sometings. Nawaa," he said to his 
 companion, and the other coming in, 
 the two reached down and laid hold 
 of the bear's forelegs, and when, by 
 their instructions, Nathan lifted the 
 door, they dragged the limp, shaggy 
 carcass out upon the floor. 
 
 When the full proportions of the 
 huge brute were revealed, the boy's 
 rejoicings broke forth anew, just as 
 his father and the hired man came 
 hurrying in, when he received fresh 
 praise for his deed. The dinner was 
 bounteous, if late, and the Indians, 
 
100 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 Toksoose and Tahmont, had their full 
 share of it, with a big chunk of pork 
 and as much bear's meat as they cared 
 to take, which was small, since they 
 liked better the daintier meat of the 
 musquash, wherewith their trapping 
 afforded them an ample supply. 
 
 When toward nightfall the mother 
 returned, she was told the story by 
 the victors, and with equal delight 
 was it rehearsed when Job happened 
 to come, and the unstinted praise of 
 the old hunter was sweetest of all. 
 Many a day was the tale rehearsed for 
 the benefit of new listeners. Even 
 when Nathan was an old man, and 
 looked back on the many adventures 
 of his life, not one stood forth so 
 clearly in the haze of the past as this 
 adventure with the bear, wherein he 
 had borne the chief part. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 A FRONTIER TRAGEDY 
 
 One autumn day after the leaves 
 had faded and fallen, Nathan was busy 
 husking corn, with less thought upon 
 his task and the growing pile of yel- 
 low ears than of a promised partridge 
 hunt on the morrow with his good 
 friend Job. His father was chopping 
 in a new clearing. Silas had been 
 nt with the oxen to take some loes 
 Lemon Fair Mill. His mother 
 grew uneasy at her spinning, for Seth 
 did not come home to dinner, nor yet 
 when the afternoon was half spent. 
 After many times anxiously looking 
 and listening in the direction of the 
 clearing, and as often saying to her- 
 
102 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 self, "What does keep father so?'* 
 she called to Nathan. 
 
 " I guess you'd better go and see 
 what henders father so. I can't think 
 what it is. I hope it hain't anything. 
 
 ** Perhaps he's gone over to Calen- 
 dars or some o' the neighbors," said 
 Nathan. " I hain't heard a tree fall 
 for ever so long nor his axe a goin* for 
 a long time." 
 
 *' Mebby he's cut his foot or some- 
 thing," said Martha, beginning to cry. 
 
 " I can't hear nothin' of him for all 
 the air's so holler and everything 
 sounds so plain," said Ruth, listening 
 again. " You'd better go and see 
 , what henders him. Mebby he can't 
 git home." 
 
 As the boy anxiously hastened to 
 the new clearing, the intense stillness 
 of the woods filled him with undefined 
 dread. His ears ached for some 
 sound, the tapping of a woodpecker. 
 
A Frontier Tragedy 103 
 
 the cry of a jay, but most of all, for the 
 sound of axe strokes or his father's 
 voice. Silence pervaded the clearing 
 also. 
 
 There, on a stump, was his father's 
 blue frock, one bit of color in the 
 sombre scene. And yes, there was 
 some slight flitting movement near 
 the last tree that had been felled and 
 lay untrimmed just as it had fallen, 
 but it was only a bevy of chickadees 
 peering curiously at something on the 
 ground beneath them, yet voiceless 
 as if their perennial cheerfulness was 
 dumb in the pervading silence. So 
 sick with dread he could scarcely 
 move, the boy forced himself to ap- 
 proach the spot, and look upon that 
 which he felt was awaiting him, his 
 father lying dead beneath the huge, 
 prone tree, that had crushed him in 
 its fall. 
 
 The glowing sunset sky and the 
 
104 -^ Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 glistening waters of the lake grew 
 black, the earth reeled. With a pite- 
 ous groan of " Father! father!" the 
 boy sank down as lifeless, for a space, 
 as the beloved form that lay beside 
 him in eternal sleep. 
 
 He awoke as from a terrible dream 
 to the miserable realization that it was 
 not a dream. Then walking, as still 
 in a dream, not noting how he went 
 nor by any familiar object marking his 
 way, he bore home the woeful tidings. 
 
 Simple as were the funeral rites in 
 the primitive communities, they were 
 not lacking in the impressiveness of 
 heartfelt sorrow nor in the homely 
 expressions of sympathy for the be- 
 reaved and respect for the dead. So 
 Seth Beeman's neighbors reverently 
 laid him to rest in the soil his own 
 hand had uncovered to the sunlight. 
 They set at his head a rough slate 
 stone, whose rude lettering could be 
 
A Frontier Tragedy 105 
 
 read half a century later, tc'ling his 
 name and age, and the manner of his 
 death. 
 
 Ruth was left in a sorry plight, so 
 suddenly bereft of the strong arm she 
 had leaned upon, without a thought 
 that it could ever be taken from her. 
 Now she had only her son, a sturdy 
 lad, indeed, but of an age to be cared 
 for rather than to care for others. 
 Toombs had proved better than he 
 looked, kind enough, and a good 
 worker, and familiar with the needs 
 of the farm. When his time was out 
 she had no means to pay his wages 
 nor could she well g: '. along without 
 him. So he staid on, taking a mort- 
 gage, at length, on the premises in lieu 
 of money, and becoming more and 
 more important in Ruth's estimation, 
 though regarded with increasing dis- 
 like and jealousy by her son, who 
 found himself less and less considered. 
 
lo6 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 Months passed, dulling sorrow and 
 the sense of loss, and bringing many 
 a bitter change. The bitterness of 
 Nathan's life was made almost un- 
 bearable presently. His mother, of 
 a weak and clinging nature, inevitably 
 drifted to a fate a more self-reliant 
 woman would have avoided. Worried 
 with uncomprehended business, and 
 assured by Toombs that this was the 
 only way to retain a home for herself 
 and children, yet unmoved by the 
 kindly advice of Seth's honest friends 
 and neighbors, as well as the anger 
 and entreaties of her son, she went 
 with Toombs over to the Fort, where 
 they were married by the chaplain 
 stationed there. 
 
 With such a man in the place of his 
 wise and affectionate father, Nathan's 
 life was filled with misery, nor could 
 he ever comprehend his mother's 
 course. Though bestowing upon 
 
A Frontier Tragedy 107 
 
 Martha and his mother indifferent 
 notice or none at all, towards the boy 
 the stepfather exercised his 1 jcently 
 acquired authority with severity, giv- 
 ing him the hardest and most unpleas- 
 ant work to do, and treating him al- 
 ways with distrust, often with cruelty. 
 " I hate him," he told Ruth. "He's 
 sassed me every day since I come here, 
 and I've got a bigger job 'an that to 
 settle, one that I'd ha' settled with 
 his father, if he hadn't cheated me by 
 gettin' killed." 
 
 "Oh, what do you mean?" Ruth 
 gasped. " I thought you and Seth 
 was always good friends. ' ' 
 
 " Friends! " he growled, contempt- 
 uously ; " I hated the ground he walked 
 on. Look here, "and Silas pulled out 
 his leather pocketbook and took from 
 it a soiled paper which he held before 
 her eyes. 
 
 She read the bold, clear signature 
 
lo8 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 of Ethan Allen, and, with a sickening 
 thrill, that of Seth Beeman under it. 
 
 "Yes, Ethan Allen and Seth Bee- 
 man and his neighbors whipped a man 
 for claimin* his own, and your boy 
 went and gethered 'em in. Mebby 
 you re'collect it." 
 
 "I couldn't help it," she gasped. 
 " I didn't see it. I run and hid and 
 stopped my ears. 
 
 "Well, 'Rastus Graves 'ould ha' 
 settled his debts if he'd ha' lived. But 
 he died afore his back got healed over, 
 and afore he died he turned the job 
 over to his brother, that's me, Silas 
 Tombs, or Graves — they're the same 
 in the end." 
 
 Ruth stared at him in dumb amaze- 
 ment and horror, while he proceeded, 
 pouring forth his long concealed wrath. 
 
 "Well, I've got Seth Beeman's 
 wife, and, what's wuth more, his farm, 
 an' his childem right 'nunder my 
 
A Frontier Tragedy 109 
 
 thumb. I hope he knows on't. And 
 now, ma'am," lowering his voice from 
 its passionate exultation, " you don t 
 want to breathe a word o' this to your 
 nice neighbors or to your young 'uns. 
 It wouldn't do no good and it might be 
 unpleasant all round. You don't want 
 folks to know what a fool you be. 
 
 After this disclosure, Ruth lived, in 
 weariness and vain regret, a life that 
 seemed quite hopeless but for looking 
 forward to the time when her son 
 could assert his rights and be her 
 champion. Her nature was one of 
 those that still bend, without being 
 broken, by whatever weight is laid on 
 them. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 REBELLION 
 
 One day Nathan was gathering ashes 
 from the heaps where the log piles 
 had been burned and storing them in 
 a rude shed. Close by this stood the 
 empty leach-tubs awaiting filling and 
 the busy days and nights when the 
 potash-making should begin. It was 
 hard, unpleasant work, irritating to 
 skin, eyes, and temper. It was natural 
 a boy should linger a little as Nathan 
 did, when he emptied a basket, and 
 quickly retreated with held breath out 
 of the dusty cloud. He looked long- 
 ingly on the shining channel of the 
 creek, and wished he might follow it 
 to the lake and fish in the cool shad- 
 
Rebellion 1 1 1 
 
 ows of the shore. He wished that 
 Job would chance to come through 
 the woods, but Job lately rarely came 
 near them, for he was vexed with 
 Ruth for mating with this stranger, 
 and the new master gave no welcome 
 to any of the friends of the old mas- 
 ter. His hands were busy as his 
 thoughts, when he was startled by 
 his stepfather's voice close behind 
 him. 
 
 " You lazy whelp, what you put- 
 terin* 'bout ? You spend half your 
 time a gawpin. You git them ashes 
 housed afore noon or I'll give ye a 
 skinnin', and I'll settle an old score 
 at the same time," and Toombs 
 switched a blue beech rod he held in 
 his big hand. After seeing the boy 
 hurry nervously to this impossible 
 task, he went back to his chopping. 
 
 The shadows crept steadily toward 
 the north till they marked noontime, 
 
112 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 and still one gray ash heap confronted 
 Nathan. As he stood with a full bas- 
 ket of ashes poised on the edge of the 
 ash bin, Toombs appeared, with his 
 axe on his shoulder and the beech in 
 his hand. " You know what I told 
 you, and Silas Toombs doesn't go 
 back on his words; no, sir." 
 
 " I couldn't do it. I tried, but I 
 couldn't get 'em all done! " 
 
 Silas strode toward him in a fury, 
 when Nathan hurled the basket of 
 ashes full at his head, and dodging 
 behind the shed was in rapid flight 
 toward the woods, when his assailant 
 emerged from the choking, blinding 
 cloud, sputtering out mingled oaths 
 and ashes. In a moment he caught 
 the line of flight and followed in swift 
 pursuit. The boy's nimble feet wid- 
 ened the distance between them, but 
 he was at the start almost exhausted 
 with his severe work, so that when he 
 
Rebellion 1 1 3 
 
 reached the woods his only hope lay 
 in hiding. 
 
 Silas, entering the woods, could 
 neither see nor hear his intended vic- 
 tim. Listening between spasms o£ 
 rushing and raging, he heard a slight 
 rustling among the branches of a great 
 hemlock that reared its huge, russet- 
 gray trunk close beside him. Look- 
 ing up, he saw a pair of dusty legs 
 dangling twenty feet above him. 
 
 ** Come down, you little devil, or 
 1*11 shoot you." 
 
 " I won't," said Nathan, half sur- 
 prised at his own daring; " you can't 
 shoot with an axe." 
 
 "I'm glad you made me think on't. 
 Then come down or I'll chop you 
 down ! ' ' As an earnest of his threat 
 he drove his axe to the eye into the 
 boll of the tree. 
 
 The boy only climbed the higher, 
 and disappeared among the dark 
 
114 ^ Her9 of Ticonderoga 
 
 foliage and thick, quivering rays of 
 branches. Parleying no more, Silas 
 began chopping so vigorously that 
 the great flakes of chips flew abroad 
 upon the forest floor in a continuous 
 shower, and soon paved it all about 
 him with white olotches. When the 
 trunk was cut to the middle, he 
 shouted up another summons to sur- 
 render, but got no answer. Then his 
 quick, strong strokes began to fall on 
 the other side, steadily biting their 
 way toward the centre, till the huge, 
 ancient pillar of living wood began to 
 tremble on its sapped foundation. 
 Standing away from it, he peered up 
 among the whorls of gray branches 
 and broad shelves of leaves, but they 
 disclosed nothing. 
 
 " Hello! Come down! Don't be a 
 fool ! An' I won't lick you. The tree 's 
 comih' an* it'll kill you." Still no 
 answer nor sound, save the solemn 
 
Rebellion 1 15 
 
 whisper of the leaves, came down from 
 the lofty branches. " You're a plucky 
 one, but down you come! " 
 
 In a sudden blaze of passion at be- 
 ing thus scorned, he drove his axe deep 
 into the tree's heart. A puff of wind 
 stirred the topmost boughs. A shiver 
 ran through every branch and twig. 
 Fibre after fibre cracked and parted. 
 The trunk tremulously swayed from 
 its steadfast base. The sighing 
 branches clung to the unstable air. 
 A tall, lithe birch, that had long 
 leaned to their embrace, sprang from 
 it as in a flutter of fear, and then, 
 with a slowly accelerating sweep, the 
 ancient pillar, with all its long upheld 
 burden of boughs and perennial 
 greenery, went through its fellows 
 to the last sullen boom of its down- 
 fall. Toombs breathlessly watched and 
 listened for something besides the 
 shortening vibration of the branches, 
 
1 1 6 A Hero of T'tconderoga 
 
 some sound other than the swish of 
 relieved entanglement, but no sound 
 or motion succeeded them. 
 
 ** Nathan, Nathan," he called again 
 and again. 
 
 He ran along the trunk looking 
 among the branches. He felt under 
 the densest tangles, then cleared them 
 away with quick but careful axe 
 strokes, dreading, in every moment of 
 search, that the next would reveal the 
 crushed and mangled form of the boy. 
 Not till the shadows of night thickened 
 the shadows of the woods did he quit 
 his fruitless search. He knew the boy 
 was dead, and, if found, what then? 
 Well, for the present a plausible lie 
 would serve him well enough. 
 
 " Your boy has run off. Mis* 
 Toombs. You needn't worry. He'll 
 git starved out 'fore long and sneak 
 back. And he'll work all the better 
 when he does come. Boys has got to 
 
Rebellion 
 
 1^7 
 
 have their tantrums an' git over 'em." 
 This device served so well to quiet 
 any graver apprehensions that Ruth 
 entertained, he the more insisted on 
 it. " Like's not he's over to the Fort. 
 They'll make him stan' round, I tell 
 ye." 
 
 He intended in the morning to re- 
 new his search, but when it came he 
 dared not go near that fallen tree, the 
 dumb witness and concealer of his 
 crime. When, from afar, he saw the 
 crows wheeling above the spot, or 
 when at night he heard from that 
 direction the wolf's long howl, he 
 shook with fear, lest they had discov- 
 ered his secret and would in some way 
 reveal it. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 ESCAPE 
 
 When the accidental shaking of the 
 branch disclosed his refuge, Nathan 
 wished he had taken the easier shelter 
 of a hollow log or the tangle of a wind- 
 fall. The more so, when he caught 
 brief, swift flashes of the axe gleaming 
 up through the dark foliage and felt 
 the tree shiver at every sturdy stroke. 
 But he had no thought of surrender. 
 The trunk of the leaning birch, so 
 slender that his arms and legs could 
 clasp it, had given him access to this 
 coign of vantage and now offered a 
 retreat from it. 
 
 Toombs was intent upon his work, 
 with his back turned squarely toward 
 
Escape 119 
 
 the foot of the birch, though barely 
 six paces from it. Escape, if at all, 
 must be made while the chopper was . 
 on this side of the hemlock. Very ? 
 cautiously he regained the birch where 
 it hid trunk and lithe branches in the 
 embrace of the great evergreen, and 
 then worked downward, with an eye 
 ever on his enemy underneath, mak- 
 ing swiftest progress when the axe fell 
 and its sound overbore the rustle of 
 the birch's shaggy, yellow mane, that 
 his buttons scraped along. At last 
 his toes were tickled by the topmost 
 leaves of a low, sprangling hobble 
 bush, then lightly touched by the last 
 year's fallen leaves and the soft mould. 
 Then, as a flying chip struck him full 
 on the cheek, he loosed his hold on 
 the trunk and stole stealthily to the 
 shelter of the nearest great tree. 
 
 The axe strokes ceased, but a glance 
 showed him that Toombs was only wip- 
 
120 A Hero of TUonderoga 
 
 ing his sweaty brow on his sleeve, as 
 he looked up into the tree and ad- 
 dressed its supposed occupant. As the 
 futile chopping was resumed, Nathan 
 crept off through the undergrowth till 
 beyond sight and hearing, when he ran 
 upright so swiftly that he was a mile 
 away when the roar of the tree's fall 
 came booming through the woods. 
 
 He sat down to get his breath and 
 determine where to go, for so far he 
 had only thought to escape his step- 
 father. Should he try for the Fort ? 
 How was he to cross the lake without 
 a boat, and, if there, on what plea that 
 he could offer was he likely to be 
 harbored, for Toombs was on very 
 friendly terms with the commander ! 
 Not there could he find protection. 
 His old friend Job was the only one 
 to whom he could look, and in his 
 secluded cabin he might hope to es- 
 cape detection. 
 
Escape 
 
 121 
 
 With this determination he arose 
 and went his way, too well skilled in 
 woodcraft, for all his youth, to lose it 
 while the sun shone. Pushing stead- 
 ily on he saw at last the slanted sun- 
 beams shining golden green through 
 the woodside leaves, then saw them 
 glimmering on the quiet channel of 
 Job's creek, and following the shore 
 upstream, presently emerged in the 
 little clearing. It was as quiet as the 
 woods around it, and seemed more 
 untenanted, for through them the 
 songs of the thrushes were ringing in 
 flute-like cadences, while here nothing 
 was astir. 
 
 Nathan made his way so silently to 
 the open door that he stood looking 
 in upon the occupants of the cabin 
 before they became aware of his pres- 
 ence. Job was squatting before the 
 fireplace engaged in frying meat, and 
 a great, gaunt, blue-mottled hound sat 
 
122 A Hero of T'tconderoga 
 
 close beside him, intently watching 
 the progress of the cooking. Pres- 
 ently his keen nose caught a scent of 
 the intruder, and he uttered a low, 
 threatening growl that attracted his 
 master's attention. 
 
 " Be quiet, Gabriel; what is't trou- 
 bles you." Then seeing his visitor 
 hesitating at the threshold, " Why, 
 Nathan, come in my boy, come in, 
 the hound won't hurt you. Ain't he 
 a pictur' ? Did you ever see such ears? 
 Did you ever see such a chest and 
 such legs ? And he's as good as he 
 is harnsome. I went clean to Man- 
 chester arter him and gin three prime 
 beaver skins for him. He's one o' 
 Peleg Sunderland's breed and '11 foller 
 anything that walks, if you tell him 
 to, from a mushrat to a man. And 
 as for his voice, good land! You 
 hain't never heard no music till you 
 hear it. That's what give him his 
 
Escape 123 
 
 name, Gabriel. But what's the mat- 
 ter with you, Nathan?" when, with- 
 drawing his admiring gaze from his 
 new acquisition, he noted the boy's 
 wearied and troubled countenance. 
 ** You look clean beat out. There 
 hain't nothin' the matter with your 
 folks ? ' ' 
 
 Nathan told the story of his treat- 
 ment since his mother's marriage 
 to Toombs, and his unpremeditated 
 flight, and all the particulars of his 
 escape. 
 
 ** I'd ha' gin a dozen mushrat skins 
 to seen him when he got the tree down 
 and didn't find you, and him like a 
 fool dog a barkin' up a tree an hour 
 arter the coon 'd left it. You done 
 right to come to me, for he won't 
 come here to look for ye right off. 
 And then when he's had time to cool 
 off and git ashamed of himself, you 
 can go home. " 
 
124 -^ //-frd of Ttconderoga 
 
 " No," said the boy quickly; " 1*11 
 never go back till I'm old enough to 
 lick him and make him sorry I come." 
 
 " Oh, well, you think you will. 
 But you won't never. The rough 
 edge *11 be wore off afore you git 
 round to it. Once I swore I'd thrash 
 a schoolmarster I hed, and when I 
 went to do it we jes' sot down and 
 talked over ol' times, like ol' friends. 
 But what '11 your mother and sis do 
 without you ?" 
 
 *' They'll be better ofif without me. 
 I can't help mother any, nor she me, 
 yet awhile. Can't you let her know 
 I'm safe some way ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, I'll happen round there 
 some day to rights. How in tunket 
 did she ever come to mate wi' that 
 surly red-haired dog ? You know I 
 hain't seen her since they was married. 
 Women is onaccountable critters, any- 
 how, an* I've been marcifully pre- 
 
Eicape 125 
 
 sarved from ever bein* tackled to one 
 on 'em ; " yet he sighed, as he looked 
 about the littered room, that showed 
 so plainly the lack of housewifely 
 care. 
 
 After the supper of fried venison 
 and johnnycake was eaten, they sat 
 in the twilight and firelight talking 
 over the past and plans for the 
 future, till the boy, worn out with the 
 events of the day, was given a nest 
 of furs in the loft, where he would be 
 safe from detection by any chance 
 visitor, and Job, after barring the door 
 and carefully covering the fire, betook 
 himself with the hound to their ac- 
 customed couch on the floor. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 A FREE LIFE 
 
 The borders of the clearing were 
 dimly defined in the dusk of the next 
 evening, and Nathan was beginning 
 to feel lonely, though he had the 
 hound for company, when Job came 
 in with his gun on his shoulder. 
 
 " Well, what news ?" Nathan asked, 
 after a little impatient waiting for 
 Job's account of his trip abroad. 
 
 ** Well, I happened in just arter 
 noon. Your nice stepfather sot by 
 the fireplace a smokin*. * Where's 
 Nate,' says I, an' he up an' answered 
 mighty quick, * Run away, but he'll 
 be back quick enough. ' Your mother 
 was lookin' turrible worrited, an' it 
 
A Free Life 127 
 
 was quite a spell afore I could git a 
 chance to do my arrant with Toombs 
 right in the room. Bimeby I made 
 out to have a turrible pesterin* sliver 
 in my right hand an' got your mother 
 to pick it out wi' a needle. I'd ruther 
 have a leg took off 'an to have a 
 woman jabbin' at a sliver. Whilst 
 she was at it, me wi' my back towards 
 Toombs, I whispered you was at my 
 house and all right, an* you'd ortu 
 seen her face light up. Then we 
 played the sliver was out, an' arter 
 I'd wished you was to home to go 
 fishin* with me an* wondered what on 
 airth you'd run away f'm such a good 
 home for, I come off. An* I tell you, 
 boy, that ere ol* scoundrel thinks he's 
 killed you. When I come off towards 
 where he chopped that tree, he fol- 
 lered along to see if I went nigh it, 
 an' all the time I could see he was 
 scairter *n he was mad." 
 
128 A Hero of T'tconderoga 
 
 " I don't care, I can't go back if 
 you'll let me stay with you." 
 
 " Sartainly, an' glad to have you.'* 
 
 Nathan readily adapted himself to 
 the ranger's way of living, helping him 
 in the cabin work and that of the clear- 
 ing. At intervals, through his friend, 
 he sent his mother tidings of his wel- 
 fare and learned of her own. Through 
 the same way, and his mother's ready 
 assistance, he gained possession of his 
 other clothes — a tow shirt, a blue frock, 
 a pair of gray breeches, and two pairs 
 of thick woolen stockings, as large a 
 wardrobe as most backwoods dwellers 
 could boast of. 
 
 " Your mother stuck this out of the 
 loft winder as I come away," said Job 
 one day, handing him his father's 
 cherished gun. 
 
 " Oh, I am glad to get this, and 
 see, it is longer 'n I be yet. But I'm 
 growing, for I measured when Toombs 
 
A Free Life 129 
 
 put this up loft so't he could hang his 
 gun on the hooks over the fireplace. 
 See, I can hold it at arm's length long 
 enough to see to shoot," and he 
 stretched out the long-barrelled gun 
 with pride. 
 
 " Toombs was out a burnin* log 
 heaps," Job went on. " She says he's 
 dretful narvous an' jumps at every 
 sound. I ruther guess he's gittin' his 
 pay as he goes along, my boy." 
 
 In preparation for the fall trapping, 
 which was the ranger's chief depend- 
 ence, the two, accompanied by Ga- 
 briel, made long ranges through the 
 forest, marking their line by blazed 
 trees, to build deadfalls for martens 
 on the upland and for mink along 
 the brook and larger streams, and 
 larger traps for otters, fisher, and bea- 
 ver, and when the leaves began to 
 fall they daily gathered their furry 
 harvest. Day after day, too, the 
 9 
 
130 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 woods rang with Gabe's deep, melo- 
 dious voice as he drove the deer to 
 water. Many an adventure on lake 
 or in forest spiced the half wild life, 
 and the loving trust of the old man 
 so sweetened it that time glided 
 swiftly past. Many a lesson of wood- 
 craft the boy also learned, as well as the 
 priceless one of love and charity to all 
 created things, if Indians and Toombs 
 were excepted. Perhaps, in time, 
 their turn for forbearance would come. 
 
 One day late in the fall Nathan 
 ventured to the Fort, as much to visit 
 the garrison boys, for whose com- 
 panionship he often longed in his 
 isolation, as to carry some fine par- 
 tridges to the commandant's lady. 
 He had shot them himself with his 
 father's gun, in the use of which he 
 was becoming expert. 
 
 " Whativer has coom o* your red- 
 headed stepfather? He didn't coom 
 
A Free Life 131 
 
 here sin he coom marryin' your moth- 
 er," said one of the English boys. 
 
 After this information, visits to the 
 Fort were more frequent, since there 
 was no fear of meeting Toombs. The 
 sentinel, who, with his musket shoul- 
 dered high above his left hip and his 
 clubbed queue bobbing in unison to 
 his slow, measured steps, always paced 
 before the gate, made but a show of 
 challenging him, and Nathan was al- 
 most as free as the inmates to every 
 part of the Fort, excepting the offi- 
 cers' quarters and the vigilantly guard- 
 ed magazine. The drill and parade 
 of the soldiers, in their spotless scarlet 
 uniforms and shining arms, though 
 there were less than fifty, rank and 
 file, seemed a grand martial display, 
 and he was always thrilled with the 
 stirring notes of drum and fife. Occa- 
 sionally he met the commandant's wife 
 walking on the parapet, so refined and 
 
132 A Hero of T'tconderoga 
 
 different from the toil-worn women 
 he had been accustomed to see, that 
 she seemed a being of another world. 
 Once that fall Job and his young 
 companion went far back into the soli- 
 tude of the primeval forest to hunt 
 moose. Even the thunder of Ticon- 
 deroga's guns was never echoed there, 
 and from morning till night they heard 
 the sound of no human life but their 
 own. At night the dismal chorus of 
 t^ e wolves was heard far and near, and 
 now and then, what was a pleasantef 
 sound, the call of a moose, soft and 
 mellow, in the distance. With a birch 
 bark horn Job simulated this call, and 
 lured a moose into an ambuscade, 
 where, within short range, the huge 
 creature was killed. When with much 
 labor the meat was transported and 
 safely stored in the cabin, they were 
 in no danger of a winter famine. Soon 
 winter came, wi'^ -^ays of snowbound 
 
A Free Life 133 
 
 isolation, and its days of outdoor work 
 and pleasant, healthful pastime. 
 
 The gloom of a blustering, snowy 
 February day was thickening into the 
 gloom of night, when a traveller and 
 his jaded horse appeared at the door 
 of the little log house. 
 
 " I've somehow missed my way on 
 the lake," said he to Job, when the 
 door was opened. "I'm bound for 
 Bennington. Can you give me and my 
 poor beast shelter till morning and 
 then set me on the right road ? " 
 
 " Sartainly, come in, come in," was 
 answered, heartily. " You're wel- 
 come to such as I've got of bed an' 
 board, an' your hoss '11 be better off 
 in the shed wi' corn fodder 'n he'd be 
 a browsin' in the woods." 
 
 When the stranger had seen his 
 jaded horse cared for and had come 
 in, the firelight revealed a man in the 
 prime of life, of fine face and figure 
 
134 -^ ^^^^ rf Ticonderoga 
 
 and of military bearing, though he 
 was clad in the plain dress of a civil- 
 ian. He proved a genial guest, and 
 amused his companions with stories 
 of his recent journey to Canada, and 
 of his home in Massachusetts, and with 
 relations of the stirring events in that 
 and the other colonies that portended 
 a revolt against the mother country. 
 In turn he was interested in every- 
 thing pertaining to the New Hamp- 
 shire Grants, the progress of the 
 quarrel with New York claimants, 
 the temper of the inhabitants toward 
 England, but, particularly, was he 
 curious about the condition of the 
 adjacent fortress. Concerning its gar- 
 rison and the plans of the fortification 
 he found Nathan well informed. 
 
 ** I like to remember such things 
 about a place that has been so fa- 
 mous," the stranger observed, as he 
 made notes in a memorandum book. 
 
A Free Life 135 
 
 " I would like to visit the fort some- 
 time? How many men did you count 
 the last time you saw them parade, 
 did you say ? ' * 
 
 It was well into the night when the 
 precious embers were covered and the 
 three betook themselves to sleep, 
 with the wind roaring in the woods 
 and the snow driving gustily against 
 the oiled-paper windows of the cabin. 
 When they awoke the storm was 
 spent. Beneath the cloudless morn- 
 ing sky the forest stood silent as the 
 army of spectres that its snow-pow- 
 dered trunks resembled. After break- 
 fast Job put on his snowshoes and 
 led his guest to the desired road 
 to the southward settlements. This 
 break in the winter monotony was 
 often dwelt upon by the fireside in 
 the little log house. A chance visit, 
 if aught occurs by chance, yet it 
 proved of vast importance. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 FOREBODINGS OF STORM 
 
 After many days of fair promises 
 tardily fulfilled, spring had come. The 
 soft air was full of its sounds and 
 odors, the medley of harsh and liquid 
 notes of the myriad blackbirds that 
 swarmed in the trees along the creek, 
 the crackling croak of the frogs, the 
 whimpering call of the muskrats, the 
 booming of bitterns, the splashing and 
 quacking of wild ducks, and the mur- 
 mur of running waters. There were 
 the spicy fragrance of pine and hem- 
 lock, and the fresh smell of warming 
 mould and bursting buds, while the 
 perfume of wild flowers added a 
 moiety to the spring timeodor. The 
 
Forebodings of Storm 137 
 
 shad trees shone like snowdrifts in the 
 gray woods, and the yellow catkins 
 were alive with humming bees. 
 
 Amid the pleasant sights of nature's 
 progress, Nathan and his friend sat 
 near the door, taking off and stretch- 
 ing on pliant bows the skins of the 
 last catch of muskrats. 
 
 " It's about time to quit trappin' 
 for this year," said Job, as he slipped 
 a skin onto the bow that he held be- 
 tween his knees. " They're gettin' a 
 leetle off prime, though better'n they 
 be in the fall an' no kits as there is 
 then," and he fastened the skin in 
 place, with a cut near its edge, into 
 each horn of the bow. " Good land! 
 What's Gabe huUabalooin* at now, 
 I wonder ? " 
 
 Nathan peered cautiously around 
 the corner and whispered : 
 
 " It's neighbor Newton. I'll go up 
 loft." Accordingly he climbed the 
 
138 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 ladder and crept softly to the side of 
 the loft above the door. Through the 
 wide cracks of the loose flooring he 
 could see a patch of the chip strewn, 
 sunlit earth outside, with Job's long 
 legs stretching across it and his hands 
 idle a moment as he called in the 
 hound, who presently appeared, and 
 behind him the stout stockinged legs 
 of neighbor Newton. 
 
 " Job, have you heard the news ?" 
 Newton asked excitedly. 
 
 "News? What news?" Job's 
 knife stopped half-way in the slit it 
 was making along a muskrat's throat. 
 
 " There's ben a fight down in the 
 Bay Colony 'twixt our folks and the 
 king's troops and our folks whipped 
 
 em. 
 
 . '* Our folks a fightin' the king's 
 troops ?" said Job incredulously. 
 - The other hastily related such par- 
 ticulars of the momentous conflict as 
 
Forebodings of Storm 139 
 
 he had learned. Nathan, whose heart 
 was beating fast at the stirring news, 
 saw the muskrat drop to the ground. 
 " I al'ys said them reg'lars, shootin' 
 breast high at nothin', couldn't stan' 
 agin our bushfighters, aimin' to kill," 
 Job said exultantly; " but what next, 
 Dan'l ?" 
 
 " War— it means war. The coun- 
 try's all a-risin'. Every man's got to 
 choose the side he'll take. Which 
 side is yourn, Job ?" 
 
 There was a silence, and the answer 
 came with slow deliberation. " I 
 hoped to end my days in peace. I've 
 had enough o' fightin', the Lord 
 knows. When I've fit it was for the 
 land I was born in— if it was under the 
 British flag— an' I shan't never fight 
 for no other." 
 
 Every man in these clearin's is all 
 right, so far as we know, exceptin' 
 that aire sour-faced Toombs. He 
 
140 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 hain't no good will towards our side. 
 A Tory in Seth's shoes, and him red- 
 hot for liberty. He's got a Canuck 
 a-workin' for him, and I'd livser trust 
 a wolf *n one o' them pea-soupers. I 
 hain't no patience wi' Ruth for marry- 
 in* that critter. Where do you s'pose 
 her boy is ? " There being no reply 
 the speaker went on: "I b'lieve that 
 devil has made way with him. He 
 acts turrible cur'us, scared and startin* 
 at every sound," and the two walked 
 off towards the creek. 
 
 Half an hour later when Job re- 
 turned, he asked Nathan: "Well, 
 what do you think o' the news, my 
 boy ? ' ' 
 
 " Oh, is it true about the fight? 
 How I wish I could go and help our 
 folks. Father *d go quick." 
 
 " Well, well, stay where ye be. If 
 it goes on, it's sure to strike the ol' 
 war-path, and the old ranger swept 
 
Forebodings of Storm 141 
 
 his arm towards the lake. " There'll 
 be work for us here. The sign o' that 
 fresh water mairmaid is comin' true 
 agin." 
 
 They passed a week in restless, im- 
 patient waiting, when, unheralded by 
 the hound, Newton again entered the 
 cabin and chanced to come face to 
 face with the boy. 
 
 " Well, here you be," he said, with- 
 out surprise and smiling good-hu- 
 moredly ; " I s'pected as much t' other 
 day when I see the extry knife an' 
 pile o' mushrats. Say, Job, how is't ? 
 Can I speak out afore him consarnin' 
 the business we was talkin' on ? " 
 
 " To be sure. He's close-mouthed 
 an' he's achin' to go an' jine our folks 
 down in the ol' Bay Colony." 
 
 " Good; he's the same stuff as his 
 father. " He laid his friendly hand on 
 Nathan's shoulder and continued in 
 a low, earnest voice : ' ' There's a plan 
 
142 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 all fixed to take Ti and Crown P'int. 
 It seems a Connecticut feller named 
 Brown started the thing a-goin' some 
 weeks ago. There's nigh ontu two 
 hunderd and fifty men in the Grants 
 engaged to do the job. Ethan Allen 
 commands. We muster at Bceman's 
 Crik, day after to-morrow night. 
 You'll be there?" Job stretched 
 forth his hand to his friend, who 
 warmly clasped it. 
 
 " Me, too; let me go, too." Nath- 
 an's heart swelled with pride, and he 
 felt himself suddenly leaping to man- 
 hood and a place among men. 
 
 " He's a stout lad an' he handles a 
 gun like a man. Let him conie," said 
 Job. " But how be we goin* to git 
 across the lake ? There hain't boats 
 enough hereabouts to take more'n 
 thirty men to oncet." 
 
 " Colonel Skeene's is goin' to be 
 borrowed, an' there's a plan to git 
 
Forebodings of Storm 143 
 
 some more without askin* at Crown 
 P'int; with them an' what we can pick 
 up we'll make enough. How many'U 
 your birch carry ? " 
 
 " Six men that's used to such craft, 
 but not one lummax." 
 
 " Well, bring it along. Everything 
 of the boat kind'U be needed. Toombs 
 troubles me most. He's on the fence, 
 which means he ain't to be trusted. 
 He'll see our men a musterin' an' 
 s'pect what's up, an' let the garrison 
 know some way. He and his Canuck 
 has got to be watched." 
 
 " Easy done! We can tie *em, 
 neck an' heels, an' leave 'em to take 
 keer o' theirselves. " 
 
 " Well, I'll send a guard an' see to 
 that " Newton said as he hurried 
 away to warn other settlers of the 
 projected enterprise. 
 
 Those left began to clean their 
 weapons carefully and prepare to 
 
144 -^ Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 mould some bullets. Job rehearsed 
 his long disused manual of arms, in 
 which he found Nathan familiar 
 through his close observation of the 
 soldiers' drill at the Fort. 
 
 " You don't want to aim that way," 
 the old man said, when, at the com- 
 mand, Nathan held his piece ready to 
 fire with the butt end under his elbow. 
 " Lord, how I've heard Major Rogers 
 swear to see the reg'lars wastin' lead, 
 shootin' int' the tree tops wi' the 
 enemy fair afore 'em ! Fightin' hain't 
 no foolin'. Aim to kill, jes' as ye 
 would at a pa'tridge. There — that's 
 the talk," when Nathan, following his 
 instructions, laid his cheek to the 
 stock and flashed the priming at the 
 breast of an imaginary foe. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 GABRIEL'S GOOD SERVICE 
 
 On the afternoon of the 9th of May, 
 1775, Job and Nathan laid their guns 
 in the canoe and stood beside her 
 ready to set her afloat in the brown 
 water, whose ripples softly lapped the 
 drift of dried sedges along the shore. 
 Job looked anxiously about, and once 
 more, as he had several times previ- 
 ously done, he whistled a loud shiill 
 note through his fingers. 
 
 " Where on airth is that dog ? He 
 mistrusted somethin* was up and run 
 off. He'd ortu be tied up, but we 
 can't wait any longer, an' he'll hafter 
 run loose. Wal, le's be off." 
 
 Lifting the canoe, they set her 
 10 
 
146 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 afloat, stepped lightly on board, and, 
 kneeling in the bottom, sent her fly- 
 ing down the creek. They skirted the 
 lake almost beneath the spreading 
 branches of the maples, now already 
 dappled with the tender green of bud- 
 ding leaves. A little back from the 
 naked, western shore, with its crum- 
 bling ruins of the old French water 
 battery, uprose the gray battlements 
 and barracks of Ticonderoga, and the 
 blazoned cross of England floating 
 lazily in the breeze. 
 
 ** I've follered it for many a day," 
 said Job sadly, ** an' I never thought 
 to go agin it. But I b'lieve I'm 
 right," and he turned his face reso- 
 lutely forward. 
 
 The turmoil and horror of war 
 seemed far removed from the serene 
 sky, the rippled water kissing the 
 quiet shores, and the pervading sense 
 of the earth's renewing life, enforced 
 
Gabriers Good Service 147 
 
 by bursting buds and opening flowers 
 and songs of birds. Even the grim 
 fortress seemed but a memento of 
 conflict long since ended forever. 
 
 Sweeping into the broad mouth of 
 the creek, they joined the motley 
 crowd already gathered there. The 
 assemblage was composed of all who 
 were capable of bearing arms, from 
 gray-headed veterans of the last war, 
 to the striplings who had not yet 
 been mustered on a training field. Job 
 received hearty greetings from more 
 than one old comrade whom he had 
 not seen since .hey ranged this region, 
 then an unreclaimed wilderness, under 
 the leadership of the brave and wary 
 Robert Rogers, and he was soon in 
 reminiscences of scouts and ambus- 
 cades, while Nathan watched and 
 noted everything, a most interested 
 spectator of what was passing so un- 
 obtrusively into history. 
 
148 A Hero of T'tconderoga 
 
 Presently there was a stir and gath- 
 ering together of the detached groups 
 and an expectant hush. Then he saw 
 towering among them, in cocked hat 
 and military garb of blue and buff, 
 the stalwart figure of Ethan Allen. 
 
 " Fall in, men," said the deep-toned 
 voice of Allen, and the groups formed 
 in line as best they could among the 
 trees. 
 
 As they moved forward to take 
 their places Nathan noticed an un- 
 familiar form skulking among the tree 
 trunks near him — a swarthy little man 
 wearing a tasseled, woolen cap and 
 gray coat unlike the Yankee garb. It 
 flashed across his mind that this was 
 the Canadian employed by his step- 
 father, and he tried to keep watch of 
 his movements. But there was much 
 else to engage him, and just then he 
 felt a touch on his leg, and, turning, 
 saw Gabriel's sorrowful face looking 
 
Gabriel* s Good Service 149 
 
 wistfully up to his own. " Down, 
 Gabe," he said in a low tone, and the 
 hound crouched behind. Just then 
 Ethan Allen, having passed slowly- 
 down the line, accosting one and 
 another, broke the silence : 
 
 " Friends of the Grants, we are 
 already enough for this business in 
 hand, but there are more to come. 
 There will be boats enough to cross 
 us all in good time. Keep quiet. 
 Cook your rations and eat your sup- 
 per. To-morrow we'll eat our break- 
 fast in Ticonderoga, or know the 
 reason why." 
 
 As Nathan's entranced gaze was 
 for a moment withdrawn from the 
 beloved commander, he caught a 
 glimpse of the little unknown man 
 stealing away among the shadows. 
 Being more accustomed to the rigid 
 discipline of the garrison than to the 
 free and easy customs of volunteers, 
 
150 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 he did not dare to leave the ranks till 
 many of his comrades had straggled 
 away. Then he sought Job and told 
 him his suspicions. 
 
 ** I thought Newton was goin* to 
 tend to them critters. Newton," he 
 called to his neighbor, " didn't you 
 put a guard over Toombs and his 
 man ?" 
 
 " Toombs is safe in care of a good 
 man, but his Canuck couldn't be 
 found. I guess he's too stupid to do 
 any mischief, anyway." 
 
 " Well, he's ben a sneakin' round 
 here an' now he's gone, an* there's 
 no tellin' where. Where's Toombs's 
 boat ? " 
 
 ** Here," and Newton pointed to 
 the landing, where it lay among many 
 others. 
 
 ** Gabe's round here somewheres," 
 said Nathan inadvertently. 
 
 " Jest the one I was a wishin' for," 
 
Gabriel* s Good Service 151 
 
 said the old man, aroused from his 
 troubled pondering. " He can help 
 when nob'dy else can." He then 
 sent one of his shrill whistles into 
 the woods, and then another, with 
 such good effect that Gabriel pres- 
 ently appeared, loping easily along. 
 " Good fellow, good fellow. Now, 
 Newton, we'll ketch that skunk. 
 Here, here, old boy," and he hurried 
 swiftly away with the hound at heel. 
 
 Arrived at the house they found 
 Toombs unconfined, but under the 
 vigilant guard of a lynx-eyed Green 
 Mountain Boy. When Job inquired 
 for the Canadian, he detected a gleam 
 of triumph in the glowering eyes of 
 the surly, half-defiant prisoner. 
 
 "The fox has slipped," said Job; 
 " but never mind. If he can fool 
 Gabe he's a smart 'un. Ruth, where's 
 somethin' that 'ere Canuck has 
 wore?" 
 
152 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 Ruth, who stood near her idle spin- 
 ning wheel, half dazed at the unwonted 
 commotion and afraid of she knew not 
 what, pointed covertly to a much 
 worn pair of moccasins hanging near 
 the fireplace to dry. 
 
 " Hisn? There couldn't be nothin* 
 better. See here, Gabe." 
 
 The hound snuffed eagerly at the 
 soiled footgear, slowly wagging his 
 tail, and then looked inquiringly at 
 his master. 
 
 " Sarch him out, boy. Sarch him 
 out," Job encouraged him, pointing 
 along the ground. 
 
 The hound circled about the yard a 
 little, and then, finding the trail, fol- 
 lowed it silently and steadily down to 
 the creek to where the men were mus- 
 tered. There, on the much trodden 
 ground, it bafHed him for a while. 
 Resorting to his usual tactics, he made 
 widening circles and again found the 
 
Gabriel* s Good Service 153 
 
 trail and went off upon it in a steady, 
 untiring pace southward in the direc- 
 tion of Ticonderoga. 
 
 " I knowed it," said Job to himself, 
 " and I'll bet ye there'll be a Canuck 
 treed afore sundown." Guided by 
 the deep, mellow baying of the hound, 
 he set off, with his gun at a trail, 
 in rapid pursuit. 
 
 The agile little Canadian had at 
 least an hour's start, and made such 
 brisk use of it that he was on the shore 
 opposite the Fort when he was over- 
 taken by the hound, who at once set 
 furiously upon him. Being unarmed, 
 he was forced to scramble up a tree, 
 from which, when he had recovered 
 his breath, he began lustily to hail the 
 Fort, and at intervals to curse the 
 hound. His shouts, and Gabriel's 
 insistent deep-mouthed hayings, could 
 scarcely fail to attract the attention 
 of the garrison, and Job, pushing for- 
 
154 ^ Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 ward at his best pace, presently ap- 
 peared upon the scene. 
 
 " Hello de Forrt," the Canuck was 
 shouting. " Hey! Hello de Forrt! 
 Sacre chien ! Go home, Ah tol' you ! 
 Hello, Carillon. Tac-con-derrrque ! 
 All de Bastonais was comin' for took 
 you, Ah tol' you ! Sacre chien ! Stop 
 off you nowse so Ah can heard me 
 spik." 
 
 " Shut yer head an* come down out 
 o' that mighty quick," Job com- 
 manded in a low voice. 
 
 " Me no onstan' Angleesh," and 
 again the voice rang out over across 
 the water: " Hello de Forrt! " 
 
 Peering through the overhanging 
 branches. Job saw a group of red- 
 coated soldiers gathered on the other 
 shore, and presently saw a boat put- 
 ting out from it. 
 
 " Looka here," said he sternly, as 
 he cocked his piece and aimed up- 
 
Gabriei's Good Service 155 
 
 ward; " I don't want tu be obleeged 
 tu hurt you, but stop yer hollcrin' an' 
 come right down." 
 
 "Me no onstan', Ah tol' you! 
 Hello — ." The lusty hail was cut short 
 by the report of the long smoothbore. 
 The Canadian'scap went spinning from 
 his head, and he came scrambling 
 down in a haste that threatened to 
 leave half his clothes behind. 
 
 '• Ah comin' ! Ah comin' ! Don't 
 shot some more ! " he cried in a voice 
 trembling with fright. 
 
 Job arrested his descent till his gun 
 was reloaded ; then, when his captive 
 slid to the ground, he quickly tied his 
 hands behind with a fathom of cord, 
 one end of which he held. Then he 
 removed the woolen sash from the 
 Canadian's waist and bound it about 
 his mouth. 
 
 A glance upon the lake showed the 
 boat half-way across, and approaching 
 
156 A Hero of T'tconderoga 
 
 as fast as two pairs of oars could im- 
 pel it. Job hurried his man into an 
 evergreen thicket some twenty yards 
 away, and, leaving him tied to a tree 
 in charge of the hound, he stealth- 
 ily returned to ascertain if possible 
 whether the nature of the alarm had 
 been comprehended by the soldiers. 
 The boat drew rapidly toward the 
 place where he lay concealed, and, at 
 a little distance, the occupants lay 
 upon their oars while they held con- 
 sultation, so near that he could hear 
 every word of it. 
 
 " Well, boys," said the sergeant in 
 command, " whathiver it was. Hi don't 
 hear nothink more of it. But Hi'll 
 'ail the shore. 'Ello there, whathiver 
 is the row ? " An answer was silently 
 awaited till the echoes died away. 
 
 " Ah't was some o' thim Yankee 
 divils huntin' just," said one of the 
 soldiers, " and that's all about it. 
 
Gabriei*s Good Service 157 
 
 Divil a word could I make out but 
 the dog yowlin' an' a man phillalooin', 
 an' thin the shot. They kilt what- 
 iver they was at an' thin wint away." 
 
 " Hi believe you're right, Murphy, 
 an* we'll no bother to go ashore, but 
 just pull back and report to the cap- 
 tain," and off went the boat to the 
 western shore. 
 
 With a sigh of relief Job sped back 
 to his prisoner, to whom he motioned 
 the homeward way, and set forth with 
 him in front at a break-neck pace, 
 which was occasionally quickened by 
 a punch of the gun muzzle in the rear, 
 and so was the captive driven to the 
 camp. 
 
 Ticonderoga's evening gun had long 
 since boomed its vesper thunder, and 
 the shadows of evening were thicken- 
 ing into night in the forest, when Job 
 emerged from them into the glare of 
 the camp fire with his hound and pris- 
 
158 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 oner, and received the warm com- 
 mendations of Allen and his associates 
 for his promptly and skilfully per- 
 formed exploit. 
 
 " I don't claim no credit for't. It 
 was all Gabe's doin's, an' if I'd left 
 him tied up to hum as I laid out to, 
 our cake v/ould all *a' ben dough." 
 
 ** Here, Newton, here's your man. 
 Put him under guard with that Tory, 
 Toombs," said Allen. 
 
 A tall man of noble, commanding 
 presence, but of a quiet, modest mien, 
 stooped to caress the hound. " Why," 
 he said, ** it's one of Sunderland's 
 dogs, that haven't their equal in New 
 England." 
 
 " You've got an eye for houn* dogs, 
 Capt'n Warner. He sartain is one o* 
 them dogs an'U foller anything he's 
 told to, though 't ain't no gre't trick 
 to track a Canuck more'n an Injin. 
 They're both strong-scented critters." 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 LEADERS AND GUIDE 
 
 Even while Nathan watched Gabe 
 and his master depart into the forest 
 southward, he became aware the as- 
 semblage was moved by some new 
 object of interest. Turning, he saw 
 Colonel Allen and another gentleman, 
 eagle-eyed, eagle-beaked, in handsome 
 military dress, talking angrily in the 
 midst of an excited group. At length 
 Allen turned his passionate face toward 
 the men and called in a loud voice : 
 
 Men, fall in for a moment. Here, ' ' 
 waving his hand toward his com- 
 panion, as the men rapidly fell into 
 line, *' is Mr. Benedict Arnold. He 
 bears a colonel's commission from the 
 
l6o A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 Connecticut Ct)mmittee of Safety, and 
 claims the right to command you to- 
 night. Men of the Green Mountains, 
 whom do you follow — Arnold or 
 Allen?" 
 
 " Allen, Allen," came in response, 
 loud and decided. 
 
 The chosen chief turned a triumph- 
 ant smile upon his rival, who strode 
 away in silence of restrained passion. 
 Soon returning, however, he addressed 
 Allen in a clear, steady voice : 
 
 " Sir, I submit to the will of these 
 men, but let me be a volunteer in this 
 glorious enterprise. The Green Moun- 
 tain Boys and their famous leader are 
 too generous to refuse this." 
 
 Allen, touched at a vulnerable point, 
 grasped the speaker's hand heartily 
 and answered : 
 
 " Indeed, so brave a man as I well 
 know you to be, is most welcome, 
 and, by the Great Jehovah, if the men 
 
Leaden and Guide i6i 
 
 don't object, you shall be second in 
 command." 
 
 A shout of approval went up from 
 the men, who gathered around their 
 camp fires again, while Allen and 
 Arnold, together with Warner, walked 
 apart in amicable consultation. Soon 
 the first called loudly for any informa- 
 tion concerning a lad named Nathan 
 Beeman. At the sound of his name, 
 Nathan started, blushed, hesitated, 
 and then stepped bashfully forward, 
 and was quickly recognized by Allen 
 in spite of his added stature. 
 
 " Here, this is the youngster. Colo- 
 nel Arnold, that Mr. John Brown 
 tells of in this paper, whom he saw 
 and conversed with last winter about 
 Ticonderoga. ' ' 
 
 The two colonels then asked the 
 boy many questions about the Fort, 
 its entrance, the interior, the number 
 of the garrison, and the disposal of the 
 
 II 
 
1 62 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 sentinels. Evidently satisfied with 
 his straightforward replies, A.llen said, 
 low and impressively : 
 
 " You have such a chance to serve 
 your country as don't often fall to a 
 boy. Will you lead us into the Fort 
 to-night? Will you do it faithfully? " 
 
 Nathan looked steadily into the 
 earnest, searching eyes fixed upon 
 him, but did not answer. 
 
 " Speak," cried Allen, sharply. 
 
 " If the commandant's lady won't 
 be hurt, I will," he said at last, his 
 left hand thrust into his pocket, fum- 
 bling his cherished shilling piece. 
 
 Allen laughed good-humoredly. 
 ** So the lady is a friend of yours. 
 Well, never fear. We may disturb 
 her morning nap, but she shall not be 
 harmed. We are not waging war in 
 the wilderness against women and 
 children. Here, my boy, stick this 
 twig of hemlock in your hat. Don't 
 
Leaders and Guide 163 
 
 you see we've all mounted it? There, 
 now," as he himself put the evergreen 
 sprig in Nathan's hatband, ** you wear 
 the Green Mountain Boy's cockade. 
 See that you never disgrace it." 
 
 The boy thrilled with pride as he 
 walked with measured step behind the 
 stately chieftain and his lithely built 
 companion. Presently the sound of 
 oars was heard and a large batteau 
 swept into the landing, navigated by 
 two of Newton's sons, who gleefully 
 related how, with a jug of rum, they 
 had lured Skeene's old negro with the 
 coveted craft into their toils, as he 
 waT voyaging homeward from Crown 
 Point. It was capable of carrying 
 twenty-five persons and was a wel- 
 come prize. Though one by one, and 
 in little flotillas, boats continued to 
 arrive, still, at two o'clock in the early 
 May morning, there were not enough 
 to transport half the men gathered. 
 
164 -^ Hero of T'tconderoga 
 
 After brief consultation, it was deter- 
 mined that as many as possible should 
 at once cross to the other shore and 
 there await the coming of the others 
 in the returning boats. 
 
 Embarkation began at once under 
 the superintendence of Allen, Arnold, 
 and Warner. Nathan found himself 
 with the first two in the leading boat, 
 Warner being left in charge of the 
 party remaining on the eastern shore. 
 At a low word of command, the flo- 
 tilla swept out of the flickering glare 
 of the fire into the darkness. It 
 passed down the creek and was soon 
 upon the lake, heading for the other 
 shore, being guided to the chosen 
 landing by the mountain peaks that 
 loomed black against the western sky. 
 The night was windless. The shrill 
 piping of hylas, the monotonous trill 
 of toads, and the rush of running brooks 
 filled the air. Such sounds faded out 
 
Leaders and Guide 165 
 
 as the middle of the lake was reached, 
 where nothing was heard but the h'ght 
 plash of muffled oars, to rise again in 
 increasing volume from the other 
 shore. 
 
 As the last boat grounded on the 
 shelving beach, Nathan was startled 
 by the loud, hollow hoot of an owl, 
 uttered thrice, almost in his ear. A 
 few moments later there came, like 
 an echo from the distant creek, the 
 answer to this preconcerted signal of 
 safe arrival. The men quickly disem- 
 barked, and the boats returned to 
 those who, under Seth Warner, were 
 eagerly awaiting their turn. 
 
 Those who had made the passage 
 tramped to and fro to stir their blood, 
 for there was a creeping chill in the 
 night air. The first light of dawn 
 was stealing up the eastern sky, the 
 woods and mountains showing in sharp 
 relief against it, yet no signs came to 
 
1 66 ^ Hero •/ Ticonderoga 
 
 strained eyes and ears of the return- 
 ing boats. 
 
 •* The lazy-bones," growled Allen, 
 forgetting the long distance. ' * What 
 has gone wrong? Daylight will betray 
 us if we wait much longer. What do 
 you say, my men— shall we wait, and 
 maybe lose our best chance of suc- 
 ' cess, or go on with what strength we 
 
 have ? * * 
 
 There was a murmur of universal 
 
 assent, and Allen commanded : 
 ** Fall in, in three ranks!" 
 Instantly the men formed in the 
 order of the ranger service. " I want 
 no man to go against his will. You 
 that wish to go with me, poise arms." 
 Every gun was brought to the posi- 
 tion. 
 
 ** Shoulder arms! Right face! For- 
 ward, march ! ' ' 
 
 Before the last word was fairly given, 
 Arnold stepped in front of the speaker. 
 
Leaders and Guide 167 
 
 > 
 
 (I 
 
 I swear," he cried, shaken with 
 his passion, " I will not yield my right. 
 I planned this enterprise. My money 
 set it on foot. I swear I will com- 
 mand, and not yield my right to Ethan 
 Allen or the devil." 
 
 There was a muttered growl of dis- 
 satisfaction r mong the men, and Allen 
 was raging. ** What shall I do with 
 this fellow ? Put him under guard ? " 
 he asked, turning to one of his cap- 
 tains. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said Captain Cal- 
 lender, a staid and quiet man, ** for 
 the sake of the good cause, don't 
 quarrel. Yield a little, both of you. 
 Share the command equally, and enter 
 the Fort side by side." 
 
 Allen returned his half-drawn sword 
 to its scabbard and said bluffly: *' For 
 the sake of the cause I agree to this." 
 The Connecticut colonel sullenly as- 
 sented, and the three columns moved 
 
1 68 A Hero of Ticmderoga 
 
 briskly along the shore, led by the 
 two colonels marching side by side, 
 till, through the branches of the bud- 
 ding trees, the leaders saw close be- 
 fore them the walls of Ticonderoga, 
 looming dark and vague in the gray 
 of the morning. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 TICONDEROGA 
 
 A halt was silently signalled, and 
 Job, the skilfullest scout of all this 
 band of woodsmen, was sent forward 
 to reconnoitre. Silently, as a ghost, 
 his tall figure melted into the obscurity 
 of dawn, and presently appeared, out 
 of the blur of shadows, bearing whis- 
 pered tidings that all was quiet within 
 the Fort, and only one sentinel care- 
 lessly guarding the open wicket of the 
 main entrance. 
 
 A whispered word of command 
 drifted back along the ranks and the 
 troops moved forward. They mounted 
 a slight declivity and advanced to the 
 right toward the gate. Now the sen- 
 
lyo A Hero of Ttconderoga 
 
 tinel could be seen pacing his beat; 
 now the white cross-belts and the 
 facings of his uniform made out, and 
 still he maintained his deliberate pace, 
 unconscious of the enemy, while, per- 
 haps, his thoughts were far away in 
 the green fields of merry England, 
 where the hawthorn was blooming 
 and the lark singipcr "at heaven's 
 
 gate. 
 
 "'he heads of the files were close 
 upon him when his wandering thoughts 
 were suddenly recalled. Too much 
 surprised to challenge or call an alarm, 
 he levelled his fusee at Allen's tower- 
 ing figure and pulled the trigger. The 
 life of the bold chieftain hung for an 
 instant in the trembling balance of 
 fate, but not a spark followed the 
 stroke of the flint. The guard turned 
 and fled through the open wicket with 
 Allen and Arnold, side by side, close 
 upon his heels. After them came 
 
Ticonderoga 171 
 
 Nathan ; and the crowding files of men 
 swarmed through the narrow gate in 
 an impetuous rush, and, guided by 
 the boy, onto the parade. This was 
 enclosed on three sides by lofty stone 
 barracks. Here they caught a last 
 glimpse of the flying sentry dodging 
 into a bombproof, like a woodchuck 
 into a hole. Another sentinel made a 
 bayonet thrust at Nathan, when Allen's 
 sword fell quick as a thunderbolt upon 
 the man's head in a downright blow 
 that must have cleft the skull, had it 
 not glanced on a metal comb that 
 held his hair in place. 
 
 The assailants quickly formed in 
 two ranks, facing outward upon the 
 east and west lines of barracks, and 
 gave three cheers that made the gray 
 walls ring with quick, rebo \ding 
 echoes. 
 
 " Quick, my boy, show me the 
 commandant's quarters, ' said Allen, 
 
172 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 and his guide led to a flight of outer 
 stairs arising to the upper story of the 
 south barracks. Ascending them, 
 Allen shouted : 
 
 " Come forth, commandant, come 
 forth." But receiving no answer he 
 thundered on the door with the pom- 
 mel of his sword and shouted still 
 louder: 
 
 " Come out of your hole, you 
 damned old skunk," and thereupon 
 the door was drawn a little ajar. Allen 
 flung it w^ide open, and disclosed the 
 bewildered face and undignified figure 
 of Captain Delaplace, clad only in his 
 shirt and nightcap, with his breeches 
 in his hand. Behind i.'m stood his 
 night-gowned wife, her pretty face 
 pale with alarm. For a moment the 
 captain gaped at his unceremonious 
 visitor. 
 
 " Who are you and what do you 
 want ? * ' 
 
Ticonderoga lyo 
 
 ** I want the Fort and all it contains. 
 Surrender, instantly." 
 
 " Surrender ? Is this a mad joke or 
 treason ? " 
 
 " Neither; but honest men claiming 
 their own. Surrender. ' ' 
 
 " In whose name ? By whose au- 
 thority ? " asked Delaplace, assured 
 of the earnestness of the summons. 
 
 " In the name of the Great Jehovah 
 and the Continental Congress." 
 
 " I know no such authority." 
 
 " Sir, do you deny the authority of 
 the King of Kings ? And Congress 
 seemeth to have some pov ^r here this 
 morning. Waste no more time. We 
 are four to your one. Do you sur- 
 render ? ' * 
 
 "I see no choice. But it consoles 
 me that you rebels will hang for this. ' ' 
 
 " You arc welcome to the consola- 
 tion of the hope, but it gives me no 
 uneasiness and I run no new risks. 
 
174 -^ ^^^ ^f Ticonderoga 
 
 I am Ethan Allen. You may have 
 heard of me and have lusted for the 
 shekels the sons of Belial offer for my 
 head. But get on your clothes and 
 parade you- men without arms. Mad- 
 am," bowing low to the lady, ** par- 
 don the intrusion, but my business is 
 urgent. Permit me to close the door. * ' 
 So doing he awaited the reappearance 
 of the commandant. 
 
 " This is a pretty kettle of fish," 
 the chopfallen captain groaned. 
 ** Courage, my dear; this handsome 
 giant has something of the manners 
 of a gentleman, and will not let a lady 
 be maltreated by his rebel band. * * 
 
 " Oh, William, the Fort surprised, 
 and we prisoners, and not a blow 
 St uck for defense." 
 
 " There could be no defense with 
 such numbers. Well, there's no use 
 crying over spilt milk. Did you see 
 that pet cub of yours with the big 
 
Ticonderoga 175 
 
 rebel ? What did I tell you ? " said 
 the captain, putting the finishing 
 touches to his hasty toilet. 
 
 He rejoined Allen and proceeded 
 to the parade, where, presently, he 
 mustered his little force without arms 
 and formally delivered them to the 
 captors, who marched them away to 
 their quarters under guard. Two 
 days later, with an armed escort, they 
 were on their way through the wilder- 
 ness to Connecticut, and Nathan saw 
 the last of the lady of the Fort. 
 
 Warner and the remainder of the 
 men arrived at Ticonderoga soon after 
 its surrender, disappointed that they 
 had not participated in its achieve- 
 ment. 
 
 Still guided by the boy, the officers 
 made a tour of investigation, which 
 revealed a wealth of guns and ammu- 
 nition — supplies greatly needed by 
 the army of patriots then gathered at 
 
176 A Hero of Ttconderoga 
 
 Boston. As the boy listened to the 
 rejoicings, his heart was full of proud 
 thankfulness that he had borne so im- 
 portant if humble a part in this ser- 
 vice of his country. 
 
 Warren and Sunderland and a hun- 
 dred men set forth for the easy con- 
 quest of Crown Point and its insignifi- 
 cant garrison, while, on Lake George, 
 another party took possession of Fort 
 George and its garrison of a man, his 
 wife, and a dog. 
 
 Arnold hastily fitted out a schooner 
 taken at Skeenesborough, and, with 
 Allen in a batteaus filled with armed 
 men, sailed down the lake to capture 
 the British sloop at St. Johns. Job's 
 knowledge of the lake, gained in years 
 of ranger service upon it, made him 
 valuable as pilot, in which capacity he 
 accompanied Allen ; and where Job 
 went there went Nathan. The brisk 
 south wind swiftly wafted Arnold's 
 
Ticonderoga 177 
 
 craft far in advance of her sluggish 
 consort, whose crew saw their chances 
 of glory lessening and fading with the 
 white wings of the schooner. 
 
 The voyage was a pleasant one to 
 Nathan, for beyond the mouth of 
 Otter Creek everything was new to 
 him, with strange and changing shores 
 and such an expanse of water as he 
 had never seen. His old friend pointed 
 out to him notable landmarks and 
 scenes of past adventure. Here was 
 the cleft promontory of So-baps-kwa 
 and the opposite headland of Ko-zo- 
 aps-kwa, there the solitary rock of 
 Wo-ja-hose. Then they passed the 
 isles of the Four Winds and Valcour, 
 and Grand Isle's low, wooded shore 
 stretching along the eastward water 
 line. At last, as they were nearing 
 the northern end of the lake and saw 
 on their right the ruin of an old French 
 windmill, the only vestige of civilized 
 la 
 
178 ^ Hero of Tlconderoga 
 
 occupation they had seen except the 
 ruins of Fort St. Anne on Isle la 
 Motte, they descried two sail rapidly 
 bearing down toward them from the 
 north before the shifted wind. 
 
 For a few moments they were in 
 an excitement of alarm, not knowing 
 whether these were friends or foes. 
 Soon Allen, who had been watching 
 through a glass, lowered it, and, wav- 
 ing his cocked hat above his head, 
 shouted : 
 
 '* Hurrah, boys, it's our friends with 
 the British sloop. Give her three 
 
 cheers. 
 
 While the last lusty cheer was 
 scarcely uttered, an answering salute 
 from the cannon of the sloop and 
 schooner was thundered forth. 
 
 " Give 'em powder for powder, boys. 
 Fire," Allen shouted, and a rattling 
 volley of muskets, rifles, and long 
 smoothbores reawakened the echoes. 
 
Ticonderoga IJC) 
 
 The crew of the batteau was then 
 transferred to the schooner and her 
 prize — the same armed sloop Nathan 
 so well remembered seeing when she 
 brought supplies to the Fort he had 
 just borne a part in surprising. While 
 amid loud rejoicings the story of her 
 bloodless capture was told, they went 
 merrily bowling homeward with the 
 clumsy batteau surging along in tow 
 at such speed as she had never known 
 before. 
 
 1 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 HOME COMING 
 
 As the sloop swept past the massive 
 battlements of Crown Point where 
 they guard the narrowing channel of 
 the lake, Job said to his young com- 
 rade: 
 
 " We're getting towards home." 
 
 " Yes, I've been thinking of home 
 and mother and sis. Guess I needn't 
 be afraid of ol* Toombs any longer, 
 but I don't know as I could keep my 
 hands ofifi'n him. I always meant to 
 give him a thrashing when I could." 
 
 " Mebby you could, now, but he's 
 a cordy critter and a soople one ; but 
 mind what I tell you, you never will." 
 
 Nathan's answer was a short, in- 
 
 f 
 
Home Coming 1 8 1 
 
 credulous laugh, as he helped Job 
 make ready for disembarkation. As 
 they marthed in straggling ranks 
 toward Fort Ticonderoga, Nathan 
 was accosted by one of the young 
 Newtons, who had remained there 
 during the northern expedition. 
 
 * ' Look a-here, Nate, ' ' he said, draw- 
 ing him aside, " there's some trouble 
 to your mother's. She's sent word 
 for you to come right home. Old 
 Toombs is dead or run off to Canerdy, 
 or something. I don't know the rights 
 on't. But, anyhow, she wants you 
 bad." 
 
 Either the death or the absconding 
 of his stepfather was too good news 
 to be true, and his first duty was to 
 serve his mother. He and Job readily 
 obtained leave of absence, though it 
 was scarcely needed, so lax was the 
 military discipline of the crudely 
 organized forces. The two at once 
 
i82 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 set forth, and an hour's paddling of 
 the light birch canoe brought them 
 to the landing in the creek. 
 
 As they emerged from the shadow 
 of the woods into the broad sunlight 
 of the clearing, their first glance 
 sought the house standing in the 
 midst of green grass and springing 
 grain. The scene was in such appar- 
 ent peace and quietude as it might 
 have been lapped, if all the turmoil 
 of war and strife were a thousand 
 miles removed. As I'jathan's eyes 
 ran over the familiar fields in which 
 he had spent so many hours in the 
 companionship of his father, his heart 
 was softened with the sad and solemn 
 memory. Then it hardened in a fire 
 of wrath that flamed up at the re- 
 membrance of what he had suffered 
 from his father's successor, and he felt 
 if he should meet the wretch he would 
 wreak summary vengeance upon him. 
 
Home Coming 183 
 
 Soon they were at the open door 
 and looking in upon the homely kit- 
 chen. It was empty but for the figure 
 of a man slouching inertly in an arm- 
 chair before the fireplace. There was 
 no mistaking the shock of grizzled 
 red hair, nor the brawny shoulders, 
 though they were stooped and curved 
 together. 
 
 The light tread of Nathan's mocca- 
 sined feet did not disturb the melan- 
 choly figure, with its drooping head 
 and vacant eyes staring into the fire, 
 nor did it move till he laid his hand 
 on its shoulder. Then the face turned 
 upon him a slow, dazed stare, that as 
 slowly kindled into recognition, then 
 froze into a rigid glare of inexpressible 
 terror. An inarticulate cry came from 
 the white lips, while the helpless form 
 strove to arouse itself from the living 
 death of palsy. 
 
 Nathan cast upon Job a look of 
 
184 A Hero of Ticonderoga 
 
 appalled, beseeching inquiry. As he 
 met its answer in the awed face of his 
 friend, resentment of past injuries 
 faded out of his heart, as he realized 
 that a mighty hand had forestalled 
 his revenge, and he felt nothing but 
 pity for the abject being that crouched 
 before him. 
 
 " It's come out about as I told you," 
 said Job, " but I wan't expectin* 
 nothin' like this, poor critter. He 
 thinks you're a spirit come to haunt 
 him." Then he called loudly to the 
 figure, " It's the boy. It's Nathan, 
 alive and well. Don't be afeared, he 
 won't hurt ye." 
 
 There were footsteps at the thresh- 
 old, and Ruth and Martha entered, 
 pausing a moment with wondering 
 faces, which presently kindled with 
 joy, and Nathan was clasped in their 
 arms. When the first flush of joyful 
 meeting was spent, Ruth explained in 
 
Home Coming 185 
 
 answer to her son's whispered question 
 and his nod toward the dumb figure: 
 
 " He sort o' broke down after the 
 guard went away, an* t'other day we 
 found him all of a heap down by a big 
 hemlock log that he never got round 
 to cut up. He hain't seemed to sense 
 much since. He's been dreadful wor^ 
 ried about you, Nathan, all along, 
 ever since you went away." 
 
 She did not know the terrible cause 
 of the speechless self-condemnation 
 the wretch had suffered, nor did she 
 ever learn it. 
 
 " I wouldn't tell her," counselled 
 Job. " She'd feel bad, an' that 
 wouldn't pay any more'n it does to 
 nurse a grudge. Vengeance don't 
 belong to us, poor critters." 
 
 Thenceforth, till Silas Toombs sank 
 from his living death to eternal sleep 
 not long after this, his stepson gave 
 him thoughtful and kindly care. 
 
1 86 A Hero of Ttconderoga 
 
 At length the young frontiersman 
 took his place among the defenders of 
 his country. By the side of his old 
 comrade and guardian, he fought in 
 the losing fight of Hubbard ton and 
 helped to win the glorious victory of 
 Bennington. Yet he is best remem- 
 bered by the descendants of the old 
 Green Mountain Boys as the guide 
 who led their fathers in the conquest 
 of Ticonderoga. 
 
 Where once stood the pioneer's log 
 house, spacious farm buildings now 
 stretch their comfortable quarters. 
 From it, away to the southwest, across 
 meadows, thrifty homesteads, low 
 woodlands, and the narrowed waters 
 of Lake Champlain can be seen rising 
 against the foothills of the Adiron- 
 dacks the hoary ruins of Ticonderoga. 
 Within the house, upon a pair of mas- 
 sive moose horns, rests the old flint* 
 
Home Coming 187 
 
 lock once filled with beans, "good 
 enough for Yorkers," and later loaded 
 with a leaden death message for Tory 
 and Hessian. Cherished with as fond 
 pride by its fair possessor, is a worn 
 pocket-piece — the silver shilling given 
 her ancestor by the beautiful lady of 
 Fort Ticonderoga.