The Hero of Ticonderoga Part 32

"Tell your commander that I must see him at once."

"I cannot leave my post."

"Spoken like a brave soldier. Surrender!"

"To whom?"

"To the army of the Continental Congress."

"I am a soldier of the king, and to no one else will I surrender my gun, except my superior so wills it."

"Brave soldier. I shall be under the necessity of taking the gun away from you by force."

The man fired the musket in the air.

That was a signal for the garrison to a.s.semble.

Seeing a hundred men with Warner, the sergeant quickly raised the white flag, and so, without the shedding of a drop of blood, two of the strongest forts on Lake Champlain pa.s.sed into the hands of the brave men who were fighting for the liberty of their native land.

A garrison was left in charge of Crown Point, and then Warner marched back to Ticonderoga.

Remember Baker was full of grat.i.tude for the rescue of his sister, and would have liked to meet Farmer Mervale at that hour, for the farmer had got off too easily, he thought.

CHAPTER XVIII.

"WHO IS COMMANDER?"

Within five days of the capture of Ticonderoga, the Green Mountain Boys, under the command of Capt. Herrick, had captured Skenesborough, while another detachment under Capt. Dougla.s.s had taken Panton, a strong fort on the lake.

As the a.s.sembly of Connecticut had authorized the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, Allen dispatched two trusty messengers to New Haven to acquaint the governor and a.s.sembly.

So that no unfairness could be charged, the two selected were Eli Forest and Remember Baker.

Ethan Allen was seated in his room in the barracks alone smoking a corncob pipe, a favorite with him and most Green Mountain farmers.

A timid knock was heard at the door, and Allen called out cheerily:

"Come in!"

The door opened and Eben entered.

"Why, Eben, you are a stranger; where have you been?"

"In the fort, colonel, almost a prisoner."

"A prisoner?"

"Yes, colonel. That man--pardon me, I mean Col. Arnold--has told me to keep to my own quarters and not move about the fort until I am ordered."

"By what authority?"

"He says he is commander of the fort and will not have me spying round; that is what he calls it."

"I am commander here, and I expect you to obey me."

"Yes, colonel. Did you know that the colonel--Arnold, I mean--is arranging to send ammunition to New Haven?"

"No."

"I heard him give the order."

"You did?"

"Yes, colonel."

"Is Martha Baker still in the fort?"

"Yes, colonel; and I think she would like to stay here until her brother can look after her."

"And you would not object to her staying?"

"No; why should I?"

"I thought that you liked her society."

"So I do, colonel, when I can see her, but Col. Arnold has kept her pretty close in the room which was a.s.signed her."

It was the end of May, and Ethan Allen was waiting news from Boston.

News had just reached him that the Continental Congress, sitting in Philadelphia, had drawn up articles of confederation, and that those articles had been signed by the representatives of thirteen colonies.

And the news also came that on the same day the people of North Carolina had held a convention at Charlotte and declared themselves independent of the British crown, and that they had organized a local government and pledged themselves to raise and equip an army.

This was pleasing news, but Allen wanted to hear more from Boston.

The information conveyed to him by Eben was disquieting.

Was it possible that Benedict Arnold was taking things into his own hands and acting without consulting him?

He sent for Arnold.

"Well, sir, you wished to see me?"

"Yes, colonel; I wanted to know if it were true that you had arranged to send a portion of our cannon and ammunition to New Haven?"

"It is quite true."