tAt















THE
GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
HISTORICAL TALE
OF TIE
EARLY SETTLEMENT OF VERMONT
BY THE
AUTHOR OF " MAY MARTIN, OR THE MONEY DIGGERS;"
"LOCKE AMSDEN, OR THE SCHOOLMASTER," &C.
"'T is a rough land of rock, and stone, and tree,
Where breathes no castled lord, nor cabin'd slave;
Where thoughts, and hands, and tongues are free,
And friends will find a welcome —foes a grave."
TWO VOLUMES IN ONE.
3saeCfsVe  3bftfon.
BOSTON:
BENJAMIN B. MUSSEY AND COMPANY.
29 CORNHILL
1853.




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848,
BY BENJAMIN B. MUSSEY & CO.
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusett.
STEREOTPIED BY 0. N. DICKINSON, BOSTON.




INSCRIBED TO THE
HONORABLE HEMAN ALLEN,
Late U. S. _tfnftter to ethe.
TO NO ONE CAN THIS WORK BE MORE APPROPRIATELY DEDICATED,
THAN TO THE DISTINGUISHED SON
OF ONE OF THAT
INTELLIGENT, ENTERPRISING, PATRIOTIO AND FEARLESS BAND OF BROTHERS,
THE ALLENS,
ro WHOSE ENERGETIC CHARACTERS, AND VARIED SERVICE&,
VERMONT IS SO DEEPLY INDEBTED
FOR HER EXISTENCE AS AN INDEPENDENT STATE,
AND FOR THE
FOUNDATION OF HER PRESENT PROSPERITY








PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
THE favor with which this work has been received, even with all
its typographical errors, and its uninviting dress, has induced the
author to offer another and revised edition to the public, who have
done his poor efforts so unexpected and, as he fears, undeserved an
honor.  The materials of the work, consisting of veritable incident,
collected from original sources, were undoubtedly good; and the
author can only regret that they were not wrought up with an ability
corresponding to their richness. He would gladly make several alterations in the work, particularly in the appellation of one of the most
conspicuous personages, CHARLES WARRINGTON, whose prototype
was intended to be the chivalrous Colonel SETH WARNER, whom he
always regretted he had not introduced, like ALLEN, BAKER, MRS.
STORY, and other historical characters, under his own name. But as
this, and other like alterations could not be made without somewhat
varying the construction of the whole Tale, he has concluded to present it, with the exception of corrections and a few additional notes,
in the original form.
THE AUTHOR.
1*




PREFACE.
THE following pages are intended to embody and illustrate a portion
of the more romantic incidents which actually occurred in the early
settlements of Vermont, with the use of but little more of fiction than
was deemed sufficient to weave them together, and impart to the tissue
a connected interest. In doing this, the author has ventured, for the
sake of more unity of design, upon one or two anachronisms; or, in
other words, he has brought together, or nearly so, some incidents,
connected with the portions of the two different periods embraced in
the work, viz. the New York controversy and the revolution —which
occurred at intervals. Other than this, he is sensible of no violations
of historical truth. Without consulting, as perhaps he should, the
models to be found in the works of approved writers in this department
of literature, he has endeavored to give a true delineation of the
manners and feelings of those among whom the scene is laid, together
with the deeds and characters of some of the leading actors in the
events he has attempted to describe, as gathered from the imperfect
published histories of the times, from the private papers to which he
has had access, and more particularly from the lips of the few aged
relics of that period who actively participated in the wild and stirring
scenes which peculiarly marked the settlement of this part of the
country. How far he has succeeded in the attempt it is for the public,
not for him, to decide.
THE AUTHOR.
MONTPELIER, MIARCH, 1839.




INTRODUCTION.
THE events which transpired in the early settlement of Vermont,
and especially during the seven years immediately preceding our great
struggle for national independence, deserve a conspicuous place in
what has been termed the romance of history. The situation in which
the settlers found themselves placed, about the beginning of the last
mentioned period, was one very peculiarly calculated to arouse the
individual feelings of men, and raise their minds to that pitch of desperate excitement, when, spurning all further restraints, they, like the
pent fires of the earth, break through the barriers that circumscribe
the ordinary course of human action, and leap at once into the arena
of daring deeds and chivalrous exploits. They had derived the titles
to their lands from patents made under the authority of the British
crown, and issued by the royal governor of New Hampshire, —to
which province it was then generally understood their territory unquestionably belonged. A claim to this territory, however, was soon set up
by the government of New York: and in the process of time certain
statesmen of the latter province, corruptly combining with influential
land speculators, procured, by their intrigues at the British court, a
decree, establishing Connecticut river as the boundary line between the
two belligerent provinces, and thus throwing the whole of the disputed
territory within the governmental jurisdiction of New York.  In a
change of jurisdiction merely, the settlers of the New Hampshire
Grants, as this tract of country was then usually designated, would
have doubtless peaceably acquiesced. But when, by one of the most
bold and singular perversions of law and justice to be found on record,
the tribunals of New York decided this decree to have a retrospective
operation, so as to involve the titles of the lands as well as the jurisdiction of the territory, the voice of the indignant settlers unitedly rose
from every part of their Green Mountains, in loud and determined
remonstrances: for this decision, which was of itself a legal paradox,
going to destroy tht right of property already irrevocably granted by
the crown - the very same source of power by which it was now
proposed a new right, with new conditions, should be irrevocably
established-subjected them to the exasperating alternative of either




V11                    INTRODUCTION.
relinquishing their farms, which they had once honestly purchased and
paid for, with all those improvements that had cost them so much labor
and privation, or of purchasing and paying for them again on such
terms as those who claimed to be their new masters might choose to
exact. The latter, with their limited pecuniary resources, they at once
saw that it would be utterly impossible for most of them to do; while
to the former their proud spirits would never for a moment brook the
thought of submitting.  Paying, therefore, after they had vainly exhausted every argument in petition and remonstrance to the governor
and his council, and as vainly attempted to defend a few of the first
suits brought for the possession of their farms before his obsequious
tribunal; paying, we say, no further attention to the summonses to quit,
which now poured thickly upon them, they soon found their secluded
settlement invaded by the greedy swarms of their cormorant foes,
attended by sheriffs, each with a large armed posse for a forcible ejection of the inhabitants, and surveyors with their assistants for laying
out and locating the unoccupied territory.  Having thus found that
peaceable measures were wholly unavailing, the now aroused and determined settlers unanimously resolved on resistance, and immediately
put themselves in an attitude to carry their resolution into effect. An
independent organization was accordingly established throughout the
Grants, consisting of committees of safety, as they were termed, appointed to act as provisional courts for trying offenders, supervising
the public concerns in their respective towns, and generally to serve,
it is believed, as delegates to the general convention which, from time
to time, assembled to consult on the public welfare, and make such
regulations and decrees as the exigencies might require; while to enforce these orders and decrees, and to defend the settlers from aggressions of the New York authorities, military associations were formed,
the members of which soon became generally known by the appellation
of the Green Mountain Boys. And although the shedding of blood
was generally avoided by them in repelling these intruders upon their
soil, yet punishment of some kind was sure, on the commission of every
offence, to be promptly administered. These punishments were various
and singular — sometimes extremely ingenious and laughable.  The
most common mode, however, consisted in the application of the beech
rod, or the Beech Seal, as they were pleased to term it, in allusion to
the emblem of the great seal of New Hampshire, of which their parchment deeds, probably, bore the impress; while this novel method of
applying it, they humorously contended, was but to confirm their old
titles. In this spirited manner was the contest commenced and continued by the settlers; and although armed forces were several times
sent into the Grants to aid the authorities in ejecting the inhabitants,
and although all the leaders of the latter were indicted and outlawed
as felons by the courts of New York, and proclamation after proclamation issued by the governor of that province, offering large rewards for
the delivery of those marked for the punishment of death, and teeming
with denunciations against all those who should offer further resistance;
yet so united were the people, and so determined the character of their




INTRODUCTION.                           ix
opposition, that their baffled antagonists were never able to accomplish
but the most insignificant results for their years of labor, in endeavoring
to effect a foothold in the territory of Vermont, while the whole controversy exhibited to the world the singular spectacle of a few thousand
poor settlers, thinly scattered over a wilderness of a hundred miles in
extent, successfully resisting, for a series of years, the authority of a
province, apparently determined on their subjugation, and possessing
perhaps fifty times their population and resources.
Having thus glanced at the leading features of this embittered controversy, (out of the events of which a large portion of the following
story is woven), to enable the reader more readily to understand many
of the allusions he may find in the progress of the tale, we will now
proceed with the narration.








THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER I.
"And now for scenes where nature in her pride
Roar'd in rough floods, and wav'd in forests wide -
Where men were taught the desert path to trace,
And the rude pleasures of the mountain chase -
With light canoe to plough the glassy lake,
And from its depths the silvery trout to take -
Where nerves of iron grew, and souls of tone
To soft refinement's tranquil scenes unknown."
TnosE who have wandered along the banks of the Otter
Creek, in search of the beautiful and picturesque, may have
extended their rambles, perhaps, to lake Dunmore, which lies
embosomed among the hills a few miles to the eastward of that
quiet stream. If so, their taste for natural scenery has doubtless been amply gratified; for there is no spot in the whole range
of the Green Mountains that combines more of the requisites for
a perfect landscape than this romantic sheet of water and its surrounding shores. Of an oblong form, about four miles in length
and one in breadth, this lake, or pond, as such bodies of water
are more usually denominated among us, lies extended between
the main ridge and a collateral eminence on the west, of a height
but little more than sufficient to serve as a secure embankment to
this noble reservoir of the hills. From the eastern shore the
land rises abruptly into a lofty mountain, which, like some mighty
giantess, sits enthroned in the mid heavens, her head turbaned




12             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
with a wreath of white mist, and looking down with seeming
fondness and care upon the bright daughter, that reflecting back
her own rude image, lies quietly reposing in her lap, receivingthe rich supply of a thousand pearly rills that come gushing to
her opening lips. To the north and south open long and beautiful vistas, extending along over the bright extremities of the
lake, and terminating among the far off peaks of the Green
Mountains; while from the western shore the land, after a gentle
rise for a short distance, falls off rapidly toward the Otter,
leaving the broad and extensive valley of that stream open to
the vision, which now wanders unobstructed to the western borders of the lake Champlain, where the long chain of mountains that
rise immediately beyond, lies sleeping in the blue distance, and
bounds the view of this magnificent scene.
It was near sunset, on one of the last days of April, and in
the same year and month which were marked by the opening
scene of our great national drama, that four stout and hardy
looking men, two of them of about the middle age, and two considerably younger, were seen occupying a large log canoe near
the eastern shore of the lake just described, and engaged fishing
for trout.  Their success through the day in ensnaring " the
pride of the pure waters," as the trout has been appropriately
termed, had been ample, as was evinced by the large strings of
this beautiful fish lying on the bottom of the boat beneath the
feet of their respective captors. Now, however, as the rapidly
lengthening shadows of the dark primeval forest, that thickly
lined the shores, had nearly closed over the lake, the party began
to manifest a disposition to relinquish the exciting labors of the
day. One sat listless and unemployed in his seat; another was
taking in and winding up his line; while a third had handled the
oars, and sat patiently awaiting the movements of the fourth,
who seemed intent on securing, before quitting the station, one
more victim, as"' a most severe large one," he said, was brushing
round his hook. At length the speckled tantalizer, after playing
warily round the bait awhile, seized it with a desperation that
seemed to imply at once his suspicions and his determination to
test them, and was drawn flapping and floundering into the boat,
amidst a shout of exultation from the company, who unanimously
declared the fish to be a ten-pounder, and the capital prize of all
that had that day been taken. All being now in readiness, the
boat was rowed slowly toward the shore in the direction of a
spot indicated as the place of their temporary quarters by a
slight, wreathy line of blue smoke, which had risen from their




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 13
noon fires, and still hung undissipated along the precipitous cliffs
of the mountain above. On reaching the shore the party, after
taking out their fish and carefully concealing their canoe in a
thick clump of overhanging bushes, proceeded to their retreat,
which proved to be a cavern in the rocks, at the foot of the
mountain, here shutting down within a dozen rods of the lake.
The front of this cave consisted of a sort of natural porch, eight
or ten feet in length, and of, perhaps, about half that number of feet
in width, formed by a projection of the rocks above and on each
side, so as to enclose the intervening space. From the centre of
the area thus formed in front, an entrance, wide enough only to
admit one person at a time, opened into the interior, or main part
of the cavern, a spacious and lofty room branching off in several
dark recesses that appeared to extend far into the rocks. This
cave had once been a favorite lodge with the Indians, as was
evident from the flint arrow-heads, and other indications of aboriginal life, discovered in and about the place; and in late years
it had been the usual resort of professional hunters, and others
of the neighboring settlement, when out for more than one day
on fishing and hunting excursions on the lake or its vicinity, as it
afforded them comfortable quarters for the night, and such as
could easily be secured from the intrusion of wild beasts, or
Indians, small parties of whom, though not generally very hostile
at this period, were still occasionally seen skulking among these
mountains. The party now present, as before remarked, were
four in number. The two eldest of these had nothing remarkable
in their appearance to distinguish them from the ordinary run of
men, except their broad chests and strong muscular limbs, which
they possessed in common with most of the settlers.  Of the
other two, whom we will more particularly describe, one was a
young woodsman of very singular and striking appearance. He
was full seven feet high, and as straight as an arrow. From his
trunk, which, though strongly made, and quite as large as that of
a common stout man, looked like a may-pole, rose a long, slender
neck, surmounted by a small apple-shaped head. His features
might have been regular when he slept, but in conversation, in
which he was always sure to have a part, they were made to play
such antics, by way of acting as gestures to the queer conceits
with which his brain was forever teeming, that it would have
been difficult to tell what any one of them might have been when
reduced to a state of quiescence. His mouth with a peculiar
twist seemed to move at will in a half circle from one ear to the
other; while his nose, playing at cross purposes with his mouth,
2




14             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
was seemingly wriggled up to the eyebrows, or let down to the
chin at the option of its owner. These, with the eyes, which
were no less singularly expressive, combined to form a countenance to the last degree comical, though, with all its predominating
humor, great good nature and considerable native intelligence
were very visibly mingled in its expression.  This man went
by the name of Pete Jones, or long-legged Pete, as was his more
common appellation among his companions. The other person,
the only one of the party now remaining to be described, was
evidently far superior in every respect, except physical powers,
to the rest of the company. His exterior exhibited a high degree
of manly beauty, both in form and feature; while a fine dark
eye, with a cleanly turned, rectilinear nose, and a high square
forehead, indicated tastes of an intellectual character.  His
countenance was expressive of keen perceptions, and manifested
also, like that of the person last described, a strong disposition to
wit and mirthfulness; though his disposition unlike that of his
rude companion, had been evidently chastened and trained by
education and intercourse with refined society, the advantages of
both of which his language and manners showed he had received.
His whole appearance, indeed, was such as would induce to the
probable conclusion that a romantic turn of mind, with a love of
the exciting scenes of the forest, or still more exciting strife in
which the settlers were engaged with the neighboring colony, had
led him to a temporary adoption of his present course of life,
and that he was rather an amateur woodsman than one from
habit or necessity.
When the party reached their quarters, the person whose
description last occupied us, separated himself from the rest, and,
clambering up the steep, sat down on a commanding cliff, some
hundred feet above the cave, leaving the duties of the camp to be
performed by those who remained below. The latter, after kindling up a fire in front of the cave, proceeded to bring from the
interior a light, portable kettle, and piece of salt junk, articles
with which such parties usually went provided, and soon became
busily engaged in dressing and preparing a portion of the fruits
of their day's labors for an evening repast.
" Smith," said the tall woodsman, whose peculiarities we have
before noted, now turning to one of his comrades as they were
proceeding with their culinary labors; " say, Smith, what do you
suppose Mr. Seldon has perched himself on that old crazy crag
up there for? He looks as glum and hazy as a cat-owl winking
at the sun with one eye and watching a tree toad with the other? "




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               15
"Well done for you, Pete Jones!" responded the person
addressed; " I rather guess you have hit the nail on the head
this time; for Selden, I've noticed is fond of looking at prospects - scenery, I think he calls it — well, while he has an eye
for that, it's my opinion he is on the look-out for mischief, which
he thinks may perhaps be brewing for us somewhere - what say
you, Brown?"
"Well, I don't know," replied the latter, a plain, blunt, and
somewhat dogged looking man; " there may be something in
your idea - and come to think of it, I guess it is so: You know
we caught a glimpse or two of a fellow skulking round the shore
over yonder, last evening, as we were coming across to take up
our quarters here; and I remember that Selden seemed to watch
his movements as if he had some suspicions that the fellow
might be a spy upon us."
-" That's it," rejoined Smith; " and if Selden named the affair
to the Captain when he joined us last night, as I'll warrant you
he did, seeing they had considerable private talk together, most
likely he got orders to keep a spare eye for breakers to-day. I
have noticed several times this afternoon that he seemed to be
looking round the lake rather anxiously; and it was that which
set me to thinking."
"By the way," interposed Jones; "what in the world can
have got the Captain, that he aint in by this time? not a single
loud word has his rifle spoken to day, to my hearing."
" He has doubtless taken a wide range to-day," replied Smith,
who assumed to be the best guesser of the trio; " but an eye as
keen, and an aim as sure as the young Captain's, never need be
exercised a whole day for nothing on these mountains. He don't
come home empty to-night you'11 find."
"I wish he would come, however," observed Brown; I am
anxious to know what are to be the orders for to-morrow. I hope
he wont make us wait here another day for more to join us
before we proceed on the business we came for. We have now
been nearly three days, coming and here, without a chance
of betting our seals to the back of a single Yorker. I would n't
have volunteered and left my work at this busy season but for
Captain Warrington's promise to let us have right at'em, and be
off again. And I would n't at no rate, if he had not fought so
like a young lion for me at the time these land sharks turned us,
wife, little ones, and all, out into the snow. He did me God's
service at that time; so I thought I ought to oblige him by coming. Though, besure, I was obliging my own feelings about as




16            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
much; for, so help me Heaven! I would go fourteen miles
barefoot in January for a chance to pay off scores upon those
same York gentry."
"So would I," remarked Smith; " for what was your case
may soon be mine, unless we all turn out, and drive the scoundrels
from the Grants every time they put foot within them. So we
must not grudge a little time spent in paying off our debts in this
manner, seeing we shall be doing the public a service at the same
time. Only think of Warrington! He has spent more than half
his time in this way for the last three years; and all he has ever
got by it has been to have a price set upon his head."
" They have set a price on my head too," gloomily resumed
the other; * "but as for the Captain, he will have his reward in
heaven; while they have made me so savage and murderous in
my feelings that I begin to fear that heaven will be no place for
me."
"Well, I owe the scamps nothing in particular myself, I believe," observed Jones; " but not knowing how soon I might,
seeing as how I had lately bought a new lot down there near Old
Ti, I thought I might as well join you a spell to learn the way
and manner of fixing the chaps. And I calculated if any body
could show me't was Captain Charley, who they say is a trifle
braver than Julius Caesar, besides having a heart as big as a
meeting-house."
" What would you say of Ethan Allen at that rate? " asked
Smith, laughing.
" Ethan Allen?  Lordy! why, two Alexanders, with half a
dozen Turks thrown in to stiffen the upper lip, would be used up
in making the priming to Ethan Allen! But hoo! what in the
devil's name has come among us now?" continued the speaker,
pointing to a new figure that had arrived unperceived, and noiselessly taken a station within a few yards of the company.
All eyes were now turned to the spot indicated by the words
and odd gesticulations of their companion. There stood a young
Indian, quietly looking at the company, or rather, after the peculiarity of his race, looking at every thing else but the company,
the moment they turned and confronted him. He held a rifle in
his hand, while his dress differed but little from the ordinary garb
of the settlers.
* The persons outlawed by the New York Assembly, for the apprehension
of whom a reward of fifty pounds for each was offered, were Ethan Allen,
Seth Warner, Remember Baker, Rob't Cochran, P. Sanderland, S. Brown,
J. Smith, and J. Brackenridge.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               17
" Umph!" he at length exclaimed in the peculiar, jerking
guttural of the native Indian; " Massa Cappen - him no here! "
" Guessed exactly right, Tawney!" cried Jones, awakening
from the momentary surprise into which he, as well as his
companions, had been thrown by the unexpected appearance of
such a visitor; " but what do you want with the Captain, my
beauty? "
"Umph! you ask; when me tell, then you know," quickly
replied the Indian, with the apparent object both to evade the
question and retort on the interrogator for the manner in which
it was put.
" Right, again!" exclaimed Smith, pleased at the rebuff thus
received by the professed joker of the party; "here, Jones, let
me manage him. Where did you leave your company, friend?"
he continued, addressing the native coaxingly -" I conclude
there are more of your people somewhere hereabouts? "
" Umph!" answered the native with a sarcastic smile; " Now
you fraid - scare - why you no run? "
" Righter than eve-! " shouted Jones, laughing heartily in
turn at his baffled comrade, who had fared even worse than himself in the rencounter.
Other methods were then taken to draw from the Indian his
name and business, but without the least success. He either
stood mute, or answered with such odd evasions, that they soon
gave over the attempt, and called to Selden on the hill, intimating that his presence was needed below. That person, who
proved to be second in command in the expedition, as if partly
apprized of what was going on, immediately came down and
appeared among them.
" Leftenant Selden," said Jones, " they say you can make
poetry out of rocks and trees, if you are a mind to —now we
want to see what you can make out of this fellow."
" He is very evidently a domesticated Indian," seriously replied
the person addressed, who appeared just then in no humor to
relish the jokes of the other. " He probably resides with some
family in the vicinity. I think I have heard Warrington speak
of meeting one of his description in a hunting adventure in this
quarter."
" Well, he inquired for the Captain," observed Smith.
" Then he has some business with him, I presume," rejoined
Selden; " some friendly message, perhaps."
"1 Umph! that man say it," said the subject of their discourse,
pointing to the former with an expressive and respectful look.
2*




18             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
" We will try then to hasten the Captain's return," observed
Selden, and taking from his pocket a sort of whistle, formed
from the leg-bone of a deer, he blew a blast whose loud, shrill
note was capable of being heard at a great distance.
A strict silence of several moments was now observed by the
whole party in listening for a reply from their leader, who, it was
understood, carried about him a corresponding instrument. At
length, instead of a reply from a whistle, the sharp report of a
rifle burst from a neighboring glen, and, echoing wildly from cliff
to cliff in the surrounding stillness, died slowly away on the distant mountains.
"' There he is!"  "There goes the Captain's rifle - I should
know her voice among a thousand," simultaneously burst from
the lips of several of the company.;" Just as I told you," said Smith; " I knew he would never
return empty. That shot, mark me, brought down a deer, which
he had in his eye when the Leftenant whistled, and prevented his
answering the call, which no small game would."
The event soon proved the truth of the last speaker's conjecture. The heavy, slow tread, as of one carrying some weighty
load, now became distinguishable at a distance in the woods, the
sounds. falling more and more distinctly on the ear every moment,
as they approached the spot where the expectant and excited
party stood, eagerly straining their eyes to catch the first glimpse
of their huntsman leader.  At length he emerged from the
bushes, bearing a noble buck upon his shoulders. Advancing,
amidst the congratulations of his followers, he came up to the
spot, and, with the air of one relieved from a heavy burden, threw
down his prize to the ground before them. Of the probable
age of twenty-six or eight, he was a man of a very fine and
even majestic appearance. Though tall and muscular, so compactly and finely set were his limbs, that his contour presented
nothing to the eye in the least disproportioned or ungainly. His
features seemed to correspond in regularity of formation to the
rest of hlisperson, while his countenance was rather of the cool
and deliberate cast, indicative, however, of a mild, benevolent
disposition, as well as a sound, reflecting intellect. Every development, indeed, whether of his shapely head or manly countenance, went to show a strong, well balanced character, and one
capable of action beyond the scope of ordinary men. His dress,
which was that of a huntsman, was neat - not rich - but tastefully
arranged and well fitted. A mahogany-stocked rifle, richly




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 19
chased with silver, with small arms partially concealed in his
dress, completed his equipments.
" Heaven save me from another such jaunt," were his first
words after he had thrown down his load and recovered himself
a little; " a noble buck, indeed, but the chase has been rather a
dear one."
" I do n't see how it could well have been otherwise, Captain,"
observed Selden, now evidently in high spirits and disposed for
a little merriment"Your huntsmen, whenever a deer's in the race,
Like your lovers, of course, must expect a dear chase."
"Mine has been somewhat dearer, however, I think," replied
the former with an appreciating smile, " than was necessary to
give zest to those savory trout, which, by the way, I am right glad
to see so nearly ready for the partaking."
"Yes," rejoined the other, glancing round at the Indian, who
stood demure and silent in the back-ground, with his face partly
averted from the company, "and yet I know not, really, Captain
Warrington, but you may have other fish to fry first."
" And just about the oddest fish too that we have caught today, Captain," said Jones, instantly understanding the allusion
of the last speaker; " I rather think he must be a sort of shellfish, from the difficulty we found in getting his mouth open."' O0 ho!" exclaimed Warrington, his eye now for the first time
resting on the form of the Indian, and his countenance clearing
up from the puzzled expression that had come over it for the instant at the enigmatical words of his friends; "a new recruit!
that explains your call, the wherefore I was about to ask —a
new recruit of doubtful credentials, eh? ". So saying, he advanced to the side of the Indian youth and
attentively examined his features; while the object of his scrutiny stood perfectly immovable, and apparently unconscious of
the examination he was undergoing, till perceiving by the hesitation of the other that he was not likely to be recognized, he,
without looking up, or varying the expression of a single muscle
of his face, quietly observed.
" Massa Cappen no remember Neshobee — no remember shoot
three wolf."
" Aha?" said the other, recalled by the last allusion; the same
poor fellow that I so providentially came across, and relieved from
that savage pack of wolves last year, on these very mountains?




20.           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
You may well remember that escape, my friend. But it is
strange I did not know you."
" Neshobee hunt all day," resumed the Indian, intent on rehearsing the event, the remembrance of which seemed to light
up his countenance to something like the indications of feeling,
and incline him to unusual loquacity; "hunt, hunt — kill no
deer- dark come fast. Now hear wolf'way out there, howl!
howl! Now'way out here, howl! howl! Now um come together, howl! howl! Now near off, howl! howl! Now me
know what um want, and climb small tree quick. Wolf come,
five, six, hungry, and lap um mouth. Me shoot; kill one, and go
to load um up again - so no think nothing, and drop um rifle low
down - wolf jump high, catch um away - now rifle all gone -
no get um - wolf get mad fast — bite umn tree, gnaw, gnaw, wolf
no do so'fo're. Now tree begin shake, shake to fall soon. Now
bend, bend, slow'long down - wolf jump, jump, snap um white
teeth, and'most jest catch um Neshobee. Now hoo! bang! one
wolf kick over dead- Cappen out there in the bush. Shoot
again, two dead! Shoot again, three dead! Now the rest two
wolf begin to mistrust to run away afore they dead too. Now
Neshobee come down- stay all night in cave with um Cappen -
hiiUvrery good, no forget um."
"Very nearly correct, I believe, Neshobee," observed Warrington, as the Indian closed his recital, the longest, perhaps, he
ever made in his life, for unluckily, it may be, for the romance of
our tale, Neshobee was no Logan or Red Jacket, either in length
of speech, or that peculiar eloquence, which most of our writers
seem to delight in attributing to the sons of the forest; "very
nearly correct, but are you out on another hunt in this quarter, or
does other business bring you here at this time?"
"No much hunt, me come for."
" What then?"
" Missus Story talk um on paper for Cappen better nor. Neshobee say," replied the Indian, handing Warrington a small dingy
scrap of paper.
The latter, after running hastily over the contents of the billet,
which caused his eye to kindle with enthusiasm as he read, immediately turned to the company, and, with a cheerful, animated
air observed, " it is from our friend, Widow Story, of the Creek
down here, and contains news of interest, my boys - shall I read
it to you?"
"Aye, aye, Captain," was the eager response.
" Listen then."




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 21
"CAPT. W. — I tear out the blank leaf of my bible to say,'the Philistines be upon thee, Sampson.' They came over the
Creek somewhere north of here, and, after a short consultation
near the edge of my clearing, from which I luckily espied them,
struck off towards the lake. Munroe, as usual, heads the party;
ten in number, as I counted. There are five of you, at least;
and that is enough, if you are are of the stuff I think you, to
attend to confirming our titles in this neighborhood. My messenger is a chance one, but true and friendly, and may be enlisted, I think, for the night's work, if needed.
God speed you all,
ANN STORY."
This spirited epistle was received by the company with a loud
"hurra for the widow! " and notwithstanding it brought them the
startling intelligence that the sheriff of Albany county, with an
armed force of twice their own number, was on the march to
seize them, two of whom, at least, were known to be under sentence of outlawry for former resistance to the New York authorities, while attempting to execute their cruel mandates on the
persons or property of the settlers — notwithstanding this, the
news was received with the liveliest expressions of joy and enthusiasm. An escape from their pursuers into the forest, or on to
the water in their canoe, which was the only one in the lake, they
well knew might easily be effected. But this was no part of the
plan of this resolute little band of Green Mountain Boys; nor
was the possibility of their being overpowered and taken deemed
by them scarce more worthy of their consideration. Their object
was the punishment of their foes, for the accomplishment of
which this was hailed by them all as a golden opportunity. From
the unwonted boldness with which this noted troubler of the
Grants was attempting to push so far into the interior with so
small a number of men, all of whom were supposed to be unacquainted with the forest in this part of the country, it was rightly
conjectured that he must have been apprized by some traitorous
settler, not only of the exact situation of the present rendezvous,
but also of the number of those occupying it; and for similar
reasons it was concluded that this person must now be with the
approaching enemy, acting as guide in conducting them to the
spot, where they doubtless anticipated taking their intended victims
by complete surprise, and then hurrying with them by night over
the country to the British fort at Ticonderoga, before the settlers
could be rallied for a rescue. In this opinion our band were




22             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
confirmed by the suspicious appearance of a man, who, as before
intimated, had been seen the evening before lurking round the
shores of' the lake, and who, it was now scarcely longer to be
doubted, was a spy, dogging them to such place as they might
select for their encampment. Next to the sheriff, therefore, and
even before him, was this person, whose offence was considered
the most heinous of the two, particularly marked for punishment;
and it was determined to identify and seize him, if possible, and,
whoever he might prove, make him an example to all future
traitors. To retain their strong hold, the cavern, however defensible it might be, was no object with our party, as their leader
had already determined to leave it the following morning to proceed on the main purpose of their excursion, which was to break
up an establishment of their opponents, who had obtained a strong
foothold at the lower falls of Otter Creek, and to seize a York
surveyor, locating lands in that vicinity - from which purpose
they had only turned aside for a day or two to give others an opportunity to join them on the lake, the appointed rendezvous, and
a pleasant spot for employing the interim in fishing and hunting
Accordingly, it was soon concluded to make no regular defence
of the cave, but, using it only so far as might best favor them in
their object of discomfiting the enemy, the modes of doing which
were yet to be devised, leave it to their possession, and quit the
place that night. Their game and such movables as were- not
immediately wanted, were therefore now transferred to the boat,
which was removed to a secret landing, where the party were
ordered to repair at the signal-call of the whistle. These brief
arrangements having been completed, and the young Indian, who
seemed to enter with great spirit into the enterprize, being employed to stand on the look-out, the company, with their loaded
rifles by their sides, sat down to their sylvan meal, over which
they discussed, in gleeful mood, the various and ingenious methods
which were successively proposed for the reception and chastisement of their assailants, who were expected to make their appear.
ance as soon as it was fairly dark.




THE GREEN MOUiNTAIN BOYS.                   23
CHAPTER II.
"Thus, spite of prayers, her schemes pursuing,
She went on still to work our ruin;
Annul'd our charters of releases,
And tore our title-deeds to pieces;
Then signed her warrants of ejection,
And gallows raised to stretch our necks on;
And straightway sent, like dogs to bait us,
MUNaOs, with posse comitatus."
LEAVING our little band of Green Mountain Boys to discuss
and settle the manner of receiving their expected visitors, and to
make their dispositions for carrying such plan, as should be finally
adopted, into effect, we will now change the scene a little, and
introducing the reader to those visitors themselves, accompany
him and them to the scene of action.
In a thickly wooded swamp, near the northern extremity of the
lake before described, were assembled a group of ten men, awaiting the approach of darkness, which was already beginning to
settle in successive and fast increasing shades upon the low lands
and glens along the foot of the mountain. They were all armed,
though variously - some having muskets, some large pistols, and
some only oaken cudgels. Apart from the rest stood their leader,
a stern, rough looking personage, engaged in a low, earnest conversation with another individual, of the apparent age of twentyfive, whose dress and general demeanor seemed to forbid the conclusion that he was either a common follower, or one in an)
command; and yet, from the interest he manifested in the business in hand, it was evident he was in some way connected with
-the expedition. As the last named person may occupy considerable space in our tale, we will pause to note his personal appearance more particularly: he was of about the middle height, well
made, though of rather slight proportions. His features, though
regular, were common-place and inexpressive, with the exception
of a pair of small, twinkling, black eyes, in which an observant
spectator might often read meaning considerably at variance with
the import of his language, his plausible manners, and the obsequious, smirking smile, which he usually assumed while address



24             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOTS.
ing those with whom he had a point to carry. The construction
of his head seemed to be somewhat peculiar —his forehead,
which was very tall, being nearly in the shape of a triangle, with
the base resting on the eyebrows, and the sides narrowing to an
apex at the hair above; while his head, as far back as the ears,
swelling upwards into large protuberances, might be better represented by a triangle reversed. His dress was of a finer texture than that of any of his present associates, or that ordinarily
worn by the settlers, and his whole appearance, indeed, denoted
some connection with the more wealthy and fashionable classes
of society.
"You say, Sherwood," observed the former of the two last
mentioned persons, at that part of their dialogue which it concerns
us to repeat: " you say that, from having been yourself at this
cave, you know all the surrounding localities?"
" Exactly —just as I described to you when I reached you
last night. There can be no mistaking the place. They are
still there, as is evident from the smoke which we saw rising over
the spot just now, while passing the head of the lake. The
path is now plain, and the game sure, without further guidance;
so I think, as I began to suggest to your honor a few minutes
ago, that you may now dispense with my further attendance. If
I should be seen by any of their party, I should be delicately
situated here in the settlement."
"' To the devil with your delicacy! Why, man, do you think
I am going on in the dark, stumbling over logs and through bogs,
without a guide? Even you are none too good a one for this
cursed hole; but such as you are, in the king's name I retain
you; so not another word about quitting us till the scoundrels
are secured."
" I am certainly aware, Mr. Munroe, of the importance of
securing this Warrington, so great a disturber of the public
peace, but -"
"Disturber! doubly damned rebel! Why, no man in the
settlement has caused me so much trouble, considering his audacious assault on me, and all. It will do me more good to see him
hung than to sit at the king's banquet."
" 0, certainly —it would me; and I would by all means aid
you even to the capture, if your honor's well known sagacity and
bravery on such occasions did not render my assistance wholly
unnecessary."
" Well, well, Jake," replied the Sheriff, relaxing a little from
his wonted roughness at the flattering expressions of the other;




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 25
" suppose I am all that you say, it wont serve me in finding a fox's
hole in these woods any better than the instinct of any country
booby, nor half so well. I tell you, Sherwood, you must conduct
us to the place, at least; for we shall then have enough to do to
take the fellow, and, what is worse, to get him through the settlement to Ticonderoga. Why, there is not an old woman in all
the Grants but will fight for the scoundrel as if he was one of
her own brats."
" 0, there can be no great trouble, the surprise will be so
great; but as your honor desires it, I will go so far as to point
out the place, on condition that I then be allowed to keep out of
sight."
" Yes, but your half of the reward for taking the fellows, for
you say that there is at least one outlaw besides Warrington;
you wont claim all that, unless you help us through the whole
affair, will you?"
"Your honor forgets that I was only to conduct you so far as
to point out their retreat."
" Have it your own way, then -but I hate to see a fellow so
keen on the chase, and then become so devilish prudent the moment he approaches the game," grumbled Munroe, turning away
to give some orders to his men, preparatory to resuming their
march.
It having now become sufficiently dark for their purpose, the
party were put in motion for the prosecution of their enterprise.
And after striking a light, and procuring some materials for
torches from the pine knots gathered in the surrounding windfalls,
they set forward towards the place of their destination, then about
a mile distant. Keeping as far from the shore of the lake as the
nature of the ground would permit, lest the gleams of their light,
striking across the water to the vicinity of the cave, should betray
their approach, they pursued their way along the foot of the
mountain with all possible silence and caution; while the glare
of their torches, glittering on the points of the crags, and thrown
back on to the dark forms, and eager and flushed visages of the
party, gliding stealthily along in Indian file beneath the overhanging cliffs, like tigers for their prey, gave them a singularly
wild and almost unearthly appearance. At length they arrived
at a sharp knoll, which, running down from the main ridge above
to the water, had so far screened their approach, and enabled them
to advance with their lights unseen within a few hundred yards
of the cavern. Here they made a brief halt to arrange their
forces for the onset. As soon as this was effected, Munroe and
3




26            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
Sherwood crept noiselessly over the intervening rise, followed at
short intervals by the rest of the party, with the exception of one
man left behind in charge of the torches. Having descended to
the level beyond, they again paused to listen and reconnoiter
before venturing any farther. All was dark and silent before
them. And concluding that their intended victims had retired
within the cave and were, probably, by this time, reposing in
unsuspecting slumbers, they now congratulated themselves on a
certain and easy conquest, and, with freshened impulse, once
more began to move briskly forward; when the loud whoo!
whoo! - whoo! whoo! of the " dismal bird of night," or of
something strikingly resembling it in note, proceeding from some
point above, came pealing through the darkness, with fearful distinctness, to the ears of the company. All gave an involuntary
start. Even the stout-hearted Munroe, for the instant, could
scarcely avoid quaking at the strangely dismal notes that thus
broke from utter stillness so unexpectedly upon them. The next
moment, however, as the consciousness of the insignificant cause
of their affright came over them, a half stifled giggling ran
through the company; while their leader muttering a dry
" umph! scared at a damned owl!" motioned Sherwood to proceed. But the latter, more accustomed to the notes of the
supposed animal, and thinking he detected something not quite
natural in the sounds they had just heard, became secretly impressed with the fears of an ambush, and, without imparting his
suspicions, he hastily pointed out to the sheriff the mouth of the
cave, whose dim outlines had now become discernible, and,
instantly returning to the rear, quickly retreated over the hill.
With a few muttered expressions of contempt at the flight of the
wary and timid guide, Munroe once more set forward with the
determined motions of one who is resolved not again to be interrupted by any slight causes. And being now promptly followed
by his men, he soon, and without further obstacle, arrived at the
mouth of the cave, and, bringing up his forces, immediately surrounded it.  Here they all paused, standing motionless and
silent, listening long and intensely. Every thing within and
around was as still as if no living being was within a mile of the
place.
" Hallo!" at length sharply uttered the sheriff, after waiting
till he began to doubt whether his anticipated captives had escaped,
or were all snugly asleep in the cave, " hallo! within there!"
" Hallo, without there!" was the ready reply from the cavern.
" Ha! ye rebel dogs!" exultingly exclaimed Munroe; " you




THE GREEN MOUTNTAIN BOYS.              27
are there, are ye? We have kennelled ye at last, then. Now
hear me - -I command ye to surrender yourselves to the king's
warrant, every scoundrel of ye- but first of all, Charles Warrington- do you hear the summons?"
"We hear the summons, and well comprehend its import,"
coolly replied the voice from the cave, which was evidently that
of the person especially named by the sheriff; "but touching
your last demand, mine ancient friend - for in your voice I think
I recognize the person with whom I once exchanged civilities in
the southern part of our favored settlement - touching your last
demand, I beg leave to observe, that being somewhat personally
interested myself in the decision to be made in regard to the requirement, I would respectfully refer you to my friends here, who
will doubtless give you such answer as their unbiassed judgments
shall dictate."
" Do you think to daily with me, scoundrel?"  stormed
3lunroe, nettled at the provoking coolness of his antagonist, and
especially at his ironical allusion to a personal chastisement received from his hands the year before; " such attempts will but
little avail you'11 find. Nor will it be of the least use, let me
tell you all, to think of contending against our numbers: and the
longer you hold out the worse it shall be for ye. So yield yourselves instantly, or, so help me Beelzebub, every dog of you shall
swing for it."
" Assertions," observed Selden, who being Warrington's only
companion in the cave, now took up the discourse on the hint of
his superior; (' assertions, sir sheriff, sometimes, unfortunately,
ire more easily made than proved. You may not find us, perhaps,
so entirely unprepared for your visit as you have expected, notwithstanding our warder thought fit, in his owl-like wisdom, to be
somewhat tardy in announcing your approach. It may not be
prudent in us, however, to speak wholly without reserve in this
matter, as we know not how much aid your honor may expect
from the friend you last invoked."
The intimations which they gathered from these replies,
together with the jeering calmness attending them, which seemed to
imply a sense of security in the assailed from resources unknown
to the assailants, considerably dampened the ardor of the sheriff
and his band; and they began to suspect that their triumphs
might not prove so cheaply won as they had anticipated. The
men, indeed, now began to show symptoms of fear and uneasiness
at standing longer before the mouth of the cave, from which, for
aught they could see or know, a dozen loaded rifles might be




28             THE GREEN 3MOUNTAIN BOYS.
pointed against them; and their leader shouted loudly to the
man left in the rear, directing him to come on with lights, and
declaring at the same time with a tremendous oath, that if the
stubborn rascals did n't instantly yield, he would send a volley
of balls in among them, and if that failed, he would smoke them
out like so many burroughed foxes. He was not allowed, however, much time to attempt the fulfilment of his menaces; for
the Green Mountain Boys, two of whom only, as before mentioned, were in the cave, the rest being stationed in the nearest
surrounding coverts, now deemed it time to begin their plan of
operations. Suddenly a fearful screech, something between that
of a man and a wild brute, issuing from the thicket above the
cave, resounded through the forest, sending its startling thrill to
the very hearts of the appalled and astonished assailants.  All
eyes were involuntarily turned upwards to the spot from which
these terrific sounds seemed to proceed.
" A catamount! a catamount! " wildly shouted several of the
party.
"Where? where? " eagerly exclaimed others.
"There! up there in the fork of that tree! " hurriedly replied
the former, pointing to the top of a leaning tree that projected
nearly over the mouth of the cave, in a broad fork of which the
outlines of a dark body, as if some large animal crouching for a
leap upon his prey, with great fiery eye-balls glaring down
upon them, was sufficiently discernible to justify their alarm.
"' He moves! " cried one, "hark! hear him fixing his claws
in the bark! There, he stirs again! look out! he's going to
leap down upon us - fire! quick, all hands, fire!"
" Hold! hold! " shouted Munroe, the suspicion of a trick now
for the first time flashing across his mind. But the command
came too late; for while the words were in his mouth, every gun
and pistol in the party except his own, were discharged at the
object of their terror, which was seen, in the expiring flash, to
bound out from the tree directly over the place where they
stood; and all, in their eagerness to avoid the clutches of the
leaping animal, well known to be terrible when wounded, even if
in the last agonies of death, broke away, and fled in confusion
from the spot, wholly unmindful of their duty in guarding the
mouth of the cave, and every thing else, but their own safety, in
the general panic that had seized them. A momentary pause
followed the explosion of the fire-arms, in which nothing was
heard save the hasty scrambling of the terrified Yorkers in their
eager efforts to escape. In an instant, however, a rushing from




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 29
other quarters was heard - dark forms were seen swiftly gliding
from the cave and the thickets above, in the direction of the
retreating party, among whom, in a moment more, a cry of dismay rose wildly on the air. Munroe, and three of his men, were
suddenly seized round their waists or legs, from behind, by the
iron grasp of grappling arms, and, being lifted from the ground,
were upborne with resistless force and rapidity towards the shore
of the lake; all of them but their leader verily believing, in the
fright and confusion of the moment, that' it was the catamount,
whose fearful image was still uppermost in their minds, that had
seized them and was bearing them off in his grasp.
"Help! help here! He has got me! for God's sake help
me i!" screamed one in an agony of terror.
" lMurder! " exclaimed another; " Oh! get him off- get him
off! murder! murder!"
"Oh! aw!" cried the third in a yell of despair; "he has got
his claws in my throat - he'11 kill me - he will! he will! yah!
yah! "
Munroe alone, of all the thus oddly captured party, was mute.
Rightly judging the character of the foe into whose hands he had
fallen, and boiling with silent rage, he made the most desperate
struggles to free himself from the vice-like grasp of his captor,
who, he at once concluded from his great strength, the effects of
which he had before experienced, could be no other than Warrington. But wholly failing in this attempt, and finding himself
still carried rapidly onward, he knew not to what destination, he
next tried to disengage his dirk from its sheath, in which it was
confined beneath the grappling arm of his opponent. Before succeeding in this, however, and while intent only on his murderous
design, he was borne by his intended victim to the margin of the
water, and, with a giant effort, hurled headlong over the bank.
The loud splashing that succeeded, told that he was now struggling in the embrace of a different, though not a much more comfortable, antagonist; while three more heavy plunges, following
in irregular succession along the bank, still further announced
that the vanquished sheriff was not without the company of a
good share of his friends to console him in the discomforts of the
new element, into which they all had been so suddenly and unexpectedly translated. The shrill notes of Warrington's signal
whistle now sounded the preconcerted retreat.  In a moment
more the victorious party were assembled at the appointed landing- in another, they were embarked; while their boat, by the
strong push of the last man springing in, was sent, by the single
30




30             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
impulse, so far into the lake as to put a safe distance between
them and their foes, now beginning to rally, with cries of rage, on
the shore. An uncontrollable peal of laughter, ending in three
loud and lively cheers, now burst from the Green Mountain Boys,
rending, the welkin above, and startling the deep recesses of the
surrounding forests with the triumphant shout.
"The battle being over," observed Warrington, after the noise
of their merriment and exultation had measurably subsided;' let us now turn our attention to the wounded and missing."
"All whole of skin, I imagine," said Selden; "though here is
one, Smith, I believe it is, who comes from the fight, as near as
I can discover, like the Benjaminite of the Scripture, just escaped
from the Philistines, with head bare and garments rent."
"I must leave my old otter-skin cap in their hands, I s'pose,"
coolly replied Smith; "I had to take it to finish off the catamount's head with; for I couldn't fix the fox-fire for the eyes
into the end of that bundle of dry grass, that I made the body
of, so as to look any how natural without it, and when I pushed
the thing out of the crotch, as I stood behind the tree with my
pole, I gave it such a hoist over into the bushes among the scared
devils, that't was out of the question to think of looking for the
cap, and grabbing one of the scamps too. But as to my coat being tore here a little, I do n't valley it a fraction, seeing as how
the ragamuffin I hove into the lake got pretty well choked to pay
for it."
"'Ah, you have done well, Smith," said the leader; "all of
you, indeed, have done nobly; but of that hereafter - one of our
number I believe is missing - which is it?"' It is Pete Jones," replied Brown.
"And the Indian chap," added Smith.
"The Indian," resumed Warrington, "after announcing the
enemy for us by his admirable imitation of the owl, departed by
himself, I presume. As near as I could gather from him, he did
not wish to be known as acting against the Yorkers. He probably lives with some family in the vicinity, who are trying to
stand neutral in this warfare, and who have cautioned him to
govern himself accordingly. His absence, therefore, does not
surprise me. But what can have become of Jones. He surely,
is not a fellow to be easily ensnared, or overpowered."
" I rather suspect," replied Brown, "he is after that traitor.
As, when the Yorkers were creeping on toward the cave, he
whispered to me he thought he saw a fellow pointing out the
place, and slipping back over the hill, who, he guessed, was the




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                31
one - and the last I saw of Pete, he was working off that way.
Suppose, Captain, that we row along so as to stand off the shore
in that direction, to be ready to take him in, should he give the
word? "
In pursuance of this prudent suggestion, the boat was immediately headed round to the north, and rowed noiselessly along
the shore in the direction supposed to be taken by their missing
companion. They had made but little progress, however, before
they were startled by the sudden flash and sharp report of a pistol, in a thicket near the shore, about a furlong ahead.
" There goes trouble for poor Jones, I fear, - the dastard has
attempted his life!" cried Warrington, in the varying tones of
fear for the result, and indignation for the attempt; "but if help
be of any further use to him, he shall have it. So, men, pull for
it! pull for the spot with every nerve you have got, or the Yorkers will be there before us."
In an instant the canoe, almost leaping from its element at
every stroke of the excited and strong-armed oarsmen, was surging through the waters, with bird-like velocity, towards the place.
As Warrington had predicted, the enemy on shore, on hearing the
report of the pistol, immediately started for this new scene of
action. And, quickly perceiving their opponents on the lake
making rapidly for the spot, they redoubled their speed, and
rushed on as fast as the obstacles of the woods, and the wet
clothes and benumbed limbs of those who had been ducked, would
permit, to arrive in time to assist, or rescue, as the case might require, their absent guide, whom they readily concluded to be an
actor in the fracas, and revenge themselves, if possible, on the
whole band of their foes, for the sad discomfiture just experienced.
The race between the two contending parties was a close one.
The Green Mountain Boys, however, were again in fortune.
Their boat came whirling up to the shore, adjoining the scene of
action, while the foremost of the enemy was yet fifty yards
distant.
" You may kick till all is blue," muttered Jones, whose tall
form at that instant came peering from the thicket, while with
irregular motions he made toward the boat, bearing bolt upright
in his arms before him his grappled foe, who was struggling with
terrible violence, and kicking desperately against every tree
within reach of his feet, with the hope of retarding the progress
of his captor till succor arrived; " you may kick, and be hanged!
but you have jest got to go, my sweet lad, and into a little better
company, too, than you hoped for, I guess. No help for it - so




32             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
in with you - there! - now make yourself comfortable, friend,"
concluded the woodsman, pitching his captive headlong into the
boat, and leaping in himself, just in time to escape the pursuers,
now close at his heels.
" Escaped again, by the pains of tophet!" exclaimed the enraged Munroe from the bank, as the boat, previously headed
round, shot out into the lake beyond the reach of the twice baffled
Yorkers; "fire! fire! upon the damned rascals! "
The command was scarcely uttered, before Jones, having as
quick as thought again grappled his captive, and faced round
toward the shore, was holding the deprecating victim before him
in the stern, so as to cover the range of the expected volley.
" Let drive, there! " exclaimed Pete, with the utmost nonchalance, " you need n't feel any delicacy, gentlemen, for I'11 agree
to take all the bullets you'11 send through this beautiful target
I'm holding for you."
"Do n't fire! for God's sake do n't let'em fire, Munroe!"
screamed the struggling and terrified prisoner.
"You need not be much alarmed, I think, fellow," said Warrington; "the sheriff's pistols must be rather too wet to be very
dangerous, and as to the arms of the rest, which were all discharged at the catamount, we shall have but little to fear from
them by the time they can be loaded."
"I mistrusted as much, myself," observed Jones, releasing the
prisoner; "but I thought I would scare the fellow a little, for his
scurvy treatment to me."
" The pistol we heard, then, was meant, as we suspected, for
you?" asked the leader.
" 0, yes, replied the other, carelessly; "to be sure he showed
the best good will in the world to make a hole in me; but I
should n't have laid that up much, seeing he missed his aim, which
is a sort of punishment of itself, you know, if he had n't afterwards offered me money to let him go, and keep his name and all
close - why, I never was so insulted in my life! "
" His name? who is it? what is his name?" eagerly asked
several of the company.
" Mayhap you from down south never heard of him, and do n't
know him, but I did, the moment I saw his face as he passed the
fellow bringing the torch-light, His name is Sherwood, living
down in New Haven, and he is jest one of the smoothest fellows
that ever wore two faces in a day, asking his pardon."
" Sherwood - Sherwood," said Warrington, musingly; " aha!
I now remember to have heard of his having been at Benning



THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               33
ton, and also of his having made some suspicious visits to Albany.
But we will examine his merits more particularly, when we reach
the opposite shore."
" See how wishful those fellows are looking after us! " observed Jones, pointing back to the shore, now about fifty rods distant,
where the Yorkers, having procured a light, were still standing
in a dark group, evidently trying to trace the course of the
receding boat; "I swan! if I was only bloody minded enough,
how I would like to take a shot into that flock of York buzzards!"
" Hold up a little, oarsmen," said the leader; "and we will
give them a kinder compliment than that, before entirely parting.
So good night, Mr. Munroe," he continued, rising in the boat,
and raising his loud clear voice to a pitch, which, in the dead
stillness of night, might have been distinctly audible to a far
greater distance; "good night! my old friend - I hope for the
pleasure of many such meetings and partings before we diepleasant dreams and a good night to you!"
" Good night, sir sheriff, " added Selden, in the same strain of
mock courtesy;' "we humbly trust you will duly appreciate our
late reception of yourself and fellows, in imitation of the much
lauded oriental custom of regaling friends with the luxury of the
cool bath, which, together with the honor done you of being
carried, like other immortal heroes, on the shoulders of men,
will make out an entertainment, we flatter ourselves, not wholly
unworthy of our guests - good night! "
" Hallo there, sheriff!" cried Jones, determined to have a
parting shot as well as the rest; " hallo, sheriff, wont you jest
be kind enough to tell us by way of information, before we go,
what kind of a return you calculate to make on that warrant you
told us about. We should like grandly to see it when you have
got it fixed. That'tother poor bothered sheriff's non comeatibus
in swampo, I guess, would be a fool to it."




34             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER III.'c Ah, me! what perils do environ
The man that meddles with cold ironWhat plaguy mischiefs and mishaps
Do dog him still with afterclaps."
SHERWOOD, the person we introduced in the last chapter, and
left a prisoner in the hands of the Green Mountain Boys, a fair
candidate for the honors of the Beech-seal, or some other of the
novel and ingenious modes of punishment, which the settlers
were accustomed to inflict on their foes with equal promptitude,
whether they were foreign or domestic, was a resident of New
Haven, in the vicinity of the lower falls of Otter Creek, then
embraced within the limits of that town, but now forming -the
site of Vergennes, the only incorporated city of Vermont. He
had here located himself, ostensively to become a permanent settler - to share the fortunes and identify himself with the interests
of the New Hampshire grantees; while, in fact, he was a secret
agent of a company of New York land-jobbers, in their pay, and
himself engaged, at the same time, in speculating in the patents
issued by the governor of the last named province. Through
the influence of his father, a man of reputed wealth, living near
Albany, he had been taken into the employment of this company.
And they, soon finding him a person well fitted for their purposes, induced him, by opening to his avaricious mind the prospect
of making a fortune out of the poor settlers of the New Hampshire Grants, in addition to the stated salary to be allowed him,
to take a secret agency, and locate himself in some part of the
settlement where he would most effectually subserve their interests.  In pursuance of this object it had been agreed that he
should first proceed to New Hampshire, and, taking out a patent
from that source, should enter Vermont known only as a grantee
of that province, in order that he might thus be effectually secured
from the hostility of the settlers, and enabled to maintain with
them a free and unsuspected intercourse, which, at the present
juncture, could alone insure him any success or safety. This
had been accordingly done something more than a year previous




TEE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                85
to the events of our tale. A single lot of land had been pur.
chased and located by him near the Otter, in the manner agreed
on by the company. And so speciously had this wily agent
conducted, beginning and carrying on improvements just sufficient
to save appearances, while mainly pursuing the objects of his
residence in the settlement, that till now he had passed wholly
unsuspected of being in the York interest, except in the slight
question that had been raised concerning his true character, on
account of his having been recognized by some settlers from the
south part of the Grants, as before intimated, while on one of his
secret journeys to Albany.  With these remarks, which will
apprize the reader with all that may at present be necessary to
be known respecting the previous character and employment of
this personage, we will return to the thread of our narrative.
Brightly rose the waning moon over the eastern mountains,
which cast their broad, wood-fringed shadows far into the lake,
while a flood of silvery light, falling on the sleeping waters and
towering forest beyond, was gradually unfolding the bold and
magnificent outlines of this wilderness landscape, as our victorious
band of Green Mountain Boys merrily sped their way to the
western shore.
" What a glorious spectacle!" exclaimed Selden, looking
abroad over the scene, as the boat emerged from the dark gloomy
line of the mountain shadows into the bright and cheerful tract
of illumined waters, that now met them on their course.
" Splendid! splendid, indeed!" responded Warrington, with
equal enthusiasm; " such scenes, one would think; were enough
to enamour the whole world of a sylvan life."
" And yet," observed Selden, " those city smoked exquisites,
who claim all the taste and refinement of the country, are horrified at the thought of the life we here lead in the Green
Mountains."
" I don't think the creturs are so much to be blamed for that,"
said Pete Jones; " for bringing them here I calculate would be
putting them pretty nearly in the plight of frogs that are dug
from the bottom of a well -always sure to shiver and die the
minute they are brought to the pure air."
"If all this be so," rejoined Warrington, significantly glancing
at the dress and comparatively delicate appearance of the prisoner;
" I hope that such of this class, as are connected with a certain city
to the west of us, will be less inclined to favor our settlement with
their presence hereafter. Let them stick to their mode of life and
its luxuries, and we will to our mountains. But I am reminded,




86               THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
Lieutenant," he continued, turning gaily to Selden, " of the
possibility of our being favored with something on this subject
in a more agreeable form, if I rightly divined the nature of your
employment, and the theme that occupied your mind there at the
fire before the cave last evening, after the rest of us had retired
to our stone couches for the night. Can you oblige us with the
fruits of your vigil, in the shape of a song? "
" 0, yes, such as it is - that is, if my music will not jar upon
the feelings of our friend in durance here, and you are all willing
to risk the same effect on yourselves," jocosely replied the other,
as he pulled from his pocket a small roll of white birch bark,
(the soft, smooth inner surface of which he had made, as was in
those times not unfrequently the case, his papyrus in noting down
his hasty effusion,) and turning to the moonlight, commenced:
In the courts of high life, and in Fashion's domain,
Where Folly is licensed by birth-right to reign,
Let the gay idle throng, in their old reckless measure,
Their phantoms still follow, and christen them Pleasure.
But we, who disdain not to follow the plough,
And our livelihood gain by the sweat of the brow -
What have we here to do with the fashions of cities?
Their levees, theatrics, and opera ditties?
What to do with the trappings around them display'd?
Their half dress, their full dress, their dress promenade -
Their turtle-soup dinners, their port and champagne,
And knick-knacks unnumbered that follow in train?
All these we will leave, and without one regret,
To the poor pamper'd wights of that butterfly set,
And turn to our dainties, the fruits of our mountains,
Our wines sparkling up in their health-giving fountains,
And wear with just pride, as forever we ought,
Our woollens and checks by our fire-sides wrought,
While we scout from our country those exquisite goats
Who measure their worth by the cloth of their coats.
As the clear, melodious voice of the singer, floating free and
wide over the hushed waters of the lake, died away in the distance,
and, while the shouts of applause, which greeted him at the close
of his performance, (intended, as was supposed, to hit off the
York gentry, and the last couplet to apply to the prisoner in
particular,) were yet echoing around, the boat of the elated
Green Mountain Boys reached its destined landing. And immediately disembarking with their prisoner, they proceeded to a




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 37
rude, bark-covered shantee, built by former visitors to the lake,
and standing amidst a group of large evergreens a few rods from
the water. There, after striking a light and kindling up a
cheerful fire, they promptly set about the business of deciding
upon the case of the supposed traitor. For this purpose they
formally resolved themselves, as was usual in such cases where
a resort could not readily be had to a committee of safety,
into a sort of tribunal, very nearly resembling, we suppose, a
modern Lynch court, a form of dispensing justice which, if ever
justifiable, was undoubtedly so in the acts of our early settlers
in resisting that system of legalized plunder attempted to be
enforced on them by their oppressors.' And if the right of
defending their homes and possessions from unwarrantable
seizures be conceded them, it was certainly not only justifiable
but honorable in them to resort, as they did, to such measures as
they judged most effectual in shielding from arrest and threatened
punishment those of their fellow settlers, who, by their patriotism
in the common cause, had rendered themselves obnoxious to the
arbitrary enactments of the usurping government.  For soon
after the settlers had begun openly to resist the authorities of
New York in attempting to dispossess them, a law, more despotic
perhaps than any to be found in the annals of legislation, had
been enacted by the Assembly of that province requiring some
six or eight of the settlers, who had been most conspicuous in the
controversy, to surrender themselves, on the order of the executive, within seventy days, to a magistrate for imprisonment,
and, in case of neglect, to be adjudged convicted, and, without
hearing or trial, condemned to suffer death. And not delivering
themselves up, as might well be expected, the governor issued
his proclamation proscribing them as felons, and offering large
rewards for their apprehension, which, while it led to many
secretly laid plots, and several open, though fruitless attempts to
seize them by the Yorkers, in concert with a few traitorous settlers, served only to endear them to an indignant and aroused
people, who publicly resolved to protect at every hazard their
proscribed leaders, and, at the same time, prepare to defend the
general interest of the settlement even at the price of their lives.
Of this goodly company of outlaws, embracing some of the first
and most talented men of the Grants, two, as before intimated,
were among the band whom we have introduced to the reader,
and to whom we will now return.
Pete Jones, the principal witness in the case now to be decided,
being called on for his testimony, related at large, and in his own
4




38             THIE GREEN MIOUNTAIN BOYS.
vein of peculiar drollery, what he knew of the previous life and
character of the prisoner, who, it appeared, had been frequently
absent from home, though his excursions were generally undertaken under the professed character of a sportsman, for the employments of which he pretended a great liking, but for what
reason nobody could imagine, as it never could be ascertained
that he was ever successful. It also appeared that he had been
loud in his denunciations against the Yorkers, and, as far as words
could go, a great stickler for the rights of the settlers. The witness then relited all the particulars of his detecting and capturing
the prisoner. After this, the accused was requested to make his
defence, when, to the surprise of all, he wholly denied any hostile
intention, or any willing participation in the recent attempt of
ZMunroe to surprise and seize the present party at the cave, deliberately stating, that while hunting in the woods near the Creek
that afternoon, he was met, made prisoner by the Yorkers, and
compelled to accompany them on their expedition, the object of
which they did not reveal to him. And in confirmation of the
truth of his statements, and of his asserted innocence, he cited
the general character he had always sustained as a friend of the
settlers.
"Do you generally manifest your friendship for the settlers by
firing pistols at their heads, sir?" asked Warrington, casting a
look of withering contempt on the prisoner.
"O, I was trying to escape," replied Sherwood, who had his
ready answer to a question he had anticipated; " I was on the
point of escaping, and discharged my pistol at this man, who beset
me, to prevent being retaken, supposing him all the while to be
one of the Yorkers."
"Whew! " uttered Jones, with a whistle, prolonged into an exclamation; "now, honestly, friend, I must crave leave to tell
you - but that would n't be manners, and so I wont - though I
should really like to ask you, if there was any one Yorker there
to-night that a fellow of my short stature - only six foot eleven,
in shirt flaps - could be taken for with any sort of conscience?"
"Yes, in the dark."
"But you may remember, possibly, friend, that you had to
raise your pistol considerably higher than your head to get aim at
mine, which you seemed to fancy shooting at in preference. Besides that, we took what I call a fair measure of lengths on the
ground in the bit of grapple we had afterwards - now most folks
that I am acquainted with, can feel in the dark, if they can't
see."




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 39
" O, I was so confused and frightened, that I noticed none of
these circumstances, but really supposed it was one of the Yorkers till you had got with me nearly to the boat."
" Well, now," exclaimed Pete, dropping his head in affected
chagrin; "I vow to Jeremiah, I never felt so mortified in my
life! To be taken for a Yorker! only think of that!"
"A sad mistake, truly," observed Selden, addressing his companions, while in a side glance he kept an eye keenly fixed on
the prisoner; " but still it was scarcely a more singular one than A
made as we struck a light just now, when, turninp to look at thiis
man, I could have sworn he was the identical fellow we detected
skulking about the shore yesterday -the make, motion, and dress
of the two being so very similar."
"That's false!" hastily exclaimed  Sherwood, completevly
thrown off his guard by the round about way, and designedly iincorrect statement of the other, made for the purpose of seeing its
effect on the prisoner; "that's false, for this was not the dress
I wore yest —" and he stopped short in visible confusion at the
thought of the admission he was inadvertently making; while
meaning and triumphant glances were exchanged among the
company. Soon recovering in some degree his self-possession,
however, and seeing how he had been entrapped, he attempted to
mend the matter by explaining that he was about to say that this
was not the dress he wore yesterday, even had he been here, instead of a dozen miles off, as he was, and could prove, as well as
his innocence of all the charges brought against him, if time were
but allowed him for the purpose. And this, or his acquittal, he
continued for some time to demand, becoming, however, every
moment less assured in his tone, and more abject irn his manner,
as he stealthily glanced round, and read his doom in the countenances of his judges.
"Well, gentlemen," said the leader, breaking the brief interval
of silence, which followed the last somewhat broken and confused
remarks of the accused; " you have heard the evidence against
the prisoner, as well as his defence and avowals of innocence.
Will you offer your individual opinions on the question of his
guilt? And we will first hear what you may have to offer on the
subject, Mr. Jones?"; "Why, I do n't know exactly about the chap, Captain," said
the latter, with a mischievous cocking of one eye, while screwing
up his mouth nearly to the ear on the opposite side of his face;
" he says he is innocent of the traitor, and it is a poor story if he
do n't know. But I have two other charges against him, which




40             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
I consider rather gravus. Firstly, according to his own story, he
suffered himself, with that clean pair of legs of his, and the woods
open for a run, if he chose that, or with gun and pistols if he
chose to stand and fight- (now while I think on't, I wonder
what become of his gun) —he suffered himself, I say, to be
taken by the Yorkers in a way and manner which is a burning
shame to a Green Mountain Boy, if so be he is one, as he pretends. And secondly he missed his aim when he levelled at my
head, for which a professed hunter like himself ought to be
ridiculous. So I think, considering, I shall vote to have him
viewed." *
"And you, Smith, what is your verdict?"
"My opinion is," answered the man now addressed, " that the
fellow's plausible palaver is all nothing but a made up mess to
bamboozle us with-I should like to know how the Yorkers knew
how we were here on the lake, or how they happened to find the
cave without his help. The fact is, he brought them here to
seize us, and was probably calculating to see some of us swinging
on a York gallows within a week. My verdict, therefore, will
be pretty much such a one as the king gave Haman."
"And what say you, Brown?"
"Guilty! guilty as a dog, and the liar knows it."
"And, lastly, your opinion, Mr. Selden?"
"Briefly told —that the fellow's guilt is equalled only by his
effrontery, and yet, as this is his first known offence, I would
recommend a milder punishment than the one which has been
hinted at."
" We are unanimous, then, in a verdict, gentlemen," observed
the chief, "if I understand your various modes of expressing
your opinions. And it remains only to determine in what manner the prisoner shall be punished for his offence. You are all,
including the prisoner himself, I presume, well aware that, by a
decree of our Convention, the only source of law we feel ourselves bound to regard in cases of this kind, the crime of aiding
the enemy to arrest one of our citizens, who may have happened
to fall under the ban of that despotic edict by which they would
terrify us into submission, is made punishable with death. If this
were to be inflicted, however, on the prisoner, I should be inclined
to grant him a more formal trial, before a regularly appointed
committee of safety, and allow him time for his defence, as he
* A cant phrase among the settlers, signifying the punishment of offenders.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                41
requests -not that I have the least doubt of his guilt, for I believe him to be the most precious compound of duplicity and
villany that I have seen in the settlement, but I would grant it
on the principle of allowing every man the best means to establish his innocence, when his life is at stake. Yet, concurring
with Mr. Selden, I think we had better adopt one of the ordinary
modes of punishment, for which the evidence is abundantly sufficient, administer it on the spot, and dismiss him with the admonition it will give. What this punishment shall be, I will leave
to you to designate."
"I should like to have the title of my farm confirmed," said
Smith, "seeing the Yorkers still continue to dispute it, and as the
Beech-seal is a sort of legal instrument to do it with, they say, I
vote that we apply it."
"Just the thing for the double-faced scoundrel, if we have got
to let him off so cheap," bluntly remarked Brown.
"My title to my head," said Pete Jones, "seems to be rather
questioned, and as it is an article that would be dreadful inconvenient for me to be without, I motion that it be confirmed too."
" So be it, then," observed Selden; "; I had, it is true, thought
of a ducking, that he might be enabled to sympathize with his
friends over the lake - I also had thought of taking him up into
the top of one of these trees, and leaving him bound there for
the night; but neither of these punishments, probably, would so
nearly come up to the fellow's merits as the beechen remedy. I
will therefore agree to its application."
The prisoner's doom being thus unanimously settled, preparations were immediately commenced for carrying the sentence into
effect. This was understood to be, in the quaint phrase of the
times, " a chastisement with the twigs of the wilderness," or the
usual number of stripes, forty, save one, faithfully applied to the
back of the offender with a green beech rod, termed, as before
mentioned, the Beech-seal. Several rods, or shoots of that thus
oddly'consecrated tree, were accordingly selected, cut, and
carefully trimmed for the purpose. The prisoner was then, in
despite of his alternate threats, and promises of good behavior
in future, stripped of his coat, and firmly bound to the body of a
large hemlock, with his face turned to the tree. Every thing
being now in readiness for the execution of the sentence, the
question arose who should be the executioner. For this honor
two rival candidates now presented themselves — Brown and
Pete Jones -the former claiming it on the ground that no one
of the present company had received injuries that so loudly
4*




42             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
demanded a personal reciprocation as his own, and the latter,
with the greatest apparent gravity, contending that it was his
peculiar right to do the duty of punishing the fellow for the
unpardonable crime of missing his aim, since the shot was
intended for his own benefit.
The altercation, however, was settled by the interposition of
their leader, who good naturedly awarded a division of the honors
between them, directing that the first twenty stripes should be
given by Jones, while Brown should be allowed the privilege of
completing the task.
In accordance with this arrangement, the tall woodsman now
seized a rod of his own preparing, of dimensions fearfully
portentous to the back of the trembling culprit, and giving it a
furious flourish in the air, he commenced, with a look of terrible
fierceness, the performance of his alotted task. But malice and
revenge formed no part of the character of this jolly and good
natured borderer. The manner in which the blows were given,
and the comparatively slight effect they produced on their victim,
made it very evident, that, notwithstanding all his assumed
wrath and fury of countenance and manner, his humanity,
combined with a natural love of sport, which had doubtless led
him to solicit the office, was about to govern him in its execution.
" Well, here is my respects to you, friend," he said, commencing
and keeping up a sort of loose, irregular discourse, and counting
the blows in a parenthetical tone, as with mighty grins and
flourishes, he proceeded to apply the typical beech; " there is
my respects to you, (one) miss your aim again, you lubber, eh?
(two) I told you that you should n't disgrace the cloth for nothing,
(three) and then (four) those kicks, (five) I thought at the time
(six) that you was kicking against the pricks, (seven, eight) so
here is two pricks to every kick, (eight, nine) scurvy business that
of you, friend, (nine, ten) that kicking against the trees, (eleven,
twelve) you did n't consider (seven - no, eleven) what a hurry
I was in, (twelve, thirteen) and then again that offering me
money, zounds, sir! (thirteen, fourteen) I should like (fourteen)
to know, sir -"
" There! there! " hastily exclaimed the prisoner, who had not
been so much hurt amidst all this parade of cuts and flourishes
as to prevent his taking note of the true number of the stripes
which had been administered, and which the mischief-loving
woodsman had wilfully miscounted; " hold- you have already
struck twenty -hold! I say."
" You do n't say so? " replied Jones, with affected surprise, as




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               43
he slowly lowered his uplifted arm; "why I thought I said
fourteen - only fourteen last! "
" I care not if you did, sir," expostulated the prisoner, now
bold from the consciousness of having at last a little truth on his
side; "you miscounted on purpose to prolong my torture — I
appeal to the company - you have gone your twenty, I tell you,
ruffian! "
"Have! well, friend, just as you say, not as I care."
So saying, the eccentric, but kind-hearted woodsman, hurled
his rod into the lake, and bounding off into the woods, with the
pretended object of procuring some better rods for the use of his
successor, but, in reality, only to avoid the sight and sounds
which, from the determined character and exasperated feelings
of the man, he rightly anticipated would now follow, disappeared,
with a finger thrust into each ear, in a neighboring thicket.
The flagellation was now resumed. And never was rod more
effectually applied to the deserving back of a miscreant spy or
traitor than now by the sinewy arm of Brown, doubly nerved as
it was by the keen sense he harbored of the injuries he had already
received from the hands of those with whom the present victim of
his pent vengeance had been found leagued, to assist in dragging
him to a gallows, and thus completing, on his person, that work of
destruction which they had before commenced on his property.
With a pause at every application of the rod, that no energy
should be lost or weakened by the exertion, slow and measured
fell the tremendous blows fiom his relentless arm, till he had told
out the full number assigned him; while at every lash of the
pliant and close hugging instrument of torture, the writhing
victim sent f6rth a screech of agony that thrilled through the
forest for miles around him.
This painful task being performed - for painful it was to most
of the band, while the stern necessity that required it was
sincerely regretted by them all -the prisoner was unbound, and
with an earnest but kind admonition from Warrington to profit
by the lesson he had received, set at liberty; when, muttering
many a bitter execration, and breathing vows of deadliest
revenge on his captors, he sullenly departed from the camp, and
soon disappeared along the border of the lake in a northern
direction.




44             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER IV.
"That strain again! it had a dying fall!
Oh, it came o'er my ear like the sweet south
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odor."
AFTER the departure of Sherwood, our band, not deeming it
prudent, without precautions which must necessarily deprive most
of them of their rest for the night, to encamp so near an exasperated enemy of double their own numbers, determined on an
immediate removal from  the scene of their recent exploits.
Accordingly they packed up, and, without further delay, commenced their march by the beautiful moonlight, which, streaming
brightly through the leafless forest, enabled them to pursue their
way with as much ease and certainty as by the broadest day light.
Striking off westerly from the lake they directed their course to
the nearest part of Otter Creek, where they proposed procuring
quarters for the remainder of the night in the log houses of the
only two families who resided on the Creek in that vicinity.
These two houses were situated nearly a mile apart, while the
respective openings around them  were separated by a dense
wood of evergreens of about half that distance in extent. After
proceeding on together awhile, the company separated into two
parties, three of them bending their course towards the lowest,
or more northerly opening, where they were to remain till joined
in the morning by their leader, to conduct them on their enterprise down the Creek; while the latter, with Selden, taking their
venison and a goodly portion of their trout, continued forward
directly to the upper clearing. This last was no other than the
residence of the fair and spirited friend, whose timely notice had
not only ensured their late escape, but enabled them to gain such
triumphant advantages over their foes. And it was this friendly
and patriotic act which they were now proceeding to reward, not
only with suitable acknowledgement, but with the most valuable
portion of their game - an offering that they supposed would be
highly acceptable to one in her situation: for this extraordinary




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 45
woman,* with no other dependence than on her own hands, with
the slight assistance rendered her by her boys, the eldest of whom
was not a dozen years old, was managing to support herself and
her large family of children from the products of a new lot of
land, which her husband had commenced clearing when he lost
his life by the fall of a tree, and which she now with unexampled
fortitude persisted in improving, though in the heart of a wilderness infested with wild beasts, and not wholly exempt from
the hostile, or at least predatory incursions of the Indians. It
was nearly midnight when Warrington and his companion
reached the log tenement of this fearless daughter of the wilds.
Much to their surprise they found the house entirely deserted.
Finding the door unfastened, however, they determined on entering
to note appearances within; when it became evident that the
desertion had taken place but a few hours before; but whether
it was intended for a temporary, or final removal, they were
unable to determine. A bed of coals, yet alive, was raked up on
the hearth; while the beds had been taken from the steads, and,
with all the most necessary utensils of family use, removed from
the house.
" What means this sudden desertion of the family?" observed
Warrington, musingly; " and whither can they have fled? "
" To their neighbor's, down the Creek, probably," replied Selden; "the movement has been made, I should conjecture, in
anticipation of the return of Munroe and his party, from whose
visit to-night, a lone woman, like this widow, would doubtless
wish to be excused."
"It may be so," rejoined the other; " but to quit her home firom
any of the motives which you suggest would be very little like
widow Story; there are few men in the settlement who can handle
not only axe, but rifle, with more effect, though woman she be.
And as for fear, it is a sensation with which, I verily believe, she
is utterly unacquainted. But whatever may have become of the
occupants of the house, we may as well, now we are here, make
free and remain for the night."
" It will be considered no intrusion, I suppose?" enquiringly
said Selden; " I have not the honor of an acquaintance with your
heroine, you will bear in mind."
"Intrusion? not in the least; for you must know that we are
* An old settler, to whom Mrs. Story and her cave were personally known,
described her to the author as " a busting great woman, who would cut off
a two foot log as quick as any man in the settlement."




46             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
patriots here, —rebels, or whatever we were, on the lake tonight," jocosely replied Warrington.
"Patriotism," said Selden, following up the train of thought
which the last remark suggested, "would seem entirely a relative term, and, like beauty, which consists of black teeth, thick
lips, and large eyes, with one nation, and exactly the reverse with
another, wholly dependent on the preexisting opinions of those
who claim it for this action, and deny it in that. Besides this, as
the world estimate actions, success would seem to be quite as
essential to constitute the patriot, as the merits of his cause, or
the glory of his deeds. Here, with the settlers, you are indeed
called a patriot, and surely there is no one who better deserves
from them the appellation; while with the people of New York,
you are a rebel, outlaw, and hunted like a wild beast. And yet,
if our cause prove successful, as Heaven grant it may, the world
at large, coming in as umpire, will side with the settlers in establishing your name as a patriot; but if we fail, it will join with
your foes in declaring you a rebel and reckless factionist."
" Names and definitions, Selden, may be sometimes vague and
varying, but principles are immutable. The principles which
actuate us in resisting these encroachments on our rights, are the
same that have animated the bosoms of all those whom the world'
agree in calling patriots, from the beginning of oppression to the
present time. The disposition to defend our homes and property,
besides being implanted in our bosoms as a law of our nature,
indispensable to our self-protection, and even existence, in the
world, seems to have been ordained by Providence also as the
natural means by which the rapacity of tyrants should be punished. This, indeed, is the only protection ensured to industry
and virtue - it constitutes the grand cement of society, and the
main pillars of all government. This is the foundation of patriotism, which consists only in the defence of justly acquired rights
against wrongful aggressions. In our case, the opinions of the
world may indeed be various and fluctuating, till our rights become
fairly understood, and the wrongs we have received as fairly
developed. But should men of the intelligence to know, and the
spirit to defend their rights, stand tamely still, and see those
rights wrested from them, to be placed forever beyond their
recovery, while hesitating to know whether the world will call
their resistance patriotism or rebellion? It is not the name of
patriot that I seek, or that of rebel or outlaw that I fear. It is
results I am aiming to accomplish, and I will never rest, nor
cease my exertions, till our heaven-favored cause shall triumph,




THE GREEN MO'UNTAIN BOYS.                47
and these rapacious intruders shall be driven from our soil.
Could you have witnessed, as I have, the dismay, rvant, and suffering, which these grasping and shameless tyrants have occa
sioned in this settlement - here, whole families turned from their
houses in the midst of winter, with no human habitation within
miles of them to flee to for refuge and shelter- there, property,
acquired through the severest of toil, hardship, and privation,
wantonly destroyed, houses set on fire and consumed to prevent
the return of the owners - and then again, females abused, and
even the sick roughly ejected, and left to perish miserably in the
night air, or storm, for all these ruthless aggressors could know -
could you have witnessed all this, you would not be surprised at
the exasperated feelings of our people, or the indomitable spirit
with which they have persevered in that cause, which brought
you, till lately a stranger to our wrongs, among us to aid in sustaining. My personal interest, I know, suffers in consequence of
devoting so much of my time to the service of the public. Indeed, I have, in common with my chivalrous superior, Colonel
Ethan Allen, almost wholly neglected my own concerns, while
guarding the interests of others. Even now I am the owner of
a large tract of land on the borders of Champlain, a part of which,
as I have lately been apprised, has been for several years in
possession of one of the York patentees, while my duties nearer
home have prevented me from ever looking after it, or taking,
since making this discovery, any steps towards dispossessing the
intruder."
" But you surely will neglect it no loiger," observed the other;
" since we are going into the vicinity, and on similar business? "
"We will consider the case after we have righted the wrongs
of the houseless settlers at the Lower Falls, and fulfilled the
other objects of our mission into this region. But let us drop
this exciting subject for to-night, that we may obtain a little rest
to prepare us for the duties of to-morrow," replied Warrington,
now rising to make such scanty preparations as might be required
for their repose.
The two friends, after barricading the door, and spreading their
blankets before the small fire they had kindled on entering the
house, now laid down to repose on the floor, which to the hardy
and tired woodsman is generally more grateful than beds of the
softest down to the pampered sons of luxury and ease. Selden
was soon lost in slumber. But his companion, whose mind was
oppressed with more weighty cares, and whose feelings had become
somewhat excited in recounting the wrongs of his countrymen,




48             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
courted the drowsy god in vain. And these causes, together with
his attempts to account for the absence of the family, for whose
safety he was not Swholly without apprehensions, continuing for
some time to render all his endeavors to sleep useless, he arose,
unbarred the door, and, without waking his more fortunate companion, went out into the open air to try the effect of the cool
breath of heaven in allaying the excitement of his feelings, and
disposing him to slumber. The night still continued bright and
lovely. Abroad, nature seemed sunk in death-like repose; while
the deep and solemn silence that pervaded the wilderness, was
broken only by the low, but far-sounding hoot of the sylvan
watchman of the night, or the voices of the inhabitants of the
neighboring pools, who were straining their tiny throats, in notes
of seeming joy and jubilee at their recent release from a wintry
thraldom.  While contemplating the scene around him, and
indulging in the moody reverie which the circumstances were
calculated to create in the mind, the young outlaw unconsciously
wandered nearly to the bank of the river, which was still bordered by a strip of forest, extending from the water back almost
to the house. Here, leaning against'the trunk of a large tree,
which some heavy wind had broken off about twenty feet from
the ground, he stood some minutes looking listlessly down upon
the placid waters, as, sparkling, in the moonlight that struggled
through the trees above, they moved ceaselessly along on their
journey to the deep. Now his attention would become riveted
for a moment on some light float of wood sweeping by in the
noiseless current. And now he would turn a half listening ear to
the sportive plunges of the otter, here once found in such numbers as to have naturally suggested to the hunters who first visited
this stream the name which it bears. His meditations, however,
were at length interrupted by some indistinct, and at first scarcely
audible sounds, the nature of which he was for some time wholly
unable to determine. At last, however, he became satisfied it
could be no other than the distinct murmur of human voices;
but from what quarter it came he was still unable to decide. He
listened intently; and now the sounds became more distinct.
Presently they began to swell on the air in the low, melodious
voice of a female chanting a tune, which, though not recently
heard by him, struck nevertheless familiarly on his ear, awakening in his mind reminiscences of persons, time, and blace, which
formerly occupied a prominent space among the objects of his
peculiar interest. but which, in the cares and turmoils of the last
few years, had been almost forgotten. Starting as from a trance,




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                49
he rallied his doubting senses, and made another effort to ascertain whence this mysterious music could proceed, but with no
better success than before. Sometimes the sounds seemed to
come from the earth, or some subterraneous cavern far beneath
his feet. At other times the liquid notes appeared floating high
in the heavens above. He now took another position, several
paces distant from the one first occupied, to see whether any
variation would thus be produced in the sounds. Here, however,
they were scarcely audible. Several other new positions were then
tried, but all with the same success; and he returned to the tree
where he was standing when his attention was first arrested by
these unaccountable sounds. Here he again tasked his powers
of hearing to their utmost, when, to his increasing wonder, the
same melodious notes fell upon his ear even more distinctly than
before. Now, not only the tune seemed familiar to him, but
there was something in the voice likewise which his bewildered
senses seemed to recognize - something that seemed to touch a
chord in his bosom that had never vibrated save under the sweet
intonations of one whose words even were once music to his
ears - but still one, to heighten his perplexity, who, though her
residence had long been unknown to him, could not yet be, he
felt assured, within a hundred miles of this spot. Curiosity, surprise, and wonder had now raised his feelings to a pitch of almost
frantic excitement.  And, without scarcely knowing why, he
struck his clenched fist two or three times heavily against the
tree, which seemed so strangely the conductor of the sounds in
question. A deep, hollow reverberation, indicating a large and
extended cavity within, was apparently the only effect produced
by the blows. On applying his ear once more, however, he found
that the singing had ceased; and every sound was now hushed in
silence. He listened awhile with suspended breath, in expectation of hearing the music resumed. But he listened in vain.
He then renewed the experiment of listening from other positions;
but being again unsuccessful, he returned to the tree, and fell to
beating it again, in the absurd fancy that, if there had been any
connection between his blows and the ceasing of the sounds, the
same operation which had caused them to cease might revive
them, though deeming it, at the same time, an utter impossibility
that the cavity within the trunk could contain the invisible songstress. All his efforts, however, to gain a clue to the mystery
proved wholly fruitless, and, after lingering some time near this
spot of seeming enchantment, he slowly wandered back to the
house, deeply pondering over the singular and incomprehensible
5




60             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
incident which had attended his nocturnal ramble. Was it within
the bounds of possibility, he asked himself, that the person, the
once loved and lost one, whose voice these mysterious notes so
much resembled, could now be in this almost uninhabited wilderness? No, no! What other female, then, capable of such execution, could be near at such an hour of the night? Surely
none! Was it not, then, a human voice that he had heard?
Was it the voice of an angel, of " visits few and far between,"
floating high in the heavens, and hymning the stars? What had
he done to deserve such special revealment? Or was it, as the
traditions of the superstitious would inculcate, the voice of a departing spirit, permitted to break on the ear of a distant friend
at the instant of departure, for the. purpose of apprising him of
its exit from earth, or warning him of his own dissolution? Or
was it not far more probable, he said, with an effort to shake off
these intruding fancies, that his senses had deceived him; and
that, after all, the whole was but the work of an over-excited
imagination? It must have been so. And, as if determined to
satisfy himself with this last solution of the subject, since he
could hit upon no other which reason would not sooner reject, he
quickened his pace, and, like one resolved to end a perplexing
enquiry by the best argument he can give, and call it conclusive,
bustled forward, now whistling a tune, or now affecting to run
over to himself the intended business of to-morrow, till he had
reached the house, secured the door, and thrown himself down
beside his still insensible companion, when exhausted nature soon
closed the scene in a profound slumber.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                  51
CHAPTER V.
" If you had been the wife of Hercules,
Six of his labors you'd have done, and sav'd
Your husband so much sweat."
CoRIOLANUS.
REAL causes of excitement have frequently, and perhaps
generally, been found to produce the soundest slumber; while
those that are artificial, or imaginary, have an equal tendency to
Drevent it, Doctor Young's poetic philosophy to the contrary
notwithstanding.  It was thus with Warrington.  While the
images of the past and the future, which fancy had called up,
were operating in his bosom, he vainly sought the arms of " tired
nature's sweet restorer." But after he had found a just cause
for excitement, and experienced the utmost of its legitimate
effects, that restorer came unbidden and instantly. And the next
morning was considerably advanced before he and his companion
awoke from the deep and sense-absorbing slumbers which, for
many hours, had sealed their every faculty in blank oblivion.
They simultaneously arose, and went to the window to ascertain
from whom proceeded the noise of the axe, whose heavy,
resounding blows, in the adjoining forest, had first awakened them
from their quiet repose. At the border of the woods, a short
distance to the south of the house, and in plain sight of their
loop-hole, for the window was nothing more, stood the amazon
owner, and almost sole creator of this little opening in the dark
wilderness, plying her axe, with masculine dexterity and effect,
into the huge trunk of a standing hemlock. In a short time this
princely tenant of the Green Mountain forest began to tremble,
totter, and bow beneath the supple arm of its life-sapping foe, and
at length came down with a thundering crash upon the ground,
filling the air around with a cloud of dust, splinters, broken and
powdered limbs, and causing the earth and surrounding woods to
rebound at the shock. When the obstructing cloud had cleared
away from the spot, our observant friends beheld the object of
their attention mounted on the trunk of the prostrate tree, and
proceeding to mark it off into such lengths for chopping, as suited
her purpose. While thus engaged, her attention seemed to




52             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
be suddenly arrested by something she observed about the house,
or in a line with it beyond. Hastily descending from her stand
on the trunk, and seizing her rifle, which stood at the foot of a
tree, near the stump of the one just felled, she approached with
a rapid step, and with some appearance of concern, till within a
few rods of the house, when she slackened her pace and soon
halted.
" Tall, stout, and stately," said Selden, still standing with his
friend so near the window as to have a fair view of the person of
their hostess; " tall, stout and stately," he repeated, running his
admiring eye over her erect and imposing figure; "face and
features even yet handsome, despite the ravages and cares of
forty! And then that queenly port! Heavens! what a specimen
of Eve's daughters! Surely, Warrington, she must be. the very
Juno of your Green Mountains! But why not unbar the door
and go out to meet her? We shall appear a pretty brace of
heroes, if she come here and find us hid up like a couple of runaways! She has perceived us I presume, but is doubtful whether
we are friends or foes."
"' Stay a moment," said the other, who had been regarding the
movements of the woman quite as intensely as his friend, though
for different purposes; " I suspect you will soon see that other
objects than ourselves are engrossing her attention."
Scarcely had the last speaker ceased, when they caught an
oblique view of the approaching forms of a number of men,
whom they instantly recognized to be Munroe and his party.
Hastily retreating from the window, and preparing their arms for
action, should their use become necessary either for defending
themselves within the house, or protecting their hostess without,
our two friends took positions at small apertures between the logs
of the wall, where, without revealing themselves, they could easily
observe their foes, and stood silently watching the progress of
events in the yard. Meanwhile the hardy widow had planted
herself directly in the path in which the Yorkers were approaching from the main road to her door. And now boldly advancing
and confronting them, she demanded what might be their object
in turning into a lone woman's dwelling.
"Why, my good woman," said the sheriff, pausing and hesitating in evident surprise at the commanding appearance and
determined tone of the person he was addressing; " we are all
as hungry as so many kites, after the long morning's march we
have had; and now can't you contrive to work up something in
the shape of a breakfast for us?"




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                53' I know of but two reasons, sir, why I may not comply with
your request," replied the woman, with an air of quiet scorn.
" And what may they be, woman?" asked Munroe, in doubt
as to the drift of her discourse.
" The lack of means, and the lack of inclination, sir," rejoined
the other in the same calm and scornful manner.
" Short and sweet," said Munroe; " but I think we can remove
your objections easily enough, mistress; my men here have
a plenty of salt junk, and some bread, which will make out the
main materials for a meal; so you will have nothing to do but
cook and serve up for us, and if we pay you well for your trouble,
this will cure both your objections at once I suppose."
" Think you, sir, I would be hired to serve a Yorker of your
stamp? " replied the woman, with increasing disdain; " why the
money got in that manner would burn through my pockets as
quick as if it came at the call of one in league with the arch
fiend, and all hissing hot from the burning mint in the regions
below! Even the very food bought with it would stick my
throat, and poison my children to death in the eating."
"Tut, tut! madam madcap!" exclaimed the sheriff, resuming
his wonted roughness, and now beginning to chafe under the
biting sarcasms of the other; "you show about as much of the
tartar as any thing I have met with in my travels for a long
while. I wish the rebels much joy in their petticoat champion!
But it is time to look a little to such as you. The authorities of
the king are neither to be resisted nor insulted with impunity,
you will do well to bear in mind, perhaps."
" Cowards are always allowed the privilege of blustering
before women," tartly rejoined the other; " your threats, valiant
sheriff, will hurt me about as much, probably, as they frighten
me, and if anything further is attempted, you will find I can
defend myself."
" We will see, my trooper!" muttered Munroe, making a
sudden movement towards the other, apparently to disarm or
seize her.
Eluding his grasp, and hastily retreating a few steps, the fearless woman cocked her rifle and brought it to her shoulder.
" Another step towards me, sir, and your blood be on your own
head," she cried, in a cool, determined tone.
" Hang me! " exclaimed Munroe, after standing a moment in
mute surprise at this bold and unexpected movement of the
woman, who, he began to suspect, could scarcely have been
brought to show such singular fearlessness, but from a knowledge
5*




54             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
that help was near; " hang me if I do n't believe the termagant is
standing guard to some of these skulking outlaws, whom she has
concealed in the house! We must see to this immediately," he
continued, moving round his opponent toward the house, and
beckoning his men to follow.
" O, is that all you want," said the widow, taking her piece in
her hand, and moving aside with the air of one relieved from a
personal fear; you are welcome to all the outlaws you will find
here, but you must beware how you attempt to touch me. However, you had better look out for yourself, brave sheriff," she
added in a sneering laugh; " take care, sir, that some of those
terrible Green Mountain Boys concealed within there, do n't blow
you through the head with their rifles! "
" The door is fastened, woman," said Munroe, as, stepping up,
he tried in vain to open it; " the door is fastened on the inside;
see that it is opened, or I will force it!"
" 0, no, no! why, you would spoil my door, man!" cried the
widow, with the utmost apparent concern for the safety of her
door; " yes, ruin it entirely,'t would cost me a hard dollar to get
it mended. I forgot to tell you it was barred up inside. We do
not stay here nights for fear of the visits of such strolling gentry
as yourselves. But if you really wish to handle over my greasy
pots and kettles, or crawl under my beds, you can go in as I came
out, by going up on the ends of the logs at the corner yonder,
and removing a piece of that bark roof."
" But honestly, woman, have you seen nothing of Warrington
and his band this way last night, or. this morning?" asked the
sheriff, his suspicions seeming to be pretty much allayed by the
well managed demeanor and conduct of the other.
"Warrington -Warrington," said she, musingly, as if attempting to recall the name of one of whom she might have perhaps
heard; " not Captain Warrington?  Yes, I have heard of him.
I am sure. Is he in this section? Where is he? I should like
to. see that brave fellow. Why, he was the one that so handsomely
beech-sealed one of the York authorities down Bennington way,
last year - now what was his name - I will think in a minute -"
" O, no matter, no matter," hastily interrupted the sheriff,
unwilling that the story of his own former discomfiture should be
made known to his present followers; " come, boys," he continued, moving away from the house and calling to his men; " we
shan't be able to make anything of this crabstick of a woman,
so we may as well be on the move again, and as we have lost
our guide, instead of going back through the woods, we will




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               55
up the Creek to the ford, and then down the military road to''iconderoga."
"Adroitly done, by heavens!" exclaimed Selden to his companion, as the sounds of the retreating footsteps of their foes
died away on their ears; "the woman's tact has saved us, to say
the least, Captain, from a troublesome contest. But shall I now
unbar the door?"
"No — let her continue to manage in her own way, replied
the other; the Yorkers may take it into their heads to stop and
reconnoitre the house awhile from the woods. And she may
deem it prudent to guard against their making any discoveries in
that way by remaining a while without, or by entering the house
in the manner she pointed out to Munroe."
The woodswoman, if the term be admissible, wary as she was
fearless, immediately adopted one of the precautions anticipated
by Warrington. And the sheriff and his posse had no sooner
fairly disappeared in the forest than our friends heard her mounting the house, removing one of the broad pieces of spruce bark,
which constituted the rude covering of the roof, and descending
into the chamber or garret above them. In another moment she
stood before them with a countenance animated with a look of
triumph and a smile of congratulation.
" Now a thousand thanks to mistress Story," warmly exclaimed Warrington, after presenting his friend, and exchanging the
ordinary salutations; " a thousand thanks, not only for yesterday's
timely notice, but for the shield which a woman's tact only could
have so successfully thrown over us this morning! But how
came you apprised that we were in possession of your castle, as
we were without the shadow of a license from its owner?"
"Partly anticipating a visit from some of you," replied the
widow, "I purposely left the door unfastened when we left last
night. And a peep through the cracks when I returned this
morning, and found it barred, told me very nearly the character
of the occupants. But you do n't know," she added, jocosely,
"how sorely I was tempted, as I saw you lying there on the floor
asleep, as helpless as children, to creep in, bind you, deliver you
over to Munroe, and claim the reward!"
" When you was praying,  lead us not into temptation,' at this
moment of your trial," said Warrington laughingly, " and thought
of the next sentence,' deliver us from evil,' you concluded it best
to take sides with the Green Mountain Boys, - did you? "
" Why,' replied she, " it might certainly be a matter of some
consideration, who it were wisest to make friends, and who foes, in




5 6            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
such a case; and especially so, since it now seems that ten Yorkers can be put to flight by one old woman."
" Ay, ay! " gaily responded the Captain; "and that fact, sir,"
he added, turning with an arch look to Selden, shows the wisdom
of the doubts and apprehensions you seemed to entertain last
night, in approaching, without leave, the house of one who might
become so formidable a foe."
" I should be sorry to spoil the Captain's joke," replied Selden,
in the same spirit; "but in taking possession thus unceremoniously, I think we both depended somewhat on the effect of the
peace offering we brought," he continued, pointing to the game
suspended on the wall, "in appeasing the household gods for the
outrage."
" An ample atonement!" said the dame; "so much so, indeed,
that I suspect my nine little hungry household gods will think
the obligation wholly on their side. Yes, yes, that mark of your
kindness, gentlemen, I noticed when I took my stolen peep in
here, and my heart has been thanking you ever since; for my
larder, as you may well imagine, is none of the fullest, considering the number depending upon it. It makes my heart ache to
put the little kites on so short an allowance, as I am often compelled to do here, in a place so difficult to obtain provisions."
"But where are your children?" asked Warrington.
"My children? all in T'other World, sir! " replied the woman,
with a sort of comic gravity.
"In the other world! what can the woman mean?" asked
Warrington, turning a puzzled look upon his hostess. " But for
the mention you have just made of your children, and your
roguish looks, which belie your assertions, one might be startled
at the import of your words!"
" Not so much of a belieing, neither," said the woman, "but
come, we will open Sesame now," she continued, proceeding to
unbar the door, "and after seeing if my brood cannot be conjured
back into the world again, for the purpose of assisting me, and
quieting your apprehensions for their safety, Captain, we will see
what can be done in the way of breakfast."
" Let me attend you, to witness the process of conjuration,"
said Warrington, who had more reasons for making the request
than were known to either of his companions.
" No, sir, no! keep house till I return, or, my word for it, you
get no breakfast this time," replied the other, in a sportive, yet
determined manner, as she quitted the house on her proposed
errand, leaving her guests to indulge in such conjectures as they




THE GREEN MIOUNTAIN BOYS.               57
chose respecting the place to which she had gone to summon her
concealed family. They were not allowed much time, however,
for discussing this curious question: for in a short time their ears
were saluted by the mingled sounds of jabbering voices approaching from the woods in the rear of the house, and in a moment
more the dame came up to the door, with her nearly half-score
of hardy little urchins, trooping along in noisy glee at her
side.
"I will shake hands with the young Captain first!" exclaimed
one of the boys, endeavoring to outstrip the rest, as they all made
a rush at the door.
"You shan't!" vociferated another, springing forward, and
eagerly elbowing his way through the throng that was now choking up the entrance. "I say you shan't now, Dick! He likes
me best; Ned, you hold him back!"
" I do n't care, I will have the first kith! " cried a lisping little
image of her mother; " I will, may n't I, ma! " she added, throwing back her long unfettered hair from before her laughing black
eyes with a pretty toss of the head, and entering with high glee
into the keen strife going forward for obtaining the first notice
of one, who, in former calls at the house, seemed to have made
warm friends of the whole band of these tiny rivals for his
favors.
The next moment the person of Warrington, like that of Gulliver among the Lilliputians, was almost literally covered by the
little beings, two sitting on each knee, shaking his imprisoned
hands with all their might; the little Julia standing between,
turning up her pretty cheek invitingly for the expected kiss,
which, for all her declaration, instinctive modesty forbade her to
ask for; one or two hold of each arm, and one more daring and
active than the rest, having clambered aloft, was sitting astride
the neck, and crowing loud over the rest from his elevated situation; while all were clinging, laughing, and chattering like a bevy
of monkies exhibiting on an elephant, at the show of some travelling menagerie.
Those fashionable misanthropes of the Rochefacauldt or
Lacon school, who are forever moralizing and mourning over
the selfishness of man; who can see no unadulterated benevolence, no disinterested friendship in the moral deserts of the
human heart, might find one oasis, at least, to relieve their jaundiced vision, and go to refute the sweeping dictums of their cold
and cheerless philosophy, would they but turn their eyes to the
artless actions, and examine the untutored and guileless hearts




58             TTHE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
of children. How spontaneous their affections! With what
intuitive and unerring certainty and quickness they single out
those who love them, whether kindred or stranger; and with
what confiding readiness and generous ardor is the friendship thus
bestowed upon them forever reciprocated; and that, too, with no
detracting alloy of selfish feeling, no worldly calculating of results, and no influencing considerations of interest! Verily! while
they go to school to us for the improvement of the head, methinks
it would be well for us if the tables were so far turned, that they
could become our only instructors in the lessons of the heart.
The dame, now calling off such of her children as she needed
to assist her, and despatching one for water, another for wood,
and a third to go on some whispered destination, proceeded rapidly in her preparations for the promised repast. And in a short
space of time, a tempting meal from the offering of her guests
was smoking on the table. The meal, which was enlivened by
a recital of the adventures of the band the preceding evening,
was no sooner ended, than Selden, rising first from the table, departed, at the suggestion of his superior, to see that the party at
the other house were in readiness to commence their march.
" Now, Captain, where are you going with your men? " earnestly asked the widow, as soon as Selden was fairly gone; "I
have reasons for wishing to know."
Warrington, after a slight hesitation, imparted the desired
information.
"Will you make me one promise?" resumed the woman, "and
at the same time receive from me in kindness one caution?"
"On conditions, I will venture to say yes."
"What may they be? If any thing that I can properly comply
with,-"
" I would impose no other terms, certainly- so now for the
promise you would exact?"
" Simply this - that the family, with whom the young Indian
I sent you last evening resides —no question now about their
names or residence! - that this family, I say, shall not be molested, should you or your men ever come across them. They
hold under a York title, besure, but turned no one off to get possession. 5Will you promise?"
" For your sake, and the Indian's sake, if the facts are as you
state, I will promise my influence in their behalf."
" Now hear my caution -beware of that fellow you chastised
last night - beware of that Sherwood - he will be a serpent in
your path."




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               59
"Do you know him?"
" I think I do, but must say no more. And now, let's hear
your conditions."
" Only that you shall expound my dream, or vision, of last
night."
" A dream! vision I"
" Yes! a something, at all events, which conveyed to my ear,
as I thought, the sounds of a voice discoursing most heavenly
mIusic.".
"A sleeping, or a waking dream?"
"The latter, I afterwards made up my mind to believe, as the
readiest way of solving the mystery; but this.morning I have
begun to suspect-"
" At what time last night, and on what particular spot, did this
strange trance fall on you, sir?" interrupted the widow in a
bantering tone, which was accompanied, however, with a look
betraying considerable curiosity and uneasiness.
" O, about the usual time of such visitations- the witching
hour of midnight. And the scene should be laid; I think, more
particularly than at any other spot, near the foot of a certain
charmed tree, or rather the hollow trunk of one, standing not far
from the bank of the Creek down here, to which, leaving my
companion asleep, I had wandered alone to shake. off a fit of
watchfulness, that the spirits of the air, or something else, had
unaccountably sent me."
"And did you relate your adventures to your companion, on
your return or since?"
" No!"
"That settles the question with me, then, as to what I should now
do," seriously observed the woman; " Captain Warrington, I clearly
see that you have accidentally, and very singularly, hit upon a clue
to matters which I thought most prudent to conceal, even from
you, friend to the settlers and my family, as you are. Follow me,
and you shall know more."
So saying, with rapid step she led the way in silence toward
the Creek, closely followed by her guest, eager to witness the
promised development. Passing directly by the hollow tree, to
which she pointed with a significant smile as they went along,
she conducted him to the brink of the high, steep bank, which
was here covered with a thick growth of young evergreens, whose
tangled boughs overhung the waters below. Now grasping firmly
hold of a projecting root, she swung herself down on to a narrow
shelf or offset in the bank, a few feet above the surface of the




60             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
water. As soon as this position was gained by them both, she
proceeded along the shelf a few yards, and, removing a small firtree top, which had been, to all appearance, blown down the bank,
disclosed the mouth of a narrow passage running back horizontally into the earth. Into this she immediately entered, still
followed by her companion. After groping their way about a
rod through the dark zigzag windings of this passage, they
emerged into a spacious room, formed entirely by an artificial
excavation of the earth, which, from a beginning at the outside,
had been removed in small parcels and thrown into the stream,
till the whole was completed. The walls or sides, which had
been cut down perpendicularly from the solid mould and plastered
over with thin mud, now presented a hard compact surface. The
ceiling, which was in the form of an arch, coming, probably, at
the top or centre, within a foot of the surface above, was supported
by the thickly spreading roots of the trees, standing, many of
them, directly over the excavation, and forming a kind of network, curiously, and so strongly interwoven as effectually to
prevent the earth from caving in from above. The whole interior
was divided into two parts of unequal dimensions, by a slight
willow-work partition, the lesser of which, being designed for the
sleeping apartment, was neatly carpeted with a thick dry moss,
collected from the spruce knolls in the vicinity; while on one
side was extended, at suitable intervals, a row of little oblong
platforms, raised about a foot above the general level by repeated
doublings of the same light, springy substance. These, on which
were laid such beds as the occupant could furnish, afforded, with,
or without, any further additions, soft and pleasant couches,
safely protected against the damps of a ground floor. Beside
one of the walls of the larger room was a rude fire-place, constructed of flat sfones, and built up several feet high to receive
fuel and give direction to the smoke, which, ascending through a
sort of retreating flue cut into the bank, escaped through the
cavity of the identical hollow stub that Warrington had discovered
to be in some way connected with the mysterious melody heard
by him the evening before.
" This, Captain Warrington," said the dame, after showing
her admiring guest every part of her subterraneous establishment,
which she had lit up, on entering, by throwing a few light combustibles on the fire still remaining on the hearth; " this is my city
of refuge - my strong hold, or my' T'other World,' as I have
accustomed myself and children to call it, fancying, in my wish
to keep the secret of its existence to ourselves, that some such




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 61
name would lessen the chances of a discovery, which might
accidentally be made, perhaps, by referring to it before others by
a proper designation. It was dug out by myself and my little
boys, who took to digging as naturally as young foxes, and greatly
assisted me. My neighbor below, however, aided me in the most
difficult parts of the work; and in case of danger he is to occupy
it with me."
" But what were the immediate dangers you apprehended,
that led you to so uncommon an undertaking? " asked the other.
"' For myself I might feel, perhaps, no apprehensions," replied
the provident mother. " For my children, I feel differently. All
parents, Captain, however brave they may be for themselves, are
always cowards for their children. No real dangers, it is true,
might beset us here for years; and then again, they might come
like a thief in the night.  To say nothing of the heartless
Yorkers, who might burn my house, or turn us out shelterless
into the snow —to say nothing of the wolves that have been
known, in the desperation of hunger, to attack folks in their
houses -to say nothing of these, which are sufficiently fearful
for most people, what security have we, in these outposts of the
settlement, even in times of peace, against a hostile visit from the
Indians? But when, as now, the rumors of war come floating
on every breeze, that danger is daily increasing. The sad experience of my father's family, who were half slain by these hellhounds of the wilderness at the outbreak of the last war, has
taught me the wisdom of precaution. In peace they are even to
be distrusted; and the first rumor of war that strikes their ears
will put them to whetting their knives for slaughter; while they
are sure to anticipate the coming contest by striking the first
blow on the defenceless families of the frontiers. Now with
these views, is it strange," she added with a smile, " that the
mother of nine children, with but one neighbor within miles of
her, should foresee the evil and hide herself? "
" Surely not," replied Warrington, struck not less by the
forcible language of the woman, than by her prudent forecast;
"you are right in believing that the storm of a new war is gathering over us; and if you think of remaining here, these precautions
are but the part of wisdom, as we know not when or where the
storm may burst. But do you occupy this retreat every night,
now?"
"We do."
"You enter as we did, taking your children down the bank,
I suppose?"
(t




62            THE GREEN HOUNTAIN BOYS.
" Sometimes, but more generally by approaching from the
Creek in my canoe, (which is kept hid in the bushes a few rods
below,) lest by coming down the bank constantly, we wear a path,
which might lead to a discovery of our retreat."
"And you all lodged here last night, of course?"
" Yes."
"Part of the mystery, then, stands explained —why should
the rest be kept back?"
" What is there more that you do not comprehend?"
"The singing   "
" Might have been my own, if you heard any. You never
heard any of my lullaby performances before, I suppose? " said
the woman, with an evasive smile.
" No, but I have once heard the performances of another,
whose voice ii not easily to be forgotten," replied Warrington,
turning a keen, searching gaze on the slightly conftised face of
the widow.
"Warrington, Warrington! " said the woman, resuming a tone
of seriousness, and intently reading the looks of the other; " as
much as I hate deception, I wish I could have misled you. But
I saw by your disappointed looks, when you entered, and glanced
around these empty apartments, that you expected to find here
what you have not. And I now see, that you still- have certain
impressions, which I wish could have been done away. But as
you seem bent on following up your clue, I will not attempt to
mislead you. From what I have gathered from you and others,
I have for some time secretly suspected the identity of persons
yet supposed to be different, and that I have long known those
whose present residence you have little dreamed of: Captain Warrington, there is indeed a rose-bud in this wilderness, which I should
not have been displeased to see placed in your bosom. But seek
iotnot now - there is a hedge about it too high for your leaping."
" Where is she? I ask but to know where," enquired the
other with impatient eagerness.
"Not here, nor near here, now," replied the woman; the secret
is not mine to reveal: I have said too much already; so question
me no further. But come, let us leave for the upper world," she
added, rapidly leading the way out, and allowing the other no
further chance to resume his importunities till they had gained
the top of the bank.
" But surely you will not leave the matter here, after informing
me so far? " said Warrington, in an expostulating tone, as he perceived that the other seemed to expect that he would now depart.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 63
"For the present, I surely shall," replied the woman, decidedly; "you will urge in vain one who understands her duties to
all! Go! your men await you - good morning, and God speed
you in the cause of the settlers," and, imperiously waving her
hand for the departure of her reluctant and tantalized guest, she
suddenly turned away and disappeared in the forest.
CHAPTER VI.
"The sons of our mountains will sheath not the brand
Till the last base intruder is forced from the land."
ONE of the most considerable openings in the wilderness in the
northwestern part of the New Hampshire Grants, at the period
of our story, was at the Lower Falls of Otter Creek, at the head
of the lake navigation of that stream, and on, and around that
fine and fertile swell of land, now occupied as the site of a pleasant and flourishing village, to which, as before mentioned, the
more dignified name of city has long since been legally applied;
though not without sometimes eliciting, probably, from the traveller, approaching the place with the expectations which the appellation would naturally raise, a feeling, somewhat akin, perhaps,
to that which might be experienced on hearing the address of
XMy Lord, applied to some urchin scion of nobility, at marbles, in
his first jacket and trowsers. A pitch had been made on this
spot, some years before, by one or more of the New Hampshire
patentees, a saw and grist mill erected, and a large piece of forest felled, and partially cleared; when the whole tract, embracing
the Falls and all the improvements, was purchased of some of the
York land jobbers by one Colonel Reed. Reed had been the
commander of a regiment of Scotch Highlanders, that came over
with General Wolfe, and was engaged with his army in that memorable battle which gave Quebec and the Canadas to the British
crown. This regiment, having been subsequently disbanded, the
Colonel, still continuing in the new world, and, in his intercourse
between Canada and New York, becoming acquainted with the
Vermont lands, entered into the speculations then going forward,




64             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
and made the purchase, as above stated. Finding his new purchase already in the occupancy of the New Hampshire grantees,
and not inclining to be bothered with the delays of a civil process by the York authorities to put him in possession, what should
this military land speculator do, but repair immediately to Montreal, and, collecting a file of his old disbanded soldiers, go on,
armed and provisioned, to conquer and keep, and forcibly drive
the occupants from the ground, taking possession of the mills,
lumber, and all other improvements? After making ample provisions for continuing the improvement of his purchase, he left it
to be managed and defended by the men who came on with him,
placed under the command of one of his old fear-naught Highlanders, by the name of Donald McIntosh, formerly a brave and
trusty sergeant in his regiment, to whom he now delivered written military instructions, setting forth the manner in which the
improvements were to be conducted, and the post defended against
any, or all, who should offer to intrude on the premises. The
Colonel, being a shrewd man, and a close observer of character,
national as well as individual, and well knowing that the inherent
respect of Scotchmen for discipline, and the orders of a superior, would ensure him more determined defenders of his possessions, as well as more faithful laborers in their improvement,
than all the rewards, bribes, or other inducements he could offer,
had thrown over the whole transaction the appearance of a military service. And, hiring his men at the monthly compensation
they had formerly received as soldiers, and terming it an enlistment during the war, and conducting them to their post under the
discipline to which they had been accustomed in the army, he had
the address to make these men, not the most intelligent, certainly,
honestly believe that they were acting under their old commander,
in a military capacity only, and were really in the service of the
king, to whom this settlement, they were told, was in a state of
rebellion. And right faithfully and rigidly did the straight-going
Donald, ever continuing to act under these impressions, execute
the trust committed to his charge. Immediately proceeding to
throw up a large log-house, and enclose a yard around it with a
heavy, compact fence of hewn timber, he soon gave the post such
an impregnable and threatening aspect as effectually deterred the
former occupants from attempting, with any force they could rally
in the neighborhood, to dislodge the intruders. And, after watching awhile, and seeing no diminution of the strength of their antagonists, or relaxation of their caution, these ejected and plun.
dered settlers, who happened to be among the less spirited of




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                65
their countrymen, at length pretty much relinquished the hope of
regaining their possessions, except in a favorable termination of
the negociation still going forward at intervals between the settlers
and the government of New York.
In this manner, for nearly two years, did the minions of Reed
hold and manage these valuable possessions, clearing land, raising
crops, and exporting lumber and other products, without being at
all molested by the settlers, or the attending circumstances being
known, indeed, to those who had exercised any general agency in
resisting the aggressions of the Yorkers. At length, however,
the tranquility of the intruders became accidentally endangered.
Ira Allen, the Green Mountain Metternich of after times, and
one of the cabinet council of those we are describing, coming
through this section, on his return to his residence in Bennington
from an excursion to the Winooski river, sought lodgings on a
stormy December night at the quarters of McIntosh and his
men -a call which came near costing the former his life at the
outset: for, while he was unsuspectingly knocking for admission,
the wary Scotchman, who had been accustomed to consider all
his foes, who did not give the watchword, noiselessly opened the
door wide enough to protrude one arm, and made several desperate lunges at his body, hit or miss, with a naked sabre. Providentially, however, the weapon, missing the body, only wounded
the great coat of the traveller, who, at last succeeding in making
the other believe that he wanted nothing more than a shelter for
the night, was now admitted, and entertained till next morning.
This singular reception, as well as the odd and warlike appearance of every thing connected with the establishment, awakened
the curiosity and excited the suspicions of Allen, who, from the
information he obtained by pumping the cautious Donald, and
making inquiries of the settlers before leaving the vicinity, returned home in possession of the full history of the case. And
the consequence was, that before many months, a small band of
Green Mountain Boys came on from the south, and finding no
one about the premises, were proceeding to clear the house and
yard of all they contained; when the occupants, who had been at
work in the woods, returned, and after holding a council of war a
short distance from the house, made such a furious charge with
fixed bayonets on the new comers, that they, little dreaming of
so warlike an onset, were fairly routed from the works, and were
compelled to decamp amidst the victorious shouts of the elated
Highlanders. Chagrined and vexed an the result of this attempt,
the Green Mountain Boys, early the next spring, set on foot
6*




66             TIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
another expedition for dispersing these military tenants of the
usurping Colonel. And for this, among other objects, Warrington and his companions were now on their way to the spot.
It was not till an advanced hour in the afternoon of the day,
which commenced by the adventures related in the last chapter,
that our band arrived at the outskirts of the singularly guarded
possession just described. Their force, swelled by the numbers
who had joined them on the last part of their route, now amounted to about a dozen men. They halted in the woods, adjoining
the clearing, for the purpose of consultation, with a view to fix
on the best mode of attacking the place, which they were not
without hope of carrying by surprise. They had scarcely commenced discussing these points, however, before their attention
was arrested by two quickly successive reports of fire-arms, proceeding from a thicket, on the opposite side of the Creek.
" What will you bate I do n't know the bark of that dog, Captain?" exclaimed Jones, tipping one of his comical winks to his
superior.
" Aha! who do you suspect, Jones? " asked Warrington, with
a look of interest.
"Why, I should n't like to make bodily oath of it, besure,"
replied the other, "' but unless my ear lies like the mischief, one of
those popping noises over there was the voice of an old acquaintance."
" To the point, man, if you possibly can!" rather impatiently
spoke the leader; " what acquaintance do you mean?"
" The one that I was introduced to, up on the lake there, last
night, asking your pardon, Captain," replied Pete, lowering his
tone a little under the slightly rebuking manner of his commander.
"You are in the right, Mr. Jones," said the other, kindly,
though a flash of anger passed over his face at the discovery
that now burst on his mind; " I see it all, at last. Those were
the reports of a pair of pistols, and in the hands, too, of that
traitorous Sherwood, who has been hovering round us on our
march, and now fires his pistols as a preconcerted signal, to give
notice of our approach. It is well for the fellow that he was
wise enough to put the Creek between us and himself, before taking this last step."
" That comes of suffering the scoundrel to go unhanged last
night," grumbled Brown. "If I had been the Captain, I would
have strung him up to the limb of a tree like a sheep-killing dog,
and left him kicking in the air."




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 67
"It is not always," said Warrington, " nor often, I think, that
we find cause to repent of the mercies we have shown; but this
fellow —let him beware!" he added, knitting his brow, "let him
beware how he is taken again! "
All hope of taking the place by surprise being now relinquished
by our band, it was soon settled, as the most probable way of
accomplishing their object without bloodshed, which they would
gladly avoid, that a feint should be made in the open field, with
a view of drawing out the enemy from their works, while the part
of their force, not thus to be engaged, should go round in the
woods, and, approaching in the rear, endeavor to get possession
of the house and enclosure. In pursuance of this plan, Warrington, taking Selden and two of the men with him, started off for
the purpose of carrying the last part of the arrangement into
execution, leaving the rest of the force under the command of
Jones, whose genius, it was thought, was calculated to conduct
the other part of the enterprise now entrusted to his charge, with
orders to advance through the open grounds towards the house,
and adopt such measures on the way as circumstances might
suggest for bringing about the desired result.
After waiting a sufficient time to allow the other party to gain
a post in the woods in the rear of the works, Pete, the new commandant, put his men in motion, and emerging from the bushes,
they commenced, in a wide-spread platoon, their ostentatious
march through the field, in order to attract the attention of the
enemy, supposed to be concealed in their enclosures at the house.
It so happened that, directly in the course of the advancing party,
there lay a series of large log-heaps, which, either by accident or
design, had been placed, in clearing the land, very nearly in a
straight line, at intervals of about a dozen rods, beginning near
the house and extending almost to the woods. When the party
had arrived within a few rods of the first log-heap, their attention
was arrested by the sound of a human voice, issuing from behind
it, and, in an eager, suppressed tone, giving off some brief orders,
resembling those of military command.
"A' ready? up then, an' gie til the louns!" exclaimed the
voice of the unseen leader, in broad Scotch, as a platoon of armed
men suddenly rose from behind the logs, and, raising their guns
breast high, discharged them fall in the faces of the Green Mountain Boys.
" Noo, right aboot face! and rin as if the deevil was after ye,
as he is, and mair too," resumed the military Donald, for it was
no other than he and his men, who had thus been lying, in conceal.




68             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
ment behind the log-heap, patiently awaiting the approach of their
unsuspecting assailants.
The balls, just clearing the heads of our band, whistled through
the air, and struck with a crash among the dry limbs of the forest
behind them. As soon as they had recovered from the surprise
into which they had been thrown by the suddenness of this unexpected attack, they all sprang forward in the screening smoke of
the enemy's fire, and gained the cover of the log-heap, just relinquished by the latter for the next one in the line of their defences.
"Well, this is what I should call rather a curious how-d'ye-do,
boys," coolly said Jones, when they had gained their shelter; " who
would have guessed the scamps were packed away behind this
old log-heap?  But one thing beats my philosophy - if the
bloody dogs really wanted to give us the lead, (and they shot
dreadful careless if they did n't,) why in natur did n't they take
aim? "
" They are all regular sarvice men," replied a settler from the
vicinity, " and breast-high is the rule of firing in the army."
" Then we may thank the rule for our lives, and not the pesky
fools who used it," replied the former. "It would not be a great
deal more than right to send our rifle bullets through the whole
tote of'em. But I should some rather not kill the sarpents, if
we can get along without; and I guess as how we can, seeing
they were kind enough to sound their rattles before trying to
bite, as that queer old codger did, in giving off word before they
let drive at us. And if they will go on as they have begun, we'11
just be making our manners when they fire, so that the balls may
pass over us, and then follow'em up as before - but hark! the
old chap is at it again! going the motions as regular as the nightmare; there! he has got to'cock fire-lock!' Now, down with
you, boys! "
Jones and his men had scarcely thrown themselves on to their
knees behind their log-heap breast-work, before another volley of
balls, discharged with the same military precision, whistled over
them; and again the old dry hemlocks that skirted the woods
appeared to be the only sufferers. Again retreating to their next
post, these kilted defenders of the place were followed up as at
first by their crafty assailants, who were now becoming highly
delighted with the fun of so unique a warfare. And in this
manner the fight, if fight it be called, continued through the
whole field - one party blazing away at random from every logheap they reached, and then scudding on for the next, quite satisfied with this way of doing their duty of defending these supposed




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                69
possessions of the king, since they were conducting their defence,
as they believed, according to military rule: while the other party,
occasionally discharging their pieces into the air, to keep up the
appearance of a hostile pursuit, and sometimes raising their hats
on their ramrods, just high enough above the logs, behind which
they were ensconced, to become visible to their foes when they
fired, that they might be thus encouraged to continue the sport,
were no less content with this fashion of' fighting, as it answered
all the objects in view, without putting them to the necessity of
killing others, and, what was quite as agreeable, without running
any risk of being killed themselves.
But leaving these belligerents for the present, we will now
follow those who departed to execute the other part of this novel
enterprise.
Keeping within the border of the woods, Warrington and his
attendants soon made the circuit round the clearing, and arrived
at the bank of the Creek, in the rear of the buildings, before the
attack was made on the other detachment. They had scarcely
gained this position, however, before they were aroused by the
rattling of McIntosh's salutatory volley on their companions, at
the other extremity of the opening. And, though the rise of
land which intervened between them and the scene of action,
prevented them from ascertaining by sight the exact situation of
affairs, yet readily concluding that the enemy, in full force, had
taken the open field, as had been anticipated, they made for the
house with all possible speed, to get possession of the works before
the occupants could find time to return. On reaching the enclosure
round the house, Warrington, leaving his men in the rear, went
round to the front side, and, after a moment spent in reconnoitring,
from behind a wood-pile, the parties in the field, crept up and
made an attempt to open the gate. But to his disappointment,
he soon discovered that it was securely barred on the inside;
while the noise of some slight movement within apprised him
that the place had not been left wholly unguarded. On making
these discoveries, he immediately retreated to the rear, without
being seen by the enemy. There, standing beside the wall
of the enclosure and eagerly gazing through a small crevice
between the timbers, he found Selden, who, now turning with an
expressive look, silently beckoned him to approach. Obeying the
sign, Warrington carefully stepped up to the spot and put his eye
to the aperture, which the other, now yielding the place, pointed
out with his finger; when all that part of the arena within, which
was in front of the house, was opened to his view. And the object




70             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
that there met his eye struck him with scarce less surprise than
what had been just manifested by his more romantic companion.
Near the barricaded entrance into the yard, instead of a bearded
warrior, stood a young and neatly dressed female, of striking
beauty, holding a musket, and apparently enacting the part of a
sentry to fire an alarm gun, or open the gate on the signal of her
friends. She had evidently heard the movements of those without, and was now standing, like a startled fawn, her bosom heaving
with suppressed alarm, her lips slightly drawn apart, and her
head turned in the attitude of intense listening -all combining
to give an air of charming and picturesque wildness to her whole
appearance. A swarthy faced girl was timidly peeping from the
nearly shut door of the house, to which, on hearing the noise, she
had apparently just retreated. From the dress and appearance
of the latter, Warrington was but at little loss in tracing between
these two females the relation of mistress and maid. And now,
with a rapid survey of the situation of the whole interior, as far
as could be se en, he hastily quitted his stand- at the crevice and
turned to Selden.
" Is n't she a vision of a creature? " eagerly whispered the
latter, his fine dark eyes sparkling with animation; " what, in
the name of feminine wonders, will you show us next, Warrington? But who and what can she be? "
"I am scarcely wiser than yourself, in that respect."
" If the other was a Juno, this, I suppose, must be some warrior sylph of the Green Mountains."
" Not of the Green Mountains, I suspect," rejoined Warrington;
"but be she sylph or satan in heavenly guise, we must pay her a
visit, and have possession of the works, within ten minutes -the
enemy are on the retreat for the gate, and there is no time to
lose - advance, boys, and lend me your shoulders for a stepping
stone to scale this wall."
The walls of the enclosure were about ten feet high, exclusive
of the pickets which surmounted them, and which were formed
of stakes three or four feet long, sharply pointed at the top, and
set into large auger holes, bored in the upper layer of timber.
Taking his men to a part of the wall in rear of the house,
which would screen them, in their attempt, from the view of the
inmates in front, and thus afford them a better chance to get over
unmolested, and without causing an alarm to be given too soon,
the leader mounted the shoulders of one of his men, leaped on to
the top of the timbers, and soon luckily, and without noise, succeeded in wrenching out pickets enough to give him a ready




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                71
ingress. And taking up his rifle from the hands of those below,
and ordering two of them to follow, and the other, who would
have no means of getting up, to act in concert with Jones, he
now swung himself down upon the ground. In another moment,
Selden and the man he had selected, having been equally successful, they all three stood undiscovered on the ground, in the narrow
space between the wall and the back side of the house.
"Well, Selden," said Warrington, with a humorous look; in
what manner shall we proceed with this formidable garrison -
by storm or parley?"
" The latter, certainly, unless the storm is to.be a storm of
kisses," replied the other, in the same spirit; "but seriously, lest
the appearance of all of us at once occasion unnecessary alarm,
I propose that one of us go forward alone, for this purpose."
"Yours shall be the chance, then, of displaying your bravery,
gallantry, or diplomacy, as the case may require, in treating with
the fair commander."
"Thank'ee, Captain."
"But have a caution, sir - remember that other things sometimes inflict wounds besides leaden bullets!"
" O, borrow no trouble on my account, on either score," gaily
responded Selden, as he disappeared round the corner of the
house, on his delicate mission.
The merry boast of the last speaker, however, had, but for his
good fortune, been a vain one: For the next moment after he
passed out of the sight of his friends, the stunning report of a
musket saluted their ears, while a bullet whistled by them and
buried itself in the wall of the enclosure, a few feet from where
they stood.  Instantly springing forward toward the scene of
action, they found Selden standing in mute surprise, but unhurt,
a few yards in front of the house, and as many rods from the mad
girl, who, in the suddenness of the alarm and trepidation that
seized her, as she accidentally turned round and unexpectedly
beheld an enemy within the enclosure and approaching her, had
just committed the half involuntary, half frenzied act of discharging at him a well-loaded musket, whose fatal contents he
had but narrowly escaped. For a moment there was a dead
pause, during which neither of the parties stirred from their
respective positions, being nearly invisible to each other in the
smoke which was rising in eddying whirls between them. Soon,
however, the light and airy form of the warrior damsel became
visible to her astonished besiegers.  There, pale, agitated, and
almost frantic with conflicting emotions, she still stood, as if




72             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
chained to the spot, holding with convulsive grasp the yet smoking musket, and apparently scarcely less frightened at what she
had done than for her own personal safety.
After gazing an instant with increasing consternation and
alarm, as she beheld the now treble number of the enemy, she
suddenly threw down her gun, and made a desperate push to unbar the gate.
" Nay, nay! lady," exclaimed Warrington, leaping forward to
her side, and placing his hands firmly upon the bars;" this we
cannot suffer now, though we intend you no harm," he continued
in a gentler tone: " but you had better retire - this is no place
for one of your sex. Mr. Selden, will you conduct her into the
house? "
"Touch me not!" half shrieked the baffled and maddened
girl, shrinking from the touch of Selden, who now approached,
and offered to lead her to the house; "touch me not, villain —-.
monster! "
" Be calm - calm your fears, dear lady!" said Selden, in a
soothing and respectful tone, " will you hear me? Will you look
me in the face?  There! do I appear like a villain?  Now hear
me: although we may try to restore these possessions to their
former, and, as we believe, rightful owners, yet, in doing this, we
would not willingly injure a single man of' the defenders - much
less a female.  Be prevailed on, then, to retire, and I pledge
~myself, on the honor of a gentleman, that no hair of your head
shall be injured."
During this address, the kind and tender manner of which
seemed to strike unexpectedly on her ears, she turned, and looking full upon the manly and handsome face of Selden, a change
passed over her agitated countenance. Her overtasked nerves
gave way, and her assumed nature melting away into its original
softness, like a storm of March dissolving into the tears of April,
she burst into a fit of hysteric weeping, and now suffered herself
to be conducted unresistingly into the house.
By this time Donald and his men, who, on hearing the report
of the musket just fired, as they were making a stand behind the
last log-heap of thiAr line of defence, hastily discharged a parting
round at the enemy, and fled for the works, had reached the enclosure; and the former was new vociferating the watchword,
and rattling away at the gate for admittance. Meanwhile, Jones
with his detachment, being apprised that his friends were in possession of the works by a handkerchief which the latter had, as
a preconcerted signal, hung on a corner picket, rushed on after




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                73
the retreating Scotchmen on their way to the gate, intending, to
follow them so closely that they could have no time to reload
their guns before they should be compelled to surrender.
Looking  round and seeing his foes close upon him, McIntosh
redoubled his clamor to get in.
" O, why dinna ye open the gaet?" exclaimed the impatient
and distressed Highlander, still ignorant that any others were
within than those he left there; " thae feckfu' deevils are hard at
our heels. Och! oigh! Jessy, Jessy Reed! is it my ain Colonel's
dochter that wad be doylt at sic a time? An' Zilpah, is your
mistress dead, or ye a' fear't an' fasht thegither, that ye nae
ken the coming o' us?"
"Your ladies are all safe in the house, my honest friend, cried
out Warrington in reply, " but your quarters are now in possession of other hands. You had better surrender, sir, as it will be
of little use to contend against those who are now too'strong for
you, both within and without."
The astonishment and dismay of the simple-minded Scotchman
at the discovery that his foes had obtained a lodgment within his
strong hold, was unbounded; for, having perceived nothing wrong
about his works at the time his attention was arrested by the
report of the musket within them, and soon after seeing the man
left outside by Warrington running out into the field, he supposed'
the gun was fired by the bold and wayward girl who had volunteered for the service, only to apprise him that some one was
round the outside of the works. And he and his men, having
given a merry hurra! for the braw lassie who frightened away
the skulking tramper, had come on and reached the gate in the
confident expectation that in another moment they should be
safely ensconced within their works, and beyond the reach of all
pursuers.
" Gude guide us!" he ejaculated, looking hurriedly around
him, while his countenance exhibited the very picture of perplexity and distress; " Gude guide us! gor't by the rake-hells
wi'in an' wi'out! O what wad I do! what wad I do! "
"I'11 jest tell you what to do, you queer old divil!" sung out
Jones, catching the last part of these exclamations, as he brought
his men to a halt within two rods of the Scotchmen, who now,
mechanically facing about, and presenting their fixed bayonets to
their opponents, stood glumly awaiting the commands of their
leader. "I will tell you what to do," he repeated, "you must
knuckle to, old fellow. What's the particular use in your standing out against these six loaded rifles, to say nothing of the Cap7




74             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
tain and his folks inside, if they"should take a notion to wake
you up a little? so I take it the cunningest thing you can do jest
now is, for you all to throw down your guns and surrender."
" HIoot awa' mon!" exclaimed McIntosh, aroused by this fresh
summons to surrender; "an' I rede ye'11 find wese fight and defend til the last d'iap. o' our bluide! Attention there!" he continued, hastily turning to his men, "prime an' load! "
Warrington now sternly repeated his demand for an immediate
surrender; but the obstinate Highlander, knowing no way of
obeying the military instruction of his Colonel, " to fight and defend," but to fight on at whatever odds, or whatever the consequences to him and his men, deigned no other answer to this
repetition of the summons than by urging his men to despatch in
loading their pieces.
"What is to be done, Captain? " coolly said Jones, calling to
his superior, and at the same time giving a nod to his men, at
which they all promptly cocked their rifles and brought them to
their shoulders; "speak tolerable quick, if you've any orders,
for they are about loaded, and we some rather give than take
under all the circumstances."
"Neither!" shouted Warrington, " do neither- knock up
their guns! disarm them! grapple with them, and if too many'for you, we'11 soon be among you."
"A sudden, furious rush was now made by the Green Mountain Boys on their astonished antagonists, who, not dreaming of
this mode of attack, and being busily intent on loading their
guns, were taken by complete surprise, and to a great disadvantage to themselves. And before they had recovered from their
astonishment sufficiently to put themselves in a posture of defence,
most of their guns were wrenched from their hands, their bodies
seized round the waist, and some of them thrown to the ground;
while grappling man with man, all were instantly involved helter
skelter, in the tremendous scuffle that now ensued. And although
the Green Mountain Boys were now in the exercise of their
favorite athletics, and notwithstanding their great strength and
suppleness of limb, they soon found that the entire subjection of
these brawny and resolute Highlanders was no very easy task.
Though thrown to the ground, they had to be held there; though
knocked down, they again rose to the fight, and though beaten,
they yielded not.  Ahd the victory had, perhaps, been even
doubtful, had not Warrington now thrown open the gate, and
come, with a fresh force, to the rescue. Then, indeed, it was not
till they saw their leader lying bound and helpless on the ground,




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               75
that the pugnacious Scotchmen could be brought to say that they
yielded themselves prisoners.
"I have na yielded yet, ye hogshoutherin rap scallions!"
roa. ed Donald, scornfully, as he lay on the ground with scarcely
a mminber of his body, except his tongue, at liberty; "I hane na
yielded, an' as muckle victory as ye think to mak it, ye sal never
say th., Donald McIntosh ca'd himsel prisoner wi'out first settling
the con(~:tions o' the surrender."
" WVhr, conditions would you have, brave Scot," asked Warrington, w-'th great show of respect, as soon as he could be heard
amidst the shouts of laughter that followed this ludicrous declaration of the vanquished leader.
" What conditions? Why to be allowed to march out wi' a' the
honors o' war, an' a safe passport for thae women an' a' the gear,
an' property," 1.plied McIntosh, somewhat soothed by the
respectful mannel,f the other.
" And will you quietly yield up the place and depart, if we
will allow you these conditions? " rejoined Warrington, evidently
disposed to humor the fallen warrior in his laughable demand.
" We wael bide thae terms of surrender," replied the other,
"an' ye hae the word o' Donald McIntosh til the bargain."
"We will let the man have his way for the bravery he has
shown," said Warrington, turning to his men. " Take away their
ammunition, but restore them their guns, and unbind their leader.
Now Captain McIntosh, arise — parade your men, and conduct
the surrender in such manner as suits your pleasure."
Deeply impressed with a sense of what he deemed the honor
of his profession required in surrendering so important a military
post of the king, as he considered this, McIntosh arose, formed
his men, marched into the enclosure, halted, faced about, sent a
corporal to bring out the ladies and place them in the rear,
marched out again, grounded arms, and, with an air of great
formality and consequence, pronounced himself and followers
prisoners of war, to depart on parole, to serve no more on this
coast durinf the war.
Warrington, from his knowledge of the national character of
his prisoners, entertaining no doubts of their fidelity in strictly
observing all the stipulations of their leader, now cordially invited
them to remain at the post through the night. And the invitation
being as cordially accepted, both parties, within an hour, were
commingling in the greatest amity and good feeling, the Green
Mountain Boys secretly elated with their success in reducing this




76             TIlE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
strong hold of the Yorkers, and their late opponents resting
satisfied with the gallant efforts they had made in its defence.
The next day, the vanquished, availing themselves of the
permission granted them by the victors, conveyed all the movable property of their master on board several large batteaux,
which had been kept there for the purpose of exporting lumber
or other products of the farm, and set sail down the Creek for
St. Johns, or some one of Colonel Reed's possessions on the York
side of the lake, near its northern extremity.
Thus terminated this unique and curious contest, which proved
to be the last one of any magnitude that occurred between the
New Hampshire grantees and the Yorkers, for the possession of
the soil within the disputed territory.  The place being thus
left in the hands of the Green Mountain Boys, they immediately
reinstated the owners and former occupants, and soon after,
strengthening and enlarging the defences into a more regular
fortress, they posted a small, permanent force there to prevent
so important a position from falling again into the hands of the
Yorkers, or any new set of minions which the late military
aggressor might see fit to send on for a second forcible seizure.
No further attempt, however, was made to wrest the place from
their hands; nor did any of the late offenders ever make their
appearance in the place, except the brave and honest, though
strangely mistaken McIntosh, who, indeed, after a while returned,
but with views not a little altered: For becoming by some means
undeceived as to the nature of his late trust, and being excessively mortified at the development, which robbed him, in his
own estimation, of nearly all the glory he had gained in defending
it, he seemed to have forsworn the military, for a more quiet
profession.  And purchasing a farm in the neighborhood, he
settled down upon it, and, in the peaceable pursuits of agriculture,
spent the remainder of an unusually long life, no less respected
for scrupulous honesty, than distinguished for the whimsical
absurdities that occasionally marked his conduct.*
But there is one of the conquered band whom we have no
notion of disposing of in so summary a manner-we mean the
heroine of the party - the spirited, wild, wayward, and beautiful
Jessy Reed, who was, indeed, no other than the daughter of the
usurping Colonel.  The singularity of the position which our
band found her occupying at this place, and the attending circum* McIntosh died in the town of Panton, Vt., near the place of the exploits
here described, in the year 1813, I think.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               77
stances, we will give her an opportunity of hereafter explaining,
and content ourselves for the present with a few words respecting
her destination, and the manner of her departure from the scene
where she was introduced to the reader. Instead of going with
McIntosh and his men to the north, she had expressed a wish to
proceed to the residence of a family with whom her father was
intimate, living near the south end of the lake. But the large
boats being all required to transport the effects, and the hands
needed to man them, an open skiff, and one man to row it, were
the only accommodations that could well be afforded her. Still
she persisted in her determination. But should she be permitted
to embark with no more attendants? The air of extreme novelty
attending this singular girl, together with her personal attractions,
had from the first made a strong impression on the mind of Selden.
He began with playing the soother - succeeded, and became her
attendant, the evening after the affray, in a twilight walk along
the banks of the Otter, during which he was as much surprised
at the exhibition of intelligence and wit, into which he had artfully drawn her, as charmed and interested with her beauty, and
a certain piquancy and dash of romance which nature andl a semimilitary education had thrown into her character. But how far
this interest was reciprocated, he had no means of judging. And
should he now offer to become her attendant on her proposed
voyage through the lake, would the offer be received? Would
she suffer to attend her one of those who had wrested away her
father's possessions; one from whom she yesterday recoiled as
from the touch of a viper, branding him with the epithets of
villain and monster? Sudden metamorphoses are no miracles
in this changing world, thought Selden, and a failure in this case
shall not happen from the want of an attempt. He delicately
made the proposal. She hesitated, blushed a little, and accepted.
" Was ever woman in such humor woo'd  "
7.




78             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER VII.
"And I methinks, till I am old,
A fairer maid shall ne'er behold -
The sloping lawn, the cottage small,
The outspread lake, the waterfall,
And thou, the spirit of them all!"
A FEW miles from the eastern side of Lake Champlain, and
nearly opposite to Crown Point, where now moulder the ruins of
one of the oldest fortresses in North America, a bald, jagged and
desolate looking peak, known by the ungracious appellation of
Snake Mountain, stands frowning over the surrounding levels in
solitary and repulsive grandeur. This detached and lofty mountain, being the highest and indeed the only eminence of any magnitude, in all that extensive and beautiful tract of country lying
between the lake and Otter Creek for the last thirty miles of its
course, served among the settlers, before roads were much opened
in this part of the wilderness, as a guide, or land mark, for all
those who had occasion to travel the woodlands in this vicinity.
And Warrington, after safely establishing his friends in their
possessions at the Lower Falls, and despatching a small band of
his forces in pursuit of the York Surveyor, repaired, with the
remainder of his men, to the western brow of this mountain, as
a rendezvous to which his whole party were to assemble when
the surveyor was secured, proposing to employ the interim in
making observations preparatory to some contemplated operations
in the neighborhood of the place. He was, as the reader has
already been apprised, the owner, under a New Hampshire Grant,
of a considerable body of wild land, lying along the shore of the
lake, upon a part of which, he had been informed, some one had
entered under color of a York title. And as the tract of land in
question was situated between this mountain and the lake, it was
now his intention to ascertain whether the information he had
received was correct, and, if found to be so, to take measures for
ejecting the intruder, whose name even was unknown to him.
With this object in view, our leader, leaving his men to prepare
a shelter for their temporary quarters, took his rifle, and set off




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                79
alone through the woods in the direction in which the improve.
ments of the supposed intruder were said to be located. After
travelling some miles in this direction, he arrived at the top of
the last offset, in the lakeward slope of the country, before reach.
ing the shore, which now appeared a short distance in front,
while an opening of considerable extent became visible on the
left. Approaching the skirt of this opening, and carefully noticing the natural land marks around it, he soon became convinced
that the whole clearing, with all the improvements, was embraced
within the boundaries described in his own patent. Having satisfied himself in this respect, he now turned his attention more
particularly to the improvements themselves, and felt a degree of
surprise on witnessing their comparative extent and superiority
over the rest of those of this recently settled country. The house
was uncommonly neat and comfortable in its appearance, and
very pleasantly situated on the green and graduated margin of a
beautiful little brook, that meandered, with many a glittering cascade, through a smooth meadow, and entered the woods a few
rods below the spot where he stood. The out-house, barn, garden, and every thing around, were in good keeping — all going
to furnish unequivocal indication, that enterprise, taste, and some
degree of wealth, had here been employed. Much did Warrington wonder who could be the enterprising occupant, who had
accomplished all this in so short a time, and still more, that it
could have been done without more particular intelligence reach-ing him respecting it. But whoever he might be, it was not
probable that he would part with such fair possessions without a
struggle; and as a garrison was near, the troops of which were
understood to be in the York interest, and stood ready, doubtless, to protect the intruder, Warrington at once saw that a considerable force might be necessary to disposses him, and even
should the attempt be successfully made, the same force might be
required to be permanently stationed there to defend it. After
revolving this subject in his mind awhile, he concluded to defer
it for further consideration, and perhaps for a consultation with
his companions; and now dismissing the matter from his mind,
he again gave his attention to the inviting prospect around him.
The day was bright and tranquil; the balmy breath of spring,
wafted over flowering field and budding forest, was dallying
with the whispering pines above, thus gratifying one sense with
delicious odors, and soothing another with the soft and dying
murmurs of 2Eolian melody. The long tract of the far stretching waters of the lake, sleeping in the rays of the descending




80             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
sun, shone with dazzling brightness, which, at intervals, was beau
tifully relieved by the dark green islands which studded the glit.
tering expanse. The sloping uplands beyond, which reanimating
nature was just beginning to clothe in the green vesture of summer, rose up from the long line of nodding pines that lined the
western margin of the lake, in beautiful perspective, each individual feature of the landscape becoming more and more indistinct in the mellowing distance, till the view was terminated by
the last long ridge of climacteric mountains, whose tall ice-clad
peaks, fiercely flashing in the sun, were marked in bold outlines
against the cloudless blue of the heavens. A solitary flag was
waving over the massy and frowning walls of the opposite fortress, on which the Mene Tekel had already been traced by the
unseen hand that writes the destinies of nations: for the emblem
lion, that there now proudly floated on the breeze, and glorying
in his strength and prowess, seemed bidding defiance to the world,
was doomed, before many revolving suns had finished their daily
course, to be plucked down by those, who were alike fearless in
their resistance to oppression, whether coming from a sister colony
or a parent country.
While Warrington, who was an enthusiastic admirer of nature,
with whom he particularly loved to commune in the solitudes of
the forest, where her empire was undisturbed by the works of
art, was giving his soul to the magnificent prospect before him,
he was recalled from his reverie by the light plashing of oars
in the waters below. And turning his eyes in the direction of
the sound, he indistinctly discerned through the trees a small
skiff approaching the shore of the lake, rowed by a single person,
who, on reaching his landing, drew up his boat, and, after taking
out of it a gun, ascended the bank. As he emerged from the
thick underwood that skirted the shore into the more open forest,
and advanced into the higher grounds, Warrington soon discovered, from his uniform, that he was a soldier, or some subaltern, from the fort, who had come over, he concluded, in search
of the partridge, or other light game, with which the woods here
very plentifully abounded. The man still continued leisurly to
advance into the forest till he had reached the runlet before mentioned; when something on his right, in the direction of the
clearing, seemed suddenly to attract his notice. And, after pausing awhile in apparent doubt and indecision, he began somewhat
cautiously, and with an air of hesitation, to move forward towards
the object which had arrested his attention, and which he still
appeared to keep anxiously in view. Our leader, who in the




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                81
meanwhile kept his stand unobserved, supposing the other had
sprung some game at which he was endeavoring to obtain a favorable shot, continued, with a sort of listless curiosity, to watch his
motions, till he had passed out of sight behind an intervening
copswood of low firs, that thickly extended along the slope, some
half dozen rods from the clearing. In a few moments, and as
the former yet stood patiently listening for the report of the expected shot, the voice of a female, coming from the quarter to
which his attention was directed, and uttering a slight cry, as of
mingled surprise and alarm, reached his ear. The voice of the
man was next heard in the earnest, though flurried tones of
seeming entreaty, which appeared to be followed by a hasty
movement towards the object addressed, - and in a moment
more a piercing shriek rose wildly from the spot. Grasping his
rifle, and plunging into the thicket, Warrington bounded down
the hill with the speed of a wild deer towards the scene; and in
another instant the parties were revealed to his sight- a young
lady of the most interesting exterior, with her hair loosened and
falling in disorder over her neck and shoulders, and her flushed
countenance eloquent with indignation and alarm, as with half
averted face she struggled to free herself from the fellow, who,
by a grasp.of one hand on her garment, was endeavoring to
detain her in her attempted flight. One glance at the victim of
this rude assault sufficed to tell the unexpecting and astonished
Warrington that the fair original of that picture, which had been
so long engraven on his heart, was before him, requiring his instant aid and protection.
"Back! ruffian, back!" exclaimed he, as with levelled piece
he rushed upon the soldier, who stood mute and confounded
before so unlooked for an apparition; "back! I say — unhand
the lady, or you die on the spot!"
Quailing beneath the stern and withering glances of the other,
the abashed aggressor immediately relinquished his hold on the
girl, and muttering a denial of any intentional wrong and a few
curses at the interference of Warrington, shrunk away and disappeared in the woods.
"I am much indebted to you, sir," said the still agitated maiden,
scarce audibly, her eyes timidly bent on the ground, as her
protector now gently advanced to her side.
"Miss Hendee " —said Warrington, hesitatingly, after an
awkward silence of a moment; "do I not behold my former
acquaintance, Miss Alma Hendee?"
" Mr. Howard!" exclaimed the girl, as with deep surprise she




82             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
now for the first time lifted her eyes to scan the features of hoer
before unrecognized deliverer.
A slight flush passed over the face of the other, on hearing himself addressed by that name, and he opened his lips as if to correct
his fair friend, but a second thought seemed to repress the expression of the first, and, quickly recovering from his hesitation,
he observed, "I little thought to have met you here, Miss
"Hendee. I could almost forgive the wretch who caused you this
fright, since he has been the means of my meeting again with
one whom I have never ceased to remember with pleasure. But
you have companions near, surely?"
" No nearer than the house, from which I wandered down the
run just now, and, tempted by these flowrets peeping up along
the banks, extended my ramble, perhaps imprudently, thus far
into the woods."
"And is this fair situation, then, your home — the residence
of your father?"
" Certainly, it is," replied Miss Hendee, resuming her natural
cheerfulness; "why, surely, Mr. Howard, you did not suppose I
had turned wood-nymph to wander in the forests, and house in
the caves - did you?"
"I hardly knew what to think, for it never occurred to me
that the father of Alma Hendee could be in possession of this
beautiful opening."
"And why not, my dear sir? Why, we have been here these
three years. And if we have not made the wilderness blossom
like the rose, we have at least got so far as to make the rose
blossom in the wilderness — come, you shall attend me home,
and see what a pretty flower-garden I have in progress."
"To the opening, at least," responded Warrington, obeying
the motions of his fair companion.
" And now, sir," resumed the latter gaily, as they proceeded
on their way, " having answered your questions, let me be the
catechist awhile, will you? And in the first place, from what
cloud so opportunely dropped my gallant deliverer, just at the
particular moment he was wanted?"
" I, too, am an inhabitant of the Green Mountain settlement,
though not of this vicinity," answered the other; " and you see,"
he continued, smilingly pointing to his rifle, "that my old propensities still hang about me; and for the present you must take
this as an explanation of my wandering into this section of the
country.  I had just arrived at the border of the woods up




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               88
yonder, and was viewing your delightful situation, when your
cries brought me to your side."
"I am half ashamed of the noise I made," rejoined the lady,
" and I presume it was unnecessary. He has occasionally been
at our house; and how far he considered himself warranted on
such an acquaintance to obtrude himself as he did, I know not.
But being startled by the fellow's unexpected appearance, and
uncertain, from his hesitating and equivocal manner, what might
be the nature of the proposals, which he said he wished to make,
and which at last he seemed determined I should stop to hear,
I became much alarmed, I will confess; though I should feel
excessively mortified to have any stir made about it. I hope
you will not mention the affair to my father when we get home? "
" Certainly not, if it is your wish -that is, I would not, if I
were to see him," replied Warrington, pausing, as they now
came into the open field.
" But surely, sir, you will go to the house? My father will
be very much pleased to renew his acquaintance with his Doctor
Hunter, as he would always persist in calling you."
"Your kind invitation, believe me, Miss Hendee, is most
gratefully received; but I think it would hardly be advisable
for me at this time to accept it."
"And why not?- so near, and not visit us?  I know my
father will be delighted to see you, and have you spend several
days with us —particularly so, I imagine, at the present time,
when he is not without apprehensions of an attack from the
Green Mountain Boys, as they call them. Why, did you know
that a band of these men have, for several days past, been
ravaging the settlement along Otter Creek, headed by that
terrible fellow, Captain Warrington?"
" I heard," replied the other, confused and stammering at this
unexpected question, and the commentary on his own character
which he perceived it involved in the mind of his fair companion,
"I heard —that is, I was aware that the person you mention
had come into this part of the country. But your father need
be under no apprehensions on that account;" he continued,
regaining his composure, "for I think I can very safely answer
for Warrington, that neither he, nor any of his followers, shall
ever disturb the father of Alma Hendee."
"You can! can you? But why couple my name so very
oddly with that of this fearful man? - I do not fully comprehend
— I know there are two parties in this settlement, and I suppose
he and his company pretend to be acting for the New Hampshire




84             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
party. Perhaps you belong to this party, and know him, and
can influence him in our behalf?  Oh! if you would! - But
come, do go to the house with me, and assure my father of this."
1" Not now- another time — perhaps to-morrow, I may visit
you - that is if " - and Warrington paused and hesitated, as if
doubtful whether to proceed, while, with a waiting and wondering
expression, the girl stood earnestly looking him in the face.
" Miss Hendee," he at length resumed, somewhat pensively,
"you left the place, which afforded me the pleasure of your
acquaintance, unexpectedly, - quite so to me. On my return, a
day or two after our last interview, to my great disappointment,
I found you were gone -whither, I was never able to discover."
"We intended you no disrespect, however, Mr. Howard, in
leaving thus unceremoniously," replied the girl, exchanging the
free and cordial, for a more guarded and distant manner, as if
she instinctively anticipated what was to follow. " My father,
who as you was aware, had then become able to resume his
journey, gained some information from a traveller, who called in
your absence, which led him to determine on leaving the place
the next morning. I certainly should have been happy at that
time to see you again and apprise you of our departure.
"At that time," rejoined the other, catching the emphasis, and
slowly, and with a tone of disappointment, repeating the expression, "at that time," —and have Miss Hendee's feelings, then,
changed since I last saw her?"
" I then esteemed you, Mr. Howard, much — very much, indeed," she evasively replied, looking down, while her fingers were
busy in tearing a little flower that she had plucked by the way:
"I thought highly of you -very; and I still know not why I
should not regard you with the same respect."
" Respect, my dear Miss Hendee, is a term that falls coldly on
the ears of those who are looking, or at least hoping, for a warmer
expression. You were sensible, were you not, that, at the time
to which we have been alluding, I was cherishing for you a tenderer sentiment?"
" I had no right to understand so," tremulously replied the
lovely listener, the quick heavings of whose bosom plainly told
the tumult that had been awakened within; "you certainly made
no professions that would warrant me in such a belief."
" Miss Hendee," resumed the other, after a pause, " you were, if
I rightly understood your character, as I presume you are now, a
frank and ingenuous girl. May I then not hope, that, in kindness




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                85
to me, you will give a frank answer to a question which I would
ask you?"
"If a proper one."
"If then a profession, which I intended to have made you, had
opportunity been allowed, were to be made now, are there more
obstacles now, than then, to prevent it being favorably received? "
She made no reply, and Warrington, stealing a glance at her
averted face, perceived that her eyes were suffused with tears.
" There is indeed, then, one between us," at length said the
other sadly.
" There is," was the reply in a tone of regret, which should
have satisfied even the monopolizing heart of a lover. But love
with men, oftener than otherwise wholly blind to policy, is rarely
content to rest satisfied with those indirect expressions and delicate intimations, which are a surer proof of its existence in the
female heart than the most open declarations, and, absurdly craving more, is not unfrequently compelled to put up with less. It
was thus with our lover as he rejoined -
" May I not have the happiness to hear those lips declare that
my affection has been in some measure reciprocated?"
Still there was no reply.
"Am  I to understand," resumed Warrington, "that Miss
JHendee has pledged her hand irrevocably? And can it be that
she has pledged herself too for a union into which her heart can
never enter?"
"What iave I said, MIr. Howard," replied the girl, looking up
with the air of offended pride, "to warrant such questions?
With some, perhaps, I might not be slow to resent your intimation. And as it is," she continued with great dignity, " you will
hold me excused, I trust, for declining to commune further on a
subject, which should now be as uninteresting to you, as it is
embarrassing, and even painful to me."
" Surely, surely!'dearest lady, you cannot believe that I would
intentionally offend?" said the, disconcerted lover. "We will,
hlowever, dismiss this subject for the present, if so unpleasant."
" For the present, and forever! "
"If it must be so - and yet "-.
" No more, no more - I know not even that I have done right
in listening to what you have already said, or remaining here
so long. You will now receive my adieu, and excuse my immediate return."
"One moment yet - you will not deny me another interview?"
8




86             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
" At my father's house, and in my father's presence, most cer,
tainly not."
" Even on these hard conditions, I will, then, soon seek itcruel one, adieu."
"Adieu! " responded the beauteous girl, as, tripping lightly
away, she looked back with a smile so eloquently sweet, that it
erased in an instant the effect of every frown she had given, and
every negative she had uttered, from the mind of her repulsed,
but not despairing lover.
The progress we have now made in our story makes it necessary to recur to some incidents of an earlier date, connected with
several of our leading personages, and having a bearing on the
events yet to follow:Some three or four years previous to the events just related,
and when the settlers were first meditating an open resistance
to the authorities of New York, it became an object with the former to ascertain how far the government of that province was
there sustained in its attempted aggression on the Grants, by the
feelings and opinions of the people at large - whether, indeed,
there did not exist among that people, especially those living
near the disputed territory, a considerable degree of sympathy
for the settlers in their unrighteous persecutions. For in the
event of such a sympathy, the latter believed that the meditated
resistance might be ventured upon with safety, or with safety, at
least, when compared with a case where the feelings of the people were enlisted on the side of the government. It was therefore determined that an emissary should be sent into the part of
New York lying contiguous to the Grants, who, travelling in disguise, or with disguised objects, should endeavor to ascertain the
true sentiments and feelings of the people on this subject: and
Warrington was the person selected for this delicate, though
important enterprise. Accordingly setting out alone with his
rifle, and travelling on foot under the assumed name of Howard,
and in the character of a hunter and herbalist, he travelled all
that section of the country into which he had been particularly
sent, calling at almost every house in his course and mingling
with all companies and classes in pursuing the objects of his
secret mission. And it was while on this excursion, that he accidentally formed the interesting acquaintance, of which the reader
has already been apprised. Happening on one of the main roads
leading from the east to Albany, he wars overtaken by a gentleman and lady in a carriage, travelling towards the last mentioned
place. They had passed by him but a few rods, however, before




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                87
the horse suddenly took fright and overturned the carriage, by
which the man was seriously hurt, though the lady fortunately
escaped with little injury. Springing forward to their aid, Warrington, after securing the horse with no little difficulty and danger, turned his attention to the travellers, who proved to be a
father and daughter, of the name of Hendee. Assisting the
wounded man into his vehicle, and placing his daughter by his
side to support him, he attended them, leading the horse, to the
nearest habitation, which was a poor inn not far from the place
of the accident. And having formerly been placed in circumstances in which he had gained considerable practical knowledge
of medicine, he, in the absence of a regular physician in that
thinly settled country, undertook the cure of the invalid himself,
closely attending him till he became convalescent, and repeating
his visits, at short intervals, during the two or three weeks that
elapsed before the patient was able to resume his journey. And
it was during these visits, in which he had evidently found great
favor in the eyes of both father and daughter, by the kindness
and delicacy of his attentions, that he had contracted an intimacy
with the latter, which soon passed the ordinary boundaries of
friendship, and ripened into that blissful state of the affections,
which constitutes, perhaps, the most purely happy period in the
course of love - when the feelings of parties are tacitly understood and appreciated by each other, before an open avowal
occurs to throw with its business like aspect, the first shade of
earth over this paradise of the heart. It was at this interesting
stage of the intimacy that Warrington returned one day, after a
longer absence than usual, and found, to his great disappointment
and regret, that Hendee and his daughter had departed the day
before, without leaving any note or message, as he then could
learn, explanatory of their unannounced,-and, to him unexpected
departure. Believing from this, that he might have been perhaps,
deceived in regard to the nature and extent of the interest, which
he had flattered himself he had created in the bosom of Miss
Hendee, and feeling a little piqued at this appearance of neglect
on the part of both father and daughter, he soon ceased his unavailing enquiries concerning the family. And he had never
heard anything further respecting them, or received the slightest
information of the place of their subsequent residence, except
the vague and uncertain information which he gathered in his
adventure at the subterraneous abode before described, from
that time to the present hour, when, to his utter surprise, he
found them located on his own land. And now having no




88              THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
suspicion that they were conscious of intruding on the rights
of another, and last of all, his own, in taking up this place
under a York patent, and still cherishing all his former sentiments for the daughter, whose heart he believed he still
retained notwithstanding the claims of another to her hand, he
resolved to relinquish his right to the land, and even keep his
ownership, if possible, a secret from the family, while he should
prosecute his suit with the girl, at least till he had unravelled
the mystery that now seemed to hang over her, and become better
satisfied of the hopelessness of his case.
Revolving this subject in his mind, he returned to his encampment, and announced to his wondering companions, that he should
have no occasion to employ them in the affair which, as Stey were
apprised, he had been to investigate.
CHAPTER VIII.
"Let us be conjunctive in our revenge."
"'T is lucky! I can work my purposes,
While seeming but to do the state a service."
PERHAPS there is no kind of hatred, that finds harbor in the
human breast, more deadly and inveterate than that which is entertained by the perpetrators of base actions against those who
have detected them in guilt. Nor does the degree of inveteracy
with which this fiendish feeling is secretly cherished by the for.
mer, appear to be very often lessened by any forbearance which
may be exercised by the latter in not exposing their baseness, or
bringing them to punishment. We will not detain the reader,
however, with any speculations of our own on this dark and
somewhat singular leaf in the history of the human passions,
but leave the subject to be illustrated by those incidents of our
story, by which these remarks were here suggested.
When the discomfited soldier retreated from the presence of
Warrington and the rescued maiden, he concealed himself in a
thicket, from which he could espy the movements of the couple
till they separated. And when this had taken place, he proceed.
ed directly to his boat, and, entering it, pushed for the opposite




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               89
shore, plying his oars with a sort of nervous and spiteful energy,
as if impelled by the commingling feelings of chagrin and
revenge, that were working within him at the thoughts of his
defeat, and the consciousness that he had disgraced himself forever in the eyes of the girl, as well as exposed himself to the
contempt and abhorrence of her deliverer.
" Fool! fool! " he angrily muttered to himself, as he urged his
skiff through the waters, which, as if in mockery at the dark
turmoil of his breast, were now sparkling in cheerful brightness
in the rays of the setting sun; "stupid fool, to think a timid girl
would listen to me in such a place! and more fool still to manage
so blunderingly as to alarm her, when, if I had begun right, I
might have told her all, or at least found out whether she would
have made it to my advantage to do it. And then to mend the
matter, I must try, in my eagerness, to stop her! which brought
down that cursed interloper upon me, as if the old boy sent
him just at that moment to make an affair out of the trifle! I
wonder what they supposed I wanted to do? - that is plain, however, what they thought; but they are mistaken: Bill Darrow
for once is accused of what he is not guilty! ha! ha! aint that
a curiosity! Well, the plan, like every woman plan I ever laid,
is all blown to the devil now, I suppose; though I can yet bring
it about with the old man, if I choose. But that scoundrel, d-n
him! whoever he may be, I'll dog him to the death, but I'11 pay
him for his rascally interference! "
While thus reasoning and raving by turns, in the way of
soothing his smarting feelings, he had nearly reached his destined
landing, a small cove about a furlong north of the fort, when he
caught a glimpse of a man standing among the bushes on the
shore, apparently awaiting the approach of the boat.
"Ah! who have we here? " resumed the desperado, as, shading his eyes with his hand from the blinding rays of reflected
light that fell in his face, he threw a scrutinizing glance at the
person of the other; " why! can it be? - it is - Jake Sherwood
himself! What in the devil's name brought him here just at this
time? Ah! my dear fellow, you may thank your good stars,
and evil ones, that you are not by this time pretty devilishly well
dished! But can he have mistrusted my good will? No, no! -
the secret is still my own, and for the present shall remain so, as
my best stock in trade. Yet what can he want with me? Some
Beelzebub errand to be done, I'11 warrant me! Well, he shall
pay roundly for doing it, besides shelling out something more
8*




90             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
than promises on the old score, or I'I yet put him in a spot he
will little relish, I am thinking."
" Well, Darrow," said Sherwood, as the former now reached
the shore, and, pulling up his boat, mounted the bank; " sporting
a little over yonder this afternoon, eh? What luck? None!
Well, that is the way sometimes. But come, take a seat on this
old log here, in the bushes. I should like a little talk with you;
so lay aside that grim scowl of yours, and be sociable once, if
you can."
" Sociable! hum! I should like to know who in hell could feel
sociable, or wear a decent face, while his conscience is loaded
down with such soul-damning secrets as these of yours."
" My secrets! ha! ha! - as if they were not yours, too!i"
"And they may be somebody's else, too, unless you mend your
manners, and show yourself a little more liberal than you have
been lately, Jake Sherwood. But what brings you here now,
and what would you have with me?"
"Oh, nothing very special —nothing of any great consequence" -
"Nothing very special, hey? When did Jake Sherwood, or
his father before him, ever call on Bill Darrow without a special
object, I should like to know?"
"Well, well, supposing I have an errand, what then? —what
is there so out of the way in that, you surly one?"
" Why, nothing out of the way, but exactly in the way, as I
said. But what is the use of puttering with your round about
moonshine?- out with it!"
"Darrow,' said the other, after glancing about him as if to
make sure that there was no one within hearing; " there are several of the York outlaws prowling about Otter Creek. WXe came
near seizing them a few days ago at Lake Dunmore, though they
escaped us, and that was not all — but no matter - they, day
before yesterday, went down the Creek to the Lower Falls, and
took, and laid waste Colonel Reed's plantation there. And their
leader, one Warrington, with part of his gang, has since moved
off somewhere in this direction. Now there is a reward of about
two hundred crowns to be had for taking this fellow. I have had
my eye on him some time, and now I have some particular
reasons for wishing him secured."
"What a kind of a looking fellow is he? " asked Darrow, with
considerable interest. Do you know him by sight?"
"Yes - a tall, square built, and rather good looking fellow —




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               91
that is, he might appear so to one who did not know him for a
scoundrel."
" The same, by heavens! " exclaimed Darrow, after musing a
moment. "Yes, he must be the very fellow I saw not two hours
ago, as I was skirting along Captain Hendee's clearing over
yonder. He was walking with a woman near the woods."
"How! what woman? - not Alma Hendee?"
"Can't say."
"No, no, it must have been the maid - and yet- but confound
the audacious scoundrel, how came he there, and so soon acquainted with either maid or mistress, unless my suspicions are
right?"
" All that you can answer as well as I - though come to think
more about the woman's make and gear, I'11 be hanged if I do n't
believe that it was the old man's daughter.'
" Fire and furies! it must be so."
" Why, what are you so wrathy about?" said Darrow, with a
malicious smile. " You are not afraid the fellow will run away
with your girl, are you, Jake?"
"Milly girl! who told you so?  Not mine, unless I please,
I would have you to know! No, no, sir, no fear of this
poltroon in that. But still I can't exactly comprehend the movement. If he was reconnoitering with a view to ousting the old
man, would he be walking out so familiarly with his daughter?
It do n't look like it - no, it means something else, which must
the sooner be seen to. And thanks to the rascal's boldness, he
has put his fate in my power quicker than I expected."
"How - in what way? "
" Why, do n't you see, Bill? " said Sherwood, turning with a
familiar and coaxing air to the minion, " do n't you see how easily
he can be entrapped, if he remains at Hendee's to-night, or
repeats his visit?"
"Ay, but how would you manage the business?"
"You are a sergeant - take a file of men, go over, surround
the house and take him. Your superior wont object."
"But how am I to know when he is to be found there?"
"I will go over myself, reconnoiter as soon as dark, without
showing myself to alarm him, and if I find the game be there, I
will make a torch signal at the landing. You must keep watch,
and as soon as you see the light, come over with your men. If
he is not there to-night, he will be soon: Alma Hendee is not a
girl to be once seen and draw no second visit. Yes, by the
powers of darkness, I have him at last! But supposing he does




92             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
not come into this trap, he certainly is prowling somewhere near;
and you can prowl too, Bill. And - at the last pinch - you are
a good rifle shot, I think, Darrow? "
"Ha! ha! out at last, then! I thought it would finally come
to that. Jake Sherwood, you are a book that I can read by
looking on the cover."
" Then you know what I would have you do."
"Yes, but where would be the reward in that case? The
Yorkers do n't pay for heads that have been bored, do they?"
"The governor's proclamation do n't say delivered alive, but
only delivered. But whatever question there might be about
that in some cases, there shall be no failure in this. I have
influence enough at head quarters to see that your bill is footed,
if you bring this about, in any shape."
"And you will do it?"
"Upon honor."
"Upon interest, you mean."
"Upon both, if you please."
" That will do, and for this d-n'd good reason — if the security
is weak, I know of that which can easily be made to enforce the
bargain. Jake Sherwood, I am your man."
" Now that looks like a cheerful good will, without your usual
drawback of grumbling. WVell, we understand each other, do
we?"
"Hum! a d-n'd sight too well, Jake!"
" Why, we part friends, do n't we?"
"Yes, and it rests with you whether we remain so. But I
must be back to the fort. And as it is getting dusk, you go
directly over, I suppose?"
"Soon -but you understand that we are to try to cage him
at Hendee's first. Remember to look out for the signal!"
"Ay, ay!"
"Yes, my suspicions were right about him and the girl," soliloquized the plotting agent, after the departure of his reckless
minion. " But never mind, I have put the bloodhound on the
scent; and if the animal do n't forget his own nature, in addition
to putting a stop to this business, I shall soon have the pleasure
of seeing that haughty leader of these savage rebels. atone for
every blow which he caused to be inflicted 6n me at that accursed
lake! And that jeering lieutenant and all the rest, reward or no
reward, shall have their turn next. And then their executioner,
if I can contrive to make the hated scoundrel such, must be
made in some shape to follow them. Perhaps, however, he may




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 93
be disposed of in the war said to be brewing. At all events, he
is too dangerous a fellow to my interests to be suffered to remain
here long, to say nothing of the insults which I am compelled to
bear, and seem to take in good part, from his devil's tongue. I
wonder, though, what made him undertake this dangerous business so readily? -the reward, I suppose; — well, let him have
it, revenge is dearer to me than money. But perhaps I can contrive to get both — if I could but manage, after securing this
renegade Captain to make Darrow and some of the rest mutual
executioners - ha! that would be glorious! But of that hereafter, now for the first object."
So saying, and partially arousing himself from his reverie, he
proceeded along the shore a few rods to a point where he had
left his skiff, and, entering it, began to pull slowly for the residence, on the opposite shore, already described, to which we will
next take the reader, for the purpose of introducing some new
characters, and making the place the future scene of a large portion of the incidents to follow.
CHAPTER IX.
"I prythee, daughter, do not make me mad."
IT was on the second evening after the incidents related in the
two preceding chapters occurred, that an elderly gentleman sat
at the door of the pleasantly situated cottage before described,
quietly indulging in the habit-made luxury of puffing the Indian
weed, as, enjoying the bland breezes of the evening, he calmly
looked out upon the broad expanse of the lake, and the diversified objects of the landscape arohnd, over which the shades of
night were now rapidly gathering. Now his eyelids would droop,
and his head sink, slightly, towards his breast, under the sedative
influence of the narcotic fumes he was imbibing, aided by the
ceaseless croakings of the frogs, whose evening choruses rose
from the marshy shores of the lake in drowsy monotony on the
ear. And now he would partially arouse, and his eye would




94             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
light up, for an instant, with returning consciousness, as his ear
caught the new note of some bird of passage just returned from
his hibernal flight to the warm south, and now for the first time
heard, marking the progress of the season. The man might
have been sixty, though his appearance indicated a greater number of years; for his head was nearly white with the frosts that
the fatigues and privations of the camp, in which the vigor of his
manhood had been spent, had prematurely sprinkled on his head.
And yet, his erect figure, and keenly flashing eye, as his attention
became aroused to objects around him, betokened a spirit still
unbroken, and intellects still unimpaired, in despite of a shattered
constitution, and the ravages which hardship and time had
depicted on his thin and war-worn visage. Though at the same
time, the rapid play of the muscles of his face, and the combined
expression of every feature of his countenance, evidently denoted
that, with fine sensibilities, and much that was generous and
noble, he naturally possessed a sanguine temperament and a fiery
disposition, which his growing infirmities had rendered still more
irascible. And such was indeed the case with Captain Hendee,
the person whose appearance we have been endeavoring ic
describe. His life had been one which had been checkered with
no ordinary vicissitudes. He had been an officer in the colonial
army, and out in most of that fearful struggle with the French
and Indians, that, with little intermission, spread death and desolation through all the borders of the English colonies in America
from 1744 to 1760; and he had suffered imprisonment, sickness,
and all but death, in that terrible warfare. He had also known
the extremes of affluence and poverty in his pecuniary affairs;
while great felicity, and uncommon bereavements, had marked
his domestic relations. He had buried two wives, each, while
she was spared him, the charm of his existence. And, to add
still more to his cup of sorrows, a darling son, who had been
entrusted to the care of an uncle in his father's absence, soon
unaccountably disappeared, having been abducted and murdered,
it was supposed, by some lurking band of Indians. One daughter, the child of his last wife, was now all that remained to him
to smooth the pillow of age, and prop his declining years. And
well did that beloved and truly lovely daughter fulfil the filial
trust thus imposed. Aware of her parent's infirmities, as well
of temper as of body, she became the gentle soother of the one,
and the watchful nurse of the other. And ever manifesting the
most affectionate solicitude for his welfare, and always assiduously
attentive to his slightest wants and wishes, while readily over



THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 95
looking the harshness, which in his fits of petulance, he occasionally showed her, and which she generally answered only with a
tear, she gained over him, by this, and the super-added influence
of his affection for her, and his sense of dependence on her for
happiness, a control for his good, that the whole world united
would have failed in attempting to obtain.
A discreet and demure maiden of about thirty, an old servant,
who lived with them in more prosperous days, still remained with
them, and, with one more person, scarcely less regarded, completed all the permanent members of the family. That other
person was no other than Neshobee, the young Indian, with whom
the reader has already had a partial acquaintance, without having
been before apprised, however, we believe, of his residence. He
was one of Captain Hendee's trophies of war, having been captured in an onset on an Indian lodge, to which a band of murderers had been traced, after one of their massacres on the frontier
settlement. The Indians being taken wholly by surprise, and
nearly all slain by the first fire, this lad was found burrowed unhurt in a pile of dry leaves in one of their haunts, and secured
by the victors; when the Captain declared, with a sort of melancholy jest, that as the hell-hounds, a year or two before, had
deprived him of a son of about the same age, he would for once
follow their custom of supplying the place of the slain by adopting one captured from the enemy. And accordingly he took the
boy, then six or eight years old, back with him to his post, and
finally to his family, with whom the captive had ever since
resided.
The domicil of this strikingly contrasted family was a common
cottage, constructed after the fashion of the better sort of houses
in the settlement, of hewn timber, so exactly squared and laid
together, in the present instance, as to make smooth, compact
walls, neatly white-washed without, and tightly ceiled with boards
within. The interior, which was divided into two principal rooms,
parlor and kitchen, with a range of bed rooms and other small
apartments abreast, exhibited an odd mingling of the relics of
refined life, with the crude substitutes for furniture, and the
various articles usually found in the houses of a border settlement. On the high mantel-piece of the best room stood the wide
spreading antlers of some noble buck, the tips of the various
branches being ornamented with curious sea-shells, the egg-shells
of rare birds, and other devices of the tasteful young mistress of
the establishment.  Rich mahogany chairs were cushioned with
the feathered skins of the loon, a large water-fowl abounding in




96-            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
our northern lakes, and remarkable for the thickness and tenacity
of its skin, as well as for the downy softness of its feathers. A
light stand, of exquisite workmanship, was supplied with a curiously beaded miniature Indian canoe for a tray, containing a pair
of small clam-shells for snuffers. On wooden pegs in the wall were
suspended the remains of a once superb mirror, the broken parts
of which were artfully concealed by festoons of the creeping evergreen; while, on one side, a small, but well selected assortment
of books, arranged on broad shelves, completed the list of all
the prominent articles by which the room was furnished. The
furniture of the kitchen was mostly of the roughest kind; and
the whole room abounded with evidences of the woodman's life,
the walls and ceiling above being hung with implements of hunting, furs, pieces of drying venison, and other trophies of the
chase, taken by Neshobee, the young Esau, or red Nimrod, if the
reader please, of the family.
" Come, father," said Miss Hendee, with a look of affectionate
solicitude, as, rolling up her needle-work, she rose from her seat
by his side: " had you not better take a seat within; I fear you
are exposing yourself too much to the night air to expect quiet
from your rheumatic shoulders to-morrow."
"No, Alma," replied the old gentleman, knocking the ashes
from his pipe, " I know just what I can bear: old Fahrenheit
himself could not make an instrument that would indicate the
state of the air, whether hot or cold, dry or humid, more exactly
than these sensitive fluids in my old shattered frame. No, the
atmosphere is peculiarly soft and warm this evening. I think
old Boreas has nearly lost his claws for this season. I just heard
a whippoorwill, or muckawis, as the Indians call it, which they
say never appears here in the spring till winter has got so far
towards the big ice-pond on his return to the north, that he will
no more come back."
" I knew it was very mild to-night, father, but I thought, perhaps, you were not aware how late you were remaining in the
open air, since you appeared so deeply engaged in cogitation."
"True, girl, I have been thinking over matters a little."
"What matters, father, may I know? "
"Yes," replied the other, now rising and following his daughter into the room we first described, " yes, Alma, you shall know,
for you are, yourself, one of the parties concerned."
"I, father? "
"Yes, you are, girl; but in the first place let me ask you, if




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               97
you did not think your cousin Sherwood's manner, in his visit
last night, rather singular?"
"I might have thought so, perhaps - in what respect did you
imagine his manner was singular, however?"
"In several- what was it that he seemed to be hinting about
so mysteriously? And did he not have the air of one who is
secretly suspicious of something?"
" Does my father," replied the other, evading a direct answer,
"does my father think that anything very singular in Mr. Sherwood?"
"Why - why "- said the Captain, surprised and staggered
at the question: "Why, yes, I had hoped so; for these secretly
suspecting characters I dislike, Alma, you know. Confound
them, yes, I detest them!"
" And I, rejoined the girl, with a smile, in which the jocose
and serious were significantly blended, " I am too much my father's
daughter, I confess, to think otherwise, myself."
" Why! what? how? " hastily exclaimed the Captain, puzzled
and uneasy at the remark of the other. " Why, what on earth
can this all mean. No rupture brewing between you and Jake,
is there? "
" Not that I am aware of, as far as there are any ties to sever -
or, at least, none that I, as yet, have been the just cause of,
though ""Though what? " sharply demanded the father, with increasing irritation: " Zounds! you do n't think the fellow is trying to
claw of, do you? Curse the hollow-hearted - humph, what was
I going to say?"
"Nothing but the truth, father, I presume," answered Alma,
looking up with a faint smile, and a sort of cool desperation in
her manner.
" Yes, I was," quickly rejoined the other, hitching about in hi
chair. "Blast it! girl, why did n't you tell me I lied?"
"What, tell my father he lied! " said the girl, roguishly: " no,
no! that would have been the worst of manners."
" Yes, yes," pettishly returned the Captain, " but why do n't
you stand up for him. I do n't like this do n't eare a fig sort of
way you have about the business. Hang me, if I do n't believe
you are the one, after all, who wishes to be off?"
"And would you object to my trying to get the start of him?"
again evasively replied the girl, " if I believed he was intending
to desert me? "
" Why, no "- answered the other, " not that I know of; no,
9




98             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
that would be, perhaps, a decent finesse, if that was the case;
but it is not. Then what is all this bothering and teasing me
for? "- he continued, in a vexed and expostulating tone; this
supposing things that are not so? You will work me up to a
fever; make me mad, march mad, without letting me know
which of you to be mad at.'T is provoking; insufferable, girl I
Why not tell me in your usual direct, off-hand way, at once, how
the matter stands between you and Jake?"
"Father," said Alma, seriously, " I most certainly would tell
you, if I knew myself."
" Well, if that do n't cap the whole, now! " said the Captain,
eyeing his daughter with an incredulous and somewhat contemptuous expression, " a courted girl know nothing of her own courtship! your caged squirrel, that hangs in the kitchen yonder,
knows nothing of nuts, does he?"
" Now, father, you wrong me," said the other, a little piqued
at the taunt, and now perceiving the necessity of being more
explicit on a subject which she felt reluctant to discuss, lest she
should, by such frankness as she could wish to use, displease her
sensitive parent. "M Mr. Sherwood once certainly made me proposals; and I, knowing how much you had the project at heart,
acquiesced, or rather, I did not reject him; since that time, he
has not often reminded me of the subject. His own affairs he
keeps to himself; and a few silly compliments on his part, completes the whole story of what you call our courtship."
"Beggarly account!" muttered the Captain, with an air of
disappointment; "beggarly account, as the fellow says in the
play; cold business this, for a love affair, or I am no judge, I'11
be shot if I am! But, zounds! " he continued, again kindling
up, " Why, I thought it was all a settled business! And it was
settled — and would be now, if' your powers of winning were
exerted to have it so! What will become of us the Lord only
knows, if this falls through."
" Oh, I would borrow no trouble on that score, sir," observed
Alma.
" But I shall, though "  rejoined the other. "The truth is,
Alma, we are poor — poor as Job, when the devil had done his
damnedest! We owe Jake's father, -which, as he is sole heir,
is the same as Jake himself, -for nearly all we have. If my
little Edward could have been spared me -but the noble boy is
gone; and that family have been the vortex in which all my
property and expectations have been swallowed up: I do not say
that the property went wrongfully; but it went. Even before




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 99
Jake came here, I had thought of the possibility, that you might
become the channel by which this property would be diverted
back again into my family. And when he made proposals to
you, and I understood you accepted'them, I confess I was gratified. It gladdened my old desolate and despairing heart with the
thought that it would ensure my comfort in my decrepit and
helpless old age, while it would give you the home and wealth
which I never could furnish you; and now to have the only
bright streak I have seen for years in my dark future, suddenly
blotted out - to have the only pleasant cup that has been presented to me for so long, thus dashed from my very lips! - And
by whose hand?" he added, with startling fierceness, as, trembling with rising passion, he shook his clenched fist before the
face of his unoffending daughter. "By whose hand, I say?
Girl, girl, if I really thought "" I will marry him, father," replied the girl, bursting into tears,
which were drawn forth more, however, by the picture he had
drawn of his hopes and sorrows, than by his menaces; " Oh, I
will — I will marry him, for your sake, dear father, if it breaks
my heart! "
" Hang it! no, you shan't! " exclaimed the excitable old man,
touched to the quick at the sight of his daughter's tears, and his
whole feelings undergoing a revulsion as sudden as rose the tempest of his passion; " no, you shan't!  Brand me for a brute, if
you shall! No - no- no" — he repeated, till his increasing
emotion fairly choked his utterance, and he could articulate no
more.
The tide of passion, having risen to its height, was now left to
subside in the pause that followed.
" Let us now dismiss this painful subject from our thoughts,"
at length said the daughter, the first to recover her composure;
" and do not let the matter further disturb your feelings, my dear
and generous-hearted father: For whatever be the final result,
rest assured, that I will never marry without your full consent."
" Dutiful — noble girl! " sobbed the old man, dashing away a
tear; " God has left me a consolation in you, my dear daughter,
which I ought to be thankful for, and which, but for my accursed
temper, I should repay with better treatment."
"Oh, do not name it, father, do not name it," replied the
daughter with a sweet and cheering smile;" if we should go
upon faults, I may have scores of them, any of which, perhaps,
would outweigh the solitary one you tax yourself with."
Miss Hendee had never before ventured so far in manifesting




100            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
a disposition to thwart the known feelings and wishes of her
irritable father. But her late accidental interview with Warrington, whom she never expected again to see, had forced upon
her mind a comparison between her two lovers, which made her
more painfully sensible than ever how much she must sacrifice in
becoming the wife of Sherwood, whose true character, as deeply
veiled as he had endeavored to keep it with this family, she had
in some measure penetrated, and she could not forego this opportunity of letting her father see how heavy upon her heart hung
the chain, that she was wearing only out of regard to his happiness; and yet scarcely more now than before, did she meditate
on throwing off this chain, by which she had passively suffered
herself to be bound. But determining to defer any consummation, which might, for the present, be urged upon her, she suffered
herself only to hope the event of circumstances more auspicious
for reconciling the now conflicting duties, which she owed herself,
and, with all his faults, her still loved parent.
After the conversation just detailed, the parties soon repaired
to the kitchen, where, in his great arm-chair before the cheerful
fire, the Captain was accustomed to spend his evenings, sometimes listening to the silver-toned voice of his daughter, as she
sung some favorite song, or read some favorite author, and sometimes recounting the thrilling incidents, that had marked his
adventures while battling the subtle foe of the wilderness. One
of his most attentive auditors, when engaged in the latter employment, was Neshobee, with whom the veteran also often amused
himself in conversation, either imparting information to the
native, or listening to the shrewd and original remarks made by
the latter in answer to the various questions by which he was
purposely interrogated. Perceiving now, however, that the place
of this almost necessary adjunct to his happiness was vacant, the
Captain immediately inquired of Ruth, the servant-maid before
mentioned, if she knew whither the Indian had gone.
" He is out in the field, Captain," replied the person addressed,
with some signs of uneasiness in her looks, " and I wonder what
strange thing he sees or hears to-night, that makes him act so
oddly? I have been out, and called to him; but he paid no
attention to me, and kept on his pranks, sometimes listening with
his ear to the ground, and then dodging or crawling from one
stump to another."
" Aha?" said the Captain, with a look of interest; " those are
generally pranks that mean something with an Indian. I wonder
who can be prowling about us now?"




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              101
"Mercy! " exclaimed Ruth in alarm; "if it should be the
Green Mountain Boys!"" The worst would be their own, I think," coolly observed the
Captain; " that is, if they come to show us such play as it is said
they have shown some on Otter Creek."
"What would you do father, in case they should come on such
an errand?" asked Alma, with an air of mingled curiosity and
concern.
"What would I do, child? Why, I would put a rifle bullet
through the first one who should attempt to enter, even if it
should be Warrington himself. Besure, I know but little of this
cursed dispute about titles. They may have as much right to
lands that they have bought, and first improved, as the Yorkers,
for aught that I know; and I was never for hanging them for
fighting in such a case.  But here-twhy, zounds! do you
think when I have got the first possession, and done so much
upon the place, that I am a going to give it up to the greedy
dogs?  No! not if their great devil and all generalissimo,
Ethan Allen, should come on with all his forces, would I give
it up without a fight! Hoo! they shall have my heart's blood
first!"
" I trust there will be no necessity for bloodshed any where,
father," rejoined the daughter quite composedly; " I have reason
to - that is, I do not believe the Green Mountain Boys will
make the least attempt to molest us."
"' Well - well, girl," said the Captain, scanning the other
closely, and at first with rather a puzzled air, which soon, however, gave way to a look of approbation; "I must say that does
not seem much like borrowing trouble, as most of you women do
in such cases. However, I have been taught by the Indians, and
sometimes have paid dear for my schooling too, that this borrowing trouble is not always so bad a thing after all; as it generally
keeps us well guarded against a surprise. But here comes our
scout; so let us hear his report. Well, Neshobee, they say you
are scouting to-night - what is in the wind?"
"Me hark um, but no tell um," replied the Indian, quietly
taking his place by the fire.
The dogf in the yard now gave one of those faint, indecisive
sort of yelps usual with the animal when doubtful whether he
has heard something that should require his notice.
"Beagle thinks pretty much as you do, Neshobee," said the
Captain, comprehending the tone of the dog: "but hark!" he
added, as the animal barked again, and in a more decided man.
9*




102           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
ner; "I can't read that so easily. What do you make of it,
boy?"
"Beag say that no four-foot coming, Cappen," said the native,
unconcernedly.
"Is the rifle well loaded, Neshobee?" asked the Captain,
glancing at the fire-arms suspended by hooks on the wall.
"Yas! "
"And the fowling-piece?"
"Me spose um."
"Very well, down with them, then! Alma, step and bring me
my pistols! and in the mean time we will bar the door- Ruth,
lend a hand! If these fellows," continued the Captain, coolly
assisting to execute the several commands he had so rapidly given
to his household —" if these fellows had any honest errand, they
would come up to the house at once like men, instead of skulking
around at a distance, as they evidently are. We may as well be
prepared for them."
~" Father," said Alma, returning with the required pistols, and
now manifesting the most lively concern. " Father, I do beg of
you not to think of firing on any one rashly - ascertain what
they want, at all events. Your apprehensions, I think, are wholly
groundless - I cannot think - indeed I am very sure "A gentle rap, rap, rap! on the outside of the door caused
the speaker suddenly to suspend.  All now stood hushed in
silence, till the rapping was repeated, in several louder and more
distinct knocks.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 103
CHAPTER X.
a But who was he, that on his hunting spear
Lean'd with a prouder and more fiery bearing?
His was a brow for tyrant hearts to fear,
Within the shadow of its dark locks wearing
That which they may not tame - a soul declaring
War against earth's oppressors."
"HALLo, there!" called out Captain Hendee, in no very
gentle tones, as he cocked his pistols, and threw himself into an
attitude of defence. " Hallo! who comes?"
" No enemy, to say the least," answered the voice without.
"Let him in, father, do let him in!" said Miss Hendee, in a
low beseeching tone.
" What, without giving his name!" said the Captain.  "V Why
child, I do n't know that voice from Adam's! No, no, friend or
foe, he shall undergo that ceremony."
" Well, father, you can just ask him, without being so rough,
can't you?" interposed the daughter, in an earnest half whisper,
quietly placing her hand on the arm of the other.
" Friend," said Captain Hendee, softening down at the entreaties of his daughter, and as it occurred to him that the tones of
the voice he had just heard were entirely of a pacific character;
" friend, will you favor us with your name?"
" Captain Hendee," said the man, seeming to hesitate about
complying, " I am wholly unattended, your dog here seems to
acknowledge my acquaintance, and if you will not do the same,
when I am admitted," he added in rather a jocose tone, " I will
agree to depart as peaceably as I came."
" Humph! me know that man talk! Him no bad! " said the
Indian, with a low chuckle.
The Captain, now, evidently a little chagrined at the suspicions
he had entertained, and the parade he had made, immediately
drew out the bar, and opened the door; when the visitor entered,
but quickly paused, after entering the threshold, to receive the
scrutinizing look of the other.




104            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
"What! no - yes,'t is! " exclaimed Hendee, between perplex.
ity and surprise, after looking a few seconds into the fa e of the
new-comer.  "Well, now, by the great Jupiter! if I am not
absolutely ashamed of myself!  Mr. Howard!" he continued,
advancing, and cordially shaking the other by the hand, " Mr.
Howard, God bless you, sir, how do you do? Apologies by the
dozen are yours! —or should be, if such- moon-shine concerns
were ever worth offering. But walk in, walk in, sir. Here are
my family — all together now - they were not when you saw
us, I think. Alma you are acquainted with - Miss Ruth, this is
Mr. Howard. And here is another, Neshobee, we call him, a
native, as you perceive, but for all that an adopted meraber of
our family."
Miss Hendee, though much embarrassed at this meeting, in
spite of all her attempts to appear composed, managed nevertheless, to exchange the customary salutations in such a manner as
to conceal her embarrassment from all except her lover; between
whom and herself it seemed to be tacitly understood that they
should meet each other as for the first time, without making the
slightest allusion to their late interview. There was another of
the family group also, that came in for his share of surprise, at
least, at some of the circumstances attending this meeting. And
that was the Indian. Not expecting to see Warrington here till
he heard his voice at the door, and never dreaming till this
moment, but that the latter and his master's family were entire
strangers, the poor fellow, when he saw them meet as old acquaintances, and above all, when he heard Captain Hendee address the
other by the name of Howard, looked perfectly confounded, ant'
expressed as much unfeigned astonishment as an Indian countenance, perhaps, ever exhibited. The instinctive prudence of his
race, however, prevented him from betraying, by words, his
surprise and perplexity, or exposing Warrington in the disguise
which he supposed was for some good reasons assumed.
ATell, Mr. Howard," resumed the Captain, after the usual
salutations were over, " I am right happy to renew my acquain
tance with you, and have the opportunity to express personally,
my obligations to you for your many kindnesses to us at the time
of my accident on the road. You probably thought our departure
rather abrupt on your return. But you received my note, did
you not?"
" No, sir, neither note nor message."
"What! then that old heedless poodle of a landlady forgot it,
or more probably lost it, and to mend the matter, thought she




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               105
would conceal from you that I gave her one. Well, well, you
must have thought us rather singular beings, as well for that as
for some other things you perhaps noticed in us. For I remember,
we kept you pretty much in the dark about our affairs. The
fact was, Mr. Howard, and I care not now who knows it, that I
was then under the apprehension of being pursued and taken
back by creditors, before I could reach my connections in Albany,
where I expected to obtain the means of satisfying them, as I did,
before making this purchase."
" You did not return then?"
" No! When I arrived there, finding that sales were making
in these lands, I concluded on a life in the woods — made a
purchase - came on here the first season with hired men, and
then sent for Alma from Albany, and the rest of the family and
goods from Connecticut."
" And what directed you particularly to this location?"
" My own knowledge of the country, obtained in the wars
when I was campaigning with Put and Rogers along the borders
of this then bloody lake. I remember this spot well. A pitch
had been made here by some Frenchmen, who cleared up several
acres, lived here a few years, and then deserted the place. This
was the first opening made this side of the Connecticut river, all
the rest of the country being, at the time I first saw the spot, one
broad, unbroken wilderness. Many a weary march, and many a
cold, wet bed, have I had on these dark and tangled shores. I
have often wondered how we could have outlived such hardships.
With the constitution and spirits I then possessed, however, I had
but little dread of the woods, or the red imps that infested them.
But my days of fighting are now over, Mr. Howard."
" Some, in my situation, with these evidences around, might
feel disposed to doubt that, Captain," smilingly observed Warrington motioning to the fire-arms, which had not been yet
replaced.
" Ah, you have me there," gaily responded the other; " but
honestly, we were expecting visits of a different character. If
those rough dealing devils, the Green Mountain Boys, had beset us,
instead of our peaceable old friend, Dr. Hunter, there is no telling
but even so broken down an old Trojan, as I am, might have
shown some fight on the occasion."
"Perhaps, sir," replied the guest in the same spirit; I should
tender my condolence at your disappointment in not being allowed
the chance to exercise your old vocation."
" Not a whit, not a whit, sir: For I should extremely regret




106            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
to be forced into a quarrel with my countrymen in defence of
what I consider my rightful possessions. And I hope it may
never be the case. But we have had some reason to believe
otherwise within a day or two past. A friend apprised me, that
a band of these fellows was abroad, and probably on their way to
this part of the lake shore; and our two scouts here, Neshobee
and Beagle, having successively made their reports in their
respective fashions, to-night, that there were skulkers in the bush,
I, for one, began really to expect that we had got to do battle for
our home. Alma here, however, I am half ashamed to own, was
less apprehensive, and bore herself more coolly than any of the
garrison, not excepting the old soldier of forty battles at their
head! HIang me! if I do n't believe the girl, like old Falstaff,
knew by instinct who was coming! Come, child, now be honest,
was it not so? "
But Alma, whose head suddenly dropped at the remark, and
whose fair cheek glowed like the fire before which she was sitting,
was quite too busy with her pretty fingers in tumbling over the
contents of her work-basket for a thimble, or some other article,
that became just at that moment unaccountably missing, to heed
the question, or think of answering it. Even Warrington appeared
to be a little discomposed at this close, though random shot of the
old Captain; but he did not forget to throw a glance of gratitude
towards his fair friend for the confidence, which the Captain's
statement seenled to imply that she had placed in his assurances
at their late interview.
Captain Hendee, without seeming to notice the sensation which
his last remarks, intended only for a passing joke, produced on
some of his auditors, at length resumed:
" You wandered round the borders of the woods some time
before you found us, I conclude, sir, fiom the noises that Neshobee
heard previous to your arrival? "
"0, no, sir, I came direct, and without stopping."
"I do n't see, then; but we have as much reason now, as before,
to expect a visit from the enemy to-night," musingly observed
the Captain.
" Ale guess um what I hear no Mountain Boys," said Neshobee,
looking significantly at Warrington, as if he considered the latter
to have the most interest in the information thus imparted.
Neither the remark of the Indian, nor the meaning look that
accompanied it, was lost on Warrington, as was evident from the
expression of uneasiness that, for an instant, became visible on
his countenance; but he remained silent.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               107
"Which way did you come, 3lr. Howard?" resumed the
Captain; "I believe you have not told us, nor, indeed, how you
became apprised of our present residence?"
Warrington, catching a forbidding glance from Mliss Hendee,
was hesitating, on her account as well as his own, what answer
he should frame to the embarrassing question, when he was
suddenly relieved from his dilemma by a bold, heavy rap at the
door.
Captain Hendee, feeling more assured this time from the
reinforcement received in his friend Howard, who, as usual, had
his rifle with him, immediately rose, and, with but a slight hesitation, opened the door; when he suddenly paused, and stood a
moment gazing in mute surprise at the figure before him. Soon
recovering, however, he, in a sort of hesitating and doubtful tone,
invited the man to enter.
Acknowledging the proffered courtesy with a stately bow, the
stranger advanced, with a bold, free step, and a fearless air, into
the middle of the room, where he paused, and bowed slightly to
each of the assembled group, most of whom, however, were too
much surprised, and over-awed at the singular and formidable
appearance of the man to return his salutations. And, indeed,
his appearance was of so unique and striking a character as well
to warrant the sensation which his presence seemed to produce.
Of an uncommon height, and with an extraordinary breadth of
chest, supplied with large brawny limbs, his whole frame constituted a figure of the most Herculean cast; while his larg e, darkly
bright eyes, and the air of intelligence that marked the general
expression of his coarse, lion-like features, gave evidence, that
his intellectual powers were not, as frequently occurs in such
instances, wholly incommensurate with his physical proportions.
A modern phrenologist, indeed, while comparing his high and
remarkably expansive forehead, with the vast volume which
composed the back part of his head, might be much puzzled to
decide whether his intellectual or animal nature would most predominate in his character. His dress, which was likewise somewhat
singular for the times, consisted of high, heavy boots, buff breeches
and doublet, with a high collared, white shag coat of the frock
kind, all of which was surmounted by a fine, though much worn
beaver, slouched, except the front part, which was turned up so
as to give an additional boldness to his large features, and to
impart somewhat of a bandit aspect to his appearance. This, to
ordinary observation, completed his outward equipment; though a
closer inspection might have revealed the shape of a stout pistol




108            THE GREEN MIOUNTAIN BOYS.
swelling the smooth and snugly setting leather over each of his
breeches pockets, while the buck-horn handle of a large war-knife
might occasionally be seen protruding from its sheath attached
to the side lining of his coat.
Placing he heavy rifle which he bore in his hand in a corner,
the stranger now advanced, and, with an air of easy unconcern,
seated himself by the side of his host, in the family circle round
the fire.
" 3ly name is Hendee," at length said the Captain, evidently
not wholly at ease in the presence of his bold and fearful looking
visitor, "my name is Hendee, and being no great stickler for
ceremony, I hope I shall be excused, sir, in saying that it always
affords me pleasure to know by what name I may address my
guests."'
" That's right!" bluntly commenced the stranger in reply,
and you got at it ingeniously too, by George! "
"I meant no offence, sir."
" O, no, but let me see - it is now May, is it not?"
"Yes, sir."
" Well, then, for the month of May, my name is Smith."
"Sir? - did I rightly understand you, sir? "
" I presume so - I said Smith, because there are more of that
name than any other."
"Yes, sir, but what follows from that?"
" Why, of course, sir, that you stand a better chance to get my
right name: men will lie like the devil, sometimes, you know! "
" Really, sir! " said the Captain, his eyes beginning to shoot
fire at this apparently intended insult, " really, sir, I cannot understand your drift, if you do not mean to offer us an affront."
9" Ha! ha! ha!" roared the stranger, in a voice that shook
the house, " well, now, if that aint a good one! ha! ha! ha!
Why, no, friend," he continued, familiarly turning towards the
other, and giving him  a rough slap on the shoulder, "no, no,
friend; but you just said you was no great stickler for ceremonyno aint I, as you see. So let us be honest, and live up to our
professions."
" Agreed to that. And yet —" rejoined the Captain, perfectly
at a loss what to make of his strange guest, and though still
vexed, yet now half ashamed of the feeling he had shown —
" and yet, sir, I have met in the course of my life, but with few
honest men, who were afraid to tell their names."
" Why, the truth is," replied the other, with an air of much
seriousness, "that you are all such quarrelsome curses, down




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               109
here in the Grants, that a stranger, like myself, can't safely travel
among you by any other name than Smith, if he had one. As
to myself, I do n't exactly know, in the strictly legal sense of the
thing, that I have any name -to speak of, except Smith; for I
still stick to Smith, mind ye- that is, for the month of May."
" Well, well, have it as you will, man," observed Hendee, now
softening down, and beginning to be amused in spite of himself
at the blunt drollery of the other. "But I must say you are the
greatest oddity I have met with, for many a day."
" That may be, friend," said the stranger, his countenance
assuming the cast of sincerity; "but as you, like a wise man,
have concluded not to be offended at nonsense, let us talk sense a
little: Captain Hendee, a man of your intelligence and observation cannot but have long since noticed the quarrel that has been
brewing between us colonists, and the mother country?"
"I have, sir; and with the most painful regret," was the
guarded reply.
" And those Bostonians and Vii inians, who have taken the
lead in the resistance to the King's -:l thority," resumed the stranger, again assuming an equivocal look, and fixing his eyes keenly
on the countenance of the other, "those fellows are a set of
Christless knaves, for their rebellion, you agree? "
" Knaves! How so, sir?" replied the Captain, hastily, and
with a look that betrayed more of his feelings than he intended
should have been revealed to a stranger, and especially to one
who apparently entertained sentiments on this subject so different
from those which he had long privately cherished.
" Aha! " eagerly exclaimed the stranger, with evident delight,
"'sits the wind in that quarter, really and truly?  Well, I am
not disappointed in you, after all, thank God! "
"Yes, but you, sir? " - said the Captain, again confounded at
the seemingly contradictory language and manner of the other,
" what did you say but a moment since?"
"What did I say?  O, pooh! that is nothing!" replied the
stranger. "But again, and seriously, Captain Hendee (for I am
now satisfied that it will do to ask you the question), should matters
proceed to open hostilities in an attempt to burst these accursed
fetters, how far could your countenance and support be depended
on?"
"Stranger," said Captain Hendee, looking the other full in the
face, "as singular a man as you appear, you nevertheless have
an honest countenance, and would not, I think, try, in my own
house, to lead me into a snare. But granting that your senti10




110            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
ments and mine coincide on this subject, what could you ask, or
expect, from an infirm, old man, whose only home and property
lie under the very mouths of the guns of Fort Frederick?" *
" I see, I see! " answered the stranger. " But it may be worth
much to us to know that your heart is in the right spot: For
the times are coming when even what such as you can do, may
be of incalculable importance to the cause. Indeed, sir," he continued with increasing earnestness, and with deep and startling
emphasis, "indeed, sir, those times are already at the door:
Blood- American blood has been shed! "
"Where? where?" simultaneously burst from  the lips of
Hendee and Warrington.
"At Lexington, resumed the stranger, with clenched fist and
eye of fire. "Fifty American citizens have been shot down like
wild cattle by a foreign soldiery! and their blood has gone up to
the great God, in cries of vengeance!  All Massachusetts
are in arms! And are we here of the Green Mountains to
remain idle?" he added, with a look and a tone of almost frightful energy; "by all the thrones of heaven and hell, no, no! "
" Oh, for the renovation of one year of my manhood's vigor!"
exclaimed the Captain, springing from his chair, and hastily
striding round the room.
" All that is Well enough, but useless, my friend," observed the
stranger, after a silence among the company of a few moments, in
which he seemed to have brought his feelings back to their usual
current: " so instead of calling on Hercules, like the man of the
fable, in prayers that never can be answered, be thinking what
you can do. This Indian," — he continued, in an under tone,
approaching close to the Captain- "he is domesticated in your
family?"
" Yes, brought up by us, mostly; a cunning, prudent, and
faithful fellow," replied the Captain, in a voice too low to be
heard, as he supposed, by the rest of the company.
"And may be made a useful friend for some emergencies, with
your permission. Captain?"
" You have it, that is for an occasional runner, scout, or the
like - I should not like to part with him for any great length of
time, however."
"Here, my friend," said the stranger, approaching the native,
* The fort at Crown Point was, in the old French wars, denominated Fort
Frederick.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              111
and presenting him with a valuable pocket knife, " will you take
this as a gift to remember me by? Now look me in the face."
" Yas - umph! Ah, him good — one very good!" said the
Indian, quickly pocketing the knife.
" Now, Captain," said the stranger, putting on his hat, and giving other indications of his intention to depart, " I have only to
say, that I am sorry I could not have been more frank with you
in some particulars; but circumstances forbade it. Now I must
be off; and I have some notion," he continued, looking at Warrington, "of inviting your guest here to accompany me as a
guide."
" Mr. Howard is an old acquaintance, sir, just called after a
long separation," said the Captain.  "We should be sorry to
part with him so soon."
" Mr. Howard will remain through the night with us, surely?"
interposed the musical voice of Miss Hendee.
"The stranger gave a scrutinizing, look at the father and
daughter, and ended by exchanging with Warrington looks of
intelligence, which very clearly showed that the two were by no
means strangers to each other. Seeming to satisfy himself, he
was about to remark further, when the tramp of men, now heard
approaching the door, arrested the attention of the company.
The rattling of guns announced them to be armed men, among
whose voices the quick ears of Miss Hendee 1ecognized that of
Darrow.  Instantly rising, she hastily invited Warrington to
take a seat in the other room; and the latter complying, the
lovers disappeared through one door, just as the new comers
entered another.




112            TEE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER XI.
"Ha! here come those we counted not on meeting!"
TIlE company, whose arrival was announced at the close of
the last chapter, proved to be a small detachment of soldiers from
the opposite Fort. They were seven or eight in number, under the
command of their sergeant, Darrow, who, with three others, after
knocking, though scarcely waiting for a bidding, unceremoniously
entered the kitchen, the remainder of the force having been
posted at the doors and windows without, to prevent all escape
from the house. As an ostensible reason for calling at this time,
Darrow carelessly observed, that being out in pursuit of a deserter, a part of their company had gone up the lake with their boat,
thus depriving them of the means of recrossing, and leaving
them no other resort but to crave a shelter of Captain Hendee
for the night, or, at least, till their boat returned. Calls of this
kind by the officers and soldiers of the garrison being of no very
unfrequent occurrence at the house, the present visit, therefore,
occasioned the Captain little or no surprise, and being of a hospitable turn, and fond, as might be supposed, of having those for
company, who belonged to a profession, in which a great portion
of his own life had been spent, he appeared to feel quite at ease
with his new guests. Not so, however, with all the company
assembled. The meeting between the soldiers, and the stout
stranger before described, seemed to be mutually unexpected,
and evidently but little relished by the latter: For, though they
were all personally unknown to him, yet he was aware that he
might not be so to them: and, should the last supposition be true,
as, from certain sly looks, which he saw exchanged between the
soldiers, he thought highly probable, he was sensible that he had
a part to play for himself, 9rla. Warrington, of whose cooperation
he felt assured, that would reqtuire all his tact, and perhaps put
to the severest test the powers of both to extricate them from the
threatened difficulty.
Nor were the stranger's suspicions by any means groundless.
Darrow had before seen the man, and at once recognized him as




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              113
one, who, if taken, would prove a far greater prize than the person whose seizure constituted the particular object of the present
visit; but one, at the same time, well known to be the most formidable, and difficult of capture, of all the Green Mountain
outlaws.
" That aint the fellow we came for," whispered Darrow to the
soldier nearest him, the first opportunity that occurred for so
doing, unobserved. " He must be with the girl in the other room,
I think. But this big chap is one of the same kidney, only worth
two of him, if taken; secure him, as well as the other, and your
pay shall be doubled. So keep your eyes on him for the present,
and we will wait till they go to bed, and get to sleep: For the
other is no baby for a tussle; and this one," he continued, with a
significant look, as he cast a fearful glance at the giant-like person of the stranger; " and this one, to say nothing of the ugly
instruments they say he carries under his clothes, he is -he's
the devil-and'all- he's thunder! "
This information, with the orders accompanying it, being soon
passed around to all the band, every movement of the stranger
was regarded with the most suspicious vigilance. But he, contrary to their expectation, made not the slightest movement,
which indicated that he was meditating any attempt to escape.
On the contrary, the more he was watched, the more unconscious
did he seem, that he was an object of suspicion or vigilance with
any of the company; and with the utmost unconcern, he soon
began to mingle in the conversation, commencing with those blunt,
cordial kind of advances to Darrow, and as many of his men as
he could find excuse for addressing individually, which are generally the surest, if not the only road to the soldier's heart. Nor
was it long before he had succeeded in putting himself on a familiar footing with the whole band, whose feelings and senses, in
spite of the distant restraint, and guarded watchfulness, they had
imposed on themselves, were fairly captivated by his bold sallies
of wit, and the irresistible drollery of his manner.  Captain
Hendee, with his war stories, was completely thrown into the
shade by the extraordinary convivial powers of the stranger,
who, having now fairly become the hero of the company, continued to pour forth, from his seemingly inexhaustible resources,
sally upon sally, with increasing brilliancy, and anecdote upon
anecdote, each of which was more ludicrous or striking than the
preceding one, till the whole party became convulsed with merriment, and the house shook with the din of laughter. And not
10*




114            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
satisfied with the success that had so well crowned his efforts in
this respect, he called on Captain Hendee to bring on glasses,
and a gallon of spirits, at his expense, declaring that "of all
God's cattle, he preferred soldiers for companions. It was not
every day that a hunter, whose next door neighbors and common
acquaintances were bears and wolves, and whose sweethearts and
select friends were wolverines and catamounts, had the rare luck
to fall into such glorious company. He could well afford to treat,
and he should hold it a privilege to have a bout with his military
friends, helping them, while he could, to drink health to the King
confusion to all enemies, and shame to the devil."
"Leaving this bold, sagacious, and singularly gifted outlaw and
his companions to the merriment he had infused into them, and
the boisterous and drunken revelry that followed, we will now
repair to the other room, where a far different, though no less
interesting scene was in progress.
When Miss Hendee, on recognizing the voice of Darrow,
among those of others about to enter the house, so abruptly invited Warrington to take a seat with her in the other room, she
did so from a sudden impulse, arising out of her secret dread of
encountering one, whose recent conduct had filled her with the
deepest dislike, coupled with a sort of vague apprehension that
the visits of these soldiers, with Darrow at their head, at this
particular time, was in some way to affect-the safety of her friend,
whom she thought thus to shield from the impending danger..And it was not till they became seated in the room by themselves,
that it occurred to her, that she had voluntarily afforded her lover
the very opportunity which, at their recent interview, he had
earnestly requested, but which she had so promptly and pointedly
refused him. Blushing deeply at the thouoght of her apparent
inconsistency, and fearful that this act would be misconstrued by
the other, she suddenly commenced uttering an apology, or explanation, but perceiving some worse dilemma from so doing, she
stopped short in the midst of a sentence, blushing more deeply
than at first, while an embarrassing silence ensued, which neither
party, for some moments, was able to break. Warrington, however, comprehending the cause of her embarrassment at a glance,
and anxious to relieve it, soon rallied, and observed:
c" Fear not, Miss Hendee, that I shall misinterpret this act of
yours, in inviting me to a seat with you here: I believe I can
appreciate the motives that led to it, and I certainly feel very
grateful for the deed."




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              115
"You were ever generous, Mr. Howard," replied Alma, with
a grateful smile, " but do you comprehend all the motives that
might have influenced me in this? "
" I may not all, but will Miss Hendee state wherein she supposes I may not understand them? "
"Did you recognize any of the voices of these last visitors,
while they were at the door, or have you since?"
" I can scarcely say I have, though I conclude them to be
soldiers from yonder garrison."
"They are -all that will appear, at least, I presume, and
among them is that suspicious fellow from whose intrusion you
so kindly relieved me the other day. He went away at that
time, I think, harboring revengeful feelings towards you, and
does not this visit involve some design against your safety?Though I confess I can hardly see how you should be sought
here with any purpose of revenge."
"' You may be right, Miss Hendee," said the other, thoughtfully, after a silence of a moment; " you may be right in supposing me the object of this visit. I have had some suspicions
from the first that it was so; and I have noticed some indications,
indeed, since we have been in this room, which go to confirm me.
Yes, you may be right in this, but wrong, I think, in judging of
the motives that have led to the visit."
"  What other motive can there be but the one I assigned? " at
length asked Alma, with an air of perplexity mingled with some
uneasiness.
"Miss Hendee," resumed Warrington, with considerable embarrassment at the effort, " your question leads me to a declaration,
which my painfully conflicting obligations as a citizen, and as a
gentleman who has received much kindness from your family,
will be some excuse, I Ltope, for withholding till now; but which
my feelings will allow me to withhold no longer. Miss Hendee,
my name is not IIoward!"
" Not Howard!" exclaimed Miss Hendee, with a look of unfeigned surprise. " Not Howard! " she repeated, the tall arches
of her beautiful brows slightly contracting with an incipient
frown. "Surely, surely, sir!"
" Nor, is that, I fear you will think," resumed the other seriously, and now with perfect composure, " the worst of the avowal;
I am aware what I risk - what, indeed, I shall probably forever
lose in your esteem, fair lady. But duty to you, and respect to
my own character, compels me to disclose. - I am Charles Warrington!"




116            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
A sharp, inarticulate exclamation burst from the lips of the
astonished and recoiling girl, at the announcement of the name.
" What is the matter there; Alma?" asked Captain Hendee,
in a tone modulated somewhere between the jocose and anxious,
as he thrust his head partly through the door, beside which he
was sitting, on the opposite side of the partition, in the other
room, "what is the case there, girl?- Doctor Hunter is not
pulling a tooth for you, is he?"
Perceiving, however, nothing but dumb shows going on between
the parties, and satisfied with the shot he had given them, he left
them to another embarrassing silence, which, for many minutes,
was broken by neither.
" I am so surprised at this strange and unexpected development," at length observed Miss Hendee, though with mind and
feelings still unsettled and balancing between the former high
opinion she had entertained of her companion as Howard, and
the preconceived picture of the ruffian-like character with which
she had been accustomed to associate Warrington: " so surprised
that I hardly know what I should say, or how I should act towards
you, sir, in the new character in which you now stand before me.
Am I to understand that our quiet home here is now to be made
the theatre of contention in a dispute for a possession?"
"Heaven forbid!" replied Warrington, eagerly, "you have,
Miss Hendee, my pledge, already in this respect, given to you
at our last interview- can you doubt my will to redeem it?
And you now perceive with what authority I could make the
assurance. But though you can have no apprehensions of this
kind of me, or my people, for whom I can safely answer, yet
what will be your opinion of one who made, and has since sought
your acquaintance under a disguised name? It is that which
troubles me, dear lady. And in that you have an apparent right,
at least, to condemn me, though not acting for myself, but for
those who assigned me the part in which disguise was deemed
necessary."
"You need not forestall your sentence; sir," said the other,
something very like a smile again lighting up her sweetly expressive countenance, "I know too little of the merits of this
unhappy controversy, I freely confess, to feel sure of doing
justice to either party in any opinion I might now express. I
believe I can still put trust in you - at least, I will for the present
believe so: For it would indeed be humiliating to us all, to find
ourselves so much mistaken in one, whose character we had so
highly estimated.  Yes, in you," she repeated with emphasis,




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               117
"but in your party " —and she paused, but soon, and without
finishing the sentence, resumed "' can you inform me who is that
fearful looking, and singular stranger in the other room? - or
was I mistaken in judging from some appearances I noticed, that
you and he were acquainted?"
" Your conjectures were true. His name, however, I cannot
disclose. But this I may say, that he is not all that he may have
appeared here to night; and yet he is far more - a man of many
high and noble qualities, combined with extraordinary powers of
body and mind, though now placed here in circumstances as
inauspicious as my own. These circumstances, as they will make
up an answer to the question you asked before I announced
my true name, I will now, with your permission, briefly explain."
His fair auditor signifying a willingness, at least, to listen to the
explanation, Warrington, taking a comprehensive glance at the
true grounds of the controversy between the settlers and their
opponents, drew a vivid picture of the wrongs and consequent
sufferings which the former had endured, and which led to the
part he had taken in their behalf- explained the necessity of
the disguise he had assumed, related his subsequent career, and
the consequences to himself and all those who had taken a
conspicuous part in attempting to defend the poor settlers against
the rapacity of their oppressors.
" Is this, Mr. Howard - excuse me, Mr. Warrington, I should
say," observed the other, evidently interested, and even touched
by the recital she had just heard: is this, indeed, an impartial
account of this hapless contest? And are these armed men here
to drag you to prison, and an ignominious death, for acting a part
like this? Why, 0, why, did you venture here into the very
jaws of the lion? and now, why do you a moment linger? why
not escape while they are at their noisy carousals in the other
room? - that door - these windows " —
" Have all been guarded; each by a soldier with a loaded
musket, from the moment we entered this room. An ear, practised in the forest, has not failed to catch the sound of their
cautious and stealthy tread, the occasional rubbing of their muskets against their buttons, and indications of their presence and
object not to be mistaken."
" Oh! I do wonder how you can be so calm. What hope —
what resource is there left you, in which you can now trust for
escape?"
"Many! be not concerned. They probably think we shall
remain through the night, and will deem it safest to defer any




118           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
attempt to seize us till they suppose us asleep. I trust much in
my friend, ever fruitful in expedients, and now acting a part in
the other room, as nigh as I can judge from what occasionally
reaches my ear, with reference to effecting tlhis object. Neshobee
is a friend; and may I not hope an acquiescence, at least, from
you?"
" Most certainly the latter, and if I could -but what could I
do?"
Perhaps nothing -perhaps much. We must act on circum
stances. But had we now not better part: I feel anxious to be
co-operating with my friend," said Warrington, rising and moving
towards the door.
" One moment longer — that is, if you are not too anxious to
go," observed Alma, motioning him to remain.
"What would my fair friend say? " asked the other, perceiving
her to hesitate.
" Should you escape this danger, as I hope you may," at length
replied Alma, " I trust - I pray, that you will not be so thoughtless as to venture here again. There may be other hazards in
repeating your visits here, besides the fearful one you have
already incurred of being seized in behalf of the public authorities."
"Indeed! but in what way, lady?"
"There may be those," she answered with evident reluetance
and with severely conflicting feelings, " who would look cm your
visits here with - with suspicion; and who, I fear —who, perhaps,
I would say, might have a disposition - that is, he may ""' I did not understand the name," said Warrington, with the
appearance of wishing to relieve the embarassment of the other,
and assist her to proceed.
" I did not name him, and I would gladly avoid doing so,"
replied she, still hesitating.
" But of what avail will be your caution, unless I know against
whom to be on my guard?" asked he, with a little spice of the
lawyer in the question, he being more anxious to learn the name
of his unknown rival, to whom he rightly conjectured she alluded,
than concerned on account of any danger he apprehended from
his je alousy or malice.
"But if you kept entirely away? —unless, perhaps, you
should be sought out for the crimes you have already committed,"
said the girl, half playfully. " I much wish you could have received this intimation from others," she continued, after a pause;
"but as you might not, and as I have ventured, perhaps unadvis



THE GREEN MOtUNTAIN BOYS.             119
edly, to give it, I know not but you have a just right to require
the name. It is Sherwood -one Jacob Sherwood."
" Sherwood!" said W~arrington, in utter surprise, " Sherwood.
That then explains several things that to me were mysteries.
Sherwood!" he repeated, musing, and speaking as if to himself,
" yes, I know the man, and the heart of the man. But is it possible, with Sherwood for a rival, and Alma Hendee the object,
that she for him would" -
*" Trespasser!" exclaimed the other, shaking her head with a
look in which menace and roguishness were queerly blended,
"trespasser, beware!"
" Cruel! cruel! I must not then even ask if there is hope,
even one ray of hope, in the future! " rejoined Warrington, with
the air of tender reproach.
" Oh, how can you ask "- replied Alma, her countenance now
changing to a serious, even a sad expression, "how can you ask,
or expect this, when I see no hope for myself? And how can
you think of entering into a discussion so useless, at such a
moment as this? Go, go!"
When Warrington, at the close of the interview  above
described, entered the room of the revellers, he found them at
the height of their boisterous carousals.  The health of every
known potentate on the earth, and some under it, was proposed
and drank, by the huge stranger, now the undisputed master of
the ceremonies, who at each rapidly succeeding toast, tossed off
his glass with as little apparent regard to its effect on himself, as
if the beverage had been water- such, at least, was there every
appearance of his doing: For he always lifted a full glass to his
lips, and returned it empty to the table, while he made this his
boast in urging the same on his companions of the revel, all of
whom, with the exception of Darrow, seemed little disposed to
refuse a compliance. The latter, however, after drinking a few
stinted glasses, contrived constantly to evade a repetition which
would unfit him for the enterprise, that he, at least, had by no
means lost sight of; while it was with increasing uneasiness, that
he perceived the fearful inroads which the liquor was making on
the faculties of his men. This, however, might not have alarmed
the wary sergeant, had both of his intended victims been in the
same condition: Since so long as they drank as freely as the
rest, the difficulty of their seizure, he knew, would be diminished
in the same proportion with the powers of the men, upon whom
he depended for its accomplishment. But Warrington, he soon
noticed, though mingling gaily with the rest at the board, seemed




120            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS;
inclined, like himself, to drink but lightly, making the excuse,
when urged to take more, that he wished to keep sober, in order
to take care of his brother hunter, who seemed in a fair way to
require his assistance. And the appearance of the stranger,
indeed, soon well confirmed the truth of the observation. His
wit fast grew vapid; and some of his remarks were so silly, that
none but the very drunkest of the soldiers would join him in the
maudlin roar of laughter, which he raised at each of his efforts
to be witty. He began to sway to and fro, and his huge frame
to totter at every step, like a sapped tower about to fall to the
earth, - all of which was observed by Darrow with a look of
malicious satisfaction.
Warrington now proposed that the company should break up,
and all retire for the night. This proposal was seconded, though
from far different motives, by both the Captain and Darrow. A
question, however, now arose in regard to the accommodations
which could be furnished for sleeping; the Captain stated that
he had but two spare beds, which might be made to answer for
four of the company. He should have been extremely happy to
be able to accommodate all his guests with beds; but as it was,
they must agree among themselves who should occupy those he
could furnish. The sergeant immediately proposed, that Warrington and his drunken friend should take one of the beds, and
himself and one of his men would occupy the other, while the
rest should seek lodgings in the barn. At this moment, the
drunken outlaw, roused from the stupor, into which he seemed to
have fallen during the discussion, so far as to appear conscious
of the point of debate, and hiccupping at every word, swore with
a big oath, that his military friends should have the best - they
should have both the beds, or he would fight them like h —1.
And that other scurvy hunter, who was not man enough to drink
like a gentleman, should go to the barn with him, and sleep on
the hay, or he would fight him too, and be d-d to him."
To this, Darrow, for some reasons of his own, strenuously objected, and the debate was growing warm, when Miss Hendee
entered the room, and after asking the cause of their dispute, and
looking a moment with an air of disgust at the now helpless
stranger, earnestly begged of her father to let the creature have
his way, and by no means suffer him to occupy a bed in the
house.
" I think, Captain Hendee," remarked Warrington, now for
the first time offering an opinion, " that the man's notions, as bad
off as he appears to be, are'correct. He will probably keep the




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              121
house in an uproar half the night, if he remains. It is more
suitable, I think, that he should be taken to the barn. And it is
my duty, I suppose, to attend him."
"I by no means intended to exclude you in my prohibition,
sir," said Alma, addressing Warrington.
" Oh, no, certainly not, I presume. But I think I ought to
go with him," rejoined Warrington. "And a bed of hay," he
added gaily, "is far better than has sometimes fallen to my
lot."
" Hoy! there, Cap - Cap - Capting!" stammered out the
stranger, lifting his head, though nearly falling out of his chair
at the effort,'say, you Cap - Capting Handy, Hindy - dev -
divil knows what, take good care —care my rifle- cost ten
pounds - king's lawful cur - cur - curren - cyation,- God
d-n -bless him!"
" And of mine too, Captain, if you will. We will leave them
in the house till morning, with your permission," observed Warrington, exchanging a significant glance with Miss Hendee.
Darrow, who till now had manifested a determination that our
two outlaws should remain in the house with him, on hearing
that the valuable rifles were to be left behind, seemed no longer
to entertain any suspicion of the arrangement last proposed, and
conceded the point without further objection.
"Captain Hendee then ordering Neshobee to take the rifles
into the next room, and pointing out the beds to be occupied by
Darrow and his men, took leave of his guests for the night, and
with his daughter retired to the other part of the house. Every
thing being now settled to the apparent satisfaction of all parties,
it only remained to get the helpless and unwieldy outlaw to his
lodgings in the barn. And Darrow and his men all declaring
that they would by no means consent to quit their generous entertainer till they had seen him safely disposed of for the night,
Warrington and the soberest soldiers to be found in the company,
now assisted him in getting on his feet, and bracing out his legs
so that he could be kept from dropping on the floor. When this,
with considerable difficulty, and no little noise and merriment,
had been effected, they planted themselves firmly under each
arm, and at the word of command, sportively given by one of
the company, trundled, or rather pushed his huge and staggering
carcase forward toward the barn, attended by the whole company, reeling, jostling, and shouting along by his side. After
they had arrived there, and succeeded in getting their charge
over the threshold, they unceremoniously tumbled him on a pile
11




122            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
of hay on the barn floor; when, after exchanging mock ceremonies of parting politeness, Darrow and all his men, now feeling
sure of an easy and safe capture as soon as their intended victims were asleep, departed for the house.
"Charles!" said the big outlaw, raising himself on his elbow,
as soon as the sounds of the receding footsteps of the soldiers
had died away " Charles!" he repeated, in a low, though perfectly
sober tone, "you creep carefully round to those side windows,
and see if some of these curses aint still lurking round the barn
to watch us."
The other, silently complying, soon returned, and reported
that no one was visible.
" Well now, Charles," resumed the first speaker, "you get
down there at my feet, and see if you can pull off my plaguy old
boots. There is more than a quart of rum in them. I can neither run nor fight worth a copper with my feet in such a devil's
pickle."
" Upon my word, Colonel!" said Warrington, while complying with the request just made, " you would make no slouch of
a juggler. I saw no chance of succeeding in any way short of
drinking or openly refusing. And I was not a little puzzled to
decide whether you were stark mad in taking such quantities of
liquor, or whether you had some way of otherwise disposing of it,
which I could not detect. Indeed, for the last half hour I have
been perfectly at a loss to know whether you were drunk or sober.
How did you contrive to cheat them so cleverly?"
"Buttoned up my high collared coat, so as to come up over
my chin, at the onset. Then minding to stand so as to admit no
side views to that hawk-eyed sergeant, or to the others, till they
were too far gone to see straight, I dashed every glass down my
bosom. -Not a spoonful has gone down my throat to-night! so
help me Peter! who never lied but three times, as I recollect.
But come, we must be thinking of something else now. And the
first question to be settled is, whether we shall go off without our
rifles, and perhaps lose them entirely, or whether we shall hatch
up some scheme to get them out of the house?"
" I have strong hope, though I may be disappointed," said the
other in reply, "that we shall soon get hold of them through
other agency than our own. I think we had better venture on
remaining here a few moments longer to wait the result of an
effort, which, I feel quite confident, will be made for this pur.
pose."
"Aha, Charley? - been ploughing with the Captain's heifer,




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                123
hey?  Well, we will wait a little. Yes, yes, I see now what the
sly jade was at, when she set in so plausibly to have' the loathsome creature' carried off to the barn. And, indeed, Charles, I
suspected, soon after I arrived, that you was in for it, there. But
how in the name of Cupid, and Hymen, and VAenus, and all that
sort of heathen cattle, did you happen to pounce upon such a
superb piece of housel stuff? I thought you never strayed so
far down here to the land's end?"
Warrington then related to his companion all the circumstances
connected with his acquaintance with the different members of
the Hendee family, his late discovery relative to his ownership
of the land, and the course which he had, and still intended to
pursue in that respect, without revealing, however, the uncertain
and somewhat peculiar attitude in which he stood with the
daughter.
"Right nobly said and done!" exclaimed the other, who had
listened with the appearance of much interest to the recital, and
who seemed highly to appreciate the delicate generosity of Warrington, " nobly, indeed, though with a higher touch of the chivalrous, I fear, my dear fellow, than you would often find reciprocated in this wooden age and country. However, you will one
of these days be rewarded, I suppose, by receiving the same
lands, and an article with them that will richly pay you for your
forbearance: For by all the saints, from Saint Paul down to
ragged Saint Patrick, I swear, that if there be any angels of
clay - that, though, is nonsense for a married man. But seriously, Charles, I do n't know when I have seen the like of that
girl! A form and face, the mould of which, I think, must have
been broken with but one cast - eyes with the rich and lustrous
hue of good old indigo, though pure and clear as the mudless
crystal to the very depths of the soul beyond them. And then
her smile, Charles — enough to craze an anchorite, by heavens!"
" Really, Colonel," rejoined Warrington, jocosely, " you would
make me jealous if I had but a tithe of the title to the girl that
you seem to suppose. She is engaged, man, to one Sherwood,
the very fellow, as I this night ascertained from her own lips,
whom we caught and beech-sealed for a spy and traitor, on our
way down the Creek, and to whom, doubtless, we are indebted for
this concerted plan for our scizure."'
" I heard of your doings with that scoundrel, as I came along a
day or two after. And the only fault I find about it is, that you
did not string him up, according to decree of convention, in such




124           THE GREEN MIOUNTAIN BOYS.
case made and provided. But can it be possible, Charles, that
God ever made this girl for such a fellow? I swear, I do n't
believe it!  And if there is not enough of you to set him
aside " -
" Well, what then?"
"Why, you do n't deserve her, that's all - but whist! I
thought I heard a footstep. See to your pistols, Charles  "
" All handy, Colonel. But what is your plan if they beset us
here?"
" Why, fight'em, most likely, I think,- a d —n poor story if
we two aint a match for those four half fuddled devils! "
" Certainly, but there were nearly, or quite as many more,
posted round the house in ambush, or my ears deceived me
sadly."
"No? were there  "
"Yes, I am positive, Colonel."
"Well, well, Charles, the trifling addition of three or four
more of them aint worth standing about.  But hush again!"
continued the speaker, his voice sinking to a whisper, " I was
right: I just caught the glimpse of a head peering in at that side
door."
The senses of the big outlaw had not deceived him. And the
object of his suspicion now appeared several times before the partly
opened door; though at each time suddenly, and for a moment
withdrawn. At length the door was cautiously opened considerably wider, and the questionable head thrust fairly in, where it
remained stationary as a block for a full minute.
" Umph! " at length uttered the object, in a low, but distinct
tone.
"All right," said Warrington, " it is Neshobee, as I expected."
"Umph! me come — got um your rifles," said the latter,
noiselessly advancing, and handing the guns to each of their
respective owners.
" You have done us no fool of a favor, my fine fellow," said
the elder Green Mountain Boy. "How did you get the guns
out of the house.
"Missus Alma contrive um all," replied the Indian. " She
put um out her sleep-room window - then say it —so me go
bring um."
"A  glorious girl, that, by Jupiter!" resumed the former.
"You and she both, my red friend, deserve a pension at out
hands. Here, take hold of this crown piece, to begin upon."




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              125
"Him good! Cappen, him good afore," said the native, taking
the proffered coin.
"And I will try to continue so," said Warrington, thrusting
another crown into the Indian's ready hand. "But anything
more, Neshobee? " he continued, judging from the other's manner, that he had something further to impart.
"Missus Alma say me tell um go - say the rest sogers come
in house now, drink rum more again -say, go straight, quick,
better - no stay minute."
" Good advice, too," said the big outlaw, "and let us lose no
time in following it. Charles, lead the way!"
Cautiously emerging from the barn, and clearing the yard
fence, our two friends now proceeded, with silent but rapid steps,
through the open field, till they gained a knoll about sixty rods
from the house, when the nameless outlaw paused and looked
back.
" Clear of the rascals at last, I believe," observed Warrington.
The other made no reply, but stood as if debating some point
in his mind, which he was unable to decide.
" Well, which way now, Colonel? " resumed the former, thinking his companion might be hesitating about the route they should
take.' Get thee behind me, Satan! " at length exclaimed the other,
violently dashing back both his hands. "Give me joy, Charles,"
he added, without paying the least attention to the question that
had just been asked him, " give me joy, for I have conquered."
"Indeed, sir, it is quite impossible for me to comprehend
you."
"' Not comprehend me! Oh, true, how should you? It only
passed through my mind. Well, Charles, I have been sorely
tempted - never so tempted in my life."
"About what, pray? "
" Why, about going over and taking yonder fort to-night.
According to your account of the numbers now on this side,
there cannot be over ten or a dozen left in the garrison. You
and I could have taken their boat here, while they were waiting
for us to get to sleep, slipped over, and made the attempt. I
think we could carry it. And, ah!" continued the speaker, rubbing his hands in ecstacy, " there would have been glory, glory in
it, Charles!"  But duty forbade; for a failure certainly, and success, probably, would- have defeated an object of two-fold importance to the country. And conscience told me I should forego fiy
private wishes for public good. That object, as stone walls have
11*




126            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
ears, they say, I will not name here. But it was that which
brought me into this section. Hendee's situation here, so near
one of the enemy's strong holds, made it important that his feel.
ings should be known. And it was for that purpose I called tonight, when I unexpectedly found you. I intended to have been
at half a dozen other places before this, and I should, but for
this cursed bother with these minions of hell and New York.
We will now on to your encampment. I called there at sunset.
Your lieutenant had returned. The party sent to seize the surveyor had just been heard from, and were expected to arrive with
their prisoner to-night. He must be tried and disposed of in a
hurry. But have you made any further discoveries about the
York justice in this section? "
" I have ascertained his residence, and discovered the bearing
of his feeling towards the enemy - nothing further."
"Enough! I have received, since we parted, papers which
settle the case. We must have him up, and do off all this York
business in a batch in the morning; for there is much to be done
to-morrow, in preparation of a general meeting of the trusty
to-morrow night, in the vicinity of the Middle Falls.  Ah!
Charles, there is something afoot, to which this petty warfare we
have been engaged in with New York, is as a rush-light to the
meridian sun! I burn to be in it; for it will be great, daring,
and glorious!"
Leaving our two Green MIountain Boys to proceed to their
present destination, with hearts swelling at the thought of the
future, and somewhat elated withal at their fortunate escape from
a danger of certainly no small magnitude, when the vicinage of
the fort, and the small chance for a rescue are considered, we
will return for a moment to the company we left at the house.
It would be difficult to describe the rage and chagrin of Darrow,
and his men, when, after waiting till they supposed their two
intended victims were helpless in sleep, they proceeded stealthily,
and with undoubting assurance of an easy victory, to the barn,
and discovered that their birds were both flown. They saw at
once that they had been fairly outwitted by the wily outlaws.
Solacing themselves, however, with a promise of seizing the
fugitives another day, they gave up the project for the present,
well knowing that any attempt at pursuit would now be utterly
useless. And at the command of Darrow, who kept his future
purposes, whatever they might be, Lo himself, they all silently
withdrew from the house, and immediately crossed over to the
fort.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               127
CHAPTER XII.
"They came not from the head, it was the heart that wrote them."
THE next morning after the affair at the Lower Falls, between
our Green Mountain Boys and the hired minions of Colonel
Reed, a separation, as the reader will readily remember, took
place among the former, the several individuals who had occupied
a conspicuous place in our story, departing in different directions,
and with objects as diverse as their various destinations. Some
of these individuals, still designed to sustain a close connection
with the events we have undertaken to delineate, have been neglected through several of our last chapters, in order to preserve,
as unbroken as possible, the chain of the leading part of the
narrative, in several scenes we had commenced, so nearly connected as to render a break alike disagreeable to both reader and
writer. But being allowed a short respite before following those
with whom we have just parted, we now hasten to bestow, in the
first place, some attention on our friend Selden, and his new
charge, the volatile, but not ungifted, Jessy Reed, by following them
to the destination, for which they were on the point of embarking when we left them. This was at Skenesboro', near the south
end of the lake, so called from the name of the proprietor of a
large body of land at this place, - Colonel Skene, who, being not
only a wealthy landholder, but the commander of one of the
king's regiments, had here constructed a large, strong, stone
house, and made it a sort of military post, as well as the residence
of his family and various dependents. The whole of this curious
establishment, not a little resembling that of one of the ancient
feudal lords, was, at this time, under the command of Major
Skene, a. son of the proprietor, the father having been some
months absent, engaged in negociations for his own aggrandizement at the British court. It was to this place that Miss Reed
had so fearlessly undertaken a voyage in an open skiff, with one
oarsman, and Selden, her volunteer knight attendant.  But a
description of this voyage, together with many circumstances
which preceded it, we will now, agreeably to a previous intima



128            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
tion, allow the fair voyager to give in her own language. And
for this purpose we present the following letter, sent by her a
few days after her arrival at Skenesboro', and received on the
morning following the events recorded in the last chapter:To MIss ALMA HENDEE, —
" I have most serious doubts, my dear Alma, whether I am
exactly myself. And should you be equally dubious, as I expect
you will, when you have perused all that I shall now, under the
rose, impart, you may set it down, if you please, as the relation
of a pretty dream, which has passed through the brain of Philip
Skene's half-courted high-flyer, while dozing under the soporific
thoughts of a matter of course, all very suitable sort of a match,
with his grave and calculating majorship. One thing, however,
I imagine, is certain; and that is, that I am here at Skenesboro',
snugly immured in the Major's stone castle. And why I am so
positive of this is, that I feel so sleepy, and have felt so ever
since he left us. He! who?  Ah! that sets me afloat again!
But I will begin at the beginning; and, dream or no dream, you
shall have the whole of my adventures with (now be making up
your mouth for interjections!) those horrid, brave, dear, ugly
Green Mountain Boys.
Accompanying my father from Montreal, with my half Indian
girl, Zilpah Wampujn, under the arrangement that we should be
left, and stationed at Skenesboro' during his contemplated sojourn
of some time in the city of New York, I besought him right
earnestly on the way, to let me go with him to visit his possessions up Otter Creek, to which he intended to return for a day
after landing us at the Major's. After a few of those not very
alarming affairs, pshaws! pishes! &c., I carried my point, as I
generally do, with my, I fear, too indulgent parent. And what
was a still greater victory, and certainly, much harder to be won,
I prevailed upon him at last to let us remain there for afew days
after he had proceeded on his journey, under the condition that
I should take a very fair, warm, and very calm day, within a week
at farthest, and,' with our best boat, and two of our most careful
men there, proceed to our original destination.
"Well, there we remained at that wild, romantic place, happy
as larks; by day rambling round the fields for flowers, skirting
the woods for spruce gum, boxberries, and birds' nests, and at
night, listening to the adventures of the men, or quizzing the
honest old McIntosh, the commander of the post, as he calls
himself —there we remained, I say, till the fourth day after father




THIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.             129
had left us, when, who should make his appearance, but that
plausible and oily-tongued beau of yours, Jacob Sherwood, announcing that a band of Green Mountain Boys, headed by Warrington, the outlaw, was in full march to lay waste, burn, and
destroy our possessions, and murder every soul to be found on
the premises, or at least to carry us off as captives to their dens
in the mountains! My heart beat like a young drummer! And
as for Zilpah, though mute as a fish, her complexion wonderfully
improved about that time, I assure you. However, being a soldier's daughter, as well as yourself, I soon made up my mind not
to die of fright, at least; so I flew round, helped the men to
make cartridges, and whatever else I could do, in preparation for
the expected visit. Sherwood was invited to aid in putting the
garrison in a state of defence, and remain with us through the
coming siege. But oh, no! he could n't possibly! He must be
off to the woods to watch the enemy's approach, and give us
signal guns when they arrived at the clearing. Well, after the
whole establishment had resounded with the din of preparation
about an hour, and everything was prepared for their reception,
McIntosh called us together, women and all, for a council of war,
to hear the different plans that might be offered as to the best
mode of conducting the defence, though doggedly determined, all
the while, that none but his own should be adopted. And what
think you that was? Why, that all the men should take the
field against the enemy, and fight their way back, under cover of
log-heaps, to the works, leaving us, poor women, entirely alone,
to unbar the gate to receive them, when they should reach it and
give the watch-word. This sage plan of operations, as you may
well suppose, did not at all strike my fancy. But finding opposition useless, I submitted with the best grace I could, demanding, however, as the terms of my compliance, that they should
leave me a good musket (a Major's wife at one of our stakions,
some years ago, having taught me how to load and fire one), for
our defence, in case I should have occasion to use it. This
settled, McIntosh marshalled his men, sallied out, and lay in
ambush till the enemy appeared, when a battle commenced, in
which powder enough was burnt to have slain a regiment, though,
strange to tell, not one drop of blood was spilled on either side.
"Now comes my part of this queer drama. While I stood
at the gate listening, with palpitating heart, to the thunders of
the musketry in the field, and anxiously awaiting the signal to
open to our men, I heard steps outside the enclosure, which I
knew could not proceed from any of our party. Almost despe



130            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
rate with fear, I seized the loaded gun which had been left for
me, and stood on the defensive, while poor Zilpah, still worse
frightened, fled into the house.  All for a few moments was
quiet, when happening to look round, I beheld, to my utter surprise and consternation, one of the enemy approaching me, three
of them, it seems, having already scaled the walls behind the
house. Heaven forgive me! in the desperation of the moment
I fired my gun at him, though, thanks to the same heaven, without hitting him. He proved to be the lieutenant of Warrington,
who now, with the other man, rushed forward from behind the
house, when all stood confronting me. But what do you think
they did? Seize me like ruffians, as from Sherwood's tale of the
horribles, I expected? No, they came forward, and, in the most
mild and gentlemanly manner, advised, nay, entreated me to
retire into the house, to which I now suffered myself to be conducted by Lieutenant Selden, who had just providentially escaped
death by my hand! I think I must have appeared like a fool.
I certainly felt like one.
"I need not inform you that our men now soon surrendered
to the Green Mountain Boys, who took possession, claiming,
however, none of the movables, and asking only that the men
should leave the place the next day. The treatment I received,
and the explanations given me by Warrington, (who by the way
is a noble looking fellow; Alma, I wish you could see him), in
regard to this war about titles, soon overset all my preconceived
opinions of the Green Mountain Boys. Indeed, if we can rely
on their statements, I hardly know how our people can be justified in driving these poor settlers from their farms.
" But what shall I say of him - Mr. Selden, I mean? Who
would credit - I would not a week ago, I am sure - that, after
hlaving called him a ruffian and monster to his face, as I did when
he first approached me, I was found in the twilight of the same
evening, rambling, arm in arm, with the handsome, quizzical,
audacious rogue, along the freshly flowered banks of the Otter,
quoting poetry with him, or listening to the better poetry of his
own brilliant conceptions, which sometimes flowed from his lips
in bursts of surpassing eloquence, and sometimes in sallies of
wit, so original and irresistibly humorous, that I would defy the
gravest puritan in the land to keep his risibles from breaking
loose on the occasion. He volunteered to attend me to Skenesboro', the next day, and I - now do n't suspect me of being captivated with the fellow, Alma - I accepted his offer - how could
I do less?  Well, the next morning, with Zilpah, bag and bagS




THIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              181
gave - the bag, you will say, perhaps, should have been given
to him - and with one of father's trusty and strong-armed Highlanders for an oarsman, we shipped aboard boat, and proceeded
down the Creek. The day was most serenely fair. And our
voyage to the mouth of the stream, as we glided along with the
gently flowing current in its meandering course, was indeed delightful. The forest-lined banks were beautifully fiosted with the
white wood violet, or blushing with beds of wild tulips; while
the budding branches of the overhanging trees above, seemed
fairly vivified by the thousand melodious duets that were joyously
bursting from the happy little hearts of these minstrel lovers of
the grove.
" After we had reached the open lake, we found a pretty breeze
blowing freshly from the westward. And the gentleman, fixing
up a blanket for a sail, our little craft swept through the lake
right merrily, I assure you. We were soon abreast of your
charming situation. And I could hardly consent to pass you
without hauling up for a short morning call; but the men urging
that by improving the breeze we could easily reach our destination by night, when otherwise we might fail of so doing, I reluctantly agreed to forego the pleasure of seeing you, and introducing
my Green Mountain Phoenix —not that I am particularly
charmed with him myself, but I think you would have been gratified in beholding so rare an avis, as a gentleman, as he really is,
firom so wild and savage a region as this Green Mountain
country.
" At noon we dined quite romantically from off the middle seat
of our boat, on edibles furnished from our store-basket, and
neatly arranged by Zilpah. I never partook with greater zest;
and what with the'keenness of our appetites, the novelty of the
affair, and the thousand spicy things said on the occasion, I do n't
believe I should have enjoyed the banquet of a princess with
half the pleasure that I did this meal.
"After we had taken our refreshment and again got under
way, for we had run into a little cove, beautifully overarched
by a cluster of whispering pines, the saucy rogue so managed as
to get Zilpah and the oarsman into one part of the boat, and
himself and your humble servant into the other, with our blanket
sail forming an impenetrable screen between. Here, after sentimentalizing and poetizing awhile over the ever changing views
of scenery, alternating with the majestic and beautiful, as we
rapidly glided by them, he began a set of compliments so very
pointed, and squinting loveward, but at the same time so oddly




132            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
framed, that I knew not whether to laugh or be angry. I should
have severely chided so much boldness in a stranger, however,
on one or two occasions, had not the provoking creature, carefully watching my countenance, thrown in some remark that gave
an entirely different turn to the whole meaning of what he had
begun to say. So you see, Alma, how far I am from anything
like the tender passion in this strangely begun, and no less
strangely maintained acquaintance.
"The remainder of our voyage was now mostly occupied by
him in giving me a history of his life as far as he knew it himself, relating the singular, and certainly very romantic adventures
through which he passed, from his childhood to the present hour.
Having neither time nor space to detail them now, I will only
say briefly, that he was born somewhere in New England, as he
supposes; for he neither knows his birth-place, nor the name of
his parents. But by some means or other falling into mercenary
hands, when a mere child, he was sold as a slave,- passed
through several hands, and at length carried over the waters,taken into the protection of a philanthropic nobleman in England,
by whom he was liberally educated, and furnished with a handsome outfit to purchase a commission in the army, or seek his
fortune wherever he could find it. He then, after wandering
awhile in Europe, obeyed the impulse of his own heart., and came
to visit his own country; when, being enamored of a sylvan life,
and thinking he should enjoy the excitements usually to be found
in a border settlement, he soon found his way to the New Hampshire Grants, and enlisted in the controversy, which he here found
going on between the settlers and the New Yorkers.
"By the time he had closed this very interesting, and delightfully told autobiography, we hove in sight of the castellated
establishment of the Skenes'. It was then, almost for -the first
time, that it occurred to me, that, attended as I was, my meeting
with the family must be an extremely. awkward one, since the
feelings of the Major, as well as those of his father, the Colonel,
are known to be hostile to the Green Mountain Boys, and I could
not forbear hinting this to Selden, and suggesting, at the same
time, the expediency of withholding from the family, till he had
gone, all knowledge of the late affair at the Falls, or his passing
incog. among them.
"'Oh, no!' was his prompt reply,'mince no matters on my
account, fair lady. Having made my peace with her who is
most interested, and obtained an absolution for my offences -
have I not? at least,' he continued, with a tone and'smile so




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              133
sweet, so tender, and yet so imploring, that I found my head
nodding an assent before I knew it,' at least, may I not be
permitted to hope I shall, my dear Miss Reed?- having done
this, they must be singularly disposed indeed, to espouse the quarrels of others if they offer me any personal disrespect. No, no,
fear it not, and should you feel disposed to countenance my remaining at this place through the night, I shall gladly risk all
consequences to myself from so doing.'
"We had now reached the landing, and in a moment the
inmates of the house, who were expecting me about these days,
and had conjectured who we were, all rushed out, and Marge and
Mary Skene, with their brother, came flying like two paper kites
with a lubberly boy at their tails, down to the boat to receive us.
I do n't know how I made my tongue do its office in returning
their salutations, for my heart certainly leaped right up plump
into my mouth, and I cannot conceive how that poor little member, so shamefully belied in our sex, could have ppssibly found
room to wag! It did, however, and I introduced Mr. Selden, by
name, to them all. The girls, I thought, seemed rather pleased
that I had brought them a new candidate for their toils, and so
fine a looking fellow into the bargain. But the Major, reckoning
on the possibility, I suppose, that the other might become a candidate for the toils of somebody besides sisters, looked rather
askew at my gentleman, nevertheless, not knowing exactly what
might be a safe conclusion on such uncertain premises, he soon
brought himself to behave quite decently, and escorted us all to
the house without further ado. But further trials were in store
for me: for Mr. Selden, as soon as we had all got comfortably
seated, to my surprise, broke the ice at once - and, after craving
their attention a moment, while he relieved Miss Reed, as he
said, of a task which he could readily conceive would be an unpleasant one for her to perform, very coolly related the whole
transaction which led to his acquaintance with me, and the consequent responsibility that devolved on him of seeing me safe to
my friends.
"I felt, though I can scarcely tell why I should, like a criminal, while Mr. Selden was making this development, which, I had
many fears, would involve his personal safety; notwithstanding
le has done nothing, as yet, he tells me, that the York government consider worthy of death or bonds. All seemed much
surprised at what they heard, and in the Major's face - that is,
as soon as he could comprehend the matter, for it takes an idea
some time, you know, to get through his cranium, and no great
12




134            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
wonder, neither, considering how far it has to go - in the Major's face I saw evident signs of a gathering storm. But knowing, that on a reasonable calculation, Mr. S. might count on two
days at least before a cloud engendering in so cold a climate
would become sufficiently charged to be dangerous, I did not feel
greatly alarmed, and especially so as the girls seemed disposed
to laugh at the affair. And Marge, on Mr. Selden's playfully
proposing to submit himself to us ladies to pass sentence for his
crimes, quite smartly observed, that we would sentence him to an
imprisonment of a week in their stone jug, as she termed their
house, and be let out to attend us on horseback or in a boat ride
each day.
" We now passed the remainder of the evening very pleasantly.
And for the next two days we almost literally inflicted on Mr.
Selden the sentence which had been so queerly imposed. We
read, walked, sailed, and rode, alternately; and a right merry
time we had of it, I assure you -Mr. Selden in the mean time
becoming a great favorite with the girls, especially with Marge,
to whom I thought he was rather more particular than he should
have been in strict politeness to the rest ofPus. He had an object,
however, I presume, in conciliating the girls by his attentions.
Do you think, Alma, that Marge Skene is so very handsome as
some pretend to think her?
"' But where was my doughty Major in the meanwhile?' you
will ask. Why he was so unaccountably busy with the workmen
in the field just about those days, that he could not, on any
account, attend us on any of our delightful excursions.  And
when he joined us at our meals, he was as grave as a Turk. Mr.
S., however, I thought, was less alarmed than amused at his
awefulness of countenance.
" After two days thus spent, and on the morning of the third
after our arrival, Mr. S. suddenly announced to us his intention
of an immediate departure. The girls were evidently touched
with regret and disappointment at this unexpected announcement,
thinking, perhaps, that their work was but half complete. But
if ever Margery, or Mary Skene, is selected by him for a cynosure, I have mistaken his taste; and yet, I confess, his conduct
has sometimes not a little puzzled me. He thanked me for the
consideration I had shown him under unpleasant circumstances
of our first acquaintance in a manner so handsome and feeling,
that it made me feel like a condemned and guilty one, when I
thought of that mad act of mine, which marked the introduction
to which he alluded. He then very politely thanked the girls for




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               135
their kindness and hospitality, and was about to depart, when
Marge found tongue to invite him to renew his visit.
"'I know not,' he answered, somewhat pensively,'that circumstances will ever permit me that pleasure in person, but if
you know of any way, fair ladies,' — he continued, glancing
quite meaningly at somebody, as the girls in their jokes would
afterwards have it -' any way of receiving the visits I may pay
you in dreams, I doubt not that you will often be favored with the
repetition you have so kindly invited. Adieu, ladies, adieu.'
" I do not certainly know the reason of Mr. Selden's abrupt
departure, but from what I can gather, I suspect the Major had
that morning despatched an express to the authorities at Albany,
with a view to get the former arrested. This I presume, he, by
some means or other, got wind of, and I am glad of it, if for no
other reason than that it defeated Philip's jealous meanness. He
gave us all quite a lecture that night for being so familiar with
one who was so much a stranger, and threw out many ill-natured
remarks about Mr. S. that helped his own cause, perhaps, less
than he imagined. I wish heaven had made him such a man.
"I must now close this long, and, I fear, very foolish letter.
I dare not read it over, for fear I should burn it. I shall remain
here for the present - I must, I suppose, till father returns. 0,
what will he say when he hears what they have done with his
possessions! For myself, I care little, or nothing about it. He
loses only what he paid for the land - a mere trifle. As for the
labor and improvements bestowed there, he has been more than
twice paid by the profits received.  Besides, he is wealthy
enough without this property, which, I really suspect, he cruelly
took from the poor settlers, who had as good a right to it as himself - perhaps better.
" P. S. I said I must stay here till father's return, but should
he tarry some months, I might contrive, perhaps, to come and
spend a few weeks with you. If I should, as Mr. S. will be
somewhere in your vicinity, probably, and may claim me as an
acquaintance, you might possibly have an opportunity of being
introduced to him -that is, if he knew that I was there. Now,
my dear girl, I must bid you good-bye, with the charge- now
lift up your hand and swear —that you will neither show this,
nor breathe aught of its contents to mortal ear! Remember!!
Write soon - adieu.                             JESSY."




136            TEE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER XIII.
"You shall be viceroys here,'t is true,
But we'll be viceroys over you."
"Wait not till things grow desperater,
For hanging is no laughing matter."
A FEW miles to the southward of the encampment of the
Green Mountain Boys, before described, stood the tenement of a
settler whose improvements were somewhat in advance of the
rough beginnings of those who resided in the immediate vicinity.
And the owner and occupant, having gained that point of comparative thrift from which he could look down upon his less fortunate neighbors, had lately begun to manifest an ambition to
outshine them also in the civil distinctions to which he believed
himself now  entitled.  But his solicitude for preferment not
allowing him to await the tardy honors which his fellow settlers
of the New Hampshire party might be inclined to bestow, he
had lately turned his longing eye to other dispensers of these
coveted favors.  And the prayer of his heart, being secretly
made known in the right quarter, was soon answered in the shape
of an offer of the office of justice of the peace from the government
of New York. Though aware of the dangerous nature of such
an honor to an inhabitant of the Grants, yet the temptation, which
was now set before him, and which, indeed, he had indirectly
sought, was altogether too great to be resisted; and, in an evil
hour, he privately accepted the office, in defiance of a decree of
the Convention of his countrymen, which had placed the acceptance of such an office, from such a source, by a settler, high in
the calendar of punishable offences.
To the tenement of this aspiring dignitary we will now take
the reader, in anticipation of other visitors.  It was the next
morning after the adventure of Warrington and his friend, the
stout stranger, at Captain Hendee's; and the dawning light was
just beginning to appear in the dapple east. The freshly made
squire was already awake, reflecting with peculiar inward satisfaction on the honors of his new station, as he lay beside his




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              137
loving rib in a small bed-room adjoining the kitchen. He had
only the night before received his commission, and his heart was
full of the pleasing subject. He not only dwelt on the present
consequence which the office would confer, but his expanding
thoughts began to stretch forward to the future; and he counted
over the probabilities of his advancing, on a stepping stone like
this, to much higher distinctions under a government, which, he
was now ready to believe - nay, secretly to wish - would soon
exercise the entire control in the settlement.
"They will call me squire, now," he soliloquized, half aloud,
" and once squire, always squire: so I shall get the title, let what
will come of it."
" Come of what, MIr. Prouty?" asked his helpmeet with a
yawn, awakening just in time to catch the last part of the sentence.
"W Vhy! why, I thought you was asleep, Polly. Come of
what, did you say? Oh, nothing in particular; only I have
been thinking over things a little. And I'll tell you what it is -
there will shortly be a great overturn in this settlement. There
will, you may depend on't."
"What, the Yorkers get the upper hand?"
"Sartain as you live, Polly!"
"Then where will go the title to our farm? That was what
you was talking to yourself about, wan't it, now? "
" No, it wan't. And that aint a thing, neither, that troubles
me a might."
" Why not?"
" Because the office I have just got under the York government I consider amounts to a security against that. And if the
Green Mountain Boys will let me alone - but I do n't intend
they shall know about my office yet awhile."
" Yes, but what good will it do you to be a justice, if you can't
be squire?"
" Why, what does the woman mean?"
"I mean if you darsent let folks know, so as to call you
squire."
"Oh, I can do some business, even now, among the York
party, without much danger. And it wont be long before all that
trouble will be over: For, as I told you, there is about to be a
complete overturn here. The Yorkers are preparing to come on
with a strong armed force. Now do n't say anything to the
neighbors about this, Polly, as I had it in confidence from Mr.
Sherwood."
12*




138           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
" Oh, did you? Well, that Mr. Sherwood is a complete gen.
tleman- how perlite he is! Do n't you think so, Mr. Prouty?"
" Yes, perlite enough, forzino. Well, as I was going to say,
if they come on, Ethan Allen, Warrington, and Member Baker,
with all they can raise, will stand no fag at all with a regular
York army. And all who stand out then will be indicted and
informationed against. There will be plenty of warrants called
for about those days, you may depend on't. And I, being the
only government justice in this part of the Grants, shall have the
making of them. It will be money in my pocket, I tell you,
Polly. And then, when" —
"Well, I hope you will then feel like getting me a new silk
gownd. You know, Mr. Prouty, that my white dimoty is now
the only dress that I have fit to see company in."
"Oh, fudge! "
"I say there is no fudge about it, now! The neighbors call
us rich, and still it is a solemn fact, Mr. Prouty, and I do n't
care who knows it, that you dress your wife a great deal worse
than "
" Well, well, do n't bother me now; but hear what I was coming at: When the York government gets well established here,
as it will be, they will want two or three judges in this quarter, I
guess, and I being the only one in all this section, that had courage to accept the office of justice of peace, should n't you think,
Polly, they would kind o' naturally hit on me for one of them?"
"' Why, bless me! will they? So they will, wont they? And
then, certainly, Mr. Prouty " —
"Hush! hush! I hear somebody coming up to the door.
Who on earth can they be, I wonder, that's started out so
early?"
A smart rapping being now heard at the door, Justice Prouty
leaped from his bed, seized his - inexpressibles, modern dandyism would term them, we suppose, but finding no authority for
believing our fathers made use of any garment, the appropriate
appellation of which they considered it indecent to express, we
will venture to call things by their right names — seized his
breeches, hurried them on, together with the other parts of his
outward equipment, and emerged into the kitchen, after having
twice gone back, at his wife's hasty and imperious call, to close,
and more tightly close, the door behind him. After the customary
"walk in," distinctly pronounced by the Squire, the door was
opened, and two men entered, both unknown to the former,
though not so to those who have followed us through all the




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                139
different scenes of the preceding pages: For, in the striking alti.
tude of one of the visitants, which compelled the civility of
bowing, nolens volens, as he entered the door, like a boy coming
into a country school, and in the comical leer of his countenance,
as with one eye he seemed to be measuring the affectedly dignified person of his host, while -the other was busily employed in
taking an inventory of the various articles about the room, the
reader will find no difficulty in recognizing our jovial friend, Pete
Jones. The other, whose dress and gentlemanly bearing formed
a striking contrast with that of his rustic companion, was no
other than Selden, who, as before intimated, having arrived the
previous evening, had volunteered with the former to make this
early call on the justice, to procure his immediate attendance at
their encampment in the woods.
"Be seated, gentlemen, pray be seated," said the Squire, bustling about, and setting chairs for his guests with one hand, and
finishing the buttoning up of his vest with the other, "make
yourselves comfortable-.- no ceremony here -just turned out,
you see. Called on business, I take it, gentlemen?" he added,
meaning official business, on which his mind was still running,
and the wish, in this case, as often happens, proving father to
the thought.
"' We have, sir," answered Selden, bowing with well assumed
respect. " You are a justice of the peace we are told? "
"Why, as to that, sir," replied Prouty, hesitating, and glancing
with a doubtful air, alternately at Selden and his companion,
" perhaps I may have heard - that is, I can't sartainly say but
I have heard that I was appointed to the office; though as to
accepting - You are of the right party, I trust, gentlemen?"
"We certainly think we are, at least, sir," rejoined the former
gravely.
"That's as true as preaching, Squire," said Pete; " for if we
aint on the right side, I would give my old jack-knife to know
who are."
"All right, I presume, gentlemen; but rather ticklish times,
you know — thought it no hurt to be a little particular. But
what business did you want done? No harm in asking that, I
s'pose, gentlemen?" said the Squire, adding the last question by
way of opening a door for a retreat, should one be necessary.
" Oh, no," replied Selden, "but I know not that I can state
precisely the nature of the business which those, who sent us for
you, wish done, but it is something, I believe, that they think
requires your presence."




140            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
" 0, ho, not to be done here, then, gentlemen?" observed the
Squire, a little doubtingly, again.
"No, sir, the place is several miles from here, I should think,"
responded Selden with an air of indifference.
"Is Mr. Sherwood there?" asked the Squire, rather anxiously.
"I believe not, Squire, answered Selden, with the same indifference, " but they are anxious he should be, and hope he will
come before closing the business."
" I'11 swear to that, Squire, said Jones, with a ludicrous effort
to keep mischief from showing itself in his countenance.
" Aye, all right then, gentlemen," rejoined the Squire, still stupidly determined to understand the indefinite and evasive language
of his visitors, in the way that his wishes pointed. " But I thought
I would make sure.  You, sir," he continued, addressing Selden, "I thought from the first glance, must belong to the right
party. This other gentleman, here, I did n't know so well about,
but it makes no difference what I thought, as I see you agree. I
will attend you, gentlemen. But had n't we better stop and get
some breakfast first? "
" Oh, no," replied Selden, " they expressly told us to come on
immediately, and the folks would have a good breakfast prepared
for us all, by the time we could arrive there."
Esquire Prouty, after notifying his wife of his intended absence,
now signified his readiness to depart; when all three set forward
towards the encampment of the Green Mountain Boys, the former
without further question, or any apparent distrust, putting himself
under the guidance of his attendants. And wrapt up in self-consequence, and dreaming only of the important figure he was
shortly to make in the first exercise of his new vocation, he
unhesitatingly followed his guides, as with rapid steps they
silently led the way, sometimes proceeding in the road, sometimes
through a piece of woods, and sometimes through open fields.
At length they reached the border of the dark, continuous forest,
within which, at the distance of about a half mile, was the encampment to which they were destined; when the Squire, now
for the first time hesitating, or seeming to entertain any suspicion
that they were taking him to a less-agreeable destination than he
had anticipated, paused in his steps, and threw a doubtful and
apprehensive glance around him.
"Never mind, Squire," cried Jones, who, having with difficulty
restrained himself from giving vent in some shape or other, to
the secret merriment he had been indulging on the way, at the




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                41
Squire's credulity in suffering himself to be so foolishly lured
from home, thought it would now do to begin to banter the obtuse
justice a little, " never mind, Squire, you need n't look so streaked - we belong to the right party, you know."
"Yes, but if you would but jest inform me, gentlemen" - said
the other imploringly, and with visible perturbation-" only jest
inform me " -
" Oh, push ahead, man!" interrupted Jones, who purposely
dropping in the rear, now urged on the reluctant Squire with a
show of pettish impatience, as if detained by excuses too frivolous to merit a reply, " push ahead, my stomach is getting fairly
wolfish for that breakfast.  I'll be blessed if I do n't almost
think I begin to smell it at this distance!"
Somewhat assured by the other's manner of treating his scruples, and, though not quite satisfied, yet feeling a little ashamed
of his fears, the Squire now passively suffered himself to be conducted forward, till, reaching the foot of the mountain, and turning closely round a projecting ledge of rocks, he suddenly, and
to his utter dismay, found himself in the midst of a group of
sturdy men, whom, from their appearance, he at once knew to be
a band of Green Mountain Boys. Instantly comprehending the
nature of their business with him, he stopped short, and stood
confused, and trembling in mute alarm before them. Nor were
his fears at all diminished by the array of well known names,
which his conductor the next moment announced by way of introduction, the ceremonies of which the latter now commenced
performing very formally with these nearest at hand.
"Esquire Prouty, allow me to present you to Captain Remember Baker," began Selden, pompously waving his hand towards
a keen-eyed, determined looking man, who stood in front of the
others.
The confused Squire nodded his head mechanically, but his
tongue refused to do its office, except by a half articulated
" How'd do, sir," as he heard the name of one of that famous trio,
who had so long been the terror of the New York authorities.
"Again, Esquire Prouty, will you permit me the pleasure of
presenting you to Captain Charles Warrington? " proceeded Selden, as the latter advanced to favor the introduction.
"Warrington! " gasped the Squire, with increasing trepidation,
"Warrington too X"
" And yet once more," continued the imperturbable Lieutenant,
beckoning to our Herculean hero of the shagv coat, who figured
so conspicuously at Captain Hendee's, in his adventure with the




142            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
soldiers the night previous, and who was now here and came forward at the intimation, "once more, Esquire Prouty, shall I
have the very great honor of introducing you to Colonel Ethan
Allen?"
" God have mercy on me! " involuntarily burst from the lips
of the affrighted justice, as the announcement of the last name
capped the climax of his terror and despair, "Oh, God have
mercy! I am a lost man!"
" Pooh! you cowardly fool!" exclaimed Allen, with a look
of mingled pity and contempt, "rouse up, and bear it like a
man, and if you promise no more to betray your injured and
bleeding, country by becoming the tool of tyrants, it shall go the
lighter with you. At all events, you need not fear that you will
be punished to the extent of half your deserts. But come, boys,
set on the breakfast. It might be hazardous to our prisoners, the
Sqnlire and surveyor here, to proceed with them, with the inward
man in so ravenous a plight: for Hunger and Mercy never got
near enough to each other to shake hands since the fall of Adam.
And even the awards of Justice herself, might be of questionable
rectitude, if made under the irritations of an empty stomach."
The breakfast, which consisted of a plentiful supply of roasted
venison, partridges, and other small game, with such trimmings
as the settlers living near, and in the secret of the encampment,
had sent in, was served up on a rude kind of platform, composed
of smooth white pieces cleft from the freely rifting bass wood, and
supported on cross pieces laid upon forked stakes, or crotches, as
they are usually denominated in the woodman's phrase. Around
this temporary table, benches of an equally rude construction were
placed sufficient for the accommodation of all the company, including the prisoners, now consisting of the Squire, the surveyor, and
his assistant, all of whom were respectfully shown places at the
table. The meal was generally partaken in silence, the officers
seeming to fear that too much sociability might have a tendency to
unnerve them for the task on hand, and the men respectfully following the example of their superiors, with the exception of Pete
Jones, who could not forbear occasionally throwing a sly joke at
the chop-fallen Squire.
" Now, gentlemen, for business," said Allen, rising from the
table the moment their meal was finished, as ominously knitting
his dark, heavy brows, he pulled from his pocket, and in a loud,
commanding voice, commenced reading a decree of the Convention, forbidding " Each, and all, of the inhabitants of the New
ltamnpshire Grants, to hold, take, or accept, any office of honor or




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               143
proft under the colony of New  York "- and requiring "All
officers, and others, acting under the Governor or Legislature of
that province, to suspend their functions, on pain of being viewed."
te then produced a letter from a secret agent of the settlers at
Albany, giving the date of Prouty's commission, and enclosing a
letter from the Squire himself, accepting the office in question.
He also presented a copy of a notice sent some weeks previous,
to the surveyor, warning him to quit the Grants without delay.
" And now what have ye to say?" sternly demanded Allen,
turning to the prisoners as soon as he had finished reading the
documents: "What have ye to say, ye minions of York, why
ye should not be viewed, to the full extent and meaning of the
decree, made and provided for the like of ye?"
Quailing, under the withering gaze of Allen, the justice could
not muster courage to lift his head, or utter a single word in
reply. But the surveyor, who was a man of more firmness, and
bore himself quite collectedly on the occasion, attempted an arguinent with the leader of the Green Mountain Boys, denying all
right of the settlers to arrest him, protesting against being tried
by any but a court acting under the authority of New York, and
appealing to that authority for his justification.
"The authority of New York!" scornfully exclaimed the
other, " appeal to the authority of New York! Why not appeal,
at once, to the chancery of hell, the fountain head of that stream
of corruption, which comes to us under the name of New York
law and justice? We, sir, we, the poor and insufferably abused
settlers of these Grants, have often appealed to that source of
justice - appealed for protection against the lawless aggressions
of your cormorant speculators, who have attempted to wrest from
us our rightful possessions, to seize, with the grasp of plunderers,
our hard earned pittances, and turn us out, houseless and destitute, into the wilderness. But we have appealed in vain, and
only to learn our own folly in expecting that sin would ever be
rebuked by Satan. No, sir, we will suffer no such appeal, but
will ourselves give you a conclusive judgment in the premises;
and such an one, too, as shall give you the wages of your iniquities. What say you, my merry mountaineers?"
As soon as the hearty, but variously expressed responses, by
which the men testified their approbation of the remarks of their
leader, were over, Baker, Warrington, and Selden, who during
the discussion, had been engaged in a low con,-> sation apart from
the rest, beckoned Allen to approach them. The latter, obeying
the intimation, advanced, and, after listening attentively awhile




144            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
to some proposal or plan, which the others appeared to be imparting to him, snapped his fingers with delight, and exclaimed,
"Capital! capital, by Jupiter! " he repeated, bringing down his
huge palm upon the snugly fitting buckskin, covering his broad
thigh, with a slap that echoed through the woods like the report
of a pistol. "'Member, you shall announce it to them, and I
will see that it is carried into execution."
Baker, accordingly stepping forward and addressing the surveyor, gravely informed him, that it had been determined to
accede to the wish he had expressed, of being tried, if he was to
be tried at all, by a court of his own colony. And that Justice
Prouty, who had lately been commissioned by the government of
New York, would therefore now immediately proceed with the
trial.
"Oh, gentlemen, oh, sir!" began Prouty, beseechingly, as
Allen now came forward to attend to the part he had proposed to
assume in the business.
" Now do n't, Justice Prouty, interrupted Selden, with provoking irony, " do n't, I beg of you, suffer your diffidence to deprive
us of the aid of your acknowledged abilities in this important
case. Having had the honor of introducing you to this company,
I am very anxious that you should acquit yourself creditably on
the occasion."
" Yes, sir, but then my situation "- again began to expostulate the troubled justice.
" Come, your worship," interrupted Allen, with a spice of the
comic mingled with the determined expression of his countenance, " you are to try, and to sentence this York interloper, and
no two ways about it, neither, I will swear to you. There!" he
continued, seizing the reluctant and trembling Squire, with one
hand grasping the seat of his breeches, and the other his collar,
and lifting and placing him on the side of the platform, with the
apparent ease of one handling an infant: "There! sit on the
edge of this table, for a King's Bench. You did not think to
arrive to that honor so soon, did you, Squire?"
" Now, Squire," said Peter Jones, with one of his mischievous
looks, "MI ay I be eternally happy, if I do n't think you a considerable dabster of a prophet! Do n't you see how cute it is all
coming to pass what you told your old woman this morning about
your getting to be a judge soon? Though I must axe your pardon, Squire, for listening under your bed-room window a little,
before we rapped to come in."
"Well, is the court ready to proceed?" said Allen: "1Now




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               145
for my opening, as the lawyers say -I am for the prosecution,
recollect."
" Now I do protest - I beseech you, sir "- once more began
to stammer the confused and dreadfully perplexed justice.
"Shut up, sir!" fiercely exclaimed Allen. " Hell and Furies! who ever heard of a court before so despotic as to refuse
to hear the statements of counsel? No, no, Mr. Court, that will
never do, so now hear me."
The Squire, thus awed into silence, hung his head, and sat as
still as his agitation would permit, while the other produced, and
again read the documents by which he -had first introduced the
subject; and, after briefly summing up the evidence, demanded
that a sentence be imposed upon the surveyor of forty lashes of
the beech rod.
" I dispute the authority of your pretended Convention, and I
protest against the whole of these proceedings as illegal and riotous," exclaimed the surveyor, with considerable spirit.
" Well, very well, sir," said Allen, with the utmost composure;
"you have had your say, and made your defence, as you had an
undoubted right to do. I am always for liberty of speech when
a man has really any thing to say, and also for allowing a fair
hearing in all cases, though that is more than your infernal York
tribunals will permit, in nine cases out of ten. But let us now
attend to the decision of the court. Boys, you may as well be
getting a brace of genteel beech-sealers; for I feel very confident of a decision in my favor. Now, Mr. Justice, proceed with
your sentence. Forty stripes, with a green beech rod, is all I
claim, recollect - quite moderate, certainly; but it is always best
to lean towards the side of mercy. Proceed, sir!"
" Any thing else, gentlemen," groaned the distressed Squire,
"I will do any thing else you say. But this, now, I cannot, and
dare not do."
"Hark'ee, Mr. Court," rejoined the other, placing his arms
akimbo, and looking at the justice with the air of one resolved to
have no more words on the subject, "a sentence out of you I
will have, as sure as the devil delays his coming for your soul
long enoughi for you to pronounce it. Will you proceed, sir?
No answer, eh?  Well, we will soon see whether Ethan Allen
has got to eat his own words, or not. Jones, bring me that surveyor's chain in the camp, there."
Allen, taking out his pocket handkerchief, very deliberately
made a slip noose, and adjusted it round the neck of the trembling
Squire. He next carefully tied the tail of this noose to one end
13




146            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
of the chain, throwing the other end, at the same time, over the
large limb of a tree, which projected directly over their heads, at
the height of twelve or fifteen feet from the groufid.
" There, Jones, catch that end, and just straighten her out a
little," he observed, with a cool, business-like air, " I have heard
say that hanging was intended to bring about justice. Let us see
if a little of it wont have that effect in the present instance."
Obeying with mischievous alacrity, Pete, now running the
chain rapidly over the limb, brought it up just " taut enough," to
use a sea phrase, to make the noose sensibly felt by the Squire;
upon which the latter, starting and glaring wildly around, as a
slight sense of suffocation came over him, leaped upon his feet,
and stood upright. This shift, however, afforded him but a mo-'mentary relief: For Jones, quickly following up the movement,
straightened the chain with a jerk that brought the victim on to
his toes; in which position, grappling the chain above his head
with both hands, and begging, like a half whipped school boy, for
mercy, he was suffered to remain a moment, to give him one
more opportunity of complying with the requisition which had
been made upon him.
" Your last chance of salvation! " exclaimed the leader, in a
tone that testified his growing impatience at the man's obstinacy. "You will, comply in one moment more, or, by the horned
Lucifer, the next shall find you dangling within a yard of yonder
limb! "
"Now I would, gentlemen, sartainly would if" - again began
to sputter the struggling, though yet unconquered Squire.
"String him up, Jones!" cried Allen, with startling energy.
The next instant the body of the poor justice was spinning
round on one toe, with the tip of which he was barely able to
touch the platform.
"Oh! I'm choking!" screeched the now  really suffering
wretch, "Oh! ugh!   uh    ugh! I will - will - I'11 do it!"
" Ease away there, Jones! " said Allen, "he has come to his
senses at last, and I think there will be no further trouble; so
you may give him full play now."
After being again questioned as to the reality of his intentions
to proceed with the required task, the subdued Squire was let
fully down, and permitted to stand at ease on the platform; when,
as. soon as he had recovered his breath and composure sufficiently
to allow him to speak, he mumbled off the sentence, which he
had run such risks to avoid pronouncing.
"Now, Mr. Court," said Allen, with a slightly roguish curl of




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               147
the lip, "as you have been brought to a sense of your duty, and
given the sentence which justice required of you, it is no doubt
incumbent on you, sir, to see it executed. And, as all my men
here stand sworn never to execute any sentence of a York magistrate, it follows, of course, that you must be the executioner
yourself, in the present case: so now dismount, sir, if you please,
take this rod, and, after I have unnoosed you of this marvellous
prompter of justice," he continued, taking off the noose, and placing a beechen rod in the hands of the other, you will proceed to
apply it in a way that shall show the. sincerity of what you have
just said and done. Boys, you may now take off the surveyor's
coat, and then form a ring, with a few switches in your hands, if
you will, to see that justice is duly administered on the occasion.
There, that will do. Well, Squire, we are now ready to proceed -
what! hesitating again! Jones, seize the end of that chain, there,
and be ready, while I replace the noose."
But Prouty, having had quite as many of such promptings as
he felt willing to receive, did not wait to be noosed again, but
lifting the rod, moved forward, as if ready to perform the required
task without further resistance. Allen then advanced and threw
another rod down at the feet of the surveyor, gravely observin,,g -
"There, Mr. Surveyor, supposing from what you have thrown
out here, that you think the court have sentenced you unjustly,
we have concluded that, while he is executing the sentence on
you, we will give you a chance to avenge the injury. You have
therefore our free and full permission to return blow for blow
through the whole of it. Indeed, sir, I should rather advise you
to do it; for our boys here, who are great sticklers for fair play,
may take it into their heads, perhaps, to say that it would be
unjust for one Yorker to receive all the honors of the day, without imparting an equitable share to his fellow. And in case you
should neglect to do what they think is about right, I know not
what may happen to you. And now, Mr. Justice," he continued,
turning sternly to Prouty, "Now, Mr. Justice, be lively, and,
with the fear of God and Ethan Allen before your eyes, lay on,
sir!"
It would be very difficult to conceive any thing more strangely
ludicrous than the scene that followed. The reluctant Squire,
daring no longer to delay, now gave two or three faint and harmless blows across the legs of the surveyor; when he was admonished by Allen, in a tone which experience had taught him pretty
well how to interpret, to lay on more seriously. Spurred up by




148            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
his fears, the justice then began to administer the applications of
his rod with about that medium degree of violence, which, producing all the smart of heavier blows without the benumbing
antidote of bruising, is always far more irritating, and is generally,
perhaps, even more intensely painful to the victim than blows of
double the severity. At all events, the Squire's applications soon
produced a very visible effect on the surveyor, who, till this stage
of the business, had stood eyeing the proceedings in dogged
silence. But now leaping about, and being no longer able to
stand the pain which the Squire's applicaions began to impart,
lie hastily caught up the rod at his feet, and, swearing with spiteful bitterness, that he would put it on, to punish the other for
suffering himself to become the tool of a mob, gave back the
blows with so much interest that it soon roused in turn the ire of
the justice, who, now beginning to dance to the same tune, and
from the same cause which had put his opponent in motion, fell
to, and laid on in good earnest. Becoming thus mutually incensed,
and the anger of each rapidly kindling at the increased pain of
his adversary's applications, every blow of the one was followed
by a heavier blow from the other. And, the blows falling heavier
and thicker every instant, it soon grew into one of the most severe
and furious flagellations ever witnessed in the settlement, and
one that was amply satisfactory to our band of Green Mountain
Boys, who stood by, sending forth shout after shout, and peal
after peal of laughter, that fairly shook the slumbering wilderness with the deafening reverberations. And so deeply engaged
had become these antagonist dignitaries in administering to each
other this whimsically conceived, and queerly conducted punishment, that it was not till they had exceeded the prescribed number of stripes by nearly a dozen, that either of them thought of
yielding. Prouty, however, being of a less obstinate disposition,
and possessing less nerve than the other, at length gave over,
and cried lustily for quarter, which, even then, so implacable had
the surveyor become, was only granted him on the interposition
of the Green Mountain Boys.
" Well, Squire," said Jones, the only man who seemed disposed
to make any comments at the close of this curious scene, " do n't
you think these Yorkers most cruel bloody fellows? Ah! jest as
I told you, Squire, we belong to the right party."
The business of the morning having been thus brought to a
close, Justice Prouty, with an admonition to go and learn wisdom
from folly, was released and sent home. The surveyor's instruments were next broken to pieces by Allen, and the fragments




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 149
hurled into the bushes. The surveyor himself, with his assistant,
who had not been considered of public consequence enough to be
punished, was then put in charge of Jones and Brown, who were
ordered to escort them to the New York line, and there leave
them.
Within half an hour from the departure of the prisoners, the
encampment of the Green Mountain Boys under Snake Mountain was broken up, and the place deserted, the different individuals composing the band, after a brief consultation, having been
despatched by theij nrterprising and impetuous leader, in various
directions, on secret business connected with the important events
which were in train, and the new and untried scenes which were
now soon to follow.
CHAPTER XIV.' Strong hands in harvest, daring feet in chase,
True hearts in fight, were gathered in that place
Of secret council."
IF there is a town in Vermont whose first set of inhabitants
deserved the appellation of high-minded and worthy, it was the
early settlers of Middlebury. Distinguished, from their first pitch
on the fertile banks of the Otter, for enterprise, firmness and intelligence, they were among the foremost to resist the aggressions
of a government, which, unwittingly, perhaps, had lent itself to
aid the unprincipled schemes of a few rapacious. land speculators;
while the opening scenes of our revolution found them ready to
engage, with the same alacrity, and with the best of their means,
in the greater work of achieving the independence of their whole
country. And scarcely had the storm of war passed over, and
the sun-light of peace begun to break in on their infant settlement, before they united, with a zeal as extraordinary, considering their circumstances and means, as it was commendable, in
rearing, by private munificence alone, a collegiate institution,
which for many succeeding years did more, probably, towards ele13*




150            THE GREEN IXOUNTAIN BOYS.
vating the moral and literary character of Vermont, than any
one cause operating within her borders. And her alumni, now
many of them in eminence at the bar, and in the pulpit, and
found gracing not only every station in their own favored country,
from the humble school room, to the senate chamber of the nation,
but nobly dispensing her light among the people of every clime
upon the face of the broad earth, whither, in the fearless and
enterprising spirit of their fathers, they have scattered themselves, - now to teach the arts to the boorish Rugs, or besotted
Turk, now to assist the enslaved Greek, or Si uth American, in
his struggles for freedom, and now to rear the standard of the
Cross among the degraded pagans of the East - her grateful
alumni, often, often, turn back, in fancy, to their beloved Alma
MIater,
" To linger delighted o'er scenes recall'd there,"
and admire, and bless the noble and self-sacrificing spirit of
Painter, Chipman, Storrs, and others of her munificent founders,
who made themselves poor in pecuniary estate, that the children
of their country might become rich in knowledge.
WVith these remarks, suggested by the location of the scene
about to be described, and their expression here prompted by the
personal interest which the writer of these unworthy pages must
ever feel in that institution, in which he was taught at once his
weakness and his strength, and to which he is mainly indebted
for the schooling and chastening of a wild and untutored imagination, and for the foirmation of whatever mental character he
may possess; with these remarks, we say, let us now proceed in
the narration of our story.
Could one of the fabled scenes drawn by the immortal Homer
have been so far realized, on the 4th of May 1775, that Mars,
the supposed supervisor of every military enterprise, had sat in
his cloud-begirt chariot over that tract of country lying between
lake Champlain and the Green mountains, to take note of whatever in his line of business might be on foot below, he might
have perceived, on looking down from his lofty car, near the close
of that day, movements among the inhabitants of the particular
section just named, so simultaneous, and yet so apparently unconcerted, that even his godship, himself, unless previously in the
secret; would have been sadly puzzled to decide in what manner
to account for them. Nearly every man could have been seen
leaving his home for some point not far to the south of those falls
on Otter Creek, around which the flourishing village of Middlebury




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               151
now stands. Though all would have seemed gradually centering
to this spot, yet this would have been the only point of agreement discoverable in their movements, or apparent objects. —
Some carried axes on their shoulders, some hoes, or other implements of husbandry, and some had guns, with which they appeared to be amusing themselves, as they passed along, by shooting squirrels, or whatever small game might fall in their way.
And, in no instance, were two men seen travelling together; and,
if by chance any two happened to come across each other, they
immediately separated, one stopping till the other had passed out
of sight, or both diverging into different, though parallel routes.
The exact point of their concentration was at length seen to be
an opening in the wilderness, on a gentle swell of land, command.'ing a view of the devious Otter from its western side. Near
the centre of this opening stood a log house tenanted by a hardy
and enterprising settler, a confidential friend of the master spirit
of this clandestine gathering. A barn also of the same construction, and of dimensions ample enough to hold half a regiment
within its walls, was standing some rods in the rear of the house.
This huge fabric, as it finally appeared, had been selected, both
on account of its size, and the central position which it occupied
in the northern part of the Grants, for the approaching meeting
of the Green Mountain Boys. And as the shades of evening
began to gather over the wilderness, and individual objects grew
indistinct to the view, many a dark form might be discovered
emerging, one by one, from every point of the surrounding woods,
and stealthily taking their way in silence towards the building
appointed for their rendezvous.
But leaving this company to finish their noiseless gathering,
we will now recur to note the adventures of one of our heroes
on his way to the scene of action. We speak in the plural here,
as we do not pretend to fix on any one of the several leading
personages of our story as the particular hero of the work. —
But should the reader deem such an one to be essential in the
performance, we leave him to make his own selection from all
the characters we have introduced - a privilege to the reader,
which, we trust, will prevent any question in his mind whether
the author has himself selected the one for this honor who is the
most worthy of the appellation: and a privilege too, that we the
more freely accord, since we have often wished for the same
favor ourselves, while reading works of this kind, and bored
with the everlasting recurrence of " our hero," applied, not unfre.




152            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
quently, to the worst drawn, and by far the most spiritless char.
acter in the book.
After the separation of our band in the morning, the leaders,
as before intimated, were actively engaged through a good part
of the day in calling upon the settlers to sound their views and
feelings in regard to the approaching struggle between the colonies and mother country, and to apprise them, if found right in
sentiments, and ripe for action, as was generally the case, of the
contemplated meeting, and the precautions deemed important to
be observed in conducting it.
Warrington, having performed the task allotted him  as his
share of this delicate, and somnetimes difficult duty, set out, late
in the afternoon, for the appointed rendezvous of the evening.
After leaving the vicinity of the lake, to the borders of which
his duties had been principally confined, he soon entered the
woods, and, having decided on the course to be taken, proceeded
onward with a rapid step several miles towards his destination
without pausing. But at length feeling somewhat wearied with
the exertions of the day, he sat down to rest him, for a few moments, on the trunk of a fallen tree, and was dreamily running
over in his mind the singular events of the few past days, when
his attention was arrested by a clicking sound, resembling that
which attends the cocking of a musket. While looking around
him in doubt whether his senses had not deceived him, in respect
to the impression they conveyed of the sound, he distinctly heard
the snapping of a fire-lock in a thicket at no great distance from
the spot he occupied. Springing upon his feet, he brought his
own rifle to his shoulder, and, stepping behind a tree, awaited in
silence the result, which, he supposed, whatever the cause of the
movement, would soon be disclosed. But hearing nothing further,
and concluding that the sound came from some hunter, who,
having gained sight of game, and snapping his piece at it, had
noiselessly crept off after it in another direction, he thought but
little more on the subject at this time, and soon leisurely proceeded
on his way. The walk of half a mile now brought him to that
dead and desolate stream, whose name, at the present day,
" Lemon Fair," has so often proved a puzzler to the stranger
traversing this section of the country, and led him to ask the
cause of so singular an appellation. The explanation that follows, however, reconciles the apparent incongruity in a way as
simple and curious as it is generally unexpected. And the enquirer is soon enabled to trace this before unaccountable name,
from " Lemon Fair," through "Lamen Fair," to the lamentable




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               153
affair! which is said to have burst from the agonized bosom of
a traveller, who once, in attempting to ford the stream, was doomed
to the pain of witnessing his noble steed become inextricably
mired, and, sinking deeper and deeper at every effort to clear
himself finally disappear with fearful death-struggles, in the bottomless quags of this Styx of Vermontane. rivers. Warrington
here paused to note the air of peculiar dreariness and gloom,
which, even at this day, seems to brood over this paradise of eels
and owls —the former finding their Elysium in the stagnant,
muddy, and root-tangled pools of the stream, and the latter on
the decayed limbs of the long colonnade of dead and leafless trees
lining the banks, where they sit moping and gloating over their
inexhaustible storehouse of countless reptiles swarming in the
dark and turbid waters beneath. And while standing upon the
banks of this stream, with his mind thus engrossed, he was startled by the sharp report of a rifle, bursting from a fallen tree-top
on a knoll at the distance of some eight or ten rods behind him;
while at the same instant, a bullet, passing through his coat between his arm and body, struck and buried itself on the dry and
barkless surface of a tree, standing a few yards before him. -
Whirling suddenly round towards the covert from which the shot
issued, as now plainly indicated by a light cloud of diffusing smoke,
he again quickly brought his rifle to his shoulder, and stood for a
few seconds straining his vision for a sight of the invisible foe.
But being unable to discover any object with such certainty as
would justify his returning the fire, he suddenly changed his purpose, and leaped forward with all possible speed towards the
place. In one moment he stood on the spot just occupied by his
dastard assailant; when he succeeded in catching a glimpse of a
dark form rapidly retreating over another swell into a thick and
tangled swamp. His first impulse was to recommence the pursuit;
but a second thought told him that it would probably be in vain,
while it uselessly exposed him to the hazard of another shot of
his enemy from some concealment, which he would have time to
gain unperceived. He therefore reluctantly turned and retraced
his steps to the stream he had just left.
From the form and motions of the assassin, although in a disguised dress, Warrington was but little at loss in identifying him
with Darrow, whom he had twice met and as often frustrated in
his base, or, to say the least, very questionable designs. And
coupling the improbability that the fellow was acting from his
own promptings in his murderous attempt, with the friendly hints
of Miss Hendee, he no longer doubted that Sherwood was indeed




134            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
bent on his destruction, and finding a willing instrument in Darrow, had instigated this method of accomplishing it. But abandoning all thoughts of any measures to punish, or circumvent,
either the base tool, or his still more dastard employer, till his
public duties should allow him more leisure, he now hastily crossed
the stream, and proceeded with rapid steps towards the rendezvous of his assembling companions, which he only reached just
as the last glimmerings of departing daylight were fading in the
western horizon.
"Charles, how is this!" exclaimed Colonel Allen, breaking
away, as soon as he noticed Warrington's arrival, from a group
of several of the most influential settlers in the vicinity, with
whom he appeared to have been engaged in a low confidential
conversation, " how is this, that you are the last man to come on
the ground?  Why, I thought the devil had got you, or, what is
the same thing in Dutch, that you had gone over to the British,
to apprise them of our project. But, come, sir, as I suppose we
must allow you the credit of having done rather better than that,
I have concluded to make you my right hand man for the evening. - So now for business."
"In that case, Colonel," replied the other, "let me suggest to
you the precaution of placing a few sentinels around us, while in
convention. There may be those abroad to night, who, if permitted to look in upon us here, would render our enterprise as
vain as the crusades. Were it not too dark, I would show you a
hole in my coat, through which one of these prowlers a few miles
back, by a small mistake, put a bullet, instead of through my
heart, as evidently intended."
" God bless you, Charles, what do you mean?" asked Allen,
with surprise and emotion.
" I mean as I say."
"But who could it be."
"That despicable sergeant, instigated by Sherwood, I suspect."
"And what was you about not to return the compliment on
the spot?"
"He escaped me in a thicket, and I had no time to spend in
the cautious pursuit which would be safe or successful - would
to heaven I could have had more leisure! "
"Well, by the blessing of God, Charles, within a week, we
will have our heels on that nest of rattle snakes. But it is time
to organize. You were right about a guard - will you attend to
placing it, while I assemble the company in the barn, and see
that each has the watchword?"




THE GREEN MOUNTATN BOYS.               155
Allen now ordered lights to be brought, and placing himself at
the door of the building, he called to the company to advance and
enter singly. Each man as he presented himself, and before suffered to pass in, was strictly required to give the watchword, which,
as a precautionary measure to prevent any one being present
whose views had not been previously ascertained, had been confidentially imparted by Allen and his associate leaders since the
meeting was in agitation. The word chosen for this purpose was
Carillon, an appellation by which fort Ticonderoga was designated by the French while in the possession of their government.
After every man had passed this test of admittance, and thus
proved himself entitled to mingle in the deliberations of the assembly, Col. Allen called the meeting to order, and, after stating
that important business was in contemplation, the successful result
of which might depend on the secrecy with which it was conducted, proposed a sort of oath of affirmation, binding all present
by a solemn promise not to divulge the proceedings of this meeting, and its consequent measures, till the reasons, which made
secrecy necessary, should cease to exist. This proposition was
acceded to and the oath taken by rising.  Allen then, as the
acting chairman of the assemblage, declared the meeting open
for remarks on the subject which they had met to discuss.
The dead silence, which was now for a few moments observed by
the expectant assembly, was broken by Warrington, who, calmly
rising, proceeded, after a few preliminary observations, to give a
brief history of the commencement and progress of the quarrel
between the colonies and mother country. He then enumerated
the wrongs and aggressions which the former had suffered, while
meekly and vainly petitioning for redress, and closed by a vivid
picture of the recent massacre at Lexington, and with an eloquent appeal to the settlers to join the inhabitants of the sister
colonies in avenging the death of their slaughtered countrymen.
As he closed his harangue, which had been listened to with the
most profound attention, a visible excitement ran through the
assembly. And the hasty changing of positions, as they sat upon
their rude plank seats, ranged in rows round a small table, on
which dimly burned a solitary taper, the glistening eye, the
indignant glance, the firmly compressed lip, and- the silent working of the muscles of the faces of these hardy mountaineers,
plainly told the speaker that he had been addressing men who neither lacked the intelligence to comprehend, nor the spirit to act,
as soon as a definite object for action was set before them.
Remember Baker, one of the most shrewd, sagacious and coolly




r156           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
calculating men of the settlement, next arose and addressed the
meeting. With a few observations, for he was not a man of
many words, going to confirm the statements, and fortify the
positions of Warrington, he told them, that although he doubted
not in the least, that principle alone with them would be sufficient to excite them to action in the coming contest, yet their
policy, as settlers engaged in a controversy with New York for
their homes and property, demanded that they should take a bold
and decided stand against the British; for by doing this they
would at once enlist the sympathies of the other colonies in regard to their wrongs, draw upon themselves the attention and
respect of Congress, to which, if backed by the considerations of
a meritorious service in the common cause of the country, they
could successfully appeal for protection against the aggressions
of New York, and thus place themselves in an attitude in which
they could not only command justice, but finally secure the privilege of becoming an independent State.
"'Member is right! " exclaimed one of that class with whom
this artful, and as the event afterwards proved, by no means illgrounded argument, was calculated to operate with particular
force.
"Ay, ay!" responded another, " give me'Member Baker for
foresight! The more birds we can kill with one stone the better."
Although the argument of Baker was not probably without its
effect on the minds of all, situated as the settlers were with respect
to their controverted rights, and when added to the manly appeal
of Warrington to their patriotism and principles, had wrought
up the assembly to a high pitch of feeling, yet Allen, conceiving
that something more was needed to ripen them for action, and
raise their minds, as he was desirous of doing, to a level with his
own high-toned enthusiasm, now rose, and, after looking for a moment fearlessly and confidently around him, as he stood towering
with his giant form, like Saul among the people, began, -
"MEN OF THE GREEN MOUNTAINS,In the struggle in which you have been for many years engaged, you have won among the people of these colonies a name
for valor and patriotism. But have you gained this proud distinction in surmounting the difficulties of the past, to lose it now
by inaction in the more important stake of the present'? Have
you so long, so nobly, so triumphantly, resisted arbitrary power
in the shape of little tyrants near home, to submit now to the
lawless dictations of great ones from abroad? Are you, who
have just saved your homes and possessions from the grasp of




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              157
these, now willing to yield them tamely to those?-to those whose
despotic dominion would soon render them but possessions in name,
to be transmitted to whom? to whom I say? - To slaves, in the
persons of your own children! Yes, your own children, who,
if suffered to retain their inheritance at all, must retain it with a
foot of a lord on their necks, and the hand of a priest in their
pockets! Green Mountain Boys! could you, who have drank in
liberty from the very air of your green hills, never yet contaminated by the breath of a tyrant, could you witness this and live?
And above all, can you now look idly on, and see a hireling
soldiery swarming your country, enforcing the accursed requisitions of their masters at the point of the bayonet, shooting down
your countrymen and brothers by scores, as if they were wild
beasts, for exercising but the rights which God and nature have
given them - can you look upon a scene like this, and lift no
hand for your rights? - strike no blow to avenge the cold blooded
murder of your countrymen at Lexington?  Great God, forbid!
No! no! my brave mountaineers, you were never born to be
cringing slaves! Your bold hearts and sinewy arms were never
made to be listless and idle at a time like this! Come, then,
come on! follow me, whose heart is laboring and leaping for the
work of vengeance, and whose arm is nerved and aching for the
blow! Follow me, and I will lead you to deeds, which shall
cover the Green Mountain Boys with imperishable glory, and
make their name the watchword of liberty while a tyrant shall
remain to disgrace the image of his God, or pollute the earth
with his presence."
During the delivery of this brief and exciting appeal, the
expectant audience at first sat in their seats as silent and motionless as a group of statues. Before the speaker had proceeded
through many sentences, however, the whole company had noiselessly risen in their places, where they stood as if spell bound in
their tracks, every head eagerly bent forward, and every eye,
gleamingwith the kindling fire within, riveted upon their idolized
leader, to catch the bold and inspiriting thoughts that fell burning
from his lips, now with looks of fire and scorn, and now with the
intonations of thunder. And as he went on, rising in energy and
power at every sentence, eyes were seen to flash brighter and
brighter with indignation, tears of excited and overflowing feeling
to gush over many a rough cheek, while many a clenched and
brawny fist was brandished aloft, in mute response to the heartstirring words of the speaker. And when he closed, "Ethan
14




'158           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
Allen, forever! Ethan Allen, forever!" rose in one loud, con,
vulsive shout to heaven.
All being now ripe for action, and many loudly demanding the
object which might immediately require their services, Allen laid
before them the project of marching at once upon the British forts
at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, with the object of surprising
and capturing these two important though now weakly garrisoned
fortresses. The settlers being in general well apprised of the
state of these garrisons, and entering with great zeal into the
views of their leaders respecting the importance and feasibility
of the proposed plan, the latter now made a call for volunteers,
and immediately commenced an enrolment of names, which, when
completed, was found, to the joy and surprise 9f Allen and his
colleagues, to embrace more than three-fourths of the assemblage
now present; while even the rest expressed an earnest wish to
aid in the enterprise so far as it could be done without leaving
the neighborhood of their homes, where their presence was demanded. All necessary measures preparatory to the expedition,
as far as regarded the forces raised in this section of the Grants,
were then discussed and settled, and a sufficient number of men
were selected to guard every road by which any information of
the contemplated movement could be conveyed to the enemy.
These were ordered to enter upon their duties the next day; while
the main body were to equip, and otherwise prepare themselves
in the best manner the circumstances would admit, and assemble
at Castletonron the fourth day from the present time. After these
arrangements were completed, Allen ordered his horse to be
brought to the door, and announced his intention of departing
that night for the south part of the settlement, to superintend the
mustering of the forces enlisting, or enlisted, in that quarter.
"Well, my brave boys," said the Colonel, mounting his horse,
while his devoted followers were crowding around him," remember to meet me at Castleton on the 8th. Captain Warrington
and Lieutenant Selden will muster and take charge of you. -
Captain Baker goes to Winooski river to raise what force he can
there, and come in boats to join us on the lake. As to myself,
before to-morrow's sunset I must be at Holy Hill.* And now,
my fine fellows, go home, and prepare yourselves, without letting
*An appellation by which Ethan Allen was in the habit of calling Bennington.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 159
your left hands know what your right are doing, and may the
Lord bless you all till I see you again."
So saying, and putting spurs to his horse, he dashed down the
road to the south and disappeared.
CHAPTER XV.
"Now be thou strong! Oh! knew we not
Our path must lead to this?
A shadow and a trembling still
Were mingled with our bliss! "
THE following epistle from Miss Hendee to Miss Reed, in
answer to the one from the latter, inserted in a previous chapter
was written in the interval between the meeting of the Green
Mountain Boys last described, and the general mustering of their
forces for their contemplated enterprise.
" Forgive me, dear Jessy, but really I could not help laughing,
on the receipt and perusal of your vivacious, and very interesting
letter, to see the desperate attempts you there repeatedly make
to conceal from me, and yourself, by naked, unmasked assertions,
and inferences without premises, the heart-hidden secret which
your every third sentence, at least, most palpably discloses. Yes,
my lady, whether you believe it or not, yourself, you are but little
better than a gone girl, and your doughty major will find it out,
too, as sure as Jealousy has eyes, and Love none. But never
mind it, my dear girl, nor turn up that pretty, slender nose in a
miff at what I say, since the same letter that gives you cause of
displeasure, if cause there be, will furnish you also with the means
of an ample revenge; for I, too, have adventures to relate, of the
past week's occurrence, scarcely less extraordinary than your own.
When you said, Jessy, in that little parenthesis, which you threw
into your letter concerning Warrington, "A noble looking fellow,
I wish you could see him," you little thought that your wish had




160            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
been granted ere expressed; and far less did you dream, when
you added, " Ithink you would like him," how much of a prophetess you was likely to become; for Charles Warrington I have
seen, Warrington the Green Mountain Boy, Warrington the
York outlaw, and Warrington the generous, high-minded, and, as
you truly say, noble-looking fellow! And in what estimation I
secretly hold him, you will better understand, when I inform you,
that my old aquaintance Howard, of whom you have often heard
me speak, and Warrington are one, and the same person!  You
cannot be more surprised at this news than I was, myself, at the
discovery. And not small was the confusion of thought and feeling, I experienced at first, I confess, in reconciling the warring
conceptions I had previously entertained of these two, as I supposed them, different, and almost diametrically opposite characters.
In this, however, I have at length succeeded, and even to that degree that I cannot but feel, that the character of Howard, pure
and exalted as I ever thought it, receives an additional lustre
from the noble and disinterested part he has taken in behalf of
these poor, and as I am now satisfied, unjustly treated settlers.
And with this avowal of opinion, you will of course understand
that I think none the worse of him for being a New York outlaw.
We have had three interviews. The two first I must pass
over lightly, as I have much of a more interesting character to
communicate. I first encountered Warrington in the border of
the woods adjoining our opening, where I wandered, a fatalist
would think, but to be frightened by the questionable appearance
of a sergeant from the fort, and to be relieved by the opportune
arrival of my knight-errant Green Mountain Boy. Our next
meetingf was at our house, where, in the course of the evening, he
made known to me for the first time the identity of which I have
spoken, and where also he came near being seized by this same
sergeant and his soldiers, who, I feel sure, came here for no
other purpose, being prompted by the reward, and instigated, as
I cannot but suspect, by one who shall be nameless. But Warrington, and another of the leaders of the Green Mountain Boys,
who happened herem that evening, and who, by the way, was a
most extraordinary man, fairly out-generalled their mercenary
enemies, and, by a little favoring from a quarter which you are
at liberty to guess at, both luckily made their escape. ~ Our last
interview has been to day, and a most important one, too, I fear
it may prove, to the destinies of your perplexed, and in some
respects, truly unhappy friend. But before entering upon particulars, I must recur to some events which transpired in the interim.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                161
The next day after W's visit and fortunate escape, Sherwood
came here, and raised a storm in our quiet family, which has not
yet wholly ceased raging. It seems this sagacious lover of mine,
who had often heard my father recount the Samaritan kindness
of Howard, and perhaps suspected my own secret partialities, had
discovered, by worming himself into the confidence of the settlers,
that Howard and Warrington were the same, but, for reasons of
his own, had kept the discovery entirely to himself, though he
had been for several months in possession of the secret.. It appears also, that he had been apprised of each of my interviews
with Warrington. And coming armed with all this annihilating
array of facts, as he believed it, he, without saying a word to me,
called my father aside, and poured the whole story into his ears,
with such additions and embellishments as he conceived would
best subserve his purpose, - the amount of which was, as near
as I could gather, that my father had been harboring a branded
villain, who, in the guise of a gentleman, had been aiming at the
seduction of his daughter, and the eventual seizure of his possessions.. Trembling from head to foot with uncontrollable rage,
my father immediately hastened to my apartment. I will not, I
cannot even attempt a description of the painful scene that followed. You are not unacquainted with my father's unfortunate
infirmities of temper.  You can, therefore, in some measure
fancy, perhaps, how he would feel and act under such a representation of things, so nearly affecting his wishes and interests -
a representation, in which fact and falsehood were so artfully
blended, that a much cooler temperament, under the circumstances, might have been thus wrought up to anger. He swore
and wept alternately. I wept freely also, but only at witnessing
his distress, and at the thought of my own luckless destiny, which
had placed me in a situation where I must sacrifice my own happiness for life, or probably be the means of destroying that of a
parent, who, with all his faults, is still dear to my heart. I said
but little, however. Delicacy, as well as prudence, forbade my
disclosing the state of my feelings. And as to all other charges,
I could only assert my innocence, for I had then given Mr. W.
scarce a word of encouragement.
After my father had exhausted his store of reproaches upon
my poor head and left me, Sherwood entered and took up the
discourse. I could not but feel amused, in spite of my indignation and contempt at his despicable course, to see all the doubling
and shiftings he went through in his desperate attempts to regain
my favor, which my manner probably pretty plainly told him
11*




162            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
he had put in considerable hazard. After protesting, flattering,
apologizing, and arguing, with the sycophancy of a Frenchman
and the sophistry of a Jesuit, he finally departed, leaving me to
myself, and that negative happiness which his absence has not
very lately failed to afford me.
The next morning I reminded my father, whose madness
seemed to have something more of method in it than the day
before, of a visit which had a few days previous been projected
at his own suggestion. This was a ride, on horseback, to Otter
Creek to carry a few necessaries to a distant relative of' ours,
Aunt Story, as we call her, whose curious subterraneous abode I
have before described to you, I believe.  No serious objection
being made to the proposal, I accordingly set out with Neshobee,
my usual attendant on these excursions, who, on another horse,
accompanied me in the capacity of baggage man and squire.
We had a pleasant ride, and arrived without any particular adventure at the Creek, opposite her wood-begirt residence. 0 how delightful is a morning ride at this season of the year through these
flowering forests! How fragrant the viewless odors that regale
your senses at almost every step! And, in the present instance,
as you near the Green Mountains, how pure and invigorating
the breezes that, seemingly uncontaminated by a contact with
earth, come wafting down their dark sides fresh from the midheavens! I never approach these green-hilled monuments of
sylvan magnificence, but my physical powers receive an impulse,
and my moral nature becomes sensibly-exalted. No wonder the
Green Mountain Boys should be men of such high-toned
character!
On reaching the banks of the Creek, Neshobee set up his shrill
whoop (not war whoop) to make known our arrival to this fearless woman of the woods. This being heard and understood by
her, she quickly made her appearance, came across with her boat,
and ferried us all safe over the stream, our horses having been left
tied to saplings on the bank behind.
I must not stop to describe the cordial reception I met with, as
I always do in this singular, yet interesting family; nor my romp
with the curly headed brood of children that thronged around
me, capering in wild glee at my arrival, and their eyes fairly
sparkling with joy and gratitude at the sight of the titbits I had
brought them. After the rumpus and romping with the joyous little creatures had somewhat subsided, I took the brighteyed and lisping little Julia, in my lap; when the pretty rogue
immediately clambering up, and putting her arms round my




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               163
neck, in the sweet, pleading, and playful tones of infantile elo.
quence exclaimed,
" Now, Couthin Alma, mayn't I kith you again? -there, I
did! I will again! There! ha! ha!  Now I have kithed you
ath many timeth ath I did the Young Captain."
" And who, pray, my pretty one," said I quite innocently,
" who is this Young Captain with whom you appear to have been
so familiar? "
" O, he ith the Young Captain," replied she hesitating in her
childish simplicity how to define her favorite by any other appellation than the one by which she had been accustomed to hear
him called: " he ith - he ith a good Young Captain. I kithed
him three timeth. And wouldn't you kith him too, Couthin
Alma, if he'd let you? Would n't the Young Captain let Couthin
Alma kith him, ma?"
Puzzled and confused, at I scarcely knew what, I turned to the
mother for an explanation; when to my still greater confusion, I
beheld her holding her sides, while her eyes were fairly dancing
in the bright tears of suppressed risibility, to which she now gave
way in a right hearty fit of laughter.
"' Excuse me, Alma," said she, as soon as she could command
her merry emotions sufficiently to speak; " excuse me for laughing at the child's ludicrous introduction of a subject, which I
was at the very moment thinking how I could myself break
to you. The Young Captain, as some of the settlers call him, is
no other than the well known leader of one of the bands of the
Green Mountain Boys, Charles Warrington. Why, bless me!"
she continued, with a look of surprise, as she now lifted her eyes
from her work to my features, " What ails you, Alma?  Why
your face is as red as - Oh! - ah! - aha! - you knew all this
before, did you? And you have seen him yourself, you rogue?"
she added mischievously, shaking her finger at me, and fixingg her
keen eyes on my face; " You have, Alma, and you need not
attempt to deny it."
" I have not denied it, aunt, - have I? " I replied, rallying as
well as I could.
" Well, now, Alma Hendee," she rejoined, with a gratified and
serious air, " I have not heard anything this long while that has
done me more good than this news. Indeed, for the past week
in particular, I have actually prayed that you might meet him,
though I dared not be the means of bringing it about. And the
reason why I wished it is, because I think so much of the man,




164           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
and feel such an interest in the cause which he has done so much
to sustain; and, also, because I knew that you, from your intercourse and connection with the York party, and from your hearing, as you naturally would, nothing but slander and misrepresentation of the man, and curses on the cause in which he has
been so nobly engaged, that you, I say, must have almost necessarily imbibed wholly erroneous opinions of both him and his
cause - now, has it not been so? "
" Such," I answered, "was once, I confess, too much the
case."
" I thought so," she resumed, "and but for the fear, that I
might displease you, - for I never knew how to hold up when I
begin,- and, perhaps, be led into a quarrel with your fiery old
father, who has been so good to me, I should, before this, have'
spoken to you on these matters. Why, this same Warrington
and a party of his followers were up on Lake Dunmore the very
day you were last here, and while you were here in the house
playing with the children, I discovered, as I was out to the edge
of the woods to get cedar boughs for a broom, a gang of Yorkers
going in pursuit of them. Don't you recollect I came in and
proposed sending Neshobee out to kill us a partridge?"
I remembered it, and assented.
"Well," she continued, " it was for no other purpose than to
despatch him to Warrington with a note that I scribbled in that
closet. Neshobee, I knew, was a friend to the Captain."
" Neshobee! " said I, in surprise, " why, I never heard him so
much as utter the name! "
" It is true for all that," she rejoined; " Warrington once did
him a service when they happened to meet on a hunt, and
Neshobee, being made acquainted with the other's situation, and
knowing yours, has been as prudent as he is faithful."
" But what became of the Yorkers? " I asked.
"The Green Mountain Boys threw them into the lake and
returned to this neighborhood," she answered. " The Captain
and his Lieutenant came and slept that very night in this house,
and were here asleep on the floor, when I came up to the house,
after helping you off the next morning. Do you remember singing us a song that night, just before going to bed, and how you
were interrupted by a noise in the woods above us? "
"I do, but what of that?" said I, somewhat startled.
" Why, nothing," she replied, smiling, " only Warrington, who
rambled out, after his friend fell asleep, heard your performance."




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              165
"You astonish me, aunt Story," I replied; "but surely he
could not have distinguished my voice in that under-ground
abode? "
" Not exactly," answered she, "' and yet he was strangely puzzled, and seemed, when telling me of the affair the next morning,
to have some suspicions of the truth."
" But did you tell him who it was? " I eagerly demanded.
" No, Alma," she said, "I kept your secret for reasons which
I have before named, and sent him off worse puzzled than before. But how did he introduce himself —as Howard, or as
Warrington? for that the two were one and the same, is a riddle
that I guessed out long ago."
I told her the circumstances; after which she resumed,
" So you have had a hurricane at your house. Well, Alma,
let it blow on, and overturn, till it levels falsehood and corruption
to the ground, and brings truth and justice uppermost. And
when that takes place, if you will believe me, Jake Sherwood
will be swept into the gulph of infamy, where he ought to be
now, instead of being here among men, with the pretensions of
a man, but with the real character of a spy and hypocrite! "
" You are very severe, aunt," I remarked, not so much offended, however, as I might have been.
" I hold, Alma," she rejoined, " that the boldness of a truth is
no reason for suppressing its utterance. Why, Alma Hendee,
whether you know it or not, - whether you will believe it or
not, it is God's truth, that with all his smooth manners and gentlemanly appearance, the heart of that same Jacob Sherwood is as
black as the outside of my dinner pot!"
I began to say something which she took for a qualified assent,
when cutting me short, she went on, —
"You know that it is so, Alma. And, now, that you have
again met with Warrington, I know where your heart is, or I
should not venture to say so much. Far be it from me ever to
interfere with matches - matches that are truly such. But mismatches, patched up on earth, and accursed of heaven, I should
feel myself honored in being the instrument of breaking. And
knowing, as I think I do, all the motives and circumstances
which led you to acquiesce in this entanglement with Sherwood,
and knowing, also, that a match between you would be yoking darkness to light, I stand prepared, as your friend, acting in the place
of your sainted mother, now in heaven, to advise you to say, even
in despite of the favorite schemes of your mistaken and blinded
father, to say to Sherwood, as Peter said to Simon Magus, who




166            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
would buy the sacred gift with money,'Thy gold perish with
thee!'"
A long conversation then ensued between us, in which all the
information possessed by either, relative to the York controversy,
and the part taken in the same by Warrington, Sherwood, and
others, was mutually imparted and received, and our opinions
and feelings on these subjects freely exchanged. While still engaged on this engrossing theme, one of the children came running into the house with the cry, "The Young Captain is
coming! the Young Captain is coming! "  I was struck dumb
by this unexpected announcement, and so surprised and fluttered,
that, had I been a bird, I believe I should have instantly clapped
my wings and flown away. But as it was, I had nothing to do
but prepare to meet the half dreaded, half courted danger, as
unconcernedly as possible. We had little time allowed us for
preparation, however; for scarce had the announcement been
made, before Warrington entered the door attended by - whom
think you, Jessy? I wish you could have been there? In that
case, to follow up that odd comparison of yours, the. brisk little
drummer in your heart would have found his match, I think, to
keep up the accompaniment with the lively performer at work in
my own: for Captain Warrington's attendant was no other than
your favored knight, the gay, witty, and handsome Selden. An
hour spent in his company was sufficient to make me feel that
these flattering epithets, and even more, might be justly applied
to him. Now don't be jealous girl, for though peculiarly pleased
with him, I certainly was, yet my feelings were anything but
those constituting, what we define to be that undefinable concern,
called love -no, no, not that, but a singular sort of a flowing
away of the heart towards him, which I can neither describe nor
account for, unless the solution be found in the prepossessions of
him that your letter had implanted.
We were now summoned to a dinner, which our free-hearted
hostess had done her best in preparing for us. The meal itself,
as you know it must have been, considering the limited store from
which it had to be prepared, was certainly a plain one. But
partaken in such company, how could it be other than a delightful one! With me, it forcibly exemplified the proverb of the
wise man, " Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a
stalled ox and hatred therewith."
After dinner, Warrington, with his peculiar delicacy of manner, proposed a ramble. My tongue would have declined the
proposal, but my heart, rising in rebellion, suppressed the utter



THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                167
ance, and I, silently, and with a palpitating bosom, assented. All
seemed to understand the object of our walk, and no one, not
even a child, offered to accompany us. I felt, indeed, myself,
that my destiny for life hung on the events of that hour. We
proceeded in almost unbroken silence to the bank of the river;
when I soon found myself seated, I scarcely know how, by his
side, upon a flowery hillock. The quiet waters, sparkling in the
rays of the meridian sun, were gently gliding along in soft murmurs at our feet; while a spreading thorn tree, loaded with blossoms of snowy whiteness, and filling the air with delicious fragrance, formed the canopy for our heads. I cannot describe what
now passed. My heart soon overflowed with contending emotions.
I found myself able to prevail against its stronger dictates no
longer; and my feelings found vent in a flood of tears. My
head involuntarily rested on his shoulder, while he advocated his
cause with all the tender pathos of love, which found a chord in
my own bosom so powerfully responsive to its eloquent pleadings
that,
"Then our hearts together run;
And like kindred drops of water,
Met, and mingled into one."
The winged moments flew by unheeded; and when, at the end
of an hour, which, in this sweet trance of the affections, seemed
as a moment, we rose to return, our mutual vows of unchanging
love and eternal constancy, had ascended to the registry of
Heaven.
Soon after our return to the house, the gentlemen apprised us
of the necessity of their immediate departure; when, after an
affectionate adieu, they proceeded on their destination. This
destination I am not at liberty to unfold, and shall consequently
be debarred from some particulars connected with my parting
with W. which awakened a solicitude alike new and painful to
my feelincs. I did not tarry long after they left us. But after
a shower of thanks, praises, and blessings from our hostess, for
the step, which I apprised her I had taken, I soon set out for
home, where I arrived before sunset.
On another page of this letter I styled myself your perplexed
friend. I am so, though not because I regret the step I have
taken, but on account of the difficulties which must soon beset me,
I have also many painful apprehensions of the effect which my
engagement may have, when it becomes known, as ere long it
necessarily must, on, not only my father's happiness, but his




168           TTHE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
property, owing to the peculiarities of our situation. As these
cannot be understood without a knowledge of some former events
connected with our family, I will, in confidence, briefly relate to
you the leading particulars of our family history. My paternal
grandfather's family consisted of my uncle Gabriel Hendee, and
my father James Hendee, with their half sister Mary, who married John Sherwood, father of Jacob Sherwood. To these three
was left a considerably extensive property, which was increased,
as far as regarded the shares of Gabriel, and his brother-in-law,
Sherwood, who, becoming partners, engaged in the lucrative
trade and commerce of the Connecticut river, on the banks of
which, within the borders of Massachusetts, you are already
aware, we all once resided. But my father, who was of a different disposition and less inclined to confine himself to the details
of business, entered into uncertain speculations, which, instead
of increasing, diminished his original inheritance, involved him
in some pecuniary embarrassments, and finally led him to abandon trade, for which he seemed to have neither much tact nor
inclination, and seek a commission in the army, destined for the
French and Indian wars, then beginning to rage along our borders. Obtaining the commission he sought, he was soon called
into active service, having entrusted Sherwood to arrange his
affairs and take charge of his property; while uncle Gabriel,
naving no famnily, and becoming an invalid, retired from business,
and came to reside with our family in father's absence. Several
years thus passed away, father at intervals returning home to see
his wife and son, the darling little Edward, and spend such time
with them as his public duties would permit, scarcely troubling
himself to look into the state of his property, which he believed
to be in hands where it would be husbanded to the best advantage. My uncle Gabriel in the meanwhile still continuing to live
in the family, and appearing much attached to it, especially to
his little nephew, made his will, bequeathing his whole property
to the child, when of age, and all the income till that time, and
certain portions of it after, to my father. But it so happened not
long after this that IMr. Sherwood, who had taken a temporary
residence further up the river, paid our family a long visit, at the
end of which he took my uncle home with him, where he soon
grew worse and died; not however, as it soon appeared, till he
had added a codicil to his will, making, in case of Edward's
death, Mr. Sherwood's son, Jacob, legatee, and placing that family where the will placed ours. From that time misfortunes
seemed to fall fast and heavy on-our devoted family. 3My mother




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               169
soon sickened and died, leaving me, her youngest child, about a
year old. Our family establishment was then broken up. Edward was placed in the family of Mr. Sherwood; and I was sent
to a relation of my mother in Hartford. But fathei, already borne
down with sorrow at the loss of two wives (for my mother was
a second wife by whom he had no other child), was doomed to
another blow scarcely less fatal to his happiness, and more so to
his future prospects, in the further loss of that son, on whom all
his hopes and dependence had been placed. The boy had been
allowed, as the story was told, to accompany a reckless young
man, then in Sherwood's employ, many miles into the interior,
and there strayed away, and never could be found. There was a
rapid river running through the woods, in which he might have
been drowned, and swept down into the Connecticut. But it was
considered more probable, that he had been seized by some small,
lurking band of Indians (traces of whom were discovered in the
vain search for the boy), and by them murdered, as it was supposed, since no tidings of him ever reached us. My father, when
he returned, and learned the fate of his son, was inconsolable.
And Mr. Sherwood seemed deeply to sympathize with him, and
moreover to manifest great regret that uncle had so altered his
will as to take all his property from our family, assuring my
father that he would make such provision for us as would be a recompense. After this visit my father remained abroad to the close
of the war, when, being discharged from the service, he began to
bethink him about the means of a future livelihood, and called on
Sherwood to account for his property, which, to his dismay, had
dwindled to a mere pittance. And receiving it, he commenced a
small business in Hartford, where he resided till I was about
seventeen, living in good style, and bestowing on me the best
education the place afforded. But again becoming embarrassed
by expenses beyond his income, and his pride revolting at the
thought of being a bankrupt in this place, he took me, and
secretly left town for Albany, to avail himself of the many promises of Mr. Sherwood, who had removed to the latter place many
years before. We were kindly received by Mr. S., who furnished father with money to pay off his creditors in Hartford, and
subsequently to purchase our present residence, though most of
the improvements have been made through the means of the half
pay which he receives from government.
You will now, Jessy, be able to appreciate the difficulties of
my situation, and perceive the reasons which actuate my father
in the strenuous course which he has pursued, and will be likely
15




170           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
still to pursue, in urging a connection between me and Jacob
Sherwood. Jessy, adieu.                         A. H.
P. S. When I closed as above, last night, I expected the letter would have been taken early this morning by Major Skeen's
colored man, Jack, who said he should go up with his boat today; but he has just called and says he shall not go till to-morrow morning. The main object of this postcript is, however, to
say, that if you thought it so important that I should keep your
secret, you cannot but see how much more so it is that you keep
mine. I know not but Mr. Warrington's life may depend on it -
I did not mean to say this, but my fears and forebodings have
compelled me. You do not know Mr. S. - would to heaven I
had never known him. - Farewell.                ALMA.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER I.
" They come, impatient for the fight, -
Burning to rush into the slaughter, -
Ready to pour their blood like water
For what they deen4 the right;Like men, preferring glorious graves
To life, if it must be the life of slaves!"
It seems to be universally conceded that the first settlers of
Vermont were men of an iron mould, and of an indomitable
spirit. And it is no less true, we apprehend, that with corporeal
frames, unusually large and muscular, and constitutions peculiarly robust and enduring, they possessed, also, intelligence and
mental energies, which, considering what might naturally be expected of men of their condition in life, and in their situation in
a wilderness affording none of the ordinary means of intellectual
culture, were equally remarkable. The proof of these assertions
is to be abundantly found, we think, in the unequalled stand
taken by them for their rights, in their memorable controversy
with New York, and in the multiplied documents that grew out
of it, in the shape of resolves and decrees of conventions, addresses to the people, memorials and remonstrances to the governor of that province, and to the British throne itself, all drawn
up with great clearness and cogency of reasoning, and evincing




172           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
a knowledge of natural and constitutional rights in a people,
among whom law as a profession was then entirely unknown,
which are generally to be found only in the courts and councils
of old and highly civilized countries. And even were these tes.
timonials to their character wholly wanting, ample evidence, that
they were a generation of no ordinary men, may still be seen in
the scattered remnant of this noble band of heroes yet lingering
among us, like the few and aged pines on their evergreen mountains, and, though now bowed down by the weight of nearly a
century of years, exhibiting frames, which would almost seem to
indicate them as men belonging to another race, and which are
still animated by the light of wisdom and intelligence, and warmed
by the unconquerable spirit of freedom yet burning unwasted
within them.
Those who have treated on this subject, when alluding to the
facts we have stated, have generally coupled them with observations upon the invigorating effects of mountain air, &c. leaving us
to infer that these peculiarities of the early settlers were attributable only to such causes. It is, indeed, doubtless the case, that
the wild scenery, and the pure elastic air of mountainous countries, are the most favorable, under the same degree of culture,
to the formation of the highest grade of physical, as well as moral
and intellectual character - imparting, in the one instance, that
health and peculiar vigor which brings the human system to all
the perfection that it is capable of attaining, and, in the other,
engendering, with firmness of nerves, and firmness of purpose, the
usual attendants of great bodily powers, a healthy and high-toned
imagination, and those lofty aspirations that exalt the character,
and prompt to great and noble actions. But whatever influence
the peculiar climate and scenery of this Switzerland of America,
as Vermont may, perhaps, be appropriately termed, may have
had, in this respect, on the descendants of these hardy settlers, little
of this influence, probably, would have been perceptible on the
settlers themselves: they, it must be recollected, were not natives
of these mountains, but recent emigrants from other New England colonies. And whatever peculiarities they possessed must
mainly have originated in other causes — from the very nature
of the enterprise, probably, which brought them together, that of
settling a wild and rough frontier country, known to be attended
by a thousand difficulties and hardships, and beset by a thousand
dangers, in which men of ordinary stamina would never think
of engaging. They, indeed, may be looked upon in the light of
picked men, or more properly, perhaps, in that of volunteers,




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              173
stepping boldly and confidently forth for some extraordinary enterprise, of which the hazard and difficulty are so great, that nothing
but an uncommon union of courage and strength can accomplish
it, and of which the success, or even the attempt, it may-be, furnishes the best evidence of these qualities in those who voluntarily enlist in the undertaking. And as regards the intelligence
and mental character of these settlers, their educations were
generally equal to those usually received among the better classes
of the old settlements where they were obtained, and superior,
probably, to what the same men were able to furnish to their
immediate descendants. And this fact, together with the emergencies, which not only called all the energies of their minds into
action, but constantly improved them, and enlarged their information by the investigations they were induced to make for the
successful prosecution of their cause in the New York controversy, will sufficiently account for their intellectual superiority
over the ordinary settlers of other new countries.
With these observations, here thrown in by way of showing our
warrant for many of the descriptions of character which we have
introduced, and which, we thought it not impossible, might otherwise subject us to the charge of indulging in improbabilities, we
will now proceed with the incidents of our story.
The morning of the ninth of May broke brightly upon the
encampment of our troops at Castleton, disclosing to the view,
now for the first time, an organized band of about three hundred
as brave and hardy men as ever assembled for deeds of daring
and danger. Of this number more than three-fourths were Green
Mountain Boys. The remainder were men collected from the
nearest parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and led on by
several enterprising militia officers of these colonies, who had
actively co-operated in getting up the expedition. A council had
been held the night previous, for the purpose of organizing these
united forces, which had been dropping in irregularly through
the day and a greater part of the night, and also for making all
other necessary arrangements to march for their destination on
the following morning. At this council Ethan Allen had been
unanimously appointed the commander-in-chief of the expedition.
Colonel Easton, one of the Massachusetts officers, was placed
second in command. And the third grade was assigned to Warrington; while Selden, in making the subordinate appointments,
was raised to the post of captain to supply the place left vacant
by the promotion of his superior. Even our friend, Pete Jones,
though now absent, was not forgotten in the distribution of honors,
15*




174           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
but named to take charge of the scouts, provided he joined the
expedition. All these arrangements having been made the night:
before, as just stated, the troops by sunrise had breakfasted, and
were now under arms, and undergoing a review preparatory to
marching. All were in high spirits, and animated at the thought
of being immediately led to the important object of their enterprise.  Their gallant leader, now dressed and equipped in a
manner appropriate to his rank, and mounted on his own noble
charger, was riding proudly along their imposing front- now
pausing to give some directions to an officer, now to inspect the
equipments of a company, and now backing his curvetting steed
to take a view of the whole; while his towering form seemed to
dilate, and rise still higher to the view, his bosom heave with
pride, and his eyes glisten with delight, as they ran along the lines
of his stout and broad-chested Green Mountain Boys, and read
in their hardy features, lit up with enthusiasm, and eagerness for
action in a cause which every man had made his own, the same
high resolves, the same burning desires to signalize themselves
that animated his own bosom.
At this moment a stranger, who, with a single attendant in the
capacity of a servant, had but a short time before arrived, came
on to the ground, and took a conspicuous stand in front of the
troops. He was of about the middle age, stout, well-made, and
handsomely featured, while a Roman nose, a thin, curling lip,
and a black flashing eye, with the peculiarly contemptuous, and
even sinister expression, and reckless air, which they combined
to give his countenance, denoted no ordinary degree of selfesteem, and a fiery and impetuous disposition. He was richly
and fashionably dressed, and wore a sword, epaulet, and other
insignia usually worn by field officers of the times.
" Captain Blagden," said Selden, turning to a Connecticut
officer near him, and pointing to the stranger just described,
"can you inform me who that proud and scornful looking fellow
yonder may be? He belongs not to us of the Green Mountains;
nor does he appear to have any connection with the troops from
MVassachusetts, or with those from your own colony; and yet his
demeanor, and showy military appendages, would lead one to
suppose that he came here to take command of the whole
of US."
"I have been looking at the man myself," replied the person
addressed, " and, though not quite certain, yet I believe I know
him. I think he must be one whom I well knew when we were
boys, arid of whose singular career I have since been often




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              175
informed. And, if my conjectures are right, his name is Arnold,
Benedict Arnold, of New Haven."
" But what do you imagine has brought him here, with these
apparent assumptions? "
" Well, now I bethink me, sir, I remember, that the day I left
home, a townsman of mine, who had just returned from New
Haven, reported that, when the news of the battle of Lexington
arrived at that place, Captain Arnold, who is the commander of
an independent company there, started, with several other military men, post haste for the scene of action. And as he is said
to be a good officer, having been a soldier in the army (into
which he run away and enlisted in his youth), I should not be
surprised to learn he had received a commission from the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. And further, as he was stationed,
while a boy-soldier, at Ticonderoga, and knows, doubtless, considerable of its situation, I will hazard a bottle with you, Captain Selden, that he has craved, and obtained, permission of that
Committee, to take charge of the troops which they probably
heard were collecting for this expedition."
" Aha? Colonel Allen, I imagine, will have a word to say to
that bargain. It would fairly break his heart to be deprived of
the chance of receiving the first charge of grape or canister that
shall salute us from the wide-mouthed war-dogs of Old Ti. And
if your surmises are correct, a collision, I fear, is unavoidable,
unless Mr. Arnold should, as I think he certainly ought, waive
his pretensions to the command."
"A collision it will be then: for Arnold, it is said, was never
yet Known to yield to any thing, when his purposes were fixed.
A more reckless dare-devil, I suppose, never trod the footstool.
Why, sir, when we were but boys, I have known him spring
upon a large water-wheel in full motion, grasp one of its arms,
with his head towards the circumference, and there remain till
he had been dashed through the back-water beneath, during forty
revolutions! I have known him, single handed, seize and overcome a mad ox, which had broke away from, and nearly killed a
dozen men. One or more duels he has fought abroad; while
scores of bullies have been cudgelled and conquered by him about
home. Indeed, if one half that is told of him is true, the wild
bulls of Bashan had not a spirit more untamable, nor scarcely
more bodily strength to back it."
"All that may be, sir, but those who know Ethan Allen will
laugh at the very idea of there being found a man in New England who can outdo him in feats of either strength or courage.




176            TIlE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
And when they tell you, as they truly may, that they have seen
him bite off the heads of board nails by dozens, - seize by his
teeth, and throw over his head, bags containing each a bushel of
salt, as fast as two men could bring them round to him - grasp
two opponents who had beset him, one in each hand, and lifting
them clear of the ground, hold them out at arms length, and beat
them together till they cried for mercy,- engage alone with a
York sheriff and his posse of six common men, rout the whole,
and leave them sprawling on the ground —you will probably
allow that such a man will not be very likely to succumb to your
hero. Let this Arnold but offer to assume the command, and,
unless I am sadly mistaken, you will see what kind of stuff our
old Green Mountain lion is made of. But see! the fellow is
beckoning the officers to approach him. Let us move up to the
spot, and hear what he has to offer on the occasion."
Understanding and heeding the intimation of the stranger
officer, who was indeed no other than Benedict Arnold, afterwards so infamously conspicuous in the annals of our revolution,
most of the officers, including Allen, who had dismounted for the
purpose, immediately advanced, and formed an irregular line
before him.
" Gentlemen," said he, with a perfectly assured and confident
air, after waiting till all had approached and assumed a listening
attitude, " I am personally unknown, I presume, to most, or all
of you, but having been clothed with the proper authority, and
directed to proceed to this place for the purpose, I have the honor
to announce myself to you as the commander of this expedition;
consequently it is now my duty to take charge of these troops."
"Sir? " said Allen, taking a step in advance of his fellow officers, placing his arms akimbo, and turning up his ear, as if the
better to catch the words of the speaker, whom he eyed askance
with a look of queerly blended doubt and scorn: " Sir? Did I
hear aright?  Did you say that you thought it your duty to take
charge of these troops?"
" I did, sir, and still so consider it," replied Arnold, rather
restively.
"Do you, indeed, sir," rejoined Allen, with a look of cool
derision. " Then it was altogether a mistake of mine in supposing that the reverse of your proposition would have made out a
more probable case?"
"I know not what you mean," said Arnold, his voice trembling
with stifled anger at the biting significance of the other's remark.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               177
c You may learn, however, that I am not a person to be trifled
with, sir."
" Well, I can't pretend to say what, or who you are not," replied Allen, waxing warm, and giving token of a direct onset,
but I should like to know who the devil you are, that come here
from another colony to take the control of men who now own
allegiance to no power short of that of the God of Heaven?"
" My name is Arnold," replied the other, biting his lips in suppressed rage, "and I hold a commission of Colonel, with the
orders I named, from the Massachusetts Committee of Safety.
There! examine it for yourselves!" he added, pulling out a
parchment, and disdainfully hurling it at their feet.
The roll was instantly picked up, and attentively examined by
several of the officers; while Arnold stood aloof in contemptuous silence, scarcely deigning to bestow a glance on the company
thus engaged. It indeed proved, as he had stated, a Colonel's
commission, from the source above mentioned, enclosing another
document, signed by the same Committee, authorizing Arnold to
raise troops in Massachusetts, or elsewhere, to the number of
four hundred, and march them for the reduction of Ticonderoga.
"Now, sir, where is your commission? I should like to see it
in turn," said Arnold, addressing Allen, and advancing with an
air of triumph, as soon as the examination of his credentials,
which he supposed must silence all further question of the right
he had assumed, was completed.
" My commission?" promptly replied Allen, by no means disturbed by this unexpected demand, though in fact he had no
paper commission to show, as the council appointing him had not
deemed such an instrument essential; "where is my commission,
do you ask?  There, sir!" he continued, pointing to his troops,
who, understanding Arnold's claim to take command of them,
already began to exhibit visible tokens of displeasure at the
thought of having their idolized leader superseded by a stranger,
"there, sir! there it is, engraven on the hearts of these two
hundred and thirty Green Mountain Boys! Trace it out there
for yourself! Read it in their eyes, in every lineament of their
countenances! And if that is not enough for you, then ask them
whether Ethan Allen, who is getting gray in their service, is to
be thrust aside for a commander whom they have never before
seen?"
"Never! no, never!" fiercely burst from a hundred lips along
the lines, while many indignantly threw down their arms, and
all, either by word, look, or gesture, gave unequivocal indication




178            THIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
of their determination to allow no man to usurp the place of
their chosen leader.
The countenance of Arnold, with all his assurance, instantly
fell at so decided, and, to him, so unexpected a manifestation of
the disposition of the troops; and he bit his lips in vexation and
mortified pride at his defeat.
At this crisis of the affair, Warrington, fearing, in common
with the other officers, that the altercation might prove ruinous
to the enterprise, stepped forward and interposed.  He first,
respectfully, and in a manner calculated to soothe the irritated
feelings of Arnold, set forth the doubtfulness of his right, even
under the instructions and commission he had received, to assume
the command of troops who had not been enlisted by him, but
who had volunteered, without any knowledge of him or his
instructions, and with the implied condition that they should be
left to the choice of their own leaders. He then appealed to him
as a gentleman, a patriot, and friend to the common cause, whether
he would do well to insist on his claim, since doing so, as he must
see, would prove destructive of their expedition. This courteous
and well-timed appeal, which opened a door by which Arnold
might honorably retreat from his awkward position, seemed to
produce on his mind an instantaneous effect. The dark and
angry frown, which had settled on his countenance, gave way to
a bright and cheerful look. With one hand he instantly tore the
epaulets from his shoulders, while, with the other, he drew his
sword and threw it on the ground, gallantly exclaiming.
" Gentlemen, I most cheerfully waive all pretensions to the
command, which of right, I am now convinced, belongs to the
brave leader of the far-famed Green Mountain Boys. But as to
going with you on this glorious enterprise, it is a privilege which,
by —, I wont relinquish! Gentlemen, will you furnish me
with a common musket, and accept me as a volunteer soldier of
your gallant band?"
Allen appeared to be taken completely aback by this sudden
declaration of Arnold. His naturally forgiving and noble disposition, and quick feelings, were instantly touched with this mark
of magnanimity, as unexpected to him, as it was remarkable in
the man, being the most striking, and perhaps the only instance
of' the kind, ever displayed by this brave, but unprincipled officer
in his whole public career.
" Done like a man, by Jove! " exclaimed the chivalrous leader
of the Green Mountain Boys, advancing and cordially proffering
the other his hand, while the tears of admiring and grateful




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                179
emotion fairly started out on to his brawny cheeks. "Done like
a man and a hero! Here, God bless you, give us your fist!
There is about the right kind of stuff in you, after all, my friend.
Will you accept the post of my aid-de-camp, with the rank your
commission gives you? "
"Most cheerfully, sir," replied the flattered Arnold, waving
his hand with easy and grateful courtesy.
" Pick up your sword and badges, then, sir," resumed Allen.
"Call for your horse, and we will now on together, like brothers,
in the cause of God and the people. Officers and soldiers! " he
continued, in a loud and cheering voice, that rung like a deep
toned trumpet far and wide over field and forest around, while
he sprang upon his impatient charger, and waved his sword on
high; "prepare to march!  Ethan Allen still commands you.
Peace is in the camp, the Lord on our side, and victory before
us! Forward march! "
Three loud and lively cheers told the satisfaction of the men
at this double announcement; and, in another moment, the whole
corps, wheeling off to the brisk and stirring notes of shrieking
fife and rattling drum, were sweeping down the road in full
march towards the object of their destination.
The rout of the troops was along the old military road, which,
in the French war of 1759, had been opened from Charleston, on
Connecticut river, across the Green Mountains to lake Champlain,
by a New Hampshire regiment, acting under the orders of General Amherst. This road, leading directly through Castleton, and
taking a northerly direction, branched off within a few miles of
the lake, one fork running down to the shore opposite to Ticonderoga, and the other proceeding onward to Crown Point.
Although this, at the period, was perhaps the best road in the
settlement, still it was little more than a roughly cut path through
the wilderness, abounding, at this reason, with deep sloughs,
fallen trees and other obstacles calculated to prevent much expedition in travelling. But such was the spirit and constitutional
vigor of the men, that a march of four or five hours brought them
over half the distance from their late rendezvous to their destined landing on the lake, the former place being about thirty
miles from the latter. They had now, for several miles, been
passing through a heavy unbroken forest, and the mounted officers, riding a short distance in advance of the men, were anxiously
looking forward for a clearing, or some suitable place to halt for
a mid-day refreshment.
" There!" said Allen, turning to his companions, as the sound




180            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
of a falling tree came booming through the forest from a distance, s" did you hear that? WVe are nearly through these endless
woods at last, it seems."
"Is that so clearly proved by the falling of a tree?" asked
Arnold, who was but little of a woodman.  "Old trees, I thought,
like old men, often fell without human agency."
"True, sir," rejoined Allen, "but human agency brought that
tree to the ground; and it stood beside some opening, too, or I
will agree to be reckoned, like the prophets of old, without honor
in my own country."
" Colonel Allen is right," observed Warrington: "The falling
of a green tree always produces a dull, heavy, lumbering sound,
such as we just heard, occasioned by the air it gathers, or more
properly, perhaps, disturbs in its course; while the sound of a
dry tree in falling is sharper, and comes with a single jar to the
ear. That this tree stood near an opening, is sufficiently evident
from the echoes that followed the first sound, which, in this flat
land, could only be produced by the reverberating woods-wall of
an opening. Yes, the Colonel is correct: I can now hear the
chopper's blows quite distinctly."
The falling of another tree in the same direction here interrupted the conversation; while the axeman's blows, sounding, in
the distance, and in the tranquil medium through which they were
conveyed to the ear, like the ticking of a clock in the stillness of
night, could now plainly be heard by all. In two or three
moments, a third tree came thundering to the earth. Another,
and yet another followed at equally brief intervals, - the noise
attending each successive fall, as well as that of the fast repeating
blows of the chopper, who was causing such destruction among
the sturdy tenants of the forest, all growing more loud and distinct as the party approached.
"There must be more than one of them," observed Colonel
Easton, " to level so large trees at that rapid rate."
" No, sir," replied  Warrington; " the regular, and noninterfering sounds of those blows indicate but one axe-man.
You have not witnessed so much of the execution of which our
Green Mountain Boys are capable, as I trust you will within
twenty-four hours, Colonel. At all events, the fate of a tree,
under the sinewy arms of one of them, is very soon decided."
" This fellow, however," remarked Allen, " does, indeed, lay to
it, with a will. I think he must make a good soldier; and as
such, he shall go with us, if of the right way of thinking - if not,




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               181
as a prisoner: for it behooves us now, to know pretty well the
character of every man who is permitted to remain behind."
The party now soon came in sight of the man who had been
the subject of their conversation. He had made an opening in
the forest of about two acres, which he was rapidly enlarging.
Having just levelled one large tree, he was now bending his tall
frame in an attack upon another, a giant hemlock, standing near
the road, and had struck two or three blows, sending the blade
of his axe into the huge circumference up to the helve at every
stroke; when the tramp of the approaching party reached his ear,
causing him to suspend and look around him.
~" As I live, it is Pete Jones!" exclaimed Warrington, " just
beginning upon his new pitch, which he mentioned to us."
" Good! " said Allen, "I am glad we have come across the
droll devil.  But we will furnish him with business a notch
or two above that: the Red Coats need levelling a cursed sight
more than the trees, at this crisis. If nothing more, he shall lend
us that everlasting long body of his for a ladder to scale the walls
of Old Ti! Jupiter! if Frederick of Prussia had a regiment of
such chaps, how the fellow would brag! Hallo, there!" he
added, dashing forward towards the woodsman, who stood gazing
with an expression of quizzical wonder, now at the approaching
cavalcade of' officers near by, and now straining forward his long
neck to get a view of the lengthened columns of the men, just
beginning to make their appearance in the distance.
" Well, hallo, it is, then, Colonel, if there's nothing better to
be said," responded Jones, after waiting an instant to see if the
other was going to proceed. " But now I think on't, Colonel,
where did you get so much folks? By Jehu! how they string
along yonder! Why, there's more than a hundred slew of
men coming! And then what pokerish-looking tools they've all
got  Now I wonder if they an't a going a visiting over to Old
Ti, or somewheres? "
"I should not be surprised if something of that kind should
prove the case," replied Allen, laughing. "But what are you
about, that you have not joined us in the proposed visit?"
"' Why, I calculate to be about this old hemlock till I get it
down, Colonel."
" Nonsense, you ninny! Why were you not up to Castleton last
night?"
"Now, don't fret, Colonel, - I did think of it, honestly; but
knowing you must all come this way, I thought I might as well
be making a small beginning here till you got on. And so I put
16




182            THE GREEN MOOUNTAIN BOYS.
in yesterday a little, and have now let in heaven's light on something over two acres, I calculate. But if you are expecting to
have pretty funny times of it over there, I do n't much care if I -
that is, I'll think of it, after I have brought the top of this old
hemlock a little lower -"
"Your most obedient, Captain Jones," gaily exclaimed Warrington, now riding up.
"Captain of what?" asked Jones, a little puzzled to know
whether he was to receive this address as a joke, and let off one
of his own in return, or whether something serious was intended
by it " Captain of what? - of the Surveyor, that I sent over
the York line, a day or two ago, by a gentle touch with my foot
on his northerly parts?"
" No, seriously Jones," said Allen, " in organizing, last night, we
deemed it best to have a small band of scouts, of whom you was
fairly voted in the Captain, or Scout-master, if you like the name
better. No man in the settlement can go before you in performing the duties of this post.  Will you, without more words,
accept it, and join us? "
" Can't you let me stop to cut this tree down first?'Twont
take scarce a minute, Colonel."
"No, the men are at hand. We did think to find a spot to
halt and dine here, but as I see neither place nor water, we must
on till we find them. How soon shall we meet with such a
place?"
"Let me see, as the blind man said — Oh! there is a cute
little beauty of a brook, with smooth banks, that's just your sorts,
not half a mile ahead."
" Fall in here with the troops then. But where is your rifle?"
"Hard by there, under a log," replied Pete. "I'll warrant,
you never catch me far separated from old Trusty, with a good
store of bullets to go on such errands, as she and I have a mind
to send them. Well, old axe," he added in an undertone, as he
took up the implement to which he seemed addressing himself,
and carried it round to the back side of the tree, "the Colonel
thinks it best, that you and I should bid each other good-bye, for
a short time; and there! you may sit in that nook between those
two roots till I come back again."
"So now to the wars I go, I go,
All for to go a sodgering.
Trol, lol, lol de larly."
"And thus, in the prompt spirit of the times, and with the




TIHE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               183
characteristic sang froid of the man, this jolly and fearless woodsman, drawing out his rifle from under an old log, and cheerily
troulling the above quoted catch of some homely old song, with a
chorus of his own making, fell into the ranks of the troops then
passing, having left his favorite axe, for which he seemed to have
contracted a sort of fellow-feeling, standing behind the tree, on
which we found him engaged, where it was destined to remain
unregarded by its owner, during a great part of the revolutionary
war;- and where, on returning, after many years of hardship
and danger, spent in bravely battling for his country's freedom,
he found it, in the same place and position, safe and uninjured,
except in the thick coat of rust that had gathered over it - an
incident of olden times, well known as a historical fact by
many in that section of the country where it occurred.
The spot described by Jones being found and appropriated, the
troops partook of a dinner from the provisions of their packs,
after which they were allowed an hour's rest, which was enlivened, as they were seated along the mossy banks of the gurgling
rivulet, with song, tale, and jest, till the deep recesses of the forest rang with the sounds of their merriment. While the officers,
who were seated in a group by themselves, were consulting their
watches, and awaiting the moment set by them for resuming their
march, a horseman, approaching from the west, suddenly rode up,
dismounted, and stood before them.
" Ah  Phelps! " exclaimed Colonel Allen, springing up and
shaking the new comer heartily by the hand, " is it possible?a spy returned unhung from a British fort? Well, sir, what
news from the camp of the Philistines?"
"Almost every thing we could wish, gentlemen, replied the
person addressed, a Connecticut gentleman of considerable
shrewdness and address, who had been despatched a day or two
previous to go over to the fort, enter it on some feigned errand,
and gain the best knowledge of its situation the circumstances
would permit. "I have been within the fort -mostly over the
works - staid there last night, and came away unsuspected this
morning."
Phelps then proceeded to give an account of the manner he
TMad effected his discoveries at the fort, without exciting the suspicions of the garrison, relative to the object of his visit - how,
in the assumed character of a green country bumpkin, he made
it his ostensible errand to see a war-cannon, and also the strange
man what shaved other men, called a barber - how the soldiers
laughed at his pretended ignorance, and the officers, coming to




184            THE GREEN MO10UNTAIN BOYS.
see the green Yankee, amused themselves by questioning him,
and listening to his replies, at which they were amazingly tickled,
and then ordered a twenty-four pounder to be fired, for the fun
of witnessing the prodigious fright, into which the report appeared
to throw  him. And, finally, having induced him, after many
entreaties, to permit the barber to shave him, how they all stood
by to see the performance, laughing heartily at the wincing and
woful countenances he assumed, and the fears he pretended of
having his throat cut.
After finishing his diverting description of this part of his
lldventures, he detailed with great accuracy, the situation of the
fortress, the names and grades of the officers, and the number of
the garrison.
"But, gentlemen," said he, in conclusion, " there is one question, which I will no longer delay to ask you. Have you made
provision for boats to transport the troops across the lake?
There is not a single craft larger than a skiff on this side, just
now, within ten miles of the fort."
" God forgive me the oversight! " exclaimed Allen.  "We
must instantly set measures on foot for repairing it. Douglass -
Lieutenant Douglass, step forward here a moment! What boats
are there this side the lake to the north of this?"
" An excellent scow for our purpose is owned by the Smiths,
a few miles this side of Crown Point," replied the blue-eyed and
broad-shouldered descendant of his Caledonian namesakes, stepping promptly forward, and comprehending at a glance the emergency that produced the question.
" The Smiths? Good! They are with us, too, in heart, and
should be also in person," rejoined the Colonel. "Well, their
scow we must have, at all events. And you, Douglass, are the
very man to go and get it. Will you do it?"
" I am the very man who is willing to try, Colonel Allen,"
answered the other.
" And can you reach the landing against Ti with it by nine
o'clock this evening?"
" Hardly, I fear. It is nearly a dozen miles; but I'11 do my
best, Colonel."
" Go, then, as if the devil kicked you an end. The salvation
of our project may depend upon your getting back in season.
But stay! We must have more boats than one. To the South,
I know of none. Perhaps you may meet with some going up or
down the lake, which might be pressed into the service; or, as
the last resort, one might possibly be got away from Crown Point,




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               185
without a discovery which would endanger us. Another man,
however, will be wanted for any of these purposes, besides the
oarsmen you will pick up on your way. And —Jones! this
way! Have you heard what we are at? Very well. You are
just the chap to go on this hap-hazard errand. What say you?
Can you bring any thing to pass, if we send you?"
"Why, I can't exactly say, Colonel," replied Jones, placing his
feet astride, and looking up with one eye queerly cocked on his
interrogator, while the other was tightly closed: "I aint so much
of a water fowl as some; but, perhaps, I mought make fetch
come a little."
" Pack up, then, and be off with Douglass in two minutes; and
remember, both of you, if you fail us   "
"Then what?" asked Jones, suddenly stopping and looking
back, " I do n't calculate to be over particular, Colonel, but if it
would n't be too much trouble, I should like to know that, before
we start."
" You shall be doomed to sit forty days and nights in sackcloth
and ashes," humorously said Allen.
" By Jonah!" exclaimed Pete, " the boats shall be there by
the time, Colonel! "
While the latter part of this dialogue was going on, Warrington stood with his back to the company, with one foot on a log,
busily engaged in writing with his pencil on a blank leaf, torn
from his pocket book and placed on his knee.
" Aha? my lad," said Allen, in a playful under tone, as he
approached the former, and significantly placed one finger on his
shoulder, " more faith now, than when we two were lying on the
hay, in the Captain's barn, waiting for our rifles, eh?"
"I really wish you would mind your own business, Colonel,"
replied Warrington, with affected anger.
"Well, well," resumed Allen, laughing, " send it, my boy.
Ilars, they say, never prospers so well as when he has Cupid in
his train, in any case. But with such a piece of God's handywork, as yours, to incite to action -heavens! if the knights of
old had been blest with such lady-loves, they would never have
needed to carry half a hundred weight of old iron on their lubberly carcasses to make them heroes."
" Stripping off their coats to fit them for a rapid march, these
athletic and resolute woodsmen now seized their rifles, took a
glance at the sun for a hasty calculation of the bearing of the
course to be taken to lead them to their proposed destination,
16*




186            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
and, plunging into the woods, were soon lost to the sight of their
companions.
A small guard was then sent on in advance, with orders to
pick up and detain every man on the road, not in the secret of
the expedition. Scouts, to range the woods on the right and
left, were also despatched for the same purpose; after which the
main body of the forces quietly resumed their march for the
lake.
CHAPTER II.
" There are strange movements among all the troops,
And no one knows the cause."
LEAVING Allen and his companions in arms to make their way
to the lake shore, we will now, by way of marking the progress
of the two active foresters, who had been despatched northward
for boats, change the scene, for a short time, to the quiet residence
of Captain Hendee.
It was a little past sunset on the evening of the day, on which
the events last described transpired. It had been a day of unusual stillness in the northern part of the Grants. The lively
sounds of the plying axemen, which were usually heard ringing
through the forest in every direction, were all hushed.  The
women went a visiting, and were seen to whisper in the corners
apart from the children. The boys finished their tasks by noon,
and for the remainder of the day were sauntering round the
brooks with their fish-poles. All the active men had disappeared;
though no one mentioned aloud the cause of their absence. And
a sort of Sabbath-day quiet and inaction seemed to prevail over
all this section of the settlement. Captain Hendee was sitting
in his open door, enjoying, as usual, his evening pipe, and
wrapped in that placid and contemplative mood to which this
indulgence generally disposes. His daughter was seated near
him at a window, in an attitude equally calm and contemplative,




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              187
though engrossed with reflections, probably, of a far different
nature: for her fair white hand rested on a small volume lying
on the window-sill before her, opened upon those heart-melting
strains of the hapless Eloise, which Pope, that master of rhyme
and marrer of reason, sung with such seductive sweetness; and
her tear-moistened eye was fixed, pensively and unobservant, on
the slumbering waters of the outspread lake; while occasionally
a gentle sigh, betokening the inward conflicts of hope and fear,
was heaving her snowy bosom. While the& father and daughter
were thus seated, and their minds thus absorbed in their different
trains of reflection, their attention was suddenly arrested by the
sounds of advancing footsteps.
"By all the saints in the calendar! " exclaimed the Captain,
after gazing an instant in surprise at the striking proportions of
our young Anak of the woods, for it was no other than Pete
Jones, who, at the distance of eight or ten rods, was now seen
stalking towards the house; "what a cloud-brusher is there,
Alma! Can you imagine who he may be?"
"No, father," replied Alma, who was also looking at the approaching visitor with an expression of mingled wonder and curiosity;
" but I just noticed that Young Tyler and Wilcox of this neighborhood passed behind the barn yonder, and I conclude that this
man is some friend of theirs. They are probably all going on
some fishing excursion. The man, I presume, wishes to get a
little fire for this purpose."
By this time Jones had reached the door in which the Captain
was sitting.
" Good evening! Will you walk in, sir?" said the latter in an
indifferent tone, and without moving, as if he expected the other
would decline the invitation, and announce his errand at his
door.
"Why, yes, I may as well, perhaps," replied Jones, offering to
pass in without appearing to notice the hesitating and enquiring
look of the Captain, who now at once yielded the space to his
guest. " You see I was bred to manners," continued the woodsman, jocosely bowing, so as to enable him to enter the door.
The Captain, smiling good naturedly at the remark, handed
Jones a chair, took another himself, and waited in silence, and
with the same expecting air as before, for the stranger to name
his business. This, however, Jones did not seem ready to make
known, but continued sitting in silence, with a puzzled and unde.
cided air, as if greatly at loss what to say, or how to bring
about some object he had in view, now glancing at the Captain,




188            THE GREEN  IOUNTAIN BOYS.
now at the different objects about the room, and now at Miss
Hendee, on whom his eyes lingered with an expression of
unfeigned admiration.
" Very fine weather, this," remarked the Captain, by way of
breaking the silence, which he seemed to think was becoming a
little awkward.
"Very; considering the times, and the state of the nation,"
responded Pete, dryly, and with the manner of one who would
show that he is too busy in thought to engage in conversation.
The Captain then made some other common-place observation,
which met with no reply of any kind; when finding himself thus
defeated in every attempt to draw the other into conversation,
and tired of waiting for him to name his errand, he withdrew his
attention, and sunk into his own reveries.
After Jones had set a while longer chewing his cud of perplexity, a change appeared suddenly to come over him. A flash
of intelligence and decision lit upon his countenance. And, after
dropping his head an instant, as if settling the details of a plan which
he appeared to have hit upon, he slowly drew up his features into a
sober and troubled air, and began to catch his breath, and shiver
all over, like a man taken with an ague fit. He then rose, tottled
across the floor to the hearth, raked open the fire and spread his
shaking hands over the coals, at the same time attempting to
speak, as he observed the eyes of the Captain and his daughter
were turned upon him with a look of lively concern.
"O, nev - never mind  "- he said, articulating with great
apparent difficulty, in his attempt to quiet their alarm,-"'t will
s - s - soon be o - o - over now - though the - the - these
swamp ag — ag — agues are bad while they last. You, you
do n't - keep - keep great fires - here - I - I — I see."
"' We will have one in a moment, my friend," said the Captain,
leaping up at this hint, and hobbling out of doors after wood, with
unwonted activity.
No sooner was the old gentleman fairly out of sight than Jones's
malady entirely disappeared. He quickly drew out a billet, and
turning, tossed it into the lap of the astonished Miss Hendee.
"Here, mum," said he, in a low, confidential tone, " there's no
time to be polite; but read that, and if you want to scrabble off
two lines, or so, in answer, contrive to get it into my old hat there
on the table, in almost no time, as I'm in a taking of a hurry.
But stay, where's the Indian? "
" He has gone to take a letter for me to Major Skene's colored
man, now lying with his boat down here at the landing, I believe,'




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               189
replied the blushing girl, already on her way to her apartment to
read and answer the billet, which a glance at the hand-writing
told her was from her accepted lover.
" That's lucky," said Jones; "now I want that chap to go
with us. We have got a trifling chore to do to-night somewhere
in the neighborhood of Old Ti. IHad I better speak to the old
gentleman about his going, or not?"
" My father should be consulted, and yet "- answered Alma,
hesitating, lest the suggested application to Captain Hendee
might in some way lead to a discovery of her own secret — " I
heard him promise Neshobee's services to Colonel Allen for such
an emergency. Perhaps you had better consult no one but
Neshobee himself, and if he is willing to go, I will sthnd his
friend in defending the delinquency, if such it be."
Captain Hendee now returned with the wood, and found Pete's
ague much as he left it. But as the fire blazed up from the light
combustibles which had been thrown on to it, the attack seemed
gradually to subside. Meanwhile, Alma had retired, read the
brief out-pouring of her lovers heart, and penned in answer
" From my heart I thank you for your kind note. All as yet
remains undiscovered, - painful, painful exigency! which compels concealment of so important a step from an only parent!
And yet I regret not my troth; and whatever of sorrow it may cost
me, I will not repine at the fruit of a tree of my own planting.
Heaven preserve you, my very dear friend, in the hour of peril,
and crown with success your efforts in the cause of freedom.
Yours, but too truly,
A. H."
By the time Alma had completed her note, and managed, on
her return to the room, to slip it, unobserved, into the designated
place of deposite, Jones had so far recovered from his pretended
indisposition, that he announced himself in a condition for proceeding on his way. And taking a coal of fire between a couple
of chips, by way of accounting to the Captain for his call, and
stopping a moment to listen to the sage nostrums recommended
by his host to prevent the recurrence of his ague, he departed,
and joined his two newly enlisted associates, who were impatiently
awaiting his coming in the adjoining field. It being now sufficiently dusk to prevent all observation from the opposite garrison,
they proceeded immediately to the landing, which they found
guarded by two Green Mountain Boys, who, making fishing their




190           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
ostensible business, had, in pursuance of the arrangement before
mentioned, closely watched the place during the two preceding
days. Here, also, they met Neshobee, who had just returned in a
skiff, from Miajor Skene's scow, in possession, as before intimated,
of a stout negro, who, with two low, sottish fellows under his
command, having spent that day at the fort to take in some loading, and visit the soldiers previous to starting for home, as they
intended to do, the next morning, had come over just at night and
taken a fishing station near the landing. Jones and his companions hesitated not to open their project of obtaining this boat to
Neshobee, who very cheerfully agreed to cooperate with them
in duping the negro, and to assist in rowing the boat up to the landing, where they were, to be met by Allen's forces. The boat was
lying about a dozen rods from the shore; and black Jack, as he
was called, and his men, having pulled up their anchor, were now
on the point of putting back for the fort; when the party on shore,
their plan of operations being all arranged, hailed the black commander, and desired him to haul up to the landing.
" Who the debil you, who want me do all dat for notting?"
replied Jack, in a swaggering, consequential tone.
" O, pull up to the shore," said Wilcox, " there are three or
four of us here who are wishing to make a bargain with you."
"Bargain, hey? you shackaroons, you! You tink for play
some deblish trick, do n't you? Guess you find out you no
catch weazel sleep so easy as all dat come to!" responded the'
negro, chuckling at his own wit and sagacity.
"No, now, honestly, Captain Jack," rejoined the first speaker,
" we want to go to Shoreham landing to night, to be ready to
join a wolf hunt which they are going to start there early
to-morrow morning."
" Gosh all fire-lock!" exclaimed the black, whose opinion of
his own importance was greatly raised by being addressed as
Captain: "You tink I row my boat all de way up dare in de
dark jest for commodate you? No! see you all dam fus! "
" Now you are too bad, Captain; but you wont damn our jug
of old Jamaica, that we intended to offer you for carrying us up
there, will you?" said the other, taking a jug from under his coat
and swinging it over his head, so that the black, whose taste for
liquor was well known to the young men, might catch a view of
it in the twilight.
" What. you say, dere? " eagerly said Jack, stretching forward
his neck to see, and make sure of the existence of the tempting
implement.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              191
"We say," replied the former, "that here is a gallon of as
good rum as ever run down your throat, which is at your service,
if you will close the bargain. Come, give us your answer, for
if we can't make a trade with you, we must be off for a boat
somewhere else. What say you? - and mind ye, we will lend
you a stiff hand at the oars to boot."
" You help row de boat, you say?" answered Jack, in an
altered and yielding tone. " Why de debil you no say so fore?
Dat be a case dat alter de circumstance. You werry much to
blame, gemmen, dat you no mention so portant a difference in fus
place," added the negro, while he and his men headed round the
boat, and handled the oars with such effect that nearly the next
moment she was lying at the landing.
Within five minutes from this time, the magic jug, which had
effected such a wonderful change in the aspect of affairs, having
been well tested in the meanwhile by Jack and his associates, all
hands were stript and bending to the oars of the old scow, which,
under the foreeful strokes of Jones and his party, aided by the
rum-power of Jacks two besotted boatmen, was surging through
the waters towards the south, as fast as their united strength
would drive her.
They were soon met, however, by puffs of south wind, against
which they found it impossible to make but a very slow headway.
And it was not till considerable past midnight that they came to
the last reach, and hove in sight of the destined landing. But
here, overhauling Douglass with the other scow, and the party
he had enlisted to help man it, both boats, with renewed efforts
of rival speed, pushed forward for the appointed shore.
"Boat ahoy!" called out Allen from the landing, where, as
the boats neared the place, his huge, tower-like form, rising in
bold relief over the stationary group of officers around him,
could now plainly be discerned by the approaching crews: "boat
ahoy! who comes there?"
" Douglass and friends, in this," was the reply from the first
boat, coming in about its length in advance of the other.
"And who in the next? " asked Allen.
"Jones and a thunder cloud! " responded the well known voice
of the jolly woodsman. " Now you need n't think I am fibbing,
Colonel; for you will see it lighten when we get ashore."
" All is well, then," said Allen, without heeding the remarks
of Jones, further than his announcement of himself with a boat:
" all is well, and glory to God in the highest, that you have got here
at last! I thought you would have never come. Why, it has




192            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
been an age since dark! Some old sun-stopping Joshua must be
fighting on the other side of the earth, or, I swear, it would have
been daylight long ago!"
By this time the first boat had struck the shore, and the crew
leaping out, were all readily recognized by the leader, who then
turned to the other boat, at that instant driving up, with the
astonished and frightened negro (now for the first time mistrusting a trick), gibbering and sputtering aloud, -
"What de hell all dis?- who all dese? what pretty dam
scrape you got me into here, you shackaroon debils, you? "
" What in the name of all that is black and red have you got
here, Jones?" cried Allen, in surprise, surprise, stepping up and peering
into the boat, on hearing Jack's exclamations.
"Why, just what I told you, Colonel. Here! do n't you see it
lighten, now?" said Pete, pointing to the negro's eyes, which,
glaring wide with fear and astonishment, at what he saw and
heard, glimmered like fire-bugs in the dark. "But the English
of it is, Colonel, that we came across Major Skene's scow, commanded by Captain Darkey, with his two oarsmen, here, who for
a gallon of rum were kind enough to bring us along to join a
hunting match at Shoreham, where we have now arrived, safe
and sound:" he continued, turning to the black, "so now, Captain Jack, you have fulfilled your bargain with us; and we have
nothing more to say, as far as we are concerned. If these rough
looking chaps here want to employ you further, they will let you
know it, likely."
"Jones, you deserve a pension for life!" exclaimed Allen,
comprehending the whole affair in an instant. "You, and your
friends here, have killed more birds with one stone than you
dreamed of yourselves, perhaps. But we have not a moment to
lose, so leap out my lads. And as to Major Skene's boat, it is
my lawful prize; and Major Skene's negro, and Major Skene's
negro's understrappers here, are all my prisoners!"
" O, no, totally unpossible to stop, gemmen!" said Jack, in a
good lord, good devil sort of tone, being doubtful whether they
really intended to make him prisoner, or engage him and his
boat to carry them to some other place: "I have provision for
de Major's family aboard. Dey all out ob supply for dere
necessity. Quite unpossible, gemmen."
"We will take care of the provisions. So out with you in no
time, you black Satan!" said Allen, impatiently.
" O, it be out ob all question I stop!" persisted the negro with
increasing alarm, " I have odder portant business - I have letter




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                193
from de young leddy at Captain Hendee's to de young leddy ob
Colonel Reed at de Major's dat I oblige for deliver, early in de
morning."
"We will undertake the delivery of the letter," said Selden
and Warrington, simultaneously.
"Tumble them out, boys!" sternly exclaimed Allen.
" O, Lordy, I den be ruin! totally, foreber ruin!" groaned
the distressed and frightened black, as the men seized him and
his two drunken associates, and led them to the rear to be put
under guard.
Tlhe boats were now instantly headed round, the oars muffled,
careful oarsmen selected and placed in their seats; when, after
each boat had been filled with as many troops as their respective
burthens would safely permit, they pushed off from the shore,
preceded a short hailing distance by a skiff, occupied by Allen
and Arnold, with Phelps to pilot them to their contemplated
landing, on the opposite shore. The wind had sometime since
died wholly away; and the elements were now all hushed, as if
in the slumbers of death; while the deeply freighted crafts glided
slowly on, impelled by the light dip of the feathery oars, which,
in the hands of the experienced and careful men who plied them,
unitedly rose and fell as noiseless as the feet of fairies on beds of
flowers. At length the dark, massy walls of the fortress, looming up, and marking their broad outlines against the western sky,
became discernible to the men. And yet, as they drew near
these frowning walls, pierced by a hundred cannon, over which,
for aught they knew, the lighted matches were suspended, awaiting but the, signal to send their iron showers of death to every
Inan of their devoted band, no misgivings, no weak relentings came
over them: but at a moment like this, and that which followed
at the onset, - moments, furnishing, perhaps, a more undoubted
test of courage than those of the half firantic, half mechanical
charges of the disciplined legions of Napoleon, at the later fields
of Austerlitz and Marengo   at a moment like this, we say, their
stout hearts, nothing daunted at the dangers before them, beat
high and proudly at the thought of the coming encounter, and
with stern determination gleaming in every eye, and with the low
whispered words of impatience for the moment of action to arrive,
they moved steadily on to their daring purpose.
Passing down obliquely by the works, they landed some distance to the north of them. The instant they touched the shore
the troops leaped on the banks; and scarcely had the last foot
been lifted from the boats before they were backed, wheeled, and
17




194            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
on their return for another load, leaving those on shore to await
in silence the arrival of a reinforcement from their companions left
behind, before marching to the onset. Those companions, however, were not destined to share in the glory of this splendid
achievement of the eighty Green Mountain Boys who had landed:
for in a few moments, to the dismay of Allen, the faint suffusions
of dawning day became visible in the east. Cursing the luck
which had caused such delays, and chafing like a chained lion
held back from his prey, that impetuous leader for a few moments
rapidly paced the shore before his men, in an agony of impatience, - now casting an eager look at the fort, still silent and
undisturbed, now straining his vision after the receding boats,
which, to him, seemed to move like snails across the waters, and
now throwing an uneasy glance at the reddening east, whose
twilight glow, growing broader and brighter every instant, plainly
told him that before another detachment of troops could arrive,
his forces would be discovered, and the enterprise, in all probability, would thus be defeated.  Maddened at the thought, he
stopped short in his walk, paused an instant, and brought his foot
with a significant stamp to the ground, showing that his resolution
was taken. And quickly calling out Jones and Neshobee, he
despatched them to go forward, cautiously reconnoiter the fort
on all sides, and return as speedly as possible to report their discoveries. He then formed his men in three ranks and addressed
them.
"You see, my friends and fellow soldiers," he commenced,
pointing his sword towards the east, " that daylight will reveal us
to the enemy before a reinforcement can possibly arrive. But
can you, who have so long been the scourge of tyrants, bring your
minds to relinquish this noble enterprise, and with it the proud
name you have achieved, by turning your backs on the glorious
prize, when it is now almost within your grasp?"
He paused for a reply; when " no! no i no i " ran through the
lines in eager responses.
" I see, I see, my brave fellows," resumed the gratified leader,
"I see what you would do. I read it in your deeply breathed
tones of determination - in your quick and short drawn respirations, and in your restless and impatient movements. But have
you all well considered? I now propose to lead you through
yonder gate; and I fear not to tell men of your stamp, that we
incur no small hazard of life in the attempt. And, as I would
urge no man to engage against his own free will, I now give free




TIHE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               195
and full permission to all, who choose, to remain behind. You,
therefore, who will voluntarily accompany me, poise your guns."
Every man's gun was instantly brought to a poise, with a motion which told with what good will it was made.
" God bless you, my noble fellows i " exclaimed Allen, proudly,
and with emotion: " Courage like that " - he continued, in tones
of concentrated energy, r"courage like that, with hearts of oak,
and nerves of steel like yours, must, will, and, by the help of the
God of hosts, shall triumph! Come on, then! follow memarch while I march - run and rush when I set the example;
and if I fall, still rush on, and over me, to vengeance and victory!
To the rifht wheel! march!"
When the band arrived within about a furlong of the ramparts,
they were met by the scouts, who reported that all was quiet in
and about the fort, while the open gate was guarded only by one
sluggish and sleepy looking sentinel. Halting no longer than was
necessary to hear this report, Allen, placing himself at the head
of the centre column, silently waved his sword to the troops as a
signal for resuming the march; when they all again moved forward with rapid but cautious steps towards the guarded gateway.
And so noiseless and unexpected was their approach, that they
came within twenty paces of the entrance before they were discovered by the drowsy sentry, who was slowly pacing to and fro,
with shouldered musket before it. Turning round with a start, the
aroused soldier glared an instant at the advancing array, in mute
astonishment and alarm; when he hastily cocked, and levelled
his piece at Allen, who was striding towards him, several yards in
advance of his men. It was an instant on which hung the fate of
the hero of the Green Mountains, and probably, also the destinies
of Ticonderoga.  But the gun missed fire. The life of the darg leader was safe, and the garrison slept on, unalarmed, and
unconscious of their danger. Leaping forward like the bounding
tiger on his victim, Allen followed up the retreating soldier so
hotly that, with all the speed which fear could lend him, he could
scarcely keep clear of the rapidly whirling sword of his fiery
pursuer, till he gained the interior of the fortress; when he gave
a loud screech of alarm, and, making a desperate leap for a bomb
proof, disappeared within its recesses. Meanwhile, the rushing
column of troops came sweeping like a whirlwind through the
gate; when fairly gaining the parade ground in front of the barracks, they gave three cheers which made the old walls tremble
with the deafening reverberations, and caused the slumbering
garrison to start from their beds in wild dismay at the unwonted




196            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
sound. Scarcely had the last huzza escaped the lips of the men
and their leader, who disdained not to mingle his own stentorian
voice in the peals of exultation and defiance, which rose in thunders to heaven, before the latter was rapidly threading his way
through flying sentries and half dressed officers, towards the
quarters of the commandant of the fortress. Pausing an instant
on his way, to chastise a dastard sentinel whom he caught making
a pass at one of our officers with his bayonet, and whom, with
one blow with the flat of his sword, he sent reeling to the earth
with the cry of mercy on his lips, the daring leader bounded up
the stairiway leading to the commandant's room, and thundering
at the door, called loudly to that officer to come forth. Captain
La Place, who had just leaped from his bed, on hearing the
tumult below, soon made his appearance with his clothes in his
hand, but suddenly recoiling a step, he stood gazing in mute
amazement at the stern and threatening air, and the powerful and
commanding figure of the man before him.
" I come, sir, to demand the immediate surrender of this fortress! " sternly said Allen, to the astonished commander.
" By what authority do you make this bold demand of His
Majesty's fort, sir?" said the other, almost distrusting his
senses.
" By what authority? " thundered Allen, " I demand it, sir, in
the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress  "
"The Continental Congress?" stammered the hesitating officer, " I know of no right - I do n't acknowledge it, sir -"
"But you soon will acknowledge it, sir!" fiercely interrupted
the impatient leader. "And hesitate to obey me one instant
longer, and by the eternal heavens! I will sacrifice every man in
your fort! — beginning the work, sir," he added, whirling his
sword furiously over the head of the other, and bringing the murderous blade at every glittering circle it made in the air, nearer
and nearer the head of its threatened victim, "beginning the
work, sir, by sending your own head dancing across this floor  "
"I yield, I yield!" cried the shrinking commandant.
"Down! down, then, instantly! " exclaimed Allen, " and communicate the surrender to your men while any of them are left
alive to hear it! "
Scarcely allowing the crest-fallen officer time to encase his legs
in his breeches, Allen hurried him down to the scene of action, in
the open parade below. Here they found the Green Mountain
Boys eagerly engaged in the work of capturing the garrison, who
were making considerable show of resistance. Two of the barrack




THE GREEN MIOUNTAIN BOYS.               197
doors had been beaten down, and about a third of the enemy
already made prisoners. And the fiery Arnold was on the point
of blowing a, third door from its hinges with a swivel, which he
had caused to be drawn up for the purpose; while a fourth was
shaking and tottering under the tremendous  blows of an axe,
wielded by the long and powerful arms of Pete Jones, who was
found among the foremost in the contest.
"Cease, cease ye all!" cried Allen, in the loud voice of command, as he appeared among them with La Place by his side.
"Now, raaly, Colonel," said Jones, suspending his elevated
implement, and holding it back over his head in readiness for
another blow, " I wish you would let me settle with this deivelish
old oak door before I stop. Why, I never was so bothered with
such a small potatoe in my life!"
" No, no! " answered the other, smiling, "let us have silence a
moment, and we will save you all troubles of that kind."
"Well, then, here goes for a parting blessing! " exclaimed the
woodsman, bringing down his axe with a tremendous blow, which
brought the shattered door tumbling to the ground.
The British commandant then calling his officers around him,
informed them that he had surrendered the fortross, and ordered
them to parade the men without arms. While this was in performance, a second detachment of Green Mountain Boys reached
the shore, and, having eagerly hastened on to the fort to join
their companions, now with Warrington at their head, came
pouring into the arena. A single glance sufficed to tell the latter,
that he was too late to participate in aught but the fruits of the
victory. With a disappointed and mortified air he halted his men,
and approached to the side of his leader.
"All! Colonel," said he, " is this the way you appropriate all
the laurels to yourself, entirely forgetful of your friends?"
" Pooh! pooh! Charles," replied Allen, turning to the other
with a soothing, yet self-complaisant smile, at the half reproachful
compliment thus conveyed, "you need not mourn much lost glory
in this affair. Why, the stupid devils did not give us fight enough
to whet our appetites for breakfast! But never mind, Charles,
there is more business yet to be, done; Crown Point and Major
Skene's stone castle must both be ours to-night. The taking of
the first shall be yours to perform. And after breakfast and a
few bumpers in honor of our victory, we will despatch you for
that purpose, with a corps of your own selection."
"Thank you, thank you, Colonel," replied the other with a
17*




198             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
grateful smile. But the expedition to Skenesboro' - may I not
speak a word for our friend, Selden? "
"Aha?" replied Allen, laughing, "then this offer to take
charge of the negro's letter had its meaning, eh?  I do n't know
exactly about that chip of a British Colonel for a Yankee patriot.
Now, yours, Major, I acknowledge to be a true Cynosure. But
his, I fear, will prove a Dog-star.  However, that is his own
hunt; and as he is a finished fellow, and, doubtless, brave and
true, I think I will give him the command of the expedition,
unless claimed by Easton. But hush! the commandant is about
to go through the forms of the surrender. I must away, but will
see you again."
The brief ceremonies of the surrender were soon over; when,
as the fortress was pronounced to be in full possession of the conquerors, the heavens were again rent by the reiterated huzzas of
the Green Mountain Boys, while British cannon were made to
peal forth with their deep-mouthed thunders to the trembling hills
and reverberating mountains of the country around, the proclamation of victory!- the first triumph of Young Freedom over
the arms of her haughty oppressor.
CHAPTER III.
"A thousand evil things there are that hate
To look on happiness; these hurt impede,
And leagued with time, circumstance, and fate,
Keep kindred heart from heart, to pine and pant and bleed."
MRS BROOKS.
IT is time, perhaps, that we should recur a little, to trace the
operations of some personages of our story, whose agency, though
unnoted by us through several of the last chapters, had yet, in the
meanwhile, been actively exercised in bringing about the events
that were destined to follow.  And it is with a sort of reluctance
of feeling that we turn from the soul-kindling task of describing
the noble exploits of Allen and his patriot companions, to the low




TIHE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               199
and despicable plottings of the base Sherwood, and his still more
execrable associate in crime. Though twice foiled in his attempts
to procure the destruction of Warrington, under the sanction of
a despotic law, of which advantage was taken mainly to cloak
the true motives of the act, - though signally defeated in this,
and the bolder attempt at assassination, which was subsequently
made at his instigation, yet still restless as the dark spirit of evil,
this plotter of mischief, instead of relinquishing his object, was
now only the more intently engaged in devising and putting in
practice, new ways of accomplishing his nefarious designs.
On the evening that Darrow had attempted the life of Warrington in the woods, Sherwood was sitting in his house, which was
kept by a simple couple, wholly in the interests of their employer.
He had just arrived from a visit to the house of Captain Hendee,
where, as the reader has been apprised, he had been sowing the
seeds of discord in that hapless family. And the chilly reception
with which his parting advances had been met by the indignant
girl, whom they were intended to soften and deceive, more than ever
confirming him in what his jealousyhad long since suggested, that
her inclinations were setting strongly towards his hated rival, and
foreseeing that something must speedily be done to counteract the
current, he was now revolving over the different schemes that
rose in his teeming brain for effecting -his purpose, in case of the
failure of his minion to remove the object, alike of his hatred and
his fears. While thus occupied in mind, Darrow, whose coming
was not wholly unlooked for, arrived, and sulkily entered the
apartment.
" Ah, Darrow! " exclaimed Sherwood, with his usual hypocritical smile, " very glad to see you. I knew not whether you would
come to-night, or return to the fort."
"WV hy," replied the other, " when I concluded to give it up for
a d - n bad day's work, I found myself nearer your house than
the fort; so I came, that's all."
"Glad you did. So come, unrig, and sit down. The old
woman, in the other room, will have us some supper ready soon.
But no luck with your rifle to-day? " said Sherwood with a significant smile.
"None - except getting half tired to death, in this cursed wild
goose chase of yours," petulantly replied the surly minion.
" What! not even get a sight of the game, after so much beat.
ing of the bush?"
"Yes, twice; and failed both times, as the devil, who sent mo




200            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
on the errand, would have it," answered Darrow, with an equiv.
ocal glance at the other.
" Failed! how? " said Sherwood, without appearing to notice
the half-intentional sarcasm of Darrow.
" Why, the first time, the devilish rifle missed fire, for a rarity
— the second, its owner missed his aim, and had to take to his
legs to save his bacon."
"All this is very singular, Mr. Darrow," observed Sherwood,
with a disappointed, and somewhat incredulous look.
"Yes, but true for all that. Believe it or not, just as you
please, I care not a groat."
" What mean you, Darrow?"
"Exactly what I say; and I am beginning to mean something
more, too."
"You are a strange fellow, Darrow. But let us have all your
meanings, wants, and wishes, in a lump. I am now in no humor
for riddles."
" Nor I neither. Well, then, though the fellow escaped my
bullet by no intended fault of mine, yet I am not sorry I missed
him. I have been thinking over the business coming along, and
for all your talk about his life being forfeited, I can't make it out
much better than killing — not to use a worse word, — which
they say gives a fellow ugly dreams. So I have made up my
mind to let you do your own jobs of this sort, in future. And if
you persist in urging me further -"
"Killing! who asked you to kill him? " interrupted Sherwood
in feigned surprise.
"Curse you, Jake, you know well enough you meant that.
But I am still willing to help take the fellow, and hand him over
to the Yorkers to punish, or lend you a hand to carry any other
point, if you will do the clean thing by me. But in the first place
you must tell me what you fear from this fellow, and why you are
so specially set on having him taken, more than Allen, or any
other outlaw? "
"That is more than I intended to tell any one; but as I suppose you will better serve my interests by understanding this,
you shall know the whole business: well, after I had been here
awhile, I noticed that the girl, when the Captain said any thing in
praise of this Howard, as he supposed his name was, never
joined her father in praises of the fellow, though she never had
any ears for any thing else while the slightest mention was made
of him. And if I so much as asked a question implying a doubt
about the fellow's perfection, she would show resentment as plain as




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                201
looks could do it. Now, Darrow, if you would discover whether
a girl entertains any secret liking for a man, just introduce his
name in her presence, contriving both to praise and censure him,
and if she refuse to join you in either, but is all attention when
you praise, and grows restless when you censure him, you may
safely set it down that love is secretly lurking about her heart.
It was something like this that led me to think, that this Howard
had made an impression, which I little relished. This suspicion
caused me to obtain from the old Captain a minute description
of the fellow, and having before had one of Warrington, it occurred to me that this favorite might be no other than the outlaw,
himself. And being determined to ascertain whether my conjectures were correct, I made a secret journey to Bennington, where
I got a sight at Warrington, and where, by professing great wrath
against the Yorkers, I was let into secrets which confirmed me in
my suspicions. There, also, I made arrangements for being
apprised of Warrington's future movements with one Willoughby,
who sent the word, which enabled me to ferret out him and his
band at Lake Dunmore. All this, however, I kept secret from
the Hendees, but took especial pains to inspire the old man, and
more particularly his daughter, with a horror of the character of
Warrington.  And now, Darrow, after the insufferable scoundrel
has caused me to be tied up and whipped like a dog, and, to cap
the climax, has found his way into this family, and attempted to
beguile from me my betrothed, can you ask why I wish to see
him brought to justice?"
"Why, you seem to make out considerable of a case of it, to
be sure," replied the other carelessly, as he rolled his tobacco
quid in his lips. " But betrothed do you call her? Why, I
thought you cared so little about the girl, that you was quite
undetermined whether you would have her, or not?"
" Well, whatever I may have said before, I am not undetermined now - for the girl, in spite of men, or devils, I swear I
will have! "
" What mighty object is there, Jake, in breaking your neck
for her?  Besure, she is a snug piece enough, but you can catch
other fish as fair, and those, too, Kho will bring you hundreds to
her none."
" I have plenty of objects to answer: one is to defeat this
hated scoundrel, - another, to punish her for presuming to like
him. I do n't say now I will marry her. But she shall be mine,
to do with as I choose. I will have her, and keep her in a spot
where it shall be mine, not hers, to decide whose wife she shall




202            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
become. That, indeed, was mainly my motive in drawing her
into an engagement in the first place: for you know, Darrow,
that in case the old concerns should happen to be ripped up, a
matrimonial plaster would cure all. And so long as I kept
things in this posture, I should have the remedy at hand."
"Yes, but what chance do you consider there is of ripping up
old matters?" asked the sergeant, throwing a keen enquiring
glance at the other.
"Why, such a thing is possible, you know. The old man, my
father, I mean, as he grows weak and childish, may repent, and
kick over his own kettle, and, of course, mine. Indeed, I have
great fears of this: for, though he never said any thing to me of
the kind, not dreaming that I ever met with you here, or discovered by any other means the secrets of his former management,
yet I have lately observed in him a sort of growing uneasiness, a
whining melancholy way, which, with his great anxiety that I
should marry this girl, has made me rather jealous, that his firmness is giving way in this quarter. Besides this, there are other
dangers: that boy, who, you say the old man still thinks, was
done for, may yet be alive, and return to make me trouble."
" Well, if he should, he would be a no very lousy foe for you to
contend with, Jake, - that is, if he is as smart for a man as he
was for a boy -I tell you, he was a bright one for a four-year
old. I liked him, and never had the least notion of harming a
hair of his head."
"What object had you, then, in making the old man believe
as you did?"
" Why, I mistrusted that would please the old man best, and
I'll be hanged if I do n't believe it did, Jake, if he is your
father."
" Well, there are these chances against me, and then - "
" And then Bill Darrow may leak, you was going to say, was
you, Jake?" sneeringly asked the minion.
" O, no!" quickly responded the consummate dissembler with
a gracious smile, and a surprised air, as if such a thought never
entered his head. "No, indeed. I should as soon fear myself.
But I was thinking, and about to say, that besides these chances,
Warrington's communication with the girl will prove dangerous
to my plans, and that they must be stopped."
" Well, how are you agoing to do it, short of following up the
plan we have been already acting on to so little purpose?"
"Why, I have already taken one step to-day, by informing
Hendee, that his friend Howard was no less than the outlaw




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               203
Warrington in disguise. This was touching fire to his gunpowder temper; and has pretty effectually blown the fellow up as
regards any open communication with the girl."
" That may be, but it has also blown up your best trap for
taking him, you see, do n't you?"
" Perhaps so, but I dare not risk his visits with the standing
he evidently held in their minds. And now having broken off
all open intercourse between the girl and the audacious rascal,
we must go to work to sunder those ties, which may yet secretly
remain."
"HIum! That, I should think, would be like trying to cut off
sun-beams with a jack-knife. I should like to know how the old
boy you calculate to do that?"
"O, easy enough, though my plan is not quite made up. I
will tell you in the morning. But will you assist me in carrying
it out?"
"Do n't know but I will. But supposing I do, and see you
fairly through the whole scrape, what do you finally intend to do
for me? "
"Any thing almost that you may ask, Darrow. You will own
that the earnest money I gave you the other day was a handsome
affair?"
"Hum! - Yes, decent."
"Well, from  the late news, I suppose we shall have war.
Warrington and most of these rascally settlers will be with the
rebels. I, fiom several motives; shall go for the king.  And I
have made up my mind to get a Captain's commission, and raise
a company to act in this quarter. You shall be my Lieutenant.
And then we will use up these refractory settlers in a way they
little dream of. But hark! The old woman is rapping for us to
come to stupper. I will mature my plans, and open them to you,
as I saidl in tile morning."




204             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER IV.
"I something fear my father's wrath; but nothing
(Always reserv'd my holy duty), what
His rage can do on me. You must begone:
And I shall here abide the hourly shot
Of angry eyes; not comforted to live,
But that there is this jewel in the world,
That I may see again."
THE development made by Sherwood, at his late visit, seemed
to produce on Captain Hendee, whose mind had been previously
prejudiced and poisoned for the purpose, all the effect which the
former could have desired.  The Captain's feelings of pride were
deeply touched at the thought of having entertained, and welcomled in his family, a man acting under the disguise of an
assumed name, and consequently harboring, as he reasoned, no
honorable purposes. And these views going to confirm all the
falsehoods and dark insinuations, by which that lago in malice
and subtlety had accompanied his disclosures concerning WVarrington, the mind of the irritable old gentleman had been wrought
up to a pitch of exasperation and bitterness, which he pretended
neither to disguise nor control, and which he failed not to vent on
all around him, but more particularly upon his unhappy daughter.
To her, indeed, his whole demeanor became changed; and his
treatment was marked by a distrustful coldness, and continued
austerity of manner, which she had never before, for so long a
time, experienced from her passionate, but hitherto quickly
relenting, parent. And yet she, who was happily the very
reverse of her father in temper, had neither manifested, nor felt
the least wish to resent the unkindness; but calm and amiable in
disposition, as she was fearless and spirited in action, she had
borne all with the most forgiving patience, prudently awaiting
the subsiding of the tempest of his passion, before she should
attempt, as she was resolved to do, to exculpate Warrington, and
gradually bring about a change in his views and feelings, in
regard to the connection with Sherwood. She well knew that
be was now laboring under many false impressions, which she felt




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                205
conscious of her ability to remove, as soon as he should become
sufficiently calm to listen to the voice of reason. Day after day,
therefore, she had anxiously watched for some appearance of
relenting, some more softened mood, which should afford her an
opportunity of making this attempt with a reasonable hope of success. But till the evening on which Jones called at the house, she
had observed nothing that indicated the least relaxation in her
father's feelings. And being then interrupted by the woodsman's
call, at an hour which usually afforded her the only opportunity
she had through the day of conversing with her parent alone,
she deferred her purpose to another day. But the next day
brought along with it events, which so engrossed her time and
attention, that this desired object was not again sought to be
obtained, till circumstances intervened, which destroyed every
motive and wish she could entertain for accomplishing it.
Such was the state of feelings, and such the relative position in
which the father and daughter stood towards each other on the
day which proved so triumphant to the American arms on lake
Champlain. In the early part of that day the attention of this
family, as well as that of all the inhabitants of the vicinity of the
lake, was aroused by heavy and repeated discharges of cannon,
in the direction of Ticonderoga. Little dreaming of the fact
that this cannonading, which was filling the whole valley of the
lake with its echoing thunders, was the harbinger of a victory
already won, the whole neighborhood was instantly in commotion, - some riding post haste into the interior to carry the news,
or rally volunteers, some flying from house to house to interchange the expressions of their fears and sympathies, and the
greater number, rushing down to the nearest landinog on the lake
shore, to gain the first tidings of their friends engaged in the
deadly conflict, which they supposed was at that moment raging
round the walls of the hostile fortress. In a short time the dooryard of Captain Hendee's cottage was filled with a group of excited boys and anxious females. And agonizing were the sensations of many an affectionate wife and sister, and oft and fervent
their trembling ejaculations to Heaven for the preservation of
husbands, brothers, and lovers, in this hour of danger. And not
the most indifferent among those thus oppressed with painful
solicitude for the event, which they believed involved the fate
of all they held dear on earth, was Alma Hendee. To her,
whose lover might be expected to be among the foremost of those
engaged in the perilous assault, every gun that came booming
over the waters brought with it a pang for her agitated bosom.
18




206            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
Nor was her anxiety the less painfully felt, because circumstances
compelled her to endure it in silence. The firing at length
ceased, and all awaited in trembling solicitude some arrival, which
should bring them information of the result. This, however,
continued for several, and to most of them, long and tedious hours,
to rest in uncertainty. But at length a horseman, covered with
dust, and lashing his foaming horse to speed, came furiously galloping down the road from the south. All, with beating hearts
and breathless expectation, awaited the announcement of the
rapidly approaching messenger. The next moment, as he neared
them, he swung his hat round his head, exclaiming, "Victory!
victory! hurra for the Green Mountain Boys! Ticonderoga is
taken, and not a man killed! hurra! hurra!" and, without
scarcely checking the speed of his horse, on he dashed, to carry
to others the joyful tidings. The cracked voice of the war-worn
and veteran Hendee was the next instant mingling with the shrill
and high-keyed cry of the boys around him, in the responsive
hurra that now involuntarily burst from their lips. With tears of
joy and thankfulness gushing over many a fair cheek, the females
hurried on such habiliments as they had laid aside, and the company, immediately dispersing, hastened to their respective homes
with the gladdening news, leaving Captain Hendee and his daughter again by themselves, and their cottage to relapse into its usual
quietness. The day, however, was not destined to close upon
them without the occurrence of other events of stirring interest.
Towards sunset, several batteaux filled with armed men, made
their appearance on the lake, approaching from the south, and as
they neared, were soon discovered to be bearing down upon the
fortress of Crown Point.
" Bring me out my old spy glass, Alma! " cried Captain Hendee, hobbling from the garden, where he had been to work,
towards the house, and turning round every few steps to look at
the little armament, which he had discovered approaching.
" Here comes more trouble for the British - or else that fellow
fooled us with his news, and these are a reinforcement for the
garrison. Come, step quick, girl, I can't make them out with
certainty."
"Would British troops be likely to come in that direction,
father? " asked Alma, in accents tremulous with emotion, as she
approached, and handed the required instrument to the other.
"Why, no, I should hardly have expected it; but let us see,"
replied the Captain, adjusting his glass and placing it to his eye.
" By heavens, the girl is right! Those boats contain any thing




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              207
but British regulars. No, they must be Green Mountain Boys,
about to make an onset on the fort. See! how stiffly they bear
down towards the old walls!" he continued with animation.
"Gad! they are bold fellows, to say the least, to be sailing
directly in the teeth of yonder war-dogs! But here, child, your
eye is keener than mine; - take the glass and watch their movements."
The girl took the glass, and bringing the boats within its field
of vision, looked long and intently without speaking.
"They are c6ming to a halt now, are they not?" asked the
Captain.
"Yes, they have nearly ceased rowing now," replied the
maiden.'"Why, how plainly I can see even their features! Now
there is one, who has mounted a bench, and appears to be giving
commands to the rest. Now he has turned his face this way, as
if- as if- "
"Why! how unsteady the girl's hand is! nonsense! child, you
need not be frightened,- they are not coming near us," half
pettishly, half encouragingly, exclaimed the Captain, supposing
his daughter's very visible agitation proceeded from an apprehension that the commander was about to order the boats to cross
over the lake towards the house.
"' I am not afraid, father, only- but see! their boats are turning to the shore. They appear now to be putting into a small
cove."
"There is where they are cunning," observed the other.
" They do n't think it altogether safe to approach much nearer in
the range of those murderous long guns. If I had been there in
command of the fort, I think they would have seen trouble some
time ago. Thank God, however, the stupid fools within there
have lost their best chance! But what are they doing now?"
"They have landed, nearly all landed now, and seem to be
forming on the bank."
" Good! now, Alma, you will have a chance to see a little of
your father's old trade - that is, if the garrison have sense and
courage enough to make use of the advantages they possess for
repelling their assailants. Are they moving forward yet for the
fort?"
" No, the commander appears to be addressing two men apart
from the rest, one of whom seems to be unrolling something white.
Ah! I see, now; it is a white flag. The two now advance along
the path leading to the fort, while the rest appear to stand in a




208            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS,
waiting attitude, anxiously watching the motions of their two
companions as they approach the gate."
"It is a summons from the commander, girl - a summons for
the surrender of the fort. Now you will see whether they will
obey it, and yield without a blow the prize that cost the king so
much toil and blood in the winning, as my sad experience can
well attest. Many a dark and fearful night, Alma, have I ranged
these woods, while the savage foe were lurking around us in
every direction. Old Major Put, as we used to call that daredevil, and myself once-"
" There! there! father," interrupted the other, " the messengers have now approached near to the walls. A man appears on
the top. They are conferring together. The messengers point
to their companions. The man on the walls seems to hesitate.
They now seem to direct his attention to something down the lake.
Look, father, and see if anything is to be seen coming in that
direction."
" Now the Lord be with the assailants for a sudden rush, or
their game is up! " exclaimed the Captain, as, in compliance with
his daughter's request, he turned and threw an enquiring look
along the lake towards the north. "Two boats filled with armed
men are coming up the lake rowing for life - British, no doubt,
hastening to succor the garrison."
" No, father, no! " joyfully exclaimed the girl as with trembling
haste she turned the glass to the armament in question. " You
are again mistaken. These, too, are Green Mountain Boys,
coming on to join their companions."
"Green Mountain Boys! from that quarter? where should
they come from?"
"' From the Winooski river, father. Captain Baker has been on
there, and " - eagerly replied the other, but stopping short and
blushing, as it occurred to her that the remark would lead to the
discovery of the source of her information.
" Really, girl! one would suppose you had been at the council
of war, where this campaign was planned," said the Captain, with
an air of surprise; but being too much occupied with present
objects to trace the association, he, to the great relief of his confused daughter, reverted to the scene before him, and said, " You
may be'right after all, - if so, victory is certain. But turn now
to the fort and see what is going on there."
"I will - I am, father," replied the flustered girl. "Ah! I
have a view again: now the conference between the commander,
or man on the walls and the two messengers, seems to be broken




THE GREEN MIOUNTAIN BOYS.              209
off. The latter are departing. But now the mall seems to be
calling them back. They turn to him again and hold parley.
Now the messengers turn quickly round, and wave their flag to
their companions, who seem suddenly to be put in motion. And,
see! see! their whole body is rushing towards the fort. How their
guns glimmer through the trees as they pour along the path!
How their commander's sword flashes in the sun, as half turning,
he whirls it about his head to motion them on! There! there!
father, they mount the swell! - they approach the walls - the
gate is thrown open; and now they disappear within the works,
and all is still."
"And all without a single gun being fired in defence of Old
Frederick! impossible!" exclaimed the Captain, with mingled
feelings of joy for the success of his countrymen, and shame for
the garrison, who would surrender, without resistance, a fortress
which years of his life had been spent in helping to wrest from
the Frenchmen.
" Here! look, look, father! " again exclaimed the excited girl,
" The lion flag goes down! another of a lighter color goes up!
Have they not conquered, father?-They have! They have!
and oh! how thankful! "
" Yes!'t is all over! " responded the Captain, rubbing his hands
in ecstacy. " Quick work, by heavens! Not a gun fired! — not
a man killed, and the old Lion is flat on his back! The command of the whole of lake Champlain is ours! Huzza for liberty! "
he shouted, leaping from the ground, forgetful of his lameness in
the excitement of the moment, and throwing his hat into the air:
" Huzza for the Green Mountain Boys! They deserve a hecatomb for their victories! "
At this instant a dozen columns of smoke shot out fiercely from
the walls of the fortress, and the deafening peal of cannon, which
followed, announced to the shuddering hills around the surrender
of the last controlling foot-hold of British power on the waters of
Lake Champlain, to the prowess and patriotism of the Green
Mountain Boys.
Alma now delivering up the spy-glass to her father, hastened
into the house, and took a seat in her window, where, unobserved,
by any, she could observe what further movements might transpire at the scene of action, and at the same time freely indulge
in her emotions of joy and gratitude for the preservation of her
lover, whom she had distinctly made out to be the leader of the
victorious party.
An hour or two after the surrender, a skiff, containing a single
18*




210            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
individual, put off from the shore under the fort, and directed its
course to the landing below the cottage. The individual, on
reaching the shore, came directly towards the house, and was
soon ascertained to be Neshobee by the Captain, who, still
remaining in his garden, had been watching the coming boat.
The Indian rather sheepishly approached his master, conscious,
perhaps, that as far as regarded the Captain, he had played the
truant in joining the expedition.
"Well, Neshobee," said the Captain, as the other, with
averted face came carelessly along, " where have you been all
this time?"
"Umph! me been go learn fight urnm."
" I thought it likely enough they had got you away for that,
as I suspected, from several things I noticed yesterday, that this
business was afoot. But how did you know I should be willing
you should join in these doings?"
What you tell big Cappen - Colonel, who make believe drunk
todder night?"
"Well, well, my lad, I do n't mean to scold you much for joining in so good a work, though you might have talked with me a
little before you went. But have you been with the big Captain, who is no other than Ethan Allen, Mr. Sherwood informed
me?"
"Me have."
"Well, he was commander of the expedition, I suppose —
what did he and his men do there at Ticonderoga.
"They take um red-coats, —pile up their guns for no let
um have um more, - fire big guns, more fifty - hoo! bang!"
replied the Indian with significant gestures.
" And was it the big Captain who come on with the men to
take this fort? "
" No, young Cappen, Major, what you call Misser Howard."
"Well, you may go, now," said Hendee, impatiently, motioning the other to go on to the house.
" How proud I should now be of that same Warrington, outlaw
though he be, but for this accursed business!" muttered the
Captain to himself, after the Indian had departed, with a tone
and manner in which admiration and dislike, kindness and resentment, regret and bitterness, were strangely blended. Hang me!
if I do n't almost think the better of the girl for liking him.
Though if Jake's stories are true! —I wonder now if the fellow
did not lie to me? —would to God things had been different!
But they are not different, and wont be; and hell town! what




THIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.             211
am I talking about? It can't go - no, no! and by the powers
of earth! it shan't go, an inch further, or I will make the house
too hot for her! "
While the passionate and unhappy father was thus giving vent
to his conflicting feelings, the Indian entered the house, and proceeded to the apartment of the daughter, who had also noted his
approach, and beckoned him from the window to come to her
room.
" Now tell me, in the first place, Neshobee," said she eagerly,
" whether Mr. Sherwood was over there to be taken prisoner with
the rest? "
"Me no see him."
You said yesterday, he was then there."
"Me see him, as me say, then, — no there to-day when we
come - guess him run."
"Very likely, but Darrow was there, of course, was he not?'
" Him no there, too."
"How unfortunate! " exclaimed the maiden with an air of
disappointment and regret. " Not even one of them, then, is
secured! Well, well, Heaven knows best; and in that I will
still put my trust. But what have you there? she added, as her
quick eye caught the hand of the other fumbling for something in
his pocket.
"Cappen send um," quietly answered Neshobee, pulling out a
billet, which was instantly snatched from his hands by the eager
girl.
" 0, why not have told me, before! But you may go now,
Neshobee;" and with a quick, impatient waving of her hand, she
motioned him away.
With a beating heart and glowing cheek, the happy girl
read and re-read, many times, the precious note; when, after
pondering anxiously and deeply, awhile, she took her sheet and
wrote, -
"Your few lines, my dear sir, have been received, and read, I
know not how many times over, and with an interest which I
dare not acknowledge. Your propositions, too, have been all candidly, and even anxiously weighed. And it is with many, very
many regrets, my more than friend, that I am forced to the conclusion that, at present, it were better, that they be not complied
with. You first propose to come here openly, explain to my
father the reasons which compelled you to that course, which he
pretends so much to censure, and claim the privilege of address



212            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
ing me: - all the explanations, which it may be needful to make,
would, I am satisfied, with my father's present feelings and impressions, be better listened to from me than yourself. And most
assuredly they shall be made to him as soon as his mood shall be
such as shall warrant the belief that they will be received, without
passion or prejudice. And before you take the step you propose,
I could wish also to see to some change in his views relative to the
match he has marked out for me. And changed, believe me,
they sooner or later will be. Reason will at length resume her
sway; and, to say nothing of your character, the character of
one of whom I would not willingly speak my opinion, must soon
be better known to him. And he will see, and feel, for himself,
that his present requirements are neither wise nor generous.
But do not, for my sake, for your own sake, beloved friend,
attempt to accomplish all this now, under circumstances so inauspicious: for I feel it would be useless; and not only so, but lead,
probably, to the defeat of the objects, and consequently the happiness of us both. No, Warrington, be patient, trust in Heaven
to expose guilt, and reward innocence, and rely on the constancy
of her, who is resolved to bring about a state of things when her
lover can be received in her father's house with the kindness and
respect to which he is entitled.
"As an alternative, in case I disapprove your first proposal,
you request to be favored with secret, or stolen interviews, -
Warrington, Charles Warrington! would you recommend such a
course to a beloved sister? With your delicacy of sentiment, with
your admiration of exalted virtue, I know you would not. Why,
then, ask it of one whom you propose to make more than a sister? Again, dearest friend, I must say to you, no! I have ever
disapproved of clandestine meetings: -there is an air of guilt
about them - a something that seems to imply a consciousness
of wrong, which innocence and rectitude of purpose should never
stoop thus tacitly to acknowledge. And the same views, which
have led to the disapprobation of these, have, in most respects, an
equal application to the measure that you hint it may be expedient for us, as a final resort, to adopt, - a private elopement. In
some countries, and in some states of society, such a measure
may, perhaps, be sometimes justifiable; but is it so in a land
like ours, where force is rarely, if ever, used, to defeat the engagements of lovers?  While armed with the panoply of virtue and
reason, and possessed of the moral courage which these should
ever impart, few females, I apprehend, need here resort to this
questionable practice. And were I to be wed to you to-day, Mr




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                213
Warrington, it should be done openly; and, if permitted, in the
presence of my natural protector. But if the ceremony were
forbidden, I would then, after frankly apprising him of my intentions, as openly depart with you to a place where it would be
allowed. And if force were employed to restrain me, I would
then throw myself on the protection of him who would defend, or
deserve to lose me."
"You know not how rejoiced is my heart to hear of your personal safety, -how proud to learn your brilliant successes, and
how gratified at the promotion you have received. You say you
are about to proceed south, to make enlistments for an expedition
into Canada. Go i - deserve well of your country, be true and
constant, and, while you remain what I now believe you, count
me so, and be assured, that all the reward that this poor heart
and hand can confer, shall be eventually yours. My prayers will
attend you amidst the perils of war.  Apprise me often —as
often as possible, of your situation. And, notwithstanding I have
declined your present proposals, 0, do not believe me now, do
not hereafter think me, less devotedly yours.    ALMA."
When Alma had finished her letter, she sought her trusty
messenger, and confided it to his charge, with instructions to
convey it to Warrington at the fort that night, or as soon as he
could absent himself without exciting the observation of her
father; after which she again returned to her solitary apartment,
and soon sought her pillow, to escape the perplexities of the
present in the bright visions of the future. During the next day,
her time and attention were more than usually occupied by calls
at the house, from those passing to and from the fort. And it
was not till nearly night, that she found an opportunity to escape
from the company, with which, in successive parties, the cottage
had been thronged through the day.  But being relieved at
length from these hospitable duties, and wearied with bustle, in
which she had been engaged, she threw a light kerchief over her
head, and wandered into the fields to indulge in those solitary
musings so grateful to separated lovers. The golden sun was
just sinking behind the western hills. The earth was a variegated carpet of flowers beneath her feet; and tempted by the
beauty of the evening, she continued her course almost unconsciously, down the little vale towards the woods; and before she
was aware how far she had wandered, she had arrived at the
border of the field, and was standing by the tree beneath which
Warrington had first breathed to her the word "love."  After




214            TTlE GIREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
indulging awhile in the associations which this sequestered spot
awakened in her mind, she turned, and was retracing her steps
homeward, when she was startled by the sharp rattling voice of
some one a few rods below her, and turning, she beheld Pete
Jones making his way up the slope towards her.
" Iold up a little bit there, lady, that is, if you're a mind to,"
he said, respectfully approaching and holding up a letter between
his thumb and finger. "There's a little concern of a letter, which
Captain Selden handed me to give you."
"Indeed! an answer from Skenesboro' so soon?" said Alma,
with a subsiding blush, which was raised by the thought first
occurr'ing to her mind that the message came from another
quarter.
"Answer to the letter the nigger had, -d'ye mean? - why,
yes, rather spose so. Any how, I believe it came from that little
hum-bird of a girl that we caught at that small scrape we had
with the old podunk of a Scotchman and his folks, at the Lower
lFalls, a week or two ago."
"You mean Miss Reed, probably —have you been up to
Skenesboro', since you were here?"
"' 0, yes, a lot of us went up there yesterday, after things had
been pretty well fixed at Old Ti."
" For what purpose, if I may ask, sir?"
"' Why only just to let the Major there know, that the Continental Congress had kinder taken a fancy to his stone house.
At all events, Captain Selden told them something of that sort,
as we made them all prisoners there."
"What! the ladies and all? - I trust they will have no reason
to complain-"
" Ah, you need n't borry no trouble there, mum, I guess. The
ladies wont be very likely to cry their eyes out, at falling into
the hands of such a chap as Captain Selden —now you see if
they do? For instance, mum, by way of a similar," continued
Pete, beginning to look mischievous, being no longer able to keep
down his ruling propensity for joking, "for instance, suppose
now, that Major Warrington should come over here with men
enough- and twould n't take over a thousand neither, mayhap -"
"You need not trouble yourself to explain, sir," interrupted
Mliss Hendee, rather flurriedly. "The letter will inform me of
all particulars, doubtless. You will now excuse me, as I must
return. But perhaps you will go to the house for some refreshment, or to remain with us through the night?"
" Why, no, - thank'ce mum," replied the other, a litle abashed




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                215
at the dignity which the girl had assumed. "No, I must be off
to my traps: I am a sort of a water-mail to carry orders to-day.
Captain Selden sent me on, this morning, with despatches to old
thunder-bolt, Colonel Allen, you know. Well, the Colonel, he
sent me with my little bird of a canoe agoing again, like a football, down here* to Crown Point, to notify the Major to come up
to a council there, to-night, or in the morning. So you see I
must put on with my errand, as I have n't been to the fort yet.
You may just tell the old Captain at the house, if you're a mind
to, that my ague, since I was there has n't been very desput,
considering."
So saying, the jolly borderer turned, and bounded down the
slope like a young colt, giving vent to the exuberance of his
animal spirits, as soon as he was fairly out of the restraining
presence of the lady, in his favorite old chorus, " Trol, lol, lol de
larly!"
Hastening to the house, and then to her room, 3Miss Hendee
eagerly tore open the letter just received, and read as follows:
"Be astonished, 0, ye heavens! and Alma Hendee, be you
thunder-struck! as I know you will be, when you learn, that we
are - every man of us, - the Major and all, prisoners of war!
Yes, I am a second time a prisoner to Mr. Selden! What means
it, Alma?  There is some strange fatality about it, that passes
my poor comprehension. 0, for some one deeply skilled in scanning the future - some one gifted with the second sight, which is
claimed by our Highland seers in Scotland, to divine to me the
portent of this singular happening!  How very surprised we all
were when they landed - a body of armed men   and marched
up, taking possession of the yard, and disarming our soldiers.
The MIajor was in the house, and never mistrusted, I really
believe, what could be their object, till they had seized the sloop
and batteaux, and by their rapid movements in surrounding the
men, put it out of his power to make any resistance. All this
was, seemingly, the work of a moment. And before we had
recovered from the first shock of the surprise, Mr. Selden, who
appeared to be chief in command, had entered the house, and,
with drawn sword, stood before us. The Major then, indeed,
began to show some symptoms of uneasiness - more, however,
even then, I thought, at the presence of one, whom he evidently
has both feared and hated, since the former visit, than because he
really supposed he was in earnest about capturing the establishment. After Mr. Selden had politely saluted us, ladies, he bowed




216            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
formally to the Major, who returned the compliment only by a
vain attempt to get his organs of speech in motion.
"Who? - what? - Hem!" he stammered, stepping restlessly
about the room, and looking, daggers at the other: "Why, sir - I
should like to know, sir - yes, sir - let me tell you, sir, what I
think of you, sir " —
" 0, never trouble yourself, Major," replied Mr. S: with a
satirical smile, "it might take you a longer time than I could
possibly spare to devote to so unimportant a purpose."
"Why, sir! " resumed my doughty warrior of a lady's parlor, -
"d - n you, sir! do you mean to insult, sir? - I'11 just let you
know, sir - you'11 just please to walk out of the house, sir! "
"0, be patient, IMajor," rejoined Selden, with the most provoking coolness. "Let me explain to these ladies the nature of
our call, lest they be unnecessarily alarmed."
He then informed us of the outbreaking of the war, the capture of Ticonderoa - and the determination of the Americans
to possess themselves of this post, also; and consequently the
necessity of our removal to some other place, to which he assured us of a safe escort."Now, Major," said he, turning to the other, who had several
times broken in on Mr. S., " I have only to say to you, that both
you, and all your men are prisoners of war."
Even then the Major could scarcely comprehend what had
befallen him; for he again began to bluster and threaten.  But
Selden, at once cutting him short, ordered him away; when they
both left the house together. I never saw creatures so puzzled
and confounded as were Marge and Merry Skene. They neither
knew what to say, or how to act. As for myself, I could hardly
hold in till the gentlemen had left the room, when I fairly shed
tears with the laughter, which I could not repress, at the ludicrous scene I had witnessed. In regard to the valiant Major, he
will not, probably, make much more fuss about the affair to-day.
To-morrow he will be considerably moved at the disaster; and
by the next day, he will have so collected his ideas and his wrath,
that he will be tremendously mad.
They took the place about noon; - since which we ladies have
held our council of war. And it has been decided that we take
our departure to-morrow morning for Albany, where we shall
at present remain, with a connection of the Skenes'. I should
have certainly preferred, for myself, to go and reside with you.
But I dare not name it to them; for the girls are already as
jealous of me as witches; and I well knew, that should I make




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               217
such a proposition, it would be attributed to a secret wish to be
where I could see more of Mr. S. And further, I am not quite
sure, but they might be so kind as to communicate their suspicions to father; for I have a father, who may claim a voice in
some matters as well as you. Now do n't draw any inferences
from that observation, Alma; because, positively, there are none
to draw.
Mr. Selden handed me your letter, brought by black Jack, till
he fell into the hands of the powers that be. I read it with
much interest,- the more so, perhaps, as I thought of the possibility that we may yet have cause to mingle our sympathies.
I shall remain with the Skenes till father returns- if he does
return; for now we have war, I am rather uncertain what course
he will pursue. Should he receive a commission that suits him,
he may engage in the war. This, however, is doubtful. And I
think it very likely he will remain neutral, as I suspect he thinks
the government have not done him justice. At all events, I do n't
believe he feels very bitter towards the Americans; but if he
does, I know of one who do n't.
P. S. Mr. Selden is to escort us in person to Albany; and
what is better, the Major is compelled to go with the other prisoners to Ticonderoga. His face is most unreasonably long at
this arrangement — I think he will be crazy by to-morrow.
Marge is secretly rejoiced, and I know another who is less sad
about it than she mifght be. I have had a conversation with Mr.
Selden, alone, which has shown me that he can be serious when
he pleases. But I have no time left me to state particulars. In
my next I will be more explicit.
19             Adieu, adieu.
JESSE.




218             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER V.'" With pleasures, hopes, affections gone,
The wretch may bear, and yet live on,
Like things within the cold rock found
Alive, when all's congeal'd around."
DnURING the week succeeding the stirring and important
events, which we have been endeavoring to describe, circumstances of both a public and private nature, conspired to bring
Miss Hendee in contact with her neighbors and acquaintances,
much more than usual. The recent change of masters at the
fort having led to a new and frequent intercourse with the inhabitants of this section of the country, many of both sexes had called
at the cottage, on their visits to their friends, who were now
members of the garrison. Business connected with her father's
household concerns had also caused her to make several calls,
during the period above mentioned, at the houses of the different
settlers in the neighborhood. It could not reasonably be supposed, in a country settlement where people, in the absence of
other employment of their leisure, are usually so curious respecting the affairs of their neighbors, and where every kind of
gossiping always finds so ready a circulation, that the visits of so
distinguished a young gentleman as Warrington, at a house containing one so lovely and excellent as Alma Hendee, had been
suffered to transpire without being generally known, and commented on, by the inhabitants of the vicinity. Such, at all events
appeared not to have been the case in the present instance: for
Miss Hendee soon discovered, that her social intercourse with her
lover, as limited as it had recently been, was well understood
by nearly every one of her acquaintance with whom she now
happened to fall in company. And many were the jokes and
banterings which she was compelled to meet on the subject. But
there was one circumstance attending them which soon struck
her as peculiar and uncommon in such kind.of rallyings; and
this was, that, instead of the flattering and grateful approvals, and
happy predictions, usually uttered on such occasions, they were




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                219
now, in almost every instance, accompanied with some manifestations of regret or disapprobation, at the conjectured intimacy -
some hesitation of manner, some ominous shaking of the head,
or some mysterious hinting at the dangers that would attend the
connection, which none, at the same time, seemed to treat as one
that would terminate in marriage. At first, Alma paid but little
attention to these intimations; but as they were repeated, they
began to occasion her considerable uneasiness. And when she
found them coming from all quarters, prudence would no longer
permit her to pass them unheeded. And she began to busy her
mind in trying to account for impressions, which she supposed to
be much too general to be attributed to chance opinions, or personal prejudices. She felt satisfied that this feeling could not
proceed from any wish to favor Sherwood's pretensions to her
hand; for she well knew he was no favorite with the people at
large. Nor could she perceive how it could arise from any ill
opinion entertained against Warrington, who, as she had been
told, was held in the highest estimation by the settlers generally,
both for the signal services he had publicly rendered them, and
for the many excellent traits of his private character. Although
delicacy of feeling, as well as prudence, prevented her making
any enquiries of those who had introduced this subject, yet the
amount of what she had gathered from them seemed to indicate
the existence of some insurmountable barrier to the union, to
which she had recently engaged herself. But what the nature
of this obstacle could be, she was wholly unable to conjecture.
One day, after making one of her excursions among the settlers, she had returned home under an unusual depression of
spirits, occasioned by some hints and warnings of a more pointed
nature than she had before received, together with the mortifying
reflection that her views and feelings, in regard to her secretly
contemplated union, had found no response in the minds of her
acquaintance. Although an easy credulity formed no part of the
discriminating mind of Miss Hendee, yet prudence and discretion
were ever among the leading traits of her finely balanced character. And these taught her the necessity of pausing in the path
she had begun to tread, lest it, indeed, should be found to be
beset with dangers, which had been concealed from her view.
She recalled to mind some insinuations thrown out by Sherwood
at his late visit, by which, she now, on reflection, supposed he
intended she should believe, that Warrington was not only a libertine, but that he had, by a clandestine marriage, entered into
with some of his victims for the purpose of accomplishing his




220            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
designs, put it out of his own power to contract a legal marriage
with another. Considering those insinuations at the time entirely
false and malicious, she had instantly rejected them from her
mind, without paying attention enough to them to examine the
import of the words by which they were conveyed. But now,
on recurring to the subject, and comparing Sherwood's words
with the dark hints she had since received from others, she could
not but be startled with the coincidence she perceived in all the
different intimations that she had heard. And the more she
reflected on the various remarks of her acquaintance, all seeming
to tend to the same point, and to be strangely corroborative of
each other, the more apprehensive she became of the existence
of somne fact, which would not only level with the dust the fair
fabric of prospective happiness she had lately been rearing, but
would place her in no enviable position before the public, when
the step she had taken should become known.
While Miss Hendee was revolving these distracting thoughts
in her miid, that had now reached that state of uncertainty
~Iand fluctuation which peculiarly fits it for the reception of
questionable statements, her reflections were interrupted by the
entrance of a man, who announced himself as a tinker, wishing
to know whether there were any wares in the house which
required the aid of his profession. Being answered in the affirmative, he pulled off his pack, and, producing his tools, went to
work on such utensils as were brought him for repairing. He
was a man of a loquacious turn; and he had scarcely become
seated at his work, before his tongue was going as rapidly as his
hammer. Beino somewhat amused at the remarks she heard him
make to Ruth, the domestic of whom we have before spoken,
Alma soon quitted the adjoining room, where she had seated
herself, and, entering the kitchen, took a seat, and fell into conversation with the talkative stranger, occasionally asking a question herself, and good naturedly answering the various questions
he put to her, as he rapidly roved from subject to subject, in so
disconnected a manner, that it would have puzzled a philosopher
to have traced the association of the man's ideas.
"Your fort over here has lately changed masters, I learn," he
carelessly observed, after he had started and despatched every
other topic which he apparently could think of as connected with
the affairs of the neighborhood, -" I wonder who has the command of the place under the new order of things? "
" Major Warrington, I believe," replied Alma, as a slight tinge
overspread her fair cheek.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                221
"Major Warrington, Warrington, did you say?" said the man,
enquiringly repeating the name: "not Charles Warrington of
Bennington way?"
" Yes, the same, sir," replied the other.
"Now I want to know! Do tell us if he has got to be Major?"
half exclaimed, and half enquired the seemingly surprised tinker.
"Is he a former acquaintance of yours, sir?" asked Alma,
turning with a look of interest to the man.
"Lord, yes! " exclaimed he, with great apparent simplicity.
"Why mam, I have known him ever since he was knee high to
a toad - used to live in the same town with him and his father's
family, in old Connecticut, before they moved to the Grants, and
have seen Charles there often since, on his visits back among his
relations - and - and old sweethearts," he continued, looking up
roguishly to Alma, as if to see how the last remark took with her,
but perceiving the uneasiness of her looks, he jocosely added,
"Why, I spose the girls know  that the young men will have
sweet-hearts, do n't they? "
"I pretend not to know young gentlemen's business, sir,"
replied Alma, in a voice tremulous with suppressed emotion.
" Well, well, I meant no offence," rejoined the tinker, seemingly
abashed at the poor reception of his rally.
" You have given me none, sir," timidly remarked the other.
"But I think you said you had kept up your acquaintance with
Ml\r. Warrington, and you may know whether - that is you " -
and she paused, unable for the fluttering of her heart to proceed
with an enquiry, the answer to which would probably involve
her every hope of happiness for life: for she felt that this plain
and apparently honest man, with his intimate knowledge of Warrington's previous life and character, would be able to furnish
her testimony, which would remove her apprehensions, or confirm
them, and seal her doom forever.
"May know what, marm? " asked he, after waiting patiently
awhile for her to proceed.
Alma made an effort to go on; but so great was her agitation
that she could not utter a syllable, and she remained silent.
" Yes, I know all about Charles Warrington as well as any other
man," resumed the fellow, after he saw the other was not likely to
go on with his enquiry. " A considerable of a chap he is, too.
In fact, he is a plaguy smart fellow; and a likely one, too, in
the main. I never knew but one mean trick about him in my
life; and that was shuffling off and deserting that poor simple
19*




222            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
wife of his, that he married kinder privately there in Connece
ticut, a year or two ago."'
Had a winged shaft from an Indian's bow, at that instant been
driven through the heart of Alma Hendee, the convulsive start,
the sudden contraction of the muscles of her face, and the fearful
death-gasp, would have been scarcely more visible than was the
effect of the words of the last speaker. She sat a moment as if
suddenly paralyzed in all her senses. Presently commenced the
twitching, nervous motion of her fingers, as she rapidly handled
over the work in her lap. Then suddenly rising, she went to the
window, and gasping for breath, stood an instant vacantly gazing
out upon the landscape, with a face as white as the bloodless marble. She then turned quickly away, and, with hurried, unsteady
steps, rushed out of the room. Reaching her own apartment,
she again stopped short, and remained several moments mute
and motionless as a statue, while the woe-stricken expression of
her countenance and the silent workings in the muscles of her
blanched and beautiful features, as she stood, like a tearless
Niobe, with her anguished eye upcast to heaven, and both hands
pressed tightly against her heart, told, more forcibly than language can express, the mental agony with which she was
contending.
After Alma left the room, the miserable wretch, who had so
cruelly inflicted this dreadful blow upon her feelings, hurried
through his work, received his stipulated wages, and departed.
No sooner had he turned his back than the faithful Ruth, who
had noticed, and understood all that had passed, hastened with
looks of visible concern, to the apartment of her idolized young
mistress.
"Alma! " said she, tenderly placing her hand on the now
burning brow of the suffering girl, who had flung herself upon
her bed, where she was lying, with one hand pressing her closed
eyelids and the other her side: "Alma, your forehead is very
hot - shall I bathe it? "
" No, no, Ruth," faintly murmured the fair sufferer, " it is no
attack of disease: my head, I know, is some, fevered, and my
eyes are sore, very sore; but the trouble is here!" she added,
indicating the spot by lifting and replacing her hand upon her
heart.
"I was aware of your feelings in some measure, Alina,"
replied the other soothingly, "and being like yourself, deceived
in the character of the man of your secret choice, I confess, I did
not disapprove of your partiality.  But now, Alma, should you




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               223
not be thankful, that you have made this discovery in season to
retrace your steps, and escape the danger?"
" Yes, and I am, I certainly am; but 0, Ruth, Ruth, you little
knew how much I loved him! and oh! how cruelly - cruelly
has he repaid my lavished affection! "
With this the sealed fountain of her tears suddenly opened.
And as the pearly drops flowed thick and fast over her lovely
cheeks, she breathed more freely; and the torture, the scorching,
tearless agony, that she had felt withering both heart and brain,
was removed, giving place to the mitigated suffering of ordinary
sorrow, in which she long, long indulged, while her faithful
domestic, in character of nurse and friend, watched over, and
comforted her.
The next morning, when Miss Hendee arose, she was calm and
composed, though looking extremely pale. Her appearance very
plainly told, that the struggle she had passed through had been a
fearful one; but it told, also, that she had not struggled in vain
for the mastery over her feelings. Though her heart had been
pierced and lacerated, she seemed to have succeeded in silencing
its throbbings. There was a decision in her looks and movements, that indicated the stern and unwavering resolves she had
made. And in pursuance of the course she had marked out for
herself, it was her first object to despatch such a notice to Warrington of her determination, as should effectually deter him from
attempting any renewal of the intercourse. Accordingly, after
she had superintended, as usual, the household affairs of the
family for the morning, she retired, and penned the brief note: -
"MAJOR WARRINGTON, — Our intimacy is forever ended.
As no explanations need be given, so none will be received. I
trust, therefore, that no further communications on your part will
be attempted.                           ALMA HENDEE."
Sealing the note, she summoned Neshobee to her room, and
with the same desperate sort of calmness which she had exhibited throuoh the morning, though with a slight tremor in her
voice, she said to him,
"Here, Neshobee, take this to Major WVarrington without
delay, if you can find him within twenty miles of' this place.
But I understand that there was a vessel, with several boats filled
with troops, arrived from the south last night; and he probably
came with them, as he has been absent from the fort, I am told,
for the purpose of enlisting more men. Go, give it him; and do




224            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
not stay an instant for an answer, or to give him a chance to
question you."
The Indian, who perceived both in her words and manner,
that some sudden change had taken place in the connection,
which he was aware existed between her and his friend, Warrington, threw a keen enquiring glance upon the face of his mistress, and seemed to hesitate and linger, as if for an explanation
of so unexpected an errand. But receiving only an impatient
motion of her hand for his immediate departure, he turned away,
and with an air of mingled wonder and regret, left the house in
silence, and proceeding to his skiff at the landing, rowed directly
over to the fort. When he arrived there he found all in bustle
and commotion, preparatory to an expedition into Canada.
Allen, Warrington, and Arnold had arrived, as before intimated,
the evening previous, with a schooner and a number of batteaux,
filled with a considerable body of troops, collected for the contemplated expedition, all of whom were now on the point of embarking, - Arnold  in the schooner, with such Massachusetts
troops as had arrived since the capture of Ticonderoga, and were
now properly under his command, and Allen and Warrington
with the remainder of the forces in the batteaux. As soon as
the Indian reached the shore he sought out Warrington, and put
the note into his hand. Receiving it as one who might be expecting a favor of the kind, the latter carefully put the supposed
prize into his pocket, and informing the messenger, that he had
one for him to take back to his mistress in return, he turned to
finish the directions he was at the moment e'ngaged in imparting
to his men. When he had completed the business immediately
on hand, he turned to look for Neshobee, that he might take him
into the fort to receive the letter he intended to send back by him.
But, after searching for him in vain among the men, he cast his
eye on to the lake, and, to his surprise and vexation, he beheld the
native rapidly pulling for the opposite shore, and already out of
hailing distance. Still supposing, however, that the messenger
had misunderstood his request, the impatient lover hastened to a
solitary room in the fort for the purpose of reading the precious
paper alone, and adding a postscript to the one he had written,
that he might despatch it by a special messenger before he embarked. As soon as he was alone, he eagerly broke the seal of
Alma's brief note, and read, with the most unmingled pain and
astonishment, its unexpected contents. Hastily rising from the
seat he had taken, he, for many minutes rapidly paced the room
in silence, while the agitation visibly depicted on his manly




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               225
countenance plainly bespoke the depth and bitterness of his
emotion.
" Yes, noble girl," he at length mournfully said, " incapable of
intrigue and meanness yourself, you have, in some way, unsuspectingly become a victim to the snares of a villain!  It ism- it
must be so. A deception has been practised upon you - a
gross deception could alone have prompted to a measure so sudden, so cruel, so inconsistent, and so destructive, as I know it;
must be, to your own happiness. Well, well, I have no leisure
now, if I would, to enter the lists with this despicable plotter of
mischief, who has thus entered our Eden, and turned its happiness to sorrow, in trying to ferret out Iris villainies, or compete
with him in his low game of intrigue and deception. I must
leave you, too credulous girl, to discover for yourself the arts by
which you have been duped, and the injustice you have done me
- till then, farewell - till then, be my country my heart's only
mistress."
Before another hour had elapsed, Warrington had embarked
with his troops, and, with the gallant and war-like array with
which he was borne down the lake, had passed from the scene of
his love and disappointment on his way to fields of blood and
glory.
It comes not within the scope of our design to accompany our
Green Mountain Boys through the eventful campaign that followed their present embarkation, or to attempt to trace the varied
fortunes of their gallant leaders, - the daring, talented, and
chivalrous Allen, who, in his heroic attempt on Montreal, was
taken prisoner and carried to England in irons, and there kept
through a long and doleful captivity, which deprived his country
of the aid of one of her most energetic sons during the most trying period of the war, - the skilful, cool, and intrepid Warrington, whose conduct soon won for him the admiration of his
country, - the gay and gifted Selden, whose sword and pen were
alike successfully wielded in the cause, - and the jolly and fearless Jones, who became known as the most sagacious and trusty
scout-leader in the northern army. These, and the brave, resolute, and patriotic men under their command, who soon, by their
courage and success in battle, and their fidelity to the cause of
freedom, rendered the name of Green Mountain Boys a terror
to their foes, and an appellation of honor among their admiring
countrymen, we must now leave to struggle with their enemies
abroad, while we remain on the spot we have chosen as the scene




226            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
of our story, there to wait their return to make the place once
more the theatre of glorious conflict.
From this time for a period of about two years, there was a
pause in the action of our story. Although the events which
fobrmed its commencement were intimately connected with those
attending its catastrophe, yet nothing occurred, during that interval, particularly to vary the aspect of the one, or to hasten the
other. And the relative situation of all the different individuals
of our " dramatis persone," from this time separated and scattered in various directions, remained nearly unaltered, till the
tide of war, combined with other circumstances, brought them
again together to figure on the scene of action where we have
thus far described them. We propose, therefore, to pass lightly
over this interval, and with a few observations, by way of noticing the situation and progress of affairs in the Hendee family
in the meanwhile, we shall proceed at once to the closing period
of our story.
From the hour of her supposed discovery of the duplicity and
base conduct of Warrington, life was but a joyless blank to Alma
Hendee. Although by the fortitude and firmness of her character, aided by female pride, which had been deeply wounded by
the mortifying development, she had succeeded in her determined
efforts to keep from sinking under the cruel disappointment, yet
she could not but feel, that the young affections, which she had
thus lucklessly suffered to entwine round her heart, and root
themselves in its very core, were withered, never to be revived
to their original freshness at the bidding of another. In the unbounded confidence of her youthful love, she had squandered her
heart's best treasures on one from whom neither pride nor principle would longer suffer her to accept a return. And she was
deeply conscious, that she could never gather them again, to
bestow them on a more worthy object, or where they would yield
her the earthly happiness to which she had begun to look so
fondly forward in her anticipated connection.
It is an interesting and beautiful trait in the character of woman's affections, that she never truly worships but at one altar. If
that remains to her, though no new attraction be added, - no new
inducement offered to ensure the continuance of her devotion,- she
asks no more, but worships on, and on, more deeply and fervently,
till the heart, that offers the homage, ceases in death to cling to
all earthly objects.  But if that is destroyed or removed, the
incense of her heart passes away with it. She may, indeed,
sometimes be found kneeling at another shrine, and offering up




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               227
the forms of devotion, but the life, the spirit of the worship is
forever gone.
After the rupture between Miss Hendee and Warrington,
Sherwood became, for a while, unusually constant in his visits at
Captain Hendee's, and quite assiduous in his attentions to the
listless girl, to whom they were offered. At his first call, after
that event, he soon, and with a malicious satisfaction, discovered
that the arts he had put in practice had been crowned with success. This he not only read in her pale face, in which the settled
air of gloom and disappointment were visibly depicted, but also,
in her altered, and more respectful manner towards himself,
which, without any change of opinion respecting his general
character, she very naturally, though unconsciously, perhaps,
exhibited towards him, as to one whom she now exhonerated
from the particular charges to which she believed him obnoxious.
Having satisfied himself of this state of things, he at first cunningly forbore to renew his former pretensions to her hand. In
a short time, however, he began again to make professions of
attachment, and, without asking of her any other than the tacit
acquiescence she had formerly yielded, talked of their engagement as of a settled business, and as if nothing had occurred to
alter the relation formerly existing between them. These addresses Alma rather suffered than received; and the affair between
them was, in this manner, allowed by her to fall into much the
same train in which it was moving on Warrington's appearance.
And yet she still had but little thought of uniting her destinies
with those of Sherwood; but continuing to hope that something
would eventually occur to save her from the dreaded fate, she
permitted the affair to glide along as she had formerly done,
solely out of regard to the feelings of her father and the interests
of the family. And, indeed, now, more than ever, did it seem
necessary, that the family should avoid a rupture with Sherwood,
as they were becoming more and more dependent on his assistance. With the breaking out of the revolution, the half pay
which Captain Hendee had before regularly received, and which
had constituted his main dependence, ceased to be transmitted.
And he was therefore driven to avail himself, from time to time,
of the offers of Sherwood to loan him money to meet his exigencies. In this manner Mliss Hendee wore away about two years
of her dull and joyless existence, finding nothing in the present
to console or cheer her desponding mind, and seeing nothing but
clouds and darkness in the future; when an incident occurred
that threw a new light upon her dark and cheerless path, and




228            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
produced a revolution in her whole views and feelings, as sudden and complete, as the event which caused it was singular and
unexpected.
CHAPTER VI.
"A sudden joy lights up my loneliness."
IT was a soft and balmy evening, in that loveliest of all months
of the year in our northern clime, delightful June, when two
ladies were seen issuing from the Hendee cottage, to wander
abroad, to enjoy the beauties of the evening, and hold in the solitudes of the fields, that confidential communion on subjects of
mutual concern, which is ever so interesting to friends, who have
just met after a long separation. One was in height something
above the ordinary standard of women, but with a form as faultless as the chiselled marble. Her carriage and.general demeanor,
though easy and graceful, were yet not of that light and joyous
kind, which generally bespeaks corresponding lightness of heart,
but were marked, rather, by that serious, drooping cast, that tells
of secret cares and sorrows; while an air of deep and pensive
thoughtfulness rested in her dark blue eyes, and overspread her
somewhat pale, though exquisitely moulded features. The other
female was a trifle smaller, and as volatile as a child in her movements. The very reverse of her companion, she seemed to be
the creature of joyous impulses. Though both possessed far
more than an ordinary share of personal beauty, yet their beauty
was of an entirely different order: for while the appearance of
the former was calm, intellectual, and commanding, that of the
latter was sprite-like and playful, partaking largely of that certain
prettiness, that eccentric, will o' wisp sort of witchery, which
men generally pursue eagerly rather than worship profoundly.
They were both old acquaintances of the reader, and we will,
therefore, allow them to announce themselves by the conversation
that now ensued between them.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               229
" Now tell me, Alma," said the smaller girl, " for, in spite of
all the dogged silence you have shown in your letters on the subject, I determined I would know the first time I saw you - tell
me, I say, what was the true reason of your dismissing Warrington."
"There are some things, Jessy," replied the other, "which
involve such imputations on our own prudence and discernment,
and are, of themselves, so humiliating to our feelings, that we can
hardly bring ourselves even in thought to recur to them, - much
less to reveal them to others. And this is the main reason why
I have never apprised you of the fact you seek to know."
"Yes, but I shall not let you off on such a reason, you may
depend upon it. Come, come, girl, I will be your confessor, and
the more crossing to your feelings the confession, why the more
it will be for your good, if the Catholic priests are in the right
of it."
" No, Jessy, let us forget the subject: I would not again disturb my feelings by recalling to mind the man who once caused
me so much sorrow. It is enough to say that I was grossly
deceived in his character."
"' Deceived! How deceived? - now I tell you, Alma Hendee,
I will know, and, as I am to live with you till father returns from
England, I will thorn you night and day, till you tell me."
"Well, then, Jessy, if you must know, the cause of my discarding him was the best of all causes; because he could never be
lawfully mine; for, wherever his heart may have been, his hand
belonged to another. And while he was vowing his heart to me,
he was the husband of a living wife in Connecticut. What say
you to a deception like that, Jessy?"
"Why, monster!- if so —but how  know  you that fact,
Alma?"
" I received intimations of it from various sources, which I disbelieved, when a man called here who was well acquainted with
Warrington's whole career, and he confirmed all that I had
heard."
" Warrington - the high-minded, and brave Colonel Warrington, guilty of baseness like that? "-Impossible! Are you
quite sure that there is not some mistake, or some intended
deception, about this, Alma?"
" Yes, yes, - think not that, with my unbounded confidence in
the man, I should have been brought to believe this easily. And
Oh! if you knew what the discovery cost me! "
20




230           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
"But did you apprise him of this discovery?"
"No!"
"Why?"
"Simply, because, as I was fully satisfied of the fact, all at.
tempted explanations would not only fail to mend the matter, but
make it worse, by continuing a correspondence which would be
ruinous to me, and disgraceful to us both."
"Alma Hendee, I can hardly believe this strange story..I
fear you have been deceived. I wish I had known it before.
Neither Colonel Warrington, nor Captain Selden, have the least
idea that such were your reasons for the sudden, and, to them,
unaccountable step you took. I have conversed with them both
on the subject; and they both believe, I imagine, that you were
either coerced by your father, or were laboring under some
misapprehension. Mr. Selden, I know, believes this; and he
told me on our way here, that if you would keep yourself from
becoming entangled with Sherwood, the affair might yet be
reconciled between you and the Colonel, who yet cherishes for
you all his former sentiments."
" It never will be reconciled, however, Jessy."
"Why, you have not seriously determined to marry Sherwood,
have you?"
"I can hardly bring myself, I own, to think seriously of such
a sacrifice," said Alma, mournfully. "I certainly never should
harbor the thought a moment, if I had now any other object to
live for, than to render my infirm and embarrassed father as
happy as possible. This I see but one way of doing. And as
my own hopes of happiness are gone, should it not now be my
duty to attend to his in the only way I can accomplish it?  At
best it is but a dark and dreary prospect that lies before me,
Jessy. And let us turn from it now to your own, which has at
least hope to brighten it."
"Yes, hope, faith, and resolution, come what will, except such
a damper as you received. By the way, Alma, did not you
think that your father was a good deal taken with Selden for so
brief an acquaintance as his short stay with us to day afforded? "
" I did, indeed, and with great pleasure, notice it. And well
my father might be pleased with him; for I now know no gentleman whom I- "
"Take care! take care! " briskly interrupted the vivacious
Jessy, "Be cautious how far you proceed with your praises,
Miss!"




THE GREEN 3OUNTAIN BOYS.              231
"I will be moderate rather than alarm you, then," replied
Alma, smiling.
" Well, see that you are; or I'll be jealous as sure as you live.
Besides, I do n't care a fig about obtaining your praises for him.
But Captain Hendee's good opinion of him is a point gained with
me; for my father, you know, has placed me, and my destinies,
too, for aught I know, in the Captain's hands for the present. I
wish I could get a peep at that letter of instructions, as I suppose
it was, which I brought from my father to yours. What cautious
old things these papas are about us girls, are they not now?"
" Your father, then, suspects your attachment - does he?"
~" Why, that is what I am myself puzzled to decide. Selden
contrived right cunningly to get introduced to my father, soon
after the old gentleman arrived at Albany, where the Green
Aountain troops, with their officers, have been posted the past
season, you know. They have since met several times, and by
the fact of my being entrusted to Selden's care in coming on here,
I know father considers him a man of honor at least. But
whether he has ever suspected the truth about us, I have been
wholly unable to ascertain. If he has, and disapproves it, he
has studied out some sly, indirect way of breaking up the connection without recourse to open opposition, which, I have often
heard him say, made ten matches where it broke one."
"But did not Major Skene, after' his exchange and return,
or his sisters, inform Colonel Reed of their suspicion, most
probably? "
"They would have done so, perhaps, had they continued as
jealous as at first, but since my engagement with Selden we have
both acted in concert to blind them, and I think they are in the
dark themselves."
"And how have you disposed of the Major, in the meanwhile?"
"I laughed him out of countenance -jeered and joked him
about his valor at Skenesboro' before the officers, ridiculed him
in every way I could devise, till at last the fellow became so sore
under the torment, that he fairly avoided me, as if I had been a
viper, and that is the way I advise you to take with your eternal
hanger-on, who, like the Major, was never man enough to cease
his attentions when he knew they were not agreeable. But
where is Sherwood now?"
" We do n't know. He has been absent several weeks. He
told us he was going to Albany. You heard nothing of him
there, did you?"




232            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
" No! but if he was there, he would hardly show himself in
public, I think. Did you know they strongly suspected him of
being a tory?"
"I knew not that he was suspected by others. But from his
standing aloof from the contest when our bleeding country
required the aid of every friend, from the character of his associates, and among the rest that despicable Darrow, and more
especially from one or two secret journeys, which I feel satisfied
he has lately made into Canada, I have for sometime known that
he was any thing but an American patriot."
By this time our fair friends, having wandered down the slope
towards the lake, had reached the shore, and seated themselves
on a little grassy elevation near the landing, where they were
about to resume their conversation, when a skiff, containing three
men, whose approach from the south had been screened from
their sight by intervening bushes, made its appearance, and put
in for the shore. The girls instantly arose, and were hastily
retiring, when they were hailed by the leader of the party, after
he had risen in his boat, and looked intently a moment at those on
shore. On turning round, Alma at once recognized him to be the
tall woodsman, with whom she first became acquainted as the
messenger of Warrington.
" If you'11 agree not to be scart much at such a beauty as I be,
gals," said Pete, leaping ashore and striding up the bank, "I
should like well enough to have one of you stop running away
long enough to have me tell you what one of you wants, that is
if I hav n't forgot the face that used to belong to her."
Jones, now advancing to the spot from which the girls, with
hesitating steps, were slowly retreating, pulled out a soiled and
crumpled letter, and offered it to Alma. But the latter, supposing it to be from Warrington, shook her head, and declined
receiving it.
"Well, now!" said the scout, a little disconcerted at the unexpected refusal: "by hoky! if this an't the first time I ever
knew a body that would n't take a letter that belonged to'em!
Well, I've done all that the fellow, who asked me to bring it,
could expect of me, I consider."
" From whom did you receive the letter, sir? " asked Jessy,
who easily apprehended the reasons of her friend for declining
to receive it.
"Well, now, marm," replied Jones, scratching his head, "that
is asking a notch more than I am very well able to answer. I
partly hinted to the man to tell me his name, but he kinder




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                233
screwed round in his talk so that he kept clear of telling me.
Howsomever, it was an honest lo6king fellow enough, that I fell
in with at Skenesboro', where we stopped for breakfast, this
morning."
"O, it is not from any in the army, then," rejoined Jessy,
throwing a significant look at her companion, intended to convey
a sly joke for her over cautiousness.
" Any in the army?" said Jones, repeating the words of the
other, as he began to assume his old comic twist of features, "no,
unless you might call him a kettle drummer; for now I think
on't when we first came into the house where we found him, he
was at it hammer and tongs upon an old brass kettle, making
clatter enough to crazy a small nation."
" I beg your pardon, Mr. Jones," said Alma, courteously, "I
was under a misapprehension in regard to the source of this
letter - I will receive it now, sir, if you please; and thank you
kindly for your trouble in bringing it," she added, extending her
hand and taking the proffered paper.
"' Are you direct from Albany, sir? " asked Miss Reed, preparatory to some other question, apparently.
" We started from there about twelve last night, and in a bit
of a hurry, too," replied the scout, turning and looking upon the
face of his fair interrogator, whom he now for the first time
seemed to recognize. "Why, now, if I an't beat, to find that
queer fighting bird again - beg pardon, marm - I did n't mean
it for offence; for I do n't calculate to be very sarcy to folks, except to the Britishers. And I kinder guess you an't very stiff
for that side after all, or you would n't allow yourself to be caught
by the Green Mountain Boys so easy and often."
It was Jessy's turn to be disconcerted now, and blushing to the
very temples, she turned confusedly away, and pretended to be
looking for wild strawberries in the grass, while Alma, smiling
to see the discomfiture of her friend at the honest but sly hit
involved in the remark of the woodsman, now addressing the
latter, asked,
"Has any late intelligence of the enemy's movements been
received at head quarters, that has caused you to be despatched
in this direction so hastily? "
" I rather expect there has, marm."
" Any threatened invasion? I know there have been fears of
one, from Canada, but hearing nothing of it lately, we had begun
to believe is a false rumor."
After looking Alma earnestly in the face an instant, Jones
20*




234            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
motioned her to step a little further from her companion, when in
a low tone he observed to her,
"You used to be true blue - I wonder if you are now?"
"If you mean a friend to your cause, who can be trusted, you
may count me as one."
" I rather thought so - well, we fear there will be hot work in
this quarter in a very few days from this. A British deserter,
who was taken up over on Winooski River, and sent on by Captain Baker, arrived at head quarters yesterday, and gave us the
information that General Burgoyne with an army of ten thousand
men has already reached St. Johns on his way through this settlement to Albany, if he can get there.  Colonel Warrington and
his regiment of Green Mountain Boys were to march this morning to reinforce St. Clair at Ticonderoga. And General Schuyler's whole army, before this, are on the move for Fort Edward,
as the place where the grand tussle is to be had, if the enemy are
not stopped before. I, and my scouts in the boat there, are now
on our way to reconnoiter, and watch the progress of the Reglars
as they come on. Now, this last part of it you must keep dark
about to all where there is the least chance of its getting into the
wind. If I get along back as far as here, I will try to call, and
let you and the folks in this quarter know when the enemy may
be expected, that you may be all out of the way before they arrive.
But I must be off; for we must row ten good miles further tonight, before we encamp. Good nighty, marm."
Having given this exciting piece of information, imparted with
more seriousness and directness of manner, than any thing of
equal length he had uttered, perhaps, for years, Jones turned on
his heel, bounded forward to the shore, and leaped into the boat,
which the next instant shot by the landing and disappeared.
Knowing that the scout's secret would be as safe with her companion as with herself, Alma immediately called her, and repeated
the startling news she had just received. And the solicitude and
trembling apprehensions which filled the bosom of each, as they
thought of their respective friends in connection with the approaching danger, for a while swallowed up every other feeling.
Even the letter, the delivery of which had occasioned the call of
the scouts, was forgotten, till the girls had retraced their steps
more than half the distance to the house. It being then recalled,
however, Miss Hendee seated herself on a hillock, opened and
began reading it, with an air of listless curiosity, which showed
how little she expected to be interested in its contents, while
Jessy knelt before her on the grass, watching the varying expres.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               235
sions, from simple curiosity to eager interest, and from that to
deep emotion, which successively passed over the countenance of
the other as she proceeded in the perusal. The letter was without signature, and ran thus:
"Miss Hendee, I guess, will remember, how, a year or two
ago, a man came to your house and mended the things; and how
he made some statements about Charles Warrington, the Colonel
that now is. Now, what I said at that time has worried my feelings a great deal most ever since. Though I then really thought
what I said was justifiable, even if it was not quite true, as I was
made to believe it to be for your good. But I soon after found
out what I told you was not so, for I did n't know myself, and only
said what I was asked to say. This was the story of it. As I
was going from house to house, working at my trade there in your
part of the settlement, I fell in with a plausible sort of a man, - I
do n't think I had best call him by name, - and we after a while
got to talking about Warrington, whom I had seen often enough,
though I knew nothing about his private affairs. Well, he, in a
smooth kind of way, said there was one thing that hurt his feelings; and that was, that Warrington was doing the wrong thing
by a relative of his, a very likely girl, that he pretended to be
courting for the sake of getting her family on his side in the York
quarrel, when to his certain knowledge, he had a young wife that
he had deserted down country. He said it was a great pity to
have the girl so deceived, and he would give two gold guineas to
any one who would break up the courtship. But he said it would
do no kinder good for her relations to try; and they were very
anxious some one else should undertake to do it. He then told
me his plan was, that he and I, if I would agree to do it, should
first kinder secretly tell folks this story about the deserted wife,
so that it should get to her, and make her begin to believe it;
and then I should go there and pretend to come from where
Warrington used to live, and let drop some how, before the girl,
that I was knowing myself to that business about his being married. Well, he kinder drew me into this plan, and I being poor,
consented for the money to do as I did. But I soon mistrusted
that this man had some wrong design, which I found out to be the
case, and I feel very sorry, and ask pardon for what happened;
and shall feel very bad if I done any mischief by it, as I think
Colonel Warrington a very likely man. I think I shall feel easier
now in my mind, but I guess, considering, I shan't sign my name,




236             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
though I am not ashamed of it, or at least I never was in any
other affair since I was born.
Your well wisher to serve.
The first feeling that pervaded the bosom of Miss Hendee, on
reading this humble epistle, the truth and genuineness of which
she found it impossible to doubt, was that of unmingled indignation at the base and detestible conduct of the man who had instigated the deception that had been practised upon her with such
complete success. The whole of that transaction, together with
all the dark hints and warnings she had previously received from
her acquaintance, now stood explained before her. She found
no difficulty in tracing all to the same source, and she saw at once
the motives which had actuated the subtle author of this piece of
refined villany in the course he had pursued.  Her next feeling
was that of deep and unfeigned regret, for the injustice she had
unintentionally done one, whom, but for this erroneous belief, she
would have held, of all on earth, the most dear and honored. At
last came the heart's rich gushings of returning love. And from
the overpowering force of these mingled emotions, she sat down
and wept like a child.
CHAPTER VII.
"And how felt he, the wretched man
Reclining there -while memory ran
O'er many a year of guilt and strife,
Flew o'er the dark flood of his life,
Nor found one sunny gesting place,
Nor brought him back one branch of grace!"
IN the environs of Albany, at the period of which we are
writing, stood an ancient looking tenement, originally designed,
as its general appearance indicated, for a common farm house;
though the grounds around it seemed lately to have been left
almost wholly uncultivated; while dilapidated fences, and an
unchecked growth of rank weeds, springing up every where




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS,                237
about the premises, told anything but of good husbandry in the
occupant. Indeed, there was an air of solitude and decay about
the place, which might reasonably have been taken by all as an
evidence of a corresponding decay in the circumstances of the
owner, but for the fact known to many, that he had brought large
sums of money, which he must have increased, as he had ever
lived on an economical scale, and husbanded his treasures with
the most miserly care, — ever speculating upon the necessities
of others, and loaning his money at exhorbitant usury.  Since
the commencement of the unsettled times of the revolution, however, he had been busily engaged in drawing in his funds, while
he began to talk of pretended losses, and to feign the appearance
of approaching poverty, by suffering his farm to run to waste, as
if through inability to bestow upon it a proper cultivation. This
was attributed by many to actual impoverishment; but those who
knew more of his affairs, set it down at once to his unwillingness
to trust out his property in such fluctuating times, and his fears
of being compelled to loan, or otherwise part with it, for maintainingr the American cause, to which, it was suspected, he was
not over friendly. He had ever been a man of few friends, and
still fewer confidants. And for the last year or two, he had almost
wholly withdrawn himself from society; while, as was noticed by
those who occasionally saw him, his health appeared to be gradu.
ally undermining, and his countenance wore an air of deep
dejection, arising, it was surmised, as he had no visible grounds
of sorrow, from remorse of conscience, or other mental inquietudes, the causes of which he had never divulged.
To this cheerless spot we would now invite the reader for the
purpose of introducing one to whom allusion has been several
times made, the father of Jacob Sherwood. The unhappy old
man had been for several weeks rapidly failing, and he now lay
stretched on the bed of sickness, with the full consciousness, that
the end of his earthly career was fast approaching; while a retrospect of his life began to fill his mind with terror and alarm, in
view of the retribution which his guilt-stricken conscience told
him was at hand. Although, by the constant exercise of that
peculiar cunning and cautiousness, which were leading traits in
his character, he had always contrived to steer clear of the penalties of the law, yet there had been certain secret passages in his
life, the memory of which now turned his dying bed into a couch
of thorns, and drove him to think of making some atonement for
the injuries he had inflicted before he dare go to his final
account.




238            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
With this, among other views, he had, the week previous, sent
a special messenger for his son, and he was now anxiously looking for his arrival. But the lingering days passed on, and he
came not, till the wretched invalid, warned by his failing strength,
that he could hold out but a few days longer, dared no more
delay the act of justice, which his guilty fears had urged him to
perform, to those who had been the victims of secret villanies.
But let us now enter his gloomy abode, and proceed to his bedside. He had been lying about an hour in a troubled sleep,
from which he had several times suddenly started up, with a wild,
apprehensive glare, and a few incoherent mutterings, that gradually died away on his working lips, as he relapsed into his uneasy
slumbers. He now, however, became thoroughly awakened, and,
turning his face to the nurse in attendance, a wrinkled old crone,
who, with an ignorant, clownish looking boy, made up the rest of
the family at the present time, he eagerly enquired if his son had
arrived. And being answered in the negative, he sunk back on
his pillow with a look of blended woe and disappointment, which
told the utter wretchedness of his feelings.
" O, when will he come! when will he come! " at length muttered to himself the hapless old man. "I shall die before he
arrives! no, no, I must not die, I cannot die, till I see him - till
he promises. But if he should not come! Or if he come and
would not promise, or promising, would not perform, where would
be the reparation? I fear - I fear him, with so much interest
at stake! Oh! why have I delayed this so long! Why have I
carried this dreadful weight till now! If I had but strength to
write it! - perhaps I have - I will try - I will! Nabby!"
he continued, calling to the deaf old woman, "I say, Nabby!
bring me here pen and paper."
" Eh? O, ay!" replied the crone, bringing the required implements.
" Now bolster me up on the bed, and lay that old ledger open
on the bed-clothes before me. There! that will do."
Having been a ready penman, and deriving a temporary
strength from the excitement of his sudden resolution, the invalid
succeeded in writing out a brief statement, or confession, of the
misdeeds which laid heaviest on his troubled conscience.
"There! there! " he exclaimed in a sort of unnatural glee, - it
is on paper! it is down -thank God it is down! I feel easier
now - relieved - some of the poison has passed from my heart'o the paper;" and he read over, and continued looking some




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN sOYS.             239
time upon the lines, with a wild, exulting satisfaction, muttering
at intervals, "yes, thank God, it is down!"
He then, having again called the nurse, and directed her to seal
the paper securely, superscribed it to Captain James Hendee,
giving the woman strict orders to give it to his son when he
arrived, or to some other person, who would promise to deliver it
to the person to whom it was addressed. After this, he fell back
exhausted, and lay some time in silent meditation.
"Yes, that is something, he said, at length, resuming his
soliloquy; "but will it bring back the lost, or dead? No! Will
it restore the property I took from them? No, not a shilling
without a suit, and then Jake will find some way to defeat it -
and then the letter may be lost - he may mistrust what I have
written and destroy it. It wont do —I must make a will and
place it out of his hands - I must, 0, I must - and I will do it —
I will do it, now. Ezra! Ezra! " he continued, speaking with
nervous rapidity, " Nabby! tell Ezra to come here in a minute! "
The ill-clothed, and more ill-favored boy soon made his
appearance.
" Ezra, you go over to Esquire Vanderpools, and tell him I
want he should come here as quick as possible - run! run! "
The man, who was thus summoned, and who was an attorney,
whom the old gentleman had sometimes employed, and consulted,
on account of the prudence and secrecy with which he conducted
all matters submitted to his charge, in a short time entered the
apartment, and quietly seated himself by the bed-side of the sick
man. The old nurse was then ordered to leave the room.
I am going to die, Squire," said the old man feebly.
" I hope not," replied the attorney, casting a scrutinizing glance
at the pallid face of the other, but without betraying the least
emotion.
"' I know best, and I have thoughts of making a will - can
you draw one that will hold? "
"None of my making have ever yet failed."
"So I suppose, and I believe you honest, and to have a mind
of your own, or I should not have sent for you. But can it all be
kept secret till the will is proved in court?"
"Who is to be executor? "
"I have been thinking of that. So much money is a great
trust, but if you are not honest, who is? I must have you."
"c All can be managed, then."
" Yes, but will it be done? will you promise? I have reasons
you know Jacob - will you not let him buy you up? "




=210           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
"Never  "
"Write me a will then; and be quick, - quick- bequeathing
a thousand pounds to Captain James Hendee of the New Hampshire Grants, and all he now owes me - another thousand to his.
daughter. That will make them good for what I —"
"That is right! make a clean breast of it, Mr. Sherwood,"
observed the attorney, encouragingly.
"I will- God forgive me for taking that'amount from the
property left with me to manage. Put it down in the will'reparation."'
" I will. But the rest of the property?"
"All to my son - write on - be quick."
"The attorney, with an acquiescing nod, proceeded diligently
with his task, while the restless invalid again muttered to
himself,
"It will be an inducement for Jake to marry the girl, which I
fear he means to avoid. But he probably will do it now, and
then nothing will be lost by this; and if he do n't, why, he has
enough without it. Yes, this will do. I shall feel better —
better."
The will was very soon completed, witnesses were called, all
the requisite formalities passed through; when, after receiving
from the testator many additional injunctions, the attorney
departed with the important instrument in his pocket.
As soon as this business, for which the sick man had summoned all his failing energies, was accom'plished, he again became
as helpless as an infant, and lay several hours in a state of exhaustion and stupor. At length his malady began to assume a
different and more threatening aspect. The pains of approaching
dissolution set in, attended with mental anguish, even more fearful in appearance than his bodily agony; and to the wretched old
man a night of horrors succeeded. While his limbs were writhing with pain, and he seemed to be grappling in bodily effort with
the king of terrors, the most fearful images appeared to rise continually before his distracted mind, to complete the horrors of his
situation. At one time he seemed to be contending with desperate fierceness against troops of fiends, that stood palpably before
him, reaching out their long, skinless claws to drag him from his
bed, while, " keep them off! Oh, keep them off," would burst in
the accents of despair from his lips. At another time, the images
of those he had injured appeared to rise upon his troubled fancy,
and stand before him, giving, even by their quiet presence,
unspeakable tortures to his feelings.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               241
"Leave me, Brother Hendee, 0, leave me!" he would piteously exclaim, waving his hand for the other, whom he fancied
to be standing by his bed-side, to depart. "Away! away! I
cannot look on you. You forgive me? what is that to me, so
long as that great burning eye is looking down so fiercely upon
me? Oh! don't smile upon me! do n't, Brother Hendee i It
stings - it kills me! There! that is right — kind. He is gone
now. But what is that coming? Oh! what is that?" he continued, starting up with a look replete with horror and distress:
"see, how he reaches out his little hands as they carry him off
into the woods, crying, uncle, save me, uncle, from the Indians!
It is a lie! I say I am not your uncle! You are an imp! —a
fiend, come to torment me! There! I told you so - I knew
it - see! see, there! he is sending that troop of devils to drag
me down into that dreadful black gulf! Oh! God! they have
seized me! I wont, I wont go! help! murder! Oh! help!
help!" and with the expiring efforts of his delirious energies, he
rose up in his bed, and throwing his arms wildly above him, and
uttering a fearful screech, he fell down on his face, and the next
moment was a livid corpse!
Such was the fearful end of John Sherwood, who, with no penitence that could be acceptable in the sight of Heaven, thus thought
to compound with his conscience, and atone for his misdeeds
by offering up a portion of that wealth which he had made the
only idol of his worship through life - a life marked, indeed, with
many acts of specious kindness, performed towards those he had
wronged, but always performed on the principle we have mentioned, or to veil the secret injuries he had inflicted, from the eyes
of his victims, and blind the public to his true character.
On the second day after the event just described, and but a
few hours before the time appointed for the funeral ceremonies,
Jacob Sherwood rode into the yard, and without any previous intimation of'his father's death, entered the house.
" How is the old gentleman, Nabby?" he asked, approaching
and putting his mouth close to the ear of the deaf old domestic.
"Elh? 0, - why, do n't ye know?  Han't they told you how
he is dead?"
"No! shocking! -Why, when did he die?"
"Yester night -jest fore day. Desput sick, the old gentleman was that night. And he was in a terrible taking to see you,
Mister Jacob, fore he died."
"What did he wish to see me for in particular, do you
know?"
21




242            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
" No - not sartainly. But he was under some consarn of mind,
I reckon. It was malagantly to hear him take on, and see him
act. O,'t was dreadful times with us that night: I, and Ezra sot
up. I hope the old gentleman never done any thing that was
wrong."
"Ezra, what did he say?" asked Sherwood, eagerly turning
to the boy, who was present.
" O, he talked drefful bad and scary bout somfing carrying him
off. I'se mortal feared, and went behind the door."
"Nabby —say Nabby!" said the former, again addressing
the old woman, " who has been here since father was taken sick
besides the doctor?"
"Doctor! he wouldn't have no doctor- he took his own
physics."
" Who, then, has been here?"
"Why, none but old Mrs. Chandler, to tell me about fixing his
gruel and things, except the folks that come to lay him out, and
Squire Vanderpool, the day fore he died, and then the next
morning, to carry off the papers and chests."
" Vanderpool! papers and chests! what can all that mean?"
said Sherwood, in an undertone, and with an air of concern.
" But, say, old woman, what did Squire Vanderpool and father
do when they were together?"
Do n't know nothing no way about it; cause they sent me out
— may be about some writing. La! now, I forgot the letter,"
added the woman, jumping up and bringing the letter the
deceased had entrusted to her charge: "there, he told me to
make you promise to give this to Captain Hendee."
" Certainly- I promise," said Sherwood, seizing the letter
and putting it in his pocket.
After a few more enquiries, Sherwood retired to another room,
when, taking out the letter and carefully breaking it open, so that it
might be re-sealed, if he saw fit to suffer it to go to its destination,
he proceeded to read it; after which he rose, took out a pocket
pistol, drew the charge, went to the fire place, and flashed the
priming against the letter, which he held between his thumb and
finger till it was entirely consumed.
" Well," said he to himself, as he replaced his pistol, that piece
of evidence is at rest, I think, and if all other matters can be
managed as easily, all will be well. But it is very evident that
the old man has been making a will; and Vanderpool, who must
be executor, I imagine, by his presuming to -carry off the papers
and money, is a hard customer to manage, I confess; though it




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                243
must be done by some means or other, - that is, if the old man's
weakness and silly fears have led him to make any serious inroad
on my prospects. And who knows how far he may have gone -
devil! if he has been willing away my property! But that lie
could not do. He could only dispose of his own, the lesser half
I think it must be. Well, that is mine, too; and I wont go it.
So, if he has been willing it away, curse me, if I do n't find a
way to suppress or break the will. Let's see, - Vanderpool is
rather poor. That is lucky; for a cool hundred is something of
a tempter. But if that fails then here are the deaf' old haddock
of a woman and the doltish boy, ready with their humbug stories
to swear the old man insane at the time. Good! I'll make it
traverse some how. But the first thing is to see Vanderpool;
and I may as well do it now. No, I forgot, - the time of the
funeral is at hand, and I must be rigging up, and putting on a
sorrowful face - sorrowful! as if it was a matter of special grief
to come into possession of a clear ten thousand  "
Thus soliloquizing, and settling his plans for repairing the rent
which he feared his father had made in his fortunes, the heartless
heir dressed himself, and joined the domestics and others, who
had now come in to assist in making arrangements for the
approaching obsequies. These being made, and the hour appointed for the funeral, now arriving, the ceremonies were performed
by a small train of the nearest neighbors, including his executor,
and one or two other individuals from the city, who had sustained
some connection with the deceased in business transactions.
Though the demeanor of all present was marked with the decency
and sobriety natural on the occasion, yet none of that emotion,
which the ties of heartfelt friendship, severed by death, usually
produces at such times, was visible among the company. Not
a sigh was heard, not a tear was seen to bedew a single cheek, as
they followed the old man, who had never exhibited any feelings
in common with them, unwept and unhonored, to his long home.
That evening, and as early as he thought decency would permit, after his father's remains were consigned to the earth, Sherwood repaired to Vanderpool's office. And, after what he deemed
would be considered some suitable observations upon his recent
bereavement, he carelessly remarked,
"My father made a will in his last sickness, I understand."
"Well, the old gentleman undoubtedly had property to dispose
of, I think," replied the attorney, evasively.
" You drew it, I am told," observed the other, cautiously apt
proaching the point at which he was aiming.




244            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
"Drafting instruments of that kind is part of my trade, you
are aware," remarked Vanderpool, still evading any direct answer
to the question implied by the other's observation.
"You will not deem it improper, I presume," said Sherwood,
"for me to enquire what are the provisions of the instrument,
since I am the person most interested?"
"Why, sir," coolly remarked Vanderpool, "whether you are
the most interested, I should think must depend entirely
upon the will, whose provisions you seek to know. And as
regards the propriety of your making enquiries respecting those
provisions, I am not aware of any impropriety in your asking,
but whether, in the case you assume, it would be proper for me
to answer, for the present, would depend solely on the conditions
imposed on me, and the instructions I have received."
" 0, certainly, certainly, Mr. Vanderpool," rejoined the other
obsequiously, though he was evidently not a little startled at the
ominous import of some of the attorney's remarks; " but what
possible motive could my father have for enjoining secrecy in such
a case?"
"W Vhy, that, Mr. Sherwood, is undoubtedly a question that the
interrogator is no less competent of answering than the interrogatee," replied the imperturbable attorney.
"Why, surely, Mr. Vanderpool," said the baffled heir in a tone
of expostulation, " you do not think I wish you to do any thing
wrong, I trust. But if the will be a just one, there can be no
good reason for keeping its provisions a secret the short time
that intervenes before it must be openly proved; and on the
other hand, if it be an unjust one, a delay can be of no benefit to
the legatees of a will which can be so easily broken."
"Broken! how?"
"Why, I suppose you must be aware, sir, that my father was
not in his right mind when he executed this pretended will, as
can be proved by the family."
Being a little nettled at the imputation involved in the last
remark, that he had assisted in the making of a will when he
knew the testator to be incompetent, the conscientious attorney
with considerable spirit replied.
"Whose testimony, think you, sir, would weigh the most in such
case, two good, honest, intelligent witnesses (to say nothing of
myself), who were present and heard the testator converse, or
a stupid old woman, so deaf as not to hear one word in ten of an
ordinary conversation, and a more stupid boy, who was rarely in
his presence?"




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              245
" O, I am no lawyer, sir," rejoined Sherwood, with affected
complaisance: " that must be left to gentlemen of your profession
to decide. I merely repeated what was told me. And the only
motive I have in making these enquiries is, to obtain such knowledge of the will as shall enable me to make my arrangements for
the future; since I am compelled to return immediately to my
post in the Grants. And now," he continued, cautiously veering
round on another track, " I really do n't see how I can go without
knowing something about the disposition of this property. It is
a going to be such a disadvantage to me! Why, I would not
begrudge a hundred pounds. Indeed, in my peculiar situation at
this time, it might make more than that difference in my circumstances  "
"Ah! indeed?" observed Vanderpool, beginning to suspect
the drift of the other, but wishing to see how far he would venture
to go, if encouraged a little.
" Yes, that is really the case, Squire," said Sherwood, thinking
he had now hit upon a right course; "and if there are some
nice rules among your profession to prevent your showing this
will yourself in obedience to such very singular instructions, why,
that can easily be got along with. The will can be left, for instance, on yonder shelf, or somewhere, so that should I come in
to-morrow to write a letter, or the like, it might be glanced at,
and still no blame could fall on you - even if the instrument
should be afterwards missing. All would come right between
you and I, Squire, depend upon it. Now, I should suppose, that
one live client, with my means, and with my friendship, would
be worth a dozen dead ones, should n't you Squire? "
" Why, that might depend," gravely replied the attorney, willing to alarm the other by way of punishing him for his insulting
proposals, " that would depend, I should think, somewhat on the
question whether the live client had means enough left him by
the dead one to make good his promises."
" What mean you, sir?" hastily asked Sherwood, turning pale
at the intimation.
"O, I am merely making suppositions by way of answering
your enquiries —you must put your own constructions upon
them," replied Vanderpool, with a look so equivocal as still to
leave the would be tempter in doubt how to proceed.
1" Well, sir," said Sherwood, after a hesitating pause, "what
am I to understand you are willing to do in this business? Really
a hard case for me, Squire - what do you say upon the whole? "
" Upon the whole, then," replied the indignant attorney, looking
21*




246            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
the other sternly in the face, "I say, sir, that it does not follow,
that I am a villain and unworthy the trust reposed on me,
because others may think they can make me so. I am sole
executor on your father's estate;- the real estate, which is but
a small portion of the property, you can take possession of as
sodn as you please, as to the rest, I shall take, and keep charge
of it for the present. I know my duty, both towards you, and
others concerned, and you may depend I shall do it. My supper waits. Good evening, sir."
"So saying, and taking his hat, the independent and incorruptible attorney turned his back on the other, and immediately
left the office.
Vexed and discomfited at the failure of his attempt, and
alarmed at the startling intimations which had fallen from Vanderpool, Sherwood turned his steps homeward. Reasoning from
his own principles and feelings, he supposed that the attorney
would never have withstood the different temptations which had
thus been placed before him, unless he knew that the property
was about to pass into the hands of others, whom it was now more
his interest to serve. And joining his argument, unanswerable to
one who could scarcely conceive of actions not prompted by
interested and selfish motives, with the contemptuous bearing of
the attorney, and the intimations he had dropped, the partially
deceived, though justly punished heir arrived at the maddening
conclusion, that his father must have bequeathed the greatest portion of his property to others; and in all probability to the Hendee family, to whom, besides being his only near relatives now
left, his penitent and remorseful feelings would naturally direct
his mind. And in addition to this, he was not without strong
apprehensions, that his father had imparted to Vanderpool
the secret which was contained in the letter directed to Captain
Hendee, and which, in case the son of the latter was alive, would
greatly multiply the chances of loosing the other part of the
property, also. And no sooner had he become confirmed in these
conclusions, than he made up his mind in regard to the only
alternative which he believed was now left him for securing the
property. Accordingly, after making a few brief arrangements
with a neighbor for managing the farm, he started that very
night, and proceeded with all possible expedition to the New
Hampshire Grants, where we will endeavor to meet him in
another chapter.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               247
CHAPTER VIII.
" Oh! what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive."
AFTER a rapid journey by land, Sherwood arrived at his house
in the Grants, inauspiciously for his present object, on the very
evening on which his base and execrable manceuvres to cause
the dismissal of Warrington had been discovered by AMiss Hendee, in the manner we have described. And deeply intent on
carrying into execution his project of a union with her, whom he
supposed to be still the dupe of his machinations, believing this
now to be his only resource for securing the property, and being
determined to accomplish it, if possible, before the provisions of
his father's will should be made known, to lessen his chances of
success, he, early the next morning, repaired to her residence,
for the purpose of urging an immediate fulfilment of the engagement, which he now chose to claim as having for several years
existed between them. And from the well known wishes of the
father, on whom he counted for a strong ally, and the late acquiescent manner of the daughter, he had the fullest confidence that
he should be able to bring about his object with very little difficulty or delay. When he arrived, however, he soon saw indications which considerably lowered the tone of his assurance. In
the first place, he was not at all pleased to find, as he unexpectedly did, that Miss Reed had taken up her residence in the family,
believing that she, from the connection which he suspected she sustained with Selden, the friend of Warrington, would naturally exercise her influence against one of whom she had doubtless received
unfavorable impressions. And in addition to this, his quick eye
detected a change in the manner of Alma herself towards him,
which he fancied had reference to the subject of his present anxiety. And even in the demeanor of the father, he thought he
perceived a want of cordiality, which never before marked his
receptions. But notwithstanding all these discouraging appearances, he determined on persevering in his original purpose. And,
carefully abstaining from all mention of his father's death, he
early sought a private interview with Miss Hendee, who, with a




248            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
sort of business-like promptitude, and with the air of one who is
fully prepared for an eclaircissement, immediately assented to
his proposal.
" Mr. Sherwood has something particular to offer, I conclude?"
enquiringly said Alma, with a most freezing dignity of manner,
as soon as they were seated in a room by themselves.
" Why, you know, Alma, my attentions to you have ever been
particular," replied Sherwood, with what he intended for an
endearing smile.
"Enough so, certainly," was the equivocal response.
"Well, I am happy," rejoined the other, purposely construing
the remark in his own favor, " that you acquit me of any neglect
in my attentions to one who is so worthy of them, and one in
whom I have ever felt so deep an interest."
" You have manifested but little lack of interest in me, or my
concerns, I am free to acknowledge, sir," remarked Alma, in the
same equivocal manner.
"I hope I am not doubted in this respect," said Sherwood,
with the air of an arraigned school boy, attempting to put an
immaterial issue, in order to escape, or delay a blow, which he
sees the disposer of his fate is preparing to give him.
"0, not in the least, sir," replied Alma, in a tone and manner
still more ironical and significant than before; "for I have lately
received a sufficient proof of the interest you have taken in my
affairs, in the confessions of a certain tinker, whom you may
recollect having consulted on the subject, on a former occasion?"
"  Why - now - really! " stammered Sherwood, utterly disconcerted at this cutting allusion to a transaction which he supposed was known only to himself and the immediate actor in the
affair: " really, Miss Hendee, I have not the happiness of understanding your meaning."
" Would further disclosures be likely to increase your happiness
in that respect, sir? " asked Alma, coolly.
"I did not seek this interview, Miss Hendee," rejoined the
other, now recovering his assurance, " to listen to a recital of all
the slanders that may have happened to reach your ears; but I
sought it on more important business."
" I will hear your propositions, sir," said she, without deigning
any further reply.
"Why, surely, Alma," observed Sherwood, in an expostulating,
tone, " I know not how I have had the misfortune to offend you,
as from your manner, I fear I have. I had fondly anticipated a
different reception. I had at last arranged my business, so that




THE GREEN MIOUNTAIN BOYS.               249
I felt myself, for the first time since our intimacy, at liberty to
settle down in life; and, accordingly, I came to propose a consummation of the engagement, which has been so long settled
between us."
"I wonder, sir," said Alma, "you had not first made known
your intentions to my father, with whom the engagement you
claim to exist, was made, I believe. Perhaps you might meet
with better success in that quarter."
"You seem disposed to trifle with my feelings, Miss Hendee,"
rejoined Sherwood, growing restless. " I wish for a direct answer,
whether you will, or will not, fulfil your engagement with me."
"A direct answer, sir, then you shall have; and I will add, I
feel not a little grateful for being, for the first time since my
acquaintance with you, allowed the opportunity of giving one.
Mr. Sherwood, I shall never voluntarily unite my destinies with
yours."
" Surely you would not break a solemn engagement?"
"A passive acquiescence - a tacit consent, wrung from me by
the force of circumstances, is, as you well know, sir, all the
engagement that you can claim of me. And even that, your
conscience must tell you, you have long since forfeited by your
own conduct."
"Are you prepared, Miss, for the consequences which may
follow the step you seem determined on taking?"
"You do well, sir, I acknowledge, to remind me of that consideration," bitterly retorted the indignant maiden; " for I am aware
that it is no light matter to brave the revenge of one who could
instigate the assassination of a supposed rival."
Sherwood started as if stung by an adder, at the damning
truth of the allusion. His face became fairly livid with suppressed rage and chagrin, and biting his bloodless lips, he rose
and slunk out of the apartment, as would a demon from the
presence of some pure being from the skies, without uttering one
word in his own defence, or even lifting his eyes to the withering
countenance, which was bent upon him, with a look of mingled
pity, abhorrence, and contempt. Leaving the house, the discomfited villain immediately sought Captain Hendee in an adjoining
field, for the purpose of instigating the old gentleman to measures
of compulsion upon the refractory daughter, in furtherance of his
designs. But here, also, he was unexpectedly doomed to disappointment and defeat. Upon Alma's return to the house, after
the receipt of the communication exposing the baseness of Sherwood, she had sought an interview with her father, read him the




250            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
letter, frankly confessed her own feelings, and disclosed all she
knew, not only of the course and conduct of Sherwood, but also
that of Warrington, for a part of which she was indebted to her fair
companion, who in turn received it from her lover, Selden, the intimate of Warrington. And among the rest, she had made known to
the astonished father the magnanimous conduct of the latter in regard to his ownership of the land on which they resided, the circumstances of which she herself had never been apprised of till that
very evening. And although the old gentleman had listened to
her disclosures without uttering a single word in reply, from
which she could learn his opinions on the subject, her communications, nevertheless, had produced a deep impression on his mind
and i'eelings, that were now fluctuating back and forth, like contending currents of wind, when but a slight impulse is required
to turn them back in fury in a direction exactly the reverse from
that in which they commenced blowing.
" I little expected, Captain Hendee," said Sherwood, with the
air of an injured man, as he approached the other, "I little
expected, sir, when I arrived here, to have met with the reception
which I have just received from your daughter."
"Why, what's the matter, sir, - what's the matter? " replied
the Captain, with an air of indifference.
"The matter, sir? why, your daughter refuses to fulfil her
engagement to me, sir."
"Ah! what reasons did she give for that, sir?"
" No good reasons, sir. She has been listening to the tales of
slanderers - some enemy has been prejudicing her mind against
me, by falsehoods - utter falsehoods, sir!"
"Or has she not heard, rather, more truth about your manceuvres than you intended should have reached her ears? Come,
now, be honest, Jake, and tell me."
" Are you, too, in the league against me? - am I to understand
that you, too, justify her in this course, sir? " hastily demanded
Sherwood, nettled at the cool, indifferent manner of the other, as
much as at the blunt severity involved in his question. "I had
little expected this from you, sir! I should have supposed the
interest of your family would prompt you to a different course."
"Hinging on my obligations, are you, sir?" said the Captain,
turning fiercely on the other, with eyes flashing indignation.
"Look ye, Jake Sherwood, I have, from the very first, used all
reasonable exertions with my daughter, to reconcile her to this
match. And even more, I have done that, which, when I have
looked upon her fading face, and knew that she was martyring




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               251
her own heart to please me, has smitten my conscience for years.
And now I am resolved to leave her to make her own decisions,
unbiased by word of mine. And as to your threats, sir, all I
have to say is, go, and do your worst! Take all there is here to
yourself, if that will satisfy you; or go join the enemies of your
country, as I have long suspected you intended, and bring them
down upon us to murder and destroy, if you choose. But do n't
think to buy and bribe me to sell my own flesh and blood! And
do n't come here again, sir, with accusations against us, till you
can come with cleaner hands. Good morning, sir! "
So saying, the indignant old man unceremoniously turned his
back on his abashed and astonished guest, and hastily hobbled
off to his work; while the latter, after standing mute and motionless on the spot several minutes, and leering on the receding form
of the other, with the concentrated malice of a fiend in his looks,,
slowly turned away, muttering between his clenched teeth, " Revenge! revenge! I wonder if they will cheat me out of that too?"
Feeling, no desire of returning to the house, or again encountering any of its inmates, Sherwood now struck across the fields,
and directed his course towards Snake Mountain, at the particular
spot which we have before described as the encampment of the
Green Mountain Boys; but which was now occupied by another
and a far different company. To this place we will now take
the reader, preceding the baffled intriguer a short time, to take a
glance at the party there assembled.
Sherwood had secretly been in the interests of the Royalists
for nearly two years previous to this period of our story; and
more than a year before he had received a captain's commission,
with directions to raise a company in the New Hampshire Grants,
in which, he had represented to the British officers, with whom
he privately kept up a communication, were to be found many
faithful adherents of the Crown. And Darrow, through Sherwood's influence, had also been commissioned as Lieutenant of
the contemplated company. But with all that this pair of military worthies were able to effect, they never had found more than
about a half dozen men in this settlement, to whom they dared
to propose an enlistment into the kings service. These, with
about an equal number picked up within the borders of New
York, they had at length enrolled, and organized into a fragment
of a company, which, for the first time, had been called out a
few days previous to this time, with the view of cooperating with
the invading army of Burgoyne. About a dozen in all, they were
now encamped, on the ground formerly taken, as before men



252            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
tioned, by Warrington and his companions, and were waiting in
concealment, the approach of the British hordes, that were now
pouring down upon the devoted settlement from the north.
At the time we would introduce this group to the reader, Darrow had just arrived from the British camp, whither he had been
despatched by Sherwood, when the latter was on the point of
setting out on his recent visit to Albany. And having taken
some refreshment, the lieutenant was now sitting on a rough
bench, near the entrance of their shantee, enjoying a little repose
after the fatigues of his morning's march. He had fallen into a
doze, and appeared to be lost to all external objects; while the
men within, mostly morose, sullen looking fellows, were some of
them playing cards, some telling stories, and others talking over
the plans they had formed to revenge themselves upon certain
families in the settlement, against whom they entertained private
grudges, as soon as they should be let loose upon the inhabitants,
at present wholly unprotected by any military force within their
borders, and but little aware of the dangers that awaited them.
At this moment, Sherwood, having passed the line of sentries,
posted at intervals round the encampment, more to guard against
being seen and reported by the inhabitants, than any expected
attack, approached his sleeping subaltern, and tapped him lightly
on the shoulder. But the latter not awakening, the other grasped
his coat collar, and gave him a rough, impatient shake, at which
the sleeper, suddenly starting, leaped on his feet, and dashing
away the grasping hand of his superior, fiercely exclaimed,
" I'11 be d - ned, if you shall! You have come before your
time, be off! be off, I say!  Oh! ah!" he continued, rubbing
his eyes, and beginning to distinguish between the reality and
thy image that appeared to have been haunting his dreaming
fancy: "Why, Captain, it is only you after all, is it?  Well,
well, now! "
" Why, who did you suppose it was, Darrow, I should like to
know?"
" O, no matter, now, - I was in the middle of a cursed dream,
and thought a different character had waited on me to do a little
business in his line - though not so very different, perhaps. But
let the humbug go - what is the news?"
"Everything that is bad," replied Sherwood, morosely. "The
very devil himself, I would not have believed, could baffle me so
much in my plans, as I have been, since I saw you."
"Why, what now, Captain? you seem rather out of humor -
what has happened?"




TIlE GREEN 3MOUNTAIN BOYS.            253
"In the first place the old man is dead. He died the day
before I arrived."
"Well, what of that? He did not carry off his money with
him, did he?"
"No, but he got penitent before he went off, and wrote out a
confession of that old affair, in a letter to Hendee."
"And you let it reach him, hey?"
"Not so big a fool as you think. I gave it to the flames, before
it was read by any one but myself, I think."
"Very well, where are your great troubles, then?"
" Why'why " - replied Sherwood, hesitating to inform the
other, as he was about to do, the particulars about the will, and
the extent of his fears respecting the disposition of the property,
lest the minion might consider it for his interest to betray him to
the Hendees: "why, I did not think to name it," continued the
artful dissembler, deciding the question he had been debating in
his mind in the negative, "but, upon the whole, as you already
know so much about the affair, I think I will: - well, getting
home last night, I thought I would go down to Ilendee's this
morning; so I went, and soon found the devil to pay. That
sneaking tinker had been there, and confessed all, and the girl
fairly spurned me from her presence; while her father - curse
the old dotard! he, though owing me for half his living for years,
had the audacity to insult me — yes, insult me, Bill. But"and he nodded significantly.
"But what? "
I can help myself, Darrow."
" %Well, I would do it, Jake, without any more puttering with
the proud minx."
"I will. My plans are fixed. When did you return from
head-quarters?"
"Not two hours ago - I left them early this morning,."
"What is the news?"
"The whole army have moved on to the mouth of the Boquet,
where they are now encamped. A large body of Indians joined
them yesterday, and General Burgoyne distributed presents
among them, made a speech to fix them for fight, and wound off
by giving them a grand war-feast. Hell and thunder! what
whooping and yelling there was there last night! one would have
thought that all tophet had been emptied upon the earth, and that
the world was alive with devils!"
"Good! just the instruments for our purpose in punishing the
22




254            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
doubly damned rebels of this settlement. But did not the General send me any directions?"
" Yes," replied Darrow, taking a letter from his pocket, "he
sent you this, and also," he continued, stepping within the shantee
and bringing out a thick package of papers, " and also this bundle
of proclamations, to be immediately distributed over the settlement."
"Well, let us first see what the General has written me," said
Sherwood breaking the superb seal, and reading the contents of
the letter, a very fair specimen of the official fustian of its doughty
author, who, it may be recollected, was a fop in literature as well
as a braggart in arms. The communication ran thus: —
J. SHIERWOOD, ESQ., Captain of His Majesty's Loyal Americans
in the New Hampshire Grants,It is one of the felicities of soldiership, and of the gratifications
of a commander, to award the meed of approbation to fidelity in
a common cause, and fealty to a common sovereign..  This meed,
sir, I deem it no flattery to say is yours, speaking, as I do, from
personal acquaintance, and on the voucher of Colonel Beverly
Robinson, a Loyal American officer, of worth, and zeal, and
activity.
The army under my command will now in a day or two move
southwardly, mainly by water, but partly by land on either side
of the lake. To you, sir, and the brave and loyal men whom
you have, and may yet further induce to act with you, we look
for a hearty cooperation in all that can be effected on the eastern
shore, and, by the blessing of God, I will effect much, while we
proceed to the investiture, and consequent capture of Crown
Point, Ticonderoga, and all other opposing obstacles, on our victorious march to Albany. I send you by the bearer, Lieutenant
William Darrow, a package of proclamations, issued by me, and
signed by the same, and countersigned by Robert Kingston,
Esquire, Secretary.  They are addresses to the deluded and
suffering people of your settlement.  I anticipate great and
universal effect from this appeal, made irresistible, as it is, by
offers of royal mercy to the penitent, arguments of ineffable
potency to the deceived by rebel sophistry and falsehood, and
by the palpable shadowing forth of the sword of justice, in the
contingent action of our red allies, to the perverse and stubborn.
You will cause one of these, my proclamations, to be immediately
left at every cottage and hamlet, if possible, in the settlement -
to the protestations of which proclamation, together with such




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               2 s
pecuniary inducements as you may deem it expedient to offer
towards redeeming the land from the disgrace and ruinous
anarchy of an unnatural rebellion, and restoring a government
of laws, of honor, of legitimate and happy sovereignty, you will
add your own attestations.
With sentiments, believe me,
my very dear sir, of esteem,
J. BURGOY~NE.
"There! what think you of that, Bill?" exultingly exclaimed
Sherwood, as he concluded the perusal of the precious document.
"Is not that a handsome thing for a man, who stands so high at
the British court, to say to and of us?"
" Why, yes, Captain, what he means is well enough, I s'pose;
but if a British General had not writ it, I should have called
some of it nothing but damn flumididdle."
"Oh, it is a feather in our caps, Darrow, depend on't. Burgoyne is hand and glove with the king and ministers, besides
being a noted warrior. He will conquer all the northern colonies. The rebellion, indeed, is as good as crushed already. And
then the country will be divided off into lordships, and those,
who have been most active in subduing the rebels, will all receive
rich rewards out of their confiscated estates. Bright days are
before us, Bill. And while we are thus making our fortunes,
what a glorious chance to pay off old scores upon these rascally
settlers? You can safely act out nature now, Bill, with a vengeance. WVe will now have our revenge, and the beauty of it is,
that others must father our deeds, and pay us well into the bargain for what it is only a happiness to perform."
"What are your plans, Captain?"
" You, or I, must go, this very night, over to the British camp,
and get Burgoyne to let us have fifty red-skins to make up our
company. We shall want them soon, and perhaps I may, for the
first purpose."
" Damn it, Jake, you are too thirsty," said the minion, looking
keenly at the other, and comprehending the purpose of which he
spoke: " they are your own flesh and blood. You do n't mean
to let those red devils loose upon them, do you?'
" No; but leave me to take care of them. They need not be
harmed, but prisoners they shall be, till that haughty jade's
pride is brought to begging terms. And this is the first case,
Darrow, to be attended to."




25 6           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
"I am not quite sure but there is another case for you to
attend to, also, Jake."
" What is that?" asked Sherwood, turning to the other, with
a look of blended curiosity and apprehension.
" Why, perhaps it is all nothing but a notion, after all. But I
will tell you the wrinkle that's got into my head, and how it got
there.  In coming from head-quarters to-day, I ran my canoe
generally close in to the shore of the other side of the lake, and,
on arri-ving within about a mile of Crown Point, and about as
far, as I intended, before crossing over to this side, I took it into
my head I would go up into the woods, climb a tree, and try to
get a, peep into the fort, as the general asked me very particularly
about th1e number of the garrison there. Well, I went on a piece
into the woods, when I heard the steps of some one crossing my
course ahead, and taking his way to the fort; so I squatted down
in an old tree top, where I could remain unseen till he passed by.
His course brought him within a few rods of the spot where I
lay; and when nearly abreast of me, he mounted an old log, and,
without discovering me, took a sort of leisurely survey of the
woods around him, turning his face so as to give me a fair view
of his countenance- and   "
"Well, what more about it - who and what was he?"
" Why, though not in full uniform, I think he must be a young
rebel officer, who had been out with his gun for game. Though
he must have arrived at the fort quite lately."
"But who do you mistrust him to be?" asked Sherwood, with
evident uneasiness.
"That is the question that has been bothering my brains ever
since. Jake, do n't you think it possible for a man to wear about
the same face and look that he did when a boy, so that one, who
had never seen him from four or five years old, would know him
again when grown up?"
" Yes, barely possible; but what the devil are you coming to,
Bill?  What has that to do with this case?" demanded Sherwood, with an agitation which he was unable to conceal.
"MI ay be a good deal. There was something in this fellow's
looks that struck me, - that made me ready to swear I had seen
the same countenancebefore, though somehow, not just the same
neither. Well, he finally went on, and I, forgetting all about
spying into the fort, went back, and struck off for this side, this
fellow's countenance all the while haunting me, and working up a
devilish strange, streaked kind of feeling, that I can't very well
describe. Well, as I was crossing over, still bothering on the




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              257
subject, I happened to cast my eyes up the lake, when I caught
a glimpse of old Hendee's house through the trees; and, by
heavens! it came across my mind, like a flash of liglltning, who
the fellow must be."
"What mean you, Darrow?" exclaimed Sherwood, seizing
the arm of the other with a convulsive grasp, while his face
became as pale as ashes.
"I mean," replied Darrow, looking his agitated companion full
in the face, and speaking in a low, measured, and decisive tone,
"I mean, Jake Sherwood, that if Captain Hendee's boy lived, he
is now among us!"
Long and earnestly communed these worthies in conjectures,
about the person concerning whom Darrow had made, as he felt
confident he had, so startling a discovery. Who could he be?
By what name now known? Could he be aware of his own
family history?  Had he discovered his relations? were questions which were raised by them, but without finding any satisfactory answers. The two last questions, however, were at
length settled in the negative. And, after some further discussion, in regard to the best means of ascertaining more about the
private history of the unconscious object- of their deliberations,
and the most feasible way of disposing of him, if the information
gained rendered it probable he was the person they feared him
to be, they broke up their conference, Darrow retiring to rest,
and Sherwood, with two of his men, as attendants and oarsmen,
setting off for head-quarters, fifteen or twenty miles distant from
the tory encampment.
22*




258            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER IX.
"Sounds from the waters, sounds upon the earth,
Sounds in the air, of battle! Yet with these
A voice is mingling, whose deep tones give birth
To faith and courage."
THE storm of war which had been gathering for some weeks
in the north, almost unnoticed by the Americans, now began to
roll down upon their frontier settlements with a rapidity as
alarming as it was unexpected. Although the leaders of the
continental army were aware of the landing of a large British
force at Quebec, in the month of May, from which an invasion
was expected, either by way of Oswego, as had previously been
given out, or through the valley of lake Champlain; yet, counting on the same dilatory action, by which all the movements of
the enemy had been characterized ever since the battle of Bunker
Hill, they supposed it might be late in the summer before the
hostile army, should they take the eastern route, would reach the
military posts on Champlain. But whatever might have been
the errors of other British commanders in the respect just.
named, none of that kind certainly could be chargeable on General Burgoyne. The navigable waters of the north had scarcely
burst their wintry fetters before he landed at Montreal. And
in another week he was pouring the disciplined bands of his
proud and numerous army along the western shores of lake
Champlain. The American generals were, in a great measure,
taken by surprise by this rapid advance of the enemy, and having
delayed to strengthen their defences, they were but illy prepared
to meet the first shock of so powerful a force. And if those,
whose duty it was to make themselves early acquainted with the
enemy's movements had thus been kept in the dark respecting
the important one in question, still less, as may well be supposed,
were the inhabitants of the country apprised of the time and
extent of the coming invasion. The settlers of the New Hampshire Grants, who were directly in the route of the enemy, were




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               259
consequently almost wholly ignorant of the dangers that awaited
them till the storm was nearly ready to burst on their defenceless
heads. And their surprise, therefore, was only equalled by their
dismay, when the American scouts, who had been despatched to
gain intelligence of the reported invasion, returned and spread
the startling news, that a British army of ten thousand regulars,
with several thousand savage foes, was within a few miles of
their borders, ready to spread death and devastation over their
whole settlement.  This information, which many still hoped
might be false, or greatly exaggerated, was fully confirmed the
next morning after it was received by the scouts, by Burgoyne's
proclamations, which, through the activity of Sherwood's band of
tories, had been left during the night at the door of every house
through all the northern section of the country. This pompous
and gasconading document, however, with all its promises and
threats, had, notwithstanding its author's anticipations, no other
effect on the inhabitants than to bring them to the determination
of driving off their stock so far into the interior as to be out of
the reach of the enemy, and of commencing active preparations
for fleeing themselves before the invading army.
With these general observations on the situation of affairs at
this particular junction, we will now return to the Hendee family,
to follow their fortunes through the fearful trials which were now
shortly to await them.
It was not till night, after the signal failure of Sherwood at
the cottage, that Miss Hendee had an opportunity of ascertaining
what had passed between that personage and her father in their
recent interview. That evening Captain Hendee, on his return
from the labors of the day, entered the room where Alma happened at the moment to be sitting alone, and silently took a seat
at the open window. A frown was upon his brow. The uneasiness, which a man of high spirit might be expected to feel from a
sense of obligations to one he secretly despises, combined, in the
present instance, with the mean advantage taken of such obligations by Sherwood, had, all the afternoon, been operating upon
the old gentleman's irritable temperament; and he was now
evidently in no very pleasant frame of mind. At the first glance
his daughter detected in his countenance the unfailing indications
of a storm: but on whom it was to burst, she was unable to determine. From the circumstances attending the interview
between Sherwood and her father, she felt satisfied, that she, herself, had been the subject of their discourse; and although
extremely anxious to know the result of that conference, yet she




260           THE GREEN HOUNTAIN BOYS.
almost feared the knowledge she wished to obtain. And with
trembling solicitude, therefore, she awaited in silence the announcement, which she saw from her father's mood, would not
long be withheld. After sitting some minutes puffing away rapidly at his pipe, and knitting his brows, with an angry flashing
expression of countenance, he suddenly drew the implement from
his mouth, and by way of knocking out the ashes, gave it so
spiteful a rap on the window-sill as to shiver it to pieces in his
hand. Hastily dashing the broken fragments out of the window,
he turned abruptly to his daughter, and said,
"Alma, what did Jake Sherwood say to you to-day?"
" Why, many things, father, - would you wish me to repeat
all he said? "
" Yes. I do n't hold to prying into such matters, for a general
rule, but I have particular reasons for wishing to know now."
Still feeling uncertain on whom the resentment of her father
was about to fall, Alma, with some agitation, proceeded to detail
the conversation in question, giving the words used by Sherwood,
and the substance of her own replies.
" Threats to you, too, hey?" said the Captain, after listening
attentively to his daughter's relation of the affair. "Why did'nt
you drive the pitiful puppy from the house with your broomstick? "
" You astonish me, father! " replied Alma, looking up into the
face of the other with an expression of joyful surprise.
The old gentleman made no reply, but again relapsing into
moody silence, sat some time without uttering a word. At length
he brought his foot to the floor with an angry, decisive stamp -
and while the tears, which were brought to his eyes by his keenly
conflicting emotions, were glimmering on the quickly moving
lashes, he again turned suddenly to his expecting daughter and
asked,
"Alma, are you willing to become a slave?"
"For my own, and your support, I could cheerfully become
one, dear father. But a slave to a villain I can never be."
" Nobly said! spoken with the spirit of a Hendee! would to God
I was more worthy of such a daughter? " exclaimed the passionate
old man, choking with emotion: " come here, Alma, I have been
wrong, and you have been right, - come, come to me, my child,
forgive and kiss me."
In another instant the father and daughter were locked in
each other's arms, intermingling their tears, and giving themselves up to the gush of feelings which was overflowing their




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              261
hearts at this return of mutual love and confidence to their long
estranged and distrusting bosoms.
"I did not make any reply to you, Alma, when you laid open
to me the conduct of that base and intriguing villain," at length,
observed the Captain, releasing his daughter from his embrace,
and regaining his composure, though the other continued weeping.
"But it was not because I doubted the truth of what you told me,
or because I had it in my heart to try to restrain you any further.
It was because I felt self-condemned, guilty - guilty for what I
had already done in making war upon the happiness, and I know
not but upon the health, of my own, and only child. 0, do n't,
weep so - do n't, my dear daughter! Thank God, we have both
now cut the ties by which we were held in bondage, and are free.
The Sherwoods may have all; and we wont trouble them neither
to drive us off: we will leave this place, Alma, for the southern part
of the settlement. As old and infirm as I am, I can still work.
Our faithful Neshobee will also stick by us, and work as much as
an Indian will ever work, for you know the Indians are a lazy
race, and we must make allowance for him. But at all events,
as poorly as we may fare, our poverty will be happiness compared
to the slavery that Jake Sherwood would now impose on us if we
remained. Yes, Alma, we will go - that is if you are willing.
What say you, my daughter, are you ready to relinquish this
pleasant home, and go with me, penniless, indeed, but with the
proud and happy consciousness that we are free."
"0, yes, yes, indeed, my dear father," eagerly replied the
other, with a look of joy and gratitude, that beamed brightly
through her still fast falling tears; " and never could an eastern
slave leave his gilded fetters behind him with more pleasure than
I shall quit this place. Yes, yes; and, believe me, my father,
however hard my lot- however menial I had known would be
my employment for support, I have not seen an hour for the last
two long and joyless years, but my heart would have leaped to
hear you make such a proposal. And if such then were my
feelings, judge what must now be my pleasure to hear your
announcement."
The conversation was here interrupted by a light rap on the
door, and while the Captain and his daughter were pausing for a
repetition of the sound, uncertain whether it proceeded from some
one wishing for admittance, the door was partly opened by a man
without, and the queer visage of our old friend, Pete Jones, was
protruded with a comical, enquiring look, into the room.
"How are ye?" he said, after glancing from father to daugh.




26'2           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
ter a moment, with a half sheepish, half roguish expression, indieating his consciousness of having, on a former occasion, played
a little upon the credulity of the old gentleman, of which he felt
slightly ashamed, though still inwardly tickled at the recollection
of the trick: " how are ye, Captain? Sarvant, marm! "
" It is Mr. Jones of the army, father, the person who gave me
the news I imparted to you respecting the expected invasion,"
observed Miss Hendee, noticing that her father did not recognize
the scout.
" Ah! the tall gentleman that called here once - I recollect
- did you try my remedy - but no matter, now — walk in,
walk in, sir," said the Captain.
" Why, no, thankee," replied Jones, leaning his long body on
his arm, and swaying it to and fro, by the play of the door on its
hinges, as he grasped the handle, " I guess I'm rather too much
in a hurry about these times."
" You called on some errand, then? - to give us some news,
perhaps? " rejoined the Captain, expectingly.
" Why, yes - that is, if you would like to hear it - that is, if
you han't heard it already."
"Speak on, sir."
" Well, I thought I'd just pop in my countenance, as I came
along back, to see, that in case the devil was at your heels,
whether you would like to know it? "
" You speak in riddles - how shall I understand you, sir?"
" Well, I an't particular, how."
" You said the devil? "
"Yes, and his name is Legion. Why, to be plain about it,
Captain, a British army of ten thousand, with as many red skins
as one would wish to see, will most likely be here before to-morrow night."
"You astonish me, sir! Has any news of this reached the
other settlers in this quarter? "
" I have just sent a brother scout up the road here, to tell them
they may as well be driving off their cattle, and jogging along
south themselves in course of to-morrow. I just come from the
fort over here, and they've pretty much concluded to pack up
there, and be off for Old Ti to-night; so the red coats and
Indians will have full play along the shores till they get to Ti,
where there will be something of a brush, likely."
" You would advise us women and cripples, then, to beat a
retreat, would you?"




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               263
"Why, yes, that's rather my notion, considering. Though
Burgoyne says - have n't you seen his proclamation?"
A No."
"Well, you will soon I guess. The tories have scattered'em
as thick as bumblebees along north of here. Burgoyne says, as
nigh as I can English the high-flown concern, " stay at home, sell
him your cattle, and he will protect you. But if you budge an
inch, he will let loose the red skins to act at their pleasure upon
you. And what that will be, you know as well as any man, they
say, Captain."
"Yes, I know enough of their tender mercies. And I know
also that Burgoyne, whatever he may promise, can no more restrain the hell-hounds, after he has once let them fiom their slips,
than he can crupper the whirlwinds. 5Montcalm tried that experiment, on that dreadful day of blood and horror, at Fort William Henry - at least, I think he tried to avert the catastrophe:
for Montcalm, though an enemy that troubled us much, was yet
a brave man; and as a general rule, my friend, you will never
find a truly brave man either cruel or treacherous. The great
sin is in employing the Indians. And this circumstance will do
much, in the present case, to hasten the destruction of Burgoyne.
Even the dead, almost, will rise up to bear arms against him.
All New England in a week, will be in motion. In another week
as he passes along up the lake, they will be hanging like an
angry thunder cloud on his flank.' And, mark my word, sir, this
General will find, before he reaches Albany, that neither his numbers nor his proclamations will save him."
"The Lord grant you may prove a true prophet; and I think,
upon the whole, you will. Howsomever, Captain, it will be considerable of a chore to bring it all to pass. And while we are
fixing for it, I rather guess you, along the northern parts here,
may as well make yourselves scarce a little."
"We intend it, sir. Indeed, as regards my family, we had
already determined on a removal soon. And now we shall follow your advice immediately, with many thanks to you for
calling. Let me see - our first move shall be for Rutland, where
we can probably safely remain a few days, to conclude on a place
for a more permanent residence."
"Will you, sir," said Miss Hendee, with a slight blush, as she
perceived the scout was about to depart, " will you apprise our
friends in the army of the destination we think of taking? "
" Will you take this, sir, to the person to whom it is addressed?"
said Miss Reed, who, during the latter part of the conver



264            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
sation, had been nimbly plying her fingers over the blank leaf of
a little volume which she had been reading in an adjoining apartment, when the scout's voice and anticipated errand brouflght her
into the room. "You see, Alma, I am not afraid to write to my
beau; now I will leave it to the Captain to say, who is the
bravest? " she added, turning to the latter with an expression in
which roguish defiance, and fear of disapprobation, were queerly
blended.
" Ah, girls," said the Captain in reply, after a moment's hesitation, which seemed to end in a conclusion to treat the matter
good naturedly, " you may be setting your caps for men that will
be swinging on the gallows in three months: for you know, in
attempted revolutions, men are only patriots and heroes when
they succeed, and are but rebels and traitors when they do n't."
"We prefer, however," replied Alma, with spirit, " to set our
caps for men who may be hung on that principle, rather than for
those who should be hung on every other."
"Is not there a law, Captain Hendee," asked Jessy, archly
"that a man may be pardoned on the gallows, if a lady can be
found who will step up and marry him on the spot? "
*" Why, I have heard, such stories," replied the Captain, laughing, "' but supposing there was such a provision, in this country,
you little quiz?"
"Why, in that case," replied Jessy, casting a roguish look at
Alma, " I think there are certain officers in our army who need
not be under any great apprehensions of being hung at present."
" Now, that is what I call grit," observed Jones, who had been
looking on the two beautiful and spirited creatures before him,
with an admiration equalled only by his surprise. " The Colonel
and Captain know considerable well what they have been about,
after all, I see. Well, I must be jogging, I guess; Captain, so
good nighty. And you, gals, may the Lord bless ye, and keep
you steadfast in your resolution! If I had a hogshead of blood, it
should all be shed for ye, and the like of ye. Trol, lol, lol, lol de
larly!"
During that night and the following day, all was bustle and
commotion throughout the northern part of the settlement. " To
arms! to arms! " resounded in every direction. And nearly all
the able bodied men, promptly responding to the call of General
Schuyler, whose expresses were seen furiously dashing along the
roads to rally the hitherto slumbering settlement, seized their
rifles or muskets and hastened off to join their countrymen in
arms, leaving the old men, invalids and boys, to take charge of




THE GREEN 3OUNTAIN BOYS.                 26O
their families, in removing from the scene of danger. The stock
was collected in droves, marked with the initials of the owner's
name and started off for the south; while the inhabitants, taking
with them all the articles of value, which their respective modes
of travelling would permit, collected in small companies, and soon
followed.  The party whose destinies more immediately concern
our story, consisting of Captain Hendee, Neshobee, the two young
ladies, and their respective female domestics, in the course of the
day, bade adieu to their pleasant cottage, and mingled in the
general flight, which, by night fall, brought them in safety to the
house of a hospitable friend, nearly twenty miles distant from
the home, to which, as they supposed, they were never more to
return.
CHAPTER X.
-" Not all so much for love
As for another secret close intent,
By marrying her, which I must reach unto,
But yet I run before my horse to market;
Clarence still breathes: Edward still lives, and,
When these are gone, then must I count my gains."
SEVERAL unforseen circumstances connected with the removal
of their effects, together with the impression that they were now
so far south as to be in no very immediate danger from any incursions of the enemy, having induced our party to accept the
invitation of their kind entertainer to remain a few days at his
abode, nearly a week had unfortunately been suffered to elapse
without-resuming their journey.  Aroused, however, at length,
by the news that Burgoyne had reached Ticonderoga, and closely
invested the fortress, while a party of tories and Indians were
ravaging the country to the north of them, both the families
of Captain Hendee and his host, determined on an instant
departure for a place of more safety. Accordingly, with a few
hasty preparations, they started in their respective carriages,
about the middle of the afternoon for Castleton, which they were
23




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOTS.
inder the expectation of being enabled to reach by day-light,
The day being excessively sultry, Captain Hendee, after travelLing, awhile at rather a brisk pace, checked his horses, and suffered
them to fall into a moderate walk, during which the other party,
who were in advance, and who seemed less disposed to slacken their
speed, passed entirely out'of sight, and soon became widely separated from their more tardy fellow travellers. When our party
had proceeded several miles in this leisurely manner, and while
the Captain, to use a quaint and somewhat curious expression of
the poet Parnell, was " deceiving the road," by the relation of one
of his old war stories, they were met by a stout built, though an
ordinary looking, and slovenly dressed man on horseback, who,
after closely scrutinizing the company a moment, stopped his
horse, indicating, at the same time by his looks and gestures, a
wish that the others should stop also. Supposing the stranger
was desirous of making some enquiries, Captain Hendee instantly
pulled up his horses, and sat waiting, with an air of expectation,
for the man to proceed with what he might have to propose.
"I was thinking what your name mought be, Mister," at lengthl
began the horseman, with a bold, saucy air. " It kinder seems
to me I have seen you somewhere or other."
" Very possible, sir," replied the Captain, in a manner sufficiently.ool and repulsive, as he thought, to check the intrusive familiarity
of the other.
"'Well, I knoved I had," rejoined the stranger, not at all
abashed by the coolness with which his advances had been met,
" and yet I do n't know as I can quite call you by name."
" My name is Hendee, sir."
" Ah! O, yes; - you live down there against Crown Point?"
" Yes; or at least we did till within a few days. But how
happens it, that you are going to a part, which, at this time, the
settlers are so generally deserting?"
"Why an't it safe travelling that way?"
"It would be for some, doubtless," replied the Captain significantly.
"  Well, I spose you've hearn of me," observed the stranger,
evidently disconcerted at the suspicions which he perceived were
beginning to be entertained of him, " my name is David Remington. You are acquainted in Castleton, an't you?"
"Yes, with several individuals in that town."
"Well, that's where I live, when I'm to home. Do you know
lMr. Woodward there?"
"I do, sir."




THE GREEN MIOUNTAIN BOYS.                  267
"I want to know?  WVell, now, he is one of my near neighbors.  Here's a paper he gin me'tother day.  Jest read it,
will ye?"
Captain HIendee, with an air of curiosity, not unmingled, however, with surprise, at an offer so gratuitously made to an entire
stranger, took the paper, which the other now extended to him,
and read as follows:" This may certify that David Remington, the bearer hereof,
is thought to be a true friend to the States of America.
JOSEPH  WOODWARD, Com. of Safety.*
Castleton, June 2d, 1777."
"This appears to be genuine, and should be sufficient,"
remarked the Captain musingly, as he handed back the paper.
" Have they received any news at Castleton within a day or two,
sir?" he added, with more freedom  of manner than he had
before exhibited towards the other.
"News? - from where? "
"From our forces at Ticonderoga, I mean, of course,"
"Oh, yes, I s'pose so - why, I came from  there myself, last
night."
" Indeed, sir?  Well, what is the prospect of St. Clair's being
able to cope with the enemy, so as to put a stop to their progress
at that place?"
" Cope! hum! He will be lucky if he do n't get coped himself, I guess."
"What, sir?  The garrison are in no danger of being taken
themselves, surely?"
"W ell, sir, I do n't pretend to know nothing about it; but I
should n't be surprised if the folks about here heard news, within
twenty-four hours, that made'em stare."
"Impossible! But what is the situation of affairs there, that
leads you to this conclusion?"
* A literal copy of the original certificate, lodged in the public archives of
Vermont, and accompanied by another from the noted tory, Colonel Philip
Skene, certifying that Remington had taken the oath of allegiance, and was a
true Royalist. These papers. together with a receipt signed by " J. Sherwood, Captain," for two heifers procured for the British, by Remington, all
dated about the same time, are supposed to have been found on the person of
this or other tories, when subsequently slain or taken prisoners.




268             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
"Why, sir, the situation is, that General Red HIazle,* with his
Jarman brigade, has got possession on this side of the lake, up
as far as East Creek, where he is now posted; while General
Burgoyne has entirely enclosed the fort on t'other side. And
what is still more, he has cut out a road, and drawn up a whole
slew of cannon clean to the top of Mount Defiance, which he will
have all mounted, and ready to pour hell and thunder down on'em in the fort before they dream of it.
" Is it possible that St. Clair can have suffered Burgoyne to
get possession of that commanding spot for such a purpose!"
exclaimed the Captain.  "I knew," he continued, that most of
our officers in the old war used to consider that mountain inaccessible with artillery. I, however, always thought differently, and
agreed, in this respect, with Major Putnam, who, I well remember, suggested the project of getting cannon up this eminence to
General Howe, as our army was approaching the fort the day
previous to the battle, which cost poor Howe his life. And had
that gallant young nobleman, who was the only lord of common
sense whom the British ever sent to America, been spared, the
thing would have been done, and we should have taken the fortress, instead of drawing off our army without effecting anything.
But, as I said, is it possible that St. Clair can have permitted this
in an army approaching from the north, and wholly unacquainted
with the surrounding localities?"
"It is true, any how; and if they do n't find themselves in a
pickle, there in the fort, by to-morrow morning, I lose my guess,"
replied the other, with a satisfaction which he was unable wholly
to conceal.
After a few apparently careless enquiries respecting the destination of our travellers, and their expectations of reaching it,
Remington seemed suddenly to become convinced that it would
not be prudent to proceed any further in the land-looking excursion, which he stated was his business to the north, and announced
his intention of immediately returning.  Accordingly, wheeling
round his horse, and bidding the company good day, with the
remark, that he should probably ride rather faster than their
team would travel, he rode off at a moderate trot, till the intervening, bushes at the first turn of the road screened him, as he
* From original papers, still preserved, written by those whose spelling was
evidently guided solely by the common pronunciation of words, it appears
that Gen. Reidesel went, to a considerable extent, at least, by the name of
Red Hazle.




TIIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.             269
supposed, from the sight of those he had just left, when he ap.
plied his whip, and dashed forward at fulll speed.
" What opinion did you form of that man, father?" asked
Miss Hendee, after they had ridden some distance in silence.
" Why, but for the certificate of so true and vigilant a friend
to the cause as Woodward, who undoubtedly signed it, I should
certainly have had strong suspicions that the fellow was some
designing tory," answered the Captain, indirectly, and with the
tone of one still doubting over evidence which he could not
reject, nor yet receive as wholly conclusive.
" I know not," rejoined the other, " that I can give any good
reasons for my impressions; but there was a certain something
about the man, which, from the first, struck me unfavorably.
And is it not possible, that he may be secretly in the interest of
the enemy, notwithstanding his certificate, which, without being
asked, he was so ready to show?"
"I noticed his readiness to show the paper," again replied the
Captain, without any direct answer to his daughter's question.
"And it also occurred to me that he appeared to be far better
acquainted with the movements of the British, than with those
of our own army."
" And did not you think, Captain Hendee," observed Miss
Reed, "that he betrayed a secret pleasure, when relating the
perilous situation in which he stated the American forces to be
placed?"
" I do n't know that I noticed that in particular," said the Captain; "but if he be a tory, and has told us the truth, I fear he
has too much reason to rejoice. I cannot think, however, that
St. Clair will fail to keep open a way for retreat, so that the garrison shall not be taken in any event."
" Here, Neshobee," said Alma, as the Indian, who had travelled mostly on foot, keeping generally a few rods in advance of
the horses, now fell back to the side of the carriage; "you have
sometimes shown yourself a shrewd guesser; and we will have
your opinion in this case. What did you think of the man'ather was talking with just now?"
" Me guess him have two tongue - mean something no good,"
replied the native, in his usual quiet manner. Him no think me
see him through the bush, when him ride away slow -then look
sack for find out we see him, then whip - off a gallop! "
" So much the better," remarked Jessy, "for the faster he
goes, the further he will get from us."
23*




270            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
"Neshobee, perhaps, would draw a different inference," said
the Captain.
" Why should he, father?" asked Alma.
But the other, not willing to alarm the ladies by naming his
secret apprehensions, which, after all, might prove groundless,
made only some evasive, or indifferent reply, and became silent.
" He can have no immediate communication with the tories and
Indians, by going in that direction," resumed Alma. "They, if
we were rightly informed, are still far behind us."
" They were behind us," observed Captain Hendee, relapsing
into silence, in which his example was soon imitated by the rest
of the company, all of whom seemed oppressed by that undefined
sense of impending danger, which is sometimes felt without the
inclination, - on account of conscious inability, perhaps, - of
communicating it to others.
"It was now drawing towards sunset; and our party had yet
nearly ten miles to travel before reaching their proposed destination for the night.  They had been, for some miles, passing
through a dark, continuous forest, whose unvaried gloom soon
began to be increased by the shades, which, before the usual
hour, were slowly stealing over the wilderness, in consequence of
the broad and deepening masses of vapor now gathering along
the western horizon. And presently, the low, deep rumbling of
distant thunder, heralding an approaching shower, reached the
ears of the company, and increased their anxiety to gain some
opening, at least, before storm and darkness, to say nothing of
their secret apprehensions of more terrible foes, should overtake
them. Casting an uneasy glance at the lurid and threatening
aspect of the heavens, Captain Hendee applied the whip, and
was urging on his horses to renewed efforts of speed, when his
arm was suddenly seized by the convulsive grasp of his
daughter.
" Stop! stop! father!" she exclaimed, in a low, hurried tone,
"look at Neshobee! There is danger near us."
All eyes were at once directed towards the Indian, who was
now about a dozen rods in front of the carriage. He had turned
round, and, with quick and eager gestures, was motioning them
to halt. Instantly reining up the horses, and bringing them to
a stand, the Captain, with the rest of the company, continued,
with intense interest and alarm, silently to watch the motions
of the native, who seemed to be still in considerable doubt, either
of the nature of the apprehended danger, or of the exact point
from which it was to proceed. After standing a short time, how



THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                271
ever, in the attitude of listening, slowly turning his head, as his
eyes were keenly searching the woods around him, he hastily
started back, and, pointing to a dark thicket nearly abreast of the
carriage, leaped nimbly behind a tree, and seemed awaiting
some expected result. The next moment the shrill, quavering
sounds of the terrific war-whoop, issuing from the coverts in
every direction, announced to the appalled travellers the fearful
character of the foe by which they were surrounded. And in
another instant, a score of painted savages leaped from the
bushes, and, menacingly brandishing their tomahawks aloft,
closely invested the carriage.  Knowing it would be utterly
useless to attempt any resistance, the old veteran put up the
pistols, which he had drawn out on the first alarm, and, while the
shuddering females, with a terrified glance at the frightful group
around them, were burying their faces in their hands, very coolly
proceeded by signs, and such phrases as he supposed might be
understood, to signify to his assailants that he yielded himself and
family as prisoners. The captors, having ordered out their prisoners into the road, immediately fell to work with their knives, in
cutting the harness from the horses, each of which, when released,
was mounted by one of the enemy, and ridden off into the woods;
while the carriage was run into the nearest thicket and concealed.
The prisoners, including Neshobee, who, in attempting to escape,
had been seized and brought in, were then placed in Indian file,
alternately with a sufficient number of their captors to guard the
whole, and marched out of the road the same way in which their
horses had been previously taken, which soon brought the company
into an old, overgrown path, leading through the forest in a westerly direction. In this manner our party were urged forward at a
rapid pace for nearly an hour, during which, not a word was uttered
by either captors or captured, with the exception of Captain Hendee, whose irritable temper occasionally broke out in a half-suppressed anathema, as he jarred a rheumatic limb, while hobbling
along the rough and frequently obstructed path.  At length, to
the great and unexpected joy of the wearied captives, the cheering light of an opening broke upon their view, affording hope that
the fatigues, under which they were nearly ready to sink, were
now to be terminated for the night; and that they were to be
favored with quarters in some kind of a house, instead of an
unsheltered bed of earth in the wilderness, as they had anticipated. The opening, consisting of thirty or forty acres of land,
and containing two small log tenements, with a barn of similar
construction attached to one of them, was situated along the




272            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
margin of a picturesque pond, embedded in a forest of majestic
pines. On entering the clearing, Captain Hendee instantly perceived from appearances about the cabins, that they had reached
the head quarters of the gang, who, as he rightly concluded, had
taken possession of the place since its desertion by the inhabitants. His horses, that had arrived before him, had been turned
out, and were now quietly grazing in the field; while a large
number of the enemy, nearly equalling that of the party who had
been engaged in the capture, were scattered about the place,
some bathing in the pond, some fishing, some pitching quoits, and
others lounging about the buildings. As he approached this portion of the enemy, the Captain soon noticed a difference in the
appearance of many of them, as contrasted with that of' such of
his captors as had come under his inspection, which, with his acquaintance with the peculiar motions and demeanor of the natives,
immediately led him to suspect that a considerable part of the
band, though painted and habited like Indians, were white men
in disguise. And he now readily understood that he was indebted
for his present misfortune to the traitor, Remington, who, being
secretly connected with this band of Indians and tories, had
doubtless been employed by them to bring intelligence of the
approach of such families as should be passing along the road;
though why his own family should have been thus particularly
marked for capture, while others were suffered to escape, it did
not at that time occur to him.
When our party, with their captors, arrived at the first cabin,
which they reached about dark, they were halted at the door,
while a consultation was held at some distance aloof between two
or three, who appeared to have the control of the band; after
which, one of them came forward, and, having first caused Neshobee to be taken to the barn, motioned to the rest of the prisoners,
except Miss Hendee, who stood in the rear, to enter the house.
Perceiving it was intended to separate her from her friends, the
alarmed maiden suddenly darted by her immediate keepers, and
attempted to reach the door at which her father at that moment
was entering. A rough hand, however, was instantly extended,
and, grasping her arm, rudely pulled her back.
"Kill me, if you will," she exclaimed, " kill me, but let me die
with my friends."
" Prisoners can't always be choosers, my proud one," said the
apparent savage in good English.
"It is Darrow! " said Alma, with blanching features, and with
a look of alarm, which the brandished tomahawk of the Indiau




TIIE GREEN MIOUNTAIN BOYS.             272
had failed to call forth. "I see it all, and know the design.
Death I fear not; but such a fate! - Oh! as you value the
innocence and eternal peace of your daughter, protect rue, my
father."
Comprehending the meaning of his daughter, and appreciating
all her apprehensions, even before she had done speaking, the
maddened father hastily drew a pistol from his pocket, and discharged it full at the head of Darrow. The bullet grazed the
temple of the astounded ruffian, and his locks were slightly singed
by the burning powder; but he escaped with no other injury.
Recovering from the shock of the explosion, he hurriedly pulled
out one of the heavy pistols which hung in his belt, raised it to
the breast of his unflinching opponent, and, with the look of a
fiend, was in the act of taking deliberate aim, when the heroic
girl, who was the innocent cause of the strife, suddenly threw
herself between her father and the weapon levelled for his
destruction. After holding the deadly implement in the same
threatening position nearly a minute, as if deliberating whether
he would send the bullet through both father and daughter, for
the sake of wreaking his vengeance on the former, the baulked
villain with an angry movement thrust the pistol into its place,
and turning to his men, fiercely exclaimed,
" Seize the damned old dotard! Secure him, and let him wait
for my revenge till I have disposed of this silly jade. She will
soon find out, I guess, what she has gained by the rumpus," he
added, again grasping the arm of his recoiling victim, and, regardless of her shrieks, roughly dragging her off to the other cabin;
while, in obedience to his orders, his painted minions proceeded,
with demoniac glee, to bind the old gentleman, and thrust him
with the rest of the prisoners into the house. With the assistance of his men, several of whom he ordered to attend him,
Darrow soon succeeded in forcing his half senseless victim to the
other cabin, situated on the shore of the pond, near the western
extremity of the clearing; when, opening the door, he gave her a
spiteful push, which sent her reeling through the entrance, at the
same time gruffly exclaiming,
"There, madam! there are your quarters for the present. And
let me just inform your ladyship, that the less fuss you make
about the matter the better it will be for you."
With this he drew the door to, and, after posting a guard round
the house, returned to the main body of his band, who were now
assembled round the first mentioned house; busily engaged in
cooking their suppers in the open air, or patching up the leaky




274            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
roof of the log barn, to protect those from the threatened storm,
who should be compelled to take quarters in it in consequence
of the arrangement, which the leaders had seen fit to make, of
placing the prisoners in separate houses.
After being left alone, Miss Hendee made an effort to regain
her composure. And having succeeded in a good degree, she
proceeded, by the dim twilight yet remaining, to examine the
interior of the house, containing but a single room on the ground
floor. Three or four old chairs, a rough pine table, and a straw
bed laid upon a rudely constructed bedstead, with a couple of
coarse blankets for covering, constituted all the visible furniture
of the cabin. With these observations, she seated herself in a
chair, and endeavored to think coolly on the novel and alarming
situation in which she now found herself placed. From Sherwood's known connection with Darrow, the apparent leader of the
present band, she had but little doubt that the former was in fact
the commander of these marauders, or at least the instigator of
the seizure of herself and family. And in either case, she was at
no loss to understand that the possession of her person was the
main, if not the only object, of the present capture. Nor did she
doubt, for similar reasons, that Sherwood must be near, - probably already on the ground. And from the circumstance of her
being separated from her friends, and confined alone, she felt but
too fearfully certain that a fate was in reserve for her, on which,
at the best she could hope for, she shuddered to think. After she
had remained in this situation awhile, listening to every movement from without, and starting at the sound of every footstep,
lest it prove the herald of a visit from Sherwood, which she now
every moment expected would be paid her, and to which she
looked forward with a dread, that the anticipated presence of no
other foe could impart, the door was thrown open, and a man unceremoniously entered. She hastily rose from her seat and threw
a look of alarm towards the intruder. A second glance, however,
told her that he was not the dreaded visitor, but only one of the
disguised tories come to bring her lights and refreshment. Placing
the torch which he bore in the chimney, the man silently advanced,
and set a trencher of coarse food on the table; after which he
turned, and departed, neither questioning nor questioned. Feeling no inclination to taste the food, the hapless girl resumed her
seat, and again gave herself up to the distressing thoughts, which
her situation was so well calculated to inspire. The last gleams
of twilight had no* faded away, and night had fallen upon the
earth with almost Egyptian darkness. There was a low, rushing




THE GREEN MIOUNTAIN BOYS.              275
sound anroad, betokening an approaching conflict of the elements.
The attention of Alma being arrested by these renewed indications of the storm, which, for several hours, appeared to have
been slowly concentrating its forces in the distance, she arose and
went to a narrow window, that opened upon the dark waters of
the forest-girt pond. The ominous sounds before heard had given
place to the more audible murmurs of the troubled air, which in
fitful and variant undulations, now moaned dismally along the
ground, and now piped, in brief and broken strains of melancholy
music, among the tops of the neighboring pines. Large, black
masses of jagged clouds were hurrying through the heavens,
which were occasionally made visible by slight, quivering flashes
of the electric fires, partially disclosing the broad outlines of the
convolving vapor above, and dimly lighting up the dark landscape of wilds and waters beneath.  While the maiden was
loolking abroad upon this scene of gloomy magnificence, which
seemed strangely to harmonize with the kindred gloom of her
own sad and desolate bosom, a bright, but far off flash gleamed
fiercely athwart her vision. Turning her eyes to the quarter
whence it proceeded, she beheld a distinct, attenuated, and ribbonlike flame approaching from a distant part of the horizon, and
describing in its apparently slow, and crinkling movement, as it
came, an arch of fearful splendor across the illuminated heavens.
The next instant it fell upon the top of a towering dry pine,
standing on the opposite shore of the pond, and hurled the blazing fragments of its giant trunk in every direction over the
woods, and far into the hissing and bubbling waters around. A
single stunning report followed, and all without was again dark
and silent.  Recoiling at the shock of the deafening concussion,
and almost blinded by the intensity of the flash, the astounded girl
turned suddenly fromn the window, and attempted to grope her
way back to her seat. Before reaching it, however, a slight noise
within the room arrested her steps. Pressing her hand upon her
eyes an instant to enable her to discern the objects in the dimly
lighted apartment, she sent an apprehensive glance towards the
door, when, to her unspeakable dismay, she encountered the
basilisk eyes of Sherwood, who was quietly standing within the
entrance, and looking upon her with an expression, in which
guilt, effrontery, and triumph, were singularly blended.
"Leave me!" she exclaimed, as the other now began to
advance towards her; "leave me, sir!" she repeated with all the
firmness and decision of manner she could command, while she
gradually retreated to the opposite side of the room.




276            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
" Why should I leave you, captious girl," he responded in hig
usual and affectedly meek and plausible manner, " why should I
leave you, or you desire it, when I am the only friend to whom
you, or your family, can look for intercession with those into
whose power you have fallen? Having heard of your misfortune, I hastened immediately to the spot, and have but this moment arrived."
" Base dissembler i" said Alma, with an indignation which, for
the instant seemed to overpower every other feeling, " will you
pretend, sir, that these are not all your doings?"
"  hy - why, I admit," he replied, considerably disconcerted
at the question and pointed manner of the other, which led him
to suppose that she had by some means received a much more
certain knowledge of his connection with the band than she really
had; "I admit that these men belong to a company which I have
a commission to command. But I protest, I have had nothing to
do with your capture. And why should you always be imputing
to me the worst motives for every action I may perform? Here,
now, I come to befriend and save you; and you receive me only
with insults! "
" I will put the sincerity of your professions to the test, sir,"
promptly rejoined the other. " If you really came to befriend me,
and have the power, as you admit, let me go instantly to my father
and friends."' Why the time has arrived, it strikes me, when I am under
no very particular necessity of being further dictated," sneeringly
replied the villain, now throwing off the mask, which he perceived was serving him but little purpose. "I have a certain
condition to propose, and when you comply with that, neither you
nor your family are longer prisoners."
The heart of the wretched girl sunk within her, but she made
no reply.
" You have not forgotten, probably," resumed the other, " our
late interview, when I proposed the fulfilment of a long settled
engagement? - Well, if you have, I have not, nor the manner in
which my overtures were then treated. But notwithstanding all
the scorn and abuse I have received both from you and your
father, I still feel disposed to allow you a chance to fulfil that
engagement, which, as a prisoner, and in my power, is more than
you could reasonably expect. I am still willing to make you my
legal wife; but it must be done on the spot. I have a clergyman
within call to perform the ceremony. Will you consent?"
"Never!" replied the indignant and yet unconquered girl.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              277
" What! consent under such circumstances -under the menaces
here held forth, and the feelings here exhibited? —I would as
soon unite myself to a fiend! consent to such a mockery, intended
only to disguise violence and outrage, under the sacred rite of
marriage?  Never!  While death can be my alternative, 0,
never!"
" But supposing death cannot be your alternative, you foolish
girl?" said the miscreant suitor in a taunting tone: "You will
do well, perhaps, to bear in mind that your person is already in
my power; and that I am the one to name your alternative.
And I shall name one, too, in which I shall be likely to dispense
with the services of the parson."
"Monster!" exclaimed the aroused maiden, with an energy
which insulted virtue alone could have excited, "begone with
your polluting presence, lest the thunders of Heaven, which are
now angrily rolling over our heads, strike you to the earth in
vengeance for your meditated villanies!
With all the innate baseness and disguised effrontery of his
nature, Sherwood could not help quailing under the withering
scorn and almost unearthly majesty which accompanied this bold
rebuke; and unable to summon the hardihood to proceed any
further at present, he turned towards the door, muttering as he
went,
"Well, we will soon see who is to be balked this time! Two
hours," he added, pausing at the threshhold and looking back,
without, however, venturing to raise his eyes to the face of the
other, who still stood fearlessly confronting him, —" just two
hours shall be allowed you to conclude which of the two alternatives you will embrace, and in making up your mind, you may as
well take into consideration, that your father attempted the life of
my lieutenant, who will require such an inducement as I alone
can offer him, to make him relinquish his purpose of revenge."
After the first glad and grateful sensations of relief, which
came over the feelings of our heroine on being freed from the
dreadful presence of her relentless persecutor, had passed away,
all the moral energy, that had sustained her through her fearful
trial, forsook her, while, with it, her overstrained nerves, which so
powerful an excitement had braced for the exigency, gave
way; and weak, exhausted, and despairing, she tottered across
the room and throwing herself upon the miserable pallet, yielded
herself up, for a while, to the dread certainties of a fate, which
now even ever-flattering hope could suggest no way of escaping.
For her family she felt no great apprehensions of any fate much
24




278            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
more severe than that which usually falls to the lot of ordinary
prisoners; since the present contest, as she was aware, had so
far been conducted, wherever the Indians had been employed, on
altogether different principles from the, preceding wars in this
country. And contenting themselves with plunder, the savages
had generally, on making prisoners, delivered them over unharmed to their white allies, when such only as had been found in
arms were retained, while the rest, especially females and the
young and aged, were soon dismissed for their homes. Nor
could she believe that either Darrow or Sherwood really intended,
as they had threatened, to make her father an exception for
an act, which, however hasty it might have been, had resulted in
no injury. But all these considerations could, in her present
peculiar situation, be of no avail to herself. An immediate escape,
or some sudden rescue, were apparently the only means of snatching her from the impending doom. And yet how were either of
these to be effected? Any attempt to get from the house,
guarded as it was by posted sentries,the sound of whose footsteps
frequently reached her ear, she knew would be utterly useless.
Equally futile also must be the hope of any rescue till long after
her fate would be decided. No other resource, therefore, remained to her but to face the danger, as terrible as it was to her, even
in the least abhorrent of the alternatives which had been set
before her, and persevere in the determination she had already
announced of resistance unto death. And she earnestly besought
the great Protector of the innocent and injured, to arm her with
strength and fortitude to meet the coming trial, or interfere, in
his mercy, to save her from its terrors and perils.
While the mind of the almost frantic girl was thus painfully
engrossed, as she was reclining on the bed with her face buried
in the clothes, a noise, differing from any thing she had before
heard, and proceeding from some point above, but seemingly
neither exactly within nor without the building, had several times
reached her ear. And now it became too distinct not to attract
her particular notice. Startled, though as yet not seriously
alarmed, she hastily rose, and endeavored to ascertain the nature
of the sounds that had disturbed her. The rain, which had now
for some time been heavily pouring to the earth, had extinguished
the fire, and, while utter darkness pervaded the room, nothing
was to be heard but the ceaseless roar of the descending torrents.
At length, however, the noise was repeated. It appeared to proceed from the flue of the chimney, down which, it soon became
evident, that something possessing life and motion, was slowly




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               279
and cautiously descending into the room; but whether it was a
man, or wild beast, she was unable to determine. Presently the
mysterious object seemed to reach the hearth. And, in a short
time, the dark outlines of a seemingly shapeless figure became
discernible to the perplexed, and now thoroughly frightened
maiden. Her excited imagination instantly took wing, and in the
bewilderment of the moment, the motionless object swelled into a
ferocious monster, preparing to clutch her in his horrid embrace.
A strange feeling of undefined fear and dread took possession of
her bosom, and seemed to paralyze all her faculties. She tried
to speak, but could utter no sound — to move, but her limbs
refused to do their office; while a peculiar, cold, curdling sensation, commencing with the crown of her head, settled over her,
converting her whole system into a helpless, inanimate, and fiozen
mass, alike incapable of thought and action. At that instant a
vivid flash of lightning lit up the room with the brightness of the
noon-day's sun, and broke the spell that had so strangely enthralled her senses: for, equally to her joy and surprise, she beheld,
in the object of her alarm, no other than her faithful friend Neshobee, who, uncertain whether the room might not contain some
of the enemy as well as his mistress, whom he knew to be confined here, had squatted in the fire place, after his descent, with
the view of ascertaining the fact before he should speak or
advance.
"Umph!" uttered the Indian, apparently nearly as much
relieved as his mistress, at the mutual disclosure.  "Missus
Alma speak very no loud," he continued, in a half whisper, as he
glided noiselessly forward to her side, and laid his hand on her
arm in token of caution. "Them  three tory, what stand for
watch, all gone fore side for get out of the rain, and so no see
Neshobee climb up back side and come down chimney. But
Missus talk soft, them stand close up side, hark um, hear um,
catch um Neshobee."
"How fares it with my father and the girls - are they still in
the other house, and yet unharmed?" eagerly whispered Alma.
" All um there. Them tory and Indian all in the barn when
the rain come. Leak down, make um jump, crowd thick, so no
see Neshobee creep away. Me go back side tother house, peep
through crack, see um there when flash come bright. Cappen hands
all tie tight. Him look sorry. Three tother girls lay on straw
in corner - cry much - all look very scare."
" And what is to become of us, Neshobee," asked Alma, mournfully, as she brushed away a tear, elicited by the Indian's brief




280            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
but graphic and touching description of the situation of her
friends.
" Neshobee no get in there for help Cappen and them. But
me help Missus Alma up chimney, get out and they no hear so
long the rain pour hard."
" No, no, Neshobee, it is impossible," replied Alma, after reflecting a moment on the proposal of her friend, who had run such
risks to rescue her. Could I succeed in getting out upon the
house, my light dress, if nothing else, would betray us to the
guards, and we should both be taken. And even could I escape,
how could I withstand an exposure all night in the woods to this
dreadful storm? No, Neshobee, leave me to my fate, which will
probably be decided long before you can be the means of our
rescue. But my poor father and the girls you may perhaps be
instrumental in saving. Then go, Neshobee.- If you succeed
in escaping from this place, proceed directly to our army at
Ticonderoga, and tell them that we are prisoners to Sherwood
and Darrow, with a band of tories and Indians. Tell Colonel
Warrington, or Captain Selden, that father's life is threatened -
that I - O0, heavens! but let my situation be passed over. And
should they send a force to deliver us, as I know they will, yQu
can guide it to the spot. Now do n't hesitate to leave me, my
faithful friend, -to leave me to the care of Heaven," she added,
laying her hand on the other's shoulder and gently pushing him
towards the avenue by which he descended into the room.
"Do n't delay an instant.  Go, and I will ask the blessing of a
good Providence to speed you on your way."
" Me go," laconically responded the native vanishing from the
sight of his mistress in the darkness, and silently ascending the
chimney.
After anxiously listening a few moments to the cautious egress
of her messenger, and satisfying herself that he had reached the
ground, and escaped undiscovered, the unhappy girl once more
returned to her homely couch, - not there, however, to find repose
or any alleviation of the woes that so deeply oppressed her feelings. The distracting apprehensions, from which her mind had
been in some measure diverted by the presence of her humble
friend, now, on his departure, returned with ten-fold force to her
mind. And a feeling of utter loneliness and desolation took possession of her desponding bosom. Conscious that the time set by
Sherwood for his return, to execute one of the dreadful alternatives with which he had brutally menaced her, was now nearly
at hand, and her feelings becoming, at the maddening thought,




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               281
too intense to permit her to remain longer quiet, she arose, and
again took her station at the little window. The storm cloud still
girt darkly and heavily the whole visible horizon; and the elements were in fearful commotion. The howling of the blast, as
it swept over the vexed wilderness, attended by the crash of falling trees, the deep, but varying roar of the deluging torrents of
wind-driven rain, and loud over all, the terrific peals of bursting
thunder, preceded by flashes of lightning that seemed to envelope
earth and heaven in a blaze, came mingling on the senses in
awful tumult. And yet the scene, as awful as it was, and would
have been to her under ordinary circumstances, had no terrors for
the wretched captive now;- nay, as the forked lightnings were
leaping from cloud to cloud, and darting to the earth in terrific
gambols around her, she felt a strange pleasure in their fearful
proximity. And regarding them as the instruments of Heaven,
which might, perhaps, be commissioned for her deliverance, she
often, during that dreadful hour, under the wild impulses of maidenly terror and despair, with which the recurring thoughts of her
situation filled her, involuntarily stretched forth her hand towards
the deeply charged clouds, as if to invoke the fatal shaft to descend,
and snatch her from a doom to which death were a boon of
mercy. But that Heaven to which she was looking to relieve her
thus, had reserved her for another fate: the storm rolled heavily
away, and left her beauteous form unscathed. The rain at length
ceased; and the lightnings, as they played along the black parapet of clouds, that lay piled in the east, shone with less dazzling
fierceness, and only to show the ravages which the tempest had
left behind. As mute and desponding, the lovely captive stood
with her eyes still vacantly riveted on the receding storm, she,
during the continuance of a bright and lingering flash of lightning,
cast her eye obliquely towards the quarters of her enemies, when
she caught a glimpse of a man picking his way along the half
flooded path leading to her cabin, whom she instantly recognized
to be the dreaded Sherwood. A deadly sickness came over her,
her brain begun to whirl, and she sunk senseless on the floor.
24*




282            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER XI.
"For freedom's battle once begun,
Bequeathed from bleeding sire to son,
Though bafled oft, is ever won."
WHILE the incidents last described were transpiring, an event
occurred, which spread consternation and alarm over all the
neighboring country.  This was, the unexpected evacuation of
the important fortress of Ticonderoga, to which the Americans
seemed to have confidently looked as a barrier which was to
interpose an effectual check to the further progress of Burgoyne
in that quarter.  But whatever may have been said of the
remissness of General St. Clair, in suffering the enemy to gain
these advantages which compelled him, for the salvation of his
army, to evacuate that post, and whatever disasters were immnediately occasioned by the movement, the final consequences
which resulted from the event, proved highly auspicious to the
American arms: For while it inspired the British General with
an undue confidence of success, and caused him to push rashly
into the heart of the country, it at once aroused the Americans
from the apathy, with which they seemed to have viewed the
approach of the invading army, and kindled up the flagging
spirit of patriotism to a pitch of enthusiasm that soon brought
the rallying bands of the hardy yeomen of the north to the post
of danger, and led to that series of brilliant achievements which
terminated in the entire overthrow of this formidable array of
British power.
Scarcely had St. Clair succeeded, under cover of darkness,
in reaching the eastern shore of the lake, and getting his army
in motion for the interior, before an active pursuit was commenced by General Frazier, with a large detachment of British
regulars, followed by General Reidesel with most of the Brunswick forces. The Americans, however, kept some miles in
advance of the enemy through the day; and St. Clair, with the
malin body of his troops, pushed forward that night as far as




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               283
Castleton, leaving the rear guard of the army, consisting of
about a thousand men, under the command of Colonel Warrington, on the road some distance behind, where he encamped at a
farm-house within three miles of the place which was the same
night occupied by the lawless gang of Sherwood and their unfortunate captives, all parties being equally ignorant of their vicinity
to each other.
With this glance at the situation of our army, with whose
movements were more or less closely linked the destinies of all
those whose individual fortunes we have undertaken to follow,
we will now go on with our tale, which the crowding events of
the next twenty-four hours were destined to bring to its catastrophe.  And leaving our fair and persecuted captive in the
happy state of insensibility, in which we last described her, we
will now follow her trusty messenger on his adventurous way to
the American army, which both he and his mistress supposed
was still posted at Ticonderoga, some twenty miles distant.
Happily succeeding in leaving the cabin and gaining an adjoining field, undiscovered by the guards, Neshobee, after stopping a
moment to pitch his course, plunged directly into the tangled and
dripping wilderness lying along the northern borders of the pond.
Pausing at every considerable interval of darkness, that still
almost impenetrably shrouded the earth, and darting forward by
the views which the fast flashing lightning afforded, he threaded
the difficult mazes of the forest with a rapidity rarely attainable
by any but natives of the wilds.  Passing round the western
extremity of the pond, and bending his course in a more -southerly direction, an hour's travelling brought him to the great military road leading directly to the lake. The storm having now
ceased, he hastily stripped off his drenched garments, wrung out
the water to enable him to run with more expedition, reinvested
himself, and again set off at a long trot down the road towards
his supposed destination. It was to be his fortune, however, to
travel but a short part of the distance for which he had prepared
himself:  For, after proceeding about a mile along the now
unobstructed way with a speed to which his feverish anxiety lent
wings, he came to a large opening, which presented the unexpected appearance of numerous dimly-burning fires scattered
through an extensive field.  Stopping short at a spectacle so
unusual under the present circumstances, the cautious native
immediately put his ear to the earth, and listened long and
intently. A low, mingled hum, as of a hushed and reposing
multitude, rose in a scarce perceptible murmur on the air; and




284            THE GREEN MlOUNTAIN BOYS.
soon the slight jar of measured footsteps, resembling the distant
tread of slowly-pacing sentinels, became distinguishable to his
acute senses. No longer doubting the presence of an encamped
army in the opening, but wholly ignorant of its character, he
cautiously crept forward, rising, from time to time, to discover, if
possible, without exposing himself, whether it was a friendly or
hostile force, which he had thus unexpectedly encountered.
KIeeping within the range of a stump, or some object by the
road-side, to screen his approach, he crawled along about a dozen
rods, and again paused for a more careful observation.  The
clouds were now rapidly breaking away, and, in the increasing
light, he was soon enabled to trace the outlines of a sentry,
standing motionless as a post in the middle of the road, but a few
rods ahead. While he thus lay, tasking his vision to discover
something in the dress, arms, or appearance of the man, from
which the fact he sought to know might be inferred, the waning
moon shone out through the parting clouds, and disclosed to the
startled Indian the British uniform of the sentry, and at the
same time the numerous tents of the enemy dotting the fields in
the distance beyond. The first thought of Neshobee, on making
this alarming discovery, was to secure a retreat from this dangerous vicinity to the sentinel, though he was wholly at a loss what
course he should now take to find those to whom he had been
despatched for succor. But his doubts in this respect were set at
rest by information he the next moment obtained from an unexpected quarter: For, while he lay anxiously watching a cloud
that was nearing the moon, and promised in a few moments again
to obscure her light, which now made it hazardous for him to
move from his position, a soldier approached to relieve the one
on guard.
"Well, Tom,". said the soldier just arrived, "you have had a
devil of a drenching this bout, hav n't you? Why! what! has
the man turned to stone? Say, Tom, why do n't you answer
me?"
" Oh, yes, yes," replied, the other, arousing himself from his
stupor, "yes, wet enough -a ghastly time I've had of it, Jerry,
since I've been out here.  Hang me, if I hav n't got quite
enourgh of this chasing the Yankees into the bush. I wish't was
over. But do you know the orders for to-morrow?"
" Why to chase the d-n'd rebels till we take them, besure.
Our Captain has just returned from General Frazier's quarters;
and he says they have had a sort of go-between, by the name of
Remington, who came directly from' the Yankee camp, and




THIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                285
brought word that the main body of the rebels have got about
ten miles ahead, while a regiment or two, under a Colonel Warrington, are encamped within a league of us on the road. And
the plan is, I believe, to move on, at daylight, to the attack of
the nearest force. And if the main body return to the rescue,
why, we have General Reidesel, with a plenty of Hessians, a
few miles behind, to back us: so very likely we may get a
tolerable bush fight out of it, before it is over, particularly as this
WVarrington, they say, is a fellow of grit; and his men are mostly
Green Mountain Boys, who have more of the regular-built bulldog about'em than anything the Yankees have got in their ragamuffin army."
"Well, Jerry," replied the other, in accents partaking somewhat of the doleful, " I can't exactly tell how't is, but if we do
have a battle, I have a notion I shan't live through it."
" Why, what makes you think so, Tom?"
"Oh, I do n't know -I feel it creeping over me; and that
aint all, I am very sartain —'deed I could swear to it -that I
saw a shape out there in the road yonder, a little while ago, that
rose up right out of the ground, and then kinder stood quivering
a minute, and vanished. I expect it was my spirit, Jerry."
"Pooh! man, your liver must have got water-soaked here in
the rain, to make you down in the mouth about such whimsies.
Here, take a suck at my canteen. There! now back to your
tent, your pluck will be up by morning."
Animated by the cheering intelligence he had gathered from
the conversation above detailed, every word of which had reached
his attentive ears, the native slowly and noiselessly withdrew
from the spot in the now favoring darkness, till fairly beyond the
sight and hearing of the guard: when he began rapidly to
retrace his way along the road towards the American encampment, to which we will now repair in anticipation of his arrival.
It was a calm and cloudless morning that ushered in the day
so long remembered in Vermont for the sanguinary conflict of
Hubbardton, which proved so destructive to the boastful and
haughty foe, while it widely scattered the weeds of woe throughout
her infant settlement.* The sun had just burst over the long
*There was no engagement in our revolution, perhaps, which exhibited
such determined energy and resolution on the part of the Americans; as the
battle of Hubbardton; and yet there was no one, of which the results are
more obscurely or incorrectly stated by our leading historians, - most of
them making our loss from 200 to 300, and that of the British from 100 to




286            STHE GREEN [MOUNTAIN BOYS.
range of eastern mountains, whose broad, empurpled sides lay
looming il the distance, and a thousand sparkling exhalations
were risingv from the storm-beaten encampment of the Green
M3ount..in IBoys. Though deeply worn and fatigued by the forced
march of' thie previous day, and drenched to the skin through the
nirlivt, yet the troops were already in motion, eagerly engaged in
preparing themselves for whatever emergency might follow, and
while hiastily snatching their morning's repast, many an eye was
turned anxiously towards the quarters of their gallant cominander, where it ias understood a council of war was being
held, to determliine whether to continue their flight after the main
army or remain to give battle to the pursuing enemy.  At length
the officers were seen emerging from the quarters in question,
and with quickened steps returning to their respective corps,
while the increased activity which succeeded throughout the
camp indicated the importance of the result now communicated.
"Well, Captain Selden," said Warrington, as rousing himself
from the reverie into which he had fallen after the council had
broken up, he looked around and observed that his confidential
friiend now remained with him  in the apartment, " what do you
think of the argument of Hale, and those who so strenuously'
opposed our proposition of making a stand against the enemy?"
"Quite  as well of their arguments  as their patriotism,
Colonel," promptly answered the person addressed.  "Shalkspeare neverr better evinced his knowledge of the human heart
than when he put into the mouth of one of his secretly craven
boasters the salvo argument that'discretion is the better part of
valor.' "
" The inference is a sharp one, Captain, but I fear me, too well
deserved.  There was one thing, however, which gratified me:
not a single officer from the Green Mountains opposed the proposition. And it is so with the troops of my regiment. I was
out among them this morning by daylight, to gather their feelings
on this subject; and, though the poor fellows were wet, weary,
200. Bnt if they had reversed the statement they would not even then have
done justice to our galltant troops. Ethan Allen, in his narrative, says: " Our
loss was about 30 killed, and that of the enemy amounted to 300 killed,
includinigR a -Major Grant. The enemy's loss I learnt from the confession
of their own officers, when a prisoner among them.  I heard them likewise complain that the Green Mountain Boys'took sight."' After a diligent
enquiry I am satisfied that Colonel Allen's statement is substantially a cor.
rect one.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               287
and war-worn, I found our Green Mountain Boys universally
burning for the encounter."
" There is no doubt of it. But after all, Colonel, I fear these
preachers of prudence were prophesying by instinlct, when they
told us we had a bloody day's work before us. The. force we are
sure to encounter is, perhaps, more than double our own; and
we know not how many more are on their way to reinforce
them."
"I am aware of all this. But as soldiers can we longer endure
the thought of being driven before the foe? - as citizens and
settlers of these our mountain homes, can we see the enemy
marching into the heart of our country, and strike no blow for its
protection? As little as the people expected our evacuation of
Ticonderoga, much less will they expect us to continue a flight,
which will soon leave the whole settlement exposed to the ravages of the merciless minions of Burgoyne. With my own regimnent alone, I can make a successful stand against the force which
immediately menaces us with an attack; and if more arrive, the
reinforcements which St. Clair will surely send us, when our express shall reach him, will be in season for the rescue."
"Gen. St. Clair may send us a reinforcement, but — "
"May? he must! And if he does, and will send another force
round into the rear to cut off the enemy's retreat, they are all ours
before sunset. Think you Ethan Allen would be found longer
skulking before the foe, or, if in St. Clair's command, would
suffer a man of them to return to the lake alive, or uncaptured? "
"' Never! but Ethan Allen is not our general. And the man
who suffered the enemy to get possession of every commanding
post round Ticonderoga till we had good reason to evacuate, may
still, like some of his humble imitators in our council just now,
think it prudent to take care of himself, and leave us to do the
same."
At this moment the sergeant of the guard entered the door.
"Colonel," said he, "we have taken a prisoner this morning,
who came from the direction of the enemy; and though he professes fair, and pretends business with you, yet having no pass,
or papers of any kind, and refusing to give any further account
of himself, we have kept him under guard, till we thought you
might have leisure to examine him."
" What is be, - a British soldier?"
"No - an Indian, or part Indian, I should think."




288            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
"Bring him here, instantly," said Warrington, with an expression of interest.
The sergeant accordingly left the apartment, and in a few moments returned with Neshobee by his side, when, upon an intimation from his superior, he withdrew, leaving his prisoner and the
two officers by themselves.
"Neshobee, my good fellow," exclaimed Warrington, advancing to the native, and shaking him cordially by the hand, "I hope
they have not misused you; but how came you here?"
" IMe come for purpose find you. Missus Alma -"
"Alma Hendee! where is she?" eagerly interrupted the
Colonel.
The Indian then related to his astonished auditors, in his peculiar manner, the particulars of the capture of the Hendee family,
and all of the subsequent occurrences which had come to his
knowledge till he reached the American encampment.
"Execrable villain!" exclaimed Warrington with unusual
bitterness, after a few questions and answers respecting the number and equipment of Sherwood's gang had been rapidly exchanged between the excited officers and the native, " execrable
villain! but his triumph shall be a short one!"
" God grant it! " responded Selden with the same spirit, " but
what do you propose, Colonel?"
" To proceed instantly to their camp, storm it, and rescue the
captives within this hour - if possible, within this very hour! "
"And you are willing to risk, even at this emergency, the
absence of men enough to accomplish it?"
"I must, — as much as we may need them, I must risk it.
And would to God, that my duties would permit me to head them
against this farrago of fiends incarnate. - Will you perform the
service, Captain Selden?"
"Most joyfully."
" Go, then. Take your company, including Jones and as many
of his scouts as you think best. If you succeed, furnish the
family with an escort to a place of safety, or bring them to the
rear of the army, as circumstances shall dictate. - Stay, Selden,
a moment," he continued approaching the side of the spirited and
impatient young officer, and speaking in a low confidential tone,
" I am well aware that this may be a day of danger- of death,
to many of us - Tell that lovely girl her frank and noble explanatiort has been received and appreciated- that my heart has
ever been, and is now doubly hers - that if I survive, I will




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              289
soon be by her side, and if I fall, my last thoughts will be upon
her."
At that instant the quickly successive reports of a dozen muskets in the direction of the expected enemy broke the stillness of
the morning, announcing a collision between the opposing outposts, and the battle at hand.
"To arms! " exclaimed the commander, rushing out into the
open air, and leaping upon his charger, that caparisoned and
ready for his gallant rider, stood impatiently pawing the ground
at the door, "to arms, instantly to arms!"
As the loud, and thrilling tones of the well known voice of
their idolized leader rung through the camp, falling upon the ears
of the aroused and excited troops, every man sprang for his musket, and the busy quiet, that one moment before had reigned
through the tented lines, was at once changed into the noisy din
of preparation. Captain Selden, in accordance with the arrangement just settled between him and his superior, hastily formed
his company, briefly informed his men of the object of their proposed expedition, and, amidst the clangor of rattling steel and
rolling drums, mingled with the stern, brief words of command,
filed off rapidly across the field towards the northern forest, and,
with Neshobee as guide, soon disappeared within its borders.
Let us now return to the captured. The first object that
saluted the eyes of our hapless heroine, on recovering her consciousness, was the dimly seen figure of Sherwood standing in the
door-way, in the attitude of one whose attention on entering had
been suddenly arrested by some unexpected sight or sound
behind him. The next instant a man on horseback came dashing
up furiously to the spot. H-lastily closing the door behind him,
Sherwood immediately advanced to the side of the halted horseman; when the following dialogue distinctly reached the ears of
the eager listener within.
"Captain Sherwood - ain't it? 
"Yes - Remington, I believe, from the voice?- Well, what
news? "
" Important - great - glorious!"
"'Aha, what is it?"
"The rebels have evacuated Ti!"
"The devil! and all escaped? "
"Every scoundrel of them, but their race is nearly up."
"Why?  How?  Where are they?"
"St. Clair, with the bulk of them made shift to push on to
Castleton by dark, - Warrington with a regiment or two, now
25




290            TIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
lies encamped at Seleck's farm right against us over on the military road. Gen. Frazier, who followed hard on their tracks through
the day, lies at Lacy's Camp, with his brigade; and Red Hazle
and his Jarmans are but a few miles behind."
" And what is Frazier's plan?"
"To move upon Warrington at daylight; and he fold me to
tell you to be on hand when the attack is made, — flank the
rebels in the woods, and keep on ahead of them to cut off their
retreat, But the order need n't interfere with your business
llere," added the traitor, with a knowing chuckle, pointing towards
the house with one hand, and giving his master a significant
nud,e with the other:-There's no need of your marching
before break of day; so you see you'll have time to- "
" Hush! speak lower, you prying devil, - she'11 hear you."
"Well, well; but what is to be my share for this night's
job?"' British gold, - Burgoyne will see to that."
"Yes, I know that; but I mean what share of the same kind
of coin that you are about to make free with? - You understand
me, hey?"
"That's asking more than you have any right to expect, Remington."
" The hell it is! I know there is game to be had, and if I can't
have my share, when my betters are helping themselves, I'll
know the reason why, by -"
" Yes, but do n't get in a passion about it: Something of the
kind may be effected for you, perhaps. The Scotch girl is promised to Darrow; but there are two maids. It can be managed,
possibly- "
"To-night?"
"Why, - why, not very conveniently - if you will delay it
till to-morrow night   but hush! hush! who is that? - who is
that coming in such haste? "- hurriedly exclaimed Sherwood,
as startled by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps, he
looked round and distinguished the figure of some one hastily
making his way towards them.
"It is the lieutenant's gait," observed Remington, whose situation on his horse enabled him best to determine the point in
question. " And it is Darrow, too, ain't it? "
" Yes, I am the chap," responded the ruffian striding up to
the spot. " Where is the Captain?- 0 here! Jake, the devil
is to pay!"
"What is the matter?" eagerly asked Sherwood.




THE GREEN SIOUNTAIN BOYS.             291
" Why, it may be matter enough for us soon, if what Remington here says about the rebels being so near us, is true - Hendee's cursed Indian has escaped  "
"Hell and furies! Bill, who suffered that? "
"The lubberly curse that you set to guard the red scamp in
the corner of the barn got asleep, I s'pose; and the confusion and
crowding caused by the storm prevented any one else from seeing
to it."
"How long has he been gone?"
"These two hours, for aught I can ascertain."
" Did you see anything that could be taken for the imp, on
your route, Remington?"
"No Captain. As soon as I found the rebels were on the
road, I rode several miles round, in by-roads, to reach the British
camp."
" Well, Darrow, we must move," said Sherwood after musing a
moment: "I know that fellow well. He will know what to do
without being told, and will be as cunning as Satan in bringing it
about. In beating about for help to rescue the family, he will
learn Warrington's position, which ten to one he has reached
before this. You, as well as I, can guess what will come next.
Within an hour, a hundred of Warrington's bull dogs may be
upon us, with ambuscades in every direction around us. We
must march, and that instantly. Our private plans, Bill, must be
deferred till another night. And, by that time, I am thinking,
there wont be enough left of the damned scoundrel, or his men,
to trouble us. We will take to the hill on the south end of the
pond yonder. The moon is coming out; and this breeze will
shake the water from the trees, so that we can make our way
comfortably. Go forward, Darrow, and be mustering the men.
Remington, let me mount that horse, till we enter the woods.
Guards! ho! you may close up round the house now, and in a
few moments we will relieve you of your charge."
If ever an offering of unfeigned, unmingled gratitude ascended
to Heaven from the lips of mortals for boon bestowed, it was that
of Alma IHendee, as on bended knees she poured out the incense
of her gushing and grateful heart to her divine Preserver for this
temporary deliverance from the perils that so nearly threatened
her. She had scarcely risen from her devotions, when a messenger from Sherwood's quarters entered, and summoned her to
attend him to the other cabin. She obeyed with cheerful alacrity
and, in a few moments more, was in the silent embrace of her
friends, receiving the low murmured caresses and blessings of




292            THE GREEN IMOUNTAIN BOYS.
her overjoyed father, on whose bosom she lay sobbing till interrupted by the stern, harsh voice of Darrow at the door, commanding them all to come forth, to be taken along with the band in the
movement which had been so hastily concerted by the alarmed
leaders!
On emerging from  the house the prisoners found the entire
band of their captors drawn up in the yard, waiting only to
receive them before commencing the contemplated march. And,
after the former had been ordered to take their places near the
centre of the line, separated from each' other by the alternate
intermingling of guards as on the afternoon's march, the whole
moved silently forward across the pasture in the direction previously mentioned by their leader. When they arrived at the
outskirts of the clearing, Sherwood relinquished the horse, upon
which he had thus far superintended the march, to Remington,
and, after sending off the latter on some secret destination, took
his station at the head of his forces, and plunged directly into the
forest. After many windings through the pathless and still dripping woods, for the purpose of confusing or misleading their
enemies, in any attempts which might be made to follow the trail,
they bore down towards the pond, and soon struck into an old
Indian path running along the margin of the water towards the
south. In this they slowly pursued their dark, and often difficult
way, till day-light; when arriving at the southern extremity of
the pond, and being here, as they believed, out of the reach of any
immediate danger from pursuit, they withdrew a short distance
from the vicinity of the water, and halted to wait the operations
of the hostile armies, being now within a short distance of the
clearing in which the action was expected to take place.
After scouts had been despatched to watch the movements of
WYarrington's forces, and sometime spent in inspecting their arms,
and preparing them for instant service, the band, at the intimation of their leaders, proceeded to partake of a hasty repast, consisting mostly of bread and dried meats, which each produced
from his own knapsack, with the exception of the officers and
captives, for the supplying of whom one of Captain Hendee's
horses, loaded with provisions and tent-cloths, had followed in the
rear. A scanty portion of this kind of food, with a gourd-shell
of water, was, after a while, sent to the faint and wearied prisoners by Sherwood, who seemed studiously to avoid coming himself
into their immediate presence. The meal was partaken by the
captives in gloomy silence, which, except here and there in the
ribald jest of a tory, or the low guttural grunt of a savage, was




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               293
imitated by the mongrel gang of ferocious and brutal looking fellows around them.
Scarcely had they finished their homely repast, when a rattling
peal of distant musketry, followed by the sound of rolling drums
furiously beating to arms, came booming through the forest,
awakening the echoes of hill and dell for miles around, and startling both captives and captors by the sound, now well understood
by all as the herald of the approaching conflict.
" To the hills! forward to a station on the hills!"' loudly shouted
Sherwood, now for the first time openly exercising the command
in the presence of the prisoners.
Hastily forming a line of march, Sherwood, with quick and
eager steps led his men up the ragged steeps towards his proposed station, leaving the brutal Darrow, who had charge of the
rear, in which the captives were now placed, to goad on the infirm
old captain, and the tender and already exhausted females, to keep
pace with the rest. After a rapid and fatiguing march of half an
hour, at almost every step of which the forest around them was
resounding to the roar of the thickening conflict on the plains to
the right, they reached the summit of a wood covered hill, which
overlooked the extensive opening to the west, now occupied as
the scene of action by the contending armies. Immediately
detaching about a dozen of his most trusty tories with Darrow at
their head to guard the prisoners, Sherwood, with the remainder
of his force, proceeded some forty or fifty rods down the hill, and
took his station in the bushes bordering the opening, to wait a
favorable opportunity to cooperate with his British friends. The
guard, on the departure of Sherwood, wishing to take a stand
themselves where they could witness the battle, ordered the captives forward to the brow of the hill, and permitted them to take
seats upon the edge of a cliff which afforded them, through the
openings of the overhanging foliage, a distinct view of the field
of conflict. A grand and thrilling spectacle now burst upon their
view. At the distance of less than a mile, in the broad field
beneath them, stood the plain and hardy sons of liberty, unflinchingly engaged face to face, and often arm to arm, in deadly strife
with the gorgeous and disciplined bands of their outnumbering
foes,- the fluttering standards and glittering arms of wheeling
squadrons now flashing in the morning sun, and now enveloped in
clouds of eddying smoke, as the fires of a thousand death-tubes
blazed fiercely along the opposing lines; while hill and forest
around seemed rocking responsive to the deafening thunders of
the embattled plain. With an interest equally intense, but with
25*




294             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
emotions widely different, was the scene witnessed by the
little group of captives: for while Alma and Jessy gazed in
silent awe upon the fearful spectacle, trembling and amazed at
the tremendous din that rose from the spot, and with bosoms painfully beating with secret anxiety for the fate of their betrothed
lovers, engaged, as they believed, in the hottest of the strife, and
exposed every instant, to the missiles of death, or already weltering in their gore among the dying and dead, - while, with
such agitating emotions gazed they upon the scene, Captain Hendee watched the progress of the contest with the experienced eye
of a soldier, and with a view to its general results. For nearly
an hour the battle raged with unmitigated fury.  Alternately
driving and driven, the contending foes, without any permanent
advantage to either, fiercely disputed for the mastery of the field;
while volley after volley, bursting in rapid succession along the
serried lines of the opposing fronts continued to sweep the plain
with the leaden tempest, covering it with heaps of the dying and
the dead. At length there was a momentary lull in the din of
battle.  Even the "stormy music" of the shriek-drowning drum
for an instant ceased to send up its monotonous roar from the
field of conflict. And all beneath the broad and veiling cloud of
smoke, that hung over the spot, at first seemed as silent as if that
cloud had been a pall for an army of the dead. The next moment, however, a sound reached the quick ears of the female
captives, more fearful than the thunders of battle.
"List! what is that?" asked the girls, with a simultaneous
exclamation, and looks of horror, as the piercing and mingled
wail of many voices came wafting on the breeze with awful distinctness to the ear. " Oh, father, what dreadful sound is that?"
repeated Alma, with a shudder.
The old gentleman, whose less acute organs had not been
affected by the sound, without replying, turned an ear towards
the fatal field. The same hideous, though low and distance-mellowed screech, came up again from the spot with the succeeding
undulation of the fitful breeze, but was the next instant lost in a
fresh burst of martial music, which once more sent its swelling
roar over the surrounding hills.
"It is the cries of the wounded! " said the Captain, turning
to his unheeding auditors, for they sat with their hands tightly
pressed upon their ears to exclude the abhorrent sound. " But
it is over —it is over now," he continued, motioning them to
withdraw their hands.
Understzadi'ng the gesture rather than the words, the girls




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               295
hesitatingly unstopped their ears, and turned a mute and startled
look of enquiry upon the Captain.
" It was the groans of the wounded," resumed the Captain.
" It is, indeed, a dreadful sound to one not inured to the horrors
of war. The first time I ever heard it, I well remember, it made
my hair rise upright on my head, and filled me with more terror
and dread than the bullets of the enemy. But it does not often
occur, and should never, as it disheartens the men; yet it will
sometimes happen, when some sudden change in the order of
battle is taking place on both sides at the same moment."
"And do you suspect any important change is about to take
place in the present battle, father?" anxiously enquired Alma.
" I do, child. I can perceive there is a movement going on
among our troops. There! do you see that officer dashing at
full speed along the lines, as he occasionally appears in the
openings of the lifting smoke? He is rallying and forming
for a fresh onset, and is probably the chief in command, who
you understood was to be - "
" It is! it is he! " exclaimed Alma, with trembling eagerness.
"Yes, it is he, and yet spared, thank Heaven!" she added,
checking herself, and sinking her voice into an almost inaudible
whisper, "but oh! the perils which the next moment may surround him! " and she buried her face in her hands to conceal her
emotion.
" Well, whether Warrington or another," observed the Captain,
"the officer in command there is winning glory for himself and
his country. I have never seen a defence against a superior
force conducted with more ability than he has displayed, nor a
field disputed with more determined intrepidity than this by the
men under him; at least by all those who have yet engaged.
But there is one battalion standing aloof by the copse, yonder,
whose movements I neither understand nor like. I wonder who
they are?"
"That is Colonel Hale's regiment," said a voice from the rear,
"We have no great fears of him, or his men; but them daredevils in the thickest of it, there, are Green Mountain Boys, and
I'11 own - but they've got to knuckle soon, for Red Hazle can't
now be more than a mile or so off, and then —"
The Captain turned his head, and beheld in the speaker the
traitor Remington, who had arrived unperceived, and now stood
unblushingly, and with a malicious and exulting leer, looking
him in the face. The double-faced villain, however, was met
by the old veteran with such a withering look of scorn and con



296            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOTS.
tempt, as caused'him to pause in his remarks, and soon to slink
away behind the guards.
Muttering a few deep and bitter curses upon the object of his
aversion, on whom he looked as the despicable instrument of his
present misfortunes, Captain Hendee again turned to watch the
progress of the battle.
" Keep your eyes on the field, girls," said the old gentleman,
after closely scanning the appearance of the belligerent forces a
moment. "They are evidently on the eve of some important
evolution. There! see there! there goes the fire of our whole
line upon them in a single blaze! Ah! that fire must have told
dreadfully on the enemy!" he continued, with an exulting air,
while waiting for the dispersion of the smoke, that, curling its
wavy folds over the American lines, at this terrible volley, concealed for an instant both them and their foes completely from
view. "Yes, dreadfully, as they acknowledge, by not returning
the fire. There, you can just see their scarlet lines now,- and
in confusion! - staggering and recoiling in confusion, as I live!
And, by Jupiter! see! how like lightning the black masses of
the continentals are throwing themselves into columns! They
charge! they charge! lHeavens! what a clash of encountering
steel -but no wavering in the charging columns vet!  On they
move! And, by the Lord of Heavens! the red-coats give way
before them! They reel - break, and run, -yes, see! see! the
poor beaten devils are fairly taking to their heels! ha! ha!
Hurrah for the Green Mountain Boys!  ha!  ha! ha ha!ha "  And
the excited old veteran, breaking the restraint which his situation, as a closely guarded prisoner, had imposed, leaped up, and
clapped his hands in gleeful exultation.
" Stop that d-n'd old fool's gab! " shouted the nettled and
chafing Darrow, who, having taken a separate station in the
bushes, some rods distant, stood deeply absorbed in the movements
of the field, when the old gentleman's exclamations reached his
ears: "stop his gab, I say! or spit him on your bayonet, and
hurl him over the cliff. Hell! Here, let me come- I may as
well have my revenge now as ever!"
As with angry growls Darrow was hastening through the
bushes to the spot, the nearest guard brought down his piece, and
drewv back for a thrust at the Captain with his bayonet; but in,
the act, he suddenly started, dropped his musket, gave a convulsive
screech, sallied back, and was on his way to the earth, when the
sharp and stunning report of a dozen rifles, from the back of the
hill, burst upon the ears of the startled captives, and their no less




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               297
astonished captors, who, in their eagerness to see the action, had
neglected to keep watch against a surprise from pursuing enemies
from the woods.
" There! take that, damn you!" exclaimed Darrow, as, more
intent on accomplishing his meditated revenge than attempting a
defence, he sprang forward, the instant he perceived himself
attacked, within a rod of the captives, discharged his pistol at
Captain Hendee, and, without waiting to see the effect of his shot,
which his eager haste had luckily rendered a vain one, jumped
off the cliff, and, venturously leaping from shelf to shelf down
the precipice, disappeared in the direction of Sherwood's station
at the foot of the hill.
The surviving tories, for four of them had been stretched lifeless upon the earth by the shot of their assailants, discharged
their guns at random towards the covert of their yet unseen foes,
and fled along the cliff to the south, to gain the gorge where
Sherwood and his party had descended.  But they were a
moment too late to effect their object. The movement having
been perceived by Selden's party, for, as the reader has doubtless
already anticipated, the assailants were no other —they suddenly
closed up that end of their line, and cut off the retreat of the
fugitives, who, quickly tacking about, commenced their flight back
towards the captives, with the view of escaping along the ledge
to the north of them.
"Aha! ye scampering satans, you can't go that this time!"
exclaimed the sharp and rattling voice of Pete Jones, who, with
a dozen sturdy fellows at his heels, at that instant burst through
the bushes, and came down like a whirlwind upon the baffled
tories, in time to prevent them from gaining the thicket in the
rear of the captives - " spread out, there, boys, and be ready to
give'em the lead at the word," continued the scout, motioning to
his men, who promptly complying, cocked their rifles, and throwing themselves into a half circle, continued with hasty steps to
advance upon the affrighted wretches, now standing huddled
together on the brink of the precipice, and looking wildly around
them for some chance to escape.
"Now, ye painted divils," resumed Jones, still drawing up
with levelled rifle, " now you have got to jump, or take it."
Misunderstanding the real intentions of the scout, which were
to frighten, and then give quarters, and expecting to be shot down
the next instant, the tories threw down their guns, and with one
consent, plunged madly from the cliff!
"Blood and bayonets! who would have thought that?" ex



298            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
claimed the woodsman, in tones of mingled horror and surprise,
as he stepped up and peered over the brink, from which, down a
broken, but nearly perpendicular descent of over an hundred
feet, this desperate leap had been taken. " Now I'11 be blamed,
if it do n't make me feel ugly. Only see'em there! " he continued, gazing down upon the mangled wretches at the foot of the
precipice, with an expression of the deepest commiseration,
"only see! three or four lay there in a heap, panting and quivering at the last gasp! And there's the rest, just crawling off
into the bushes like snakes with their backs broke! IIowsomever," he added, turning away with an effort to shake off the
feeling, " we can't very well afford the poor devils a great deal
of lament, for the same sarce would have been ours, if we'd fell
into the hands of their sort of cattle, jest as sure as tory is their
name, and infarnal their nater."
In the meanwhile, Selden, followed by the rest of his company,
had reached the spot; and the former having flown to the side
of his overjoyed Jessy and her friends, the now liberated captives,
was exchanging those hasty and heartfelt greetings, which the circumstances were so well calculated to call forth, when a new and
startling war-cry rose from the thicket below, where he had just
learned from his rescued friends that Sherwood with the main
part of his band was' posted.
" Do you hear that, my brave fellows?" exclaimed the young
officer in a tone that rung through the forest, as he burst from
the group of his embracing friends, and, with a look of kindling
enthusiasm, leaped forward toward his men, " do you hear that
rallying shout below? But let them come! The red-coats are
flying in confusion before our friends in yonder field. Let their
scurvy minions here in the bush be taught the same lesson.
Every man to his post!"
" Responding with hearty and reiterated cheers to the words
of their gallant leader, the men flew to their stations along the
ridge to await the approach of their foes, who were now evidently
rallying for a rescue.
At this instant, a shower of bullets struck the crags at the very
feet of the captives.
" Jones, your assistance! " shouted Selden, rushing back to the
group who had thus narrowly escaped death, and pointing him to
Alma, as he himself grasped his own affianced girl in his arms,
and with rapid steps bore her back, nestling and trembling on his
bosom, to a place of temporary safety over the screening ridge in
the rear.




THlE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              299
Comprehending the other at a glance, the scout bounded for'
ward to the side of Miss Hendee, at that instant engaged in
trying to quiet the alarms of her less self-possessed domestic,
when, concluding to give the order of his superior its most liberal
construction, he gave a swoop with his long arms, and, gathering
both mistress and maid in his grasp, and lifting them high from
the ground, bore them, blushing through their alarms, at their
novel situation aloft, over the hill, occasionally pausing in his
monstrous strides over rock and log, to give a wink to Neshobee
to follow his example with Zilpah, the only female now left on
the spot of danger.
" Guess you catch um first," tartly observed the yellow maiden,
eluding the hesitating grasp of her bashful gallant, and darting
forward like an arrow towards her friends.
"Where is my father?" enquired Alma, with a look of concern, the instant she was released from the arms of the scout.
"Your father, mum?" replied Jones, "Oh, did n't yer see
him? Why that careless shot of the enemy there among you
jest now, seemed to raise the old Captain's dander right up, and,
seizing the gun of that dead tory, that my old Trusty here
brought down in such good time for the old gentleman, I'll be
blest if he didn't hobble off like the very mischief to help the
boys man the cliff. And your tame red-skin has concluded to do
the same thing, I reckon, seeing as how he got the mitten," added
the scout, tipping a knowing and saucy wink to Zilpah.
A general discharge of rifles and musketry by Selden's party,
along the top of the ridge to the south, here interrupted the conversation, announcing that the enemy had made their appearance
on their way up the hill towards the accessible points in the
ledge.
"That must be a feint," observed Captain Selden; " they cannot be serious in any attempt to mount the ridge in the very
teeth of our death-dealing rifles, can they, Jones?"
"No, Captain, that aint no part of their calkerlation, I'11
swear to it. Neither need we have any fears of their flanking
round the ledge to the north of us, as that might bring'em
between two fires, one from us, and another from the field. So,
while a few of'em are showing themselves, and firing jest enough
to keep up the sham, the main part will push round at the other
end of the ridge, about a half mile or so, to the south of us.
And I should n't be surprised if the lead was flying considerable
thick along here in the matter of twenty minutes from nowwhat suppose you put the women a jogging, Captain; and let me




300            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
be looking to the sarpents a little," added the scout, glancing
uneasily around him, and showing signs of impatience to be
gone.
"You are right, Jones," promptly replied Selden, "and there
is now but one course to be pursued. The ladies must pass down
the hill, and, striking for the open field, endeavor to gain the rear
of our army. I must attend them, leaving the command of the
men with you to cover our retreat - can you do it? "
" Why, I rather guess I mought; that is, if you will clear with
the women -the sight of them kinder clogs a fellow, you
know."
" Call in Captain Hendee, then. He is not nimble enough for
a bush fight. Send us also Neshobee, and two of my men as an
escort."
"Ay, ay, Captain," cheerfully responded the scout, loping off
at a rapid pace to his charge -" ay, ay, we'11 fix it about right,
wont we, old Trusty?  Trol, lol, lol, de larly."
Within five minutes from the disappearance of Jones, the
family party were all collected, and in rapid motion down the
hill. Nor was the expedition with which the movement was
accomplished uncalled for by the event: For, scarcely had they
proceeded a furlong on their route, before the cracking and irregular reports of rifles behind them announced an attack by the foe,
in a manner just predicted by the sagacious scout.  Passing
onward with all the speed they were capable of making, they
paused not in their course till they reached the spot where they
and their captors had halted in the morning. There, after taking
charge of Captain Hendee's horse, which had been lef tied to a
tree, and ascertaining from the direction and distance of the firingo
at the scene they had just left, that Jones was at least maintaining his position on the hill, they turned short to the west, and
made their way immediately to the opening, where the main
action, as was evident from the heavy discharge of artillery that
occasionally came pealing through the forest, was still kept up by
the slowly retreating enemy. On arriving at the borders of the
woods, our party entered the mouth of a ravine, which, while it
protected them, by its screening banks, from the view of any
spies whom Sherwood might have posted on the hill, luckily led
up, and opened upon the plain, directly abreast of the position
now  occupied by Warrington's regiment of Green Mountain
Boys.
Passing hastily along, in Indian file, up this ravine, till fairly
beyond rifle-shot distance from the woods, and arriving by thin




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                301
time at an elevation, where, still unseen, they could easily obtain
a glance over the scene of action, the company halted, for the
purpose of ascertaining, before proceeding any further, the exact
position of the American forces, and the prospect of maintaining
the temporary advantages which they had evidently already
gained over the boasted brigade of the gallant, but now mortified
General Frazier.
A misty veil of undissipated smoke still hung over the field of
battle, and prevented Selden and Captain Hendee, who mounted
the bank for the purpose, from ascertaining anything more than
the general position of the hostile armies. The Americans, having pursued their routed enemies a short distance, had fallen back
upon the ground occupied by them at the onset; while the British,
having collected and rallied their broken and disordered forces,
had made a sullen stand about half a mile distant.
"Our troops have beaten the red-coats, and driven them from
the field of attack, it is evident;" observed Selden, musingly, as
he ran his eye anxiously over the field, "and yet, I fear, their
temporary victory has been bought too dearly to permit them to
avail themselves of the advantages they have obtained.
"I fear so too," replied Captain Hendee. " Nor do I exactly
like the aspect and motions of the enemy yonder. See! they
are now deploying off towards the woods against our left wing.
They are either preparing for a fresh onset in a new form, or
opening for a reinforcement large enough to form a centre; and
I am apprehensive the latter, as, now I bethink me, I heard a
treacherous scoundrel, who came near us a few moments before
you arrived for our rescue, making the boast that a fresh body of
Burgroyne's German hirelings were but a mile or two distant, and
in full march for the field."
" God forbid! " exclaimed Selden, with a look of anxiety and
alarm.  "But this must instantly be seen to.  Perhaps our
officers are not aware of it.  I must immediately forward to
Warrington.  Keep ybur position here, my friends, till I return,
which shall be soon, better informed how to act, and with some
plan for your disposal, or escape," added the young officer, as,
leaping down into the valley, he seized the horse from the hands
of Neshobee, mounted, and, waving a hasty adieu to the ladies,
dashed forward at full speed over the plain to the American
lines.
Captain Hendee, still retaining his post of elevation, continued
anxiously to watch those movements of the enemy which had
raised his suspicions of an approaching reinforcement. Nor had
26




302            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
many minutes elapsed before his worst apprehensions were confirmed by the appearance of Reidesel, who with flying colors and
rattling drums, and all the pomp and pride of military array,
came pouring the numerous troops of his well trained brigade
across the field, and bearing down in solid columns directly upon
the American centre, which stood calmly awaiting their approach;
while, at the same time, Frazier, with his whole force, a little in
advance of the Germans, moved rapidly along under the woods
to the South against the extreme left of the Americans, mostly
composed of the doubtful regiment of Hale. A few moments of
awful suspense followed; and again the flash of a thousand exploding muskets enveloped the encountering hosts in clouds of
rolling smoke, and shook the earth and heavens with the fearful
concussion that followed.
At that instant Selden, accompanied by a soldier with two
horses, emerged from the smoke and came galloping to the spot.
" Prepare for instant flight i " he exclaimed, hastily dismounting,
and urging his horse down the bank towards the little grassy nook
on which the females stood instinctively crowding together in
mute consternation at the fearful noise and commotion of the
plain above. "Ten minutes delay on this spot may again make
you prisoners, and in the hands of a brutal and exasperated
soldiery."
" There is no hope, then, that our troops can long withstand
this fresh and formidable onset?" said Captain Hendee, coolly
preparing to mount the horse allotted to carry him and his daughter, in the manner in vogue among the settlers of carrying their
females behind them on horseback.
" Scarcely longer perhaps than to allow us time to gain the
forest," replied Selden, placing Jessy on the crupper of his own
horse, and springing himself into the saddle before her, while the
little cavalcade, the two maids having been placed on the back of
the third horse, began to move slowly down the rocky and frequently obstructed ravine.
"I feared so," said the former; "but where in the name of
Heaven is St. Clair all this time, that he sends no reinforcement?"
"Well may you ask that, Captain Hendee," said Selden bitterly- "within hearing of our guns - with a full knowledge of
our attack by a superior force, and with more than two thousand
troops at disposal, all impatient to be with us, he allows not a man
to come to our assistance. God forgive him! I can't."
"Nor I; but what of that dainty-fingered colonel, whom I




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                 303
noticed from the hill standing aloof and idle with his regiment at
a distance on the left?"
"Hale?*  Eternal infamy on his name!  Having looked
coldly on, and without lifting a finger in assistance through the
whole of the first assault, he, on the approach of Frazier in this
last onset, hoisted a white flag - even before it could be seen by
the enemy, and disgracefully surrendered his regiment, with all
the chance in the world to save it by Yretreat. And by this craven
act he has thrown all that important part of the field into the possession of the British, who are already sweeping past us, and
securing the roads to the south, leaving our brave friend Warrington with his regiment of heroes (scores of whom are stretched
bleeding, or lifeless on the field), and the gallant C.olonel Francis,
with his battalion of Massachusetts troops, to contend with a fresh
force of more than double their numbers. But they must soon
give way - not to retreat in a body, for every pass by which that
could be effected is now closed against them, - much less to surrender themselves as prisoners, but to break, scatter and save
themselves as they best can, to rally again in some appointed
place round the standard of their lion-hearted leader."
"And which way do you and Warrington propose for our
flight, after reaching the forest?"
"An old by-road leading from the head of yonder pond directly
across the country to Otter Creek, and there intersecting the
Creek road to Pittsford and the older settlements. One of our
guards, here, must be despatched to call in Jones with a dozen
trusty men to guard us on our way, while the rest of my company shall keep the accursed Sherwood and his gang, if possible,
enaged, that he may have no way to discover the route we have
taken till we are beyond the reach of his malice. But hark!'t is
a shout of triumph from the British lines! Forward with all
possible speed - for God's sake, forward to the woods! "
Dashing onward at the word, the whole party in a moment
more gained the confines of the forest, and quickly disappeared
within its recesses, thus escaping the dangers of the field, where
they had been nearly involved in the general melee of dispersing,
pursued, and pursuing combatants, that ensued at the close of that
fierce and bloody conflict, but escaping only to encounter other
perils, in their flight through the woods, of a still more fearful and
dreaded character.
*It is but justice to say, that though this was the version put on Hale's
conduct at the time by many, yet his family wholly deny its correctness, and
affirm he demanded a court-martial, but died before obtaining it.




304             THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER XII.
"The hour of fate draws on."
THE setting sun was throwing his parting beams of rich and
mellow light, in a thousand variegated hues, over the intermingling
foliage of the deciduous and perennial forest, that deeply clothed
the mountain slopes to the eastward of the sluggish Otter. The
hardy and heroic woman, whose lot had been cast in the wilderness on the banks of that stream, and whose curious abode we
have described in a former chapter, still fearlessly retained her
post, in spite of all the terrors and dangers of an invasion which
had driven every settler, to the north and west of her, from his
home, and laid open all that section of the Grants, to her very
doors, to the unopposed ravages of British and savage foes.
Her toils for t he day being over, she was now sitting at the
door of her rude cabin, enjoying, with an anxious and thoughtful
brow, the grateful coolness of the evening air, while her hopeful
brood of embryo foresters were lolling upon the grass, or gambolling in childish freaks around her.
"Oh mother! what was it that I seed over yonder, that
twinkled kinder white in the bushes, just now?" exclaimed one
of the younger boys, starting up with excited looks, and pointing
to the opposite side of the Creek at a spot some distance up the
stream, where the clearing, extending to the water, afforded a
fair view of the forest-lined banks of the western side of the
river.
The mother started, and threw a quick glance in the direction
thus indicated, but perceiving nothing, she sank back into her seat,
and observed, " I doubt whether you saw anything, my son; but if
you did, it was probably a flock of pigeons, or some other birds
rising from the ground."
"No it wan't, mother," replied the boy confidently, " it wan't
birds! It was something coming proper fast along this way,
by an open place in the trees, and looked jist like folks running
with white clothes on."




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               305
Aroused by this last remark, as well as by the eager and con.
fident manner in which it was made, Mrs. Story hastily rose,
advanced a few steps, and sent an anxious and scrutinizing look
along the opposite bank, in search of the object that had so excited the boy's attention. That object was the next moment
disclosed to her in the partial view she obtained of a small company of both sexes on horseback, urging forward their smoking
and jaded steeds with all possible haste towards the landing on
that side of the stream. She had been accidentally apprised that
the Hendee family were on their way south the day previous,.and having heard a distant, heavy firing, in the direction they had
taken, the fore part of the present day, and coupling the circumstances with the hurrying and alarmed appearance of the
approaching company, a painful apprehension now flitted across
her mind; and, with an air of deep concern, she stepped inside
the door, took down her rifle, and began to proceed, at a hurried
pace, towards the Creek. Some doubt, however, seeming to
arrest her steps, she stopped short, and again gave eye and ear
to objects before and around her. The report of several rifles,
some hundred yards up the stream, followed by the distant shout
of skirmishers, at that instant reached the spot, and at once
resolved her doubts. Turning hastily to her children, now huddling with looks of alarm around her, and ordering them into the
house, she flew down the path through the woods to her landing,
drew out her canoe from its concealment, and springing in, pushed
out boldly for the opposite shore, at which she arrived just as the
fugitives, with soiled and torn garments, and way-worn and
troubled looks, came hurrying up to the spot.
"God bless you for this timely promptitude, Mrs. Story," exclaimed Selden, leaping from his horse, and assisting the females
and the infirm and sadly jarred old veteran to dismount.
" You are pursued? " eagerly asked the widow.
"We are," answered Selden, "and have been every step of
the way from the red field of Hubbardton. We did not, however,
intend to have brought peril to your house. But striking across
the country to the Creek, with the hope of escaping up the road
to Pittsford, we discovered the road to be ambushed by a party
of our outstripping foes, arid, as our only hope of escape, turned
down stream to find refuge at your abode. And even this we
never should have reached alive, but for the protecting rifles of
that noble fellow, Pete Jones, and his brave and trusty scouts,
who are still keeping four-fold their numbers at bay till we can
cross."
26*




306            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
"Well, Heaven be praised for your deliverance so far," re.
joined the widow, who still sat in her boat, heading it up against
the bank for the others to enter, "but come, girls, jump in here;
we will take you over first."
" Ay, ay," said Selden, " there is not a moment to be lost.
And here, Neshobee," he continued, as the native, who had followed his friends on foot, now arrived, " throw down your rifle,
dash in there, and swim across to bring back the boat, while I
lead the horses into a thicket - perhaps they may be saved. At
all events, there is no chance to swim them over here."
" The canoe will not carry us all safely," said Alma, in a quiet
and sorrowful tone, as her companions, who had first entered,
seated themselves in the boat.
" Oh, no danger -not the least; step in," said the widow,
encouragingly.
"No, let me remain," replied the former. "There will probably be no danger till the boat can return. But if there should
be," she added, in the same plaintive and desponding accents,
" if there should be, what matters it to me? "
"Alma Hendee!" said the widow, looking up at the other
with an air of mingled surprise and expostulation, " how is this?
where is your fortitude?"
The grief-stricken maiden made a slight effort to speak, but
the utterance died away on her quivering lip, and the bright teardrops stood in her eyes.
"What has happened to her?" asked the woman, looking
round on the company with an expression of wonder and concern.
"Warrington has fallen in battle," replied Selden, with an
unsuccessful effort to speak without emotion.
" Now, Heaven forbid!" exclaimed the widow, in accents
which plainly told the shock which the sad announcement had
imparted to her feelings.
"Yes, the gallant fellow has left us," resumed the other.
"The melancholy tidings were received from a soldier, who
joined us in our flight, and who said he saw him fall dead from
his horse in the last moments of the battle. But do not allow
yourself to despond, my dear Miss Hendee. You had better go
over now," he added, soothingly, as he approached, and gently
urged the mutely sorrowful, but now passive girl into the boat,
which was instantly headed round, and, under the strokes of the
strong-armed widow, sent surging towards the other shore.
Stopping no longer than to see the females under weigh, Sel



THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                807
den sprang up the bank, seized the horses by their bridles, and,
whipping them into a lively trot, led them into a neighboring
thicket, tied them to saplings, and flew back to the shore. The
active young Indian, who had readily undertaken to swim the
stream, had already returned with the canoe, taken in Captain
Hendee, and sat impatiently waiting, with uplifted oar, to push
again from the shore.
"There! now lay to with a will, my lad," cried Selden, leaping into the boat, just as the scattering fire of several rifles,
quickly returned by that of a much larger number, a short distance beyond, burst from the bushes at a point now not more than
a quarter of a mile up the stream, apprising them that the enemy
were rapidly driving in Jones and his party, who, as previously
concerted, were retiring before their pursuers in three divisions,
each in turn coming in front, discharging their pieces from their
coverts, and scudding on to the rear of the others, to reload, and
await the approach of their foes.
" If we can get one boat-load of men safely over," resumed
Selden, " we shall be able, I trust, to protect the rest in crossing;
and when all are over, I hope to keep the rascals on their own
side of the river."
"That may be done till dark, perhaps," observed Captain
Hendee, "but with our small force, not after, I think. No, Captain Selden, unless the disposition of these tories is less devilish
than I rate it, and the nature of their Indian allies has changed
since I used to deal with the hell-hounds, we may as well prepare
for a siege."
"Let it come, then," replied the other, determinedly-" with
the widow's't other world' for a concealment and strong-hold
for the women and children, and those impervious logs of her
cabin to protect us while we fight, many a tory and red-skin must
take a leaden supper before they capture us. But here we
are, safe ashore. Neshobee, will you take back the boat, or
shall I?"
"Me go - no'fraid," answered the native, again pushing out
into the stream.
" Very well, — I will remain to superintend the transportation
of the men. And you, Captain Hendee, had better proceed immediately to the house, and, if you will, be looking a little to the
means of defending it. An old soldier like yourself will need
no instructions in that duty.  Hold out bright hopes to the ladies,
but see that they retire from the upper world in season, and
while they may, undiscovered, if their passage to the lower, with




308            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
which I am unacquainted, is likely to expose them to the sight
of the enemy."
"Ay, ay, ay, I will see to it," replied; the other, hurrying off with
unwonted activity to the cabin, where he was met at the door by
the widow.
" What is the prospect, Captain? " she asked, in a low, eager
tone.
"The men will get over, I think, with few or no losses,
but -"
"But what?"
"Those untiring fiends are after blood! Our men have already
to-day made a heavy inroad on their numbers, and they are determined on revenge. I have no hope but that they will find
means to cross the Creek and besiege us, as soon as it is dark."
" Nor have I, the least, since Alma has told me the particulars
of your disasters, and the conduct of that wretch who has caused
them. H-Jendee, I have long known that Jake Sherwood, and
have wondered at your course."
"I was duped —deceived, Ann Story, but I have been an
egregious old fool even at that, I will own,- besides treating my
own flesh and blood like a tyrant and a brute. Furies! I could
beat my own brains out!  If you were a man, and connected
with me as you are, you ought to curse me to my face. A good
round damning from a friendly source would seem to relieve my
feelings. But where are the girls?"
"All within here. They have taken a little refreshment, and
seem getting up their spirits a little."
" Well, we will not dampen their feelings at present; but they,
and you with your children, had better be on -the move for your
undergrotind refuge."
"That is easily gained, now."
" Why, you enter the Creek, as formerly, do n't you?"
" No, I have made a fine improvement this summer. Come,
attend me, and you shall see."
" I will, but must first glance at the means we shall have of
defending the house, which we must make our fortress, for beating off or weakening the enemy. Your place of concealment
below must be the last resort of the men, if they enter it at all."
They now entered the house, and were met by the anxious
and enquiring looks of the girls, who sat silently waiting to hear
the news which the Captain might have brought from the scene
of action.
"Has he -" at length commenced Miss Reed, unable longer




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               309
to repress her anxiety, hut stopping short and blushing at the
exclusiveness of the enquiry she was about to make, " has - that
is, is the danger over?"
" We hope so," replied the Captain, "at least, there can be
but little danger for you females. Captain Selden trusts to prevent the enemy from crossing. He commands without, and I,
for the present, within; and I hope to find in you a brave garrison.
"Jessy, at least, will prove no coward for herself, I suspect,"
remarked the widow, a little archly.
" Well, both she and Alma are soldiers' daughters," resumed
the Captain, " and should danger beset us to-night, I trust they
will bear themselves as they have already done for the last
twenty-four hours, with firmness and fortitude. But now for the
business on hand," he added, turning to the hostess, and glancing
round the walls of the house.
" Very well, sir, and, to begin, here is my double plank door -
bullet-proof, I think, and the fastenings abundantly secure."
" Yes, I have noticed; but what loop-holes shall we have to
fire from, besides that window?"
" Here," answered the widow, stepping up to one of the walls,
and pulling out a nicely fitting block from a cone-shaped embrasure cut through one of the logs. There are two of these on
each side and end of the house, and as many more just below the
eaves in the chamber loft above."
" Just the things for us - and now if we had but a long, square
block to fill that window "
" You have it at hand, with a loop like the rest, in that block
on which the children are sitting there."
"Admirable! a regular fort, by George! Ann Story, you
ought to be the wife of a general. Let us now proceed to your
unfindable fastness below."
" In an instant," said the widow, going to the fire, and blowing
up a torch. " Boys, lift that door," she added, pointing to a trap
door in the corner of the room, that opened into the cellar.
Followed by the Captain, the widow now descended through
the trap in the floor on a short ladder into the cellar, and going
to the western side, and removing a bundle of straw standing
against the wall, disclosed the entrance of a narrow, upright passage, leading off into the earth, in the direction of the river.
"Come on!" said the prompt and energetic woman, plunging,
with torch in hand, directly into the dark, vaulted way before
her.




310            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
After proceeding several rods through this straight and narrow
passage, all smoothly cut through the solid earth some distance
below the surface, they came to a lateral excavation, forming an
arched room about a dozen feet square.
"This is my half-way house - my innermost recess," said the
widow, stepping into the centre of the room and holding up the
light that the other might see to examine. "This is a much
stronger place than the outer, or western room, which vou have
been into before, I believe, as the earth is here much thicker
above us, owing to a swell in the surface, over which, to make it
still more difficult to dig through, spread the widely branching
roots of several large maples." 
" True," replied the Captain, "and one man at each entrance
might defend the place against hundreds. Ah! I plainly see
that we old soldiers have got to yield the palm to you, Ann: In
all my experience of twenty years among these northern forests
in fighting and dodging the enemy, and planning, building, or
seeking out places for forts, defences, and refuges, I never saw or
thought of any thing like this establishment of yours."
"I can think of no way by which our foes can rout us from
this," rejoined the widow, "unless they storm us, or smoke us
out. I believe I shall curtain off this room with blankets for the
children and girls to night, while we give up the other room, if
needed, to our defenders. But you have seen enough of this, let
us pass on."
They now entered the remaining part of the passage, which,
after running a few rods in a direct line, and then winding round
to the left, brought them into the large partitioned room we have
formerly described.
"This you have seen before," said the widow, pausing as they
entered the room, " and there is nothing new to show you here,
except my stores; those barrels," pointing to two casks standing
just within the entrance of the smaller room, " contain provisions,
which, on the rumor of the approaching invasion, I employed my
neighbor just before he left us, to purchase for me at Crown
Point."
"Well, it is not impossible that we shall need them," remarked
the Captain thoughtfully.
"Famine often follows closely in the footsteps of war," resumed
the other; " so I thought I would supply myself in season. Nor do
provisions constitute the whole of my supplies; for it occurring
to me at the same time that something like the present emery




THIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.             311
gency might happen, I made another purchase, which may be still
more important to us."
"What may that be?" asked the other.
"Stand back to the mouth of the entrance, take, and hold up
this torch, and I will show you," answered the woman, proceeding to the opposite side of the room, taking down a broad piece
of bark, which had been snugly fitted into the mouth of a little,
low chamber, or recess, excavated in the earthy wall, and disclosing-to view the ends of some half dozen strongly bound casks, to
which she now directed his attention with her finger.
" What have you there, Ann, so mysteriously hid up," said the
old gentleman with a look of mingled curiosity and surprise.
"Gunpowder, with an abundance of lead behind there to
serve."
"Indeed! but not all your own, surely?"
" No;- only one is mine - the rest belong to the settlers,
who live north of this, and who, expecting that a stand would
have been made against the enemy in this vicinity, had, it seems,
amply provided themselves for the crisis. But finding that resistance would be useless, they concluded to flee; when, getting wind
of my strong hold, they brought their munitions, which they were
unable to carry with them, to this place for safe keeping till they
should return or send for them."
" Faith! that's lucky," exclaimed the Captain. "It may be
wanted to supply the powder horns of the men, and - and" - he
continued partly to himself, as he glanced about the room, with a
look of wild and exulting joy at the thought which seemed to
strike his mind, "and with the chance which these under-ground
rooms and passages afford, as a last resort, of blowing that infernal gang nearer heaven than they will otherwise ever get -but
time enough to think of that when other measures fail."
" What measures? " asked the widow, who, having been busy
in replacing the door of her magazine, had not heeded the
remarks of the other, except two or three words at the close.
"0, nothing of any present moment," answered Captain Hendee, with the air of one willing to let the words pass without
being understood; "but let us now see how you have fixed the
outer entrance."
Resuming her torch, the widow immediately led the way
through the passage to the entrance at the bank of the Creek.
" There! having no further use for this entrance, I have fastened. it up," said she, pausing as she approached the end of the
avenue, which was blocked up by a single layer of square short




812            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
timbers, placed horizontally across the passage and let into the
earth at the ends. "It can only be opened on the inside, as you
perceive, or at least, not easily; and I have considered it a safe
barrier, though, to be sure, by considerable digging on the outside - but hush! - hark! Do you hear that shouting out upon
the Creek, or on its banks?"
" Ay; and it sounds as if there's trouble afoot too. Cannot
this top timber be removed without danger of exposing the entrance to the discovery of the enemy from the opposite bank? "
" I should think so, as the mouth is pretty thickly overhung
with bushes."
" Let us lift it out then, that we may see, or at least hear, what
is going on."
The timber was accordingly carefully removed; when through
the crevice thus formed, a tolerable distinct view was obtained
of a long reach of the Creek above, and a short one below. The
last boat load of Selden's men had gained the middle of the
stream, and were pulling with all possible speed for the hither
shore, on which all those who had crossed were posted behind
their coverts, keenly watching, with cocked and levelled pieces,
for the first head that should be raised on the opposite bank to
fire upon the boat. The boat's crew, as they had been ordered,
were all seated, save one man, who had inadvertently risen on
his feet to point out to his companions on shore the object which
had caused the noise and stir that had reached the ears of the
widow and her friend. The man's arm was still extended up the
river with the motions of one trying to count a series of some
moving objects.
The widow, having the most favorable position for the pur
pose, instantly turned her eyes in the direction thus indicated.
"What can you see as the cause of the commotion?" asked
the Captain, after the other had gazed an instant in silence.
" Well, I confess, I do n't know exactly what to make of them,"
replied the woman, as with.a puzzled expression she still kept
her eyes riveted on the spot -" something is evidently crossing
the Creek, nearly as far as I can see up the stream. At any
other time, I should think it must be a flock of cranes with their
long necks only above water."
" It is the Indians!" exclaimed the Captain, in low, startling
accents - " it is the Indians, swimming the Cre.ek on their backs,
and holding their guns upright on their breasts. I have seen
their tricks before to day."
At that instant a stream of smoke, accompanied by the sharp




THE GREEN MOtTNTAIN BOYS.              813
crack of a rifle, shot out fiercely from an old tree top on the opposite bank, while, at the same time, the man standing in the
boat fell over backwards into the water, and sunk, to rise no
more, beneath its bubbling surface. An exclamation of horror
rose to the lips of the Captain and the widow; but before it could
be uttered, and while the echoes of the last shot were yet ringing
among the neighboring hills, the stunning report of another rifle,
bursting from the bank directly over their heads, and followed by
a hollow groan, and a floundering fall in the bushes on the other
side told that the death of the victim was avenged.
" There! Jim Townley," exclaimed the well known voice of
Pete Jones, on the bank above, "' Old Trusty' has done the business for your murderer, I guess; though if he had n't tore his
coat so as to make a white spot in his back, as he was slinking
away, I never could have got an aim worth firing for. Well,"
he continued, soliloquizing, as he appeared to be reloading his
piece, " that is the way with the best of us. Jim was a fellow of
first rate grit, and I'd rather gin anything but old Trusty - yes,
and that too, - than to have him gone so. But if spirits can hear
and see things, as some think, it will be a grand comfort to one
of Jim's spunk and pride, on his way along up, to know that the
bloody rascal did n't live to brag on't."
The survivors of the boat's crew, now reaching the landing,
sprang upon the bank, and took their stations among their comrades along the shore, to watch any further appearance of their
foes. But none daring to show themselves after the lesson just
received, a silence of some minutes now prevailed. The calm
was not destined, however, to last long. Another cry of alarm
was soon raised by one of the men, eagerly calling on the rest to
look down the stream.
"0, the divils! the divils!" cried the shrill voice of Jones,
"they have stole our horses, and are swimming them across down
there, with two of the lubbers on the back of every horse. By
Judas! what a chance to plug them, if I was only forty rods
nearer! Say, Captain Selden, what if I take two or three men,
and scud down that way a little?"
" No, Jones," replied Selden, " our force is too small to scatter. The Indians in a few moments more will be upon us from
above; besides, we have not a man to lose in open fight. Let
every one, therefore," he continued, raising his voice to a tone of
command, "retire from the bank, and, keeping a tree in his
range, repair directly to the house. Then let them come with a
welcome."
27




814            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
" Well, the hour of trial is at hand," observed the widow, with
a sort of desperate calmness, "and may God be merciful unto us.
Assist me, Captain Hendee, to replace this timber; and then I
must instantly back to bring down my children and the girls.
The men will reach the house by the time we can get there ourselves. There! that will do- all safe, I think. Now follow
me as fast as your crazy old limbs will let you - come on -
faster -faster -come on! come on! "  And with the old veteran, taxing his powers of speed to the utmost to keep up, the
fearless woman, though anxious mother, with her torch streaming
behind her, rather flew than walked, till she had gained the cellar,
and sprang up the ladder leading up into the room, where she
had left the objects of her solicitude.
"Here!" she exclaimed, raising her head through the trap,
and glancing round the room, where the females, ignorant of
what had taken place without, were unconcernedly sitting, with
the children hanging about their chairs, "here, to the cellar,
every chick and child of you, to the cellar! And you, girls,
must follow, without a moment's delay," she added, seizing the
little urchins by the waist, and lifting them, one by one, in rapid
succession, down the pass-way, as, alarmed by the startling tones
of their mother's voice, they ran huddling to the entrance.
"Is there any immediate danger?" asked Alma, calmly,
though with an expression of some surprise, at the rapid and
agitated manner of the widow.
"Not for us, if we are out of the way; but the tories are
crossing below, and the Indians, on this side above, are, by this
time, perhaps, within gun-shot of us, in the skirts of yonder
woods.
"And Selden and his men? " - eagerly said Jessy.
"Will be here in a moment to make this room their fortress,
for their own and our protection. And a shower of balls, through
that open door and window, will probably salute them as they
enter."
" True, true," observed Captain Hendee, who, having crowded
by the widow on the ladder, and gained the floor, now stepped to
the door, hastily shut it, and proceeded to bring the block for
closing up the window, "true, this danger to the girls and children did not occur to me, as it seems it did to you, by your leading my rheumatic legs such a deuced race through the passage
from the Creek. Yes, girls, down with you all, and on to the
middle room, and have no fears but that we will defend you."
" But you, father?" said Alma, looking back as she was




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              315
descending, with an expression of solicitude,' you are surely
not to remain? - you are too old - infirm -"
"I am young again, girl. The thought of our treatment, and
the fate which our foes evidently design for us still, make me a
soldier again - go down, my daughter, and may God be with
you, and strike for us all," said the old veteran, letting down the
trap upon the last of the retiring party.
Scarcely had the mingled voices of the women and children
died away, as they retreated along the passage to their refuge
under the earth, before Selden and his men came scattering along
into the house, fortunately not, however, with the danger which
the widow had anticipated. As soon as the whole company, now
numbering but twelve, including Captain Hendee and Neshobee,
had gained the room, they immediately proceeded to barricade
the door, and put everything in the best possible condition for a
defence.
While they were thus busily engaged, unmindful of the severe
fatigues of the day, in the excitement created by the alarming
prospects of the night, which was now about to set in, the trap
door was pushed up, and the provident widow reappeared, ascending the ladder with a large loaf of bread and a haunch of dried
venison under one arm, and a pail of water, in which floated the
accustomed gourd-shell, slung on the other. With many a blessing on the widow's head, and many an oath to defend her and
hers to the death, the famished and wearied soldiers eagerly fell
upon the grateful repast, after which they repaired with renewed
spirits to the several stations allotted them, above and below,
along the walls.
" I wish the rascals would make themselves manifest, if they
are around us, as I suspect," observed Selden, after the company
had stood some time at their respective loop-holes, silently awaiting the appearance of the enemy.
"That they will be cunning enough not to do till the approach
of darkness," replied Captain Hendee.  "Then you will hear
from them, I'll warrant you. And as they can have but small
hope of perforating these logs with their bullets, they will probably attempt to beat down the door, or burn the house over our
heads.
"They will find the latter a difficult job, I imagine," responded
Selden. "These bare logs, after the heavy rain of last night,
and that, too, at the distance at which we can manage to keep the
knaves, cannot offer much inducement for an attempt to ignite
them with lighted arrows."




316            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
"True," replied the other, "but you forget the roof -these
bark coverings are rather combustible."
" No, I thought of that," rejoined Selden, "and was about to
remark, that if they fired the roof, we must tear it off."
"That can be done, perhaps," replied the former. "At all
events, it will be time enough to think of it when they arrive for
the attack; for I doubt whether there is now one of them within
a quarter of a mile of us."
" Now, I've a notion there is," said Pete Jones, who, in the
meanwhile, had been keenly watching every appearance within
the scope of his vision " And I should n't be much surprised if
some of those stlmps and log-heaps over in the widow's grass
yonder, if they could talk, would be willing to swear to it."
" Have you actually seen any of them, Jones?" asked Selden.
"' Why, answered the scout, with his peculiar coltic twist of
features, " I have actually seen a sign or two, that I have never
known fail, except in the dryest of times. And with your leave,
Captain Selden, I have thoughts of an experiment, by way of
putting the question at rest, and doing something more, perhaps,
into the bargain."
" Well — very well-" said Selden, pausing for the other to
explain the nature of his proposal.
"' Here is at it, then," said the scout, choosing to answer by ac.
tions rather than words, the enquiry which the manner of his
superior implied, while he proceeded to strip off his coat, button
it up, and, with the brush of an old broom that stood in a corner,
distend the body, running the short handle into one arm to keep
the artificial limb thus made in a horizontal position.
"What are you a going to do with your scarecrow now?"
asked Selden, who, with the rest of the company stood looking
on, anxious to learn the character of the proposed stratagem.
"I'll show you in a minute," replied Pete, now getting the
poker, and suspending his contrivance on one end of it.
"There, Captain Hendee, I want you should take charge of this
concern - you'11 know how to manage it - while the rest of us,
who have keener sight for aim in the dusk, will attend to our
rifles. But mind ye, I have first got to deliver a little bit of an
oration for the benefit of the gentlemen outside, if so be that
they're within ear-shot, as I surmise."
The scout then, after pulling out one end of the block in the
window a short space, that his voice might the better be heard
by those whom it was intended to reach, commenced and carried




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              317
on by himself a sort of ventriloquial dialogue, purporting that a
discovery had suddenly been made, that they were out of bullets,
and were wishing to obtain a bar of lead that had been left standing outside under the window, while the question seemed to be,
who should expose himself by reaching out his hand to get it;
but one at length appearing to be found hardy enough to undertake the task, the speaker suddenly dropped the discourse, and
turned to the company present.
" There, boys, have your muzzles to your loops, and your eyes
on the look-out for game," he said, in a low, eager tone. "And
you, Captain Hendee, be ready to pass the figure up to the window, which I am about to lay open, and which all, as they value
the union of body and soul, must keep out of the range of.
Do n't fire till I give the word. All ready? " well, here goes,
then," he added, swinging out the block, and stepping quickly to
his loop-hole.
Captain Hendee now proceeded immediately to execute the
part he had been requested to perform. And while the company
were waiting with breathless interest the result, he moved along
the effigy towards the window, so as to show only one arm and a
portion of the bust to those who might be watching without, skilfully imparting to the figure the cautious and hesitating motions
of a living actor, who might be supposed to be conscious of the
hazard incurred, though determined to approach. Scarcely had
the protruding arm entered the narrow opening, bringing one
side of the body in fair view to the supposed lurking enemy
without, when a bright flash suddenly gleamed through the window, and, with the almost simultaneous report of a dozen guns,
bursting from the surrounding coverts, a shower of bullets passed
through the effigy, and buried themselves in the logs of the opposite wall. There was again a momentary silence, when, with the
lifting smoke along the line from which the fire proceeded, several
dark forms became visible, peering out from their respective
coverts, and quivering and dodging about in the dissipating vapor.
Then came the sharp word of command from the watchful
scout.
"Fire!"
"Eight well aimed rifles from the loops along the walls above
and below, instantly spoke in response; and the mingled screech
of a half dozen voices, followed by a yell of rage and disappointment from the whole band of the besiegers, plainly told the
result of* the stratagem.
" Now, by hokey! if I do n't keep this coat to brag on - six
27*




318            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
bullet-holes right through the body, and the owner still alive and
kicking! " exclaimed the scout, picking up the riddled garment,
and feeling out the bullet-holes with his fingers, as the loud shout
of exultation and defiance, which burst from the little band on
the occasion, died away in the surrounding forest.
For nearly an hour, the besieged, who had closed up their
window, and resumed their respective posts, now strained both
ear and eye in vain, to catch some sight or sound indicating the
presence of the foe around them. But fully aware of the desperate and wily character of those with whom they had to deal,
they determined to suffer none of their vigilance to relax. And
but a short time elapsed, before they made a discovery, which
taught them the wisdom of the resolution: - As all stood watching at their posts in silence, a low, short exclamation from the
young Indian, testified that something suspicious had at length
attracted his attention.
" What now, Neshobee? " softly asked Selden, stepping noiselessly towards the native, who was lying on the floor in one corner, listening through a crevice which he had found between the
lower logs.
"Me no see nothing, but hark um scratch um buttons - guess
um lift something," was the somewhat hesitating reply.
"I'11 grant you the best'harkum,' as you call it, boy," said
Pete Jones, who stood near, and, on the exclamation of the
Indian, had renewedly taxed his vision to discover the cause;
"but as to eye-shot, you have got to knuckle to me, for I can see
them; and they are at some bobbery, too - though what in the
name of reason it can be," he continued, pausing and hesitating,
as he turned his head one way and then another, to obtain a
more distinct view; " what it can be, I am dubious whether the
divil himself can tell —unless he contrived it for'em. They
are.moving down the path this way, I believe; yes, and in pairs,
too, like new-married geese. What?- no- yes, they have got
something upon their shoulders - I should think it was one of
the corpses we made for'em, which they were carrying to be
buried, only it is as long as a sea-sarpent."
"Aha! I understand it," cried the young leader, "it is some
long timber which they intend to use as a battering-ram, to beat
in our door. And thank Heaven for the timely discovery, but
for which, ten to one, we had been lost,-and even as it is, there
is danger enough. Stand to your guns, boys," he continued, in a
low, thrilling tone, though sufficiently raised to reach every man
within, "if we can but drop two or three of the foremost, the




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              319
whole, probably, will be carried down by the weight of the timber
— cock your guns —keep a steady eye on the advancing column,
and be ready for the word."
Slowly, and with noiseless tread, did the performers of this
new mode of attack approach along the path, staggering under
the weight of the long, heavy pole, or rather the trunk of a
closely-trimmed tree, which they bore on their shoulders, till
within.three or four rods of the house; when, squaring round,
and pointing the butt end of their formidable implement directly
at the door, they began to bear it forward with mighty force
towards the object of its aim, which, the next instant, must have
given way before the tremendous impetus whiclfit was gathering
for the blow. At that critical juncture, Selden gave the signal
to his impatient men, and every gun that could be brought to
bear, was discharged upon the assailants. A cry of agony rose
from the spot, followed with a shout of "hold on! for God's
sake, hold on! " Then was heard the sounds of floundering footsteps, and in another breath, the whole came thundering to the
ground. Once more the house rung with the triumphant shouts
of the Green Mountain Boys, and all again was silent.
Another long respite was allowed our little band, and during
the hour succeeding the last onset, nothing could be seen or
heard to betray the presence of the enemy anywhere in the
vicinity of the spot. They had evidently retired to some distance to hold a consultation, and arrange some new method of
attack. At length, however, the occasional cracking of a dry
stick, as it broke apparently under cautiously-moving feet in the
field and woods around, apprised the intently-listening band
within, that the twice baffled foe were again stealthily drawing
up to the spot, still bent on renewing, in some shape or other,
the assault. After appearing to approach to their line of coverts,
reaching within five or six rods of the house, a dead silence of
many minutes ensued, leaving the besieged still wholly ignorant
of the form in which the threatened attack was to be made, and
even, at length, in some doubt whether it was to be made at all.
All at once a tremendous outcry broke through the surrounding
gloom, and the thrilling yells of the savages, mingled with the
hoarser shouts of the tories, resounded in one unceasing din
through the forest. Startled, but not dismayed, by this sudden
outbreak, the Green Mountain Boys instantly cocked their pieces,
and stood straining their vision to catch a glimpse of the foe.
But they watched in vain. No living object was to be seen,
though the noise, which seemed not to be the regular war-cry,




320            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
sometimes raised on the eve of an onset, but a promiscuous
clamor, was continued without the least intermission.  And,
together with the war-whoop and shout, the rattling of guns and
ramrods, the crashing of dry brush, the beating of clubs against
trees, the mimic hooting of owls, the howling and bellowing of
wild beasts, with all imaginable noises, seemed to unite to swell
the strange uproar.
"Well, now, if I an't -beat," exclaimed Pete Jones, as usual
the first with his comments on the occasion. " I wonder if the
foolish satans expect to throw down our walls of hard maple
logs, and well locked together at the ends to boot, by racket and
roaring, as the Jewish militia did those of old Jericho, that I've
read of in the scripter? I rather guess they will find it a hard
go, unless they blow them down with horns of powder, as I've
sometimes kinder reckoned must be the meaning of the good
book, in that business I've just spoke of, seeing as how it was
jest as easy for God to make'em gun-powder to do it with, as't was manna to eat."
"I think it must be a feint," replied Selden, "to cover some
design of a more dangerous character than mere noise. An
attack of some kind is doubtless in preparation for us; but in
what manner or place the storm is to burst, I am wholly at loss
to conjecture. Keep a keen eye abroad, boys.. And you, Neshobee, go immediately down through the passage to the western
entrance, where you heard Captain Hendee say he would repair,
when he left us a short time ago. Tell him to keep a strict
guard in that quarter, and if beset, send instantly for a reinforcement. And now, my brave lads," he continued, turning to his
men, " a crisis may be at hand, which will require your coolness
and - but stay - what means this? Do my eyes deceive me,
or is it growing lighter in the room? 
" It is - it certainly is!" responded several.
"The moon - the rising.moon!" suggested others.
"You need n't go to blaming the moon for this," coolly observed Jones, " for, according to my reckoning, it wont be up
this two hours."
" True," said the leader, "though evidently reflected light, it
is not from the moon. See! see! how rapidly it increases! " he
continued, as a sort of flickering suffusion of light, weak and
scarcely perceptible at first, but growing stronger and more distinguishable every second, as if reflected from a steadily-kindling
flame in some unseen point in the heavens, now began dimly to
light up the grounds around the house, and even render objects




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               321
in the room visible. " This light was never made by the enemy
to enable us to shoot them. There is mischief afoot somewhere.
Let every man, then, stand to his post, and let every eye be
strained to discover the cause."
At that instant the appalling cry of " fire! the roof is on fire!"
resounded through the loft above, revealing at once to the startled
inmates below the character of the expected danger, and the
meaning of the mysterious uproar, which had, it was now evident, enabled the enemy to approach the house, mount it at the
corners, set fire in different places to the roof with their readyprepared combustibles, and descend and escape unheard and undetected.
"Cut the fastenings of the outside binders of the roof, and
stave off every bark of the covering that the fire has reached,"
shouted the excited leader to the men above.
"It will expose us to certain death from the shot of the enemy,
to make an opening while we remain here," was the reply.
" Rip up the floor between us, then," promptly said Selden,
"to give us a chance to do it from below here - off with the
fastenings! up with the floor! Hand us down two or three of
those longest plank for our purpose, and descend yourselves to
our assistance. Lively, my men! As you value our salvation,
be lively!"
In prompt obedience to the command, the men tore up the
loose boards composing the floor, and, after passing down to their
comrades below such as might be needed, hastily threw the rest
together at the ends of the loft, leaving all the inside of the roof
open to the lower floor; when, swinging themselves down by the
bare beams, they joined in the operations already then in rapid
progress upon the frail covering above. The long boards having
been reared up endwise, and each one placed in the hands of two
strong men, were now thrust forcibly. against the roof at the different points where the fires were supposed to be burning on the.
outside; and several breaches were made, all expecting, that, by
the removal of a few of the barks, the flames might be extinguished. But appearances soon taught them, that their hopes of
thus conquering the element were wholly delusive. The light
above, instead of dying away, as portions of the burning roof
were removed, continued rapidly to increase. Small tongues of
the lambent flamnes began to show themselves through the lateral
crevices in the covering in numerous places, quivering, and leaping from point to point along the inner surface, while a general
crackling above, plainly told them that the fire had already




322            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
spread nearly or quite over the whole of the outside of the roof.
Perceiving that nothing short of unroofing the whole building
would stop the progress of the flames, they now proceeded with
renewed vigor in their operations. Piece after piece of the
broad barks were beat off; and hurled blazing to the ground.
And the work was continued with unabated energy, till the last
vestige of the burning material had been removed, and nothing
but the naked rafters intervened between the lower floor, on
which all our little band were now assembled, and the starry
heavens above them.
"There, thank Heaven, we are freed from  that danger at
last!" exclaimed Selden, in tones of gratulation, as he threw
down the implement with which he had been assisting his men
in their labors.
"That's right enough," observed the scout, whose attention
for some moments seemed to hav~e been arrested by some appearance he noticed through a loop-hole. " All that is right enough,
mayhap; but while we are putting up thanks for deliverance
from one danger, I am a little suspicious whether or no we
had n't better join to'em a small bit of a prayer to be delivered
from a worse one that we've got to see to soon, I've a notion
-jest look here, Captain."
Selden turned to the spot occupied by the speaker, who stood
silently and successively pointing to the different loop-holes along
the walls, and the words of the latter were explained. Flames,
rising from the. ground on the outside, began to be visible, and
their flickering points were already darting up in fitful leaps
athwart several of the apertures, announcing to the dismayed
inmates, that a fire was in rapid progress on the outer walls of
the house, from combustibles which had been piled up against
them, doubtless, at the time of firing the roof, and which had
been kindled by fire placed there by the enemy, or by burning
fragments of bark falling down from above. All saw at a glance
that it was utterly impossible to arrest, by any means now left
them, the spreading conflagration, and that, consequently, the
house must soon be relinquished to the devouring element. And
but a few more moments had elapsed, before they were warned,
by the spouts of crackling flames now beginning to shoot up
above the tops of the roofless walls, and by the sensibly-increasing heat in the room, to prepare for their retreat to their last
refuge in the subterraneous abode of their provident hostess.
At that instant, the voice of Sherwood, the leader of their foes,
was heard above the roaring of the flames, loudly calling on the




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                323
besieged to yield themselves as prisoners, and come forth, lest
they should perish in the fire.
Is there a possibility of getting a glimpse of that demon through
the loops? " asked Selden, in a tone of concentrated bitterness.
" If there is, let a rifle bullet take back his answer."
In pursuance of the suggestion of their leader, the men made
an attempt to get a sight of their foes, who, now sensible of their
advantage, were heard shouting within a few rods of the house.
But it was useless; for the walls, by this time, were so completely enveloped in fire and smoke as wholly to intercept the
view of every object without.
" Let us beat a retreat, then, for the widow's strong hold below,"
resumed Selden; "but let us pause a moment to send a glance
over yonder tree-tops, lest they contain eyes which will discover,
in our movement, what I trust those exulting fiends do not, and
will not suspect, -that this is not our last, nor best resource for
baffling their hellish purposes."
The last speaker had scarcely ceased, before Jones, who seemed
to have anticipated the object of his superior, raised his rifle to
his shoulder, preparatory to an aim, while his eye continued
intently fixed on the body of a large hemlock standing eight or
ten rods from the house.
C "What now, Jones? " said the former, who noticed the sudden movement of the scout.
"Hold easy! " replied the other, " there's something that acts
mightily like a red-skin going up the back side of that tree yonder. But he's so pesky delicate about showing any thing better
than toes and fingers - stay - stay "- he continued, in a low
gleeful chuckle, " there's a large limb just above him, which, if
he's fool enough to try to pass it, must throw his body out of the
track so far that - and, by Jethro! he is a going to try it. Now
hold still as thunder, all, and I'll be the chap to speak to the red
divil."
Every eye now glanced anxiously from the long and steadily
poised tube of the scout to the tree in question, and a moment df
breathless silence succeeded; when the sharp report of the piece
rung through the forest, and the dull, heavy jar upon the earth,
that instantly followed, told that another foeman was added to the
long list of victims who had fallen beneath the murderous bullets
of the unerring old Trusty.
" Down! down with you all, before the smoke of the piece
rises," exclaimed Selden, as he now, after hurrying his men
through the trap into the cellar, hastily descended himself and let
the door down after him.




324            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
CHAPTER XIII.
"The waves a moment backward bent -
The hills that shake, although unrent,
As if an earthquake pass'd -
The thousand shapeless things all driven
In cloud and flame athwart the heaven,
By that tremendous blast."
LEAVING the burning building to its fate, Selden and his men
immediately entered the dark avenue below; when, after blocking up the mouth as well as they could, with earth and stones
taken from the cellar wall, to keep out the smoke, as well as to
secure it against the discovery and entrance of the enemy, should
they break into the house before the progress of the flames in the
interior should prevent them, they proceeded directly to the
middle excavation.  Here they met their hostess walking with
restless steps and anxious looks to and fro before the curtained
apartment containing her family.
"Well, Mrs. Story," said Selden, as he approached at the head
of his followers, " I regret to inform you that your house is irrecoverably on fire. We have done our best to avert the catastrophe, but have wholly failed, and even have been driven to retreat
to your refuge for our own safety."
" I know it?" replied the widow, " I have been up to the mouth
of the passage to listen every five minutes, and know all that has
happened. But let the house go - all -every thing, and' I am
content if my treasures here," she continued, with a slight tremor
of voice as she pointed towards the curtained recess, "if my
treasures here can but be spared me. The little fellows, thank
Heaven, are now all asleep, and know nothing of the dangers
that hang over them. And God grant that they may remain so
till the hatchets of the hell-hounds now yelling above us shall, -
if it is so ordered of Heaven, - shall be buried in their "- here
choking with emotion at the horrid thought which her imagination began to suggest, she stopped short and was for a moment
silent.




TIIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOTS.             325
"Captain Selden," she at length resumed, "were my own personal safety alone concerned, I think I could follow you to the
cannon's mouth without flinching. But when I find the lives of
my children at stake, the mother instantly prevails within me,
and I become, in spite of all I can do, a poor trembling coward.
But enough of this - have you any reason to suspect the enemy
are aware of our place of refuge?"
" None whatever; and even at the worst, we think you have
but little to fear. But where are the girls? "
"Alma and Jessy are in yonder room guarding the hollow stub
through which the smoke of our fire place escapes, lest some of
the enemy should discover that avenue to the room, and attempt
to descend."
"Nobly employed! But the duty shall now be done by fitter
hands," said Selden, as, followed by his men, he passed on to the
main apartment.
On reaching the room they found the girls, as the widow had
named, stationed before the rude fire-place. Alma was sitting
upon a block in an attitude which would enable her to hear the
least sound connected with the hollow trunk above; while her
more volatile companion, having chosen the part of sentry, was
silently walking back and forth before the hearth with the widow's
rifle in her hand. Nor was this weapon their only dependence:
a quantity of loose straw was lying in the fire-place, and a slow
burning torch was at hand to apply and set the combustible material into a blaze the instant any one should attempt to enter the
cavity above.
" Bravo! ladies," exclaimed Selden, as he approached. "I
do n't now remember me," he -continued, eying Jessy archly, " to
have seen so heroic a display of this character since whilom at the
bloody siege of the Lower Falls."
"Now, Captain Selden," replied the other with a half resentffil, half deprecating look, " if you ever mention that affair again,
I will never - positively -never forgive you.  Besides, how
can you feel like joking at such an hour as this?"
"For ourselves we tremble not," interposed Miss Hendee,
rising and turning to Selden with her usual calm dignity of manner; "but think of that distressed mother and her helpless
family, upon whose heads we have brought this fearful peril!"
"Heaven forbid that we should be unmindful of them," rejoined
the young leader, seriously; "and believe me, Iiss Hendee,
there is not a man, - not a single man of us here, who, if need
be, would hesitate to shed his heart's blood in her defence. But
28




526~           THE GREEN 3MOUNTAIN BOYS.
we will now relieve you of your charge here, ladies. Retire,
then, and, if possible, to rest and slumber; for I well know your
exhausted systems must, by this time, require both. Go, girls,"
he added, conducting them to the entrance of the passage leading
to the apartment of their hostess, "go, - keep up bright hopes,
and rely on our disposition and ability to defend you."
As soon as the ladies had retired, a guard was selected to supply
the place they had just relinquished, and another was ordered to
relieve Captain Hendee and his faithful attendant at the western
entance. The remainder of the men, glad to seize every moment
offered them for rest, mostly threw themselves upon the earthy floor,
and fell asleep, while Selden and Captain Hendee, willing to leave
them to what repose they might thus snatch from the duties to
which they were liable the next instant to be called, repaired to
the small partitioned room adjoining, to hold a consultation, and
be ready for any movements which might be made by their persevering foes. A brief interval of comparative silence now succeeded, in which nothing was to be heard below but the deep,
heavy snoring of the wearied men, and the low, dull roaring of
the flames above. Slight jarrings of the earth, however, showing
that the enemy were again in motion, at length began to be perceptible below; and soon the unexpected sounds of the blows of
axes or hatchets were added to other indications of some fresh
project about to be attempted by the besiegers, the nature and
object of &hichl the besieged had now no means of ascertainiing.
" Now that jests settles the question; for I'1l be blest if I stand
it any longer," exclaimed Jones, who had for some time manifested signs of uneasiness as he sat listening to the movements
above ground, and who, as the last sound struck his ear, sprang
upon his feet, and began with restless steps, to pace the apartment. "To be cribbed and holed up here like so many hunted
foxes, with forty divils over our heads, who may be preparing to
send down one of those great hemlocks to smush us like migets,
for any thing we know, or fixing some other contrivance for us
not much better, and all without allowing us the least chance to
know the how, when and whereabouts, is a thing I do n't fancy.
And if I can get out there at the Creek, I swow by Lucifer's red
taffeta jacket, I'11 jest know what they are up to there above
ground."
"What do you propose to do, Jones?" asked Selden, who,
overhearing part of the scout's soliloquy, now entered the room;
"not to go out, and alone, surely?"
" I reckon I jest do, Captain - that is, unless you swear right
down I shan't."




TIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              327
IBut consider the danger of its leading to a discovery of our
refuge, and the fearful personal risk you must encounter."
"And then arain consider the chance that the satans have
smelt out that secret already, or, at the best, that they will, when
the house falls in, and they find we an't there. And as to my
own risk in the matter, I think you hadn't ought to grumble
much, if I do n't, considering," said the scout, taking the other's
remarks for a consent to his proposed excursion, and moving
towards the entrance.
" Jones, you shall not go alone - it shall never be said I suf
fered that," said Selden, calling after the scout, and snatching up
a rifle, and following him into the passage.
Although Selden had given way to the proposal of the scout
with a mind nearly balanced between the dangers which might
be averted, and those which might be incurred by the measure,
yet, having once decided to permit and take part in it himself,
he threw aside all his doubts, and proceeded to carry it into
instant execution. And having ordered the guard at this post to
be doubled, and leaving the command with Captain Hendee, to
act as circumstances should dictate, the two adventurers removed
a portion of the block-work at the mouth of the passage sufficient
for an egress, crept cautiously and silently out into the open air,
and soon gained the top of the bank above, unmolested. Here
they paused a moment to listen and reconnoiter; and perceiving
no signs of the presence of any enemy, except in the immediate
vicinity of the burning tenement, and being thus relieved fiom
their fears of an ambush at this spot, which they considered the
greatest personal hazard that they would be likely to incur, they
again set forward towards the scene of action, by separate and
slightly-diverging routes, under the agreement that each should
return by himself, and as speedily as possible, after obtaining the
best knowledge of the situation and movements of the enemy of
which the case would admit.  Carefully keeping within the
shadow of a tree or bush, lest the light of the conflagration,
which was brightly illuminating every open space in the woods
around, should expose him to the view of the enemy, Selden,
after leaving his companion, crawled noiselessly on to the border
of the woods, where he soon succeeded in gaining a position in a
thick clump of low evergreens, which luckily afforded him every
chance he could wish for observation. The greater part of the
enemy were still at their stations, a short distance from the
house, where they stood, peering over their coverts, with their
guns levelled at the door, which they were evidently each mo



328            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
ment expecting to see thrown open by the besieged, whom the
flames, they supposed, must soon drive from the house. A small
band was busily engaged in the edge of the woods, some eight
or ten rods to his left, in trimming out with their hatchets a small
spruce tree, which they had just cut down, and which, he at once
conclluded, was to be used as another battering-ram; the former
one being found by them, probably, too unwieldy for their purpose. While Selden stood making these observations, he heard
thle steps and voices of persons in the open grounds, apparently
approaching from the spot at which the engine was preparing,
atdcl, turning his head, he was soon enabled to see two men
-coming from a nook in the clearing some rods to his left, of
vwhich his situation had not permitted him a full view. Passing
along near the woods, they soon came between him and the
burning pile, when they slackened their pace; and finally
coining to a stand a little to his right, they turned their faces
towards the fire. With the first flash of light that fell upon
their features, Selden instantly recognized in one of them, Sherwood, the leader of the band. The other he rightly judged to
be Darrow, the reckless minion of the former.  Selden's rifle
was instinctively brought to his face, with an aim at Sherwood's
hleart, and his finger was feeling for the trigger, when prudence
overcame the temptation of ending the life of the villain, and
slowly and reluctantly lowering his piece, he gave his attention
to the dialogue which now ensued between these two worthies.
"Yes, the tables are now turned, Darrow," were the first
words that became distinctly audible to our listener. " We have
now, singularly enough, chased them round nearly to the spot
where this same accursed Selden was one of the foremost of the
gang to have me tied up and whipped like some scurvy thief.
And if he is the same fellow you saw in the woods, near Crown
Point -"
" That I can swear to."
" And if you are right in your suspicions as to the other particular -"
"I am more and more convinced of it, Jake."
"Well, I got one glance at his features to-day, and, come to
look at him with that object, I swear, I believe you are right;
and if so, both interest and revenge demands his death while he
is in our power. But I should prefer to have this brought about
before they surrender; and that was the reason of my particular
orders to the men to pick him off as soon as possible."
" Yes, and how the devil it has happened, that he has so long




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                329
escaped the effects of that order, is more than I can tell. I have
had four fair shots at the fellow myself in the course of the chase
to-day; and two or three of the men say they have tried it with
the same luck. He stands fire like a salamander," added the
ruffian, with a ferocious grin at his own wit, "and, by hell! I am
beginning to think they are all of that sort of animals, to stand
it out there in the flames at this rate."
" Well, the worst is their own, damn'em," rejoined Sherwood,
with a demoniac laugh; " and if they do get baked a little, it is
no more than they deserve. But the fact is, they must have
been driven out long ago, if they had not contrived some way to
keep out the flames - the one, probably, which I suggested, that
of bringing earth from the cellar, and strewing it over the upper
floor."
" And still they must know, that in fifteen minutes more, they
will all be buried beneath a blazing log-heap."
" True; and I am surprised, I will own, that they do n't throw
open the door, and call for quarters. But we will now very soon
save them the trouble, as I see our men are just starting with
their battering-pole to beat in the door."
"I see; and I am glad they have got it under way, at last;
for that will tell the story, devilish quick; and to tell the truth,
Jake, I am plaguy suspicious of some trick about this business."
"Well, if there is, this will be the best way to discover it; but
had not you better go and take the command?"
"No; Remington will know how to manage."
" Have you given him and the men their orders?"
" Yes - to let drive at the door with all vengeance."
" And in case they rush out? "
"' Why, shoot down the men, and spare the women for our
use."
" And supposing they cry for quarters?"
"Remington is to grant them; but three or four of such marksmen as he shall select, are not to understand the order till they
have dropped Selden on your account, the old Captain on mine,
and that long-legged devil, who has settled the fate of so many
of their companions to-day, on their own."
" All right, Darrow; but come, let us move a little to the
south, where we can get a fairer view of the door, when they
make the trial, and where, at the same time, we shall be out of
the range of the bullets, should the rascals be desperate enough
to attempt to fire upon us again."
It was with no small effort that Selden restrained himself from
18 *C




330            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
taking immediate vengeance on the black-hearted villain before
him, as he listened in silence to the foregoing dialogue, and discovered the extent of his diabolical designs. The consciousness,
however, that the lives of many - and among them, one whose
life was dearer to him than his own - might be endangered by
the act, enabled him to master his feelings to the end of the discourse. And the objects of his indignation having now withdrawn themselves from his view, he gave hi'is attention, in common with his foes, to the operations about tc be commenced on
the house, being anxious to witness the result, to see to what discoveries it might lead, and to what new movements it might give
rise, among the enemy, before retreating from the ground: nor
had he to wait long for that object. The new battering implement, when once fairly placed upon the shoulders of the party
immediately in charge of it, was borne round to the front side of
the house, where it was transferred to the shoulders of those
selected to employ it against the door. For the next succeeding
moment, as the engine was being poised and directed to the object of its aim, a breathless silence ensued, broken only by the
sharp clicking of cocking rifles, now heard in every direction,
while the dark forms of the enemy were seen slinking behind
the different objects of the lighted landscape, and protruding
their long, death-commissioned tubes, in readiness for the expected rush of the besieged from  the house, the instant the
interior should be laid open.
" All ready? - ahead with it, then! " now shouted the infamous villain to whom the command of the assaulting party had
been entrusted —" ahead with it, as if the devil drove it on
end! "
Starting at the word, the men shot forward the butt end of
their engine with a desperate effort towards its object. It struck;
and the massy door flew nearly to the opposite wall of the blazing
interior; while the sides of the fabric, already loosened, and
about to separate at the corners, from the action of the fire, after
tottering a moment at the violent jar imparted by the blow, gradually swayed inward, and finally came down in a mass of red
ruins over the cellar, sending up to the tops of the neighboring
trees, a broad gush of flames, that flashed far and wide over the
surrounding wilderness.
The enemy, to whom this result was wholly unexpected, looked
on in mute astonishment, not unmingled, apparently, with some
feelings of horror, at the terrific fate, which they took for granted had befallen every soul of the besieged.




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              331
"The devil!" at length exclaimed Sherwood, awakening from
the stupor of the surprise into which he seemed to have been
thrown by the event -" so they have all gone to hell together!"
"That do n't follow, by a damned sight!". bluntly replied
Darrow.
"What do you mean by that, Bill? " asked the former, turning
hastily, and with an air of concern, to his minion.
"They have escaped, Jake!"
"In the name of hell, how?"
"Do n't know; but depend on't they have. Why, do you
think them such cursed fools as to stay there to be roasted alive,
when the worst they could fear from rushing out, would be the
ten-fold preferable death by the bullet?  Never!  I tell you
they have found some way of escape - probably by a drain, or
passage from the cellar into the woods.  It began to creep
through my hair some time ago, but you was so confident —"
"Damnation seize me for a dolt! " exclaimed the enraged
leader. "Ho! there, men, the game has slipped through our
fingers -to the woods! to the woods, for the trail!" he added,
springing forward himself to take the lead in the execution of
the order. And so sudden and unexpected was the movement,
that before Selden had become fairly aware of the dangers of
his situation, Sherwood and Darrow had entered the woods but a
few rods to the south, and were rapidly approaching the spot
where he stood concealed.  Deeming it impossible now to re-,
treat for his refuge undetected, and thinking there might be a
chance that they would pass by without discovering him, which
would still leave him time to escape before others of the enemy
could arrive, he prepared his arms, and silently awaited the
approach of these two deadliest of his foes. They came nearly
abreast of him, and were passing by, when the motion of his
shadow, which was cast by the bright flames of the burning pile
across their path, caught their sight, and caused them to stop
short. Turning round for the object, their eyes fell upon the
other, and they gazed at him an instant in evident doubt and surprise.
" The very fellow, by hell! " eagerly muttered Darrow. in an
undertone to his companion.
All three simultaneously raised their weapons and fired. But
in taking a hasty step forward, Selden's foot, as fortunately for
him, perhaps, as for one of his foes, became entangled in a small
bush, and, in the act of discharging his piece, he fell to the
ground. The bullets of his foes whistled harmlessly over his




332            TITHE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
head, while his own, for the same reason, missed the object of its
aim. Leaping forward in the smoke, the desperadoes both grappled with their unprepared antagonist, before he could gain his
footing, and throwing him back upon the ground, drew their
knives to despatch him. As Selden was about to shut his eyes
in anticipation of the fatal blow, he caught a glimpse of the well
known figure of the tall scout, coming with tremendous bounds to
the spot. And the next instant, Darrow, as he turned, and was
starting up at the unexpected apparition, received a blow over
his head and shoulders from the clubbed rifle of the former, that
sent him reeling to the earth; while Sherwood was seized by the
same powerful hand, and dashed against a tree with a force that
laid him nearly senseless by the side of his disabled companion.
The surprise of Jones was equalled only by his joy, as Selden,
whom he supposed at least badly wounded, and whom he was
about to grasp and bear off in his arms, now sprang upon his feet
unhurt, and drawing his rapier, turned to add the finishing blow
to his two still prostrate, but fast reviving antagonists.
At that instant, the shout of rallying foes, hurrying to the rescue, and already entering the border of the woods, not twenty
yards distant, broke upon their ears, warning them of the necessity of immediate flight.
"By Moses! we must leg it, Captain," said the scout, as,
reluctantly relinquishing their object, they both darted away from
the spot, and, throwing each a tree in the range behind him, commenced a rapid retreat towards the refuge they had just left. In
another moment they had reached the Creek, thrown themselves
over the bank, entered the passage, and were in the embrace of
their alarmed and anxious friends, while the woods above were
resounding with the hideous yells of the disappointed foe, running
about in search of the missing objects of their rage.
Our band, having but little reason to hope that their retreat
would now long remain undiscovered, immediately set about such
preparations as were deemed necessary for its defence. The
short timbers, composing the barrier near the mouth of the passage, were more firmly secured; while convenient loop-holes
were formed by raising some of the upper timbers, and inserting,
at intervals, flat stones between them. An efficient guard, with
muskets and fixed bayonets, were then stationed at the spot, the
charge of which was entrusted to the brave and trusty scout.
This and the other arrangements being completed, they awaited
in silent anxiety the approaching crisis of their fate, all intently
listening, from the different stations allotted them in the rooms,




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               333
or along the passages, for some sound which should irdicate in
what shape and direction the expected assault was to be made.
They were not long left, in suspense. The sound of suppressed
and eager voices, and cautiously treading feet, fast gathering on
the bank above, soon apprised them  that the entrance to their
retreat was discovered.  For some time, however, the enemy
seemed wary and fearful about showing their persons in front of
the passage. But, after appearing to listen awhile, first one, and
then another, ventured out abreast of the barricade across the
passage, which was situated about a yard from its mouth. In the
mean time, Jones and his men stood within, holding their breath
in motionless silence, with their bayonets in their loops, and their
eyes eagerly fixed on their marked victims, who, feeling their
dark way with the muzzles of their guns, were slowly and cautiously approaching within reach of the murderous blades of those
of whose dangerous proximity they were wholly unaware.  The
assailants, now striking the barricade with their guns, paused, and
seemed to hesitate; but, after again listening a moment, they
withdrew their pieces, and, coming up to the timbers, were beginning to feel with their hands, apparently to ascertain the nature
of the obstruction; when the death-doing bayonets were suddenly
thrust forth, and, Fwith horrid shrieks, the pierced and recoiling
wretches sprang back, and fell over with a heavy splash into the
water below.
Warned by the fearful reception of their comrades, the enemy
ventured not again to appear before the mouth of the passage,
but soon retired from the bank, and for a long time gave the
besieged no further cause of alarm. So profoundly still, indeed,
was all above, that our little garrison at length entertained a
strong hope that their assailants, grown wise by the lessons they
had already received, had given up their design, and made a final
retreat from the place. The soldiers gradually relaxed from
that stern and determined air which the exigencies of their
situation had thrown over their war-worn visages, and began to
exchange the careless remark or sportive jest. Mrs. Story, and
the other females, venturing from their secluded refuge, came
out into the main room, to hear from their gallant defenders a
recital of the various occurrences of the night, to the deadened
and imperfect sounds of which they had been listening for many
hours with the most painful anxiety. These were accordingly
narrated. And every individual feat accomplished, or peril encountered, was made the theme of praise or gratulation to the
different actors of the occasion; while to wind up, Pete Jones,




334            TTIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
with his characteristic waggish gravity, displayed to the aston.
ished ladies his bullet-riddled coat, as a proof that his case
afforded a climax to all the hair-breadth escapes of the night.
As the attention of the company was thus engaged, and at the
instant when the eyes of all, including those set to guard against
the descent of the foe down the hollow stub before described,
were turned upon the scout, a savage warrior dropped silently
upon the hearth, and rearing himself partially from his crouching
attitude, and throwing a keen, rapid glance around the apartment,
glided swiftly through the assembled group, and darted into the
dark passage leading into the interior room, where the children
were left unguarded.  So sudden, so noiseless and shadowlike, had he entered, passed through them, and disappeared, that
few heeded, and still fewer became fully aware of the character
of the apparition. The eagle-eyed vigilance of the mother was
not, however, thus to be eluded.  She caught a glimpse of the
flitting form of the savage, as he entered the passage, and, with
the heart-rending exclamation, "rMy children! Oh! my children! " she sprang forward, like a maddened tigress, and disap"eared in the passage after him.
"A light! follow instantly with a light! " shouted Selden,
drawing his sword, and rushing into the dark avenue to defend
or rescue the frantic mother and her perilled children from'the
deadly knife of their merciless foe. He had scarcely passed the
entrance, however, before he was met by the intrepid woman,
dragging back, with resistless force, the struggling savage, who
had been overtaken while groping his uncertain way onward,
and seized round the waist from behind by the desperately grasping arms of his captor. He had just succeeded in unsheathing
his knife, which was fiercely glittering in the light of the advancing torch, as it rose and fell in quickly repeated, but, as yet, ineffectual passes at her body. A glance sufficed to show the young
leader the imminent danger of his unheeding hostess, and, with
the next breath, his weapon was sent to the hilt into the body of
the screeching foe.
" Thank God! thank God!" hurriedly ejaculated the nearly
breathless and exhausted woman, casting from her, with a shudder, the gasping and gory corpse, which, as she now turned and
hastened back to comfort her alarmed but untouched children,
was drawn away and covered up in a corner.
While this was taking place, Jones had placed a quantity of
the combustible material, already prepared for such an emer..
gency, in the fire place, and applied the torch. And by the time




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               833
Selden had taken breath after his exploit, so as to turn his attention to other objects, the rapidly kindling flames were beginning
to flash and roar along up the cavity above.
"That was well thought of, Jones," said the latter, approaching the scout, who had dropped on one knee in the corner of the
fire place, and was intently listening to such sounds as he could
distinguish in the chimney above, amidst the roaring of the fire,"well thought of; but what do you hear up chimney?"
"Why," replied the scout, rising at the approach of his superior, "I got down there to see if I could find out whether there
were any more of these visitors coming down the hollow, thinking that the way they would scratch and scrumble up back
again, when the smoke and blaze met'em, would be a curiosity."
"And what did you discover?"
" Jest nothing but unsartinty. Though from some noises that
reached me, I rather guess there was one or more of the scamps
at the top of the stub, harking down, and waiting to see how the
first one got on, before venturing; but that want what I was at,
when you spoke -"
" Well, what was it, then? "
"Why, I should rather guess there was a considerable party
standing not far fiom over us, now, kinder consulting, or mayhap
waiting to have some contrivances made, as the rest appear to be
at work with their hatchets round in the woods as busy as the
divil in a gale of wind."
"Ha! what now? - felling trees upon us?"
"No - lighter work thain that - and, I'm thinking whether
it an't sharpening stakes, or possibly hewing out wooden shovels.
But hush! hark!"
Every voice was instantly hushed at the ominous words and
manner of the scout; and as the room became silent, the sounds
that had attracted his attention became distinctly audible to the
whole company: at first was heard a distant trampling of feet,
apparently approaching with slow, irregular movement, from all
directions towards them. Nearer and nearer they came, pausing
every few steps, and stamping heavily upon the earth as they
continued gradually to close up to that portion of the surface
which extended over the room  where our intrepid little band
stood silently awaiting the result of this new movement, the
object of which, they soon conjectured, was to ascertain, by soundbeing the earth, the exact position of their place of concealment
before attempting to dig or otherwise effect a breach through the
surface. In a moment more the advancing lines reached the




B36            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
verge of the solid earth, on either side, and began to step over the
boundary upon the hollow ground above the room; when, seeming to become aware of the fact, they suddenly paused, exchanged a
few words, and commenced a furious stamping over the whole
space covering the excavation beneath. As the trembling earth
gave back the hollow sound, thus affording unequivocal evidence
that the place of their search was at length discovered, they raised
a fierce yell of exultation, and fell to work with their hatchets,
and such rude implements as they had hastily prepared for the
purpose, in cutting away the roots, and loosening and removing
the earth in such places as they had selected for effecting
openings.
As soon as it was fairly ascertained that the enemy had commenced operations for effecting a breach through the earth above,
our band, with one consent, ceased listening, and began to prepare for action. Every one seemed fully sensible that a fearful
crisis was now indeed at hand, and carefully examining their
arms to see that every thing was in readiness for instant action,
they arranged themselves at the command of their leader, in lines
around the sides of the room, while, in the compressed lip and
sternly knitting brows of each, was depicted the deeply breathed
resolution to fight to the death in defence of themselves and the
fair and tender ones whose only hope was now in their bravery.
"Give me a place among you," cried the intrepid widow, at
this moment emerging from the inner room, armed with her rifle
and equipped for battle, " give me a place, and see whether I am
the first to desert the post of danger."
" But madam, dear madam," began to expostulate Selden, " do
you know the peril that now awaits us? Do you hear the sound
of those busy fiends, belaboring the earth above to break through
upon us? and there! do you see those fragments falling fiom
that jarring and trembling ceiling? Are you aware that in ten
minutes -"
"I have heard all — I see and know all," interrupted the
woman, in tones of desperate calmness; "I am prepared for the
worst. I can never live to see my children murdered before my
eyes. Here," she continued, planting herself at the entrance of
the passage, " here I will remain, and if the enemy enter here, it
shall be over my dead body. Nay, not a word, Captain Selden,
I will not be denied."
At this moment Miss Hendee and Miss Reed glided past the
widow into the room, and with looks yet unmoved by the danger,
which they well understood now menaced every individual of the




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               337
company, presehted themselves before the admiring gaze of the
soldiers.
"Ah! girls, you missed the tread of your sentinel, did you?
I meant to have escaped you unnoticed," said the widow with a
melancholy smile.
" Aware that the hour decisive of the fate of us all had arrived
we came to see if we could be of any service here, or elsewhere,"
replied Alma, in a firm, but serious tone.
" God bless you, noble girls!" said Selden, with emotion,
advancing to the side of his lovely and heroic friends: " God
bless you for this fortitude and self-sacrificing bravery."
"Oh! let me die by your side," murmured Jessy, dropping her
head on Selden's bosom.
Touched by this exhibition, so gratifying to his feelings as a
lover, and to his pride as a soldier, the hero, gently putting her
from him, gazed an instant on the slight symmetrical form, and
the beautiful and soul-speaking features of the fond and spirited
young creature before him, with the mingled look which imagination would naturally ascribe to a worshipper of the goddess
beauty, while kneeling at the shrine of her image, and proffering
the strangely blended adorations which the nature of that worship
must necessarily have inspired.
" No, no Jessy," he at length replied, arousing himself from the
momentary entrancement: "No, girls, you two, at least, may
not - must not remain: to say nothing of the perils you must
encounter, your presence here might more embarrass than aid
us. Retire, then, and trust to us, under Providence, for your
deli verance."
"Is your father asleep, Alma?" asked the widow, as the
young ladies were leaving the room.
"' Ie is," was the reply, "for, though when he came to our
room, and threw himself down among the children to try to get
a little sleep, he desired me to awaken him on the occurrence of
any new danger, I yet could not find it in my heart to disturb him
so soon."
" Let him be instantly awakened," said Selden, " I would have
his counsel."
In a few moments Captain Hendee, who, nearly ready to sink
under the fatigues of the day, had retired to the inner room in
the interval of quiet which followed the repulse of the enemy at
the western entrance, had made his appearance. A glance at the
ceiling, now visibly shaking in two different places under the
rapidly progressing operations of the foe above, enabled him, with
29




338            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
the hasty intimations just imparted by his daughter, to comprehend at once the situation of' both besiegers and besieged.
"This is a strait to which I both feared and expected we should
he finally reduced," he remarked coolly, after a momentary pause,
" but let no man despair; I have been in situations more hopeless
than this, and yet escaped."
"We can at least sell our lives dearly," responded Selden.
"True," replied the old veteran thoughtfully, "even in the
method of defence which I see, from your arrangement, you propose to adopt, - that of shooting the assailants as they attempt
to enter the breaches that they may make. But will you be
able thus to repel them long? Every foot of this earthy covering, which now protects us from their bullets, may be removed,
or beat in upon us, before we can bring our guns to bear upon
them with effect. And every surrounding tree top will, by that
time, conceal a foe, ready to send us death from above; while
fire-brands and combustibles will be hurled down upon us by those
remaining on the ground. And if we retreat into our narrow
passages, as we must, the same game will follow us there."
"All these hazards, Captain Hendee," replied the young
leader, " I am fully aware we may encounter. But what other
mode of defence can we adopt? — A sally from the western
entrance, which is now doubtless closely guarded by the enemy,
with the expectation that we shall soon be driven to make it,
must prove fatal to all who shall attempt it; while the entrance at
the other end of the passage is blocked up by a red mass of burning ruins. What other expedient, then, is left for us."
"I had thought of one," said Captain Hendee, with some hesitation.  " I had thought of one, as our last resort, in an emergency like this. It may not be without risk to ourselves, I am
aware, but," he continued, with fiercely flashing eyes, " but it
must be swift destruction to the accursed gang above, who are
thirsting for our blood!"
" In the name of Heaven, declare it, then," eagerly cried Selden, casting an uneasy glance at some fresh demonstrations of the
progress of the foe in the covering above.
"I will —here, this way," replied the former, as, stepping
across the room, he opened the concealed recess in the wall, and
disclosed the widow's magazine to the wondering gaze of Selden
and his men, who, being ignorant of its existence, did not at once
understand the nature of its contents, or perceive the old gentleman's object in displaying it. "There! " hd added, significantly




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                339
pointing to the heads of the -casks thus brought to view, "there I
that explains my plan."
" How? What do those barrels contain?" rapidly demanded
Selden, with the varying expression of doubt, surprise, and
alarm.
"Gunpowder! " was the emphatic reply.
"Good God! Captain Hendee, do you consider our case so
desperate, that, Samson-like, we should all perish with our
foes?"
" It does not follow that we shall perish with them. I have
seen somewhat of the operation of exploding mines, and cannot
believe that the effects in the proposed one can reach far into that
winding passage, to the further end of which, if thought safer
than the inner room, we can all repair."
I''11 be blest if I do n't think the old thrash-the-divil is about.ight, Captain Selden," exclaimed Pete Jones, leaping about, and
snapping his fingers in great glee. "Jest place them in that corner beyond the fire there, and it must be a sort of powder that
I'm not much acquainted with, if it turns at a right angle very
far into that passage after mischief.  Well, now, the Lord be
thanked for putting this into your noddle, old friend. I had
about agreed to say gone dogs for us all, but now I can see a
considerable sprinkling of hope through them barrels of thunder
yonder."
"And you, lMrs. Story, whose stake is the greatest in the
result," said Selden, turning to the widow, after hastily running
his eye over the different parts of the room, as if calculating the
probable extent to which the explosion would affect the earth
laterally, - what do you say to the measure? "
" I do n't know - I do n't know," replied the distressed mother,
who had been mutely listening to the startling proposition, in a
sort of wild amazement. "The work of the element will be
terrific - perhaps fatal to us - but the work of the exasperated
foe, unless thus destroyed, will be, I fear, for all we can do, no
less dreadful. I leave it to you, and may God direct the course
which shall be for our good," she added, with a shudder.
"It is a fearful experiment, but it shall be tried," said the
young leader, turning away to begin the required arrangement.
At that instant a large fragment of earth was suddenly ruptured from the ceiling, and fell heavily to the floor, scattering
dirt in every direction around, and disclosing in the place from
which it had been detached, the point of a huge sharpened stake,
protruding several inches into the room; while the wild and




840            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
exultant shouting of the foe above; as the stake was drawn up,
and the redoubled fury with which they renewed their exertions,
all loudly warned our band that there was no time to be lost in
preparing for the execution of their purpose.
" Clear the room, instantly!" cried Selden, in low, but startling accents, " hback! back! every man of you, but Jones, to the
further end of the passage - no remonstrance - no offers! " he
continued, as urging them with drawn sword from the room, several began to persuade him to permit them to incur the hazard
of exploding the fatal mine, "not a word! the match shall be
applied by my own hand."
As soon as the room was fairly cleared, Selden turned, and,
with rapid steps, proceeded to the recess, drew forth the barrels,
and, carrying them to the corner opposite to the entrance of
the inner passage, placed them firmly, and pulled out the bungs,
allowing a quantity of the powder to run out from each on to the
ground. He then laid a small, continuous train of dry powder,
extending from the barrels across the room into the entrance in
question; while the scout, by his orders, after having removed the
lights to a safe distance, wet a cartridge fiom the contents of his
canteen, and hastily converted it into a slow match, to apply to
the end of the train.
" There! now leave the rest to me, Jones; take care of yourself, and see that the passage is kept clear for my retreat," said
the leader, receiving a torch which was brought him by the
other, and taking his station to await the fearful moment of firing
the train.
The enemy, in the mean time, were making rapid progress.
Two breaches were already made through the earth into the
room, and these, as was evinced by the almost constant falling of
heavy masses of dirt, were every moment widening; while from
the trampling of feet, all gathering up to the spot, the mingled
shouts, curses, and commands of the infuriated gang and their
leaders, it was obvious that an attempt to descend was about to
be made. At this moment, they seemed to perceive that the besieged had deserted their room, and retreated further into the
earth. Grown madly desperate by being already so long baffled,
and doubly infuriated by the discovery that their intended victims had still a further refuge, they were now heard hastily
throwing aside their tools and resuming their arms, preparatory
to entering the breach to follow up the pursuit, little dreaming, in
the hellish joy of their anticipated revenge, that the torch was
even then suspended over the train, and waiting only their first




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                341
movement, to send them, in an instant, with all the passions of
fiends raging in their bosoms, unannealed into the presence of
their God. But while the foe-trampled earth was jarring to the
hideous tumult above, the silence of death prevailed through the
hushed vaults beneath. The agitated mother was breathing hurried ejaculations over her clasped children. And near her might
be seen the huddling forms of her shuddering female companions,
with their fair hands tightly compressed over both ears and
eyes, as if to shut out from their recoiling senses the noise of the
now momentarily expected explosion; while the men in the dark
passage beyond, stood motionless and silent, listening in the attitude of intensely excited expectation for the awful denouement.
Selden, in the mean while, hesitating between his fears that the
train would get disturbed by the entrance of the foe into the
room, and his anxiety to have the band gather over, or so closely
around it, as to bring them all within the reach of the explosion,
stilt held the torch suspended in his extended hand over the
train, now lowering the point of the low flickering brand nearly
to a contact with the powder, at some indication of the expected
descent, and now hastily withdrawing it, as other and less decisive
sounds reached his ear.  His hesitation, however, was soon
ended: at that instant, a loud yell at the western entrance, and
the sounds of thickly-trampling feet that followed, told him that
the enemy had forced the barrier at the end of that passage, and
were rushing into the room; while another hurra from the tories
above, and the heavy, and quickly repeated jar of feet striking
upon the floor, which accompanied it, further announced, that the
latter were beginning to leap down the breaches to join the
former in the assault. At this critical instant, and before the
mingled war-cry of the savage and tory had died away in the
echoing vaults beyond him, the young leader applied the brand
to the fuse, and rapidly retreated along the passage towards his
friends.  Having reached the curtained recess containing the
women and children, and here encountering Captain Hendee and
Jones, he turned round, and with them awaited, with palpitating
heart and suspended breath, the fearful result. With the low,
hissing sound of the slowly burning match, came a cry of horror
from the scrambling foe, over whose minds, now for the first
time, seemed to flash the dreadful truth. But too late. The
next instant, with a concussion that almost threw Selden and his
companions from their feet, the earth yawned and opened along
the passage overhead nearly to the spot where they stood; when,
through the long, vibrating chasm, was displayed to their appalled
29*




342            THE GREEN MIOUNTAIN BOYS.
vision, the broad space of tree-covered earth over and around
the room beyond, leaping, in disrupturing masses, into the air,
along with the diverging column of fiercely shooting smoke and
flame, in which were seen, commingling with rocks, earth, and
the limbs and trunks of uprooted and swiftly revolving trees, a
score of human forms, wildly -throwing out their arms, as if for
aid, and distending their mouths with unheard screeches, as, with
blackened and distorted features, and dissevering limbs, they
were borne upwards with amazing force in the flaming mass to
the heavens. The chasm slowly closed over the astounded but
unharmed band, and shut out from their reeling senses the deafening din that was breaking in crashing thunders above. A momentary stillness ensued; when the returning shower of ruins
came thundering to the earth; after which, all again relapsed
into a death-like and unbroken silence.
Once more the morning light was springing in the golden chambers of the east, heralding the approach of the fiery coursers of
the day-god up the glowing pathway of the sky. More and
more brightly broke the suffusing radiance over the mountains,
darkly gleaming, at first, upon the quiet surface of the gently
flowing Otter, and then, gradually lighting up, one after another,
the bolder features of the altered landscape, till the whole scene
of the last night's thrilling drama, and its awful catastrophe,
stood revealed to the sight. The humble tenement of the lone
widow, which the last setting sun left standing unmolested, in her
toil-wrought opening in the wilderness, had disappeared; and in
its place lay a pile of black and smouldering ruins. Fences were
thrown down and scattered in every direction; while the growing
crops in the fields around, reared by the hard labors of the indefatigable occupant, and constituting her sole dependence for the
future sustenance of her numerous family, were scorched and
withered by the falling cinders thrown up from the burning house,
or prostrated and beat into the earth by the trampling feet of
reckless foes. The breath of war had,indeed, passed over every
thing, and her little all, in one short night, had perished.
Near the banks of the stream, where stood a thick growth of
trees, over and around the main apartment of the subterraneous
abode, now yawned a huge, black chasm in the ground, in whichscarcely a trace of the late regular room was discernible; while
the burnt and discolored bark and foliage, marking the standing




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               343
fortst around, and the broken, splintered, and uprooted trees,
which had been hurled outward and prostrated with the earth for
many rods in every direction from the spot, and which were now
lying strewed over the ground in wild disorder, intermingled with
smoking rubbish, all told the fearful power and extent of the
terrific explosion. Half buried among the wide scattered ruins
lay the toin, mangled, and blackened corses of savage and tory, -
the fated victims of the mine, which had so suddenly, so uneXpectedly, sprung beneath their feet, sweeping them, in an instant,
indiscriminately away, with the cries of anticipated victory and
vengeance on their lips, like chaff in a whirlwind of fire.
As the increasing daylight began to fall more broadly, upon
this scene of death and desolation, two human forms might have
been seen cautiously breaking through the loose earth that closed
up the mouth of the long passage into which our little band last
retreated. The small, topling head, crane-like neck, long body
and limbs, and the peculiarly rapid and shambling movements of
the one, as, now crouching, now rearing his tall form aloft, and
throwing quick and wary glances around him, he glided round
beneath the sides of the broad, black pit into which they had
emerged, sufficiently announced him as the incomparable scout.
The swarthy and immovable features, the short figure, and deliberate air of the other, proclaimed him also to be an old
acquaintance of the reader, the trusty and faithful Neshobee.
Creeping out of the excavation, the two separated, and quickly
disappeared in opposite directions in the woods and bushes along
the banks of the Creek.  After the lapse of half an hour, in
which they had apparently made a reconnoitering circuit.round
the opening, they reappeared on the banks of the excavation,
communed a moment, and, throwing aside the air of caution that
had marked their movements, approached, with bold and confident steps, towards the choked entrance, through which they had
forced their way into the open air.
"Hurra, there, below!" shouted Pete, dropping on one knee,
and poking his head and long neck into the dark hole before him,
"hurra! ye poor, half smuddered divils - asking the Captain's
pardon for the freedom - do you hear? "
" Ay, ay! what report - what news from the regions above?"
responded several voices from the dark, and, till then, silent
recesses within.
"The coast is as clear as a hound's tooth," replied the scout.
"Yes, all clear, and that, too, with what I should call a considerable of a vengeance: so just troop along out here, and




344            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
Bee what God put it into men's heads to make gunpowder
for." 
This announcement seemed to produce an instant effect. A
lively bustle was immediately heard among the party below.
And in a few moments more, the men, followed by the women
and children, came creeping, one by one, from their crowded and
uncomfortable retreat, looking worn, haggard, and p'ale from
fatigue, and more especially from the want of fresh air, with
which they had but imperfectly supplied themselves by digging,
with their bayonets, small holes through the earthy covering
of their refuge, to the surface above. After reaching the open
air, the company stood a moment on the banks of the chasm,
viewing, in silent horror, the awful spectacle that was here presented to their sight; when, at the suggestion of Selden, the
females, accompanied by himself, and all but the common soldiers
(who were busy in searching for guns and other spoils among the
ruins), hastened to leave a scene so revolting to the senses. And
making the best of their way over the tangled mass that everywhere encircled the spot, with many a shudder at the disfigured,
and sometimes limbless bodies of the slain, for which they were
often compelled to turn aside in their route, they proceed towards
the open grounds in front of the site lately occupied by the house.
" Umph! look! jus look um up there!" exclaimed Neshobee,
eagerly pointing up the trunk of a large dry hemlock, which,
standing some half dozen rods from the seat of the explosion,
the company were unobservantly passing.
Arrested by the unusually excited manner of the Indian, the
whole party suddenly paused, and looked upward in search of
the object to which he was so earnestly directing their attention.
About half-way up the tree, the doubling body of a man hung
dangling in the air, from a short, pointed limb, upon which he
had evidently been thrown from the earth, and literally impaled
through the middle, by the force of the explosion. His cadaverous face was turned full towards the company, and a glance at
the peculiar cast of his death-set features, explained, at once, to
Captain Hendee and the girls, the cause of the wild and gleeful
interest manifested by the native: it was the traitor, Remington,*
who first betrayed the family to their enemies, and who was afterwards discovered to be in full league with Sherwood and Darrowv,
and, to the last, in active cooperation with them, in the black de* The last of this tory family, consisting of several brothers, I am informed,
was sent to the state prison, a few years ago.




THE GREEN MiOUNTAIN BOYS.              345
signs which they supposed themselves on the eve of accomplish.
ing, when thus awfully arrested in their guilty career. Awe.
struck and appalled at the strange and dreadful fate of the villain,
the company, with one consent, turned away from the sickening
sight, and, hastening frohm the spot, pursued their way in thoughtful silence, till they had passed, as they supposed, beyond the
scene of these multiplied horrors. Another trial, however, though
of a different and mingled character, still awaited them: a deep
groan, issuing fiom a small covert on their left, now reached their
ears, and caused them again to pause in their steps.
" It is a human groan," said Selden, " and doubtless that of
some poor wounded wretch, who has crawled away from the
scene of action. Perhaps his life may yet be saved," he added,
as, beckoning to Jones, he promptly set out for the place from
which the sound had proceeded. As the two passed round to
the spot, they discovered a man lying in a -state of almost utter
exhaustion in the weeds behind a long log, by which he had
apparently been arrested in his course while trying to reach a
small brook a few rods beyond. IHis face, with every other
exposed part of his person, was thickly besmeared with dirt,
gunpowder, and blood, which last was still freshly oozing from
his mangled and broken legs; and it was only by his hair, and
the remains of his burnt and tattered dress, that he could be distinguished as a white man. He seemed to be aware of the presence of others, and his lips began to move with some inaudible
request.
" The poor creature is begging for water," said Selden, lowering his ear over the face of' the invalid: " let us remove him to
the brook."
Raising him carefully in their arms, they accordingly bore him
to the bank of the rivulet, and having placed him in a sitting
position, with his back against a large stump, they applied a
gourd-shell of water to his lips, of which he drank eagerly and
deeply. They then washed the blood and dirt from his face,
when he considerably revived; and, opening his eyes, he looked
up in evident surprise on our party, all of whom, having gathered
round him, now stood viewing his gory and lacerated limbs in
silent commiseration.
"Why! it is Darrow - the wretched and guilty Darrow  "
exclaimed Miss Hendee, starting back in surprise, and with an
expression of mingled pity and abhorrence.
"Ay, guilty enough, doubtless," responded Selden, "but as




346            TIIE GREEN.3MOUNTAIN BOYS.
deeply dyed in guilt as he is, there is another still more guilty -
wretched man, what has become of your master?"
" He escaped unhurt from your accursed mine," feebly muttered the wounded ruffian, in reply.
" And has fled? " asked the former.
"Yes; fled, like a craven brute," said the other, with an angry
scowl; "fled, with the few who were as lucky as himself, leaving
me and the rest of the wounded, with our cries for assistance
ringing in his ears, to die like dogs, alone here in the woods.
And they have died - some of their wounds, some by crawling
into the river and drowning, and some by plunging their knives
into their own bodies, to put themselves out of misery. Yes, all
gone, but me; and I- "
" But perhaps your leader went off after a reinforcement, expecting soon to return with better means of serving you," interrupted Selden, with the view of gathering from the other such
information as would enable him to judge of the probability of
Sherwood's return to renew the attack.
" No, damn him!" exclaimed the wretch bitterly; "he supposed, as I did, that all of your band, as well as most of our own,
had perished in the explosion. No! the infernal villain intended
I should die," he continued, with an expression rendered fairly
diabolical by rage, combined with the bodily anguish he was
enduring. "But he did not dream I should fall alive into your
hands, else he had finished me on the spot to prevent it, the
black-souled devil! for he is well aware that I know enough of
him, and his father before him, to make my revenge as ample as
it will be sweet."
" What do you know of his father?" asked Captain Hendee,
stepping forward, with looks of eager curiosity and interest.
"Enough," replied the other -" enough of both, to my sorrow: for, between them, they have worked my ruin and death.
In aidinfg the old man in his villainy, I damned my soul; and in
abetting that of his son, I have lost my life; for I feel that I
must go now soon, though I might have been saved. Yes, and
what have they done for me? what can they do now? Nothing!
The old man has gone to his place; and Jake - perdition seize
him!"
" What do you mean? " sharply demanded the Captain. "Is
John Sherwood dead?  Why, Jake told me, before he turned
devil to us, and not more than a week since, neither, that his
father was alive and- "
"And what if he did," interrupted Darrow, growing restless




TIHE GREEN AOUNTAIN BOYS.             347
and impatient from the pain, which was now evidently beginning
to invade the citadel of life — " what if he did? The old man
made a will- too much in favor of your daughter here, or you,
he suspects - and all was to be kept dark till he could bring certain things about."
"Man, man, you are deceiving me! " cried the other, warmly.
Father, I believe he is speaking the truth," interposed the
daughter, to whose mind the late conduct of Sherwood, before
inexplicable, was now explained.
"Truth - truth! Alma Hendee," resumed the wounded man,
now breathing thick, and speaking with increasing difficulty; -
"it is only the beginning of truths, that concerns you all, that -
that I could - that I must and will tell, if- if soul and body
will hold together long enough for me to expose -
"Expose what? - what can you reveal? - go on! - speak
-speak!" exclaimed the old gentleman, impatiently breaking in
on the other, in a tone and air of feverish excitement.
" Wait - wait," resumed Darrow, grating his clenched teeth,
and writhing about in a fresh paroxysm of anguish -" I will -
will tell all - but wait till this is over - 0, that pain! Oh! God!
that pain, that pain!" and the poor wretch gasped for breath,
and wildly threw about his arms in the insufferable pangs of his
agony.
"Captain Hendee," he faintly, and in a softened tone, resumed,
after the desperate paroxysm had subsided, " did you ever mistrust, that John Sherwood played you foul in respect to your
property, which you was blind enough to intrust to his management?"
"' Why, I thought strange," replied the other, " and yet I could
not detect - but was he dishonest, then?"
C"Yes'," exclaimed Darrow; "in that final settlement, he defrauded you out of more than half of what was honestly youi
own: and, as the main instance, you recollect a large landed
law-suit he brought in your behalf'?"
"I do," said the Captain; " and, finding he must fail in it, and
subject me to ruinous costs, he compromised, by paying a small
suin, and withdrew the action, as I understood."
"Well, now, it is God's truth, Captain," rejoined the former,
"that instead of paying anything, he received a large sum - his
adversary, and not he, finding he must fail."'"Thle faithless villain!" exclaimed the astonished Captain,
" may the wrath - but I will not curse him, now he is gone."
" No; for you can revenge yourself more effectually," said the




848            TUE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
Other: "the man with whom this compromise was made is still
alive and, though it was agreed that the transaction should be
kept a dead secret, there is no doubt he will swear to the amount
he payed Sherwood, as he,tVas not privy to the fraud on you."
" But how know you all this?" asked the Captain, some new
doubt seeming to arise in his mind.
"You will know directly," replied Darrow -" that is, if — if
I tell you the rest" - he continued, pausing and hesitating, as if
irresolute whether to proceed; but at length seeming to make up
his mind, he resumed, " Captain Hendee, you once had a darling
son, who was lost?"
" I did, I did," responded the other with visible emotion.
"And you have heard," continued the former, "that he was
last seen with a young man in John Sherwood's employ - did
you ever see that young man?"
" No," said the Captain, "nor do I know what became of him,
or whether he is now living."
" He is still living, but will not be long," said Darrow  " you
see him in the miserable, shattered, and dying creature lying before you, Captain Hendee."
"You! you!" wildly and fiercely exclaimed the old man,
"but what of my son? wretch! did you murder the boy? " he
added, raising his voice almost to a frantic scream, as the suspicion flashed over his anticipating thoughts.
" No, I was spared that," answered the other, " though my instigator, who was no other than that same John Sherwood, expected
it of me, I think. No, I came across an Indian, who, for a bottle
of rum, was willing to take the boy where his friends should
never hear of him again."
"' And you agreed with the hell-hound to do it, did you, monster!" again fiercely demanded the Captain.
"Yes, I did that- I own it! I own it! aye, I confess it!"
exclaimed Darrow, eagerly repeating the words, as if he had
brought himself to this act of penitence by some mighty effort.
"There!" he added, wildly and menacingly brandishing his fist
at some imaginary presence, as he began to draw up his limbs and
glare deliriously around him under another and fearful attack of
his pains, " there! I have confessed it, you black fiend! " and
with a terrible yell of seeming exultation and defiance, he fell back
convulsed from head to foot; and for many moments, he appeared
to be wrestling terribly with the angel of death.
At length, however, he became calm, and again opened his
eyes upon the horror-stricken, but intensely interested company.




TEE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              349' I can't live through another like that - so let me speak
while I can - you would know more of your son? " faintly said
the reviving wretch, turning his glazed and blood-shot eye languidly upon the Captain.
" Yes, yes," replied the other in a softened and imploring tone;
" yes, if you have strength to go on, tell me, if you know, for
God's sake tell me, whether there is any hope for a bereaved and
sorrow-stricken old man? - Did you ever hear of the boy - do
you think he is still living?"
" If that boy lived to grow up," said Darrow, in reply, -if he
be still among the living, Captain Hendee, I believe he is now
standing by your side."
Wholly unprepared for a development so unexpected and improbable, the company stood silently gazing at each other a
moment with looks of mingled doubt and astonishment; when
Selden who was obviously the one alluded to by the confessant,
and who had appeared thoughtful and abstracted during the latter part of the conversation, now turned to the other, and, with
the air of one trying to recall some indistinct image of other days,
observed,
" I have some strange dim recollections — but what circumstances can you name to warrant the belief you have just expressed?"
"' Why, if I am right," answered Darrow, " as I still think I
am, you must have had, for many years, if you have not now, the
proof on your own person! For before I parted from the boy, I
pricked two crossed arrows, with lasting ink, into his skin, near
the elbow."
A flash of joyous intelligence instantly broke over the beaming
countenance of the young officer, and, as quick as thought, his
arm was bared and held exultingly aloft, disclosing the still
visibly impicted arrows to the astonished and delighted group
around him.
For one full minute not a word was uttered, and the mute eloquence of the speaking countenance alone told the springing
emotions of those most interested in this unexpected but happy
denouement.
" My son!" at length convulsively burst from the trembling
lips of the overpowered father: "God bless - bless - bless " -
and his voice died away in whimpering murmurs, as father, son,
and daughter rushed into one long, sobbing embrace.
Aroused in a short time from this absorbing scene of gushing
affections, by a noise from the wounded man, the company turned
30




350            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
toward him. A change was passing over his face, and with the
low muttered words, " REVENGED - REVENGED ON THE DESTROYERS OF MY SOUL AND BODY, AT LAST!" he gave one long quivering gasp and expired.
On the proposal of Selden, for such, for convenience, we will
for the present continue to call him, the company now left the
spot, and proceeded to an open and unincumbered space by the
road side, where the whole band were soon assembled preparatory
to a final removal from the scene of action.
At that instant a band of twenty armed horsemen burst suddenly from the woods, and came pouring, in gallant array, along
the road from the south toward the spot. From their equipments
and general appearance, they were instantly discovered to be a
detachment of' mounted riflemen from the Continental army,
headed by a field officer of considerable rank.
" You are the day after the Fair, my hearties," gaily remarked
Captain Hendee, whose over-mastering feelings at the recent joyful discovery, had now settled down into a fine flow of spirits.'" But I am glad they have come, for I want the whole world to
know how proud I feel of my new found son."
" Aye, but when they hear," replied the young officer in the
same spirit, " that we owe this victory, and with it our lives, solely
to the old veteran's plan of blowing up the enemy by wholesale,
ten to one, they do n't say, that the son has far the most reason
to pride himself in the happy discovery. Seriously, however, the
arrival of these men, at this moment, is most opportune, as some
of them, doubtless, will give up their horses to convey you, the
females and children from the place. But what ails our merry
friend Jones, yonder?" he added, pointing to the scout, who
stood in the foreground, eagerly and with mouth agape, looking
at the advancing cavalcade, and holding his cap in his hand, as
if about to hurl it into the air, in some joyous outbreak.
" He is about to welcome them with a few cheers, I suspect,"
replied the Captain. " And hang me, if I do n't join him; for if
I do n't give vent to my feelings in some way, I believe my old
broken shell of a heart will burst for very joy, like some old
rusty howitzer, charged to the muzzle with gunpowder."
" No, no, father," rejoined the other good humoredly, "joy
rarely proves as explosive as that, I imagine. But I must forward to attend to this reception myself, - Jones," he continued,
advancing to the front, "let us ascertain their object, and a little
more exactly who they are, before we make up our mouths for
much of a hurra on the occasion."




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                351
"Well that's jest what I'm at, Captain," said the scout; " and
I calkerlate I have about two-thirds found out both them particulars, already: for, if twenty-fbur hours ago, I had seen a chap
riding towards me, with the make, and bearing of that officer, who
sits so splendid in his saddle yonder, I would have sworn, with a
quarter of this bothering, that it was - and, by the living Lazarus! I'll swear it is now - so here's hurra for the unshot
Colondl! hurra! hurra!" he added, throwing his cap thirty feet
in the air, and leaping, in the ecstacy of his joyous emotions, a
yard from the earth at each of his stentorian shouts; in the last
of which he was heartily joined by the whole band of his
delighted comrades, as their beloved commander, the heroic Warrington, whom they had mourned as slain, now came dashing up
to the spot, bowing low in token of acknowledgment of this flattering mark of their esteem.
"' Had you dropped down from the clouds before our eyes, Colonel Warrin,ton," said Selden, after the noise and bustle of this
enthusiastic reception had a little subsited, " your presence could
have scarcely more surprised us."
"Indeed   "
"Yes, you was reported to have fallen in the last moments of
the battle."
" I must then have been mistaken, I think, for Colonel Francis."
" Has that noble fellow then indeed been added to the honored
catalogue of martyrs in our glorious cause?"
" I grieve to say it. - He fell covered with wounds, bravely
fighting at the head of his regiment."
" But you, and your men?"
"We yet mostly live to give Burgoyne a thrashing. But here,
overpowered with numbers, by my own orders, we broke, scattered and fled, to meet again at Manchester.  Reaching Rutland
last night, and guessing at your course, and at your danger, I
collected this small force, and hastened to the rescue. And now,
Captain, for your report, which, with these evidences of a conflict
before me, I should dread to hear, but for the merry looks of the
nen, and the sunny faces of my fair friends whom I notice yonder in the rear."
"' All in good time, my dear Colonel; but come, first go along
with me," said Selden with a significant and slightly mischievous
smile, as he took the arm of his superior, and urged him forward
to the spot where the interesting group to which he had just
alluded still stood, in the agitation of their joyful surprise, with




3a2            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
sparkling eyes and happy and fluttering hearts, eagerly waiting
to greet him.
But over the touching and tender scene that followed, marked
as it was by the reuniting of long estranged hearts, like the rushing together of kindred waters, the surprising announcement of
Selden's recently discovered relationship, and the mad pranks of
the excited old veteran, now clamoring for the curses of Warrington on his own head, for his blindness and folly, and now eagerly
bestowing the hand of his daughter, as a compensation and
reward, with many a sob-broken ejaculation for blessings on the
happy couple - over all this we will drop the curtain, not caring
to trust the pen to vie with the reader's outstripping fancy in filling up the picture.
Before another hour had elapsed the whole were mounted and
in motion, on their unmolested way to the older settlements in the
southern part of the Grants.
CONCLUSION.
The rolling seasons had nearly completed their annual round
since the stirring incidents, which we last narrated, transpired,
and nature was again enrobing herself in the leafy glories of summer. The great struggle on the northern frontiers was over,
The battle of Bennington had been fought and won, immortalizing the name of the Roman Stark, and covering with deathless
laurels the brave Green Mountain Boys. The whole of that
proud army, indeed, that swept, the last season, so vauntingly
along these desolated shores, had felt the vengeful arm of young
Freedom, and withered at the touch. The inhabitants on the
borders of Champlain, who had fled before the tempest of war,
had mostly returned, and were now in possession of their unmolested homes. The seat of their country's strife was removed to
a distance. And the husbandman was again following his plough
in the field; the peaceful sounds of the axemen were heard in
the woods, and the hunter once more roamed his deer-trod hills
unsuspicious of hostile ambush.
At the pleasant, and no longer desolate cottage of Captain
Hendee, a company, evidently much larger than the usual family
circle, were assembled. The old veteran, as was formerly his
wont, was sitting in his easy chair before one of the open windows




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.                353
of the parlor, solacing himself with his old companion, the pipe,
The other window was occupied by a fine looking military per.
son, now in the full bloom of vigorous manhood, richly dressed in
the lace-trimmed uniform, and the surmounted badges of a field
officer in the Continental army; while by his side sat a peerless
girl, whose simple, but rich and tasteful array of spotless white,
surmounted by the emblematic rose of the same color, instead of
the dumb, unspeaking jewel, told of bridal preparation. They
were gazing out upon the glittering expanse of the breeze-ruffled
waters of the Lake, and the gratified eye of the officer was resting on the bright folds of his country's flag, which was again
proudly waving in the distance over the walls of the opposite fortress; while the delicately blended fondness and respect, that
marked the blissful look of each, and the tender pathos of their
low  intermingling  voices, as they exchanged the occasional
remark, betokened the presence of mutual confidence and love.
There was another maiden in the room, scarcely less beautiful
than the one just mentioned, but though arrayed like her fair
companion, in the bridal garb, yet she sat unmated and alone,
now listlessly running over the leaves of a little volume in her
hand, and now anxiously and impatiently glancing through the
window along the road to the south, as if expecting the appearance of some one from that quarter. The only other person at
present in this apartment, with whom the reader has been made
acquainted, was a modest, staid looking female, who, though
comely, and not greatly faded, had yet evidently out-lived, by
many years, the freshness and bloom of beauty's most favored
period. She was sitting quietly in a corner, partly screened from
the rest of the company by a door that swung inward. She, also,
had been companionless, and had not, like the restless fair one
last described, appeared to expect to be otherwise. But at this
moment a singularly tall, woodsman-looking fellow came stooping through the door-way from the adjoining room, where part
of the company still remained; when after throwing a half sheepish, half mischievous look around him, apparently to see if his
movement was particularly noticed, he sidled around the swinging
door, with a sort of hesitating, stealthy air, and sunk by degrees
into a chair beside the demure looking damsel of whom we were
speaking.
"Well, now, if this ain't a curious fix! " were his first words —
"I vow to Never-come-Jack - a sort of Saturday in the afternoon-chap that we used to swear by in the army - if it ain't too
bad! Do n't you think so, now, honestly, Miss Ruth?"
30*




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
" What is it that you complain of as so bad, Mr. Jones?" re.
plied the girl, with a good-natured and encouraging smile, which
seemed instantly to reiissure her somewhat flustered companion,
as he replied:
" What do I complain of? - Why, to be invited, as I was, by
the Colonel and Alma there, to be here at two o'clock, to see
three weddings; when now it is well along towards night, and
one bridegroom do n't get on according to agreement, and no
parson come to fix them that are here and ready for it. Now, I
like to see folks put out of their misery in some kind of season;
and so do the rest of them, I've a notion: only jest look at the
old Captain, yonder! He is getting out of sorts at the delay,
rather rapid, a body would guess, by the manner he is puffing
away at his old comforter there. And there is the Scotch bird,
too; may I miss my next aim on Old Trusty, if I do n't believe
she'11 fly away, if Major Selden, as he has now got to be -
Major Hendee, I spose, you'11 call him here —do n't come soon."
"Jessy does, indeed, appear rather uneasy," observed the
other, " and I really wonder Edward do n't come, myself. He
sent us word, that he expected to get the Sherwood property all
settled, so as to start from Albany yesterday morning. But you
said three weddings, did n't you?"
"Three, did I say, Ruth?" asked Pete, with waggish gravity"Well, two then - that is, if there ain't raaly any chance to be
another, no way."
" Why, what other could there be?" said Ruth, quite innocently.
"' Well, now, I can't exactly say, but I was thinking it was
rather a pity there should n't be another match worked up here
somehow? " replied the scout, with a look at the other so significant, that it brought the blood into her cheeks. "You hold to
saving time and expense, do n't you?"
" Why, it is well enough to think of that in some cases, perhaps," muttered the doubtful and confused girl.
" Then, suppose, when the priest comes," said the other, with
a roguish squint at her glowing cheeks and downcast looks, " suppose you jest stand up with - with - with old Captain Hendee,
to be noosed the same time his children are?"
" 0, nonsense! Mr. Jones," replied the girl, greatly relieved,
and yet evidently disappointed at this turn in the scout's remarks,
which she supposed were to terminate in proposing one much
nearer home -" Captain Hendee! why, he is old enough to be
my father! Besides, he would not have me."




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               355
"Yes he would."
"No he would n't."
"Well, if he should flummux at such a chance, I know of a
chap —and not too old, neither - who'I1 agree to take his
place."
" Really, Mr. Jones, I think you must be trying to trifle with
me? "
"Mayhap you've mistaken, now," said Jones, with the air of
one about to make some hazardous push, but looking keenly
about for some chance to secure his retreat.
" Then how am I to consider what you say?" asked the other,
seriously.
"Why - why," said Pete, hesitating, but finding himself at a
point where he must back out entirely, or proceed directly with
his object, he added, with a sort of desperate resolution - "yes,
I will- so here goes for dead ruin - you may consider it, Ruth,
as good and earnest an offer, as ever a man stuck an axe in a
tree."
"Why, surely, Mr. Jones! — this is so sudden- so unexpected, that you cannot expect me now, as you have never before
spoken to me on the subject- "
"' No; but I've looked at you on the subject, Ruth; and that
an't all - I have thought on the subject, and that, too, ever since
I left off sogering, after we had used up that old trooper, Burgoyne, last fall. But I did n't know how to get at the bothering
business. And now I have got at it, I want to do it all up, while
I've got the knack of it. Now, all I've to say for myself, by way
of recommend, is jest only this -I have a farm, and can love
like a two-year-old. And, if you can go it on that, let us agree
on the spot, and go off with the rest."
" Impossible,'Mr. Jones - that is now - if- if I had a little
time for reflection - perhaps -"
"Good! grand! glorious! I'll give you time, till the parson
comes - a good half hour, I'11 warrant ypu," exclaimed the
woodsman, leaping up, in his ecstacy, and, with a sudden bolt
through the door, bounding off into the fields, and giving vent to
his delighted feelings in his old chorus, " Trol, lol, lol, de larly  "
At that moment a horseman rode hastily into the yard, leaped
from his saddle, and, with a few light and joyous bbunds, landed
on the threshold.
"My brother!" exclaimed Alma, rising and rushing to the
door.
"My son, God bless you!" said the Captain, hobbling for



DP356         TTIE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
ward, with extended hand. "But how came you to be laggng
at such a juncture as this, you truant? "
" O, Edward! " cried Jessy, bursting from an adjoining room,
to which she had a few moments before retired, "0, Edward!"
repeated the joyful but wayward girl, flying to the open arms of
her betrothed, now dashing her hands about her to clear her way
among the advancing group, and now shaking her slender finger
aloft, in affected menace, as she went, " now, if I do n't punish
vou for this, sir! Back! back! all of you, till I deal with the
villain for his conduct."
"Fairly a prisoner, sir; you may as well surrender, Major,"
gaily observed Warrington, to the laughing young officer, now
enclosed on every side by besieging friends.
"Aye, aye, Colonel," blithely replied the latter; " but I shall
be upon my parole in a moment, I think; when I will pay my
respects - I have a glad secret for your ear, Warrington."
" A secret! a secret to be kept from us, at this hour! " exclaimed both of the girls, at once, summoning a storm of affected
indignation to their pretty brows.
"' Ah! you little tyrannizers!" said the Major, jocosely, " you
are wise to make the most of your power now; for your reign is
short. I saw the parson falling into the road behind me, about a
mile back."
The last intimation seemed to produce an instant effect on the
young officer's fair assailants. And releasing him at once, they
fled, in maidenly dismay, to their private apartment, to compose
and prepare themselves for the happy, though half-dreaded crisis.
" Now, my son, tell us, in a word, what success you have met
with at Albany," said Captain Hendee, turning to his son, as the
girls disappeared.
"Very fair: the business is all definitely settled at last."
"Right glad to hear that; but first, I am curious to know with
what kind of face that black-hearted imp of mischief, Jake Sherwood, met you, after all that has happened?"
"It was not till after many fruitless efforts, and a long negociation, carried on with him by a go-between of his own kidney,
that he could be induced to come from his lurking places, to face
me at all. And when he did, it was with the same fawning and
cringing, the same dissembling and falsehood, that has marked
his whole career."
"And what kind of a treaty did you at length conclude with
the arch villain! "
"Better than he had any reason to expect from those who had




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               357
both the right and the power on their side: for, after taking from
the estate, that part which Jake had counted as his own, by
Uncle's will, when I was considered as disposed of, and which,
of course,'became mine, on establishing my identity as your son
-- and after deducting also the legacies, which old Sherwood's
conscience wrung from him, in favor of you and Alma, together
with the sums, which the indefatigable Vanderpool had found
evidence of having been embezzled by the old man out of your
property - even after counting your legacies as so much restitution - after deducting all these, there would have been a mere
pittance in equity, and nothing, probably, in law, left for the miscreant. And as he had been apprised of this by Vanderpool,
whom he could neither intimidate nor corrhpt, he chose to throw
himself on my mercy, rather than contend with us in law."
" Well, as skilfully as this web of iniquity was woven, it is all
unravelled, then, at last. But what did you finally allow him?"
"A thousand pounds; for, while I despised, I could not but
pity the abject wretch. He signed acquittances, received his
poition, in money and drafts, and, the same day, as I accidentally
learned, started off to join his tory brethren at the south."
The conversation was here interrupted by the arrival of the
parson, who had scarcely been ushered into the house, before yet
another guest was announced. This was the amazon widow, who
now rode into the yard, attended by Neshobee, each having a
brace of her hardy urchins, disposed of behind and before, on the
cruppers and necks of the Captain's thus trebly burdened horses,
which had been kindly sent for that purpose early in the morning.
" Not at the eleventh hour after all," said the woman, as with
stately tread she came sweeping into the room, and gave her
hand successively to each of the assembled guests, who rose, and
with looks of mingled cordiality and respect, advanced to meet
her. Well, I am gratified to find I am not too late to witness
the ceremony, though another motive mainly prompted my
coming."
" Another motive?" said the Captain, " what might that be?"
" Gratitude," rejoined  the widow feelingly —" to offer, in
person, the thanks and blessings of the widow and fatherless to
these brave and generous young officers, for their undeserved
gift of fifty pounds."
" Not undeserved, especially from us, permit me to say, Mrs.
Story," replied Major Hendee. "And our only fear was, that it
would not even requite you for the losses you sustained on our
account on that fearful night, which none of us can ever forget."




3~ 508         THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
" Not requite me? 0, more - doubly so," replied the woman,
mastering, her grateful emotions, and resuming her naturally free
and easy manner: " Why, gentlemen, if you would but visit us
there now, you would see a new house worth two of the old one;
flourishing crops, and a well provisioned and happy family - and
all from your bounty."
" Our pittance, if you please," observed the Colonel, " and that
too, under the management of one, who, I must say, of all
women -"
"Has the least patience with a flatterer, Colonel," interrupted
the widow with good-natured bluntness, jumping up and going to
the window, as something seemed suddenly to occur to her mind.
"Now, I should like to know, if you gentlemen can tell me," she
resumed, after gazing out on the lake a moment, "I should like
to know the meaning of the great stir I noticed over at the fort,
as I came down the road: one would think they were preparing
for a battle."
"We heard a firing in the direction of Ticonderoga an hour or
two ago, which we could not account for, but have noticed nothing
unusual over here, I believe," said Captain Hendee, looking
enquiringly at the two officers.
"Ah! your promised secret, Major?" cried Warrington,
perceiving a knowing and mysterious smile upon the countenance
of the other.
1" You shall have it now - the rest of the company will know
it soon," replied the Major, approaching his superior and whispering in his ear.
" God bless you for the news!" exclaimed the Colonel, with a
look of joyful surprise. " But where did you meet him?"' At Bennington, where he arrived but three days ago amidst
the roar of guns and the shouts of a rejoicing people. I persuaded him to come on with me, as he did, to Skenesboro'; when
he took the water, while I came by land, having first despatched
a runner to notify the garrisons at the two posts of his approach."
"Heaven be praised! " rejoined Warrington, " and let the
Green Mountains rejoice!"
"They will, soon; for yonder he comes, by Jove! " exclaimed
the UMajor, eagerly pointing out upon the lake.
At that instant the house shook and trembled to the reverberating roar of a twenty-four pounder, belching forth a cloud of
fire and smoke from the gray walls of the opposite fortress.
The surprised and startled company instantly rushed into the
yard. A light sail boat had just made her appearance on the




THlE GREEN MOUNTALN BOYS.                359
lake from the south, and, with bellying canvass, was now scudding
rapidly before the freshening breeze, with her course evidently
set for the fort. As she neared, a tall, erect, military figure
appeared conspicuously standing on the forecastle, with folded
arms, gazing steadily forward towards the works, around whose
ramparts were seen the long rows of the expectant officers and
soldiers of the garrison; while, at momentary intervals, came the
welcoming peal of the deep-mouthed gun. At length the sails
of the vessel were furled, and she swept round and lay to, directly
abreast of the fort; which, the next instant, was suddenly
enveloped in a springing cloud of smoke, while the tall forest
around nodded to the united roar of a dozen cannon, among the
broken echoes of which, as they rolled from shore to shore and
died away amonog the far responding mountains, was heard the
noisy salute of drums, and the reiterated cheers of the soldiery,
once more making the welkin ring with the name of "Ethan
Allen!"
After a brief interval of silence, the same little craft was seen,
with hoisted sails, emerging from the lifting clouds of smoke, and
making her way directly across the lake towards the cottage.
And in ten minutes more the hero of the Green -Mountains,
unexpectedly returned from a long and painful captivity, was
received, and ushered into the house amidst the warm and
unfeigned congratulations of the rejoicing party.
"Well, Colonel Allen," said Captain Hendee, scanning the thin
and worn person of the other, as they all became seated in the
room, "they have rather worsted you in your captivity, I perceive: you are now hardly the staunch and iron-bound fellow
you was three years ago, when eight or ten armed hirelings came
here to seize you as a York outlaw, but were fairly cowed out of
the attempt till they supposed you asleep, and a little worse off
than that too, perhaps."
" Aha! my old friend, do you remember that foolish scrape?"
replied Allen.  " No, no, Captain, not the man I was then," he
added, glancing over the huge raw bones of his shrunken frame
with a melancholy smile; "no, the British could never forgive
me for taking old Ti; so with characteristic magnanimity to a
fallen foe, they took their revenge by battering, hewing, hacking,
and starving the old body, till there is scarcely enough left of it
to furnish a habitable tenement for the soul, which remains as
whole and sound as ever; for that, thank God, they could neither
kill nor bribe."
" Bribe! bribe! did they realy try to do that? " exclaimed the




360            TTHE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
young officers, laughing at the thought of an attempt to buy up
Ethan Allen.
"To be sure, did the infernal fools!" said Allen, "and that
more than once; though the last, and perhaps the best offer I
ever had to induce me to damn myself, that is, to become one of
them, was made me by a high dignitary of the crown, who, in behalf of his prince, as he said, offered me nearly half the lands in
Vermont, if I would enter his service against my countrymen! -
the Christless knave! It was well for him that I was handcuffed,
at the time."
"And what answer did you give him?" asked Warrington,
curiously.
"Answer?" replied Allen, smoothing his dark brows, which
had become fierce and stormy at the remembered insult, " what
answer? why, I told the royal ape to go and tell his master, that
he reminded me, in his offer to give me lands in America, of a
certain other prince, mentioned in Scripture, who took the Saviour
up into a high mountain, and showing him all the kingdoms of
the world, offered to give him the whole of them, if he would
fall down and worship him,- when the fact was, the poor devil
had not a single foot of land on earth to give!"
The subject was here dropped by common consent; when, after
a brief pause, Major Hendee turned a significant look upon his
father, who seemed readily to understand what was now expected
of him, and he accordingly observed, -
"I suppose you have been apprised, Colonel Allen, of the
happy occasion, upon which, after all our troubles, we have been
permitted to assemble?"
" I have, sir," gallantly answered the other, "and I felt, that
my peculiar notions, relative to the certainty of the earthly
rewards of bravery and virtue, were strikingly confirmed, when
I learned, that my two friends here were about to draw such rich
prizes in the lottery of life."
" Ah! Colonel Allen," exclaimed Jessy archly, " you, too, caught
playing the flatterer? I had thought well enough of you to believe
you an exception to the generality of men, in that respect. But
I'11 expose you, my brave Colonel! -- What did you say and predict, at the time you captured Ticonderoga, respecting the intimacy
which you were then accidentally led to suspect existed between
your then Lieutenant Selden and Colonel Reed's daughter?"
"Why the deuce is to pay! " cried Allen, taken rather aback by
his fair antagonist -" there has been treason here, somewhere. I
recollect something about my misgivings in the matter. But I




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.               361
am not a going to be tricked out of my compliment, at all events:
for, if the daughter of a British Colonel has the independence to
marry a Yankee rebel, she must be, to him, at least, a prize
richly worth the winning."
" She is not married yet," observed Captain Hendee, with well
assumed seriousness: " for before that is suffered to take place,
I, who stand as a sort of sponsor for the girl, must be heard in
the business: and to this end, I beg leave to read a little from
my letter of instructions from her father; which I have never
before made known," he added, producing a letter, from which
he proceeded to read to his surprised and wondering auditors the
following extract:
"Wi regard to that wayward bairn o' mine, an' that Mr.
Nabody, her rebel lover, as I became satisfied he was, it is out o'
the question I should be consentin' to a match o' sic a sort. Na,
she must be cured, an' in some sic way as I named to you. An'
that being done, then her old lover, Major Skene, will come in
for an easy conquest. But in your moves to this object, let me
again caution you to beware how you forbid this intimacy; for
ever since mother Eve's dido wi' the apple, the moment you forbid,
the Diel taks the woman."
"Father, how is this, and at this late hour?" exclaimed the
astonished son, glancing from the former to the no less surprised
girl at his side, who also began to open her lips in remonstrance,
when, detecting a lurking smile on the old gentleman's countenance, she stopped short.
" Perhaps we may as well read a passage from another letter
of a more recent date," said the Captain, opening another paper,
from which, after slyly enjoying the perplexity of the party interested, a moment, he read, —
" So, you sly old Yankee, you an' Jessy hae contrived to checkmate me at last! This comes o' leaving a daughter in a land o'
rebellion: nathless I canna but say, I regret that circumstances
will not permit me to be present to take my stoup on-the merry
occasion, which you say, wi' my consent, is to tak place early the
coming summer: weel, you may tell the younker, wi'out hinting
my good opinion o' him as aboon written, that, upon the whole, I
will own him as a son-in-law, provided he will tak the crap o'
wild oats which the chick, frae sa plentifu' a sowing, must now
hae ready for the reaping, as a portion o' the wife's dowry."
" Gad! I begin to like the humerous old fellow," said Allen;
"and that stoup which he regrets he cannot take with us, I will
drink to his health as an extra bumper after the ceremony.
31




362           THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
Though before that takes place, I would ask if there are no more
cases which might be settled at this time? "
"We know of none," replied the Captain and his son, to whom
the last part of the speaker's remarks had been addressed in an
undertone.
"I do n't know about that," rejoined the former, " I have been
looking about me a little, and it strikes me that there are materials
enough, at least. If you will make me master of the ceremonies,
with powers to draw out the parties?-"
" Certainly, certainly, Colonel," replied the others, laughing,
but shaking their heads dubiously at the well understood suggestion.
"No faith, elh? Well, there is nothing like trying," rejoined
Allen. " Jones," he continued, now turning round to the scout,
who had resumed his seat by the side of Ruth, "Jones, you have
been a brave fellow - how is it that you are not to be rewarded,
at this time, as well as the rest?"
" Well, I've just been thinking, Colonel, replied Jones,
screwing up his phiz, now queerly streaked with blushes, " that it
was rather a hard case, considering, that I shouldn't have any
share in the loaves and fishes. But the fact is, that the fish that
I've had in my eye," he added, casting a sheepish glance at Ruth,
" wont quite say, whether I'm to be in luck to-day, or not. "
"'Aha! just as I thought. But she shall say," cried Allen,
advancing a step towards the confused and blushing maiden, on
whom all eyes were now tutned in surprise, at this development
of a courtship so little expected; " she shall give you an answer, at
least, or, by the wrath of Cupid! she shall be punished for her
cruelty by running a kissing gauntlet through the company.
And I'll have the first one," he added, still further advancing, as
if to suit the action to the word.
"It is so ridiculous!" stammered the shrinking Ruth.
" Perhaps you had rather say yes to my worthy friend, here?"
said the former, his lip slightly curling with a sportive smile.
"I should - that is, I - I should," replied the girl, dropping
her head in confusion.
" Do you see that? " exultingly said Allen - "I have succeeded
in spite of your faithlessness: nor do I believe my triumphs need
end even here."
"Ah! I will knock under, Colonel," observed the Captain,
laughing.
"Ay, ay," responded the Major, gaily, " we must now acknowledge your prowess in the court of Cupid, as well as in the camp




THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.              363
of Mars. But be not over ambitious, lest your zeal be dampened
by a failure. Where will you find materials for another triumph?"
" Here," answered the other, pointing to Neshobee and Zilpah,
who, for reasons best understood by themselves, had also pared
off in a corner together. " I have been reading eyes, which are
about the only book I ever read where we are sure of the truth;
and if those who control these persons should have no objections -"
"Never mind that, Colonel, if you have faith for the trial,"
exclaimed the old Captain, entering into the full spirit of the
game.
"Upon my word, Colonel Allen, I think you a most incorrigible meddler; but you may proceed, for aught I care," said Miss
Reed, pouting most beautifully.
" Ah, do n't laugh, ye wise ones, till you see," said the jovial
matchmaker, confidently. "Well, Miss Zilpah," he continued,
familiarly addressing the half-blood, "you see which way your
young mistress is about to travel — now, as you intend to follow
her fortunes, do n't you think it would be more pleasant and suitable for you, to have some such brave and trusty companion on
the road as Neshobee here would make you?".
" Ki!" exclaimed the girl, with a blush which brought her
cheek to a fellow redness with that of the young Indian by
her side.  " He! you queer man! But Neshobee, he no hab
me."
" Good!" cried the former, " there is a challenge for you, my
red friend. She says you wont marry her!"
"Umph!" uttered the still grave, though evidently delighted
native, " me never know Zilpah tell lie before."
"There! you unbelievers," exclaimed Allen, looking round
triumphantly upon the company, "see what a man can do.
Now parson, do your duty."
Reader, our story is told, and, with a word upon the subsequent
career of those in whose destinies we trust we have been able in
some degree to interest you, we will bid you adieu:
Of that singular, bold, rough, versatile, yet honest and strong
minded man, Ethan Allen, little more need be said.  The
remainder of his public life was devoted to the accomplishment
of that object, for which he had so fearlessly contended before
the revolution, the independence of his state. And her history
sufficiently attests to the importance of his services.
The gallant young officers, after their twice extended furloughs




364            THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS.
had expired, leaving their lovely and loving wives at the cottage
of Captain Hendee, to cheer and soothe the old veteran in his
declining years, and, in due time, to render his second childhood
anything but companionless, returned to their posts in the army,
in which, honored and distinguished, they remained, till they had
witnessed the achievement of their country's independence;
when they retired to their homes in the Green Mountains, to
receive from their fellow-citizens those substantial memorials of
their esteem which may still be found recorded among some of
the early acts of the Legislature of Vermont, granting valuable
tracts of land to certain individuals for important public services.
Pete Jones and his staid spouse immediately repaired to their
little opening in the woods, where, having renewed his acquaintance with his rusty axe, he caused the forest to melt away before
his powerful arm, till his labors were rewarded by one of the best
farms on the borders of the lake; while his wife became one of
the most notable of housewives, having never had cause to regret
her abrupt connection with the eccentric, though amiable woodsman, as may be inferred from the opinions she was often heard to
express in favor of long men and short courtships.
Widow Story remained on her farm, cultivating and enlarging
it with her own hands for many years; when, her oldest son having at length been enabled to butt his mother, to use a chopper's
phrase, that is, to get off his cut first, in a trial of skill on the
same log, she concluded to betake herself to household duties,
giving up her farm work to her sturdy little band of foresters,
who, in the process of time, let in the sun on extensive tracts of
some of the finest lands on Otter Creek.
Neshobee and his yellow rib continued to reside on the farm
of Captain Hendee, in a log hut built expressly for them, till the
old gentleman's death; when they removed to the woody shores
of the Horicon, where they spent their days in a ceaseless warfare upon the beautiful trout of the lake, and the deer, bear, and
other wild animals of its surrounding shores.
And, lastly, the miscreant Sherwood, who, through the inscrutable ways of Providence, was permitted to live, Cain-like, to old
age, found his way, at the close of the Revolution, to the common
refuge of American tories in Canada, where he finished his days
in poverty and disgrace, always obtaining credit by flattery and
falsehood, always abusing it by fraud and treachery, and living,
indeed, abhorred by men, and seemingly accursed of God.
THE END.




A LIST OF BOOKS
PUBLISHED BY
BENJAMIN B. MUSSEY AND COMPANY,
1NO. 29, CORNHILL, AND 36, BRATTLE STREET, BOSTON.
MUSIC BOOKS.
THE MODERN HARP,
Or, BOSTON SACRED MELODIST.-A Collection of
Church'Music, comprising, in addition to many of the most Popular
Tunes in common use, a great variety of new and original Tunes,
Sentences, Chants, Motets, and Anthems, adapted to Social and
Religious Worship, Societies, Singing Schools, &c. By EDWARD
L. WHITE and JomN E. GOULD.
This Book, in the short space of twelve months, has passed through
no less tkan sixteen editions, and is now used in all the best Choirs and
Societies in New England, and is universally considered as one of the
best books of Church Music now in use.'; So far as we have been able to examine this work, we should judge
it to be superior to any modern work that we have seen." - Skowegan
Democrat.
" In bringing this work before the public, no time or pains have been
spared to render it not only a popular, but a useful Collection. More
than the usual number of new Tunes occupy a space in it, and most of
this new Music is of a high character, and possesses the true attributes
of Church Music. There is also to be found an unusual number of
Sentences, Select Pieces, Chants, &c., suitable for the opening and closing
of divine worship, among which the entire service of the Protestant
Episcopal Church is given in the order of performance.
"The whole Collection is judiciously arranged, and will undoubtedly
ake a rank second to none of the numerous publications of Church
&lusic now in usc.' — Atlas.




"This Book is composed mostly of Music new to the American publich
and embraces every variety of metre now in use, with numerous Seatences, Chants, Motets, and Anthems, suited to particular occasions."Salem Observe7
[Extract of a Letter from Rev. M. K. Cross, of Palmer; Mass.]
" TI am free to acknowledge that I have been very highly gratified with
the musical taste and talent exhibited by the authors. It seems to me
that a larger proportion than is usual in books of this kind, will be found
suitable and edifying for common choirs and congregations. The selectio* of words, set to the Music, is very chaste, and well adapted to devotional purposes; which gives an additional interest to the work. I am
happy to learn that it is soon to be introduced in our own congregationa"
M. K. CROSS
THE OPERA CHORUS BOOK,
Consisting of Trios, Quartets, Quintets, Solos, and Choruses,
selected and arranged from the most popular Operas of Von Weber,
Rossini, Meyerbeer, Bellini, Benedict, Donizetti, Mercadante,
Auber, Balfe, Verdi, and Bishop. By EDWARD L. WHITE and
JorN E. GOULD.
[ We select the following from numerous Notices of this Work
"SALEM, NOVEMBER lST, 1847.
"MMR. B. B. MUssEY - DEAR SIR - I have examined the new publication which has lately come from your press, called the'OPERA CHORUS
BOOK,' and do not hesitate to commend its design and execution. The
Selections are well made and well arranged, and are, almost all of them,
gems of high musical value. The field from which they were gathered,
has not, until now, been explored. It is rich in fruits, and it is to be
hoped, that such success may attend this first gathering, as to induce the
reapers again to try the sickle."
Your friend and servant,   H. K. OLIVER.
"On every page there is evidence of much patience, care, and industry,
on the part of the Editors, and we question if among all the volumes
of Secular Music that have been published in this country, there will be
found one that has more real claims to the admiration of the musical
public than this. The Work abounds in those delicious gems of the
Opera, any one of which is beautiful enough to tempt our readers to
the purchase of the whole collection." —Boston Daily Wig.
[F1rom Thomas Power, Esq.]
" BOSTON, DEC. 29TH, 1847.
" GETLEMEN., —Having examined, with some care, the'OPERb
Caonaus BooK,' of which you are the publishers, I cheerfully give you
my opinion of its particular merits. As the study and practice of




8
Secular Part Music has been pursued with increased zeal and success,
within a few years, it has been a leading object to find accessible advan.
ved works of a good character. The practice of the old standard Glees,
however excellent, has lost its novelty, and some of its interest. A
higher grade of compositions has been required; and the graceful and
charming choruses of the modern Opera have given an increasing lesire
for that class of compositions.
" In selecting from the standard works of the day, a knowledge of
the requirements of performers, and a good judgment as to what shall
meet these requirements, were imperative. The collection of the OPEaa
CHORUS BOOK has been made with good discretion, combining what is
in advance of the current standard, and, at the same time, affording to
social parties, for which it seems to be particularly prepared, the easy
means of studying gems of some of the best masters.
" Whatever motive of ambition or interest suggested the idea of this
Collection, the Book is exactly what is wanted at this time; and it will
be taken as a favor to the musical public, inasmuch as it cannot fail to
be a great acquisition for practice, and a means of creating a better
taste. A book got at with such good properties, cannot fail to be well
received."              Respectfully yours,
THOMAS POWER.
THE TYROLIEN LYRE,
A Glee Book, consisting of easy pieces, arranged mostly foi
Soprano Alto, Tenor, and Bass Voices, with and without Piano
Forte Acompaniments, comprising a complete collection of Solos,
Duets, Trios, Quartets, Quintets, Choruses, &c., for the use of
Societies, Schools, Clubs, Choirs, and the Social Circle. By
EDWARD L. WHITE and JOHN E. GOULD.
The sale which this Work has already met, is evidence that its merits
are well known to the public; but we extract the following from " The
WVorld of Music:" -'It contains many subjects from different popular
Operas, very beautifully elaborated, among which we recognize many
genms of melody from Rossin,, Auber, Bellini, Balfe, &c. Also some
sterling Glee compositions from Bishop, Spofforth, Danby, &c., and a
large number of those Tyrolien melodies which'Malibran and the' Rainer
Family' used to electrify their hearers. The Work will not only be a
pleasant social companion, but will be found extremely useful for Choirs,
Schools, &c."
" It is a large and well executed volume of two hundred and thirty
pages, containing easy pieces, arranged mostly for Soprano, Alto, Tenor,
and Bass Voices, with and without Piano-Forte Accompaniments,
comprising a complete Collection of Solos, Duets, Trios, Quartets,
Quintets, Choruses, &c. The names of EDWARD L. WVHITE and JOHiN
E. GOULD, by whom the Music is composed, selected, and arranged,
is a sufficient recommendation of its excellence." - Olive Branch.




THE BOSTON MELODEON, VOL. I.
A Collection of Secular Melodies, consisting of Songs, Glees,
Rounds, Catches, &c., including many of the most popular Pieces
of the day; arranged and harmonized for Four Voice& By ED.
WARD L. WHITE.
THE BOSTON MELODEON, VOL. II.
A Collection of Secular Melodies, consisting of Songs, Gleea
Rounds, Catches, &c., including many of the most popular pieces
of the day, arranged and harmonized for four voices, vol. 2, by E
L. WHITE.
The above Books have been before the public some two years, during
which time, more than 23,000 of them have been sold, and their reputation is too well known to require any commendation.
THE WREATH OF SCHOOL SONGS,
Consisting of Songs, Hymns, and Chants, with appropriate Music,
designed for the use of Common Schools, Seminaries, &c. To which
tre added the Elements of Vocal Music, arranged according to
the Pestalozzian System of Instruction; with numerous Exercises,
intended to supersede (in part) the necessity of the Black-board.
By EDWARD L. WHITE and JOHN E. GOULD.
"This Work is just the thing for Schools, Juvenile Concerts, &c.;
consisting of Songs, Hymns, and Chants, with appropriate Music, designed for the use of Common Schools, Seminaries, &c., to which is
prefixed the elements of Vocal Music. In many of the Public Schools
out of the city, as well as'in, Music has recently constituted a part of
the studies of the pupils. This we are glad to see, as many advantages
may be derived from such a course. And the experiments, as yet, have
proved quite satisfactory. For such purposes, we have seen no better
work than the'WREATH OF SCHOOL SONGS.' "- Olive Branch.
WREATH  OF SCHOOL SONGS."-" The above is the title of a
New Music Book, just from the press, and is peculiarly calculated to
interest the young singer and make him acquainted with the Elements
of Music." -Eastern lliail.
" It is a charming little volume, and we recommend it to all who havs
families." - Signal.




BAKER'S ELEMENTARY MUSIC BOOK,
Comprising a variety of Songs, Hymns, Chants, &c. Designed
for the use of Public and Private Schools. By BENJAMIN F.
BAKER.
" This little Work is designed for Children, as its title indicates. MP.
BAKER is an accomplished and successful Teacher of Music in our
Public Schools; and his experience in teaching Children to sing, has
enabled him to prepare a work adapted to their wants. The introductory part is simple and comprehensive; and, in the hands of a good
teacher, cannot fail to lead the learner to a thorough knowledge of the
science of Music. The Songs are for the most part lively and interesting,
containing just aad moral sentiments; and the Music is admirably
adapted to them. We commend it to the attention of all those interested
in school education." -Atlas.
" The Book is prepared with knowledge and judgment, and is admirably adapted to the purposes for which it is designed; and our Committee, wisely regarding the interest of our Children, have authorized
its use in those Schools of which MB. BAKER has the care." — Mercantile
Journal.
" We have examined this Work, and do not hesitate to recommend it
to all who are desirous of obtaining a useful book. The Elements of
Music are arranged in the most natural and convenient order for the
use of Singing Schools and Private Classes. After a few Introductory
Remarks, the Scale is introduced to the learner, and explained in the
author's peculiarly plain and happy style. Next in order is the Staff,
Clefs, Notes, Rests, &c. The whole Work is regularly laid out in the
most comprehensive form, illustrated with appropriate Remarks and
Examples. The Examples on the transposition of the scale, are the
most plain and the easiest for the pupil to understand of any we have
ever seen. The Book also contains about one hundred and twenty
pages of Music,' designed for the use of Public and Private Schools.'
Teachers of Music will find this a very useful text-book, as it will enable
them to go through with the Elementary department of instruction in
one half of the time which it usually requires." - World of Music.
THE SABBATH SCHOOL LUTE;
A Selection of Hymns and appropriate Melodies, adapted to the
wants of Sabbath Schools and Social Meetings. By E. L. WHITE
and J. E. GOULD, authors of the "Modern Harp," "Tyrolien
Lyre," "Wreath of School Songs," " Opera  Chorus Book,"
&c., &c.




SCHOOL BOOKS.
Hitchcock's Bookkeeping.-A  New Method of teaching
the Art of Bookkeeping, by J. IRVIN HITCHCOCsK.
Hitchcock's Key. —A  Key to Hitchcock's Method of Book
keeping.
French Spoken. —A  New System of Teaching French, by
EDWARD CHURCH.
Cutter's Physiology. -Anatomy and Physiology, designed for
Academies and Families, by CALVIN CUTTER, M.D., with over 206
Engravings.
Cutter's First Book. - First Book on Anatomy and Physiology,
by CALVIN CUTTER, M.D., with 84 Engravings.
Colburn's Sequel. - Arithmetic, upon the inductive method of
Instruction, being a Sequel to Intellectual Arithmetic, by WaaRREN COLBURN, A.M;
Boyer's French Dictionary. - Boyer's French Dictionary,
comprising all the Improvements of the latest Paris and London editions,
with a large number of useful Words and Phrases, selected from the
modern dictionaries of Baiste, Mailly, Catineau, and others, with the pronunciation of each word, according to the dictionary of the Abbe Tardy:
to which are prefixed Rules for the Pronunciation of French Vowels,
Diphthongs, and final Consonants, with a table of French Verbs, &c.
Sherwin's Algebra. —An Elementary Treatise on Algebra,
for the use of Students in High Schools and Colleges, by THOMAR
SHERWIN, A.M.
Sherwin's Key. — A Key to the Elementary Treatise on Alge.
bra, by THOMAS SHERWIN, A.M.
Worcester's Dictionary, in I vol. 8vo.
Webster's Dictionary, complete, unabridged, crown quarto
F. A. Adams's Arithmetic and Key.
PRONOUNCING BIBLE.
Just Published, a new edition of Alger's Pronouncing Bible, in
I vol. octavo.
" This is an invaluable edition of the Bible. and should be in ever
family where there are children."