There came a day in June when Abraham heard General Howe say to the other commanders that the Charlestown Hills ought to be occupied at once, for fear the rebels might seize them. Were they to do so, Boston might be bombarded, and the ships driven from their anchorage.
“Doctor Warren and General Ward ought to know that,” Abraham said to himself.
There were only a few words in the letter which Abraham Duncan tucked under the cuff of Cato’s coat-sleeve the next morning, when he stepped into his boat to cross the river and gather young asparagus and water-cresses for General Howe’s dinner. Cato was directed to hand the slip of paper to Deacon Larkin’s negro, Jim, who would know what to do with it.
Faithful and true to their kind-hearted masters were Cato and Jim, passing the letter from hand to hand, till it reached Doctor Joseph Warren in consultation with General Artemus Ward and the committee of safety in Cambridge.
“Bunker’s Hill is to be occupied at once.”[67]
That was all, except an ink blot.
“It is authentic,—from a trustworthy Son of Liberty,” said Doctor Warren.
“It has no signature,” said General Ward.
“Therefore is not treasonable. Besides, it does not state who is to occupy Bunker’s Hill,—the British or ourselves,” the doctor replied.