Baker.—"That makes no difference. We know who you are, and we want you. We have here fifty men, armed with carbines and pistols. You cannot escape."
There was a long pause, and then Booth said:
"Captain, this is a hard case, I swear. Perhaps I am being taken by my own friends." No reply from the detectives.
Booth—"Well, give us a little time to consider."
[Illustration: Garrett's House, Where Booth Died—Sketched by W. N.
Walton, for "Harper's Weekly" for May 30th, 1865]
Baker—"Very well. Take time."
Here ensued a long and eventful pause. What thronging memories it brought to Booth, we can only guess. In this little interval he made the resolve to die. But he was cool and steady to the end. Baker, after a lapse, hailed for the last time.
"Well, we have waited long enough; surrender your arms and come out, or we'll fire the barn."
Booth answered thus: "I am but a cripple, a one-legged man. Withdraw your forces one hundred yard from the door, and I will come. Give me a chance for my life, captain. I will never be taken alive."
Baker—"We did not come here to fight, but to capture you. I say again, appear, or the barn shall be fired."