“Come into the house! Come in and refresh yourself, and you shall tell me that with which you are charged while partaking of such food as my wife can prepare quickly.”
“It is not well for me to spend time in eating until after Nathan Beman is relieved from his charge.”
“What have you to do with that young Tory, if it is true that you come from Ethan Allen?” and now the captain began to show signs of being suspicious.
“I will tell the whole story, beginning with the capture of Ticonderoga——”
“So the fort has been taken by our people!” Captain Baker cried joyously as he clasped the messenger by the hand with such force as to make the boy wince. “Tell me quickly! When was the work done?”
“SO THE FORT HAS BEEN TAKEN BY OUR PEOPLE!” CAPTAIN BAKER CRIED, CLASPING THE MESSENGER BY THE HAND.
Corporal ’Lige’s Recruit, p. 232.
More than once before he had come to the story of his and Nathan’s adventures was Isaac interrupted by the eager soldier; but after a certain time he succeeded in imparting all the information, and was rewarded by hearing the captain say:
“You showed rare good sense in leaving the prisoners outside the settlement, for while we in Sudbury are with the colonists in their task of teaching the king a much-needed lesson, there are some who might have tried to work mischief had you applied to them asking the location of my dwelling. Wait 233 here until I can summon a few of the Green Mountain Boys, who have been awaiting word from Ethan Allen, and we’ll soon relieve you of the Tories.”