"If I could answer that question, Enoch, I might be able to give even General Washington information for which he would thank me."
"Do you know why General Howe is to be removed from his command?"
"I have heard the British officers say he was severely censured by Parliament for his blunder in causing the disaster to Burgoyne's army by going to the Chesapeake as he did. It seems that he has asked permission to go home, and that is why Sir Henry Clinton has been given the command."
"This maneuver to be executed before the fifth may be one which has been ordered in advance by Clinton," Jacob suggested.
"If such had been the case, the officers who were discussing the matter would have said so."
"Whether it be the one or the other, I do not understand how we can be benefited by having the information. Why did you say that at last we had work to do?"
"For this reason, Enoch Ball: We are now old enough to be of some service to the cause. Jacob's father refuses to allow him to enlist. Mother insists I must remain at home while the British are in possession of the city, and that is also the reason why you are not already a soldier. Now even though we are not in the army, it may be possible for us to aid our friends, and surely nothing at this time can be more important than making them acquainted with the fact that the Britishers are getting ready for some important movement."
"But how can we let them know?" Enoch asked with considerable show of trepidation, for it was not yet two weeks since he had seen a man flogged with an hundred lashes because of its being suspected that his intention was to enter the American lines.
"It is not impossible for one of us to find an officer within a few miles of the town who would forward the information. I believe I know where General Reed and General Cadwalader are, or, at least, how to reach them."
"Would you attempt to leave the city on such an errand?"