As Arnold was expected on board in person, it was doubtless a subject of deliberation whether any one should leave the ship and run the hazard of going on shore, with no other pledge of protection, than the word of a man, who was seeking to betray his country. It has been said, that Robinson was decidedly opposed to such a step, but was overruled by André, whose eagerness to accomplish the enterprise he had undertaken made him regardless of danger. Although clothed in his uniform, he was so completely enveloped with a blue great-coat, that no part of his dress could be seen; and Smith always affirmed, that he had no surmise of his real name or character, but looked upon him as a private individual acting an intermediate part between Robinson and Arnold.
The boat in which Smith came down the river was large, and being rowed by two men only, the Captain of the Vulture proposed that one of his boats should go out armed and tow the other; but this was strongly objected to by Smith and André. It was easy to discover, that the less noise the more safety. The reason assigned by Sir Henry Clinton in his despatch, for their declining this aid was, that it would be inconsistent with a flag of truce. As there was no pretence of a flag of truce, except in the formality of Arnold's passport, this reason was supposititious.
André and Smith descended into the boat together. The watermen had not left it. Few words were spoken as they moved slowly towards the shore. They landed at the foot of a mountain, called the Long Clove, on the western margin of the river, about six miles below Stony Point.
To this place Arnold had ridden on horseback from Smith's House, attended by one of Smith's servants on another horse. The exact spot for the rendezvous had been agreed upon, and, as soon as the boat landed, Smith went up the bank, groping his way in darkness, and found Arnold not only shrouded in the shades of night, but concealed among thick bushes and trees. He then returned and conducted André to the same place. At Arnold's request he left them together, and joined the men again at the boat.
Overcome with fatigue, and unconscious of any heavier burden upon their spirits, the watermen found relief from their toils in sleep. Smith was wakeful and little at ease. Mortified and displeased, as he says, at not being permitted to be present at the interview, after all the pains he had taken and sacrifices he had made to bring it about, he was not in a humor to draw solace from tranquillity and meditation; and the damps of an autumnal night, piercing a frame that had been for some time shivering under the discipline of a tertian ague, were not likely to communicate soothing influences. No wonder that the hours seemed to move on leaden wings, and his stock of patience was soon exhausted. He went into the bushes and reminded the plotters of treason, that the night was far spent, and the boat must depart from its present station before daylight should appear.
Roused by this intimation, and not yet having entirely effected the object of their meeting, the conspirators consented, that he and the boatmen should return up the river. Meantime André mounted the servant's horse, and accompanied Arnold to Smith's House, being a distance of three or four miles along the road leading through the village of Haverstraw. It was dark, and the voice of the sentinel demanding the countersign was the first indication to André, that he was within the American lines. This circumstance was unexpected, and he now felt the real danger of his situation. It was too late to change his purpose, and he could only nerve himself with fortitude to meet whatever peril might await him. Just as the day dawned, they came to Smith's House; and in a little time Smith arrived, having brought the boat to Crom Island in Haverstraw Creek, where it was left. The boatmen retired to their homes.
Should the question be asked, why André did not return on board from the Long Clove, in the same way he came on shore, the true answer undoubtedly is, that his business with Arnold was not finished, and could not be brought to a close soon enough to allow the boat to go and come again during the night. Since Arnold himself went down to meet André at the Clove, it may be inferred, that he thought everything might possibly be completed there; otherwise he would have been more likely to wait for him at Smith's House, and have him conducted thither through the safest and most expeditious channel, which would have been by water up Haverstraw Creek to the place where the boat was ultimately left, which was but a short distance from the house. It is equally certain, however, that he had anticipated a want of time for doing at the landing-place all that was requisite; as he had provided for such a contingency, first, by having Smith's family removed, secondly, by taking a spare horse with him to the Clove. Smith had said, while on board the Vulture, that a horse would be ready on the bank of the river for the purpose of conducting the person to his house, who should go with him in the boat.
In his narrative Smith states, that Arnold pressed him and the boatmen very hard to return to the Vulture that night, but they all refused on account of the lateness of the hour. This statement does not agree with the testimony of the watermen at Smith's trial; from which it appears, that they did not see Arnold at the landing-place; they only heard a man in the bushes. One of them testified, that Smith said nothing to him about returning, and the other, that he asked him, soon after they landed, if he would assist to row the boat back to the ship, but he declined, and Smith did not urge it. In short, the proof is sufficiently clear, that more time was necessary for maturing the plans in agitation, and that this was the reason why no attempt was made to send André back to the Vulture before morning.