"Do not think me rash, captain, but you have given me permission to speak as I think."
"So I have, Eli, and for the sake of our old college days and the good times we shared, you can always speak your mind to me."
"Then, captain, I thought that this man, Allen, knew nothing of fighting save a sheriff's posse, and you could become the general and lead the men to Ticonderoga and then to Crown Point, and who knows, you might drive the English back into Canada, and, joining with the French, compel England to sue for peace, and you could name your own terms."
"Talk, talk, talk! How easy it is to talk, Eli, but how different is action. Go; when I have thought over your suggestion I will let you know my decision."
Eli Forest had the most implicit confidence in Benedict Arnold. As boys they had gone to the same school, and when they left school they entered college and graduated at the same time. During all those years Eli had always looked upon Arnold as a superior being. When the men were enrolled as guards Eli felt that the height of his ambition was reached, for, with Arnold as captain, the guards would rival any military body in the country.
Arnold was as fond of his friend as he could be of anyone; he gave him greater freedom of speech, and listened to him when others would have been treated very cavalierly.
When Benedict Arnold was alone he showed by every line on his face how pleased he was with the suggestion made by his old-time friend.
"It is the opportunity of my life. What does Ethan Allen know about war? He is a country farmer, and can fight a sheriff's posse, and perhaps a few soldiers in his mountains; but to take Ticonderoga? Bah! He will fail unless I help him, and then the glory shall be mine."
Arnold walked quickly up and down the floor, his hands clinched, his face lighted up with ambitious fire.
"Yes, the glory shall be mine," he continued, "and once let me have Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and then—— Ah! what then?"