The sergeant in command of the squad saluted Allen, and replied:
"I am compelled to obey orders. This man reported that he could lead into ambush one Ethan Allen, and I was detailed to effect his arrest."
"Sergeant, I acknowledge that you have a duty to perform, but cannot a merchant pass through Canada without being suspected of being a spy?"
"With that I have nothing to do; I must ask you to surrender."
"The asking is compulsion. With a pistol at each head, how can we do anything else but surrender?"
Allen wished to delay surrender as long as possible, for he was a firm believer in the doctrines of possibility, and a chance of escape might present itself.
The sergeant laughed at Allen's question.
"It does look like surrender or death, but my orders were to take Ethan Allen, dead or alive."
"Is he then so much feared?"
"If you are Ethan Allen it may be some consolation to know that he is hated by the British authorities more than any man who has joined the American rebels; and if you are not Ethan Allen, as I hope you are not, then you may know that it is a great honor to be mistaken for such a rebel."