As he reached the deck he heard a voice, which seemed very familiar, say:
"Colonel, don't you know me?"
A tall, bearded young man stood before him with extended hand.
"Eben!"
"Ah! then I have not changed so much."
It was Eben Pike, dressed in the uniform of a lieutenant of the American army.
"What brings you here? You are not a prisoner?"
"No; at this moment I am a guest of His Majesty the King of England, and am acting on behalf of the United States of America, and more especially the commander-in-chief, Gen. Washington, and——"
"I am so glad to see you, Eben, that I do not know what you have been saying. I feared you were dead."
"No, colonel, I had a work to do, and I have done it. You see, we, that is, the American army, took a certain English colonel prisoner, and England wanted him very badly, so Gen. Washington said: 'You shall have him in exchange for Col. Ethan Allen,' and at last the order for the exchange was made and you are free."