Within an hour he was at the quarters of General Putnam; and a few moments later found him in the presence of that bluff warrior.
“Well,” inquired Putnam, who was still at breakfast, “and what is it now, Master Prentiss, that you should be so intent of face?”
Ezra, in as few words as possible, told his story. Putnam went on with his breakfast, listening and making no comment. When the tale was done he leaned back in his chair and looked at the lad with pursed lips.
“The situation was a pretty one,” said he. “It was do your stern duty and send your grandsire to his death; or allow him to go free and those two rascals with him. In the same position,” continued he, a twinkle in his eye, “I should have been tempted to do as you have done, and no doubt I should have done it.”
“But do you not see what danger I have placed this mission of Colonel Knox in?” cried the lad.
“I must say that I do not,” said Putnam, good-humoredly, as he recommenced upon his breakfast. “Ticonderoga and Crown Point are in the hands of our people and are well guarded. There are not enough British troops in Canada to make an advance upon them; and for Gage to do anything is out of the question.
“The only thing that could be done would be a secret expedition by this man Abdallah and any followers that he might have. And even that would be so difficult as to make it all but impossible. So make your mind easy, my lad. You have done no great harm.”
Ezra went surprisedly from the presence of Putnam. But he was not satisfied, and at once sought Colonel Knox at Washington’s headquarters. This young soldier listened to the boy’s frankly told story. When it was done, he said with a smile:
“Perhaps this will hasten our departure a trifle, but that is all. Don’t worry about what you have done. Under the circumstances your action was perfectly natural. None of us is a Brutus. All of us would find it hard, I hope, to give up those nearest to us to death.”
But for all that Colonel Knox thought that the advent of the spies would hasten his movements, the start was not made until the following month. During the interim, Ezra suffered keenly. A dozen times the delay seemed more than he could endure. His imagination teemed with pictures of happenings at the two strongholds in the wilderness; in his sleep he saw parties of British take them a score of times; he witnessed the sinking of the heavy guns in the depths of the lake; he saw Abdallah’s and Jason Collyer’s grins of derision at his frantic, dream-heavy efforts to prevent this; and always he’d awake crying out to his friends to come to his aid.