After George had delivered his dispatches and dined, his brother Ezra, more astonishingly his counterpart than ever before, broke in upon him tumultuously. And after they had exchanged experiences, George related his queer encounters with Herbert Camp and his sister in New York.
“A traitor,” said Ezra, aghast.
“There can be no doubt about it,” said George. “A traitor, bought by the prospects of the old man’s fortune.”
They sat for a long time in silence; then Ezra laid his hand upon his brother’s arm.
“I am glad,” said he, “that you asked General Putnam’s permission to withdraw. Herbert Camp will be taken in the end, but neither you nor I must have a hand in it.”
George was next day assigned, together with his brother and two friends, to service under General Knox in transporting the artillery, and in this work he labored for some days until the heavy guns of Washington’s force were safely stowed in the vessels that were to carry them to New York.
It was on April 13th that Washington finally reached New York City. The populace were thick in the streets and received him with thunderous cheers. Guns were fired, though the ammunition could be ill spared, and a medley of colonial flags fluttered in the breeze.
As it happened, Tryon, the British governor, had just arrived in the “Asia,” a huge ship of the line, to replace Colden once more. Mounting the ramparts of the fort he noted the tumult of color and the seething sea of citizens.
“What,” cried he, to those of his staff who bore him company, “I did not know that I had grown so popular with the townsfolk.”
“The rebel leader, Mr. Washington, has just reached the city, Your Excellency,” said some one; “and I fear that it is he whom they are welcoming.”