CHAPTER XXV
PUT TO THE TEST
“Likely lookin’ men Dearborn’s picked up,” was Zeb’s comment as Major Dearborn marched his recruits past. “Hi, Don. An’ thar’s his uncle. Glad he got through Bennington safe an’ sound. Don was some worried about him. Man an’ boy, ye can’t beat ’em.”
“His uncle is a fine looking man. Those men have bayonets. They ought to be of service. But there’s none like the Rangers, eh, Zeb?”
“Askin’ such questions is waste o’ breath.”
“Well, I hope we’ll soon have a chance to prove it.”
“We’ve been sayin’ the same thing for more’n two weeks. I reckoned we sure would get it two days ago when we occupied Bemis Heights. Hello! What’s doin’?”
“Fall in!”
As though there were magic in the words, those travel-stained riflemen sprang to their places with an eagerness never seen among regular troops.
“The enemy is crossing the Hudson, an’ we’re to make ’em wish they hadn’t,” was the message which ran along the lines. Many a man turned to the next 228 in line and said in matter of fact tone, “That means fight.”