She did not know the terrible cause of the speechless self-condemnation the wretch had suffered, nor did she ever learn it.
“I wouldn’t tell her,” counselled Job. “She’d feel bad, an’ that wouldn’t pay any more’n it does to nurse a grudge. Vengeance don’t belong to us, poor critters.”
Thenceforth, till Silas Toombs sank from his living death to eternal sleep not long after this, his stepson gave him thoughtful and kindly care.
At length the young frontiersman took his place among the defenders of his country. By the side of his old comrade and guardian, he fought in the losing fight of Hubbardton and helped to win the glorious victory of Bennington. Yet he is best remembered by the descendants of the old Green Mountain Boys as the guide who led their fathers in the conquest of Ticonderoga.
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Where once stood the pioneer’s log house, spacious farm buildings now stretch their comfortable quarters. From it, away to the southwest, across meadows, thrifty homesteads, low woodlands, and the narrowed waters of Lake Champlain can be seen rising against the foothills of the Adirondacks the hoary ruins of Ticonderoga. Within the house, upon a pair of massive moose horns, rests the old flintlock once filled with beans, “good enough for Yorkers,” and later loaded with a leaden death message for Tory and Hessian. Cherished with as fond pride by its fair possessor, is a worn pocket-piece—the silver shilling given her ancestor by the beautiful lady of Fort Ticonderoga.
Transcriber’s Note
Spelling and punctuation inaccuracies were silently corrected.
Archaic and variable spelling is preserved.
The author’s punctuation style is preserved.