Passaic City record., 1892-05-14

TO hlS room 10 pay me. nc Lolu mes
mother, that he did not get such nice
eggs as yours anywhere else."
Mrs. Beman smiled with pleased van
itv. swell keep good hens and feed
them we'll, and l always sell my eggs
fresh" she said.
Eyes, mother" said her husband,
ssand you make more money from your
poultry than do from my farm. How
ever, we've always worked together.
But, Nathan. you are thoughtful. What
are you thinking about?"
.Oh, was thinking how easy old I'll
could be taken" answered Nathan.
s.Capture old Til" exclaimed his
father, :" why, lad, the things impossi-
BILE. Abercrombie lost two thousand
men there in '5S, and young Lord Howe
was killed. wasn't ten feet from him
when he fell. The forts impregnable
But what in the world put the thought
in your head2 Who is there to take it.
81 don't know, father, but ever since
we heard of the battle Of Lexington be-
tween the redcoats and our farmers,
have been thinking how old ii might be
taken. You don't know how careless
they are. There were no sentinels on
duty this afternoon, and the soldiers
were drinking and gambling"
"That may be, but Tconderoga isn't
agal tc be taken by the first wooer.
'Twould De great stroke for liberty,
but no, no, there's nobody to do it,"
And Farmer Beman, who was thor
oughly patriotic American, shook his
head firmly.
But as the former and Nathan were
milking the cows that night, tramp,
tramp, tramp, came the sound of many
feet, and rising with their filed pallsto
see what the matter might be, they saw
the road filed with more than three
hundred armed men.
ssThey are not redcoats, but who can
they BET" asked the elder Beman with
honest surprise.
He was answered by the appearance of
two officers of rank--one large, tall
man of Herculean cast, dressed in high
heavy boots, buff breeches and waistcoat,
and high collared white shagcoat; the
other slighter man, but well made and
of noble bearing, whose garments were
richer and more fashionable in their cut.
Both were on horse back and wore swords,
epaulettes and other insignia of rank.
Gas Pm alive, its Colonel Ethan AL
lenr" exclaimed Farmer Beman, address
ing the colossal figure.
s.And you are Ebenezer Beman," cried
the famous Green Mountain hero. "This
is Colonel Arnold, and we are on our way
to take old I'll.
ssYou must be mad, Colonel Allen,
cried the farmer aghast. "Gcneral Aber-
crombie had fifteen thousand men and
failed"
"But am not General Abercrombie,
nor does insanity run in my family" an
swered Allen, sturdily. "Yonder fort
will be in the hands of free men to-mor-
row morning, or Ethen Allen will be no
more among the living"
Young Nathan Beman stood looking
with all his eyes upon the stalwart figure
of the Green Mountain hero, who to him
was the personifcation of everything
great and glorious in the world. The
looks of Arnold he did not like as well,
the had reckless air and proud, con-
emptuous expression of countenance, but
those flashing eyes and sinister lips did
not then foretell the i'll fame that was to
come to this brave and gifted man.
81 suppose you have made provision
for boats to transport your troops across
the lake, Colonel Allen, said the farmer.
81 have sent party to secure what
boats they could above here, and another
party has gone to Skenesboro, but ]
trusted to find certain craft at this place, !"
answered Allen. sCould have been
misinformed?"
ssThere is an excellent scow half-mlle
above here, and there are dozen skiffs
down yonder that you are welcome to-"
"And now, Mr.. Beman," said Allen,
bending upon him the steady gaze of his
stern blue eyes, lido you know of any
one that we can depend on as guide,
some one that knows all about the fort
and its approached wish to avoid if
possible any danger from the salute OF
charge of grapeshot or canister from the
wide-mouthed war dogs of old IT,"
ssI don't know of any one that knows
old ii better than my son Nathan here.
He goes over there as often as once a
week"
ssAnd can you, young man, conduct
us to the fort and show US the way to the
commandant's quartersa Are you sure
YOU can do it2' Colonel Aliens voice
was stern and decisive, for it was an i'm
portant task that was required, and the