Evening star., 1931-02-22

her brother Robert ought to know about It
all at once.
Getting the news to Robert, who was in
New York, was problem but Sarah not
long in solving it. She called on Capt. Daniel
YoungS, another British officer, and told him
that she was out of certain kind of tea
that she would need for a party she was
giving the following evening. Would he to
aid beauty in distress, hurry to her brothers
store in New York and that this tea
sent out? Capt. Youngs would. Sarah scrib-
bled note, sealed it and handed it to him
for delivery to Robert Townsend and in q
few moments this British officer riding to
New York with an epistle that was to help
put rope about the neck of his very good
friend and brother officer, Maj. Andre.
Late that afternoon Robert Townsend got
his sisters note He knew more than she
just what 1t might mean, but he wrote it all
out in cipher and invisible ink and dispatched
a messenger with it at once to Mai. Tall
madge, and by daylight the message was in
Tallmadges hands.
Maj. Tallmadge had just deciphered and read
the letter when another messenger rode up
this time a courier from Gen. Benedict Arnold,
commanding at West Point. The courier
handed Tallmadge the following significant let
ter from Arnold:
IF Mr.. James Anderson, a person I expect
from New York, should come to your quarters,
I have to request that you will give him an
this place, and send an express to me that I
may meet him. If your business will permit I
wish you to come with him"
Then Maj Talmadge did a little fast think
ing. On the one hand he had letter from
Gen. Arnold asking that the journey of one
James Anderson be expedited On the otheV
hand, he had news that the British Maj. Andre
was receiving mysterious letters addressed to
James Anderson and was talking with his SUI
perior officers about West Point. The two items
doVetaied remarkably. 1t remained only to see
what they meant.
Meanwhile Maj. Andre had started on his
rission-to make final arrangements for the
delivery of the American stronghold at West
Point into British hands. Andre fell into the
hands of an American patrol, who suspected
him of being spy and quite naturally sent
him along under guard to Benedict Arnold at
West Point And while Tallmadge was still try
ing to figure out the secret behind this odd
dovetailing of his two letters, he received the
news that a man describing himself as James
Anderson-for that was the name Andre gave
his captorS-had been captured and was being
sent to Arnold
Tallmadge, fortunately for the cause of
American independence, found his suspicious
crystallizing. He Immediately sent couriers or
dering that James Anderson" be brought to
him instead of to Arnold.
Arnold himself would have been captured had
not one of Tallmadges subordinates failed to
recall courier who had been sent to West
Point to announce "AndersonS" capture. This
gave Arnold just the warning he needed to
make bis escape But it was too late for Andre.
Taken before Tallmadge and questioned,
Anderson" admitted that he was Maj. Andre.
His trial and execution quickly followed, arous-
ing high fever of indignation among the
British, just as the execution of Nathan Hale
had made the Americans extremely angry-al-
though both executions were quite justified by
the rules of war.
p OBERT TOWNSEND himself seems to have
been surprised at the news of the execn-
ton, and for some weeks lived In great fear
that his part In the game would be betrayed 70