Page 72 - A Hero of Ticonderoga

"The lazy-bones," growled Allen, forgetting the long distance. "What has
gone wrong? Daylight will betray us if we wait much longer. What do you

say, my men--shall we wait, and maybe lose our best chance of success, or
go on with what strength we have?"

There was a murmur of universal assent, and Allen commanded:

"Fall in, in three ranks!"

Instantly the men formed in the order of the ranger service. "I want no man
to go against his will. You that wish to go with me, poise arms." Every gun
was brought to the position.

"Shoulder arms! Right face! Forward, march!"

Before the last word was fairly given, Arnold stepped in front of the
speaker.

"I swear," he cried, shaken with his passion, "I will not yield my right. I

planned this enterprise. My money set it on foot. I swear I will command,
and not yield my right to Ethan Allen or the devil."

There was a muttered growl of dissatisfaction among the men, and Allen
was raging. "What shall I do with this fellow? Put him under guard?" he

asked, turning to one of his captains.

"Gentlemen," said Captain Callender, a staid and quiet man, "for the sake

of the good cause, don’t quarrel. Yield a little, both of you. Share the
command equally, and enter the Fort side by side."

Allen returned his half-drawn sword to its scabbard and said bluffly: "For
the sake of the cause I agree to this." The Connecticut colonel sullenly

assented, and the three columns moved briskly along the shore, led by the
two colonels marching side by side, till, through the branches of the

budding trees, the leaders saw close before them the walls of Ticonderoga,
looming dark and vague in the gray of the morning.