Part 59 (1/2)

”Colonel, don't you know me?”

A tall, bearded young man stood before him with extended hand.

”Eben!”

”Ah! then I have not changed so much.”

It was Eben Pike, dressed in the uniform of a lieutenant of the American army.

”What brings you here? You are not a prisoner?”

”No; at this moment I am a guest of His Majesty the King of England, and am acting on behalf of the United States of America, and more especially the commander-in-chief, Gen. Was.h.i.+ngton, and----”

”I am so glad to see you, Eben, that I do not know what you have been saying. I feared you were dead.”

”No, colonel, I had a work to do, and I have done it. You see, we, that is, the American army, took a certain English colonel prisoner, and England wanted him very badly, so Gen. Was.h.i.+ngton said: 'You shall have him in exchange for Col. Ethan Allen,' and at last the order for the exchange was made and you are free.”

What did it mean?

Allen heard the word ”free,” but it seemed like an echo of fairyland, having nothing in common with this matter-of-fact, cruel world.

”Yes, Col. Allen, you are free.”

This time the word was spoken by an English officer.

Allen staggered like a drunken man, and would have fallen had not Eben caught him.

”Come, colonel, we must not trespa.s.s on the hospitality of the King of England any longer; I have promised to escort you with all due diligence to the headquarters of the commander-in-chief.”

Allen stood still, looking, with gla.s.sy eyes, at the speaker.

In a few moments he asked;

”Am I dreaming?”

”It looked very like it, colonel, for you acted as though you were asleep; but come now, we must be going.”

”Do you mean it? Are you really Eben Pike?”

”Ask the captain here. He will vouch for that. The doc.u.ment reads: 'The bearer, Lieut. Pike, of the Army of the United States of America,'

does it not?”

”Yes, Col. Allen, the whole thing means that you are exchanged. We have got our man, and we pay for his liberty by giving you yours.

Good-day, and may I never see you again--at least under recent conditions.”

Allen entered a small boat with Eben, and two stout seamen pulled the boat to the dock, where a carriage was in waiting.

Eben almost pushed the astonished and half-dazed Green Mountain hero into the carriage, and soon the waterside was left far behind and the carriage rolled along the roads to the place where Gen. Was.h.i.+ngton had made his headquarters.