And almost at the same moment the eyes of the great Virginian caught sight of the boy.

"Hah!" cried he, taking a step forward, "here is some one I think I know, Mr. Clark."

"They are strangers to me, general," spoke the rich farmer, staring at the boys. "Travelers perhaps, young gentlemen?" addressing them.

"On our way to Philadelphia," said Ezra, as Nat stepped upon the verandah and grasped the cordially extended hand of Washington.

Nat had done Washington a splendid service just outside of Philadelphia some ten months before, and as the Virginian seldom forgot a face, and never a service, his hand grasp was warm and firm.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NAT GRASPED THE HAND OF WASHINGTON]

"I am glad to see you. And so," with a look at Ezra, "you are on your way to Philadelphia?"

"Yes, general."

Washington smiled a little.

"Why," said he, "my new t.i.tle seems to run before me like a forest fire.

But," inquiringly, "may I ask from what direction you travel?"

"We left Cambridge in Ma.s.sachusetts some five days ago," replied Nat.

An eager light came into the eyes of the commander-in-chief.

"What news?" asked he.

"A battle has been fought," said Nat.

Instantly the lad was encircled by a ring of anxious faces.

"And the result?" Washington's voice was entirely without excitement.

"The British were victorious."

A sort of groan went up from the little party of gentlemen. And it was here that Ezra Prentiss spoke eagerly.

"We are bearing General Ward's report of the fight to Congress. And though the British did drive us back, we twice repulsed them. We would have done so the third time had not our powder run out. As it stands, they lost a thousand men and do not dare advance beyond the ground they won."

The gloom which settled upon the face of Washington at Nat Brewster's words vanished at those of Ezra Prentiss.

"The militia?" he asked, his hand upon the boy's shoulder. "How did they hold themselves under fire?"

"Bravely," returned Ezra. "As long as they could fire back they showed fear of neither cannon-shot nor musketry."

"That is all I wish to know," exclaimed the commander-in-chief. "The cause of liberty is safe."

The others then burst in with anxious and excited questions. Even during the dinner which the bountiful Mr. Clark sat the boys down to in a long, shaded room did not stop this flow of interrogations. Both were forced to answer as best they could between mouthfuls, but they did so with enthusiasm, for they were as full of the matter as their questioners.

General Washington sat alone upon the verandah while the boys ate; his eyes were fixed upon the broad, fertile fields and his expression was rapt. Perhaps he saw the future, when he should retreat with a shattered army across the Jerseys, the wolf-pack of the enemy close behind him.

And behind them again, the countryside in ruins!

But when the lads came out he arose.

"Mr. Clark," said he, "you have been kind, and I thank you. And now, if you will have them bring out our horses, we will be on our way toward New York."

The farmer sent some of his people to do as asked; then the general turned to the boys.

"I am about to send a messenger back to Philadelphia with some suggestions to Congress which this news of yours has called forth," said he, "and if you are so inclined, the message of General Ward shall be sent by him."

The boys hesitated a moment.

"General," said Ezra, finally, "there is nothing that would please us better than to ride with you back to Cambridge, but--"

Washington smiled.

"If it would please you," said he, "then you shall do it. As your officer, I direct you to turn over your dispatches to this gentleman,"

indicating a young man who stood seemingly ready to depart.

Promptly Ezra drew out General Ward's dispatch and handed it to the rider. In a few moments they saw him dashing away through the dust to the southward; and in a very few more they were heading north toward the theatre of war at the side of General Washington.

CHAPTER XVI

IN WHICH EZRA LISTENS TO A DARING PLAN, AND HOW THREE SPIES LISTEN TO IT LIKEWISE

From the time that Washington reached New York, his progress toward Cambridge was a constant ovation. In all the towns he pa.s.sed through he was received by committees of citizens. Addresses of welcome and praise were read to him, cannon were fired in his honor, and escorts met him and saw him on his way.

While he was no doubt gratified by all these signs of favor and indications of the people's confidence, the general's most earnest desire was to reach his destination and a.s.sume the command entrusted to him. At Springfield a committee of the Ma.s.sachusetts Provincial Congress met him; a cavalcade of mounted citizens and troops escorted him into Cambridge on the second of July.

It was about two o'clock in the afternoon when the commander-in-chief entered the town. The streets were thronged with people; cheers met him upon every hand; people filled windows, sheds and roof tops to do him honor. The various colonial flags fluttered wildly; guns roared and the troops saluted their leader with critical satisfaction.

The next day General Washington a.s.sumed command of the army in due form.

He at once rode about its posts and carefully examined the position of the enemy. Ezra, Nat and Gilbert Scarlett rode with the party that accompanied him, he having selected the two former as his messengers and the latter accompanying them because of his curiosity regarding the new leader.

"He looks," Scarlett told Ezra, "like a man of unmistakable parts.

Colonel Prescott, last night, was good enough to sketch his life and military acts for me, and I was much struck. At Braddock's defeat he played the part, not only of a man, but of a most excellent officer."

Slowly Washington reconnoitered the British lines. He found Howe strongly entrenching on Bunker Hill, advanced about half a mile from the late battle-field, with his sentries extending fully one hundred and fifty yards upon the Cambridge side of the Neck. Three floating batteries lay in the Mystic River, and a twenty-gun ship was at anchor below the ferry. On Roxbury Neck they were also strongly fortified. The bulk of the British army lay upon Bunker Hill; only a few light horse were at this time left in Boston.

Not a point of all this seemed to escape the observing eye of the Virginian; his comments and directions were listened to by Scarlett with close attention and deepening appreciation.

The American position had grown stronger since the Bunker Hill fight.

Entrenchments had been thrown up on Prospect and Winter Hills. From these the British camp was plainly in view at little more than a mile away. There was a strong work at Sewall's Farm, which, afterward, Washington made stronger still. At Roxbury, General Thomas had thrown up a powerful fortification. The New Hampshire troops and a regiment of Rhode Island men held Winter Hill. General Putnam was in command at Prospect Hill with the greater part of his Connecticut regiments. The troops at Cambridge were all of Ma.s.sachusetts Bay; and the bulk of Greene's Rhode Islanders held Sewall's Farm. Two other regiments of Putnam's men and nine regiments of Ma.s.sachusetts were stationed at Roxbury. Then there were some seven hundred men scattered along the coast to prevent descents of the enemy.