is the twenty-third of September, 1780,
and the sky is clear. Now as the clock ticks its hours away, we may
watch the phrases of the capable Author of the great story as they come
from His pen. His most useful characters are remote and unavailable.
It would seem that the villain was likely to have his way. The Author
must defeat him, if possible, with some stroke of ingenuity. For this
He was not unprepared.

Before the day begins it will be well to review, briefly, the hours
that preceded it.

Andre would have reached New York that night if _The Vulture_ had not
changed her position on account of a shot from the battery below Stony
Point. For that, credit must be given to the good scout Solomon
Binkus. The ship was not in sight when the two men came out in their
boat from the west shore of the river while the night was falling.
Arnold had heard the shot and now that the ship had left her anchorage
a fear must have come to him that his treachery was suspected.

"I may want to get away in that boat myself," he suggested to Andre.

"She will not return until she gets orders from you or me," the
Britisher assured him.

"I wonder what has become of her," said Arnold.

"She has probably dropped down the river for some reason," Andre
answered. "What am I to do?"

"I'll take you to the house of a man I know who lives near the river
and send you to New York by horse with passports in the morning. You
can reach the British lines to-morrow."

"I would like that," Andre exclaimed. "It would afford me a welcome
survey of the terrain."

"Smith will give you a suit of clothes that will fit you well enough,"
said the traitor. "You and he are about of a size. It will be better
for you to be in citizen's dress."

So it happened that in the darkness of the September evening Smith and
Andre, the latter riding the blazed-face mare, set out for King's
Ferry, where they were taken across the river. They rode a few miles
south of the landing to the shore of Crom Pond and spent the night with
a friend of Smith. In the morning the latter went on with Andre until
they had passed Pine's Bridge on the Croton River. Then he turned back.

Now Andre fared along down the road alone on the back of the mare
Nancy. He came to an outpost of the Highland army and presented his
pass. It was examined and endorsed and he went on his way. He met
transport wagons, a squad of cavalry and, later, a regiment of militia
coming up fr