forest and took up its
line of march toward the shore of Lake Champlain. Never had the Green
Mountain wilderness echoed to the tread of such a body of men. And they
were worth more than a passing glance for they represented the spirit
which made the American Revolution one of the greatest struggles of the
ages. Like the campaigns of Joshua of old, the battles of the American
yeoman with the trained military of King George proved that, when guided
by the God of Battles, the weak can overcome the strong. These men,
fighting for their homes and firesides, were inspired with a confidence
that overcame even impossibilities. They possessed a faith in their
cause and in their leader like that which threw down the walls of
Jericho and defeated the allied armies of Canaan.

Even had De la Place and his garrison been informed of their approach,
and of their numbers, he would doubtless have laughed at the possibility
of their successfully attacking his fortress. And one there was among
the Green Mountain Boys who feared that news of the expedition had
already gone to the British commander. Upon his return from the Otter,
Enoch Harding had sought and obtained an audience with Colonel Allen,
and to him had related his adventure with the Yorker whom he believed to
be his deadly enemy, and told his suspicions regarding the man's
business in the region. But Ethan Allen was not to be shaken in his
confidence, or in his intentions.

"I have an honest man at Ticonderoga now, Master Harding," he said. "If
spies were through the country we should hear of them from other
sources. But you did right to come to me with this, and if Simon Halpen
falls into our hands I will hang him for his past offenses, if not for
this attempt on your life."

The appearance of the American troops was welcomed along the route with
acclamation. Many settlers, knowing the course the army would take, had
waited to join it as it passed their own doors. Shopkeepers and
mechanics left their work and fell into the ranks; the farmer left his
plow in the furrow, seized his rifle, and joined his neighbors; a
woodsman who was "letting sunlight" into the gloom of the virgin forest,
hid his axe under a fallen log and with a deadlier weapon on his
shoulder followed in the train; the hunter on the trail of the
frightened buck saw the column coming through the forest road and
allowed his prey to escape while he turned his attention to matters of
graver moment. Thus the army