t no hail came from its deck. Plainly
it was one of the transports. Another, and still no hail. The
cannonade was dying away; suddenly, bells all around him were
striking. He must be in the midst of the fleet of transports; it was
four o'clock, the hour to change the watch. He heard once more the
bell of the Old Brick,--he could tell it by its pitch. Wind, tide, and
the meetinghouse bell enabled him to calculate his position: he could
not be far from the Castle; he resolved to make for Dorchester
Heights.

Day was breaking and the fog lifting. In the dawning light he shaped
his course. No patrol challenged him. Through the rising mist he
discerned the outline of the shore and heard the gentle ripple of
waves upon the beach. To leave the canoe was like bidding good-by to a
faithful friend, but with cartridge-box and musket he stepped ashore
and soon found himself upon the spot which he had scanned with the
telescope from the Brandon home.

It was plain that he had not miscalculated its value as a military
position,--that cannon planted there could plunge their balls upon the
great fleet of transports, or upon a vessel attempting to enter or
depart from the harbor. He descended the western slope of the hill,
reached a narrow path leading across the marsh land, and made his way
to Roxbury, to be warmly welcomed by General Nathanael Greene.

"You must tell General Washington about Dorchester Heights. I am going
to dine with him to-day, and you must go with me," said General
Greene, who informed Robert that Lieutenant Robert Walden was supposed
to have been killed about the same time that Doctor Warren fell.

"But I am here and ready to give an account of myself," Robert
replied.

It was a pleasure to be in the saddle once more,--to ride with General
Greene along the works which his troops had constructed. They
dismounted at the house of Mr. Vassall in Cambridge, where General
Washington had established his headquarters. The commander-in-chief
was pleased to welcome him and listen to his story.

[Illustration: Washington's Headquarters.]

"I think, General Washington, that if cannon could be planted there
the British fleet could be driven from the harbor. It is a high hill
and very commanding. Troops ascending it would do so in the face of a
plunging fire from those on the summit. It occurred to me while
standing there, that if hogsheads were to be filled with stones and
sent rolling upon an assaulting force, it wou