May I ask your name and where you belong?"
"My name," replied Henry with dignity, "is Henry Ware, and I come
from Kentucky. My friends here are Paul Cotter, Solomon Hyde,
Tom Ross, and Jim Hart. They, too, come from Kentucky."
Several of the men gave the five suspicious glances. Certainly
they were wild enough in appearance, and Kentucky was far away.
It would seem strange that new settlers in that far land should
be here in Pennsylvania. Henry saw clearly that his story was
doubted.
"Kentucky, you tell me?" said Colonel Butler. "Do you mean to
say you have come all that tremendous distance to warn us of an
attack by Indians and Tories?"
Several of the others murmured approval, and Henry flushed a
little, but he saw that the commander was not unreasonable. It
was a time when men might well question the words of strangers.
Remembering this, he replied:
"No, we did not come from Kentucky just to warn you. In fact, we
came from a point much farther than that. We came from New
Orleans to Pittsburgh with a fleet loaded with supplies for the
Continental armies, and commanded by Adam Colfax of New
Hampshire."
The face of Colonel Butler brightened.
Pages:
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173