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"Yes; why should England govern us?"
"We are too far away. The king----"
"Leave his name out of the question. We can be loyal to him, even ifwe become independent as a new nation."
"We want no kings----"
"Silence!" shouted Allen; "I will not listen to treason to the king."
Warner continued:
"If the people of Boston talk of rebellion, so will the people of NewHampshire, and we Green--I beg pardon, Vermonters--we, too, can governourselves. Then, when two or three colonies show some spirit, New Yorkwill have to tackle us all, instead of a few mountaineers."
"That is for the future, Capt. Warner; what we have to think of is, arewe going to protect our farms?"
"Ay, to the death!"
The sentiment was the occasion for such cheering as Bennington hadnever heard before.
"We will hold our lands, even if every man has to carry a musket whenhe plows the ground or sows the seed or reaps the harvest."
"Good for you, Warner! Now, then, let us have a good militia."
Every man present enrolled his name on the list, and a very excellentstart was made to form an army to defend the farms.
The district was divided into two parts, the northern part of the NewHampshire grants being under the command of Allen, the southern underthe guidance of Warner.
Rules were laid down for the guidance of the mountaineers, and as gooda system of government was inaugurated as existed in New Hampshireitself.
The strongest contingent of militia was sent with Allen to the north,for it was thought that the next attempt of New York would come fromthe Champlain section instead of Albany.
Everywhere Ethan Allan was received with open arms.
The farmers had reclaimed the lands from the mountain sides, and madethem fruitful, and it was extremely hard that they should be turnedfrom their farms without receiving compensation.
Resistance was popular, and the men who had taken the lead inorganizing the farmers were looked upon as heroes.
Allen had taken Eben with him, and the young lad was the most usefulmember of his staff.
Eben had all the faithfulness of a hound, with the sagacity of atrained scout.
He was invaluable.
In some of the districts it was necessary to conceal their identity,for until the sentiment of the people was known treachery might beexpected.
The reward offered for Allen was a large one for those days, and was agreat temptation to the poor, struggling farmers.
So the leader had to be on the alert all the time, and Eben proved hisusefulness by finding out all about the men before Allen made himselfknown.
The Green Mountain Boys camped on the shore of Lake Dunmore, and madethe place their headquarters for the district.
Eben was returning to the camp one night when he was accosted by a ladabout his own age.
"You're a stranger about here, eh?" said the lad.
"Yes; just looking about."
"Oh, from New York?"
