Behind me I heard the chupping of a horse’s hoofs in the mud, and almost at once the rider’s voice shouting, “Aren’t there any officers in this army? Where’s the general?”

The voice was cracked with excitement. By the vivid flashes I saw that the rider was Captain Wilkinson.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I just got here.”

“Look,” Wilkinson said, “hold my horse, will you? He’ll be cut off—Arnold’ll be cut off—by Heaven, sir, when did you start—this is damnable—when did you leave Sorel?”

“Two nights ago.”

Wilkinson groaned, hoisted a leg over his saddle and slid stiffly to the ground. “Why in God’s name didn’t Sullivan let us know?” he demanded, military forms forgotten. “Why didn’t he tell Arnold? We only got word this afternoon! This afternoon, two days late! By God, sir, this man is trying to ruin us! Why, Arnold’ll be captured if I can’t get five hundred men to cover his retreat! Where in God’s name can I get five hundred men out of this rabble?”

“Let’s have the reins,” I said. “Tell it to somebody inside.”

Wilkinson rushed across the drawbridge and disappeared through the yawning gateway. His steed, a plow-horse, hung its head almost to its knees and slumbered. I felt in the saddlebags for food, but found only a greasy fragment of paper that had been wrapped around salt pork. I chewed it until it grew pulpy and trickled down my throat. It seemed to put strength in my knees, but not much. I could have eaten a whole pig. Yes, I could have eaten Wilkinson’s horse.

When Wilkinson came out again, he had recovered some of his calmness. “They’re there,” he said. “Sullivan, Hazen, Maxwell and St. Clair. They say De Woedtke’s supposed to be in command of the rear. D’you know anything about him?”

“No,” I said, “I don’t, but if you’re going looking for him, look for a place where rum can be bought, because that’s where he’ll be.”

For the only time during our acquaintance, Wilkinson favored me with an approving look. “It’s quite possible,” he said. “Where’s your musket and pack?”

“St. John’s,” I told him.

“In my opinion,” he said, “you’ll do well to go there and get them. Those gentlemen inside didn’t even want to believe me when I told them how close the British were to Montreal. You’re liable to be wasted if you stay around them much longer.”

He scrambled into the saddle and went clopping off in the direction of the rapids.