He pushed his field-desk from him and hooked his feet around the legs of his camp stool. In the light of the two candles before him, his swarthy face looked lumpy.

He pointed a finger at me. “Look here! When Schuyler ordered you out to spread the story of Jennie McCrae, this morning, you had your brother on your mind, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” I said, “I did.”

“I thought so. Well, we’ve all got something on our minds in addition to this war. Even a militiaman spends a lot of time worrying for fear his family’ll starve to death if he can’t go home. It’s hard for him to remember that they’ll starve to death just as quick—maybe quicker—if the British beat us. Most people don’t look very far ahead.”

“About two inches,” Doc said.

I said nothing.

Arnold eyed me morosely. “If you’re tempted to start thinking about your own troubles, you might give a moment’s thought to Schuyler. He’s sacrificed everything to hold this army together. Thanks to him we can stop Burgoyne, if only we can get the men. He’s been rewarded by being called a coward and a traitor. Tonight his officers, even, turned on him.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. “Turned on him? How could they turn on him?”

“I’ll tell you how,” Arnold said. “We had word today that St. Leger’s army surrounded Fort Stanwix. If that fort falls, the whole Mohawk Valley falls. The whole Mohawk Valley’ll turn Tory to save itself from being butchered. If the Mohawk Valley falls, all New York’ll turn Tory; and if that happens, they’ve got us where they want us! We’d never have a chance! All our armies would be destroyed! So St. Leger can’t be allowed to take Fort Stanwix. He’s got to be driven back. He’s got to be! You see that, I trust.”

“Certainly I see it.”

“Our brigadier generals don’t see it,” Arnold said. “Tonight Schuyler asked for a brigadier general to lead a relief column against St. Leger. Not one volunteered. Not one! They sat there like bumps on a log.”

“Didn’t they have anything to say?”

“Oh yes,” Arnold said. “One of ’em, back in a dark corner, said, ‘He means to weaken the army.’ Schuyler heard him say it. After all Schuyler’s done, he heard himself called a traitor by his own officers.”

“What did he do?”

“Nothing. He can’t let personal affairs interfere with what’s got to be done.”

“And what about Fort Stanwix?”