"Rider approaching!" Sarah heard the call a few moments before she came to the outpost. She was met by three men, with muskets fixed.
"Identify yourself," the middle man demanded.
"I'm here on the invitation of lieutenant Caleb Brewster." Suddenly, there was a commotion and a head popped out of a tent a few feet away.
"Sally? That you?" Sarah smiled and brushed past the men to embrace Caleb. He still smelled like whiskey and fish, entirely unpleasant, but such a strong reminder of home that she didn't quite mind.
"So, this is where you've been hiding, eh, Brewster?" Sarah looked around at the small camp.
"Speak for yourself. I went back to see ya, and I find the tavern sold, and not even a notion of where you'd run off to."
"You can thank His Majesty for that. A squad of Royal officers came through and ransacked us a few years back. After that, Papa sold the place and sent me to York City to live with relatives."
"York City, eh? And, uh, your relatives let you dress like this?" Caleb motioned to the ragged, but comfortable, clothes she had bartered from a very drunk trapper.
"God no, I left that place first chance I got. Been living on a farm in Quebec, going on... God, going on three years. Now, are we going to spend all day chatting, or are you going to tell me why you tracked me down and dragged me here?" Caleb smiled sheepishly and led her into his tent.
"I have a confession to make, Sally. We already knew about all your adventures up north, and about your relatives in York City. That's why we brought you here. We want you to be our courier."
"Don't you have men for that? And who is we, by the way?" Sarah's hand wander to the knife in her belt.
"Relax, if you don't want to do it, we'll find someone else. But will you just listen to what I have to say? And put that knife away, why don't ya?"
Sarah lowered the knife she hadn't realized she raised, but kept herself between Caleb and the door, in case a quick getaway was needed.
"I'm listening."
Caleb finished his drawn out, yet vague description of the operation he and his fellow officers had concocted. He explained that they had already set up their ring of spies, but they were down a courier from New York to Setauket.
"You would go to the city under the guise of visiting your aunt and uncle. Then you would get the information from Culper Jr. and bring to Culper Sr. on Long Island."
"That's nearly fifty miles of neutral territory you're wanting me to travel through. What if I'm caught?"
"It's fifty-five, actually. And don't worry, the messages will be in code, and written in invisible ink." Sarah was beginning think this scheme of theirs could work.
"You say this Ben Tallmadge is a smart man? He can be trusted?"
"I've known his since we were schoolboys. He's as good as they come. I'd trust him with my life." Sarah sighed, then nodded.
"If I do this, I can't use my aunt and uncle as cover. We parted under unpleasant circumstances, and I won't be welcome in their house again." Caleb slumped. "However, during my stay in the city, I became well acquainted with the daughter of a wealthy merchant, Abigail Sawyer. I could go under the pretense of paying her a visit." Caleb smiled a cheeky smile.
"Is that a yes?" Sarah nodded and shook his hand.
"I'll do it."