Caleb and Ben arrived at Frog's Point around three in the morning. As Elizabeth had mentioned, a brigade of Continentals was camped in the embankment. Unsure of what to do next, Ben took a step forward before an arm reached around and grabbed him from behind. He tried to struggle but a knife was placed to his throat and he knew he had no choice.
They were brought to a General Scott's tent. By the worn and confused looks on the faces of the two men, the General knew they were of no threat to the camp.
"Your names, boys," he demanded firmly. Ben spoke up confidently.
"Mine is Benjamin Tallmadge and this is my friend, Caleb Brewster. We are here to enlist, sir." The General nodded as he took down their names.
"Have either of you ever been in a war?" he asked, eyeing them warily.
"No, sir," Ben replied.
"Well you both seem a little green but I suppose that if your hearts are in the cause-" the General started.
"Oh, mine is," assured Caleb. "Imma get me a lot of redcoats." Ben sighed at his friend. His heart was in the right place but sometimes his mouth wasn't.
"Uh-huh," the General murmured. "Well, lucky for the two of you, we have an extra tent pitched on the left side of camp. You happened to have stumbled upon the scouting regiment of the Continental Army. We intercept dispatches and bring them to the Commander and Chief. But we can cover more of that tomorrow. You two look as if you haven't slept in days. Get some rest."
"Yes, sir," Ben saluted as he had seen other soldiers do and headed in the direction that the General had pointed with Caleb in tow.
"You talk to him like he's your father," Caleb observed.
"No," Ben responded curtly, "I speak to him as if he is our superior, who he is."
"Well, I ain't one for the 'yessir'in and the 'nosir'in."
"Well I suggest you learn," Ben finished the conversation before Caleb had an opportunity to object.
They found the tent rather easily. It was pretty far from the central tent but it was shelter and Ben knew that this was the best it would get.
Caleb, on the other hand, was invigorated by the experience. He had always loved the outdoors and if he was honest, the tent wasn't must worse than the Brewster home in Setauket. That house was hardly fit for anyone let alone a lady like Elizabeth. The only thing he wished was that he could have found a more suitable place for her to live but with Lukas being so sick, they hardly had the time to think about renovation. He began to think about the things he had left behind.
When Caleb's parents had become ill, he had moved in with his uncle, aunt and cousin. He was only ten years old at the time and instantly felt abandoned by his parents. He had spent a fair amount of time with his extended family but he still felt displaced as he dragged his things over to the small house by the orchard.
When he knocked on the door, his cousin answered. He hadn't spent a lot of time with Elizabeth but he knew that she was a fairly amiable person.
"Caleb!" she exclaimed upon seeing him. "You're here!" Caleb was taken aback by how excited she seemed to see him. She quickly reached down to pick up one of his bags and ushered him into the house. "Father made sure the upstairs bedroom was all in order yesterday so we can go ahead up there now." Caleb nodded and followed her.
When they came to the room, she set the bag on his new bed. It was a small room but caleb never really needed anything fancy. Sometimes, he would rather sleep outside.
'I'm sorry it's not bigger but we have a pretty small house here," she noted aloud.
"It's perfect," Caleb replied assuring her.
"You know," she told him, "if you ever need to talk, I'm right down the hall." He smiled at her.
"I may just take you up on that sometime," he answered. Elizabeth's face seemed to brighten up.
"Good," she said. "Now come on, I want to show you the orchard." She grabbed his hand and led him back down the stairs and out to the orchard. They walked along the endless rows of trees and she showed him the large meadow in the middle.
Caleb was amazed by her passion for the orchard. He could tell this was her home away from home and he began to see how this could become his home too. Suddenly he realized that sending him to his aunt and uncle's was just as much about him finding a good home as it was staying with relatives.
Finally, she brought him to the creek in the far corner.
"This is where I usually go when it gets really warm outside," she informed him. "It's one of my favorite places." Caleb nodded and kicked a rock into the stream. Elizabeth did the same thing before stopping and looking at him.
"I know you don't want to be here," she started but Caleb cut her off.
"It's okay, really, I could learn to love this place," he replied.
"I do hope so, but even if you don't, do you see that house over there?" she asked as she pointed over the creek and through the last row of trees. Caleb could just barely make out a fairly nearby residence so he nodded.
"That's your house so if you are ever feeling homesick, you can always go visit and still be here." She beamed at him. Caleb looked surprised for a moment and then hugged his cousin. He had never noticed how close he lived to the Brewster orchard.
"Thank you," he said.
"Of course," she replied. "Now let's get back, supper should be almost ready." He smiled and nodded and the two children ran back to the house hungry for dinner.
Thinking of his home and his cousin made him nostalgic and Ben saw the disconcerted look on Caleb's face.
"I miss her too," he tried to reassure his friend.
"I'm thinkin' of Abe and Annie too," Caleb replied sadly. Ben nodded and rolled onto his back. He looked toward the sky and thought about what all they had just done. They had left everyone they knew behind and ran to the aid of the only cause that could set their friends and families free. It was a lot to handle.
He closed his eyes and tried to remember what had transpired between Elizabeth and himself only hours ago. He could feel the soft skin of her shoulder against his lips. He fell asleep that night hearing the soft whisper of his name over and over again.