d there; also the State Legislature met
there at one time."

"Was the camp in the town, papa?" asked Grace.

"No; the barracks were about half a mile south of the village. The
officers had their quarters at the house of a Mr. Wharton, and the
barracks extended along the road from there to the foot of the
mountains."

"Is not that vicinity the scene of many of the incidents given in
Cooper's 'Spy'?" asked Mr. Leland.

"Yes," replied the captain. "Enoch Crosby was a spy who did good
service to his country in that capacity, and is supposed to have been
the original of Cooper's spy--Harvey Birch. In the Wharton House,
Crosby at one time went through a mock trial by the Committee of
Safety, and was then confined in irons in the old Dutch church in the
village. It was in the autumn of 1776 he began his career as spy in
the service of his country by learning the plans and purposes of the
Tories and revealing them to his Whig friends. In that neighborhood,
at that time, secret foes were more to be feared than open enemies,
but for a long time Crosby mingled with the Tories, learning their
plans and purposes, without being suspected by them; they thought him
as much an enemy to his and their country as they were themselves.
Lossing tells us that while on one of his excursions he asked lodging
for the night of a woman who proved to be a Tory; and that from her he
learned that a company of Tories was being formed in the neighborhood
with the intention of marching to New York and joining the British
Army. He seemed delighted with the idea and most anxious to join the
company. He gained the confidence of its captain and learned all his
plans. It seems that after their talk they retired to bed; but Crosby
did not immediately fall asleep. When all had grown quiet, so that
there was reason to suppose everyone else was asleep, he rose and
stealthily left the house, hastened to White Plains, where lived the
Committee of Safety, and told them what he had just learned of the
plans of the Tories. He also suggested that they should hold a meeting
the following evening and send a band of Whigs to arrest the Tories
and himself as though believing him to be one of them. That plan was
carried out; they were all made prisoners, taken to Fishkill, and
confined in the old stone church. I believe that church is one of the
relics of the Revolution which yet remain.

"When the arrested men were taken there the Committee of Safety was
already at