a large sum of money from Sir Henry Clinton,
to be allowed to go. His captors refused and conducted him to North
Castle, where he was given up to Lieutenant-Colonel Jameson. That
officer had the proof before him in the papers that Arnold was the
unspeakable traitor, but with a stupidity difficult to understand, he
sent a letter to Arnold acquainting him with the capture of Andre.

[Illustration: ESCAPE OF BENEDICT ARNOLD.]

Arnold was eating breakfast at his house near the Hudson, when the note
was brought to him by the messenger. Knowing what it meant, he called
his wife to him, told her of his danger, kissed his sleeping boy in the
cradle, ran out of the house, mounted his horse and galloped at headlong
speed for the river. There he sprang into a boat and ordered the men to
row with all haste to the sloop, still at anchor a short distance down
stream and waiting for Andre. Since these men had no suspicion of the
truth they obeyed orders, and Arnold, by waving a white handkerchief
over his head, prevented the Americans on the shore from firing at him.
He reached the sloop in safety and was carried to New York.

The fact that Andre was wearing a civilian suit at the time of his
capture made him a spy, according to the laws of war, and the
court-martial before which he was called sentenced him to be hanged.
Clinton was greatly distressed by the impending fate of his favorite
officer and did his utmost to secure his release by Washington. It was
intimated to Clinton that Washington might be induced to exchange Andre
for Arnold, but such an act by the British commander would have covered
his name with infamy, and he was too honorable even to consider it.

Andre accepted his fate bravely, only asking that he might be shot
instead of hanged, but even that boon was denied him. General Greene,
who presided at the court-martial, insisted that such leniency would
have been an admission of a doubt of the justice of his sentence. Andre
was hanged October 2, 1780. King George III. caused a mural tablet to be
erected to his memory, and his remains were removed to England in 1821
and placed in Westminster Abbey. A pension was conferred upon his mother
and his brother was created a baronet. Sad as was the fate of Andre, and
general as was the sympathy felt for him in this country, there can be
no question of the justice of his sentence. He was a spy, and, had he
succeeded in his mission, might have caused the failure of the war for