ut the distant land.

"Do you know what land that is?" he asked.

There was no response; the American prisoners were too much engaged in
inhaling all the fresh air they could to care about talking.

"That is Land's End, in England. You will soon be there, and then you
will all be hanged. A short life and a wretched one will be yours from
now on. That is all. Take the prisoners back to their palatial
quarters."

The captain may have thought he was inflicting torture on the
prisoners, but he was mistaken. They were not afraid of the fate which
awaited them.

If they were to die, they would prefer to die on land to being tortured
to death in the hold of a small ship.

As one of the prisoners quoted the words of an older rebel in England:

"The noblest place for man to die
Is where he dies for man."

So all felt that if they were to be hanged in England they would be
tried, and on their trial they would be able to make their defense and
let the world know under what grievances the American colonies were
suffering.

In two days the vessel landed in Falmouth Harbor.

The news that the vessel had on board a number of American prisoners
caused thousands of people to flock to the wharf.

The greatest curiosity was manifested.

Had a cargo of wild beasts entered port the curiosity could not have
been greater.

In fact, Allen soon learned that the Americans were looked upon as wild
beasts or savages, and certainly not as civilized beings.

The windows were filled with members of the fair sex, the sidewalks of
the old English town were closely packed by men and children.

Hour after hour they waited to see the show.

A lot of detail, commonly called "red tape," had to be attended to
before the prisoners were allowed to land.

A military band escorted a regiment of redcoats down to the dock, and
the necessary papers for the transfer of the prisoners were exchanged.

Then across the gangplank walked Ethan Allen and Eben Pike, handcuffed
together.

The people on the dock pushed and stared at the Green Mountain men.

"Why, they aren't green!" exclaimed one of the bystanders with disgust.

"No, they aren't Americans; they're Irish," said another.

"Of course they're Irish; Americans are black."

"No, red."

"Not by a long shot; they're all as yellow as guineas."

Absurd as it may appear at this day to have to record such ideas, it is
an absolute fact that when it was rumored that the Green Moun