ely upon the surprise of the garrison which Malcolm Fraser's
thorough-going alarm had prevented. Montgomery himself, with a force of
several hundred men, marched to the Lower Town from Wolfe's Cove along
the narrow path under the cliffs, a distance of nearly two miles, with
progress impeded by darkness, by heavy snow-drifts, and by blocks of ice
which the tide had strewn along the shore. His men struggled on in the
dark hoping to surprise the post which guarded the road below Cape
Diamond at a point called Pres de Ville. Here were some fifty defenders
and the tale of what happened is soon told. The guardians of the post
were on the alert, for at it, too, Malcolm Fraser's warning had been
effective. As Montgomery bravely advanced, at the head of his men, there
was a flash and a roar in the darkness and the blinding snow storm, and,
a moment after, Montgomery lay dead in the snow with a bullet through
his head. Two or three other officers were struck down. The British
heard groans and then there was silence. As daylight came they saw hands
and arms protruding from the snow, but only slowly did they realize that
the chief of their foes was killed.

Nairne was on duty elsewhere but he did not miss severe fighting. Arnold
was to advance on the Lower Town from the north-eastern suburb, St.
Roch's, to meet at the foot of Mountain Street Montgomery coming from
the west. At first he was more fortunate than Montgomery. When the
rocket from Cape Diamond went up he set out. The storm was frightful but
it served to conceal Arnold's force from Quebec's sentries. The
Americans passed under the height where stands the Hotel Dieu. Here
Nairne was stationed with a small guard. They spied the Americans in the
darkness and kept up as effective a fire as the dim light permitted. But
the assailants were able to advance along the whole east side of Quebec
and to reach the entrance to the Sault au Matelot, a short and narrow
street opening into the steep Mountain Street, by which alone the Upper
Town could be reached. Here fortune favoured them for, apparently, in
spite of Fraser's alarm, they surprised the guard at the first barrier
by which the street was closed. The street itself they secured but when
they reached the second barrier at its farther end, commanding the road
to the Upper Town, it was well defended by an alert garrison. Arnold had
already been wounded and taken to the rear and Morgan, an intrepid
leader, was in command of the as