It soon appeared, however, that the aims of so aspiring and restless a spirit were not to be easily frustrated, and that the conciliatory acquiescence at Castleton was no more than the evidence of a truce, and not the pledge of a permanent peace. A few hours after the surrender of the garrison, Arnold again insisted on taking the command of the post and all the troops, affirming that no other person present was vested with an authority equal to that conferred by his commission. To prevent these fresh seeds of dissension from taking root, the committee from Connecticut interfered, and by a formal written instrument appointed Colonel Allen commandant of Ticonderoga and its dependencies, till further orders should be received from the colony of Connecticut or the Continental Congress. Unsustained by a single voice, and deeming it an idle show of power to issue orders, which no one would obey, Arnold again made a virtue of necessity by submission, contenting himself with a protest, and with sending a catalogue of his grievances to the legislature of Massachusetts. But it was not in his nature to be idle. Four days after the capture of the fortress, about fifty men, who had been enlisted in compliance with the orders given by him on the road, joined him with two captains at Ticonderoga. These were properly under his command. They came by the way of Skenesborough, and brought forward the schooner taken at that place, which belonged to Major Skene. He manned this vessel, proceeded immediately down the Lake to St. John's, where he surprised the garrison, taking a sergeant and twelve men prisoners, and captured a King's sloop with seven men. After destroying five batteaux, seizing four others, and putting on board some of the valuable stores from the fort, he returned to Ticonderoga. Colonel Allen went upon the same expedition with one hundred and fifty men in batteaux from Crown Point, but, as the batteaux moved with less speed than the schooner, he met Arnold returning about fifteen miles from St. John's. Thus, within the space of eight days, the once formidable posts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, renowned in former wars, with all their dependencies on Lake Champlain, fell into the hands of the Americans. A reinforcement of more than four hundred British and Canadians very shortly afterwards arrived at St. John's, and it was rumored that water-craft would be brought from Montreal and Chamblee, and an expedition would proceed up the Lake to attack the forts. This gave Arnold an opportunity of separating from Allen. Having some experience in seamanship, he chose to consider himself the commander of the navy on the Lake, consisting of Major Skene's schooner, the King's sloop, and a small flotilla of batteaux. With these he left Ticonderoga and took post at Crown Point, resolved there to make a stand and meet the enemy whenever they should approach. The number of his men was now increased to about one hundred and fifty.