An officer and eighteen men were placed inside the house. One hundred and fifty were secreted behind trees, in a wood, near the road by which the sheriff must pass, and where he would naturally halt his men while he went to demand possession of the premises. The other division was stationed behind a ridge of land, in a meadow, within gun-shot of the house, but out of sight of the sheriff’s men. This arrangement of the ambuscade enabled the Green Mountain Boys to have a cross-fire on the Yorkers without endangering themselves; and they were instructed to hold themselves in readiness to commence the attack in case the sheriff forced the door, the signal to be a red flag hoisted above the chimney top. When the sheriff and his party approached, all was silent; and exultingly they marched directly into the trap without being aware of their critical situation. Mr. Ten Eyck, the sheriff, went to the house and demanded entrance as Sheriff of the County of Albany; and threatened in case of refusal, to force the door. The answer was, “Attempt it, and you are a dead man.” He repeated his demand; and was answered by “hideous groans from within.” At this juncture, the two divisions exhibited their hats on the points of their guns, which made them appear more numerous than they really were. The sheriff and his men, realizing the danger of their situation, “and not being interested in the dispute,” beat a hasty retreat, without a gun being fired on either side. This affair served not only to cement the union of the people, but also to cause a higher estimate to be placed on them by the neighboring colonies. On another occasion, an armed party of fifty men proceeded to Arlington, where they took prisoner Captain Remember Baker, one of the seven proscribed persons, severely wounding both him and his wife. Baker was put into a sleigh, and the party set out with all speed for Albany. An express was dispatched to Bennington with tidings of the occurrence. Ten men promptly mounted fleet horses, and after a ride of thirty miles, intercepted the kidnapping party at a crossroad. The ten horsemen impetuously charged upon the fifty Yorkers; and the latter, supposing them to be the advance guard of a larger force, left their prisoner and fled. Captain Baker was nearly exhausted with loss of blood; but he was kindly cared for, his wounds dressed, and he was restored to his wife and children, to their no small joy, and that of his friends. A report reached Bennington that Governor Tryon was on his way by water to Albany, with British Troops, with a purpose to subdue or destroy the Green Mountain Boys. This was the more readily credited, as the royal troops had lately been used on Bateman’s[B] Patent, in the colony of New York, to quell some disputes about the titles or rents of lands; and it was known that the subsequent grantees of the New Hampshire Grants had applied to the Governor of New York for a similar favor.