In less than ten minutes the hay had been too much for them, and all were asleep. No, not all, for Eben only pretended to sleep; he was wide awake, for he feared treachery, and determined to be on the alert. The boy was a natural wonder. He never knew what it was to be tired. He could march farther than most men, eat less and do without sleep, and never did he appear to be the least wearied. The hour of midnight had passed and the early morning, according to the manner of marking time, had commenced; in other words, it was one o'clock when Eben fancied he heard a slight noise. He was in a position where he could see everything outside, and as the moon was shining brightly he was not long in discerning a number of men moving toward the barn. He crawled across to Ethan and gently shook him. "Colonel, we are betrayed." Allen was about to jump, when Eben whispered: "Lie still or you will be seen; the loft door is open. I can wake the others, and would it not be well to let them come right up into the loft before we strike?" "Eben, you ought to be a general. Wake the others and caution them to lie still." The boy crawled round the loft and quickly did his work. When Ethan knew that all were awake he spoke in a loud whisper to them: "Eben has suggested a plan of campaign and I shall adopt it. We must all pretend to be asleep. Let the English enter the loft, and, when the opportunity arises, let the English be on the ground and the patriots above them." Every man lay perfectly still, and it really seemed as though Eben had been mistaken, for the time was so long before any attempt was made to enter the loft. Eben knew all that was transpiring. He saw a man's head rise above the floor and look around, and then he heard the man descend the ladder. It was fully five minutes after he had reached the ground before he again ascended. The man crawled along the floor and lay perfectly still. Another, then another, ascended the ladder, until a dozen soldiers in uniform were in the loft. Eben was not the only one who had watched their movements, for each of the Mountain Boys had one eye sufficiently open to see them. A rustling of the hay was the signal given by the sergeant for the English to rise. Each man rose to his feet and stood over the apparently sleeping colonials. But no sooner had the enemy taken its position than the mountaineers put out their hands suddenly and grasped the soldiers by the legs. In an instant every soldier was on his back, thrown to the floor with a violence which he did not relish. And over each man stood one of the mountaineers, ready to blow out the soldier's brains did he attempt to move. "Get up!" commanded Allen. Each man rose, looking very sheepish. "Hand over your guns and other weapons." The soldiers obeyed. Not because they desired to do so, but at each man's head was a pistol, and in each pistol was a bullet which meant a nameless grave for the man who received it.