HEADQUARTERS IN 1776[26] BY PAUL LEICESTER FORD On September 15, a group of horsemen, occupying a slight eminence of ground on the island of Manhattan, were gazing eastward. Below and nearer the water were spread lines of soldiers behind intrenchments, while from three men-of-war lying in the river came a heavy cannonade that swept the shore line and spread over the water a pall of smoke which, as it drifted to leeward, obscured the Long Island shore from view. "'Tis evidently a feint, your Excellency," presently asserted one of the observers, "to cover a genuine attack elsewhere--most likely above the Haarlem." The person addressed--a man with an anxious, care-worn face that made him look fifty at least--lowered his glass, but did not reply for some moments. "You may be right, sir," he remarked, "though to me it has the air of an intended attack. What think you, Reed?" "I agree with Mifflin. The attack will be higher up. Hah! Look there!" A rift had come in the smoke, and a column of boats, moving with well-timed oars, could for a moment be seen as it came forward. "They intend a landing at Kip's Bay, as I surmised," exclaimed the general. "Gentlemen, we shall be needed below." He turned to Reed and gave him an order concerning reinforcements, then wheeled, and, followed by the rest, trotted over the plowed field. Once on the highway, he spurred his horse, putting him to a sharp canter. "What troops hold the works on the bay, Mifflin?" asked one of the riders. "Fellows' and Parsons' brigades, Brereton." "If they are as good at fighting as at thieving, they'll distinguish themselves." "Ay," laughed Mifflin. "If the red coats were but chickens or cattle, the New England militia would have had them all captured ere now." "They'll be heard from to-day," said a third officer. "They've earthworks to git behind, and they'll give the British anuther Bunker Hill." "Then you ought to be quick, General Putnam," said Brereton, "for that's the fighting you like." The road lay in the hollow of the land, and not till the party reached a slight rise were they able once more to get a glimpse of the shores of the bay. Then it was to find the flotilla well in toward its intended landing-place, and the American troops retreating in great disorder from their breastworks. Exclamations of surprise and dismay sprang from the lips of the riders, and their leader, turning his horse, jumped the fence and galloped across the fields to intercept the fugitives. Five minutes brought them up to the runaways, who, out of breath with the sharpness of their race, had come to a halt, and were being formed by their officers into a little less disorder. "General Fellows, what was the reason for this shameful retreat?" demanded the general, when within speaking distance. "The men were seized with a panic on the approach of the boats, your Excellency, and could not be held in the lines."