Having said this the old man turned toward his gun, as if he could not afford to waste more time on such as us, and we two lads watched in silent sorrow the enemy’s vessels as they increased the distance between themselves and the American shore. Before landing again, however, we came to understand that it would have been the height of folly for us to have pursued the squadron; but from that hour we, as well as the majority of our people, had more confidence in Captain Perry’s ability to hold Presque Isle against the enemy. “If the government would only send a force sufficient to man our vessels, we’d soon give the Britishers such a lesson as could not fail of proving that we hold control of this lake!” Alec said to me after a time. “Every vessel in the squadron would have been ours had we gone against them with the brigs!” It was useless to keep repeating such ideas, and I held my peace. During the past two weeks they had been put into words by every man in Presque Isle, and yet no reinforcements arrived. The vessels built to defend the coast were lying idle at their moorings, armed and provisioned; but useless because we could not raise sufficient force to so much as man one of them. Alec and I went back to the work of fort-building; but now we had more stomach for the labor, because we had seen what might be done, and because we had greater faith in the qualities of our small force than was really warranted by the facts. Two days after this encounter a sailing-master in the navy, by name of Champlin, arrived with seventy men, and our hopes arose once more, for now one of the brigs could be sent out if need arose, and we believed more sailors would speedily follow. Captain Perry and my father, however, knew how vain were these hopes, for Master Champlin had reported to them that no more men were ordered to Presque Isle, and again Alec’s brother pleaded for an opportunity to show what might be done with the fleet that had been built by frontiersmen. As I came afterward to know, he wrote a second letter to Commodore Chauncey, in which he said:-- “For your sake and mine, send me men and officers, and I will have all the British squadron in a day or two. Commodore Barclay keeps just out of reach of our gunboats. The vessels are all ready to meet the enemy the moment they are officered and manned. Our sails are bent, provisions on board, and, in fact, everything is ready. Barclay has been bearding me for several days; I long to be at him. However anxious I am to reap the reward of the labor and anxiety I have had on this station, I shall rejoice, whoever commands, to see this force on the lake, and surely I had rather be commanded by my friend than any other. Come, then, and the business is decided in a few hours!” CHAPTER X. THE TRAITOR. The days passed, and nothing came of Captain Perry’s second appeal for the forces which were needed if the United States would hold possession of the territory bordering on Lake Erie.