It was uncertain how far the Vulture had gone. The vigilance of
those guarding the river was aroused and Andre's guide insisted
that he should go to the British lines by land. He was carrying
compromising papers and wearing civilian dress when seized by an
American party and held under close arrest. Arnold meanwhile,
ignorant of this delay, was waiting for the expected advance up
the river of the British fleet. He learned of the arrest of Andre
while at breakfast on the morning of the twenty-fifth, waiting to
be joined by Washington, who had just ridden in from Hartford.
Arnold received the startling news with extraordinary composure,
finished the subject under discussion, and then left the table
under pretext of a summons from across the river. Within a few
minutes his barge was moving swiftly to the Vulture eighteen
miles away. Thus Arnold escaped. The unhappy Andre was hanged as
a spy on the 2d of October. He met his fate bravely. Washington,
it is said, shed tears at its stern necessity under military law.
Forty years later the bones of Andre were reburied in Westminster
Abbey, a tribute of pity for a fine officer.
The treason of Arnold is not in itself important, yet Washington
wrote with deep conviction that Providence had directly
intervened to save the American cause.
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