Valley Forge (42 page)

"That was an unhappy accident, General."

"It looks more like design to me."

Skoyles was shaken. "You surely do not believe that I
told
them where to strike?" he said with passion. "The message that I sent to Valley Forge was the one that you instructed me to send."

"We only have your word for that," said Featherstone skeptically.

"I'd swear an oath on the Bible to that effect."

"You warned the enemy where to attack."

"That's a monstrous suggestion," said Skoyles vehemently.

"But it accords with the facts," Howe pointed out, "and it's not the first time I've had reason to wonder if the information I gave you was altered before it reached Valley Forge. Our skirmishers were routed because a larger force was ready to ambush them."

"I know, general—I was there at the time."

"Did you give them advance warning, Captain Skoyles?"

"Of course not!"

"Have you been feeding intelligence to the enemy?"

"Yes," said Featherstone. "It's as plain as the nose on his face."

"Well?"

"Ask him about the way that he let Proudfoot escape once before."

"I'm waiting for an answer, Captain," said Howe.

"Then you shall have one, sir," said Skoyles, mustering all his self-control. "But, first, let me place on record that I'm deeply insulted you should even put such a question to me. I've obeyed my orders to the letter. Every scrap of information you have given me has been sent to Valley Forge in code. If the skirmish failed," he insisted, "it was not because I forewarned the rebels. I came under fire during our retreat. Do you think I'd alert an enemy so that they were in position to kill me?"

"They could easily have been under orders to spare you," said Featherstone. "We know that the rebels aim first at our officers, yet you escaped without a scratch."

"I suggest that you talk to some of the soldiers in that skirmish party, Major. They will tell you whether I acted improperly or not. I shot one man with a pistol and hacked others to death with my sword. Do you think that General Washington would pay me to kill his own men?"

"Yes—if he thought them expendable."

"The Continental Army is desperately short of troops," said Skoyles. "General Washington hoards them like a miser. He'll not sacrifice one, if he can help it. He would never willingly provide me—or any other British officer—with target practice."

"Putting all that aside," said Howe, "let us look more closely at today's sorry episode. Foreknowledge
must
have been involved."

"Well, it did not come from me, sir."

"How can I be certain of that?"

"Because I give you my word," Skoyles affirmed.

"Only a fool would trust it," said Featherstone. "You lied about your friendship with Proudfoot, and you're telling further lies now."

"I did not warn the enemy, Major. I hoped that they would be tempted to attack the designated target, and find that they had bitten off more than they could chew. Once again," he went on, "I urge you to speak to people who were there today. They'll tell you how I joined in the defense of the camp with a borrowed musket."

"Shooting over the heads of the rebels no doubt."

Skoyles bridled. "That remark is unworthy of you."

"Yet close to the truth, I suspect."

"The truth is that I fought like any other British soldier, and there are
countless witnesses to that fact—Sergeant Caffrey, for one. If I'd known beforehand that the attack would be made at that camp, why would I be reckless enough to risk my own life in going there?"

"I think that you went to admire your handiwork."

"Only you could place such a vile construction on it, Major."

"Scouts brought news of the attack hours ago," said Howe. "Why did it take you so long to return to the city, Captain Skoyles?"

"I first went to Germantown, sir."

"That would have taken you miles out of your way."

"There was a reason for that," Skoyles explained. "When the enemy withdrew, I watched them through my telescope. I noticed a man who had been observing the attack, and he went off along the Germantown road. I was fairly certain that it was Ezekiel Proudfoot."

"Even though you'd only had a brief glimpse of him," said Featherstone with heavy sarcasm. "What happened? Did you go after him so that you could collect your thirty pieces of silver?"

"No, Major. I tracked him to Germantown, and made inquiries at all the taverns. I eventually found one where a Reece Allen was staying."

"So he and Proudfoot
are
one and the same man."

"Apparently."

"Then why the devil didn't you arrest him?" Howe demanded.

"He was not there," said Skoyles, recalling what Proudfoot had told him about a man's capacity for lying when his life was in danger. "Besides, it would not have been politic for me to capture him. Had I done so, I'd have squandered the trust I'd so carefully built up at Valley Forge. I chose to report at once to you, General. If Proudfoot is in the town, the likelihood is that the man who prints
The Pennsylvania Patriot
is there as well. You have the opportunity to catch both of them. I urge you to institute an immediate search."

"You did not require my authority for that. Why did not you alert one of the regiments already in Germantown?"

"I knew that you had a personal interest in Proudfoot's capture."

"That much is undeniable," said Howe. He got to his feet, beckoned one of the guards, and whispered some orders to him. The man left the room quickly. "For your sake, Captain Skoyles, let's pray that Reece Allen is still in the town."

"There's no chance of that," Featherstone put in. "Skoyles will already have warned his friend to make himself scarce."

"Then why should I even mention that he was there?" said Skoyles. "I came back to the city at a gallop to report his whereabouts."

"You were not in any hurry when we arrested you."

"My horse needed to be rested."

"Why did you return to your lodging at all? If you had such important news, you should have come straight here with it."

"I intended to do so, Major."

"After you'd rested your horse?"

"I'd only have been a relatively short walk away."

"Nevertheless," said Howe suspiciously, "the major's point is a telling one. Speed was vital in this instance. What made you delay?"

"Was it to give Proudfoot time to escape?" Featherstone pressed him.

"Or did you have some other reason?"

"Are you working in collusion with your friend?"

"How did he come to be present at that attack in the first place?"

"Did you tell him that it was imminent?" said Featherstone.

"Have you known all along that Proudfoot was in Germantown?"

Jamie Skoyles remained silent. He had run out of answers.

Ezekiel Proudfoot had moved swiftly. Having warned the printer that redcoats would soon be searching the town, he gathered up his things and rode back to Valley Forge. The mood there was almost festive for once. A successful attack on a British camp had helped the beleaguered soldiers to forget their woes for a while. Proudfoot reported at once to General Washington, who was in his headquarters with Major Clark. Both men listened with disquiet to what they were told. They had lost yet another means of printing
The Pennsylvania Patriot
.

Washington decided to confide something to the silversmith.

"Jamie Skoyles is working for
us
?" said Proudfoot in amazement. "Why didn't he tell me that?"

"Because you probably wouldn't have believed him," said Clark. "He wanted the news to come from us. Until today, I own, I had a few doubts about Captain Skoyles, but not any more. He's demonstrated that he's truly on our side."

"You and Raphael Dyer would otherwise have been hanged," said Washington. "The captain saved your lives."

"I'm well aware of that, General," said Proudfoot. "That's the second time I've had a noose lifted from around my neck, and I don't think the trick will work a third time somehow."

"We'll keep you safe in Valley Forge for a while."

"Thank you. But I still find it hard to believe that Jamie Skoyles has volunteered to help us. I know that he had sympathy with our aims, but he's a British officer with a remarkable record of service."

"I sounded him out," said Washington, "and thought him sincere. Major Clark was less easily persuaded."

"I felt that he had to be put on trial first," said Clark, "so I watched him carefully for weeks. The way he helped Ezekiel has convinced me that he's trustworthy."

"We could not have found a better man."

"I agree," said Proudfoot. "Jamie is a huge asset for us. The wonder is that you didn't tell me he was providing us with intelligence, Major."

"How was I to know that the two of you were friends?" asked Clark. "In any case, my policy is simple. I prefer to keep my agents largely ignorant of each other's identities. That way, if they are caught, there's only a limited amount of information that can be wrung from them."

"Major Clark believes in being cautious," noted Washington.

"Then why does he visit Philadelphia so often?"

"Sheer bravado."

"Necessity," Clark corrected him. "Intelligence is being gathered every day. I like to be on the spot to be able to assess its value to us."

"And how do you assess Jamie Skoyles's value?" said Proudfoot.

"It's immense. We finally have someone inside the British army."

"Yes," added Washington, "and we can only hope that he stays there. Captain Skoyles is playing with fire. If he slips up, the consequences will be disastrous for him."

A whole day had passed since his arrest, and Elizabeth Rainham had still not been allowed to see him. For information about Skoyles, she had to rely, for the most part, on a succession of rumors that were coming out of headquarters. None of them was in any way reassuring. Captain Tillman tried to find out more detail, but Elizabeth had the impression that he was holding things
back out of consideration for her feelings. At first, Lucy Tillman was very supportive, insisting that Skoyles was the victim of some dreadful mistake. When her friend's manner became more reserved, Elizabeth feared that she, too, was hiding something.

Out of desperation, she elected to challenge Harry Featherstone. Elizabeth knew that he was involved in the arrest, and that he would be aware of any charges brought against Skoyles. When she found out where it was, she visited Featherstone's lodging.

"Come in, come in," he said, shepherding her into his room. "This is an unexpected pleasure, Elizabeth."

"It's not a social call."

"What a pity!"

"I need your help, Major."

"Won't you at least sit down?"

He offered to take her cloak and hat. After some hesitation, she agreed. While she sat down, he hung the items on a door peg. The room was large enough to contain a table, two chairs, and a sofa, as well as a wardrobe and a chest of drawers. What worried Elizabeth was the proximity of the bed in the corner. She was grateful that Featherstone did not try to sit beside her on the sofa. He selected one of the chairs. She blurted out her request at once.

"Tell me what's happened to Jamie," she said.

"He'll appear before a court-martial in a couple of days."

"But he's done nothing wrong."

"General Howe thinks otherwise."

"On what possible grounds can he be charged?"

"I'm not at liberty to divulge all of the details," said Featherstone, "but I can give you a general impression of what occurred—on one condition, that is."

"Condition?"

"That you don't interrupt me."

"Very well," she conceded. "All I want is the truth."

"Then you shall have it," he promised.

Doing his best to conceal his deep hatred of Skoyles, he gave her an abbreviated version of the interrogation, the previous day, in General Howe's office. Elizabeth was increasingly distressed, unsure if she was hearing the full facts or only those detrimental to the prisoner. Of one thing, she was absolutely certain.

"Jamie Skoyles is no spy!" she argued.

"I found it difficult to believe myself."

"He would never betray anyone."

"He's been engaged in nothing but betrayal since he's been here," Featherstone told her. "General Howe asked him to court the enemy so that he could get behind the lines at Valley Forge. That's what he did, Elizabeth. He was there solely to betray the Continental Army. It now appears that he preferred to play false with us."

"No, Major!"

"The evidence against him is overwhelming."

"I refuse to accept that he's guilty," she said loyally.

"Then why will he not disclose the means by which he passed on information to the rebels?"

"I'm sure that he has a perfectly good reason."

"Yes," said Featherstone tartly. "It's to protect his friends. He claims that the people to whom he delivers his intelligence are quite unaware of what he gives them, and have absolutely no connection with the rebels. If that's the case, he has no need to conceal their identity." He leaned forward. "I don't suppose that he confided in you, did he?"

"Jamie is very discreet. I never press him about army business."

"So you have no idea where he delivers his correspondence?"

"None at all."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "We've already exposed some of the lies he's told. Holding back information the way he does is merely another means of deception. Skoyles is not helping himself, Elizabeth."

"Let me see him."

"That decision is not mine to make."

"Then speak up on my behalf to General Howe."

"I can't guarantee that he'd listen to me."

"But you'll be called as a witness at the court-martial."

"It's my duty to appear," he said with a touch of pomposity. "Skoyles may have forgotten the meaning of that particular word, but I haven't. Duty is paramount."

Elizabeth was disconcerted. Although he tried to suppress it, she could sense the delight he was taking in the whole affair. It was nauseating to see him gloat. What she really wanted to do was to walk out of the room in disgust,
but she could not do that. The only way she could find out about the man she loved was to humor one whom she loathed. She kept her poise with difficulty.