It was noon, the first of December, 1778. Troops had been coming and going all morning and the people of Great Barrington had been unusually excited, for the dispatches had brought what they had conceived to be good news. There was a three-hour watch at the fort and the patrol had been on the steady tramp since nine o'clock. But away from the buzz of voices he waited with eagerness the news that the relieving guard would bring. "What news, Phil? Who's surrendered?" "Best we've had for many a day in these parts, Gus. There was a big fight at Crampton beyond the creek early this morning between the Britishers and our men under Lieutenant-Colonel Steward. He won, but it was a bloody fight with heavy losses on both sides. He has sent in fifty prisoners."