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Duncan longed to take the tiller of the little shallop as they sailed down the lake, though he had to admit the unshaven, malodorous Rufus was an accomplished sailor. The vessel was wide of beam for cargo but well built, with clean lines that responded to the steady lake wind. White, billowy clouds streamed across a cobalt sky, echoing the late spring snowcaps of peaks in the distant Adirondacks. He recognized on Molly’s face the same anticipation he felt, and he knew that she too wanted to leap over the side and frolic in the clear waters. But as the high earthen walls of Crown Point disappeared from view, he pushed down the temptation, knowing that he was moving into enemy territory. There were answers to be found in Fort Ticonderoga, but there were also men who would clamp him in ir
