Doctor Warren quickly decided that Paul Revere and William Dawes should go
on horseback to Lexington and Concord and give the alarm. He sent them by
different routes, hoping that one at least might escape the British
patrols with whom Gage had carefully guarded all the roads leading from
Boston.
Soon Dawes was galloping across Boston Neck, and Paul Revere was getting
ready for a long night ride.
[Illustration: Old North Church.]
After arranging with a friend for a lantern signal to be hung in the
belfry of the Old North Church to show by which route the British forces
were advancing, "one if by land and two if by sea," he stepped into a
light skiff with two friends who rowed him from Boston across the Charles
River to Charlestown.
Upon reaching the other side of the river, he obtained a fleet horse and
stood ready, bridle in hand, straining his eyes in the darkness to catch
sight of the signal-lights. The horse waits obedient to his master's
touch, and the master stands eagerly watching the spot where the signal is
to appear.
[Illustration: Paul Revere's Ride.]
At eleven o'clock a light flashes forth. Exciting moment! Then another
light! "Two if by sea!" The British troops are crossing the Charles River
to march through Cambridge!
No time to lose! Springing into his saddle and spurring his horse, he
speeds like the wind toward Lexington.
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