Free Sal and Amanda Take Morgan's Victory March to the Battle of Cowpens by Mary Ann Solesbee

immediately. Sam was almost asleep when Ben whispered, “Sam, are you sure about the Johnson House?”
    â€œYes,” he answered back sleepily. “Why do you care? You saw there was nothing in there but a bunch of old pictures. Go to sleep.”
    â€œBut what if there was?” Ben asked.
    â€œWell, there’s not…unless you saw something and didn’t tell me,” Sam answered.
    Ben stayed silent.
    â€œWell, did you?” Sam sat up and looked at his cousin.
    â€œNo, of course not,” Ben lied.
    Sam lay back down and was snoring in just a few minutes. Ben rolled over in his sleeping bag. He had only one thought on his mind: I can’t let General Daniel Morgan down. I have to save his letter!
    He rolled over again, and there sat his two friends staring at him.
    â€œWell, Ben, what are you going to do now?” Sal asked.
    â€œYou better think fast!” Amanda warned.
    â€œWhat can I do? Do you guys have any ideas?” Ben whispered frantically.
    â€œI’m fresh out!” Sal whispered back.
    Amanda whispered, “Ben, I think this is what General Morgan meant when he said, ‘I know you read the letter and will come to my aid.’”
    â€œYou must tell Grammy May about the letter,” Sal added.
    â€œI can’t tell her! She will be so disappointed in me for taking the letter in the first place and then slipping back there by myself to put it back. Besides, I’ve never broken a blood brother pinky swear!”
    Sam turned over and let out a loud snort.
    Sal and Amanda quickly scooted down into the sleeping bag.
    â€œFalse alarm! Snore boy is still sleeping,” Sal laughed.
    Agitated, Ben got back to the issue at hand. “Even if I told Grammy, what could she do? We are out here in the middle of nowhere, and the demolition is scheduled for the morning.” As tears welled up in his eyes, he realized his great-grandpa had been right. One lie does lead to another , he thought, and to a whole lot of trouble!
    â€œBen, you are just like Daniel Morgan. You are scared and you are against some terrible odds, but are you going to fight or just roll over and play dead?” Sal demanded.
    â€œYeah, are you a man or a mouse?” Amanda added.
    â€œBesides, if you don’t act, Morgan’s spirit may haunt you for the rest of your life!” Sal joked.
    â€œThanks a lot!” Ben whispered to his little friend.
    â€œC’mon, Ben, you can do this!” Amanda spoke. “Just think if you stop the demolition and get the letter, everyone will praise you as a hero!”
    â€œAnd if I fail, everyone will think I am a big fat liar ’cause no one else has seen the letter except you guys,” Ben answered.
    â€œAnd who’s gonna believe a couple of salamanders, right?” Sal queried.
    Ben took a moment to think about what was at stake. He realized he was like Morgan and had to make a decision just like he did. Sal and Amanda were working to “spirit him up,” and now he had to believe in himself. He realized that he needed to act quickly before it was too late. Even if he was scared, he needed to be brave and do his patriotic duty and save the letter.
    He jumped up before he had time to stop himself and ran to Grammy’s tent. He called into the tent softly, “Grammy, can I talk to you?”
    Grammy sat straight up, startled. “What’s wrong, Ben? Are you OK?”
    She came out of the tent and saw her grandson, who looked like he had seen a ghost.
    â€œBen, what’s wrong? Why don’t you sit down and talk to me?” She was feeling very worried. She stirred the coals and threw another log on the fire.

    Ben sat down and, through tears, told Grammy the whole story of how he had taken and returned the letter. He told her about the conversation he had had with General Morgan’s ghost and how the spirit had told him that it was up to him to let people know the truth.
    Grammy