Toliver's Secret

As Ellen nears the end of her journey, both she and the people around her are distrustful. The old man Ellen meets at Amboy tells her that no one will pick her up to give her a ride to Elizabeth because no one will risk getting robbed. As they ride to his house, Murdock tells Ellen that everyone along the road has their houses closed in fear and distrust of the British. In Chapter 11, Ellen reaches a smith’s shop near Mr. Shannon’s tavern. The smith tells Ellen, “You can’t trust anyone these days” (141). For the smith, that includes Ellen. He and his companion contemplate whether the thing Ellen is hiding under her shirt—which is really the bread—is “a sack of gold” or “a bag of good English coins” (140). They think Ellen must be “a paymaster for the redcoats” (140) or “a runaway thief” (141). Though they are both grown men and Ellen is a child, they seemingly do not trust her and ponder over her identity and motivations.

Ellen isn’t sure whether the men “were only teasing her” (142) or if they really might turn her in on the suspicion of her being a thief or a British paymaster. She runs away rather than find out out of an abundance of caution. This circumstance shows The Impact of War on Individuals and Families: No one can trust one another in wartime. Ellen does not know that the man with the smith is Mr. Shannon, who was out looking for Grandfather to make sure he didn’t get hurt. Likewise, Mr. Shannon does not know that Ellen is a member of Grandfather’s family, taking his message for him. They thus both become suspicious of one another, not knowing that they are allies.

There was good reason for them to be distrustful. Spies were vital in the Revolutionary War, and—as the last few paragraphs of the novel show—they aided General Washington in some key victories. Because spies held such valuable information, there were also heavy consequences for being caught. One case Ellen and her contemporaries would likely know about was Nathan Hale, “who volunteered to spy on the British on Long Island in September 1776” (Gruber, Kate Egner. “Spies of the Revolutionary War: Subterfuge and Espionage During America’s Fight for Independence.” American Battlefield Trust, 2021). He was quickly caught and hung. That would have occurred nearby where Ellen lived, only a couple of months before her journey, and so her fear of discovery is founded.

The climax of the novel comes when Ellen reaches the Jolly Fox Tavern and is told by Mrs. Shannon that Mr. Shannon is out getting ale and won’t return for days. This plot twist leaves Ellen feeling hopeless as if her previous struggles have been for naught. Ellen asks for Mr. Shannon in a room full of British officers, and she doesn’t realize that Mrs. Shannon is lying to keep them both safe. The narration gives the reader signs of Mrs. Shannon’s true intentions. Her “eyes darted quickly about the room” (145), she looks “past Ellen at the soldiers in the room” (146), and she says Mr. Shannon is in the country getting ale “in a very loud voice” (146). Mrs. Shannon has the presence of mind to know that Ellen has potentially put herself, Mrs. Shannon, and Mr. Shannon in danger by asking for him in public.

Ellen is discouraged by Mrs. Shannon’s seeming friendliness with the redcoats until they are in private. Mr. Shannon takes the message, and Mrs. Shannon explains the things she does to “pretend I’m a loyal subject of the King­­—out there in the tavern singing away like a bird in a cage” (155). She uses a simile to compare herself to a caged bird that sings beautifully even though it does not know true freedom. Ellen feels kinship with Mrs. Shannon at that moment, as they both must pretend to be something they are not to help the cause they believe in.

The changes that Ellen’s journey has made in her character are clear in the falling action when she returns to New York and is no longer afraid of the bustle of the streets or Dicey’s intimidation. Ellen has successfully faced challenges much scarier than either of these things and has proven her bravery. This journey of Finding Self-Confidence in Adverse Circumstances shows Ellen that she has what it takes to stand up for herself.

The resolution of the narrative happens in the last several paragraphs of Chapter 13. Grandfather sacrificed his favorite snuffbox to send the message. Its return carrying a message of its own symbolizes how selfless sacrifices can sometimes pay off in large ways. The message they receive says that Ezra is alive, and their information and that of other New York spies helped Washington plan to cross the Delaware on Christmas night and begin capturing ground from the British again. Ellen’s personal growth and victorious journey thus anticipates the larger victory of Washington’s troops.