The note was carried through the gate by an old woman, only to be tweezed by a drummer with fire tongs and tossed into the hearth, on Carleton’s order. Copies tied to rebel arrows and fired over the wall met with similar disdain. A more direct answer came on Friday when Montgomery rode from Holland House to confer with Arnold at Menut’s Tavern. Moments after he alighted and walked inside, British cannonballs smashed his parked sleigh and decapitated his horse.
