At 30 (28 in Appendix 3) the oldest of John Brown's "Pet Lambs" and a "formidable character" (pg. 244), Stevens has escaped a death sentence in Kansas. He and fellow spiritualist Stewart Taylor, a 22-year-old Canadian, stick together, discussing the hereafter. Taylor rightly predicts that he will be dead by Christmas. Taylor fires the first shot of the raid, after Harper's Ferry has been peacefully secured. This alerts the sleeping inhabitants and lessens the chances of narrator Harry Flashman's plan succeeding. Stevens is dispatched to arrest Col. Washington. Next morning, Steven is shot in the belly under a white flag and dragged inside the hotel, where Billy Thompson tries to rally his spirits. When Flashy is shot twice, superficially, and believes that he is dying, Taylor is dragging Flashy to safety in the engine house when a bullet explodes his head. Brown completes the rescue. Stevens survives but is hanged shortly after Brown.
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