The British were going to convey him elsewhere either for trial or incarceration when spectators immediately recognized him and called to him. He was hanged there and then as a spy... and without a trial.
BTW I am not a sir.
There are a few stories about Hale's capture, the one involving Rogers is often cited by historians, but I have seen others similar to what you relate. The following is from wiki:
An account of Nathan Hale's capture was written by Consider Tiffany, a Connecticut shopkeeper and Loyalist, and obtained by the Library of Congress. In Tiffany's account, Major Robert Rogers of the Queen's Rangers saw Hale in a tavern and recognized him despite his disguise. After luring Hale into betraying himself by pretending to be a patriot himself, Rogers and his Rangers apprehended Hale near Flushing Bay, in Queens, New York.[6] Another story was that his Loyalist cousin, Samuel Hale, was the one who revealed his true identity.