Hellfire Rebellion

4

For a change, no one interfered with the sheriff when he went to cut the latest display down off the Liberty Tree. Boston’s mood was suddenly subdued. There had been riots, there had been looting and destruction, men had been beaten bloody and senseless, but this was the first time men had died.

Lucas, Finn, and Andre stood apart with Hunter on the fringes of the silent crowd that had gathered to watch Greenleaf and his men remove the corpses Andre wore male clothing and to look at her, no one could tell she was a woman. She looked like a young boy of eighteen.

“It’s started.” Hunter said. “I had a feeling it would come to this.”

“Hellfire to the Sons of Liberty,” said Lucas. He glanced at Hunter. “That mean anything to you?”

Hunter shook his head. “I haven’t been associating much with Tories. I’m one of the Sons of Liberty, you know.” He reached inside his shirt and pulled out a small silver medal on a chain. It was stamped with an image of the Liberty Tree. “They all wear these,” he said. “They were contributed by the silversmith, Paul Revere.”

Ben Edes spotted Hunter and approached them. “A grim sight for a spring morning; he said tensely.

“Aye, that it is,” said Hunter. “You know anything about this?”

Ben Edes shook his head. “A few of the people in the crowd are saying that the horseman did it.”

“The horseman?” said Delaney

Edes glanced at them. “It seems that Boston has a ghost, sir. One who rides a black horse and has no head. Forgive me. but I haven’t had the pleasure of making your acquaintance.”

“Oh, my apologies,” Hunter said. “These are old friends of mine. Ben. Allow me to present Mr. Finn Delaney, Mr. Lucas Priest, and young squire Andrew Cross. Mr. Delaney’s ward. This is my good friend. Benjamin Edes, editor and publisher of the Boston Gazette.”

They shook hands. “Would that we could have met under more fortunate circumstances.” Edes said.

“You’re new to Boston?”

“We only arrived yesterday,” said Lucas, “from New

York.”

“I hear that there are many Tories in New York.” said Edes, watching them closely for their reactions.

“Yes, but we have had our share of demonstrations, too.” said Finn. “Of course. General Gage and his troops are quartered there, and they have largely kept events under control.”

“Yes, so I have heard.” said Edes. “I understand that Governor Bernard has requested aid from General Gage. He thinks that Boston should have troops. Would they have prevented this? I wonder. They say the horseman rode the streets last night and that this is his grisly handiwork

“No one saw anything?” asked Hunter. Edes shook his head. “A watchman saw Chilton and the others in the street last night.” he said. “He said they were all drunk as lords. You heard about the Liberty affair? Hallowell seized Hancock’s ship for smuggling. The Romney’s crew towed it out into the harbor, where it is protected by the Romney’s guns A crowd gathered, but they were too late to prevent the ship being seized, so they turned their anger against Hallowell and his agents. Hallowell was beaten senseless. Harrison also, though he managed to escape. His son, Dick, was badly beaten and dragged through the street by his hair. Thomas Irving was set upon, as well. An ugly spectacle. Yonder you see what’s left of Hallowell’s boat. The mob dragged it from the water and burned it on the Common. They stoned Harrison’s and Hallowell’s homes, as well. Chilton was one of the mob’s leaders, or at least so he claimed. They say he was boasting that it was he who broke Ben Hallowell’s head for him and led the riot. He claimed to be a Son of Liberty, but Sam swears he had nothing to do with what occurred last night.”

He glanced uncertainly at Lucas, Finn, and Andre, as if suddenly afraid that he had said too much.

“It’s all right.” Hunter said. “They’re with us in the cause.”

Edes nodded. “Forgive me, but these are troublesome times.” he said. “A man cannot be too careful. The council is meeting even as we speak. Hancock has lodged a formal protest against the seizure of his vessel and a delegation is to be sent to Governor Bernard, requesting that the Romney be removed from port. Meanwhile, the customs agents have left their homes and taken refuge in Castle William. Nor can I blame them. No one ever wanted it to come to this.”

“What has Sam said?” Hunter asked.

“He has called a special meeting at the Long Room.” Edes said “I was just now on my way there.”

“Would it be possible for my friends to come, as well’?” asked Hunter. “Or would that be an imposition?”

If they are patriots, sir, and you vouch for their discretion, then they are indeed welcome. And I am sure our friends would want to know how things are going in New York. Come. I will take you there.”

They went down Treamount Street, then turned into Dock Square. From there, they took Ann Street for a block or two until it became Fish street. The same streets in Boston often had different names from block to block; the better to enable citizens to orient themselves since there was, as yet, no organized system of house numbering. Fish Street became Ship Street after a few blocks, running close by Clark’s Shipyard. They passed The Castle and The Mitre taverns and turned into the Salutation, a tavern on the corner of Salutation Alley and Ship Street whose devotees were fervent Whigs. It was not a fashionable tavern, catering mostly to the North End shipwrights, caulkers, and mast-makers, but its sign depicted two gentlemen bowing to each other, which resulted in the tavern being nicknamed “The Two Palaverers.” It was not as rowdy or notorious a tavern as ‘Ole Bunch of Grapes, but it was here where the North Caucus met in its private room.

Sam Adams belonged to all three of Boston’s caucuses, the North, the Middle, and the South. It was Deacon Adams who had first organized these clubs, the word having grown from “caulker’s club.” since the majority of the original members were all in the shipbuilding trade. Here, in the smoke-filled private chamber known as the Long Room, much of the business of the Boston Assembly was actually conducted around a bowl of punch, with a roaring fire in the hearth. There were some sixty members in the North Caucus, but today, the group that gathered here were the members of the original Loyal Nine and the leaders of the Sons of Liberty.

There was Sam Adams’ young cousin John from Braintree, plump, boyish-looking, and quick to speak. Hunter pointed out Dr. Joseph Warren and Dr. Benjamin Church; William Molineaux, the hardware merchant; Bill Campbell, the owner of the tavern; John Pulling, whose fame was to be eclipsed by Paul Revere’s., though it was he who would hang the lanterns in the Christ’s Church steeple to give Revere the signal that the British troops were coming; the gargantuan silversmith. Benjamin Burt, who weighed almost four hundred pounds and required the room of two men at the table; James “Jemmy” Otis. the flamboyant orator whose reason was slowly slipping away, rendering him unpredictable and temperamental, given to frequent emotional outbursts that often made no sense at all; young Josiah Quincy; the Cooper brothers, Samuel, the pastor of the Brattle Street Church, and William, the town clerk; Thomas Dawes: John Winslow and Thomas Melville, still only in his teens and fresh from Harvard, whose grandson Herman would one day write the immortal epic Moby Dick. The silversmith, Paul Revere, was also in attendance, stocky, square-faced, with his brown hair unpowdered, and his simple homespun looking shabby next to the slender Hancock’s tailored finery. And. of course, there was Sam Adams, portly and rumpled, looking like someone’s absentminded uncle, yet the real power behind the coming revolution. He called the meeting to order.

“Gentlemen, your indulgence, please,” he said, rapping on the table with his knuckles. The room grew silent. Adams looked around. “I see that most of us are here. However, I note a few unfamiliar faces.”

“These are Reese Hunter’s friends, recently arrived from New York,” said Edes. “Mr. Lucas Priest. Mr. Finn Delaney, and young Andrew Cross. They’ve come to observe events in Boston for themselves and report back to our friends in the New

York colony. Reese vouches for them.”

“Very well.” said Adams, nodding. In that case welcome, gentlemen. You have arrived upon a dark day, indeed. Four of our number have been foully slain and we are met to discuss how to proceed.”

He looked around to make sure he had everyone’s attention.

“There have been times.” he said. “when we have not acted nobly. Yet, hard times demand hard actions. And the mobs cannot always be controlled. Things have been done in the name of our cause that I regret, despite the fact that our cause has been advanced by them. Men have been set upon and beaten, and yet I cannot truly say that they did not well deserve a beating. There are those whose homes have been invaded and torn down, yet they were men who, by their actions, sought to invade our rights and to tear down our liberties. Men have been pressured to resign their offices, and yet it can be said that tyrants have no business holding office.”

“Hear, hear,” said someone. We must, of necessity,” said Adams. “use whatever means are open to us in order to achieve our ends, and sometimes those means are hard, indeed… but, gentlemen, we have never yet committed murder.”

“Not yet,” said Quincy, grimly, and several of the men grumbled their assent.

“Not ever.” Adams said. “Not ever.” He looked around at all of them. His hands began to tremble, so he clasped them. “We are patriots, my friends, not murderers. And if the time should ever come when blood is to be spilled, then let it be in honorable warfare, and not foul murder in the night!”

At the mention at the word “warfare,” the men began to mumble among themselves. “Yes, gentlemen, war.” said Adams. “It is the first time we have used that word among us, though I have known for some time now that war must inevitably come. It is not yet time for us to speak of war in public, but those of us present in this room must give due consideration to that eventuality. For I am certain that it must come to that. We in the colonies are not, as they call us in Parliament ‘rebellious children.’ We are grown into adulthood and the time has come for us to make our own way in the world, independent of Great Britain.”

“Amen to that!” said Edes and several voices joined him in chorus.

“But must it come to war’?” said Otis. “Gentlemen.” he said. rising to his feet, “there is no more noble society on earth than that of Britain! Why, we are all of us Englishmen! True. I will admit, we have had our disagreements with our mother country, but surely these disagreements can be settled without resort to-”

“Oh, do sit down. Jemmy,” Hancock said softly, in a weary tone.

“I have the right to speak!”

“Sit down. Jemmy.” said Bill Campbell. “Sam has the floor.

Amid a chorus of “Sit down. Jemmy! Sit down!” Otis reluctantly resumed his scat and fixed a morose gaze upon the punch bowl. He said nothing more. but his lips moved silently.

“There was a time. Jemmy,” said Adams. Sadly, “when your fire was the brightest flame among us. But now the time is past for speeches. And the time is long past for talk of reconciliation. English we may be, by law, but when we are denied our rights as Englishmen under England’s law, then that law has ceased to serve us. Englishmen we may be. but Americans we must become!”

“Well said, well said!”

“Spoken like a patriot!”

“Enough.” said Adams. As I have said, the time is past for speeches. We must free ourselves from England. but England will never willingly let us go. It is our duty, gentlemen, to prepare the populace for what must come. We must gain their sympathy and unite them to our cause. But we cannot hope to do so if we should stoop to murder. There must be no killing.’

“There has already been killing,” said John Winslow.

“And we must not add to it,” said Adams. “Tell that to Macintosh and Swift.” said Edes “They are not men to turn the other check. Sam.”

“No one asks them to turn the other cheek. Ben,” Adams said. “The murderers must be found and brought to justice. Aye, let them hang, but let them be tried for murder in a court of law and be brought to their punishment by jury! We must have no lynching by the mob! There are those in England, gentlemen, who are sympathetic to our cause. They will not long remain so if we start to murder our own citizens. Boston sets an example for all the other colonies. Their eyes are all upon us. Already, there are many who decry our methods, who condemn mob violence, as we must openly condemn it. You saw how the people at the town responded when the mob destroyed Hutchinson’s house. What will they say of us if we start to murder Tories? Governor Bernard has petitioned General Gage for troops. Would you play into his hands by giving Gage a reason to dispatch them?”

“The troops may well be sent in any case,” said Church, sourly.

“Then let them come as a further affront against our liberties.” said Adams, not as protection for the citizenry against roving killers in the night. How can we cry out, in indignation, that the Tories murder freedom-loving men if we respond in kind? I say again, the killers must be found and brought to justice. Our hands must remain clean in this affair.

“But how are we to find the murderers?” asked Cooper.

“Aye, where does a man look to find a ghost?” asked someone else.

“I have never heard of a ghost who was political,” said Adams, wryly. “Rest assured, gentlemen, this mysterious so-called ‘headless horsemen’ we’ve all heard of is made of flesh and blood. Tory flesh and blood. He is someone with the wit to hide his face so that he remains unknown and, doubtless, he has Tory confederates to help him. We must find out who they are so that they may be punished for their crime.”

“But how are we to find out who they are, Sam?” Hancock asked. “Of whom can we make our inquiries? I hardly think that the Tories shall share anything they know with us. The sympathies of every man who is present in this room are well known to all of them,”

“Not every man,” said Hunter. “They do not know my friends here.”

“Nor, for that matter, do we know them.” Paul Revere said. “No offense intended”

“None taken.” said Lucas. “We know that we are strangers here and only present because our friend. Reese Hunter, vouched for us. But we are patriots, the same as you, and there are many in New York who think as we do. We’ve come to confer with Boston’s patriot leaders, to share goodwill and seek advice, but we have also tome to offer help if needed. Now as Mr. Hancock said, if most of you are known to the Tories here in Boston, then you can hardly expect them to help you find whoever killed your friends. However, we three an: not known here. We arrived only yesterday, and except for Reese, you are the first citizens of Boston we have spoken to. We could just as easily be Tories recently arrived in Boston. We could go where the Tories gather and strike up friendships with them, then pass on anything we learn to you.”

Adams looked thoughtful. “Your idea has merit,” he said. “But you realize that you would he taking a great risk if they discovered that you were deceiving them?”

“We have already taken a great risk in coming here and meeting with known radicals,” said Delaney. “That’s the sort of thing that could tarnish a gentleman’s reputation.”

His comment provoked laughter. “You may joke, sir,” Adams said. “but spying is a very serious business.”

“So is murder,” said Andre.

“Yes, so it is,” Adams replied gravely. “How old are you, lad?”

“Eighteen, sir,” Andre said.

“Eighteen.” said Adams, with a sigh. “Eighteen is very young.”

“I see others here scarcely older than myself.” said Andre. “And seventeen is old enough to join the militia.”

“True.” said Adams. “but drilling with a rifle does not make one a man.”

“Nor does plotting in back rooms or smashing windows in the middle of the night,” said Andre

Hancock chuckled. “He has you there. Sam.”

“A man is one who is willing to stand up for his beliefs, sir.” Andre said. “I came here willing to stand up for mine.”

Adams smiled. “Well said, young man. Very well then, I accept the offer of your help. We need all the help that we can get and we could do with a spy or two among the Tories of this town. I would dearly like to find out who this ‘headless horseman’ is and who his friends are. He could scarcely have accounted for those four men alone. But for this plan to work, you must be careful not to be seen with any of us. We must devise a way for you to secretly report your findings.”

“With your permission, sir,” said Lucas, we would rather see to that ourselves. The moment we discover anything, we will send Reese to you with the information or one of us will contact you directly, at a time and place of our own choosing. In that manner, if there is to be no set time and place for us to meet, then no one can find out about

Adams stared at him for a moment. “You sound as if you have some experience in such matters. Mr. Priest.”

“As you yourself said. Mr. Adams, these are troubled times,” Lucas replied. “I have merely learned how to be cautious. And now, with your permission, if we are to begin tonight. we’d best be on our way. Good day, gentlemen. You will be hearing from us.”

“Good fortune to you.” Adams said. He waited till they’d left the room, then turned to Paul Revere. “Paul, I think it would be best if someone were to keep a weather eye upon those three. That new apprentice of yours you’ve been telling me about, young Jonathan, who came here with his uncle from the Pennsylvania frontier, you say he is a most resourceful lad?”

“Aye, made friends with the Indians, he did.” Revere said. “I’ve seen him use his fowling piece to drop a deer at over a hundred paces. Moves through the forest like a cat, he does.”

“You said that he was eager to join us.” Adams said. “Let us see, then, how resourceful he can be. Follow those three and find out where they go, then send young Jonathan to keep an eye on them discreetly and inform us of their movements.”

“I’m on my way.” Revere said, picking up his coat and hat.

“You don’t trust them?” Edes said. “But Hunter vouched for them.”

“Reese Hunter seems like a good man.” Adams said. “Macintosh speaks highly of him. But then Mac speaks highly of anyone who will stand him to a drink. We have learned, most tragically, that there exists a group among the Tories who will stop at nothing to oppose us, not even murder. If we send men to spy upon them, then they can just as easily send men to spy on us. I. too, have learned how to be cautious, Ben.”

They had gone about eight blocks when Delaney said. “We’re being followed.”

“I know,” said Hunter. “It’s Revere. I spotted him about two blocks ago. Adams must’ve sent him after us.”

“Not a very trusting sort, is he?” Lucas said, smiling to himself.

That man was born too late,” said Hunter. “He would have made one hell of an intelligence chief.”

“Do we shake him?” Andre asked.

“No, what for?” Delaney said. “Let him report hack to Adams that we’re doing exactly what we said we’d do.”

“This is as far as I’d better go.” said Hunter. “The Peacock Tavern is around the corner, at the end of the street. They should be serving the ordinary about now, so there’ll be plenty of people there, especially after what happened this morning.” He paused. “What’ll you do if you run into Drakov? He knows you.”

“Well, we don’t know for sure he’s here yet.” Lucas said. “But if we should happen to run into him, we’ll try to take him alive.”

“Knowing Drakov, that’s not going to be easy. Especially if he’s got friends among the Tories.” Hunter said.

“I know.” said Lucas “But we have to try to find out how many clones of himself he’s made and where he’s planted them. We won’t take any chances, though. We can’t afford having him cause a temporal disruption.”

“Meaning you’ll kill him if you have to,” Hunter said.

“Only if we have to,” Lucas said. “In which case, we may have to clock out in a hurry, so be where we can find you.”

Hunter nodded. “I’ll be at my place. Either way, you’ll be getting back to me tonight?”

“Soon as we get a chance,” said Lucas “In the meantime, we’d better see about renting a place of our own somewhere in town. It wouldn’t do for three Tories from New York to be seen associating with a Son of Liberty.”

“You can probably get rooms upstairs at the tavern.” said Hunter, “but its liable to be a little noisy. If you want something more private, ask around. A lot of the merchants usually have property to rent around the waterfront. Don’t be afraid to dicker price. it’s expected.”

“Thanks.”

“Good luck. And watch yourselves, okay? You’re my only ticket out of here.”

The tavern was crowded, as Hunter had predicted. They had to wait a while for a table to be free, so they went up to the bar. There was no sign of Drakov, but they kept their eyes on the door, just in case. They each had a brace of loaded dueling pistols hidden underneath their coats and small lasers tucked away in well-concealed shoulder holsters underneath their shirts. Wearing them that way meant they wouldn’t be able to get at them very quickly, but it was a necessary tradeoff for optimum concealment. Ordnance Section had experimented with disguising the laser pistols as more primitive weapons, but none of those experiments had proved terribly successful in terms of being able to wear the weapons hidden. And the plasma weapons were simply too large for any such attempt to be practical. The smallest one was about the size of a 10 mm. semiautomatic with a slightly longer barrel. On covert field missions, it was generally standard practice not to carry them unless absolutely necessary. For added safety, each weapon was failsafed so that if the safety catch wasn’t properly released, the weapon would self-destruct. The lasers would simply fuse and become useless lumps of molten nysteel. Anyone holding the weapon when the failsafe mechanism became activated would have a very brief instant of warning as the weapon suddenly started to become extremely hot. If that warning was not heeded and the weapon wasn’t immediately dropped, the result would be excruciatingly painful and permanently disabling.

Many temporal agents simply resorted to more primitive, but in proper hands, no less effective tools, such as various martial arts weapons or lead projectile pistols. Steiger, who was a weapons collector, often went armed with a semiautomatic pistol or two. Others carried tiny, flat, plastic dart guns known as ‘stingers.” small enough to be concealed in the palm of the hand and loaded with slim magazines that held miniature needle darts loaded with powerful tranquilizer drugs or instantaneously lethal poisons. These weapons were almost completely silent in operation, making only a brief, very high-pitched whistling noise when fired. Each of the agents were armed with one of these, snapped butt down into spring-loaded holsters strapped to their forearms and hidden underneath their sleeves. Each of them also carried a slim commando knife in a sheath strapped either to the forearm or carried down the back. None of them carried any weapons in their pockets, the better to avoid the possibility of a skilled pickpocket coming away with an unexpected prize.

Fortunately, the clothing of this period was loose and somewhat bulky, which helped to hide the weapons, but they still only planned to use them as a last resort. If there was a need for any shooting to be done, especially with witnesses about, they would first reach for the dueling pistols, which to all outward appearances, looked no different from any other flintlock pistol of the time. In fact, they had been constructed in the 27th century of superior materials and cleverly designed so that they could be loaded with powder and ball and fired like any other flintlock or a strip of metal in front of the trigger guard could be pushed forward and a narrow, spring-loaded magazine could be inserted, turning the dueling pistol into a semiautomatic that fired specially designed. high-velocity ball ammo. The hammer for the semiautomatic function was machined into the flintlock hammer, so that there were actually two hammers, side by side, with the hammer for the semiauto designed to strike a hidden transfer bar that relayed the impact to the primer. The barrel of the dueling pistol was in reality an ingeniously camouflaged slide and extractor, with the actual barrel concealed inside. Only a close examination would reveal that the pistols were much more than they appeared to be.

While they were waiting for a table to be free. Lucas, Finn, and Andre ordered ale at the bar and took careful stock of their surroundings. Not surprisingly, most of the conversation centered around the four men who had been found hanging front the Liberty Tree.

“If you ask me, they got what they damn well deserved,” one man sitting at a table close to them was saying to his friends. “It’s time those Sons of Violence were treated to a taste of their own medicine!”

“I’m sorry. John. I don’t agree. I say no good will come of it.” said one of his companions. “Say what you will about the Sons of Liberty. they are hooligans and skulkers, to be sure, but they have never murdered anyone.”

“They might just as well have killed Ben Hallowell.” the man named John said. “They split his skull for him! It’s only by the grace of God he was not killed! And how many people have they stoned? A thrown rock can kill as surely as a musket ball! I tell you, it is only by pure chance that they have killed no one as yet. Perhaps now they will think twice before they attack a loyal subject of the king!”

“And perhaps now that four of them were slain, they will not hesitate to take a Tory life,” the second man said. “Where does it stop, John? Already it is no longer safe to walk the streets at night.” And who is to blame for that?” asked John. “The Sons of Lawlessness, that’s who! What is Boston coming to? Our officials are afraid to enforce the laws: the governor is helpless; the sheriff hides his face; the watchmen hide whenever they hear a group of men approaching, if they are not themselves part of the mob: the militia cannot be counted on, for the radicals control them; and unlike New York, we have no British troops who can keep order. Are we merely to sit idle and do nothing while Boston is reduced to anarchy? Something must be done! I, for one, am not ashamed to say that I applaud whoever was responsible for hanging those four men! They got no less than what was coming to them! Hellfire to the Sons of Liberty. I say! Hellfire and damnation to them all!”

“Hear. hear!” said several other men at nearby tables.

“Is that your answer then” said John’s friend. “That we take the law into our own hands? If we do that, then we are no better than the radical scum who call themselves the Sons of Liberty. “

“So what would you have us do, Carruthers?” John said. “Give in to the rioters?”

“No, most certainly not,” said Carruthers. “But I, for one, have no stomach for committing murder. Violence merely begets more violence. I think Governor Bernard has the right idea and I think we should give him our support, rather than condemn him. He has petitioned General Gage to send troops from New York. We, as private citizens, can add our voices to his. For we are private citizens, gentlemen, not soldiers. We have families to care for and businesses to run. Let the king’s troops deal with the lawbreakers. Mark my words, you’ll see no more riot, and demonstrations when the troops arrive.”

“On the contrary, sir,” said Lucas. “You may well see even more riots and demonstrations:”

They turned to look at him. “What do you mean, sir?” asked Carruthers.

“Forgive me,” Lucas said, “but I could not help but overhear your remarks. And though I have no doubt but that they were well intentioned, they were just as surely wrong.”

“Indeed?” Carruthers said stiffly. “And who might you be, sir, that you speak with such, authority about these matters?”

“One who knows firsthand,” said Lucas. “My name is Lucas Priest and these are my companions. Mr. Finn Delaney and his ward, young Andrew Cross. Until recently, we were shopkeepers in New York.”

“New York, you say?”

“That’s right,” said Delaney. “Before you all decide to join your governor in petitioning General Gage for troops, you might want to know just what it means to have British soldiers quartered in your town. You should know what manner of men are to be found in the British army. The officers are often gentlemen, that’s true, but the enlisted men are from society’s dregs, often men who chose the army over prison, which would have been their destination.”

“And you should know how their officers must keep these men in line.” added Lucas. “Before you start clamoring for troops to keep order here in Boston, consider if you want your wives and children to see the spectacle of soldiers being whipped in public till their backs are bloody for the least offenses. “

“Whipped in public, do you say?”

“Aye, and the lash laid on by their Negro drummers, no less “ continued

Finn. “And if such a spectacle does not offend you, then consider what ideas such displays might give your slaves. Consider also that soldiers of the Crown are permitted to seek employment among the civilian population when they are not on duty. And they will work more cheaply than your average laborer. In New York, we have seen many men lose work and have their sympathies turned to the radical cause as a result. We have had our worship and our rest disturbed by the troops drilling on the Sabbath. We have had our stores reduced by being charged to supply rum and victuals for the troops. And we have often seen our daughters, their heads turned by the sight of pretty uniforms, used poorly by the soldiers, many of whom do not hesitate to rape when they cannot have their way. Is that what you want for Boston, sir’? For that is what you’ll get if troops are sent here. You will see the public feeling turn against the soldiers and against those who asked for them, as well. I have no sympathy for radicals, far from it, but if General Gage sends troops to Boston, then you will see an increase in their numbers. I assure you.”

“There!” said John Hewitt, “There speaks a man who knows! You see, Carruthers? Troops are not the answer. We do not require outsiders. It is for the citizens of Boston to see to their own troubles. And as we have seen this morning, there an, those who do not hesitate to do so!”

“You speak of murder. John Hewitt.” said Carruthers.

“Does he?” asked Lucas. “I did not know those men, but if they were indeed guilty of the things you say, then I do not think that you can call it murder.” ‘“What else can you call it’?” Carruthers asked. ‘“I will reply to your question with another question. sir.” said Lucas. “Was it murder when we fought in the recent war against the French and Indians to protect our homes and property? And is it murder to protect yourself against a mob that would tear down your house and belabor you with clubs and stones? Is it murder to strike down men who would tar and feather you, as the radicals have done to officials in New York? Do you know what it means to be tarred and feathered or ridden on a fence rail until your groin splits? Is it murder when you are forced to kill in order to protect your life and liberty?”

“No, by God, it most certainly is not!” responded Hewitt, smashing his fist down on the table. “Those four Sons of Licentiousness were never murdered! They were brought to justice!”

“That reasonable men should call a lynching justice frightens me.” Carruthers said. “Had those men been arrested? Were charges brought against them? Was there a trial and was there a jury to convict them?”

“I do not know how things are in Boston.” Finn said, “having only recently arrived here, but in New York, we would be hard-pressed indeed to find a jury to convict such men. The presence of the soldiers and the way the troops comport themselves make many of the citizens inclined to sympathize with radicals. And the Sons of Liberty are diligent in placing their friends upon the juries or threatening those who might have voted to convict. Would you render a guilty verdict if you knew that the Sons of Liberty would pay you and your family a visit in the middle of the night?”

Carruthers sighed heavily. “I must confess that I probably would not. I have a family to think of?

“You see?” said Lucas, “Do not blame yourself. Mr. Carruthers. No one can blame a man for thinking of the welfare of his family. And it is for the sake of the welfare of our families that something must be done about these people. I don’t know how other. Think, but as for myself. I am encouraged that there are men in Boston who are willing to take a stand on the side of justice and do what must be done. We had begun to think that there were no men of courage left in these colonies. I am glad to discover we were wrong.”

“You are a man after my own heart, sir.” Hewitt said. “Will you and your two friends do me the honor of having a drink with me?”

“Thank you, it would be our pleasure.” Lucas said.

Carruthers pushed his chair back and got up. “Forgive me, gentlemen,” he said, “but I cannot in good conscience lift my glass to toast a lynching. I may not have a ready answer to your arguments, but I cannot believe that there is not a better way to solve our problems. May God help us all if them is not. Good night to you.”

Hewitt shook his head as Carruthers left. “Do not think ill of him. gentlemen.” he said, as they joined him at the table. “He means well.”

“I am sure he does.” said Lucas. “I cannot fault him for his principles. I only regret that he has not the backbone to stand up and fight for them.”

“Would you?” said Hewitt. “Be willing to fight. I mean?”

Lucas grimaced. “I was willing to fight, for all the good it did me.” he said, improvising as he went along. “To protest the Stamp Act, I was asked to join a boycott against British goods. If you can call it asking, that is, when they give you no other choice. I sought to reason with them. I am only a simple shopkeeper. I told them. How would my refusing to sell my customers the goods they wished to purchase solve the problem of the Stamp Act? And why, should I refuse them? If a woman wished to purchase silk imported from Great Britain, how could selling her that silk be treason to the colonies? Whom would it hurt if I chose not to sell it to her? Would it hurt the ministry? Or would it not hurt my customer and my own profit, which I have a right to? And what about the British goods I had in storage, which I had paid good money for? What was I to do with those? How could I conduct my business if I could not sell the goods that I had purchased? Would Parliament repeal the Stamp Tax simply because I was losing money?”

“And how did they respond?” said Hewitt.

“Need you ask’?” Lucas replied. “They threatened me. We had words and I told them to get out. It almost came to blows, but they left, warning me that I would soon have cause to reconsider. I feared there would be trouble, so that night I slept inside my shop. My partner, Finn. and Andrew slept upstairs. Sometime past midnight, I was awakened by my windows being shuttered. Finn and Andrew heard the noise and they ran down to help me, but there were just too many of them. They covered their faces, or blackened them with soot so that they could not be recognized, but I knew they were the same men who had threatened me earlier that day. We tried to fight them, but it was no use. Andrew had his nose bloodied and his head cut, Finn was knocked down, senseless, and I was seized and held with my arms pinned behind my back, forced to watch as they ransacked our wares and destroyed our shop. We lost everything.”

“Damn the bastards!” Hewitt said.

“Aye, damn them, indeed.” said Finn, following Priest’s lead. “What they didn’t break, they stole. What they didn’t steal, they threw out into the street and burned. We hoped to make up some of our losses by selling the goods we had stored in the warehouse, but seeing the damage done to our shop, our customers stayed away. They were afraid to be seen buying goods from traitors! We were forced to sell what we had left in storage to other merchants, who had agreed to join the boycott and planned to keep the goods in storage until the boycott ended. We could not afford to do that, so we were forced to sell our goods in storage at a loss and leave New York.”

“Shameful.” Hewitt said. “Shameful, indeed.”

“Things are not much better in the other colonies,” said Lucas. “There are even more radicals in Rhode Island than in New York, but at least here in Boston, you seem to have men with the courage to stand up to them.”

“I’d like to shake their hands, whoever they may be,” said Andre.

“I only wish that I’d been there to help them” said Delaney.

“Perhaps, next time, you can.” said Hewitt. He leaned toward them and lowered his voice. Have you heard of the headless horseman’?”

Lucas frowned, “The headless horseman?”

“There are those who say he is a ghost.” said Hewitt. “He rides at night, on a black stallion. He appears out of nowhere, strikes out at the Sons of Liberty, and then disappears again without a trace.”

“What sort of joke is this?” asked Finn.

“The four men found hanging in the Common this morning did not think it was a joke.” said Hewitt.

“Who is this horseman?” Andre asked.

“No one knows,” said Hewitt. “But word has it that he leads a band of men known as the Hellfire Club, loyal subjects of King George, who are not afraid to do what must be done to bring law and order hack to Boston. And word has it that there is room among that hand of men for those with the courage to join them.”

“Where can these men be found?” asked Lucas.

“I have heard.” said Hewitt, “that there is a certain country chapel where they meet. In fact, I have been curious to go myself to their next meeting. Perhaps you would like to come along?”

They exchanged glances.

“Yes,” said Lucas, with a smile “Yes, I think we’d like that very much. indeed.”