Under the Liberty Tree Part 9

"He must be at work, or we should have heard something regarding him,"

Amos replied, and then ceased even to think of the apprentice.

Shortly after noon those a.s.sembled under the Liberty Tree,--and there were quite as many as had gathered on Friday and Sat.u.r.day,--were told that the Council had discussed with Governor Hutchinson the question of removing the troops from the city, and a.s.sured him the people would be satisfied with nothing else.

It was also said the Governor had refused to do anything regarding the matter; but that Samuel Adams had publicly declared the troops should be sent away, and that without loss of time.

At about three o'clock in the afternoon, Amos and Jim heard once more from Master Piemont's a.s.sistant.

It was told under the Liberty Tree that he had been seen in company with Attucks, the mulatto, and half a dozen others, near Wentworth's Wharf, and that Hardy had distinguished himself by taunting with cowardice, a squad of soldiers, until the redcoats avenged the insults with blows; but nothing more serious than a street brawl was the result.

"Perhaps I made a mistake, and Hardy didn't get as severe a lesson as he needed," Jim whispered to his friend.

"If he didn't, he's likely to receive it before this day is ended, in case he continues as they claim he has begun. It seems evident that the citizens do not intend to carry this matter any further, and the only trouble may be from such as Hardy. Let us go home and stay there quietly. If the Sons of Liberty were to make any demonstration, we would want to be with them; but if there is to be nothing more than street brawls, we had better keep out of sight."

Jim was perfectly willing to act upon this suggestion, and particularly because his father had warned him not to go in the vicinity of the ropewalk, fearing lest the trouble, having originated there, it would be a favourite rendezvous for those ripe for mischief.

The boys had hardly reached Amos's home, thoroughly confident there would be no serious disturbance, when the alarm-bells began to ring, and, as in the twinkling of an eye, the city, which had apparently been so peaceful, was the scene of tumult and confusion.

Men and boys rushed from their homes into the streets. Those who were already there ran to and fro in the wildest excitement, not understanding the cause of the alarm, and prudent housewives barred windows and doors as if each thought her home was about to be attacked.

As a matter of course, Amos and Jim went directly to the Liberty Tree; but failed to find there the throng which had occupied Liberty Hall almost constantly, with the exception of the Sabbath hours, since Friday morning.

"The soldiers have attacked the citizens!" a man cried, as he ran up Newbury Street at full speed.

"Where? Where?" Amos shouted.

"At the head of King Street."

The few who were waiting at Liberty Hall started immediately for the scene of the supposed conflict, and Amos and Jim followed their example.

The boys had no idea of mingling in street brawls; but if unoffending citizens were attacked by the soldiers, it was their intention to aid the former to the best of their abilities.

Before they could traverse the distance between Ess.e.x and King Streets, the alarm-bells had ceased ringing, and they met a throng of citizens returning from the supposed scene of violence with information that no outrage had been committed.

Samuel Gray, Jim's elder brother, was standing at the corner of Summer and Marlborough Streets when the two boys arrived at that point, and he explained the cause of the commotion by saying:

"A party of citizens, not over-gentle in their ways, attempted to pa.s.s the sentinel near the barracks, and were received by him at the point of his bayonet. One of our people was scratched slightly on the arm, and at the sight of the blood some one more timid than wise alarmed the city. You can go back, boys, for your services are not needed.

Take my advice, Jim, and keep off the streets."

"But I intend to be on hand if there is any serious trouble."

"I should hope so, for you are old enough, if not large enough, to do your full share. What I meant was, don't get mixed up in street fights between the soldiers and disreputable citizens whose proper place is in the watch-house."

"I don't count on doing anything of that kind. Where are you going?"

"Up to Liberty Hall."

Amos and Jim followed, and, arriving at this common rendezvous, they found that the people were once more a.s.sembled; but this time in not as placid a humour as before.

The news of the encounter, and the needless alarm, had so excited the people that the more impetuous ones were in such a frame of mind that prudence would not be their first counsellor.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The city, which had been in an apparent state of quietude an hour previous, was now in a tumult, and when a squad of eight soldiers marched past the Liberty Tree, as if defying the people, they were received with epithets of derision and a shower of missiles thrown by the angry members of the party.

The cooler-headed men and boys did their best to restrain their companions, and the result was that the soldiers pa.s.sed on, after indulging in a few threats.

"One can see how easily a fight may be brought about just now," Samuel Gray said to Amos. "The people are ripe for almost any kind of trouble, and if the authorities were wise the soldiers would not be allowed to show themselves on the streets."

"It seems as if those fellows pa.s.sed this way simply to provoke us."

"Very likely they did; but it isn't because of such provocation that we should resort to bloodshed. Our part is to preserve the peace, if possible, while men like Master Samuel Adams redress our wrongs in a proper fas.h.i.+on. I doubt not but that through his influence the soldiers will be forced to leave the city; but nothing of the kind can be brought about by street brawls and foolish threats.

The excitement among those gathered at Liberty Hall,--and there were now very many reputable citizens present,--was most intense, and continued to increase each instant.

Word was brought of collisions between soldiers and citizens at different points, and although very much of the information was afterwards ascertained to be untrue, no one questioned it at the moment.

It seemed apparent to all that the time had arrived when the question as to whether the soldiery should be allowed to occupy Boston must be settled by force of arms, despite the odds which must necessarily be against the inhabitants in such an encounter.

Before sunset on this day the situation seemed to have changed greatly, for the brawlers of Hardy Baker's cla.s.s were now in the minority, and it was sober, well-meaning citizens who occupied the s.p.a.ce under the Liberty Tree.

Rumours came thick and fast. Some claimed that the Sons of Liberty, as an a.s.sociation, had that afternoon demanded of Governor Hutchinson that the troops be withdrawn; others declared the demand had been made and positively rejected, while the more timid insisted that the soldiers were making ready to awe the citizens by such a display of power, regardless as to whether bloodshed might ensue, and that within the next twenty-four hours there would be found no one bold enough to demand that they be sent away.

Amos and Jim, believing themselves in good company so long as they remained with Samuel Gray, kept close at his heels, and he was not loth to have them, for, like many another in the city of Boston on this night, he was firmly convinced that the strength of boys, as well as men, would be necessary before morning to preserve the slight semblance of freedom which was left to the Colonies.

John Gray's fears that there would be trouble in the vicinity of the rope-walk had been proven by this time to be groundless, for soldiers as well as citizens had, as if by common impulse, avoided the scene of the first serious outbreak, and at seven o'clock in the evening, when the city was more nearly in a state of repose than it had been since the alarm-bells summoned the inhabitants, Samuel Gray proposed to his brother and Amos that they go to the factory.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"I promised father I would look around there now and then, and if you boys are not counting on going home to supper, I can give you something in the way of a lunch from the store of provisions I carried there this morning."

"We are certainly not going home while there seems to be so much afoot," Amos replied.

"Then come with me, and we'll hope that the intentions of those who are abroad this night are as peaceable as ours."

It was destined, however, that they should not partake of the provisions which Jim's brother had stored for such an occasion as this.

On arriving at John Gray's place of business, a party numbering twenty or thirty, led by Attucks, with Master Piemont's a.s.sistant by his side, was seen marching toward the Custom House, shouting and hooting, as if to prove their courage by much noise.

"It is by such as them that mischief may be done," Amos said, in a low tone. "Hardy Baker cares not what statements he makes, so long as he appears to be considered a leader," and he concluded by telling Sam the story of the attack made the previous Sat.u.r.day afternoon.

"I grant you the barber's apprentice is a dangerous sort of a lad to be loose at a time like this. Nevertheless, there are reputable citizens who believe the moment has come when we should stand for our rights, and what such as Hardy Baker may succeed in bringing about, through their folly, will perchance aid the righteous cause. We will follow them."

"To what purpose?"

"In order to learn if there is any preconcerted action among them. It was whispered at Liberty Hall late this afternoon that arrangements had been made for a demonstration in front of the barracks, and I would be there if such is made."

"But do you believe in anything of that kind?" Amos asked, in surprise.