TW10 The Hellfire Rebellion NEW (12 page)

"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."

They took two rooms upstairs at the inn, one for Lucas and one for Finn and Andre, since Andre was posing as his "ward." The bed was barely large enough for Delaney alone, so no one thought it was unusual when they asked to have a cot brought in for "young Andrew."

"One of us should go and tell Hunter what's going on." said Andre.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." said Lucas “I can clock on over there and be back in—"

"No. I don't think that would be such a good idea." Andre said. "I was thinking maybe I should walk over there alone."

Lucas frowned. "Why?" "For all we know, Adams is still having us watched,"

she said. "If that's the case, then one of us should be seen going over to Hunter's. That way, we'll appear to be doing exactly what we said we'd do."

"She's got a point." Delaney said, nodding. "Besides," said Andre, "I'd like to find out if they're still keeping tabs on us. We've got no idea what to expect from this scenario. If I spot anyone following me, I don't want to have to wonder if it's someone Adams sent or somebody else. I can flush a tail much better on my own than with you two along and it would look less conspicuous, if only one of us left to meet with Hunter. We need to convince Adams that we know what we're doing and that we can be trusted, otherwise we're liable to be tripping over Sons of liberty everywhere we go."

"Okay." said Lucas. "I guess you're right. But be careful. The streets of Boston aren't safe after dark these days.