"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
"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
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