The remainder of the sentence is not recorded: the printed page is cleaner without it.
"I meant to teach the villains not to insult a lady."
"I"ve a good mind to split your skull open," said the lieutenant, white with rage, but not knowing what to make of a man so calm and resolute.
"Let me get at him! Let me get at him! I"ll knock the daylight out of him," shouted the fellow whom Robert had felled to the ground, but who had risen and stood with clenched fists. The other, the while, was clambering from the trough, wiping the water from his face and ready to rush upon Robert, angered all the more by the jeers of the grinning negroes.
"What is all this about?"
It was Lieutenant-Colonel Dalrymple speaking. He had seen the commotion from the window of the council chamber, and hastened to the scene. "Put up your sword," he said to the lieutenant.
"What have you been doing, sir?" he asked, turning sternly to Robert.
"Suppose you first ask those two fellows what they"ve been doing?
Nevertheless, Colonel, lest you might not get a true answer, allow me to say that they insulted a lady, that I knocked one down and tossed the other into the watering-trough, to teach them better manners. For doing it your lieutenant has seen fit to draw his sword and threaten to split my head open."
It was said quietly and calmly.
"What have you to say to that?" Colonel Dalrymple asked, addressing the soldiers, who made no reply.
"Lieutenant, take them to the guardhouse, and consider yourself under arrest till I can look into this matter. Don"t you know better than to draw your sword against a citizen in this way?"
The lieutenant made no reply, but looked savagely at Robert, as if to say, "I"ll have it out with you sometime," sheathed his sword and turned away, following the crestfallen soldiers to the guardhouse.
Colonel Dalrymple bowed courteously, as if to apologize for the insult to the lady. Robert came to the conclusion that he was a gentleman.
The negroes were laughing and chuckling and telling the rapidly gathering crowd what had happened. Robert, having no desire to be made conspicuous, walked up Queen Street. He tarried a moment to look at the iron-grated windows and double-bolted doors of the jail, then turned down Hanover Street and made his way to the Green Dragon.
III.
THE SONS OF LIBERTY.
"Is it far to Doctor Warren"s house?" Robert asked of the landlord after supper.
"Oh no, only a few steps around the corner on Hanover Street. So you are going to call on him, just as your father always does. You will find him a nice gentleman. He is kind to the poor, charging little or nothing when they are sick and need doctoring. He isn"t quite thirty years old, but there isn"t a doctor in town that has a larger practice. He is a true patriot. I heard a man say the other day that if Joe Warren would only let politics alone he would soon be riding in his own coach. The rich Tories don"t like him much. They say it was he who gave Governor Bernard such a scorching in Ben Edes"s newspaper awhile ago. He is eloquent when he gets fired up. You ought to hear him in town meeting; you won"t find him stuck up one mite; you can talk with him just as you do with me."
With the cheese under his arm Robert walked along Hanover Street to Doctor Warren"s house[17]. It was a wooden building standing end to the road. Entering a small yard, he rattled the knocker on the door.
The doctor opened it.
[Footnote 17: The home of Doctor Warren stood upon the spot now occupied by the American House. It was a plain structure and was surrounded a garden. Mrs. Warren--Elizabeth Hooton before marriage--was the daughter of Richard Hooton, a merchant possessing large wealth. She was beautiful in person and character. She died May, 1773. The Boston _Gazette_ contained an appreciative tribute to her worth.
"Good sense and modesty with virtue crowned; A sober mind when fortune smiled or frowned.
So keen a feeling for a friend distressed, She could not bear to see a man oppressed."]
"Good-evening; will you walk in?" he said. It was a pleasant, cheery voice, one to make a sick person feel well.
"Please step into the office."
Robert entered a room smelling of rhubarb, jalap, ipecac, and other medicines in bottles and packages on the shelves.
Sincere and hearty were the thanks of Doctor Warren for the present.
"I want Mrs. Warren to make your acquaintance," he said.
A beautiful woman entered and gave Robert a cordial greeting.
"It is very kind of you to bring us such a gift. It is not the first time your father has made us happy," she said. "We must find some way, husband, to let Mr. Walden know we appreciate his kindness."
"That is so, wife."
"We live so far away," said Robert, "we do not know what is going on.
Father wishes me especially to learn the latest news from London in regard to the proposed tax on tea, and what the Colonies are going to do about it."
"That is a very important matter," the doctor replied, "and we are to have a meeting of the Sons of Liberty this evening to consider what shall be done in case the bill now before Parliament becomes a law, as I have no doubt it will. I shall be pleased to have you go with me. Of course our meetings are somewhat secret. We do not care to have any mousing Tory know just what we intend to do. You will have a hearty welcome from the boys. It is only a few steps from here, at the Green Dragon."
"That is where I am stopping," Robert replied.
"You can say to your father," the doctor continued, "that the redcoats are becoming very insolent, and we fear there will be trouble."
Robert said nothing about his experience at the town pump.
"Tommy Hutchinson," the doctor went on, "is acting governor. He is not the hyena Bernard was. Hutchinson was born here. He is a gentleman, but loves office. I would not do him any injustice, but being in office he naturally sides with the ministry. He does not see which way the people are going. King George believes that he himself is chosen of G.o.d to rule us, and Lord North is ready to back him up. The people around the king are sycophants who are looking after their own personal advantage. The ministers know very little about affairs in the Colonies. They are misled by Bernard and others. They are determined to raise revenue from the Colonies, but will be disappointed. But we will go round to the Green Dragon."
[Ill.u.s.tration: DOCTOR JOSEPH WARREN]
They reached the tavern. Doctor Warren nodded to the landlord, and led the way up the stairs along the hall and gave four raps on a door.
One of the panels swung open. A man on the other side said something which Robert could not understand, neither could he make out what the doctor said in reply. The panel closed, the door opened, and they pa.s.sed into a large room dimly lighted by two tallow candles. A dozen or more young men were seated in chairs around a table smoking their pipes. At one end of the table was a large punch-bowl, a basket filled with lemons, a bottle of rum, a plate of crackers, and half a cheese.
One young man was slicing lemons and making rum punch. All clapped their hands when they saw Doctor Warren.
"I have brought a young friend; he is from New Hampshire and as true as steel," said the doctor.
"Boys," said Amos Lincoln, "this is the gentleman I was telling you about; let"s give him three cheers."
The room rang. Robert did not know what to make of it; neither did Doctor Warren till Amos Lincoln told how he had seen Mr. Walden at the town pump, knocking down one lobster, throwing another into the watering-trough, and calmly confronting the prig of a lieutenant. When Amos finished, all came and shook hands with Robert.
Mr. John Rowe called the meeting to order.
"Since our last meeting," he said, "a ship has arrived bringing the news that the king and ministers are determined to levy an export duty of three pence per pound on tea: that is, all tea exported from England will be taxed to that extent. Of course, we could pay it if we chose, but we shall not so choose."
The company clapped their hands.
"We have sent round papers for the merchants to sign an agreement that they will not sell any tea imported from England. All have signed it except Hutchinson"s two sons, Governor Bernard"s son-in-law, Theophilus Lillie, and two others. The agreement does not prevent the merchants from selling tea imported from Holland. The Tories, of course, will patronize the merchants who have not signed the agreement, and the question for us to consider is how we shall keep out the tea to be imported by the East India Company."
"We must make it hot for "em," said Mr. Mackintosh.