“Yeah,” said Lucas, nodding. “It’s time to send for some reinforcements. Andre, you clock back to headquarters and tell Forrester what’s going down. Get him to send as many teams as he can spare. We don’t know for a fact how many Network people there are back here, and they know about this place and our rooms back in the Peacock Tavern. Hunter, we need a secure location for a transition point. You got any suggestions?”
“Yeah.” Hunter said. took the precaution of arranging a safehouse for myself, just in case you people tried to double-cross me. It’s where I had the gun stashed and a few other things, besides. I always clocked directly there from this place, so I don’t think that Steiger or anybody else watching me could’ve known about it. It should be fairly safe.”
“All right, where is it?”
“I’ll give you the coordinates. It’s a small house near Hudson’s Point, on Lime Street, by the cemetery and the foundries. And speaking of-coordinates…” He took off the warp disc and tossed it to Lucas. “Call it a gesture of good faith.” He picked his gun up off the bed and tucked it in his breeches. “Now I strongly suggest we dispose of those bodies and get the hell out of here before the Network finds out that three of their people have been wasted.”
7
Johnny Small was feeling an exhilaration unlike anything he’d ever known. Consciously, he put it down to finally being included among the members of the Sons of liberty, but subconsciously, it was much more than that. At the age of seventeen, he was beginning to experience sexual awakening and he had fallen in love. He could not get Andre out of his mind.
Paul Revere had several apprentices, so he could easily afford to excuse Johnny from his duties at the silversmith shop, so that he could devote most of his energies to his assignment for the Sons of liberty. Johnny regarded this vote of confidence almost with reverence. He was one of them now, a patriot, and they were no longer treating him like a boy. Revere had been impressed with his report and he had taken him straight to Samuel Adams himself, in the middle of the night. so that he could tell their leader what he’d learned.
Adams, dressed in his nightclothes, had listened impassively in the drawing room of his house on Purchase Street while Johnny told him about following Andre to the street where Hunter lived and then described how the headless horseman had appeared out of nowhere and attacked them. He had not told either Revere or Adams: what he had discovered about Andre, but her explanation of the night’s events had colored his report, so that he described an unknown man who had stepped out of the shadows and fired a pistol at the horseman, missed, and how the horseman had taken advantage of the confusion and the noise in the street to escape down some convenient alleyway. He told Adams that the three New Yorkers had made contact with some Tories in the Peacock Tavern and had taken rooms there, the better to pursue their inquiries. When he had finished, Adams nodded and clapped him on the shoulder.
“You’ve done well, lad,” he said. “Very well, indeed.”
Johnny felt flushed with pride at the praise.
“Perhaps we can trust these New Yorkers, after all.” said Revere. “If they can help us find out who this horseman is, then they will indeed have proved their worth.” said Adams. “However. I believe it would be prudent to keep watch on them, just the same. There is much at stake. Can we count on your help in this matter?”
“I will do anything you ask.” said Johnny, proudly. “Good.
We still do not know these people well enough. It would be wise to remain cautious.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Part of our problem, Paul, is that there are many patriots like us throughout the colonies that we do not know well enough. We are united in our aims, but not in fact. There is too little contact between us. I have been giving much thought to this.”
“What do you have in mind?” Revere asked. “Our strength here in Boston is in our unity.” said Adams. “We must unite ourselves with patriots in the other colonies, as well. It is not enough to merely express our views in the Gazette and urge all good citizens to join our cause. We need more direct action. A means of keeping in touch with other patriotic groups. These new commissioners that Townshend has sent to the colonies have been incorruptible because they are all wealthy men. There is little we can offer them in the way of inducements that they do not already have, but unfortunately. there is much that they can offer to our friends.
“I have been hearing most disturbing news,” he continued. “We have driven our own commissioners to seek refuge in Castle William, but in the other colonies, it is said that these new commissioners draw sympathy from people by entertaining lavishly, inviting merchants and influential citizens to balls and dinners, turning their heads with their fine clothes and splendid carriages and sumptuous repasts. I have heard that in Philadelphia. good Whig wives and Tory gentlemen drink rum punch together and dance the minuet. Such gaiety and idleness are destructive to our cause. We must give people a reason to unite against such frivolous displays.”
“What do you propose to do?” Revere said.
“The new strict enforcement of the customs duties has resulted in a growing shortage of hard currency.” said Adams. “My father had sought to bring stability to our paper currency, but when the Land Bank was outlawed by those mountebanks in Parliament, the people took to hording British silver, as you well know. They hide silver coins in mattresses and jars until they accumulate enough to bring them to a silversmith such as yourself and have them melted down, to cast into such things as cups and punch bowls. We all trade and barter with one another, but the customs commissioners accept only British silver, as do the British merchants, and the supply of hard money is dwindling more and more. Imported goods from England are becoming ever dearer and fewer people can afford them and they feel poorly for it, embarrassed when they cannot afford the luxuries their neighbors have. If we can turn that to our advantage by making a virtue of their insufficiency, we can give people a reason to unite behind our cause.”
“How can we do that?” Revere asked, while Johnny listened with fascination, immensely flattered that these two men would discuss their plans in front of him.
“By uniting all the colonies in a concerted boycott of all imported British goods,” said Adams. “We can give those plagued with debt a virtuous excuse for cutting back on their expenses if they can say they do it for the common good, rather than for lack of money. We can help them to look upon it not as insufficiency, but as self-sacrifice, an act of pride and patriotism. A wife who cannot afford to make a dress of silk can then take pride in wearing homespun and be able to look with disdain upon her neighbor, who can afford a finer dress, because she does not choose to sacrifice her comfort and her luxury for a common good, you see? If we can make an act of pride out of their need to tighten up their pulse strings, we will give them a reason to support us in our cause.”
“Aye, and save husbands’ money in the bargain, which will help them to look kindly on our methods.” said Revere. “It is an excellent idea. Sam. But how shall we implement it?”
“I have drafted a circular letter, which I intend to send around to all the colonies and have printed in the newspapers,” said Adams. “We will ask all in the colonies to sign the letter as a form of personal commitment. We will ask them to agree to give constant preference to those merchants who do not import from London. We will ask for a boycott of all ships that continue to bring in British goods. We will ask them to consider all traders who do not sign as traitors to our cause. We will sway the common people to our cause first. A dock porter or a washerwoman could never afford to purchase silks or velvets, much less imported furniture and ready-made apparel, but if they sign an agreement to not purchase them, then they can say that they refuse, not that they are unable. Thus, we elevate their station.”
“But there is no way that we can force everyone to join the boycott.” said Revere. “And there are many merchants who will undoubtedly find a way around it.”
“Then we shall see to it that those merchants will have their names published in the newspapers,” said Adams, “and it will hurt their trade. And meanwhile, those merchants who are less well off will see that trade improve by agreeing to join us in the boycott. If we appeal to their pocketbooks, Paul, then we shall win their hearts.”
“It is a sound plan,” said Revere. “When do you intend to start?”
“As soon as possible,” said Adams. “Bernard daily sends requests to Gage for troops and petitions Parliament for help. The commissioners who have taken shelter in Castle William add their pleas to his. The troops are certain to arrive before too long. There can be no doubt of it. We must take steps to sway popular opinion to our side so that when they do arrive, they will be widely perceived as an intrusion on our liberties.”
He turned to Johnny. “Your role in this is especially important. Jonathan.” he said.
“It is?” said Johnny, his eyes wide.
“It is absolutely vital,” Adams said. “We must find out who this mysterious horseman is and who his followers are, so that we may take the proper steps to stop them. We cannot work against them if we do not know who they are. I have heard rumors of the foul things that they do at their secret meetings, depraved practices that I shall not enumerate for your young ears. It is clear to me that the leaders of this ‘Hellfire Club’ seek to draw men to their cause by appealing to their basest instincts. And we have already seen that once amused, these instincts will make them stop at nothing, not even murder. It is a very dangerous assignment you’ve been given. Jonathan. Whatever happens, you must steer clear of these men. If you can, try to d
iscover who they are, but you must avoid contact with them at all costs. Let us see what information the New Yorkers bring us. Your task is to keep watch on them, but no matter what occurs, do not involve yourself. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Johnny said breathlessly, wondering what sort of “foul practices” these terrible men indulged in and feeling suddenly afraid for Andre.