Produced by John Kaler
NEAL, THE MILLER
A SON OF LIBERTY
BY
JAMES OTIS
CONTENTS
I THE PROJECT
II THE ESCAPE
III IN BOSTON
IV ON THE PASCATAQUA
V STEPHEN KIDDER
VI SEWATIS
CHAPTER I
THE PROJECT
"I fear you are undertaking too much, Neal. When a fellow lacks two
years of his majority--"
"You forget that I have been my own master more than a year. Father
gave me my time before he died, and that in the presence of Governor
Wentworth himself."
"Why before him rather than 'Squire White?"
"I don't know. My good friend Andrew McCleary attended to the business
for me, and to-day I may make contracts as legally as two years hence."
"Even with that advantage I do not see how it will be possible for you
to build a grist-mill; or, if you should succeed in getting so far with
the project, how you can procure the machinery. It is such an
undertaking as Andrew McCleary himself would not venture."
"Yet he has promised me every assistance in his power."
"And how much may that be? He has no friends at court who can--"
"Neither does he wish for one there, Stephen Kidder. He is a man who
has the welfare of the colonists too much at heart to seek for friends
near the throne."
"It is there he will need them if he hopes to benefit New Hampshire."
"Perhaps not. The time is coming when it behooves each of us to observe
well the law regarding our arms."
"You mean the statute which declares that 'every male from sixteen to
sixty must have ready for use one musket and bayonet, a knapsack,
cartridge-box, one pound of powder, twenty bullets and twelve flints?'"
"There is none other that I know of."
"Then I shall not be a law-breaker, for I am provided in due form. But
what has that to do with your mill? I think you will find it difficult
to buy the stamped paper necessary for the lawful making of your
contracts unless you dispose of your outfit for war or hunting, which
is the best to be found in Portsmouth."
"That I shall never do, even if I fail in getting the mill. Do you
know, Stephen, that I was admitted to the ranks of the Sons of Liberty
last night?"
"The honours are being heaped high on the head of the would-be miller
of the Pascataqua," Kidder replied, with a laugh. "Do you expect the
Sons of Liberty will do away with the necessity for stamped paper?"
"Who shall say? Much can--"
Walter Neal did not conclude the sentence, for at that instant two men
passed, and a signal, so slight as not to be observed by his companion,
was given by one of the new-comers, causing the young man to hasten
away without so much as a word in explanation of his sudden departure,
while Stephen Kidder stood gazing after him in blank amazement.
The two friends whose conversation was so suddenly interrupted were
natives of the town of Portsmouth, in the Province of New Hampshire;
and, had either had occasion to set down the date of this accidental
meeting, it would have been written, October 26th, 1765.
As has been suggested, Walter Neal's ambition was to erect a grist-mill
a certain distance up the Pascataqua River, where was great need of
one, since land in that portion of the province was being rapidly
settled; and, although without capital, he believed it might be
possible for him to accomplish his desires.
He was favourably known to the merchants of Portsmouth, and thanks to
the efforts of his friend, Andrew McCleary,--ten years his
senior,--several tradesmen had intimated that perhaps they might
advance sufficient money to start the enterprise in a limited way.
Neal had inherited a small amount of property from his father; but,
like many of the farmers in the New World, he was sadly hampered by the
lack of ready money. During several weeks prior to this accidental
meeting with Stephen Kidder, he had been forced to temporarily abandon
his scheming in regard to the mill, that he might try to raise
sufficient money with which to pay the annual tax, already more than
burdensome, upon his small estate.
As Neal hastened after the two men who had given him the signal to
follow them, the most engrossing thought in his mind was as to how the
amount of four pounds and seven shillings in cash could be raised
without a sacrifice of the cattle from the home farm.
Ephraim Foulsham had partially agreed to advance the sum if he could be
secured by a chattel-mortgage, and when Neal overtook those in advance
he was speculating upon the possibility of getting the amount that day,
lest execution should be issued against him.
That which he heard, however, speedily drove all thoughts of a personal
nature from his mind. "Master McCleary would be pleased to see you, and
quickly," one of the men said, in a low tone, when the three were where
there was no other to overhear the conversation.
"Is it important I should go at once?"
"Yes; unless you would break the oath you took last night."
Neal waited to ask no more questions. Ten minutes later he was at
Samuel Leavitt's store, where he knew McCleary would be found at this
time of the day.
Before Neal could speak, his friend walked quickly out of the building
toward the shore of the harbour, giving the would-be mill-owner an
expressive look, which plainly told that he was to follow.
Not until McCleary was at a point where no one could approach him
without being seen did he halt, and then Neal was by his side.
"A messenger must be sent to Boston at once," the elder man said, in a
low tone. "It is not generally known that you have been admitted to our
association, therefore you are the one to go."
"When shall I start?"
"At once; there is no time to be lost. Will you ride my horse?"
"My Own will serve me better; suspicions might be aroused if I should
be seen on yours."
"Very true; I had not thought of that. You are to make all speed, and
go direct to Master Revere's. Say to him that George Messerve, who has
been appointed distributor of the tax stamps for New Hampshire, will
arrive in Boston shortly, if, indeed, he is not already there. Tell
Master Revere that the feeling in our section grows stronger against
this last imposition every day, until there is danger lest the excesses
which marked the 26th of August in Boston may be repeated here. He will
understand what it is we want him to do."
"Shall I have time--"
"You will not have time for delay. Start at once, and as you perform
this mission, so will you be benefiting yourself in the project of the
mill."
"It does not require I should know that in order to be faithful to the
trust imposed upon me. I was about to ask if I should have time to
attend to raising the amount of my taxes, for I have twice been warned
that they are due."
"I will see to it that you do not suffer by the delay. Go at once, and
let nothing detain you; we expect the message will be delivered early
to-morrow morning." Neal's home lay two miles west of Portsmouth, and
without waiting to attend to the business for which he had visited the
town, he hastened toward it at a rapid pace. His mind was easy in
regard to the payment of the taxes, for McCleary would keep every
promise made, and when he returned it should be possible to make the
necessary arrangements with Ephraim Foulsham within twenty-four hours.
When he arrived in view of the log-house which his father had built
twenty years previous, Walter understood that something out of the
ordinary course of events had happened. The doors of the barn were
open, and his mother stood in front of the building, as if in deepest
distress. A portion of the rail-fence which enclosed the buildings was
torn down, and the cart that had been left by the side of the road was
no longer to be seen.
"You could not borrow the money?" his mother said, interrogatively,
while he was yet some distance away.
"I haven't had an opportunity to see Master Foulsham. What has
happened?"
"The worst, my son, that could befall us at this time. The officers
have attached the cattle and the horse. Even if you can borrow money,
the costs of the action will eat up all we had to live on this coming
winter."
"The horse gone!" Walter exclaimed, as if in bewilderment.
"We could better spare him just now than the cattle, because of the
work yet to be done."
Neal was not at that moment thinking of the farm duties, nor yet of the
mill, which was more distant in the future than before, but only of the
fact that it was necessary he should be in Boston on the following
morning.
Hurriedly he explained to his mother why it was he must leave home, and
added in conclusion,--
"Master McCleary has promised that I shall not suffer because of the
delay in paying the tax, and I am certain he will keep faith with me."
"And do you intend to leave home now?"
"I must; there are those who depend upon me, and they shall not be
disappointed."
"I am afraid, Walter, you are pursuing the wrong course. It is best
that wiser and older heads than yours should be concerned in the
struggle which must come, if the people resist this new tax."
"Father would have done as I am doing; and, since I am to fill his
place, it is fit I should do what I can."
"But how will you reach Boston without a horse or money?"
Walter hesitated. By returning to Portsmouth he could get the animal
which McCleary had proposed he should ride, and yet to do so would
delay him greatly, in addition to the possibility of arousing suspicion
against his friend.
By leaving the main road six miles farther on, and striking across a
tract of wooded country, the distance could be reduced materially; but
even then there would remain at least fifty miles to be traversed.
"I can walk to Salem," he said, at length; "and there, William Cotton
will provide me with a horse."
"It is a desperate journey, and dangerous, if some should learn why you
had undertaken it. I--"
"You would not bid me stay, mother, but rather urge me forward. I have
no time to lose."
"You will at least wait until I can put up some food."
"Yes; it will be necessary to eat, I suppose. Bread and cheese will be
enough, and even that must be got together quickly."
Mrs. Neal made no attempt to dissuade her son from his purpose. That
which he had said concerning his father had been sufficient to silence
her on the score of danger; and, when the small store of provisions
were wrapped in a stout piece of cloth and placed in the pocket of his
coat, she kissed him, but did not dare trust her voice to speak.
With a stout hickory stick as a walking-cane, Walter set out, and there
was sufficient in his mind to provide ample food for thought during the
first two hours of the journey. He was not at all certain that, now
that the cost of making an attachment of his property was to be added
to the amount of his tax, Ephraim Foulsham would be willing to advance
the money; and, even if the sum could be raised in such a manner, it
was so much increased that he could not hope to see the wished-for mill
under erection until another season at the earliest.
At the end of the second hour he had accomplished at least nine miles
of the distance, and could well afford to indulge in a brief halt while
partaking of his food.
"Nine miles from home means eleven from Portsmouth," he said aloud, as
if the sound of his own voice gave him encouragement. "By this path
Salem cannot be more than twenty-four miles away, and I must make it in
five hours in order to reach Boston by sunrise. It can be done if I do
not allow myself too much time in which to rest my legs, and-"
He ceased speaking very suddenly, for at that instant, as if they had
descended from the clouds, two horsemen stood before him.
The moss-covered path had deadened the sound of the animals' approach
as they came up from the rear.
Walter recognized both the new-comers. The foremost was Samuel Haines,
a man who had made an unsuccessful attempt to get the appointment to
distribute stamped paper in New Hampshire, and the other James Albert,
a half-breed Indian, who was well known in Portsmouth as a quarrelsome
fellow, ready to take part in any business, however disreputable, so
long as he was provided with an ample supply of rum.
Walter nodded familiarly to Haines, but paid no attention to the Indian.
"Wait a moment, Master Neal," the former said, gravely, as Walter
attempted to pass him. "Where are you going that you cannot stop for a
short converse?"
"On business which admits of no delay."
"Do you expect to walk from here to Boston before daylight?"
"Who said I was going to Boston?"
"Perhaps I guessed as much."
"Then kindly guess that I can't wait here simply for the pleasure of
talking with Master Haines."
"I shan't try to do that, my rebellious friend. When Jim gets ready--"
Walter half turned to see what part the Indian was to play in this
interview, and as he did so the fellow's arms were around him,
pinioning his own to his side.
"What is the meaning of this?" he cried, angrily, as he tried in vain
to release himself.
"It means, Master Neal, that I wish to see the message you carry," and
Haines, dismounting, hastily searched the prisoner's pockets.
"You have found yourself mistaken as sadly as when you believed the
king would give you the dirty work of selling stamped paper," Walter
said, with a laugh, noting the look of disappointment on Haines's face
when he failed to find any document.
"You have been intrusted to deliver the message by word of mouth, and
it will serve my purpose as well if I prevent you from calling on that
seditious Revere. Here, Jim, tie him to a tree with this," and Haines
drew from his saddle-bags a piece of stout rope.
It was in vain Walter struggled; taken at a disadvantage as he had
been, he was powerless, and in a few moments was bound securely to a
tree, while his captors threw themselves on the ground in front of him,
as if to make a long stay.
"If you repeat what you were told to say to Revere, I will see to it
that you are made more comfortable," Haines said, after a long pause.
"And what then?"
"We shall make certain you don't return to Portsmouth for two or three
days, that is all."
"If I have a message to deliver, I will keep it to myself, instead of
intrusting it to you," Walter said, grimly; but his mind was sorely
troubled, for he realized that if he should be delayed here no more
than four hours the information he was to give might arrive too late.