A DISCOMFITED CREDITOR.
On Saturday morning the city of Boston was in an ominous state of quietude.
That the citizens were restless and uneasy, even the most casual observer would have noted, as he walked through the streets where knots of men and boys were congregated at different points, discussing some subject with bated breath, and moving away whenever a stranger approached.
That the troops were defiant and suspicious was also evident. The soldiers did not walk through the streets singly, as had been their custom; but in groups—squads would be a more appropriate term, for they preserved some semblance of formation, even while lounging, as if prepared for an expected attack.
It had not been Amos's purpose to venture out on this morning, and he had very good reasons for remaining at home.
That which Hardy Baker had taunted him with on the evening previous still rankled in his mind, and he understood better now than before the encounter at Liberty Hall, that there were many who would not hesitate to remind him of the fact that it was his uncle who had deprived little Chris Snyder of life—his uncle, the informer, who had been the first to resist, with deadly weapons, the citizens in a demand for justice.
Amos was not a quarrelsome lad; although the acknowledged leader in his particular circle of friends, he had never been a bully, neither had he submitted tamely to an imposition.
He was fully determined to give Hardy Baker such a lesson on the evils of using his tongue ill-advisedly and without precaution, as he would not soon forget, although he did not intend to seek an interview with the apprentice, who fancied himself rapidly becoming a leader of men; but proposed to wait until he met the barber by chance rather than intention, and then he was resolved that Hardy should receive a very clear idea as to the necessity of curbing his speech.
The forenoon was well advanced when Jim Gray entered the house with an exclamation of surprise and satisfaction.
"I never counted on finding you at home on this day of all others; but just dropped in on the chance you might be here, since I have looked everywhere else. Why are you keeping so snug when there is so much going on?"