The city, which had been in an apparent state of quietude an hour previous, was now in a tumult, and when a squad of eight soldiers marched past the Liberty Tree, as if defying the people, they were received with epithets of derision and a shower of missiles thrown by the angry members of the party.
The cooler-headed men and boys did their best to restrain their companions, and the result was that the soldiers passed on, after indulging in a few threats.
"One can see how easily a fight may be brought about just now," Samuel Gray said to Amos. "The people are ripe for almost any kind of trouble, and if the authorities were wise the soldiers would not be allowed to show themselves on the streets."
"It seems as if those fellows passed this way simply to provoke us."
"Very likely they did; but it isn't because of such provocation that we should resort to bloodshed. Our part is to preserve the peace, if possible, while men like Master Samuel Adams redress our wrongs in a proper fashion. I doubt not but that through his influence the soldiers will be forced to leave the city; but nothing of the kind can be brought about by street brawls and foolish threats.
The excitement among those gathered at Liberty Hall,—and there were now very many reputable citizens present,—was most intense, and continued to increase each instant.
Word was brought of collisions between soldiers and citizens at different points, and although very much of the information was afterwards ascertained to be untrue, no one questioned it at the moment.
It seemed apparent to all that the time had arrived when the question as to whether the soldiery should be allowed to occupy Boston must be settled by force of arms, despite the odds which must necessarily be against the inhabitants in such an encounter.
Before sunset on this day the situation seemed to have changed greatly, for the brawlers of Hardy Baker's class were now in the minority, and it was sober, well-meaning citizens who occupied the space under the Liberty Tree.
Rumours came thick and fast. Some claimed that the Sons of Liberty, as an association, had that afternoon demanded of Governor Hutchinson that the troops be withdrawn; others declared the demand had been made and positively rejected, while the more timid insisted that the soldiers were making ready to awe the citizens by such a display of power, regardless as to whether bloodshed might ensue, and that within the next twenty-four hours there would be found no one bold enough to demand that they be sent away.