“Let us have him out of his house,” yelled a voice above all the others. “Let us show him that we, too, have our day.”
With one impulse the crowd swept forward; some were battering upon the door and heavy shutters, when the boys and Scarlett came plunging through them.
“Hold!” cried Ezra, as he reached his grandfather’s door. He wheeled his prancing horse, as did his friends, and faced the mob. “It is the order of General Putnam that no violence be offered to any one. In the name of the Continental Congress we bid you to stand back!”
The uniforms of the five were new to the men of Boston, but the name of Putnam and the mention of the Continental Congress had their effect, and they hesitated.
But the red-faced butcher urged them on.
“Will you be stopped by a parcel of boys?” he shouted. “Will you be cheated of your revenge by a handful of young upstarts because they came a-riding on horseback and use high words?”
The crowd wavered. The butcher saw this and redoubled his efforts; then Scarlett dismounted and approached him quietly. Hooking his thumbs in his sword belt the soldier of fortune said:
“My friend, you are a stout fellow enough, but you make overmuch noise for even one of your girth.”
And with that he took the butcher by the scruff of the neck and shook him like a rat. The man sputtered and coughed and fought back. But he was but as an infant in the hands of the slender but powerful adventurer, and as they witnessed his discomfiture, some of the crowd began to laugh. Then a roar of mirth went up; and seeing the good nature of the crowd, Ezra held up his hand for silence and cried:
“Boston is now in the hands of General Washington and his army. Justice will be done every man. It is your place to see to it that no good American, through a spirit of revenge, falls into the usages of the British. Go to your homes. If you have a complaint to make of any man, make it to the proper authorities. To take the law into your own hands is dangerous, for you cannot see the end of such a thing.”