Simon Hawke - Hellfire Rebellion

Steiger’s awful cold.”

“You may be right,” said Lucas. “But what the hell, it’s worth a shot.”

“You getting soft on me?” said Delaney, with a grin.

“Go on,” said Lucas. “Get out of here.”

He watched Delaney leave, then sighed and went down the hall to Moffat’s room. He opened the door and froze. The chair in which Moffat had been tied down was empty. The ropes holding him had been snapped with incredible strength and the window was open.

“Jesus Christ… said Lucas. He ran back out into the hall. ‘Finn!”

But he was too late. They had already left. Linda Craven came running out into the hall.

“What is it?” she said.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Moffat.” Lucas said grimly. “He’s escaped.”

Andre clocked with Johnny to the street outside Ebenezer Macintosh’s house. It was a calculated risk, one she certainly would not have taken during the daytime, when the traffic on the streets of Boston would have made such a transition highly dangerous. Clocking into a set of temporal coordinates that already happened to be occupied at that particular instant by some passing citizen or cart or horseman would have proved extremely messy and extremely fatal. However, at this hour of the night, the streets of Boston were practically deserted and the lack of street lighting served to mask the transition, thereby decreasing the likelihood that anyone looking out a window would see two people suddenly appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the street. No sooner had she pulled him over close to Macintosh’s door than he began to come around. He came to lying on his back. with Andre looking down at him anxiously.

“What… Andre! Where am I?”

“In the street outside Ebenezer Macintosh’s house.” she said. “Are you all right?”

He looked around. confused. “I–I don’t understand. What happened? I was in a room somewhere…”

“You fell and struck your head.” she said. “I was afraid you might be seriously hurt.”

“I fell?” he said. “I don’t remember. I was with Mr. Hunter… that man!”

“What man?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know who he was! He shot the other two!”

“The other two?” she said.

“Yes, the other two men! They had guns! They were going to kill us! And that man shot them both with that strange pistol… he fired several times without reloading! So fast! How could he have done that?”

“But. Johnny, there’s no one here,” she said.

“But I saw them. Andre! He shot them, I tell you! And then he made the body disappear-”

“ What body? Johnny, what are you talking about?”

He stared at her. “You don’t believe me!”

“You must have been dreaming.” she said. “You struck your head.”

“A dream?” said Johnny. “No, it could not have been a dream. I saw it. I tell you! I came running here. I was looking for Mr. Macintosh. I thought he could tell me where Mr. Hunter was and I could ask him where I could find you and then those men came and they were going to kill him and they were going to kill me, too. and-”

“But, Johnny, I just saw Reese Hunter.” she said. “And he didn’t say anything about two men trying to kill him.”

“He-he didn’t?”

“No.” She shook her head. “He said he spoke to you about us and then you started to run off, but you slipped and fell and struck your head. I helped him carry you over here, out of the middle of the street, and he said you would be fine in a few moments and asked me to watch over you until you came around. He had to hurry to meet with someone.”

Johnny shook his head slowly. “But-but it seemed so real! You mean it was all a dream?”

“What else could it have been?” she said. “How can someone fire a pistol several times without reloading and then make a dead body disappear?”

Johnny grimaced and rubbed his head. “I–I must admit it does sound foolish,” he said. “I don’t remember falling. But-but how did you come to be here.”

“I came looking for Ebenezer Macintosh,” she said. “I came to warn him. We’ve discovered that the horseman’s men, the ones who call themselves the Hellfire Club, are planning to kill him. It seems that they intend to kill the leaders of the Sons of Liberty, one at a time, striking in the middle of the night.”

Johnny gazed at her wide-eyed. “We must warn Mr. Macintosh!”

“He already knows. He’s gone to seek protection from his friends in the South End Gang.”

“We have to tell Mr. Adams!”

“That is already being taken care of,” she said. “The important thing for you to do right now is rest. You’ve had a nasty blow. After such a fall, rest is just the thing. Come on. I’ll help you to get home.”

She helped him up.

“I–I feel a little dizzy,” he said.

“That often happens when one’s had a nasty fall,” she said. “Can you walk’?” “Yes. I believe so.”

“Come on, then. I’ll walk with you.”

“I feel so strange,” said Johnny. “Nothing like that has ever happened to me before. I was only trying to find you and Mr. Priest and Mr. Delaney… where were you? Where did you go? I looked for you everywhere!”

“We had a great deal to do,” said Andre. “We were with the Tories, discovering their plot against the Sons of Liberty.”

“I was afraid that something may have happened to you.” Johnny said. “I feared perhaps the Tories had discovered your deception. I–I don’t know what I would have done if they had hurt you.”

She smiled. “I’m touched by your concern.”

He stopped. “It is much more than mere concern.” he said. “Andre

… I–I have never said this to a girl before…”

She quickly put her fingertips up against his lips. “Don’t say it. Johnny.” she said softly. “I know. And I am flattered more than I could say. But please try to understand. I am not free.”

“You-you are promised to another?” he said.

“Yes. Johnny, I am.” He looked down at the ground. “I see. I–I suppose I dared not hope that you would-”

“There is much about you that a girl could love. Johnny,” she said. “Someday, you will meet the one who’s right for you and then I’m sure that you will make her very proud and very happy. But I…” she stopped, listening. “Did you hear that?”

“What?”

“Sssh! Listen!”

The sound came to them on the stillness of the cool night breeze.

“Men shouting.” Johnny said. “It sounds as if it’s coming from the Common.”

“Something’s happening. Come on. Johnny, run!” she said.

They sprinted toward the Common, Andre leading the way. Johnny running hard to keep up with her. They crossed Marlborough Street and ran toward the granary, on the comer of Common Street. The sound grew louder as they approached. They pulled up short as they reached the tree-lined Mall at the edge of the Common. A large group of black-robed figures were heading toward the Liberty Tree. Several of them were dragging along a fiercely struggling man, whose hands had been bound and whose mouth was gagged.

“They’ve got Mr. Macintosh!” said Johnny. he looked at Andre with alarm. “My God, they’re going to hang him, like the others! What are we to do?”

Andre thought fast. There was nothing she could do, not with Johnny there. They had already reached the Liberty Tree and were throwing a rope over one of its stout branches.

“Run, Johnny!” she said. “Get help!”

“But they will never come in time!”

She took out her dueling pistol. “I’ll fire a shot in the air.” she said, “then reload quickly and fire again. They may think the Sons of Liberty have come to rescue him.”