Free The Color of Freedom by Michelle Isenhoff Page A

appreciatively beneath the glare of the lantern. He slipped the knife into the waistline of his leggings and strapped the canteen over a shoulder. "Fine wares indeed, sir. Your donation is appreciated," he taunted.
    Another figure on horseback stepped into the road. "Give them back, gentlemen."
    The soldiers snapped to attention. "Lieutenant Munroe, sir! We were just exacting a toll for passage down the king's road. No harm intended, sir!"
    The command repeated, "Give the gentleman back his wares, corporal. We are here to keep order, not incite the colonists to wrath."
    Grudgingly, the corporal stepped aside. "My apologies," he muttered, returning the merchandise with a glowering look.
    "Nay, nay," Salizar simpered, bowing and refusing the goods. "It's a gift - to show I hold no animosity toward good King George. Each must do his best to see there's peace in the world, sure. The knife and canteen are yours to keep."
    Meadow's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Salizar giving away merchandise? To that arrogant, scavenging jackal?
    "Very well," Lieutenant Munroe agreed, "and thank you. If all were as generous as you, the presence of royal troops would not be required here at all."
    Meadow almost choked.
    With a slight bow, the officer nudged his horse back into the gloom. The berated corporal sheathed his sword and wheeled his mount, spurring him in the opposite direction. The others remounted and followed. With a tinkling of pots, Aberdeen set the wagon back in motion.
    Out of earshot of the troops, Meadow turned on Salizar . "How could you pander to the British like that? The scoundrel tried to steal from you, or worse! No telling what he would have done if that fellow hadn't stepped in."
    "Wynn, my lad, a knife and a canteen and a bit of pride are small insurance for an unscathed journey."
    "But how can you not hate them?" Meadow raged.
    He turned to her with a calculating look. "There are no profits in taking sides. If you cannot bow when required, you threaten my business and give me cause to bid you farewell. So, will you stay or go?"
    The man was a two-sided coin, she realized with distaste, playing whatever politics served his pocketbook. And his scruples, if he had any, were fashioned of porridge. If it were not so important that she reached Boston...
    "I'll stay," she muttered sullenly.

Chapter 8
    The town was alive with noise and confusion. A number of pine pitch torches lit the green and flickered on the gathering of men roused from their beds. Some clustered in loose groups, broadly demonstrating their disgust for the sins of their sovereign. Others stood patient and silent, the long night of waiting evident in their strained features.
    A crush of men migrated in and out of a well-lit tavern at the edge of the green, seeking heat, refreshment and information. Here and there a woman hovered, casting worried glances at the men and corralling awakened children behind closed doors.
    Salizar pulled alongside the two-story structure and handed Meadow the reins before disappearing inside. She hunched over the seat, rubbing the worn leather straps and glancing down the road to Boston. A few more men trickled onto the field.
    Gray light gathered at the edge of the horizon, softening the dark faces of buildings and of men. Meadow felt her anxiety grow with the dawn. These were not soldiers before her. They were merchants and tradesmen, husbands and fathers and farmers. Clad in rough homespun and armed with ancient fowling pieces and pitchforks, how could they hope to stand against the mighty British? Stubborn pride and righteous indignation they had in abundance, but it amounted to dust beneath the feet of the royal fighting machine.
    She wanted to scream at the men to go home, to return to their families before it was too late, but she bit her lip. Her warning would only place her in danger of an angry mob, so she watched with an iron weight in her chest.
    A rider thundered into town, pulling up sharply near a cluster of