You turn and dash into the alley. You are almost into the next street when the bell of the New Brick Church on Hanover Street begins to toll. A crowd surges through the alley, forcing you back toward Richardson’s house. You watch as men grab Richardson.
“What happened?” you ask.
“Richardson fired into the crowd, wounding two men and a boy. The boy’s badly hurt. They say he’s dying.”
John Hancock’s elegant house was located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.
A man appears with a noose. He ties it on a signpost. “Hang him,” the crowd calls.
“Stop!” Will Molineux steps forward. “You can’t take justice into your own hands!” he shouts to the crowd. “Take Richardson to a judge and make sure he has a proper trial.”
Reluctantly, the men agree. As the mob drags Richardson off in one direction, you head back to Mr. Hancock’s house. You’re relieved. You didn’t want to witness a hanging.
In the Boston Gazette, Samuel Adams reports that 11-year-old Christopher Seider was the victim of Richardson’s gunfire. He organizes a funeral for Seider and invites all “friends of liberty” to attend.
You consider yourself a friend of liberty, so you plan to go. But Cook asks you to stay and help guard the house. She worries that soldiers will destroy Mr. Hancock’s property if no one is home.