When the bell sounded the ship’s arrival, John Billington went with the rest. There was no one he was expecting, no one he knew on the ship, but it was customary and polite to greet new people.
The whole town came out. When John Billington first stepped off the Mayflower and onto the shore, he had been greeted only by the whir of cold November winds. No fire or alehouse or friends. After the solemnness of their long journey, these newcomers must be met.
To his surprise, out of the berth of the ship he saw Thomas Morton emerge.
I thought they’d killed you! And now here they are, letting you back?
The two men embraced.
If one pays enough …
Thomas Morton let that linger, smiled the secret smile of two old friends.
Come, let’s have a drink, said John Billington, and they went onward to Billington’s house.