Read Online Becoming Americans by Donald Batchelor - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Donald Batchelor
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Harper.
      "Richard! Richard!"
      Edward was shaking him. Richard forced his eyes to stay open, and tried to concentrate.
      "Edwardâ¦. I did it again! The rumâ¦. Is it over? Is Halloween over?" Had he slept through the celebration?
      "We were getting worried about you," Edward said.
      It grew darker as Harper moved the torch toward the hogsheads he now noticed.
    "Did you do this?" he demanded of Richard.
    Richard was not yet awake.
    "The broken hogsheads! Did you do that?" Harper's anger was rising.
      Richard turned to see most of the casks in mid-collapse. The unseasoned staves had forced apart the hoops, uneven staves had slipped out, then others fallen. Tobacco now spilled onto the floor of the shed.
      "It was the hoopsâ¦" Richard started to explain.
      "I'll sell you!" Harper shouted. "I'll beat you to near death, or I'll sell you!"
      "Fatherâ¦." Edward tried.
      "Your Uncle Edward Williams will hear of this! Do you realize how much time will be added to your indenture to repay me for the costs of this deed? You'll be swinging my broad ax for the rest of your life! Vain and arrogant. Evil! The Devil is in you, Boy."
      Harper's open hand slammed against Richard's head, then hit again. Richard held his breath. He'd not known such fury could come from Francis Harper. He made no attempt to defend himself, to point out that this seeming destruction was, indeed, a blessing for Mister Ware.
      "Go to your sleeping cabin! You will be summoned."
      Richard returned, and waited in the dark, listening to the shouts and laughter from around the roaring, distant, mid-night bonfire.
      "Father will see you now." Edward stood in the doorway. His lighted candle threw deep shadows across his face. His eyes were wide with fear and anticipation.
      Francis Harper and Mister Ware were flanking the parlor fireplace when the boys entered. Harper dismissed his son and Richard stood alone before them. Their faces were drawn tight with the serious situation, and red with the long day's festivities of food and drink.
      "Richard." Harper spoke calmly now. "Mister Ware and I have inspected the damage you inflicted on his property. It is serious and you will be punished accordingly. It falls to me to make good the damage. The court will add that to your contract of indenture. At Mister Ware's suggestion, I have decided to allow the vestry to decide your punishment. You will face them after the All Saints' Day service tomorrow. And, Boy, best begin your prayers this night, for you will be in agony tomorrow night."
      Richard remembered Harper's rage and he remembered the beatings he had witnessed when his apprentice friends had angered their masters.
      Mister Ware spoke now.
      "It puzzles me, Boy, how you think. God has blessed you with advantages. You were not plucked from the streets, nor from Bridewell hospital, nor the jails of Londonâlike so many of our servants. You come from a meritorious family. God has brought you to this wondrous country of opportunity. I, and my family, have shown you the hospitality and generosity you can expect in this land. You respond to us with a childish prank of willful destruction. I know not how you think. Surely, you do think?"
      "Sir, I do," Richard blurted out. "But I didn't think the hogsheads wouldâ¦explode tonight. It was consideration of your good that led me to my action! The hogsheads were poorly made, Mister Ware. The staves were green and uneven. The hoops were made of a softwood,
      "Richard! Richard!"
      Edward was shaking him. Richard forced his eyes to stay open, and tried to concentrate.
      "Edwardâ¦. I did it again! The rumâ¦. Is it over? Is Halloween over?" Had he slept through the celebration?
      "We were getting worried about you," Edward said.
      It grew darker as Harper moved the torch toward the hogsheads he now noticed.
    "Did you do this?" he demanded of Richard.
    Richard was not yet awake.
    "The broken hogsheads! Did you do that?" Harper's anger was rising.
      Richard turned to see most of the casks in mid-collapse. The unseasoned staves had forced apart the hoops, uneven staves had slipped out, then others fallen. Tobacco now spilled onto the floor of the shed.
      "It was the hoopsâ¦" Richard started to explain.
      "I'll sell you!" Harper shouted. "I'll beat you to near death, or I'll sell you!"
      "Fatherâ¦." Edward tried.
      "Your Uncle Edward Williams will hear of this! Do you realize how much time will be added to your indenture to repay me for the costs of this deed? You'll be swinging my broad ax for the rest of your life! Vain and arrogant. Evil! The Devil is in you, Boy."
      Harper's open hand slammed against Richard's head, then hit again. Richard held his breath. He'd not known such fury could come from Francis Harper. He made no attempt to defend himself, to point out that this seeming destruction was, indeed, a blessing for Mister Ware.
      "Go to your sleeping cabin! You will be summoned."
      Richard returned, and waited in the dark, listening to the shouts and laughter from around the roaring, distant, mid-night bonfire.
      "Father will see you now." Edward stood in the doorway. His lighted candle threw deep shadows across his face. His eyes were wide with fear and anticipation.
      Francis Harper and Mister Ware were flanking the parlor fireplace when the boys entered. Harper dismissed his son and Richard stood alone before them. Their faces were drawn tight with the serious situation, and red with the long day's festivities of food and drink.
      "Richard." Harper spoke calmly now. "Mister Ware and I have inspected the damage you inflicted on his property. It is serious and you will be punished accordingly. It falls to me to make good the damage. The court will add that to your contract of indenture. At Mister Ware's suggestion, I have decided to allow the vestry to decide your punishment. You will face them after the All Saints' Day service tomorrow. And, Boy, best begin your prayers this night, for you will be in agony tomorrow night."
      Richard remembered Harper's rage and he remembered the beatings he had witnessed when his apprentice friends had angered their masters.
      Mister Ware spoke now.
      "It puzzles me, Boy, how you think. God has blessed you with advantages. You were not plucked from the streets, nor from Bridewell hospital, nor the jails of Londonâlike so many of our servants. You come from a meritorious family. God has brought you to this wondrous country of opportunity. I, and my family, have shown you the hospitality and generosity you can expect in this land. You respond to us with a childish prank of willful destruction. I know not how you think. Surely, you do think?"
      "Sir, I do," Richard blurted out. "But I didn't think the hogsheads wouldâ¦explode tonight. It was consideration of your good that led me to my action! The hogsheads were poorly made, Mister Ware. The staves were green and uneven. The hoops were made of a softwood,
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