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Authors: Robert Gourley
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so that
Hugh could completely heal, and they could wind up their affairs as
quietly as possible. It wasn’t long before they saddled up, said
their final goodbyes to their father, friends and other family
members, and set out for Portpatrick.
There was constant danger on
the trail that they would be spotted and captured while traveling
to Portpatrick, so they rode at night and slept during the day. The
trip was tiring at first, but soon they got their body clocks
adjusted to the new sleeping schedule. Before long, the outskirts
of Portpatrick appeared in the distance, bathed in morning sun.
Prior to entering the town, Robert took a side trail that led them
toward the south, off the main road they were following, as the sun
continued to rise in the eastern sky. He stopped at a small
stream-fed valley just to the east and a little south of the
Portpatrick cattle pens.
“Let’s hold up here and
sleep today. I am beat. Tonight we can get up and about and do a
little scouting,” said Robert as he dismounted Hack to help set up
their camp and lay out their bedrolls.
* * * *
Alex
“ What do you think you’re
doin’, laddie?” yelled the barrel-chested Irishman.
Alex ignored the question
and pretended that he hadn’t heard, even though the comment was
obviously directed at him.
“I said, what do you think
you’re doin’?” repeated the big Irishman.
Alex ignored the question
again. The big Irishman sauntered over to where Alex was standing,
near the bottom of the gangplank, in a line of young men waiting to
unload a ship that had just docked in the harbor in Philadelphia.
The Irishman walked up to Alex and stood with his nose an inch from
Alex’s nose.
“We already got enough men
to unload this ship, and we don’t need you,” said the
Irishman.
“ Who put you in charge?”
replied Alex.
“I’m Big Mike Finn, best man
on the docks, and you better be gone before I get
angry.”
Alex had been loitering
around at the docks since he had arrived in Philadelphia. He had
finally walked down the gangplank of the Ocean Monarch after
everyone else had already departed. But since he had nowhere to go,
he stayed by the docks in hopes that something would turn up. He
was attempting to get a job unloading ships, because he was running
low on money. Alex had thought that this would be a good way to
replenish his stash, but his plan didn’t look so good
now.
Philadelphia looked a great
deal like any crowded English or European city. When William Penn
had founded Philadelphia in 1701 with a written charter, he had
designed the city using a grid plan that included wide streets and
large lots. The lots had been designed with a building located in
the middle of each one of them and yards and gardens all around the
structure. He had wanted the city to look like a rural English
village rather than a crowded, dirty city. He had also designed the
city to have a port and government center along the Delaware River.
But the residents hadn’t followed Penn’s plan. By the mid-1700s
they had subdivided and resold their lots along the Delaware, so
that it now looked a lot like any other crowded, dirty
city.
Alex had been homesick since
he had arrived in America and he badly wanted to return to his
family in Scotland. But he didn’t have nearly enough money for the
passage back home. He also knew that a rope with a noose at the end
of it, or a musket ball, was waiting for him back there. He had
been sleeping in an old abandoned warehouse near the docks since he
had arrived. Alex knew that the Irish lads had a monopoly on
unloading ships at the docks and didn’t allow outsiders. But he was
getting desperate and was worried about having enough money to buy
something to eat.
Big Mike Finn was the leader
of the Irishmen who worked unloading and loading the ships at the
dock. Mike wasn’t as big as Hugh, and as a matter of fact, he was a
medium sized barrel-chested man with red hair and a red beard. All
the Irishmen
Hugh could completely heal, and they could wind up their affairs as
quietly as possible. It wasn’t long before they saddled up, said
their final goodbyes to their father, friends and other family
members, and set out for Portpatrick.
There was constant danger on
the trail that they would be spotted and captured while traveling
to Portpatrick, so they rode at night and slept during the day. The
trip was tiring at first, but soon they got their body clocks
adjusted to the new sleeping schedule. Before long, the outskirts
of Portpatrick appeared in the distance, bathed in morning sun.
Prior to entering the town, Robert took a side trail that led them
toward the south, off the main road they were following, as the sun
continued to rise in the eastern sky. He stopped at a small
stream-fed valley just to the east and a little south of the
Portpatrick cattle pens.
“Let’s hold up here and
sleep today. I am beat. Tonight we can get up and about and do a
little scouting,” said Robert as he dismounted Hack to help set up
their camp and lay out their bedrolls.
* * * *
Alex
“ What do you think you’re
doin’, laddie?” yelled the barrel-chested Irishman.
Alex ignored the question
and pretended that he hadn’t heard, even though the comment was
obviously directed at him.
“I said, what do you think
you’re doin’?” repeated the big Irishman.
Alex ignored the question
again. The big Irishman sauntered over to where Alex was standing,
near the bottom of the gangplank, in a line of young men waiting to
unload a ship that had just docked in the harbor in Philadelphia.
The Irishman walked up to Alex and stood with his nose an inch from
Alex’s nose.
“We already got enough men
to unload this ship, and we don’t need you,” said the
Irishman.
“ Who put you in charge?”
replied Alex.
“I’m Big Mike Finn, best man
on the docks, and you better be gone before I get
angry.”
Alex had been loitering
around at the docks since he had arrived in Philadelphia. He had
finally walked down the gangplank of the Ocean Monarch after
everyone else had already departed. But since he had nowhere to go,
he stayed by the docks in hopes that something would turn up. He
was attempting to get a job unloading ships, because he was running
low on money. Alex had thought that this would be a good way to
replenish his stash, but his plan didn’t look so good
now.
Philadelphia looked a great
deal like any crowded English or European city. When William Penn
had founded Philadelphia in 1701 with a written charter, he had
designed the city using a grid plan that included wide streets and
large lots. The lots had been designed with a building located in
the middle of each one of them and yards and gardens all around the
structure. He had wanted the city to look like a rural English
village rather than a crowded, dirty city. He had also designed the
city to have a port and government center along the Delaware River.
But the residents hadn’t followed Penn’s plan. By the mid-1700s
they had subdivided and resold their lots along the Delaware, so
that it now looked a lot like any other crowded, dirty
city.
Alex had been homesick since
he had arrived in America and he badly wanted to return to his
family in Scotland. But he didn’t have nearly enough money for the
passage back home. He also knew that a rope with a noose at the end
of it, or a musket ball, was waiting for him back there. He had
been sleeping in an old abandoned warehouse near the docks since he
had arrived. Alex knew that the Irish lads had a monopoly on
unloading ships at the docks and didn’t allow outsiders. But he was
getting desperate and was worried about having enough money to buy
something to eat.
Big Mike Finn was the leader
of the Irishmen who worked unloading and loading the ships at the
dock. Mike wasn’t as big as Hugh, and as a matter of fact, he was a
medium sized barrel-chested man with red hair and a red beard. All
the Irishmen
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