by J. Y. Harris
“Yeah, good luck to ye with that,” the soldier said. He turned his back and the dirty bumpkin turned down Germantown Road, shuffling unsteadily on his feet and singing as he went.
* * * * *
“Wow,” Brad said after Jacob had finished speaking. “Best. Story. Ever!”
“Yes. Very Scarlet Pimpernel,” Kristen added approvingly. At Brad’s surprised look, she said, “What? I read.”
Rebecca waved away this nonsense talk. “All right, so now we know for sure that all roads into the city are being watched, and the soldiers will not only stop, but also question anyone who tries to enter. That’s even worse than we thought.”
“Yeah,” said Kristen, the glow of Jacob’s exciting story fading quickly, “how does that help us?”
The foursome had slipped back into the forest, and were quiet for a moment as another farmer drove a horse-drawn cart down the road. The cart was filled with fresh-cut lumber.
Jacob finished brushing dirt off his face and clothing, and now that the cart had passed, he answered Kristen’s question. “This helps us by telling us exactly what we’re dealing with. Two guards on this road—and none too bright, from the look of them.”
“You think we can overpower them?” Brad asked uncertainly. He didn’t sound excited at the prospect; violence was certainly not something he would ever look forward to.
“I’m thinking we don’t even try.”
“Don’t even try!” Kristen exclaimed. “We can’t give up! We’re so close and we’ve come so far.”
Jacob looked at Kristen, then at Rebecca and Brad. “I didn’t say anything about giving up. My job is to escort Miss Darrow to Philadelphia, and that’s by God what I’m going to do.”
“So, if we don’t overpower the guards, how are we going to get Rebecca past them? Ask them nicely to turn and look the other way?”
Brad nudged his sister. “Let him talk.”
Kristen looked down guiltily and was quiet.
Jacob obviously felt a little better now that he had cleaned himself up; he took a deep breath.
“Like I said before, the problem isn’t the road—it’s the soldiers. All we have to do is clear the soldiers off the road. And we don’t need to resort to violence to do it.”
Brad snapped his fingers in sudden comprehension. “Of course!” he said. “We don’t have to overpower them. All we need is a distraction. We’ll just have to lure them away.”
“Lure them away?” Kristen repeated. “Does this involve me standing by the road, flashing some leg?”
He gave his sister the Wrinkled Brow. “We’re not hitch-hiking.”
Kristen put her hands up in an ‘I’m just sayin’’ attitude. “We are talking about guys here. And as the only female who is not trying to get smuggled into the city, I figured I was best qualified to do the distracting and the luring. Which I’m more than willing to do, by the way.” She let her backpack drop to the ground. “Pardon me for offering my feminine wiles.”
“We don’t need feminine wiles,” Brad insisted
“If you’re talking about distracting them,” Jacob said, “I don’t believe even your considerable charm would be able to do that. These louts actually seemed quite intent on doing their jobs. They would certainly not allow themselves to both be distracted by a pretty girl.”
Brad’s eye was caught by Kristen’s backpack, and he looked at it speculatively.
“Well, if they want to be good soldiers and follow orders, maybe we should just give them an order to follow.”
The three others looked at him questioningly.
“Kris, once again, I believe this mission—should we choose to accept it—will require our special skills.”
“Our special what, now? What skills?”
“Skills we brought from home.” He looked meaningfully at her pack.
“Ooo-kay,” she replied. “I have no idea what you have in mind, but whatever it is, I’m in.”
“Wait,” Rebecca broke in. “What are you thinking? I’d like to help.”
Brad smiled at her. “You can’t help with this. You’ll be busy sneaking into the city. With Jacob’s assistance, I hope.”
Jacob raised his brows. “Without question,” he replied. “What is your plan?”
Brad held up a hand. “Give me a minute to confer with my associate and I’ll get right back to you on that.”
He drew Kristen aside and led her a few yards away.
“Did you say you had the PSP in your backpack?”
She nodded. “Why? We gonna show those guards how to build something in Farm City? Let ’em create characters in Realm of Warriors?”
“Not exactly. Have you been playing Modern Marksman?”
“Not really. That’s more your thing than mine. Why?”
“Because I think we can use that. Get me the game, please.”
Kristen fished the portable game system out of her bag and handed it to him.
“Thanks. Go back and keep them company for a few minutes. I’m going to find what I’m looking for, but I need to be out of earshot.”
Brad rejoined them a few minutes later and Kristen could see the PSP console was in his large jacket pocket.
“Okay,” he said, “I think we’re set.”
“What’s the plan?” Jacob asked again.
Dang, Kristen thought. So now we’re at the point at which all this cloak-and-dagger stuff is no big deal, something we do every day on a regular basis. Rebecca had carried a message with secret information, which could have gotten her and her family charged with treason, with who-knows-what as a punishment. Jacob works at what is most likely an American spy headquarters. He can disappear and move silently through the forest as well as any native. And he created a disguise out of thin air (and brown dirt) to effect a covert reconnaissance mission, and brought in vital information. And now she and Brad were about to use twenty-first century technology to outwit the enemy.
For the second time that day.
And it was all beginning to seem like old hat. In the space of less than a day, they had all gotten so comfortable with such clandestine actions that by now it seemed perfectly ordinary to ask “What’s the plan?”
So, Brad told them the plan.
“Kristen and I will go ahead, out of sight, to the road that leads directly into Philly—er, Philadelphia, once it crosses this one, Germantown. At the same time, you two make your way, on the other side of the road, to hide as close to the guards as you can without being seen.”
They all nodded, looking very much, Kris thought, like football players in a huddle, listening as the quarterback outlined his plays.
“Then when we’re both in position, I’ll--er, well… you may hear something that sounds alarming, but don’t worry, it’s just Kristen and me, so don’t panic. If this works, the two soldiers will move away from their post, away from where the two of you will be hiding, and you should be able to slip quietly into the city.
“Well, that’s how I envision it working, anyway,” he finished, sounding a little embarrassed. “But if anyone else has another idea….”
“No, that sounds good,” Jacob said. “I think you’re right in drawing the guards away and fooling them. This way they won’t raise an alarm of any sort, as they’ll have no reason to think anyone got past them.”
“And they wouldn’t dare tell anyone if they did,” Rebecca said. “They’d be too embarrassed and fearful of punishment.”
“Um, I have a question,” Kristen spoke up. She turned to Jacob. “I hope you’re just going to escort Miss Flour-Power here to the entrance of the city and then leave, right? Otherwise, how are you going to get back out? Those guards won’t be gone long—maybe just a few minutes.”
“I won’t let him come inside with me,” Rebecca said. “I know that he—that all of you—have risked a lot in helping me, and I won’t let him risk his safety any farther.” She looked pointedly at Jacob. “Please don’t argue with me; once I’m past the guards, I’ll be fine."
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“But where will you go?” Brad asked. “For all we know, the British have someone watching your mother’s house. If you show up now, they’ll wonder where you’ve been all day.”
“I’ll go to my friend’s house, where I’ve been living,” she replied. “I don’t normally spend all day there, but it’s not impossible that I would. She and her family would gladly vouch for the fact that I arrived there at—oh, noon, at the latest.”
“I wish we knew when they put the guards out to watch everyone who went in and out,” Jacob said. “If we knew that, Rebecca could say she got back to the city before that hour. As it is, she could still get questioned, if the guards had been in place since morning. The guards on duty would be questioned too, maybe even asked to identify you.”
She shrugged. “There’s nothing we can do about that now. I left early this morning, and would probably have been back by eleven o’clock, noon at the latest. I’ll go to my friends, and if anyone asks, I’ll say I was taken ill and slept the afternoon away.”
“Taken ill? Will anyone believe that?”
“I do sometimes get very strong headaches. Not very often, thankfully, but it’s something my family and friends know about me, so they’ll believe it easily enough.”
“Well, if they believe it, let’s hope they can convince the Brits to believe it too,” Brad said.
“So, are we ready then?” Jacob asked. “The sun dips lower by the minute.”
“Yes, I guess we’d best get on with it.”
The four teens stood looking at each other, suddenly aware that it was time to say goodbye. They also knew it was most likely to be goodbye forever; Jacob and Rebecca may each think it conceivable they may one day run into the others again, either in Philadelphia, or at the tavern, or somewhere on the road in between.
But Kristen and Brad knew that would never happen. They knew that, to the two colonials, the Everhearts would become just a memory of paths crossed. An adventure involving strangers who appeared (literally) out of nowhere, and were never to be seen again.
To Brad and Kristen, the other two would become memories as well, but the difference was that they knew their paths would never cross again. Jacob and Rebecca would become not just history, in the sense of names in a text book, but memories as well, of an adventure shared and company enjoyed.
That is, if they ever got home again.
At the moment, Rebecca was the one saying goodbye. If this plan worked, she would slip into Philadelphia and rejoin her family. Jacob would come back and try to meet up with the siblings again, hopefully without being seen.
Rebecca allowed each boy to take her hand in farewell, and then surprised Kristen by hugging her.
“I don’t know why you’ve been calling me those silly names, like Pie-Girl, or Flour-Girl, or what-have-you, but you’re a very good person, Kristen Everheart. I’ll always remember what you’ve done for me this day.”
Kristen suddenly found it difficult to speak. “Well,” she said over the lump in her throat, “we’ll make sure that people remember what you did this day, too. It was very courageous.”
Jacob cleared his throat to remind them that they were out of time. Ever the practical one, Kristen thought. Well, that’s okay; if Jacob Tyson ever stepped through the mysterious portal of fog and landed in her and Brad’s world, they would be the practiced ones who could navigate the surroundings with ease. But this was his time, and he knew what he was doing.
All too soon, there was nothing else to do but go. Brad took Kristen’s arm and pulled her farther into the woods. Jacob led Rebecca across the road and into the trees on the other side.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Kris asked her brother.
“Pretty much,” he replied. “Sort of. I hope.”
“Well, nothing like being confident. Ow! Stupid root! This is getting tricky, now that the woods are getting so much darker. I have a flashlight, though. Should we use it?”
“Not yet. Too dangerous. Somebody might see.”
“Yeah, like us, maybe? Heaven forbid we should be able to see where we’re walking.”
“It’s not that bad; your eyes should have adjusted. Don’t try to look too far ahead; just look immediately in front of you.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s better.”
“Okay,” Brad whispered. “Right up here is where the other road comes in and crosses Germantown, I’m pretty sure it’s Frankford Road, and goes straight south, into Philly. And there are the guards. Just keep quiet and step carefully. We’ve got to go down Frankford a little bit, away from the city.”
She stayed behind Brad and watched where she put her feet. On the right they were approaching where the soldiers stood, pacing their little fiefdom at the intersection of the two roads. Soon she could hear the murmur of their voices, and an occasional laugh.
The other side of the road was not heavily wooded; there were a few trees, but mainly tall grass and scrub bushes not even waist high.
Jacob and Rebecca would have their work cut out for them to advance in that landscape. That’s okay, though; by the time Brad and I make our way up Frankford, out of sight, they should definitely be in position.
She and Brad walked parallel to Frankford Road, just until they were out of sight of the crossroads and the soldiers. With the trees and the oncoming gloom and all, that wasn’t too difficult to accomplish.
“Okay,” Brad said. “Are you ready?”
“I guess so. Let’s just hope Jacob and Rebecca are ready.”
“Don’t worry about them. Once they hear the commotion, and the guards do their thing, Jacob won’t hesitate.”
“You’re right. Okay, let’s get this show on the road.”
Brad took the game system out of his pocket.
“Yes. Let’s.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Forty yards away, Jacob and Rebecca were crouched amid the tall grass and weeds near the intersection of the two roads. It had been slow going, but luckily the two soldiers had kept up a steady conversation between themselves, so they didn’t hear every rustle of brush around them. Unfortunately, some of their conversation consisted of bawdy jokes and raw language, and Jacob had to clench his jaw at the thought of Miss Darrow’s ears being sullied in such a way.
But they had gotten to within fifteen yards of the road, and this was as close as he dared go. When the time came, he was ready to run with Miss Darrow—to pull her, if necessary—out of the weeds and then down Frankford Road and into the city.
Jacob thought back to his little performance earlier, when, as he was supposedly drunk and arguing with the guards, he had been looking past them into Philadelphia.
A short way past the intersection where the guards stood, about thirty yards or so, was the first building. It didn’t look like a house; perhaps it was a barn or storage shed. The opposite side of the road had a small fence, beyond which were a couple of chicken coops and a privy. If worse came to worst, he could boost Miss Darrow over the fence and into that yard and she would be able to walk unobtrusively out on the other side, as if she’d come from the house.
Next to him in the tall grass, the girl from Philadelphia looked calm. For someone who had walked countless miles since early morning to deliver urgent news to the Continental Army, and who was now waiting to sneak, like a thief, back into her own city under cover of darkness, she looked remarkably at ease. Alert and ready, yes, but still calm.
They had been in position for close to twenty minutes, stretched out uncomfortably on their stomachs on the hard ground. Jacob had just started to wonder if something had happened to prevent Brad and Kristen Everheart from carrying out their plan.
“You there!”
The rough voice rang out in the deepening dusk. The two young people hiding in the tall grass stiffened. Had they been discovered after all?
“Soldier, you better snap to attention when I’m talking to you!”
Aha.
The two guards nearly dropped their muskets in surpri
se, but they did indeed snap to attention.
The voice, the booming, unmistakable voice of authority, had come from along Frankford Road, rather than inside the city. It took a moment, but finally the soldiers seemed to figure out precisely in which direction they should direct their attention.
“New orders have just come in. Come forward and report!”
The guards looked at each other uncertainly.
“You heard the captain. Come forward!”
That second voice was Brad’s, Jacob knew; he had no idea who the first one belonged to, but he knew this was his signal. He found Rebecca’s hand and squeezed it, signaling her to be ready.
The two British soldiers, however, didn’t move.
“Captain ’oo?” one of the startled soldiers hissed to the other. “No captain or any other officer has left the city that I knows of.”
“Cor, I don’t know. ‘Less they went out afore we came on duty. Or what if they left the city by some other road, and are just returning this way?”
The voice came again, barking, “Do I have to repeat myself, soldier?”
At that, the two British guards stepped smartly forward. Jacob wondered briefly where they thought they were going, but it didn’t really matter.
As long as they were gone.
“Incoming RPG! Load those anti-missile—”
Even though the sentence was cut off suddenly, the urgency of that authoritative voice was unmistakable. The soldiers quickened their pace to a quit trot.
“This way, soldiers!” Brad’s voice again. “Double-time!”
Finally, as the soldiers made their way in the opposite direction, Jacob felt it was safe for him and Rebecca to scramble up from their position, knowing that the sounds of the soldiers’ feet on the road would cover any sounds they might make. He had Rebecca’s flour sack in one hand, and the other had taken hold of her wrist. Once they reached the road, they quickened their pace, hurrying as quickly—and quietly—as possible toward the buildings ahead.
Rebecca’s foot got caught in the hem of her gown. If she’d had her hands free, she would have held the gown up a bit to prevent just such an occurrence, but with Jacob holding her wrist, this wasn’t possible.
