and deserves it,"
some one cried.

"He shall not be forced to endure it," and the informer seized the
pole as if to pull it from the ground, regarding not the shouts and
threats which assailed his ears from every direction.

Now it was that Hardy Baker saw an opportunity to distinguish himself,
as he thought, and, gathering a handful of pebbles from the street, he
threw them viciously at Richardson.

The mob needed only an example, and, before one could have counted
ten, young men and boys were pelting the informer with such missiles
as came nearest to hand.

Stones, bits of earth, sticks and icicles were hurled at him with no
slight accuracy of aim, and, under such a shower, the informer could
do no less than beat a retreat, for to have held his ground longer
would have been dangerous.

Already his face and hands were cut and bleeding, and more than once
had a rock, sufficiently large to have knocked him senseless, whistled
within a few inches of his head.

As he disappeared within the shop some of the younger members of the
mob, chief among whom was Hardy Baker, continued to shower missiles,
until they rattled against the building like hailstones; but this
method of showing displeasure at the merchant's course of action was
frowned down by the wiser portion of the gathering, and the boys were
soon forced to desist.

"It was well enough to prevent him from taking down the pole," some
one cried; "but, when it comes to destroying property, we're going
beyond our rights."

"He will soon destroy that which cost so much labour to put up!" Hardy
Baker shouted. "He has only to wait until we are obliged to go away."

"That may be a longer time than he thinks for," Attucks, a mulatto who
was well known to all, replied. "When it comes to such work as this we
can afford to let everything else go. That pole will stand where it is
a spell longer, my boy."

"But not all are of your way of thinking. It cost much labour to place
it there, and it should remain until Master Lillie understands he
cannot play fast and loose with the people," and now Hardy, having
forced his way into the centre of the throng, was almost bursting with
the desire to explain that he had assisted in this good work.

He was ready at the first opportunity to take upon himself all the
credit of having devised the symbol and erected it; but there were
none near who cared particularly to listen to the barber's apprentice,
whose love for notoriety wa