ood man. Try to win him to your cause."

"And die a maiden," said the girl with a sigh.

"Impossible!" Franklin exclaimed.

"I shall marry Jack or never marry. I would rather be his wife than
the Queen of England."

"This is surely the age of romance," said the smiling philosopher as
the ladies alighted at their door. "I wish I were young again."

BOOK TWO

CHAPTER XIII

THE FERMENT

On his voyage to New York, Jack wrote long letters to Margaret and to
Doctor Franklin, which were deposited in the Post-Office on his
arrival, the tenth of March. He observed a great change in the spirit
of the people. They were no longer content with words. The ferment
was showing itself in acts of open and violent disorder. The statue of
George III, near the Battery, was treated to a volley of decayed eggs,
in the evening of his arrival. This hot blood was due to the effort to
prevent free speech in the colonies and the proposal to send political
prisoners to England for trial.

Jack took the first boat to Albany and found Solomon working on the
Irons farm. In his diary he tells of the delightful days of rest he
enjoyed with his family. Solomon had told them of the great adventure
but Jack would have little to say of it, having no pride in that
achievement.

Soon the scout left on a mission for the Committee of Safety to distant
settlements in the great north bush.

"I'll be spendin' the hull moon in the wilderness," he said to Jack.
"Goin' to Virginny when I get back, an' I'll look fer ye on the way
down."

Jack set out for Philadelphia the day after Solomon left. He stopped
at Kinderhook on his way down the river and addressed its people on
conditions in England. A young Tory interrupted his remarks. At the
barbecue, which followed, this young man was seized and punished by a
number of stalwart girls who removed his collar and jacket by force and
covered his head and neck with molasses and the fuzz of cat tails.
Jack interceded for the Tory and stopped the proceeding.

"My friends, we must control our anger," he said. "Let us not try to
subdue tyranny by using it ourselves."

Everywhere he found the people in such a temper that Tories had to hold
their peace or suffer punishment. At the office he learned that his
most important letters had failed to pass the hidden censorship of mail
in England. He began, at once, to write a series of articles which
hastened the crisis. The first of them was a