Disclaimer: Liberty Kids is produced by DIC. I own Bridget, Anna, and Andrew. I am sorry to say I do not know who actually owns Liberty Kids.

The Boston Tea Party

"James! Moses!" Henri and I cried as we sprinted through the printing shop door, me holding a letter.

"It's from Dr. Franklin," I said.

"Give me that Bridget," James said, trying to grab the letter out of my hands. Because I had breeches on, my legs slid easily to the other side.

"Uh uh, it's addressed to Moses. You look like James," I said smirking.

"And you look like someone's dessert I'm going to eat tonight," James said.

"Lay off you two," Moses said. He took the letter and read it.

"Well, what does it say?" Henri asked.

"It turns out Sarah Phillips isn't coming to Philadelphia," Moses reported. James folded his arms.

"Good, I never understood why she had to come here anyway," he said. Moses threw James his coat. "Fetch your coats. We're going to meet her at the ships."

"I thought you just said she isn't coming to Philadelphia," James asked confused.

"She's not. Dr. Franklin said Ms. Phillips couldn't make passage on the Dope. She's on the Dartmouth, and the Dartmouth is heading for Boston," Moses explained as he put on his coat and headed for the door. Henri and I already had our coats on.

"Boston?" I asked, "but Boston's all the way in Massachusetts Bay Colony."

"Right, and there's been trouble up there. Let's go."

Moses's horse drove us through the darkened streets of Boston. The only lights were the stars and the streetlamps. The shadows caused an eerie disturbance in the air. I shuddered and slid down next to Henri, who was complaining about his aching joints. I settled back,but stood up quickly when I heard a noise. My lessons with my mother were coming back as I took a quick look around.

"Oh Moses, why are we stopping-" Henri exclaimed, but was stopped abruptly by Moses, who had also heard the noise. Shadows of Mohawk Indians danced along the walls. All of us quickly ducked down.

"Indians! James, Bridget, Moses, Indians!" Henri whispered in fear. He grabbed my coat sleeve. Easing him off gently, I sneaked a glance at the Indians.

"Wait a minute, Mohawks with blonde hair and white skin?" I said, "something's not right."

"It's a story," James cut in, "let's see where they lead us." Moses nodded and flicked the reins.

The "Indians" led us all the way to the Boston Harbor. The band jumped into rowboats and rowed to the British ships. One of the ships was the Dartmouth.

"They're heading for the Dartmouth," I pointed out.

"We've got to find Ms. Phillips- fast," Moses said. He started running toward the dock. I grabbed Henri's hand and followed James and Moses.

We were lucky to not get hit by the barrels and boxes of tea as the men threw them overboard. I grabbed the edges of the boat and tried not to get seasick, which I was doing horribly at. James stood up. "You get Ms. Phillips, I'm going to get a story." Then he climbed the ladder.

"I'm coming too!" I cried. Moses tried to protest, but I cut him off. "I need an adventure." I smiled and climbed the ladder, barely missing the crates. Finally I jumped over the ladder opening and stood behind James as he talked the man who was clearly in charge.

"You're Samuel Adams aren't you?" I asked, making them both jump.

"How did you...?" the man asked. James tried to look mad, but the smile took it away.

"I'm a phantom," I explained quickly, smiling. "But back to the point. You're the leader of the Sons of Liberty."

"That is correct miss," Samuel Adams said. "The taxation is getting uncontrollable. Parliament raised the tea tax over our objection! Maybe next time they'll listen." A man let out a yell as his axe sinks into a crate of tea. I cringe inwardly. Henri threw some small tea sacks.

"No taxation without representation!" he yelled. James turned him around by the shoulder.

"Do you know what that means?"

"No, but I know the others are saying it," Henri said, smiling.

"It means we stumbled on the story of a lifetime!" James said, jumping up and down. "I'm going below deck to see what's happening!" He ran off, leaving us with the Sons of Liberty. I grinned and threw a bundle of tea into the sea.

"Take that Parliament!" I yelled and banged my fist.

Moses ran toward us. "There you are! Where's James?"

"He went below deck," I told him. "Something about a story being written."

"Come on, we have to find him!" Moses shouted.

"Why?" Henri whined. I looked toward the horizon and gasped.

"That's why!" I said. British warships were coming toward us. Redcoats were on every inch of the boat. Moses ran below deck, leaving me to keep watch.

As the soldiers drew near, I sprinted down the stairs to face Moses, a girl with red hair and a dress which I presumed was Sarah Phillips, and James holding onto her elbow.

"The British are almost here! We have to hurry!" I ran back up, quickly followed by the rest, Sarah protesting all the way. We ran down the dock and hid behind a building.

"Is everyone okay?" Moses asked.

"That was fun," Henri said. I nodded.

"This is great!" James said, "this makes headline news!" Moses shushed him. Sarah walked past them and yelled for help. James put a hand over her mouth. "Are you crazy? You want the British to catch us?"

"I am British!" Sarah protested. "We're all British!"

"Right now the British thinks we're criminals," Moses said. Sarah's face became disappointed.

"Criminals?! What did we do wrong?" James asked.

"We were in the wrong place at the wrong time," Moses explained. "The wagon's over there. Let's hurry."

Thankfully, the British hadn't seen me, so I was safe to be up with Moses as he reined the horse. James, Sarah, and Henri were sitting down with blankets across their waists.

"The British will recognize you," I explained, "but to Moses, he'll be a faithful servant, and to me, just a girl tagging along for a ride." I turned back to the road and listened to Sarah and James discussing about the laws. I rolled my eyes, but they widened when I spotted someone. I tugged Moses's sleeve.

"Quick, get down! It's the constable. Stay still, or it's jail for us all," he warned. Sarah and the boys rustled as they hid under the blankets. Part of Sarah's hair was showing, so I bent down and pulled the blanket over it. Now, they were all hidden. Moses yielded when the constable hailed him to stop.

"Hello Constable, fine night," I said cheerfully.

"Fine night for troublemakers," the man said. "State your business."

"We're just bringing freshly quartered hogs to the Wheatley residence," Moses lied. The constable raised an eyebrow.

"And what's a girl like yourself doing in the middle of the night," he asked me.

"I hate being home alone at nighttime so I'm riding with my friend," I explained, lying as well. The constable nodded at me, and I let an inward sigh of relief.

"I'll have myself a look at your hogs," the man said. He walked to the back where the others lay hidden.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Moses warned. "Nasty looking hogs, and do they smell!" I wrinkled my nose to give some evidence. The man took a whiff, recoiled, and let us go. I breathed a sigh of relief. We finally got to our destination and Sarah, James, and Henri jumped off. We walked to the back. Moses knocked and a black woman opened the door.

"Ms. Wheatley? We need your help," Moses said.

"And we're hungry," Henri said. The woman looked both ways on the street.

"There's a stable out on back, but hurry, my masters are still asleep," Phillis Wheatley said.

"You're a slave?" Sarah asked, clearly shocked.

"When I was 8 years old," Phillis began, "I was kidnapped from my home in West Africa and put on a slave ship. The Wheatleys paid for me at an auction and took me home. Mrs. Wheatley helped me how to read. Not just English, but Latin and Greek."

"Please go on," Sarah encouraged.

"Well, a few years ago, Mrs. Wheatley urged me to write poetry. And soon thereafter, my first book was published. I got good responses in England, but few copies were sold here.

"That's not surprising," Sarah said, "and maybe you should've sold pictures."

"The Wheatleys have helped me greatly, they've sent me to London."

"But I don't understand," Sarah said, "you're still a slave!" I folded my arms.

"Yeah if the Wheatleys have helped you so much and you published, why haven't they set you free," I retorted. Sarah nodded.

"My situation is very different than most," Phillis said, looking at Moses, then at us. "The Wheatleys and I belong to the old South church. It is our hope that white people will abolish slavery." Sarah and I smiled at this.

"Quickly now, get in the stables while I get you some food," Phillis said as she closed the door.

Inside the stable, Moses was working on the wagon as I sat on a pile of hay and flipped my small dagger in the air. Sarah watched in half awe and disapproval, but more in awe. We smiled at each other. Moses grunted as he fixed the wagon on the big crate.

"I'll never get this wagon going on time," Moses complained, "the axles' all messed up."

"That's all right. I'd like to stay around Boston more, there's a story and the action is all here," James said.

"Me too," Henri said, chewing on a drumstick. "If Ms. Wheatley can write as good as she cooks, she must be another Shakespeare." He reached his hand toward James's plate of food. However, James noticed, and he slapped his hand away. Henri frowned as he rubbed his hand.

"How can somebody like Phillis Wheatley be somebody's property," Sarah brought up. "It's outrageous! Am I the only one who sees this?"

"Not everyone in the colonies believes in slavery Sarah," James explained wearily.

"Freedom is priceless," Moses said. "I should know, I was born free- in West Africa. When I was little more than Henri here, my brother and I were captured and chained to the deck of slave ship."

"That's terrible Moses, how did you escape?" Sarah questioned.

"I escaped by using my head and my hands," Moses said. "I learned smiting which was a valuable thing to learn. My master loaned me out for odd jobs here and there, and sometimes I was given silver coins for my services. And I earned enough coins; I bought my freedom back. I went to Philadelphia; there I learned to read and write." I listened solemnly to this true story, and the others were on edge listening too. "I was offered a job by Dr. Franklin, a man who hated slavery as much as I do."

"But Moses," Sarah said, "how can you support those rebels? In England, slavery is dying, but here, it's thriving."

"I believe America's struggle is like my own," Moses said as he hammered on the axle. "They are fighting a master they don't want, and I will not duck." Sarah gasped which I didn't understand. It made perfect sense to me. King George the third beating my country down with those taxes. "It's getting late, we should get some sleep. Goodnight all." he blew out the lantern. James and Henri went up to the loft. I stayed down and settled on my hay. I slept sweet dreams with my family.

The next morning, I was roused by Sarah scribbling on paper. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and quietly looked over her shoulder.

"Writing to your mother huh?" I asked and she jumped.

"Oh Bridget, I-I didn't see you get up," she said. I shrugged and sat next to her.

"I'm an early bird."

"I miss Mother and Father so terribly," Sarah said.

"Where are they?" I asked.

"Father is a major in the royal army who's been sent to the Ohio Valley, and Mother is a Lady in London, England. We haven't heard from Father in a long time and I fear for him," Sarah said, bowing her head. I smiled sympathetically at her.

"I miss my parents too," I admitted. "I was born in the New Hampshire Grants in the wilderness, so I don't really dress in dresses. More like breeches and shirts. My father, Andrew Allen, served in the French and Indian War, and he was so good, he rose quickly in ranks. Next to the major Washington himself." I chuckled. "During the war, he met my mother, Anne, a woman who brought supplies. Anne was tough and she wasn't afraid of anything, and he liked that. They fell in love and got married, then had me. I had a fine education and I learned everything about survival. I can hunt, ride horses(I'm a very good rider. Hopefully you'll see), play archery, wield swords and daggers, just about anything a girl's not supposed to do in today's world. And my parents supported me. We were so happy together. And then, it happened." My face fell. "When I was 7, a terrible storm brought a visit to New Hampshire. Our property was in entire lock-down. We were prepared and brought supplies, and stayed inside. The storm was almost over, but a branch had fallen and broke through the fence holding the goats. My father saw and he wanted to go get them, but my mother said it was too dangerous. He didn't listen and ran outside. I followed because I wanted to see what he would do. When dad reached the huge oak tree, lightning caused it to snap in half. The last thing I remembered was the trunk coming onto my father and me falling unconscious. It was 6 years ago, but I still remember."

"That's horrible Bridget," Sarah cried and hugged me. I hugged back.

"Yeah well I still have his memory and my mother and my uncle," I said, smiling.

"Who's your uncle?" Sarah asked. I grinned.

"Ethan Allen."