Glen Drake whistled softly. Don paused at the foot of the stairs. “Military governor is coming first,” continued Uncle David, “and troops later--Redcoats!” “That won’t help the town,” said the trapper. “You’re right; and it won’t help me; I’ve got a good supply of merchandise in the cellar--cloth mostly and a little powder. Bought it last week from the captain of the _Sea Breeze_ and offered it right off to a friend of mine in Carolina, but can’t send it till I hear from him and know whether he wants it. By that time, though, I’m afraid there won’t be any ships sailing.” “Sell it here in town,” suggested Glen. “Can’t do it; my offer was as good as a promise.” “Send it overland, then, though that would be more expensive, wouldn’t it?” “Yes, it would be; there wouldn’t be any profit left.” But during the stress of the next few days Uncle David quite forgot about his merchandise. Captain-General Thomas Gage had arrived in a ship from England; and on the seventeenth of May he landed at Long Wharf and as military governor was received with ceremony. On the first of June, amid the tolling of bells and fasting and prayer on the part of most of the good people of Boston, the Port Bill went into effect. A few days later Governor Hutchinson sailed for England. Uncle David was moody and preoccupied. He and Glen spent much of their time in the North End, and Don could not help wondering what they were doing there. He and the trapper had become such close friends that he missed his old companion greatly. “Where do they go every evening?” he asked his aunt. “You must not ask too many questions, Donald,” Aunt Martha replied. “Well,” said Don, “how long will the port be closed?” “I don’t know. All I can say is that it is a wicked measure; I declare it is!” Aunt Martha’s words soon proved to be only too true. Hundreds of vessels, prevented from sailing by the British fleet, lay idle at the wharfs. Hundreds of persons walked the streets, out of work; and many of the very poor people were without bread. Day by day the town seemed to grow a little more miserable. And still Aunt Martha hoped that there would be a peaceful settlement between the Colonies and the mother country. Uncle David and Glen Drake said very little except when they thought they were quite alone. Don went frequently to the Common, where Redcoats were encamped; in the course of the summer the number of them increased. Barracks had been erected, and cannon had been placed at various points of vantage. It looked as if the British were preparing for a long stay. Once Don overheard a conversation between two of the soldiers that made his blood boil. He was waiting for a school chum near the Province House, which General Gage was occupying as headquarters, when two Redcoats turned the corner at Rawson’s Lane and stopped near him. “We’ll teach these people how to behave in the future,” said one.