Gunpowder and Tea Cakes: My Journey with Felicity

I tell Ben and Felicity we should go to the Magazine. Ben and Felicity are true Patriots, and I feel in my heart that I am becoming one, too. As we move away from the Palace like fish swimming upstream, I feel prickly with excitement. We turn left at the end of the long, green lawn. The Magazine is a three-story brick tower is a brick wall around it. Ezra points to six or seven young men and says they’re our boys. Just then, a stern man, Master Griffith, stomps up and grabs Ezra’s arm. He wears a stained canvas apron. He says he sees orders stacking up at the shop, and Ezra is an apprentice who left without asking permission. He says that Ezra has tried his patience in just three weeks out of seven years! He says he feeds and clothes his apprentices and Ezra won’t find as sweet a situation again.

But Ezra says he doesn’t care and tells Master Griffith to burn their agreement. Master Griffith scowls and stomps away. Felicity asks Ezra if that’s wise. Ezra says he’ll become a soldier. But first, they’ll seize the gunpowder. The four of them go up to the young men, and Ezra explains that the guard mentioned he is sympathetic to their cause. He’ll pretend to be overwhelmed by their numbers to let them past. They must look for the remaining gunpowder, and there’s transportation for it waiting. He points to a horse-drawn cart parked near the Magazine. A boy asks what about the guns? He heard there were thousands of weapons inside. Ezra says they’ll leave the weapons. Governor Dunmore stole only their gunpowder, so that’s what they’ll take, too.

Ben turns to Felicity and me and tells us we must stay outside. He’ll have to answer to our fathers if we get hurt. The men stalk across the lawn like a pack of wolves. Felicity explains we keep the weapons there to protect ourselves against any sort of danger, such as Indian attacks, slave revolts, or pirate raids. Then, a girl a year or two older than us steps in front of us. Her white cap is dirty. Her petticoat is dirty. She says we need posies. She reaches into the pouch she’s made with her skirt and pulls out two limp bunches of pansies and violets tied together.

Felicity interrupts and tells her we don’t have any money. She looks disappointed and turns away. We turn back to the boys and find we can’t see them anymore. We begin to get closer, and just as we reach the wall, we hear an explosion. That was gunfire!