The Ride of Warning
How to Play: I'm going to tell a story about a famous person or thing in history without saying who or what it is and you need to figure out what I'm talking about Let's begin.
The fur tanner took a deep, refreshing breath as he mounted his horse.
"Godspeed," the two men whispered from behind the tanner.
The man turned in his saddle and took off his tri cornered hat. He put it over his heart. "Godspeed. We fight for liberty."
"Amen," the men agreed solemnly.
The tanner silently snapped down his reins and his horse dashed forward, the hooves echoing as they thumped on the cobblestone streets of Boston.
The fur tanner was on a dire mission. A spy had recently warned his friend and ally that the Parliamentary soldiers were on the move. He was to go through the strip called Boston Neck and warn several colonists about the action. He was then to go to the Hancock-Clarke House to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams and evacuate them before they were taken for treason by the troops. The tanner’s route was extremely dangerous since he was to pass several enemy checkpoints.
As the man leaned forward on his mount his eyes started to droop, the horse seemed to rock him gently. The pressure of the night seemed to have no effect on him, he’d always been a heavy sleeper which wasn’t a great trait for a fur tanner who often had to get up at odd hours for business.
The tanner blinked off his weariness and slapped his own cheek to help himself stay awake.
It wasn’t long before he reached the first checkpoint. He slumped in his saddle and made his eyes roll back. He let drool drop down his chin and pretended to be drunk. He leaned off of his saddle and waved at the soldiers. “Tell the emperor that I support cause his,” he mumbled in backwards English with a French accent.
“Let him through,” one soldier said.
The man rode through and, when he was out of view, he galloped off as fast as he could.
When the first home appeared the man leaped off his mount and ran to the door, knocking on it roughly.
A candle was lit inside and the door opened.
“What’s wrong?” A drowsy patriot yawned.
“The regulars are on the move,” the tanner informed. “Come to Lexington and bring a gun.”
“God bless you,” the man said as he hurried inside again.
The man dashed to the next door and gave the same message. He continued doing this, going past checkpoints as a drunken man and knocking on doors of patriot homes.
A few hours later the tanner was finished with his final town and was riding to John Hancock and Sam Adams.
The looming home came into view.
“You can’t be serious,” Samuel Adams objected. “The regulars are coming for us right now?”
“Exactly,” the tanner’s friend said. He turned to the tanner and sighed. “You’re here,” he breathed.
“I’m here,” the tanner agreed.
“This is Samuel Prescott,” his friend said, introducing a second man. “I met him on the way here. He’s a Son of Liberty. He helped me out.”
“By the way,” the tanner said to Adams. “He’s not lying, the redcoats are coming for you at this very minute.”
“We’ll escape,” Hancock promised. “Go.”
The three riders leaped on their horses and rode into the night.
Hancock and Adams successfully evacuated and the tanner went with Prescott and his other friend to Concord, managing to escape the clutches of the regulars and helping to move the gunpowder from Concord and saving it from the enemy.
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