Emy Moon

Chapter Four - Soldier Daughter

 

Two days later, Lucy finally left the protection of the white pines that grew along the roads and felt safe enough to move out into open road. The sun was shining brightly, and she was just admiring the huge patches of white violets that lined the road when she began to sense that she was not alone. She looked up and saw three riders approaching in the distance.

They had seen her—she knew that—and there was nothing she could do but stand her ground. Lucy knew that she was close to Boston and nearing the town of Cambridge, so she could only hope that the riders were Americans.

Even as that thought crossed her mind, Lucy instinctively reached down and untethered the rifle from her saddle.

As the three men drew closer, Lucy held her horse steady by the side of the road, until they finally drew their horses to a stop directly in front of her. Lucy judged each rider to be around seventeen years old, each sitting tall in the saddle and looking very self-assured.

One of the buckskin-clad young men called out, "Where are you headed, girl?"

"That depends," said Lucy, looking directly into the young man's eyes. "Who might you be?"

"Forgive our lack of manners," the young man said sarcastically. "My name is William Ashley."

Then, pointing to the taller of his two companions, he said, "This here lanky fellow is David Weaver, and the one next to him—the one with a piece of his ear shot off—"

There was a brief pause while Ashley and Weaver snickered, and the third fellow touched his bandaged ear. Then Ashley continued, "His name is Ben White. The three of us are free Americans and Sons of Liberty, proudly servin' with Israel Putnam's Connecticut Volunteers—the best damned fightin' men in all the Colonies!"

Lucy waited while the young men gave themselves a loud cheer, whooping and thrusting their fists in the air in a show of youthful enthusiasm.

Then she asked, "If you please, sir, do you happen to know a Captain by the name of Tom Killgrew, who is serving with Mr. Knox's Massachusetts troops?"

The three young men quickly exchanged confused glances. Then Ashley said, "What's your name, girl? And what are you doin' wearin' buckskin breeches?"

"I'm the Captain's daughter, Lucy Killgrew." She paused a moment, and then added angrily, "And I would appreciate it very much if you would stop calling me 'girl'! I'm thirteen years old, and I'll be called a woman, thank you."

As quickly as Lucy's anger had flared, it subsided. She took a deep breath, composing herself, and then looked at the three young men and asked politely, "Now, gentlemen, if you please, about my father. Do you know him?"

The young men again exchanged nervous glances, but for a moment, no one said anything. There was an uncomfortable silence, and they were clearly uneasy about what they should do next. They exchanged slight nods, raised eyebrows, and questioning looks; however, for what seemed to be a long time, no one spoke.

Then William Ashley broke the silence.

"You'd better follow us," he said, turning his horse back toward Cambridge.

The others fell in behind Ashley, and a few moments later, Lucy was riding alongside him, watching as William removed his worn and dusty cloth hat.

"I'm sorry 'bout our manners back there, little gir...miss. I suppose it's safe to tell you that your father is camped close by, and it will be our pleasure to take you to him."

Lucy's heart soared. Her father was alright! She had found him and would be seeing him soon. The thought filled her with joy, but for reasons that she didn't quite understand, she tried not to show it in front of these three handsome young Patriots. Instead, she just looked over at the young man riding beside her, nodded and smiled, but said nothing.