Midnight Rider

That afternoon, Hannah helps Meg try on several gowns for an upcoming ball and learns about the fabric embargo that prevents Meg from acquiring new dresses. At candlelighting, Meg dismisses Hannah, who joins Caleb in the courtyard. However, when they approach the guardhouse to leave the Province House, a British soldier prevents Hannah from exiting due to her age and the late hour, stating that she would not be safe in a town facing potential riots.

Caleb suggests disguising Hannah as a boy. He takes her to the stables, where she changes into boys’ clothes. When they approach the guardhouse, Caleb claims that the disguised Hannah is his cousin “Hans Gibbs”: a ruse that Hannah strengthens by speaking in a male voice. After successfully fooling the guard, the two head to the house of Paul Revere, a member of the Sons of Liberty, “a special association of patriots” (97). in North Square, Caleb points out important Patriots including Sarah Revere, Dr. Joseph Warren, and Dr. Benjamin Church. The shadow play satirizes British taxes and the quartering of soldiers, with the audience singing the rebel ballad “The Rallying of the Tea Party” (99). As Hannah begins to reassess her own loyalties, she spots Catherine in the audience and realizes that her friend has secret Patriot sympathies.

After the shadow play, Hannah urges Caleb to return before curfew. While walking through Boston’s streets, they discuss the growing political bitterness between British authorities and colonists. Suddenly, they observe Paul Revere, Dr. Warren, and Dr. Church heading to the Long Room Club in Dassett Alley, a known Whig meeting place. Caleb reveals that he has visited the club himself and makes Hannah promise to keep this a secret.

To avoid suspicion from the guard, Caleb and the disguised Hannah sing loudly as they pass through the Province House gate, feigning drunkenness. After changing out of her disguise in the stables, Hannah returns to find Catherine awake and worried. Hannah confesses to attending the shadow play disguised as a boy and mentions seeing Catherine there. The two agree to keep each other’s presence at the event a secret. Catherine explains Boston’s dangers and warns Hannah against breaking curfew or advertising her political leanings. Before falling asleep, Hannah feels homesick and wonders about Will and Promise.

Catherine wakes Hannah early, warning her not to be late for her duties. Hannah brings Meg breakfast only to find her already dressed and announcing plans for an outing to Boston Common. Meg orders a picnic for three people and requests an unmarked carriage so that she can avoid drawing attention due to Boston’s anti-British sentiment. In the stables, Hannah feeds an apple to General Gage’s horse, Gabriel, impressing Caleb, who explains that he needs Mrs. Gage’s permission for the carriage. Frustrated by the delay, Meg likens herself to her caged bird.

When the driver, Joseph, finally brings an unmarked carriage, Meg and Hannah depart for the Common. Meg directs Joseph to stop at a particular spot and dismisses him, ignoring his objections. Lieutenant Chester Pratt soon arrives on a distinctive rust-colored horse and greets Meg intimately. When he questions Hannah’s presence, Meg asks Hannah to display her mimicry talent. Stung by Pratt’s arrogance, Hannah mimics his haughty tone, angering him. Meg diffuses the tension and dismisses Hannah, who walks away and realizes that Meg has planned a tryst. She dozes off and is later awakened by Caleb and Will, who have brought her beloved horse, Promise.

Hannah joyfully reunites with Promise and Will. He explains that he came to the Province House seeking her and found her with Caleb’s help. Overcome with excitement, Hannah rides Promise across the field, reveling in the sense of freedom. After she finishes her ride, Caleb compliments her by exclaiming that she rides like “a man.”  Hannah, Will, and Caleb then discuss political allegiances. Will reveals that he is now a Whig courier for Salem and needs to find work so that he can stay in Boston. Will and Caleb affirm their shared desire for liberty, and Caleb offers Will lodging in the stables as his “cousin.” Hannah explains her disguise as yet another such “cousin” and amuses the boys by mimicking Lieutenant Pratt. Caleb invites her to meet at the stables later that night.

Hannah returns to Meg and Lieutenant Pratt, and the latter complains about Hannah’s perceived insolence. After Pratt leaves after a private moment with Meg, they return to the Province House by carriage. During the ride, Meg reveals that she saw Hannah with Will and Caleb on the Common. She suggests that they each keep each other’ secrets, and she threatens to tell Mrs. Gage about what she assumes to be Hannah’s own tryst with the stable boys if Hannah were to report Meg’s tryst with Pratt. Hannah realizes that she is being blackmailed.

After returning from the Common, Hannah tells Catherine what happened and describes Meg’s manipulative nature. Catherine counsels caution. Later, when Meg dismisses Hannah for the evening, Hannah informs Catherine that she plans to meet Will and Caleb in the stables. In Caleb’s quarters, Will explains his role as a courier for the Committees of Correspondence, which involves monitoring British activities and carrying messages between Patriot groups.

Caleb and Will discuss the Coercive Acts (which the colonists call the Intolerable Acts), which have mandated the closing of Boston Harbor and have placed General Gage in the role of enforcing these and other restrictions on the colonists. Will recounts that Salem Patriots defied General Gage’s order to close a town meeting. Caleb then expresses concern about increased danger and surveillance in Boston. Upon learning more about England’s unfair taxation of the colonies, Hannah draws a parallel between the American colonies’ relationship with Britain and her own indentured servitude, comparing both to a state of bondage without rights. Caleb agrees with this analogy, and Hannah expresses a desire to ride Promise again, suggesting using her “Hans” disguise to leave the Province House unnoticed.

Disguised as Hans, Hannah leaves the Province House with Caleb and Will. They walk to the Valley Acres stables, where Hannah saddles Promise and rides out alone. While riding, she overhears men discussing General Gage’s controversial replacement of judges, as well as new court policies that might send colonists to Britain for trial. When Promise bolts, Hannah accidentally speaks in her female voice, gaining the men’s attention. She rides to Long Wharf, where she observes unusual nighttime military activity involving numerous longboats and British soldiers.

When the soldiers challenge Hannah, declaring that no one is permitted at the wharf, she identifies herself simply as a “friend.” Feeling trapped, Hannah evades the soldiers and flees on Promise. Upon returning to Valley Acres, she tells Caleb and Will about the longboats and soldiers. As they head back to the Province House, the guard warns them about stricter security precautions and General Gage’s concerns about spies. 

Later that night, Hannah dreams of riding promise, who becomes a bird and flies and then transforms into Gabriel. Suddenly, she wakes to the sound of troops marching and wonders if the soldiers are heading to Long Wharf. Catherine confirms that General Gage seemed preoccupied at supper.

While helping Meg dress the next morning, Hannah listens to her complain that Phillis Wheatley’s poetry presentation was boring and that Lieutenant Pratt was absent from the event. Hannah suspects that some military action is underway. Later, she notices increased activity in the stables and courtyard. Caleb informs her that British troops led by Colonel Maddison raided the Quarry Hill powder house at dawn, using the longboats Hannah had seen the previous night. They seized colonial gunpowder and cannons, taking them to Castle William in the harbor. After soldiers see Hannah’s ring (her mother’s wedding ring) and tease her, calling her Caleb’s “wife,” she flees inside and overhears General Gage, Maddison, and other officers celebrating the successful raid.

Two soldiers report that 20,000 outraged colonials are marching toward Boston, incensed over the British troops’ raid on the powder stores. General Gage orders Boston closed and demands that the inhabitants surrender their weapons. Hannah narrowly avoids being seen and returns to Meg’s room, where Lydia summons them to Mrs. Gage’s chambers. Mrs. Gage explains the incident involving the powder house, as well as General Gage’s lockdown of Boston and the possibility of sending Meg to England for safety. As she describes the situation, Mrs. Gage expresses pain over her divided loyalties between her American heritage and her status as the wife of a British governor. Meg laments her confinement in the Province House and vows to find a way out so that she can see Lieutenant Pratt. Silently, Hannah also resolves to escape the Province House for her own purposes.

That night, Will announces that Caleb has found him employment with Mr. Hubbard, a cooper and one of the members of the Boston Committee of Correspondence. Because Mr. Hubbard’s barrels are essential to Boston’s businesses, the closure will not affect him and his employees; Will’s new position will allow him to travel as a courier while Promise remains safely stabled. Caleb reveals his plan to post handbills threatening any lawyers who cooperate with the newly appointed Tory judges. Hannah and Will warn Caleb about the increased danger and heightened security, but despite the difficulty of leaving the Province House, Hannah wants to help the cause.

Caleb knows a secret way out of the Province House grounds and makes Hannah and Will swear to keep it confidential. After Hannah changes into her “Hans” disguise, Caleb leads them through the stables’ back way to an old woodshed. He explains that a year ago, while dumping manure, he discovered a hidden trapdoor and tunnel after seeing a mysterious man emerge from it. The passage leads to Baker’s Alley outside the Province House walls. The trio clears away debris to uncover the trapdoor, and when Caleb lights a candle, they see stone steps descending into a dark, secret passageway that will enable their clandestine activities.