Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans (15 page)

“We don’t?” asked Liberty, surprised. “I mean, what if we kept an apple and a couple of carrots and a—”

“Liberty!” said Tommy and Freedom in unison.

Liberty sighed, “All right. Sorry, sometimes my stomach takes me hostage.”

I sighed and said, “I’m sure your parents would be very proud of you, but unfortunately there are laws to time-traveling and if we give these children a bag of fruits and vegetables it might very well save their lives.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Tommy asked.

“No and yes. Your instinct of wanting to help someone is a good thing, of course. But we need to remember that we shouldn’t change history. We should learn from it. Unfortunately, tragedy is a part of life. It’s a part of history.”

“But we could help one person, couldn’t we? How could that really change the course of history?” asked Freedom.

“Look at it this way,” I said. “Let’s say we did help one or both of those girls. Let’s say the food and clothing and medicine they receive could and probably would save their lives. Now let’s say that one of those girls grows up and marries a cute boy in her
town. The same boy who should’ve married another girl but because of our rescue effort, he never does. She never marries. The children she was supposed to have never happen. Friendships and families and futures are all gone because we helped one person to live when she was supposed to die.”

“Does anyone have a tissue?” Liberty sniffled. “I don’t know what’s come over me. It must be my allergies.”

“Okay, I see your point,” said Freedom. “But I’m still sad to see them suffer.”

“As well you should be,” I said. “If we feel and learn nothing from the tragedies of the past, then we’ll never know how to truly help avoid those same tragedies in the future. Certainly, we can’t avoid all pain and suffering, but we can and should learn from it.”

“I think I’m ready to go, Mr. Revere,” said Freedom.

“Yeah, me too,” said Tommy. “Can we travel to a time in history with less pain and suffering?”

I patted Liberty on the neck and said, “Liberty, it’s time to spring forward to March sixteenth, 1620.”

B
irds chirped and
flew among the branches of the many oaks, maples, chesnuts, hickories, and pines. The snow had melted and the temperature was at least thirty degrees warmer. About twenty yards away from us stood a deer, her short white tail twitching as she watched us between the trees.

“Can you talk to it?” Tommy asked Freedom.

“I don’t think she understands English,” Freedom joked. “But, yes, I can communicate with most animals.”

“Hellooooooo,” called Liberty. “We come as friends. Take us to your leader.”

The deer just stood there, watching us curiously.

“Nope,” Liberty said. “Nothing. I hope that deer isn’t a member of the hospitality committee, because if she is I’m sending a complaint.”

I watched Freedom as she stared intently at the deer. Its tail stopped twitching and it began to walk toward us.
Soon the deer was only a couple feet away, and Freedom walked over and stroked the side of its neck.

“You’re more than a horse whisperer,” Tommy said.

“No kidding,” Liberty said. “You’re like that girl who calls all her animal friends to help clean the dwarves’ cottage. I hope we don’t run into a witch with a poison apple. That would be bad.”

“Check out all these tree stumps,” Tommy said.

“What do you think they did with all these trees?” asked Freedom.

“I’m guessing they built houses,” said Tommy. “I mean, I’m pretty sure after they landed in the New World they didn’t check in at a Holiday Inn. There wasn’t anything here! I mean, they basically were camping for months!”

“Good point,” said Freedom. “When I hunt or track animals with my grandfather we camp for a couple of days but then we get to go home.”

Tommy continued: “I used to go camping with my friend’s dad all the time. He’d make us go really far and deep into the woods, and then we’d pitch our tent. My friend’s mom hated it! She used to complain about not being able to plug in her hair dryer or take a shower. That was after one day! I can’t imagine what she’d be like after landing in the New World with the Pilgrims. Ha!”

Liberty looked all around and said, “Come to think of it, it doesn’t look like there’s a drive-through for miles around.”

“Nope,” I said. “No McDonald’s, no Taco Bell, no Kentucky Fried Chicken. Nothing. When the Pilgrims first landed they had to figure out everything from scratch. So what they did was basically try to re-create the town where they lived in Holland.”

“That’s really cool,” said Tommy. “If I was building my own town from scratch I think I’d start with a football field.”

“Seriously?” asked Freedom, rolling her eyes. “Before building a house?”

“Okay, well, maybe after my house,” Tommy said. “But that would be kind of cool for everyone to be able to hang out at the same place and have some entertainment! Of course, I would be the starting quarterback. Oh, and I would totally invite you, Freedom.”

“Thanks,” Freedom said. “But I’d for sure have built a house first, a warm house, with a big fireplace so I don’t have to camp during the winter! After that, I’d want to build a stable for Liberty.”

“Ah, thanks, Freedom, for thinking of me!” said Liberty. “And maybe one of those Jacuzzi tubs with the rotating jets to massage my back.”

I ignored Liberty and said, “The Pilgrims kind of built a football field. Well, a large place for everyone to hang out or gather and meet, called a ‘Common House.’ It was the first thing they built.”

“I can see several houses or buildings over there,” said Freedom as she peered and pointed through the trees. “Is that the Common House?”

I tried to look where Freedom was pointing and said, “I honestly can’t really tell from here.”

“What are we waiting for?” said Tommy. “I have a swordfighting lesson to get to.”

As we got closer, I could see a dirt street with a row of seven houses with thatched roofs. There were also four larger buildings. One of those must be the Common House. Seven houses didn’t seem like nearly enough to house the 102 Pilgrims who arrived on the
Mayflower.
I wonder if some chose to build a
town somewhere else. That seemed unlikely since the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact, so they all sort of decided to stick together! Actually, the Mayflower Compact was supposed to provide just and equal laws for everyone at Plymouth Plantation, the very place we were standing. I’d have to ask William Bradford when I saw him.

I noticed the
Mayflower
was still anchored in Plymouth Harbor. Many Pilgrims, mostly men, were doing various chores: chopping wood, mending roofs, tilling a field for a future garden. A teenage girl was dipping a bucket into a nearby brook. Another girl was reading a book to a small group of younger boys and girls under a big oak tree.

“Let’s go see if anyone is home,” I said. “I’m especially curious why there are only seven houses.”

We approached the first house and found a teenage boy carving a piece of wood with a long knife. He was sitting on a chair that looked too fancy to have been made in America. He saw us approaching and stopped carving.

“Hello there, young man,” I said. “I’m Rush Revere. Do you live here?”

“Nah, I sleep across the way,” he said. “I just like sitting in Governor Bradford’s chair. He brought it from England. We don’t have many chairs.” He eyed Liberty. “Can I ride the horse?”

I looked at Liberty as he eyed the boy suspiciously. I turned back to the boy and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Francis Billington,” he said.

“Aren’t you the kid who shot the musket on the
Mayflower
and nearly blew up the ship?” Tommy accused.

“You can’t prove it,” Francis said, standing up and putting the knife inside a sheath.

“Well, maybe it was your brother,” Tommy replied.

“You can’t prove that, either!” Francis exclaimed.

“Well, Francis, do you know how to ride a horse?” I asked.

“Any dimwit can ride a horse,” he said. “I’ve ridden thousands of horses.”

“Thousands?” I said, a bit surprised. “Well, then this one shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

Liberty shook his head and stomped his hoof.

“It looks like he’s twitching to give someone a ride,” I said, smiling.

“Good! I hope he’s fast. I like going fast. Do you have a stick so I can make him go faster?”

Liberty backed up and huffed.

“You shouldn’t hit a horse with a stick,” Freedom said, stepping forward and petting Liberty on his face.

“You’re just a girl. What do you know,” said Francis.

Tommy started forward and I held him back.

“Very well, Francis,” I said. “Let’s see what you can do.”

Liberty rolled his eyes and looked rather annoyed. I wasn’t sure how this would play out but I thought the ride could serve a purpose.

I held Liberty’s halter as Francis searched for a way to pull himself up into the saddle. He was a tall and wiry boy with curly brown hair. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts he finally managed to swing his leg over the saddle. He looked as comfortable as someone trying to water-ski for the first time.

He grabbed Liberty’s reins and pulled left. Liberty didn’t budge. He tried pulling to the right, but Liberty was immovable. I had never used a bit with Liberty and therefore he felt no pain every time Francis jerked the reins to the left or right.

“Stupid horse,” Francis said. “Why won’t he move? I’ve ridden mules that are smarter.” It was the last thing he said on the back of Liberty because the very next second, the horse kicked up his hind legs and bucked Francis high into the air.

Francis yelled loud enough for all of New England to hear. He landed on the thatched roof of the house across from William Bradford’s home, but only for a second, before the roof caved in and Francis fell with a thud.

“Francis Billington!” yelled a woman’s voice. “How many times do I have to tell you to stop climbing where you don’t belong?”

“You have to admit he had it coming,” said Liberty.

“Look, there’s William Bradford,” said Tommy, pointing. “He’s coming out of that larger building.”

“Good eye, Tommy,” I said. “Let’s go say hi.”

We walked along the row of houses toward the Common House. As we approached William I noticed how tired he looked. I didn’t want to say anything, because that would be a little rude, but he really looked a lot older than when we last saw him, just a few months earlier. I couldn’t really blame him. After all, he traveled across the entire ocean in a small boat under the hardest conditions, landed in a new place that was completely barren, and needed to build a town for all of the people who relied on his leadership. That makes me tired just thinking about it. Nevertheless, when William saw us he smiled and turned to meet us.

“Hello, Rush and Tommy! I’ve missed you! I assume you’ve been exploring, again?”

“Yes, we have,” I said. “This New World is a bounteous land.”

“It’s a lot bigger than England,” said Tommy. “I mean, it sure
feels a lot bigger but that’s probably because of the endless forests and unsettled land.”

William agreed. “I only wish I could join you. But for now my duty is here at Plymouth Plantation. And this must be your new friend with the horse!”

“This is Freedom,” I said. “We’ve spent the last couple of months teaching Freedom the English language. She’s an exceptional learner.” I hoped Freedom would play along.

“Freedom,” said William, reverently. “I have to say I love that name. In fact, if I have a daughter someday I think Freedom would be a wonderful name.”

“Thank you,” said Freedom slowly. “Please excuse my grammar as I have only just learned to speak your language. I was born on the fourth of July, so my mother felt like it was the perfect name for a special day.”

“Your English is marvelous. Does the fourth of July have a special meaning for your family?” asked William.

Freedom paused, realizing that the Pilgrims hadn’t celebrated the Fourth of July yet. The Revolutionary War hadn’t happened and the Declaration of Independence wouldn’t be signed for another 156 years. It was only 1620 where we were, not 1776! She looked to me for an answer. As my mind raced for a way to help Freedom, we heard the sound of a loud bell.