coasting schooner from Boston put into the little
seaport of Machias on the coast of Maine. The people of the little
town gathered at the wharf, and from the sailors first heard the story
of Lexington and Concord. The yoke of the British Government had
rested lightly on the shoulders of the people of Machias. Far from
the chief cities of the New World, they had heard little of the
continued dissensions between the Colonies and the home Government,
and they heard the story of the rebellion with amazement. But however
unprepared they might have been for the news of the outbreak, their
sympathies went warmly out to their struggling brethren, and they
determined to place themselves shoulder to shoulder with the
Massachusetts colonists in the fight against the oppression of the
British. Their opportunity for action came that very night.

As the sturdy young colonists stood on the deck listening to the
stories of the newly arrived sailors, they could see floating lightly
at anchor near the wharf a trimly rigged schooner flying the ensign of
the British navy. This craft was the "Margaretta," an armed schooner
acting as convoy to two sloops that were then loading with ship-timber
to be used in the service of the king.

The Boston sailors had not yet finished their narrative of the two
battles, when the thought occurred to some of the adventurous
listeners that they might strike a retaliatory blow by capturing the
"Margaretta." Therefore, bidding the sailors to say nothing to the
British of Lexington and Concord, they left the wharf and dispersed
through the town, seeking for recruits. That same evening, sixty
stalwart men assembled in a secluded farm-house, and laid their plans
for the destruction of the schooner. It was then Saturday night, and
the conspirators determined to attack the vessel the next morning
while the officers were at church. All were to proceed by twos and
threes to the wharf, in order that no suspicion might be aroused. Once
at the water-side, they would rush to their boats, and carry the
schooner by boarding.

Sunday morning dawned clear, and all seemed propitious for the
conspirators. The "Margaretta" had then been in port for more than a
week, and her officers had no reason to doubt the loyalty and
friendship of the inhabitants: no whisper of the occurrences in
Massachusetts, nor any hint of the purposes of the people of Machias,
had reached their ears. Therefore, on this peaceful May morning, Capt.