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relief on his friend’s face. He must not have been as sure of himself as he thought.
    His own father’s reaction was a disappointment, but his mother had flashed him a look of pride. At least he had managed to impress one of his parents. It had been like this for as long as he could remember; his mother took his side while his father doted on Daniel. I wonder what Father thinks now, after watching his pet lock out a king’s army.
    There was a shout from above. James Morrison roared, ‘Here they come!’
    A group of soldiers reached the city wall and demanded to be let in. James made a rude gesture to them. Danielmarvelled at his cheekiness but worried that he was taking quite a risk. All it needed was one soldier with either a rifle or a perfectly thrown rock. James seemed oblivious to the danger of annoying the men outside.
    Daniel watched the lieutenant beseech the church leaders to have the gates reopened. Maybe they should tell him about the letter, about the killing on the ninth of December ?
    Reverend Gordon, the aldermen, the bishop and the others stood close together and appeared to be arguing amongst themselves before uniting to argue with the lieutenant. Mr Kennedy, for one, was pleased with the outcome. He didn’t like the cut of the lieutenant, feeling sure he couldn’t be trusted. They’re a shifty lot , he thought, meaning Catholics, Scots and – quite possibly – anyone taller than him.
    Henry returned the keys to the two guards. Now that the deal was done, the guards relaxed into agreement. It was the cautious one who sighed, ‘It had to be done. It just needed someone to take charge.’ Henry shook his hand.
    Reverend Gordon disengaged himself from his peers and strode purposely towards the group of lads. The people parted to let him through, curious about his reaction. ‘So,’ he said to the line of boys, ‘you decided to act without us.’
    A smattering of tentative ‘Yes, sirs’ was the muted reply.
    Reverend Gordon nodded, glancing at all thirteen faces in turn, finally saying himself, ‘Yes, sir!’
    Alderman Tomkins joined him and asked, ‘Well, Reverend, what do you make of this?’
    Daniel held his breath.
    ‘I think,’ said the reverend, ‘that I might be so bold as to make a prediction.’
    The alderman laughed, saying, ‘That’s not your usual style.’
    ‘No, indeed,’ smiled the reverend. ‘However, I find myself moved by the courage of these young fellows. I have a feeling this day will long be remembered.’
    Daniel allowed himself to relax.
    This time a definite cheer went up from the citizens of Derry. Outside, the would-be visitors tried to work out what was going on. They heard the cheering and still hadn’t come to terms with the fact that entrance to the city was being denied to them. After all, their lieutenant was still inside. That was a good sign, wasn’t it? How much longer would they have stood there, scratching their heads, if cheeky James Morrison had not decided to put them right?
    James’s confidence, fuelled by Reverend Gordon’s blessing of the closing of the gates, prompted him to yell, ‘Clear off! The lot of you!’
    Naturally, these six-foot warriors were not about to take orders from a scrawny, ill-mannered fool. They remained where they were and just maybe a few imagined the sizeof the rock that would knock the loudmouth from his stage.
    Furious at what he felt was their misguided arrogance, James took the matter further … much further. Knowing that the soldiers could not see beyond his head and shoulders, James pretended to be calling back to soldiers of his own, ‘Hey, you there, bring that gun over here!’ At this, the Scottish soldiers decided that it was probably best to move away. Heads down, they shuffled back to join the rest of the forces. James was immensely pleased with himself, a feeling not shared by everyone present.
    Robert heard Alderman Tomkins exclaim to Reverend Gordon, ‘That little fool! Get him down from there.’