There was total silence in the room, as attention was focused on the face under the wool hat. He raised his glass and said, “To the Liberty Boys of Savannah!” His companions and a few others took a sip of their rum or ale, but neither Brown nor Thompson responded. Everyone was uneasy, and several of the customers quietly left the tavern. Others watched closely as tension rose in the room.

Brown was extremely uncomfortable, with his spine tingling and something clutching at his heart, but he made every possible attempt to conceal his feelings. He did not know how to deal with the situation, here in this strange environment. Many thoughts raced through his mind. If he were confronting adversaries in a tavern in London, he could depend on a general respect for law and propriety, or for spectators or the proprietor to call officials to preserve order. A personal slight or insult between two gentlemen could often be handled by seconds so that the outcome would be the saving of honor without serious bloodshed.

He rationalized his present caution by the thought that his and Thompson’s overall mission of promoting loyalty to the crown could best be achieved without public altercations with radicals. A political dispute with ruffians in a tavern was certainly not the best tactic. At the same time, a profession of disloyalty would be an unthinkable admission of cowardice that would arouse considerable attention, and was certain to be reported by Thompson to Governor Campbell and then, perhaps, back to his friends and benefactors in London. His best approach would be to avoid any specific response and to finesse the present confrontation. He turned back to his meal, attempting to ignore his hecklers.

“Give the men in the corner a drink from Chesley Bostick,” the wool hat ordered the innkeeper, who quickly placed two small glasses on the corner table and filled them with rum.

“Now, I want to propose a toast to freedom, and a curse on cowardly bastards!” he said. All eyes turned toward the two men in the corner, and especially to Thomas Brown, the obvious leader of the two. Hardly realizing what he was doing, he stood, raised the glass in front of him, and poured its contents on the floor. “I will buy my own rum and drink a toast with all those loyal to the king,” he said.