As night approached, Ethan walked down a path behind the shops and small houses to the back door of the Pratts’ home and entered the kitchen. His father and sisters were at the table, and his mother was preparing to serve supper.

“You’re late again,” she said. “We were just getting ready to eat.”

“I’ve been in the new garden. I only have a couple of hours each day after the shop closes to work in it.”

His father said, “You’re not like Henry was. He always wanted to stay in the shop as long as he could.”

Ethan decided not to reply.

The shop was not an unpleasant place. There were four workbenches in the center of the main room, spaced evenly around a lighting source that supplemented what came in through the windows and doors. A single high-quality candle burned in the center of four small globes filled with water, each the size of a large man’s fist. Each created a prism that focused the candle’s light in a small spot, and the shoemakers shifted their work to be in the brightest place. The soft leather for the upper shoe was stretched into proper shape, holes were punched with an awl, and strong linen or flax thread was used for sewing. Although steel needles were available, everyone preferred to use stiff hog bristles, which were enmeshed in the end of the thread and guided the fibers through the holes. The thick soles were often attached with small maple pegs. All the toes were square, and the shoes could be worn on either foot.

Samuel Pratt was from a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian family and had come from Ulster to Philadelphia as a young man. Most of his earlier friends had moved on into western Pennsylvania, but he had stayed in the city to ply his trade. He was a member of the Guild of Cordwainers, the older name for their craft. Mr. Pratt was proud of his shop and his trade, commenting often about its value to the community, the breadth of its contact with even the most elite members of Philadelphia society, and the fact that the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers had helped to finance Captain John Smith’s first expedition to America in 1607, long before the Pilgrims came to Massachusetts.