Epsey had never heard Ethan say so much at one time, and she quickly agreed with him, having full confidence in his judgment and his ability. She glanced at him now and saw that he was frowning and his jaw was clenched. The truth was that Ethan had some deep concerns, which he thought he was concealing from his wife. He couldn’t forget the words of Maddock: “Thy land is in the midst of ours, and thou may be next.”

•  •  •

Henry came out to the farm the next Sunday morning and gave Ethan a more complete and encouraging report on events at the colonial capital.

“Husband and his group have really been performing well in the colonial assembly, putting forward all the justifiable proposals that the Regulators have developed during the last few years.”

Ethan asked, “Do you know what bills they have introduced?”

“Of course,” said Henry, somewhat proudly. “We Regulators helped draft them all before Herman took them to New Bern, and each one deals with a different problem. One calls for judges and clerks to be paid a specific salary and for fees and fines to go into the county treasury. Another requires that sheriffs be replaced as tax collectors. We want a limit to be placed on lawyers’ fees, and for six-man juries to try small-claims cases if either litigant requests it. A very important one for farmers is that produce be declared legal tender for the payment of fees and taxes, and for the head tax to be replaced with property taxes based on actual value. Our most popular proposal is that lawyers be prohibited from service in the assembly because they are intent on making their own fortunes and are blind to the interests of poor and industrious citizens.”

“What has been the reaction so far?”

“It’s too early to tell for sure, but our folks believe we have enough support to pass most of the legislation. These are the kinds of things that any reasonable person can both understand and support—probably even a good number of men who have been aligned with Governor Tryon in the past.”

When Henry left, Ethan shared some of the information with Epsey, and they were more confident about their future than at any time since the Quakers had left. If just half the proposals were adopted, life in the colony for small farmers and others would be transformed for the better.

Henry didn’t return the following weekend, and Ethan was surprised to see him riding up on Wednesday. He was obviously troubled, and Ethan joked, “Have you closed your shop and quit working?”

Henry dismounted and said, “Well, I may have to quit for good. Have you heard what has happened in New Bern?”

“No, we don’t get any news out here except when you bring it.”