Carefully, Vinnie and Mandy moved closer to the ship being tied to the dock.
The Redcoat captain was speaking to a tall man in a black hat.
He wore a long coat, pants that ended just below his knees, white stockings, and black shoes.
"Mr. John Hancock," the captain read from a paper, "by order of His Royal Highness, King George III of England, you are under arrest."
"What have I done?" John Hancock asked calmly.
"Your ship, The Liberty, is carrying illegal tea into Boston Harbor," said the captain.
Before John Hancock could say anything, the soldiers took him away.
The men on the dock followed angrily.
One of them saw Vinnie and Mandy and quickly walked over.
"What are your names?" he asked when he got close.
"I'm Vinnie, and this is my sister Mandy," said Vinnie bravely.
"Are you American patriots?" the man asked.
"Yes, sir!" Vinnie said proudly.
"Good," the man said.
He took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it.
"You must find John Adams and give this to him.
Go quickly. No one will suspect you."
"Yes, sir." Vinnie saluted, but the man didn't see.
He had already moved away to rejoin the others.
"Vinnie! Why did you say that?" Mandy said.
"We don't even know who those men are!"
"John Hancock? John Adams? Come on, Mandy.
We are in Boston.
These are the founders of our country!" Vinnie said passionately.
"Right now, America is under British rule.
We must help."
"So what can we do?" she asked.
"Just as the man said, we must find John Adams," explained Vinnie.
The children walked down the busy Boston streets.
Horses, carriages, and wagons were everywhere.
Women were in simple cotton dresses.
Men wore three-cornered hats.
As they approached an intersection, Vinnie and Mandy heard shouting and clapping.
"What's going on?" Vinnie wondered.
On the next street, a crowd was gathered in front of a man standing on a barrel.
He looked excited and angry.
"Should we pay taxes to the British?" he shouted.
"No!" the crowd cheered.
"We have no vote!
We have no one to speak for us in England!" the man continued.
People shouted loudly.
"The Redcoats take over our homes!
We pay too much for our tea!
We even pay too much to mail our letters!" cried the man.
"Who is he?" Mandy asked a boy standing nearby.
"That's Mr. Keith, the grocer," said the boy.
"Why is he shouting?" asked Vinnie.
The boy stared at them.
"You aren't from Boston, are you?" he said.
"King George signed the Stamp Act.
The law makes us pay extra money, a tax, for everything we buy.
Everyone is very angry about it."
"I never knew America was like this once," Mandy whispered to Vinnie.