Samantha's Revolution
Samantha's Stubbornness
by
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Sam's knuckles were white as she held Brown's reins tightly. She feared the worst. Her mouth was set in a tight line over clenched teeth as she wondered if they would soon force the reins from her grasp. She was worrying that the wonderful brown horse would fall into rough hands willing to misuse him. She dreaded the idea as it came to her and did not want to lose him The three men and the boy were feeling quite jolly that their planned meeting turned out so well. The ruffian pranced in front of the group and announced that their little scouting trip had gotten them a prisoner. The tall boy was watching Sam. He was looking at Sam's feet and motioned to the man with him to take a look. The man looked intently at Sam with his dark eyes and demanded the boots. She kicked one off towards him. The boy scrambled to set the boot upright, stuffing his bare foot almost into it. He gave it a disgusted kick up in the air when it did not fit. He kicked it again in Sam's direction. She was glad to replace it on her foot. She did not gloat or smile or try to anger them. The tall boy was determined to get himself a prize. He grabbed the reins from Sam and jumped up on Brown’s back. Brown was wild eyed and spooked when the boy jerked the bit in his mouth. The three men laughed when they saw the fierce look on Sam's face. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at the boy yanking her horse around. Sam was frightened by the bold group of the three men and the boy but she would not let it show. Her determination made her act fearless as she thought of Pa and Jonathan. Her right hand automatically brushed the side of her breeches as she reminded herself of Washington's note in her secret pocket. She wanted badly to get free of these mean men and carry out her important mission.
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About the Book
Thirteen-year-old Samantha Crow is living near a small village not far from Yorktown, Va. in 1781, when her father and brother join the Virginia militia. Begrudgingly, she stays behind to help her mother run a small farm and care for her younger siblings. One day her life changes in an instant. She is in her tree house, day dreaming, during a rare free moment. Then she heard it, the sound of a gun shot, causing her to bolt upright to a sitting position. She listened, seemingly without breathing, as horses' hooves came to a stop. She heard a second shot, followed by one set of horse hooves galloping away. Samantha's heart was pounding as silence stretched into minutes. She climbed down and carefully made her way along the steep path leading up to the dusty road. She crept higher and came up silently behind a boulder near the road. She looked around the rock and saw legs with boots pointing toward the sky. They were not moving. As she came around, she saw a man, and his eyes held hers in a plea. His lips whispered "please" as he pulled a paper from inside his shirt. He held it out for Samantha to take and pushed his last words out. "Must...get this...to Washington." Young Adult readers and "tweens" will enjoy finding out about the freed slave/spy who gives her the note and the heart wrenching decisions she makes, which put her own life in danger to help her country during the American Revolution. Will she ever see the young Private First Class Sutter again and the beautiful brown horse with liquid eyes?
About the Author
Gail Mazourek's first novel, Samantha's Revolution, follows several short stories of a sentimental nature, "Big Rudy as a Boy", in print locally. She writes a weekly column for Finger Lakes Publications and attends writing workshops. Gail is the imaginative recording secretary for the Chief Taughannock Chapter of DAR. She studied fine art with Arden von DeWitz in Southern California. Her art sales provide the continuing annual memorial Rudolf Mazourek Scholarship for Alfred College in NYS since the year 2000. Her web-site is gailmnart.com.