Chapter ONE - Weebly

Berson’s wharf was only a short distance down Ship
Street. Hancock’s Wharf, the longest in the North End,
second in the entire city only to Long Wharf, sat just to
the south of them both. All these wharves had large
wooden warehouses where the merchants stored
diverse goods and prepared them for market.
Two formidable men stood guard at the base of
their wharf, and one of them stopped Ethan as he tried
to set foot on the dock.
“Who’re you?” he asked, studying Ethan’s bruised
face.
“Ethan Kaille. I’m here to see Cyrus Derne.”
The man eyed him dubiously.
“I work for Abner Berson,” he added.
That convinced him. “Aye, all right,” he said, and
waved Ethan onto the wharf.
Ethan made his way down the dock past shops and
storage buildings, until he came to the largest of the
warehouses. A sign over the door read “Fergus Derne
and Son, Boston. Established 1715.”
Dockworkers were carrying crates, burlap sacks,
and cloth-wrapped parcels into the building. A few