Author's note: all of the Liberty's Kids characters belong to DIC, but General Adam Stuart and Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Reinfield are all mine! Bwa ha ha ha ha! :-D I hope you'll enjoy this!
Chapter 1 - The Commencement
"Where are all of you off to in such a hurry?" Dr. Ben Franklin asked as James and Henri hurriedly stuffed some papers into a knapsack.
Sarah was calmly packing her knapsack. "Actually, James and Henri are the only ones in a hurry," she remarked, making sure that she had enough ink in her bottle.
"You're right", Dr. Franklin said with a chuckle.
"I need to hurry!" James said, a bit out of breath. "General Washington is one of the busiest people in America, and I want to catch him before he gets called away on some important business!"
Moses was polishing the printing press with an old cloth that was smudged with ink stains. "You'll be interviewing the General?" he asked.
"I'm going to interview not only General Washington, but some of his officers as well!" James was saying excitedly. "It's going to be this week's biggest headline!" He finished packing his supplies into the knapsack, stood up, and slung the knapsack onto his shoulder.
Henri was excited, too. "Me, too! Me, too!" He exclaimed. "I'm going to interview Gilbert!" With his French accent, he pronounced Gilbert as Zho-BER.
"Who's he?" James asked, looking puzzled.
"He means General Marquis de Lafayette," Sarah answered. "He wants Henri to call him that."
"Oh yeah, him!" James said with a grin, which quickly left his face. "Sure, you can interview him, Henri, but I'll be the one to ask him the important questions. You're only an apprentice, and I'm the journalist." He ruffled Henri's hair in a condescending manner.
Henri frowned. "Let's see who will get to him first!" he yelled, grabbing the knapsack off of James' shoulder and running out the door with it.
"Henri! Come back here!" James ran out of the print shop doorway.
Sarah, Dr. Franklin, and Moses were laughing.
"James often forgets that he's still my apprentice, and not yet a full fledged journalist," Dr. Franklin said after the laughter died down.
"He certainly acts like an immature official journalist," said Sarah, shaking her head with an amused smile. She picked up her knapsack from a table near the fireplace. "I'll see you and Moses later. I need to keep an eye on Henri."
"You'll probably have to keep an eye on James, too," Moses put in. That brought on another round of laughter inside the print shop.
Henri made it to the American army camp first. He stopped at the edge of the camp to catch his breath. James caught up with him a few seconds later.
"Give me that!" He reached out to snatch the knapsack from Henri, who dodged him and ran off into the camp. "Henri!" James yelled, his voice brimming with annoyance. He could hear Henri giggling in the distance.
James went over to the middle of the camp, and stood there looking around for Henri.
The camp was mildly busy today. One soldier was stirring something in a pot over an open fire. The delicious smell of stew wafted through the air. A group of soldiers were laughing and talking, playing cards. A couple of soldiers were sleeping on hammocks tied to trees.
James suddenly spotted a tent flap rustling nearby in front of him. Perhaps Henri was hiding in there. James darted inside the tent.
A young officer was inside, seated behind a desk, writing something. James had met him before. The officer was Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton, an aide-de-camp of General Washington's. He had bluish violet eyes, chestnut hair, was somewhat short in height, and had a skinny build. Hamilton was a good friend of James.
"Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton! Did a young boy run inside here? He has dark hair, a blue shirt, and if you've heard him speak, he has a French accent," James said to the officer.
Hamilton looked up. His lips were pursed, as if he was suppressing a laugh. "Why, hello, Mr. Hiller! Sorry, I do not know who you are speaking of."
"All right… sorry to bother you." James had a suspicion that Hamilton was hiding something. "Do you know where General Washington is?"
"He should be in the big cabin. It's on your right side once you leave the tent," said Hamilton, who dipped his quill into an inkwell.
"Thank you." A mischievous glint came into James' eyes. "Oh, and do you happen to know where the Marquis de Lafayette is at? I've got quite a BIG story planned for him." James put a hand to his mouth to keep from laughing.
"Ahhhhhh!" A high pitched shriek came from under the desk.
Henri scrambled to get up on his feet. "I'm the one who will be interviewing him! Remember?" he insisted. He was jumping up and down in excitement.
James laughed. "I know, I know. Keep quiet. I only said that to get you out of your hiding place."
"Awwww, no fair!" Henri was disappointed that James had found him.
Hamilton could not hold back his laughter anymore. "Actually, I knew that the boy was in here all along. He told me not to tell you where he was," he admitted.
James had to smile. "That's okay."
Hamilton stood up from his seat. "How are you, Mr. Hiller? And how are your friends at the print shop doing?" Hamilton held out his hand.
"I'm doing well, thanks. Everyone's doing fine over at the Pennsylvania Gazette office." James shook hands with him. "Dr. Franklin is putting in a new column in the newspaper, called 'Ask Mr. Common Sense.' People will send letters asking Dr. Franklin for advice, and he'll answer them with his witty words of wisdom."
Hamilton grinned with delight. "Oh, how clever! Has he gotten many letters?"
"Yesterday we got 17– "James began to say.
Henri interrupted. "Excusez-moi, but aren't we supposed to be interviewing the officers right now?"
"Well, I suppose you're right…" James agreed halfheartedly.
"Who's the expert journalist now?" Henri crowed, tilting his chin up, trying to look superior.
"Okay, okay, let's go." James said, sounding irritated. He pushed Henri out of the tent. "I'll see you later, Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton," James told Hamilton.
"Definitely, Mr. Hiller! I look forward to conversing with you further. You may call me Alex or Hammy… most of my friends do. My title is too long," Hamilton said, clearing his throat to stifle a laugh.
"Sure," James replied. "You can call me James. Mr. Hiller is too long a title for me."
Hamilton had to laugh at that. "It's only half as long as my title," he pointed out.
James silently counted out the syllables of Hamilton's title. "You're right, but still… call me James. Oh, except when I'm in the presence of General Washington. I want to look like a professional in front of him." James straightened his coat and patted his hair.
Hamilton smiled and nodded. "Yes, impressions are everything," he said. "Good luck with your interview," he added.
"Thanks," James said. "Would it be possible to schedule an interview with you, too? That is, if you're not busy today." James stared at the pile of papers on the desk.
"Of course it's possible. I wasn't chosen as Washington's aide-de-camp for nothing. I can finish writing all of these letters before you can finish interviewing both Washington and Lafayette."
"You know, I bet you could," said James. He looked impressed. He definitely wanted to interview Hamilton, too. Hamilton was interesting to talk to.
"And just so you know, Lafayette wants to be called Laffy. His full name is almost two times as long as my title." Hamilton pretended to grimace.
"Thanks! I want to get on his good side." James smirked.
"You don't have to worry about that. He's really friendly," Hamilton told him. "That's one of the reasons why we're best friends."
James opened his mouth to reply, but Henri came back inside the tent.
"Zhames! You're a slowpoke! While you've been talking all this time, I got to interview Zhober first!" Henri danced around happily.
James growled. He lunged at Henri, who was too fast once again. Henri ran out of the tent, laughing playfully.
Hamilton smiled sympathetically at James. "You'd better go on over to General Washington's meeting house. As I said before, it's over on your right side once you exit the tent."
"Thanks," James muttered. Henri could be downright annoying sometimes. James hoped that General Washington would be available for the interview.
Once inside the meetinghouse, James saw that not only General Washington was in there, but also Lafayette, and two other recognizable officers, but he didn't know their names.
General Washington smiled warmly when he saw James. "James, it's good to see you," he greeted him.
"Hello, General Washington!" James bowed out of respect for the General.
Lafayette was happy to see him, too. "Zhames! We meet again!" he said, grinning widely. He ran up to James and gave him a friendly hug.
"Good to see you, Laffy!" James said.
Lafayette laughed. "I see that my good friend, Hammy, told you about my nickname!"
"He did, indeed," James said with a smile. "I heard that Henri already interviewed you," he added, trying not to pout.
Lafayette laughed again. "He did, but I still have time for you to interview me, Zhames!" he answered good-naturedly.
James let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. I'd like to interview General Washington first, though. I'm sure he's really busy, so it would be best to have his interview first."
Washington overheard what James said. "You're right, my boy, I am quite busy," he said apologetically. "You may interview Lafayette first. If you need more interviewees, you may also interview my bodyguards." He looked over at the two officers standing by his side. "Stuart, Reinfield, this is Mr. James Hiller, a journalist of Dr. Franklin's who works for the Pennsylvania Gazette." Washington looked at James. "James, these are my bodyguards, General Adam Stuart," he gestured to a young, dark haired officer who had a light complexion, "and Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Reinfield," he said, gesturing to another young officer who had blonde hair and light tan skin.
"It's truly a pleasure to meet you," Stuart said, shaking hands with James. "Do you wish to be called Mr. Hiller, or James?"
"James, please", James replied.
"Then you may call me Adam, and you may call him Arthur," Stuart said, tapping Lieutenant Colonel Reinfield lightly on the shoulder.
Arthur nodded in agreement.
James smiled. "Aren't you supposed to tell me to call you Addy, and Arthur should be called Arty?"
Adam and Arthur gave each other amused looks. They looked back at James.
"We never grew to like those names," Adam finally said.
"And don't even consider calling me Washy!" Washington said unexpectedly.
Everyone burst into laughter, including General Washington.
"I have to go now, James," Washington said, "but you may interview me this afternoon at 4:30. Is that all right with you?" He took a look at his pocket watch.
"Sure, General Washington, that's fine with me," James answered. He was eager to interview the General now, but at least he would get to do it later. James decided to start with Lafayette. He doubted that Henri had done a proper, thorough interview with Lafayette.
Once Washington, Adam, and Arthur had left, James started the interview. He and Lafayette were seated on some chairs by the big meeting table.
"So, Laffy," James began, his quill pen poised in front of a sheet of paper, "What is it like being an officer? It must be an easy life, isn't it?"
Lafayette laughed, but when he spoke, his voice was completely serious. "Oh, no, it is not easy. It's the hardest job in the army, besides Zheneral Wazhington's position." Lafayette leaned forward in his chair. "There is so much pressure to make the right decisions… and there's the unwanted publicity… the rules… the events to attend… it makes me feel dizzy, literally." Lafayette gave his head a quick shake.
"Wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute!" James interrupted, his words running together. "You're saying that being an officer is hard? What a joke!" James had to laugh. "Being an officer is easy. You get to party, socialize with all the superior people, look good in the eyes of the public, be a war hero…" he was counting off the fingers on one hand. "Being a journalist… now that's a hard job."
Now it was Lafayette's turn to laugh skeptically. "Zhames, you have no idea what you're saying. Being a journalist is nothing compared to the trials that we officers have to face."
"What trials? And what do you mean being a journalist is nothing?!" James raised his voice.
"I didn't mean it that way," Lafayette started to say, until James cut him off.
"It's hard for journalists to do their job. Do you know how much work goes into getting a good story? We journalists never get enough credit."
"Well, I for one believe that officers do not get credit for what matters. The public views us in a superficial way."
"Officers are brimming with credit! What more credit do you want?" James' quill pen fluttered to the floor, but he did not notice it. "Compared to journalists, being an officer is nothing!"
"You have no idea!" Lafayette shouted. He abruptly stood up from his chair.
James stood up, too. "I should say the same for you, Marquis!"
They stood there for a few moments, fuming, with their faces inches apart.
"You think that being a journalist is hard? I'd like to see you try," James challenged him, breaking the silence.
"You know what? I will!" Lafayette exclaimed.
James blinked in surprise. "You will? Really?"
"Yes! And you will try being an officer." Lafayette challenged him in return.
James realized what was happening. "Marquis, I'll take you up on that offer. I'll be an officer for a week, and you'll be a journalist for a week. Deal? We'll see who wins." James had a smug grin.
"Deal!" Lafayette agreed eagerly.
Lafayette and James shook hands to seal the bet.
"When do we start?" James asked.
"Right now," Lafayette replied.
"But what about my important interview with Washington?" James remembered.
"All taken care of," Lafayette told him. "I spoke with your friend, Zerah, earlier today, and she will be interviewing Zheneral Wazhington this afternoon."
"Oh, all right," James said, sounding disappointed. "Not only did Henri beat me to interviewing you, but Sarah will beat me to interviewing General Washington!"
"Unless you want to call off the deal," Lafayette suggested, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.
"Of course not! I have to prove you wrong!" James said, feeling aggressive.
"Let's see about that," said Lafayette. Disbelief was heard in his voice.
Lafayette and James stared at each other again, eyes narrowed, and then they both stormed out of the meetinghouse.