(Author Note: This story is the third in a series about the life and times of a young printer's apprentice living in the Colony of Virginia in the 1740s. The characters and situations were introduced in the story, "Zachary Malvern - The Printer's Devil". You might want to read that story first for best results.)

If thou wouldst live long, live well; for Folly and Wickedness shorten Life. - Benjamin Franklin, 1739

Ding, ding. Ding, ding. Ding, ding. Ding, ding.

Zachary Malvern took two quick steps and hopped over a large pothole in Duke of Gloucester Street, kicking up a small cloud of dust where he landed.

"Stop that, you idiot boy!" said Mrs. Parks crossly. "You're getting dirt on your Sunday clothes!"

The twelve-year-old printer's apprentice looked down and saw that it was true. Brownish dust from the cloud he had disturbed was settling on his finest black leather shoes and his good Sunday stockings and breeches. "Sorry, Ma'am," said Zachary, contritely.

"Be more careful, you little brat!" said Mrs. Parks as she swept past the boy in her own Sunday finery, continuing her stately progress down the main street of Williamsburg, the capitol of colonial Virginia. She walked carefully around any potholes she encountered.

"Come on, Zach," said Jeremy Topper, the 16-year-old senior printer's apprentice. "Try to grow up," said the older boy as he tugged at the younger's sleeve, encouraging Zachary to follow him and their master's wife towards Bruton Parish Church, whose tolling bell was calling the congregation to Sunday services.

As Zachary followed, forcing himself to walk rather than run and hop, he could hear Mrs. Parks muttering to herself, "...idiot husband.... hiring babies to be apprentices.... ruining clothes left and right.... out of his mind...."

Zachary knew full well who the "baby" was in her rant - him. Mrs. Parks had made it quite clear that she thought Zachary was far too young to be a printer's apprentice, an opinion shared by a number of people in the print shop, including Maynard Castle and Jeremy Topper. Jeremy never hesitated to point out that he had been fourteen when he was taken on as an apprentice.

Zachary wasn't certain who Mrs. Parks thought was out of his mind. It came down to either her husband or Zachary. It was just as likely to be both of them, he finally concluded. Well, as long as she kept her fiendishly painful hairbrush to herself, she could think anything she wanted about Zachary. So could Jeremy and Mr. Castle, for that matter.

In the long run the only opinion about him that really counted was that of William Parks, the publisher of the Virginia Gazette, and the man to whom Zachary was apprenticed. How Zachary missed that man! And when the horrible news arrived yesterday... it had caused the boy to cry himself to sleep Saturday night - softly, so that Jeremy, with whom he shared a small bedroom, wouldn't hear.

It was so tragic, that Zachary was nearly moved to tears again as they approached the entrance to the church. Just when he thought Mr. Parks would return in a few blessedly short days and free him from the tyranny of Mr. Castle, that accursed letter arrived by post rider on Saturday afternoon. The letter was from Mr. Parks - notifying them that he would be travelling from Annapolis to Philadelphia before returning home to Williamsburg.

Mr. Parks had decided to visit a friend and associate in the capitol of the Pennsylvania Colony and was extending his business trip an additional week. Mr. Castle was impressed, since apparently the man their master was visiting was another very prominent printer and publisher. That was all well and good, but as far as the furious Zachary was concerned, this Benjamin Franklin fellow could go straight to the devil!

Most of the important citizens of Williamsburg attended Bruton Parish Church. It was the court church of the Virginia Colony, so the royal governor and his entourage were in attendance every Sunday. This meant that many of the most important lawyers, tradesmen, and planters were also in regular attendance. When the House of Burgesses - the colonial legislature - was in session, the church was standing room only. But in the middle of summer everyone could fit in the available pews quite comfortably.

As apprentices, Jeremy and Zachary were legally members of their master's family, so they sat with Mrs. Parks in a pew in the front half of the church. Zachary's Aunt Gloria was seated near the rear of the church. She used to sit there alone after Zachary was apprenticed, but lately she had started seeing Anthony Hobson, a local lawyer and widower.

At first Zachary had not been pleased by this development. He saw it as his duty, as the only living Malvern male in Virginia, to protect her honor. Mr. Hobson had been tolerantly amused by the clumsy attempts of the 12-year-old apprentice to act as a chaperone for his middle-aged aunt. Eventually Zachary realized that after two years of being a widow and struggling to raise him and his brother Phillip, Aunt Gloria deserved to have the companionship and support of a good man. And Zachary had to admit, after getting to know him better, that Mr. Hobson seemed to be a good man.

The service was opened, as always, by the church's Rector, the Reverend Dr. James Blair. The man was more than eighty years old, Zachary knew, and had been the personal representative of the Bishop of London in the Virginia Colony for more than fifty years. In addition to his religious duties, Dr. Blair also served as the president, and co-founder, of the College of William and Mary, the first college in the southern colonies. In short, Dr. Blair was one of the most powerful and influential men in Virginia. And at eighty-some years old, he still looked the part.

The Assistant Rector, the Reverend Arthur Logan, handled the bulk of the long church service. As the morning wore on and the hot July sun beat down on the brick building's exterior, the air inside grew more and more stifling and stagnant. Many of the ladies flapped hand-held fans to try and move some air around, but to little effect.

As the congregation exited Bruton Parish Church after the services the midday heat was brutal, but people still gathered in small clusters to chat. Farmers and planters decryed the continuing lack of rainfall. If the drought didn't break soon many food and cash crops could be lost and the colony might be looking at a lean winter to come.

Zachary greeted his Aunt Gloria warmly, and shook hands with Mr. Hobson. Aunt Gloria inquired after his health, and asked her nephew if he had been behaving himself and saying his prayers. Zachary lied about behaving himself, but could honestly report that he said his prayers every night at bedtime. He prayed for the Lord to protect the departed souls of his parents, siblings, and Uncle Simon.

He also prayed for the continued safety and health of his 14-year-old brother, Phillip. Zachary wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he missed his older brother terribly. They had received two letters from Phillip since he joined the Royal Navy. The last had been written in March 1742, and was delivered to Aunt Gloria in June. Phillip was serving as a cabin boy on HMS St Albans, a 50-gun ship of the line. During battles Phillip served as a "powder monkey", which meant that he delivered bags of gunpowder to the crews manning the ship's cannons.

Aunt Gloria thought it was good luck for Phillip to be serving on a ship named after a saint. Mr. Parks had privately told Zachary that he thought the ship was probably named after the city of St Albans in England. Zachary agreed with Mr. Parks, but did not share this opinion with Aunt Gloria. Besides, the city had probably been named after the saint in the first place.

For his own part, Zachary desperately wanted to know if Phillip had seen any pirates, and if his ship had fought any pirate ships. All Phillip's letters mentioned was that the St Albans was operating in the West Indies. Zachary knew there were pirates in the West Indies, so Phillip might encounter some eventually. He couldn't wait to hear those stories when his brother returned home from the sea someday.

Some members of the Bruton Parish congregation enjoyed a picnic lunch on the south end of Palace Green after the service. Mrs. Parks reminded Jeremy that it was his turn to run back to the house to retrieve the picnic basket that had been prepared ahead of time and stored in the root cellar to keep cool.

The various families and friends shared their food as individuals and groups mingled throughout the lazy luncheon. Zachary ate more than his fill as he chatted with Davey Landis' family. He got on well with his best friend's family, and enjoyed their company. Edward Landis, Davey's father, was a clerk in the Governor's Palace.

A member of the governor's staff, Mr. Landis had actually introduced Zachary to Governor Gooch last year. The boy had found it hard to believe he was actually meeting a man who had once met their sovereign, his royal majesty King George II. Zachary had been so nervous during the brief meeting that he was only able to speak in a kind of hoarse croak. The governor had smiled tolerantly at the tongue-tied youngster, who felt so embarrassed that he wished he could have disappeared straight into the floor.

At one point during the picnic Zachary spotted Jeremiah Cooper, Davey's master, talking to Aunt Gloria and Mr. Hobson. He prayed the big man wasn't telling them about the incident from yesterday when the master cooper took a hickory switch to Zachary's bare backside. He unconsiously rubbed the seat of his Sunday breeches with one hand as he recalled the incredible pain he had experienced from the hickory switch.

With no opportunity to check the damage so far this morning, Zachary had no idea how bad his hindquarters looked a day after the thrashing. But he could tell how they felt. The initial throbbing agony from the stripes had eventually settled into an overall dull ache across the affected area. Sitting through the long church service with his sore seat on the hard wooden pew had been a real trial. He was glad to be able to stand throughout lunch as he chatted with various people. Zachary had noticed Davey standing up throughout lunch as well.

Mr. Cooper moved on, and Aunt Gloria wasn't looking angry. Nor did she seem to be looking around for her erring nephew. Still safe - he had been very lucky about that so far. When he limped back into the print shop late Saturday morning, the place was a madhouse and everybody was far too busy to notice how stiffly the youngest apprentice was moving, or that he had obviously been crying. By the time things slowed down at the print shop towards evening, Zachary was moving normally and all traces of his having been in tears were gone.

Jeremy had been too tired to notice his young colleague's brightly striped bottom when the duo changed into their night shirts in preparation for bedtime Saturday night. Zachary was careful when putting on his clothes Sunday morning not to let the older boy get a glimpse of his bottom. Of course Zachary wasn't sure that Jeremy would have peached on him if he had spotted the stripes. But the senior apprentice had betrayed him before, so why take unnecessary chances?

Eventually Zachary had paid his respects to everyone at the picnic that he knew well. He was dying to get home and change out of his fancy Sunday clothes, which were far too heavy to be worn in the intense summer heat. Jeremy had the same idea, and the two apprentices took their leave of Mrs. Parks. She readily granted them permission to leave, freeing them for the rest of the day. Their master's wife seemed as glad to be rid of the apprentices for an afternoon as they were to get away from adult supervision.

The two apprentices walked slowly north on Palace Green Street and turned right on Nicholson Street. As soon as they were out of sight of the picnicing parishoners on the Green, they broke into a run, racing back home to William Parks' house. They thundered up the stairs to their small bedroom, beginning to strip off their Sunday vests as they ran.

Zachary was relieved to be able to shed the heavy Sunday clothing he wore to church. He was so glad to be changing into old clothes so he could join his friends swimming that he completely forgot to try and hide his striped backside from his roommate.

"Oi!" said Jeremy, "What happened to your arse?" He had spotted the stripes on Zachary's bottom when the younger boy removed his drawers.

"I'm surprised you don't remember," said Zachary cooly. He hastily pulled on an old pair of breeches, hiding his damaged rear from view. "You were in the shop when Mr. Castle laid his strap into me Thursday - so were half the people in Virginia, come to think of it."

"Nice try, Zach," said Jeremy. He yanked the younger boy's breeches down again so he could examine the damage to his bottom.

"Hey!" protested Zachary. "Keep your hands off my britches, and off my arse!"

"Calm down, little boy," said Jeremy, as he traced one of the fading stripes on Zachary's bottom with a finger. "Somebody gave you a switching. A real good switching, to boot! Hickory on the bare, right?"

"How did you know?" said Zachary, looking at his roommate in confusion and wonderment.

"Never you mind. Let's just say that I know the kind of stripes a hickory switch leaves on a bare bottom."

"Do you know how they feel?"

Jeremy looked at the smaller boy and smiled, "Yeah, I do." He pulled Zachary's breeches up tight, nearly lifting the smaller boy off his feet and causing the lad to grunt slightly.

"Watch it!" protested Zachary. "I'm still sore." He carefully loosened the breeches, keeping the seat of them away from close contact with his stripes.

"That's obvious," said Jeremy, chuckling. "So, who gave you those stripes, and why?"

"Mr. Cooper. Davey and I were fooling around with Tom Eisley yesterday."

"So all three of you got it?"

"Yep," said Zachary, who continued dressing as they chatted.

"That must have been a sight!" said Jeremy, who was also changing into old clothes. "Did you brats deserve the stripes?"

"Yeah...I guess. Ummm... are you gonna tell Mrs. Parks about this?"

"As if I would."

"You told her about Miles Robinson's stained clothes!" said Zachary, indignantly. "That got me a harder spanking, you sneak!"

"You were gonna get it anyway, and I have my orders to report your little misdemeanors."

"Oh, so it's okay to peach if the adults give you orders..." Zachary sneered at the older boy.

"Look, you stubborn tyke. You've got hold of the wrong end of the stick here. I'm on your side."

"Oh, yeah!" said Zachary, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I remember you welcoming me with open arms when I arrived back in March."

Jeremy sighed. "Yeah, okay. I thought you were too young to be a printer's apprentice. I still do, actually. But you know what?"

"What?" said Zachary.

"It doesn't matter what I think, or Maynard Castle, or anybody else. Mr. Parks thinks you'll make a good printer some day, so that's the end of it. You and I are stuck here together until my apprenticeship ends. That's five long years working together every day, going to church together, and sharing this tiny bedroom. I don't think we can afford to be enemies. Do you?"

"I guess not. Does this mean that you'll stop peaching on me?"

"Every time I peached on you, you were gonna be found out anyway. Do you honestly think Mrs. Parks wouldn't have found out about the ink stains on Robinson's clothes, whether I told her or not?"

"I guess she would have..."

"Of course she would have. If I didn't tell her first, somebody else would have eventually, and then we'd have both been in for it." Jeremy reached over and gently placed his left hand under Zachary's chin, tilting the younger boy's face upwards until they were looking each other straight in the eye. "Look, I don't want to see you get strapped, or spanked. But I'm sure as hell not gonna risk getting my arse whipped because of your nonsense."

"I guess... that makes sense," admitted Zachary, blushing as he realized that Jeremy's attitude towards him had changed lately, but he had been too wrapped up in his own problems to notice.

"Brother apprentices?" said Jeremy, offering the smaller boy his open right hand.

"Brother apprentices!" agreed Zachary, grinning as he shook hands with his new big brother. He was suddenly glad that Jeremy had seen his stripes, so that they could get this all straightened out.

"Come on, brother," said Jeremy. "Let's go swimming!"

"Okay!"

College Creek was a lovely waterway that meandered through the campus of the College of William and Mary, which was located at the far west end of Duke of Gloucester Street. The creek had some lovely swimming holes that were perfect for colonial boys looking to escape the summer heat. This paradise was located just a short walk from the center of the city. Unfortunately swimming was strictly forbidden in College Creek on Sundays, on pain of an immediate thrashing from a strap-wielding deputy constable who patrolled the banks on warm Sunday afternoons.

This annoying ordinance had been put into effect because of the lawns running along both sides of College Creek, which were popular Sunday picnic spots for the local gentry and their families. These gentlefolk brought their young daughters to these picnics, and they did not want the girls exposed to groups of naked boys of varying ages - up to the middle or even late teens - cavorting and diving within plain sight of their picnic grounds.

Therefore Jeremy and Zachary were obliged to walk a little more than a mile south to Halfway Creek, which was located - coincidentally enough - about half way between the city of Williamsburg and the James River. Halfway Creek actually emptied into College Creek, which in turn dumped its water into the James River about two miles southeast of the original colonial capitol of Jamestown.

Before they even reached the city limits of Williamsburg, the two apprentices met up with a group of like-minded boys headed in the same direction. The group included Davey Landis, Tom Eisley, and George Peterson, a 16-year-old cooper's apprentice who worked with Tom and Davey. George had, of course, been in the cooperage yard on Saturday and witnessed the thrashings of Tom, Davey, and Zachary. The final two members of the group were Donald Perry, Jr., the 13-year-old son of the local grammar school master, and Ricky Felton, the 11-year-old son of another member of the governor's staff.

The boys were all wearing the minimum clothing required to satisfy the puritan morality of the day. They were barefoot and bare-headed. They wore only an old shirt and old pair of breeches each, since they would be shedding even that minimal covering as soon as they reached the swimming hole.

As they neared their destination they passed a partially completed farmhouse and barn that were being built on formerly unused land. New smaller farms were springing up in the area at an amazing rate. Mr. Parks had told Zachary that some of the new farmers were people who recently crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, while others were the younger sons of colonial farmers, who often had large families.

Ricky Felton wondered aloud who the new farm's owner might be, but nobody in the group had any real information on the subject. There was nobody at the worksite to ask, of course, it being Sunday. In another few minutes the seven boys had reached their favorite swimming hole, shed their clothes and were cavorting in the cool, refreshing waters of Halfway Creek.

Zachary loved swimming. He had first learned to swim in the Elizabeth River in Norfolk, under the expert tutelage of his eldest brother, Peter. When Zachary was a small boy, Peter Malvern, Jr. was his hero. In fact only their father, Peter Malvern, Sr., had been held in more esteem - and awe- by the young Zachary. Shivering at the memories, and the cold realization that he'd never see either of them again, at least in this world, Zachary tried to think about something else.

He was aided in this effort by Tom Eisley, who swam up behind him and shoved Zachary's head under water. For some reason Tom thought this was a hilarious trick, but Zachary just thought it was stupid. When he was finally released, Zachary came up for air, and then splashed water at Tom until the older boy dived to escape him.

About an hour after their arrival at the swimming hole, the seven Williamsburg boys were joined by a group of five lads who approached Halfway Creek from the south. The newcomers turned out to be the sons of two neighboring farmers who lived down near the James River. When asked why they didn't just swim in the river, the farm boys responded that their fathers had forbidden it.

The twelve boys shared a few good laughs at the strange prohibitions placed on their lives by those raving lunatics who call themselves adults. It turned out that Tom Eisley actually knew the eldest of the newcomers, 14-year-old Jake Yates, who had been his classmate in the local free school before Tom was apprenticed to Mr. Cooper. Jake Yates was accompanied by his 12-year-old brother Mark.

The other three farm boys were the McKay brothers: Andrew, Neil and Duncan, who were born in Scotland and had moved to Virginia with their family two years ago. The young Scotsmen ranged in age from 13 to 10-years-old. Zachary was certain he had seen Neil McKay in the print shop where he worked. Neil confirmed that he stopped by the print shop almost every week to pick up any letters for his family from their relations in Scotland.

The boys didn't spend the entire afternoon swimming. They also spent a good deal of time lounging in the shade of several large trees that lined the southern shoreline of Halfway Creek. As often happens when adolescent boys are free of adult supervision, the conversation quickly turned bawdy.

The older boys started telling dirty poems. The younger boys all giggled and guffawed at them, including Zachary, although he didn't really understand all of them. His favorite poem was one told by George Peterson...

There was an old sailor named Dale
Whose dick was as big as a whale.
Though he fell off his boat
His dick made him float
And blew him around like a sail.

Zachary joined in the laughter at the other bawdy jokes and poems being told, even though he didn't get all of them. He didn't want to be thought an idiot, or a baby. But the truth was that Zachary still found girls to be ridiculous, boring creatures. The very idea of kissing one of them.... yuck!

Despite his lack of interest in sex, other than as something to be giggled at, Zachary was becoming concerned that he might be a late bloomer in this area. His best friend Davey had recently started sprouting a few hairs "down there", all the more noticeable because they were darker than the the blonde hairs on his head.

Casual glances at his companions confirmed that Zachary was one of only four boys among the twelve present whose bodies remained completely hairless below the eyebrows. In fact only the two 11-year-olds, Ricky Felton and Neil McKay, as well as 10-year-old Duncan McKay, shared with Zachary the dubious distinction of remaining bald inside their breeches.

Unfortunately Zachary was not the only one to notice this fact. The four pre-pubescent lads were confused when Tom Eisley pointed out that they probably could swim in College Creek without risking the constable's strap, "since nobody without a microscope could possibly find their tackle, much less be offended by it." Once it was explained to them just what a microscope was, the four irate youngsters chased Tom into the creek and gave him a good ducking.

The subject of conversation eventually got around to the punishments they all had to take from time to time, for offenses real and imagined. In fact fully half of the boys present were sporting bottoms that showed the effects of recent disciplinary treatments. These boys were obliged to show their marks to the appreciative crowd and share all the gory details: who, what, when, where, and why?

Tom and Davey both stated that they had got the hickory switch from their master for "fooling around". They flatly refused to tell Zachary what had precipitated the punishment they were receiving when he happened upon the scene. He appealed to their fellow cooper's apprentice, George Peterson, but the older boy refused to peach on his younger fellows. Zachary supposed that they were apprentice brothers, too.

Zachary told about the switching he got from Mr. Cooper on Saturday. He was also coaxed into describing his strapping from Mr. Castle on Thursday. Zachary was pleased to learn that the news of his public strapping had not previously reached the ears of the five farm boys. At least not everybody in the colony knew about his disgrace, which was some small comfort.

Don Perry was up next. It turned out that Don had received a breeches-down strapping from his father on Saturday for sassing his Ma. Davey and Zachary had attended Mr. Perry's school, and Ricky still did. All three could confirm the schoomaster's prowess in wielding the strap effectively.

Neil and Duncan McKay went last. They had been strapped on their hands and bare bottoms for "fooling around" on Saturday instead of doing their chores around the farm.

The English boys from Williamsburg had never heard of a boy being strapped on his hands. The McKay brothers were more than happy to fill in this gap in their education. Neil and Duncan displayed the strap marks on their palms and their bottoms. They described the three-tailed strap their father used on them, which was called a tawse. The young Scotsmen left little doubt in anyone's mind as to how much the tawse hurt when applied forcefully to a boy's bare bottom. Not surprisingly, the tawse hurt even worse when applied to the upturned palms.

By the end of the lecture, Zachary found himself rubbing his hands together, trying to imagine how much a wicked three-tailed strap might hurt when hitting his hands. He made a mental note to be extraordinarily well behaved and cooperative if he ever had occasion to visit the McKay farm.

The lazy summer afternoon wore on, and the dozen boys enjoyed their one glorious day of freedom. They wouldn't get another one until next Sunday. After another round of swimming, the boys returned to their shady refuge on the southern bank of the creek.

Continuing with the boy's preferred theme of violence, the topic of conversation eventually turned to the war in Europe. There was some confusion as to whether Great Britain was currently, officially at war with France. Everyone knew that Great Britain was at war with Spain, of course.

In fact as far as the boys could tell, both from news reports and from their history lessons in school, Britain had been at war for most of the past three or four hundred years. Sometimes they were fighting Spain, sometimes they were fighting France, and sometimes they were fighting both at the same time.

There was also a spot of bother having to do with the successor to the Austrian throne, some lady named Maria Theresa. A lot of other European monarchs weren't happy about this situation. The result was that a major battleground in the summer of 1742 was going to be some place called Silesia, which Jeremy insisted was somewhere in the slavic section of eastern Europe. Zachary always found geography to be an incredibly boring subject in school, so he had to take Jeremy's word for it.

Andy McKay started telling them about the Scottish point of view of these wars, since he and his brothers had lived in Europe up until just two years ago. Unfortunately the discussion soon degenerated into a debate on whether the Acts of Union (the 1707 Parliamentary Acts which merged the kingdoms of England and Scotland into the unified Kingdom of Great Britain) were a good idea.

Just when it looked like Andy McKay might take a swing at Tom Eisley, who was taunting the young Scottish patriot, their conflict was interrupted by Ricky Felton who yelled, "Hey! That lad is taking our clothes!"

The boys all looked across the wide expanse of Halfway Creek to see that a well-dressed youngster about Zachary's age was, indeed, picking up all the clothing the Williamsburg boys had left scattered on the north bank of the creek. The farm boys had scattered their clothes on the south bank, so their clothing was safe from the intruder.

"Hey, kid!" yelled George, the first to react to the situation. "Those are our clothes!"

The strange boy on the far side of the creek either did not hear George, or chose not to acknowledge him. He continued to methodically pick up their clothing. Zachary wasn't sure who moved first, but soon all seven of the naked Williamsburg boys had plunged into the creek and were swimming as fast as they could to the other side. Most of them were yelling, trying to get the boy's attention.

Zachary couldn't believe some kid could be so low as to steal another boy's clothes while he was swimming. One thing Zachary knew for sure, if he and Jeremy showed up back in Williamsburg stark naked they would be in very serious trouble. The same went for all seven boys.

Always a strong swimmer, Zachary was the second one to make it back to the north bank, after George. The mysterious boy had already collected all seven sets of clothing and disappeared into the bushes lining the north bank. George plunged into the bushes where the boy had disappeared, followed closely by Zachary.

"Hurry!" gasped Jeremy as he passed Zachary several seconds later. While Zachary was a faster swimmer than his brother apprentice, the long-legged Jeremy was much faster on land.

The boy who had their clothes was running across a newly cleared meadow towards the farmstead they had passed that was under construction. As he gave chase, Zachary noticed that the farmstead, which had been completely quiet when they passed it earlier on the way south, was now a hive of activity. There were several wagons present, and people were scurrying about the place. Why were all these people building these farm buildings on a Sunday? Wasn't it supposed to be a day of rest?

George and Jeremy were just seconds away from catching the young rascal who stole their clothes. Unfortunately the young thief started calling for help as he approached the unfinished barn. Sure enough, two men appeared at the side of the barn, briefly took in the situation, and then ran to intercept the pursuers.

The two men stopped George and Jeremy before they could catch the boy with their clothes. The older man said, "Get off our property, you young trespassers."

"And what are you doing without any clothes on?" said the younger man, who looked to be in his early twenties.

"That boy that just ran past here stole our clothes!" said Jeremy.

"How did he get hold of all your clothes?" said the older man.

"We were swimming in Halfway Creek," said George. "We left our clothes on the bank of the creek, and that boy stole them!" As the conversation continued, the rest of the naked, dripping wet boys arrived on the scene, panting.

"I see," said the older man. He turned and hollered, "Johnny Wheeler, get your little butt over here!"

Within fifteen seconds Johnny Wheeler, who was indeed the boy who had taken their clothes, appeared around the side of the barn and ran over to the older man who called him. Johnny was not carrying their clothes anymore. "Yes, Pa?"

"Johnny," said Mr. Wheeler. "Did you take some clothes that belong to these boys here?"

"Well, I don't know for sure, Pa," said Johnny. "I picked up some clothes that somebody 'bandoned on our property down by the creek, but I don't know for sure if it was their clothes."

"You do too know it!" said Tom. "We were all yelling to at you to stop!"

"Alright, boys," said Mr. Wheeler. "Hush up. All of you."

After the boys all stopped talking he looked Jeremy and said, "Were you boys trespassing on our property?"

"Oh, no sir!" said Jeremy.

"Then where did you leave your clothes?"

"On the bank of Halfway Creek," said Jeremy.

"This side of the creek?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then you were trespassing on our property."

"But sir!" protested George, "We were just swimming in the creek. We didn't do anything to your land."

"You obviously walked across our land to get to the creek, and left your clothes on our property. You were trespassing."

"But nobody even lives here yet!" said Tom.

"Just because nobody lives on this farm yet does not mean we don't already own the land," said Mr. Wheeler. "We're building this farm for my son Joseph here," he indicated the younger man, "and his future family."

"Look, Mr. Wheeler," said Jeremy, in his most reasonable voice. "I'm sorry that we were trespassing on your property. We've been using this swimming hole for years and nobody ever had a problem with it before."

"Yeah," said George, "If you get Johnny there to give us back our clothes we'll get off your property and we'll never bother you or your family again."

"We all promise," said Zachary. He looked around and all the boys were nodding their agreement to this promise.

"I'm afraid that apologies are not good enough in this case," said Mr. Wheeler. "You city boys need to learn to respect other people's property rights. Just get yourselves off our property, and don't ever come back."

"But we're all naked!" said George. Several other boys joined in with variations of the same protest.

"That's all too obvious," said Mr. Wheeler. "But you boys need to be taught a lesson, and I don't have time to take each of you back to your family to request justice. The easiest way to do it is just to send you all home as God made you. I hope you all choose to tell the truth about how you lost your clothes. I'm certain your fathers... or masters... will find a way to teach you to respect other people's property."

Mr. Wheeler turned and said, "Come on, lads, we have a lot of work to do." Joseph and Johnny Wheeler fell in behind their father and started walking back to the barn, ignoring the protests from the desperate, naked trespassers.

Finally Davey Landis' voice could be heard to say loudly, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us!"

Mr. Wheeler stiffened, then stopped in his tracks. The big man turned, and Zachary gulped with fear at the look in his eyes. The man pointed at the ground in front of him and said, "Come here! Whichever boy said that."

Davey Landis slowly marched towards Mr. Wheeler, looking like he was approaching the gallows for his own hanging. Meanwhile Joseph and Johnny moved to stand behind their father, flanking him. Davey stopped in front of Mr. Wheeler and looked him in the eye.

"Who are you boy?" said Mr. Wheeler. "Name, age, and name of your father or master."

"David Landis. Twelve. Apprenticed to Jeremiah Cooper of Williamsburg.

"I see, "said Mr. Wheeler. He looked at the other boys. "The rest of you lot, line up here next to David. Be prepared to give me the same information about yourselves."

Zachary moved to stand next to his best friend, toeing an imaginary line. Davey was on Zachary's left, and Jeremy soon stood to his right. When the boys were lined up satisfactorily, Mr. Wheeler strode in front of Zachary and nodded towards him.

Zachary understood this to mean he was to identify himself and said, "Zachary Malvern. Twelve. Apprenticed to William Parks of Williamsburg."

"The printer's devil... interesting." Mr. Wheeler took another step and nodded.

"Jeremy Topper. Sixteen. Apprenticed to William Parks of Williamsburg."

"George Peterson. Sixteen. Apprenticed to Jeremiah Cooper of Williamsburg.

"Thomas Eisley. Fourteen. Apprenticed to Jeremiah Cooper of Williamsburg.

"Donald Perry, Jr. Thirteen. Son of Donald Perry, Grammar School Master of Williamsburg.

"Richard Felton. Eleven. My father is Augustus Felton. He's a member of the personal staff of the royal governor in Williamsburg.

"I see," said Mr. Wheeler. "Five apprentice boys and two sons of the minor gentry." His own sons snickered at this comment.

Mr. Wheeler then stepped around Ricky Felton and walked back down the line, examining the rear view of each naked trespasser. "Four out of seven," the big man said.

"Four out of seven what, Pa?" asked Johnny Wheeler. Zachary was wondering the same thing.

"Four of these boys have the Devil's Mark," said Mr. Wheeler.

"Oh, right," said Johnny. The boy giggled and seemed to understand this reference, which was more than Zachary could say.

"Excuse me, Mr. Wheeler," said Don Perry, "But what is the Devil's Mark?"

"You should know, lad," said Mr. Wheeler. "You bear it yourself."

"I do?" said Don, clearly alarmed at this accusation.

This statement surprised Zachary, too. Don could be a bit annoying on occasion, but he was hardly evil.

"Yes, my boy," said Mr. Wheeler. "You bear the unmistakable marks of having acted like a little devil and having been punished for it. In order words, you have a red bottom."

"And that's called the Devil's Mark, is it?" said Tom.

"Yes, it is," said Mr. Wheeler. "By some folks, leastways. I noticed that you have the reddest bottom of all, Thomas Eisley."

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, you young trespassers," said Mr. Wheeler, who was standing in front of the lined up boys again. "I'll give each of you a choice. You can take a spanking from myself and my son Joseph here, and get your clothes back. Or you can go home naked and take your chances with your father or your master."

Great! What a choice. Zachary knew he'd have to take the spanking from the Wheelers. But jeeze, this really stank. He glanced around - Davey and Jeremy didn't look any happier about the deal than Zachary was. They hadn't really done anything wrong!

"By the way, boys," said Mr. Wheeler. "I should warn you that boys who already have the Devil's Mark will have to take two spankings, not one."

Even better news! This made the third time in four days that Zachary was gonna get a beating. It was starting to get very tedious.

"No sir," said Jeremy. "That's not right."

"Really, Jeremy," said Mr. Wheeler. "And why not?"

"It's not fair to any boy who just happened to get whacked yesterday. We all trespassed the same, so we should all get the same."

"So you all want two spankings," said Mr. Wheeler. "That's very noble of you, I suppose..."

"Now wait just a tobacco pickin minute, here," said Ricky, looking quite upset. "I'm not taking a double spanking just because these guys got in trouble at home."

"Yeah," said George, "I'm not terribly keen on that idea myself."

"Come on, George," said Jeremy.

"Look!" said George. "We trespassed, so we have to get whacked. No problem. And if I already had a red bum I'd step up for a second dose when the time came. But I really can't see any point in taking extra punishment when the folks dishing it out aren't asking me to."

Jeremy glared at George in disgust until Zachary said, "He's right, Jere. There's no reason for you three to take extra whacks just because we four have to get em."

Jeremy looked unconvinced and Mr. Wheeler ended the discussion by saying, "It's up to you un-marked lads if you want to take the extra spanking. Nobody will make you, but if you volunteer to get a second spanking, we will certainly accomodate you."

Mr Wheeler took his sons aside and spoke to them quietly. Joseph strode off around the barn, with Johnny trotting along in his wake. Then the big man turned back to the line of doomed trespassers and said, "Time to line up for your spankings. David, you will go first. Zachary, get in line behind David here. Thomas and Donald, you boys get in line behind Zachary. Richard, you go next, followed by Jeremy and George."

The seven miserable boys slowly and reluctantly lined up as directed. Mr. Wheeler started walking towards the barn and said, "Follow me, boys. Stay in line."

As Mr. Wheeler led the line of disgruntled boys around the side of the barn he said, "Joseph asked the women to take the girls into the house. A necessary precaution, considering your state of undress."

As the boys were led around to the front of the barn, Zachary was certain that he spotted a young girl's face at one of the paneless first story windows of the unfinished farm house. The girl was pulled away suddenly, and then it was only the small crowd of men and boys who were left as witnesses to the punishment of the trespassers. It looked like eight men and six boys in total, including the three Wheelers they had already met. They all must have decided that this event was worth taking a break from work for.

A sawhorse had been placed just outside the opening where the barn door would eventually be installed. The boys were marched in this direction until David was less than ten feet away from the sawhorse and then Mr. Wheeler ordered them to stop. Zachary could see their confiscated clothing, lying in a pile in the back of a nearby wagon.

Joseph Wheeler walked over carrying two boards, and he handed one to his father. The older man slapped the board against his hand experimentally and said, "Yeah, Joe. These will do just fine."

Then Mr. Wheeler turned to the waiting boys and said, "These here are yellow pine shingles. Eventually they will protect the roof of Joseph's new farmhouse. Today they're what we will use to spank you." It looked to Zachary like the shingles were about 2 feet long, 5 or 6 inches wide, and maybe half an inch thick. He had heard of boys being spanked with wood shingles, but had never see it happen, or experienced it himself. That was clearly about to change.

"We have a lot of work to do," said Mr. Wheeler, "so we need to do this as fast as possible. David will come up here and take his first twelve swats of the shingle. Then he will go to the back of the line and wait his second turn. The same thing for Zachary, Thomas and Donald. You other three can go get your clothes after you're done, or get in line for your second dose, if you insist. Everybody clear on all that?"

Zachary nodded, and could see Davey nodding in front of him. Mr. Wheeler must have gotten similar indications of understanding from the boys in line behind Zachary because he said, "Okay, David. Get up here and take your first dose of medicine."

Davey marched forward, doing his "heading for the gallows" impression again - this time with good reason. This was an execution of sorts, after all. He was told to bend over the middle of the saw horse. He did so, grabbing the lower crossbrace on the far side and hanging on. A man they hadn't been introduced to, but who seemed to be the elder Mr. Wheeler's age, held Davey down by the shoulders so he couldn't move or try to get up during the punishment.

Zachary had been wondering which man would be spanking Davey first, and it turned out that both of them were! Mr Wheeler stood to the left, with a pine shingle in his right hand. Joseph Wheeler turned out to be left handed, and stood to the right of the sawhorse as the boys faced it. Both men took a backswing...

Craacckk! ...... Craacckk! "Oowwwww!" yelped Davey in surprise. The lad had obviously not been expecting two really hard shingle swats to hit within about three seconds of each other.

Craacckk! ...... Craacckk! "Aaaahhh!" yelled Davey. At least he hadn't started bawling yet.

As the whacks from the pine shingles continued to connect with Davey's quivering bottom at frighteningly short intervals the poor suffering lad did start bawling, and Zachary's stomach started churning when he remembered that he would be next over the sawhorse!

All too soon Davey had been released to dance around the barnyard, clutching his flaming posterior and crying, his face as red as his backside.

"Come on, Zachary, don't dawdle!" said Mr. Wheeler. "Unless you want extra whacks."

Zachary realized that he had been staring at the dancing Davey, horrified at what had just happened to his best friend, when it was his turn to face the music. He quickly moved forward and draped himself over the sawhorse. He found himself staring at the cracked, dry earth under the sawhorse and under the feet of the man who grasped him firmly by the shoulders. The man said quietly, "Hang on tight, lad. It'll be over soon."

Zachary grabbed the crossframe of the sawhorse, which was about a foot from the bottom of the sawhorse legs. Craacckk! ...... Craacckk! Zachary gasped as the pain from the double shingle whacks registered with his brain. But he didn't howl.

But the shingle whacks just kept on coming, Craacckk! ...... Craacckk!

Craacckk! ...... Craacckk! "Ooowwwwhh!" After the third set, Zachary started howling.

Craacckk! ...... Craacckk! "Ooowwwwcchh!" Normally, a spanking ends up hurting one buttock more than the other.

Craacckk! ...... Craacckk! "Aaaahhh! Sssss." But the double spanking from both sides was stinging both of Zachary's lower cheeks more or less equally. After the fifth set of whacks, the tears started to flow.

Craacckk! ...... Craacckk! "Oooowwwhhh!" roared Zachary, as the final set hit home.

His shoulders were released by the man who had been holding him, who said, "Get up, lad. Back of the line for you."

Zachary jumped to his feet and danced around like a dervish. He clutched his scalding hot bottom as he limped past the wagon with their clothes and moved to the back of the line, behind the still-sobbing Davey.

Zachary had little interest in anything other than removing as much of the searing pain his backside was experiencing before he had to make his second trip over the sawhorse. He vaguely heard the whacks and howls as Tom and Don got their first doses of painful medicine. The two sobbing young teens soon joined the line behind Zachary, both furiously rubbing their bottoms.

Ricky howled mightily during his spanking, and soon the sobbing lad was standing near the back of the wagon that held their clothes, rubbing his aching bottom for all he was worth.

After Jeremy received his dose of painful medicine, he started to walk towards the back of the line, his face red and eyes watering. At that point Zachary put his foot down. "No way, Jere! Get your butt over to that wagon."

Jeremy stopped and looked like he wanted to argue. "Don't argue! You may have to carry me home after this," said Zachary, between sobs. "You won't be able to if you get a second dose yourself." Jeremy finally nodded and joined Ricky over by the wagon. They were both soon joined by George, and it was time for the four boys with the "Devil's Mark" to get their second dose of medicine.

Davey looked like he was in a trance as he approached the sawhorse and draped himself over it. Soon the shingles were making their appointed rounds, and Davey was howling his head off. The poor kid didn't dance when released the second time. He just limped painfully towards the wagon, where George embraced his fellow apprentice in a brotherly hug.

Zachary practically sprinted up to the sawhorse, desperate to get this over with, whether it killed him or not. He draped himself over the sawhorse and grabbed hold of the crossbrace. As the man grabbed his shoulders again, Zachary realized that he smelled something familiar. He looked down and saw a dark, wet spot in the dry earth beneath the sawhorse. At least one of the guys hadn't held his water while the shingles....

Craacckk! ...... Craacckk! "Oooowwwhhh!" howled Zachary, as his torture began anew.

Everything seemed to slow down and speed up at the same time. Zachary could never figure out how to describe the feeling. At long last, the final set of whacks connected with his tortured seat.

Craacckk! ...... Craacckk! "AAhhhhhhooowww!" roared Zachary. The man holding him down released him, and said "Well taken, lad. Off you go."

Zachary slowly stood up and looked through tearful eyes at the man who had just complimented him. He nodded, then turned and limped heavily towards the wagon. He was bawling openly with tears running down his face and snot dripping from his nose as he furiously rubbed his flaming posterior. In fact he was the very picture of a thoroughly spanked and penitent young boy.

Jeremy was waiting for him by the wagon and embraced his little apprentice brother, hugging him closely as the boy cried himself out. Eventually they were joined by the howling and rubbing Tom and Don, and the boys were allowed to retrieve their clothes from the wagon.

After a final lecture about respecting other people's property rights, Mr. Wheeler released the boys to head home. Davey and Zachary were struggling to walk properly, and eventually Jeremy did have to carry Zachary piggyback while George provided a similar service for Davey.

None of the boys could find anything to say, so they walked back to town in silence. As they neared the Williamsburg city limits Zachary and Davey were placed back on their feet and found they could walk, if rather stiffly. As the group prepared to break off to head to their respective homes, Ricky said, "Well, we all have the Devil's Mark now!" All seven boys laughed weakly at that attempted jest before heading their separate ways.

Historical Note: The word limerick was not used to describe five-line works of naughty poetry until the 19th century. But the naughty poetry itself was commonly found from the Elizabethan era onward. So the use of such poetry by boys in 18th century Colonial America is accurate.