Town Hall after Dark Joseph and I wanted to know where father went every night after dark. Mother said he had meetings to attend, but when we asked her what kind of meetings, she just said we would understand when we were older.
One night, we simply couldn't stand it any longer. We snuck out of the house after bedtime. Joseph knew the way. He said he'd seen men with their lanterns going to a place near the town square. It could be dangerous after dark in Salem; but he was my big brother, and I trusted him. So even though I was afraid, I followed him.
Near the town square, we heard noises coming from under a big tent. You could see the shadows of men behind the canvas. And you could hear voices.
I heard one man yell out, "It's taxation without representation!"
Another yelled, "What has King George ever done for us?"
There was a lot of arguing and commotion. I thought to myself that whatever they were discussing had to be important. Their anger was frightening. It made me think about the punishment we would get if father knew we had snuck out of the house.
"Who is King George?" I asked my brother.
"Don't be a goof, Nathan," my brother said. "He's the King of England. Father says that all us Americans have to pay the King taxes. But we don't get anything in return."
"That doesn't seem fair," I said. "What do you think father and mother are going to do about it?"
"I don't know," my brother said. "But let's not stick around and find out. We better get back to bed!"
How is the setting important to the story?