--- title: "Trial by fire by Ernest Haycox — Classic Ebook | Publica Now" description: "Read a free sample of Trial by fire by Ernest Haycox at Publica Now — a public-domain classic ebook, readable online." canonical: "https://publica.now/creators/vito/works/trial-by-fire" --- Literary # Trial by fire by Ernest Haycox [ V Vito ](https://publica.now/creators/vito) Follow $1.99 [ Sign in to buy ](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcheckout%2Ftrial-by-fire) Secure payment on Stripe. publica.now never sees your card. Share Link copied Format epub Published May 03, 2026 Rating No reviews yet ![Trial by fire](https://fls-a13cb2d7-1b3e-4883-a0bd-297afd110a11.367be3a2035528943240074d0096e0cd.r2.cloudflarestorage.com/works/01kqr038er9wmy8d1tdvh66awq/cover.png?X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=d29ce3bb571c165c97a702f29f7aee93%2F20260917%2Fauto%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260917T223716Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Signature=d5a255caa360e07b049b0d23c1b40f962898676541fbc59b9c68272fc24946c3) ## About this work Trial by fire by Ernest Haycox — a public-domain edition published by publica.now. Sample ## Take a look inside TRIAL BY FIRE By Ernest Haycox Doctor Brent was up early that morning on a call to the widow Potter’s, a mile or so down the road from his own house. In fact a very frightened young Potter grandson had come a-tapping on his door quite before dawn and brought him back to the fevered old lady. The doctor exercised his skill, waited for a more favorable sign from the patient and then, near breakfast, got upon his horse and returned slowly toward his own hearth, meditating a little upon the wonderful vitality of these simple-living New England people. The day promised to be hot. There was in the air that forecast of sultriness not uncommon to June weather, and over in the direction of Boston town the sun hovered below the sea’s edge, striking upward with its blood-red rays. The doctor, rubbing his ruddy cheeks, wondered how Gage and his soldiers enjoyed their forced idleness in the town. His professional instinct led him to emit a small cluck of pity. “Poor ——,” he murmured, bending in the saddle, “they’ll be sadly needing fresh foods. I doubt not there’s much scurvy and camp disease among them.” Well, he mused, it was a great deal Gage’s own fault. He had permitted himself to be cooped up and surrounded by a half-organized patriot army. The doctor, whose opinions were staunchly Tory, frowned. He had thought this was going to be a stalemate and that after a time the farmers, collecting their better senses and cooling their rage following the affair of Lexington and Concord, would disperse and go back to their occupations. It was not so. Old Artemas Ward commanded an army of sixteen thousand men, stretched from Charlestown Neck to Dorchester way. And night before last there had been whisperings of… [ Sign in to buy ](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcheckout%2Ftrial-by-fire) The sample continues in the full work. [ #classic ](/search?query=classic) [ #public-domain ](/search?query=public-domain) [ #library ](/search?query=library) ## Reviews No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts. [Sign in to leave a review](https://publica.now/access?redirect=%2Fcreators%2Fvito%2Fworks%2Ftrial-by-fire) No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts. 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