Assault on New Hartford — David C. Edney

A crusty old manuscript in a cheap black valise appears amid the cargo on a frontier packet boat in the 1840's. The skittish behavior of the valise owners, an impecunious professor and his wife, arouses the interest of the packet's larcenous, illiterate, but very ambitious First Mate, 16 year old Liam O'Sullivan. Enlisting the aid of a pair of young friends in a drought-stricken village on the Genesee Valley Canal, O'Sullivan endeavors to find out just what's in the old book. Perhaps there's a buck to be made. Before long, the entire village of New Hartford is embroiled in angry confrontation. The Town Constable, a Calvinist preacher, a venerable banker and hoards of drunken canallers are swept up in the melee. Meanwhile, it starts to rain. Soon, all is not well in New Hartford. This Sam McGowan Adventure is Part One of a two-part story of three young 'friends' who definitely will NOT grow old together.