Excerpt: MacGuffins in the New World

“The Hoogman twins don’t know about Emma, do they?” I said.
Ma and I looked to Pa. I don’t think he’d thought about it before.
“That may help us,” he said, “I’ve got an idea. Fergus, you’re going to hate me for it, but you’ll have to trust me!”
He gave us one of his grins and went downstairs. A few minutes later, he came back with an armful of clothes.
“Angus, those are my dresses,” Ma said, “What are you doing?”
“If Abel and Cyrus are watching, they’ll expect you, me and Fergus to come out,” he said, “They won’t expect you and two girls, though!”
“Which two girls?” I asked.
“Emma and you,” Pa said, and held up one of Ma’s blue dresses.
“No!” I shouted.
“Angus, they’re too big for him,” Ma said, “They’ll never fit!”
“All you have to do is put it on long enough to get into Jeroen’s wagon with Emma,” Pa told me, “Once you’re safely in the army camp, he can come back for your mother and me. We can lead them on a merry chase around Albany before joining you!”
“I can cover your head with a shawl,” Ma said, “Nobody will know who you are.”
“I don’t want to!” I said, and stamped my foot.
“Fergus, you want to be a Ranger, don’t you?” Pa said, “Well, think of this as a chance to practice disguising yourself, and hiding in plain sight!”
“But Pa....”
“If it works, I’ll tell Captain Rogers what a good Ranger you are.”
“But...” I stammered, torn by the offer, “Just don’t tell him about this!”
“Absolutely not,” Pa said. His grin was really starting to annoy me.