The Puritan Twins Page 5

  V

  THE NEW HOME

  Goodman Pepperell and his wife rose early the next morning, and,leaving the two children still sleeping; crept down the ladder to thefloor below. There lay Zeb, also sound asleep, with his toes towardthe ashes like a little black Cinderella. The Goodwife's mother heartwas stirred with pity as she looked down at him. Perhaps she imaginedher own boy a captive in a strange land, unable to speak the language,with no future but slavery and no friends to comfort his loneliness.

  "Poor lad--let him sleep a bit, too," she said to her husband.

  They unbolted the door and stepped out into the sunlight of a perfectJune morning. The dew was still on the grass; robins and bobolinkswere singing merrily in the young apple trees, which, owing to a late,cold spring, were still in bloom, and the air hummed with the music ofbees' wings.

  The Goodman drew a deep breath as he gazed at the beauty about him."'T is good to be at home again," he said to his wife. "And 't is agoodly land--aye, better even than old England! There 's space here,room enough to grow." He looked across the river to the hills ofBoston town. "I doubt not we shall live to see a city in place of yonvillage," he said; "more ships seek its port daily, and there aresettlements along the whole length of the bay. 'T is a marvel wherethe people come from. The Plymouth folk are scattering to the northand south, and already villages are springing up between Plymouth andNew Amsterdam. God hath prospered us, wife."

  "Praise be to his holy name," said the Goodwife, reverently. "But,husband," she added, "what shall we do with our increase? Thou hastbrought home a horse and the black lad. The horse can stay outof doors during the summer, but there is not room for him in thecow-shed, and the lad cannot sleep always before the fire."

  "I have thought of that," said the Goodman, "and when the crops are inI purpose to build a larger house."

  "Verily it will be needed," she answered. "The crops grow like weedsin this new soil. If there were but a place for storage, I could putaway much for winter use that now is wasted. Go thou and look at thegarden, while I uncover the coals and set the kettle to boil."

  "Wait a moment, wife," said the Goodman, "I have somewhat to tellthee. There is ever a black spot in our sunshine. Though the dangergrows less all the while as the settlements increase, it is still truethat the Indians are ever a menace, and I fear they are over watchfulof us." Then he told her of the attack in the forest. "I have reasonto think the red-skins spied upon us all the way to Boston town," hefinished. "I did not tell Daniel, but twice I saw savages on our trailafter we left Kittredge's. I wounded one in the encounter, and theywill not forget that. I know not why they should plot against theblack boy, unless it is to revenge themselves upon me, but it iscertain they tried to drag him away with them into the woods." TheGoodwife listened with a pale face.

  "'T is well, then, that we have a watchdog added to our possessions,"she said at last. "Gran'ther Wattles's shepherd hath a litter of pups,and he hath promised one to the children. Nancy hath waited until Dancame home that he might share the pleasure of getting it with her."

  "She hath a generous heart," said her father, tenderly. "Aye,--she isa good lass, though headstrong."

  When their mother reached the cabin, she found the Twins up anddressed and Daniel trying to rouse the sleeping Zeb. "Wake up," heshouted, giving him a shake. Zeb rolled over with a grunt and openedhis eyes.

  "Take him outdoors while I get breakfast," said the Goodwife. "Mercyupon me, what shall I do with a blackamoor and a dog both underfoot!"

  "A dog!" cried Daniel. "What dog? Where is he?"

  "Nancy will tell thee," said his mother, and, not able to wait amoment to hear and tell such wonderful news, the two children rushedout at once, followed by Zeb. When their mother called the familyto breakfast half an hour later, Zeb had been shown the garden, thecorn-field, the cow-shed, the pig-sty, the straw-stack where eggs wereto be found, the well with its long well-sweep, and the samp-mill. Hehad had the sheep pointed out to him, and been introduced to Eliza,the cow, and allowed to give Penny a measure of corn. The children hadshouted the name of each object to him as they had pointed it out,and Zeb had shown his white teeth and grinned and nodded a great manytimes, as if he understood.

  "I know he 's seen eggs before, for he sucked one," Dan told hismother. Zeb was given his breakfast on the door-stone, and Dan triedto teach him the use of a spoon, without much success; and afterwardshe was brought in to family prayers. His eyes rolled apprehensivelyas he looked from one kneeling figure to another, but, obeying Dan'sgesture, he knelt beside him, and for ten minutes he stuck it out:then, as the prayer continued to pour in an uninterrupted streamfrom the Goodman's lips, he quietly crawled out on all fours anddisappeared through the door. Dan found him afterwards out by thestraw-stack, and as there was a yellow streak on his black face,concluded he had learned his lesson about the hen's nest altogethertoo well. He was given a hoe and taken to the corn-field at once.Here Daniel showed him just how to cut out the weeds with the hoe andloosen the earth about the roots of the corn. Zeb nodded and grinnedso cheerfully that, after watching him a few moments, Daniel calledNancy and they started for Gran'ther Wattles's house in the village toget the puppy. They had gone but a short distance when Nancy, glancingaround, saw Zeb following them, grinning from ear to ear.

  "No--no--no--go back," bawled Daniel, pointing to the corn-field. Zebnodded with the utmost intelligence and followed right along. "Oh,dear!" groaned Daniel. "I 've taught him to do things by showing how,and now he thinks he must do _everything_ that I do."

  He sat down on a stone and gazed despairingly at Zeb. Zeb promptly satdown on another stone and beamed at him! In vain Daniel pointed andshouted, and shook his head. Zeb nodded as cheerfully as ever andconscientiously imitated Dan's every move. In spite of all they coulddo he followed them clear to Gran'ther Wattles's house.

  "Oh, dear!" said Nancy, "it 's just like having your shadow come tolife! You 'll have to work all the time, Dan, or Zeb won't work atall!"

  Even with the wonderful new puppy in his arms Dan took a gloomy viewof the situation. "I 'm sick of being an example," he said. "I had tobe one at Aunt Bradford's all the time, for she told Mercy and Josephto watch how I behaved, and now here 's this crazy blackamoor mockingeverything I do! I guess Father 'll wish he had n't bought him."

  The days that followed were trying ones for everybody. The Goodwifewas nearly distracted trying to house her family and do her work insuch crowded quarters. Zeb followed Dan like a nightmare, and theGoodman delved early and late to catch up with the work which hadwaited for his return. Among other duties there were berries to bepicked in the pasture and dried for winter use, and this task fell tothe children. It was work which Zeb thoroughly enjoyed, but alas, heate more than he brought home. On one occasion he ate green fruitalong with the ripe, and spent a noisy night afterward holding on tohis stomach and howling at each new pain. In vain the Goodwife triedto cure him with a dose of hot pepper tea. Zeb took just enough toburn his mouth and, finding the cure worse than the disease, roaredmore industriously than ever. She was at her wit's end and finallyhad to leave him to groan it out alone beside the fire. It was weeksbefore he learned to understand the simplest sentences, and meanwhilepoor Dan had to go on being an example.

  Finally one day the Goodman brought home a large saw from Boston, andhe and Dan showed Zeb how to use it. Then day after day Dan and Zebsawed together, making boards for the new house, while Nancy broughther carding or knitting and sat on a stump near by with the puppy ather feet or nosing about in the bushes. They had named the dog Nimrod,"because," as Nancy said, "he is surely a mighty hunter before theLord, just like Nimrod in the Bible. He sniffs around after field miceall the time, and if he only sees a cat he barks his head off andtears after her like lightning!"

  * * * * *

  The summer passed quickly away, with few events to take them outsidethe little kingdom of home in which they lived. Twice the Captainstopped to see them when the Lucy Ann put
in at Boston Harbor, and itwas from him they got such news as they had of the world without. ByOctober, Nimrod had grown to be quite a large dog and was alreadyuseful with the sheep, and Zeb could understand a good deal of whatwas said to him, though it was noticeable that he was very dull whenit concerned tasks he did not like. With Dan to guide him he was ableto help shock the corn and pile the pumpkins in golden heaps betweenthe rows. He could feed the cattle and milk the cow and draw water forthem from the well. While the Goodman and the two boys worked in thefields gathering the crops, Nancy and her mother dried everything thatcould be dried and preserved everything that could be preserved, untilthere was a wonderful store of good things for the winter.

  One day when all the rafters were festooned with strings ofcrook-necked squashes, onions, and seed corn braided in long ropes bythe husks, the Goodman appeared in the doorway with another load ofseed corn and looked in vain for a place to put it.

  "There is no place," said the Goodwife. "The Lord hath blessed us soabundantly there is not room to receive it. As it is, I can hardly domy work without stepping on something. If it is not anything else, itis sure to be either Zeb or Nimrod. Truly I can no longer clean andsand my floor properly for the things that are standing about."

  The Goodman sat down on the settle and looked long and earnestly atthe crowded room, whistling softly to himself. Then he rose and wentto the village, and as a result the neighbors gathered the very nextweek to help build the new house. They came early in the morning,the men with axes and saws on their shoulders and the women carryingcooking-utensils. Then while the men worked in the forest fellingtrees, cutting and hauling timbers, and putting them in place, thewomen helped the Goodwife make whole battalions of brown loaves andregiments of pies, beside any number of other good things to eat.Nancy, Dan, and Zeb ran errands and caught fish and dug clams andgathered nuts to supply materials for them, and were promptly on handwhen meal time came.

  There were so many helpers that in a wonderfully short time theframe-work was up, the roof boards were on, and a great fireplace hadbeen built into the chimney in the new part of the house. Also a doorhad been cut through to connect the new part with the old cabin, whichwas now to be used for storage and as a stable for Penny and Eliza,and a sleeping-space for Zeb. When all this was done and the roof on,the neighbors returned to their own tasks, leaving the Pepperells tolay the floors, cover the outside with boards, and do whatever wasnecessary to finish the house. It was late in the fall before this wasaccomplished and the family had settled down to the enjoyment of theirnew quarters.

  One day as Dan and Zeb were bringing in boards to sheathe the room onthe inside, they were startled to see two Indians peering out at themfrom the shelter of the near-by woods. Dropping the board they werecarrying, they ran like deer to the house, and Dan told his fatherwhat they had seen. The Goodman looked thoughtful as he went on withhis task of sheathing, and that very evening he worked late buildinga secret closet between the chimney and the wall. "It will be a handyplace to hide thy preserves," he said to his wife, "and a refugeshould the Indians decide to give us trouble." He cut a small squarewindow high up in the outside wall and contrived a spring, hidden inthe chimney, to open the door. When this spring was pressed a holewould suddenly appear in what seemed a solid wall, revealing thewell-stored shelves. This closet was the Goodwife's special pride, butto Zeb it was a continuous mystery. At one moment there was the solidwall; the next, without touch of human hands, a door would fly open,giving a tantalizing glimpse of things to eat which he could nevertouch, for if he came near, the door would close again as mysteriouslyas it had opened. Dan loved to tease him with it, and Zeb, fearingmagic, would take to his heels whenever this marvel occurred.

  One day the Goodman said to his wife: "Thanksgiving draws near, andsurely we have much cause for thankfulness this year, for the Lordhath exceedingly blessed us. There are yet some things to be donebefore the day comes, and I wish to meet it with my task finished. Ihear there is a ship in the harbor loaded with English merchandise,and to-morrow I go to Boston, and if thou art so minded, thou canst gowith me."

  This put the Goodwife in quite a flutter of excitement, for she hadnot been away from home except to go to church for many months. Shegot out her best gown that very evening, to be sure it was in properorder, and while she got supper gave Nancy and Dan an endless stringof directions about their tasks in her absence.

  Early the next morning she mounted the pillion behind her husband, andthe three children watched their departure, Dan clutching Nimrod, whowas determined to go with them, and the Goodwife calling back lastinstructions to the little group until Penny was well on the road toCharlestown.

  The house seemed strangely lonely without the mother in it, but therewas no time for the children to mope, for there was all the work todo in their parents' absence. Dan took command at once. "You 'll bothhave to mind me now," he said to Nancy and Zeb. "I 'm the man of thehouse."

  "If thou 'rt the man of it, I 'm the woman, and thou and Zeb will bothhave to do as _I_ say," retorted Nancy, "or else mayhap I 'll get theeno dinner! Mother said I could make succotash, and thou lov'st thatbetter than anything. Mother said above all things not to let the firego out, for it would be hard to bring a fire-brand all the way fromthe village. So do thou bring in a pile of wood and set Zeb tochopping more."

  Dan counted his chances. "Very well," he said at last, withcondescension, "thou art a willful baggage but I 'll give thee thyway! Only make the big kettle full."

  All that day Nancy bustled importantly about the house, with hersleeves rolled up and her skirts looped back under her apron inimitation of her mother. She was better than her word and madejohnny-cake besides the succotash for dinner, and after they had eatenit said to Dan, "If thou wilt go out to the field and bring in apumpkin, I 'll make thee some pies for supper."

  Dan dearly loved pumpkin pie, and in his zeal to carry out the planbrought in two great yellow globes from the corn-field instead of theone Nancy had asked for. "Mercy upon us," said Nancy when he appeared,beaming, with one under each arm, "those would make pies enough forall Cambridge. Thine eyes hold more than thy stomach."

  "There 's no such thing as too many pies," said Daniel stoutly, "andif there 's any pumpkin left over, I 'll feed it to the pig."

  "I 'll tell thee what we will do," said Nancy. "We will make a greatsurprise for Mother and Father. When they come home they will be tiredand hungry and ready for a grand supper. Do thou and Zeb run down tothe bay and bring back a mess of clams. We 'll have the table allspread and a bright fire burning to welcome them!"

  Dan agreed to this plan and went out at once to call Zeb. He found himby the straw-stack with an egg in each hand. "Take them in to Nancy,"commanded Dan, pointing sternly toward the house. Zeb had meant todispose of them otherwise, for he had a bottomless appetite for eggs,but he trotted obediently to the house at Dan's order, and then thetwo boys started together for the bay, with Nimrod barking joyfullyand running about them in circles all the way.

  The fall days were short, and it was dusk before the evening choreswere done, and Dan came in to the bright kitchen with Zeb and Nimrodboth at his heels, and announced that he had a hole in his stomach asbig as a bushel basket. For answer Nancy pointed to four golden-brownpies cooling on a shelf, and Dan smacked his lips in anticipation. Zebcame alongside and, copying Dan, smacked his lips too.

  "Go away, both of you," said Nancy. "You can only look at them now,for I have everything ready for Father and Mother, and we must n't eatuntil they come."

  Dan looked about the room to see what Nancy's surprise might be. Itwas a cheerful picture that met his eye. First of all there was Nancyherself with her neat cap and white apron, putting the finishingtouches to the little feast she had prepared. She had spread the tablewith the best linen and decorated it with a bunch of red berries. Shehad even brought out the silver tankard from its hiding-place underthe eaves of the loft and placed it beside her father's trencher. Theclams were simmering on the fire, sending o
ut an appetizing smell, andthe brown loaf was cut. The hickory logs snapped and sputtered, andthe flames danced gayly in the fireplace, setting other little flamesdancing in the shining pewter dishes arranged on a dresser across theroom. Nimrod was lying before the fire with his head on his paws,asleep, and Zeb, squatted down beside him, was rolling his eyeshungrily in the direction of the pies.

  "I hope they 'll come soon," said Daniel, lifting the cover of thekettle and sniffing. "If they do not 't is likely they 'll find me asdead as a salt herring when they get here."

  Nancy laughed and, breaking a slice of brown-bread in two, gave apiece to each boy. "Take that to stay your stomachs," she said, "and,for the rest, have patience."

  For a long time they waited, and still there was no sound of hoofsupon the road. Dusk deepened into darkness, and the harvest moon cameout from behind a cloud and shed a silvery light over the landscape.Nancy went to the door and gazed toward the road.

  "Dost think, brother, the Indians have waylaid them?" she asked Dan atlast.

  "Nay," answered Dan. "They are likely delayed at the ferry. Should theferry-man be at his supper wild horses could not drag him from it,I 'll be bound. They 'll come presently, never fear, but it willdoubtless grieve them much to see me lying stiff and cold on thehearth! Nancy, thou takest a fearful chance in denying thy brotherfood."

  But Nancy only laughed at his woebegone face. "Thou art indeed avaliant trencher-man," she said. Then, suddenly inspired, she broughthim the extra pumpkin, which she had not used for the pies, set itbefore him upon the hearth-stone, and gave him a knife. "Carve thyselfa jack-o'-lantern," she said. "'T will take up thy mind, and make theeforget thy stomach." Dan took the knife, cut a cap from the top of thepumpkin, and scooped out the seeds. Then he cut holes for the eyes andnose, and a fearful gash, bordered with pointed teeth, for the mouth,and Nancy brought him the stub of a bayberry candle to put inside. Zebwatched the process with eyes growing wider and wider as the thingbecame more and more like some frightful creature of his paganimagination. They were just about to light the candle when Nimrod gavea sharp bark; there was a creaking noise outside, and Nancy, springingjoyfully to her feet, shouted, "They 've come!--they 've come!" Shewas halfway to the door, when suddenly she stopped, stiff with fright.

  There, looking in through the open shutter, was the face of an Indian!Dan and Zeb saw it at the same moment, and Nimrod, barking madly,rushed forward and leaped at the window. Giving one of his wildcatshrieks, Zeb instantly went up the ladder to the loft with the agilityof a monkey. The head had bobbed out of sight so quickly that for aninstant Nancy hardly believed her own eyes, but in that instantDan had been quick to act. He pressed the catch concealed in thefireplace, and, springing to his feet, seized Nancy and dragged herback into the secret closet. They nearly fell over the pumpkin, whichlay directly in their path, and it rolled before them into the closet.

  Once inside, they instantly closed the door, and, with wildly beatinghearts, sank down in the darkness. About a foot above the floor therewas a small knot-hole in the door, which the Goodman had purposelyleft for a peep-hole, and to this Dan now glued his eyes. In spite ofNimrod's frantic barking the house door was quietly opened, and whenthe dog flew at the intruder, he was stunned by a blow from the buttend of a musket, and his senseless body sent flying out of the door bya kick from a moccasined foot.

  Then two Indians crept stealthily into the room. They were surprisedto find it empty. Where could the children have gone? They prowledcautiously about, looking under the table and behind everything thatmight afford a hiding-place, and, finding no trace of them, turnedtheir attention in another direction. Dan was already near to burstingwith rage and grief over Nimrod, and now he had the misery of seeingthe larger of the two Indians take his father's musket from thedeer-horn on the chimney-piece, while the other, who already had agun, with grunts of satisfaction took the silver tankard from thetable and hid it under his deer-skin jacket. At first they did notseem to notice the ladder to the loft. Soon, however, they pausedbeside it, and after they had exchanged a few grunts the larger Indianbegan to mount. It was plain they meant to make a thorough search forthe children who had so miraculously disappeared.

  Dan remembered what his father had said about the Pequots; Nancy, withsick fear in her heart for Zeb, was shivering in a heap on the floor,her hands over her eyes, though that was quite unnecessary, since thecloset was pitch dark. Dan found her ear and whispered into it a briefreport of what he had seen. They could now hear the stealthy tread ofmoccasined feet above them on the floor of the loft.

  "While they 're upstairs," whispered Dan, "I 'm going to slip out andget Father's pistol. It 's hanging behind a string of onions, and theyhave n't found it."

  "Oh, no!" gasped Nancy. She clung to him, and in trying to get up hestruck the pumpkin, which rolled away toward the outside wall of thecloset. Just then there was a fearful outburst of noise overhead.There was the sound of something being dragged from under a bed acrossthe floor, something which clawed and shrieked and fought like awildcat. There were grunts and the thump of moccasined feet dancingabout in a lively struggle.

  "Now is my chance," said Dan to himself, and, opening the doorcautiously, he made a dash for the pistol and snatched it from itshiding-place. As he was leaping back to the closet, he saw thebayberry candle lying on the hearth, and in that instant a wonderfulidea flashed into his mind. He picked up the candle, lit it from theflames, and scurried back to his hiding-place just as the legs of anIndian appeared at the top of the ladder. He shut the door swiftlybehind him, and, giving the candle to Nancy, told her to set it insidethe pumpkin. Crawling to the other end of the closet, Nancy did as shewas bid, while Dan, with his eye at the peep-hole, watched the twoIndians drag poor Zeb between them down the ladder and out the door.

  Eager to see where they went, Dan climbed up to the little window ofthe closet and peered out into the night. By the moonlight he couldsee the two men dragging Zeb in the direction of the straw-stack. Theywere having a hard time of it, for Zeb struggled fiercely, and theyhad their guns and the tankard to take care of as well, and inaddition, to Dan's horror, one of them was waving a burning brandwhich he had snatched from the fire in passing! Dan trembled so withexcitement that he nearly fell from his perch, but kept his wits abouthim. "Give me the pumpkin," he said to Nancy, and when she reached itup to him, he set the lurid, grinning face in the window. "Now thepistol," he said, and, sticking the muzzle through the opening besidethe jack-o'-lantern, he fired it into the air.

  The shot was answered by a chorus of yells from the three figures bythe straw-stack. Scared out of their wits by the unexpected shot andby the frightful apparition which suddenly glared at them out of thedarkness, the Indians took to their heels and ran as only Indians canrun, dragging poor Zeb with them.

  "They 're gone," shouted Dan, dropping to the floor, "but they 've setthe straw-stack afire!"

  By the dim light of the jack-o'-lantern grinning in the window, hefound the catch of the door, and the two children burst out of thecloset. Seizing a bucket of water which stood by the hand-basin inthe corner, Dan dashed out of doors, followed by Nancy, whose fear ofIndians was now overmastered by fear of fire. If their beautiful newhouse should be burned! She ran to the well-sweep, and while Danworked like a demon, stamping on burning straws with his feet, andpouring water on the spreading flames, she swiftly plunged first onebucket, then another, into the well and filled Dan's pail as fast asit was emptied. In spite of these heroic efforts the fire spread. Allthey could do was to keep the ground wet about the stack and watch theflying sparks lest they set fire to the house. Over the lurid scenethe jack-o'-lantern grinned down at them until the candle sputteredand went out.

  The straw-stack was blazing fiercely, lighting the sky with a redglare, when in the distance they heard the beat of a drum. Gran'therWattles had seen the flames and was rousing the village. Then therewere hoof-beats on the road, and into the fire-light dashed Penny withthe terrified Goodman and his wife on her back. Once
they knew theirchildren were safe, they did not stop for questions, but at once setto work to help them check the fire, which was now spreading among thedry leaves. The Goodwife ran for her broom, which she dipped in waterand then beat upon the little flames as they appeared here and therein the grass. The Goodman mounted to the roof at once, and, with Danto fetch water and Nancy to bring up buckets from the well, theymanaged to keep it too wet for the flying sparks to set it afire. Atlast the neighbors, roused by Gran'ther Wattles's frantic alarm, camehurrying across the pastures; but the distance was so great thatthe flames had died down and the danger was nearly over before theyarrived.

  There was now time for explanations, and, surrounded by an eager andgrim-visaged circle, Nancy and Dan told their story. "There 's a bravelad for you!" cried Stephen Day, when the tale was finished, pattingDan on the shoulder. "Aye, and a brave lass, too," added another.Their father and mother said no words of praise, but there was a glowof pride in their faces as they looked at their children and silentlythanked God for their safety.

  "We can do nothing to-night," said Goodman Pepperell at last, "but,neighbors, if you are with me, to-morrow we will go into the woods andsee if we can find any trace of the black boy. Doubtless by stealinghim and burning the house they thought to revenge themselves for theIndian whom I wounded on my way home from Plymouth. They must havebeen watching the house, and, seeing us depart this morning, knew wellthat they had naught but children to deal with."

  "Aye, but such children!" said Stephen Day, who had been greatlyimpressed by the story of the jack-o'-lantern. "We 'll follow them,indeed, and if we find them"--his jaw shut with a snap and he said nomore.

  While the men laid their plans for the morrow, the children and theirmother stole round to the front of the house, and Dan began a searchfor Nimrod. He had been neither seen nor heard since the Indian hadgiven him that fearful blow and thrown him out. They found him lyinga few feet from the house still half stunned, and Dan lifted himtenderly in his arms, brought him into the house, and laid him downbefore the fire, where he had slept so peacefully only one short hourbefore. Nimrod licked his hand, and rapped his tail feebly on thehearthstone. Nancy wept over him, while Dan bathed his wounded head,and tried to find out if any bones were broken.

  "Poor Nimrod," said the Goodwife, as she set a bowl of milk before thewounded dog, "thou art a brave soldier. Drink this and soon thou wiltbe wagging thy tail as briskly as ever."

  She stirred the fire and lit the candles, and when the Goodman came ina few moments later, the little family looked about their new home tosee what damage had been done. Nancy's little feast was a sad wreck.There were the pies, to be sure, but the table-cloth was awry and theflowers were tipped over and strewn about the floor, which wascovered with the tracks of muddy feet. In the scuffle with Zeb thespinning-wheel had been overturned and the settle was lying on itsback on the floor. The room looked as if a hurricane had passedthrough it. The Goodman mourned the loss of his gun, and the Goodwifegrieved for her tankard, but all smaller losses were forgotten intheir distress about Zeb. Not only had he cost the Goodman a large sumof money, but in the weeks he had been with them he had found his ownplace in the household, where he would be sadly missed. Worst of allwas their anxiety about his fate at the hands of the Indians.

  "Come," said the Goodwife at last, when they had heard every event ofthe day twice over, "we must eat, or we shall have scant courage forthe duties of the morrow. We have none of us tasted food since noon."

  The clams were still simmering gently in the pot, and she gave themeach a porringer of broth, which they ate sitting in a circle aboutthe hearth-stone. Then she put the room in order, and though her heartwas heavy, tried to talk of the events of their day in Boston as ifnothing had happened.

  "We saw Captain Sanders in town," she said to the children. "He hathbrought the Lucy Ann to port with a load of cod for the market andwith fish and game for Thanksgiving. I have his promise that he willdine with us if God wills. He hath not yet seen our new house. Alas! Ishall have no tankard to set before him; yet, ungrateful that I am,we are still rich in blessings! 'T is well we have a day set aside toremind us of them."

  It was very late when at last the excitement had died down enough tothink of sleep. The Goodman went out to make sure there was no fireleft lurking in the grass, and to take a look at the horse and cow.As he passed the smoking ashes of the straw-stack, his foot strucksomething which rang like metal, and in the moonlight somethingglistened in the path before him. Stooping, he felt for it, and wasoverjoyed to grasp the tankard, which the Indian had lost in thestruggle with Zeb. He carried it in to his wife at once. She seized itwith a cry of joy.

  "'T is a good omen," she said. "Mayhap thou 'lt find thy muskettoo." Her husband shook his head gravely. "I 'll have need of oneto-morrow," he said. "'T is well I still have my fowling-piece and mypistol." Then he called the family together and, kneeling beside thesettle, committed them to God's keeping for the night.