Alice Turner Curtis

“ Amos Cary and Jimmy Starkweather lay on the warm sand in the narrow shadow cast by a fishing dory pulled up on the beach. No chief returning from far-off islands could have been more a hero than was Amos among the boys and girls of the settlement. They followed him about, and listened eagerly to all that he had to tell them of the Indians. Then, too, he was to go in the “Sea Gull” with Captain Nash, the swiftest schooner and the smartest captain sailing out of the harbor, and Jimmie Starkweather felt that Amos was having greater good fortune than any boy could hope for. ”

“ The water was very calm, and as Nakanit and her mother dipped their paddles and sent the canoe swiftly along, Anne looked back toward the wooded shore and was very glad that she was not plodding along over the fields and hills. It was much cooler on the water, and the little girl wondered if her Aunt Martha missed her at all. “But perhaps she is glad that I ran away,” thought Anne, for she was sure that she had not given either Amanda or Mrs. Stoddard any reason to be unkind or to blame her. “Rose Freeman will be glad I came; I know she will,” was her comforting thought. ”

“ When Amos’s boat drew near the landing at Province Town, he saw that his father, Amanda, and the Stoddards were all waiting for him. He felt himself to be almost like the chiefs of whom Shining Fish had told him, and quite expected to be praised and made much of; but as he sprang ashore he felt his father’s hand on his shoulder.
“March yourself straight to the house, young man. I’ll see that you pay for this fool’s errand,” said Mr. Cary.
Amos wriggled away from his father’s grasp. “I’ve got a letter for Captain Enos. Anne’s in Brewster,” he announced.
“Thank heaven!” exclaimed Mrs. Stoddard. ”

“ The black colt sped along as if it was nothing but play to pull the big chaise. The girls told Mr. Freeman of all that Aunt Anne Rose had said about the big farm, and of her own loneliness when her husband and sons were away. Rose noticed that, although her father listened, his glance traveled sharply over the pastures as they went along; and that now and then he leaned out for a clearer view of some horse feeding near the road, and she realized that he was keeping an outlook for Lady. ”

“ CHAPTER XIII ANNE’S BOOK
“Rose,” said Anne, as soon as they left the little shop, “I know what I shall buy for Aunt Martha; I shall buy her one of those fine pewter dishes.”
“So you can! It will be sure to please her,” replied Rose, looking kindly down at her little friend. “You are always thinking of giving people things, aren’t you, Anne? My Grandmother Freeman, who lived in Wellfleet, used to say that it was a sign that a child would grow up prosperous and happy if it had the spirit to give instead of to take.” ”

“ You shall open the door yourself, little maid,” answered Mains. “You boys go on to the kitchen and get Mr. Freeman’s pardon for me if you can,” and he turned and led Anne toward the room where Rose was locked in.
When Rose saw Anne standing in the doorway she exclaimed: “Oh, Anne, has he brought you back!” in such an unhappy voice that Bill Mains felt very uncomfortable.
“It’s all right, Rose. You are to come right out where your father is. There are some nice men out there,” declared Anne, clasping her hands about Rose’s arm. ”

“ Stoddard can see the places.”
“Oh, Rose! That will be fine. Shall we begin the book to-morrow?”
Anne was soon in bed, but there were so many wonderful things to think of that she lay long awake.
The Freeman household rose at an early hour. After breakfast Mrs. Freeman said: “Now, Anne, we will make believe that you are my own little girl, and I will tell you what to do to help me, just as I do Rose. You see,” she added with a little laugh, “that I am like Frederick. I like to play that all sorts of pleasant things are really true.”
Anne smiled back. “I like to make-believe, too,” she said. ”

“ Amos was so frequently in his boat that no one gave any especial attention when they saw him push off from shore and row steadily in the direction of Truro. He was not missed at home until supper time; then, as the little family gathered around the table, Mrs. Cary said:
“’Tis time Amos was here. He’s not often late for his supper.”
“He won’t be here for supper,” announced Amanda; “he’s gone to find Anne!”
“My soul!” exclaimed Mrs. Cary; “gone to find Anne, indeed. What possesses the children of this settlement is more than I can answer. And you, Amanda! ”

“ Anne asked, as the two girls walked down the shady pleasant street that led to the wharves. Anne was not a dull child, and she noticed that no word had been said of Boston, and began to wonder if Mr. Freeman blamed her for running away. “Perhaps your father thinks I am a wicked girl to have run away,” she added before Rose could answer.
“Oh, Anne, no indeed; nobody would think you wicked,” Rose answered promptly. “But father sent a letter to Captain Enos by Amos, and he expects that the captain will get word to us to-day or to-morrow——”
“To say whether I may go or not?” interrupted Anne. ”

“ Then, when the work was finished, the girls went up the narrow stairs to the attic, a long unfinished room running the whole length of the house with windows at each end. Under one of these windows stood a broad low table. Rose had brought up the blank book, a number of pens, made from goose-quills, and a bottle of ink. She put them on the table and drew up a high-backed wooden chair for Anne. “I’ll sit in this rocking-chair at the end of the table with my knitting,” said Rose.
Anne looked about the attic, and thought that the Freeman children had everything in the world. ”

“ The end of Cape Cod, with its sandy dunes, [Pg 14] scant pasturage or tillage, made the people depend on their boats, not only to bring in fish, but all other household necessities. The harbor was unguarded, and its occupation as a rendezvous by English men-of-war had made it very hard for the people to get provisions. So it was no wonder that Anne looked at the ginger cakes and tarts as special delicacies, too precious to lie in the sand.
“I’ll go to the outer beach by myself,” decided Anne, “but I will not eat my share of the luncheon. ”

“ Amanda has a good heart, and she does not hold resentment,” and Mrs. Cary looked at Amanda with loving eyes.
At her mother’s words Amanda began to cry again. She thought to herself that she could never tell the truth, never. “Everybody will hate me if I do,” she thought, and then, remembering Anne and hearing her father say on the second day after her disappearance that there was now little hope of finding the runaway, she felt that she must tell Mrs. Stoddard.
“I’ll wager I could find Anne,” said Amos as he and Amanda sat on the door-step. “She’s started for Brewster.” ”

“ So Anne again dipped the quill into the ink, and wrote: “This is a picture of me beginning to write a book. Rose made it.” The attic was very quiet, the sound of Anne’s pen, and of Rose’s knitting-needles could be heard, and for a little time there was no other sound; then came a clatter of stout shoes on the stairway, and little Millicent appeared.
“See, I found this in Anne’s room!” she exclaimed.
Anne looked around, and saw Millicent holding up her beloved “Martha Stoddard.” With a quick exclamation she sprang up and ran toward her. ”

“ She wished that she was a boy and could go with Amos in the “Sea Gull.”
“It is indeed good news to know that our little girl is safe in Brewster,” said Mrs. Stoddard, as she read Mr. Freeman’s letter, “but what shall we do, Enos, about bringing her home? Mr. Freeman truly says that, while Rose is eager to take Anne to Boston, we may feel that it would not be right for her to go. It is indeed a puzzle, is it not? Whatever possessed Anne to turn upon Amanda in such fashion, and then to run off?” and the good woman shook her head dolefully. ”

“ Uncle Enos!” exclaimed Anne joyfully. “I’m so glad you’ve come,” and she clasped both hands around his brawny arm as he stepped on the wharf. “And here is Rose,” she continued as the elder girl stepped forward to speak to the captain.
“Growing more like a rose every day,” declared Captain Enos, as he shook hands with Rose. “And here is our little maid all ready to start on the great journey, eh?” and he looked kindly down into Anne’s smiling face. “And what would you girls say if I told you that I had sailed over here to take Anne back to Province Town?” ”

“ Fully as large as I am myself. I should call her large; that is, large for a girl,” responded the little white-haired woman, who was rather sensitive in regard to her size. “I see you wear good shoes,” she continued, peering over the low counter and pointing a tiny finger toward Anne’s feet. “I know my own shoes when I see ’em,” and she laughed pleasantly. “My brother makes every shoe I sell; makes ’em right back here in his own shop, as Miss Rose Freeman well knows.”
“Yes, indeed,” answered Rose, “and Mistress Mason makes dolls, Anne—all those fine ones near the door.” ”

“ I asked you if you would do something for me, and not let any one know.”
[Pg 195] “Well, I might have known nothing interesting would happen to me,” said Frederick. “Nothing ever does,” and he regarded poor “Martha Stoddard” with scornful eyes.
“I want you to make a wooden doll as nearly like this one as you can,” said Rose. “Millicent has taken possession of this one, and it’s the only doll Anne has, and I’m sure that she doesn’t want Millicent to have it. I thought if you could make one just like it that Millicent would like the new one better, and then Anne could have her own.” ”

“ At last the bareheaded man began to laugh, and the others joined in; all but Bill Mains, who looked somewhat ashamed.
“You’ve been a bit too cautious, I reckon, Bill,” said the man who had found Anne. “Mr. Freeman of Boston is known as a loyal man. Did he not tell you who he was?”
“I gave him no chance after I found this little maid looking at the guns I had covered with blankets,” confessed Mains. “I told him I’d gag him if he said one word, and I reckon he thought he had fallen into the hands of a rank Tory. Who are you, little maid?” and he turned kindly toward Anne. ”

“ But Mrs. Stoddard shook her head, and said Anne must not think too well of what, after all, was Miss Rose Freeman’s book as much as it was Anne’s. “You must not overpraise our little maid,” she warned Captain Enos reprovingly. But the book was ever one of Mistress Stoddard’s most valued treasures, and was kept with “Pilgrim’s Progress” in the big chest.
It was late in the afternoon before all the dishes, pewter, the fine new table-cloths, and the pretty brown cloth for Mistress Stoddard’s new gown, were unpacked.
“This package is for Amanda,” Anne said, holding up a good-sized bundle. ”

“ He wished more than ever that he was back with Shining Fish. Then he remembered that in another week he would be on board the “Sea Gull.” He watched Captain Stoddard’s sloop until it was only a white blur against the distant shore, and then went up the beach toward home.
Captain Enos had a favoring wind and a light heart, for he was glad to know that their little maid had not been to blame. “She ran away because she had not been fairly treated. ’Tis what older people sometimes do,” he said to himself. ”

“ It was much pleasanter than journeying in the sun. The squaw and Nakanit began to sing, and although neither Anne nor Amos understood the words, they were both sure that the musical notes told of birds flying over moonlit water.
It was midnight when the squaw turned the canoe toward shore. It proved to be the mouth of a small inlet up which they went for some distance, Amos keeping close behind.
“Look, Anne!” he exclaimed as the Indians stopped paddling. “There is a camp-fire. I do believe it’s the Mashpee village.” ”

“ Mrs. Cary had gone home. Mrs. Stoddard looked at the little girl, but not with her usual smile.
“Where is Amanda’s basket?” she asked sharply. “Do not stand there; come in.” Anne obeyed. [Pg 21] “Now, tell me why you pushed Amanda down, and slapped her, and ran off with the basket of food? Mrs. Cary has been here and told me all about it. A nice story indeed for me to hear. But like as not it is my fault for indulging you in everything. But I shall be firm now. Go up-stairs and stay until I call you; and as for that visit with Rose Freeman, think no more of it. I shall not let you go. ”

“ Rose met several girls of her own age who greeted Anne pleasantly. One of them asked Rose if she knew that a messenger had reached Boston with a copy of the Declaration of Independence. “It is to be read from the balcony of the State House on Tuesday,” said Rose’s friend. “’Twill be a great day, and ’tis well you have reached Boston in time for it.”
When Anne and Rose reached the Freeman house little Millicent was at the door waiting for them. She had a big doll in her arms and told Anne that its name was “Hetty,” because Aunt Hetty Freeman had made it and sent it to her. ”

“ But why do we not have chaises in Province Town?”
“We must have roads first,” replied Aunt Martha smilingly; “but Province Town has no need of coaches and roads with good boats in harbor. Now we must see that your clothes are in order, for a week soon goes.”
“Anne! Anne!” and before Anne could respond a girl of about her own age came running into the kitchen. [Pg 12] “Can you go with me over to the outer beach? May she go, Mrs. Stoddard? See! I have enough luncheon for us both in this basket,” and Amanda held up a pretty basket woven of sweet grass. ”

“ Tory spies they are.”
At the sound of the hated words Anne exclaimed: “Indeed we are not Tory spies. We are not either of those things. Mr. Freeman is a patriot, and his son is with Washington. How dare you say we are Tories and treat us so!” and the little girl quite forgot her fear, and, as the hold on her arm loosened, she took a step away from the man and said: “We were going to Boston, and going to stop at Suet to see Captain Sears, and that man,” and she pointed at Bill Mains, “shut us up because Rose and I peeked under a blanket at some guns.” ”

“ For wasps go to work in a very business-like way. They chew up dead and crumbling wood and spread it out smoothly, and when it dries and hardens there is a sheet of paper, all ready to be used as one of the layers for this dry warm nest. Men make paper by grinding up wood or linen rags.”
“You can put the nest in our lunch-basket, father,” said Rose. “Frederick and Millicent will think it the most wonderful thing they have ever seen.”
Frederick and Millicent were Rose’s younger brother and sister. Frederick was about Anne’s age, but little Millicent was only six years old. ”