Alice Turner Curtis

“ Father forgets things,” she said.
Before supper time Faith was in a much happier state of mind. She had helped Louise with her reading lesson; they had played that the sofa was a throne and Lady Amy a queen, and that they were Lady Amy’s daughters; and the unpleasantness of the early afternoon had quite vanished when the candles were lighted, and supper on the table.
The supper seemed a feast to the shoemaker’s daughter. Every time she came to visit Faith Louise tasted some new dish, so daintily prepared that she was at once eager to learn to make it. ”

“ The boys were already in bed; Mr. Scott was attending to the evening chores, and Aunt Prissy was alone in the sitting-room when Faith appeared in the doorway.
“Aunt Prissy, look! I tore my dress coming home to-day, and I was afraid to tell you! Oh, Aunt Prissy!” for her aunt had taken Faith and the blue dress into her arms, and held the little girl closely as she said:
“Why, dear child! How could you ever be afraid of me? About a dress, indeed! A torn dress is nothing. Nothing at all.” ”

“ Here, help me turn it into the kettle and get it over the fire before your mother comes back,” urged Esther, and the two girls lifted the jug and turned the maple syrup into the kettle. “There, that will make a lot of candy,” said Esther. “You stir up the fire and put on more wood.”
Faith obeyed. She hardly knew what else she could do, although she was sure that her mother would not want them to use all the syrup for candy. As she piled on the wood, she heard a scrambling noise at the door, and a sudden scream from Esther: “Faith! Faith! A bear! A bear!” ”

“ Kashaqua was an Indian woman who had appeared at the cabin every fall and spring ever since the Carews had settled there. When Faith was a tiny baby she had come, bringing a fine beaver skin as a gift for the little girl. She always came alone, and the family looked upon her as a friend, and always made a little feast for her, and sent her on her way laden with gifts. Not all the Indians of the Wilderness were friendly to settlers; and the Carews were glad to feel that Kashaqua was well disposed toward them. She often brought gifts of baskets, or of bright feathers or fine moccasins for Faith. ”

“ Another summer the English soldiers are going to take all the farms, and all you rebels will be our servants,” declared Catherine.
“Another summer the Green Mountain Boys will send the English soldiers where they will behave themselves,” declared Faith. “Ethan Allen is braver than all the men in that fort.”
“I don’t care what you say. We’re not going to play with you any more, are we, Caroline?” said Catherine. “You play with that horrid little lame girl.”
“She isn’t horrid. She is much better than you are. ”

“ It seemed to her that she could run all the way if her father would only permit. And when in the early afternoon she first heard the sound of the mill-stream she did run, until, out of breath, she had to rest on a moss-grown stump for her father to catch up with her.
And then, in a short time, they were standing on the edge of the clearing. The brook was dancing and singing as if eager to welcome Faith; the sun shone warmly down on mill [Pg 193] and cabin and running down the path came Mrs. Carew; while standing near the cabin was Kashaqua, in her gayest feathers, grunting and smiling. ”

“ Allen a ‘Green Mountain Boy’?” asked the little girl, after she had answered his questions about Esther; “he is a big man.”
Mr. Carew smiled down at Faith’s eager face, and then pointed to the green wooded hills beyond the clearing. “It’s because he, and other men of these parts, are like those green hills,—strong, and sufficient to themselves,” he answered. “Every settler in the Wilderness knows that Ethan Allen will help them protect their homes; and no man knows this part of the country better than Colonel Allen.” ”

“ He had scaled the cliff, while Faith kept the canoe close under the alder bushes, entered the door of the fort, and skilfully made his way about the fortifications, determining the right place for an attack and assuring himself that the fortress contained valuable stores.
As Faith stepped from the canoe the man tried to thank her.
“Some day your Uncle Scott will hear of this, and be proud indeed of so brave a child,” he said, “and I shall tell Colonel Allen your name, and of your courage. Be sure of that. You have helped the American cause more than a regiment of soldiers.” ”

“ Their boats came right down the lake in fine shape; they landed, and marched toward the fort. But the French were ready for them, and beat them back. However, the next year the English and Americans drove the French out.”
“I guess the English are brave,” Donald ventured, returning to his work.
“Of course they are. Why, we’re all English ourselves,” declared Nathan, “and that’s why we won’t stand being treated so unfairly. We can’t stand it.”
“I’m not English. I’m an American,” said Faith; “and when the Americans take Ticonderoga that will be American too.” ”

“ All twelve, every one of the year, sit about the fire. And now and then one of them stirs the fire, and that makes all the world warmer. July and August, when it is their turn, make it blaze; but the other months do not care so much about it. But once in a while each month takes its turn,” answered Faith. “That’s what Colonel Allen told me.”
“’Tis a good story,” said Mr. Carew. “Did your mother tell you that I have sent word to your Aunt Priscilla about your going to her house as soon as some trustworthy traveler going to Ticonderoga passes this way?” ”

“ Aunt Prissy said when Donald and Faith told their story. “The English become less friendly every day. Well, we will not think of them when there is so much to do as we have before us.”
“I asked Louise to come to the quilting,” said Faith.
“That’s right; and I am going to send Donald to ask a number of your schoolmates to come in the evening. The moon will be full to light them home, and you children can have the kitchen to yourselves after supper, and make molasses candy,” said Aunt Prissy. ”

“ Louise was no longer the sullen, sad-faced child whom Faith had first seen. She knew that she had friends; she was included in all the pleasant happenings with Faith; her father seemed to take pride in her appearance; and best of all, she thought, she was to begin school when the spring term opened. To-day as they started off for the lake she was as full of happiness as any child could be.
[Pg 147] There were a number of children and young people on the ice, skating and sliding. A number of boys had built a bonfire on the shore, where they could warm their chilled toes and fingers. ”

“ The week following Faith’s visit to the fort proved rather a difficult one for her at school. Caroline and Catherine seemed to think they had played a fine joke, and accused her of running home when they were waiting for her. Faith had resolved not to quarrel with them, but apparently the sisters meant to force her into trouble, if sneering words and ridicule could do it.
“You’re an American, so you don’t dare talk back,” sneered Catherine one day when Faith made no reply to the assertion that Faith had meant to run home from the fort alone.
“Americans are not afraid,” replied Faith quickly. ”

“ Faith had been taught to sew neatly, and she wondered if she could not help make Louise a dress. “And perhaps Aunt Prissy will teach her how to make cake,” she thought; for never to taste of cake seemed to Faith to be a real misfortune. For the first night since her arrival at her aunt’s home Faith went to sleep without a homesick longing for the cabin in the Wilderness, and awoke the next morning thinking about all that could be done for the friendless little girl who could not accept a present. ”

“ So Faith told her aunt that Louise could not read. That she had never before tasted fruit cake, and that she had no playmates, and had never had a present. [Pg 92] “Why do you suppose she came to see me, Aunt Prissy?” she concluded.
“I cannot imagine. Unless it was because you are a stranger,” replied Aunt Prissy. “I have an idea that I can arrange with Mr. Trent so that he will be willing for me to make Louise a dress, and get for her the things she ought to have. For the shoemaker is no poorer than most of his neighbors. How would you like to teach Louise to read?” ”

“ Faith sat down at the table, looking out through the open window toward the mill.
“I do hope Esther Eldridge and her father will come to-day,” she said. “Do you think they will, mother dear?”
“Yes, child; they will probably arrive before sunset. Your father expected them yesterday. It will be a fine thing for you to have a little girl for a companion. But she is a village child, and may not be happy in the Wilderness,” responded Mrs. Carew. ”

“ Eldridge, as she turned toward the door; and then Esther saw that her father was waiting for Mr. Carew.
“Faithie dear, your father is going to Castleton,” said Mrs. Carew, fastening the knapsack, and in a moment Faith was held close in her father’s arms, and then the two men were off, striding down the trail.
“Are they going to take Ticonderoga?” Faith questioned eagerly.
The two women looked at her in surprise, but Mrs. Carew answered quickly:
“Of course they are. Americans are guarding the trail, so we are safe enough at present. But neither of you girls must go beyond the clearing.” ”

“ Hugh had made a “quiver,” a little case to hold the arrows, such as the Indians use, of birch bark, and little Philip had a dish filled with molasses candy, which he had helped to make.
It was a beautiful morning for Faith, and the broiled chicken and hot corn cake gave the breakfast an added sense of festivity.
Soon after breakfast Mr. Scott, Donald and Faith were ready to start for the lake. Donald took his sled along. “So we can draw Cousin Faith home, if she gets tired,” he explained, with quite an air of being older and stronger than his cousin. ”

“ Your Uncle Philip and the boys are waiting to eat breakfast with you, and I have a great deal to talk over with you; so make haste and come down,” and Aunt Prissy, with a gay little nod, was gone, leaving Faith greatly cheered and wondering what the “good time” would be.
Uncle Philip Scott was waiting at the foot of the stairs. “So here is our little maid from the Wilderness! Well, it is a fine thing to have a girl in the house,” he declared, leading Faith into the dining-room and giving her a seat at the table beside his own. “Did you have any adventures coming over the trail?” ”

“ Close beside the trail was a rough shelter made of the boughs of spruce and fir trees, and near at hand was piled a quantity of wood ready for a fire. There was a clearing, and the rough shelter was shaded by two fine oak trees.
“Does somebody live here?” asked Faith.
“Traveler’s wigwam,” explained Kashaqua, who was unpacking the lunch basket with many grunts of satisfaction. “White men going down the trail to big road to Shoreham sleep here,” she added, holding up a fine round molasses cake in one hand and a roasted chicken in the other. ”

“ Faith! I shall not keep your porridge hot another instant,” sounded from the kitchen.
[Pg 10] “I’m coming, mother dear,” the little girl called back, and hurried down the stairs, wondering to herself why grown people who could always do exactly as they pleased should think it best to rise before the sun was really up.
“Your father was off to the mill an hour ago,” said Mrs. Carew, setting a bowl of steaming porridge on the end of the table beside a narrow window, “so you will have to eat your porridge alone.” ”

“ Faith was very quiet as they walked toward home. She was thinking to herself of all the happy experiences of the past weeks; and not [Pg 216] until she saw Louise waiting for her at Aunt Prissy’s gate did her face lose its serious expression. She ran ahead of the others and called out: “Louise! Louise! You will be Aunt Prissy’s little girl, won’t you? Because then you’ll really be an American.” ”

“ Louise would be pretty if she were a neat and well-behaved child. She has soft black hair, black eyes, and is slenderly built. Too slender, I fear, for health,” replied Mrs. Scott, who often thought of the shoemaker’s [Pg 84] motherless little girl, whose father seemed to resent any effort to befriend her.
“Why, that sounds just the way Esther Eldridge looks. Only Esther isn’t lame,” responded Faith; and, in answer to her aunt’s questions, Faith described Esther’s visit to the cabin, omitting, however, the fact that she had given Esther the blue beads. ”

“ When night came the Indian woman made [Pg 62] her preparations to sleep before the kitchen fire, and the Carews went up-stairs to bed. The mother and father lay long awake that night. While they assured each other that Faith would be perfectly safe, and that the Indian woman would defend the little girl from all danger, they could not but feel an uncertainty. “We can trust the strength and love that has protected us always to go with our little maid,” said Mr. Carew; “perhaps Kashaqua is the safest person we could find.” ”

“ For the log cabin home was very dear to her, and at that time the Indians, often incited by the British in command of the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, burned the homes of settlers who held their land through grants given by the New Hampshire government.
“More settlers are coming into this region every year. We shall soon have neighbors near at hand, and can have a school and church,” said Mr. Carew hopefully. “Colonel Allen is not journeying through the wilderness for pleasure. He has some plan in mind to make this region more secure for all of us. ”