When a Witch Is Young - Forgotten Books

WH EN A W ITC

‘

5 I S YO UN G

Q {a u t um n a l fi s h

B y 4" 6

R. F. F E N N O C O M P A N Y

9 AND 1 1 EAST 1 6TH STREET, New York

1 9 0 1

Entered a cco rdi ng to Act o f C o ngress, in the yea r

ByMR . F . FENNO COMPANY

In the o flicc o f the Libra ria n o f C o ngress a t W a sh:

CONTENTS .

PART I .

Le Roi est MortII .

The Germ of a Passion

PART II .

A Rover a nd his Retinue

II .

’Twix t Cup a nd LipThe Opening o f a. V ista

Pan’s firo ther a nd the Nym ph

The Meeting in the Greenwood

Pay ing the Fiddler

To F011 3 SpyX I .

A K iss Deferred

Love ’s Inv iting Ligh t f

2228378

Contents.

Garde’s Lonely V igil

A Nigh t Atta ck

The Glint of Treasure

MutinyGarde’s Ex trem ityRandolph '

s Courtsh ipDa v1d

’

s Coercion

Goody’s Boy

A Greenwood MeetingLove’s Traps for Con fession sA Holida y EndedIn Boston TownLove ’s Ga rden

The Ene'

r'

ny in Power

A Ligh t at the TavernA Refugee

Repudiated S ilverLodgings for the RetinueGarde Obtains the ! ail KeysGarde's Ordeal

Rats in the ArmoryLove’s Long Good-by

MutationsGo lden Oysters

Fate ’s Devious WaysLittle Buses a nd Waiting

PART III .

I . A Topic at Court .

II . Illness in the Fam ily

Contents .

Mak ing HistoryOld Acquaintances

! uggling with Fire

Revelations

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

A Blow in the Dark

The M idnigh t Trial

The Gauntlet Run

Bewitched

WHENAWITCH IS YOUNG.

PART I .

CHAPTER I.

LE RO I EST MORT.

THE first , the last—th e only King th e Americans everhad

, wa s dead . I t was th e 13th day of August, in th eyear 1676. The human emotions o f th e Pur itan peopl e

o f M a ssach u setts tugged at th e shackl es o f a long repress ion and broke th em asunder, in th e seemly town

o f Plymouth . King Phil ip,th e mighty Sachem o f the

Wampanoag Indian s,had been slain . His warriors

were scattered a nd slaugh tered . His war was ended .

Through th e streets o f Plymouth pou red a vast throngo f people. Men, wom en a nd ch ildren , they ra n andwalked, su rrou nd ing a bu ff-col ored army that filled thethoroughfares l ike a turgid flood . This was th e regiment wh ich Captain Benjam in Chu rch had l ed to th efinal camp o f King Ph il ip , in th e swamps at Mt. Hopeand Pocasset

,where th e last scene in the sangu inary

drama had been enacted .

Here was a troop o f s ixty horse, with officers . Theywere well m ounted

,capar isoned with gl i tter ing back ,

breast and headpiece, and armed with clanking sword ,9

0 When a Witch is Young.

shouldered carbine,and great pi s tols, that flopped at

th e waist . Behind them were foot- sold iers , brown

Purita nsfi stern, mirth -denying, 1usty at fighting . Some

o f these here no weapon o ther than a p ike . Anotherfrequently had upon h im sword , pi stol a nd carbine .Above the heads o f these men on foot waved a thinforest o f p ike-staves, o n th e t ips o f which bright steelthrew back the dazzl ing rays o f the sun . There wa sclatter o f scabbards on the pavement, thu d and thu do f hoofs and feet in th e roadway, and above all, shout so f men and gabbl e o f ch i ldren .

There were h ordes on ei th er side o f th i s human flood,

push ing and crowding to gain th e front o f th e column ,wh ile a similar aggregation hung back upon the flanko f the regiment, bo o ting, cran ing necks and rac ing tokeep pace with th e steady

,l ong strides o f th e soldi ers .

This d iv ision o f interest was cau sed by the two coun terattractions o f th e p a geant . Thu s at th e front

,a red

Ind ian was l eading the march with a wild,half-danc ing

step,wh il e he contorted h is body weirdly for th e pur

pose o f di splaying to all beholders th e ghastly proof o fv i ctory— th e h ead o f th e great King Ph il ip . Thi s Ihd ian ally m ight have stood for th e mockery o f a drummajor

,heading a march o f doom .

The spectators, racing, crowding, following, took acrazed del igh t in beholding th i s gory head . Love

,

anger, j oy, th e daily emoti ons o f man , were habituallyso repressed by these seriou s peopl e th at now i t seemedas if they revel ed as in a n orgie o f shudder ing andgasping, to give vent to their pent-up natu res . Theylaugh ed

,they skipped on nimble feet, they sang praises .

The young men and women snatched the occas ion, with

Le Ro i est Mort . 1 1

its loosen ess of deportmen t, to look u nbridl ed feel ingsinto one another

’s eyes .The other attraction , in th e rear, wa s a c a ptive, a

mere boy, as wh ite as any in the mult itude, a nd pal erthan the palest . Tall and l ith e a s h e was, h is age wasscarcely a wh it above fou rteen . He was dressed as anIndian ; he bore h imself l ike a sul len brave . At hiss ide was o ld Ann awon, the last o f King Phil ip’ s coun

cilors, who , h aving surrendered under a promise o f“ good quarter was even now being led to h is execut ion .

The interest cente red,h owever

,in the boy . Through

th e stoicism wh ich he l abored to hold as a mask uponhis face

,th e signs o f angu ish played l ike a n under

cu rrent . In all th e th rong h e had bu t a singl e friend,th e Red-man wi th whom he was march ing . He lookedabout at th e p itiless embankment o f faces . Near h ima score o f n imble boys were runn ing , a frantic desi re tostrik e h im depicted in th eir eyes . Further away a tallm a n was moving, perforce , w ith th e t ide . On h isshou lder h e bore a l i ttl e Puri tan maiden , who migh thave been cru shed had he placed her on her feet . Sh ewas l ook ing at th e boy-captive w i th eyes that seemed adeeper brown for th eir very c ompass i on . Sh e clungto th e m a n who held h er, with a tense l i ttl e fist. Herother tiny hand was pressed upon her cheek t ill al labou t each small finger was wh ite

,in the bonny appl e

bl u sh of h er color . I t seemed as if sh e mu st cry out toth e young prisoner, in sympathy .

While th e boy was gazing back h is answer to thech ild—a qu iver in c onsequence almost loosen ing hisl ip— a n u rchin near h im abrup tly cas t a stone that

1 2 When a Witch is Young.

stru ck h im smartly in th e side. With a panther-l ikemotion the captive launched h imself upon his assail antand bore h im to earth in a second . The old councillor

,Anna won,

spoke some soft, qu ick word at whichth e lad in buckskin immediately abandoned hi s overthrown antagonist and regained h is place in th e march .

His eyes bl inked swiftly, b ut in vain, fo r tears, o f angerand pain

,forced their wa y between h is l id s a nd so to

h is cheeks, when h e dashed th em swiftly away on hi ssleeve .

The foot-sol di ers scu rried forward and closed in abou ttheir dangerou s charge . The bawl ing youths o f Plymouth seemed to multiply by magic . But their oppertunities for committing further m isch ief were presentlydestroyed . The pageant was passing Plymou th jail .An offi cer hustl ed ten of his men abou t the boy-prisoner

and wedged them through the press of people towardthi s place of gloom . Above the clamor th en rose a

voi ce, and in the Indian tongu e th e boy-captive h eardthe words

Farewell , Little-Stand ing-Panther.It was o ld Anna won,

who had ‘ divined that there

would be no oth er part ing w ith th e lad, who wa s theonly creatu re wh ich the war had left on earth for h imto love.

The boy cried Farewell, and the passage throughthe people closed beh ind h im .

Those who looked beheld o ld Anhawon smil e faintlyand sadly. It was th e only expression wh ich had playedacross h i s face since h is surrender, and there wa s never

another.Through nearly every street th e glad processi on

Le Ro i est Mort . 13

wound . At length , th e h ead o f th e bu tchered KingPh ilip was th rust upon a n i ron stake, wh ich was planteddeeply in the ground . Governor Winslow then re

qu ested that the people disperse t o th eir several homes.The n igh t at l ength came down— nigh t the benefi

cent,that cloaks the tokens of men ’s barbari sms . Then

th e moon arose,casting a pal e

,cold l ight , l est remorse

lose her way. What a pass ionless calm settl ed uponthe sl eeping v illageAt last

,with a tread as s il ent as that o f. death itself,

a n active figure crept from shadow to shadow, in thestreets which th e moon had silver-plated . The lon ehuman be ing came to the square wherein was plan tedthe stake with th e moon-softened head upon i t . Thevisi tor was th e wh ite boy- captive

,dressed in his Indian

toggery . He had escaped from the jail .In the moonl igh t he came forward sl owly . He hal ted

and extended h is arms toward the stake with its motionless bu rden . He approach ed in reverence

,murmuring

brokenly in th e Indian tongu e“Metacome t Metacomet, my foster-father

,

I have come .”

He knel t upon the ground and clasping th e cold irons take in hi s arms, h e sobbed and sobbed, as if h i s h eartwou ld break .

CHAPTER II .

A FRIENDSH I P or CHANCE .

THROUGH th e gray mist of Plymou th ’s dawn therecame a sound o f footsteps

,and then a m urmur o f melo

dious humming, somewhat controlled and yet toostu rdy and j oyou s to be readily acc ou nted for in th estric t Puritan v illage . Presently, l ooming out of theuncertain l igh t

,appeared th e roughly-hewn figure o f a

young m a n o f five and twenty . He was singing to h imself, as he hastened wi th big strides through thedeserted streets .

On the poin t o f passing th e place where the gibbetedh ead of King Phil ip made a rude exclamati on point inthe calm o f gray Plymou th , th e early ri ser su ddenlynoted the curl ed-up form o f a human be ing on th eground

,his a rm loosely bent abou t th e i ron stake , h is

h ead resting loosely against i t,h is eyes fast closed in

the sl eep of exhau sti on . The man star ted sl ightly,halted and ceased h i s singing.

He bl inked h is eye s for a mom ent , sh ifted his feetuneasily and rubbed stou tly at h i s ja w,

as h e gazed inperplexi ty at th e p icture before h im . He th en tiptoed as i f to go on . qu ietly, abou t h i s own bu siness . Heglanced at the h ead

,th en back to th e boy, from

whose l ips,in h is sl eep

,a l i ttl e m oan escaped . The

vi si tor noted the traces where tears had channeled down1 4

A Friendship o f Chance. 1 5

th e lad ’s pal e ch eeks. There was someth ing unesca pabl e in th e att i tude o f th e bare golden head again st th estake . The m a n stopped and laid his big ba nd gen tly

on the half-curled locks .Instantly th e boy awoke, l eaped to his feet a nd fel l

down again,from sheer stiff ness, s taring at the m a n

wi th eyes somewhat wild . He arose again at once,more s teadily, overcoming the cramps in hi s musclesdoggedly

,never ceasing fo r a second to watch the m a n

who had waked him .

I give you good morrow, said the m a n . Itseems t o me you have need of a fri end, s ince you haveclearly lost one that you much esteemed .

”

There wa s persuasion and honesty in th e stranger’swarm-blu e eyes

,good natu re in h i s broad

,smoo th face

a nd a large capaci ty for affect ion denoted in h is somewhat sensuou s mou th . Such a look o f friendsh ip andu tter sinceri ty as he bestowed on th e startl ed and defia nt boy before h im cou ld not have been easily counterfeited. The you th fu l know sinceri ty by intu i ti on .

Who are you said th e boy, hi s voice hoarse andweakened . What would anybody wan t with me“ My name i s Wil l i am Phipps

,said th e stranger

,

S imply I am a sh ip-bu ilder o f Boston . If you haven o better friend, perhaps I would do till yo u ca n findo ne. I am on my way to Boston now. If you need afriend and would l ik e to lea ve Plym ou th , you may comewith me, unless you feel you cannot tru st any one abou tth is v illage .” He pau sed a mom ent and then added,I th i nk youmust be th e boy I heard o f, Adam Rust,

brough t in wi th th e captu red Ind ian s .“ My name is Adam Rust

,the boy admitted .


have no friends left. I f you have been h elping to k il lthe Wampanoags I wou ld rather not try to be you rfriend . Bu t I know I would l ike you and I should beglad to go to Boston , o r any place away from here. In

the dayl ight he could not bear to look up at the headabove h im .

“I have been to o busy to fight,” said Will iam Phipps

,

employing the same excu se he had used for friends w ithrecru i ting procl ivi ties . And I have been too happy

,

h e added, as if involuntarily . So, you see, there i sno reason why I shou ld not be you r friend . Have youhad any breakfas t P” He pu t out h is hand to shake .

No , sai d Adam . He lost h is hand in th e big fistwh ich Phipps presented, and restrained himself fromcrying by m ak ing a mighty cfi ort. He had gone without eating for two days, bu t h e said noth ing abou t i t.

Then , said Ph ipps heartily, the sooner we startth e better. We ca n get someth ing h ot on th e brig .

He began hi s long striding again . Adam hesi tated amoment . He looked up at the featu res above h im

,h i s

h eart gu sh ing full o f emotion .

Some inarti culate farewell , in th e Indian tongue, h ebreath ed th rough h is qu i vering l ips . His eyes grewdimmed . He fanci ed he sa w a smil e of farewell and o f

encou ragement play in tangibly on those still,saddened

l ineaments, and so he held forth h i s arms fo r a secondand th en turned away to join h is new-found protector.Will iam Phipps

,h aving though t the boy to be follow

ing more closely than he was , stopped to let h im catchup . Thu s h e noted the look o f angu ish w ith which th elad was l eaving that grim remnan t o f King Phil ipbeh ind . Phipps was o ne o f Nature’s m oth erly men

A Friendship o f Chance. 1 7

—hardly ever more numerous th an roes’ eggs on the

earth . He fel t h is h eart go forth to Adam Rust . Therefore it was that h e l ooked down in the boy ’s face, timeafter time, as they walked along together . Thu s th eycame to th e water-fron t and wharves, at the end of oneo f which the brig Captain Spencer was swinging.

“ Th is sh ip bel ongs to me and I m ade her,

” saidPhipps

,wi th candid pride in h i s ach ievemen t. You

shal l see that she sail s righ t merrily .

”

They went aboard . A few sailors scrubb ing downthe deck, barefooted a nd with sleeves at elbow

,now

abandoned their task temporarily,at th e command o f

the mate, wh o had seen h i s captain coming, to h oistsail and l et go the hawsers . The chu ckl e in the blocks,as th e sailors heaved and hauled at th e ropes, gaveAdam Rust a pleasu re h e had never before experi enced .

Breakfas t being n ot yet prepared for serv ice, Phippscondu cted h i s foundl ing abou t th e craft for a l ook ather beau ti es . When Adam h a d p a tted th e mu zzl e ofth e brig’s gun and fel t th e weigh t of a naked sword in

h is fist, in th e armory , th e buoyancy o f h i s you th pu tnew color in h is ch eeks and a sparkl e in h is eyes . Hewas a brigh t-natu red , companionabl e lad, who grewfriendly and smil ed h i s way into one ’s affect i on s rapidly,bu t naturally. When he and Ph ipps h ad come upagain to th e deck , after breakfast, they fel t a s i f th eyhad always been fri ends .The brig was under way. Sh orewards th e gray o ld

Atlanti c was wrinkled under the fretful annoyance o f abri sk

,sal ty breeze . The sh ip was sl ipping prettily up

th e coas t, with stately cou rtesies to the stern rocks that

stood l ike guardians to th e land .


I th ink we shall find you were born for a sailor,Adam

,

” said th e master of the craft. I can give youmy word i t i s more j oy a nd l ife to sail a sh ip than tomake one. And som e day ” but h e halted . Themodest boasts

,with wh ich he warmed the heart o f h is

well beloved wife,were a bi t to o sacred for repeti ti on

,

even to a boy so winning . But,” h e concluded

,per

haps you would l ik e to tel l me someth ing o f you rself .”

Thu s encouraged Adam related h i s s tory. He wa sth e son o f John Rust, a ch ival rou s gentleman, a n a ifec

tiona te husband and a seriou s m a n, with a l igh t heart

and a ready wit. John Rust had been the friend of theIndians and the m ediator between th em and the whi tesu ntil the sheer perfidy o f the Puritans had rendered h imhopeless o f retaining the confidence o f the Red-men ,

when he had abandoned the offi ce. Adam ’s mother hadbeen dead for someth ing more than four years. Af

flicted by h is sense o f l oss, John Ru st had become astrange man , a restless sou l h opelessly search ing forthat other self, as knights of old once sough t the holygrail .He went forth alone into th e trackless wilderness

that led endlessly into th e wes t. Alth ough the fathera nd son had been kni t together in thei r affection s bylong talks, l ong ranges togeth er in th e forests and bythe l essons whi ch the m a n had imparted

,yet wh en John

Rust h ad gone on h is unearthly quest,h e could no t

bear th e thought o f tak ing young Adam with h im intoth e wilds .He had th erefore left th e boy with h is fri ends, the

lad ’s natural guard ian s , th e h onorable nation o f Wam

pa no a gs. Keep him here, teach him o f your wisdom,

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‘ 2 0 When a Witch is Young.

nessed the death o f King Philip , brough t upon h im bya treacherou s fell ow Red-man . And then he hadmarched in that grim proce ssi on .

Adam made n o attempt to convey a n id ea o f th e magnitude o f h is loss. I t would not have been possible.There is something in human nature wh ich ca n neverbe convinced that death has u tterly still ed a belovedvoice and qu enched the fire of th e soul sh owing th rougha pair o f eyes endeared by companionsh ip . This inAdam made him feel , even as he told his tal e toWil l iamPhipps

,that h e wa s somehow deserting h is fai thful

fri ends .Bareh eaded on th e sun-l i t deck as h e told his story,

l i th e in h is ges tures , splend idly scornful wh en he imit a ted th e great Chieftains o f the tr ibes , and then l ikea young Viking as at last h e finish ed h is narrative andl ooked far and wide on the Sparkling sea , in j oyou snessat the newer chapter which seemed to Open to the veryhorizons themselve s before h im , Adam awakened thelu s ty you th and daring in Wil l iam Ph ipps and th edreams o f a world’s career always present in his brain .

The man ’s eyes sparkled, as he spun th e wheel thatgu ided th e brig

,bound ing beneath their feet. A rest

lessness seized upon the sp iri t in h is breast.“ Adam

,

” he said,do you l ik e th i s sh ip

Yes l— oh 1t makes me feel l ike shou ting the boyexclaimed . I wish I could straddl e i t, l ike a horse ,and make i t go faster a nd wilder ,

’way o ff there— andeverywhere Oh , don

’ t i t make you breath e l”

Then,

” said Phipps , repressing his own lov e of su cha madness as Adam had voiced, let u s go for a long sailtogether. I have l ong had in mind a voyage for trad

Friendship o f Chance. 2 1

Hispaniola . If you wou ld like’ to go wi th me,

get th e brig ready in a week .

”

answer young Ad a m leaped as if h e would! spur the sh ip in the ribs a nd r ide her to the end o f theearth forthwith .

CHAPTER III.

THE GERM or A PASS ION.

A BONNIE l i ttle Puri tan maid , Mistress Garde Merrill

,stood in th e open doorway at h er home, fervently

hugging h er k it ten . The sunl ight seemed almost l ikebeaten gold

,so tangibly d id i t lay upon the house

,the

vines that cl imbed the wall, and the garden full o f old

fash ioned flowers.A few leaves, wh ich had escaped from the trees, in a

longing to extend their field o f romping,were being

wh irled abou t in a brisk zephyr that spun in a corner.A sense o f warmth and fragrance mad e all th e worldseem wanton ing in its o wn l ovel iness .Littl e Garde

,watch ing the frol ic of th e l eaves, and

thinking them pretty elves and fairies , dancing , presently looked up into th e solemn vi sage o f a pas singci tiz en , who had pau sed at th e gate .

Mistress Merril l,

” h e said,gra vely , after a moment’s

inspection o f th e bright,enchanting l i ttl e face

,you r

eyes have not th e Puritan spirit of meekness .” Thereupon h e departed on h is way, sadly sh aking h i s h ead .

Garde’s eyes,in al l truth

,were dancing right j oy

ously ; and dancing was not accounted a Puri tan de

vo tion Su ch brown , l ight-ensnaring eyes cou ld not,

The Germ o f a Pass ion . 23

however,cons train th emsel ves to melancholy .

No

more could the appl e- red o f h er smooth , round cheeksretreat from the ardor o f th e sun . As for her hair

,l ike

strands on strands of spun mah ogany,no power on

earth could have disentangled i ts nets wherein th e rayso f golden l igh t h a d meshed and in termeshed themsel ves . In her brightness o f color, with her black andwh ite k i tten on her arm

,th e ch ild was a dain ty l ittl e

h uman j ewel .She was watching a bee and a butterfly when a shadow

fel l again in to th e yard , among the flowers,at the ex

trance . Garde felt h er atten tion drawn and centeredat once . She found herself lo oking no t so much at abareheaded boy, a s fairly into the depth s o f h is veryblu e and steadfast eyes .The vis i tor stood there wi th his hands clasping two

o f th e picke ts o f which th e gate was fash ion ed. He hadseen everyth ing in the garden at on e glance , bu t he wasl ooking at Garde . His eyes began laugh ingly

,th en

seriou sly,bu t always frankly , to ask a favor.

I pri th ee come in ,” said Garde

,as one a li ttl e s truck

w ith wonder.The boy came in . Garde met h im in the path and

gave h im her kitten . He took i t, apparently becau se

she gave i t , and not becau se he was inord inately fond

o f cats . I t seemed to Garde that she knew thi s boy,

and yet he h a d on a su i t that suggested a young sai lor,

a nd she ha d never made th e a cquaintance o f any sail

o rs whatsoeve r. If h e wou ld only look el sewhere th anat h er face

,sh e thought, perhaps she cou ld remember.

See them,

”she said , a nd sh e poin ted to wh ere the

lea ves wereonce more capering in th e corner.


The boy looked,bu t h is gaze wou ld swing ba ck to i ts

North,which i t fo und in two brown eyes .

I sa w you that day in Plymouth ,” he said “And

I got out of their old jail, a nd I d idn’t see anybody else

that lo oked kind or n ice among al l th ose people .

Oh 1” said Garde

,suddenly remembering every

th ing,oh

, you were— that boy march ing with th e

old Indian . I was so sorry. And I am so glad that yougot away . I am real glad you came to se e me . Grandfather a nd I were down there for a v isi t— se I saw you .

Oh dear me She looked a t h er young visitor witheyes open wide by amazemen t. It seemed almost toom uch to beli eve that the very boy she had seen and sopi ti ed and liked , in that terrible procession at Plymouth ,should a ctua llv be standing h ere before her in hergrandfather’s garden Oh dear me she presentlysaid again .

I hate Plymou th i” said th e boy, bu t I l ikeBoston .

”

“ I am so glad , said Garde . “Wi ll you tell me yourname Mine is Garde Merri ll .The bov said My name i s Adam Rust.I was named for all my aunts

,

” th e maid imparted,as i f eager to set a troubl esome matter straigh t at once

,

Gertrude, Abigail , Rosella, Dorothy a nd i Eliza beth .

The first l etters o f their names spell G-A-R-D-E ,

Garde .”

Her visi tor was rendered speechl ess for a moment .Metacomet a nd all the Indians used to call me Littl eStanding-Panther,

” h e then said,boyishly, not to be

ou tdone in th e matter o f names .Metacomet— King Ph il ip Oh

,then you are the

The Germ o f a Passion . 2 5

boy that used to li ve with the Ind ians, ‘ a nd that was

h ow th ey got you gasped the l ittle maid . Grandfath er told auntie all abou t i t . Oh

,I wish I could l ive

wi th the Indians I am very,very sorry th ey got you1”

But I am glad you came to seeme .”

Adam flushed with innocent a nd m odest pride,thus

to impress h is smal l admirer,who was named so for

m ida bly. He though t that noth ing so pleasan t hadever h appened in al l h is l ife .

“ It i s too sa d to l ive wi th Ind ians, he answered.

A mist seemed to obscu re th e l ight in hi s eyes andto cast a shadow between them a nd the sweet face atwh ich he was looking with frank admirat ion . Thecloud passed , however, as clouds will in th e summer,and his gaze was again one of il luminated sm iles . Iam a sail or now,

” he said , wi th a l i ttl e bea st in h isvoice . To-morrow morning we are going to start forHispan iola.

”

Oh dear me i ” said Garde,in sh eer despai r o f an

adequ ate express ion o f her many emotions . Then she

added con tr i tely I mus tn’ t sa y Oh dear me bu t—oh dear— I wish I m igh t. ”

I sh an’t m ind , said Adam .

I w ish I coul d go to H ispan iola , too, said Garde,honestly . I hate to be kept h ere as qu iet as a cl ockthat doesn’ t go . I suppos e you couldn’t tak e me Let’ssit down with th e ki tten and th ink i t over togeth er .”

I don ’t th ink we cou ld take any gi rl s,” said Adam ,

seating himself at h er s ide on the porch , bu t I couldbring you back som ething wh en I come .

Oh,le t’s talk al l abou t wh at we would rather have

most,”Garde responded .


So the ir fingers mingl ed in the fu r of th e ki tten a nd

th ey talked o f fabul ous th ings wi th wh ich the WestInd ies were reported to abound . His golden hair

,a nd

her hai r so darkly red,made the p icture in the sunl igh t

a th ing compl e te in i ts brightness and beau ty. Thewind floated a few stray fil am en ts

,ri chly red as m a h og

any, from the masses on Garde’s pretty brow

,across to

th e r inglets on Adam ’s temple. To and fro,over th ese

del icate copper wires , stretched for its pu rpose, thesweet l ove that comes firs t to a lad and a maid, dancedwi th el ec trical ac tivi ty .

If you are going to-morrow , sai d Garde, you

must see all the flowers and everyth ing now .

” She th erefore took him by th e hand and l ed him abou t th e gard en

,first she, th en he, a nd th en she once more carrying

the k itten .

They were st ill in the midst of th ei r explorations ofth e garden

,wh ich requi red that each part should be

v isi ted several times, when th e gate open ed and inwalked Garde’s tall , stern- looking grandfather .David Donner rubbed h i s ey es in amazement, hardly

bel ieving that h i s senses coul d actually be recording apictu re of h is granddaughter

,hand in hand with some

u tter s tranger o f a boy, in h is own prec incts . He camequ ickly toward th e pai r

,making a sound that came

within an ell o f being a sh ou t .Garde looked up in sudden affrigh t . Adam regarded

the v i si tor calmly and with ou t emotion . Having firstdropped th e young sail or’s hand , Garde now resolu telyscrewed her l i ttl e warm fingers back in to the boy’s fist.

“ Grandfath er ,” sh e said boldly

,

“ I shall sail tomorrow for Hispaniola .”


her arms abou t the bedewed kitten , on i tspressed her face against i ts fur and said to i t

,fervently :

Li ttl e-Stand ing-Pan ther, I l ove you , and l ove youand love youGrandfather Donner l ooked up in alarm . Tut, tu t,

my child,

” said he,

“ love i s a passion.

”

PART I I .

CHAPTER I.

A ROV ER AND H I S RET INUE.

H is only gold wa s in h is hai rHe h a d no silver hoardBut steel he h a d , enow to spareIn his thews a nd in h is sword

TOWARD th e cl ose o f a gl oriou s da y in September,1683, Will iam Ph ipps beheld a smart brig nose her wayup the harbor of Boston , and drop in her a nchor in th efield o f water where in h is sh ip-yard thrust i ts toes . Asmall boat th en presen tly pu t forth and made straightfor the sh ip-yard landing

,where three men calmly

al igh ted , th rowing ashore a small h eap of shabby-genteel- l ook ing baggage .

Somewhat annoyed,thu s to h ave h i s precincts em

ployed by any Tom,Dick and Harry o f chance, Phipps

stepped from between the r ibs of a sh ip ’s skeleton ,which was being daily arti cu lated

,a nd strode toward

the intruders . Then a rumble,wh ich ough t to have

been a shou t, broke from h is l ips , about the same secondthat a rea r o f j oy appeared to leap out of th e foremosto f th e strangers

, who had landed and who were comingboldly forward .


Will iam Phipps and th e l eader o f th e invading trioth en rush ed hotly together and col l ided , giving eachother a bear-l ike hug from wh ich the sh ip-bu ilder presently ex tricated h imsel f at a th ough tf o f how he migh tbe shock ing all or any good Puri tanswh o migh t chanceto be wi tness ing th e scene .

Well,shatter my h ilt ! and God bl ess you ! i f i t

i sn ’t you r same o ld beloved self I said the stranger,heartily.

My boy Bless you r eyes,Adam , I never though t

to se e you again I said bl uff Will iam Phipps . You

big young rascal You full- rigged sh ip Where haveyou come from ? What do you mean by making meswear myself in to pu rgatory at you r carelessness in ge tting you rself killed You twenty-gun frigate— youyou bigHe left off for very constrain t , for h i s th roat bl ocked

up, despite h is most heroi c effor ts . He and AdamRust began to roar wi th laugh ter, the tears in th ei reyes need ing some excuse . Meantime th e two companions who had come with th e young rover, stoodgazing about th em, in pati ence, and l ikewise lookingin wonder on the two men before th em .

There was reason enough to look,for Adam and

Phipps were a pai r t o command atten t ion . I t seemedas if a founder had used the big sh ip -bu ild er as a pattern ou wh ich to refine h i s art in cast ing the youngerm a n . Adam’s back was a trifle narrower ; h is chestwas a bit wider ; h e was trimmer at th e wais t, neaterat the th igh , l onger-armed . His hands were smaller

,

ju st a s hi s movements were qu icker and ligh ter.Alth ough Adam ’s hair crowned h im with tawny

A Rover a nd his Ret inue. 31

ringl ets o f gold, while that o f Phipps wa s browner , andthough the young fellow wore a small mu stache, incontrast

,t o th e smooth-shaved face of h is friend, i t

m igh t yet b e said that the two men looked al ike . Bothwere bronzed by weather, both had steadfas t eyes withth e same frank expressi on , th e same blu e t int and thesame integrity abou t them .

In th e ir dress th e two men d iffered . Will iam Ph ipps ,whatsoever h e migh t indulge h im self in doing whenaway on th e sea , conformed to th e dark-brown sim

plicity o f the Puri tans when in Boston . Adam, on th e

oth er hand , were a brown velvet coat wh ich , thoughat present somewhat faded and moulting, had once been

fine feathers in England . His wais tcoat had been o f

royal purple,before i ts nap fled before the onslaugh ts

o f th e cloth es-bru sh , whil e h i s breeches were o f a timetanned forest green wh ich di sappeared in to th e mawo f h is w ide-topped l eath er boots . He were at h is h ipa veteran blade o f s teel , in a scabbard as battered asthe ou ter gate of a stronghold . When not in h is fighting fist, th e h il t o f th i s weapon contented i tself withcaresses from his softer hand , th e left .The two men having shaken hands for the th ird time

,

and having l ooked each other over from head to foot,and laughed and asked each other a dozen qu esti ons

, to

wh ich ne ither had retu rned any answers,Adam sud

denly remembered his comrades, wai ting in th e background. He tu rn ed to them now, no t without a ffect ion .

Here, Pike and Halberd , h e said, youmust meetmy thi rd fath er, Captain Will iam Phipps, a noble m a n

to whom you will owe allegiance al l you r m iserable


l ives. Willi am , th ese are my beef-eaters . Don ’t a skme where I got th em . They are ne i th er out o f jail norheaven . But they have let me save thei r l ives and feedthem and cl othe th em , and they are val iant, fai thfulrascals . To know them i s t o love th em

,and no t to

know them is to be snubbed by Satan . They have beenmy doubl e shadow for a year , sharing my prosperou scondi ti on l ike two peers o f the realm .

”

The beef- eaters grinned as they exchanged salu tat ions wi th Ph ipps . Pike was a short ind iv idual , inclined to be fat, even when on the sl immest o f rations .The pupil s of hi s eyes were l ike two suns that had risenabove the horizon o f h i s lower l ids, only to obscu rethemsel ves under the cl oud-l ike l ids above . Their expression

,especial ly when he gazed upward in to Adam ’s

face,was someth ing to o appeal ingly sain t-l ike and be

seeching for anyth ing mortal to possess. Halberd wa sa ladder of a ma n up whi ch everything, save su ccess,had clambered to pain t expression s on his face

,wh ich

was grave and melancholy to th e verge o f the ludicrous.

He had two l it tl e bunches o f muscl e , each o f wh ichstu ck out l ike half a walnu t, at the corners o f hi s jaws,where they h a d grown and devel oped as a resul t o f hisclamping hi s molars togeth er, in a determination to do

or to be someth ing wh ich had, apparently, never asyet transpired .

The two looked abou t as much l ike beef~ eaters asa mouse looks l ike a man -eater . They were ragged

,

wh ere not fantastic,in th eir apparel ; th ey were oh

viously fitter for a feast than a figh t, for th e sea haddepl eted both o f th eir hoardings o f vigor a nd courage.

Sire,said Halberd

,theatri cal ly, “we have had

A Rover a nd his Ret inue. 33

noth ing bu t good reports of you for a year. Whetherhe placed h is hand on hi s h eart or his stomach, as h esa id th is, and what he meant to convey as h is meaning,could never be wholly clear.We shall be h onored to fight for you

,if n eed arise

,

said Pike,who panted somewhat, on al l occasions,

while there is a breath in our bodies .”

“ It i s a privilege to know you both, said Phipps,whose grav ity was as dry as t inder .“ Any friend of th e Sachem ’s is a fri end o f ou rs,

respond ed Halberd . He said th i s grandly and made aprofound bow.

The Sachem P” repeated Phipps

,and he looked

at Adam, i nqu iringly.

Ada m had the grace to bl u sh a trifle,thu s to be

caugh t in one o f the harmless l ittl e boasts in which hehad indulged himself, over sea . Ju st a fool i sh habitthe two have gotten into,

” h e murmured .

Ah , said Will iam Phipps . Well,th en , Sachem ,

i t will soon be growing dark, you had best come home

Wi th me to d inner.”

Involuntarily Adam turned abou t to look at the beefcaters . Their eyes h a d abrup tly taken on a preternatural brightness at the word dinner.“ I have mu ch to ask you a nd much to tell you,

Phipps added . And th e goodwife wou ld exact th ishonor if she knew you were come .

”

Th e invitation d id not in clude Adam ’s retinu e. Heswallowed

,as if th e del i c i ou s odors o f one o f Goodwife

Phipp ’s d inners were abou t t o escape h im .

Well,

” h e said,the h onors are all th e oth erwa y

a bou t, bu t— th e fact i s— a prev iou s engagement—I—I3


h ave promised a rou sing hot d in—I h ave acceptedan invitati on to dine with the beef-eaters, at the Crewand Arrow.

”

The ship bu ilder-knew al l abou t those rou sing hot

d inners o f col d eel-p ie,potatoes and mu stard, for wh ich

the Crew and Arrow tavern was not exactly famous .He looked at Adam , to whom as th e ir sachem the

beef-eaters appealed wi th th e ir eyes,l ike two fai thfu l

an imals. Adam was regard ing the pai r s ilen tly, a fain tsmile o f cheer and camaraderi e on hi s face .

But— bu t my inv itation incl u ded our friends,Phipps hasten ed to sa y. Come, come, th e taverncan wait ti ll to-morrow . Gentlemen, youwill certainlyno t disappoint me .”

“ ’Tis well spoken that th e tavern ca n wait, saidPike .

To disappoint th e friend o f th e Sachem wou ld be agrievou s th ing

,

” said Halberd . Let th e gall ed tavernsweat w ith impatience .

”

They would al l h ave started a way together at once,

had not Phipps noted the heap o f baggage, l eft untid ily upon h is l anding when the travelers arrived .

Well,” said he, Adam , you know the way to th e

hou se, suppose you and your fri ends carry you r worldlygoods to the tavern

,engage your apartm ents

,and then

follow me on . I,in th e meantime

,can hasten h ome

to apprise th e wife that you are coming,wi th the beef

eaters, and she can therefore make du e preparation sin honor o f th e event .

This i s good sense , sai d Adam . Go al ong, or weshall be th ere before you.

”

Phipps, with a half dozen backward looks at h is

CHAPTER II .

AN ‘UNGODLY PERFORMANCE.

ADAM RUST knew the Crew and Arrow more by thatrepu te whi ch had traveled back to England

,thr ough

the medium o f young stalwarts and sailors, th a n h e d idfrom personal acquain tance wi th its charms . He hadseen the place frequently enough , when first h e cameto Boston wi th Willi am Phipps, bu t the town had ex

pa nded much since then and bore a n air o f unf a m ili

a rity. The young m a n and h i s beef-eaters th ereforewandered somewhat from the ir cou rse.Being overladen and dressed out o f th e ordinary

fash ion , th e trio so on found themselves attractingattention

,parti cu larly from certain of th e you ths o f

th e quarter and the rough characters incidental tosh ipping and the neighborhood thereof . Adam wa s

carrying a long box, somewhat decrep i t wi th age . Itswung against h i s l egs and stru ck a n occasional post

,

o r a corner, held insecurely as i t was by his l i ttl e fingeronly, which was passed through a brass handle . In

thi s manner, and with a growing cluster o f cu riou spersons beginning to foll ow on beh ind, the party werein sight o f th e tavern at last, when th i s l ong box o f

Adam ’s abruptly opened and sp ill ed out a r ichly darkened o ld viol in .

36

An Ungodly Performance. 37

With a short exclamation o f impati ence, Adam haltedand dropped his oth er bundles . Over th ese tall Halberdfell

,with a great clatter o f weapons

,tin box and shaken

bones . Adam fended him o ff from the v iol in , snatch ed

it up a nd scrutinized it wi th the eager concern which a

mother might bestow upon a del icate ch ild . He found

i t uninj ured, bu t, as it might have been smashed , hecl ung to i t fondly

,relu ctant to place i t again in i ts

treacherous caseNaturally th e downfall o f Halberd had del igh ted the

gam in and th e sailors following. These formed acl u st er abou t th e party, and their n umbers drew addi

tich a l Spectators rapidly . A number o f seafaring menshoved stou tly forward, t he ir eyes gl isten ing at sight

o f the mu sical ins trument .I sa y, give u s someth ing, th en, o n that th er e red

boy demanded one o f the men,a s healthy a looking

rascal a s ever drew'brea th .

You l ook a bonny lad, come ou— there’s a gooda n,

” sai d another .Rat tl e her guts , said a th ird . We ain’t h eard

th e l ike o f a fiddl e since we came to th is town o f

preachers .”

Adam looked quietly abou t h im . He knew most o fthe fellows abou t in the rude circle for rough Engl ishrovers who would love h im if h e played , o r knock h imand his belongings playfully into the s tree t i f h e refused .

He wa s not accu stomed to ch url ishness moreover,he

fel t particularly in th e mood for playing. The ruddysunset, the warm breath of th e passing day, the verytaste o f American a ir, seemed lu sty and j oyou s, despiteth e rigid Puri tanical Sp iri t of the mirth-denying people


o f the colony. He took up the bow,twanged the

s tr ings, tigh tened two that had become laggard, a nd

j umped into th e middle of a roll ick ing composi ti on thatseemed to bubble up out o f the body o f th e v iol in a nd

tumble o ff into the crowd in a species o f mad deligh t .Had the instrument been a spi ri t of wine, richly dark

red as o ld port, a nd rendered al i ve by the frol ick inghow,

it could no t have thrown off more merry snatch es

o f melody’s mirth . I t chu ckled , i t caugh t its breath ,l ike a f a t old monk at h i s laugh ing, i t broke out in

guff aws o f hilarity, till not a sou l in the audience couldkeep hi s feet seemly beneath h im .

The sailors danced , boldly, though clumsily. Theirfaces beamed with innocent drunkenness

,for drunk th ey

were,with what seemed l ike th e fumes a nd taste o f

th is wine o f sound . They had been denied it so longthat i t went to thei r heads at the first draught.Across the street

,issu ing qu ietly and

,h e hoped, un

observed, from a door that led into the tavern, a Puritanfather now appeared, wiping h is mou th a s a ma n h a s

no occasion for doing unles s h e had recently d ipped h isupper l ip into a mug. He suddenly halted, at th esound of music from over the way. He frowned at th enow somewhat dense assemblage of boys and c itiz enssu rround ing Adam Rust

,and work ed Up a mask o f

severity on his face from wh ich it had been temporarilyabsent. He opened his mou th

, a s if to speak, and then ,real iz ing that he migh t not be heard at th is d istancefrom them

,moved a rod toward his fellow-beings a nd

took a stand in th e street .At thi s moment a n om inous sn ap resounded above

both th e playing and i ts accompaniment o f seufil ing feet

An Ungodly Performance. 39

and gruff explosion s of enjoyment a nd hearty a ppreciation . Instantly Adam ceased playing. He had fel t astring wri the beneath h is fingers . The m a n in the roadway grasped at th e moment instantly, to rai se h is v oice .

Begone,disperse

,you vagabonds he said .

What i s the meaning of th is ungodly performanceD isperse

,I sa y, you are bedeviled by th is shameless

d isc iple of SatanAdam

,inten t on h is v iol in , which h e found had no t

broken but had merely sl ipped a s tring, heard th isti rade

,natu rally

,as did a ll th e others . A few boys

sneaked immediately abou t the cl uster o f men andsped away, a s if from some terribl e wrath to come .

Who is you sufferer for melancholy said Adam,

looking carel essly at th e would-be interrup ter. Thensuddenly a gleam came into h is eye , as he recognized inthe m a n one o f th e harsh hypocrites who h ad beenamong the fewzealo ts who had imprisoned h im ,

yearsbefore . Halberd

,

” he added , fetch the gentlemanforward . Meth inks h e fa in would dance a nd makemerry among us . ”

His opening question h a d been hailed wi th snorts o f

amusement h is proposal ignited all the rogui shness inth e crowd. Halberd , noth ing lo th to a dd his qu o ta toth e general fun , s trode forward at once, way being madeby the admiring throng, a nd h e bowed profoundly beforeth e bridl ing a dmonish er in th e street . Then withou twarning, he scampered nimbly to th e rear o f th e man o fseveri ty, took h im by th e collar a nd the slack o f h i skn ickerbockers a nd hustled h im precip i tately into th egather ing.

Adam began to play at once. The spectators gathered


abou t th e astonished a nd indignan t person o f severi ty,th irsty for fun .

You evidently wanted to dance, therefore by al lmeans commence, said Adam .

You are a veri table l imb of Satan ! said the m a n.

You shall be reported for th is unseemlyHalberd

,

” in terrupted Adam, the gentl eman isas shy and timid as your veriest girl . Could you notpersuade h im to dance 9 ”

I was born for persuasion,said Halberd . There

upon he drew from his bel t a p istol , most form idable,whether l oaded or not

, a nd pushed i ts metal l ips againstth e neck o f th e h edged-in Puri tan , whom he con tinu edto restrain by the collar Make merry for th i sgoodly company by doing a few dain ty s teps

,h e

requested .

The crowd pushed in cl oser and rea red with del igh t.Some one among them knocked the relu c tan t dancer’sknees forward. He almost fell down .

He’s beginn ing l ” cried Adam,

and h e went for h isfidd le wi th the bow as if h e were fencing with a dozenpi rates .

Dance 1” commanded Halberd,dance 1”

Terpsichore ’s v ictim was n o t a m a n o f sand . Dropso f perspiration oozed out on h is forehead . A look o f

abj ect fear drove th e mask o f sever i ty from h i s face.He jumped up and down rid icul ously

,his knees knock

ing together for h is cas tanets .Faster cri ed Adam , fiddli ig l ike a madman .

Faster ! ” echoed Halberd , with h is p istol-muzzlenosing in th e dancer’s r ibs .The man j umped higher, bu t not faster h e wa s too

An Ungodly Performance. 4 1

weakened by coward ice . The sa ilors j o ined in . Theycould not keep thei r feet o n th e ground . The con

ta gion spread . Pike a nd Halberd joined the h0pping.

The off ending admoni sher looked abou t at them in

a frenzy of despai r, afraid of wh o might be wi tnessingh is exh ibi ti on . He wa s a sorry dancer

, f or h e wa s so

eager to please that he flopped h is arms del iriou sly,as

if to convince hi s beholders o f h is willingness to makeh imself as entertain ing as poss ible . When he suddenlycollapsed a nd fel l down , Adam ceased playing. Thecrowd se ttl ed on the pavement and applauded .

For shame, good friend, said Adam,sol emnly

,

“now that I observe you r garb

,I am shocked and

amazed at your condu ct. Friends, le t us go to th e tavern and report this gentleman ’s unseemly behavior . In

payment for th e fiddl ing, you may fetch my bales o f

goods and m erchand ise.” He waved to h is shabby baggage and led th e way to th e C row and Arrow, whichhad l ong before d isgorged nearly a ll of i ts company, andi ts landlord, t o add to th e audience in th e street.Fl inging up h is only piec e o f gold , th e young rover

ordered refreshment for al l who crowded in to th etavern

,a nd wh il e they were drinking, h e dragged th e

beef-eaters,with all th e bal es o f merch and i s e,

”a way

to the meager apartments provided above s tairs in thesorry hostel ry .

In the darkness o f th e hall , h e ra n h eavily again stsome one who was ju st on th e poin t of qu i tting a room .

The innocen t person was bowled endways .Confound your impudence I” said th e voice

o f a man . Why don ’ t you look where you aregoing P


I cou ldn’t see for fools in the way, retorted Adam .

I am no king,requ iring you to fall before me .

I can ’t see you r face , bu t I ca n see that you are a narrant knave

,

” said the other hotly . You nevercould have had a proper drubbing, or you wou ld beless reckl ess o f your speech l ”

I have always been pitted to fight with bragging

rascals o f abou t you r size and abil ity with a weapon ,else I might have been drubbed,

” Adam flung back,

laying his hand on h is sword a s h e spoke It shamesmy steel to think of engaging a ten-pin

By al l tokens, sir, you are bl ind , as well as idiotic,to walk into death so heedlessly. Be good enough tofoll owme into the yard .

”

Oh fie on a death that flees and entreats me tofollow, was Adam

’ s answer . I rolled you once inth is hal l ; I can do so again . Halberd—Pike

,candles

to place at th e head and fee t of deathThe beef- eaters

,having reached the apartments a p

pointed for th e i r use,had heard th e d istu rbance in the

hall, a nd expect ing trouble,had already l igh ted th e

candles. With th ree of these th ey now came forth .

The hall wou ld have been ligh t enough had i t been incommunication w i th th e ou tside world and the twil ight, bu t as i t was, i t was nearly dark .

I grieve for you r mother,sneered th e stranger,

whose sword coul d be heard backing out o f i ts scabbard . You must be young to be so spendthrift o fyou r l ife .

On th e contrary, you wil l find what a miser I am,

even as to th e drops o f my blood , said Adam . Noone ever yet accu sed the Sachem


eaters, said Rust I have been delayed past allreason now, bu t“ You weren ’t delayed by our du el of words

,I

tru stNo , no , bu t I have kept our host waiting, never

theless. I sh al l be back before th e n ight’s wornth rough

,however, and then I am yours t ill breath fail s

me .”

Haste away th en , Sach em Rust, for the sooner youare gone th e sooner I shal l see you re tu rned and Ishall consume myself with impati en ce ti ll I ca n tel l

you o f the sweetest pl igh t mortal m a n ever got h imselftangl ed in . I’ve got to tel l you , for no one else on

earth would answer. Begon e,then . Good-by, and

hasten back .

Adam 'bade h im a n revoi r,fo r h e fel t that already

Will iam Phipps mu st be th inking h im sadly remiss andungraciou s .Preparations as to evening dress were soon completed .

They consisted in a bri sk wash o f face and hands forthe tr io

,no t one o f the party being endowed with a

second su i t o f cl oth ing . Thus th ey were upon theroad

,walk ing soberly, th ough d il igently, toward th e

Captain ’s residence,before the twil igh t had begun t o

fade.

CHAPTER III.

’TWIXT CUP AND LIP.

W ITH appet i tes still furth er whetted by th ei r vari ou sd iversion s

,th e comrades were hardly made happier

when Adam found that onc e more th e many years’

growth o f Boston town confu sed h im . I t was something o f a wal k to th e Phipps’ domicil e from th e Crowand Arrow the best o ne could do . With deviou s wind

ings added, i t became the n ext th ing to provoking.

Aha,at last I know where we are ,

” said Adam ,

finally. These s treets are as bad as London ’s . Butten minu tes more and we shall be at th e board .

”

If th i s i s not so,

” sai d Halberd,gravely , with a

memory of seeing Adam part w ith th e last moneywh ich they possessed, i t would be a k indness to le tus l i e down and perish h ere . ”

This i s a most unl ik ely-look ing street, addedPike

,dolefully .

What do you know o f Boston street s inqu iredAdam

,who had a doubt o r two o f the place h imsel f .

Good beef-eaters,i f you weary, wai t h ere for a mo

ment,til l I can run a l i ttl e al ong th is road, to see

wh ere i t l eads . If i t i s righ t I wil l presently whistleif wrong I can th e soon er retu rn .

”

The beef-eaters w ith one accord sa t down upon a45


block o f s tone, Wh il e their leader strode hastily up apassage whi ch was in real ity a n all ey, at the rear o f anumber o f res idences . With a hope that he would soonemerge in to a street wh ich he though t sh ould be in theneighborhood, Adam almost ran . Thus he disappearedabou t a turn o f th e lane .He had gon e less than twenty rods when h e found

h imself approaching a small assemblage o f boys,who

were yell ing, in suppressed voice s, and gathering stones

which they were th rowing w ith wi l d aim into a corner,

where th e coming darkness had al ready formed a

center o f shadows. Rust was well among these young

scamps before they were aware o f h is presence. Oneurch in had by th is sec ured a long s ti ck with wh ich h eadvanced, th e others making room to l et h im through ,to poke and jab at someth ing wh ich th e l ads h a d evidently dri ven to bay where i t could no t escape. Yetso afrai d di d the young rogu es appear t o be that th issometh ing woul d yet fly upon th em and do th em greatharm

,that Adam walked at once among th em , tou ch

ing one upon the sh oulder .The witch ! ” screamed th i s la d, as i f th e devil

h imself had clu tch ed him . With yell s o f terror allth e boys scudded swi ftly away

,for a matter o f twenty

feet,and then tu rned abou t to look at Rust . Seeing a

man m erely, th ey were reassu red . It i s a singular anddoubtl ess a fortunate matter that th ere wa s never su cha th ing conceived as a male witch .

What have you h ere said Adam , pleasantly.

A wi tch ’s cat cri ed one o f the boldest you ths,re-approach ing. We drove i t in th e corner to stone

i t to death 1

’

Twixt Cup a nd Lip . 47

NowAdam had a l ingering fondness for cats,from a

time not many years past.“ A wi tch ’s cat be repeated . What n onsense

What harm ca n a poor cat do to big h eal thy boys l ikeyou There are no witches, you young varl ets . ” He

went into th e corner and peered abou t eagerly,to find

th e dumb victim o f th e mad supersti tion then subtlygrowing in that Massachusetts colony .

There was a wi tch and sh e ran away,screaming l

scolded back the bold spokesman of th e group o f boys,now gain ing courage to edge nearer . Sh e ra n awayth rough th is garden l ” He pointed to a rear yard

,

leading o ff th e all ey to a h ou se no t far d istant.She made me cough up pins and needles , asserted

another young l iar, gl ibly.

“ And a monster blackmonkey with co ok ’s feet followed her when she ran .

”

He’s a prince of the powers o f ai r h imself,

”whis

pered anoth er lad , in awe-stricken tones .Adam had found the ea t

,a m iddl e-aged animal,

frightened,hurt

,so il ed

,bu t intell igen t

,since i t knew

i t was being protected at last. He l ifted i t forth fromi ts smal l retreat

,finding i t to be a heavy, black-and

wh i te spec imen,too inoffensive to scratch and claw,

even in i ts terror.You young h e started to sa y .

Here sh e comes Here sh e comes I yell ed one ofth e lads

,interrupting . Two o f them Run for your

l ivesThe self-scared young cowards

,screaming l ike so

many demons,darted down the all ey as fast as th ei r

legs would l et th em go . Adam looked where one h a dpointed and beh eld

,indeed, two female figures coming

48 When a W i t ch is Young.

o n a d istracted run through th e n ear-by yard, towardh im as he wa s standing wi th th e cat in his arms .Although the firs t vei l o f darkness was al ready drawn

th rough the air,Rust cou ld see that they were two

young women who were coming . The one who led , h ethen noted

,was a plain, bu t a sweet, whol esome-l ook

ing girl, who was eviden tly mu ch exci ted . He steppedforward toward her, with th e cat, divining i t was th eanimal she had come for, and so f o r th e moment henegl ected to glance at th e second young woman .

When he d id look at her she was not far and hecaught h is breath q uickly . Shatter my h ilt l ” wasth e though t that leaped into h i s brain, “ th ey do haveyoung witch es here after allAdvanc ing to the middle o f th e all ey h e made a pro

found bow,as th e foremost girl came pan tingly from

the garden gate . The girl,seeing him now for the

first time, halted abruptly .

Good evening,

” said Adam,may I have th e honor

of restoring you r pet P He is excellen tly wel l behaveda nd, I t ru st, no t seri ou sly hu rt.

”

The girl walked timidly toward h im . Her faceflushed rosy red wi th pleasu re and confusion . Her

companion,having been caugh t on a rosebush , in th e

garden , was delayed and was stoop ing to d isentangle h ersk irt from the thorns .

Oh , si r, you are very kind ,” stammered the girl

confronting Adam . I though t they would k il l h im .

He isn’t mine, bu t I also hold h imThe second young lady now came h astily out at th e

gate. Adam had been to o pol i te to l ook past numberone, in search for the one he thought so W i tch ing, but

Twixt Cup a nd Lip . 49

now h i s heart bounded to see he r coming . She ra n

precipita tely a t h im , breaking in upon her companion’s

speech .

Oh,Standing-Panther, she cri ed , impetuou sly,

“ my own dear, darl ing love, why did you ever c ome

out to su ch a place

S he plu cked her pet from Adam ’s arm in one swoop .

Rust,at the old name, wh ich he had buried with

memories that sorely harrowed h is sou l , dropped h is

h a t, wh ich he had defi ed , and rai sing h is hand to h ischeek in wonder, s tared at th e girl before h im withwidened eyes .

At— a t you r servi ce,Miss—Mistress Gar— Mistress

Merrill,

” he stut tered .

Garde,a vi si on o f beau ty distraugh t, suddenly l ooked

up in his face . Frank amazement was dep icted in hergl oriou s eyes .

I beg— you r pardon , stammered Adam “ I see

you were speaking to you r cat , and not to me .

You l— Adam l—Mr.—Mr. Rust 1” sh e exclaimed .

A red-hot ‘ bl ush su rged upward , flooding her face, herneck and even her del icate ears . “ Not Li ttle-Standing— Oh dear me 1 Why, Prudence, what did I sa y

I t— it i sn ’ t really she stopped in confusion .

Adam Rust, Kneel ing Panther at you r serv ice,suppl ied th e rover. He made a bow that wa s trulysplendid , with a long sweep o f h is hat and a tou ch o f

his knee on th e pavem en t, that for sh eer grace couldno t have been equaled in Boston . Miss—MistressMerrill, you have not qu ite forgot ten that you commissioned me to bring you someth ing from Hispaniolahe added.

4


But you—bu t you have grown so , said Garde,

s til l as r ed as a rose . And to meet l ike th is—thatwas su ch a long time ago . I— I th ank you for savingmy cat. I—we—Prudence

,you mu st thank Mr. Rust.

Prudence, on whom Adam had scarcely l ooked , s inceseeing Garde, had been standing there looking a t Rustw ith a su dden -born love in her eyes that was almostadoration . Sh e had devel oped , ou t o f th e Puritan icalSpir i t o f th e t imes, a control o f her variou s emotionsthat Garde w ould n ever possess . Therefore sh e hadh erself in hand at a second ’s n otice .

I have thanked Mr. Rust,”she answered , qu ietly.

Garde was steal ing a look at Adam the second heturned in pol i teness to Prudence .

This was no service at all,” he said. Pray expend

n o further words upon i t.”

Oh , Adam , I am so glad bu rst from Garde ’sl ips impetuou sly

,bu t she ch ecked her u tterance th e

in stan t h i s glance came flash ing back to h ers, andadded .

“ I mean, Mr. Rust, I am so glad the catwasn ’ t hu rt

,a nd, Prudence, we must su rely retu rn to

th e house at once .Th is was no t at al l what Garde h a d star ted to sa y,

nor what she wanted to sa y ; bu t though i t wa s th esame Adam , qu i te to her heart

’s satisfac tion , yet h ewas now a man , and a maidenly diflidence shamed h err iotou s gladn ess

,a nd— Prudence was present .

“ But,

” said Adam , fumbl ing in a pocket over th eregi on o f h is heart ,

“ th e trinket I brough t you fromHispaniola P”

Oh , marry, i t has kept so well al l the se years, saidGarde rogu ishly

,s urely itmust still keep t ill— surely


Eager to find h is companions, yet completely scatt erbrained by the meeting wi th Garde , th e sigh t of h erradian t beau ty

,an d the chaos of plans for seeing her

again at d ayligh t,which were teeming in h is head

,be

fairly fell over the outstretched fee t of h is fai thfu l fo llowers before h e sa w them .

They were stil l s i tt ing upon th e bl ock o f stone . Theyhad interlocked their arms, for mu tual support, andthen h a d fallen fast asleep

,worn ou t with the long day

and made weak by a longer fast.Good o ld beef-eaters,

” said Adam , aff ecti onately,and gently shaking them by th e shou lders, he arousedthem , got them on the ir feet and gu ided them out o f

th e all ey. By great good fortune, h e came to a landmark he remembered from h is sh ort soj ou rn in Boston ,years before . With th i s as a bearing, he made goodtime to th e Captain ’ s hou se . They met Will iam Phippsa t the gate

,going forth to hun t them up.

We have sauntered along,

” said Adam , carel essly,for such a ir a s th is is a ton ic to the appet i te.”

CHAPTER IV.

THE OPENING o r A vrsrA.

FOR a m a n who had taken so much ton ic , Adam hadbu t ind iff erent rel ish for the savory and altogether comfort ing littl e d inner which Goodwife Phipps had keptal l warm and waiting for th e coming o f her gu ests . H ishead wa s filled with l ove a nd with altercati ons betweenh op e that Garde had meant th i s and fears that she

m ight have meant that, and with conju ring up al l h erspeeches and glances, t ill he could hardly have toldwh eth er h e was afoot o r horseback .

But if thei r leader neglected h is opportun ities,th e

beef-eaters made good the repu tation for three,as

swordsmen with kn ife and fork . Fortunately GoodwifePhipps had provided amply . But a fowl became agl is tening skeleton a hot meat-pie was represented atlast by a dish that yawned l ike an empty chasm ; apyramid of Indian maize became a scattered wreckage

o f cobs, and potatoes, bread and pudding vanish ed into

mere memories o f what they once had been .

Adam,al though he said noth ing, talked l ike a n

auctioneer, during the meal , to d ivert what he could ofth e attention wh ich his retinu e perforce attracted tothe ir appet ites . This inn ocent ru se was not lost onthe charm ing l ittle wife o f Will iam Phipps . She wasa sweet l i ttle woman, plump , black-haired , brown - eyed

53


and gifted by Na tu re W i th much v ivaci ty, in her wita nd in her engaging manners . She was older than herhu sband

,having been the widow o f one merchant Hull,

when she and the Captain wedded . They were a happycouple

,being indeed nu-Puri tanly joyou s in thei r

partnersh ip . She had taken a great l iking to Adam ,

when Ph ipps first brought h im home . Now that h ewas a man

,she l iked h im none th e less, yet she sa w

that h e would always be a big, straightforward boy. Shewatch ed him now with pleasure, l i sten ing to his qu ipsand sall i es o f nonsense

,and nodding moth erly at h is

eviden t concern for h is two forlorn beef-eaters, so ob

viously attached to him by ties o f aff ection .

The d inner being at length come t o a n end,with

grea t satisfact ion to all concerned, Adam counseled theexpanded beef-eaters to fare to th e C row and Arrow

,

l est in their absence anyth ing befall to prevent theiroccupancy of th e selec ted apartments . As noth ing wasto be had to drink where th ey were

,th e worthy two

were glad to act u pon his suggesti on . AccordinglyAdam and his hosts were left to th emselves

,whereupon

they fell u pon a banquet of narrative a nd remin iscenceforthwi th .

Now, Adam , tel l u s al l abou t where you have been ,and what you have done, and al l abou t everyth ing,

”

said Mrs . Phipps, pu tt ing h er pl ump elbows on th etabl e

,which she had swiftly cl eared o f the dinn er

wreckage . Just begin at the day you left, with William

,and tell u s all th ere i s . But tell us first

,have you

fall en in l ove ? Of course you must have,bu t I do

hope you will l ike one of our own girl s best.

I fear you wou ld have me begin at the last end first,

The Open ing o f a V ista . 55

after all,said Adam

,th ink ing how recently h e had

fallen v ictim to Eros . My tal e is b rief and o f no in

terest. Will iam bade me cul ti vate the society of gentle

men, when he sen t me to England . Well , I had fencing a nd fiddl ing of a n Ital ian nobleman I have fough twith holy friars and princes ; I have sworn strangeoaths wi th prelates and bishOps ; I h ave danced w ith

nuns and du chesses I have ridden to hounds with cursand Kings . If I h ave not l earned drinking, gambl ing,love-making

,duel ing, swearing and sundry other pretty

accompl ishments,th en besh rewme for a clod and cal l

the court no plac e fo r school ing . 1 am rich er than I

wa s, since I may look up at any moment and see you

both at a glance . By the same token I am happ ier.As t o my heart, I

’l l take oath I left i t in Boston . Andthere you have me .

Oh,th i s sounds very naughty indeed, said Mrs.

Phipps.“ I never counseled you to apprentice yourse lf to

the devil,

” said Ph ipps . You were first to learnnavigation , o f some

O h, o f that I negl ec ted to speak , in terrupted th e

rover . “ William , you will n ever make a n anchor outo f sea foam ,

nor a solid sh ip ’s master ou t o f me, elsemy first or my last preceptor wou ld have finish ed me

o ff roundly .

”

Who was your la test ch ief the Captain inqu ired .

“ Captain Will iam Kidd ,” said Adam , a generou s

fri end,a fearless and skilfu l seaman , a nd as bold a

fighting m a n as ever cl u tch ed a h il t . I met h im atBarcel ona

,sh ipped wi th him fo r Bristol , fel l in with

my beef-eaters,got r id o f my money a nd pushed my


sword through a pup— Lord Someth ing-o r-oth er— and

wa s s till in t ime to catch Captain Kidd at Portsmou th

forNewYork . Bu t I can’ t bark enough f o r a sea -dog,as Kidd wa s good enough to tell me h imsel f.”

William Phipps nodded and nodded . Ou twardly hewas calm enough inwardly he s tewed with heat . Adamhad bu t added fu el to th e fever o f unrest and th irs t fo r

adventu re wi th which he had been born . He wa s notj ealou s o f all that h i s protégé had accompl ished ahead

o f himself— indeed, he had fur thered the la d’s advance

ment,at th e expense of h is own sense o f bereavement

when h e and Adam parted ,— bu t h e was consumedwith impatience t o be hewing at th e great career forwhich h e had from boyhood fel t h imself destined . Al igh t of de termination bu rned in hi s eyes . He saw

that th e b oy before h im had u tterly ou tstripped h imthe boy to whom he h a d imparted al l h is own meager

,

self-acqu i red edu cation . No t for a moment did h e regret that from Hispaniola h e had sent th e lad to England

,wi th a fell ow-captain , nor wou ld he for any price

have stripped h is protégé o f one s ingl e experience,bu t

h is mou th grew dry with the lu st for adventure thatwa s glowing w i th in h im .

His wife sa w th ese indi cat i ons . Sh e understood whatwas pass ing in h i s m ind . Before she had even sighedto h ersel f, as a woman must, who feel s h ersel f on th ebrink o f a separation from one she truly loves, she consented men tally to what sh e knew he would presentlysuggest . What she was thu s prepared for, came soonerthan she had expected it might .

Adam ,

” said Ph ipps, somewhat h usk ily, “ I havebeen waiting for someth ing—I never knew what—to

The Open ing o f a V ista . 57

co me along and star t me o ff after the fortune I havepromised to get for the wife .

You are fortune en ough f or me dear,Mrs .

Phipps interposed,in sp ite o f h erself . I shou ld be

satisfied to l i v e l ike this forever.”

“ I know,

” said th e Captain ,“ bu t I promised you

shou ld have a fair br ick hou se in th e Green Lane,to

th e north,and I mean that you shall have i t . Adam

,

you are th e someth ing I have been waiting for,bu t

what with my worrying,over th inking you probably

dead,I have never real iz ed the tru th till th i s n igh t .”

“ And what m a y i t be my pr iv ilege to do ?” said

Adam .

Go with me to recover a fortune,sunk in a wreck .

Sh e rests on a reef in the Bahamas,in a few fathoms

o f water . She was laded wi th gold a nd went downwi th every ounce . I’ve go t th e maps , and nowthat I

’ve

go t you , bless you r h eart, we ca n sail in a week I”

And h ow have you learned o f th i s sunken treasu re sai d Adam , who for some reason appeared no tat all boyi shly eager to set o ff on thi s n ew adventure .Has somebody given you th i s tale and the maps asth e price fo r a wel l-bu il t brig

I had the information from a Spaniard,who d ied

at my sh ip-yard,

” said Phipps . He wa s th e sole survivo r o f th e wreck ed vessel . I gave h im work . He wa sgrateful . Death seiz ed h im suddenly, bu t before th eend came , he told me h is tale, h e said , as a measu re o f

grati tude, di recting me to feel in h is pockets f or th emaps, wh ich I did . I h ave waited for what I now am

certain wa s your return .

”

Well,” said Adam, thoughtfully, twist ing th e ends


o f his small mustache, you couldn

’t easily have paidme a greater compl iment

,I a m s u re bu t

,my dear

friend, you place me in a n awkward posi tion .

Awkward posi ti on ? What awkward position ?said Phipps . Here you are a good swordsman

,a m a n

o f some knowledge, and th e companion I would selec to f all th e men I know Here Adam bowed solemnly.

Now what is to h inder u s from mak ing th is venturetogether ? What d o you mean by th is awkward posit ion bu siness

I m ean ,” said th e rover

,that I seem to serve no

better pu rpose, the moment I retu rn to Boston , than toseparate you two good peopl e . Now I am sensitiveabou t a th ing l ike that . I don ’t l ik e to be the cau se ofsu ch a separation .

What nonsense, you started th e Captain .

I prepared my m ind for Will iam’s adventu re, l ong

a go , in terrupted Mrs. Phipps . If h e doesn ’ t go wi thyou

,h e wil l go w i th some one el se . And as long as h e

i s ben t on going in the en d, I sh ou ld feel so much better, Adam , i f you were wi th h im .

”

Adam bowed to them both , again . He was glad todo th is, as he was, in poin t o f fac t, somewhat confused

a s to what to sa y.

There,you young rascal,

” said Phipps, thatknocks away your sh ores and you are launched before

you know it .”

But,

” suggested Adam,wi th a n ai r o f great sol ic i

tude for h is friend ’s in terests, do you really th ink a nywild-goose ch ase o f th i s descripti on coul d be as sol idand certain a nd wholesome as the sh ip-build ing business ? Would I be justified in encouraging you, Cap


oh , why , perh aps some young lady has recently arrivedhere from the o ld country. Is that i t, Adam

I give you my word o f honor that no young ladyhas come to Boston , si nc e I went abroad, for whom Icare a brass f a nth ing,

” Adam assu red his hostess. Thefurther you go in th is, the more innocent you will find

me .

“ Then are you turned lazy, or what i s i t that ail syou

,inqu ired th e Captain , that you fail to l eap, as,

by my word,I h ad thought you would

,to embrace th is

opportun ityOh , oh , poor dear Adam , said th e Captain

’s w ife,

in terrupting any answer Ru st migh t have been fram ing,perhaps I know what i t is, at last . Sh e went to herhusband qu ickly and wh ispered someth ing in hi s ear.Hum said Ph ipps, who wa s incl ined to be a bi t

short w i th h i s protégé for h is many equ ivocal answers,

Why couldn ’t h e sa y so at onc e See here,Adam ,

what’s all th is rigmarole about you r pride If youhaven’t got any money, what

’s th e odds to me Who’sasking you to furnish any funds ? I’ve go t the brigand I ’ve got provis ions and arms in plenty . If that i s

what ails you , drop i t, sir, drop i t 1”

Adam , will ing to share another’s money as readily

as h e would give h is own las t penny to a friend, hadth ought o f noth ing half so remote as th is to off er as a nexcu se for remain ing in Boston , under the same skywi th Garde . But now that i t was broached

,h e fathered

i t as qu ickly and aff ectionately as i f he had indeed beeni ts parent.

I had hoped i t would not be unreasonable for me tocrave a few days’ grace before giv ing youmy answer to

The Open ing o f a V ista. 61

you r generou s proposi t i on , he said , for I am notwi th ou t hopes o f repleni sh ing our treasu ry at a n early

date .”

But in the meantime st arted Ph ipps.Dearest ,

” in terrupted h is wife,with feminine ten

derness o f th ought for any innocent pride,“ surely you

have no mind to sail to-n igh t And there ar e so manythings for Adam to tel l .”

Th e Captain , who had been drawing down his brow,

in that seriou s keep-a t-it sp irit which through al l h isl ife was th e backbone o f h is remarkable, self-made success

,slacked o ff the i ntensi ty of h is mood and smiled

at h is wife , indulgently . He loved her a nd he lo vedAdam above anyth ing el se in th e world .

Get you beh ind me, golden treasu re, h e said , wi tha wave o f h i s big

,wh ol esome hand Adam, I would

rather hear you talk than to pocket rubies .”

I mu st be cau ti ou s le st I bankrupt myself by telling all I know th is evening,

” said Adam . Indeed,

dear friends , i t grows late already . I mu st set my beefeaters the good example o f k eeping seemly hou rs . Hearose to go before th e sunken treasure top ic shoul dagain break out, wi th i ts many fasc inations a nd p itfall s .His hosts protested against h is l eav ing, yet th ey

presently d isc overed that th e h ou r wa s, as h e said , nolonger ea rlv. He th erefore departed and wended h i swa y th rough the now deserted streets, toward th e Crowand Arrow, h is h eart bounding with j oyousness, h isbra in a whirl wi th memori es o f everyth ing o f the evening, save th e d iscu ss ion o f the sunken treasure .

CHAPTER V.

A WEIGHTY CONFIDENCE.

AT th e tavern, when Adam entered , Halberd hadsuccumbed to a plethora of comfort

,which had followed

to o soon o n the pau ci ty thereof, which h a d been th eprogram of the three for many weeks. He was snor

ing fiercely in a corner. Pike, on the o ther hand, wasinflated wi th l ife and act ivi ty o f speech . He wasbragging eloquently, not only of h is own prowess

,bu t

also o f that o f Halberd and Adam as wel l .Adam heard the end of a peroration o f sel f-appraise

ment in wh ich the dough ty Pike announced that one o f

h is recent feats h a d been the sl ay ing o f two mu rderou s,giant p i rates wi th h is naked fists .Among the sailors, dock-hands and tavern-l oafers

who made up the auditors who were being entertainedby th ese fl ights of narrative, was a l i ttl e, red-nosed ,wh ite-eyed m a n o f no significance

,who now stood up

and removed h is coat .If you would l ike to have a b it o f fun with me

,

sai d he . “ I ’ll play one of those p irates, till we see

what you can do .

Pike looked at h im ru efully, rubbing h i s ch in wh il eth inking what to answer to th is challenge . He thenwaved h is h and , grandly.

Good sir,” he said , “ th e Sachem, my honored a s

62

A Weighty Confidence. 63

soc iate,has su ch a n appeti te for these encounters that

until he shall be sati sfied I would have no heart to deprive h im of s uch good material as I can see you woul dmak e for a fight. Doubtl ess I can arrange for h im todo youthe honor you seek after wh ich I shall be pleased

to weep at your fu neral .I would rather fight w ith him than you

,said the

would-bebell igerent, bu t before h e comes, if youwouldlike t o have your neck brokenSati sfied that this bu siness h a d gone far enough

,

Adam strode in to the tap-room , where the jovial spiri tshad congregated .

My friends,” he interrupted , “ you ca n pu t your

neck s to better purpose by pouring someth ing downthem . Landlord, attend my gu es ts . PikeBu t th e p irate-exterminator had fled

,first edging to

the door, at the appearance o f h is chi ef, and thenclattering up th e stairs to th e rooms above with a noisel ike cavalry in ful l re treat.But if you would l ike to fight

,

” started th e a ccommo

dating manikin , still in process o f baring his drum-sti ckarms, why, Mr. Sach em bu t h e was not permitted

to finish .

Leave o ff th e gab , said a bu rly sail or. Clapp inghis private tankard— a th ing o f enormous d imensionsfairly over th e l i ttl e head of th e ch all enger

,he snu ff ed

h im comp letely and su ddenly lifted h im bodily to th etop o f th e ba r

,amid th e gu ffaws of th e entire company .

Rust lost no tim e in arou sing Halberd, whom heherded to the apartments aloft w i th bri ef ceremony .

Wa inswo rth , who had been si tting up in h is room ,

writing letters wh ile h e waited for Adam’s retu rn,new


heard h is fri end coming and Opened h is door to bid himwelcome . With another big hand-shake

,a nd a smile

over thei r recent mis-encounter, th e two went into th el ighted apartment, Wa insworth cl osing the door beh indh im .

“ It’s a wonder you find m e anyth ing more than asmall h eap o f ashes,

” said Wa inswo rth ,“ for I have

fairly burned and smoked with my eagerness to see you

back .

”

“ I ca n smell the smoke, said Adam. How veryl ike tobacco i t is. And now that I am here I presume

you are qu ite put out .”

You are not in love or your w its wou ld be as dul la s mine,

”his friend repl ied But sit down, sit down,

and tell me all abou t you rsel f.I th ought you wanted to do th e tell ing.

Well,I do, confound you , but

What’s all th is in terrupted Adam . He h a dcaugh t sigh t, on th e tabl e

,o f two gl i ttering heaps o f

money,Engl ish coins

,piled in two apparently equal

d ivi sions on th e cloth .

That ? Oh,noth ing, you r share and mine, sa id

Wa insworth , taking Adam’s hat and sweeping one o f

th e heaps int o i ts m a wwith u tter unconcern. Stowi t away and be seated .

”

Well , bu t started Rust.Stow i t

,stow i t ! ” in terrupted Wa insworth .

“ Id idn ’t both er you wi th b uts a nd whyfores when youdivided with me . I have some th ing o f more importanceto chat abou t.”

This i s t en t imes as much a s I gave to you,”ob

jected Adam, doggedly.


You gave me ten times more than you kept you rself, when it meant ten t imes as great a favor. I a m

mean enough only to divide even,

” answered Wainsworth .

“ S ay anyth ing more abou t i t, and I shall p i tchmy share out of the window.

”

As a matter o f fac t, Rust had impoverished h imselffor th i s friend, when in England, at a momen t mostvi tal in Wa insworth

’s career. He had no argument

,

therefore, again st accepting th is present, much-neededcapital . He placed th e cl ink ing co ins in h is pocket

,

no t withou t a sense o f deep obl igat ion to h is friend . Itmade one more bond between them , cementing morefirmly than ever that affectionate regard between them

,

on th e strength of wh ich e ith er wou ld have made a

great personal sacrifice for th e other. No sooner, however

,had Adam cleared h is hat and weighted h is

cloth ing with th e money, than he real iz ed that th e on lygood argument h e had possessed to oppose to CaptainPhipps’ scheme to take h im away from Boston , namely,h is poverty, was nowu tterly null ified . He started as ifto speak , bu t i t was already too late . If the Captainfound h im out

,what could he sa y o r do

Now then,” said Wa insworth , we can talk .

I am a n empty u rn,wai ting to b e fill ed with your

tal es and confessions,

” said Adam .

Wa insworth settl ed back in h is chair and stroked h issmall imperial

,h ung on h is under l ip. Yes, we can

talk, h e repeated . He sa t uprigh t again , and oncemore leaned backward.

“ I don’t know where to begin ,

” h e admitted .

Youmight start o ff by saying you ’re in love .Who told you I

’m in love I haven’

t said so .


You ’d be in love yourself,i f ever you had met her.

Sh e ’s a beau ty, Adam She’s d iv ine She ’s gloriou sOdds walru ses, you

’d be clean crazy abou t her Why,you would simply rave—you couldn ’t be as calm a s I amif you knew her, Adam She’s th e l ovel iest, sweetest,most heavenly angel th at ever walked the earth Why,I can ’t g ive you an idea ! Sh e,— she

, she ju st takesyour breath ! There is noth ing in Bos ton l ike hern oth ing in the world . Why, man , you couldn

’t sit s tilli f you had e ver seen her 1

” He go t up and paced theroom madly . You cou ld no more sit there and tellme abou t her as I am tell ing you than you cou ld drinkthe ocean

No,I su ppose I cou ldn ’t .”

Of cou rse you couldn ’t. I ’m a n older man thanyou are— a whol e year older— and I know what I a mtalk ing abou t . You would go raving mad

,if you saw

h er. She i s th e most exqu i si te—Adam ! She ’s peerl ess ! ”

Then you are in l ove said Adam . Up to thislast moment I though t th ere m igh t be some doubtsabou t i t

,bu t I begin to su spect perhaps you are.”

“ Love ? In l ove My dear boy,you don ’t know

what l ove i s I adore her I worship her I wou ldlay down my l ife for h er ! I wou ld d ie ten th ou sanddeath s for h er , and th en say I l oved her still

That would be a remarkabl e post-mortem power ofspeech

,

” said Adam .

“ And I suppose she loves youas fervently as you l ove her .”

Of cou rse she does— that is ,— now, now why wouldyou a sk such a sil ly question as that A love l ike minej u st reaches forth and surrounds her ; a nd i t couldn

’t


i s she beau ti—bu t I may have asked that before Heyawned and rubbed h is eyes to keep th em Open . Oh

,

I do th ink Of another . What is her name“ Her name ? ” chu ck led Wa inswo rth

,walking up

and down in a n ecstasy o f del igh t . Her name i s thepretties t name in th e un iverse . I t

’

s Garde— GardeMerril l—Garde Oh , youj u s t l ove to sa yGarde, Garde,GardeAdam started, suddenly awake and alert . He passed

h is hand across h i s eyes stiffly . His face became aspale as paper . Wa inswo rth was stil l walking restle sslyup and down . in ten t on h is own emoti ons .I t’s a name l ike a perfume

,

” h e wen t on . Garde,

Garde . You cah ’t th ink how that name wou ld cl ingto a man ’s m emory for years— h ow it rings in a man ’sbrain—how i t plays upon h is soulAdam was th inking like l igh tn ing. Garde -Sheloved Wa inswo rth— he had said so . It was th i s thath ad made her appear so restrained, unnatu ral , eager tore turn to th e hou se. Th is was why her answers h a dbeen so evasi ve. The whol e si tu ati on broke in on h imw ith a v ividness that stunned h is senses .A m a d though t chased through h is brain . It was

that, i f he had spoken fi rst,th i s moment of insupport

able pain coul d have been avoided , bu t thatWa insworth

hav ing spoken first had acqu ired rights, wh ich h e, asa friend , lov ing h im dearly, would be bound to respect .He thought o f th e m on ey h e had ju st accepted fromth i s broth er-l ike fri end . He sa w th e impossibil i ty o f

ever say ing to Henry that h e to o l oved Garde Merrillh ad loved her for seven years—had heard her nam epeal ing l ik e the bell Of hi s own very being in his sou l !


But no—he couldn ’t have Spoken He knew that . He‘would never dare to sa y that she loved h im, in return

for the love he had fostered for her, th ese seven years.

NO, h e could no t have spoken o f her l ike thi s to anysoul

,under any c ircumstances . To him her name was

too preciou s to be pronounced above a wh isper to hi s

own beating heart. He d id not real iz e that,by that

very token o f h er sacredness to h im, he loved her farmore deeply, far more sub l im ely th an could any manwho would sa y her name over and over a nd babble o fh is love .He only knew that h is brain was reel ing . He cou ld

only see that Wa insworth , for whom h e would havesacrificed almost anyth ing, was all engrossed in th i s

‘

love wh ich m ust mean so much . He only real iz ed thatal l at on ce h e had lost h i s right to tel l th i s dearly beloved fr iend th e tru th , and with th i s h e h a d also lostth e r igh t, as a n honorable com rade

,to plead h i s own

soul ’s yearning at th e door of Garde ’s h eart .Wa insworth , in his ecstati c stroll ing and ringing o f

praises,was toll ing a knel l for Adam , say ing Garde

a nd then Garde and again presently Garde,which

was th e only word, in al l h i s rap id talk that reachedthe other’s ears .Adam arose

,un stead ily . Wa inswo rth had not oh

served h is well -con cealed agitati on .

I— must be going ,” said Rust, hu sk ily , tu rn ing h is

face away from the l igh t . He tried to feign anotheryawn . I am no longer good company . Good night .”

“ What,going ? ” said Henry, catch ing h im a ffec

tion a tely by the sh oulders . Ah , Adam , I suppose Iam a bit fool ish, but forgive me. You don’t know


what i t i s to love a s I have learned to l ove . And,dear

fri end, i t has made me love youmore—if possible—t hanever.

Good nigh t,Henry

,said Adam

,control l ing hi s

voi ce wi th d iffi culty . Good

you.

”

Say ‘God bl ess Mistress Garde Merrill —for mysake,

” sai d Henry .

Adam looked at h im oddly an d repeated the wordsl ike a mere machine.

CHAPTER VI.

PAN ’S BROTHER AND THE NYMPH.

ADAM retu rned to h is room attempting to pu cker h isl ips for a careless wh istle which failed to material iz e

.

He had evolved a rude bu t logical ph il osophy o f his

own for every phase Of l ife bu t what ph ilosophy everfool ed the maker th ereo f, with its soph istriesThe beef-eaters were snoring so ominously that Adam

wa s constra ined to th ink o f two volcanoes threaten ingimmediate eruptions .

Poor old boys h e said to h imself. There wa s noparti cular reason for th is, save that h e fel t h e mu stpity someth ing

,and self-p i ty he abhorred . He was try

ing no t to th ink of the one companion that alwaysdrew hi s emoti ons out o f h is rel u ctant heart and gavethem expression— h is v iol in .

Standing in the m iddl e o f th e floor,withou t a l igh t

in the room,he reasoned wi th h imself. He said to h is

inner being that doubtl ess Wa insworth l oved her morethan h e did anyway ; that h e , Adam , having carriedaway a boyi sh memory

,wh ich h e” had h aloed with

romanticism for seven years,could not cal l h i s emo

tions l ove . Moreover,he had as yet only seen her in

the dark,and might no t be at all attracted by her tru e

sel f in th e dayl igh t. Naturally,al so

,Wa inswo rth had

as much righ t in th e premises as any man on earth , and7 1


no ma n c ould expect a girl to remember a mere homelylad for seven years and know that he loved her, or thath e thought he d id , and so reciprocate th e affec tion andcalmly awai t h i s re turn . Clearly he was a n absurdcreatu re

,for he had fostered some silly notion in his .

heart,or brain, that Garde was feel ing toward h im ,

allthese years

,as h e felt toward h er. It wa s fortunate he

had found everything ou t so soon . The thing to donow was to think Of someth ing else .All the whil e h e was thus ph ilosoph iz ing

,h e had a

perfect subconsciousness that t old h im the viol in would

win— th at soon o r late i t would drag h is feel ings out o fh im

,in i ts own incomparabl e tones . He only pau sed

there argu ing the matter because h e hated to give inwith ou t a figh t . That vi ol in always won. I t mustno t be permitted to arrogate to i tself an absolu temastery over h is moods .Presently, beginning to admi t that h e would yet

have to tu ck the instrument under h is ch in , whether orno, h e worked out a compromise . He would not playi t

, or sound it, or fondl e i t in th e town . If i t wantedto voice things a nd would do it— well, he would ca rryi t out into th e woods .Feel ing that h e had, in a measu re, conquered, Rust

stol e s ilently across th e apartmen t to th e corner inwhich he had placed th e v iol in wi th h i s own lov inghands, l ifted th e case withou t making a sound andcrept out as if h e had been a th ief, pressing the boxsomewhat rig idly against h i s heart.He reached th e street without diffi culty. The town

was asleep . A dog barking, a mile away, a nd then afool i sh cock, crowing because he had waked, were the

Pan’

s Brother a nd the Nymph . 73

only sounds breaking over a ll Boston . The last th inrind o f th e moon had jus t r isen . In th e l igh t i t cast,the hou ses and shadows seemed bu t a mystic painting

,

in deep purpl e, blacks and grays . Silently as Adamcould walk

,these hou ses cau gh t u p the echo o f his

foo tfalls,and wh ispered i t on, from o ne to another

,as if

i t had been a pass-word to m otionless sentinels .He came to the Common , discern ing Beacon Hill ,

dimly v is ible, o ff to th e right. With grass under footh e walked more rapidly . Past th e watch-hou se a nd th epowder-hou se, in th e cente r o f th e Common, h e strode,on to Fox Hill and th en to the Roxbu ry Flats

,stre tch

ing wide and far, to the west Of the town .

Being now far from all th e hou ses,alone in a n area

o f s il ence, Adam modified h i s gai t. He even stoodperfectly still

,l isten ing, for what he could n ot have

heard,gaz ing far away, at scenes and forms that had

no existence . Night and sol i tude wrough t upon h imto make h im again th e boy who had l i ved that free

,

natu ral exi stence wi th the Indians . His tongue cou ldnot u tter

,his imaginati on cou ld no t conceive

,anyth ing

concrete o r tangibl e out o f th e melancholy ecstasywh ich the n igh t arou sed in h i s being and wh ich seemedto demand some ou tward response from h is spiri t. Hefel t as if insp irat ion , to sa y someth ing , or to do someth ing

,were about to be born in h is breast , bu t always

i t eluded h im,always i t was ju st beyond h im and a ll

h e could do , as h is though t pursu ed i t, was to dwellupon the subl imi ty breath ing across the bosom o f

Natu re and so fairly in to h is face .He had come away wi thou t h i s hat . Bareheaded

,at

times wi th hi s eyes c losed, the be tter to appreciate th e


earth in i ts sl umber, he fairly wantoned in the coolness,the sweetness and the beauty Of th e hou r. Thu s i twas past three O ’cl ock in the m orning when at l engthhe came to th e woods .Ma n migh t bu ild a pal ace o f gold and brill iants

,or

Nature grow an edifice o f leaves al l resplendent wi thpurples

,reds

,yellows and emerald s, bu t, when nigh t

spread her mantl e, these gems o f color and rad iancemigh t as well be o f ebon . I t i s th e sun that gilds

,

that burn ishes,that lays on th e tin ts o f th e m ighty

canvas ; and when h e goes, all col or , all gl i tte r and allbeauty, save o f form ,

have ceased to be .Adam sa w th e trees standing dark and still , th e ir

great black l imbs outstretch ed like arms , with upturnedhands

,suppl iant for a lms of weather. There wa s some

th ing brotherly in th e trees, toward the Indians, Adamthough t, and therefore th ey were h is big broth ers also .

He had even seen the trees retreating backward to theWest

,as th e Red men had done

,fall ing before th e

march of the great wh ite family.

If Nature has aught of awe in her dark hou rs, she

keeps i t in th e woods . The si len ce, disturbed by the

myst ical m urmuring o f leaves, th e reach ing forth Ofth e undergrowth , to feel th e passer-by in th e depth o f

shadows,the tangled roots that hol d th e wariest feet

u ntil some small animal— like a child o f th e forestcan scamper away to safety, all th ese th ings make sucha place seem senti en t, breath ing w ith a l ife wh ich m a n

knows not o f , bu t feels, when alone in i ts midst.To Adam all these things betokened wel come. His

mood became o ne o f pecul iar exu ltati on , alm ost, bu tnot qu ite, cheer. As a discouraged ch ild m ight sa y


self s tiffly on phil osophy all th e way to thi s forestth eater

,bu t to l i t tl e avail . He presen tly s topped

pl aying al together .If he loves her and she l oves h im ,

” he tol d h imself,

resol u tely,“ why, then , i t i s much better that two

sh ould be happy than that all three sh ould finally bemade m iserable by some other arrangement

,which a

m a n l ike me, in h is selfishness, migh t hope to make.I t

’s a man’s du ty, under su ch c i rcumstances, to dance

at the wedding and be a jolly chap , and - hun t around

for another girl .”

He attacked th e viol in again , when it was apparentlyOff guard , and rattled Off a cheerfu l di tty before theinstrument could catch i ts breath , so to speak . Thena singl e note taunted him with a memory, and thev iol in nearly sobbed , for a second, t il l th e j ig could

recover i ts balance . The strings next caugh t at a laggard phrase a nd suddenly bore in a relentless contem

pla tion Of the fu tu re an d its barren promise . The

brighter tones di ed away again . So went th e battle.Trying h is best to compel th e v iol in to laugh a nd

accep t the si tu ation , whil e th e instrument strove t osigh

,Adam played a n odd c ompos i tion Of al ternating

sadness and careless j oll i ty , th e outpour ing being theabsolu te speech o f h is soul .He played on and on . Inasmuch as h is ph ilosophy

was as right as any human reason ing i s l ikely to be,Adam ’s more cheerfu l natu re won . But th e v ictorywas not decided, no more than i t wa s permanent. Yeth e was at last th e master o f th e si tuat ion .

Heedless Of th e t im e as h e h a d been , in h is completea bsorption, Rust had not Observed the coming o f morn

Pan’

s Brother a nd the Nymph . 77

ing. Neverth eless the sun was up,and be tween th e

branches o f the trees i t had flung a topaz spot of col orat h is feet— a largess o f l igh t and warmth . Withou tth ink ing abou t i t, o r paying any attention to i t, Adamhad fixed h i s eyes on th i s patch of gold .

Suddenly h is senses became aware that th e spot hadbeen blotted out o f existence. He l ookedup and beheld a vis i on o f lovel in ess—as fair a nymph as ever enj oyed a background o f trees.I t wa s Garde.

CHAPTER VII .

THE MEETING IN THE GREENWOOD .

WITH her gloriou s mahogany-col ored hai r l oose inmasses on her shoulders, with her eyes inqu i ring, a ndher l ips sl ightly parted as she stol e forward

,thril led

wi th the exqu isi te beau ty of Adam ’s playing,in su ch

a temple o f perfect harmonies, Garde appeared l ike thevery spiri t Of th e forest

,drawn from sacred bowers by

the force Of l ove that v ibrated the instrument’s s trings .No bark Of pine tree was browner than her eyes ;

no berries were redder than her l ips,nor th e col or that

cl imbed upward in her cheeks,the wh i te Of wh ich was

as that o f th e fir beneath its ou ter covering. As someforest dryad , maidenly a nd diflident

,she h eld h er hand

above her heart when Adam l ooked up and d iscoveredher presence .The m a n l eaped to h i s feet

,l ik e one s tartl ed from

sleep . It almost seemed as if a dream h a d brough thim th is radiant figure. N0 word came

,for a moment ,

to h is l ips .Why— i t’s you said Garde .Garde - Miss— Mistress Merrill said Adam

,

stammering . By my hilt,I— th e— th e wonder i s ’tis

you.

”

Not at all,

” correc ted Garde , recovering someth ingthat passed f or composure . I come here frequently,

78

The Meet ing i n the Greenwood . 79

to gather herbs and simples for Goody Dune, bu t for

you to be here, and play ing— l ike thatYes, agreed Adam , when h e had waited in vain

for her to finish ,“ perhaps i t i s a n in tru sion . You

you came away from the town early .

”

“Why did you come here to play she asked .

Her own nature so yearned over the forest and th ings

beau tiful , her own emotions were so'

wrough t upon byth e subl imity o f earth’s chancel s o f sil ence, that shefel t h er sou l longing for i t s k indred compan ion , whom u st be one reveren t, yet joyou s, where Nature ruled .

She wanted Adam to pou r forth th e tale of h is bro th erhood w ith th e trees a nd th e lonel iness Of his h eart , thatwould make h im thus to play in su ch a place and atsu ch a time . Whil e she l ooked at h im , th e love sheh a d fostered from her ch ildh ood was matu red in one

gloriou s blush that well ed upward from her bosom toher very eyes th emselves .Adam had looked at her bu t once . It was a l ong

look , somewhat sa d, as o f one parting w ith a dear companion . In that moment h e had known how whollyand absolu tely h e loved her. His pretended doubts

o f th e n igh t before h a d fled as wi th th e darkness .The dayl ight in her eyes and on h er face had made h imhenceforth a sun-worshiper

,since th e sun revealed her

in su ch puri ty o f beau ty .

In th e great del igh t wh ich had bounded in h is breastat see ing her there , he had momentarily forgotten h isconversation wi th Wa insworth . When she asked h imwhy he h a d c ome to th e woods , h e would fain h aveknel t before her, to speak Of h is love, to tell o f h is a hgu i sh and to pl ead h is cau se, by every leap o f h is h eart,


but h e had remembered h is friend and h is o ld Ind ianschool ing in s toi c i sm gathered upon h im

,doubtless fo r

th e very presence of the firs and p ines,so solemn and

Ind ianesque abou t h im . He pu t on a mask he hadworn over melancholy Often .

Why, I came here fo r practise, of wh ich I am sadlyin need ,

” h e said . When once I played before KingPirate and h is court o f buccaneers

,I was l ike to be

hung for fai l ing, after a mere six hou rs o f steady scrap

ing at th e strings. If you came for s imples, verily youhave found a simple performer and simple tunes .Garde was painfully d isappoin ted in him . His flip

pancy had , as h e intended i t sh ou ld , deceived h er.She shu t that l ittl e door o f her heart through wh ichher sou l had been abou t to emerge, ready to reveali tself to and to speak welcome to its ma te . Sh e did no tcease to l ove h im , emoti onal though she was, for lovei s l ike a tinctu re, or a n at tar, —once i t i s pou red out,

not even a n ocean o f water ca n so dilu te i t a s t o leaveno trace of i ts fragrance, and not until th e last d ropin th e ocean i s drain ed ca n i t al l be removed or des

troyed. NO, she wa s pained .

~ She des ired to retreat,

to take back th e overtu re wh ich , to hermind, had beena speci es of abandon o f her safeguards and so paten tthat she coul d not conceive that Adam h a d fail ed tonote i ts sign ificance . Yet she gave h im up for a sou lless Pan relu ctantly . That playing, wh ich had drawnher

,psych ically

,physically

,i rresi stibly to h is s ide,

could have no part with th ings flippa nt . It had been

to her l ike a heart-cry, which i t seemed that her heartalon e could answer . And when sh e h a d found that i t

wa s Adam play ing—her Adam— she had w ith d iffi cu lty

The Meet ing in the Greenwood. 8 1

restrain ed h erself from running to h im and sobb ingout the ecstasy suddenly awakened with in her. Thememory o f the music h e had made was still upon herand she was timidly hopefu l again when she said

How l ong have you been practis ing hereAdam mistook th is for a l i ttle barb o f sarcasm . His

m ind was morbid on the subj ec t of Wa insworth and o f

Garde ’s evasiveness o f th e evening before . He pu t onmore o f th e motl ey.

Not half long enough ,” he sai d, by th e v i ol ence

I st ill do to melody and yet too long by half,sin ce 1

have frightened the b irds from the forest. There isalways too mu ch of bad playing, bu t i t takes much ha dpract is ing to make a good performer . I am better atplaying a j ig. Shall I try, in you r honor

Thank you , i f you please, no , I would rath er youwou ld no t,

” said Garde . It wa s h er first Puritan icaltou ch . If she had given him permission to play hi s j ig ,very many th ings might have been al tered

,for Adam

would have reveal ed h imself and would have Opened herheart-doors once again , such a mastery over everyth ingdebonair in his natu re would th e v iol in have assumed

,

wi th its spel l o f deeper emo tions, inevi table— withGarde so near.Adam laughed , well enough to appear careless. I

commend you r j udgment,” he said

,

“ th ough I havealways thought , even af ter last night,—ah , by the way,where i s you r companion , Mistress Pru dence somebodyHe had parried h is own tendency to get back to th e

tender subjects and memories flooding his h eart, bu tno t in a manner to gladden Garde. Indeed

,th e ring Of


a rtificia lity in everyth ing he said made her less a nd l es shappy

Her name is Prudence Sea m . She i s my cou sin ,and she i s at home, said Garde, qu i etly. If youwould care to see her again , I will tel l h er o f yourwi sh .

”

She could readily understand h ow a ny one might l i kePrudence

,knowing what a sweet

,good girl h er cou sin

was,bu t i t caused her a n acu te pain to th ink sh e h a d

cherish ed the image of Adam in h er h eart for sevenyears

,only to find new that he had been inconstant.

She suddenly thought of th e meeting Of the eveningbefore . Adam’s will ingness to present h er— in th e presence o f Prudence— with that someth ing which h e hadbrough t h er from h is firs t tr ip to Hispaniola

,appeared

to her now in a Tigh t, not o f h i s stupid ity,bu t o f his

del iberate intention to sh ow her that h e h a d nOt preserved a sacred dream of th eir ch ildhood fri endsh ip

, a s

she h a d so fondly h oped he had . Sh e even wonderedif he might no t have seen , known and cared for Prudencebefore . She concl uded that he cared for Prudence now

,

and cer tainly not for herself. Then she thought hemight th ink o f that someth ing

,which h e had wished

so to give her— that someth ing from Hispan i ola,— and

she feared h e migh t present i t to h er now. This wouldhave been too much to bear

,under the c ircumstances.

Adam was indeed think ing on th i s very subj ect, bu t

Wa insworth—h i s friend- arose l ike a specter in h ismed itation s

,a nd all that Garde had said had confirmed

h im in h is bel ie f of her coldness to h imsel f, so that h epreferred to seem to forget th e trinket, which wouldhave been at once th e token o f his l ove and constancy .

Mistress Prudence Soam,

” Adam repeated, replying


Adam fel t that h e must pau se a nd tu rn ; that th eGarde that well ed up from his h eart wou ld burs t

through his lips in sp ite o f all he could do . With hi sv iol in clasped beneath h is arm , however, he conqueredh imself, absol u tely, and never so mu ch as turned aboutagain to see where th e wood-nymph had gone .

But Garde could not so slay her deares t impulse .She turned before she had gone ten s teps . Lookingback , sh e saw Adam ,

bareh eaded, crowned by h is goldenringlets,— through which th e sunbeams were thru stl ike fingers of gil t

,— trail ing h is sword

,clu tch ing his

v iolin, strid ing Off in h is boots as l i th ely as a pan thera nd bearing up under his faded brown coat a s proudlyas a king .

Oh, Adam she said, faintly, bu t he was al readyto o far away to hear th e l i ttle wood -note wh ich hervoice had made .He disappeared . Sh e knew he would soon be cl ear

o f the trees . Relu ctantly at first, and th en eagerly,th ough silently, she flitted along from tree to tree,where he had gone, till at l ength she came to the edgeo f the forest .Adam

,heavy with Wa insworth

’s gold, wa s walking

less buoyantly now . He was far out o n th e flat, h eading southward , no t exactly toward Boston . Gardewatched h im yearningly

,going, going and n ever once

look ing backward to where h e h a d l eft her.

She coul d bear no more . She sank down on th emoss at th e foot Of a tree, and leaning against th egnarled old trunk , sh e covered her face wi th her hands

a nd cried, heart-brokenly.

Had she watched bu t a moment longer, she wou ld

The Meet ing in the Greenwood . 85

have seen Adam hal t, slowly tu rn abou t, and with h i shand at h is l ips gaze toward the woods steadily forfully a minu te. Then with a slow gestu re he waved ak iss back to where she was and once more wen t uponh is way.

The ma n had no m ind to walk th rough Boston in

dayligh t, with h i s violin naked in h is hands . Keeping

th erefore sou thward,h e came at l ength to th e upper

part o f the harbor . Here he engaged a boatman witha sloop to convey h im down to the sh ip-yard o f CaptainWill iam Phipps .The worthy sh ip-bu ilder soon made him welcome .Will iam

,said Adam

,I have replen ished the

treasu ry,as I said I migh t , and I have made up my

m ind to j oin youin you r treasu re-hunting expedit i on .

CHAPTER VIII.

PAY ING THE F I DDLER.

ASSUME a cheerfulness, if you have i t not, and itmay presently growupon you . This happened to Adam

,

so that when he l eft Captain Phipps, to retu rn to th etavern for h is breakfast and to seek out th e beef-eaters,h is mood was almost volatil e again . There i s mu chvirtue in hav ing someth ing other than one ’s troublesto think upon . The sunken treasu re aff orded Adam a

topic.He made h is way to h is apartm ents in the Crew and

Arrow bv the stai r s at th e rear . He found th e roomsempty. Beef-eaters

,bag and baggage were gone. Even

the viol in- case was not to be found .

Somewhat surprised that h is fai thful followers would

so desert h im, or at least move the fam ily habi tati onwi thou t consulting thei r comrade, and on notice SObrief

,Rus t knocked o n Wa inswo rth

’s door, to a sk

him if h e had seen anyth ing o f the worthy Pike andHalberd . But Wa insworth too was ou t.Upon proceeding post h aste down to th e tap-room

,

Adam broke in upon a scene of armisti ce, after a firstshock o f war . S tand ing at bay

,with drawn swords

,

the Shabby chattel s o f the trio in a corner beh ind them,

were the beef-eaters,confronting and defying the land

lord and several val iant ci tiz ens, in th e m idst o f whom86

Pay ing the Fiddler. 87

wa s th e small individual who had so much desi red tofight

, on th e previou s even ing, and who was now

harangu ing the opposing forc es volubly.

Here comes the master-vagabond now he cried ,the moment Adam appeared in th e room . Now,

sirs,for your proof that you are n ot a pack o f wander

ing beggars and braggartsAt last cried Halberd a nd Pike, together, coming

qu ickly forward to grasp their com rade in arms by thehands .

We have defended you r good name and possessions said Pike .

We have flung the l i e in to the teeth o f th esevarlets added Halberd .

“You have come in goodtime .”

What’s th e meaning o f all th is business demended Adam ,

o f the'

a ssembled company .

Every one started to talk or to sh ou t at once . Adamheard su ch th ings as

They have call ed you and u s a l ot o f penniles sbeggars and pirates

What are you but a swaggering bullyYou are a fiddl ing l imb o f SatanThe landlord said, more moderately, I d id bu t

desire to protec t my hou se in its good repu te.The fierce l i ttl e wh i te-eyed m a n waved both h is fi sts.These dogs,

” he snapped to Adam ,

“ have boastedthat youare loaded down with gold

Yes, they mentioned gol d , said the landlord,tentatively.

Gold said Adam . Is it a cr ime to have n ogold ? How much gold would you see ?

” he pulled

y”


h i s two hands from his pockets a nd scattered heaps Ofyellowsovereigns on the table .The beef-eaters nearly collapsed with amazement, at

the S igh t Of th is weal th . The landlord fell to rubbingh is hands with ecstasy.

“ You unseemly tradu cers o f fair gentl emen ,” h e

said,with v ir tuou s indignation

,to the bel l igeren ts

beh ind him,

“ how dare you come here to insu l t andto villi fy my guests

He probably stole i t, cried the incorrigibl e l i t tlewh ite-eyed terri er. He has naugh t to do bu t tomake God-fearing men— and h is betters, a t that—danceagainst their will in the publ ic s treets“ Ah

,said Adam ,

striding forward and pu rposelybending wi th great Show of looking down to where th el ittl e man was s tanding

,SO you have come to pay the

fiddl er for th e sport wh ich you r'

fri end enjoyed yesterday evening How l i ttle h e reckon s my fiddlingworth . This i s so sa d that noth ing shor t o f a breakfast can con sol e m e. Landlord

“ Braggart ! knave cri ed th e l i ttl e ma n , i nterrupting. I offer to fight you again You dare notfightThe smaller th e dog th e rarer the punishments and

the larger th e arrogance.Shatter my h il t !

” said Adam, you and another

gnat wou ld devou r me whole .Withou t warning

,and yet gently, Rust took him by

th e collar, twirled h im abou t so that h e could lay h i so ther hand on th e trou sers o f th e midget, and hoistinghim Off his feet , though he k icked and made a di sturbance wi th yell ing and rav ing, carried him at once to


the Open window of the tavern a nd dropped h im out,

on the S idewalk beneath .

Three or fou r partisans, who had back ed up l i ttl ewh ite- eyes and th e landlord, now edged toward thedoor. Adam made one motion in th eir d irec ti on andthey go t out with becoming alacri ty.

Lock that door till we have had our breakfast,Rust

commanded .

The landlord had no more than compl ied,than the

l i ttl e rat, dropped from the window,cam e banging

again st the barrier on th e outs ide, demanding admittance vociferously .

Who is yon whi ff et Adam asked .

His name is Psalms Higgler ,” laughed the landlord

,

with fine hypocrisy “ How bravely you served h im,

and rightly too .

” He rubbed h i s h ands gleefully .

And his friend who sent h im h i ther, h e that danced

so divertingly, what may be h is nam eIsaiah Pinchbeck er, you doubtl ess mean . And

what will you have for breakfast, S ire ?I w il l h ave you carry my bales Of merchandise back

to my apartments,

” said Adam , who did not propose tomove out o f the h ouse u n til h e fel t incl ined, preferringto remain there and command respect fo r h imself andth e beef- eaters, even whil e h e knew th at th e landlordhad joined the m i serabl e snappers at h is h eels . Andlook to i t you move smartly and retu rn to order someth ing to eat. ”

The landlord, spurred by the sight Of the gold, andeager to make all poss ibl e amends for th e errors ofjudgment he had commit ted

,staggered up the s tairs,

panting l ike a grampus.


Adam now turn ed to h is comrades, who rec i ted th reetimes over the inci dents o f th e morning, which consisted ch iefly of th e charges made by Psalms Higgler,evidently at the instigation o f Pinchbeck er— th e nimblefooted—and wh ich had so nearly culminated in theirexpulsion from th e tavern .

Tempest in a teapo t as i t had been , th e bu siness was

a n i ndication Of feel ings wh ich went as d eep as pol it ics,in which the wh ol e col ony had been simmering foryears . Moreover

,the incident was not yet concluded .

The same year which had wi tnessed King Philip’swar

,at th e close o f wh ich Adam h a d gone away, one Of

th e greatest m isch i ef-makers wi th whom the Colon i stshad ever been call ed u pon to deal , Edward Randolph,had come to Boston wi th a design to desp oil the colonyOf i ts charter. He had worked openly, in some directi ons

,secretly in others . He had enl isted malcontents

,

dissenters-from-everyth ing, hypocri tes and men wi thpri vate greeds, in hi s Tory following. Among thesewere Pinchbecker, h i s friend, th e landlord o f th e Crewa nd Arrow, Psalms Higgler a nd many others o f theirilk .

Now Pinchbeck er came under th e category o f hypecrites . He assumed the Pu ri tans’ manners

,speech and

cu stoms, and did, in fact, desp is e some o f th e looserhab its o f th e Royal ists, though he was thei r w i ll ingtool, working for futu re favor a nd gain . He h a d therefore fel t h imself sorely aggri eved when compel l ed toh is dance

,in a publ ic h ighway , and having firs t egged

On his l i ttl e terri er, Psalms, had then repaired to

Edward Randolph , h imself, for redress o f h is wrongs‘

.

Randolph , th inking he smel t a bluff a nd ready Tory

9 2 When a W i tch is Young.

repu te and th e tal e of you r lOve for danc ing have preceded you, si r. I confess I was tempted to come hereand see you .

”

I beseech you fo r a n opportu n ity to sa y that I wasmerely chari tabl e, said Rust . “ I ordered the danceto amuse my beef-eaters . Perh aps you are a danceryourselfRandolph hit h is l ip . He was not getting on to h isl iking . He smiled

,h owever

,and said

I have few graces, after I have menti oned a‘ sense

o f admirationAnd blandishment

,pu t in Adam

,who frankly dis

l iked the man .

Say apprec iation, rath e r, corrected Randolph . Ihave had a hearty laugh over that dance. I wish I h a dbeen th ere to see i t su ch merriment i s SO rare inMassachu setts .

Nearly a s rar e as introductions between gentl emen ,

” Adam answered .

He tipped up h is mug and drank th e last o f his brewcarel essly. Randolph tu rned red wi th anger. His grayeyes loo ked l ike cold fire

,yet he wa s st ill u nwill ing to

accept defeat in h is eff ort to find out the bent Of Ada m ’s

pol itical v iews .“ We l i ve in a t ime when the stou test friends a nd

companions in good causes migh t be l os t to each otherby formal i ty

,

” h e said,wi th a sm il e doing i ts best to

bend h i s featu res. I mu st beg your pardon , i f IseemHe was interrupted by th e entrance, at th is momen t,

o f Will iam Phipps , who came in at the door wh ich thelandlord h a d qu ietly unbolted .


What,Adam

,no t yet done with eat ing he called

out, bluntly . Come, come, I h ave been wai ting th is

lo ng time for you a nd your friends t o have a l ook over

the brig .

”

With you at once, rej o ined th e rover.He a nd th e beef-eaters knocked over th eir h eavy

chairs a nd stools, as th ey arose from th e table . Phipps

looked at Randolph . The two men nodded , distantly‘

and somewhat frown ingly . With out so mu ch as gla ncing at Randolph , Adam and h is ret inu e walked to th edoor and so away

,with th e Captain .

Randolph needed no furth er intimation o f Adam ’sprobable lean ings, pol i t ically, than th is obviou s camarederie with Phipps—who wa s a patriot as immovableand staunch as a rock fortress . He clenched h is fistsand ground h is molars savagely.

Curse th e young fool h e said .

“ I’ll make h imwish fo r a civil tongu e to be hung in h is head

CHAPTER IX.

A MATTER OF STATE.

M ISTRESS GARDE MERRILL, h av ing several hou rs before del i vered her s imples and aromatic leaves to OldGoody Dune, j u st ou tside the l im its Of th e town , stoodlooking out Of th e window, at h er Uncle John S o a m

’s

home,where She was visi ting . Thu s i t was that she sa w

her grandfather,David Donner enter th e gate . Two

m inutes afterward she beh eld the unu sual sigh t o f threeGovernors come into the garden t ogether.The firs t was ex-Governor Leverett, that stern old

Roundhead, the ex-Captain o f Cromwell ’s horse. Athis side was Governor Winslow

,up from Plymouth , on

grave affai rs . Behind them wa s a n older m a n, and perhaps a wiser one, Governor S imon Bradstreet, still hal eand hearty after fif ty-three years of servi c e to thecolon ies .Bringingup th e rear o f th e l i ttl e process ion was Henry

Wa insworth , private secretary to Leverett . He look edtoward the windows in the hope o f see ing Garde, bu tthat young lady stepped sil ently back into th e shadows,for she had no desi re to be seen .

Neither Davi d Donner n or th e oth er vi si tors came tothe house, nor even to th e front door thereof . I t wa sa fine day, so that th e garden seemed all smil es . Acowwa s mooing lu stily and ch i ckens were s inging in

94

A Matter o f S tate. 95

their contentment. These sounds were in terspersedwi th the hawing o f a saw, a nd then wi th hammerstrokes, these latter d isturbances i ssu ing from a newlyconstru cted granary and cow-sh ed wh ich John Seam

,

Garde ’s uncle,had recently afforded .

David Donner, who had kn own that he would findGoodman Soam in th is shed, had tracked across th egarden withou t ceremony. The govern ors and Wainsworth , having confidence that D onner knew what hewas doing, followed where he led, to the center whencethe clatter o f indu stry proceeded .

The hammer-pounding had abated noth ing, nor did

it cease wh en th e three grave ci ti zens and Wa insworth

had entered th e hou se and ranged th emselves S il entlybes ide David Donner, to whom they could not wel lspeak for th e din . Th ey nodded to their fri end

, how

ever,and looked up, l ike students Of astronomy a ll of

one mind, at Goodman Sea m above them .

John Sea m had never been repu ted a carpenter o ftalent in Boston . However

,h ere h e was, standing on

th e h ead o f a barrel a nd obvi ou sly completing the tasko f ceil ing th i s room o f th e granary, for hi s h ead , sh ould ers and arms were out Of sight, in th e darksome region above the ce il ing

,wh ile part Of h is body and h i s

legs,bel ow

,moved in vigorou s j erks as he pounded into

place a nd nailed what appeared to be th e last boardbu t one which would be needed to complete th e job on

which he wa s so commendably engaged.

It seemed to h is v isi tors that they had never beforeseen Goodman Soam in so t ight an orifice as was the

one from wh ich h e now protruded . They wai ted in

patience for the nailing to cease, conversation being im


possible mean time . John was,by all r eckon ing, a

thorough workman,for h e drove home nail after nail,

withou t ceasing for so much as a breath .

At l ength th e board was secu red to the carpenter’ss a ti sfact ion, for he ceased to hammer and could beheard to feel his work lovingly as be examined itsbeau ties in th e half l igh t in wh ich h e had l abored .

Good morrow,John Scam ,

now said GovernorLeveret t

,hav ing first coughed beh ind h is hand . Here

are several fellow- townsmen come to your place .John was seen to give a squ irm . Oh , good morrow,

said he,his voi ce mufiled by the ceil ing between h im

and his fri ends . “ I have been doing a l i ttle work .

Wait a moment,good fri end, till I may gather my nail s

and tools .”

The five good men wai ted, hearing John scramble th enail s togeth er with a few metall ic cl inks .

We went first to your hou se, David, said John Winslow to David Donner. We came to see you andJohn Soam , as premised, on a matter of some gravity .

John Soam now,upon making an eff ort t o retreat out

o f the sl ender orifice wh ich h e had left when he nailedin h is b eard

,found h i s chest and Shoulders thicker than

h is waist . Hc wriggled . This being o f no avail to extricate h im , he struggl ed . A convul si on o f activi ty th enseized upon h im . He attempted to si t down , he draggedat h imself, he began to do unseemly things . But he cou ldnot get ou t . He had hammered in hi s own h ead andarms, wi th many good nails in th e board .

His friends bel ow him now overheard a sound which ,in a sim ian , i f S imians talked at all , would have been acurse. John wrestled as i f demons

,expert in catch

A Matter o f S tate. 97

as-catch -can,were restrain ing h im up there in th e att i c .

He kicked abou t,wi th a violence so great a s to overthrow

the barrel whereon h e had been standing. For a sec

ond h is two blind fee t fel t abou t for h i s whilom supportin an agony o f h elplessness .

“ Goodman Leverett ,” he then bawled

,i n tones o f

repressed emotion , will you pu t back that barrel fora moment

,t il l I may come down

‘

P”

If you will c onstrain you r l egs to seemly conduct,

I will,

” said th e governor . He and David Donnerhaving receiv ed a kick api ece, now rein stated Goodman

S o a m’

s pedestal .John becam e qu iescent f or a moment . H is friends

sh ifted abou t,uneasily .

May we help you in any respect, John inqu iredWinsl ow .

Are you fastened in added Simon Bradstreet .Might we not pul l h im down suggested Wains

worth .

My fri end s,how many be you said th e hot

, muf

fled voi ce o f John .

Five,” said one o f th e sol emn governors .

we give you a l ittl e assi stanceIt would only be a l i ttl e I sh ould wan t , said th e

carpenter,dropping the nai l s h e had clung to in des

pera tion .

The five gentlemen disposed themselves abou t John ’sanatomy and pulled at his legs with un i ted strength

,

grasping the cl oth o f h i s trou sers for the purpose .Enough enough roared John, after a moment

o f h opel ess pain and wriggling.

H i s warn ing came belated . His trou sers were Of7


good stu ff enow,bu t trou sers have their l imitation s .

They parted , sl ightly above the uneven l ine o f grippinghands, a nd came away in ragged banners .The five c i ti zens were horrified . So was John . Two o f

th e gentlemen,with the booty taken from their fr iend

,

fel l h eavily to the floor .Dear me , th i s was most uncall ed for, said David

Donner .John Sca m tri ed to draw his l egs u p under his coat,

vainly. He made terribl e sounds of angu ish, in h i snakedness below and h is l onel in ess up above th e ce iling . His fellow-ci tizens, undec ided as to whether th eyShould go outsid e, for the sake of modesty, or remainand lend further a id to John, l ooked at one another in

quiringly.

“ John , th en said Leverett, somewhat sternly,“ woul d you council us to get an ax and knock out

the board you have hammered into placeYes, bawled th e carpenter, “ th ere be two axes in

th e corner . Let them both be employed“ I have ch opped down a tree in my you th ,

” saidDavid D onner .He therefore t ook one o f th e axes, while Governor

Winslow took the second .

They were then at a l oss to reach the ce il ing, wherefore i t became n ecessary for the good men to bu ild up aplatform

,of boxes and boards

,while John So a m ’

s legstried to hide , one beh ind the oth er.The platform being hastily constru cted . the a x-men

mounted a nd began to swing ill -d irected bl ows upwardat the stubborn board wh ich the carpenter had h a mmered in so thoroughly.

CHAPTER X.

TO FOIL A SPY.

HI S friends, forming a h ollow square, now escorted

! ohn to the house a t a qu i ck walk . He disappearedl ik e a Jack into its box, when the door wa s finallyopened

,wh il e the grave c i tiz en s entered the parlor a nd

awaited h is return . Clothed decorou sly once more,he

was presently w ith th em again,when the counci l o f

five,with Wa insworth s i tt ing near

,drew up to th e

heavy, oaken tabl e.They now l i stened to Governor Winslow, who had

j ou rneyed from Plymou th for th is meeting.

“ I have begun to l ose hope ,” h e said , “ that we

Shall be abl e to postpone much longer th e da y o f evil .We though t our charter was th reatened ten or twelveyears ago a nd we have held i t by Sheer power o f pro

cra stina tion and tactics o f elus iveness, bu t Randolphhas been with u s here in Boston for seven years

,and the

harm he d id to our independence in seventy-Six h a sbeen accumulating interest in troubl e for us, onemightsa y,

' ever since . He h a s mastered our methods h e isclosing in upon u s every day. It i s now a desperatecase, requ iring a desperate remedy. The only qu estioni s , what means ca n we undertake to oflfset some o f th eill repute in wh ich h e has caused King Charle s to holdu s, and to null ify h i s further machinations .

”

I OO

To Fo il a Spy .

It wou ld not be safe, would it, to expel th e manRandolph from the colony ? ” said Leverett

, who hadfirst coughed beh ind his hand.

Oh no ,” said Donner.

Such an a c ti on wou ld precip itate difi‘iculties withth e King,

” added S imon Bradstreet .And wewould not dare to restrain h im from further

evil work John Soam inqui red .

His fri ends Shook their heads .We know wel l enough that he h a s gathered much

testimony from persons w ill ing to swear falsely, as toth e gran ts to Gorges and Mason , in Maine and NewHampsh ire,

” said Dav id Donner “ Might we not goover th is same ground and procu re tru e, sworn test imony and statements from more credible persons

,wi th

wh ich to refute h imThat would h ave been well advised seven years a go ,

said Bradstree t, who had a way o f tweak ing h is ownnose when h e began to speak , “ bu t at that time wewere still engrossed with

,a nd alarmed by , th e war with

King Ph ilip,and moreover we knew noth ing o f Ran

dolph ’s methods . It would have done well th en,but

now it i s t oo late— much too late— for that sort o f

work.

”

I have th ough t upon th e matter long and seriou sly,

sald Winsl ow. I ca n see no wa y so good as to senda n agent from among oursel ves to England , to interoede with Charles and to plead our cau se personally atth e Cou rt

,day after da y.

Dav id Donner knew what was com ing. He glaredat an imaginary Stuart fam ily .

! ohn Soam said :“ I ca n see th e wisdom o f su ch a


cou rse . I consider that when Goodman Simon Bradstree t wen t to London before, he d id th is colony greatservice

.That wa s— l et me see— why, twen ty-three

good long years s ince . Are you o f a mind to go once

more, Friend S imonI am a n old man, said Bradstreet, tweaking h i s

nose wi th extra vigor. “ A younger wi t would be o f

far more service .”

With h is four score o f years on his head S imon Bra dstreet yet did inj u stice to h i s immortal you th andenergy. The counci l knew that i t was th e gal l andwormwood which h e had manfully swallowed, twentythree years before

,when he went to Charl es the Second

to congratulate h im upon his rest oration to th e th rone,that wrought upon him nowmore than d id the infirm i

ties o f age.“ If we prove su ccessful in finding a n agen t from

among us, Friend Sea m ,

” said Winslow, will you be

one wi th u s to find money for h is pilgrimageAnd whom would you have in mind John

cautiously repli ed.

The governors turned with one accord to DavidDonner.They have asked th is servi ce o f me , said David .

Leverett said There is no one else so free , so

gifted and so bountifully suppl ied w ith knowledge o f

these coloni es . Nor is th ere any one among u s whosecomprehens ion o f the intrigu es and a rtifices employedby Randolph is so rel iable .

”

We have none among u s more d ipl omati c andlogical and yet adherent to the cau se o f tru th ,

” addedWinslow.


going abroad, as to know that Mistress Garde Merril lwould now in all probabil i ty remain permanen tly wi thJohn Sca m and his wife

,who were go od o n a tured,

affec tionate people. Indeed Mrs . Soam wa s a naturalwoman, more del ighted when she was fostering or en

coura ging a mating,’twixt you thful h earts, than she

was when kneading dough into lea ves that looked l ikefat, d impled babies, and th is Is saying more than migh treadily be supposed .

Thus wh en, soon after, the meeting had broken upand th e Governors had stiffly departed , i t wa s bu tnatu ral that Henry should d iscover, innocently enough ,that h e had left a bundle o f papers beh ind . I t wa squ i te as natural

,also

,that upon return ing and purposely

knocking at th e door of th e family l iv ing-room , whereasth e papers should have been sti ll in the parl or, h e Shouldbe admitted by Goodwife Soam and asked in most cor

dia lly, and sent w ith Garde to look for th e truantdocumen ts.

CHAPTER XI.

DANGEROUS TRIBUTES.

ELOQUENT as Wa insworth had proved h imself, in th epresence o f Adam , he wa s bu t a n indifferen t love’sman

,now that h e found h imself alone with Garde .

I wanted to come back fo r— fo r the papers, he

stammered .

“Yes ,” said Garde

,whose spir i t o f elfishness Henry

always aroused, they would soon have m issed you

sorely .

Would th ey—What,papers —Oh , you are making

fun o f

I am making a search to find them,in terru pted

Garde . Here they are . I am SO sorry th ey havede tained you .

”

Thank you— oh , thank you , said Henry , s til l

s tumbl ing confu sedly . It i s su ch a lovely day Ithought I sh ould l ike to c ome back and— and— and see

— if I had real ly left th em here .

”

Yes,su ch a l ovely da y would make any one wish to

do th e same th ing,

” said Garde,gravely . Now that

you have them, you must be very happy again .

”

Yes, Oh yes— no , no, th e papers haven

’t made me

h a pprf’

Then I a m sorry you are sa d, said Garde .

1 05


haps the lovely day ou tside wil l make you feel more

j oyous again .

”

But I am no t sa d, protes ted Henry , getting mo

menta rily redder . I wanted to sa y— I wanted to

come backYes, you did sa y SO, to get the papers .

No— yes — bu t I wanted to sa yThat you had left them, because i t wa s su ch a

lovely day“ Yes

,o f cou rse, bu t— no, no, I wanted to sa y

church“ Oh

,they are chu rch papers, Mr. Wa insworth ?

a sked Garde i nnocently .

No,I - I wanted to sa y i t i s su ch a lovely day

You have said so many th ings that youmay havementioned the day before. ” Garde ’ eyes were dancing,bu t he had hardly dared to look at her face, les-t h istongu e should fail h im u tterly .

He now fixed h is attention on the table with all hispower o f will .

I wanted to sa y, i f the Sabbath i s a lovely day , l ik eth is, may I no t walk to meet ing wi th you and DavidDonnerPiqu ed somewhat by the way Adam had treated her,

Garde in stantly sa w a possible opportun ity o f a rous1ngAdam’ s j eal ou sy . He would doubt-l ess attend meeting .

He migh t see her w ith Henry . AS Prudence wouldal so be th ere , with her father, there migh t be fu rth erdevelopments .“ If i t i s a l ovely day

,Mr. Wa inswo rth , She- ah

Swered,“ I th ink Gra n ther Donner will be glad o f

your company, but if it is no t a lovely day, Gra nther


her boys by their first names , “ how have you beenand what have you been doing Have youheard fromEngland recently How was your mother, when you

heardShe was qu it e well

,thank you, said Henry, who

could talk to Garde’s aunt wi thou t confusion , bu t Ihave not h eard from her recently . Oh— I nearly forgot— I have heard from England . in a manner . Thati s,a friend I knew there, arrived in Boston on ly yester

dayYes And who was that said Mrs . Soam .

Garde had started to go up-stairs to h er own apartment

,which She shared with Prudence, bu t sh e halted

at th e door and came back, forWa insworth saidHis name i s Adam Rust .”

Garde and Prudence both took up some knitting andbegan to ply th e needles, over wh ich their eyes werebent, inten tly .

“ Yes,” said Mrs . Soam , encouragingly.

“ Is h e a

Puri tanI don ’t know

,said Wa insworth , frankly . I

th ink perhaps he i s . At any rate, h e belongs here, Ifeel sure . But wh erever h e belongs

, or whatever h e is ,he

’s a splendid fellow . I wa s rid ing to hounds when

we met. My horse threw me, and my foot wa s caughtin the sti rru p. I was being dragged when Rust stoppedmy run-away horse . He is one o f the most superb horsemen I ever knew.

”

“ Why, do you mean that h e saved you r l ife ? in

qu ired Goodwife Soam . It mu st have been a terr iblemoment .”

I haven ’t much brains, but I wa s abou t to lose what

Dangerous Tributes . 1 09

I had,said Wa insworth , generou sly.

“ He came inthe mck o f time . And afterwards, when I happened tobe a bi t sh ort o f funds— as a man will , you know ,

sometimes— why, h e loaned me nearly every penny hehad in the world

Was that not most improv ident said th e l isten er .Yes, I suppose i t wa s. You know, you wouldn

’tcal l h im exac tly provident . He is too good-hearteda fell ow to be that, you know . He is one o f thosefellows you ca n tell anyth ing abou t vourself . I tellh im everyth ing.

”

He looked up at Garde,as h e said th is, wish ing h e

c ould tell h er th e hal f that h e had confided to Rust.She never l ifted her eyes

,however, from her knitting .

And what did he tell you Of you r mother askedMrs . Soam .

Oh , nothing . He never knew the mater .Henry tried to th ink what Adam had told h im . Hejust —well

,tol d me of a few general matters .”

Garde l i stened eagerly, almost breathlessly, dwell ingon every word concern ing Rust

,bu t h er aunt retu rned

once more to th e subj ect of Wa insworth’s mother and

no more wa s heard o f Adam ,for Henry presen tly bade

them all good day and proceeded to follow,belated as

he was , where h is ch i ef had gone , at th e cl ose of th emeeting.

When he d i sappeared , Garde dropped h er kn ittingand wen t qu ietly u p the stairs, f or the purpose of be ingalone, to think .

CHAPTER X II .

HOURS THAT GRow DARK.

CAPTAINW ILLIAM PHIPPS was as eager as a boy, nowthat h e h a d defin i tely settled o n th e purpose wh ichhad for its Obj ec t the quest o f th e sunken treasu re.Therefore he and Adam a nd the beef-eaters worked uh

cea singly t o prepare the brig,“ Captain Spencer

,for

th e cru ise to the Bahamas .What with pro v1s10n1ng the craft , enl i sting more

trustworthy men for th e voyage and refitting a som ewhat depleted and ineffi c i ent arsenal , Ph ipps waxedbru squ e and impatient . He had desired to get awayfrom Boston not later than Satu rday afternoon , bu t asth e task s before th em h a d been tackled by Adam andthe rest of them on Friday morning, th e worthy Captain ’s ambi tion to be on th e sea on th e Sabbath— a dayfor wh ich he had l i ttl e l iking- was vain . Satu rday

night th erefore approach ed and Phipps fumed,for he

coul d n ot so ou trage the Puritans ’ sen se of th ingsGodly as to sai l on Sunday, wherefore the departu rehad perforce to be postponed til l Monday morn ing .

Adam, with an exaggerated sense o f honor, hadresisted th e l onging to go by night to that same alley inwhich he had rescu ed Garde’s cat a nd met that younglady wi th Mistress Prudence Soam . He spent th e timew ith h is beef- eaters and with Wa insworth , making

1 1 0

1 1 2 When a Witch is Young.

Garde,with her grandfather and Wa insworth , pre

ceded Rust and Mrs . Phipps into the sanctuary . Adamfoll owed eagerly

,and yet a s one about to enter a pri son .

He had seenWa insworth , bu t Henry, in h is ecstasy, hadcontented h imself w i th look ing devotedly a t Garde ’s

l i ttl e shoes .Inside th e church

,Garde sat somewhat t oward th e

back,wh il e Adam ,

wi th t he men , occupied a bench atthe s ide o f th e bu ild ing from which h e could see Mistress Merril l ’s profile perfectly, as often as h e dared to

look in her d irecti on .

Garde,with much resolution , perm itted hersel f not

so much as one t iny fl icker of a glance toward Adam,

a ll during the t ime of service. She felt h im looking ather

,however

,from time to t ime, and rej oi ced that her

l i ttl e ru se to make h im stirred up and mayhap jealou swas succeeding. The flush o f maidenhood ’s beau tywhich had mounted to her check

,th e moment Sh e

found that Adam was near,remained through ou t th e

morning.

Later to church than any other,a man

,alone

,and

none too reverent, entered th e door and took a seaton th e side, from which he could scan many o f th e facesin the place . I t wa s Randolph . He had come therefor th e sole purpose of looking abou t h im

,h is reasons

being variou s, bu t none o f them Godly . He shu t h ism outh grimly at beh old ing Adam present

, but when h isgaze finally rested on Garde , all th e more radiantlybeau tifu l for the simplic ity of her dress

,i t became fixed

,

fi rst,then covetou s

,and finally passi onate .

It was not until th e meeting wa s finished that Gardeven tured to take a Sly glance at Adam . Her gaze me t

Hours that Grow Dark . 1 13

his . She sa w and comprehended , th en , su ch a fathomless sadness in his look, before he could drop

. h is gaze,that shewa s in stantly most penitent over what she h a ddone .It was the same look she had seen in h i s eyes that

day when he had march ed as a captive, at th e end of

King Phil ip 's war— a look she never had, and nevercould

,forget .

As for Ru st, h e had confirmed to h i s sat i sfact ion , allthatWa insworth had tol d h im . If h e had no t beenconv inced before and ready to renounce h is own h opes,he was qu i te persuaded and determined now. Hethough t how fortunate it was that Phipps had the brigall ready to sail on th e morrow. It was very much better to end th e matter wi th th e smal lest possible del ay .

He spent th e afte rnoon wi th Phipps and th e beefeaters on the sh ip . To h i s credit , he made h imself a n

agreeable and cheerfu l c ompanion . Indeed, what withthe songs h e had sung fo rWa insworth an d the others

,

and the spir i t of h i s rail l ery, boasting and readiness tofigh t o r to fiddle, he had succ eeded in decei ving themal l as to the natu re under h is wai s tcoat .Yet when the nigh t was c ome and the magnet wh ich

had been drawing and drawing h im to that all ey, sacredto th e memory of Garde’s ca t

,once more exercised its

influence , more powerfully than ever, h e became arestless c reature .It has been sai d that m a n j u stifies h imself in whatso

ever he does . Adam though t h e needed ju stificationfor desiring to go once, j u st once, into that alley,wherefore h e prepared h i s m ind with several excu ses .Armed wi th th ese he at l ength sl ipped away from the

8

1 14 When a Witch is Young

Crow and Arrow and found his way to th e rear ofthat house into wh ich h e had seen Garde and Prudence disappear, on that memorable first night in

Boston .

Had Rust come to th is trysting-placo at th e samehour on the two prev iou s evenings , he would have metMistress Merrill fac e to face . Garde, in h er impuls iveeagerness to see h im again , had waited for l i ttle debat

ing before She Sl ipped from the house, to see i f h emight not have come to del iver that certain trinketfrom Hispaniol a. Her cousin Prudence, more diffident

,had desired to com e forth also, bu t she had

lacked Garde ’s readiness o f execu tion a nd cou rage.However sh e had no t lacked the incen tive, and as nomaiden i s u tterly awed, in the presence o f a tenderpassion , Mistress Prudence had at length steeled herheart

,a nd to -n igh t She came tripp ing diffidently forth ,

not long after Adam ’s arrival on th e scene .So silently h a d Prudence come that Adam , who

migh t have arranged otherwise , su ddenly found h imselfconfronted

,before he had m ade up his mind whether

he wished any one migh t appear orno t.“ Why, good even ing, Mr . Rust,

” said Prudence,

with a l i ttle gasp at her own daring, why,I wa s j ust

walking in the garden and couldn ’t th ink wh o i t mightbe, here by the gate. Why, how strange we Shouldmeet

Adam had said good evening,waving a salu te grandly

with h i s h a t, the moment Prudence had spoken, for h ehad real ized instantly that She was no t Garde a nd hispresence o f mind had risen to the occas ion withou tdelay.


del ivery . He therefore took these carefully wrappedtrinkets from h is p ocket and held them for th .

If I migh t prevail upon your good nature,” he said,

to accept this one a nd to give th is oth er into th ehands o f Mistress Merrill, I should be gratefu l to youfor the fav or .”

Fate tak es obviou s del ight in making her weavingscomplete . It was inevitabl e th at Garde shoul d comeout to that garden gate , wh il e Adam and Prudencewere talk ing th ere togeth er, and th at she should th erefore see Adam ,

presen ting someth ing to her cou sin ,and Should at once proceed to place a n erroneou s cons tru ction on the S i tuati on . Angered

,humil iated and

hurt, she fled ba ck to the hou se, as Prudence was a ocepting the proff ered trinkets and regretfully bidd ingAdam Rust good-by.

It was hardly feas ibl e so to conceal h erself in th ehouse that Prudence would be long in searching herout

, when at length that qu iet and pleased young ladycame back to th e hou se, hence Garde accepted Adam

’spresent before she exactly comprehended what She wa sdoing.

Prudence, having p erformed her du ty , when the gif thad passed to i ts rightfu l owner

,hastened away to open

her own packet , in privacy . Sh e found an old Spanishdoubloon in the b it o f paper

,and though a tr ifle disa p

pointed that she did not discover a n accompanyinginscription , was nevertheless gladdened to the very coreo f her being.

Garde, rebelli ou s and ready to weep with confl i c tingemotion s, which had no t been assuaged by hearingPrudence tell how innocently She had happened to

Hours that Grow Dark . 1 7

meet Mr. Rust, fel t like fl inging Adam ’s gift upon thefloor a nd stamping i t fla t with her l iv ely l it tl e foot.

But the tenderness Of th e l ove She had fostered so long,and the sl ight hope to wh ich she s till clung, combinedwith her natu ral cur iosi ty

,proved too strong for resist

an ce . She opened the neatly t i ed and folded paper.Inside was a golden brooch o f exqu is i te workman

sh ip , a treasure absolu tely irresistibl e to any beau tylovi ng young woman . But h er gaze flew to a secondaryl i ttle wad of paper

,folded as a note . Thi s she tore

open with nerveless fingers .From Hispan iola,

” Adam had writ ten, simply.

Under th is he had penned a quatrain of rath er obscu re meaning and weakly versifica tion

It always haps , when th ere are three,But two ca n bide in unityThat two m a y long th eir gla dness k eep ,The third sh ould bury sorrow deep .

Garde read th ese l ines and th en read them again,

more puzzled by the second perusal than She had beenby the first. She began then to feel wounded . Sh ewas ready to cry . The brooch h a d made h er heartbound wi th j oy . Then sh e remembered that Adamhad procu red i t for h er years before

,since when h is

affec ti ons m igh t have been transferred,h is ideal s migh t

have been al tered a nd the sense in wh ich h e gave i th er might have been redu ced to someth ing u tterly nu

romantic . He migh t indeed have given it to her onlybecau se o f h is desire to keep a fool i sh promise made inhis boyhood .

The l ines were not an explanati on o f h i s conduct.


If th ey mean t that She was a th ird party, interferingwi th the happiness of himself and Prudence, th en theunkindness of it a ll was not the ful l d epth o f i ts pos

Sibilities— it wa s impudent, arrogant and fairly hateful ,in that l ight .

On th e other hand , could i t b e poss ible that Adamdid not m ean that She was su ch a third party as th el ines indicated , and if so, what did he mean Was heh imself su ch a th ird party This appeared impossibl e

on th e very face of i t, for n ot only was Garde notinterested in

,and happy w i th , some oth er person , bu t

if she had been, Adam could n ot possibly have knowni t,and certainly

,in the two times th ey had met, she had

given him no reason for supposing that anyth ing o f th esort could exist .It was too m uch for her wearied brain to cope wi th .

She had puzzl ed over Adam ’s condu ct every moments ince their meeting in th e woods , til l she cou ld th inkno more. There was th e beau tifu l brooch , and herewere th ese ominou s , enigmatical l ines . All she knewwas that She was very unhappy .

Adam,in th e meantime

,made progress back to the

tavern as if h e were al l bu t becalmed and had 110 morethan steerage way at th e best . He had only o ne th ingto be glad abou t, and that was that h i s beef-eaterswould not be at the Crow and Arrow to meet him .

They h a d already taken up quarters on th e brig,

There Adam expected to join them, wi th th e last o f

his'

worldly goods, when he Should have taken fina lleave of Wa inswo rth .

When h e reach ed h is sol i tary apartments,however

,

he wa s sorry the fa ithfu l old beef- eaters were no t there


then back at the small heap beneath his hands , l ik e

o ne half expecting to wake from a dream and findeveryth ing as i t had been before some th ing un thinkable

occurred .

Perhaps a woman who had given to her ch ild,will

ingly a nd absolu tely, the mastery over her ev ery emo

t ion , th ought a nd hope, and who had come upon the

body o f that ch ild,Slain and mutilated

,cou ld have

understood what lonely Adam Rust underwent.For l ike su ch a woman , conceiving a fear that th e

despoilers migh t return and rob her even o f the bodyo f her child , the m a n presen tly

,in a fever o f excite

ment, took every patch , shred and ch ip o f th e red woodand hid ing i t carefully insid e h is waistcoat

,dropped

h imself down from the window to the earth and wentaway in the darkness

,l ike a wild th ing pursu ed.

CHAPTER XIII.

A K ISS DEFERRED.

GARDE, when She had qu est ioned her cousin Prudence

,until there was l i ttl e or noth ing concern ing

Adam ’s vis i t a nd farewell at the gate wh ich she did not

know ,was sti ll far from being certain o f anything in

connect ion w i th the whole predicament.

One th ing, however, gave h er a small m easu re o f

comfort.Th is was that her brooch wa s much more

beaut iful than the Spanish doubl oon Adam had givento Prudence . Yet thi s comfort grew cold as She re

flected that even if Adam did possibly l ik e her as mucha s he did Prudence, he had wri tten her those incomprehensible l ines abou t bu rying sorrow

,and he had

gone away , sh e knew not where, o r in what mann er,without even giving her an Opportun i ty o f bidding himGod-speed .

Mistress Merril l was no t impul sive and nimble-wittedwi thou t hav ing resources at command, when occasiondemanded . She was up ahead o f th e ord inary lark , onMonday morn ing

,making straight for the home o f Old

Goody Dune,for whom Sh e frequently gathered

simpl es .Goody Dune h a d no t contented h erself in l i fe w ith

s imples only . She had gath ered compl ex ities o f wisdom1 2 1


a nd the th ings abstru se in l ife, for many a year . Shewas a wrinkled o ld woman whom ch ildren , kitten s,dogs

,horses and all th ings gu ided by instinct always

sough t in friendsh ip at once . Anyone wi th patienceenough to reconstruc t her face on th e lines i t mustonce have worn , in her youth , would have found personal beau ty stil l indicated in th e old woman ’s countenance. Her eyes still ensnared pretty l ights of h umorher l ips were still o f that soft texture wh ich in youthis so charming a nd in o ld age too flex ible over vacanci eswhere teeth are gon e . Her h air was plen tiful and SOentirely gray that o ne migh t h ave looked at i t closelya nd then have said Yes

,th e black ones seem to be

coming they will soon be gett ing qu ite th ick .

”

Never yet h a d Gard e been able to get to Goody ’shouse su ffi ci ently early to knock on th e door . Goodyalways opened it to receive her. And always th e o ld

woman ’s great black cat stood u p, on top o f th e tal lclock , on wh ich she had been lying bu t th e momentbefore

,now arch ing h er back and stretch ing

,to add

her wel come to that o f her m istress .The room never had ceased to have i ts fasc inations

for Garde, since the first time Sh e had seen it,in her

childhood . The small bags, which hung from th erafters

,along with pendants made of h erbs

,roots and

bulbs, might have contained gold and preciou s gems,for al l that Garde knew to th e contrary

,while the dark

cupboard and the great chest increased th e poss ibil i tieso f th e place, wh ich would have been so grand to rummage in , had i t not been for the brass warm ing-

pa n, so

terribly l ike a watchful moon , forever looking downfrom the wall . Then lastly

,a nd mostly, in some


o f thei r meeting, her immediate regard for h im, thenand there

,the l ong fo stering . of her aff ec tion , and the

even ts o f th e days j u st past . This done, sh e producedher sl ip o f paper, on which Adam had wri tten h is

m edi ocre verse , and laid i t before the wise woman to

be deciphered .

Goody read th e l ines several times . How Ol d areyou now, my dear ?

”she asked, and then sh e added,

It hasn’t anyth ing to do with you r worries i t i s onlyfor my own fool ish gratification that I a sk.

”

I am eighteen,

” said Garde .

Well,I should have been puzzl ed myself, at e ight

een,said the o ld woman . She looked into vacancy

,

for a moment,dwell ing on some fond memory that

brought h er sa d smile to her with ered l ips again .

But you need no t be worried . He loves you, dear,

as indeed h e shou ld , bu t for some reason o r oth er hebel ieves you care for somebody el se

,and he is therefore

taking h imself away . Bel ieving as he does,h e is cer

ta inly righ t, as well as brave, in going away .

But I don ’t love— l i ke any one else,protested '

Garde. And I don ’ t see how or why he ever go tsu ch an idea into h is head . He doesn ’t know anybodythat I know . He went to meeting wi th Mrs

.Phipps

O h oh—Mr. Wa insworth - He does know Mr. Wainsworth .

Yes, dearie, and does Mr . Wa insworth seem to

fancy y ou, or a nvthing o f that sort

“ And Mr. Wa insworth told u s h e had seen Adam,

and that h e told h im everyth ing,

” said Garde,th ink

ing for herself and musing alou d . Oh,dear me

Oh , dear me said Rex,deri si vely.

A Kiss Deferred. 1 2 5

And do you knowwhere you r Adam is going,and

when ? i nqu ired Goody .

“ Those ought to be you rmain considerati ons now.

Why, to -day,” answered Garde. But I don ’t

know where, or anyth ing el se abou t i t . What Shall Ido If h e goes away l ike that

,I may never see h im

again“ Did you sa y h e went to meet ing with Goodwife

Phipps“ Yes, -yes, I saw him myself.Then you can be almost certain that h e i s o ff some

where wi th Captain Will iam Ph ipps, for a more restless

, sea-hankering m a n never l i ved and remained so

good as Captain Phipps .Oh . I might have th ough t o f that ! ”

Then you ough t to be able to th ink o f someth ing

to do th is very morn ing, said Goody, a l i ttle, prettycol or bu rning up in h er wrinkl ed ch eeks . It i s stillearly

,and you have good stou t legs .”

Garde suddenly jumped up and kissed her.Good-by she said . Oh

,thank you, thank

you , so much But—haven ’t you someth ing I ca n

take to— to Captain PhippsGoody immediately suppl ied her wi th a small pack

age. Take him th is tea,Sh e said . No sailor

should ever go to sea wi thou t i t .Garde sped away , as if on th e wings o f impu lse.She’s in love ! sh e’s in love ! ” screamed the j ack

daw, h ilari ou sly . As Sh e ran , Garde' cou ld hear h im

clapping hi s w ings against h i s body, in noisy applaudIng.

Running and walk ing al ternately, by the qu ieter


streets a nd l anes , meeting no one on her wa y, Gardefinally arrived in sigh t o f the Ship-yard belonging to Will ian Phipps . Her first impul s ive though t h a d by nowhad time to abate somewhat and give place to a moresober reflection . Mistress Merrill began to wonderwhat she would sa y, i f she d id manage to see AdamRust . It had been by a swift in sp irati on, almost aninstinct of a maidenly young woman , that Sh e hadprovided herself with a n excuse for racing to thi s place .No modest girl could bear th e th ought o f seeming to

run af ter a m a n, or to say anyth ing ho ld t o him , o r

anyth ing calc ulated to Show that she held hersel f inany way other than proudly aloof

,where h e mu st bring

hi s love , if h e wou ld sue for her favor .She though t o f all th is as Sh e went . S he al so began

to th ink that perhaps Goody Dune migh t be m i staken .

If Adam were found and h e did not love her after all ,not for al l th e world woul d h e get one S ign from herthat she loved h im or cared fo r h im one t iny bi t, orcared wheth er he went o r remained .

Sh e was breathl ess,rosy as a cherry and exci ted .

Her hair had fallen down and th e plai ts h ad loosened .

It hung abou t h er face an d nestl ed against h er creamythroat l ike strands o f ebony, r i chly copper-plated . Herdark eyes were flash ing her l ips were parted , reveal ingher teeth l ike l i ttl e wh ite sold iers in a row. As Shera n

, h er skirts wh ipped upward , in curves, abou t th eroundest and trimmest ankl es imaginable .She now observed a small boat

,approach ing th e

landing . Ou t in th e stream th e sail s o f the CaptainSpencer were rising l ike clouds . Garde then discovered the figure o f a tall man

,who had been S i tting on a


Oh ! thank you , very much , said Adam , a l i ttleth ickly

,in h is trem endou s exci tement, which hewa s

endeavoring to restrain . Goody Dune wa s verythough tful

,and you were kind to come .”

But Goody didn ’t tell me I shou ld find you h ere,said Garde

,tru thfully enough . She had never felt so

s tirred in her l ife . Bu t ou twardly she was beginn ingto be calm . You told Prudence you were going

a way . Ca n i t be possible that you are go ing w ith Captain Phipps

Yes,th i s morn ing, said Adam .

Then there was a S il ence for a m oment. Gardehardly knew what to say n ext . If she shou ld make th esl igh test advance and he Shoul d receive it coldly, o rderisively

, or withou t understanding, she wou ld die o fmortifica tion . The pau se became dreadfu l to bear— tothem both .

“ I got—Prudence gave me the brooch—from His

pa niola ,” Garde stammered , presently .

Adam saw i t . It was rising and fall ing l ike a l i ttl egolden sh ip , on\

her bosom . He fel t h imself somewhatat sea . If h e could only have blu rted out that h e lovedher— if i t h ad not been forWa inswo rth

,what a m oment

th i s would have beenI am glad you l ike i t

,he said .

Garde felt that there wa s l i ttl e encou ragement inth is remark . You will n ot forget to give th e tea toCaptain Phipps , will you she said . I th ink I mustnow return .

“ I wish you had brough t th i s tea down h ere f orme ! said Rust suddenly, no longer an swerable to hisloyal ty toWa insworth .

A Kiss Deferred. 1 2 9

Garde had wish ed he woul d sa y th ese very words.She had rehearsed the answer She would make i f he did .

Her h eart, had i t been a b ird beating its wings, couldnot have flu ttered more wildly .

If I had come down here to see you, i t wou ld onlyhave been to tell you that you have made some mista ke,

”she said, averting her gaze from his and looking

on the ground .

Adam trembled,uncontrollably

,v iolently. She saw

i t in his hand .

Do youmean he said .

Yes,” said Garde, rai sing h er eyes to h i s frankly .

Then I can love you I do love you ! I’ll comeback here and marry you , sweeth eart I shall l ove youand tell you I love you and lov e you he burst forthpassionately My l i ttl e Garde my love my sweeth eart —my l i ttl e w ife that I shall have and love t il l ‘myheart i s fullGarde gasped for breath in th e wh irlwind o f h is

words,that swept her fai rly o ff her feet . Her hand

had been on a post , where she had been picking awayl i ttl e part i cl es of bark . Adam took i t. His big handencompassed i t all abou t . She felt his sou l ru sh to h isfingers, to meet the throbb ing of her own emotions.

Oh , Adam was all she could sa y for a m omen t .Garde h e repl i ed

,my Garde—my love Why

didn’t you tel l me abou t it before“ You—you were th e one,

” sh e said, somewhat re

gaining her footing . You were going away w ithou teven saying good-by.

I thoughtYes

, you though t such sil ly th ings, int errupted9


Garde,impul sively

,yet j oyfully . You th ought I

could l ike s omebody else,and that is why you were go :

ing away—wi thou t even ask ing . And I don ’t know

why you ever came to see me the first time and mademe name my cat Standing-Panth er, i f you were goingto th ink su ch th ings as that.”

Adam laugh ed . It was a sudden bubbl ing over of

h is spiri ts . He was th e bright-eyed , joyou s boy againall at once .

Poor Henry— poor Henry he said, wi th irrepressible mirth and gladness . But he never loved you asI love you , sweetheart ! He couldn

’t ! I love you so

that I would cu t down an army to get you a nd run awaywith you here in my arms th ough al l th e demons of

earth should followOh bu t, Adam— you mustn

’t said Garde, a s Rustwa s abou t to demonstrate th e ardor of which he hadspoken .

What , sweeth eart, not one l i ttl e k iss h e said .

Why , no, o f cou rse not, Adam ,

”she answered h im,

blu sh ing prettily.

Aren’ t we betrothed he demanded .

I have no t said I will marry you, have I, AdamShe said, rogu ish ly.

But you shall , sweeth eart . I love you so mu chthat you can’ t h elp i t I love you so i t s e ems a s i f Ishall expl ode I l ove you, dear D o you h ear me sa yi t I love you I lov e you

,Garde. You do love me,

sweetheart— j ust a l ittleYes, I— love you a l i t Garde was saying.

A-d-a -m R-u-s-t . - come— aboard came a great

voice across the harbor, from the brig out in the stream .

‘3’


wa s sweeter than the kis s Garde migh t have given

h im .

“ I shall have to go, h e murmured . God bl ess

you a nd keep you , sweetheart. Good-by, dear Garde.”

Good -by, Adam,

” said Garde . I shall pray for

you r swift return .

”

He swept her l i t tl e hand to his l ip s for a second andthen strode away.

Garde placed her other hand over th e tingl ing fingershe had kissed , a s i f to prevent the caress from escaping.

AS he wen t out over the water, she waved her tin‘y

handkerch ief to h im,and perm itted two warm tears to

trickl e down her face.Adam’s memory of her was o f her pretty

,brown fig

ure, seen from afar , and the look in her eyes, which hefel t that 110 Space could d im in his v ision .

CHAPTER XIV.

OVERTURES FROM THE ENEMY.

AGAINST his long jou rney across th e Atlan ti c,David

Donner made preparations that consumed no smallamount of time. A suffi c i en t quanti ty of money hadbeen subscribed by the patriots who were so concerned

for th e charter, but th is was one o f the least important

deta ils of Donner’s contemplated ven ture . AS a matter

o f fac t,the Puritans had acqu ired th e arts o f procra sti

nation patien tly and labor iou sly, for th is had provedth eir most effic ient weapon o f defense , in those days o fstruggl ing against the Stuart dynasty , and thereforethe cream of th e pu t ting-o ff sc i ence permeated th e verybeing o f David Donner . He nursed h is preparationstill they grew and flou ri sh ed .

Two Ships bound for England sail ed wi th ou t h im .

He was qu ite calm as h e contemplated fu rth er eventso f a l ike natu re . At length h is fell ow-c i tizens

,eager

to have h im at h is work , expostulated w i th h im , mildly .

His answer astounded them all . He said h e had reasonsfor bel iev ing that Edward Randolph was beginn ing to

feel incl ined toward more k indl iness o f Spiri t w ithregard to th e Colony and the men who had bu il t i tth ere in th e wilderness . Randolph had made overtu res

o f friendsh ip to h im . He a ppeared to be a m ore133


agreeabl e person than a ny one o f them had heretofore

bel ieved .

Randolph , indeed, was fai rly wooing the old man’s

regard . He had begun by nodding,pleasantly, when

he a nd Donner passed in th e streets . He had followedth is up by hal ting at Donner ’s gate and admiring hisflowers, for which the old m a n had a secret passion .

“ If I could dissuade h im from h is ev il pu rposes,

said David to h is colleagu es,

“ if I cou ld w in h is favorfor th e charter

,and so enl ist h is servi ces w ith us

,

instead o f against u s,I should be o f vastly more servi ce

to Massachusetts by remain ing here than I could be ifI were to go to th e Court of Charles.

Nevertheless the governors h el d th e promise o f DavidDonner sacred .

'

He would go as agreed , un less h ecould sh ortly furnish someth ing substant ial as a resul t

o f th is coy fl i rtati on o f Randolph’s to gain h is goodopinion .

I t had been observed that Randolph had been a regu lar attendant at Sou th Church for several Sundays .This new departure o f h is had been at first r egardedwi th su spic ion . Coupl ed with h is attention to David

,

however, i t began to look honest a nd therefore hopeful .Grandfather Donner was pother ing abou t in h is

garden , on one o f th ese mornings , when Randolphpau sed at the gate , as h e had frequently done, andasked leave o f the O ld man to present h im wi th a smallrose tree , hav ing even th en a beau tiful rose upon it, toplant in some sunny corner o f the place .No ol ive branch of peace could have Opened Donner ’s

heart more eff ectually than did th is s imple m a tter.


Why,t o be sure

,friend . I would be the first to

welcome the attachment o f your heart and you r in terests among us. And have you locked wi th favor upon

some one of our young women P ”

Randolph noted with pleasu re that the rose-tree wasfirmly planted and the earth abou t i t patted a nd presseddown almost affectionately. It would hardly be fair,h e said

,

“ to give one flower, only to a sk for another.”

Would you have some o f my poor flowers ? saidth e old man

,innocently. Why you shall, then , any

th ing you l ike. ”

I spoke of my hopes that I have dared to entertain,said the v isitor . I referred to the fairest flower in allBoston

,indeed in all Massachu setts .

Donner l ooked"up at h im quickly. He rose to h is

feet,having been down on one knee to plant the rose.

Have I understood you aright P he said .

It has Sl ipped from my tongue unguardedly,” said

th e younger m a n . Your encou ragement-o f my hopesled me to th i s c onfidence . But I feel I ca n speak toyou almost as if you were in the atti tude o f a fath er.I ca n come to you where I could not come t o a ny otherm a n in Boston . I have seen Mistress Merril l

,in th e

s impl ic i ty and p iety o f her l ife, and th is has made mewish to become one o f you , working with you a nd l ivingyou r l iv es. Can you not encourage me so far as th is PDavid Donner was all bu t rendered speechless. Such

a thought as that Garde had grown up and blossomed hadnever en tered his m ind . But no t only to find that th iswa s so , but also to have Edward Randolph— th e enemy—desiring th is all iance, th is was more than h e couldth ink of, for a moment. He had egged th e ma n on,

Overtures from the Enemy. 137

wh i le he had some vagu e idea o f some other youngwoman in mind— some oth er man ’s daughter

, o r granddaughter,— he had been ready to abet su ch a n arrangement

,gladly

,for the good o f the col ony

,bu t to find

that i t was Gard e that Randolph wanted— thi s wa sindeed a bol t from a clear Sky .

“ Friend , he said,

finally, “ I shal l have to th inkth is over.

I feared it would sound abrupt,said th e vi s itor,

“ yet it i s no t a sudden fancy with me . It h a s beenmy constan t thought for many weeks . I have evenforeseen d iffi culties . I h ave worked so many yearsapparen tly against th e in terests most dear to thecolon ists .Donner nodded at h im

,for th i s sounded frank . Bu t

the old man ’s thoughts were afield , wandering, for theproposi t i on came home to h im with tremendous S ignificance.

But, resumed Randolph , any man can conceivethat a n agen t mu st do , to the best o f h is abil i ty, thatwh ich he honestly believes to be h is du ty, h owsoeverunpl easant th e task imposed upon h im may finally a ppear.”

True, said David, s ti ll vagu ely.

‘

I have done my work as well as I could, the m a n

went on . I have accumulated matter o f vast significance. I am almost sorry that I have done so thoroughly

wel l , th e task appoin ted me, a nd still al l th is workmight make me the better fitted for ci ti zensh ip among

you, if I follow ou t your suggestion .

”

Donner was not insensible of the threat wh ich th isartfu l speech impl ied, the threat that all th i s a o

138When a W i tch is Young.

cumulated matter a nd knowledge would be used again st

the colony and the charter,if thi s man were not made

one o f their number . But Garde was no t to be l ightly

weighed in the balance. Randolph ’s frankness partiallyd isarmed the old ma n and th e l ife o f th e charter, he

felt,was the l ife of th eir independence, their manh ood,

their very being . The tiny roots and t endrils of Ameri

ca n patriot ism grew from the very heart s o f those

early fath ers of l iberty .

This is a matter wh ich would much concernMistress Merrill

,

” said Donner . I made th e error o f

trying to coerce her mother. I shall never coerce

Garde .I tru st not

, repli ed h is guest. And yet I hopeyou will th ink upon the matter and mayhap speak toMistress Merrill in thi s regard , for al though I am in

‘

aconfl ict

,

’twixt my du ty to my King and the h igh re

gard which I have been constrained to place w ith you

and you r people,through Mistress Merrill , yet I fear

I am eager to be remiss with Charles,rather than a

traitor to my own heart.”

I will th ink upon i t, said David, slowly.

Randolph thanked him , spoke of the ro se again andwent his way. He wa s a gardener h imself, and havingplanted hi s seed

,knew enough not to dig i t up to see if

i t had yet begun to sprou t .David Donner sa t down to think, not of Garde and no t

o f al l th at Randolph ’s v is it s ignified,bu t o f Garde’s

mother and hi s harshness when her h eart had bu rgeonedwi th aspirations for i tself

,a nd of the pain and wretched

ness he had brought to all concerned . He thought o fth e mad l i ttle elopement into which he had driven h i s

CHAPTER XV.

LOVE’S 1Nv1T1NG LIGHT.

SOMETHING had happened to Mistress Garde Merrill,

even as far back as upon that first Sunday at Meeting,

when Adam had been beneath th e Sou th Church roof,where she could see him from the corners o f her eyes.Love had l eft i ts S ign-manu al upon h er. Sh e hadsuddenly become ill umined from w ith in, by her h eart

’semotions

,so t hat she appeared to sh ine from afar, in

th e somewhat gray and unjoyou s l i ves o f the Puritanyoung men abou t her.Thus i t was that

,in add iti on to Randolph , who a t

tended the service solely for th e pu rpose o f feast ing h iseyes upon her beauty, th ere was always Wa insworth ,

who heard noth ing o f the Meeting’s cheerl ess proceedings . And there was also young Piety Toothaker, who

knew not at which Shrine h e was worsh ip ing, fromSunday to Sunday.

Garde was half the time at her uncl e,John So a m ’

s.

This fact increased the facil i ti es for the young men toseek her presence

,for the Scams were l ife-l oving peopl e

,

in spite of their Puritan c onformity to th e somewhatmelancholy and smilel ess practi ces o f th e day. Moreover, John Soam ,

who th ough t h imsel f something of afarmer, a s well as a carpenter and Jack-o f-all -geniu s,not infrequ ently impressed the would-be su i tors into

1 40

Love'

s Invi t ing L ight . 14 1

variou s d uties wi th wh ich hewa s amusing h imself abou thi s place.Piety To o tba ker was a fat young ma n of modest weal th

in h is own r igh t, his father having died leaving Pietyh is sole heir . He was a heavy l ump

,who came often

a nd said next to n oth ing, so that h i s intention s m ighthave la in anywhere between Prudence, Garde and th efamily cow

,for aught that any one could ascertain

definitely . He was John So a m’s easi es t prey

,when the

farmer o r carpenter, as the case migh t be, was seizedwith a desire to work .

Randolph contented h imself wi th cou rt ing D avidDonner. H e fel t n o smal l contempt forWa insworth

and Toothaker, whose movements h e was steal th ilywatching. He had placed h i s rel iance on power always

,

a nd with complete su cc ess . Th e present wa s no timeto al ter h i s usual tacti cs .Grandfather Donner

,left alone wi th h is thoughts

,

arrived at no conclu s ion s rashly . He went systematically to work on h i s friends, to get from each a n express ion o f bel ief that Randolph , i f h e wou ld become

one o f th em, working for instead o f against th em,

would be a val uable fac tor for th e preservation of th echarter. This op in ion h e readily secu red

,espec ial ly as

h e gave no h in t, as yet , of the method by which Randolph ’s conversion wa s finally to b e accompl ished .

Indeed so much promise could h is friends discern in thesecuring o f an end so commendable, that David Donnerbegan to j u s tify h imself in th e thought o f aid ing th ismatter with all reasonable power . He encouragedthe growth o f a better Opinion of Randolph , in h i s ownmind . He argued the man ’s case with h is friends

,with

2 When a W itch is Young.

fanatical insistence,‘

until they perforce admitted v irtues

in Randolph ’s d isposi tion , heretofore qu ite overl ooked .

Thus he wrought upon h imself u ntil, mentally, h eaccepted the ex-enemy as his grandson - in-law, to whomhe was will ing to extend h is welcome, i f not actu ally h i slove . With th i s development o f th e case , h is di sl ik efor the j ourney to England in creased, wh ile, far fromabating

,his concern for the charter grew th e more

active,as h e dreamed o f preserving i t here at h is own

home.His state of mind was not a th ing at which he arrived

immaturely . The proposi tion had come to h im withsomething o f a shock . He had never contemplatedGarde ’s marriage at all . She wa s sti ll a ch ild to h im

,

or at l east, She had been , up to the momen t whenRandolph spoke . Not th e least difficul t o f his taskswi th h imself had been that o f compell ing h imself t oadmit that Garde had actu ally arrived at the thresholdo f womanhood— that she was marriageabl e. Th is h a ving been finally accompl ished, Randolph h a d half wo nh is battle.As long as Garde would presently desire to marry

,then

why not Randolph , especially as su ch a n all iance wouldbe o f su ch tremendou s pol i ti cal significance P Yet h econtinued still to tel l h imself that Ruth ’s ch ild sh ouldnot be coerced in any d irecti on wh ither sh e was no t

counseled by her heart and her own incl ination to proceed. He could see no reason , however, why She shouldentertain any notion s wh ich m ight be at variance withhis own . Neverth eless i t was not with ou t emotionthat he finally summoned Garde to the interv iew in

which he meant to brea ch th e proposition .


Have you ever had a thought, ch ild, o f th e womanhood come upon you, and that mayhap youwill one da ybecome a wife now

, a nd be as other women , a ch ild no

longer PAny young woman would th ink on these matters

by nature,

” repl ied Garde,sagely. But I have

thought of nothing to occur soon , as to s uch a mutter.”

No,no

,to be sure

,

” said David, nervou sly . YetI have desired to Speak w ith you upon th is subj ec t, fora n estimable young m a n has asked me to do thi s in h is

favor.”

Garde,who had bel ieved h is thought anywhere bu t

here,looked up at h im qu ickly . She sa w the ol d man ’s

face drawn a nd eager, his eyes brigh t wi th the flame ofincipient fanatici sm . She was wholly a t a l oss to nudersta nd h im .

“ A young man P” she repeated . Some one hasspoken to you thu s o f me P” For a moment herthough t ra n wildly to Adam . Coul d i t be poss ibl e thathe had retu rned and Spoken to Gra ndther Donneralready PDonner cleared h is throat. He was pale, for h e had

not come to thi s moment withou t some viol ence to hisown conscience .

My child ,” h e said, a little hu sk ily, a great oppor

tunity i s off ered to you to render a vast service to yourcountry—to Massachu setts . Edward Randolph

,who

has long been against u s , has come to me with an earnest desire to become one o f u s, working wi th us and notagainst u s l onger, and asking your hand in marriage,to cement the uni ty of h is interests and hopes wi thours . He appe a rs to be an earnest

,sincere m a n

,at last

Love’

s Invi t ing L ight . 145

heartily in sympathy with our struggles, and worthy o fgood c i ti zenship among us. I have told h im I wou ldSpeak to you upon th i s m atter, Garde, and take himyour answer. ” He paused a nd mopped h is forehea d

with h i s handkerch ief.Garde cou ld hardly bel ieve her ears. She looked at

her grandfather oddly . The color left her check s, fora moment, only to ru sh back in a flood at thought o fAdam and the betrothal , t o her so sacred . She h a d n othough t whats oever, during that in terval, o f the col ony,o r o f patriot i sm ,

or of anyth ing save what th is propositi on mean t to Adam and to h er. AS for Randolph

, she

knew h im only by sight, and her instinct had promptedh er to Shun him, if n ot to loathe h im . Her impulse

wa s to star t to her fee t and cry ou t a shr ill repudiationo f th e man ’s offer. But th e sight o f Donner’s fac eawed her . She had never seen h im look l ike th i s before . She remained seated . Sh e resumed her kni tting.

But I do not even know Mr. Randolph,sh e said

,

mildly I have no t been taught to trust or t o respecth im .

“ But if we have done h im inju stice, said David,

eagerly,“ su rely we mu st welcome a n opportun ity to

correct i t . He has worked a gainst u s,i t i s tru e. He

could overthrow our ch arter, bu t h e ch oos es rath er tobecome one o f our number . If I go abroad , I may fai lat th e C ourt o f Charles . If we ca n save our charterhere at home, i t will be th e grandest th ing we have everdone . And you can do it, my ch ild—you can do th i s

great th ing You will, I feel you willGarde was a l i ttle terrified. The old man ’s anxiety

I O


was almost dreadfu l to see . Had he been laying barea steel crow-bar in h is nature, she could no t have comprehended more thoroughly the stubbornness wh ich shefel t opposition to him now wou ld discover in her grand ~

father.This comes to me so suddenly, she said, that I

cannot at once th ink upon i t.”

But you ca n th ink what i t means to th e colonysaid th e man

,passionately . You would wish to save

th e charter I Mr. Randolph has become my fri end. Ihave found that my former estimate o f hi s characterwas false . He ca n take away ou r charter in a m oment—h is work i s don e . But he also can save us ! Heshal l save u s ! Are you a daugh ter o f this c ommonweal th— a daugh ter o f a patriot ? You can save th echarter. Oh , what a glori ou s honor I Youwil l let metake your answer backGarde’s color had gone again , not to retu rn . This

was a moment that frightened her h eart. N0 one cou ldhave l ived th ere as she had done and no t b e satu ratedwi th the h opes a nd fears o f th e colonis ts

,not b e trem

bl ing for th e government, th e independence, the ma nhood they had bu ilded up on those stern rocks. In

her fi rst baby u tterances she had l isped the wordCharter . For ten years th eir charter h a d been thei rHoly Grail to those American men and women o f Massa chusetts. The air was pregnant with patriotism .

The Charter had h ung trembl ing in the balance monthafter month , ever s ince Cromwell

’s son had abdicatedth e Engl ish throne and Charles had sa t in power onceagain . Garde cou ld no t have been th e t ru e daughtero f America she wa s, had she not thrilled first wi th the


Goody Dune. Gra ndther, youwould wish to th ink

o f th is you rself .She had risen from her seat . Sh e faced h er grand

father and he sa w her eyes nearly o n a l evel wi th h is

own . A look of her mother, sad, appeal ing, fo rgivmg,played intangibly across her face . The old man ’s lookseemed to follow its transit. He passed h is n ervousfingers along his brow. The fire d ied away in hi s eyes .

Then th ink it over,he said , huskily . Think i t

over, my ch ild, think i t over. I will no tdecisi on . No, I

’l l not coerce her, Ruth , no, no, I’l l

not 3”

He moved to the door, a s one in a dream ,and left the

,

room .

CHAPTER XVI.

GARDE ’S LONELY V IGIL.

DAV ID DONNER was not to be deterred for l ong, bythe shadow of a memory wh ich he had seen fi it l ike aghost o f his past, across Garde

’s features . He was arriv ing at that age when a man’ s memory is not so strong

a s in years past and when the events o f th e day a t handseem therefore the more important . He fretted underh is promise to go abroad, desir ing th is to be abrogatedby h is fel l ow-colon ists, a nd th i s could only be done

when he shoul d persuade them that the ch arter wouldbe saved

,or at least h i s cou ntry better served, by h is

remain ing where he was . He had not a s yet spoken toh is colleagues of Randolph ’s proposit ion . He wa s waiting for Garde to give h im her answer.The girl watched th e o ld m a n narrowly , to see how

long she could wait, for h er answer was n o more readyafter a week than i t had been on the firs t da y. Thiswas no t entirely becau se her aff ect ions were placed elsewh ere . She wa s a l it tl e patri ot , oth erwise h er love forAdam would have prompted her reply at once

,and

from hot l ips. She was u ndergoing a genu ine strugglewith herself . If i t were tru e that she could save th echarter, sh ould she permit her own happiness orAdam ’sto stand before th e happiness and righ ts o f all theMassachu setts people Had no t Adam h imself wri tten

1 49


that when there are three a nd only two cou ld be happy,th e one, representing the minori ty, should sufier sor

row,that the greater n umber m igh t preserve the ir j oy

Then,when she a nd Adam were only two, h owmuch

more th ey should endure sorrow, when a ll the people o fthat colony weighed agains t them in th e qu estion .

No,i t was not a s imple matter in which her own de

sires could speak out above th e clamor of duty . Andyet

,she could not feel th e tru th o f Randolph ’s posit ion

and promise . Suppose he had not the abil ity, so to

save the charter as her grandfather bel ieved he would .

Suppose,having the power

,h e should prove d ish onest,

when once he had won h i s desire. What was th ere ina wife to t ie h im to h is obl igat ion If pol i ti cs hadprompted him to go so far, would th ey not continue toprompt h im further

,after th e marriage had given h im

h i s way To sacrifice herself and Adam was to Gardea mighty thing. She was capable o f any heroism

,bu t

her mind and her natu re exacted that i t be not specious .No travail o f motherhood ever gave a more acu te o rprolonged agony than was Garde’s porti on as she stroveto give birth to a wi se and righ t resolution .

Her grandfather,in th e meantime

,waxed more and

more impatien t . It had been h is habit from early m a n

hood to have h is own way. In avoid ing prec i sely th edifficul ties into which he had fall en wi th Garde’s mother

,

h e fel t that h e was on th e safe side in h i s prom ise n otto coerce h is grandch ild . This gave h im the greaterlati tude in which to bring pressure u pon her from whathe conceived to be another standpoint. Yet that repress ion o f his feel ings and passion s which h e hadpract ised for long among the Puritans, made h im more


As the months wore on, he went regul arly to SouthChurch

,there to sit ou t th e serv ice, which he detested

l ike poison,for the purpose o f fixing h is eyes u pon

Garde, as if he had been a beau ty-vul tu re, only to besati sfied by gaz ing upon her until h e wa s al l bu t selfhypnotized . As fo r Garde, consc iou s a s she wa s th atthe m a n th us stared in her direction , she never so mu chas once gave hi s eyes an answering glance. She d id

no t l ove h im ; there should never be any pretense ,come what might, that she did . Her thoughts and herheart beats were tru e to Adam ,

a nd so shou ld remain

to the end.

David Donner told h is coll eagu es in tr iumph of whath e had done

, o f th e answer Garde h a d made a nd o f th ehope they had for the futu re . He had justified h imselfin remaining in Boston .

The measu re of th e power wielded , even at the throne

of England by Edward, Randolph could never have beenestimated in Massachu setts

,but month af ter mon th

slipped away wh ile the charter remained intac t and themen of that anxi ou s col ony breathed wi th a sen se ofrel ief wh ich none had felt before

,in n early a score of

years .Garde , with what hope h er year

’s resp it e inspired,

began her l onely wait a nd watch for Ada m ’

s return .

CHAPTER XVII.

A NIGHT ATTACK.

THE nigh t was a th ing of perfection, on th e sea .

The moon rode aloft a nd i ts l ight danced merrily on thetips of the waves. A smart breez e pou ted th e sail s onth e Captain Spencer till she plowed her way l ike ask imming albatross through th e phosphorescence of th esou thern field o f ocean .

On deck the beef-eaters, Adam and Will iam Phipps,wi th the mate and a j ov ial b oatswain , were in h ighspiri ts . They were nearing the ir goal, after a run

which would have awakened some sort o f a rollickingdevil in a deacon . Captain Phipps had felt a spell o fbubbl ing com ing upon h im for days . It always did

,the

moment he dropped Boston out o f sight, over the green ,serrated edge o f th e riotou s Atlantic . Therefore h ehad broken o ff the neck o f a bottl e of good , red j u ice,which had lain for a year in the hold o f th e brig, andthis liquified comfort had circulated generou sly.

The beef-eaters, arm in arm , were now spraddlingabou t the deck in a dance o f wh ich Terpsichore hadnever been gu il ty

,even in her A B C ’s o f the art. The

boatswain was furn ish ing mu sic from a tin pipe , th e

one virtue o f which was that i t was tireless .At length b e altered the tune , or at l east, so he said ,

a nd after a ba r or two o f the measure had lost i tself inI SS


the sail s a nd shrouds, Adam cleared his throat for

song.

In the Northern sea I loved a maid ,As cold a s a polar bear ,

But of tak ing cold I wa s no t afraidS ing too rel lo roo ,

And the w ine is redFo r a k iss is a k iss, m ost anywhere ,When a man ’s heart goes to h is h ead.

Ho the h eart of a m a n is an onion , boys ,An on ion , boys , w ith a sh edding sk in .

And it never gets o ld ,for you o ff w ith its h ide ,

Wh en youm eet a new love , a nd its fresh with in !

In the south ern sea I loved a lass,As wa rm a s a da y in ! une

And oh that a summ er should ever passS ing too rel le roo.And the w ine is red

For my summ er , my lads , wa s gone too soon,With a man ’s h eart gone to his h ea d.

Ho, the heart o f a m a n , etc.

In the Western seas I loved a miss,As shy as the shark s that swim ;

And it’s duties we owe to the art o f the k issS ing too rel le roo ,And the w ine is red

If a maiden so shy sh ould be took with a wh im ,

And a man’s h eart gone to h is h ead.

Ho , the h eart o f a m a n is a n onion ,boys ,

An onion , boys , with a sh edding sk in .

And it never grows o ld , for you off with its h ide ,When youmeet a new love, a nd it

’

s fresh within ! {g’


a crunch,fel t the brig shudder beneath thei r feet and

beheld half a dozen i ron hooks come flying over th egunwale from the pirate

,and saw them j erk snug up to

the rail,as the raiders pull ed tau t on the l ines that

qu ickly lashed the two vessel s together.

A black cascade o f men came l eaping from th e pirate,landing heavily on the Spencer’s deck . Their p istolsblazed yell ow exclamati on poin ts o f fire, as th e men

stru ck on their feet , and th en wi th a clash o f steel on

steel,Rust

,Phipps and half a score of sailors ru sh ed

upon the invaders and a mad scu ffle a nd melée ensu ed .

Rust was consciou s o f a few th ings abou t h im in theconfusion . He thought how c old th e naked bladesl ooked

,slashing in th e moonl ight h e heard th e yell s

and curses against th e background of a slapping sailthat was making a sound l ik e a we ird al arm he feltthe strength of th e big rascal , who was cu tting at h imwith that brute force and d isregard for sk il l wh ich is sodeadly to engage . He thought th e fellow would sl i cehis saber in two . He l ost no time in fe int ing. The

brute of a bu ccaneer lu rched forward to sweep h is

blade clean through Adam ’s body and then suddenly amoonbeam seemed to cl eave i ts way through the

“

rutfi a n’s neck . He dropped h is sword and spun a round

with h is head loll ing sideways and wen t down .

Adam rushed to th e ta fi -rai l . The p irate sh ip wa sstraining at th e ropes by which her hooks secu red th etwo black hulks together . Smi ting th ese tau t ropeswith m a d fury, Rust saw th e p irate drift away a nd th egulf o f water w iden between the two vessel s

,wh il e th e

scoundrel s aboard the robber-sh ip yelled a discordantchoru s o f curses.

A Night Attack . 1 57

Then back in to th e fray, th e din o f wh ich was ris ing,as wounded men smarted and yel l ed and rushed upono ne another anew

,l ike snarl ing wolves

,Adam darted,

pis tol ing a creatu re who came running upon h im andthen h eaving h im overboard as th e fell ow wri thed onth e planks .The sailors o f th e “ Spencer had somewhat the

’

best o f th e confl ic t, which was a match in south inghotly all over the deck . Less than a dozen o f thepirates had been able to leap aboard before th e vesselswere apart

,a nd th ei r bawl ings for h elp to th eir sh ip

had been rendered vain , for the moment, by Adam’s

prompt action in cu tting th e l ines . However, th e seascoundrels were versed in figh ting, where th e sailorswere merely rough -and-tumbl e sons o f Cain whose ragewas their principal accou terment. They were at th eiradversaries, hammer and tongs . They were wrestl ingwith som e, hack ing at others, swearing at all . It wasa smal l pandemon i um in which i t was next to imposs ibleto distingu ish fri end from foe.

Phipps, l ik e th e woodsman from Maine that h e was,hewed h is way from one group to another, sh ou ting toh i s men , hoarsely . The beef-eaters

,as inseparable as

when they were dancing, chose bu t one man betweenthem

,and one su ch th ey peel ed to a h orrid core, as

th e demon ru sh ed upon th ei r sharpened weapons .Adam stepped in a crawl ing l ine of gore

,i ts head

silver-tipped in the °moonlight,and sl ipped till it

wren ched h im to hol d h is footing. He saw th e sail orscrowding three o f th e p irates to th e rail and , j oin ingthem

,battered th e cutlasses from their fi sts and h elped

to ho ist them bod ily over and into the sea .

1 58 When a Witch is Ydung.

The din had hardly abated anyth ing o f i t s volume.The scene was o ne o f the maddest activi ty. But therobbers not a lready done for, were now at bay againstthe masts

,th e capstan or th e rail . One tripped back

ward over a co il o f mm. The next instant h e wasscreaming help and murder at the top of h is lungs.This h e continued even after a dreadfu l rattl e a nd

splu ttering came in h is voice .Over the reddened decks one or two wounded crea

tu res were crawl ing, one wiping gore from h is faceand fl inging i t o ff h i s fingers . Swords and pistols layabou t. One dying human was lying on h is sid e,with h is arm extended and h is index finger slowlycrooked and straigh tened and crooked again, a s if hebeckoned to death to come more qu ickly.

The sail began to slap at th e mast again,as the brig

swung bow on in the wind and stopped in stays . Thecroak ed cu rses o f th e p i rates, on their sh ip, wh ich was

newagain drawing swiftly toward the Spencer,

”m ade

Adam and Phipps su ddenly run to the brig’s brass gun,

wh ich was look ing dumbly forth toward th e p irate .Rust had fill ed h i s pocket wi th l oose powder . The

cannon was already loaded . He poured a smal l pyrami d o f powder on th e ven t and h e and Ph ipps

,with

th e combined strength o f two giants, sl ewed th e piecearound til l a ball from the pirate could have been tossedin to i ts yawning mu zzl e .From the gall ey , th e cook cam e running with blaz

ing coal s on a shovel . He had been watch ing the gun .

The pirate m issed h er mark . She came up in stays,j u st

as th e Spencer ” go t again on th e wind . The bowso f the robber-craft were almost in touch with th e brig.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE GLINT or TREASURE .

THE brig Captain Spencer, came duly to her goal atthe green Bahamas . What wi th wounds rece ived fromthe pirates

, who had called so u nceremon iously, andfrom sea -si ckness, which they always had , th e beefeaters were glad of th e sigh t o f l and . Phipps and Rustwere filled with rej oi c ings by reason o f th e dreams theyhad o f thrusting a naked arm apiece in to th e sea andfetch ing up handfuls o f gold wi th which to return totwo sweet wom en in Boston .

All hands were presently doomed to disappoin tment.Phipps l earned that h is treasu re- sh ip wa s indeed a fact,bu t that sh e was small

,both in tonnage and her burden

o f Spanish coins, that she lay in many fathoms of

water and that, indeed, she was scarcely wor th seriousattention.

Phipps was, h owever , a popular m a n at th ese bit s o f

j eweled land in th e emerald sea . He h a d traded thereon several occasions

,making fr iends always. Thus it

came that a hobbl ing o ld sal t, whom h e had befri endedin a scrimmage, con soled h im with the information o f

a large treasu re- sh ip, sunk somewhere in th e n eighborhood o f Hispan iola . He resolved at once to pursu eth i s matter to the end, for wh ich purpose th e CaptainSpencer would be wholly inadequate

,as the Spanish

1 60

The Glin t o f Treasure. 1 61

Main was as fill ed with pirates as the skym a y be o f

bu zzards over dying caravans .With the approval o f th e entire party

,the brig was

now headed for England,Adam and Phipps feel ing

confiden t o f th eir ab il i ty to secure a larger sh ip for

the ir en terprise .On familiar soil wh en the “ Spencer at length

came to anchor, o ff th e tower o f London, in the

Thames, Adam had l i ttl e d iffi culty in find ing a marketfo r th e brig. With the proceeds o f th e sale in hispockets, Will i am Phipp s, under Adam

’s tu i tion,blos

somed out as a gentleman o f no l i ttl e personal attraetiveness. Adam , as one born to th e purpl e, donned ahandsome att ire and swaggered with all the el eganceo f a prince.He wa s soon in th e midst of hi s former acqu aintances

,

wi th one o f whom he fough t a du el at th e end o f th efirst week , requ iring h is vanqu i shed foe, who was onlysuffici en tly wounded to be satisfied , to kneel in hum ili ty and to wipe th e v ictor’s blade clean o f h is own red

j u ic e, on th e hem o f h is coat.Rust u nti l now h a d n ever had occasion to regre t the

d isfavor in which Charles S tuart h eld h im , s ince a certaindistingu ish ed lady had declared th e Sachem ” to b evastly more entertain in g than h i s Majesty wi th readynarratives . However

,h e was und ismayed , for wi th

James, fated so soon to be king, h e wa s amaz inglyfriendly.

Will iam Phipps, for h i s part, needed bu t one in tro

ducti on and n o recommendation . Above al l th ingstemporal

,James revel ed in naval adventu re. Blunt

,

gallant Captain Phipps appeal ed to h im instantly . Th e1 1


tale o f the treasu re-sh ip set h im a fla me with eagerness

to go w i th th is adventu rou s company to the western

Indies,where he could readily pic ture h imself, Phipps

and Adam fighting th eir way to th e rotting s trongholds

o f the Span ish galleon , sunk th ere half a centu ry before .

With a n alacri ty wh ich was o f a h ighly compl imentarycharacter to Phipps and Rust , th e Princ e procu red a

fine vessel, th e Ro sc-Algie r,” with a crew o f ninety

five men and a n armament o f e ighteen guns, and gaveher into the trust o f his friends for thei r enterprise.

I t was agreed that inasmuch as he th us found the sh ipand the expenses of th e venture, he sh ould have n inetyper cent . o f whatsoever treasu re should be recovered ,Phipps declaring for h imself and Adam how contentedthey would be wi th the remaining one-ten th .

Late in the year, wh ich was 1684, th e RoseAlgier bore away for Hispan i ola

,Phipps

,Adam , and

the fai thfu l beef- eaters , whom seasickness nor perilcould drive from Adam ’s sid e, soon beginning to wonderwhat manner o f crew i t was wi th wh ich they h adsh ipped . A few weeks later

,King Charles th e Second

died . James ascended the throne . Thus the treasu reseekers were backed by the Engl i sh monarch and hisgovernment .A sunken sh ip has frequently proved to be a smal l

th ing, and the ocean a l arge one, t o th e seeke r, eager fo ri ts cargo . The Rose-Algier dipped into all mannerof harbors a nd her master asked all manner o f peopl eall manner o f qu est ion s, to n o avail . Th e month ssl ipped by, in th i s ted ious occu pati on , th e crew grewweary of a voyage so profi tless and so enti rely unpromlslng.

CHAPTER XIX.

MUT INY .

FORTUNATELY mu t in ies frequ ently com e to a headprematurely . On th e Rose a j eal ousy hatch ed between rival factions o f th e pl o tters, so that before theywere any o f them in actu al read iness, one facti on , inorder to be ahead o f and therefore in command overth e other

,rushed upon th e quarter-deck one night

and made a. sudden descent on Captain Ph ipps, whohappened for the moment to be there alone .Phipps became renowned for h is presence o f mind

and courage . On th i s occasion h e promptly knockeddown three or fou r of th e rufii a ns, and then w ith aloaded revolver and a handy marl in spike , h e awed theothers into submissi on before th e alarm h a d even timeto spread . The malefactors being summarily placed ini rons and thrown into the hold , th e insu rrecti on bel owdecks retired into th e dark corners, to kni t i tself anewinto shape.The sailors now recognized th e n ecess i ty fo r uni ting

their forces . Moreover, th e faction which h a d beenless prec ipi ta te, gained the confidence o f th ose halfcoward, half-demon followers, o r human jackals, whowere will ing to u rge th e l ions o f the fo

’ca stle on to

strike the blows of death , content if th ey could thensneak u pon the scene for a feast o f remains . Thus a

1 64

Mut iny . 1 65

better plan was laid, whil e th e mutineers d issembledand lulled even th e su spic iou s Ph ipps into a sense o f security that h e had no t possessed before the overt outbreak

,which he had been able to quell single-handed.

The plotters found no opportu ni ty of eff ec ting the irdes ign s for several weeks . At length

,however, Phipps

steered his vessel into a t iny harbor, bitten by the sea

into the s ide o f a sma ll,'

uninh a bited i sland, which waseven minu s a name. Th is h e did for th e pu rpose of

r eshipping the stores , in th e h old , a recent storm hav ingsh ifted th is cargo unti l the “ Rose ” l isted to portdangerously, and l eaked .

The crew , in s ilence a nd obediently en ough, con

stru cted a bridge to sh ore and carried th e stores toland , heaping them up in pil es , on th e beach .

The unlading being accompli shed, th e crew desi redpermiss ion to rest in the shade o f th e near-by woods .Th is was gran ted . Once in reti rement here, they con

ceived a plan wi thou t delay whereby the sh ip shou ldfall into th eir hands that nigh t .Already they h a d managed to pu rloin a compl ement

o f arms . They had knives, a few pistol s, hatchets andseveral cutlasses. The stores being ash ore, th e sh ipwas at thei r mercy. Thei r plan wa s s imple enough .

They would remain awa y from the shore until seveno ’cl ock, when they would proceed to the sh ip in abody, overpower Ph ipps, Rust , th e beef-eaters an d th efew other fai thful soul s on board , seiz e th e Rosea nd l eave her captain and h is friends on th e island, tostarve . There was bu t one element lacking— th esh ip ’s carpen te r . The Rose hav ing sprung a l eak,in the storm , wa s regarded by the sailors as no longer

1 66 Vt n a Witch is Young.

seaworthy, un til the carpenter sh ou ld pu t her righ t.He therefore became a necessary adjunc t to their

numbers .The carpenter, on being summoned to appear among

th em by th e crew, l istened to their plan wi th horror .However

,h e was not a coward and he had h is wi ts

about h im . He nodded as if in approval o f the plan ,the more read ily, perhaps, as he was th reatened wi thdeath if h e dared refuse to become one of the murder

ous gang. Then he informed them that some of his

tools he would much requi re, to fu rth er th e plot.He was sent aboard the ship , with a guard bes ide

h im, who had undertaken to see that h e permitted n o

leakage o f the crew ’s l i ttl e game into th e ears o f th eCaptain . However

,th is carpenter was a man o f re

sou rces . He was su ddenly overpowered by illness , onwhich pretense he went bel ow. Then

,breaking into a

run , h e came to the Captain’s cabin

,where Adam wa s

singing th e song o f h is loves . Bidding Rust to con

tinne , as if noth ing was happen ing, he swiftly communica ted his news to Willi am Phipps .

Go back at once and pre tend to assist in the ir deviltry, commanded Phipps . Make no sign o f anyth ing, save compl iance w ith their w ishes, and leave therest to me .”

The carpenter rej oined h i s guard so soon that theywere entirely satisfied . They conveyed h im ash ore

,with

h is tool s, and join ing their mates a gain,wai ted wi th

what pati ence th ey could muster,for th e fateful h ou r

o f seven to arrive .Phipps had now two hou rs in wh ich to prepare to

defend the ship . Unfortunately some o f th e guns h a d


sail.This work consumed no small amount o f time.

But i t wa s finally concluded .

New then, said Phipps, when the si tuation wasall in his favor, “ I shall pull up anchor a nd leave you

rogues to the fate you had prepared for me. You ca n

stay here and starve and rot lThis brought the mu tineers to tears, and t o pleading

on th ei r knees. They were will ing to come to anynameable terms

,if only h e would spare them th is ter

rible fate.They threw down thei r arms, in token o f

absolu te surrender,begging quarter o f a ny descr ip tion .

Inasmu ch as so large a vessel could not have beensail ed withou t a crew

,Phipps recei ved them back , the

ring-leaders in chains, and doubled the vigor of h is

mastery.

But,Adam

,

” h e said , “ i t’s no use with thesescoundrels . They will drive me back to England yet,wi th none o f the treasure .

”

Distrustful o f the bru tes he had between decks,Ph ipps now sailed for Jamaica, where he qu ickly discharged nearly every man Jack o f hi s mu t inou s crewand took on a new lo t of sailors. This was not a ma tter

o f a few days, i t requi red nearly a for tn igh t o f time,Phipps being exceedingly parti cular a s to th e men heselected . In the meant ime two th ings occu rred whichgave no l it tl e anxiety to the treasure-seek ing captain .

Rust fell ill,with a n attack o f tropical fever

,and a

l etter arrived from Goodwife Ph ipps in which she

begged to know if h er l ord and master were still al ive,

a nd i f so , would he no t speedily return to Boston andgive no further heed to fortune’s beckoning.

Will iam Phipps had seen men sicken and d ie in these

Mut iny . 1 69

lati tudes . Adam , attended fai thfu lly by th e beefeaters, took th e fever ligh tly, a s he seemed to takeeverything o f l ife . Nevertheless he was weak

,when

the heat had somewhat abated in his body,and in no

fi t cond iti on to remain in the trop ics .Adam ,

” said th e Captain,gravely

,hav ing schooled

h imself for a da y a nd n igh t togeth er for th i s m omen t,

I have abou t concluded that th e Rose ’ is no longerfi t for th is serv ice . I shall retu rn to Hispani ola

,but

unl ess I shall make out th e gall eon in a few weeks,I

shall sail again to England,for a newer sh ip .

”

All righ t,” said Adam . I shall be ready th is

afternoon .

“ Well , said Ph ipps, heinming and hawing,“ the

fa ct is, Adam , you are qu i te unfit to remain abou t theseislands . Besides, ! sho uld be glad o f a messenger tosend back to Mrs . Phipps in Boston . I wou ld suggest

,

th erefore,that you retu rn th i th er, on a frigate, sail ing

to-morrow morning, and if i t chance that I go to England and again retu rn to H ispan iola, you could meetme here and help me t o find th e t reasu re . ”

Rust seemed to hes i tate before making h i s reply.

He was su re there was a treasure for h im in Boston,

but he had begun to have h is doubts as to th e sunken,

o r any oth er sort of avai lable, gold in th e Spanish Main .

Yet h e d id no t wish to appear eager to abandon thequ est, a nd h i s h eart was above al l el se loyal to Ph ipps .“ If I should

,by great good fortune , di scover th e

treasu re,” continued th e Captain

,you shall suff er no

loss for you r absence, for you r servi ce s have been tentimes over rendered al ready .

”

Much as he wa s affec ted by th e friendship which


prompted Phipps to assure h im o f th is,Adam was not

in th e least concerned wi th th ough ts o f th e treasure",

nor influenced by th i s generous plan wh ich h is friendhad formulated . But being a rea sona ble being , insomed irections

,a nd being perhaps unreasonably inclined in

others,as for instance, toward Massachu setts, h e sa w

the wisdom o f th e Captain’s arrangements, and therefore bade h is friend a n aff ecti onate farewell , on th efoll owing da y, and sail ed for the north, with th e beef

eaters close at h is heels.


crazed.The l igh t o f mal ic e that burned in his eyes

was a th ing that Garde fel t,occultly . It wa s a threat

to break her will, some day i t was tigerish in i ts animalhunger

.No creatu re o f prey ever lay in wait for its

v ictim more ready to pounce, to overpower and to dragaway to i ts den the coveted object of its greed and

passi on .

But the months had winged heav ily away on theirsomber-colored pinions

,and the moment for which

Garde had hoped . when she set th e one year’s time o fprobation had never come —th e moment o f Adam ’s return . The second Chri stmas, so joyless wi th the Pu ritans

,was far o ff , with the oth er departed days o f

winter. The snow had melted ; th e tender shoots o f

grass were returning, in hordes, l ike l i t tl e green armiesthe first buds were break ing th e cold

,dan k soil and

peeking forth , while s til l cl ose wrapped , as if to say“ Is i t time 9 ” And only Garde would have pu shedth em back

,only Garde, u sually so j oyou s in th e return

ing of warmth and beau ty, would have held to the edgeo f the mantle o f snow,

t o retain it where i t lay.

Her heart was beat ing l ike a lead clapper,that tolled

against the bell o f h er soul , day and night, for th e fearthat was on her of the coming week

,when her

year o f respite would end . Already h er grandfatherlooked at her with fanatical eagerness in hi s eyes, andrubbed h is shaking hands wi th del ight . He had n oeyes to see that she was pal e , that she started at soundsas sh e had never done before

,fearing that Randolph

h ad come a few days too soon,to claim and to carry

her o ff . The old man ’s o ne idea was th e safety of th echarter. To secure th is

,no sacrifice c ou ld have been

Garde’

s Extrem ity. 1 73

too great. But as a matter o f fact,David Donner had

no conception o f the sacrifice which he wa s requ iring.

Su ch zealots rarely h ave .In despair, three days before h er dreaded hou r sh ould

arrive, Garde hastened l ike a ch ild , afraid of an ogre,to Goody Dune . The evening was cold , for the skywa s overcast, th e w ind was blowing from th e north anda few scattered speckles o f snow flew spitefully throughth e ai r.“ B -u-h -h— i t’s cold B-u-h -h— it

’

s cold said th ejackdaw, when Garde came in at th e door. The birdwas ech oing the past winter’s h i story o f what poor old

Goody had suffered, alone in h er h u t .“ Well

,dearie,

” said th e old woman , who wa s evidently making preparations to go out, o n some miss iono f her own , “ you look as if you too are in need o f someo f th e s imples you gath ered in th e summer . ”

It i s noth ing simple that I n eed,” said Garde . I

have come for wi sdom and help . Oh , Goody, I don’

tknow what I shall do . I wish so I had come to yousooner

You mu st stop trembling first, said Goody.

Here, take th i s c up of tea . I t i s going to be a bitternigh t .”

She had prepared th e drink for herself, to fortifyh er meager warmth of body against th e wind , intowh ich she expec ted to go on an errand, presently .

“ It i s no t from the c old ; i t i s inside that I am

trembl ing ,” confessed th e girl . But she took the cup

,

obed iently . If youca n do no th ing to help me, I cou ldwish th e cold would never l et me go back to my home“ There, there, drink the tea,

” said Goody,after


giving her one penetrati ve glance . For young women

to feel that terribl e demi-mania of des ir ing self-destruotion was not new to Goody Dune . She had gone through

the stages hersel f. She knew almost exactly th e con

ditions which universally promote th e em o tion in th e

young o f her sex .

I know that Adam has never returned , sh e said,

slowly . You have had no word , ev en . I have seenthat in you r eyes . But

,dear me , h ave you no abid ing

fai th and hope, ch ild In th e Spring“ Oh it isn ’t that, Goody !

” broke in Garde . Icould wait— I could wai t for h im fifty years , patiently—yes

,patiently. I love h im . But you don ’t kn ow

what has happened . I h ave never tol d you . Whatwas the u se 1 They made me promise —anii i f Adamknew— he might never come back . No—he would no t

come back . And I love even the very places where h i sshadow fell

,in the forest— and the log he was si tting

on . I love th e gate where h is hand s rested—I loveeveryth ing he ever tou ched Her hands pressed uponher bosom , where, beneath her frock, she wore th ebrooch from Hispani ola .

Goody had never seen her in su ch a mood . She h a d

never heard such passi on from her l ips . But by thememory of h er own heart-break, she caugh t at th esini ster cry o f someth ing promised .

“ And have you given you rself in promise to somebody el se sh e asked , qu ietly, bu t somewhat severely .

Gra ndther forced me. What could I do ? ” saidGarde, fever ishly. What could anybody do

,wi th th e

charter being taken away If I could save i t,I ough t

to save i t ! But he will never,never keep h is word !

176 When a W i tch is Young.

ou tburs t,a nd i t seemed to G a rde h er l ips had grown

harder since. Her eyes were certainly snapping crisply.

Goody was arou sed .

“ Come with me, she presently said, interrupt ingGarde ’s outpou rings again .

“ When you came I wa sstarting to go where i t would be well fo r you to follow,before th e h ou r grows later .Bu t, Goody, won

’t you tell me what to do saidGarde

,in angu ish .

You will know what to do, when you go hom e ,said th e o ld woman , somewhat grimly . I knowEdward Randolph by h is works .”

She l ed the way out in to th e gathering twil igh t wi thout further delay. Garde sh ivered a l ittle, as the coldwind stru ck her again

,bu t she fol lowed , eagerly, with

wonder in her heart and a li ttl e awe o f Goody,in h er

tortu red mind . What could the old woman meanWhere could she now be hasteningGoody proceeded with a straightness that argued

famil iarity w ith th e route,and fixity of purpose in

.

herm ind. She wen t by all eys that l ed down toward th ewater, where fisher-folk had bu ilded l i ttl e shanties onthe rocks above the roar o f th e harbor breakers .

I am taking you to see anoth er young woman, she

said .

“ She was pretty to o , and she had n o parents.Her mother died five years ago, a nd her father

,James

Hodder, was lost in the storm, l ast spring. She wa sa n easy prey, you see . Poor Hester and only fifteen .

”

Garde l ooked at th e old woman in wonder. Al l th i shalf muttered preface to someth ing coming

,served to

make her heart beat so hard that she cou ld hear i t,painfully.

Garde’

s Extrem i ty ; I 77

What is i t abou t her she ask ed, breathlessly .

Goody made no answer. She had reached the door

of one o f th e hu ts, and pu sh ing i t open she entered,Garde

,pale and large-eyed, cl ose beh ind her.

Ncd—oh Ned i ” came a half sob, half chortle o f

joy from somewhere in th e darkness of th e place .

Garde felt sh ivers go down her entire form .

No t Ned yet, my love, said Goody, in a voice so

cooing that Gardehardly knew it . Presently, dear,presently . He is sure to come back to-n ight . Dearme

,we must have a l ight a nd see how we ’re doing.

”

Garde had heard a l i ttle moan wh ich Goody’s cooinghad no t suffi ced to smother . Then there had beenthe sound o f a stifled sob. Goody went to th e dyingembers in the ch imney-place, to get a l igh t for a tallowdip on wh ich she had pu t her hand with unerringfamil iari ty w ith th e fu rn ish ings o f th e plac e . Thevo ice

,with tears and patience in i ts syllables, came again :He will come—back , to n ight He—didn ’t come

—last night . He hasn’ t—come for a—week .

”

Oh yes, he will su rely come to-night, croonedGoody, at th e fireplace . Bu t how i s th e l i ttledoll i e ? Garde wa s l ean ing back against th e door,heavily . Her eyes were s taring into th e u tter darkness with wh ich the place was filled . She felt th e presence o f a woman on a bed o f motherhood. Sh e wa sready to sink on the floor

,with terrible apprehensions .

The woman on the bed made some heroi c efi ort to calmherself, and to answer Goody

’s question .

Sh e’s sleeping,”she said . She was so cold , bu t

I have go t her warm again .

”

The tall ow d ip nowflared . Goody sh ielded i t cau1 2


tiously as i t spu ttered and then she arose to her feet.Between her fingers th e l igh t spread, throwing great,grotesque shadows o f her hand on the walls, in one

direc tion and a larger adumbration of her head in theother. Garde sa w the cou ch , which she had knownwas in the corner. Sh e also sa w a wh ite face

,to o th in

to be pretty, a nd all o f a sou l’s being and angu ish con

centra ted in two great eyes . Her own eyes were blazing with th e emotions by which she was possessed . Asif th ere had been some grea t affi ni ty between them

,th e

young woman on the cou ch was looking at Garde th emoment the dip illumined the room .

Who ’s that said the startl ed Hester on the cou ch .

A friend,a friend, dear,

” said Goody. I broughther to see you . She knows Edward .

”

She— sh e knows Ned‘

9 said th e wasted youngmother, rai sing h erself up , abruptly . Let me see h er .Oh, 0h ,— you are so pretty 3 Bu t you won

’t take himaway from me— you won ’t take h im

,please He does

really l ove me -he didn’ t mean what h e said . He mu stlove me, now . He hasn ’t seen our l i ttl e baby

, or hewould love me more than anyth ing in the world . Youwouldn ’t take h im away from me—now

As Hester sa t there, propped u p by one thin , whitearm , bru sh ing her hair from her fac e and lean ingeagerly toward her v isitor, Garde cou ld only put herhand to h er cheek and shake her head . Her bosomrose and fell in the agitati on which was shak ing herwhol e being.

Oh , I am so glad—oh , I knew you wou ldn ’t,” said

th e girl on th e cou ch . You cou ldn’t have th e heart,

could you See—see

CHAPTER XXI .

RANDOLPH ’S counrsm p .

GARDE fled home as if some unth inkabl e fate were in

pursu i t. She was haunted by the lo ok she had seen in

the eyes o f that girl-mother, back in the hu t. Shecould hear the young thing sti ll b egging her not to rob

her o f the man who had taken her all and given her a n

inerad icable shame in exchange.Yet beneath every other emotion , Garde fel t a sense

o f exul tati on . The estimate o f her instinct wa s con

firmed—Randolph was perfidy i tself. No t a sou l among

the Puritans, sh e beli eved , could ’

do augh t bu t supporther against thi s ma n. And if only she c ould wrenchherself free

,how glad ly would she welcome the penance

o f wai ting years for Adam ,in payment fo r her act

,

wh ich she fel t was disloyal ty, in consenting to th e provisional betrothal into which she had been forc edHer gra ndf a then now would have to be th e first to

protect her from the dread fate wh ich had come so near,she though t . To confuse pol i tics and th e personal aff airso f her narrow l ife i s th e priv il ege o f the sex to whichGarde bel onged . She planned , as she darted th roughthe wind-swep t streets . She woul d tell i t all toGra ndther Donner, and then he should save h er th e ordeal o f meeting Edward Randolph in any manner whatsoever. She gave no though t to th e charter, nor to

1 80

Randolph’

s Courtsh ip . 1 8 1

wh at the m a n wi th th e power h e wiel ded would do inrevenge to th eir l iberti es

, now that h e would find h imself ba filed, at th e end o f h i s term o f wai ting .

She yearned for Adam . She could tell h im , nowwhat she had been driven to do , whereas before th is

she had always wished h im to come, yet had shrunkfrom the thought o f confessing what she had permittedto be done. Yes, she could lay i t all bare before h imnow,

and fai rly scou rge herself with her own reproaches,

j oyou sly. What an exqu isi te pl easu re i t would be‘

toa sk his forgiveness thu s

,and no t at first receive it, and

then at last b e taken home to hi s arms and h i s l ove IFo r her thoughts

,her h eart-beats

,her soul ’s longings

had all been constan t to h im , and to h im alone . Shewou ld l ike to tell h im all th i s . And she would let h imkiss her, now. For through what hours had she wished ,when she had th ough t they migh t never meet in thatway again , th at h is kiss had been placed upon h er l ipsth at day of their parting . She almost frightened herself wi th th e though t o f h ow that one k iss on her fingersm ight h ave been his only k iss. But th e n ext momen tshe tingled wi th ecstasy, to th ink shewas free and thatsome day h e would come back , and then she wouldknow how to l ove him a nd to cherish h im as n everbefore she could have known .

Thus glowing one moment, with love’s own reveries

,

a nd ch ill ing th e nex t, with sudden reminders o f whathad just been and what migh t still be, she reached hergrandfather ’s house, where she had been staying w i thth e ol d ma n for th e past year, with only rare v isi ts toth e S o a ms. Sh e went in by the ki tch en door. Thisapartment be ing dark, sh e passed through to th e d ining


room,which wa s lighted but unoccupied, h ence she con

tinued on to the parlor, where she fanci ed she heardvo ices . Entering here , she could have fallen to thefloor in sheer astonishment and fright.She found herself confron ting h er grandfath er and

Edward Randolph himself.Ah

,here she is, you see, said David Donn er

,rub

bing his hands together, delightedly . I thought shecouldn ’t be far away . My ch ild, Mr . Randolph hascome to have a l i ttle chat . Natural enough , I sh ouldthink.

” He chuckl ed wi th pl easu re, adding Dear

me, I mu stn’t forget to cover my rose, on a n igh t l ike

th is. With fatu ous smiles , that ill su i ted h is grim o ld

v isage,h e qu i tted th e room , in a sprightly, playfu l

manner, and l eft-

Garde facing Randolph , alone.Good even ing

,Mistress Merrill , said the m a n

,

fastening th e hungry gaze o f his deep set eyes upon herface . I am glad to see you looking so well .”

Good even ing, sir, and thank you ,

” said Garde,in

a voice scarcely aud ible . She had become suddenlypale . She trembled . She looked at th e ma n a s one

fascinated by a bal eful point o f l ight.It seemed bu t reasonable that I should cal l and see

you, since ou r betrothal i s so soon to end in our marriage,

” said Randolph , moving sl owly toward h er, a s i fto prolong hi s own anticipation o f s tand ing where hecould reach her at l ast . I have been very patien t

,

have I not,my pretty sweeth eart

You— have been very— patient , echoed . Garde ,helplessly a nd panting l ike a spent doe, to catch herbreath .

And I have kept my word,” he went on, still slowly


th i s l oathsome plan , sai d Garde, gain ing cou rage as

she spoke . I always di stru sted you , despised you.

Do you th ink I would tru st a m a n to sav e our charterwho wouldn ’t save a woman ’s h onor— who would dowhat you have done Youmay go—you may go awayI loathe you I scorn you Oh , I h ave found you out

in timeThis i s silly tal k

,Mistress Merr ill , said th e man .

I know noth ing o f you r Hester Hodder.”

Garde made a gesture expressiv e o f d isgu s t a nd im

patien ce .But all th i s has no bearing on anyth ing one way or

the oth er,” Randolph continu ed . You must no t ‘

for

get that I have. as mu ch power over th e charter and thecolony as ever— in fact , more. I have become thefri end of these peopl e, bu t you ca n make me theirenemy with a very l i ttl e o f your nonsense . Come, now,

l et u s be two sensible be ings and not begin our uni onby quar

If you have had any power to do u s in j u ry, in’

terrupted Garde,

“we will find i t done . You wou ldn ’tdare to tru st you rself . I have a fear

,su ch as I never

h a d before, o f th e harm you have doubtless done th iscolony

,darkly, in th e year j u st passed .

Garde had a wa y, fairly uncanny, o f saying terribletru ths, a s i f from some sort o f in spi rati on , which cameupon her unawares . Randolph had his pockets ful l o fdocuments, at that moment, wh ich lay th ere l ike a m in eof explos ives, ready to shatter th e charter and government, almost at h is whisper o f command . His mindcou ld conceive o f noth ing so exqu isi te in treachery

, to

these peopl e that he hated, and in vengeance aga inst

Randolph’

s Courtship . 1 85

Garde,for th e atti tude she had always assumed toward

him , as to marry h er first and then to destroy the charterafterward. This h a d been his dream for more than theyear. He had waited for i ts cl imax as pati en tly as acat will wai t before a hole till themouse sh all reappear.Garde ’s words were as so many poignards

,only that

th ey failed to strike h im in a fatal spo t. They stungh im to greater fu ry than he had ever felt and to a h otter

'

determination to humbl e the girl and to reduce

Massachu setts to abj ect servil i ty and despair.The man saw that th is was an ill t ime to threaten

Garde. She was no t made o f th e wax wh ich h is soph istri es had subst i tu ted for the m etal once in Dav id Donner’s composi tion .

“ You have entertained some strange ideas o f me,

Mistress Merrill, for wh ich I am at a loss to accounthe said

,more qu ietly .

“ I feel sure we merely mis

understand each oth er. Have I not shown,for a

year,that my one wish is to prove myself a staunch

frien d o f th ese good peopl e and worthy o f your esteemI a m will ing to do anyth ing furth er, if you ca n th ink

o f anyth ing you would l ike to suggest, before we aremarried .

”

We shall never be married,” said the girl

,self-po s

sessed,now, and calm enough to be fairly j udicial . If

youwish to win my respect , go and marry Hester Hod

der,and let you r ch ild no t be bu ried in shame.”

The m a n winced, bu t not v is ibly. He took h i s l ip inh is fingers again and pinched i t till i t was wh ite . He

real ized that in her present frame o f mind, Garde wasu tterly incorrigibl e . He only made matters worse by

remain ing where she wa s. He knew o f a tri ck worth


two o f prolonging th is intervi ew . Yet he must retire

in good order.I must tell you once more,

” he said, that I knownoth ing about th is person o f whom you speak . I regret that someth ing has prej ud iced you r mind against

me, especially when you insist upon doing me thiswrong. Let me sa y good n igh t, for I am sure I shallfind you in a n al tered mood to morrow.

”

Good n ight ,” said Garde

,i c ily.

The man smiled and went out, closing the door a s i fi t had been the bars of a cage, which he had dared toenter, at the risk o f frighten ing h i s prey to death .

He went out in to the garden a nd called'

to DavidDonner.


ercised when Charle s sa t upon the th rone . To reflec tthat now

,at the eleven th hou r, th e mere wh im o f a sil ly

girl cou ld destroy th i s whole fabric and sweep awaytheir j ealously guarded l iberty and independence

,at a

s ingl e breath,nearly made a maniac o f the old ma n.

Hester Hodder wa s as n oth ing. A hundred su ch.women , with their dead babes, would have been asnoth ing, compared to the safety o f the charter. Whathad Garde been born for

,if sh e was no t to save th e

day, when her promise was m ade and wh en she alonestood between ru in and th e colony ? What was hergirl ish folly

,that i t should stand in th e path forbid

ding the col ony it s existence ? What sh ould be hervery l ife, when the matter against i t weighed so

ponderou slyThinking what h i s compatriots would sa y, if they

shou ld learn o f th is latest turn o f affairs, Donner wrungh is hands in a gony , and then cl enched them in rage .

For twen ty years th e charter had fluttered between lifeand death . For th e last year i t had gained in strengthtill i t seemed that al l danger had passed . No rel igi ou sfanati ci sm

,n o zeal o f inqu isi tions ever possessed a

man ’s soul,h eart and brain more thorough ly than h is

patrioti sm possessed Grandfath er Donner.

When he went into th e house , h is trembl ing, bonyhands were as col d as those o f a skeleton . He was halfcrying

,with h is u tter vexation and fear for th e char

ter,and yet h e ground his teeth , in h is anger and stub

born determination to compel h is grandch ild to a d

here to h er promise . When h e came to where Gardewas awa i ting h is return indoors, she mistook the madl ight in h is eyes for righteou s indignation at Ran

David’

s Coercion . 1 89

dolph ’s perfidy, o f wh ich sh e bel i eved he had becomeapprised .

“ Oh,Gra ndther, she said, running tru stingly to

ward h im and beginn ing already to cry,from her stress

'

o f emot ions “ I am so glad you have come back toprotect me

Protect you Protec t you h e almost screamed ,clutch ing her by the shou lders, so fiercely that th e cold

a nd th e pain wh ich h e cau sed seemed to penetrate herthrough and through . What madness h ave you com

m itted ? What have you done ? The charter,— th echarter— th e charter —you shall save th e charter Do

you h ear me You shal l keep you r promise andsave th e col ony ! ” He shook h er till th e girl wasga sp ing . She could th ink o f noth ing bu t a h ideou snightmare .

Oh , he hasn’t told you, Gra ndther, she cried . If

you knew the tru th youwould tu rn h im from the doorI have seen poor Hester a nd her baby . I cannot bear

to th ink o f h im— I shou ld d ieYou— you—you trai tor stammered th e old m a n

,

in h is mania . You—you betray the col ony ! Youare mad

,mad You promised. Youmade your own

condit ions. You have dece ived me. You wou ld pl ayu s false, now—now, when ou r l ibert ies are taking heart.Bu t you shall no t ! What P You come home herew ith th is silly story

,you—you, the daughter of a

Donner—a nd ready to tear up the char ter for you rsilly notions. No—no ! no no -

you shall marryth i s ma n ! You shall keep th is you r bargain ! Thecharter—you shal l save the charter

Oh , bu t, Gra ndther, the story i s tru e, said Garde,


wringing her hands . He i s th e one that i s fal se . AndI thought you would h old me to o preciou s for such a

thing a s

Enough commanded th e crazed old man Myword— the colony’s word— has been given . The bargainshall be kept . This has gone too far already . Toth ink that for one moment you would so j eopardize th echarter ! I am stricken w i th sham e at your want o fhonor at th is cr is i s of our l ibert iesGarde still failed to bel ieve sh e h eard her grandfath er

correctly . She s t ill h oped h is impati ence would abatesuffi ciently for h er to tell o f what she had seen . I tcould not be possible t hat a Puri tan , so h igh -mindedand stric t for moral conduct, could know what sheknew and still insi s t upon this infamous m arriage . Toher

,at that moment

,i t was v irtu e and honor that were

all importan t to b e saved, th e char ter a nd th e colonythat had become insignificant .

If you had tou ched that l i ttl e dead baby,sh e said .

If you had heard Hester begging, Gra ndther— oh ,

you wou ld have kept your promise,—you wou ld nevercoerce m e in th i s terrible

Stop stop cried Donner,madly

,angered

almost beyond control by th i s appeal,wh ich was so

unbearably remindful o f her moth er . I have no t

coerced you,never ! You made you r promise freely .

The honor o f th e colony, and more than that, th esafety o f th e charter, now hang upon you r fai th in keeping you r own agreement . And you shall k eep it— forthe family pride— for th e colony’s good name ! Thisstory—what i s th e woman — what i s h er ch ild —whatis anyth ing, when our l iberty and independence trem


made rau cou s by his recen t passions,

“you

bed a nd prepare you r mind for obedience. ”

Good night, dear Gra ndther,” said Garde

,

of habi t,and with nothing more, she passed from th e

room .

CHAPTER XXIII.

eoonx’s BOY.

THE righ t o f Spring to exerc ise id iosyncrasi es o f

weather wa s conceded , doubtless, by the first ma n .

Spring is wel l known to be fema le,for th is very pro

clivity o f changing her mind as t o what she wil l donext. Having been a spitfire nearly all n igh t, Springsm iled in the morning , as balmy as if she had caugh tthe fancy o f some trop ical zephyr, that hastened rashlynorthward to catch h er for a k iss .The first ray o f the sun found itself entangled in th e

hair of Mistress Merri ll . Garde had not slept du ringthe night . She had no t gon e to bed, nor had she prepared her mind for obedience t o her grandfather’scommands . She had spen t th e h ours s itt ing at th ewindow, waiting for the morn ing.

She now sped swiftly th rough th e unawakened streets,

a prey to a sense of fear that she wa s be ing pursu ed.

From time to t ime she cast a qu ick glance across hershoulder, bu t th ere was no one following. There washardly a sound , save that a few birds— hardy l i ttlescou ts , ah ead o f th e northward-creep ing caravan ofsummer— twittered a nd set up rival centers of melodyin th e trees.There wa s no hesitat ion in the girl’s footsteps . She

13 I 93


knew where she was going . Goody Dune’s wa s theonly place where she could go, wi th her pres ent resol utions . She had come to a logical conclu sion , as t owhat was now to be done, shortly after l eav ing Davi dDonner . Her mouth was firmly set, where de terminat ion had come to abide .As always, she found Goody st irr ing abou t, with her

door wide open,when she came to th e t idy l ittl e home.

Goody beheld her c oming before sh e reach ed the gate.Peering in to her face knowingly

,th e o ld woman gave a

l ittle shake to her head . Sh e was adept at decipheringthe h ieroglyphic s which human em oti on s write uponbrows and l ips and eyes

,especially in the faces o f th e

young.

“ So your grandfath er in sists and you are going to

run away ? ” she said,as Garde came eagerly up th e

garden path to th e door .

Yes,” said Garde, in some a we o f the wise old

woman and h er means of acqu iring knowledge, and Iwant you to h elp me,— oh , you must h elp me— j ust asfast as yo u ca n How di d you know

“ I could see th at you were deeply troubled, and Iknow exactly what a g irl l ike you would do,

”said

Goody. I was the same k ind o f a girl , once, mysel f.Now tell me

,first where are you going .

”

I don ’t know,said Garde, I th ink to Plymouth ,

to my aunt Rosella .”

You would do well to make up your m ind on thatpoint

,

” said Goody . And how are you going, shal lyou sail

, or ride, or wal kOh

,I shall run ,

” said Garde.If you walk i t w ill last longer, said th e old woman ,


the next room and put th ose on , a s fast as ever you are

a mind to.

”

Those said the aston ished Garde . But these

Yes,I know . They will make you invisible— a s a

girl . Do you wish to be seen ? If no t , go and pu tthem on and let me get at something else. We stillhave other fish to fry .

But started Garde,wh en Goody pu shed her

into the next apartment.

Goody cont inued to rummage in th e chest,produ cing

a hat,much the worse for age, a pair o f s tou t shoes, a

stick and a large , red handkerch ief. Into th i s handkerch ief she knotted a number o f sl ices o f bread , some

pickles a nd some cold m eat . She then secu red i t onth e end o f th e sti ck

,and dropped in side i t a l i ttl e wad

o f money , tied in a parcel by itself .Garde now returned , blu sh ing as red as a rose and

bending her l egs inward at the knee most shyly,alth ough anything prettier could hardly be conceived

,

a nd there was n o one present save the o ld woman tolook

,anyway.

Oh dear me said th e jackdaw. Oh dear meStand up stimy on you r pins,” commanded Goody .

You are no t in vis ibl e as a girl at all . Come,now

,be

a man .

”

But Goody gasped Garde . I—I reallycan ’t

Yes , you can . You must , co rrected th e o ld

woman . O r else you can give u p running awayal togeth er.

Oh no,no

Goody’

s Boy . 1 97

Then do as I tell you . Feet more apart,knees

stiff That ’s be tter .”

But, I feel— l feel so— so cold .

Where, in your face Nonsense . Now try on

th is hat. ”

Goody adju sted th e hat. I t was mu ch too smal l tocover all o f Garde ’s gloriou s hair.

This will have to come o ff,

” said th e o ld woman .

Oh was all Garde could reply.

I t did seem a pi ty,bu t the bu siness in hand was

altogether grim . The scissors snipped briskly. Thehat presently covered a quain t

,pretty h ead wi th close

cropped locks . Garde caught th e gleam in Goody ’s eyes,

for Goody cou ld not bu t admire her for a most handsome and irresis tible boy

,and again the blu shes l eaped

into her ch eek s, and those te l l-tale knees began to try toh ide one another.Goody sh ook her head . Any one would stil l know

you for Garde Merrill ,”she confessed, whe ther they

h a d ever known you before or not .”

Then what shal l I do ? I migh t as well go backto my own cl othes

,

” said th e gi rl eagerly .You remain where you are,

” in s tru cted her mentor .If you are go ing to run away successfully, you must

mu ster up you r courage. But perh a ps you prefer to goback to

No I’ll—do anyth ing,i nterru pted Garde . A

sudden horror o f th e though t of going back . or o f beingcaugh t and taken back , t o Randolph and all th e rest o fi t,pu t good steel into her sh oulders and some also in to

her l egs . Please make haste and let me be starting,”

she added . Th ey may be coming at a ny moment


Goody lost bu t l ittle t ime in th inking. Sh e produceda cup

,from her shelf o f decoc tions, and dabbl ing her

finger into its contents she proceeded t o s tain the girl’

sface a rich brown color, wh ich made her more handsome than ever

,if poss ible, bu t which masked her so

completely that her own reflection would not haveknown her. The brown stu ff went into her pretty ears

and a ll around h er plump pretty th roat and even on topo f her eyel id s as they were closed, for Goody wa s someth ing o f a n arti st. When she had fini shed , she re

garded her work criti cally.

“ The angel Gabri el wouldn ’ t know you now , h imself

,she said . When you wish to get i t o ff , u se v in e

gar . Take your s tick and your l i ttl e pack,pu t i t over

your shoulder, so, and now you are ready . Would youl ike someth ing to eat before you go

Oh no ,” gasped th e girl

,frigh tened half out ot h er

wits,at th e prospect o f going forth in to th e worl d wi th

two pretty, v isible l egs t o walk withal . I— I couldn ’teat anyth ing. I— wait a m inu te . I— I th ink I wou ldl ike a l i ttl e drink of water.”

Goody gave her a dipper ful l, o f which she took one

miniature sip.

Do I— do I look— terribl e she fal tered .

You l ook l ik e a farmer’s boy— a l ou t o f a count rylad

,

” said Goody. S0, good-by, young m a n . Mylast word i s, forget you have got any l egs, or you wil lsurely be detected .

Legs ! ” said the jackdaw, glad o f a n ew word .

Legs LegsI cou ldn ’ t-"wear anyth ing— over them

, could I

CHAPTER XXIV.

A GREENWOOD MEETING .

ADAM RUST, sail ing northward , grew more and morehearty once again with every day, al th ough h is pul se~

beat qu ickened almost hou rly, with a fever o f impa

tience which began to fasten i tself upon him . He wa squ ite h imself again

,l ong before th e sh ip arrived at the

port of New York . But the beef- eaters were a sorrypai r

,for th e sea stil l took i ts revenge upon them for

Adam ’s total d isregard o f i ts powers, and th e passage

had been exceptionally rough .

It was no more than natu ral that Pike and Halberd,

on arriving as far as New Amsterdam , should desire tohave done wi th th e boisterou s Atlantic . Adam , on th eother hand , was in su ch a fever to go on t o Boston that,h a d no sh ips been availabl e, and no oth er means po ssible, he would have been tempted to swim . As i t was

,

there was no vessel pu tting for th e north to any pointbeyond Plymou th for a week , so that Adam determinedto sail that far and ei th er to catch another captain.

th ere, who would convey him onward, or to walk theremaining distance alone .

The beef-eaters , seeming absolu tely in need o f a restfrom th eir adventu res on th e water

,relu ctan tly sa w

th e Sachem depart wi thou t th em , th ey in the meantime remain ing with Captain Will iam Kidd

,a t h is New

2 00

A Greenwood Meet ing. 2 0 1

York home, expect ing to go on to Boston wi th himlater. This had been the fir st time that Ru st had beenmore glad than otherwise to be for a brief season wi th

out his fai thfu l followers . But never before had thecondi tion s o f h is going to Boston been the same .Thus

, on a fine day in April , Adam found h imselflanded in th e o ld town , o f which h e had no pleasantmemories . He would have confined h is in spection o f

and visi t to Plymou th to the docks,had no t a hurri ed

tou r o f inqu i ry el i c i ted the information that no vessel swere du e to sai l to Boston for two or three days . Toremain in the place for su ch a time as that was no t tobe though t o f on any accoun t .Providing h imself with a small parcel o f food

,at one

o f th e taverns, Adam was soon strid ing through a streetof the town

,wh ich h e remembered v ividly as one

wherein h e had walked on a former occ a si on,as a cap

ti ve boy, in a processi on o f fanati cal Puri tans. Them emory was far from being pleasan t .He would have avoided the place , had he known hi s

way suffi cien tly well, but before h e knew it was so

very near,h e had com e to that square in which

the stake wi th King Ph il ip ’s head upon i t had oncebeen se t.He looked at the plai n su rrou ndings o f the l ocal i ty

with a remin iscence o f melanch oly steal ing upon h im .

He fanc ied he saw the preci se Spot where th e stake hadstood . It brough t back a flood o f memories , of h isdays spent with the Wampan oags

,h is companionsh ip

wi th K ing Phi l ip,the war and then the end. The

sequ ent thought was of h i s first gl impse of Garde , h eldin her grandfa th er’s arms and looking across th e bank


o f mercil ess faces wi th a never- to-be-forgotten sympathyin her sweet, brown eyes . Dwell ing then in fondnessupon th e recollection o f his first meeting wi th Will iam

Phipps,th e rover fel t that

,as h is l ast sadness h ere had

been a n augury o f better times to come, so th i s presentmoment might presage a happiness even greater. Withth i s comforting thought to spur h im on to Boston

,h e

qu itted the square and was soon l eaving the ou tskirts

o f Plymouth beh ind h im .

Spring seemed to be get ting ready for som e greatevent . She was trimming herself with blossoms andvirgin grass

,and she was warm with all h er eagerness

to make h erself l ovely . Adam open ed h is mouth tobreathe in th e fragrance exhal ed by fl i rt Natu re . Hewalked swiftly, for th ere was resil ience under foot a swell as in his being.

If Garde were somewhere n ear,the day cou ld

hardly be lovel i er,

” h e said,half aloud . She mu st

be breath ing in th i s di rection .

His glance was invited h ere a nd attracted there .Wherever i t rested, Natu re met i t wi th a smile . Adamfel t l ik e hugging a tree, yet no s ingle tree was thatelu sive Sp irit o f Nature which he so longed to clasp a ndto hold in his arms . But if he was mocked by theeth ereal presence of beau ty too d iffuse to be held

,by a

redolence too subtl e to be defined , a nd by bird notes toofleeting to be retain ed , yet h e was charmed, caressed ,subl imated by the omnipresence o f Nature’s loves

liness.

At noon he was ten good miles from Plymou th a nd

trail ing h is sword th rough a wood , where one could

feel that some goddess of intangible a nd exqu is i te eu


Adam strode more le i surely toward the boy whoremained leaning

, in obvious confusion o f emotions,against th e tree . He sa w a remarkably handsome,brown-complexi oned youth , with del icate featu res, largeeyes

,that gazed upon h im in wonder, and exqu is i tely

rounded l egs, one o f which wa s nervously bent inward

at th e knee .It was Garde .Fortunately sh e had seen h im before h e came close.

Therefore th e l i ttle involuntary cry o f gladness whichhad risen to her l ips

,had been too faint for h im to

catch,at a dis tance. Then in the moment when her

persecu tors had been scampering away , sh e had graspedat th e opportunity to con trol h er emotions to th e extent o f deciding, in one second of t imid and maidenlythoughts

,that never, never would she reveal herself to

Adam , i f Sh e could help i t, while dressed in these a wful garments . She mu st act the boy now

, or sh e wouldperish with mortifica tion. Luckily the blu sh that leapedto her cheeks was masked by Goody’s brown stain .

Nevertheless shepanted with exci tement a nd her bosomwould not be qu iescent.

Good morning ,” said Adam

,coming forward a nd

do ffing hi s hat, wh ich h e felt that he must do to ayou th so gentle and so handsome . Youwere makinga very pretty

'

fight, bu t i t lacked somewhat o f vigor.The next time, slash th is way, and that way ; guardagainst assaul t wi th your other arm

,so , and do your

cu tting at th eir h eads .” He h a d drawn his sword withwh ich to illu strate, and flourished i t l ust ily at the ima gina ry enemy, after wh ich h e added Now then,who are you any wa y, a nd where are you bound

A Greenwood Meet ing.

Good— good morn ing, faltered Garde,in a vo ice

scarcely more than audible . I a m~ - I am not u sed tofight ing.

”

No , I Should sa y not, said Adam, trying to makeh i s voice del icate and swee t, in imi tati on of hers .Youmust speak up , boy, the same as you would figh t

,

roaring thu s What ho, varle ts on your righ t, andHave at you, knaves on you r left . Shatter my hil tI haven ’t seen so girl ish a boy s ince Will Sha k spea re

’

s

play . Stand out here and l et u s get acquainted , for Ith ink I shall l ike you, though you do figh t and roar soil l . ”

Immensely rel ieved t o find that h e d id n ot su spec ther i den t i ty, Garde summoned all th e cou rage which

ten days away from home had sprou ted in h er be ing.

Moreover,she knew that if th e deception was to be

made successful,She mu st act h er part with all h er

abil i ty . She therefore l eft th e tree, against wh ich shehad continued to lean a nd stood forth , wi th what bravery she could muster.And who may you be she managed to inqu ire.Ha , that

’s bet ter,” said Adam . Don ’ t be afraid

to Speak up . A dog that barks at once seldom has needto bite . And you have th e mak ing o f a ma n in youyet. You could be taller, bu t l et that pass . You havefine

,stu rdy legs ; you r eye i s cl ear . Why, you have

noth ing to blu sh for . What ail s th e ladThe red beneath the brown stain was too ardent to be

h idden . Garde ’s gaze fell before h i s admiring look .

You— haven’t told me your name ,”

she faltered,

h eroical ly striv ing to stand stiffiy and to conjure a vo iceto change th e subj ect wi thal .


So I h aven ’ t,” Adam agreed . I asked you for

yours first,bu t no matter. I am a mad lover, on my

way to Boston . My name is Rus t, wi th a Spice o f th eo ld Adam thrown in . If you are going in th e samed irec tion

,I Shall be glad of you r company .

”

Garde was going in th e same directi on . She h a dnever reached so far as Plymou th . Footsore and weary

,

she had trudged al ong, going less than ten miles a day,s topping at night w ith th e farm ing peopl e

,the wives of

whom She h a d found most kind , and so at last h a d arr ived a t a farm near by these cross-roads, unabl e to goany further. She had therefore rested several days

,and

only th is very morn ing sh e had learned , by word from

another traveler, that David Donner, suddenly affl ic tedby the double wo e o f finding her gone and himselfcu rsed by Randolph , wh o had immediately set in motionh is mach inery for depriving Massachu setts o f i ts charter , was on h is back, del ir iou s and ill , perhaps un todeath .

Sh e was going back,all contri tely, yearn ing over th e

old man, who had taken th e place o f her parents for somany years , a nd weighted down with a sense o f thewretch edness attend ing l ife . It was not that her reso lution to escape Randolph had abated one particl e o fi ts stiffness, that she was tu rn ing abou t t o retrace hersteps, i t was merely that her womanly love , her buddingmoth er-in st inct, her l oyal ty a nd grati tu de for her grandfath er’s many years o f kindness a nd pati ence

,— that all

these made no oth er though t poss ibl e .And now to l earn that Adam was travel ing to Boston

al so, that sh e Should have h im f o r h er strong pro tectorand comrade, th i s fill ed her with such a gu sh o f delight


a heart that she would counsel me to go slower, if needbe

,to lend a ny comfort o r compan ionsh ip to a you th so

gen tl e as you rself .”

I am sure she would, said Garde, readily enough .

Are you, th ough ? One wou ld th ink you knewher

,said Adam . Don ’t plume you rsel f on th i s

matter so prematurely . Come, let us start.One moment

,please, til l I ca n ti e my shoe

,said

Garde,who fel t su ch merr iment bubbling up in her

heart that she was constrained to bend downward to th eground qu ickly

,to h ide her smiles .

Adam stood wai ting, glancing around at th e woods,wondering wh ich way h i s heart had flown

, on i ts l igh tsome wings, in that temple of beau ty. Garde lookedup at h im slyly. He was dressed in great brownboots

,that came above h i s knees

,brown velvet trou sers,

a wine- colored velvet coat, with a leather j erkin overi t

,sleevel ess and long enough to reach t o th e tops

o f his boots, almost, and on h is h ead he wore a largeslouch h a t, becoming and finish ing to his strikingfigure .Garde was looking at th e back o f h is head ra pturously

when he s tarted to turn,to see why she made the tying

process so del iberate .“ I am ready

,

”she. said, ch eerily, springing to h er

Is th is th e roadBy all the promptings o f my heart

,i t i s

,said

Adam . But, by the way, you have no t yet told meyour name, my boy .

Oh , —why—why my name is—John Rosella. Shehad though t of her aunt’s firs t name

, on th e spu r of

A Greenwood Meet ing. 2 09

the moment, a nd John had been th e s implest a nd firstthing which had popped into her head“ John Rosel la,

” repeated Adam. I t sounds l ikeSpanish . That woul d account for your dark complexion .

” He l ooked a t her cr i ti cally .

“ Yes, you are an ice , gentle boy . Have you ever been in loveWith— with a girl n ever said Garde

,trembl ing

w ith del ight and fear of being detected, espec ial ly ifshe answered to o many qu est i ons . “ Do tel l me allabou t you r lady— lady l ove .”

That’s a bit too preciou s to tel l to any m a n,Adam

assured h er, gravely. And yet, you are so nearly l ikea girl that I ca n almost tel l you abou t her.

”

What i s her name ? ” asked Garde,catch ing her

breath in l i ttle qu ick gasps .Her name Ah , I h ardly tell i t to myself, often .

Bu t her name would sound sweet in these woods . Her

name is—now, mark you, don’ t you ask me to repeat i t

again . Never mind her name, anyway Well,i t’s Garde . You will have to be contented with that .Ah

,bu t she i s the sweetest, most beau tiful l i t tl e woman

in th e world . Her lovel iness goes al l through , the sameas beauty i s everywhere in these woods . It’ s her natureto be lovely .

”

His voice became an u tterance of melody. It seemeda par t o f th e forest tones . He had taken o ff hi s h at,for in h is mind Garde stood before h im , a smil ingdream , even a s Garde actually walked bes ide h im , asmil ing real i ty .

Is she tall said Mistress Merrill.

Yes,, somewh a t taller than you ,” said Adam .

“ Being

gentl e and l ikeable youmight make one th ink upon her,4


bu t her voice i s sweeter than you rs, a nd, well— sh e i s agirl

,a nd you are merely girl i sh .

”

Have you loved her long said Garde, again casting her gaze upon the ground , as she walked .

Years said Rust. I have loved her all my l ife,for I n ever began to l ive til l I sa w her first, a nd I loved

her the moment I saw her.

And does she love youAh

,now you approach forbidden ground . I t would

be a sacrilege for me to prate— even here in these woodsof h er sweet thoughts . I have told you too mu ch a l

ready . You are a very devi l of a boy, to have gotten so

much from me,tou ch ing on this subj ect. I’l l be sworn ,

I don ’t know why I have l et you draw me ou t l ike th is.But I stop you here . It i s no concern o f yours whether

she l ikes me o r not.Oh

,

” said Garde. Then she added slyly, I shouldth ink she would .

”

I thank you a nd warn you , in a breath , youngman , Adam repl ied .

“ You have gotten the best o f

me already . Let good enough alone .”

Gard e loved him the more for the sacredness in whichhe held her name and the incl ination o f her heart. Sheloved h im for th e modesty wh ich crept int o h is speecha nd deportment wh en l east expected . Loving h imthu s, so fully, a nd in th i s realm , so made for the growtho f tender pass i ons , she fou nd i t diffi cult to cease h erquestions . It was so wholly del ightful t o h ear h im

repeat, again and again , h ow he l oved h er. Sh e wa s,however, obedien t by natu re, and now cau tiou s by ci rcumsta nce.

Perhaps you will tell me o f your travels, she said,

When a Witch is Young.

o r the love-tale s sung by the birds, than d idh i s every wo rd. And , inasmuch as sh e cou ldto h is arm , when he rec ited the peril s through wh ich heh a d come , she artfully coaxed h im back to declarat i on so f l ove for h is sweethear t, from t ime to time, to gi vesome satisfact ion to her yearning.

CHAPTER XXV.

LOVE’s TRAPS FOR CONFESS IONS.

SOME t im e before n ightfall,th e two having sh ared

their l uncheons togeth er and wandered on,through

the del ightful patches of sunl ight , slanting throughthe trees, they came upon one o f th e farms whereGarde had already tested th e h osp ital i ty Of the goodpeopl e resid ing by the h ighway.

Here, by a l i ttl e dexteri ty, and through Adam’s

generos ity toward th e del icate boy,to whom he had

taken such a fancy , Garde occupied th e spare apartment she had made her own when h eaded in th e oth erdirec tion, a nd Adam contented h imself in the hay -l ofto f the barn .

In the morn ing they were up betimes , t o gree t a nother sm il ing sun,

and so resumed thei r lei surelyj ou rney toward the north . At noon they hal ted as before

,and made a meal o f th e stock Of bread and oth er

prov is ions th ey had been able to secure at the farmhou se .Garde sat upon a mossy bank, while Adam recl ined

on a stone, somewhat below her woodland throne .Adam lo oked at her SO l ong a nd so s teadfastly that shegrew most uneasy

,lest he were abou t to p ierce her

disgu ise .


What are you looking at i’ she said , with a n

attemp t to be boyi sh ly pert .“ I wa s l ook ing at you r l egs, sai d Adam , frankly .

They are uncommonly symmetrical, but a shade toopretty for a boy.

”

Garde immediately bent the plump Objects o f interestunderneath h er and sa t on her heels .

You find a great deal o f faul t with me, she sa id,

a l i t tle vexed .

It’s becau se you have faults, as a boy, Adam toldher, honestly . You know

,my lad, you cou ld be a

bit stu rdi er a nd non e th e worse . And yet, I l ike youimmensely as you are . Perhaps if you were changed ,you would lose some charm and Spoil i t all . I shall haveto let you be , and content mysel f wi th you as you are .

”

“ Oh,thank you

,

” said Garde , already smiling ath im again , to herself. “ Then pl ease make no moreremarks abou t me.”

Abou t you r l egs Well , I won’t, s ince you appear

so sen si t i ve abou t them . Mind you, they will d o wel lenough

,after all .

Shall we go on ?” Garde asked him . She was a

l i ttl e weary and would have been glad o f fu rth er rest,

bu t sh e found She was much more comfortabl e whenthey were walk ing S ide by side .Adam wa s up at once, for walk they never so fast, he

fel t h e could by n o means come up with h is thoughtsand desires

,which had run so far ah ead o f them always .

Never mind what I say,” said he

,as they resumed

the onward march I have to have my sa y out,

when I th ink i t. And you know you do puzzl e m econstantly .


Oh . Bu t whyBecau se you would be such an o ne as a man coul d

But not you,Adam Rust. You have said you love

a swea thea rt already“ I do— might ily ! But if you were a girl I would

enjoy finding a m a n worthy to love you .

”

“ But thi s i s unseemly . You forge t that I am a

Yes,for some reason or oth er, i t i s easy to forget

that. But I was merely supposing. Say that a m a n

had come along when you were dressed as a girl—why,what th en

What then indeed,said she, with some spiri t,

would you have talked l ike th i s to me,Of— Of love

No , I wouldn’t,

” said Rust,stou tly enough . It

wou ld then have been qu ite anoth er matter . As i t i s,you play the deuce with my brain and fancy . I startin to talk to you as m a n to ma n,

and then I th ink youare almost bett er fi tted to be a gi rl— and you admi tyou were rai sed somewhat in that manner

,so what ca n

one expectWell, what if your sweetheart h eard you speaking

thus said Garde, who was enjoying th e si tuationth e more for the very danger o f i t . Should you liketo have her hear vou tell ing me I sh ould h a ve made a

girl that a ma n cou ld— could loveYou be ing a boy

,why not 9 Adam made answer.

Ah , she is too present in my though t and feel ing fo rme to sa y anyth ing I would be lo th f o r her to h ear .They had arrived at th e edge o f a brook wh ich was

somewhat swell ed by the snow, back on th e h ills, mel t

Love’

s Traps fo r Confessions . 2 1 7

ing in the gen ial warm th o f the sun . It was noth ingfor Adam to strid e across, stepping from rock to rock,but Garde hesi tated , her femin inity uppermost in amoment

,desp ite her utmost eff orts to be boyish .

Here,give u s your hand

,

” said big Adam,turn ing

back to help her over. Now,then , j ump I

Thrill ing wi th th e del igh t of h i s warm,strong fingers

cl os ing so firmly on her own, Garde came across th ebrook in safety and th en rel u ctantly released her grip

from h i s .Adam had no t escaped unscath ed from thi s contact

o f love, with wh ich she was fairly th rill ing . He lookedat h er Oddly, when they were safe again on the fu rth ers ide . Garde caught her breath , in fear that she h a dbetrayed herself at last, in that moment o f weak

ness .You are too much for me, John , Adam admitted ,

shaking h i s h ead in puzzl ement. You are a strange

I thought i t was all explained, Gard e repli ed,

anxiou s to get h im qu ieted on the subj ect . How farshould you sa y i t i s to Boston“ I th ink I begin to work i t out a l i ttl e , the m a n

went on, mu singly.

“ I t’s becau se you remind me of

some one I have known .

“ DO I ? ” said Garde, half afraid o f her question .

Of whom 9 ”

I don ’t qu ite know,h e confessed , look ing at h er

earnestly .

“ And yet I ough t to be abl e to tel l . I t

wa s some one I l iked , I am sure .”

As much as you did you r sweeth eartAdam seemed not to h ear thi s question .


complexi on,

” h e resumed makes me th ink o f a sweetmaid I knew at Jamai ca.

cc Oh I

And yet you r eyes are l ike those o f a lovely Frenchdamsel that I met, one time.” Here he sighed .

Your hands bring back a memory o f a charm ing

Countess at th e cou rt of Charl es . Some o f you r waysmake me th ink of a n i ce l i ttl e Indian Princess I onceknew ; while you r ankles—bu t you don

’t care to hearabou t your ankles .”

Garde was duly Sh ocked . Sh e kn ew not what toth ink o f Adam ,

who was reveal ing su ch aston ish ingepochs in hi s l ife . This was terribl e . Yet sh e wish ed

,

o r almost wi shed , h e had gone on , j u st a l ittle fu rth er,though she dared not encou rage h im to do so

,right a s

i t m igh t be for h er to know i t if h is heart had strayedel sewh ere

,at any time du ring h i s absence . Sh e was

alarmed,curi ou s , piqued . She forgot that she was a

boy to whom he had spoken .

I t seems to me , she presently answered , that Iremind youof noth ing bu t th e lad ies and maids o f th esecountries where you have travel ed .

”

Well,you don’t remind me o f th e lads

,that I admit

,

”

said Adam .

Garde made up her m ind to profit by th e occas ion .

She p il ed h er l i ttl e cou rage up to the t op-most mark .

“ And who was th e l i ttle maid o f Jamaica ? ” she

asked .

Oh , sh e was as sweet a l i ttle th ing as ever prattl edSpanish ,

” Rust repl ied , wi th a reminiscent l ook in h iseyes . Youwoul d have l iked her, I know .

”

Garde entertained a nd reserved her own Opin ion on


except that I flatter myself I had a better one -onceupon a time .Garde would have fel t l ike a coward indeed , had she

desi red to ask h im o f any o f th e others . Having doneh im a l ittle measu re o f inj u stice, she made it up to h imby l oving him the more, now that she found h im so in

nocent. Neverth eless she had ears to li sten with whenh e volunteered some information abou t the countess h ehad seen a nd admi red at th e cou rt o f Charl es .I t turn ed on t, howeve r, that h e had merely seen her

safely married to one o f h is royal friends, for whosehappiness h e had the most sincere o f wishes .Garde fel t h er spiri t o f daring and merriment retu rn .

It was so tempting to play around the poin t o f her identity that she could not al together resis t the impu lse o f

h er natu re, to keep h im talking.

I seem to be happy in reminding you o f many persons, she said . But I th ink I would rath er remindyou o f some one else. S ince you claim to be so mu chin love, i t would compl iment me more if I cou ld rem indyou o f your Mistress Garde .

“ Maybe you would ,” said Adam

,

“ only that I a m

gett ing so near to Bos ton that su ch a remin iscence, ina boy, would be sheer impert inence .”

CHAPTER XXVI.

A HOLIDAY ENDED .

HAV ING the fortune to be overtaken by a goodnatured farmer, who was trotting h is horses northward,al ong thei r road, from a trip to market, th e travelers

go t th e benefit of a l i ft that landed them wi th in a fewhours’ walk of Boston . However, as th e farmer

’s j ou rney ended where there were no accommodations

,and

there was still another h ou r o f l ight, which wou ld suf

fice to bring them to a small hostelry,wh ere Garde

knew she could make su ch arrangements a s she desi red,they tramped onward as before .With every step that brough t them furth er toward

their destination Adam waxed more and more impatien t to hurry

,while Garde found her courage and her

footsteps lagging.

She h a d momentarily forgotten h er troubles, in the

joy of being with Adam ,stroll ing for hours through

th e val es o f peace and lovel iness, bu t now her tribulations returned

,with compound interest . She yearned

over her smitten grandfather,yet she feared forwhat h e

m igh t do , when h e shou ld see her again with in his reach ,fo r i f h e h ad been well-nigh in sane when she sa w h imlast, how much more v iol en t h e migh t now have become.She trembl ed l ikewi se at th e though t Of Randolph,2 2 1


a nd the measures o f revenge which he might adopt,backed by the power which was suffi ci en t to uphold o rto overthrow th e charter. From these meditati ons Shewas tempted to fly to Adam ’s arms and implore h is pro

tection . It afforded her i nfinite rel ief to th ink that h ewould at l east be near . If th e worst came o f her return ing

, she would manage to g o to h im , by somemeans

,she was certain , and under the stress o f c ircum

stances she would not be deemed immodest in beseeching h is protect ion , for wh ich purpose She would con

sent immediately to become his w ife .Eager to ju stify herself in what sh e had done

,refu s

ing to bel i eve that honor had been as nothing and Ra ndolph ’s promises al l impor tant, she framed many in troductions to th e subject , before she could finally beginto question her fell ow-travel er upon i t.She th en began by rec iting to h im somewhat o f th e

news Of Boston town . She tol d o f th e fear for th echarter, which had become a mania with the Old erpatriots, o f the bal eful power o f Randolph and o f the

culminations wh i ch at l ast he was beginning to workagainst the col ony . Adam waxed so wroth again stRandolph , whom he remembered distinctly

,that she

was much encouraged t o go on with a hypothetical casewhich she soon invented .

She dared not connect th e name o f Randolph directlywith her story and questions

,l est Adam

,when h e

arrived in Boston , should learn more, concern ing the

whol e wretched bu siness, and know i t was sh e who hadundergone th e ordeal . Also i t requ ired a great coneentra tion o f her courage, backed by repeated assu rances toherself that Adam thought her a you th

,before She


o r anyth ing o f that sort I don ’t see how th is wouldal ter the case particularly .

You wouldn ’t excu se th e m a n said Garde , tu rning pale under h er brown stain .

Adam h a d in mind a painfu l inc iden t wh ich hadoccurred in th e l ife o f a friend of h i s in England . Imigh t

,

” h e answered . Possibly a great deal could besaid in defense o f th e poor devil

,in some way or

anoth er .Bu t

,insisted Garde, somewhat desperately,

“ if

you were a girl you wouldn’ t marry su ch a m a n

If I were a girl and I loved him ,

” said Rust,still

th inking of the case Of hi s friend,

why— I think

perhaps I sh ould .

”

But if you hated and loath ed him Garde almostcried .

Oh , that i s qu i te a diff erent matter. If hateentered in , I should welcome any excuse to get away.

In th e actual case o f wh ich I was th ink ing , i t seem s tome the girl ough t t o forgi ve But I had forgottenall abou t the elemen t o f the charter

,wh ich we were sup

posing was to figure in th e case .

”

Garde cared for noth ing further abou t th e discu ssi on .

He h ad j u stified her, at l east part ially . Sh e h a d

always fel t that Randolph would have betrayed thecolony

,even had sh e sacrificed herself and Adam

,to

marry h im , as h er grandfath er h a d desired . She wasnow a l i ttl e troubled that Adam could th ink so nearlyas h er grandfather had done that h e could really condon e such a terrible d ishonor in a fellow-man . Had i tnot been that, under cover o f her present disgu i se sheh a d proved how tru e and good her Adam was

,She would

A Holiday Ended . 2 2 5

have been pained and perhaps worried by h is lati tude

o f th ought. She had to finish the subj ec t, so she

If she - thi s girl— no t only hated the ma n , bu t fel tsu re h e would not keep hi s promise to do good for thecharter

,bu t would deceive h er and every one else , j ust

a s he had deceived the other girl— then what ough t sheto do

It woul d be h igh time,under those ci rcumstances,

repl ied her compan i on,to refu se absolu tely, o r to

sh ip on th e first departing vessel, or to do anyth ing elsethat wou ld be qu ick a nd to th e point . ”

That is j ust what I th ink ,” said Garde

,now wel l

satisfi ed .

“ It’s more important for u s, my boy, to th ink o f

what we shall do when we arrive in Boston , to-morrow,

”

Adam now remarked . By the wa y, do you knowanybody thereGarde hesi tated before answering. She had to be

clever. Nobody there wil l know m e wh en I getth ere,

” she sa id,“ unless i t is some one I m ight once

have known .

”

Rust d id not analyze the ambigu i ty o f th is reply . Hewas engrossed wi th other reflections .“ Have you go t any money he asked her next.Becau se if youhaven

’ t youca n have th e half o f m in e,-not much to speak o f , bu t enough to feed you andpu t you to bed . I hOpe to get i nto some better tavernthan the Crow and Arrow .

“ Thank you ,” said Garde , l ooking at h im slyly with

a tender l igh t o f love in her eyes, “ I th ink I haveenough for a time.

1 5


If we stop at the same tavern , and have our mealsserved together

,i t will cost you less ,

” Adam informed

her prac ti cally, and besides, I have grown so fond o f

you,my boy

,that I shou ld be sorry to lose sight of you ,

in th e town .

”

But th e sooner you lose sight of me, th e sooner youwil l see your sweetheart,

” said Garde, with diffi cul ty

restrain ing h er l ips from curvmg in a smile .Ah , bu t I shall wish her to knowyou,

” said Adam,

generou sly .

“ For to no one el se save you have I everbeen abl e to talk o f my love for h er sweet self

,a nd this

i s some th ing of a miracl e . AS I th ink upon i t, youdoremind me o f her Often , by your voice, though it i s notso sweet as h ers, as I may have said before, and byo ther tokens, wh ich I am at a loss to define. Butbecause o f th ese th ings, I would fight for you, and with

her sweet approva l .”

I am sure o f i t, said Garde. I trust you willhave great j oy when you find h er again . And youmaytell h er for me, i f you will , that—well, that She shouldl ove you with her whole sou l,—bu t she does al ready, Iam sure .”

You are a k ind as wel l as a gen tle boy , said Adamto her gravely . I am glad i t could be no matter to

her for me to l ike you so exceedingly, you being a boy,—bu t

, boy, you do bedevi l my brain w ith your gi rl ishways . I shall n ever explain you , I

’ll be sworn .

”

Here i s where we tu rn , for th e nigh t’s rest ,

” Garderepl ied, avoiding the pu zzl ed look wh ich Ru st directedto her face . “ We have had a pleasant jou rney of i ttogether . I sh all never forget i t . ”

Let’s wait t ill i t’s finished before we sum i t up,

”

CHAPTER XXVII.

IN BOSTON TOWN.

GARDE fai rly ran,when she made her early morn ing

start . Sh e had no t been able to th ink o f any o thersolu tion o f the problem o f getting back to her ownproper sphere withou t permitt ing Adam to becomeaware o f th e whol e si tu ation . She h a d no t come to h erresolu tion to cope with the difficulty thus wi th ou t manyl i ttle sighs o f regret and a few l i ttle fears o f what mightbe the consequ ences . Neverth el ess, she h a d seen th enecessity o f prompt action , after which she had fel t adesire only for haste . She was

,however

,bu oyed up

by the glad th ough t that Adam would no t be long beh ind her, ia h i s march to town , hence Sh e wou ld soonbe seeing him there

,under c ircumstances which would

make i t possibl e to accept h is love and to lean uponhis strong

,protecting arm .

The sun was no more than an h ou r up in th e sky

when she came to th e ou tski rts o f Boston and ra n

qu ick ly o n to Goody Dune ’s . Goody was not at all surprised to see her thu s returning . Indeed she h a d lookedto see h er back at l east a week earl i er . Th e Old woman ,preparing against th i s moment, had plaited th e long lockso f hai r wh ich Garde had been obliged to l eave beh ind,and these she helped the truant to wind upon her head ,wi th some semblance o f natural growth

,an effect which

2 2 8

In Boston Town . 2 2 9

she heigh tened by providing a small lace cap,wh ich

made o f Mistress Merrill a very demu re-appearing l it tleperson .

The brown stain rap idly succumbed to Goody’

s treatment with vin egar. Garde emerged from the mask asrosy and cream wh ite as an appl e

,for the Open air and

the days wi th Adam h a d wrough t such ev idence o f

heal th and h app iness upon h er th at not the dread ofwhat she might discover at home

,nor any exci tement

o f being in th e land o f h er enemy, could make any pal en ess in her face o f more than a moment’s duration . Shewas to o exc i ted to eat, al th ough Goody tried to u rgeher to take even a cup o f tea

,and so she went on to

her grandfath er ’s h ouse,and le t herself in, at th e rear.

As Gra nther Donner’s si ster h a d passed away a number Of years before, he had been left qu it e to h imselfwh en Garde decamped . But when his il lness came sosuddenly upon h im , Mrs. Scam and Prudence, bothpersuaded that Garde was almost

,i f n ot en tirely

,in th e

r igh t,appeared du tifu lly at h is bedside as ministering

angel s .Thus Garde, upon entering th e k itchen , found h er

Aunt Gertrude engaged in preparing a breakfas t. Thegood lady was star tled .

Why— Garde she gasped . Oh , dear me, i s i treally you Ch ild , where h ave you been Oh , Davidis very ill indeed . I am so glad you have come home

I came becau se I heard he w a s ill ,” said Garde

,wh o

was more calm than migh t have been expected .

“ Id idn ’t know you were here . I t was real good o f you tocome

,dear aunty . I suppose you will scold me .

“ I t wa s all a terrible th ing,”sa id her aunt, “ but


John says h e thinks Mr. Randolph meant to take awayour charter anyway .

Oh,I a m sure of i t cried Garde, so glad to hear

o f a partisan . If I hadn ’t bel ieved that, I don’t

th ink I should ever h ave run away . Oh, thank you , somuch , dear aunty ! I am so glad . God bless UncleJohn I knew I was right

Bu t your uncl e and all o f us are very sa d, heraun t proceeded to add .

“ They don ’t th ink we willhave the charter through the summer . It is a terribletime

,bu t th ey all sa y that Randolph must have been

getting ready, o r h e couldn

’t have done so mu ch so

qu ickly. It i s a sa d day for Massach usetts . But, there,run in and see D avid

,do

,— bu t

,deari e, don

’t be sur

prised if h e doesn ’t seem to know you .

”

In the d ining-room Garde and Prudence met, a mo

ment later.Good morning

,Garde , said th e cous in , withou t

th e sl igh test sign o f emotion .

Garde kissed h er,impuls ively. Oh

,I am so glad

to see you , dear ! she said . Indeed love had so wroughtupon her that she felt sh e had never so cared for anyone before as she d id for al l these dear ones now.

She hastened on to h er grandfather, and Prudence,was l eft th ere , looking where her cou sin had gone andsolemnly wish ing she also might do someth ing emotionaland startl ing .

But a few hours only suffi ced to redu ce th e sp irit o fwildness and you thful exhilaration whi ch Gard e

,

h a d

brough t wi th her b a ck from the road in the fores t. Toh ear th e o ld patrio t raving , ch ildishlv, a nd crying andpraying over the charter a nd over Garde a s a baby,


Garde.Thu s he was soon made aware o f th e state o f

th e Donner h ousehold,into the affairs of wh ich i t woul d

have been anyth ing bu t thoughtfu l a nd kind to obtrudeh is presence . With a cou rteou s pati ence he set h imselfto wait for a seemly moment in which to apprise Gard e o f

h i s reappearance . He told himself that, a s sh e had no

intimation that h e had retu rned to Boston , i t would be agreater k indness to keep h imsel f in th e background,until her trial s should be l essened.

Natu rally all these variou s matters had somewhatobl iterated from h is m ind th e though ts o f th e you thw i th whom he had traveled from the environs o f Plymouth . While h e was curbing h is spir i t and h is tooimpatient love

,a message arrived

,in care o f Goodwife

Phipps,from Captain Will iam Kidd , to th e eff ec t that

the beef-eaters, far from recuperating after th eir voyage

,had become seriously ill, a nd were begging each day

for th e Sachem .

”

Rust h a d been contemplating the acceptance o f a n

Offer from Mrs. Phipps to assume command at the sh ipyard

,th e foreman in charge being then arrogat ing pow

ers unto h imself which were not at all qu ieting. Adamreflected that if h e took th is place he could settl e down

,

marry hi s sweetheart presently, a nd become a soberci tiz en .

With the advent o f th e message from the beef-eaters ,he was completely at a loss to know what to do . Heyearned over these fai th ful c ompan ions

,whose a ffec

t ion had been repeatedly demonstrated,under c ir

cumsta nces the most trying . If th ey sh ou ld die wh il eh e remained away, selfishly denying them so l i ttle ath ing as his presence, he wou ld never Obtain h is own

In Boston Town . 33

forgiveness . Yet he could no t go to New York, or

a ny other where on earth , withou t first having at l eastseen Garde. Indeed he reflected now that mayhap i thad been a mistaken kindness for h im to remain awayfrom her s ide so long. Should he not have gone to herlong before , and offered what service h e could renderin her trialAs a matter o f fac t he had been k ind as i t was

, fo r

Garde had hardly enj oyed a moment in wh ich to do somuch as to th ink o f l ove and her lover . Her grand

father had occupied h er atten ti on day and nigh t .She had stin ted him in noth ing

,el se wi th her sp ir i t o f

peni tence upon her— for all that she had h elped tohasten upon h im— she could never have had a ny peaceo f mind nor contentment in h er soul .But at last , when the old m a n was out o f danger,

s itt ing in h is chai r by th e hou r, she had time t o th ink

o f Adam again and to wonder why i t was that h e hadnever attempted to see h er. She answered hersel f bysaying i t was better that h e had no t done SO, bu t then ,when she suddenly th ought that h e m ight have h eardall manner o f wild s tories, a nd migh t indeed have goneaway

,angered and not unders tand ing the tru th

, she

yearned for h im feverishly.

As if the message o f her love flew unerringly to h im,

Adam suddenly, in the midst o f th ink ing o f go ing tothe beef-eaters, determ ined to see hi s swee thear t, cos twhat i t might .

CHAPTER XXVIII.

LOVE ’S GARDEN.

AFTER nearly a week of rai n and dull, gray skies, th eweather was again entrancing. The warm , sopo rific

breez e which played through the hou se lull ed Gra ndtherDonner o ff to sleep , as he sa t in his chair, s taring atvacancy a nd rubbing h i s thumb across th e ends o f his

fingers .Garde

,respond ing to the mood o f coming summer,

could not resist the impulse t o go out into th e garden ,which to her would always be associated with her ch ildish meeting with Adam Rust, and wh ich therefo re nowmade o f her yearn ing to see h im a posi ti ve force .Thus it doubtl ess appeared to h er as a n answer to

her longing when she fel t a presence and glanced up atth e gate, to see h im s tanding there , as h e had so manyyears before

,with two o f th e p ickets clasped in h is

big , strong hands .Her heart gave a leap that almos t hurt, so suddenly

d id i t send the ecstasy bounding th rough her veins.Yet so subl imated was the l ook on Adam ’s face

,as

,

wi th parted l ips and visible color ris ing and fall ing inh is face, h e gazed at her, steadfastly, and a s one eu

tranced, that she went toward h im as sl owly as ifwalking migh t d isturb the spell.One o f her h ands, l ike a homing dove, came up to

234


arms ’ l ength away, and looked at her blush ing face wi thsuch an adoration in his eyes as sh e had never beh eld .

Indeed, Adam’s passion had swept her from her feet .

It possessed her, enveloped her form, h eld her enthrall edin a n ecstasy so profound that sh e gasped to catch h erbreath , while h er heart leaped as if i t were peal ing out

h er happiness .They were standing thu s

,obl iviou s o f everyth ing

,

when a sou r-visaged Puritan , passing by the gate, hal teda moment to l ook at them malignan tly . It was non eo ther than Isaiah Pinchbecker, th e scold ing hypocri tewh o had danced to Adam ’s fiddling, several years before . He suddenly gave h imsel f a nudge in the ribs.His eyes lighted up w ith grim sati sfact ion . He hadrecognized the rover, and with news in h is narrowhead he hasten ed away

,prodding himself assiduou sly

as he wen t.In th e mean time, Gra ndther Donner, whose napslasted hardly as long as forty winks, had awakened .

He started from hi s sl eep as if h e had suddenly caugh th imself n eglec ting to watch the ch arter. Glancinghastily abou t th e room , he missed Garde at once . In

h is brain , two cell s had broken their wall s so that th eirs ubstance commingled

,till Garde and the charter seemed

at times th e same,and always so interl inked that h e

dared not l et her go a yard from his sight .He tottered to h i s feet, and rubbing h is th umb

d iligently across th e ends o f hi s fingers, went out atth e Open door, toward h is grandch ild, gu ided by somesense wh ich in a n an imal i s often h ighly devel oped .

He came upon the scene in th e garden ju st a s Adam,

after looking h i s h eart full, nearly to burs ting, had

Love’

s Garden . 237

drawn Garde cl ose again,to k iss h er hands in uncon

ta ina ble joy.

At sigh t o f Adam ’s costum e,wh ich wa s not a great

departu re from that o f the Royal is ts o f th e day, incontrad is tinction from that o f the Puri tans, DavidDonner flew into a v iol en t rage. He raised h is twopal sied hands above h is h ead and screamed

Garde he cried, Garde Kill that m a n

Kill h im —kill h im The charter The King ’sdevil ! Kill h im He

’s ripping the charter to p ieces

w ith h is teethHe came runn ing toward them , clawing h is nail s

down across h is face til l he made h i s pale cheeks bleed,and tore out l i ttl e wav ing filaments, l i ke gossamer, from

hi s snow-wh ite hair. Almost at their feet h e fel l ful llength , where h e stru ck at th e soil a nd dug in h is

finger nails,frant ically, all th e wh il e making terrible

sou nds in h is paroxysm , most dreadful to h ear.Adam and Garde had star ted, he merely aler t in th e

presence of th e unexpected, sh e in a fear that sent th ecol or from her face so abruptly that i t seemed shemu stswoon at once . She u ttered one l i ttl e cry , clung galva nica lly to Adam

’s fingers for a second , and then bentqu ickly down to place her hand on th e o ld man’shead .

Hi s del iriou s fury lasted bu t a moment. I t thensubsided as qu ickly as i t h ad come, leav ing h im l imp ,exhausted

,dull-eyed and panting l i k e som e run-down

animal . A more pi tiabl e sigh t than h e then became,as

he began to weep , sh aken by the convulsi ve sobs wh ichsomet imes possess th e frame of a man , Adam hoped hesh ou ld never b e obl iged to wi tness .


Wel l as h e u nderstood that th e sigh t o f h imself hadprecipitated th is painfu l episode, Adam was al so now

aware that the o ld man , for themoment, saw a nd com

prehended noth ing . He therefore l ifted h im tenderlyup in h is arms and carri ed h im into th e hou se, placinghim gently down on a lounge wh ich h e read ily sa w hadbeen recently employed for the Old man ’s cou ch .

Garde had followed, h er hands clasped together, th elook o f a ti red moth er in her face

,making it in

fin itely sweet and patient.Garde

,dear, forgive me, said Adam . I came

too soon to see you .

”

“ Oh Adam she said , sadly .

“ In a few days, aweek , dear, he i s sure to be be tter.“ Is there anything I can do ? ” said Adam

,from

the dep ths of hi s d istress and sympathy and love“ Oh

,h e i s coming back to h imself. Go, Adam ,

please,” said Garde

,

“ don ’t wait , dear, please . Comeback to th e gate, th i s evening .

”

Adam went w ithou t so much as waiting to say goodby

,for Garde had tu rned to her grandfath er qu i ckly,

and anyth ing fu rth er hemigh t have said he abandoned,

when David feebly spoke .Depressed by the whol e affair immeasurably

,Adam

was st il l too exal ted by love’s great fl igh t to dwel l forlong upon o ld Donner’s mania . His worri es for Garde ,in her tribulat ion s

,however, were strewn l ike sa d

flowers of though t through h is reveri e . He longed tohelp her, yet h e knew h ow u tterly impossible su ch ath ing would be.Walk ing aimlessly

,he came before l ong to the harbor

shore . The melted emerald and sapph ire,which the


and tossed ki sses to the sil ent hou se , after wh ich heagain walked back and forth

,pausing to l isten , and

then going on as before .

At l eng th , near m idnigh t, he stood looking -up atthe s tars

,completel y absorbed in a dream he was

fash ion ing to su i t h imself.There was a faint flu tter.Adam— oh , are you there said a sweet voice ,

subdued and a bi t tremulou s. Oh, I am so glad youdidn ’t go away

,discouraged .

”

Adam had turned abou t instantly, a glad sound uponh is l ips . In one stride h e reached the gate a nd caughther two trembl ing hands where they rested on thep ickets .

“ Dearest ! ” h e mu rmured to her j oyou sly.

last ! ”

I ca n only s top a minu te, Adam ,said Garde

,who

was quaking a l i ttl e, l est her grandfather wake andcome again into th e garden He has been very restless , a nd he wouldn

’t go to sleep,and h e wake s u p SO

easily But I couldn ’t l et you go away l ike that.And

I have tried to come ou t five t im es,bu t he woke up

every time, and now I mu st sa y good n ight, Adam ,

and run right back at once.

Oh , bu t I lovc you SO,” said Adam

,illogically

.If

you must go, though , you mu st. I know I can nevertel l you how much I love you, dearest .

”

Oh , Adam !” sh e said , express ing more than h e

did, poor fell ow,in all h is protestat ions . Oh

, dear !I really mu st go, Adam . But in abou t a week I a m

sure h e will be much better .”

Shan’t I see you for a week sai d he.

Love’

s Garden . 241

It migh t be be tter no t, she answered,

‘‘ i f we could

I could go down to see my poor old beef-eaters, Isuppose

,

” Adam mused .

In relating h is travels, on th e road, he had told Gard eo f the beef-eaters, so that now, although she said n othing to betray h ersel f, she understood what he meant .

And then you ’ll come back, as soon as you can , ina few days, or a week she asked . Oh

,dear —it i s

too bad . Bu t, Adam . I mu st not remain another singleminu te . I mu st sa y good n igh t, dear, and run .

”

Adam had remained on h is own side o f th e gate,

retain ing her b a nds, which h e had k issed repeatedly,till they fairly bu rned wi th th ei r tingl ing. He nowreached over th e gate and took h er sweet face betweenhis two big palms .

Good nigh t, dearest l i ttle love,” he said , and sl owly

leaning forward,he kissed her, once— then h e kissed her

three t imes more .She started slowly away, look ing back at him

lovingly .

Oh,Garde he whi spered .

She stopped and came flutter ing back to meet h im .

He h a d let h imself in at th e gate with one qu i ck movement . He took her home to his arms and h eld her

in breathl ess j oy against h is th robbing h eart . Withlove in her eyes h er face wa s tu rned upward to h is

own .

My Adam she said , with all the fervor o f h er

natu re .My love My darl ing he responded .

He

6

kissed her again . It was a warm , sweet k iss that1


brought thei r very soul s to their lips. Then h e droppeddown on h i s knee and k issed her hands andth ei r fragrant palms against h is face .

My love he said . My own loveShe nestled in h is arms yet onc e again . She

h im the one more k iss that bu rned on her l ipstaken

,a nd then she fled swiftly to the house .


n ing them both , with h is beckon ing, that they appeared

to th ink i t th eir du ty to d ie.Adam, however, was a persuasive force . He had won

them away from themselves before h e won them again

o n th i s occasion . Captain Kidd, a braw Scotsman ,wh o ordinarily dropped

‘

h is nat ive dialect , having l it tl eaff ection for h is coun try, h is fath er having suffered tortu res for becoming a non -conformist cl ergyman , fel t h emust needs relapse into someth ing barbaric t o expressh imself on t he beef-eaters .

Of all th e twas that ere twa d, said he, you ’remu ckle th e strangest twa.

By thi s h e meant to convey that Of all the coupl esthat ever mated th e two old rascals were th e oddestpai r.The convalescence being a slow affair, Adam was

obl iged to give up all thought o f re tu rning immediatelyto Boston . Yet so hopeful was he that every daywould perform some miracl e of restoring th e strengthto th e muscles an d the meat to th e bones o f h is retinue

,that i t was no t unti l h e had been away from Garde

for more than three weeks that h e final ly wrote to tel lh er o f why he had fail ed to retu rn . But the l etter, forsome unknown reason , was never d el ivered .

At length,however, what wi th the fu lness o f summer

come upon them and th e hope wh ich Adam hadinspired in th eir breasts th e beef- eaters became paddedout to th e fulness o f then Old-time grandeu r, a nd oncemore swaggered abou t and bragged o f th ei r prowess .Adam ’s money had, by th is time , dwindled down to

a sum which was not at all d iffi cul t to transport from

pl ac e to place, nor even from pocket to pocket . Hav

The Enemy i n Power. 245

ing no h eart to pu t the retinue on Sh ipboard , to convey them to Massachu setts, he sacrificed nearly h isl ast bi t o f coin to sec u re th em passa ge

,by coach and

wagon, from Manhattan to Boston . Th is left h imei ther one o f two exped ien ts for h imsel f. He couldwalk, or he could make sh ift to sec ure a passage byvessel , giving work as payment for th e favor. Heargued that once in Boston he would accept th e posit i on offered by Goodwife Ph ipps at th e sh ip-yard

,and

h i ther al so would h e take hi s foll owers, so that by hon

est toil they migh t all be happy and con tinu e their timesealed compani onsh ip , and de ser t the ro llinga stone bu s iness as an occupation .

It was no t wi thou t misgivings that th e beef-eatersaccepted this arrangement . But being obed ien t th ingsthat would will ingly have gone in to fire

, or th e sea i tself ,at Adam ’s command or wish

,th ey meekly bade h im

a temporary adieu and sa w h im depart before th em,a

sh ip being several days ahead o f the coach in point oftime for depart ing.

In th e mean time, h is tory had been making fast inBoston . The crafty Randolph

,whose coup had long

been prepared,had retu rned from New Amsterd am

,

bearing a commission from th e King o f Englanddeclaring th e charter null and void and del egating uponh im power to form a new provisi onal government f orth e col ony o f Massachu setts . Great tracts o f terri tory,comprising New Hampsh ire, Maine and other areas,were lopped o ff from th e provinc e at one fell blow .

Randolph created Joseph Dudley prov i sional governor,

Dudl ey having l ong been seeking h is favor, agains t th i s

final moment o f changes . The courts fell into the


hands of th e newly-el ected power . The soldi ers, con

sta bula ry, everyth ing assumed a n u ltra-Engl ish toneand arrogance . The people cl enched their fist s andwrought their pass ions up to a poin t where rebell i ons arel ighted in a n ight.Yet Boston was a loyal town

,obedient to i ts l iege

l ord and nearly as eager to serve h im and to do h imhomage as i t was to preserve i ts l iberties and the inde

pendence, which gradual development had created andlong usage had confirmed as inal ienable, in th e bel ief

o f all the patriotic ci tiz ens . Stough ton and Bradstreet,beholding th e revolu tionary tendency

,wh ich woul d

have plunged the colony ‘

m ost unwisely into a sea oftroubl e, submitted to th e new order o f th ings, whichfor l ong they had seen coming, in evitably, out o f themal ignant Spiri t in which th e Stu art dynasty hadalways desired to govern these non-conformist hardheads .There were many creatu res in Boston swif t to j oin

th e Tory party,under Randolph , fo r th e pl ums o f

offi c ial recogn iti on . Thu s th is party rap idly assumedconsiderabl e dimensions, and th erefore power, to add tothat o f wh ich the King h imself was th e fountain-head .

Boston at that time was a prosperou s town Of someth ing more than S ix thou sand soul s . It was subst a n

tia lly bu il t, i f crookedly, for th e most part o f wood . Yetthere was a fai r sprinkl ing o f bri ck hou ses along i tscow-path streets, and a few were o f stone, which , inseveral instances , had been brough t to th i s undevelopedland from England . The town was d is tinctly Engl i sh

,

both as to cu stoms and thoughts,but th e seeds which

hardihood had sown,were to grow the pillars o f Ameri


Engl ish-Irish u sage, a nd o f thi s h e was matchlessly

proud .

Adam arrived in th e midst o f that first elati on

o f Randolph and his following,the l ike o f wh ich

is frequently th e cau se o f reaction so v iol ent as to qu itereverse th e fates themselves . Bu t al though the Pur it a ns hated Dudley, almost more than Randolph , fortrai torously join ing th e party o f destru ction, th e irgrowlings ch ecked noth ing o f the all- importance wh ichthe creatu res in power felt and made th eir fellow-beingsfeel . A spiri t of su ll en brood ing settl ed on the people .Unaware that Ru st h a d been away from Boston

,

since h e had seen h im that day in Donn er’s gardenwith Mistress Merrill

,P inchbeck er h a d been seeking

for h im d il igently,ever since Randolph ’s retu rn . Bu t

bel i ev ing that h is quarry would be found eventually inthe vicini ty o f the Crow a nd Arrow, h is field of in

vestiga tions was narrow .

I t had natu rally happened,h owever

,that Adam h a d

qu i te forgotten to tell th e beef-eaters o f h i s change o f

abode in Boston . They would th erefore proceed t othe old tavern immediately upon their arrival . Hethought of th is before h e l anded . Having come asho reat twil igh t

,he made i t h i s du ty to strol l to th e Crow

and Arrow , for th e purpose o f l eaving a message forPike and Halberd , when at last they should c ome toth e town .

CHAPTER XXX.

A FIGHT AT THE TAV ERN .

IT was a qu iet t ime of the day, in a qu iet part o f theci ty. Adam discerned one or two individu als only and

wa s not concerned with noting that h e was suddenlypreceded by a noiseless person

,wh o hastened ahead of

him to the tavern . The rover was much more occupiedin observing th e beau ties o f a horse that stood h itchedto a post across the way from the publ ic house .The animal , a fine bay, imported from England, was

the property o f one Of Randolph ’s followers, a drinkingyoung dandy w ith qu estionabl e ambition s and manyextravagant tastes . Charmed by the horse ’s impatience,a s evinced by hi s pawing at the ground , Adam wastempted to get astride h is back for a gallop .

However,after stand ing for a moment on th e s ide

walk, whil e h is gaze caressed th e champing animal, h eturned and passed on int o th e tavern . Desiring to c onclude his bu siness as speed ily as possibl e

,he was some

what annoyed to find the way to th e bar,

'

in front o f

th e landlord,completely blocked by a great hulk o f a

creature, with a sword loosely girt abou t h is loins, andtwo o r three oth ers , o f whom the rover took less notice .

By you r leave,”he said, pol i tely, not yet su spic iou s

o f th e odd silence wh ich had fallen on th e company at

his entrance, I would l ik e to get to th e


What roared the big lou t, whom he had sl igh tlytou ch ed upon th e arm . Who the devil are youKeep your hands o ff o f me, you foolThe person on whom Adam looked was Gallows,

whose face , florid almost to being purpl e, wa s so

savagely contorted as to comprise an insul t in i tsel f .My cross-eyed friend,

” retorted Adam , whose temperhad risen wi thou t delay, have done l ooking at you rself, if you would see no fool . If youwill tell me whichhand I pu t on you , I

’l l cu t it off , else I may l ive to seei t rotThe company had turned abou t at once. Pinch

becker was there,with h i s satell ite, P salms Higgl er, the

l i ttl e wh ite-eyed scamp that Adam had once droppedfrom th e near-by window . The foppish young Engl ishman

,who owned the horse ou tside

,was l ikewise in th e

party . They all saw th e burly Gal lows turn to th emhopel essly

,befuddled by Adam ’s answer.

You be a fool h e roared again,h i s eyes bulging

out o f their sockets in his wrath,

a nd I be th e foolk illerThe company guffawed at th is, th e monster

’s sol i tarysally Of wi t.

You are a l iar by the fact that you l ive, said Rust.Bah , you disgust me with th e th ough t o f having th e

duties, which you have so patently and ou tra geouslyn eglected

,thrust upon me . Begone . There’s no fire

to roast a barbecue,if I should be m inded to sp i t

youThe creature looked again at h is fell ows

, wh o hadobviously egged him on .

“ He insul ts you righ t prettily, good Gallows, sa id


Have at you,mountain o f fou l meat, he said , a s

h e tossed down his hat. What a mess youwill make,

done in Sl i cesThe young dandy laughed

,despite h imself, from h is

place by the door.Gallows needed no further exasperat ions . He came

marching up to Rust and made a hack at h im , mightyenough a nd vi cious enough to break down the stoutestguard a nd cleave through a man ’s whole body a s

well .Rust had expected no l ess than such a stroke . He

spared his steel th e task o f parrying th e Gallows’

slash .

Nimbly leaping aside,he made a motion that had some

thing debona ir in i ts execu tion , and cu t a ghastly b ig

flap,l ike a steak

,from th e monster’s ch eek .

The fellow let out a n awful bell ow and ra n at h isopponen t

,striking at h im l ike a mad Hercules.

Spare yourself, fool-killer,” said Adam . He dared

to bow,as he dodged a mighty onslaugh t, in which

Gallows used h is sword l ike a hatchet,a nd th en he

fl icked the giant’s ear away, bodily, tak ing someth ingal so o f his j owl , for good measu re .The great hulk s tamped abou t there l ik e an ex , th e

blood hasten ing down from his f a ce'

a nd being flung inspatters abou t him . Adam next cu t h im deeply in the

muscle o f his great l eft arm .

I warm to my work,

”he said

,as h e darted a o

tively away a nd back . Gentlemen,i s you r cho ice for

a wing or a l eg of th e il l -smell ing b irdThe dandy , fresh from England, guffawed a nd criedBravo He had been born a gentleman

, in spite Ofh imself.

A Fight at the Tavern . 2 53

The fight was a traves ty on equali ty . The monsterwa s absolu tely helpless . He was simply a vast machinefor bu tchery, bu t he mu st n eeds first catch hi s v i ctimbefore he could perform h is offi ces . He wa s a terriblesight, with h is great sword raised on h igh , o r rippingdownward through the air, as h e ran, half bl inded byh is own gore, to catch the rover, who played wi th h im ,

sl icing him handily, determined not to kil l the beastand so to incur a penal ty for murder .The creature s ins ide the tavern , appalled by the exhi

biti ou th ey had brought about , sa w that th e ir monsterwa s soon to be a staggering tower of bl ood and wounds.

Don ’t l et h im get away Kill h im Kil l h imsaid the voice o f Randolph , from behind th e others .Adam heard h im . He sa w Pinchbeck er Shrink back

at once . Psalms Higgl er, however, glad Of a n excuseand ready to take advantage o f a man already sufficiently beset, came scrambl ing out. The foppi sh gentle

m a n wa s too much o f a sport to take a hand again stsu ch a singl e swordsman as he found in Rust .Aware that h e was to have n o chance, and convinced

abruptly that th ese wretch es had plo tted to k ill h im,

Adam deftly avoided Gallows, as th e dreadful brutecame again upon h im ,

and slash ing th e fellow’s leg

beh ind the knee,h a m-s trung h im in stantly.

Roaring l ike a wounded bull,th e creature dropped

down on h is side, and then got upon hi s hands andknees and commenced to crawl

,wiping out h is ey es

w ith h is reddened hands .Unabl e to restrain h is rage, and fearing h is intended

v ictim would yet avoid h im , Higgler being already atbay and d isarmed , Randolph came abruptly ou t from

2 54 When a W i t ch is Young.

th e tavern h imself, pistol in hand , to perform th e taskwh ich oth erwise was doomed to fail u re .

Call th e guard h e cried . Call the guardAdam had been waiting for some such treachery . He

cut a t th e p is tol the Second i t rose, knocking i t endways a nd sl i cing Randolph’s arm , su perficially, fromnear th e wri st to the elbow. He waited then for nothing more .Across the road

,before any one guessed h is in tention ,

he was up on th e back o f the horse,before th e yell ed

protest o f the Engli sh gentl eman came to h is ears .Gentlemen all,

” he called to th e group,

“ goodevening .

Clappingh isuheels to th e r ibs Of th e restive an imal ,he rode madly away

,j u st as Isaiah Pinchbeck er

,with

half a dozen constables came running franti cally uponthe sc ene.


small amount left h im after paying th e fares o f th ebeef-eaters up to Massachu setts .Coolly invi ting h imsel f to h ave a b ite o f th e farmer’s

scanty supper, he bade the man good n ight, abou t fiveminu tes before the moun ted constabl es came rid inghotly to the place. He even h eard them

,when they

l eft the farm and began to scour the woods to j umph im up . At th is h e sm i l ed wi th rare good humor, confideut o f the powers Of super ior wood-craft to baffleanybody o r anyth ing in all Massachu setts

,save al one

a n Indian .

Unders tanding all th e delighted ch uckl ings of th eforest as h e did

,h e felt at once secu re among the trees

,

as one of the family. Moreover h e loved to be wandering in th e woods at n igh t . He continu ed to walk

,on

and on,beginning to wonder at last what h e really in

tended to do . Then , at th e th ought o f Garde, whomigh t be expecting to see h im , and whom he very muchdesi red again to see, h e waxed somewhat impatient withthis enforced fl ight from the town where She wa s.

The more h e though t upon i t,then , th e more im

possible it seemed for him t o retu rn . Against Randolph

,enthroned in power, and agains t al l h is wretch ed

disc iples, he could not expect to breath e a word whi chwould avail to get h im j usti ce . I t would be sheermadness to make th e attempt. The creatu res wou ldcharge h im with all th e crimes on th e calendar, and ,swearing all to one statement, would conv ict h im o f

anyth ing they ch ose . The wh ol e aff ai r had beenplanned t o beat h im , or worse , and to a gall ing exten ti t had qu i te su cceeded . He was balked

,completely

and absolu tely,in whatsoever directi on h i s meditat ions

A Refugee. 2 57

turned . To try to see Garde would be fairly su ic idal .Not to see her, espec ially after h i s promises, would be,to a man so mu ch in love as he

,a l iving death .

And again , th e beef-eaters . What was to become ofh is fai thful retinue ? They would arr ive there

,only

to find that h e had again deserted th em,l eaving them

wholly at the mercy !ff Randolph and his jackal s . Thesedemons would not be sl ow at recognizing who andwhat Pike a nd Halberd were, from episodes o f the past.The two would go straigh t in to th e l ion ’s month , atth e Crow a nd Arrow .

He though t at first o f going to Plymou th . He couldwri te to Garde from there, h e reflected, a nd al so toHalberd and Pike . But h e soon conclu ded that th i swould be to walk merely into th e oth er end o f th eenemy’s trap, for no good or comfor ting purpose .NewYork presen ted itself as a j urisdi cti on where Randolph ’s arm would have n o power to do h im harm .

But New York was a l ong way o ff . If he went th ere,not only would h e miss seeing Garde, bu t he could no twarn h is retin u e in time to keep them out of Randolph ’scl u tch es .The bu sin ess was madden ing. He began to th ink ,

as a consequ ence o f dwel l ing on the hopelessn ess o f h i sown si tu ation , that Randolph would be aiming next atGarde hersel f

,in wreak ing his dastardly vengeance for

h is past defeats . This was intolerable . He hal ted ,there in th e dark woods

,swaying between the good

sense o f h id ing and the nonsense o f going straigh t back

to th e town,t o carry Garde away from the harp ies,

bodily.

A p ictu re of Old David Donner, stricken, h elpless, aI 7


ch ild,arose in h is mind , to confront h im and t o m ock

his Qu ixotic sch eme . He could not carry both Gardeand her grandfather away to NewYork , nor even toth e woods

.He was penniless . This wa s no t the only

Obstacl e,even supposing Donner would consent so to

flee,which was not at all l ikely.

It was also certain that Garde would n ot permit h imto carry her o ff and leave th e o ld m a n beh ind . But atleast

,he finally thought

,he could go back to th e town

and be near,to protec t h er

,i f occasi on should requ ire

a sword and a ready wit. Could he bu t manage to doth is— to go there secretly and remain th ere unknown

he could gather h is beef-eaters abou t him a nd togetherthey could a nd would combat a n

'

a rmy

But how to go back and be undetected,that was th e

qu estion . In the first place he despi sed th e idea o f

doing anyth ing that did no t smack o f absol u te boldness and fearl essness . Yet Boston was a seeth ingwhirlpool of Randolph’s power, at thi s time. Simplyto be caugh t l ike a rat and k ill ed l ike a pest woul d addnoth ing o f glory to h is name, nor could i t materiallyadd to Garde ’s happiness and safety.

Driven in to a corner o f hi s brain,as i t were

,by all

th ese moves a nd counter-m oves on the chess-board Ofth e si tu ati on

,he presently conceived a plan wh ich

made h im hug h imself in sh eer del igh t .He woul d S imply di sgu i se h imsel f as an Indian a nd

go to town to make a treaty wi th Randolph,th e Big

ma n-afraid-to-be- ch ief .This so ti ckled h is fancy that , had an Ind ian settl e

m en t been near at hand , h e would have been insi de h isbu ckskin s and wa r-paint and back to Boston ahead o f

CHAPTER XXXII.

A FOSTER PARENT .

ADAM covered many a mil e before the morning.

Mindless o f his hunger, spu rred by the th ough t thathe must soon be back in Boston he fel t that th e further he went the more h e must hasten . Thus hemarched straight on till noon .

He rested briefly at this time, filled h is cravingstomach wi th water

,a nd again made a start. In fifteen

m inu tes h e came upon a clearing, at the edge o f a l1ttle

val ley where up-j u tting rocks were as plentifu l ash ouses in a c ity . Pausing for a moment, to ascertainthe na ture o f the place, and to prepare h imself againstposs ibl e surpri se , he presently approached a small loghu t

,of more than u sually rude construction .

There appeared to be no signs whatsoever o f l ifeabou t the place . NO smoke ascended from thech imney ; there was no an imal in sight, no t even so

much as a dog.

Adam glanced hurri edly abou t th e acre o r so o f land ,beholding evidences o f recent work. A tree h a d beenfelled

,no t far away, wi th in th e week . In a neat l i ttle

patch of till ed soi l, green corn stood two feet h igh andgrowing promisingly .

Going to the cabin-door he knocked first a nd gave i ta push afterward, for i t wa s no t latched, a l though i t

2 60

A Foster Parent . 2 6 1

was nearly closed . There being no response from theinside, h e entered . The l igh t entered with him . Itrevealed a strange a nd dreadful scene .

On the floor lay a man , dressed, half raised on his

e lbow, looking up at the v isitor wi th staring eyes, whil eh e moved h is l ips w i thou t making a sound . A fewfee t away sat a l i ttle brown baby-boy, clothed only ina t iny Sh ir t. He looked up at big Adam wistfully .

Strewn abou t were a few u tensil s fo r cooking,a bag

wh ich had once contained flour,the du st of wh ich was

in patches everywhere, and a n empty water-bucket a nddipper, with all the bedding and blankets from a rudewooden bunk, buil t against th e wall .In amazement Adam stood looking at the ma n . In

th e haggard face, with i ts unkempt beard and glassyeyes he fanc ied h e sa w someth ing famil iar. Memoryknocked to enter h i s brain . Then, with a suddennessthat gave h im a sho ck

,he recognized a m a n he had

known in England— a n elder brother o f Henry Wainsworth , supposed to have died years before— drownedwhile attempting to escape from a n unj ust sen tenceo f imprisonment fo r treason .

Wa insworth he said,

good fai th what i s themeaning o f th i sThe m a n sank back on th e floor, a ghost of a smil e

passing across h is fac e . He moved his lips again, bu t

Adam heard no t a word .

Bending qu ickly down , he became aware that th e

m a n was begging for water. He caught up the bucket

a nd hastened forth , presently finding the spring, towh ich a l i ttl e path had been worn in the grass .

Back at Once,he placed the dipper to the dried-ou t


l ips and sa w this fellow-being drink with a n evidenceo f j oy su ch as ca n only come to the dying. Wa insworth

shi vered a l ittl e, as the d ipper left h is teeth , and j erkedh is hand toward the silent ch ild , S i tting so near, on thefloor . Adam comprehended . He gave more o f thewater to the small, brown baby . It patted the dipperwith i ts t iny hands a nd looked up at him dumbly .

What in the world has happened hereRust .Making a mighty eff ort

,th e m a n on the floor partially

rai sed h is head a nd arms . He looked a t Adam with ah ungering light in h is eyes . I

’m— done— for

,

” hesaid

,th ickly and feebly.

Adam hustl ed t oge ther th e blankets on th e floor andmade a pillow , which he placed for Wa insworth t o l ieon . Shall I pu t you in to the bed

9 ” he asked .

The man sh ook hi s head . I ’m cru shed,

” h e said,

winking from his eyes th e already gathering film thattell s o f th e coming end . Tree— fel l— kill ed thew ife . I— crawled—here. ”

Adam looked at him helplessly He knew the manwas dying. He felt what agonies th e m a n must havesuffered . Ma n he said, can’t I get you someth ingto eatWa insworth waved h is hand toward th e wreckage

s trewed on the floor . Noth ing— here,” h e said .

Then h e made a great eff ort , th e obviou s rally o f hi sstrength . Save th e —boy,

” h e implored . Give hima— chance. .Don ’t —tell— abou t me. I married—hismoth er— Narragansett— God bless— her. Giveh im— a— chance . Thanks .”

As he menti oned the ch ild’s mother

,his eyes gave up

2 64 Wh en a Witch is Young.

h i s Narragansett partner . Rus t soon found h imselfwondering what th e two had l ived upon . What floura nd meal there had been, th e. man

,despi te h is two

crushed legs,had pulled down , from a box~ l ike cupboard,

on the wall, together with a b it o f dried meat . Of th elatter only a dry fragment remained

,s til l t i ed to a

string,whil e of th e meal and flou r, only th e empty bags

gave evidence that they once had existed .

There was no way poss ible for Adam to know that inth e forest

,not far away , th e l one woodsman had set h is

traps,for squ irrel s and rabb its, n or that fifteen minu tes

’

walk from the door a trou t stream had furnish ed itsquota to the daily fare. He only knew that th ere wasnothing ed ible to be found here now . There wa s sal t,a bi t o f grease , on a clean wh ite ch ip o f pine, and a h a lfgourd, filled wi th broken-up leaves, wh ich had doubtless been steeped for some manner Of tea or drink .

Partner,” he said , to the ch ild, som eone has

been enforcing sumptuary laws upon u s. I hesi tate indeciding wheth er we Shall take our water salted or

fresh .

”

With h is hand o n th e h ilt o f h is sword he regardedthe youngster earnestly . Nothing prettier than the

l i ttl e naked fellow could have been imagined,howbei t

h e was not so plump as a ch ild o f his age shou ld be,for

the lack of nou ri shment had al ready told upon h immarkedly. Adam fel t convinced , from variou s indications

,that the tree wh ich had done its deadly work

had fall en abou t a week before, and thatWa insworth

had not been abl e to do anything more than to crawl tothe cabin , to d ie , nei ther for h imself o r th e ch ild .

For a time the rover wondered what h e must do .

A Foster Parent . 2 65

H is own plans h ad nearly disappeared from his mind .

He reflected that a child so brown as thi s, so Obviously

h alf a l i ttle Narragansett , would be ill rece ived by thewhi tes . The Indians would be far more l ikely tocherish th e small man , according to h is worth . Hetherefore bel ieved the best th ing he could do would beto pu sh onward, in th e hope of finding a n Indian set tlement soon . There were several reasons

,still remain

ing unal tered , why i t would be wiser not to take thech ild to Boston .

Well, our faces are dirty, partner, he said , at th eend Of a long cogitat ion ,

in which the baby had neverceased to look up in h is c ountenance and wink h is bigeyes, wistfully . Let’s go out and have a bath .

”

He took th e t iny chap up in h is arms and carried h imforth to the spring . Here, in the warm su nl igh t

,he

go t down on h i s knees in the grass,bathed h is pro

tege, over and over again, for thep lea sure i t seemed togive th e ch ild and the j oy i t was to h imself

,to feel the

l i ttl e wet, naked fellow in his hands .The sun performed the Offi ces o f a towel . Withou t

pu tt ing h is ti ny Shirt back upon h im , Adam rolled thesmall bronze b i t o f h umanity abou t on h is back , patting h is velvety arm s and th igh s and laughing l ike th egrown -up boy he was , till the l ittl e chap gurgled andcrowed in tremendou s del ight . But i t having beenonly the freshness of the water, ai r and sunl igh t wh ichhad somewhat invigorated th e baby, he presently a p

pea red to grow a l i ttl e dull a nd weary . Adam becameawar e th a s i t was time to be moving. I-Ie washed ou tthe child ’s wee sh i rt and hung it th rough h is bel t todry as they wen t. Then tak ing a l ight blanket from


th e cab in,fo r th e ch ild ’s u se at n igh t

,h e left th e cabin

beh ind and proceeded onward as before .He walked till late in th e afternoon w ith ou t d iscover

ing so much as a Sign o f the Ind ian settl ement he wa sseek ing . By th is time hi s own pangs o f hunger hadbecome excru ciating. It was s till too early in the

summ e r for berries or nuts t o be ripe, and th e halfgreen th ings wh ich h e found where th e sun shone th ewarmest were in no manner fit to be offered to th e ch ild,as food .

Arriving at anoth er small valley,as th e sun was dip

p ing in to the western tree- tops,th e rov er sa t down fo r

a rest,and to plan someth ing bet ter than th is random

wandering toward~

th e sunset . He h a d chu ckled en

coura gement to th e child from time to time,laugh ing

in the l i ttl e fel low’s face,bu t hardly had he caught at

th e subtle signs on the small face, at wh ich a motherparent would have stared wild- eyed in agony .

Now,however, as h e sa t the tiny m a n on th e grass

before h im,he sa w in the baby’s eyes su ch a look a s

pi erced h im to the qu i ck . For a moment the infinitewistfulness, th e dumb question ing, the uncomplainingsilence of i t, made h im th ink , or hope, th e ch ild wa sonly sa d. He got down o n al l fours at once .

Partner,

” said he,j ovially

,

“y ou are disappoin ted

in me . I make poor sh ift as a mother . Do youwantto be cuddl ed

, o r would you rather b e tickl edHe laid th e l i ttle chap gently o n h is back and tried

to repeat th e frol ic o f th e earl ier hou rs . He rol l ed thesmall bronze body in th e grass, as before , and pettedh im fondly . But th e baby merely winked his eyes.He seemed abou t t o cry , bu t he made n o sound.


partner coul d n ot sl eep , or feared to Sl eep . Then th erover looked at the tiny face and real ized that the ch ildwould soon be dying o f starvat ion . At th is h e startedto h is feet, abruptly .

He had undergone the pains Of hunger often,him

self h e was not impatient now with th e pangs in h i sstomach , nor th e weakness in his muscles . Bu t h ecould not bear the thought of th e ch ild so perish ing,here in th e wilderness .He saw poor Wa insworth again

,and heard him beg

that th e ch ild be given a chance . He though t of theman ’s shattered l ife

,h is escape from persecu tion , h i s

isolati on,in which he had preferred the society o f his

Ind ian wife and ch ild to association with hi s k ind .

Then h e blamed h imself for coming further into th isdeserted region , when h e knew that by going back, atleast he could find something for the ch ild to ea t— someth ing that would save i ts l ifeBu t he could n ot forget that h e h imsel f was a ref

ngee . Wrongly or rightly,Randolph was still on hi s

track . Nothing in hi s own case had been al tered, butthe case wa s no longer one concern ing h imself al one.He took the child on h is arm , where h e had carriedh im already many m iles, and faced abou t .“ Partner

,l et them take me,

” h e said . I wishth em joy o f i t .”

He started back for Boston, for in th e ch ild’s present

extremity,th e nearest place where he could be sure o f

finding food wa s the only one worthy a though t .

CHAPTER XXXIII.

REPUDIATED S ILV ER.

SOMET IME , along toward the middl e o f th e n ight,

Adam tripped, on a root wh ich l ay in h is path , a nd in

catch ing h imself so that his smal l partner should no t

be injured, h e sprained his foot . He proceeded onwardwi thou t sparing the member, however, for h e had hegun to feel a fever o f impatience .His foot swell ed . I t finally pained h im excessively

,

so that h e l imped . He wore away the night,but when

the morning came, he was obl iged to snatch a n hou r o fsl eep, so great was the sense o f exhaustion come uponh im .

His face had become pale . With h is h air unkempt,

h is eyes expressive of th e fever in hi s veins and hi smou th somewhat drawn

,h e wa s not a l i ttle haggard , as

he resumed hi s lame, onward march . The ch ild in h isarms was n o burd en to h i s enduring strength , bu t as aload on h i s h eart th e l i ttl e chap was h eavy indeed .

Sleeping,th e m iniature man appeared to be s inking in

a final rest,so wan had hi s tiny face become. Wak

ing,he gazed a t Adam with such a dumb inqu iry ever

presen t in his great,wistful eyes, that Rust began t o

wish he wou ld complain— would cry, would make somel it tl e sound to break hi s baby sil ence .


They were obl iged to rest frequ en tly, throughou t th eday . Try as he m igh t

,Adam could not cover th e

ground rapidly. Whenever he resumed walking, aftersi tt ing for a moment o n a l og , or a rock he found h isfoot had become so bad that , in th e late afternoon, hegav e up hal ting thu s altoge th er.

The twil igh t came upon h im , th en the n igh t-fall .

At last,with a smothered cry o f del ight on h is l ips, he

saw th e gleam of a l ight . He had come to th e farmhou se where he h a d stopped to retu rn th e Engl ishdandy ’s horse and to eat his last supper. Thinkingthereby to disgu i se h imself

,even if only sl ightly, be

hal ted, threw Off his l eath er j erkin,sword a nd coat,

turned the latter ins ide out a nd concealed his weapona nd ou ts ide garmen t in th e bru sh . Thu s al tered inappearance, he dragged his ach ing foot across th e spacebetween the woods and th e house, where he knockedupon th e door and entered .

Who’s there cried th e farm er, in a frigh t whichrecent events had inst ill ed in h is be ing. He was ashak ing o ld bach elor

,suspected by many who knew

him o f being a m iser w ith a great hord e of gold on h ispremises .Adam was confronted by the m a n, as soon as h e

stepped across th e threshold .

Food , man ,” he said, hoarsely. Food

,or th is

ch ild will d ieTh e m a n recogn ized h im instantly . He fairly

qu aked w ith dread.

“ Go out ! Go out he cr ied .

“ I’

ve no foodhere— I’ve noth ing here“ Peace ! ” c ommanded Adam . Bring me forth


l i ttl e fel low was awake,l ooking up

,winking slowly

,

asking hi s dumb, wist ful qu esti on with h i s eyes .Adam patted him softly wh il e h e waited “ I’m a

wretched mother, l i ttle partner,” h e said . But we’ll

soon have you banqueting, now . Can’t you speak up a.l i ttl e b i t Don ’t you want to give o ld Adam ju s t onel i t tl e sm ile No Well, never m ind . Little ma n ist ired .

”

He had placed h is charge in a chair . Soon growingimpat ien t, h e l imped abou t th e room , crunch ing a cru st

o f bread in his t ee th , abstractedly . Unable to endureth e su spense, he wen t again to the cupboard and threweveryth ing down , in hi s search fo r someth ing fit for thechi ld . There was noth ing more than h e had seen before . He went to th e water pail and drank , for h ismou th had found th e crust a poor substi tu te for food.

Yet no sooner had h e sipped the water than a sense

o f th e del ic i ou sness o f the dry bread pervaded h is being. He ra n to gather up the oth er crusts at once a ndl imped to th e child in a frenzy o f gladness .“ Here

,l i ttle man

,

” he said, kneel ing down on the

floor. If you ca n only chew that up and then take a

sip o f water, you will th ink th e King’s ki tchen h a s

opened .

”

He gently thrust a small piece of the rock-hard breadbetween the l i ttl e chap ’s l ips, where, to h is in tense disappoin tment

,it remained .

Can’ t you chew i t he said . Ju st try,for old

Adam .

”

The ch il d was too weak to do anyth ing bu t wink .

Its appeal ing gaz e was more than Adam could stand .

What ca n Adam do for the l i ttl e ma n he said.

Repudiated S ilver. 2 73

He l imped painfully back and forth again . Thefarmer should have retu rned before th is . What couldbe keeping the wretch The rover saw that th e l i ttl el ife was fluttering, uncertainly, not yet sure o f its wings

on which to fly away .

I have i t h e cried, in sudden exultat ion .

Bread and waterHe h obbl ed across th e room, snatched up a cup ,

crunched a fistful o f crusts in h is hand , pu t them in h iscup and fill ed i t half to the top with water. Thenhe sti rred th e hard pieces w i th his finger and crushedthem small er and padded them up against th e side o fthe vessel , work ing the mass softe r in feverish haste.Impati ent to ge t resul ts, he put the cup to the baby

’sl ips .

Drink , he coaxed . Take a l ittl e,l ike a good

partner . Can ’t you take a l i ttl e weenty bi tGroan ing

,thu s to find the small Narragansett so

weak , he hobbl ed abou t to find a spoon,with whi ch h e

came hastily l imping back . To his joy then , h e saw al ittle o f the sl ightly nu tri t iou s water disappear betweenthe silent l ips . He crooned wi th del igh t

,hitch ed h im

self closer and pl ied h is spoon clumsily,bu t with all the

pati ence of a woman .

The chil d began to take th e nour ishment with interest.Adam was happy in the midst o f this new-found

expedien t, when th e door beh ind h im was suddenlythrown open

,vi olently

,and in burst half a dozen

constables, armed to the teeth and panting wildly.

Give up I arrest you in th e name o f th e Kingcri ed th e foremost o f the men . He presented a pistolat the h ead o f th e kneel ing m a n . Take him ! ” he

1 8


screamed to h is following,and before Rust could so

much as rise on his wounded foot,h e wa s suddenly

struggl ing in a mass o f men who had fall en upon h im.

He got to h is feet. He knocked th ree of the constables endways . But h is strength wa s gone qu ickly,so l ong had he been famish ed , and SO far had he taxedh is endurance . They overpowered him

,making a noi se

o f mad confus ion . They threw him toward a chai r.He made one cry o f anguish and protest. Three o f the

scrambling clods fell togeth er u pon the l i ttle partner,and when they arose

,his l i ttl e h ear t had ceased to hea t.

The farmer-miser now came worm ing h i s way throughth e door. He was laugh ing l ike a wolf.

You ’ve got him he cried . I tol d you I tol dyou Heh , h eh , h eh . I’m no t in l eagu e with th ievesand mu rderers . Here, h ere, take your s ilver I’llnone o f your S ilverHe took from his pocket the coin wh i ch the roverh a d

paid h im to take b a ck th e Engl ishman ’s horse a nd

threw i t hysterically down at Adam ’s feet.


My good fellow, said l i ttle Pike, be kind enoughto let th e Sachem know that we h ave arrived and wai t

upon his pl easu re.“ And assure him o f th e excell ence o f our health

,

said Halberd .

”

“ I don’t know what you mean , said the landlord,

ey ing the pair su spic io usly and cudgel ing h i s brain s t oremember where and when he had seen them before .I h ave no Mr . Sachem in th e hou se . ”

He has no Mr. Sachem in th e h ou se , said th ebeef-eaters, in choru s, t urn ing to one another withraised eyebrows a nd indu lgen t sm iles .

This su rpasses bel ief,said Halberd .

My good friend , youmistook wha t we said, addedPike . We are inqu iring fo r The Sachem—no t Mr.Sach em

,bu t The Sach em .

I don’ t know the Sachem , said the landlord,

frowning upon the gu ests . What do you wantHe don’t know th e Sach em said the comrades

,

again in chorus . They looked perfectly in credul ou s .Then I p ity you fo r your loss,

” Pike remarked .

But if he i s not a t th i s hou se,where i s h e asked

Halberd .

Tell u s wh ere to find him and we will bu rden youwi th wealth

,

” Pike added , grandly.

The landlord began t o be certai n th ey were crazy.

How should I know who i t is you seek h easked .

“ Water ! fetch me water ! ” roared Gallows,from

the adjoin ing room .

“ What distu rbance i s th is ? ” Halberd w a nted toknow. He strode to the door and looked in at themoun

Lodgings fo r the Ret inue. 2 77

tain o f meat, propped up in bed, poul ticed and patchedpast all semblance to h imself. Friend

,

” Halberd said

to h im , boldly, you r voic e need s bl eeding .

”

Ha ! ” bellowed Gall ows,“ you be a fool and I be

the fool-kil ler Let me get Howtch He madeth is latter excl amation on attempting to ri se from his

Halberd a nd Pike both fell to th e rear a step,at th e

awful voice o f th e bru te , but no sooner d id they see h imsink helpl essly down on the cou ch than they laughed

in eloqu en t scorn .

“ I should enjoy noth ing be tter than to slay someth ing large

,before dinner , l i ttl e Pike remarked .

Tu t. This i s my recreation,” said Halberd .

Come forth,fri end

,t ill I warm some cold steel in

your belly .

”

Leave be commanded the landlord, coming forward to shu t the door between the rooms, and flappingh is apron at the bell igerent beef-eaters . Let meknow your wants

,i f you have them , and if no t, be Off

abou t you r bu siness .Sensibly spoken

,said Halberd . All we desire o f

you i s that you l et th e Sach em know we are come .”

But I said I didn ’t know th is Sachem cried the

exasperated bon iface .Tru e

,tru e said Pike . But it seems too mon

strous to be so .

But,put in Halberd , you must remember that

weal thy young nobl eman, who paved our way withgold

,when we were wi th you a number of years ago .

Surely you cannot yet have spent what we scattered in

you r hou se


And you will certainly remember th e drubbing wegave tho

’

se varlets, with the flat o f our swords, here inth is very room— some dozen o f th e fell ows th ere werein all

,

” added the oth er of th e pair. They dared to

insinu ate that we were beggars—aye,beggars

,for

soothThe landlord remembered th em now

,clearly enough .

He restrain ed h imself from call ing them v ile names,

by mak ing a n eff ort truly heroi c .Oh

,to be su re , I do recall i t now,

h e said,cun

ningly I bel ieve you r Sachem did even call here,to

ask if you had come. Yes , yes . I th ink h e said hemeant to retu rn here th is afternoon again . Was h e no ta tall

,noble- l ooking gen tleman P

Like a king,” said Pike .

With a manner l ike th is, added Halberd, s trutt ing and swaggering across the room . He sh ould havewalked in over several prostrate forms, in th e mannero f a prince and our associate .”

“ The same,th e very same, agreed th e landlord .

He is certain to be h ere w ithin the hour . S i t down,

gentlemen, a nd l e t me serve you , and then I shall be

honored to h ave a look abou t, myself, to see i f I maynot find h im .

”

Said l ike a sch olar,Halberd assu red him .

We do th is h onor t o your house for h i s sake,Pike

added .

The two sa t th em down and the landlord hu stledth em out the vi lest drink he coul d draw, tamperedw ith

,as i t wa s, to add some crude substance , th e eff ect

o f which on the brain wa s overpowering. The fellowsa w the beef-eaters drinking a nd wai ted for noth ing

CHAPTER XXXV.

GARDE OBTAINS THE ! AIL KEYS.

UNBEKNOWN to h is retinue, Adam was accommodated

in the same jail where Pike and Halberd had beenlanded wh ile the even ing was still comparatively young.

The body o f th e l ittle Narragan sett, bru tally snatchedfrom Adam ’s arms

,had l ikewise been brough t into

Boston .

Randolph had lost no time in hav ing Rust exam ined

a nd declared a pri soner o f th e state, charged with awhole category o f crimes against the peace a nd digni ty

o f the King. To al l Of th i s, and to nea rly all o f theirqu estions

,Rust had made no reply whatsoever. He

real ized the u sel essness o f pi tting h is one voice against

th ose o f half a dozen perju red rascals , who came abou th im th e moment i t was known he h a d finally beentaken , ready to swear to anyth ing which would bel ikel ies t to jeopardize his l ife .Thus, before half-past eight that n igh t, the whole o f

Boston wa s wagging i ts tongu e over an astoni shingstory, instigated at once by Edward Randolph . Th isda ngerous

,blood- th i rsty rascal , Rust, had been taken

in th e forest,wh ith er h e h ad fled to j oin h is Indian

w ife,and in h is struggles to avoid arrest h e had slain

h i s half-Indian ch ild .

This was th e ind ictment, mildly expressed , that2 80

Garde Obtains the ! ail Keys . 2 8 1

reached th e ears o f Garde Merril l concern ing her lover.She wa s simply appalled . I t wa s unbel i e vabl e , i t wa smonstrous . She scorned to th ink i t could possibly betru e. And yet, i f he had been in Boston several daysbefore, as th e story had i t, why had she known nothingabou t i t Th e whole th ing had been a gross fabricat ion . He cou ld not have been in th e town and going toa tavern to mix in a horrid brawl . He woul d certainlyhave come to see her immediately on his arr ival . Hehad promised to retu rn in abou t a week from a v is i t tothe beef-eaters.When sh e got a s far as that , she suddenly tried to

stop th inking. He had been gone many weeks in steado f th e one ; th e beef-eaters had no t been with h imwhen he had th e alleged fight, nor when h e was cap

tured, and h e had mentioned to h er, on th ei r walkfrom Plymouth

,that h e had once s topped at th e Crow

and Arrow,where the brawl was reported to have taken

place .Nearly franti c w ith the terrible thoughts in h er

h ead,Garde hastened to John So a m ’

s t o get what she

could o f sober tru th , wh ich John would have as no one

else migh t in th e town .

She was mentally distraught when she came to her

uncle’s . Sh e had carri ed a dish bel onging to her auntGertrude

,to make a n excu se for h er late evening visi t.

She was more glad than she could have said that Pru

dence was away, for h er cou sin knew someth ing o f her

feel ing for Adam .

Garde, having been made welcome, had n o need toask

qu esti ons

.John Soam was tell ing th e story o f th e

n igh t wi th cou ntless repet i tions. His wife cross- exam


ined h im in every d irection which her womanly in

genuity could suggest.Thus Garde discovered that i t was undeniably true

that Adam had been in town several days before thath e had been engaged in a terrible figh t , in which heh a d infl icted grave inj uries on Randolph and one o f

his “ peaceabl e officers ” ; that h e had then escapedback to th e woods

,from which , i t was all eged , h e had

emerged sol ely for th i s figh ting,a nd that, when cap

tured, he had a half-Indian ch ild in his possession .

John Soam had seen the body o f th e ch ild h imselfHe had heard the examination

,in h i s capaci ty o f clerk

to th e court and magi strates. Rust was lame, h e said,a nd he was a sullen m a n

,who had retu rned no answers

bu t such as out wittily . He had not den ied that th echil d was h is own . He had absolu tely refu sed to sa y

whose i t was an d how he came to have it . He hadcome to th e farmer’s h ouse, at th e edge o f th e woods

,

for pu rposes o f robbery . There was every reason tobel ieve that h e h a d consorted with th e Ind ians

,and

that th e ch ild was h i s . It was a pretty ch ild,bu t

many thought i t looked as if i t had been shockinglyabu sed . There could be no doubt th at, when h e hadfound himself being taken

,h e had profited by th e con

fusion to slay th e l ittl e half-Indian boy .

Garde ’s horror grew as sh e l i stened . She remembered terribl e th ings that Adam had tol d h er when h ebel i eved her a you th . He h a d excu sed Randolph ’scondu ct with Hester Hodder

,h inting broadly that

, in

a case h e had in mind, he though t another youngwoman— in thi s instance Garde h erself— ough t to forgive such a treachery to honor. He had even men


h er sou l of h is pu ri ty, nobil i ty and worth She lovedh im stil l . She could not avoid th is . It had grown upwith her ; i t h ad become a part o f her very being. Shewould l ove h im always

,bu t— sh e could no t become h is

wife— not after th is— never ! The though t o f such ath ing made her sh iver. His perfidy was almost greaterthan Randolph ’s— as an Indian woman would havebeen so much more innocent and t ru stfu l than evenII ester.

Her h eart cried. Oh and yet again,Oh in

i ts anguish . I f h e had only left some l i ttle l oopholefor doubt— if h e had only deni ed th eir accusati on s— ifonly h e h a d no t said those terrible th ings to her

, uponthe h ighway, perhaps No, no, no, no,

”she cried

,

in her soul thi s was comprom ising with loathsome dishonor. Far better i t was that th e awful tru th wa s so

indi spu tably establ ished ! It left her no ground forexcusing h is deeds, at th e d ictates o f her unreason inglove Yet, oh , i t h ad been so sweet to bel ieve in h im

,

to love h im wi thou t reserve,to tru st her very soul in

h is keeping ! She wrung h er h and s under th e tabl e,

as she l i stened , with ears that seemed traitors to herl ove, to al l that h er uncle could add to the story .

She soon l earned that Adam was Randolph ’s pa rticul ar pri soner ; th at there had been some o ld-timegrudge between them , and that the crafty m a n o f

power would undoubtedly make an eff ort to hang h iscaptive .At th is her womanly inconsequ ence was suddenly

arou sed . He might be gu il ty, bu t she had alwaysthough t him nobl e a nd good . She would never marryh im, after th is, bu t she would love h im forever. He

Garde Obtains the ! ail Keys. 2 85

had been her idol , h er k ing. He must l ive, for atleast sh e had a righ t to keep ensh rined in h er heart th ethough t of h im

,pulsat ing heart to heart w ith her, as

once he had . NO He must not be permitted to die—no t l ike th is—no t in infamy— no t at the hands ofthis monster of in iqu ity—t hi s RandolphIt was not that she had the sl igh test hope that h e

could ever be th e same to h er again, or that she should

ever wish to see him again , but at least he had a righ tto l ive

,to redeem h imself, partial ly , perhaps to su ff er

and to sorrow for hi s d eeds . Indeed h e mu st so l i ve

he must so redeem h imself for her sake— to j ustify th elove and the tru st She had given h im out o f her heart

S he fel t that sh e should ch oke if she did not soonget out in th e air . She wanted to run to the pri son,

hammer with her fist on th e gate, demand admittance

a nd set him free— free from Randolph ’s cl u tches . Butshe knew th i s was madness . Her mou th grew parchedand dry with h er exci tement, so tremendou sly h eld incontrol . How could she manage to get h im freeOh , if only she dared t o tell her uncle John and geth im to help herHe had th e dupl icate keys to every door in th e jail .

He brough t th em home nigh t after n igh t and hungthem up ou— There th ey were, now They hungthere with in reach o f her hand ' Her hear t knockedand beat in

‘

her bosom,as if i t were hammering d own

th e barri ers to Adam ’s cell . She weaved dizz ily,with

the possib il it ies o f th e momen t . Just to take thosekeys and run— that was all , and the tr ick would bedone. He cou ld go— and their love would be a th ingo f l iving death


She meant to take th ose keys . The impulse swayedher whole being . Sh e fel t She would die rather thanmiss h er opportun ity . With clenched hands and w i th

set j aws she arose to her feet.I mu st be going home

,sh e said

,with apparent

calm . Oh,what was that

What was what ? ” said her aunt a nd uncle togeth er.

Why— some noise, in th e other room , she said

with a tremor easily simulated , in her exc i ted state.“ I am sure I heard something in there

,moving

Hum— l e t’s see,” said John .

It might be that I left the w indow open, saidGoodwife Soam .

The m a n took the lamp,opened the door to th e a d

join ing apartment,and went in,

followed by h i s w ife.Garde

,with a gasp , and a cl utch ing at her h eart, l ifted

the keys from their nai l and dropped them in to herpocket with a barely audibl e j ingle. She followed heraunt a second later .

Why, i t was—noth ing, after all , she said, weavinga trifle in her stress o f emotion and nervou sness. “B ut

the window was up, as you said . I’m glad th at wa sall Good n igh t .”

Good night, said John Scam and h is w ife,from

the window which John was pu sh ing down,and wi th

out waiting another m inu te, Garde let h erself out andsped away in the darkness .


dreamless slumber all p ink and prattl ing. He wa sthu s asleep when she came to the house . She wa stherefore soon on her way to the pr ison

,her s imples in

a small basket, h ung on her a rm.

The hou r was unu sual for any one thus to be v isi tingthe jailer’s w ife, so that the good woman , when Gardecame in

,after knocking, was obvi ously su rpr ised at th e

honor .Oh . Mrs . Weaver, said th e girl , hu rriedly , I heard

you had been having troubl e h ere to -day, and I knewhow i t always upsets you, and Goody had giv en me al lthese s imples to bring, three days ago, so I th ought Ihad better bring them to you th e moment I knew youwere being so worried .

”

It was a fact th at th e jail er’s wife wa s invariablyvery much di stressed when gu ests were thrust u pon th ei rh ospital i ty . She always feared at first that they would

get away, a nd afterward that they wou ld not , as h er a hhorrence and then her sympathy cam e respect ively in toplay . She also conj ectured al l manner o f terribl eth ings that might at any moment happen to Blessedness Weaver

,her worthy husband . To -nigh t she wa s

particularly nervous, owing to the su dden increase inth e jai l’s populat ion and the blood-freezing details an drumors afloat as to th e natu re of the companyassembled under th e roof o f th e bu ilding.

“ Dear me,l assi e,

”she said , in an swer to Garde

’swell- chosen speech ,

“ do come in di rectly . I am thatfidgety and poorly, the n ight ! Lauk, lass ie, b ut youa re a dear, thoughtfu l heart, and I shall n ever forgetyou for th i s . And we have su ch terribl e gentlemen

,

th e n igh t

Garde’

s Ordeal. 2 89

Sh e always called th e gu ests gentl emen , till she

found o ut which way lay the sympathie s o f. a given

vi s itor, when they all became rogu es, forthwi th, i f shefound herself encou raged to th i s v i olen t language .Later on, again , when her sympath ies for th eir pl igh twere arou sed, they were restored to their former socialappellation s .

Oh , I am so sorry for you said Garde . I hadheard o f one prisoner ; bu t cou ld you have had morethan one

Lauk, yes, said th e woman roll ing h er eyesh eavenward .

“ They took the princ ipal rogu e in th ewoods, I bel ieve , bu t they captu red h i s two brutal companions at th e Crow a nd Arrow in the afternoon .

”

This was news to Garde . She recognized the beefeaters from th i s v ivid description . If Adam had hi sfriends at h is side, he must be much more contented,a nd they would all be planning to escape.

And so all three are under l ock a nd key,safely to

gether she said , innocently. How fortunateOh dear me, no ,

” corrected Mrs. Weaver. Thetwo ta k en by dayl igh t are togeth er in th e sou thernexposu re

,while th e last one was thrust in the

dungeon . Oh Lauk , Mistress, bu t he is a terriblem a n

Garde fel t h er h eart S ink,even though i t never ceased

for a moment to beat so hard that i t pained h er. Adamin a dungeon Howin the worl d could sh e ever manageto get the keys to him now Dungeons, she knew

,

were under th e ground they were dank,death-deal ing

places , with moldy straw in one corner and with sl imyrocks for walls . She could have cri ed in her sudden

I 9


wretchedness o f sp iri t, al though it could never m eananyth ing to her

,whether Adam l ived o r died , in

prison o r out. However, she mastered herself splendidly

A dungeon she said . Oh , I didn’t know you

had a dungeon here . It must be very deep down in th eearth .

“ It’s a creepy place ; oh l auk , i t’s that creepy ! ”

said the woman . Bu t i t’s not so deep,dearie. It’s

n in e steps down . I ’ve counted th e steps many’s thetime. But it i s wh ere we pu ts the monstrou sly wickedrogu es

,su ch as th is bl oodth irsty ma n And it ’s that

dark, my dear—oh lauk , what a place to spend thenigh t

Of cou rse i t mu st be dark, said Garde, suppressingh er eagerness. They couldn’ t have a window in su cha place as that.

Indeed we have, th ough we’ve a window in everyroom in the place

,corrected th e jailer ’s wife

,with

commendabl e pride in the arch itec tu ral arrangem en ts .Oh yes

,i t has i ts window, no bigger than my hand .

l assie,and slanting up th rough th e rock

,bu t it’s a rare

l ittle l igh t i t l ets in to the poor gentl emen downbelow

I’m glad he— th e pri soners here have some lightsai d Garde, honestly,

“ bu t I don’t see where su ch aw indow cou ld be . ”

It’s on th e dark side o f the hou se,nigh t and day

th e same,” expl ained Mrs . Weaver “ It ’s around on

th e dark side, where no one would find i t in a month o f

Sundays, ju st abou t th e length o f my foot above the

ground . Such a small th ing i t i s,and the l ight i t lets


Scarcely had she more than come to her destination,and begun her feveri sh search

,before she h eard the

sound of dis tant footsteps, which rapidly ap proached .

S he crouched in a black l i ttl e n ich e,in fear, with a

v iolent commot ion in her breast wh ich threatened todrop h er down in a swoon . Almost stepping on hertoes

,some pedes trian passed, l eav ing the girl so horribly

weak that she sh u t her eyes and leaned against th e wal l,laboring to get h er breath .

Nerved again by th e th ings Mrs. Weaver h ad toldher

, she came out o f h er h id ing-place,after several

m inu tes, a nd feel ing th e cold rock-wall she passedeagerly along, shaking wi th her chill a nd fearing tobreath e too loud , in the sil ence .She was doomed here to b itter di sappointment . The

window wa s not to be found . Sh e searched again andagain

,u nwill ing to give i t u p , but it was no t there .

She real i zed that Sh e must cl imb the brick barrier,and

try on the oth er s ide o f th e bu ild ing.

Sh e found th e wall not d i ffi cu l t to su rmoun t,but

when she j umped down, o n the furth er sid e, she

struck on a heap o f broken crockery, thrown out fromthe tavern .

She crouched down instantly, for th e no ise she hadmade attracted the notic e o f s ome one in th e publ ich ou se. A door at the rear o f the h ostel ry was thrownopen and a m a n l ooked out. He appeared to be lookingstraight at her and l istening

Must h ave been a cat,he said, to somebody back

in th e h ouse,and h e disappeared a nd closed the door .

Garde coul d not have been a ny more wrought uponthan the whol e a fi a ir li a d made h er already . She could

Garde’

s Ordeal. 2 93

not become calm . She cou ld merely wa i t f or momentsOf partial rel ief from overwhelming emoti ons .Thus in time sh e was creep ing al ong again

,feel ing

the dark stone a s before and peering vainly and desperately into th e shadows wh ich lay so densely upon thewhol e enclosu re . Hastily she traversed the whol el ength o f the wall . She arrived a t the far end

,ready

to S ink down and cry in angu ish . She had not discovered th e window.

Back again she went, choking back hysterical sobsand bru ising h er del icate hands on the rough rocks

,as

she played with her fingers al ong that grim,dark pil e .

She failed again .

Si tting where she was,in the grass , wh ich was grow

ing rank in the place, she clasped her hands in despair.

She wou ld have to give i t up . There was some m istake . There was no w indow .

Yet once more she would try. She could not give itup. The dungeon ’s horrors and the terribl e charactero f Edward Randolph made her fear that if the morning came before Adam was free

,he wou ld n o l onger

h ave need for freedom , n or l ight.Slowly

,thi s time

,and digging a t th e base o f the

stone-wall that rose above her, she felt down to the veryroots of the grass

,for th e apertu re which represented a

window . To her u nspeakabl e j oy, her fingers suddenlyra n in to a n absol u te hole in the sol id rock, in a mat tedgrowth o f roots and grass

,which had grown up abou t i t

She sank down,momentarily overcome with th is dis

covery. It was too much to bel i eve . She fel t she wasalmost dying

, so insupportable was the agi tation Of h erheart . But she presently clu tched at the grass a nd


tore i t away in a mad fever o f haste . She dug, wi thher fingers a nd h er finger nail s. She cou ld smell theod or of the bruised grass

,a nd then the wholesome

fragrance of earth . She had soon uncovered a smallsquare open ing

,no larger, a s th e jailer

’s w ife had said,than a good -S iz ed hand .

On her knees as She wa s, sh e bent h er h ead down toa level wi th the hol e and put her l ips close to the Opening . She tried to Speak, bu t s uch a faintness cameupon her that she cou ld not u tter a sound . Sh e hadworked with a t remendous resolu tion toward th is end ,and now the flood of th ough ts o f everyth ing said anddone that even ing, came u pon her and rendered herdumb , with emotion a nd dread .

Making a great cfi ort she essayed to speak aga in .

Once more she failed . But she wai ted doggedly,for

th e power she knew would not desert her in the end .

Thus for the th i rd t ime She mustered all her strengtha nd l eaned down to th e window .

Adam , she said , faintly, and then she wai ted,breathlessly.

There was no response. There was no t a sound fromthat tomb

,th e dankness o f which she now began to

detect in h er nostr il s .Adam she repeated , th i s time more strongly .

Some subterranean rustl ing then came to her ears .“ Adam ! Oh

,Adam ! ” she said , in a voice that

trembled uncontrollably .

“ Who’s that ? Who ’s speak ing ? Is i t you,John

Rosella came in a rumbl e from the dungeon .

She fail ed to recognize h is voice , so altered did the

passage from his place Of imprisonment ma ke i t

CHAPTER XXXVII.

RATS IN THE ARMORY.

ADAM’S disappointment, when he go t no more re

spouses to th e eager questions and bl ess ings h e breathedupward to hi s unseen sweetheart, was keener than allth e angu ish h e had fel t at being so fou lly imprisoned .

He had caugh t up the keys, qu ickly en ough , bu t whenh e failed to catch any more of her trembl ing words h efel t more deserted a nd surrounded by the blacknessthan he had been in all th i s new experience . However,his heart was soon tripping with gladness .At least it was Garde who had come to save h im .

Love was h is guard ian angel . He could face the worldfu ll o f foes, after th is . He grew impatient

,abruptly,

to get out o f th e dungeon at once and go to Garde— hisbrave

,darl ing Garde l

Then he thought o f the beef-eaters . He had fanciedhe heard th eir voi ces

,a s Randolph ’s men had been tak

ing h im in to the prison corrid or. It had seemed impossibl e that they had al ready arrived a nd been a ppre

hended til l h e remembered howmany days i t had beensince last h e had se en them .

Having been asle ep when Garde first called down toh im

,th rough the tiny air-passage

,th e rover wa s a

l i ttle refresh ed . But he wa s stil l n early fam ish ed forsometh ing to eat, having been provided only with a dry

2 96

Rats in the Armory . 207

chunk o f bread, a s l arge as h is fis t,and a j ug of water.

He wa s also qu ite lame, for h e h a d no t been abl e to d oanyth ing for h i s wounded foot .Never thel ess he was aler t, now, for h is sl umber of a n

hour had been profoundly deep and h i s consti tu ti onwas o ne o f great elastici ty, rapidly responding to th emost inconsiderabl e restorat ive influence . He h obbl edabou t in h is small den , find ing the door withou t diffi

cul ty,afte r wh ich he tried th e lock with key after key

,

on th e bunch , until h e thought h e had rej ected all ,when h is h igh hopes came swiftly tumbling down .

The key to the dungeon h ad no t been found amongthe lot on th e r ingIn h is weakened cond i ti on th is apparent discovery

was prostrating in i ts di re efi'

ect. He suffered morethan h e would have done had there been no attemptmad e to free h im a t all . He felt cold beads o f perspirat ion break out on h is brow. Hope fo r h imself and thebeef- eaters

,snatch ed away almost as soon as given

, un

n erved h im . Neverth eless h e pul l ed h imself togeth erto try every key in the bu nch again .

The first one he handled entered the lock and threwback th e bolt .Cauti ously sw inging the d oor Open , h e suddenly

started , a t the sou nd o f some one approach ing in th ecorridor . In a second he was back in th e dark hol ea nd had lo oked th e door again upon h imself . Weaver

,

the jailer,making a n unu su al round of th e premises

came down th e dungeon-steps and tried the door.Satisfied that al l wa s well , h e proceeded onward to h isbed .

Adam lost l i ttle time in a gain starting forth . Thi s


t ime h e looked the dungeon and took his bunch o f keysw ith h im . He cl imbed the nine steps

,wh ich the jailer’s

wife had so frequ ently counted,a nd found h imself in

the corridor, wh ich was l ighted by a singl e lamp, wh ichwas small and odorou s. Noting h is bearings, he l impedalong toward the cell where he thought he had heardthe beef-eaters talk ing .

There was no sound to give him gu idance n ow, a ndthere were several doors confronting h im beh ind any

one o f which h is retin ue migh t be locked . It wa s amatter presen ting necessi ti es for n icety in j udgment.If h e were t o open the door on some wrong prisoner,th e ensu ing distu rbance would be most unfortunate .Moreover , h e did not know bu t what there migh t beguards galore in some of th e jail - a partmen ts . I t wouldno t do to call , or to whisper, for the sake o f attractingthe beef-eaters’ attention, for obviou s reasons.There was nothing for i t bu t to open door after door

til l h e found th e fai thful pai r . Luckily the doors werenumbered

,a nd h e found there were corresponding

numbers on the keys . There be ing no cho ice,h e nu

l ocked the first door he sa w. Sh ifting the bol t caut iously, h e was presently abl e to l is ten for a nything likea sou nd inside the cell .He could hear noth ing. The room was empty . To

the next door he went , and repeated h i s s imple experiment . Th is apartment proved to be, not a cell, bu t aplace in which all manner o f rubbish had been thrown .

It also contained swords, pistol s , some blunderbussesand othe r arms . The room, indeed, was th e pri sonarmory . Adam nodded at th is d iscovery as being good

,

bu t i t l eft him as fa r a s before from his friends. Leav


and the tramp o f many feet, around in th e angle o f th ecorridor

,lead ing to the ou ts ide world .

Quick Quick l” commanded Adam , and dart ing

forward,lame foot and all , to the armory-door, he opened

i t,thru st in the beef-eaters , with a word o f admoni tion

to beware o f making a noise, and closed the barrier,only as Randolph and six of h i s creatu res came tiptoeing down the passage and stopped fairly Oppos itewhere Adam was standing.

The rover reached out in the dark o f th e room theywere in , as h e braced silently against th e door, andfel t h i s hand come in contact wi th a sword , which hehad noted wh en first h e peered into the room . Hecould hear the men ou tsid e

,whispering .

Weaver was with them , pale and frightened at whath e knew these midnight visi tors contemplated doing.

He dared not make the sl ightest protest ; his masters tood before h im .

Here , i s th i s th e room above the dungeon P saidRandolph . He laid h is hand on th e knob, the insidemate o f wh ich Adam was h old ing.

NO, sir,th i s is th e room , here upon th e other side,

said Weaver . It’s a few s teps furth er al ong .

”

The private execu ti oners,with their ch i ef, were

moving away, when one o f th e beef-eaters stepped uponsomething on th e floor Of th e armory, making a soundthat seemed terrific .

What was that demanded Randolph , qu ickly.

We have rats in the property chamber,

” said .

Weaver, h onestly .

It sounded too big for rats , said th e voic e o f

Psalms Higgl er, whom Adam readily identified .

Rats in the Arm ory.

.30 1

We m a y l ook there if you l ik e, said the jail er.Never mind th e rats at present,

” dic tated Randolph . Show us th e room above th e cellar.”

The oth er door could then be heard to open a nd toclose beh ind the v isi tors . Adam snatched up swords

fo r three on th e instant .Here

,take it—and no t a word,

” h e breath ed,thrus ting a weapon upon each o f h is trembl ing compan ions . If th ey come for us— fightSilen tly and sl owly he reopened the door

,having

buckled a sword upon h im . There came a l ight patter

o f foo tsteps on the corridor floor . Ju st as th e roverwas s tepping for th , Psalms Higgler , who had not beensatisfied with th e theory of th e rats

,came gl id ing to th e

spot. He and Adam suddenly faced one another , afoot apart. The startl ed l ittle m onster stared wildlyfor th e briefest part of a secon d and then would havefallen back

,yell ing l ike a demon to raise the alarm .

Pouncing upon h im , wi thou t a sound, yet wi th th eterrible strength a nd n imbleness Of a tiger

,Adam

clu tched h im fiercely by the neck, wi th both his powerful hands

,and choking back the yel l already starting

to th e creatu re’s l ips , l ifted him bod ily o ff the floor,t o

prevent him from kick ing upon i t, t o rai se a d isturbance

,and carri ed h im , squ irming and wri th ing, to th e

door by wh ich the v isi tors had so recently entered .

Open th e door ! Open the door and get out 1”

ordered Ru st o f h is foll owers, sternly, never for a moment rel axing h is grip or h is l ift on Higgler. “ Liftth e bar l Lift i t There I”

The door swung open . The beef-eaters sprang ou ts id e, trying bo th to go at once. The commotion they


made rang through th e bu ilding. Adam wa s afterthem swi ftly

,forgetting to l imp , as h e fel t th e ou tsid e

air in hi s face .Higgler by th is was becoming absol u tely l imp .

Adam dropped h im on the ground,where he lay ,

barely left al ive and unabl e to move or to speak .

Adam had the keys in h i s pocket, th e largest oneuppermost . This wa s th e one to th is ou ts ide door.He could hear th e men i nside ru nning toward the spotand al ready sh ou ting th e alarm . He dared to l ockthe door, del iberately, and to pull out th e key and pu ti t again in hi s pocke t. Then he calmly drew the borrowed sword from its scabbard , rammed its end smartlyhome , in th e key-hol e and snapped i t off sh ort, sp ikingthe apertu re completely .

Already th e beef- eaters were runn ing u p th e street.Psalms Higgl er wa s drawing hi s breath in awfu l gasps

,

where he l ay.

“ Good friend , farewell , said Rust to h im,cheer

fully .

“ I shall be pl eased to report you a n excel l en tra t-catch er , at th e earl iest opportun i ty afforded .

”

He disappeared from Higgler’s ken in a twinkl ingand soon over took hi s retinu e, making good time forthe country.


nigh t,o n the occas ion o f his last meet ing wi th h is

sweetheart.Wait for me here , he said . I shall not be long.

He was soon at th e gate and then in the garden .

There was not a sound to be heard . The house wasdark . He raised a l i ttle whistle

,as h e slowly walked

abou t the place, watch ing the windows intently.

Garde heard h im . She was up . She had not had amoment o f peace or freedom from dreadful su spenses ince arriv ing at th e h ou se

,whil e waiting

,l i stening

,

s tarting at al l those uncanny sounds o f stretch ing,in

which a bu ild ing will indulge i tsel f at n ight . Greaterunhappiness or despai r sh e h a d never known

,nor

greater worry, fearing that Adam would come, a nd

then fearing more that h e would not .When sh e h eard h im whi stl e

, her h eart seemed sud

denly dislodged in her bosom . Her breath camelaboredly . She opened the window in th e k i tch en ,th i s room being fu rth est from her grandfath er’s apartment , and sa wAdam l imp eagerly toward her.

Garde l— Sweeth eart he said .

Oh— Oh ,you—you got away,

”she fal tered, faintly.

Here,I have— tied you up— a lunch eon. Take it,

please,and— and you h a d better gO— a t once .

“ God bless you said Adam,stu ffing th e parcel

she gave h im inside h is coat. “ I have brough t youback the k eys . My Garde ! My own bl essed sweeth eart. Oh

,Garde

,dearest

,come out to me, j u st for a

moment— j u st fo r one l i ttl e good-by.

I— I canno t,” Garde said, fighting h eroically again s t

th e greatest temptat ion sh e h a d ever known . We

mu st sa y— good-by, now, and I mu st

Love’

s Long Good-by. 305

Yes, I know, dear, h e brok e in impetu ou sly, but

ju st for a moment,ju st

He wa s at th e window . He tri ed to tak e h er hands,

to draw her toward h im . She shrank away with a n

action so strange that h i s sentence di ed on h is l ips .Why, Garde, he said ,

“ can ’t I even tou ch yourhands ?

She shook her head . He could barely see her, in th epal e l igh t wh ich th e stars diff used .

“ I— I mu s t never see— never see you—again , she

stammered, painfully, we must sa y— sa y good-by.

”

“ Youmu st n ever Garde —why—we must sayBut, Garde, dear,—I don

’t understand you. What

does all th i s meanOh

,please go— now, she said . That i s all— a ll

I ca n sa y. I t must be good-by.

”

Adam was made dumb for a moment . He stared ath er u nbel iev ingly . He passed h is h and across h isbrow

,as if h e feared h i s fasting and long-endu red labors

had weakened h is m ind.

What in heaven ’s name has happened ? ” h e said,

a s i f partial ly to h imsel f . Am I Adam Rust Areyou Garde Say good-by -Deares t, has anyth ingh appenedShe nodded to h im

,forcing back th e sob that arose

in h er th roat . Someth ing— someth ing has happened ,”

she repeated. For maidenly shame she could no t

broach the subj ect o f th e Indian ch il d .

He was silent for a moment before replying.

But you came to-nigh t an d gave me th e keys, a n

hou r o r so a go ,”he sa id, in wondermen t and confu si on .

You did that 9

2 0


I—couldn ’t— do less,” she answered , mastering her

love and angu ish by a mighty resolution .

DO you mean— you would have done th e same for

anybody h e asked . And see ing her nod a n a ffi rm

a tive he gave a l i ttl e laugh .

“ I am crazy now, or Ihave been crazy before, he told h imself. Someth ing

h a s happened . Someth ing Of course— it couldn ’th elp happen ing

,i n t ime . Some one has told you I

m ight have known it would h a ppen And yet— youonce said you could wait fo r me fifty years . And I be

lieved it. Well, I'

th a nk you. I have been amu sed .

”

His broken sen tences seemed to Garde to fi ll in the

possibl e gaps Of the s tory— to make h is confessi oncomplete . But Adam had , in real i ty, s topped h imself

on the verge o f accusing her of l i stening to th e lovemaking o f some one other than h imself, in h is absence.She made no reply to what h e had said . She fel t

there wa s absolu tely noth ing she could sa y. Her h eartwould have cried out to him wildly . When h e spoke

so l igh tly o f th e fifty years wh ich she could havewaited

,she swayed where she s tood , ready to drop .

Almost one atom more Of impulse and sh e would havethrown herself in h is arms, crying out her l ove pa ssiona tely, in defiance of th e story o f h is perfidy. Buther h onor

,her maidenly resolut ion, steeled her in th e

nick of t ime . Though h er heart should break, she

could no t accep t th e gilded off er of such a love .Oh

,Garde— sweetheart, forgi ve me,

” said Adam,

after a moment o f terribl e sil enc e . I have wronged

you. Forgive me and tell me i t i s all some n ightmaresome dreadfulThe nigh t sti llness wa s broken by the sound o f men

CHAPTER XXXIX.

MU '

I‘ATIONS .

WHILE Garde,h eart-broken

,pal e and i ll , was restor

ing her uncle’s keys to their accustomed hook

,in th e

m orning, Adam and his retinu e were taking a muchneeded sleep in thewoods .Having recovered h is own good sword and h is leath er

jerk in,from the place where h e had concealed th em

, on

the evening o f h is captu re, h e had led th e beef-eatersinto a maze o f trees where no one in Boston could havefound them

,and h ere h e was do ing h is best to prove

h imself a cheerfu l and worthy compan ion, to share th eirnatu ral distresses .Refu sing at first to eat of the lunch eon provided by

Garde . th e rover finally yielded to the importuni ties o fhi s companions

,and th ereby got m u ch n eed ed refresh

ment . By noon they were far on their way toward NewAmsterdam

,the i r only safe destinati on . They kept

close to th e edge o f th e woods, as they went, remainingthereby in touch with the farms, on wh ich they depended, in their penniless c ond it ion, for someth ing toeat.By sheer perversi ty

,Adam were away his l ameness .

He bathed h is foot often a nd he also wrapped it inleaves , the benificent qual i ties o f wh ich h e had learnedfrom the Indians, years before, and this d id as much ,

308

Mutat ions. 309

or more, than h i s doggedness to make repairs in th einj ured tendons .They were many days on th i s weari some march wh ich

contrasted,for Adam

,so harshly w ith that other stroll ,

to Boston, from Plymouth . On many occasion s theywent h ungry for a day and a nigh t together. Bu t whatwith cheer a nd good water, they lost noth ing o f thei rhealth .

With boots beginn ing to gape at th e toes,and wi th

raimen t dusty and faded,they arrived

,at last, at th e

modest house , at the corner o f Cedar and Will iamstreets, in New Amsterdam

,where Captain Will iam

Kidd resided wi th h is w ife . Here th ey were madewelcome . On behalf Of h imself and his comrades, Adampresently secu red a work ing passage to Hispan iol a

,

where he meant to rej oi n Will iam Phipps,in the search

for the sunken treasu re . He could th ink o f nothingelse to do, a nd he had no longer th e slightest desire toremain on American soil .Prior to sail ing

,h owever

,he wrote a long , detail ed

account o f h i s find ing th e m a n and h i s Indian ch ild,

wi th all th e incidents rel ated thereto, which h e for

warded straigh t to HenryWa inswo rth . This con cludedh is du ties . He only regretted

,h e said in h is l etter to

H enry, th at h e could not apprise h im o f what di sposit ion had been made Of the body o f th e l i ttl e man ,Henry’s nephew, when the minions o f Randolph tooki t in th eir charge .Th is l etter came duly in to Henry Wa insworth

’s pos

session . Having been aware,as no other ma n in Mas

sa chusetts was , that h i s refugee broth er was l i ving hi s

isolated l i fe ia -th e woods,Henry wa s much overcome


by th i s sad intell igence . He made what cau tiou s in

quiries he dared , with the purpose o f ascertaining whathad become o f th e l ittle body. He th en made ap ilgrimage in to th e woods

,stood above the grave wh ich

Adam h a d m ade , and then , taking a few worthlesstrinkets

,as m ementoes

,from the deserted cab in, he

came sadly away.

But no t Henry’s sadness, nor yet that o f Garde,served to do more than to signal iz e th e sense o f ath i etion which the c i tizens of the colony felt had come upon

them . They had been a joyless p eople, wi th theirminds and thei r bodies dressed in th e somber hu es suggested by a morbid condi tion of rel igi ou s meditation ,bu t at l east th ey h a d enjoyed th e freedom for wh ichthey had come so far and fough t so persi stently . Withtheir ch arter gone , a nd th e swift descen t upon th em o f

th e many th ings wh ich th ey had found intol erable inEngland

,they were a melanch oly, hopeless people in

deed .

But even as Garde ’s sorrow typified that o f her fellow-beings, so did th e fortitude and uncomplaining courage

,with which she endured her bu rden

,typify th e

stol id suff ering o f th e ci tizen s Of Massach usetts, in th i s

hour of th eir first great national ” woe .

The summer ripened and passed . The au tumnherald ed the erm ine-robed King Winter, with glori ou spagean try . The trees pu t on their cloth Of gold andcrimson

,and when the hoary monarch came

,th e mil

l i on s of l eaves s trewed h is path , and , prostrate beforeh is march , l aid thei r match less tapestry beneath hismerciless feet.During all th is time Randolph had made no sign to


Observed no festival s no r h ol iday s o f th e ch urch th eyburied th ei r dead in s tol id si lence . They abhorred the

Engli sh r i tes .Governor Andros inaugurated countless ceremonies .

That very Christmas the Engl ish p a r ty o f Boston heldh igh revel in the c ity . The Puritans refused to closeth eir shops

, or to j o in ei ther in rites o r m erriment .They brought in their fire-wood and went about thei rbusiness

,grim-faced and scowl ing darkly upon the inno

va tions come among them,wi th their fascinations f or

th e young and the ir enchan tmen t o f the frivolous .The Offenses against their rigid notion s increased

rapidly . In February they beh eld , with horror, thein troduction o f a new invention o f th e devil . OneJoseph Mayhem paraded 111 the main street o f Bostonwi th a rooster fastened on h i s back

,— where i t fi a pped

i ts wings frant ically,—whil e in h is hand the fellowcarried a bell

,o n wh ich h e made a dreadful d in as

he walked . Beh ind him came a number o f rufi’

i a ns,

blindfolded a nd armed with cart-whips . Under pre;

tense o f striking at Mayhem and the Chanti cl eer,th ey

cu t at th e passers-by, roaring with laughter and otherwise increasing the attention which their conductatt racted . Th i s exh ibi tion was though t to smack o f

Papacy a nd th e h ated days of Lau d .

The ch urch i tself was invaded . There was as yet noChurch o f England in the town . Governor Androstherefore attended with th e Puritans

,at thei r own

hou se of meeting, bu t to thei r u nnameabl e horror, hecompell ed Goodman Needham , the sexton , to ring thebell

,according to Engl ish u sage.Rebell ion being imposs ible, the Puri tans n ursed their

Muta t ions . 3I3

gri evances in s ull en s tol id i ty . They were powerless,

bu t never hopeless o f thei r Opportun i ty s till to come.Taxation came as a consequence of the pomp in which

th e new Governor conce ived it to be his righ t to exist,

a s well as th e natu ral resul t o f hi s glowing reports toEngland that the peop le could be made to disgorge andwould no t resi st .To crown thei r h eri tage of woe

,Edward Randolph

,

profiting by thei r al ready establ ish ed fanat ici sm andripeness for the folly, su btly introdu ced a nd finallyfastened upon them that cu rse Of su persti ti ou s ignorance, wh ich was doomed to become su ch a blot uponth ei r p age o f h istory— the “ detect ion ” o f a nd persecutions for wi tchcraft.

CHAPTER XL.

GOLDEN o rsrna s.

CAPTAIN W ILLIAM PHIPPS, when Adam lef t h im atJamai ca , had returned, as h e had said h e in tended , tothe waters wherein the old Spani sh galleon

,with her

golden treasure, was supposed to have sunk . He had

met with a small m eas ure o f lu ck, for a n Old sailor hadpointed out what he alleged to be th e exact reef o f

rocks on which th e gall eon h a d spl i t, half a centu ry before . This spot was a few leagues to th e north o f Portde la Plata .

Having examined the place withou t su ccess,Phipps

had then discovered th at h is c rew was no t rel iable a ndth e sh ip not much better, in point of soundness . Hehad therefore h eaded for England, comingin due seasonto anchor in th e Thames .Undaunted by the failu re wh ich h is en terprise h a d

been,he sough t out th e King, reported what h e had

done,and requested th e u se o f another sh ip and a better

lot o f men .

James was amu sed and entertained . He commendedthe bold skipper on h is courage a nd h is tenac i ty o f purpose ; h e bel i eved h is story . But h e sh ook h i s h eadat th e th ought Of furnish ing funds and a new sh ip andcrew for fu rth er adventures with pi rates and m u tineersin th e Spanish Main .

314

31 6 When a Witch is Young ,

The search was at l ength abandoned as being fu tile .The small boat

,being sl owly rowed away, Adam beheld

a plant,o f many col ors and rare beau ty , growing on

the reef below them ,in the clear

,emerald water. He

requested a diver to fe tch i t u p. The boat was haltedand overboard went th e man . He was soon seenspraddl ing l ike some singular c reatu re

,back up through

th e brine . He had fetched the plan t and h e tol d o f

having seen on the bottom the encru sted gun o f s omesu nken vessel .At Adam ’s eager command he returned again to th e

spo t and presently arose t o th e su rface wi th a n ingot o fsi lver

,sl imy and dark , clu tched firmly in h is hands.

The treasure was found 1Pu tting for th e sh ip at once

,where Captain Phipps

was somewhat laboriou sly wr iting a long report o f th esecond fail u re, the rover gave th e almost incrediblenews

,th at set the whole sh ip a fire with amazemen t

and joy .

The entire crew were speedily pressed into servi ce.Th e work was prosecuted with vigor. Adam lookedu pon th i s treasure, com ing so late in to h i s sight andl ife

,with a grim smile upon h i s l ips and w ith scorn in

h is eyes . He saw the divers fetch up masses of bulli on,

first,then golden oysters, encru sted with cal careou s

matter,then broken bags bu rst ing with their largess o f

Span ish doubloons,and finally preciou s stones

,sh im

mering, untarnished , in the sunl ight .

It was a feveri sh time . Day after day went by andthe boats were fi lled with fortunes . It seem ed as i fthe more they took, the more they found . The goldon top h id gold underneath.

Golden Oysters. 31 7

An old sh ipmate o f Captain Phipps’ whose im

a gina tion th e sh ip-bu ilder had fired,months before

,

arrived from Provid ence . Hewa s able so eas ily to fil lh i s boat with gold that he went raving crazy and d iedin a lunati c asylum at Bermuda .

The provis i ons on the sh ip began to run l ow,before

th e examination of the sunken wreck was complete .Moreover the sailors, th eir avaric i ou sness arou sed bythe sight o f all these riches , which daily they weresnatch ing from the sea , for oth er men to enj oy , grew

restive and threatened to take a contagi on o f mutiny .

Treasu re to the val ue of th ree hundred thou sandpounds had been recovered, a nd much stil l remaineduntouched . Phipps determined to sai l wi th what hehad

,planning to retu rn to th e fi eld in th e future . He

enj o ined silence and secrecy on all th e sailors,bu t the

word leak ed ou t and adventu rers gathering from farand near

,the rotting gall eon was despoiled o f every

th ing she had hoarded so j eal ou sly and su ccessfu llyth roughou t the years .Phipps brought h is vessel in safety to England . The

enormou s su ccess wh ich had attended his eff orts so

aroused th e cupid i ty of c ertain Of the King’s re tain ersthat they advised James to confiscate th e entire treasu re

, on th e ground that Phipps had withheld su chinformation , on h i s former retu rn , as would have induced th e crown to finance the second enterpr ise

,had

the truth been told .

King James,however, was too honorable a monarch

to resort to trickery so infamou s . Instead h e commended th e captain in the h ighest terms, made h iman in timate o f hi s cou rt, knigh ted him Sir Will iam


Phipps and invi ted h im to become a n Englishman andreside with th em there for the remainder o f his l ife.Phipps recei ved h is honors modestly . He was too

patrioti c t o desert America a nd bluntly said so to h isKing. He and Adam rece ived

,as th eir share o f th e

treasure,th e one ten th agreed upon, amounting to

th i rty th ou sand pounds, o f which sum all that th e

Captain could preva i l upon Rust to accept wa s a third ,a sum , th e rover said, far in excess o f the needs o f h isretinu e and h imself.


Gradually, so gradually that she could not have saidwhen the impress ion commenced to grow upon her

,Ga rde

di scovered that Henry Wa insworth was exceed inglykind, though tful and sooth ing, in h er joyl ess exi stence .There was something kindred in h i s own isolati on, a nd inh is very bashfu lness, or timidi ty, for i t kept h im so oftens ilent, when h e was wi th her alon e . She h a d always respected Henry . His patien t devotion could no tbut tou chher at l ength . It was no t so mu ch a flattery as i t wa s afai thfuln ess, th rough all th e discou ragements sh e hadgiven h im always.This l ine o f thou gh t hav ing been awakened in her

breast, she noted more o f the l i ttl e, in s ign ificant signswh ich go to make up the sum of a man ’s real regardthe regard on wh i ch a woman can safely rely as one toendu re and to grow.

In the soreness o f her heart, i t was almost sweet toth ink o f Henry ’s qu i et attention s . I t was calm ing.

It l ent . a l i ttl e spot o f warmth and color to her oth erwi se ch eerless l ife . She cou ld never love him

,as she

h ad loved Adam— nay,as sh e loved h im stil l ,—bu t th e

dreariness of h er present days migh t find rel ief in a newsort o f l ife . Out Of th e du ti es, wh ich as a h ousewifeshe would experience daily, surely a tru s t , an esteemfor Henry

,great enough almost to be called a love

,

would come,with th e years .

She yearned to bu ry her sorrow. It wa s no t a healthy ,wholesome th ing for a ny young woman to foster. Sh ehad en joyed h er day o f l ove, yes—her years o f love .She had fel t l ike a w idowed bride . To her, Adam

’sk isses had been l ike th e firs t sacred embl ems of th eirmarriage. She had no t been a ble to conceive o f perm it

Fate’

s Devious Ways. 32 1

ting such caresses until sh e sh ou ld feel that their soul swere mated a nd the ir h earts already wedded . But i tcould never be the du ty Of a woman to mourn su ch a lo sstill she died . And then— thi s newly contemplatedun ion wou ld make her forget.

But, i f sh e cou ld encourage Henry toward th is possibility o f a union su ch as she thought upon , i t wouldbe her du ty to be more cheerful

,more l iving in the

everv-day hou rs that were,instead o f dreaming sadly

and morbidly upon her h eart-break of th e past.It was not with a sense o f gratifying her own l onging

for happiness that sh e finally though t a marriage withHenry possible ; th ere was a sense o f combating herown selfishness in i t. I t was a selfishness, i t was pampering the morb id in her natu re, she fel t, t o continu eindefini tely in a w idowhood Of Adam’s love . Itmust al so be admitted that Garde was human, wherefore the element of p iqu e was not absolu tely lacking inh er being. NO woman would ever wish a ma n she hadrej ec ted to b el ieve that she cou ld not, or would not,marry elsewh ere. She wou ld wish to show that o th eropportun i tie s were n ot lacking, as well as she woulddesire to have h im know that her heart wa s not brokenbeyond repair.Havin g spent at l east a mon th upon these intro spec

t ive and oth er med itations , Garde appeared to Wainsworth so much more bright an d beau tifu l that th erewa s no containing his emotions . The poor fell ow nearlybroke h is neck, metaphori cally speak ing, in a vain a t

tempt to ask her to become hi s wife, on th e first occasionaff orded, after he made h i s d iscovery o f her al terati onin moods a nd appearan ce .

zo


It was of no u se to screw up his cou rage . I t wouldnot sti ck . He determ ined to write what he could no t

u tter,and then

,when a moment sh ou ld be propi ti ou s

,

to del iver hi s wri tten declaration in to h er hand , to beread when h e had fled the scene . To th i s end he composed a n el egant and eloquent ep i stl e.To avoid a ny poss ib il i ty o f making mistakes

,Henry

carefu lly deposi ted h is l etter in th e pocket o f th e coathe always were to Meeting. This pocket had been heretofo re employed as a receptacl e for th ings prec iou sover wh ich h e desired to exerci se particu lar care .

Having w ithou t d iffi culty obtained perm ission fromGarde to wal k at h er s id e to ch urch and back , poorWa insworth l o st appeti te and sleep

,while waiting for

th e fateful day . When it came , he was in a nervouspl igh t wh ich reveal ed to Garde the whol e state o f h i smind . She fel t h er sympathy for h im expand in herbosom till she hoped i t would bu rgeon in to love . Hadhe gone wi th her into h er aun t Gertrude’s home

,after

the servi ce,Garde would doubtless have helped to sim

plify what shewa s well aware he wished to sa y, bu t, alasfor th e t imid lover, h e dared not, on this occasion, soj eopardiz e h is courage .He knew that i f ever h e got in s id e th e h ouse and

faced h er, alone , he would not be abl e even to del i ve rh is l etter . But out o f doors h is nerve was steadier.Therefore

,at th e gate having fortified h imsel f against

the moment, h e nervously drew from his pocket a goodsized packet o f paper and put i t shakingly in to her hand .

“ I wish— I Wi sh you wou ld read— th i s l etter,” h e

stammered . Good-by. I—I hope you will read itqu ite through .


l ines and she started with a new, tense interest in th e

document .The l e tter she hel d in her hands was the o ne wh ich

Adam Rust had penned to Wa insworth , concern ing h i s

bro ther.Why 3 she presently said, aloud , why— he

couldn ’t have meant yet Henry, she recalled, hadasked her particularly to read all the pages through .

She had only made a start in to Adam ’s narrative,yet

h er hear t had begun to leap till she could barely endurei ts commotion . She spread th e sheets out before heron th e tabl e , wi th nervou s fingers . She read swiftly

,

greed ily. Her bosom heaved wi th th e tumul t o f sud

denly sti rred emotions . She made a glad l i ttl e noise,

as she read , for th e undercurrent o f her th ought was

o f a wild exul tation to find that Adam was innocent,that shewa s j u stified in lov ing h im now, as she had beenj ustified always—that h er inst inct had gu ided herrightly when she had helped h im t o break from theprison .

Her eyes were widely dilated . Her pent -up emotionsswayed her t ill she suddenly clutch ed up the sheets andcrumpled them in joy against h er bound ing heart .

Adam 1” she said, half aloud . 011, Adam MyAdam lShe bent above the letter again , crooning invo lunta

ri ly,in th e revelation Of Adam made again h is nobl e self

by the l ines h e had written so simply and innocentlyhere upon the paper . She was read ing

,but having

,

almost in th e firs t few l ines d iscovered so much thath er in tu i tion h a d far out-raced h er eyes

, sh e wa s h ardlycomprehend ing the sentences that ra n so swiftly be

Fate’

s Devious Ways. 32 5

neath her gaze , so abandoned were her senses t o thesudden h ope a nd th e overwhelming joy which the revela tion compelled . She kissed the papers . She laid

her cheek upon them , she s urrounded them warmly

w ith her arms.She fel t so glad that she had loved him in sp i te of that

horrible s tory Her sou l l eaped wi th exul tat i on . She

would no t be obl iged to marry Wa insworth , to forget .She wou ld never forget Sh e would wai t for Adam

now— if need be till Judgment Day itselfShe k issed Adam ’s wri ting again . She fondled it

lovingly . It restored h im . It gave her back h er righ tto love h im . I t was to o much to th ink upon or to try

to express .She had only half read it th e sen se o f th e story had

escaped her grasp . It had been enough that Adam wasgu iltless . Her breath came fast the color had flamed

to her ch eeks . Her eyes were glowing with th e l ovewh ich she had wel comed home to her throbbingheart.She had risen , unabl e to control h erself, so abruptly

and unexpectedly had th e discovery c ome upon h er.Now she sa t down again at th e table and read the lettermore carefully. I t was such a sa d l i ttle story .

“ Unfortunately I sprained my ankle, a nd th i s delayed me

,

” sh e read , where Adam had written . She

pic tured h im now, l imp ing through th e forest, with thel i ttl e brown ch ild , and her heart yearned over h is suffering, hi s pati ence and h i s sel f-sa crifice in coming back tothe cru el fate in store for h im

,there in Boston .

She though t o f h im then in th e pri son . She blessedth e instinct o f l ove wh ich h a d ma de her go to his aid.


He was not an ou tlaw. He wa s not a reneg a de . Hewas her own Adam .

Then she thought o f th e moment in whi ch she hadsent him away . A fter all the heart-breaking trial s h eh a d al ready end ured , she h a d added the final cruelty.

She remembered how he had l imped,when she sa wh im

start ing Off , j u st before she had fainted at the window,that terrible nigh t . Longing to call h im back

,now, and

to cry out her l ove, —th at had never d ied,— her trust,which should now endure for ever, and her plea t o be forgiven

, she fancied she heard h im again saying : GardeGard e - not forever and she fel t a great sob rising inher throat .

Oh , Adam she said, as if from the depths of herheart.The hot tears , o f j oy and sadness bl ended , suddenly

gave vent to the pent-up emotions with in her. Theyroll ed swiftly down across her face a nd splashed in greatblo ts o n the wri ting.


person in the world . She resolved to make a fair copyo f i t, for Henry, while she herself would retain theoriginal— in Adam ’s own writing.

Her th ird preposition was th e most v i tal of them all .She could no t th ink of what she should do to repair theharm wh ich she al one, after all, had done, when she

sen t Adam away with that l i ttle word Forever l ”

How sh ould she le t h im know of the infamous storywh ich she had been made to bel ieve How should sheconvince h im , even supposing she cou ld reach h im wi tha word, that th e story had left no room in her mind fordoubt o f i ts tru th How could she manage to persuad eh im that she had loved him always ; that she knew atlast of the wrong she had done h im that she beggedhi s forgiveness that she should wai t for him even l ongerthan the fifty years o f which he had spoken on that lastagoniz ing night ?He might n ot forgive her, she told hersel f. It migh t

be too late al ready. She knewnot where h e had gene,o r what h e had done . He too migh t have thought o f

marriage w ith somebody else— to try to forget.As a resul t Of her brain cudgel ing, to know what she

would do to make Adam aware that she had made agreat mistake a nd desired hi s forgiveness, she determined to write h im a letter. Having dec ided , she wroteat once . Had she waited a l i ttl e l onger, h er letterm igh t have been more qu iet in i t s reserve, but i t could

no t th en have been so u tterly spontaneou s, nor expressive of th e great love she bore h im , kept al ive dur ingall those months of doubt and agony .

As i t was, the l i ttl e ou tbu rst was suffi ci ently dignified

and it was sweet, a nd frank . She told h im that she had

L i ttle Ruses,a nd Waiting. 32 9

read hi s le tter to Henry , a nd that su ddenly she hadknown o f the great wrong she had done h im . Sh ement ioned that a dreadful story had been fastened uponhim , with all too terrible semblances Of tru th and just i ce. She begged h is forgiveness in a hundred runes .Finally, when she had finished, she signed i t GardeJohn Rosella,

”in memory of h er wal k with him th rough

the woods, from near Plymouth to Boston .

No t withou t blushes and l ittle i nvoluntary th rills o fdel ight did she add the name wh ich confessed the tal eo f that wonderfu l walk

,bu t she fel t that Adam would

know , by th is very confess ion , how deep for h im mustbe her love and trust and how contri te wa s the sp iri t inwhich she desired h is forgiveness .This epi stle having at l ength been disposed o f to h er

sa tisfa ctlon, she made th e fair copy o f Adam ’s letter toHenry a nd sen t i t to Wa insworth at once, with a shortnote o f explanati on that some moisture having fallenupon the original

,making it qu ite ill egible and indeed

destroying i t u tterly,for his use, she fel t she could do

no less th an to make th is reparation . She l ikewis e expressed the compl iment she felt i t wa s to h erself tha tHenry had des ired her to know of th is sa d affair in th el ife o f his brother, but that she had been so aff ected bythe tale that she mu st beg him not to perm it h er toread any fu rther le tters for some time to come .This wa s a masterly composi ti on , for poorWa inswo rth

destroyed th e propos ing epis tl e h e had wri tten at suchinfini te pains , and for a time wholly abandoned anythough t o f speaking of marriage . He was exceedinglymortified to th ink h e had mad e such a blunder as togive her the letter which he had guarded so cau tiou sly.


Timidi ty settl ed upon h im , especially as h e noted a n

other,al toge th er incomprehensibl e change in Garde ’s

demeanor, when nex t they met.

Having despatched her let ter to Adam , Garde fel t ahappiness grow and expand in her bosom daily . Sheexpected th e wai t to be a long one, t il l a letter, o r som eother manner o f a reply, could come from Adam .

Goodwife Phipps, of whom she h a d artfully contr ivedto get th e rover’ s address . had assu red h er o f the verygreat n umber Of weeks that elapsed between communication s from Will iam

,in answer to th e fond l i ttl e flock

o f l e tters wh ich sh e was constantly launch ing forth toth e d istan t i sland across the sea . But when weeks became mon ths

,and t ime fled onward inexorably

,with

n ever a sign or a word in return for what she had writ

ten,sh e had many moments in wh ich sa d, vain regrets

and confirmed despair took possession o f her thoughts .She was a res igned , patien t gi rl, however, with her

impulses cu rbed,f o r th e sadness of th e t imes

,aside

from her own l i ttl e affairs , cast a gloom upon th e col onywh ich seemed to deepen rath er than to promise ever todissolve .Her h ear t fel t that the fifty years had passed many

times over h er head,when , after a longer time than

Mrs . Phipps h a d men ti on ed as suffi cien t to bring evena del ayed reply had passed, and noth ing had come fromAdam Rust . G a rde watched for the ships to come, oneby one

,her hopes ri sing always as th e wh ite sai ls a p

pea red, and then fall ing invariably, when no smallmessenger came to h er hand . She lived from sh ip tosh ip

,a nd sent h er own l i ttl e argosies o f thought travel

ing wistfu lly across the seas, hoping they might come


trio ts again desi ring that m oney wh ich had never beenu sed to send David Donner abroad , for the pu rpose o fsending somebody else, in the spring, Garde knew exa ctly what t o do .

She would manage to send Piety Toothaker away toEngland . Sh e went to work in th i s d irection with ou tdelay . Her success was not a th ing o f sudden growth .

It took no l i ttl e t ime and persuasion to fire Piety withan ambiti on to serve hi s country by going so far frOmh is comfortable home and hi s equally comfortabl ewooing

,in wh ich he beli eved he was making actual

progress .For th eir agent extraord inary

,t o pl ead their cau se

at th e Court o f King James, th e col onists sel ec tedIncrease Mather

,a m a n at once astu te

,agreeabl e and

affli cted with rel igiou s convicti ons whi ch had every barna ele of susperstition that ever l ived, attach ed uponthem . Piety Toothaker was to go as h is clerk andsecre tary.

The preparat ion s for sending Mather abroad wereconducted wi th n o smal l degree o f secrecy . Neverthe

less Edward Randolph became aware of what was beingcontemplated, for h i s hypocri t ical Puri tan agents wereeverywhere and in al l aff airs of state, or even of pr ivatebu siness .Permi tting the scheme to ripen , Randolph waited

u nti l almost th e moment for Mather’s sail ing. He thenswooped down upon th e en terpri se and attempted toarrest Mather

, on th e process of some sham prosecu t ion .

The patriots,incensed almost to th e point of r ebell ion ,

played cunning for cunning. They delayed the departure o f the sh ip , th e captain o f which wa s a sta unch

Li ttle Ruses , a nd Wait ing. 333

American,and then hu stl ed Mather aboard under

cover o f darkness, and so sent h im o ff on h i s m ission .

Fo r a week after Piety had gone, Garde fel t su ch asense of rel ief that sh e almost persu aded h erself she

was happy in her long wai t for Adam , or for a wordwh ich might final ly come. But the months againbegan their dreary procession , and her fear that Adamwas lost to her forever deepened and laid i ts bu rdenmore and more upon her h eart .Yet there came a da y when , a sh ip hav ing arrived in

th e harbor, a nd her hope hav ing greeted i t wistfully,only to flu tter back to h er own pati ent bosom again , aletter d id actual ly come to her hand .

It was not partic ularly neat i t looked as if i t m ighthave been opened before i t came to her possession

,bu t

her h eart bounded wil dly when she saw i t, and herfingers t rembled as sh e broke i t open to read its con

tents.Then her j oy vanish ed . The le tter was from Piety

To o tba ker. He announ ced , as if to break th e intelligence to her frankly, that th e voyage had made h im so

exceedingly i ll that he had determ ined never to trusth imself upon the billows again . He would th erefor ereside hereafter in England

,wh ich was “ a pl easing

countrie a nd much more merri e than Boston .

”

I shall n ever, never get a n an swer to my letter,said Garde to herself

,made sadder by the arrival o f

Piety ’s lett er , which proved th at letters could actuallycome from over the sea. He will n ever

,never reply

,

I know .

”

She was no t f a r mistaken , for Adam had never re

ceived her letter. It had fallen into the h ands of


Edward Randolph,who had const i tu ted

of communi cations sent abroad fromMalignantly h e was keeping these love-scented shee ts,again st the day o f his vengeance .


roundel to fit th e merry h our. He had found a glasswhich responded wi th a particularly mu sical t inkle tothe tap o f hi s finger. He held i t up before the a dmir

ing company and rang i t crisply . Catch ing the keyfrom its mellifluous tint innabulation h e began hi s song

Oh your jolliest girl is your cup of sack ,

Your Mistress Sack ,w ith h er warm , brown eyes

She’ll love you, a nd never she ’ll turn her back ,

No r leave you a th oughtIn h er m eshes uncaught ,

And never you’ll know if she lies.

Then it’s drink , drink , drink ,

And you’ll never have need to th ink ;

And it’

s fo l de rol ,And wh o h a s use for a brain ?

With your cup that loves your lip ,

Youneed fear no faithless slip ,And your h eart will never k now the sta bs o f pa in .

Oh your la nguorous maid is your glass o f wine,Your La dy Am our, with her ruby kiss.

She suffers no rivals , or th ink ingin fine,She owns a ll your soulAnd she tak es for her toll

A paym ent in dull-witted bliss.

Th en dr ink ,drink , drink , etc.

Oh , your m istress for faith is your poison cup .

Your poison cup ,w ith its juice o f death .

She’ll hold you, h a h a till the Doomsda y’s up ,

In her passion’s em brace ,And so close to her face

Th at you’ll never get time for a breath .

A Top ic at Court . 337

Th en it’s drink , drink , drink ,

And you never o f love need thinkAnd it

’

s fo l de ro l ,

For wh o h a s use for a heartWith a cup that loves your lip ,

Youneed fear no faith less slip ,Nor feel the pangs o f a ny pains that dart.

No t being at al l certain that th ey knew what h emean t

,the company applau ded wi th great enthu

sia sm .

Bu t, my dear sir, said a nobl eman, with a head on

h im hardly bigger nor l ess wrinkled than a last winter’sappl e , and a s tomach as big as a tun , you have no ttasted a drink to-nigh t. Demme , look at me , sir. Il ove my sack and my wine . I know noth ing of you rpoison cup , and I have no wi sh to, demme. But

, sir, Ith ink you have n o bowels f o r drink ing .

”

My lord,you furnish the bowel s and I will furn ish

th e brains to know abou t drink ing,” said Adam . By

my fai th,no drink ever yet went to your head .

NO si r I’m prou d of i t, demme ,” said h is lord

sh ip . I have drunk up a fortune, and where i s i tI t

’s gone .“ D istill your breath a nd get it back , suggested

Rust .What’s that Demme

, you are laugh ing at me,

Never ! said Adam,dec isively. Above all per

sons youmake me sober. Breath e toward our fri endthe Viscount . He h a s ever wished fortune to wing inh is d irection .

The Viscount Where Demme, yes. My dear2 2


o ld ch ap, h ow are you and tu rning, in consequ ently,to a friend whose l i t tl e e ves se emed to swim around inth e florid sea Of h is face

,h is lordsh ip was deserted by

the rover . Sauntering through a clu ster o f friends whowould have detained h im , Adam approached a window,

where h e sat h imsel f down on a m iniatu re d ivan .

Here he had but a second to h imself,for while some

body else was preparing to s ing to th e company, abeau ti ful l i ttl e lady , with eyes that were fairly purpl eintheir depths of blu e

,came and took the seat beside

h im .

Oh,Mr. Rust, she said, “ what a strange song

that wa s. Why, bu t you know noth ing o f wine andsack

,and poison . Oh

,why did you say poison That

was dreadful . And why should you wi sh n ever toth ink o f love What has poor l i ttle love ever done to

you“ You must remember

,Lady Viol et

,said Adam

,

that before I sang I had not seen you, to speak aword

,during the en tire even ing.

”

Lady Violet blu shed . That hasn ’t anyth ing to dowi th anyth ing, she said .

Adam repl ied That makes me equ ivalent tonothing.

It doesn ’t,

” th e l ady protested . Youmix me al lup . I don’ t bel i eve you know anything more abou tlove than you do abou t drinking.

”

Do you coun sel me to l earn o f these artsNo

,no t o f drinking— certainly not, Mr. Rust .

If we el iminate the drinking, that only l eaves the

Oh,bu t I— I didn ’t sa v that I— I don’ t w ish to


from her mourning black , and who had come to th egathering with h er father

,halted in front of the two

o n the smal l divan and looked them over.“ Dear Lady V i ole t , said the n ew comer, your

brother a nd Lord Kilkra nk ie are l ooking for youevery

where .”

Oh , thank you, so mu ch , said the confused l i ttl elady

,a nd withou t waiting for anything further she

j umped up and fled from the scene . Sh e was vexed at

and d istr ustful of Lady Margaret ; but sh e could notr emain and give her battl e.The second lady took Vi ol et’s seat, calmly . What

have you been saying o f love to that l i ttle,brain less

child sh e said . You haven ’t been making love toher, su rely

Oh no,” said Adam ,

“ I was occupying my timetill you shou ld come al ong and make love to me

You wretch ,”sh e said

,with perfec t calm .

wouldn’t know l ove if you sa w i t .Is i t so rare at Cou rt h e inqu ired . Perhaps I

should spend my time better in l ooking at you.

”

Don’t be s illy,

”she said .

“ But tel l me,what is

your opin ion , real ly, o f l ove .“ It makes a poor fare for dinner, a poor coat in

th e winter, a nd a poor comfort when you are dead ,”

said Rust. “ It tri cks th e clever ; i t’s the wandering

Jew o f emoti ons . If you wish me to do you a n inj u ry,bid m e to love you forthwith .

Where have you l earned, th at you speak with suchwisdom ? ” said Lady Margaret . Su rely not su ch ach ild as Violet

You do yourself a n inj usti ce, Adam interrupted.

A Top i c at Court . 34 1

Adam, she said , “ th is is the sort o f th ing you

sa y to all the women .

”

And which Of you r friends would you ask me ton eglect ? ” he asked .

“ A woman’s j udgment is th eone th ing I lack .

”

You are a heartless wretch she announced.

On th e contrary, I am a wretch o f a th ousandhearts

,

” he corrected How long would you con tinu eto l ove me if I had any less

Adam I don’t l ove you , and you know i t .That leaves a vacancy in my l i fe wh ich I shall fill

at once,he told her. Wait—perhaps I can catch

the eye o f the Countess .The Countess had one o f the most catchable eyes

imaginable. She came up immediately.

Margaret says she no longer loves me , said the incorrigible Rust

,I shall give her place to you.

CHAPTER II.

ILLNESS IN THE FAMILY.

S ICK o f th e women . to all o f whom he made love,

openly,to avoid being thought seriou s by a ny ; weary

o f the speciou s show , which failed to bring h im th eforgetfulness h e c raved , Adam left the assemblageearly and went to search out th e beef-eaters, at their

humble quarters .Impro vidents that they were, Pike and Halberd had

soon dispers ed the not inconsiderabl e sum o f moneywh ich Adam had d ivided between them

,s ince which

time he had provided the pair wi th their l odgings, keep,clothing and amusemen ts.The night be ing fine and th e ai r soon reviving the

rover’s l ivel i er moods o f delight in sh eer existence, he

found himself l oi tering al ong, stopping to l ook in th ewindows o f th e scattered shops stil l open for th e tagends of th e day’s trading. It was only the l i ttle knickknack shops, o ld cu rio dens and lesser establ ishmentsthat still had thei r l ights aglow

,but i t happened that

these were the particular ones in wh ich Adam took aninterest .

He stepped before one o f the dingi est fo r fifteenminu tes

,carefully scanning a considerabl e col l ection

o f vi ol in s wh ich th e window contained . At length h i seye l ighted

,h e muttered someth ing half exclamatory

343


in a spot that was charmingly lonely.

Phipps, when Adam

’s first l etter arrived,

vagu ely what manner of v iolins his

in the mountains .

wondered

CHAPTER III.

FO ILED PURPOSES.

INCREASE MATHER met with a dign ified a nd pol i tereception at th e Court o f th e King

,fo r S ir Will iam

Phipps,with all h is influ ence a nd persu as iveness, pre

pared the way for the envoy extraord inary to approachth e master of the col onies .S ir Will iam even consti tu ted h imse lf another cham

pion o f downtrodden Massachusetts, and added hisimportunities to those o f Mather, to induce James to

re-establ ish the rights and terri tory o f the colony and

to give i t back i ts beloved ch arter.“ We love you much , Sir William ,

said th e King,

with a firmness which was never to be shaken,

“ bu t

we cannot accede to your wishes . Anyth ing bu t thi sthat youwill a sk shall be granted .

Disappoin ted, bu t never disconcerted , Sir Will iamconferred with Mather, wh om he was obl iged to assu rethat noth ing that ei ther o f th em could sa y to him now

would beget a n al teration o f King James’s deci si on .

Mather, persi stent, suave and convinced o f the ju stic eo f h is cau se, determined to remain in tou ch wi th theCourt a nd th e King’s r etainers, until sh eer patienceand persi stence shou ld win what persuasion could no t.Phipps, knowing only to o well the disposi tion o f th e

King, when once his word wa s passed, determined that

345


h e could do more for h i s country if present in th ecolony than h e could by remain ing in London. Re

mind ing the King that he had al ready gran ted h im anyother favor than the restorati on of the colony ’s charter, he announced his desi re to be appointed Sheriff of

New England .

Regretting to lose the hearty Captain from his company

,James nevertheless kept h is word by complying

with Sir Will iam ’s request. The appointmen t was dulymade and confirmed . Leaving Math er beh ind h im ,

Phipps re tu rned to Boston and set abou t th e a d

ministrati on Oi his new-made du ties,with more ardor

than cunning, wi th more honesty th an diplomacy.

It i s doubtfu l if William Phipps ever had a moreaggravating experience

,in all h i s adventu res

,with

mutineers a nd pirates, than h e underwent at th e handso f Randolph and Governor Andros . He was not a m a n

o f finish ed edu cation . Born in Maine, in a family o f

twenty-one children , h e had been obliged to commencethe round of sh ifting for h imself at a n early age. Hehad a pprenti ced h imsel f to a sh ip-carpenter at eighteenand then had come to Boston fou r years l ater, when h ewent to work and taugh t h imself to read and to write.Hampered now

,by thi s lack of early opport un it ies,

i nsulted,and finding h is most sincere eff orts null ified

and h is pl an s constantly fru strated , by th e delays anda rtifices o f th e counci l under Andros, he was madeh earti ly sick o f the whole si tu at ion .

His retu rn to Boston , h owever, was no t marked en

tirely by chagrin and d iscou ragemen t . He had hi swife wi th h im , a nd h erein l ay th e greatest happ in esswh ich ever came into h i s eventfu l l ife . He bu ilt her


pat iently,lov ingly

,til l Adam should one day know she

l oved h im and that she wa s keeping herself sacred for

h is claim ing . And if h e never did come to claim her,sti ll she would love h im . If death came to take her,she would go to death as

‘

a bride would go to church,to wai t th e coming o f her love .

In the frame o f mind wh ich her vigil h a d begotten ,fortified by h er sense of maidenly pride and diffidence,i t was u tterly impossible fo r her to th ink o f goinge ith er to S ir William Phipps , or to h i s w ife, to a sk fo rinformation concern ing Adam . Sh e was aware that

the Captain doubtless knew o f Adam ’s wh ereabou ts,

his position in l ife a nd whether or not he was marri ed ,bu t if Adam chose to remain s il en t, di sdainfu l and unforgiving

, she would rather die than go to a stranger toask abou t h im

, o r to send him anyth ing further, in theway o f a word or a letter .As a matter of fact, Garde had attempted to send

another li ttl e letter, a year after the first one h a d gone,bu t i t too had fallen in to th e clu tch es o f Randolph .

The creature had destroyed i t,as containing nothing

of importance to any o f h is mach inations, for i t merelyasked the rover if h e had rece ived th e first epistl e .Thus Garde ’s golden Opportu nity sl ipped away un

used , and her l ife narrowed down , more and more, toth e simple duties o f taking what care she could o f th ewh ite-haired old man , her grandfather, who rubbed histhumb across th e ends o f h i s fingers endl essly

,although

he Wa s sl owly being restored to h is old-time activi ty o fmind a nd body .

Utterly dish eartened,by the futil i ty o f hi s d esires

a nd efforts to serve h is country in h is capaci ty o f

Foiled Purposes. 349

Sheriff,S ir Will iam Phipps was glad to rece ive a letter

that came from Increase Mather,informing h im that

the time was drawing near for renewed labors to beattempted in England . Responding to th is

,he de

serted h is u seless office and sail ed for London in themidst o f the winter season .

The opportunity o f which Garde might have ava iledh erself, to l earn someth ing o f Adam , was gone . Sheknew no t what she h a d done, or wh a t sh e h a d l ost.Ph ipps came to England at a moment when epoch s

were fairly in th e process of crystal izati on .

King James, the last o f Britain’s Roman Cathol icmonarchs , h a d been obliged to abdicate h is throne andto flee to Ireland for his l ife.

CHAPTER IV

MAKING HISTORY.

UNTHRONE D and uncrowned as h e was,Jam es

,for

some inexpl i cable reason, still entertained a wild ideathat the colonies, the patriots o f which h e had takenno pains t o endear to h i s cause or h imself, would stillremain loyal and c ontented to acqu iesc e in h is domin ion .

He made all haste to communicate with S ir WilliamPhipps, as a representative o f New England whom heh ad always honored and esteemed . He Offered to a p

point th e Captain h is Governor o f all New England,with pl enary powers, in almost any d irection, con

cern ing the o ld charter and all .Promptly and with th e blun t wi sdom which marked

h is course through l ife,Phipps refused th e h onor.

Cathol icism had n ever appealed to h is sense o f goodgovernment

,a nd l oyalty to th e Engl ish th rone, from

which the colonies had their b eing, was deeply ingrainedin h i s natu re . Grati tude to Jam e s f or past favors, towhich he fel t h e was somewhat entitl ed , wa s a largequal i ty in S ir Will iam

,but between gratitude and folly

h e drew a sturdy l ine.With Increase Mather

,Phipps went to work at once

at the Cou rt o f Will iam o f Orange,who wi th Mary as

cended th e Bri ti sh throne early in 1689 . Intell igenceas to the sin i ster mach inations of Randolph and Andros

35°


Jack o f the l ot . The frigate wa s thus pu t out of

action at one clever stroke .Now roll ed th e alarm o f beaten drums through th e

martial c ity o f Boston . In th eir o ld Ind ian-fightingregal ia

,th e c it i zens swarmed from their h ou ses in to

th e streets . They set up their ensign on Beacon Hill,

at the edge o f th e Common , th ey fi red a S ignal gun foraction

,and fall ing upon Randolph a nd many o f th e

council , which Andros had collected abou t h im, theyru sh ed them to jail a nd took possession o f th e town .

The proclamation o f King Will iam wa s read, wi thlou d acclaim . The exc i ted populace surged in th enarrow , crooked

,

highways . The leaders demanded o f

Andros that h e su rrender both h i s Office a nd h imself.The man refused and fled to h is stronghold , whence h edefied th e patriots and continued to th e last to declareh is power, though l ike water now fas t escaping fromh is grasp .

Surround ing th ei r ex-master th ey made h im a pri soner

,not a refugee, and at length he gave in and wa s

captured and sen t to confinement,along with th e

others o f h is recent government.With a n instinct for conventions, th e c i tiz en s were

soon assembled . Howsoever great had been the ir h eatin their moment of reb ell ion and tri umph

,th ey were

calm enough to be wise when th e t ime arrived to declarefor th emselves . They rein stated Bradstreet and theCouncil o f ’

86. Th ey declared th e old Government inforc e and thei r former charter ip so f a cto restored, nuimpai red by the in terim of nearly three years o f maladm in istrat ion .

William and Mary received th e report o f all these

Mak ing History. 353

swiftly term inated proceedings wi th a favor wh i ch wasnot u nblended wi th astoni shmen t. Admiring thePro testan t sp iri t, wh ich i t had become the ir own

special prov inc e to u phold, they lost no time in confirm ing the en tire course o f a ctions

,even to the tem

pora ry resumption o f th eir o ld charter priv ileges andpowers, by the patriots across the sea . And th ere

,for

a time, they were con tented to permit th e matter torest. The aff airs o f England they had found so com

pletely engross ing that th ey had no time to spare toward regranting a specific charter to Massachu setts .Increase Math er

,su sp iciou s o f priv ileges and l iberties

not absol u tely signed , sealed and del ivered , remainedat h is post , work ing con tinuou sly and sedu lou sly toObtain that monarch ical support and confirmation o f

th e col ony ’s prerogatives which h i s many compatriotshad sent him to secu re.Sir Wi ll iam Phipps

, on th e oth er hand, real ized th ebusy state o f mind in wh ich Will iam and Mary hadbeen so abruptly p lunged, and h e therefore deferredfu rther work w i th Mather for a time more su i table.Then , when h e learned that the French Cathol ic s inAmerica had formed alliances w ith th e Indians a nd

were already overrunn ing th e Protestant terri tory a ndcommitting daily depredations, he made up h i s mindonce m ore to return to th e field o f action , in which hemight be abl e to render more eff ec tive service than h ecould by remain ing in England.

He arr ived in th e summer o f that fatefu l year,’89,

and off ered himself to Bradstreet at once. The periodof warfare in wh ich he th ereupon engaged was one o f

great l ength a nd o f much bitterness .23


Alternating defeat and v ictory left the advantageswith the French and Indians , so far as hopes Of u ltimate su ccess were concerned . The colonists had to makesuch long

,tedious marches that decis ive v ictories for

th eir arms were almost impossible . The enemy gained

in confidence, audaci ty and numbers .

In despair th e General Cou rt finally Off ered two

Sloops o f wa r, free, t ogeth er w i th all th e profits o f

pl under wh ich m igh t resul t from th e enterpri se, toany man who would undertake to redu ce to ash esPenobscot

,St. John ’s and Port Royal , th e seats o f th e

French and Indian power. The offer attracted Phipps,

who foresaw,in the execu tion o f the task, a n infini te

amoun t of adventure a nd act ion .

He enl isted men for th e undertak ing. Yet mattersgrew worse with su ch alarm ing rapidi ty that before th eenterpris e cou ld be placed in read iness for work, i t became necessary to raise a small fleet o f vessel s preparedfor war-l ik e Operations . Thu s seven sloops and sevenhundred men , under command of S ir Wil liam ,

sailedaway to the North on their S in i ster errand .

Port Royal,secu re and arrogant

,in her fan cied iso

l ati on from attack , was surpri sed and taken . TheFrench were rou ted with great loss. The town wasl ooted u ntil hardly SO much as a s au ce-pan was left bythe thorough -going warriors o f New England . Thepl under, wh ile n ot enormou sly valuable, neverthelesswas suflicient to h elp materially in meeting the expenseso f the ven tu re . But i ts indirect effect on th e col on is tswas no t so happy . Cupi d i ty is so Often th e jackal thatfoll ows righ teou s indignation .

The Puri tans foresaw Opportun i ti es t o puni sh th e


The sailors, and o ther work ing peopl e, lo st heav ily,in these times o f trouble and weakened confidence.Yet eventu ally the money was al l redeemed at par bythe Massachu setts government .S ir Will iam

,weary of being reviled for h is pain s,

tu rn ed to England once again and resumed hi s laborsw i th Increase Mather

, to secure to the colony a defini techarter.

CHAPTER V.

OLD ACQUAINTANCES.

ADAM RUST fail ed, even in the intri cacies of col lecting v iol in s and the pursu i t o f heal th for the o ld beefeaters

,to find th e depths of forgetfulnes she sought,

but which cou ld not come to a nature su ch as h is hadalways been . Indeed secl us ion

,away from the gaiety

o f Cou rt a nd h is fellow-beings seem ed rather to devel opthe Old

,half-forgotten memories in his brain , whereon

had once been shadowed the suffer ings o f King Ph ilip ,h is Indian foster-father, and all h is race o f hun tedpeople .The beef- eaters, also, were not absol utely contented,

away from the ir own country an d the haunts whereinthey were won t to brag, to drink a nd to swagger.Yield ing at las t to their importun i ties, Adam returnedwith the pair to London .

Once in th e foggy capi tal again , h e was soon pouncedupon , by old associates, w ith whom h e found i t exh ila ra ting once again to consort . A treat i se on rare v iol ins and the ir makers

,over wh ich h e had labored and

pondered for months,or even years

,was now negl ec ted .

H e sharpened his w its,had a look at h is sword and

brightened up h is d i su sed tinsel o f conversati on . Hesoon began to bel i eve th e greatest forge tfulness, afterall

,i s where th e Babel of tongues i s loudest, and that

357

358‘Nhen a Witch is Young.

th e most absolu te sol itude i s to be found in the m idsto f the largest throng.

The soc ial func tions of the new King were fewer, lessbrill iant and no t to be compared

,in point o f popu lar ity,

with those of James . The D ukes,th e March ionesses

a nd l esser l ights were therefore constra ined to make themore o f thei r private parties . There wa s, in conse

quence, no stin t of hunting, drinking and dancing—allas cond iments pou red about th e omniprevalent p iece d eresi stance— making love.At the Duchess o f Kindlen’s, Adam found th e set h e

had known particularly well . He was welcomed back totheir c i rcle as a lOpg

-l ost fixtu re withou t whose presenceno one was at all abl e to expl ain how they had managedto go on existing. They fi tted him back in his n i ch ewith a promptness wh ich migh t have been flattering, hadhe no t been aware that they wished merely to feed uponh im as a n ew entertainer, or a n old one refu rbi sh ed.

He was not surpr i sed to learn that Lady Viol et hadbeen marri ed in his absence . He was du ly informedo f th is event

,wh i ch h e described as a n irreparable

calamity in h is l ife,by Lady Margaret, who was more

o f a. brill ian t blossom o f femin ine charm and enticements than even before .

But you,my dear Lady Margaret

,he said , you

have been tru e to my memory Youhave never l earnedto l ove another

I never learned t o love you , Adam , she said .

Then it must have been a matter o f Spontaneouscombust ion ,

” h e concluded . Youalways did manageyou r compl iments adro i tly.

Confirmed villa in,”she answered, a womanwould


I’m not she said,unguard edly . I refu sed only

to-n igh t to set th e day .

”

This was a thoughtfulness toward me I had no t expected

,

” said Rust, complacently. But you are betroth ed

,a nd th is was unkind .

”

Unkind to whom she demanded .

To Ted— and to me .”

You will l ike Ted,”she told h im ,

more artfully.At the o th er end o f a du el, yes— immensely .

”

He’

s a terrib le swordsman,

”she said, to u rge h im

Yet h ow poorly h e fenced wi th you .

What do you meanYou won . You got h im—poor devil .Wretch Ted at l east would never p ick on a

woman .

”

If i t’s Ted Suffie, sa id Ru st, I saw h im pick on

h is teeth , to-nigh t, a nd that i s worse—in company.

“ His too th aches terribly ! ” said Lady Margaret,

defending poor Suffi e gallantly.

He indulge s in too much sweets, Adam remarked ,unmoved .

“ Treat h im th e way you do me and he’ll

soon be better . ”

“ I w ish Ted could hear th e way you talk to me,she said .

If he could hear th e th ings you sa y t o me, he wou lddemand that du el qu icker,

” Rust responded .

“ Tellme someth ing outrageou s to sa y to the fellow, so thath e will be obliged to chall enge .

”

Nonsense,

”she said, l ooking at h im slyly, don ’t

be silly . You wouldn ’t fight a du el over me.Ah

,bu t think what a l ot o f lad ies would th ink me

Old Acquaintan ces. 36 1

a hero,

” he repl ied wi th enthusiasm . And I mightalso be ban ished from the country . You ca n never tel lwhere l u ck a nd l ightn ing will s trike next .”

GO away, Adam,

”she said .

“You are perfectlymonstrous .”

I’ll go and have a look at Ted , he answered ,calmly. If he i s a gentleman he will probably insul tme without delay .

”

To Lady Margaret’s u tter di smay and aston ishment,he sauntered o ff at once and actually went to where

Suffie was standing, and had h imself presen ted .

I have asked for this honor,

” h e sai d, th e soonerto offer my bes t congratulati ons on your betrothal .Lady Margaret has told me a l i ttl e about i t. She i sthe happiest girl I have ever seen in all my l ife.

You are a good chap to say so ,” said Suffi e. Do

you know,I fanc ied I sh ou ld l ike you

,Mr. Rust, the

moment I sa wyou.

I should like to give you my friendsh ip as a wedding present

,

” Adam told h im,honestly

,knowing at

once that Sufiie was a fellow he coul d really somewhatl ike . Then he added, more equivocally I haveknown Lady Margaret so l ong that I shall take greathappiness in see ing the consummation o f thi s happyevent.”

CHAPTER VI.

! UGGLING WITH FIRE.

LADY MARGARET wa s a beau tifu l woman . The nextt ime he met her, Adam real i zed that this was tru e.He stood look ing down upon her, where she sa t on alow divan wh ich was made to throw two persons verycl ose together

,a nd into which he had avoided squeez

ing. The young woman looked up at h im winningly,

a slumberou s pass ion in h er garnet-brown eyes. Hercreamy wh ite bosom rose and fell in a calm voluptuousness

,th e twin beautie s o f whi ch were more than sug

gested .

Rust could not recall that h e had ever seen Shouldersmore superb, nor a threa t more del igh tfully round andbui l t upward in cu rves to th e perfec t ch in at the top.

In contrast wi th her lu strou sly dark eyes and her a l

most black eyebrows, spanning her foreh ead wi th theirdainty arch es

,h er Ol d-gold h air wa s a n amazing crown

o f l ovel iness .Sh e had l ed h im away from the company,

“ to l ookfo r Ted ,

” with a n art which had for once deceived th ecrafty rover c ompletely . Now , as h e looked upon her,assuming a coldness i t was u tterly impossible to feel

,

and be a m a n, h e noted a beau ty in her bare arms

wh ich made h im think Of the perfect l ines o f a tiger’s

pa w. He could have suggested noth ing to make themmore spl endid .

362


for me once had depar ted forever. Cou ldn ’t you breakmy h eart in some s impler way , dear Lady Margaret

I t was all you r faul t for going away,”she told h im .

You knew I l iked you before you went away.

”

Oh yes,” he responded gaily

,bu t I sa w that you r

passionate love for me was waning, so I went away to

kindl e i t over again .

”

DO be seriou s for a moment,

”Shemurmured , vexed

w ith h is calmness and hi s raill ery.

“You know Tedis a dreadful bore .”

Then since you have given h im the l ove that oncewas mine

,my cu e i s to become a bore in stanter .”

You would never know it,i f I loved you madly,

she said , lo ck ing up in to h is face with her declarationcentered in her eyes . ”

Yes,I would

,

” h e corrected,placidly. If you

l oved me madly you would tel l me abou t i t you know

youwoul d .

”

Her breath came fast. Her bosom rose and fel lrapidly. You wouldn ’t bel i eve me if I did,

”she

said .

If you told'

me you l oved me madly, said Adam,

I sh ould know you didn’t . So pl ease let me go on

with my fond delu sions .”

She wa s sil ent a momen t. He cou ld feel her burning gaze on hi s face . Adam

,

” sh e said presently ,do sit down .

” She moved to make half room enoughfor h im on th e d ivan .

What,and make you stand 9 he replied .

NeverSh e placed her hand on th e arm o f th e seat, where

she knew h is fingers would return when h e had fin ished

! uggling wi th Fire. 365

scratch ing a t a t iny wh ite speck on h is coat-l appel .He observed her motion and thru st h is fist in h ispocket.

Oh , I am dying, she presen tly wh ispered, afteranother silence.“ How interesting, Adam cheerfully commented .

What are you dying for, a glass o f water, or a new

set o f diamondsYou know what I am dying for

, She said , tremulously, in a voice hardly above a wh i sper. You saidif I were dying , you

— you would know what for .”

Oh , did I 9” Adam mused . He was pal e beh ind

his calm . His hands were perspi ring,coldly . Yes,

o f cou rse . I sai d you would be dying to ru n awaywith me. And now you would try to prove that th iswas all wrong. My dear Lady Margaret, th i s i s nuk ind .

”

She arose from her seat. She was driven to h er w i ts’

end for anyth ing to say.

Silly boy,” she an swered, as she came toward h im

,

and then She qu ickly added Oh,Adam

,would you

mind ju st clasp ing this strap P”

The strap was a narrow bi t o f finery wh ich crossedh er bare shoulder. She had artfully l oosened th e goldenclasp and n ow came to present shoulder, strap, claspand al l for re-arrangemen t.

There is n othing I can do wi th greater ease, saidRu st, “ There you are , -done already .

” He had performed his o ffi ce with amazing dexteri ty and wi th atou ch so fleeting that sh e wou ld never have knownwhen i t al ighted .

Oh , you haven’

t done i t right, my dear fool i sh

366 When a Witch 13 Young.

Adam,she said

,wi th a del ic i ou s l i ttl e chu ckl e I

’ll

pu t my arm across you r shoulder, so . Now, make i t

righ t,do

,Adam , please .

”

She dropped her exqu isite arm on h i s shoulder as sheSpoke a nd edged closer. Sh e turned so that her facewas so near to h is that h e could feel how glowing warm

she was . Her breath fanned against h i s ch eek, hotly.

The m a n fel t a sense o f in toxication steal ing upon h im .

Yet h e was fixing the clasp as briefly as before, wh enShe made a movement with h e r sl ipper .

Oh,I am fall ing,

”she said in a l i ttle cry, a nd

throwing both arms abou t h im ,to support h erself, she

was clasped close to h i s breast,for a moment , before he

could seem to ré'-establi sh her balance . In that bri ef

t ime a m a d horde o f thoughts ra n r iotou sly through hi sbrain . She was beau tifu l she loved h im sh e hadfasc inated someth ing in him always . Could he n ot behappy, loving her and hav ing h er love in retu rn Whynot run away with her— to th e Contin en t— anywhereand fil l the ach ing void in h i s nature w ith love an dcaressesHis h eart was beat ing fu riou sly . He trembled. A

fever l eaped into h is brain . Through his arms Sh ot agalvani c contracti on , as they hal ted in the a ct of closing abou t the superb

,sl ender figu re he was h olding. I t

seemed as i f h e must k i ss h er, on her l ips, her throat

h er sh oulderAdam , I am dying she wh ispered to h im again

,

as h e h eld her.Don ’t d ie s tanding up

,he said , wi th a sudden re

covery o f the mastery over h imself . “ S it down anddo i t calmly .

”

CHAPTER V II .

A BEEF-EATER PASSES.

THE rigors of the London winter pu rsu ed th e beefeaters rel en tl essly, tapping them remindfully on th eShoulder, now and again, with a cold, or a spel l o fbronch i tis, a nd then , under cover o f a fog, som e deadlya fli iction fastened upon the pair all at once . The rover

found them , after a n absence from their quarters o ftwo days , so ill that first one and then the oth er wa scrawl ing from hi s bed to m ini ster t o h is comrade

, so

that both grew rapidly worse.Adam looked at th e two o f th em ru efully

,when at

length he came to where th ey were. He had neverknown them il l in th i s manner before. They caredno th ing for eating ; th ey slept bu t l i ttle . Their eyeswere brigh t. They were perfec tly cheerfu l, in a feebl esort o f way. After the Sachem h a d come they declaredth ey wanted for noth ing, provided he would talk tothem , sing a l i ttle and let th em l i e there and see h im ,

o r hear h im play on h is favorit e viol in .

He brought them every comfort wh ich money couldbuy. He cooked for th em

,served them and ate at their

board—wh ich was a board indeed , reach ing from one

bed to th e oth er,where they cou ld easi ly get at what be

spread on i ts su rface for their pleasure . But the choicewines h e fetch ed

,and the fru i ts and the del i cate bits of

game and fish , remained almos t wholly untasted.

368

A Beef-eater Passes. 369

Adam was soon at a l oss to know what to do . He

tried to get at thei r symptoms .Pike

, you rogu e,” he said , I want to know where

youfeel bad . You are ill

,you know nowwhere i s the

pain“ By my sword-stroke

,

” said Pike, in a worn-downvoice

,I have no pain . I may be tired, to-day , but to

morrow,bring me a pirate and I shall eat h im withou t

the trouble o f sl icing h im first .”

Tired,that’s it , agreed Halberd . I’m a bi t tired

mysel f,th i s afternoon , bu t by cock

’s crow to-morrow Icould enjoy pu ll ing the tail ou t of a l ion and beatingthe beast to death with the bloody end o f i t .”

Well,doesn’t your stomach ach e

, or you r headhurt you in si sted Adam . When you cough l ikethat

,doesn’ t i t hu rt your ch est

“ NO, I l ik e i t, for th e t ickl ing, said Halberd .

The two old scamps were afraid o f being taken acrossth e channel to Spain again , or down in to France

,or

perhaps across to Morocco . After three days o f h istinkering unsuccessfully

,with his faith fu l compau

i ons , Adam called in a doctor.The worthy physi c ian promptly bl ed th e two pati en ts .

Littl e Pike became qu ieter,if possible

,than before .

Halberd, on the contrary, wa s somewhat wrought up inhis feel ings .“ By my steel ! ” said he, when the doctor had de

parted , “ thi s puny S ir Nostrum has let more o f myju i ce wi th h is nonsen se than ever was taken by swordsm a n out o f my carcass . Fai th I’ll pulp th e fellow

,

and h e comes againAdam laughed, for Halberd suddenly got back a

2 4

370 When a W i tch is'

Young.

monstrou s appeti te . He l ikewise abounded in pains,which he permi tted the Sachem to sooth e a nd heoth erwise improved pas t al l bel ief . He had been a l it tleill

,and h is sympathy with Pike h a d made h is ailment

m isch ievous .Pike

,however

,had no such rally in him . H e pu t in

h is time smooth ing the coverle t w ith slow,feeble move

men ts, while h e la v there look ing at Adam with dumbaff ection until one could almost fancy he wa s wagginga tail

,with weak

,j oyful j erks .

He got th e Sachem to sing h im the love song Of th emany seas

,for Pike had once had a h eart fu ll o f love

for a maiden h imsel f,and wh ile th e experience was

noth ing j oll i er th an a funeral on th e day set for th e

wedding, neverth el ess he l iked th e l ively song, with alli ts variou s maids and misses men tioned

, fo r he conceived th em all to be th e self- same girl, after all,simply transported to d iff erent cl imes .While Adam was s inging and playing , with the mer

riest spiri t h e could conj ure , th e wi stfu l o ld Pike hadthe impudence to close h is eyes and die .A fain t sm il e l ingered on h i s face wheth er a s a re

sul t o f h is joke 011 Adam and Halberd , or h is pleasu rederived from the song, cou ld never be known .


Their disaff ection doubtless had its purpose, and itmight have been fruitfu l o f the fur ther concessionwh ich they gained , namely, the privil ege of nom inatingtheir own next Governor.Here , for once , th ey were qu ite unanimou s . They

requested that Si r Wil l iam Phipps be appoin ted. Theyknew that withou t the pricel ess servi ces wh ich h e hadrendered th e cause, during all h i s soj ou rn in England ,they m igh t n ever have received a t i the o f what wasnew sec ured to their country with al l poss ible sta

bility.

The nominat ion o f Captain Phipps was made com

plete by th e King wi thout delay . He wa s con sti tu tedCaptain-General and Governor-in-Chief of th e Province o f Massachu set ts Bay, in New England , andl ikewi se Captain-General o f th e Colonies of Connecticut a nd Rhode Island .

Weighted down with these new responsib il i t i es, hewent seeking for Adam Rust, at th e gay salon o f th eD uchess bf K indlen , noted in i ts day for i ts scope andthe l ibert i e s acceded to the guests who assembled ini t s spaci ou s hall s .Having heard from a mutual friend that Sir Will iam

would be l ooking h im up at the D uchess’, Adam re

paired to th e scen e rather more early than was h iscu stom . He had seen bu t l i ttl e o f th e captain for amatter o f several years . He was ch id ing h im self uponthe negligence by wh ich th i s had been made possibl e ,when he arrived at th e hou se .The funeral o f the faithfu l Pike, and the pl ight o f

th e lorn old Halberd , S ince l osing his comrade, haddepressed Adam’s sp irit s immeasurably . Halberd had

A Woman Scorned . 373

been following him about, dumbly, ever since th edire event in the fam ily . He said bu t l ittle h e madeno complain ts o f his lonel iness . He simply hung on

Adam ’s footsteps,l ike a homeless old dog, whose one

remaining instinc t is fai thfu lness an d undying aff ecti on,

waiting for hi s master when he came from the brightlyl ighted hou ses

,pleased and exci ted whenever he cou ld

have th e Sachem to talk with on the topi c of Pik e ’smany vi rtu es a nd traits of character that confirmed

h im in h is fel low ’s aff ecti ons .Adam had taken the lorn beefeater into h i s own

apartments , wher e h e could keep a more carefu l watchover h is h eal th and h i s n egative happiness . N0 friendamong all h i s nobl e acquaintances had such a hold on

Adam’s hear t as had th i s bragging ol d remnant of h i sretinu e

,a nd to none did h e drop the mask o f frivol i ty

as h e di d before th i s compan ion , whom noth ing coulddiscou rage nor al ter .Thu s he had been glad to th ink o f going no more

where th e D uchess,Lady Margaret and the others

assembled,with their t in sel show, th eir thinly-plated

talk,their gam bl ing and amours , but had contemplated

going away with Halberd , in to Nature’s s impler walks

and profounder beau ti es .The gari sh gl itter stru ck inharmoniously upon h im ,

as h e walked impatiently through the brill ian t rooms ,in a search for S ir Will iam Ph ipps, who had not yetarrived . He presently found h imself confron ted by

Suffie, who , in turn, h a d been looking abou t for LadyMargaret .

Howdo you do said Suffie, at once . My dearRust, I am charmed to see you again . I have been


wanting to see you,’

pon my word . Would you mindju st giving me a fewminu tes ’ talk

One o f my greatest del igh ts is derived from l i stening to a brill iant conversat ional i s t

,

” said Ru st. Whereshall we go

“ There i s no one as yet in th e d ice-box, said th eother . “ If you don ’t m ind, we might stroll in thereby oursel ves .Saying, I am yours to command

,Adam followed

le isu rely behind h is fri end to th e now empty room employed nightly for gambl ing .

I t’s ra ther a del i cate bu s iness— what I have to sa y

,

confessed Sufile, by way o f a preface , but you are afrank

,decent fellow, that a man ca n talk to, wel l

openly—don ’t you know .

”

“ Thanks,said Adam . If i t i s anyth ing abou t

Lady Margaret,l et u s be sens ible, by all means .

”

That’s devil i sh clever o f you,O ld chap,

” responded

Suffi e, evidently mu ch rel i eved already Of course

you know how matters stand .

”

“ I would n ever b e sure o f where anyth ing stood,that had a woman for an el ement in i t s make-up .

”

Yes,I know . That’ s cl ever, to o—deucedly clever.

Perhaps I had better pu t i t p la inly .

”

DO, I b eg o f you .

Now— you are a frank, sen sib le man . Now—do

you really l ike—you know—l ove, you know—LadyMargaret

,- j u st speaking as m a n to man , sensibly, a s

you SO cleverly saidWould you force me to become e ither ungallant or

a trai tor“ Not at all, I


dear Sufi‘le. This favor would be n oth ing— a mere

trifleOh no

, new,I Wouldn’t permit it , said Sufile.

m a gna nimouslv. Bu t you are s uch a deu cedly cl everfellow

,don ’t you know, that I th ough t you migh t be

able to devi se someth ing, something to—well , youknow .

”

Yes, oh yes, said Adam ,

pul l ing calmly at h is l onggolden mu stache . He meditated for a moment andidly p icked up a dice-box , placed in read iness for th eevening ’s play upon the table. Do you ever fripperaway your time with these ? If you do

,perhaps we

migh t arrange a l i t tl e harmless dev ice without muchtroubl e . ”

At one of th e doors, th e figure o f Lady Margare tappeared a nd disappeared as Sufile expressed h i s eagerness to know what the plan in Adam ’s h ead might be .Al th ough she had gl ided swiftly from room to room insearch o f Rust, Lady Margaret had frowned when she

saw h im in company with h er fi a ncé , a nd petulan tlybeat ing h er fan in her fragrant l it tl e palm

,she had

gone back around toward a secondary ent rance,in

wh ich a h eavy cu rtain hung . Sh e wa s vaguely wonder ing what th e two could find to talk abou t togeth er

,

and to what extent they were gambl ing,that they wen t

at th e d ice th u s early .

Sh e nowmet Sir Will iam Phipps,Governor- el ec t o f

New England, who had finally arr ived and who wasscanning the gath ering c ompany for a sigh t o f AdamRust .“ Oh , how well you are look ing, Sir Will iam ,

she

cri ed to Ph ipps, deligh tedly.

A Woman Scorned. 377

I am looking for a friend said th e captain , withh is customary bl untness . But thank you, LadyMargaret

,thank you

,hear ti ly .

If you are looking for a fri end, why, l ook over myhead she said to h im , prettily . Oh

, you dear Oolonia l Governors are su ch del igh tfully honest people .We al l have to l ike you , really .

“ I have found some h on est men in England,said

the Captain , with convic ti on . The Puritans aregrowing numerou s among your peopl e .

”

Lady Margare t laughed, spontaneou sly enough .

And what abou t our women she said . Do you

find them at all—well , charm ingSome are as bold as a pi rate

,

” he said,withou t in

tending anyth ing personal . He could see many ropesand clu sters o f j ewels, gleam ing from afar. Andsome o f them mu st have plundered many a good sh ipo f her treasu re ,

” he add ed . If I don ’ t pu t abou t anddo some cru ising, I shall n ever speak that boy to-nigh t .He bowed, somewhat j erkily, and sauntered o ff .

Lady Margaret cont inu ed on her way aro und towardthat curta ined door

, on th e other s id e o f wh ich she hadseen Rust a nd Suflle with the dice.

Wi ll iam Phipps spent no fu rth er time in conversingwi th th e women

,beyond a word a s h e passed, so th at

finally he came to th e gambl ing apartment , where hefound h i s protégé . Knitt ing h is brows for a second ,in an ill -concealed annoyance

, to see Adam Rust eu

gaged in su ch a pu rsu i t as th i s, he stood there in th edoorway , hoping to catch Adam

’s eye and so to a d

moni sh h im sil ently for in dulging even a moment’s

wh im at th i s v ice .


One thousand more , said Adam, somewhat hotly.

Sir Will iam pricked up h is ears in amazemen t.Lost again Rust exclaimed . The devil i s in

th e d ice His back was toward the cu rtained door.

There was a m irror, however, directly across th e room .

Watching the glass h e presently beheld the reflec tiono f a movemen t, where th e tapestry swayed beh indh im . Three th ou sand now, or nothing he added ,desperately .

The dice rattled out o f the box in the silence thatfollowed .

“ It’s luck ,

” said Sufile, Scooping up the dice t othrow again .

It ’s sorcery exla imed th e rover,in eviden t heat .

Come, sir, I have two thou sand l eft . I’l l stake i t al lon a singl e throwPhipps wo uld have interfered , had i t been in a ny

place bu t a pri vate hou se , where the scandal wouldspread so swiftly. He twi tched in n ervou sness , a s h egripped the cane with wh ich he wou ld have l iked toknock the d ice-box endways .The throw was c ompleted .

“ I’m done ! ” said Rust . “ I’ve noth ing more to

stak eOh

,come, said Suffie, taun tingly, play your

sword,your—surely you must have something you

pri ze . What,no resources ? Must we cease th e play

so soonMy sword No said Adam , wi th temper.

But s tay ; since you speak so sl ight ingly o f my sword,I h ave one more stake to off er .”

By all mean s name i t a nd play.


We shall see, r etorted Sufile, and fl inging thedice h e sa t down and reared with laughter.

“ Lost 1” said Adam , tragically . So be i t . To

the d evi l with you , sir ; and I wish you joy o f yourwinn ings .”

He strode from th e table,met Sir Will iam Phipps

at the door, winked at h im merrily and so drew h im

out in th e hal l .What ’s th i s What ’s thi s said th e Governor

,

exc itedly . I come here to se e you, with news on mytongu e

,and find you— l ike th is

Tush , Will iam ,

” said Adam , l augh ing boyish ly,and as cool as a fish . I wa s betting in farth ings. Imu st have l ost a

'

hundred. D id you think the luckwas al l w i th Suflle

But, si r, th i s—thi s ladyTh ere i s more than one way to cure a woman o f a

hear t’s d is temper,said the young man , cheerfully .

“ Lady Margaret was j u st th ere, beh ind th e curtain .

But th i s i s wasting time . What i s you r news P”

Phipps looked at h im in wonder, for a moment, th enshak ing h i s h ead

,sadly , he presen tly drew h is hand

down across h is face,to h is doubl e chin, as if to wipe

out a smil e, which had come out o f h is eyes a nd traveledall over h is coun tenance.

Adam ,

” h e said,th ey have made me Governor o f

th e colony,and I want you to go home with me to

Boston .

”

Adam said noth ing,for a moment, th en h e an swered

Let ’s ge t out o f th i s . I wan t some fresher a ir to

th ink i t over in .

”

They were soon walking out at the gate, arm in a rm.

A Wom an Scorned . 38 1

The ai r was no t only fresh,i t wa s bi tter cold . When

they turn ed to go down th e street,Adam having firs t

looked abou t, wi thou t see ing what he sought , o ld Halberd issu ed from a nich e , where he had been dancingto keep himself warm , a nd followed along beh ind hismaster .

Well , now that you have thought it over,Phipps, at last, what do you sayAdam had th ought i t over

,from a th ou sand stand

points . Th e magnet at Boston had drawn h im anddrawn him so long that h e felt h i s whol e sou l was a l

ready across th e Atlanti c. Why fight h is l onging anyfurth er Why not at least go h ome , look the propo sition in th e face a nd perhaps be d is il lu si on iz ed

I ’m your man,

” he said, as if t o catch h imself be

fore he should al ter h is mind.

“ When are you sailing

CHAPTER IX .

REV ELATIONS.

WHEN th e Andros governmen t came to a n end,

Edward Randolph had langu ished ln j ai l for a brief timeonly . Th e Puritans were ch iefly angered at hi s master

,

whom they had finally pu t aboard a sh ip and sen t awayfrom th e country . Thu s th e more misch ievou s spi ri t

,

and author o f many o f the ir wrongs, escaped to workh i s malignant will upon them for years .Randolph wa s so crafty, so in s id iou s, and will ing to

remain so in th e background, that unti l i t wa s qu ite

to o l at e to redeem the ir posit i on , the Puri tan s fai l edeven to su spect him o f the monstrou s in iqu iti es h e in

duced th em to commi t upon one another . The witchcraft persecutions, which he fas tened upon them ,

hadnot originated in h i s brain , fertil e as that organ wa sfor th e growth of th ings diabol ical . He got hi s one

from England , where thou sands o f persons peri shed,

at the s tak e and otherwise, convic ted on fan tast ictestimony o f practi s ing arts that were black andmysteriou s .Randolph

,real i z ing that Boston h a d been made to o

warm for act ive operati ons , began h is work in Sal em .

That center off ered h im exceptional opportun iti es .The growth of th e dread disease wa s appall ing . His

38 2


wi tched by th e wi tches whose incarcerati on th ey hadal ready procu red .

In the madness,confu sion a nd excess o f gl ee, two

persons were more inwardly sti rred than all the others ,no t by the arrival of Will iam Phipps, bu t by that ofAdam Rust . One was Garde, to whose ears and hear t

the story of Adam ’s retu rn came swiftly flying . Theo ther was Edward Randolph

,who sa w a n Opportun i ty

for devil try for wh ich h e had wai ted so l ong that he hadalmost despai red of ever tasting i ts bi tter- swee t . Withh i s own eyes h e beh eld Adam Rust, a nd h e grinned .

At th e end o f that l ong,fat iguing da y, Rust reti red

to th e privacy o f his tavern apartmen ts,secu red hap

hazard,during one of th e moments l ess fil led than the

others wi th pressing events . Here h e sa t h im downfor the purpose o f thi nk ing . He wondered why hehad come to Boston again, and what he would do , nowth at at last h e l ived under th e same sky with Garde

,

h earing th e same sounds sh e was hearing, breath ingthe same fragrance o f th e Spring that s tol e to h er .Should he try to see her ? Perhaps . But to speak toher— no , h e thought h e could make no advance in th i sdirecti on . But h e could l earn whether she had marri ed

,as o f course sh e must have done, long before, a nd

then— well,something in h im ought to be sa tisfied

that something which had urged h im so i nexorably toreturn and to make thi s moment possibl e .In th e m idst o f hi s reveri es , he h eard a knock upon

h is door . I t was poor ol d Halberd , doubtless, who hadbeen so forl orn and so ill on the ocean . He had lefth im asleep, bu t, no matter , he wou ld be glad to see h im,

privacy o f thought notwi th standing.

Revelat ions . 385

Come in, h e said . Come in.

The door opened , not as Halberd was wont to perform a n act so s imple, and Adam was con sciou s that astranger had in truded upon him . He looked up

,

winked h is eyes a nd looked more in tently, as if a bsolutely incredul ou s that h e was awake and sane .His v isi tor was Edward Randolph .

Mr. Rust,I am glad to see you again in Boston ,

sai d the man,coming forward in a tentative manner

a nd smil ing by sh eer force o f eff ort . “ You didn ’texpect m e , bu t 1 have taken th is early oppor tuni ty o f

call ing,to sa y I know what a great wrong I d id you in

th e past,and to make what reparat ion I can .

”

The devi l co uld do n o more ,” said Adam , l ooking

h im over calmly . And I doubt if the devil e ver hadyou r impertin en ce .“You do me wrong

,Randolph assu red him ,

meekly . I could do no l ess than to come here andtender what apol ogies I may, a nd to do you a smallfavor . I was grossly m isl ed , concern ing you r worthand your cou rage

,by spi teful persons who had, as I now

understand , some personal grudge .”

As I knew bu t two men in the town, wh en first Ih a d th e honor o f apprais ing you for a rascal , sai dAdam

,

“ your tal e pl eases me but i ndifferen tly well .As fo r favors

,I have none to ask o f you, and none to

grant. ”

Yet,i f only in a Chri stian spiri t, th e fellow in

s i sted , “ you mu st permit me to beg your pardon formy errors o f th e past . I have l ong regretted my grievous mistake o f j udgmen t, and for that long I have

2 5


desired an Opp ortun i ty o f showing my m ortifica t ion

a nd doing you the o ne kindness in my power .”

In the sp iri t o f th e Chri sti an cru saders, saidRu st, I feel that I could d eny you l i ttl e . Youwoulddo well , sir, to ret ire in good order whil e my indispesition to throw you through the window i s stil l uponme .”

But , my dear Mr . Rust, you don’t know what an

inj ury you are do ing'

to vourself ,” th e vi s i tor went on .

“ If you kn ew how cruelly we were both wronged ,almost at th e same time and by the same person

,you

would l i s ten , i f only for that one compassion .

”

I have been wronged in Boston,

” Adam agreed,

ominously, and shatter my h il t if I know why I hes itate to redress myself wh il e I may.

But I did you no wrong to you r heart , sir. Our

inj uries were both of th e h eart,” Randolph re iterated

,

persi sten tly.

“ Look , sir, I had a h eart, six years ago,and I fel t i t cru elly trampled under foot— the samefeet that trampled upon yours , and h ere

Beware Adam growl ed . I shall cu t out yourt ongu e

,for l ittl e more . Begone , si r, and thank your

God at every step you take , that you stil l l ive— if youval u e you r l ife at al l and th i s I am driven to doubt.”

Here,h ere repl i ed Randolph , nervou sly, and

with shaking fingers h e d rew from hi s pocket a packet

o f paper folded in the form o f a letter . “ You wil ln ever bel i eve me til l I show you th is . But I lay myheart Open— I expose my wounds , t o prove h ow youwrong me . Read i t, read it— the l etter she sen t meand then I shall be will ing to hide by your an swer.

”

Adam could no t fail to b e impressed by the man’s


away—with a s tab in h is hear t, from wh ich he hadnever been abl e to recover. He had though t at firstshe sen t h im away as a renegade

,a fugitive from .

pseudo- j u s tice, whom to have loved openly would b e ad isgrace . He h a d though t th en that perhaps she

l oved Wa insworth , or even th i s Randolph . He hadth ough t til l b e nearly wen t crazy

,for c i rcumstances

had compel l ed h im to flee from Boston for h is l ife,and

therefore to flee from all explanations which might havebeen made . Garde having released h im from jai l

,h e had

been driven to th ink sh e bel ieved h im innocent . Shehad said sh e could do no less . Then he had been leftno bel i ef to s tand on but th at o f her l oving some oneel se more than she did h imself . She had admittedthat someth ing had happened . Cornered th us

,he had

found the case hopeless , and though ts o f return toBoston then had seemed to h im madness .This l et ter

,now in h i s hand, confirmed all th ose

more terr ibl e th oughts and bel iefs . She had done somewrong to Randolph , t oo, as she here confessed in h erlet te r. She had bel ieved some infamou s story again sth im

,and now prayed h i s forgiveness . And what, in

God ’s name,had sh e then added to th is first wrong to

the man , that Randolph now was so bitterTerribly st irred, he raced h i s glance over th e pages

and so to th e l ittl e quain tly aff ect ionate ending. Thenhe read h er s ignatu re , Garde— John Rosella .

John Rosella —the name of that youth SheGardeHe fel t h e shou ld su ddenly go mad . That boy h e had

so l earned to l ove— had been Garde She had writ tenthi s l e tter— she had signed that name , wh ich mean t so

Revelat ions. 389

much to him a nd t o her, and so l i ttl e to a ny one

else

He made a strange l i ttl e sound, a nd then h e began

to read th e letter over again,from the first

,l e tting

every word, every syllabl e, sink into his soul with i tscomfort a nd i ts fragrance o f love . He forgot thatRandolph stood there before h im . He was obl iviou so f everyth ing. He was on that h igh road again . Hewa s s tanding with Garde in the garden at midnight

,

her ki sses stil l warm on hi s l ips .“You se e there is a bond between u s

,said Ra n

Adam ceased reading, galvan ically . But for asecond he did not rai se h is eyes . He folded the lettera nd held i t in h is hand . He arose to his fee t andsl owly moved between Randolph and th e door .

There i s a bond between us ,” he agre ed

,speaking

with n ice del iberation .

“ It i s something more thana bond . I t

’s a ti e o f blood and bone and suffer ing .

”

I though t you wou ld see i t , said Randolph .

This was all I came to tel l you , —th i s, a nd my sense o fhaving done you wrong .

”

Oh yes,I see i t,

” said Adam,t urn ing th e key in th e

lock a nd pu tting i t calmly in h i s pocket, I see i t all

cl early . By the way, sir, who i s John Rosella, if I may

askRandolph h a d become pal e . His eyes were growing

w ild . He had watch ed Rust lock the door with quaking dread .

John Rosell a h e repeated,with a s icken ing

sense o f hav ing overl ooked someth ing important , wh i chhe had thought a n in signific a nt trifle ;

“why, that i s


merely the—her middl e names . Her ful l name i s

Garde John Rosel la Merrill . ”

“ I tru st you are gentleman enough to fight, saidRust

,placing the l etter in h is pocket , for I shall tell

you, sir, that you are a l iar, a scoundrel , a murderou s

blackgu ard .

”

Walking up to th e staring wretch,calmly, Adam

slapped h i s face til l th e blow r esounded in th e ro omand Halberd came hasten ing to the door t o know what;

could be the matter .I rang the bell

,said Rust , who opened th e door

with great del iberation .

“ Bring a sword for one.

The gentleman wishes to fight.”

What do yd‘

u mean , sir said the tremblingcoward . Gi ve me back my l etter . I shall l eaveth is place at once 1

Wi ll you j ump th rough the window ? Adaminqu ired

,with mock concern . Don’ t call that l e tter

yours again, or I may not l et you o ff with a m ere

kill ing .

”

Halberd came with h is sword . Adam drew hi s owngood blade from the battered scabbard he had alwaysr etained

,and l ooked at the edge a nd th e po int , eri t i

cally .

“ I refu se to fight you I” said Randolph,who h a d

once seen that terrible length of steel at play “ Id emand to be rel eased from th i s place I”

Rust wen t up a nd sl apped h im again . Get up j u stmanhood enough to raise that sword,

” Adam implored .

Take it and s tri ke a ny sor t of a foul blow at meone of. your fou l est—do I you dog .

”

The cra ven tri ed to make a run at the door. Adam

CHAPTER X.

AFTER srx YEARS.

AT Gra ndther Donner ’s hou se,Garde had passed

the day with her h eart so flu ttering between hope andfear that she was a ll un strung by the t ime th e eveningarrived . She could bear i t n o longer

,then

, a nd witha shawl on h er h ea d she s tarted out to go to th e Seams ’

to l earn what she might o f the many events o f the

hour.In th e garden she pau sed . The st illness

,th e calm

,

the redo lence of Spring, burgeon ing in to maidenlysummer

,brough t back to her mind that similar t ime

,

six long years before , when she a nd Adam had methere among th e flowers, for that bri ef time o f j oy.

The fire o f l ove , kept so sacred by the vestal v irginspiri t o f h er natu re , burned upward in h er cheeks, aswarm

,as ardent as ever, after these years o f h er lonely

V igil .But woul d he ever stand there again

,in the garden

Would h e ever more clasp her hands on the pickets o fthe gate ? Or would he now prove disdainful , proudo f hi s fri endsh ip with th e new Governor, aloof andsil ent

,as h e had been since she sen t h im her letter

No matter what might be, she so hungered to h earsome word o f h i s coming, some meager d escription o f

39 2

After S ix Years . 393

how he l ooked , some mere hearsay o f how he borehimself

,that i t seemed as if she must consume h erself

wi th impati ence on her way to her uncle’s .

In the dusk wh ich was swiftly descending on th eface o f th e world , she closed the gate beh ind her ands tarted along the road, her face so pal e a nd yet so

eager, in her yearn ing , that i t was almost luminous .

She was presently consc iou s that som e one,dimly v isi

bl e,ahead , was rapidly approach ing . She drew her

shawl a l ittl e more closely abou t her face and q u ickenedher footsteps

,th e soone r to pass th is pedestr ian .

A metall i c tinkl e came to her ears and made herh eart g ive a n extra bound , she knew not why . It hadsimply sounded lik e a scabbard

,beating its smal l

accompanimen t to stu rdy strides . Sh e looked up,

t imidly , to see who i t was that carried a sword intosu ch a qu iet part o f Boston . Then sh e halted andsuddenly placed h er hand o ut, to the near-by fence,for a moment ’s support .The m a n wa s alm ost pass ing her by , where she stood .

He hal ted . He made some odd l i ttl e sound , a nd thenhe rema ined there , l ooking upon her, h is hand cominginvoluntarily up to h is h ear t.Garde looked up in hi s face , with ou t fear, bu t no t

wi th ou t sadness,wistfully— with the inqu iry o f s ix l ong

years in h er steadfast eyes .Garde

,

” said Adam,in a voice sh e barely h eard ,

Garde— I have— come home. I never got you r le ttert il l to -nigh t .”

She could no t answer, for a moment .I— have been wai t ing,

” sh e th en said , a nd str ivingto hold her l ips from trembl ing, she l et two great tears


tr ickl e slowly across h er face as sh e stil l looked up inh i s eyes .There was noth ing he could say . He read her whole

story of fai thfulness a nd o f suffering , her epic o f a lovethat could n ot d i e , in that one l ong lo ok . Slowly h e

went up to her and taking her face in his hands h eki ssed away the t ears from her cheeks . He pu t herhead gently agai nst his breast and l et h er cry .

She still h el d to th e fence, as if she dared no t to osuddenly l ean on h i s love , without wh ich she hadlearned to l ive so l ong. But gradual ly , as h e h eld herthere

,saying noth ing

, but softly kis sing h er hair a nd theone l i ttl e hand he

_had taken in his own

,h er arms crept

u pward abou t h i s sh oulders and her heart beat againsth is , in a peace su rpassing anyth ing o f earth .

My Gard e ,” he finally began to whi sper

,over and

over agai n, my own Garde—my darl ing, prec iou sGarde .

Oh , th i s may al l be wrong, Adam ,

”she answered

h im , after a t ime . I don ’t understand i t . We don ’tknowwhat has happened , in all these years . Oh , howdid you happen to come

You drew me , sweetheart, h e said , in a voicemade tremulou s wi th emotion . I have had no peacet il l n ow . I have loved you so ! I have dreamed o f

you so But I never knew— till to-n igh t , when I go tyou r l et ter . ”

You— never got i t ti ll to-night Oh Adam , sh esaid .

“ Oh,Adam

,I have been so puni shed for th e

wrong I did . Oh,you can never, never forgive me l

”

“ There , th ere, swee thear t,” h e said to her sooth

ingly, l etting her cry ou t the sobs she had s tifled so


His reply was a kiss and a boyi sh laugh . Now thath e had her once more, h e said, a nd now that noth ingshoul d ever par t them again, his world was complete,a nd th ere were no dangers, nor evil s, nor sorrows.Then h e begged her to tel l h im o f th e years that had

passed . He petted h er fondly, as she spoke o f h erlong

,l ong wai t . Sh e seem ed to h im thri ce more

beau tifu l,in th e calm and dign ity o f h er womanh ood ,

which had laid no t so mu ch as a faded petal on herbeauty and her endless you th .

He exchanged a hi story of heart-aches,match ing

with one o f h i s own every pang she had ever endured .

There was someth ing ecs tat ic , now,in th e l igh t o f

thei r new- found raptu re, in recounting those long days

o f sadness and despair . Every pain th u s rehearseddrew them th e cl oser , t ill th ei r l ove took on a sa cred

ness , as if su ffer ing and constancy had wedded them longbefore . Like parents who have bur ied the ch ildrenth ey loved

,th ey were made subdu ed and yet more

truly fervent, more absolu te in th e d ivine passi on wh ichheld them heart to h eart.And so , at last, when Garde was sure that Adam ough t

to go,they walked hand in hand to the gate together.

Sweetheart, l et me go ou tsid e , for a moment,” said

Adam,qu ick ly shu tt ing the barri er between them .

New,with you r two dear hands in mine

,i t i s j u st as

i t was s ix years ago . The nigh t i s th e sam e, yourbeau ty i s th e same

, our hearts and l ove are th e same asbefore

,a nd noth ing has ever come between us— except

this gate .”

He ki ssed h er hands and h er sweet face, a s he haddone on that other happy nigh t.

After S ix Years. 397

And we can open the gate , said Garde , in a l i ttlecroon o f del ight .Adam laughed , l i ke the boy he was . He flung open

and wen t insid e and took her in h is arms ,k issing h er upon th e l ips, raptu rously, t ime after time .

Oh Garde, I l ove you so he said . I love you II adore you

,my own l it tl e mate l ”

I cou ld have wai ted fifty years,

”she answered h im ,

nestling close and patting h is hand as she hel d i t,i n

excess o f j oy,to her heart . Oh Adam I My Adam 1

CHAPTER XI.

A BLOW IN THE DARK .

THE rover, so l os t in exal ted happiness that h e hardlyknew where he wa s going, when at l ength he said hisfinal good nigh t to Garde, was no t aware that the faithful old Halberd finally fel l into h is tracks beh ind h imand foll owed h im off toward the tavern .

Immensely rel ieved again to see h i s master,whom

he had not been abl e to locate before , th e o ld beefeater was soon convinced that Adam was in a mood thel ike o f which had no t appeared in the fam ily for manya day . He therefore gl id ed sil en tly after th e dreamer

,

a rod or so t o the rear, wait ing un til Adam sh ould tu rnabou t

,as was h i s won t

,to b id h im walk at h is side.

But to -n igh t th e Sachem was so th orough ly engrossedwith h is love a nd h i s forming plan s

,that h e completely

forgot t o th ink of h is lorn ret inue , and therefore th ebeef-eater fel t more alone an d sa d than u sual . Therewas n oth ing in Boston

,save Adam

,wi th which h e

could assoc iate any though ts o f j ol l i er days . Therewas nothing but Adam left in the world , t o wh ich tod evote the great fund o f a fi ection and devoti on in hi ss imple breast .But h e was making no complaint

,not even to h im

self . Whatever the Sachem d id was r igh t . Noth ingthat Adam could have done would have dri ven h im

398


Waiting for noth ing fu rth er, the th ree figures spedaway, down the street, di ved in to the darkness o f a n

all ey and were gone,past all finding

,when a few star

tled ci ti z en s o pened their windows or doors and lookedout on the street to see what the awful cr ie s o f Halberdh a d betokened .

I see someth ing— down on th e s idewalk,

” said thevo ice o f one o f the men .

“ The lantern , wife , thelantern I”“ What i s i t ? What is i t ? ” call e d another

,from

across th e way.

And others answering,that th ey knew not what i t

meant, o r that i t had sounded l ike some terrible deedbeing done, there were presently half a dozen awedmen com ing for th , when their neighbor appeared at h i sdoor wi th h i s l ight .The black , s t il l h eap wh ich had been seen from a

window smote th em all wi th horror . A dark stream,

from which the l ight was suggestively reflected,al ready

tri ckled to the gutter. They l ifted Halberd from thesecond prostrate form and found that Adam wasswiftly bl eeding to death from a ghastly wound in theneck , from wh ich the l ife-fluid wa s l eap ing out in

gushes .“ Turn him over

,t urn h im over ! commanded

the m a n wi th the lantern .

“ Run t o my hou se and

a sk the wife for everyth ing to tie up an artery—bandages, tooHe knel t down in the red stream . D igging hi s

fingers into th e gaping,red mou th o f th e wound , h e

clu tch ed upon the severed artery with a skill at oncebrutal and sure. The gush es ceased , almost entirely .

A Blow i n ! the Dark .

w 401

Adam ’s face , al ready deathly wh ite , had been turnedupward .

“ Saint s preserve u s ! ” said one of th e c i ti zen s .It

’s th e bosom fr iend of the GovernorThen we know where to take h im

,if h e doesn’t

die in spi te of me ,” said th e skilfu l surgeon who had

pounced upon th e wound .

“ Look to the other manand see if h e too , i s bleeding .

One o f th e other m en had already loosened the col

lar about old Halberd ’s n eck . Another came to assis t

He 8 bleeding a l ittl e, from the back o f hi s h ead,

said he . 0 Lord 1 He ’s dead l ”

The doctor ’ s wife came runn ing to th e place hersel f,

with h er hu sband ’s case in wh ich h e h ad a score o fcunning tool s and the n eed s o f hi s craft.The good woman pu shed the men aside and wi th a n

assurance and a cou rage almost totally unknown in hersex , at th e t ime, in su ch a case as th i s, ben t downabove th e wounded m a n and l ent to her hu sband then imble fingers a nd th e qu ick comprehension w i thou twh ich h e might eas ily have fail ed to prevent thatdeadly loss o f blood .

As i t was,Rust wa s at the door o f death . The turn

h e had made , when Halberd call ed out in alarm,had

saved h im from inevi table death . The steel dri ven so

v ic iou sly into h i s n eck,would have severed th e j ugular

vein completely had h e turned the fraction o f asecond l ess soon than h e d id , or an inch l ess far.The blow on h is templ e had glanced , so that half

th e power, which in th e case o f Halberd had cru sh edin th e sku l l ins tantly, had been lost, nevertheless i t

2 6


had served to render h im wholly u nconsc iou s .fore, two hours later, when brave l i ttl e Mrs .

go t h im laid in a cl ean , swee t couch , h edeath , and h i s heart-beat was feeb le and fain tlytering between mere l ife a nd the Great Stillness.


promise o f renewed steadiness, than h e lapsed from hi sunconsc ious condi ti on int o one of del i r ium .

Had Garde been wholly in ignorance of h is past andhi s l ife o f many tragedies, sh e would have been deemedto learn of all o f i t now. He l ived i t al l over

,a bun

dred t imes, a nd told o f i t,brokenly, exc i tedly, at times

with sall ie s of wit ty sentences,bu t for th e most part in

the sighs with which h is l ife had filled h i s heart to overflowing, bu t to which h e had never before given u tterance .

She knew now what th e boy h a d s uff ered when K ingPh il ip, the Sachem o f th e Wampanoags, was slain ,wi th the peopl e of h i s nat ion . She felt th e pangs h ehad fel t when , on first retu rn ing to Boston , he had be

lieved h imself supplan ted in Garde ’s a fi ections by h i sfri end Henry Wa insworth . She heard h im croon toth e l it tl e Narragansett ch i ld

,as h e l imped again

through th e forest . And th en sh e sounded the d epths

o f a man’s despair wh en the whol e world a nd th e woman

he loves drive h im forth , abased .

Yet much as she suff ered with h im in th i s long re

hea rsa l o f h is h eartaches , there wa s still one l i ttle con

solati on to her soul .The one name only that h e spoke, and spoke again

and a gain , in murmurs of love a nd in h eart-cr ie s o f

agony, wa s—Garde .

Having acqu ired her sk il l in th e harsh school whereher grandfath er ’s i llness had been the master , Gardecould a lmo st ha ve rej o iced in th i s reparation sh e wa s

making to Adam for what she had contribu ted to his

pangs in the past, had i t not been that hi s hovering so

a t the edge o f death frightened al l oth er em otions than

Adam’

s Nurse.

alarm from her breast . Neverth el ess she bel ieved hewoul d l ive . He cou ld not die, sh e insisted to herself,wh il e she gave him a lov e so vast and so su staining.

Th is feel ing was fairly a n in stinct . And the truthin wh ich i t was grounded cam e struggl ing to th e fore

,

one morning , when Adam opened hi s eyes , after h isfirst refresh ing sl eep , and laugh ed at h er gayly , i f al i t tl e weakly , to see her th ere , bend ing down above h im .

“ John Rosella ,” he said

,

“ I have been dreamingo f you— th e sweetes t boy that ever l i ver

Oh , Adam ,

” said Garde,suddenly crimson ing.

Oh— now you— vou mustn ’t talk . Youmust go backto sl eep at once .Adam was drowsy , despite h imsel f. I remember—every word— we said ,

” h e murmured,and every

look o f your sweet— sweet face . ” And then he fellagain into peaceful sl umber .Arrived so far as th is toward recovery, h e made

rapid progress . Heal thy and wholesome as h e was,

sound , from habi ts o f cl ean , r igh t l i ving , he mendedalmost to o fast, according to Garde

’s i deas of con

va lescence, for she feared h e would r i se in revol t, oversoon , and do h imsel f an inj ury by abandon ing careand comfort before she could pronounce h im qu iteh imself .In real i ty there had been bu t l i ttl e more than h is loss

o f blood to con ten d wi th , save that h i s state o f m indhad engendered a fever, as a result of all h e had un

dergone, so that when th i s latter was allayed andth e wound in h is n eck was h eal ing w ith aston ish ingrapidi ty

,h i s s trength came back to h is muscle s and

l imbs by l eaps and boun ds . Therefore, despite her


sol i c i tude , Garde was soon happy to see h im again on

his feet a nd making h is way abou t the hou se,h is face

a l ittle wa n and wh ite,bu t th e twinkle in h i s eye a s

merry as the l ight in a j ewel .He could furnish no accurate o r rel iabl e information

as to whom h i s murderou s assailant s had been . Hecoul d only c onj ecture that Randolph had been at the

bottom o f the affair,from motives of vengean ce. This

was th e tru th . But th e disa ppearance o f Randolph

from Boston was reckoned so vari ou sly, as h aving takenplac e anywhere from two days to three years before,that nothing could be re l iably det ermined .

Moreover,i t sufficed for Adam and Garde that th ey

were h ere, in th

'

e land o f th e l iving , togeth er, andth ough i t made the rover feel sad to th ink o f th e loss o fh i s last beef-eater

,the faithfu l old Halberd.


have found in a day ’s walk . The influ ence overPhipps h a d been gained by the elder Mather in

England , where h e and Sir Will iam were so long associa ted in the ir eff orts to r igh t thei r colony and i tscharte r .Witch craft persecu tion s , having fairly run amuck in

England, Increase Mather had enj oyed exceptional 0pportunities for observ ing th e variou s ph enomena developed by th is dreadful d i sease . He arr ived in Bostonafter Randolph had succeeded far beyond the dreamso f his own mal ice in star ting the madness on i t s terribl e career. The field off er ed an attrac tion not to bewithstood , by

"e ith er o f the Mathers . They were soonfairly gorging th emselves on the wonders o f th e invi sibl e world , t es timon i e s an d barbarou s puni shments .

Lieutenan t-Governor Stough ton was an act ive figurein all th i s lamentable bu siness . Phipps was draggedinto the mael s trom bod ily . He piti ed th e frigh tenedwretche s in th e pri sons and secretly instructed hi sj ai l ers to b e rem iss in th ei r du tie s o f chain ing, i roninga nd o therwi se infl i ct ing needl ess pun ishment on theseh elpl ess mortals .The more eff ectually and qu ietly to tu rn th e fear

ful t ide , so appal lingly engulfing th e m inds o f thewrough t-up populace , Phipps organ ized a co ur t o f

Oyer and Terminer,wherein h e sa t h im sel f

,with seven

magi strates,t o try th e wre tched o ld women , dragged

screaming to th e farcical examination s . At thesetr ial s, devil i sh ch ildren swore away the l ives o f fel lowcreat ures

,abandoned al ike by thei r k ind and by their

God . In th i s cour t o f h is own making, Will iam Phipps

wa s slowly and surely putt ing a stop to the mania, for

Goody i n the To ils . 409

the horrors o f some o f th e execu tion s sent a thrill o ffright and dread thr ough th e whole o f Boston .

Exerci s ing h is power o f pardon ing,and then expend

ing his own money to assi s t them to flee from thestate, Will iam Phipps saved so many defensele sswomen that h e fairly broke the fabric o f th e awfulmania in twain . Early after h is arr ival

,however

,he

wa s called away to Plymou th . No sooner was h i s backturned than the zeal ots pounced

,tooth and nail

,upon

a new crop o f witches a nd hail ed th em before thec ourt, on trial for thei r l ives, in haste before th e Governor should re turn to work hi s l en iency upon them .

Thus i t came about that Garde,having exhau sted

th e small s upply o f simpl es possessed by h erself andGoodwife Phipps, went to Goody Dune

’s a nd therewitnessed th e work o f a wi tch-h unting mo b.

It was a warm , summery morn ing, fit j ewel for th eyear ’s d iadem o f things beau tiful . Cries

,yells

,of pre

tended fear, a nd harsh,discordant prayers

,screamed

into th e air,assail ed Garde ’s ears before she could yet

see th e lit tle flower-surrounded hu t where Goody lived .

She fel t a sudden m i sgiv ing strike th rough her h ear tas she hastened onward .

Sh e came u pon the scene in a moment . Nearly fiftymen a nd boys, with a spr inkl ing o f mere girl s and oneor two women, were storming th e small strongh old ofth e ol d wi se woman

,who had done so much for those

affl ic ted by ailments a nd troubl e s . Indeed in th ec rowd there wer e many cit iz en s who had blessed her

nam e and th e wi sdom by wh i ch sh e h a d mended thei rbodily woes. But al l now were mad wi th exci tem ent .Some were purposely froth ing at the mouth . A dozen


leaped franti cally abou t, declaring they were beingpinched a nd bi tten by the demons that Goody wa‘sactuat ing to mal ice . Young boys sl ily put nail s andpin s in th eir mouths and then spat th em forth

,to sh ow

what evi l s were then a nd th ere being perpetrated uponthem .

The t idy l i ttl e garden was trampled to pi tiabl ewreckage o f flowers and v ines . The h ou se wa s beingboldly entered by a few lusty knaves

,with Psalms

Higgl er and Isaiah Pinchbecker in th eir m idst .Sounds o f wil d beating

,upon th e pan s and kettles

in side , made half th e assembled people turn pal e withsel f- in du ced fear , which they loved to experience .Suddenly Goddy

’s old black cat came bounding forth .

The men, boys a nd women fel l d own in aff righ t

,

screaming that th e devi l was upon them . To addto the ir horror and supersti ti ou s dismay, th e jackdaw,Rex , came flying out . He perched for a m oment onth e r idge and then circl ed once or twice abou t th ehouse . He was wounded

,for th e rufi‘ia ns in the cottage

had beaten h im savagely, wi th sticks and wh ips . Hewas bedraggled for th ey had thrown water upon him .

His feath ers were all awry . He was al together a sorrysp ectacle .

B-u-h -hm it’s col d

,

” call ed th e b ird . Fool s,fool s,fools l ” and flapping hi s ragged wings so that theycl apped against h i s s ides as h e flew

,he started straigh t

for th e woods and was soon out o f sight .If th e wi tch-hunters had been smi tten wi th del ight

fu l fear befor e , th ey were appall ed by th i s terribl ebird . They fel l down upon their kn ees and wept andprayed and made a thousand and one mysteriou s signs


Th is noisy, mad processi on moved in great disorderout into th e h ighway , where Garde had pau sed, dismayed and concerned for Goody . Sh e sa w the wiseo ld woman walk ing calmly along with her captors

, for

Goody, unlike th e witches of l esser wi sdom ,knew to o

much to cry out wild protes ts against thi s infamy,and

so to convict herself of u t tering cu rses , spell s andblasphemies on th e publ i c road s . Sh e l ooked abouther

,at men and women she had rel i eved of pains

,and

at ch ildren whose early ailments she had exorcised wi thh er simples .They were al l n ow possessed o f th e dev i l

,in good

faith,for th e m

_ad capers th ey cu t to sh ow that Goody

was all poten t to produce th e most fiend ish a nd heinou sresul ts u pon them could only have been in vented out

o f the sh eer devil try wh ich i s one of th e componen t

parts of the human animal .Helpless

,terrified by these man iacs abou t h er, Garde

could only lean against the fence and hold h er placewh il e the running

,neck-twisting people went by.

“ Oh,poor dear Goody,

” she murmured to h erself,involun tarily .

The ol d wise woman looked acros s th e bank o f bob

bing heads about her and half smiled , in a weary, hopel ess manner that sent a pang straight to Garde ’s h eart .She knew that Goody was saying,

“ Never m ind me,dear

,

” and thi s on ly made i t al l th e more unendurabl e .

Goody had been hu stled by in a moment . The du starose from th e scurry ing feet . The hobbl e-de-hoypageant wen t rapidly towa rd the town , its numbers beingmom entarily a ugumented, as fresh persons heard the

Goody i n the Toils. 4 13

di s tu rbance ri s ing and coming near, on th e summer

ai r,and j oined the throng .

Unwill ing to l et h er friend be conveyed thu s awaywi thou t her even knowing where sh e was now to betaken , Garde foll owed th e last o f th e stragglers, and sosaw the crowd become a mob , in th e more populou s

o f th e town,and finally behel d Goody hurri ed

to. one o f the prisons and shut out of sigh t behind the

jail was th e one into which , six years b efore,Rust had been so infamou sly thrown .

CHAPTER XIV

GARDE ’S SUBTERFUGE.

NEARLY as strong and wel l as ever,Adam Rust

heard Garde ’s exc i ted and desperate tal e o f Goody’scapture wi th a n ind ignation which far ou tran h er own .

He fail ed to real i z e, at first, th e full impor t o f Goody’s

,

posi ti on . Then,as Gard e made h im understand the

almost inev i table execu ti on,staring th i s o ld woman

fri end in th e face, at th e end of a trial from whichTru th woul d fly moaning

,with her hands t o her ears

,

th e rover would have bu ckled on h i s sword and gon e tobatter down the jail to set the o ld wi se-woman free,h a d h is sweeth eart not restrain ed h im with al l herpowers of dissu asion .

Oh, we have got to b e far more cl ever than that,

she said . We have go t t o get h er out o f therequ ietly— so qu ietly that we ca n get her away— a l ong

wa y o ff , before the awful crowds shall find i t out .

Help m e to do th i s . Help me to ge t h er out cunningly,o r we shal l fail— and to-n ight i t wil l al l be too l ate .

“ Couldn ’t th e Govern or pardon h er out ?” said

Adam .

“ Why has he gone away at such a time ?H ere

,couldn ’ t Mrs . Phipps write a pardon ? We

could tak e i t to th e jailer, and try h im . If h e th enrefu sed to rel ease our fri end , we could try wi th a l i ttl egold in hi s hand . Mrs . Ph ipps—Mrs . Phipps,

” h ecalled t o the Captain ’s wife.


borrowed h orses wil l do for me . Therefore contentyou r mind, sweetheart, whil e I go forth to make myneeded purchases . ”

He kissed her , wh il e Goodwife Phipps bu stl ed o ff

importantly abou t her du ti e s,and reassu ring her that

all sh ould yet be well fo r Goody,h e went out in to th e

gloriou s sunligh t , and fel t h i s old-tim e vigor springforward— from th e warmth and th e j oyou sness o f

Nature— to mee t h im .

But th e matter o f finding a horse in Boston was no tone to be d i sposed o f l ightly. He hunted far and wid e

,

for o f th ose wh ich were offered f or sal e, m any wereo ld, a few were la me and others were vi c iou s . Theselatter h e wou l d have l iked , f or h imself, s in ce theychal l enged him , th eir spiri t against h i s, bu t foregoingth e pl easant anti c ipation o f a battl e royal , he rej ec tedoffers righ t and left

,until h e h a d u sed up th e morn ing

comple tely,and at l ength fel t obl iged to be sati sfied

w i th a somewhat undersi z ed bay, who neverthelessseemed strong and otherwi se fi t for the bu siness inhand .

Garde in th e meantime had grown nervou s wi th impatience

,afraid as sh e was

, o f one o f those swift,in

human tr ial s o f Goody wh ich so often were th e sub

terfuges o f the fanatic s for ru shing a person precondemned

,to the death from which there wa s no

escape .I have though t th e matter over calmly ,

” said Adam ,

who kn ew noth ing of real calmness in a moment o f daring

,and I feel c ertain we shal l double our chances o f

su ccess by waiting til l dark , o r near i t, when th e jailermight be persua ded t o th ink we cou ld get heraway un

Garde’

s Subterfuge. 4 1 7

noticed by th e rabble, and so m igh t con sent toth e plan , when o therwis e he would th ink he mu strefu se .There wa s reason in this, as Garde coul d see.

‘Making Adam promise to take a rest,before th e t im e

shoul d be r ipe for the ir enterpri se, she went home toDavid Donner , to set things to rights , and otherwi seto keep abreast of her l i ttle housewifely dutie s . Sh efound the o ld man exc ited

,by a call which had come

fo r h i s services , at noon .

One o f th e seven magistrates wh o sat in th e cou r t o fOyer and Term iner, to try th e witches, had fallen ill .David had been requested to assume h i s place . Atthi s wholly unexpected news , Garde fel t h er h eart leapwith a sudden rej o i cing. If th e worst came

,Goody

wou ld have at l east one fri end at th e tr ial , to whosewords o f wisdom th e Coun cil had so frequ ently l istened .

She ra n to the o ld man and gave h im a ki ss .Oh , I am so glad , dear Gra ndther,

”she said .

Th ey know h ow wise you are and j ustThankee, ch ild , thankee,

” said th e whi te-haired

old man, smil ing with the pl easure wh ich the whol etransacti on had exc i ted in hi s hungering breast .They recognize me— a l i ttl e— a t last .”

Yet so eager h a d the gi rl become, a nd so frigh tenedof what th e resu l ts were almost cer tain to be , i f Goodyever came to h er trial , during the absence o f GovernorPh ipps , that she and Adam were hasten ing o ff to thejail the moment the twil ight began to descend on thetown .

Ja iler Weaver owes me some l i ttl e favor , she sai da s th ey came to th e place , a nd he really owes a great

2 7


deal to Goody . Her vo ice was shaking , h er teethfel t i ncl ined to chatter, so exc i ted wa s all th i s bu sinessmak ing h er feel .Vivid recol lecti ons o f those terribl e moments in

which she had come to see Mrs . Weaver and then hadh overed abou t th e pr i son

,to l iberate Adam , made her

cl ing to hi s arm in terror o f what they were now aboutto attempt .Adam himsel f

,wondering if th e jail er would by any

chance rem ember h i s face,and the break h e and the

po or o ld beef-eaters had made,h ad th e boldness and

the l ove o f adventure come surging up in h is h eart,t il l he petted the hi l t o f h is sword wi th a cl ench ingfi st .They entered at th e door o f that portion o f th e

pri son bu ilding wh ere th e Weavers made th eir resid ence , as th i s would exc i te no su sp ic ion on th e parto f th e few pedestrian s in the street . The natu reo f th eir bu siness being parti ally secret, th ey chose toin terview th e j ai ler in the room which answered for h isparl or.Weaver wa s a m a n who constantly rai sed and lowered

h i s eyebrows— a hab it he had gained through years o fal ternately scowl ing at h is guests and then lookingpu zzl ed o r su rpri sed that

,being so innocen t as they

al ways were , th ey shoul d stil l b e brought to su ch aplace . He l i sten ed to Adam ’s flowery a nd cou rtly a ddress , in which he announced the advent o f Goody’spardon , with at l east a hundred o f these eyebrow con

torti ou s .“ Bu t th e Gov ernor never pardons before a trial

,

he said .

“ El se, how should he know but what he


'Oh , sir, alas , no, said the jailer . But what ca nI do“ Do ? Do ? My friend, do you va lue you r daily

bread Do youwish to r etain you r offic e Or shal lth e Governor gran t your d ismissalThi s was tou ch ing the m a n on a spot where h e could

endure no pressure . He quailed , for h e found h imselfbetween th e dev i l— as r epresented by the fanaticalspiri t o f th e mob—and the deep sea into wh ich the l os s

o f h is place would plunge h im at once .Oh , don

’t t urn me out I” he begged

,convinced

wel l enough of Adam ’s power with the Governor. Iwou ld do anyth ing to please you , sir, and I have donemuch already to pl ease th e Governor . I am a n old

man, sir, a nd we have saved noth ing, and we know no

o ther trade, a nd many people hate u s . There wou ldbe n o place for me a nd mine . Do not t u rn u s awayfor thi s .”

I don ’ t wish to t urn you away, said Adam .

merely ask you to rel ease th i s woman .

”

Sh e has never done any harm ,

” put in Garde .She has been very good to your wife and you. Surely

you coul d Spare h er th i s .I would

,Miss

,I would

,said th e wretched man .

I am sick to death o f th is terrible craze of wi tch es ,bu t what ca n I do ? If I do not rel ease h er

,I shal l

lose my place a nd s tarve . If I d o l et her go, I shallhave a ll th e mobs down upon me , when they find therei s no wi tch for trial . How ca n I sh ow them a paper ,in stead o f a prisoner My l ife might pay the forfe it.”

Garde’

s Sub terfuge., 42 1

Oh , Adam , th i s i s terribl e, sai d Garde. Whatca n we do

After trial , you can surely get her pardoned, th em a n insi s ted . You have the power. You ca n saveher th en .

”

Oh , th ey will never wait cried the girl . Theymay try her to -nigh t, and find her guil ty and hang herth e firs t th ing in the morn ingWeaver turned pale . He knew that what she said

m ight in a ll probab il i ty be tru e .Bu t I cannot g ive them a bit o f paper in stead o f a

prisoner,he repeated . If you will bring me some

one else , who will vouch for th e mob’s respect of your

pardon,as you vou ch for the Governor

We’ve got to have her , interrupted Adam . You

ca n sa y she escaped, by her power o f W i tchcraft . Release her

, o r look your last on these ch eerf ul wall s .Oh

,bu t , Adam ,

” said Garde, why shou ld we makesuch misery a nd troubl e for one person—for two persons, indeed wi th Mrs. Weaver- ih trying to saveanother I l ike th ese good peopl e . They are ve rykind to their pr isoners . They have spent much o f

the i r own money to give them li ttl e comforts . Ca n weno t th ink o f som e other way , as good as thi s, to getpoor Goody ou t and do no harm to innocent peopl eWeaver was ready to break into tears . He started

to repeat,Bring m e some one to

“ Oh ! Oh , I know ! I know what to do cr iedGard e

,interrupting . All you need i s some o ne el se

to blame , when they find she i s gone It wou ld neverbe you r faul t i f some one took her place . I t would bea tri ck on you , when they found it out. I ’ll tak e her


place . I ll take h er place, becau se when they find out

they are starting to try only me, they w ill have tolaugh i t o ff as a j oke . And Gra ndther i s one o f th emagistrates— appointed t o -day— so th ey will have tol et me go— and Goody will be far away, by then— and

no one will get into troubleNo one could blam e me—nor th ey wouldn ’t,

” saidWeaver, slowly, bu t as for you

,Miss

“ Then we ca n do i t Garde broke in,a l i t tle

wildly. Oh , hurry we might be to o late . Youcanpu t me wherever Goody is, and I ca n change clotheswith her , and then , Adam

Yes,bu t ”

, s tar ted Adam .

Oh,l et me, dear . I shan ’t mind i t a b it . And in

th e morning i t will al l be over, and Goody will be safe ,a nd no one harmed— and th ere i s n o other way . AndI want to Oh , Goody has been l ike a mother to meI must do it . Please don ’t sa y anyth ing more . Mr.

Weaver,take me to Goody now

You brave l i ttl e woman ! ” said Adam , h is own

c ourage leap ing to gree t th is intrepid spiri t in hi ssweetheart . I believe you ca n do i t We shallW ill V 3)

“ Come back as early as you can, said Garde, on

whom a thought o f the lonely part o f th e bu sin ess wassu ddenly impressed . It won ’ t s eem long . Andwhen i t i s over, I shal l feel so glad I could do a l i ttl eth ing for Goody . We must h urry . Every momentmay be prec iou s

But,lassi e

youPlease don ’t talk any more, said Garde .

th e j ail er tried to insi st once more ,


Quell ing her s ense of terror, a nd th inkingGoody

,alone in that darkness

,wi th such dreadfu l

fates awai ting her reappearance among the peopl e , shepromised herself again i t would soon be over, and so

foll owed re sol u tely down into th ehad once been locked

,in those

despai r.

CHAPTER XV.

THE MIDNIGHT TRIAL.

GOODY DUNE was a frightened and p it iable spectacle,

with her age a nd the terrors of th e dungeon and com~

ing execu t ion upon her. She struggled in a n eff ort tomaintain a show o f composu re, at sight o f Garde and

the jai ler . Nevertheless she would not , at first,l i sten

to a word o f the plan o f subst i tu tion, to get her awayfrom the prison .

When at last she had fairly overridden Goody ’s ob

jections, a nd had made he r compl ete th e exchange o f

garmen ts , Garde kissed her wi th al l the affect ion o f adaughter

,and sent her forth to Adam ’s protection .

She then h eard the l ock in the dungeon -door shootsqu eakingly into place w i th a l i ttl e thri l l o f fear , whichnoth ing human a nd womanly could have escaped .

She l is tened to th e footfall s reced ing down the co rridor, a nd then th e u tter sil ence of th e place began tomake itsel f r ing in her ears . She looked abou t her, bythe aid o f the fl i cker ing l igh t wh ich th e tall ow dip wasfurnish ing , at th e barren walls, th e shadows , and theheap o f s traw in th e corner . At all th i s she gave al i ttl e sh iver o f dread .

All th e exc i tement which had buoyed her up to

make th i s moment possible e scaped from her rapidly.

42 5


She began to th ink how Goody mu st have fel t, til l hermoment of d el iv erance came . Then she thought o f

what Adam had endured when,lame , h ungry, exhau s ted

and defamed, he had been thrown with v iol ence into th i shorribl e h ole, from which h e could have had no though to f being rescu ed .

She took the candl e in hand and wen t in search o f

th e tiny window, down through which she had droppedh im the keys . When she sa w i t, she gave a l i ttl eshudder, t o note h ow small i t was, and h ow i t permitted no l ight to enter th e place .Retu rning then to a paper, fill ed with bread and

bu tter , pi e , cake a nd cold meat, which Weaver hadfetch ed her,wh il e sh e and Goody had been exchanginggarments, she tr i ed to eat a l i t tle , to occupy h er t im ea nd her th ough ts . But she coul d only take a sip o f

the m ilk , wh ich stood besid e th e paper , and a nibbl e atth e bread . To eat , whil e in her present s tate o f mind ,was out o f th e qu est ion .

The still ness s eemed to i ncrease . Sh e fel t l i t tl ecreeps of ch ill running down her sho ulders . What aterrible th ing it would be to h ave no hope o f leavingth is fearful cellar ! Suppose anyth ing sh ould happento Adam , to prevent h im from retu rning How longwoul d i t b e t ill morning ? Surely she m ust havebeen th ere nearly an hour al ready. She clasped herhands

,that were cold as i ce . She almost wi sh ed she

had not tr ied th is solut ion o f th e difficul ty . Then sheremembered the wi se o ld woman

,who had made her

neighbors ’ ch i ldren h er own care— as sh e had no sonsnor daughters o f her own— and who had been si ster

,

mother a nd fri end to Hester Hodder, a nd guard ian


Goody and Adam had endured noth ing but darkness,

and with no h ope o f succor such as she could see i llumina ting her hours of dread .

Midnight came at last and found Garde un strung .

When th e tramp o f many feet rang above her,at l ast

,

sh e welcomed the though t that some one wa s near .She h oped i t was morn ing and that Adam had re

turned . But then she heard a jangle o f keys,and

footfall s on th e steps leading down to where sh e wa s,

and her heart stood s till .In th e natu ral con sternat i on wh ich the h our

,th e

darkness and th e su spense had brought upon her, she

hastily hid her, hea d and face in Goody

’s shawl , andbending over

,to represent th e older woman , she

tremblingly sa w th e door swing open and h eard th ej ail er command her t o come forth .

With her heart beating v iol en tly and h er kneesquaking ben eath her

,Garde came out

,rel ieved in

some ways to flee from that awful hol e o f darkness,

bu t frigh tened,when she saw the array of stern-faced

men , who had come , as she in stantly compreh ended,t o take her away to a trial .There was no t one among th e five or six men that

she knew . Sh e remembered the faces o f Pinchbeckerand Higgler

,having seen th em in the morn ing, when

Goody was taken , bu t the oth ers were witnesses thatRandolph had sent from Sal em , experts in swearingaway th e l ive s o f witches . Th ey to o had been presentat th e capture o f Goody .

Undetected as she wa s, Garde was surrounded bythi s sin ister group o f men , and was marched away,out of th e jail, into the sweet summer

’s night ai r, and

The M idn ight Trial. 4 2 9

so down a deserted street, to a bu ilding she had n everentered before in her l ife .Hardly had the prison been l ef t beh ind when Adam

Rust,swiftly retu rn ing, after having readily prov ided

for the safe escape o f Goody Dune, came gall oping intoBoston

,hi s brain on fire with a scheme of boldn ess .

H e had made up h i s mind to ride s traigh t to th epri son , demand admi ttance , compel the j ail er to del iverGarde up at once, carry her straigh t to a parson

’s,

marry hi s sweetheart for thwi th , and then take her o ff

to New Amsterdam . Weaver could blame the rescu eo f th e witch to h im and be wel come . He cou ld evenpermit Adam to ti e h im and gag him , to make the

story more complete, bu t subm it h e should , or Rustwould know the reason . His wil d ride had begottenth e sch eme in h is adventure-hungry mind .

He knew the res idence o f th e parson who hadmarried Henry Wa insworth and Prudence Soam

,th e

week before he and Phipps h a d retu rned toMa ssa chusetts , for Garde h ad told h im al l th e particulars, t imeafter time— h aving marr iage in her own sweet though t,as indeed she shou ld . He therefore went first to thisparson ’s

,knocked hotly on th e door, to get h im out

o f bed, and bade h im be prepared to perform the ceremony wi th in th e h ou r .The parson had readily agreed , being a man am enable

to sense and to th e lu ster o f gol d in the palm , wherefore Adam had gone swiftly o ff to work the tour de

f orce on which all el s e depended . He arrived at the

jai l when Garde had been gon e for fif te en m inu tes.Here h e l earned wi th amaz emen t o f th e m idn ight tr ial

to which she had been so summarily l ed .


Trembl ing l ike a leaf, Garde was condu cted into achamber adj oin ing th e room wherein th e dread magist rates were s itting, with their minds already convincedth at th is was a case so flagrant that to perm it th e witchto l ive through the n ight would be to impair th eheavenly heri tage o f every sou l in Boston .

Here the girl was l eft, in charge o f Gall ows and twoother ruffi a nly bru tes whose immun i ty from th e evilpowers of witches h a d been th oroughly esta blishedin

former cases . In th e meantime her accu sers had gonebefore th e magi strates, ah ead o f h erself

,t o r elate th e

unspeakabl e th ings o f which Goody Dune had beenguil ty.

Shaking , no t daring to look up, n or to u tter a sound,Garde had tri ed to summon the courage to throw o ff

th e wh ol e d i sgu ise, l a ugh at h er captors and declare

who she wa s, but before she should arri ve in th e presence o f Gra ndther Donner, who would protect herand ver ify h er story

,at least as to who she was, she could

not possibly make th e attempt .Terr ibly wrough t upon by th e su spense o f wait ing

to be summ oned before that stern tribunal o f inj u sti ce,Garde began to think o f the anger whi ch th ese unmirthful m en migh t show

,when she revealed the j oke before

their astounded eye s . Sh e swayed , weakly, almostr eady to swoon , so great became h er alarm .

Sh e cou ld h ear the high voices of Psalms Higglerand Isai ah Pinchbeck er, pen etrating th rough the door.They were giving th ei r t estimony , in whi ch they hadbeen so well coached by Edward Randolph , who waseven now in th ere among th e witnesses , d i sgu ised, a ndkeeping as much as possibl e in the background .


Pinchbeck er wildly Sh e has daily consorted wi th a

notoriou s wi tch . She has aided a wi tch to escape.Sh e i s a wi tch herself We know them thu s She i sa dangerou s wi tch She i s a terribl e young witch ! ”

How comes th is said th e ch ief again , exci t edly.

His associat es also demanded to know how th i s bu siness came to be possible , and what was i ts meaning.

The room was fil led with the shrill cr ie s o f the men de

nouncing Garde more striden tly than before, and wi thth e exclamations o f astonishmen t and shouts to knowwhat had become o f the witch they had come there to try.

During al l th i s confu sion,Garde was cl inging to her

grandfath er an d begging h im to take her home .Have th e gi rl stand forth ,

” commanded the ch iefmagistrate . “ We must know how th i s business ha sh a ppenedfi

’

Three o f th e men laid hold o f Garde and took h erfrom her wondering grandfather’s side. She regainedher composure by making a migh ty efi ort.

Goody Dune was no witch she cri ed “You a ll

know what a good, kind woman she has been among

you for years— t ill th is madness came upon u s Shei s a good woman- and I l ove her, f or all she h a sd one .Sh e i s not a witch— you know she i s not a witchThe w itnesses , wh o knew all the ways in which

witch es were to be detected, raised th eir vo ices at once,in protest .

Order in the Court commanded th e magistrate .Young woman

,have you connived to l et th i s Goody

D une e scapeSh e was n o wi tch repeated Garde , cou rageou sly

now. I k n ew you would try to send her to the ga l

The M idn ight Trial. 433

lows . I knew sh e was fore-condemned ! I cou ld dono less— and youmen could have done n o less, had youbeen less m a d

B lasph emy cri ed Higgler . She is convictedout o f her own mouth

When a wi tch i s young,cried Pinchbeck er, she

ca n work ten t imes more awful evil s and artsOn e o f the magi stra t es spoke No woman ever yet

wa s beau tifu l an d cl ever both at one t ime . If she bethe one, she cannot be th e oth er. This young woman,being both , is clearly a wi tch

She ’s a witch—worse th an the oth er screamedano ther o f th e wi tnesses . Condemn her Condemnher

Oh, Gra ndther, cri ed Garde,

take me awayfrom these terribl e men

Ra ndolph now came sneaking forth, out o f theshadow .

Thi s i s that same young woman,

” h e cri ed, who

lost th e col ony its charterThe chart er scr eamed David Donner, in stantly

a man iac .

“ The charter ! She l ost u s th e charter !Witch The charter Condemn her Kill herTh e charter ! Sh e She ! She Kil l h er —WhereIs she ? The charter ! The charter ! The charter ! ”

With hi s tw o bony, pals ied hands rai sed h igh aboveh i s head

,l ike fearful talons

,with h is whit e hair awry

over h is brow,with h is eyes blaz ing with maniacal fire ,

the o ld m a n had suddenly stood up and now he camestaggering forward , scream ing in a bl ood-ch ill ing voiceand making such an appari tion o f horror that th e men

fel l backward from hi s path .

2 8

434 When a W itch is Young.

Oh Gra ndther Gra ndther cri ed Garde,hold

ing for th her arms and going toward h im ,to catch him

as she sa w him come stumbl ing toward her.

“ Witch ! ” scr eamed the old man shrilly. Killher Kill h er I n ever coerced her The charterWitch Witch The charterHe suddenly choked . He clutch ed at h i s heart in a

wild, spasmodic mann er, a nd with froth bursting fromh is l ips, he fel l h eadlong to the floor an d was dead

She h a s k ill ed h im cri ed Higgler. She ha skil led h im with h er hell i sh power l ”

Witch A murd erou s young wi tchCondemn h er ! Condemn h er ! ” came in a terri

ble choru s .To the gallows Hale her to th e gallows Ran

dolph added from th e rear .The man called Gallows th ough t th i s referred to

h im . He grinned . H e and the two bru tes who hadhandl ed many defen seless w itch e s before, cametoward th e girl

,who stood as i f petrified

,her hand

pressed against h er heart in dumb angu i sh .

Suddenly th e door was thrown open and in th ere cameGovernor Phipps, cane in hand, periwig adj u sted, cloako f office on h i s sh oulders . He wa s blowing h i s nose ashe entered , so th at no one sa w h is face plainly, yet allknew th e tall

,commanding figure and the dress .

“ What,a trial , at nigh t, and withou t me ? he

roared, in a towering rage , which many presen t h a dalready learned to fear . Is th i s you r prov in ce , youmagi strates

,assembled to d eal out j u sti ce ? Do you

h eckle a defenseless woman l ike th is D isperse — thewhole o f you, in stantly. I command i t If you have

CHAPTER XVI.

THE GAUNTLET RUN.

WITH hi s bride up beh ind h im on his horse,th e

rover spurred swiftly away from the parson’s,still within

the hour, in which he h ad promised to return to his

wedd ing. Unafraid o f whatsoever th e world,before

o r beh ind , might contain , while her l over-husbandl ived at h er side, «Ga rde felt a sense o f exh ilarat ion

,at

l eaving Boston, such as she had n ever known in al lher l ife .With her grandfather dead and Goody no l onger at

the l it tl e cottage on th e skir ts of town, she had no

t ie s remaining , save those at th e hou ses o f Sca m andPh ipps . And what were these, when weigh ed in thebalance again st Adam Rust—her Adam

,— her mighty

lordTrembl ing and cling ing as sh e was, h e had carri ed

her o ff . Gladly she had gone to th e parson ’s . Herh eart now rej o iced, as h e tol d her that Massachu settswas b eh ind them forever. For i t s p eopl e, with thei rharsh

,mirthl ess l ive s o f austeri ty and fanati ci sm

, she

had only love enough to give th em her p ity . But herl if e was l ife indeed

,when , ever and anon, Adam halted

th e horse,l est she f ear a fall , and twi s ted abou t to

give her a k is s an d a chu ckl e o f l ove and to tell of th eway h e had cheated the mob and the court of th eir

witches .436

The Gauntlet Run . 437

Make no doubt o f i t, you are a witch - one o f

the sweetest, cl everest, bravest, most adorable l i ttlewi tches that ever liv ed,

” he said,

“a nd I love you and

love you for i t, my darl ing wifeThey had l ef t the town early in th e morning

.By

break o f da y th ey were not so far from Boston as Adamcou ld have wi shed . The h orse had been weari ed bycarrying doubl e, when be conveyed Goody Dune to aplace o f safety,—so that th e o ld woman could subecquently j o in h imself and Garde in New Amsterdam

,

and therefore he had hal ted th e an imal humanely,

from time to time,as th e l oad under wh ich the good

beas t wa s now working was not a trifle.Having avoided th e main road, for the greater par t

o f the remaining hours o f darkness,Adam deemed i t

safe a t last to r eturn to th e h ighway,as h e thought i t

unl ikely th ey had been pursu ed under a ny ci rcumstances . Thus th e sun came up as they were qu i etlyj ogging along toward a copse o f trees through whichth e road went w ind ing wi th many an invi tation o f

beau ty to beckon them on .

Crossing a no isy l i ttl e brook , th e rover permitt ed th ehorse t o stop for a dr ink . Not to be wasting the precions t ime , Adam tu rned h imself hal f way around inthe saddle, as h e had done so frequently before

,and

gave h i s br ide a fair morn ing sal u te .He had then barely ridden the h orse a rod from th e

stream,when

,withou t th e sl igh test warn ing , th e figure

o f Gal l ows , mounted on a great black steed , suddenlybroke from cover among the trees and bore down uponthem .

The great hu lk, sword in hand , made a qu ick dash


toward th e defencel ess two, a nd slashed at Garde witha ll hi s fearful m igh t.Jerking h is horse n early out o f th e road , Adam

swung from the l in e of the bru te’ s cowardly stroke,yet

before h e could do aught to prevent i t, Gallows r ighted,flung out hi s l ead en fi st and dragged the girl fairly o fffrom her seat , t il l she s truck on th e back o f h er h ead

,

among th e rock s o f th e road , and lay th ere unconsc iou s,and almost beneath the tread o f th e horse’s prancing

feet .Then the monster spurred at h i s h orse and turning

h im back , rode to dri ve h im madly over th e prostrateform in th e du st

;

Making a short,sharp cry o f anger, Adam whipped

out h i s sword and dashed upon th e murderou s bu tcherbefore h e could get wi th in fifteen feet o f Garde

,where

she lay in th e sunl ight .Gall ows had plenty o f t ime to see h im coming. The

two m et in a tremendou s col l i si on o f steel on steelthat sounded a clangor through the woods a nd sent thetwo swords flying from thei r owners’ grips .D isarmed

,the pair thudded togeth er in a swift and

hot embrace,sawing their horses clos e in , th e more

fi rmly and straight erect t o hold their seats .You be a fool and I be th e fool-killer roared

Gall ows, hoarsely . He tugged with h i s giant strength ,to drag Adam fairly across to h i s own big saddle , wherehe c ou ld ei ther break h is back or beat h im to deathwith th e bu tt o f a p istol

,which he was trying to draw

with th e hand th a t h eld th e re in s .Sl ipp ing h i s wr is t under th e ch in and h is ba nd

around to the fell ow’s mass ive shou lder, Adam til ted


manner for a moment . He then di scovered the greathu lk ’s design . He meant to force the rover to whereGarde was st ill lying, a nd so to trample upon her til lthe l ife shou ld be stamped and ground from her helpless form .

Randolph h ad sent h im to commi t thi s final infamy .

The rage that leaped up in Adam ’s breas t wa s a terribl e th ing. He fein ted to drop as i f in exhau stion .

Gallows loosen ed h i s hold to snatch a better one, atonce . In that second Adam dealt h im a blow in thestomach that a ll but fell ed h im where he stood .

Before h e could straighten to r ecover , Rustwa suponh im l ik e a tiget . Gett ing around the great bru te’sside

,he th rew both hands around the sh ort, th ick neck

a nd twi sted h imself in to posi t ion so that h e and Gallows were placed nearly back to back . Then with one

movement h e l ifted at th e man ’s whol e weigh t,with

the monster ’s h ead as a lever, haul ed fiercely backward.

In to the act ion he threw such a migh ty rush o f s trengththat Gallows was ho is ted bodily o ff th e ground, for asecond

,and then h is neck gave forth a tremendous snap

and wa s broken so fearfully th at one o f the j agged endso f a ver tebra stabbed ou tward through the flesh

,and

dripped wi th red .

Th e whol e dead weight o f th e fel low’s carcass restedfor a second on Rust ’s back and shou lder, a nd th enAdam let h im fal l to th e ground

,where

,l i ke a slain

hog,be roll ed heavily over and moved no more .

Panting, fierce-eyed , ready to slay h im again, Adam

stood above th e body for a moment, h is j aws set, hi sfi st s cl en ched hard in th e rage s till upon h im .

Then he heard a l i ttle moan, a nd turning abou t saw"

The Gauntlet Run . 44 1

Garde, at tempting to rai se h erself upward, in th e road .

He ra n to her in stantly a nd propped her up on h i s

D earest, dearest, h e said ,“ are you badly h urt ?

Garde, let me help you . Don ’t look— don ’t lookthere . I t

’

s al l righ t . Here, l et me get you back toth e shade .”

He took her u p tenderly in h i s arms and carri ed herout o f th e road t o a near-by bank o f moss . Here hesa t her down, with her back to a tree, and ra n to fil lhi s hat with water from the stream .

The two horses, h aving stopped to take a suppl ementa ry drink , a nd a n ibbl e at the grass, were easily caught.The rover secured them both and ti ed them qu ickly toa bu sh , with th e dragging re ins . Then back to Gardehe ra n wi th the water.“ Oh , thank you, dear, she said ,

“ I don’t th ink Ia m hurt. But w ith th e frigh t

,and the fall, I th ink

I must have fainted .

“ Thank God ! ” said Adam , as she drank from h ishat a nd smil ed in h is face , a l i ttle fai ntly, bu t with a n

infini te l ove in her two brown eyes . Thank God ,for th i s del iv ery . There will be n o more troubl e . Ifeel i t ! I know it. At last we have run the gauntlet .

CHAPTER XVII.

BEWITCHED .

IN his tidy l i ttle h ou se in New Amsterdam ,Adam

sa t reading a letter from Governor Will iam Phipps,wri t ten at Boston .

I fo rgyve you yr merri e empersona shun and al l ye

o th er th ings a lsoe'

, save ye going away withou t goode

bye,

” h e read, bu t let i t pass . I wd writ e to sa y GodBlesse you bothe . And as I have never known such agoode blade as y

rs in fight,I wd O ff er you to make you

my commander of ye forces to goe in wa r a gain st yeFrench , where they do threat to harasse our peeple aso f yore

Adam hal ted here and l ooked up at the battered oldsword on the wall . His thought went truant , to h i shelpmate

,away fo r a few minu tes’ walk to Goody

Dune’s . He shook h is head at the Governor’s generou soff er.

Well , well , Will iam, h e said al ou d, I don ’t know .

I don’t know what may be th e matter , bu t—no morefighting for me

, old comrade . I think i t must be thatI— a m bewi tched .

”

THE END.

When a Witch Is Young - Forgotten Books

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