The Puritan Twins, Page 2

  II

  TWO DAYS

  The grace finished (it was a very long one and the beans were nearlycold before he said amen), Goodman Pepperell broke open the lobstersand piled the trenchers with johnny-cake and beans, and the wholefamily fell to with a right good will. All but Nancy. She was still abit upset and did not feel hungry.

  "Thou hast not told me, Captain, what voyage thou art about toundertake next," said the Goodman, sucking a lobster-claw with relish.

  The Captain loved to talk quite as well as he loved to eat, but hismouth was full at this moment, and he paused before replying. "I 'mgetting too old for long voyages, Josiah," he said at last with asigh. "Kind o' losing my taste for adventure. Pirates is prettyplentiful yet, and for all I 'm a sailor I 'd like to die in my bed,so I have settled at Marblehead. They 're partial to fishermen alongthis coast. The town gives 'em land for drying their fish and exempts'em from military dooty. But I can't stay ashore a great while beforemy sea legs begin to hanker for the feel of the deck rolling under'em, so I 'm doing a coasting trade all up and down the length ofMassachusetts Bay. I keep a parcel of lobster-pots going, some hereand some Plymouth way, and sell them and fish, besides doing acarrying trade for all the towns along-shore. It 's a tame kind o'life. There, now," he finished, "that 's all there is to say about me,and I 'll just take a turn at these beans and give ye a chance to tellabout yourself, Josiah."

  "'T is but a short tale," answered the Goodman, "God hath prosperedme. I have an hundred acres of good farm land along this river, and Ihave a cow, and a flock of sheep to keep us in wool for the Goodwife to spin. I have set out apple trees, and there is wood for thecutting; the forest furnishes game and the sea is stored with food forour use; but the truth is there is more to do than can be compassedwith one pair of hands. The neighbors help each other with clearingthe land, log-rolling, building walls, and such as that, but if thiscountry is to be developed we must do more than make a living. Thereare a thousand things calling to be done if there were but the men todo them."

  The Captain skillfully balanced a mouthful of beans on his knife as heconsidered the problem. Finally he said, "Well, here 's Dan'el, and,judging by the way he waded right into the tide after his sister, Icalculate he 'd be a smart boy to have round."

  "He is," said the Goodman, and Daniel blushed to his eyes, for hisfather seldom praised him, "but he is not yet equal to a man's work,and moreover I want him to get some schooling. The Reverend JohnHarvard hath promised his library and quite a sum of money to founda college for the training of ministers right here in Cambridge. Thehand of the Lord hath surely guided us to this place, where he mayreceive an education, and it may even be that Daniel will be aminister, for the Colony sorely needs such."

  "There, now," said the Captain. "Farming ain't such plain sailing; isit? Have ye thought of getting an Indian slave to help ye?"

  "Truly I have thought of that," said the Goodman, "but they are atreacherous lot and passing lazy. There was a parcel of Pequot womenand girls brought up from beyond Plymouth way last year after theuprising. The settlers had killed off all the men and sold the boys inthe Bermudas. I might have bought one of the women but I need a man,or at least a boy that will grow into one. The Pequots are about allgone now, but the Narragansetts are none too friendly. They helpedfight the Pequots because they hate them worse than they hate theEnglish, but they are only biding their time, and some day it 'slikely we shall have trouble with them. Nay, I could never trust anIndian slave. Roger Williams saith they are wolves with men's brains,and he speaks the truth."

  "Well, then," said the Captain, "why don't ye get a black? They aremore docile than Indians, and the woods about are not full of theirfriends."

  "Aye," agreed the Goodman, "the plan is a good one and well thoughtout, but they are hard to come by. There are only a few, even inBoston."

  "There will soon be more, I 'm thinking," said the Captain. "A shipwas built in Marblehead last year on purpose for the trade. CaptainPierce is a friend of mine, and he 's due at Providence any time nowwith a cargo of blacks from Guinea. Ye could sail down the bay withme, and there 's a trail across the neck of the Cape to Providence,where the Desire will come to port. I expect to spend the Sabbathhere, but I lift anchor on Monday. Ye can tell Captain Pierce ye 're afriend of mine, and 't will do ye no harm."

  "Oh, Father," breathed Dan, "may I go, too?"

  The Captain chuckled. "Art struck with the sea fever, son?" he said,looking down into the boy's eager face. "Well, there 's room aboard.I might take ye along if so be thy parents are willing and thou artminded to see a bit of the world."

  Up to this time Goodwife Pepperell had said no word, but now shespoke. "Are there not dangers enough on land without courting thedangers of the sea?" she asked.

  Her husband looked at her with gentle disapproval. "Hold thy peace,"he said. "What hath a pioneer lad to do with fear? Moreover, if hegoes I shall be with him."

  Nancy leaned forward and gazed imploringly at the Captain. "Dost thounot need some one to cook on thy boat?" she gasped. "I know well howto make johnny-cake and I--" then, seeing her father's stern look andher mother's distress, she wilted like a flower on its stem and wassilent. The Captain smiled at her.

  "Ye 're a fine cook, I make no doubt," he said genially, "but ye wouldn't go and leave Mother here all alone, now, I 'll be bound!"

  "Nay," said Nancy faintly, looking at her mother.

  Then the Goodwife spoke. "It pains me," she said, "to think ofchildren torn from their parents and sold into slavery, even thoughthey be but Indians or blacks. I doubt not they have souls likeourselves."

  "Read thy Bible, Susanna," answered her husband. "Cursed be Canaan.A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren--thus say theScriptures."

  "Well, now," broke in the Captain, "if they have souls, they 'veeither got to save 'em or lose 'em as I jedge it; and if they neverhave a chance to hear the Plan of Salvation, they 're bound to be lostanyway. Bringin' 'em over here gives them their only chance to escapedamnation, according to my notion."

  "Hast thou ever brought over a cargo of slaves thyself?" asked theGoodwife.

  "Nay," admitted the Captain, "but I sailed once on a slaver, and I ownI liked not to see the poor critters when they were lured away. Itseemed they could n't rightly sense that 't was for their eternalwelfare, and I never felt called to set their feet in the wayof Salvation by that means myself. I reckon I 'm not more thanchicken-hearted, if ye come to that."

  The meal was now over, the dusk had deepened as they lingered aboutthe table, and Goodwife Pepperell rose to light a bayberry candle andset it on the chimney-piece.

  "Sit ye down by the fire again, while Nancy and I wash the dishes,"she said cordially.

  "Thank ye kindly," said the Captain, "but I must budge along. It 'snear dark, and Timothy--that 's my mate--will be wondering if I 'vebeen et up by a shark. It 's going to be a clear night after thestorm."

  The children slept so soundly after the adventures of the day thattheir mother called them three times from the foot of the ladder inthe early dawn of the following morning without getting any response.Then she mounted to the loft and shook Daniel gently. "Wake thee," shesaid. "'T is long past cock-crow, and Saturday at that."

  Daniel opened his eyes feebly and was off to sleep again at once."Daniel," she said, shaking him harder, "thy father is minded to takethee to Plymouth."

  Before the words were fairly out of her mouth Daniel had popped out ofbed as if he had been shot from a gun. "Oh, Mother," he shouted, "amI really to go? Shall I go clear to Providence? Doth Captain Sandersknow? When do we start?"

  "Thy father arranged it with the Captain last night," answered hismother. "He will come for thee in the little boat on Monday morningand will row thee and thy father to the sloop, which will sail at hightide. While thy father makes the journey across the Cape thou wilt goon to Provincetown with the Captain, or mayhap, if visitors are nowpermitted in the Colony, my aunt, the Governor's lady, will keep theewith her until
thy father returns. She would like well to see my son,I know, and I trust thou wilt be a good lad and mind thy manners.Come, Nancy, child, I need thy help!" Then she disappeared down theladder to stir the hasty pudding, which was already bubbling in thepot.

  When she was gone, Nancy flung herself upon the mattress and buriedher face in the bed-clothes. "Oh, Daniel," she cried, smothering asob, "what if the p-p-pirates should get thee?"

  Daniel was at her side in an instant. "Give thyself no concern aboutpirates, sister," he said, patting her comfortingly. "I have thoughthow to deal with them! I shall stand by the rail with my cutlass inmy hand, and when they seek to board her I will bring down my cutlassso,"--here he made a terrific sweep with his arm,--"and that will bethe end of them."

  "Oh," breathed Nancy, much impressed, "how brave thou art!"

  "Well," said Daniel modestly, "there 'd be the Captain and father tohelp, of course, and, I suppose, the mate too. There will be four ofus men anyway."

  "_Nancy!_--_Daniel!_"--it was their father's voice this time, and thetwo children jumped guiltily and began to dress as if the house wereon fire and they had but two minutes to escape. In a surprisinglyshort time they were downstairs and attending to their morning tasks.Nancy, looking very solemn, fed the chickens, and Dan brought waterfrom the spring, while their father milked the cow; and by six o'clocktheir breakfast of hasty pudding and milk had been eaten, prayers wereover, and the whole family was ready for the real work of the day.There was a great deal of it to do, for nothing but "works ofnecessity and mercy" could be performed on the Sabbath, the Sabbathbegan at sundown Saturday afternoon, and the travellers were to makean early start on Monday morning. A fire was built in the brick ovenbeside the fireplace, and while it was heating the Goodwife made fourpies and six loaves of brown-bread, and prepared a pot of pork andbeans for baking.

  When the coals had been raked out and the oven filled, she washedclothes for Daniel and his father, while Nancy hurried to finish apair of stockings she was knitting for her brother. Daniel himself,meanwhile, had gone down to the bay to see if he could find theshovel and the basket. He came home in triumph about noon with both,and with quite a number of clams beside, which the Goodwife cookedfor their dinner. When they were seated at the table, and the Goodmanhad asked the blessing, he leaned back in his chair and surveyed theceiling of the cabin. From the rafters there hung long festoons ofdried pumpkin and golden ears of corn. There were also sausages, hams,and sides of bacon.

  "I doubt not you will fare well while we are gone," he said. "Thereis plenty of well-cured meat, and meal enough ground to last for sometime. The planting is done and the corn well hoed; there is wood cut,and Gran'ther Wattles will call upon you if he knows I am away. I amleaving the fowling-piece for thee, wife. The musket I shall take withme."

  "Why must Gran'ther Wattles come?" interrupted Nancy in alarm. "I amsure Mother and I do not need him."

  "Children should be seen and not heard," said her father. "It isGran'ther Wattles's duty to oversee the congregation at home as wellas in the meeting-house."

  Nancy looked at her trencher and said no more, but she thought therewas already enough to bear without having Gran'ther Wattles added toher troubles. Daniel, meanwhile, had attacked his porringer of clams,and in his excitement over the journey was gobbling at a fearful rate.His mother looked at him despairingly.

  "Daniel," she said, "thou art pitching food into thy mouth as if thouwert shoveling coals into the oven! Take thy elbows off the table andeat more moderately." Daniel glued his elbows to his side. "Sit upstraight," she went on, "or thou wilt grow up as crooked as a ram'shorn." Daniel immediately sat up as if he had swallowed the poker."I wish thee to practice proper manners at home, lest my aunt shouldthink thee a person of no gentility. Remember thou must not ask foranything at the table. Wait until it is offered thee, and then donot stuff it down as if thine eyes had not looked upon food for afortnight!"

  "But," protested poor Dan, who was beginning to feel that the journeymight not be all his fancy had painted, "suppose they should n't offerit?"

  "I do not fear starvation for thee," his mother answered briefly; "andoh, Daniel, I beg of thee to wash thy hands before going to the table!The Governor is a proper man and my aunt is very particular." Shepaused for breath, and to get more brown-bread for the table.

  When she sat down again, Daniel said, "If you please, I think I 'drather go on to Provincetown with the Captain."

  "That must be as we are guided at the time," said his father.

  The busy day passed quickly, and before sunset a fine array of piesand brown loaves were cooling on the table, the chores were done, anda Sabbath quiet had settled down over the household, not to be brokenuntil sunset of the following day.

  When Daniel opened the cabin door the next morning, he was confrontedby a wall of gray mist which shut the landscape entirely from view.He had hoped to catch a glimpse of the Lucy Ann, in order to assurehimself that he had not merely dreamed the events of the day before,but nothing could he see, and he began dispirited preparations forchurch. They had no clock, and on account of the fog they could nottell the time by the sun, so the whole family started early to crossthe long stretch of pasture land which lay between them and themeeting-house in the village. They reached it just as Gran'therWattles, looking very grave and important, came out on the churchsteps and beat a solemn tattoo upon a drum to call the peopletogether. They came from different directions across the fields andthrough the one street of the village, looking anxious for fearthey should be late, yet not daring to desecrate the Sabbath by anyappearance of haste. Among the rest, red-faced and short of wind, whoshould appear but Captain Sanders? Sabbath decorum forbade any show ofsurprise; so Goodman Pepperell and his wife merely bowed gravely, andthe Captain, looking fairly pop-eyed in his effort to keep properlysolemn, nodded in return, and they passed into the meeting-housetogether.

  The Captain sat down with the Goodman on the men's side of the room,while Daniel went to his place among the boys, leaving Nancy and hismother seated with the women on the opposite side. It is hard tobelieve that a boy could sit through a sermon two hours long with hisfriends all about him and such a secret buttoned up inside his jacketwithout an explosion, but Daniel did it. He did n't dare do otherwise,for Gran'ther Wattles ranged up and down the little aisle with histithing-rod in hand on the lookout for evil-doers. Once, indeed,during the sermon there was a low rumbling snore, and Daniel washorrified to see Gran'ther Wattles lean over and gently tickle theCaptain's nose with the squirrel-tail. The Captain woke with a startand sneezed so violently that the boy next Daniel all but titteredoutright. Gran'ther Wattles immediately gave him a smart rap on thehead with the knob end of his stick, so it is no wonder that afterthat Daniel sat with his eyes nearly crossed in his effort to keepthem fixed on the minister, though his thoughts were far away rangingMassachusetts Bay with the Lucy Ann of Marblehead.

  At last, however, the sermon ended, the final psalm was sung, andafter the benediction the minister passed out of the church and thecongregation dispersed to eat a bite of brown-bread in the church-yardbefore assembling again for another two-hour sermon.

  The sun was now shining brightly, and, once outside the door, afterthe first sermon, the Captain wiped his brow as if exhausted, and afew moments later Daniel saw him quietly disappearing in the directionof the river. He was not of the Cambridge parish, so no disciplinecould be exercised upon him, but Gran'ther Wattles set him down atonce as a dangerous character, and even Goodwife Pepperell shook herhead gently when she noted his absence.

  Somehow, although it was a breach of Sabbath decorum to tell it, thegreat news leaked out during the intermission, and Daniel was thecenter of interest to every boy in the congregation during theafternoon. When the second long sermon was over and the exhaustedminister had trailed solemnly down the aisle, the equally exhaustedpeople walked sedately to their houses, discussing the sermon as theywent. All that day Daniel kept a tight clutch on his manners, but themoment the sun went do
wn, he heaved a great sigh of relief and turnedthree somersaults and a handspring behind the cabin to limber himselfup after the fearful strain.