The Puritan Twins

by Lucy Fitch Perkins

  VI

  HARVEST HOME

  Before daylight the next morning the Goodwife stood in the door of thenew house and watched her husband set forth with the men of Cambridgeto search the forest for Zeb, and to punish his captors if they shouldcatch them. She had given him a good breakfast and filled his pocketswith bread for the journey, and when the men came from the village,she cut Nancy's pies and gave them each a generous piece to eat beforestarting. There were eight men in the party, all armed. The Goodwife'slip trembled a little and then moved in prayer as she saw themdisappear into the dark forest. "God grant that they may all return insafety," she murmured, and then, giving herself a little shake, sheturned back into the house and resolutely set herself at the duties ofthe day.

  Nimrod whined and tried to follow his master as the men marched awaywith their guns on their shoulders, but, finding himself too weak, laydown again on the hearth and went to sleep. The Goodwife cleaned thekitchen, removing the last traces of the intruders, and then begana patient march back and forth, back and forth, beside the whirlingspinning-wheel. Now that the harvest was over and their food providedfor the winter, her busy hands must spin the yarn and weave the clothto keep them warm. Though she had meant to let the children sleepafter the excitement of the previous day, it was still early when theywere awakened by the whir of the wheel and came scuttling down fromthe loft as bright-eyed as if the adventures of the night before hadbeen no more than a bad dream. They helped themselves to hasty puddingand milk and took a dishful to Nimrod, who was now awake and lookingmuch more lively, and then their mother set them their tasks for theday.

  "Nancy," said she, "I gave all thy pies to the men who have gone withfather to hunt for Zeb. To-morrow will be Thanksgiving Day and weshall need more. The mince pies are already prepared and put away onthe shelves, and thou canst make apple and pumpkin both to set awaybeside them in the secret closet."

  "That makes me think," said Daniel, and, touching the secretspring, he opened the door and rescued the jack-o'-lantern from thewindow-sill.

  It was only a wilted and blackened old pumpkin that he brought to hismother, but she smiled at it and patted the hideous head. "He hathbeen a good friend to us, Dan," she said, "e'en as say the Scriptures,'God hath chosen the weak things of the earth to confound the mighty.'David went out against Goliath with a sling and a stone, and thou hastovercome savages with naught but a foolish pumpkin."

  Nancy took the grinning head and set it on the chimney-piece. "Dearold Jacky," she said, "thou shalt come to our Thanksgiving feast. 'Tis no more than thy due since thou hast saved us from the savages."

  "Nay, daughter," said her mother. "That savoreth of idolatry. Givethy praise unto God, who useth even things which are not to bring tonaught the things that are. 'T is but a pumpkin after all, and willmake an excellent feast for the pig on the morrow. Daniel, go to thefield and bring thy sister a fresh one for the pies and then hastento thine own tasks. They wait for thee. While thy father is awaysearching for Zeb, thou must do his work as well as thine own."

  "Dost think, Mother, that he will surely bring Zeb back in time forthe feast?" asked Nancy anxiously.

  "Let us pray, nothing doubting," answered the mother. "If it be God'swill, they will return."

  There was a tremor in her voice even as she spoke her brave words, forshe knew well the perils of their search. All day long they worked,praying as they prepared the feast that they might share it a unitedfamily. Nancy made the pies, and Dan dressed a fowl, while theirmother got ready a pot of beans, made brown-bread to bake in the ovenwith the pies, and steamed an Indian pudding. All day they watched theforest for sign of the returning men. All day they listened for thesound of guns, but neither sight nor sound rewarded their vigilance.

  Dusk came on. The Goodwife set a candle in the window, and when herother tasks were finished, went back to her spinning. Not a moment wasshe idle, nor did she appear to her children to be anxious, but asshe walked back and forth beside her wheel Nancy heard her murmuring,"Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the mostHigh, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shallany plague come nigh thy dwelling." Over and over she said it toherself, never slacking her work meanwhile.

  The supper which Nancy prepared waited--one hour--two--after Dan hadfed the cattle and brought in the milk, and still there was no sign ofthe searching party.

  Suddenly Nimrod, from his place on the hearth, gave a short sharpbark, and, leaping to the window, stood with his paws on the sill,peering out into the darkness and whining. Dan was beside him in aninstant. "I see them," he cried joyfully, "a whole parcel of them.They are just coming out from behind the cow-shed."

  Nancy and her mother reached the window almost at the same moment, andas the shadowy figures emerged from behind the cow-shed the mothercounted them breathlessly, "One--two--three--four--five--"

  "There 's Father!" shrieked Nancy.

  "He 's carrying something. Oh, dost think it is Zeb?"

  "Six--seven--eight--_nine! ten!_ There are ten men, when but eight setforth. Praise God, they have all come back!" cried the mother. Turningswiftly to the fireplace, she snatched from it a brand of burningpitch pine and, holding it high above her head for a beacon, ranout to meet them, with Dan, Nancy, and Nimrod all at her heels. Thetorch-light shone on stern and weary faces as the men drew near.

  "All 's well, wife," came the voice of the Goodman.

  "Hast found the lad?" she called back to him.

  "Nay--not yet," he answered, "but we think we have his captors. Holdthy torch nearer and have no fear. The savages cannot hurt thee.Nancy, Daniel, have you ever seen these faces before?"

  As he spoke he thrust forward two Indians with their hands securelytied behind them.

  "Oh," shuddered Nancy, "I saw them at the window," and Dan added,"Aye, 't was this one that kicked Nimrod." Nimrod confirmed hisstatement by growling fiercely and snapping at the heels of the tallerof the two Indians.

  "Call off thy dog," said the Goodman sternly, and though Dan felt itwould be no more than fair to allow Nimrod one good bite, consideringall he had suffered, he obediently collared Nimrod and shut him insidethe kitchen. The faces of the Indians were like stone masks as theystood helpless before their captors with the light of the flamingtorch shining upon them.

  "Go in with thy family, Neighbor Pepperell," said Stephen Day. "Thereare enough of us and to spare to guard the savages. Mayhap a night inthe stocks will cool their hot blood and help them to remember whatthey have done with the slave lad. If not, the judge will mete out tothem the punishment they deserve."

  "Right willingly will I leave them in your hands," answered theGoodman, "for truly I am spent."

  Whether the Indians understood their words, or not, they knew wellthe meaning of pointed guns, for they marched off toward the villagewithout even a grunt of protest when Stephen Day gave the word ofcommand.

  The Goodman was so weary that his wife and children forbore askingquestions until he was a little rested and refreshed. He sank downupon the settle with Nimrod beside him, and Dan removed his muddyboots, and brought water for him to wash in, while Nancy and hermother hastened to put the long-delayed supper on the table.

  "This puts new life into me," declared the father when he had eaten afew spoonfuls of hotchpot, "and now I 'll tell somewhat of the day'swork. There was no general uprising among the Indians. At least we sawno evidence of it. 'T is more likely as I feared--they are the sameIndians that followed us from Plymouth, meaning to revenge themselvesupon me for wounding one of them when they set upon us in the forest."

  "But how is it the lad was not with them?" asked his wife.

  "That is a question which as yet hath no answer," replied her husband."It may be they have killed him and hidden the body."

  At this fearful thought Nancy shuddered and covered her face with herhands.

  "It may be," went on the Goodman, "that they passed him on to someone else to avoid suspicion. At any rate he was not with them, and
wecould find no trace. Though the savages undoubtedly know some English,they refuse to say a word, and so his fate remains a mystery."

  "What further shall you do to find him?" asked the Goodwife.

  "See if we cannot force the Indians to confess, for the first thing,"answered her husband.

  His wife sighed. "I fear no hope lieth in that direction," she said."Their faces were like the granite of the hills."

  "What of the gun, Father?" asked Daniel. "Didst thou find it?"

  "Nay," answered his father. "They had it not, and that causes me tothink they have passed it as well as the boy on to others oftheir tribe. There is naught to be done now but wait until afterThanksgiving Day."

  "'T will be but a sad holiday," said the Goodwife. "Though he is but ablackamoor, the lad hath found a place in my heart, and I grieve thatevil hath befallen him."

  "When I saw thee come out from behind the cow-shed I thought thouhadst a burden," said Daniel. "I thought it was Zeb--wounded, ormayhap dead."

  "Aye," answered the Goodman. "I did carry a burden and had like toforgot it. I dropped it by the door of the cow-shed. Go thou and bringit in."

  Dan ran out at once and returned a moment later carrying a huge wildturkey by the legs. His mother rose and felt its breastbone with herfingers.

  "'T is fine and fat, and young withal," she answered. "'T will makea brave addition to our feast on the morrow, for, truth to tell, ourpreparations have been but half-hearted thus far. Our minds were takenup with thy danger and fear for the lad."

  "Dwell rather on our deliverance," said her husband. "The Lord hathnot brought us into this wilderness to perish. Let us not murmur, asdid the Children of Israel. The Lord still guides us."

  "Aye, and by a pillar of fire, too," said Nancy, remembering thestraw-stack.

  "And instead of manna he hath sent this turkey," added Dan.

  Supper was now over, and after it was cleared away, and they had hadprayers, the mother sent the rest of the family to bed, while shebusied herself with final preparations for the next day. She pluckedand stuffed the great turkey, first cutting off the long wing-feathersfor hearth-brooms, and set it away on the shelf in the secret closetalong with Nancy's array of pies. It was late when at last she lit hercandle, covered the ashes, and climbed wearily to bed.

  The wind changed in the night and when they looked out next morningthe air was full of great white snow-flakes, and the blackened ruinsof the straw-stack were neatly covered with a mantle of white.

  The family was up betimes, and as they ate their good breakfast ofsausages, johnny-cake, and maple syrup, they sent many a thoughttoward poor Zeb, wandering in the forest or perhaps lying dead in itsdepths.

  It was a solemn little party that later left the cabin in the careof Nimrod and started across the glistening fields to attend theThanksgiving service in the meeting-house. They were made more solemnstill by the sight of the two Indians sitting with hands and feetfirmly fixed in the stocks, apparently as indifferent to the fallingsnow as though they were images of stone. The first snowfall, usuallysuch a joy to Nancy and Daniel, now only seemed to make them moremiserable, and they were glad to see the sun when they came out of themeeting-house after the sermon and turned their steps toward home. Atleast Zeb would not perish of cold if it continued to shine. They werejust beginning to climb the home hill, when they were surprised to seeNimrod come bounding to meet them, barking a welcome.

  "How in the world did that dog get out?" said the Goodwifewonderingly. "I shut him in the kitchen the last thing before we leftthe house."

  Leaving their father and mother to follow at a slower pace, Nancyand Dan tore up the hill and threw open the kitchen door. There,comfortably dozing on the settle by the fire, sat the Captain! At hisfeet lay Zeb--also sound asleep with the wreckage of several blackenedeggs strewn round him on the hearth-stone! The Captain woke with astart as the children burst into the room and for an instant stoodstaring in amazement and delight at the scene before them. Zeb,utterly worn out, slept on, and the Captain, as usual, was the firstto find his tongue.

  "Well, well," he shouted, rubbing his nose to a bright red to wakehimself up, "here ye be! And mighty lucky, too, for I 'm hungry enoughto eat a bear alive. If I could have found out where ye hide yoursupplies, I might have busted 'em open to save myself and this poorlad from starvation. He appeared nigh as hungry as I be, but he knewbetter how to help himself. He found these eggs cooked out there inthe ashes of the straw-stack, and all but et 'em shells and all. Nevereven offered me a bite! Don't ye ever feed him?"

  Before the children could get in a word edgewise their father andmother, followed by Nimrod, came in, and, what with the dog barking,the children screaming explanations to the Captain, and their ownastonished exclamations, there was such a babel of noise that at lastZeb woke up, too, and stared about him like one dazed. Nimrod jumpedon him and licked his face, and Zeb put his arms around the dog as ifglad to find so cordial a welcome. The Captain stared from one face toanother, quite unable to make head or tail of the situation.

  "Well, by jolly!" he shouted at last, "what ails ye all? Ye act like aparcel of lunatics!"

  The Goodman commanded silence, and briefly told the whole story to theCaptain.

  "Where did you find the lad?" he asked, when he had finished.

  "He was here when I came," said the Captain. "Settin' on thehearth-stone eatin' them eggs as if he had n't seen food fer ase'nnight and never expected to see any again. The dog busted out ofthe house when I came in, and as I could n't get any word out of thelad, I just set down by the fire and took forty winks. It was too latefor meeting, and besides I reckoned I could sleep better here." Hefinished with his jolly laugh.

  Zeb, meanwhile, sat hugging the dog and rolling his eyes from one faceto another as if in utter bewilderment. Perhaps he wondered if theCaptain meant to capture him, too, for life must have seemed to thepoor black boy just a series of efforts to escape being carried off tosome place where he did not wish to go, by people whom he had neverseen before. The Goodman at last sat down before Zeb on the settle andtried to get from him some account of what had happened in the forest.But Zeb was totally unable to tell his story. His few words of Englishwere inadequate to the recital of the terrors of the past twenty-fourhours.

  "Let the lad be," said the Goodwife at last. "He 's safe, praise God,and we shall just have to wait to find out how he managed to escapefrom the savages and make his way back here." She went to the secretcloset and brought out a huge piece of pumpkin pie. Zeb's eyes gleamedas he seized it. "He must n't eat too much at once," said she. "Asnearly as I can make out by the shells, he 's had six eggs already.That will do for a time. Dan, build a fire in the fireplace in the oldkitchen. There 's warm water in the kettle, and do thou see that Zebtakes a bath. He is crusted with mud. He must have wallowed in it.Nancy and I will get dinner the while."

  Dan beckoned to Zeb, and the two boys disappeared. Zeb had neverbathed before except in the ocean, and the new process did not pleasehim. "I believe he wished he 'd stayed with the Indians," said Dan whenhe appeared an hour later followed by a well-polished but somewhatembittered Zeb. "I 've just about taken his skin off and I 'm all wornout. Oh, Mother, is n't dinner almost ready?"

  "Almost," said his mother, as she opened the oven door to take a peepat the turkey, which had been cooking since early morning. "It onlyneeds browning before the fire while I make the gravy."

  The table was already spread, and Nancy was at that very moment givingan extra polish to the tankard before placing it beside the Captain'strencher. The spiced drink to fill it was already mulling beside thefire with a huge kettle of vegetables steaming beside it. The closetdoor was open, giving a tantalizing glimpse of glories to come.

  "So there 's where ye keep 'em," observed the Captain, regarding thepies with open admiration. "'T is a sight to make a man thankful forthe room in his hold. By jolly, it 'll take careful loading to stowthis dinner away proper!"

  He called Nancy to his side and opened the bulgi
ng leather pocketwhich hung from his belt. "Feel in there," he said. "I brought alongsomething to fill in the chinks."

  Nancy thrust in her hand, and brought it out filled with raisins. "Igot 'em off a ship just in from the Indies," explained the Captain.Raisins were a great luxury in the wilderness, and the delighted Nancyhastened to find a dish and to place them beside the pies.

  "All ready," said the mother at last. "Come to dinner."

  There was no need of a second invitation, and the response to thesummons looked like a stampede. The Goodman and his wife took theirplaces at the head of the table with the Captain on one side and thechildren on the other, and because it was Thanksgiving, and because hehad had such a hard day and night, and most of all because he was soclean, Zeb was allowed a place at the foot of the board.

  The Goodman asked a blessing and then heaped the trenchers high withwhat he called the bounty of the Lord. There was only one cloud onDan's sunshine during the meal. On account of Zeb, who when in doubtstill faithfully imitated him, he was obliged to be an example allthrough the dinner. Even with such a model to copy, Zeb had greattrouble with his spoon and showed a regrettable tendency to feedhimself with both hands at once.

  The turkey was a wonder of tenderness, the vegetables done to a turn,the Indian pudding much better than its name, and as for the pies, theCaptain declared they were "fit to be et by the angels and most toogood for a sinner like him."

  Beside each plate the Goodwife had placed a few kernels of corn, andat the end of the feast, when the Goodman rose to return thanks, hetook them in his hand.

  "In the midst of plenty," he said to his children, "let us not forgetthe struggles of the past and what we owe to the pioneers who firstadventured into this wilderness and made a path for those of us whohave followed them. Though they nearly perished of hunger and coldin the beginning, they failed not in faith. When they had but a fewkernels of corn to eat, they still gave thanks, choosing like Danielto live on pulse with a good conscience rather than to eat from aking's table. As the Lord prospered Daniel, so hath he prospered us."

  Then they all stood with folded hands and bent heads, while he gavethanks for the abundant harvest and prayed that they might be guidedto use every blessing to the honor and glory of God. And the Captainsaid, "Amen."

  * * * * *

  SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS

  THE PURITAN TWINS will admirably supplement the study ofAmerican history and geography in grades 6 and 7. The nation-widerevival of interest in all that concerns the Pilgrim Fathers, begun atthe time of the Tercentenary in 1920, will continue for many years.

  Whether children are able to trace their ancestry back to the littleband that crossed the Atlantic in the Mayflower, or whether they traceit to voyagers of a less remote period--and the other volumes in theTwins Series are closely linked with many of these later ones--theirinterest in the days of the forefathers of our country should be thesame; for these early settlers gave to America the spirit of liberty,a respect for law and organized government, and a standard of cleanliving and right thinking which it is our duty to preserve and to passon to coming generations.

  The best suggestions to teachers consist of brief and helpfulreferences to authoritative books that will give an accurate pictureof the early days of our country in the making and of the Pilgrimcountry as it is to-day. Properly presented to pupils, the materialgleaned from these books will help them to form a more definite ideaof what every American should do to preserve intact the national peaceand prosperity which is their heritage.

  In the following list, titles marked with an asterisk contain materialwhich can be understandingly read by the pupils themselves. It will bebetter to have the teacher read to the class from the others.

  READINGS IN AMERICAN HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT

  *Tappan's _Elementary History of Our Country_, Chapters 4 to 9inclusive. These deal with the whole period of colonization.

  Thwaites and Kendall's _History of the United States for Schools_.Chapters 3 to 9 inclusive. This is a more advanced book whichamplifies the story. There are valuable suggestions for reading instandard literature.

  Guitteau's _Preparing for Citizenship_. Chapter 19 is of greatinspirational value.

  *Webster's _Americanization and Citizenship_. The following paragraphsset forth American ideals in their origin and development: 44, 52, 53,54, 55, 63, 73, 117-121.

  *Tappan's _Our European Ancestors_. Chapters 16-20 inclusive. Thesedescribe the European rivalries which influenced the colonization ofAmerica.

  *Tappan's _Little Book of Our Flag_. Particularly chapters 1 and 2respectively, "The Flags that Brought the Colonists," and "The PineTree Flag and Others."

  Griffis's _Young People's History of the Pilgrims_. The conditionswhich led to the sailing of the Pilgrims are clearly sketched andemphasis is laid on the viewpoint of the Pilgrim boys and girls.

  *Griffis's _The Pilgrims in Their Three Homes: England, Holland, andAmerica_. The life of the Pilgrims in church and school, at work andplay, including their flight and refuge, is fully described.

  *Tappan's _American Hero Stories_. Five stories center around thecolonists, of whom, of course, Miles Standish is one.

  *Tappan's _Letters from Colonial Children_. These letters give an ideaof life in representative American colonies seen through a child'seyes. They present a vivid and historically accurate picture of thetimes.

  *Hawthorne's _Grandfather's Chair_. These stories have never grown oldor tiresome to children--and probably never will. No stories evergave a better introduction to our history from the settlement of NewEngland to the War for Independence.

  *Deming and Bemis's _Stories of Patriotism_. A series of stirringtales of patriotic deeds by Americans from the time of the Coloniststo the present.

  *Bemis's _The Patriotic Reader_. The selections cover the history ofour country from the discovery of America to our entrance into theGreat War. They give one a familiarity with literature--new andold--that presents the highest ideals of freedom and justice.

  *Longfellow's _Courtship of Miles Standish_. A well annotated editionis published in the Riverside Literature Series.

  Jane G. Austin's _The Old Colony Stories_. These novels, dealing withthe early settlers of Plymouth, have taken their place among theAmerican classics, and their combination of romantic interest, realliterary quality, and historical accuracy has won for them widepopularity. The titles alone bring before the mind a vision of themost famous colonists: _Betty Alden_, _A Nameless Nobleman_, _Standishof Standish_, _Dr. LeBaron and his Daughters_, _David Alden's Daughterand Other Stories_.

  Fiske's _The Beginnings of New England_. This is one of the mostreadable of the authoritative histories.

  READINGS IN GEOGRAPHY

  Edwards's _The Old Coast Road_. The South Shore road from Boston toPlymouth is one of the most historic roads in the country. Startingfrom Boston, Miss Edwards guides her readers through DorchesterHeights, Milton and the Blue Hills, Quincy with its Shipbuilding,Weymouth, Hingham, Cohasset, the Scituate Shore, Marshfield, theHome of Daniel Webster, Duxbury and Kingston. She concludes with aninforming chapter on Plymouth.

  Edwards's _Cape Cod, New and Old_. Delightful essays on theCape--brief, entertaining, and containing precisely those facts whichevery reader wants to know.

  DRAMATIZATIONS

  *Longfellow's _Courtship of Miles Standish_. Dramatized. This isequipped with suggestions for stage settings, properties and costumes.

  *Austin's _Standish of Standish_. Dramatized. Historically trueportrayals of character and atmosphere. There are suggestions forcostumes and other details of acting.

  Baker's _The Pilgrim Spirit_. This book contains the words spokenby the characters in the various episodes comprising the Pageantpresented at Plymouth, Massachusetts, during the summer of 1921. Itre-creates in masterly fashion the atmosphere of old colony times.

 
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