CHAPTER II
ANNE DECIDES
"I don't know what to do," Anne whispered to herself, with a little sob,as she looked out of the narrow window in her little room. CaptainStoddard was coming briskly up the path; in a moment he would bedirectly under the window. "I'll call to him, and if he answers I shallknow that I am awake," she decided, and leaning out she called softly:"Uncle Enos! Uncle Enos!"
Captain Stoddard looked up, and answered briskly: "Anne Nelson, ahoy!"
"Uncle Enos, listen!" and Anne leaned out still farther. "I went towardthe outer beach with Amanda Cary, and she slapped me and ran off. Andwhen I came home Aunt Martha sent me up-stairs. Now what have I done?"
Captain Stoddard chuckled, then he looked very serious indeed, andreplied:
"A pretty affair! What have you been doing?"
"Nothing, Uncle Enos; indeed I have done no mischief. Tell Aunt Marthathat Amanda slapped me, and that I did not slap back."
Uncle Enos nodded, and made a motion for Anne to be silent, and Annedrew quickly back into the room.
"Uncle Enos will find out," she whispered to the little wooden doll,"Martha Stoddard," that her father had made for her when she was a verysmall girl, and which was still one of her greatest treasures. But theJuly afternoon faded into the long twilight and no one called to Anne tocome down. She began to feel hungry. "I wish I had eaten my share ofthat luncheon and not given it to Amos to carry home," she thought. Foron her way home she had met Amos and had given the lunch basket into hischarge, telling him to carry it home to Amanda, but saying nothing ofAmanda's anger.
As Anne sat in the loft chamber waiting for the call that did not come,she began to feel that she had been treated very badly. "And Aunt Marthasays I shall not visit Rose Freeman, and does not tell me why I shallnot go. My father would let me; I know that full well. And I am going; Iwill walk to Brewster!" Anne's heart grew lighter as she thought of allthe joys that a visit to Rose would mean. "I'll start to-night," shedecided. "Maybe it will take me a long time, as there are no roads, butI know I can find the way. Oh, I wish it would get dark! I'll take you,Martha Stoddard, but I guess I'll change your name, for Aunt Marthadoesn't like me any more," and the little girl began to feel very lonelyand unhappy. The room door swung open at that very moment and therestood Mrs. Stoddard with a mug full of creamy milk and a plate of cornbread.
"Here is your supper, Anne. And I hope you are ready to tell me why youpushed Amanda down and ran off with her basket," and Mrs. Stoddardlooked at Anne with a puzzled expression in her kind eyes.
"I did not----" began Anne.
"There, there, child. Mrs. Cary told me the whole story. Tell me thetruth, and I'll not be hard with you," and Mrs. Stoddard set down themug and plate on the light-stand and stood waiting.
"I will not say another word!" declared Anne, who felt that even herdear Aunt Martha had turned against her.
"Then you must stay up here until you are a more obedient child," saidMrs. Stoddard, and went slowly out of the room. "I don't see what haspossessed the child," she said to Captain Enos on returning to thekitchen.
"She has always been a truthful child, Martha," ventured the captain,"so why not believe her now?"
"I would gladly, Enos; but Mrs. Cary came straight to me as soon asAmanda reached home, and 'twas an hour later when Anne returned, and shehas no word of excuse. 'Twill do the child no harm to stay in her roomuntil she can tell me the reason for such behavior. And of course thisvisit to the Freemans' must be given up. 'Twould not do to let her goafter such conduct."
"A pity," responded the captain. "'Twould have been a fine journey forthe little maid."
Anne could hear the murmur of their voices as she drank the milk and atethe corn bread. "I wish I had some bread to take with me," she thought."I'll take my blue cape, and my shoes and white stockings, for I'm sureI ought to wear them on the chaise," and Anne tiptoed about the roomgathering up her clothing. It did not make a very large bundle, evenwhen she decided to take the white muslin dress, and the coral beads.She heard Captain Enos and Aunt Martha go to their chamber, and then,holding "Martha Stoddard" and the bundle in her arms, crept down thenarrow stairway. The outer door stood ajar to admit the cool fragrantair, and in a moment Anne was running along the sandy track that ledthrough the little settlement. It was still early, but there was not alight to be seen in any of the small gray houses. The summer sky wasfilled with stars, and as Anne ran she could see her shadow stretchingahead of her, "as if I were running right over it all the time," shewhispered to "Martha Stoddard."
The beautiful harbor seemed like a shining mirror, it lay so calm andstill in the shadow of the land. But Anne did not stop to look at starsor sea; she wanted to reach the pines at the end of the village. Thenshe meant to go on as fast as she could toward Truro. "There will benice places to rest under the trees, where nobody will ever look for me;perhaps no one will want to look," thought the little girl, with a chokysensation in her throat as she remembered the strange happenings of theafternoon.
The track grew more indistinct toward the end of the settlement, andwhen Anne reached the woods the shadows were dark, and she was obligedto go carefully in order not to lose her way. The border line betweenTruro and Province Town was marked by the jawbone of a whale set in theground by the side of a red oak stump. The path up to this landmark waswell known to all the village children; the hill was called CormorantHill; and Anne had been there many times with Amanda and Amos and theStarkweather children, and was very sure that from that place she couldfind her way through Truro to Wellfleet. "I'll not rest until I get toKexconeoquet," decided Anne. Kexconeoquet was the Indian name for thehill.
About half-way up the slope Anne stopped to rest under a tall pine tree.There was a bed of soft green moss, and as she sat down she gave alittle tired sigh. "Maybe it will be morning before I get to the top ofthe hill," she thought, and put "Martha Stoddard" carefully down on themoss. "I suppose I might sleep a minute," she said drowsily, arrangingher bundle for a pillow and resting her head upon it. And a moment lateran inquisitive little squirrel noticed that there was a little girl ina brown gingham dress fast asleep under the pine tree.
Mrs. Stoddard awoke early the next morning, and when she and CaptainEnos sat down to their simple breakfast she said:
"I hear no sound of Anne, and I'll let her sleep late this morning; whenshe wakes she will tell me what happened. I woke up in the night andthought about it, and I feel sure our little maid could not have beenall to blame. Amanda is quick to find trouble."
Uncle Enos nodded approvingly. "'Twill do her no harm to sleep," heagreed, "and do not make up your mind that she must not go for the visitto Brewster and Boston. I can set her across to Brewster come Tuesday.'Twill give me a chance to get some canvas for a new jib for the sloop."
Captain Enos spoke softly, and tiptoed out of the little kitchen, andAunt Martha moved quietly about the house until the long summer morningwas half over; then she went softly up the stairs, and opened the doorto Anne's room. In a moment she realized what had happened: that Annehad run away; and she lost no time in hurrying to the shore, whereCaptain Enos was salting his yesterday's catch of fish and spreadingthem on the "flakes"--long low frames--to dry. Captain Starkweather andAmanda's father were near by, busy at the same work, and further alongthe shore were other groups of men taking care of the "catch" of theprevious day. For the dried fish were shipped to many distant places,and curing them was a part of the fisherman's business.
"Anne is gone! She has run away," called Mrs. Stoddard, and in a momentshe was telling Captain Enos that she was sure that the little girl hadcrept out of the house in the night. Captain Starkweather and Mr. Carylistened in amazement.
"But where could she go?" asked Captain Enos. "There's something wrongin this. Anne called to me from her window yesterday that she knew notthe reason for her being punished. She has run away from us, Martha,because we have been unfair toward her."
"But where? Stop not to talk, Enos. Is there a bo
at missing? Like as notAnne has set forth for Boston." And Mrs. Stoddard looked out over thewide harbor as if expecting to see Anne sailing away.
"It may be your little girl is playing about and will soon return,"suggested Captain Starkweather.
"Is her doll gone?" questioned Captain Enos; "for if it is not you maybe sure that Anne is not far away."
"Indeed, I did not think to look; and you may be right, CaptainStarkweather. I'll step back and see," and Mrs. Stoddard's facebrightened as she turned toward home, followed by Captain Enos and thetwo fishermen.
"The doll is gone," she called down from the little chamber, "and Anne'scape and beads, and her shoes and stockings."
In a short time every one in the village knew of Anne's disappearance,and Amanda heard her father say that he feared Anne had started off inone of the little boats. "If she has there is small chance for thechild," he said soberly, and Amanda began to whimper.
"She gave me Amanda's basket to bring home yesterday," said Amos; "'tisin the shed."
"Yes, she ran off with it yesterday, and ate all the lunch herself,"explained Mrs. Cary, "and slapped Amanda. Your sister came running homecrying as if her heart would break."
"Anne didn't eat the luncheon. 'Twas all in the basket, and I ate it,"said Amos. "I don't believe she slapped Amanda, anyway. Or if she didI'll bet Amanda slapped her first."
"Amos!" Mr. Cary's voice was very stern, and the boy said no more.
It was found that a rowboat was missing, and remembering how Anne andthe Cary children had once started out to sail to Boston, it wasgenerally believed that Anne had started off in the boat. Neverthelesssearch-parties went across the narrow strip of land to the outer beachand up and down the shore of the harbor and along the edge of the Trurowoods. Several boats started off, for it was felt that the best chanceof finding her was the hope that the little boat could not have gonevery far. "It may have been swept out to sea," Mr. Cary said, and atthis Amanda set up such a wail that he instantly added: "But Anne willbe found; of course she will."
A Little Maid of Massachusetts Colony Page 2