CHAPTER VIII
THROUGH THE WINDOW
"Hold tight, Anne," whispered Rose.
Anne had succeeded in squeezing through the narrow window space, andRose, leaning out as far as possible, kept a firm grasp on the littlegirl's hands.
"I'm going to let go now," whispered Rose; "try to drop easily, Anne,"and in an instant Anne's feet touched the soft earth.
Rose watched her jump up and a moment later vanish in the thick growthof trees. Then she hooked the window securely, and sat down again on theiron chest. Her arms and shoulders felt lame and sore from holding Anne,but after a moment she forgot the ache and her thoughts turned to herfather, and to brave little Anne traveling off through the darkness ofthe summer's night to bring help to her friends.
The house was so closely surrounded by woods that Anne had to move verycarefully. The storm was over, but it was very dark in the shadow ofthe trees. For a few moments she wandered about, not quite knowing ifshe were moving in the right direction, but at last she found herself inthe rough path up which Lady had made her way from the main road. Onceor twice she stumbled and nearly fell over stumps of trees, but at lastshe reached the junction, and now the moonlight enabled her to see thewhite line of the sandy road stretching far ahead.
"I can run now," she whispered to herself, and sped away, hermoccasin-covered feet making no sound as she ran. All at once Annestopped suddenly, for coming down the road toward her were a number ofdark figures. They were so near that she could hear the sound of theirvoices. Anne turned quickly to the roadside and crouched behind a bunchof low-growing shrubs. As the men came nearer one of them said:
"'Twas about here I saw something run into the woods."
"A fox, maybe," answered one of his companions.
"Maybe, and maybe not. It's not the time to take chances of a spy beingabout with those guns stored at Bill Mains'. I'm going to have a lookaround here and make sure," and the man turned straight toward the placewhere Anne crouched, fairly trembling with fear, for she had heard theman speak of the guns, and was quite sure that these men were Tories, asshe supposed Bill Mains to be. She moved unconsciously, and the rustlingbetrayed her whereabouts, and the man took hold of her shoulder and drewher out into the road.
"Look at this! A little girl! Where's your father?" he demanded, drawingAnne toward his three companions, who were evidently too surprised tospeak. "Where's your father?" he repeated, giving Anne a little shake.
"He--he's at sea," half sobbed Anne, hardly daring to lift her head, andwondering what dreadful fate would befall her if these men shoulddiscover that she had just escaped from Bill Mains' house, and that sheknew all about the guns hidden there.
"Don't be rough with the little maid, Dan," said one of the men; "it'searly in the evening yet, and no harm in a child being on the road. Likeas not she hid there from fear of us. Do you live near here, littleone?"
Anne now ventured to look up, but in the dusk could only see that theman who spoke so kindly was bareheaded, while the others wore slouchhats which shaded their faces.
"No, sir," she answered.
"There's no house for miles," declared the man who had discovered Anne,"and there's some older person about, you may be sure."
As he spoke Anne said to herself that she would not let them know howshe came there. "If I do perhaps they will kill Mr. Freeman," thoughtthe frightened child. So when they questioned her she would not answer,and the men now had some reason to believe that Anne had oldercompanions who might indeed be spies upon those who sympathized with theAmericans.
"Is it safe to go to Mains' house?" questioned one of the men, and therewas a little talk among them over the matter, but they decided to go on;and, holding Anne fast by the hand, the man who had drawn her out fromher hiding-place led the way, and Anne had not been away from theshingled house but an hour or two before she found herself again at thefront door.
In response to a low whistle the door opened and the men filed into theroom. Bill Mains, holding a candle in his hand, stood in the littlepassageway and as he saw Anne he nearly let the candle fall, andexclaimed in amazement:
"Where did you find that child? I had her double locked up in the brickroom."
"Are you sure of it?" asked the man who kept so tight a grasp on Anne'sarm that the mark of his fingers showed for several days after.
"Of course I'm sure; locked two of them up there before thethunder-storm, and have their father tied up in the kitchen. Tory spiesthey are."
At the sound of the hated words Anne exclaimed: "Indeed we are not Toryspies. We are not either of those things. Mr. Freeman is a patriot, andhis son is with Washington. How dare you say we are Tories and treat usso!" and the little girl quite forgot her fear, and, as the hold on herarm loosened, she took a step away from the man and said: "We were goingto Boston, and going to stop at Suet to see Captain Sears, and thatman," and she pointed at Bill Mains, "shut us up because Rose and Ipeeked under a blanket at some guns."
As Anne stopped speaking the men looked at one another in surprise. Atlast the bareheaded man began to laugh, and the others joined in; allbut Bill Mains, who looked somewhat ashamed.
"You've been a bit too cautious, I reckon, Bill," said the man who hadfound Anne. "Mr. Freeman of Boston is known as a loyal man. Did he nottell you who he was?"
"I gave him no chance after I found this little maid looking at the gunsI had covered with blankets," confessed Mains. "I told him I'd gag himif he said one word, and I reckon he thought he had fallen into thehands of a rank Tory. Who are you, little maid?" and he turned kindlytoward Anne.
"I am John Nelson's daughter, who is at sea on the 'Yankee Hero,' and Ilive with Uncle Enos and Aunt Martha Stoddard in Province Town, but nowI am going with Rose Freeman for a visit in Boston," explained Anne, whocould hardly realize that these men were now kindly disposed toward her,and that Bill Mains was sadly ashamed to have so ill treated hisunexpected guests. "You must let Rose right out of that dark room," sheadded hastily.
"I should say so. You shall open the door yourself, little maid,"answered Mains. "You boys go on to the kitchen and get Mr. Freeman'spardon for me if you can," and he turned and led Anne toward the roomwhere Rose was locked in.
When Rose saw Anne standing in the doorway she exclaimed: "Oh, Anne, hashe brought you back!" in such an unhappy voice that Bill Mains felt veryuncomfortable.
"It's all right, Rose. You are to come right out where your father is.There are some nice men out there," declared Anne, clasping her handsabout Rose's arm.
"Oh! then you found help," and there was a world of relief in Rose'svoice as Anne led her out of the room, which Mr. Mains did not forget tolock carefully behind them.
"He thought we were Tory spies; that's why he locked us up," Anneexplained, in a tone that almost seemed to praise Mr. Mains for suchprecaution.
"Tory spies, indeed!" said Rose, sending a scornful glance in hisdirection. "He should have known better. Where is my father?"
"Right this way, miss," replied Mr. Mains humbly, and the girlsfollowed him to the kitchen where they found Mr. Freeman surrounded bythe four men who had brought Anne back to the house.
Rose's father was as ready to pardon the mistake as Bill Mains was eagerto have him.
"It's worth a little trouble to find we have such good men ready todefend our cause," he declared, "but I am afraid my girls here arepretty tired, and if you can give them a room without cannon and powder,I'm sure they will sleep well," as indeed they did in a neat littlechamber into which Mr. Mains conducted them, bringing in the littletrunk which had been strapped on the back of the chaise.
Mr. Freeman had believed that he was in the hands of the Tories, so thathe did not greatly blame his host for being doubtful regarding him.
"It will delay us a little on our journey, but it is no great matter,"he said pleasantly in response to Mains' repeated apologies. Then Mainsexplained that this house had been built of brick, and then boarded overand covered with shingles, as a storehouse for supp
lies for the Americanarmy. The four men had just returned from carrying powder to a couple ofYankee boats at Plymouth. These boats were among the many privateersthat cruised about during the Revolution, harassing English vessels, andoften capturing rich prizes, and helping the American cause. They stayedlate in the evening talking with Mr. Freeman, and listening withinterest to what he could tell them of affairs in Boston; and when theystarted off on their way toward Brewster they promised to let hisbrother know of the mistake, which seemed to them a very good joke ontheir friend Mains.
Mr. Mains was up at an early hour the next morning, and Mr. Freemandeclared the breakfast to be the best that he had ever tasted. There wasbroiled partridge, hot corn bread, a big dish of freshly pickedblueberries, and plenty of good milk; and Anne and Rose thought thatnothing could be better, and even decided that Mr. Mains did not looklike a pirate after all. "For I don't believe pirates wear brown ginghamaprons, do you, Rose?" said Anne, watching Mr. Mains awkwardly tying hisapron strings.
Lady had been well cared for, and was rested and ready for the journeywhen Mr. Mains led her up to the door for the girls to enter thechaise.
"I'm mighty sorry," he repeated as he helped the girls in, "sorry, Imean, to have locked you folks up; but real glad to know you," and hewaved them a smiling good-bye, as Mr. Freeman carefully guided Ladyalong the rough way to the main road.
"Well, Anne, I guess you'll remember this journey all your life," saidRose, as they reached the highway and Lady trotted briskly along as ifglad to find her feet on good sand again. "Just think, father," shecontinued, "of all that has happened to her since she left ProvinceTown, and she's not in Boston yet."
"Things happened when I went to Boston before," said Anne, rememberingher brief visit to Newburyport, when she had safely carried a paper ofimportance to loyal Americans.
"I think all will go smoothly now," said Mr. Freeman, "but it was a verybrave thing for a little girl to start off alone for help, as you didlast night, Anne," and he looked kindly down at the little girl besidehim. "Had we indeed been held prisoners by Tories you might have securedhelp for us, as you thought to do."
"But she really did help us, father," said Rose; "it was Anne who madethem understand who we really were. I do believe we might be shut upstill if Anne had not found a way to help us. Your father will be proudof you, Anne, when I tell him the story."
It made Anne very happy to have Mr. Freeman and Rose praise her, and shequite forgave the man who had pulled her from behind the bushes, andwhose finger marks she could still feel on her arm.
"I hope it won't rain to-day," said Mr. Freeman. "We ought to get toSandwich by noon, and after Lady has rested, we'll go on as far as wecan. Lady seems as anxious to get to Boston as we do," for the big horsewas traveling at a rapid pace, and going as if she enjoyed it.
"You shall go and see Faneuil Hall when you are in Boston, Anne,"promised Rose, "and Mr. Hancock's fine house. It has terraces and stonesteps, and the English officers would well like to take up theirquarters there."
"They seem well satisfied with Vardy for a landlord at the 'RoyalExchange,'" answered Mr. Freeman smilingly. "Look, there is a wasp'snest as big as a bucket," and Mr. Freeman pointed his whip toward ahuge gray ball hanging from the branch of a partly decayed tree near theroad.
"It's a beauty," said Rose, leaning out to see the wonderful ball ofgray paper which swung from the branch above them.
Mr. Freeman turned Lady to the further side of the road and said, "Ifthe wasps have deserted their house, as they sometimes do at thisseason, I'd like to get it to take home to the children. I never saw solarge a nest. I can soon find out," he concluded.
The brown horse stood quietly while Mr. Freeman and the girls got out ofthe chaise.
"Stay here a moment," said Mr. Freeman, and he walked back toward thetree and threw a small round stone at the nest. It hit the mark, but noangry wasps appeared. Another stone touched it more forcibly, and, whenthe third failed to bring a single wasp from the nest, Mr. Freemandeclared that he knew it was vacant, and cutting a branch from a slenderbirch tree with his pocket-knife, which he speedily made into a smoothpole, he managed to secure the nest without damaging it and brought itproudly back to show to Rose and Anne, neither of whom had ever seenone before.
"It's just like paper," said Anne admiringly, touching it carefully.
"That's just what it is," said Mr. Freeman. "I expect men learned fromwasps how to make paper. For wasps go to work in a very business-likeway. They chew up dead and crumbling wood and spread it out smoothly,and when it dries and hardens there is a sheet of paper, all ready to beused as one of the layers for this dry warm nest. Men make paper bygrinding up wood or linen rags."
"You can put the nest in our lunch-basket, father," said Rose."Frederick and Millicent will think it the most wonderful thing theyhave ever seen."
Frederick and Millicent were Rose's younger brother and sister.Frederick was about Anne's age, but little Millicent was only six yearsold.
Lady turned her head as if to ask why they were lingering so far from agood stable; and Rose and Anne stopped a moment before getting in thechaise to rub her soft nose and tell her that she would soon be inSandwich and should have a good feed of oats for her dinner.
A Little Maid of Massachusetts Colony Page 8