CHAPTER XVIII.
THE LAST LINK BROKEN.
"Ho Jack! Where's thy master?"
"In heaven, Master Jones, or mayhap thou meanest King James, who by lastaccounts was in London."
"I crave thy pardon, worshipful Master Alden!" and the shipmaster bowedin ludicrous parody of reverence. "I would fain know where thy servantCarver, and thine other retainers, Winslow, and Standish, and Allerton,and the dominie may be."
"'T is a large question, Master Jones, for I do not keep them in mypocket as a general thing, and they are just now about their ownbusiness. Might I ask thine?"
"Were I not in such haste 't would be to cudgel some manners into thybig carcase, Master Insolent; but come now, prythee be a good lad andbring me to the governor, the captain, and the elder, for time and tideare pressing, and I would fain be gone."
"In that direction our fancies pull together rarely, and if thou 'ltfind a seat in the Common house I'll see if I can come upon theFathers."
With an inarticulate growl the master of the Mayflower did as he wasbid, and by the time goodwife Billington had cleared and wiped thebenches and table, the men he had requested to see, along with Winslow,Allerton, Bradford, and Doctor Fuller, came in together, for the hourwas just past noon, and the people collected for dinner had not yetdispersed.
"Good-morrow, Captain Jones," said Carver courteously; "John Alden tellsme thou wouldst have speech of all of us together."
"Yes, Master Governor, and glad am I that peevish boy did my errand solargely, for what I have to say concerns every man, ay, and woman andchild, in your settlement."
"In truth! And what may it be, Master Jones? Sit you down, and goodwifeBillington set on some beer for our guest."
"Well thought on, and I'll not forget to send you another can or sobefore I sail."
"Is the sailing day fixed as yet?"
"To-morrow's flood will see me off, wind and weather permitting."
"And God willing," sternly interposed the elder; but Jones fixing histwinkling eyes upon Brewster's face over the edge of the pewter potcovering the lower half of his face answered scoffingly as he set theflagon down,--
"If as you say God guides the wind and weather, reverend sir, fairweather speaks His willingness for me to sail, doth it not?"
"Sith thy time is so short, Jones, mayhap thou 'lt spare it, and tellthine errand at once," interposed Standish sharply, and Jones turnedupon him with a leer.
"So cock-a-hoop still, my little Captain! Hard work and starving do notcool thy temper, do they? But hold, man, hold. 'T is indeed true that Iam scant for time and mine errand is just this: Ye have been goodfriends and true to me when I was in need, with my men half down andhalf ready to mutiny, and your women have well-nigh brought me tobelieve in saints and angels and such like gear, and so I am come tooffer such of you as will take it, a free passage home, if the men willhelp to handle the ship and the women cook, and nurse such as may beailing. Or if you choose to give up the emprize and load in your stuffand yourselves as ye were before, I'll take the stuff for passage moneyand trust Master Carver's word for the rest."
The Pilgrims paused on their reply, and man looked at man, each readinghis own thought in the other's eyes. Then Carver spoke in gravedeliberateness,--
"Brethren, ye have heard Master Jones's proffer, and I doubt not yeagree with me that it is kindly and generously spoken and meant. Whatsay ye to it man by man? Elder Brewster?"
"I say, Cursed be he who having put his hand to the plough turnethback."
"And Master Allerton?"
"I will abide the decision of the rest."
"And Master Winslow?"
"I and mine remain here."
"And thou, Captain Standish?"
"Our trumpeter has not been taught to sound the retreat."
"And Bradford?"
"I fain would stay here."
"And thou, Doctor?"
"I' faith I see better hope of practice here than in the old countries.I'll stay."
"And I have come here to live and to die," said Carver in conclusion."So you see good Master Jones, that while kindly grateful for your offerand your heartiness, we cannot accept the first, but will requite thelast with equal good will."
"Ay, I want your good will, and perhaps you'll give me a prayer or twojust for luck, dominie?"
"Surely we will pray for thee, Master Jones," replied Brewster with finereticence of tone.
"But before we say more, brethren," resumed the governor, "we must notforget that, as the master hath said, this question concerns every man,woman, and child in the colony; and while we would not send unprotectedwomen or children upon a long voyage with such a crew as man theMayflower,"--
"Nay, they're not psalm singers," muttered Jones half exultant halfashamed,
--"every man in the company has a right to decide for himself and thosebelonging to him," calmly concluded the governor, "and I will ask ourcaptain, as equal in authority to myself, to bid the attendance of everyman over twenty years old in the company, here at once."
"It shall be done, Governor," replied Standish rising, and ten minuteslater a dozen or so more of men comprising all that were left alive ofthe Pilgrim Fathers crowded into the Common house and stood attentivewhile Carver briefly but distinctly conveyed to them Master Jones'soffer.
"Ye understand, brethren," said he in conclusion, "that any one of you,or all of you are free to accept this offer without reproach. We sevenmen, to whom the message first was conveyed, have for ourselves refusedit, but our will is not binding upon you or any of you. Master Hopkins,Master Warren, Cooke, Soule, Eaton, Howland, Alden, Gilbert Winslow,Browne, Dotey, and Lister, Billington, Goodman, Gardner, I call uponeach of you to answer in turn, will you and those belonging to youreturn to England in the Mayflower, or will you abide here and trust inGod to sustain us in the undertaking we have entered upon in His name.Master Warren and Master Hopkins will you declare your wishes?"
"I have no desire but to stay, and I have writ to my wife to come to meand bring our five daughters," said Warren without hesitation, andHopkins gruffly added his sentence,--
"I am no idle maid with a yea-say and a nay-say. I am here with allbelonging to me, and here I abide."
And so in effect said every man there, each gently questioned by Carver,and each speaking his mind without fear or force, until at the end thegovernor turned to the grim old sea-dog who stood looking incredulouslyon, and with a cheek tinged by honorable pride declared,--
"We thank you, friend, for your kindly invitation to take passage withyou for our old home, but not one among us will give up the hope of ournew home. Not one having set hand to the plough will turn back!"
"Not one?" asked the master looking slowly around.
"Not one," replied the elder exultantly; and like the breaking of agreat wave upon the Rock a score of deep-throated voices echoed back theboast,--
"NOT ONE."
The next morning broke clear and lovely, and with the sun rose asouthwest wind, best of all winds for those who would extricatethemselves from the somewhat tyrannous triple embrace of Plymouth Beach,The Gurnet, and Manomet. Directly after breakfast the Pilgrims' pinnacewent out manned by half the men of the colony, some carrying a lastletter, some a little additional package of furs or curiosities forthose at home, some only to say good-by and take a last look at thedingy quarters that had been their home for so many months. CaptainJones, hearty and hospitable in these last hours, had provided what hecalled a snack, and both beer and strong waters were freely set out uponthe cabin table, nor did even the Elder refuse to do him right in aparting glass of Nantz.
"Had I known you for such good fellows when first we joined companythere had never been ill-will between us," said the master of theMayflower. "But at least we will drown it now."
"It is drowned deep as Pharaoh's host in the Red Sea," responded Mylesheartily, and the elder cried Amen.
An hour or so later, as the pinnace slowly beat back to her moorings, agroup of women follo
wed by some stragglers of the other sex climbed thehill and seated themselves about the Fort to watch the departure of theMayflower. Priscilla and Mary Chilton as usual were close together, andDesire Minter seated herself beside them saying wearily,--
"Would I were a man!"
"Thou a man my Desiree!" exclaimed Priscilla turning upon her eyessparkling with fun, although a suspicious red lingered around the lids."Wouldst woo me for thy wife?"
"Thou 'rt ever looking for every man to woo thee, but I'd have thee knowthere's one man, and his house not so far away, that's as near wooing meas thee."
"Oh cruel, cruel Desiree to wound my fond hopes so savagely," beganPriscilla; but Mary ever more practical than humorous interruptedher,--
"Why dost want to be a man, Desire?"
"Because we women were not asked would we accept Master Jones'shospitality and go home, and so I had no chance to say 'Ay and thank y'sir?'"
"Would you have so said Desiree?" asked Priscilla serious in a minute.
"Why sure I would," replied the girl pettishly. "Why should any of uswant to stay? There's plenty of hard work and plenty of prayers I grantyou, and when you have said that you've said all. No decent housen, nobutcher's meat, or milk, or garden stuff, or so much as a huckster'sshop where one might cheapen a ribbon or a stay-lace--what is there hereto live for?"
"Naught for thee, my poor Desiree, I'm afraid," said Priscilla almosttenderly. "And I wish thou couldst go home, but a maid may not ventureherself alone."
"I know she may not, and I tried to make my cousin Carver think as I do,that so she might persuade the Governor to go, but wow! at the firstword she fell upon me with such a storm of words"--
"Sweet Mistress Carver storm!" cried the two girls derisively, andPriscilla added more gravely,--
"I can fancy what she tried to make thee feel, Desiree; but thou couldstnot feel it, and mayhap most young maids like us could not, but thouseest Mary and I are different; our fathers and our mothers came hitherwith their lives in their hands to do a work, and we came to help them.Well, the lives were paid down and the work was not done, so we whoremain, simple maids though we be, are in a manner bound to carry onthat work, and not let them have died quite in vain. And their gravesare here."
Mary Chilton bowed her head upon her knees, and for a moment there was agreat silence, then Desire said querulously,--
"Well, but what is there for me to do?"
"Come home and help me cook the dinner!" cried Priscilla jumping to herfeet, while practical Mary added, "And I dare say some man will marrythee, Desire, and thou mayest have children."
"I! I'll marry no man here--save one!" protested Desire tossing her headand rising more slowly.
"Save one! Now is that happy he named John Howland?" asked a merry voiceat her elbow, and Desire with a start and a laugh exclaimed,--
"Fie on thee, John, to take a poor maid at her word so shortly."
"Thou shouldst not shout thy resolves into a man's ear didst not thouwant him to hear them," replied John carelessly, and forgot the idlewords which were to bear an ill and unexpected crop for him at nodistant date.
Standish of Standish: A Story of the Pilgrims Page 19