A Little Maid of Province Town

by Alice Turner Curtis

  CHAPTER IV

  ANNE AND THE WOLF

  "A pie of beach-plums, sweet and crusty," Anne repeated to herself thenext day as she carried Martha out to the playhouse, and rearranged herbits of crockery, and looked off across the harbor.

  "I do wish they would ripen speedily," she said aloud. "Indeed those Itasted of yesterday had a pleasant flavor, and I am sure Mistress Stoddardwould be well pleased if I could bring home enough for a pie. I will takethe small brown basket and follow the upper path, for the plum bushes growthickly there," and Martha was carefully settled in her accustomed place,and Anne ran to the house for the brown basket, and in a few moments wasfollowing a sandy path which led toward the salt meadows.

  She stopped often to pick the yellowing beach-plums, and now and thentasted one hopefully, expecting to find the sweet pungent flavor which thechildren so well loved, but only once or twice did she discover any signof ripeness.

  "I'll cross the upper marsh," she decided; "'Tis not so shaded there, andthe sun lies warm till late in the day, and the plums are sure to besweeter. I hope my father finds many to eat along his journey. I wish Ihad told him that it was best for me to go with him. We could have madelittle fires at night and cooked a fish, and, with berries to eat, itwould not have been unpleasant."

  The July sun beat warmly down, but a little breath of air from the seamoved steadily across the marshes filled with many pleasant odors. Hereand there big bunches of marsh rosemary made spots of soft violet upon thebrown grass, and now and then little flocks of sand-peeps rose from theground and fluttered noisily away. But there was a pleasant midsummerstillness in the air, and by the time Anne had crossed the marsh andreached the shade of a low-growing oak tree she began to feel tired andcontent to rest a time before continuing her search for ripe beach-plums.

  "I wish I had put Martha in the basket," she thought as she leanedcomfortably back against the scrubby trunk of the little tree; "then Icould have something to talk to." But she had not much time to regret herplaymate, for in a second her eyes had closed and she was fast asleep.There was a movement in the bushes behind her, a breaking of twigs, a softfall of padded feet, but she did not awaken.

  A big animal with a soft, gray coat of fur, with sharp nose and earsalertly pointed, came out from the woods, sniffed the soft air cautiously,and turned his head warily toward the oak tree. The creature was evidentlynot alarmed at what he saw there, for he approached the sleeping childgently, made a noiseless circle about her, and then settled down at herfeet, much as a big dog might have done. His nose rested upon his paws andhis sharp eyes were upon the sleeping child.

  In a little while Anne awoke. She had dreamed that Jimmie Starkweather hadled a beautiful, big gray animal to Mistress Stoddard's door, and told herthat it was a wolf that he had tamed; so when she opened her eyes and sawthe animal so near her she did not jump with surprise, but she saidsoftly, "Wolf!"

  The creature sprang to its feet at the sound of her voice, and moved off afew paces, and then turned and looked over its shoulder at Anne.

  "Wolf!" Anne repeated, brushing her hair from her eyes and pulling hersunbonnet over her head. Then she reached out for the plum basket, andstood up. Still the animal had not moved.

  "I do believe it is tame," thought Anne, and she made a step toward hervisitor, but the gray wolf no longer hesitated, and with a bound it wasoff on a run across the marsh, and soon disappeared behind a clump ofbushes.

  "I wish it had stayed," Anne said aloud, for there had been nothing tomake her afraid of wild creatures, and Jimmie's stories of a big wolfranging about the outskirts of the settlement had not suggested to herthat a wolf was anything which would do her harm, and she continued hersearch for beach-plums, her mind filled with the thought of many pleasantthings.

  "I do think, Mistress Stoddard, that I have plums enough for a pie," sheexclaimed, as she reached the kitchen door and held up her basket forMistress Stoddard's inspection.

  "'Twill take a good measure of molasses, I fear," declared Mrs. Stoddard,"but you shall have the pie, dear child. 'Twill please Captain Enosmightily to have a pie for his supper when he gets in from the fishing;and I'll tell him 'twas Anne who gathered the plums," and she noddedsmilingly at the little girl.

  "And what think you has happened at the spring this morning?" she went on,taking the basket from Anne, who followed her into the neat littlekitchen. "Jimmie Starkweather and his father near captured a big graywolf. The creature walked up to the spring to drink as meek as a calf, andMr. Starkweather ran for his axe to kill it, but 'twas off in a second."

  "But why should he kill it?" exclaimed Anne. "I'm sure 'Tis a good wolf.'twas no harm for it to drink from the spring."

  "But a wolf is a dangerous beast," replied Mrs. Stoddard; "the men-folkwill take some way to capture it."

  Anne felt the tears very near her eyes. To her, the gray wolf had notseemed dangerous. It had looked kindly upon her, and she had alreadyresolved that if it ever were possible she would like to stroke its softfur.

  "Couldn't the wolf be tamed?" she questioned. "I went to sleep near themarsh this morning and dreamed that Jimmie Starkweather had a tame wolf."But for some reason, which Anne herself could not have explained, she didnot tell her good friend of the wild creature which had come so near toher when she slept, and toward whom she had so friendly a feeling, andMrs. Stoddard, busy with her preparations for pie-making, did not speakfurther of the wolf.

  There was a good catch of fish that day, and Captain Enos came homesmiling and well pleased.

  "If we could hope that the British ships would keep out of harbor we couldlook forward to some comfort," he said, "but Starkweather had news from anIpswich fisherman that the 'Somerset' was cruising down the cape, and likeas not she'll anchor off the village some morning. And from what we hear,her sailors find it good sport to lay hands on what they see."

  The appearance of the beach-plum pie, warm from the oven, turned thecaptain's thoughts to more pleasant subjects. "'Tis a clever child to findripe beach-plums in July," he said, as he cut Anne a liberal piece, "and abit of tartness gives it an excellent flavor. Well, well, it is surely apleasant thing to have a little maid in the house," and he nodded kindlytoward Anne.

  After supper when Anne had gone up to her little chamber under the eaves,and Captain Enos and Mrs. Stoddard were sitting upon their front door-stepenjoying the cool of the evening, Captain Enos said:

  "Martha, Anne calls you Mistress Stoddard, does she not?"

  "Always," answered his wife. "She is a most thoughtful and respectfulchild. Never does she speak of thee, Enos, except to say 'Captain.' Shehas been in the house for over two months now, and I see no fault inher."

  "A quick temper," responded Captain Enos, but his tone was not that of aperson who had discovered a fault. Indeed he smiled as he spoke,remembering the flight of the Cary children.

  "I would like well to have the little maid feel that we were pleased withher," continued the captain slowly. "If she felt like calling me 'Father'and you 'Mother,' I should see no harm in it, and perhaps 'twould be wellto have her name put on the town records as bearing our name, AnneStoddard?" and Captain Enos regarded his wife questioningly.

  "It is what I have been wishing for, Enos!" exclaimed Mrs. Stoddard, "butmaybe 'twere better for the child to call us 'Uncle' and 'Aunt.' She doesnot yet forget her own father, you see, and she might feel 'twere notright to give another his name."

  Captain Enos nodded approvingly. "A good and loyal heart she has, I know,"he answered, "and 'twill be better indeed not to puzzle the little maid.We'll be 'Uncle' and 'Aunt' to her then, Martha; and as for her name onthe town records, perhaps we'll let the matter rest till Anne is oldenough to choose for herself. If the British keep on harrying us it maywell be that we fisherfolk will have to go further up the coast forsafety."

  "And desert Province Town?" exclaimed Mrs. Stoddard, "the place where yourfather and mine, Enos, were born and died, and their fathers before them.No--we'll not search for safety at su
ch a price. I doubt if I could livein those shut-in places such as I hear the upper landings are."

  Captain Enos chuckled approvingly. "I knew well what you would say tothat, Martha," he replied, "and now we must get our sleep, for the tideserves early to-morrow morning, and I must make the best of these gooddays."

  "Captain Enos was well pleased with the pie, Anne," said Mrs. Stoddard thenext morning, as the little girl stood beside her, carefully wiping theheavy ironware.[1] "And what does thee think! The captain loves thee sowell, child, that it would please him to have thee call him Uncle Enos.That is kind of him, is it not, Anne?" and Mistress Stoddard smiled downat the eager little face at her elbow.

  "It is indeed, Mistress Stoddard," replied Anne happily; "shall I beginto-night?"

  "Yes, child, and I shall like it well if you call me 'Aunt'; 'twill seemnearer than 'Mistress Stoddard,' and you are same as our own child now."

  Anne's dark eyes looked up earnestly into Mistress Stoddard's kind face."But I am my father's little girl, too," she said.

  "Of course you are," answered her friend. "Captain Enos and I are notasking you to forget your father, child. No doubt he did his best for you,but you are to care for us, too."

  "But I do, Aunt Martha; I love you well," said Anne, so naturally thatMrs. Stoddard stopped her work long enough to give her a kiss and to say,"There, child, now we are all settled. 'twill please your Uncle Enoswell."

  As soon as the few dishes were set away Anne wandered down the hill towardthe spring. She no longer feared the Cary children, and she hoped to seesome of the Starkweather family and hear more of the gray wolf, and at thespring she found Jimmie with two wooden buckets filled and ready for himto carry home to his waiting mother.

  "You missed the great sight yesterday, Anne," he said, as she approachedthe spring. "What think you! A wolf as big as a calf walked boldly up anddrank, right where I stand."

  "'twas not as big as a calf," declared Anne; "and why should you seek tokill a wild creature who wants but a drink? 'Tis not a bad wolf."

  Jimmie looked at her in surprise, his gray eyes widening and shining inwonder. "All wolves are bad," he declared. "This same gray wolf walked offwith Widow Bett's plumpest hen and devoured it before her very eyes."

  "Well, the poor creature was hungry. We eat plump hens, when we can getthem," answered Anne.

  Jimmie laughed good-naturedly. "Wait till you see the beast, Anne," heanswered. "Its eyes shine like black water, and its teeth show likepointed rocks. You'd not stand up for it so boldly if you had but seenit."

  Anne made no answer; she was not even tempted to tell Jimmie that she hadseen the animal, had been almost within arm's reach of it.

  "I must be going," she said, "but do not harm the wolf, Jimmie," and shelooked at the boy pleadingly; "perhaps it knows no better than to takefood when it is hungry."

  "I'd like its skin for a coat," the boy answered, "but 'Tis a wise beastand knows well how to take care of itself. It's miles away by this time,"and picking up the buckets he started toward home, and Anne turned awayfrom the spring and walked toward the little pasture where Brownie fed insafety.

  She stopped to speak to the little brown cow and to give her a handful oftender grass, and then wandered down the slope and along the edge of themarsh.

  "Maybe 'twill come again," she thought, as she reached the little oak treeand sat down where she had slept the day before. "Perhaps if I sit verystill it will come out again. I'm sure 'Tis not an unfriendly beast."

  The little girl sat very still; she did not feel sleepy or tired, and herdark eyes scanned the marsh hopefully, but as the summer morning driftedtoward noon she began to realize that her watch was in vain.

  "I s'pose Jimmie Starkweather was right, and the gray wolf is miles away,"she thought, as she decided that she must leave the shadow of the oak andhurry toward home so that Aunt Martha would not be anxious about her.

  "I wish the wolf knew I liked him," the little girl said aloud, as sheturned her face toward home. "I would not chase him away from the spring,and I would not want his gray fur for a coat," and Anne's face was verysober, as she sent a lingering look along the thick-growing woods thatbordered the marsh. She often thought of the wolf, but she never saw itagain.

  -----

  [1] A coarse chinaware.