CHAPTER XV
A SPRING PICNIC
Before the six weeks of school came to an end Anne could read, and couldwrite well enough to begin a letter to her father, although there seemedno chance of sending it. She thought often of her visit to Newburyport,and wondered if she would ever see Squire Coffin's little niece again. Andshe remembered William Trull, and his little daughters of whom he had toldher. But no news had come to Province Town of how Boston was faring.
A few weeks after Captain Enos's trip to Boston another Province Townfisherman had started out with a cargo of fish, hoping for equal goodfortune. But weeks passed and he did not return, and no tidings were heardof him, and his family and neighbors now feared that the British hadcaptured his boat and taken him prisoner.
No word came to Anne from her father, and as the ice formed along theshore and over the brooks, the cold winds came sweeping in from sea withnow and then a fall of snow that whitened the marshes and the woods, thelittle settlement on the end of Cape Cod was entirely shut off from newsfrom Boston, and they knew not what the British were doing.
Captain Enos and the men of the port went fishing in the harbor, and thewomen and children kept snug at home in the little houses.
Captain Enos had finished the cedar chair for Anne's doll, and Amos hadmade one as near like it as possible for Amanda's "Lovely Anne." Both thelittle girls could now knit nearly as smoothly as Mrs. Stoddard herself,and almost every day Amanda came up to Mrs. Stoddard's, for she and Annewere reading "Pilgrim's Progress" together. Now and then Mrs. Stoddardwould read several pages aloud of the adventures of Christian, while thetwo little girls knit. Anne had a warm hood of gray and scarlet yarn whichshe had knit herself, and mittens to match, so that she could go to churchon Sundays, and run down to Mrs. Starkweather's or to see Amanda withoutbeing chilled by the cold.
It was a mild day late in February when Jimmie Starkweather brought home apink blossom from the woods.
"See, mother! The first Mayflower," he exclaimed. "I found it half underthe snow. Does it not smell sweet?"
"It does indeed, son," replied Mrs. Starkweather; "bring me yourgrandmother's pink china cup from the cupboard, fill it with cool water,and we will put the blossom on the table for thy father to see. Spring isindeed close at hand."
On the same day that Jimmie found the arbutus bloom, Captain Enos came infrom fishing with news to tell. A Boston schooner outward bound had comenear to where he was fishing, and in response to his hail and call of"What news?" had answered that a battle was now expected at any daybetween the British and Americans.
"If it be so," said Captain Enos, "'twill not be long before the Britishships will be homeward bound, and they'll not stop to trouble us much ontheir way."
"We must keep a lookout for them," said Captain Starkweather. "I wish wecould get more news. 'Tis like enough all will be settled before we knowaught of it."
All through March, with its high winds and heavy rains the people watchedthe harbor for a sight of the big white-winged ships, knowing that if theEnglish ships were homeward bound it would mean that the Americans hadwon, and that the colonies would be free from paying the heavy taxes whichEngland had fixed upon them, and that they could go about their work inpeace and quiet.
April brought warm, sunny days, and Anne no longer wore the knit hood andmittens, and had once more set her playhouse under the pine trees inorder, and now Amanda with her doll often came to play with her.
"'Tis nearly a year ago since my father was captured by the British," saidAnne one day as she and Amanda, followed by the white kitten, went outunder the pine trees.
"Anne!" exclaimed Amanda, "I did not know what 'spy' and 'traitor' meantwhen I called those words at you."
Anne looked at her playmate smilingly. "You would not say them now,Amanda, would you?" she answered.
"Say them now!" repeated Amanda. "Why, Anne, you are my best friend, andyour father a soldier. 'twas but yesterday my father said that there wasbut one thing that Province Town had to be proud of in this war, and thatwas John Nelson, your father, because he is the only soldier from thesettlement."
Anne's cheeks flushed happily. "'twas hard not to have my father," shesaid, "but he may come back any day now; Uncle Enos says so. And he is tolive with us, and help Uncle Enos with the fishing. And then, Amanda, Ishall be the happiest little girl in the settlement."
"To-morrow my mother is going to the marshes to gather young pine tips,and arrowroot, and young spruce tips and the roots of thoroughwort to brewbeer with," said Amanda; "Amos and I are to go with her, and if your AuntMartha be willing you can go with us. She plans to take something to eatand be away till past noon."
"I am sure I may go," replied Anne eagerly, "and we can bring homeMayflowers. There are many all along near the pine trees."
"Yes," said Amanda, "and will it not be fine to eat our dinnerout-of-doors? Amos plans to start a fire and cook a fish for us, over it,this time, not under sand as he did when we were on the island."
Mrs. Stoddard gave her consent for Anne to go next day with the Carys. "Iwill bake you a molasses cake to carry," she said; "if it were a few weekslater you could call it a May party. In England, and I know it is now acustom in many of our towns, all the children gather and put flowers ontheir heads, and have a May-pole wreathed with flowers, and dance aroundit. And they choose a little girl for Queen of the May."
"Can we not do that, Aunt Martha, when May is really here?" asked Anne.
"Perhaps," replied Aunt Martha, "if the minister sees no objection, and ifwe get good news before that time, why, a May-day party would be a prettything. The boys could put up the May-pole near the spring, and there willbe all sorts of wild things in blossom by that time."
When they started off for the marshes Anne told Amanda what her AuntMartha had said, and Mrs. Cary and Amos were greatly interested. Amos saidthat he knew where he could get a fine pole, and Mrs. Cary said that thelittle girls could gather flowers and fasten them to the pole with vinesand strings before it was set up.
"And there must be a big wreath fastened on top of the pole," said Mrs.Cary, "and by rights there should be long bright streamers coming downfrom the top for each to hold and twist in and out as they dance aroundit."
"Can we not take long strings and fasten flowers about them?" asked Anne.
"Why, yes, indeed!" replied Mrs. Cary. "'twill be better than any brightribbons. Now we must surely have a May-day party. Near the spring will bethe very place."
As they searched for thoroughwort, and picked the tender spruce and pinetips, they all talked of the coming May-day, but Amos soon began to lookabout for a good place to make his fire. He had brought the fish in acovered basket, and said that he knew he could cook it as well as if hehad a kettle to boil it in. He made a fire at a little distance from thewoods, and then busied himself in putting up two crotched sticks, one oneach side of the fire; a third stick rested across these two, and from ithung the fish, directly over the blaze.
Amos watched his fire very carefully, and kept a brisk blaze until thefish began to grow brown and steam. Then he declared that it was nearlycooked, and so let his fire die down until only a bed of smouldering coalsremained.
They all thought the fish tasted as good as if it had been cooked in a panor kettle, and Mrs. Cary had a fine cake of Indian meal, and with Anne'smolasses cake they all said that it was the best dinner any one couldhave. The April sky was soft and blue, the sun warm, and Amos was surethat in a few days he could go in swimming.
"And it's only the nineteenth of April," said Anne.
Afterward these children always remembered the nineteenth of April, andwould say, "That was the day we had our picnic at the marshes," and onthat day the minutemen were gathered at Lexington and Earl Percy wasurging his tired men to meet them, and the great battle which did so muchto settle the fate of the Americans was fought.
But the people at Province Town did not know of this until long afterward.If Anne had known on the day when she was so happy,
thinking of theMay-day to come, and watching Amos cook the fish over the fire, that herdear father with other brave men was at Cambridge on guard waiting for theBritish, who were determined to make a stand in their flight from theminutemen, and that on that very day her good friends, the Freemans, werehurrying away toward Watertown to escape the dangers of war which nowcentered about Boston, she would not have cared so much about the May-dayplans.
"It would be well to ask all the grown people as well as the children tothe May party," said Mrs. Cary, as the little party made its way towardhome that afternoon. "I do not think there has ever been a May-day partybefore in the town, and it will be good for all of us to try and becheerful."
Anne and Amanda looked at her wonderingly. The world seemed a verycheerful and happy place to both the little girls, and they could not knowhow anxious the older people were that the trouble with England might sooncome to an end.