THECOA:
2FFREEDO
PJann*ofJ Town* of
BOSTON
fituated upon? MASSACHUSETBAY
in yf Northerlie Coaftes of
NEWE ENGLAND
THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The
Coast of Freedom
A ROMANCE OF THE ADVENTUROUS
TIMES OF THE FIRST SELF-
MADE AMERICAN
by
ADELE MARIE SHAW
NEW YORK
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1902
Copyright, 1901, by
DOUBLBDAY, PACK & Co.
Published April, 1902
TO ANNE DANA BARROWS SHAW AND
JUDSON WADE SHAW TO WHOM ANY-
THING GOOD IN THIS BOOK IS DUE
CONTENTS
I. IN THE DEAD HOURS .
II. BOUND FOR STRANGE SEAS
III. "WHERE BELOW ANOTHER SKY
PARROT ISLANDS ANCHORED LIE"
IV. "FOR HELL AND THE LADY" .
V. ON THE SHIP OF THE DEAD
VI. PIECES OF EIGHT .
VII. THE AWAKENING ....
VIII. THE LITTLE MAID . .
IX. MUTINY AND AN OMEN
X. THE ROYAL GOVERNOR
XL A CRY IN THE DARK
XII. IN THE FOREST OF FEARS .
XIII. PILGRIM AND PURITAN
XIV. THE GOVERNOR'S DINNER
XV. "O SWEET CONTENT"
XVI. AT THE SIGN OF THE ORANGE TREE
XVII. MUDDY RIVER WOODS: A MESSEN-
GER AND A MEETING
XVIII. A MIDNIGHT CONFERENCE
XIX. INDIAN RIDGE . . .. .
XX. "FOES WITHIN" .
XXI. THE MADNESS OF BOTOLPH'S TOWN
XXII. THE "POISONED CHALICE"
XXIII. THE PEST
XXIV. A PASTORAL CALL .
vii
PAGE
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24
56
71
88
96
103
IJ 5
132
152
168
183
190
2IO
228
236
249
255
2 7 I
283
33
315
3 2 5
CONTENTS
XXV. CHRISTMAS EVE: THE WAY PAST
THE INN ..... 340
XXVI. IN THE NAME OF THE LORD . . 349
XXVII. THE FLIGHT: IN THE MIDST OF THE
FOREST ..... 390
XXVIII. THREATS FOR THE GOVERNOR . . 403
XXIX. THE HUT IN THE WILDERNESS . 413
XXX. AN ENCOUNTER AND AN ACCIDENT 422
XXXI. KIDNAPPED ..... 429
XXXII. THE PURSUIT 440
XXXIII. A DEFENCE AND A CAPTURE . . 447
XXXIV. "MANY WATERS" . . -453
XXXV. THE OLD WAY 458
PREFATORY NOTE
It gives us much pleasure to acknowledge our
indebtedness to Mr. Henry Wysham Lanier, to
whose suggestion of its central figure the book
owes its existence, to our father, whose interest in
our Pilgrim and Puritan forbears had made the
subject a congenial one, and to those traditions of
our mother's girlhood repeated to us with the
sense of the real, the present and the human that
she alone could give.
My brother has written this story with me and,
although he has not allowed his name to appear
upon the title page, it is but fair it should be set
down here in full Albert Judson Shaw to take
its share of whatever adverse criticism (or worse
indifference) may overtake a tale that is from
first to last our joint and indissoluble labour.
A. M. S.
THE
COAST OF FREEDOM
CHAPTER I
IN THE DEAD HOURS
ROGER drew himself up from the water,
climbed hardily through the darkness, and
stepped out upon the uncertain footing
above. The crazy ladder for which he had groped
so long swayed backward from his lifted weight
and the stealthy wash of ripples followed its
motion. Through openings in the mouldered
planking of the wharf crawling currents of air
made their way to fasten clammily upon his
drenched body. He shivered as he sheltered
himself on the lee side of some loosely piled
lumber that blocked his path.
The pyramid of logs and boults thrown out in
all haste from the Pelloquin's hold told him where
he stood. It was the very wharf whereon the
cargo of his own ship had been unloaded. She
lay now, the Hopewell, sister to the Pelloquin, far
out beyond the docks waiting for the dawn that
should give her leave to sail.
It seemed to Roger that since he had left her
the darkness and chill of the night had grown
darker and more chill. London slept; but un-
easily, dismally, sounds of discordant life marring
2 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
its dull repose. Here by the water side the cold
and damp, the blackness of the "dead hours,"
lay heaviest, the silence falling the more profound
for the harshness of each intruding noise. Un-
speakable odours rose from the river to mix with the
nauseous exhalations of the land. Ships, dis-
cernible only as a blur of blacker spots upon the
inkiness below, were huddled close along the
indentations of the shore, the great crossed web
of spars invisible. Here and there a lantern made
a vague writing badly blotted upon the night.
Nowhere an outline clear, a gleam of light distinct.
The lad leaned against a projecting beam, whose
tapering end showed it to his touch already
fashioned for a bowsprit. The distance from the
HopewelVs side had been longer than he had
thought; his breath came hard after his swim,
and for a little he made no attempt to go
farther. Now and again voices broke across the
water loud in the fog, or the cries of late roisterers
in the town dispersed themselves in goblin echoes
among the clouds; once a boisterous group flound-
ered past in the mud, oars dipped cautiously,
oaths drove home orders to sleepy ears, tackle
rattled as a boat was swung to place. Then the
night was dumb again save where the plunge of a
water rat set the sluggish waves awash against
the slime-rotted props beneath the pier.
The smell of the pine was clean, and pleasant
to his nostrils, sweetening the unsavoury dark;
the jutting timbers shut him from the land, sug-
gesting shelter. But the air was sharp. It took
a freezing hold. He started, facing the shore,
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 3
and would have passed the obstructing lumber.
At the same instant the rough way that ascended
tunnel-wise between the houses resounded to other
voices. Words exploded in riotous shouts. A
very bedlam of echoes woke between the sodden
earth and the low-hung sky. Over the stern
bulwarks of the Pelloquin close at hand someone
launched a volley of answering profanity and spat
lustily upon the sullen flood beneath.
"Get ye to th' Dev'l, Greg'ry Bell'ngh'm!"
came from the townward path.
' 'S not far for such as "
Sharp remonstrance, commands, accompanied
the roar, interposing between the listeners and the
last word. Roger halted, having no mind to end
his adventure at the wharf side.
'LI not 'hush fool,' ' the voice went on.
' Hush fool !' hush dev'l, say I ! Art the very
Dev'l himself, Bell'ng'm ! Dost hear, Witherly?
'Tizh Old Nick employs thee. On thy kneezh
down rascal on thy kneezh to Sathanas !"
Laughter full of drunken mockery, then a
struggle with a roar less jovial, more enraged.
The watch on the Puritan Pelloquin stirred again.
"Shut up, ye madmen," he shouted. "Hell
take your blasphemies !"
The noisy one gave no heed to the exhortation.
The clamour of his voice filled the air, without a
break, save for the gaps of crapulous indistinct-
ness.
" Easy task th' DevTs job, Witherly ! What's
besh way besh road to Heaven for a maid "
The word was cut short, but the shouting emerged
4 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
from the scuffle louder than before. " Drown her ?
Too slow. Good Dev'l Bell'ng'm lend me
a broomstick carry her off "
A fiercer protest, and a struggle more deter-
mined.
The party were opposite the lad, and two of
them showed fleetingly in the wavering lantern
gleam. The drunkard seemed the smallest of the
three. In his dress was an attempt at foppishness
that matched as ill as did his slender frame with
the robust bellowings of his voice. The com-
panion who supported his steps gave him the
uncertain guidance of one whose own legs lurched
under the effort. Roger could see the insensate
frenzy, wild-eyed and quarrelsome, of the master;
the wicked look, half maudlin, half cunning, of
the man.
The third, who had been called Bellingham,
was closely wrapped and stood so as to avoid the
light, but in his attitude the lad could read savage
contempt.
" Leave my name alone Get on to your own
wharf. " He spoke low and furiously as they
paused before the mass of lumber.
'Tis but three beyond. Best not come
further, sir. " The sailor Witherly made a sly
gesture of warning behind the drunkard's back.
"'Further'! I'll see this accursed muddlehead
upon his own vessel!" Not the words, nor the
oaths before and after, but something in the voice
came upon Roger with a violent repulsion akin to
nausea, wholly unrelated to fear. The tone was
the lowest that could be uttered above a whisper
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 5
but it had a quality keen and poisonous as the
night air. They were hardly an arm's length
from where the lad waited; the same angle of the
logs that sheltered him, between them and the
Pelloquin.
The drunkard roared again, more softly, but
with a more sinister mirth.
"Wilt do nothing, good Dev'l, 'gainst the
will of th' Seaflower's master!" he hiccoughed.
"Pretty thought, With'ly gayes' gallant of the
Court in th' pocket of the Seaflower's m "
The words were choked into infuriate splutter-
ing. Curses such as the lad had never heard,
even from the foul-mouthed skipper of the Hope-
well, came raging forth, torrent- wise, from the
drunkard's lips. His threats, mumbled and in-
coherent one minute, plain and articulate the
next, evidently alarmed the others. They were
without meaning to Roger save for the certainty
of a villainy afloat, the intuitive horror of in-
justice in the face of it.
"Thou'rt mine Seaftower's mine an' thou'rt
mine. One whisper at th' Court where'd
be then th' King's good Bell'ng "
The sottish ravings had become all at once
clear, rising to a threatening shriek. The sound
of a blow and a fall and a moment's silence.
Roger did not hear the next words spoken. He
was considering his own position should they
move so that the lantern ray revealed him; more
than all, he was tingling with an ever-growing
longing to spring out upon them as they talked.
It was the sound of the voice he had so instantly
6 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
hated that brought him to new sense of their
speech. The voice was still low, but more con-
trolled, more menacing, and so the more re-
pulsive.
" I shall know all the witch will tell me. Ye're
to make the death swift and the proof sure for
others. If ye fail if ye bungle if aught be
traced to me the reward is forfeit and your
heads will answer. If I get nothing ye get no
more. Let thy Captain remember that ! "
"No fear, Sir. The Lady never fails."
"My men are on the hill, " Bellingham went on,
disregarding the interruption. "I've a mind to
whistle them down end ye both, and give the
task to better ' '
Again the sailor broke in protesting.
"There be no better. Who's better than the
Lady, Sir ! 'Tis but rare to see 'im in's cups.
'Tis for that he's the worse when 'tis upon 'im.
He'll be straight as topsles, come the morning
close-mouthed as London Tower, Sir. The Lady's
your man. "
"Take him up and hold thy peace. Be glad I
hang not the two of ye. " Bellingham kicked
the prostrate form as Witherly bent to raise it. A
groan followed the attempt. Roger could not see
whether the Captain departed walking or carried,
but mutterings of returning consciousness answered
the other's threat.
' ' Hang' ! " The word was repeated in the thick
chuckle of fuddled dreams. " 'S not the master
'f Seaflower '11 'hang'. 'S Gregory Bell "
The syllables were gagged upon the mumbling
THE COAST OF FREEDOM /
tongue. The three withdrew farther into the
surrounding blackness.
Roger stepped cautiously forth into the muddy
flat that lay between him and the city, seeking
the narrow way whence the Seaflower party had
descended.
He had reached its entrance, his foot fairly upon
the broken flagging, when steps clattered again
at the upper end. This time he kept sturdily on,
boyishly unwilling to turn his back upon a prob-
able foe.
"A plague on thee, Cousin!" Each syllable
dropped to him distinct and clear. "There's not
an if in the whole matter. Out on thy ifs and
buts! We're rich already. The prize is there ! "
"Hush, Ninny!" The interruption dammed
the flow of jovial remonstrance as a sluice gate
descends against a leaking flood. "Bellow not to
wake the fleet ! Thy voice carrieth like a trumpet ! "
"And thine like a devil's fiddle. 'Tis less
mellowed by our good William's feast, " answered
the other in an amiable shout.
"Thou'rt too cautious, Cousin a very Round-
head for caution. 'Twas caution killed a cat.
'Caution' ! 'Tis boldness he needeth most Bold-
ness and speed, good Captain William, and listen
not to his Grace's croaking. The prize is there
'tis there, I say, and the sooner it be in London "
The good-humoured tones broke here under the
impact of words quieter but more emphatic.
Roger was keeping doggedly on, approaching
constantly nearer to the spot where the yellow
glow of torches advanced to meet his feet.
8 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
In this party as in the other, were three men, but
the lad recognized with the earliest sound of their
voices that here was no villainy hiding its face
and barely picking its way by a shrivelled lantern
glimmer. As he climbed toward them their
words came to him ever more distinctly and his
mind fastened with idle wonder upon the allusion
to the "prize." What prize? And where were
they to seek it? Would that he were bound on
some gallant adventure, released forever from
the hateful imprisonment of the Hopewell !
The party were now plainly visible. The two
retainers that lighted them carried each a heavy
stick in the right hand and peered into the lanes
on either side, alert for danger. The lad saw that
they wore a livery, but he was a provincial and
did not know the colors of His Grace of Albemarle
from the scarlet of the King's outriders.
The Duke alone was talking, his hand in a warn-
ing grip on the arm of his garrulous relative, his
gaze alternately on the sloppy way and upon a
silent figure whose cloak and hat gave to a re-
markable stature the effect of the colossal.
It was this last member of the group that drew
closest attention. His very manner of listening
seemed to Roger more vital than the babble or the
earnestness of his companions. Something in his
appearance gave to the lad the thrill that pricks
the young in the presence of power.
"Discretion were no cowardice," his Grace was
saying. "Pirates and Spaniards may wait on a
more favorable "
The foremost torch bearer came suddenly in
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 9
Roger's path and leaped at him, striking with the
viciousness of sudden fright. The glare in their
eyes had helped to conceal one approaching from
the direction of the shore, and the echoes multi-
plying their own footsteps had covered those of
another. Roger was unaware how wholly he had
been hidden. The assault took him smartly by
surprise. His left arm warded the blow but it
came shrewdly upon the flesh of his shoulder.
On the instant the sting of it shot home the boy's
response. The retainer dropped limply upon the
stones, his torch plunged extinguished in a miry
pool.
The party closed upon the lad angrily.
'Tis a spy ! A vile rogue set on to spy about
the town, " announced blackly the prater so lately
silenced. "A dozen may be hid within his call.
Have a caution, your Grace ! Be not rash, Cap-
tain "
"'Rash' indeed, Sir 'Ninny'! Five to one is
brave odds!" Roger had wheeled at the warning.
The flare showed him well grown, well built, and
of a carriage fearless and pleasing.
Rage dimmed the eyes of his accuser.
" Hold thy tongue, thou river-spawn ! What
dost thou here?"
"What thou dost not mind my own affairs!"
the lad retorted.
The loud voice drew nearer, sneering.
" 'Tis only mermen and wharf rats have affairs
in the water !"
"And 'tis more the part of spies and wharf rats
to set upon one unarmed, with cudgels!" Roger
io THE COAST OF FREEDOM
finished hotly. His anger, less boisterous than
the suspicions it flung off, was none the less vivid.
Something in the challenge of his bearing struck
pleasingly upon the other's humour.
"Lord love us!" he interjected delightedly.
" 'Tis a fine fellow. Well met ! Up Cadgson
more light "
The man of the imposing figure had stood so as
to cut off retreat by a shoreward plunging alley.
"More light, but not for sport, Sir John," he
interposed. " 'Tis time I were away and his
Grace and I lend not our weapons for thy non-
sense. " He moved briskly forward and the glare
of the remaining torch struck squarely into the
face beneath the wide hat.
"Captain Phips!" Roger turned unguarded,
with a quick gesture as if he would have uncovered,
gladness and confidence in the motion, hardly
tinged by the remembrance of his wet and hatless
plight.
The other torch-bearer had crept up from be-
hind, a vengeful glitter in his half -closed eyes.
He had somewhat precipitately moved backward
in the earliest stage of the discussion and was
bent upon re-establishing his credit. In the
moment of his . triumph the stick was wrenched
from his hands and flung violently over his head,
his upraised arm seized, and his thick bulk drawn
swiftly forward.
The Captain searched Roger's face in the clearer
light.
"Young Verring!" he exclaimed, astonishment
in the recognition. Without another word he
THE COAST OF FREEDOM n
set his face toward the river and whistled, a long,
straight signal, individual and peremptory. Some-
where beyond the closest tangle of ships a light
lifted and dropped in answer, moving apparently
like a will-o'-the-wisp, without guidance save for
its own fantastic whim.
" I know the lad; he will go with me. We need
wait no longer. " Captain Phips looked at the
graver of his two companions.
The Duke of Albemarle nodded. He had
watched the boy with suspicion no less ready than
his cousin's. Now he turned away and joined
himself to the Captain for a final colloquy as they
descended to the wharf. The valiant aggressor
in the brief battle had been set upright upon his
feet and held his relighted torch but drunkenly
as he essayed to follow.
Sir John had melted again to his jovial mood,
and balanced judiciously upon the slippery path
as he and Roger fell in before the subdued Cadgson.
"Not even a wig to keep the night air from thy
hot head?" he remonstrated cheerfully. "Art
over young to wander at this hour with no better
weapon than a saucy tongue ! 'Spy' and 'wharf-
rat'!" He laughed. " 'Twas fair exchange! But
'Sir Ninny' I like not 'Sir Ninny'. Were't
not for our good William who meaneth to carry
thee hence "
"Nay, Sir John," the lad put in frankly, "I
withdraw the word. " His mind came back
suddenly under the sway of that law whose ob-
servance had been to him all his life both good-
breeding and religion reverence for those of
12 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
greater age. "I pray you pardon it," he said,
and though answering laughter was in his eyes, his
voice rang with a deprecation honest as his wrath.
Sir John clapped a gloved hand powerfully upon
the boy's arm and let it rest there, both for friend-
liness and the support thus secured, until the fare-
wells were said.
"We shall meet again, lad." They had passed
the lumber pile and could see the Captain's boat
waiting below the stairs. "An' ever thou wouldst
find a friend in London, remember Sir John
Winchcombe. "
" In with you, Roger. "
The command of Captain Phips gave no oppor-
tunity for reluctance had any existed in the lad's
mind.
"Good luck! Good fishing!" called back the
voluble cousin of his Grace, as the four landsmen
moved off, the resuscitated torch-bearer wading
dizzily after his comrade. "Remember 'hope
deferred' how goeth the rhyme? 'Tis very
deadly, Captain hope grown stale ! " So plain
was every sound in the murk, Roger could hear
the plash and sucking of the mud beneath the
departing tread, and the wide boot tops flapping
one upon another. The voice of Sir John grew
louder as the distance increased.
"Come quickly home, good William !
' Stay not to woo the sirens of the isles,
Stay not ' "
But the melody was quenched in its first out-
pouring, and the jerked snatches that came river-
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 13
ward as the boat made its way past the beetling
hull of the Pelloquin seemed more like growls than
song.
CHAPTER II
BOUND FOR STRANGE SEAS
THE cabin of the Araby Rose showed an ex-
travagant illumination. Roger had looked
up wondering as he crossed the threshold.
On each of the four walls hung a lantern, the one
above the door disclosing its light not through
horn but from a diamond-shaped window of glass.
The shine of it revealed the polished wood of
the fittings and the brass knobs upon locker and
cupboard. More than all, it revealed the face of
Captain Phips.
Roger's gaze had dwelt but swiftly on the place ;
it had stayed itself upon the Captain, a happy
enthusiasm in its clear regard.
"So 'twas to have your foot on English soil!
Was't worth the wetting?" The shrewd eyes of
which the lad had been plainly conscious through-
out the seeming indirection of their discourse
were fixed suddenly upon his face. "When sails
the Hopewell?"
"To-morrow." Roger fell silent. The Captain
drew upon his long pipe, apparently absorbed in
the gentle bubbling within its bowl.
"I could not go back to Boston and never
once ashore in England!" The lad's utterance
lost for a moment the respectful restraint of his
earlier words.
"And why not?" Captain Phips settled him-
14
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 15
self more comfortably in his great chair, the only
chair on the Araby Rose, and blew into the air a
monstrous cloud. The look with which he had
begun the conference, a look that corresponded
with a certain keenness of thrust in his questions,
had gone, dissolved in attention less distrustful,
equally discerning.
" 'Tis the land of my ancestors my grand-
father's home. " The lad spoke with a warmth, a
sentiment, almost passionate. A flush followed
the outburst, and he made swift retreat into the
habit of reserve that was his Puritan heritage.
"None but a slave would submit so far," he went
on resolutely. "I was the only one forbid the
shore. "
" 'Tis your father's own ship, the Hopewell?"
The Captain pushed his tankard across the table.
"Drink, lad. It were worse folly to add an ague
to your disobedience. Drink. I should have
thought your captain like to favour his owner's
son. "
"I asked no favour."
The glow that had warmed Roger's eyes and
lighted his face vanished suddenly like the electric
play upon a summer sky. He drank as he was
bidden, suppressing a shiver as the heat of the
spirit grappled with the chill of his body.
"Was it your father's will you be set to the
common tasks?" Captain Phips leaned forward,
his pipe suspended in his hand.
"Not all, not save as the training seemed need-
ful for the better understanding of a ship. But I
am a man. I can do a man's work. " There was
16 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
a moment's pause. " 'Twas a punishment, my
voyage," he went on hurriedly.
" Punishment for what ? " The Captain knocked
his pipe upon the table's edge and refilled it care-
fully, but Roger knew the shrewd eyes still studied
him. A half-defiant hardness in his tone dis-
appeared as he continued, and he spoke with
neither bravado nor weak shame.
"It was a brawl. I angered a sailor at the
dock. When he would have kicked me I knocked
him down. His fellows set upon me. My father
had trouble to keep me from the stocks. "
The Captain pursed his lips softly. It would
have been hard to say whether there was repro-
bation or sympathy in the gesture.
" Brawls are bad things, " he commented gravely.
"What was the man's offence?" He looked up,
drumming with one strong finger on the resonant
wood.
The loutish youth who had earlier carried off
the heavy cloak shuffled sleepily in view.
" Did you call, Sir ? " he asked sullenly.
"No. Call? No," answered the Captain
shortly. "An 1 thou come with as good will,
Jacob Munch, when I do call as when I don't,
thou'lt make vast improvement. "
Behind his back the youth scowled again and
slunk a little forth. Roger was conscious that
the shuffling footsteps halted before they were
withdrawn out of earshot of the cabin.
The Captain's voice had sharpened at the sight
of the sullen apparition and he spoke almost
harshly.
"Wast rash and ungentle, boy. What had the
man done?"
"Kicked a lamb but newly born. It staggered
on the plank, ('twas on a Hingham pinnace)
and when it cried crushed in its ribs and
mimicked the cry. 1 could not bear it. " The
lad's eyes were fiercely alight, contradicting the
respectful modulation of his speech. He drew
himself more erect as he finished.
" 'Twas a right blow a brute he is would
harm a lamb. Many's the one I've carried through
Pemaquid storms. " The Captain pulled remi-
niscently at his pipe, his look searching the lad's
face. But there be good people, " he went on,
smiling with tightened lips, "who hold it an im-
piety to waste pity on the beasts that perish. Is't
thy father's belief?"
Roger hesitated.
"My father would not be cruel," he replied
evasively.
"And 'twas by his commands thou wast forbid
the shore?"
"Nay 'twas not so," The lad answered with
a mounting anger. ' ' I myself heard him desire
of Captain Gillani that he show me somewhat of
London. "
"Gillam!" A curious gleam crossed the Cap-
tain's expression. Amazement showed in his
exclamation. "Thou wert to see the sights of the
town with Raving Rufus !"
"He beareth himself discreetly in Boston.
None would so abhor the man as my father if "
" ' If ! If Nicolas Verring knew his man he'd
i8 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
sooner have sent thee with the Devil alone ! I'll
warrant the rascal took not kindly to thy com-
pany on his ship!" The pipe had been pushed
upon one side, the tankard rested unfilled. There
was a tenseness about the Captain's mouth, a
new concentration in his regard.
" He hated me, " the lad answered simply.
" 'Twas a harsh discipline, the HopewelVs? "
Roger gave back the penetrating gaze with a
sudden confidence.
" 'Twas worse than that," he broke forth, then
fell sharply silent as though he had spoken un-
warily.
" How many souls had she aboard ? "
4 ' Fifty- three when we sailed."
"And how many lost you on the voyage ? "
"Eleven."
"Some of these died in the hold?"
"Aye, sir." The lad shuddered.
Over their heads the steps of the watch went
to and fro. Within, silence fell upon both.
Roger's gaze still held to the imposing figure
before him, and his lips essayed to speak, but
found the beginning difficult. To him, as to all
the youth of Boston, Captain Phips was a hero.
To stand well in the eyes of one's hero is a hard
thing to forego. But his waiting lasted no more
than a full breath.
"That was not my sole offence," he said ab-
ruptly. "I had been often troublesome. My
tongue "
"Is too quick and thy hand not over slow to
follow?" The Captain's face broadened with
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 19
sudden laughter that overran it. "Art not the
only one, my boy ! And art young yet. How old
may'st thou be?"
"Sixteen within the month."
"So old!" The Captain smiled still, with
genial irony.
" 'Tis a man's age, Captain Phips, " the lad pro-
tested. "Mr. Mather had his degree from the
college and was preaching at seventeen. "
"And what would a runaway in London even
though a man grown " The pause was filled
with the smile, quizzical and friendly.
"Not a runaway. I am going back." Roger
had risen.
"Thou art!" There was loud incredulity in
the repetition. The steps of the watch came to a
halt, then resumed their march. "Going back to
Raving Rufus ! Why, lad, he'll kill thee ; kill and
quarter thee. "
" He may not discover my absence. If I desert
There's no other way, Sir. I must tell my own
story in Boston."
"Art not afraid for thy life?"
" 'Tis not fear, I think but I have taken 'count
of the danger. There 'd be none to hinder were it
smallpox or something quicker. If it happen I
do not reach home " He looked up impetu-
ously "when you come again to New England
would you if you could give some assurance to
my mother and my father as well that I
had not disgraced them that is if you
believe me?"
There was no bathos in the appeal. He spoke
20 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
soberly and with a composure too earnest to admit
a doubt of its reality.
Captain Phips rose suddenly from his chair,
barring the way.
"Damn thee, lad," he said furiously. "Thou
shalt tell thy own tale and I'll better it. Nay
no protest no words, boy. Thou'rt on the Araby
Rose and on the Araby Rose thou'lt stay ! "
The night was already far spent. As the web
of masts and spars grew clear against the first
redness of the dawn, three ships floated from their
moorings and entered the current of the Thames.
The Pelloquin led. In a locker of her master's
cabin reposed a sealed packet addressed in the
plain unflourished script of Captain Phips:
NICOLAS VERRING, ESQ.,
Boston in
New England.
To be delivered unto his own person by
the hand of Captain Stukely.
Before they reached the mouth of the river the
Araby Rose had passed the merchant vessel, the
trumpets hailing joyously across the tide at flood.
Roger, newly arrayed in the clothing of the
loutish Jacob, stood just forward of the upreared
poop and waited upon the Captain's word. His
mind had dwelt in momentary amaze upon the
unfriendliness of his old schoolfellow and he would
have refused the forced loan had his captor been
less peremptory.
"Art a prisoner, lad, and fairly taken! "the
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 21
Captain had laughed in the confidence of their
final converse. It was then that Roger had
questioned him abruptly, spurred by a quick
recollection.
"Know you, Sir, one Gregory Bellingham ? "
The Captain had frowned.
"Where hast thou met with Gregory Belling-
ham?" he had asked sharply.
Roger had recounted quickly what he had over-
heard, omitting nothing that gave light upon the
mission of the Seaflower, but adding no interpreta-
tion of his own.
"Rascals all!" the Captain had commented.
" 'Tis a name oft spoken in the Court of James
Gregory Bellingham. A dissolute set his fellows,
but gentlemen and with long purses. The man is
said to be well favoured. Didst see him ? "
" 'Twas dark; he kept well in the shadow,"
Roger had replied.
"A subtle knave! Am told 'tis matter of con-
jecture whence come his revenues. There was
much gossip of sudden deaths that cut off his sup-
plies and brought no legacies. 'Twas looked for
he should be bankrupt long ere this. Smallpox
and scurvy, lad, there's money behind this coward's
plotting, be sure of that!" Captain Phips had
fallen to musing, finishing more to himself than
to Roger : ' ' Would I could overhaul the Seaflower. ' '
The wish remained suspended, incomplete.
"And could we not?" The lad had drawn
nearer eagerly.
"Nay, Roger, 'tis an English ship and were
we to end the scum, 'tis not like their master would
22 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
give over his attempt, and him no man can touch
he hath the King's ear. Hearken and keep thy
counsel, lad we go upon errands not our own.
But let none be wiser for aught thou'st overheard
or what I tell thee now. "
Roger had waited with arrested breath in the
pause that had followed.
"We seek a Spanish treasure sunken these
fifty years. " The Captain's voice had dropped to
the level baffling to an eavesdropper. "She lieth
somewhere among the reefs of the West Indies.
'Tis the same treasure I sought in the King's ship
late returned. Now I go for the Duke whom
you saw and his friends, on information gained
too late for that voyage, of an old man at Port de la
Plata. "
The lad's heart bounded beneath the homespun
of Jacob Munch, recalling the words.
Others let drop by the incautious Sir John came
luminously back.
"Good luck to your fishing!" "The prize is
there " "We're rich already!"
The very wind in the cordage sang of it. A
glorious venture ! And Captain Phips !
The Captain had appeared and the redness had
grown yellow save for a crimson streak before the
prow. The commander of the Rose was as fresh,
as ruddy of face and vigorous, as one new-risen
from slumber. To the familiarity of the night
just past Roger could not expect to return, but his
eyes clung to the splendid figure with the loyal
satisfaction of homage.
The mate saw the warmth in the lad's look and
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 23
cast a contemplative eye upon the goodly limbs
within the borrowed raiment.
"Sure the clothes of Jacob Munch will be re-
fusin' to return to their owner ! 'Tis the hand-
some face and figger of yon lad sets 'em off!" he
remarked blithely in the Captain's ear.
Jacob Munch heard. His furtive gaze narrowed
as he slouched aft to the Captain's cabin.
Upon the vague horizon line the glass showed a
lurking speck upon whose track they seemed to
follow the Seaflower, set already far upon her
way.
Roger had no glass, and he had not marked the
glance of Jacob Munch. The glamour of the
morning was upon his sight.
Here was his wish fulfilled unless the whole
were dreaming ! The Hopewell dwindling behind
them was well-nigh forgotten, its horrors already
old ; the sails of the Pelloquin shone wondrously in
the early light, and the Araby Rose, mounting
upon the swell, outsped them both, bound joy-
fully for strange seas and the sunken galleon of
Spain.
CHAPTER III
" Where below another sky
Parrot islands anchored Jie."
IN the still dawn of tropical waters the Araby
Rose floated black against the softly un-
folding light. Black, too, against the east,
an island on either hand lifted its tuft of plumy
vegetation and framed the waste. Between the
ship and that infinitely far horizon whence she had
come stretched a limitless ocean.
While the forecastle still slept Roger had come
forth under the stars and mounted into the rigging,
where the motion was no more than the swaying
of a cradle, so gently the Rose slipped through the
scarce-stirred surface of the sea.
A quiet full of lonely danger brooded upon the
place. Not the nightmare that had threatened
the men of Columbus, not the fear lest their bark
come suddenly to the edge of the world and so
plunge off into night and space, but the danger of
robbery and murder, of ghastly deaths here in
this delusive peace so often made a desolation of
slaughter and rapine.
On what island might not be hid the fastness of
a buccaneer; from behind what rich foliage of
palm and vine might not dart the hawk-like prow
of a L'Ollonois or a Morgan? These were the
rendezvous of the pirate kings, the seas of the
West Indies. Here they came to count their
gains, recruit their ranks, and find the consorts of
24
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 25
their hellish deeds. The Pacific had drawn off
vast numbers, wild with the greed of savage con-
quest, but yet the breed multiplied in the old
hunting ground, though merchants had grown
wary and travellers that cared little for adventure
and set high value on their lives preferred the hard-
ships of the longer passage to the perils of the Isles.
In the sky the faint blue deepened and bright-
ened, revealing distance beyond distance, alluring
the eye to ever loftier exploration. Roger's gaze
lost itself in the ether, came back to rest in the
clear waters below, and once more searched the
horizon, disappointed when the ocean showed
still empty save for a shadow lying low to the
southwest.
Then the rising sun blazed in his face, sending
across the dim expanse a blinding good-morrow.
As it moved upward from the water's rim leaving
its ensanguined trail upon the sea, it appeared
not so much the sun known and welcomed in other
days as a strange luminary bursting upon a uni-
verse new found.
Upon the Rose the business of the' day was
rapidly begun, the noisy activity on her decks
opposing itself sharply to the silent monotony on
every side. The shadow to the southward dark-
ened as they approached; a strong irregular line
grew plain against the light. Toward it the
ship's company strained an eager watch.
From the feebly distended sails and the warping
deck there glowed upon them a remorseless heat.
The skin baked upon their parching bodies, and
the salt of perspiration was streaked dry and white
26 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
upon bare backs. But the ship fared steadily
forward through the moveless sea, and, at last,
between the shimmer above and the dazzle below,
appeared the solid green of mountains.
As they drew near, the Araby Rose wore round
and tacked lazily westward along the uneven shore.
Far inland a lofty range stretched parallel with their
going, uplifting itself, a marvel of blue changes,
to the blue-tinged sky indigo on the lower slopes ;
purple, violet, azure, on the peaks above. And
from this distant range long ridges reached out
toward the sea, spread like the legs of some vast
centipede crawling heavily across the world.
From the soft blur of the far heights and pale
blue sky to the near green of slopes that rounded
to the sea, solitude and mystery possessed the
land. Upon the hills, a wonderful, thick growth
of trees hid shore and rocks even to the ripples of
the tide. One after another appeared deserted
valleys, now narrow, deep cleft between the mighty
spurs; now broad, widened into savannas, where
the dense foliage of the heights gave way to ranks
of cocoa palms, standing separate and stork-like,
their plumage ruffling in airs unfelt below.
Birds flashed from the green gloom of the forest
and wavered above the Rose. Their calls, quaint
and unfamiliar, broke gratefully on the silence.
Their numbers increased as the ship ran in closer to
a tree-screened bay, their shadows circling upon
the deck, while the Captain studied with keen
eyes the wild succession of mountain top and glade.
The roar of tumbling water came cool upon the
beating air, and died, a lost mirage of sound, as
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 27
the Araby Rose sheered off and set her sails once
more to catch the elusive breeze.
Still they moved idly westward upon the placid
sea, the airs that were abroad coming in soft and
vanishing puffs. Nor did the wind rise as the rain
descended, a straight and furious shower upon the
streaming planks. When the flood ceased, with-
out warning of slackening drops, they were abreast
a wooded height. At the water's edge gleamed
a narrow line that might be sand ; from it the cliff
rose, abrupt and fortress-like, an isolated headland
in the undulating coast. Looking up to find the
battlements, the lad wondered how the mantle of
heavy trees could cling upon the steep escarpment.
A scarlet-coated guard of sentinel flamingoes at
its foot gave loud-voiced warning of the approach.
A laughing gull answered with a derisive scream,
dipping to rest his wings upon the emerald sea.
The Rose had veered to the left, following the
outline of the promontory; the green crag ended
suddenly and the ship came, all in an instant's
gliding advance, upon a glimpse of land-locked
water. The sails moved upon her spars, and her
bow, turning slowly about, pointed toward the
dark, contracted channel into which the tide
rippled softly. Puzzled looks went from the nar-
row opening to the Captain's face. Heads wagged
in unspoken comment. But between the walls
of green towering on either side, the Rose took her
course with stately ease, clearing the gateway of
an unsuspected bay, and swerving without haste
or jar to safe mooring under the beetling cliff.
The pool where she floated was basined like a
28 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
mountain lake; beyond, the waters shallowed to a
wide lagoon. Rough rejoicing woke upon her
decks; surprise subdued it to a busy alertness of
the sense.
As the anchor dropped, great crabs scuttled,
with a noise like the clatter of hoofs, across the
shaly beach, rustling out of sight with startled
speed. High above, in the dusk of the leaves, a
gaudy parrot swung dizzily. His shrill greeting
gave to the silent harbour a strongers pell of calm,
his excitement, resentful and amazed, making the
more profound its deep security.
Here a ship might lie hid from without until the
trees, grown old and rotted under their firm, en-
folding bark, crashed from their citadel into the
depths below. For the imposing headland over-
topped the tapered height of masts, and from its
inner side was scooped a great recess, so cleanly
curved it bent like a protecting arm behind its
deceptive front of mountainous bulwark impinging
on the sea.
The water was all a-glitter with the sun that
glinted gaily to the very entrance of caverns under
the impending rocks, caverns from whose darkness
a cold breath came like cellar damps upon the
quivering heat. Great roots sprawled from the
ledges above and twisted across the faces of the
caves a latticed screen. Tall shrubs leaned out
upon the rugged arches, clinging with ropy and
tenacious hold to unseen crevices.
As the hours grew late, clouds closed in again
across the blue. The tops of the distant moun-
tains, barely visible from the hidden Rose, disap-
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 29
peared in the watery mist. A chill came out of the
forest, pleasant at first after the day's heat, but
growing damp and clammy with coming night.
Roger, lingering upon the poop, saw the world ex-
tinguished suddenly, and put out his hand as if the
blackness might be tangible.
In the forecastle the crew sang uproariously.
They were a crew of many nations but of a single
expression, savage and credulous.
Fangs, called also the Tusker and the Mole,
harangued them in the intervals of song. The
voyage had been long enough to fill the ears of all,
not only with what the wise Fangs knew but with
more that he imagined, long enough to weary the
men and whet their appetites for tales of mad ad-
venture. The land was welcome. Its shade
called to them after the burning days; its wildness
stirred the ferocity of their blood with vague hope
of change. Ignorant and dull of fancy, they had
had but blind scent of their quarry till Fangs had
shown the way.
" 'Twas 'ereabouts 'e came when King James
fitted 'im out, " he vouchsafed arrogantly. " Twas
treasure 'e was after then, and 'tis treasure 'e's
after now. " He swore unctuously and communed
with himself in contemptuous words. "Eighteen
guns 'e had an' ninety-five men and e' went back! "
The oracle paused, drawing his lips away from two
protruding teeth in a sneer not without malice.
"He had to go back," answered Gedge, who
shared with Fangs a half-emptied flagon. He, too,
garnished his speech with oaths but its flavor
lacked a virulence of blasphemy wherein his mate's
30 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
excelled. "The King ain't sendin' ships to rot in
these here bays. He couldn't stay away cruisin'
forever, could he?"
"Wy not?" demanded the other, his little eyes
cunningly awatch.
" 'Cause he ain't no sech pillgarlic," answered the
Massachusetts man; but he drank sociably and
waited. Fangs was entertaining.
" 'E's simple, Gedge, that's w'at 'e is. There's
more treasure on the sea than in it ! " Fangs had
sunk his voice sibilantly. "Gold in plenty and
who was to know with the Spaniards a lawful
prize but a man might wait till Day o' Doom to
get rich under Captain Phips. 'E's simple, I tell
ye."
The yellow glim of forecastle lanterns made a
bright space on the forward deck. A warmer glow
struck upward through the skylight of the Cap-
tain's cabin. Roger looked away from the familiar
shadows of the Rose into the velvet dark that
pressed upon him with strange hypnotic touch.
The ballad of Skipper Joe rolled sleepily from the
bows. Had any of the crew once sailed these seas
in lawless freedom? The lad remembered the
light of recognition that had shown in the eyes not
of Fangs alone during these last days of cautious
threading of the island straits. Did the sight of
this sheltered bay, the caves, the uninhabited
jungle, bring back to them fierce longings and
brutal recollections? Was it for that Captain
Phips had set the men to harder toil, exacting a
busy service which made sleep more welcome than
much idle talk?
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 31
While he wondered, his face set toward the in-
visible waters and the vanished shore, a breath
stirred upon the wide lagoon. Above the silent
thrilling of the waves a luminous whiteness broke
in shifting gleams. From the bank an answering
whiteness, of opening blossoms, shone in a dim
splendour against the blackness of the slope. Their
fragrance, half guessed within the thousand per-
fumes of the night, ambrosial, aromatic, pierced
beyond the senses and woke the soul to dreams of
mystery and conquest wide and resistless as the
inflowing sea.
A forest wind, damp with unwholesome dews,
cold with the chill of caverns, blew upon them as
they slept. Before its influence was spent and the
morning laid hot hands on bodies sunk in its cool
relief, the tender was lowered from the side of the
Araby Rose and loaded carefully. Roger's heart,
that had been weighted with apprehension lest he
be left behind, beat with a cheerful zeal as they
shoved off from the ship's side, a ghostly com-
pany in the uncertain dusk.
The sailors swayed dully with the swinging
blades, as if sleep held them yet. In the stern the
Captain steered in silence. Midway of the lagoon
a force invisible balked their listless oars. Strain
ing harder against an unseen enemy, they crept,
scarce sure of motion, on the flood. The thwarting
force increased; but the small craft jerked and
heaved unsteadily forward, responding to a stouter
stroke.
As they drew out from the heavy shadow of the
precipice the dim wall of trees upon the farther
32 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
shore grew clear. The stars, plain but an instant
gone, were lost in day. Orange and crimson light
shown upon the sky, a green streak banded across
the red and reflected in the dark waters brighter
than the inverted image of the wood.
The colours paled swiftly through hints of rose and
amethyst, blending all at once into a white and
indistinguishable glow. Near the anchorage of
the Rose a tide-washed rim of whitened rock
divided the agate waters from the land, but on the
side which they approached no land was visible.
Rank growths crowded into the waves; great
trunks, decayed and broken, leaned from the
tangle, slipping to their fall. Dead leaves, and
blossoms matted in the slime, sent up a visible
reek from caves and weltering pools. Insects
glinting with gold and silver swam where the black
flood was blackest. Here and there the earth had
sunk away from the roots of some high-towering
palm and left it solitary, the eddies swirling between
it and the forsaken bank.
Rowing became easier, but the force that bore
them back dragged still upon their progress and
the sailors peered with suspicious eyes into the"
changing colors beneath the boat. Suddenly the
shore was gone. They had passed the point of
land that concealed the opening, and, where all
had been a thick and hopeless jungle, an inlet
showed. Into it they swung, pulling between
tall, pillared groves till as they went it was clear
the inlet was a river. The dragging mystery was
explained. They had crossed a battleground
where the stream contended with the flooding tide.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 33
The point of land was but a river bar, a natural
breakwater reared against the determined sea.
Beyond it the waters broadened. Along the margin
mammoth fern fronds waved above lush weeds
and reedy grasses, some erect and shaken lightly
as the salty waves moved shoreward among the
thick grown stalks, some flat where the tide's turn
had set the current racing for the bay.
Mighty lianas clambering upward mounted in
loose-twisted coils, hiding smooth-columned trunks
and drooping in huge festoons wherever their
swinging wreaths found room. High above a
labyrinth of vine-fettered stems and strange-
leaved branches tipped with yellow flame of flower
sprays, the New England lad could see the brave
mahogany and the monstrous satinwoods that
lifted their heads into the very sheen and dazzle of
the sky.
At the edge of the marsh a solemn bird stood
motionless. A young pelican, dull-brown and
sombre in the glitter of the day, swooped suddenly
to dart its bill beneath the flood, taking swift
tribute of a life as strange and various as the
flowers upon the banks. Roger looked down
among the darting shoals and watched the changes,
gay-hued and multiform, beneath the oars.
The atmosphere was full of heated moisture, a
suffocating blanket through which to draw the
breath. Horny backs blistered in the increasing
glow. Once a sun-dried island blocked their path,
a mound of cracking mud raised in mid-stream
and held by crawling mangroves that dropped long
tentacles to find a wider grasp upon the sediment
34 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
and reached tarantula claws on every side to clamp
and keep what was already gained.
As the flow of the stream overcame the tide's
advance the river narrowed and deepened. Strange
blossoms and fruits of poisonous lustre spilled
everywhere a powerful perfume. Butterflies, scar-
let and green and glossy black, spotted with
tawny and gold, came into the open space where
the sunlight invited, and fluttered their great soft
wings, undulating in a dreamy trance beneath the
intoxicating shine.
Then the straight-shafted trees spread the lofty
shelter of their tops, a high arcade, across a dusky
waterway. The shower of vines dripping from the
arch softened the blaze beyond, and from the
dappled shade that marked the tunnel's mouth
even to the farthest palm that brushed the un-
shadowed heavens a tender distance gave an un-
real glamour to the. scene.
The birds that piped and called in the impassable
thicket seemed far away. The parrokeets that
flew high overhead, the monkeys that splashed
the water with hard green balls and fled with gay
and chattering laughter out of sight, the stillness
that brooded where the place grew darkest, were
a phantasy of sound and silence. And when they
floated forth into the garish light, their eyes were
dazed and smarting, and a million imps bestrode
the dancing atoms of the heat.
The signs of swampiness were gone. The con-
fining outline of the stream grew more irregular,
jutting here and there in hilly capes and odd
peninsulas, where the earth, crumbling about the
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 35
edge, showed red and brown, a cleaner mould than
the black soil of the coast. Wild orange trees
caught the shine on glossy boughs thrust outward
to the light; long, sparkling leaves of ginger root
pushed like bent swords through netted shrub and
bush. Star- apple and magnolia, wild plum and
pepper plant, strove with a myriad growths un-
named for air and light, demanding space to live.
Roger kept the measure of the dipping oars un-
heeding what he did. The shore drew him with
the power of the unknown. The odour of the forest,
full-breathed and lusty fragrance of an ever-bloom-
ing land, was filled with untried potencies. Every
leaf, spread like a giant fan, thrilled him with ex-
travagant content.
Vague, premonitory whiffs of the ocean breeze
had overtaken the plodding tender. As they
turned a bend that sent them toward the moun-
tain, a cool shower of air passed over them, and
the feathery bamboos laid spray to spray bowing
inland before the wind.
Beyond a shaded cove made by its own en-
croaching on the stream, a hillock pushed its way
into the current. Behind it the bank sloped up-
ward, an abrupt ascent. Here Captain Phips
steered the boat to land, brushing great lily pads
that pressed him back from shore.
The shade was grateful, but it held a swarm of
tiny flies that settled greedily on steaming bodies.
The breeze had died again, and a basking crocodile,
wriggling with a lumpish splash into the water,
drifted leisurely down stream and out of sight.
Roger watched the vigorous figure of the Captain
36 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
as it hacked a passage through the living barrier
and disappeared behind the matted hedge of brake
and prickly shrub; then he looked upward, gazing
into impending boughs so interlaced they seemed
to bear red bloom and lilac, wide cups of dim ver-
milion and purple corymbs, on the self -same stem.
"Ashore with ye! Quick there and bring the
tools. "
It was the Captain's shout. The men answered
with a joyous yell, tumbling into the breach in the
thorny wall with scrambling haste. The deserted
boat tugged at a leaning tree, turning slowly from
side to side among the lily pads.
Roger, swifter than the rest, came first upon
their leader, mounted to the highest point of the
mound and cutting relentlessly at the side of his
green cave, where half the breadth of a mammoth
trunk was already exposed.
" 'Tis this fellow we want. To work, lads !
Clear the place!" The command came with a
resonant cadence; satisfaction sounded in the
voice.
Disappointment, an angry chagrin, showed in
the scowling faces of the men. Roger glanced
from one to another and set himself briskly at the
distruction of the tangle. How much did they
guess? Had they expected to be led to a pirate
hoard here in the woods ? The grumbling was not
loud; the Captain's ears were keen. With the
word the jungle was falling under a sharp assault.
Knives and axes struck ravenously, and opening
after opening appeared where the solid barricade
was hewn away.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 37
Tom the carpenter, whose face alone looked
cheerful, was set with Gedge to enlarge the space
about the Captain's prize.
Vine strands, fine and tenacious as spun wire,
dulled their steel; a milky weed left white and
swollen blotches on hands and arms; now and then
resounded within the wood a noise like pistol shots,
the bursting of the sandbox pods loosed by the
vibration of the onslaught.
Tom the carpenter and the garrulous Gedge
had made themselves a chamber wherein an axe
could swing in full curve to the stroke. Now their
blows echoed in alternate rhythm upon the solid
girth whose leafy top was hid above the spread of
foliage nearer to the ground.
"Yellow saunder, eh? Then 'tis a dugout he'll
be making. " Bill Sparhawk chuckled, cleaving
the jointed bamboo stalks, large as a man's arm,
that everywhere pierced their soft insistent way.
"Saunder!" The boatswain slashed scornfully
at the thorn bush. " 'Tis a cottonwood. Hear
that? 'Tis the cotton-tree plover."
Roger lifted his gaze to the wattled roof over
their heads, but the bird's protesting notes were
lost in invisible heights above. A soft steam rose
around them, water ran upon their bodies, dripped
into their eyes, trickled in tickling drops about
their ears. To the lad, strong in the vigour of de-
lighted youth, the exhaustion of the others ap-
peared a lazy affectation.
" 'Tis small matter if you call it saunder or cot-
ton tree, or candlewood for that ! 'Tis big enough
to make a boat, and a boat 'twill be, " persisted
38 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Sparhawk, his gnarled features twisting with his
efforts as he stooped. "The tender's small, and
there's work to do where the Rose can't go among
the rocks eh, Roger?" he questioned slyly, peer-
ing up to the lad's face.
"Nay, Bill, 'tis my first voyage. I know not
these waters nor where a ship might go, " Roger
answered good-naturedly, betraying nothing.
Save for the long rest at midday, the work went
on till the sun was lost behind the trees. The hill-
side and a wide path through the swale beyond
were roughly cleared. From its cathedral height
the dark-crowned cottonwood had swung in a great
arc downward and stretched its mighty length
upon the skaken earth.
At the signal of the dawn Roger woke and
looked longingly at the river; but as he sluiced
the water over arms and face, the fishes that nibbled
at his submerged hands gave him a curious feeling
of numbness and distress. Without reluctance
he turned back to the work upon the clearing.
The camp was again busy at its toil. The
twisted branches of the fallen tree were chopped
and sawn away till the monstrous log could
rest close along the uneven earth. Lesser boughs,
cut to the length of torches, were stripped and set
to dry in the hot sun. Tom the carpenter and
Gedge, half way between the severed base and
the first outreaching limbs, struck again with
strokes that came like clock beats in regular itera-
tion.
From a spring high up among a tumbled mass
of grass-grown rocks, Roger brought water tinged
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 39
with red ochre and warm as fresh-drawn milk, and
dashed it with New England rum. The men drank
eagerly the mild dilution, and steaming, went
again to work, cursing the sand fleas and the sting-
ing flies, and scowling vengefully upon the prostrate
trunk.
Discontent burned hotter than the heat in the
little eyes of Fangs.
"We didn't ship for woodchoppers, " he snarled
at Gedge.
"Ye shipped to obey orders." The Captain's
tone fell on the grumbling as a foot would crush a
crawling moth.
" 'Tis this here hellish heat, sir, " volunteered
Gedge, brushing the perspiration from his lids.
" 'Tain't the work. "
" The heat ! Are ye a set of sickly infants to cry
out at a little heat ! " The Captain drove his sharp
adze along the upper side of the log, planing the
soft wood with a dextrous motion. "Be thankful,
Gedge " he fixed his eyes upon the garrulous sailor
"that thou'rt not cutting lumber in the snows !
There's a fine periagua hid within this bark. If
it's sailing ye want, my men " He swept a
glance up and down the listening group " 'tis
this boat will take us where we're going. The
sooner 'tis done, the sooner we're there. "
The crew shook off the stifling oppression of the
air as if someone had loosed them from confining
bonds, and bent to their work, digging out the
white fibre with better speed.
"Heat! Poor weaklings! If ye'd ever frozen
in the woods of the Kennebec with a gale off the
40 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
sea driving the sleet in your faces, and your hands
cracked and bleeding from the frost till they were
numb upon the axe, then ye'd not curse the heat.
When I was a lad I stored up cold enough to last
a lifetime. "
" Hell's own country, be that north coast of
Massachuset colony!" Gedge put in with a swag-
gering air of knowledge. "Cold and salvages and
no chance for anything but to starve and die. "
"Thou'rt wrong, Gedge. " The Captain's strokes
did not cease upon the wood. " 'Tis a hard life
and a perilous, but a man hath a chance. Give
me the new world. 'Twas there I learned what
brought me where I am. Thou shouldst have
lived at Pemaquid with my mother. " His lips
closed upon each other firmly, and he nodded an
emphatic assent to his own words. "Here, thou
villain art gouging like a child. Slant thy knife ;
cut not so straight upon the grain and keep
within the line. "
Fangs obeyed with startled alacrity, the fire be-
neath his lowering brows unsmothered.
Tom the carpenter grappled a black box out of
his short leather breeches and dusted snuff liberally
about his wide nostrils.
" Tis a clean life with good smells, " he said,
shoving the box among the stored treasures of his
pocket. "I've heard say there's virtue in the fir
trees makes a man longlived. "
"Aye," answered the Captain heartily, "balsam
and bayberry make a savoury odour, and rocks, and
the sheep, and winds and sun, be decent company.
And when he digs and sows, a lad sees more than
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 41
maize and hemp and pompion seeds he sees his
future marks out a trail to follow. "
The work was going on apace. The humid air
had become vital with a tingling vigor. The Cap-
tain marched from end to end of the boat-length
he had apportioned, and his hand here, his voice
there, sped the task. Something in himself had set
the pitch for effort. The thought of snows blown
in whistling winter storms and heaped upon the
hills of Pemaquid cooled their glowing bodies and
loosened the dryness of their throats.
"A man may be what he will in the new world;
'twas thus my mother taught us. " Captain Phips
still spoke, his voice galvanizing laggard muscles
to renewed exertion. "Not that saying a worm's
a silken purse can make it so, " he added with a
twinkle in the shrewd blue eyes, "but there's much
silk raw and uncombed may yet be carded and
spun. "
Gedge tucked a folded tobacco leaf within his
cheek.
"Be there periaguas, sir, upon the Kennebec?"
he asked respectfully.
"Aye, but they call them gundalows, " the
carpenter put in knowingly. " 'Tis an Eyetalian
name, though Manuel says it otherwise. "
" 'Twas not by making dugouts on the Kennebec
I served my prenticeship for this periagua ! " The
Captain straightened himself to watch the cutting
at the far end of the log. " 'Twas a trade learned
by a winter fire when I cut trenchers of the maple
wood to hold my meat and porridge. " He smiled
as his glance came back along the line. "Here,
42 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Fangs, man, drink thyself and give thy mates the
pannikin. Wast ever caught by Indians ? Thou
hast the look of one the savages have tortured.
Ease off there and man the water keg. Thou art
no carpenter. Tom will be best without thee. "
A fury of remembrance convulsed the fellow's
evil face. Venom gathered in the little eyes; he
seemed to shrivel with an inward heat of dull
malignance.
When the noonday hour released them, axes
dropped, tossed in a ringing heap, and the men
slept like children, waking only to eat and straight-
way fall again into the prone slumber of forgetful-
ness.
Roger, lying still inert after the first weight of
sleep was gone, saw dreamily, between lids half
unclosed, the Captain busy about the giant log. A
lizard darted like a tiny flame around the buttressed
stem of a strange tree, repeating in his slender
length the gorgeous coloring of lilies seen beside
the spring. A snuffling near at hand widened the
space between the drowsy lids; an investigating
snout, with bright eyes set above, poked from a
little copse of weeds whose leaves had closed in
quivering haste. The lad half stirred. The little
beast took warning, rolled himself into a scaly,
armored ball, and Roger strove to wake and see if
this quaint transformation were a dream, but the
lids fell fast together, pressed down by healthful
weariness, and when the big voice of the Captain
roused them cheerfully, he looked about him
wondering where he was.
In the afternoon Tom was set to direct the work,
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 43
and Captain Phips, taking Fangs and two others of
the weakest, departed in the tender. Before sun-
down, Maccartey was with them, coming up from
the stream in a drenching downpour, with the
water running in small rivers from his curling
length of hair. The men had stripped, and
lounged on moss and stumps outside the umbrella-
like shelter of the trees, while the warm flood
poured gratefully upon their burned and thirsty
skins.
As the shower ceased, everywhere could be
heard a running of quick rills. Each leaf that
stirred emptied its verdant cup in a little flood,
and the brook, the river's tributary, that had been
shrunk to a mere creeping line between its parching
banks, rose till the yellow grasses dipped in its
tumbling waves.
Maccartey gazed with amiable curiosity upon
the group and turned an interested face to Roger.
"Troth, lad, is it white monkeys thou hast here,
come down from the branches to cavort with us?
Here now, make haste. " He set his look once
more upon the men. "Into your clothes there.
Tom, I'm ashamed of ye, settin' out here like an
old baboon in the face o' the day !"
The rowers fastening the tender to the bank
below laughed loudly.
Dressing was scarce a task, but Gedge was fain
to find it burdensome. As he covered from sight
the blue tatooings on his roughened skin, he re-
sumed the grumblings of the absent Fangs, ridding
himself with an angry jerk of a striped spider en-
sconced upon a fold.
44 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
His mutterings grew crosser while he searched
for the spider's mate, and "tyranny" and "slaves"
sounded often in his scolding monologue. Once
he halted, eying Roger with bitter indignation,
disdaining the fineness of the sunburned skin upon
the bared arms. The lad was straight and
supple, wholesome and good to see, firmly built
with strength of sinews and elastic youth; but
Gedge was in an evil mood.
"Work! 'Tis simple talk for them to speak of
work who take or leave it as they will ! What
does Roger know of work who's got a fortune
waiting for him when he will and Captain Phips,
who's he to talk of work? What's a captain's
work ! "
The sailors restored to half-clad comfort and less
fear of poisonous insects, lounged again, rummag-
ing their pockets for tobacco and small hoards of
snuff.
Maccartey had poured a quantity of the broken
leaf from a cormorant pouch into the palm of his
hand. He packed his pipe bowl slowly, disre-
garding the grumbler, and labored in vain to strike
a spark with flint and tinder from his box. Sud-
denly he paused.
" Hold thy peace, Silas Gedge, or I'll duck thee
thrice running and choke the spleen from out thy
greedy crop. Work ! 'Tis Captain Phips knows
all there is to know of work none other better.
Which of ye now " He let his eyes wander
about the circle, gathering up the attention of each
man. "Which of ye now," he repeated, "ever
fought with half the odds he's had to face !"
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 45
"There 'tis; the luck's with him." Gedge had
dropped on the slope, drained almost dry already
where the hot soil shed the moisture. "Luck's
with him, " he said the second time, with more
philosophy, spinning a Portuguese coin worn thin
with use. " 'Tis an easy job being captain and
setting others to do the tasks. "
Bill Sparhawk, twisted like a withered cactus
stalk, drank and chewed and placidly arranged a
pack of cards to dry upon a stump. He turned as
Maccartey answered, the knave of hearts for-
lornly damp between his thumb and finger, and
looked up to where the mate was seated on the
mighty frustum of the cotton wood.
The spark had come at last and Maccartey drew
with solemn content the first puffs of the strong-
flavored smoke.
"Easy work!" He quoted the words of Gedge
with scornful deliberation. "Easy work ye think
it ! And easy work it may be for an ignorant,
barefooted shepherd to make himself commander
of a King's ship and the friend and crony of great
dukes with private audience of the King himself."
"How is't ye know that?" asked Sparhawk.
"Are ye from the colonies? By y'r name ye
should be out of Ireland or "
' ' Ireland and Scotland and a grandfather from
York that went to Boston when I was a dimpled
thing in arms. " Maccartey sucked upon his pipe,
his gaze quizzically upon the knave of hearts.
Laughter broke again upon the stillness. Roger's
eyes twinkled, regarding the tough frame of the
first officer of the Rose.
46 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
' 'Tis from himself I'd some of it, " Maccartey
went on, "and more from Jotham Blaize, who
came from Pemaquid where was the Captain's
home. "
The men settled to hear, childishly ready for a
tale.
'Twas a handful of men came out of Bristol
and landed beyond the furthermost settlements.
Many died there that had not died of a pest upon
the voyage. The Captain's father, a gunsmith he
was in Bristol and a poor man as any, lived not
long after. So were left but the goodwife and a
monstrous family of children like to starve. Wast
ever in Pemaquid, Silas Gedge?"
"Not I. Was washed ashore one summer time
by Wells. 'Twas a place wild enough for me
and in great fear of salvages. "
"Wells hath communication with the towns, but
Pemaquid 'twas most like a forgotten isle. The
Captain was a little lad amongst the youngest
but 'tis said he cheered them and told his mother
'I will grow up and build a mansion for ye all,'
so that his brothers laughed and were heartened
by his pluck. Faith, I can see the little chap, half
frozen and half fed, and game for anything. "
Maccartey sat erect, the smoke curling from the
pipe in his hand to trail in a soft cloud toward the
stream.
The men nodded.
'Twas a life to make or kill him herding
his sheep among the rocks and by the woods
in danger ever of wolves and Indians till he
was come as old as Roger here, with more wolf
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 47
skins than learning to show for trophy ! And
never change nor any to give him hope of change.
When he would say, 'I shall not always stay in
Pemaquid,' the settlers laughed. And when, at
last, he 'prenticed himself to a ship carpenter,
they laughed again to see the lad ambitious only
his mother would not say him nay. 'Twas a
'mazing large family. A score of brothers he
had, and sisters besides and the oldest of all,
that were men grown, left behind in England !
'Twas a brave woman I'm thinkin' brought all
those children into the world, and with babies in
her arms came to the wilderness where there was not
so much as a corn blade for food and naught but
water to drink, and kept a stout cheer for rough
weather and mild. God 'twas a wonder ! She
died in Pemaquid. 'Tis a grief to the Captain she
never saw the mansion he had promised her. He
was but a ship carpenter then but 'twas in him
to be more. "
" Twas luck," Gedge murmured obstinately.
'Twas luck that made him rise."
" 'Twas work an' brains at the back of it, ye
blitherin' fool ! How many of ye " Maccartey's
voice hurled the question at them with rampant
energy "would have left the sheep he'd tended
till none believed he could do better, and learnt a
trade? And which one of ye, a man grown that
couldn't spell his name, would ha' gone to Boston
where the ignorant be most despised, an' carried
himself so none could scoff ! 'Twas there first he
learned to read and write, though he was brave of
manner and withal so gentle, he was sought of them
48 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
that knew good wine from cheap. And so it came
he married a gentlewoman who thinks no other
man be good enough to shine his buckles. "
"An" I could stay at home and stuff my carcass
from a silver trencher I'd work no more!" Bill
Sparhawk had dried his cards and shuffled them
now together with a shake of the head that resigned
a hopeless puzzle.
"While there's work to be done Captain Phips
'11 take no ease, " Maccartey answered shortly.
Roger watched the fire that burned ill and
said but little. He was far from the island camp,
his thoughts now in Boston, now in Pemaquid.
Once a great snake swung from a branch and de-
voured some crumbs left from a sailor's meal, then
coiled away out of sight. He did not stir nor
give it heed. "The snakes have no poison,"
Captain Phips had said and he believed im-
plicitly. Gedge had not believed, but killed the
first he saw with frightened haste. To the others,
despite of grumbling and distaste for toil, the
Captain's words sufficed. What he said partook
of the potency of that they called his "luck."
Nor did they put great faith in tales of youthful
poverty. Every man knew that there were poor
and there were rich, just as there were ants and
there were dragon-flies. How could you make one
of the other?
Talk went on in a vein less hard for the credulity.
Pirate tales, more smartly seasoned for monotony
than Maccartey's yarn, were flung out with lush
profanity.
"Aye the 'Lady' they called him. He stuck
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 49
at nothing. " Gedge raised his voice to match his
hideous climax. " He drove them 'neath the lash
to bear their treasure and stow it on his ship, and
then he cut them up and fed them to his dogs. "
Roger heard little of what went on about him
save for an occasional outburst of shout or song.
The Boston-bred lad, worshipping afar, and now
brought within the magnetic radius of his hero's
presence, had never before realized that hero's
humble origin. Was it true that the New World
meant freedom for a man to rise above the station
where Providence had set his lot? A strange
thought, startling to the boy, but appealing with
the thrill of inspiration to that sense of justice,
already the strongest impulse of a many-sided
nature.
But chiefly his imagination dwelt among the
pines and hemlocks of the rocky shore of Pem-
aquid, following the boyhood of another lad whose
schoolmaster had been hardship and whose patience
had been gained among the stupid flocks and in
the watchful hours of Indian warfare, and the
unmoved endurance of incredulous jeers. How
many years, beneath the cold stars and the colder
moon, through seed-time and scanty harvest, the
rage of winter and the summer's drouth, he must
have looked off to the unquiet sea, biding his
chance, a clamouring force within him quickening
his blood even amidst the gentle breathing of the
huddled sheep !
The picture did not fade as the weeks came one
upon the other, bringing the end of their persistent
toil. Captain Phips had an added power in the
5 o THE COAST OF FREEDOM
lad's eyes that saw the strength of his achieve-
ment. The periagua grew slowly under the shap-
ing hands. It was the Captain himself who
worked hardest and longest, although the slow
fever born of the nights alternately parched and
chilled him, biting at his muscles in vindictive
nips of pain. Among the men, he portioned out
the bitter Jesuit's bark, watching each dose con-
sumed, and letting none suspect how sorely the
disease laid hold on his stout frame.
Roger was often at the ship, a trusty messenger
between Maccartey and the camp. Of the loutish
Jacob Munch he saw but little, the two lads chang-
ing places with the change of leader on the boat.
Hunting parties scoured the jungle toward the
summit of the spurs, and Roger grew inured to
strangeness, where all was strange. The tops
of even the nearest hills were inaccessible. Great
forests of ferns made a soft and hopeless barrier,
and left no peak exposed whence could be had a
view. In the compact enclosure of the woods, the
rankness of the land's fertility oppressed him to a
kind of suffocation, the sun that worked this
miracle of increase fermenting in its turn a quick
decay. Beneath the mossy shade, a subterranean
fauna seemed to glide and crawl. The horde of
parasitic growths, a newly sprouting plant from
every shoot or twig, each tiniest thing another's
feeding ground, multiplied in grotesque mysteries ;
great ant hills heaped from powdery dust of
lichened vines and fleshy orchid leaves, were am-
bush of an implacable and murderous foe; hollows
in dank obscurity let the steps plunge in tree
THE COAST OF FREEDOM SI
trunks dead and fungus-clothed, and stir a uni-
verse of harboring life to fierce activity. Great
nauseous flowers, like mottled faces of tree-dwell-
ing gnomes, swung down across his path and
thrust at him their scarlet tongues. Everywhere
the large abundance of the ungirdled earth gave
vague offence to senses too powerfully assailed.
But the exhilaration of battle with the wood,
the joy of exploration, kept alive the first delight.
Dark-shrouded grottoes in a mountain ledge, the
cheerful ruin of a Spanish house, the red scar of a
fire that burned and died in some dried upper
slope of distant mountain heights, these had a
charm that rivalled the dangers of the chase.
The Captain went rarely with the hunters, and
even in the midst of the rewarding barbecue his
eyes forsook the roasting boar to dwell with serious
calculation on their unfinished task. Often at the
last, while the sailors lay steeped in dull uncon-
sciousness, his thoughts, impatient, wrought upon
it ceaselessly, and he slept the vigilant slumber
of those whose nights deepen the responsibility
of the day.
It was a goodly craft. The rains had soaked it,
the sun dried and baked it, seasoning the whole;
the thwarts were smoothed and fitted to their
ledge; great- bladed oars were fashioned of a
harder wood, and still a new day saw new toil upon
the cumbrous boat. Yet in the end all was ac-
complished to the Captain's will and the "brave
periagua" crushed the lily pads and floated by
the tender on the current of the stream.
That night they feasted on the hill. All day
52 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
the tender had plied to and fro bearing water from
the spring to fill the casks upon the Rose. Now
with the companions of his task Roger rested in
the camp.
The feast was merry; far into the black hours
of the night laughter rose among the scattered
groups. Against the new obstruction to its flow
the river rippled with a pleasing murmur of sur-
prise. Torches of candle wood flamed upon the
darkness of the river, glowing beyond the vine-
laced boughs. Thick smoke went swirling into
space, mounting in slow spirals from the flares.
Through the current shining creatures rose to the
lure. The ripples flickered above sunken logs,
and dancing swarms of insects swam in nebulous
clusters within the light.
Roger gazed eager and speculative upon the
place where the periagua was moored within the
cove. Would the inert log that had been made a
thing to fetch and carry, obedient to the oar and
sail, yet bear loads of precious cargo to brim the
waiting coffers of the Rose? What would it be?
Jewels, the gems of Spanish donnas gleaming under
the sun for the first time after half a century of dull
oblivion? The shining altar vessels of some rav-
ished church of far-off Popish lands ? Strange coins
and curious fragments filched from other lives of
other days ? Or had the lost ship been a rightful
caravel, owned by honest merchants, carrying an
honest cargo of bullion, of proper golden coin or
heavy pieces of eight made fast in leathern bags ?
One by one the flares went out. In the creeping
chill of the lifeless dark the men wound their blankets
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 53
closer and huddled back to back for warmth. The
sentinel rekindled the sputtering embers of the
fire and hugged the smoky blaze. A cold steam
hovered above the slipping water, poured itself
over the opposite shore, and climbed stealthily
almost to Roger's feet. Great bats whirred above his
head. Out of the shadows, sunk to blacker night
after the torches' glare, he heard the raucous cry
of birds that hunted in the dark. As the fire sank,
unnoticed by the sleepy sentinel, into a dull shine
just strong enough itself to be discovered, he heard
the angry baying of wild dogs deep within the
forest. The trees dripped steadily ; now and then a
crash in the stillness set the hanging leaves astir
and big drops rained upon his face.
Still Roger thought of the periagua, and of Cap-
tain Phips guiding, controlling, mastering all these
savage forces in wood and stream and human
passions to serve the ends of high emprise. And
when he closed his eyes upon the sentinel and the
viewless dark, the heavy breathing of the men was
thunder of surf that broke upon low-lying reefs.
Through the pellucid depths he looked far down
and saw a world of glittering treasure, and in the
midst a Spaniard, guardian of the trove, who
slept upon his side, the golden fringes of his doublet
awash within the waves. Sighing for pleasure
of his dream, he woke, filling his lungs with a
long conscious breath.
Two eyes out of the dark yellow, glowing upon
his eyes that moved, then vanished, then came
again ! Nay, 'twas but the moonlight agleam
among the leaves that turned there and by their
54 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
waving hid the shine. The air grew dimly bright-
er, then glimmered with the yellow of the palest
gold, the tree tops set vaguely, flat as pictures in
a book, against the coming light. The gleam
touched the gliding dark that was the river, then
widening, spread toward the shore whereon the
sleepers lay, illumining the boats, spilling along
the river's nearer edge, rising in the well of shad-
ow, till the moon sailing clear of the encircling
wall of trees looked down effulgent upon the
camp.
The sounds died away. Silence, stirred but
faintly in the deeper woods, came upon the cry ings
of the night. The river moved, a glassy stream,
all yellow radiance between its palely shining
banks. The breath of those who slept sank in
long sighs, exhaling softly. The mist clung in fine
spray on branch and drooping vine and the brave
periagua wrapped in its shimmering gold strained
more and more upon the flood.
Another dawn and the camp, the bays, the
shores of green Hispaniola were left behind. In
the abandoned camp the wild dogs battled; within
the bay the great crabs crawled in unmolested
peace; the shade of the crag with its tree-tops
nicked upon the blue fell into a silent pool, and tide
and current swirled unseen, contesting forever the
noiseless right of way.
The mountains faded to the dark irregular line,
became a dim cloud, and were gone. Far out of
sight of land, the Araby Rose was again the only
sail upon the waste. No isle rose to mark
the path, no rock, no sandy bar, lifted itself upon
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 55
the surface of the flood. The teeming life and
wood sounds of the shore changed for the strain of
silence and the weight of desolation ! The sky,
the sea, burned with one light, a white and fervid
glow. Upon the deck, shadows, sharp-edged as
those of an Italian noon, made shifting lines to
mark the glare.
The dark came suddenly, but no dew-laden wind
blew cool upon the Rose. Cautiously, circling in
the void, she waited for the moon; then blossom-
ing like a flower in all the yellow glory of the night,
she swam nearer and yet more near to where old
enemies of men and ships lay crouched beneath the
waves, holding in grim jaws the secret of their
quest.
CHAPTER IV
" FOR HELL AND THE LADY "
THE periagua lay pitching in a channel be-
tween two sunken reefs. On either side,
the water boiled noisily, frothing with im-
potent disgust at each obstruction and returning
with senseless persistence to the assault.
The men rested on their oars, sullen and without
speech. Roger tried to follow the vanished divers
hidden by the dull opaque of the waves, and
trails of foam splotched upon the surface mocked
the attempt. Half a league away, hovering in
the safety of the open, was the Araby Rose. The
same white glitter burned upon her sails ; the same
shining desolation stretched unbroken to the rim
of an empty world. Through sickness and re-
covery, seasons of toil and suffering idleness;
through days among the submerged rocks when
drags and iron grapples scorched the hand that
touched them, and days upon the Rose when the
lukewarm brine hissed upon shrunken planks and
steamed in new-washed scuppers, the men of the
Company's ship had faced the unwinking glare.
" 'Tis little the Duke of Albemarle and his
Treasure Company can know of what the Captain
hath to try him in this search, " Roger thought
often, seeing the dauntless and resourceful cheer
no hardship could abate.
The crew were troublesome, a treacherous mix-
56
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 57
ture of seditious blood. Those who had worked
upon the great periagua had been the indifferent
best of an untamed rabble. Only the Captain's
fear-naught government averted week by week
some grim catastrophe. Of all the horde none had
endured so well as those of the New World, sailors
from the colonies, and the Indian divers brought
from Jamaica for King James to see and rescued
from London by Captain Phips. Save in the bay
of Hispanolia, the red men had not even sickened;
unflinching, stoical, their silence rasped their fel-
lows like the changeless pressure of the heat.
While they dived, Maccartey stood scanning the
neighbouring reefs for his next move, and when the
Indians, their bodies shining from their hazardous
bath, tumbled lithely to place, he opened his mouth
to give an order. As the first syllable broke into
a violent exclamation, the crew looked up.
Sulky, angrily defiant, they followed the mate's
arrested gaze and their expression lightened.
Their bodies woke, electrified ; their hands laid hold
upon the oars with a lively grip. Tongues were
loosened and a babel rose to die upon the instant
into sharp exertion.
"A Spaniard!"
"A pirate!"
The mate shouted. The heavy boat plunged
forward. From the Araby Rose, far off across the
broken reefs, fluttered the signal of recall.
All the pent energy, fermented in long months
of disappointment, burst in Roger's stroke. Ex-
citement rioted in his veins, thrilled outward from
the quick and steady beating of his heart, to drive
5 8 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
faster, always faster, the blade against the resisting
wave.
With each swing of his body, the stranger,
brought into his field of vision, grew larger, more
threatening, against the sky. She was moving
with amazing speed straight toward a point that
divided the periagua from the Rose. Once cut off
from their ship, and, the lad knew, it would make
small difference Spaniard or pirate. The methods
of the privateer and of the rover were vastly similar.
The men strained harder at the bending wood.
The divers had seized the oars thrust into their
hands and sweat mingled with the sea water upon
their glistening backs. Alone of all the crew they
had shown neither surliness nor excitement, and
now they held to their work skilful, unflagging,
with faces whose fixity neither labor nor insult had
moved.
The sudden wind was capricious. The sail
availed them little. Through Roger's mind fan-
tastic thoughts made rapid procession, oftenest a
regret that so rare a race had no spectator but the
birds. He felt a dumb anger at Fangs, who
sucked the air hissingly through his protruding
teeth, weakening as he rowed. It was like him,
the lad felt, to have plenty of breath for grumbling
and none for work, failing at the very beginning
of the struggle.
Their ship was under way to meet them, her
sails filling. The light that came and went beneath
the new shadow of hurrying clouds showed her one
minute with wings grey and old, the next bright-
ening in a miracle of whiteness. A soft commotion
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 59
had risen in air and sky, hopeful foreboding of a
tropic shower. The stranger loomed momently
near, a larger ship than the Araby Rose, with a
glory of canvas crowning a mighty hull. To slip
past the bow of the enemy and make for the open
sea, that was the hope of the Rose.
"Were't not for us!"
Roger heard the mate's groan, heard an order
sharp and explosive. The periagua shipped the
seething crest of a wave. Maccartey pulled hard
upon the sheet and yelled as the men drove the
quivering wood through the green water.
His shouts put life into backs broken with des-
perate effort, and the Rose came down upon them
hardly faster than the periagua drove through the
fumbling waves. The stranger was moving with
still greater speed as the wind quickened into a
sharper gust.
The mate's voice bit and stung the panting
rowers to a new spasm of wrenching force. Fangs
toppled forward with blue lips whitening across a
gasping breath. Roger, sliding upon the thwart,
tore from the loosening hold the upraised oar lest
it trail upon the water, and pulled again with blind
frenzy as a lash struck across his back.
The lash was far more a symbol than a fact upon
the Araby Rose. It saved them now. Nerves
sensitive by long immunity woke to the cutting of
the thong. The arm of the mate was powerful;
not a blow was wasted. In the moment that
might have lost them all, he brought them with a
live leaping of the boat beyond the line of the
stranger's bow.
60 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
As the men climbed and fell, were hauled, scram-
bling and exhausted, upon the deck, Roger saw
the black flag broken out at the masthead of the
foe. For the smaller vessel a stern chase was the
only safety, but to reach the open she must run
between the pirate and the Boilers, outmost and
worst of all the hidden reefs.
The spent crew drank thirstily, recovering as by
a prodigy, and sprang every man to his place.
Beneath the focussed energy of the Captain's look
the light of battle kindled; in his voice the joy of
action glowed and vibrated. The strength of his
colossal confidence entered into the ship. The
men forgot that the pirate was larger, better armed,
manned doubtless by twice their number. No
other Captain than William Phips ever went down
to the sea that could make of a motley like this
such seamen and such fighters. Roger saw and
felt it as the sails moved to the sound of the Cap-
tain's orders and the Araby Rose, leaving the drift-
ing periagua far behind, converged upon the point
of contest.
Second by second certainty was made more sure.
They could not evade the enemy's swiftly coming
prow. As well as the oldest sailor of them all,
Roger knew that their remaining hope was a man-
ful death. But like the others, eldest or youngest,
he kept steadfastly at his task, undismayed, con-
fident against reason, hearkening to the yoice of
the Captain.
Jacob Munch alone of all the ship's company was
unaffected by that voice. He was stationed with
Roger, serving the gunners, and he watched fur-
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 61
tively an opportunity to slip away. Roger went
swiftly to and fro as the mate commanded, his
body tense with expectation, his heart swelling
against his breathing, his under consciousness
wandering on abstract errands that had to do with
peace and pleasant ways. In the intervals* he
knew the orders shouted, repeated above his head,
felt the jerk and recovery of the vessel in each
changed direction, listened to the protesting of the
planks straining upon one another, and wondered
vaguely why he was set to so mechanical a labour,
never suspecting the Captain of softness in the
choice of this better shelter of the gun deck.
As the first noise of the conflict broke horridly
on the air he seemed to hear the sounds of the same
hour at home, the lowing of cattle in the lane, the
twitter of swallows by the eaves. Drawing nearer,
he waited alert and ready behind the mate.
The pirate's aim was good. There came to the
ears a cracking of light timbers and the sudden plop
into the spouting water beyond the Rose.
"Missed the mainmast," he heard Maccartey
mutter.
A shout from above. The smell of gunpowder
rank in the air. Around him answer and response,
continuous, ominous, antiphonal roar of battle,
began and mounted till the rage of men's voices
could be heard across the narrowing water. Then
and till the end Roger heard as if the contest were
the dream, the vision of home the reality. The
double consciousness sharpened rather than dulled
his vigilance.
The Captain's shout came down to him: " 'Tis
62 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
the Walrus ! 'Tis the ship of Anthony Blount the
devils have ! " and the howl of the New England
men that answered it.
The mate was giving shot for shot, taking the
pirate twice 'twixt wind and water in wounds that
were patched up promptly with skilled hands.
"Get above, Jacob Munch, and bring me word, "
yelled the mate.
The slouching figure, already deserting the guns,
hesitated, reluctant. Maccartey saw without turn-
ing, and with an oath changed the order.
"No: come ye here where I can watch ye. Go
you, Roger. 'Tis the yard arm and short shrift
ye'll get, " he added savagely to the shaking Jacob.
"Quick there, ye whelp ! " He worked as he spoke,
and as he finished, his weapon belched its contents,
straining in its terrific recoil.
"Aim for her masts !"
The loud command, the shuffling of feet, the
splutter of the gunner's coals, the whistling breath
from the torn throat of a wounded man, gleams of
fire and the reverberation of the guns, the crash
and jar or groan of racked and splintered timbers,
the feel of a helpless body stumbled over in the
murk, all wrote themselves at once and for always
in the lad's brain, each separate sound or sight or
touch distinct as graven lines, yet all one shock of
clamorous, Heaven-defying madness.
The order carried without a trumpet. The
Walrus had sheered on her course, standing down
at right angles to ram the weaker vessel. A rend-
ing of wood and the smell of burning on the Araby
Rose ! No man looked behind at his own disaster
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 63
but set his eyes to sight the heavy sticks of the
enemy. Thick smoke spread from the plunging
side of the Rose and swept upward to mingle in a
single cloud with the dusk and vapour of the pirate's
guns. Through a rift in its blackness Roger saw
that a mass of her upper rigging had fallen her
sentient obedience gone at the very moment when
she was ready for the blow. As she swerved
obliquely to the impact, then swung broadside on,
the Rose lay fatally open to her fire.
The voice of Captain Phips rose clearer, nerving
the brain that heard, the arm that executed.
Roger had made his report swiftly and returned as
his own ship yielded to her sails and drew square
across the pirate's deflected bow. The fire of the
Walrus had come too late to be deadly. The Rose,
scarred and torn, was yet not crippled. The volley
aimed at her vitals had cleared her as she came
about. The sea leaped angrily, spitting under the
plunging balls.
Now at the word the side of the smaller ship
opened in simultaneous flower, deadly bright and
thunder followed the flame. The enemy was sunk
in the hollow of the waves, the Rose borne upward
on the swell for which she had waited, and this
grim reprisal harrowed the deck of the Walrus,
shredding it in maimed and broken fragments of
men.
The wind was fitful, the setting sun withdrawn
under clouds. Beyond them rain was falling, beat-
ing the sea smoother where the shower had struck.
The air blackened momently, and the smoke,
noisome with the smell of death, hung low, belly-
64 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
ing about the baffled Walrus and for a little
covering the Rose with impenetrable shade.
Had the enemy but been wholly disabled the Ara-
by Rose might have kept straight onward leaving
the pirate to wallow in her own defeat. Even so the
treasure hunt had been in danger from a doubly
enraged foe. But the buccaneer was crippled only
for the moment ; her fallen hamper but temporarily
hindered the helm. Escape from the larger ship
was still impossible.
The Rose, sliding forward, seemed suicidally
bent upon opening out the angle between her bow
and the pirate's stern. It was no part of the enemy's
design to sink an unlooted prize, but to risk further
injury from the guns of the Walrus was as far
from the mind of Captain Phips. Rather, desert-
ing his own vessel, he would hurl his entire force
upon the rover's deck.
Weapons had been given out, the gunners
summoned above. Grappling hooks crossed, fell
short, or caught upon the rails. The pirates were
massed forward ready for the spring.
Below the broken poop, where he had shouted
his farewells to the Pelloquin, Roger was waiting.
His forehead and lips were drawn in lines intent
and watchful, yet on the verge of the encounter
he felt no strong exhilaration but rather, as on the
London wharf, a dulness like that of disappointed
dreams.
He had dragged from among the implements
of their "fishing" a long iron rake. Resting it
upon the rail he looked down across the space
dividing the ships. As he looked a hand was
thrust from a porthole in the stern of the Walrus.
In the instant of brief wonderment before it was
withdrawn he noticed that it was white and slender.
"Faith 'tis a prisoner!"
It was Maccartey's voice behind him.
The Rose, her bow brought abreast of the
pirate's lofty poop, had been .fastened by grapples
at the nearest point of approach, but where Roger
stood, the unarrested impetus of her motion was
opening out the distance between the two boats.
Raising the rake above his head, with all his force
he shot it forward. As he leaned far out to make
sure of his aim and the teeth clamped upon the
pirate's rail, the roughening seas lifted the Walrus
and drew him sharply outward and up. There
was no time to loosen his hold. Foam churned
over him as he fell, and in the medley of sound and
smoke above, the absence of one figure remained
unmarked.
Other grapples had seconded his fruitless effort
and checked the drift of the unwilling Rose. The
space between the two ships was well-nigh closed,
where the pirates, smarting in an agony of haste to
begin the slaughter, were crowded to the bulwarks.
They seemed fairly belted with pistols. More than
one gripped his knife between his teeth, his hands
free for the passage from boat to boat. The twi-
light of the clouded air gave to their ferocity some-
thing grotesque and ghastly.
There was one gun upon the main deck of the
Rose. Slowly, hidden by the crowding sailors, it
had been dragged to position, filled with a mighty
load of grape, and aimed. When the sides of the
66 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
two vessels battered jarringly at each other in their
closing drift, the throng about the gun separated;
full in the face of the maniacal crew of the Walrus
the charge exploded.
The pirates had pressed thickly upon one an-
other, packed, wedged, welded, in a solid mass of
human flesh; some were already upon the rail. As
they fell back, the dead upon the living, the man-
gled under the dead, screams hoarse, shrill rose
where the triumphant yell had been cut short.
Upon them, leaving no instant for recovery,
rushed the men of the Rose and in the onset none
were left behind saved the killed, the maimed, and
Jacob Munch, hidden within the empty hold and
shivering with fear.
At the very moment of the explosion Roger's
head rose above the water. He had come up
quickly, close under the black hull of the Walrus.
As he emerged into the foam something brushed
across his face. He grasped it, still blinded and
half dazed, but holding to it mechanically as he
found it was a rope. It was too small for a com-
fortable grip but it was firm, and he tightened his
clutch as the grating of the ships upon each other
made its way even through the roaring in his
ears. Swinging in their shackles they had
closed more and more the space up which he
pulled himself.
The rope stopped short at the porthole above.
Just beyond, within reach, hung the rake. He
seized it exultantly ; with a foot in the port he drew
himself still higher, and as his comrades hurled
themselves from the abandoned Rose into the
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 67
rallying mob upon the Walrus's deck, he was among
them.
His sword was gone, his pistol wet and useless,
Taut as he sprang forward he snatched a curved
knife from a fallen enemy and pressed close into
the group that were nearest Captain Phips.
In the first fury of the attack he was possessed
by nothing but the rage of battle. As the fight
grew more terrible, his arm more deadly quick in
thrust and parry, his double consciousness returned
and with it a livelier vision of the contest. He felt
the shuddering of the two ships, that hung twisting
and pulling as if to each the contact was loathsome.
With every wrench and drag at the manacles that
chained them they seemed to writhe more closely
together and finally to give over the attempt to
part, rolling and grinding in impotent recoil.
The smoke drifted, sinking ever lower, and lay
like mist on the waters to leeward. The waves
piled roughly over one another, driven like wild
things in a panic before the ghosts of winds just
dead. Above the hidden reefs the breakers foamed
high and fell; their noise could not be heard but
their frenzied leaping added to the tumult a sinister
glee. The distance between them and the cum-
brous wooden craft was lessening.
The Rose climbed and dropped with the motions
of the larger ship, and Roger knew that on her
deck, broken and drenched with spray, red pools
ran back and forth, mingled in paler streams with
the trickle of water.
Beneath his feet the wet planks of the Walrus
slipped and slid. In the hand to hand scrimmage
68 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
new sounds added themselves to the horror. The
sound of steel striking steel, of blows given with
fists upon yielding substances, of knives withdrawn
from flesh, and yet for the lad, as before, each
sound distinct as it might be, close in his ear, made
but an integral part of the hissing, shrieking melee.
He was never far from the Captain and as he
pressed nearer he was all the time aware of that
central figure, terrible in strength, tall, powerful
driving before it the pirate crew.
'Spite of the slaughter of the guns it was plain
that the buccaneers still outswarmed their foes.
Moreover their forces seemed always augmenting
and every addition was redoubtable, savage, a
beast of prey brought to a stand in his own lair
and fighting to kill. Yells broke from them,
gnashing and inarticulate outcry of maddened
brutes. One voice was loudest. Drunk with rage,
it resounded above the noise of battle:
" Follow me ! On 'em ! For Hell an' the Lady !"
Had the lad heard? Did the imagined words
only echo what the voice recalled ? He had no time
to ask. The shouts sank into growls, to oaths of
divers languages snarled between the teeth. The
numbers grew more nearly equal. The men of the
Rose, old and used to war, or young and new to its
reality as schoolmen to the wilderness, held their
own close upon their Captain's advance and the
victory so far was with them. All at once for the
foe appeared unlooked-for reinforcement two
black men, their wrists marked by the sores of
their chains, their faces blotched with fury, their
eyes distended with terror. With a howl horrid
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 69
and intimidating they leaped at the foremost
figure. Running amuck, great knives in either
hand, they drove back the invaders by the very
devilishness of their aspect, the fear-crazed vio-
lence of their onrush.
In this sudden wavering a trumpet call the
voice of Captain Phips above the pandemonium,
the voice of a victor mustering to the pursuit :
" Forward ! Don't give the dogs an inch !"
Around the three, from both sides the others
rallied, the pirates renewed in courage, filled with
the lust of carnage, stabbed by the horror of death ;
the followers of- Phips grimmer, less noisy, showing
the discipline of the King's Captain who had first
built ships and then commanded them. On the
strong features of the New England men a hardness
like rock petrified the grimness.
With the sharpness of a weapon stroke the mem-
ory of the white hand seen at the port-hole below
pierced the absorption of Roger's mind. It sent
him with fiercer will upon the dire recovery of the
enemy.
So for a space the hewing and hacking went fear-
fully on, and neither gave by so much as a sword's
breadth. Then a thin arm of light reached out of
the west and fell upon the Captain. The men of
the Rose broke their silence, cheered with a wild
burst of sound that filled the twilight with a glori-
fied frenzy, unearthly as the battle cries of gods.
The pirates answered with a forward spring upon
the very bodies of their foes, bodies unyield-
ing, rigid, advancing without pause, warding,
driving, killing, as they moved. The eyes of the
70 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Captain burned steadily against the light. The
two black men were down. The leader of the
pirates stooped and with an upward thrust struck
at the Captain's unprotected side under the up-
raised arm.
The lad was quick but his own thrust was not
near enough to prevent the blow. His knife
clashed upon the pirate's blade that turned light-
ning-like to answer him. The deep chest of Cap-
tain Phips swelled with a mighty breath and with a
roar he charged upon the remnant of the savage
pack.
Roger heard and knew, would have followed,
would have shouted, but sound and motion failed
him and he fell; and as he fell he saw, beyond the
bestial clamour, the slaughter, and the grewsome
play of deadly blows, the clouds crack in radiating
lines from the horizon and the yellow sunset light
glow visibly, blinding and glorious, across the
heaving sea.
CHAPTER V
ON THE SHIP OF THE DEAD
f '^HE waves lifted and fell in gentler agitation.
" The moonless, West Indian night was
1
alight with stars and the quick-breathing
ocean caught them in the smooth cave of curling
waves, drowned, lost them, and brought them
forth shining more clearly for the brief eclipse.
The Rose, withdrawn from the dangerous spout-
ing of the Boilers, rocked with the rocking waters.
Floating slowly nearer and nearer, minute by
minute, the Walrus gained the hidden reefs.
Roger, stretched upon the deck, his head sunk in
the folds of the mate's cloak, opened his eyes upon
the stars. For a long time his gaze sought the silent
comfort of the sky. The night brushed gentle
puffs of air across his hot forehead and burning lips,
and at length he drew deeply into his lungs its re-
viving coolness, and cried aloud in the choking cry
of unexpected pain. Slowly he lifted his hand and
felt the bandage rudely knotted on his head.
"Then 'twas not a dream," he said half aloud,
half within himself.
A groan near at hand answered the muttered
words.
"Who is that?" he asked, still indistinctly.
'Tis me, lad Bill Sparhawk. Dost mind my
grunting ? ' ' The phrases came in spasms mingled
7 1
72 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
of oaths and loud- whispered sighs. "A little noise
is ease to pain. "
"Was there a fight, Bill?"
A chuckle that spluttered into a choking cry
like Roger's was the response.
Both lay still and the chuckle renewed itself.
"Listen, lad 'twas a Prodigy 'twas a fight of
a thousand lifetimes. 'Twas " The choking
voice went off into a paroxysm of unconscious
blasphemy, searching for adequate expression.
"Why, damn thy boots with me, lad, 'twill
make the Captain famous forever!"
The voice, groaning and chuckling by turns,
meandered in pleased reminiscence, monotonous,
rising and sinking like the waves. Roger heard it
as he heard the sea. He was going over the fray
for himself.
Suddenly he cried out again and sat up. An
invisible hand thrust him back, scorching his
temples with a white-hot flame.
"The Captain! Where's the Captain?" he
called despairing. "Where Did they get
the prisoner?"
"Lay still, lad, lay still. 'Tis often so with fever. "
The groans ceased; Sparhawk's tones bore rough
concern in the command. " Lay still, lad. "
"The Walrus?" Roger was stirring upon the
coarse pillow, striving again to rise.
"The Walrus '11 never hurt nothin' more!
Rest easy "
" The Captain ! I must see the Captain !" The
outcry was sharp with the agony it cost. "Cap-
tain Phips !"
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 73
" Who calls the Captain ? " A light moved down
from the shattered poop and a lank figure was
discernible by its gleam. The mate bent over and
held the lantern closer to the white face staring
into his own.
" Is it delirious the boy '11 be ! " He touched the
hot forehead below the bandages and wagged his
head dolefully as he straightened himself.
"I'm not delirious, Maccartey. Did you search
the Walrus?"
"Aye, lad, and no. The time was short and
she'd 'mazing little aboard worth the saving
liquor and food mostly. I'm thinkin' she's a
hiding place for treasure somewhere about these
islands. She'd be after starting on a fresh cruise
maybe or smelling out our gold and jewels that
we've never found. " He spoke soothingly, with
a hint of bitterness in the humour of the last words.
"She's had the luck she deserved no less. We set
the match to fire her; she's driftin' on the Boilers.
'Twill be a merry sight "
"The arm Maccartey, the arm from the port-
hole! Did you find Did you save "
The lantern swung wildly between them as Roger's
grip tightened.
"God in Hivin, lad! I forgot altogether."
The horror in the mate's voice changed instantly
to reassurance as he tried to push the boy back
upon the deck. "Quiet, now 'Twas but a
murderin' pirate ! And 'tis too late for fretting.
The world's well rid of the lot. Rest now and sleep."
"Sleep ! I tell you, Maccartey, 'twas no pirate!
I must see Captain Phips. " Roger rose to his
74 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
feet, and despite the urging of the mate's arm,
maintained his place. "Take me to him, Mac-
cartey now. I must go. "
There was one weak spot in the discipline of the
Araby Rose. From the moment when Roger had
emerged upon the deck of the ship clad in the gar-
ments of Jacob Munch, Maccartey had loved him
as devotedly as he hated the surly Jacob. Anxiety
made him pliant. He wound one sturdy arm
about the lad and took half his weight, helping
him across the newly washed deck to the compan-
ion hatchway.
"The Captain's below," he said briefly, "I'll
call him. "
"Take me to him." Roger's feet were already
on the ladder.
"Pore lad 'tis the fever," repeated Spar-
hawk to himself, and again his groans merged into
profanity so violent that the watch silenced
him.
"Cap'n's at work. Shet up, can't ye!" he
shouted angrily.
The skylights were open above the Captain's
head. The lantern with the glass window was set
upon the table and threw its glow across the chart
whereon was pricked off daily the tale ef their
empty soundings among the reefs. Bottles and
spice boxes were marshalled beside it and the
pewter tankard waited the end of labour. The
frown that usually followed the grievous record
of long failure was less deep to-night. One danger
the fight had lessened for the time. Men are
not quick to mutiny under a victorious Captain.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 75
" Here's Roger, Captain Phips says he must
speak with ye. "
The Captain sat leaned forward in his great
chair, his wounded side eased away from the hard
arm, his eyes fixed thoughtfully upon the parch-
ment.
At the mate's voice he looked up, his smooth
face wrinkling in surprise that sharpened quickly
to alarm. The boy was white to ghastliness, save
where a streak of red had been imperfectly sponged
from his temple. The effort had turned him
blind and his own words seemed to come from far
spaces, and sounded faintly in his ears in a forceless
tinkle.
"There is a prisoner a child or woman, alive
on the Walrus, Sir. We saw it an arm through
the port Maccartey and I "
"I forgot with so many wounded to patch up.
I forgot entirely and altogether," broke in the
mate. *' But 'tis too late now. "
The Captain had risen. His look Maccartey
had seen before.
"The boat! And pray God you're not a mur-
derer!" he commanded fiercely. "I give you two
minutes !"
With his left arm he supported the lad to a
bench nearest the door and brought brandy swiftly.
The boy's lips wetted themselves and moved. .
"You'll not go, Captain. You must not go.
Maccartey and I " The attempt ended in
silence and he swallowed again a mouthful of the
cordial, trying to pull himself upright. " I thought
it was he of the wharf the Lady "
76 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
He had dropped limply and struggled for what
seemed an eternity of wretched dreams before he
found again both sight and speech. The repul-
sive presence of Fangs was beside him and miser-
able trickles of water ran into his eyes as he tried
to look beyond the ape-like figure and discover
where he was.
"What are you doing?" he demanded curtly,
dashing aside the fresh stream of water that blind-
ed him.
"Sopping yer head to bring ye to Cap'n's
orders, " answered the man offensively, his grin
incarnate of a mean dislike.
Roger did not listen. Remembrance had seized
upon him. Fangs' replies to his question were
wild and confused. It was evident the fellow
had plied himself freely with the Captain's
brandy.-
"Terr'ble pretty cabin ! Don't have s' fine
'n fo'c'stle ! Sure death ! Drink all sure death
to Cap'n an' mate of Araby Rose. "
He had poured himself more from the half-
emptied bottle and leered at the prostrate lad as
he started to gulp it down.
The toast was arrested undrunk, the liquor swam
among the fragments of the glass.
"On deck on deck you blasphemous scoun-
drel Go ! "
Roger was on his feet. Rage lent a fictitious
strength, and the mutinous sot was cowed. He
obeyed muttering.
"Little more 'zertion kill ye Cap'n said,
'Keep 'im quiet.' I say, 'Let 'im go.' One more
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 77
out of way. Cap'n mate lad. Too much
gentleman f 'r our business th' lad ! "
The mumbled words conveyed nothing to Roger.
He was attempting to reach the ladder. As he
grasped it the pain grew fiercer and he bit his teeth
through his lips as he drew himself from step to
step. More than once his hands relaxed their
hold and his body rested inert, face downward,
upon the steep incline, but the draught from
above brought him each time to his senses, to
greater effort and sorrier pain. The stars looked
down upon him and he pulled himself higher in a
well of darkness that seemed deeper as he strove.
In the boat the men were at first silent. The
sailors rowed doggedly. The Captain neither
moved nor spoke.
"If the slow match stayed alight the ship is
now afire. " It was the mate's protest, distinct
only to the Captain's ear. 'Tis a risk the com-
pany '11 not thank ye for runnin'," he added
boldly.
"The Company's not a fool like thee ! Had I
not come, thyself had prayed me for the boat.
Hold thy peace, man!" The Captain said no
more. The mate became again the under officer,
sailorwise, respectfully waiting on the motions of
his superior.
The waves tossed and then engulfed them, and
as they rose skyward or dropped away into the
hollows, their ship grew more and more remote,
the twinkle of her lamp oftener quenched than
seen.
78 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The growing turbulence of the water showed
that they neared the reefs. The oars wavered as
the shouting of the breakers broke full upon the
hearing. The Captain felt the slackening before
the stroke was finished.
"For your lives pull!" he yelled above the
roar. " Pull for the Walrus! We'll make it yet !
All together pull ! "
The lost instant was regained. The boat thrilled
to the fervour of the rowers. With Captain Phips
to drive the warm blood through their sluggish
veins worse men would have dared worse odds.
It was not the Walrus they wanted; it was the
Araby Rose. But for the time not a soul of them
remembered his own will. Each wrought his
utmost, wreaked his full strength upon the weight
that balked his blade, and before he knew whither
his frantic struggle bore him, he looked up at a
sombre shape towering colossal in the night
the Walrus licked already by flecks of foam
thrown from the hungry rocks.
She was keeled a little toward them and in her
shrouds were strange shadows of the dark. The
Boilers shrieked, flinging the whiteness of their
spray far up to shine against the blackness of the
sea beyond. Upon the great ship was silence and
the moving shades born of men's eyes that look
with fear. Nothing else but a thin curl of smoke,
faint and dimly guessed, that crept upward along
a crippled mast.
The mate pointed.
"It's myself will go," he cried, "ye shall not
risk "
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 79
The Captain put him aside.
"Where was the port?"
"Below our bows somewhere aft but on
which side "
"This of course, where we grappled. "
The voices made an indiscriminate roar with
the sound of the waves. The boat plunged
frightfully, shipping the crests of billows churned
up by the wallowing of the wreck.
The rope still hung from the porthole.
"Gedge here. Climb and look in."
"Not into a ship full of corpses!" The man
cowered away from the Captain's order. "May-
hap a witch flung out the rope. "
Gedge was of lighter build than the others.
Captain Phips left to Maccartey the tautened line,
and lifting the fellow beneath his arms, held him.
The mate steadied the boat, as best he might, by
the hanging cord, and swung upward the lantern
to the man whose terrified features glimmered
above him. The Walrus was sunk so low that as
the boat was carried higher by the swell, Gedge's
eyes stared straight at the round black hole
whence the rope depended.
At the moment when he would have raised the
lantern to its level, the ship heeled still farther,
lying over heavily to the breeze, and the dead-
light slammed, closing in his face. The man's
teeth chattered.
The boatswain, who with Maccartey had fastened
a staunch grip upon the rope, loosed his hold and
the hull of the vessel slid past them as the wild
chanting of the breakers woke to new violence
8o THE COAST OF FREEDOM
under the wind. The pirate ship was moving
faster on the rocks.
The second attempt proved futile like the first.
The man held the lantern with the blaze full in his
own face and the light shook as he held it.
" 'Tis empty," he panted.
"Look again." The Captain's grasp clamped
him like a vice.
"There's nothing Captain Phips 'fore God
let me down my ribs are breaking, " he
shrieked. " Let me down. "
"Cast up the grapple." The Captain had re-
leased the trembling Gedge. The grappling line,
coiled under a thwart, was dragged forth and his
own hand threw it swiftly, catching the hook upon
the bulwarks.
"Ye'll not go now, Captain! Whoever 'twas
is among the dead by this. " The sailors heard
the mate's pleading.
"We'll not wait she's sinking," they yelled
responsive.
The Captain turned, the scorn in his furious
command putting some heart into their craven
bodies.
Maccartey had pressed resolutely forward,
ready to ascend. He fell back at the Captain's
gesture of denial and laid hold upon the rope
that steadied them to the ship. His right hand
snatched a weapon from his belt. The boatswain
was again at his post, his sinewy fingers fast upon
the dragging cord.
As the Captain went over the rail and the men
loosened their clasp upon the grappling line to pass
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 81
upward the lantern upon a cleft stick, Gedge,
flung into the brine at the bottom of the boat,
moaned aloud with dread. No voice rose above
the bulwarks of the Walrus. Grim terror settled
below as the Captain disappeared.
On the deck the blackness and the loud mockery
of the Boilers seemed the entrance to the devil's
dwelling. Of men living in 1686 there was no
Christian of them all to whom ghosts and witches,
the Devil and his evil angels, embodied and dis-
embodied, were not as real as the thunder and the
wind, and infinitely more feared ashore or afloat.
The sweat stood on the Captain's body and
dripped from cheeks that were no longer ruddy.
As he hurried on his way among the stark, open-
eyed and staring dead, his lantern's gleam fell
now on grins infernal, now on scowls, and once
upon a face dull, inexpressive, with great orbs
glaring fixed and awful upon his going. One head
in the moving shadows seemed to turn to follow
him as he went. The real danger, the fire, the
Boilers, the peril of some half-strangled pirate's
having revived, ready to spring upon him from the
dark shades at the mouth of the companion way,
none of these took such hold of the man who was
too brave to think of fear while fear faced him
and duty was undone as the gruesome thought
of the dead crew coming in the guise of their devil-
protected spirits to reanimate the corpses once
their habitation; and as he groped below, slipping
in a clot of blood or stumbling upon a body still
warm from the vital spark, peering through the
thickening smoke he looked most fearfully for that
82 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
hag of hell so dreaded of our fathers, the witch,
who might torture even the absent, and whose
pact with the unspeakable Sathanas gave her
power above mortals to slay, to disfigure, to twist
and destroy body and soul alike. What place
more fit for Hell's own minions than a pirate ship ?
But why turn against her master to throw a rope
to the enemy? A lure to draw him from his
allegiance to the Company and keep him from the
treasure !
He stopped short. The low beams shut down
above his head. The water guggled in the hold.
He had half wheeled when he remembered the
sharp rents " 'twixt wind and wave" and the
hasty patching. The ship was sinking fast. The
actual danger but hardened his courage. Raising
his lantern high, he spied about, examining in haste
every cubby and turn as he moved onward.
Sure enough, in the place where the porthole
should be was a cabin, but the opening was fast
closed, the port screwed tight in its rim.
" 'Twas this or next to this. " His own voice
crept back to him, echoing in the dead air.
No further door gave egress from a cabin.
Puzzled, he returned swiftly to the first. The
thought of witch work laid cold hands upon him
once more, but even in the grasp of the super-
natural his shrewd eyes again explored the bare
interior, and with a bound he rushed at the bulk-
head. The door he had not earlier discovered
trembled under his knocking.
He shouted.
The shout came back to him in dismal groans;
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 83
the Walrus listed farther and the steady inrush of
water gurgled underneath his feet. His flesh
crawled as the groaning answers multiplied about
him. No voice but his own among them all !
The door broke before his blow as though its
panels had been of glass.
His motions seemed clogged, the time intermin-
able, till through the murk he once more groped
and stumbled. The merry crackling of wood
greeted him as he strove to regain the ladder.
Somewhere a light played fitfully. The close air
was hot upon his face, the smoke terrible, hindering
his breath. As he struggled higher there came to
him a rustling near at hand, the frightened scurry
of rats over the dead.
In the current that drew across the hatchway
he would have paused to fill his lungs, gathering
strength for the final strain, but a meaning sound
that followed drove him on. Blinded, he made a
staggering progress among the lifeless obstructions
that blocked his path. The smell of scorching
leather rose stiflingly about him. Rallying all
his force, he would have moved faster, rushing
forward on the steep incline. But the way was
barred; breaking through the heated planking of
the deck had burst the pursuing flame.
Below in the boat the mate had answered the
Captain's shout. Like the men he had fett cer-
tain it was but a cry for help and when no other
followed, hope had died in his soul.
Mutiny had grown with every waiting second.
Nor was the danger all a superstitious dread.
The Walrus sank so rapidly, the rope by which they
84 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
held had momently, it seemed, to be shortened
in their grasp. The fire might reach the maga-
zine; for that the fuse had been arranged. The
breakers thundered ever nearer; at any instant the
ship might strike the rocks and, plunging, draw
them after too swiftly for escape.
Maccartey waited, rigid, a pistol in either hand.
In the bow a fallen figure nursed a wounded arm,
the boatswain, who a second time had dropped
the saving cord. Now the very height and frenzy
of unreasoning rage was upon the men fear,
animal, awful. Even the pistols would not con-
trol them long.
With the smoke came despair. Its cloud
settled slowly. Soon, Maccartey knew, his aim
would go wide, would fail. He saw the glare with
which his captives watched him, heard the ravings
with which they bided ruthlessly the shelter of a
starless dark.
He would not go till the last hope was spent.
The boat pitched desperately. The Walrus settled
with grim haste to cheat the breakers of her death.
The cloud dimmed his smarting eyes, but he could
feel the movement as one man, worst raver of them
all, rose for his leap. When the shot sounded the
wretch plumped backward, shrieking. A howl
came upon the fall, the howl of madness accom-
plished, madness, Maccartey knew, that no voice
but one could tame, no weapon intimidate.
He had faced death before. He faced it now,
valiant, invincible, one hand again grasping the
rope, the other ready on his remaining pistol.
* Once more he called aloud, a shout full and
vigorous :
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 85
"Captain Phips !"
And once more the jovial breakers broke glee-
fully upon the wasted cry.
Roger came to himself rolled close under the
starboard bulwarks. Of his painful progress from
the cabin he had no memory; his whole conscious-
ness was a devouring fear.
Dragging himself up by a belaying pin stuck in
the rail, he watched. When the lantern ascended
the side of the Walrus, he saw the shadowy hint
of light waveringly mount upon the distant black-
ness that was the pirate ship. Gradually his
thoughts cleared; the wetness sopped upon his
head, cooled by the breath of the night, eased the.
throbbing and tightened the pressure of his anxietyn
Hour after hour, unseen, he waited. More thah
once he thought it was all over and for a fool is
tale he had slain his Captain. In reality it was
not so many minutes as to him it seemed hours,
but as the time lengthened, his misery was to be
measured by no reckoning known of man. Hour
after hour, and still no light had descended from
the sinking ship; hour after hour and no sign of
life upon the sea !
The smoke grew plain to his straining eyes,
smoke and then the flame, a little flame that
flickered lightly here and there, growing, rising,
catching upon the full spread of the canvas that
gave the Walrus cruelly to the play of every
breeze, lines and traceries o.f light, spelling out
upon the gloom the end of hope.
Yet hope lived. The time had been so long.
The Captain could not fail.
86 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Then the whole ocean bright in an unreal glory
and a pyramid of fire flung up suddenly, incredi-
bly, into the night lofty, terrible as a portent,
louder in its rage than the far-off noise of waves
upon the rocks a glare fierce, intolerable !
And quick upon its coming, shouts, from the
Rose and from the water, wilder than wave or
flame, exulting call answering call across the
glittering sea !
" I'll lift her up the ladder ! " Maccartey spoke.
"No." The Captain held to what he carried,
mounting stiffly, slowly.
The men hung over, crowded about, and startled
murmurs grew to cheers, and then hushed ques-
tions, and then to cheers again, as Captain Phips
stood at last in the enclosing ring.
The unconscious burden that he bore in his
arms showed the lovelier for the rough faces press-
ing near to see.
"They'd locked her in. Poor little maid!"
The Captain looked down gently. "Who called
to me?" he a'dded. His eyes searched the group.
Roger came forward from the shelter of a boat,
where he had waited, walking as one whom joy
had made alive.
'Tis you safe! " he cried in a fervour of relief,
and the big Captain smiled, first at him and then
at the maid who still lay white and piteous in his
arms. Her slender throat and black hair, blowing
softly in the silent winds, made even more fragile
the pale transparency of the face. Italian Manuel
crossed himself, thinking of some pure saint he
had seen carved on her own tomb, but as the
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 87
Captain smiled she opened on them eyes wide and
dark, and in the great blaze the death fires of the
Walrus that lighted all the deck, she saw first
the lad and then the down-bent kindly meaning
of the Captain's gaze, and with a long sigh bubbling
softly from lips that curved too grievingly for
her fair years she slipped again into the darkness
of her dream, and heard not the thrill and clangour
of the voices that hailed her wakening and sped
the passing of the pirate ship.
CHAPTER VI
PIECES OF EIGHT
" f I ^OO sharp too much rocks !" The Indian
diver shook his head. The men rowing
JL. growled and muttered. The low tide fret-
ted upon hidden barriers rising steeply from the
bed of the sea.
Roger felt the weary oppression of their fruitless
labour grown insupportable.
The Little Maid sat listlessly in the bow of the
recovered periagua, where she had been placed at
starting. Her mournful eyes had hardly left the
water. The same unremembering apathy in her
pale features, in the absent droop of her body, in the
expressionless gentleness of her replies.
It was Roger who had proposed that she accom-
pany them.
" 'Twill perhaps cheer her, " he had said. And
Captain Phips had forthwith given the word. The
assent of the Maid was certain. She assented to
everything. Her own will seemed lost with the
loss of memory and desire. She had settled
quietly upon the seat, unresisting, without interest,
thanking Roger with pretty courtesy as he arranged
a cloak for cushion, and had fallen straightway
into silence and remoteness. In all the hours she
had scarcely moved. Now, as the Indian spoke
she raised her eyes.
"Too sharp too much rocks !"
88
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 89
"Shut up, and down with ye, ye black devil.
In ye go !"
The mate's tone rang with undaunted energy.
Roger felt a sudden admiration of the man's in-
trepidity. A mutinous Indian and a crew ripe
for revolt might yet be controlled by a tone so as-
sured. Revolt was certain, not to be wondered at
nor prevented. Long day after long day till it was
month after month, in hot rain and hotter shine,
the periagua had lain among the rocks, the Indians
had buried themselves in the nauseous brine, seek-
ing, seeking, what they never found.
"An old man at Port de la Plata forsooth!"
The men growled scornfully. "An old man in-
deed!" And again, "Who was to prove that the
old man was not in good truth an old liar as well ?
Who could say after fifty years where the galleon
had sunken, or what she had had aboard ? 'Known
the spot ' had he cursed old dotard ! Better take
the Rose and get good treasure where the Spaniard
doubtless got her own with a new captain and
no soft-headed fools for masters !"
So Fangs, going up and down among his fellows,
made ready for the right moment. His tongue
was an eloquent one; his wiliness set him above
the others in a strength surer than their lustier
thews. Well-hinted revenges of his evil past kept
them in subjection. He, too, looked at the Indian,
thinking rapidly. This was not his choice of a
day, but the mate and the boy could be ended here
as well as elsewhere. It might be, after all, as
good a time as another. The Maid he would have
to save. The men were superstitiously set upon
the Little Maid.
9 o THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The Indian faced Maccartey without further
speaking. The copper surface of his spare body
shone wet and polished in the noonday light. His
eyes returned the mate's angry stare unmoved.
He had folded his arms.
It was the moment. Fangs unclosed his fingers
from the oar to give the signal. It was then the
Little Maid spoke.
"Will you get me a sea-feather, Nopomuk?"
The dark eyes were raised to the diver's. His look
turned downward to meet its gaze. The Maid
smiled askingly. The first voluntary words, the
first smile since they had found her in her prison
on the Walrus. The words were no longer ex-
pressionless. The smile woke a glow, a tremor,
in those that looked.
Suddenly, as in a revelation, the sense of her
beauty smote the lad. He neither breathed nor
stirred, nor did his voice join the murmur, half
spoken, half a sigh, that rose from the men; but
always after that day, Roger Verring, at a word,
an odour, the sound of breakers, the sight of curling
foam, was back among the tenantless reefs and saw
the calm monotony of the midday sky, the white
frothing of the angered waves, the far blue beyond,
and against it all the radiance of that child vision
in the bow of the periagua. Strong upon a heart
tenacious and passionate always had come the
charm, potent, untranslatable, of the smile of the
Little Maid.
The mate had dropped an upraised lash. The
hand of Fangs closed again upon his oar. The
Indian's look, mournful like the girl's, lightened to
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 91
meet the smile. He said something in his own
language.
Then he poised himself on the gunwale and
watched his chance as the tide carried them leisurely
in the current between two growing banks of foam.
The air was still ; the surface of the channel smooth.
Beneath them the broken outlines of the reef
showed clearly, and the branching plumes waving
from their foothold on the rocks. The gay colours
glinted through the translucent green. Above the
fairest tuft the Indian shot forward, down van-
ished. The spreading ripples covered him.
The mate looked at Fangs and asserted himself
gruffly.
" 'Twas well for him. I'd whaled the red skin
of him into ribbons, " he commented.
"I think he was a prince in his own country."
The Little Maid spoke again, but she did not take
her eyes from the water.
"Well, he's a slave now," Maccartey answered,
more amiably. "I'm not sorry thou putt'st in thy
word. I take no joy in the beating. 'Tis a
straight fight pleases me. "
The men moved the oars lifelessly to steady the
boat. They showed neither curiosity nor interest
in the quest. But now and then a pair of eyes
lifted to the Little Maid. Her gaze still held to
the place where Nopomuk had disappeared. He
had been gone a full minute, hidden by the foam
banks.
The hope that lay far down beneath the indiffer-
ence of the men rose once more to the surface.
They peered over the boat's edge craning and
92 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
waiting. Roger alone was left of those who
watched the Little Maid, and he did not know that
he watched her. In the instant when she had
looked out of the prisoned deeps of her forgetful-
ness, he had seen the reality of her, seen her as she
had been; and tenderness and fury fought within
him, for the sense of her dearness and the sense of
all she had endured. Of her beauty he was now
barely conscious, as of the instrument that makes
the music. Of herself he was possessed mightily,
the true self, hidden, mysterious lovable, indi-
vidual, of the Captain's Little Maid.
So Roger dwelt upon the Maid, and the men
peered and waited, and among them, thus peering
and waiting, the diver ascended gasping, laid hold
on the boat with one hand, and with the other
stretched forth a dripping trophy, a sea plume
glistening with drops and fairer-hued than rain-
bows.
The Maid reached out her hand, speaking again.
An angry groan drowned her voice, drowned too
the voice of the Indian who answered.
Roger had heard but one word "guns" and
that he dared not repeat lest he had not heard
truly. Nopomuk had grasped the gunwale, but
when they looked for him to clamber to his place,
he dropped again out of sight.
A certain stir in the impassivity of his face had
communicated itself to Maccartey's. The men
caught the look and bent again to watch, once more
craning and leaning so that the boat toppled
dangerously. The seconds went by. The sailors
stirred one by one and settled again to the oars.
They turned no longer to look at the Maid.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 93
" Tis a fine task for grown men, hunting nosegays
in the sea, " sneered Munch under his breath.
His stealthy eyes shot an angry glance at Roger.
Why should Roger Verring be happier than he,
Jacob Munch?
The Little Maid's gaze had gone back to the
water. Roger, who was steering, saw an exclama-
tion escape her lips. The dark body of Nopomuk
had risen through the soapy foam and was striking
out for the boat. As he drew nearer, rigid with
endurance, his breath taken quickly in relief, the
crew cursed and spat toward the upturned face.
Oaths, denunciations, hissed viciously together in
a sudden revealing rage. Gedge raised an oar to
strike. Fangs, wrinkled to hideousness in the
moment of decision, made the signal gesture of
slaughter. But the men did not see.
Gedge's oar had dropped. The cry of the mate
trumpeted in the face of the placid sky.
"What is it?" asked the Maid. In her look
interest had waked. She swayed a little forward to
hear the answer.
The Indian lifted higher the heavy block he had
brought up in his left hand and tossed it to Mac-
cartey. As the yells exploded about his head his
eyes gleamed, and when his look fell on the girl it
relaxed into something almost responsive.
"Maid bring Rose luck," he said briefly.
Roger's cheeks burned. The crew had fallen
upon the bar, feeling it, shrieking over it; Manuel,
weeping, praying, blaspheming, by turns, had
kissed it.
"Give it here." Maccartey had seized an iron
94 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
hook, and as he regained the prize he struck from
one corner the crusted lime and shells in which it
was encased. The pure glint of silver came upon
the stroke.
Yells again oaths, ascriptions, howls of joy
went up in the frenzy of the shock. Hope strang-
ling in defeat, raised all at once to the height of
certainty. Rough embraces crushed to the point
of breaking Nopomuk's slender ribs; rapturous
blows fell not lightly on his shoulders.
The periagua was headed for the Rose, cleaving
the waters with the speed of ten. Behind her a
buoy floated over the grave of the Spanish galleon,
the sea plumes nodding gaily beneath as the empty
cask bobbed and turned.
"How did you find it, Nopomuk?" The men
questioned as they rowed. Nopomuk answered
in solemn phrases.
" One time dive see guns. " He held up three
fingers. " Down down deep. Come up. Dive
two time no breath. " He made a sign as of a
weight upon his chest.
"Are there more?" The men were listening,
silenced to hear. "More like this?" demanded
the mate.
The Indian spread both arms and drew them
slowly forward as if striving in vain to gather into
their compass an untold mass.
Cheers interrupted the gesture, jubilant, frantic,
loud as the shout of cities when bells ring for vic-
tory. Faces blazed, irradiated with excitement.
Even Jacob Munch smiled greedily upon the cap-
tured bar. Roger's mind had leaped straightway
to the Captain.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 95
"I knew it," he shouted, unconscious of his
words. "I knew he couldn't fail!" but the shout
was lost in the others, and his face clouded as his
gaze came back to the Little Maid.
She was withdrawn again into the shadow, more
remote, more lost to all human approach, than
ever. But a strange disturbance followed into
her mournful silence, and though Roger could not
see, tears waited beneath the downcast lids and
choked the breathing in the slender throat.
CHAPTER VII
THE AWAKENING
" The leaves of memory seemed to make
A mournful rustling in the dark. "
CAPTAIN PHIPS had scraped from the bar
more of the crust, cut from the shining
mass within a shred, and carefully tested
it. In his own cabin, where the trophy had been
brought, he looked doubly heroic of mould, but
through his huge frame now there went a slight
trembling as of the deeps when the wind is strongest.
Through the open ports the sea showed bravely
blue, the inshore blue of the Captain's eyes. His
wig he had thrown aside, and as he looked he ran
his hand through his short, thick-grown locks and
sighed unconsciously, the sigh of a weight relaxed.
A sharp breath answered the sigh. His gaze left
the sea and searched about him quickly.
"So my Little Maid! And what's oppressed
thee, child?"
The girl had waited at the threshold, her whole
body drinking in the Captain's joy, her eyes strain-
ing intently upon his face. Though she had been
quiet in a mute isolation that shut her from dis-
plays of tenderness, her fragility, the wanness not
yet gone from her look, the appallingness of her
lonely state, and most of all, her strange and utter
forgetting of the past, had wrought upon all
who saw to draw from each a gentler homage.
Save for Munch, none had spoken irreverently,
96
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 97
or jested, or teased her, and always as he appeared
she had shrunk to the side of her nearest friend.
This shrinking had roused the coarseness of him
to revenge so that his mouth had twice been closed
by blows for his half-muttered words.
She came slowly forward, the tempered shine
from the skylight and the stronger glow from the
ports full upon her white face and straining eyes.
The straight figure, finely set together, spite of a
coltish slimness, had a new meaning to the Captain,
its every motion informed by a definite person-
ality the Maid herself emerging from the vague-
ness in which she had been hid.
She was dressed still as a child, though a few
more seasons would work sudden transformation,
hurrying childhood at a leap past girlish years
into forced young- womanhood, the transformation
of netted hair and long skirts, exaggerating the
reserve, the trim sedateness, of grown-up models.
Now the blight of that age-compelling change
had not touched her; even the blight of a long
misery that had revolted nature itself, destroying
memory and leaving her defenceless of traditions,
had made no difference in an unconscious sim-
plicity, a childlike directness. She was still a little
maid.
From the hour of her rescue until now no ques-
tioning had waked in the mournful eyes. At first
she had asked for a woman "to help me dress,"
and looked puzzled when it appeared there were
no women in the world of the Araby Rose, but she
had striven patiently alone with what the Captain
could provide, and kept herself daintily.
98 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Once as she slept upon the cushioned bench
within the Captain's cabin (she slept much in the
earliest days) the Captain had laid his hand upon
her head, touching it gently and wondering at
the exceeding softness of the dark hair that lay
never smoothly and ringed itself upon his fingers
at the touch.
The child had stirred, without unclosing her
eyes, and spoken in a voice new to his ears.
"Uncle, " she had called him in a drowsy under-
tone full of gay and childish content. "I knew
thou'd not forget " She had struggled to
raise herself a little and fallen back, sleep-weighted,
upon the hard square of her pillow. "Good
night Uncle "
But she had waked unremembering and he had
laid stern orders upon the men that none should
trouble her.
"Hurry her not," he had commanded. "She
is worn with the captivity. "
Now as he saw her startled eyes a certain fear
grew in him at the sight. Her hands were pressed
one above the other upon her chest as if to crush
down a terrifying commotion. At his voice tears
shook from her lids and slipped in a thick rain down
her cheeks.
She tried to speak, pressed the small hands closer,
stilling the rising tumult of the breath. Her gaze
clung to him pleading like that of a lost animal,
asking what her lips could not utter.
"What's amiss, Little Maid? Art on the Araby
Rose with stout defenders. Naught can harm
thee, " he answered to the look.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 99
"The pirates?" The words came stifled with
the striving for calm.
" Dead. All dead and gone. Not one can ever
come back to hurt thee, child. " The Captain
moved toward her. His face, florid by inheritance,
browned darkly by the sea, softened to a still
greater gentleness.
The Maid read reassurance in the look, but
she stepped backward as if to escape it.
" Be not kind. If thou'rt kind, I shall weep "
she said gaspingly, her eyes holding to him through
her tears that fell the faster.
She had put out her hand for the door frame,
gripping its edges with her slight fingers, and as
she clasped it her body quivered, fighting a gallant
and unequal battle.
The Captain's cabin was in the poop and opened
upon the main deck, where part of the excited
crew went chattering and joking about their work,
a jovial humour swamping for the time their sullen
disaffection. The ballast was being shifted to
make room for the first harvest of the treasure.
The sails had been set to carry the ship nearer
the workers in the periagua.
Fangs, angered at being left behind in the change
of men, did not chatter, and as he passed the cabin
he gave to the slender figure just within a glance
of dull malevolence. Captain Phips saw the look.
His own crossed it and the man's eyes went snakily
back to the deck. The Captain pushed the girl
softly upon a stool and swung the door to screen
her from without.
Her face buried itself in the shelter of her arms,
ioo THE COAST OF FREEDOM
and her frailness was wrung and broken by such
suffering as cut lines deep into the smooth face
of the watcher.
After a little he came nearer and once more rested
his great hand lightly on the dusky hair.
The child lifted her head, laying hold on the
rough fingers with both hands, tightening her grasp
at the sound of her own voice, in the forlorn ap-
peal of the helpless.
" 'Tis only that I remember, " she said. Her
words were low but they came clearly. "How
did you find me? Where was I?"
" In a cabin on the Walrus, " he answered simply.
She unloosed the clasp, raising her hands to push
the hair from her forehead and gazing up at him
in sudden trembling.
"Where is the Walrus?"
"Burned."
She tried to get upon her feet, staring upon him
still, with horror fixed in her eyes, in the toneless
rigidity of her voice.
" It was my story that he told me mine. You
went into a burning ship at night alone with
dead men to get me "
Reason seemed gone from the fixed eyes, from
the voice, unnatural, without inflections.
"Who told thee that tale?" The Captain's
hands closed tightly; a savage light flamed in his
face.
"Jacob Munch." The voice gave a little from
its awful monotony, but the eyes stared still. " He
looked at me queerly, and watched me. I
thought it was to make me angry but 'twas to see
if I remembered. "
THE COAST OP FREEDOM 101
Strong shuddering came upon her and her hands
opened and shut upon themselves pitifully.
The Captain turned swiftly aside to his little
cupboard for a bottle and a leathern cup.
"Steady there. Steady, my Little Maid "
he said anxiously, leaning down to hold the cup
closer. " 'Tis all over. Art safe now for all thy
life. " Under his brows rage still burned darkly,
but a soothing gentleness spoke in the comforting
certainty of his tone, in the very bend of his great
frame.
She drank obediently, unresisting, and shut fast
her lips that trembled sorely upon each other, her
forehead pressed against his hand to which she clung
again, her sobbing breath catching and strangling
in her throat; and the valiant fight for self-com-
mand, renewed with all her shaken force, seemed
to Captain Phips a thing of wonder and of pity.
Minute by minute she grew calmer, holding to
her protector, listening to his, "Steady steady
now," calmest of all when he said nothing; and
when he had made her drink again he lifted her
and laid her on the cushioned bench, folding over
her with quiet deftness a heavy blanket. Then he
waited beside her, the slender fingers still clasped
upon his own, until he felt the faint pulse in the
wrist beat with a fuller stroke; and when he knew
she slept, he slipped away and left her, setting
Roger to guard the door, lest noise awake her.
"An* she be not crazed 'twill be no fault of that
villain Munch," he added to his order. "Let him
not near nor any other. If she wake, speak
comfortably as if naught were strange. " But he
loz THE COAST OF FREEDOM
himself remained ever within call, fearing the
waking.
Then the Araby Rose grew silent, orders no longer
shouted but passed below the breath from mouth
to mouth. Men moved like figures in a vivid
pantomime against the line of the bulwarks and
the plane of the unchanging blue. A sorry fear
was on them, the Captain's fear, told in Maccartey's
words and written in the Captain's face.
"She hath remembered and the shock may kill
her, " they muttered, whispering as they went and
came, scowling anxiously upon the creaking sails,
angrily at the unconscious ocean as the long un-
dulations rattled the cordage above their heads.
But it was not for the body the Captain most
greatly feared.
The hour wore on in the hush of a waiting that
made a tenseness in the air about the cabin where
the child still slumbered; another hour began, and
the men in the periagua, delving hot and thirsty
beneath the unclouded sky, paused in their joyous
labour to wonder why the Rose that had kept ever
near at hand ran far out beyond the reefs without
a tack or change, and never a moving of her un-
handled sails.
CHAPTER VIII
THE LITTLE MAID
" f ^HEY are not my real aunt and uncle, " the
1 Maid began quickly, "but 'tis with them
-*" I went to the Carolinas. "
She had resisted the Captain's gentle admoni-
tion that she sleep again. " I remember. Let me
tell you, " she had pleaded.
It was mid-afternoon. The sun's rays had
slanted more and more upon the Rose when the
child had opened bewildered eyes upon the Cap-
tain's cabin. There was nothing extraordinary in
the trim furnishings of the place, but the silver bar
still stood upon the shelf-like table let down by
swinging brackets, and at the sight of it the colour
had risen to her face and she had sat up with an
unevenly taken breath, fixing on Roger the look
with which she might have regarded a stranger.
Her unconscious scrutiny had been so searching
that the lad had smiled gently, unable to bear with-
out a change of muscle the energy of her exploring
gaze.
" Where is my Uncle Amory ? " she had asked at
length, encouraged by the friendliness of the smile.
Now, as she talked, Roger saw that the same
look dwelt upon the padlocked chest, the gray
blankets of the Captain's bunk, the picture of the
Mayflower tacked above, and knew it for the look
of one who questions unfamiliar things.
103
io 4 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
After a little the wandering ceased and her eyes
scarce left the Captain's face, seeming to find there
no strangeness but a certain courage for her words.
"What is thy uncle's name?" Captain Phips
gave matter-of-fact attention to the clearing of a
long-stemmed pipe.
"Richard Amory. " The child's hands fastened
to the edge of the cushioned bench, and her eyes
clung tenaciously to the face of the commander of
the Rose.
"And the plantation? Where " The Cap-
tain had lighted the coarsely broken tobacco and
settled himself upon the chest, motioning Roger
to the stool beside the door.
"At Charleston." The child's breath was still
uneven. " By the Ashley river and the Cooper.' '
" I've seen the old town, not the new. " Captain
Phips looked up from his pipe. " Was't in the new
thy uncle settled?"
"Yes." She clasped her hands tightly in her
lap, her gc.ze never moving from her questioner.
" It was very beautiful. Aunt Charlotte was afraid,
but we liked it, Uncle Amory and I to see the
wild things and the water and not to grow up
so soon. " The voice broke a little and the hands
clasped each other more tightly yet. "Uncle
Amory would have it I might forget to sit upon his
knee when I grew up and my Aunt Charlotte, she
too liked me not to get older though she called
me 'mad-cap ' and ' romp ' for being so much without
the house. " The dark eyes had filled but they held
their tears, refusing to let them fall.
"When was it they took thee to the Carolinas?"
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 105
The Captain's tone helped to ease the struggle.
She waited but an instant, beginning bravely after
the pause. '
" 'Twas when my father died. It was sad in
England. Uncle Amory and Aunt Charlotte lived
with us there. It was my mother's wish that we
be less lonely. "
"Thy father and thy mother be both dead and
thy Uncle Amory thy guardian?"
" He is my guardian for the care of all I have
but my Aunt Amory, Aunt Charlotte, hath the
charge of me as well. She loved my mother
and Uncle Amory and my father they were like
dear brothers he could not bear to stay in Eng-
land after " Her voice stopped often and she
trembled, but each time the effort was renewed,
a resolute will shining in her eyes. " His steward
was set to care for my home. Uncle Amory's own
lands are close by Danesleigh Wold. "
The Captain took his pipe from his mouth and
seemed about to speak, but he glanced into the
bowl as if to see that it was still alight, and replaced
it in silence.
" It was lovelier there than in the Carolinas. I
never forget "
Captain Phips knocked the pipe, live coals and
all, with a comfortable sound on the edge of the
chest and went about to fill it with some bluster.
"Was it from Charleston they kidnapped thee?"
he asked, as if he inquired, " Didst thou raise pota-
toes?"
"Yes," she answered swiftly. "I was with
Uncle in the fields and a planter came past upon a
io6 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
splendid horse. There were few in Charleston
and my Uncle loves dearly a good horse. While
they talked I went a little away it was not far to
the edge of the oaks. I was jumping for the moss.
It hung so low I thought " Her hands held
desperately to each other and a shivering took her
as her voice ran hurriedly along. "A man like
an Indian (but he was not an Indian) seized me. I
tried to cry to Uncle, and he was talking there so
near I could hear what he was saying " The
slender fingers were knotting and unknotting upon
one another.
"Did the man blindfold thee, child?" Again
the Captain's voice gave her courage. The fingers
unlocked their grip and she went on steadily.
"There were two; one came after the other had
thrown something over my head. That was why I
could not cry out loud and they carried me
away hastily. And I could not hear Uncle's voice
any more. By and by we were in a boat. Then
they talked. "
"Couldst hear what they said?" The Captain
interrupted with some eagerness.
"They were talking about me." She leaned
forward on the cushioned bench, a feverish colour
warming her cheeks, her eyes dilated with remem-
brance. Roger insensibly bent nearer, absorbed
and waiting. The wrath he had felt on the London
wharf, a thousand-fold hotter now, devoured him.
"One of them would have killed me and taken
my scalp there in the swamp. 'They'll lay it to
the Indians and 'twill make us safe', he said, but
the other would not. I could not understand "
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 107
Her face had grown white again. Her words came
in thick-breathed phrases. "For when one pushed
me with his foot the man who would have killed me
swore at him. ' Remember the witch ! ' he screamed
out as if affrighted. ' 'Tis for all, the curse, if the
pledge be broken. ' Why did he fear to have me
hurt if he would kill me ? I could not understand. "
Roger leaned still nearer, a fierce intentness in his
attitude. "The one who had kicked me swore
terribly ' When ye serve the Devil, why care for
a witch ? ' he said, and he sneered, laughing. ' We've
got the Sea flower. What's promised over? A
rotten hundred ! I'd not seen the wench when I
took the pledge. She'll bring more in the Indies
and a murder the less on your soul ! And mayhap
the hundred into the bargain ! ' '
She repeated the speech of the ruffians monoton-
ously as words said over to herself many times be-
fore.
"That man, the one who would sell me for a
slave " She spoke again in her natural voice
"he was their Captain. They called him the
'Lady'."
"It was he! I was sure of it!" She shrank,
startled at Roger's low exclamation. "What did
they with the Seaflower? " he demanded impulsively.
" Twas sunk when they took the Walrus," she
answered, watching him fearfully as if wondering
at what he said.
He had drawn back contritely. The Captain
replied to the wordless question.
" The lad saw the rascal in London and knew him
for a scoundrel, and the master of the Seaflower.
io8 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
He'll tell thee of it later, " he interpolated, soften-
ing the frown he had turned on Roger, as he saw
the lad's evident distress.
The child's gaze had gone back to Captain Phips.
" He was worst of all he was cruel " Roger
looked indignantly at the Captain. How could
he let the girl go on if the telling of her story cost
her such suffering ! But William Phips was wise.
The sooner the tale were told, the sooner she would
forget.
"And when took they the Walrus? "
"I cannot tell," she replied, perplexedly. "It
seems a long time ago. We sailed among some
islands first and more of their men came on board.
There were a great many of them. But the Walrus
was so big I was sure sure she would take me
away "
The Captain moistened his lips. He spoke
quietly, in a lower pitch than he had used before.
"I knew Anthony Blount. He was master of
the Walrus, " he said.
" They killed him ! They killed them all. The
Lady was very drunk " The child's voice
failed utterly. There was a little silence, then she
began again at some point to which her memory
had progressed.
"After that I would not go on the deck where I
must see them, though the Captain was more kind
and noticed me more often. Sometimes he
would lay his hand upon my shoulder, " she shud-
dered. "I feared him he was so cruel. Then a
sailor named Witherly locked me in my cabin and
brought me my food himself. Always when he
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 109
came he said 'Thou'rt safe here,' but he was the
man who would have killed me and he looked at me
strangely. Yet I dreaded him not so much as the
other. I felt truly safer. I could no longer
hear the dreadful talking their words . And
I wondered if the witch's curse kept away the
Lady. I prayed God to bless the witch. "
The lad's look, half amazed, half admiring, dwelt
upon her earnestly. The Captain shook his head.
"Never speak well of the minions of Satan,
child," he said with sternness. "Never speak well
of witches. "
The girl looked at him soberly. If she pondered
his reproof she did not answer, and he rose from his
place and cast an eye at the sails, touching her
lightly with silent deprecation as she went on.
"After that after they took the Walrus I could
not cry, and then I could not sleep. It was all
dreams. I could not think or feel at all even when
I prayed. I talked a great deal to myself. I
thought there were two of myself. And sometimes
one was a slave, and one was dead and in Heaven
and the one that was a slave would beg the other
to take her away, but she mocked and would not.
I thought the witch was there and I pleaded on
my knees and the man that sent the pirates
sneered. And I saw Uncle and Aunt and they
wept a great deal and went calling me everywhere
and when I cried to them the pirates laughed
and shouted so they could not hear. " Her tones
had dropped ; the Captain bent far forward to catch
the words. " Sometimes I saw them Uncle Amory
and Aunt Charlotte and they laughed and were
no THE COAST OF FREEDOM
merry and that was worst of all, till I kept falling
and the rats came. One I loved. He was a little
one and would let me feed him crumbs. I used to
store them for him. But I feared them at night
and I had no light I dared not sleep then if I
could. So it went so long so many nights "
Roger turned his face away. Something of the
softness of youth had gone out of it. Captain
Phips again filled the pause. The sound of his
voice, homely and friendly, changed her terrified
stare to a look less dreadful.
" 'Tis July now, Little Maid, the nineteenth day.
Canst remember when they stole thee ? "
" 'Twas the planting time. "
"And how came it to thee to drop the rope to
Roger?"
Her eyes sought the lad's face and rested there
with something of his own intentness.
" 'Twas a little rope tied to a ring in the floor, "
she said musingly as if seeking some link forgotten.
"There were four rings, but only one rope." A
light flashed into her face and she spoke more
rapidly. "When another ship came I would
have thrown it though I thought it was but an-
other dream so they could come and get me but
something happened. The other ship kept moving
away and after that I knew nothing. It was like
a sleep save once I woke, in a great silence and
heard water trickling I thought they were going
to drown me all alone in the dark The
Captain drew a breath most like a sob. Roger's
hands were clinched deep. His face was haggard
like the child's. "I screamed and then I felt
THE COAST OF FREEDOM in
Mamma's arms around me and she spoke to me
' My foolish little one, what can frighten thee when
I am here,' she said. And when I opened my eyes
here on this ship I thought to see her "
The Captain would have spoken but his voice did
not come at his bidding. "You never knew her
or my father in England?" She looked up
eagerly at the Captain, who had risen. He
moved restlessly and there was a huskiness in
his answering question.
"What was thy father's name, Little Maid?"
"Francis and so is mine but with an e.
There was no man left to bear it, so they gave it to
a girl. Some day when I am grown I shall go
back to Danesleigh and see my father's people and
be their queen as Mamma was " She gazed
straight before her, neither at Roger nor the Cap-
tain, but into some far away future that brought
strength and purpose into the delicate face.
"Is it very large, Danesleigh?" The Captain
had stopped, absently turning the silver bar in his
hand, his eyes not long from the Maid.
"Very very large. You can drive many hours
and never see the highway, but not so grand as
Kilby West where we went for the hunting. Some-
times the King came there. But it was too far
from London for a home, my father said. "
"And hast thou no relatives, none to "
She shook her head, her eyes filling again.
" Not any one, " she answered in a kind of passion
of loneliness. "No one but a cousin and him my
father hated. "
"What is the cousin's name ? " The Captain had
laid the bar back upon the shelf.
ii3 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"Gregory Bellingham. " A look of repulsion
was on her face. " I wish he had not my father's
name and mine. "
Roger had flushed darkly, but this time he held
himself in check.
"Thou hast seen him often?"
"I have never seen him not since I was too
little to remember. He did not come to Danes-
leigh. "
"And the name of my little maid is Frances
Frances Bellingham ? " The Captain spoke the
words softly.
She caught her breath; the tone was too kind.
Her "yes" came half falteringly. "But Uncle
Amory had many names for me, a new one for
every day, Aunt Lotta said. Sometimes 't was
'Little Worthless." She smiled, tremulously.
" Will it will it be long before I see them ? "
She put up her hands to the Captain and he
clasped them in his rough palms, drawing her
gently to her feet.
" 'Twill not seem long," he answered. "And
thou wilt trust me to take thee to them ? I have
no little maid to call me father and so I have much
time and strength to give to this one that I found. "
There was nothing of the gallant Phips that jested,
stepping aside for some great lady's train, noth-
ing of the courtier, about his words. He spoke
truly, with the tender chivalry of childless men,
for whose childlessness the world is gainer, and the
girl believed him. But the face of the lad was
sober unto grief. Her sufferings were still upon
him, and the load was heavy.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 113
"Soon we will gladden the heart of thy Uncle
Amory and thy good Aunt, " the Captain went on
cheerfully. " And that will be very joyful. Mean-
time we'll be merry will we not?"
She nodded, her eyes glowing under their wet
lashes, her face transformed with hope.
"And every day we'll thank God that sent us our
Little Maid to make the voyage shorter. Wilt be
queen of the Araby Rose till thou com'st to thy
own people? I fear me thou'lt be a very great
tyrant ! " The Captain shook his head, the mois-
ture in his own eyes softening the mischief of the
last words.
She nodded again, almost gaily.
"Thou'lt see," she said.
" One thing we must not do, " the Captain added
soberly. "We must not tell any other of thy true
name. Canst promise that?" He looked from
the girl to Roger, who stood near but a little to one
side, lest he intrude himself. The lad's expression
had broken into warmth and light at the change in
hers.
"And one more thing thou must do." The
Captain was still serious, his gaze upon the up-
turned face of the girl. "My Little Maid must
hear to-morrow why Roger knew of the Seaftower,
and she must not let it make her sad. "
Her look, grown wistful again, was smiling when
he finished.
"So many musts for a queen! 'Tis thou art a
tyrant!" and as she spoke, laughter, caught still
with tears, the pure upwelling laughter of a child,
rippled softly from the cabin.
ii 4 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Maccartey pacing with nervous strides the con-
stricted space of the deck above heard it, and
muttered with incoherent rapture; and the men,
watching as the Captain came forth, looked upon
his face and knew that all was well.
CHAPTER IX
MUTINY AND AN OMEN
TIS lucky for Captain Phips he hath a crew
of silly old women ! " Gedge dropped his
end of the knobbed and curious weight
swung aboard from the deep-laden periagua and
kicked it shufflingly as he spoke.
The day's dredging was ended. Already the
hold of the Araby Rose was piled high with treasure,
the souls of the men glutted with its daily contem-
plation.
"A thousand fortunes in the ship and every
piece we sweat for goes to him and them that sent
him ! Fools we are I say. " The grumbler kicked
again at the heavy load fallen under their feet.
Fangs interrupted the succeeding oaths.
"Stow yer jaw and do summat w'en the time
comes, " he muttered.
A dozen sailors were pausing attentively within
hearing. He sent them back to their toil with a
sharp thrust of his poisonous tongue. Maccartey
patrolling the poop deck, where oftenest, in these
days, he kept a vigilant watch, had turned toward
them.
Suddenly Fangs darted forward and pounced
upon a slouching figure creeping nearer to listen.
The group re-formed about the prisoner held fast
in the clutch of his captor and of the grumbling
Gedge.
"5
n6 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Jacob Munch was frightened. His petty mind,
suspicious, envious, ill-natured as it was, had only
so much of craftiness as a loutish blunderer could
compass. His tongue was unready.
A look ran from eye to eye about him as a flame
leaps from dried leaf to dried leaf when the spark
falls. Jacob did not comprehend the look, nor the
words he had overheard. Other words penetrated.
Against Gedge 's persistent warning, Fangs poured
them into the captive's ear, rapidly, in his sibilant
phrases that struck through the tough integument
of a sluggish brain.
The youth's leaden cheeks grew still more un-
wholesome in colour; his narrow eyes lifted them-
selves, all at once startled into a direct glance. He
cringed abjectly.
" Don't murder me, " he begged.
"I told ye the lummux had no blood in him!"
Gedge regarded Fangs with a satisfied leer. " Yer
fat's in the fire. A reef in yer tongue wouldn't
hurt ye. I ain't speakin' fer none but me but fer
me the's better captains than a man thet shouts
he's comin' before he gits there 't's too much like
a stinkin' pole-cat ! "
Gedge brought out his meaning with vulgar
emphasis. The men listened to his drawl with ap-
proval.
The little eyes of Fangs glittered and he worked
his tongue in and out around the protruding teeth
in a tentative fashion. His lips took on a nasty
twist and he let his snaky gaze wander about the
circle. When he spoke it was to Gedge.
" Mebbe ye think ye're the brains o' this plan !
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 117
Can ye navigate a ship ? If I choose to wait then
it's wait ! If I choose now to strike now's the
time!" Here he winked and wagged his head
confidentially, sure of his power.
The men laughed.
"We ain't ready to-night." Gedge's words
seemed to carry conviction to more than one.
"The treasure ain't in."
"Shet yer mouth, yer white-livered sneak."
Fangs's profanity rolled in a horrible profusion of
defilement from his twisted lips. He glared upon
the other, his little eyes glazing. "Ye're afraid
afraid an' puttin' it off to warn the Captain ! "
He extended his gaze once more to include the
circle. " Shall we settle 'im first ? 'e's a traitor ! "
The violence of the greater villain or a certain
truth in the venom of his words had won. Gedge
surrendered. He fell to work upon the bags and
sang with the loudest as the heap grew larger at
the foot of the mast.
Maccartey had watched the short conference
suspiciously. Through the open skylight he could
see Captain Phips and Tom. The carpenter was
busy strengthening the lockers of the cabin. The
Captain had taken a hand himself, explaining as
he worked.
" I've carpentered more years than thou, Tom,"
Maccartey heard him say.
Beside the mate Roger stood and waited.
" You called me, sir, " he reminded him at length.
"So I did 'tis true. I was shpellbound
listenin' to the Captain's voice. I'm bothered in
me mind. The men have been conflammin* to-
n8 THE COAST OP FREEDOM
gether. Hast marked annythin' in the boat, lad?"
He looked down at the growing pile the crew were
transferring from the periagua.
Munch had been spirited away and left, securely
trussed, where he could do no harm.
" 'E join?" Manuel had asked, an ugly grin an-
ticipating the answer. Manuel was not a bad ex-
ample of his fellows, superstitious to all depths of
credulous besottedness, gloating upon the sight of
suffering with relish that had a keener edge if he
could himself inflict the pang.
' 'E join us?" he had repeated when Fangs
chose not to hear.
" 'E would ter save his skin!" the leader had
answered contemptuously. "But 'e aint arsked to
join nothin'. We're short o' hands or I'd sent'im
to rot w'ere 'e belongs. We'll get a better outern
the first ship we over'auls. I couldn't stomach
'im long. A shark couldn't keep 'im down !"
He illuminated his words by gesture and invec-
tive grotesque and abhorrent, delighting his audi-
ence whenever he outdid them in coarseness. "If
'e'd yelled out, they'd 'ad us four of 'em with an
arsenal be'ind 'em ! " he finished, nodding viciously
in the direction of the cabin where the carpenter's
hammer still sounded.
Fangs scowled as he fell again to work. The
mutiny was not wholly ripe. The victory over the
Walrus had added strength to the hold Captain
Phips had already upon his crew ; a third were luke-
warm, a few even unwilling, the cook openly pro-
testing. Tom the carpenter was as staunch as
Maccartey. No word had been said to Tom. He
THE COAST OP FREEDOM 119
was safe, at the moment, where he could not give
the alarm, and to delay now was impossible in
any case. No pledge of Jacob Munch could be
trusted.
Sullen, lustful, determined, the men who had no
arms seized surreptitiously upon other weapons,
the iron hooks and drags, awkward implements of
their treasure fishing. As their hands closed upon
these rude bludgeons their eyes swam greedily on
the unopened bags, their day's spoil, still dripping
upon the windy, sun-scoured deck.
Their movements were rapid and not without
skill. As they secured their clubs, acting under
the direction of Fangs, they appeared merely to
move the pile of iron to make room for the last of
the periagua's load.
There was little preparation needed, at most
three men and a boy to face. The Captain was still
absorbed in his carpentry, the mate's gaze an in-
stant turned to the horizon. But the eyes of the
remaining watcher were not shut.
" Mutiny ! Capt "
Roger's voice burst in a clarion shout through
the open skylight, a shout cut midway by a blow.
Four of the rebels, slipping forward, had leaped
swiftly up the poop ladder. The rest were rushing
in a ravening horde upon the cabin.
The sea danced cheerfully, tossing whorls of
foam from every wave, and the wind ran unwearied
in its laughing game after the shining whiteness
that came and went upon the upreared crests. The
Rose, dancing with the sea, tugged merrily at her
anchor.
120 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The crew confident, rioting in brutal fancy, cer-
tain of their prey, had already the callous grimness,
the zestful fury of their quest. There was assur-
ance in the very boisterousness of their advance.
Into this assurance, this daring of a horde
against a handful, upon the very bludgeons of the
already triumphing mass, a single figure hurled
itself. In the very utterance of Roger's cry the
Captain was upon them his huge frame instinct
with a vital rage, his whole unconquerable person-
ality thrusting the mob before him.
"Cowards! Dogs!" he panted. "Ye dare!"
The butts of his pistols swept them out of his
path, and they stumbled over fallen bodies, striv-
ing to reach him with their blows. Fangs and
Gedge were trampled beneath the foremost. The
mass was breaking.
The carpenter leaned through the window, his
pistols cocked, raging at the Captain's " Don't
shoot, Tom !" ready to disobey if the tide of con-
quest turned.
On the poop the man whose blow had cut off
Roger's shout was down. Another had taken his
place. With him the lad strove fiercely. The mate,
braced against the bulwarks, battling with two
assailants, still defended himself.
Suddenly one of the two slunk quickly away and
sprang down the clear retreat of the ladder. Be-
fore any could cry out in warning, the man's
weapon was over the Captain's head and Tom,
unnoticed by the assassin, was leaning joyously
nearer as his ball sped home.
Roger heard the shot but it was some seconds
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 121
before he heard more. When he opened his eyes
Maccartey was still doggedly holding off two assail-
ants, but his strength was going. The lad clutched
swiftly at the man beneath whose fist he had gone
down, jerked the legs sharply from under him,
and struggling rolled with him to the main deck.
This time, for a goodly space, he neither heard
nor saw. A ringing of hard metal fallen upon the
planks whereon his head was resting roused his
senses to some returning life. A voice came to
him vaguely, a powerful voice, interrupted by
assenting murmurs.
The voice became clearer, the murmurs more
emphatic. He thought himself sleeeping and
strove to wake.
"Art alive, lad?"
He opened his eyes drowsily upon the scarred
visage of Sparhawk.
"Bill!" he whispered reproachfully.
"Hist there, lad. I knocked ye down easy lest
another kill ye. "
Roger did not understand. He tried to lift him-
self but did no more than raise his face from the
planks and ease his head against the ship's side.
His eyes were still drowsy but he saw the Captain
and knew whose voice it was that had mingled with
his blurred half consciousness.
The picture came before his mind as one of the
shifting scenes of sleep and he waited dully for it to
change.
The Captain, mounted upon the treasure, was
still speaking. Below him the men stood stupidly,
like cattle. The wind came freshly off the sea and
122 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
blew strongly in the lad's face. He pulled himself
higher and saw the irons dropped upon the deck,
It was their clang that first had roused him.
His eyes travelled past the listening crew to the
cabin window and Tom the carpenter who waited
yet, his pistols ready ; then from the window to the
poop above. He could not see the mate, and for a
minute he watched the bulwarks swim up and down
upon the sky. As they sank, the descending sun
burned above the black rim and made him blind.
Now single words began to separate themselves,
from the unmeaning many, and he heard intently,
straining his mind to follow. The terrific energy
of the voice whose explosions had beaten at first
upon the air like cannonading close at hand, had
sunk somewhat. But its strokes came unerringly
as the ring of a hammer upon steel, and it went
forward with forcible distinctness.
"My promise against yours. My bond signed
and sealed against your own. "
Roger sat up. Remembrance had returned.
The crew were cheering, a hoarse roar of admira-
tion and consent. The weapons lay where they
had fallen. The faces turned to the Captain wore
expressions newly varied, the grudging surrender
of the beaten, the shamed loyalty of traitors self-
convicted, the enthusiasm of prodigals returned.
Roger took a swift count of the defeated and
saw that the conquest was complete. There would
be no more mutiny for long time to come upon the
Araby Rose. In his search his eyes came upon Mac-
cartey, bruised and smeared with his own blood,
standing in grim guard over two prisoners. Fangs
was one.
THE COAST OP FREEDOM 123
"The Little Maid knows naught of this. 'Tis my
own fears that make me ask the pledge. She was
sent to us '.'
"Aye, sir, She brought us the treasure. " The
voice of the reanimated Gedge broke in upon the
Captain's, ardent in approval.
Again Roger was at a loss for the meaning of
what he heard, "the Little Maid" and "the pledge."
"The pledges then are these." The lad heark-
ened eagerly. " I promise that which was ever my
intention, a fair fortune for every man, and if the
Company make not the promise good I redeem it
from my single share. Is it a fair pledge ? "
"None could make a fairer." Again the voice
of Gedge.
"And now what is't ye pledge in return?"
The Captain stood over them like a schoolmaster
lessoning an unruly class.
" 'Tis this. " An older man took the words from
the very teeth of the forth-putting Gedge. " 'Tis
this, Captain Phips. " He plucked at his forelock
as he spoke. "We gives our oaths as we 'opes for
mercy to serve faithful on the Rose, obeyin' orders
till she's safe in port, and never to pipe a word to
livin' soul, of the Little Maid. And for the man
that whispers it, even in 'is cups, to any the curse
of Mad Timothy be on 'im. "
The words sounded simple enough, but a shudder
went through the men.
" 'Tis too awful a curse, " muttered Gedge.
' 'Twould sour a man's stomach for his pewter. "
The Captain's eyes blazed on him for an instant,
turned suggestively to Maccartey, then swept the
group.
i2 4 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"And I " his words smote roundly on their
ears "am willing to be bound by that which leaves
me poor, and cursed by the same curse if I break it !
'Tis my pledge against yours ! How shall it be ? "
Roger had listened staring, his breath waiting on
the answer. But Gedge's had been the solitary
protest. The ravening pack was tamed. The
lad slipped lower and drowiness crept once more
upon him. His lids closed. But the pain in his
head was very great. It would not let him sleep.
Sparhawk was no longer near him but after a
space there came a touch upon his forehead. The
touch was soft yet the vicious throbbing responded
to it with livelier throes. He moved involuntar-
ily and winced as the motion stabbed him. For a
space again he was alone.
" Here, lad, sit up and take thy medicine like a
Christian. 'Tis no time for sleeping. Come ! "
A lusty arm was thrust beneath his shoulders.
He knew the voice for Maccartey's. It brought
warmth with it.
"The Little Maid?" The lad's eyes questioned
more than the words.
"The Little Maid, is it, then! Lift thy head
and see her ! 'Tis she will give us no peace till thou
art through thy shamming as if the cap'n and
mate of the Rose had no better to do than nurse
a stripling with a broken head ! Here, take the
cordial. "
Roger drank in docile haste but his lips screwed
themselves awry at the dose he swallowed.
"Arrah! The ungrateful rogue !" Maccartey's
tongue ran often in moments of emotion to a soft
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 125
brogue repudiated by his Boston training. ' 'Tis
no poison we're giving thee, but good herbs, and
costly into the bargain. A fine brew ! "
A sleepy laugh woke in the lad's face.
"An" it be as potent as 'tis vile I'm well already, "
he said slowly. "Why I am well!"
He released himself from the mate's grasp, and
felt the clumsy beating of his heart subside. As
he essayed to get upon his feet, he saw the Maid.
She stood near, watching with a little anxious
frown the effort he was making. Something in
his look sent an answering delight into her own.
She clapped her hands.
" He will live ! He speaks like himself ! He
will live ! " she cried, and Manuel, hearing the sound
and the exclamation, crossed himself devoutly,
feasting his passing glance on the ugly plaster that
striped Maccartey's cheek, and the uglier bruise
above the boy's temple.
"Thou'rt not hurt?" Roger's gaze kept to the
Maid, seeking some sign of mischief upon her.
"The cook locked me below in the cabin. I
could not get out. " She came nearer, appealing to
Roger and the mate. " Tell me was it a mutiny ?
Will they be hanged?" New violence coming
upon the old had pressed hard upon her. In her
agitation trembled a nervous dread, made greater
by the horror of remembrance.
Roger spoke quickly.
"The men are forgiven. There'll be no more
mutiny. "
"But the prisoners ? "
"They're too sick to be hanged, " Maccartey put
126 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
in cheerily. "They'll go easier'n they deserve.
Hast nothing to fear. 'Tis all over now. "
The Maid drew yet nearer, comforted by the
tone.
" Nothing can harm thee while the Captain "
Maccartey would have gone on.
"He is a hero!" she interrupted radiantly. "I
love him well. "
The lad's eyes flashed, and the mate's beamed
satisfaction with her words.
' 'Tis so, " he said. " We love him well. "
"Where is he?" Roger was standing at last.
The medicine worked nobly but there was a ringing
in his head as of a blacksmith's anvil. Maccartey
watched him cautiously as he answered.
"Writing," he replied briefly. "A pledge for
the signing of the crew. "
" With the oath of Mad Timothy ? "
Maccartey looked anxiously around. The Maid
had left them.
"Aye," he answered "that same."
" 'Tis short. He must be finished by this," the
lad said wearily. "What made my head play me
this coward's trick?"
"Trick is it! Boots and body o' me, boy!
Faith, and 'tis thy thick skull thou mayest be
praising thou'rt not cracked entirely ! An eight-
foot tumble with Bill atop and after the pirate's
blow
' 'Tis not the thickness of the skull but the sound
brains within ' '
Maccartey had not finished. He disregarded
the interruption.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 127
" An' it's mebbe cracked thou art ! Thou talkest
as if writing were but an easy task ! See here, lad,
canst write, thyself?" He moved confidingly
closer for the answer.
"Try me." Roger laughed again. "I believe
I can walk. The dizziness is gone. "
" Then walk thou to the Captain and lend a hand
at the pledge. That's a fine figure of pluck for ye, "
he added, as the lad moved unsteadily toward the
cabin door. "But I'll not be sending him aloft
the night !"
The pledge, inscribed upon a dingy leaf torn from
the ship's log, was ready.
One by one the men had slouched or shuffled
forward. Gedge had read the promises aloud, ad-
ministered the formidable oath, and witnessed the
signing that closed the compact. More than one
hand shook as it laboriously traced its mark upon
the paper. The manuscript completed looked to
Roger not unlike the picture writing of the North-
ern Indians, the signatures scattered upon the page
like signs of the zodiac in a confusion of worlds.
As fast as their symbols were affixed the men re-
turned to their tasks. Gedge had recited the oath
of Mad Timothy with special unction to Jacob
Munch, and the youth's terror showed in the
nerveless bungling of his letters.
The Little Maid remained fast by the side of
Captain Phips; as the day drew on toward night
she felt never safe elsewhere. To her request to
read the pledge he had shaken his head.
" 'Tis not good reading, " he had answered with
128 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
sturdy good humour. " Bother not thy head with
script. 'Tis unnatural for maids and thou'rt too
young. 'Tis bad enough for Roger!"
" I can write; my uncle taught me, " she had re-
plied shaking her head in turn. "Thou wilt let
me help sometimes like Roger?" she had begged.
" Shalt have thy way if writing must be done. I
crave no more of it," and seeing her wistful still,
he laughed and the laugh rolled out wholesome
and confident across the sparkling waves. " 'Tis
not every Captain hath two such scriveners in one
ship ! Why, lass, 'tis a brave academy, the Araby
Rose!"
The Little Maid had not laughed, but in her
soberness was a deep content. Her eyes clung to
him as the eyes of hapless things cling to a pro-
tector, and she was with him still as he issued from
the cabin and took his stand opposite Maccartey,
who directed the work upon the treasure.
The bars had all been stowed. The jewels
rested in the Captain's lockers. The heap of bags
waited. Piled together like shapeless trunks,
petrified in the fifty years of their immersion, they
lay at the foot of the mast.
Two men with axes were ready beside the first.
The hard substance that encrusted the canvas
itself embedded strange sea spoils shells, petrified
sprays of plume and weed, and broken branches
of the coral, blanched ghostly in the lime.
Gedge struck lustily and the encasing hardness
cracked under the blow. Tom waited grimly,
spat first on one hand, then the other, and swung
the clumsy haft above his head. The thick crust
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 129
split from end to end. A stream of glittering
silver flowed across the deck, running even to the
feet of the Little Maid.
She went quickly forward and bent to touch a
sea anemone frozen in the solid rime. The pro-
jecting edge broke short and she stood up gazing
ruefully upon it. The slight wrench had stirred the
mass and set flowing upon the deck fresh streams
of shining coin. In the very centre there lay exposed
a leather pouch. The case was rotted. Even as
it was given into the Captain's hands it fell away
from a delicate vase, the cup a pure crystal hol-
lowed within and twined without by clasping
tendrils of gold, the whole so tiny a man could
grasp it only with a thumb and finger lest he crush
it. The Maid cried out softly as it came to light.
Maccartey first broke the silence that followed its
appearance.
"Sure 'tis the sea fairies sent it to thee, little
one!" he exclaimed.
The men had gathered closer, superstition and
greed glowing in their look.
" I fear me, no better fairies than could man a
ship !" The Captain turned the glass as he spoke
so the light of the sun streamed through it into
their faces. "The Maid shall drink to us safe
home and the keeping of the pledge ! " he cried.
The sun, sinking steadily to the near horizon
burned across the waters in a blaze dazzling and
resplendent. Between, the translucent sea shone
like the glory of another world. The stained rig-
ging caught the fervid light upon furled sail and
battered spar, transfigured to a brilliance not its
own.
130 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The group below the mast showed clearly, their
features, reddened or bronzed, raw-hued or dull,
luminously plain, the Indians alone smooth and
unblemished of skin. On swarthy arms wielding
the axes great muscles came and went, writhing
like serpents beneath their hairy covering.
The rings in Manuel's ears gleamed against his
curls, and his red cap made a brighter spot in the
brightness, its tassel swinging as he shifted his bare
feet upon the planks. Homespun or fringed cloth,
flaunting sashes or leathern belts, backs clothed
or naked, the glamour found them out and clothed
them all.
Save for the strokes upon the crusted bags and
the rattle of coins into an empty chest, the group
were silent till the cup was filled. The Maid had
returned to the Captain and stood beside him
waiting. Maccartey's eyes strayed from the
Spanish silver spilled upon the boards and rested
on her face.
The sea had mounted upon the round disc of the
sun. The light had changed. A crimson splendour
splashed the waves and poured its flood upon the
ship. The glinting silver gave it back in fiery
coruscations, and the cup, aflame in all its trans-
parent crystal, seemed the colour's soul and source.
The axes had fallen, idle; the streams of silver
spread, unregarded, upon the rolling deck. The
sailor kneeling by the chest forgot his task, staring
upward at the child. Roger had drawn nearer to
Captain Phips.
The Little Maid took the crystal from the Cap-
tain's hand. The hush grew deeper, the watching
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 131
more strained. Her look, bent upon the men
about the mast, upon Roger, and last upon the
Captain, was grave and searching.
Steadily she raised the cup, and drank. And as
she turned again to her protector, there came upon
her lifted face a smile wondrous as the sea, sud-
den and magical as the radiant afterglow.
CHAPTER X
THE ROYAL GOVERNOR
THE crowd pouring from Meeting House
square into King street from either side
the Town House blocked the way to
suffocation.
Farther up Cornhill Mr. Clark, the pewterer,
was bowing forth a dame who had bargained long
and bought nothing. Dragging at her hand, a
small boy, in flowing trousers that just showed the
butternut-colored hosiery between them and his
shoes, looked anxiously in the direction of the
throng.
"And the shallow bowl " began the dame
again.
"Will be no less and no more this twelvemonth, "
interrupted the merchant, hastily beginning to
fasten on the wooden shutters of his shop. "I
shall be pleased to have you see them at leisure in
a better light, Mistress Munch, " he added as the
woman moved away abruptly.
She vouchsafed no reply, being angry at his
haste, and turned her back without farewell. The
anxious look upon the small boy's face lightened as
they mixed in the thickening concourse, and he
pulled with increasing energy at his mother's arm.
Mistress Munch was stout and dangerously
laced, nor was more speed attainable save at the
expense of dignity already wounded by the pew-
132
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 133
terer's independence. She cuffed the small boy
smartly, exasperation tingling in the blow.
"For shame, Shubael, " she scolded. "Acting
and pulling like one possessed! Come here, sir!"
Shubael whimpered softly to himself and fell
back unprotesting, the eagerness gone from his
chubby face. The woman still scolded as they
went, interrupting herself often to greet a neigh-
bour with the shade of cordiality or distance that
should indicate his rank.
They had followed without difficulty through the
square and along the south wall of the Town H"ouse,
but at the head of King Street the obstructing cur-
rents flowing from Pudding Lane on the right and
from Crooked Lane and Shrimpton's on the left
checked their advance, and they were caught in a
backward wash of the tide and stranded in a spot
where motion ceased.
Mistress Munch dropped the child's hand to
guard the amplitude of her skirts, and the boy
whimpered again, frightened by the numbers press-
ing upon them.
Talk hummed in the quiet air, bits of exclama-
tion, homely chat and comment, zigzagging
among friends.
"There be eight companies to meet him. "
"Is it sure they pass this way ? "
" Of couse, Zany ? Why else went th.e militia "
"I feared 'twas Scarlett's Sir Humphrey Wild-
glass landed at Scarlett's. "
"And the people thick as porridge here in King
Street; where be thy eyes?"
"Calm thyself, Charity," put in a louder voice.
134 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Shubael edged away from the speaker, who towered
appallingly above him. ' 'Tis no good prepara-
tion for the morrow. 'Twere better had the ships
arrived before, not set thy tongue wagging on
worldly discourse upon the Sabbath eve. "
"Sir William should better control the winds!
'Twas blameworthy and somewhat rank in taste
to be in such haste for Boston ! 'Tis to be won-
dered if your governor be counted of the elect. "
The Puritan wheeled to see who had addressed
him, strong curiosity in his expression as he per-
ceived the stranger.
" I fear your words have too much truth in them,
Sir," he replied gravely. "But it is not in the
power of William Phips to control the wind that
'bloweth where it listeth'. I but meant to urge
he might have waited without until the "
The sentence was lost in a forward movement
of the mass that hemmed them in. A roll of drums
from the distance had quickened the steps of the
foremost. The way opened again, the main
stream carrying with it the lesser tributaries.
The stranger had taken out his snuff box, a per-
fume shaking from the lace of his sleeves as he
tapped the inlaid lid suggestively. "An indul-
gence I may not offer on the Sabbath eve?" he
asked with suave insolence as they separated.
" 'Tis Sir Humphrey Wildglass, Charity," whis-
pered the friend. " He came on the same ship with
Mr. Apthorpe. "
" His apparel suits not the good sense of his
words. " The Puritan's tone, that he made no
effort to modulate, was again loud with disfavour.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 135
Mistress Munch had but waited to catch the
stranger's name.
"I see Madam Verring, Mam."
Shubael spoke for the first time, a shy purpose
in his words.
"Where?" His mother drew him hastily after
as she crossed to the entrance of Pudding lane.
"Make your manners to Madam," she admonished
him as they went.
The air was charged with invisible excitement,
but the crowd was grave rather than cheerful, and
gave serious attention to its steps, conversing
staidly as it progressed and giving vent to no shout-
ings nor vain noises.
To hasten in such a concourse was to be un-
pleasantly conspicuous, and it cost Mistress Munch
some moments of careful manoeuvring to over-
take the two upon whom her eyes were set, the
more because wherever the couple moved the
multitude opened to let them pass, returning their
salutations with deep respect and closing in
promptly behind them.
Nothing in the fashion of their dress distin-
guished them from their neighbors. The woman's
bonnet and mantle were far plainer than those of
Mistress Munch, though their texture, like that of
the sad-colored silk, was of greater richness. She
drew closer to her husband as the crowd jostled her.
"Would it be better we returned," he asked,
pausing. "The numbers are oppressive and
this welcoming of a royal governor is little to my
mind. "
"Nay, Nicolas," his wife replied quickly. "I
136 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
would stay and see. He was ever kind to Roger. "
She added the last sentence in a lower tone, know-
ing, as her husband knew, that it was the sight of
Roger at the head of his company she most craved.
" He is not unlike thee, in his uniform, " she con-
tinued after a little silence, pursuing their unuttered
thought.
Nicolas Verring's look had gathered sternness
in the waiting. He harked back to her words about
the Governor.
"It remaineth to be proved whether or no we
repent that kindness. Thou judgest weakly,
Alison. "
The woman flushed a little at the heat of his tone.
"It is natural a mother should be mindful of
those that deal graciously by her children, " she
rejoined quietly. She had not forgotten the Hope-
well, though she forbore to recall it aloud. Even
after six years her heart warmed to the man who
had protected her boy, but her husband's re-
proaches left a trouble in the memory, and she
harrowed her secret thoughts for a lurking wicked-
ness that might prefer her son's welfare to his soul's
salvation.
" Would he resembled me in the spirit rather than
in the perishable flesh, " the father persisted strenu-
ously. "There would be no more paltering. I
would have Roger owe nothing to the faction of
Sir William Phips 'tis a leading of the blind.
Serving God with levity of carriage ! ' And the boy
hath vain desires There's little of the light
in him. God forbid that little should be made a
darkness!" A worried look drew together his
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 137
brows and he stopped abruptly. "Captain Fitch
is beckoning us, " he added as he raised his eyes.
"Shall we go over ? "
" Let us wait here, " his wife urged quickly. " I
refused Madam Butler's invitation to share her
porch. I thought 'twould seem too much like
merrymaking for the eve of the Sabbath day. "
"Now who'd have thought to meet a friend in
such a rabble ! " The surprise of Mistress Munch
was somewhat overdone. "Have you seen aught
of Christopher ? He was to wait me on the corner
by Madam Phillips's, but 'tis no wonder to miss
each other in a press like this ! Saw you ever the
like ! And who may be the 'Tis my Jacob
and his sister! See, in the window yonder!"
She gave her whole attention for a breathing space
to the opposite side of the way.
Mr. Verring had inclined his head at her ap-
proach but paid her no further heed; and Madam
Verring had smiled, but the smile had been chiefly
for Shubael, who crept to her side, in his mother's
brief preoccupation, and gazed up at her as a dog
gazes when its feels importunately the need of
speech.
"What is it, Shubael?" she asked, compre-
hending.
" Will there be volleys for the Governor? " The
question came in an explosive whisper.
"It is the Sabbath eve," Nicolas Verring an-
swered severely. "There will be no firing. "
The boy shrank abashed, and dropped his eyes.
Alison Verring bent to settle the cap on the close-
cropped head.
138 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"The volleys will be on Monday, " she said gently.
A gleam illuminated the round face but the child
ventured on no further speaking.
"Christopher will have it Jacob's new doublet
is far too fine for the provinces, but it sets him off
mightily!" Mistress Munch had drawn a dozen
short breaths and was in full voice again. " His
figure is much improved, I tell him. 'Tis more
elegantly proper. There's not a better turned leg
in Boston. I can't abide the spindling youths that
dangle after Beulah. "
Nicolas Verring was about to carry off his wife
to the neglected hospitality of Captain Fitch, a
righteous distaste for the vulgarity of the woman
operating with a stronger disapproval of the matter
of her discourse, but his intention was frustrated
by Christopher Munch himself.
Alison Verring moved a little apart as the man
appeared. Mistress Munch grew silent; the infla-
tion of her mood collapsed sharply. In her manner
was unpleasantly manifest the cowardice of a
small nature browbeaten and bullied. Something
afraid and furtive in her look sent Madam Verring's
glance to the window where Jacob Munch was
fretfully haranguing his sister. An interruption,
apparently an arrival, restored his heavily satisfied
expression and he rose with unwonted briskness
of motion.
" A wonderful man truly ! Heaven send us "
The owner of the voice had passed on but his
enthusiasm lingered in murmurs that echoed his
words. An angry light enlivened the dull features
of Christopher Munch.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 139
"A mblancholy thing,' ' he said sourly, "that the
sons of Belial be set on high and time-servers wor-
shipping before them ! "
"I cannot call Sir William Phips a 'son of Be-
lial,'" Verring answered calmly. "And it would
seem, his faction serve more from misguided zeal
than for any ends of self-seeking. "
The cold moderation and careful justice of the
defence increased the other's truculence.
"Would they might be wiped from the colony
and the land purged of their offence !" he rejoined
harshly. "Then might we see again the days of
godliness ! Now when any rapscallion may call
himself citizen, member of the meeting or no, even
a perverted scoffer may cast a vote. There's no
safety in Zion ! "
The carnal spite in Hunch's tone contrasted as
oddly with his words as the coarseness of his over-
fed person with the would-be sancity of his air.
The same confusion appeared in his clothing, that
was an unhappy blending of New England sobriety
and newly imported worldliness. An aggressive
prosperity and an aggressive piousness expressed
him equally.
"The godliness of Christopher Munch is like
salve on water; it gets never deeper than the sur-
face, " Roger had once opined, in the face of some
condemnation flagrantly unfair that his father had
quoted to him for edification ; and Nicolas Verring
had reprimanded his son bitterly, seeing in the
hasty speech but wilful impiety.
Yet if the face of Nicolas Verring was forbidding,
it was with the sternness of the ascetic and its
140 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
strength attracted even while its austerity re-
pelled. Nor was the effect marred by physical
weakness. His body was of great vigour, the spare
frame erect with the militant force of anchorites
who survive the rigours of their discipline. His
very dress, its sombreness relieved only by the
broad collar of fine linen, had a distinction in the
wearing. Beside him Christopher Munch showed
crassly underbred.
'"Sir William' 'Sir William'! There's noth-
ing else thought on but 'Sir William' ! I am sure
one wearies of the name !" put in Mistress Munch,
faithfully echoing her master.
"And 'tis but a sorry name repeated so!"
The suavely insolent voice again of Sir Humphrey
Wildglass. " How much better would sound Sir
Christopher or Sir Jacob ! " He had taken his
station so that none of the woman's words had
missed him. She regarded the interruption with
a doubtful flutter, silenced by the derisive amuse-
ment in the stranger's look.
Christopher had not heard the low-voiced com-
ment.
" 'Tis no great thing to be 'Sir' anybody!" he
declared contemptuously, disregarding his wife's
effort to call his attention to the newcomer. "It
means naught. Titles are but vanities and a snare
to the scornful. "
Nicolas Verring had been a moment engagad
with a passer by, but he caught the last sentence
and instantly approved it.
"A man may not deny his blood, but he should
depend upon himself and boast not of the grace
given unto his ancestors," he said promptly.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 141
"It is of Sir William we are speaking, and he
hath depended on himself and on none other, Nico-
las, and what honours he hath be fairly earned."
Madam Verring flushed again as she spoke, but her
words held their eloquence conviction to the end.
Though dutifully of her husband's public creed
and gravely distrustful of the discretion of the
Governor, she must yet see rendered to the absent
his due.
"Surely, madam, you hold not that adventures
on the high seas, and wars, and such-like wildness
and rovings, are fit training for a governor of this
great colony ! What does William Phips know of
statecraft?" contended Mistress Munch.
" I know not enough of statecraft myself to
judge, " answered Alison quietly, " but he hath gov-
erned crews and armies well. " The instinct to de-
fend the attacked seemed to grow as she talked.
" He proved himself not unskilful at the court, and
may show greater wisdom than we deem likely.
'Twas for high qualities he was knighted, courage
and honesty "
"And what was he at the start? A mere ignor-
ant sheep herd of Pemaquid. When first he came
hither they say he could neither read nor write.
Lady Phips, I make no doubt, is preening her
feathers for all this new honour. She was not so
lacking as some would have it when she married the
ship carpenter. It taketh a widow "
Madam Verring was uncomfortably conscious
of Shubael's eyes, grown round with wonder.
"Lady Phips hath her husband in great tender-
ness. The day must indeed bring her joy, " she
i 4 2 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
broke in with gentle decisiveness, ignoring the
other's rancour.
Mistress Munch herself could not write, and her
own birth was several shades below the traditions of
the " Massachuset colony"; to have been the wife
of the Governor and a knight's lady, her glory
seen and her importance felt in the very neighbour-
hood where she had borne the stings of patronage,
would have been ultimate happiness to the wife of
Christopher Munch.
"I crave pardon, goodwife canst tell me the
name of the maiden, the goddess, who sits so
modestly ensconced behind yonder lattice?"
It was once more Sir Humphrey, bowing with
supercilious lightness before her whose accent had
earlier attracted him.
" 'Tis my daughter, Sir Mistress Beulah
Munch, "she answered, following his glance.
"Nay, nay, good woman not the flaxen shep-
herdess, nor the Corydon in small clothes, but the
goddess she of the dark hair ! "
There was agitation in the demand. He bit his
lip as he waited, his eyes not leaving the group
across the way.
The house at which he stared was close to the
street and the ground floor showed no signs of life
save the head of an old lady that was often lifted
and bowed behind the small panes as if its owner
were talking with much animation. Now and
again a younger woman had appeared on the
threshold, asked a question of those who stood or
sat upon the broad step, and retired into the dim
interior. The window in the story above, on which
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 143
the stranger's eyes were fixed, was wide open, was
in fact a door more than a window, whose leaves
swung outward upon a narrow cornice above the
entrance, exposing a latticed guard set to warn
children and the unwary.
Upon this guard two girls leaned and chatted,
or rather Beulah Munch chatted while the other
listened. The face of the listener was not fully
visible, but that she was a stranger like himself
and no Puritan must have been clear to a duller
sense than Sir Humphrey's.
Mistress Munch had shrugged her shoulders in a
sudden pique.
' 'Tis like you're making sport of the girl, but
Madam Fitch would have my Beulah to meet her.
She is but late from England "
" Her name. " The demand came now more
peremptorily as if the man felt sharply some
pressure the answer might relieve. In his eyes a
hard gleam lightened.
"Mistress Armitage and she hath a given
name, terrible odd and outlandish. 'Tis for that I
recall it. Temple Armitage is she called. See
how she pretends to turn away and not to heed
Jacob's speeches ! Sly and bold I make no doubt,
like many who come hither to flout their bet-
ters ' '
The acrimonious utterance stopped in mid air
for lack of audience. Madam Verring had im-
mediately moved aside at Sir Humphrey's intru-
sion, and he was no longer heeding.
The girl had changed her position to escape
Jacob Munch and was looking forth. Annoyance
144 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
had given vividness to her colour and the glow of
her beauty warmed tho sober street.
It had instant and extraordinary effect upon Sir
Humphrey. He stepped hastily backward, paling
so that the artificial colour upon his lifeless cheeks
was frankly visible.
"Frances !" His lips formed the words, though
he had uttered no sound.
" What was that you said, sir ? " asked the woman
curiously.
"'A goddess', Madam, a very goddess!" He
smiled a little stiffly as if the muscles were not
wholly relaxed from their amazement, but his tone
was as ductile as before. "The sight overcame
me. Such is the danger of an abode remote from
loveliness !" He answered rapidly, so that his un-
flattering sentiment was somewhat wasted; and
bowing with the same ironical grace with which
he had presented himself, he drew back into the
throng.
"The nincompoop is smitten with the girl! He
needn 't think to deceive me ! " she sniffed disgust-
edly as he departed. "Goodwife" forsooth!
And 'good woman' ! Had I noticed it earlier he'd
got no names from Arabella Munch. "
From Pierce 's alley the last company of militia
debouched upon King street and marched rapidly
down the hill, the crowd scattering to let them
pass a goodly array, strong-bodied, straight-
limbed, with an obstinate independence in their
motions, a thoughtful energy in their cleanly pro-
nounced features.
In Captain Fitch's pasture there was a sudden
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 145
commotion as the constable dislodged the boys
who had climbed indecorously into the trees that
fringed the highway; the officer stalked back,
solemnly triumphant, his crestfallen prey at his
heels, the whole party daintily bespattered with
pink petals and white.
The mass of people grew denser, more impatient
in the subdued by-play of talk and rare gesture,
more often stopping to frown expectantly toward
the shore.
Nicolas Verring sent no interested glance in the
direction of the wharf. He gave his attention
wholly to the conversation his companion had not
allowed the gossip of the women to interrupt.
"They have destroyed us," Munch was saying
with violence. "Jacob could tell you 'Tis
certain that Sir William hath been greatly over-
rated. A man most unsound and lax. It was an
irreligious and godless ship he had in the Araby
Rose, and shocking to a Godfearing lad like Jacob. I
would your Roger had so well escaped the lawless
contamination. What blessing can rest on wealth
so ill obtained ! And the man hath destroyed us, "
he repeated, "he and Mr. Mather. Traitors to the
colony !"
"I would not say traitors, wilful traitors, but
destroyers natheless unwittingly it may be. "
The lines deepened in Verring's face.
"I'd not thought to hear an injustice from the
lips of Nicolas Verring. " The man who had
joined himself to them was of Nicolas Verring's own
type. His voice had the same evenness of pitch;
his sentences came with the same weight and au-
146 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
thority. "Who hath worked for this colony year
in and year out, putting its welfare above 'all earthly
considerations? At peril of his life in a hundred
encounters ever the first to volunteer, ever the
first to urge an expedition ! At the court of James
who refused the preferment the Admiralty would
have bestowed, choosing to serve New England
rather than himself?"
' 'Tis his character, not his good will," began
Munch.
"And who assails his character? Some sneaking
thief of reputations whom his honesty hath offend-
ed ! How many men, think you, friend Munch,
would lose the whole profit of a toilsome venture to
load his ship with a village of frightened settlers flee-
ing an attack ? And how many men would see a for-
tune of millions spread before them and not be one
whit tempted? But what did Sir William? Ac-
count for every farthing, and deal so honourably by
those above and those below him that 'twas a year's
wonder in the greatest capital of Europe ! He
hath character and to spare "
"You mistake, Joshua," put in Mr. Verring.
" 'Tis the strength and wisdom needed to defend
our liberties wherein the Governor is lacking. "
"Rather 'tis you who mistake!" The judicial
pleading was quickened to a livelier indignation.
" Our liberties were never in stauncher hands. He
and Increase Mather to destroy our liberties ! 'Tis
to them we owe what we have ! "
Verring closed his lips in hard dissent.
"The Charter " began Munch once more.
" 'Twas destroyed long before William Phips was
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 147
knighted. And what asked he when King James
would have him name a boon for his great and
perilous adventure of the treasure for what did he
plead? For the restoration of the charter. And
when it was refused, still he importuned, risking his
own preferment and wearying the King. And
when he had ta'en Port Royal, and braved Quebec
and came back defeated for lack of those allies that
failed by land, what did he then ? Sit down by his
comfortable hearth and eat and drink and take his
ease?" The speaker's eyes rested on Mr. Munch.
"Not Sir William! He went again to importune
for the conquest of Canada, to urge once more the
cause of the Charter. 'Twas dead and mouldered
in its grave, but he would have it and when the
new King would not heed, who besought the Queen
until she urged his petition upon her absent spouse ?
Mather and Phips destroyers of the Charter ! They
risked their heads for its resurrection. "
"Then they should have refused the new."
Nicolas Verring's face set in yet harder lines.
"Refused and been enslaved ! What gain were
there in that ! 'Twas that or nothing and 'tis
to them, I say, we owe the freedom that it gives.
What other colony nameth her own lawmakers?
And since we must have a Governor of the royal
choosing, is't nothing that he be of our own people
and not an Andros? "
"Aye. But other governors will follow "
Christopher Munch interrupted in his turn.
"And just at this present, bethink you, Joshua
Travies, when New England is set upon and buf-
feted by Satan with witches and devils "
148 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
His words grew louder but became indistinguish-
able in the brief tumult that rose in the street.
The watch were clearing the road for the Governor's
escort, pushing the multitude back from the rough
flagging that marked the middle of the way to the
unpaved walks on either side.
The crowd buzzed and swarmed. In the con-
fusion a barefooted lad mounted upon Madam
Shrimpton's gate post and none reproved him.
The gaze of Shubael discovered him with envy.
The youngest Munch had listened eagerly to the
praises of Sir William, his round face peering in-
tently from the folds of his mother's gown.
The sound of drums grew nearer. Alison Ver-
ring looked at her husband.
"Roger's company " she began.
"It will follow the Governor," he answered, his
tone calmly indifferent; but his eyes sought and
found the young captain while hers still searched.
" None of the officers is so handsome as the com-
mander- of the third company. Twill follow the
Governor, " whispered Beulah Munch excitedly,
but the other girl did not hear. Since the first her
gaze had turned persistently toward the dock,
where the Nonesuch frigate etched her delicate
spars in the soft sky. Even the distasteful atten-
tions of Jacob Munch had been unable to keep from
her face a brightness as of happy anticipation.
Beyond the second company was a space, and
a continuous murmur ran wave-like before the im-
posing figure that was left thus conspicuous. It
was plain that the party of the opposition was in
the minority. The welcome filled the air with
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 149
warmth, and the enforced quiet gave to the sudden
bursts of sound the intensity of feeling difficultly
repressed.
In the open space there rode also the Agent of
the Colony, Mr. Mather, and the Lieutenant Gov-
ernor, colder and harder for the presence of his
chief. The eyes of the girl with Beulah Munch
gave no heed to either, no heed to any save the
Governor himself. Never was maid or man more
unconscious of all things near. Captain Phips,
or Sir William, or the Governor, it was one to her.
The same kindly face, the same powerful body, the
same honest and dauntless soul, were there. When
the splendid horse and his splendid rider were com-
ing, coming fairly beneath the window, she leaned
yet farther, smiling, a strange smile full of a wonder
all its own.
Jacob Munch saw the smile and was puzzled,
straining his memory to some task; and, anxious
to force himself upon her, spoke somewhat loudly
at her side. His voice had a peculiar quality of
unsound mellowness, an overripeness that to her
was nauseous.
The Governor looked up, and looking, gazed
suddenly full into the face of the girl. Swift change
came in his expression. And as she saw his gaze
had found her, she tore the flower from her gown
and tossed it, smiling still, as a child might for de-
light; and the big Governor, bending forward.with
his arm outstretched, grasped it skilfully, and taking
it in his bridle hand, raised his plumed hat, that he
held an instant in graceful homage before he set it
back upon his head. Then the maid, watching him.
i 5 o THE COAST OF FREEDOM
absorbed, was all at once aware of curious eyes
that focussed on herself, the eyes of the whole
multitude it seemed, and blushing she drew back
quickly out of sight.
Madam Verring alone, of all the throng, had not
seen the girl. Her eyes had found her son. In any
crowd, in any place, they two most understood
each other, and for his look of recognition as he
marched past, the mother's heart had waited; yet
when he was there before her, his face had lighted
not for her but for some other, lighted strangely,
exultantly, and thrilled with some new excitement,
had passed and never turned her way.
Grim disapproval sat upon her husband's fea-
tures.
" What was it ? " she asked.
"Poor trifling for a governor," he answered.
"Sir William hath begun ill. He will find state-
craft is more than catching nosegays. "
Lieutenant-Governor Stoughton was plainly of
the same mind. Pursing his prim mouth to an
expression of hard and ladylike disgust, he rode
even more sullenly than before.
One other besides Madam Verring had been
waiting for Roger, inviting his look. An angry
pain had seized her as she saw the gaze he gave to
her companion, and Beulah, too, went home but
sadly.
In the growing twilight the column took on the
majesty of a moving army. Before the entrance
to the Town House the marching ranks drew up in
solid lines facing the horsemen as they passed
through. Behind came the other companies, their
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 151
blue and buff no longer distinguishable save as
dark and light, and after them, lumbering and
straining upon the hill, the mounted guns.
Down below the wharves the sea beat triumph-
antly upon the land, whelming the marshes with its
irrefutable claim. Candles were being lighted in
the houses ; the chirp of crickets mixed shrilly with
the deeper sound of orders given and repeated.
Night was flowing in upon the wide peninsula, and
beneath its surface calm, as beneath the smooth
flood upon the marsh, life stirred and struggled,
contending in the gloom with viewless cruelties of
pain and fear, or rising in the dim security to un-
named ecstasies of freedom and desire.
Roger hearing, heard nothing, and seeing, was
as the blind ; he gave his commands monotonously,
a force acting apart from his real consciousness
someway conducting the business of the hour, nor
did he know that the day had gone.
CHAPTER XI
A CRY IN THE DARK
THE stay at the Town House was brief, the
march to the Governor's residence not long,
but the need for escape grew in Roger fast-
er than the movement of events.
Before the escort was re-formed to accompany
Mr. Mather, he had slipped away into the dusk,
paying small heed to the direction of his going and
only anxious to avoid the crowd still pressing upon
the heels of the militia. His way homeward was
blocked by the throng; Green lane and every alley
teemed with the interested multitude, quiet as be-
came the beginning of the Sabbath, yet alert for
meetings and bits of timely gossip. Leaving the
road he plunged into the darkness beneath the trees
and crossed the orchard hastily toward the point of
silence.
As he came forth once more into the street, a
party of young people, hastening to meet again
the dusk-hid ranks, were almost upon him in the
dim obscurity. Their voices, carefully lowered,
were livelier for the excitement of an unwonted
freedom. Roger avoided them instinctively, mov-
ing straight forward across the highway and, so,
on into the narrow confines of Salutation alley.
Laughter came to his ears from behind the closed
shutters of the tavern. The sign of the Salutation
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 153
creaked in the sea breeze, its painted travellers
extending stiff arms of greeting above his head.
He paused as he drew near the water, and set
himself upon the right path once more, but the
spring night had fast hold of him, the spirit pre-
vailed above the flesh, and by the time he emerged
from White-bread alley he was no longer conscious
whither his swift steps bore him.
Darkness covered the familiar scene and his soul
forgot it. The thought that had been forced back,
covered from sight, denied, in the long minutes of
the march, now wreaked its will. It drove him
striding mightily as toward an unknown goal,
whithersoever the way promised solitude; it rose
as an underground sea might rise in some amazing
convulsion of the deeps and drowned his world in
the glorious agitation of its outpoured waters.
Once he stopped, lifting his face to the sky, his
head bared to the wind, and sighed a breath deep,
sharply taken, given forth like the whispered echo
of a sob, the voice alike of pain or blessed trans-
port. Solitude he craved, he must have. Fleeing
men, rapt away from the sight or thought of them,
he had turned again toward the deserted water
side.
The shadows lay dark in Moon street. Hardly
a candle flicker in its whole length and silence,
filled with cricket calls. Here he slackened his
racing steps, lingered in the sheltering dark and
dreamed, seeing little even in the dream for the
strength of exalted feeling that held him.
A shriek, agonized, commanding, woke him
harshly. A woman's scream and vile laughter
i 5 4 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
that followed. Feeling passed all at once into
speed, into the strength of avenging youth.
The shriek was close at hand. Instantly he
knew where he stood. A dwindling triangle of
grass and weeds separated him from Fish street
and the wharves. Across it he leaped while the
echo of the cry died among the warehouses.
His coming was furious, irresistible. The men
had no sooner heard footsteps on the cobbles
than they felt the hammering of his blows. Grown
used to the night, he could distinguish the three
figures of the dissolving group. One slunk rapidly
away into the entrance of Sun court, hiding in the
blackness, but the bully who had laughed, roused
into a drunken fury, was a heavy brute, and struck
out savagely for answer. The woman had drawn
back and made no sound as the brief combat pro-
gressed.
Roger had not spoken. The other swore and his
oaths were unclean, but his weight and the power
of his rage counted for little against the righteous
frenzy of his assailant, whom the assurance of a
finer passion still uplifted beyond the human, so
that he vanquished his foe swiftly, closing the foul
mouth and dropping the unwieldy bulk with a pre-
cision whose impulse was born of life intensified.
But the first figure had crept from its hiding,
returned by some second thought to the fray it
had avoided. Roger threw out his left arm quickly,
warding a stroke before it was fairly aimed, and
wrenched a sword from the man's hand. The
weapon rattled on the stones and the man sprang at
him in a rage more sure, less drunken, than the
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 155
fuddled anger of his companion. The grasp was
murderous; it had a staying power desperate and
vindictive. Even as he fought, Roger wondered
at its tenacity that seemed more than retaliation
for an interrupted frolic. Strong loathing rose in
him at the contact and with the force of a terrific
revulsion he freed himself and hurled from him his
antagonist. The man had clapped his hand
quickly to his side and his pistol discharged itself
as he fell.
Down the road the windows of the Ship Tavern
glimmered upon the opaque dark; from the other
side sounded the clatter of feet beating steadily
toward them in the wake of a fleering lantern.
"The watch!" The exclamation broke from
him quickly. "We must make haste. This way.
Come!"
It was thick shade even here in the open. The
clouds were blown across the early stars. Yet
something made him sure that the woman was
young and a stranger. The lithe movements, the
uncertainty about the way, the hesitation as if she
expected to mount upon a footpath by the margin
of the street when very Boston maid knew that
footpaths there were none, all these were confirma-
tion. And with the word stranger another con-
viction, unwarranted, unreasonable, clutched him.
It was the Little Maid.
That miracles should be abroad in this hour
miracles for him seemed to Roger both sane and
congruous. Toward this the night had drawn him
from the Governor's door. From London to the
islands of the sea to find and rescue the Little Maid
156 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
that surely had been even more a miracle ! His
thoughts were full of a light, a brightness, the
shadows could not quench.
They had turned into Wood lane and the watch
tramped soberly past, unaware of their flitting,
to stop aghast over the reviving form of the pros-
trate bully. The man of the sword was no longer
to be seen, nor did his weapon remain to tell of his
presence. There was blood upon the stones, but,
save for his bruises, no sign of injury about the
burly sailor who sprawled beside the stains.
Roger was silent. In the world to which he had
again been caught up speech jarred upon the actual-
ity of things. As soon as the way permitted the
girl addressed him. Her voice was constrained
and her fright still showed in the attempt to sup-
press all hint of tears.
"I thank you, Sir," she said. The tone was
more eloquent than the formal distance of the
words. "I had lost my way. I am but newly
come to Boston. "
The voice told him nothing. He had been already
sure. But it gave him remembrance keen and
electric. His dreams had been in the present.
Now he was again on the Araby Rose and the Little
Maid was telling her story. In the greater depth
and beauty of her tones there lived still the same
quality, and the fear, the struggle for control, had
made them once more like the child's.
"Are you hurt did they " He spoke with
effort.
"Nay," she interrupted. "I cried out the mo-
ment they appeared. They but grasped my arms. "
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 157
She shrank, shivering as if sickened by the thought
of the touch. "One would have thrown his cloak
over my head. "
Roger suited their hurrying pace to a slower
climbing of the rough hill and drew her arm farther
within his own. A gentle homage was in the in-
voluntary act.
" 'Tis unsafe even on the Sabbath. Rascals lie
often hid among the docks. " He spoke at random,
almost unwitting what he said. In this new en-
chantment of a universe re-created he paid no heed
to his own voice but listened greedily for hers. In
his preoccupation his tones lost the buoyancy of
their natural inflections. They were grave, half-
monotonous, as are the voices of those who speak
entranced. In their reserve the girl seemed to feel
a tacit reproach.
"I left my friends before the procession was at
the Town House. The crowd was dense. I tried
to make my way around it. But the night came on
faster than I had thought, and then there seemed
none to ask. " Her utterance was as grave as his
own, and far colder.
"So long all this time you have wandered!"
The sympathy, almost the grief, of the change
brought back her gratitude in a warm current.
"None had frightened me till till I called. I
do not know well how I may thank you " Her
voice halted rather than ceased. The silence that
fell upon their speech was as the silence of the
spring night finely astir about them.
The May was at its loveliest, the night its su-
premest hour, with no discords to hinder the ful-
158 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
ness of its harmony, no unregarding eye to affront
with blindness its diviner charm. Odours subtle,
poignant with a sweetness that came upon the
senses delicately and lost itself and returned, magi-
cal, to meet the longing it had created; pale glim-
merings from the close-crowding depths of new-
grown orchards and the thrill of breezes shaken
through the marvel of late apple blooms and pale
syringa buds; above, the dark cloud mysteries
brooding nearer than the skies, and blotting out
the far shine of trembling stars ; and everywhere
sweeter, more poignant, more magical still dream-
ful, evanescent, the fragrance of the blossoming
grapes. The dark shut them in. Within its void
they were lost, undiscoverable, alone.
To Roger it was all but the outward expression
of her, wonderful, mysterious, even in shadow, to
one who was content to wait the dawn. For this
the barren years had saved him. For this his days
had kept aloof from the crude dalliance of his fel-
lows, the early mating, practical and uninspired,
of the wilderness. For this he had not heeded
that they called him cold, believed him strangely
lacking, and mocked him with good-natured rail-
lery, that even the church had accused him, and
his father commanded and rebuked, holding his
example sinful and pernicious. This then, was the
reason, as if unknowing, he yet had known, beneath
the lad's indifference, what quest was waiting for
the man.
"How beautiful it is the night!" the girl said
softly, her low tones attuned to the whispering
quiet of the winds. " It is long since I have seen it
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 159
so. At home " She stopped abruptly, un-
easily. "How know you whither I would be go-
ing?" she asked.
"So far we cannot be greatly wrong," he an-
swered, suddenly conscious of the remissness of his
thoughts, for already they were within the shadow
of the Baptist church, and it had not come to him
to ask her way until the instant before she spoke.
"Is the street known to you?" he added.
The girl had paused.
"I am not sure. But from Judge Sewall's or
from Captain Alden's I can find it. "
" It had been somewhat shorter had we taken the
way below, but it is not far. " Roger waited, long-
ing for the courage to turn resolutely back, anxious
lest she should propose it. "It is not far, " he re-
peated, "but you are already tired "
"Not tired, save from fright. Quickly," she
urged. "I must not be later." She pressed on-
ward rapidly, hastening his steps. The influence
of the night was gone. The daylight world was in
her tone, and the trouble of her position, alone
and with one unknown in the dark of the streets.
" I grieve, Sir, that I should keep you so long from
your own affairs, " she apologized with chill per-
functoriness.
Roger answered with quick deprecation, feeling
the enchantment dulled. From behind the shut-
tered windows of the nearest house came the sound
of psalms mournfully intoned. It was the time of
evening prayers, and Nicolas Verring would be
waiting in rigid repression, angered and suspicious,
for his son. And his son had begun the sacred day
160 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
with a street brawl and forgetfulness of all
things'
Stern, ascetical, seers of heavenly visions and be-
lievers in evil spirits, the men and women in the
circle of his Puritan home counted all joy of flesh or
spirit that was not an ecstasy of religious contem-
plation a personal appeal of the Devil's subtlety.
The night that had been to Roger the very incar-
nation of delight was poisoned, its aspiration
broken by the habitual sense of guilt.
Of this the girl knew nothing. The canons of
her world were conventional, not religious. The
gentleness, the distance, of a stranger who had none
of the shallow tricks of speech that marked the
cavaliers whom she had known, moved her to a
growing confidence. As they went on she spoke
now and again, naturally, frankly, of her stupidity
in missing the way, of the pitfalls in the uncouth
cobbles, and of the crooked lanes of Boston,
already "a little London in the West, " and that
he must not blame her friends, for that she had
run away and perhaps her fright was meted pun-
ishment. Upon which the heaviness departed
from him and was no more remembered until he
left her.
" Why did you run away ? " he asked boldly. He
could feel her hesitation, but her words did not be-
tray it.
" There was one in the party I would avoid,' ' she
answered.
"Ah, then you like him not !" He sighed with
sharp relief, scarce realizing what he said, but re-
calling his pang at the sight of Jacob Munch bend-
ing familiarly near her in the open window.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 161
The girl's amazement brought her to a stand.
She withdrew her hand from his arm as if the better
to defend her silken skirts from the ill-kept paving,
and she did not replace it as they moved on.
" I saw him with you in the window, " he said
quietly.
The girl made no reply, either too resentful or
too much puzzled for answer, and he spoke again
after a pause. He was conscious that he had
doubly erred, and had associated himself in her
mind with the staring crowd from which she had
been so eager to escape.
"You must not judge too harshly of us in' these
wilds, " he said, his voice sunk to a contrite under-
tone that might not reach the dwellers near the
street. "We are blunt and rudely outspoken,
but we be not all cowards and ruffians ! "
She was still silent, but as the road grew rougher
and they crossed behind the church into the Old
Way by the Mill Pond, she slipped her hand once
more upon his sleeve and might have felt the leap-
ing welcome, the thankful yielding to the touch, as
he bent his arm to give her better resting place.
They went slowly in the uneven path. Roger
could hear the soft rustle of her gown even when
the warm south wind was freest among the tree-
tops. Sense and inward sight were all con-
founded. The kindly dark that kept them
side by side did not blot her face from his seeing.
Sometimes it was in the periagua glowing against
the blue; sometimes gazing downward, radiant and
unconscious, upon the Governor; oftenest, as at
that moment, with none near but himself to guess
162 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
the loveliness hidden in the shadows of the blos-
somed May.
Yet that which possessed him wholly, inescapa-
bly, was herself; and it was the spirit of her, brave,
mirthful, full of laughter for the world ; tender, in-
effable, within that inner citadel wherein she was
entrenched, that held and mastered him. How he
knew her, how the treasure so deeply hidden, so
inaccessibly far to seek, was plain to him while still
he waited before the outer defences of her life, he
might not have said. But he knew.
Beneath the grave distance, the apparent calm,
that gave her friendly reassurance, his whole
nature rose to the height of that for which he longed,
and through their scattered talk showed itself in
sudden comprehensions, in swift expression of the
thought she had not uttered. How much or how
little of this was guessed by her she did not betray
and he was content that she went beside him in the
shade without fear and without coldness, meting to
him, as it seemed, what she might have given to
any one who had set her on her way.
" Have a care here. 'Tis a broken path and ill
to keep, " he cautioned as they got deeper into the
lane.
' 'Tis the unthinking who go safest, " she an-
swered quickly. " To think invites disaster. " She
stopped suddenly with a little ejaculation in which
pain and a vexed sense of helplessness caught per-
plexedly. ' ' I fear I must rest -I turned my foot
upon the stones "
Grief for the pain, anger at his own selfishness in
bringing her by the longer way fought against his
grasping joy in the added minutes.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 163
Swiftly he found her a seat on the trunk of a
willow bent camel- wise to the ground. Every tree
and rock of the place was known to him. The
way they travelled led past his own door.
" 'Tis easier now. The riband of my shoe had
pressed somewhat too harshly. " The girl's tone
was relieved. Roger leaning upon the trunk left
erect beside its twisted mate turned toward her,
not daring to repeat his offer of aid.
" If it be a sprain, 'twere best bound firmly, " he
said marvelling at the commonplace of his words.
How long must she have kept her pace beside him
stabbed at every step by the keenness of the pang,
hoping to find her destination before endurance
failed.
" 'Tis nothing so unkind as a sprain but ' 'twill
serve' ! " Her voice, low and clear with the suffer-
ing hopefully suppressed, heartened him.
"Mercutio was worse wounded than he said.
How may I know 'tis not the same with you ! "
"By the proof," she answered promptly, essay-
ing to rise but forced back again upon her seat.
" Wait but a little till I loose the other band. It is
no more than a bruise. The stone was sharp. 'Tis
a sin to so detain you, sir. You are most patient. "
Her voice had lost the child's dependence and gave
but frank and formal acknowledgment.
Roger's mind worked rapidly, his plan ready if it
appeared she could not walk. At any hazard
she should be saved from the petty gossip of the
town. But his words, solicitous, disclaiming
thanks, took instantly the note of her own, match-
ing her formality with more careful distance.
164 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Even in her helplessness there was a strength in
her presence, positive and regnant. Roger recog-
nized it, unassertive as it was for any weaker com-
prehension. It increased his tenderness. Here
was one who would ask no ease from others, beg
with no soft pleadings for sympathy and support,
one who would hide her griefs, her needs, where
only love stronger than her reticence might come
to share them. To serve the weak is knightly,
but to serve the strong is more surely blessed.
He seemed to look upward to immeasurable
heights to find her, and all the while to know the
joy her yielded trust would be.
"Then the good Mercutio hath friends in Boston
even though there be no playhouses, " she was say-
ing as she made a more successful venture to stand
upright.
"Not so many as he deserves," Roger replied,
coming anxiously to her assistance. "Be careful
I pray you ! We are close on the water's edge. "
She had brought keenly to him an unforgotten
martyrdom, the burning of his mother's Shakes-
peare his stolen kingdom, wrested from him and
dismembered with unloving hands.
The Maid took her first steps firmly, making
light of his anxiety. The air had grown warmer,
beating on them in soft waves of heat, a touch of
the summer's maturer fervour in the sweetness of the
New England spring. The earth was cradled in
the warmth, a warmth to be recalled with hope
even when it should be repented in sleety rain and
winds out of the biting east. It made a refuge of
thedark, and eased the strain upon men's thoughts,
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 165
giving repose to nerves too winter-worn and
tense.
To Roger it brought not so much repose as free-
dom. The fear of self-betrayal, the trammelling
doubt of his own wish or word, had gone, and left
him unconstrained, franker even than the maid ; for
though the fair directness of her speech was marred
by no pretended coyness, it opened to him no ap-
proach. Neither in the short rest beside the water
nor after in the deserted thoroughfares did its
barriers weaken. If she deemed he might have
rated her too freely for her greeting of the Governor,
with this escapade to add to its strangeness, she
showed at least how far she was from easy friend-
liness.
And yet happiness was strong in the man, and
only a sense of her suffering prevailed to give it
pause. As he talked, following the play of his own
fancy for the first time allowed to have its way, he
grew never flippant; beneath the shoreward ripple
of their broken and desultory speaking sounded
ever the oncoming tide.
If some sure consciousness within herself was
fused by the fine alchemy of the night to oneness
with his mood it sunk itself in silence; and for his
unfathomed consciousness of her there was no
token save in a remoter homage. Still it had been
a spirit dull of apprehension that had not felt the
appeal, electrical and potent, of what their speech
denied.
At her gate she dismissed him somewhat coldly.
" I see there is a stranger within, or Madam and
her brother should add their thanks to mine, " she
said with neutral courtesy.
166 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
A strain of music had broken in upon the words,
the first notes of a violin skilfully played. Roger
could see the vines that trailed upon the walls blown
in loose tendrils across the lighted panes. The
lilt of the melody was new to him. His feeling
answered it as sound follows the bow. It woke
upon the echo of her coldness like the return of the
night's enchantment, controlling, assonant.
He moved, to answer her, his voice chiming with
the melody, the same thrill in its low modulations ;
and as he moved, the yellow light streamed in a
golden mist across his face. He had lifted his hat
from his head for his farewell, and the comeliness
that his inmost soul regarded with aversion, that
had been made his reproach and scorn through-
out his life, came all at once upon the girl's await-
ing sight.
Strong-featured, cleanly framed in the early New
England mould where the survivals had need to be
the best, there was nothing shambling or uncouth
in the figure the light but half disclosed. The
charm of it, the difference, lay in something that
had ever puzzled his father and sent a contentment
ill-shepherded by fears to his mother's heart.
It may be that the look he turned to her, the
look the night had wrought, made nobler revela-
tion than his words. A change came in her voice
her face still in the shadow and there was in the
iteration of her own words a sudden faith.
" I cannot say how much I thank you, Sir. "
Involuntarily she held out her hand to meet his,
outstretched for it, and the grasp gave into her
keeping something of the real Roger Verring that
his father would never know.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 167
And if the look, the clasp, the clasp of force made
gentle without loss, went with her as she entered,
it was they that armoured her with a profound and
gracious dignity as she met Sir Humphrey Wild-
glass, so that he cast upon her a sudden glance that
questioned her composure.
Roger, turning backward as he went, saw but
the deep obeisance of this stranger of the violin
and the smiling gallantry that gave admiring wel-
come to the maid.
Sharp anger and foreboding torture struck rend-
ing claws through all the substance of his dream.
The night grew heavy and its deeps but better
hiding for the things of dread. The wind brought
dampness and the chill of unknown sorrows in its
breath.
Yet his pulses, fervent still to heed the vibrant
touch of her hand within his own, sank to no slower
measure, and as he retraced his way, the warmth
of memory battled with the gloom, and the soft
ministry of the night came back in mingled pain
and hope.
CHAPTER XII
IN THE FOREST OF FEARS
" This world is a forest of fears,
Where each sinner must strive for his soul. "
THE tide was low in Mill Creek and the water
from the Pond, creeping over the dam and
around the sluice gates, fell with a sharp
trickle into the canal. In the depressing quiet of
the evening the salty waters leaking toward the
sea from their imprisonment upon the land had
to Roger a sound of drear futility.
To the jealous wretchedness that kept before
him the picture of Sir Humphrey, new pain was
added as he traversed the familiar streets. Con-
science, the Puritan self-consciousness forever
irritated with unnatural remorse, arraigned him
brutally. Against the turmoil of his thoughts it
matched the Sabbath calm ; against the bare sever-
ity of Boston ways it held up the gay complexity of
a world he had not known. All that was best and
finest, all that was strenuous and ideal, in the sim-
pler world gave garish unreality to the warmth and
colour by which he had been drawn. Perfume and
brightness, the "delight of the eye and the pride
of life" how the mere joy of bodily existence had
thrilled him ! And on the day hallowed for the
service of Heaven how his soul had yielded itself to
the fiddler's skill so that it yet craved mightily for
more of that subtle excitation !
168
THE COAST OP FREEDOM 169
And the Maid ! Shut away from him by bar-
riers that made her an alien, built around with
conceptions, prejudices, hatreds, for all that he held
sacred counting men like Nicolas Verring as cant-
ing hypocrites and the homely labors of pioneers
as degradation how should she be reached by
him? Even if, abandoning every loyalty that
claimed his faith, he gave his all, body and soul, in
feverish warfare with these bristling distances be-
tween, what chance had he? How should the
sombre provincial hope to win against a gallant
like him who had bowed before her in the lighted
room, whose graces were brought from her home
across the sea, whose language was her own and
grated with no unpleasant harshness of the un-
familiar ?
Early as it was, few windows were still alight, even
the Orange Tree Inn showing no glimpse or gleam
of a yellow ray. At the head of Cross street, its
wide acreage of land leading back through the
blossoming trees to the Old Way by the Pond, the
house of Nicolas Verring dominated its fellows.
It was of stone, uncompromising in outline, mas-
sive as prisons are, and far more stoutly built than
the prison of its own town, whose sunken sills let
in the winter cold and little drifts of snow upon the
victims it immured. No flowers broke the grassy
circuit of the yard, save where a clump of lilacs
had waved their purple fronds beneath Roger's
window every springtime since, a tiny lad, he had
first waked in the unsullied dawn to know their
fragrance in his room. Every year Nicolas Ver-
ring threatened to cut them down. Every year
Madam Verring interceded and they remained.
1 70 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"The snare of the senses," the man had re-
peated with each renewal of the contest. "Some-
times it feareth me to think, Alison, that Roger
hath from thee so strong a yearning for the things
of earth. Surely never yet did I give inordinate
affection to that which had no soul. "
The words came back to Roger's mind as he
climbed the hill. He had listened in his earliest
years with a fast-beating heart, feeling in some
occult child fashion the symbolism of the purple
blooms. His mother had taken meekly the re-
proach; a flush of guilty assent had risen ever in
her cheeks, and she had looked warningly first at
her husband, then at the too attentive child.
"I also fear it, Nicolas," she had answered
calmly. "It hath seemed to me the voice of God
spoke to me in the flowers, but I have striven to
overcome the thought, " quenching the light in the
child's eyes swiftly lest what her words had kindled
prove of the Devil. ' 'Tis ever too easy to mis-
take our pleasure for a Higher Will. "
Her very meekness had disarmed the rebuke.
Afterward she had been quieter, a sadness settled
in her eyes and about her mouth, at other times
prone to smiles instead of sighs. Once she had
wept. The child's impression rose suddenly from
that strange sub-consciousness that overflows the
past, full of the impotence of pained revolt. A
great weight rested on his heart. He paused a
moment at the gate and looked soberly at the
forbidding shadow of his home. The memory
took form in the shadow clearer than the shapes
of the night but mingled with them. The inner
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 171
life in which the boy had grown became daily more
vivid with the man, the outer more and more a
husk attached nowhere to his real self save as a
shelter to its nakedness.
"Thou lovest the lad more than is consistent
with his welfare. " His father's warning utterance
returned to him, distinct and cheerless. " 'Tis thy
way to love too greatly. 'Tis rather a stumbling
block than a fitting guidance. "
"Have I been a 'stumbling block' to thee,
Nicolas ? " his mother had asked in a voice so low
it had seemed but the voice of the spirit.
Nicolas Verring had waited before he answered.
When he had spoken his own voice had been less
didactic.
" 'Tis meet a woman should give homage to her
husband," he had replied. "He is her natural
head, as is Christ to the Church. 'Tis not in reason
that his greater strength should thereby suffer
harm. " His voice had grown hard again with the
cold severity of the lawgiver and the judge. Lines
of famine had cut themselves about the mother's
sensitive lips. A heat of miserable rage had burned
smotheringly in the lad's heart. Then Nicolas
Verring had rested his hand upon his wife's head
in a swift gesture of retraction.
" Nay, Alison, " he said, "the fault be mine if my
need of thee be too quick for a higher need. How
should I lead thee upward, my own eyes being
cast upon the ground?"
The hardness in his father's voice had been
changed to a shriller note, a note of strain, of anx-
ious striving, heard often in the long climax of his
172 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
prayers and carrying to the child's soul a sense of
awe, of woe impending, scarce to be averted. His
mother had risen at the words, gladness breaking
through her look of grief.
" I would sooner die than be to thee a hindrance,
a makeweight, Nicolas, " she had said, still low but
with a kind of passion new to the boy. " I would
ever be to thee a better wife, worthier to walk with
tfeee in the higher fellowship. "
It was then, for the first time, the little lad had
seen how beautiful his mother was. He remem-
bered, as he laid his hand upon the gate and waited
before the silent house. He had heard, since, that
of all the maids of Plymouth, Alison Cole had been
esteemed most wonderfully fair. Comprehension
of the father's look, the look of struggle, came to
Roger in the illumination that sometimes shows
the unexplored within our own domain. And that
remembered talk had been many years before,
when his father had been but little older than the
present Roger. Was it this same madness that
Nicolas Verring had fought down, this same un-
namable tenderness and joy ?
Oppressed with the sense of treason to his home,
he grew wretched unspeakably, wrought upon by
the certainty of his own evil will, tortured in all
his frank outspoken nature with a consciousness
that would be held a mortal sin. For he knew,
even in the gloom of stern abasement, that the fire
the night had kindled would burn with a stronger
glow for every adverse wind of doubt and that he
should not pray to be delivered from either its
compelling warmth or its unrelenting pain. Was
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 173
he indeed unfit to be the son of Nicolas Verring
and Alison, his wife ?
He swung back the gate and walked steadily up
the path, hearing still his mother's voice. So in a
kind of humbleness of frame he opened the massive
door and entered. His mother's eyes, anxious,
questioning, were upon him as he lifted the latch.
Something he had always found before seemed
lacking from their confidence.
The candles in their silver candlesticks shone
vaguely on her smooth hair; on her dress, speckless,
plain, and costly as became her station; on the
straight collar of lace whereon even yet her hus-
band was wont to comment doubtfully; and upon
the face still fair, still sensitive, but grown less facile
to the touch of feeling held so ruthlessly in sub-
jection.
The room was dim save in the circle of the two
candles, the fire long since banked for the night.
Faint gleams shot from the polished brass of the
andirons and from the china ranged upon the wall.
The carved settle and the rush-bottomed chairs,
the tall cupboard and the walnut desk, peopled
the dimness with black shapes. The silence was
grave, full of a grim suspense.
Nicolas Verring sat in the leather-cushioned seat
his father had brought from Devon, and the mon-
sters upon its upright posts peered at Roger from
either side the set and accusing features. He was
rigidly upright, neither lounging nor leaning, his
Bible open on his knee. The mother's gaze turned
from Roger's face and sought her husband's. He
read on till the chapter was ended, placed the mark
at the point upon which his eye had last rested,
and closed the book.
174 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Roger had moved toward his mother impulsively
as if to speak, but at his father's look he waited.
"Where hast thou kept the Sabbath eve?"
The words, natural in themselves, conveyed the
accusation of the look. They might have been the
words of a public prosecutor, so positive they
seemed in a prejudgment of evil doing. The hu-
mility went out of the son as he heard. He had
been condemned and by a method unjust, inexor-
able. His mother's expression had lost already its
first aloofness. Her eyes dwelt on him, confident of
his truth.
Roger saw nothing of the confidence. He had
fixed his gaze upon his father's face and his look
was as direct, as unbending, as the one he met. In
the first heat of his resentment he kept silence.
His father waited but briefly. An arbitrariness
inevitable to him who believes himself Heaven-
appointed interpreter and administrator of the
divine decrees added a peremptory coldness to
his command.
"Speak, Sir."
" I tarried to guide a stranger lost in the streets. "
The sense of un worthiness, of failure, was gone;
the painful presentiment of this very battle the
contest renewed of nature and fanaticism, the
oppression of his thoughts, lifted. A kind of
strength born of the contempt for injustice was
growing within him.
In every line of his figure he was himself a Verring.
The erectness of a carriage none too pliant in the
elders was softened in him to something less stiff, a
certain unlovely obstinancy of gait mobilized to
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 175
gentler freedom in the younger man. But the
power of resistance, the vigour of insistent, un-
thwartable personality, was as virile, as deter-
mined, the steel of the Verring will as unbreakable,
as if it had been more harshly sheathed. In his
voice was less impatience, more self-mastery, than
in his father's.
To Nicolas Verring, this very erectness, this fear-
lessness, was doubly evidence of a hardened heart.
"Another drunkard shielded in his crime?" he
demanded inflexibly. "Another maid protected
in her wantonness ? What affinity hath my son
with wine-bibbers and harlots ? "
"Thou art wrong, sir. " Roger did not raise his
voice, but a white fire of indignation seemed to
purify the air of his father's spoken thought. "And
as for poor Rumney, 'twas the King's agent led
him astray and he was but a lad. 'Twould have
killed Dame Rumney had the boy been set in the
pillory for the town to mock at. And for the maid
who walked with him, she was as innocent as any,
save for the imprudence, Whom should a man
protect, I'd ask to know? Are there none weak
but cripples ? And had she been bad as the worst,
'twas Christ Himself protected Mary of Magda-
lene!"
Had he blasphemed, no greater horror could have
repudiated his utterance.
"With thy countenance thou but sendest them
farther on the road to Hell. 'Tis work the Devil
prospers, and doing it thy foot is entered already
on the way that leadeth to destruction. "
The anxious intentness of the mother approved
the words.
176 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
" They that touch pitch shall be defiled, " Nicolas
Verring ended with solemn emphasis.
"Then 'twere well we went not to meeting,"
answered the son recklessly. "There's pitch there
in high places would make poor Rumney look spot-
less enough ! "
"Silence, Sir!" The imperious will of the elder
raged in the new command. "Who taught thee to
slander the righteous and to uphold the wicked?
What is my offence before God that my son, my
only son, should be a byword and a hissing to the
chosen people?" He rose vehemently, strong
misery in his convulsed face. "Judge Sewall
leaneth upon his Samuel, even Christopher Munch
may dwell with pride upon his Jacob "
"Aye a 'Jacob' indeed!" interjected Roger
unheard.
"While I, I must be shamed in the sight of
men "
"Nay, Nicolas." The mother's protest came
with a sharp recoil upon the word. "Roger hath
never shamed thee "
" 'Tis ever thus thou wouldst shield him, woman !
I say again 'tis to send him the faster to damnation.
'Tis for this I am guilty that I put not an end to
it long since. Beware that in the wicked indul-
gence of thy weakness thou hast not his soul to thy
account ! "
The accusation so fiercely turned upon herself
beat down the wife's interference with a mortal
dread. Had she destroyed her son ?
"If I am saved 'twill be the faith of my mother
saves me." Roger's words were low, carrying
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 177
their own conviction. "She hath belief in my
honour. Even Rufus Gillam believed my word,
but a criminal hath more chance with Nicolas Ver-
ring than his son. "
"Roger!"
The mother gazed fearfully at the two, so alike in
their antagonism, so necessary to each other, so
brutally tearing at the quick of each other's life.
If Roger had been given a mother more like his
father this need not have been.
" He that denies his Maker and reviles the right-
eous will hardly spare his father. " The allusion to
Captain Gillam had touched Nicolas Verring where
he was most vulnerable, in his pride of infallibility,
and in his distrust of the influences to which he had
exposed the boy.
He had seated himself again. Roger walked up
and down the room, a clairvoyant sense of his fath-
er's grief fastened on him in wretched compunc-
tion.
" No more of thy idle evasions ! Where hast thou
spent the evening of the Sabbath?" The com-
punction died. His father's tone made an atmos-
phere in which it could not live. "Another brawl ! "
The man pointed in bitter triumph to the blood
upon Roger's hand. It had trickled through the
fingers from the cut made by the sword.
"The rapier of a drunken vagabond one of two
whom I beat off with some trouble, " the son began.
Madam Verring half rose from her chair. Her
face, white already, could have gone no whiter.
" 'Tis nothing, mother. 'Twill barely show when
'tis bathed, " he reassured her quickly.
178 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The father's features had but sharpened to great-
er sternness.
"Where found'st thou brawlers betwixt here
and Mr. Mather's?"
A slight consciousness appeared for the first time
in Roger's manner, but he did not hesitate.
"They were on Fish street, by the entrance to
Sun court "
" What brought thee there?"
"I heard a cry. The bullies were frightening a
woman. I "
"A woman! What manner of woman goes
abroad at such an hour and in that neighbourhood ?
Another 'innocent' belike!"
The younger man stood for an instant rigid.
His whole being swirled in the vortex of a consum-
ing anger. The words came like defilement upon
the purity of his exaltation and they drove him in
involuntary disgust and loathing to a more hopeless
distance. When he spoke his voice was violent in
suppression.
" 'Tis not Christian so to wrong the guiltless.
The maid was a stranger, lost and terrified, and
gave me no more than civil thanks, not even her
name. "
"'Maid'!" The cold edge of the father's con-
tempt drew across a bare nerve. The rasp of it
went through the son in a rage insensate as mania.
"Wert thou another man I could kill thee for
that sneer, " he cried below his breath.
His mother stepped suddenly before him; lofty
reproof blazed in her eyes.
"Thou canst speak so to the father whose great-
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 179
est wish is thy welfare ! And all because he hath
wonder at a maid who goeth wandering alone and
at the wharfside in the night ! What spell is on
thee ? What of this woman ? "
Roger had shrunk more at the echo of his own
words than at her reproaches. He looked dazed,
worn with the pain of stabs given and received.
" 'Tis as I said," he repeated. "She is a stran-
ger and had lost her way trying to get past the
crowd around the Town House. While she wan-
dered the dusk came on. " His gaze was straightly
on his mother's.
" And how came it thou wast near ? " she asked
"I left my company at the Governor's "
" What ! " put in his father sharply.
"The press was thick about Green lane and I
crossed by Sir William's orchard "
"Thou, an officer, left thy company, without
reason !"
" 'Twas an impulse to escape the throng. "
"Thou'rt the first Verring to desert a soldier's
post for such an 'impulse'. Art thou a weakling?
And was't 'impulse ' guided thee to Fish street ? "
"I was absent, Sir. I hardly know which way I
went. " The taunt was answered quietly. Mem-
ory of his moment's frenzy, the horror of his own
words whose meaning no Puritan born could lightly
forget still subdued his wrath. But though his tone
was quiet, a flush rose in his cheeks so that his
mother saw, and Nicolas Verring, peering upon his
son with a host of evil imaginings poisoning the
look, saw too, but his interpretation was other than
the mother's.
i8o THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"The truth, Sir. Do not lie, " he shouted. The
white heat of his anger hissed in the words. They
sounded loud as thunderclaps in the ears of those
who heard, and none replied. All were standing.
Nicolas Verring in his frowning wrath grew more
terrible. Formidable, waiting, his eyes held a
steelly grasp upon his son.
The son returned the gaze steadfastly. The hor-
ror with which he had recognized his own ' ' I could
kill thee" was no deeper than his horror at this
more deadly thrust. Something seemed lost, gone
for all time, in the tie which bound him to his
father.
"Roger, wilt thou answer thy mother?" She
had drawn nearer, her hand upon his arm. " I be-
lieve thy word thy father's son will not falsify his
word but my heart is sore. Who is this maid?
Was't she in Madam Fitch's window? How came
the girl hither ? With whom does she abide ? "
" Nay, mother, " Roger looked down at her grave-
ly. "She said naught of herself, but she bides with
the strangers lately come to the house that was the
Widow Pullen's. "
" Hadst thou seen her before ? "
" I saw her at the window. " His eyes darkened.
He seemed older. The man Roger, no longer the
boy.
" Thou hadst never seen her before that ? Never
in London when thou wast there ? "
"No." The denial came impatiently from his
lips. It was clear his mother doubted him at last.
Her hand dropped from his sleeve. With that
withdrawal a sense of desertion, of betrayal, broke
desolately upon him.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 181
" Have I permission to go, Sir? " he asked coldly.
To Nicolas Verring the request was but added de-
fiance.
"Aye go, " he answered in tones grimmer than
cursing.
Nothing could have seemed further from his atti-
tude than weeping, but as Roger passed him and
laid his hand upon the polished stair rail to ascend,
the man bowed his head upon the table and cried
out aloud in the Scripture lament of them that are
forsaken, a cry that brought his son to his side with
swift steps contrite, his heart broken with the
grief he had wrought.
"Father!"
"Away with thee, and see 'that the night bring
repentance. Other men have sons. I have but
" Nicolas ! " Alison Verring had come near with
her boy. "Nicolas, hear him," she pleaded.
" He is sad to grieve thee so. "
" I hear him not till he be brought to a true re-
pentance. " Nicolas Verring lifted upon his wife
a look of grey displeasure. "And go thou not near
him, but pray for his sins for that he hath this evil
inheritance from thee. " His eyes glittered in the
smarting tears that gave abnormal brilliancy to
their fanatic anger; misery looked out beneath the
outraged majesty of the dismissal. " Pray, " he re-
peated harshly, "as I shall pray, for light and the
revelation to make visible the Hand of the Lord in
what is now accursed. "
Roger, like one struck in the face when his arms
are tied, stood up to his full height, then turned and
went, without a backward glance.
i82 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The wife lingered.
"Nicolas them wilt not drive me from thee
my husband. What grief should we not share ? "
He was silent.
He watched her as she opened the door into their
chamber and watched it close. Still he did not
move. Through the open shutters the odour of the
lilacs crept on the soft wind.
It roused him to new anger and he stumbled to
the window and shut it violently against the per-
fume of the offending flower.
To him the soothing fragrance was but another at-
tack of that insidious Will with which he had vainly
fought in this evil night. The thought spurred
him to stronger wrestlings. It should not prevail.
Beset on every side, believing the Tempter's clutch
to be coiling like octopus arms upon his son and
fastening even to his wife, alone, he threw himself
upon his knees and strove, single-handed, against
the Power of Hell.
CHAPTER XIII
PILGRIM AND PURITAN
THE same perfume came in the upper win-
dows and mingled with the hopelessness of
Roger's thoughts, so that the fragrance of
lilac blooms seemed ever after to bring with it the
sense of woe, of dull disaster and regret.
The hour went wretchedly on. Better to face
reproof, remonstrance, than this aloofness. His
nature, ardent like his mother's, starved hungrily
in silence, and groped in the cheerless dark for the
threads of the broken harmony. In his most act-
ual self he could never be content with discord.
The love of battle for its own sake was not in him.
The impulse that drove him to contests which
brought upon him his father's condemnation was
but revolt from cruelty, injustice, the offence of the
strong against the weak; these alone were what
made agreement hateful.
Nicolas Verring could not see the difference in the
motive. To him a blow was a blow, and the temper
that struck, quarrelsome and malicious. The pride
of family, the sense of caste and station, as tyran-
nous with the Puritan as his terror of evil spirits,
made the fear of gossip, the chance of publicity
doubly revolting.
Alison Verring was of those who had heard from
the lips of grandmothers the tale of the Leyden so-
journ, and of the cheerful ways of the Dutch cities.
183
184 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
A mellowness and a sweetness from those days had
ripened in the lives of the Pilgrims. Not given to
autocratic interference with others, imbued with a
more wholesome faith, that had less fear of happi-
ness and simpler and more vital hold on God, the
men of Plymouth preserved for their children a
higher type of practice, a less rigid channel of belief.
In this third generation the truer essence of their
faith was tinctured with the intolerance of their
Puritan neighbours, but in Alison its truth was un-
defiled and she gave her boy her best inheritance,
heightened and deepened by the pure intensity of
her own nature.
All the sacramental joy of her marriage, all the
aspirations of her patriotism, of her love for New
England, all the ecstasies of her faith, she had
wrought into his being in the days when kneeling in
thankful prayer or singing her magnificat in the
ardours of her work she had waited for his coming.
A happy light was ever round her as she moved.
In its radiance, a radiance shining through dark
mists of the Puritan creed, Roger had sunned him-
self. Bereft of her he would have been forlorn un-
speakably. With her, an ever-present, encompass-
ing comprehension, he had grown up un warped,
and with the native spring and buoyancy of his
clean youth not wholly overborne.
A sense of humour she had as well, and often re-
proached herself as the scalpel of the boy's tongue
slit the cover from some hypocritic deed and laugh-
ter rose within her at the aptness of his comment.
If she smiled, then for weeks she scourged herself
lest she had been his tempter to further trespassing,
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 185
and sat through the hour of his punishment with the
lash that bit his tender flesh buried in the quivering
of her heart. Sometimes it lasted long, till the
child had well-nigh fainted under it, uttering no
sound but reeling as he stood.
Afterward, bathing the cruel marks, she had laid
soft linen upon them and oftenest had said no word
for fear of self-betrayal, but once, rising to the su-
preme of anguished effort, she had spoken coldly
that the admonition might have effect.
"Thou wilt remember, Roger. Thou wilt not
grieve us so again. "
There had been no answer but an angry sound,
and she had spoken no more, knowing well the fire
of rage burning in the boy's soul. That he could
let her come near at all showed how wonderful was
the bond that held them.
As the lad grew older she had sometimes made
bold to plead against the father's misconception.
" 'Tis not always sinful to do battle, " once she
had said. "Thy own father was no mean fighter. "
"Against a tyrant," he had answered.
"There be other tyrants than kings, " she had re-
plied swiftly, then fallen silent at her spinning, her
cheeks hot with her defence.
But her husband had persisted, setting forth his
words, slow and separate, that she might not miss
his meaning. Hers he had not fathomed, and
passed over as fanciful and ill-considered.
" 'Tis one thing to fight and gain a nation's free-
dom, and another to brawl in the common street
and gain but an evil reputation, " he had said pon-
i86 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
derously. "Why should one meddle with what
concerns him not ? "
This had been before Roger was sent away
with Master Gillam upon the Hopewell. From that
time she had not failed to persevere in the struggle
to make father and son understand each other.
When the two were apart or when no disputed deed
rose between them all went well, and a mutual con-
fidence and pride asserted itself in both, but too
often the strife was renewed over the old ground
and she could only suffer, waiting for better
counsel.
As Roger looked into the cloudy night its sweet-
ness taunted him. Why was the Devil in all the
earth and air beguiling man with wiles and strata-
gems life but a ceaseless vigil in the midst of the
unseen, the perilous, that which seemed most
heavenly a lure of hell ?
After the worst smart of the final rebuff, the
knowledge of his father's struggle disquieted him.
He remembered the half-heard words of prohibition
and knew that his mother would not come, and
her grief, solitary like his own, deepened the op-
pression.
And she, too, distrusted him. She was conscious
that somewhere he had been false ! He had said
that he had -not seen the Maid before. " In Lon-
don?" she had asked. It was that he had an-
swered but he put the thought away. He had
meant they should believe he had seen her for the
first time, that day. If he had refused to answer,
if he had assented, how could they fail sooner or
later to connect this recognition of a stranger barely
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 187
arrived in Boston with the sea voyage of his boy-
hood? And that would be treachery, even to the
forgetting of his oath on the Araby Rose.
For a space he could have hated the thought of
the Little Maid. Who was she to break his father's
heart and put lies in the mouth of a man ? He had
never, so far as he was aware, given his direct word
to a lie before. It hurt with the sordid ache of a
besmirching misery.
Yet what was that to danger, to certain danger
for the life of the Maid !
He felt he must escape to action. It was intol-
erable to sit here in the darkened house, in the
chill of the stone walls, and give himself over to
fiends that pinched and tore, to the thought of his
father in the room below pouring out a vexed and
stricken soul in fierce supplication, to the thought of
the slow dropping of his mother's tears as she knelt
in remorseful agony, confessing her sin of too much
love ! His mother a scorching ran across his eyes
the wisest, dearest, purest ! No woman should
again cost her this martyrdom.
He threw himself down by the window, his head
buried in his arms, and prayed silently. The air
blowing cold from across the Pond brought the
marshy smell of the banks. Through the quiet he
could hear the water yet trickling above the dam.
Far beyond, toward the Common, the chorus of
frogs droned distantly, and everywhere there went
a stir through the Sabbath calm, the stir of spring
and hope.
The sense of the irreparable, the inexorable,
lightened. He moved as if to rise and seek his
i88 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
father. He would not sleep unforgiven. But as
he rose he heard the door close into his mother's
room. He dared not follow lest he offend again.
The grief of griefs, that he should have said those
words " I could kill thee " was again upon him, and
with them came memory of the provocation.
Recollection travelled in swift leaps. And she
did not like Jacob Munch ! A comforting warmth
broke faintly over him at the thought. Poor Little
Maid ! Again he saw her in the pictures of the past,
in the reality of the present as she had lain in the
Captain's arms, unconscious from long suffering;
afterward, as she had told her tale, again as she
had drunk the "safe home" and the pledge of the
Rose. And now she was here here in Boston, the
dark eyes no longer mournful, the beautiful frank
way, the vivid charm, but franker, more potent.
In his restlessness he fought again the battle by
the wharfside with the sailors. But were they
sailors? The man who had first fled and then re-
turned he was no sailor. Sailors went not cloaked
and armed with swords. Nor had he been so
drunken as his fellow. Then why the attack?
And in concert with so low a ruffian? The Maid
had worn no jewels. Could her cousin, could Greg-
ory Bellingham but that were preposterous to
imagine !
Why had he not told her he was Roger Verring ?
And the fiddle on the Sabbath eve ! All that
was beautiful, ungodly, that was her world ! Vague
trouble of the knowledge fell upon him almost sleep-
ing.
The trouble lingered in his slumbers and carried
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 189
him through doleful strivings to desolate ends,
through long pursuits, where the Maid ever evaded
his coming, till he found his father perishing beyond
his reach, or his mother lying dead beside his path,
the look of reproachful grief set forever on her
moveless lips.
Then the long misery changed. His mother
went with him in the quest and gave him comfort
without words. With her presence peace fell upon
his sleep, and only the robins loud in their delight
brought him from its easeful deeps.
The Sabbath morning was cheerily aflame. Yet
Roger's eyes in their first awakening rested not on
the fair colouring without, nor on the spotlessness
within, but on the dull hues of the Indian shawl
with which his mother's hands had covered him
while he slept.
CHAPTER XIV
THE GOVERNOR'S DINNER
"A health to the native born."
ROGER bowed deeply, the more profoundly
for the suddenness of the surprise. The
blood that had risen to his face receded,
leaving him the handsomer for the pallor.
The invitation to the Governor's dinner, bearing
at the top the knightly seal in careful graving, had
failed to ease the tightening struggle of the ten days
since the arrival of Sir William, a struggle that had
contracted to one desire, the longing to see the Little
Maid.
The invitation had said nothing of his fellow-
guests, and the factions that ranged themselves
for and against the Charter were too marked to
make social fusion probable. The Little Maid,
he had argued, would be invited only with the other
following. He should spend the evening with the
Lieutenant-Governor Stoughton and the disaffected
and anxious who dwelt unhopefully on the meaning
of a royal governorship.
The reasoning was good; but hope yields not to
reason, and as the great door of Sir William's man-
sion had shut him from the cool raindrops and the
dripping trees and the long reaches of garden and
orchard lying drenched under the heavy skies, it
had beat strong within him. When he had entered
the square parlours he had looked from one room to
190
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 191
the other in rapid search before he had bent to Lady
Phips with the ease, distinguished and unconscious,
already marked and condemned by those to whom
it savoured of the "levity " of courts.
At the same instant he had seen her, near them
both but turned a little aside to hear a question,
vivid even in the silent waiting of her arrested look,
the very soul of the complex life that filled the
scene.
In Lady Phips a certain air of affectionate pos-
session, a certain pride, showed delicately as she
greeted him. Here was a provincial born and bred
who would shame no hostess with an awkward
speech, a graceless forgetfulness. It was at her for-
mal words which made Captain Verring known to
Mistress Armitage that the blood had flown back
suddenly upon Roger's heart and left him pale.
The moment seemed but the answer of a demand
grown too peremptory for denial, a response in-
evitable, yet amazing as the expected miracle of
summer.
The surrounding groups, conversing in stately
phrases, stiff and seemly/ or chattering in tones
keyed to the note of the festivity, moved away.
The three were left, for a little, quite alone with the
Governor, who had returned to his wife after a
genial excursion among his friends. Splendid in
gold embroidery and Mechlin, he was as sturdy and
commanding as in the plainer days of the Rose.
"How now Mary ! He knows my Little Maid
already. Bother not with presentations. "
Lady Phips looked from Roger to the girl and
then at her husband, amiably chiding.
192 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"Sir William forgets that Mistress Armitage is
newly come from a world of greater ceremony than
ours ! "
"Nay, Lady Phips, but I find it quite the other
way!" Mistress Armitage replied. " Tis Boston
is the land of ceremony. I fear to transgress its
decorum each time I go abroad. "
"Thou but mockest us, child. " My lady shook
her head reproachfully, the look of pleasure in her
face deepening to a smile at the girl's expression of
humorous protest.
" 'Tis the untutored truth. I shall not sleep o '
nights till I be better instructed. " She turned to
the elder woman with whimsical pleading. "I
pray you take some leisure hour to give me lessons, "
she begged ; then her manner dropped all at once to
the plane of sober restraint. "Captain Verring
will tell you that I need them greatly, " she added
with graver emphasis. "It was he rescued me
from my worst indiscretion. "
Her eyes rested on his, a bravely mastered trou-
ble in their look. If her colour had unaccountably
heightened as Roger bowed, none but Lady Phips
had seen it, and the brief embarrassment had passed
into relief as the Governor's welcome pressed down,
to running over, the measure of his wife's. Who-
ever her champion might be, it was sure Sir William
trusted him.
Roger's eyes had lighted to disclaim the gravity
in her own.
" It is scarce to be counted an indiscretion to lose
one's way in Shawmut lanes, " he answered quickly.
' 'Tis a tribute demanded of every stranger. "
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 193
The trouble went out of her look as he spoke.
"Oh, if 'tis then part of the code " The
seriousness was dispersed in laughter.
Sir William had gazed with delighted interest
from one to the other.
" 'Twas thou, my lad! I might have known
'twas thou. 'Tis his good fate to attend thee in
misfortune, eh Frances?" He had come closer to
the Little Maid, an unwonted gentleness softening
his bluff tones.
"Sh Not Frances." Lady Phips touched his
sleeve warningly. A passing wonder had crossed
the girl's face at his use of the name, and she glanced
involuntarily at Roger.
"Tut-tut ! None heard, and our Captain is dis-
creet. Moreover he may not use it if he would
poor lad!" The Governor laughed again, slyly,
clapping the young man upon the shoulder. "We
are more to be depended on than my Little Maid
herself, for she told her own tale to thee, Mary ! I
had not dreamed so great a rashness !"
Clearly Sir William did not know that the Maid
had failed to recognize in Captain Verring the boy
of the Araby Rose. Roger saw that she was mysti-
fied by the Governor's allusion, and saw, too, at the
same time, that among those who watched her
without seeming to interrupt their own discourse
was one he had not before perceived. The dis-
covery brought him the pang of instant anger. His
hostess had followed his look.
"Thou knowest Sir Humphrey Wildglass?" she
asked.
"I have seen him often in the last week,"
i 9 4 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Roger answered, his eyes coming back to the Gov-
ernor's wife and dwelling briefly on the girl's face
as they came. " I do not know him. What is his
mission in Boston?"
"None can tell, but there is great conjecture,"
began Lady Phips. The Governor had gone apart
with a long-visaged one who was plying him with
a catechism of censorious import. His wife lowered
her voice without changing her expression of cheer-
ful hospitality. "It is like he comes to watch the
conduct of affairs and give secret advices to the
King, " she finished.
"But that would be spying!" The girl spoke
quickly, with a look Roger misunderstood. He
thought she would defend the man. The thought
added to an antagonism already recalled by the
sight of the cavalier. Sir Humphrey had fixed his
eyes upon them more openly, regarding in turn each
speaker. The approach of a new bevy of guests
changed their positions and Roger moved, as if in-
advertently, to intercept the stranger's view of
the Maid. Sir Humphrey moved at the same time
and with the same seeming inadvertence.
"Have you known him long?"
The girl answered Roger's question with the di-
rectness he remembered. "No," she said. "I
saw him for the first time on that evening when I
was lost. It was he who played the violin," and
either at the intentness of Roger's look or at some
recollection he did not share, her colour deepened.
"Thou wilt not repeat the idle suspicion "
Their hostess had disposed of the newcomers and
turned back to them.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 195
"Nay, Lady Phips, I can be discreet as another !
And did I not beg instructions ? You will find me
as obedient as Captain Verring finds his men ! "
"I fear Mistress Armitage is more used to com-
mand than to obey. " The yellow warmth of the
candles added youth to Sir Humphrey's graces.
He took quiet possession of the Maid. There was
about him the powerful attraction of a strong will
clothed upon with soft indifference. "Madam
Chanterell is waiting, " he said with light assurance.
"I like not Madam Chanterell overmuch,"
whispered Lady Phips. "She troubleth too little
to cover her dislikes, and her brother neither came
nor sent excuse, though both were bidden for the
sake of the Maid. 'Twould seem the girl's affection
for Sir William doth much mislike them. "
Roger felt the thrill, half breathless, that followed
the girl as she passed among the watching groups.
A splendour went with her. But behind the glow of
her beauty shone a brightness more compelling yet,
the brightness of a high and fearless spirit, a spirit
that exacted no tribute save truth, and gave itself
no thought for the tempting of a petty homage.
Often during dinner Mistress Armitage lifted her
eyes to search Roger's face in a puzzled fashion.
The two were not side by side but his answering
look met her own with an ever-recurring wonder.
In spite of the Governor's allusion she did not know
him !
Madam Chanterell saw the glances, fleeting as
they were, and was disturbed. Who would have
thought to find so personable a young man among
these raw colonials? The very soberness of his
196 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
attire seemed a heightener of his attraction. It
added a gravity to his youth, that was full of dan-
gerous allurement to a maid surfeited with the
flippancies, the facile hypocrisies, of a different
world. And Madam Chanterell, now that she had
come protesting into this Puritan province, meant
to keep her charge as secluded as possible from its
contamination. Even Sir William, governor
though he might be and rightfully the recipient of
the girl's gratitude, was but doubtfully acceptable.
There was no indefiniteness, no indirection, in her
intentions for the daughter of Francis Bellingham.
She knew well the kind of man, she even thought
she knew the man, who would be most suitable,
most satisfactory. Anger and uneasiness grew
within her as the dinner went on, for her own eyes
persisted in dwelling with unreasoning pleasure
upon the face she would gladly have banished from
the Governor's board.
Roger was aware of her scrutiny, openly disap-
proving, and with an insight at once unconscious
and assured, he realized what her hostility meant.
The pleasant sounds of dining floated out to
mingle with the good-night twittering of the birds.
The steady murmur of contented voices had gained
in volume. The tones of the men were less heavy,
the utterance of the women less primly subdued, as
the progress of the feast wore off the awkward ne-
cessity of adjustment. Everyone had begun to
feel at home in his own place and at ease with his
neighbor.
The mouth of Lieutenant-Governor Stoughton
had lost somewhat of its primness and the meagre
197
hardness of his expression had warmed to some-
thing like a faint reflection of the cheer about him.
While inwardly he noticed with reprobation every
detail of the event from the laces of my Lady to the
buttons of the serving man, he maintained an equa-
ble aloofness and ate with an appearance of severe
discrimination. Now and then he flung an obsti-
nate negation upon an opinion of Mr. Saltonstall
who left the disputed subject smoothly and swung
the conversation into more peaceful channels with
an adroitness Sir William envied.
Roger, a young relative of Lady Phips on either
hand, talked and jested, smiled and played the gal-
lant, as was expected of him. When his spirit
flagged in the task, he pricked himself to more earn-
est endeavor. But always as he raised his eyes, he
let them wander for a little about the long table.
They rested but an instant on any face and kept
but one image after their brief journey. Yet that
glimpse laid each time a hand upon his pulse so that
,,it halted for the sweetness of the touch, then leaped
to meet it in a hurrying stream.
Once he answered a question in a tone dropped
a little from its natural key and a little blurred.
His companion had looked up, caught the trans-
figuring light in his gaze and fluttered under it,
aware of forces in the air she had not consciously
evoked.
If only he could have heard what the Maid was
saying ! He could see the attention, absorbed and
smiling, that waited on her words, the changing ex-
pression of faces responding with unwonted anima-
tion to her mirth or earnest. Sir Humphrey's face
198 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
was among those nearest her. Something about
the man harassed and importuned him with vague
remembrance. Something it was that recalled
not the lighted room and the violin, but things long
past, distinct from the jealousy of the present.
Was it the voice? He thought so once. Mr. In-
crease Mather had made a stricture on the amuse-
ments of the Londoner and Sir Humphrey's tone
raised in sharp repartee had held an irritated tang.
But the impression was latent and elusive.
Sir Humphrey himself seemed engrossed, to
every sense of others' observation, in worship of
Mistress Armitage. Into his admiration he threw
a force, a concentration, that struck upon Roger's
mood like a blow sharp-edged and painful.
"Is not Mistress Armitage beautiful?" He had
caught her name on every hand ; now it came from
Faith Apthorpe, his companion's sister, who de-
serted her roast oysters and the assiduous youth
beyond to put the question to Roger. " I cannot
keep my eyes from her, " she went on confidingly.
"Yet 'tis not her beauty neither. 'Tis as if
'tis a charm. I feel I must know her, though I've
never spoken to her in my life. Every time she
looks at one of those people up there I say, 'O, look
at me, look at me instead !' "
Roger glanced down upon the pretty features to
see if they betrayed a curious skill in irony, but it
was earnest, and the eyes were fastened, not on him
but upon the object of their manifest devotion.
Temple Armitage saw the gaze, and as the girl
smiled and nodded, she answered the smile with one
as friendly, full of a glamour and warmth of interest
no other admiration had drawn from her.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 199
"There!" announced Faith triumphantly.
" Beulah Munch said she was too proud and stiff to
make friends but la la I knew 'twas not so.
Didst see her, Mercy ? She smiled at me as we had
been friends this twelvemonth. "
Mercy, whose own gaze had been fixed upon the
stranger's, turned back to her sister and to Roger.
She was moved still by the flash of Roger's look,
and her sister's words annoyed her.
"Thou chatterest like a magpie, Faith! Why
shouldst thou care if Mistress Armitage be proud or
meek?"
But Roger laughed in the eyes of the enthusiast
and answered for her lightly.
"Nay, Mistress Apthorpe, it speaks a lovely
nature that your sister should dwell so ardently
upon another's charms and forget her own !"
His voice was level and without the catch that
again came upon his breathing at the name. The
warder that waits grim and Cerberus-like before the
gate of betrayal in every New Englander had closed
it fast and barred it staunchly against all possible
invasion of discovery.
Mercy laughed with him indulgently and they fell
to discourse somewhat gravely as the buoyant Faith
exchanged a little war of sentimental banter with a
fatherly member of the Council, who made jocose
inquiries about an absent swain.
Roger had the reputation of being devoid of the
humour that seasoned the more lifeless intercourse
of Puritan circles. Its horse play, its bald allu-
sions, its eternal repetitions, had but a stale flavour
for him. His own irony was keener, his humour
200 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
subtler and more dramatic. More than once he
had paid the price of a dry characterization, an
iconoclasm of portrayal too successful to be allowed
to pass unnoticed.
If the Little Maid observed the. two whose talk
seemed so gravely intimate she showed it by no
glance in their direction and the puzzled look did
not rest again, even fleetingly, on Roger's face.
Madam Chanterell relaxed her vigilance. Madam
Verring grew more content, Surely there were
plenty of young people of his own kind for her son to
seek. Why should she fear he would waste him-
self on this ward of a disagreeable stranger Roger,
with his sensitive pride ! Who was this Madam
with her rudely obvious hatred of her new home?
True, the girl bore little resemblance to her guar-
dian; and her manner no doubt it was modest
enough now, but without a timidity befitting a
maid who might listen to such discourse as the
Lieutenant-Governor's. Sir William had friends
of too many sorts and there was too much pro-
fusion in the gold broideries of his doublet !
Earlier she had conceived a distaste for the in-
genuous outspokenness of Faith and Mercy Ap-
thorpe, detecting in it the blither freedom of their
New York upbringing, but now she held to the
thought of them with comfort.
" I am glad to see, Roger Verring, that thou hast
not yet fallen into the evil ways of thy elders and
set a pyramid of false hair upon thy head. " The
voice was rotund and sonorous, and the table
looked up.
Roger felt himself grow hot as the eyes of Sir
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 201
Humphrey impaled him with sudden amusement.
He saw the cavalier cast a look full of mirth at Mad-
am Chanterell though his own gaze rested directly
on the plump figure of Judge Sewall, whose full
face laughed above his double chin as he wagged his
great head reproachfully at the Governor.
"I fear 'tis rather the desire to please my father
than any inner conviction that deprives me of a
wig, " Roger answered, smiling in a swift glance up
and down the board where the wigless were almost
as numerous as the bewigged.
"Thou hast a sensible father. It doth greatly
irk me that I cannot persuade more men to be of the
same mind and cease the decking out of their per-
sons with dead men's hair. " The Judge returned
to his pasty and ate with relish despite the inef-
fectualness of his ministrations in the matter of
wigs.
" 'Tis all very well for Roger! An' I had his
hair I'd not cover it, but 'tis my belief our Jus-
tice would better adorn the bench in dead men's
hair than in no hair at all ! " and the member of the
Council shook his powdered periwig with sober con-
viction.
Judge Sewall again deserted his trencher, knife
and fork suspended, to join in the merriment, put-
ting up a deprecatory hand to the scanty fringe
about his smooth face.
The talk fell close again, the group of elders around
the Governor sinking their tones to a mysterious-
ness almost painful, a mysteriousness that spread
to include the discourse of the younger people
near Mistress Armitage.
202 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"And may it not be, Sir, that the accusers be
sometimes themselves false or mistaken?" The
voice for which Roger was listening reached him
with gentle distinctness.
The words were addressed to Mr. Saltonstall but
the answer came with prompt severity from Mr.
Cotton Mather.
" 'Tis a matter, Mistress, where maids and women
would best have no opinion. "
"Nay, Sir, but are there not maids among the
accusers? How should we not think of it when
women are hanged for it ? " The girl spoke dcpre-
catingly, with modest questioning, but there was
earnest in the quiet of her tones.
"You touch on that concerneth those whose age
and sex enableth them to judge," was the stern
reply.
"Yea, Mistress," echoed Sir Humphrey, "listen
to us graybeards an* you would be enlightened.
'Tis a grave matter for the young. "
Mr. Increase Mather fixed a suspicious gaze upon
the stranger. His son Cotton's twenty-nine years
gave to him a look scarcely older than the simulated
youth of Sir Humphrey. The girl regarded the
Puritan ministers seriously. Her eyes had again
the mournful intentness Roger so well remembered.
Mr. Cotton Mather was going on, his face warming
with excitement.
"To doubt the afflicted, to speak tenderly of the
malignants 'tis a dangerous course. " His words
vibrated with angry warning.
"Aye, Mistress," put in Sir Humphrey Wild-
glass again, " 'tis ever dangerous to question. "
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 203
Increase Mather frowned a little, but the look
with which Sir Humphrey encountered his cold
scrutiny allayed his suspicion.
"Even as this comfit is crushed in the teeth,"
the son continued, "and is torn and vanisheth, even
so shall the malignants perish by the hand of the
Lord. "
"The teeth would seem to find rare enjoyment
in the crushing, " Sir Humphrey remarked below
his breath.
"They shall be devoured, and in their place new
strength shall be in Zion. Beware, Mistress "
He fixed his eyes balefully on Temple, leaning a
little forward in his place " Beware lest bewailing
the emissaries of the Devil you yourself fall into the
snare ! "
" Even so, Mistress, " struck in the cavalier once
more with unmoved solemnity. "Beware to
have wits is to give black inducement to the Devil. "
The interruption was again ignored and the voice
went on in shriller denunciation.
' ' He that withholdeth from the conflict cursed
shall he be. "
The silence that followed was full of shrinking
terror, fear of the supernatural weighting the air.
Then talk broke out again more feverishly, each
speaker recounting some new tale of the manifes-
tations in hag-ridden Salem, till faces grew clouded
and distrustful like the faces of those who strain
their sight within a fog.
The girl's look was still fixed upon the hectic
cheeks, the prominent eyes, the full and tremulous
lips of Mr. Cotton Mather.
2o 4 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"You mistake Mistress Armitage, Sir," put in
Nathaniel Saltonstall. "She bewaileth not the
minions of Satan; she but asked for guidance in
knowing them. 'Tis sure were the Arch Fiend
to appear in the guise of an accuser he could do
monstrous evil among the good. "
Lady Phips had risen. Mr. Mather's answer
was somewhat lost in a setting back of chairs and
a silken rustle of departure. But his expression
was amply eloquent. He was not wont to be an-
swered or even appealed to save as Oracle. That
an unfrocked layman, that a woman, worst of all,
that a maid, should question him as an equal with
no more deference than is paid to age and station,
shocked alike the importance of the man and the
convictions of the priest.
"No more of witches!" commanded the Gov-
ernor. "Here Johonnot, fill the glasses. 'Tis
Burgundy, my good sirs, as old as Mother Carey.
Think on more cheerful themes. "
Conversation brightened with the stir, grew
business like and fell upon the currency, then, at
some comment of Sir Humphrey's, upon the In-
dians.
"New England's not safe till Canada be ours."
The Governor brought down his hand heavily so
that the tankards jumped, and one spilled its red-
ness along the damask.
"Put salt on it, William," advised Judge Sewall
placidly. "Thou hast been so long from home
thou art not well trained in domestic deeds. "
The Governor spilled the great salt cellar bodily
upon the offending blot.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 205
" So long as the red men have the French behind
them we're like to have our fill of horrors, " he went
on. " Had we but money "
"Aye, Sir William, 'tis money makes great
deeds " The voice of Sir Humphrey again
" 'Tis perhaps at Quebec we might find the gold.
What saith the valiant Captain?"
"That we'll capture Quebec, with Sir Humphrey
Wildglass to show us the gold when 'tis done !
'T would not be the first time I'd seen Sir William
capture a treasure from the enemy!" Roger
answered promptly, his look turning from the
cavalier to the Governor as he spoke. There was
nothing in the glance to reveal any hidden meaning,
but the silent flash of the Governor's blue eyes as
they met his own had a swift significance. Sir
Humphrey, whose wandering gaze had returned
sharply to the speaker at the retort concerning the
Frenchman's gold, did not miss the look.
His voice, quiet, conversational, affable, had
worked in Roger the quick repulsion it had effected
at every pause of the evening when its cadences had
reached him. Yet it was the voice of a gentleman,
well-bred, interested to the point of flattery, in-
different to the point where its words could have
no hint of personal feeling.
His elbow was leaned upon the table, his silver
cup held suspended between thumb and forefinger
as he listened. Now he sipped at the wine with
pleasant absorption in its flavor while a soft sound
of unspoken applause rose upon Roger's words.
"Such redoubtable hunters of treasure would
be their own best guides in Quebec, " he answered )
206 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
setting down the glass. "Truly, Sir William, 'tis
a brave supporter you have ! 'Tis pity you'd not
more such in '88 ! Who knows "
" It is not in the power of man to foresee tempests
and to prophesy the failure of allies, " broke in the
member of the Council.
"Still, disaster is disaster," maintained Sir
Humphrey. " To reach Quebec we need more than
wampum or paper pledges, and 'tis not easy be-
guiling money a second time from the pockets of
kings. "
"Nay, and that's a truth, Sir Wildglass ! No
spendthrift had ever tighter fist upon his purse
when good deeds are in question than your King ! "
The long-visaged one who had earlier set upon the
Governor with harsh questioning thrust himself
aggressively into the conversation. "The folly
of kings is beyond all understanding of them that
are wise. And the folly of a King's advisers is even
less to be unriddled. I " He paused, as if
brought to a stop by a sudden intruding thought,
and relapsed into taciturnity.
A flicker of pleasure crossed the polished surface
of Sir Humphrey's attention. Roger, acutely
aware of the man as of a crouching shadow in the
forest, was relieved at his neighbour's abrupt re-
tirement from the dangerous ground of kings'
follies.
"It is not in reason, " submitted Mr. Increase
Mather, "that the King should furnish gold save
as he is assured under Providence of the suc-
cess of the expedition. "
"The guarantee would be in the good wisdom of
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 207
its conduct, " put in the Lieutenant-Governor
drily.
"Or in greater peace at home perchance?" sug-
gested Sir Humphrey. To Roger there ran be-
neath the indifference of the tone a note more arid,
more intent. Again the voice woke a vibration
deep in the submerged past.
Sir William had reddened at Mr. Stoughton's
unmannerly taunt.
"It is my belief," said Nicolas Verring slowly,
"that these expeditions against scattered handfuls
are well-nigh waste till we can show we are su-
perior to the French in Canada. "
Gratification beamed from the Governor's
angered countenance.
"Hear!" he cried. ' 'Tis as Mr. Verring says.
Canada first and all the Northern tribes will sub-
mit. "
"But can we leave the settlers deeper in the wil-
derness to suffer while we wage war with France?"
The question gave chance for discussion, and Sir
Humphrey waited the Governor's answer, his face
showing a sympathy and perplexity hard to dis-
trust.
The Governor evaded him lightly, seeking to
change by a jest a topic that led straight into the
dissensions this very occasion had been meant to
soften. He at least had marked the blundering
or ingenuity by which a stranger, otherwise so
tactful, had introduced themes most likely to set
men by the ears.
" 'Tis not always possible a man should conform
practice to theory. " Mr. Stoughton, consistent in
2o8 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
his obstinate hostility, refused the opening, and his
precise utterance reached the ears of Sir Humphrey
Wildglass with definite instruction in the matter
whereon the questioner had wished to be informed.
"The Governor projects an expedition to fortify
some point of Pemaquid. "
"The affair would seem of sufficient importance
to England that she send one of her own generals
to effect the reduction of Canada, " Sir Humphrey
went on as if scarce remarking the Lieutenant-
Governor's reply. " 'Twould let the French per-
ceive they had to deal with more than the anger of
a province. "
If there was one expression more than another
to fall like scalding lead upon the lately disap-
pointed colonists it was the word province.
"The colony wants no better commander and no
braver than Sir William Phips, " answered stoutly
the member of the Council.
"A toast for the Governor, our Commander
the bravest and the best!" Roger had risen im-
pulsively, a compelling resonance in his words, his
head high, leadership already strong in the virile
magnetism of his look.
"Hear! Hear! Fill to the Governor!"
The contagion of a real enthusiasm, a common
resentment at the idea they must needs have one
from England to command them, brought every
citizen to his feet, even Mr. Stoughton, most in-
censed of all.
In the flush of a fellow-feeling again flowing in a
single current their patriotism brimmed the bar-
riers the stranger had exposed, and each, gazing
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 209
upon his comrades, thrilled with the sure sense of
their fundamental union.
" Captain Verring Gentlemen " Strong
emotion showed in the Governor's face and gripped
upon his words so that they began with struggle,
and ended with a solemnity more potent than
gratitude. "May God preserve me worthy of
your trust. "
It welded the group to a closer fervour. Was he
not their own? New England from his boyhood
and no vainglorious alien from over seas !
Roger's face, alight with the purest champion-
ship, with an exultation for his hero dearer than
praise for himself, caught the look of Sir Hum-
phrey Wildglass and knew it for the look of a hypo-
crite, and as they lowered the empty wine-cups
the man's glance crossed his own smiling faintly
with a subtle menace.
CHAPTER XV
"o SWEET CONTENT"
IF distrust were uppermost, another thought
was dominant as Roger entered again the
square parlours. It blended with the scene
just past to give his bearing that force of individual
distinction whose outer calm strengthens, to con-
ceal unwonted fire.
Mercy Apthorpe was with his mother, and he
joined them, meeting the subject of their talk with
whimsical repudiation.
" Mercy will have it, Roger, thou hast a look like
me, when the whole world knows thou'rt featured
like thy father. " Madam Verring spoke with a
natural animation showing through the sedateness
of long training.
"Roger? Why he is the image of his father!"
Lady Phips had added herself to them, drawing
with her the young people by whom she was sur-
rounded.
Mercy stubbornly shook her head.
"I leave it to the others," she insisted. "Mis-
tress Armitage, doth not Captain Verring resemble
his mother?"
Roger, with one of the impulses that were an
embarrassment of foolishness to his father, out of
keeping with the unadorned rigidity of a godly life,
drew his mother suddenly nearer and bent his head
closer to her own.
210
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 211
"Now," he interrupted with jesting triumph,
"who dares so slander my mother answers to me ! "
" 'Tis true. Speak, Mistress Armitage ! Is 't not
true?" cried Mercy eagerly. "He doth look like
his mother. "
"Nay" the response came in a voice curiously
disturbed but rich and wonderful with meaning
" He is his mother they're but one creature. "
A flush of pleasure rose in Alison Verring's cheeks.
She turned to the girl, a smile ready behind the
stately quiet of her wonted manner, but Roger had
raised his head at the same time and she saw the
glance the two interchanged, Roger's eyes full of
comprehension and something more, the girl still
amazed but with a confidence, almost an intimacy
of gaze newly come, and behind the look the stir of
the waters an angel troubles.
Madam Verring's lips came soberly together.
She did not know that the look was remembrance,
and the hidden agitation the shock of the meeting
of past and present.
"Who speaks of likenesses?" Sir Humphrey
approached from the opposite side, being always
careful not to place himself too near a younger
man.
His presence, like Roger's, was not to be num-
bered among those that pass unnoticed. The
charm of one believed to know the life of the King's
court, not as an outsider but as part of its intricate
and doubtful complications, the charm of the
world's man to the untravelled, the man of fabled
experience to those of simple lives, imposed itself
upon the throng.
212
"Mistress Apthorpe should plead guilty. 'Twas
she began the theme. " Temple Armitage met the
cavalier with ease of cordial understanding, no
ripple of discomposure left to show where the waters
had been stirred.
The sensitive Mercy coloured under Sir Hum-
phrey's look even more darkly than under Roger's.
She had intuitively discovered that Roger's was not
for her, but the accomplished gaze of Sir Humphrey
had more personal appeal. As he addressed her
she had looked from Temple to him and now she
fixed her look again upon the girl.
"I think, Sir Humphrey Wildglass, " she an-
swered with a shy boldness, "that your features,
save the mouth perchance, be much like those of
Mistress Armitage. "
Roger raised his eyes sharply. The laughter
that followed hid, he thought, something startled
and fugitive that crossed Sir Humphrey's face.
Mercy was right. The features were like.
"My gratitude humble and devoted Mistress
Apthorpe, and our united plea for mercy to her
whom the Now how have I offended?" as
the laughter grew.
"You use Mistress Apthorpe's name somewhat
freely when you plead for .Mercy, " Roger ex-
plained in the meaningless tone of unsubstantial
talk.
" How now, Mary ! All the windows closed ? Tis
warm here. " The Governor's discomfort brought
another smile to his wife's lips.
"Sir William would have every house a ship!
'Tis his ambition to live in a draught like a gale ! "
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 213
she interpreted. " I have much ado to keep the
ornaments from blowing out the doors ! Dost not
know," she demanded of him impressively, "that
moths and beetles and mosquitoes wait with-
out ? "
" Who careth ? A man must breathe. " He put
his hand with a gesture of suffocation to his tight
and many-folded stock. "An 1 you would not be a
widow let us have air. "
"Roger," Lady Phips yielded with smiling in-
dulgence, pretending a sigh. "Open the big hall
window, wilt thou. One must pleasure the man
else he'll be leaving me for another voyage. "
Roger turned promptly to Mistress Armitage.
"Will you come with me and help preserve the
Governor to his office? Lady Phips will put a
greater faith in my performance, so. "
Sir Humphrey was hardly conscious of the in-
tention of the words before the two were gone.
The impassivity of his handsome face showed an
amused ripple.
"Outflanked," he murmured to himself with a
smile that might have been a benediction.
The window swung easily on un jarring hinges.
For a little neither spoke. The damp air draw-
ing gently through the lace-framed opening coaxed
her hair from its confinement and ringed it in soft
curling ends upon her forhead.
. " You had forgotten me, " he said at last. There
was no reproach in the words and in her answer no
denial of the bond made by the common memory.
"You were not 'Captain Verring' on the Araby
Rose. ".
2i 4 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
He looked up apprehensively as she uttered the
name of the ship but none were near enough to
hear.
"Nor were you Mistress Armitage, " he answered.
" Yet you knew me ! "
"There could not be two of the Captain's Little
Maid. Where have you been since ? "
Others had opened the door close beside them
and were standing at the threshold disputing as to
whether the rain had ceased. Roger's voice had
sunk to the note that holds its distinctness, yet
exists for none but the listener. " Perhaps I should
not recal that time ? 'Tis too painful "
Her look lifted itself to his, undissembling.
" I dwell on it often, " she said. " I have for-
gotten nothing. I had not forgotten you. But
there is none to whom I can speak of it. My guar-
dian is far away, and to Madam Chanterell I
cannot mention it. " Her eyes sought the night
and the shine of candles in the wet drip from tender
leaves.
"I think," she went on, "Madam can hardly
forgive Captain Phips for saving me since he had no
woman upon the Rose to bear me company ! As if
any care for a frightened child could have been bet-
ter than his own ! " A little warmth of remembered
displeasure had crept into her tone. There was
about her a solitariness incongruous with her beauty
and the devotion that seemed ready to spring up
and cling to her on every hand.
" How came How long have you been with
Madam Chanterell?" he asked.
"Hath Captain Phips not told you? But then
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 215
he hath not seen me, and my letters they have all
strangely miscarried. "
He bent a little toward her from the broad win-
dow seat and spoke still lower as the more curious
passed and repassed.
" Only once have I had any word of you. 'Twas
in a battle. A ball ploughed up the water beneath
our bow as Captain Phips Sir William came
toward me. And I grew bold and questioned
him. "
"Of me?" Her eyes were gravely on his face.
"I asked, 'Is it well with the Little Maid?' and
he said so I could hear above the noise, 'Yea, 'tis
well. God be thanked I believe 'tis well ! ' In
all the years I have had no other word, " he re-
peated.
' ' Was it the battle that recalled Were you
remembering the Walrus?" She still watched
him, intent upon his answer.
"That and the night when the Captain came
over the side with you in his arms. "
She grew paler, exalting the dark shining of her
eyes.
"Tell me about it," she begged. "Save for
some hateful words of Save for a few vague
hints I never knew. But it was a tale of a hero
of that I am sure. "
" It will not sadden you ? "
A half mirthful gleam appeared in the earnest of
her look. "I am not of those whose sensibilities
cannot bear the truth, " she said with a little shrug.
" 'Tis a sad confession of indelicacy !"
Roger's smile of understanding gave instant re-
2i6 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
sponse. Something he would have said hovered a
moment unspoken and he grew silent.
" Tell me, " she demanded again. " Nay, Madam,
there is no draught I thank you I love the air. "
But Madam Chanterell came fussily close and
would have withdrawn her from the window.
"Come, Temple. Lady Phips is waiting to hear
thee sing with Sir Humphrey the madrigal thou
gavest my brother yesternight. The dampness
will hoarsen thee."
" I fear it not, " the girl answered steadily. " Is
she truly waiting or will a few minutes "
"She waits now," Madam insisted. " 'Twere
rude to delay, and Sir Humphrey "
"Pray, Mistress Sir Humphrey can wait pa-
tiently if the boon be worth the waiting, " began
the cavalier, but the Maid had risen.
" I shall claim Mistress Armitage when the song
is ended If you would still hear the tale?"
There was nothing unpleasantly assertive in Rog-
er's look but it overbore the obstacle of Madam
Chanterell's displeasure, making to her the an-
nouncement, leaving the decision to the girl, ignor-
ing Sir Humphrey.
" Unless it take you from duties to other friends, "
She had given her hand to the cavalier.
'"Other friends' !" Roger heard Madam Chan-
terell exclaim. " Thou art in haste ! "
To the watcher there was more pain in the har-
mony the two figures made than in the confidence
of the man who had supplanted him. Sir Hum-
phrey made him feel a crudeness in his youth, un-
sophisticated, almost boorish. With dismal facil-
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 217
ity he exaggerated the contrast, possessed only of
its unkindness, callous to his own advantage.
The cavalier was dressed with the taste he
might have bestowed for a royal ball, and there was
in his manner a perfection that gi eater men had lost
time in striving to attain. More glances followed
Mistress Armitage enviously than she saw, as Sir
Humphrey seated her at the spinet and bent above
her as if to consult upon the song.
There was evidently a laughing quarrel. Roger
marked it as he sought Faith Apthorpe, and stood
beside her chair, feeling certain her attention would
be bestowed like his own.
" She is going to sing ! " the girl whispered.
Roger's face kindled and Faith's eyes held him
for an instant with zealous sympathy. As she
looked down, a flush, the glow of her own enthusi-
asm, transformed her all at once into a loveliness
she had not had before.
Mistress Armitage had seen the revelatory flash
in Roger's look and the girl's flush. A smile
twitched at the corners of Sir Humphrey's lips.
"Let it be 'Sweet Content' as you say, Mis-
tress, " he assented amiably, ' 'but I should have
preferred the madrigal of love. " His voice,
flexible to his will, held just the measure of sug-
gestion which he dared give it.
Roger could not see that there was no conscious-
ness in her thanks for the concession ; the man's
attitude was so full of a pleased possession, no on-
looker could guess the ardour to be meant for the
spectator rather than for the maid.
" 'Art thou poor, yet hast thou golden slumbers?
O sweet content!' "
218 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
With her voice fell silence, eager, startled, the
silence of indrawn breaths. No voice like hers had
ever sounded in the New England wilderness.
" 'Art thou rich, yet is thy mind perplexed?
O, punishment!' "
The man's tones, blending rarely, wove a fine en-
tanglement.
" 'Dost thou laugh to see how fools are vexed
To add to golden numbers golden numbers ?
O sweet content! O sweet, O sweet content!'"
Judge Sewall kept time softly with his foot;
his look had a fine benignity. None stirred from
his place. Roger was safe to look his fill.
The girl's dress flowed about her in a magic of
folds where the light of the candelabra lingered.
From the fine oval of the strong and delicate face
to the hem of the brocade, softer of finish than the
stiff robe of the Governor's lady, she was herself
a melody with the song.
As if for the first time, Roger felt the spell, the
mystery ! Hate and love confronted each other
in his soul and their contest was an agony. Hate
of this man who dared to come so near, to look
as he did look, upon her fairness. Love, love itself,
for even as his senses trembled he needed nothing
to show him that were another to be suddenly
dowered with all the wonder of her beauty, and she
to be left within that other's outer self, it would be
still for her he sought, for her, the Little Maid.
As the song finished, there was for a moment a
pause, then a sound faint, murmurous, in the be-
ginning, but rising to a very clamour of delight and
pleading.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 219
"Another. 'Twould be cruel to refuse. " Lady
Phips had laid both hands tenderly upon the girl's
bare shoulders. "Sir William asks for it," she
entreated.
"You know well the plea to choose, my Lady,"
laughed Sir Humphrey. If the tone sneered, the
manner flattered, "Shall it be the madrigal?" he
asked the girl.
"Nay" she ran her fingers in a soft prelude
upon the keys "we'll make separate choice and
let them listen at their liking. "
The silence fell again, perfect, unbroken. This
singing was not what they knew as singing, the
decorous intoning of psalms. It was a ballad of
old Devon she had chosen, a parting, a weary wait-
ing, and after despairing grief the return. The air
was simple, but from the keys she woke a speaking
harmony that filled the tale with its whole intent.
Nicolas Verring gave a quick heed to the words.
By them, monotonously chanted, he had been
swung to sleep in a hooded cradle when the colony
was young. But the softening in his face was no
sooner come than sternness and reprobation suc-
ceeded.
As the Maid rose, Sir Humphrey slipped into her
seat, his eyes on her face as he began.
" 'Bid me to live and I will live
Thy Protestant to be.'"
A shiver of shocked delight ran through the circle
of Puritan maids.
If the girl had sung with an interpretation loftier
than the poet's, Sir Humphrey's music was the very
abandonment of the sensuous.
220 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The room sank to a more deadly hush, the young
people stealing glances of bewildered pleasure at
one another, the elders set straightly in a stare.
" 'O bid me die and I will dare
E'en death to die for thee.'"
For Roger the strength of that he had tried to
hold in a struggling subjection had already over-
come. He was no longer his own, but Love's. To
a man like Roger Verring the knowledge was a
sacrament ; it deepened in his face the lines of power
and heightened the beauty of his unstained man-
hood. He was not aware of the tenseness of his
gaze ; all the might and fervour of a strong nature
concentrated in the look and her own rose to meet
it as if drawn by an unconscious prompting from
within.
" 'Thou art my life, my love, my heart,
The very eyes of me,
And hast command of every part,
To live and die for thee.' "
The girl had stepped backward out of the singer's
ken, but as he sang the last word Sir Humphrey
moved a little in his seat and raised his glance to
find her. Its graceful homage, its ripe adoration,
were startled into something less devout under his
suddenly lowered lids ; but he would have been hard
pressed to find a lack in her replies, or to discover
a consciousness in voice or manner as Roger ap-
proached.
"Temple, my dear " It was Madam Chan-
terell again masterfully claiming her charge. "I
want thee to see the amazing cup sent by his Grace
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 221
of Albemarle and the others to Lady Phips. Sir
Humphrey, have you seen "
" 'Tis extraordinary pretty." The young man
who spoke had edged nearer to Mistress Armitage
while the others talked. "If you will, Mis-
tress "
"Nay, Thomas, not so fast." Roger had come
directly to her and stood waiting with perfect deter-
mination. " Mistress Armitage is pledged to me. "
"Are pledges then always redeemed in this new
part of the world ? " jested Sir Humphrey.
"My pledges are redeemed in any part of the
world, " laughed the girl.
"Then are you more than mortal. One was al-
ready sure of that ! For the rest of us Fate some-
times clips performance ere't be done," he an-
swered with a laugh that challenged hers.
"My brother will soon expect us" Madam
Chanterell interposed as the girl would have gone.
"I fear, Master Master "
"Captain Verring, Madam," The Governor
genially supplied the pause. " 'Tis a name also
good for pledges. You'll not be long ignorant of
it in Boston. 'Deed and more than once it hath
been spoken at court when Mr. Mather and I had
the King's ear. "
Madam Chanterell looked coldly both upon the
Governor and upon Roger. Sir Humphrey an-
swered for her.
"Madam Chanterell will be the first to regret an
ignorance so much her loss, " lie said with a look
at Roger of such apparent amiability that Judge
Sewall commented as the group drifted apart, " 'Tis
222 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
a terrible civil fellow, though I like not his wig !"
Roger returned the look with one as imperturb-
ably gracious.
"You place the word badly, Sir Humphrey,"
he corrected. " 'Tis for me, not Madam Chanterell,
to 'regret'. "
Madam Chanterell smiled against her will, feeling
again the unwelcome sense of his attraction.
Alison Verring, who had regarded the little war of
wills from near at hand, felt a thrill of pleasure as
Roger and the Maid moved down the room, but the
pride was small balm to the stronger disapproval
and the sharper pain of loss with which she followed
her son.
The songs had offended her morbid reticence.
That a maid should sing of love, and with expres-
sion, argued that she had thought of it, and to own
to thoughts which in her girlhood she had counted
enemies and striven with prayer to conquer seemed
to her unmaidenly and bold. The power to in-
terpret was a thing apart from her Puritan ideals,
a sin of mummery and unpleasing in the sight of
God.
Nicolas Verring felt no pride. The whole race
and kind which this girl and her friends represented
were to him anathema, cursed of Heaven and cast
out from the strenuous companionship of them who
sought salvation, their every charm lent by the
Devil for unhallowed ends. He observed his son
grimly as the two paused before the cabinet.
Without the mother's prescience he yet suf-
fered.
The cup, massive and delicately graved, glowed
richly within the ebony walls.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 223
' 'Tis like himself pure gold, " the girl ex-
claimed. "Was Lady Phips not well pleased?
But 'tis certain she was. A husband so honest, so
honoured "
"Lady Phips was chiefly surprised to find hon-
esty held a virtue worthy of knighthood, and such
gifts!" Roger answered. "Shall I take it out for
you ? ' '
" We must not tarry for the cup. I may have no
other opportunity for the hearing of the tale. "
Her manner grew somewhat constrained.
Roger became silent, feeling the shade upon her
mood. But the girl came forth from her brief ab-
straction smiling.
"The New England maids are very lovely," she
said as they passed Faith Apthorpe. "I should
like much to know Mistress Apthorpe and her sis-
ter."
" And Mistress Faith is so much of the same mind
she hath no other topic to her discourse. She
talked of naught but you, both at dinner and as
you sang. "
"As I sang?" The girl interrupted as if recall-
ing something.
"Aye. She hath you in a very ecstasy of ad-
miration. "
"Because she doth not know me; 'tis a young
maid's way, " she made answer with an indulgence
so matronly wise she seemed but doubly girlish for
its kindly humour.
Roger had found for them the only possible iso-
lation, a corner left vacant behind the Lieutenant-
Governor and a small party of his own sort, who
224 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
exhibited a tendency to separate from the throng
mixed but not combined by the warmth of the
Governor's hospitality. They turned curious eyes
upon the absorption of the two.
"The Captain, Sir William says I owe nothing
to him, but all to you. He hath told me how you
remembered even wounded "
Roger broke in with swift denial.
' 'Twas he alone saved you. But Maccartey
should be here. You remember Maccartey?"
"The mate?" She was speaking more eagerly,
more like the Little Maid who had told her story in
the Captain's cabin.
Roger had a theme he loved and in the tale
he was at once and wholly himself, Men of a
more artificial mould were wont to show their
better truth to Temple Armitage, what there was of
the genuine left in them rousing and reanimating
itself to meet the clear honesty of her. Rarely even
in his earliest memories had Roger been free to be
himself, but now he spoke out, undisguised, un-
ashamed, conscious of no quarrel with expression
save that it lacked the measure of its attempt.
The movement about them, shifting in the
changes of an event whose like for stateliness and
true simplicity no other city of the world could have
shown, was quite forgotten.
The Walrus plunging upon the rocks, the strain-
ing of the rescuers toward the drifting ship, the
terror of the men who waited in the boat, the whole
scene, wrapped in gloom and loud with the sound
of winds and breakers, was more actual than the
men and women who went and came in the pano-
rama of the set and ordered room.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 225
The lowered voice, the frequent interruption in
the gayer tones of others, the lapsing again into the
intimacy of a shared and secret remembrance, gave
to the story a double effect. If Temple Armitage
had felt any surprise at the self-possession with
which he had taken her from the very teeth of her
warders, she might have felt an even deeper amaze-
ment as his Puritan reserve melted into the elo-
quence of his words.
"So he brought you in his arms and as he
lifted you above the bulwarks, the light of the
Walrus burning high in the dark fell across the
Araby Rose and you opened your eyes "
He stopped there, his look completing what the
silence lacked. He could have looked no otherwise
upon the rescued child. She trembled and in her
eyes, mournful and sweet as then, there rose a mist
of tears.
He moved a little, involuntarily, to shelter her
from those who walked without upon the porch.
"My aunt my guardian never knew." The
girl waited a minute, her hands together, the fingers
intertwining in the clinging fashion of helpless pain
he remembered. Old tenderness renewed wrought
at his heart grown to naught but a measure for her
grief.
"It killed her," the Maid went on. "The plan-
tation is sold and Mr. Amory he has travelled
much since then. He would not have me with him
for my sake. But what cared I for danger to
being alone to " She paused abruptly. That
is why even my name is changed for safety. He
wished it. The names were of her family Aunt
226 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Lotta's Armitage and Temple. For myself I
would bear my true title before all the world and
be Frances Bellingham as I should ! "
"It is needful. Who knows " Roger be-
gan, but she interrupted.
"In less than a year I shall be of age. Then I
shall be myself and then my uncle hath promised
he will come for me. "
"And your cousin? Know you "
"In London a few months since. I have not
seen him. He hath not even tried to prove my
death. My Uncle Amory approved my coming
here. He harpeth ever on my safety, and Boston
is far from London. "
Roger raised his eyes to discover a gaze fixed so
intently upon the Maid it appeared to read her lips.
It was withdrawn even as he looked but cold dis-
trust settled upon his heart as Sir Humphrey passed
on.
"Poor Madam Chanterell, " the girl was saying
softly. " She will not leave her brother though she
hates the provinces with a hatred like no other.
'Tis well-nigh amusing, yet piteous, too, since 'tis
affection brings her here. And 'twill be worse out
of the town. "
" Out of the town ! You "
"Go to Andover, a village northward. Sir
John Winchcombe, who is ever keen upon some
new scheme, hath purchased there a goodly farm;
an' the Indians devour us not, we linger till the
autumn. "
' 'Tis not safe, believe me, " Roger protested.
" 'Tis no place for women. Urge Madam Chan-
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 227
terell she should abide here. The Nipmucks be
showing their teeth in all these northerly borders.
Surely Sir John Winchcombe cannot have knowl-
edge "
" He is of those who fear nothing their eyes have
not beheld ! 'All that the provinces need, ' saith
Sir Humphrey Wildglass, 'is men.' 'Tis Sir Hum-
phrey has clinched the whole matter. He laughs
the danger to open scorn. "
"What can Sir Humphrey know ? I thought him
but late from London!" Roger's face was dark
with more than mere anxiety. "There is no
worthy courage in tempting the savages to war
with women. None who had seen a woman in their
hands would laugh at mention of them. I would I
might be near, " he ended impetuously.
"To see the evil prophecy fulfilled ! " Her face,
grown somewhat cold at his first words, smiled at
the wish.
She spoke further in a confidence that bore a cer-
tain truth behind the smiling.
"Shall I tell you that which I fear more than
wolves, or bears, or red men ? 'Tis the solitude. "
Unceasing in the long hours of long days and
nights to follow, the words resaid themselves in
Roger's thoughts, and the smile, behind whose sur-
face jest he saw the loneliness, dwelt with him, a
sadder presence than his fears.
CHAPTER XVI
AT THE SIGN OF THE ORANGE TREE
THE Orange Tree Inn was darkened and
sealed against the files. All save one cor-
ner, where the windows of its "best cham-
ber" were wide open, to the scandal of the landlord
and the distress of such housewives as passed that
way.
Within, Sir Humphrey Wildglass had wrought
busily all the morning. In a strangled heap upon
the floor was flung a patch-worked cover; on the
pine surface exposed above the walnut table legs the
leaves of a considerable manuscript accumulated
fast. Nothing in the room was in order save this
manuscript and the figure, freed from waistcoat and
doublet, that bent above the table. White lawn
was rolled back above the elbows and the folds,
sheer and fine, from the looms of Dutch weavers,
bloused themselves in wrinkles upon the straight
back.
Below the fluttered canopy of the bed lay wig and
sword; over chair and stool straggled a miscellany
of masculine fripperies, long silken hose stretching
like tentacles from central convolutions of brocade
and lustrous cloth, blue satin and silver lace.
The door was locked and only the August sun
peered at the gray patches mixed in the blackness
of the man's hair and at the hard, perfidious
strength lined openly in his handsome face.
228
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 229
'"Dearlie Beloved,'" began the first letter,
"'Whereas the Scripture moveth us in sundrie
places to aknoledg and confess ' the 'manifold sins'
of others and whereas it seemeth cure own may
bee somewhat more manifolded than att ve fyrste
wee thought I mak my honest confecion devout-
lie smilyinge, since ye Pilgrimage fareth wel.
And soe hearken !
"In y e begin ng I was but dewbius, seeing 'twas no
grate summe y e forrainers will paye. However
that affaire mendeth.
"And now dearlie beloved cometh y e better
parte. The Lamb wch thou mayst rememb r was
loste to the House of Bellingham hath been found
and the Shepherd wil, Diabolo volente, brynge it
home in hys armes (or at y e beste its Fleece in hys
pouch) !
"It was y e nyghte of y e arrival of Phips wel-fed
and noblie harness d y* first I spied out this Loste
One ! Culdst see the Lamb wuldst ne'er give thy
consente to the sinnynge 'Tis the fairest of al
flocks in severall continents and the worser Home
of this Dilemma (even to mee) looketh not soe ill !
Namelie to tak the Lamb untoe my Bosom and
Cherishe it Fleece and al as mine Own. To this
ende I mak a leisurlie progresse, fearynge nought
amongst these villainous clods save an it bee need-
ful to dispose of one lustie yonge Captain of militia
who casteth greedie lookes upon my Eweling.
"The present warder of the Fleece regardeth me
with an unctuous, approving eye (and the Puri-
tane youthe with a sillie disdaine). For the Lamb
'twil bleat but coylie for the practiced Shepherd.
230 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"Soe seest thou there bee more than one turning
in thys Lane of Povertie wherein wee stumble.
Either wil suit Moste excellentlie the waye of
success with Fredom. For that I mad attempt the
verie nighte of my disco verie, fortune favr ng and
the Lamb straye ng in solitarie places. But there
was base interruption (An I fynde whose, there
maye be neede of more confessynge !)
"But Fortune failed mee not wholly. I had mad
diligent inquiries and was prepared to kill or woo,
as myghte bee!" [This last sentence was care-
fully blotted out and could be barely guessed.]
"At some expense of breth I hasted to my
lodgings and fillynge in one of y e blankes in yo r
goode letters presented it with my humble per-
sonne to Sir John W , hym y 1 was concerned in
y e compagnie of hys cousin (y e Duke of A ) in
the matter of the tresor. 'Tis hee and hys sistre
doe garde y e lamb.
"Ere the Strayed One returned I was wooing the
Sirens with the Viol of Sir John. ('Tis a wonder
doubtless the worke of some Italian the upper
notes being as pew r as bee the lowest.)
"Att y e present my planne goeth thus. The nobel
salvages of thes uncuth Wildes mak (for a price)
y e moste trustie wolfs for the devourynge of any
wander 8 Lamb whose Fleece be coveted more than
its Bleatynge. 'Tis alredie sett in mocion by means
of the forrainers who are bounden to pleasure mee.
"None knoweth me here. Thy cunynge letters
have been swallow d intoe the gaping mawes of al
Bostoun, and I goe in and out much honored as one
high in confidence att y e Courte ! (Imbeciles !
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 231
Cochons ! Fools ! Were that but a veritie as
once it was ere my starr waned think they y* I
wld spende an houre among such-like purblind
yokels. Faugh ! Canting Swine that walloe in a
pius treason whereof I shal have certaine proofs to
laye before the august Paire at Whitehall and
mak my peace therewith. Be diligent. Mind thou
singst my praises wel in quarters wee wot of.
"With the moneys of the forrainers added to thine
own I mak a faire appearance though I wuld I hadd
again my faytheful knave to uncrease me my gar-
ments ! As 'tis, I sett the Mode for everie wuld-
bee Buck of this Pharisaik Town. For the moste
they bee a lugubrius sett. (Thir Foodes bee excel-
lente and of good drynkynge no lacke.)
"Trulie this business of Monsieur doth sour upon
my stomak However, better a soure stomak than
an emptie.
"Heigho dearlie beloved the Lamb is faire.
Nexte to myselfe I culd love it. Of a truth one
waye is beste. Mark thou, 'twill bee no bungler
this tyme.
"Most Timorous ! Trust to thy Gregory who
waits not on fortune but is hys own Fortune, and
soe farewell.
"Postscriptum. This goeth by the hande of B.
Hee dare not faile us even shuld hee rede the whole,
w ch hee cannot doe or I misreckon hys lernynge.
Yett for precaucion marke if the thred drawne
through the inn r fold tear upon the pap r as thou
openest. (And y e thred I putt where only thou
culd misse it) and maye the man y* plaies us false
bee boiled in hel eternallie. "
233 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The second letter was in French.
"Monsieur:
"As to the affair of the merchandise. It were bet-
ter destroyed with all convenient speed. It lieth
at this present in the house of Sir John Winch-
combe in the township of Andover, between the
Shawsheen river and a mound or ridge that stretch-
eth parallel.
"The place is but feebly defended. Send those
who may overcome a dozen. It will suffice. There
is but one thing essential to make an end of the
merchandise we have mentioned, but if it be needful
to that end to captivate all of the indwellers, see to
it that none evade, remembering that prisoners are
but weariness and expense to the captivators, which
weariness your allies will best know how briefly to
avoid.
"Let Assoango conduct the party I pray. I
purpose to add myself to the garrison and shall
therefore be at hand to indicate the convenient
moment, the which I will explain to him when I
give him this letter.
"Make no mention of others in the matter lest by
so doing you put a period to their power to serve
you.
"Forward, if you please, the cipher enclosed, with
all speed, to Montreal. It is news of a projected
expedition. There is within the Council some hos-
tile movement stirring. I send further advices
concerning it, by N to the region above Pema-
quid. He hath hope of finding Pe"re Sebastien at
the place you designate. (It seemeth likely but a
false alarm, the whole country here being given
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 233
over to great panic, and every man busied upon a
devil-hunt among his neighbours, so that there's
more talk of witches than of war.)
"In the matter of my remittances I would have
somewhat more of faithfulness in time, and a more
careful secrecy observed. These be not regions
where messengers may not be robbed, and by those
in power.
"Fail me not in the matter of the merchandise. "
He addressed this letter first:
"Monsieur le Capitaine le V-
Par la main d'Assoango. "
Then he set himself to the task of inserting the
thread in the larger packet, folding it with great
care and printing the address :
"Master John,
Abiding with Caleb Golworthy,
The Sword and Mitre,
Malbone Rd, Hartingwell. "
The smell of burning wax floated from the open
windows, and the clerkly toil well over, the writer
stretched comfortably in his chair, whereupon he
twisted his boots in the table "carpet" and swore.
His face ready to as many changes of expression
as may be compassed by a good actor, relaxed after
the brief irritation, to a sneering triumph. The
sun had crept far enough to beat hardily upon him,
and he rose, whistling loudly as he cleared the room
of all traces of his late employment.
When the landlord's knock sounded he had ad-
234 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
justed his wig and was trolling with a vast good
humour in the sound :
" 'Pack clouds away, and welcome day,
With night we banish sorrow '"
The landlord knocked again.
" 'Bird prune thy wing, nightingale sing,
To give my love good-morrow!' "
carolled Sir Humphrey, yawning prodigiously be-
tween phrases as he unbarred the door.
"Hey Goodman Bolt, 'tis a sad dog of an idler
thou entertainest. Here have I slept away the
livelong morning upon that bed ! Hot water, and
cold, and briskly, worthy sir, to get the drowsiness
from my eyes. "
The goodman cast a doubtful glance upon the
rumpled couch and the litter of fine clothes.
"The flies be thick, " he remarked glumly.
"Aye, and thy skull thicker! Spare thy com-
menting. Make haste. "
The landlord stood erect in the doorway. An
angry redness spread upon his sallow skin.
"Them that turn night into day and day into
night," he intoned, "may well forget gentle man-
ners in the perverting of nature. Thou wert not in
thy bed before midnight and so thy day is gone to
waste, whereof each moment shall be required of
thee. The slave will fetch thy hot water and thy
cold. And if it pleasure thee to remain longer be-
neath the roof of Simon Bolt, see to't thou put
more check upon a godless tongue. The Inn of the
Orange Tree was ever of a decent repute. "
"A halt a halt, good Prater!" cried Sir Hum-
phrey and he smiled amiably upon his host. " 'Tis
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 235
my solemn resolve to take pattern by thee and go
to slumber with the fowls albeit 'tis they that
'slepen al the nighte with open eye. ' Bring me or
send me a well-brewed posset and the goodwife's
cakes. I'll drink to my intention ! By the Rood, "
he continued as the door closed on the retreating
landlord, "an' I'd not a use for thee and thy roof
of 'good repute', I'd soon silence thee, Simon Bolt !
Wait till Gregory Bellingham be free See if
he give not each knavish driveller amongst ye some-
thing to twist his ugly visage !"
But the old slave woman who brought the water
met a look of gentle condescension, and shuffled
away rejoicing, her hand clasped tight, like the hot
palm of a child, upon the coin he gave.
CHAPTER XVII
MUDDY RIVER WOODS: A MESSENGER AND A
MEETING
AT the sign of the Orange Tree the windows
of the "best chamber" were closed and no
lodger was within.
Where earlier in the day Sir Humphrey's letters
had been written in the midst of unseemly con-
fusion the softened light found now a decorous
room. Goodwife Bolt had begged the key and set
the place in order, folding the taffety and brocade
with careful fingers, and driving out the flies with
strips of paper nailed upon long sticks.
Then she had shut the windows and sped apace
for sympathy to Mistress Munch across the way.
Roger, pausing upon his mother's errand to the
Dame, delivered it where both were seated in the
close air of the shuttered house. Beulah came
forth with him as he went. Her eyes were restless
and underneath the primness of her speech a hurry-
ing eagerness was plain, as if she cast about her for
some expedient.
She reached the gate first and rested her bare
round arms upon the topmost rail, talking as if un-
conscious that she blocked the way. Roger's look
went beyond her and she knew where it stopped
upon the house of the Widow Pullen in which for a
brief space the Maid had dwelt. The colour in Beu-
lah's cheeks, faint as the flush of a pale sweet pea,
grew more pink.
236
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 237
Shubael had stolen after and Roger lifted him
and set him in the circle of his arm, upon the fence.
The child looked shyly upward, half fearful of a
sudden tumble, some rough joke to which he was
inured, but Roger held him fast. And the boy,
viewing the world from unaccustomed altitudes,
fell solemn in surprised content.
" 'Tis said the Nipmucks be out northward, "
volunteered the girl, drawing Roger's attention
more surely to herself.
The sentence had greater effect than she had
meant. He involuntarily tightened the arm that
held Shubael and the little fellow leaned upon the
man's shoulder with round eyes fixed peacefully
on the sky.
"To northward, did you say?"
"Yes; upon the Merrimac, I think. At least
there is a rumour "
" Whence came it to you ? "
"Nausnummin, the Indian preacher, told it."
The statement had no foundation save in a chance
word of Christopher Munch, who saw ever upon the
darker side, but Beulah made good speed to sup-
port it, pleased with the interest it roused.
While they still spoke of Indians, Shubael put
out his hand, feeling for the arm that held him, and
begged.
" Stay here: stay here a little while, " he pleaded.
"Yes, Roger, come in and sit, " Beulah glanced
up in coquettish appeal.
' ' I cannot not this evening, I am in some
haste thank you, " Roger answered, setting the
child upon the ground.
23 8 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
She released the gate, moving suddenly from the
path.
They shook hands in the fashion of the town and
the young man raised his hat as the gate swung after
him.
"Good-night, Beulah, " he said pleasantly and
was gone.
The girl's colour darkened to scarlet. Her eyes
showed too roundly prominent, and the thin lips
that could curve and tremble with weak ease in a
play of sentiment, drew to a tight line.
The unconscious gentleness of the arm about the
boy (privileged to cling where her imaginings had
often dreamed herself) had gotten a cruel hold of
her. In a trice, too, she had unriddled his interest
in the Indians.
"Whither, Shubael, went Sir John Winchcombe
and his family?" she asked.
"To Andover, Mam said," answered the lad,
" Mistress Armitage hath promised me a letter. "
"I shall tear it if it come," his sister snapped,
the small teeth barely showing behind the tightened
lips.
Roger heard the child's crying, as he took his way
across the Common. He had seized the excuse of
the errand to escape from confining walls. Despite
his best efforts, a coldness daily more cold remained
between him and his home. His father stern, his
mother wistful, with the look of watchers who fear
disaster, a look more dreadful than reproach.
The pain of it, the pressure of suspicion, was in-
tolerable. Yet his grief at the estrangement was
pricked with thorns of sharp compunction as he
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 239
realized that from it he had a refuge, a warmth no
coldness chilled, itself a pain more blessed than all
peace.
Out of the atmosphere of strain where the very
tension of his own mood made silence under his
father's reproofs increasingly in danger of furious
break, he escaped whenever it was possible. More
than one night had found him wandering through
all its hours to come back with the dawn, the old
sense of guilt dogging at his heels.
The twilight lingered late. The August moon
was low in the east before the afterglow was faded.
Few people were in Tra-mountain street, and those
that were abroad hastened about their business as
if conscious of the hour.
Frog lane was empty. The chorus from the
pond upon the Common croaked in inspiriting
fugue, the patriarchs booming beneath the shriller
rejoicings of the young. Soft breathings in the
bushes told where a strayed cow still browsed and
wandered. Roger moved onward without pause,
far out beyond the settled borders of his home, into
woods through which the road wound roughly to-
ward the village of Muddy River.
Shadows lay thickly in the way. When at last
he halted and took count of his position he was deep
within the forest. After he turned, his step grew
slower and the homeward path was travelled with
less speed.
At the end of the first mile retraversed he came
to a pause, thinking he heard voices. He stood in
the darkness made by a great maple that roofed
the rude way with a compact mass of straight-
240 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
grown boughs. His light tread had made no sound
upon the bed of needles underneath.
At the instant of his pause two figures silhouetted
themselves upon a strip of sky far down the path.
They also were at a stand and one was beckoning
the other after it into heavier shade. Roger's
sight, keen and used now to the dusk, saw that the
one who had bethought him of the shadow was an
Indian.
He seemed to be speaking and at his words the
other turned abruptly to look in Roger's direction
then faced quickly about, taking the way town-
ward. If they desired to be secret, the red man
might have warned him of Roger's passing and of a
probable return. In the movement of departure
the Indian had held out something which the other
had seized in going, thrusting it apparently into
his doublet.
Roger would have moved on but the savage
came directly toward him, and he stepped instead
upon the other side of the great maple that inter-
posed its trunk between them as the Indian passed.
A gleam of light dropping through a broken space
in the boughs touched the face ; it was not a face
from one of the friendly tribes, but wore the look
of the French Indians of the North.
Roused from himself to quick conjecture, he
followed, still slowly, the homeward path till in
a narrow dwindling of the way his eye was caught
by a glint of white at his feet. It might have been
bark from the white birch but he stooped to it and
saw that it was a letter.
"Le Sieur de Wildglass. " The address was
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 241
plain even in the moonstone pallor of the day's last
look.
A French letter and for Sir Humphrey Wildglass.
His first conjecture as to the identity of that second
figure was then correct !
Sir Humphrey stopped with startled promptness
as Roger called. At sight of the letter his hand
went involuntarily toward the pocket of his doublet.
The gesture was checked midway and converted at
once into a movement to pluck from his coat a bit
of brambly leaf.
"Ah 'tis the valiant Captain !" His look ban-
tering, derisory, settled upon Roger as he flicked
the leaf daintily from his fingers. "Art starting
for Quebec or art already returning?"
" I but follow you, Sir Humphrey ! And I bring
you word of the North and I mistake not. " He
held out the letter, suddenly smiling, " 'Twere a
happy chance had it some news of that French gold
we spoke of!"
"Aye, most happy!" The cavalier thrust the
letter securely within his pocket, but first examined
it with insulting care, making certain that the seal
was unbroken.
"I think none can have seen it but myself,"
Roger reassured him drily.
"Where found you the billet ? "
"A little back upon the path. "
"A woman's secret, Captain and so to be
guarded, " explained Sir Humphrey lightly. "Not
over interesting or 'twould have met my eyes ere
this. I have a weak aversion for the reading of
reproachful epithet !"
242 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Roger heard the apocryphal tale unabashed,
watching the elusive play of expression, as the
man resumed his way, neither inviting nor dis-
couraging companionship.
There was no branching of the path and it was
already too dark to seek the isolation of the thicket.
Roger swung again into the step with which he had
overtaken the other and would have passed him
but Sir Humphrey slightly quickened his pace.
" If thou'rt a Puritan, my good Captain Verring,
then King Charles never lost his head, " he sighed
irrelevantly. "Thou'rt a lusus naturae, being a
Puritan and yet no Puritan. "
"And you're no riddle easy for the solving,"
Roger retorted, "being Sir Humphrey Wildglass
and yet fond of the simple dalliance of the woods ;
'tis not expected of a courtier. "
"Truth, thou hast it, young Sir the strolling at
twilight with solitude or country folk for sole com-
panions would suit ill the rout of fashion ! 'Twould
shock them dolefully in London to know 'twas
tamely safe to wander here at even in the woods.
Bears and wolves are the least foes they conjure
up!"
"They are the least we encounter. " Roger had
fallen into the other's step, slackening his own.
Sir Humphrey gave him a swift side glance.
"Better wolves, I venture, than Indians? Yet
surely the salvages come not so near Boston as to
give uneasiness to our Captain!" The apparent
astonishment of the jeer moved Roger to admir-
ation.
." Not often, not them that are hostile, " he an-
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 243
swered indifferently, fancying he detected relief in
his companion's voice as Sir Humphrey went on.
"And how about the road to this village of And-
over? I am setting out thither on the morrow
with no better convoy than two slaves for the fields
and one Bozoun Plimly, a tim'rous provincial who
recommendeth me ammunition in plenty. "
" I think you will be safe. " Roger spoke with an
air of encouragement as ingenuous as the cavalier's.
"I but hope you will be able to defend poor Plimly
as well. "
Again the side glance sought his face cunningly.
Bozoun Plimly was known as of the doughty
fighters.
"Hast a pretty wit, my Captain. Art dolefully
wasted on this pious Boston. Wouldst send a
message to Mistress Armitage? I bear a sheaf
from another youth called Munch. "
"I would not so burden you. His must be
heavy," Roger returned calmly. "Keep your eye
upon the branches above the path. Now and then
they bear a wildcat. "
Sir Humphrey paused, casting a look upward
into the dusk of the boughs, then moved again
nonchalantly forward.
" I were safer trusting to eyes wilderness- trained.
Darkness is to me as daylight to the owl. An' there
were no catamounts what a place for a stroll with
the damosel chosen of the heart ! "
He hummed a stanza from a French chanson in a
happy abandonment to the hour. His voice, sub-
dued, dipped and soared mellifluously, and his next
words held a double sting.
244 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
" I wonder if there be catamounts in Andover !"
" 'Tis a poor place for twilight strolling and not
safe even in the day. The eyes of the Pequots are
not owl-like. " Roger's tones were matter-of-fact
and full of warning. The stab of the man's words
was deep, but it should bleed inwardly. Yet the
slash of knives must hurt and the leap of flames
sear and burn. Sir Humphrey was content. He
was playing but lightly the prelude of his plot. If
its later complications had place for the suppres-
sion of this ubiquitous Captain of militia so much
the better.
Meantime the two paced leisurely on in the
cloistral gloom of oak and maple, beech and pine;
and the soft cheeping of birds, settled drowsily to
rest, broke peacefully upon the early night. The
almost vanished light sent dim lines of moony radi-
ance across the path and the wind, rising, moved
slow and stately among the leaves that drew rus-
tling aside before its coming.
Its breath warmed and stirred the blood more
mightily than the sting of cold. The odours of all
full-growing wild things were in it, the pungent
herbs, the sassafras and sweet brier, perfumes vital
of New England that tells its heart out in the sum-
mer woods alive and thrilling to their last wee leaf ;
never lying dully to stretch and yawn within the
heat ; strong with vigour unrelaxed interpretation
of joy and pain and aspiration compassing the
lives that move within its dim enchantment.
Wherever a clearing broke in upon the way, pale
armies of the wild rose trooped to meet them, a
wilderness of bud and blossom exhaling to the night
245
the very keenness of that pang that worked, thorn-
like, deeper and deeper into Roger's heart as he
thought of Andover and this knight of the Court,
full-armed of graces, modulating his soft inflections
for another ear.
" Tis extravagantly lovely! A wonderful cli-
mate, this New England, with more passion than
the tropics for all its devilish changes. " Sir
Humphrey filled his lungs with a long soft inhala-
tion. " But the oracles be dumb you never see it,
never feel it, you clod-hopping Puritans !
' How sweet the oil ta-rum-ta-ra,
On Aaron's beard did go,
And on his raiment down did run
His garment's hem unto.'
'Tis all there is of loveliness for you, a scurvily
done doggerel to drone through the nose ! 'Tis a
climate to make poets "
"Or heroes," put in Roger.
"And you make no more of it," the cavalier
went on, "than the dullest oafs ever toiled at a
dung heap "
"Finds one then in London true love of woods
and fields?"
" London ! One finds men men and women
in London! Ah " Sir Humphrey broke out
impatiently "when shall I be done with this
commerce with louts and fools ! But patience
men who seek a treasure must have patience eh,
Captain?"
"An assurance of success is a great strengthener
of patience," Roger answered quietly. "An un-
24 6 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
rewarded patience after such uncongenial straits
were added soreness to the spirit ! "
"'Assurance'!" A laugh malicious, full of
amusement, bubbled up from Sir Humphrey's
throat. " Faith then 'tis not for assurance I'm
lacking ! Our ways part here. Adieu, my valiant
Captain. I go to dream of Andover. " His three-
cornered hat was swung gracefully into the air and
clapped over his heart as he bowed mockingly low,
and the laugh still sounded between his lips as he
turned aside into the dark.
Roger did not hasten. Unconscious dread of the
home-coming, absorption in his jealous fears,
dragged upon his going.
Beneath the current of emotion his mind was
working in deep-sea ways to solve the mystery of
Sir Humphrey's presence in Boston. Had he come
in the first instance intent to capture the Little
Maid ? But she herself had said the man had been
earlier unknown to them. A spy ! It was the last
depth for a gentleman, even an adventurer ! And
yet who else held clandestine meetings with hos-
tile Indians for traffic in the letters of the French ?
Thought contended with feeling till the two
merged in a single purpose. Was not here a means
to unmask the fellow? The energy of his patriot-
ism reinforced the jealous torment.
Would the suffering have been worse had the man
been worthy ? He stopped, grappled by the fierce-
ness of the thought. Action, combat with evil,
would have its blessing in relief, but the fear, fear
for her he loved, must now be greater.
He had paused at his own door, and he looked
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 247
about him with the watchful eyes of hunters or of
pioneers, and while he looked a form took shape
among the shadows, moving cautiously on the op-
posite side of Cross street.
Did the man heed him enough to follow? Or
was his contempt unfeigned? Masked for all the
world beside, why did he show his true face, evil,
malicious, alone to the one who was most his enemy ?
There was a spur in the memory of that smiling
indifference that mocked at defeat, annoyance
even, from a source so insignificant.
He threw open the door and mounted to his
room. Lighting a candle, he set it, flaring, upon a
table, and standing between it and the windows
took off his coat, unwound his cravat, then half
drew the shutters and after a pause, extinguished
the light.
In the darkness he dressed again and sat down
behind one of the half-closed shutters, his eyes fixed
upon the Old Way and the portion of Cross street
the window commanded. Twice a figure seemed
to stir in the lane. After an hour it came no
more.
At midnight Roger descended to the room below.
He stepped with care but not stealthily, despising
too great caution, and as his hand was on the latch,
his mother's door opened noiselessly on its hinges
and, wound in soft gray, she slipped across the
suddenly moonlit space to his side.
" Roger. " There was all the appeal of a grieving
child in the broken weariness of the voice. She
looked frail in the wan light and pinched with wake-
ful miseries.
248 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Roger clasped her with a quick tenderness of re-
morse, laying his hand upon her temple that beat
feverishly against his palm.
' 'Tis nothing wrong, Mother. I go secretly to
the Governor to warn him of a spy. "
" 'Twas not that drove thee forth from thy
home. My son I cannot let her take thee from
me! Canst thou not give her up?"
She felt the start and throb the touch wakened.
There was a moment's waiting.
"None would separate thee and me none
could," he answered painfully.
"Thou canst not give her up? O Roger, she
comes of evil people "
He released her sharply then clasped her closer.
"No no, " he said, and bending leaned his head
for an instant upon hers.
She slipped gently away, knowing the moment
passed when either could bear without embarrass-
ment the rare caress.
CHAPTER XVIII
A MIDNIGHT CONFERENCE
ROGER issued by a side door seldom used.
The rising moon had lighted the streets,
but this side of the house was still in
shadow and under the orchard .trees it was dark.
The wet grass tangled itself about his feet and the
low branches brushed roughly against him. He
went at first watchfully, with care to remain hid-
den ; then more boldly, making his way from orch-
ard to orchard.
He crossed beyond the church when the moon
was under a cloud, and so by street and garden to
the end of Green lane and to the Governor's man-
sion.
On the other side of the way there seemed to
hide and wait a host of lurking shades. For bet-
ter precaution, he returned on his steps, not once
venturing into the light, and hesitated a moment
on the porch at the back of the house. He had
been certain of a figure ensconced opposite the en-
trance in the shelter of the elms.
How to proceed further, he was in doubt. The
thought of giving up his design crossed his mind.
But to see the Governor without delay and without
betraying to the spy that the interview had taken
place was imperative. Danger might be more
imminent than anyone could have suspected.
The French might be arming for an attack, might
249
THE COAST OF FREEDOM
be penetrating the wilderness toward the very en-
trance of Boston Neck. The Indians might be
engaged upon some devilish plot for whose pre-
vention not an hour must be wasted.
To wake the house with loud outcries was mani-
festly to warn the neighbourhood of his business.
The windows of Sir William's room faced the open
moonlit spaces and the prowling watcher seen or
imagined by the pasture wall.
Spencer Phips, the Governor's nephew, was from
home. The servants slept above in the garret
story, save the slave Debby, who was ever near her
mistress. Lady Phips had a quiet, forceful way of
acting for herself which appealed to a kindred
quality in Roger's own nature, and all that she did
impressed him with a sense of fitness and of value.
As he recalled the visits he had made in the "faire
brick house of Green lane" there returned to him
memory of a time when she had entered from the far
end of the porch on which he stood and called
" Debby Debby ! Art thou in thy room ? " And
the black woman had emerged from a door above
their heads and descended the "back-stair," a
kindly, sad-eyed old creature who had tried to kill
herself when first she appeared in Boston, and had
been saved from a public whipping for the offence
by the girl who was to be Sir William's wife.
The flash of the recollection showed him his way.
He was standing by the window where he had told
the Little Maid the story of her rescue. Now he
laid his palm with a close and gentle touch upon
the sill, and moved away, shocked from reminis-
cence to anxious forethought by anxiety for her,
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 251
the fear that had assailed him at sight of the Indian
in the woods.
He picked up a handful of gravel from the path
and would have thrown it, but paused in time,
dropped it upon the grass, and approached a trellis
beneath the window he sought. He smiled a little
grimly to himself as he climbed. The Governor
was quick with hand or pistol ! Should his bur-
glarious plans miscarry
He had small time for speculation. The trellis
was strong and he ascended sailor-like and swift
among the late roses. The thorns pierced smartly,
lusty defenders of the flowers that crushed satiny
and sweet across his lips.
The window above was open. Regular breath-
ing came from the farther side of the room.
" Debby ! " he called softly, his head quite within
the curtains. " Debby ! "
Someone stirred but the breathing was as before.
He put out his hand and tapped sharply on a stool
it encountered.
"Debby!"
"Yeh-es, Miss Mary." The voice was confused
and dull.
"Debby!"
" Be yo' sick, Miss Mary ? " The negress was lift-
ing herself on the bed ; it creaked as she turned.
"Debby Debby Wake up! Don't be afraid.
'Tis I Roger Verring. I must see the Governor.
Do you hear, Debby ? Don't let anyone know that
I'm come, but call the Governor. Tell him not to
light his candle. 'Tis possible someone may be
watching. " Roger had leaned far into the window
252 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
and spoke in his natural voice, lowered but distinct.
" I have something to tell the Governor. Wilt thou
rouse him, Debby, and say to Lady Phips 'tis noth-
ing to give her alarm. "
Roger had feared a shriek when his voice should
cease but Debby was not a common woman. Her
tone when she answered was full of dignity and
sense.
" Yo' stay quiet right where yo' be till I get into
my clo'es, Cap'n Verrin'. Then yo' can come in
the winder an' there'll be no creakin' doors down-
stair. "
She was fumbling in a press at the head of the
bed. There had been a nervous apprehension in
her manner that made Roger wonder after she dis-
appeared, whether or no she had really recognized
him. He heard a muffled sound like a surprised
snort from the far end of the hall and, after a pause,
a tread not so noiseless as Debby 's.
"A pest upon thee, lad, dragging a man from his
bed at an hour like this!" The voice was humor-
ously pitched though still clogged with sleep. " Art
thou bewitched to "
"Sh-sh!" whispered Debby warningly. "Yo'
speakin' too loud, Mister William. "
"Go thou and stay with thy mistress, Debby;
she heareth the Pequods come for her scalp and
thinketh the house afire ! Sit thee down, lad and
out with it. "
They were in the great upper hall. The moon-
light streamed toward them from the front and
gave a dim brightness even to the broad window
seat where they were.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 253
Roger spoke quickly.
" M-m-m had suspicion of it, lad. " The night-
capped head nodded with emphasis. "I like not
the man. Has't ever come to thee the name is not
his own? Wildglass? I never heard it in the
court of James nor is it familiar in that of King
William. Yet this fellow 'tis plain hath been
much about King James. He gave me that by an
allusion whose key I had from the Duke of Albe-
marle. 'Twas a dissolute set of rascals were in that
story. 'Twas in my mind to write his Grace and
ask which of the company had this fellow's pres-
ence. But I was ever a procrastinator with the
pen. 'Tis a handsome rogue and I like less than
all his way with the Little Maid. When sails the
next packet? "
"The Serving Martha goeth out on the morning
tide. "
The Governor waited a moment, thinking.
"Who commandeth the ship?"
"Maccartey. "
The Governor struck his hand joyously upon his
knee.
" Providence is for us, lad ! Comes Maccartey to
the counting-house in the morning?"
" I go to him to give my father's instructions. "
"Take thou mine and this ring. 'Twill serve
with his Grace better than letters. We'll know
who is this Wildglass ! Let him into the whole
matter. "
A half-hour more and Roger had descended and
was returning by the orchards as he had come, in
his thoughts the cheer of the Governor's warm
254 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
grasp mingling with the poignancy of his fears for
the Governor's Little Maid.
As he entered his own home the tall clock covered
the sound of his coming with its full- toned chime.
Did the Maid slumber or did she wake, like
him? She had feared the "solitude." And Sir
Humphrey with his wit, his power to amuse, how
welcome would be his breaking of that solitude !
What charm would he not gain from contrast with
Sir John Winchcombe and the wilds !
Before he slept, he heard the clank of the mill
wheel turning in the opened sluiceway. The miller
had begun his day.
CHAPTER XIX
INDIAN RIDGE
ROGER left the ferry and set swiftly forward
upon the road, a road where ugly stumps
showed aggressively above the receding
earth and the ground pine and shoots of oak and
maple struggled with persistent witch grass in the
half-cleared trail.
He passed lightly over obstructions and as he
went seemed to himself a creature of the forest.
The memory of the ferry-way was with him and
the still water, heavy, inert dead when he had
seen it first, thrilling again into a sentient glory,
fiery in the rippling shallows, streaked far with
shifting marvels of glow and motion in the deeper
tides where life renewed itself with day.
As the shore gave him welcome, little by little the
memory released its hold as echoes of an overture
die into succeeding scenes and the green wilderness
took him to itself. Wild things scattered shyly
before him, or peered amazed and disconcerted
from the covert, but he did not lift his gun from his
shoulder nor heed them save in the vague appre-
hending that showed them part of the fleeting pic-
ture of the forest.
And yet the gun was his excuse for idling this day
away from counting house and wharves, the launch-
ing of new ventures and the reckoning up of old, the
smell of the sluggish docks and the stale reports of
argosies and pine tree shillings.
255
256 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
" I shall see you, perhaps, when we return in the
autumn, " she had said, and the living wretchedness
of the summer had laid hold on him as she spoke.
Since the hour when he had known she was gone,
when he had found the house dark, shuttered, deso-
late under the June sun, Boston had become a place
of death where decay was in the air and men moved
as ghosts about unending tasks of idle import. The
cavalier had been gone but a day, yet as the second
night had waned into its later hours and Roger had
gone quickly forth to meet vague glintings of the
coming light, it had seemed no shorter than an
eternity of discontent. Beneath his eyes had lain
shadows heavier than the star-sprinkled dusk of
morning.
Not once had he said to himself, even in the mo-
ment most filled with the purpose of his desire, " I
will go to Andover, " but now he kept straight upon
the way without wavering or parley.
The woods sent up a broad, quavering haze.
Squirrels scampered among the branches. When
at noon he threw himself beneath a pine to rest, one
came leaping downward almost to his head, shrill
voiced and chattering to warn the trespasser.
Roger lay prone upon the heat-breathing earth
and the waves of its summer madness flowed
through him. Here in the far heart of the woods
he was free. Free to dream, free to love his
dreaming !
But rising through it all, chilling and embittering
the whole, was the fear of his own joyance, so that
he went on no longer full of the day's blessedness,
but unseeing, abstracted, cut deep into his soul
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 257
with the harrowing torment of inquisitorial pain.
As the shadows wheeled on their retreat, he
paused to look up at the sun, and hastily at the
compass he carried in his pocket. Then he struck
from the trail into the untracked wilderness and
went onward with hardly less speed, crushing aside
or trampling the obstacles that defied him.
The journey grew increasingly difficult and in the
lowlands gnats swarmed from stagnant pools and
hung cloud-wise in the simmering air. The snap-
dragon, enmeshed in great masses of gaudily twink-
ling bloom, and the deep brakes, gave signal of the
ooze from which they sprung.
The Ridge lay snakelike along the valley, unread
history in its accumulations of glacial stone. From
the crest, wooded cleanly with pines too thick for
undergrowth, Roger looked down along the " limpid
Shawsheen" and in the fertile intervale his eyes
discovered that for which they sought.
Upon a mound that was faintly suggestive of a
promontory, being set in a bend of the river, was
the house. It was roughly built of squared logs
and bore an insignificant proportion to the barns
within the same enclosure. The stockade was dia-
mond shaped, an angle to the turn of the stream,
with two gates set wide open and facing, one upon
the river, the other toward the Ridge. Indian
Ridge the settlers had named the place, a sinister
suggestion in the name.
Fields of maize, set palely in the darker rim of
evergreens and maples, were on the farther side.
In a clearing of fallen grain a figure, that might have
been Bozoun Plimly, wielded a sickle.
258 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Hidden in the thick undergrowth at the foot of
the Ridge ran a path. Roger had mounted beyond
the spring to which it led, and his eyes did not find
the figure till the glancing shimmer of a woman's
dress showed among the bushes.
The spring trickled from the rude channel of
wood into a hollowed log where a horse might drink,
and was spilled in all directions upon moss and
stones, leaving an iron-rusted trail wherever its
spreading rills found way.
"Let me fill it for you. " Roger came upon her
as she stooped, speaking before he was fairly beside
her lest he startle her. It was better than he had
dared to dream to find her so, unaccompanied by
a hateful presence.
" You meet me always when I run away ! " She
had said no word of welcome but laughter rippled in
her look. " I but came to have the woodland to my-
self with this for excuse. " She held up her pitcher
and waited as he took and filled it.
"And I for the same reason, with this for my
excuse. " He let his eyes rest an instant on the gun
he had set upright against a yellow birch that over-
leaned the place.
They talked merrily as they climbed. She
breathed faster as they reached the top. The hill
was steep.
Below them the river wimpled in and out among
the rushes, and waterlilies drifted in the lapping
eddies, pulling softly at their green cables as they
felt the motion of the stream. Above, the sky was
bluer than the blue of Italy, with no yellow ochre
behind its clarity of tint, a clean, clear blue, not
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 259
cold like blues of autumn, but warm, fervid, the
very dream and apotheosis of blue.
Into its smoothly hurrying current the river ab-
sorbed the glow, the intensity, and the green of wil-
lows and alders, the green of birches, and the dark
shadow of the pines interpreted 'twixt blue and
blue. No sound but the wood sounds, no stir but
the thrill of the warm earth and happy trees.
She had given him to drink of her blue crock and
it rested now against the fallen tree on which she
sat. From beside it she had pulled the leaf of a
hepatica and touched it delicately as she talked,
her eyes lingering on it in a gentle ruth of their own
ravishing.
Roger lay upon the slope, head upon hand, and
his gaze questioned her mutely. Had she been
glad to see him ? The vivid light of a surprise that
was not all sorrowful had surely showed itself at
sight of him.
" You love the forest ? " Her words were more a
statement than a query, and came without relev-
ance into the progress of their talk. "And yet
they say the Puritans have no love for nature !
You are, 'tis plain, not all Puritan !"
She looked down at him with the look that is
neither smile nor earnest but holds every possibil-
ity of friendly chat.
"I fear I am too little Puritan !" He shook
his head, the same suggested depth and shallows in
eyes that widened as they met her own.
"To me, the birds, all animals and flowers and
trees why 'tis my religion to love them. " She
rippled again with unvoiced laughter. "Think you
I am the worse for loving these?"
2 6o THE COAST OF FREEDOM
She plucked another leaf gently and laid the two
side by side, the stems in her caressing fingers.
Roger flushed a madness seizing him. The
touch upon the leaf had touched at the same in-
stant the centre of his life, and the whole throbbing
machinery of being halted with sudden jar.
She did not understand. His look that might
have told too much was on the leaves, and when he
spoke she had read in the flush reproof, as she found
in the words evasion.
"Surely not the worse, " he had said. " Only
if the flowers could but know their own happiness
'twere fitter. " His voice was not steady.
She withdrew coldly into herself.
" 'Tis a poor, merchant's view of things demands
response for love, " she said loftily.
She had dropped the leaves in a vexed fashion
and he laid his hand upon them. Something in the
gesture at once impulsive and deliberate, gentle and
determined, disarmed her. One could but like the
hand. It was a proper, man's hand, but with a
fineness added.
Roger lifted his eyes, his clasp still on the leaves
in mute possession.
"I am but clumsy. 'Tis the Puritan whose
tongue so stumbles upon uncouth words. But we
be not all bargainers and miserly by nature. My
meaning was other than my speech Sir Hum-
phrey Wildglass would not so have offended!"
The last had uttered itself against his will.
Her colour rose as she heard, but her answer was
full of the laughter that gleamed ever across the sur-
face of this summer mood, laughter, could Roger
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 261
but have known, she had well-nigh forgotten in the
uncompanioned wilderness.
"Neither 'offended' nor pleased! One could
not be sure if 'twas said for compliment that it
were more than the vain practice of a courtier who
fears to forget his graces ! Oft have I told him so ! "
The acid of that "oft" bit deep. Roger had
gathered the leaves up absently into his palm and a
ray of sunlight sifting through the trees brought
out the wines and browns streaked in their heart-
shaped greenness from point to stem.
"They are beautiful, " she said simply.
She bent nearer, her eyes on the sun-painted
leaves, yet not unmindful of the power and depth
of expression in the other face near her own. " Tell
me, " she asked, "why doth any one think it wrong
to love them?"
He lifted his gaze from the leaves to her.
"Were I to say it would repel you, and you
would hold the thought for mine "
"Try me. It seemeth all so petty, this turning
from the dumb things and from the flowers. One
would suppose 'twas the Devil created us and all
the earth !"
Roger looked at her, absorbing her presence.
There was room in his mood for her alone. And
for the future wherein he should he must win
her.
But she waited the answer.
" These things that are of my father's faith I have
never held so straitly as others," he began. "Yet
because my father is the best man I ever knew
and my mother " He paused.
262 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"Your mother All the world must love
your mother " The girl spoke with a sharp
access of feeling. "I saw her at Sir William's.
She is like she made me think of my own "
She lifted her fingers to the chain about her neck
and drew forth a small oval case. Two miniatures
faced each other within. One was a woman, young,
white-shouldered, fair-haired. No common artist
could have caught the look, half humorous, half
scornful, about the mouth, the frankness untrans-
latable of the eyes, eyes that even painted might
have made deceit so gazed upon to waver.
The man was darker, of an un-English darkness,
with colourless features, abundant in expression,
unusual in intellect, high-bred and strong.
The two sprang to life vividly in the woods.
Roger bent over them reverently. He had come
nearer very near.
"You remember them?" His tone told more
than he could have given in words more fluent.
The girl answered him eagerly. With an im-
pulse contrary to a nature wise, honest, beautiful in
strength, but locked in a prison of reserve on which
her own seeming outspokenness turned the key, she
told him of her home. Not as he would have told
it with a mastery of language as native to him as it
was unpractised, but in simplest sentences, broken
often, and coming not as quarried from the rock
but as cut from live flesh.
He said little now but let his look follow hers
when he dared keep it no longer on her lips, and
once as his gaze returned from the wooded knolls
beyond the river he saw a figure come out of the
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 263
water gate and make its way along a path in the op-
posite direction.
With the prescience of those who watch for dan-
ger, he knew it for Sir Humphrey. He wondered
whether the Maid had come this way to avoid the
cavalier, and his heart rose at the hope.
She too had withdrawn her gaze from beyond
the river.
"Your own childhood 'twas less merry it may
be but you had always your mother "
" Not merry scarcely merry but not sad "
he commenced.
"Why doth the Puritan so hate the light and
pleasant ways?" she repeated. "I cannot com-
prehend 'tis ever a repulsive thing to me !" She
spoke warmly but turned to him with instant de-
precation. ' 'Tis not that I would wrong them
who see not the world as I but the little children
'tis a cruelty to set the little ones thinking on the
Devil and hating innocent flowers "
"It is not hate they would teach the children so
much as forgetfulness, " answered Roger. " I would
you might take my word not as mine but only as
the faith of them I respect ! "
"Speak. Trust me, " she begged. "Of the Pu-
ritan faith I know nothing save from its enemies. "
She had raised her head, turning her face, flower-
wise, to the sun. The green boughs swayed almost
imperceptibly toward her.
All trace of the ascetic was gone from Roger's
mood. No stern denial of his upsurging joy laid
hands upon his peace.
" We may not love the flowers, " he said, his voice
264 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
troubled with happiness, "because loving the vis-
ible, the carnal, we take but earthly pleasure, for-
getting the Creator of all. "
" False and sophistical ! " she cried out. " I love
ever the Creator better for it all. What needs He
of our love? He would have us happy. "
" 'Tis not for our happiness but for His He hath
created us that we might honour Him. "
"Nay and of all vainglorious thoughts! Mat-
ters then our opinion so much to God ! " She spoke
scornfully. The youthful flush answered in Roger's
cheeks.
"You like not my words and you forget I was
to speak for others. "
"Nay, I will remember; I will not again inter-
rupt." She smiled. "Tell me what is't your
father believeth. He hath the air of a great states-
man. "
"And is but a simple ship builder and merchant
of Boston ! " Roger laughed, reassured in the smile.
"He loveth Boston."
She waited again expectantly as he halted.
"That which he believeth is not to be easily given
justice by one lukewarm who knoweth not what
part of that belief may be his own by any strength
of his own apprehension. Tis something like this. "
Roger hesitated once more. The soft loveliness of
the summer afternoon contradicted what he was
about to utter. His words seemed out of tune with
the day, seemed to push him farther and farther out-
side the pale of that paradise of companionship
into which he had so barely entered. He drew his
hand across his eyes and looked up at her as if
THE COAST OP FREEDOM 265
pleading. A warmth generous and gracious came
into her face in answer.
"Fear not I shall be womanish and angry. I
would know, " she insisted.
"The very substance and heart of it all is that
each of us hath a relation communion with Him
who hath made us, that none may interpose between
the soul of each and his Creator. The whole of life
is in the effort to get nearer to Himself and by ap-
prehending a divine Will perform it more straitly.
Night and day 'tis of this he thinks the Puritan.
Long nights my father kneels praying, appealing,
striving, for some assurance of that nearness, which
if he receive, he comes among us transcendant in
the beauty of his conquest. If he receive it not,
the suffering of his face 'tis death to see. 'Tis a life
terrible in emotion fierce in combat "
"Combat?"
"Yes: with the Devil, who works ever more in-
sidiously to make a breach in the closeness of that
bond and that is why even the flowers are feared,
feared as tempting the senses to pleasure and so the
soul to a relaxing of vigilance, to a dulness. 'Tis
held that every soul longeth from birth for evil and
is lost forever save for an election of God Himself.
None may be wholly certain of that election, so my
father believes; still, an' he but strive without ceas-
ing, lifting up his thoughts to the Highest, resist-
ing all that draweth from such contemplation,
there may come to him moments of wondrous
hope. Mr. Cotton Mather seeth visions. Often
he lies all night upon the floor confessing his sins
and wrestling with the spirit. Knowest thou
Judge Se wall ?"
266 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The girl seemed unconscious of his slip upon the
thou.
" Of a truth, " she answered earnestly. " A good
man by his look, plump and portly. He hateth
periwigs!" Their eyes met in a mutual twinkle
that broke gratefully the soberness of their speech.
The Maid's look dwelt a little abstractedly on the
soft bronzed masses of Roger's hair. "What of
him ? " she asked.
' 'Tis his custom whenever he be troubled or
weighted with some anxiety to close the blinds of
his upper room and there to fast and pray a day
two days till his soul be at rest. He liveth not so
strenuously as my father, being of a more comfort-
able build in all ways, but to him, too, there are no
realities so great as the realities of the spirit. "
"And thy mother?" The gentle possessive
came unaware from the girl's lips as it had from
Roger's. An instant brought knowledge and she
retreated, taking fright at her own kindness.
Roger dared not look at her, so glowing, so deep,
so self-revealing, was the delight within him. The
effort of repression hardened his voice.
"My mother hath come to hold with my father,
and as her flesh is weaker she suffers more and oft
belie veth herself to be of the lost. " His tone grew
tenderly indignant. "An' she be lost there is no
justice in Heaven," he said abruptly, and at this,
gazed at the girl as if to find sympathy where sym-
pathy was changed to coldness.
" 'Tis a hard faith," she answered, "fit only for
hard men. "
" Yet it hath made great men. " Roger's disap-
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 267
pointment showed in a yet firmer tension of his
voice. " Think only of Cromwell "
The girl grew scarlet.
"A butcher a murderous miscreant ! And you
you can honour a Cromwell ! " She bit her lips.
With the word he had touched on the sorest spot in
her convictions. Horror of the regicide was a pas-
sion bred in her very blood. " What faith had he
but faith in himself, but love of slaughter ! "
To Roger the sudden change became at once the
sign of his own punishment. He had erred, ex-
posing his half-hearted loyalty to the faith of his
home ! And he had said but truth in knowing she
would be repelled by its actual presentment. The
cavalier he was of her world ! Let her go to him !
And with that thought a pang crueler than all pun-
ishment !
She would have risen and left him save that she
would not resent too openly his imagined rebuke.
She remembered bitterly the reputed modesty of the
Puritan maids. They would not have forgotten
and met a man's advance half way; yet she felt
angrily that in her very unconsciousness was some-
thing nobler than in their shyness, and she resented
with the intensity of one used to command a care-
ful and distant homage what she believed to have
been Roger's thought of her.
He was sitting more erect, a little removed.
"This is very beautiful but 'tis always here. I
shall be missed "
She was going. She put out her hand in a stately
fashion, and he would have helped her to rise, but
as he would have sprung first to his own feet he
looked beyond her and drew suddenly near.
268 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Indecision, warrings of conscience, jealousy,
were no more. There was no transition; it was
another man, one she had not seen before, who
spoke.
"Slip lower on the slope and run, " he said quietly
so that those who watched should not suspect the
warning. "Indians There's no shelter here
He rose smiling, giving her his hand.
"Pretend to pick the berries on the slope below."
The Ridge, open as cathedral aisles above, was
skirted at its base with crowding saplings of the
dogwood and wild cherry.
She rose beside him, smiling, like himself.
" Berries ! Let us get some, " she answered gaily,
her voice untroubled as the smile, but as she
stooped to gather the first, and he bent beside her
(between her and the feathers he had seen peer-
ing from behind a tree) she whispered rapidly,
" You will come ?" and he replied, "Yes. Ready
now. "
Light fleet straight as the sunshafts, she fled
with him upon the path. Roger's look, the look of
a man who will dare all things for the woman he
knows he loves, had flamed on her without conceal-
ment in the second of their interchanged whisper.
Something in its undaunted coolness, its sure energy
had given her confidence. They ran swiftly and
none rose to intercept them. Roger's eyes had
seen the scout in the very glance that discovered
their position to the savage.
Upon their track the Indian drew nearer horribly
silent, assured. What maid could outrun an In-
dian ? He was not alone. Roger's ears, sensitive
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 269
as any Nipmuck's of them all, heard the sounds he
feared. He had lifted the maid and quickened his
running supernaturally. They were in sight of the
stockade when he heard the first click of the trig-
ger.
He set her quickly in the path.
"Run!" he cried. "Faster!" wheeling as he
shouted.
The Indian's shot, meant for the girl, missed her
for she too had wheeled finding Roger had not fol-
lowed. As she turned the Indian fell.
Roger's shoulder felt the pang of the musket ball
that answered. Two other savages had leaped the
body of their companion and were upon him. There
was no time to reload and one unemptied barrel
remained to the foe. Roger sprang for the fore-
most who would have slipped past in pursuit of the
girl. On the Indian's head he brought down his
gun with a crash. He could not stop to see where the
man tumbled, nor to seize his weapon. The last of
the three had raised his own musket. Roger tore
it from him with a wrench that dropped the in-
jured arm helpless and swinging.
The satisfied fury of a snake trodden on by a
bare foot gleamed in the Nipmuck's eyes. With a
leap he grappled his crippled enemy, drawing a
knife as they wrestled. The uninjured arm was
busy warding off the grasp. The knife caught the
sunlight bewilderingly on its short blade. Blood
was dripping from Roger's sleeve.
Then the Nipmuck's wrist was clutched from be-
hind, the girl's fingers sunk into the bare flesh of the
savage with a force desperate enough to give sur-
270 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
prise. The mere instant wherein the Indian
wavered sufficed. Before he had recovered that
second's pause he was down, his knife wet to the
hilt in his own blood.
As they gained the stockade an arrow sped from
a bush pierced the Maid's sleeve.
CHAPTER XX
"FOES WITHIN"
ROGER dragged forward the gate and thrust
it close, dropping the bars before he spoke.
Plimly, his muscles swollen with run-
ning, at the same moment shut and barred the river
gate through which he entered. The household,
dazed or voluble with questions, hurrying to meet
them, hung about the Maid.
Sir Humphrey's face was whiter than its wont.
It showed a slight tremor of agitation beneath the
delicately managed rouge. It was fitting, the anx-
iety, but Roger, keyed to preternatural compre-
hension, had seen the start, the angry disappoint-
ment with which his own presence had been recog-
nized. He recalled the figure disappearing into
the forest an hour before and, as lightning reveals
a cloud-wrapped landscape there came to him the
face of the Indian seen at twilight in the Muddy
River woods. It was he who had been the second
of their foes to fall.
Sir Humphrey had plucked the arrow from the
girl's sleeve, and when she would have grasped it,
held it solicitously out of her reach.
" Do not touch it, " he warned her. " It may be
poisoned. "
The girl had recovered her breath and was telling
in few words that which had befallen. Madam
Chanterell's reproaches at her straying rose above
the chorus of frightened exclamation.
271
2? 2 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"Thou dost not find strolling so successful here-
away, my Captain !" The malicious voice was in
Roger's ears as the cavalier drew near under pre-
tence of helping to sink the last bar in its socket.
"Couldst thou not remember thy own wisdom
anent the woods of Andover?"
Roger paid no heed to the taunting murmur.
Bozoun Plimly had joined him and they conferred
swiftly, Bozoun sending the terrified dependants
about the tasks most needful, quelling their out-
cries with ready new England energy. The one
maid servant Madam Chanterell had beguiled from
her English home wept frantically, clinging to
Temple's gown. It was for Temple, not her mis-
tress, she had dared the sea and braved the savages.
Madam Chanterell, still chiding the Maid, had not
interrupted herself to speak to Roger. It was evi-
dent she felt his coming someway responsible for
the disaster.
Sir John had been last to hear the commotion.
Sleep still stupefied his expression as he came forth.
His first glance was for the Maid and anxiety dis-
persed the heaviness as he saw her pallor and the
weeping servant still clinging to her gown. His
dull face showed a strong consternation even when
he found the danger for the time was over.
"They'll not return before the night," Plimly
announced impatiently. "Meantime we may pre-
pare. "
"You should have told us, Sir Humphrey. 'Twas
you declared " began Sir John.
The words became a whirring and were lost to
Roger. He had stoutly resisted the hotly urged
advice of Plimly.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 273
"Wait till the others be withdrawn," he had
protested. " 'Tis time then. "
"Time! Thou'rt bleeding to death already!"
Bozoun was angry and the look he cast upon the
group surrounding the girl, full of contempt.
" 'Twill not matter to them, " he had added. " Be
not so squeamish. "
Even as he spoke, the Maid started forward with
a cry.
" Captain Verring is wounded ! Look Sir John
he is falling ! "
Roger did not hear. His struggle to conceal his
growing weakness had ended in the stout arms of
Plimly who caught him as he fell. Before Bozoun
could stretch the unconscious figure upon the
ground the girl was at his side, striving vainly to
stop the flow of blood.
If she heard the loud protest of Madam Chanter-
ell she did not reply, kneeling quickly to give the
aid of her slender fingers. The man slit the heavy
sleeve and she helped him deftly as he cut away the
linen beneath, soaked miserably with the red stream
that poured from the lacerated arm. The bullet
had torn through the muscles close to the shoulder,
ploughing deep on its way.
The Indian squaw who wrought with another
slave in the smoky kitchen had come at Temple's
demand and, as they dressed the tortured flesh,
brought a pulp of moistened tobacco and bound it
firmly upon the wound to stanuch the persistent
welling of the blood.
As they fastened the bandages, pressing them
smoothly above the squaw's poultice, Roger, half
274 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
conscious, half in the borderland of dreaming,
thought he was again upon the Araby Rose.
"The Little Maid" he began indistinctly.
"Maccartey where is the Little Maid?"
But the shame of weakness cleared his clouded
mind and the sense of work undone would have
brought him upright had not a light and per-
emptory touch pressed him back in quick denial.
She was putting the final stitches in the linen and
he felt each careful motion, his eyes darkening in
his white face as he watched Plimly, who had left
them to resume command and now toiled rapidly
at the loading of an arsenal of muskets piled about
his feet.
Colour crept faintly into Roger's cheeks as the girl
laid a dry compress above the bandage and pinned
the cloth across it, her lips close, her eyes intent
and troubled.
Roger turned a little toward her, unmindful of the
pain, the whole soul of him drinking unhindered
her nearness. For a breath she seemed to answer
with a grace of tender giving, her self crying out to
him from its lonely fastness. But dread of an un-
known, a new-suspected danger woke him to full
knowledge, a dread that had been striving to be
recognized since first his eyes reopened.
"Your cousin Gregory Bellingham are you
sure he is in London ? "
The Indian woman had gone. The girl was still
busied upon the blood-stained coat. Her long
sleeve brushed his face as she lifted her arm to look
at him, surprised.
"When last we knew he was in London. But
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 275
that was many months since. His fortunes have
fallen with the coming of the new King, they say. "
" May I see again the picture of your father ? "
She drew the miniatures from her bodice, still
greater surprise written on her face.
" Look quickly, " she said as she opened the case.
"I would not "
A groan had risen to Roger's lips.
" Dost see no resemblance ? " he asked feverishly.
" Resemblance ? "
"Sir Humphrey 'tis perhaps I may be mad.
But the Indians were so few. One the second
I saw in earnest converse with Sir Humphrey
Wildglass not later than two days ago at Muddy
River "
He spoke in snatches. She listened fixedly. With
coldness, with distrust, he thought. Did she be-
lieve he lied? Traducing a rival? Torn between
his fear for her and his pride, he fell sharply silent.
"Sir Humphrey is our friend," the girl said at
last slowly. Whether the deliberation was reflec-
tion or reproach, it but confirmed Roger's belief
that she doubted him.
"I can stand now," he said. "My suspicions
have an ill look in your eyes, Mistress Armitage.
But I beg you to be cautious, and not to repeat that
which I have confided, not even to your 'friend'
to Sir Humphrey. "
He knew this request looked doubly the coward's
attack, but to let the cavalier know he had seen the
-Indian at Boston was to betray New England no
less than the girl.
The night came quickly upon the late twilight.
276 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Sir John, recklessly careless till now, panic-stricken
at the sudden realization of that to which he had
exposed his sister and his charge, looked helplessly
to Roger for direction.
"By my faith," he ejaculated once. "I could
swear, Captain, we'd met before but where ? "
The answer had been without words. Sir John's
tolerant liking was too much a patronage for any
recalling of the scene upon the London wharf.
This new-created baronet should find no purring
beneath a stroking hand in the son of Nicolas and
Alison Verring. Roger's glance darkened coldly as
he thought how soon the "insolent provincial"
would be damned in Sir John's explosive vocabu-
lary if that nobleman knew his meaning about the
Little Maid.
The anger, even the jealousy, were somewhat
eased in the swift need for deeds.
The small windows were firmly shuttered, the
guns and ammunition were distributed or carefully
placed ready to the hand, water stood in buckets
wherever it might be wanted to put out a fallen
brand. In all this and in the bestowal of the stock
for greater safety, no less than in the planning of
the night's campaign, Roger's was the directing
voice. As the work drew on to accomplishment
the fever of jealousy returned upon him, throbbing
more cruelly than his wound.
He was conscious of each movement of the girl.
It was to her the women held for comfort and sup-
port as the men to him. He would have approached
to beg her to rest,but whenever he made the attempt
Madam Chanterell was before him. Sir Humphrey
THE COAST OP FREEDOM 277
hovered about her, a growing insistency in his de-
votion. Even in the gloom of their preparations
Roger saw that her flash of wit ever answered the
cavalier and her laughter followed his sally.
It was what he should himself have wished, lest
the man be set on his guard. But Roger felt only
that she meant to put upon a cowardly accusation
the contempt it deserved.
The hospitality of the enemy was irksome to him ;
contact with it had dulled the edge of the day's
joy. The thanks, perfunctory and grudging, of
Madam Chanterell, the goodfellowship of Sir John,
offered as to an inferior, even the dependence on his
strength that classed him with Bozoun Plimly, were
bitter to his taste.
He was conscious of the roughness of his outer
man after the woods, of the nice perfection of his
rival.
The sentinels were placed before the dusk grew
wholly into the dark. If the Nipmucks were not
far from their own tribe there might be quick re-
prisals and Sir Humphrey, who knew little of the
fire he played with, be victim to his own unscrupu-
lous greed, But the danger was not for the earlier
hours. Terror made the watchers trustworthy
and Roger was driven by the weakness of his drained
body and the raging of Bozoun Plimly to rest lest he
fail in the hour of greatest stress.
It was nearly midnight when he wakened from a
nightmare of visions to ever-increasing pain. He
pulled himself erect by the back of the settle on
which he had fallen asleep and got quickly to the
enclosure outside.
278 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The moon had not yet risen and he made the
round of the sentries in the dark. One of the slaves
and Sir John he sent within. The other negro with
the Indian woman and himself would reinforce
Plimly who had refused all sleep and, at Roger's
word, kept a lynx eye upon the motions of Sir
Humphrey Wildglass. It had been easy to reject
the services of the cavalier. He was too new to the
wilderness.
The night rustled in solemn warning on every
hand. The lonesome call of a loon, the short bark
or howl of wild things disturbed in their nightly
ramble, the depressing hoot of the owls, sounded
from near at hand. Strange creatures snuffed at
the stockade and slipped stealthily away.
The fever of his hurt was burning in corroding
heat through Roger's whole body, and the hot night
stifled him. He kept strict watch on his sentinels
within as well as on the forest without, and essayed
often the use of his wounded arm, forced to desist
lest renewed bleeding render him helpless.
As the moon sailed clear of the spiring tops of
pines and firs, the door opened and the Maid came
hurriedly toward him. She bore something in her
hand.
" Drink, please, " she begged as she held it out.
"You should not be here you risk too much for
us " Her voice faltered. "Please drink it.
The Indian woman is skilful ; she taught me the way
'twas made. " She glanced hurriedly around as if
fearing interruption. "Captain Verring "
He had taken the cup, and moved closer to her,
listening.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 279
"Ah, Mistress, 'tis here you are! Poor Madam
bemoaneth fearfully within the house, not doubt-
ing you be devoured ^already by brutal salvages.
She called to me to fetch you. " Sir Humphrey
had come with no delay upon her track. "Is the
shoulder not vastly painful, Captain ? 'Tis a weight
of obligation you've laid upon us strangers ; 'tis sad
the reward for so much hardship should be but
treasures in Heaven ! "
"Your solicitude is greater than my need, Sir
Humphrey, " Roger answered with ironic calm. He
had turned back quickly, hoping the Maid would
linger. She hesitated an instant, but when she had
seen the cup emptied she took it from him and
went away with the cavalier.
He was not left long alone The voice of Sir
Humphrey sounded again beside him.
"Rash and forgetful fellow, thou hast yet much
to learn ! " The moonlight showed the unpleasant
smile upon the well-marked features that in the
night required no touch of art to make them young.
Roger leaned on his musket, gazing through the
loophole into the space outside.
"Wert thou still for Montreal to pleasure the
worthy Phips with news," the voice went smoothiy
on, "or nay was't a sweet care for us that
brought thee strolling? 'Twas thoughtful but "
"Needless," Roger interrupted calmly. His
eyes returned from their exploration of the clearing
and rested in close scrutiny on the man's face.
"Sir Humphrey seems not to desire protection.
His friends here be too numerous. 'Tis pity, " he
continued more slowly, "he stretches not his in-
visible aegis, to save others. "
a8o THE COAST OF FREEDOM
'"Out of the mouth of babes'! 'Tis a brave
rhetoric they give thee, the schoolmasters of Bos-
ton!" Sir Humphrey smiled again, " Wouldst
have me Lord Protector of all thy wilderness?"
"God forbid. Commonwealths and dictators be
not in fashion with us. " Roger answered the smile
with one as cool. "Rather would my wilderness
crave another boon of Sir Humphrey Wildglass. "
"Crave on, my gay Puritan." Roger turned
with deliberate waiting, gazed again toward the
forest, and fixed once more upon the face of the
cavalier the look that studied him line by line.
"That he pursue the crusade for gold in Cana-
da, " he said unmoved.
" Modest, forsooth ! 'Twould give me life, young
sir. I die, here, of gloom and doleful dumps
But each treasure in turn ! And hark ye, my
short-haired knight, some treasures be not for thy
protection. 'Twere better for thee to stroll else-
where. Sir Humphrey Wildglass can protect his
friends. "
"Then Mistress Armitage is not his 'friend'?"
Roger's lips did not relax their curve, but his
eyes kept rigorous guard upon more than the
forest as Sir Humphrey moved away.
The dawn looked upon them still undisturbed.
If the Maid made further attempt to speak with her
defender she was prevented. Roger could not see
that she did attempt it, and he cursed his sanguine
spirit that had hoped too much for the little begin-
ning whose tone his folly must have then misread.
At the corners of his eyes branching lines were
marked in the youthful skin.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 281
Bozoun Plimly came to him and they talked long,
in the centre of the stockaded space where none
could approach unseen.
" Remember I have rashly betrayed I suspect his
spying. For the other he is not warned. But let
the Maid never from thy sight set the slaves to do
that which is too far afield and watch. "
"Aye aye." Bozoun nodded. " 'Twill not be
tried again the Indians. He's too cute for that.
But I'll watch fear not. Go yet thou must not,
Roger risking the woods and a worse "
" I must, Bozoun. Keep guard over the Maid
day and night. " He moved swiftly away, and then
came back, added another word, and was gone.
Plimly looked after him with a scowl of anxious
indignation.
There was open distress at the departure.
Madam feared the withdrawal of his wise vigilance ;
Sir John blustered, peremptory and suspicious,
at his decision. Roger, giving brief reassurance,
felt certain the danger from the Indians was
passed; but of that he could say nothing.
"It is not safe in the woods You are
wounded, Captain Verring. " The girl had risen,
between him and Sir Humphrey Wildglass, and
as she spoke, she looked at him strangely, sud-
denly whiter than himself. But she said no more,
nor did Madam and Sir Humphrey allow chance
for any word alone; and as he set out he saw
the cavalier take the place by the Maid's side
and heard the smooth voice in mockery of fare-
well:
"Be cautious in thy going, my good Captain.
282 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
And fear naught for us. The treasure shall be
protected. "
So he went away sore wounded, and for the
scourging of his thoughts scarce heeded if enemies
lurked beside the trail so painfully retraced. But
the Verring will showed more than ever strongly in
his strong features as he went, and there was de-
termination mightier than pain in the unswerving
purpose of his look.
CHAPTER XXI
THE MADNESS OF BOTOLPH*S TOWN
"By the pricking of my thumbs
Something wicked this way comes."
THE slow stream of people issuing from the
Thursday Lecture flowed back to a respect-
ful distance from the door of the North
Church as, through a lane where solemn boys and
girls bobbed and curtseyed, Mr. Cotton Mather
progressed methodically toward the street.
Below the wide steps he stopped, halting his or-
derly progress at the stocks. There, in full view of
the departing congregation sat a youth, his face
blue with cold, his breast covered by a huge D that
hung bald and accusing from his neck.
Behind the minister's back tongues held long in
leash had taken quick vantage of recovered free-
dom.
" A learned discourse and a timely ! " The man
who spoke fluttered the notes in his hand.
A young woman in a scarlet cloak supplied the
extra tribute.
"Eben, couldst thou do like Mr. Godfroy, write
and listen at the same moment?" She looked up
coquettishly at her husband, who stared at the com-
placent Mr. GoSfroy without envy.
" Nay, Lois, I could not, " he replied contentedly.
"A great discourse !" the taker of notes was re-
283
284 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
peating. "Verily, Satan's witches must have
trembled had they been there. "
" They were searching words ! And who knows ?
None is safe. " The woman that answered looked
fearfully about as she half whispered her response,
her pallid face twitching with excitement. "Mis-
tress Waite saith her Zillah.was seized of a sudden
with a sharp pricking like a needle, and found it
sticking in the flesh of her foot which she drew out
and showed it to her mother a fearsome great
needle ! And there was no mark of it neither on
the foot, for I, too, looked. She can but suspect 'tis
Goody Burrill. Only sennight she refused the old
woman a noggin o' milk and the beldame swore at
her. " The speaker lifted a pinch of snuff to her
nose and sneezed violently.
In the pause, her nearest neighbour spoke up
hastily.
" I ask my Reuben every day if he feeleth any
strange pain, " she announced with snapping eyes.
"There's enemies made by an honest tongue would
like no better than to afflict a helpless child. "
Reuben, waiting, a drab and joyless image, be-
side his mother, looked up at her with a terrified
attention.
" 'Tis fearful ! And there can be none so fitted
to deal with the matter as is Mr. Mather. 'Tis well
he is here " Mr. Godfrey was rolling his notes
into a cylinder in his hand, preparing to stow them
away. He broke off both speech and motion,
gazing horrified at the whisperer.
The mother of Reuben cried out. The frightened
child seized upon her gown with a nervous clutch.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 285
"Woman, thou art bewitched thyself!" Mr.
Godfrey had recovered his voice, but he remained
motionless, dwelling with alarmed fascination upon
the pallid features that grimaced at him helplessly.
The woman essayed to speak but her tongue was
become unruly.
Many had turned to stare with Mr. Godfrey and
the mother of Reuben, in a horror that had its ele-
ment of satisfaction. Here was visible proof of Mr.
Mather's words, a fitting climax to his denunciation.
The twitching grew more ungoverned as the victim
met the fixed and gloating gaze of the throng
that rapidly increased. With a sound of angry
terror she pushed the nearest out of her way and
escaped.
"She had the strength of ten !"
"Who hath afflicted her?"
" 'Tis an old affection of Mary Epps any one
will tell ye, " put in a calmer voice. " 'Twas ever a
pastime of her schoolfellows to make her angry
that her face might twitch. " 'Twas worse then
though 'tis late returned upon her. "
" Some witch hath her then this long time in sub-
jection. " Mr. Godfrey spoke with stern reproba-
tion of the speaker's tone. "Who was it could
thus tdrment her?"
"Any one could do it," began the voice, but it
was interrupted.
" 'Twas Silas Ty field who would be always
thorning her. "
"Aye he was a dreadful thorn." The crowd
looked at one another with questioning significance,
dispersing in smaller groups toward their houses.
286 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The young woman of the scarlet cloak threw
back its folds and let the marvels of her "appear-
ing-out" dress flash casually upon those damsels
who were not yet brides.
Mr. Godfrey took the same way with the married
pair, recounting the sufferings of the witch-ridden
of other towns.
" 'Tis their own son that they accuse, " he finished
mysteriously, rounding out a tale of great distress.
" Truly doth Mr. Mather say the Devil hath marked
the godliness of New England and would fain con-
quer it for his own. Why should Satan linger in
London, a place he hath already ! And mark you
this, 'tis only since the coming of so many London-
ers and London ways that witchcraft rageth. "
"They say," volunteered the bridegroom, "that
the beautiful Mistress Armitage be a witch but
for my part I believe it not. "
"And why not she ? " demanded his wife. " She
hath the most curious power. Even the animals
follow her. "
"And no wonder, " began the husband, " an' they
have eyes. "
" Hush, there she cometh. " The young woman
pressed her husband's arm in warning. "I'll war-
rant me she's been not near the meeting. "
The cold that had pinched and sharpened the
features of those who had sat long at their devotions
had but added to the glow in the cheeks of Mistress
Armitage. She was returning from the house of
Lady Phips, who was anxious and lonely in Sir
William's absence, and the pleasure of a service
effectively performed gave a special buoyancy to
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 287
her motion. Though in all her modish costume
there was not a note of colour half so bright as the
scarlet cloak of the bride, she seemed the more
vivid of the two.
"Who is't saith she is a witch?" demanded Mr.
Godfrey curiously.
' 'Tis in everybody's mouth, " answered the
young woman again, lifting her eyebrows in sur-
prise. " Beulah Munch hath felt her spell. Often
she hath gone to her, minded to say a certain thing,
and against her will hath been made to say just the
opposite. Even Sir Humphrey Wildglass seems to
think 'tis true. And he hath a better knowledge,
being the friend of Madam Chanterell. "
"But what hath she done, Lois ?" persisted the
husband. " Beulah Munch was never one to know
well her own mind after 'twas made up. If
'twere witchcraft whenever a woman thought a
certain thing and said the opposite "
"Jesting is ill-timed, Eben, " reproved the girl.
" What if she came at night in the form of a cat and
tempted Beulah to sign the Devil's book "
She hesitated, shuddering.
Both men exclaimed in shocked credulity, look-
ing with redoubled interest after the trim grace of
the figure that had passed them on the other side of
the way.
" 'Twas not Beulah told me about the Devil's
book but Goodwife Bolt who must have it from
her, " the bride added honestly.
"Sir Humphrey Wildglass a pleasant-spoken
man though I fear his life hath been of a reckless
sort ! He hath commanded a suit of kerseymere
288 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
from Mr. Viall's son Luther, and is most particular
it be plain and of a sober hue. Mayhap he seeth
that the ornament of a godly spirit is more to be
desired than fine raiment. Lodgeth he yet at the
Sign of the Orange Tree?" Mr. Godfrey's pause
was full of a weighty eagerness.
"He is lately returned there. He was away from
the town when Governor Phips set forth for Pema-
quid. " The young woman shivered a little in the
keen wind as she spoke. " 'Twas the very day
after Sir John Winchcombe came back to Boston
with his family. I remember, for that Good wife
Bolt had not made an end of her preserving and
was in some straits to stop and prepare his room,
and Goody Quail was not to be had, being em-
ployed at the Widow Pullen's house by Madam
Chanterell. "
Others besides themselves had looked with a sin-
ister interest after the girl who passed them uncon-
scious of their scrutiny, absorbed in the memory of
the hour just gone. It had been a pleasant hour;
Lady Phips had talked much of Boston and its
people, of the governor, and of his friends.
Mr. Willard, impressive in the full canonicals of
Sunday black and dazzling bands of sheer and
speckless linen, turned his eyes upon her gravely, a
kindly pity in the glance. His flock, taking their
way in many directions from the South Meeting,
mingled with the congregation of the rival church,
talking with an air of cold reserve. Few, like Mr.
Godfroy, were alone. Whole families, oftenest
three generations, went side by side, or drove in
lumbering coach or chariot toward a ferry. From
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 289
Hannover street, through twisting paths and alleys,
the throng was moving with more haste toward
Queen street and the prison.
Here the crowd was somewhat more worldly in
its make-up. Outlandish garb of sailors strayed
ashore, bright caps worn by the lads and set upon
locks trimmed evenly at the collar like a mop, gay
feathers and bright flounces in costumes that defied
the law, relieved the earthly dulness of frieze and
lockram, rough dowlas and brown duffels spun and
dyed upon the hearth.
Here too, about the pillory set up before the jail,
was some excitement. The pelting was at its
height. Eggs aimed at the victims of the law fell
lower down and spoiled the complacence of some
who dodged too late, affording the impartial looker-
on a grim delight. Stale odours of rotted vegetables
and varied garbage meant for missiles made an un-
pleasant stench. None save the more delicate and
the self-conscious who feared their dignity refused
the sport.
Two of the targets were beyond a saving sense of
righteous retribution. Their faces, bruised and
smeared past recollection gave no sign of life. But
the third, marred and fouled like the others, gazed
down upon the men who did the pelting, still con-
scious of each blow. His ears, nailed to the plank-
ing, through which his head and hands protruded,
stood out grotesquely on either side the discoloured
features.
" 'Tis James Hewson ! " volunteered Mr. God-
froy with deep interest, as he came near enough to
distinguish the man's countenance.
290 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
" He that would have it Eunice Fayerweather but
dreamed she saw a witch-dog in the night? " asked
the bridegroom.
"Yea, 'tis he, " answered Mr. Godfrey with fresh
pleasure in the recognition. " He stirreth up much
strife, speaking scurrilously of the Commission and
saying that the witches have no true trial. If he be
not one of the malignants, I know not what to say. "
The young wife touched her husband peremp-
torily, averting her look as a flinty pebble set the
blood flowing on Hewson's face.
" Come, Eben, there be all the chores to do, " she
admonished. "And thou saidst there were lumps
in the brindle cow's bag this morning. "
" Dost think it may be the brindle is bewitched ? "
asked Mr. Godfrey, transferring his interest.
" I saw old Simeon Farley at the barn but yest'r-
e'en, Eben. Come quickly, " urged the wife. " If
we lose the cow I fear me my father will say thou
didst feed her wrong . Good-even, Captain
Verring. "
Roger had fallen upon the party suddenly as he
made his way up from the wharves, whither, after
the service, he had gone to meet an overdue argosy
just come to anchor. He greeted the three some-
what coldly, having small liking for the pious gos-
sip of Mr. Godfrey.
He had chosen the way leading past the house
where Sir John Winchcombe had again ensconced
his family, and was walking rapidly. But in the
enforced pause for fitting reply to the bride's saluta-
tion, he came opposite the high platform of the
pillory, and lifted his eyes.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 291
" Hewson ! An outrage What hath he
done?" he exclaimed.
The constable standing quietly by, beruffed and
periwigged, upheld his staff and watched with long-
drawn face the merciless humour of the crowd,
loath to set a period to the reward of crime. Jacob
Munch, a grin half born upon his smug features,
was making ready to aim a mud-splashed apple he
had picked up from the pavement.
" 'Tis more than an hour since the Lecture ! Did
the law decree these men be killed ? Why are they
not released?" Roger spoke with a force that
brought an angry murmur from those who liked not
their sport condemned. Jacob Munch dropped his
apple.
"Captain Verring hath a great compassion on
thieves and malefactors, " he said to the starched
citizen who stood beside him.
The constable, dangling his iron keys, moved
slowly in the direction of the platform. The east
wind came strongly from the water, and the cold
November dusk was settling fast.
While the others had sought the pillory-gazing
throng, the Maid had turned into an alley and es-
caped the multitude in the wider streets. Faces
peeped curiously from small-paned windows as she
approached, and from one house set back among the
apple trees a sash was swung out upon its hinges
while a head thrust itself forth to see who passed
and whither.
"La she be going by the Old Way! Who is
she, Ma'am ? " a voice said wonderingly.
The Mill Pond was dark and the willow leaves
2 9 2 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
blown thickly in her path. At the one bent down
camel- wise to the bank she paused, and laying her
silk-mitted hand lightly upon its upright fellow,
looked about her with delight.
When she moved away, she drew a deep breath
of the clean air and gazed backward as if loath to go,
breaking off a bunch of red berries from a bush be-
side the path.
The Old Way was hid by its wild hedge from the
view of the curious, and as she went she lifted the
wide, flowing skirts daintily and slipped her high-
arched shoes with a pleasant rustling through the
fallen leaves, smiling at a grey squirrel that ran
down a tree trunk, gave her a twinkling glance,
and fled like thistle-down.
Again in the street she moved with a decorous
step, but swiftly lest the day be gone before she
should come to her own door. The wind brought
to her the salt of the sea and the burned smell of
autumn. Her eyes still smiled and her step was
light upon the broken flagging.
All at once an excited group blocked her way,
boys in a close and excited knot, wrangling, ges-
ticulating over some object on the ground. She
would have made a detour and so avoided them,
had another sound not arrested her, a sound dis-
stinct from the suppressed cries and quarrelling of
the lads.
At her approach the largest boy straightened
himself and she saw what was the occupation that
so engaged them. In a miniature pillory hung a
struggling black kitten, its head and forepaws
dragged through rude holes in an oaken board that
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 293
was nailed across two supports driven firmly into
the earth beside the path.
The largest boy bent forward again, trying to
force a mammoth pin through the kitten's ear into
the hard wood behind. The flesh had torn, but the
oak would not yield. Now, a stone in his right
hand, he battered at the pin and it held fast. The
kitten was choking.
With a cry of anger the girl sprang to the tor-
tured animal and lifted it, pillory and all, in her
arms.
"Ye little brutes!" The eyes that had smiled
were scornful and flashing as she confronted them.
The stakes had not yielded without force, but so
strong was her wrath a single effort had wrenched
them free. The boys, fleeing at her sudden on-
slaught, slunk hurriedly to a distance and stood
eying her sullenly, expecting more than words.
Shubael Munch was the first to venture near.
" 'Tis a witch-cat 'tis black, " he cried out in
warning. " Put it down, Mistress Armitage ! "
" She's a witch herself, " shrieked the largest boy
wrathfully. " My mother says she's a witch. "
"A witch ! A witch !" yelled the pack, rallying
to their leader's cry.
"She's not a witch," screamed Shubael. "I
know her She's not a witch. "
" She is, I say. A witch ! A witch ! Pelt her !
'Tis her cat 'Tis the witch's cat!" the big boy
yelled. He had struck at Shubael with the stone
still in his hand, and then hurled the weapon furi-
ously at the girl.
The momentary dismay was over. The weight
294 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
of scorn and blazing indignation unfollowed by the
retributive potency of blows could not impress them
long. Shubael fought them with all the might of
his little fists. A woman looked from an open
door, but hearing the cry, "A witch!" shut and
barred herself within.
The Maid covered the kitten with her cape and
turned her back to the youthful mob that had been
greatly reinforced in the confusion.
"Come, Shubael," she called, but Shubael was
stretched on the ground and did not answer.
Sticks, pebbles, stones all the projectiles the
neighbourhood afforded fell upon her pitilessly,
but she wheeled to look for the lad, rousing him
by her call.
"Come, Shubael, " she cried again.
"A witch ! Beat the witch ! "
The pack were in full cry and they no longer con-
tented themselves with missiles, but pursued, armed
with heavier cudgels.
Shubael had gotten upon his feet. With him she
turned again and fled. She was swift, but the wind
twisting her gown, held her back relentlessly. At
the corner of Wing lane the foremost had his clutch
upon its silken folds, his cudgel raised high to strike,
when he was lifted in a vigorous grasp and flung
back yelping among his comrades. His sudden
arrest and the shock of his descent shook the breath
from the would-be zealot, and the chase drew off.
The frenzied shouts of the urchins had carried in
spite of the wind, but against the increasing violence
of the blast they had sounded to Roger like cries
for help.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 295
The Maid was silent, trembling, and bewildered
at the fanatic fury of the assault. Mr. Godfrey
observed the group from the other side of the street.
He saw the girl hold up some object like a yoke,
fastened to a writhing kitten, and saw Roger take it
and set to work to get the animal free. The lad,
crying with rage, was battling with his unruly
breath. His clothes were torn and one eye sur-
mounted by a dismal patch.
" Shubael fought them for me. " Temple smiled
down at the boy with a glance that dried his tears
and flushed his cheeks with happy pride.
"Shubael is the bravest lad in Boston," began
Roger. " I wish "
The child became radiant, though the Maid had
interrupted.
" You will have to cut it out. They have hurt its
head pushing it through the hole, " she said.
"Can you are you enough recovered to hold it
quiet while I cut away the wood ? " Roger looked at
her anxiously and his look brought back her colour.
She wrapped her cape about the kitten's paws
and took it with a reassuring touch. It turned its
yellow eyes up at her with an earnest gaze of ques-
tioning patience, and the scurrying speed of its
frightened heart grew less.
With the point of his hunting knife Roger care-
fully chipped out the hole. Shubael helped, his
eyes shining with satisfaction, as he clamped his
bruised hands tightly upon the board.
"Do you suppose 'tis a witch cat?" he asked,
staring at the little creature timidly. The kitten
was watching him with the topaz eyes, full enough
THE COAST OF FREEDOM
of gratitude and appeal to startle a child who had
never before seen a cat save as an object of sport.
The look seemed to Shubael too human for an ani-
mal.
" No, Shubael, he's my kitten now, and I'm not a
witch, " answered the girl. "Though they did call
me one. Poor pussy what I'm to do with you I
don't know. Madam won't have a kitten near her
dwelling. She hath a great dislike and fear of cats,
above all of them that be black. " She rubbed the
little creature's head softly as she talked.
"I can care for him, if you'll trust him to me,"
Roger replied. He had put up his knife and taken
the board from Shubael. " Now, pussy pull, " he
said.
Shubael left them, hastening to forestall the
double punishment of truancy and the tearing of
Sunday clothes. As he started, he put out his hand
tentatively and rubbed the kitten's head as Temple
had done. The released captive was boiling and
bubbling songfully within his black throat.
"He's glad, isn't he!" the boy said, unaccus-
tomed laughter breaking over his round face.
As the sturdy, anxious legs disappeared, running
with fear to spur their energy, the Maid set straight
her hat and moved onward beside Roger. In the
weeks that had divided the night in the stockade
from her return to Boston she had not seen him.
But twice Roger had seen her, and more than twice
he had been to Andover. On each visit he had con-
ferred with Bozoun Plimly.
Through Bozoun 's aid a new element of safety
had been introduced into the dwelling, Nopomuk,
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 297
who had remained with Captain Phips, to water the
roses in my Lady's garden in summer and all the
year to drive the chestnut pair that drew her car-
riage to and from the great house in Green lane.
Roger and Lady Phips had first conceived the
plan, and the Governor had summoned the one-
time diver and put before him the peril of the Little
Maid and the need of secrecy. The eyes of the
Southern Indian had softened like an eager child's.
So it was that Bozoun had demanded help for the
harvesting and sent a messenger to Boston when
Sir John, after a heated contest as to the wages of
the labourer, had given his consent.
"Mistress Armitage seemed much moved at the
red man's appearing, " Bozoun had stated at his
next report. " I doubt not the damsel hath seen
him driving my Lady's chariot. But none may
guess what passes in a woman's mind, leastways
not with her if Sir John or Madam or Sir Humphrey
be about. I do opine, however, she hath remarked I
keep a watch upon her, and seemeth not ill pleased.
Sir John careth for little but his food and the gold
he hopeth to gather from this season's crop So
now the Amalekite hath all things his own way, for
Madam dotes upon him. He is ever about the
Maid and if she take him not I fear he will hang
himself. You need fear naught from him save a
kidnapping, for 'tis sure he favoureth the maiden.
And if thou'lt wait here I'll get a bunch of herbs I
promised Goodwife Bolt. Canst carry them?"
Even Bozoun, astute in wood lore and shrewd
enough for most men, was hoodwinked then by the
contradictions of Sir Humphrey's nature. Roger
298 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
had set two sentinels to guard the Maid's life. The
greater danger he could not avert, that she might
trust, might even love, Sir Humphrey. It was ever
a wonder to him how the weeks went by at all and
left him sane, for even in retrospect they stretched
endlessly in aeons of wretchedness.
He would not question Bozoun, and he had heard
the little that the man-of-all-work vouchsafed with
a sense of distress, born partly of an unreasonable
dread of spying, and partly of a distaste to hear an-
other speak of her.
Now Nopomuk was back again driving the horses
of the Governor, and the Maid had learned that very
day at whose instance the Indian had been sent to
guard her in the woods. Lady Phips had hinted at
no danger but the fear of Nipmucks, being rarely
discreet. One thing the Maid knew that Lady
Phips did not, Bozoun being also wise in the times
to betray a secret to the one concerned, and making
some chance of converse when she had said farewell.
As they walked, although her body still trembled
from the sudden attack, her mind had already for-
gotten it to dwell on other things. Roger's anger
had grown hotter, and shame filled him that in his
city she should suffer such brutality.
" 'Tis what comes of taking children to the hang-
ings and setting them to stone the poor creatures
in the pillory ! They are no better than wild
beasts !" He spoke with a vehement suppression.
"They should be What welcome to Boston
for you after so long an absence ! "
"They are not Boston," the girl answered.
" There be rough and savage lads even in London!
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 299
Boston is for me the Governor and Lady Phips
my friends. "
" 'Tis many months since you were here. I had
hoped Sir John would bring you back earlier. " He
attempted to settle the kitten that was climbing
from its refuge.
"And yet you came but once to see us, though
you were hunting not far away more than once, "
the girl replied. " Here, wind this scarf about the
kitten's paws. Then he will stay. "
Roger obeyed her, answering her first words.
" I saw you one day at the river gate and again
with Sir Humphrey Wildglass at the spring. "
" I went there but once. Sir Humphrey taunted
me with womanish fondness for the scene of an ad-
venture, and I went no more. How long before
Governor Phips will return ? " she asked. " Is it so
important Pemaquid be fortified ? "
" 'Tis most important, " Roger answered prompt-
ly. "It commands a region that hath endured
much from hostile tribes of the North. 'Twill be
the saving of many lives. I should be with the
expedition, but Sir William refused me. "
"Lady Phips told me. He needed tried men at
home to watch the interests of the colony, and to
defend us if there be outbreak here. " The Maid
looked up, a light of admiration in her glance, that
the dusk hid. "You are young, Captain Verring,
to have so much entrusted to you. They say you
were offered a place on the Commission to try the
witches. I am glad you would not take it. "
"I could not. Mr. Saltonstall hath resigned,
being unwilling to go on with trials that convict all
300 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
who will not confess. Even a dog hath been con-
demned. " He smiled faintly, falling grave again
at once.
"Could you have helped such men as you and
Mr. Saltonstall ? "
"Nay he had no effect, and I should have been
scouted for my youth and five can outvote two. "
He drew a long breath as if the subject weighed
much upon his thoughts.
"There is such fear in the very air!" The girl
moved unconsciously nearer as she spoke.
"Men are beside themselves. Them that be
silent are feared for their silence and them that talk
for their 'much speaking', " Roger answered. In
their tones was the confidence of those who utter
themselves with an unwonted freedom. "I would
it were over. The whole world seemeth possessed, "
he went on. ' 'Tis a melancholy greeting for you
to hear but tales of sorrow and affright. "
He harked back to her, the troubled disquiet
still in his tone. His look graver yet, with the
yearning of one powerless to defend the loved
from evil, gazed on her for a moment steadfastly.
In the shadows of the growing dark he could not see
the brave glow that answered the look and the sud-
den shining of the dark eyes turned to his own.
"There was dread in the loneliness of Andover
though that was only fear of men and of wild beasts.
But the fear of friends" she dropped her voice,
"and so many poor creatures in great suffering and
torment ! Oh no wonder there is panic ! But I am
glad to be in Boston," she said quickly, and her
voice that had almost a note of gay content laughed
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 301
above the strong quiet of a wordless peace, a
peace that held them both in the security of un-
affrighted happiness.
"Hath Lady Phips told you of the scandal the
Governor created ere he went away?" Roger's
tone had lightened cheerfully. " 'Twas a fort-
night's wonder ! There be some who suffer from
it yet!"
"Nay, tell me! What did he do?" asked the
Maid contentedly.
" He gave a mighty dinner to all the ship carpen-
ters of Boston and made no less display for them
than for the Council ! Oh, 'twas a most grievous
scandal!" Roger laughed, and felt that she
laughed too.
" I like it of him, " she said.
Their talk dwelt on nothing more remarkable,
but when he left her, it was to walk still in the
blessed air where her invisible presence did not for-
sake him.
Once voices harsh enough to force their way into
this excluding sense of joy brought to him a
painful realization of something without this better
consciousness.
' ' She is a witch ! and hath Shubael as well as
Jacob in her wicked spell ! " It was the high voice
of Mistress Munch raised in a scolding fury.
"Nay, I'll speak as I please, " the voice rose still
higher in wrath at some interruption. "Look at
the child look at him, fighting and brawling like a
mud-scallion and his clothes that I made myself
all ruined by this Nay, I say, I care not. They
can hear who will ! An' Christopher doth not flog
302 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
him well each time he speak to her, I'll do't myself.
And I'd flog Jacob, too, were I a man moping
after a witch, a "
" Mistress Armitage isn't a witch, Mam !
Canst flog me all thou wilt " Shubael's voice,
broken with pain of many lashes, was dauntless as
timid voices are when roused to battle.
Across the way, at the Sign of the Orange Tree,
Sir Humphrey heard ; and gazing from his window,
saw Roger return as he had seen him go. He stood
a long time thoughtful before he turned away, and
the look upon his face was not all malignance, but
mixed with a certain anger more human and more
anxious.
CHAPTER XXII
THE "POISONED CHALICE"
BEULAH MUNCH sat sewing by the window
of the living room. Her eyes were fixed on
the band she was felling and did not lift to
gaze after those who came and went from Tra-
mount street to Hannover. The settle was
drawn between her and the fire. By the window it
was cold, but she did not stir, even when the blaze
dropped to scattered coals and the draught blew the
ashes of the wood upon their fading glow.
Suddenly her impassivity changed. She raised
her head, looked after one who passed without
turning, and a sound escaped her lips. With a
swift motion she laid her work aside. In the
shortest time it could take to find and don her
bonnet and mantle she had opened the door and was
out in the fresh November breeze.
The sun was bright and the streets seemed warmer
than the room which she had left. Even at the
shortest, bonnet and mantle had taken many
minutes, but she followed quickly the direction
of the figure that had vanished, pausing only to
walk more sedately as she came nearer the yard
of the Widow Pullen's house.
Temple Armitage was without, among the flower
beds. In her hand was a mass of the late asters,
white, and purple, and streaked with pink tints on
303
3 o 4 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
a snowy ground. The warmth that seldom left her
cheeks had deepened while she talked. Roger,
leaning upon the unpainted dial, was listening and
as she finished the tale she told, both laughed,
the silent laughter of those who understand each
other well, and their eyes met an instant in a volun-
tary interchange of pleasant comprehension. Then
she bent suddenly to the unplucked asters at
her feet and Beulah, pausing at the gate, saw the
look that watched the Maid, fallen upon the spot
where the soft blackness of the hair made fairer
the fairness of the neck.
"Come in, Mistress Munch.." If Temple were
not best pleased none could guess it from the wel-
come.
Beulah tightened her lips, spoiling the redness
of her childish mouth.
"I'm afraid I interrupt," she answered. "Two
they say
' 'Tis indeed pity to expose a solitary maiden to
the influence of two such Puritans!" Temple
shook her head. " I fear the Widow Pullen was of
a frivolous mind like me ! See how brazenly her
flowers come forth ! "
When Roger left them a half-hour was nigh spent.
" If you go now I shall be sure you are angered at
having your pretty speeches interrupted, " Beulah
had pleaded.
"If Captain Verring were angered by interrup-
tion he hath already undergone good discipline,"
the Maid had responded. "I am a most ill-condi-
tioned hearer ever marred a man's best period !"
When at length Roger had forced himself away,
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 305
the task had grown no easier. He would have pre-
ferred Beulah had not come, but the presence of
that inferior world that was not Temple Armitage
was of too little moment ever to destroy his en-
joyment.
Beulah had shown to better advantage after her
greeting. It was hard to harbour self-consciousness
or meanness with Temple near. But the for-
lornness of her mood increased as its bitterness,
lessened.
The charm of Roger Verring's manner, so far re-
moved from the pious bluntness of her father, that
covered a selfish disregard of others' rights, so dif-
ferent from the sleek oiliness of Jacob, appealed to
her with new force. Once more her thoughts con-
trasted Jacob's unkindness with Roger's remem-
bered devotion to his mother. The clairvoyance of
her own feeling made it plain to her how strong was
the power that was drawing together this stranger
and the man she had loved ever since she had been
old enough to see that he was handsomer and finer
than the lads she knew.
Roger had never singled her out for even a pass-
ing interest, but till now no other had appeared
whom she thought more likely to secure what she
had determined should be her own. If the position
of the Verrings and the sense of something lacking
in that accorded the Munches had added ambition
to her love, it would be hard to separate the more
worldly fibres from the glittering fabric woven by a
stronger wish.
Beulah 's was not a religious nature, and she had
found no comfort in the simulated ecstasies of her
3 o6 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
faith. What in Jacob became a coarse hypocrisy
was in her a simple acquiescence. The shallow
jealousies and the vulgar complacency of her pa-
rents, the mother's pettiness and the father's hec-
toring, arbitrary will, had hardened in her into a
silent tenacity more subtle and more deadly. In
the confining duties of a world where marriage was
the beginning and the end, and where the pickling
of fruits and the brewing of cordials was the highest
form of incense to be offered to the gods, it was
scarce probable that a soul like this one would create
for itself resources, or that the single feeling that
gave life to an otherwise heavy character would do
more than afford a channel for the outpouring of a
supreme self-absorption.
For Beulah the world contained herself and Roger
and, more remotely, those who would envy her
when she had made him hers. Her clinging and
dependence were a manner acquired with the ease
whereby we fit ourselves to an ideal society holds
before our eyes, and never a part of her true self.
She needed no one, felt no claim, no devotions, save
for Roger. To secure him, not for his happiness
but hers, she would have sacrificed all others with-
out a qualm and, to her mind armed with the unwit-
ting egotism of the truly selfish, no surrender of her
determination would even have presented itself
as possible.
The return of Temple to Boston had brought with
it a renewal of jealous uneasiness, or she would not
have followed Roger to the door of the Widow Pul-
len with an impulsive haste foreign to her usual
more quiet calculation. For the first time she had
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 307
realized how far beyond her reach events had
carried the fulfilment of her plans.
After Roger's farewell, she answered abstractedly
and went after the Maid with downcast eyes as the
two girls mounted the stairs to the square room
where the crisp breeze rustled the valences about
the curtained bed.
It was Temple's chamber and it brought another
pang to the unhappy Beulah. She did not hold
Mistress Armitage as her superior, save in the mat-
ter of owning a great number of jewels that she
seldom had the sense to wear, but she recognized
here, as in the simpler ease of Temple's manner, a
something she felt sure would seem to Roger su-
perior. Her eyes travelled from the quaint en-
gravings on the wall to the books, which lay upon the
table instead of sitting bolt upright in undisturbed
fixity of pose, and she turned from both with a
prim distaste to let her gaze seek the wide mirror.
" 'Tis grown cold, " she said with a little shiver,
her plump hands busying themselves with untying
her bonnet and curling closer over a wet forefinger
the stray locks the wind had blown awry.
Temple, going straight to the deep fireplace, had
set some pine sticks ablaze beneath the logs.
"I will shut the windows till the room be warmer,"
she said. "Was it the things come by the Pello-
quin you meant ? "
" Goodwife Bolt said you got a full chest from the
ship," Beulah answered with more interest. "I
thought to send myself by the next packet. "
The Little Maid had closed the windows, not
without a longing breath of the clear coldness of
308 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
the air, and the big fire sent a too ardent heat upon
them.
" What have you been doing in these days ? " she
asked with pleasant heartiness as she knelt before
the carven monsters of a chest.
Her visitor watched in silence as the deep lower
drawer slid forward and the cambric cover was
lifted from the contents. On the very top lay a
silk, pale green and changeable, with a mere shift-
ing light of pink, and here and there a tumbling
rosebud in the folds.
The purring that was ever Mistress Munch's
first word at the sight of uncut silks did not come,
and Temple glanced upward, surprised.
The soft pinkness of Beulah's skin was darkly
suffused and her eyes were full. As Mistress Ar-
mitage looked up, the tears fell and rained thickly
down the reddened cheeks.
Temple sprang to her feet swiftly, a wonderful
compassion softening the warm brilliance of her
beauty.
She put an arm gently around the weeping girl
and drew her down beside her on the cushioned
window seat.
" What is it, Beulah ? Tell me " her voice had
the comforting life that trouble longs to hear
"what has grieved thee, child?"
The words Captain Phips had said to her so long
ago ! She grew gentler still, with the recollection.
Beulah slid out of the encircling arm, upon the
floor, and buried her face in the cushions. Temple
laid a fine hand softly on the elaborately mounted
hair and waited.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 309
"I'm I'm afraid to tell you what it is. " Beu-
lah moved still farther away. But the gentle hand
slipped to her shoulder and she turned back sud-
denly, her arms about Temple's waist, her wet,
blue eyes gazing up anxiously.
"Oh, I can't!" she gasped, but this time she
dropped her head in Temple's lap and cried there
more quietly.
"How can you fear to tell me, Beulah?" The
Maid had dropped her rarely used thou of affection
and her voice was graver, though none the less com-
passionate. " Perhaps it is something wherein I
could help, my child. " A certainty that it was
something painful for herself, a sense of the essen-
tial weakness of the crying girl, was in the gravity
and the gentleness.
" If thou wouldst only take thy spell from Jacob !
'Tis making him ill he hardly eats at all and
yesternoon he would not touch his pudding and he
left the meers cakes my mother brought for him at
bed time If he should die Oh, if thou
didst not want him why put the spell upon him ? "
Temple sat erect suddenly, her breath held with
the shock of sharp displeasure. Beulah's words
offended much that, in her nature, was sacredly
guarded from discussion. But after a minute's
waiting she spoke again, still gently.
"Beulah," her voice was very low and rich,
" your brother will not die. If he hath a liking for
me that is more than mere kindness I am more
grieved than thou. I never wished it. I have ever
shown I have been, so you yourself have said,
even careless of courtesy to him. "
3 io THE COAST OF FREEDOM
" But Mother says that is the way of all coquettes
he but admires the more. 'Twas ever the way
to make Jacob want a thing to show him it dis-
pleased you he should try for it, " put in Beulah
eagerly.
" Your mother may be right concerning the ways
of coquettes but I have never been aught but
truthful with your brother. " Temple rose, leaving
her accuser whimpering softly among the cushions.
A righteous anger took the softness from her eyes
and she paced up and down twice before she trusted
herself to say more.
' I think," she added presently, "your brother
hath been much used to having his own will, and
doth not easily understand his wishes might be un-
pleasing to another. "
Beulah rose also, her cheeks reddening again,
defiantly.
"And why shouldn't he expect what he wants !"
she demanded angrily. "There is no young man
more sought after. There be plenty to take him.
'Tis not that he is unpleasing that he suffers, but
thou hast put a spell on him. How can he let thee
be till thou art through tormenting him? Even
Shubael thou hast bewitched so every day the
poor child must be beaten because he "
"Beulah!" Beulah stopped short and cowered
into the window, although Temple's voice was not
raised and she had not stirred from where she
stood.
"Why is Shubael beaten because he loves his
friends, and what have I to do with your brother
that you talk of my releasing him ? 'Tis I would be
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 311
released from his ill-thought-of importunities.
'Tis his vanity suffers not himself. He will soon
forget me. What could I do more than I have
done?"
" Thou speak'st as if thou hadst known him long.
Where was't he saw thee first?" demanded the
sister. " He says he knew thee well long since and
thou wast greatly taken up with him. I've told
him thou wilt none of him. Temple Armitage
holdeth herself for higher game though for that,
the family of Nicolas Verring is no richer and no
honester than his "
Beulah's voice had ri^en to the scolding note of
her mother's,
The flash in Temple's eyes darkened and from her
full height she looked down upon the hysterical
girl who was venting the stored-up poison of her
brooding malice.
"You forget that the door is open, Beulah. I
would not have Madam Chanterell judge you by
such words. For your brother, I will avoid your
house and make it plainer, if that be possible, that I
do not desire his company. Nor do I see why your
brother's folly should give you the right to insult
or rail at me. "
There was a strength in her directness, in the
dignity of her carefully curbed anger, in her evident
repulsion tor a scene, that had its effect. Beulah's
tight lips sneered, the hectic colour burned more
brightly on her cheeks, but she spoke in lower tones.
" Then you will not release him ? " she persisted.
"Nor Shubael?"
"What do you mean?" Temple looked at her
3 i2 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
with frank amazement, her anger yielding to the
fear that the girl was crazed. "What more can I
do ? 'Tis not in my power to control your brother's
mind. "
" It is you know it is you are a witch ! All
men say you are a witch, even Sir Humphrey Wild-
glass. 'Tis Satan gives you power. You have
taken Jacob and Shubael and made my home a hell
of strife and quarrelling, and now you have taken
Roger Only the Devil himself could have taken
him from me. He has belonged to me all his life
and I cannot live without him I loved him long
before you ever saw him He is mine "
The spotted cheeks, the furious passion in eyes that
were no more alive at most times than blue yarn,
was painful to see, like the death agony of some
gay- winged insect, writhing and gleaming brighter
for the sun on its misery. " He will be mine if thou'lt
release him Let him go ! When thou'rt
hanged on Gallows Hill then thou'lt have to let him
go. O, let him go and I'll plead with them not to
hang thee "
She put out her hands but Temple drew herself
taller, her face grown white, her straight gaze fixed
upon the working features, as if she tried in vain to
see the plump and helpless creature whose depend-
ence had roused her tenderness.
Beulah retreated from the gaze and flung herself
into a chair, sobbing pitiably upon the arm.
Temple moved to the window and her eyes wan-
dered to the asters bending with stiff reluctance in
the wind. Twice she turned as if to ask a question
and each time closed her lips more firmly. The
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 313
fire crackled, and scudding clouds blew across the
sun. The leaves whirled up and fell disconsolate.
"O, Temple, pity me. I am so wretched I
shall die I don't know what to do I shall die. "
The scolding voice was broken into hopeless,
childish weeping. Beulah had crossed the space
between them and sat upon the window cushions,
clinging about the straight figure that now watched
the sky.
The fine hand was again laid gently upon the
bowed head, but with a difference.
"Bathe your eyes, Beulah, and weep no more.
Come, " the Maid said quietly. But the colour had
not returned to her cheeks.
After Beulah had gone, she went back to her
room and threw wide every window. The wind
whirled through in a mighty draught and sent her
treasures rattling upon the floor. Then she looked
down upon the flowers vaguely, drawing the clean
air deep, as if she could never be cleansed of the
past hour.
A figure upright, moving with the happy strength
of those who are afraid of nothing because hope
has bucklered them, passed on the other side of the
way and glanced up quickly to the open windows.
The Maid's eyes dilated suddenly and she clasped
her hand close upon her throat.
She uttered no sound, but after a little, closed
the windows once more and set about restoring the
fallen knick-knacks. When Sir Humphrey came
she was smiling and gracious, but once, when he
was speaking in a strain bolder than ever before, he
found she was not listening, and setting himself to
woo her strayed attention with a song, he watched
covertly, and saw the look that settled on her face,
a look lonely, full of a desolate amaze.
But the look was gone when the song was ended,
and watch her as he might he found no place where
her finely tempered distance was vulnerable to
praise or sympathy.
"Thy pride will be less stiff when the gallows
waits thee, Mistress, " he said softly to himself.
" Tis question which were sweeter, conquest or
revenge let the event decide. "
CHAPTER XXIII
THE PEST
THE Governor's horses pranced and curvetted
in a manner to make proud the heart of
Nopomuk, clad in new livery, and driving
Lady Phips and Mistress Armitage to Daniel
Henchman's book shop by the Town House.
Lady Phips was puzzled by the girl, who kept the
talk resolutely away from everyone but the Gov-
ernor and refused the carriage further than the door
of the low building where Mr. Mather's pamphlets
and a small store of more secular treasures tempted
the purse of the bookish.
There was a light snow in the streets and the
ground was frozen. As they alighted a figure
clothed with a painstaking regard for fashion
emerged from the Blue Anchor and made haste to
intercept them. Lady Phips extended her hand
distantly and Jacob Munch bowed over it with too
elaborate an air.
"Come to see me soon again, Mistress Armitage.
It comforts me, my dear, to talk of my anxiety. "
The Governor's wife spoke affectionately, dis-
missing the young man by a careful ignoring of
his presence.
Temple answered the words with a look that
lingered many days in Lady Phips's memory.
" I will come gladly, " she said, bowed gravely
316 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
and finally to Jacob, smiled again at the elder
woman, and turned away to walk swiftly toward
her home.
Jacob Munch was quickly beside her.
"You are not good at remembering old friends,
Mistress, " he began as he overtook her.
" I have few friends in Boston save her I have
just left, " answered the girl. The coldness of her
tone was edged with a decision that roused his ire.
"Why do you flout me?" He attacked her
angrily. " Is't not enough you must belittle me to
my sister that you also put affront upon me in the
streets !"
"It seemeth not, Sir. Your vanity presumes. "
She would have passed him, but he was obstinate.
" You'd not hold me so cheap belike, " he retorted
with an ugly threat in his oafish face, "were I to
make the town a wasp nest for your friend the Gov-
ernor!" Then, as she looked at him more coldly
still, "Sir William be none too well liked now.
'Twould make a fine tale, that of the Araby Rose
the witch's oath and the compact with the Devil !
You thought I didn't know you for the Little Maid
but I found you out. " He paused for breath,
barricading her way with his heavy bulk. "Come
now, Mistress, make a bargain with me, " he went
on. "Wouldst have me spare the Governor?"
He approached nearer, his eyes gloating upon her
eagerly.
"I bargain not with such as thou. Governor
Phips needs no coward's 'sparing' !" They had
stopped before the pewterer's door, and the girl
moved toward it as she spoke.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 317
"Thou art the coward eh, Mistress? 'Tis the
contagion thou'rt fearing, " he called after her.
" But I'm not with Beulah. I go not near the girl
the zany to get the pest and set us all in danger ! "
"What is that?" Temple turned to him per-
emptorily. "Is your sister ill? Who careth for
her?"
"Aye thou'rt curious now all women alike
are "
The Maid interrupted. "Tell me what is the
matter, " she insisted sharply.
"Beulah hath gotten the smallpox," he an-
swered, " and lieth sick at home. Twill cost her
her pink cheeks most like. For care she getteth
precious little ! Nurse Quail refuseth to come and
Mam hath small time to spare from praying and
weeping. Some of the congregation be met within
her chamber now to pray for her. "
"Beulah's? They pray in the sick girl's cham-
ber?" Temple's voice showed her indignant
wonder.
"Aye have they no praying for the sick among
thy " Jacob waited, seeing she had not heeded
him. She was inclining her head with courtesy
remote and quiet. He had not marked who was
passing behind him, and Roger Verring, after a
half-perceptible pause, had replaced the tri-cor-
nered beaver and gone his way. The Maid's eyes
had rested briefly upon him as he went. His very
manner of wearing a cloak was pleasing and made
the King's officers look tawdry as they met him.
One of the red-coated swaggerers spent on her a
killing glance, sauntering too near as he came by,
3 i8 THE COASTS OF FREEDOM
but hastened on indifferent, as he felt her unregard-
ing glance that plainly saw him not.
" Come now art a 'mazing beauty, if thou be'st
a witch ! Think better on't, Mistress. " Jacob's
elaborate courtesy had dwindled to a miserable
naturalness. He was grossly vulnerable to the at-
titude that unconsciously ignored him. It loosed a
vile and wordy tongue, made more fluent by the
sight of Roger, whom he had at last perceived.
" 'Tis well for thee ! Prefer the hangman an' thou
wilt ! Thou'lt not be so ready to spit on men of
substance with thy pretty neck in his halter. I
would have saved thee "
One who came toward them swerved from the
path, gazing with bulging eyes upon the Maid as he
went by. Jacob talked rapidly, attempting to get
closer.
" I can save thee yet What say'st thou "
A flash of swift repulsion and command drove
him back a pace, the involuntary flight of the bully.
She turned slowly, neither speaking nor looking to
see if he followed, and opened the pewterer's door.
When she came out Jacob was standing again at
the threshold of the Blue Anchor Tavern.
"Come, get thee home, Jacob Munch. 'Tis grief
for thy sister would make thee careless. Hast had
enough, " Mr. Monck was saying paternally.
"Thou'rt right, Neighbour Monck." A cunning
intelligence came to the rescue of the dull rage in
Jacob's face. " I have been much " He hesi-
tated for a word and went on glibly, omitting it
" by Beulah's sickness. " He raised his hat with an
unpuritan flourish and set it back less exactly than
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 319
was his wont, moving off aimlessly toward the
Town House.
"A fine young man ! No wonder if he be upset. "
'Tis shame the pest should seize a maid so comely.
A man bears better with a pitted face, " and the
host of the Blue Anchor went back to his tasks,
compressing his lips with amiable regret.
The snow was falling once more in fine and
clustered flakes that clung damply upon the gar-
ments of the wayfarers.
Temple moved forward among the flurries with-
out haste. Her face was set thoughtfully in a look
whose wider meaning Roger might perhaps have
guessed, but even love could not have unriddled
the cause of its underlying pain. Into a life lonely
and deep-entrenched in long reserve she had ad-
mitted the resistless presence of a comradeship
that seemed to come of right. Barring it out had
left her doubly solitary. But what sign of pain or
inward wretchedness her look betrayed, it was gone
when she came to the gate before the house of
Christopher Munch.
Here she stopped, gazed upward at the shaded
windows, and stood an instant with her hand upon
the post. Then she walked quietly up the path
and raised the knocker, beating it softly upon the
iron knob that took the blow.
The long ribbons that tied her bonnet blew about
her shoulders, but the wide brim lined with yellow
silk quilled like flower petals within the flare
was trimly set upon the dark hair, and the fringed
mantle lay straightly on her shoulders. None came
in answer to her knocking. She waited till she had
320 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
summoned the household thrice, then lifted the
latch and went in with hard-taken resolution.
The smell of burning rags and vinegar filled the
lower rooms, that showed a dusty confusion through
the open doors.
Temple paused at the foot of the stair, and com-
ing back to the pegs in the low hall, took off her hat
and mantle and hung them up. There was a loud
sound above that soared and sank continuous and
melancholy. As she climbed, words of prayer and
exhortation came to her with a noise of hysterical
crying, and then a querulous voice that incessantly
complained.
" Go away please go away. Oh, make them go
away. " The voice grew more shrill, and broke
into a moan. "Some water! I would drink
Mam, make them go away I want water Shubael
Shubael get me some water. Shubael will get
some. Don't ask Jacob. Henever'll do aught I ask."
The praying voice rose louder, drowning the sick
girl's cries. The weeping grew more hysterical.
"And if it be Thy dread will, O Thou Awful and
Almighty God, Omnipotent and Omnipresent
Judge, Arbiter of this our mortal Destiny, that this
maid, thy creature, soon be brought before Thy
Judgment Seat "
"Make them go away Mother " The
scream pierced like the scream of a child fallen in
deep water. Temple was in the open doorway from
which the odours of the sick room welled repellant,
and her yoice answered the cry in words clear and
soothing.
The sick girl sitting up, unrecognizable and loath-
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 321
some, in the hollow of the mammoth featherbed
that billowed about her neath a twisted mass of
quilts, held out her burning hands with another cry.
"Temple Temple Armitage make them go
away "
" Silence, girl. Lie thou still while we supplicate
the Throne of Grace. " The two men who stood
with folded palms at the bed's foot, moved nearer.
The girl shrieked and fell back upon her hot pillows,
moaning again. Tears trickled under her puffed
lids and ran upon the disfigured cheeks.
" Temple they are come to take me to the Devil.
Make them ah "
The man of the loud voice was drawing nearer
still. Beulah crawled farther from him, writhing
in delirious fear.
Temple leaned above the pitiful figure, her arms
about the burning shoulders.
"Go! "she said sternly to the men. "You are
making her worse. And you, Mistress Munch,
bring me water from the well. "
Mistress Munch ceased, from sheer surprise, her
loud weeping, The men looked upon Temple with
the ire of an offended rage, and waited dumb-
founded at her temerity.
" Go ! " the Maid repeated. "You've done harm
enough already. " There was authority in her tone
that carried inexplicable weight. They retreated
from the bed, and regarded the two girls solemnly.
"Beware, Mistress!" He of the loud voice
raised his hand as if to pronounce a curse. "You
send forth the servants of the Lord. Beware lest
He also withdraw his countenance.
3 22 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"You can pray elsewhere," answered the girl
firmly. " Nor did I ever hear that faith and works
might not both be pleasing to God. "
"False Mistress 'tis "
"Can you not see you make her worse. Go-
Please, Sirs, go now," she commanded unshaken,
and they went, driven, as both bore witness, re-
counting their discomfiture, by something none
could describe in her eyes, and in her voice which
though low would make a man to quake for
fear.
Beulah was moaning and mumbling, her parched
lips open, her unsightly arms still clinging.
Mistress Munch had shown her visitors cere-
moniously from the house before she brought the
water.
"I fear 'twill kill her. Were it not better she
have the Burgundy ? " wailed the woman helplessly.
" Oh, that I should be so afflicted and Beulah such
a beauty and now none knoweth but she may be
hideous, if she live at all " Temple took the
water, silencing the shrill tongue. Beulah had
shuddered, seeming to understand.
' ' We are going to keep ward so carefully that she
shall have no scars. Now she must rest. " Temple
spoke distinctly and Beulah looked through her
swollen lids, listening.
" When had she water last ? " asked the Maid as
the sick girl drank thirstily.
"I gave her a wineglass yestere'en, though 'twas
against wisdom, " Mistress Munch answered, wail-
ing again.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 323
"You are greatly wearied," Temple said sooth-
ingly. ' ' Go now and sleep . You can trust me with
Beulah. "
"Are you wonted to sickness?" The woman
paused fussily, wiping her eyes,
"You can trust me. Pray go. You have need
of rest, " Temple persisted.
"That I do sorely. Two nights alone, with
Christopher afraid, and Shubael sent for safety to
his aunt and even the neighbours shy of us. " The
woman wept afresh.
After she had gone Temple straightened the bed
with a firm smoothing of its chaos, drew the linen
above the quilts so only its smooth surface should
touch the sick girl's flesh, and opened two windows,
one on either side, letting the breeze sweep through
and cleanse the air.
Then with a ewer of mottled porcelain half filled
with water, upon a chair beside her, she drew a
cambric handkerchief from the silk bag that swung
by ribbons at her side, and softly bathed the fevered
face and arms.
She could hear Mistress Munch below going
noisily about her household duties, heartened by
the finding of another's shoulders to take her
burden.
At last the sick girl slept, mingling her heavy
breath with the chill air and in her sleep putting up
restless arms to touch her face. Temple watched,
putting them back before they could do harm, and
finally laying one hand on the crossed wrists to
keep them still. The light darkened ; even beyond
3 2 4 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
the window whose shade she had raised a gloomy
sky made a dun background.
It was all lifeless, all dark, and full of ugly
shadows. The girl's eyes grew large and mournful,
and then the lips that could smile as could no others
set themselves in the close curve of hard endur-
ance.
CHAPTER XXIV
A PASTORAL CALL
THE sun rioted upon the clean surface of the
snow, and the still air brought the cheerful
sound of creaking sledges.
Mr. Cotton Mather paused at the door of his
house and drew on his minkskin gloves. From the
peak of his sombre hat to his high boots of well-
dyed leather there was no note but black. Even
his linen bands were hid by the black cloak.
" Father Sir !"
Behind him in the open doorway stood a round-
cheeked little girl, with tears still flowing over
flushed cheeks and lips convulsed with sobs. She
was bare-armed and bare-necked save for a tiny,
short-sleeved open jacket of thin cashmere that
partly hid the naked shoulders.
The clergyman turned at the cry.
"What is it, daughter?" he asked not unkindly,
but with a sober heaviness that seemed to intimi-
date the wee creature. She shook her head, her
frightened eyes on his face.
The young man, already old in authority and in
family cares, and weighted with a store of learning
that had taken all his laborious childhood and
ardent youth, finished fastening his glove and bent
down to the shaking little figure on the sill.
"What is it, Katy?" he asked again. "Thou
wilt tell father what oppresseth thy conscience. "
325
326 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"Will will the Devil take me, if I be never
naughty again, and never move about when thou
prayest?"
The terrified voice was low. The eyes drowned
in a fresh overflow.
"Nay, an' thou be a good Katy and pray often
for forgiveness for thy sinning and be obedient,
then canst thou ask God to keep thee from the
Devil. But he watcheth very close. How old art
thou, Katharine?"
" Free years old, and free monfs more, " answered
Katy, one chubby hand holding to the paternal
finger.
"A big girl already, seest thou? And i thou be
good 'twill be easier for thy little sister to praise
God in her obedience and her piety. Even now,
my child, though she cannot talk, she keepeth an
eye on all thou dost. Is't not so. "
"Yes; when I hurt my finger and cwied out she
cwied too Thou wilt not let the Devil get
me?" The anxious eyes had not let go their
hold.
"Thy father prayeth daily that Katy may be
among God's elect, and thou must pray, and serve
the Lord with diligence. Hasten now and make thy
petitions again in father's study, and run quickly
for it is too cold for thee here. "
He would have gone, but the child still clung to
the minkskin glove, her small frame quivering.
" I will therve the Lord, " she said, and the
spiritual autocrat of the North Church hid a mois-
ture in his own easily wet eyes on the close-cropped
head and kissed her with rare indulgence, smiling
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 327
as the little feet clattered through the cold hall be-
hind him.
But as he journeyed in the snow-trodden street,
returning the salutations of the elders and acknowl-
edging with lordly nods the " manners " of the awed
and tongue-tied children, his features set themselves
in their hardest mould of judicial and divinely
licensed anger.
More than one interested gaze was fixed upon
him as he entered the gate of the Widow Pullen's
house and moved with a step of conscious solemnity
toward the door.
The knocker resounded thunderously. While
he waited, Mr. Mather looked doubtfully upon a
mass of green boughs heaped upon the snow at the
side of the well-cleared path.
" Thy master hath procured these for the banking
of the house against the cold?" he demanded of
the maid who responded to his knock.
"Nay, Sir," she answered, curtseying. "They
be Christmas greens, Sir but a poor Christmas
'twill be in this heathenish new world with shops
to be all open and no waits to sing a carol ! " She
curtseyed again, expecting praise from the digni-
tary whose garb was plainly clerical.
"Curb thy ignorant tongue, woman, and cease
lamenting the vain tricks of Popish days. Thou
art, I fear me, but dangerously placed ! "
The maid looked at him, bewildered, missing his
point spite of the weighty delivery of his words.
"Thank'ee, Sir, " she answered, curtseying again.
" But we keep the day here, as faithfully and merry
as in Devon, Sir. None of they non-'formists shall
328 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
be suffered to make no difference here. Who shall
I say you would see, Sir ? "
Waftures of spicy cookery pervaded the apart-
ment which Mr. Mather surveyed, pleasant hints of
the rows of toothsome dishes, hot from the brick
oven, that were set to cool upon the white-scoured
table of the kitchen. The entrance to the Widow
Pullen's house, like that of Nicolas Verring, gave
upon a great room from which the stairs ascended.
The clergyman regarded the costly furnishings, a
natural curiosity mixed with stern reprehension.
The furniture of the place had been so added to and
overpowered by the richer garnishings come with
Sir John from England that it bore no resemblance
to its earlier state. The tables inlaid with ivory
and mother of pearl, the rich stuffs that cushioned
the window-seats, and the chairs brought from
light-minded France and ministering with seduc-
tion to the eye, strange ornaments upon the mantel
resembling the pagan gods, even the pictured
tapestries, revolted him.
"Tell Mistress Armitage, " he commanded, as an
oriental potentate might summon a subject to his
footstool, "that I would speak with her. "
"I will see if Mistress Armitage be receiving.
Pray, Sir, come this way. Who shall I say "
began the woman again, looping a brocaded curtain
from the arch Sir John had constructed between
this living room and the long parlor beyond.
"I am here, Betty, and I will see Mr. Mather."
Mistress Armitage rose from the window niche
where she had been fashioning wreaths and crosses
from fir twigs and ground pine, and the minister,
wheeling at her voice with somewhat less of despotic
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 329
stiffness, bowed low before he was aware, rendering
involuntarily the homage he would have exacted.
Behind her on the diamond-paned window was
darkly outlined a wreath upon a cross, the warmth
of evergreen livening and comforting the cold De-
cember day. Temple had been happier in her work
than in anything that had occupied her in the
weeks just past, and the look of Christmas cheer
was not wholly lacking from her face, grown paler
in the days of nursing.
Her arms and neck were covered with sleeves
and tucker of firm-patterned lace, and shoulder
knots, warm with the colour of red roses, clung soft
and homelike upon the foreign web. Her full skirt,
slashed from hem to pointed bodice, flowed back-
ward upon the smooth sheen of the petticoat in
whose ivory folds a carmine flush came and went
as she moved, and the tasselled girdle of silk cord
swung upon the cream and rose-red of her draperies.
Every line gave grace and height to the stateliness
already hers.
"Madam Chanterell is indisposed and Sir John
Winchcombe is from home, " she added as she led
him beneath the curtains into the more imposing
room on their farther side.
For once in many years of ready sovreignty the
man followed and was still.
Betty stirred the coals and replenished the fire
with a forestick that flamed and snapped genial de-
fiance to the sour displeasure of the visitor's look.
He stood in the middle of the floor as the woman
departed, somewhat less imposing divested of his
cloak that Betty had carried with her, but suffi-
330 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
ciently alarming to have awed the maidens of his
congregation into trembling anxiousness.
Still he was silent, and it would have seemed to
the astute that the denunciation of his manner
found a less easy utterance in speech.
" I pray you, be seated, Mr. Mather. "
The girl stood graciously waiting while her guest
rapped sharply with his knuckles upon a prayer
book that lay upon a 'polished shelf.
"Whose is this ? " he inquired harshly.
" It was my mother's, " Temple answered. She
had winced at the blows and there was a glow
in the dark eyes, less than ever meek as she watched
his movements.
" 'Tis unmeet such books of vain and fond repeti-
tions be brought to this new colony where we be
striving to obey the Scripture pure and undefiled.
It soweth error among those who would fain be
left in freedom to worship God. "
"And cannot the men of the new world be free
while there be any who worship not after their
manner?" asked the girl.
Mr. Mather had seated himself reluctantly, feeling
a greater ease in his task while he stood, and he drew
off slowly the mink gloves furred within, reveal-
ing his tapered fingers adorned with funeral rings.
"I fear, Mistress, thy contumacy listens not to
the wisdom of thy elders, " he replied with cold
formality, laying the gloves upon a table. "None
may worship in true peace when error aboundeth
in the midst. What doest thou with papistical
signs and gauds hung within thy windows ? "
The girl sat down, with a soft rustle of her silken
folds, upon a straight chair opposite, and returned
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 331
his dictatorial question with a look of great sur-
prise.
"Is not the cross everywhere a Christian sym-
bol ? " she asked. " Surely it is set plainly in every
door in Boston mansions, and I had supposed it
was for a sign of the Christian household within. "
Mr. Mather turned involuntarily to the only door
visible within the room, one that led to a closet be-
side the lofty mantel, and there, as the Maid had
said, was the raised cross with sunken panels be-
tween.
" 'Twas never intended for a sign, Mistress. At
least, were such the folly of builders of older days
'tis unconsciously perpetuated in this colony. It
should be looked to. " He glanced uneasily a
second time at the door. "So with sly and cun-
ning disguise doth Satan come among us, mingling
like an evil odour that pervadeth the good air, in our
most common deeds. Vigilance there is no hope
for us but in a more strenuous and fervent watch.
And that, Mistress" he leaned forward, his eyes
starting with a fixed and glassy concentration ' ' is
wherefore I am come, to warn, to command thee
to desist. "
For the girl whose blood flowed wholesomely and
steadied her nerves for joy or for endurance, so that
the spirit mastered the flesh in a sound and noble
restraint, this man whose solemnity was shaken by
the force of so great excitement seemed beside him-
self, his words the irresponsible ramblings of dis-
ease. For an instant that thought showed in the
astonished compassion with which she contem-
plated him. But as he sat before her in the black
332 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
raiment of his office, the aggressive embodiment of
that jurisdiction beneath which her life had fallen,
his power was too solid, too real, for compassion.
She said nothing, waiting for some explanation
of the attack. He, too, waited, expecting a differ-
ent effect to follow his dolorously weighted phrases.
"What hast thou to say?" He kept his eyes
upon her as if believing the gaze would overwhelm
her calmness.
"In what have we offended? If these greens
transgress the law, pray lay the matter before Sir
John Winchcombe. "
"Thy Master gives thee a tongue quick in skilled
evasion, Mistress, " he answered angrily, "but 'twill
not avail. Know'st thou not that the God of Israel
is greater than Him thou servest and will utterly
confound Him in the Great Day ? Repent, repent,
and confess, ere His anger blast thee utterly. "
" Who gives to you authority to invade the house
of an English gentleman and assail those beneath
his care with vague and unmanly taunts? "the girl
asked with sudden resentment. " If there be that
in our worship or our conduct that likes you not,
Sir, pray lay the matter before Sir John Winch-
combe that he may know how tyrannous is the spy-
ing policy of these new colonies. Madam Chanter-
ell would thank you And if this Christmas
greenery disturb you 'tis to Sir John you should
appeal. "
" I speak not of Sir John, nor will thy lying
tongue avail, " he broke in with mounting wrath.
"My business is with thee, to cast out the Devil
from thy body and bring thee to confession. " He
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 333
lifted the stick he had retained and struck it upon
the floor in an authoritative blow.
The girl looked at him undaunted, wondering at
the outbreak. Her innate distaste for emotion
publicly displayed showing in a quieter reserve in
her replies.
"Your violence is without warrant, Sir," she
said coldly. " Even were I your parishioner I could
not listen further. "
"Girl thou triest my patience beyond the
bounds. Were it not that I remember 'tis but the
Devil speaking with thy false lips I could chastise
thy ready insolence. "
The Maid rose with unhurried dignity and spoke
with intense deliberation, looking down upon him
steadily. Her colour was warmer and she took her
breath somewhat more deeply, but her voice was
low, and not less rich and full.
"Patience, Sir, seems most demanded of them
you would affright. Such freedom as yours is a
false coin, with slavery for its reverse. "
"Beware, Mistress, I tell thee ! I am come in
the place of the God thy crimes offend!" Mr
Mather rolled forth his words loudly.
'Then do I know you are come taking a Holy
Name in vain; for His servants bring peace and
good-will on Christmas Eve, not anger and dis-
sension. " The girl seemed to grow taller, holding
herself regally at her full height, and her words
grave, and beautiful in their utterance, held him
silent till she had finished.
He also rose.
"Thou hast a devil," he repeated, his voice
334 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
quivering with the fury of his seeming impotence.
"Thou art possessed!"
She passed onward toward the curtains with the
slight motion of chill dismissal.
" I will bid Betty attend you, Sir, " she had said,
when he sprang in unclerical haste to intercept her,
putting out his hand to seize her arm.
"Go at thy peril," he panted. "Thou art ac-
dursed, but I would save thee by thy confession if
thou be not damned already. I give thee this one
chance further, to own thy crimes and seek re-
pentance. "
The girl had not hastened her going for his sud-
den movement, but he withdrew his hand quickly at
her look, before it touched her. The outer door
opened and closed vehemently.
"A pest on the cold ugh!" groaned a voice be-
yond the archway. " Betty Betty, I say ! Curse
the woman ! Betty ! "
"Will you go now or shall I ask Sir John's per-
mission to leave you ? " asked the Maid, still quietly.
"Sir John will not succour a witch, " he retorted
confidently. "Not even thy Master can save thee
for there is One Greater "
"A witch you believe in good faith that I am
a witch ? " She interrupted him, transfixed. " You
must be mad, " she added in a tone hardly audible.
Mr. Mather's features shone with a fierce exulta-
tion. The girl had grown white at his word.
" If you believe this dreadful charge, you should
have proof, " she said after a pause. " Why should
you fix on me to be a witch ? "
The horror and sincerity of her recoil, in some
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 335
degree modified the fierceness of her accuser. He
watched, puzzled and alert, replying with solemn
volubility.
"There be many proofs. You turned from the
sick bed of a daughter of the faith them who prayed
for her recovery, making mock of their prayers,
and when you had driven them forth you used some
evil power to restore the maid, who lay already at
the portal of death appointed of her Maker. What;
say you to that ? "
"That it is false," the girl cried, "as only tales
are false that bear a little truth. Will you listen to
me, and hear me candidly as you would wish justice
for yourself ? You bring against me a grave charge
of the most horrid crime. You accuse me that I
am of those who have sold themselves to Satan and
must work his cruel will. And if that charge be
believed it will cost me my life. Is this not so ? "
" 'Tis for that I came. If thou confess "
he leaned toward her greedily.
"To confess what is not true were itself a crime, "
she answered. "Shall I tell you that which is the
truth ? "
"Speak. If thou liest, Mistress, thou but sink' st
thyself deeper in the abyss. " He sent forth his
periods as from the pulpit's altitude.
She lifted her hand as if his words troubled her
like a persistent insect, but he had ceased, prepared
to listen, his manner hostile, steeled against the
subtlety of the Fiend.
"I asked those who prayed by Beulah Munch to
go and pray for her elsewhere because she was de-
lirious and was made worse by the confusion in the
336 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
chamber. She cried out continually, begging them
to go. " Temple rested her eyes on him, waiting
to see if he would believe. Even at peril of her life
it went hard with her to plead for herself to this
man, whose language had so offended.
"But how couldst thou cure her?" he began,
gloomily determined.
"By God's help," she interrupted clearly. "I
prayed ever as I worked that I might save the
child who had suffered much and He heard me. "
. " And the scars she shows no scars. "
" I watched her even when she slept, and while I
was not by, Mistress Munch kept guard. Save for
her arms, where she did herself harm when Mistress
Munch, being tired, fell once asleep, she hath no
sign of the disease. " There was a certain content-
ment in the tone in which she spoke. Beulah's joy
at her recovered prettiness had been the sole re-
ward of painful days.
"Could I pray for aid in that which was accursed,"
the Maid went on, "or call on God to help me,
speaking His Name to you if I were what you say ? "
"Sometimes the Fiend is cunning, and seemeth
pious, " he answered. "What of Shubael, Mistress,
whom they say thou hast afflicted so that he weeps
to see thee and even when he is beaten doth not
desist?"
" 'Tis cruel. " The girl clasped her hands rest-
lessly. "I can do nothing and 'tis not my fault,
save that I liked the little lad and was kind to
him. He hath a warm heart and few have time to
talk and play with him. I know not why Mistress
Munch mayhap she thinks I am a witch ! " She
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 337
looked at Mr. Mather quickly. " Of course 'tis
that and Jacob he "
" What of Jacob ? Him, too, thou hast afflicted. "
"Nay hear me, Mr. Mather. Why should I
wish them harm. Master Munch hath no affliction
save that I preferred his sister to himself and so
angered him. He makes much of little. But for
Shubael, the child grieves and I dare not go to see
him and be friendly with the lad because then
he is punished. You have known children 'tis
said your own do love you greatly you know how
a small thing may grieve their tenderness. "
Mr. Mather shook his head soberly. She had
shown an agitation that brought her more within
his ken. His judicial rages came from the warmth
of his imagination and not like the Lieutenant-
Governor's from an icy determination unmoved by
feeling. The force of her perfect honesty had
struck in a measure conviction to his feelings.
"Why should you interfere in the care of one
stricken with the pest?" he asked still sternly.
"What was thy motive?"
"The motive Our Lord Christ gave us," she an-
swered. "Surely I need not give motives to a
priest of God, for caring for the sick. What evil
wish could I have had in such a task?"
"To gain her soul for Hell." Mr. Mather grew
hectic once more, regarding her with renewed dis-
trust. "And only a witch could trust her beauty
where it might perish of the same destruction, "
he added.
" And is not God as powerful as the Devil to pro-
tect His own?" The girl did not waver. The
338 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
reticent faith that had grown, unconscious and
without observation in her solitary life, expressed
itself for the first time in her words.
"These be not the only charges brought against
thee, Mistress. And 'twas an error graviminous
and weighty to drive from their supplications be-
fore the Heavenly Throne those who were bent on
an errand of mercy. The land is groaning and
travailing in a horrid agony. I have seen many
times the marks of the burning and of the pincers
and claws that tear the flesh of the sufferers in this
hellish visitation. Mistress Epps lieth speechless
and her face is pulled in awful twitchings that cause
her to writhe helplessly upon her bed. She was
much easier after that I prayed with her, as I as-
sured her that she would be. I have hope under
God's grace to drive forth the evil spirit altogether."
He made a complacent pause. " It is an evil hour
when they who serve in Zion must gird upon them
the armour of their faith and do battle with an Aw-
ful Foe. We would not willingly make wrongful ac-
cusation. Canst thou truly clear thyself from this
most Terrible Charge ? Canst thou prove that thou
hast ne'er had dealings with Sathanas, nor tortured
any, nor betrayed thy soul to be a servant of the
Devil?"
" Have I not proved it? " The girl's earnestness
grew more profound.
" Thou hast not the manner of those condemned.
But there are many wiles; the Devil bringeth his
most secret and powerful subtleties to war with the
elect. " Mr. Mather walked up and down, pacing
the distance from door to window, and returning to
the Maid in a tense abstraction.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 339
"But if he so hate the elect how should he not
show it in his servants at the presence of them
vowed to his destruction ? Do you feel any horror,
any sense of the Devil's presence in me ? " the Maid
asked with firm assurance.
Mr. Mather paused, regarding her once more
and with a less hostile determination.
" It hath oft been proved the Devil cannot abide
my presence but will set on the afflicted to strike or
injure me, although none may harm me; they are
arrested in the very attempt. " He considered
doubtfully.
The Maid looked at him with a faint smile more
sad than her sober watching.
" Will you take my hand, Mr. Mather, that I may
show you how little I fear the presence of God's
people?"
He waited briefly, gazing upon her face with eyes
grown more sane and more discerning, and then
with evident wondering at his own faith, he took
the outstretched hand into his cold and nervous
grasp.
When his early supper was over and Mr. Mather
was locked behind the massive door of his study, he
busied himself for a long time above a basin that
held some strong and aromatic liquid, plunging his
hands within and rubbing them with energy upon a
linen napkin fetched from the table. Often he held
up his right hand to the light and looked at it with
horror. And finally he knelt, and rocking to and
fro, prayed aloud, pouring out his petition in flood-
ing words that might have drowned the very gates
of Heaven.
CHAPTER XXV
CHRISTMAS EVE: THE WAY PAST THE INN
OPPOSITE the Widow Pullen's house Roger
paced up and down, scattering the snow
with his high boots and holding his cloak
against the wind that tore in a shrieking frenzy
across the exposed peninsula.
A light burned in Temple's room and an extrava-
gant glow streamed from the windows of the lower
floor. Twice in the four days since her return from
the home of Christopher Munch the Maid had re-
fused to see him and, smarting beneath her sudden
coldness, he waited, striving to compass a way to
solve the mystery of the change. That she had
turned from him was due, it might be, to Sir Hum-
phrey.
His pride was powerfully at war with an unde-
fined anxiety, that added to the jealous anger and
brought his thoughts back to something new, not
wholly understood, in the girl's face. Had she
heard the senseless rumours of witchcraft that wan-
dered here and there, meaningless and stupid as the
vulgar minds that had conceived the thought ?
He drew his hat low over his eyes and let the
wind have its way. Upon the white-curtained
windows of the Maid's room no shadow was re-
vealed, but below he saw Betty busied about the
table and the portly figure of Sir John rising stiffly
340
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 341
to reach a pipe above the mantle; then he moved
away suddenly and set himself against the wind,
walking faster toward the Common. When he re-
turned, another figure, breasting the storm with a
hopeful stride, was approaching from the opposite
direction. It stopped before the gate and slipped
the latch, pushing the bars against the drifted snow
and hastening forward to the door. It was Sir
Humphrey.
Betty admitted him with a smiling face and
shortly ascended the stairs, returning alone to close
and lock the shutters. The light still burned in the
Maid's room. Had she descended? A foolish
question ! She would be coming radiant to greet
the cavalier and hear the music of his violin. Upon
the wailing of the wind it came already, heard now
and then in speaking cadences that sent Roger's
blood back upon its course in the fierce pressure of
a world-old misery.
Within, Sir John, huddled over the fire, was
listening with a frown. Betty, bearer of the Maid's
excuses, had tripped forth after they had been de-
livered, with a final admiring glance at Sir Hum-
phrey's back. Madam stitched with fluttering fingers
at her embroidery frame, pausing often to ask, "Art
better, Brother, " and be growled at with vigorous
denial.
"Thou playest like a master. I know a good
player, but, damme, Sir Humphrey, if aught can
pleasure a man when the fiends be after him
like this. A black pest on their chilly Boston !
'Tis naught but an ^Eolus cave for winds and
damp ! "
342 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The cavalier laid the viol upon a stool and crossed
to the hearth, a certain unwonted agitation in his
movements. He looked at the sufferer, appeared
about to speak, and, turning away, studied the
flames in silence.
"What is it ? What are ye all keeping from me ?
Seest thou death in my face?" Sir John asked
querulously. "Try not to deceive me. My sister
too hath something on her mind. Speak, Amanda
and cease looking at Sir Humphrey as if ye had a
secret between ye. "
The woman dropped her embroidery frame upon
her lap.
"Thou art not thyself." She answered in a
troubled voice. " He is suffering great pain, Sir
Humphrey. "
" 'Tis of that pain I am thinking. " Sir Hum-
phrey turned squarely around facing the room,
his brows drawn even more anxiously than the
woman's. " 'Tis plain he suffers. Hast ever had
aught like it before, Sir John. "
"Nay naught so miserable." Sir John looked
up, startled, and huddled again with a groan above
the flame. His features shone repulsively from his
excessive potations and the heat he courted. " 'Tis
as if a fiend were on my chest that ran red-hot
needles beneath the flesh. "
Madam Chanterell looked at him nervously. Sir
Humphrey shook his head and paced up and down,
his silence gathering meaning as it was prolonged.
' ' What is it What is it, Sir Humphrey Wild-
glass? 'Tis a devilish trick to torture me with
hintings. Speak. Think'st thou I am bewitched?"
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 343
Sir John's voice put the query huskily. Fear made
his heavy face alive.
Madam Chanterell dropped her frame and it
rolled upon the floor dragging its weight of whit-
ened linen and silk skeins to lie unregarded beneath
the table.
" Tis too delicate for a stranger." Sir Hum-
phrey's tones broke slightly. "What use to inter-
fere but seeing such suffering " He bit his
lip and stopped abruptly, as if eager to avoid further
talk. "I will go now, Sir John. Command me
if " He stopped again.
" 'Go now' Tell me whom dost thou suspect ?
Who would so torture me ? Speak ! 'Tis no time for
silence. " Sir John groaned again as he twisted in his
chair. " I cannot long endure it," he gasped, pur-
pling with the increasing violence of each twinge.
" Do not go, Sir Humphrey. Pray counsel us. "
The sister rose, her solid figure trembling.
Sir Humphrey paused and swept a pitying glance
from her to the figure in the chair.
"I cannot counsel you. My feelings Ask
some other, " he ended suddenly. " I am not fit. "
" I knew 'twas that ! You pity her. " Sir John
Winchcombe tried to rise and fell back lumber-
ingly. " I heard it in the streets. 'Twas common
talk at Monck's. 'Tis Frances. " Sir Humphrey's
eyes that were averted as if in grief flashed at the
word. "Why didst thou bring her, Manda?"
Sir John's voice grew more shrill. "She was never
of us she was always strange. Why didst thou "
' 'Twas thou insisted, thou and Richard Amory.
She liked it not, " put in his sister quickly.
344 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"And now I am tormented for revenge." The
man moaned and rumbled in a sound of miserable
terror.
" I do not believe it. Thou wilt be better in the
morning. " Madam Chanterell spoke out with
some fierceness.
Sir Humphrey glanced at her pityingly still, and
again looked away.
" Better ! " Sir John cried out hoarser and more
angrily affrighted. "Better! The Devil take
thee ! Nay I mean not that, " he added hastily.
" But I'm like to die before I'm better. She teareth
my very vitals from me who else could it be ? "
"She hath been ever kind and thoughtful for
thee. 'Twas for that I liked her. Think, Brother.
Wilt believe these canting Puritans ? "
"Aye let me die ! Wait till thou art tormented.
Who is it, an it be not her ! Sir Humphrey be-
lieves Speak, Sir Humphrey I would not
credit it till I had seen 'twas his conviction. I chas-
tised the lout at the Blue Anchor that dared accuse
her and pommelled him till the sweat ran on
my body, and even as I came into the air these
pincers began pulling at my flesh Speak, Sir
Humphrey "
"What can I say, Sir John? 'Tis not for me to
say aught concerning a household where "
The cavalier paused in embarrassment.
"Aye there's the disgrace! A witch beneath
my roof ! I'll turn her out this night ! Betty
Betty, I say " he roared, angry fear conquering
the hoarseness.
Temple, above, thought it was but the repetition
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 345
of his drunken humour when the liquor fastened on
his brain. She had been seated long before her
dressing case but not once had she raised her gaze
to the mirror. It was upon the miniatures she had
shown to Roger in the woods. As she looked, her
eyes filled with tears ; and her hands, that closed the
spring, and tucked the pictures beneath her pillow
before she slept, trembled.
Sir Humphrey glanced up at her window as Betty
let him out. His step was rapid and he made haste,
when he had reached the Sign of the Orange Tree,
to shut himself within his chamber.
The panes were frosted and the fire but poorly
kept a shiver from the air. The wind battered
upon the walls and shook them so that the canopy
of the great bed swayed above its funereal hangings,
and the draught sucked up the chimney the warmth
of the new-fed flames. Sir Humphrey neither
smiled nor swore, but having built up his fire care-
fully and moved the table before it, wrote swiftly
while the gusts sent frequent eddies of smoke across
his eyes and set the candle bowing and flaring
dimly above the page.
Midway of the sheet he lifted his quill and sat
absorbed. Then went on again the faster.
"I cannot tell thee, thou pious Fainte-Hearte,
how cruellie thys maid hath roused the man in mee,"
he began again. " 'Tis a Madnesse and 'twill,
doubtless, passe. By the tyme the Gold bee oures
shee wil bee secure enow from mee or any oth r !
But lett mee not thynke too much on her. O
Sheepheart Timorous, what divinenesse, what
346 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Softnesse and what Strengthe in that wondrous
Frame 'Tis more dangerous than thy wine !
But feare naught
"Look sharpe now and fynde yf by the Lawe
a witch's relacons maie yett inherit or yf as here
the whol bee confiscate. It maie bee I have helped
defeate mine own Entente for I have greatlie stirred
uppe the kettle wherever Suspicon simmered, &
sett it boilynge merrilie ! Let the next Packet
brynge mee Worde Altho the die bee caste
alreadie, and 'twill bee Temple Ar milage is hang d
and who is shee ! The other wuld have been of age
come March so att ; e Newe Yeare we tak pos-
secon safelie of our Owne !
"Stil, for the great 1 " Suretie forget not to consult
the Lawes.
"Monsieur grew somewhat insolente & I omit d
the Dispatch wch bro't hym soone to Termes.
Oure Daye dawneth !
" But lett mee not thynke on the Lamb !
" Enow the Leopard's spotts bee yet un-
changed so have no Feares. One Thynge I love
more th n frend or Beautie guess thou what 'tis
thy,
GREGORY."
Sir Humphrey dropped his pen and watched the
flames. Roger, passing the Orange Tree with the
even stride of the abstracted, saw the light the
shutter's crack revealed and came smartly to a
realization of the place and hour. The night was
dark, but the wind brought to him a sound that he
did not understand. He half paused to listen and
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 347.
as the sound was repeated he saw the door of the
hostelry open and the irate face of Simon Bolt in the
aperture. The lantern the innkeeper carried threw a
single ray upon the features of a small man, heavily
cloaked, that stood swaggering upon the step.
' 'Tis late. He'll be abed, " the host shouted
with chattering teeth. He had set ajar but the
upper half of the massive door. The would-be
visitor leaned over and by a quick manoeuvre slid
the bolt, pushing the heavy frame sharply inward,
his shoulder to the upper portion that the alarmed
landlord thrust against him. As the stranger
turned, his hat pushed awry, his cloak blown back-
ward in the blast, Roger saw the face distinctly
and astonishment brought a soundless ejaculation
to his lips.
As he went on again he forgot the cold in wonder,
piecing together new combinations in the puzzle
he had set himself to solve. The Lady escaped
and here in Boston ! Then the pirates had not all
been slain. What more natural ! In the haste to
abandon the wreck fallen enemies had been but
hastily regarded, and some, reviving, must have
lowered the tender of the Wa?rus and rowed away
under the cover of the dark ! Did it mean a new
danger to the Maid? Or came the miscreant un-
asked to levy tribute from one known of old?
Proof, that were plain, his presence was of this
former knowledge. Another link to add to the
Governor's chain.
At his own door a small and furry creature
bounded through the drift and Roger stooped and
rubbed its ears.
348 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"Art cold, Felix? 'Tis a bitter night," he re-
marked gently. " Shalt come with me, " and tuck-
ing the kitten beneath his cloak, he carried him to
his room.
The cat walked timidly about the floor, and
growing bolder explored bravely, mounting finally
to a chair. The room was hardly warmer than the
air without, save for the wind's absence.
The young man drew his cloak about him closely
and sat upon his bed to think. With a leap the
black kitten scaled to the lofty surface of the coun-
terpane and came rubbing and purring against her
protector's side. The topaz eyes now and again
turned confidingly to the grave face that for some
moments seemed not aware of them.
Then Roger, looking down, at the contented and
insistent effort to draw his dull attention, thumped
and patted the plump creature comfortably as one
might a dog.
"Art growing a great beauty, Felix," he said
absently. " Art much improved in looks. I think
the Little Maid would like thee. ".
CHAPTER XXVI
IN THE NAME OF THE LORD
THE Boston streets were no otherwise on the
twenty-fifth of December than on the twen-
ty-fifth of any other month. Men and
women went with accustomed zeal about their
tasks and neither sign nor greeting hinted at the
unusual.
Temple, lying with closed lids, pretending drow-
siness, did not notice the maid's hurried response to
her good-morning, nor till the woman had gone did
she wonder that it was Candace and not Betty who
made her fire. As the wood began to crackle on
the hearth she pulled aside the curtain and looked
out. The snow lay almost untrodden in the road.
Sir Humphrey's tracks were sifted full to the very
door, while across the way a smooth mound lay
drifted above the signs of Roger's wanderings.
The outlook was depressing; even the smoke that
crawled sluggishly into the grey air seemed heavy
and without the courage to ascend.
She dressed shivering, choosing a warm gown for
the intense cold that had clamped itself upon every
object and seized piercingly upon her even before
the sturdy blaze. Then she went forth into the
empty hall and opened the door that led below.
Her step did not linger on the threshold and she
moved downward without touching the balustrade,
349
350 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
her foot light upon the stairway, her resolution
ready with a smile of Christmas greeting.
" Where are the wreaths ? " She asked the ques-
tion with a startled glance at the empty windows,
and Betty, setting a platter hastily upon the table,
fled without looking up, her apron to her eyes.
The flying servant left the way clear into the
kitchen and Candace stooping to stamp the sanded
floor with its herring-bone pattern, swung back the
oaken panels with a frantic push. Betty's sobs
broke out loudly before the latch had clicked.
The Maid looked at the platter set for her break-
fast, and turning would have followed, but
Madam slipping the bar of Sir John's bedchamber,
that faced the living room, came cautiously out.
When she saw the girl she started as if to retreat
and then stood still, her hand upon the post.
"A Merry Christmas, Madam," Temple moved
toward her brightly. "And many a happier yet to
follow this. "
Madam said nothing. Her face had gone a
chalky white and her eyes did not lift.
" What is it ? Is Sir John worse ? " the girl asked
soberly. " You are anxious. "
The older woman shook her head in a palsied
sort of negation, and stepped back into the room,
locking the door behind her.
Sir John lay helpless within the puffed-out feath-
ers. Before the fire was set a stew of herbs and
treacle, simmering. The man's voice was choked
and his eyes held in frightened supplication to his
sister. Now and then he whispered and she an-
swered him.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 351
" I am worse. She is come down ! " he breathed,
gazing terrified at the bar.
Madam nodded, heating a compress of thick flan-
nel with shaking hands. The house was of un-
wonted luxury and many chimneys. Sir John's
chamber shared the kitchen flue. The room was
the one warm spot within the mansion.
' 'Twill do no good She brings it back each
time I get a little ease," the hoarse whisper went
on. "And 'tis no use at best without the flax-
seed. "
" I will get it. " His sister rose.
"And leave me here, the lock undone!" His
eyes stood out with terror. " Nay, try the flannen
first. Manda, 'tis awful agony. Think'st thou -
she'll surely kill me ? " Tears of pain and fear wet
the red eyelids and spread upon the broad em-
purpled cheeks.
Madam drew closer the thick woollen bedcur-
tains lined with striped silk, and fastened them to-
gether on the side farthest from the fire. Her
voice was tremulous.
" I will plead with her, John. "
He moved suddenly and cried out in fresh alarm.
" Nay, leave me not. Woman, leave me not. She
is biting me. She hath her nails in my flesh "
He tore at the coverings tucked about his neck and
his sister picked up the hot compress from the
hearth and clapped it upon the bared chest, re-
covering him with a firm hand.
He cried out again, but the heat took effect and he
lay quiescent till the flannel cooled.
Without, Temple moved to and fro for warmth.
352 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Into the deserted living room came no spicy smell
of cookery, no sound of labour. The kitchen was
empty, both maids vanished, when, pausing in her
walk, she opened its door to console the weeping
Betty. The great fire here was brighter. She
drew a stool beside it and sat with folded hands
thinking. As she thought, broken words came to
her from the sick room, and she stood up and looked
about her as if a whip had lashed her sharply.
Anger, all her strength and pride, showed soldier-
ly in her attitude.
" But where to go ! " she said to herself aloud, her
eyes upon the drifts outside the windows.
Steps, creeping down the kitchen stairs, had
halted suddenly.
" Betty ! " the Maid exclaimed as if here might be
one to advise or comfort her dilemma. But
Betty, sobbing again, ran from her with the haste
of children fleeing from the dark.
The Maid stood a long time still. When she
stirred, the tears that were in her eyes fell upon her
wrist.
"Even Betty!" she said. She laid her hand
upon her throat, clasping it with her quick gesture
that pressed back the threatened grief. Then,
impatiently, she wiped the wet splashes from her
arm, and returning to her untasted breakfast, set
herself to swallow what she could. It was cold and
she succeeded not over well, but something she ate
and going to her room began to lay together her
books, her trinkets, and a portion of her clothing,
packing the whole within a basswood box.
While she was yet busied at the task, the en-
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 353
trance below resounded to a knocking loud and pro-
longed.
Wearied by the hammering and shouts that as-
cended harshly, Temple crossed the chamber and
threw wide the sash. The noisy one had retreated
carefully, hearing the sound, to the snow-hidden
bed of asters by the gate. She recognized the
staff, chief symbol of the constable's importance.
" In the name of the law "began the man,
gazing upward from beneath his high peaked
hat.
" Whom do you want ? " the girl asked calmly.
"In the name of the law, I demand the person
of Mistress Temple Armitage "
"I am she," the Maid answered, looking down
upon him without quailing. "For what am I
wanted?"
"That, woman, will be set forth to thee in good
time. Make haste. "
Temple closed the window, laid the last things
within her box, and shut and locked it. When she
was ready for the street the shouts of the town offi-
cer were again besieging the walls.
The outer door was not yet unbolted. As the
girl pushed up the wooden blocks and stepped out
into the cold the angry constable would have
seized her by the arm but she moved quickly
beyond him and waited in the path.
"I will go with you, Sir. You need not touch
me. " And whether he feared her power, or was
awed by her beauty or something more, he offered
no further indignity. A little train gathered, fol-
lowing with grim outcry, as the tipstaff, plainly
354 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
enamoured of his office, dallied in needless delib-
eration on their way to the Town House square.
Here knots of men, leaving the Council Chamber,
lingered talking, their faces reddened with the sharp
air. But neither their grave and baleful stare nor
the hoots and yells of the mob could gain for
those who would have pursued farther an en-
trance to the hall. The officer shut them out,
rapping the most aggressive soundly with his staff,
and barring the massive door before he led his
prisoner up the echoing stairs. A youthful cus-
todian waited below to admit those who came of
right.
In the long chamber above, groups of two or
three still paused, discussing with stern faces, or
arguing in hot debate. At the upper end of the
barren room Mr. Cotton Mather, with the Lieuten-
ant-Governor and that member of the Council
whom the girl remembered at the Governor's din-
ner, were seated upon a platform, loftily raised
above the surface of the floor. Mr. Mather was
talking, and the others listened, swaying forward in
grim assent.
"Stay thou here."
The tipstaff left her and went forward to the
dais. The groups looked curiously at her and
watched her as they talked. None offered her a
seat on bench or stool, and none removed his hat
whether it sat upon a wig or warmed a less pro-
tected head.
The Maid stood without awkwardness, without
outward trembling. The colour lent by the frost
had faded and her own had not come back to her
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 355
face, but her loveliness seemed the more striking,
and the silver-grey of hood and cloak, crimson-
lined and bearing the stamp of a less provincial
world, gave colour enough fitly to frame he.r beauty.
The hall was cold and the men were well wrapped ;
those that had not their hands in gloves rubbed
them together, and the place echoed with the noise
of those who stamped upon the floor or walked up
and down for warmth.
After long moments of the hostile looks, the un-
broken waiting, the door opened again and a small
horde of people whom she did not know came in on
tiptoes, somewhat awed, their faces mottled
with the chill. They drew away, looking askance
at her, and watched her from the farther side.
The constable struck his staff heavily upon the
boards.
"Mistress Temple Armitage, stand forth." He
rolled the words in a loud sonorousness, and
knocked again.
The girl came forward with an unhurried step
and stood below the dais where he pointed her.
The member of the Council started in some surprise
and looked hastily at the other two.
"She is young," he whispered. "Is this the
maid accused?"
The girl heard him, and her eyes rested on him an
instant, studying a face that seemed too open for
injustice, but Mr. Mather answered him aloud.
" Beware lest she bewitch thee. Even I have felt
her evil power upon the will. I think we may pro-
ceed?" The others nodded. He rose with much
solemnity and took his seat within a great arm
356 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
chair upon the centre of the platform. Ponder-
ously wigged, full-faced, and substantial of body,
he loomed large in the eyes of the watchers who had
entered after the Maid, and the wave of his hand
that beckoned them, brought them hastily beneath
the platform,
"Be seated upon the benches," he commanded
them, and waited till his order was obeyed.
Then he filled his lungs with a deep inspiration,
and sweeping a magisterial glance about the hall
where the other groups had grown silent to listen,
he fixed his prominent eyes upon the girl and spoke
in a voice that gave to the air a full vibration the
constable had not attained.
"Mistress Armitage, " he began, "thou art sum-
moned hither by three of his Majesty's subjects
who would inquire as to certain practices of thine
held of deadly import to the health and safety of
this Colony. If thou be'st found unable to an-
swer to our satisfaction the questions where-
with we shall pursue the ends of justice, and
if thou be not able to disprove the offered evi-
dence of these witnesses, thou wilt stand accused
of witchcraft and be committed to the common
jail to await thy trial by the Commission thereto
appointed by the Governor. Nor will friends
in high places avail aught against the evidence
nor any trust in other help than the truth have
power to save thee from the just rewarding of thy
crimes. Thou wilt be given the lawful trial ac-
corded to others of the accused, and if thou be
found guilty, delivered unto the hangman, who
shall set thee for an example and a sign to all who
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 35,7
would darken this fair province with the commerce
of black Hell. Thou art brought here for this open
questioning by two members of the King's Com-
mission and an anointed Servant of the Lord, that
none may claim thou wast lightly or maliciously
committed. Speak now the "
The door opened noisily and another group made
its appearance. Temple did not move nor look
around, but as they took their seats with the first
comers, the panting figure of Mistress Munch was
projected within her range of vision and she turned
surprised, and smiled quickly at Beulah, who looked
somewhat thinner for her illness and did not return
the greeting.
Shubael's chubby face lighted at sight of the
Maid and she let the smile rest sadly for an instant
upon him. But his brother admonished him
harshly, setting him, with a cruel grasp upon the
childish arms, farther upon the bench. The boy
tried to draw away, but catching Mr. Mather's
frown, sat tearfully quiet, a small and frightened
figure beside the burly proportions of Jacob Munch.
"What hast thou to say, Mistress Armitage,
against this charge?" Mr. Mather's voice had
poured forth again more roundly than before.
"That it is false, " the girl's voice rang as clearly
as his own, strong in its indignation.
"Listen, Mistress, and take heed to thy words,
that there be fewer sins imputed to thy charge.
The eye of the Lord searcheth every secret thing,
and there be nothing hid that shall not be revealed.
Nor are His servants idle. In time of great stress
and trouble " Mr. Mather's tones took on an awed
358 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
and awesome depth "I vowed unto Him a great
and special service as the way should open, and
forthwith upon the vow came the troubling of these
colonies with the plague of witchcraft, whereby the
innocent and the godly be made to suffer grievous
agonies. So is the Devil striving to reconquer for
himself that which was his before the coming of
the white men, and in these wrestlings we contend
not alone for the safety of these mortal tenements
but for the salvation that the malignance of this
attack hath put in fearful peril. " The clergyman
paused impressively. A hush held the room in an
unnatural quiet.
"To accuse the innocent can gain naught for a
righteous cause. " Temple looked up at him quietly,
speaking with a low distinctness that carried the
words to all that were present. The member of the
Council regarded her with grave scrutiny that
weighed her earnestness. Lieutenant-Governor
Stoughton frowned and turned his head away im-
patiently.
"Peace, woman, and hearken to that I have yet
to utter," answered Mr. Mather sternly. "Put a
better bridle upon a tongue set on fire of Hell. Thou
art more dangerous than others by as much as thou
hast the habit of much speaking that little adorneth
a modest maiden's carriage. " He turned to his fel-
low judges, addressing them and the people listen-
ing below. " Called of the Lord to see for myself if
the charge upon this woman were a true one, I
went yesterday to the house where she abides, and
gave her opportunity of setting out the matter
freely, explaining or confessing all. And first she
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 359
was angered and would have driven me forth "
"As she did Elder Tripp and Mr. Larcas, " put
in Mistress Munch in an aside.
Mr. Mather fixed his eyes on her who had the
temerity to interrupt him, and waited, cold and
condemning, until she grew scarlet with shame.
" Look upon me and give heed, nor fall into the
error of those who idly desire to hear their own
voices," he ordered frigidly, before he resumed his
narrative. "And when," he continued, "I fled
not from her anger but charged her with these in-
iquities she gave herself less boldness but set
herself to win me by sophistical phrases and
a wily tongue, so that my very judgment
was beset by the subtleties of the Fiend;
and when, coercing my will by her Satanic
craft so that I, for a test, permitted her to touch
my hand, there ran upon my arm like lightning a
stupefying force that changed my sight and I there-
upon beheld her as a queenly maid, noble and
seemly, and sealed with the seal of the elect.
Wherefore, when I was withdrawn from her pres-
ence, there came upon me a painful pricking and
discomfort of that hand which she had touched, so
that when I would set myself to write a sermon
my fingers were cramped upon the quill, and al-
though in the day I had sat writing with ease and
no distress for eight hours without more pause than
needful for a small repast, yet in the evening I was
thus afflicted. Upon which portent I prostrated
myself before the Lord, praying for succour, and He
showed me the true similitude of this damsel as of a
direful monster, scaly like unto a fish and with eyes
360 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
fiery and shooting sparks of flame, while upon her
brow was a reddened mark the finger of God's
wrath. "
A stir went about the hall. Those nearest Tem-
ple fell back quickly.
Mr. Mather observed the effect of his eloquence
and reseated himself in the great chair by whose
arms he had pulled himself upright in the fervour of
his speech.
The door was opened loudly and the constable
again appeared. Shivering and weeping beside
him was Betty. Behind followed one of the men
who had prayed by Beulah.
As the hall settled to quiet once more Temple
would have spoken, but her first word was inter-
rupted harshly by Mr. Stoughton.
"Hold thy peace, woman," he commanded. "An'
thou interruptest thus it will be needful to set a gag
upon thy tongue. "
The member of the Council moved uneasily.
"We will proceed' ' Mr. Mather looked about the
room picking out his witness "to question those
who have observed what is strange or noteworthy
in the conduct of Mistress Armitage. Bring for-
ward Eliphalet Bardon. "
The tipstaff came promptly forth with a lad in
whose face importance and fright had together set
an unnatural grimace. He stood as far as he could
place himself from the Maid, and looked up blink-
ing at the three upon the platform, as if their great-
ness blurred his sight.
"Eliphalet, tell me truthfully whether thou hast
seen Mistress Armitage."
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 361
"Yea. I have seen her," quavered the boy
shrilly.
" When and where hast thou seen her ? "
" Many times when she hath passed by our house ;
and she took the witch cat, " he added eagerly.
Mr. Mather leaned forward.
"Tell about the cat."
"The witch cat was set in a pillory and its eyes
were fire eyes. It cried and then the witch she"
he pointed with his stubbed forefinger "swooped
like a hawk out of the sky and carried off the cat. "
" What didst thou, Eliphalet ? "asked Mr. Stough-
ton.
"All of us ran after and pelted her, save Shubael
Munch, who struck me because I said she was a
witch" he paused to scowl at Shubael "and
when I but touched her dress a great blow struck
me like lightning and threw me high in the air and I
fell and was hurt. "
"Where went the witch?" Mr. Stoughton also
leaned forward.
" I do not know. Captain Verring came to her
and they took the cat away. "
" She did not vanish ? Think boy. " Mr. Stough-
ton still spoke.
"I did not yea, she vanished for a little in a
cloud, and then came back. "
"Hast thou been since afflicted?" Mr. Mather
took again the reins. The boy's eyes grew larger.
He sent a frightened glance toward the girl.
" Yea, Sir. Many times the cat hath come to me
in the night and spit at me and once it pulled me
from the bed. "
362 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The lad was led back by the constable and his
mother took his place, testifying that what he said
was true, for she had herself found him upon the
floor.
Mr. Mather dismissed her with a look of satisfac-
tion and summoned the other members of the group
surrounding her. One by one they gave their tes-
timony, eager or timid, casting curious or terrified
looks upon the Maid.
The last of these was a drover who went some-
times to and fro between Boston and Andover,
with sheep and cattle, and often hauled lum-
ber for the builders. His examination was long
and wearisome.
"Thou sayest she hath a rare malevolent influ-
ence upon the brutes that maketh them subordi-
nate to her will ? " Mr. Mather put the question.
" Sir? " The drover gazed anxiously about him.
"How dost know animals obey her? Speak."
Mr. Stoughton's precise and chilling brevity was
plainer to the man.
"I seen her, " he began in a low tone. Temple
turned at his voice that had grown bashful, and
looked at him with sudden recognition. He shuf-
fled uneasily, and his weather-scarred face reddened.
" He cannot speak because she looks at him. "
Mr. Mather nodded to his colleagues. "Turn thy
eyes another way, Mistress. "
Temple let her gaze dwell an instant in proud
compassion on the shuffling figure and looked
slowly about the hall. Frozen suspicion, blank
hostility, everywhere ! She drew herself more
quietly erect and waited without reply.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 363
" She moved my horses up a hill, your Honours, "
began the man. "I'd beaten till the blood run
on their backs, but they'd not budge. An' she
come out o' the book shop 'twas in King street
and she talked with 'em and touched 'em and
they went with her an' no more ado. Often
too I seen her when I had sheep an' cattle and they'd
let her go anigh 'em and show no fear.' '
"Thou hast seen her often?"
"Aye, she visited my wife that lay sick and gave
her wine "
"And is thy wife afflicted?"
" She is dead, gored of an ox An' I seen the
witch only a sennight afore speak to the ox. I heerd
her words: 'Thou must mend thy manners wild
one,' she said, 'or thou'lt do mischief yet'. She put
it in his head. 'Twas ever unruly with me. I'd
nigh flayed it often for that 'twould not obey. But
to her alone it showed no rages. "
"Enough. Go thy way, Adonijah. Thou hast
borne witness for the Lord. They who have given
their testimony may depart an' they will. " Mr.
Mather waited.
The drover, whose breath was heavy of sugared
rum, pushed himself through the throng toward
the door. The rest remained, closing up nearer to
hear, and the constable, at a word from Mr.
Mather, led out the unhappy Betty from the cor-
ner where she had retreated.
"Thy name, woman." She looked up at the
command and dried her eyes.
"Betty, your Honour," she answered curtsey-
ing.
364 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"You are of the household of Sir John Winch-
combe?" The words sounded like an arraign-
ment.
" Yea, Sir your Honour, " she replied quickly.
Mr. Mather sat more rigidly upright in the great
chair. "Doth not Sir John Winchcombe lie in
great agony afflicted of a witch ? " he asked.
"They say so," answered Betty tremulously.
" But he is better now. "
"Since Mistress Armitage is no longer in the
house ? " Mr. Mather brought out the question
with triumphant emphasis.
Betty was silent. Her eyes, roving in a troubled
fashion, had fallen upon her mistress.
"Answer thou. Answer the question of Mr.
Mather. " The Lieutenant-Governor had again
interposed.
"He is better, Sir "
"When began the change? Was it not after
Mistress Armitage had come away ? " Mr. Mather
persisted.
"He was better when I came forth, Madam said.
He was sleeping. " Betty drew her breath tear-
fully.
" Could I not afflict him still an' I were a witch ? "
asked Temple suddenly.
Betty wheeled and gazed at her intently and at
the circle of cold and curious faces behind her, and
with the look she became calmer and her helpless
trembling ceased.
"Madam said it was the flaxseed seemed to ease
him, " she volunteered.
" Answer what is asked thee ; save thy chatter
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 365
for without," Mr. Stoughton bade her, and she
curtseyed again, her eyes on the ground.
"Whom doth Sir John hold to have bewitched
him? Whom doth he suspect of this malignity?"
The clergyman watched her carefully.
"Madam hath the care of Sir John. None else
hath seen him, " the woman replied.
Mr. Mather's anger was in danger of mastering
his control. "How darest thou so mock us?" he
cried vociferously. "Speak. Whom doth Sir John
suspect ? 'Tis this maiden here, Temple Armitage,
is it not?"
"They say so." Betty wept again, plucking at
her round black apron and catching her breath in a
sob.
"Thou hast been much about her person?" Mr.
Mather went on.
"Ever since she came to Madam, Sir your
Honour "
" Hast thou never seen upon her the witchmarks ?
Think well lest a falsehood cost thee a doom like
hers. "
" Marks ! Upon my mistress ! " Betty dropped
her apron and glared at him forgetful and indig-
nant. "She hath not a mark on her whole body !
Who dares say there's a mark on Mistress Armitage !
She hath the fairest "
" That will do Answer no more than is re-
quired of thee, " her questioner interrupted. " Look
me in the face, Betty, and tell the whole truth. Is
not thy mistress a witch?"
"No she's not She's not a witch I
wish we'd never come to this cruel country "
366 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Betty buried her face in the apron and rocked to
and fro in hysterical weeping.
"Calm thyself, Betty." The member of the
Council spoke again. " How long hast thou served
in the household of Sir John Winchcombe ? "
" Ten years come Christmas Ten years this
very day, Sir, " Betty looked up more hope-
fully.
" Has thou ever known Sir John to be thus afflict-
ed before ? " Mr. Mather frowned. Mr. Stoughton
cast a contemptuous glance in the direction of the
speaker and looked indifferently to the windows
where the frost was still thick on the small panes.
"O, often, sir," Betty answered clearly. "He
hath them ever after he goeth to London or hath
been all night drinking with his good friends at
home. Sometimes it taketh him in one place,
sometimes another. "
"And Mistress Armitage, hath she been of the
household of Sir John since first thou went to
them?"
" O, no, Sir. She came but five year agone, and
a glad day it was for all of us, that brought her "
" Hath Sir John been seized by these attacks only
since the coming of Mistress Armitage?"
" Nay, he had them always. 'Twas "
"Peace peace. Enough! These be but un-
profitable questions and irrelevant. Thou canst
go, Betty, " put in Mr. Mather peremptorily.
"May I be permitted briefly to question this
witness ? "
Temple made the request with a look of grave
appeal. The member of the Council leaned for-
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 367
ward and spoke in Mr. Mather's ear. The three
conferred, Mr. Stoughton reinforcing the chair-
man's emphatic denial.
"Thou art presumptuous, Mistress Armitage.
Hereafter, keep silence, unless thou'rt bid to
speak." Mr. Mather resettled himself, the judicial
severity of his manner rendered more forcible by
irritation. The shadows that told of a night-long
vigil showed more plainly under his angrily staring
eyes.
"Call the wife of Christopher Munch," he com-
manded. The dame, who was nearer to the
dais than the tipstaff, moved with some alacrity into
the place left vacant by Betty.
" Mistress Munch, it is your painful duty to tell us
aught known to you concerning this maiden here,
whom many have accused of a most heinous crime
in the sight of God. When did you first see this
Mistress Armitage ? "
"In the window of Madam Fitch's house. I
marked her then for one I would not have my Beu-
lah to know, and had she listened to me she would
not be as she is to-day, Mr. Mather. "
Temple, who had heard the opening words with
evident surprise, gazed with the rest of the throng
upon Beulah, who, as soon as she felt the eyes
of the Maid upon her, was drawn in a sudden
contortion, hiding her face and twisting her
body as if in pain. When Temple turned won-
deringly away, the contortions ceased. The
men upon the dais gazed significantly upon
one another, even the member of the Council
affected by the sight. "Look at her," Mistress
3 68 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Munch went on unhindered, "and see to what her
trust has brought her now. None of my children
hath escaped. I cannot think why we of all others
were doomed to be so tormented and abused!"
Her voice quavered.
"You and yours have truly been but ill entreated
Mistress. The Lord's people are roused in your
defence. Speak on. "
"I marked her that day of Governor Phips's
arriving and no good luck have I had in aught since
first a royal Governor was set over us. "
"Keep to thy tale," interrupted Mr. Mather
hastily.
An approving gleam shot from the cold eyes of
Mr. Stoughton.
"I beg your pardon, Sir." Mistress Munch curt-
seyed involuntarily to the reprimand of Mr. Mather,
and Beulah flushed darkly at her mother's tone.
" I have had many trials and I was ever readier for
work than words From the beginning I saw
that Jacob was no more himself. But young men,
an' they be pleasing to the maids, must go their own
gait, and he had held a fancy for many he soon for-
got. " She cast a glance at Temple who watched
her, each instant colder and more amazed. "But
I warned Beulah no good would come of knowing
such a vain aristocratical creature who would not
even show she saw that Jacob favoured her. Sly
and "
"What have you seen, Mistress Munch, that
persuades you the maiden is a witch?" asked the
member of the Council, stopping her soberly.
" Pray let Mistress Munch tell her tale in her own
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 369
manner," reproved Mr. Mather with asperity.
' 'Tis so we get the truth most freely. "
"It were well she gave us the kernel and less of
the husk mayhap, " answered the admonished
Member settling his hat and drawing his cloak more
warmly about him.
Beulah coughed, and Temple looked with in-
voluntary sympathy in her direction, whereupon
the cough grew violent and the contortions began
again.
Mistress Munch rambled on through devious by-
ways of her own conjectures, till she came to her
daughter's illness, when she grew somewhat more
coherent. The coughing started by Beulah had be-
come general and the lad who had testified about
the cat fell also into contortions, crying out at in-
tervals and mewing violently.
"Jacob could neither sleep nor had he any stom-
ach for his victuals, and would do naught but mope
and say that Beulah must go with him to see Mis-
tress Armitage for that she'd not receive him an' he
went alone; and thereupon Beulah went, as she
will tell ye, and set forth her brother's misery and
prayed relief of the maid who wasted him away,
but the girl only mocked her and said Jacob was
none of her affair, and Beulah, being angry "
"Would not this properly be the testimony of
Mistress Beulah? Tell rather what you yourself
have known. " put in the member of the Council.
" 'Tis that I'm telling, " went on the dame. " Be-
ing angry, Beulah spoke sternly, warning the evil
witch of her ill doings, and straightway she sickened
and fell ill abed of the pest." The noises about
370 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
the hall had ceased. The attention that hung upon
the words was absolute. The Maid's face was
white but not with fear. The look she bent upon
the voluble witness was filled with scorn so fine it
passed for cold endurance.
"Shubael I sent away, and Jacob went also to
his aunt and I cared alone for Beulah, who was like
to die. She was an awful sight, Sirs, all "
"Mam!" Beulah's voice, protesting.
"Terrible sick she was," resumed the woman,
"and lying like a log and breathing hard. Then
came the good elder, and Mr. Larcas to pray with
her, and at the first word they uttered ( 'twas 'Al-
mighty an' Ever-living God') Beulah rose up from
the stupor and screamed, and ceased not to cry out
upon them and carry on till Mistress Armitage
stood by the bed and drove us all forth and took
Beulah in her arms. "
Beulah moved uneasily as her mother talked
and once looke"d up distractedly at the girl who had
nursed her back to health, but as she looked her
face hardened and grew old, and she dropped her
eyes, her fingers plucking nervously at her dress.
"Did Mistress Armitage do those things most
often commended for the sick ? " asked Mr. Mather,
encouraging the woman who had paused in a sort
of apoplexy of wordy anger.
"Nay, not one. She did all otherwise. She let
the wind blow into the room from open windows
and gave her all the water she could drink and
fastened down her hands so she could not even toss
about and get some ease. "
The audience listened with a lively horror. At
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 371
the mention of open windows the member of the
Council shook his head and frowned suspiciously.
"And yet the girl recovered?" Mr. Mather
asked quickly.
"She was completely in the evil power of her,
and hath been since the day when she went to plead
for her poor brother. Now, she mopes like him and
constantly hath pains and torments. "
"But why should Mistress Armitage go to so
much trouble in the nursing ? Would not this evil
power have been as great and she away from
contact with the pest if she be of a truth a
witch?" The member of the Council looked
puzzled..
"She minded it not for that Satan would not let
her take the contagion, " answered Mistress Munch
glibly.
" Her daughter will explain that, " put in Mr.
Stoughton. "Let the woman finish, that we may
get on. "
"Aye ye'll not need to hang her an' ye freeze
her first, " muttered a voice in the crowd.
The judges frowned, and the constable went
fussily among the shivering throng, but the culprit
could not be found.
"Hast thou more to say ? " demanded Mr. Mather.
"Knowest thou aught else against the accused?"
"So much I could not take time to tell them
all "
"Thou shalt state them to the true Commission, "
put in the third judge somewhat wearily.
"But two of them I would first tell here," she
answered unabashed. "She hath bewitched my
372 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
little Shubael that was a child in a thousand for a
quick obedience, and gentle ever, so that he flouts
his mother and "
Shubael burst into loud crying and Jacob boxed
his ears. For the first time the girl looked directly
at the young man's face, a flash of indignation in
her eyes. Jacob returned the flash with a gaze of
vicious triumph.
Mistress Munch enlarged upon the malice that
held Shubael in subjection, then raised her voice as
she went on. "And upon another hath she an
awful spell, one old enough to resist and suffer as
hath my Beulah and my Jacob and not weakly let
the Devil have his will and that is Roger
Verring. "
There was a sensation among those who listened.
All eyes were fixed upon the Maid to whose cheeks
a faint flush had risen at the words.
"Could this not " she began, but Mr. Mather
thundered at her with the denunciatory wrath
familiar in his pulpit.
" Wouldst thou be bound upon thy deceitful lips
that thy wanton tongue be quieted ! Know'st thou
not what things are an abomination to the Lord,
a proud look, a lying tongue, aye and a heart
that deviseth wicked imaginations ! Woe unto
them that put darkness for light and light for dark-
ness, and them who, going apparelled like kings'
daughters in rich raiment carry corruption in their
hearts. Wait till thou art bidden to speak, nor
interrupt the counsels of them that serve the
Lord. What hadst thou to say of Captain Ver-
ring, Mistress?" His voice, changed to a milder
THE COASTS OF FREEDOM 373
tone, was still ringing with retributory fire. Mis-
tress Munch had been somewhat alarmed, but
she recovered quickly.
"What proof have you of his bewitchment?"
asked the third member. " Is he afflicted with any
grievous ill or doth he suffer pain?"
" He hath her black cat and hath a name for it,
as it had been a human being. 'Tis through it she
sends him word of her commands. "
"Who could believe such folly?" The Maid ex-
claimed, wondering. Mr. Mather had not observed
her; he was listening intently to the witness.
Mr. Stoughton looked less pleased. Nicolas Ver-
ring was his warm partisan and strong supporter.
Mistress Munch finished in a tone of bitter pique.
"Daily, and often many times a day, he
came "
"Roger Verring?"
"Yes, Sir he came to my door and oft followed
me within asking for speech with Mistress Armi-
tage, while Beulah lay nigh to death, above. "
"Inquired he not also for Beulah?" asked Mr.
Stoughton.
"Not save for politeness' sake. He hath never
given a glance to any maid till he was beset of the
Devil in the stranger. "
Temple looked at the woman, surprise showing
fleeting in her still face. Beulah saw the new
wonder in the look and set her lips in a yet straighter
line.
"It was for the witch he feared 'twas plain
enough. And all the strange herbs and fumiga-
tions and compounds that he brought, with wines
374 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
and on a day a great bunch of red berries from the
woods that I cast out. There was no time for
wicked folly and to be bringing a clutter of
things from the woods "
"Were these not for Mistress Munch as well?"
asked Mr. Stoughton again.
"Nay, I tell you, Sir. The foolish twigs of ber-
ries were for Mistress Armitage 'twas some sign
agreed upon I doubt not "
"That is sufficient, Mistress, "put in the member
of the Council assertively. "'Is't not best we get
on?" he asked the other two. "Mistress Beulah
looketh quite unfit to linger in the chill of this hall. "
"The Lord of Hosts is with her, " pronounced Mr.
Mather sonorously. " Beulah Munch, stand forth. "
A quick expectancy crowded the listening multi-
tude nearer, and the tipstaff, flourishing his wand,
pushed them back, commanding those that had
risen before the filled benches to seat themselves or
be expelled.
Beulah appeared little like one supported of the
Lord. Her cheeks had a restless fire and her lips,
drawn in their hard and bitter line, were not the
signs of holiness. But her evident emotion, the soft-
ness and meekness of her drooping figure, the marks
of suffering plain upon her face, won instant sym-
pathy. Again a murmur ran about the hall, a sound
that acclaimed belief in all that she might utter.
Her voice, modulated to a pitch as far as possible
from the aggressive rattle of her mother's, came in
a reluctant undertone, but loud enough so her words
were audible to all who chose to listen.
Once when she had raised her eyes, drawn by
375
the look of grieved betrayal Temple had involun-
tarily given, she had turned away startled for an
instant confused. The confusion was converted
instantly to a painful writhing, and she swayed
as if she would have fallen. "Make her turn
away, " she gasped.
Angry glances were shot at Temple.
"Aye, keep the witch's eyes from off her,"
growled the undetected voice.
Beulah, with lids lowered again, corroborated
all her mother had said, adding circumstantial and
carefully constructed tales of the sufferings of
Jacob and the evil state of little Shubael, whose
cowering figure sufficiently bore out her words.
"And is it true that Roger Verring hath never
given attention to a Boston maid nor kept com-
pany with any at his age? " asked the member of
the Council, fixing a searching look upon the down-
cast face.
"It is true. Everyone will tell you that, Sir,"
she said.
"Yea that's true A cold-blooded young
fellow is Verring, " commented the voice.
Mr. Mather's gaze sought sternly the cause of
the interruption, and the member of the Council
persisted.
"Let not modesty forbid any word you might
have to say, " he demanded with his firm mouth
more strictly pursed. " Was he at no time a suitor
for yourself ? Gave he no sign of interest ? "
"None." Again Beulah lifted her eyes. "He
hath never been even of the circle of my friends
since I grew up. "
376 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Temple moved suddenly, so convincing was the
tone and the direct look, but no flush came to her
face and no sign showed whether among so many
lies she believed this one statement.
Mr. Mather was questioning the witness further.
"And what reason, think you she had, Mistress,
for afflicting you with the pest?"
"To destroy my soul, " came from the girl's lips
unfalteringly. The writhing took her again. " I
cannot talk unless Mistress Armitage be taken
away, " she said as she was restored once more.
"That cannot be. She must hear and know
wherefore justice demands her commitment.
Strive against her spell, and I will supplicate that
thy tongue be loosed, " answered Mr. Mather en-
couragingly.
There was a heavy pause in which the clergyman
bent his head in silence and Beulah's contortions
grew gradually less pronounced.
" I can go on now, " she said.
" Proceed. " Mr. Mather regarded her with com-
placency, seeing his petitions so soon rewarded.
"While I lay sick she asked me often if I would
serve the Devil, saying he would requite me well,
and twice she brought me the Devil's book that I
might sign it and said she was the Queen of Hell
and could give me all that I desired, would I but
put my name upon the page. "
While Beulah had been speaking the door had
opened hurriedly from without and Roger had
pushed his way through the throng.
When the girl paused, swaying again as if seized
with acute misery, he spoke in a voice whose ring
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 377
broke like good daylight upon the dismal creeping
of nightmare.
"And will any man sit here and listen, unpro-
testing, to lies so manifest?"
Beulah had grown whiter than the Maid but the
colour came quickly back. Roger's eyes that
sought first for Temple were fixed imperiously upon
the self-constituted judges.
Mr. Mather rose majestically from his platform
throne.
"Captain Verring, see that you outrage not the
decencies of these lawful and just proceedings.
If you would remain, have a care how you address
those vested with authority of church and state. "
" Nay, Sirs, there was no disrespect, but I would
know by whose command this malice is given the
chance to so display itself. "
' 'Tis enough that we know by whose authority
we are assembled, Captain Verring. Proceed
Mistress. " Mr. Stoughton fixed his cold eyes in a
warning not wholly unfriendly upon the young
man.
When Beulah 's even flow of carefully uttered
phrases came to an end, Roger moved somewhat
nearer to the Maid and waited resolutely where all
could mark she was not left alone and undefended.
The witness, pausing effectively, had turned
back her loose sleeve. The arm beneath was
slightly scarred from her disease, but more con-
spicuous than the scars, across from side to side ran
sore and angry burns.
"These be some of the things I have endured,"
she said quietly, "for that I refused to do as I
378 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
was bid. I pray you excuse me from showing
more. "
' 'Tis enough at present. Hold thyself in
readiness to testify, and may God chasten us to
greater zeal for beholding such grievous suffering, "
Mr. Mather replied with unction.
An angry groan had followed the exposure of the
burns.
Beulah walked staggeringly to her seat and as she
fell straightway into convulsions of much distress,
the frightened Shubael was led forward to the
dais.
Mr. Mather looked with a grim assurance at the
quivering figure and the tear-spotted face, and be-
gan in a tone whose energy left no option to the
answerer.
"Shubael, thou knowest Mistress Armitage is a
witch?"
Shubael, shivering the more, lifted his chubby
face, marked and blurred with tears, and the Maid
turned away her head, not doubting the child's
reply, and finding painful the sight of such massive
enginery set to coerce a creature so small; but
the boy's voice came with quick and loud
response.
"She is not a witch," he answered staunchly,
trembling mightily but gazing upon the judges as
if he dreamed they would believe his word.
"Shubael!" Mr. Mather gathered his brows in
a portentous scowl. "Shubael Munch, thou art
here to tell how thou hast been afflicted not to
contradict and fly out upon thy questioners. How
hath this wicked woman taught thee so to speak ? "
THE COAST OP FREEDOM 379
"She is not a wicked woman." Shubael stood
his ground.
" Hath she not brought thee to this? Why dost
thou cry if thou art happy, Shubael?" asked the
member of the Council.
The boy looked at him, badgered into anger, and
half weeping in his impotence.
"You know why! You make me cry," he an-
swered. "And I am beaten and you would have
me say a lie about Mistress Armitage. " The words
poured out convulsively. He turned toward the
Maid and Roger, tears running upon his swollen
little face.
Roger smiled upon the little fellow as if he held
himself from words with grim violence to his desire.
For the first time the Maid's gaze was dimmed,
and she set her teeth upon her lip that for a little
trembled like the lad's.
"Thou art beaten. That is the witch she
makes thee to be beaten, " went on Mr. Mather
excitedly.
" 'Tis not 'tis Jacob beats me and my mother,"
cried out the boy, thrusting his fists into his brim-
ming eyes.
"Wouldst be a witch thyself like Mistress Armi-
tage?" demanded Mr. Stoughton with stern em-
phasis.
"She's not a witch," the child repeated stub-
bornly and fell to bitter sobbing, his body shaken
more than ever by fright and wretchedness.
"That will do. This contumacy in a child so
young is proof enough were there no other, " pro-
nounced Mr. Mather, waving the boy away.
380 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"Jacob Munch, come thou forward and give a
truthful history of what thou hast as yet divulged
to none but me. "
Roger's hand closed upon itself.
Jacob was less jaunty of manner as he advanced,
carrying himself with an unusual sedateness, a
smooth regret in his sliding inflections as he began.
"I must ask your patience, gentlemen," he said
deliberately, "if I go back to a time when I was but
a lad and Captain Verring and I were boys upon
the Araby Rose, a ship commanded, as you know,
by Captain Phips. "
' ' It were well to omit the names of those not
directly concerned with what you have to tell, "
advised Mr. Mather. "It will allow our minds to
dwell the more impartially upon the evidence. "
Jacob looked meaningly at Mr. Stoughton, bowed
to Mr. Mather, and went on with his tale.
" I was then but a lad and might have been easily
led astray by evil practices had not the godly pre-
cepts and examples of my honoured father and my
mother, and that grace which is vouchsafed to them
who seek with earnestness, sustained me in many
ordeals wherein another might have succumbed. "
The words had evidently been conned with a care
unlike the evasive habit of one fond of his own ease.
" It would not behoove me to speak of many prac-
tices upon the Araby Rose, the drunkenness, the
obscenity, and foulness "
The girl looked with indignant scorn upon the
young man, who went forward with complacent
gravity. Roger had started, but restrained him-
self.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 381
Mr. Mather interrupted with some sharpness.
Jacob bowed again, a malicious light plain in his
shifty eyes, and resumed af if nothing had checked
the dull flow of his words. " I will speak only of the
occurrences that have a convenient bearing upon
the matter these revered and honoured gentlemen
are met here to consider, " he said mellowly. " You
may be aware " he lifted his gaze to the platform
and averted it as quickly "that the Rose was en-
gaged in a great battle with a pirate five times her
size. The freebooters were ferocious men and were a
myriad to our one. It was a monstrous struggle and
like to be a dreadful slaughter wherein we should
all perish, when upon a sudden" he paused;
the listeners gathered nearer "upon a sudden,"
he repeated, " came a clap of thunder, lightning
played about the ships, and the pirates began to
yield, giving way most unaccountably to our blows,
though still in excess of us by countless numbers.
I was in the front of the battle "
The Maid smiled for the first time, listening with
the rest.
"And I saw beside the Captain, " went on Jacob,
"the figure of a maid." A loud stir, quickly
hushed, rose upon the words. "Although she was
in the midst of the swords that flashed across her
she was not harmed, and as fast as she moved ahead
the pirates tumbled backward, their arms appearing
paralyzed, until all were either sent over the side
to drown or were killed upon the deck. "
The excitement was growing. The crowd fell
still farther away from the Maid, leaving her and
Roger quite alone.
382 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The girl turned about as if realizing their isola-
tion.
"You expose yourself to fearful danger, Captain
Verring; no need we both should perish," she
said in a rapid undertone. "Think on your
mother. "
He moved nearer, his look answering.
"I was knocked senseless in the fight," Jacob
was going on (Roger opened his lips but closed
them, waiting) "and when I came to myself the
great ship of the pirates had vanished and no sign
of them was left but this same maiden, who had no
name, but was called the Captain's Little Maid, be-
ing ever beside him. She went always in perfect
silence and sometimes she appeared without warn-
ing by those who talked secretly, nor could any see
from what direction she had approached.
" For many months we had sought everywhere
not finding the treasure, but upon her coming
among us Roger Verring and Captain Phips placed
her in the periagua and we rowed once more to
search the reefs. "
Mr. Mather was leaning forward, his expression
divided between uneasiness and overpowering in-
terest.
"She kept silence still," continued the softly
gliding voice, "but as we rowed among the rocks,
our boat stopped of itself in a narrow channel.
The oars could not move it. " A breath of wonder
again ! All had risen, those behind mounting upon
the benches to see the better. "When the boat
stopped the Maid stood up in the midst of a yellow
flame and pointed downward. Nopomuk, the
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 383
Indian, who drives the horses of the Governor,
leaped into the water and brought back a shining
mass of gold. " The murmur increased but Jacob
had not ceased and it hushed again. "These be a
few of the things that happened. The men, in
great fear of their souls, refused at last to touch this
unhallowed treasure and made a righteous mutiny,
and all who led the fray were seized with horrid
agonies and fell down crying out and moaning.
None who mutinied escaped some of these dreadful
pains and ere they could recover they were forced
to sign a compact with Hell "
"Didst thou also take that oath?" asked the
member of the Council.
"At the first, Sir, I resisted, at what -cost of tor-
ments 'tis needless here to say, " answered the wit-
ness, still smoothly. "But at the last I yielded,
being beside myself with the torture and scarce
knowing what I did." Roger moved forward a
pace and Jacob glanced at him, involuntarily shift-
ing his own position. Roger's gaze had discon-
certed him for the moment, and he went on hur-
riedly. ' ' 'Twas a fearful oath ' ' he shuddered with-
out affectation "and pledged the ship's company
never to reveal the pressence of a maid upon the
Rose. I held the oath binding but it were better
to suffer torment myself than to let many be in
danger, and though, since the Maid who stands
before you there appeared in Boston on the very
day of Sir William Phips's return, I have suffered
such horrors as none may know (so that even my
mother misinterpreted), I have, till my sister sick-
ened, held my peace. "
384 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
" Thou didst wrong, Jacob Munch, " Mr. Mather
spoke somewhat shrilly. "See how we be pun-
ished for any sheltering of evil-doers." He looked
meaningly at Roger, and turned again to Jacob,
who was ready to proceed. " If thou hast more to
say, it will be in good time when the Commis-
sion shall assemble. It had been better," he
added with condemnation, "thou hadst earlier told
me frankly the whole truth and not a part in this
matter. "
" 'Tis not the truth, but utter and malignant
falsehood. " Roger confronted Jacob Munch and
the judges with stern assurance. "I ask the right
to question this witness. This matter concerneth
me, and more, the Governor of this colony ! The
character of Governor Phips should prove to you
the falsehood of this tale. "
"Your presumption, Sir, is without all prece-
dent, " retorted Mr. Mather in sudden rage. " These
witnesses come not to be the plaything of any by-
stander ! "
" Had these things been true, " Roger insisted,
"I must have seen them, and my word should be
as good as that of Jacob Munch. I demand that
you hear me. "
The three were not listening. The member of
the Council had bent again to the other two, com-
bating their negation.
" 'Twill do no harm. An' he speak not, it may
be some will say the maid was not given justice, "
he urged.
"Of what consequence!" Mr. Stoughton re-
sponded angrily. "The maid is a witch. Why
let a grown man make exhibition of his slavery ?"
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 385
But the Member at length prevailed by his per-
sistency, and Mr. Mather, more hectic and still
more enraged than he had been before, announced
the decision.
" I misdoubt me we yield to Satan in the matter.
Be brief, " he ordered sharply, and Roger, coming
nearer to the platform, spoke directly to the three,
but with a clear decisive energy that filled the hall.
Certainty took on different forms of doubt, and
belief in the Maid's guilt seemed somewhat shaken.
"Jacob Munch was not near the fight, but cower-
ing in the vessel's hold, where he had hid himself ! "
The straight inflections had at the very first struck
home their truth to some whom Jacob's sliding
speech had wearied. "Ask any man who served. I
can produce a dozen here in Boston ere two months
be out. None could be found who would believe
his word, not one. He proves himself a liar. He
says he was knocked senseless by the pirates. Had
this been true and any apparition had arisen after,
he could not have seen it. But had he been fight-
ing when his apparition came, then could he not
have been knocked senseless since he says the
pirates' arms were paralyzed. Nor was there any
man who ever lived who believed Governor Phips
had need of witchcraft to win his battles ! And
the story of the treasure is a lie. 'Twas found by
months of seeking and not by miracle. I was
present and I know. If ye believe me not, ask
then the Governor himself. For the mutiny, I was
there as well when the Captain single handed
beat back the angry horde who would have
made of him a buccaneer and of the Rose a pirate
3 86 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
ship not fearing the treasure but coveting its
wealth ! And never was there unrighteous com-
pact made upon the ship, but one 'twould honour
any man to make. A compact there was 'tis
true. How nobly 'twas kept by the Captain ye
know. Will you believe the man that stops not at
vile traducing of our Governor who even now risks
his life for us, absent and in peril ? 'Tis to naught
but the patience of Sir William that Jacob Munch
owes his life. After that very fight he would have
hung for his cowardice and desertion had it not been
for Sir William. " Mr. Stoughton would have
spoken, but Roger went swiftly on. "And if he
spare not the name of Governor Phips, assailing
him behind his back, who dreams he'll spare a
maiden his importunities did not please. There be
witnesses enough in Boston who know the double
life he leads. Nor is his baseness equalled by any
save hers who has here attacked that life was risked
for her. To bring accusation on evidence like this
violates what has been the unassailable right of
every Englishman since the Magna Charta. It
breaks every law of justice, every canon of proce-
dure, and is itself liable "
"Enough!" Mr. Mather and Mr. Stoughton
were reinforced by the constable who approached
discreetly, but paused near at hand.
The Maid's eyes were lighted with a gratitude
that warmed her face to a look less loftily remote.
"Captain Verring, " Mr. Mather looked confi-
dently upon his would-be victim. "How long
since this Maid entrapped thee in her spell; how
long hath she had thee in the toils?"
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 387
"Surely a man of weight cannot put seriously
a question of such folly !" Roger answered hotly.
"But in truth, Mistress Armitage hath plainly re-
pudiated even my proffered friendship. "
"You champion her cause somewhat ardently
for one who hath been so denied, " put in Mr.
Stoughton with dry and clicking precision. " Pray
will you state that you be not in love with Mistress
Armitage?"
Temple grew white again and the clear anger and
aversion of her gaze would have brought at least
a brief trouble to any man but William Stoughton.
"Such questions transcend the bounds of any
decent freedom. " Roger drew nearer yet to the
platform. "You avoid a more important question.
The point at issue is whether or no you sit quies-
cent while the Governor is slandered and an inno-
cent maid put in peril of her life by brazen malice. "
" 'Tis you, Sir, who evade, " shrieked Mr. Mather
in a fury. "Tell me this, dost thou or dost thou
not love this maid ? "
Roger gave back the look with a gaze before
which his questioner made literal retreat as if in
fear; then his expression changed.
"Yea, I love her," he said slowly, with solemn
emphasis. "Though she neither desireth nor
knoweth of my love. And I love her because' '
his voice penetrated, thrilling the stolid listeners
to something deeper than a curious greed of new
sensation "because she is above all malice, all
envy, all things unclean and common, by the pure
and holy height of her own exalted truth. "
The hush that followed, even Mr. Stoughton
3 88 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
made no attempt to break. Beulah sat rigid, her
hands locked. The Maid's lids drooped as if she
would escape the throng and then her eyes opened,
and she looked steadfastly before her.
Mr. Mather had risen with instant and volcanic
rage, silent only because his words had choked him
in their haste.
"Men of the Massachuset colony. " His outcry
shook the air as his voice returned. "We be met
here for examination of one accused of the most
awful crime of witchcraft, and the Lord hath guided
our deliberations to the exposing of two others,
dangerous malignants and not to be with safety
endured in this our afflicted town. Therefore the
constable will with all speed remove to the com-
mon jail, there to await their trial, by the Com-
mission, the persons of Temple Armitage, Roger
Verring, and Shubael Munch. "
At the last name a loud shriek rent the hall, stop-
ping even those without the building. Mistress
Munch had gathered up Shubael in her arms. Beu-
lah and Jacob sprang each before the boy with a
fearful alarm and the first withering blight of sure
remorse upon their faces. The constable advanced
toward the screaming and angry woman, but she
fled before him carrying the child clasped close,
and beating the crowd from her path with a frenzy
of terror that made its way.
Mr. Mather, still on his feet, shouted frantically
from the dais.
"Stop the woman. Stop the woman Bar
the way "
But Beulah and Jacob, exerting a force almost
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 389
equal to the mother's, broke through the half-
hearted efforts of the crowd who would have fol-
lowed.
The woman's screams resounded above the sud-
den babel; Mr. Mather's voice grew louder, and
Roger, under cover of the confusion, even as Mis-
tress Munch escaped, made his way, unnoticed of
the constable, to the door and out into the street.
CHAPTER XXVII
THE FLIGHT: IN THE MIDST OF THE FOREST
AT the moment that the town officer, giving
over for the time the effort to capture Mis-
tress Munch, returned to secure his other
prisoners, Roger was already past the King's
Armes, advancing as rapidly as was possible without
calling dangerous attention to his speed.
The day was too cold for any idlers to congre-
gate upon the streets, and the few men who were
abroad walked as quickly as their age or the bur-
dens they carried would permit. None molested
him nor was there any sign of pursuit. Before the
Maid had been left alone in the freezing atmosphere
of her cell the Governor's door had opened to him.
Lady Phips rose as he entered, welcoming him
with evident gladness, although her face was anx-
ious.
" Build up the fire again Debby. Here, Roger,
draw a chair nearer the hearth. 'Tis fearful
weather. I cannot keep my mind from dwelling
on the storms of Pemaquid and the salvages. It
hath been terrible too upon the sea. Surely Sir
William should have returned ere this. " She
moved about in a fidgetting restlessness unlike her-
self.
Roger had not known her when as the young
Widow Hull she had chosen to marry the poor and
390
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 391
half-educated ship carpenter, defying a social
world aghast and snappishly protesting. But he
honoured her the more for the tale, and had for her
the personal liking and the deep respect felt by all
who came beneath the charm of a quiet manner
that made the direct glance of her clear grey eyes
the more convincing.
He answered her with an attempt at reassur-
ance, though his own mind was troubled at the
delay.
" Sir William may be even now nearing the city, "
he said soberly.
"God grant it." Lady Phips seated herself by
the blaze and looked down at the much worn letter
she held in her hand. " He saith here, 'another
month at the most', and 'twas then but late Octo-
ber. Thou hast a harrowed look, Roger. Hast
thou ill news?" A startled expression followed
on the words. "Sir William there is no ill tid-
ings
" Nay, Lady Phips, not of Sir William. "
She interrupted with a sigh. "He hath been so
much from home. I grow more timorous with each
adventure. Hath the Lieutenant-Go vernor "
" The Little Maid is locked in prison charged with
witchcraft. The Commission meets to-morrow to
pronounce upon her. Mr. Cotton Mather and Mr.
Stoughton are determined on her death. " Roger
spoke each sentence slowly with a slight and preg-
nant pause after each. He was still standing.
Lady Phips rose quickly and confronted him.
At first she uttered no words but fixed her eyes
upon him in the amazement of unbelief.
39* THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"The Little Maid in prison!" she repeated
dully. "Will they dare hang a girl like that O, "
she cried out with sharp recollection, "would that
the Governor were here ! "
" 'Tis well for them he's not. " Roger's eyes
flamed with the sudden rage she had seen in Sir
William's when the cause was terrible. "They'd
not have dared lay hands on her had he been
here."
"We must act for him," Lady Phips closed her
fingers tightly on the letter she had folded and
lifted the clear grey eyes to Roger's face. "What
can we do ? "
"Get her from the prison. They have kept her
standing full five hours in the Town Hall. She will
die of weariness and cold. " Roger looked from
the window as though to see if he were followed,
and turned back to Lady Phips, the hopefulness of
action strong in his vigorous movements.
" I will go at once and bring her here. Will the
jailer deliver her to me ? " Lady Phips was already
on her way to the hall.
" If he does, she will be sent for by the fiends who
placed her there, and if you refuse to give her up it
will be used against the Governor and they will have
their will by force. I, too, am accused and the
constable is no doubt searching for me yet I and
Shubael Munch ! "
"That great fellow that smells of musk. I can-
not bear him. "
"You do well. He attacked the Governor with
the Maid. 'Tis he is their chief witness. " Roger's
hand clenched upon the chair post where it rested.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 393
" 'Tis his brother is accused a child the mother
picked up in her arms and carried from the place.
We must be swift in planning. The moment 'tis
dark I must be at the jail. To break in is scarce
possible without bloodshed. The prisoners are
well watched. 'Tis best to try an order for the
Maid's release sent by you in the Governor's name. "
"Thou wilt bring her here at once. I will con-
ceal her, " Lady Phips broke in.
"They will search here first and every house in
Boston after. They are bent upon her death, "
Roger answered bitterly. "She hath an enemy here
will keep the chase alive "
"But where what can you do?" She shook
her head. "There's no other way."
" Flee. I know a place I will not tell you where
for you can then say truly that you know naught
of it but I can take her thither and she will be
safe unless they follow. 'Tis a cruel journey for
a maid. " The harassed look deepened as he
spoke.
Lady Phips had come close to him listening
thoughtfully.
"She will need my storm cloak to protect her
from the cold and other things. How much canst
thou carry ? " she asked, eager to begin her task.
"Put in all that may give her comfort. The
weight will be nothing, " he answered quickly. " If
we be pursued 'twill be time to cast it away. "
"Hear me, Roger." Lady Phips laid her hand
on the young man's sleeve in earnest confidence.
" Go now to the Governor's room where there is ever
a fire lighted against his return, and eat what Debby
394 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
will bring thee. If any demand thee go swiftly
from the house and I will keep the constable in
parley till thou be safe. Nopomuk shall carry to
thee the packet with food and warmer wrappings
for the Maid and thou must meet him in Gay alley
as soon as it be fallen dusk. Eat heartily for thy
strength may mean her life and thine. If the
jailer follow, Nopomuk will help thee put him off
the scent. But if he will not obey my order, what
wilt thou do then, Roger?"
"For that I have a plan, but it were best thou
knew'st naught of it, Lady Phips. If Nopomuk
be kept to wait without the prison until it be ac-
complished fear nothing. An' I be taken, then will
he bring the Maid to thee, and do thou send her
with all speed to those whose names and place I
will leave sealed for thee to open. But if Nopo-
muk brings news that all is well, burn the paper.
I shall return to give thee word soon. Sir Wil-
liam may then be here. "
"Remember thou art dear to us, Roger, and the
Maid the very apple of Sir William's eye. I shall
ne'er forgive myself if "
"Nay Lady Phips 'twould be certain death to
stay in Boston. Be sure by now this house is
watched. "
Lady Phips looked in fresh alarm from the win-
dows. "Go then; go now. I will bring the order.
Thou wilt find pen and ink above in the Govern-
or's secretary. '
He waited an instant to hold fast her hands,
and would have spoken as well, but she would not
hear him.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 395
" We need no words, dear lad. We will say all
when we have saved her. Go quickly. "
When the tipstaff, thumping his wand of office
upon the steps, summoned the Governor's house-
hold to declare if aught had been seen of Captain
Verring, Roger was again out of his reach,' making
careful haste from Snow Hill through the Old Way
by the Mill Pond. The willows stripped of leaves,
drooped in strands like witch hair, blown upon a
rising wind. The drifts covered the berries and hid
the crotch of the tree bent camel-wise upon the
margin of the Pond, but a warmth rose about
his heart as he followed the path the May
had seen so full of fragrance and of loveliness, and
he moved faster in the shadows toward his
home.
As he neared the corner a dark object flung upon
the snow lay directly in his way. He stooped to it
wondering, and cried out grievingly. It was Felix,
the black kitten, with twisted neck and staring
yellow eyes, its soft black fur ruffled by the winter
wind.
When he came forth from the house his face was
stormy with new bitterness, but he gazed keenly
about to detect the presence of a spy, and went
forward steadily save once, when, stopping to
make sure he was not pursued, he looked back at
the window of his mother's room, thinking a face
was pressed against the pane.
A single star shone low down in the heavens and
the wind was driving the clouds in huddled masses
across the cold sky. Even the outlines of their
hurrying shapes were vanishing in the void. It was
396 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
too cold for snow and the wind and darkness were
better than stillness with a moon.
The town was at its early supper and here and
there a solitary glint of candlelight shone out upon
the snow from some kitchen window left unshut-
tered. It was after five when he demanded en-
trance to the prison. No light showed here, and
the wind, rattling the heavy sashes in their frames
and howling about the cold walls in loud abandon,
seemed the only tenant. Nopomuk, waiting below
the pillory, shivered, hearing the wind and the
knocking and seeing nothing but the blacker mass
of the stone pile within against the inkiness be-
yond.
"Who's without?" The jailer's voice sounded
terrified, on the other side of the stout door.
"A messenger from the Governor's. Make
haste. 'Tis chill here, " answered Roger in a shout.
The key turned creaking and the bars dropped
slowly.
"Enter quickly or the wind will douse my candle."
called the voice and Roger wormed himself through
the aperture the man left open, and stood upon the
bare planks of the dismal hall. His hat was pulled
low, and his cloak drawn well up against the cold.
The flicker of the hempen wick was faint, and the
jailer in haste to get back to his fire.
" Hold the flame whilst I get my spectacles, " he
commanded shortly. "What's this what's this?
'Deliver Mistress Temple Armitage' that's the
witch ! Two have been here to command me
keep her safe. One was the Governor. "
' ' The Lieutenant-Governor ? "
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 397
"Aye him. Said he was Governor while Sir
William Phips was still away. This order be no
good. 'Tis signed by Mary Phips. That's not the
Governor. " The man, blinked in the fantastic
light and shook his head in a troubled fashion.
"Thou'lt find fast enough if it be good when
Governor Phips returns ! 'Tis said he is expected
every hour. I would not give a leaf of new tobacco
to be in thy shoes then. Best obey the order.
Reads it not Mary Phips 'for the Governor'?"
Roger thrust the tallow dip farther from himself
and nearer to the paper.
"Aye 'for the Governor'. But that's not the
Governor. "
" 'Tis the same. Look at the seal. 'Tis the
Governor's. Think you Lady Phips knows not what
she is about? Make haste. My Lady will like it
little her messenger was delayed. "
The jailer looked doubtfully at the paper, then
thrust it into his coat as the cold set his teeth chat-
tering.
"Come with me," he demanded shortly. "I
like not facing witches in the night. 'Tis a ticklish
business. "
The short wick gave but a faint and doleful
brightness to the dark corridors of the jail, and
everywhere the strong draughts threatened to ex-
tinguish it. At a corner cell upon the floor above
the jailer paused, handing his keys to Roger.
" The one that hath a red rag upon the loop of it.
Open. I'll keep the candle for thee. "
Roger fitted the key into the lock and turned it
with a raucous grating that sounded no more dis-
3 g8 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
tinct to him than the beating of his heart. The
dim flare set the interior dancing before his eyes.
There was no furniture, not even a stool, and the
chill got hold upon the very bones. The touch of
the door upon the bare hand seared like white
coals. The beating of his heart stopped sud-
denly. But there was a movement within.
A figure had revealed itself among the shadows.
"An order from the Governor for the deliver-
ance of Mistress Armitage. Come forth, " com-
manded the jailer in a shout, "and get thee gone. "
The man's courage had revived with Roger's
presence and at the sight of the girl who had trans-
formed herself neither into a cat nor any other beast
to fly at him. The liquor he had drunk against the
frost was in the bullying swagger of his voice.
"Have a care how you address her." Roger
thrust him back as the Maid came out to them.
" O take me, too. Take me out, good masters, "
wailed a voice. "I starve with cold. "
" 'Tis Goody Burrill, " explained the jailer.
" 'Twill be colder on Gallows Hill. " He nodded
grimly at his own facetiousness.
"Natheless it will fare but ill with you an' they
find her perished here. 'Twere wise to bring her
hot drinks and some protection from the air. "
Roger spoke with what temperance he might, fear-
ing to jeopardize the Maid.
"Drinks for a witch!" The jailer scowled.
"Who are you, that hath such tenderness for these
she-devils?"
Roger had held out his hand to lead the prisoner
and the fingers that she laid in his were so icy his
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 399
clasp closed upon them with startled pain. The
jailer had gone ahead, shielding his candle with a
rough palm against the breezes that swept the
corridor.
The old woman's voice was mumbling.
"Hast thou no place where this maid may be
warmed ere she brave the winds without?"
Roger asked as they descended. The girl clung to
his hand with involuntary protest.
" Nay, let us go, " she tried to say, but the words
were broken with the shivering of her body.
The man who led them had hastened faster than
she could follow, benumbed as she was with the
long exhaustion of cold and hunger, but her will
was quickly overcoming the paralysis. The jail-
keeper listened with an angry growl.'
"Lady Phips may warm her own witches," he
said coarsely. "They'll get no heat from my fire-
side. "
The girl's warning grasp restrained the answer
upon Roger's tongue. He was well aware that the
seal upon the letter was all that had convinced the
man the order was not a forgery and even now
there was a doubt in his rasping tones as they
paused before the heavy door.
But at last the bar was raised, the key turned
again, and they felt the delirious welcome of the
wind that seized them in a maniacal embrace as if
to draw them into its own uproarious delight.
Roger had thrown his cloak hastily about the
girl's shoulders, and now sheltering her by the full
resistance of his strength, led her onward across the
street.
400 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"Nopomuk waits us here," he explained. The
Maid heard his rapid words in silence, understand-
ing what must be done and assenting without argu-
ment.
"The fur boots," shouted Nopomuk. "She
is to put them on " He had appeared from
the side of the pillory.
"Come this way to Mr. Belknap's barn,"
Roger answered, speaking close to the Indian's ear,
lest some night wanderer hear and follow.
. In the angle made by a lean-to the girl essayed to
eat and to swallow the cordial Lady Phips had sent.
The storm-cloak was lined with fur, and the shoes
Roger knelt to fasten upon her feet were also
furred within and deeply soled. Before they set
out he urged upon her again the potent cordial
and she drank, trying to suppress the chills that
took her in a hard shuddering. One after an-
other Nopomuk had produced his treasures,
and last, the package to be carried. It was
of an awkward bulk but with the Indian's help
the straps had been adjusted and now Roger
thrust his hands, stiffened almost to useless-
ness, within their coverings, and the three moved
out again into the full violence of the gale.
As they turned from North street, Nopomuk left
them, assured that none had followed. The girl
had quickened her pace more and more and now
went swiftly, breasting the wind with a renewed
and dauntless energy.
The storm caught them in its teeth and shook
them with a vicious will, but the hand upon Roger's
arm did not tremble. Whatever weakness had
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 401
overpowered her in the first moment of her deliv-
erance, she had subdued it in the need for effort.
Once she spoke, and he bent to hear.
" 'Tis terrible you should be so exposed for me. ' '
"'Tis the one blessedness of this vile cruelty.
'Tis terrible it should come to me through your
suffering. " He pressed her arm closer, falling
silent in the futility of words. Speech was well-
nigh impossible where the blasts whirled the
sound into space and took the breath from their
lips.
At the river they came to a pause. The flood
was flung into heavy waves by the gusts, and here
and there a whitened crest showed in the blackness.
The boat Roger would impress into his service was
difficult to loosen from the ice in which it was em-
bedded, its oars encased in a slippery rime. Once
upon the water the darkness seemed to close
more heavily about them, but virile strokes
drove the firm craft straining toward the op-
posite shore and neither the wind nor the dark
prevailed.
The woods made a cover from the blast and the
early snows had barely hid the ground beneath the
trees.
"When it is safe we will rest and have a fire."
Roger spoke once more, setting a quieter pace for
their going. "There is a spot a little beyond
among the rocks. "
She answered the anxiety in his tones with un-
faltering confidence.
" I am warmer There is no haste for fire. "
When the cry of the wolves came to them on the
402 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
crying wind she drew nearer, her hand tightening
upon his arm, but her step went without wavering
beside his, and the night that shut them in, wild
and desolate as it was, brought to them keener
happiness than the perfumed May.
CHAPTER XXVIII
THREATS FOR THE GOVERNOR
THE Governor hath returned ! "
"Thou art sure?"
"Aye. I saw him as I came. The expedi-
tion hath gotten back. "
The morning after the flight the air was still and
clear. The sun shone pleasantly and eased the grip
of the cold. The two men who stood talking
shouted at each other across Sudbury street. One
was digging out the path before his door.
"What is that, Tobias?" Mr. Stoughton reined
up his horse and leaned toward the wielder of the
shovel. " Sir William Phips in Boston ? I had no
news of it. "
" He hath but now reached his house, Sir. " The
man struck the shovel into the drift and advanced
to the side of the sleigh. "I saw him as I came
from delivering the milk to Mr. Henchman's place.
Lady Phips, they say, fair wept for joy. Hath the
constable caught Christopher Munch 's boy ? 'Twas
said Mistress Munch had fled and the child with
her. "
"Good-morrow, Governor Stoughton." Sir
Humphrey Wildglass, pausing beside them, lifted
his hat with a respectful gesture.
Mr. Stoughton greeted him with a courteous
relaxing of the muscles of his face and drove his
horse nearer to the walk.
" Will you not ride ? " he asked.
403
404 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
" I give you thanks, Sir. 'Twill be most agree-
able, though I go but to Marlborough street. "
The cavalier stepped blithely into the box of the
wide vehicle and seated himself beside the Lieu-
tenant-Governor, drawing the robes across his
knees.
" 'Tis a time of much anxiety for this colony and
great stress for those who bear its burdens, " he
began with sympathy.
Mr. Stoughton's face relaxed still more.
"You are right, Sir Humphrey," he answered
shortly.
"The courage to hold firm to hard and onerous
duties is not every man's. I would not misjudge
him who holds their Majesties' commission but I
have thought it not altogether without divine pur-
pose that one more strenuous should be at the
helm in this crisis. I speak too frankly, it may
be, but I have considered with great earnestness
the Providence of the delay that holds Sir William
at Pemaquid, " he finished confidentially.
Mr. Stoughton regarded him in silence.
"It is a grievous time," he answered after a
pause. "And it grows daily worse. " He brought
the whip down sharply upon the mare's back.
"Meets the Commission soon?" Sir Hum-
phrey tucked the robes closer and smiled as the
bells upon the harness broke into a cheerful peal at
the suddenly accelerated pace. The horse was
the finest of those that ran or plodded in the fast-
awakening streets. It was truly a fair morning.
Even the women who had come forth to do their
purchasing chatted at the corners of the streets.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 405
"The Commission, when doth it meet?" per-
sisted Sir Humphrey.
Mr. Stoughton roused himself from a heavy pre-
occupation and the sleigh swung, lurching about,
as they whirled into Queen street.
" I fear there will be opposition to the doing of a
plain duty, " he vouchsafed. " I would the execu-
tions had been over before Sir William Phips re-
turned. He is come back. "
Sir Humphrey's face lost its look of pious cheer-
fulness and he turned abruptly.
" He will interfere ? "
"He will do more," said Mr. Stoughton grimly.
" He will prevent the doing of justice to the Arch
Enemy in the shape of Mistress Armitage and he
will forbid all effort to discover Captain Verring or
the boy. He may even find a way to let Goody
Burrill go scot free to work harm among the right-
eous. " His eyes snapped with cold fire. "The
affair should have been hastened, " he ended impa-
tiently, "but Mr. Mather would first investigate
on his own behalf and then go through the needless
folly of examination. Had the Commission tried
the cases we could have finished the executions
ere now. "
" I have no influence with Sir William Phips,
but I bear certain secret commissions from their
Majesties to urge great zeal in this stamping out of
witchcraft. It might be well to lay these matters
before the Governor. "
Mr. Stoughton turned to him with some eager-
ness.
" Pray do so and with all speed, " he said.
4 o6 THE COAST OP FREEDOM
Their steed, taking her own gait on the hill, had
drawn up without guidance at the prison door.
Mr. Stoughton did not get out, but waited, frown-
ing toward the entrance.
Steps were heard within and the creaking of the
key in the lock; then the jailer, a muffler about his
head, came forth to them, an anxious expression on
the features framed by the woollen scarf.
"Thou hast thy prisoners safe? They may
shortly be required of thee, " began the Lieutenant
Governor peremptorily.
" It was right and regular the order, Sir ? " asked
the jailer, coming nearer to the sleigh and speak-
ing so the passers-by might not hear the words.
"What order?" Mr. Stoughton drew his brows
close, the upraised whip held above the horse.
" Lady Phips's order in Sir William's name and
with the Governor's seal "
"Order for what?" broke in Sir Humphrey.
"Speak, fellow."
"To release Mistress Armitage "
" Thou hast let Mistress Armitage escape ? " Mr.
Stoughton lifted his whip higher as if to bring it
down upon the man's shoulders, but the jailer had
taken himself quickly out of reach, and the Lieu-
tenant Governor thought better of his impulse,
snapping the lash furiously after the retreating fig-
ure. "Hear, thou varlet, " he shouted. "This
shall cost thee thy place. Come thou hither and an-
swer my questions an' thou'dst not have worse be-
fal thee. The end of them that have traffic with
witches is one with theirs. Who took Mistress
Armitage away ? "
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 407
"A messenger from Lady Phips; a youth who
commanded me as I had been his servant. "
"Verring!" Sir Humphrey bit his lip, mutter-
ing something beneath his breath of which Mr.
Stoughton caught but one word.
"'Game!' Aye he shall find others can play
this Devil's game as well as he, " he ejaculated
harshly.
" 'Tis Lady Phips deserves thy wrath, not me,"
quavered the anxious official. "I had no wish to
set the beldame free. "
" I go to the Governor. Will you attend me and
make those representations whereof you spoke?
They may have a weight with him, though he is
but a hot-headed " He stopped in time,
turning the sleigh in the narrow space beside the
pillory.
"You were not minded to be taken literally
when you said that the Governor could prevent the
execution ? " asked Sir Humphrey quietly.
"He is pledged to accept the decision of the
Commission, but I dare not trust to his obedi-
ence. A royal Governor hath power to thwart
and delay the action of justice. All three, " he
broke out sternly, "let loose like firebrands to
destroy "
"The boy the young lad Munch surely he may
be recovered to a better mind?" put in his com-
panion, "lean see that the other two are vastly
dangerous "
Mr. Stoughton interrupted. "A witch is a
witch. They should all three be hanged, and
promptly. "
4 o8 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The Governor sat smoking in his chamber. Lady
Phips watched him and went to and fro, replenish-
ing the fire with her own hands and stopping to
set nearer to his hand the lacquered tobacco box or
to lift a coal from the hearth to light the refilled
pipe.
The Governor had been silent, anxious trouble
brooding in his look, but half relaxed from battle
with the elements.
" 'Tis a fearful thing, Mary. Who knows there
may be others as innocent, perished by the Com-
mission ! But my Little Maid and Roger too
I should have been in Boston. " Anger rose again,
mastering his thinking. "How dared they
Stoughton and Cotton Mather to make themselves
the easy tools of Jacob Munch ! I could throttle
them for their fools' cruelty the "
"The Lieutenant Governor and Sir Humphrey
Wildglass to see Sir William, " announced Debby,
entering upon her knock. " They wait below, Sir. "
She dropped a curtsey, her eyes brightening with
contentment at his presence and went noiselessly
away.
"Thou wilt remember, William." Lady Phips
came closer to him, pleading. "Mr. Stoughton
asks nothing better than to provoke thee to vio-
lence. 'Tis one thing to cane a King's officer for
his insolence "
"Fear not, Mary. This Sir Humphrey hath a
tongue wily as Satan's. For the Maid's sake "
The Governor brought his fist upon his chair arm
with resounding force.
"William for my sake, too," his wife begged
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 409
anxiously. "Think how they seek excuse against
thee with the King. Let not their wicked machi-
nations come to aught. Be wise and give them
no pretence. "
"Be not anxious," he answered. "I have cost
thee much in anxiousness, " he added, shaking his
head. "Think'st thou I'm worth it?" He laid his
great hand sturdily upon the fingers that hindered
him and smiled half ruefully.
"Aye, William, worth it a thousand times.
There never was thy like. Go lest Mr. Stoughton
be angered that thou keep'st him waiting. "
Lady Phips paced steadily to and fro, listening
for a sign of quarrel, fearing much, for the greatness
of the provocation, but all went with seeming
smoothness, and the voices below sounded equally
deliberate and well controlled. Debby came and
went, bringing great sticks to wait their turn upon
the gleaming andirons and the sun lay warm upon
the hearth rug where a deer woven of red woollen
rags bounded from a hunter whose gun seemed like
to tangle in the tops of trees.
The minutes passed but slowly, and after ten were
counted out upon her jewelled watch the anxious
wife descended to the kitchen to prepare with her
own hands the tray of spice cakes and glazed
almonds with a posset of mulled wine to set before
the enemies of her house. She watched Debby
carry it to the parlour, and hesitated upon the stair,
uncertain whether to interrupt the conference with
greetings that would revolt her in the uttering, or
to return and set herself to her abandoned sewing.
"You then refuse to fulfil the just and lawful
4 io THE COAST OF FREEDOM
demands of your high office, Sir ! The matter shall
be laid before the Council " Mr Stoughton's
voice came to her, raised in a paroxysm of un-
mastered rage. "We shall see, Sir William Phips,
whether thou wilt persist in this despotism. An'
you put not the whole town on the track of these
fugitives, and allow the law to accomplish its own
vengeance upon their crimes you shall repent it!"
" 'Twill surely appear to Governor Phips the
wisest method to let this matter be brought to a
lawful end, I myself am not without a personal
grief in these events. " Sir Humphrey paused, a
most natural break in his even tones. "But 'tis
my plain and most unpleasant duty, an' there be not
strong measures taken to discover and put to trial
all accused of witchcraft, to communicate these
facts to their Majesties to whom I am sworn to
make truthful report af all such matters. But I
would not so report till I had laid the plain com-
missions before Sir William in his own person. "
"Their Majesties having good knowledge of
Sir Humphrey Wildglass, and his incorruptible
loyalty will be vastly impressed!" The Gov-
ernor kept his voice on a level that might not pene-
trate to the rooms above, but its unwonted de-
liberation of utterance was ominous.
"We are not here to listen to sneers nor taunts;
we come for your plain declaration and we have it. "
Mr. Stoughton brought out the words with some
triumph in .the exasperation.
" You have my answer, and I stand by it. " The
Governor's voice was still kept rigidly to its level
but the words rang soundly. " I must beg to hold
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 41 1
myself responsible neither to the Lieutenant-
Governor, nor to the stranger who calls himself Sir
Humphrey Wildglass, in the conduct of an office
for whose faithful discharge I will answer to the
King. If you have no further business, gentle-
men, pray refresh yourselves ere you go forth again
into the cold?"
Debby had set her tray upon the stand and
slipped hastily away. The mulled wine brought
an appetizing whiff upon the air and Sir Humphrey
poured a cup of the steaming liquid and lifted it
to his lips with a courtly genuflexion.
"I drink your better mind and manners Sir
William, " he murmured softly, sipping delicately
as he spoke.
"I neither drink nor eat where evil practices be
shielded and encouraged. " Mr. Stoughton spoke
again with the cold precision of his natural manner.
"Look to yourself, William Phips, and your own
household, lest the vileness you allow to wax fat
in public be safely hiding at your bed and board.
What spell and devilish enchantment may not be
in aught beneath this roof "
Sir Humphrey interrupted.
"Why warn him of that, Mr. Stoughton. He
will scarce give you credence." The cavalier set
the cup upon the tray and dropped the almond he
picked up, as if the Lieutenant-Governor's words
had much impressed him.
"Speak out and deal not in inuendoes. " Sir
William addressed himself to Mr. Stoughton, ignor-
ing the other as if the sight of him roused an anger
he might not control. "Would you revenge your-
4 i2 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
self upon my faithful servants, accusing them be-
cause I will not yield ? Speak if you be not afraid. "
"Aye, Sir William Phips, I will speak and may
God have mercy upon a soul set to thwart His will. "
Mr. Stoughton brought out his words with the
careful, clipped utterance that seldom lost itself
in any greater animation, " 'Tis no servant, but
one higher I accuse. Nor I alone. 'Tis the public
that accuses. Who took out of the hands of the
law a proven witch, compelling the jailer by a "
"But Roger is already accused," the Governor
interrupted. He was keeping his promise under
terrible strain.
"Not Roger Verring but Lady Phips," ended
the precise voice.
The Governor took one step forward and Mr.
Stoughton backed suddenly, upsetting the stand
and the silver pitcher, that rolled against the cabi-
net beneath the gold cup glowing undisturbed
within the ebony.
The Governor had flung the door wide and his
face, that had been for an instant terribly con-
vulsed, turned to them white and scorching in its
fury.
"Begone!" he shouted. "Out of my sight!"
The words shook the very foundations of the build-
ing and set the prisms jangling upon the candelabra
swung above. "Faster, ye persecutors of the in-
nocent Take your vile plots out of this house
and dare repeat within the limits of the universe
this slander ye have uttered here and I will flay ye
both alive and the King will hold me justified. "
The door clanged on the hastily retreated figures.
Even Sir Humphrey had not lingered upon his exit.
CHAPTER XXIX
THE HUT IN THE WILDERNESS
AT dawn of the Christmas morrow the wind
had fallen in the woods as well, and the ris-
ing sun had glinted through bare branches
with a prophecy of coming warmth.
Temple leaned more heavily upon Roger's arm.
There were shadows under her wide eyes and signs
of pain about the clean-curved lips.
Thrice they paused upon a hard ascent for her to
gather strength.
"We might have come a shorter way but 'twas
even rougher, " Roger said, as much to himself as
to the Maid, his face more worn than hers, so
greatly her weariness oppressed him.
She smiled at him as if it had been most com-
fortable to feel one's way at night upon ledges and
down steep hills, and to stumble through snow and
cold where the whole garrison of the darkened
forest flocked to hinder passage.
Her smile eased the trouble of his thoughts.
" 'Twas better this way and we have the light for
the worst climb of all, " she said.
' 'Tis but little farther. Beyond the brow here,
unless I have forgotten. " Roger glanced eagerly
about him as they went on. " Aye, and there's the
smoke from the chimney now. "
The girl's eyes grew moist in the relief, and they
mounted the rest of the way in silence.
414
In the little clearing on the farther side the snow
lay almost untrodden, and about the log house set
beneath them the smoke was the only evidence of
habitation.
At Roger's knock there was a startled sound,
then eyes peered through a slide within the door.
" Tis Roger Verring, Mother Lindwell. We
t "
The door swung quickly open and eager hands
drew them into the dark interior.
"Merciful save us, Roger, an' what bring'stthee
here. Hast married a Quakeress and run away?
Thou'st frozen her Poor thing poor thing.
There, there, my dear, sit here till I can warm thy
hands. "
The woman who had admitted them guided the
girl to a rough settle and pushed Roger away when
he would help about the fastenings of her hood and
cloak.
" Nay, see to thyself. I'll tend to her, " she said.
The room was close and the warm air set chilled
flesh stinging with pain almost unbearable. The
girl's ringers were too stiff to be of use and the
woman worked over her as if she had been a baby,
pausing only once to look up at Roger with
sharp little eyes that missed nothing in their
search.
"Art clean fordone, lad, and hast frosted thy
cheeks. Here Trott, bestir thy bones. Get snow
for Master Roger, and thaw the frost out. " A
silent figure rose from the other end of the settle,
deposited a child that wailed at being left, and
went forth obediently.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 415
" 'Tis hungry, " the mother explained shortly.
"I fear me, Master Roger, thou'st come to an ill
place, for we be well-nigh starved. Naught but
dried corn and a bit of hog's fat in two weeks, and
Trott laid by with a rheum and cannot go hunting
and none to venture nigh Boston for us ! 'Tis a
sorry thing being a Quaker's wife in these days
when they would as soon kill thee as say it. "
"We be in worse case yet," said Roger, "and
Mistress Armitage fled for her life. Lady Phips
got her forth of the prison and commissioned me
to bring her to thee. The Governor is not yet
back from Pemaquid. "
"Monstrous a maid like that!" The listener
had drawn off the furred boots, cut to rags upon
the roots and stones of the way, and sprang up
suddenly. Temple had put out her stiff hand to
soothe the wailing infant and the motion had sent
the blood too quickly on its reanimated way.
She leaned helplessly upon the goodwife's breast
and slow tears of weakness wet her cheeks. One
hand clung like a child's upon the woman's sleeve,
and at that touch Mother Lindwell gathered the
girl close and crooned over her in a tender murmur,
forgetting the brisk sharpness of her accustomed
manner.
"Here Trott, get down the bed. Make haste.
The maid is faint for sleep. Hast thou bread or
meat ? " She put the question to Roger anxiously.
Roger had laid out the flasks and the remaining
food upon the wide shelf that served for table, and
the woman, tucking the girl tenderly about, set
herself to toast a fragment of the wheaten bread.
416 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
The man looked wistful and the little one cried,
for hunger.
Roger put into its hands a broken slice and it
sat up and ate, forcing bites upon the father who
nibbled gingerly, and glowed with delight as the
child sighed in a kind of rapture and fell asleep in
his arms.
The Maid was drowsy and would neither eat nor
drink.
"I would sleep," she protested. The goodwife
finally ceased to strive with her, drew the covers
more warmly over the reclining figure, and left
her lost already in the dim labyrinth of dreams.
The windows were narrow, mere slits in the logs,
nailed over with oiled paper and, all save one,
shuttered against the cold. The light came chiefly
from the fire and revealed the barren interior in
bursts and flashes of its glare. The table shelf, the
bed lowered on hinges from the wall, the settle,
and rude stools upon the hearth, were well-nigh all
the furniture, and made, like the house, here in the
woods. The rafters that should have hung with
strings of dried apples, bunches of onions, and wild
herbs for medicine were bare save for the central
beam that bore the unhusked corn ; the rough cup-
board nailed beside the fire held a couple of wooden
bowls, spoons made of shells clamped in split
sticks, and an iron toasting fork. Upon a green-
wood crane over the fire hung a pot that boiled
noisily, cooking nothing, but filling the chimney-
side with steam.
Mistress Lindwell talked eagerly with Roger,
bustling about to set the fragments of his own feast
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 417
more tidily upon the board. The wheaten bread
she kept apart, saving it for the Maid, but the rest
she urged on him.
"Eat it, and get strength to go forth and hunt
for us ! Trott there will be a new man for e'en a
bite of venison, "she said. "Eat and sleep, lad.
Thee've circles so deep under thy eyes they're fair
sunken away. "
"Nay, Mother Lindwell, eat, thyself, and make
Trott finish the little there be. I've had food
already and am not hungry. I, too, but want to
sleep. "
He rolled himself within the skins she threw upon
the floor, but before he slept he raised his head to
speak again.
"Sir William and Lady Phips hold Mistress
Armitage dear as if she were their own ! I know
there's naught thou and Trott here would not do
even to the last crumb within the wallet were she
wholly friendless, but 'tis no harm ye should know
the Governor will not forget this kindness. "
"Go to sleep, boy. Think'st thou we'd do for
Governor Phips what we'd not do a thousandfold
for thee who rescued us, and saved my baby when
we fled. And who that had seen the Maid would
not welcome her for her brave self, I'd ask to know ?
Would ye were man and wife ! It was ill fortune
that sent a maid forth so alone. The gossips
will "
Roger sat up and looked at her pleadingly.
"Thou 'It not let her be troubled by fears of gos-
sips? She hath had enough to bear!"
" Go thou to sleep. Try not to teach thy Mother
4 i8 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Lindwell what to say to maids. Tell me who ac-
cused the girl. "
"The Munches first of all. "
"I remember them aye, old Christopher and
the galoot that wore the spangled doublet mean
and croping all of 'em and full of enviousness and
bile. There was a maid amongst them also ?" But
Roger did not answer and the woman softened her
tones, taking her little one and crouching on the
settle by the flames.
" Art in great pain, Trott ? I knew it, and I sent
thee after snow ! I will rub thy shoulder with the
bear's grease and do thou heat it in. Man man,
what can we do about the sleeping ! 'Twill be the
evergreens on the floor for us, the loft for Roger,
and the Maid's cloaks will help to keep her warm. "
"She is wondrous lovely," said Trott quietly.
"I'm glad the lad could save her. "
The Maid scarce woke for four and twenty hours.
When she rose at last and sat upon the edge of the
bed, pushing back the soft hair tumbled on her
forehead, the baby laughed within a pile of bear-
skins on the hearth, and savoury odours floated from
the bubbling pot, swung low upon the yielding
crane.
"Where is Captain Verring? Hath he gone?"
she asked.
" He is without, getting for me the wood to keep
us warm. The snow hath covered it and the good-
man grows worse each time he makes the attempt, "
answered her hostess cheerfully. " 'Twas a
Heaven-sent sleep thou's had, my child. "
"But you where did you sleep? I have taken
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 419
your bed ! " The girl came forward, seeming taller
and more beautiful still in the low room. She put
both hands upon the goodwife's arm and held her
fast. "You and your husband have done all this
for one who is a stranger. And you yourselves
are ill and anxious ! Now I will be of use. Cap-
tain Verring shall see 'tis not a man only may be
useful. "
" 'Tis blessed good to have thee here, " the woman
answered in an impetuous burst. " Thou's no idea
how lonely 'tis here in these woods, and Trott and
I were ever used to neighbours. Thou'rt useful
Mistress, just to stay with us !"
The day was blithe and the strangeness of this
refuge made but the more delight. The baby
fastened upon Temple and would not let her go,
and Trott 's aching arms were thereby greatly
eased.
" 'Tis a fine world when thou hast a warm chim-
ney corner and thy mother and father near, little
Peace, is't not ! " the Maid said gaily, tossing the
child to the smoky beams. Then she fell sober
and held the tiny one upon her knee, watching the
fire in a sad quietness, coming forth from her rev-
erie in still gayer mood.
But the blame of a hostile world found her even
here and the blitheness wore away or grew more
forced. Even Mistress Lindwell was openly trou-
bled at the flight together. Who knew what rumour
might not have said ! And the Maid became first
sorrowful, then indignant. Did Roger repent his
words before the judges? She grew scarlet with
remembrance. Should she have protested, refused
420 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
to come with him? Had he found her but
too ready to trust and follow? It was plainly
his duty to show her that he was still of the same
mind.
And Roger, remembering that he had said pub-
licly to her enemies that which was hers alone to
hear, doubted if the words had not revolted her.
Her former distance had not been explained and
he wondered if she longed, here in the midst of this
rough friendliness of the Lindwells, for the polished
homage of Sir Humphrey. As she grew constrained
he grew more silent and held more aloof. Surely
it was hers to show whether or no his love had
angered her !
The snows fell heavily and the scanty supply of
corn was near an end. The deer were few and the
hunting alone could not provide them with what
would keep the soul within the body. He thought
the Maid looked thinner and beneath her mirth
there seemed to him to lurk a baffling sadness.
The privations she endured cost him daily more
suffering. She had conquered the good wife by
invincible persistence and by the picture of Trott
grown worse or dying and now she slept upon
the evergreens. The bundle of Lady Phips had
held a truly marvellous array, yet he knew how
much of what had been to her but daily decencies
she must forego.
Temple woke one morning to hear the Quaker's
wife protesting staunchly.
" Not yet, Roger. We can do with what we have
till thou hast shot more rabbits or the deer return.
They're sure to kill thee if thou go now. "
421
The girl arranged her hair, bathed her face in the
warm snow water, and throwing her cloak about
her, stepped out into the light.
Roger's face brightened as he saw her.
"What is it, Captain Verring ? What would you
do ? " she asked in visible alarm.
" Make a little journey. I shall shortly return, "
he answered, his eyes resting on her with a grave
wistfulness, of which she blindly marked but the
gravity.
"You go to Boston?"
" Oh beg him not to go he will listen to thee, "
implored the woman. "Think on those who love
him if he's hanged. 'Twill kill Madam Verring.
Bid him not to go. "
The Maid hesitated.
"I fear Captain Verring would heed me little,
but I would he might remain. I do ask him for us
all. "
Roger misinterpreted the words and look as she
had misread his. To go was best, but he had hoped
for some vague sign to ease his jealousy or show
him she forgave what had offended her. But
goodwife Lindwell stayed by them in her fear for
Roger, and did not guess the pain beneath the calm-
ness of their brief farewell.
CHAPTER XXX
AN ENCOUNTER AND AN ACCIDENT
WHILE the Maid ate her parched corn
and slept upon the evergreens, smiling
through all as bravely as in the first
day of their exile, and hiding the hurt that made
hardship a relief from thought, Boston discussed
her and her absence, making large capital of scandal
or romance.
Nicolas Verring and Alison grew older in the
hearing and scourged their souls in the strong mis-
ery of their credence of the tales.
In the streets and behind the doors shut fast for
fear and secrecy, excitement ebbed and flowed.
The return of the Governor had infused a more
wholesome quality into the life of the town, but the
madness had not run its course. Fear and fanatic
rage still overpowered the growing force of protests
that had risen upon the rabid wantonness of accusa-
tion. No man's life was safe and dread of the ac-
cuser counteracted terror of the supernatural.
Captain Alden had broken jail and taken himself off,
with a nimbleness unexpected of his seventy years,
at the very moment when a praying band were met
within his own house to cast out the evil spirit that
enchained him. None knew whither he had gone
but it was plain so long as he remained away he and
his goods were safe. To come back would be death.
In the days of his return to the horror-smitten
town, in the long hours of enforced hiding and
422
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 423
delay, Roger endured much that was more wearing
than the privations of the wood, and his heart
burned with the live coals of his fears about the
Maid. The coldness of their parting lay hard
upon him and he grew sick with the certainty that
if Sir Humphrey were to follow her she would re-
joice to see him.
In his spy-hindered labours Nopomuk aided
him, and through Lady Phips he gathered by
night the stores he was to carry. She, too,
had need be careful, for many eyes watched every
purchase, informers were set upon the household,
and the servants plied with threats and questions
by those who sought the Maid.
At last a morning came when he would wait no
longer. The hour for Nopomuk's nightly visit
was long since past and, therefore, dark though it
was, some one must have followed. The sun was
rising.
Roger crept from the heavy robes concealed
among the rocks and examined in all directions
before he began his toil. Then he unearthed his
stores, packed them skilfully and strapped them
with leather thongs. Before he lifted them to place
the burden upon his shoulders he raised his eyes
once more to search the forest.
"A fine morning, Captain. " Sir Humphrey had
seated himself upon a rock and looked about with
cheerful interest. "Thou'st chosen a charming
woodland for thy stroll. "
Roger set the pack upon the ground and stood up
with a movement so sudden Sir Humphrey drew
his hand from beneath his cloak.
424 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
" 'Tis loaded and my aim hath been commended,"
he said indifferently. The heavy pistol pointed
without wavering. Roger faced it with no* change
in his expression, but his thoughts moved quickly
from point to point of possible escape.
"Pray let me not interrupt, " went on the voice
of the cavalier. " I'm hi the mood myself for strol'
ling. We'll go together. "
Roger returned to his task, lifting his heavy
pack and fastening it with quiet deliberation as if
he either had not heard the other's words, or would
make no contradiction of their import.
"Lead, and I'll follow close upon thy steps,"
the voice commanded. " 'Tis said I have a some-
what hasty temper. An' we come not within a
reasonable time to the destination thou'd selected
there'll be one witch defender less in pious Boston.
'Tis time we started. For what sweet inspiration
dost thou linger ? "
Roger looked at the cavalier, then at the pistol
as if irresolute.
"If 'tis the Indian thou expectest, he vanished
in witch smoke when he saw me upon his track
some half-mile distant. But from there the way
was easy. A Providential trail of footsteps guided
me to thy present cover. For which mercy I was
not ungrateful. " Sir Humphrey had risen from
the rock.
Roger frowned, seeming to find the yielding in-
evitable, and moved forward at a sharp angle from
the direction of the Quaker's house.
"Make not detours too long for patience, Captain.
I am inclined for strolling, but would not waste my
THE COAST OP FREEDOM 425
breath. So look to it an' thou wouldst not leave
this world and thy Enslaver to be consoled, it
may be, by thy enemies ! And die thou shalt, if
thou deceive me. " The last words dropped the
lightness of the bantering tone.
Still Roger made no reply, but kept a good pace
that lengthened gradually as he advanced. Upon a
slight rise in the rough ground the trail he followed
turned at right angles, skirting a low bluff that gave
a sheer plunge down its hidden bank. Of this the
other had no knowledge.
Roger's increasing stride had left him some six
paces in the rear. Discovering the widening dis-
tance between them and that a clump of evergreens
would shortly intervene, the cavalier quickened his
step and, as Roger vanished around the angle of the
rock, he was instantly upon him. The pistol,
knocked into the air, fell beneath the ledge and the
two men grappled in the entrance of the path.
The older man was not unskilled, his resistance
was desperate, powerful. Pebbles rolled from
beneath their feet and rattled into the hollow
where the jutting boulders had kept the ground
clear of the snows. Hearing the tumbling stones
Sir Humphrey leaped quickly back from what
seemed the edge of a precipice, setting his feet upon
what was its actual verge. A twig slipped under
him and he fell heavily, crashing upon the broken
edges of the rocks below.
Roger slid and clambered rapidly down the
farther end of the short descent. Here the trees
gave a hold and the brief precipice ended in a slope.
" Hast scored again, my doughty Puritan. Thy
426 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
pasty-faced accusers have the right of it. " Sir
Humphrey looked up, helpless, his lips bitten hard
from pain. ' 'Twas some damned wizardry that
sunk this pitfall. "
Roger unstrapped his pack in haste, bestowing
it out of sight beneath a hemlock.
"I believe thou art relieved, thou fool, to find
me living. What a pother is a Puritan's righteous-
ness. " The injured man writhed a little over,
moving his arm to reach his side, but Roger was be-
fore him.
" I will bear your rapier; you but put yourself to
greater suffering by motion. " He quietly removed
the short sword, picked up the pistol and laid both
upon his pack. "I would not cause you needless
pain, " he went on, returning to the wounded man,
"but know I must if you can walk. 'Tis needful
precaution in my absence. " He examined his
fallen enemy as tenderly as might be, assuring
himself of broken bones and showing, spite of in-
ward rage, a certain sympathy for the evident suf-
fering of his foe.
At the word absence Sir Humphrey had looked up
searchingly.
"The highway is close at hand. I will return, "
Roger reassured him coldly.
Sir Humphrey left to himself swore with violence,
but his face welcomed Roger's return with the
sneering smile with which he had seen him go.
"Art welcome, sweet Samaritan, " he cried. "I've
nigh drained my flask in waiting and the rocks
be hard as well as chill. Who is thy genial friend ? "
The solemn-visaged farmer who followed Roger
THE COAST OP FREEDOM 427
looked with dour compassion upon the fallen man
and set about preparing a litter of thick boughs.
The cavalier made no complaint in the journey but
the sweat of doleful agonies stood upon his forehead
as he was laid at last upon the rude couch in the
farmer's cabin.
"I will resume our stroll some other day," he
gasped meaningly, as Roger left him.
Roger paused at the threshold.
' ' Pray risk not your recovery by too much
haste, " he said unmoved.
"Here thou, quick!" The cavalier summoned
the dour- faced host with a shout. "Pursue the
man and hold him. He is a witch escaped from
Boston. The town is searching for him. Take thy
gun. He will be armed. "
The man seized his musket and vanished on the
word, running for the woods, but Roger had run
faster. At the bluff all trace was lost save the
footprints approaching from above. A rabbit
whisked across the snow. The man watched it
with startled eyes and fired his musket at the spot
where it had disappeared. Then he turned and
made his way back to his groaning guest.
" He turned himself into a rabbit and the ball
went through him harmless, " he reported. ' 'Tis
strange a witch animal hath no tail ! " He wagged
his head.
"But a rabbit is ever without a tail, thou oaf,"
retorted Sir Humphrey angrily.
Roger waited till the man was well away, and
descended cautiously from his hiding place. Keep-
ing a sharp eye upon the approaches to the hollow,
THE COAST OP FREEDOM
he bound his bundle again upon his shoulders and
set forth, walking backward in the tracks made by
Sir Humphrey and himself. At a point where they
had crossed a frozen brook blown almost clear of
snow he set his face once more toward the Quaker's
dwelling, moving forward rapidly wherever he had
not first to sweep clear the trackless ice.
CHAPTER XXXI
KIDNAPPED
now, we must let thee go!" Mistress
Lindwell sighed. She was making earnest
effort to sew by the troubled light that
penetrated the narrow rectangles of oiled paper,
and her eyes winked rapidly as if protesting
at their task. The women were alone. The
sound of the Quaker's saw came to them
from without the house. "How long is't since
thee came to us? 'Twould seem no longer than
yesterday to me, " went on the good wife, drawing
her needle swiftly.
" 'Tis many weeks this will be Captain Ver-
ring's fifth journey to the town, " broke in the girl.
" How long I've tried your goodness !"
"The trial's yet to come, when we must let thee
go ! And Roger O 'twill be grievous lonely with-
out ye ! Even a day like this when he be away
is longer. Dost remember how it dragged the
time when he made that first trip to find us food ? "
"You will see him often. Happy days be com-
ing for thee and goodman Trott. There'll soon
be end of hardship and loneliness for both. " The
Maid spoke cheerfully.
"Well, we've need of them, for now young Joliff
be gone, there's none we can trust to fetch and
carry from the town, and once Nicolas Verring gets
Roger again in the counting-house there'll be
429
430 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
precious few hours to him for running of our er-
rands!" Mistress Lindwell appeared somewhat
heartened, spite of the lamentation of her words.
" Do you, in truth, hold that this madness of the
people about the witchcraft will pass? I cannot
trust it. You did not see them!" The Maid
stopped, troubled. "If my Uncle Amory would
but hasten his coming he might get me forth to
England. I am a danger here to all who harbour
me. " The girl sighed in her turn, moving to and
fro a forked stick for little Peace to peep through
and play owl-in-the- woods.
"There now, I've caught thee !" The goodwife
laughed. "All thy fine words of cheer be for me
and the sadness is heavier on thee than on us. I
knew it, well. " She looked up across her stitching.
Temple "hooted" once more through the twigs
and the child answered with a startling " wh-oo-oo "
much trilled with mirth.
The Maid smiled. " I must have my little mel-
ancholies and make my little wail, dear Mother
Lindwell, else should I forget how to be in the
fashion. To be sometimes sighing bespeaks a
weighty mind. "
" Pooh a dry leaf for the sighing ! and dear at
that ! 'A weighty mind' ! A laggard stomach
more like !" The woman's eyes twinkled over her
task. " 'Tis thy good honest pluck makes me most
admire, I tell thee. Thou art so young and hast
had such sadnesses and yet, give thee but one pale
ray, and thou mak'st a sunrise ! "
Temple smiled with humorous amusement.
"Where dost keep such rose mirrors to reflect
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 431
thy friends withal ! " she began mirthfully, growing
much in earnest as she talked. " I wonder if it hath
come to thee that 'twould be dull metal did not re-
flect the good cheer of thy own quick spirit ! "
"I'll not say nay. I love flattery an' it be warm
with some goodwill. " Mistress Lindwell bit off her
thread. "What luxury not to use ravellings, and
to have more than one needle, " she went on again.
"Roger is terrible thoughtful. Luxury! And
what dost suppose it hath been to me to chat so
over nothings with a woman ! 'Tis seldom men
know how to settle to a bit of talk. They must be
ever bobbing up to use their arms and legs, and get
no flavour from the trifles that rest the tongue !"
Temple laughed again, for Trott, coming from
without, stood in the doorway and observed his
wife with such reposeful zest that she looked up
and straightway set him to another task.
He nodded his head at the Maid. "A woman,
Temple Armitage, that hath a busy mind and
chooseth the right husband may set him 'bobbing
up' for two, " he said in his slow, comfortable speech.
" Not so, Peace; come from the door, or help me to
shut it. When I pull, then push thee hard, within,"
and he departed, still nodding as if inwardly re-
peating his own jest.
As night came on and Peace was taken from her
arms, so fast asleep undressing could not stir the
fallen lids, the Maid left the house to stand in the
tree-circled clearing and watch the stars appear.
The days were well companioned, but the nights,
that began so early, were lengthened out of all pro-
portion to their hours. The close contentment of
432 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
the two who worked together in the house, pre-
paring for the supper half forgotten in the excite-
ment of the sewing, made her in this time of Roger's
absence more than ever lonely.
Every day she had grown more scornful of her-
self that she could not even pluck a winter fern
without longing for him to share delight in its brave
greenness. It had been given to her to love greatly,
but the stronger the force of her love the more it
built high walls for shield, dwelling where it could
neither admit another nor show itself without
strong and startling reason.
Not even Roger guessed how wholly this was true
'of her and that she could feel as he and yet leave
his vords, so clearly spoken, as if they had not been.
Did she care, surely some gate she would leave
open for approach, some reassurance of those
words her love would crave. But all gates she
barred, and he could not urge on her more of a
presence already too much forced upon her by
events.
In the despair of these days that might have held
a fuller comradeship than the town could give
them, he made frequent excuse for journeys, that
he might irk her less, hoping for some betrayal of
gladness at his return.
To her these absences were proof of the dreari-
ness he found in their unwilled seclusion, and her
welcome grew more staid, more bravely indifferent
with each. As the time came for Sir Humphrey
to be well again, the fear of her ill-protected isola-
tion drove Roger to seek more earnestly means for
her safe return. Under Sir William's roof she
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 433
would at least be safe from Sir Humphrey Wild-
glass, and malice itself must at last be silenced
among the accusers. Already the jails were empty-
ing and the exiled everywhere looking hopefully
toward home.
The Maid herself had only 'dread for a return that
meant but separation more complete, and the sight
of all that could bring to her the evil days before
the flight. It was for that she sighed, playing at
owl-games with little Peace. She felt assurance
that Roger would come from this latest absence
saying that she might go back, and a homeless deso-
lation stared at her. Even the thought of Richard
Amory, too long away to be more than a vague and
chilly refuge for a lonely girl, gave her small com-
fort. Doubtless to him she would be but an incu-
bus ! Better the morbid bitterness and the woods
than to be herself again, and go radiant about the
stupid business of more active days in town.
This thought was with her as she entered the
house again, and it was this that held her yet when
Trott drowsed on the settle, and the goodwife,
wearied, dropped beside the child.
It was from the smart of it that footsteps woke
her. The fire was dim, but the whole room bright-
ened with the belief that it was Roger.
She went swiftly to the door and flung it wide.
For the first time a welcome betrayed itself in her
exclamation. But the figure that brushed by her
was not Roger. She spoke again quickly, rousing
the Quaker from his doze. Mistress Lindwell had
started up from her couch, calling out instantly,
as if she had not slept.
434 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"Who is it?" Temple asked, challenging the
intruder.
The fire blazed higher. The man had unclasped
his cloak, letting it fall upon the settle, and now he
tossed his hat upon it, sinking beside them as if
exhausted.
"Sir Humphrey Wildglass!" the girl cried, as
the light fell upon him. "What do you here?"
If she felt fear it was disarmed by his apparent
weakness.
" I was strolling, " he answered involuntarily.
"Truly, I crave pardon. I have been ill and my
stroll hath much fatigued me. "
It was more than the strolling that fatigued Sir
Humphrey. He had quarrelled vigorously with
the Lady, who waited upon the rocks above the
house, savagely in haste for action.
"You've deceived me again, " he had complained
with uncurbed fury. " I get the men, stout fellows
for the work and ready to keep a bargain, and am
prepared. Keep you out of it. Wait and see ye're
not fooled an' ye will, but leave the work to us ! "
"I'm like to have dragged myself this dismal
way at night to leave command to thee, thou
fool. For what am I here, think'st thou ! 'Tis
I command. Obey strictly if 'tis the reward
disquiets thee 'Twill be thine an' thou obey'st.
Wait here with thy fellows. " Sir Humphrey
would have left them but the other had detained
him roughly.
"Stay thou here thyself. Let me kill her.
There's no safety of reward till she be dead. I'll
not trust ye "
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 435
"Wait here, I say," Sir Humphrey interrupted,
turning fearless and masterful upon the danger.
"Or go yonder. There's but one entrance. Canst
see from there if we escape. She shall not be
harmed villain. Dost hear me ! She's to go in
safety with us if the reward's to follow. Mayhap
she'll come of her own will. I may persuade
her "
" Ye're to kill her, my men, 'tis the only way to
make sure of the money " broke in the Lady
again.
The four who waited near at hand had crowded
closer.
" 'Tis a sure way to lose it. An ye'd have the
gold ye must obey. " Sir Humphrey drove them
back. "Wait ye And heed if I call," he
added to the Lady, then set his back to them
and began groping down the rocks toward the
house.
"Know'st thou to-morrow's morrow will be thy
birthday, Frances?" he asked now suddenly.
The Maid had set her hands together, clasping
them sharply in the shadows where she stood.
" Fear not to speak. Thou know'st who thou art
and I know. These good people will not harm
thee. Surely thou need'st not fear thy cousin. "
Sir Humphrey had risen as he talked. His bones
had knitted well and the soreness of unused muscles
was the only remembrancer of tedious weeks.
The girl came into the light of the fire and looked
at him earnestly.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
"To save thee. The Boston men are on thy
436 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
track. Thy hiding place is discovered. " He sank
upon the settle again, playing the role of illness
cleverly. " We must make haste. These two will
not betray us? "
He glanced at Trott, who stood defiant and un-
quakerlike beside them.
" Not half so soon as I would betray myself, " the
girl answered promptly. Sir Humphrey had seen
that his blow struck home. The trial, the prison,
were fresh in her mind. Hope stirred itself in him.
"Come," he said again.
"With you?" She looked at him without stir-
ring.
"None could better care for thee. But the time
is short. "
" Whither would you take me ? " The girl watched
him, and saw that he was not so ill as he appeared.
There was small weakness in the movement that
brought him beside her as she seemed to yield.
"The Soldan sails by dawn. I will conceal thee
on her. To stay in the country is death. " He
saw the meaning of her look and went on quickly.
"An* thou dread'st the sea I have safe hiding place
not far from here. Goodwife, get her cloak and
hood. She is not safe an instant, nor you while
she is here. "
"How know we the tale be true?" demanded
Temple. "Where be these men? How had you
knowledge of them?"
"I passed them on the way. I heard in Boston
of their attempt and followed, eluding them. " Sir
Humphrey waited, questioning her faith.
" I do not believe the tale, " Temple answered,
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 437
turning from him to the others, who listened credul-
ous and bewildered.
The cavalier went softly to the door and peered
forth, as though regarding the sky.
"If thou wilt take thy stand beside me and let
thy gaze wander while thy head is still lifted as in
transport at the moon, thou'lt see them, " he said
rapidly, his tones carefully suppressed. "There be
figures beneath the trees yonder. "
She joined him instantly. The Lady and his
followers had stationed themselves where they held
the doorway in full view and the moonlight re-
vealed them. She drew back into the room.
" I will not go with you, " she said steadily, ' 'but
I will go forth to them. Then will they not molest
my friends. "
She reached for her cloak and pulled it about her
shoulders, but as her fingers went to the fastenings
Mistress Lindwell interfered. The husband had
placed himself directly before the door that Sir
Humphrey had closed.
"Temple Armitage, thee'll stay here," he said,
his calm eyes on the girl. "Mount into the loft
quickly. I will parley with them. Thee doth not
trust this man who saith he is thy cousin ? "
Temple looked from one to the other of her de-
fenders anxious and determined.
"I do not trust him," she said, "but I would
almost go with him, though I believe he seeks my
life, rather than ye be exposed and the child.
We must think on Peace. "
Sir Humphrey waited before the fire, listening
as at a comedy.
438 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
" It lies with thee to choose twixt peace and war,
Frances. " His smile changed as his eyes rested on
her. "An" thou'd been a man the name of Belling-
ham had not died inglorious!" he interjected.
'"Seek thy life'! An' thou think'st that, thou
knowest little At this instant, as worse for-
tune may yet prove, I risk my own for thine ! Nay,
child, doubt not. I have coined many falsehoods
and better mintage than most but love lies not.
'Tis not by will of mine I have lost power, even
power to lie ! Look at me, Frances " He ap-
proached, entreating eagerly "Dost thou doubt
I love thee !" The fire showed him briefly, a swift
presentment of what he might have been.
"I cannot learn in one hour to undo a long dis-
trust." The girl spoke gently. "Even if I be-
lieved the words, I could not go Pray do not
let us waste the time endangering these. " Her
eyes went back to the Quaker and his wife.
But he remained still pleading, in his eagerness
bending passionately near. As he talked the
watchers gazed fascinated at the two, so like in this
changing firelight that the resemblance seemed un-
canny.
" O if Roger were here ! " cried out Mistress Lind-
well, then bit her tongue, remembering the men
without.
The girl was cold, troubled, eager for escape from
protestation; Sir Humphrey absorbed, besieging
her distrust by all there was of him of fervour and
address. He pleaded eloquently, well. His roused
look, warm with conquering emotion, clung to her
with the full energy of his intent.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 439
Upon Mistress Lind well's cry for Roger he
stopped, and the ardour of his gaze became a
jealous question.
The girl's colour rose hotly under it, an answer
stronger than her will.
He stood more straightly, facing her. "Wilt
thou come?" he asked again.
She shook her head in quick refusal. In her
silence was the pain of the betrayal he had evoked.
He left her, took up his cloak and hat, and
opened the door. Master Lindwell stood back to
let him pass; but he went no farther than the
threshold. At his signal, the men under the trees
moved forward into the clearing, and before those
within had understood, the five were in the room.
"Touch not the maid. Bind these," he com-
manded, "but hurt them not. " He had stepped
once more to the girl's side.
"Wilt thou come now, or must I take thee by
violence?" he said.
CHAPTER XXXII
THE PURSUIT
AT the moment when Temple thought she
heard his footsteps approaching the log
house, Roger stood waiting in the hall of
the Governor's mansion while Debby went to fetch
still one more package for his carrying.
" 'Twill rejoice Sir William mightily to have ye
both again, " Lady Phips was saying. " 'Twill be
proclaimed ere long and return will then be
safe enough for all. There is no question. Mis-
tress Munch came back from hiding yesterday,
bringing the boy. They say 'tis a scandal the way
he is indulged as like now to be ruined for too
much petting as formerly for unkindness. Gossip
hath it the woman is much chastened in spirit, but
quarrels with her daughter who hath been some-
what slighted since men suspect not all of those ac-
cused were guilty. "
Roger had tried more than once to interrupt.
"I must go, Lady Phips. Sir Humphrey hath
been seen in Boston this very day. I fear "
"Thou shalt go; Debby will be here in a minute.
Thou'rt thinner with all this trouble, Roger. "
She fixed on him her grey eyes, searching as the
Governor's were shrewd, and went on quickly,
"And thou'rt not the only one's grown thin. " She
smiled. " 'Tis said Sir John Winchcombe's figure
hath sadly fallen away, and that he curseth Sir
440
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 441
Humphrey Wildglass for a knave. Nay more, he
threatens him though I misdoubt me if Sir
Humphrey be much disquieted. Madam Chan-
terell hath been to plead with me ! She fears, it
seems, the wrath of Richard Amory who rewarded
them liberally for safety to the Maid. Sir John
hath been extravagant and his fortunes be low.
I like not the woman, but had she been alone "
" I must go Never mind the packet. She
herself will be here to-morrow, it may be "
" But I hear Debby now, " Lady Phips began.
"A man without must see you instantly, my
Lady." Debby 's scared face appeared within the
door.
" Lady Phips where is thy mistress " The
voice that followed, Roger knew.
"Roger" it began joyfully at sight of him,
then with the suddenness of a pistol shot " Where
is the Maid?"
"At the Quaker's house What is't Maccartey ? "
The answer came at the same instant with the
question. " Sir Humphrey's there or on the way.
I got it at the Ship Tavern a sot that blabbed
what Come. Thou'lt tell the Governor?".
He turned to Lady Phips. k
"I'll send messengers " she began.
Roger was already without the house. "Tell
him to follow the New Trail, " his voice came
back to her.
"The man hath a dozen with him. " Maccartey's
shout as the two disappeared.
It was a grim race for the sailor. The younger
man outstripped him much. Roger did not wait
442 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
nor look behind. When he stumbled headlong
across the sill of the cabin he could not speak, but
cutting swiftly the Quaker's bonds, he listened.
"Toward the N-ew Trail by Miller's pasture and
Spot Pond. An hour agone, lacking the quarter. "
The Quaker pointed as he spoke. "There be six
men. "
Sir Humphrey's captured pistol lay, still, upon
the shelf above the cupboard. Roger seized it and
was gone.
"They have the start but we shall find them;
they'll go more slowly with the Maid, " he said as
he came upon Maccartey. He panted less fiercely.
"More quietly for a space and hear me," he
went on. " 'Tis like they're on the New Trail. Dost
remember the Devil's Nippers?"
" I know not the New Trail, " answered his com-
panion, striding more quickly.
" 'Tis a deep cut where the rocks be split apart
and the path goes at the bottom. At the far end
but one or two may pass at once. Faster than this
an thou canst, Maccartey. We'll pass them, an' it
can be done, and wait them there. "
They fell into the step of their march, Maccartey
still following, accomplishing the miracle of Roger's
pace under the rowelling sharpness of his dread.
"Listen." Roger turned back, his hand raised
warningly. The sounds of walking that broke
upon stones, and an oath whose words could
not be heard. They skirted the path, hiding
among the evergreens, and counted the enemy.
The train was moving in Indian file, a Boston
man seen often drunk within the pillory at its
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 443
head. The Lady and two others followed, before
they saw the Maid. Sir Humphrey walked beside
her and the moon revealed her clearly.
He who came last was most dangerous of any,
a woodsman and famous in a fight for ruse and
cunning. When his powerful figure was concealed
beyond the trees the two started swiftly, whisper-
ing for caution even after they had passed the
Lady's band.
"They mean to keep the trail. "
"Where be thy Devil's Nippers?"
"Not far from the town. 'Tis our best chance
against the six. "
" Hast thou a plan for th' attack ? "
They were already in advance and Roger eased
their speed to be within call if the Maid should cry
out suddenly.
"To let the four get past " he began.
"Then each of us take one I'll make for Long-
legs in the rear. See thou to the Maid and Sir
Humphrey "
" Sir Humphrey should be easy even for a child
He must be weak. "
"Trust it not, lad. He's taut as a steel bow
and full of battles. "
They took their stations without the narrowed
entrance of the Nippers, on the town side of the
shallow ravine and hidden from those coming
down the trail.
The silence lengthened till Roger was certain
the leader had been wary and sought out another
way. But even upon the conviction came foot-
steps sounding on the rocks.
444 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
There were no voices, only steps that beat louder
till the foremost issued from the cleft boulders and
tramped stolidly past the hemlocks where the two
waited for Sir Humphrey and the Maid. One by
one four emerged and moved onward in the path.
The climbing had left them somewhat more apart.
The Lady had changed places with the man be-
hind him.
As Roger sprang forward he saw the guardian of
the rear fall without a sound beneath Maccartey's
swift attack, and in the instant that Sir Humphrey
was felled by his own unexpected blow, he cried
to the Maid,
" Back quickly. "
The girl obeyed, retreating at Roger's word
through the narrow opening of the Nippers into the
shelter of the rocks.
He and Maccartey leaped after as the four who
had passed them turned hurriedly; both fired and
one of the enemy staggered.
The moon was hid when most they needed it.
The fight's worst moment was waged in the con-
fusion of darkness that a moment earlier had been
light.
The Lady had crept up the rocks and waited for
a glimmer. When it came he hurled the great stone
he had lifted, straight at Maccartey's head. The
sailor fell, unconscious, as Sir Humphrey got upon
his feet.
" Run back then to the left of the trail the
Governor" Roger gasped to the girl as they set
upon him.
He had held two at bay and even the three had
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 445
felt the weight of his resistance in a struggle that
the shifty dark prolonged, but the five plunged on
him at once, the wounded man, his right arm
nerved by his hurt, striking with quick, murderous
strokes. Two of the blows crashed down in heavy
succession as the moon appeared again, and Roger
dropped like a thing broken and done with upon
the rocky path within the ledge.
Sir Humphrey's eyes went quickly after the
Maid, and found her by the sheen of her cloak that
caught the light among the trees. The Lady had
lifted his rapier, thoroughly to content himself
with the end of his foes, when the woods resounded
to the noise of a rapid and furious approach.
He turned with an oath to where the cavalier had
stood. Sir Humphrey was not there; he and the
girl both were vanished.
"The cheat the cheat," the pirate swore,
mumbling the word as he pursued. Greed gave
him speed and he searched with fiery haste.
The cavalier had bound the Maid so she could
neither call nor move her arms.
"Swift there, " he commanded as he discovered
his pursuer. " Help me, ye devil and lead us
the shortest way "
The noise of men approaching had grown louder
in their ears ; the clatter of a rush upon the stones
followed them as they fled.
The victors had disappeared, all save the man
that had been first to fall. Maccartey, raising
himself upon an elbow, peered at him wondering.
The voice he knew best brought into his dazed
staring a roused look of remembrance. He got
446 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
upon his feet and saw those who scoured among
the evergreens for the triumphant foe, and won-
dered again at the silence of those who drew near
with the Governor to another figure outstretched
upon the ground.
Sir William had knelt and was working swiftly
to restore the man.
" My God in Heaven 'tis Roger. " Maccartey's
cry rang terrible upon the silence and reached even
the Maid.
The Governor stooped lower over the lifeless
frame, his hand upon the heart, his cheek bent to
detect a sign of breathing.
"Here lad, come, " he said, "Comeback
The Maid's in danger "
But even the name did not move the fixedness of
Roger's look. One by one the searchers returned
and gathered in the ravine where the full light of
the changeful moon rested steadfastly upon the
moveless form over which the Governor still
worked in vain.
CHAPTER XXXIII
A DEFENCE AND A CAPTURE
NICOLAS VERRING drew the window
shade in Captain Fitch's parlour and looked
out. The night was still light and clear
save in the intervals when slow heavy clouds pro-
gressed across the moon. It was nearly midnight
and the house had the dismal quiet of places where
healthful slumber is replaced by silent watching
and cool hours of the dark are sunk to the dead
chill of fear.
Alison came noiselessly down the stairs and
sought her husband.
" There is no more that we can do to-night, " she
whispered. "Mercy will watch till dawn; then
Martha will take her place. I will get my things.
They've laid them in the stair closet. Wilt thou
bring the candle?"
While they talked, an angry shout had rung out
at the waterside, but Boston slept profoundly and
the watchers by the sick had not remarked the
sound. Like an arm of the land, Long Wharf
reached out into the sea. The Soldan, at anchor
beside its farthest end, rode lifelessly upon the
lifeless water that stretched in a metallic plain from
the broad curve of the muddy shore.
Beneath the narrow shadow of the brigantine
the Maid picked up the knife the Lady had dropped.
The pirate's treachery was meeting its reward.
447
448 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
Sir Humphrey's shout had followed on discovery,
and the two figures wrestled in a hard-breathed
struggle from dark to light and back again into the
shade. The girl glanced at them as she bent to
seize the knife, and rising, moved in the shadow
toward the land.
Upon the wharf the struggle grew more violent.
The Lady fell backward, losing his hold, and top-
pled into the placid waves. His cloak torn off in
the final grapple hung upon the margin of the
planks.
As the cavalier turned his back to explore the
shadow for the girl, the head of the pirate ap-
peared above the water and he set off swimming
for the land, cursing the victor who was already
hastening to overtake the girl.
"Here he is!" Maccartey's voice rang among
the ships, filling a ghostly silence with intrusive
echoes. "He's stowed her on the ship!" He
spread both arms as he spoke and the running fig-
ure lurched from the embrace.
"Where is the Maid?" The Governor pinioned
Sir Humphrey with a resistless grip.
"I know not. I was seeking her. While I
chastised her enemy she ungratefully made escape.
She cannot be far. " Behind the Governor a group
cut off the shoreward way. The cavalier stood
peacefully in the unrelaxing grasp.
" He lies. She's on the ship, " Maccartey re-
peated doggedly. "How could she escape?"
"Just strolled away, not even pausing to see
which of us was slain, " Sir Humphrey answered
flippantly. "An' you must grasp me so lovingly,
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 449
Governor Phips, pray beg your henchman here to
modify his insults. "
"How came you fighting?" the Governor
asked, ignoring the words. The group had sur-
rounded their prisoner and the questioner searched
and then released him, remaining where the clasp
could be instantly renewed.
"The Lady would have stabbed her. I well-
nigh throttled the beast, but he escaped me by the
water Her I can recover an' she be alive, but
'twill cost some exertion to secure the Lady. " He
sighed. "Here, good people," he went on, his
tone hardening, " Get home now and cease to inter-
fere with what concerns ye not. "
"The violent carrying off of maids doth concern
this colony," put in the Governor. "And other
traffic of a different sort. Your course here is nigh
run, Sir Humphrey Wildglass. What clemency
you can expect will come from the safety of the
Maid. "
" Her safety regards me first who am her lawful
guardian appointed by King James before ever
they took her out of England. Who hath so great
a right? And more, I am her kinsman and the
head of her house as well. "
"Is thy name then Armitage?"
Plimly, flanking the cavalier on the farther side,
looked up.
"No more than she is. I am Gregory Belling-
ham and she my cousin Frances, " he ended with
impatience. "Are you satisfied?"
"Satisfaction were not so easy come at," an-
swered Sir William. "Since the name she bears
450 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
is worn to help her from the knowledge of a cousin
Gregory who would take her life ! "
" The proof ! What proof have ye of that slan-
der?" demanded the man indignantly. "Would I
tell it if 'twere so? And who else could but cut-
throats !"
"Captain Verring's no cut-throat and he heard
ye plan the murder on a London wharf, " the Gov-
ernor answered.
" A gentle tale, of weird imagination. But shows
commendable ignorance of the ways of murderers.
They tell not their schemes on public wharves
where eavesdroppers may gloat upon the story !
Ye've naught but speeches windy and nonsensical
to back your words. I have the proofs of mine. "
"Produce them," Governor Phips commanded
promptly.
"Think ye I carry them about to satisfy the
curiosity of the prying knaves of Boston?" re-
torted the cavalier. "An* ye'll wait me in some
spot not too remote I will fetch them. "
"We will go with thee, " the Governor assented.
"Come thou, Maccartey and Bozoun Plimly. 'Tis
so wily a fellow we give him a guard. Zachary, go
thou to my Lady for me and tell her that I be gone
to the S.ign of the Orange Tree on business of the
state. And the rest of ye search the streets,
though 'tis certain in my mind, an' there be truth
in the tale, the Maid will be safe beneath my roof
by this. "
"That's not so sure; the pirate is abroad," put
in Sir Humphrey. " He may well have had his
knife in her while ye've held me here with your
gentle interest in my ancestry. "
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 451
"Thou'rt lying altogether," reiterated Mac-
cartey, unshaken. "We'll find the Maid upon the
ship. "
The Governor was giving directions to the volun-
teers.
"And watch sharp for him they call the Lady,"
he ended. " I know no better food for carrion. "
"The Maid you've found her?" Sir William
turned toward the shore as a new voice broke upon
their colloquy.
"Roger 'tis thou ! Nay, my lad, we've not
found her. Thou'st done well. I'd not expected
thee, under another hour. "
"I leaned on Eben's arm. 'Twas but my head.
My legs be sound enough. The Soldan hath been
searched?"
"It will be. None hath left it since we came.
Do thou get thee home, " the Governor added.
"We shall make the search thorough. An' the
Maid be not found, for every fear or ill that she
hath suffered his shall be "
Sir Humphrey laughed. ' 'Tis noteworthy to
mark, Captain Verring, that our strolls do so end
in disaster for one of us. 'Twould seem to dis-
courage the use of healthful exercise. I thought
thou'dst pleasured the world by getting out of it.
But a Puritan is ever hard to kill ! " He sighed
humorously, as children blow bubbles from the
froth, and turned with a shrug to look off upon
the sea.
Roger did not appear to know the man had
spoken.
"Every instant we delay she may be in peril,"
452 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
he urged. "Come with me, two of ye." Before
he had heard either denial or assent he was on his
way to the brigantine. The strain and sharpness
in his voice seemed to have gotten into his whole
body, and the arrest of action to threaten the
bond between it and the soul.
CHAPTER XXXIV
MANY WATERS
"Many waters cannot quench love; neither can the
floods drown it."
THE Maid hid herself in Mackrill Lane, and
kneeling, with the handle of the knife
clamped upon the stone flag that served
as step to a great warehouse, she slipped the
sharp point beneath the thongs that held her
wrists, cutting painfully through the obstinate
bonds, then set to work upon the knotted folds
that gagged and stifled her.
She worked as rapidly as her anxious haste al-
lowed, but pursuit might be even now close upon
her. As she pulled off the tight-drawn bands of
silk, Sir Humphrey's neckerchief, she imagined
him watching her close by, waiting the dramatic
moment of her uncertain freedom to fasten on her
again.
Reconnoitring cautiously as she ventured forth,
she saw the group upon the wharf,, but felt a worse
fear lest these be only added menace. Hurrying
from them she concealed herself in devious alleys,
pausing in every shadow, starting often at a half-
suggested sound as if it had been a blow that took
from her both breath and motion.
When she returned into King street, after min-
utes that had compassed years in shuddering
dread, the long hill seemed deserted and she made
453
454 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
haste to cross it, meaning to hide herself again in
lanes that would take her nearer to the refuge that
she sought. The moon had disappeared once more
under the sullen clouds that were spreading like
blots soaking in upon the surface of the sky; the
way was indistinct, and she hastened the faster,
rejoicing in the darkness.
Comprehension of the cry she had heard came
to her fully now for the first time. She had seen
Roger fall, but Sir Humphrey's flight had come so
quickly on their discomfiture she had believed the
outcry but Maccartey's discovery of the escape.
Memory, consciousness as well, had been a mere
struggle in her mind that battled against the thing
that threatened her, tied and impotent for any but
a vague revolt. The fight on the wharf, the sight
of the sea, had awakened her. Now that the suc-
ceeding weakness of dreadful terror began to yield
to the necessity for deeds, she moved involuntarily
toward the Governor's.
It was then, when she knew for what she went,
that she saw the succour she would beg must be too
late. Roger's face, the blood upon his cheek,
the dead iiuertness of his figure, the hours that had
passed since she. had seen him fall, more than all,
the desolation in Maccartey's voice, proved to her
that the worst was true. The tenseness of her
exhausted mood left her no room for hope,
sending her at once to the extreme of possible
horror.
There was no turning opposite the lane by which
she had emerged into the broader thoroughfare
and she hurried quickly on the farther side, no
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 455
longer afraid but keeping mechanically upon the
track she had earlier chosen.
There had been more than one of the Lady's
men unhurt after the fight. Was Roger, done to
death for her, lying at their mercy, even his body
unguarded from their profaning touch ? Or had
Maccartey stayed to watch? What could she do
with life sucked dry of meaning, emptied of itself ?
In the obscurity to which her eyes had not grown
used she overtook two who walked more slowly,
and she had come swiftly against them before she
had even guessed she was not alone in the whole
street.
Her scream was low and had less sound of fright
than final torture. She could not have answered
a simple greeting without betrayal of her grief.
"Be not affrighted, woman; we will not harm
thee. " Nicolas Verring's voice gave kindly reas-
surance.
" 'Tis some one suffering she is weeping," his
wife said, quickly.
"Madam Verring" the low cry flung itself out
to her as to a shelter gained, and the girl's hands
sought her in the dark. "They have killed
him "
"Whom is't ye mean, woman ? Hath there been
murder?" Mr. Verring spoke again, rebukingly
as to a rash hysteria naught less than murder could
excuse, but his wife understood.
" 'Tis Roger, " she cried instantly, and herself
held upon the outstretched clasp, not weeping but
grown icy cold. " Nicolas 'tis Roger. "
"Why was it Roger?" the girl's cry again
456 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
the futile appeal. "There was none to care foi
me 'Twas dark or I could have seen and
taken the blow instead "
"And now you were going " Nicolas Verring's
tones broke under the weight of what she told;
the moon drawing out from its close covering
showed him bent, moving unsteadily as if to find
support.
"To the Governor's. He is there in the woods.
None but Maccartey and there be four left
of "
"Where in the woods?" Nicolas Verring's
voice again. His grasp had found his wife and
clung as men cling under the knife.
The sense of them, these two who had given
Roger being, thrilled and sustained her. She told
the story, all she knew, as they went onward. The
awful reality of her grief, one with their own,
swept from their minds even the memory of false
accusation. And when she came to the end of the
struggle in the dark and what the light had shown,
Nicolas interrupted, straightening his shoulders
with a powerful hope.
"Then you are not sure! He is young. We
may find him living. Sir William will go with us.
He knows the way you speak of, I do not. Let us
make haste. "
His quickened pace was a kind of running, but
they kept with him step for step. The girl had no
hope. Power for all sense or feeling but pain was
snapped.
Lady Phips came out to them in swift agitation.
"I do not know A message came
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 457
The man gave it to Debby and ran to join the search
forthee." She turned to the Maid. "He said
only that Sir William is at the Inn of the Orange
Tree. The Governor is but now come from the
woods. He followed Roger and Captain Mac-
cartey "
"Then 'tis there we must go. " Nicolas Verring
turned quickly back.
"Sir William would not leave him unless"
began Alison, trembling sorely, but she could not
finish. Her husband did not speak again. What
days and years his soul re-lived in the long journey
of the silent streets none could have guessed but
the woman who moved beside him, broken with
the memory of separation, and bearing his sorrow
with her own.
By them walked the girl, swiftly, with neither
tears nor words, the quick of her stabbed through
with death and creeping deeper into that fastness
whose walls, left undefended in her misery, had
crashed before her eyes.
CHAPTER XXXV
THE OLD WAY
THE light streamed weakly from the un-
shuttered parlour of the Inn and a yellow
gleam showed in Sir Humphrey's windows.
In the street below a watching figure was visible to
seeking eyes, precaution against possible escape.
Simon Bolt, mystery and excitement in his face
where the heavy lids blinked sleepily, went from
house to street and back again, or questioned the
suddenly laconic Plimly on the landing above the
stair. For a little, Nicolas Verring seemed to de-
lay upon the path, failing before the mastery of
his dread, but the sentinel had seen them, ex-
claiming at the Maid on whom the fitful glamour
of the moon had cast a broken radiance.
Unconsciously the girl had kept the same pace
and so had gone beyond the others, drawing more
quickly near the entrance. But steps faster than
her own sounded upon the street, and Roger, dis-
tancing Maccartey, sprang past them through the
open door.
" She is not there ! " they heard him say hurriedly
to Bozoun who leaned from the stair to listen.
" My son ! " The cry was Nicolas Verring's.
The Maid drew back suddenly, heard Roger's
"Father!" and knew that Alison was clinging un-
rebuked in her boy's arms. Anything more was
458
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 459
blank to her till she came with the rest into the dim
hall and stood upon the threshold of the lighted
room. The mother looked up at her and back to a
place by her own side. The men were talking in
suppressed tones, with determined emphasis in
every motion.
Roger had sprung to them startled, hearing their
words.
" Give her to him! Not if the King were
here to " The voice went on, but the listener,
raising his eyes to the Governor's face, had seen
beyond him in the gilt-framed mirror and stared
upon it like one who knows he is already mad.
Nor did he lower his eyes nor move till the girl her-
self put out her hand to lean upon the solid frame-
work of the door.
To the Maid the place to which she was beck-
oned seemed infinitely far away. And she felt
alone, even in her rejoicing, her pride of self con-
tainment striving to rally against overwhelming
odds. She tried to stir from the spot to which she
had come unwitting what she did, to go back to
the night and find cover for the nakedness of her
soul's joy, but the body no longer answered to the
will, and she lifted her eyes up, blind with her
tears and forgetting all other refuge, as Roger
turned from the figure in the mirror to know that
she was there.
When the voices came to them again so that the
words made sense in the oblivion of their happi-
ness, the group of men had broken, and Maccartey
gone without to strengthen the vigilance of the
sentinel.
4 6o THE COAST OF FREEDOM
"What is it, Nicolas?" Alison Verring was
asking earnestly. "Doth he demand the Maid?"
"Who?" Temple gazed from one to the other
of those that had been talking.
"Sir Humphrey Wildglass. He saith he is thy
cousin and thy guardian appointed by King James
when thou wast still a child. "
" 'Tis not true, " the Maid said quickly. " How
could that be, yet I not know it. Mr. Amory hath
governed my affairs as was my father's wish nor
hath he been molested. "
" 'Tis a curious thing he hath not been molested
an' he be not the one appointed by the law, " com-
mented Mr. Verring, who had stepped back to stand
beside his son.
"He declareth he hath proofs, and so the power
to take thee hence, since thou art not yet of age. "
The Governor spoke without alarm. "Of course
he knoweth he cannot have thee, " he added com-
fortably.
" But if the proofs be there and we defy the law
he will take vengeance on thee on all who would
defend " The girl began,
" He'll not succeed. " The Governor interrupted
her. "The man's a spy of the French. Fear naught
for us. "
"You have the proof?" Nicolas Verring asked
the question without marking the warning frown
that would have stopped it.
"The man taketh a wondrous time! Doth
he think we can wait for him to compose his
documents!" The Governor gazed upward
testily.
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 461
Temple's look was still fixed on him, refusing to
be deceived.
"You shall not endanger yourselves for me,"
she said with calmness. " I will prevent it. " The
decision in her tone, the force with which she con-
quered the weakness of her body and faced the
horror of the possible truth, woke a stern gleam
of battle in Nicolas Verring's eyes.
"Thou'lt yield no jot to the villain, let him
prove what he will, " he said vehemently.
Alison laid her fingers gently on the Maid's.
"Thou'lt not leave us when we've just found
thee, " she said softly.
Temple turned to her with the great glow of un-
expected joyousness breaking over her face.
"I've loved thee" she answered quickly
"from the dinner at the Governor's even be-
fore I "
Alison tightened her clasp upon the firm hand
beneath her own. Roger had said nothing of Sir
Humphrey's proofs. What difference would they
make ? The universe in arms should not take her
from him.
A shout broke on their waiting. While it still
echoed Roger was without the house. The sen-
tinel was struggling with a man who had a knife.
The blade showed in the light. Maccartey from
his station close beyond was almost upon the two.
The man struck downward, and wrenching free
from the wounded arm, tore himself away and
darted from them at the moment Roger leaped
across the threshold. In the final twisting wrench
he had faced the house.
462 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
" 'Tis the Lady ! "
Roger was already far up the deserted street,
Maccartey close upon him. But the man had
vanished, eluding them cunningly.
" He came from that window, down the tree "
the sentinel explained as they returned.
He pointed to Sir Humphrey's room, now dark,
where the open casement gaped upon them
strangely.
Bozoun holding doggedly to his watching in the
hall, questioned Simon Bolt who had dozed upon
his vigil, and knew nothing.
" He is not come out ? " Roger asked the ques-
tion from below.
" Nay, " Plimly answered. " Nor hath there been
a sound, but he hath doused his candle. Doubt-
less he comes now. Who watches beneath the
windows ? "
"Eben "
The others had looked forth wondering.
" Follow with me. You Maccartey, and Bozoun. "
Sir William was on the stair, Roger already be-
side him.
" 'Tis a great day for the improving of the mus-
cles, " whispered the sailor with a wry look of weari-
ness. "I think we've run our hundred leagues,"
but he ceased to jest when silence answered to the
knock.
Simon Bolt, yawning no longer, blinked fast with
curious eagerness, holding the candle near and
grumbling disapproval as they attacked the door.
The draught blew the flame, grotesquely danc-
ing. In its inconstant light the room appeared,
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 463
peaceful, undisturbed. At the table a figure was
seated ; with the fitful blaze and dying of the candle
it seemed to move. They drew nearer and stood
beside it, seeing the head fallen forward and the
letter unfinished that it partly hid. Simon Bolt held
the flaring gleam tremulously nearer yet and showed
the clean cut upon the closely fitted doublet where
the dagger had struck through. The breeze flut-
tered the lace about the fallen hand and swayed
the heavy curtains of the bed.
Governor Phips drew out the letter and read it
standing where he was. The tallow splashed upon
it from the candle and the smell of the teased wick
blended with the words.
"Sir Humphrey Wildglass, " so it went, "regrets
y* hee is unable to accept the Governor's urgent
invitacion to attend him further, the way by the roof
of the Orange Tree seducinge with better Promisse
but hee hopeth in ye neare Futur to return in full
measur those Favors wch he hath rec d att y e
h "
The writing failed upon the broken h and a trail-
ing line wavered a little across the page where the
fingers that still grasped the quill had dropped.
The Governor's eyes went about the room to see
if there was other egress than the hall.
" How reachest thou the roof, Simon ? " he asked
perplexedly.
"By this stairway closet, sir. " The innkeeper's
hoarse whispering sounded loud in the stillness.
He threw wide an unlatched door and showed the
ladder mounting from a storeroom to the garret
overhead.
464 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
They closed the swinging sash that slammed
upon its hinges, and lifting the figure, still warm
with life that had burned hot within, laid it upon
the curtained bed. The pulseless arms fell stiffly,
but the face smiled on them in derision as if it spoke
the words the hand had penned.
Below the women were talking quietly. Then a
man's tone rose upon their speaking.
" 'Twas God's good Providence sent us to the
sick this eve, " Nicolas Verring was saying rever-
ently. ' 'Tis the first night in many months we
have been abroad beyond a seemly hour. "
" Had we not met thee as we did, thou'd not have
shown us thy true self we'd not have known thee
as that moment " Alison's sight dimmed as
she turned to the stairway, and she saw those
who descended through a shining cloud.
The Maid and Roger went slowly as they left the
inn.
"Thou'lt take her home," the Governor had
said. "She's wearied, lad, and I must wait. Thy
father will assist me here in all I need. Tell Mary
all is well she'll know that when she greets ye,
though "
Without slow speech or formal answer they fol-
lowed their unuttered thought, mounted the hill
beyond the miller's stream, and found the Old
Way by the Pond. Lingering as they passed,
they gazed with a new vision on the staunch walls
of Roger's home. At the willow bent like a camel
they stopped.
" Rest here a little. I am but selfish to ask thee
THE COAST OF FREEDOM 465
to come so far. " He unclasped his cloak and threw
the loose folds upon the trunk.
"Thou didst not ask " Even then she
paused upon the thou, a quick warmth rising in her
cheek. "I have come before," she finished softly.
She had sat down once more upon the willow
seat where she had rested in the dark May night.
He bent to hear and drew her gently to lean
against his side.
" Thou I thought "
"Thought what?" she asked in the same under-
tone, the voice that fears to wake the hour to fullest
consciousness lest it should then depart. "What
didst thou think ? "
"Thou lovedst me not. I had no wonder. I
knew the dulness of my ways the Puritan "
She interrupted, her low tone challenging the
hour with strongest life.
"Thou'lt never know even if I told thee all my
days how much I love thee. "
The brief moments of their lingering gave might-
ily the largess they had been denied.
" Let me not ever, " he pleaded as they rose to go,
"grieve thee with what seems strange, with what
is come of all that's been so different in our "
"Thou wilt not," she answered, breaking again
upon the halting words. "And thou'lt forgive me
if I sometimes seem but slow to understand
I see things clearer now Love teacheth us, I
think. "
The Mill Pond rippled upon the bank. The snow
lay white where the willows stood, and caught the
shadows of their waving strands. Her face, up-
466 THE COAST OF FREEDOM
turned to his, had its own light more lovely than
the glamour of the moon.
Beneath his look she smiled and then grew wistful
with the soberness of joy more strong than grief.
" 'Tis like the flowers, " he said. " 'Tis happiness
we need not fear, and gives us knowledge even
of Him. "
"I could be pitiful for all the world to-night."
Her voice had found again its undertone.
"I too, for all save those who would do harm to
thee, " he said, and held her close against a sudden
anger of remembered pain.
"Nay, for all," she answered. "We cannot
know how they may need our ruth. "
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