thing!" declared the captain. "I'm thankful the English
sailors were on shore. I'll remember their names."

Mrs. Stoddard bathed the tired feet, and Anne was quite hungry enough to
relish the hot corn bread, even though she had no milk to drink with it.

"We must be careful about letting the child wander about alone," Captain
Enos said, after Anne was safe in bed that night. "'Twould be ill-fortune
indeed if harm befell her."

"I'll keep her more at home," replied Mrs. Stoddard. "She is to begin
knitting now, and that will give her amusement indoors."

"'Tis said that English soldiers are coming into Boston by land and sea,"
said Captain Enos. "We Province Town people are exempt from military
service, but we are loyal to the American forces, and some of us think the
time is near when we must let you women stay here by yourselves," and
Captain Enos looked at his wife questioningly.

"We'd do our best, Enos, be sure of that," she answered bravely, "and I'd
have Anne for company, if you're needed in Boston."

"If we stood any chance of getting there," complained Captain Enos,
"without the Britishers making us prisoners. No boat gets by them, I'm
told."

"Talk no more of it to-night, Enos. Mayhap things may be settled soon, and
these unhappy days well over," and Mistress Stoddard stepped to the door
and looked out on the peaceful little settlement. "We have great cause to
rejoice this night that our little maid is safe at home," she said.

"I'll make a good search for Brownie to-morrow," declared Captain Enos,
"but I fear now that the Indians have her."

The good couple decided that it would be best to say as little of Anne's
adventure as possible, and to tell her not to talk of it to her
playmates.

"I'll caution the mothers," said Mrs. Stoddard, "but 'Tis no use for our
little people to frighten themselves by wondering about Indians. Maybe
they will not come near us again, and they'll not dare to make another
mistake." So but little was made of Anne's escape from the squaws,
although the children now stayed at home more closely, and Anne did not
often stray far from Aunt Martha.

CHAPTER VII

OUT TO SEA

Captain Enos and the boys returned without having found any trace of the
missing cattle, and the villagers felt it to be a loss hardly to be borne
that three of their six cows should have disappeared. The men went about
their fishing even more soberly than before, and the women and children
mourned