men of the town, believe it?"

"Thou doest not believe the master stuck pins in Job Swinnerton's
stomach?"

"Nay," laughed Chris; "the green apples from Deacon Gedney's orchard
were the cause of his pain."

"But, Chris, I'm afraid it will go hard with the master, for all the
boys but thou and I seem bent on making him a witch."

"Well, trouble not thyself about it. As Billy Mew says, if the master's
a witch, we will have the longer play-day. To-morrow I go to my
grandfather's, in Salem, and thou come over with thy father some day; it
will be rare fun to see the witch children act."

"Peradventure I may. It will be dull without thee, Chris; and with the
rest of the boys making the master out a witch, they'll have no time for
play."

"Well, take care of thyself, good fellow, and beware thou doest not
provoke Dame Betty too far; she has a rare relish for calling people
witches."

"Ay, that she has. There's a pail of water now at her door, and she's
talking with our Debby, I doubt not: let's turn the bottom up to dry;"
and in a wink the two boys were off for this bit of mischief.

In a few days all were off to Salem--Jonathan's father as one of the
judges, the master to be tried for a witch, with those of the children
whom he had afflicted as accusers, and jolly Chris to see the fun.

It was very lonesome for Jonathan at home, for he had no brothers or
sisters, his mother was always sick, and Debby spent all her spare time
talking with a crony across the way of the witch-woman, Bridget Bishop,
then on trial for witchcraft.

So Jonathan made playmates of and amused himself with the chickens of
the Rev. Deodat Parker, who lived next door. Now these chickens were the
source of much pleasure to Jonathan, for the Winthrops had none, neither
Jonathan nor Debby being deemed fit to be trusted with them; and
Jonathan envied the Rev. Deodat Parker his yard full of staid old fowls
and lively young chicks. Early in the spring Jonathan had loved to
caress and cuddle up the little rolls of yellow and black down; but now
that they were great stalking, ragged fowls, putting on all sorts of
airs, they excited his ridicule, and he longed to tease them, and the
last year's brood of clucking hens and crowing roosters, that didn't
quite know what to make of these new-comers.

Once he would have gone over in the yard to play with and tease the
chickens to his heart's content; but Dame Betty having traced the
overturned pail and n