The Witch of Blackbird Pond / Ведьма с пруда Черных Дроздов. 10-11 классы Джордж Спир Элизабет

Chapter Six

“Such an excellent dinner, Mistress Wood. Especially your apple pie,” said Reverend Gershom Bulkeley, putting down his linen napkin. The preparation of this dinner had taken almost four days. Dr. Bulkeley had been pleased, but had anyone else? Matthew Wood had Eaton little and not spoken a word. Rachel looked tired, and even Mercy was unusually quiet. Only Judith had enjoyed herself. In the candlelight she looked beautiful, and Reverend Bulkeley smiled at her. But mostly he paid his attention to Kit as he had understood that her grandfather had been Sir Francis Tyler. “Was your grandfather a loyal subject of our good King James?”

“Well, of course, sir.”

“And you yourself? You are a loyal subject also?”

“How could I be not, sir?”

Matthew pushed back his chair. “Her loyalty is in no danger in this house! What are you trying to say, Gershom?” he asked angrily. “I am a selectman in this town. I am not disloyal!”

“I didn’t mean to offend you, Matthew,” said the older man. “I know that you are not disloyal – not yet.”

“Are you saying that because I don’t like this new King’s governor?”

“Governor Andros was appointed by King James. Massachusetts has accepted that.”

“Well, here in Connecticut we will never accept it!”

“You are wrong, Matthew!” cried Gershom Bulkeley. “If you do not live to see the evil results of it, your children or their children will. Such views can lead only to revolution and war!”

The two men sat staring at each other across the table. Tears filled Rachel’s eyes. Then Mercy spoke. “Reverend Bulkeley, would you read to us this evening?” she asked gently.

Dr. Bulkeley smiled. “I need some rest, but my young pupil here is a very good reader.”

Matthew Wood put the heavy Bible in front of John Holbrook, and Rachel moved the candlestick nearer. John had been silent all evening, and now he seemed pleased to be in the center of attention. Now he looked at the Bible in his hands and asked his teacher, “What would you like me to read, sir?”

“I would suggest Proverbs 24:21,” said the old minister.

John began to read: “My son, fear the Lord and the King…”

Matthew Wood was about to say something when his wife stopped him gently. When the reading was finished, Reverend Bulkeley began the evening prayer. At one time Kit opened her eyes and saw that Judith was studying John Holbrook. Then one phrase of Dr. Bulkeley’s prayer caught Kit’s attention. “And bless our sister in her weakness.” Was he talking about Mercy? After a few days in this house Kit had stopped noticing Mercy’s lameness. No one ever mentioned it. Mercy certainly wasn’t weak. She did a full day’s work and more. Also Kit saw that Mercy was the central figure of this family. She softened her father when he was in his bad moods, supported her gentle mother, preached her younger sister, and had helped Kit to join their family circle.

When the prayer ended, the thanks and the goodnights said, Rachel spoke to John Holbrook. “I hope you will come again,” she said kindly. “We would like you to feel welcome in our house.”

John looked back at Judith. “Thank you,” he answered. “I would be very happy to come again.”

As the door finally closed behind the guests, Matthew Wood turned angrily to his wife. “That is the last time,” he said, “that I will have Gershom Bulkeley under my roof!”

“Very well, Matthew,” answered Rachel. “But do not be too hard on him. Gershom is a good man.”

“No, he is not. He is a hypocrite! I’ll have no more texts read at me in my own house! But there is one more thing I forgot,” he added. “Today young William Ashby asked my permission to see my niece.”

There was silence in the room as everyone turned to look at Kit. “You mean to see Katherine?” asked Rachel.

“That is what I said.”

Kit’s cheeks turned red. Judith opened her mouth to say something, looked at her father and closed it again.

“I suppose we can agree,” said Rachel. “He is a good member of the Society.”

“His father is another King’s man,” said her husband. “He proposed the council to join with Massachusetts. But what can we expect, now that we have a Royalist under our own roof?”

“Well, I told you so!” Judith finally said later when the girls were in their room getting ready for bed. “I knew by the way he was looking at you after the Meeting.”

Kit was curios now. “Do you know him well?”

“Who doesn’t know about him?” said Judith. “His father has the best land on which he will build the house for Master William when he decides to get married. He was almost ready to do it, but then you came along.”

Suddenly Kit remembered. That first morning, when she was trying on the dress, Judith had said…

“Oh, dear,” Kit exclaimed, “I don’t want this William to come and see me. I’ve only met him once, and I don’t have a word to say to him. I’ll tell Uncle Matthew in the morning.”

“Don’t you say anything to Father!” Judith cried. “William never asked to see me. But, as a matter of fact, Kit, you can have William. I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to marry John Holbrook.”

Chapter Seven

What could she say next? Kit sat looking at her hands while William Ashby sat opposite her across the wide table. She knew that if she looked up she would find the young man’s eyes fixed on her. For the last half an hour they had sat like this. When a young man came to see a girl, what did they talk about? Kit had tried her best, but William seemed happy just to sit. Was it Kit’s duty to lead the conversation? From the kitchen across the hall Kit could hear the voices of the family. Tonight she wanted to be with them. She would welcome even the Bible reading at this moment. She sighed and tried again, “Is it always so cold in New England, even in May?”

“I think this spring is a little warmer than usual,” William answered.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Kit heard John Holbrook’s voice. Her aunt welcomed him in. “Why don’t you both come and join us?” she suggested to Kit and William.

William relaxed a little. John and he shook hands. Judith got excited and started laughing happily. Mercy’s eyes were shining with pleasure. Even Matthew managed to ask William politely, “Has your father sown his fields yet? I noticed that he’s cutting some trees.”

“Yes, sir,” replied William. “That is because I’m planning to build my house next autumn.”

Kit stared at him. William had not said so many words all the evening. Aunt Rachel encouraged him to continue. “My husband tells me that you have been appointed a Viewer of Fences,” she smiled. “That is a fine honor for such a young man.”

“Thank you,” replied William. “The Assembly has decided that there should be no unclaimed land in our county.”

“Of course,” said Matthew. “Why should we leave land for the King’s governor to give it to his favorites?”

William spoke to the older man respectfully. “Aren’t you afraid, sir,” he asked, “that we will anger the King by such actions? We cannot be against him. If we accept his governor now, we will get some rights and privileges. But if we anger the King, we may lose them all.”

Kit could not believe her ears. William Ashby was very smart and could speak very well. He even argued with her uncle! With this new respect she gave him a smile that made him speechless again. At that moment Matthew Wood pushed back his chair and stood up. “What do you, young man, know about rights and justice? But you’ll learn. You will remember my words: some day you’ll learn and be sorry!” He left the room and went upstairs without saying goodnight.

It was already eight o’clock and seemed like the longest evening Kit had ever had. William stood up. “Thank you for your hospitality, Mistress Wood,” he said politely. John followed William’s example. As the door shut behind them, Kit felt relieved. “Well, I’m so glad that that’s over,” she said. “He’ll never come again. He didn’t say a word to me all evening. And then Uncle Matthew started…”

“Oh, they all know about Father,” Judith replied. “But William said that he was building his house, didn’t he? What else could you want him to say? Don’t you know anything, Kit? William’s father gave him that land three years ago, on his sixteenth birthday, and William said that he would never start to build his house until he decided to get married.”

“That’s ridiculous, Judith! He couldn’t mean such thing so soon. Could he, Mercy?”

“I’m afraid he could,” Mercy smiled at her cousin’s confusion. “I agree that William was telling us that he has made a decision. Whether you like it or not, Kit, William is going to come again.”

“But I don’t want him to!” Kit almost panicked. “I don’t want him to come at all. We can’t even talk to each other!”

“It seems to me that you’re too choosy,” said Judith. “Don’t you know that William can build the best house in Wethersfield if he wants to?”

Rachel put her hand on Kit’s shoulder. “I also think that William is serious,” she said gently. “Don’t worry, dear. No one will make you marry him right now. William is a very fine young man. Of course you feel like strangers now. But I think it will change very soon.”

But will it? A second Saturday came, a third, a fourth, and William’s visits became regular. The young man seemed to enjoy those evenings. For him it was enough just to sit across the room from Kit and look at her. He was the most popular bachelor in Wethersfield, and a handsome one, too. Sometimes, when William’s eyes were on her face, Kit felt excited in a way that was strange and not unpleasant. Maybe Kit wouldn’t have thought about William so much, if there had been anything more interesting going on in Wethersfield. But every day was the same, and housework filled every hour from sunrise to dark. Kit hadn’t liked any of this work. She was Katherine Tyler! She had not been born to do the work of slaves! And William Ashby seemed to be the only person in Wethersfield who just admired her and didn’t expect her to work. That is why she started looking forward to Saturday evenings.

Chapter Eight

One morning after breakfast Judith and Katherine were sent to weed the onion field.

“What a wonderful day!” Judith said. “Aren’t you glad we don’t have to stay inside, Kit?”

Kit was quite cheerful too. It really was a wonderful day, with a blue sky and the soft green fields and woods. The girls passed the Meeting House and then went down the South Road to the Great Meadow. Judith explained to Kit that it was just grassy land at the side of the river. “No one lives there,” Judith told her, “because in the spring the river sometimes floods the fields. But the soil is rich, so every landowner has a lot for pasture or gardens.”

From the first moment Kit saw the Great Meadows, they captivated her. She had never imagined anything like this. As far as she could see there was a great sea of green. It was freedom and space and light. It was peace and quietness and comfort. “Someday,” she thought, “I am going to come back to this place, when there is time just to stand and look at it.” Far to the right Kit could see a small house at the side of a pond, and next to it there was a figure. “I thought you said that no one lived here,” she said to her cousin.

“Oh, that’s Widow Tupper,” Judith said with contempt. “Nobody but Hannah Tupper would live there by Blackbird Pond, right at the swamp, but she likes it.”

“But what if the river floods?”

“It did, four years ago, and her house was covered over. No one knows where she hid, but when the water went down, there she was again. She then continued living there with her cats as if nothing had happened. She’s been there as long as I can remember. People say she’s a witch.”

“Do you believe in witches, Judith?”

“Not really,” said Judith. “But she does look strange, and she never comes to Meeting.”

Kit looked at the distant gray figure again. It was easy to create any mystery about that lonely woman!

The long rows of onions looked endless. Judith began to pull out the weeds quickly. Kit looked at her cousin and then got down too. If she married William Ashby, would he make her weed his vegetables for him? No, she was quite sure that he never would. William would probably have servants.

Later that day when the two girls returned home, they found Mercy excited. “The most wonderful thing has happened, Kit! Dr. Bulkeley has recommended to the selectmen that you help me with the school this summer.”

“A school?” asked Kit. “Do you teach a school, Mercy?”

“Just for the younger children in the summer months. With your help I can take more pupils. We will teach to them letters and how to read and write their names. They can’t go to the grammar school till they can read. But many of their parents can’t teach them.”

“And where is this school?”

“Right here in the kitchen. You know how to read, don’t you? John Holbrook told Dr. Bulkeley you can read as well as he can.”

Kit was surprised. Had John repeated to Dr. Bulkeley that conversation on the Dolphin? Probably not. She had never mentioned books in this house, where the only book was the Holy Bible. “Yes, of course I can read,” she agreed.

“Well, they are going to send Mr. Kimberley, the schoolmaster, to test you. Then the school will begin next week. Father is pleased too, Kit. We’ll both be earning wages because every child pays four pence a week. Sometimes they pay with eggs or wool or such things.”

The more Kit thought about it, the more pleasant the school sounded to her. If she were earning wages, they would not make her do any housework. In the evening when they were sitting alone with Mercy, Kit asked her, “If I am earning wages, then maybe I will be useful, even if I’m not a boy.”

Mercy looked at her cousin. “What do you mean, Kit?”

“The first night I was here,” explained Kit, “Judith said that she would prefer to have a boy cousin.”

“Oh, Kit!” cried Mercy. “You heard that? She didn’t mean what you think. It’s just that father needs a boy so much to help. Mother has never told you much about our family, has she? You see, there was a boy, their first child, two years older than I was. We both caught some kind of fever. I got well, except for my leg, but he died.”

“I didn’t know,” replied Kit. “Poor Aunt Rachel!”

“And there was another boy, after Judith,” Mercy continued. “Father was so proud of him. But he lived only a week. Mother said it was the will of God. Well, of course that was a long time ago, but after that Father changed. And it has been so difficult to manage all this work without a son. That’s all she meant, Kit.”

Kit was silent. “From now on I should try to understand my uncle better,” she decided.

Chapter Nine

Mercy and Kit started teaching the school together. Mercy was patiently instructing beginners, while Kit was struggling with the elementary readers. The verses they tried to read were as boring and monotonous as church sermons. Kit’s Grandfather would never have let her read that! If only she could remember how her grandfather had taught her to read the words! He probably had made his own lessons, and now she decided to follow his example. Kit took a quill pen and wrote something. Then she gave it to read to young Timothy Cook. “Timothy Cook jumped over the brook,” he read with surprise. The other children giggled and then looked at their teacher with amazement.

Kit didn’t know that her methods were new and surprising. She only knew that the ten days since the school’s beginning had been the best she had had in Connecticut. She and the children had liked each other. The children brought her berries and flowers and wanted to sit next to her. There were eleven of them, eight small boys and three girls. It was difficult to keep those little kids interested for four long hours. Mercy used her patience, while Kit used some tricks. “You have all done very well this morning,” she would say at the end of their reading session. “Now I will tell you a story.”

At first, Mercy worried about this activity, but Kit could see nothing wrong in it. If only she had more stories to read to them! Now she had only the Bible, from which she chose the stories she liked best. Today she chose the story of the Good Samaritan. “One man,” she began, “went from Jerusalem to Jericho…” Suddenly, she had an idea. “You all know this story, don’t you?” she asked the children. They nodded. “Then let’s pretend that it is happening, right now, to us. You, Peter, will be the man traveling along the road. And three of you can be the robbers then. Martha and Eliza, you can be the priest and the Levite, who pass the man by. And Jonathan can be the Good Samaritan who helps him.”

The children were excited. They took their places and started acting, but soon the game became a little messy and loud. Both Kit and Mercy acted quickly, but not quickly enough.

Two tall figures were standing in the kitchen doorway. The sudden use of the stick brought silence and order into the room. Kit and Mercy saw their two visitors: Mr. Kimberley, the schoolmaster, and the Reverend John Woodbridge.

“What is this?” asked Mr. Kimberley angrily. “We’ve come to inspect your school, Mistress Wood, and what do we see?”

Mercy tried to explain, but Kit was first. “It is my fault, sir. I was reading a story to them from the Bible, and I thought that it might be more interesting to act it, like a play, you know.”

“To act it? The Bible?” Reverend Woodbridge stared at Mercy. “What were you thinking, Mercy, allowing such a thing?”

“I didn’t realize what we were doing, sir,” she whispered.

“I am shocked and disappointed,” Mr. Kimberley said. “The school is dismissed. Go home, boys and girls. Do not come back tomorrow. We will let you know if the school will continue.”

“Oh, please, Mr. Kimberley,” begged Kit. “You can’t dismiss the school because of what I did. Dismiss me, if you like.”

“We will have to decide if Mercy is responsible enough to continue teaching the school,” Mr. Kimberley said coldly. “But you are dismissed, young lady.”

When the men had gone, two tears ran slowly down Mercy’s cheeks. To see her tears was more than Kit could bear. In a panic she ran out the door and down the road, past the Meeting House, past the houses where her pupils lived. She didn’t care where she was going.

Kit stopped only when she reached the Great Meadow. There, without thinking she walked into a field and fell in the grass, crying. When she had finally stopped crying, she lay for a long time too tired to move or think. Maybe she even slept a little, but now she opened her eyes and looked up at the blue sky. The sun was shining, and the grass moved slightly in the wind. Suddenly, Kit knew that she was not alone there, and that someone was very close. She got up. Only a few feet away a woman was sitting and watching her, a very old woman with short white hair, colorless eyes and a wrinkled face. As Kit looked at her, the old woman spoke in a quiet voice, “You did well, child, to come to the Meadow. There is always a cure here when the heart is troubled. I know because I’ve found it myself. That is why I live here.”

Kit didn’t move, but stared in horror. She understood that this was the strange woman from Blackbird Pond – Hannah Tupper, the witch! Kit noticed a scar on the woman’s forehead. Was it the devil’s mark?

“People wonder why I want to live here, so close to the swamp,” the woman continued. “But I think you know why. I can see it in your face. The Meadows have spoken to you, too.”

The cold feeling began to pass away. “I didn’t plan to come here,” Kit explained. “I always wanted to come back, but this morning I just got here by accident.”

Hannah Tupper shook her head. “You must be hungry,” she said. “Come, and I’ll give you something to eat.”

“I must go back,” Kit said quickly. “My family must have been looking for me.”

The woman looked at her and smiled. “You still look upset. Whatever it is, you can deal with it better with a bit of food inside. Come with me; it’s not far at all.”

Kit paused. She was suddenly hungry, but more than that, she was curious. Whatever this strange little woman might be, she was definitely harmless and even pleasant. On impulse, Kit hurried after her toward the little hut. Although it was quite late, she didn’t want to return to her Uncle Matthew’s house.

Inside the little house there was a table, a chest, a bed and a spinning wheel at the window. A huge yellow cat opened one eye to look at Kit. On the table Hannah put a small corn cake with blueberries and a jug with yellow goat’s milk. She sat watching as Kit ate, taking nothing herself. Probably, Kit thought, too late, that was all she had! The girl looked about the room. “This is a pretty room,” she said.

Hannah nodded. “My Thomas built this house. He made it good, so it has stood all these years.”

“How long have you lived here?” Kit asked curiously.

“I don’t really know,” the woman answered slowly. “But I remember the day we came here. We had walked from Massachusetts, you see. Someone had told us there would be land for us in Connecticut. But in the town there was none. So we walked toward the river, and then we came to this meadow.”

There were a hundred questions Kit wanted to ask, but instead she looked up and noticed with surprise one thing on the shelf. “This coral!” she exclaimed. “How did it get here?”

A small secret smile lit up the wrinkled face. “I have a sailor friend,” Hannah said. “When he comes back from a voyage, he brings me a present.”

Kit almost laughed. A romance! She imagined him, this white-haired sailor friend, coming here with his small presents from some distant shores. “Maybe this came from my home,” Kit said. “I come from Barbados, you know.”

“From Barbados!” cried the woman. “You do look different somehow. What is it like?”

“It’s so beautiful with flowers every day of the year. You can always smell them in the air.”

“You have been homesick,” said Hannah softly.

“Yes,” agreed Kit. “I guess I have. But most of all, I miss my late grandfather so much.”

“That is the hardest,” nodded the woman. “What was your grandfather like, child?”

Tears filled Kit’s eyes. No one, since she had come to America, had ever really wanted to hear about her grandfather. She told the old woman about the happy days on the island, the plantation, the long walks together, the swimming, the library and the books. Then she described her voyage to Connecticut and all the confusion of the past weeks. “I hate it here,” Kit said. “I don’t belong. Mercy is wonderful, and Judith tries to be friendly, but I’m just a trouble to them all. Uncle Matthew hates me. Everything I do or say is wrong!”

“That’s why you’ve come to the meadow,” said Hannah. “What went so wrong this morning?”

The older woman listened to the school story, nodding her head. As Kit told her about the schoolmaster, Hannah started laughing. Suddenly, Kit was laughing with her, too. “What should I do now?” she asked when they calmed down. “How can I go back and face them?”

Hannah said nothing for a long time. Her eyes studied the girl beside her. “Come,” she finally said. “I have something to show you.”

Outside the house grew a single green stalk with one huge scarlet flower.

“It looks just like the flowers at home,” Kit said. “I didn’t know you had such flowers here.”

“It came all the way from Africa,” Hannah told her. “My friend brought the bulb to me, a little brown thing like an onion. I doubted it would grow here, but it was very determined and now look what has happened.”

Kit kept quiet. Was Hannah trying to preach to her? “I’m sorry but I really must go now,” Kit said. “You’ve given me an answer. I think I know what you mean.”

The woman shook her head. “The answer is in your heart,” she said softly. “You can always hear it if only you listen to it.”

Kit walked back with a lightness and freedom she hadn’t known since the day she came into Saybrook Harbor. Hannah Tupper was not a witch, but certainly she had a magic charm. In one short hour she had made all the worries of the girl disappear. Only one thing must be done before Kit could finally be at peace. Without speaking a word, Hannah had given her the strength to do it. She walked straight up the path to a big house and knocked bravely on the door of Mr. Kimberley.

Chapter Ten

Mercy couldn’t believe that Kit had talked to Mr. Kimberley himself! “But he was very fair,” said Kit. “He listened to me and finally agreed that I could have one more chance.”

“You surprise me, Kit,” Mercy said. “You must have surprised Mr. Kimberley, too. He doesn’t normally change his mind.”

“I surprised myself,” Kit laughed. “I think I was bewitched.”

“Bewitched?”

“Yes. I met the witch who lives in the meadow. It was she who gave me the courage.”

Mercy and her mother exchanged glances. “You mean you talked with her?”

“I went into her house and ate her food. But I was joking about being bewitched. She’s the nicest person I have ever met.”

“Kit,” Aunt Rachel said seriously. “I think you should not say anything to the others about meeting this woman. That is just gossip that she’s a witch. But no one in Wethersfield has anything to do with Hannah Tupper because she is a Quaker.[2] The Quakers are strange people. They don’t believe in some of the things we believe in.”

“Why, Aunt Rachel? What difference does that make? Has she ever done anything bad?”

Rachel looked down. “No, probably not, but there’s been talk. Quakers bring trouble wherever they go. They speak against our faith. In Boston, I’ve heard, they even hanged some Quakers. This Hannah Tupper and her husband were branded and forced to leave Massachusetts. They were thankful just to be let alone here in Wethersfield. Kit, I know your uncle would be very angry about this. Promise me that you won’t go there again.”

All Kit’s fine thoughts about trying to understand and to be patient have disappeared, and already she felt rebellious again. “I can’t promise that, Aunt Rachel,” she said unhappily. “Hannah was good to me, and she’s very lonely.”

“You are very young, child,” insisted Rachel. “You don’t understand how sometimes evil can seem innocent. It is dangerous for you to see that woman. You must believe me.”

On the way home through the meadow everything had seemed so simple, and here it was all complicated again. Only one thing Kit was sure of. She had found a secret place, a place of freedom, clear sunlight and peace. Nothing and no one would stop her from going back to that place again.

Should she tell William Ashby about Hannah? No, he would probably be horrified. William was still a stranger to her, although he came every Saturday evening and even on some evenings during the week. She would like to tell John Holbrook, she thought, but there was never a moment when she could speak to him alone. John often joined the family as they sat outside in the evening. He had never asked formal permission to come. There had never been any sign that John was seeing Judith, but sometimes he agreed to her proposal to go for a walk in the twilight. That was all Judith needed to show the whole family John’s intentions. Even her father could tell that Judith was in love, although she had never said anything. Kit thought that, compared to ambitious William, the young biblical scholar was unsuitable for Judith’s high hopes. Probably, Kit decided now, it wouldn’t be good to tell John about Hannah Tupper.

Soon Kit started waiting for another opportunity to visit the Meadows. With Mr. Kimberley’s permission she was teaching the school again. There were no more stories, no games, not even small poems. After school the girls weeded the gardens and helped to harvest the first crop. Finally, one hot afternoon, Kit and Judith finished their weeding of onion rows a little early. As they started walking back along the path, Kit looked across the fields to the house by Blackbird Pond and knew what she would do now. “I am going there to see Hannah Tupper,” she informed Judith.

“The witch? Are you crazy, Kit?” her cousin protested.

“She’s not a witch! She’s just a lonely old woman, and you would like her if you knew her,” Kit said. “Come with me now and see for yourself.”

“I would never step inside that house, and I don’t think you should either. Father would be furious,” refused Judith.

“Then go home without me. I won’t be long,” said Kit and started walking through the long grass, leaving her cousin standing in the path.

“Sit down, child,” Hannah welcomed Kit in, smiling as if she was expecting her. “Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes, I think so. The schoolmaster let me teach again, but forbade any plays. Mr. Kimberley says that children are evil by nature and that they need a firm hand. But it’s not much fun to be so solemn all day.”

Hannah was sorting some flax now. Kit picked up the sleeping cat. The late afternoon sun shone through the open door. Peace flowed into Kit, and she felt warm and happy. “Did you grow the flax yourself?” she asked.

“Some of the families in town bring me their flax to spin,” Hannah explained. “I don’t charge them much – just enough to pay the land taxes and the fines for not going to Meeting.”

“Fines?” Kit was surprised. “Maybe you should go to Meeting instead?”

“They wouldn’t welcome me,” Hannah said, “even if I decided to go. In Massachusetts we, Quakers, had our own meetings.”

“Actually, I’d rather pay fines than go to Meeting. Can I become a Quaker too?”

But before the old woman could answer, a shadow fell across the sunlit floor.

A tall figure was standing in the doorway. Kit jumped up. There, at the door, unbelievably, was Nathaniel Eaton, the captain’s son, with a smile in his blue eyes. “I might have known,” he said, “that you two would find each other.”

Hannah’s face shone with pleasure. “I knew you would come today,” she said. “I saw the Dolphin pass the island this morning. Kit, my dear, this is the sailor friend I told you about.”

Nat bowed. “Mistress Tyler and I are already acquainted,” he said.

“Bless you, Nat,” Hannah said quietly. “Now sit down and tell us how your father is.”

“He is well and sends you his greetings.”

“I said to Thomas just yesterday, ’Tom, I’m going to save the last of these berries because the Dolphin will come soon.’ He’ll be pleased when I tell him you’ve been here.”

Kit’s suddenly realized that Hannah had spoken as if her husband, so long dead, were still here, in the little house. A cloud had passed across the old woman’s eyes. Kit looked at Nat, but he didn’t seem to have noticed anything unusual because he was examining Kit with interest. “Tell me,” he asked her, “how did they let you come to Hannah?”

Kit paused, and Hannah laughed, “It’s a strange thing, that the only two friends I have, I found in the same way – lying in the meadows, crying.”

The young people stared at each other. “You?” asked Kit, astonished. “Were you running away?”

Nat laughed. “I was only eight years old,” he explained. “It was when I quarreled with my father once. I’d never in my life seen anything like the meadows. I ran and ran, but then suddenly I was hungry, lost and scared. Hannah found me and brought me here. She even gave me a kitten to take back home.”

“Did Hannah give you her blueberry cake, too?”

“It’s Hannah’s magic cure for every problem,” Nat said. “A blueberry cake and a kitten.”

“And now you can both have supper with me,” said Hannah, delighted.

Kit looked at the sun. “Oh, dear!” she cried. “I didn’t realize it was time for supper.”

Hannah smiled at her. “God be with you then, child,” she said softly. She did not need to say more. They both knew that Kit would come back. Nat followed Kit to the door. “You didn’t say what you were running away from,” he asked her. “Has it been so bad here in Wethersfield?”

Kit didn’t want to complain. “Of course not,” she said. “My aunt and uncle have been very kind.”

Nat walked Kit to the road. “Whatever it was,” he suddenly said seriously, “I’m glad you ran to Hannah. She needs you. Keep her company, will you?”

Kit hurried home. What a surprise meeting it was! She had known nothing about Nat, and she would never know what to expect from him next.

Chapter Eleven

When one day Judith invited Kit to go with some girls to pick flowers and picnic along the shore of the river, Kit turned to Mercy and asked impulsively, “How can you bear it, always staying behind?”

Mercy answered her calmly, “Oh, I settled that a long time ago. I remember it very well. Father had taken me outside, and I sat watching the children playing. I thought of all the things I would never be able to do. And then I thought about the things that I could do.”

Teaching the children with love and skill was certainly something that Mercy could do. But Kit often wondered if it was worth it. Most of these children will never have any chances in this world. But there was something else on Kit’s mind: the third time that week a little bunch of flowers was left for her on the doorstep. Who could it be from? As she bent to pick them up this time, she noticed a small figure hiding behind a tree. Kit recognized Prudence Cruff.

“Prudence,” she called. “Are these your flowers?”

The child came slowly from behind the tree. She was much thinner than before. “They are for you,” the girl whispered.

“Thank you. They’re lovely. Why don’t you come to the school with the others?”

“Ma says that I’m too stupid,” said Prudence. “Of course I’d like to, but somebody will tell on me, and Ma will beat me. I’m not supposed to talk to you.”

Suddenly, Kit had an idea. “There is a place where you could meet me secretly!” she said. “Can you come to the Meadows?”

Prudence nodded. “Nobody cares where I go.”

“Then if you meet me there this afternoon, I’ll bring you a book and teach you to read it. You know the path that leads to Blackbird Pond?”

“The witch lives there!” cried Prudence.

“Don’t be silly! She’s a nice old woman. There’s a big willow tree, and I’ll wait for you there.”

This was the third time Kit and Prudence were sitting in the shade of the old tree. At first Prudence had been scared and speechless. But now she was learning the letters so fast that Kit was amazed. “It’s late, Prudence. We must go back. You can take the book, if you like,” Kit said, ending the lesson.

“Ma will never let me have it,” the little girl said.

“I know what we’ll do then,” Kit suggested. “We’ll leave the book here with Hannah. Then any time you want to use it, you can come and get it from her.”