The Puritan Twins

Puritan Twins, The

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Title: The Puritan Twins
Author: Lucy Fitch Perkins
Release Date: September 4, 2005 [EBook #16644]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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THE PURITAN TWINS
By Lucy Fitch Perkins
ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR

[Illustration]

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO
The Riverside Press Cambridge
By Lucy Fitch Perkins
* * * * *
Geographical Series THE DUTCH TWINS PRIMER. _Grade I._ THE
DUTCH TWINS. _Grade III._ THE ESKIMO TWINS. _Grade II._
THE FILIPINO TWINS. _Grade IV._ THE JAPANESE TWINS.
_Grade IV._ THE SWISS TWINS. _Grade IV._ THE IRISH TWINS.
_Grade V._ THE ITALIAN TWINS. _Grades V and VI._ THE
SCOTCH TWINS. _Grades V and VI._ THE MEXICAN TWINS.
_Grade VI._ THE BELGIAN TWINS. _Grade VI._ THE FRENCH
TWINS. _Grade VII._
Historical Series THE CAVE TWINS. _Grade IV._ THE SPARTAN
TWINS. _Grades V-VI._ THE PURITAN TWINS. _Grades VI-VII._
* * * * *
Each volume is illustrated by the author * * * * *
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

[Illustration]
CONTENTS
I. THE PEPPERELLS AND THE CAPTAIN 3
II. TWO DAYS 39
III. ON BOARD THE LUCY ANN 63
IV. A FOREST TRAIL 87
V. THE NEW HOME 113
VI. HARVEST HOME 157
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 181
[Illustration: map]

I
THE PEPPERELLS AND THE CAPTAIN
One bright warm noonday in May of the year 1638, Goodwife
Pepperell opened the door of her little log cabin, and, screening her
eyes from the sun with a toilworn hand, looked about in every direction,
as if searching for some one. She was a tall, spare woman, with a firm
mouth, keen blue eyes, and a look of patient endurance in her face, bred
by the stern life of pioneer New England. Far away across the pasture
which sloped southward from the cabin she could see long meadow
grass waving in the breeze, and beyond a thread of blue water where
the Charles River flowed lazily to the sea. Westward there was also
pasture land where sheep were grazing, and in the distance a glimpse of
the thatched roofs of the little village of Cambridge.
Goodwife Pepperell gazed long and earnestly in this direction, and then,

making a trumpet of her hands, sent a call ringing across the silent
fields. "Nancy! Daniel!" she shouted.
She was answered only by the tinkle of sheep bells. A shade of anxiety
clouded the blue eyes as she went round to the back of the cabin and
looked toward the dense forest which bounded her vision on the north.
Stout-hearted though she was, Goodwife Pepperell could never forget
the terrors which lay concealed behind that mysterious rampart of green.
Not only were there wolves and deer and many other wild creatures
hidden in its depths, but it sheltered also the perpetual menace of the
Indians. Toward the east, at some distance from the cabin, corn-fields
stretched to salt meadows, and beyond, across the bay, she could see
the three hills of Boston town.[1]
[Footnote 1: See map.]
As no answering shout greeted her from this direction either, the
Goodwife stepped quickly toward a hollow stump which stood a short
distance from the cabin. Beside the stump a slender birch tree bent
beneath the weight of a large circular piece of wood hung to its top by a
leather thong. This was the samp-mill, where their corn was pounded
into meal. Seizing the birch tree with her hands, she brought the
wooden pestle down into the hollow stump with a resounding thump.
The birch tree sprang back lifting the block with it and again she pulled
it down and struck the stump another blow, then paused to listen. This
time there was, beside the echo, an answering shout, and in a few
moments two heads appeared above the rows of young corn just
peeping out of the ground, two pairs of lively bare feet came flying
across the garden patch, and a breathless boy and girl stood beside their
mother.
They were a sturdy pair of twelve-year-olds, the boy an inch or more
taller than his sister, and both with the blue eyes, fair skin, and rosy
cheeks which proclaimed their English blood. There was a gleam of
pride in Goodwife Pepperell's eye as she looked a her children, but not
for the world