TRIUMPH
The day following the return of Rebecca and Anna Weston from their
perilous and difficult undertaking to bring the much needed powder and
shot to Machias was Sunday, the eleventh of June, 1775.
Very early that morning there was an air of unusual excitement about the
little settlement. It was known that the English officers from the
gunboat would attend service in the meeting-house that morning; and the
Machias men had decided, with the approval of Parson Lyon, to surround
the church and capture them before they had time to carry out their
plans against the settlement.
Rebby and Danna were eating their breakfast when Captain Benjamin Foster
appeared at the kitchen door, saying that he had come to thank them for
their courageous effort to aid the men in defending their rights. As he
entered the room the girls jumped up from their seats at the table and
curtseyed; and as he went on to praise their loyalty and valor, the two
little girls, hand in hand, stood before him with downcast eyes, flushed
and happy at his approving words.
In spite of anxious thoughts as to the result of the conflict between
the men of Machias and the English soldiers, Mrs. Weston was very proud
and happy that morning as she walked to church with Rebecca and Anna
beside her. Many neighbors stopped them to praise the little girls, and
all declared that the people of the settlement would always remember
what they had done.
Even Parson Lyon and his wife were waiting at the church door to speak
to the two little heroines; and Melvina and Luretta felt as if they
shared in their friends' honors as they walked up the aisle of the
church beside them.
Before the English officers had landed from their boat a number of the
Machias men had quietly hidden their guns in the building; while Captain
Benjamin Foster, with men armed and ready for action, were concealed
among the tall pines close at hand, ready to surround the church and
seize the English officers; and had they taken London Atus into their
confidence this well-prepared scheme might have succeeded.
But London was entirely innocent of any trouble near at hand. From his
place in a side pew he kept a watchful eye upon Melvina, and perhaps
wondered a little at all the attention lavished on the little Weston
girls.
Rebby saw Captain and Mrs. Horton and Lucia, with Captain Jones, enter
the church. Lucia did not look toward the group of girls seated in the
Westons' pew. The Hortons were no longer trusted by their neighbors, and
after that morning in church they vanished from the community and never
returned.
Rebby's glance now rested on London. How queerly he looked, she thought
wonderingly. He was leaning sideways peering out of an open window. As
Rebecca watched him he rose to his feet with a loud cry, and before any
restraining word could reach him he had leaped through the open window.
In a moment all was confusion. There were loud cries of "Stop him!" Men
rushed from the church, but the English officers, followed by Captain
Jones and the Hortons, had scrambled through the open windows and were
well on their flight toward their boats, which they reached in safety,
although numerous shots were fired after them. The gunboat at once
turned her guns on the town. Shot after shot echoed across the quiet
waters of the harbor, but the range was too long, and no harm was done.
The women and children huddled in the pews of the church, until Parson
Lyon, musket in hand, came up from the shore to tell them that all was
quiet and to return to their homes.
Melvina and Anna left the church together, and Luretta and Rebby
followed with Mrs. Weston. Melvina said good-bye to her friends very
soberly, and clasped her father's hand very closely as they walked
toward home.
"Will the English soldiers shoot down our liberty pole, Father?" she
asked.
"The English captain has sent us word that we are to take it down before
sunset, so that he may be saved that trouble," replied Parson Lyon, his
tone indicating that he considered the English captain's remark as an
amusing utterance, not to be seriously considered.
"But it will not be taken down," said Melvina confidently.
"Indeed it will not. And had that scamp London but held his peace
instead of mistaking Captain Foster's men for an armed enemy marching
upon us, the English would be our prisoners at this moment," declared
her father. "But that is but postponed," he added quietly, "and
to-morrow morning Machias men will give the English captain a lesson."
There were many anxious hearts in the settlement that night, for it had
been determined that in the early dawn of the following morning the men
should seize the sloop _Unity_, and make the attempt to capture the
English gunboat. Neither Rebecca nor Anna knew of this plan; and, still
tired from their journey, as well as by the excitement that morning at
the church, they were glad to go early to bed and were soon sound
asleep. Mrs. Weston, unable to sleep, waited in the kitchen for her
husband's return. For Mr. Weston and his neighbors were busy with their
preparations for the coming battle. It was decided that Captain O'Brien
should take command of the sloop, and before the sun rose the next
morning forty Machias men were on board the _Unity_. Half this number
were armed with broad-axes and pitchforks; the remainder had muskets.
It was just at sunrise when a warning shot from the gunboat reverberated
along the harbor, and Rebecca awakened suddenly. She realized at once
that the conflict had begun. In an instant she was out of bed, slipped
quickly into her clothing, and leaving Danna sound asleep, she sped down
the path and along the trail to the high bluff that commanded a view of
the harbor.
There was a favoring wind and the _Unity_, with her crew of untrained
men, was now in full chase of a vessel well-armed and equipped. On swept
the sloop, and a sudden volley of musketry from her deck astonished and
confused the enemy. The gunboat swerved, and the bowsprit of the _Unity_
plunged into her mainsail, holding the two vessels together for a brief
moment.
Rebecca, standing on the bluff, shouted aloud. She was sure that the
moment of triumph for the Machias men was close at hand. But victory was
not so easily achieved; the vessels suddenly parted, and now a storm of
bullets rained upon the _Unity_.
Captain O'Brien swung the sloop alongside the _Margaretta_ and twenty of
his men armed with pitchforks sprang to the enemy's deck. A hand-to-hand
conflict ensued. Surprised by the dauntless valor of the Machias men
the English were forced to yield. The English flag was pulled down amid
triumphant shouts of the Americans; the wounded were cared for, and
English officers and crew made prisoners of war.
When Rebecca saw the English flag vanish from the gunboat's mast and
heard the resounding cheers, she knew that the Americans had conquered
their enemy, and that the liberty tree would stand unchallenged. But she
did not realize that she had been a witness to the first naval exploit
in America after the battle of Lexington.
All the women and children and such men as had been left behind, were
now hurrying toward the wharves. Cheer after cheer rang out across the
harbor as the _Unity_ and the captured gunboat came slowly to their
anchorage.
Mrs. Weston and Anna came hurrying down the path and Rebby ran to meet
them.
"I saw the battle, Mother!" she exclaimed eagerly. "I was on the bluff
and saw it all." But before Mrs. Weston could respond to this
astonishing statement a boat-load of men from the _Unity_ had landed.
"Your father is safe," whispered Mrs. Weston, "and now let me see of
what use I can be to the wounded men. Rebby, take Anna back to the house
and stay there until I come."
The two little girls walked silently back to the house. The battle that
had been so feared was over; the enemy was conquered, and Rebecca and
Anna knew that by their bringing the powder from Chandler's River they
had helped to win the conflict. But just then they did not think of
that. They could think only of the wounded men, who had been so
carefully brought on shore by their companions.
On the following day the inhabitants, such as were not caring for the
wounded English and American soldiers, gathered at the liberty pole. It
was a quiet and reverent gathering. Several men of the settlement had
been wounded, and two had given their lives for America's cause. Parson
Lyon gave loving tribute to these heroes, as he offered thanks for the
triumph of loyalty.
And then, before all the people, he praised Rebecca and Anna Weston for
their courage in undertaking the difficult and dangerous journey through
the wilderness to bring aid to the settlement.
"Step forward, Rebecca and Anna Weston," he said smilingly; and, a
little fearfully, the sisters, hand in hand, left their mother's side
and approached the liberty pole. Taking each by the hand Parson Lyon
smiled down upon them.
There was a little murmur of approval among the people, and one by one
the older members of the congregation came forward and praised the
little girls.
"It is Rebby who should be praised, not me," Anna insisted. "It is not
fair for me to be praised." While Rebecca, in her turn, declared eagerly
that she could never have brought home the powder without Anna's help.
There were many hard and troublous days ahead for the little settlement,
but their courage did not falter. The valor of the Machias men was
speedily recognized by the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, who, on
June 26, 1775, passed a resolution extending to them the thanks of the
Congress for their courageous conduct. The news of the brilliant victory
was heralded throughout the land, stimulating the colonists everywhere
to emulate the example of the courageous settlers of Machias.
Rebecca often thought of her former friend, Lucia Horton; but she never
told the story of the night when, misled by Lucia's plausible story,
she had tried to defeat the loyalty of the settlers by setting their
liberty tree adrift. As she looked up at the tall sapling, the emblem of
the loyalty of the settlement, she was proud indeed that she had been of
use in its protection.
Anna's gold chain was her greatest treasure. It was shown to every
little girl in the settlement, and each one knew its story. The golden
sovereign given to Rebecca was no less highly prized.
"That sovereign has a value beyond money. It is a medal for valor," her
father said; and on the year when peace was firmly established between
England and America Rebecca's golden sovereign was smoothed, and upon it
these words were engraved:
"Presented
to
A Brave Little
Maid of Maine,
For Loyalty,
June, 1775."
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The Stories In this Series are:
A LITTLE MAID OF PROVINCE TOWN.
A LITTLE MAID OF MASSACHUSETTS COLONY.
A LITTLE MAID OF NARRAGANSETT BAY.
A LITTLE MAID OF BUNKER HILL.
A LITTLE MAID OF TICONDEROGA.
A LITTLE MAID OF OLD CONNECTICUT.
A LITTLE MAID OF OLD PHILADELPHIA.
A LITTLE MAID OF OLD MAINE.
A LITTLE MAID OF OLD NEW YORK.
A LITTLE MAID OF VIRGINIA.
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Transcriber's Notes:
1. Punctuation has been normalized to contemporary standards.
2. Rebecca's birthday is inconsistently reported as the 10th of May and the 10th of September.
End of Project Gutenberg's A Little Maid of Old Maine, by Alice Turner Curtis