"It was a long time ago," began Friend Morris, "when a little Welsh girl
named Gwen set sail from England, with her father and mother and a
company of Friends, to cross the Atlantic Ocean and make a new home for
themselves in America. When they were perhaps halfway across, Gwen had a
new little brother, and as he was born on the ocean he was given the
name 'Seaborn.'
"Travel was slow in those days, and it seemed a long time to little Gwen
before the ship reached land, and she could run and jump as much as she
pleased on the solid ground, as she could not do on the crowded ship's
deck. But even then their travels were not over, for Gwen's father, with
a few other men and their families, pushed on into the woods where they
meant to settle and build their homes."
"Were there Indians in the woods?" asked Sammy eagerly.
"Yes, plenty of them, but all friendly to the Quakers," answered Friend
Morris. "I'm sorry for thee, Sammy, but there won't be a single fight in
this story."
"Never mind," said Sammy generously, "I'll like to hear it just the
same."
"What kind of a house did Gwen have in the woods?" asked Mary Ellen,
anxious to hear the story.
"No house at all, for a time," said Friend Morris. "At first, each
family chose its own tree, and under it they lived, glad of any shelter
that would protect them from sun and rain."
"Like the squirrels and rabbits," murmured Lydia.
"Then, as the weather grew colder, they dug caves in the bank of the
river, where with a roof of boughs and comfortable beds of leaves, they
lived until they were able to build real houses of logs or stone."
"That was nice," said little Tom. "I'd like to live in a cave. I'd keep
the bears out with my sword."
"Gwen liked it, too, though I don't know that she saw any bears,"
answered Friend Morris. "But oh, how glad her mother was when their log
house was finished. It had a ladder on the outside that led to the upper
room, and Gwen learned to run up and down this ladder as quickly as a
squirrel runs up a tree. Gwen's father had built the house on the
river-bank far away from his friends, for some day he meant to clear the
land and have a large farm.
"There was little time for visiting in those busy days, and Gwen might
have been lonely if it had not been for Seaborn. He was a fat roly-poly,
a year old now, creeping and crawling into all kinds of mischief, and
Gwen spent her spare moments trotting around after him. He was a
good-natured baby, but now he was cutting his teeth, and this made him
cross and fractious. And he cried. Oh! how he cried. His mother rubbed
his gums with her thimble to help his teeth through, and he cried harder
than ever. Gwen danced up and down and shook his home-made rattle, a
gourd filled with dried peas, but he only pushed her away. And just then
came the time for the big Friends' Meeting to be held across the river
in the town of Philadelphia.
"'Father will go, but we must stay at home, Gwen,' said her mother. 'We
meant to take thee, and Seaborn, too, but thee couldn't ask me to take
this crying baby anywhere.'
"'How long would thee be gone, Mother? Two days and a night?' asked
Gwen. 'Wouldn't thee trust me to stay at home and take care of Seaborn?'
"And Gwen coaxed and wheedled, and wheedled and coaxed, until the next
morning, feeling very important and grown-up, she saw her father and
mother start across the river in their little boat, bound for the great
Quarterly Meeting.
"That very afternoon Seaborn's nap was so quiet and peaceful that Gwen
wasn't the least surprised, on peeping into his mouth when he woke, to
see a big new tooth shining in that pink cavern. What if it was raining
and they couldn't go out of doors? It was easy enough to amuse Seaborn
now.
"All day and all night it rained, and the next morning the sky was as
gray and the rain came down as hard as ever. Gwen saw that the river was
rising, and had overflowed its banks, and she hoped nothing would
prevent Mother and Father from coming home that night. She was a little
lonely, but not one bit frightened until, late in the afternoon, a
narrow stream of water came under the door, and trickled slowly across
the floor. Gwen ran to the window. There was water several inches deep
all around the house, and she could see that it was rising every
moment."
"Oh dear," said Polly, "what did she do?"
"This is what she did," said Friend Morris. "The only way to go upstairs
was by the ladder on the outside of the house. Gwen wrapped Seaborn in a
shawl, and splashing through the water, she carried him upstairs. Then
down she ran for milk and a bowl of cold porridge, and by that time the
water was so deep she was afraid to go downstairs again."
"I think she was a clever little girl to think and act so quickly," said
Mrs. Blake, who was enjoying the story quite as well as the children.
"She was a brave little girl, too," went on Friend Morris. "She wrapped
up warmly, and, lighting a candle, sat down in the doorway of the upper
room to watch and wait. It grew darker and darker, and still the rain
fell steadily. Seaborn was sound asleep, and Gwen was nodding, when
suddenly she sat up with a jerk. A little boat was moving toward them
over the water that covered the ground in front of the house, and to
Gwen's delight it stopped at the foot of the stairway ladder.
"'Father,' called Gwen, 'Mother, has thee come home? Here we are,
upstairs in the doorway.'
"But it was neither father nor mother who answered. A deep voice said,
'Ugh! Missy come, I take.' And Gwen looked down into the brown face of
an Indian."
"In his war paint, with a tomahawk?" asked Sammy, his own feathers
standing out with interest.
"No, indeed," said Mrs. Morris, "in peaceful attire. He had often traded
with Gwen's father, and he knew the Quakers were having a Meeting over
the river. So when he saw the light in the house, he came as a friend to
help. He was called Lame Wolf, because he limped a little, and Gwen was
very glad indeed to see him.
"'I take,' said Lame Wolf again, and held up his arm to beckon Gwen.
"Down the ladder she scrambled, with Seaborn in her arms, and off the
canoe glided through the darkness. And that is the last sleepy little
Gwen remembered until she woke the next morning with the sun shining in
her face.
"She was lying in an Indian wigwam, with a fire burning in the middle of
the floor, and beside it, crouching over the blaze, an old Indian squaw.
"'My brother!' cried Gwen, springing up; 'where is Seaborn?'
"The old woman seemed to understand, for she grunted and pointed
outside. And there, hanging from the low branch of a big tree, in
company with several Indian babies, swung Seaborn."
"Oh, didn't it hurt?" asked Lydia, with a little shudder. "Did they hang
him by the neck?"
"No, Lydia, no," said Friend Morris, with a smile. "He was strapped in
an Indian cradle, a flat board covered with skins and moss. And he
seemed to like it, for he smiled and chuckled when he saw his sister.
"Gwen knew they must be in an Indian camp, for she saw many wigwams, and
horses tethered about them. Already, groups of Indian squaws were at
work, scraping animal skins and trimming leggings and moccasins with
bright-colored beads. Little girls were going to and fro, carrying wood
and water. Little brown boys ran past, with bows and arrows in their
hands, off for a day's play. Gwen was glad to see her friend, Lame Wolf,
limping toward her. He said, 'Eat! Come!' and led the way back into the
wigwam where the old squaw gave Gwen a bowl of soup.
"Then Lame Wolf lifted Seaborn down from the tree, and took them before
the chief Big Bear. Big Bear listened to Lame Wolf's story. He looked
kindly at Gwen, motioned Lame Wolf to hang Seaborn on a near-by tree,
where his own papoose swung in the shade, and then called to his little
girl, Winonah, peeping shyly round the wigwam. She took Gwen by the hand
and led her off to see her dolls."
"Dolls?" said Polly and Lydia together. "Do little Indian girls have
dolls?"
"Certainly they do. These dolls were made of deerskin, with painted
face, beads for eyes, and one had a fine crop of horsehair and another
one of feathers. Each doll had its cradle, too, and Gwen and the chief's
little daughter played happily together.
"In the afternoon, Seaborn and Papoose, all the name the chief's little
boy owned as yet, were taken from their cradles and put upon the ground
to roll and tumble to their hearts' content. Gwen and Winonah were near
by watching them. Suddenly little Papoose began to choke and cough. His
eyes grew big and round and he gasped for breath. Winonah ran for her
mother and left Gwen alone. And then in a flash, Gwen knew what she must
do. Once Seaborn had swallowed a button and it had lodged in his throat.
Little Papoose must have put something in his mouth that was choking him
now. So Gwen did as she had seen her mother do for Seaborn. She bravely
put her fingers down poor little Papoose's throat, grasped something,
and drew it out. It was a smooth white pebble big enough to choke a
dozen little Papooses!"
"She was as good as a Red Cross nurse," said Mary Ellen excitedly, her
eyes shining. "Didn't Big Bear and little Papoose's mother praise her
for saving his life?"
"Yes, indeed, Mary Ellen," answered Friend Morris. "They praised her,
and they gave her presents when she went home the next day, and all her
life they were her good friends. And that was really best of all."
"What were the presents?" asked the children in chorus.
"An Indian dress for herself, a cradle for Seaborn, a doll in its little
cradle, and beautiful skins as a present for her mother. And that is all
my story," ended Friend Morris, smiling down into the flushed faces
gathered about her knee.
"Thank you, Friend Morris," said Lydia, giving her apple a last twirl.
"Gwen was a nice girl."
"It was a good story," said Sammy, with a nod of his feathered head,
"even if there wasn't any fighting in it."
"Now, eat your apples, children," said Miss Martin. "Here's Alexander
come to take us home, and somehow you must be turned back into boys and
girls again before you can go out into the street."
It was hard to go back to checked aprons and blouses after ribbons and
feathers and war paint, but at last it was done. And Mary Ellen said
"Thank you" for all of them when she put her arms round Mrs. Blake's
neck.
"Good-night," said Mary Ellen. "And please do ask us soon again."