_Nobody knows what he can do until he tries._
Many years ago when our country was at war with England, there
lived in a little seaport town of Massachusetts a child named
Rebecca. Rebecca’s father was the light-house keeper. A mile back
inland was a little village of people.
One day Rebecca and her little friend, Alice, were playing on the
shore, when they happened to look across the water and saw a ship
headed for their harbor. There was something about this great ship
which struck terror to these girls’ hearts, for those were trying
days when British warships would unload their soldiers and march in
upon the villagers.
Rebecca and Alice ran to the light-house tower and watched for an
hour or two, until they saw that the soldiers were going to land.
“If I were only a man!” cried Rebecca.
“What could you do?” asked Alice.
“I’d fight ’em!” cried Rebecca. “I’d use father’s old gun.”
“I wonder if there’ll be a fight?” broke in Alice.
“I don’t know. Our men will do what they can.”
“But see how quiet it is! Not a man on shore.”
“Maybe they are hiding until the soldiers come, and then we shall
hear shot and the drum. Oh, but the drum! It’s here; father brought
it yesterday to mend it,” said Alice.
“Oh, dear! what shall we do?” cried Rebecca.
“See! they have reached the shore!”
“Where’s the drum? I shall go down and beat it.”
“What good will that do?”
“Maybe it will frighten them.”
“But they will see that it is only two little girls.”
“No, we will hide behind the sand hills. Come, let’s go.”
“All right,” said Alice. “There’s the fife, I’ll get that, too.”
Away the little girls ran, scrambling behind bushes, rocks and
hills, out to the end of the point.
Drum! Drum! Drum! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
The soldiers stopped to listen. Again the drum sounded and the fife
squeaked.
“What does that mean?” asked a British soldier.
“Troops! They are coming down to hem us in. We’d better leave.”
Up over the sides of the ship they scrambled like frightened rats.
By the time the American army of two had reached the point the
great ship was speeding away out to sea. Meanwhile the villagers
had been much surprised, thinking that troops had come down from
Boston to help them and just in time, too! Imagine their surprise
to see sitting comfortably on the rocks, their drum and fife by
their sides, these two little girls, Rebecca and Alice!