Three Young Pioneers Part 2

These were the golden hours of unqualified joy when they amused themselves to their heart's delight. As Mr. Bradley was becoming wealthy, he could allow them many pleasures which poor parents had to deny their children.

As soon as they were old enough, he bought them two small horses which they could use very well, as the means of transportation were very primitive. So they rode out into the forests and made friends with the Indians, or they visited the other Colonies which were not far away.

To the north there was the Salem Colony, and to the south, the old Colony of Plymouth, which was the mother colony of all the English settlements. On these trips they not only made many friends, but also became acquainted with the country and learned to lose all fear of white men and Indians.

One summer Fred, with the help of young Indian friends, made a boat, and he and Agnes rowed up the rivers and streams of which there were many.

At first their only weapons were bows and arrows and home-made spears which they could use with the skill of the Indians. However, when they became older, Mr. Bradley allowed them small firearms for their hunting expeditions.

Thus Fred and Agnes spent a very happy life in the Boston Colony, and they grew up to be strong and healthy, with a wisdom not gotten out of books merely, but which their varied experience taught them.

They could swim, skate, cover long distances over the snow by means of snow-shoes, shoot, ride horseback, and do almost all the things which the pioneers did.

Like all the Puritans they were well versed in the Bible, and they knew many hymns by heart, so that when they joined the church, they did this of their own accord and with firm convictions.

Thus six years pa.s.sed by with rapidity, and before he realized it, Fred was fourteen years old, while Agnes was thirteen.

Their life had been very happy, and in mind and body they had matured so, that they appeared to be much older than they really were. Mr.

Bradley could trust Fred with almost any task that he would a.s.sign to a man, while Agnes was a regular little tom boy, who was skilled not only in the duties of a good young lady, but also in those of young men.

Whether she was in the house, or outside, she could always be depended upon.

There was not a better rider in the whole community than she, and she handled every sort of weapon with great skill.

Life in the Colony was pleasant indeed!

CHAPTER III

A NEW BROTHER

One evening when Mr. Bradley and his happy family were gathered around the fire-side, he seemed to be in a very meditative mood. The family had just finished its evening devotion and the open Bible lay upon the huge table which stood near the hearth.

"Why are you musing so intently?" Mrs. Bradley asked. "It seems your forehead is more wrinkled with furrows than ever, and you are altogether too young a man to look so worried." This she said with a smile, and as she said it, she lovingly stroked his cheeks.

"I am not worrying, my dear," he replied, "but only thinking, and I wonder whether that which I think, will please you."

"What pleases you," Mrs. Bradley said, "always pleases me. We are two of a kind, and I am sure I am going to agree to what you say. Pray, now tell me what troubles you."

"The matter pertains to another little youngster in our home," he replied; "though the youngster is not so very young any more. He is a year older than Fred, and I think, he would prove a good companion to him."

Fred listened with much interest, and also Agnes laid aside her book.

"What about the young lad?" Mrs. Bradley asked. "Is he the son of a poor family in the Colony?"

"His case is worse," the husband replied. "Yesterday when the good s.h.i.+p 'Hope' came into port, the authorities found a stranger in the band of immigrants. He was a stowaway, though some of the people discovered him during the voyage and supported him with food. Otherwise the poor fellow would have starved."

"And what are they going to do with the lad?" Mrs. Bradley inquired.

"That is the trouble," her husband said. "According to the law the boy must be returned to England. But he has begged the authorities not to send him back. He comes from a poor family, and his father is dead. In England there are no opportunities for him; So he decided to go to America. And now he is here."

"And you decided to take him into your home!" the woman said smilingly.

"That looks just like you."

"Well," the man answered, looking at Fred and Agnes, "you were lucky to find these, so I must make another contribution."

"Nor do I object," consented the woman. "The Lord has blessed us abundantly with all good things, and we can surely give him a good home. Only, I would ask, is he worthy of it?"

"That we must see," Mr. Bradley said; "but he seems to be a good pious boy, and he knows his Catechism well. I hardly blame him for leaving England."

"Then the matter is settled," Mrs. Bradley said; "but where is the boy now?"

"Governor Winthrop has provisionally taken him into his home," the man said; "though he cannot very well adopt the lad. But when he spoke to me about it, I promised to ask you, and I have guaranteed the s.h.i.+p company to pay his fare."

"What a fine Samaritan you are!" Mrs. Bradley said, as she kissed him.

"Surely, the Lord will bless you for it, and we shall be the richer for having taken him in."

Fred who had listened eagerly, could no longer restrain himself.

Stepping up to his foster-father he asked: "And what is the boy's name?"

"His name is Matthew Bunyan," Mrs. Bradley said; "but what about you, Fred? Do you want to have the new brother? And will you treat him kindly?"

"That I will," Fred responded gladly. "I have always wished for a brother, who could work and play with me. And Matthew Bunyon is such a fine name! When can I see him?"

"You may this very evening, if you care to go to the Governor's house,"

said the kind father.

"Oh, then, let us go, Agnes," Fred said. "It will do him a world of good to let him know that he has a sister and a brother."

"And could he not come over this very evening?" Mrs. Bradley asked.

"I surely would like to see him. Fred's bed is large enough for two to sleep in."

"Yes, bring him with you, Fred," Mr. Bradley said. "Only you must wait until I have written a note to Governor Winthrop, telling him of our resolution."

As Mr. Bradley was a merchant, the writing materials were always kept ready for use, and in a few moments the note was finished.

While the man was penning the note, Fred and Agnes dressed themselves warmly in their furs, for while March had come, the weather was still cold, and heavy snow had fallen. At that time the winters in New England were much severer than they are now.

So they strapped on their snow-shoes, and Fred took down his gun from the wall. The evening was quiet, and on the way he might see some game.

In winter the deer and elk often stole into the village in search of food, and sometimes the settlers could shoot them from their open windows.

In a few moments the children were off, having kissed their parents good-by. Then they stepped out into the clear, cold night, where they at once disappeared in the woods.

"How beautiful it is tonight," Agnes said as she laughingly pa.s.sed her brother. "It makes me feel gay. I think I can beat you to the Governor's house."

"Stay behind me, Agnes," Fred warned her; "there might be a deer running out from behind the brush that I might shoot."