“My soul!” exclaimed Mrs. Cary; “gone to find Anne, indeed. What possesses the children of this settlement is more than I can answer. And you, Amanda! Here you are all smiles and twinkles, as if you thought it a great thing for your brother to start off like this.”
“He’s gone by boat, I vow,” said Mr. Cary.
“Yes, he means to row to Truro, and catch up with Anne. And he said to tell you he’d be back, or get you news of him in some way, by Saturday,” and Amanda nodded smilingly, as if she were quite sure that her father and mother would be quite satisfied with Amos now that she had given them his message.
“Amos shall have his way in one thing,” said Mr. Cary. “As soon as he is back, aye, if he comes Saturday or not, I’ll put him aboard the first craft that can get out of harbor, and the farther her port the better. A year on shipboard is what the boy needs.”
“You wouldn’t send the boy with a strange captain?” Mrs. Cary questioned anxiously.
“Indeed I will. So long as he’s on board a ship we shall know where he is,” declared Amos’s father. “We can do nothing now but wait. Find Anne, indeed! who knows where to look for the poor child?”
“Amos knows,” said Amanda.
But Mr. and Mrs. Cary shook their heads. They did not feel much anxiety as to Amos’s safety, for the boys of the settlement were used to depending on themselves, and many boys no older than Amos Cary or Jimmie Starkweather had made a voyage to the West Indies, or to some far southern port; but they were displeased that he should have started off without permission.