“So the unfriendly Indians laughed louder, and were glad, for they thought they could destroy the chief even without a battle. Well, they arranged that this brave chief was to go alone into a fenced-in place and meet two wild bulls, and if he conquered them the unfriendly tribe would own him the strongest chief in the world, and would be subject to him. It was great, Jimmie, to hear Shining Fish tell it. He said the great chief marched into the place where the bulls were, and they came dashing toward him, and their hoofs rang upon the ground, and their nostrils sent out sheets of flame, but the chief never flinched a step, and the bulls stopped short and trembled. Then the chief sprang upon the nearest, and seized him by the horns, and they wrestled until the bull fell to its knees tired out. Then he grabbed at the other, and threw it, and all the Indians began to wonder how any chief could be so strong.”
“S’pose it’s true?” questioned Jimmie.
“Sure!” answered Amos. “What’s Captain Stoddard doing to his boat?” he continued. Captain Enos was evidently not bound out on a fishing trip, for he was making his boat as tidy as possible.
“He’s going to sail over to Brewster to fetch Anne back,” answered Jimmie.
“But Anne is going to Boston with Rose Freeman,” said Amos.
Jimmie shook his head. “No, the Freemans won’t take her because she ran away,” he explained, and looked up in amazement, for Amos had sprung to his feet and was racing along the beach toward Captain Stoddard’s boat as fast as his feet would carry him.
Jimmie laughed. “I’ll bet Amos wants to go to Brewster,” he decided.
Amos did not want to go to Brewster. But he had instantly resolved that Anne must not be stopped from going to Boston. Even as he ran he could see that there was no time to spare in reaching Captain Enos, for he was already pushing off from shore.
“Captain Enos! Captain Enos!” he called frantically, and the captain looked toward him. “Wait a minute! wait!” yelled the boy, and the captain waited, saying good-humoredly: