“I guess not,” he answered with a little laugh, and pointed toward the keg. “Look at that keg! Well, it’s full of powder, and powder’s too sca’se an article these days to leave a candle in the same room with it.”
“But we can’t see to eat,” pleaded Anne. “We’ll be real careful; we won’t go near the corner.”
For a moment the man hesitated; then he set the candle down on the chest beside the basket.
“All right,” he said. “I’ll leave it; ’twon’t burn more than an hour.” He looked down at Rose’s tear-stained face, and added, “Ain’t no cause to cry about your father; he’s had a good supper, and I ain’t goin’ to hurt him.”
“Oh, thank you!” and Rose looked up at him gratefully.
The door had hardly swung to before Anne whispered, “Rose, Rose, I must get out of that window some way. You know I must. It’s too small for you, but I’m sure I could get through.”
“Let’s eat something before you think about that,” suggested Rose, who began to feel more hopeful now that she knew her father was safe, and opened the big basket. The man had brought them a pitcher of cool water, and the girls ate and drank heartily.
“Aunt Hetty would be surprised if she knew where we were eating these lovely doughnuts,” said Anne, holding up the delicately browned twisted cruller.
“Anne, if we could push this chest under the window I could stand on it and try to open the window and if I can open it, then I will lift you up and you can crawl through,” said Rose, biting into a chicken sandwich.