“Of course you may, child. I was sure that you would want to when Esther sent the beads. I only hope you may have a chance to give them to Louise at an early day,” responded Aunt Prissy.
This decision proved a comfort to Faith. As the weeks went by, and no news of the shoemaker and his little daughter was received, she would often look at the string of blue beads which she meant to give her friend. “I wish I had given them to her on my birthday,” she thought regretfully, “but she shall have them some time,” for Faith was quite sure that it could not be very long before Louise would find a way to let them know where she was.
March came, “stirring the fire” vigorously from the day of its arrival. The ice in the lake broke up rapidly, the snow melted, and by the middle of the month Faith began to expect her father. Nathan Beaman, in his clumsy boat, had crossed from Shoreham a number of times. He often teasingly reminded Faith of her plan to ask Ethan Allen to come and take possession of Fort Ticonderoga.
“You’d better hurry. The British will be sending men down from Canada by early summer, and then ’twill be of no use for the Green Mountain Boys to try to capture the fort,” he said.
“How do you always know so much about what the English are going to do?” asked Faith.
The children were all in the shop. Nathan was helping Donald in the construction of a small boat, and Faith and the two younger boys had been filling a basket with chips and shavings to carry into the house.
“Can’t help knowing,” answered Nathan. “I hear the men at the fort talking about all their fine plans to own all this country every time I go there.”
“Nathan,” and Faith lowered her voice so that the other children would not hear, “you know I promised not to tell about the door at the fort?”
Nathan nodded; he was looking at her sharply, and half feared that she was about to tell him that she had broken the promise.
“Well, of course I shan’t tell. But if my telling some American would help send the soldiers away, mayn’t I tell then?” and Faith’s face was very serious as she waited for his response.