“It’s amazing how things will gain by going,” said Uncle Isaac. “We heard that there was a dozen pirates landed, and that one of them got Sally by the hair, pulled her down on her knees, and was going to cut her head off with his cutlass, when you come running in from the woods, and broke his neck short off over your knee, smashed another one’s brains out against the jambs, and threw the grindstone at another and killed him; the rest run to the vessel, but before they could get the anchor you was on board; then they run below, and you fastened them in; that there was a woman and a little boy in the vessel, that they had prisoners; and that they fired at you and missed, and the bullet went into her side; and that then you took the boy, and fastened them all into the cuddy, and brought the ones you had killed ashore, and set fire to the vessel, and burnt them all up together; and a great many believed it, because they saw a fire on here; but your father said he didn’t believe a word of it, for you wasn’t such a fool as to burn up a vessel; and if the men were armed they could have shot you.”
“I was burning some brush that was in my way,” said Ben; “that was the fire they saw.”
“So this is the boy,” said Uncle Isaac, turning to Charlie; “well, I wish you well; I hear that you are a good boy, and industrious, and those are great things. I was a poor boy at your age, and had nothing but my hands, as you have; but, by God’s blessing, I have got along, and so will you, and be happy and respected, for you’ve come to a good country, a better one for laboring people than the one you have left. Poor men get rich here, but poor people grow poorer there, and sometimes starve to death, which is awful in a place that pretends to be a Christian country; but you see there’s too many sheep in the pasture—they are too thick; it ain’t so here—there’s room enough.”
In the mean time the two boys stood—the one beside Sally’s chair, and the other by Ben’s—eying one another, and each longing to hear the other speak. John thought he had never seen a finer looking boy than Charlie, and Charlie was internally paying the same compliment to John.
“Uncle Isaac,” whispered Sally, “how shall we get these boys together? shall I introduce them?”
“Nonsense; I’ll soon fix that. Ben, have you got a bushel basket?”
“Yes.”
“Well, let this youngster—What’s your first name, my lad?”
“Charles, sir.”
“Well, let Charles go down with John to the canoe, and fetch up some things your father sent over. That’s the way,” said Uncle Isaac; “they don’t want any of our help; they will take care of themselves.”