It was noon the next day when Faith awoke; and although she was quite ready to dress and go down-stairs, her mother thought it best for her to stay in bed.  
Faith wondered to herself if Esther’s feet ached as hers did; and, more than this, she was anxious to know if their parents had any idea of where she and Esther had spent the previous day.
 
“There will be so much for me to tell mother,” she thought, a little uneasily, hoping that soon she would again have no secrets to conceal¹.
 
When Faith came down-stairs she found Esther waiting to see her; and, in response to Faith’s questioning look, she nodded and smiled reassuringly². Esther had brought over her English grammar, for it had been decided³ that the two little girls were to study together two hours each day; one day at Faith’s house, and the next at Esther’s.
 
[Pg 209]“It’s all right; our mothers don’t know. But what made you so tired?” said Esther, as soon as the girls were alone.
 
Faith shook her head. “I don’t know. I do hope we can tell all about it soon. I’ve a great mind to tell mother now.”
 
“You mustn’t. Don’t you remember? Mr. Warner said that soon he would tell our fathers, and they would be proud of us. But if we tell them now they won’t be proud; they will be vexed⁴, and maybe punish us. Wait until Colonel Allen tells them that you helped him. Then ’twill be all right,” advised Esther, and Faith agreed, a little doubtfully.
 
It was difficult for the two little girls to fix their minds on their lessons that day, and for many days to come. They both watched the trail, each day expecting to see some messenger who would bring news that Colonel Allen was in possession of Fort Ticonderoga; but April passed, and Esther declared that she did not believe the Americans wanted the fort.
 
“I am going to tell my mother everything. All about our going to Lake Dunmore, and my letter, and something else,” declared Faith.
 
It was one day early in May, and she and [Pg 210]Esther were coming up from Beaver⁶ meadow, where they had been watching the little creatures, who were very active and did not seem to fear the two little figures at the edge of the woods. The beavers⁷ were building a dam; they had dragged trees to the side of the stream, and it seemed a very wonderful thing to Esther when she saw the beavers sink one end of these stakes, while others raised and fastened the other end, twisting in the small branches of the trees, and plastering mud over all with their feet and tails. She was thinking to herself that there were more strange things to see in the Wilderness⁹ in one day than in a whole year in a village, when she felt Faith seize her arm and say laughingly:
 
“You haven’t heard a word. Now, listen! I am going to tell my mother.”
 
The little girls were now in sight of the clearing, and, before Esther could answer, Faith stopped suddenly and exclaimed:
 
“Look, Esther! There’s a man just leaving the mill, and running up the trail as fast as he can go. A stranger.”
 
Quite forgetting beavers and secrets the two little girls ran toward the house. “There’s my father,” said Esther as they reached the door.
 
[Pg 211]Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge were both in the kitchen of the Carew house, and none of the elder people appeared to notice the two girls.
 
Mr. Carew was loading his musket¹⁰, and Faith’s mother was packing a knapsack with provisions.
 
“Here are the children,” said Mrs. Eldridge, as she turned toward the door; and then Esther saw that her father was waiting for Mr. Carew.
 
“Faithie dear, your father is going to Castleton,” said Mrs. Carew, fastening the knapsack, and in a moment Faith was held close in her father’s arms, and then the two men were off, striding down the trail.
 
“Are they going to take Ticonderoga?” Faith questioned eagerly.
 
The two women looked at her in surprise, but Mrs. Carew answered quickly:
 
“Of course they are. Americans are guarding the trail, so we are safe enough at present. But neither of you girls must go beyond the clearing.”
 
“When shall we know about the fort, mother? When will we know?” asked Faith.
 
“Soon, I hope, child. But talk not of it now,” responded her mother.
 
[Pg 212]But after a little Mrs. Eldridge told them that a messenger had come from Bennington, summoning the settlers to Castleton to meet Colonel Allen. Faith and Esther listened to the story of the far-off battle of Lexington, in Massachusetts, the news of which had determined¹¹ the Green Mountain Boys to make an immediate¹² attack ............