na were safely indoors their father hastened away to tell
the men of the settlement that a supply of powder and shot had been
brought to Machias by his courageous daughters.

CHAPTER XVIII

TRIUMPH

The day following the return of Rebecca and Anna Weston from their
perilous and difficult undertaking to bring the much needed powder and
shot to Machias was Sunday, the eleventh of June, 1775.

Very early that morning there was an air of unusual excitement about the
little settlement. It was known that the English officers from the
gunboat would attend service in the meeting-house that morning; and the
Machias men had decided, with the approval of Parson Lyon, to surround
the church and capture them before they had time to carry out their
plans against the settlement.

Rebby and Danna were eating their breakfast when Captain Benjamin Foster
appeared at the kitchen door, saying that he had come to thank them for
their courageous effort to aid the men in defending their rights. As he
entered the room the girls jumped up from their seats at the table and
curtseyed; and as he went on to praise their loyalty and valor, the two
little girls, hand in hand, stood before him with downcast eyes, flushed
and happy at his approving words.

In spite of anxious thoughts as to the result of the conflict between
the men of Machias and the English soldiers, Mrs. Weston was very proud
and happy that morning as she walked to church with Rebecca and Anna
beside her. Many neighbors stopped them to praise the little girls, and
all declared that the people of the settlement would always remember
what they had done.

Even Parson Lyon and his wife were waiting at the church door to speak
to the two little heroines; and Melvina and Luretta felt as if they
shared in their friends' honors as they walked up the aisle of the
church beside them.

Before the English officers had landed from their boat a number of the
Machias men had quietly hidden their guns in the building; while Captain
Benjamin Foster, with men armed and ready for action, were concealed
among the tall pines close at hand, ready to surround the church and
seize the English officers; and had they taken London Atus into their
confidence this well-prepared scheme might have succeeded.

But London was entirely innocent of any trouble near at hand. From his
place in a side pew he kept a watchful eye upon Melvina,