im
struggle till he reached near enough their ship to clamber up."

"I wish I could be a soldier like your father," said Amos, and at this
Anne looked upon him more kindly.

"Scull faster, Amos," urged Amanda; "the sun is not two hours high, and
'Tis a long walk through the sand before we can get home. I do hope we'll
get there before milking time that I may have a drink of warm milk."

When the boat touched the sandy shore of Long Point, Anne and Amanda
scrambled over the bow and urged Amos to hurry.

"I must make the boat safe," he said; "'twould be a sad loss to have the
tide take her out. And I'll hide this good oar, too. To-morrow Jimmie
Starkweather and I will sail down and tow her back, and maybe take a look
at the island," and Amos looked back regretfully to the shores they had
just left.

The dory was drawn up beyond reach of the tide, the oar hidden under the
sand, and the children started on their walk toward home. The distance was
but two miles, but walking through the loose sand was hard and tiresome.

"I slip back a step every step I take," said Anne; "look, the sun is
nearly out of sight now."

"The milk will be strained and set ere this," said Amanda mournfully;
"there's not even a beach-plum grows on this point, and the long grass
cuts my feet whenever I come near it."

"You could have had another baked fish by this time if you would have
stayed on the island," said Amos complainingly.

After this the children plodded on in silence for a long time. The harvest
moon rose beyond the harbor and smiled down upon them. There was a silvery
glint all over the water, and as they came round one of the big piles of
sand, which are so often seen along the coast of Cape Cod, they all
stopped and looked out across the harbor. It was Amos who pointed toward a
big ship riding at anchor, perhaps a mile from the shore.

"There's the 'Somerset' back again," he said. "I wonder if there's any
harm done at the settlement?"

CHAPTER X

SAFE AT HOME

It was late in the evening when the three tired, hungry children reached
the settlement. Amanda and Amos ran up the path to their door and Anne
plodded on toward Mrs. Stoddard's, nearly a half mile from the Cary
house.

There was not a light to be seen in the village, but Anne could see the
shining lanterns on the "Somerset" sending narrow rays of light across the
water. But she was too tired to think of the British ship, or of anything
except how good i