I. A LIBERTY POLE 9 II. REBECCA'S SECRET 19 III. MELVINA MAKES DISCOVERIES 33 IV. AT MR. LYON'S 45 V. A BIRTHDAY 57 VI. LUCIA HAS A PLAN 68 VII. "A TRAITOR'S DEED" 79 VIII. "WHITE WITCHES" 90 IX. REBECCA'S VISIT 102 X. AN AFTERNOON WALK 112 XI. AN EXCHANGE OF VISITS 121 XII. WILD HONEY 133 XIII. DOWN THE RIVER 143 XIV. AN UNINVITED GUEST 152 XV. REBBY AND LUCIA 165 XVI. REBBY DECIDES 178 XVII. A PERILOUS JOURNEY 189 XVIII. TRIUMPH 205 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ILLUSTRATIONS SHE ADDED WOOD TO THE FIRE Frontispiece PAGE "WE'LL WADE OUT TO FLAT ROCK" 34 "BUT WHICH ONE IS TO BE MINE?" 77 HOW LONG THE AFTERNOON SEEMED! 127 A MAN CAME AROUND THE CORNER OF THE HOUSE 175 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- A LITTLE MAID OF OLD MAINE CHAPTER I A LIBERTY POLE Anna and Rebecca Weston, carrying a big basket between them, ran along the path that led from their home to the Machias River. It was a pleasant May morning in 1775, and the air was filled with the fragrance of the freshly cut pine logs that had been poled down the river in big rafts to be cut into planks and boards at the big sawmills. The river, unusually full with the spring rains, dashed against its banks as if inviting the little girls to play a game with it. Usually Anna and Rebecca were quite ready to linger at the small coves which crept in so near to the footpath, and sail boats made of pieces of birch-bark, with alder twigs for masts and broad oak leaves for sails. They named these boats _Polly_ and _Unity_, after the two fine sloops which carried lumber from Machias to Boston and returned with cargoes of provisions for the little settlement.