Dame Drayton had also noticed the surprised looks in the lads' faces; but she felt sure they might be trusted not to mention what they had heard out of the house, for they were steady, quiet, reliable lads, and their occupation kept them out of touch with many of the more turbulent of their class. Their parents were steady God-fearing people; and so Dame Drayton put aside all fear of mischief coming to them through the apprentices. The children were naturally shy of each other at first; but by degrees this slipped off like a garment there was no further need to use, and the first question Bessie asked was about her mother and father. "When can I go and see them, Martha Drayton?" she asked. There was no disrespect in the girl's tone; but she came of a more stern and uncompromising family of Quakers, and would have looked upon it almost as a sin to use any title of courtesy, however much she might revere the individual. Dame Drayton knew all this, but it came upon her with something like a shock, to be addressed as "Martha Drayton" by this child, and she paused for a minute before answering her question. Then she said, slowly and cautiously, "Dear child, thou hast been placed in our care by the committee of suffering. They will nathless see to it that ye see your father in due time; but thou must not run into needless danger, or bring suspicion upon this household." "Art thou ashamed of being a Quaker, then, as our enemies call us?" asked the girl rather severely. "To tremble and quake because of sin was a mark that we were children of the Highest, my father said, and should we be ashamed of that?" "Nay, nay, we should be unworthy of our high calling if we were to despise the work of the Spirit in our hearts; but dost thou not see, Bessie, that if we were to prate in the streets of these things, we should bring trouble and sorrow upon those whom God hath given us to protect?" "But the trouble and sorrow would be good for them an it came to them," said Bessie Westland. "Even so; but if I could not offer thee and thy sisters a safe abiding-place now, the trouble and sorrow of thy father and mother would be increased tenfold." The girl loved her father very dearly, and would have suffered anything herself to lessen his affliction, and so this view of the matter touched her a little; and Dame Drayton took this opportunity of pressing upon her the need of caution. "We are not called to raise up to ourselves enemies needlessly. It is only when some truth is to be held firmly and unflinchingly, that we may thus brave the law and the mob who alike are against it." "But my father held that it was the duty of a true friend of sinners to preach the truth to them at all times, whether they would hear, or whether they would forbear," said Bessie after a minute or two.