"Poor little child," said Uncle Sam softly. "It must have been a rough life for her in the wild woods of the New World at that time, even if the cruel savages had let her alone. My heart goes out also to Sir Walter Raleigh, for he worked so hard to have English people settle here. The saddest part of it is that he did not succeed. "He lived long enough, however, to hear of other people going to Virginia and making a home there. They would surely have failed, too, if it had not been for Captain John Smith." "What a common name that is," said Joe. "I know two boys named John Smith." "A common enough name, to be sure," answered Uncle Sam. "But the John Smith I am thinking of was very different from any other. If you children can stay long enough this evening, I will tell you about him." "Mother said we needn't come home till eight o'clock unless you got tired of us before that time." "The idea of my getting tired of you and Joe, Lucy! I would be a lonely old man if it were not for you children. You help to keep me young. I can't think what I should do, either, if I had no one to listen to the stories that keep running through my head. Just now it is fairly bursting with the brave deeds of John Smith." "Dear me! Don't let it burst, Uncle Sam. Do begin the story this very minute," cried Lucy, trying to look frightened. A moment afterward the little sitting-room was so still that anyone could have heard the big clock ticking in the corner. Then Uncle Sam began to tell of the strange life of CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH Once upon a time there was a little boy who lived on a farm in England. When he was born his father and mother said, "We will call our son John." As soon as he was old enough he was set to work at a trade. His parents were poor and they thought, "It is a good thing to have a trade, for then a man can always get his own living." The young John Smith could not agree with them. He did not like his work, so he did what other boys sometimes do. He ran away. Then his troubles began, for he had a hard life. He tried all sorts of things. He became a soldier and later he went to sea and was out in such a terrible storm that his ship was wrecked. Again he was out in a ship when another storm came up. "John Smith carries bad luck wherever he goes," the men whispered to each other. "He has brought this storm upon us." They threw him overboard. As he was a good swimmer and not far from land, he managed to reach the shore in safety. This is only one of the stories John Smith told of his strange life when he was a young man. Not long after that adventure he took part in a war against the Turks. He was as brave as ever, for at one time he killed three Turks and cut off their heads. He had no one to help him do it, either. He did not succeed as well afterwards, for the Turks caught him and made him a slave. His cruel master fastened an iron collar around his neck and made him work very hard. He had to thresh wheat.