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When a witch is young: a historical novel

Chapter 63: CHAPTER XVII. BEWITCHED.
By Philip Verrill Mighels
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About This Book

Set amid the violent aftermath of frontier conflict, the novel follows a young woman whose fortunes become entangled with soldiers, lovers, and a stern community that soon suspects her of witchcraft. The narrative alternates public spectacle and private drama, moving through raids, mutinies, imprisonment, clandestine woodland meetings, and a dramatic legal ordeal. Long separations, rivalries, and political maneuvering test loyalties and reveal shifting alliances. Across years of danger and changing authority, characters grapple with love, betrayal, survival, and the pressures of superstition and rigid social order.

CHAPTER XVII.
 
BEWITCHED.

In his tidy little house in New Amsterdam, Adam sat reading a letter from Governor William Phipps, written at Boston.

“I forgyve you yr merrie empersonashun and all ye other things alsoe, save ye going away without goode-bye,” he read, “but let it pass. I wd write to say God Blesse you bothe. And as I have never known such a goode blade as yrs in fight, I wd offer you to make you my commander of ye forces to goe in war against ye French, where they do threat to harasse our peeple as of yore——”

Adam halted here and looked up at the battered old sword on the wall. His thought went truant, to his helpmate, away for a few minutes’ walk to Goody Dune’s. He shook his head at the Governor’s generous offer.

“Well, well, William,” he said aloud, “I don’t know. I don’t know what may be the matter, but—no more fighting for me, old comrade. I think it must be that I—am bewitched.”

THE END.

 

  • Transcriber’s Notes:
    • Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
    • Typographical errors were silently corrected.
    • Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book.