of June and took dinner with them, being full of a project to build a road between Nathan Lindall’s house and his own over which one might travel by horseback. David’s father, however, was faint-hearted in the matter, since the distance was all of three miles and much swampy ground intervened. Besides which, as David, listening to the talk, thought, but did not say, Master Lindall owned no horse. In the end the visitor went away again somewhat disgruntled.
So passed the first of the summer very peacefully until July had come in. Then one day messengers came up the river from Newtowne with the news so long dreaded. King Philip had at last thrown down the gauntlet. The day before an express had reached Boston from the Plymouth Colony bearing a letter from Governor Winslow announcing that an attack had occurred on the settlement at Swansea and that several of the English had been killed. Philip, it was said, had already armed more than a thousand of his people and from now on it was war to the knife. Messengers were on their way to the Narragansetts to persuade them not to join forces with Philip and Governor Leverett had offered Governor Winslow aid of
