The Witch Of Blackbird Pond

As October arrives, Kit is struck by the sight of autumn’s glory in new England: “The maple tree in front of the doorstep burned like a gigantic red torch. The oaks along the roadway glowed yellow and bronze. The fields stretched like a carpet of jewels, emerald and topaz and garnet” (146-147).

News arrives that a trading ship has just made port. Kit is delighted to find that it is the Dolphin, commanded by Nat’s father. The young seaman gives Kit a bolt of cloth for Hannah, but he seems put out that Kit is supposed to marry William. She tells him that nothing has been decided yet. All the town’s residents are stirred up by the impending arrival of the king’s new governor, Sir Edmond Andros. He is traveling from Massachusetts to take control of Connecticut as well. 

All the men in the territory are concerned about policy changes that Andros might make. During a political meeting, a citizen protests, “This Governor Andros says right out that deeds signed by the Injuns are no better than scratches of a bear’s paw! We are all to beg new grants for land we’ve bought and paid for. Why, the fees alone will leave us paupers!” (155).

Matthew is worried that the governor will dissolve the colony’s charter and take away their independence. After Andros arrives to meet with the colony’s leaders, the charter mysteriously disappears. Even though the governor has the power to revoke the charter without laying eyes on the paper itself, this act of insubordination is a hint that the colonists might someday resist the English crown’s involvement in their affairs.

The day after Halloween, Kit learns that three rowdy mariners played a prank by placing lighted pumpkins in the empty window frames of William’s house. She thinks the joke is funny, but the local authorities sentence the malefactors to several hours in the stocks. As the rest of the family goes to Thursday church service, Kit steals a glimpse at the criminals. Not surprisingly, Nat is one of the culprits. He rebuffs Kit’s attempts at kindness. Hurt, she flees to Hannah’s house rather than going to the Puritan lecture.

Kit tells Hannah about Nat’s punishment and her own misgivings about marrying William. While she’s still at the cottage, Prudence arrives. The child is making rapid progress with her lessons, but Kit fears what might happen if Prudence’s parents hear about her visits to the witch: “What misery would be the child’s lot if these meetings were discovered? The miracle that had been taking place before their eyes had made it all too easy to forget the danger” (172).

As Kit and Prudence leave for the evening, Kit has a premonition that this will be the last time all three will share the sanctuary of the cottage together. Back at home, Kit learns that John has broken ties with his royalist mentor, Reverend Bulkeley. He has also joined the militia as a doctor to fight in the Indian wars. Judith says how upset she is by his decision.

A week after John leaves, Judith falls ill with a fever. The disease spreads through the town as more children become infected. Even Mercy succumbs. Kit is kept busy from morning until night struggling to tend the sick household. Matthew stubbornly refuses Bulkeley’s medical help because he is a royalist, but he asks the minister to treat Mercy’s illness as a final resort.

One night, the Wood home is disturbed when a band of citizens approaches, asking Matthew to join them in arresting Hannah Tupper. They believe she has cast an evil spell to make the village’s children sick and that she must be tried as a witch. Matthew refuses to take part and sends them on their way. Alarmed, Kit realizes that she must warn Hannah. She slips out of the house and runs to the cottage, convincing the old woman to flee only moments before the angry colonists arrive. They burn the hut to the ground as Kit leads Hannah through the woods and down to the beach.

Uncertain what to do next, Kit is relieved to see the Dolphin sailing into view. She signals and then dives into the water to halt the ship. Luckily, Nat is onboard and sends a rowboat to rescue Hannah. The old woman refuses to climb in without her big yellow cat, so Kit and Nat go back to find the animal and capture it. Wrapping it in his shirt, Nat presents Hannah with her pet, after which she agrees to cooperate in her rescue. Nat proposes hiding her in Saybrook at his grandmother’s house until the witch hysteria blows over. He wants Kit to come with him to Barbados to escape persecution, but she is worried about Mercy and goes home to tend her cousin. When she slips back inside the house undetected, she learns that Mercy’s condition has improved because of Bulkeley’s treatment.