Read Online The Sacrifice by Kathleen Benner Duble - Free Book Online

the devil? Or were the girls lying, choosingvictims at random? Did the girls speak the truth or did Grandpappy? Why did he not say something, if he believed they were lying?
    Abigail turned to look for her grandfather. He stood quietly at the back, his eyes fixed on the events occurring at the front of the meetinghouse. He seemed barely able to breathe.
    “This is absurd,” Mama said. “These people are not witches.”
    Abigail saw that a deacon was now approaching them. His face was pale but stern, and she knew at once that they were not to be passed over. Even the minister’s family must take its turn. Especially the minister’s family. The deacon nodded toward both sides of the aisle.
    “The whole family?” Mama asked indignantly.
    He nodded again.
    Abigail rose with the rest of her family. She looked at Papa. He twitched slightly.
Please, Papa,
Abby prayed,
stay well
.
    “Walk proudly, children,” Mama whispered.
    She followed the others toward the front of the meetinghouse. Franny went first, whimpering asthey pulled her hand toward the girls, her eyes blindfolded. The girls continued to twist and groan and cry.
    Next was Paul, and then Dorothy, neither of whom caused a change in either girl. Then it was Abigail’s turn. The blindfold was placed over her eyes, and she could see nothing. She felt Elder Stevens take her hand firmly in his. Abigail’s lip quivered. Yet why should she be frightened? She was not a witch.
    She drew a deep breath and pushed her hand out to touch one of the girls.
    Nothing. Nothing happened. The girl continued her moaning and crying.
    Abigail’s breathing returned to normal as she was led away and the blindfold taken from her eyes. But then she realized that Mama and Papa had yet to go. She turned to watch.
    Mama reached out boldly and touched Mary Walcott. Nothing.
    Papa, too, reached out on his own and touched Ann Putnam. Ann’s cries lessened for a moment. Abigail heard Dorothy draw in her breath, but thenAnn cried out, even louder than before. Papa was passed on. Their family had made it through the test.
    Abigail turned to look at the ones who had quieted the girls, the ones who had been accused of being witches. Standing in the corner with Justice Bradstreet, who was signing petitions for their arrest, were more than half a dozen people, their eyes betraying their bewilderment and dismay.
    Abigail slipped her hand inside her mother’s and squeezed hard. Mama squeezed back. Yet Abigail was still uneasy.
If there had been so many witches living in this tiny town,
she wondered,
how had the town of Andover ever had one normal day? Was it possible for this much evil to exist in so small a community? Or were these good neighbors and friends only caught up in some awful game?
    Abigail was grateful that they were not among those who must now prove their innocence. The danger for the Faulkner family was past. That was truly what she believed.

eleven
    At first Mama refused to listen to Abigail and her brother and sisters begging for news of the accused. She refused to discuss the gossip that was being told around the village. She wouldn’t let the chores wait for even an hour so they could visit the families of the accused and find out what was happening to them in prison as they awaited their trial.
    But after two weeks, even Mama seemed unable to contain her curiosity about the events in the village.
    “Paul,” she called one day, “run on down to the meetinghouse and see if you can find your grandfather. Pray tell him that we would be most happy to have him join us for supper.”
    Dorothy and Abigail looked at each other but said nothing.
    “Abby,” Franny whispered, “if Grandpappy comes, will he have news of the witches?”
    “I believe so,” Abigail said.
    Her sister went back to her mending, but Abigail could see that her hands were trembling. Since the day in the meetinghouse when Franny had been forced to touch the hand of Ann Putnam, her sister had lived in fear that