The Accused (Christian Heritage Series: The Salem Years #4) (vuoden 1995 painos)

Josiah Hutchinson was unhappy with being stuck inside on the winter day. Weekdays he went to school and was stuck inside there! His sister, Hope, reminded him of all the things he could do on the way to school. Their father stopped their disagreement & told Josiah that bot Rebecca & Francis Nurse were ill and he wanted Joshua to take some firewood to them. Along the way Josiah thought about Hope & their recent adventures, as Puritan children they were only allowed small freedoms. It had been snowing for a couple days & Josiah plowed through the snow & over the frozen marsh toward the Nurse farm. He saw something that frightened him & began running as 4 figures blocked his path. He almost got away from the Putnam's, but his feet slipped on a patch of ice. While the Putnams prevented him from continuing, snow seeped into his breeches & spilled into his boots! The Nurse family lived in the village, just as they all did, but the Putnams thought they acted above them. The Putnams believed that anyone who bettered themselves was going against God's will. Abigail Williams, Reverend Parris's niece, joined them & gave her opinion that the Nurse's sickness was because they didn't attend her uncle's church, or provide their share of his firewood. Eleazer Putnam decided that the firewood should go to Reverend Parris's. Josiah stated that his family went to church in Salem Town because the Putnams wouldn't vote his parents in as member, so why should their firewood go to Rev. Parris? This surprised the Putnams because for the first 10 years of Josiah's life he had stuttered & wouldn't speak up for himself. The Putnams finally buried Josiah in the snow & took off with the firewood... ( )