The next morning the constable took Kit to the Town House. The building was full of people. At a table at the end of the room sat Captain Talcott and a group of town selectmen. Her uncle sat in his place among them, frowning. At the opposite end of the table sat the two ministers, Reverend John Woodbridge and Dr. Gershom Bulkeley, both known for their sermons against witchcraft. Kit’s heart sank. There was no one, no one in the whole room, except her uncle, who would defend her. William had not come.
Soon Captain Talcott began his speech: “We have come here to question Mistress Katherine Tyler, of Barbados, who is accused by witnesses of the practice of witchcraft. Mistress Tyler, come forward.” Kit got up and stood facing the magistrate across the table.
“Listen to the charge against you.” A clerk read ridiculous statements which, to Kit’s horror, ended with the words “for which by the law of God and the law of the Colony you deserve to die”. Then the clerk continued: “Mistress Tyler, you are accused by Goodman Cruff with the following. Firstly, you were a friend and companion of the Widow Hannah Tupper of Blackbird Pond, an alleged witch who has disappeared in a suspicious manner. Secondly, you are guilty of devilish actions, which have caused illness and death in this town.”
The clerk sat down. Captain Talcott looked at the girl before him. “Mistress Tyler,” he said, “you have heard the complaints against you. Is it true that you were a friend and companion of the Widow Tupper and that you have entered her house and visited her?”
“Yes, sir,” Kit managed to say.
“Is it true that you and the Widow Tupper practiced enchantments to cause mischief to other people?”
“No, sir! I don’t know what you mean by enchantments.”
At this moment Matthew Wood jumped suddenly to his feet. “I protest!” he shouted.
“Matthew Wood, were these visits to the Widow Tupper taken with your approval?” asked Captain Talcott.
“No, I had no knowledge of them,” Matthew admitted. “And I forbade her to go. But the girl has been disobedient and thoughtless at times. That’s because of her upbringing. But I swear before all that the girl is no witch.”
Now Goodwife Cruff rose to her feet. “Sir, I’ve something to say,” she announced. “I’ve got here what was found in the widow’s house that night.” With these words she took an object from her pocket. It was not the book, as Kit had expected. It was the little copybook.
“Look at that!” Goodwife Cruff demanded. “What do you say about that? My Prudence’s name is written over and over. It’s a spell!”
The magistrate took the copybook. “Does this book belong to you, Mistress Tyler? Did you write this name?”
“Yes, sir,” Kit managed to say again. She could hardly stand. “I wrote the name.”
Matthew Wood covered his eyes with his hand. He looked old and ill.
“Why did you write a child’s name like that? This is a serious matter. You must explain to us why you chose this child’s name.”
Kit was silent. All men and women in the hall jumped to their feet, screaming, “She won’t answer! She’s guilty! She’s a witch! Hang her! Put her to the water test!”
Meanwhile, Gershom Bulkeley quietly took the copybook and studied it carefully. Then he whispered something to the magistrate. Captain Talcott announced, “Silence now! This case will be taken to court in Hartford!”
“Wait a minute, Captain!” called a voice. “There’s a man here who says he has an important witness for the case.”
Kit turned slowly to face a newcomer. At the door of the room stood Nat Eaton. Beside him, holding his hand stood Prudence Cruff. Nat! Kit immediately felt joy and relief.
“Where is the witness?” the magistrate asked. Nat put his hands on the child’s shoulders and gently pushed her forward. “Come here, child,” the magistrate said. Prudence walked straight to the magistrate’s table. There was something strange about her. She was not afraid!
“We will ask you some questions, Prudence,” said the magistrate quietly. “Do you know this young woman?”
“Yes sir,” whispered Prudence. “She is my teacher. She taught me to read.”
“Where did she teach you?”
“At Hannah’s house in the meadow.”
Goodwife Cruff screamed loudly from across the room.
“Do you mean Mistress Tyler took you to Hannah Tupper’s house?”
“The first time she took me there. After that I went by myself.”
It is all over, thought Kit. Gershom Bulkeley still held the little copybook. He passed the book to Captain Talcott. “Have you ever seen this book before?” the magistrate asked the child.
“Yes, sir. Kit gave it to me. I wrote my name in it.”
“That’s a lie!” cried Goodwife Cruff. “The child is bewitched!”
Captain Talcott turned to Kit. “Is it true that the child wrote her own name in this book?”
“It’s true,” Kit answered quietly. “I wrote it for her once and then she copied it.”
The magistrate turned to the child again. “Could you write your name now, do you think?”
“I think so, sir.”
He dipped the quill pen in the ink and gave it to the child. Prudence set the pen on the copybook and started writing. For a moment the room was silent. The magistrate looked at the writing and gave the copybook to Gershom Bulkeley. “Very nice writing, I should say,” Dr. Bulkeley commented, “for a child with no learning.”
“Now Prudence,” the magistrate continued. “You say that Mistress Tyler taught you to read? What sort of reading? What can you read, child?”
“I can read the Bible.”
Dr. Bulkeley picked up the Great Bible from the table and turned the pages thoughtfully. “Read that for us, child, beginning right there.”
Kit held her breath. Then across the silence came the child’s whisper: “Buy the truth and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding…”
Kit felt so proud that she forgot her fear. For the first time she dared to look back at Nat Eaton where he stood near the door. Their eyes met, and suddenly a warm feeling of strength flowed into her.
Everyone in the room was staring at the two Cruff parents who stood with their mouths open in shock and disbelief. Goodwife Cruff’s face darkened. She saw now that she had been tricked. But before she could get at her child, her husband spoke. “Did you hear that?” he asked. “That was really good reading. I’d like to see any boy in this town do better!”
“It’s a trick!” cried his wife. “That child could never read a word in her life! She’s bewitched!”
“Hold your tongue, woman,” shouted her husband back. “I’m tired of hearing about Prudence being bewitched. All these years you’ve been telling me our child was stupid. But look how smart she is! All my life I’ve wished I could read. Now I got someone to read the Good Book to me every evening, and that’s no work of the devil!”
The magistrate had not interrupted this speech. “As I understand, Goodman Cruff, you withdraw your charges against this young woman?”
“Yes,” he answered loudly. “Yes. I withdraw the charges.”
“Adam Cruff!” his wife screamed. “Have you lost your mind? The girl has bewitched you too!”
At the back of the room someone laughed. Was it Nat?
“There is no evidence of witchcraft,” the magistrate announced. “I pronounce that Mistress Katherine Tyler is free and innocent.”
But suddenly Goodwife Cruff found a new target. “That man!” she yelled. “Isn’t he the sailor who was banished from the town for setting fire to houses?” There was a new uproar. The constable looked to the magistrate for orders. “Arrest him,” Captain Talcott said.
“Oh no!” Kit cried in alarm. “You can’t arrest him! He only came back to help me.”
But they were too late. Nat had already left the room unnoticed. “They won’t find him,” a little voice whispered in Kit’s ear. “He told me to say goodbye to you if he had to run away.”
“Prudence!” Kit cried. “How did it all happen?”