Hope Leslie: Volume 1, Chapter 6 Summary & Analysis

Just as the group vanishes into the forest, Digby and another household servant ride onto the property. At first, the house is so quiet that they assume the bugle blast was a prank. But when Digby enters the house and sees Mrs. Fletcher’s and the children’s bodies, he screams in despair. Jennet emerges, covered with soot from her hiding place in the chimney. She doesn’t know what became of Everell, but when Digby sees the boy’s abandoned musket, he realizes that Everell and Faith have been taken captive—and from the dripping blood, he knows it must have just happened.

When Mr. Pynchon observes the scene at Bethel, he imagines the potential fate of the entire colony. He oversees care for the bodies of the dead and tries to get information from Jennet, but she is mostly preoccupied with her own survival. He does learn, however, that Mononotto was responsible, and concludes that the party can be overtaken—they are probably headed west, toward the Mohawks among whom Mononotto has been sheltering. He sends five of his men in that direction, guided by Digby.

Just as Mr. Pynchon is mounting his horse, he sees Mr. Fletcher’s party approaching. Two American Indians are carrying Hope on a litter, and the three of them are singing together in their respective languages. Mr. Fletcher beams with delight. But soon they notice the silence of Bethel. Mr. Fletcher gallops ahead, and Hope soon jumps down and follows. A weeping Mr. Pynchon breaks the news to Mr. Fletcher. Mr. Fletcher sends Hope back to the village to Mrs. Grafton, asking to be left alone until tomorrow.

The next morning, Mr. Pynchon returns with a group of sympathetic neighbors. They are alarmed to learn that Mr. Fletcher spent the night enclosed with the bodies of his murdered family, and just when they are considering breaking the door down, Mr. Fletcher comes out and asks about Everell. He can only say, “God’s will be done!” before returning to solitude.

The narrator says that, because they are far removed from the time in which such things occurred, readers are apt to forget the hardships by which current blessings were obtained. The pilgrims endured such sufferings not for themselves, but for posterity’s sake, believing themselves chosen by God and bound to struggle for the sake of religious liberty and equal rights. They expected no earthly reward.

Mononotto’s group, meanwhile, is about an hour ahead of the group from Bethel that’s pursuing them. Though they know the forest intimately, they are slowed down by their captives. Faith is placed in a makeshift carrier on one man’s back and permitted to hold Oneco’s hand to keep her quiet. Magawisca begs her father, who has never before shed innocent blood, to send Everell home. But Mononotto replies that his own son, Samoset, was not spared. He saw Everell fight in his mother’s defense and knows that Everell is a worthy sacrifice in Samoset’s place.

As the party halts by the Connecticut River for the night, Magawisca quietly urges Everell to observe their route and be prepared to escape at a moment’s notice. Magawisca sits up until everyone is asleep and then wakes Everell. As they prepare to sneak out of the camp, they hear English voices in the distance—it’s Digby’s group rowing on the river. But one of the warriors wakes and points his knife at Everell. Everell doesn’t dare utter a sound, even as he hears Digby and his men searching the bank for signs and then deciding to pursue a different direction. Magawisca collapses with despair, torn between her desire to help Everell and her fears for her father’s life if they are discovered.