Danger at Scituate Lighthouse
Rebecca stood by her father, looking out the windows of Scituate Lighthouse. Low sand dunes (沙丘) with sea grass topped the Massachusetts beach. There were no clouds in the sky—nothing at all to give warning of the danger that was sailing toward them.
"Now, Rebecca," Mr. Bates began, gazing out across the open sea, "I want you and Abigail to help your mother and take care of things while I go to town for food and supplies. I won't be gone long."
"We'll help, "Rebecca promised.
"I know I can count on you."
Still, Mr. Bates looked a little worried about leaving the lighthouse. After all, peace between the US and the UK had not yet been declared, even though the war of 1812 was nearly over. Although English warships used to frequently attack towns along the coast—including Scituate—no English soldiers had been sighted for a long time. Besides, Rebecca thought as she watched her father set off, the family would soon starve if he didn't go for food.
Her father hadn't been gone long when Rebecca happened to look out the window at the ocean. What she saw nearly made her heart stop. It was an enemy ship: a small, light-gunned British warship. Calling for her mother, she grabbed her father's telescope and could just make out the name painted on the side: La Hogue.
Rebecca, Abigail, and their mother stood together, frightened, as they watched the ship sail closer. Mother told the girls to watch the ship while she tried to sound the alarm and warn the home guard in the nearby village. The girls watched helplessly as the great ship drew near. Two small boats were lowered off the side, and Rebecca knew the boats would come ashore quickly.
It was time to run. As they ran down the lighthouse stairs, Rebecca suddenly stopped when she saw her fife (横笛). Oh my! She thought. It just might work… Rebecca grabbed the fife and the drum (鼓) that Abigail had been learning to play.
Paragraph 1：
She and her sister hurried out of the lighthouse and over to the large sand dunes that lay behind it.
Paragraph 2：
The English soldiers looked nervously at one another—the music of "Yankee Doodle" had to be coming from the confident American soldiers.
