" The New England wilderness
March 1, 1704
Temperature 10 degrees

I will be brave, she told herself. I will stay strong.
Lord, Lord, Lord, she said to Him. She had never needed Him more, but in this cold white wilderness, she could not feel His presence.
The snowball fights ended.
The sledding stopped.
The march went on. Nobody could help Mercy. Everybody had their own trembling legs and hearts to deal with.
Tannhahorens appeared by her side. He had covered his ears and shaved head with a great scarlet muff of a hat. In his long blue coat, he was astonishing, like something out of a Bible story. With mittened hands, he lifted Daniel from Mercy’s back, giving the little boy another bite of hard bread and setting him on his shoulders to ride high and comfortable, the way Eunice Williams was riding. Then he took Mercy’s hand to keep her from falling as the march went up yet another hill. "

― Caroline B. Cooney , The Ransom of Mercy Carter