第3章

“Hum！“sneeredMissPepper。“Upsot！Yes，Iseeyou’reupsot。Getup，andtrytolookasmuchlikeaChristianasyoucan！“

Kyanrosefromhiskneestohisfeetandrubbedhisback。HeglancedreproachfullyatGrace，thenfearfullyathissister。

“Iwasjusttryin’tohelpKeziahtakedownherstovepipe，“heexplained。“Yousee，shedidn’thavenomanto——“

“Yes，Isee。Well，Ijudgeyougotitdown。Nowyougoouttothesinkandwashyourface。Heavensandearth！Lookatthemclothes！“

“Idohopeyoudidn’thurtyourself，Abishai，“saidthesympatheticKeziah。Then，asremembranceofwhathadledtotheupsetcametoher，sheadded：“ThoughIwillsay’twasyourownfaultandnobodyelse’s。“

Laviniawhirledonher。

“Hisownfault，wasit？“sherepeated，hervoiceshrillandtrembling。“Thankyouverymuch，marm。Ical’late’twashisownfaultcomin’here，too，wa’n’tit？Nobodyledhimon，Is’pose。

Nobodyputhimuptoriggin’outinhisbestbibandtuckerandsneakin’heretheminuteIwasoutofthehouse。No，nobodydid！

OfCOURSEnot！“

“No，nobodydid，“saidKeziahbriskly。“Andyoumayknowwhatyou’rehintin’at，butIdon’t。“

“Dearme！Ain’tweinnocent！We’vegotplentyofmoney，WEhave。

Widowerswithpropertyain’tnoattractiontoUS。Everybodyknowsthat——oh，yes！Andtheynevertalkofsuchathing——oh，no！Folksdon’tsaythat——that——Well，“withasnarlinthedirectionofthekitchen，“areyouanywheresnighcleanyet？Getyourcoatandhatonandcomehomewithme。“

Shejerkedherbrotherintothebluecoat，jammedthetallhatdownuponhishead，and，seizinghimbythearm，stalkedtothedoor。

“Goodday，marm，“shesaid。“Idohopethenextwidoweryougettotakedownyourstovepipe——yes，indeed！ha！ha！——Ihopeyou’llhavebetterluckwithhim。ThoughIdon’tknowwho’twouldbe；thereain’tnomoreidiotsintownthatIknowof。Goodday，andthankyoukindlyforyourattentionstoourfamily。“

Shepulledthedooropenandwasonthestep；butMrs。Coffindidnotintendtolethergoinjustthatway。

“LavinyPepper，“shedeclared，hereyessnapping，“Idon’tknowwhatyou’retalkin’about，butifyoudaretomeanthatIwantanyofyourmoney，oryourbrother’smoney，you’remistaken——’causeI

don’t。AndIdon’twantyourbrothereither——Lordhelphim，poorthing！AndItellyourightnowthatthere’snobodythatdoes；

thoughsomekind-heartedfolkshavesaid’twouldbeaChristianacttopoisonhim，so’stoputhimoutofhismisery。There！Goodmornin’toyou。“

Sheslammedthedoor。Laviniawasspeechless。Asforherbrother，butoneremarkofhisreachedGrace，whowaswatchingfromthewindow。

“Laviny，“pleadedKyan，“justletmeexplain。“

Atnineo’clockthatnighthewasstill“explaining。“

Keziahturnedfromthedoorshehadclosedbehindhervisitor。

“Well！“sheejaculated。“WELL！“

Herfrienddidnotlookather。Shewasstillgazingoutofthewindow。Occasionallysheseemedtochoke。

Keziaheyedhersuspiciously。

“Humph！“shemused。“’Twasfunny，wasn’tit？“

“Oh，dreadfully！“wasthehurriedanswer。

“Yes。Seemstomeyoutookanawfullongtimefindin’thathammer。“

“Itwasawaybackinthedrawer。Ididn’tseeitatfirst。“

“Hum！GraceVanHorne，ifIthoughtyouheardwhatthat——thatTHINGsaidtome，I’d——I’d——Goodlandofmercy！somebodyELSEiscomin’。“

Steps，measured，dignifiedsteps，soundedonthewalk。Fromwithoutcamea“Hum——ha！“aportentouscombinationofcoughandgrunt。Gracedodgedbackfromthewindowandhastilybegandonningherhatandjacket。

“It’sCap’nElkanah，“shewhispered。“Imustgo。Thisseemstobeyourbusymorning，AuntKeziah。I“——hereshechokedagain——

“really，Ididn’tknowyouweresopopular。“

Keziahopenedthedoor。CaptainElkanahDaniels，prosperous，pompous，andunbending，crossedthethreshold。Richestmaninthevillage，retiredshipowner，pillaroftheRegularchurchandleadingmemberofitsparishcommittee，CaptainElkanahlookedthepart。Heremovedhishat，clearedhisthroatbehindhisblackstock，andspokewithimpressivedeliberation。

“Goodmorning，Keziah。Ah——er——morning，Grace。“Eveninthetonegiventoaperfunctorysalutationlikethis，thecaptaindifferentiatedbetweenRegularandCome-Outer。“Keziah，I——hum，ha！——ratherexpectedtofindyoualone。“

“Iwasjustgoing，Cap’nDaniels，“explainedthegirl。Thecaptainbowedandcontinued。

“Keziah，“hesaid，“Keziah，Icametoseeyouonasomewhatimportantmatter。IhaveaproposalIwishtomakeyou。“

Hemusthavebeensurprisedattheeffectofhiswords。Keziah’sfacewasapicture，acrimsonpictureofparalyzedamazement。AsforMissVanHorne，thatyoungladygaveventtowhatherfrienddescribedafterwardsasa“squeal，“andboltedoutofthedoorandintothegratefulseclusionofthefog。

CHAPTERII

INWHICHKEZIAHUNEARTHSAPROWLER

ThefogwascrueltothegossipsofTrumetthatday。Mrs。DidamaRogers，wholivedallalone，exceptforthesocietyofthreecats，acanary，andawhitepoodlenamed“Bunch，“inthelittlehousenexttoCaptainElkanah’sestablishment，neverentirelyrecoveredfromthechagrinanddisappointmentcausedbythatprovokingmist。

Whenonehabituallyhurriesthroughthemorning’shouseholddutiesinordertositbythefrontwindowandnoteeachpasser-by，withvariousfascinatingsurmisesastohisorhererrandandthereasonsforit，itisdiscouragingtobeabletoseeonlyone’sownfrontfenceandascanttenfeetofsidewalk。Andthentolearnafterwardsofadozenmostexcitingevents，eachdistinctlyoutoftheordinary，whichmighthavebeenusedasexcusesfortwodozencallsandasmanysensations！AsCaptainZebMayo，theirreverentex-whaler，putit，“ThatfogshookDidama’sfaithinthejudgmentofProvidence。’Tain’tthe’allwise，’butthe’allseein’’kindshetalksaboutinmeetin’now。“

ThefogpreventedMrs。Rogers’snotingtheentranceofMr。PepperattheCoffinfrontgate。Alsohisexit，undersisterlyarrest。

ItshutfromherviewthemajesticapproachofCaptainElkanahDanielsandGrace’sflight，herfacedimpledwithsmilesandbreakingintolaughteratfrequentintervals。Forayounglady，supposedtobeadevoutCome-Outer，tohurryalongthemainroad，ahandkerchiefathermouthandhereyessparklingwithfun，wasacircumstancecalculatedtofurnishmaterialforenjoyablescandal。

AndDidamamissedit。

Otherhappeningsshemissed，also。NotknowingofCaptainDaniels’scalluponKeziah，shewasdeprivedofthepleasureofwonderatthelengthofhisstay。Shedidnotseehim，incompanywithMrs。Coffin，godowntheroadintheoppositedirectionfromthattakenbyGrace。Northeirreturnandpartingatthegate，twohourslater。Shedidnotsee——butthere！shesawnothing，absolutelynothing——exceptthescraggysprucetreeinhertinyfrontyardandthelonelytenfeetofwalkborderingit。NoonetraversedthatsectionofwalkexceptoldMrs。Tinker，whowascollectingsubscriptionsfornewhymnbooksfortheCome-Outerchapel。AndDidamawasparticularlyanxiousNOTtoseeher。

Thedismaldaydraggedon。Thesilver-leaftreesdripped，thehedgeswereshiningwithmoisture。Throughthestillnessthedistantsurfalongthe“oceanside“oftheCapegrowledandmoanedandthefogbellatthelighthouseclangedmiserably。AlongthewalkoppositeDidama’s——themorepopularsideoftheroad——shadowyfigurespassedatlongintervals，childrengoingtoandfromschool，peopleonerrandstothestore，andthelike。Itwasthreeo’clockintheafternoonbeforeavisitorcameagaintotheCoffinfrontgate，enteredtheyardandrappedatthesidedoor。

Keziahopenedthedoor。

“Halloa！“sheexclaimed。“Back，areyou？Ibeguntothinkyou’dbeenscaredawayforgood。“

Gracelaughedassheentered。

“Well，auntie，“shesaid，“Idon’twonderyouthoughtIwasscared。

Truly，Ididn’tthinkitwasproperformetostay。FirstKyanandthenCap’nElkanah，andbothofthemexpressingtheirwishestoseeyoualoneso——er——pointedly。Ithoughtitwastimeformetogo。

Surely，yougivemecreditforalittledelicacy。“

Keziaheyedhergrimly。

“Humph！“shesniffed。“Ifyou’dbeenalittlelessdelicateaboutfetchin’thathammer，wemighthavebeensparedatleastonesmash-

up。Idon’ts’poseLaviny’lleverspeaktomeagain。Oh，dear！I

guesslikelyI’llnevergetthememoryofthat——thatKyanthingoutofmymind。Ineverwassosetbackinmyborndays。Yes，youcanlaugh！“

Shelaughedherselfasshesaidit。AsforGrace，itwassometimebeforethatyoungladybecamecoherent。

“HeDIDlooksofunny！“shegasped。“Hoppingupanddownonthatshakychairandholdingontothatpipeand——and——OAuntKeziah，ifyoucouldhaveseenyourfacewhenIopenedthatdoor！“

“Yes；well，Iwillsayyouwassometimegettin’itopen。Andthen，ontopofthewholefoolbusiness，inparadesElkanahDanielsand——“

Shepaused。Hercompanionlookeddelightedlyexpectant。

“Yes，“shecriedeagerly。“ThenCap’nElkanahcameandtheveryfirstthinghesaidwas——Ialmostlaughedinhisface。“

“Almost！Humph！that’snoexaggeration。Thewayyouputoutofthatdoorwasacaution。“

“Yes，butwhatdidthecap’nmean？Isitasecret？Ahem！shallI

congratulateyou，auntie？“

“GraceVanHorne！there’sbornfoolsenoughinthistownwithoutyourtryin’tobeone。Youknow’twa’n’tTHAT。Thoughwhat’twaswassurpriseenough，Iwillsay，“sheadded。“Grace，Iain’tgoin’

awayto-morrow。“

“You’renot？Oh，splendid！Hasthecap’ndecidedtoletyoustayhere？“

“Iguesshisdecidin’wouldn’tinfluenceme，iftwasstayin’inhishousehemeant。TheonlywayIcouldliveherewouldbeonhischarity，andthatwouldbeaspoorfodderassawdusthastypuddin’，evenifIwasfondofcharity，whichIain’t。Hesaidtome——

Well，youtakeyourthingsoffandI’lltellyouaboutit。Youcanstayalittlewhile，can’tyou？“

“Yes，Iwasgoingtostayalltheafternoonandforsupper，ifyou’dletme。IknewyouhadsomuchtodoandIwantedtohelp。

ItolduncleandhesaidcertainlyIoughttocome。Hesaidheshouldtrytoseeyouandsaygood-bybeforeyoulefttomorrow。“

“Youdon’tsay！AndmeaRegular！Well，I’mmuchobliged，thoughIguessyourUncleEbenwon’tseemeto-morrow——norspeaktomeagain，whenheknowswhatIAMgoingtodo。Grace，Iain’tgoin’

toleaveTrumet，notforthepresent，anyhow。I’vegotawayofearnin’mylivin’righthere。I’mgoin’tokeephouseforthenewminister。“

Thegirlturned，herhatinherhand。

“Oh！“shecriedinutterastonishment。

Keziahnodded。“Yes，“sheaffirmed。“ThatwaswhatElkanah’sproposalamountedto。Ha！ha！Dearyme！Whenhesaid’proposal，’

IownupforaminuteIdidn’tknowWHATwascomin’。AfterKyanI

waspreparedfor’mostanything。ButhetoldmethatLuranyPhelps，whotheparishcommitteehadcountedontokeephouseforMr。Ellery，hadsentwordhersisterwassickandcouldn’tbeleft，andthatsomebodymustbehiredrightoff’causetheminister’sexpectedbydayafterto-morrow’scoach。Andthey’dgoneovereverylikelycandidateintowntillitsimmereddowntoMehitableBurgess。AndCap’nZebMayospokerightupinthecommitteemeetin’andgaveoutthatifMehitablekepthouseforMr。Elleryhe，forone，wouldn’tcometochurch。Saidhedidn’twanttohearsermonsthatwasinspiredbyHERcookin’。SeemsshecookedfortheMayosoneweekwhenMrs。MayohadgonetoBoston，andCap’nZebdeclareshisdreamsthatweekwassomethin’awful。’AndI’mamanwithnonervesandmightylittleimagination，’hesays。’LandknowswhateffectadoseofMehitable’sbiscuitsmighthaveonaMINISTER。’

“Andso，“continuedKeziah，“theydecidedMehitablewouldn’tdo，andfinallysomebodythoughtofme。Ihaveanotion’twasZeb，althoughCap’nElkanahdidhisbesttomakemethink’twashimself。

Andthecap’nwasmadeadelegatetocomeandseemeaboutit。

Comehedid，andwesettledit。Iwentdowntotheparsonagewithhimbeforedinnerandlookedtheplaceover。There’sanawfullotofsweepin’anddustin’tobedoneaforeit’sfitforabodytolivein。IdidthinkthatwhenI’dfinishedwiththishouseI