第13章

“Sotheyain’tbeen，hey？“hesaid。“That’squeer。“

“Elkanah’shere。He’sintherewiththeministernow。“

“Heis？Givin’theyoungfellerHailColumby，Ical’late。Well，now，heshan’t。He，he！Whentheytoldmehowtheministerpassedoldhop-and-go-fetch-itwhatwasduehimatthechapellastnightI

rizupandhoorayedtillmywifeshutthewindows。ShesaidtheneighborsallthoughtIwasloony，anyhow，andIneedn’tproveitto’em。He，he！ButElkanahain’tgotanyfunnybone。He’sassolemnasastuffedowl，andhe’ll——Well，I’mgoin’toputMYoarin。I’mparishcommittee，too，Ical’late，andI’vegotsomethin’

tosay，evenifIwa’n’tchristenedDaniels。Heregoes！“

Heheadedforthestudy，butbeforehecrossedthethresholdofthekitchenElleryandhisvisitorcameoutintothediningroom。

CaptainElkanah’sfacewasflushed，andhefidgeted。Theministerlookeddeterminedbutcalm。

“Ahoythere，Elkanah！“hailedZebedeecheerfully。“’Mornin’，Mr。

Ellery。Beenhavin’officers’counsel，haveyou？“

“Goodmorning，CaptainMayo，“saidtheminister。

“’Mornin’，Zebedee，“gruntedElkanah。“Ihave——hum——ha！——beendiscussingtheregrettableaffairoflastnightwithMr。Ellery。I

havetried——hum——ha！toshowhimthatrespectablepeopleofoursocietydon’tassociatewithCome-Outers，andthatforaRegularministertogototheirmeetingsissomethingneitherthecongregationnortheparishcommitteeapprovesof。No——er——hum——

ha！no！“

“AndIexplainedtoCaptainDaniels，“observedtheminister，“thatIwentthereforwhatseemedtomegoodreasons，and，astheydidseemtomegoodatthetime，I’mnotashamedofhavinggone。ItwasanhonestmistakeonmypartandImaymakemore。“

“Butthesociety——“beganElkanah。CaptainZebinterruptedhim。

“Don’tworryaboutthesociety，Mr。Ellery，“hesaidwithemphasis。

“Norabouttheparishcommittee，either。Greatfishhooks！themostofusaretickledtodeathoverwhatyousaidtoEbenHammond。Wethinkit’samightygoodjoke。YOUdidn’tknow，ofcourse，andwhatyoudidwasdoneinnocent。He！he！he！Didyoulayhimout，hey？“

“Zebedee，“beganCaptainDaniels，“ImustsayIcan’tseeanythingtolaughat。“

“Younevercould，Elkanah。Irememberthattimewhenyouandmeandsomeofthefellershomefromseawentoutsailin’andtheboomknockedyouoverboardwithyourSundayclotheson。Lordy，howtherestofusdidholler！butyounevercrackedasmile。Ifyou’dseenyourselfwhenwehauledyouin！whiskersrunnin’saltwater；

beaverhatlookin’likeadrowndedkitten——“

“There！There！Nevermindthat。Ithinkyou’llfindagoodmanyofthesocietyfeelasIdo，shockedand——hum——ha！——sorry。I’msurprisedtheyhaven’tbeenheretosayso。“

“Iexpectedthem，“remarkedtheminister。

“SodidI，“chimedinCaptainZeb。“ButIcal’latetoknowwhytheyain’tbeen。They’realltoobusycrowin’overthewayNatHammondfetchedthepackethomelastnight。WHAT？Youain’theard？Greatfishhooks！it’sthebestthingever——“

“I’veheardaboutit，“snappedElkanahimpatiently。“Mr。Ellery，I’mgladyourealizethatyouractionwasamistakeandIwilltakepainstohavethatimmejitlymadeplainto——“

“YOUain’theard，Keziah，haveyou？“brokeinZebedee。“Noryou，Mr。Ellery？Well，Imusttellyou。Here’swhereIgainalaponDidamaRogers。SeemstheDeborahS——that’sthepacket’sname，Mr。

Ellery——shehauledoutofBostonnightaforelastontheebb，withafairwindandskyclearasabell。Buttheyhadn’tmuchmore’ngotoutsideofMinot’s’forethefogshutdown，thicker’ngruelforasickrichman。Thewindheldtill’longtowardmornin’；thensheflattenedtoadeadcalm。’BijePerry，themate，hespuntheyarntome，andhesaid’twasthickandflataseverheseeandkeptgettin’nobetterfast。

“Theydriftedalongtillnoontimeandthentheywassomewheresoutinthebay，butthat’saboutallyoucouldsay。Zach，hewasstewin’andsputterin’likeapairoffriedeels，andLafayetteGageandEmulousPeters——they’reDenborofolks，Mr。Ellery，andaboutsixteenp’intst’othersideofnoaccount——theywastheonlypassengersaboardexceptNatHammond，andtheyputintheirtimeplayin’highlowjackinthecabin。Thelookoutwasfor’ardtootin’atinhornandhisbellerin’wasthemostexcitin’thinggoin’on。Afterdinner——cornedbeefandcabbage——trustZachforthat，thoughit’snextdoortocannibalismtoputcabbageinHIS

mouth——afterdinnerallhandswasondeckwhenNatsays：’Hush！’hesays。’Don’tIhearsomethin’？’

“Theylistened，andthentheyallheardit——all’ceptZach，who’sdeefinhislarboardear。

“’Standby！’roarsNat。’It’sasquall，deadasternandcomin’

abilin’！I’lltakeher，’Bije。Youlookoutforthemtops’ls。’

“SoNatgrabsthewheeland’Bijetearsfor’ardandsendsthetwofo’masthandsaloftonthejump。Zachwasskipper，butallhedonewasracearoundandhollerandtripoverhisownfeet。Oh，he’saprizesailor，heis！Don’ttalktomeaboutthemFosters！I——“

“Nobodyistalkin’about’embutyou，Zeb，“observedKeziahdrily。

“Goon。Howaboutthesquall？“

“Ithit’em’foretheygotevenonetops’lcleweddown。Thatone，theforetops’l’twas，splittorags。Themaintops’lwasset，andwhenthesquallstruck，therottenoldtopmastwentbytheboard’Kerrash-o！’’Coursesplintersflewlikeallpossessed，andoneof’em，aboutafootlong，sailedpastNat’shead，wherehestoodheavin’hiswholeweightonthewheel，andlitrightonthebinnacle，smashin’ittomatches。

“TheysayNatneverpaidtheleastattention，nomore’nifthechunkofwoodhadbeenaJunebugbuzzin’past。Hejustheldthatwheelharddownandthatsavedthepacket。Shecomearoundandputhernosedeadinthewindjustintime。As’twas，’Bijesaystherewasasecondwhenthewaterbyherleeraillookedrightunderneathhimashehungontothedeckwithfingernailsandteeth。

“Well，theretheywas，afloat，butwiththeirupperriggin’goneandthecompasssmashedflat。Ahowlin’no’thwesterblowin’andfogthickasever。Zachwasawhimperin’，fidgetin’oldwoman，LafayetteandEmulouswasprayin’inthescuppers——andthatain’tanexercisethey’reusedto，neither——andeven’Bijewasmightyshookupandworried——hesayshewashimself。ButNatHammondwasascoolandrefreshin’asthebottomofmywelluphome。

“’Betterclearawaythatmessaloft，hadn’tyou？’hesaystotheskipper。

“Zachsaidheguessedso；hewa’n’tsureofnothin’。However，theycleareditaway，andincidentally’Bijeyankedtheprayermeetin’

outofthescuppersandset’emtowork。ThenNatsuggestsgettin’

thesparecompassand，loandbeholdyou！therewa’n’tany。

Compassescostmoneyandmoney’smadetokeep，soZachthinks。

“Sotheretheywas。Windwasfair，oroughttobe，but’twasblowin’hardandsothickyoucouldn’thardlyseethejibboom。

Zachhewantedtoanchor，thenhedidn’t，thenhedid，andsoon。

Nobodypaidmuchattentiontohim。

“’What’llwedo，Nat？’says’Bije。Heknewwhowastherealseamanaboard。

“’Keepherassheis，deadaforeit，ifyouaskme，saysNat。

’Guesswe’llhitthebroadsideofthecapesomewheresifthisgaleholds。’

“Sotheykeptherasshewas。Anditgottobenightandtheyknewthey’doughttobe’mostontotheedgeoftheflatsoffhere，iftheirreck’nin’wasnighright。Theyhovetheleadandgotfivefathom。Noflatsaboutthat。

“Zachwasforanchorin’again。’Whatdoyouthink，Nat？’asks’Bije。

“’Anchor，ofcourse，ifyouwantto，’Natsays。’You’rerunnin’

thiscraft。I’monlypassenger。’

“’ButwhatdoyouTHINK？’whinesZach。’Can’tyoutelluswhatyoudothink？’

“’Well，if’twasme，Iwouldn’tanchortillIhadto。Prob’ly’twillfairoffto-morrow，butifitshouldn’t，wemighthavetolayouthereallday。Anyhow，we’dhavetowaitforafulltide。’

“’I’mafraidwe’reoffthecourse，’says’Bije，elsewe’dbeenacrostthebarbythistime。’

“’Well，’Nattellshim，’ifweareoffthecourseandtoofarinshore，wewouldhavemadethebar——theBayportbar——ifnottheTrumetone。Andifwe’reoffthecourseandtoofarout，we’doughttohavedeeperwaterthanfivefathom，hadn’twe？’CourseI’mnotsure，but——What’sthat，lands-man？’

“’Threeandahalf，sir，’saysthefellerwiththelead。Thatshowedtheywasedgin’insomewheres。Nathesniffed，foralltheworldlikeadogcatchin’ascent，so’Bijedeclares。

“’Icansmellhome，’hesays。

“Threefathomtheleadgive’em，thentwoandahalf，thenascanttwo。Theywasdrawin’sixfeet。Zachcouldn’tstandit。

“’I’mgoin’toanchor，’hesqueals，frantic。’Ibelievewe’replumbovertoWellmouthanddrivin’rightontoHorsefootShoal。’

“’It’seitherthatorthebar，’chimesin’Bije。’Andwhichever’tis，wecan’tanchorinthemiddleofit。’

“’Butwhat’llwedo？’shoutsZach。’Can’tnobodysaysomethin’toDO？’

“’TellyouIsmellhome，’saysNat，calmandchipper，’andI’dknowthatsmellifImetitinJericho。Ha！thereshedeepensagain。

Thatwasthebarandwe’reoverit。’

“Thewindhadgonedowntoastiffsailin’breeze，andtheoldDebbyS。slappedalongaforeit。Sometimestherewastwelvefootunderherkeelandsometimeseightornine。Once’twasonlysevenandahalf。Zachand’Bijebothlookedateachother，butNatonlysmiled。

“’Oh，youcanlaugh！’hollersZach。’’Tain’tyourvesselyou’rerunnin’intodanger。YOUaintpaidoutyourgoodmoney——’

“Natneveranswered；buthestoppedsmilin’。

“Andalltooncethewaterdeepened。Hammondswungherupintothewind。

“’NOWyoucananchor，’sayshe。

“’And’bouttime，too，Iguess，’says’Bije。’Ical’latetheskipper’sright。ThisISHorsefootandwe’rerightbetweentheshoals。Yes，sir，andIhearbreakers。Livelythere！’

“Theyhoveoverthemudhookanddroppedthesails。Natshookhishead。

“’Breakersornot，’sayshe，’ItellyouI’vesmelthomeforthelasthalfhour。Now，bythejumpin’Moses，IcanTASTEit！’

“Andinsideofacoupleofshakescometherain。Itpouredforawhileandthenthefogcleared。RightacrosttheirbowswasTrumet，withthetownclockstrikin’ten。Overtheflatplacebetweenthehillstheycouldseethelightontheoceanside。Andtheywasanchoredrightinthedeepholeinsidethebreakwater，assureasI’mkneehightoamarlinspike！

“’BijejuststaredatHammondwithhismouthopen。

“’Nat，’sayshe，’you’reaseaman，ifIdosayit。IthoughtIwasaprettygoodbaypilot，butIcan’tsteeravesselwithoutacompassthroughanightasblackasPharaoh’sEgypt，andinathickfogbesides，andlandhersquareontopofhermoorin’s。Ifmyhatwa’n’tsloshin’aroundthirtymileastern，IsnumifIwouldn’ttakeitofftoyouthisminute！’

“’Nat，’stammersZach，’ImustsayI——’

“Natsnappedhimshutlikeatobaccobox。’Youneedn’t，’sayshe。

’ButI’llsaythistoyou，ZachFoster。WhenIundertaketohandleavesselIhandleherbestIknowhow，andthefactthatIdon’townhermakesnodifferencetome。Youjustputthatdownsomewheressoyouwon’tforgetit。’

“Andthismornin’，“crowedCaptainZebedee，concludinghislongyarn，“afterthat，mindyou，thatlubberZachFosterisaroundtowntellin’folksthathisschoonerhadbeenoverthecoursesooftensheCOULDN’Tgetlost。Shefoundherwayhomeherself。WHATdoyouthinkofthat？“

ThetwomembersoftheparishcommitteelefttheparsonagesoonafterCaptainMayohadfinishedhisstory。Elkanahhadlistenedwithgrowingirritationandimpatience。Zebedeelingeredamomentbehindhiscompanions。

“Don’tyoufretyourselfaboutwhathappenedlastnight，Mr。

Ellery，“hewhispered。“It’llbeallright。’Coursenobody’dwantyoutokeepupchummin’inwithCome-Outers，butwhatyousaidtooldEben’llsquareyouthistime。Solong。“

Theministershutthedoorbehindhisdepartingguests。Thenhewentoutintothekitchen，whitherthehousekeeperhadprecededhim。Hefoundherstandingonthebackstep，lookingacrossthefields。Thewashbenchwasuntenanted。

“Hum！“musedEllerythoughtfully，“thatwasagoodstoryofCaptainMayo’s。ThismanHammondmustbeafinechap。Ishouldliketomeethim。“

Keziahstilllookedawayoverthefields。Shedidnotwishheremployertoseeherface——justthen。

“Ithoughtyouwouldmeethim，“shesaid。HewasherealittlewhileagoandIaskedhimtowait。IguessZeb’syarnwastoomuchforhim；hedoesn’tliketobepraised。“