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Shelaughedshrilly。Theministerlookedather，thenatherbrother，andhe，too，burstintoashoutoflaughter。Kyandidnotlaugh；yethisgripuponthechairrelaxed，andoverhiscountenancewasspreadingalookofrelief，ofhopeandpeace，likeaclearsunriseafterastormynight。
“Well，Imustgoandgetsupper，“declaredLavinia。“You’llforgivemeforleavin’youso，won’tyou，’Bishy？“
Mr。Peppersighed。
“Yes，“hesaidslowly。“I’llforgiveyou，Laviny。“
“Iknewyouwould。Ihopeyouain’tbeentoolonesome。Didyoumissme？Wasyouworried？“
“Hey？Yes，I——Imissedyouconsider’ble。IWASgettin’sortofworried。Ididn’ts’poseyou’dgoofftoridewith——withafellerandleavemeallalone。ButIforgiveyou。“Hestopped，drewhishandacrosshisforehead，andthenadded，“Is’poseIhadn’toughttocomplain。MaybeI’dbettergetusedtoit；Iguesslikelythisisonlythebeginnin’。“
Laviniablushedfuriously。
“Why，’Bish！“sheexclaimed。“Howyoudotalk！Ain’theawful，Mr。Ellery？“
TheReverendJohndidnotanswer。Hecouldnottrusthimselftospeakjustthen。Whenhediditwastoannouncethathemustbegettingtowardhome。No，hecouldn’tstayforsupper。
MissPepperwentintothekitchen，andAbishaisawthevisitortothedoor。ElleryextendedhishandandKyanshookitwithenthusiasm。
“Wa’n’titfine？“hewhispered。“Talkaboutyourmiracles！
Godfreysmighty！Say，Mr。Ellery，don’tyouevertellasoulhowitreallywas，willyou？“
“No，ofcoursenot。“
“No，Iknowyouwon’t。Youwon’ttellonmeandIwon’ttellonyou。That’satrade，hey？“
Theministerstoppedinthemiddleofhisstep。
“What？“hesaid，turning。
Mr。Peppermerelysmiled，winked，andshutthedoor。JohnElleryreflectedmuchduringhishomewardwalk。
ThesummerinTrumetdrowsedon，asTrumetsummersdidinthosedays，whentherewerenoboardersfromthecity，noautomobilesortelephonesor“antique“collectors。InJunetheSundayschoolhaditsannualpicnic。OnthemorningoftheFourthofJulysomedesperatespiritsamongtheyoungersetclimbedinatthechurchwindowandrangthebell，inspiteofthewarningthreatsoftheselectmen，whohadgoneonrecordaspreparedtoprosecutealldisturbersofthepeacetothe“fullextentofthelaw。“Oneoftheleadingcitizens，hisnamewasDaniels，awoketofindthesleigh，whichhadbeenstoredinhiscarriagehouse，hoistedtotheroofofhisbarn，andasectionofhisfrontfencetastefullydrapedaboutitlikeagarland。ThewidowRogersnoticedgroupsofpeoplelookingupatherhouseandlaughing。Comingouttoseewhattheywerelaughingat，shewasprovokedbeyondmeasuretofindasignoverthefrontdoor，announcing“ManWantedImediate。
inquireWithin。“ThedooroftheCome-OuterchapelwasnailedfastandCaptainZebMayo’soldwhitehorsewanderedloosealongthemainroadringedwithpaintedblackstripeslikeazebra。CaptainZebwasanangryman，forheveneratedthathorse。
ThestormcausedbytheseoutbreakssubsidedandTrumetsettledintoitsjogtrot。Thestagesrattledthroughdaily，thepacketcameandwenteverylittlewhile，occasionallyacaptainreturnedhomefromalongvoyage，andanotherleftforoneequallylong。
OldMrs。Prince，upatthewestendofthetown，wasveryanxiousconcerningherson，whoseshipwasoverdueatCalcuttaandhadnotbeenheardfrom。Theministerwentoftentoseeherandtriedtoconsole，butwhatconsolationistherewhenone’sonlychildandsolesupportisnobodyknowswhere，drownedanddeadperhaps，perhapsacastawayonadesertisland，oradriftwithadesperatecrewinanopenboat？AndMrs。Princewouldsay，overandoveragain：
“Yes，yes，Mr。Ellery。Thankyou。I’msureyoumeantoencourageme，butoh，youdon’tknowthethingsthathappentoseafarin’men。
Ido。Iwenttoseawithmyhusbandforfourteenyear。Hediedonavoyageandtheyburiedhimoverthevessel’sside。Ican’tevengotohisgrave。Theseagothim，andnowifit’stakenmyEddie——“
Theyoungclergymancameawayfromthesecallsfeelingveryyoung，indeed，andwoefullyinadequate。WhatDIDheknowofthegreatsorrowsoflife？
TheSundaydinnerswiththeDanielsfamilywerealmostregularweeklyfunctionsnow。Hedodgedthemwhenhecould，buthecouldnotdosooftenwithouttellinganabsolutelie，andthishewouldnotdo。And，regularly，whenthesolemnmealwaseaten，CaptainElkanahwentupstairsforhisnapandtheReverendJohnwasleftalonewithAnnabel。MissDanielsdidherbesttobeentertaining，was，infact，embarrassinglyconfidentialandcordial。Itwashardworktogetaway，andyet，somehoworother，atthestrokeoffour，theministeralwayssaidgood-byandtookhisdeparture。
“Whatisyourhurry，Mr。Ellery？“beggedAnnabelononeoccasionwhenthereadingofMoore’spoemshadbeeninterruptedinthemiddlebytheguest’ssuddenrisingandreachingforhishat。“I
don’tseewhyyoualwaysgosoearly。It’ssoeverytimeyou’rehere。DoyoucallatanyotherhouseonSundayafternoons？“
“No，“wasthepromptreply。“Oh，no。“
“Thenwhycan’tyoustay？YouknowI——thatis，paandI——wouldLOVEtohaveyou。“
“Thankyou。Thankyou。You’reverykind。ButIreallymustgo。
Goodafternoon，MissDaniels。“
“Mrs。RogerssaidshesawyougoingacrossthefieldsafteryouleftherelastSunday。Didyougoforawalk？“
“Er——er——yes，Idid。“
“Iwishyouhadmentionedit。Ilovetowalk，andthereareSOfewpeoplethatIfindcongenialcompany。Areyougoingforawalknow？“
“Why，no——er——notexactly。“
“I’msorry。GOOD-by。WillyoucomeagainnextSunday？OfCOURSE
youwill。YouknowhowdreadfullydisappointedI——we——shallbeifyoudon’t。“
“Thankyou，MissDaniels。Ienjoyedthedinnerverymuch。Goodafternoon。“
Hehurrieddownthepath。Annabelwatchedhimgo。Thenshedidanoddthing。Shepassedthroughthesittingroom，enteredthefronthall，wentupthestairs，tiptoedbythedoorofherfather’sroom，andthenupanotherflighttotheattic。Fromhereasteepsetofstepsledtothecupolaontheroof。Inthatcupolawasaspyglass。
Annabelopenedawindowafewinches，tookthespyglassfromitsrack，adjustedit，laiditonthesilloftheopenwindowandknelt，theglassathereye。Thefloorofthecupolawasverydustyandshewaswearinghernewestandbestgown，butshedidnotseemtomind。
ThroughtheglassshesawthelongslopeofCannonHill，withthebeaconatthetopandCaptainMayo’shousenearit。Themainroadwasdesertedsaveforonefigure，thatofherlatecaller。Hewasmountingthehillinlongstrides。
Shewatchedhimgainthecrestandpassoveritoutofsight。Thensheshiftedtheglasssothatitpointedtowardthespotbeyondthecurveofthehill，wherethetopofathickgroupofsilver-leafshidtheparsonage。AbovethetreetopsglistenedthewhitesteepleoftheRegularchurch。Iftheministerwentstraighthomeshecouldnotseehim。Butunderthosesilver-leafswasthebeginningoftheshortcutacrossthefieldswhereDidamahadseenMr。EllerywalkingonthepreviousSunday。
SoAnnabelwatchedandwaited。Fiveminutes，thenten。Hemusthavereachedtheclumpoftreesbeforethis，yetshecouldnotseehim。Evidently，hehadgonestraighthome。Shedrewabreathofrelief。
Then，beinginahappierframeofmind，andtheafternoonclearandbeautiful，shemovedtheglassalongthehorizon，watchingthedistantwhitespecksacrossthebayontheWellmouthbluffs——housesandbuildingstheywere——thewater，theshore，thefishweirs，thepinegroves。Shebecameinterestedinasloop，beatingintoWellmouthharbor，andwatchedthat。Afteratimesheheard，inthehousebelow，herfathershoutinghername。
Shegavetheglassonemorecomprehensivesweeppreparatorytoclosingitandgoingdownstairs。Asshedidthisamovingspeckcameintoviewandvanished。
Slowlyshemovedthebigendofthespyglassbackalongthearcithadtraveled。Shefoundthespeckandwatchedit。Itwasaman，stridingacrossthemeadowland，ahalfmilebeyondtheparsonage，andhurryinginthedirectionofthebeach。Shesawhimclimbahighdune，jumpafence，crossanotherfieldandfinallyvanishinthegroveofpinesontheedgeofthebluffbytheshore。
ThemanwasJohnEllery，theminister。Evidently，hehadnotgonehome，norhadhetakentheshortcut。InsteadhehadwalkeddowntownalongwayandTHENturnedintocrossthefieldsandworkhiswayback。
Annabelputdowntheglassand，heedlessofherfather’scalls，satthinking。Theministerhaddeliberatelydeceivedher。Morethanthat，hehadgonetoconsiderabletroubletoavoidobservation。
Whyhadhedoneit？HadhedonethesamethingonotherSundayafternoons？Wasthereanyrealreasonwhyheinsistedonleavingthehouseregularlyatfouro’clock？
Annabeldidnotknow。Hereyessnappedandhersharpfeatureslookedsharperyetasshedescendedthestepstotheattic。Shedidnotknow；butsheintendedtofindout。
CHAPTERX
INWHICHKEZIAH’STROUBLESMULTIPLY
Keziahwasgettingworriedaboutherparson。Notconcerninghispopularitywithhiscongregation。Shehadlongsinceceasedtoworryaboutthat。Theyoungminister’splaceinhispeople’sregardwasnowassured，theattendancewasincreasing，andtheRegularchurchwasnowonafirmerfooting，financiallyandsocially，thanithadbeeninyears。EvenMrs。RogersandLaviniaPepperhadceasedtocriticise，exceptaspertainedtounimportantincidentals，andwerenowamongtheloudestofthepraisechanters。
AndasCaptainZebMayosaid：“WhenDidamaandLavinystopsfault-
findin’，themillennium’ssonighportafelleroughttobeoverhaulin’hissaintuniform。“
ButwhatworriedMrs。CoffinwasJohnEllery’spersonalappearanceandbehavior。Hehadgrownperceptiblythinnerduringthepastmonth，hismannerwasdistrait，and，worstofallinthehousekeeper’seyes，hisappetitehadfallenoff。Shetriedallsortsoftemptingdishes，buttheresultwasdiscouraging。
“What！“sheexclaimed。“Don’twantbutonepieceofhuckleberrypie？Why，aweekagoyouatethreeandlookedkindofdisappointed’causethedishwasempty。Whatisthematter？Areyousick？“
“No，Mrs。Coffin，“repliedtheReverendJohn。No，I’mnotsick。I
justdon’tfeelhungry，that’sall。“
“Hum！Well，I’veusuallynoticedthatwhenahealthymandon’tfeelhungryatdinnertime，’speciallyinthehuckleberryseason，hishealthinessisprettyshaky。Whatdoesailyou，Mr。Ellery？
Gotsomethin’onyourmind？Ifyouhave，I’dheaveitoverboard。
Oryoumightunloaditontomeandletmeprescribe。I’vehadconsider’bleexperienceinthatkindofdoctorin’。“
Buttheanswerwasunsatisfactory。Mr。Ellerylaughed，changedthesubject，andwanderedoutintothegarden，whereKeziahsawhim，shortlyafterwards，intentlyregardingnothinginparticularwitharaptstare。Shewatchedhimforafewmomentsandthen，withapuzzledshakeofthehead，returnedtoherwork。Shebelievedthathewastroubledaboutsomethingandwasherselftroubledinconsequence。
Hisabsent-mindednesswasmostacuteonSundayevenings，beforeprayermeeting，andafterhehadreturnedfromtheafternoonatCaptainElkanah’s。
“Say，Mr。Ellery，“shesaid，ononeoftheseSundayevenings，“doyouknow，itseemstomethatElkanah’smealsmustgotoyourhead。
Don’thaveanyofhisgranddad’sNewEnglandrum，doyou？Theytellmehe’sgotsomeofthatdowncellarthathedolesoutoccasionaltohisveryparticularfriends。That’sthecommonyarnaroundtown，thoughIcouldn’tswear’twasgospel。“
TheministersmiledanddeniedacquaintanceshipwiththeNewEnglandbeverage。
“Humph！Thenitmustbetheotherthing。Youain’tinlove，areyou？“
Theyoungmanstarted，colored，andwasplainlyembarrassed。
“Inlove？“herepeated。“Inlove，Mrs。Coffin？“
“Yes，inlove。Annabelhasn’tlandedamaleatlast，hasshe？
She’salineoverthesideforalongtime。“
TheheartylaughwithwhichthiswasreceivedsettledthequestionofAnnabel’ssuccess。Keziahwasrelieved。
