第32章

What！youain’tagoin’，Mr。Ellery？“

“IthinkImust，Mrs。Prince。“

“Oh，don’t！Dostayaspelllonger。GraciemightcomeandI’dlikeforyoutomeether。Sheneedssympathyandcomfortanawfullot，andthere’snotellin’，youmightconverthertobein’aReg’lar。Oh，yes，youmight。You’vegotthemostpersuadin’way，everybodysaysso。Andyoudon’tknowherverywell，doyou？Landsakesalive！talkaboutangels！Isnumifsheain’tcomin’uptheroadthisblessedminute。“

JohnElleryhadrisen。Nowheseizedhishatandmovedhastilytowardthedoor。Mrs。Princecalledtohimtoremain，buthewouldnot。However，hergood-bysdelayedhimforaminute，andbeforehereachedtheyardgateGracewasopeningit。Theywerefacetofaceforthefirsttimesincetheyhadpartedinthegrove，somanymonthsbefore。

Shewasthinnerandpaler，hesawthat。Anddressedveryquietlyinblack。Shelookedathim，ashestoodbeforeherinthepath，andhercheeksflushedandhereyesfell。Hesteppedasideandraisedhishat。

Shebowedgravelyandmurmureda“Goodafternoon。“Thenshepassedonupthepathtowardthedoor。Hewatchedherforaninstantandthensteppedquicklyafterher。Theblackgownandthetiredlookinhereyestouchedhimtotheheart。Hecouldnotlethergowithoutaword。

Sheturnedatthesoundofhisstepbehindher。

“Er——MissVanHorne，“hestammered，“ImerelywantedtotellyouhowdeeplyI——weallfeelforyouinyourtrouble。I——I——Iamsosorry。“

“Thankyou，“shesaidsimply，andafteramoment’shesitation。

“Imeanitsincerely。I——IdidnotknowCaptainHammondverywell，butIrespectedandlikedhimthefirsttimewemet。Ishallhopethat——that——itisnotsoseriousastheyfear。“

“Thankyou，“shesaidagain。“Weareallhoping。“

“Yes。I——I——“Itwasdreadfullyhardtogetwordstogether。“I

haveheardsomuchofthecaptainfrom——“

“FromAuntKeziah？Yes，shewasNat’swarmestfriend。“

“Iknow。Er——Mrs。Coffintellsmeyouaregoingaway。Ihopeyoumayheargoodnewsandsoon。Ishallthinkofyou——ofhim——I

wantyoutounderstandthatIshall。“

ThedooropenedandEmelineBerryappearedonthethreshold。

“Comerightin，Grace，“shecalled。“Mrs。Princewantsyouto。

She’sahollerin’foryoutohurryup。“

“Good-by，“saidtheminister。

“Good-by。Thankyouagain。Itwasverykindofyoutosaythis。“

“No，no。Imeanit。“

“Iknow；thatwaswhyitwassokind。Good-by。“

Sheheldoutherhandandhetookit。Heknewthathiswastrembling，butso，too，washers。Thehandsfellapart。GraceenteredthehouseandJohnEllerywentoutatthegate。

ThatnightKeziah，inthesittingroom，tryingtoread，butfindingithardtokeephermindonthebook，heardherparsonpacingbackandforthoverthestraw-mattedfloorofhischamber。Shelookedattheclock；itwasnearlytwelve。Sheshutthebookandsighed。

Herwell-meantwordsofconsolationhadbeenamistake，afterall。

SheshouldnothavespokenGraceVanHorne’sname。

CHAPTERXVI

INWHICHTHEMINISTERBOARDSTHESANJOSE

“Hey，Mr。Ellery！“

ItwasCaptainZebMayowhowascalling。Thecaptainsatinhisantiquechaise，drawnbytheantiquewhitehorse，andwashailingtheparsonagethroughaspeakingtrumpetformedbyholdingbothhisbighandsbeforehismouth。Thereinshehadtuckedbetweentheedgeofthedashboardandthewhipsocket。Ifhehadthrownthemonthegroundhewouldstillhavebeenperfectlysafe，withthathorse。

“Mr。Ellery，ahoy！“roaredCaptainZebthroughhishands。

ThewindowofZoethPeters’shouse，nextdoortotheRegularchurch，wasthrownupandMrs。Peters’shead，boundwithablue-

and-whitehandkerchiefinlieuofasweepingcap，wasthrustforthintothecrispMarchair。

“Whatisit，Cap’nMayo？“screamedMrs。Peters。“Hey？“

“Hey？“repeatedCaptainZeb，peeringroundthechaisecurtain。

“Who’sthat？“

“It’sme。Issomebodydead？“

“Who’sme？Oh！No，Hettie，nobody’sdead，thoughI

后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节