下载辰思小说免费APP
“Yup；me。Youareinlovewithhim；atanyrate，yousaidso。Andyou’reherewithhim，ain’tyou？Ifyoutwoain’tengagedyououghttobe。“
“AuntKeziah，howcanyouspeakso？Don’tyourealize——“
“Lookhere。Don’tyouwanttomarryhim？“
“WANTto？Oh，please——Howcanyou？I——“
“S-s-sh！There！there！Iamabull-headedoldthing，forsure。
ButI’mlikethedogthatchasedtheratacrosstheshelfwheretheykeptthebestchina，myintentionsaregood。Don’tcry，deary。Let’sgettothebottomofthisthing，asthemansaidwhenhetumbledintothewell。WhenIfirstknewthatyouandJohnwereinlovewitheachother，Ifeltdreadful。IknewyouruncleandI
knewTrumet。Ifyouhadmarriedthen，orletpeopleknowthatyouthoughtofit，’twouldhavebeentheend，andruinforJohnandyou。Butthingsarediff’rentnow，agooddealdiff’rent。Johnisworshipedprettynigh，sincehispluckwiththatsmallpoxman。Hecouldgointochurchanddanceajiginthepulpitandnobody——orpreciousfew，atleast——wouldfindfault。Andyou’vestoodbyhim。
Ifitwa’n’tforyouhewouldn’tbehereto-day，andpeopleknowthat。Dr。ParkerandCaptainZebedeeandGaiusWinslowanddozensmorearefightingforhimandforyou。Andthedoctorsaystheyaregoingtowin。Doyouwanttospoilitall？“
“AuntKeziah，thatnightbeforeunclediedIwasupstairsinmyroomandIhearduncleandCaptainElkanahDanielstalking。“
“Elkanah？Washethereatyourhouse？“
“Yes。Somehoworother——Idon’tknowhow——hehadlearnedabout——
aboutJohnandme。Andhewasfurious。AuntKeziah，IheardhimsaythatunlessIbrokeoffwithJohnhewoulddrivehimfromtheministryandfromTrumetanddisgracehimforever。HesaidthatifIreallycaredforhimIwouldnotruinhislife。Thatbroughtmetomyself。IrealizedhowwickedIhadbeenandwhatIwasdoing。
ThatwaswhyI——I——“
“There！there！Tut！tut！tut！hum！NowIsee。But，Gracie，youain’tgoin’toruinhislife。No，norElkanahain’tgoin’todoit，either。Hecan’t，nomatterhowhardhetries。I’velivedtoseethedaywhenthere’sabiggermanintheReg’larchurchthanElkanahDaniels，andIthankthegoodLordforit。“
“Inevershouldhavecomehere。Iknowit。Butheneededme。
AuntKeziah，hewassickanddyingalmost，andIcouldn’tleavehim。Icame，andnowhewillberuinedanddisgraced。“
“Hewon’t，Itellyou；hewon’t。Listentome。Iain’ttalkin’
formyhealth。Listen！“
Shearguedandpleadedandcoaxed，and，atlast，whenshebegantothinkshehadprevailed，Gracebroughtforwardanotherobjection。
Shehadgivenherwordtoheruncle。Howcouldshebreakthatpromisemadetoadyingman？Shewouldfeellikeatraitor。
“Traitortowho？“demandedthehousekeeper，losingpatience。“NottopoorNat，forhe’sgone。Anddon’tyousupposethatheandEbenunderstandthingsbetternow，wheretheyare？DoyousupposethatNatwouldn’twantyoutobehappy？Iknowhewould，forIknewhim。“
Itwasstillunsettledwhenthelongtalkwasover，butGraceagreednottoleavetheministeratpresent。Shewouldstaywhereshewasuntilhewashimselfagain，atleast。Keziahwassatisfiedwiththepreliminaryskirmish。Shefeltconfidentofwinningthevictory，andintheprospectofhappinessforothers，shewasalmosthappyherself。Yeteachtimethemailwasbroughttotheshantyshedreadedtolookatit，andthesightofastrangermadehershakewithfear。AnselCoffinhadthreatenedtocometoTrumet。Ifhecame，shehadmadeuphermindwhattodo。
Theparishcommitteewastomeet。CaptainElkanahhadannouncedhisintentionofmovingthatJohnEllerybeexpelledfromtheRegularchurch。Therewastobenocompromise，noaskingforaresignation；hemustbedischarged，thrownoutindisgrace。Thecountypaperswerefullofthesquabble，buttheymerelyreportedthenewsanddidnottakesides。Thefightwastooevenforthat。
CaptainZebchuckled。“It’sallright，Keziah，“hesaid。“Weknowwhat’swhatandwho’swho。TheRev。Mr。Ellerycanpreachhereforthenexthundredyear，ifhelivesthatlongandwantsto，andhecanmarrywhoeverhedarnpleases，besides。Elkanah’slickedandheknowsit。Heain’tgotenoughbackerstomanalob
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