第39章

Fairwindshelpedherand，atlast，sheenteredtheharborofNukahiva，overtwelvehundredmilesaway。Andthere——“Hammond’sluck，“thesailorscalledit——wasaUnitedStatesman-of-warlyingatanchor，thefirstAmericanvesseltotouchatthatlittleFrenchsettlementforfiveyears。TheboattheybuiltwasabandonedandthesurvivorsoftheSeaMistweretakenonboardtheman-of-warandcarriedtoTahiti。

FromTahitiCaptainNattookpassageonaFrenchbarkforHonolulu。

Here，afteramonth’swait，hefoundopportunitytoleaveforNewYorkonanAmericanship，theStarsandStripes。Andfinally，afterbeingawayfromhomefortwoyears，hewalkedintotheofficeofhisNewYorkowners，depositedtheirgoldonatable，andcheerfullyobserved，“Well，hereIam。“

ThatwastheyarnwhichTrumetwastohearlateron。Itfilledcolumnsofthecitypapersatthetime，andthoseinterestedmayreadit，inallitsdetails，inabookwrittenbyaneminentauthor。ThetaleofaCapeCodseacaptain，pluckyandresourcefulandadequate，asYankeeseacaptainswereexpectedtobe，andwere，inthosedays。

ButTrumetdidnotheartheyarnimmediately。AllthatitheardandallthatitknewwascontainedinCaptainNat’sbrieftelegram。

“Arrivedto-day。WillbehomeThursday。“Thatwasall，butitwasenough，forinthatdispatchwasexplosivesufficienttoblowtoatomsthedoctor’splansandKeziah’s，thegreatschemewhichwastobringhappinesstoJohnElleryandGraceVanHorne。

Dr。Parkerheardit，whileonhiswaytoMrs。Prince’s，and，neglectingthatoldladyfortheonce，heturnedhishorseanddroveasfastaspossibletotheshantyonthebeach。Fastashedrove，CaptainZebedeeMayogotthereaheadofhim。CaptainZebwashitchinghiswhiteandancientsteedtothepostasthedoctorhoveinsight。

“Bymighty！“thecaptainexclaimed，withasighofrelief，“I’mgladenoughyou’vecome，doctor。Ihatedtogointherealone。

You’veheard，ofcourse。“

“Yes，I’veheard。“

“Say，ain’titwonderful！I’mtickledalluponesideandsorryalldownt’other。Nat’satrue-bluefeller，andI’mgladenoughthatheain’tsharkbait；butwhatabouttheministerandher？

She’spromisedtoNat，youknow，and——“

“Iknow。Don’tIknow！I’vebeengoingovertheaffairandtryingtoseeawayouteversinceIheardofthetelegram。Tut！tut！

I’mlikeyou，mightygladHammondissafe，butitwouldhavesparedcomplicationsifhehadstayedwhereverhe’sbeenforafewmonthslonger。Wewouldhavemarriedthosetwointherebythattime。“

“Sartinwewould。Buthedidn’tstay。Areyougoin’totellMr。

Ellery？“

“Certainlynot。AndIhopehehasn’tbeentold。He’sgettingwellfastnow，buthemustn’tbeworried，orbackhe’llgoagain。WemustseeMrs。Coffin。Keziahisourmainhold。Thatwomanhasgotmoresensethanalltherestofusputtogether。“

ButitwasGrace，notKeziah，whoopenedtheshantydoorinanswertotheirknock。Shewaspaleandgreetedthemcalmly，butitwasevidentthathercalmnesswastheresultofsheerwillpower。

“Won’tyoucomein，doctor？“sheasked。“Goodafternoon，CaptainMayo。“

Dr。Parkerenteredthebuilding，butCaptainZebremainedoutside，stammeringthathecal’latedhe’dbetterstaywherehecouldkeepaneyeonhishorse。Thiswassuchatransparentexcusethatitwouldhavebeenfunnyatanyothertime。Noonesmilednow，however。

“Is——isMrs。Coffin——er——Keziahaboard？“thecaptainasked。

“No，sheisn’t。Shewenttotheparsonageafewhoursago。Mr。

Ellisbroughtthemailandtherewasaletterinitforher。Shesaiditwasimportantandthatshemustgohometoseeaboutsomethings。She’llbebackprettysoon，Isuppose。“

Thedoctorwhisperedhernamethenandshewentinside，closingthedoorafterher。CaptainZebedeesatdownonthesteptoponderoverthenewandapparentlyinsurmoun

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