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“Ifshecan’thaveonemanshe’lltakethenext，andthenswitchbacksoon’sthewindchanges。However，mostlikelysheneverwasengagedtoMr。Ellery，anyhow。He’sbeenoutofhisheadandmighthavesaidsomefoolthingsthatletDr。Parkerandtherestb’lievehewasinlovewithher。Asforpickin’ofhimupandtotin’himbacktotheshantythatnight，thatwa’n’tnothin’butcommonhumanity。Shecouldn’tlethimdieinthemiddleofthelighthouselane，couldshe？“
Thursdaywasaperfectday，andthereceptioncommitteewasonhandandwaitinginfrontoftheBayportpostoffice。Thespecialcarriage，thespanbrushedandcurrieduntiltheircoatsglistenedinthesunshine，wasdrawnupbesidetheplatform。Thehorseshadlittleflagsfastenedtotheirbridles，andtherewereotherandlargerflagsoneachsideofthedashboard。CaptainDaniels，imposinginhisSundayraiment，high-collaredcoat，stock，silkhatandgold-headedcane，satstifflyerectontheseatintherear。
Theothercarriageswerealongside，amongthemCaptainZebedeeMayo’sancientchaise，thewhitehorsesoundasleepbetweentheshafts。CaptainZebhadnotbeeninvitedtojointheescort，buthadjoineditwithoutaninvitation。
“IguesslikelyI’dbetterbeonhand，“thecaptainconfidedtoDr。
Parker。“MaybeIcanstopElkanahfromtalkin’toomuchabout——
well，aboutwhatwedon’twanthimtotalkabout，andbesides，I’mjustasanxioustogiveNatawelcomehomeasthenextfeller。
He’sabrickandwe’reallproudofhim。Bymighty！I’dliketohaveseenthatcrafthebuiltoutofcocoanutsandchurches——I
wouldso。“
KyanPepperwastherealso，notyetfullyrecoveredfromthesurprisewhichLavinia’sgraciouspermissionhadgivenhim。
AbishaihadbeenleaningdisconsolatelyoverhisfrontgateearlythatmorningwhenNoahEllis，thelightkeeper，joggeddownthelane。
“’Mornin’，’Bish，“hailedNoah，pullinguphishorse。“What’sthematter？Youlookbluer’naspiledmack’rel。What’stherow？
Breakfastdisagreewithyou？“
“Naw，“repliedKyanshortly。“Whereyoubound，allriggedupinyourshoreduds？“
“BoundtoBayport，toseeNatHammondland，“wasthecheerfulanswer。“Iain’thadadayoffIdon’tknowwhen，andIthoughtI’dtakeone。Begreatdoin’soverthere，theytellme。Elkanah’sgoin’tomakeaspeechandthere’seighteenteamsoffolksgoin’。“
“Iknowit。IwishtIwasgoin’，too，butIneverhavenofun。
Havetostaytohomeandworkandslaveoverthemconsarnedtaxpapers。SometimesIwishtherewa’n’tnotaxes。“
“Humph！I’vewishedthat，myself，more’nonce。Whydon’tyougo，ifyouwantto？Climbrightaboardherewithme。Plentyofroom。“
“Hey？Youmeanthat？Bygodfreysmighty！I’dliketo。“
“Sartin，Imeanit。Comeahead。“
Mr。Peppersadlyshookhishead。“IguesslikelyI’dbetternot，“
hesighed。“Lavinymightnotliketohavemeleaveher。“
“Oh，fiddlesticks！shewon’tmind。I’lltakecareofyou。It’sperfectlysafe。Thereain’tgoin’tobenowomenaround。Haw！
haw！haw！“
HewasstilllaughingathisownjokewhenthroughtheslatsoftheclosedblindsshadingthePepperhouseparlorashrillvoicewasheardspeaking。
“Goahead，’Bishydear，“calledLavinia。“Goaheadandgo。A
changeofair’lldoyougood。“
Kyanwhirledandclutchedatthegate。
“HEY？“heshoutedinamazement。
“Areyoudeef？OrisMr。Ellislaughin’sohardthatyoucan’thear？Whatisitthat’ssofunny，Mr。Ellis？“
Thelight-keepershutoffhislaughterbyasuddenandratherfrightenedgulp。
“Oh，nothin’，nothin’，MissPepper。“Niceday，ain’tit？“
“Iguessso。Iain’thadtimetolookatityet。Ihavetowork。
Ican’tletmywifedoitforme，likesomefolks，andtake’daysoff。’Whatwasityouwaslaughin’at，Mr。Ellis？“
“Nothin’，nothin’atall。“
“Hum！Theyusedtotellmetherewasonlyonekindofpersonwholaughedatnothin’。Well，’BishPepper，
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