下载辰思小说免费APP
Therewasastiratthedoor。Allheadsswunginthatdirection——
allbutMr。Pepper’s，thatis。TheministerandGracewerecominguptheaisleandbehindthemcameCaptainNatHammondandKeziahCoffin。Natwassmilingandself-possessed。NeverbeforeinhislifehadheenteredtheRegularmeetinghouseasaworshiper，butheseemedtobebearingtheordealbravely。ItwasGrace’sfirstvisittothechurch，also，andshewasplainlyembarrassed。Tobestaredatbyeighty-oddpairsofeyes，andtocatchwhisperedcommentsfromthestarers’tongues，islikelytoembarrassone。
Yetthecommentswereallfriendly。
“Ideclare！“whisperedMrs。Prince，“Ineverseeherlooksoprettyafore。Iknewshewasthebestlookin’girlinthistown，butI
neverrealizedshewasSUCHabeauty。Well，there’sonethingsartin’——we’vegotthehandsomestparsonandparson’swifeinTHIS
county，byabouttenmileandfourrowsofappletrees。Andthere’stheotherbridethat’sgoin’tobe。IneverseeKeziahlooksowell，neither。“
Keziahdidlookwell。Herparsonhademergedtriumphantfromhisbattlewithdiseaseandadversefateandwasmorethanevertheidolofhiscongregation。Hewastomarrythegirlofhischoice——
andhers。Thehousekeeper’searswerestillringingwiththethanksofJohnandGrace。Bothseemedtofeelthattoher，KeziahCoffin，morethananyoneelse，theyowedtheirgreatjoy。Someofthethingstheysaidshewouldneverforget。Andherownlife，too，wasfreedforeverofitsburden，thesecretwhichhadhungoverherforsomanyyears。Onlyaveryfewknewthatsecret，andtheywouldnotdiscloseit。Towardthememoryofthemanburiedinthestranger’slotatthecemeteryshefeltalmostkindlynow。
Whilehelivedshehadfearedanddreadedhim，nowshewasbeginningtoforgive。Forhehadpaidhisdebtwithhislife，andwithher，besideher，wastheother，theonewhomshehadloved，hadgivenup，hadmournedfor，andwhowasnowtobehersalways。
NowonderKeziahlookedwell。Shewashappy，andhappinessisawondrousbeautifier。
Theministerwentupthestairstothepulpit。Hewasstillwhiteandthin，buthiseyeswerebrightandhisvoiceclear。Hegaveouttheopeninghymnandtheservicebegan。
Theysaiditwasthefinestsermoneverpreachedinthatchurch，andperhapsitwas。Whenitwasover，beforethebenedictionwaspronounced，Ellerysteppedoutfrombehindthepulpittotheedgeoftheplatform。Helookedoverthefriendlyfacesupturnedtohisand，foraninstant，itseemedthathecouldnottrusthimselftospeak。
“Myfriends，“hesaid，“Icannotletyougowithoutapersonalword。Ioweyousomuch，allofyou，thatnothingIcansaywillconveytoyoumyfeelingofgratitudeandloveforthiscongregationandthischurch。Youhavestoodbymeallthrough。
Youtrustedmeandbelievedinme。IcametoTrumetastranger。I
havefoundherethetruestfriendsamancouldhopetofind——yes，andmorethanfriends。IfIlive，andwhileIlive，IshallhopetoprovebythebesteffortthatisinmemyrealizationofthegreatdebtIoweyouandmydesiretorepayit，eventhoughthepaymentmust，ofnecessity，besoinadequate。Godblessyouall——
andthankyou。“
“Wa’n’titlovely！“gushedDidama。“Andwhenhesaidthatabouttruefriendshewaslookin’straightatGracieallthetime。“
“Didn’tseemtomeso，“declaredGaiusWinslow。“Ithoughthewaslookin’atCap’nHammond。“
“Well，now，that’squeer，“putinMrs。Parker，thedoctor’swife。
“IwouldhaveswornhewaslookingatKeziahCoffin。“
CaptainZebedeegrinned。“Ical’lateyou’reallright，“heobserved。“Iwouldn’twonderifhewaslookin’atallof’em。“
Therewasmuchhandshakingandcongratulationandthechurchemptiedslowly。AmongthelasttoleavewerethePeppersandMr。
Pratt。Laviniatooktheministeraside。
“Mr。Ellery，“shesimpered，“I’ve——thatis，Calebandme——willprob’lywantyouto——Thatis，wewantyoutobetheone——“
“Yes，MissPepper？“
“Oh，mysakes！yousee——’Bishydear，comehereaminute，won’tyou？“
Kyanapproached，thepictureofdesolation。
“Whatdoyouwant？“heaskedgruffly。
“HeavenstoBetsy！Don’tlooksosour。Abody’dthinkyouwasgoin’tobehung，tolookatyou。’Bishy，youtellMr。Elleryallaboutit，there’sadear。He’lltellyou，Mr。Ellery；andrememberwecountonyou。NeithermenorCalebwonthavenobodyelse。“
SheseizedMr。Prattbythearmandledhimhastilyaway。Kyanlookedafterthem。
“Hung？“hemuttered。“Iwish，bygodfreysmighty，Ihadthehangin’ofSOMEfolks！I’dputatightercollaron’emthanthey’vegotnow，Ibetyou！“
Theministe
后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节
