Theheadoftheparishcommitteestalkedintothestudyandthedoorclosedbehindhim。Arumbleofvoicesinanimatedconversationsucceeded。
Mrs。Coffinwentoutintothekitchenandresumedherbusinessofmakingadried-applepie。Therewasahotfireinthestoveandsheopenedthebackdoortoletinthefreshair。Sheworkedbriskly，rollingoutthedough，fillingthedeepdish，andpinkingtheedgesoftheuppercrustwithafork。Shewasthinkingassheworked，butnotoftheministerorhisvisitor。
Sheputthepieintheovenandsetthedamper。And，asshekneltbythestove，somethingstruckherlightlyonthebackoftheneck。
Shelookedupandabouther，buttherewasnooneinsight。Thenshepickeduptheobjectwhichhadstruckher。Itwasacranberry，witheredandsoftenedbythewinterfrosts。
Shelookedatthecranberry，thenattheopendoor，andhereyestwinkled。Runningquicklytothethresholdshepeeredout。Thebackyardwas，apparently，empty，saveforafewhensbelongingtonearneighbors，andthesehadstoppedscratchingforalivingandwerehuddlednearthefence。
“Hum！“shemused。“Yourascal！EddieSnow，ifit’syou，I’llbeafteryouinaminute。Justbecauseyou’rebigenoughtoquitschoolanddrivestorewagonisnoreasonwhyIcan’t——Hey？Oh！“
Shewaslookingdownbelowthedoor，whichopenedoutwardandwasswungpartlybackonitshinges。Fromunderthedoorprojectedaboot，aman’sbootandoneofamplesize。
Keziah’scheeks，alreadyredfromtheheatofthestove，reddenedstillmore。Herlipstwitchedandhereyessparkled。
“Hum！“shesaidagain。“TheysayyoucantelltheOldScratchbyhisfootprints，evenifyoucan’tsmellthesulphur。Anyhow，youcantellaHammondbythesizeofhisboots。Comeoutfrombehindthatdoorthisminute。Ain’tyouashamedofyourself？“
Theownerofthebootsteppedforthfrombehindthedoorandseizedherbybothhands。
“Halloo，Keziah！“hecriedjoyfully。“My，butit’sgoodtoseeyou。“
“Halloo，Nat！“saidKeziahheartily。“It’skindofgoodtoseeyou，too。“
Therestofhimwasinkeepingwithhisboots。Hewasbigandbroad-shoulderedandbearded。Hisface，abovethebeard，wastannedtoadeepreddishbrown，andthecornersofhiseyesweremarkedwithdozensoftinywrinkles。Hewasdressedinblueclothandworeawide-brimmed，softfelthat。Heenteredthekitchenandtossedthehatintoacorner。
“Well！“heexclaimed。“Whydon’tyouactsurprisedtoseeafeller？HereI’vebeencruisin’fromtheHorntoBarnegatandbackagain，andyouactasifI’djustdroppedintofetchthecupofmolassesIborrowedyesterday。Whatdoyoumeanbyit？“
“Oh，Iheardyou’dmadeport。“
“Did，hey？That’sTrumet，surepop。Youain’ttheonlyone。I
sneakedoffacrostlotsso’stododgethegangofneighborsthatI
knewwouldbesailin’intoouryard，thewholefleetloadedtothegunwalewithquestions。Wantedtoseeyoufirst，Keziah。“
“Yes。So，insteadofcallin’likeaChristian，youcreptupthebackwayandthrewcranberriesatme。Ain’tyouashamedofyourself？“
“Notamite。“Hetookahandfulofthefrostbittenberriesfromhiscoatpocketandinspectedthemlovingly。“Ain’ttheyfine？“heasked，crunchingtwoorthreebetweenhisteeth。“Ipicked’emupasIcamealong。Itellyou，that’sthehometaste，allright。“
“Don’teatthosefrozenthings。They’llgiveyouyournever-get-
over。“
“What？CapeCodcranberries！Neverintheworld。I’drathereatsanddownherethanthefinestmugmystewardcancook。TellyouwhatI’lldo，though；I’llswearoffonthecranberriesifyou’llgivemeafour-inchsliceofthatpieIsawyouputintheoven。
Dried-apple，I’llbetmysou’wester。Thinkyoumightaskafellertositdown。Ain’tyougladtoseeme？“
Mrs。Coffinpulledforwardoneofthekitchenchairs。Heseatedhimselfonitanditgroanedunderhisweight。
“Whew！“hewhistled。“Nevermadetostandroughweather，wasit？
Well，AIN’Tyouglad？“
Keziahlookedathimgravely。
“YouknowI’mglad，Nat，“shesaid。
“So？Ihopedyouwouldbe，butIdidwanttohearyousayit。Nowyoucometoanchoryourselfandlet’shaveatalk。I’vebeencountin’oniteversincewesettops’lsoffSurinam。“
Thehousekeepertooktheotherchair。
“Howareyou——“shebegan。Hestoppedher。
“S-shh！“heinterrupted。“Don’tsayanythingforaminute。Letmelookatyou。Justascleanandwholesomeandgood-lookin’asever。
Theydon’tmakegirlslikethatanywhereelsebutdownonthisoldsandbar。Notadayolder，bythejumpin’——“
Sheheldupherhand。
“Hush，Nat，“sheprotested；“don’ttalkfoolish。Girl？Notadayolder？Why，iffeelin’scountforanything，I’masoldasMethusaleh。Haven’tIhadenoughtomakemeold？“
Hewasgraveimmediately。
“Ibegyourpardon，Keziah，“hesaid。“I’madoughhead，that’safact。Ihadn’tforgotaboutSol，butIwassogladtobehomeagainandtoseedadandGraceandtheoldtownandyouthateverythingelseflewoutofmymind。PoorSol！Ilikedhim。“
“Helikedyou，too。Nowonder，considerin’whatyoudidto——“
“Belay！Nevermindthat。Poorchap！Well，he’sridofhissufferin’satlast。Tellmeaboutit，ifyoucanwithoutbringin’
allthetroublebacktooplain。“
Soshetoldhimofherbrother’ssicknessanddeath，ofhavingtogiveuptheoldhome，and，finally，ofheracceptanceofthehousekeeper’sposition。Helistened，atfirstwithsympathyandthenwithsuppressedindignation。
“Bythejumpin’Moses！“heexclaimed。“AndElkanahwasgoin’toturnyououtofhouseandhome。Themean，pompousold——“
“Hush！hush！he’sintherewithMr。Ellery。“
“Who？Elkanah？“
“Yes；they’reinthestudy。“
“Bythejumpin’——Letmetalktohimforafewminutes。I’LLtellhimwhat’sgoodforhishealth。Youjustlisten。“
Herosefromthechair，butshemadehimsitdownagain。
“No，no，“sheprotested。“Hewasn’ttoblame。HehadtohavehisrentandIdidn’tfeelthatIcouldaffordtokeepupawholehouse，justformyself。And，besides，Ioughttobethankfultohim，Isuppose。Hegotmethisplace。“
“Hedid？“
“Yes，hedid。IratherguessZebMayoorsomebodymayhavesuggestedittohimfirst，but——“
“Humph！Iratherguessso，too。“
“Well，youcan’talwaystell。Sometimeswhenyoureallygetinsideofapersonyoufindagenerousstreakthat——“
“NotinaDaniels。AnybodythatgotinsideofElkanahwouldfindnothin’butElkanahthere，and’twouldbecrowdedatthat。Sohe’stalkin’tothenewparson，hey？Bossin’him，too，I’llbet。“
“Iain’tsosure。Mr。Ellery’syoung，buthe’sgotamindofhisown。“
CaptainHammondchuckledandslappedhisknee。
“Ho，ho！“helaughed。“I’vebeenhearin’somethin’aboutthatmind。Wenttothechapellastnight，Iunderstand，andheanddadhadaset-to。Oh，Iheardaboutit！WishImighthavebeenthere。“
“Howdoesyourfatheractaboutit？“
“’Boutthewayared-hotstoveactswhenyouspillwateronit；
everytimehethinksoftheministerhesizzles。Ho，ho！IdowishIcouldhavebeenthere。“
“WhatdoesGracesay？“
“Oh，shedoesn’tsaymuch。Iwouldn’twonderifshefeltthewayI
do，thoughwebothkeepquiet。I’lltellyou，betweenourselvesandtheship’spump，thatIsortofgloryintheyoungchap’sspunk。“
“Good！SodoI。Ilikehim。“
“Seehere，Keziah！I’mgettin’frightened。Youain’tsettin’yourcaptobeaparson’swife，areyou？Because——“
“Don’tbesilly。Imightadopthim，butthat’sall，Iguess。“
Herfriendleanedforward。
“Keziah，“hesaidearnestly，“there’snosenseinyourslavin’
yourselftodeathhere。Icanthinkofagooddealpleasanterberththanthat。Pleasanterforme，anyhow，andI’ddomybesttomakeitpleasantforyou。You’veonlygottosaythewordand——
No？Well，thenallIcandoishopethroughanothervoyage。“
“Pleasedon’t，Nat。Youknow。“
“No，Idon’tknow。“
“Well，perhapsyoudon’t。ButIknow。Ilikeyou，Nat。Icountonyouasthestraightest，truestfriendI’vegot；andIwanttokeeponcountin’onyoujustthatway。Mayn’tI？“
“’Courseyoucan，Keziah。But——“
“Thendon’tsayanotherword，please。“
Hesighedandlookedoutattheopendoor。Thekitchenclocktickedloudinthesilence。
“Allright，“hesaidatlast。“Allright，butI’mgoin’tokeeponhopin’。“
“Youmustn’t，Nat。“
“Keziah，whenyousetyourfootdownyou’reprettystubborn；butI’vegotsomethin’ofafootmyself。Yourememberyousaidsoafewminutesago。Hi，hum！Well，speakin’ofdadremindsmethatI’mkindofworriedabouthim。“
“Youare？Why？Isn’thewell？“
“Prettywell，butheain’tstrong，andhegetstooexcitedoverthingslikelastnight’sfoolishness。Gracetellsmethatthedoctorsayshemustbecarefulorhe’lldropoffsuddensomeofthesedays。Hehadashockfiveorsixyearsago，alittleone，andI’vebeenanxiousabouthimeversince。I’vegottogotoNewYorkoffandonforthenextmonth；afterthatIhopetobehomeforaspellandIcankeepaneyeonhim。Keziah，ifyou’lllistenI’llwhispersomethin’toyou——religion’sagoodthingandso’samustardplaster，butbothof’emcanbeputontoostrong。DadisjustalittlemitecrazyonCome-Outers，I’mafraid。“
“Oh，no，Iguessnot！Youmustn’tworry。HowdidGracelooktoyou？“
“Liketheharborlightonastormynight。She’sabrick，thatgirl，andgetsprettiereveryminute。Wondertomesomeoftheyoungchapsdownheredon’tcarryheroffbymainstrength。She’llmakesomebodyagoodwife。“
“Um-hm。Have——haveyoueverthoughtofherthatwayyourself？“
“Keziah！“
“Well，don’tgetmad。IthinkalotofGrace，andIdon’tknowanyoneI’dratherseeyoumarry。“
“Ido。Keziah，that’senoughofthat。Areyouanddadinpartnershiptogetmesplicedandoutoftheway？Hewasatmethismornin’alongthesameline。Don’tsayanythinglikethatagain，eveninfun。YOUknowwhy。“
“Allright，allright。Nowtellmeaboutyourself。Haveyouhadagoodvoyage？Howdoyoulikeyourowners？HowdidZachFosterevergetthepacketinthroughyesterday’sfog？“
“Voyagewasallright。Someruggedweatheronthetripout，buthomewardboundweslidalonglikeaslushbucketonagreasedplank。Ownersareallright。GoodpeopleaseverIsailedfor。
AsforZachandthepacket——Ho，ho！“
Helaughed，rockingbackandforthonthechair，whichcreakedinsympathy。
“What’sthejoke？“demandedthehousekeeper。“Don’tdothat！Thatchairwasn’tmadeforelephantstouse。“
“Hey？’Tisprettyweakintheknees，ain’tit？Dadwouldsay’twasapiecewiththecreedofthosethatownedit。I——What’sthat？Somebody’scomin’。I’mgoin’toclearout。Idon’twanttobeputthroughmycatechismyetawhile。“
“No，youmustn’tgo。IwantyoutomeetMr。Ellery。YousitoutonthewashbenchbythebackdoortillIgetridofwhoever’tisthat’scomin’。Scoot！“
Nat“scooted，“stoppingtosnatchuphishatasheran。KeziahwentintothediningroomandadmittedCaptainZebedeeMayo，whowaspantingfromtheexertionofhiswalk。
“Whew！“puffedCaptainZeb，moppinghisforehead。“Howbeyou，Keziah？What？Youain’tallalone！Thoughtyou’dhaveacabinfullofgabmachinesbythistime。Havetheybeenandgone？“
“No，theyhaven’tbeen。I——Myland，mypie！“
Sherushedintothekitchenandsnatchedthepastryfromtheoven。
Hernewcallerfollowedher。