“Sotheyain’tbeen，hey？“hesaid。“That’squeer。“
“Elkanah’shere。He’sintherewiththeministernow。“
“Heis？Givin’theyoungfellerHailColumby，Ical’late。Well，now，heshan’t。He，he！Whentheytoldmehowtheministerpassedoldhop-and-go-fetch-itwhatwasduehimatthechapellastnightI
rizupandhoorayedtillmywifeshutthewindows。ShesaidtheneighborsallthoughtIwasloony，anyhow，andIneedn’tproveitto’em。He，he！ButElkanahain’tgotanyfunnybone。He’sassolemnasastuffedowl，andhe’ll——Well，I’mgoin’toputMYoarin。I’mparishcommittee，too，Ical’late，andI’vegotsomethin’
tosay，evenifIwa’n’tchristenedDaniels。Heregoes！“
Heheadedforthestudy，butbeforehecrossedthethresholdofthekitchenElleryandhisvisitorcameoutintothediningroom。
CaptainElkanah’sfacewasflushed，andhefidgeted。Theministerlookeddeterminedbutcalm。
“Ahoythere，Elkanah！“hailedZebedeecheerfully。“’Mornin’，Mr。
Ellery。Beenhavin’officers’counsel，haveyou？“
“Goodmorning，CaptainMayo，“saidtheminister。
“’Mornin’，Zebedee，“gruntedElkanah。“Ihave——hum——ha！——beendiscussingtheregrettableaffairoflastnightwithMr。Ellery。I
havetried——hum——ha！toshowhimthatrespectablepeopleofoursocietydon’tassociatewithCome-Outers，andthatforaRegularministertogototheirmeetingsissomethingneitherthecongregationnortheparishcommitteeapprovesof。No——er——hum——
ha！no！“
“AndIexplainedtoCaptainDaniels，“observedtheminister，“thatIwentthereforwhatseemedtomegoodreasons，and，astheydidseemtomegoodatthetime，I’mnotashamedofhavinggone。ItwasanhonestmistakeonmypartandImaymakemore。“
“Butthesociety——“beganElkanah。CaptainZebinterruptedhim。
“Don’tworryaboutthesociety，Mr。Ellery，“hesaidwithemphasis。
“Norabouttheparishcommittee，either。Greatfishhooks！themostofusaretickledtodeathoverwhatyousaidtoEbenHammond。Wethinkit’samightygoodjoke。YOUdidn’tknow，ofcourse，andwhatyoudidwasdoneinnocent。He！he！he！Didyoulayhimout，hey？“
“Zebedee，“beganCaptainDaniels，“ImustsayIcan’tseeanythingtolaughat。“
“Younevercould，Elkanah。Irememberthattimewhenyouandmeandsomeofthefellershomefromseawentoutsailin’andtheboomknockedyouoverboardwithyourSundayclotheson。Lordy，howtherestofusdidholler！butyounevercrackedasmile。Ifyou’dseenyourselfwhenwehauledyouin！whiskersrunnin’saltwater；
beaverhatlookin’likeadrowndedkitten——“
“There！There！Nevermindthat。Ithinkyou’llfindagoodmanyofthesocietyfeelasIdo，shockedand——hum——ha！——sorry。I’msurprisedtheyhaven’tbeenheretosayso。“
“Iexpectedthem，“remarkedtheminister。
“SodidI，“chimedinCaptainZeb。“ButIcal’latetoknowwhytheyain’tbeen。They’realltoobusycrowin’overthewayNatHammondfetchedthepackethomelastnight。WHAT？Youain’theard？Greatfishhooks！it’sthebestthingever——“
“I’veheardaboutit，“snappedElkanahimpatiently。“Mr。Ellery，I’mgladyourealizethatyouractionwasamistakeandIwilltakepainstohavethatimmejitlymadeplainto——“
“YOUain’theard，Keziah，haveyou？“brokeinZebedee。“Noryou，Mr。Ellery？Well，Imusttellyou。Here’swhereIgainalaponDidamaRogers。SeemstheDeborahS——that’sthepacket’sname，Mr。
Ellery——shehauledoutofBostonnightaforelastontheebb，withafairwindandskyclearasabell。Buttheyhadn’tmuchmore’ngotoutsideofMinot’s’forethefogshutdown，thicker’ngruelforasickrichman。Thewindheldtill’longtowardmornin’；thensheflattenedtoadeadcalm。’BijePerry，themate，hespuntheyarntome，andhesaid’twasthickandflataseverheseeandkeptgettin’nobetterfast。
“Theydriftedalongtillnoontimeandthentheywassomewheresoutinthebay，butthat’saboutallyoucouldsay。Zach，hewasstewin’andsputterin’likeapairoffriedeels，andLafayetteGageandEmulousPeters——they’reDenborofolks，Mr。Ellery，andaboutsixteenp’intst’othersideofnoaccount——theywastheonlypassengersaboardexceptNatHammond，andtheyputintheirtimeplayin’highlowjackinthecabin。Thelookoutwasfor’ardtootin’atinhornandhisbellerin’wasthemostexcitin’thinggoin’on。Afterdinner——cornedbeefandcabbage——trustZachforthat，thoughit’snextdoortocannibalismtoputcabbageinHIS
mouth——afterdinnerallhandswasondeckwhenNatsays：’Hush！’hesays。’Don’tIhearsomethin’？’
“Theylistened，andthentheyallheardit——all’ceptZach，who’sdeefinhislarboardear。
“’Standby！’roarsNat。’It’sasquall，deadasternandcomin’
abilin’！I’lltakeher，’Bije。Youlookoutforthemtops’ls。’
“SoNatgrabsthewheeland’Bijetearsfor’ardandsendsthetwofo’masthandsaloftonthejump。Zachwasskipper，butallhedonewasracearoundandhollerandtripoverhisownfeet。Oh，he’saprizesailor，heis！Don’ttalktomeaboutthemFosters！I——“
“Nobodyistalkin’about’embutyou，Zeb，“observedKeziahdrily。
“Goon。Howaboutthesquall？“
“Ithit’em’foretheygotevenonetops’lcleweddown。Thatone，theforetops’l’twas，splittorags。Themaintops’lwasset，andwhenthesquallstruck，therottenoldtopmastwentbytheboard’Kerrash-o！’’Coursesplintersflewlikeallpossessed，andoneof’em，aboutafootlong，sailedpastNat’shead，wherehestoodheavin’hiswholeweightonthewheel，andlitrightonthebinnacle，smashin’ittomatches。
“TheysayNatneverpaidtheleastattention，nomore’nifthechunkofwoodhadbeenaJunebugbuzzin’past。Hejustheldthatwheelharddownandthatsavedthepacket。Shecomearoundandputhernosedeadinthewindjustintime。As’twas，’Bijesaystherewasasecondwhenthewaterbyherleeraillookedrightunderneathhimashehungontothedeckwithfingernailsandteeth。
“Well，theretheywas，afloat，butwiththeirupperriggin’goneandthecompasssmashedflat。Ahowlin’no’thwesterblowin’andfogthickasever。Zachwasawhimperin’，fidgetin’oldwoman，LafayetteandEmulouswasprayin’inthescuppers——andthatain’tanexercisethey’reusedto，neither——andeven’Bijewasmightyshookupandworried——hesayshewashimself。ButNatHammondwasascoolandrefreshin’asthebottomofmywelluphome。
“’Betterclearawaythatmessaloft，hadn’tyou？’hesaystotheskipper。
“Zachsaidheguessedso；hewa’n’tsureofnothin’。However，theycleareditaway，andincidentally’Bijeyankedtheprayermeetin’
outofthescuppersandset’emtowork。ThenNatsuggestsgettin’
thesparecompassand，loandbeholdyou！therewa’n’tany。
Compassescostmoneyandmoney’smadetokeep，soZachthinks。
“Sotheretheywas。Windwasfair，oroughttobe，but’twasblowin’hardandsothickyoucouldn’thardlyseethejibboom。
Zachhewantedtoanchor，thenhedidn’t，thenhedid，andsoon。
Nobodypaidmuchattentiontohim。
“’What’llwedo，Nat？’says’Bije。Heknewwhowastherealseamanaboard。
“’Keepherassheis，deadaforeit，ifyouaskme，saysNat。
’Guesswe’llhitthebroadsideofthecapesomewheresifthisgaleholds。’
“Sotheykeptherasshewas。Anditgottobenightandtheyknewthey’doughttobe’mostontotheedgeoftheflatsoffhere，iftheirreck’nin’wasnighright。Theyhovetheleadandgotfivefathom。Noflatsaboutthat。
“Zachwasforanchorin’again。’Whatdoyouthink，Nat？’asks’Bije。
“’Anchor，ofcourse，ifyouwantto，’Natsays。’You’rerunnin’
thiscraft。I’monlypassenger。’
“’ButwhatdoyouTHINK？’whinesZach。’Can’tyoutelluswhatyoudothink？’
“’Well，if’twasme，Iwouldn’tanchortillIhadto。Prob’ly’twillfairoffto-morrow，butifitshouldn’t，wemighthavetolayouthereallday。Anyhow，we’dhavetowaitforafulltide。’
“’I’mafraidwe’reoffthecourse，’says’Bije，elsewe’dbeenacrostthebarbythistime。’
“’Well，’Nattellshim，’ifweareoffthecourseandtoofarinshore，wewouldhavemadethebar——theBayportbar——ifnottheTrumetone。Andifwe’reoffthecourseandtoofarout，we’doughttohavedeeperwaterthanfivefathom，hadn’twe？’CourseI’mnotsure，but——What’sthat，lands-man？’
“’Threeandahalf，sir，’saysthefellerwiththelead。Thatshowedtheywasedgin’insomewheres。Nathesniffed，foralltheworldlikeadogcatchin’ascent，so’Bijedeclares。
“’Icansmellhome，’hesays。
“Threefathomtheleadgive’em，thentwoandahalf，thenascanttwo。Theywasdrawin’sixfeet。Zachcouldn’tstandit。
“’I’mgoin’toanchor，’hesqueals，frantic。’Ibelievewe’replumbovertoWellmouthanddrivin’rightontoHorsefootShoal。’
“’It’seitherthatorthebar，’chimesin’Bije。’Andwhichever’tis，wecan’tanchorinthemiddleofit。’
“’Butwhat’llwedo？’shoutsZach。’Can’tnobodysaysomethin’toDO？’
“’TellyouIsmellhome，’saysNat，calmandchipper，’andI’dknowthatsmellifImetitinJericho。Ha！thereshedeepensagain。
Thatwasthebarandwe’reoverit。’
“Thewindhadgonedowntoastiffsailin’breeze，andtheoldDebbyS。slappedalongaforeit。Sometimestherewastwelvefootunderherkeelandsometimeseightornine。Once’twasonlysevenandahalf。Zachand’Bijebothlookedateachother，butNatonlysmiled。
“’Oh，youcanlaugh！’hollersZach。’’Tain’tyourvesselyou’rerunnin’intodanger。YOUaintpaidoutyourgoodmoney——’
“Natneveranswered；buthestoppedsmilin’。
“Andalltooncethewaterdeepened。Hammondswungherupintothewind。
“’NOWyoucananchor，’sayshe。
“’And’bouttime，too，Iguess，’says’Bije。’Ical’latetheskipper’sright。ThisISHorsefootandwe’rerightbetweentheshoals。Yes，sir，andIhearbreakers。Livelythere！’
“Theyhoveoverthemudhookanddroppedthesails。Natshookhishead。
“’Breakersornot，’sayshe，’ItellyouI’vesmelthomeforthelasthalfhour。Now，bythejumpin’Moses，IcanTASTEit！’
“Andinsideofacoupleofshakescometherain。Itpouredforawhileandthenthefogcleared。RightacrosttheirbowswasTrumet，withthetownclockstrikin’ten。Overtheflatplacebetweenthehillstheycouldseethelightontheoceanside。Andtheywasanchoredrightinthedeepholeinsidethebreakwater，assureasI’mkneehightoamarlinspike！
“’BijejuststaredatHammondwithhismouthopen。
“’Nat，’sayshe，’you’reaseaman，ifIdosayit。IthoughtIwasaprettygoodbaypilot，butIcan’tsteeravesselwithoutacompassthroughanightasblackasPharaoh’sEgypt，andinathickfogbesides，andlandhersquareontopofhermoorin’s。Ifmyhatwa’n’tsloshin’aroundthirtymileastern，IsnumifIwouldn’ttakeitofftoyouthisminute！’
“’Nat，’stammersZach，’ImustsayI——’
“Natsnappedhimshutlikeatobaccobox。’Youneedn’t，’sayshe。
’ButI’llsaythistoyou，ZachFoster。WhenIundertaketohandleavesselIhandleherbestIknowhow，andthefactthatIdon’townhermakesnodifferencetome。Youjustputthatdownsomewheressoyouwon’tforgetit。’
“Andthismornin’，“crowedCaptainZebedee，concludinghislongyarn，“afterthat，mindyou，thatlubberZachFosterisaroundtowntellin’folksthathisschoonerhadbeenoverthecoursesooftensheCOULDN’Tgetlost。Shefoundherwayhomeherself。WHATdoyouthinkofthat？“
ThetwomembersoftheparishcommitteelefttheparsonagesoonafterCaptainMayohadfinishedhisstory。Elkanahhadlistenedwithgrowingirritationandimpatience。Zebedeelingeredamomentbehindhiscompanions。
“Don’tyoufretyourselfaboutwhathappenedlastnight，Mr。
Ellery，“hewhispered。“It’llbeallright。’Coursenobody’dwantyoutokeepupchummin’inwithCome-Outers，butwhatyousaidtooldEben’llsquareyouthistime。Solong。“
Theministershutthedoorbehindhisdepartingguests。Thenhewentoutintothekitchen，whitherthehousekeeperhadprecededhim。Hefoundherstandingonthebackstep，lookingacrossthefields。Thewashbenchwasuntenanted。
“Hum！“musedEllerythoughtfully，“thatwasagoodstoryofCaptainMayo’s。ThismanHammondmustbeafinechap。Ishouldliketomeethim。“
Keziahstilllookedawayoverthefields。Shedidnotwishheremployertoseeherface——justthen。
“Ithoughtyouwouldmeethim，“shesaid。HewasherealittlewhileagoandIaskedhimtowait。IguessZeb’syarnwastoomuchforhim；hedoesn’tliketobepraised。“