“Yup；me。Youareinlovewithhim；atanyrate，yousaidso。Andyou’reherewithhim，ain’tyou？Ifyoutwoain’tengagedyououghttobe。“
“AuntKeziah，howcanyouspeakso？Don’tyourealize——“
“Lookhere。Don’tyouwanttomarryhim？“
“WANTto？Oh，please——Howcanyou？I——“
“S-s-sh！There！there！Iamabull-headedoldthing，forsure。
ButI’mlikethedogthatchasedtheratacrosstheshelfwheretheykeptthebestchina，myintentionsaregood。Don’tcry，deary。Let’sgettothebottomofthisthing，asthemansaidwhenhetumbledintothewell。WhenIfirstknewthatyouandJohnwereinlovewitheachother，Ifeltdreadful。IknewyouruncleandI
knewTrumet。Ifyouhadmarriedthen，orletpeopleknowthatyouthoughtofit，’twouldhavebeentheend，andruinforJohnandyou。Butthingsarediff’rentnow，agooddealdiff’rent。Johnisworshipedprettynigh，sincehispluckwiththatsmallpoxman。Hecouldgointochurchanddanceajiginthepulpitandnobody——orpreciousfew，atleast——wouldfindfault。Andyou’vestoodbyhim。
Ifitwa’n’tforyouhewouldn’tbehereto-day，andpeopleknowthat。Dr。ParkerandCaptainZebedeeandGaiusWinslowanddozensmorearefightingforhimandforyou。Andthedoctorsaystheyaregoingtowin。Doyouwanttospoilitall？“
“AuntKeziah，thatnightbeforeunclediedIwasupstairsinmyroomandIhearduncleandCaptainElkanahDanielstalking。“
“Elkanah？Washethereatyourhouse？“
“Yes。Somehoworother——Idon’tknowhow——hehadlearnedabout——
aboutJohnandme。Andhewasfurious。AuntKeziah，IheardhimsaythatunlessIbrokeoffwithJohnhewoulddrivehimfromtheministryandfromTrumetanddisgracehimforever。HesaidthatifIreallycaredforhimIwouldnotruinhislife。Thatbroughtmetomyself。IrealizedhowwickedIhadbeenandwhatIwasdoing。
ThatwaswhyI——I——“
“There！there！Tut！tut！tut！hum！NowIsee。But，Gracie，youain’tgoin’toruinhislife。No，norElkanahain’tgoin’todoit，either。Hecan’t，nomatterhowhardhetries。I’velivedtoseethedaywhenthere’sabiggermanintheReg’larchurchthanElkanahDaniels，andIthankthegoodLordforit。“
“Inevershouldhavecomehere。Iknowit。Butheneededme。
AuntKeziah，hewassickanddyingalmost，andIcouldn’tleavehim。Icame，andnowhewillberuinedanddisgraced。“
“Hewon’t，Itellyou；hewon’t。Listentome。Iain’ttalkin’
formyhealth。Listen！“
Shearguedandpleadedandcoaxed，and，atlast，whenshebegantothinkshehadprevailed，Gracebroughtforwardanotherobjection。
Shehadgivenherwordtoheruncle。Howcouldshebreakthatpromisemadetoadyingman？Shewouldfeellikeatraitor。
“Traitortowho？“demandedthehousekeeper，losingpatience。“NottopoorNat，forhe’sgone。Anddon’tyousupposethatheandEbenunderstandthingsbetternow，wheretheyare？DoyousupposethatNatwouldn’twantyoutobehappy？Iknowhewould，forIknewhim。“
Itwasstillunsettledwhenthelongtalkwasover，butGraceagreednottoleavetheministeratpresent。Shewouldstaywhereshewasuntilhewashimselfagain，atleast。Keziahwassatisfiedwiththepreliminaryskirmish。Shefeltconfidentofwinningthevictory，andintheprospectofhappinessforothers，shewasalmosthappyherself。Yeteachtimethemailwasbroughttotheshantyshedreadedtolookatit，andthesightofastrangermadehershakewithfear。AnselCoffinhadthreatenedtocometoTrumet。Ifhecame，shehadmadeuphermindwhattodo。
Theparishcommitteewastomeet。CaptainElkanahhadannouncedhisintentionofmovingthatJohnEllerybeexpelledfromtheRegularchurch。Therewastobenocompromise，noaskingforaresignation；hemustbedischarged，thrownoutindisgrace。Thecountypaperswerefullofthesquabble，buttheymerelyreportedthenewsanddidnottakesides。Thefightwastooevenforthat。
CaptainZebchuckled。“It’sallright，Keziah，“hesaid。“Weknowwhat’swhatandwho’swho。TheRev。Mr。Ellerycanpreachhereforthenexthundredyear，ifhelivesthatlongandwantsto，andhecanmarrywhoeverhedarnpleases，besides。Elkanah’slickedandheknowsit。Heain’tgotenoughbackerstomanalobsterdory。
Lethimholler；noisedon’tscaregrownfolks。“
OneafternoonafewdaysbeforethedatesetforthemeetingElkanahandtwoorthreeofhishenchmenwereonthepiazzaoftheDanielshome，discussingthesituation。Theywereblueanddowncast。Annabelwasinthesittingroom，sheddingtearsofhumiliationandjealousrageonthehairclothsofa。
“Well，“observedherfather，“there’sonethingwecando。Ifthevoteincommitteegoesagainstus，Ishallinsistonthecallingofacongregationalmeeting。Hum——ha！Yes，Ishallinsistonthat。“
“Won’tbenogood，cap’n，“sniffedBeriahSaltersdolefully。“Thebiggestpartofthecongregation’sforEllery，andyouknowit。
They’reassotonhimasifhewastheangelGabriel。Ifyou’donlytoldwhatyouknewaforethissmallpoxbusiness，we’dhavebeenabletogivehimandhisCome-Outerwomanwhatb’longsto’em。
Butnotnow。“
CaptainDanielsshifteduneasilyinhischair。
“Hum——ha！“hebarked，tocoverconfusion。Hum——ha！Itseemedtomemore——er——charitabletogivethemisguidedyoungmananotherchance，andIdidit。But——What’sthat？“
SomeonewastalkingexcitedlyonthesidewalkbeyondthelilacbushesattheborderoftheDanielsproperty。Voicesanswered。
DidamaRogersdartedoutofheryardandpastthehouseinthedirectionofthesounds。Saltersroseandwalkeddowntothegate。
“Hey！“heshouted。“Halloo！Ahoythere！You，Em’lous，whatisit？“
EmulousSparrow，thefishpeddler，wasseatedinhiscart，whichwassurroundedbymenandwomen，neighborsoftheDanielses。Therewasaperfectstormofquestioningsandejaculations。Saltersopenedthegateandjoinedthegroup。Amomentlaterhecamerunningback，upthewalktowardthepiazza。
“Cap’n，“heshouted。“Cap’nElkanah，here’snews！Whatdoyouthink？Atelegram’sjustcomefromNatHammond。He’ssafeandsoundinNewYork，andhe’llbeheredayafterto-morrow。“
Theycouldnotbelieveitandrushedouttohearmore。Emulous，glowingwithimportance，affirmedthatitwasso。Hehadseenthetelegramatthestore。ItwasforGraceVanHorneandtheywerejustgoingtosendaboyovertotheshantywithit。
“Nodetailsnornothin’，“hedeclared。“Justsaid’Amallright。
Arrivedto-day。WillbeinTrumetThursday。’And’twassigned’NathanielHammond。’There！“
“Well，bythunder！“exclaimedSalters。“Ifthatdon’tbeatall。I
wonderwhat’shappenedtohim？Twoyeargoneandgiveupfordead，andnow——Whatdoyoucal’lateitmeans？“
CaptainElkanahseizedhimbythearmandledhimoutofthegroup。
Theoldman’sfacewasalightwithsavagejoyandhisvoiceshookwithexultation。
“I’lltellyouonethingitmeans，“hewhispered。“ItmeanstheendofEllery，sofarashismarryingherisconcerned。ShegaveherwordtoHammondandshe’llkeepit。She’snoliar，whateverelsesheis。HemaybeministeroftheRegularchurch，thoughI’LL
neversetunderhim，buthe’llnevermarryher，now。“
CHAPTERXIX
INWHICHARECEPTIONISCALLEDOFF
FaroutonthePacificcoasttherearetwosmallislands，perhapsahundredmilesdistantfromoneanother。Thefirstoftheseisuninhabited。OntheotherisalittlecolonyofEnglish-speakingpeople，half-breeddescendantsofnativewomenandthesurvivorsofacrewfromaBritishvesselcastawaythereinthelatterpartoftheeighteenthcentury。
Onthefirstoftheseislands，thesmallerone，theSeaMisthadbeenwrecked。Drivenoutofhercoursebyatyphoon，shestaggeredthroughdayafterdayandnightafternightofterrificwindandstormuntil，atlast，therewaspromiseoffairweather。CaptainNat，nearlywornoutfromanxiety，care，andthelossofsleep，hadgonetohisstateroomandthefirstmatewasincharge。Itwasthreeo’clock，thewindstillblowingandthedarknesspitchy，whentheforwardlookoutshriekedawarning，“Breakersunderthelee！“
Almostthenextinstanttheshipwasonacoralreef，fullofwater，andtheseasbreakingoverherfromstemtostern。
Morningcameandshowedalittlepatchofland，withpalmtreesandtropicalvegetationwavinginthegustsandgreeninthesunshine。
CaptainNatorderedtheboatstobelowered。Muchashehatedthethought，hesawthattheSeaMisthadmadeherlastvoyageandmustbeabandoned。Hewenttothecabin，collectedpapersandchartsandpreparedtoleave。Theship’smoney，overtenthousanddollarsingoldbelongingtotheownerandtobeusedintradeandspeculationamongtheEastIndies，hetookwithhim。Thenthedifficultanddangerouspassagethroughtheopeninginthereefwasbegun。
Onlythecaptain’sboatreachedtheshore。Themate’swascaughtbyahugebreaker，dashedagainstthereefandsunk。CaptainNat，hissecondmateandfiveofhismenwereallthatwasleftoftheSeaMist’scompany。Andonthatislandtheyremainedfornearlytwoweeks。Provisionstheyhadbroughtashorewiththem。Watertheyfoundbydigging。Nathidthegoldatnight，buryingitonthebeachbelowhigh-watermark。
Then，havingmadesureofhislocationbyconsultingthechart，hedeterminedtoattemptavoyagetothesecondisland，whereheknewtheEnglishcolonytobe。Provisionsweregettingshort，andtoremainlongerwheretheywerewastoriskstarvationandallitshorrors。So，inthelongboat，whichwasprovidedwithasail，theystarted。Chartsandpapersandthegoldtheskippertookwiththem。Noneofthecrewknewoftheexistenceofthemoney；itwasasecretwhichthecaptainkepttohimself。
Ahundredmilestheysailedinthelongboatand，atlast，thesecondislandwassighted。Theylandedandfound，totheirconsternationandsurprise，thatit，too，wasuninhabited。Theformerresidentshadgrowntiredoftheirisolationand，atradingvesselhavingtouchedthere，hadseizedtheopportunitytodepartforTahiti。Theirhouseswereempty，theircattle，sheep，goats，andfowlroamedwildinthewoods，andthefruitwasrottingonthetrees。InitswaythelittleislandwasanEyelessEden，flowingwithmilkandhoney；buttoCaptainNat，aconscientiousskipperwithresponsibilitiestohisowners，itwasaprisonfromwhichhedeterminedtoescape。Then，asiftomakeescapeimpossible，asuddengalecameupandthelongboatwassmashedbythesurf。
“Iguessthatsettlesit，“ruefullyobservedthesecondmate，anotherCapeCodder，fromHyannis。Cal’latewe’llstayhereforaspellnow，hey，Cap’n。“
“Foraspell，yes，“repliedNat。“We’llstayhereuntilwegetanothercrafttosetsailin，andnolonger。“
“Anothercraft？ANOTHERone？Whereintimeyougoin’together？“
“Buildher，“saidCaptainNatcheerfully。Then，pointingtotherowofemptyhousesandthelittledesertedchurch，headded，“There’stimberandnails——yes，andcloth，suchas’tis。IfI
can’tbuildaboatoutofthemI’llagreetoeatthewholesettlement。“
Hedidnothavetoeatit，fortheboatwasbuilt。Ittookthemsixmonthstobuildher，andshewasacurious-lookingvesselwhendone，but，astheskippersaid，“Shemaynotbeaclipper，butshe’llsailanywhere，ifyougivehertimeenough。“Hehadbeentheguidingspiritofthewholeenterprise，planningit，layingthekeel，burningbuildings，toobtainnailsandiron，hewingtreesforthelargestbeams，showingthemhowtospinropesfromcocoa-nutfiber，improvisingsailsfromthelongboat’scanvaspiecedoutwithblanketsandoddbitsofclothfromtheabandonedhouses。Evenastripofcarpetfromthechurchfloorwentintothemakingofthosesails。
Atlastshewasdone，butNatwasnotsatisfied。
“InevercommandedashipwhereIcouldn’th’istYankeecolors，“hesaid，“and，bytheeverlastin’！Iwon’tnow。We’vegottohaveaflag。“
So，fromanoldpairofblueoveralls，awhitecottonshirt，andtheredhangingsofthechurchpulpit，hemadeaflagandhoistedittothetruckofhisqueercommand。Theyprovisionedher，gaveheraliberalsupplyoffreshwater，and，onemorning，shepassedthroughtheopeningofthelagoonouttothedeepblueofthePacific。And，hiddeninhercaptain’sstateroomundertheheadofhisbunk，wasthetenthousanddollarsingold。ForNathadsworntohimself，by“theeverlasting“andotheroaths，todeliverthatmoneytohisNewYorkownerssafeand，necessaryexpensesdeductedofcourse，untouched。
Forsevenweeksthecrazynondescriptsloppedacrosstheocean。