Fairwindshelpedherand，atlast，sheenteredtheharborofNukahiva，overtwelvehundredmilesaway。Andthere——“Hammond’sluck，“thesailorscalledit——wasaUnitedStatesman-of-warlyingatanchor，thefirstAmericanvesseltotouchatthatlittleFrenchsettlementforfiveyears。TheboattheybuiltwasabandonedandthesurvivorsoftheSeaMistweretakenonboardtheman-of-warandcarriedtoTahiti。
FromTahitiCaptainNattookpassageonaFrenchbarkforHonolulu。
Here，afteramonth’swait，hefoundopportunitytoleaveforNewYorkonanAmericanship，theStarsandStripes。Andfinally，afterbeingawayfromhomefortwoyears，hewalkedintotheofficeofhisNewYorkowners，depositedtheirgoldonatable，andcheerfullyobserved，“Well，hereIam。“
ThatwastheyarnwhichTrumetwastohearlateron。Itfilledcolumnsofthecitypapersatthetime，andthoseinterestedmayreadit，inallitsdetails，inabookwrittenbyaneminentauthor。ThetaleofaCapeCodseacaptain，pluckyandresourcefulandadequate，asYankeeseacaptainswereexpectedtobe，andwere，inthosedays。
ButTrumetdidnotheartheyarnimmediately。AllthatitheardandallthatitknewwascontainedinCaptainNat’sbrieftelegram。
“Arrivedto-day。WillbehomeThursday。“Thatwasall，butitwasenough，forinthatdispatchwasexplosivesufficienttoblowtoatomsthedoctor’splansandKeziah’s，thegreatschemewhichwastobringhappinesstoJohnElleryandGraceVanHorne。
Dr。Parkerheardit，whileonhiswaytoMrs。Prince’s，and，neglectingthatoldladyfortheonce，heturnedhishorseanddroveasfastaspossibletotheshantyonthebeach。Fastashedrove，CaptainZebedeeMayogotthereaheadofhim。CaptainZebwashitchinghiswhiteandancientsteedtothepostasthedoctorhoveinsight。
“Bymighty！“thecaptainexclaimed，withasighofrelief，“I’mgladenoughyou’vecome，doctor。Ihatedtogointherealone。
You’veheard，ofcourse。“
“Yes，I’veheard。“
“Say，ain’titwonderful！I’mtickledalluponesideandsorryalldownt’other。Nat’satrue-bluefeller，andI’mgladenoughthatheain’tsharkbait；butwhatabouttheministerandher？
She’spromisedtoNat，youknow，and——“
“Iknow。Don’tIknow！I’vebeengoingovertheaffairandtryingtoseeawayouteversinceIheardofthetelegram。Tut！tut！
I’mlikeyou，mightygladHammondissafe，butitwouldhavesparedcomplicationsifhehadstayedwhereverhe’sbeenforafewmonthslonger。Wewouldhavemarriedthosetwointherebythattime。“
“Sartinwewould。Buthedidn’tstay。Areyougoin’totellMr。
Ellery？“
“Certainlynot。AndIhopehehasn’tbeentold。He’sgettingwellfastnow，buthemustn’tbeworried，orbackhe’llgoagain。WemustseeMrs。Coffin。Keziahisourmainhold。Thatwomanhasgotmoresensethanalltherestofusputtogether。“
ButitwasGrace，notKeziah，whoopenedtheshantydoorinanswertotheirknock。Shewaspaleandgreetedthemcalmly，butitwasevidentthathercalmnesswastheresultofsheerwillpower。
“Won’tyoucomein，doctor？“sheasked。“Goodafternoon，CaptainMayo。“
Dr。Parkerenteredthebuilding，butCaptainZebremainedoutside，stammeringthathecal’latedhe’dbetterstaywherehecouldkeepaneyeonhishorse。Thiswassuchatransparentexcusethatitwouldhavebeenfunnyatanyothertime。Noonesmilednow，however。
“Is——isMrs。Coffin——er——Keziahaboard？“thecaptainasked。
“No，sheisn’t。Shewenttotheparsonageafewhoursago。Mr。
Ellisbroughtthemailandtherewasaletterinitforher。Shesaiditwasimportantandthatshemustgohometoseeaboutsomethings。She’llbebackprettysoon，Isuppose。“
Thedoctorwhisperedhernamethenandshewentinside，closingthedoorafterher。CaptainZebedeesatdownonthesteptoponderoverthenewandapparentlyinsurmountabledifficultywhichhadarisen。Ashesaidafterwards，“ThemoreItriedtogetanobservation，thethickeritgot。BlamedifIcouldseeanythingbutfog，butIcouldhear——IcouldhearElkanahandhisganggigglin’，ahead，asternandoffbothbows。“
Parkerfoundhispatientsleepingsoundlyandhadnotdisturbedhim。ReturningtothelivingroomhespoketoGrace。
“Humph！“hegrunted，watchingherfromunderhisbrows，“everythingseemstobeallrightinthere。Hehasn’tbeenexcitedoranythinglikethat？“
“No。“
“That’sgood。Hemustn’tbe。Youunderstandthat？Hemustn’tbetoldanythingthatwillupsethim。He’sgettingwellfastandI
wantittocontinue。“
“Yes，Iunderstand。“
“Hum！Er——haveyouheard——Hasanyonebeenhere？“
“Yes。Ihaveheard。ThetelegramcameandIansweredit。“
“Youdid？Well，it’samiracleandwe’reallthankful，ofcourse。
Didyou——er——er——“
“Doctor，Imustgohome。Imustn’tstayhereanylonger。“
“Whynot？“
“Youknowwhynot。Imustbeathomewhenhecomes。Youmustgetsomeonetotakemyplace。AuntKeziahwillstay，ofcourse，andperhapsMrs。Higginswouldcome，orHannahPoundberry。She——“
“NotifIknowit。I’dassoonhaveahay-cutterrunninginhereasHannah’stongue。Icouldstopahay-cutterwhenitgottoonoisy。Well，ifyoumustgo，youmust，Isuppose。Butstaythroughtomorrow，atanyrate。Natwon’tgethereuntilThursday，andImaybeabletofindanothernursebythattime。AndwhatI
shallsaytohim，“motioningtowardtheotherroom，“Idon’tknow。“
“Mustyousayanything？JustsaythatIhavebeencalledawayforafewdayson——onsomebusiness。Don’ttellhim。Don’ttellhimthetruth，doctor，now。HeistooweakandIamafraid——“
Shestoppedandturnedaway。Thedoctorwatchedherpityingly。
“Cheerup，“hesaid。“Atanyrate，thisisonlyforalittlewhile。Whenthecaptainknows，ifhe’sthemanItakehimfor，he’ll——“
Shewhirledlikeaflash。“You’renotgoingtotellhim？“shecried。“No，no！Youmustn’t。Youmustpromisemeyouwon’t。
Promise。“
“Somebody’lltellhim。TellingthingsisTrumet’sspecialty。“
“Thenyoumuststopit。Noonemusttellhim——nooneexceptme。I
shalltellhim，ofcourse。Hemusthearitfrommeandnotfromanyoneelse。HewouldthinkIwasdisloyalandungrateful——andI
am！Ihavebeen！ButIwas——ICOULDN’Thelpit。Youknow，doctor，youknow——“
“Yes，yes，Iknow。Well，I’llpromise，butitwillallcomeoutright，yousee。Youmustn’tthinkI——we——havebeeninterferinginyouraffairs，Grace。Butwe’veallcometothinkawholelotofthatparsonofoursandwhathewantedwewantedhimtohave，that’sall。“
“Iknow。Thankyouverymuchforallyourkindness，andforyourpromise。“
Hewouldhavelikedtosaymuchmore，buthecouldnot，underthecircumstances。Hestammeredagood-byand，withaquestionconcerningMrs。Coffin’swhereabouts，wentouttojoinCaptainZeb。
“Well？“queriedthelatteranxiously。“Howisit？What’sup？
What’sthenexttack？“
“We’llgototheparsonage，“wasthegloomyanswer。“IfanybodycanseeaglimmerinthiscussedmuddleKeziahCoffincan。“
Keziahwasonherkneesinherroom，besideatrunk，thesametrunkshehadbeenpackingthedayoftheminister’sarrivalinTrumet。
Shewasworkingfrantically，sortinggarmentsfromapile，rejectingsomeandkeepingothers。Sheheardvoicesonthewalkbelowandwentdowntoadmitthecallers。
“What’sthematter，Keziah？“askedDr。Parkersharply，afteralookatherface。“Youlookasifyou’dbeenthroughthewar。Humph！
Isupposeyou’veheardthenews？“
Keziahbrushedbackthehairfromherforehead。“Yes，“sheansweredslowly。“I’veheardit。“
“Well，it’sgreatnews，andifitwasn’tfor——ifthingsweren’tastheyare，I’dbecrowinghallelujahsthisminute。Trumethasgotagoodmansafeandsoundagain，andtheLordknowsitneedsallofthatkinditcanget。“
“Yes。“
“Yes。Butthere’stheothermatter。I’vebeentoseeGrace。Shedidn’tsayso，butitwaseasyenoughtosee；themanshepromisedtomarryandthoughtwasdead，isalive。She’sagirlofherword——
shepromisedhimandshepromisedherdyinguncle——andshe’llmarryhim。AndthenwhatwillbecomeofJohnEllery？He’llgodownhillsofastthataship’sanchorwouldn’tholdhim。Ifhedoesn’tdieI’llhavetosendhimawaysomewhere，andtheRegularchurchwilllosetheministerwe’vefoughtsohardfor。“
“Yes，“concurredZebedee，“andthemblastedDanielses’llruntheshebangandtherestofus’llhavetosingsmall，Itellyou。“
“Sowe’vecometoyou，Keziah，“wentonthedoctor。“Doyouseeanysalvation？“
“Yes，Ido。“
“Youdo？Where？“
“InNatHammond。IfheknowsGracedoesn’twanttomarryhim，doyousupposehe’llholdhertoherpromise？“
“Idon’tknow。I’mnotsosure。Mendon’tgiveupgirlslikethatsoeasy。Iwouldn’t——byGeorge，Iwouldn’t！Andshewon’ttellhimthewholetruth，I’mafraid。She’llpretendtobeglad——hangit！sheISglad——tohavehimhomeagainand——“
“Ofcourseshe’sglad。Ain’tweallgladandhappyandthankful？
Weoughttobe。But“——shehesitated——“doctor，youleavethistome。SofarasJohnandGraceareconcernedyouneedn’tworry。
I’lltakeitonmyselftoseethattheyhaveeachother，astheAlmightymeant’emto。Leaveittome。Justleaveittome。I
KNOWIcandoit。“
Shewouldnotsaymore，nortellonwhatgroundsshebasedheroptimism。Shewouldgobacktotheshantythatevening，shesaid，andstayuntilthefollowingafternoon。Gracewouldundoubtedlygototheoldtaverntoprepareforthehomecoming。LetMrs。Higginstakeherplaceasnurse。
“Ishallhavetoleave，myself，“sheadded，“foralittlewhile；soperhapsyou’dbettertrytogetsomebodyelsetohelptheHigginswoman。Don’taskmeanyquestions，pleasedon’t，andbesurenottosayawordtoanybody——mostofalltoGrace。JustdoasItellyouandleaveittome。Anddon’tcomeandseemeagainuntilafter——afterhecomeshome。Good-by，doctor。Good-by，Cap’nZeb。“
Sheshookhandswitheachofthem，aratherunusualproceedingastheythoughtofitafterwards。Thentheywentawayandlefther。
“Humph！“musedParker，astheycameoutatthegate。“Humph！Sheseemssure，doesn’tshe。Andyetshedoesn’tactlikeherself。
Didyounoticethat？“
“Yup。Inoticedit。ButIexpectNat’sdroppin’outofthecloudsshookherup，sameasitdonetherestofus。Well，nevermind。
She’sabullygood，capablewomanandwhatshesaysshe’lldoshegen’rallydoes。I’mbettin’onher。Bytime！Ifeelbetter。“
CaptainElkanahDanielsandhisfriendswerefeelingbetteralso，andtheywerebusy。Trumethadanewheronow。OnWednesdaytheBostonpapersprintedexcerptsfromCaptainHammond’sstory，andthesebriefpreliminaryaccountsarousedtheadmirationofeverycitizen。Itwasproposedtogivehimareception。Elkanahwasthemovingspiritinthepreparations。CaptainNat，sotheylearnedbytelegraphing，wouldarriveonthenoontrainThursday。HiswasnottobeaprosaicprogressbystageallthewayfromSandwich。A
specialcarriage，drawnbytheDanielsspanandescortedbyothervehicles，wastomeetthecoachatBayportandbringhimtoTrumetintriumphantprocession。Allthiswastobeasurprise，ofcourse。
WednesdayafternoontheDanielsfollowingwascheeredbythetidingsthatGraceVanHornehadleftthebeachandwasatheroldhome，theHammondtavern。AndMrs。Poundberryreportedherbusyasabee“gettin’thingsready。“Thiswasencouragingandindicatedthattheministerhadbeenthrownover，ashedeservedtobe，andthatNatwouldfindhisfianceewaitingandreadytofulfillhercontract。“Reg’larwhirligig，thatgirl，“sniffedDidamaRogers。