Shewonderedidlywhosecoatitmightbeandwhoitsfuturewearerwastomarry。ThisremindedheroftheministerandGrace。Theywouldbehappynow，hertalkwithNathadassuredherofthat，andthey，too，wouldbemarriedoneofthesedays。Butshewouldnotattendthewedding。ShewonderedwhatJohnhadsaidwhenhereadhernote。HeandGracewouldbesorryforher，ofcourse；buttherewasnothingtheycoulddotohelp。Noonecouldhelpher，noone。PerhapsbythistimethemanshehadrunawayfromhadreachedTrumetandhersecretwasknown。HowDidamaandtherestwouldspreadthetale！HowCaptainElkanahandAnnabelwouldsneerandexult！Theyhatedherbecauseshewastheminister’sfriend。
AndNat，poorfellow，whatwouldhedo？Well，atleasthewouldunderstandnow。
Thenarrowstairwayleadinguptotheworkshopendedinalittleboxed-inroomwherethefinishedgarmentswerehungtoawaitthefinalpressing。Frombehindthecloseddoorofthisroomcamethesoundofvoices，apparentlyinheatedargument。OneofthesevoiceswasthatofLarry，theerrandboy。Larrywasspeakingshrillyandwithemphasis。Theothervoicewaslowerinkeyandthewordswereinaudible。
“No，sir，youcan’t，“declaredLarry。“Youcan’t，Itellyou。Thebossdon’tletnobodyinthereand——Holdon！Holdon！“
Theothervoicemadeashortbutevidentlyearnestanswer。Larryagainexpostulated。Theworkerslookedupfromtheirsewing。ThedooropenedandLarryappeared，flushedandexcited。
“Where’sMr。Upham？“hedemanded。“Mr。Upham！“
Uphamwastheforemanoftheworkroom。Atthemomenthewasdownstairsinconversationwiththeheadofthehouse。Ahalfdozengavethisinformation。
“What’sthematter？Whoisit？“askedseveral。
“Idon’tknowwho’tis。It’samanandhe’scrazy，Ithink。I
toldhimhecouldn’tcomeinhere，buthejustkeepscomin’。HewantstoseesomebodynamedCoffinandthereain’tnoCoffinshere。“
Keziahbentlowerovertheweddingcoat。Herhandshookandshedroppedtheneedle。
“Itoldhimwedidn’tkeepcoffins，“declaredLarry。“Thisain’tnoundertaker’s。Where’sMr。Upham？“
Keziah’snearestneighborleanedtowardher。
“Iguessit’ssomebodytoseeyou，“shesaid。“YournameisCoffin，ain’tit？“
“No，no。Thatis，itcan’tbeanybodytoseeme。Idon’twanttoseeanybody。Tellhimso，whoeveritis。Ican’tseeanybody。
I——NAT！“
Hestoodinthedoorway，beckoningtoher。
“Keziah，“hesaid，“comehere。Iwantyou。I’lltellyouwhyinaminute。Come！“
Shehesitated。Inameasureshewasrelieved，forshehadfearedthemanatthedoormightbeherhusband。Butshewasgreatlyagitatedandtroubled。Everyoneintheplacewaslookingather。
“Nat，“shesaid，tryingtospeakfirmly，“Ican’tseeyounow。I’mverybusy。Pleasegoaway。“
“Come！“
“Ican’tcome。Goaway。Please！“
“Keziah，I’mwaitin’。AndI’mgoin’towaitifIstayhereallnight。Come！“
Sheobeyedthen。Shecouldnothaveascenethere，beforeallthosestrangers。Shesteppedpasthimintothelittleroom。Hefollowedandclosedthedoor。
“Nat，“shesaid，turningtohim，“whydidyoucome？Howcouldyoubesocruel？I——“
Heinterruptedher，butnotwithwords。Thenextmomenthisarmswereaboutherandshewaspressedtightagainstthebreastofhisbluejacket。
“Keziah，“hewhispered，“I’vecometotakeyouhome。Homeforgood。No，staywhereyouareandI’lltellyouallaboutit。
PraisebetoGod！we’reofftherocksatlast。Allthat’sleftistotowyouintoport，and，bytheeverlastin’，that’swhatI’mherefor！“
WhenUphamcameupthestairsafterhislonginterviewwith“theboss，“hefoundthedooratthetopclosed。Whenherattledthelatchthatdoorwasopenedbyastranger。
“AreyouMr。Hallett？“askedCaptainNatbriskly。
“No，I’mnot。Mr。Hallettisinhisofficeonthefirstfloor。
Butwhat——“
“Onthemaindeck，hey？Well，allright；wewon’ttroublehim。
You’lldojustaswell；Ijudgeyou’reoneofthematesofthiscraft。YoutellMr。Hallettthatthisladyherehasdecidednottocruisewithhimanylonger。Nofaulttofind，youunderstand，butshe’sgotabetterberth。She’sgoin’toshipalongwithme。
Ain’tthatso，Keziah？“
Keziah，pale，trembling，scarcelyrealizingthesituationevenyet，didnotspeak。ButCaptainNatHammondseemedtofindhisanswerinhersilence。Afewminuteslater，herarminhis，theydescendedthegloomy，dustystairs，andemergedintothesunshinetogether。
ThatafternoonMr。AbnerStoneagain“washedhishands“ofhispoorrelation——thistime，asheindignantlydeclared，“forgoodandall。“
CHAPTERXXII
INWHICHKEZIAH’SPARSONPREACHESONCEMORE
TimehaswroughtmanychangesinTrumet。ThepacketlongsinceceasedtoplybetweenthevillageandBoston，thestagehasbeensupersededbythelocomotive，theold“square-riggers，“commandedbyCapeCodmen，nolongersailtheseas。Alongthemainroadthehouseshavechangedhands。DidamaRogerspeersnomorefromherparlorwindow；thatparlorisnowprofanedbythefrivolousandirreverentsummerboarder。ButtheoldresidentslovetotalkofthedaysthataregoneandifyouhappentocatchMr。IsaacHiggins，nowpostmasterandadignifiedmemberoftheboardofselectmen，inareminiscentmoodhewillverylikelytellyouofthemeetingoftheparishcommitteecalledbyitschairman，ElkanahDaniels，toousttheRev。JohnElleryfromthepulpitoftheRegularchurch。
“I’llneverforget，“saysMr。Higgins，“thatparishcommitteemeetin’ifIliveathousandyear。I，andtwoorthreeotheryoungshavers，washidinthelittleroomoffthevestry——theroomwheretheykeptthedishestheyusedforchurchsuppers——andweheardthewholebusiness。OfcoursenobodyknewthatNatwasgoin’tomarryKeziahthen，buttheydidknowthathewa’n’tgoin’tomarryGraceVanHorne，andhadgivenheruptotheministerofhisownaccord。
SoDaniels’sgunswasspikedandhedidn’tstandnochanceatall。
However，you’dneverhaveguessedittolookathim。Hemarchedintothatmeetin’anduptotheplatformasstiffanddignifiedasifhe’dswalleredapeckofstarch。Hecalledthemeetin’toorder——’twasafullone，forallhandsandthecookwasthere——andthengotuptospeak。
“Heopenedfirerightoff。HerakedJohnElleryforeandaft。Theparson，hesaid，haddisgracedthesocietyandhissacredprofessionandshouldbehoveoverboardimmediate。’Twasanopensecret，hesaid。Everybodyknewhowhe，ministerofaReg’larchurch，hadbeencarryin’onwithaCome-Outergirl，meetin’herunbeknownsttoanyone，andsoon。Ashegotwarmeduponthissubjecthegotmorebitterand，thoughhedidn’tcomeoutopenandsayslanderousthings，hishintswasasnighthatasapig’ssnoutistohissqueal。Eventhroughthecrackofthedish-closetdoorI
couldseethebristlesrisin’onthebackofCap’nZebMayo’sneck。
“AtlastCap’nZebcouldn’tstanditnolonger。
“’Belaythere！’hesingsout，jumpin’tohisfeet。’Iwanttoaskyouonequestion，ElkanahDaniels：Areyoutryin’tosaysomethin’
againstGraceVanHorne’scharacter？’
“Well，thatwasasortofsticker，inaway，andIcal’lateDanielsrealizedit。He’hum-ha’d’andbarkedalittleandthengiveinthathecouldn’tsweartheVanHorneperson’scharacterwa’n’tallright，but——“
“’Couldn’tswear！’snortsZeb。’Youbetternottryto，notwhentheministerorNat’saround。Aw，belay！youwantustofireJohnElleryoutofthissociety——thebestministeriteverhadoreverwillhave——becausehehadthesensetogetsweetonagoodcleangirlandthespunktoaskhertomarryhim。Andyou’redownonherbecauseshe’sbeenbroughtupinaCome-Outerfamily——atleast，that’sthereasonyougiveout，thoughsomeofushavesuspicions’tain’ttherealone。Why！sheriskedwhatshethoughtwassmallpoxtokeephimfromdyin’thatnightshepickedhimup，ravin’distracted，inthemiddleofthelighthouselane，andifhehadn’tmarriedherafterthatI，forone，wouldhavebeenwillin’
tovotetogivehimhiswalkin’papers，Come-Outershemayhavebeen，but，bytime，she’sgotreligionthat’sgoodenoughformeandI’llbeproudtoseeherthewifeofmyminister。Don’tlet’shavenomorechinmusic。Weknowwhatyouwantandwhatyoucalledthismeetin’for；nowlet’svoteonit。’
“Threeorfoursungout’Question’and’Vote。’ButElkanahhelduphishand。
“’Gentlemen，’sayshe，’beforeIaskforthevoteIwanttosayjustoneword。I’veworshipedinthismeetin’houseeversenceI
wasachild。Iwaschristenedinit；myfatherworshipedhereaforeme；I’vepresidedoverthemeetin’softhisbodyforyears。
ButItellyounowthatifyouvotetokeepthatrascallyhypocriteinyourpulpitIshallresignfromthecommitteeandfromthesociety。It’llbelikecuttin’offmyrighthand，butIshalldoit。Areyoureadyforthevote？Thoseinfavorofretainingthepresentministerofthisparishwillrise。Thoseopposedwillremainseated。’
“Everymanonthefloorstoodup。Danielshimselfwastheonlyonethatstayedsettin’down。
“’Itisavote，’sayshe，whiteasasheet，andhisvoicetrembling。’Gentlemen，Ibidyougoodday。’
“Hetookuphishatandcane，giveonelookaroundthevestry，asifhewassayin’good-bytoit，andmarcheddowntheaisleasstraightandstarchyashe’dcomeintoit。Only，whenhereachedthedoor，heputuponehandasifhewassteadyin’himself。TherewaspreciousfewinthatvestrythatlikedElkanahDaniels，butI’mbettin’hightherewa’n’taonewhodidn’tfeelsorryforhimthen。
“’Twasquietascouldbeforaminuteorsoafterhe’dgone。ThenCap’nZebdrawsabigbreathandflingsuphishand。
“’Shipmates，’sayshe，’thisistheAlmighty’shouseandwe’vegottodoitquiet，butIproposethreewhisperin’cheersfortheRev。
JohnElleryandtheladythat’sgoin’tobehiswife。’
“Sotheygive’em——hearty，too，iftheywaswhispered——andthat’sallthereistothatmeetin’worthtellin’about。“
CaptainDanielsandhisdaughtermovedtoBostonthatsummer。TheynevercamebacktoTrumettolive。Annabelremainedsingleuntilafterherfather’sdeath；thenshemarriedamanverymuchyoungerandpoorerthanshewas。Itwasremarkedbyacquaintancesofthecouplethatthedifferenceinagebecamelessandlessapparentastheirmarriedlifecontinued。
“Humph！“observedCaptainZeb，summingupthesituation，“hestartedabouttenyearastern，buthe’llbeatherontherunintothecemetery，nowyoumarkmywords。Annabel’stemper’scal’latedtokeepanyaveragechapdrivin’onthatcourse，bowsunder。
There’sathree-reefbreezeblowin’offhertongue，dayandnight。“
OnaSundaymorning，afewweeksafterthecommitteemeeting，theRegularchurchwascrowded。JohnEllerywastopreachhisfirstsermonsincetheSanJosecameashore。Everymemberofthecongregationwaspresent。EvenMrs。Prince，feeblebutgarrulous，wasthere。GaiusWinslow，havingdeliveredhisbroodofchildrenatthechurchdoor，madeaspecialtripinhiscarryalltofetchtheoldlady。CaptainZebedeeandMrs。Mayobeamedfromtheirpew。
DrParkerandhiswifesmiledatthemacrosstheaisle。DidamaRogers’snewbonnetwasaworkofartandherneckthreatenedtotwistitselfoffassheturnedtoseeeachonewhocamein。
LaviniaPeppersailedtothefront。Shewasdressedinanewblackalpacawhichrustledsoverymuchlikesilkthatnearsightedpeoplemighthavebeendeceivedbyit。Withherwasaman，apparentlysufferingfromstrangulationbecauseoftheheightandtightnessofhiscollar。“It’sCalebPratt，fromSandwich，“whisperedDidama。
“ThankfulPayne’srelation，youknow。Haveyouheardwhatfolksaresayin’？Iguessit’strue，because——LookatKyan！you’dthinkhewasgoin’tohisownfuneral。“
Abishai’sexpressionwasnotcheerful，certainly。HefollowedMr。
PrattandhissistertothePepperpewandsubsidedsadlyinthecornernextthewall。Occasionallyhewasobservedtowipehisforeheadandonce——itwasduringtheprayer——hegroanedaudibly。
Lavinia’sdigintheribspreventedhisrepeatingthesound，but，judgingbyhislooks，hecontinuedtogroaninspirit。