can’thardlybeartothinkofourlettin’hergoawayfromus。“
“Idon’twonderatthat。Justthinkitoverandwe’llhaveanothertalklater。“
CHAPTERX
Mr。KeithandtheCaptainhadthatlatertalk——severaltalks，infact——andaweekaftertheirfirstoneCaptainShadrachsuddenlyannouncedthathewascal’latin’torunuptoBostonjustforadayonbusinessandthatMary-’Gustahadbettergoalongwithhimforcompany。Zoethcouldtendstoreandgetalongallrightuntiltheyreturned。Thegirlwasnotsocertainofthegettingalongallright，butMr。HamiltonaswellastheCaptaininsisted，sosheconsentedatlast。TheBostontripwasnotexactlyanoveltytoher——shehadvisitedthecityanumberoftimesduringthepastfewyears——butaholidaywithUncleShadwasalwaysgoodfun。
TheytooktheearlymorningtrainandreachedBostonaboutteno’clock。Shadrach’sbusinessinthecityseemedtobeofarathervaguenaturethistime。Theycalledattheofficesoftwoorthreeofhisoldfriends——ship-chandlersandmarineoutfittersonCommercialStreetandAtlanticAvenue——andthentheCaptain，lookingathiswatch，announcedthatitwasprettynighnoontimeandhecal’latedtheyhadbetterbecruisin’uptowardsPinckneyStreet。
“Gotanerrandupinthatlatitude，“headded。
PinckneyStreetwasonthehillintherearoftheCommonandtheStateHouseandwasnarrowandcrookedandold-fashioned。
“Whatintheworldarewedoinguphere？“queriedMary-’Gusta。
“Therearen’tanywholesalehouseshere，I’msure。Haven’tyoumadeamistake，UncleShad？“Shadrach，whohadbeenconsultingapageofhispocketmemorandumbook，repliedthathecal’latedhe’dgothisbearin’s，and，tothegirl’sastonishment，stoppedbeforeabrickdwellingwithacolonialdoorwayandawhitestonestepwhichactuallyshonefromscrubbing，andrangthebell。
Themaidwhoansweredthebellworeawhiteapronwhichcrackledwithstarch。Shelookedasifshetoohad，likethestep，beenscrubbedafewminutesbefore。
“ThisisNo——，ain’tit？“inquiredtheCaptain。“Humph！Ithoughtso。Iain’tsomuchofawreckyetbutthatIcannavigateBostonwithoutapilot。IsMr。Keithin？“
Themaid，whohadreceivedthepilotstatementwithuncomprehendingastonishment，lookedrelieved。
“Yes，sir，“shesaid。“Mr。Keith’shere。Areyoutheoneshe’sexpectin’？Walkin，please。“
Theyenteredthehouse。Itwasasspotlesslytidywithinaswithout。Themaidusheredthemintoaparlorwhereoldmahoganyandoldfamilyportraitsinoilwereverymuchinevidence。
“Sitdown，please，“shesaid。“I’lltellMr。Keithyou’rehere。“
Shelefttheroom。Mary-’GustaturnedtotheCaptaininamazedagitation。
“UncleShad，“shedemanded，“whyonearthdidyoucomeHEREtoseeMr。Keith？Couldn’tyouhaveseenhimatSouthHarniss？“
Shadrachshookhishead。“NottodayIcouldn’t，“hesaid。“He’supheretoday。“
“Butwhatdoyouwanttoseehimfor？“
“Business，business，Mary-’Gusta。Mr。Keithandmearetryin’todoalittlestrokeofbusinesstogether。We’vegotahenon，asthefellersaid。Say，thisiskindofaswellhouse，ain’tit？Andclean——mysoul！Judas！didImovethischairoutofplace？I
didn’tmeanto。Looksasifithadsetrightinthatonespotforahundredyears。“
Keithenteredatthatmoment，followedbyanelderlyladywhosegownwasalmostasold-fashionedasthefurniture。Shewasaratherthinpersonbutherface，althoughsharp，wasnotunkindinexpressionandherplainlyarrangedhairwaswhite。Mary-’Gustalikedherlooks；sheguessedthatshemightbeveryniceindeedtopeoplesheknewandfancied；alsothatshewouldmakecertainofknowingthemfirst。
“Hello，CaptainGould，“hailedKeith。“Gladtoseeyou。Foundtheplaceallright，Isee。“
“Yes——yes，Ifoundit，Mr。Keith。“
“Ithoughtyouwouldn’thaveanydifficulty。Mary，howdoyoudo？“
Mary-’GustaandMr。Keithshookhands。
“Captain，“saidKeith，“Iwanttointroduceyoutomycousin，Mrs。
Wyeth。“
Mrs。Wyethbowedwithdignity。
“Howdoyoudo，CaptainGould，“shesaid。
“Why——why，I’mprettysmart，thankyou，ma’am，“stammeredShadrach，ratherembarrassedatallthisceremony。“Pleasedtomeetyou，ma’am。“
“Andthisyounglady，“wentonKeith，“isMissMaryLathrop。MissLathrop，thisladyisMrs。Wyeth，mycousin。“
Mary-’Gusta，withtheuneasyfeelingthatMrs。Wyeth’sgazehadbeenfixeduponhersincesheenteredtheroom，bowedbutsaidnothing。
“Andnow，“saidMr。Keith，heartily，“we’llhaveluncheon。You’rejustintimeandMrs。Wyethhasbeenexpectingyou。“
TheCaptain’sembarrassmentreacheditsheightatthisinvitation。
“No，no，“hestammered，“we——wecan’tdothat。Couldn’tthinkofit，youknow。We——weain’tamitehungry。Hadbreakfastaforewelefthome，didn’twe，Mary-’Gusta？“
Keithlaughed。“Yes，Iknow，“hesaid；“andyoulefthomeabouthalf-pastfive。I’vetakenthatearlytrainmyself。Ifyou’renothungryyououghttobeandluncheonisready。Emily——Mrs。Wyeth——
hasbeenexpectingyou。Shewillbedisappointedifyourefuse。“
Mrs。Wyethherselfputinawordhere。“Ofcoursetheywon’trefuse，John，“shesaidwithdecision。“Theymustbefamished。
Refuse！Theidea！CaptainGould，Mr。Keithwilllookoutforyou；
yourniecewillcomewithme。Luncheonwillbereadyinfiveminutes。Come，Mary。That’syourname——Mary——isn’tit？I’mgladtohearit。It’splainandit’ssensibleandIlikeit。TheemploymentbureausentmeamaidaweekagoandwhenshetoldmehernameIsentherbackagain。ItwasFlorina。Thatwasenough。
Mercy！AllIcouldthinkofwasabreakfastfood。Come，Mary。
Now，John，dobeprompt。“
ThatluncheontookitsplaceinMary-’Gusta’smemorybesidethatofherfirstsupperinthehouseatSouthHarniss。Theywerebothmemorablemeals，althoughalikeinnootherrespects。Mrs。Wyethpresided，ofcourse，andsheaskedtheblessingandpouredtheteawithdignityandbusinesslikedispatch。Thecupsandsaucerswereofthin，transparentChina，withpicturesofmandarinsandpagodasuponthem。Theylookedold-fashionedandtheywere；Mrs。Wyeth’sgrandfatherhadboughtthemhimselfinHongkonginthedayswhenhecommandedaclippershipandmadevoyagestotheFarEast。Theteaspoonswerequeerlittlefiddle-patternedaffairs；theyweremadebyanancestorwhowasasilversmithwithashoponCornhillbeforeGeneralGage’sarmywasquarteredinBoston。Andcupsandspoonsandnapkinsweresocleanthatitseemedalmostsacrilegioustosoilthembyuse。
CaptainShadrachdidnotsoilhistoanygreatextentatfirst。TheCaptainwasplainlyoverawedbythegenteeleleganceofhissurroundingandthemannerofhishostess。ButMr。Keithwasverymuchateaseandfulloffunand，afteratime，alittleofShadrach’sself-consciousnessdisappeared。WhenhelearnedthatgrandfatherWyethhadbeenaseafaringmanhecameoutofhisshellsufficientlytonarrate，atKeith’srequest，oneofhisownexperiencesinHongkong，buteveninthemidstofhisyarnheneverforgottoaddresshishostessas“ma’am“andhedidnotsay“JumpinJudas“once。
AfterluncheonMr。KeithandtheCaptainleftthehousetogether。
“Goin’toattendtothatlittlemiteofbusinessIspoketoyouabout，Mary-’Gusta，“explainedShadrach，confidentially。“We’llbebackprettysoon。Ical’latemaybeyou’dbetterwaithere，thatis，“withaglanceatMrs。Wyeth，“ifit’llbeallrightforyouto。“
“Ofcourseitwillbeallright，“declaredMrs。Wyethpromptly。“I
shallbegladtohaveher。“
“Thankyou，ma’am。Ifshewon’tbeinthewayI——“
“IfshewerelikelytobeinthewayIshouldsayso。Shewon’tbe。“
“Yes——er——yes，ma’am，“stammeredShadrach。“Thankyou，ma’am。“
WhenheandMr。Keithwereoutofthehousehedrewalongbreath。
“Judas！“heobserved，feelingly。“Say，thatcousinofyoursdon’twasteanywords，doesshe？Whenitcomestospeakin’what’sinhermindshedon’tfoolaroundnone。She’sasrightupanddownasaschooner’sfo’mast。“
Keithlaughedheartily。“Emilyisbluntandoutspoken，“hesaid。
“Shepridesherselfonthat。Butsheisassquareasabrick。Sheneversaysonethingtoyourfaceandanotherbehindyourback。“
“No，I——Ijudgethat’sso。Well，that’sallright；Iain’tgotanyobjectionstothatwayoftalkin’myself。Butsay，ifeverywomanwaslikehertherewouldn’tbemanysewin’circles，wouldthere？
Theaveragesewin’circlemeetin’isonepartsewandthreepartswhatSo-and-sosaid。“