Infact，hehadbeenpossessedbyanotherluminousidea——awildideathattohimseemedalmostasabsurdastheonewhichhadbroughthimallthistrouble。Ithadcometohimlikethatone——
outofastarlitnight——andhehadrisenonemorningwithafeverishintenttoputitintoaction！ItbroughthimlatertotakeanunprecedentedwalkalonewithMissPottinger，tolingerundergreenleavesinunfrequentedwoods，andatlastseemedabouttodeserthimashestoodinalittlehollowwithherhandinhis——
theironlylisteneraninquisitivesquirrel。Yetthiswasallthedisappointedanimalheardhimstammer，——
“Soyousee，dear，itwouldTHENbenolie——for——don’tyousee？——
she’dbereallyMYmotheraswellasYOURS。“
ThemarriageofProsperRiggsandMissPottingerwasquietlycelebratedatSacramento，butProssy’s“oldmother“didnotreturnwiththehappypair。
OfMrs。Pottinger’slatercareersomeideamaybegatheredfromaletterwhichProsperreceivedayearafterhismarriage。
“Circumstances，“wroteMrs。Pottinger，“whichhadinducedmetoaccepttheofferofawidowertotakecareofhismotherlesshousehold，havesincedevelopedintoamoreenduringmatrimonialposition，sothatIcanalwaysoffermydearProsperahomewithhismother，shouldhechoosetovisitthislocality，andasecondfatherinHiramW。Watergates，Esq。，herhusband。“
THECONVALESCENCEOFJACKHAMLIN
Thehabituallyquiet，asceticfaceofSethRiverswassomewhatdisturbedandhisbrowswereknittedasheclimbedthelongascentofWindyHilltoitssummitandhisownrancho。Perhapsitwastheeffectofthecharacteristicwind，whichthatafternoonseemedtoassaulthimfromallpointsatonceanddidnotceaseitsbatteryevenathisfrontdoor，buthustledhimintothepassage，blewhimintothesittingroom，andthencelebrateditsownexitfromthelong，ramblinghousebythebangingofdoorsthroughoutthehallsandtheslammingofwindowsintheremotedistance。
Mrs。Riverslookedupfromherworkatthisabruptonsetofherhusband，butwithoutchangingherownexpressionofslightlyfatiguedself-righteousness。Accustomedtotheseelementaleruptions，shelaidherhandsfromforceofhabitupontheliftingtablecloth，andthenrosesubmissivelytobrushtogetherthescatteredembersandashesfromthelargehearthstone，asshehadoftendonebefore。
“You’reinearly，Seth，“shesaid。
“Yes。IstoppedattheCrossRoadsPostOffice。LuckyIdid，oryou’dhevhadkempanyonyourhandsaforeyouknowedit——thisverynight！IfoundthisletterfromDr。Duchesne，“andheproducedaletterfromhispocket。
Mrs。Riverslookedupwithanexpressionofworldlyinterest。Dr。
Duchesnehadbroughthertwochildrenintotheworldwithsomedifficulty，andhadskillfullyattendedherthroughalongillnessconsequentupontheinefficientmaternityofsoulfulbutfragileAmericanwomenofhertype。Thedoctorhadmorethanamerelocalreputationasasurgeon，andMrs。RiverslookeduptohimashersoleconnectinglinkwithaworldofthoughtbeyondWindyHill。
“He’scomin’upyerto-night，bringin’afriendofhis——apatientthathewantsustoboardandkeepforthreeweeksuntilhe’swellagin，“continuedMr。Rivers。“Yeknowhowthedoctorusedtoraveaboutthepureaironourhill。“
Mrs。Riversshiveredslightly，anddrewhershawloverhershoulders，butnoddedapatientassent。
“Well，hesaysit’sjustwhatthatpatientoughterhavetocurehim。He’shadlungfeverandotherthings，andthisyerairandgin’ralquietisboundtosethimup。We’retoboardandkeephimwithoutanyfussorfeathers，andthedoctorsezhe’llpayliberalforit。Thisyer’swhathesez，“concludedMr。Rivers，readingfromtheletter:“’Heisnowfullyconvalescent，thoughweak，andreallyrequiresnoothermedicinethanthe——ozone’——yes，that’swhatthedoctorcallsit——’ofWindyHill，andinfactaslittleattendanceaspossible。Iwillnotlethimkeepevenhisnegroservantwithhim。He’llgiveyounotrouble，ifhecanbeprevailedupontostaythewholetimeofhiscure。’“
“There’sourspareroom——ithasn’tbeenusedsinceParsonGreenwoodwashere，“saidMrs。Riversreflectively。“Melindacouldputittorightsinanhour。Atwhattimewillhecome？“
“He’dcomeaboutnine。TheydriveoverfromHightowndepot。But，“
headdedgrimly，“hereyeareorderin’roomstobedoneupandyedon’tknowwhofor。“
“YousaidafriendofDr。Duchesne，“returnedMrs。Riverssimply。
“Dr。Duchesnehasmanyfriendsthatyouandmemightn’tcottonto，“
saidherhusband。“ThismanisJackHamlin。“Ashiswife’sremoteandintrospectiveblackeyesreturnedonlyvacancy，headdedquickly。“Thenotedgambler！“
“Gambler？“echoedhiswife，stillvaguely。
“Yes——reg’lar；it’shisbusiness。“
“Goodness，Seth！Hecan’texpecttodoithere。“
“No，“saidSethquickly，withthatsenseoffairnesstohisfellowmanwhichmostwomenfinditsodifficulttounderstand。“No——andheprobablywon’tmentiontheword’card’whilehe’shere。“
“Well？“saidMrs。Riversinterrogatively。
“And，“continuedSeth，seeingthattheobjectionwasnotpressed，he’soneofthemdespritmen！Areg’larfighter！Killedtwoorthreemenindools！“
Mrs。Riversstared。“WhatcouldDr。Duchesnehavebeenthinkingof？Why，wewouldn’tbesafeinthehousewithhim！“
AgainSeth’ssenseofequitytriumphed。“Ineverheardofhisfightin’anybodybuthisownkind，andwhenhewasbullyragged。
Andeztowomenhe’squitet’otherwayinfact，andthat’swhyI
thinkyeoughterknowitaforeyoulethimcome。Hedon’tgoroundwithdecentwomen。Infact“——ButhereMr。Rivers，inthesanctityofconjugalconfidencesandthefullnessofBiblereading，usedafewstrongscripturalsubstantiveshappilyunnecessarytorepeathere。
“Seth！“saidMrs。Riverssuddenly，“youseemtoknowthisman。“
TheunexpectednessandirrelevancyofthisforamomentstartledSeth。ButthatchasteandGod-fearingmanhadnosecrets。“Onlybyhearsay，Jane，“hereturnedquietly；“butifyesaythewordI’llstophiscomin’now。“
“It’stoolate，“saidMrs。Riversdecidedly。
“Ireckonnot，“returnedherhusband，“andthat’swhyIcamestraighthere。I’veonlygottomeetthematthedepotandsaythisthingcan’tbedone——andthat’stheendofit。They’llgooffquiettothehotel。“
“Idon’tliketodisappointthedoctor，Seth，“saidMrs。Rivers。
“Wemight，“sheadded，withatroubledlookofinquiryatherhusband，“wemighttakethatMr。Hamlinontrial。Likeasnothewon’tstay，anyway，whenheseeswhatwe’relike，Seth。Whatdoyouthink？ItwouldbeonlyourChristianduty，too。“
“Iwasthinkin’o’thatasaprofessin’Christian，Jane，“saidherhusband。“Butsupposin’thatotherChristiansdon’tlookatitinthatlight。Thar’sDeaconStubbsandhiswifeandtheparson。Yerememberwhathesaidabout’nocovenantwithsin’？“
“TheStubbseshavenorighttodictatewhoI’llhaveinmyhouse，“
saidMrs。Riversquickly，withafaintflushinherrathersallowcheeks。
“It’syoursayandnobodyelse’s，“assentedherhusbandwithgrimsubmissiveness。“Youdowhatyoulike。“
Mrs。Riversmused。“There’sonlymyselfandMelindahere，“shesaidwithsublimenaivete；“andthechildrenain’toldenoughtobecorrupted。Iamsatisfiedifyouare，Seth，“andsheagainlookedathiminquiringly。
“Goahead，then，andgetreadyfor’em，“saidSeth，hurryingawaywithunaffectedrelief。“Ifyouhaveeverythingfixedbynineo’clock，that’lldo。“
Mrs。Rivershadeverything“fixed“bythathour，includingherselfpresumably，forshehadputonagraydresswhichsheusuallyworewhenshoppinginthecountytown，addingaprimcollarandcuffs。
Apearl-encircledbrooch，theweddinggiftofSeth，andasolitaireringnexttoherweddingring，withalocketcontainingherchildren’shair，accentedherpositionasaproperwifeandmother。
Ataquartertonineshehadfinishedtidyingtheparlor，openingtheharmoniumsothatthelightmightplayuponitspolishedkeyboard，andbringingfromtheforgottenseclusionofherclosettwobeautifullyboundvolumesofTupper’s“Poems“andPollok’s“CourseofTime，“toimpartaliterarygracetothecentretable。
Shethendrewachairtothetableandsatdownbeforeitwithareligiousmagazineinherlap。Thewindroaredoverthedeep-
throatedchimney，theclocktickedmonotonously，andthentherecamethesoundofwheelsandvoices。
ButMrs。Riverswasnotdestinedtoseeherguestthatnight。Dr。
Duchesne，underthesafeleeofthedoor，explainedthatMr。Hamlinhadbeenexhaustedbythejourney，and，assistedbyamildopiate，wasasleepinthecarriage；thatifMrs。Riversdidnotobject，theywouldcarryhimatoncetohisroom。Intheflaringandgutteringofcandles，theflashingoflanterns，theflappingofcoatsandshawls，andthebewilderingrushofwind，Mrs。Riverswasonlyvaguelyconsciousofaslightfiguremuffledtightlyinacloakcarriedpastherinthearmsofagrizzlednegroupthestaircase，followedbyDr。Duchesne。Withtheclosingofthefrontdooronthetumultuousworldwithout，asilencefellagainonthelittleparlor。