Thehymnwasoldandfamiliarenough，Heavenknows。Ithadbeenquitepopularatfunerals，andsomewhosattherehadhaditsstrangemelancholyborneuponthemintimeoflossandtribulations，butneverhadtheyfeltitsfullpowerbefore。
Accustomedastheyweretoemotionalappealandtorespondtoit，asthesinger’svoicediedawayabovethem，theirverytearsflowedandfellwiththatvoice。Afewsobbedaloud，andthenavoiceaskedtremulously，——
“Whoisit？“
“It’sMr。Hamlin，“saidSethquietly。“I’veheardhimoftenhummin’thingsbefore。“
Therewasanothersilence，andthevoiceofDeaconStubbsbrokeinharshly，——
“It’srankblasphemy。“
“Ifit’srankblasphemytosingthepraiseo’God，notonlybetterthansomefolksinthechoir，butlikeanangelo’light，Iwishyou’ddoalittleo’thatblasphemingonSundays，Mr。Stubbs。“
ThespeakerwasMrs。Stubbs，andasDeaconStubbswasanotoriouslybadsingertheshottold。
“Ifhe’ssincere，whydoeshestandaloof？Whydoeshenotjoinus？“askedtheparson。
“Hehasn’tbeenasked，“saidSethquietly。“IfIain’tmistakenthisyergatheringthiseveningwasspeciallytoseehowtogetridofhim。“
Therewasaquickmurmurofprotestatthis。Theparsonexchangedglanceswiththedeaconandsawthattheywerehopelesslyintheminority。
“Iwillaskhimmyself，“saidMrs。Riverssuddenly。
“Sodo，SisterRivers；sodo，“wastheunmistakableresponse。
Mrs。Riverslefttheroomandreturnedinafewmomentswithahandsomeyoungman，pale，elegant，composed，eventoagraveindifference。Whathiseyesmighthavesaidwasanotherthing；thelonglasheswerescarcelyraised。
“Idon’tmindplayingalittle，“hesaidquietlytoMrs。Rivers，asifcontinuingaconversation，“butyou’llhavetoletmetrustmymemory。“
“Thenyou——er——playtheharmonium？“saidtheparson，withanattemptatformalcourtesy。
“IwasforayearortwotheorganistinthechoirofDr。Todd’schurchatSacramento，“returnedMr。Hamlinquietly。
TheblankamazementonthefacesofDeaconsStubbsandTurnerandtheparsonwasfollowedbywreathedsmilesfromtheotherauditorsandespeciallyfromtheladies。Mr。Hamlinsatdowntotheinstrument，andinanothermomenttookpossessionofitasithadneverbeenheldbefore。Heplayedfrommemoryashehadimplied，butitwasthememoryofamusician。Hebeganwithoneortwofamiliaranthems，inwhichtheyalljoined。AfragmentofamassandaLatinchantfollowed。An“AveMaria“fromanoperawashisfirstseculardeparture，buthisdelightedaudiencedidnotdetectit。Thenhehurriedthemalonginunfamiliarlanguageto“OmioFernando“and“Spiritugentil，“whichtheyfondlyimaginedwerehymns，until，withcrowningaudacity，afterafewpreliminarychordsofthe“Miserere，“helandedthembroken-heartedintheTrovatore’sdonjontowerwith“Nontescordardemi。“
AmidsttheapplauseheheardthepreachersuavelyexplainthatthosePopishmasseswerealwaysintheLatinlanguage，androsefromtheinstrumentsatisfiedwithhisexperiment。Excusinghimselfasaninvalidfromjoiningtheminalightcollationinthediningroom，andbegginghishostess’spermissiontoretire，heneverthelesslingeredafewmomentsbythedoorastheladiesfiledoutoftheroom，followedbythegentlemen，untilDeaconTurner，whowasbringinguptherear，wasabreastofhim。HereMr。Hamlinbecamesuddenlydeeplyinterestedinaframedpencildrawingwhichhungonthewall。Itwasevidentlyaschoolgirl’samateurportrait，donebyMrs。Rivers。DeaconTurnerhaltedquicklybyhissideastheotherspassedout——whichwasexactlywhatMr。Hamlinexpected。
“Doyouknowtheface？“saidthedeaconeagerly。
ThankstothefaithfulMelinda，Mr。Hamlindidknowitperfectly。
ItwasapencilsketchofMrs。Rivers’syouthfullyerringsister。
ButheonlysaidhethoughtherecognizedalikenesstosomeonehehadseeninSacramento。
Thedeacon’seyebrightened。“Perhapsthesameone——perhaps，“headdedinasubmissiveandsignificanttone“a——er——painfulstory。“
“Rather——tohim，“observedHamlinquietly。
“How？——I——er——don’tunderstand，“saidDeaconTurner。
“Well，theportraitlookslikealadyIknewinSacramentowhohadbeeninsometroublewhenshewasasillygirl，buthadgotoveritquietly。Shewas，however，troubledagooddealbysomemeanhoundwhowaseverynowandthenrakingupthestorywherevershewent。
Well，oneofherfriends——Imighthavebeenamongthem，Idon’texactlyrememberjustnow——challengedhim，butalthoughhehadnoconscientiousconvictionsaboutslanderingawoman，hehadsomeaboutbeingshotforit，anddeclined。Theconsequencewashewascowhidedonceinthestreet，andthesecondtimetarredandfeatheredandriddenonarailoutoftown。That，Isuppose，waswhatyoumeantbyyour’painfulstory。’Butisthisthewoman？“
“No，no，“saidthedeaconhurriedly，withawhiteface，“youhavequitemisunderstood。“
“Butwhoseisthisportrait？“persistedJack。
“Ibelievethat——Idon’tknowexactly——butIthinkitisasisterofMrs。Rivers’s，“stammeredthedeacon。
“Then，ofcourse，itisn’tthesamewoman，“saidJackinsimulatedindignation。
“Certainly——ofcoursenot，“returnedthedeacon。
“Phew！“saidJack。“Thatwasamightyclosecall。Luckywewerealone，wasn’tit？“
“Yes，“saidthedeacon，withafeeblesmile。
“Seth，“continuedJack，withathoughtfulair，“lookslikeaquietman，butIshouldn’tliketohavemadethatmistakeabouthissister-in-lawbeforehim。Thesequietmenareapttoshootstraight。Betterkeepthistoourselves。“
DeaconTurnernotonlykepttherevelationtohimselfbutapparentlyhisownsacredpersonalso，ashedidnotcallagainatWindyHillRanchoduringMr。Hamlin’sstay。ButhewasexceedinglypoliteinhisreferencestoJack，andalludedpatronizinglytoa“littlechat“theyhadhadtogether。AndwhentheusualreactiontookplaceinMr。Hamlin’sfavorandJackwasactuallyinducedtoperformontheorganatHightownChurchnextSunday，thedeacon’svoicewasloudestinhispraise。EvenParsonGreenwoodallowedhimselftobenon-committalastothetruthoftherumor，largelycirculated，thatoneofthemostdesperategamblersintheStatehadbeenconvertedthroughhisexhortations。
So，withbreezywalksandgameswiththechildren，occasionalconfidenceswithMelindaandSilas，andtheSabbath“singingofanthems，“Mr。Hamlin’sthreeweeksofconvalescencedrewtoaclose。Hehadlatelyrelaxedhishabitofseclusionsofarastominglewiththecompanygatheredformoresocialpurposesattherancho，andonceortwiceunbentsofarastosatisfytheircuriosityinregardtocertaindetailsofhisprofession。
“Ihavenopersonalknowledgeofgamesofcards，“saidParsonGreenwoodpatronizingly，“andthinkIamrightinsayingthatourbrothersandsistersareequallyinexperienced。Iam——ahem——farfrombelieving，however，thatentireignoranceofevilisthebestpreparationforcombatingit，andIshouldbegladifyou’dexplaintothecompanytheintricaciesofvariousgames。Thereisonethatyoumentioned，witha——er——scripturalname。“
“Faro，“saidHamlin，withanunmovedface。
“Pharaoh，“repeatedtheparsongravely；“andonewhichyoucall’poker，’whichseemstorequiregreatself-control。“
“Icouldn’tmakeyouunderstandpokerwithoutyourplayingit，“
saidJackdecidedly。
“Aslongaswedon’tgamble——thatis，playformoney——Iseenoobjection，“returnedtheparson。
“And，“saidJackmusingly，“youcouldusebeans。“
Itwasagreedfinallythattherewouldbenofallingfromgraceintheirplayingamongthemselves，inaninquiringChristianspirit，underJack’sguidance，hehavingdecidedtoabstainfromcardplayingduringhisconvalescence，andJackpermittedhimselftobepersuadedtoshowthemthefollowingevening。
Itsochanced，however，thatDr。Duchesne，findingtheendofJack’s“cure“approaching，andnothearingfromthatinterestinginvalid，resolvedtovisithimataboutthistime。HavingnochancetoappriseJackofhisintention，oncomingtoHightownatnightheprocuredaconveyanceatthedepottocarryhimtoWindyHillRancho。Thewindblewwithitsusualnocturnalrollickingpersistency，andattheendofhisturbulentdriveitseemedalmostimpossibletomakehimselfheardamongsttheroaringofthepinesandsomeastoundingpreoccupationoftheinmates。Aftervainlyknocking，thedoctorpushedopenthefrontdoorandentered。Herappedattheclosedsittingroomdoor，butreceivingnoreply，pusheditopenuponthemostunexpectedandastoundingscenehehadeverwitnessed。AroundthecentretableseveralrespectablemembersoftheHightownChurch，includingtheparson，weregatheredwithintenseandeagerfacesplayingpoker，andbehindtheparson，withhishandsinhispockets，carelesslyloungedthedoctor’spatient，thepictureofhealthandvigor。Adisusedpackofcardswasscatteredonthefloor，andbeforethegentleandpreciseMrs。
Riverswasheapedapileofbeansthatwouldhavefilledaquartmeasure。
WhenDr。Duchesnehadtactfullyretreatedbeforethehurriedandstammeringapologiesofhishostandhostess，andwasalonewithJackinhisrooms，heturnedtohimwithagravitythatwasmorethanhalfaffectedandsaid，“Howlong，sir，didittakeyoutoeffectthiscorruption？“