“Hum！“sneeredMissPepper。“Upsot！Yes，Iseeyou’reupsot。Getup，andtrytolookasmuchlikeaChristianasyoucan！“
Kyanrosefromhiskneestohisfeetandrubbedhisback。HeglancedreproachfullyatGrace，thenfearfullyathissister。
“Iwasjusttryin’tohelpKeziahtakedownherstovepipe，“heexplained。“Yousee，shedidn’thavenomanto——“
“Yes，Isee。Well，Ijudgeyougotitdown。Nowyougoouttothesinkandwashyourface。Heavensandearth！Lookatthemclothes！“
“Idohopeyoudidn’thurtyourself，Abishai，“saidthesympatheticKeziah。Then，asremembranceofwhathadledtotheupsetcametoher，sheadded：“ThoughIwillsay’twasyourownfaultandnobodyelse’s。“
Laviniawhirledonher。
“Hisownfault，wasit？“sherepeated，hervoiceshrillandtrembling。“Thankyouverymuch，marm。Ical’late’twashisownfaultcomin’here，too，wa’n’tit？Nobodyledhimon，Is’pose。
Nobodyputhimuptoriggin’outinhisbestbibandtuckerandsneakin’heretheminuteIwasoutofthehouse。No，nobodydid！
OfCOURSEnot！“
“No，nobodydid，“saidKeziahbriskly。“Andyoumayknowwhatyou’rehintin’at，butIdon’t。“
“Dearme！Ain’tweinnocent！We’vegotplentyofmoney，WEhave。
Widowerswithpropertyain’tnoattractiontoUS。Everybodyknowsthat——oh，yes！Andtheynevertalkofsuchathing——oh，no！Folksdon’tsaythat——that——Well，“withasnarlinthedirectionofthekitchen，“areyouanywheresnighcleanyet？Getyourcoatandhatonandcomehomewithme。“
Shejerkedherbrotherintothebluecoat，jammedthetallhatdownuponhishead，and，seizinghimbythearm，stalkedtothedoor。
“Goodday，marm，“shesaid。“Idohopethenextwidoweryougettotakedownyourstovepipe——yes，indeed！ha！ha！——Ihopeyou’llhavebetterluckwithhim。ThoughIdon’tknowwho’twouldbe；thereain’tnomoreidiotsintownthatIknowof。Goodday，andthankyoukindlyforyourattentionstoourfamily。“
Shepulledthedooropenandwasonthestep；butMrs。Coffindidnotintendtolethergoinjustthatway。
“LavinyPepper，“shedeclared，hereyessnapping，“Idon’tknowwhatyou’retalkin’about，butifyoudaretomeanthatIwantanyofyourmoney，oryourbrother’smoney，you’remistaken——’causeI
don’t。AndIdon’twantyourbrothereither——Lordhelphim，poorthing！AndItellyourightnowthatthere’snobodythatdoes；
thoughsomekind-heartedfolkshavesaid’twouldbeaChristianacttopoisonhim，so’stoputhimoutofhismisery。There！Goodmornin’toyou。“
Sheslammedthedoor。Laviniawasspeechless。Asforherbrother，butoneremarkofhisreachedGrace，whowaswatchingfromthewindow。
“Laviny，“pleadedKyan，“justletmeexplain。“
Atnineo’clockthatnighthewasstill“explaining。“
Keziahturnedfromthedoorshehadclosedbehindhervisitor。
“Well！“sheejaculated。“WELL！“
Herfrienddidnotlookather。Shewasstillgazingoutofthewindow。Occasionallysheseemedtochoke。
Keziaheyedhersuspiciously。
“Humph！“shemused。“’Twasfunny，wasn’tit？“
“Oh，dreadfully！“wasthehurriedanswer。
“Yes。Seemstomeyoutookanawfullongtimefindin’thathammer。“
“Itwasawaybackinthedrawer。Ididn’tseeitatfirst。“
“Hum！GraceVanHorne，ifIthoughtyouheardwhatthat——thatTHINGsaidtome，I’d——I’d——Goodlandofmercy！somebodyELSEiscomin’。“
Steps，measured，dignifiedsteps，soundedonthewalk。Fromwithoutcamea“Hum——ha！“aportentouscombinationofcoughandgrunt。Gracedodgedbackfromthewindowandhastilybegandonningherhatandjacket。
“It’sCap’nElkanah，“shewhispered。“Imustgo。Thisseemstobeyourbusymorning，AuntKeziah。I“——hereshechokedagain——
“really，Ididn’tknowyouweresopopular。“
Keziahopenedthedoor。CaptainElkanahDaniels，prosperous，pompous，andunbending，crossedthethreshold。Richestmaninthevillage，retiredshipowner，pillaroftheRegularchurchandleadingmemberofitsparishcommittee，CaptainElkanahlookedthepart。Heremovedhishat，clearedhisthroatbehindhisblackstock，andspokewithimpressivedeliberation。
“Goodmorning，Keziah。Ah——er——morning，Grace。“Eveninthetonegiventoaperfunctorysalutationlikethis，thecaptaindifferentiatedbetweenRegularandCome-Outer。“Keziah，I——hum，ha！——ratherexpectedtofindyoualone。“
“Iwasjustgoing，Cap’nDaniels，“explainedthegirl。Thecaptainbowedandcontinued。
“Keziah，“hesaid，“Keziah，Icametoseeyouonasomewhatimportantmatter。IhaveaproposalIwishtomakeyou。“
Hemusthavebeensurprisedattheeffectofhiswords。Keziah’sfacewasapicture，acrimsonpictureofparalyzedamazement。AsforMissVanHorne，thatyoungladygaveventtowhatherfrienddescribedafterwardsasa“squeal，“andboltedoutofthedoorandintothegratefulseclusionofthefog。
CHAPTERII
INWHICHKEZIAHUNEARTHSAPROWLER
ThefogwascrueltothegossipsofTrumetthatday。Mrs。DidamaRogers，wholivedallalone，exceptforthesocietyofthreecats，acanary，andawhitepoodlenamed“Bunch，“inthelittlehousenexttoCaptainElkanah’sestablishment，neverentirelyrecoveredfromthechagrinanddisappointmentcausedbythatprovokingmist。
Whenonehabituallyhurriesthroughthemorning’shouseholddutiesinordertositbythefrontwindowandnoteeachpasser-by，withvariousfascinatingsurmisesastohisorhererrandandthereasonsforit，itisdiscouragingtobeabletoseeonlyone’sownfrontfenceandascanttenfeetofsidewalk。Andthentolearnafterwardsofadozenmostexcitingevents，eachdistinctlyoutoftheordinary，whichmighthavebeenusedasexcusesfortwodozencallsandasmanysensations！AsCaptainZebMayo，theirreverentex-whaler，putit，“ThatfogshookDidama’sfaithinthejudgmentofProvidence。’Tain’tthe’allwise，’butthe’allseein’’kindshetalksaboutinmeetin’now。“
ThefogpreventedMrs。Rogers’snotingtheentranceofMr。PepperattheCoffinfrontgate。Alsohisexit，undersisterlyarrest。
ItshutfromherviewthemajesticapproachofCaptainElkanahDanielsandGrace’sflight，herfacedimpledwithsmilesandbreakingintolaughteratfrequentintervals。Forayounglady，supposedtobeadevoutCome-Outer，tohurryalongthemainroad，ahandkerchiefathermouthandhereyessparklingwithfun，wasacircumstancecalculatedtofurnishmaterialforenjoyablescandal。
AndDidamamissedit。
Otherhappeningsshemissed，also。NotknowingofCaptainDaniels’scalluponKeziah，shewasdeprivedofthepleasureofwonderatthelengthofhisstay。Shedidnotseehim，incompanywithMrs。Coffin，godowntheroadintheoppositedirectionfromthattakenbyGrace。Northeirreturnandpartingatthegate，twohourslater。Shedidnotsee——butthere！shesawnothing，absolutelynothing——exceptthescraggysprucetreeinhertinyfrontyardandthelonelytenfeetofwalkborderingit。NoonetraversedthatsectionofwalkexceptoldMrs。Tinker，whowascollectingsubscriptionsfornewhymnbooksfortheCome-Outerchapel。AndDidamawasparticularlyanxiousNOTtoseeher。
Thedismaldaydraggedon。Thesilver-leaftreesdripped，thehedgeswereshiningwithmoisture。Throughthestillnessthedistantsurfalongthe“oceanside“oftheCapegrowledandmoanedandthefogbellatthelighthouseclangedmiserably。AlongthewalkoppositeDidama’s——themorepopularsideoftheroad——shadowyfigurespassedatlongintervals，childrengoingtoandfromschool，peopleonerrandstothestore，andthelike。Itwasthreeo’clockintheafternoonbeforeavisitorcameagaintotheCoffinfrontgate，enteredtheyardandrappedatthesidedoor。
Keziahopenedthedoor。
“Halloa！“sheexclaimed。“Back，areyou？Ibeguntothinkyou’dbeenscaredawayforgood。“
Gracelaughedassheentered。
“Well，auntie，“shesaid，“Idon’twonderyouthoughtIwasscared。
Truly，Ididn’tthinkitwasproperformetostay。FirstKyanandthenCap’nElkanah，andbothofthemexpressingtheirwishestoseeyoualoneso——er——pointedly。Ithoughtitwastimeformetogo。
Surely，yougivemecreditforalittledelicacy。“
Keziaheyedhergrimly。
“Humph！“shesniffed。“Ifyou’dbeenalittlelessdelicateaboutfetchin’thathammer，wemighthavebeensparedatleastonesmash-
up。Idon’ts’poseLaviny’lleverspeaktomeagain。Oh，dear！I
guesslikelyI’llnevergetthememoryofthat——thatKyanthingoutofmymind。Ineverwassosetbackinmyborndays。Yes，youcanlaugh！“
Shelaughedherselfasshesaidit。AsforGrace，itwassometimebeforethatyoungladybecamecoherent。
“HeDIDlooksofunny！“shegasped。“Hoppingupanddownonthatshakychairandholdingontothatpipeand——and——OAuntKeziah，ifyoucouldhaveseenyourfacewhenIopenedthatdoor！“
“Yes；well，Iwillsayyouwassometimegettin’itopen。Andthen，ontopofthewholefoolbusiness，inparadesElkanahDanielsand——“
Shepaused。Hercompanionlookeddelightedlyexpectant。
“Yes，“shecriedeagerly。“ThenCap’nElkanahcameandtheveryfirstthinghesaidwas——Ialmostlaughedinhisface。“
“Almost！Humph！that’snoexaggeration。Thewayyouputoutofthatdoorwasacaution。“
“Yes，butwhatdidthecap’nmean？Isitasecret？Ahem！shallI
congratulateyou，auntie？“
“GraceVanHorne！there’sbornfoolsenoughinthistownwithoutyourtryin’tobeone。Youknow’twa’n’tTHAT。Thoughwhat’twaswassurpriseenough，Iwillsay，“sheadded。“Grace，Iain’tgoin’
awayto-morrow。“
“You’renot？Oh，splendid！Hasthecap’ndecidedtoletyoustayhere？“
“Iguesshisdecidin’wouldn’tinfluenceme，iftwasstayin’inhishousehemeant。TheonlywayIcouldliveherewouldbeonhischarity，andthatwouldbeaspoorfodderassawdusthastypuddin’，evenifIwasfondofcharity，whichIain’t。Hesaidtome——
Well，youtakeyourthingsoffandI’lltellyouaboutit。Youcanstayalittlewhile，can’tyou？“
“Yes，Iwasgoingtostayalltheafternoonandforsupper，ifyou’dletme。IknewyouhadsomuchtodoandIwantedtohelp。
ItolduncleandhesaidcertainlyIoughttocome。Hesaidheshouldtrytoseeyouandsaygood-bybeforeyoulefttomorrow。“
“Youdon’tsay！AndmeaRegular！Well，I’mmuchobliged，thoughIguessyourUncleEbenwon’tseemeto-morrow——norspeaktomeagain，whenheknowswhatIAMgoingtodo。Grace，Iain’tgoin’
toleaveTrumet，notforthepresent，anyhow。I’vegotawayofearnin’mylivin’righthere。I’mgoin’tokeephouseforthenewminister。“
Thegirlturned，herhatinherhand。
“Oh！“shecriedinutterastonishment。
Keziahnodded。“Yes，“sheaffirmed。“ThatwaswhatElkanah’sproposalamountedto。Ha！ha！Dearyme！Whenhesaid’proposal，’
IownupforaminuteIdidn’tknowWHATwascomin’。AfterKyanI
waspreparedfor’mostanything。ButhetoldmethatLuranyPhelps，whotheparishcommitteehadcountedontokeephouseforMr。Ellery，hadsentwordhersisterwassickandcouldn’tbeleft，andthatsomebodymustbehiredrightoff’causetheminister’sexpectedbydayafterto-morrow’scoach。Andthey’dgoneovereverylikelycandidateintowntillitsimmereddowntoMehitableBurgess。AndCap’nZebMayospokerightupinthecommitteemeetin’andgaveoutthatifMehitablekepthouseforMr。Elleryhe，forone，wouldn’tcometochurch。Saidhedidn’twanttohearsermonsthatwasinspiredbyHERcookin’。SeemsshecookedfortheMayosoneweekwhenMrs。MayohadgonetoBoston，andCap’nZebdeclareshisdreamsthatweekwassomethin’awful。’AndI’mamanwithnonervesandmightylittleimagination，’hesays。’LandknowswhateffectadoseofMehitable’sbiscuitsmighthaveonaMINISTER。’
“Andso，“continuedKeziah，“theydecidedMehitablewouldn’tdo，andfinallysomebodythoughtofme。Ihaveanotion’twasZeb，althoughCap’nElkanahdidhisbesttomakemethink’twashimself。
Andthecap’nwasmadeadelegatetocomeandseemeaboutit。
Comehedid，andwesettledit。Iwentdowntotheparsonagewithhimbeforedinnerandlookedtheplaceover。There’sanawfullotofsweepin’anddustin’tobedoneaforeit’sfitforabodytolivein。IdidthinkthatwhenI’dfinishedwiththishouseI