“Sakesalive！“shechuckled。“You’reawfullyhighandmighty，seemstome。Andchangeablesincemornin’。Youwaswillin’enoughtotalkabouthimthen。Now，Gracie，youmustn’ttakeaspiteagainstpoorMr。ElleryjustbecauseI’vegottokeephouseforhim。’Tain’thisfault；hedon’tevenknowityet。“
“Idon’tcare。Iknowhe’llbeaconceitedlittlesnippetandI
shallhatethesightofhim。There！there！Auntie，youmustn’tmindme。ItoldyouIwasaselfishpig。Butdon’tyouaskmetoLIKEthispreciousministerofyours，becauseIshan’tdoit。HehasnobusinesstocomeandseparatemefromthebestfriendI’vegot。I’dtellhimsoifhewashere——Whatwasthat？“
Bothwomenlookedateachotherwithstartledfaces。Theylistenedintently。
“Why，wa’n’tthatfunny！“whisperedKeziah。“IthoughtIheard——“
“YouDIDhear。SodidI。Whatdoyousuppose——“
“S-s-s-h-h！Itsoundedfromthefrontroomsomewhere。Andyettherecan’tbeanybodyinthere，because——Mysoul！there’tisagain。I’mgoin’tofindout。“
Shegraspedthestubbybroombythehandleandmoveddeterminedlytowardthefronthall。Graceseizedherbythearm。
“Don’tyoudoit，auntie！“shewhisperedfrantically。“Don’tyouDOit！Itmaybeatramp。“
“Idon’tcare。Whoeverorwhateveritis，ithasnobusinessinthishouse，andI’llmakethatplaininahurry。Justlikeasnotit’sacatgotinwhenElkanahwasherethisforenoon。Don’tbescared，Grace。Comerightalong。“
Thegirlcamealong，butnotwithenthusiasm。Theytiptoedthroughthedark，narrowhallandpeeredintotheparlor。Thisapartmentwasdimandstillandgloomy，asallproperparlorsshouldbe，buttherewasnosignoflife。
“Humph！“sniffedKeziah。“Itmighthavebeenupstairs，butitdidn’tsoundso。Whatdiditsoundliketoyou？“
“Likeafootstepatfirst；andthenlikesomethingfalling——andrustling。Oh，whatisthematter？“
Mrs。Coffinwasglancingbackdownthehallwithastrangeexpressiononherface。Hergripuponthebroomhandletightened。
“WhatISit？“pleadedthegirlinanagonizedwhisper。
“Grace，“wasthelowreply，“I’vejustrememberedsomethin’。Thatstudydoorisn’tstuckfromthedamp，because——well，becauseI
remembernowthatitwasopenthismornin’。“
Beforehercompanioncouldfullygrasptheimportofthisparalyzingfact，Keziahstrodedownthehallandseizedtheknobofthestudydoor。
“Whoeveryouareinthere，“shecommandedsternly，“openthisdoorandcomeoutthisminute。Doyouhear？I’morderin’youtocomeout。“
Therewasaninstantofsilence；thenavoicefromwithinmadeanswer，aman’svoice，anditstoneindicatedembarrassment。
“Madam，“itsaid，“I——Iam——Iwillbeoutinanotherminute。Ifyouwilljustbepatient——“
Graceinterruptedwithasmotheredshriek。Keziahbrandishedthebroom。
“Patient！“sherepeatedsharply。“Well，Ilikethat！Whatdoyoumeanby——Openthatdoor！Grace，runoutandgetthe——theconstable。“
Thiscommandwasdeliveredentirelyforeffect。TheofficeofconstableinTrumetis，generallyspeaking，apurelyhonoraryone。
Itsoccupanthadjustdepartedforaweek’scruiseasmateofamackerelschooner。However，theeffectwasinstantaneous。Frombehindthedoorcamesoundsofhurryandcommotion。
“Don’tgetthepoliceonmyaccount，please，“saidthevoice。“IfyouwillbepatientuntilIgetthis——I’mjustasanxioustocomeoutasyoucanbetohaveme。Ofalltheridiculous——“
“Comeoutthen！“snappedKeziah。“Comeout！Ifyou’resoeverlastin’anxious，thencomeout。Patience！Ofallthecheek！
Whydon’tyoucomeoutNOW？“
Theanswerwasbriskandtothepoint。Evidently，theunknown’sstockofthevirtuewhichhedemandedofotherswasdiminishing。
“Well，tobefrank，sinceyouinsist，“snappedthevoice，“I’mnotfullydressed。“
Thiswasastaggerer。ForonceKeziahdidnothaveareplyready。
ShelookedatGraceandthelatterather。Then，withoutwords，theyretreatedtothesittingroom。
“Shall——shallIgoforhelp？“whisperedthegirl。“Hadn’twebetterleavehimhereand——Hedoesn’tsoundlikeatramp，doeshe。WhatDOyousuppose——“
“Ihopeyouwon’tbealarmed，“continuedthevoice，brokenbypantingpauses，asifthespeakerwasstrugglingintoagarment。
“Iknowthismustseemstrange。Yousee，IcameonthecoachasfarasBayportandthenwelostawheelinarut。Therewasa——oh，dear！whereISthat——thisissupremelyidiotic！——Iwassayingtherehappenedtobeamancomingthiswaywithabuggyandheofferedtohelpmealong。HewasonhiswaytoWellmouth。SoIleftmytrunktocomelaterandtookmyvalise。ItrainedonthewayandIwaswetthrough。IstoppedatCaptainDaniels’shouseandthegirlsaidhehadgonewithhisdaughtertothenexttown，butthattheyweretostophereattheparsonageontheirway。So——there！that’sright，atlast！——soIcame，hopingtofindthem。ThedoorwasopenandIcamein。Thecaptainandhisdaughterwerenothere，but，asIwasprettywet，IthoughtIwouldseizetheopportunitytochangemyclothes。Ihadsomedry——er——thingsinmyvaliseandI——well，thenyoucame，yousee，and——IassureyouI——well，itwasthemostembarrassing——I’mcomingnow。“
Thedooropened。Thetwointhesittingroomhuddledclosetogether，Keziahholdingthebroomlikeabattle-ax，readyforwhatsoevermightdevelop。Fromthedimnessofthetightlyshutteredstudysteppedtheownerofthevoice，astranger，ayoungman，hishairrumpled，histiedisarranged，andthebuttonsofhiswaistcoatfillingthewrongbuttonholes。Despitethisevidenceofahastytoiletinsemidarkness，hewasnotunprepossessing。
Incidentally，hewasblushingfuriously。
“I’m——I’msureIbegyourpardon，ladies，“hestammered。“I
scarcelyknowwhattosaytoyou。I——“
Hiseyesbecomingaccustomedtothelightinthesittingroom，hewasnowabletoseehiscaptorsmoreclearly。HelookedatKeziah，thenatMissVanHorne，andanotherwaveofblushespassedfromhiscollarupintotherootsofhishair。Graceblushed，too，though，assheperfectlywellknew，therewasnoreasonwhysheshould。
Mrs。Coffindidnotblush。Thisyoungfellow，althoughevidentlynotatramporaburglar，hadcausedhersomemomentsofdistinctuneasiness，andsheresentedthefact。
“Well，“sheobservedrathertartly，“I’msorryyoudon’tknowwhattosay，butperhapsyoumightbeginbytellinguswhoyouareandwhatyoumeanbymakin’a——er——dressin’roomofahousethatdon’tbelongtoyou，justbecauseyouhappenedtofindthedoorunlocked。
Afterthatyoumightexplainwhyyoudidn’tspeakupwhenwefirstcome，insteadofkeepin’somightyquiet。Thatlookskindofsuspicioustome，Imustsay。“
Thestranger’sanswerwaspromptenoughnow。Itwasevidentheresentedthesuspicion。
“Ididn’tspeak，“hesaid，“becauseyoutookmebysurpriseandI
wasn’t，asIexplained——er——presentable。Besides，Iwasafraidoffrighteningyou。IassureyouIhurriedasfastasIcould，quietly，andwhenyoubegantotalk“——hisexpressionchangedandtherewasatwitchatthecornerofhismouth——“Itriedtohurrystillfaster，hopingyoumightnothearmeandIcouldmakemyappearance——ormyescape——sooner。Asforenteringthehouse——well，Iconsideredit，inaway，myhouse；atleast，IknewIshouldliveinitforatime，and——“
“Liveinit？“repeatedKeziah。“LIVEinit？Why！mercyonus！youdon’tmeantosayyou’re——“
ShestoppedtolookatGrace。Thatyoungladywaslookingatherwithanexpressionwhich，asitexpressedsoverymuch，isbeyondordinarypowersofdescription。
“MynameisEllery，“saidthestranger。“Iamtheminister——thenewministeroftheRegularsociety。“
ThenevenKeziahblushed。
CHAPTERIII
INWHICHKEZIAHASSUMESAGUARDIANSHIP
Didamawouldhavegivenhereyeteeth——and，forthatmatter，theentireupperset——tohavebeenpresentinthatparsonagesittingroomwhentheRev。JohnEllerymadehisappearance。ButthefateswereagainstDidamathatdayanditwasmonthsafterwardsbeforeshe，oranyofwhatCaptainZebMayocalledthe“TrumetDailyAdvertisers，“pickedupahintconcerningit。KeziahandGrace，acquaintedwiththepossibilitiesofthesevolunteernewsgatherers，weresilent，andtheReverendJohn，beinginsomerespectsadiscreetyoungmanwithabrand-newministerialdignitytosustain，refrainedfromboastingofthesensationhehadcaused。
Hethoughtofitveryoften，usuallyatmostinconvenienttimes，andwhen，byalltherequirementsofhishighcalling，histhoughtshouldhavebeenbusywithdifferentandmuchlessworldlymatters。
“Ideclare！“saidMrs。ThankfulPayne，afterthenewminister’sfirstcallatherresidence，aweekafterhisarrivalatTrumet，“ifMr。Elleryain’tthemostsympatheticman。Iwasreadin’outloudtohimthepoemmycousinHuldyB——herthatmarriedHannibalEllisovertoDenboro——madeupwhenmysecondhusbandwaslosttosea，andI’djustgottothep’intintheninthversewhereitsays：
’Thecruelbillowscrashandroar，Andthefrailcraftistempest-tossed，Buttheboldmarinerthinksnotoflife，butsays，“ItisthefustschoonereverIlost。“’
And’twas，too，andthelast，poorthing！Well，IjustgotfurasthiswhenIlookedupandtherewastheministerlookin’outofthewindowandhisfacewasjustasred，andhekeptscowlin’andbitin’hislips。Idobelievehewasallbutsheddin’tears。
SympathylikethatIappreciate。“
Asamatteroffact，Mr。ElleryhadjustseenGraceVanHornepassthatwindow。Shehadnotseenhim，butforthemomenthewasbackinthatdisgustingstudy，makingafrenziedtoiletintheduskandobligedtooverhearremarkspointedlypersonaltohimself。
Gracelefttheparsonagesoonafterthesupposedtrampdisclosedhisidentity。HerfarewellswerehurriedandshefirmlyrefusedMrs。Coffin’snottoo-insistentappealtoreturntothehouse“upstreet“andhavesupper。ShesaidshewasgladtomeetMr。Ellery。
Theyoungministeraffirmedhisdelightinmeetingher。ThenshedisappearedinthemistytwilightandJohnEllerysurreptitiouslywipedhisperspiringforeheadwithhiscuff，havinginhislatedesirefortheprimalnecessitiesforgottensuchatriflingincidentalasahandkerchief。
“Well，Mr。Ellery，“observedKeziah，turningtoherguest，oremployer，orincumbrance——atpresentshewasmoreinclinedtoconsiderhimthelatter——“well，Mr。Ellery，thishasbeenkindofunexpectedforallhands，ain’tit？IfI’dknownyouwascomin’
to-day，I’dhavedonemybesttohavethingsready，butCap’nElkanahsaidnotbeforedayafterto-morrowand——butthere，what’stheuseoftalkin’thatway？Ididn’tknowIwasgoin’tokeephouseforyoutillthisveryforenoon。Mercyme，whatadaythishasbeen！“
Theministersmiledratherone-sidedly。
“It’sbeensomethingofadayforme，“headmitted。“IamaheadoftimeandI’vemadealotoftrouble，I’mafraid。ButyesterdayafternoonIwasreadyand，totellthetruth，Iwaseagertocomeandseemynewhomeandgetatmywork。SoIstartedonthemorningtrain。ThenthestagebrokedownandIbegantothinkI
wasstrandedatBayport。Butthiskind-heartedchapfromWellmouth——Ibelievethat’swherehelived——happenedtopulluptowatchuswrestlingwiththesmashedwheel，andwhenhefoundIwasinahurrytogettoTrumet，offeredtogivemealift。Hisnamewas——wasBird。No，thatwasn’tit，butitwassomethinglikeBird，orsomekindofabird。“
“Bird？“repeatedKeziahthoughtfully。“There’snoBirdsthatI
knowofinWellmouth。Hum！Hey？’Twa’n’tSparrow，wasit？“
“Thatwasit——Sparrow。“
“Goodland！EmulousSparrow。Runconsider’bletowhiskersandtongue，didn’the？“
“Why，yes；hedidwearabeard。Asfortongue——well，hewasconversational，ifthat’swhatyoumean。“
“That’swhatImean。IfyourodetwelvemilewithEmulous，youmusthavehadanearacheforthelastsix。Didheaskaquestionortwoaboutyourpersonalaffairs，hereandtherebetweentimes？“
Mr。Ellerylaughed。