“GraceVanHorne’sengagedtobemarried，that’swhatitis。Lookout！Oh，you——“
Justhereoccurredtheaccidentalreadydescribed。Knifeandfishballdescendeduponthewaistcoatbelongingtothe“Sundaysuit。“
Laviniaflewforwarmwater，ammonia，andacloth，andthesoiledwaistcoatwasindustriouslyscrubbed。Thecleansingprocesswasaccompaniedbyalivelytonguelashing，towhichKyanpaidlittleattention。
“Engaged？“hekeptrepeating。“GracieVanHorneengaged？Engaged？
En——“
“Bestill，youpollparrot！Dear！dear！dear！lookatthemspots。
Yes，yes；don’tsayitagain；she’sengaged。“
“Who——who——who——“
“Nowyou’veturnedtoanowl，Idobelieve。’Hoo！hoo！’She’sengagedtoNatHammond，that’swho。Nothin’verysurprisin’aboutthat，isthere？“
Kyanmadenoanswer。Herubbedhisforehead，whilehissisterrubbedthegreasespots。Injerkysentencesshetoldoftheengagementandhowthenewshadreachedher。
“Ican’tbelieveit，“falteredAbishai。“Shegoin’tomarryNat！
Why，Ican’tunderstand。Ithought——“
“Whatdidyouthink？Seehere！youain’tkeepin’anythingfromme，beyou？“
Theanswerwasenthusiasticallyemphatic。
“No，no，no，no！“declaredKyan。“OnlyIdidn’tknowtheywas——
was——“
“Neitherdidanybodyelse，butwhatofit？Folksdon’tusuallyadvertisewhenthey’rekeepin’comp’ny，dothey？“
“No——o。Butit’sgen’rallyfoundout。IknowifIwaskeepin’
comp’ny——oryouwas，La-viny——“
Hissisterstarted。
“Whatmakesyousaythat？“shedemanded，lookingquicklyupfromherrubbing。
“Why，nothin’。OnlyifIwas——oryouwas，somebody’dseesomethin’
suspiciousandkindofdropahint，and——“
“Betterforthemifthey’tendedtotheirownaffairs，“wasthesharpanswer。“Iain’tgotanypatiencewithfolksthat’salwaystalkin’abouttheirneighbor’sdoin’s。There！nowyougooutandstandalongsidethecookstovetillthatwetplacedries。Don’tyoumovetill’TISdry，neither。“
SotothekitchenwentKyan，tostand，asortoflivingclotheshorse，besidethehotrange。Butduringthedryingprocessherubbedhisforeheadmanytimes。Rememberingwhathehadseeninthegrovehecouldnotunderstand；buthealsoremembered，evenmorevividly，whatKeziahCoffinhadpromisedtodoifheeverbreathedaword。Andhevowedagainthatthatwordshouldnotbebreathed。
ThedeathandfuneralofCaptainEbenfurnishedTrumetwithasubjectofconversationforaweekormore。Then，atthesewingcircleandatthestoreandafterprayermeeting，bothattheRegularmeetinghouseandtheCome-Outerchapel，speculationcenteredonthemarriageofNatandGrace。Whenwasittotakeplace？Wouldthecoupleliveattheoldhouseand“keeppackettavern“orwouldthecaptaingotoseaagain，takinghisbridewithhim？Variousopinions，proandcon，wereexpressedbythespeculators，butnoonecouldanswerauthoritatively，becausenoneknewexceptthosemostinterested，andthelatterwouldnottell。
JohnElleryheardthediscussionsatthesewingcirclewhen，incompanywithsomeofthemenofhiscongregation，hedroppedinatthesegatheringsforteaafterthesewingwasover。Heheardthematchurch，beforeandafterthemorningservice，andwhenhemadepastoralcalls。Peopleevenaskedhisopinion，andwhenhechangedthesubjectinferred，someofthem，thathedidnotcareaboutthedoingsofCome-Outers。Thentheyswitchedtoinquiriesconcerninghishealth。
“Youlookawfulpeakedlately，Mr。Ellery，“saidDidamaRogers。
“Ain’tyoufeelin’well？“
Theministeransweredthathewasaswellasusual，orthoughthewas。
“No，no，youain’tnuther，“declaredDidama。“Youlook’sifyouwascomin’downwithaspellofsomethin’。Iain’ttheonlyonethat’snoticedit。Why，ThankfulPaynesaystomeonlyyesterday，’Didama，’saysshe，’theminister’sgotsomethin’onhismindandit’swearin’ofhimout。’Youain’tgotnothin’onyourmind，haveyou，Mr。Ellery？“
“Iguessnot，Mrs。Rogers。It’sabeautifulafternoon，isn’tit？
“There！Iknewyouwa’n’twell。Abeautifulafternoon，andithotter’nfuryationandgettin’readytorainatthat！Don’ttellme！’Tain’tyourmind，Mr。Ellery，it’syourbloodthat’sgettin’
thin。Myhusbandhadaspelljustlikeitayearortwoaforehedied，andthedoctorsaidheneededrestandachange。Saidhe’doughttogoawaysomewheresbyhimself。IputmyfootdownonTHAT
inahurry。’Theidea！’Isays。’You，asickman，goin’offallalonebyyourselftodieoflonesomeness。Ifyougo，Igowithyou。’SohimandmewentuptoBostonanditrainedthewholeweekwewasthere，andwesetinalittleboxofahotelroomwithawindowthatlookedoutatabrickwall，andsetandsetandset，andthat’sall。Ikepttalkin’tohimtocheerhimup，buthenevercheered。I’dtalktohimforanhoursteadyandwhenI’dstopandaskaquestionhe’donlygroanandsayyes，whenhemeantno。Finally，Igotdisgusted，afterI’daskedhimsomethin’fourorfivetimesandhe’dneveranswered，andItoldhim，Ibelievedhewasgettin’deef。’Lordy！’hesays，’IwishIwas！’Well，thatwasenoughforME。SaysI，’Ifyourmind’sgoin’togiveoutwe’dbetterbehome。’Sohomewecome。Andthat’sallthegoodchangeandrestdoneHIM。Hey？Whatdidyousay，Mr。Ellery？“
“Er——oh，nothing，nothing，Mrs。Rogers。“
“Yes。SohomewecomeandI’dhadenoughofdoctorstolast。I
figgeredoutthathisbloodwasthinnin’andIknewwhatwasgoodforthat。MygreatAuntHepsy，thatlivedovertoEastWellmouth，shewasagreathandforherbsandsuchandshe’dgivemeareceiptforthickenin’thebloodthatwassomethin’wonderful。Ithadmorekindofhealin’herbsinitthanyoucouldshakeastickat。I
cookedakittlefulandgothimtotakeadosefourtimesaday。Hemademorefussthanayoungoneabouttakin’it。SaidittastedliketheEvilOne，andsuchprofanetalk，andthatitstucktohismouthso’shecouldn’trelishhisvittles；butIneverletupamite。Hehadtotakeitanditdonehimaworldofgood。NowI’vegotthatreceiptyet，Mr。Ellery，andI’llmakesomeofthatmedicineforyou。I’llfetchitdownto-morrow。Yes，yes，Iwill。
I’magoin’to，soyouneedn’tsayno。AndperhapsI’llhaveheardsomethin’aboutCap’nNatandGracebythattime。“
Shebroughtthemedicine，andtheministerpromptly，onherdeparture，handeditovertoKeziah，whodisposedofitjustaspromptly。
“WhatdidIdowithit？“repeatedthehousekeeper。“Well，I’lltellyou。Iwaskindofcurioustoseewhat’twaslike，soItookateaspoonful。Ididintendtopourtherestofitoutinthehenyard，butafterthattasteIhadtoomuchregardforthehens。
SoIcarrieditwaydowntothepondandthrewitin，jugandall。
B-r-r-r！Ofallthemessesthat——IusedtowonderwhatmadeJoshRogersgomoonin’roundmakin’hislipsgoasifhewascrazy。I
thoughthewastalkin’tohimself，butnowIknowbetter，hewasTASTIN’。B-r-r-r！“
Keziahwasthelifeofthegloomyparsonage。Withouthertheministerwouldhavebrokendown。Timeandtimeagainhewastemptedtogiveup，inspiteofhispromise，andleaveTrumet，butherpluckandcouragemadehimashamedofhimselfandhestayedtofightitout。Shewatchedhimandtendedhimand“babied“himasifhewasaspoiledchild，pretendingtolaughatherselffordoingitandathimforpermittingit。Shecookedthedisheshelikedbest，shemendedhisclothes，sheactedasabufferbetweenhimandcallerswhocameatinopportunetimes。Shewascheerfulalwayswhenhewasabout，andnoonewouldhavesurmisedthatshehadasorrowintheworld。ButElleryknewandsheknewheknew，sotheaffectionandmutualesteembetweenthetwodeepened。Hecalledher“AuntKeziah“atherrequestandshecontinuedtocallhim“John。“Thiswasinprivate，ofcourse；inpublichewas“Mr。
Ellery“andshe“Mrs。Coffin。“
InhiswalksabouttownhesawnothingofGrace。SheandMrs。
PoundberryandCaptainNatwerestillattheoldhomeandnoonesavethemselvesknewwhattheirplansmightbe。Yet，oddlyenough，EllerywasthefirstoutsidertolearntheseplansandthatfromNathimself。
Hemetthecaptainatthecornerofthe“Turnoff“onedaylateinAugust。Hetriedtomakehisbowseemcordial，butwaspainfullyawarethatitwasnot。Nat，however，seemednottonotice，butcrossedtheroadandheldouthishand。
“Howareyou，Mr。Ellery？“hesaid。“Ihaven’trunacrossyouforsometime。What’sthematter？Seemstomeyoulookratherundertheweather。“
Elleryansweredthathewasallrightand，rememberingthathehadnotmetthecaptainsinceoldHammond’sdeath，brieflyexpressedhissympathy。Hiswordswereperfunctoryandhismannercold。Hisreasontoldhimthatthismanwasnottoblame——wasrathertobepitied，ifKeziah’stalewastrue。Yetitishardtopitytheonewhoistomarrythegirlyoulove。Reasonhaslittletodowithsuchmatters。
“Well，Mr。Ellery，“saidCaptainNat，“Iwon’tkeepyou。Iseeyou’reinahurry。JustthoughtI’drunalongsideaminuteandsaygood-by。Don’tknow’sI’llseeyouagainaforeIsail。“
“Beforeyousail？You——youaregoingaway？“
“Yup。Myownershavebeenaftermeforagoodwhile，butI
wouldn’tleavehomeonaccountofdad’shealth。Nowhe’sgone，I’vegottobegettin’backonsaltwateragain。Myship’sbeendrydockedandoverhauledandshe’sinNewYorknowloadin’forManila。It’salongvy’age，evenifIcomebackdirect，whichain’tlikely。SoImaynotseetheoldtownagainforacoupleofyears。Takecareofyourself，won’tyou？Goodmen，especiallyministers，arescurse，andfromwhatIhearaboutyouIcal’lateTrumetneedsyou。“
“Whenareyougoing？“
“Lastofnextweek，mostlikely。“
“Willyou——shallyougoalone？Areyoutobe——tobe——“
“Married？No。GraceandIhavetalkeditoverandwe’veagreedit’sbesttowaittillIcomeback。Yousee，dad’sbeendeadsuchalittlewhile，andall，that——well，we’regoin’towait，anyhow。
She’llstayintheoldhousewithHannah，andI’vefixedthingssoshe’llbeprovidedforwhileI’mgone。Ileftitprettymuchtoher。Ifshe’dthoughtitbestforustomarrynow，Ical’lateI
shouldhave——have——well，donewhatshewanted。Butshedidn’t。
Ah，hum！“headdedwithasigh；“she’sagoodgirl，amightygoodgirl。Well，solongandgoodluck。“
“Good-by，captain。“
“Good-by。Er——Isay，Mr。Ellery，howthingsattheparsonage？Allwellthere，areyou？“
“Yes。“
“Er——Keziah——Mrs。Coffin，yourhousekeeper，isshesmart？“
“Yes。She’swell。“
“That’sgood。Say，youmighttellhergood-byforme，ifyouwantto。TellherIwishedherallthelucktherewas。And——and——justsaythatthereain’tany——well，thatherfriend——sayjustthat，willyou？——herFRIENDsaid’twasallright。She’llunderstand；
it’sa——asortofjokebetweenus。“
“Verygood，captain；I’lltellher。“
“Muchobliged。AndjustaskhertokeepaneyeonGracewhileI’mgone。TellherIleaveGracieunderherwing。Keziahandmeareoldchums，inaway，yousee。“
“Yes。I’lltellherthat，too。“
“Anddon’tforgetthe’friend’part。Well，solong。“
Theyshookhandsandparted。
Didamaandherfellownews-vendersdistributedthetaleofCaptainNat’ssailingbroadcastduringthenextfewdays。Therewasmuchwondermentatthedelayedmarriage，butthegeneralverdictwasthatCaptainEben’srecentdeathandtheproperrespectduetoitfurnishedsufficientexcuse。HannahPoundberry，delightedatbeingsoclosetothecenterofinterest，talkedandtalked，andthusGracewassparedtheinterviewswhichwouldhavebeenatroubletoher。Natlefttown，viathepacket，onthefollowingWednesday。
Withinanotherweekcamethenewsthathisship，theSeaMist，hadsailedfromNewYork，boundforManila。Hertopsailssankbeneaththehorizon，andshevanisheduponthewildwasteoftumblingwavesandoutofTrumet’sknowledge，asmanyanothervessel，mannedandofficeredbyCapeCodmen，haddone。Thevillagetalkedofherandhercommanderforafewdaysandthenforgotthemboth。Onlyattheoldhomebythelandingandattheparsonageweretheyremembered。