“Phew！Ifeel’sifI’dbeenvisitingstate’sprison。Letmesetoutdoorsaspellandlistentothesurf。It’sclean，anyhow，andthatcritter’stalkmakesmewanttogivemybrainsabath。“
Thewoodenclock，loanedbyMrs。Parker，thedoctor’swife，tickedsteadily，althoughahalfhourslow。Ellery，glancingatittoseeifthetimehadcomeforgivingmedicine，suddenlynoticedhowlouditstickingsounded。Wonderingatthis，hewasawaretherewasnoothersoundinthehouse。Heroseandlookedinatthedooroftheadjoiningroom。Thepatienthadceasedtoraveandwaslyingquietonthebed。
Theministertiptoedovertolookathim。And，ashedidso，themanopenedhiseyes。
“Halloo！“hesaidfaintly。“Whoareyou？“
Ellery，startled，madenoanswer。
“Whoareyou？“demandedthemanagain。Then，withanoath，herepeatedthequestion，adding：“Whatplaceisthis？Thisain’tthefo’castle。WhereamI？“
“You’reashore。You’vebeensick。Don’ttrytomove。“
“Sick？Humph！Sick？’CourseIbeensick。Don’tIknowit？Thed——ncowardsrunoffandleftme；blasttheireyes！I’llfix’emforitoneofthesedays，youhear——“
“Sshh！“
“Hushupyourself。WhereamI？“
“You’reashore。OnCapeCod。AtTrumet。“
“Trumet！TRUMET！“
Hewasstrugglingtoraisehimselfonhiselbow。Ellerywasobligedtouseforcetoholdhimdown。
“Hush！hush！“pleadedtheminister，“youmustn’ttryto——“
“Trumet！Iain’t。You’relyin’。Trumet！GoodGod！Whobroughtmehere？Didshe——Isshe——“
Hestruggledagain。Thenhisstrengthandhisreasonlefthimsimultaneouslyandthedeliriumreturned。Hebegantoshoutaname，anamethatcausedEllerytostanduprightandstepbackfromthebed，scarcelybelievinghisears。
Alltherestofthatnightthemanonthebedravedandmuttered，butofpeopleandplacesandhappeningswhichhehadnotmentionedbefore。Andtheminister，listeningintentlytoeveryword，caughthimselfwonderingifhealsowasnotlosinghismind。
Whenthemorningcame，EbenezerCapenwasawakenedbyashaketofindJohnEllerystandingoverhim。
“Capen，“whisperedtheminister，“Capen，getup。Imusttalkwithyou。“
Ebenezerwasindignant。
“Judaspriest！“heexclaimed；“whydon’tyouscareafellertodeath，comin’andyankin’himoutofbedbythebackhair？“Then，beingmorewideawake，headded：“What’stherow？Worse，ishe？
Heain’t——“
“No。ButI’vegottotalkwithyou。Youusedtobeawhaler，I
know。WereyouacquaintedinNewBedford？“
“Sartin。WasatimewhenIcouldhavelocatedeverystickinit，prettynigh，bythesmell，ifyou’dsetmedownsideof’emblindfold。“
“Didyoueverknowanyonenamed——“Hefinishedthesentence。
“Sureandsartin，Idid。Why？“
“Didyouknowhimwell？“
“Well’sIwantedto。Prettydecentfelleronetime，butafastgoer，andwentdownhilllikeayoungone’ssled，whenhegotstarted。Hisfolkshadmoney，thatwasthetroublewithhim。Why，’courseIknewhim！Hemarried——“
“Iknow。Now，listen。“
Ellerywentontalkingrapidlyandwithgreatearnestness。
Ebenezerlistened，atfirstsilently，thenbreakinginwithejaculationsandgruntsofastonishment。Hesatupontheedgeofthebed。
“Rubbish！“hecriedatlast。“why，’tain’tpossible！Thefeller’sdeadasMethusalem’sgrandmarm。Irememberhowithappenedand——“
“Itwasn’ttrue。ThatmuchIknow。IKNOW，Itellyou。“
Hewentontoexplainwhyheknew。Capen’sastonishmentgrew。
“Judaspriest！“heexclaimedagain。“ThatwouldexplainwhyI
thoughtI’dseen——There！heaveahead。I’vegottosee。Butit’samistake。Idon’tbelieveit。“
Thepairenteredthesickroom。Thesailorlayinastupor。Hisbreathingwasrapid，butfaint。Capenbentoverhimandgentlymovedthebandageonhisface。Forafullminutehegazedsteadily。Thenhestooderect，drewabigredhandacrosshisforehead，andmovedslowlybacktothelivingroom。
“Well？“askedElleryeagerly。
Ebenezersatdownintherocker。“Judaspriest！“hesaidforthethirdtime。“Don’ttalktoME！Whenitcomesmytimethey’llhavetoproveI’mdead。Iwon’tbelieveittilltheydo。Ju-dasPRIEST！“
“Thenyourecognizehim？“
Theoldmannoddedsolemnly。
“Yup，“hesaid，“it’shim。Mr。Ellery，whatareyougoin’todoaboutit？“
“Idon’tknow。Idon’tknow。Imustgosomewherebymyselfandthink。Idon’tknowWHATtodo。“
Theministerdeclinedtowaitforbreakfast。Hesaidhewasnothungry。LeavingEbenezertoputonthecoffeepotandtakeuphisdutiesasdaynurse，Ellerywalkedoffalongthebeach。The“deadline“preventedhisgoingveryfar，buthesatdownintheleeofahighduneandthoughtuntilhisheadached。Whatshouldhedo？
Whatwasbestforhimtodo？
Heheardtherattleofthedoctor’schaiseandthevoicesofEbenezerandParkerinconversation。Hedidnotmove，butremainedwherehewas，thinking，thinking。ByandbyheheardCapencallinghisname。
“Mr。Ellery！“shoutedEbenezer。“Mr。Ellery，wherebeyou？“
“Here！“repliedtheminister。
Theoldmancamescramblingoverthesand。Hewaspantingandmuchexcited。
“Mr。Ellery！“hecried，“Mr。Ellery！it’ssettledforus——onepartofit，anyhow。He’sslippedhiscable。“
“What？“Theministersprangup。
“Yup。HemusthavediedjustalittlewhileafteryouleftandafterIgavehimhismedicine。Ithoughthelookedkindofqueerthen。Andwhenthedoctorcamewewentintogetherandhewasdead。Yes，sir，dead。“
“Dead！“
“Um——hm。Nodoubtofit；it’sforgoodthistime。Mr。Ellery，whatshallwedo？ShallItellDr。Parker？“
Elleryconsideredforamoment。“No，“hesaidslowly。“No，Capen，don’ttellanyone。Ican’tseewhytheyneedeverknowthathehasn’tbeendeadforyears，astheysupposed。Promisemetokeepitasecret。I’lltell——her——myself，lateron。Nowpromiseme；I
trustyou。“
“Landsakes，yes！I’llpromise，ifyouwantmeto。I’mawidowerman，sothere’llbenobodytocoaxitoutofme。Iguessyou’reright，cal’lateyoube。Whatfolksdon’tknowtheycan’tlieabout，canthey？andthat’sgoodforyourbusiness——meanin’nothin’
disreverent。I’llpromise，Mr。Ellery；I’llsweartoit。Nowcomeonbacktotheshanty。Thedoctorwantsyou。“
Thenextdaythebodyof“Murphy，“foremasthandontheSanJose，wasburiedinthecorneroftheRegulargraveyard，nearthosewhoweredrownedinthewreckofthatwinter。Therewasnofuneral，ofcourse。Theministersaidaprayerattheshanty，andthatwasall。Ebenezerdrovethewagonwhichwasusedashearsefortheoccasion，andfilledinthegravehimself。Sogreatwasthefearoftheterriblesmallpoxthatthesextonwouldnotperformeventhatserviceforitsvictim。
Capenremainedattheshantyanotherweek。Then，astheministershowednosymptomsofhavingcontractedthediseaseandinsistedthatheneedednocompanion，Ebenezerdepartedtotakeuphisfishingoncemore。Theoldmanwasprovidedwithanewsuitofclothes，thosehehadwornbeingburned，andhavingbeen，tohishugedisgust，fumigateduntil，ashesaid，hecouldn’tsmellhimselfwithoutthinkingofamatchbox，wentaway。Theroomwhichthedeadsailorhadoccupiedwasemptiedandsealedtight。TheSanJosewastostayatheranchorageawhilelonger。Then，whenalldangerwaspast，shewastobetowedtoBostonandsoldatauctionforthebenefitoftheheirsofherdeadskipperandowner。
Elleryhimselfwasmosturgentinthedecisionthatheshouldnotgobacktotheparsonageandhischurchjustyet。Bettertowaituntilhewassure，hesaid，andDr。Parkeragreed。“I’dbewillingtobetthatyouareallright，“declaredthelatter，“butIknowTrumet，andifISHOULDletyougoandyoudiddevelopeventhetailendofacaseofvarioloid——well，’twouldbetheeverlastingclimaxforyouandmeinthiscounty。“
Stayingalonewasnotunpleasant，inaway。The“deadline“stillremained，ofcourse，andcallersdidnotattempttopassit，buttheycamemorefrequentlyandheldlengthyconversationsatarespectfuldistance。Ellerydidhisowncooking，whatlittletherewastodo，butsomanygoodthingswerepushedundertheropesthathewasinafairwaytodevelopweightandindigestion。CaptainZebMayodrovedownatleasttwiceaweekandusuallybroughtMrs。
Coffinwithhim。Fromthemandfromthedoctortheprisonerlearnedthevillagenews。OnceCaptainElkanahandAnnabelcame，andtheyounglady’sgushingpraiseoftheminister’s“heroism“
madeitsrecipientalmostsorryhehadeverheardoftheSanJose。
Dr。ParkertoldhimofGraceVanHorne’sreturntothevillage。
Shehadcomeback，sothedoctorsaid，thedaybefore，andwastoliveatthetavernforawhile，atleast。Yes，heguessedevenshehadgivenuphopeofCaptainNatnow。
“Andsay，“wentonParker，“howareyoufeeling？“
“Prettywell，thankyou，“repliedtheminister。“Iseemtoberathertiredandgoodfornothing。MoresothanIwasduringtheworstofit。“
“Nowonder。Achapcan’tgothroughwhatyoudidandnotfeelsomereaction。Iexpectedthat。Don’tgetcold，that’sall。ButwhatIwanttoknowiswhetheryouthinkIcouldleaveyouforacoupleofdays？TheOstableCountyMedicalSocietymeetsatHyannisto-morrowandIhadpromisedmyselftotakeitinthisyear。
ButIdon’twanttoleaveyou，ifyouneedme。“
Elleryinsistedthathedidnotneedanyone，wasgettingalongfinely，andwouldnothearofhisfriend’smissingthemedicalsociety’smeeting。Sothephysicianwent。
“Good-by，“hecalledashedroveoff。“Iguessyourtermisprettynearlyover。Ishallletyououtofjailinsideoffourorfivedays，ifyoubehaveyourself。“
Thisshouldhavebeencheeringnews，but，somehow，JohnEllerydidnotfeelcheerfulthatafternoon。Thetiredfeelinghehadspokenofsolightlywasworsethanhehaddescribedit，andhewasdespondent，fornoparticularreason。Thatnighthesleptmiserablyandawokewithachilltofindacold，pouringrainbeatingagainstthewindowsoftheshanty。
Hecouldnoteatandhecouldnotkeepwarm，evenwiththecook-
stovetopredhotandablanketoverhisshoulders。Bynoonthechillhadgoneandhewasblazingwithfever。Stilltherainandthewind，andnovisitorsattheropes，noteventhelight-keeper。
Helaydownonhisbedandtriedtosleep，butthoughhedozedabit，wokealwayswithastartandeitherachillorfeverfit。Hisheadbegantoacheviolently。Andthen，inthelonesomenessandmisery，fearbegantotakeholdofhim。
Herememberedthesymptomsthedoctorhadwarnedhimagainst，headache，fever，andalltherest。Hefelthiswristsandarmsandbegantoimaginethatbeneaththeskinwerethelittlebunches，likesmallshot，thatwerethecertainindications。Thenherememberedhowthatothermanhadlooked，howhehaddied。Washetolookthatwayanddielikethat？Andhewasallalone，theyhadlefthimalone。
Nightcame。Therainhadceasedandstarswereshiningclear。
Insidetheshantytheministertossedonthebed，orstaggeredbackandforthaboutthetworooms。Hewonderedwhatthetimemightbe；
thenhedidnotcare。Hewasalone。Thesmallpoxhadhiminitsgrip。Hewasaloneandhewasgoingtodie。Whydidn’tsomeonecome？WherewasMrs。Coffin？AndGrace？Shewassomewherenearhim——Parkerhadsaidso——andhemustseeherbeforehedied。Hecalledhernameoverandoveragain。
Thewindfeltcoldonhisforehead。Hestumbledamidstthebeachgrass。Whatwasthisthingacrosshispath？Arope，apparently，butwhyshouldthereberopesinthathouse？Therehadneverbeenanybefore。Heclimbedoveritanditwasaclimbofhundredsoffeetandtheheightmadehimgiddy。Thatwasahouse，anotherhouse，nottheonehehadbeenlivingin。Andtherewerelightsallabout。Perhapsoneofthemwasthelightattheparsonage。