Onthewhole，Keziah，I’mgladyoucame。Thisyounglady，“withamovementoftheheadtowardGrace，“hasdoneherpart。Shereallysavedhislife，ifI’mnotmistaken。Now，Ithinkshecangoawayandleavehimtoyouandme。I’llprettynearlyguaranteetohavehimupandoutofthis——thispestholeinafortnight。“
Herewasjoyfultidings，thebetterforbeingsounexpected。
Keziahleanedagainsttheboardsanddrewalongbreath。Gracesaidnothing，but，afteramoment，shewentintothehouse。
“That’sagoodthing，too，“commentedParker，watchingherasshewent。“Iwantedtotalkwithyou，KeziahCoffin，andrightaway。
Now，then，there’ssomethingup，somethingthatIdon’tknowabout，andIratherguessyoudo。Youngwomen——evenwhenthey’reherkindandthat’sasgoodakindasthereis——don’trisksmallpoxforanyyoungmantheypickupcasually。Theydon’tcarry——Iguessitwasprettynearlycarrying——himhomeandputhimtobedandcareforhimandcryoverhimandcallhim’dear。’Andhedoesn’tbegthemtorunawayandlethimdieratherthantostaythereandriskdying，too。No，nottoanygreatextent。Now，Keziah，youandI
arefairlygoodfriendsandweoughttoknoweachotherbythistime。Iseealight——alittleone。Now，then，ifyouturnupthelamp，sothatIcanseethewholeblaze，maybeIcanhelpthosetwoinyonder。“
Keziahconsidered。“Allright，doctor，“shesaid，whenshereachedadecision，“allright；I’lltellyouthewholething，andyoucanseeoneofthereasonswhymyhairisgettin’grayer。Thisthinghasreachedthepointnowwherethere’snokeepin’itquiet。
Folk’llknow——Is’posetheyknowalready——thatshe’sbeenherewithhim。They’llsuspectalotmoreandthetruthisbetterthansuspicion——thatis，itcan’tbeworsethanthesuspicionsthatcomenaturaltoagoodmanymindsinthistown。IamgladIcantellyou，forIguessthetime’scometostepoutinbroaddaylightandh’istourcolors。Now，youlisten。Here’tis，frombeginnin’toend。“
Shewentontotellallsheknewofherparson’slovestory。
Dr。Parkerlistened。
“Hum！“hesaidthoughtfully，“Isee。Whatmadeherchangehermindsosuddenly？Yousay，oryougatherfromwhatMr。Ellerytoldyou，thatshehadallbutagreedtomarryhim。Shecaresforhim，that’ssure。Then，allatonce，shethrowshimoverandacceptsNat。Ofcourseheruncle’ssuddenseizurewasashockandhewantedNattohaveher，butsheisn’tthekindofgirltobeeasilyswayed。Whydidshedoit？“
“Well，doctor，that’skindofapuzzletome。AllIcanthinkisthatshecometorealizewhatitmightmeantohim，theminister，ifhemarriedaCome-Outer。Ithinkshedoneitforhissake，tosavehim，thoughwhatmadeherrealizeitallatonceIdon’tknow。
There’sthepartweain’theard。“
“Iguessyou’reright。SomethinghappenedbetweenthetimesheleftElleryandwhenyouandIreachedthetavern。Butnevermindthat，thatdoesn’tcountnow。Let’slookatthingsastheyarethisminute。She’shereandfolksknowit。Astheydoknowitthey’llbegintotalk，andthemoretheytalkthefartherfromthetruththey’llget——mostof’em。Nat，poorchap，isdead，soherpromisetohimiscanceled。Ellerywillgetwellifheisn’ttroubled，andherbeingwithhimwillhelpmorethananythingelse。
Icanunderstandnowwhyhebrokedown。“
“Yes，heain’tbeenhimselfsinceithappened。“
“Ofcourse，andthelastfewweeksofworryandnightworkhavehelpedtowreckhisnerves。Well，asIseeit，there’sonlyonethingtodo。Ifsheleaveshimhe’llgotopiecesagain，soshemustn’tleave。Andshecan’tstaywithoutanexplanation。Isaylet’sgivetheexplanation；let’scomerightoutwiththeannouncementthatthey’reengaged。“
“Whew！that’llstirthingsup。“
“Youbet！Butletitstir。Ilikethatparsonofyours；he’satrump。AndIalwayslikedher，although，generallyspeaking，I
don’tloveCome-Outers。AndIlikehermorethanevernow，whensheriskedwhatshethoughtwassmallpoxtocareforhim。AsI
said，shesavedhislife，andsheoughttohavehim。SheSHALL
havehim。“
“Butshe’saCome-Outerand——there’sthechurch。“
“Well，Iknowit。Butheneverwassopopularasheisnow。Andsheisn’tbyanymeansasteady-goingCome-Outer。Why，ZekeBassettandtheresthavebeenfindingfaultwithherandcallingherabackslider。That’llhelp。Thenyoutrustmetowhoopupherheroismandthefactthatwithoutherhewouldhavedied。Wecandoit，Keziah。Comeon！I’vetackledagoodmanyjobs，butmatchmakingisn’toneof’em。Heregoestotacklethat。“
Keziahwasdelighted；herewasworkafterherownheart。Butshestillhesitated。
“Doctor，“shesaid，“you’veforgotonething，that’sGracieherself。Wouldshemarryhimnow，knowingitmaymeanthelossofhisministryandall，anymorethanshewouldatfirst？Idon’tbelieveit。“
“That’syourpart，Keziah。You’vegottoshowhersheMUSTmarryhimorhe’lldie；see？Callonmetobackyouupinanyfairyyarnyouspin。Youprovetoherit’sherdutytomarryhim。You’llhavetostay，hereandhelpnurse，ofcourse，andthat’seasybecausehisdiseaseisn’tcontagious。YouconvinceherandI’lltakecareofthecongregation。He’lllivetobeministerherefortherestofhislife，ifhewantsto，andshe’llbeaminister’swifeandsitinthefrontpew。I’llguaranteethechurchifyou’llguaranteethegirl。Why，it’syourduty！Come，now，whatdoyousay？“
Keziah’shesitationwasatanend。Herfacelitup。
“Isaygood！“shecried。“AndI’llbethankfultoyoualltherestofmylife。Butforthedearmercysakes，don’tsay’duty’tomeagain。Oh，doctor，ifyouonlyknewwhatitmeanstometobefightin’atlastforsomethin’thatain’tjustduty，butwhatI
reallywant！Idohonestlybelievewecanwin。Glory，hallelujah！
AndnowIwanttogiveyouapieceofadvice，yourcourseforthefirstleg，asyoumightsay：youseeCap’nZebedeeMayo。“
“Humph！Cap’nZebisthefirstmanImeantosee。“
CaptainZeblistenedwithhismouthandeyesandearsopen。Mrs。
Mayowaswithhimwhenthedoctorcalled，andshe，too，listened。
“Well！“exclaimedthecaptain，whenthepleaforsupportwasended。
“Well，bytheflukesofJonah’swhale！Talkaboutsurprises！Oldlady，whatdoyousay？“
“Isaygoahead，Zebedee。Goahead！IfMr。EllerywantedtomarryJezebel’ssister，andIknewhereallywantedto，I’d——IdobelieveI’dhelphimgether。AndGraceVanHorneisagoodgirl。Goahead。“
“Ofcourse，“putinParker，profitingbyahintofMrs。Coffin’s，“ofcourseDanielswillfighttoothandnailagainstus。He’llbefordischargingElleryatonce。Andhereallyrunstheparishcommittee。“
“Hedoes，hey？Well，Ical’latehedon’t。NotifI’mondeck，hedon’t。Allright，doctor，I’mwithyou。He，he，he！“hechuckled。
“Say，doc，doyouknowIsortofloveagoodlivelyrow。That’sbeentheonlytroublewithoursocietysenceMr。Ellerytookcommandofit——thereain’tbeenanyrows。He，he，he！Well，there’llbeonenow。“
Therewas，anditwaslivelyenoughtosuitevenCaptainZeb。Dr。
Parker，onhiscallsthatday，wasassailedwithamultitudeofquestionsconcerningGrace’spresenceattheshanty。Heansweredthemcheerfully，dilatinguponthegirl’sbravery，hergoodsense，andthefactthatshehadsavedMr。Ellery’slife。Thenheconfided，asastrictsecret，thefactthatthetwowereengaged。
Beforehishearershadrecoveredfromtheshockofthisexplosion，hewasjustifyingtheengagement。Whyshouldn’ttheymarryiftheywantedto？Itwasafreecountry。Thegirlwasn’taCome-Outeranylonger，and，besides——andthiscarriedweightinagoodmanyhouseholds——whatablackeyethemarriagewouldbeforthatno-
accountcrowdatthechapel。
CaptainZebedee，havingshippedwiththeinsurgents，workedforthemfromsunrisetosunsetandafter。Zebwassomethingofapoliticianandknewwhomto“getat。“Hesoughthisfellowsontheparishcommitteeandlaboredwiththem。Mrs。Mayoandthedoctor’swifechampionedthecauseatsewingcircle。Theywerelively，thosesewingmeetings，andthefurflew。DidamaRogersandLaviniaPepperwereeverywhereandreadytoagreewithwhicheversideseemedlikelytowin。LaviniawassodeeplyinterestedthatsheforgottocatechiseAbishaifurtherabouthisuntimelyreferencetoPeters’sgrove。AndKyan，puzzledbutthankful，keptsilence。
Itwasbynomeansaone-sidedstruggle。CaptainElkanah，spurredonbythefuriousAnnabel，marshaledhisforcesandproclaimedthatEllery，havingdisgracedtheRegularSociety，shouldnolongeroccupyitspulpit。
“Ifhedoes，“thunderedElkanah，“Ishallnevercrossthethresholdofthatchurch。AndI’veworshipedthereforfiftyyears。Hum——
ha！Ishouldliketoknowwhosemoneyhasgonemoreliberalforthatmeetinghousethanmine！Butnotanothercent——no，sir！notone——ifthatlicentiousyoungscampcontinuestoblasphemethere。“
Hehintedconcerningagood-sizedcontributiontowardaparishhouse，somethingthesocietyneeded。IfEllerywasdischarged，thecontributionwouldprobablybemade，nototherwise。Andthiswasapointworthconsidering。
DanielsalsowrotetohisinfluentialfriendsoftheNationalRegularSociety。ButCaptainZebedeehadforestalledhimthereandbothletterswerelaidonthetabletoawaitfurtherdevelopments。
AsfortheCome-Outers，theywerewildwithrageandGracewasformallyreadoutoftheircommunion。
“Iwonder，“shriekedEzekielBassett，inprayermeeting，“whatthesperritofthegoodandgreatmanwhousedtoleadusfromthis’ereplatformwouldsayifhewasherenow？Hey？whatwouldhesay？“
JosiahBadgeruprearedhislankyperson。“IdreamedaboutCap’nEbent’othern-nin-nun-night，“hestammered。“Iseehimjustas——
p-pup-pup-plainasyouhearmen-n-now。Andhesaystome，hesays，Josiah，’hesays，’I-I-I-I——’“
“Kiyi！“brokeinThophBaker，fromtheshadowoftherearseat。
JosiahturnedtoberateThoph，who，beingindisgracebecauseofhisdefenseofEllery，wasreckless，andthecommunicationfromthedeadleaderoftheCome-Outerswaslostinthesquabblewhichfollowed。
MeantimeKeziah，installedasheadnurseattheshanty，washavinghertroubles。Theministerwasgettingbetter，slowlybutsurelygettingbetter。Thedangerofbrainfeverwasatanend，buthewasveryweakandmustnotbeexcited，sothedoctorsaid。HeknewnothingofthestruggleforandagainsthimwhichwassplittingTrumetintwain，andcarewastakenthatheshouldnotknowit。Hewasnotallowedtotalk，and，forthemostpart，wasquitecontentedtobesilent，watchingGraceasshemovedabouttheroom。
Ifhewonderedwhyshewasstillwithhim，hesaidnothing，andthethoughtofwhathiscongregationmightsaydidnotvexhimintheleast。Shewasthere，hesawhereveryday，thatwasenough。
Hehadexpressedawishtotalkwithhishousekeeper。“I’vegotsomethingtotellyou，AuntKeziah，“hesaidweakly。“Somenewsforyouand——and——“
“Cat’sfoot！“snappedKeziahbriskly，“don’tstartintellin’menewsnow。I’vegotmyhandsfullas’tis。News’llkeepandyouwon’t，ifyoutalkanotherminute。“
“Butthisisimportant。“
“Soareyou，thoughyoumaynotthinkso。Ifyoudon’tbelieveitaskGrace。“
“Well，“theministersighed。“Well，perhapsIwon’ttellitnow。
I’dratherwaituntilIfeelstronger。Youwontcare，willyou？
ItwillbehardtotellandI——“
“No，no！Care？No。Ifit’sbadnewsIdon’twanttohearit，andifit’sgoodIcanwait，Ical’late。Youturnoverandtakeanap。“
Shecouldmanagehim；itwaswithGracethatshehadherstruggle。
Johnwassafenow；hewouldbehimselfagainbeforeverylong，andthegirlhadbeguntothinkofhisfutureandhisreputation。Sheknewthatgossipmustbebusyinthevillage，and，muchasshewishedtoremainbyhisside，shedecidedthatsheshouldnotdoso。AndthenKeziahbegantofulfillheragreementwithDr。
Parker。
First，andbluntly，shetoldthegirlthatherleavingnowwasuseless。Thesecretwasout；ithadbeenmadepublic。EveryoneknewshewasinlovewithJohnandhewithher。Theirengagementwasconsideredanestablishedcertainty。Gracewasgreatlyagitatedandveryindignant。
“Whodaredsayso？“shedemanded。“Whodaredsaywewereengaged？
It’snottrue。It’sawickedlieand——Whoisresponsible，AuntKeziah？“
“Well，IsupposelikelyIam，muchasanybody，deary。“
“You？You，AuntKeziah？“