“Ifshecan’thaveonemanshe’lltakethenext，andthenswitchbacksoon’sthewindchanges。However，mostlikelysheneverwasengagedtoMr。Ellery，anyhow。He’sbeenoutofhisheadandmighthavesaidsomefoolthingsthatletDr。Parkerandtherestb’lievehewasinlovewithher。Asforpickin’ofhimupandtotin’himbacktotheshantythatnight，thatwa’n’tnothin’butcommonhumanity。Shecouldn’tlethimdieinthemiddleofthelighthouselane，couldshe？“
Thursdaywasaperfectday，andthereceptioncommitteewasonhandandwaitinginfrontoftheBayportpostoffice。Thespecialcarriage，thespanbrushedandcurrieduntiltheircoatsglistenedinthesunshine，wasdrawnupbesidetheplatform。Thehorseshadlittleflagsfastenedtotheirbridles，andtherewereotherandlargerflagsoneachsideofthedashboard。CaptainDaniels，imposinginhisSundayraiment，high-collaredcoat，stock，silkhatandgold-headedcane，satstifflyerectontheseatintherear。
Theothercarriageswerealongside，amongthemCaptainZebedeeMayo’sancientchaise，thewhitehorsesoundasleepbetweentheshafts。CaptainZebhadnotbeeninvitedtojointheescort，buthadjoineditwithoutaninvitation。
“IguesslikelyI’dbetterbeonhand，“thecaptainconfidedtoDr。
Parker。“MaybeIcanstopElkanahfromtalkin’toomuchabout——
well，aboutwhatwedon’twanthimtotalkabout，andbesides，I’mjustasanxioustogiveNatawelcomehomeasthenextfeller。
He’sabrickandwe’reallproudofhim。Bymighty！I’dliketohaveseenthatcrafthebuiltoutofcocoanutsandchurches——I
wouldso。“
KyanPepperwastherealso，notyetfullyrecoveredfromthesurprisewhichLavinia’sgraciouspermissionhadgivenhim。
AbishaihadbeenleaningdisconsolatelyoverhisfrontgateearlythatmorningwhenNoahEllis，thelightkeeper，joggeddownthelane。
“’Mornin’，’Bish，“hailedNoah，pullinguphishorse。“What’sthematter？Youlookbluer’naspiledmack’rel。What’stherow？
Breakfastdisagreewithyou？“
“Naw，“repliedKyanshortly。“Whereyoubound，allriggedupinyourshoreduds？“
“BoundtoBayport，toseeNatHammondland，“wasthecheerfulanswer。“Iain’thadadayoffIdon’tknowwhen，andIthoughtI’dtakeone。Begreatdoin’soverthere，theytellme。Elkanah’sgoin’tomakeaspeechandthere’seighteenteamsoffolksgoin’。“
“Iknowit。IwishtIwasgoin’，too，butIneverhavenofun。
Havetostaytohomeandworkandslaveoverthemconsarnedtaxpapers。SometimesIwishtherewa’n’tnotaxes。“
“Humph！I’vewishedthat，myself，more’nonce。Whydon’tyougo，ifyouwantto？Climbrightaboardherewithme。Plentyofroom。“
“Hey？Youmeanthat？Bygodfreysmighty！I’dliketo。“
“Sartin，Imeanit。Comeahead。“
Mr。Peppersadlyshookhishead。“IguesslikelyI’dbetternot，“
hesighed。“Lavinymightnotliketohavemeleaveher。“
“Oh，fiddlesticks！shewon’tmind。I’lltakecareofyou。It’sperfectlysafe。Thereain’tgoin’tobenowomenaround。Haw！
haw！haw！“
HewasstilllaughingathisownjokewhenthroughtheslatsoftheclosedblindsshadingthePepperhouseparlorashrillvoicewasheardspeaking。
“Goahead，’Bishydear，“calledLavinia。“Goaheadandgo。A
changeofair’lldoyougood。“
Kyanwhirledandclutchedatthegate。
“HEY？“heshoutedinamazement。
“Areyoudeef？OrisMr。Ellislaughin’sohardthatyoucan’thear？Whatisitthat’ssofunny，Mr。Ellis？“
Thelight-keepershutoffhislaughterbyasuddenandratherfrightenedgulp。
“Oh，nothin’，nothin’，MissPepper。“Niceday，ain’tit？“
“Iguessso。Iain’thadtimetolookatityet。Ihavetowork。
Ican’tletmywifedoitforme，likesomefolks，andtake’daysoff。’Whatwasityouwaslaughin’at，Mr。Ellis？“
“Nothin’，nothin’atall。“
“Hum！Theyusedtotellmetherewasonlyonekindofpersonwholaughedatnothin’。Well，’BishPepper，whatareyoustandin’
therefor？Ifyou’regoin’，comerightintothehouseandchangeyourclothesthisminute。“
Kyanobeyed。Shortlyhereappeared，clothedlikealilyofthefield，onethathadlongsincegonetoseed。HeclamberedupbesideNoahandtheydroveoff。
“Jerushy！“exclaimedthelightkeeper。“Thisiskindofunexpected，ain’tit？What’sgotintohertomakehersoaccommodatin’？“
“Godfreysmighty！“wasthedazedreply，“Idon’tknow。Thisasfastasyoucandrive？Hurryup，aforeshechangeshermind。“
SoithappenedthatMr。PepperwasinBayportwiththerest，awaitingthestagewhichwasbringingTrumet’slatestcelebrityfromSandwich。
“Hereshecomes！“shoutedEzraSimmons，thepostmaster。“Rightontime，too。“
Sureenough！Acloudofdustinthedistance，risingonthespringwind，andtherattleofrapidlyturningwheels。Thereceptioncommitteepreparedforaction。CaptainElkanahdescendedfromthecarriageandmovedinstatelydignitytothefrontofthepost-
officeplatform。
“Hum——ha！“hebarked，turningtohisfollowers。“Bereadynow。
Givehimagoodcheer，whenIsaytheword。Letitbehearty——
hearty，yes。“
Thestage，itsfourhorsesatatrot，swunguptotheplatform。
“Whoa！“roaredthedriver。
“Now！“orderedElkanah。“One——two——Hurrah！“
“Hurrah！“shoutedthecommittee，itsuninvitedguestsandtheaccompanyingcrowdofBayportmenandboyswhichhadgatheredtoassistinthewelcome。“Hurrah！“
“Hooray！“yelledKyan，alittlebehind，asusual。
Apassengerortwopeeredfromthecoachwindow。Thestagedriverironicallytouchedhiscap。
“Thankye，“hesaid。“Thankyeverymuch。I’vebeenhopin’forthisforalongtime，thoughI’daboutgivenupexpectin’it。I’mverymuchobliged。Won’tsomebodypleaseaskmetomakeaspeech？“
CaptainElkanahfrownedhisdisapproval。
“WearecheeringCap’nNathanielHammondofTrumet，“heexplainedhaughtily。“Weareheretomeethimandescorthimhome。“
Thedriversighed。“Youdon’tsay，“hesaid。“AndIthoughtmymeritshadbeenrecognizedatlast。And’twasallforCap’nHammond？Dear！dear！“
HewinkedatSimmons，whowantedtolaugh，butdidnotdare。
“Come！come！“saidCaptainElkanah。“Whereishe？Where’sCap’nHammond？“
“Well，now，I’lltellye；Idon’tknowwhereheis。“
“YouDON’T？Isn’thewithyou？“
“No，heain’t。Andhedidn’tcomeonthetrain，nuther。HeWASonit。TheconductortoldmeheseehimandsetalongwithhimbetweenstationsasfurasCohassetNarrows。Butafterthatheneverseehidenorhairofhim。Oh，that’sso！Here’sthemailbag，Ezry。“
CaptainElkanahlookedatthereceptioncommitteeanditlookedathim。Herewasamostdisconcertingsetbackforalltheplans。Thecommittee，afteraskingmore，andfruitlessquestions，wentintoexecutivesession。
CaptainZebsteppedbesidethestageandputonefootonthewheel。
“Say，Thad，“hewhispered，“isthatallyouknow？Wheredidhegoto？“
“Can’ttellyou，cap’n。TheconductorsaysheseehimaforetheygottoCohassetNarrowsandnotafter。Naturally，wes’posehegotoffthere。PrettygoodjokeonoldDaniels，Icallit。Servehimright，figgerin’totakeapassengerawayfromme。He，he！“
“Butyoudoknowmore，nowdon’tyou？Tellafeller——come！I
don’tlikeElkanahanybetter’nyoudo。“
“Well，“thedriver’svoicedroppedstilllower。“Well，“hewhispered，“Ididhearthismuch，thoughdon’tyoutellnoneofthem：AchapIknowwasonthetrainandhesaidheseeCap’nNatgetoffthecarsattheCohassetNarrowsdepotandtherewasawomanwithhim。“
“Awoman？AWOMAN？Whatwoman？“
“BlessedifIknow！Andhedidn’tnuther。Solong！Gitdap！“
ThereceptioncommitteeanditsescortdroveslowlybacktoTrumet。
TheDanielsfollowingwasdisgustedanddisappointed。CaptainElkanahhadfigureduponkeepingHammondunderhisownwinguntilhewassafelydepositedattheoldtavern。GracewasthereandElkanahmeantthatthesetwoshouldmeetbeforeanyinklingofEllery’sstoryreachedNat’sears。Incidentally，hecoulddropafewdamaginghintsconcerningtheminister’scharacter。TohurtElleryallhecouldandprejudiceHammondagainsthim——thatwastheplan，andnowitwasfrustrated。Thecaptainhadnotputinanappearanceandnooneknewwherehewasorwhenhewouldcomehome。
Obviously，therewasnothingtodoexceptgiveupthereceptionandawaitfurthernewsfromthemissingman。
SomeofthosepresentwishedtoremaininBayportuntilnight。
AnothertrainwasdueinSandwichand，possibly，Natmightcomeonthat。Theycouldtelegraphandfindoutwhetherornothedidcome，andifhedid，couldsendacarriageforhim。Butthissuggestionwasoverruled。Thereceptionwasoff。
Thehomewardjourneyhadsomeunpleasantincidents。SeveralCome-
Outershaddrivenover。Natbelongedtothem，sotheyfelt——hewasthesonoftheirdeadfounderandleader——andtheydeterminedtheRegularsshouldnothavehimalltothemselves。Theyhadcometobidhimwelcomeonbehalfoftheworshipersatthechapel。Nowtheytookadvantageofthegeneraldisappointmenttomakesarcasticandwould-be-humorousremarksloudenoughforthemajesticoccupantofthedecoratedcarriagetohear。
“Seemstome，“saidThophBlack，“thatthemflagsoughttobeha’fmast。Thatcraft’sindistress。“
“S-sh-h！“counciledhiscompanion，anotherCome-Outer。“Don’tbeirreverent。Lookwho’scruisin’under’em。That’stheKingofTrumet。Let’syouandmegoaheadandfiresalutes，Thoph。“
CaptainElkanahwrathfullyorderedtheflagstoberemovedfromthehorses’headsandfromthedashboard。
AsNoahEllisandhispassengerturnedintothelighthouselaneanothervehicleturnedoutofit。
“Whowasthat？“queriedKyan。“Lookedlikeoneoftheliverystablehorsestome。“
“’Twa’n’t。’TwasThankfulPayne’sandthatwashercarriage，too。
It’sgettin’sodarkIcouldn’tseewhowasdrivin’it，but’twasaman，anyhow。“
Kyanseemedtobepondering。“Iwonder，“hesaidslowly，“IwonderifthatcousinofhersfromSandwichisherevisitin’。ThatCalebPratt，seemstomehisnameis。“
“Don’tknow。Why？“
“Nothin’，nothin’。Ijustwondered，thatwasall。Thatmightexplainwhysheletme——“
“Hey？“
“Nothin’。Goodnight，Noah。I’mmuchobligedtoyoufortakin’meover，eveniftherewa’n’tnoreception。“
TrumetspentthateveningwonderingwhathadbecomeofNatHammond。
CaptainZebMayowonderedmostofall。Yethiswondermentwasaccompaniedbyvaguesuspicionsofthetruth。And，ateleveno’clock，whenthevillagewasinbed，ahorseandbuggymoveddowntheTurn-offandstoppedbeforetheHammondgate。Amanalightedfromthebuggyandwalkedbrisklyuptothesidedoor。Thereheknockedandthenwhistledshrilly。
Awindowoverheadwasopened。
“Whoisit？“askedafemininevoice。
“Don’tbefrightened，Gracie，“repliedthemanatthedoor。“It’sme——Nat。I’vecomehomeagain。“
CHAPTERXX
INWHICHTHEMINISTERRECEIVESALETTER
JohnEllerywasuneasy。Physicallyhewasverymuchbetter，somuchbetterthathewaspermittedtositupawhileeachday。Butmentallyhewasdisturbedandexcited，exactlytheconditionwhichthedoctorsaidhemustnotbein。KeziahandGracehadgoneawayandlefthim，andhecouldnotunderstandwhy。
Mrs。Higgins，Ike’smother，wasattheshantyandshedidherbesttosootheandquiethim。Shewasakindsoulandcapable，inherway，butshecouldnotanswerhisquestionssatisfactorily。
“Wherearethey？“hedemanded。“Whydidtheygo？Hasanythinghappened？Whenaretheycomingback？“
“Ican’ttellyoujustwhen，Mr。Ellery，“repliedMrs。Higgins。
“Gracehadtogohomefora——adayorsoandKeziahhadthingstoattendtoattheparsonage。Don’tyoufretyourselfaboutthem。“