But，accordingtothehousekeeper，CaptainHallwasoutofhistroublesandhadgonewherehewouldbehappyforeverandever。Soitseemedtoherstrangetobeexpectedtocryonhisaccount。HehadnotbeenhappyhereinOstable，or，atleast，hehadnotshownhishappinessinthewayotherpeopleshowedtheirs。Toherhehadbeenabig，beardedgiantofaman，whomshesawatinfrequentintervalsduringthedayandalwaysatnightjustbeforeshewenttobed。Hisroom，withtheold-fashionedsecretaryagainstthewall，andthestuffedgullontheshelf，andthebooksinthecupboard，andthepolishednarwhalhorninthecorner，wastoherasortofholyofholies，aplacewhereshewasledeacheveningatnineo’clock，atfirstbyMrs。Baileyand，later，byMrs。Hobbs，toshakethehandofthebigmanwholookedatherabsentlyoverhisspectaclesandsaidgoodnightinavoicenotunkindlybutexpressingnoparticularinterest。Atothertimesshewasstrictlyforbiddentoenterthatroom。
Occasionally，butveryrarely，shehadeatenSundaydinnerwithMarcellus。SheandthehousekeeperusuallyatetogetherandMr。
Hall’smealswereservedinwhatthechildcalled“thesmokeroom，“
meaningtheapartmentjustdescribed，whichwasatalltimesstronglyscentedwithtobacco。TheSundaydinnerswerestatelyandformalaffairsandwereprefacedbylecturesbythehousekeeperconcerningsittingupstraightandnotdisturbingCap’nHallbytalkingtoomuch。OnthewholeMary-’Gustawasrathergladwhenthemealswereover。Shedidnotdislikeherstepfather；hehadneverbeenroughorunkind，butshehadalwaysstoodinaweofhimandhadfeltthatheregardedherasa“peskynuisance，“somethingtobefedandthenshooedoutoftheway，asMrs。HobbsregardedDavid，thecat。Asforlovinghim，asotherchildrenseemedtolovetheirfathers；thatthegirlneverdid。Shewassurehedidnotloveherinthatway，andthathewouldnothavewelcomeddemonstrationsofaffectiononherpart。Shehadlearnedthereason，orshethoughtshehad：shewasaSTEPCHILD；thatwaswhy，andastepchildwasalmostasbadasa“changeling“inafairystory。
Hermothersheremembereddimlyandwiththatrecollectionwerememoriesofdayswhenshewaslovedandmademuchof，notonlybyMother，butbyCaptainHallalso。SheaskedMrs。Bailey，whomshehadlovedandwhoseleavingwasthegreatestgriefofherlife，somequestionsaboutthesememories。Mrs。BaileyhadhuggedherandhadtalkedagooddealaboutCaptainHall’sbeingachangedmansincehiswife’sdeath。“Heusedtobesodifferent，jollyandgood-
naturedandsociable；youwouldn’tknowhimnowifyouseenhimthen。Whenyourmammawastookitjustseemedtowilthimrightdown。Hewasawfulsickhimselfforaspell，andwhenhegotbetterhewaslikeheistoday。SeemsasifHEdiedtoo，asyoumightsay，andain’treallylivedsince。I’mawfulsorryforCap’nMarcellus。
Youmustberealgoodtohimwhenyougrowup，Mary-’Gusta。“
Andnowhehadgonebeforeshehadhadachancetogrowup，andMary-’Gustafeltanunreasonablesenseofblame。Butrealgrief，thedreadfulparalyzingrealizationoflosswhichanadultfeelswhenadearonedies，shedidnotfeel。
Shewasawedandalittlefrightened，butshedidnotfeellikecrying。Whyshouldshe？
“Mary-’Gusta！Mary-’Gusta！Wherebeyou？“
ItwasMrs。Hobbscalling。Mary-’Gustahurriedlyuntwistedherlegsandscrambledfrombeneaththedustcoverofthesurrey。David，whoseslumbersweredisturbed，rosealso，yawnedandstretched。
“HereIbe，Mrs。Hobbs，“answeredthegirl。“I’ma-comin’。“
Mrs。Hobbswasstandinginthedoorwayofthebarn。Mary-’Gustanoticedthatshewasnot，asusual，garbedingingham，butwasarrayedinherbestgo-to-meetinggown。
“I’ma-comin’，“saidthechild。
“Comin’，yes。Butwhereonearthhaveyoubeen？I’vebeenhuntingallovercreationforyou。Ididn’tsupposeyou’dbeouthere，onthisdayofallothers，with——withthatcritter，“indicatingDavid，whoappeared，blinkingsleepily。
“ImustsayIshouldn’tthinkyou’dbefussin’alongwithacattoday，“declaredMrs。Hobbs。
“Yes’m，“saidMary-’Gusta。Davidyawned，apparentlyexpressingaboredcontemptforhousekeepersingeneral。
“Comerightalongintothehouse，“continuedMrs。Hobbs。“It’shightimeyouwasgettin’readyforthefuneral。“
“Ready？How？“queriedMary-’Gusta。
“Why，changin’yourclothes，ofcourse。“
“Dofolksdressupforfunerals？“
“Coursetheydo。Whataquestion！“
“Ididn’tknow。I——I’veneverhadone。“
“Hadone？“
“ImeanI’veneverbeentoany。Whatdotheydressupfor？“
“Why——why，becausetheydo，ofcourse。Nowdon’taskanymorequestions，buthurryup。Whereareyougoin’now，formercysakes？“
“Iwasgoin’backafterRoseandRosette。Theyoughttobedressedup，too，hadn’tthey？“
“Theidea！Playin’dollstoday！IdeclareIneverseesuchachild！You’reareg’larlittle——littleheathen。Wouldyouwantanybodyplayin’dollsatyourownfuneral，I’dliketoknow？“
Mary-’Gustathoughtthisover。“Idon’tknow，“sheanswered，afterreflection。“IguessI’djustassoon。DotheyhavedollsupinHeaven，Mrs。Hobbs？“
“Mercyonus！Ishouldsaynot。DollsinHeaven！Theidea！“
“Norcatseither？“
“No。Don’tasksuchwickedquestions。“
Mary-’Gustaaskednomorequestionsofthatkind，butherconvictionthatHeaven——Mrs。Hobbs’Heaven——wasagoodplaceforhousekeepersandgrown-upsbutapooroneforchildrenwasstrengthened。
TheyenteredthehousebythekitchendoorandascendedthebackstairstoMary-’Gusta’sroom。Theshadesinalltheroomsweredrawnandthehousewasdarkandgloomy。Thechildwouldhaveaskedthereasonforthis，butatthefirsthintofaquestionMrs。Hobbsbadeherhush。
“Youmustn’ttalk，“shesaid。
“Whymustn’tI？“
“Because’tain’ttherightthingtodo，that’swhy。Nowhurryupandgetdressed。“
Mary-’Gustasilentlywriggledoutofhereverydayfrock，wasledtothewashstandandvigorouslyscrubbed。ThenMrs。Hobbscombedandbraidedwhatshecalledher“pigtails“andtiedabowofblackribbonattheendofeach。
“There！“exclaimedthelady。“You’recleanforonceinyourlife，anyhow。Nowhurryupandputonthemthingsonthebed。“
ThethingswereMary-’Gusta’sverybestshoesanddress；alsoapairofnewblackstockings。
Whenthedressingwasfinishedthehousekeeperstoodherinthemiddleofthefloorandwalkedaboutheronafinalroundofinspection。
“There！“shesaidagain，withasighofsatisfaction。“NobodycansayIain’ttookallthepainswithyouthatanybodycould。NowyoucomedownstairsandsetrightwhereItellyoutillIcome。Anddon’tyousayonesingleword。Notaword，nomatterwhathappens。“
Shetookthegirl’shandandledherdownthefrontstairs。AstheydescendedMary-’Gustacouldscarcelyrestrainagaspofsurprise。
Thefrontdoorwasopen——theFRONTdoor——andthechildhadneverseenitopenbefore，hadlongagodecidedthatitwasnotatrulydooratall，butmerelyamake-believelikethepaintedwindowsonthesidesofherdollhouse。ButnowitwaswideopenandMr。
Hallett，arrayedinasuitofblack，thecoatofwhichpuckeredunderthearms，wasstandingonthethreshold，lookingmoresoothythanever。Theparlordoorwasopenalso，andtheparloritself——
thebestfirstparlor，moresacredandforbiddeneventhanthe“smokeroom“——was，asmuchofitasshecouldsee，filledwithchairs。
Mrs。Hobbsledherintothelittleroomofftheparlor，the“backsettin’-room，“and，indicatingthehairclothandblackwalnutsofaagainstthewall，whisperedtohertositrightthereandnotmove。
“Mindnow，“shewhispered，“don’ttalkanddon’tstir。I’llbebackbyandby。“
Mary-’Gusta，leftalone，lookedwide-eyedaboutthelittlebacksitting-room。It，too，waschanged；notchangedasmuchasthefrontparlor，butchanged，nevertheless。Mostofthefurniturehadbeenremoved。Themostcomfortablechairs，includingtherockerwiththeparrot“tidy“ontheback，hadbeentakenaway。Oneortwoofthebolt-uprightvarietyremainedandthe“musicchair“wasstillthere，butpushedbackintoacorner。
Mary-’Gustasawthemusicchairandaquiverofguiltyfeartingedalongherspine；thatparticularchairhadalwaysbeen，toher，thebright，particulargloryofthehouse。Notbecauseitwasbeautiful，forthatitdistinctlywasnot；butbecauseofthemarvelloussecrethiddenbeneathitsupholsteredseat。CaptainMarcellushadbroughtithomeyearsandyearsbefore，whenhewasasea-goingbachelorandmadevoyagestoHamburg。Initsnormalconditionitwasaperfectlyquietanduglychair，buttherewasacatchunderonearmandamusicboxundertheseat。Andifthatcatchwerereleased，thenwhenanyonesatinit，themusicboxplayed“TheCampbell’sAreComing“withspiritandjingle。And，moreover，keptonplayingittothefinishunlessthecatchwaspushedbackagain。
ToMary-’Gustathatchairwasaperpetualfascination。Shehadbeenexpresslyforbiddentotouchit，hadbeenshutinthedarkclosetmorethanoncefortouchingit；but，nevertheless，thetemptationwasalwaysthereandshehadyieldedtothattemptationatintervalswhenMrs。Hobbsandherstepfatherwereout。Andthelasttimeshehadtoucheditshehadbrokenthecatch。Shehadwoundupthemusicbox，afterhearingitplay，butthecatchwhichmadeitaperfectlysafeseatandnotatrapfortheunwaryhadrefusedtopushbackintoplace。Andnowthereitwas，loadedandprimed，sotospeak，andshewasresponsible。Suppose——Oh，horriblethought！——supposeanyoneshouldsitinitthatafternoon！
Shegaspedandjumpedoffthesofa。ThensherememberedMrs。Hobbs’
partingcommandandstopped，hesitating。Mr。Hallett，standingattheendofthehall，bythefrontdoor，heardhermoveandtiptoedtothesitting-room。
“What’sthematter，littlegirl？“hewhispered，soothingly。
“No-nothin’，“gaspedMary-’Gusta。
“You’resure？“
“Ye-yes，sir。“
“Allright。Thenyousetdownonthesofaandkeepstill。Youmustn’tmakeanynoise。Thefolksarecomin’now。Setrightdownonthesofy，that’sagoodgirl！“
SobacktothesofawentMary-’Gusta，tremblingwithapprehension。
Fromherseatshecouldseealongthehallandalsothroughtheotherdoorintothe“bigsettin’-room，“where，also，therewererowsofchairs。And，toherhorror，thesechairsbegantofill。People，mostofthemdressedinchurch-goinggarmentswhichrattledandrustled，weretiptoeinginandsittingdownwhereshecouldseethemandtheycouldseeher。Shedidnotdaretomovenow；didnotdaregonearthemusicchairevenifgoingnearitwouldhavedoneanygood。Sheremaineduponthesofa，andshivered。
AfewmomentslaterMrs。Hobbsappeared，lookingverysolemnandSundayfied，andsatbesideher。ThenJudgeandMrs。Baxterwereshownintothelittleroomandtooktwooftheremainingchairs。
TheJudgebowedandsmiledandMrs。Baxterleanedoverandpattedherhand。Mary-’Gustatriedtosmile，too，butsucceededonlyinlookingmoremiserable。Mrs。Hobbswhisperedtohertositupstraight。
Therewasasteadystreamofpeoplethroughthefrontdoornow。
Theyallenteredtheparlorandmanystayedthere，butotherspassedonintothe“bigsettin’-room。“Thechairstherewerealmostalltaken；soonallweretakenandMr。Hallettwasobligedtoremoveoneofthoseinthesmallroom。Therewerebuttwoleftempty，oneatall，straightantiquewitharushseat，afamilyheirloom，andtheotherthemusicchair。Mary-’Gustastaredatthemusicchairandhopedandhoped。