SheraisedherhandandpointedashakingfingerstraightatCaptainShadrach。
Allthreeofherhearersweresurprised，ofcourse，butinthecaseoftheCaptainhimselfamazementwascoupledwithrighteousindignation。
“Wha-what？“hestammered。“Whosaidso？Whatkindoftalk’sthat？
SaidIwasgoin’toknockyourheadoff？Iwas？“
Baxterlaughed。“No，no，Mary-’Gusta，“hesaid；“you’remistaken。
Mrs。Hobbscouldn’thavesaidanysuchthing。You’remistaken，dear。“
“No，Iain’t，“withanothersob；“shedidsayso。Shesaidhewouldknockmyhead——ah——ah——offand——andputmeinjail，too。AndI
didn’tmeantodoit；honest，trulyIdidn’t。“
TheJudgelookedathiscompanionsandshookhisheadasiftheconundrumwasbeyondhisguessing。CaptainShadgroaned。
“Byfire！“heejaculated。“Allhandshavegoneloony，young-onesandall。And，“withconviction，“I’montheroadmyself。“
ZoethHamiltonsteppedforwardandheldouthishands。
“Comehere，dearie，“hesaid，gently；“comehereandtellmeallaboutit。NeithermenortheCap’n’sgoin’tohurtyouamite。Welikelittlegirls，bothofusdo。Nowyoucomeandtellmeaboutit。“
Mary-’Gusta’ssobsceased。Shelookedatthespeakerdoubtfully。
“Come，don’tbescared，“beggedZoeth。“We’regoin’tobegoodfriendstoyou。Weknewyourfatherandhethoughteverythingofus。Youain’tgoin’tobeafraidoffolksthatwasyourPa’schums。
Youcomehereandlet’stalkitover。“
SlowlyMary-’Gustacrossedtheroom。Zoethsatdownuponanemptyboxnearthedoorandliftedthegirltohisknee。
“Nowyouain’tafraidofme，beyou？“heaskedquietly。
Mary-’Gustashookherhead，butherbigeyeswerefixeduponCaptainShadrach’sface。
“No-o，“shefaltered。“I——IguessIain’t。Butyouwasn’ttheoneIdiditto。Itwashim。“
JudgingbytheCaptain’sexpressionhisconvictionthatallhands，himselfincluded，hadlosttheirreasonwasmomentarilygrowingfirmer。
“ME？“hegasped。“Youdonesomethin’tomeandI——well，byJudas，thisis——“
“Hush，Shadrach！Whatwasityoudone，Mary，thatmadeyouafraidofCap’nGould？Tellme。Iwon’thurtyouandIwon’tletanybodyelse。“
“YOUwon’tlet——ZoethHamilton，Iswan，I——“
“Bestill，Shadrach，formercysakes！Now，whatwasit，dearie？“
Mary-’Gustahesitated。ThensheburiedherfaceinMr。Hamilton’sjacketandsobbedaconfession。
“I——Imadeitgo，“shecried。“I——Ibrokethe——thecatch——anditwaswoundupand——anditwentoff。ButIdidn’tknow。Ididn’tmean——“
“There，there，courseyoudidn’t。Weknowyoudidn’t。Whatwasitthatwentoff？“
“The——themusicchair。ItwasinthecornerandMr。Halletttookitand——andIcouldn’tsayanything’causeMrs。HobbssaidImustn’tspeakawordatthefuneral。And——andhesetinitanditplayedand——Oh，don’tlethimputmeinjail！Pleasedon’t。“
Anotherburstoftears。Mary-’GustaclungtightlytotheHamiltonjacket。JudgeBaxterlookedasifalighthadsuddenlybrokenuponthedarknessofhismind。
“Isee，“hesaid。“Youwereresponsibleforthe’Campbells。’I
see。“
Shadrachdrewalongbreath。
“Whew！“hewhistled。“Soshewastheone。Well，Iswan！“
Zoethstrokedthechild’shair。
“That’sallright，dearie，“hesaid。“Nowdon’tyouworryaboutthat。Wedidn’tknowwhodidit，butnowwedoandit’sallright。
Weknowyoudidn’tmeanto。“
“Won’t——won’theknockmyheadoff？“
“No，no，coursehewon’t。Tellherso，Shadrach。“
CaptainShadrachpulledathisbeard。Thenheburstintoalaugh。
“Iwon’thurtyoufornothin’，sis，“hesaid，heartily。“It’sallrightanddon’tyoufretaboutit。Accidentswillhappeneveninthebestregulated——er——funerals；though，“withabroadgrin，“I
hopeanotheronelikethat’llneverhappentoME。Nowdon’tyoucryanymore。“
Mary-’Gustaraisedherheadandregardedhimsteadily。
“Won’tIbeputinjail？“sheasked，morehopefully。
“Indeedyouwon’t。Ineverputanybodyinjailinmylife；though，“
withanemphaticnod，“there’ssomefolksoughttogothereforfrightenin’childrenoutoftheirsenses。DidthatMrs。HobbstellyouIwasgoin’to——whatwasit？——knockyourheadoffandalltherest？“
“Yes，sir，shedid。“
“Well，she’sa——she’swhatsheis。Whatelsedidshesaytoyou？“
“She——shesaidIwasabad，wickedchildandshehopedI’dbesenttothe——theorphans’home。Ifshewastohavethecareofme，shesaid，she’dmakemewalkachalkorknowwhy。AndshesentmetomyroomandsaidIcouldn’thaveanysupper。“
ZoethandtheCaptainlookedateachother。Baxterfrowned。
“Ontheverydayofherfather’sfuneral，“hemuttered。
“Can’tIhaveanysupper？“beggedMary-’Gusta。“I’mawfulhungry；I
didn’twantmuchdinner。“
Zoethnodded。Histone，whenhespoke，wasnotsomildaswasusualwithhim。
“Youshallhaveyoursupper，“hesaid。
“And——andmustIgototheorphans’home？“
Nooneansweredatonce。ZoethandCaptainShadagainlookedateachotherandtheJudgelookedatthemboth。
“MustI？“repeatedMary-’Gusta。“I——Idon’twantto。I’dratherdie，Iguess，andgotoHeaven，sameasMotherandFather。ButMrs。
Hobbssaystheydon’thaveanydollsnorcatsinHeaven，soIdon’tknow’sI’dwanttogothere。“
Baxterwalkedtothewindowandlookedout。CaptainShadrachreachedintohispocket，producedacrumpledhandkerchief，andblewhisnoseviolently。Zoethstrokedthechild’shair。
“Mary-’Gusta，“hesaid，afteramoment，“howwouldyouliketogoovertoSouthHarnissand——andseemeandCap’nGouldalittlewhile？Justmakeusavisit，youknow。Thinkyou’dlikethat？“
TheCaptainstarted。“Goodland，Zoeth！“heexclaimed。“Becarefulwhatyou’resayin’。“
“Iain’tsayin’anythingdefinite，Shadrach。Iknowhowyoufeelaboutit。Ijustwantedtoseehowshefeltherself，that’sall。
Thinkyou’dlikethat，Mary-’Gusta？“
Mary-’Gustathoughtitover。“IguessmaybeIwould，“shesaid，“ifIcouldtakemydollsandDavid。Iwouldn’twanttoleaveDavid。
Mrs。Hobbsdon’tlikecats。“
AndatthatmomentMrs。Hobbsherselfappearedinthedoorwayofthecarriageroom。Shesawthechildandhereyessnapped。
“Soshewashere，“shesaid。“Ithoughtasmuch。Mary-’Gusta，whatdidyourunawayfromthatroomfor？Didn’tIforbidyouleavin’
it？She’sbeenabadgirl，JudgeBaxter，“sheadded，“andIcan’tmakeherbehave。Itrymybest，butI’msureIdon’tknowwhattodo。“
CaptainShadrachthrustbothhandsintohispockets。
“Itellyouwhattodo，“hesaid，sharply。“Yougointothehouseandputsomeofherthingsintoavaliseorsatchelorsomethin’。
Andhurryupasfastasyoucan。“
Mrs。Hobbswasastonished。
“Put’eminasatchel？“sherepeated。“Whatfor？Where’sshegoin’？“
“She’sgoin’homealongwithmeandZoeth。Andshe’sgottostartinsideofhalfanhour。Youhurry。“
“But——but——“