“Oh，blameitontome，ofcourse！“
“Iain’tblamin’anybody。Butshe’shereandwe’vegottodecidewhethertosendherawayornot。Shallwe？“
TheywereinterruptedbyMary-’Gustaherself，whoenteredthebarn，wherethediscussiontookplace，adollunderonearmandaveryseriousexpressiononherface。
“Hello！“hailedZoeth。“What’sthematter？“
Mary-’Gustaseatedherselfuponanemptycranberrycrate。Thepartnershadajointinterestinasmallcranberrybogandthecratewasoneofseveralunusedthepreviousfall。
“There’snothin’thematter，“shesaid，solemnly。“I’vebeenthinkin’，that’sall。“
“Wanttoknow！“observedtheCaptain。“Well，whatmadeyoudoanythingasriskyasthat？“
Mary-’Gusta’sforeheadpuckered。
“Iwasplayin’withJimmieBacheldoryesterday，“shesaid，“andhemademethink。“
AbnerBacheldorwasthenearestneighbor。HisramshackledwellingwasaneighthofamilefromtheGould-Hamiltonplace。Abnerhadthereputationofbeingthemeanestmanintown；alsohehadalargefamily，ofwhichJimmie，eightyearsold，wastheyoungest。
“Humph！“sniffedCaptainShad。“SoJimmieBacheldormadeyouthink，eh？Inevershouldhaveexpecteditfromoneofthattribe。How’dhedoit？“
“Heaskedmeaboutmyrelations，“saidMary-’Gusta，“andwhenIsaidIhadn’tgotanyhewasawfulsurprised。Hehaseversomany，sistersandbrothersandauntsandcousinsand——Oh，everything。Hethought’twasdreadfulfunnymynothavin’any。IthinkI’doughttohavesome，don’tyou？“
Thepartners，lookingratherfoolish，saidnothingforamoment。
ThenZoethmutteredthathedidn’tknowbutshehad。
“Yes，“saidMary-’Gusta，“I——Ithinkso。YouseeI’m——ImeanIwasastepchild’longasfatherwashere。Nowhe’sdeadandIain’teventhat。AndIain’tanybody’scousinnornephewnorniece。I
justain’tanything。I’mdifferentfromeverybodyIknow。And——
and——“verysolemnly——“Idon’tliketobesodifferent。“
Herlipquiveredasshesaidit。Sittingthereonthecranberrycrate，huggingherdolls，shewasapatheticlittlefigure。Againthepartnersfoundithardtoanswer。Mr。HamiltonlookedattheCaptainandthelatter，hisfingersfidgetingwithhiswatchchain，avoidedthelook。Thegirlwenton。
“Iwasthinking，“shesaid，“hownice’twouldhavebeenifI’dhada——abrotherorsomebodyofmyveryown。I’vegotchildren，ofcourse，butthey’reonlydollsandacat。They’renice，buttheyain’trealfolks。IwishIhadsomerealfolks。Doyousupposeif——
ifIhavetogotothe——theorphans’home，there’dbeanybodytherethatwouldbemyrelation？Ididn’tknowbuttheremightbeanotherorphantherewhodidn’thaveanybody，sameasme，andthenwecouldmakebelievewewas——wascousinsorsomethin’。Thatwouldbebetterthannothin’，wouldn’tit？“
Zoethsteppedforwardand，bendingover，kissedhercheek。“Neveryoumind，Mary-’Gusta，“hesaid。“Youain’tgonethereyetandaforeyoudomaybeCap’nShadandIcanthinkupsomerelationsforyou。“
“Realrelations？“askedMary-’Gusta，eagerly。
“Well，no，notrealones；I’mafraidwecouldn’tdothat。Butwhenitcomestomake-believe，thatmightbedifferent。“Hehesitatedaninstant，glancedattheCaptain，andthenadded：“Itellyouwhatyoudo：youjustpretendI’myourrelation，a——well，anuncle，that’sbetter’nnothin’。Youjustcallme’UncleZoeth。’That’llbeastart，anyhow。Thinkyou’dliketocallme’UncleZoeth’？“
Mary-’Gusta’seyesshone。“Oh，yes！“shecried。“ThenIcouldtellthatJimmieBacheldorIhadonerelation，anyhow。AndshallIcallCap’nGould’UncleShadrach’？“
Zoethturnedtohiscompanion。“Shallshe，Shadrach？“heasked，withamischievoussmile。
IfithadnotbeenforthatsmiletheCaptain’sreplymighthavebeendifferent。Butthesmileirritatedhim。Hestrodetothedoor。
“ZoethHamilton，“hesnapped，“howlongareyougoin’tosethere？
Ifyouain’tgotanythingelsetoattendto，Ihave。I’mgoin’uptothestore。It’sprettynigheighto’clockinthemornin’andthatstoreain’topenyet。“
“Wanttocomealong，Mary-’Gusta？“askedZoeth。“Shecancome，can’tshe，Shad？“
“Yes，yes，courseshecan，“moregenially。“Cal’latethere’ssomeofthosesassafras——checkerberrylozengersleftyet。Comeon，Mary-
’Gusta，ifyouwantto。“
Butthechildshookherhead。Shelookedwistfulandatrifledisappointed。
“I——IguessmaybeI’dbetterstayhere，“shesaid。“IoughttoseetoMinnehaha’ssorethroat。I’mgoin’toputsomeredflannel’roundit；Mr。Chasesayshecal’latesheknowswherethereissome。
Good-by，UncleZoeth。Good-by——er——Cap’nGould。“
Thepartnersdidnotconverseonthewaytothestore。Zoethmadeanattempt，butShadrachrefusedtoanswer。Hewassilentand，forhim，grumpyalltheforenoon。Anotherfortnightpassedbeforethesubjectofthedecisionwhichmust，soonerorlater，begivenJudgeBaxterwasmentionedbyeitherofthepair。
CHAPTERVI
Mary-’GustawasgrowingaccustomedtothelifeintheSouthHarnisshome。ShefounditagreatimprovementoverthatwhichshehadknownonPhinney’sHillatOstable。TherewasnoMrs。Hobbstonagandfindfault，therewerenolonelymeals，noscoldingswhenstockingsweretornorfaceandhandssoiled。Andasaplaygroundthebeachwasawonderland。
SheandJimmieBacheldorpickedupshells，builtsandforts，skippedflatstonesalongthesurfaceofthewaterathightide，andpickedupscallopsandanoccasionalquahaugatlowwater。Jimmiewas，generallyspeaking，asatisfactoryplaymate，althoughheusuallyinsisteduponhavinghisownwayand，whentheygotintotroublebecauseofthisinsistence，didnotpermitadherencetothetruthtoobstructthepathtoacompletealibi。Mary-’Gusta，whohadbeentaughtbythebelovedMrs。Baileytoconsiderlyingadeadlysin，regardedhercompanion’slapseswithalarmeddisapproval，butshewastooloyaltocontradictandmorethanonceenduredreproofwhenthefaultwasnothers。Shehadhadfewplaymatesinhershortlifeandthisone，thoughfarfromperfect，wasajoy。
Theyexploredthehousetogetherandfoundinthebigatticandthestuffy，shut-upbestparlorthemostfascinatingoftreasurehordes。
Theformer，withitsrowsofoldtrunksandseachestsundertheloweaves，thequeergarmentsanddiscardedhatshangingonthenails，theduskycornerswherethelightfromthelittlewindowsscarcelypenetratedevenonasunnyMayafternoon，wasthegirl’sespecialParadise。Hereshecametoplaybyherselfonrainydaysorwhenshedidnotcareforcompany。Herloveofmake-believeandromancehadfreescopehereandwithnoJimmietolaughandmakefunofherimaginingsshepretendedtoherheart’scontent。Differentpartsofthatgarretgradually，inhermind，cametohavenamesoftheirown。
Inthebrightspot，underthenorthwindow，wasHome，wheresheandthedollsandDavid——whenthecatcouldbecoaxedfromprowlingsandmousehuntstoquietandslumber——livedanddinedandentertainedandwereillorwellorhappyorfrightened，accordingtotheday’simaginativehappenings。SometimesHomewasacastle，sometimesaSwissFamilyRobinsoncave，sometimesastorewhichtransactedbusinessafterthefashionofHamiltonandCompany。AndinothermoreorlessfixedspotsandcornerswereEurope，towhichthefamilyvoyagedoccasionally；NiagaraFalls——Mrs。Bailey’shoneymoonhadbeenspentattherealNiagara；theKing’spalace；thedenofthewickedwitch；SherwoodForest；andJordan，MarshandCompany’sstoreinBoston。
JimmieBacheldorlikedthegarretwellenough，butimaginationwasnothisstrongestqualityandthebestparlorhadmorecharmsforhim。InthatparlorwerethetrophiesofCaptainShadrach’sseafaringdays——whales’teeth，polishedandwithpicturesofshipsuponthem；themodelofaChinesejunk；asea-turtleshell，flippers，headandall，exactlylikearealturtleexcept，asMary-
’Gustasaid，’itdidn’thaveanyworks’；aglassbottlewithamodelofthebarkTreasureSeekerinside；anEskimolancewithabonehandleandanivorypoint；acocoanutcarvedtolookliketheheadandfaceofafunnyoldman；aCubanmachete；andasetofivorychessmenwithChineseknightsandkingsandqueens，allcompleteandsetoutunderaglasscover。
ThejunkandthelanceandthemacheteandtheresthadafascinationforJimmie，astheywouldhavehadformostboys，butforhimtheparlor’sstrongesttemptationlayinthefactthatthechildrenwereforbiddentoplaythere。ZoethandtheCaptain，havingbeenbroughtupinNewEnglandfamiliesoftheold-fashionedkind，reveredtheirparlorasaplacetoopreciousforuse。They，themselves，entereditnotoftenerthanthreetimesayear，andIsaiahwentthereonlywhenhefeltinclinedtodust，whichwasnotoften。ShadrachhadexhibiteditstreasurestothechildrenoneSundaymorningwhenZoethwasatchurch，buthecautionedthemagainstgoingtherebythemselves。“You’dbeliabletobreaksomethin’，“hetoldthem，“andsomeofthemthingsinthereyoucouldn’tbuywithmoney。They’vebeenbroughtfromprettymucheverywheresincreation，thosethingshave。“
But，inspiteofthewarning，orbecauseofit，Jimmiewas，asIsaiahwouldhavesaid，“possessed“tovisitthatparlor。HecoaxedandteasedanddaredMary-’Gustatotakeadvantageofthesteward’ssteppingoutofthehouseorbeingbusyinthekitchentoopenthatparlordoorandgoinwithhimandpeepatandhandlethetreasures。
Mary-’Gustaprotested，butyoungBacheldorcalledheracowardanddeclaredhewouldn’tplaywithcowardsand’fraid-cats，soratherthanbeoneofthosedetestablecreaturessheusuallyswallowedherscruplesandfollowedthetempter。Itwasarisk，ofcourse，butarealadventure；and，likemanyadventurers，thepaircametogrief。