don’t。“
“Whydidn’tyoutellhimtogetout？“
“Iwantedtoseehissamples。ItistimeforustobuyourChristmasthingsandIhadratherchoosethemmyself，that’sall。“
“Oh！ButMr。HamiltonortheCaptain——Ishouldthink——“
“Oh，theymighthaveboughtsomethatwecouldn’tsell。“
“Thebeauty-boxes，forinstance？“
Mary-’Gustasmiled。“Why，yes，“sheadmitted；“perhaps。“
“Isee。Butitwasratheranordealforyou。Doyouhavetoenduremuchofthatsortofthing？“
“Nomorethananygirlwhokeepsstore，Iguess。“
AtthedinnertablethateveningKeithreferredtohisexperienceaslistenerinHamiltonandCompany’sshop。
“Thatgirlwiththequeername，“hesaid，“anieceofthosetwooldchapswhoruntheplace，Ibelievesheis。Doyouknowanythingabouther，Gertrude？“
BeforeMrs。Keithcouldreply，Ednaspoke：
“AskSam，Dad，“shesaid，mischievously。“Samknowsabouther。Hejustadoresthatstore；hespendshalfhistimethere。“
“Nonsense，Edna！“protestedSam，turningred。“Idon’tdoanysuchthing。“
“Oh，yes，youdo。AndyouknowaboutMary-’Gustatoo。Hesaysshe’sapeach，Daddy。“
“Humph！“gruntedherbrother，indignantly。“Well，sheisone。
She’sgoteverygirlinyoursetskinnedamileforlooks。ButI
don’tknowanythingabouther，ofcourse。“
Mrs。Keithbrokein。“Skinnedamile！“sherepeated，withashudder。“Sam，whatlanguageyoudouse！Yes，John，“sheadded，addressingherhusband。“Iknowthegirlwell。She’sprettyandsheissensible。ForagirlwhohashadnoopportunitiesandhaslivedallherlifehereinSouthHarnisssheisreallyquiteremarkable。Whydoyouspeakofher，John？“
Mr。KeithrelatedapartoftheconversationbetweenMary-’GustaandMr。Kron。
“Shehandledthefellowsplendidly，“hesaid。“Shetalkedbusinesswithhimandshewouldn’tlethimtalkanythingelse。Butitwasplainenoughtoseethatshefeltinsultedandangry。Itseemsapitythatagirllikethatshouldhavetoputupwiththatsortofthing。Iwonderifheruncles，oldMr。HamiltonandCaptainShadrach，realizewhathappenswhenthey’renotabout？Howwouldtheytakeit，doyouthink，ifIdroppedahint？“
Ednalaughed。“Youwouldhavetobeverycareful，Daddy，“shesaid。
“Mr。HamiltonandtheCaptainidolizeMary-’Gustaandshejustworshipsthem。Besides，sheisn’treallytheirniece，youknow。
Sheisayoungladyofindependentmeans——atleast，soeverybodysays。“
Herfatherwassurprised。Heaskedwhatshemeantby“independentmeans。“Mrs。Keithanswered。
“Themeansarenotveryextensive，Iimagine，“shesaid。“ThestoryisthatthisMary-’Gusta——whytheypersistincallingherbythatdreadfulnameIcan’tunderstand——isthedaughterofaformerfriendandpartner。Mr。HamiltonandCaptainGouldadoptedherandshehaslivedwiththemeversince。Shehasmoneyofherown，thoughnotwoofthetownspeopleagreeastohowmuch。I’vehearditestimatedallthewayfromfivetofiftythousand。Sheneverspeaksofitandthosequeeroldunclesofherskeeptheiraffairsverymuchtothemselves。ButIagreewithyou，John；itisashamethatsheshouldhavetospendherlifehereinSouthHarniss。Ithinkweoughttodosomethingforher，ifwecan。Ishallthinkitover。“
Mrs。Keithwasalwaysdoingsomethingforsomebody。AthomeinChicagoshewaspresidentofherwomen’sclubandidentifiedwithgoodnessknowshowmanycharitablesocieties。InSouthHarnissshewasactiveinchurchandsewingcircles。Herenthusiasmwasalwaysgreat，buthertactwassometimeslacking。SouthHarnisspeople，someofthem，wereinclinedtoconsiderherasaself-appointedbossinterferingwhereshehadnobusiness。
Herhusbandlookedatrifledubious。
“Becareful，Gertrude，“hecautioned。“Lookoutyoudon’toffend。
TheseCapeCoddersareself-respectingandtouchy，youknow。Anyoneinterferingwiththeirprivateaffairsislikelytogetintotrouble。“
Hiswiferesentedthewarning。“Don’tthrowcoldwateroneverything，John，“shesaid。“IknowmoreaboutCapeCoddersthanyoudo。Youonlymeetthemforafewweekseachsummer。IflattermyselfthatIknowthemandthattheyknowandtrustme。OfCOURSE
Ishallbecareful。AndIshallthinktheMary-’Gustamatterover。“
Shedidthinkitoverandaweeklatershecametoherhusbandoverflowingwiththeexcitementofabrilliantidea。Acousinofhers，amaidenladyofsixtyorthereabouts，wealthyandasemi-
invalidwhocherishedherill-health，wasinneedofafemalecompanion。Mrs。KeithwascertainthatMary-’Gustawouldbejustthepersontofillthatneed。
Mr。Keithwasbynomeanssocertain。Heraisedsomeobjections。
“Humph，“hesaid。“Well，Gertrude，tobefrank，Idon’tthinkmuchofthescheme。CousinClarahashadonecompanionaftertheotherforthirtyyears。Noneofthemhasstayedwithherverylong。Sherequiresasortofcombinationfriendandlady’smaidandsecretaryandwaitress，andIdon’tthinkourMary-’Gustawouldenjoythatsortofjob。Icertainlyshouldn’t——withClara。“
Hiswifewasindignant。“Imighthaveknownyouwouldbereadywiththecoldwater，“shedeclared。“Clarais——well，cranky，andparticularandallthat，buttheopportunityiswonderful。Thegirlwouldtravelandmeetthebestpeople——“
“Shemightremovetheirwraps，Iadmit。“
“Nonsense！AndifClaratookafancytohershemightleaveheragoodsumofmoneywhenshedied。“
“Perhaps，providingthegirldidn’tdiefirst。No，Gertrude，I’msorrytodisappointyou，butIdon’tthinkmuchofyouridea。
Anyway，accordingtomybelief，you’reapproachingthisthingfromthewrongend。Itisn’tthegirlherselfyoushouldtrytoinfluence，butheruncles，orguardians，orwhatevertheyare。IfI
knowher，andI’vebeenmakingsomeinquiries，shewon’tleavethem。
Shewillconsiderthattheyneedheratthehouseandstoreandshe’llstay。Theyaretheonestoinfluence。Ifthematterofherwelfareandfuturewasputtothemintherightlighttheymight——
well，theymightsacrificethemselvestobenefither。“
“Rubbish！IknowI’mright。She’lljumpattheopportunity。I
shalltellheraboutitthisveryafternoon。“
“Shewon’taccept；I’llbetonit。“
Hisprincipalreasonfornon-beliefinMary-’Gusta’sacceptancewashisknowledgeofhiswife’slackoftact。Thegirldidnotconsiderherself，norwasshe，asubjectofcharity。Andthepositionofcombinationfriendandservantwouldnotappealtoher。JohnKeithhadanideaofhisownconcerningMary-’Gusta，butitcouldwaituntilhiswife’shadfailed。
Itfailed，ofcourse，andMrs。Keith，thatevening，wasindignantandangry。
“Ineverwassotreatedinmylife，“shedeclared。“Thatgirldidn’tknowherplaceatall。I’mthrough。Iwashmyhandsofthewholematter。“
“Wasn’tshepolite？“inquiredKeith。
“Oh，shewaspoliteenough，asfarasthatgoes，butshewouldn’tevenconsidermyproposal。Wouldn’tevenhearmethrough。ShesaidshehadnothoughtofleavingSouthHarniss。Shewasquitesatisfiedandcontentedwhereshewas。OnewouldthinkIhadcometoaskafavorinsteadofconferringone。Why，sheseemedtothinkmyplanalmostridiculous。“
“Didshesayso？“
“No，ofcourseshedidn’t。Shethankedmeandallthat；butshesnubbedmejustthesame。I’mdisgusted。I’mthrough——absolutelyandcompletelythroughtryingtohelpthatgirl！“
Keithdidnotsay，“Itoldyouso“；infact，hesaidlittleornothingmoreatthetime。Butadayortwoafterwardshecalledatthestore。ZoethandCaptainShadrachwerealonethere，theirniecehavinggonedowntothehouse，afactofwhichthecallerwasaware。
ThepartnerslikedJohnKeith。Theyconsideredhim，asCaptainShadsaid，“afirst-rate，everydaysortoffeller，“whodidnotpatronizenorputonairs，eventhoughhewasa“summerman“andrich。Whenhetalkedwiththemitwasofthingstheyunderstood，localaffairs，thecranberrycrop，fishing，andthedoingsoftheBoardofSelectmen。Hewaswillingtolistenaswellastalkandhedidnotrefertopermanentresidentsas“natives，“ahabitofhiswife’swhichirritatedtheCaptainextremely。
“Jumpin’fire！“saidthelatterononeoccasion，“everytimethatwomancallsustownfolks’natives’Ifeelasifshecal’latedI
livedupatreeandchuckedcoconutsatfolks。Idon’twondersomeoftheSouthSeaIslandsheatheneatmissionaries。IfIATEthatwomanshemightagreewithme；shedon’tas’tis。EverytimeIsayyesshesaysno，andthatmakesmethinkyesharder’never。“