“Eh？Oh——er——SouthHarniss。Littletowndownneartheelbow。Doyouknowit？“
Marywassurprised，ofcourse。Theanswerwhichwasonthetipofhertonguewasnaturally，“Why，yes，Ilivethere。“Butshedidnotmakethatanswer，althoughshehasoftenwondered，since，why。Whatshesaidwas：“Yes，IknowSouthHarniss。“
“Doyou，indeed？“wentonGreen。“Well，Idon’t，butIhaveknownsomepeoplewholivethereforeversolong。Myfatherknewthembeforeme。Theywerecustomersofhisandtheyhavebeenbuyingofourfirmforyears。TwooldchapswhokeepwhatIbelievetheywouldcalla’generalstore。’Fineoldfellows，bothofthem！
Differentascanbe，andcharacters，butpuregoldinside。Ihavehadsomebadnewsconcerningthem。They’reintroubleandI’mmightysorry。“
Marywasborednolonger。Sheleanedforwardandaskedbreathlessly：
“Whataretheirnames，Mr。Green？“
“Eh？Oh，thefirmnameisHamiltonandCompany。Thatissimpleandsaneenough，butthenamesofthepartnerswerecribbedfromthebookofLeviticus，Ishouldimagine——ZoethandShadrach！Ho，ho！
Thinkofit！ThinkofwishinganamelikeShadrachuponahelplessinfant。TheS。P。C。A。orC。C。orsomethingoughttobetoldofit。Ho，ho！“
Helaughedaloud。Marydidnotlaugh。
“They——yousaidtheywereintrouble，“shesaidslowly。“Whatsortoftrouble？“
“Eh？Oh，theusualkind。Thekindofgoblin，younglady，whichislikelytogetusbusinessmenifwedon’twatchout——financialtrouble。ThefirmofHamiltonandCompanyhasnotkeptabreastofthetimes，that’sall。Foryearstheydidagoodbusinessandthensomenewcompetitorswithup-to-dateideascametotownand——puff！——
good-bytotheoldfogies。Theyareinabadway，I’mafraid，andwillhavetogounder，unless——eh？Butthere！youaren’tparticularlyinterested，Idaresay。ItwasyourmentionofCapeCodwhichsetmegoing。“
“Oh，butIaminterested；Iam，really。Theymustgounder，yousay？Fail，doyoumean？“
“Yes，thatiswhatImean。Iamverysorry。Ourfirmwouldgoonsellingthemgoodsalmostindefinitelyfor，asIhavesaid，theyareoldcustomersandinawayoldfriends。Buttheyareabsolutelyhonestandtheywillnotbuywhattheycannotpayfor。
Wehavesomepitifullettersfromthem——notwhining，youknow，butstraightforwardandfrank。Theydon’taskfavors，buttellusjustwheretheystandandleaveittoustorefusecreditifweseefit。
Itisjustoneofthelittletragediesoflife，MissLathrop，butI’mmightysorryforthosetwooldfriendsofmyfather’sandmine。
Andtheworstofitisthat，frominquiriesIhavemade，itwouldseemthattheyhavebeensacrificingthemselvesbyspendingtheirmoneylavishlyanduselesslyonsomeoneelse。Theyhaveagirlinthefamily，asortofadoptedniece，whateverthatis，and，notcontentwithbringingheruplikeasensible，respectablecountrygirl，theymustdressherlikeamillionaire’sdaughterandsendherofftosomeextravagantlyexpensiveseminarywhere——Why，whatisthematter？Eh？Goodheavens！WhathaveIbeensaying？Youdon’tknowthesepeople，doyou？“
Maryturnedaverywhitefacetowardhis。
“Theyaremyuncles，“shesaid。“MyhomeisatSouthHarniss。
Pleaseexcuseme，Mr。Green。“
Sheroseandwalkedaway。Afewminuteslater，whenMr。Howeapproachedthesofa，hefoundhisfriendsittingthereon，staringatnothinginparticularandferventlyrepeatingunderhisbreath，“Thedevil！Thedevil！Thedevil！“
Marygotawayassoonasshecould。HerlooksattractedBarbara’sattentionandtheyoungladyaskedifshewerenotfeelingwell。
Maryrepliedthatshewasnot，andalthoughitwasnotseriouspleasemightshebepermittedtogohomeatonce？ShewassenthomeintheautomobileandwhenshereachedherownroomherfirstactwastofindandopenIsaiah’sletterwhichhadarrivedthatafternoon。Withtremblingfingersshehelditbeneaththegasjetandthisiswhatsheread：
DEARMARYAUGUSTA：
IhadnotoughttowriteyouthisandyourUncleswouldprettynighkillmeiftheyknewIdonesobutIamgoingtojustthesame。
Busineshasgonetorackandruin。Hamilton&Co。thankstothoseandotherdarnedstores，ain’tmakingenoughtokeepboddyandsoultogetherandtheyaremakingthemselvessickoverit。Idon’tknowwhatwillbecomeofthemtoifsomethingorsomeboddydoesnotthinkupsomewaytohelpthemovertheshoals。Theydonottellanyoneandleastofalltheywouldentwantyoutobetold，butIthinkyououghttobe。Theyhavedoneawholelotforyou。Can’tyouthinkupsomewaytodosomethingforthem。ForgodSakeswriterightoff。
Yourstruly，ISAIAHCHASE。
CHAPTERXVII
Peoplegrowolder，evenontheCape，wherehurry——exceptbytheautomobilesofsummerresidents——isnotconsideredgoodformandwhereFatherTimeissupposedtositdowntorest。JudgeBaxter，Ostable’sleadingattorney-at-law，hadlivedquietlyandcomfortablyduringtheyearswhichhadpassedsince，asMarcellusHall’slawyer，hereadtheastonishinglettertothepartnersofHamiltonandCompany。Hewasoverseventynow，andbehindhisbackOstablefolksreferredtohimas“oldJudgeBaxter“；butalthoughhisspectacleswerestrongerthanatthattime，hismentalfacultieswerenotperceptiblyweaker，andhewalkedwithasfirm，ifnotsorapid，astride。Sowhen，atelevenintheforenoonofthedayfollowingMary’sdinnerattheHowes’home，theJudgeheardsomeoneentertheouterroomofhisofficesneartheOstablecourthouse，herosefromhischairintheinnerroomand，withoutwaitingforhisclerktoannouncethevisitor，openedthedoorhimself。
Thecallerwhosequestiontheclerkwasabouttoanswer，orwouldprobablyhaveansweredassoonashefinishedstaringinawestruckadmiration，wasayounglady。TheJudgelookedatheroverhisspectaclesandthenthroughthemanddecidedthatshewasastranger。Hesteppedforward。
“IamJudgeBaxter，“hesaid。“Didyouwishtoseeme？“
Sheturnedtowardhim。“Yes，“shesaidsimply。“Ishouldliketotalkwithyouforafewmomentsifyouarenottoobusy。“
TheJudgehesitatedmomentarily。Onlytheweekbeforeapersistentandfluentyoungfemalehadtalkedhimintothepurchaseofasetof“LivesoftheGreatJurists，“thesametobepaidforinthirty-fiveinstallmentsoftwodollarseach。Mrs。Baxterhadpronouncedthe“GreatJurists“greathumbugs，andherhusband，althoughhepretendedtofindthe“Lives“veryinteresting，wassecretlyinclinedtoagreewithher。Sohehesitated。Theyoungwoman，evidentlynoticinghishesitation，added：
“IfyouareengagedjustnowIshallwait。Icametoseeyouonamatterofbusiness，legalbusiness。“
JudgeBaxtertriedtolookasifnothoughtofhisvisitor’shavinganotherpurposehadenteredhismind。
“Oh，yes，certainly！Ofcourse！“hesaidhastily，andadded：“Willyouwalkin？“
Shewalkedin——totheprivateoffice，thatis——andtheJudge，followingher，closedthedoor。Hisclerkstaredwistfullyathisownsideofthatdoorforafullminute，thensighedheavilyandresumedhiswork，whichwascopyingalistofhouseholdeffectsbelongingtoalatelamentedwhohadwilledthem，separatelyandindividually，togoodnessknewhowmanycousins，first，second，andthird。
IntheprivateofficetheJudgeaskedhisvisitortobeseated。Shetookthechairhebroughtforward。Thenshesaid：
“Youdon’trememberme，Ithink，JudgeBaxter。IamMaryLathrop。“
TheJudgelookedpuzzled。Thenamesoundedfamiliar，buthecouldnotseemtoidentifyitsowner。
“PerhapsyouwouldremembermeifItoldyoumywholename，“
suggestedthelatter。“IamMaryAugustaLathrop。IthinkperhapsyouusedtocallmeMary’-Gusta；mostpeopledid。“
ThentheJudgeremembered。Hisastonishmentwasgreat。
“Mary-’GustaLathrop！“herepeated。“Mary-’Gusta！Areyou——？Why，itscarcelyseemspossible！Andyet，nowthatIlook，Icanseethatitis。Blessmysoulandbody！Howdoyoudo？Itmustbealmost——er——sevenoreightyearssinceIhaveseenyou。SouthHarnissisonlyafewmilesoff，butIamgetting——er——olderandI
don’tdriveasmuchasIusedto。Butthere！Iamverygladtoseeyounow。AndhowareCaptainGouldandMr。Hamilton？Thereisnoneedtoaskhowyouare。Yourlooksarethebestanswertothat。“
Marythankedhimandsaidshewasverywell。Heruncles，too，werewell，sheadded，ortheywerewhenshelastheard。
“Iamonmywayhometothemnow，“sheadded。“ForthepasttwoyearsIhavebeenatschoolinBoston。IlefttherethismorningandgotoffthetrainherebecauseIwishedverymuchtoseeyou，JudgeBaxter。Yesterday——lastevening——Iheardsomething——Iwastoldsomethingwhich，ifitistrue，is——is——“
Shebitherlip。Shewasevidentlyfightingdesperatelynottoloseself-control。TheJudgewassurprisedanddisturbed。
“Why，Mary！“heexclaimed。“IsupposeImaycallyouMarystill；asanoldfriendIhopeImay。Whatisthematter？Whatdidyouhear？
Whatdoyouwishtoseemeabout？“
Shewascalmenoughnow，butherearnestnesswasunmistakable。
“Iheardsomethingconcerningmyselfandmyuncleswhichsurprisedandshockedmedreadfully，“shesaid。“Icanhardlybelieveit，butImustknowwhetheritistrueornot。Imustknowatonce！Youcantellmethetruth，JudgeBaxter，ifyouonlywill。ThatiswhyIcameherethismorning。Willyoutellittome？Willyoupromisethatyouwillanswermyquestions，everyone，withtheexacttruthandnothingelse？Andanswerthemall？Willyoupromisethat？“
TheJudgelookedevenmoresurprisedandpuzzled。Herubbedhischinandsmileddoubtfully。
“Well，Mary，“hesaid，“IthinkIcanpromisethatifIansweryourquestionsatallIshallanswerthemtruthfully。ButIscarcelyliketopromisetoanswerthemwithoutknowingwhattheyare。A
lawyerhasagoodmanysecretsintrustedtohimandheisobligedtobecareful。“
“Iknow。ButthisisasecretinwhichIaminterested。Iaminterestedinitmorethananyoneelse。Imustknowthetruthaboutit！IMUST！Ifyouwon’ttellmeIshallfindoutsomehow。WILL
youtell？“
JudgeBaxterrubbedhischinagain。
“Don’tyouthinkyouhadbetteraskyourquestions？“hesuggested。
“Yes；yes，Ido。Iwill。Howmuchmoneydidmystepfather，CaptainMarcellusHall，havewhenhedied？“
TheJudge’schin-rubbingceased。Hiseyebrowsdrewtogether。
“Whydoyouwanttoknow？“heasked，afteramoment。
“BecauseIdo。BecauseitisveryimportantthatIshould。Itismyrighttoknow。Washearichman？“
“Um——er——no。Ishouldnotcallhimthat。Hardlyarichman。“
“Washeverypoor？“
“Mary，Idon’texactlyseewhy——“
“Ido。Oh，JudgeBaxter，pleasedon’tthinkIamaskingthisforanyselfishreasons。Iamnot，indeedI’mnot！Allmylife，eversinceIwasoldenoughtothinkofsuchthingsatall，Ihavesupposed——Ihavebeenledtobelievethatmystepfatherleftmeplentyofmoney——moneyenoughtopaymyunclesfortakingcareofme，formyclothesandboard，andnow，duringtheselasttwoyears，formystudiesinBoston。Inever，nevershouldhaveconsentedtogotothatschoolifIhadn’tsupposedIwaspayingtheexpensesmyself。Iknewmyuncleswerenotwell-to-do；Iknewtheycouldnotaffordto——todowhattheyhadalreadydoneforme，evenbeforethat。Andnow——lastnight——Iwastoldthat——thattheywereingreatfinancialtrouble，thattheywouldprobablybeobligedtofailinbusiness，andallbecausetheyhadbeenspendingtheirmoneyonme，sacrificingthemselvesandtheircomfortandhappinessinorderthat’anadoptedniecewithextravagantideas’mightbeeducatedaboveherstation；thatisthewaythegentlemanwhotoldmethestoryputit。Ofcoursehedidn’tknowhewastalkingtotheniece，“sheadded，withapatheticlittlesmile；“but，oh，Judge，can’tyouseenowwhyImustknowthetruth——allofthetruth？’
Herfingersclaspedandunclaspedinherlap。TheJudgelaidhisownhanduponthem。
“There，there，mydear，“hesaidsoothingly。“Tut，tut，tut！