Keith，whohadalreadynoticedthetrimappearanceofthestoreandtheneatandattractivewayinwhichthegoodsweredisplayed，expressedhisheartyapproval。
“Andhowisbusiness？“heasked。
“Tiptop！“declaredShadrach。
“It’simprovin’consider’ble，“saidZoeth。
“Itisalittlebetter，butitmustbefarbetterbeforeIamsatisfied，“saidMary。
“Howisthecottagetrade？“askedKeith。
“Why，notsoverygood。Therearen’tmanycottagershereyet。“
WhenKeithreachedhomehecalledhiswifeintoconsultation。
“Gertrude，“heasked，“wheredowebuyourhouseholdsupplies，groceriesandthelike？“
“InBoston，mostofthem。Theothers——thoseIamobligedtobuyhereinSouthHarniss——atthatnewstore，Baker’s。“
“IwantyoutobuythemallofHamiltonandCompanyhereafter。“
“THATold-fogyplace！Why？“
“Becausethepartners，CaptainGouldandtheotheroldchap，arehavingahardstruggletokeepgoingandIwanttohelpthem。“
Mrs。Keithtossedherhead。“Humph！“shesniffed。“Iknowwhyyouaresointerested。Itisbecauseofthatupstartgirlyouthinkissowonderful，theonewhohasbeenboardingwithClaraWyeth。“
“You’reright，that’sjustit。ShehasgivenupherstudiesandheropportunitiesthereinBostonandhascomedownheretohelpheruncles。Clarawritesmethatshewaspopularthereintheschool，thatthebestpeoplewereherfriends，andyouknowofhersummerinEuropewithLetitiaPease。Letitiaisn’teasytopleaseandsheisenthusiasticaboutMaryLathrop。Noordinarygirlcouldgiveupallthatsortofthingandcomebacktothevillagewhereeveryoneknowsherandgotokeepingstoreagain，anddoitsocheerfullyandsensiblyandwithoutawordofcomplaint。Shedeservesallthehelpandsupportweandourfriendscangiveher。Imeantoseethatshehasit。“
Mrs。Keithlookeddisgusted。“You’reperfectlyinfatuatedwiththatgirl，JohnKeith，“shesaid。“Itisridiculous。IfIwerelikesomewomenIshouldbejealous。“
“IfIwerelikesomemenyoumightbe。Now，Gertrude，you’llbuyinfuturefromHamiltonandCompany，won’tyou？“
“Isupposeso。WhenyourchinsetsthatwayIknowyou’regoingtobestubbornandImayaswellgiveinfirstaslast。I’llpatronizeyourpreciousMary-’Gusta，butIWON’Tassociatewithher。Youneedn’taskthat。“
“Don’tyouthinkwemightwaituntilsheasksitfirst？“
“Tut！tut！Really，John，youdisgustme。Iwonderyoudon’torderSamtomarryher。“
“FromwhatClarawriteshemightnothaveneededanyordersifhehadreceivedtheleastencouragementfromher。Sammightdoworse；
Iimagineheprobablywill。“
So，becauseJohnKeith’schinwasset，theKeithcustomshiftedtoHamiltonandCompany。AndbecausetheKeithswerewealthyandinfluential，andbecausetheheadofthefamilysawthatthatinfluencewasbroughttobearuponhisneighborsandacquaintances，theircustomfollowed。HamiltonandCompanyputadeliverywagon——asecondhandone——outontheroad，andhiredadistinctlysecondhandboytodriveit。AndMaryandShadrachandZoethand，intheevenings，theboyaswell，werekeptbusywaitingoncustomers。Thebooksshowed，sincethesilentpartnertookhold，arealandtangibleprofit，andthecollectionandpaymentofolddebtswentsteadilyon。
Thepartners，ShadrachandZoeth，werenolongersilentandglum。
TheCaptainwhistledandsangandwasinhighspiritsmostofthetime。Athomehewashisoldself，chaffingIsaiahaboutthehousekeeping，takingamischievousdelightinshockinghisfriendandpartnerbyirreverentremarksconcerningJonahorsomeotherOldTestamentpersonage，andoccasionally，althoughnotoften，throwingoutaslyhinttoMaryaboutthefrequencyoflettersfromtheWest。
MaryhadtoldherunclesofCrawford’sleavingBostonandreturningtoNevadabecauseofhisfather’sillhealth。Theonlyitemofimportanceshehadomittedtotellwasthatoftheproposalofmarriage。Shecouldnotspeakofthateventothem。Theywouldaskwhatheranswerwastobe，andifshelovedCrawford。Howcouldsheanswerthat——truthfully——withoutcausingthemtofeelthattheywereblockingherwaytohappiness？Theyfeltthatquitekeenlyenough，asitwas。
SowhenCaptainShaddeclaredtheillnessoftheSouthHarnisspostmaster——confinedtohisbedwithsciatica——tobeduetohishaving“stoopedtopickuponeofthemeighty-twopageWildWestlettersofyours，Mary’-Gusta，and’twassoheavyhesprainedhisbackliftin’it，“Maryonlylaughedandventuredtheopinionthatthepostmaster’ssprainedback，ifhehadone，wasmorelikelyduetoatwistreceivedintryingtoreadbothsidesofapostcardatonce。Whichexplanation，beingoftheCaptain’sownbrandofhumor，pleasedthelatterimmensely。
“Maybeyou’reright，Mary-’Gusta，“hechuckled。“Maybethat’swhat’twas。Seth[thepostmaster]ispurerubbersofarasotherfolks’
mailisconcerned；maybehestretchedtherubbertoofarthistimeanditsnapped。“
Zoethdidnotjokemuch——jokingwasnotinhisline——butheshowedhisreliefattheimprovementinthefirm’saffairsinquieterbutasunmistakableways。WhenMarywasatthedeskintheeveningsafterthestorehadclosed，busywiththebooks，hewouldcomeandsitbesideher，sayinglittlebutoccasionallylayinghishandgentlyonhershoulderorpattingherarmandregardingherwithalooksobrimfulofloveandgratitudethatitmadeherfeelalmostguiltyandentirelyunworthy。
“Don’t，UncleZoeth，“sheprotested，ononesuchoccasion。“Don’tlookatmelikethat。I——I——Really，youmakemefeelashamed。I
haven’tdoneanything。Iamnotdoinghalfenough。“
Heshookhishead。
“You’redoin’toomuch，I’mafraid，Mary-’Gusta，“hesaid。“You’regivin’upeverythingagirllikeyouhadoughttohaveandthatyourUncleShadrachandIhadmeantyoushouldhave。You’regivin’itupjustforusanditain’tright。Weain’tworthyofit。“
“Hush，hush，UncleZoeth！Please！WhenIthinkwhatyouhavegivenupforme——“
“’Twa’n’tnothin’，Mary-’Gusta。YoucametoyourUncleShadrachandtomejustwhenweneededsomethin’tokeepourlivessweet。Mineespecialwasbitterandtherewasdanger’twouldalwaysbeso。AndthenwebroughtyouoverfromOstableintheoldbuggyand——andtheAlmighty’ssunshinecamewithyou。YouwasHisangel。Yes，sir！
Hisangel，that’swhatyouwas，onlywedidn’tknowitthen。Iwasprettysoreandbitterinthosedays，thoughtInevercouldforget。
Andyet——andyet，nowIreallyamforgettin’——or，ifIdon’tforget，I’mmorereconciled。Andyou’vedoneitforme，Mary-’Gusta。“
Marywaspuzzled。“Forgetwhat？“sheasked。“Doyoumeanthebusinesstroubles，UncleZoeth？“
Zoethseemedtowakenfromasortofdream。“Businesstroubles？“herepeated。“No，no；long，longaforethatthesetroubleswere，Mary-
’Gusta。Don’tlet’stalkabout’em。Ican’ttalkabout’emevennow——andImustn’tthink。Therearesometroublesthat——that——“Hecaughthisbreathandhistonechanged。“Icalledyouanangeljustnow，dearie，“hewenton。“Well，youwasandyouare。Thereareangelsinthisworld——butthere’sdevils，too——there’sdevils，too。
There；theLordforgiveme！WhatamItalkin’about？We’llforgetwhat’sgoneandbethankfulforwhat’shere。Giveyourolduncleakiss，Mary-’Gusta。“
HewashappyinMary’ssocietyandhappyinthesteadyimprovementofthebusiness，butthegirlandCaptainShadrachwerealittleworriedconcerninghisgeneralhealth。Foryearshehadnotbeenaverystrongoractiveman，butnowhelookedpalerandmorefrailthanever。Hewalkedtoandfromthestoreandhouseseveraltimesaday，butheretiredalmostassoonasheenteredthehouseatnightandhisappetitewasnotgood。
“Hisnervesain’tbackwherethey’doughttobe，“declaredShadrach。
“HewasawfulshookupwhenitlookedasifHamiltonandCompanywasgoin’tofounder。Hedidn’tkeepblowin’offsteamaboutitthewayIdid——mysafety-valve’salwaysopen——buthekeptitallinsidehisbilerandit’sputhisengineoutofgear。He’llgetalongallrightsolong’sit’ssmoothsailin’，butwhatI’mafraidofisarockshowin’upinthechannelunexpected。ThedoctortoldmethatZoethmustn’tworryanymoreandhemustn’tworktoohard。More’nall，hemustn’thaveanyscaresorshocksoranythinglikethat。“
“Wemusttrytoseethathedoesn’thaveany，“saidMary。
“Sartinsurewemust，butyoucan’talwaysseethosethingsintimetohead’emoff。Nowtakemyowncase。Ihadashockthismornin’。
’RastusYoungpaidmeadollaronaccount。“
“WHAT？’RastusYoungPAIDyou？“
“Well，Idon’tknow’shepaidit，exactly。HeborrowedthedollarofoneofthosesummerfellersoveratCahoon’sboardin’houseandhewastellin’AbBacheldoraboutitatthecornerbythepost-
office。Ab，naturally，didn’tbelieveanysanemanwouldlendRastusanything，sohewantedproof。’Rastushauledthedollaroutofhispockettoshow，andIwhohappenedtobestandin’behind’emwithouttheirknowin’itreachedoutandgrabbedit。“