“Whatisthematter？“sheasked。
“Oh，nothin’。“
“Youspokeasifyouwereinpain。“
“Nowonder。I’mlookin’atsomethin’thatgivesmeapain。Thatwizened-uplandsharkofaJerryCliffordisinsight，boundtothepost-office，Ical’late。Goin’toputaone-centstamponaletterandletthefellerthatgetsitpaytheothercent，Isuppose。Healwaysasksthepostmastertolickthestamp，so’stosavethewearandtearonhisowntongue。That’safact……No，“headded，amomentlater，“heain’tgoin’totheoffice；he’sturnin’downthelanehere……Eh！Jumpin’fireofbrimstone，Idobelieve——
WHATintheworld？“
ForMr。Clifford’sstepwasupontheplatformofthestoreandinanothermomentthedooropenedandthetight-fistedonehimselfappeared。Shadrachsaidnothing；hecouldonlystareinamazement。
IthadbeenmorethantwoyearssinceJeremiahhadcrossedthatthreshold。
Buthecrosseditnow。And，afteralookabouttheplace，ignoringtheCaptaincompletely，hewalkedovertothedesk。Hedidnotlookhappy。Mary，onthecontrary，lookedverymuchpleased。
“Goodmorning，Mr。Clifford，“shesaid。
Jeremiah，whowasalittlethinman，lookedupatherfromunderhisheavygrayeyebrowsandabovehisspectacles。Hedidnotacknowledgethesalutation。
“Umph！“hegruntedsavagely。“Youthinkyou’resmart，don’tye？“
Shadrachstartedforward。
“Why，you——“hebegan。Maryheldupherhand。
“Don’tinterfere，UncleShad，“sheordered。“ThisisMr。Clifford’saffairandmine。Weunderstandeachotherperfectly。“Then，turningtothefrowningJeremiah，shesaid：“Why，yes，thankyou，Mr。Clifford，IdothinkIamratherclever——justnow。Don’tyouthinkIam，yourself？“
Againthevisitorignoredthequestion。
“Whatdidyougoandstickanattachmentonthatlandofminefor？“
hedemanded。
“Surelyyoudon’tneedtoaskmethat，Mr。Clifford。Theamountisonehundredandtendollarsandsixty-threecents。IrememberitandIshouldimagineyoumust；certainlyithasbeencalledtoyourattentionoftenenough。“
“Umph！Well，youcankeepyourdarnedoldattachment。“
“Verywell；andyoucankeepyourland——whatisleft，Imean。I
thinkyouwillkeepitforsometime——afterItellMr。Keiththefacts。Hewillbeherethisafternoon，youknow。“
ItwasevidentthatJeremiahwasquiteawareofthetimeofSamKeith’sarrival。Histeeth——thefewremaining——snappedtogetherand，asCaptainShadrachsaidafterwards，helookedasifundecidedwhethertobiteorputbackhisheadandhowl。Apparentlyhedecidedthathowlingwassafer。
“Iwascal’latin’topaythatbillofyours，anyhow，“hesaid。
“Ofcourse，andwewerecalculatingthatyouwould，“saidMarysweetly。“Yourcalculationsandoursareprovingtrue，Mr。
Clifford。That’snice，isn’tit？“
Fromthedirectionofthebackroom，whereSimeonwasbusywithhisorders，camethesoundofasmotheredlaugh。Shadrach，uponwhomunderstandingofthesituationwasjustbeginningtodawn，slappedhisknee。Mr。Cliffordlookedpositivelyvenomous。
“IfIpaythatbill——that——whatwasit？——thathundredandtendollarsyousayIoweyou——doIgetthatattachmentoffmylandrightaway？“hedemanded。
“Ifyoupaytheonehundredandtendollars——andthesixty-threecents——IshallphoneJudgeBaxterthenextminute，“saidMarypromptly。
Jeremiahhesitatednolonger。HehadconsideredthesituationinallitsphasesbeforeleavinghomeandtheonehundredandtendollarswasbutasmallitemcomparedtohisexpectedprofitonthesaleoftheNorthInletland。Hereachedintohispocket，producedalong，dingyleatherpocketbookwoundaboutwithtwine，unwoundthetwine，openedthepocketbookandproducedablankcheck。
“Givemeapenandink，“hesnarled，“andI’llfillthisin。“
TheCaptainreachedforthepenandinkbottle，butMaryinterfered。
“Cash，ifyouplease，“shesaidsweetly。
Jeremiahlookedathersteadilyforwhatseemedalongtime。Thenshewassurprisedtoseethecornerofhisliptwitchandnoticeagrimtwinkleinhiseye。Alsotherewasagrudgingnoteofadmirationinhisvoicewhenhenextspoke。
“Ain’ttakin’nochances，beyou？“hesaiddryly。
“No。Don’tyouthinkwe’vetakenenoughalready？“
Mr。Clifforddidnotanswer。Hereplacedtheblankcheckinhispocketbookand，fromanothercompartment，extractedsomebillsrolledinatightlittlecylinderandwoundaboutwithelastic。
“Thereyoube，“hesaidshortly。Then，turningtoShadrach，headded：“Don’tIgetnothin’offforpayin’cash？“
Fromthebackroomcameavigorous“Haw，haw！“EvenMarylaughedaloud。AsforCaptainShad，hecouldonlystare，struckspeechlessbyhisvisitor’saudacity。Mary，whenshehadfinishedlaughing，answeredforhim。
“Weshalldeducttheinterestwemighthavechargedyou，Mr。
Clifford，“shesaid。“Thankyou。Thereisyourchangeandthereisthereceiptedbill。Now，IshallcallupJudgeBaxter。“
Whenshereturnedfromthepost-officeJeremiahwasstillthere。
Shadrach，allsmiles，wasdoingupparcels。
“Whatarethose，UncleShad？“askedMary。Mr。Cliffordanswered。
“Oh，IthoughtImightaswellbuyalittlesugarandflourandsuch，“hesaid。“Alwayscomeinhandy，theydo。Send’emupwhenyougettoit。Good-by。“
Hishandwasonthedoor，butMarycalledtohim。
“Mr。Clifford，“shecalled；“justaminute，please。Areyouinanyhurryforthesethings——thesugarandtherestofit？“
“No，don’tknow’sIbe，’special’；why？“
“Oh，nothing，exceptthatifyouwereinahurryIshouldadviseyourpayingforthem。Itoldyou，youremember，thatweweren’ttakingchances。“
ForaninstantJeremiahstoodthereglowering。Thenhedidanotherastonishingthing。Hetookoutthepocketbookoncemoreandfromitextractedatwo-dollarbill。
“Takeitoutofthat，“hesaid，“andsendmeareceiptedbillafterwards。Ialwayscal’latetoknowwhatI’vepaidfor。Andsay，you——what’syourname——Mary’-Gusta，ifyougettiredofworkin’forShadGouldandZoethHamilton，comeroundandseeme。I’vegot——I
meanmywife’sgot——twoorthreemortgagesthat’sbehindontheinterest。Iain’tbeenabletocollectitforheryet，but——but，bytime，IbelieveYOUcould！“
HewentoutandthenextmomentMarywasalmostsmotheredinheruncle’sembrace。
“Afterthis——afterTHIS，“roaredShadrach，“I’llbelieveanything’spossibleifyou’vegotahandinit，Mary’-Gusta。IfYOU’DbeenJonahyou’dhaveputthewhaleinyourpocketandswumashore。“
CHAPTERXXVII
EarlyinApril，whenMaryannouncedthatshewasreadytoputintooperationherbiggestandmostambitiousplan，suggestedtheyearbeforebyBarbaraHowe——thetea-roomandgift-shopplan——theCaptaindidnotofferstrenuousopposition。
“Ican’tseemuchsenseinit，“headmitted。“Idon’tknow’sIknowwhatit’sallabout。NighasIcanmakeoutyou’refiggerin’toopenupsomekindofahigh-tonedeatin’house。Isthatit？“
“Why，no，UncleShad，notexactly，“explainedMary。
“Thenwhatisit——adrinkin’house？Ipresumelikelythat’sit，bein’asyoucallita’tea-room。’Kindofatemperancesaloon，eh？
Can’tafellergetcoffeeinit，ifhewantsto？Idon’twakeupnightsmuchhankerin’forteamyself。“
“Listen，UncleShad：Atea-room——atleastatearoomofthesortI
intendtohave——isaplacewherethesummerpeople，thewomenandgirlsespecially，willcomeandsitatlittletablesanddrinkteaandeatcakesandicecreamandlookoffattheocean，iftheweatherispleasant——“
“Yes，andatthefog，if’tain’t；andtalkabouttheirneighbor’sclothesandrundownthecharactersoftheirbestfriends。Yes，yes，Isee；sortofasewin’circlewithoutthesewin’。Allright，heaveaheadandgetyourtea-roomoffthewaysifyouwantto。Ifanybodycanmakethethingkeepafloatyoucan，Mary-’Gusta。“
SoMary，thusencouraged，wentontoputherschemeintoeffect。
Shehadbeenplanningthedetailsforsometime。Abouthalfwaydownthelaneleadingtothehousefromthestorewasanothersmallstory-and-a-halfdwellingoftheold-fashionedCapeCodtype。Itstooduponalittlehillandcommandedawideviewofoceanandbeachandvillage。Thereweresomeweather-beatentreesandatangleofshrubsaboutit。Ithadbeenuntenantedforagoodwhileandwasinratherbadrepair。