“Umph！Iwanttoknow！Well，Mary-’Gustawassatisfiedaforethat。
Shedidn’teathardlyanything。Saidshewan’thungry。Iswanifitain’tdiscouragin’！What’stheuseofyoufolkshavin’acook？
Ifyou’regoin’tohavecanary-birdappetites，whydon’tyoufeedonbirdseedandbedonewithit？AndIdobelieveInevermadeabetterpiethanthat！“
“Where’sMary-’Gusta？“askedZoeth。
“Idon’tknow。Shewentuptoherroom。Shemaybethereyet，orshemayhavecomedownandgoneoutagain——Idon’tknow。IfshedidcomedownIdidn’tseeher。“
Shadrachlookedoutofthewindow。Ithadbeenadark，gloomymorningandnowitwasbeginningtorain。Thewindwaswhiningthroughthetopsofthesilver-leafsandthemoanofthebreakersonthebarsoundedwithaclearnesswhichdenotedtheapproachofanortheaster。
“Dirtyweather，“observedtheCaptain。“Andit’llbedirtieryetbeforenight。Youbetterstayhereinsnugharborthisafternoon，Zoeth。SimmieandtheboyandMary-’GustaandIcantendstoreallright。Yes，yes，youstayrighthereandkeepdry。HopeMary-
’Gustatookanumbrellawhenshewent。“
“Idon’tknowasshehasgone，“saidIsaiah。“Shemaybeupstairsinherroomyet。That’swhereshewas。“
Shadrach，aftercalling“Mary-’Gusta“severaltimesatthefootofthestairs，wentuptomakesure。ThedoorofMary’sroomwasclosedbut，ashereceivednoanswertohisknock，heopeneditandentered。Marywasnotthere，althoughitwasevidentthatshehadbeenthereveryrecently。
Apparentlyshehadbeenwritingaletter，forherwritingcasewasspreadoutuponthetable。Alsothedrawerinwhichshekeptithadbeenleftopen，anunusualactofcarelessnessonherpart，for，generallyspeaking，asherUncleShadsaid，“Nothin’severoutofplaceinMary-’Gusta’sroomexceptsomeoftheplaces，andthat’sthecarpenter’sfault，nothers。“
TheCaptainsteppedovertoclosethedrawer。Ashedidsohisattentionwasattractedbyaphotographlyinguponapileofphotographsinaboxinsidethedrawer。Hepickedupthephotographandlookedatit。ItwasthatofEdwinSmith，takenwhenheseemedtoberecoveringfromhisillness，theonewhichshowedhimwithoutabeard。
Shadrach’seyesopenedwideashelookedatthephotograph。Heutteredanexclamation，steppedtothedooroftheupperhallandcalled，“Zoeth！“Thenhereturnedtothetableandtookfromthedrawerthenextphotographuponthepileinthebox。Itwastheold，fadedpictureofthepartnersofHallandCompany。
Isaiahcamestumblingupthestairs。
“Anythin’Icandoforyou，Cap’nShad？“heasked。“Zoeth，he’sgoneouttoshutupthebarndoor。Rainwasliabletobeatin，hesaid。ItoldhimI’ddoit，but——Godfreysmighty！“
TheCaptainhadpaidnoattentiontohimandhehadenteredtheroomandapproachedhisemployerfrombehind。Nowoverthelatter’sshoulderhesawthetwophotographs。
“Godfreysmighty！“criedthestartledIsaiah。
Shadrachturnedandlookedathim。
“Well，“hedemanded，“what’sthematter？Whatareyoustarin’likethatfor？“
“Them——thempictures，“gaspedMr。Chase。
“Well，whatabout’em？WheredidMary-’Gustaget’em，doyouknow？
Did——Here！Whereareyougoin’？“
“I——Iain’tgoin’anywheres。I’ma-goin’downstairs。Igotmydishwashin’todo。I——letgoofme，Cap’nShad！Igottogothisminute，Itellyou。“
ButtheCaptaindidnotletgoofhim。Instead，keepingafirmholduponthecollarofthefrightenedcookandsteward，hetwistedhimarounduntilhecouldlookhimstraightintheeye。Thiswasdifficult，forIsaiahplainlydidnotwishtobelookedatinthatmanner。
“Humph！“gruntedCaptainShad，afteramoment’sinspection。“Humph！
Ical’lateI’vegottherightpigbytheearthistime。Setdowninthatchair，IsaiahChase；Iwanttotalktoyou。“
CHAPTERXXIX
Thenortheasterwasdeveloping。Itwasnowraininghardandthewindwasrising。ThegustssweptacrossthetopofthelittlehillandthewindowsashesoftheFor’ardLookoutrattledandthehingesoftheancientblindssqueaked。Theyard，whichhadbeensoattractive，wasshornofitsdecorations。Thetableshadbeencarriedinside；thelanternstakendown；thewonderfulsign，prideofthetalentedMr。Bemis，hadbeentenderlyconveyedtotheattic。
Cook，waitressesandsalesgirlhaddeparted。Thetea-roomandgiftshophadgoneintowinterquarterstohibernateuntilthefollowingspring。
Theroomsinsidehadbeenthoroughlysweptandcleanedandmostofthefurnitureandthebestoftheoldprintscoveredwithdustcloths。Someofthesmallerarticles，however，werestillupontheshelvesofthegiftshop，Maryhavingorderedherassistantstoleavethemthere，asshewishedtolookthemoverherselfbeforeputtingthemaway。Someofherselectionsforstockhadsoldremarkablywellandshehadbeenobligedtoreordermanytimes；
othersofwhichshehadbeenquiteconfidentwhenpurchasinghadnotsoldatall。Bothgoodsellersandbadshemeanttolistasaguidetofuturechoosing。
Shewaslistingthemnow。Aloneintheroomwhichhadoncebeenthesacredbestparlorofthelittlehouse，shewasseatedatthetable，pencilinhandandmemorandumbooksandpaperbeforeher。Therewasnoparticularreasonwhythelistingshouldhavebeendonethatday；
itmighthavebeendoneanydayuntiltheweatherbecametoocoldtoworkinanunheatedhouse。Thatmorningshehadhadnoideaofdoingitthatafternoon。Shewasdoingitnowbecauseshefeltthatshemustdosomethingtooccupyhermind，andbecauseshewishedtobealone。UpthereattheFor’ardLookoutshecouldcombinethetwo——workandseclusion。
WhenMr。Keithtold，atthestorethatmorning，thenewsofEdwinSmith’s——orEdgarFarmer’s——deathshehadbeendreadfullyshakenbyit。Itwassosudden，sounexpected——whenshelastheardthemanwas，sothedoctorssaid，almostwell。Shehadthoughtofhimoftenenoughduringthepastyear；or，rather，shehadthoughtofCrawfordasbeingwithhimandofthefather’sjoyinhisson’sreturntohimandtheknowledgethathisowndisgracefulsecretwouldnotberevealed。AndshehadpicturedCrawfordasfindingsolaceforhisdisappointedloveinhisfather’ssociety。ThatEdgarFarmerhadbeenwhatIsaiahcalledhim——ablackguard——sherealizedperfectly，butshewasequallysurethat，asEdwinSmith，hehadbeenthekindestandmostlovingoffathers。AndCrawford，althoughhehadbeenwillingtoleavehimbecauseofher，lovedhimdearly。
Andnowhewasdead，andCrawfordwasleftalone。Somehowshefeltresponsibleforthedeath。Thatithadbeenhastenedbytheterriblealarmandstressofthepreviousyearwas，ofcourse，certain。ShethoughtofCrawfordaloneandwiththisnewsorrow，andthisthought，andthatofherresponsibility，wasalmostmorethanshecouldbear。
Shefeltthatshemustwritehim，thathemustknowshehadheardandwasthinkingofhim。So，afterleavingthestore，shehadhasteneddowntothehouseandupthebackstairstoherroom。
Thereshehadwrittenafewlines，notmorethananote，butthecomposingofthatnotehadbeenadifficulttask。Therewassomuchshelongedtosayandsolittleshecouldsay。WhenitwaswrittensherememberedthatCrawfordwasinBostonandshedidnotknowhisaddress。ShedeterminedtosendthelettertotheNevadahomeandtrusttoitsbeingforwarded。
Shetookfromthebackofthedrawertheboxofphotographsandlookedthemover。AsshewasdoingsoIsaiahcalledhertodinner。
Thensheheardherunclescomeinand，becauseshefeltthatshecouldtalkwithnoonejustthen，sheavoidedthembyhastilygoingdownthefrontstairs。Shemadeapretenseofeatingandleftthehouse。Isaiahdidnotseehergo。AfterstoppingatthestorelongenoughtotellMr。Crockershewouldbeatthetea-roomthatafternoon，sheclimbedthehill，unlockedthedooroftheFor’ardLookout，enteredandbeganherwork。
Thewindhowledandwhinedandtherainbeatagainstthewindows。
Theblindscreaked，thesashesrattled，thegustsmoanedinthechimneyabovethefireplace，andallthehundredandonegroaningsandwailings，thecomplaintsofanoldhouseinastorm，developed。
AllthesesoundsMaryheardabsently，herminduponherwork。Then，littlebylittleastheydrewnearer，shebecameconsciousofothersounds，footfalls；someonewascomingupthewalk。
Shedidnotrisefromherchairnorlookupfromherworkwhentheoutsidedooropened。Evenwhenthefootstepssoundedinthelittlehallbehindhershedidnotturn。
“Yes，UncleShad，“shesaid。“Iamhere，andI’msafeandI’mperfectlydry。AlsoI’mvery，verybusy。Now，whydidyoucomeoutintheraintohuntmeup？AndI’mquitesureyouhaven’tputonyourrubbers。“
Andthenthevoicebehindhersaid：“Mary。“
Sheturnednow——turned，looked，androsetoherfeet。Herfacewentwhite，thenflushedred，andthenpaledagain。
“Oh！“shegasped。
CrawfordSmithwasstandingthere。Hislightovercoat——itwasnotaraincoat——drippedwater；sodidthehatinhishand。Hestoodthereandlooked——anddripped。
“Mary，“hesaidagain。
Shecaughtherbreath，almostwithasob。
“You！“sheexclaimed。“YOU！Oh，howcouldyou？WHYdidyoucome？“