第10章
Phineasdidnotwait，butevensohispursuercaughthimbeforehe，reachedthegate。Jed，whohadruntothewindow，sawtheMajor，andthehardwaredealerinearnestconversation。Theformerseemed，tobedoingmostofthetalking。Thentheyseparated，Grover，remainingbythegateandPhineasstridingoffinthedirectionof，hisshop。Hewasmutteringtohimselfandhisfacewasworking，withemotion。Betweenbaffledmaliceandsuppressedhatredhe，lookedalmostasifheweregoingtocry。Evenamidhisown，feelingsofthankfulnessandreliefJedfeltapangofpityfor，PhineasBabbitt。Thelittlemanwastheincarnationofspiteand，envyandvindictivebitterness，butJedwassorryforhim，justas，hewouldhavebeensorryforamosquitowhichhadbittenhim。He，mightbeobligedtocrushthecreature，buthewouldfeelthatit，wasnotmuchtoblameforthebite;bothitandPhineascouldnot，helpbeingastheywere——theyweremadethatway。
Heheardanexclamationathisshoulderandturnedtofindthat，CaptainSamhadalsobeenregardingthepartingatthegate。
“Humph！”gruntedthecaptain。”Phinlooksasifhe’dbeeneatin’
somethin’thatdidn’tsetanytoogood。What’sstartedhimto，obeyin’ordersfromthatGrovermanalltoonce？，Ialwaysthought，hehatedsoldierin’worsethanahenhatesaswim……Humph！……
Well，that’sthesecondqueerestthingI’verunacrossto-day。”
Jedchangedthesubject，ortriedtochangeit。
“What’sthefirstone，Sam？”hehastenedtoask。Hisfriendlooked，athimforaninstantbeforeheanswered。
“Thefirstone？”herepeated，slowly。”Well，I’lltellyou，Jed。
Thefirstone——andthequeerestofall——isyourfindin’thatfour，hundreddollars。”
Jedwasagooddealtakenaback。Hehadnotexpectedananswerof，thatkind。Hisembarrassmentandconfusionreturned。
“Why——why，“hestammered，“is——isthatfunny，Sam？，Idon’t——I
don’tknow’sIgetwhatyoumean。What’s——whatistherefunny，aboutmyfindin’thatmoney？”
Thecaptainsteppedacrosstheshop，pulledforwardachairand，seatedhimself。Jedwatchedhimanxiously。
“I——Idon’tseeanythingveryfunnyaboutmyfindin’thatmoney，Sam，“hesaid，again。CaptainSamgrunted。
“Don’tyou？”heasked。”Well，maybemysenseofhumor’sgettin’
cross-eyedor——orsomethin’。IdidthinkIcouldseesomethin’
funnyinit，butmostlikelyIwasmistaken。Sitdown，Jed，and，tellmeallabouthowyoufoundit。”
Jedhesitated。Hishandmovedslowlyacrosshischin。
“Well，now，Sam，“hefaltered，“thereain’tnothin’totell。I
just——er——foundit，that’sall……Say，youain’tseenthatnew，gullvaneofminelately，haveyou？，Igothersoshecanflopher，wingsprettygoodnow。”
“Hangthegullvane！，Iwanttohearhowyoufoundthatmoney。
Graciousking，man，youdon’texpectI’mgoin’totakethegettin’
backoffourhundreddollarsascoolasif’twastencents，doyou？
Sitdownandtellmeaboutit。”
SoJedsat，notwitheagerness，butmoreasifhecouldthinkofno，excuseforrefusing。Hiscompaniontiltedbackinhischair，lita，cigar，andbadehimheaveahead。
“Well，“beganJed，“I——I——yousee，Sam，Ihappenedtolookbehind，thatheapofboardsthereand——“
“Whatmadeyouthinkoflookin’behindthoseboards？”
“Eh？，Why，nothin’’special。Ijusthappenedtolook。That’s，whereyourcoatwas，youknow。SoIlookedand——andthere’twas。”
“Isee。There’twas，eh？，Where？”
“Why——why，behindtheboards。Itoldyouthat，youknow。”
“Graciousking，courseIknow！，You’vetoldmethatnolessthan，tentimes。ButWHEREwasit？，Ontheboards？，Onthefloor？”
“Eh？……Oh，……oh，seemstome’twasonthefloor。”
“Don’tyouKNOW’twasonthefloor？”
“Why……why，yes，sartin。”
“Thenwhatmadeyousay’seemsasif’itwasthere？”
“Oh，……oh，Idon’tknow。Landsakes，Sam，whatareyouaskin’
meallthesequestionsfor？”
“Justforfun，Iguess。I’minterested，naturally。Tellmesome，more。Howwasthemoney——alltogether，orkindofscattered’round？”
“Eh？……Oh，alltogether。”
“Sureofthat？”
“CourseI’msureofit。Icanseeitjustasplainasday，nowI
cometothinkofit。’Twasalltogether，inaheaplike。”
“Um-hm。Thebandthatwasroundithadcomeoff，then？”
“Band？，Whatband？”
“Why，thepaperbandwith’$400’onit。Thathadcomeoffwhenit，felloutofmypocket，Ipresumelikely。”
“Yes……Yes，Iguesslikelyitdid。Musthave……Er——
Sam，letmeshowyouthatgullvane。Igotitsonowthat——“
“Holdonaminute。I’mmightyinterestedaboutyourfindin’this，money。It’sso——sosortofunexpected，asyoumightsay。Ifthat，bandcameoffitmusthavebrokewhenthemoneytumbleddownbehind，theboards。Let’sseeifitdid。”
Heroseandmovedtowardthepileofboards。Jedalsorose。
“Whatareyougoin’tolookfor？”heasked，anxiously。
“Why，thepaperbandwiththe’$400’onit。I’dliketoseeifit，broke……Humph！”headded，peeringdownintothedarkcrevice，betweentheboardsandthewalloftheshop。”Can’tseeanything，ofit，canyou？”
Jed，peeringsolemnlydown，shookhishead。”No，“hesaid。”I
can’tseeanythingofit。”
“Butitmaybethere，forallthat。”，Hereacheddown。”Humph！”he，exclaimed。”Ican’ttouchbottom。Jed，you’vegotalongerarm，thanIhave;let’sseeifyoucan。”
Jed，sprawledupontheheapoflumber，stretchedhisarmasfaras，itwouldgo。”Hum，“hedrawled，“Ican’tquitemakeit，Sam……
There’saplacewhereshenarrowswaydownhereandIcan’tgetmy，fingersthroughit。”
“Isthatso？，Thenwe’dbettergiveuplookin’fortheband，I
cal’late。Didn’tamounttoanything，anyhow。Tellmemoreabout，whatyoudidwhenyoufoundthemoney。Youmusthavebeen，surprised。”
“Eh？……Landsakes，Iwas。Idon’tknow’sIeverwasso，surprisedinmylife。ThinksI，’Here’sSam’smoneythat’smissin’
fromthebank。’，Yes，sir，and’twas，too。”
“Well，I’mmuchobligedtoyou，Jed，Isurelyam。Andwhenyou，foundit——，Let’ssee，youfounditthismornin’，ofcourse？”
“Eh？，Why——why，how——whatmakesyouthinkIfounditthismornin’？”
“Oh，becauseyoumusthave。’Causeifyou’dfoundityesterdayor，thedaybeforeyou’dhavetoldmerightoff。”
“Yes——oh，yes，that’sso。Yes，Ifounditthismornin’。”
“Hadn’tyouthoughttohuntforitafore？”
“Eh？……Landsakes，yes……yes，I’dhuntedlotsoftimes，butIhadn’tfoundit。”
“Hadn’tthoughttolookinthatplace，eh？”
“That’sit……Say，Sam，what——“
“It’sluckyyouhadn’tmovedthoseboards。Ifyou’dshiftedthem，anysinceIthrewmycoaton’emyoumightnothavefounditfora，month，nottillyouusedupthewholepile。Luckyyoulookedafore，youshiftedthelumber。”
“Yes……yes，that’sso。That’safact。But，Sam，hadn’tyou，bettertakethatmoneybacktothebank？，Thefolksuptheredon’t，knowit’sbeenfoundyet。They’llbesomesurprised，too。”
“Sotheywill。Allhands’llbesurprised。AndwhenItell’emhow，youhappenedtoseethatmoneylyin’inapileonthefloorbehind，thoseboardsandcouldn’tscarcelybelieveyoureyes，andcouldn’t，believe’emuntilyou’dreacheddownandpickedupthemoney，and，countedit——，That’saboutwhatyoudid，Ipresumelikely，eh？”
“Yes……Yes，that’sjustit。”
“They’llbesurprisedthen，andnowonder。Butthey’dbemore，surprisedifIshouldbring’emhereandshow’emtheplacewhere，youfoundit。’Twouldsurprise’mostanybodytoknowthatthere，wasamanlivin’whocouldseedownablackcrackfourfootdeep，andtwoincheswideandaroundacornerinthatcrackandseemoney，lyin’onthefloor，andknow’twasmoney，andthenstretchhisarm，outacoupleoffootmoreandthinhiswristdownuntilitwasless，thananinchthroughandpickupthatmoney。ThatWOULDsurprise，em。Don’tyouthink’twould，Jed？”
ThecolorleftJed’sface。Hismouthfellopenandhestared，blanklyathisfriend。Thelatterchuckled。
“Don’tyouthink’twouldsurprise’em，Jed？”herepeated。”Seems，likelyasif’twould。Itsurprisedmeallrightenough。”
Thecolorcamesurgingback。Jed’scheeksflamed。Hetriedto，speak，butwhathesaidwasnotcoherentnorparticularly，intelligible。
“Now——now——now，Sam，“hestammered。”I——I——，Youdon’tunderstand。
Youain’tgotitright。I——I——“
Thecaptaininterrupted。”Don’ttrysohard，Jed，“hecontinued。
“Taketimetogetyoursteamup。You’llbustab’ilerifyoupuff，thatway。Let’sseewhatitisIdon’tunderstand。Youfoundthis，moneybehindthoseboards？”
“Eh？，Yes……yes……but——“
“Wait。Andyoufounditthismornin’？”
“Yes……yes……but，Sam——“
“Holdon。Yousawitlayin’ontheflooratthebottomofthat，crack？”
“Well——well，Idon’tknowasIsawitexactly，but——but——，No，I
didn’tseeit。I——Ifeltit。”
“Oh，youfeltit！，Thoughtyousaidyousawit。Well，youreached，downandfeltit，then。Howdidyougetyourarmstretchedout，fivefootlongandthree-quartersofaninchthick？，Putitunder，thesteamroller，didyou？”
Jedswallowedtwicebeforereplying。”I——I——“hebegan。”Well——
well，cometothinkofit，Sam，I——IguessIdidn’tfeelitwithmy，fingers。I——Itookastick。Yes，thatwasit。Ipokedinbehind，therewithastick。”
“Oh，youfeltitwithastick。Andknew’twasmoney？，Tut，tut！
Youmusthaveagoodsenseoftouch，Jed，toknowbillswhenyou，scratchacross’emwiththefarendofafivefootstick。Pick’em，upwithastick，too，didyou？”
Mr。Winslowwasspeechless。CaptainSamshookhishead。
“Andthatain’tthemostastonishin’parteither，“heobserved。
“Whilethosebillswereinthedarkatthebottomofthatcrack，theymusthavesprouted。Theywentintherenothin’buttensand，twenties。Theseyoujustgavemearefivesandtwosandallsorts。
You’dbetterpokeasternofthoseboardsagain，Jed。Theroots，mustbedownthereyet;allyou’vescratcheduparethesprouts。”
Hisonlyanswerwasahopelessgroan。CaptainSamroseand，walkingovertowherehisfriendsatwithhisfaceburiedbetween，hishands，laidhisownhandonthelatter’sshoulder。
“There，there，Jed，“hesaid，gently。”Ibegyourpardon。I’m，sorryIstirredyouupthisway。’Twasmeanofme，Iknow，but，whenyoucommencedgivin’meallthisrigmaroleIcouldn’thelpit。
Youneverwasmeantforaliar，oldman;youmakeamightypoor，fistatit。Whatisitallabout？，Whatwasyoutryin’todoit，for？”
Anothergroan。Thecaptaintriedagain。
“What’stherealyarn？”heasked。”Whatareyouactin’thisway，for？，CourseIknowyouneverfoundthemoney。Istheresomebody——“
“No！，No，no！”Jed’svoicerosealmosttoashout。Hesprangto，hisfeetandclutchedatCaptainSam’scoat-sleeve。”No，“he，shouted。”Coursethereain’tanybody。Wh-whatmakesyousaysuch，athingasthat？，I——ItellyouIdidfindthemoney。Idid——I
did。”
“Jed！，Ofcourseyoudidn’t。Iknowyoudidn’t。IKNOW。Gracious，king，man，besensible。”
“Idid！，Idid！，IfounditandnowIgiveitbacktoyou。What，moredoyouwant，SamHunniwell？，Ain’tthatenough？”
“Enough！，It’sadarnedsighttoomuch。ItellyouIknowyou，didn’tfindit。”
“ButIdid。”
“Rubbish！，Inthefirstplace，youandIhuntedeveryinchbehind，thoseboardstheverydaythemoneywasmissin’，and’twa’n’tthere，then。And，besides，thisisn’tthemoneyIlost。”
“Well——well，whatif’tain’t？，Idon’tcare。I——Iknow’tain’t。
I——Ispentyourmoney。”
“YouSPENTit？，When？，Youtoldmeyouonlyfounditthismornin’。”
“I——IknowIdid，but’twan’tso。I——I——“Jedwasinanagonyof，alarmandfrantichaste。”Ifoundyourmoneytwoorthreedays，ago。Yes，sir，that’swhenIfoundit……Er……er……”
“Humph！，Whydidn’tyoutellmeyoufounditthen？，Ifyou’dfound，itwhatmadeyoukeeprunnin’intothebanktoaskmeifI’Dfound，it？，Whydidn’tyougiveitbacktomerightoff？，Oh，don’tbeso，ridiculous，Jed。”
“I——Iain’t。It’strue。I——Ididn’tgiveitbacktoyoubecause——
becauseI——IthoughtfirstI’dkeepit。”
“Keepit？，KEEPit？，Stealit，doyoumean？”
“Yes——yes，that’swhatImean。I——IthoughtfirstI’ddothatand，thenIgot——gotkindofsorryand——andscaredandIgotsomemore，money——andnowI’mgivin’itbacktoyou。See，don’tyou，Sam？
That’sthereason。”
CaptainSamshookhishead。”Soyoudecidedtobeathief，did，you，Jed？”hesaid，slowly。”Well，theaveragepersonnever’dhave，guessedyouwassuchadesperatecharacter……Humph！……
Well，well！……Whatwasyougoin’todowiththefourhundred，providedyouhadkeptit？，YouspentthemoneyIlostanyway;you，saidyoudid。Whatdidyouspenditfor？”
“Oh——oh，somethingsIneeded。”
“Sho！，Isthatso？，Whatthings？”
Jed’sshakinghandmovedacrosshischin。
“Oh——I——Iforget，“hefaltered。Then，afteradesperatestruggle，“I——I——Iboughtasuitofclothes。”
Theeffortofthisconfessionwasapeculiarone。CaptainSam，Hunniwellputbackhisheadandroaredwithlaughter。Hewasstill，laughingwhenhepickeduphishatandturnedtothedoor。Jed，sprangfromhisseat。
“Eh？……You’renotGOIN’，areyou，Sam？”hecried。The，captain，wipinghiseyes，turnedmomentarily。
“Yes，Jed，“hesaid，chokingly，“I’mgoin’。Say，if——ifyouget，timesomeofthesedaysdressupinthatfourhundreddollarsuit，youboughtandthensendmeword。I’dliketoseeit。”
Hewentout。Thedooroftheoutershopslammed。Jedwipedthe，perspirationfromhisforeheadandgroanedhelplesslyand，hopelessly。
ThecaptainhadreachedthegatewhenhesawPhillipscomingalong，theroadtowardhim。Hewaiteduntiltheyoungmanarrived。
“Hello，Captain，“hailedCharles。”Soyoudecidednottocomeback，tothebankthisafternoon，afterall？”
Hisemployernodded。”Yes，“hesaid。”I’vebeenkeptawayon，business。Funnykindofbusiness，too。Say，Charlie，“headded，“supposelikelyyoursisterandyouwouldbetoobusytoseemefor，afewminutesnow？，I’dliketoseeifyou’vegotananswertoa，riddle。”
“Ariddle？”
“Um-hm。I’vejusthadtheriddlesprungonmeandit’sgotMYhead，whirlin’likeabottleinatiderip。CanIcomeintoyourhouse，foraminuteandspringitonyou？”
Theyoungmanlookedpuzzled，whichwasnotsurprising，buthis，invitationtocomeintothehousewasmostcordial。Theyentered，bythefrontdoor。Astheycameintothelittlehalltheyhearda，man’svoiceintheliving-roombeyond。ItwasMajorGrover’svoice，andtheyheardthemajorsay：
“Itdoesn’tmatteratall。PleaseunderstandIhadnothoughtof，asking。Imerelywantedyoutofeelthatwhatthatfellowsaidhad，noweightwithmewhatever，andtoassureyouthatIwillmakeit，mybusinesstoseethathekeepshismouthshut。Asfortheother，question，Ruth——“
RuthArmstrong’svoicebrokeinhere。
“Oh，please，“shebegged，“notnow。I——IamsosorryIcan’ttell，youeverything，but——butitisn’tmysecretand——andIcan’t。
Perhapssomeday——，ButpleasebelievethatIamgrateful，very，verygrateful。Ishallneverforgetit。”
Charlie，withananxiousglanceatCaptainHunniwell，clearedhis，throatloudly。Thecaptain’sthoughts，however，weretoobusywith，his“riddle“topayattentiontothevoicesintheliving-room。As，heandPhillipsenteredthatapartmentMajorGrovercameintothe，hall。Heseemedatrifleembarrassed，buthenoddedtoCaptain，Sam，exchangedgreetingswithPhillips，andhurriedoutofthe，house。TheyfoundRuthstandingbytherearwindowandlookingout，towardthesea。
Thecaptainplungedatonceintohisstory。Hebeganbyasking，Mrs。Armstrongifherbrotherhadtoldherofthemissingfour，hundreddollars。Charleswasinclinedtobeindignant。
“OfcourseIhaven’t，“hedeclared。”Youaskedusalltokeep，quietaboutitandnottotellasoul，andIsupposedyoumeant，justthat。”
“Eh？，SoIdid，Charlie，soIdid。Begyourpardon，boy。Imight，haveknownyou’dkeepyourhatchesclosed。Well，here’stheyarn，Mrs。Armstrong。Itdon’tmakemeoutanytooeverlastin’
brilliant。Agrownmanthatwouldshovethatamountofmoneyinto，hisovercoatpocketandthengosasshayin’fromWapatomactoOrham，ain’tthekindI’drecommendtoshipascowstewardonacattle，boat，tosaynothin’ofpresidentofabank。Butconfessin’sgood，forthesoul，theysay，evenifitdoesmakeafellerfeellikea，fool，soheregoes。Ididjustthatthing。”
HewentontotellofhistriptoWapatomac，hisinterviewwith，Sage，hisvisittothewindmillshop，hisdiscoverythatfour，hundredofthefourteenhundredhaddisappeared。Thenhetoldof，hisattemptstotraceit，ofJed’sanxiousinquiriesfromdayto，day，and，finally，ofthescenehehadjustpassedthrough。
“Sothereyouare，“heconcluded。”Iwishtomercyyou’dtellme，whatitallmeans，forIcan’ttellmyself。Ifithadn’tbeenso——
sosortofpitiful，andifIhadn’tbeensopuzzledtoknowwhat，madehimdoit，Ical’lateI’dhavelaughedmyselfsicktoseepoor，oldJedtryin’tolie。Why，heain’tgotthefirstnotionofhow，tobegin;Idon’tcal’lateheevertoldareal，up-and-downlie，aforeinhislife。Thatwasfunnyenough——butwhenhebeganto，tellmehewasathief！，Graciousking！，Andallhecouldthinkof，inthewayofanexcusewasthathestolethefourhundredtobuya，suitofclotheswith。Ho，ho，ho！”
Heroaredagain。CharliePhillipslaughedalso。Buthissister，didnotlaugh。Shehadseatedherselfintherockerbythewindow，whenthecaptainbeganhistaleandnowshehaddrawnbackintothe，cornerwheretheshadowsweredeepest。
“Sothereyouare，“saidCaptainSam，again。”There’stheriddle。
Nowwhat’stheanswer？，Whydidhedoit？，Caneitherofyouguess？”
Phillipsshookhishead。”Youhavegotme，“hedeclared。”Andthe，moneyhegaveyouwasnotthemoneyyoulost？，You’resureofthat？”
“CourseI’msureofit。InthefirstplaceIlostapacketof，cleantensandtwenties;thisstuffI’vegotinmypocketnowis，allsorts，onesandtwosandfivesandeverything。Andinthe，secondplace——“
“Pardonme，justaminute，CaptainHunniwell。Wheredidhegetthe，fourhundredtogiveyou，doyouthink？，Hehasn’tcashedanylarge，checksatthebankwithinthelastdayortwo，andhewould，scarcelyhavesomuchonhandinhisshop。”
“Notasmuchasthat——no。AlthoughI’veknowntheabsent-minded，carelesscrittertohaveovertwohundredknockin’aroundamonghis，toolsandchipsandgluepots。Probablyhehadsometostartwith，andhegottherestbygettin’folksaroundtownandoverto，Harnisstocashhischecks。AnthonyHammondoverthereaskedmea，littlewhileago，whenImethimdowntothewharf，ifIthought，Shavin’sWinslowwasgoodforahundredandtwenty-five。SaidJed，hadsentoverbythetelephoneman’sautoandaskedhimtocasha，checkforthatmuch。Hammondsaidhethought’twasqueerhehadn’t，casheditatourbank;that’swhyheaskedmeaboutit。”
“Humph！，Butwhyshouldhegivehisownmoneyawayinthatfashion？
Andconfesstostealingandallthatstuff？，Ineverheardofsuch，athing。”
“Neitherdidanybodyelse。I’veknownJedallmylifeandInever，cantellwhatloonythinghe’sliabletodonext。Butthisbeats，allof’em，Iwillgivein。”
“Youdon’tsuppose——youdon’tsupposeheisdoingittohelpyou，becauseyouarehisfriend？，Becauseheisafraidthebank——oryou——
maygetintotroublebecauseof——well，becauseofhavingbeenso，careless？”
CaptainSamlaughedoncemore。”No，no，“hesaid。”Graciousking，Ihopemyreputation’sgoodenoughtostandthelosin’offour，hundreddollars。AndJedknowsperfectlywellIcouldputitback，myself，if’twasnecessary，withoutrunnin’meintothepoorhouse。
No，’tain’tformehe’sdoin’it。Iain’tthereason。”
“Andyou’requitesurehisstoryisALLuntrue。Youdon’timagine，thathedidfindthemoney，yourmoney，andthen，forsomereason，orother，changeitwithsmallerbills，and——“
“Sshh，sshh，Charlie，don’twasteyourbreath。ItoldyouIKNEW
hehadn’tfoundthefourhundreddollarsIlost，didn’tI？，Well，I
doknowitandfortheverybestofreasons;infact，mystoppin’
intohisshopjustnowwastotellhimwhatI’dheard。Yousee，Charlie，oldSylvesterSagehasgotbackfromBostonandopenedup，hishouseagain。Andhetelephonedmeattwoo’clocktosaythat，thefourhundreddollarpacketwaslayin’onhissittin’-roomtable，justwhereIleftitwhenheandIpartedcompanyfourdaysorso，ago。That’showIKNOWJeddidn’tfindit。”
FromtheshadowycornerwhereRuthArmstrongsatcamealittlegasp，andanexclamation。Charleswhistled。
“Well，byGeorge！”heexclaimed。”Thatcertainlyputsacrimpin，Jed’sconfession。”
“Sartinsureitdoes。WhenSylvesterandIpartedwewasboth，prettyhotunderthecollar，havin’calledeachother’spolitics，abouteverymeannamewecouldthinkof。Igrabbedupmygloves，andwhatIthoughtwasmymoneyfromthetableandslammedoutof，thehouse。SeemsallIgrabbedwasthetwofivehundredpackages;
thefourhundredonewasshovedundersomepapersandmagazinesand，thereitstayedtillSylvestergotbackfromhisBostoncruise。
“Butthatdon’tanswermyriddle，“headded，impatiently。”What，madeJedactthewayhedid？，Gottheanswer，Charlie？”
Theyoungmanshookhishead。”No，byGeorge，Ihaven’t！”he，replied。
“Howaboutyou，Mrs。Armstrong？，Canyouhelpusout？”
Ruth’sanswerwasbrief。”No，I’mafraidnot，“shesaid。There，wasaqueernoteinhervoicewhichcausedherbrothertoglanceat，her，butCaptainHunniwelldidnotnotice。Heturnedtogo。
“Well，“hesaid，“Iwishyou’dthinkitoverandseeifyoucanspy，landanywheresahead。Ineedapilot。Thiscourseistoocrooked，forme。I’mgoin’hometoaskMaud;maybeshecanseealight。So，long。”
Hewentout。WhenCharlesreturned，havingaccompaniedhis，employerasfarasthedoor，hefoundRuthstandingbyherchair，andlookingathim。Aglanceatherfacecausedhimtostopshort，andlookather。
“Why，Ruth，“heasked，“whatisit？”
Shewaspaleandtrembling。Thereweretearsinhereyes。
“Oh，Charlie，“shecried，“can’tyousee？，He——hediditforyou。”
“Diditforme？，Didwhat？，Who？，Whatareyoutalkingabout，Sis？”
“Jed。JedWinslow。Don’tyousee，Charlie？，Hepretendedtohave，foundthemoneyandtohavestolenitjusttosaveyou。Hethought，you——hethoughtyouhadtakenit。”
“WHAT？，ThoughtIhadtakenit？，Ihad？，Whyinthedevilshouldhe，think——“
Hestopped。Whenhenextspokeitwasinadifferenttone。
“Sis，“heasked，slowly，“doyoumeanthathethoughtItookthis，moneybecauseheknewIhad——haddonethatthingatMiddleford？
Doesheknow——aboutthat？”
Thetearswerestreamingdownhercheeks。”Yes，Charlie，“she，said，“heknows。Hefounditout，partlybyaccident，beforeyou，camehere。And——andthinkhowloyal，howwonderfulhehasbeen！
Itwasthroughhimthatyougotyouropportunitythereatthebank。
Andnow——nowhehasdonethistosaveyou。Oh，Charlie！”
CHAPTERXIX
TheclockinthesteepleoftheMethodistchurchboomedeleven，timesandstillthelightsshonefromthesitting-roomwindowsof，thelittleWinslowhouseandfromthoseofJed’slivingquarters，behindhiswindmillshop。Atthattimeofyearandatthattimeof，nighttherewerefewwindowsalightinOrham，andMr。GabeBearse，hadhebeenastiratsuchanhour，mighthavewonderedwhythe，Armstrongsand“Shavings“were“settin’up。”，Fortunatelyforevery，oneexcepthim，Gabewasinbedandasleep，otherwisehemighthave，peepedunderJed’skitchenwindowshade——hehadbeenaccusedof，doingsuchthings——andhadhedonesohewouldhaveseenJedand，CharliePhillipsindeepandearnestconversation。Neitherwould，havewishedtobeseenjustthen;theirinterviewwasfartoo，intimateandseriousforthat。
Theyhadbeentalkingsinceeight。Charlesandhissisterhadhad，alongconversationfollowingCaptainHunniwell’svisitandthen，afterapretenseatsupper——apretensemadelargelyonBabbie’s，account——theyoungmanhadcomestraighttotheshopandtoJed。
Hehadfoundthelatterinastateofextremedejection。Hewas，sittingbeforethelittlewritingtableinhisliving-room，his，elbowsonthedeskandhisheadinhishands。Thedrawerofthe，tablewasopenandJedwas，apparently，gazingintentlyat，somethingwithin。WhenPhillipsenteredtheroomhestarted，hastilyslammedthedrawershut，andraisedapaleanddistressed，facetohisvisitor。
“Eh？”heexclaimed。”Oh，it’syou，Charlie，ain’tit？，I——I——er——
goodmornin’。It’s——it’saniceday。”
Charlessmiledslightlyandshookhishead。
“You’realittlemixedonthetime，aren’tyou，Jed？”heobserved。
“ItWASaniceday，butitisaniceeveningnow。”
“Eh？，Isit？，Landsakes，Ipresumelikely’tis。Mustbeafter，suppertime，Ishouldn’twonder。”
“Suppertime！，Why，it’saftereighto’clock。Didn’tyouknowit？”
“No-o。No，Iguessnot。I——Ikindoflostrunofthetime，seems，so。”
“Haven’tyouhadanysupper？”
“No-o。Ididn’tseemtocareaboutsupper，somehow。”
“Buthaven’tyoueatenanything？”
“No。Ididmakemyselfacupoftea，buttwan’twhatyou’dcalla，success……Iforgottoputtheteainit……Butitdon’t，makeanydifference;Iain’thungry——orthirsty，either。”
Phillipsleanedforwardandlaidahandontheolderman’sshoulder。
“Jed，“hesaidgently，“Iknowwhyyou’renothungry。Oh，Jed，whatintheworldmadeyoudoit？”
Jedstartedbacksoviolentlythathischairalmostupset。He，raisedahandwiththegestureofonewardingoffablow。
“Do？”hegasped。”Dowhat？”
“Why，whatyoudidaboutthatmoneythatCaptainHunniwelllost。
Whatmadeyoudoit，Jed？”
Jed’seyesclosedmomentarily。Thenheopenedthemand，without，lookingathisvisitor，roseslowlytohisfeet。
“SoSamtoldyou，“hesaid，withasigh。”I——Ididn’thardlythink，he’ddothat……Course’twasallrightforhimtotell，“he，addedhastily。”Ididn’taskhimnotto，but——but，heandIhavin’
been——er——chums，asyoumightsay，forsolong，I——Isortof，thought……Well，itdon’tmakeanydifference，Iguess。Did，hetellyour——yoursister？，DidhetellherhowI——howIstolethe，money？”
Charlesshookhishead。
“No，“hesaidquietly。”No，hedidn’ttelleitherofusthat。He，toldusthatyouhadtriedtomakehimbelieveyoutookthemoney，butthatheknewyouwerenottellingthetruth。Heknewyou，didn’ttakeit。”
“Eh？，Now……now，Charlie，thatain’tso。”，Jedwasevenmore，disturbedanddistressedthanbefore。”I——ItoldSamItookit，and——andkeptit。ITOLDhimIdid。Whatmoredoeshewant？
What’shegoin’aroundtellin’folksIdidn’tfor？，What——“
“Hush，Jed！，Heknowsyoudidn’ttakeit。Heknewitallthetime，youweretellinghimyoudid。Infacthecameintoyourshopthis，afternoontotellyouthattheSagemanoveratWapatomachadfound，thefourhundreddollarsonthetableinhissitting-roomjust，wherethecaptainleftit。Sagehadjust’phonedhimthatvery，thing。Hewouldhavetoldyouthat，butyoudidn’tgivehimthe，chance。Jed，I——“
ButJedinterrupted。Hisexpressionashelistenedhadbeen，changingliketheskyonawindydayinApril。
“Here，here！”hecriedwildly。”What——whatkindoftalk’sthat？
Do——doyoumeantotellmethatSamHunniwellneverlostthatmoney，atall？，ThatallhedidwasleaveitoveratWapatomac？”
“Yes，that’sjustwhatImean。”
“Then——thenallthetimewhenIwas——wasgivin’himthe——theother，moneyandtellin’himhowIfounditand——andall——heknew——“
“Certainlyheknew。I’vejusttoldyouthatheknew。”
Jedsatheavilydowninthechaironcemore。Hepassedhishand，slowlyacrosshischin。
“Heknew！”herepeated。”Heknew！……”，Then，withasuddengasp，asthefullsignificanceofthethoughtcametohim，hecried：
“Why，if——ifthemoneywasn’teverlostyoucouldn’t——you——“
Charlesshookhishead：“No，Jed，“hesaid，“Icouldn’thavetaken，it。AndIdidn’ttakeit。”
Jedgaspedagain。Hestretchedoutahandimploringly。”Oh，Lord，“heexclaimed，“Inevermeanttosaythat。I——I——“
“It’sallright，Jed。Idon’tblameyouforthinkingImighthave，takenit。Knowingwhatyoudidabout——well，aboutmypastrecord，itisnotveryastonishingthatyoushouldthinkalmostanything。”
Jed’sagonizedcontritionwasacute。
“Don’ttalkso，Charlie！”hepleaded。”Don’t！，I——I’doughttobe，ashamedofmyself。Iam——mercyknowsIam！，But……Eh？，Why，howdidyouknowIknewabout——that？”
“Ruthtoldmejustnow。AfterCaptainHunniwellhadgone，shetold，methewholething。AbouthowBabbieletthecatoutofthebag，andhowshetoldyouforfearyoumightsuspectsomethingeven，worsethanthetruth;although，“headded，“thatwasquitebad，enough。Yes，shetoldmeeverything。You’vebeenabrickall，through，Jed。Andnow——“
“Wait，Charlie，wait。I——Idon’tknowwhattosaytoyou。Idon’t，knowwhatyoumustthinkofmeforever——everoncesuspectin’you。
Ifyouhadn’tsaidtomeonlysuchalittlespellagothatyou，neededmoneysobadandwoulddomostanythingtogetfivehundred，dollars——ifyouhadn’tsaidthat，Idon’tthinkthenotionwould，everhavecrossedmymind。”
Phillipswhistled。”Well，byGeorge！”heexclaimed。”Ihad，forgottenthat。NowonderyouthoughtIhadgonecrookedagain。
Humph！……Well，I’lltellyouwhyIwantedthatmoney。You，see，I’vebeentryingtopaybacktothemaninMiddlefordthe，moneyofhiswhich——whichItookbefore。Itistwothousand，dollarsand，“withashrug，“thatlooksagooddealbiggersumto，menowthanitusedto，youcanbetonthat。Ihadafewhundred，inaNewYorksavingsbankbeforeI——well，beforetheyshutmeup。
Nooneknewaboutit，notevenSis。Ididn’ttellherbecause——
well，IwishIcouldsayitwasbecauseIwasintendingtouseit，topaybackwhatIhadtaken，butthatwasn’ttherealreasonwhyI
keptstillaboutit。Totellyouthetruth，Jed，Ididn’tfeel——
no，Idon’tfeelyetanytooforgivingorkindlytowardthatchap，whohadmeputinprison。I’mnotshirkingblame;Iwasafooland，ascampandallthat;butheis——he’sahardman，Jed。”
Jednodded。”SeemstomeRu——yoursistersaidhewasaconsider’ble，ofaprofesser，“heobserved。
“Professor？，Whyno，hewasabondbroker。”
“Imeanthatheprofessedreligionagooddeal。Calledhimselfa，Christianandsuchkindofnames。”
Phillipssmiledbitterly。”IfheisaChristianIprefertobea，heathen，“heobserved。
“Um-hm。Well，maybeheain’tone。Youcouldteachaparrotto，holler’PraisetheLord，’Ical’late，andthemorecrackershegot，byitthelouderhe’dholler。Soyouneversaidanythingaboutthe，fourhundredyouhadputby，Charlie。”
“No。IfeltthatIhadbeentreatedbadlyand——why，Jed，theman，usedtourgemetodressbetterthanIcouldafford，tobelongto，themostexpensiveclubandallthatsortofthing。HeknewIwas，inwithasetsportingtentimesthemoneyIcouldmuster，and，spendingit，too，butheseemedtoliketohavemeassociatewith，them。Saiditwasgoodforthebusiness。”
“Sartin！，MorecrackersforPolly。Goon。”
“Iintendedthatheshouldneverhavethatmoney，butafterIcame，here，afterIhadbeenhereforatime，Ichangedmymind。Isaw，thingsinadifferentlight。Iwrotehimaletter，toldhimI
meanttopaybackeverycentofthetwothousandIhadtakenand，enclosedmycheckforthesevenhundredandfiftyIhadputby。
SincethenIhavepaidhimtwohundredandfiftymore，goodness，knowshow。IhavesqueezedeverypennyfrommysalarythatIcould，spare。Ihavepaidhimhalfofthetwothousandand，ifeverything，hadgoneonwell，somedayorotherIwouldhavepaidtheother，half。”
Jedlaidahandonhiscompanion’sknee。”Goodboy，Charlie，“he，said。”Andhowdidthe——er——professin’pollparrotactaboutyour，payin’itback？”
Charlessmiledfaintly。”JustbeforeItalkedwithyouthatday，Jed，“hesaid，“Ireceivedaletterfromhimstatingthathedid，notfeelIwaspayingasrapidlyasIcouldandthat，ifhedidnot，receiveanotherfivehundredshortlyheshouldfeelithisdutyto，communicatewithmypresentemployers。DoyouwonderIsaidI
woulddoalmostanythingtogetthemoney？”
Jed’shandpattedthekneesympathetically。
“Sho，sho，sho！”heexclaimed。”Haveyouheardfromhimsince？”
“No，IwrotehimthatIwaspayingasfastasIcouldandthatif，hecommunicatedwithmyemployersthatwouldendanychancesofhis，evergettingmore。Hehasn’twrittensince;afraidofstoppingthe，goldeneggsupply，Ipresume……Butthere，“headded，“that’s，enoughofthat。Jed，howcouldyoudoit——justforme？，Ofcourse，Ihadcometorealizethatyourheartwasasbigasabushel，basket，andthatyouandIwerefriends。Butwhenafellowgives，upfourhundreddollarsofhisownmoney，and，notonlydoesthat，butdeliberatelyconfesseshimselfathief——whenhedoesthatto，savesomeoneelsewho，asheknew，hadreallybeenathiefandwho，hewasprettysuremusthavestolenagain——why，Jed，itis，unbelievable。Whydidyoudoit？，WhatcanIsaytoyou？”
Jedheldupaprotestinghand。
“Don’tsayanything，“hestammered。”Don’t！，It’s——it’sall，foolishness，anyhow。”
“Foolishness！，It’s——oh，Idon’tknowwhatitis！，Andtosacrifice，yourreputationandyourcharacterandyourfriendshipwithCaptain，Hunniwell，allforme！，Ican’tunderstandit。”
“Now——now——now，Charlie，don’ttryto。IfIcan’tunderstand，myselfmore’nhalfthetime，what’stheuseofyourstrainin’your，brains？，I——Ijusttookanotion，that’sall。I——“
“But，Jed，whydidyoudoit——forme？，Ihaveheardofmendoing，suchthingsfor——forwomen，sacrificingthemselvestosaveawoman，theywereinlovewith。Youreadofthatinbooksand——yes，I
thinkIcanunderstandthat。Butforyoutodoit——forME！”
Jedwavedbothhandsthistime。”Sshh！sshh！”hecried，infrantic，protest。Hisfacewasabrilliantcrimsonandhisembarrassment，andconfusionweresoacuteastobelaughable，althoughPhillips，wasfarfromlaughing。”Sshh，sshh，Charlie，“pleadedJed。”You——
youdon’tknowwhatyou’retalkin’about。You’remakin’anawful，fussaboutnothin’。Sshh！，Yes，youare，too。Ididn’thaveany，notionoftellin’SamIstolethatfourhundredwhenIfirstgave，ittohim。Iwasgoin’totellhimIfoundit，that’sall。That，wouldkeephimbottledup，Ifiggered，andsatisfiedandthen——then，youandI’dhaveatalkandI’dtellyouwhatI’ddoneand——well，somedaymaybeyoucouldpaymebackthemoney;don’tyousee？，I
dohope，“headdedanxiously，“youwon’tholditagainstme，for，thinkin’maybeyouhadtakenit。CourseI’doughttohaveknown，better。IwouldhaveknownbetterifI’dbeenanybodybutShavin’s，Winslow。HEain’tresponsible。”
“Hush，Jed，hush！，Butwhydidyousayyouhad——keptit？”
“Eh？，Oh，thatwasSam’sdoin’s。Hecommencedtoaskquestions，and，thefirstthingIknew，hehadmeonthespiderfryin’overa，hotfire。ThemoreIsizzledandsputteredandtriedtogetoutof，thatspider，themorehepokedupthefire。Ideclare，Inever，knewlyin’wassuchajob！，WhenIseehoweasyandnaturalit，comestosomefolksIfeelkindofashamedtothinkwhatapoor，showImadeatit。Well，Samkeptpokin’thefireandheatin’me，uptillIgotdesperateandsworeIstolethemoneyinsteadof，findin’it。Andthatwashoppin’outofthefryin’panINTOthe，fire，“hedrawledreflectively。
Charlessmiled。”CaptainSamsaidyoutoldhimyoutookthemoney，tobuyasuitofclotheswith，“hesuggested。
“Eh？，DidI？，Sho！，Thatwasarealbrightideaofmine，wasn’tit？
Asuitofclothes。Humph！，WonderIdidn’tsayIboughtshoelaces，orcollarbuttonsorsomethin’……Sho！……Dear，dear！
Well，theysayGeorgeWashin’toncouldn’ttellalieandI’ve，provedIcan’teither;onlyI’vetriedtotelloneandIdon’t，recollectthatheeverdidthat……Humph！……Asuitof，clothes……Fourhundreddollars……Solomoninallhis，glorywouldhavelookedlikeacalicoshirtandapairofoveralls，alongsideofme，eh？……Humph！”
Phillipsshookhishead。”Nevertheless，Jed，“hedeclared，“I
can’tunderstandwhyyoudiditandInever——nevershallforgetit。
NeitherwillRuth。Shewilltellyousoto-morrow。”
Jedwasfrightened。”No，no，no，shemustn’t，“hecried，quickly。
“I——Idon’twanthertotalkaboutit。I——Idon’twantanybodyto，talkaboutit。Pleasetellhernotto，Charlie！，Please！，It’s——
it’sallsuchfoolishnessanyhow。Let’sforgetit。”
“Itisn’tthesortofthingoneforgetseasily。Butwewon’ttalk，ofitanymorejustnow，ifthatpleasesyoubetter。Ihavesome，otherthingstotalkaboutandImusttalkaboutthemwithsome，one。IMUST——I’vegotto。”
Jedlookedathim。ThewordsremindedhimforciblyofRuth’son，thatdaywhenshehadcometothewindmillshoptotellhimher，brother’sstoryandtodiscussthequestionofhiscomingtoOrham。
She，too，hadsaidthatshemusttalkwithsomeone——sheMUST。
“Have——youtalked’emoverwith——withyoursister？”heasked。
“Yes。ButsheandIdon’tagreecompletelyinthematter。You，see，Ruththinkstheworldofme，shealwaysdid，agreatdealmore，thanIdeserve，everhavedeservedoreverwill。Andinthis，mattershethinksfirstofallofme——whatwillbecomeofme，provided——well，providedthingsdon’tgoasIshouldliketohave，them。Thatisn’tthewayIwanttofacethequestion。Iwantto，knowwhatisbestforeveryone，forher，formeand——andforsome，oneelse——mostofallforsomeoneelse，Iguess，“headded。
Jednoddedslowly。”ForMaud，“hesaid。
Charleslookedathim。”Howonearth——？”hedemanded。”Whatin，blazesareyou——aclairvoyant？”
“No-o。No。Butitdon’tneedaspiritmediumtoseethrougha，windowpane，Charlie;thatis，theaveragewindowpane，“headded，withaglanceathisown，whichwereinneedofwashingjustthen。
“Youwanttoknow，“hecontinued，“whatyou’doughttodonowthat，willbetherightthing，orthenighesttotherightthing，for，yoursisterandBabbieandyourself——andMaud。”
“Yes，Ido。Itisn’tanynewquestionforme。I’vebeenputting，ituptomyselfforalongtime，formonths;by，George，itseems，years。”
“Iknow。Iknow。Well，Charlie，I’vebeenputtin’itupto，myself，too。Haveyougotanyanswer？”
“No，nonethatexactlysuitsme。Haveyou？”
“Idon’tknow’sIhave——exactly。”
“Exactly？，Well，haveyouany，exactorotherwise？”
“Um……Well，I’vegotone，but……butperhapsitain’tan，answer。Perhapsitwouldn’tdoatall。Perhaps……perhaps……”
“Nevermindtheperhapses。Whatisit？”
“Um……Supposeweletitwaitalittlespellandtalkthe，situationoverjustalittlemite。You’vebeentalkin’withyour，sister，yousay，andshedon’tentirelyagreewithyou。”
“No。Isaythingscan’tgoonasthey’vebeengoing。Theycan’t。”
“Um-hm。Meanin’——whatthings？”
“Everything。Jed，doyourememberthatdaywhenyouandIhadthe，talkaboutpoetryandallthat？，Whenyouquotedthatpoemabouta，chap’sfearinghisfatetoomuch？，Well，I’vebeenfearingmyfate，eversinceIbegantorealizewhatamessIwasgettingintohere，inOrham。WhenIfirstcameIsaw，ofcourse，thatIwasskating，onthinice，anditwaslikelytobreakundermeatanytime。I
knewperfectlywellthatsomedaytheMiddlefordbusinesswasbound，tocomeoutandthatmyacceptingthebankofferwithouttelling，CaptainHunniwelloranyonewasamightyrisky，nottosaymean，business。ButRuthwassoveryanxiousthatIshouldacceptand，keptbeggingmenottotell，atleastuntiltheyhadhadachance，tolearnthatIwasworthsomething，thatIgaveinand……I
say，Jed，“heputin，breakinghisownsentenceinthemiddle，“don’tthinkI’mtryingtoshovetheblameoverontoSis。It’s，notthat。”
Jednodded。”Sho，sho，Charlie，“hesaid，“course’tain’t。I
understand。”
“No，I’lltaketheblame。Iwasoldenoughtohaveamindofmy，own。Well，asIwassaying，Irealizeditall，butIdidn’tcare，somuch。Ifthesmashdidcome，Ifigured，itmightnotcomeuntil，Ihadestablishedmyselfatthebank，untiltheymighthavefound，mevaluableenoughtokeeponinspiteofit。AndIworkedmighty，hardtomakethemlikeme。Then——then——well，thenMaudandI
becamefriendsand——and——oh，confoundit，youseewhatImean！，You，mustsee。”
TheWinslowkneewasclaspedbetweentheWinslowhandsandthe，Winslowfootwasswinging。Jednoddedagain。
“Isee，Charlie，“hesaid。
“And——andhereIam。Thesmashhascome，inaway，already。
Babbitt，soRuthtellsme，knowsthewholestoryandwasthreatening，totell，butshesaysGroverassuresherthathewon’ttell，thathe，themajor，hasaclubovertheoldfellowwhichwillpreventhis，telling。Doyouthinkthat’strue？”
“Ishouldn’tbesurprised。MajorGroversartinlydidseemtoput，thefearoftheLordintoPhinthisafternoon……Andthat’s，noone-horsemiracle，“hedrawled，“whenyouconsiderthatall，theministersinOrhamhaven’tbeenabletodoitforfortyodd，years……Um……Yes，Ikindofcal’latePhin’llkeephis，hatchesshut。Hemaybusthisb’ilerandblowupwithspite，but，hewon’ttalkaboutyou，Charlie，Ihonestlybelieve。Andwecan，allthankthemajorforthat。”
“Ishallthankhim，forone！”
“Mercyonus！，No，no。Hedoesn’tknowyourstoryatall。Hejust，thinksBabbittwascirculatin’liesaboutRuth——aboutyoursister。
Youmustn’tmentiontheMiddleford——er——messtoMajorGrover。”
“Humph！，Well，unlessI’mgreatlymistaken，Ruth——“
“Eh？，Ruth——what？”
“Oh，nothing。Nevermindthatnow。AndallowingthatBabbitt，will，asyousay，keephismouthshut，admittingthatthesituation，isjustwhatitwasbeforeCaptainHunniwelllostthemoneyor，Babbittcameintotheaffairatall，stillI’vemadeupmymind，thatthingscan’tgoonastheyare。Jed，I——it’samightyhard，thingtosaytoanotherman，but——theworld——myworld——justbegins，andendswith——withher。”
Hisfistsclenchedandhisjawsetashesaidit。Jedbowedhis，head。
“WithMaud，youmean，“hesaid。
“Yes。I——Idon’tcareforanythingelseoranybodyelse……
Oh，ofcourseIdon’tmeanjustthat，youknow。IdocareforSis，andBabbie。But——they’redifferent。”
“Iunderstand，Charlie。”
“No，youdon’t。Howcanyou？，Nobodycanunderstand，leastofall，asetoldcranklikeyou，Jed，andaconfirmedbachelorbesides。
Begpardonforcontradictingyou，butyoudon’tunderstand，you，can’t。”
Jedgazedsoberlyatthefloor。
“MaybeIcanunderstandalittle，Charlie，“hedrawledgently。
“Well，allright。Letitgoatthat。ThefactisthatI’mata，crisis。”
“Justahalfminute，now。HaveyousaidanythingtoMaudabout——
abouthowyoufeel？”
“OfcourseIhaven’t，“indignantly。”HowcouldI，withouttelling，hereverything？”
“That’sright，that’sright。Courseyoucouldn’t，andbefairand，honorable……Hum……Thenyoudon’tknowwhetherornot，she——er——feelsthesamewayabout——aboutyou？”
Charleshesitated。”No-o，“hehesitated。”No，Idon’tknow，of，course。ButI——Ifeel——I——“
“Youfeelthatthatpartofthesituationain’twhatyou’dcall，hopeless，eh？……Um……Well，judgin’fromwhatI’veheard，Ishouldn’tcallitthat，either。Woulditsurpriseyoutoknow，Charlie，thatherdadandIhadalittletalkonthisverysubject，notsoverylongago？”
Evidentlyitdidsurprisehim。Charlesgaspedandturnedred。
“CaptainHunniwell！”heexclaimed。”DidCaptainHunniwelltalk，withyouabout——aboutMaudand——andme？”
“Yes。”
“Well，byGeorge！，Thenhesuspected——heguessedthat——，That’s，strange。”
Jedrelinquishedthegripofonehanduponhiskneelongenoughto，strokehischin。
“Um……yes，“hedrawleddrily。”It’sworsethanstrange，it’s——
er——paralyzin’。MoreclairvoyantsinOrhamthanyouthoughtthere，was;eh，Charlie？”
“Butwhyshouldhetalkwithyouonthatsubject;aboutanything，so——er——personalandconfidentialasthat？，WithYOU，youknow！”
Jed’sslowsmiledriftedintosightandvanishedagain。He，permittedhimselftheluxuryofaretort。
“Well，“heobservedmusingly，“astothatIcan’tsayforcertain。
Maybehediditforthesamereasonyou’redoin’itnow，Charlie。”
Theyoungmanevidentlyhadnotthoughtofitinjustthatlight。
Helookedsurprisedandstillmorepuzzled。
“Why，yes，“headmitted。”SoIam，ofcourse。AndIdotalkto，youaboutthingsIneverwouldthinkofmentioningtootherpeople。
AndRuthsaysshedoes。That’squeer，too。Butweare——er——
neighborsofyoursand——andtenants，youknow。We’veknownyou，eversincewecametoOrham。”
“Ye-es。AndSam’sknownmeeversinceIcame。Anyhowhetalked，withmeaboutyouandMaud。Idon’tthinkIshallbesayin’more’n，IoughttoifItellyouthathelikesyou，Charlie。”
“Doeshe？”eagerly。”ByGeorge，I’mgladofthat！，But，oh，well，“
withasigh，“hedoesn’tknow。Ifhedidknowmyrecordhemight，notlikemesowell。Andasformymarryinghisdaughter——good，NIGHT！”withhopelessemphasis。
“No，notgoodnightbyanymeans。Maybeit’sonlygoodmornin’。
Goonandtellmewhatyoumeanbybein’atacrisis，asyousaida，minuteago。”
“Imeanjustthat。ThetimehascomewhenImustspeaktoMaud。I
mustfindoutif——findouthowshefeelsaboutme。AndIcan’t，speaktoher，honorably，withouttellinghereverything。And，supposesheshouldcareenoughformeto——to——supposesheshould，careinspiteofeverything，there’sherfather。Sheishisonly，daughter;heworshipsthegroundshestepson。SupposeItellhim，I’vebeen，“bitterly，“acrookandajailbird;whatwillHEthink，ofme——asason-in-law？，Andnowsupposehewasfoolenoughto，consent——whichisn’tsupposable——howcouldIstayhere，workingfor，him，spongingalivingfromhim，withthisthinghangingoverus，all？，No，Ican’t——Ican’t。WhateverelsehappensIcan’tdothat。
AndIcan’tgoonasIam——orIwon’t。NowwhatamIgoingtodo？”
Hehadrisenandwaspacingthefloor。Jedaskedaquestion。
“Whatdoesyoursisterwantyoutodo？”heasked。
“Ruth？，Oh，asItoldyou，shethinksofnoonebutme。How，dreadfulitwouldbeformetotellofmyMiddlefordrecord！，How，awfulifIlostmypositioninthebank！，Supposetheydischarged，meandthetownlearnedwhy！，I’vetriedtomakeherseethat，comparedtothequestionofMaud，nothingelsemattersatall，but，I’mafraidshedoesn’tseeitasIdo。Sheonlysees——me。”
“Herbrother。Um……yes，Iknow。”
“Yes。Well，wetalkedandtalked，butwegotnowhere。Soatlast，IsaidIwascomingouttothankyouforwhatyoudidtosaveme，Jed。Icouldhardlybelieveitthen;Icanscarcelybelieveit，now。Itwastoomuchforanymantodoforanother。Andshesaid，totalkthewholepuzzleoutwithyou。Sheseemstohaveallthe，confidenceonearthinyourjudgment，Jed。Sheisaswillingto，leaveadecisiontoyou，apparently，asyouprofesstobetoleave，onetoyourwoodenprophetupontheshelfthere;what’s-his-name——
er——Isaiah。”
Jedlookedgreatlypleased，butheshookhishead。”I’mafraidher，confidenceain’tfoundedonarock，likethefeller’shouseinthe，Bible，“hedrawled。”Mydecisionsareliabletostickhalfway，betwixtandbetween，sameas——er——Jeremiah’sdo。But，“headded，gravely，“Ihavebeenthinkin’prettyseriouslyaboutyouandyour，particularpuzzle，Charlie，and——andIain’tsurethatIdon’tsee，onewayoutofthefog。Itmaybeahardway，anditmayturnout，wrong，anditmaynotbeanythingyou’llagreeto。But——“
“Whatisit？，Ifit’sanythingevenhalfwaysatisfactoryI’ll，believeyou’rethewisestmanonearth，JedWinslow。”
“Well，ifIthoughtyouwasliabletobelievethatI’dtellyouto，sendyourbelievertotheblacksmith’s’causetherewassomethin’
wrongwithit。No，Iain’twise，farfromit。But，Charlie，I
thinkyou’redeadrightaboutwhatyousayconcernin’Maudandher，fatherandyou。YouCAN’Ttellherwithouttellin’him。Foryour，ownsakeyoumustn’ttellhimwithouttellin’her。Andyou，shouldn’t，asastraightupanddown，honorablemankeeponworkin’
forSamwhenyouaskhim，underthesecircumstances，togiveyou，hisdaughter。Youcan’taffordtohavehersay’yes’becauseshe，pitiesyou，nortohavehimgiveintoherbecauseshebegshimto。
No，youwanttobeindependent，togotobothof’emandsay：
’Here’smystoryandhereamI。YouknownowwhatIdidandyou，know，too，whatI’vebeenandhowI’vebehavedsinceI’vebeenwith，you。’，YouwanttosaytoMaud：’Doyoucareenoughformetomarry，meinspiteofwhatI’vedoneandwhereI’vebeen？’，AndtoSam：
’Providin’yourdaughterdoescareforme，Imeantomarryhersome，dayorother。Andyoucan’tbeonhispayrollwhenyousaythat，asIseeit。”
Phillipsstoppedinhisstride。
“You’veputitjustasitis，“hedeclaredemphatically。”There’s，thesituation——whatthen？，ForItellyounow，JedWinslow，Iwon’t，giveherupuntilshetellsmeto。”
“Coursenot，Charlie，coursenot。Butthere’sonethingmore——or，twothings，rather。There’syoursisterandBabbie。Supposeyou，dohaulupstakesandquitworkin’forSamatthebank;canthey，getalongwithoutyoursupport？，Withoutthemoneyyouearn？”
Theyoungmannoddedthoughtfully。”Yes，“hereplied，“Iseeno，reasonwhytheycan’t。TheydidbeforeIcame，youknow。Ruthhas，alittlemoneyofherown，enoughtokeepherandBarbarainthe，waytheylivehereinOrham。Shecouldn’tsupportmeasaloafer，ofcourse，andyoucanbetIshouldneverlethertry，butshe，couldgetonquitewellwithoutme……Besides，Iamnotso，surethat……”
“Eh？，Whatwasyougoin’tosay，Charlie？”
“Oh，nothing，nothing。Ihavehadafeeling，aslightsuspicion，recently，that——，Butnevermindthat;Ihavenorighttoevenhint，atsuchathing。Whatareyoutryingtogetat，Jed？”
“Getat？”
“Yes。WhydidyouaskthatquestionaboutRuthandBarbara？，You，don’tmeanthatyouseeawayoutforme，doyou？”
“W-e-e-ll，I……er……Idon’tcal’lateI’dwanttogosofar，astosaythat，hardly。No-o，Idon’tknow’sit’sawayout——
quite。But，asI’vetoldyouI’vebeenthinkin’aboutyouandMaud，aprettygooddeallatelyand……er……hum……”
“Forheaven’ssake，hurryup！，Don’tgotosleepnow，man，ofall，times。Tellme，whatdoyoumean？，WhatcanIdo？”
Jed’sfootdroppedtothefloor。Hesaterectandregardedhis，companionintentlyoverhisspectacles。Hisfacewasverygrave。
“There’sonethingyoucando，Charlie，“hesaid。
“Whatisit？，Tellme，quick。”
“Justaminute。Doin’itwon’tmeannecessarilythatyou’reoutof，yourworriesandtroubles。Itwon’tmeanthatyoumustn’tmakea，cleanbreastofeverythingtoMaudandtoSam。Thatyoumustdo，andIknow，fromwhatyou’vesaidtome，thatyoufeelyoumust。
Anditwon’tmeanthatyourdoin’thisthingwillnecessarilymake，eitherMaudorSamsayyestothequestionyouwanttoask’em。
Thatquestionthey’llanswerthemselves，ofcourse。But，asIsee，it，ifyoudothisthingyou’llbefreeandindependent，aman，doin’aman’sjobandreadytospeaktoSamHunniwelloranybody，elseLIKEaman。Andthat’ssomethin’。”
“Something！，ByGeorge，it’severything！，Whatisthisman’sjob？
Tellme，quick。”
AndJedtoldhim。
CHAPTERXX
Mr。GabeBearselostanotheropportunitythenextmorning。The，latebirdmissestheearlywormand，asGabrielwasstillslumbering，peacefullyatsixA。M。hemissedseeingRuthArmstrongandher，brotheremergefromthedooroftheWinslowhouseatthathour，andwalktothegatetogether。Charleswascarryingasmall，travelingbag。Ruth’sfacewaswhiteandhereyesweresuspiciously，damp，butshewasevidentlytryinghardtoappearcalmandcheerful。
Astheystoodtalkingbythegate，JedWinslowemergedfromthe，windmillshopand，crossingthelawn，joinedthem。
ThethreetalkedforamomentandthenCharlesheldouthishand。
“Well，solong，Jed，“hesaid。”IfallgoeswellIshallbeback，hereto-morrow。Wishmeluck。”
“I’llbewishin’itforyou，Charlie，alldayandallnightwith，doubletimeafterhoursandnoallowanceformeals，“repliedJed，earnestly。”YouthinkSam’llgetyournoteallright？”
“Yes，IshalltuckitunderthebankdoorasIgoby。Ifheshould，askwhatthebusinesswaswhichcalledmetoBostonsosuddenly，justdodgethequestionaswellasyoucan，won’tyou，Jed？”
“Sartinsure。He’llthinkhe’sdealin’withthatcoloredmanthat，stickshisheadthroughthesheetovertotheOstablefair，theone，theboysheavebaseballsat。No，hewon’tgetanythingoutofme，Charlie。Andtheotherletter;that’llgetto——toher？”
Theyoungmannoddedgravely。”Ishallmailitatthepost-office，now，“hesaid。”Don’ttalkaboutit，please。Well，Sis，good-by——
untilto-morrow。”
Jedturnedhishead。WhenhelookedagainPhillipswaswalking，rapidlyawayalongthesidewalk。Ruth，leaningoverthefence，watchedhimaslongashewasinsight。AndJedwatchedher，anxiously。Whensheturnedheventuredtospeak。
“Don’tworry，“hebegged。”Don’t。He’sdoin’therightthing。I
knowheis。”
Shewipedhereyes。”Oh，perhapsheis，“shesaidsadly。”Ihope，heis。”
“Iknowheis。IonlywishIcoulddoit，too……Iwould，“he，drawled，solemnly，“onlyfornineteenortwentyreasons，thefirst，oneof’embein’thattheywouldn’tletme。”
Shemadenocommentonthisobservation。Theywalkedtogetherback，towardthehouse。
“Jed，“shesaid，afteramoment，“ithascomeatlast，hasn’tit，thedaywehaveforeseenandthatIhavedreadedso？，PoorCharlie！
Thinkwhatthismeanstohim。”
Jednodded。”He’sputtin’ittothetouch，towinorloseitall，“
heagreed，“sameaswasinthepoemheandItalkedaboutthat，time。Well，Ihonestlybelievehefeelsbetternowthathe’smade，uphismindtodoit，betterthanhehasformanyalongday。”
“Yes，Isupposehedoes。Andheisdoing，too，whathehaswanted，todoeversincehecamehere。Hetoldmesowhenhecameinfrom，hislonginterviewwithyoulastnight。HeandItalkeduntilit，wasalmostdayandwetoldeachother——manythings。”
Shepaused。Jed，lookingup，caughthereye。Tohissurpriseshe，coloredandseemedslightlyconfused。
“Hehadnotsaidanythingbefore，“shewentonratherhurriedly，“becausehethoughtIwouldfeelsoterriblytohavehimdoit。So，Ishould，andsoIdo，ofcourse——inoneway，butinanotherIam，glad。Glad，andveryproud。”