第9章

"Oh，tryingthefeelofthewater，hey？Guessyouwon’tfinditverychilly。AsapreparatorytonicI’drecommendstrawberriesandcream。Nellie，getRosasaucerofthosegenuinehome—raisedberries，whydon’tyou？"

Nellielaughed。"Roscoe，"shesaid，"isn’thedreadful！HeknowsweboughttheseberriesinBoston。It’smuchtooearlyforthenativeones。Buttheyreallyareverynice，thoughhedoesmakesuchfunofthem。"

ShewentintothevestrytogettheberriesandIsatdownatthetablebesideTaylorandlookedaboutme。

"Mosteverybody’shere，"heobserved。"Andthey’llbegladtoseeyou，Ros。Getoutandshakehandsandbesociable，afteryou’vedoneyourdutybythefruit。Howarethingsathome？"

"Motherisherselfagain，Iamgladtosay。George，Ihavescarcelythoughtofanythingexceptwhatyoutoldmetheothernight。"

"Thenit’stimeyoudid。That’sonereasonwhyIwantedyoutocomehere。You’vebeenthinkingtoomuchaboutyourself。"

"Itisn’tofmyself，butofMother。IfyouhaddroppedahintwhenthatBostonreportercame——"

"Now，lookhere，Ros，wouldYOUhavedroppedhintsifthingshadbeentheotherwayaround？"

"Idon’tknow。"

"Iknowyouwouldn’t。What’stheuseofgivingtheDenborogossipmillachancetorunovertime？Greatheavens！itworkstwelvehoursadayas’tis。"

"Itwasmightygoodofyou，justthesame。"

"No，itwasn’t。Thewholeaffairwasyourbusinessandnobodyelse’s。"

"Well，asIsaidbefore，ifeverIhaveanopportunitytodoasmuchforyou——notthatIeverwill。"

"Howdoyouknowyouwon’t？Anybody’sliabletobegossipedaboutsometimeorother。"

"Notyou。YouareDenboro’sshininglight。Themothersandfathersherepointyououtasanexampleofwhatindustryandambitionandhonesteffortmayriseto。I——"

"Shutup！"Hesaiditalmostsavagely。"There！"headded，quickly，"let’schangethesubject。Talkaboutsomethingworthwhile。Humph！IguesstheymustbeopeninganothercrateofthoseBoston’homegrowns，’judgin’bythetimeittakesNellietogetyoursample。"

"Iaminnohurry。Howareaffairsatthebank？"

"Oh，so，so。Don’tknowagoodmanwhowantsajob，doyou？HenrySmall’sgoingtoleavethemiddleofnextmonth。"

"Small，thebookkeeper？Why？"

"Gotabetterchanceuptothecity。Idon’tblamehim。Don’ttellanybodyyet；it’sasecret。Say，Ros，DOyouknowofagood，sharp，experiencedfellow？"

Ismiled。"Isitlikely？"Iasked。"Howlargeismyacquaintanceamongsharp，experiencedfellowsdownhere？"

"Notsolargeasitoughttobe，I’llgiveintothat。Butyouknowone。"

"DoI，indeed？Whoishe？"

"Yourself。Youwouldn’ttakeSmall’sjob，wouldyou？"

"I？"Ilaughedaloud。

"It’snojoke。You’vehadalotofbankingexperience。I’veheardaboutitamongmycityfriends，whodon’tknowIknowyou。CourseIrealizetheplaceiswaybeneathwhatyououghttohave，but——"

"Oh，don’tbesarcastic。No，thankyou，George。"

"Allright，ifyousayso。ButImeantit。Youdon’tneedthesalary，Iknow。But——Ros，doyoumindifItalkplainforamoment？"

Iwonderedwhatwascomingnow。"No，"Ianswered。"Goaheadandtalk。"

"Wellthen，Itellyou，asafriend，that’twouldbeagoodthingforyouifyoudidtakethatjob，orsomeotherone。Don’tmakemuchmatterwhatitis，butyououghttodosomething。You’retoocleverafellowtobehangingaround，shootingandfishing。You’rewastingyourlife。"

"Thatwaswastedlongago。"

"No，itwasn’t。Butitwillbeifyoudon’tchangeprettysoon。I

tellyouyououghttogetinterestedinsomethingthatcounts。Youmightmakeabignameforyourselfyet。"

"That’senoughofthat。Ihaveanamealready。Youknowit，andyouknowwhatwasmadeofit。"

"YOUdidn’tmakeitthatkindofaname，didyou？Andyou’reyoungenoughtomakeitsomethingaltogetherdifferent。Yououghtto。

Youoweittoyourmotherandyouoweittoyourself。Asitis，ifyoukeepon，you’ll——"

"George，you’vesaidenough。Noonebutyouwouldhavebeenpermittedtosayasmuch。Youdon’tunderstand。"

"Maybenot，but，Ros，Idon’tliketohavepeoplearoundherecallyou——"

"Idon’tcareacontinentalwhattheycallme。Idon’twantthemtoknowwhoIam，butforpublicopiniongenerallyIcarenothing。"

Heleanedbackinhischair。HisfacewasinshadowandIcouldnotseeit，buthistonewasgraveenough。

"Youthinkyoudon’t，"hesaid，slowly，"buttheremaycomeatimewhenyouwill。Theremaycomeatimewhenyougetsointerestedinsomething，orsomeperson，thatthethoughtofwhatfolkswouldsayif——ifanythingwentwrongwouldkeepyouawakenightafternight。

Oh，Itellyou，Ros——Hello，Nellie！thoughtyou’dgoneSouthtopickthoseberriesyourself。Twosaucersfull！Well，IsupposeI

musteattheothertosaveit——unlessRosherewantsboth。"

Isaidonewouldbequitesufficientforthepresent，andwethreechatteduntilMrs。Deancameoverandmonopolizedthechat。

"Don’tgo，Roscoe，"protestedthematron。"TheCap’n’shereandhe’llwanttotalktoyou。He’sdreadfulinterestedinyoujustnow。Don’ttalkaboutnobodyelse，scurcely。YousetstillandI’llgofetchhim。"

ButIrefusedto"set。"IknewthecauseofCaptainJedediah’sinterest，andwhathewishedtotalkabout。IroseandannouncedthatIwouldstrollaboutabit。TaylorspoketomeasIwasleaving。

"Ros，"hesaid，earnestly，"youthinkofwhatItoldyou，willyou？"

IsawagroupofpeoplehurryingtowardtheentranceofthegroundsandIfollowedthem，curiousastothecauseoftheexcitement。Anautomobilehadstoppedbythegate。SimEldredgecamehasteningupandseizedmebythearm。

"Gosh！it’sRos，"heexclaimed，inhismysteriouswhisper。"I

hadn’tseenyouafore；justgotheremyself。ButI’mgladyouARE

here。I’llseethatyouandhimgetachancetotalkprivate。"

"Who？"Iasked，tryingtopullmyarmfree。

"Why，Mr。Colton。Didn’tyouknow？Yes，sir，that’shiscar。

He’scomeandso’shisdaughterandthatyoungCarverfeller。I

believethey’vecometotakeinthesociable。Theretheybe！See’em！See’em！"

Isawthem。ColtonandVictorhadalreadyalightedandMissColtonwasdescendingfromthetonneau。Thereweretwoothermeninthecar，besideOscar，thechauffeur。

"Whoarethoseotherpeople？"Iasked。

"Idon’tknow，"whisperedSim，excitedly。"StaywhereyoubeandI’llfindout。I’llberightback，now。Don’tyoumove。"

Ididnotmove，notbecausehehadorderedmetostaywhereIwas，butbecauseIwascurious。ThespotwhereIstoodwasinshadowandIknewtheycouldnotseeme。

ColtonandhisdaughterweretalkingwithVictor，whoremainedbythestepoftheauto。

"Well，Mabel，"observed"BigJim，""hereweare，thoughwhyIdon’tknow。IhopeyouenjoythisthingmorethanIamlikelyto。"

"OfcourseIshallenjoyit，Father。Lookatthedecorations。

Aren’ttheyperfectlyWONDERFUL！"

"Especiallythecolorscheme，"drawledVictor。"Mabel，Icallyourattentiontothered，blueandpurplelanterns。Someclass？Yes？

Well，Imustgo。I’llbebackinaveryshorttime。IfParkerwasn’tstartingforEuropeto—morrowIshouldn’tthinkofleaving，butI’msureyou’llforgiveme，underthecircumstances。"

"Iforgiveyou，Victor，"repliedthegirl，carelessly。"Butdon’tbetoolong。"

"No，don’t，"addedherfather。"IpromisedMrs。ColtonthatI

shouldnotbeawaymorethananhour。She’sverynervousto—nightandImaybesentforanytime。Sodon’tkeepuswaiting。"

"Nofearofthat。I’llbebacklongbeforeyouarereadytogo。I

wouldn’tmissthis——er——affairmyselfforsomething。Ah，ourcombinationfriend，theundertakingpostmaster。"

Sim’shatwasinhishandandhewasgreetingMr。Colton。

"Proudtoseeyouamongstus，sir，"saidSim，withunction。"TheMethodistfolksarehavin’quiteatimeto—night，ain’tthey？"

"Howd’yedo，Eldredge，"wasthegreatman’ssalutation，notatalleffusive。"Wheredoesallthiscrowdcomefrom？Didn’tknowthereweresomanypeopleintheneighborhood。"

"’Mosteverybody’soutto—night。Church’llmakeconsider’blemoney。Goodevenin’，MissColton。Mr。Carver，pleasedtomeetyouagain，sir。"

Theyoungladymerelynodded。Victor，whosefootwasonthestepofthecar，didnotdeigntoturn。

"Thanks，"hedrawled。"Iam——er——embalmed，I’msure。Allready，Phil。Lethergo，Oscar。"

Theautomovedoff。Mr。Coltongavehisarmtohisdaughterandtheymovedthroughthecrowd，Eldredgeactingasmasterofceremonies。

"It’sallright，Elnathan，"orderedSim，addressingthegate—

keeper。"Don’tbotherMr。Coltonabouttheadmissionnow。I’llsettlewithyou，myself，later。Now，Mr。Colton，youandtheladycomerightalongwithme。Ain’tmettheministeryet，haveyou？

Hesaidyouwan’ttohomewhenhecalled。Andyouletmegetyousomestrawberries。They’refust—rate，ifIdosayit。"

Heledthewaytowardthetables。IwatchedtheprogressfromwhereIstood。Itwasinterestingtoseehowthevisitorsweretreatedbythedifferentgroups。Some，likeSim，weregushingandobsequious。Afew，CaptainJedamongthem，walkedstubbornlyby，eithernoddingcoldlyorpayingnoattention。Others，likeGeorgeTaylorandDoctorQuimby，wereneitherobsequiousnorcold，merelybowingpleasantlyandsaying，"Goodevening，"asthoughgreetingacquaintancesandequals。Yes，thereWEREgoodpeopleinDenboro，quiet，unassuming，self—respectingcitizens。

Oneofthemcameuptomeandspoke。

"Hello，Ros，"saidCaptainElishaWarren，"Sim’shavin’thetimeofhislife，isn’the？"

"Heseemstobe，"Ireplied。

"Yes。Well，there’ssomesatisfactioninhavin’athickshell；

thenyoudon’tmindbein’steppedon。Yet，Idon’tknow；sometimesIthinkfellersofSim’skindenjoybein’steppedon，providedthebootthatdoesitispatentleather。"

"Iwonderwhytheycamehere，"Imused。

"Who？theColtons？Why，forthesamereasonchildrengotothecircus，Ishouldn’twonder——tolaughattheclowns。Ilaughmyselfsometimes——though’tain’talwaysattheirkindofclowns。Speakin’

ofthat，youngCarver’singoodcompanythisevenin’，ain’the？"

"Whowerethosefellowsintheauto？"Iasked。

"Didn’tyourecognizethem？OnewasPhilSomers——sonoftherichwidowwhoownsthebigcottageatHarniss。’Totherisabirdofthesameflockdownvisitin’em。Carver’stakin’’emovertoOstabletosaygood—bytoanotherspecimen，acollegemate，whoismigratin’toEuropetomorrow。ThechauffeurtoldDan，myman，aboutitthisafternoon。Thechauffeurfiggeredthat，knowin’thecrowd，’twaslikelytobealivelyfarewell。Hello！there’sAbbiehailin’me。Seeyoulater，Ros。"

IknewyoungSomersbyreputation。Heandhisfriendswereawildset，ifreportwastrue。

EldredgehadhintedthatheintendedarranginganinterviewbetweenColtonandmyself。Theprospectdidnotappealtome。AtfirstI

decidedtogohomeatonce，butsomethingakintoCaptainDean’sresentfulstubbornnesscameoverme。Iwouldnotbedrivenhomebythosepeople。Ifoundanunoccupiedcampchair——oneofSim’s，whichherentedforfunerals——andcarriedittoadarkspotintheshrubberyneartheborderoftheparsonagelawnandnotfarfromthegate。ThereIseatedmyself，litacigarandsmokedinsolitude。

ElnathanMullet，evidentlyconsideringhislaborsasdoor—keeperover，wascountinghistakingsbylanternlight。Themoonwaslowinthewestandalittlebreezewasnowstirringtheshrubbery。ItwasverywarmfortheseasonandImentallyprophesiedthundershowersbeforemorning。

Ihadsmokedmycigarperhapshalfthroughwhenacarriagecamedowntheroadandstoppedbeforethegate。ThedriverleanedforwardandcalledtoMullet。

"Hi，Uncle！"heshouted。"You，bythegate！IsMr。Coltonhere？"

Elnathan，whowas，apparently，halfasleep，lookedup。

"Hey？"hequeried。"Mr。Colton？Yes，he’shere。Wanthim，doyou？"

"Yes。Whereishe？"

"Upyondersomewheres。Thereheis，bySarahBurgess’stable。Mr。

Colton！Mr。Col——ton！Somebodywantsye！"

"Whatinblazesdidyouyelllikethatfor？"protestedthecoachman，springingfromthecarriage。"Stopit，d’yehear？"

"Yousaidyouwantedhim，didn’tyou？Mr。Colton！Hi！Comehere！"

Coltoncamehurryingdowntothegate，hisdaughterfollowingmoreslowly。

"What’sthematter？"heasked。

Thecoachmantouchedhishat。

"Ibegyourpardon，sir，"hesaid；"thismanstartedyellingbeforeIcouldstophim。Iwascomingtotellyou。Mrs。Coltonsaysshe’sverynervous，sir，andpleasecomehomeatonce。"

Coltonturnedwithashrugtohisdaughter。"Wemighthaveexpectedit，Mabel，"hesaid。"Come。"

Buttheyoungladyseemedtohesitate。"IbelieveIwon’tgoyet，Father，"shesaid。"Motherdoesn’tneedbothofus。Victorwillbehereverysoon，andwepromisedtowaitforhim，youknow。"

"Wecanleaveword。You’dbettercome，Mabel。Heavensandearth！

youdon’twantanyMOREofthis，doyou？"

Itwasevidentthathehadhadquiteenoughofthefestival。Shelaughedlightly。

"I’mfindingitveryentertaining，"shesaid。"Ineversawsomanyquaintpeople。Thereisonegirl，aMissDean，whomIamreallygettingacquaintedwith。She’sascountryascanbe，butshe’sveryinteresting。"

"Humph！shemustbe。Dean，hey？Daughterofmyparticularfriend，theancientmariner，Isuppose。Idon’tliketoleaveyouhere。

WhatshallItellyourmother？"

"TellherIamquitesafeandinperfectlyrespectablecompany。"

"Humph！Icanimaginehowrespectableshe’llthinkitis。Well，I

knowit’suselesstourgeifyouhavemadeupyourmind。Idon’tseewhereyougetyourstubbornnessfrom。"

"Don’tyou？Icanguess。"

"Itisn’tfromyourdad。Nowdobecareful，won’tyou？IfVictordoesn’tcomesoonIshallsendthecarriage。"

"Oh，hewillcome。It’sallright，Father，dear。Iamquiteabletotakecareofmyself。"

Herfathershookhishead。"Yes，"heobserved，"Iguessyouare。

Allright，Jenkins。"

Hegotintothecarriageandwasdrivenoff。MissColtonturnedandwalkedbacktothetables。Irelitmycigar。

Anotherhalf—hourpassed。

Mulletfinishedhiscounting，tookuphismoneyboxandlanternandleftthegateunguarded。Groupsofhome—goingpeoplebegantocomedownthehill。Horses，whichhadbeenstandingunderthechurchshedsorhitchedinneighboringyards，appearedandthevariousbuggiesandtwo—seaterstowhichtheywereattachedwerefilledanddrivenaway。CaptainWarrenandMissAbbieBaker，hishousekeeper，wereamongthefirsttoleave。AbijahHammond，thesexton，begantakingdownthelanterns。Thestrawberryfestivalwasalmostover。

Irosefrommycampchairandpreparedtostartforhome。AsI

steppedfrombehindtheshrubberythemoonlightsuddenlywentout，asifithadbeenturnedofflikeagasjet。Exceptforthefewremaininglanternsandthegleamsfromthechurchwindowsanddoorthedarknesswascomplete。Ilookedatthewesternsky。Itwasblack，andlowdownalongthehorizonflashesoflightningwereplaying。Myprophecyofshowerswastobefulfilled。

TheladiesoftheMethodistSociety，assistedbytheirhusbandsandmalefriends，werehurryingthetablesandchairsindoors。I

pickedupandfoldedthechairIhadbeenoccupyingandjoinedthebusygroup。Itwassodarkthatfaceswerealmostinvisible，butI

recognizedSimEldredgebyhisvoice，andGeorgeTaylorandI

bumpedintoeachotherasweseizedthesametable。

"Hello，Ros！"exclaimedthecashier。"Thoughtyou’dgone。Goingtohaveatempest，ain’twe。"

"Tempest"isCapeCodforthunderstorm。Iagreedthatonewasimminent。

"HoldontillIgetthisstuffintothevestry，"continuedTaylor，"andI’lldriveyouhome。I’llbereadyprettysoon。"

Ideclinedtheinvitation。"I’llwalk，"Ianswered。"YouhaveNellietolookafter。IfyouhaveaspareumbrellaI’llborrowthat。WhereisNellie？"

"Oh，she’soveryonderwithMissColton。Theyhavebeenmakingeachother’sacquaintance。Say，Ros，she’sagooddealofagirl，thatColtonone，didyouknowit？"

Ididnotanswer。

"Oh，Iknowyou’redownonthewholelotof’em，"headded，laughing；"butsheis，justthesame。Kindoftop—loftyandcondescending，butthat’sthefaultofherbringing—up。She’sallrightunderneath。ToogoodforthatCarvercub。Bytheway，ifhedoesn’tcomeprettysoonI’llphoneherpatosendthecarriageforher。IfIwasColtonIwouldn’tputmuchconfidenceinCarver’sshowingupinahurry。Yousawtheganghewaswith，didn’tyou？

Theydon’tgethometillmorning，tilldaylightdothappear，asausualthing。Hello！that’sthecarriagenow，ain’tit？Guesspapawasn’ttakinganychances。"

Sureenough，therewerethelightsofacarriageatthegate，andI

heardthevoiceofJenkins，thecoachman，shouting。NellieDeancalledTaylor’snameandhehurriedaway。Afewmomentslaterhereturned。

"She’soff，safeandsound，"hesaid。"Ijudgedshewasn’tanytoowellpleasedwithherVictorfornotshowinguptolookoutforher。"

Asharpflashoflightningcuttheskyandarattlingpealofthunderfollowed。

"Rightontopofus，ain’tit！"exclaimedGeorge。"Sureyoudon’twantmetodriveyouhome？Allright；justasyousay。HoldontillIgetyouthatumbrella。"

Heborrowedanumbrellafromtheparsonage。Itookit，thankedhim，andhastenedoutofthechurchgrounds。IlookeduptheroadasIpassedthroughthegate。Icouldhaveseenanauto’slampsforalongdistance，buttherewerenoneinsight。WithamaliciouschuckleIthoughtthatmyparticularfriendVictorwasnottakingthesurestwayofmakinghimselfpopularwithhisfiancee，ifthatwaswhatshewas。

ThestormovertookmebeforeIwashalf—waydowntheLowerRoad。A

fewdropsofrainsplashedtheleaves。AlightningstrokesonearandsharpthatIfanciedIcouldhearthehisswasaccompaniedbyasavagethunder—clap。Thencametheroarofwindinthetreesbytheroadsideanddowncametherain。Iputupmyumbrellaandbegantorun。Wehavefew"tempests"inDenboro，thosewedohavearealmostworthyofthename。

IhadreachedthegroveofbirchesperhapstwohundredyardsfromtheShoreLanewhenoutofthewetdarknessbeforemecameplungingahorsedrawingacoveredcarriage。IhadsprungtoonesidetoletitgobywhenIheardaman’svoiceshouting，"Whoa！"Thevoicedidnotcomefromthecarriagebutfromtheroadbehindit。

"Whoa！Stophim！"itshouted。

Ijumpedbackintotheroad。Thehorsesawmeappeardirectlyinfrontofhim，shiedandreared。ThecarriagelampswerelightedandbytheirlightIsawthereinsdragging。Iseizedthemandheldon。Itwasallinvoluntary。Iwasusedtohorsesandthisonewasfrightened，thatwasall。

"Whoa，boy！"Iordered。"Whoa！Standstill！"

Thehorsehadnointentionofstandingstill。

Hecontinuedtorearandplunge。I，clingingtothereins，foundmyselfrunningalongside。Ihadtoruntoavoidthewheels。ButI

ranasslowlyasIcould，andmyonehundredandninetypoundsmaderunning，ontheanimal’spart，amuchlesseasyexercise。

Thevoicefromtherearcontinuedtoshoutand，inanothermoment，amanseizedthereinsbesideme。Togetherwemanagedtopullthehorseintoawalk。Thentheman，whomIrecognizedastheColtoncoachman，ventedhisfeelingsinacomprehensiveburstofprofanity。Iinterruptedtheservice。

"Whatisthematter？"Iasked。

"Oh，thisblessed——"orwordstothateffect——"horseisscaredofthunder；that’sall。He’sanewone；wejustboughthimbeforewecamedownhereandIhadn’tlearnedhislittletricks。Whoa！standstill，orI’llbreakyourdumbneck！Say，"turningtome，"goback，willyou，andseeifshe’sallright。"

"Who？"

"MissColton——theoldman’sdaughter。ShegotoutwhenhebegantodanceandIwasholdinghimbythebridle。Thencamethatbigflashandhebrokeloose。Gobackandseetoher，willyou？I

can’tleavethishorse。"

ForjustamomentIhesitated。Iamashamedofmyhesitationnow，butthisissupposedtobeatruthfulchronicle。ThenIwentbackdowntheroad。ByanotherflashoflightningIsawtheminister’sumbrellaupsidedowninthebusheswhereIhaddroppedit，andI

tookitwithme。IwasaboutaswetasIwellcouldbebutIamgladtosayIrememberedthattheumbrellawasaborrowedone。

AfterIhadwalked，orstumbled，orwadedalittlewayIstoppedandcalled。

"MissColton，"Icalled。"Whereareyou？"

"Here，"cametheanswerfromjustahead。"Isthatyou，Jenkins？"

IdidnotreplyuntilIreachedherside。

"Youarenothurt？"Iasked。

"No，notatall。Butwhoisit？"

"Iam——er——yourneighbor。Paineismyname。"

"Oh！"thetonewasnotenthusiastic。"WhereisJenkins？"

"Heisattendingtothehorse。Pardonme，MissColton，butwon’tyoutakethisumbrella？"

Thisseemedtostrikeherasatrifleabsurd。"Why，thankyou，"

shesaid，"butIamafraidanumbrellawouldbeuselessinthisstorm。Isthehorseallright？"

"Yes，thoughheisverymuchfrightened。I——"

Iwasinterruptedbyanotherflashandterrificreportfromdirectlyoverhead。Theyoungladycameclosertome。

"Oh！"sheexclaimed。

Ihadanidea。TheflashhadmadeoursurroundingsaslightasdayforaninstantandacrosstheroadIsawSylvanusSnow’soldhouse，untenanted，abandonedandfallingtodecay。ItookMissColton’sarm。

"Come！"Isaid。

Shehungback。"Whereareyougoing？"sheasked。

"Justacrosstheroadtothatoldhouse。Ontheporchweshallbeoutoftherain。"

ShemadenofurtherobjectionsandtogetherwestumbledthroughthewetgrassandoverSylvanus’sweed—grownflowerbeds。IpresumeI

shallneveragainsmellthespicyfragranceof"oldmaids’pinks"

withoutthinkingofthatnight。

Ifoundtheedgeofthepiazzabythedirectprocessofbarkingmyshinsagainstit，andhelpedherupontothecreakingboards。Mysanguinestatementthatweshouldbeoutoftherainprovednotquitetrue。Therewasaroofaboveus，butitleaked。Iunfurledthewetumbrellaandhelditoverherhead。

Forsomemomentsafterwereachedthepiazzaneitherofusspoke。

Theroaroftherainontheshinglesoftheporchandthesplashandgurgleallaboutuswouldhavemadeconversationdifficult，evenifwehadwishedtotalk。I，forone，didnot。Atlastshesaid：

"DoyouseeorhearanythingofJenkins？"

Ilistened，ortriedto。Iwaswonderingmyselfwhathadbecomeofthecoachman。

"No，"Ianswered，"Idon’thearhim。"

"Wheredoyousupposeheis？Hecouldnothavebeenfarawaywhenyoumethim。"

"Hewasnot。AndIknowheintendedtocomebackatonce。"

"Youdon’tsupposeCaesar——thehorse——ranawayagain？Whenthatsecondcrackcame？"