第18章

thechokingthecatthing！Howdidyouknowthat？Ineversaidittoyou。"

"Oh，itisanoldsaying。Ihavehearditoften；anditdidseemtofitinthiscase。Iimaginedyouwouldunderstandandappreciate。"

"Um——yes，"dryly。"Iappreciatedallright。Astounderstanding——

well，I’llunderstandlateron。That’sanotherlittleconundrumformetoworkout。Somebody’sbeentalking，ofcourse。Here！

holdon！"asIwaswalkingaway："Don’tgo。Iwanttotalktoyou。"

HecharacteristicallydidnotaskwhetherornotIwantedtotalktohim，but，asIhappenedtobeinnohurry，Istoppedandwaitedforhimtocontinue。Hethrusthishandsintohispocketsandlookedmeover，verymuchashemighthavelookedoverahorsehewasthinkingofbuying。

"Paine，"hesaid，suddenly，"doyouwanttogotowork？"

"Work？"Irepeated。"Iamatworkalready。"

"You’vegotajob，suchasitis。Itmightbeworkfortheaveragejay，butitisn’tforyou。I’llgiveyousomethingtoworkat——

yes，andworkfor。"

Istaredathiminwonderingsuspicion。

"Whatisthis；anotherDevelopmentCompany？"Idemanded。

"Ha！ha！notthistime。No，thisisstraight。Ifyou’llsaythatyou’llworkformeI’llmakeanopeningforyouinmyNewYorkoffice。"

Ididnotanswer。Iwastryingtofathomthemotivebehindthisnewmove。

"I’llputyoutoworkinmyoffice，"hewenton。"Itmaynotbemuchtobeginwith，butyoucanmakeitanythingyoulike；that’llbeuptoyou。Astosalary——well，Idon’tknowwhatyou’regettinginthatone—horsebank，butI’lldoubleit，whateveritis。Thatwillbethestart，ofcourse。Afterthatitisuptoyou，asI

said。"

"Mr。Coltonthismaybeagoodjoke，butIdon’tseeit——yet。"

"Idon’tjokeofteninbusiness；can’taffordto。"

"Youarereallyserious？Youmeanwhatyousay？"

"Yes。"

"Butwhy？Youdon’tknowanythingaboutme。"

"Iknowallthatisnecessary。AndIhavefoundoutthatyouareallright，sofarasbankworkgoes。ThatfellowTaylorandsomeotherstoldmethat。ButIdidn’tneedtheirtelling。Why，man，itispartofmytradetoknowmenwhenIseethem。Ihavetoknow’em。Isaidawhileagothatyoudidn’tbelonginthisforsakenholeofatown。GodknowsitISforsaken！Evenmywifeisbeginningtoadmitthat，andshewasthekeenesttocomehere。

SomedayIshallgetsickofitandsellout，Isuppose。"

"Sellout？"

"Oh，notyet。Mabel——mydaughter——seemstolikeithere，forsomeunknownreason，andwantstostay。AndIdon’tintendtoselluntilI’vebought——whatIsetouttobuy。ButI’mnotthesubjectwe’retalkingaboutjustnow。Youare。Come！here’syourchancetobesomebody。MorechancethanIhad，I’lltellyouthat。Youcangotoworkinmyofficenextweek，ifyouwantto。Willyou？"

Ilaughedattheidea。IbelievedIhadfoundthemotiveIwasseeking。"Ofcoursenot，"Isaid。"Youcan’tclosetheLanebythatkindofbribery，Mr。Colton。"

"Briberybehanged！Come，come，Paine！Wakeup，orIshallthinkyourbrainsaren’tuptostandard，afterall。WhenIbribeI

bribe。WhenIaskamantoworkformetherearenostringstiedtotheoffer。Forgetyourpicayunelandforaminute。TimeenoughtorememberthatwhenI’vegotit，whichwillbesomedayorother，ofcourse。I’mmakingyouthisofferbecauseIwantyou。You’resharp；yousawthroughthatDevelopmentgame。You’reclever——yoursendingmethat’cat’messageprovesit。Andyournottellingmewheretheideaforthemessagecamefromprovesthatyoucankeepyourmouthshut。Icoulduseadozenfellowslikeyou，ifIcouldgetthem。Youinterestedmerightatthestart。AchapwithsandenoughtotellJimColtontogotothedevilisalwaysinteresting。

I’mofferingyouthischancebecauseIthinkitisagoodchanceforbothofus。Yes，andbecauseIlikeyou，Isuppose，inspiteofyourpig—headedness。Willyoutakeit？"

"No，thankyou，"Ianswered。

"Why？Becauseyoucan’tleaveyoursickmother？She’llbeallright。Iwastalkingwiththedoctor——Quimby，hisnameis，isn’tit——andhehappenedtomentionthathewasencouragedabouther。

Saidshehadbeendistinctlybetterforthelastmonth。"

Icouldnotbelieveit。DoctorQuimbyhadsaidnothingofthesorttome。Itwasimpossible。MotherBETTER！

"Thatdoesn’tmeansheisgoingtobewellandstrongagain，ofcourse，"headded，notunkindly。"ButIthinkQuimbybelievesshemaybewellenoughto——perhaps——situponeofthesedays。Bewheeledaboutinachair，orsomethingofthatsort……Why！

whatisthematter？YoulookedasifIhadknockedyouout。

Hasn’tthedoctorsaidanythingtoyou？"

"No，"Istammered。IWASknockedout。Icouldnotbelieveit。

Mother，thebed—riddeninvalidofsixlongyears，tobewellenoughtositup！touseawheeledchair！Itcouldnotbetrue。Itwastoogoodtobetrue。

"So，yousee，youcouldleaveherallright，"wentonColton。"Ifitwasnecessaryyoucouldgetanursedownheretolookafterherwhileyouwereaway。Andyoumightgethomeeveryfortnightorso。

Bettertakemyoffer，Paine。Come！"withagruntofimpatientamusement，"don’tkeepmewaitingtoolong。Iamnotusedtocoaxingpeopletoworkforme；itisusuallytheotherwayaround。

Thisofferofminehappenstobeprettynearlyadisinterestedone，and，"withoneofhisdrysmiles，"allmyoffersarenotthatkind，asyououghttoknow。Willyousayyesnow？Ordoyouwanttillto—morrowtothinkitover？"

ThenewsconcerningMotherhadupsetmegreatly，butmycommon—

sensewasnotallgone。ThattherewassomethingbehindhisofferIbelieved，but，eveniftherewerenot——ifitwasdisinterestedandmadesimplybecausemyunearthingoftheBayShore"cat"hadcaughthisfancy——Ididnotconsiderforamomentacceptingit。

NotifMotherwaslikeotherwomen，wellandstrong，wouldIhaveacceptedit。InDenboroIwasRoscoePaine，andmylifestorywasmyownsecret。InNewYorkhowlongwoulditbebeforethatsecretandmyrealnamewereknown，andalltheolddisgraceandscandalresurrected？

"Whatdoyousay？"askedColton，again。"Wantmoretimetothinkaboutit，doyou？"

Ishookmyhead。"No，"Ianswered。"Ihavehadtimeenough。IamobligedfortheofferandIappreciateyourkindness，butIcannotaccept。"

Iexpectedhimtoexpressimpatienceor，perhaps，anger；atleasttoaskmyreasonsfordeclining。Buthisonlyutterancewasa"Humph！"Foramomentheregardedmekeenly。Thenhesaid：

"Haven’tgottheansweryet，haveI？Allright。Well，"briskly，"whenareyouandIgoingonthatshootingtrip？"

"Thereisnoshootingatpresent，"Ianswered，assoonasIcouldadjustmymindtothisnewswitchintheconversation。

"Thatso？Anyfishing？"

"Ibelievethesquiteaguearerunningoutside。Iheardtheywere。"

"What？Squit——which？"

"Squiteague。Weakfishsomepeoplecallthem。"

"Theyareprettyfairsport，aren’tthey？"

"Yes，fair。Nothinglikebluefish，however。"

"Allright。Whatisthematterwithourgoingsquint——squint——

somethingorotheringoneofthesedays？Willyougo？Orareyouaspig—headedaboutthatasyouareaboutotherthings？"

Ilaughed。"Notquite，"Isaid。"Ishouldbegladofyourcompany，Mr。Colton。"

"NextSaturdaysuityou？"

"Yes。Afterbankhours。"

"Allright。I’lllookaftertheboat。Youprovidethebaitandtackle。That’sfair，isn’tit？Right。Beonhandatmydockatoneo’clock。Morning。"

Hewalkedoff。Neitherofushadthoughtofthetide——he，probably，notrealizingthathighwaterwasanimportantfactor，andIbeingtoomuchagitatedbywhathehadsaidaboutMother，andthesuddennesswithwhichthefishingtripwasplanned，tothinkcalmlyofanything。

Thatweekwasastrangeonetome，andthefirstofmanystrangeones。Mymanneroflifewaschanging，althoughIdidnotrealizeitandalthoughthechangecamethroughnoeffortofmyown。Ourhouse，whichhadbeensolongalmostahermitage，ifahomecontainingfourpersonsmightbecalledthat，wasgraduallybecomingasocialcenter。MatildaDeanhadcalledonceaweekregularlyforsometimeandthisparticularweekCaptainJedcamewithher。CaptainElishaWarrenandhiscousinandhousekeeper，MissAbbieBaker，drovedownforahalf—hour’sstay。GeorgeTaylorandNelliespentaneveningwithus。IfearedtheunaccustomedrushofcompanymighthaveabadeffectuponMother，butsheseemedactuallythebetterforit。SheprofessedtobelievethatDenborowasawakeningtothefactofmymeritsasamanandacitizen。

"Theyarefindingyououtatlast，Boy，"shesaid。Ilaughedather。Iknewbetter。Itwasbecauseofmypositioninthebankthatthesepeoplecame。Iwasmakinggoodthere，apparently，andthesurpriseatthiscausedCaptainWarrenandtheresttotakeanew，andnodoubttransitoryinterestinme。

AndIthoughtIknewCaptainJed’sreasonforcoming。Aninterviewbetweenusgavemetheinkling。MatildawasinMother’sroomandDeanandIweretogetherinthedining—room。

"Ros，"saidthecaptain，suddenly，"youain’tbackin’water，areyou？"

"Backingwater？Whatdoyoumeanbythat？"

"InthisLanebusiness。Youain’tcal’latin’tosellouttoColton，afterall？"

"Well，hardly。Whydoyousaythat？"

"Nothin’，maybe。Buttheytellmeyou’rekindofthickwiththeR’yalfamilylately。BeriahHoltsaysheseeyouandtheColtongirlcomeoutofthewoodsbackofhisplaceoneafternoonaspellago。Shewasonhorsebackandyouwaswalkin’，butBeriahsaysyouandshewasmightyfriendly。"

Imighthaveexpectedthis。InDenboroonedoesfewthingsunnoticed。

"ShehadlostherwayinthewoodsandIhelpedhertofindtheroadhome，"Isaid，"thatwasall。"

"Hum！Youhelpedhertofindtheroadthenightofthestrawberryfestival，too，didn’tyou？"

"Howintheworlddidyoufindthatout？"

"Oh，itjustsortofdriftedaround。I’vegotprettybigears——

maybeyou’venoticed’em——andtheygen’rallycatchsomeofwhat’sblowin’past。Therewasacoachmanmixedupinthatnight’sworkandhetalkedsome，Ishouldn’twonder；mostofhiskinddo。"

"Well，whatofit？"Iasked，sharply。"IhelpedherasIwouldyourdaughterifshehadbeencaughtaloneinastormlikethat。I

shouldhavebeenashamednotto。"

"Sartin！Needn’tgetmadaboutit。What’sthisaboutyourtakin’

hisMajestyofffishin’nextSaturday？"

Allofmypersonalaffairsseemedtobecommonproperty。Iwaslosingmytemperinspiteofmyrecentgoodresolutions。

"Lookhere，CaptainDean，"Isaid，"Ihavearighttotakeanyonefishing，ifIchoose。Mr。ColtonaskedmetodoitandIsawnoreasonforsayingno。"

"Funnyheshouldaskyou。Heain’taskedanybodyelseintown。"

"Idon’tknowthatandIdon’tcare。IshalldoasIplease。I

havenogrievanceagainsttheColtons。Ishallnotsellthemmyland，butIreservetherighttomeetthem——yes，andtoassociatewiththem——ifIchoose。Youandyourfriendsmayaswellunderstandthat，Captain。"

"There！there！don’tgethuffy。Iain’tgottherighttosaywhatyourrightsare，Ros。AndIdon’tthinkforaminuteyou’dbackwaterontheLanebusinessa—purpose。ButIdothinkyou’retakin’

chances。Itellyou，honest，I’mscartofoldColton，inaway，andIain’tscartofmanyfolks。He’safighterandhe’ssmart。

HeandIhavehadsometalks——"

"Youhave？"Iinterrupted。

"Yup。Livelysquabblestheywas，too。Eachofusexpressin’ouropinionoft’otherandnotholdin’backanythingtospeakof。I

don’tknowhowhefeltwhenwequit，butIknowIrespectedhim——

forhisoutandopencussednessandgrit，ifnothin’else。AndI

thinkhefeltthesamewayaboutme。Buthe’ssmart——consarnhim，heis！AndHEneverbackswater。That’swhyIthinkyou’retakin’

chancesinbein’toofriendlywithhim。He’slayin’lowand，ifyougetoffyourguardjustoncehe’llgrab。"

Ihesitated；thenImadeupmymind。

"CaptainDean，"Isaid，"hissmartnesshasn’tcaughtmeyet。I’mgoingtotellyousomething，butfirstyoumustpromisenottotellanyoneelse。"

HepromisedandItoldhimofMr。KeeneandtheBayShoreCompany。

Helistened，interruptingwithchucklesandexclamations。WhenI

hadfinishedheseizedmyhandandwrungit。

"Bytheeverlastin’！"heexclaimed，"thatwasgreat！Isayagain，you’reallright，RosPaine。Even_I_swalleredthatDevelopmentCompany，hook，line，andsinker。ButYOUsawthroughit！"

"Itellyouthis，"Isaid，"sothatyouwillunderstandIhavenointentionofbackingwater。"

"Iknowyouain’t。KnewitaforeandnowIknowitbetter。ButI

can’tunderstandwhattheColtongameis——andthereisagame，sure。Thatdaughterofhis，now——shemaybeinitorshemaynot。

She’sprettyandIwillgiveinthatshe’sfolksyandsociablewithusnatives；it’ssurprisin’，considerin’herbringin’up。NellieandMatildylikeher，Nellieespecial。They’rerealchummy，asyoumightsay。Talkandtalk，justaseasyandcommonasyouandI

thisminute。I’veheard’emtwoorthreetimesatmyhousewhentheythoughtIwasn’tlistenin’andtwiceoutofthethreetheywastalkin’aboutyou。"

"AboutME？"Irepeated。

"Yes。Idon’twonderyou’resurprised。Iwasmyself。AskedNellieaboutitandshejustlaughed。Saidyouwastheprincipalobjectofinterestintownjustnow，whichismoreorlesstrue。

Butitmakesmesuspicious，allthesame。WhyshouldagirllikethatColtononetalkaboutafellerlikeyou？You’reasfurapart，fur’sanythingincommonisconcerned，asmolassesisfromvinegar。

Ain’tthatso？"

Itwasso，ofcourse，butheneednothavebeensobrutallyfrankintellingme。However，Inoddedandadmittedthathewasright。

"Yes，"hesaid。"Ablindhorsecouldseetherewasnosensible，openandabove—boardreasonforHERbein’interestedinYOU。Sothere’sanotherreason，thewayIlookatit，andthat’swhyI’dbemightycareful，mightycareful，Ros。Herpa’sgotanewtrickuphissleeveandshe’shelpin’himplayit，that’smynotion。Sobecareful，won’tyou。"

"I’llbecareful，"saidI。Iknew，aswellasIknewmyrealname——

whichhedidnot——thatMabelColtonwasnothelpingherfatherplayanytricks。Ihadseenenoughofhertobecertainshewasnottricky。And，besides，ifshewereinsympathywithherparent，whyhadshegivenmethehintwhichputmeonthetrailoftheDevelopmentCompany？Whyhadshegivenmethehintatall？Thatwastherealriddle，andIhadnot，asyet，hituponaplausibleanswer。ThoseIhadhituponwereridiculousandimpossible，andI

putthemfrommymind。Butshewasnottricky，thatIknew。

CaptainJedchangedthesubjectandwetalkedofNellie’swedding，whichwastotakeplaceinamonth。Thecaptainwasfullofvariousemotions，regretatlosinghisdaughterandjoybecauseofhergettingsuchagoodhusband。Hislastwordswerethese：

"Ros，"hesaid，"becareful，formysakefullasmuchasyours。

ThisLanebusinessandNellie’sgettin’marriedhavesortofpossessedme，sameastheevilspiritsdidtheswine，inscriptur’。

Ilayawakenightsfussin’forfearthemarriagewon’tturnouthappyorforfearyou’llselltheLaneafterall。Andone’sjustaslikelytohappenast’other——whichmeansthey’rebothimpossible，Ical’late。ButlookoutforthatColtongirl，whateverelseyoudo。She’sagooddealbetterlookin’thanherdad，butshe’sjustasdangerous。Youmarkmywords，son，thefellerthatplayswithfiretakeschances。Sodon’tbeTOOsociablewithanyofthetribe。"

AndtheverynextafternoonthedangerouspersonherselfcalledandsheandIspentanhourinMother’sroom，wherethethreeofuschattedlikeoldfriends。ShehadtherarepowerofmakingoneforgetselfandpersonalworriesandIcouldreadilyunderstandwhyMotherhadbeensocompletelywonbyher。Shewasbrightandcheeryandsympathetic。Heretherewasnotraceoftheprideofclassandthearrogancewhichhadcausedmetohatehersoheartilyatfirst。Itseemedalmostasifshehadsetherselfthetaskofmakingmelikeherinspiteofmyprejudices。Myreasontoldmethatthiscouldnotbe；itwasmerelyherfancyforMotherwhichcausedhertonoticemeatall；shehadasmuchassaidsomorethanonce。ButIdidlikeher；Iacknowledgeditinmythoughts；

and，aftershehadgone，theroom，withitsdrawnshades，seemeddoublydarkandgloomy。MotherwassilentforafewminutesandI，too，saidnothing。Then：

"Sheisawonderfulgirl，isn’tshe，Roscoe，"saidMother。

Shewasaltogethertoowonderful，thatwasthetrouble。Agirllikeherhadnoplaceinourlives。Iwentoutforawalkandasmokebythebluffedge；and，almostbeforeIknewit，Ifoundmyselfstandingattheborderofthegrove，lookingatthegreathouseandtryingtoguesswhichwasherroomandifshewasthereandofwhatorwhomshemightbethinkingjustthen。"Markmywords，son，"CaptainJedhaddeclared，"thefellerthatplayswithfiretakeschances。"

Iturnedonmyheelandsetoutforhome。Iwouldtakenochances。

Imustnotplaywithfire，eventhoughtheflameshad，forthemoment，dazzledme。Ihadcalledmyselfafoolmanytimesinthepastfewyears，butIwouldnotbesogreatafoolasthat。

CHAPTERXV

SoIresolved，moreresolutelythanever，tokeepoutofherway，toseeaslittleofheraspossible！and，ashadhappenedbeforetosimilarresolutionsofminewithwhichshewasconcerned，thisonewasrenderednon—effective，throughnofaultofmyown，almostassoonasitwasmade。ForonSaturdayafternoon，asIapproachedtheColtonwharf，ladenwithbaitandrodsforthefishingexcursionintheColtonboat，Isawherstandingtherebesideherfather，waitingforme。

"We’vegotapassenger，Paine，"said"BigJim。""You’vemetherbefore，Ibelieve——onthewaterandinit。Noobjectionstomydaughter’sgoingalong，haveyou？"

WhatcouldIsay；excepttoannouncedelightattheadditiontoourparty？PerhapsIdidnotsayitasheartilyasImight，for，MissColton，whowasregardingmewithamischievoussmile，observeddemurely：

"Iamsurehemustbedelighted，Father。Mr。PaineknowsIamveryfondoffishing；don’tyou，Mr。Paine？"

"Yes；oh，yes，ofcourse，"Istammered。

"Hedoes，eh！"Herfatherseemedsurprised。"Howdidhefindthatout？"

Ithoughtthequestionwasaddressedtoher，soIdidnotanswer。

Sheseemedtothinkotherwise，forshesaid：

"Didyouhear，Mr。Paine？FatheraskshowyouknewIwasfondoffishing。"

"Why——er——youtoldmeso，MissColton，"Ireplied。IfshehadnotrelatedherSeaburyPondexperiencetoherparentsIdidnotproposetobetrappedintodoingso。Shelaughedmerrily。

"DidI？"sheasked。"Yes，IbelieveIdid。"

Mr。Coltonlookedatus，eachinturn。

"Humph！"heobserved；"Idon’tseemtobeaboardthistrain。

What’sthejoke？"

Shesavedmetheproblemofinventingasatisfactoryanswer。

"Oh，it’salittlejokeofMr。Paine’sandmyown，"sheexplained。

"I’lltellyouaboutitbyandby，Father。Itwouldtaketoolongtotellnow。Hesavedmylifeoncemore，that’sall。"

"Oh！that’sall！Humph！Andyoudidnotthinkatriflelikethatworthmentioningtome，Isuppose。Wouldyoumindtellingmewhatitwashesavedyoufromthistime？"

"Fromstarvation。Iwasafamishedwayfarerandhetookmein。

There，Daddy，don’tpuzzleyourpoorbrainanylonger。ItisallrightandI’lltellyouallaboutitwhenwegethome。NowIamsureweshouldbestartingifwearetohaveanyfishingatall。

Shallwecastoff，Mr。——thatis，CaptainPaine？"

Thatfishingtripwasnotahugesuccessifjudgedsolelybythesizeofthecatch。Theweakfishwerenothungryorwedidnottemptthemwithbaittotheirtastethatday。Wegotahalfdozen，ofwhichIcaughtthree，MissColtontwo，andherfatherbutone。

His，however，wasabigone，muchthebiggestofthesix，andhehadaglorioustimelandingit。Hefishedasheappearedtodoeverythingelse，withintenseearnestnessanddetermination。Heevidentlyconsideredthestruggleasortofpersonaldisagreementbetweenthefishandhimselfand，asusual，intendedtohavehisway。Hesucceededafterawhile，andannouncedthathehadnotenjoyedanythingasmuchsincearrivinginDenboro。

Hisdaughteralsoseemedtobeenjoyingherself。Shewasquiteasgoodafisherasherfather，and，whenthesportwasover，andwereeledinourlinespreparatorytostartingforhome，ralliedhimnotalittleathavingbeentheleastsuccessfuloftheparty。Hetookherteasinggood—naturedly。

"Youthinkitisquiteafeattogetthebetterofyourolddad，don’tyou，mylady，"heobserved。

"OfcourseIdo。Itis，isn’tit？"

Hechuckled。"Well，maybeyou’reright，"headmitted。"Youdoitoftenerthananyoneelse，thatiscertain。Paine，youmighttakelessonsfromher，ifyouarestillhopingtokeepupyourendinthelittlefightyouandIhaveonhand。"

Sheturnedtomeandsmiled。Hergracefulheadwassilhouettedagainsttheredglowofthesunsetandaloosenedstrandofherhairwavedinthelightbreeze。

"IthinkMr。Painedoesnotneedlessonsfromanyone，"shesaid。

"Heseemstobeholdinghisownverywell。"

"Buthe’sfrightened，allthesame。Come，Paine，ownupnow。Youknowyouarefrightened，don’tyou？"

"Notvery，"Ianswered，truthfully。

"So？Thenyouaren’tassensibleasyououghttobe。Awisemanknowswhentobescared。Let’smakealittlebetonit。I’llbetyoutwotoonethatI’llownthatlandofyoursinsideofsixmonths。"

Ishookmyhead。"Ineverbetoncertainties，"Ideclared。"I

shouldbeashamedtocollectmywinnings。"

Thisseemedtoamusethemboth，fortheybothlaughed。

"Father，"saidMissColton，"Iamafraidyoudon’tlearnbyexperience。Youhavelostonebetalready，youknow。"

"That’sso。AndIhaven’tpaidityet，either。Imust，oryou’llbetellingeveryonethatIamapoorsport。Paine，thisyoungladybetmeanewpipeagainstaboxofglovesthatyouwouldn’t——"

"Father，"brokeintheyounglady，herself，"stop。"

"Oh，allright，allright。Justasyousay。ButItellyouthis，Paine；SHEhasn’tanyscruplesagainstbettingoncertainties。"

Shewasleaningagainstthecockpitrail，lookingforward，andI

couldnotseeherface。Shespokewithoutturning。

"Youthoughtyourswasthecertainty，"shesaid。"YouwarnedmethatIwassuretolose。"

"DidI？Well，youmay，evenyet。Onthewhole，IthinkI’llwaitawhilebeforebuyingthosegloves。Remember，therewasnotimelimit。Whenyousaidthat——"

"Father，"morefirmly，"pleasebequiet。Youhavesaidquiteenough。Mr。Paineisnotlikelytobeinterestedinthefamilygambling。"

Iwasinterestedinthisparticular"gamble。"Thewagerhad，obviously，somethingtodowithme。IsupposeIshouldhavefeltflatteredatbeingmadethesubjectofabetinsuchselectcircles，butIdidnot。Ihadnotbeeninformedastothedetailsofthatbet。

Therewasnothingmoresaidaboutitatthetimeandmypassengerstalkedofotherthingsaswesailedhomebeforethefastdyingbreeze。ItdiedalmostaltogetheraswepassedthelighthouseatCrowPointandenteredthebayand，foranhour，webarelyheldourownagainstthetide。Thesunset，twilightcame，andthestarsappearedonebyone。Colton，lyingatfulllengthonthedeckforwardofthecockpit，smokedinlazyenjoyment。Hisonlyremarkintenminuteswastotheeffectthathiswifehadprobablydrownedusall，inhermind，adozentimesoverbynow。

Hisdaughter，sittingbytherailandlookingoutoverthesmooth，darklyglimmeringwater，badehimbequiet。

"Youmustnottalk，"shesaid。"ThisisthemostwonderfulnightI

everexperienced。Howstillitis！Youcanheareverysound。

Hark！"

Fromthedusk，toport，cametheclearstrokesofachurchbellstrikingeight。

"ThatistheclockattheMethodistChurch，isn’tit？"askedMissColton。

"Yes，"saidI。

"Thechurchwherethestrawberryfestivalwasheld？"

"Yes。"

Coltonstruckamatchtorelighthiscigar。

"Shouldn’tthinkthatwouldbeapleasantremindertoeitherofyou，"heobserved。"Iammightysureitwasn’ttome。"

MissColtondidnotanswer，nordidI。

Thebreezesprangupagainsoonafter，fromadifferentquarterthistime，butthetidehadebbedsofarthatIwasobligedtomakethedetouraroundtheendoftheflatuponwhichVictorhadgroundedthedingy。"BigJim"raisedhimselfonhiselbow。

"Hello！"heexclaimed，"here’sanotherjoyfulspot。Mabel，itwasalongheresomewherethatPaineacquiredthehabitofcarryingyouaboutlikeabundle。Itmusthavebeenapicturesqueperformance。

WishImighthaveseenit。"

Helaughedheartily。

"Father，"saidtheyounglady，coldly，"don’tbesilly——please。"

Hechuckledandlaydownagain，andnoonespokeduringtherestofthevoyage。ItwasafterninewhenIbroughttheboatuptothewharf，madeherfast，andloweredandfurledthesail。

"Bettercomeuptothehousewithusandhaveabittoeat，Paine，"

urgedColton。"Youmustbehungry；IknowIam。"

"Oh，no，thankyou，"saidI。"Supperwillbewaitingformeathome。"

"Gladtohaveyou，ifyou’llcome。Tellhimtocome，Mabel。"

MissColton’sinvitationwasnotover—cordial。

"IpresumeMr。Paineknowswhatisbestforhimtodo，"shesaid。

"Ofcourseweshallbegladtohavehim，ifhewillcome。"

Ideclined，and，afterthankingmeforthesailandthepleasureofthefishingtrip，theyleftme，Coltoncarryinghisbigsquiteaguebythegills，itstailslappinghislegasheclimbedthebluff。A

momentlaterIfollowed。

Thenightwas，asmyfemininepassengerhadsaid，wonderfullyquiet，andsoundscarriedalongway。AsIreachedthejunctureofthepathandtheLaneIheardavoicewhichIrecognizedasMrs。

Colton’s。ShewasevidentlystandingontheverandaofthebighouseandIheardeveryworddistinctly。

"Youaresounthinking，James！YouandMabelhavenoregardformyfeelingsatall。Ihavebeenworriedalmosttodeath。Doyourealizethetime？IwarnedyouagainsttrustingyourselftothecareofthatcommonFELLOW——"

The"fellow"heardnomore。Hedidnotwishto。Hewastrampingheavilythroughthedew—soakedundergrowth。Heneedednownocounselagainst"playingwithfire。"ThecuttingcontemptofMrs。

JamesW。Colton’sremarkwasfire—extinguishersufficientforthatnight。

MissColtonandImetagainatthedoorofthebankadayortwolater，justatclosingtime。SamWheelerhadalreadygoneandI

leftGeorgeathisdesk，poringoverpapersandbusilyfiguring。

Hewasworkingovertimemuchoflateandexplainedhisindustrybythefactofhisapproachingmarriageandhisdesiretomakethingseasyformetohandlewhilehewasonhisbriefweddingtrip。I

wasnotmuchalarmedbytheprospect。HewastobegonebutaweekandIhadbecomesufficientlyfamiliarwiththeroutinetofeelconfidentinassumingtheresponsibility。Small，mypredecessor，hadabrotherwhohadformerlybeenemployedinthebankandwasnowoutofwork，andhewascomingintohelpduringthecashier’sabsence。Iwasnotworriedbytheprospectofbeingleftincharge，butIwasworriedaboutGeorge。He，soitseemedtome，hadgrownpaleandthin。Alsohewasnervouslyirritableandnotatalllikehisusualgood—naturedself。Itriedtojokehimintobetterhumor，buthedidnotrespondtomyjokes。Heseemed，too，torealizethathisoddbehaviorwasnoticeable，forhesaid：