CHAPTERVII
DuringthenextdayCarolineWarrenandherbrothersawlittleoftheiruncle。Notthattheycomplainedofthisorsoughthissociety。ThepolicyofavoidanceandwhatStephencalled”freezingout”hadbegun，andtheyoungpeoplekepttothemselvesasmuchaspossible。AtbreakfastCarolinewascoldlypolite，andherbrothercold，althoughhispolitenesswasnotoverdone。However，CaptainElishadidnotseemtonotice。Hewaspreoccupied，saidbutlittle，andspenttheforenooninwritingasecondlettertoMissAbigail。InithetoldofhisexperienceonboardtheEmpressoftheOceanandoftheluncheonattheCentralClub。Buthesaidnothingconcerninghisnephewandniecefurtherthanthestatementthathewasstillgettingacquainted，andthatCarolinewasarealnicelookinggirl。”IsupposeyouwonderwhatI’vedecidedabouttakingtheguardianship，”headded，justattheclose。”Well，Abbie，I’maboutinthepositionofLutherSylvesterwhenhefelloffthedockatOrham。Thetidewasout，andhewentintothesoftmud，allunder。Whenthefolkswhosawhimtumblegottotheedgeandlookedover，theysawaround，blackthingstickingoutofthemire，and，judging’twasLute’shead，theyaskedhimhowhefelt。
’Idon’tknowyet，’sputtersLute，’whetherI’mdrownedorsmothered，butI’msomewheresbetwixtandbetween。’That’sme，Abbie，onthatguardianbusiness。I’mstillbetwixtandbetween。
Butbeforethisday’soverI’llbedrownedorsmothered，andI’llletyouknowwhichnexttimeIwrite。”
AfterlunchhetookastrollintheParkandpassedupanddownthepaths，thinking，thinking。Returning，hefoundthatCarolineandStephenhadgoneforanautoridewiththeDunnsandwouldnotbehomefordinner。Soheatethatmealinsolitarystate，waiteduponbyEdwards。