I’dleftitontheseat。Ha！ha！ha！“
Helaugheduproariously。Ellerylaughedinsympathy。
“However，Iwa’n’tworryin’abouthats，justthen。AllIwantedtodowasstandstill，likeafrozenimage，andstareather。Yousee，John，Ihadn’tlaideyesonafriend，oneoftherealhomemadekind，formoredaysthanIwantedtocount；andherewasoneof’em，oneofthebest，passedouttomeunexpectedandaheadoftime，likeasurprisepartypresent。SoIjustpumpedherhandupanddownandstared。Ididn’thaveanyexclusivemortgageonthestarin’bynomeans，forthedepotmasterandadozenorsoloaferswaslookin’atuswiththeirmouthswideopen。
“Iguessshenoticedit，forshesays，’Don’tstayhere，Nat。Comeinthewaitin’roomorsomewhereswherewecantalk。’
“Sointothewaitin’roomwewentandcometoanchoronthesettee。
Sixoreightoftheloaferssettledthemselveshandytothedoor，so’stheycouldpeekinoccasionally。IrememberItoldoneofthemnottostretchhisneckthatway’causehemightnevergetitbackintoshapeagainandinthegunnin’seasonthatwouldbedangerous。’Somenearsightedfellermighttakeyouforagoose，’I
says。Ho！ho！
“Andthen，John，wehadourtalk。SeemssheleftTrumetWednesdayafternoon。GottheliverystablemantodriveherasfurasBayport，hiredanotherteamthereandcomeontoSandwich。Stayedovernightthereandtookthemornin’trainwhichgottoCohassetNarrowsjustaheadoftheoneIwascomin’on。She’dbeensoafraidofbein’late，shesaid。ShemustseemeaforeIgottoTrumet。
“Well，shesawmeandtoldmethewholeyarnaboutyouandGrace。
Shetriedtobreakittomegently，soIwouldn’tfeeltoobad。
Sheknewitwouldbeashocktome，shesaid。Itwasashock，inaway，butasforfeelin’bad，Ididn’t。IthinktheworldofGrace。
I’ddoanythingshewantedmetodo；butmostthewaydownonthetrain——yes，andlongaforethat——I’dbeendreadin’mycomin’homeononeaccount。Idreadedtellin’herthat，unlessshewasrealsetonit，she’dbetternotmarryme。
“Yousee，John，I’vethoughtalotsenceI’vebeenaway。Hadconsider’bletimetodoitin。AndthemoreIthoughtthelessthatpromisetodadseemedright。I’dhavebetmysou-westerGracienevercaredformeinthewayagirloughttocareforachapshe’sgoin’toshipaspilotfortherestofherdays。And，asforme——well，I——Ihadmyreasonsfornotwantin’tomarryher。“
Hepausedagain，sighed，startedtospeak，andthensatsilent，lookingoutofthewindow。Ellerylaidahandonhisknee。
“Nat，“saidtheminister，“yousavedmylifeonce，doyourememberthat？Ido，ifyoudon’t。“
“Savedyourlife？Whatareyoutalkin’about？Oh！thattimeontheflats？Thatwasn’tsavin’yourlife，’twassavin’yourclothesfromgettin’awettin’。“
“No，itwasmorethanthat。AndnowIguessyou’vesaveditagain，youandGracebetweenyou。Yes，andAuntKeziah。Blessher！tothinkofhergoingwayuptheretomeetyouandhelpus！“
“Yes。’Twaslikeher，wasn’tit？ShesaidsheknewI’dheartheyarnwhenIgottoTrumet，butshewantedmetohearitjustasitwas，andnobodybutsheandGraceandyouknewthewholetruthaboutit。Soshecome。I’mgladshedid；notthatIshouldn’thavedonethesame，whoevertoldme，but——“
“Nat，Iwanttotellyousomething。Somethingthatonlyoneotherpersonknows。Gracedoesn’tknowityet。NeitherdoesAuntKeziah——thewholeofit。AndifsheknewItoldyouevenapartI’mafraidshewould，asshewouldsay，’skinmealive。’ButIoweher——andyou——morethanIcouldrepayifIlivedathousandyears。
SoI’mgoingtotellandtaketheconsequences。
Thecaptainlookedathim。“Well！“heexclaimed。“What’scomin’
now？Moresecrets？Blessedifthisain’tgettin’moreexcitin’
thantheSouthSeas。IusedtothinkexcitementinTrumetwasscurcerthancreaminpoorhousecoffee，butI’llhavetochangemymind。“
“Nat，when——thatmorningafteryourfatherdiedandafteryouandGracehadagreedto——to——“
“Todosomethin’neitherofuswantedtodo？Yes，Iknow。Goahead。“
“ThatmorningAuntKeziahcamehometotheparsonageandbrokethenewstome。Shediditasonlyshecoulddosuchathing，kindlyandpityinglyand——“
“Ofcourse。That’sKeziah。“
“Yes。Well，asyoucanimagine，Iwasalmostcrazy。Imadeafoolofmyself，Iexpect；refusedtobelieveher，behaveddisgracefully，andatlast，whenIhadtobelieveit，threatenedtorunawayandleavemyworkandTrumetforever，likeacoward。Shemademestay。“
“Did，hey？“
“Yes。Sheshowedmeitwasmydutytofacethemusic。WhenI
whimperedaboutmytroublesshetoldmeherownstory。ThenI
learnedwhattroublewasandwhatpluckwas，too。Shetoldmeabouthermarriageand——excusemeforspeakingofwhatisn’tmybusiness；yetitismine，inaway——shetoldmeaboutyou。“
CaptainHammonddidnotanswer。Hisgoodnaturedfacecloudedandheshiftedinhischair。
“Shetoldmeofyou，Nat，allaboutyou——andherself。Andshetoldmesomethingelse，whichexplainswhyshefeltshemustsendyouaway，whyshethoughtyourmarriagetoGracewouldbeagoodthing。“
“Iknow。ShetoldyouthatthatdarnscampAnseCoffinwasalive。“
Theministerstartedviolently。Hegaspedinsurprise。
“Youknewit？YouKNEWit？“hestammered。
“Iknowitnow。Haveknownitforoverayear。Myfindin’itoutwasoneofthespecialProvidencesthat’sbeenhelpin’alongthislastvoyageofmine。MysecondmatewasaHyannisman，nameofCahoon。Oneday，onthatpeskyisland，whenwewaseatin’dinnertogether，hesaystome，’Cap’n，’hesays，’you’refromTrumet，ain’tyou？’Iownedup。’KnowanybodynamedCoffinthere？’sayshe。Iowneduptothat，too。’Well，’hesays，’ImetherhusbandlasttripIwasintheGloryoftheWave。’Istaredathim。’Methisghost，youmean，’Isays。’He’sbeendeadforyears，andagoodthing，too。Felloverboardand，notbein’usedtowater，itkilledhim。’
“Buthewouldn’thaveitso。’IusedtoknowAnseCoffininNewBedford，’hesays。’Knewhimwell’sIknowyou。AndwhenwewasinportatHavreIdroppedinataginmilldownbythewaterfrontandhecomeupandtouchedmeonthearm。Ithoughtsameasyou，thathewasdead，buthewa’n’t。Hewasthreesheetsinthewindandareg’lardockrattolookat，but’twashimsureenough。Wehadalongtalk。Hesaidhewascomin’backtoTrumetsomeday。
Hadawifethere，hesaid。Itoldhim，sarcastic，thatshe’dbegladtoseehim。Helaughedandsaidmaybenot，butthatsheknewhewasaliveandsenthimmoneywhenhewashardup。WantedmetopromisenottotellanyCapefolksthatI’dseenhim，andIain’ttillnow。’
“Well，youcanimaginehowIfeltwhenCahoonspunmethatyarn。
FirstIwouldn’tb’lieveitandthenIdid。Itexplainedthings，justasyousay，John。IcouldseenowwhyKeziahgavememywalkin’papers。Icouldseehowshe’dbeensacrificin’herlifeforthatscum。“
“Yes。Shewouldn’tdivorcehim。Shesaidshehadtakenhimforbetterorworse，andmuststandbyhim。Itriedtoshowhershewaswrong，butitwasnouse。Shedidsayshewouldneverlivewithhimagain。“
“Ishouldsaynot。LIVEwithhim！Bytheeverlastin’！ifheevercomeswithinreachofmyhandsthen——there’stimeswhengoodhonestmurderisjustifiableandrighteous，andit’llbedone。It’llbedone，youhearme！“
Helookedasifhemeantit。Elleryaskedanotherquestion。
“Didyoutellher——AuntKeziah——whenyoumetherattheNarrows？“
heasked。
“No。ButIshalltellherwhenIseeheragain。Sheshan’tspoilherlife——awomanlikethat！bytheLord！WHATawoman！——foranysuchcrazynotion。IsworeitwhenIheardthestoryandI’vesworniteverydaysince。That’swhatsettledmymindaboutGrace。
KeziahCoffinbelongstome。Shealwayshasbelongedtome，eventhoughmyownpig-headednesslostherintheolddays。“
“Shecaresforyou，Nat。Iknowthat。Sheasmuchastoldmeso。“
“Thankyou，John。Thankyou。Well，Icanwaitnow。Icanwait，forI’vegotsomethingsuretowaitfor。Itellyou，Ellery，I
ain’tachurch-goin’man——notasdadwas，anyway——butItrulybelievethatthisthingisgoin’tocomeoutright。Godwon’tletthatcussedrascallivemuchlonger。Hewon’t！Iknowit。Butifhedoes，ifhelivesathousandyears，I’lltakeherfromhim。“
Hewaspacingthefloornow，hisfacesetlikegranite。Elleryrose，hisownfacebeaming。Herewashischance。AtlasthecouldpaytothismanandKeziahapartofthedebtheowed。
Natstoppedinhisstride。“Well！“heexclaimed。“Ialmostforgot，afterall。Keziahsentanotetoyou。I’vegotitinmypocket。ShegaveittomewhensheleftmeatCohasset。“
“Leftyou？Why！didn’tshecomebackwithyouonthenighttrain？“
“No。That’sfunny，too，andIdon’tunderstandityet。Wewastogetheralltheafternoon。’Iwasfeelin’sogoodatseein’herthatItookherundermywingandwecruisedalloverthattowntogether。Gotdinneratthetavernandshewentwithmetobuymyselfanewhat，andallthat。Atfirstshedidn’tseemtowantto，butthen，afterI’dcoaxedawhile，shedid。Shewaslookin’
prettysadandwornout，whenIfirstmether，Ithought；butsheseemedtogetoveritandwehadafinetime。ItremindedmeofthedayswhenIusedtogethomefromavoyageandweweretogether。Then，when’twastimeforthenighttrainwewentdowntothedepot。Shegavemethisnoteandtoldmetohandittoyouto-day。
“’Good-by，Nat，’shesays。’We’vehadaniceday，haven’twe？’
“’Wehave，forafact，’Isays。’Butwhatareyousayin’good-byfor？’
“’BecauseI’mnotgoin’toTrumetwithyou，’saysshe。’I’mgoin’
tothecity。I’vegotsomebusinesstoseetothere。Good-by。’
“Iwassetback，withallmycanvasflappin’。ItoldherI’dgotoBostonwithherandwe’dcomehometoTrumettogetherto-morrow，that’sto-day。Butshesaidno。ImustcomehereandeaseyourmindandGrace’s。Imustdoit。SoatlastIagreedto，sayin’
I’dseeherinalittlewhile。ShewentontheuptrainandItookthedownone。HiredateaminSandwichandanotherinBayportandgottothetavernabouteleven。That’stheyarn。Andhere’syournote。Maybeittellswhereshe’sgoneandwhy。“
Theministertookthenoteandtoreopentheenvelope。Withinwasasinglesheetofpaper。Hereadafewlines，stopped，andutteredanexclamation。
“What’sthematter？“askedthecaptain。
Ellerydidnotanswer。Hereadthenotethroughandthen，withoutaword，handedittohisfriend。
Thenotewasasfollows：
“DEARJOHN：
“Iamgoingaway，asItoldyouIwouldifhecame。Heiscoming。
TuesdayIgotaletterfromhim。ItwaswrittenatKingston，Jamaica，almostthreemonthsago。Ican’tthinkwhyIhaven’tgotitsooner，butsupposeitwasgiventosomeonetomailandforgotten。Inithesaidhewastiredofgoingtoseaandwascominghometome。Ihadmoney，hesaid，andwecouldgetalong。
HehadshippedaboardabrigboundforSavannah，andfromtherehewasgoingtotryforaberthonaBoston-boundvessel。SoIamgoingawayandnotcomingback。IcouldnotstandthedisgraceandIcouldnotseehim。YouandGracewon’tneedmeanymorenow。
Don’tworryaboutme。IcanalwaysearnalivingwhileIhavemystrength。Pleasedon’tworry。IfhecomestellhimIhavegoneyoudonotknowwhere。Thatwillbetrue，foryoudon’t。Ihopeyouwillbeveryhappy。Idohopeso。Oh，John，youdon’tknowhowIhatetodothis，butImust。Don’ttellNat。Hewoulddosomethingterribletohimifhecame，andNatknew。JustsayI
havebeencalledawayandmaybebacksometime。PerhapsImay。
Lovetoyouall。Good-by。
“Yourstruly，“KEZIAHCOFFIN。“
Thecaptainstaredatthenote。Thenhethrewittothefloorandstartedforthedoor。Theministersprangfromhischairandcalledtohim。
“Nat，“hecried。“Nat！Stop！whereareyougoing？“
Hammondturned。
“Goin’？“hegrowled。“Goin’？I’mgoin’tofindher，firstofall。
ThenI’mcomin’backtowaitforhim。“
“Butyouwon’thavetowait。He’llnevercome。He’sdead。“
“Dead？DEAD？Bytheeverlastin’！thishasbeentoomuchforyou，Ioughttohaveknownit。I’llsendthedoctorhererightoff。I
can’tstaymyself。I’vegottogo。But——“