“Thankyou。Mr。Winslow，forthepasttwoyearsormoreIhave，beeningreattrouble。Ihaveabrother——butyouknewthat;Babbie，toldyou。”
“Um-hm。Theoneshecalls’UncleCharlie’？”
“Yes。Heis——heisservinghissentenceintheConnecticutState，Prison。”
Jedleanedbackuponthebox。Hisheadstrucksmartlyagainstthe，edgeofthebandsawbench，buthedidnotseemtobeawareofthe，fact。
“MyLordabove！”hegasped。
“Yes，itistrue。Surelyyoumusthaveguessedsomethingofthat，sort，afterBabbie’sstoryofthepolicemen。”
“I——I——well，Ididsortof——ofpresumelikelyhemusthavegotinto，somesortof——ofdifficulty，butIneverthought’twasbadas，that……Dearme！……Dearme！”
“MybrotherisyoungerthanI;heisscarcelytwenty-threeyears，old。HeandIareorphans。OurhomewasinWisconsin。Fatherwas，killedinarailwayaccidentandMotherandmybrotherCharlesand，Iwereleftwithverylittlemoney。Wewereinauniversitytown，andMothertookafewstudentsaslodgers。DoctorArmstrongwas，one;Imethimthere，andbeforeheleftthemedicalcollegewe，wereengagedtobemarried。Charliewasonlyaboythen，of，course。Motherdiedthreeyearslater。MeanwhileSeymour——Doctor，Armstrong——hadlocatedinMiddleford，Connecticut，andwas，practicingmedicinethere。Hecameon，weweremarried，andI
returnedtoMiddlefordwithhim。Wehadbeenmarriedbutafew，yearswhenhedied——ofpneumonia。ThatwastheyearafterBabbie，wasborn。CharlesremainedinWisconsin，boardingwithacousinof，Mother’s，and，afterhegraduatedfromhighschool，enteredoneof，thebanksinthetown。Hewasverysuccessfulthereandthebank，peoplelikedhim。AfterSeymour——myhusband——died，hecameEastto，seemeatMiddleford。OneofDoctorArmstrong’spatients，abond，brokerinNewHaven，tookafancytohim，orwethoughthedid，and，offeredhimaposition。Heaccepted，gaveuphisplaceatthebank，inWisconsin，andtookchargeofthisman’sMiddlefordoffice，makinghishomewithBabbieandme。Hewasyoung，tooyoungI
thinknow，tohavesucharesponsibleposition，buteveryonesaid，hehadaremarkablykeenbusinessmindandthathisfuturewas，certaintobebrilliant。Andthen——“
Shepaused。Itwasevidentthatthehardpartofherstorywas，coming。Afteramomentshewenton。
“CharliewaspopularwiththeyoungpeoplethereinMiddleford。He，wasalwaysafavorite，athome，atschool，everywhere。Mother，idolizedhimwhileshelived，sodidI，sodidBabbie。Hewasfond，ofsocietyandthesethewasfriendlywithwasmadeup，forthe，mostpart，ofoldermenwithmuchmoremoneythanhe。Hewas，proud，hewouldnotacceptfavorswithoutrepayingthem，helikeda，goodtime，perhapshewasalittlefast;notdissipated——Ishould，haveknownifhewerethat——but——careless——andwhatyoumencalla，’goodfellow。’，Atanyrate，he——“
Againshepaused。Jed，sittingonthebox，claspinghisknee，betweenhishands，waitedanxiouslyforhertocontinue。
“Ofcourseyoucanguesswhathappened，“shesaid，sadly，aftera，moment。”Itwastheoldstory，thatisall。Charliewasliving，beyondhismeans，gotintodebtandspeculatedinstocks，hopingto，makemoneyenoughtopaythosedebts。Thestockswentdownand——
and——well，hetookmoneybelongingtohisemployertoprotecthis，purchases。”
Shewaited，perhapsexpectinghercompaniontomakesomecomment。
Hedidnotandagainshespoke。
“Iknowhemeantonlytoborrowit，“shedeclared。”IKNOWit。He，isn’tbad，Mr。Winslow;IknowhimbetterthananyoneandheISN’T
bad。Ifhehadonlycometomewhenhegotintothetrouble！
Ifhehadonlyconfidedinme！，Buthewasproudand——andhe，didn’t……Well，Iwon’ttellyouhowhis——hisfaultwas，discovered;itwouldtakealongtimeanditisn’tworthwhile。
Theyarrestedhim，hewastriedand——andsenttoprisonfortwo，years。”
ForthefirsttimesinceshebeganherstoryJedutteredaword。
“Sho！”heexclaimed。”Sho，sho！，Dearme！，Thepooryoungfeller！”
Shelookedupathimquickly。”Thankyou，“shesaid，gratefully。
“Yes，hewassenttoprison。Hewascalmandresignedandvery，braveaboutit，buttomeitwasadreadfulshock。Yousee，hehad，takensolittlemoney，notmuchovertwothousanddollars。We，couldhaveborrowedit，I’msure;heandIcouldhaveworkedout，thedebttogether。Wecouldhavedoneit;Iwouldhaveworkedat，anything，nomatterhowhard，ratherthanhavemybrotherbranded，allhislifewiththedisgraceofhavingbeeninprison。Butthe，manforwhomhehadworkedwasfuriouslyangryatwhathecalled，Charlie’singratitude;hewouldteachtheyoungthiefalesson，he，said。Ourlawyerwenttohim;Iwenttohimandbeggedhimnotto，pressthecase。OfcourseCharliedidn’tknowofmygoing;he，neverwouldhavepermitteditifhehad。ButIwentandbeggedand，pleaded。Itdidnogood。Why，eventhejudgeatthetrial，when，hechargedthejury，spokeofthedefendant’syouthandprevious，goodcharacter……”
Shecoveredhereyeswithherhand。PoorJed’sfacewasapicture，ofdistress。
“Now——now，Mrs。Armstrong，“heurged，“don’t，pleasedon’t。I——I
wouldn’ttellmeanymoreaboutit，ifIwasyou。OfcourseI’m——
I’mproudtothinkyoubelievedIwasworthwhiletellin’ittoand，allthat，but——youmustn’t。You’llmakeyourselfsick，youknow。
Justdon’ttellanymore，please。”
Shetookherhandawayandlookedathimbravely。
“Thereisn’tanymoretotell，“shesaid。”Ihavetoldyouthis，becauseIrealizedthatBarbarahadtoldyouenoughtomakeyou，imagineeverythingthatwasbadconcerningmybrother。Andheis，notbad，Mr。Winslow。Hedidawrongthing，butIknow——IKNOWhe，didnotmeandeliberatelytosteal。Ifthatmanheworkedforhad，been——ifhehadbeen——，Butthere，hewaswhathewas。Hesaid，thievesshouldbepunished，andiftheywerepunishedwhenthey，wereyoung，somuchthebetter，becauseitmightbeawarningand，keepthemhonestastheygrewolder。Hetoldmethat，Mr。Winslow，whenIpleadedwithhimnottomakeCharles’disgracepublicand，nottowrecktheboy’slife。Thatwaswhathetoldmethen。And，theysay，“sheadded，bitterly，“thatheprideshimselfuponbeing，astaunchsupporterofthechurch。”
Jedletgoofhiskneewithonehandinordertorubhischin。
“Ihavequeernotions，Ical’late，“hedrawled。”Iftheywasn’t，queertheywouldn’tbemine，Isuppose。IfIwas——er——asyoumight，say，firstmateofallcreationI’dputsomechurchfolksinjail，andagoodmanyjailfolksinchurch。Seems’siftheswapwouldbe，ahelptobothsides……I——Ihopeyoudon’tthinkI’m——er——
unfeelin’，jokin’，whenyou’reinsuchworryandtrouble，“he，added，anxiously。”Ididn’tmeanit。”
Hisanxietywaswasted。Shehadheardneitherhisfirstremarknor，theapologyforit。Herthoughtshadbeenfarfromthewindmill，shopanditsproprietor。Now，apparentlyawakeningtopresent，realities，sheroseandturnedtowardthedoor。
“Thatwasall，“shesaid，wearily。”Youknowthewholetruthnow，Mr。Winslow。Ofcourseyouwillnotspeakofittoanyoneelse。”
Then，noticingthehurtlookuponhisface，sheadded，“Forgiveme。
Iknowyouwillnot。IfIhadnotknownitIshouldnothave，confidedinyou。Thankyouforlisteningsopatiently。”
Shewasgoing，buthetouchedherarm。
“Excuseme，Mrs。Armstrong，“hefaltered，“but——butwasn’tthere，somethin’else？，Somethin’youwantedtoaskmyadviceabout——or——
or——somethin’？”
Shesmiledfaintly。”Yes，therewas，“sheadmitted。”ButIdon’t，knowthatitisworthwhiletroublingyou，afterall。Itisnot，likelythatyoucanhelpme。Idon’tseehowanyonecan。”
“Probablyyou’reright。I——Iain’tliabletobemuchhelpto，anybody。ButI’mawfulwillin’totry。Andsometimes，youknow——
sometimessurprisin’thingshappen。’Twasa——amouse，oraground，mole，wasn’tit，thathelpedthelioninthestorybookoutofthe，scrape？……NotthatIdon’tlookmorelikea——er——giraffethan，Idolikeamouse，“headded。
Mrs。Armstrongturnedandlookedathimoncemore。”You’revery，kind，“shesaid。”AndIknowyoumeanwhatyousay……Why，yes，I’lltellyoutherest。Perhaps，“withtheslightsmile，“you，CANadviseme，Mr。Winslow。Yousee——well，yousee，mybrother，willbefreedveryshortly。Ihavereceivedwordthatheistobe，pardoned，hissentenceistobeshortenedbecauseofwhattheycall，hisgoodconduct。Hewillbefree——andthen？，Whatshallhedo，then？，Whatshallwealldo？，Thatismyproblem。”
Shewentontoexplain。Thiswasthesituation：，Herownincome，wasbarelysufficientforBarbaraandherselftolive，inthe，frugalwaytheywereliving，inacountrytownlikeOrham。That，waswhyshehaddecidedtoremainthere。Nooneinthevillage，knewherstoryorthestoryofherbrother’sdisgrace。Butnow，almostanyday，herbrothermightbedischargedfromprison。He，wouldbewithoutemploymentandwithoutahome。Shewouldso，gladlyofferhimahomewithher——theycouldmanagetolive，to，existinsomeway，shesaid——butsheknewhewouldnotbecontent，tohavehersupporthim。Therewasnochanceofemploymentin，Orham;hewouldthereforebeforcedtogoelsewhere，togo，wanderingaboutlookingforwork。Andthatshecouldnotbearto，thinkof。
“Yousee，“shesaid，“I——IfeelasifIweretheonlyhelperand——
well——guardianthepoorboyhas。Icanimagine，“smilingwanly，“howhewouldscorntheideaofhisneedingaguardian，butIfeel，asifitweremydutytobewithhim，tostandbyhimwhenevery，oneelsehasdesertedhim。Besides，“afteraninstant’s，hesitation，“Ifeel——Isupposeitisunreasonable，butIfeelasif，Ihadneglectedmydutybefore;asifperhapsIhadnotwatchedhim，ascarefullyasIshould，orencouragedhimtoconfideinme;I
can’thelpfeelingthatperhapsifIhadbeenmorecarefulinthis，waythedreadfulthingmightnothavehappened……Oh，“she，added，turningawayagain，“Idon’tknowwhyIamtellingallthese，thingstoyou，I’msure。Theycan’tinterestyoumuch，andthe，tellingisn’tlikelytoprofiteitherofusgreatly。ButIamso，alone，andIhavebroodedovermytroublessomuch。AsIsaidI
havefeltasifImusttalkwithsomeone。Butthere——good，morning，Mr。Winslow。”
“Justaminute，please，Mrs。Armstrong;justaminute。Hasn’tyour，brothergotanyfriendsinMiddlefordwhocouldhelphimgetsome，work——ajob——youknowwhatImean？，Seemsasifhemusthave，or，youmusthave。”
“Oh，wehave，Isuppose。Wehadsomegoodfriendsthere，aswell，asotherswhomwethoughtwerefriends。But——butIthinkweboth，hadratherdiethangobackthere;IamsureIshould。Thinkwhat，itwouldmeantobothofus。”
Jedunderstood。Shemighthavebeensurprisedtorealizehow，clearlyheunderstood。Shewasproud，anditwasplaintoseethat，shehadbeenveryproudofherbrother。AndMiddlefordhadbeen，herhomewheresheandherhusbandhadspenttheirfewprecious，yearstogether，whereherchildwasborn，where，afterherbrother，came，shehadwatchedhisrisetosuccessandtheapparent，assuranceofabrilliantfuture。Shehadbeguntobehappyonce，more。Thencamethecrash，andshameanddisgraceinsteadofpride，andconfidence。Jed’simagination，theimaginationwhichwasquite，beyondthecomprehensionofthosewhocalledhimthetowncrank，graspeditall——or，atleast，allitsessentials。Henodded，slowly。
“Isee，“hesaid。”Yes，yes，Isee……Hum。”
“Ofcourse，anyonemustsee。Andtogoaway，tosomecityortown，wherewearenotknown——wherecouldwego？，Whatshouldweliveon？
Andyetwecan’tstayhere;thereisnothingforCharlestodo。”
“Um……Hewasa——whatdidyousayhistradewas？”
“Hewasabondbroker，akindofbanker。”
“Eh？……Akindofbanker……Sho！，Didheworkinabank？”
“Why，yes，Itoldyouhedid，inWisconsin，whereheandIusedto，live。”
“Hum……Prettysmartatit，too，seemstomeyousaidhewas？”
“Yes，verycapableindeed。”
“Iwanttoknow……Hum……Sho！”
Hemutteredoneortwomoredisjointedexclamationsandthenceased，tospeakaltogether，staringabstractedlyatacrackinthefloor。
Allatoncehebegantohumahymn。Mrs。Armstrong，whosenerves，wereclosetothebreakingpoint，lostpatience。
“Goodmorning，Mr。Winslow，“shesaid，andopenedthedoortothe，outershop。ThistimeJeddidnotdetainher。Insteadhestared，dreamilyatthefloor，apparentlyquiteunconsciousofherorhis，surroundings。
“Eh？”hedrawled。”Oh，yes，goodmornin’，——goodmornin’……
Hum……
’Thereisafountainfilledwithblood，DrawnfromEmmanuel’sveins，Andsinnersplungeddededede，Dededidewdumde。’“
Hisvisitorclosedthedoor。Jedstillsattheregazingatvacancy，anddroning，dolefully。
CHAPTERXI
Fornearlyanhourhesatthere，scarcelychanginghisposition，andonlyvaryinghismusicalprogrambywhistlinghymnsinsteadof，singingthem。Once，hearingastepintheyard，helookedthrough，thewindowandsawGabrielBearsewalkingtowardthegatefromthe，directionoftheshopdoorinsteadofintheoppositedirection。
Evidentlyhehadatfirstintendedtocallandthenhadchangedhis，mind。Mr。Winslowwasdulygratefultowhoeverorwhateverhad，inspiredthechange。Hehadnodesiretoreceiveavisitfrom，“Gab“Bearse，atthistimeleastofall。
Lateronheheardanotherstep，and，againglancingthroughthe，window，sawSethWingate，thevegetableandfruitpeddler，walking，fromthedoortothegate，justasMr。Bearsehaddone。Apparently，Sethhadchangedhismindalso。Jedthoughtthisratherodd，but，againhewasgrateful。Hewasthinkinghardandwasquitewilling，nottobedisturbed。
ButthedisturbingcametenminutesafterMr。Wingate’sdeparture，andcameinthenatureofaverydistinctdisturbance。Therewasa，seriesofthunderousknocksonthefrontdoor，thatdoorwasthrown，violentlyopen，and，beforethestartledmakerofmillscoulddo，muchmorethanrisetohisfeet，thedoortotheworkroomwas，pulledopenalso。CaptainHunniwell’sbulkfilledtheopening。
CaptainSamwasred-facedandseemedexcited。
“Well，bythegraciousking，“heroared，“you’rehere，anyhow！
Whatelseisthematterwithyou？”
Jed，who，afterrecognizinghisvisitor，hadseatedhimselfonce，more，lookedupandnodded。
“Hello，Sam，“heobserved。”Say，Iwasjustthinkin’aboutyou。
That’skindoffunny，ain’tit？”
“Funny！，Justthinkin’aboutme！，Well，I’vebeenthinkin’about，you，Itellyouthat：，Haveyoubeeninthisshopalltheforenoon？”
“Eh？……Why，yes……Sartin……I’vebeenrighthere。”
“YouHAVE？，Graciousking！，ThenwhyintheOldHarryhaveyougot，thatsignnailedonyourfrontdooroutheretellin’allhands，you’reoutforthedayandfor’emtoaskforyouupatAbijah，Thompson’s？”
Jedlookedmuchsurprised。Hishandmovedslowlyacrosshischin。
“Sho！”hedrawled。”Sho！，Hasthatsignbeenhangin’thereall，thisforenoon？”
“Don’taskme。IguessithasfromwhatI’veheard。Anyhowit’s，therenow。AndWHAT’Sittherefor？，That’swhatIwanttoknow。”
Jed’sfacewasverysolemn，buttherewasafainttwinkleinhis，eye。”ThatexplainsaboutSethWingate，“hemused。”Yes，andGab，Bearsetoo……Hum……TheLordwasbettertomethanI
deserved。TheysayHetakescareofchildrenanddrunkenmenand——
er——thecrittersthatmostfolksthinkbelongtomylodge……
Hum……TothinkIforgottotakethatsigndown！，Sho！”
“Forgottotakeitdown！，Whatineverlastin’blazesdidyouever，putitupfor？”
Jedexplainedwhytheplacardhadbeenpreparedandaffixedtothe，door。”Ionlymeantitforyesterday，though，“headded。”I’d，intendedtakin’itdownthismornin’。”
CaptainSamputbackhisheadandlaugheduntiltheshopechoed。
“Ho，ho，ho！”heroared。”Andyoumeantotellmethatyouputit，uptherebecauseyouwasgoin’cruisin’totheaviationcampand，youdidn’twantcallersdisturbin’Mrs。Armstrong？”
Hisfriendnodded。”Um-hm，“headmitted。”Isent’emto’Bije’s，becausehewasasfaroffasanybodyIcouldthinkof。Prettygood，idea，wasn’tit？”
Thecaptaingrinned。”Great！”hedeclared。”Fine！，Wonderful！
Youwaittill’Bijecomestotellyouhowfine’twas。He’sinbed，laidupwithneuralgia，andEmmaJ。hiswife，saysthateveryhour，orlessyesterdaytherewassomebodybangin’attheirdoorasking，aboutyou。Everytimetheybangedshesaysthat’Bije，hisnerves，bein’onedgethewaytheyare，wouldprettynighjumpthequilts，uptotheceilin’andhimselfalongwith’em。Andhisremarksgot，morelitupeveryjump。Aboutfiveo’clockwhensomebodycame，poundin’heletoutaroaryoucouldhearamile。’Tell’em，Shavin’sWinslow’sgonetothedevil，’hebellowed，’andthatIsay，theycangotheretoo。’，AndthenEmmaJ。openedthedoorand，’twan’tanybodyaskin’aboutyouatall;’twastheBaptistminister，comecallin’。Iwasdrivin’pasttherejustnowandEmmaJ。came，outtotellmeaboutit。Shewantedtoknowifyou’dgoneclear，crazyinsteadofpartway。ItoldherIdidn’tknow，butI’dmake，itmybusinesstofindout。Tut，tut，tut！，Youareawonder，Jed。”
Jeddidnotdisputethetruthofthisstatement。Helooked，troubled，however。”Sho！”hesaid;“I’msorryifIplagued’Bijah，thatway。IfI’dknownhewassickIwouldn’thavedoneit。I
neveroncethoughtsomanyfolksasoneeveryhourwouldwantto，seemethistimeofyear。Dearme！，I’msorryabout’Bije。Maybe，I’dbettergodownandkindofexplainittohim。”
CaptainSamchuckled。”Iwouldn’t，“hesaid。”IfIwasyouI’d，explainoverthelongdistancetelephone。But，anyhow，Iwouldn’t，worrymuch。Ical’lateEmmaJ。exaggeratedaffairssome。
Probably，ifthetruthwasknown，you’dfindnotmorethanfour，folkscametherelookin’foryouyesterday。Don’tworry，Jed。”
Jeddidnotanswer。Theword“worry“hadremindedhimofhisother，visitorthatmorning。Helookedsoseriousthathisfriend，repeatedhisadjuration。
“Don’tworry，Itellyou，“hesaid，again。”’Tisn’tworthit。”
“Allright，Iwon’t……Iwon’t……Sam，Iwasthinkin’
aboutyouaforeyoucamein。YourememberItoldyouthat？”
“Iremember。Whathaveyougotonyourmind？，Anymoremoney，kickin’aroundthisglory-holethatyouwantmetoputtoyour，account？”
“Eh？……Oh，yes，Ibelievethereissomesomewheres。Seemsto，meIputaboutahundredandtendollars，checksandbillsand，such，awaydaybeforeyesterdayforyoutotakewhenyoucame。
MaybeI’llrememberwhereIputitbeforeyougo。But’twan’t，aboutthatIwasthinkin’。Sam，howisBarzillaSmall’sboy，Lute，gettin’alonginGusHowes’jobatthebank？”
CaptainSamsnorteddisgust。
“Gettin’along！”herepeated。”He’sgettin’alongthewayasquid，swims，andthat’sbackwards。And，ifyouaskedme，I’dsaythe，longerhestayedthefurtherbackhe’dget。”
“Sho！thenhedidturnouttobealeakinsteadofanableseaman，eh？”
“Aleak！，Graciousking！，He’slikeatorpedoblow-upunderthe，engine-room。Thebank’llsinkifhestaysaboardanothermonth，I
dobelieve。Andyet，“headded，withashakeofthehead，“Idon’t，seebuthe’llhavetostay;thereain’tanotheravailablecandidate，forthejobinsight。I’phoneduptoBostonandsomeofour，friendsarelookin’aroundupthere，butsofartheyhaven’thad，anysuccess。Thiswarismakin’youngmenscarce，thatisyoung，menthataregoodformuch。Prettysoonit’llgetsothata，healthyyoungfellerwhoain’tinuniformwillfeelaboutasmuch，outofplaceasahoginasynagogue。Yes，sir！，Ho，ho！”
Helaughedinhugeenjoymentofhisownjoke。Jedstareddreamily，attheadjustingscrewonthehandsaw。Hishandsclaspedhisknee，hisfootwasliftedfromthefloorandbegantoswingbackand，forth。
“Well，“queriedhisfriend，“whathaveyougotonyourmind？，Out，withit。”
“Eh？……Onmymind？”
“Yes。WhenIseeyoubegintoshutyourselftogetherinthemiddle，likeajackknifeandstartswingingthatnumberelevenofyoursI
knowyou’rethinkin’hardaboutsomethin’orother。Whatisit，thistime？”
“Um……well……er……Sam，ifyousawachancetogeta，realsmartyoungfellerinLute’splaceinthebankyou’dtakehim，wouldn’tyou？”
“WouldI？，Wouldacateatlobster？，Onlyshowhimtome，that’s，all！”
“Um-hm……NowofcourseyouknowIwouldn’tdoanythingto，hurtLute。NotfortheworldIwouldn’t。It’sonlyifyouARE
goin’tolethimgo——“
“IFIam。Eitherhe’llhavetoletgoorthebankwill，oneor，t’other。Unitedwesink，dividedoneofusmayfloat，that’sthe，wayIlookatit。Lute’llstaytillwecanlocatesomebodyelseto，takehisjob，andnolonger。”
“Ya-as……Um-hm……Well，Itellyou，Sam：，Don’tyouget，anybodyelsetillyouandIhaveanothertalk。Itmaybepossible，thatIcouldfindyoujustthesortofyoungmanyou’relookin’
for。”
“Eh？，YOUcanfindmeone？，YOUcan？，Whatareyougivin’me，Jed？
Whoistheyoungman;you？”
Jedgravelyshookhishead。”No-o，“hedrawled。”Ihateto，disappointyou，Sam，butitain’tme。It’sanother——er——smart，livelyyoungfeller。Heain’tquitesooldasIam;there’sa，littlematteroftwentyoddyearsbetweenus，Ibelieve，but，otherwisethanthathe’sallright。Andheknowsthebankin’
trade，soI’mtold。”
“Graciousking！，Whoishe？，Whereishe？”
“ThatIcan’ttellyoujustyet。ButmaybeIcanbyandby。”
“Tellmenow。”
“No-o。No，Ijustheardabouthimanditwastoldtomeinsecret。
AllIcansayisdon’tgetanybodytofillLuteSmall’splacetill，youandIhaveanothertalk。”
CaptainSamstaredkeenlyintohisfriend’sface。Jedborethe，scrutinycalmly;infacthedidn’tseemtobeawareofit。The，captaingaveitup。
“Allright，“hesaid。”Nousetryin’topumpyou，Iknowthat。
Whenyoumakeupyourmindtokeepyourmouthshutafeller，couldn’topenitwithacoldchisel。Ipresumelikelyyou’lltell，inyourowngoodtime。Nowifyou’llscratcharoundandfindthose，checksandthingsyouwantmetodepositforyouI’lltake’emand，begoin’。I’minalittlebitofahurrythismornin’。”
Jed“scratchedaround，“finallylocatingthechecksandbillsin，thecoffeepotontheshelfinhislittlekitchen。
“There！”heexclaimed，withsatisfaction，“IknewIput’em，somewhereswherethey’dbesafeandwhereIcouldn’tforget’em。”
“Whereyoucouldn’tforget’em！，Why，youdidforget’em，didn’t，you？”
“Um……yes……Ical’lateIdidthismornin’，butthat’s，becauseIdidn’tmakeanycoffeeforbreakfast。IfI’dmadecoffee，sameasIusuallydoI’dhavefound’em。”
“Whydidn’tyoumakecoffeethismornin’？”
Jed’seyetwinkled。
“W-e-e-ll，“hedrawled，“tobehonestwithyou，Sam，’twasbecause，Icouldn’tfindthecoffeepot。AfterItookitdowntoputthis，moneyinitIputitbackonadifferentshelf。Ijustfoundit，nowbyaccident。”
AsthecaptainwasleavingJedaskedonemorequestion。”Sam，“he，asked，“aboutthisbankjobnow？，Ifyouhadachancetogeta，bright，smartyoungmanwithexperienceinbankwork，you’dhire，him，wouldn’tyou？”
CaptainHunniwell’sanswerwasemphatic。
“YoubetIwould！”hedeclared。”IfIlikedhislooksandhis，referencesweregoodI’dhirehimintwominutes。Andsalary，any，reasonablesalary，wouldn’tpartus，either……Eh？，Whatmakes，youlooklikethat？”
ForJed’sexpressionhadchanged;hishandmovedacrosshischin。
“Eh——er——references？”herepeated。
“Why，why，ofcourse。I’dwantreferencesfromthefolkshe’d，workedfor，statin’thathewashonestandcapableandallthat。
WiththoseI’dhirehimintwominutes，asIsaid。Youfetchhim，alongandsee。Solong，Jed。Seeyoulater。”
Hehustledout，stoppingtotearfromtheouterdoortheplacard，directingcallerstocallatAbijahThompson’s。Jedreturnedto，hisboxandsatdownoncemoretoponder。Inhisinnocenceithad，notoccurredtohimthatreferenceswouldberequired。
Thatevening，aboutnine，hecrossedtheyardandknockedatthe，backdoorofthelittlehouse。Mrs。Armstrongansweredtheknock;
Barbara，ofcourse，wasinbedandasleep。Ruthwassurprisedto，seeherlandlordatthat，forhim，latehour。Also，remembering，theunceremoniouswayinwhichhehadpermittedhertodepartat，theendoftheirinterviewthatforenoon，shewasnotascordialas，usual。Shehadmadehimherconfidant，whyshescarcelyknew;
then，afterexpressinggreatinterestandsympathy，hehadsuddenly，seemedtoloseinterestinthewholematter。Shewasacquainted，withhiseccentricitiesandfitsofabsent-mindedness，but，neverthelessshehadbeenhurtandoffended。Shetoldherselfthat，sheshouldhaveexpectednothingmorefrom“Shavings“Winslow，the，personaboutwhomtwo-thirdsofOrhamjokedandtoldstories，but，thefactremainedthatshewasdisappointed。Andshewasangry，notsomuchwithhimperhaps，aswithherself。WHYhadshebeenso，foolishastotellanyoneoftheirhumiliation？
SowhenJedappearedatthebackdoorshereceivedhimrather，coldly。Hewasquiteconsciousofthechangeintemperature，but，hemadenocommentandofferednoexplanation。Insteadhetoldhis，story，thestoryofhisinterviewwithCaptainHunniwell。Ashe，tolditherfaceshowedatfirstinterest，thenhope，andatthe，lastradiantexcitement。Sheclaspedherhandsandleanedtoward，him，hereyesshining。
“Oh，Mr。Winslow，“shecried，breathlessly，“doyoumeanit？，Do，youreallybelieveCaptainHunniwellwillgivemybrothera，positioninhisbank？”
Jednoddedslowly。”Yes，“hesaid，“Ithinklikelyhemight。
Course’twouldn’tbeanygreatofaplace，notatfirst——norever，Ical’late，sofarasthatgoes。’Tain’taverybigbankandwages，ain’t——“
Butsheinterrupted。”Butthatdoesn’tmakeanydifference，“she，cried。”Don’tyouseeitdoesn’t！，Thesalaryandallthatwon’t，count——now。ItwillbeastartforCharles，anopportunityforhim，tofeelthatheisamanagain，doingaman’swork，anhonestman’s，work。AndhewillbeherewhereIcanbewithhim，wherewecanbe，together，whereitwon’tbesohardforustobepoorandwhere，therewillbenoonewhoknowsus，whoknowsourstory。Oh，Mr。
Winslow，isitreallytrue？，Ifitis，how——howcanweeverthank，you？，HowcanIevershowyouhowgratefulIfeel？”
Hercheekswereflushed，herlipspartedandjoyshoneinhereager，eyes。Hervoicebrokealittleassheutteredthewords。Jed，lookedatherandthenquicklylookedaway。
“I——I——don’ttalkso，Mrs。Armstrong，“hepleaded，hastily。”It——
itain’tanything，itain’treally。Itjust——“
“Notanything？，Notanythingtofindmybrothertheopportunityhe，andIhavebeenprayingfor？，Togivemetheopportunityofhaving，himwithme？，Isn’tthatanything？，Itiseverything。Oh，Mr。
Winslow，ifyoucandothisforus——“
“Shsh！，Sshh！，Now，Mrs。Armstrong，please。Youmustn’tsayI’m，doin’itforyou。I’mtheonethatjusthappenedtothinkofit，that’sall。Youcouldhavedoneitjustaswell，ifyou’dthought，ofit。”
“Perhaps，“withadoubtfulsmile，“butIshouldneverhavethought，ofit。Youdidbecauseyouwerethinkingforme——formybrother，andme。And——andIthoughtyoudidn’tcare。”
“Eh？……Didn’tcare？”
“Yes。WhenIleftyouattheshopthismorningafterourtalk。
Youwereso——soodd。Youdidn’tspeak，oroffertoadvisemeasI
hadaskedyouto;youdidn’tevensaygood-by。Youjustsatthere，andletmego。AndIdidn’tunderstandand——“
Jedputupahand。Hisfacewasapictureofdistress。
“Dear，dear，dear！”heexclaimed。”DidIdothat？，Idon’t，rememberit，butofcourseIdidifyousayso。Nowwhatonearth，possessedmeto？……Eh？”astheideaoccurredtohim。”Tell，me，wasIsingin’？”
“Why，yes，youwere。Thatis，youwere——were——“
“Makin’anoiseasifI’dswallowedahymnbookandoneofthe，tuneswaschokin’metodeath？，Um-hm，that’sthewayIsing。And，Iwassingin’whenyouleftme，eh？，ThatmeansIwasthinkin’
aboutsomethin’。ItoldBabbieonce，andit’sthetruth，that，thinkin’wasabigjobwithmeandwhenIdiditIhadtodrop，everythingelse，comeupintothewindlikeaschooner，youknow，andjustlaytoandthink……Oh，Iremembernow！，Yousaid，somethin’aboutyourbrother’sworkin’inabankandthatsetme，thinkin’thatSammustbeneedin’somebodybythistimeinLute，Small’splace。”
“Youdidn’tknowheneededanyone？”
“No-o，notexactly;butIknewLute，andthatamountedtothesame，thing。Mrs。Armstrong，Idohopeyou’llforgivemefor——for，singin’and——andalltherestofmyfoolishactions。”
“Forgiveyou！，Willyouforgivemeformisjudgingyou？”
“Landsakes，don’ttalkthatway。Butthere’sonethingIhaven’t，saidyetandyoumaynotlikeit。Iguessyouandyourbrother’ll，havetogotoSamandtellhimthewholestory。”
Herexpressionchanged。”Thewholestory？”sherepeated。”Why，whatdoyoumean？，TellhimthatCharleshasbeenin——inprison？
Youdon’tmeanTHAT？”
“Um-hm，“gravely;“I’mafraidIdo。Itlookstomeasifitwas，theonlyway。”
“Butwecan’t！，Oh，Mr。Winslow，wecan’tdothat。”
“Iknow’twillbeawfulhardforyou。But，whenItalkedtoSam，aboutmyhavin’apossiblecandidateforthebankplace，thevery，lastthinghesaidwasthathe’dbegladtoseehimprovidin’his，referenceswasallright。IgiveyoumywordI’dneverthoughtof，references，nottillthen。”
“Butifwetellhim——tellhimeverything，weshallonlymake，mattersworse，shan’twe？，Ofcoursehewon’tgivehimtheposition，then。”
“There’sachancehewon’t，that’strue。ButSamHunniwell’sa，finefeller，thereain’tanybetter，andhelikesyouand——well，he，andIhavebeencruisin’incompanyforalongspell。Maybehe’ll，giveyourbrotherachancetomakegood。Ihopehewill。”
“Youonlyhope？，Ithoughtyousaidyoubelieved。”
“Well，Ido，butofcourseitain’tsartin。Iwish’twas。”
Shewassilent。Jed，watchingher，sawthelasttracesof，happinessandelationfadefromherfaceanddisappointmentand，discouragementcomebacktotaketheirplaces。Hepitiedher，and，heyearnedtohelpher。Atlasthecouldstanditnolonger。
“Now，Mrs。Armstrong，“hepleaded，“ofcourse——“
Sheinterrupted。
“No，“shesaid，asifcomingtoafinaldecisionandspeakingthat，decisionaloud：，“No，Ican’tdoit。”
“Eh？，Can’tdo——what？”
“Ican’thaveCaptainHunniwellknowofourtrouble。Icamehere，toOrham，wherenooneknewme，toavoidthatverything。Athome，thereinMiddlefordIfeltasifeverypersonImetwasstaringat，meandsaying，’Herbrotherisinprison。’，Iwasafraidtohave，Babbieplaywiththeotherchildren。Iwas——butthere，Iwon’t，talkaboutit。Ican’t。AndIcannothaveitbeginagainhere。
I’llgoawayfirst。Wewillallgoaway，outWest，anywhere——
anywherewherewecanbe——clean——andlikeotherpeople。”
Jedwasconsciousofacoldsensation，likethetouchofanicicle，upanddownhisspine。Goingaway！，SheandBabbiegoingaway！，In，hismind’seyehesawavisionofthelittlehouseclosedoncemore，andshutteredtightasitusedtobe。Hegasped。
“Now，now，Mrs。Armstrong，“hefaltered。”Don’ttalkaboutgoin’
away。It——itisn’tneedfulforyoutodoanythinglikethat。Of，courseitain’t。You——youmustn’t。I——wecan’tspareyou。”
Shedrewalongbreath。”Iwouldgototheotherendofthe，world，“shesaid，“ratherthantellCaptainHunniwellthetruth，aboutmybrother。ItoldyoubecauseBabbiehadtoldyousomuch，already……Oh，“turningswiftlytowardhim，“YOUwon’ttell，CaptainHunniwell，willyou？”
Beforehecouldanswershestretchedoutherhand。”Oh，please，forgiveme，“shecried。”Iamnotmyself。Iamalmostcrazy，I
think。AndwhenyoufirsttoldmeaboutthepositioninthebankI
wassohappy。Oh，Mr。Winslow，isn’tthereSOMEwaybywhich，Charlescouldhavethatchance？，Couldn’t——couldn’thegetitand——
andworktherefor——forayearperhaps，untiltheyallsawwhata，splendidfellowhewas，andTHENtellthem——ifitseemednecessary？
Theywouldknowhimthen，andlikehim;theycouldn’thelpit，everyonelikeshim。”
Shebrushedthetearsfromhereyes。PoorJed，miserableandmost，unreasonablyconscience-stricken，writhedinhischair。”I——I
don’tknow，“hefaltered。”IdeclareIdon’tseehow。Er——er——
Outinthatbankwhereheusedtowork，thatWisconsinbank，he——
yousaidhedidfirst-ratethere？”
Shestarted。”Yes，yes，“shecried，eagerly。”Oh，hewassplendid，there！，AndthemanwhowastheheadofthatbankwhenCharleswas，thereisanoldfriendofours，ofthefamily;hehasretirednow，buthewouldhelpusifhecould，Iknow。Ibelieve……Iwonder，if……Mr。Winslow，Ican’ttellanyoneinOrhamofourdisgrace，andIcan’tbeartogiveupthatopportunityformybrother。Will，youleaveittomeforalittlewhile？，Willyouletmethinkit，over？”
OfcourseJedsaidhewouldandwentbacktohislittleroomover，theshop。Ashewasleavingsheputoutherhandandsaid，with，impulsiveearnestness：
“Thankyou，Mr。Winslow。Whatevercomesofthis，orifnothing，comesofit，Icanneverthankyouenoughforyourgreatkindness。”
Jedgingerlyshooktheextendedhandandfled，hisfacescarlet。
Duringthefollowingweek，althoughhesawhisneighborseachday，andseveraltimesaday，Mrs。Armstrongdidnotmentionherbrother，orthechanceofhisemploymentintheOrhambank。Jed，verymuch，surprisedathersilence，wastemptedtoaskwhatherdecisionwas，orevenifshehadarrivedatone。Ononeoccasionhethrewouta，broadhint，butthehintwasnottaken，insteadtheladychanged，thesubject;infact，itseemedtohimthatshemadeitapointof，avoidingthatsubjectandwasanxiousthatheshouldavoidit，also。Hewassureshehadnotabandonedtheideawhich，atfirst，hadsoexcitedherinterestandraisedherhopes。Sheseemedto，himtobestillunderastrongnervousstrain，tospeakandactas，ifunderrepressedexcitement;butshehadaskedhimtoleavethe，affairtoher，toletherthinkitover，soofcoursehecoulddo，orsaynothinguntilshehadspoken。Buthewonderedand，speculatedagooddealandwasvaguelytroubled。WhenCaptainSam，Hunniwellcalledhedidnotagainrefertohispossiblecandidate，forthepositionnowheldbyLutherSmall。And，singularlyenough，thecaptainhimselfdidnotmentionthesubject。
ButonemorningalmosttwoweeksafterJed’sdiscussionwiththe，youngwidowsheandCaptainHunniwellcameintothewindmillshop，together。Mrs。Armstrong’sairofexcitementwasverymuchin，evidence。Hercheekswerered，hereyessparkled，hermanner，animated。Herlandlordhadneverseenherlooksoyoung，or，for，thatmatter，sohappy。
CaptainSambegantheconversation。He，too，seemedtobeinhigh，goodhumor。
“Well，JedidahWilfredShavin’s’，“heobserved，facetiously，“what，doyousupposeI’vegotupmysleevethismornin’？”
Jedlaiddownthechiselhewassharpening。
“Yourarms，Ipresumelikely，“hedrawled。
“Yes，I’vegotmyarmsandthere’safistattheendofeachoneof，’em。Anymore——er——flippityanswerslikethatoneandyou’re，liabletothinkyou’restruckbylightnin’。ThisladyandIhave，gotnewsforyou。Doyouknowwhat’tis？”
JedlookedatMrs。Armstrongandthenatthespeaker。
“No-o，“hesaid，slowly。
“Well，tobeginwithit’sthis：，LuteSmallisleavin’theOrham，NationalaweekfromnextSaturdaybyavoteofeighttoone。The，directorsandthecashierandIaretheeightandhe’stheone。
Ho，ho！，AndwhodoyousupposecomesaboardonthenextMonday，mornin’totakeoverwhatLutehasleftofthejob？，Eh？，Who？
Why，yourowncandidate，that’swho。”
Jedstarted。AgainhelookedatMrs。Armstrongand，asifin，answertothatlook，shespoke。
“Yes，Mr。Winslow，“shesaid，quickly，“mybrotheriscomingto，OrhamandCaptainHunniwellhasgivenhimtheposition。Itis，reallyyoutowhomheowesitall。Youthoughtofitandspoketo，thecaptainandtome。”
“Butwhyintime，“demandedCaptainSam，“didn’tyoutellmeright，outthat’twasMrs。Armstrong’sbrotheryouhadinmind？，Gracious，king！ifI’dknownthatI’dhavehadLuteoutafortni’tsooner。”
Jedmadenoreplytothis。Hewasstillstaringatthelady。
“But——but——“hefaltered，“didyou——haveyou——“
Hestoppedinthemiddleofaword。Ruthwasstandingbehindthe，captainandhesawthefrightenedlookinhereyesandtheswift，movementofherfingertoherlips。
“Oh，yes，“shesaid。”I——Ihave。ItoldCaptainHunniwellof，Charlie’sexperienceinthebankinWisconsin。Hehaswritten，thereandtheanswerisquitesatisfactory，orsoheseemsto，think。”
“Couldn’tbebetter，“declaredCaptainSam。”Here’stheletter，fromthemanthatusedtobethebankpresidentoutthere。Read，it，Jed，ifyouwantto。”
Jedtooktheletterand，withahandwhichshookalittle，adjusted，hisglassesandread。Itwasmerelyanote，briefandtothe，point。ItstatedsimplythatwhileCharlesPhillipshadbeenin，theemployoftheirinstitutionasmessenger，bookkeeperand，assistantteller，hehadbeenfoundhonest，competent，ambitious，andthoroughlysatisfactory。
“AndwhatmoredoIwantthanthat？”demandedthecaptain。
“Anybodywhocanclimbupthatwayaforehe’stwenty-fivewilldo，wellenoughforyourstruly。CourseheandIhaven’tmetyet，but，hissisterandI’vemet，andI’mnotworryin’butwhatI’lllike，therestofthefamily。Besides，“headded，withacombination，laughandgroan，“it’sacaseofdesperationwithusupatthe，bank。We’vegottohavesomebodytoplugthatleakyouwastalkin’
about，Jed，andwe’vegottohave’emimmediate，rightoffquick，atonce，oralittlesooner。It’saprovidence，yourbrotheristo，us，Mrs。Armstrong，“hedeclared;“aspecialprovidenceandno，mistake。”
Hehurriedoffamomentlater，affirmingthathewaslateatthe，bankalready。
“Coursethecashier’sthereandtherestofthehelp，“headded，“butittakesallhandsandthecattokeepLutefromputtin’the，kindlin’inthesafeandlightin’upthestovewithtendollar，bills。Solong。”
AfterhehadgoneJedturnedtohisremainingvisitor。Hisvoice，shookalittleashespoke。
“Youhaven’ttoldhim！”hefaltered，reproachfully。”You——you，haven’ttoldhim！”
Sheshookherhead。”Icouldn’t——Icouldn’t，“shedeclared。
“DON’Tlookatmelikethat。Pleasedon’t！，Iknowitiswrong。I
feellikeacriminal;Ifeelwicked。But，“defiantly，“Ishould，feelmorewickedifIhadtoldhimandmybrotherhadlosttheonly，opportunitythatmighthavecometohim。HeWILLmakegood，Mr。
Winslow。IKNOWhewill。Hewillmakethemrespecthimandlike，him。Theycan’thelpit。See！”shecried，herexcitementand，agitationgrowing;“seehowMr。Reed，thebankpresidentthereat，home，theonewhowrotethatletter，seewhathedidforCharles！
Heknows，too;heknowsthewholestory。I——Iwrotetohim。I
wrotethatverynightwhenyoutoldme，Mr。Winslow。Iexplained，everything，Ibeggedhim——heisanold，oldfriendofourfamily——
todothisthingforoursakes。Yousee，itwasn’taskinghimto，lie，ortodoanythingwrong。ItwasjustthathetellofCharles，andhisabilityandcharacterasheknewthem。Itwasn’twrong，wasit？”
Jeddidnotanswer。
“Ifitwas，“shedeclared，“Ican’thelpit。Iwoulddoitagain——
forthesamereason——tosavehimandhisfuture，tosaveusall。I
can’thelpwhatyouthinkofme。Itdoesn’tmatter。Allthatdoes，matteristhatyoukeepsilentandletmybrotherhavehischance。”
Jed，leaningforwardinhischairbytheworkbench，puthishandto，hisforehead。
“Don’t——don’ttalkso，Mrs。Armstrong，“hebegged。”Youknow——you，knowIdon’tthinkanythingyou’vedoneiswrong。Iain’tgotthe，righttothinkanysuchthingasthat。Andasforkeepin’still——
why，I——Ididhopeyouwouldn’tfeel’twasnecessarytoaskthat。”
“Idon’t——Idon’t。IknowyouandItrustyou。Youaretheonly，personinOrhamwhomIhavetrusted。Youknowthat。”
“Why，yes——why，yes，Idoknowitand——andI’meversomuchobliged，toyou。MoreobligedthanIcantellyou，Iam。Now——nowwould，youmindtellin’mejustonethingmore？，AboutthisMr。What’s-
his-nameoutWestinthebankthere——thisMr。Reed——didhewrite，youhethought’twasallrightforhimtosendSamthe——thekindof，letterhedidsendhim，theonegivin’yourbrothersuchagood，reference？”
Thecolorroseinherfaceandshehesitatedbeforereplying。
“No，“sheconfessed，afteramoment。”Hedidnotwritemethathe，thoughtitrighttogiveCaptainHunniwellsuchareference。In，facthewrotethathethoughtitallwrong，deceitful，borderingon，thedishonest。HemuchpreferredhavingCharlesgotothecaptain，andtellthewholetruth。Ontheotherhand，however，hesaidhe，realizedthatthatmightmeantheendoftheopportunityhereand，perhapspublicscandalandgossipbywhichweallmightsuffer。
AndhesaidhehadabsoluteconfidencethatCharleswasnota，criminalbyintent，andhefeltquitesurethathewouldnevergo，wrongagain。Ifhewerestillinactivebusiness，hesaid，he，shouldnothesitatetoemployhim。Therefore，althoughhestill，believedtheothercoursesaferandbetter，hewould，ifCaptain，Hunniwellwrote，answerasIhadasked。Andhedidanswerinthat，way。So，yousee，“shecried，eagerly，“HEbelievesinCharles，justasIdo。Andjustasyouwillwhenyouknow，Mr。Winslow。
Oh，WON’Tyoutrytobelievenow？”
Aharder-heartedmanthanJedWinslowwouldhavefounditdifficult，torefusesuchapleamadeinsuchawaybysuchawoman。And，Jed’sheartwasanythingbuthard。
“Now，now，Mrs。Armstrong，“hestammered，“youdon’thavetoaskme，that。CourseIbelieveinthepooryoungchap。And——andIguess，likelyeverything’sgoin’tocomeoutallright。ThatMr。What’s-
his-name——er——Wright——no，Reed——Igotreadandwritemixedup，I
guess——he’sabusinessmanandhe’doughttoknowaboutsuchthings，better’nIdo。Idon’tdoubtit’llcomeoutfineandwewon’t，worryanymoreaboutit。”
“Andwewillstillbefriends？，Youknow，Mr。Winslow，youarethe，onlyrealfriendIhaveinOrham。Andyouhavebeensoloyal。”
Jedflushedwithpleasure。
“I——Itoldyouonce，“hesaid，“thatmyfriendsgenerallycalledme，’Jed。’“
Shelaughed。”Verywell，I’llcallyou’Jed，’shesaid。”Butturn，aboutisfairplayandyoumustcallme’Ruth。’，Willyou？，Oh，there’sBabbiecallingme。Thankyouagain，forCharles’sakeand，myown。Goodmorning——Jed。”
“Er——er——goodmornin’，Mrs。Armstrong。”
“What？”
“Er——ImeanMrs。Ruth。”
Themostofthatforenoon，thatisthehourorsoremaining，was，spentbyMr。Winslowinsittingbytheworkbenchandidly，scratchinguponaboardwiththepointofthechisel。Sometimes，hisscratchesweremeaningless，sometimestheyspelledaname，a，namewhichheseemedtoenjoyspelling。Butatintervalsduring，thatday，andonotherdayswhichfollowed，hewasconsciousofan，uneasyfeeling，afeelingalmostofguiltcoupledwithadim，foreboding。
RuthArmstronghadcalledhimafriendandloyal。Buthadhebeen，asloyaltoanolderfriend，afriendhehadknownallhislife？
HadhebeenloyaltoCaptainSamHunniwell？
Thatwasthefeelingofguilt。Theforebodingwasnotasdefinite，butitwasalwayswithhim;hecouldnotshakeitoff。Allhis，lifehehaddealttruthfullywiththeworld，hadnotlied，or，evaded，orcompromised。Nowhehadpermittedhimselftobecomea，silentpartnerinsuchacompromise。Andsomeday，somehow，troublewascomingbecauseofit。
CHAPTERXII
BeforetheendofanotherweekCharlesPhillipscametoOrham。It，wasRuthwhotoldJedthenews。Shecameintothewindmillshop，and，standingbesidethebenchwherehewasatwork，shesaid：“Mr。
Winslow，Ihavesomethingtotellyou。”
Jedputdownthepencilandsheetofpaperuponwhichhehadbeen，drawingnewpatternsforthe“gullvane“whichwastomoveits，wingswhenthewindblew。Thisgreatinventionhadnotprogressed，veryfartowardpracticalperfection。Itsinventorhadbeenbusy，withotherthingsandhadoflateratherlostinterestinit。But，Barbara’sinteresthadnotflaggedandtopleaseherJedhad，promisedtothinkalittlemoreaboutitduringthenextdayorso。
“Butcan’tyoumakeitflapitswings，UncleJed？”thechildhad，asked。
Jedrubbedhischin。”W-e-e-ll，“hedrawled，“Idon’tknow。I
thoughtIcould，butnowIain’tsosure。Icouldmake’emwhirl，’roundand’roundlikeamillorasetofsailorpaddles，butto，make’emflapisdifferent。They’vegottobeputonstrongenough，sotheywon’tflopoff。Yousee，“headded，solemnly，“ifthey，keptfloppin’offtheywouldn’tkeepflappin’on。There’sallthe，differenceintheworldbetweenaflapandflop。”
HewastryingtoreconcilethatdifferencewhenRuthenteredthe，shop。Helookedupatherabsently。”Mr。Winslow，“shebegan，again，“I——“
Hisreproachfullookmadeherpauseandsmileslightlyinspiteof，herself。
“I’msorry，“shesaid。”Well，then——Jed——Ihavesomethingtotell，you。Mybrotherwillbehereto-morrow。”
Jedhadbeenexpectingtohearthisverythingalmostanyday，but，hewasalittlestartlednevertheless。
“Sho！”heexclaimed。”Youdon’ttellme！”
“Yes。Heiscomingontheeveningtrainto-morrow。Ihadword，fromhimthismorning。”
Jed’shandmovedtohischin。”Hum……”hemused。”Iguess，likelyyou’llbeprettygladtoseehim。”
“Ishallbeatleastthat，“withalittlebreakinhervoice。”You，canimaginewhathiscomingwillmeantome。No，Isupposeyou，can’timagineit;noonecan。”
Jeddidnotsaywhetherheimagineditornot。
“I——I’mrealgladforyou，Mrs。Ruth，“hedeclared。”Mrs。Ruth“
wasasnearasheevercametofulfillingtheiragreement，concerningnames。
“I’msureyouare。Andformybrother’ssakeandmyownIamvery，gratefultoyou。Mr。Winslow——Jed，Imean——youhavedonesomuch，forusalready;willyoudoonethingmore？”
Jed’sanswerwasgivenwithnotraceofhiscustomaryhesitation。
“Yes，“hesaid。
“Thisisreallyforme，perhaps，morethanforCharles——oratleast，asmuch。”
AgaintherewasnohesitationintheWinslowreply。
“Thatwon’tmakeitanyharder，“heobserved，gravely。
“Thankyou。Itisjustthis：Ihavedecidednottotellmybrother，thatIhavetoldyouofhis——histrouble，ofhishavingbeen——where，hehasbeen，oranythingaboutit。HeknowsIhavenottold，CaptainHunniwell;I’msurehewilltakeitforgrantedthatIhave，toldnoone。Ithinkitwillbesomucheasierforthepoorboyif，hecancomeheretoOrhamandthinkthatnooneknows。Andnoone，doesknowbutyou。Youunderstand，don’tyou？”sheadded，earnestly。
Helookedalittletroubled，buthenodded。
“Yes，“hesaid，slowly。”Iunderstand，Ical’late。”
“I’msureyoudo。Ofcourse，ifheshouldaskmepoint-blankifI
hadtoldanyone，Ishouldanswertruthfully，tellhimthatIhad，toldyouandexplainwhyIdidit。AndsomedayIshalltellhim，whetherheasksornot。ButwhenhefirstcomeshereIwanthimto，be——tobe——well，asnearlyhappyasispossibleunderthe，circumstances。Iwanthimtomeetthepeopleherewithoutthe，feelingthattheyknowhehasbeen——aconvict，anyofthem。And，so，unlessheasks，Ishallnottellhimthatevenyouknow;andI
amsureyouwillunderstandandnot——not——“
“Notsayanythingwhenhe’saroundthatmightletthecatoutof，thebag。Yes，yes，Isee。Well，I’llbecareful;youcancounton，me，Mrs。Ruth。”
Shelookeddownintohishomely，earnestface。”Ido，“shesaid，simply，andwentoutoftheroom。Forseveralminutesaftershe，hadgoneJedsattheregazingafterher。Thenhesighed，pickedup，hispencilandturnedagaintothedrawingofthegull。
AndthefollowingeveningyoungPhillipscame。Jed，lookingfrom，hisshopwindow，sawthedepot-wagondrawupatthegate。Barbara，wasthefirsttoalight。PhilanderHardycamearoundtotheback，ofthevehicleandwouldhaveassistedher，butshejumpeddown，withouthisassistance。ThencameRuthand，afterher，aslim，youngfellowcarryingatravelingbag。ItwasduskandJedcould，notseehisfaceplainly，buthefanciedthathenoticeda，resemblancetohissisterinthewayhewalkedandthecarriageof，hishead。ThetwowentintothelittlehousetogetherandJed，returnedtohislonelysupper。Hewasatriflebluethatevening，althoughheprobablywouldnothaveconfessedit。Leastofall，wouldhehaveconfessedthereason，whichwasthathewasjusta，littlejealous。Hedidnotgrudgehistenantherhappinessinher，brother’sreturn，buthecouldnothelpfeelingthatfromthattime，onshewouldnotbeasintimateandconfidentialwithhim，Jed，Winslow，asshehadbeen。Afterthisitwouldbetothisbrother，ofhersthatshewouldturnforhelpandadvice。Well，ofcourse，thatwaswhatsheshoulddo，whatanyoneofsensewoulddo，but，Jedwasuncomfortableallthesame。Also，becausehewashimself，hefeltasenseofguiltyremorseatbeinguncomfortable。
Thenextmorninghewaspresentedtothenewarrival。Itwas，Barbarawhomadethepresentation。Shecameskippingintothe，windmillshopleadingtheyoungmanbythehand。
“UncleJed，“shesaid，“thisismyUncleCharlie。He’sbeenaway，andhe’scomebackandhe’sgoingtoworkherealwaysandlivein，thebank。No，Imeanhe’sgoingtoworkinthebankalwaysand，live——，No，Idon’t，butyouknowwhatIdomean，don’tyou，Uncle，Jed？”
CharlesPhillipssmiled。”Ifhedoeshemustbeamind-reader，Babbie，“hesaid。Then，extendinghishand，headded：“Gladto，knowyou，Mr。Winslow。I’veheardalotaboutyoufromBabbieand，Sis。”
Jedmighthaverepliedthathehadheardalotabouthimalso，but，hedidnot。Insteadhesaid“Howd’yedo，“shooktheproffered，hand，andlookedthespeakerover。Whathesawimpressedhim，favorably。Phillipswasagood-lookingyoungfellow，witha，pleasantsmile，atakingmannerandapairofdarkeyeswhich，remindedMr。Winslowofhissister’s。Itwaseasytobelieve，Ruth’sstatementthathehadbeenapopularfavoriteamongtheir，acquaintancesinMiddleford;hewasthesorttheaverageperson，wouldlikeatonce，thesortwhichmenbecomeinterestedinand，womenspoil。
Hewasratherquietduringthisfirstcall。Babbiedidtwo-thirds，ofthetalking。Shefeltitherdutyasanolderinhabitantto，display“UncleJed“andhiscreationsforherrelative’sbenefit。
Vanes，sailors，shipsandmillswerepointedoutandcommented，upon。
“Hemakeseveryone，UncleCharlie，“shedeclaredsolemnly。”He’s，madeeveryonethat’shereand——oh，lotsandlotsmore。Hemade，thebigmillthat’supinourgarret——，Youhaven’tseenityet，UncleCharlie;it’sgoingtobeoutonourlawnnextspring——andhe，gaveittomefora——fora——，Whatkindofapresentwasthatmill，yougaveme，UncleJed，thattimewhenMammaandPetuniaandIwere，goingbacktoMrs。Smalley’sbecausewethoughtyoudidn’twantus，tohavethehouseanylonger？”
Jedlookedpuzzled。
“Eh？”hequeried。”Whatkindofapresent？，Idon’tknow’sI
understandwhatyoumean。”
“Imeanwhatkindofapresentwasit。Itwasn’taChristmas，presentorabirthdaypresentoranythinglikethat，butitmustbe，SOMEkindofone。Whatkindofpresentwouldyoucallit，Uncle，Jed？”
Jedrubbedhischin。
“W-e-e-ll，“hedrawled，“Iguesslikelyyoumightcallitaforget-
me-notpresent，ifyouhadtocallitanything。”
Barbarapondered。
“A——aforget-me-notisakindofflower，isn’tit？”sheasked。
“Um-hm。”
“Butthisisawindmill。Howcanyoumakeafloweroutofa，windmill，UncleJed？”
Jedrubbedhischin。”Well，that’saquestion，“headmitted。”But，youcanmakeflourINawindmill，’causeI’veseenitdone。”
Moreponderingontheyounglady’spart。Thenshegaveitup。
“Youmustn’tmindifyoudon’tunderstandhim，UncleCharlie，“she，said，inhermostconfidentialandgrown-upmanner。”Hesayslots，ofthingsPetuniaandIdon’tunderstandatall，buthe’sawful，nice，justthesame。Mammasayshe’schoking——no，Imeanjoking，whenhetalksthatwayandthatwe’llunderstandthejokeslots，betterwhenwe’reolder。SHEunderstandsthemalmostalways，“she，addedproudly。
Phillipslaughed。Jed’sslowsmileappearedandvanished。”Looks，asiffacin’myjokeswasnochild’splay，don’tit，“heobserved。
“Well，Iwillgiveinthatgettin’anyfunoutof’emisaman’s，sizejob。”
OnthefollowingMondaytheyoungmantookuphisdutiesinthe，bank。CaptainHunniwellinterviewedhim，likedhim，andhiredhim，allinthesameforenoon。Bytheendofthefirstweekoftheir，associationasemployerandemployeethecaptainlikedhimstill，better。Hedroppedinatthewindmillshoptocrowoverthefact。
“Hetakesholdsameasanold-timefirstmateusedtotakeholdof，agreencrew，“hedeclared。”Hehadhisjobjumpin’tothewhistle，beforetheseconddaywasover。IdeclareIhardlydasttowakeup，mornin’sforfearI’llfindoutourhavin’suchasmartfelleris，onlyadreamandthatthelivin’calamityisLuteSmall。Andto，think，“headded，“thatyouknewabouthimforthelandknowshow，longandwouldonlyhintinsteadoftellin’。Idon’tknowasyou’d，havetoldyetifhissisterhadn’ttoldfirst。Eh？，Wouldyou？”
Jeddeliberatelypickedaloosebristlefromhispaintbrush。
“Maybenot，“headmitted。
“Graciousking！，Well，WHYnot？”
“Oh，Idon’tknow。I’mkindof——er——funnythatway。Liketotake，myowntime，Iguesslikely。Maybeyou’venoticedit，Sam。”
“Eh？，MAYBEI’venoticedit？，Ablindcripplethatwasborndeef，anddumbwouldhavenoticedthatthefirsttimeheranacrossyou。
Whatonearthareyoudoin’tothatpaintbrush;tryin’to，mesmerizeit？”
Hisfriend，whohadbeenstaringmournfullyatthebrush，nowlaid，itdown。
“Iwastryin’todecide，“hedrawled，“whetheritneededhairtonic，orawig。SoyoulikethisCharliePhillips，doyou？”
“SartinsureIdo！，Andthecustomerslikehim，too。Why，old，MelissaBusteedwasinyesterdayandhewaitedonherforhalfan，hour，seemedso，andwhentheagonywasoverneitheroneof’emhad，gotmadenoughsoanybodyoutsidethebuildin’wouldnoticeit。
Andthat’samiraclethatain’thappenedinthatbankformore’n，ONEyear。Why，IunderstandMelissawentdownstreettellin’all，handswhatafineyoungmanwe’dgotworkin’forus……Here，whatareyoulaughin’at？”
Thewordwasill-chosen;Jedseldomlaughed，buthehadsmiled，slightlyandthecaptainnoticedit。
“Whatareyougrinnin’at？”herepeated。
Jed’shandmovedacrosshischin。
“GabBearsewasinaspellago，“hereplied，“andhewastellin’
aboutwhatMelissasaid。”
“Well，shesaidwhatIjustsaidshesaid，didn’tshe？”
Mr。Winslownodded。”Um-hm，“headmitted，“shesaid——er——allof，that。”
“Allofit？，Wastheresomemore？”
“’Cordin’toGabetherewas。’Cordin’tohimshesaid……she，said……er……Hum！thisbrushain’tmuchbetter’ntheother。
Seemtobecomin’downwiththemange，bothof’em。”
“Graciousking！，Consarnthepaintbrushes！，TellmewhatMelissa，said。”
“Oh，yes，yes……Well，’cordin’toGabeshesaid’twasa，comforttoknowtherewasaplaceinthistownwhereanunprotected，femalecouldgoandnotbeinsulted。”
CaptainSam’slaughcouldhavebeenheardacrosstheroad。
“Ho，ho！”heroared。”Anunprotectedfemale，eh？，’Cordin’tomy，notionit’sthemalethatneedsprotectionwhenMelissa’saround。
I’veseenLuteSmallstandin’intheteller’scage，tongue-tiedand，withthesweatstandin’onhisforehead，whileMelissagavehimher，candidopinionofanybodythatwouldvotetoallowalcoholtobe，soldbydoctorsinthistown。And’twastenminutesoftwelve，Saturdaymornin’，too，andtherewaseightmenwaitin’theirturn，inline，andnaryoneofthemorLuteeitherhadthespunktoask，Melissatohurry。Ho，ho！’unprotectedfemale’isgood！”
Hehadhislaughoutandthenadded：“Butthere’snodoubtthat，Charlie’sgoin’tobepopularwiththewomen。Why，evenMaudseems，totakeashinetohim。Saidshewassurprisedtohavemeshow，suchgoodjudgment。Courseshedidn’treallymeanshewas，surprised，“hehastenedtoexplain，evidentlyfearingthatevenan，oldfriendlikeJedmightthinkhewascriticizinghisidolized，daughter。”Shewasjustteasin’herolddad，that’sall。ButI
couldseethatCharliekindofpleasedher。Well，hepleasesme，andhepleasesthecashierandthedirectors。Weagree，allofus，thatwe’remightylucky。Igaveyousomeofthecreditforgettin’
himforus，Jed，“headdedmagnanimously。”Youdon’treally，deservemuch，becauseyouhungbacksoandwouldn’ttellhisname，butIgaveittoyoujustthesame。What’salittlecreditbetween，friends，eh？，That’swhatBlueyBatcheldorsaidtheotherdaywhen，hecameinandwantedtoborrowahundreddollarsonhispersonal，note。Ho！ho！”
CaptainSam’sglowingopinionofhisparagonwassoonechoedbythe，majorityofOrham’spopulation。CharliePhillips，althoughquiet，andinclinedtokeeptohimself，waslikedbyalmosteveryone。In，thebankandoutofithewaspolite，considerateandalways，agreeable。DuringthesefirstdaysJedfanciedthathedetectedin，theyoungmanacertainalertdread，asenseofbeingonguard，a，reserveinthepresenceofstrangers，buthewasnotsurethatthis，wasanythingmorethanfancy，afancyinspiredbythefactthathe，knewtheboy’ssecretandwasonthelookoutforsomethingofthe，sort。Atalleventsnooneelseappearedtonoticeitandit，becamemoreandmoreevidentthatCharlie，asnine-tenthsofOrham，calledhimwithinafortnight，wasdestinedtobethefavoritehere，that，accordingtohissister，hehadbeeneverywhereelse。
Ofcoursetherewereafewwhodidnot，orwouldnot，likehim。
LutherSmall，thedeposedbankclerk，wasbitterinhissneersand，causticinhiscomments。However，asLuteloudlydeclaredthathe，wasjustgoingtoquitanyhow，thathewouldn’thaveworkedforold，Hunniwellanotherweekifhewaspaidamillionaminuteforit，hishatredofhissuccessorseemedratherunaccountable。Barzilla，Small，Luther’sfondparent，alsoprofessedintensedislikeforthe，mannowfillinghisson’spositioninthebank。”Idon’tknowhow，’tis，“affirmedBarzilla，“butthefusttimeIseethatyoung，upstartIsaystomyself：’Youngfeller，youain’tmykind。’，This，remarkbeingrepeatedtoCaptainSam，thelatterobserved：’That’s，gospeltruthandthanktheLordforit。’“
AnotherpersonwhorefusedtoacceptPhillipsfavorablywasPhineas，Babbitt。Phineas’sbitternesswasnotthesorttosweetenover，night。HedislikedthenewbankclerkandhetoldJedWinslowwhy。