EvenZoethsmilednowandMarylaughedaloud。
　　“Butyouhaven’tobjected；youhaven’tmindedbeing——whatshallI
　　callit？——skipped——byme，haveyou？“sheasked。
　　TheCaptaingrinned。“Mindit！“heexclaimed。“Umph！Theonlytimewhenwereallymindeditwastheselasttwoyearswhenweain’thadit。Wemindedmissin’it，that’swhatweminded。“
　　“Well，youwon’tmissitanymore。Nowhelpmeputthesethingsbackinthesafeandwe’llgohome。Yes，home！Tomorrowmorning——
　　thismorning，Imean——we’lltalkandI’lltellyousomeofmyplans。
　　Oh，yes！IhaveplansandIaminhopestheymaydogreatthingsforHamiltonandCompany。Butnomoretalktonight。Remember，theskipperisbackonboard！“
　　Sotothehousetheywentandtobed，theCaptainandMr。Hamiltonunderprotest。
　　CHAPTERXX
　　NeitherMarynortheCaptainnorMr。Hamiltonsleptmuchofthefewhoursuntildaylight，andCaptainShadrach，whowasdevouredwithcuriosityconcerningtheplans，wouldhaveaskedparticularsbeforebreakfast，butMarywouldnotlistentoquestions。Itwasnotuntilbreakfastwasoverandtheywerebackinthestorethatsheconsentedtodiscussthesubject。
　　Thesafewasreopenedandthebooksandpapersspreadoutuponthedesk。Marytookuponeofthesheetsofpaper；itwascoveredwithrowsoffiguresinherhandwriting。
　　“Now，“shesaid，“itseemstomethatthefirstthingistofindoutexactlywherewestand。WhenIsay’we，’“sheadded，withanodofgreatimportance，“Imean’we，’because，asItoldyoulastnight，I
　　amasilentpartnerinthebusinessnow。“
　　“Don’tseemtobesoterriblemuchsilence，“observedShadrachdryly。
　　“Hush！AnotherremarkofthatkindandIshallsetyoutosweepingout，UncleShad。Now，UncleZoeth，accordingtothebooksthisiswhatweowe。“
　　Shereadfromthepaperinherhand。
　　“Thatisthetotal，UncleZoeth，isn’tit？“sheasked。Zoethgroanedandadmittedthathecal’lateditwasnighenough。
　　“Yes。Butthis，“holdingupanothersheetofpaper，“iswhatisowedus，anditisalmostasmuchastheother。“
　　ItwasShadrach’sturntogroan。“’Tisifwecouldgeta-holdofit，“hemuttered。“Theheftofthegangonthatlistain’tgotacentandthebulkoftherestof’emwouldn’thaveiftheypaidwhattheyowed。“
　　Marynoddeddeterminedly。
　　“Therearesomethatcanpay，“shesaid。“JeremiahClifford，forinstance。Accordingtothebooksheowesusoverahundredandtendollarsandpartoftheaccountisthreeyearsold。Mr。Cliffordownsproperty。Hecan’tbeapoorman。“
　　TheCaptainsniffed。“Hiswifeownstheproperty，“hesaid。“Everystick’sinhername。JerryClifford’sgotenough，buthelovesittoowelltoletgoofit。Mean！Why，say！Intheolddays，whenfishin’schoonersusedtorunfromSouthHarnisshere，JerryhewasownerandskipperofalittlehookerandSolonBlackwentonev’yagewithhim。Therewasanotherfo’masthandbesidesJerryandSolonaboardandSolonswearsthatalltheheartyprovisionJerryputonboardforafour-daytripwastwosticksofsmokedherrin’。Fortwodays，soSolonvows，theyatetheherrin’andtheothertwotheychewedthesticks。Thatmaybestretchin’itamite，butanyhowitgoestoshowthatJerryClifforddon’tshedmoneysameasacatdoesitshair。“
　　Zoethputinaword。
　　“Hesayshe’llpayprettysoon，“heobservedplaintively。“He’sbeensayin’itforoverayear，though。“
　　“Humph！“gruntedShadrach。“There’sonlyadifferenceofoneletterbetween’sayin’’and’payin’，’butthereain’tbuttwobetween’trust’and’bust。’“
　　Maryspoke。“Nevermind，“shesaid。“IshallseeMr。Cliffordmyself。AndIshallseesomeoftheseothers，too。Nowaboutourownbills——thoseweowe。Ihavealistoftheprincipalcreditors。
　　Mr。Green’sfirmisoneofthem；weowethemmostofall，itseems。
　　IthinkIshallgoandseeMr。Greenmyself。“
　　“Forthelandsakes，whatfor？“demandedShadrach。“Heknowshowwe’refixed，Zoethwrotehim。“
　　“Yes，butIwanttotalkwithhim，nevertheless。“
　　“Butwhatfor？Youain’tgoin’beggin’himto——“
　　“I’mnotgoingbeggingatall。WhenItalkedwithhimattheHowes’
　　he，notknowingintheleastwhoIwasorthatIwasyourniece，expressedsympathyforHamiltonandCompanyandwishedthereweresomewayofhelpingusoutofourtrouble——somethinghecoulddo，youknow。I’mnotsurethereisn’tsomethinghecando。Atanyrate，Iamgoingtoseehim。IshallstartforBostonMondaymorning。“
　　Zoethventuredanobservation。
　　“He’llbeconsiderablesurprisedtoseeyou，won’the？“hesaid。
　　Marylaughed。“Ithinkhewill，“shereplied。“Surprisedandalittleembarrassed。ButIimaginehisembarrassmentwillmakehimallthemoreanxioustobeofservicetome，andthat’swhatIwantfromhim——service。“
　　Ofcoursethepartnersaskedhundredsmorequestionsconcerningtheplans。Mary’sanswerswerestilldisappointinglyvague。Beforeshecouldtelljustwhatshemeanttodo，shesaidshemustbesure，andshewasnotsureyet。AgreatdealwoulddependuponherBostontrip。Theymustbepatientuntilshereturnedfromthat。
　　Sotheywerepatient——thatistosay，ZoethwasreallysoandCaptainShadrachwasaspatientasitwashisnaturetobe。Marywasabsentnearlyaweek。Whenshereturnedshehadmuchtotell。
　　ShehadvisitedMr。GreenathisofficeonCommercialStreet。Hissurpriseandembarrassmentwereallthatshehadprophesied。HeofferedprofuseapologiesforhisblunderattheHowes’。
　　“Ofcourse，ifIhadknownofyourrelationshiptoCaptainGouldandMr。Hamilton，“hebegan，“Ishouldnever——Really，Iam——IassureyouIhadn’ttheslightestidea——“
　　Hewasflounderinglikeastrandedfish。Maryhelpedhimofftheshoalsbytakingtheremainderofhisapologiesforgranted。
　　“Ofcourseyouhadn’t，“shesaid。“ButIamverygladyoutoldme，Mr。Green。ItwashightimeIknew。Don’tsayanotherwordaboutit，please。Ihavecometoyoutoaskadviceand，perhaps，helpofasort。MayIhavealittleofyourtime？“
　　Mr。Greenseizedtheopportunitythusoffered。Indeed，shemighthavetime，allthetimeshewanted。Anythinginhispowertodo——
　　andsoon。Beingabachelorandsomethingofanelderlybeauwhopridedhimselfuponmakingagoodimpressionwiththesex，ithadannoyedhimgreatly，thememoryofhismistake。AlsohehadbeendistinctlytakenwithMaryandwasanxioustoreinstatehimselfinheropinion。Sohiswillingnesstoatonewaseveneager。
　　“Asithappens，“hesaid，“Iamnotatallbusythisafternoon。I
　　cangiveyoutherestoftheday，ifyouwish。NowwhatcanIdoforyou？“
　　Maryexplainedthatshehadcometospeakwithhimconcerningheruncles’businessaffairs，hishousebeingHamiltonandCompany’slargestcreditor。Shetoldofherinvestigations，oftheconditioninwhichshehadfoundtheaccounts，andofherdeterminationtoremainatSouthHarnissandworkfortheupbuildingoftheconcern。
　　“OfcourseIamnotabusinesspersonlikeyourself，Mr。Green，“shesaid。“Iamonlyagirl。ButIworkedinmyuncles’storeand，inaway，manageditfortwoyearsormorebeforeIcametoBostontoschool。BesidethatIhavetalkedduringtheselastfewdayswithsomeofSouthHarniss’smostprominentpeople——permanentresidents，notsummerpeople。FromwhattheyandotherstellmeIamconvincedthatthesolereasonwhymyuncles’businesshasfallenbehindisbecauseofalackofkeepinguptothetimesinthefaceofcompetition。EveryonelikesUncleZoethandUncleShadrachandwishesthemwell——theycouldn’thelpthat，youknow。“
　　ShemadethisassertionwithsuchevidentprideandwithsuchabsoluteconfidencethatMr。Green，althoughinclinedtosmile，feltitmightbepoorjudgmenttodoso。SoheagreedthattherewasnodoubtofShadrach’sandZoeth’suniversalpopularity。
　　“Yes，“wentonMary，“theyaredears，bothofthem，andtheythinkeveryoneelseisashonestastheyare，whichisamistake，ofcourse。Sosomepeopleimposeonthemanddon’tpaytheirbills。I
　　intendtostopthat。“
　　Sheevidentlyexpectedherlistenertomakesomecomment，sohesaid，“Oh，indeed！“
　　“Yes，“continuedMary。“IintendtostoptheirtrustingeveryoneunderthesunandIshalltrymyhardesttocollectfromthosetheyhavealreadytrusted。Thereisalmostenoughduetopayeverybillweowe，andIbelievetwo-thirdsofthatiscollectibleifonereallygoesafterit。“
　　“Andyouwillgoafterit，Ipresume？“
　　“Imostcertainlyshall。Youaresmiling，Mr。Green。Isupposeitsoundslikeajoke，agirllikemyselfmakingsuchstatementsaboutthingsmenaresupposedtounderstandandwomennottounderstandatall。Itisn’tajokeinthiscase，becauseIthinkIunderstandmyunclesbusinessbetterthantheydo。IthinkIcancollectwhatisowedus，paywhatweowe，andmakemoneythereinSouthHarniss。
　　ButtodothatImusthavetimeand，byandby，credit，forweneedgoods。AndthatiswhatIcametotalktoyouabout。“
　　ShehadbroughtwithhercopiesoftheHamiltonandCompanytrialbalance，alsoalistofthefirm’sdebtorsandcreditors。ThesesheputuponthedeskbeforeMr。Greenandranafingerdownthepageswithexplanatoryremarkssuchas，“Thisisgood，Iknow，““Thiscanbecollectedbutitmaytakealawyertogetit，“or，asinthecaseof’RastusYoung’slong-standingindebtedness，“Thisisn’tworthanythingandshouldn’tbecounted。“
　　“Yousee，“shesaid，inconclusion，“wearen’tinsuchaVERYbadstate；itisn’thopeless，anyway。Nowherearetheaccountsweowe。
　　Yoursisthelargest。Herearetheothers。Allthesebillsaregoingtobepaid，justasIsaid，buttheycan’tbepaidatallunlessIhavetime。Ihavebeenthinking，thinkingveryhard，Mr。
　　Green——“
　　Greennodded。“Icanseethat，“heputin，good-naturedly。
　　“Yes。Well，thisiswhatIwanttoaskyou：Willyougiveussixmonthsmoretopaythewholeofthisbillin？Idon’tthinkweshallneedsomuchtime，butIwanttobesure。Andifattheendoftwomonthswehavepaidhalfofit，willyougiveuscreditforanothersmallbillofgoodsforthesummerseason，sothatwemaybestockedandready？Thesummerisourbestseason，yousee，“sheadded。