Mr。Greennodded。Herbusinesslikemannerhefoundamusing，althoughhebynomeanssharedherconfidenceinthefuture。
　　“Weshallbeverygladtoextendthetime，“hesaid。“YoumayrememberItoldyoutheothereveningthatsofarasourhousewasconcerned，weshouldprobablybewillingtosellyourunclesindefinitely，foroldtimes’sake。“
　　Hisvisitorfrowned。
　　“Wearenotaskingitforoldtimes’sake，“shesaid。“ItisthenewtimesIaminterestedin。Andpleaseunderstandthisisn’tsentimentbutbusiness。IfyoudonotbelievewhatIasktobeasafebusinessrisk，thatoneyourfirmwouldbejustifiedinacceptingfromanybody，thenyoumustn’tdoit。“
　　Mr。Greenhesitated。“SupposeIdonotacceptthatrisk，“hesaid；
　　“whatthen？“
　　“ThenIshallgoandseesomeothercreditors，theprincipalones，andmakethemsimilarpropositions。“
　　“Andsupposetheydon’taccept？“
　　“Ithinktheywill，mostofthem。Iftheydon’t——well，thenthereisanotherway。Myunclesowntheirhouseandstore。Theyhavebeenthinkingofsellingtheirpropertytopaytheirdebts。I
　　shouldhatetohavethemsell，andIdon’tbelieveitisnecessary。
　　IhavebeentalkingwithJudgeBaxteroveratOstable——IstoppedthereonmywaytoBoston——andhesuggestedthattheymightmortgageandraisemoneythatway。Itcouldbedone，couldn’tit？MortgagesareakindofbusinessIdon’tknowanythingabout。Theysoundhorrid。“
　　“Sometimestheyare。MissLathrop，ifIwereyouIshouldn’tsellormortgageyet。Iaminclinedtobelieve，judgingbythisbalancesheetandwhatyousay，thatyouhaveachancetopullHamiltonandCompanyoutofthefire，andI’mverysureyoucandoitifanyonecan。Areyougoingtobeinthecityforadayortwo？Good！Thenwillyouletmeconsiderthiswholematteruntil——say——Thursday？BythattimeIshallhavemadeupmymindandmayhavesomethingtosaywhichwillbeworthwhile。CanyoucomeinThursdayafternoonattwo？Andwillyou？Verywell。Oh，don’tthankme！Ihaven’tdoneanythingyet。PerhapsIshallnotbeableto，butweshallhopeforthebest。“
　　MarywentstraighttoMrs。Wyeth’shomeonPinckneyStreetandoncemoreoccupiedherpleasantroomonthethirdfloor。InspiteofherdeterminationnottocareshecouldnothelpfeelingalittlepangasshewalkedbytheMissesCabot’sschoolandrememberedthatshewouldneveragainenjoytheprivilegesandadvantagesofthatexclusiveinstitution。Shewonderedhowthegirls，herclassmates，hadfeltandspokenwhentheyheardthenewsthatshehadleftthemandreturnedtoCapeCodandstorekeeping。Somewouldsneerandlaugh——sheknewthat——andsomemightbealittlesorry。Buttheywouldallforgether，ofcourse。Doubtless，mostofthemhadforgottenheralready。
　　Butthefactthatallhadnotforgottenwasprovedthatveryeveningwhen，assheandMrs。WyethandMissPeaseweresittingtalkingtogetherintheparlor，Maggie，themaid，answeringtheringofthedoorbell，usheredinMissBarbaraHowe。Barbarawas，asusual，arrayedliketheliliesofthefield，butherfinepetalsweredecidedlycrumpledbythehugwhichshegaveMaryassoonasshelaideyesuponher。
　　“Youbadgirl！“shecried。“Whydidn’tyoutellmeyouwereintown？Andwhydidn’tyouanswermyletter——theoneIwroteyouatSouthHarniss？Ididn’thearawordandonlytonight，afterdinner，IhadtheinspirationofphoningMrs。Wyethandtryingtolearnfromherwhereyouwereandwhatyoumeantbydroppingallyourfriends。
　　MaggieansweredthephoneandsaidyouwerehereandIthrewonmythings——yes，’threw’istheword；nothingelsedescribestheprocess——andcamestraightover。HowDOyoudo？AndWHATareyoudoing？“
　　MarysaidshewaswellandthatshehadbeentoobusytoreplytoMissHowe’sletter。Butthisdidnotsatisfy。Barbarawantedtoknowwhyshehadbeenbusyandhow，soMarytoldofherdeterminationtoremaininSouthHarnissandbecomeabusinesswoman，Barbarawasgreatlyexcitedandenthusiastic。
　　“Won’titbeperfectlysplendid！“sheexclaimed。“IonlywishI
　　weregoingtodoitinsteadofhavingtostayatthatstraight-up-
　　and-downschoolandlistentoPrissy’sdissertationsonEmerson。
　　ShetoldtheFreshmanclasstheotherdaythatshehadhadthehonorofmeetingMr。Emersonwhenveryyoung——whenSHEwasyoung，shemeant；shealwaystellseveryFreshmanclassthat，youknow——andoneoftheFreshiesspokeupandaskedifsheevermethimafterwardswhenhewasolder。Theysaidherfacewasapicture；IwishImighthaveseenit。Butdotellmemoreaboutthatwonderfulstoreofyours。Iamsureitwillbeadarling，becauseanythingyouhaveanythingtodowithissuretobe。Areyougoingtohaveatea-
　　room？“
　　Maryshookherhead。“No，“shesaid，laughing。“Ithinknot。
　　There’stoomuchcompetition。“
　　“Oh，butyououghttohaveone。Notoftheordinarykind，youknow，butthe——theotherkind，theunusualkind。Why，Ihaveacousin——asecond——no，thirdcousin，arelativeofDaddy’s，sheis——whohadn’tmuchmoneyandwhosehealthwasn’tgoodandthedoctorsenthertoliveinthecountry。Livethereallthetime！Onlyfancy！Oh，I
　　forgotyouweregoingtodothesamething。Doforgiveme！I’msosorry！WHATaperfectgumpIam！Oh，dearme！ThereIgoagain！
　　AndIknowyouabhorslang，Mrs。Wyeth。“
　　“Tellmemoreaboutyourcousin，Barbara，“putinMary，beforetheshockedMrs。Wyethcouldreply。
　　“Oh，shewenttothecountryandtookanoldhouse，thefunniestoldthingyoueversaw。Andsheputupthequaintestlittlesign！Andopenedatea-roomandgiftshop。Idon’tknowwhytheycallthem’giftshops。’Theycertainlydon’tgiveawayanything。Far，farfromthat，mydear！DaddycallsthisoneofEsther’s’TheRobbers’
　　Roost’becausehesaysshechargesfortycentsforagillofteaandtwoslicesoftoastcutineightpieces。ButItellhimhedoesn’tpayfortheteaandtoastalone——itistheatmosphereoftheplace。
　　Hesaysifhehadtopayforallhisatmosphereatthatratehewouldbeasphyxiatedinafewmonths。ButheadmiresEstherverymuch。Shemakesheapsandheapsofmoney。“
　　“Thenhertea-roomandgiftshopisasuccess？“
　　“Asuccess！Oh，mydear！It’sascreamofasuccess！Almostanydayinsummerthereareatleastadozenmotorcarsoutsidethedoor。Everybodygoesthere；it’stheproperthingtodo。Iknowallthisbecauseitisn’tveryfarfromoursummerhomeinClayton——
　　inthemountains，youknow。“
　　“Soshemadeasuccess，“musedMary。“Werethereothertea-roomsabout？“
　　“Oh，dozens！Butthey’renotoriginal；hersis。Theyhaven’tthe——
　　thesomething——youknowwhatImean，Estherhasthestyle，theknack，the——Ican’tsayit，butyouknow。Andyouwouldhaveit，too；I’mperfectlysureyouwould。“
　　Marywasevidentlymuchinterested。
　　“IwishImightmeetyourcousin，“shesaid。
　　“Why，youcan。SheishereinBostonnow，buyingforthesummer。
　　I’llphoneherandwethreewilllunchtogethertomorrow。Don’tsayyouwon’t；you’vejustgotto。“
　　SoMary，ratherreluctantly，consentedtomakeoneoftheluncheonparty。Afterwardshewasgladthatshedid，forMissEstherHemingway——thiswasthecousin’sname——wasaninterestingperson。
　　ShetoldMaryallabouthertea-roomandgiftshop，howshestartedinbusiness，themistakesshemadeatfirst，andthelessonsshehadlearnedfromexperience。BecauseBarbarahadaskedhertodososhebroughtwithherphotographsoftheestablishment，itsattractiveandquaintexterioranditsequallydelightfulinterior。
　　“Thewholesecret，“shesaid，“isinkeepingeverythingingoodtasteandsimple。Choosetherightlocation，fitupyourroomsintasteandcheerfully，servethebestyoucanfind，andselltheunusualandtheattractivethingsthatotherpeopledonothave，oratleastarenotlikelytohave。Thenchargeadequateprices。“
　　“AdequatebeingspelledAdoubleD，“observedBarbarasignificantly。
　　MarypartedfromMissHemingwaywithanewideainherhead，anideathatsometimeorothershemeanttoputintopractice。
　　OnThursdayafternoonshecalleduponMr。Green。Thatgentleman，havinghadhisopportunitytothink，wasreadywithaproposition。
　　Brieflyitwasthis：HehadpersonallyseentheprincipalcreditorsofHamiltonandCompany——theywereallBostonbusinesshouses——andheandtheyhadagreedtomakethefollowingoffer：HamiltonandCompany’screditupondebtsalreadyowedwastobeextendedsixmonths。Marywastogohome，endeavortocollectwhatmoneyshecould，andwithitbuyforcashwhatevergoodswereneededforthesummerseason。Ifthatseasonwasasuccessandthebusinesspromisedwellforthefuture，thenarrangementscouldbemadeforfuturebuyingandforpayingtheolddebtalittleatatime。
　　“Atanyrate，“concludedMr。Green，“thispostponesthemortgagingorsellingforatimeatleast，andyoualwayshaveittofallbackonifyoucan’tmakeyournewundertakingpay。Ibelieveyoucan。
　　Iadviseyoutoaccept。Yourothercreditorsfeelthesameway。“
　　Hedidnotadd，ashemighthavedone，thattheopinionofthoseothercreditorshadbeeninfluencedalmostentirelybyhisownandthatinoneortwoinstanceshehadbeenobligedpracticallytounderwritethepaymentofHamiltonandCompany’sindebtednessbeforegainingconsent。HehadtalkedwithMr。Howe，whointurnhadcalledhisdaughterintoconsultation，andBarbara’senthusiasticpraiseofherfriendhadstrengthenedthefavorableimpressionwhichthegirlhadalreadymadeuponbothgentlemen。“Doyouknow，I
　　believeshemaywinout，“observedMr。Howe。
　　“Iaminclinedtothinkshewill，“concurredGreen。
　　“Ofcourseshewill！“declaredBarbarahotly。“Noonewhoeverknewherwouldbesillyenoughtothinkshewouldn’t。“
　　HenceMr。Green’sunderwritingexpeditionandthepropositiontoMaryastherepresentativeofHamiltonandCompany。
　　Maryaccepted，ofcourse。Shewasverygratefulandsaidso。
　　“Idon’tknowhowtothankyou，Mr。Green。Ican’tpromiseanything，butiftryinghardwillwin，Icanpromisethat，“shesaid。
　　“That’sallright，that’sallright。Iknowyou’lltry，andIthinkyou’llsucceed。Now，whydon’tyougoupandpickoutsomeofthosesummergoods？Youdon’tneedthemyet，andyouneedn’tpayforthemyet，butnowisthetimetoselect。GivemyregardstoyouruncleswhenyouseethemandtellthemIwishthemluck。ImaybemotoringdowntheCapethissummerandifIdoIshalldropinonyouandthem。“
　　MaryhadnewstotellwhenshereachedSouthHarniss。Itwaslistenedtowithattention，ifnotentirelyinsilence。CaptainShadrach’sejaculationsof“Youdon’tsay！““Iwanttoknow！“and“Jumpin’fire，howyoutalk！“servedaspunctuationmarksduringthenarration。Whenshehadfinishedherstory，shesaid：
　　“Andnow，UncleZoethandUncleShad——nowthatyou’veheardthewholeofit，andknowwhatmyplanis，whatdoyouthinkofit？“
　　Bothanswerswerecharacteristic。Zoethdrewalongbreath。
　　“TheAlmightysentyoutous，Mary-’Gusta，“hevowed。“TherewasatimealittlespellagowhenIbeguntothinkHe’dprettynighdesertedus。Iwasalmostdiscouragedanditshookmytrust——itshookmytrust。ButnowIcanseeHewasjusttryin’usoutandinHisgoodtimeHesentyoutohaulusofftheshoals。He’lldoit，too；IknowitandI’llthankHimtonightonmyknees。“
　　Shadrachshookhishead。“Byfire！“hecried。“Mary’-Gusta，I
　　alwayssaidyouwasawonder。You’vegivenusachancetogetclearofthebreakers，anyhow，andthat’ssomethin’we’dneverhavedoneourselves。Now，ifyoucancollectthatmoneyfromJeremiahCliffordI’ll——I’ll——IswantomanI’llbelieveanything’spossible，evenJonah’sswallowin’thewhale。“
　　“Oh，Shadrach！“protestedhispartner。“Ifyouwouldn’tbesoirreverent！“