“Allright,I’llbehave。Butit’sjustasIsay:ifMary’-GustacangetJerryCliffordtopayupI’llswallowJonahandthewhale,too。
’TwasMosesthathittherockandthewatergushedout,wa’n’tit?
Um——hm!Well,thatwassomethin’ofamiracle,butstrikin’JerryCliffordfortencentsandgettin’itwouldbeabiggerone。Why,thatfeller’sgotfistslike——likeoneofthosesensitiveplantsmymotherusedtohaveinthesettin’-roomwindowwhenIwasaboy。
Youtouchaleafofoneofthoseplantsand’twouldshriveluptight。Jerry’sfistsarethatway——touchoneof’emwithanickeland’twillshutup,butnotuntilthenickel’sinside。No,sir!
Ho,ho!“
“Ifyouknewallthis,UncleShad,“suggestedMary,“whyintheworlddidyousellMr。Cliffordatall?Ifhewouldn’tpay,whysellhim?“
Mr。Hamiltonanswered。
“Healwaysdidpay,“hesaid。“Yousee,hehadtohavegroceriesandclothesandsuchandwheneverheneededmoreandthoughtheowedussomuchwewouldn’tputmoreonthebillhe’dpayalittleonaccount。Thatwaywemanagedtokeepupwithhim。“
“Notexactlyupwithhim,“commentedtheCaptain。“Wewasalwaysacoupleoflapsastern,butwecouldkeephiminsight。Nowthenewstoreshavecomeandhecangettrustedtherehedon’tbuyfromus——
orpay,either。What’stheuse?That’swhathethinks,Ical’late。“
Maryconsidered。“Themeanoldsinner!“shesaid。“Ishouldjudge,UncleShad,thatwhatyoutoldmeonce,whenIwasalittlegirl,abouttheFreeMasonsmightapplytoMr。Clifford’spocketbook。YousaidthatonceinMasonryamannevergotout。AdollarinMr。
Clifford’spocketbooknevergetsout,either,doesit?“
Shadrachchuckled。“Youbetitdon’t!“heagreed。“It’sgotalifesentence。And,sofurasthatgoes,theygenerallyopenaMasonlodgemeetin’withprayer,but’twouldtakemore’nthattoopenJerry’spocketbook,I’LLbetyou!“
“And,nevertheless,“declaredMary,laughing,“Imeantomakehimpayourbill。“
Shedidmakethetight-fistedonepayupeventually,butmonthsweretoelapsebeforethatdesirableconsummationwasreached。InthemeantimeshesetherselftocollectingotheramountsowedHamiltonandCompanyandtobuildingupthetradeatthestore。Thecollectingwasnotsodifficultasshehadexpected。TheCaptainandMr。Hamiltonhadbeenreluctanttoasktheirfriendsandneighborstobepromptintheirpayments,andlargelythroughcarelessnessaccountshadbeenpermittedtodropbehind。Marypersonallysawthedebtorsandinmostcases,byofferingslightdiscountsorbyacceptinginstallments,shewasabletoobtainatleastthegreaterpartofthemoneydue。Insomecasesshecouldobtainnothingandexpectednothing,butthesecases,amongthemthatof’RastusYoung,wererathertobeconsideredinthelightofgoodriddanceevenattheprice。AsShadrachsaid,itwasworthafewdollarsnottohavetolistento’RastusorMrs。’Rastuscryovertheirtroubleswhenevertheywantedtoholdupthefirmformoreplunder。
“Lasttime’Rastuswasintobuyanything,“declaredtheCaptain,“heshedsoblamedmanytearsintomyrubberbootsthatIgotwetfeetandsentthebootstothecobbler’stohave’emplugged。I
cal’latedtheyleaked;Ididn’trealize’twasRatworkin’meoutoffourdollarsworthofgroceriesbywaterpower。“
Thecollections,then,thosefromMr。Youngandhisilkexcepted,weresatisfactory。Marywasenabledtobuyandpayforamodestassortmentofsummersupplies,thoseshehadselectedwhileinBoston。Thestoreshehadthoroughlycleanedandrenovated。Thewindowswerekeptfilledwithattractivedisplaysofgoods,andthepricesofthesegoods,assetforthupontickets,wereattractivealso。Businessbegantopickup,notagreatdealatfirst,butalittle,andasMaybroughtthefirstoftheearly-birdsummercottagerstoSouthHarniss,thesilentpartnerofHamiltonandCompanyawaitedthecomingofwhatshouldbethefirm’sbusiestseasonwithhopeandsomeconfidence。
CHAPTERXXI
DuringallthistimeshehadheardfromCrawfordatleastonceaweek。Hewouldhavewrittenoftenerthanthat,hadshepermittedit。Andinspiteofherdeterminationsobravelyexpressedintheirinterviewoverthetelephone,shehadwrittenhimmorethantheonelettershehadpromised。Inthatletter——herfirst——shetoldhimtheexactsituationthereathome;ofherdiscoverythatheruncleswereintrouble,thatthesmall,buttothemprecious,businesstheyhadconductedsolongwasindanger,andofherdeterminationtogiveupschoolandremainatSouthHarnisswhere,sheknew,shewasneeded。Thenshewentontotellofherstillgreaterdiscovery,thatinsteadofbeingayoungwomanofindependentmeans,shewasandalwayshadbeendependentuponthebountyofheruncles。
YoucanimaginehowIfeltwhenIlearnedthis[shewrote],whenI
thoughtofallthekindnessIhadacceptedattheirhands,accepteditalmostasifitwasmyright,thinkingasIdidthatmyownmoneypaid。AndnowtolearnthatallthetimeIhadnothingandtheyhadgivenoftheirownwhentheyhadsolittle,andgivenitsocheerfully,sogladly。And,Crawford,whenItoldthemwhatIhaddone,theywouldnotacceptthanks,theywouldnotletmeevenspeakofthegreatdebtIowedthem。SofarfromthattheyactedasiftheyweretheoneswhoowedandasifIhadcaughttheminsomedisgracefulact。Why,iftheycould,theywouldhavesentmebacktoBostonandtoschool,whiletheyremainedheretoworkandworryuntilthebankruptcytheyexpectedcame。
DoyouwonderthatIfeelmyfirstandwholedutyistothemandthatnothing,NOTHINGmustbepermittedtointerferewithit?Iamgoingtostayhereandtrytohelp。PerhapsIshallsucceed,andperhaps,whichisjustasprobable,Imayfail;butatanyratewhilemyunclesliveandneedmeIshallnotleavethem。Theygavealltheyhadtomewhentherewasnorealreasonwhytheyshouldgiveanything。TheveryleastIcandoistobewiththemandworkforthemnowwhentheyaregrowingold。
Iamsureyoumustunderstandthisandthat,therefore,youwillforget——
Shepaused。“Forget“wasahardwordtowrite。Fortunatelyshehadwrittenitatthetopofapage,soshetoreupthatsheetandbeganthelineagain。
IamsureyouwillunderstandandthatyouwillseemydutyasIseeitmyself。Itseemstomeclear。Everyonehasduties,Isuppose,butyouandIhaveoursveryplainlyshownus,Ithink。Yoursistoyourfatherandminetomyuncles。
Bringingthatlettertoanendwasadifficulttask。Therewerethingswhichmustbesaidandtheyweresoveryhardtosay。Atlast,aftermanyattempts:
Ihavenotreferred[shewrote]towhatyousaidtomewhenwelastmet。Itseemsalmostuselesstorefertoit,doesn’tit?YouseehowIamplacedhere,andIhavewrittenyouwhatImeantodo。AndpleaseunderstandIamdoingitgladly,Iamhappyinhavingtheopportunitytodoit;butitdoesmeanthatforyearsmylifeandinterestmustbeherewiththem。EvenifIweresureofmyownfeelings——andperhapsIamnotreallysure——IcertainlyshouldnotthinkofaskingoneIcaredfortowaitsolong。Youhaveyourfuturetothinkof,Crawford,andyoumustthinkofit。Andthereisyourfather。Ofcourse,Idon’tknow,butIsomehowfeelcertainthathewillnotwishyoutomarryme。Don’tyouthinkitbetterforusbothtoenditnow?Itseemssohopeless。
Which,sheflatteredherself,wasbraveandsensibleandright。
And,havingreachedthiscommendableconclusionandsealedandpostedtheletter,shecamebacktothehouse,wentupstairstoherroom,and,throwingherselfuponthebed,criedbitterlyformanyminutes。
Yet,inaway,hertearswerewasted。IttakestwotomakeabargainandalthoughshemightnotifyCrawfordSmiththathiscasewashopeless,itbynomeansfollowedthatthatyounggentlemanwouldacceptthenotificationasfinal。Hisreplytoherletterwaspromptandconvincing。Allthereferencestoendingitwerecalmlybrushedaside。Therecouldbebuttwoendings,onebeingtheirmarriage——this,ofcourse,thelogicalandproperending——andtheotherMary’snotifyinghimthatshedidnotlovehim。Anythingelsewasnonsenseandnotworthconsideration。Wait!Hewouldwaitfiftyyearsifnecessary,providedshewouldwaitforhim。Hewasabouttotakeuphisstudiesagain,butnowhewouldfeelthathewasworkingforher。Hisfather,hewassorrytosay,wasnotatallwell。Hewasverynervous,weakandirritable。
Icamehome[hewrote]fullydeterminedtotellhimofyouandmydeterminationtomarryyou——alwaysprovidedyouwillhaveme,youknow——ontheverynightofmyarrival。ButwhenIsawhowpooroldDadwasfeelingandafterthedoctortoldmehowverynecessaryitwasthathisnervoussystembeallowedacompleterest,IdecidedI
mustwait。SoIshallwait;perhapsIshallnottellhimformonths;butjustassoonasheisabletohear,Ishallspeak,andI
amsurehewillsay,“GoodluckandGodblessyou。“Butifhedoesn’t,itwillmakenottheslightestdifference。Ifyouwillhaveme,Marydear,nothingonthisearthisgoingtostopmyhavingyou。That’sassettledandsolidafactastheRockyMountains。
Hepleadedforaletteratleastonceaweek。
Youneedn’tputawordofloveinit[hewrote]。Iknowhowconscientiousyouare,andIknowperfectlywellthatuntilyourmindismadeupyouwon’tfeelitrighttoencouragemeintheleast。Butdopleasewrite,ifonlytotellmehowyouaregettingonwithHamiltonandCompany。IonlywishIweretheretohelpyoupullthosefineoldunclesofyoursoutofthehotwater。Iknowyou’lldoit,though。AndmeanwhileIshallbediggingawayouthereandthinkingofyou。PleasewriteOFTEN。
SoMary,afterconsiderablethoughtandindecision,didwrite,althoughCrawford’ssuggestionthatherlettershavenowordofloveinthemwasscrupulouslyfollowed。Andso,whilethesummercameandwent,theletterscrossedandthenewsoftheslowbutcertainbuildingupofthebusinessofHamiltonandCompanywasexchangedforthatofEdwinSmith’ssteadyregainingofhealthandstrength。
AndHamiltonandCompany’sbusinesswasreviving。Eventheskepticscouldseethesigns。TherevivalbeganbeforethesummerresidentsarrivedinSouthHarniss,butafterthelatterbegantocomeandthecottagestoopen,itwasoninearnest。JohnKeithhelpedtogiveititsfirstbigstart。Mrs。WyethwrotehimofMary’sleavingherschoolworktogototherescueofShadrachandZoeth,andthegirl’spluckanduncomplainingacceptanceofthetasksheconsideredsetforhermadeKeith’seyestwinklewithadmirationashereadtheletter。ThefamilycameearlytoSouthHarnissandthisyearhecamewiththem。OneofhisfirstactsafterarrivalwastostrolldowntothevillageandenterHamiltonandCompany’sstore。Maryandthepartnerswerethere,ofcourse。Heshookhandswiththemcordially。
“Well,Captain,“hesaid,addressingShadrach,“howisthenewhandtakinghold?“
Shadrachgrinned。“Hand?“herepeated。“Idon’tknow’swe’vegotanynewhand,Mr。Keith。Ain’t,havewe,Zoeth?“
Zoethdidnotrecognizethejoke。“HemeansMary’-Gusta,I
cal’late,Shadrach,“hesaid。“She’sdoin’splendid,Mr。Keith。I
don’tknowhowweevergotalongwithouther。“
“Ido,“putinhispartnerpromptly;“wedidn’t,that’show。But,Mr。Keith,youhadn’toughttocallMary’-Gustaa’hand。’Zoethandmearethehandsaboardthiscraft。She’sskipper,andengineer,andpurser,and——yes,andpilot,too。Anddon’tshemakeustumbleuplivelywhenshewhistles!Whew!Don’ttalk!“
“Sheistheboss,then,isshe?“observedKeith。
“Boss!IguessSO!She’sgotUStrained!Why,I’vegotsothatI
jumpoutofbednightsandrunroundtheroominmysleepthinkin’
she’sjustholleredtomethere’sacustomerwaitin’。Oh,she’saharddriver,Mary-’Gustais。Neverhadafustmateaboarddroveharder’nshedoes。Andit’shavin’itseffectonus,too。LookatZoeth!He’sagin’fast;he’sayearolder’nhewastwelvemonthsago。“
Keithlaughed,Marysmiled,andMr。Hamilton,judgingbythebehaviorofthecompanythattherewasajokesomewhereonthepremises,smiledtoo。
“Youmustn’tmindUncleShad,Mr。Keith,“saidMary。“Hetalksagreatdeal。“
“Talkin’salltheexercisemyfacegetsnowadays,“declaredtheCaptaininstantly。“ShekeepsmesobusyIdon’tgettimetoeat。
Whatdoyouthinkofthestore,Mr。Keith?Someimprovement,ain’tit?“