“Whatisthematter？“sheasked。
　　“Oh，nothin’。“
　　“Youspokeasifyouwereinpain。“
　　“Nowonder。I’mlookin’atsomethin’thatgivesmeapain。Thatwizened-uplandsharkofaJerryCliffordisinsight，boundtothepost-office，Ical’late。Goin’toputaone-centstamponaletterandletthefellerthatgetsitpaytheothercent，Isuppose。Healwaysasksthepostmastertolickthestamp，so’stosavethewearandtearonhisowntongue。That’safact……No，“headded，amomentlater，“heain’tgoin’totheoffice；he’sturnin’downthelanehere……Eh！Jumpin’fireofbrimstone，Idobelieve——
　　WHATintheworld？“
　　ForMr。Clifford’sstepwasupontheplatformofthestoreandinanothermomentthedooropenedandthetight-fistedonehimselfappeared。Shadrachsaidnothing；hecouldonlystareinamazement。
　　IthadbeenmorethantwoyearssinceJeremiahhadcrossedthatthreshold。
　　Buthecrosseditnow。And，afteralookabouttheplace，ignoringtheCaptaincompletely，hewalkedovertothedesk。Hedidnotlookhappy。Mary，onthecontrary，lookedverymuchpleased。
　　“Goodmorning，Mr。Clifford，“shesaid。
　　Jeremiah，whowasalittlethinman，lookedupatherfromunderhisheavygrayeyebrowsandabovehisspectacles。Hedidnotacknowledgethesalutation。
　　“Umph！“hegruntedsavagely。“Youthinkyou’resmart，don’tye？“
　　Shadrachstartedforward。
　　“Why，you——“hebegan。Maryheldupherhand。
　　“Don’tinterfere，UncleShad，“sheordered。“ThisisMr。Clifford’saffairandmine。Weunderstandeachotherperfectly。“Then，turningtothefrowningJeremiah，shesaid：“Why，yes，thankyou，Mr。Clifford，IdothinkIamratherclever——justnow。Don’tyouthinkIam，yourself？“
　　Againthevisitorignoredthequestion。
　　“Whatdidyougoandstickanattachmentonthatlandofminefor？“
　　hedemanded。
　　“Surelyyoudon’tneedtoaskmethat，Mr。Clifford。Theamountisonehundredandtendollarsandsixty-threecents。IrememberitandIshouldimagineyoumust；certainlyithasbeencalledtoyourattentionoftenenough。“
　　“Umph！Well，youcankeepyourdarnedoldattachment。“
　　“Verywell；andyoucankeepyourland——whatisleft，Imean。I
　　thinkyouwillkeepitforsometime——afterItellMr。Keiththefacts。Hewillbeherethisafternoon，youknow。“
　　ItwasevidentthatJeremiahwasquiteawareofthetimeofSamKeith’sarrival。Histeeth——thefewremaining——snappedtogetherand，asCaptainShadrachsaidafterwards，helookedasifundecidedwhethertobiteorputbackhisheadandhowl。Apparentlyhedecidedthathowlingwassafer。
　　“Iwascal’latin’topaythatbillofyours，anyhow，“hesaid。
　　“Ofcourse，andwewerecalculatingthatyouwould，“saidMarysweetly。“Yourcalculationsandoursareprovingtrue，Mr。
　　Clifford。That’snice，isn’tit？“
　　Fromthedirectionofthebackroom，whereSimeonwasbusywithhisorders，camethesoundofasmotheredlaugh。Shadrach，uponwhomunderstandingofthesituationwasjustbeginningtodawn，slappedhisknee。Mr。Cliffordlookedpositivelyvenomous。
　　“IfIpaythatbill——that——whatwasit？——thathundredandtendollarsyousayIoweyou——doIgetthatattachmentoffmylandrightaway？“hedemanded。
　　“Ifyoupaytheonehundredandtendollars——andthesixty-threecents——IshallphoneJudgeBaxterthenextminute，“saidMarypromptly。
　　Jeremiahhesitatednolonger。HehadconsideredthesituationinallitsphasesbeforeleavinghomeandtheonehundredandtendollarswasbutasmallitemcomparedtohisexpectedprofitonthesaleoftheNorthInletland。Hereachedintohispocket，producedalong，dingyleatherpocketbookwoundaboutwithtwine，unwoundthetwine，openedthepocketbookandproducedablankcheck。
　　“Givemeapenandink，“hesnarled，“andI’llfillthisin。“
　　TheCaptainreachedforthepenandinkbottle，butMaryinterfered。
　　“Cash，ifyouplease，“shesaidsweetly。
　　Jeremiahlookedathersteadilyforwhatseemedalongtime。Thenshewassurprisedtoseethecornerofhisliptwitchandnoticeagrimtwinkleinhiseye。Alsotherewasagrudgingnoteofadmirationinhisvoicewhenhenextspoke。
　　“Ain’ttakin’nochances，beyou？“hesaiddryly。
　　“No。Don’tyouthinkwe’vetakenenoughalready？“
　　Mr。Clifforddidnotanswer。Hereplacedtheblankcheckinhispocketbookand，fromanothercompartment，extractedsomebillsrolledinatightlittlecylinderandwoundaboutwithelastic。
　　“Thereyoube，“hesaidshortly。Then，turningtoShadrach，headded：“Don’tIgetnothin’offforpayin’cash？“
　　Fromthebackroomcameavigorous“Haw，haw！“EvenMarylaughedaloud。AsforCaptainShad，hecouldonlystare，struckspeechlessbyhisvisitor’saudacity。Mary，whenshehadfinishedlaughing，answeredforhim。
　　“Weshalldeducttheinterestwemighthavechargedyou，Mr。
　　Clifford，“shesaid。“Thankyou。Thereisyourchangeandthereisthereceiptedbill。Now，IshallcallupJudgeBaxter。“
　　Whenshereturnedfromthepost-officeJeremiahwasstillthere。
　　Shadrach，allsmiles，wasdoingupparcels。
　　“Whatarethose，UncleShad？“askedMary。Mr。Cliffordanswered。
　　“Oh，IthoughtImightaswellbuyalittlesugarandflourandsuch，“hesaid。“Alwayscomeinhandy，theydo。Send’emupwhenyougettoit。Good-by。“
　　Hishandwasonthedoor，butMarycalledtohim。
　　“Mr。Clifford，“shecalled；“justaminute，please。Areyouinanyhurryforthesethings——thesugarandtherestofit？“
　　“No，don’tknow’sIbe，’special’；why？“
　　“Oh，nothing，exceptthatifyouwereinahurryIshouldadviseyourpayingforthem。Itoldyou，youremember，thatweweren’ttakingchances。“
　　ForaninstantJeremiahstoodthereglowering。Thenhedidanotherastonishingthing。Hetookoutthepocketbookoncemoreandfromitextractedatwo-dollarbill。
　　“Takeitoutofthat，“hesaid，“andsendmeareceiptedbillafterwards。Ialwayscal’latetoknowwhatI’vepaidfor。Andsay，you——what’syourname——Mary’-Gusta，ifyougettiredofworkin’forShadGouldandZoethHamilton，comeroundandseeme。I’vegot——I
　　meanmywife’sgot——twoorthreemortgagesthat’sbehindontheinterest。Iain’tbeenabletocollectitforheryet，but——but，bytime，IbelieveYOUcould！“
　　HewentoutandthenextmomentMarywasalmostsmotheredinheruncle’sembrace。
　　“Afterthis——afterTHIS，“roaredShadrach，“I’llbelieveanything’spossibleifyou’vegotahandinit，Mary’-Gusta。IfYOU’DbeenJonahyou’dhaveputthewhaleinyourpocketandswumashore。“
　　CHAPTERXXVII
　　EarlyinApril，whenMaryannouncedthatshewasreadytoputintooperationherbiggestandmostambitiousplan，suggestedtheyearbeforebyBarbaraHowe——thetea-roomandgift-shopplan——theCaptaindidnotofferstrenuousopposition。
　　“Ican’tseemuchsenseinit，“headmitted。“Idon’tknow’sIknowwhatit’sallabout。NighasIcanmakeoutyou’refiggerin’toopenupsomekindofahigh-tonedeatin’house。Isthatit？“
　　“Why，no，UncleShad，notexactly，“explainedMary。
　　“Thenwhatisit——adrinkin’house？Ipresumelikelythat’sit，bein’asyoucallita’tea-room。’Kindofatemperancesaloon，eh？
　　Can’tafellergetcoffeeinit，ifhewantsto？Idon’twakeupnightsmuchhankerin’forteamyself。“
　　“Listen，UncleShad：Atea-room——atleastatearoomofthesortI
　　intendtohave——isaplacewherethesummerpeople，thewomenandgirlsespecially，willcomeandsitatlittletablesanddrinkteaandeatcakesandicecreamandlookoffattheocean，iftheweatherispleasant——“
　　“Yes，andatthefog，if’tain’t；andtalkabouttheirneighbor’sclothesandrundownthecharactersoftheirbestfriends。Yes，yes，Isee；sortofasewin’circlewithoutthesewin’。Allright，heaveaheadandgetyourtea-roomoffthewaysifyouwantto。Ifanybodycanmakethethingkeepafloatyoucan，Mary-’Gusta。“
　　SoMary，thusencouraged，wentontoputherschemeintoeffect。
　　Shehadbeenplanningthedetailsforsometime。Abouthalfwaydownthelaneleadingtothehousefromthestorewasanothersmallstory-and-a-halfdwellingoftheold-fashionedCapeCodtype。Itstooduponalittlehillandcommandedawideviewofoceanandbeachandvillage。Thereweresomeweather-beatentreesandatangleofshrubsaboutit。Ithadbeenuntenantedforagoodwhileandwasinratherbadrepair。