"Nonsense! Does--well, does Cap"n Daniels, or his daughter, say anything good of us? Be honest, do they?"
"I hardly think--that is, I shouldn"t call their opinions unprejudiced.
And, Miss Van Horne, perhaps the prejudice isn"t all on one side. What did your uncle say about Cap"n Nat"s meeting me the other day?"
"Uncle Eben doesn"t know. Nat didn"t tell anyone but me. He doesn"t boast. And uncle would be glad he helped you. As I told you before, Mr.
Ellery, I"m not ashamed of my uncle. He has been so good to me that I never can repay him, never! When my own father was drowned he took me in, a little orphan that would probably have been sent to a home, and no father could be kinder or more indulgent than he has been. Anything I asked for I got, and at last I learned not to ask for too much. No self-denial on his part was too great, if he could please me. When he needed money most he said nothing to me, but insisted that I should be educated. I didn"t know until afterwards of the self-sacrifice my four years at the Middleboro Academy meant to him."
The minister had listened eagerly to this defense of the man whom he had been led to consider his arch enemy. It was given with spirit and the girl"s head was uplifted and her eyes flashed as she spoke. Ellery"s next remark was uttered without premeditation. Really, he was thinking aloud.
"So you went away to school?" he mused. "That is why--"
"That is why I don"t say "never done nothin"" and "be you" and "hain"t neither." Yes, thank you, that"s why. I don"t wonder you were surprised."
The young man blushed.
"You misunderstand me," he protested. "I didn"t mean--"
"Oh! yes, you did. Not precisely that, perhaps, but pretty near it. I suppose you expected me to speak like Josiah Badger or Kyan Pepper. I try not to. And I try not to say "immejitly," too," she added, with a mischievous twinkle.
Ellery recognized the "immejitly" quotation and laughed.
"I never heard but one person say that," he observed. "And he isn"t a Come-Outer."
"No, he isn"t. Well, this lesson in English can"t be very interesting to you, Mr. Ellery, and I must go. But I"m very glad Nat helped you the other day and that you realize the sort of man he is. And I"m glad I have had the opportunity to tell you more about Uncle Eben. I owe him so much that I ought to be glad--yes, glad and proud and happy, too, to gratify his least wish. I must! I know I must, no matter how I--What am I talking about? Yes, Mr. Ellery, I"m glad if I have helped you to understand my uncle better and why I love and respect him. If you knew him as I do, you would respect him, too. Good-by."
She was going, but the minister had something to say. He stepped forward and walked beside her.
"Just a minute, please," he urged. "Miss Van Horne, I do understand. I do respect your uncle. We have a mutual friend, you and I, and through her I have come to understand many things."
Grace turned and looked at him.
"A mutual friend?" she repeated. "Oh! I know. Mrs. Coffin?"
"Yes; Mrs. Coffin. She"s a good woman and a wise one."
"She"s a dear! Do you like her, too?"
"Indeed, I do."
"Has she told you about me--about uncle, I mean?"
"Yes. Why, she told me--"
He began to enumerate some of the things Keziah had told concerning the Hammond family. They were all good things, and he couldn"t help seeing that the recital pleased her. So he went on to tell how his housekeeper had helped him, of her advice, of her many acts of kindness, of what he owed to her. The girl listened eagerly, asking questions, nodding confirmation, and, in her delight at hearing Keziah praised, quite forgetting her previous eagerness to end the interview. And, as he talked, he looked at her, at the red light on her hair, the shine of her eyes, like phosphorus in the curl of a wave at night, at her long lashes, and--
--"Yes," said Miss Van Horne, "you were saying--"
The minister awoke with a guilty start. He realized that his sentence had broken off in the middle.
"Why! why--er--yes," he stammered. "I was saying that--that I don"t know what I should have done without Mrs. Coffin. She"s a treasure. Frankly, she is the only real friend I have found in Trumet."
"I know. I feel the same way about her. She means so much to me. I love her more than anyone else in the world, except uncle, of course--and Nat. I miss her very much since--since--"
"Since I came, you mean. I"m sorry. I wish--I hate to think I am the cause which separates you two. It isn"t my fault, as you know."
"Oh! I know that."
"Yes, and I object to having others choose my friends for me, people who, because of a fanatical prejudice, stand in the way of--If it wasn"t for that, you might call and see Mrs. Coffin, just as you used to do."
Grace shook her head. They had moved on to the bend of the bluff, beyond the fringe of pines, and were now standing at the very edge of the high bank.
"If it wasn"t for that, you would come," a.s.serted the minister.
"Yes, I suppose so. I should like to come. I miss my talks with Aunt Keziah more than you can imagine--now especially. But, somehow, what we want to do most seems to be what we mustn"t, and what we don"t like is our duty."
She said this without looking at him, and the expression on her face was the same sad, grave one he had noticed when he first saw her standing alone by the pine.
"Why don"t you come?" he persisted.
"I can"t, of course. You know I can"t."
"Why not? If my company is objectionable I can go away when you come. If you dislike me I--"
"You know I don"t dislike you personally."
"I"m awfully glad of that."
"But it"s impossible. Uncle respects and is fond of Aunt Keziah, but he wouldn"t hear of my visiting the parsonage."
"But don"t you think your uncle might be persuaded? I"m sure he misunderstands me, just as I should him if it weren"t for Mrs.
Coffin--and what you"ve said. Don"t you think if I called on him and he knew me better it might help matters? I"ll do it gladly. I will!"
"No, no. He wouldn"t listen. And think of your own congregation."
"Confound my congregation!"
"Why, Mr. Ellery!"
She looked at him in amazement; then her lips began to curl.
"Why, Mr. Ellery!" she repeated.
The minister turned very red and drew his hand across his forehead.
"I--I don"t mean that exactly," he stammered. "But I"m not a child. I have the right to exercise a man"s discretion. My parish committee must understand that. They shall! If I choose to see you--Look out!"
She was close to the overhanging edge of the bluff and the sod upon which she stood was bending beneath her feet. He sprang forward, caught her about the waist, and pulled her back. The sod broke and rattled down the sandy slope. She would have had a slight tumble, nothing worse, had she gone with it. There was no danger; and yet the minister was very white as he released her.