Keziah Coffin
Page 40
the sea in other years. It wasa sad experience for him, but it was an experience and tended to makehim forget his own sorrow just a little. Or, if not to forget, at leastto think of and sympathize more keenly with the sorrows of others.Somewhere, in England or Ireland or scattered over the wide world, therewere women and children waiting for these men, waiting anxiously fornews of their safe arrival in port, praying for them. When he mentionedthis thought to the townspeople they nodded philosophically and saidyes, they "presumed likely." As Captain Zeb put it, "Most sailors arefools enough to get married, prob'ly this lot wa'n't any exception." Itwas no new thought to him or to any other dweller in that region. It wasalmost a fixed certainty that, if you went to sea long enough, youwere bound to be wrecked sometime or other. The chances were that, withordinary luck and good management, you would escape with your life.Luck, good or bad, was the risk of the trade; good management wasexpected, as a matter of course.
Mr. Pepper made no more calls at the parsonage, and when the ministermet him, at church or elsewhere, seemed anxious to avoid an interview.
"Well, Abishai," asked Ellery, on one of these occasions, "how are yougetting on at home? Has your sister locked you up again?"
"No, sir, she ain't," replied Kyan. "Laviny, she's sort of diff'rentlately. She ain't nigh so--so down on a feller as she used to be. I canget out once in a while by myself nowadays, when she wants to write aletter or somethin'."
"Oh, she's writing letters, is she?"
"Um--hm. Writes one about every once in a week. I don't know who they'reto, nuther, but I have my suspicions. You see, we've got a cousin outWest--out Pennsylvany way--and he ain't very well and has got a turriblelot of money. I'm sort of surmisin' that Laviny's writin' to him. We'reabout his only relations that's left alive and--and so--"
"I see." The minister smiled.
"Yup. Laviny's a pretty good navigator, fur's keepin' an eye to wind'ardis concerned. She was awful down on Phineas--that's his name--'cause hemarried a Philadelphy woman, but he's a widower man now, so I s'pose shefeels better toward him. She's talkin' of goin' up to Sandwich prettysoon."
"She IS? Alone?"
"So she says."
"To leave you here? Why! well, I'm surprised."
"Godfreys mighty! so be I. But she says she b'lieves she needs a changeand there's church conference up there, you know, and she figgers thatshe ain't been to conference she don't know when. I s'pose you'll go,won't you, Mr. Ellery?"
"Probably."
"Um--hm. I kind of wisht I was goin' myself. 'Twill be kind of lonesomeround home without her."
Considering that that variety of lonesomeness had been Abishai's dreamof paradise for years, Ellery thought his change of heart a good jokeand told Keziah of it when he returned to the parsonage. The housekeeperwas greatly surprised.
"Well! well! well!" she exclaimed. "Miracles'll never cease. I don'twonder so much at Laviny wantin' to go to conference, but her darin' togo and leave Kyan at home is past belief. Why, every time she's hada cold her one fear was that she'd die and leave 'Bish behind to bekidnaped by some woman. Kyan himself was sick once, and the story wasthat his sister set side of the bed night and day and read him over andover again that chapter in the Bible that says there's no marryin' orgivin' in marriage in heaven. Dr. Parker told me that he didn't believe'Bish got ha'f the comfort out of that passage that she did. And nowshe's goin' to Sandwich and leave him. I can't think it's true."
But it was true, and Lavinia got herself elected a delegate and went, incompany with Captain Elkanah, Mrs. Mayo, and others, to the conference.She was a faithful attendant at the meetings and seemed to be havinga very good time. She introduced the minister to one Caleb Pratt, aresident of Sandwich, whom she said she had known ever since she was agirl.
"Mr. Pratt's a cousin to Thankful Payne over to home," volunteeredLavinia. "You know Thankful, Mr. Ellery."
Ellery did know Mrs. Payne and said so. Mr. Pratt, who was dressed in anew suit of black which appeared to hurt him, imparted the informationthat he'd heard tell consider'ble of Mr. Ellery.
"I enjoyed your sermon to-night fust--rate," he added solemnly."Fust--rate, sir--yes."
"Did you, indeed? I'm glad."
"Yes, sir. You used words in that sermon that I never heard afore in mylife. 'Twas grand."
Lavinia confided to her pastor that Mr. Pratt made the best shoes inOstable County. He could fit ANY kind of feet, she declared, and theminister ought to try him sometime. She added that he had money in thebank.
The Reverend John rode home in the stage beside Miss Annabel, not fromchoice, but because the young lady's father insisted upon it. MissDaniels gushed and enthused as she always did. As they drove by theCorners the minister, who had been replying absently to Annabel'squestions, suddenly stopped short in the middle of a sentence. Hiscompanion, leaning forward to look out of the window, saw Grace VanHorne entering the store. For an instant Annabel's face wore a veryunpleasant expression. Then she smiled and said, in her sweetest manner:
"Why, there's the tavern girl! I haven't seen her for sometime. How oldshe looks! I suppose her uncle's death has aged her. Well, she'llbe married soon, just as soon as Cap'n Nat gets back. They perfectlyworship each other, those two. They say she writes him the longestletters. Hannah Poundberry told me. Hannah's a queer creature andcommon, but devoted to the Hammonds, Mr. Ellery. However, you're notinterested in Come-Outers, are you? Ha, ha!"
Ellery made some sort of an answer, but he could not have told what itwas. The sight of Grace had brought back all that he was trying sohard to forget. Why couldn't one forget, when it was so painful--and souseless--to remember?
Spring once more; then summer. And now people were again speaking ofCaptain Nat Hammond. His ship was overdue, long overdue. Even in thosedays, when there were no cables and the telegraph was still something ofa novelty, word of his arrival should have reached Trumet months beforethis. But it had not come, and did not. Before the summer was over, thewise heads of the retired skippers were shaking dubiously. Something hadhappened to the Sea Mist, something serious.
As the weeks and months went by without news of the missing vessel,this belief became almost a certainty. At the Come-Outer chapel, whereEzekiel Bassett now presided, prayers were offered for the son of theirformer leader. These prayers were not as fervent as they might havebeen, for Grace's nonattendance at meetings was causing much commentand a good deal of resentment. She came occasionally, but not often. "Ialways said she was stuck-up and thought she was too good for the restof us," remarked "Sukey B." spitefully. "'And, between you and me, pasays he thinks Nat Hammond would be one to uphold her in it. He wa'n't abit spirituous and never experienced religion. If anything HAS happenedto him, it's a punishment sent, that's what pa thinks."
Those were gloomy days at the parsonage. Keziah said little concerningthe topic of which all the village was talking, and John Elleryforebore to mention it. The housekeeper was as faithful as ever in theperformance of her household duties, but her smile had gone and shewas worn and anxious. The minister longed to express his sympathy, butKeziah had not mentioned Nat's name for months, not since he, Ellery,gave her the message intrusted to him by the captain before sailing. Hewould have liked to ask about Grace, for he knew Mrs. Coffin visited theHammond home occasionally, but this, too, he hesitated to do. He heardfrom others that the girl was bearing the suspense bravely, that sherefused to give up hope, and was winning the respect of all the thinkingclass in Trumet by her courage and patience. Even the most bigoted ofthe Regulars, Captain Daniels and his daughter excepted of course, hadcome to speak highly of her. "She's a spunky girl," declared CaptainZeb, with emphasis. "There's nothing of the milk-sop and cry-baby abouther. She's fit to be a sailor's wife, and I only hope Nat's alive tocome back and marry her. He was a durn good feller, too--savin' yourpresence, Mr. Ellery--and if he was forty times a Come-Outer I'd say thesame thing. I'm 'fraid he's gone, though, poor chap. As good a seamanas he was would have fetched port afore this if he was atop of water.As f
or Gracie, she's a brick, and a lady, every inch of her. My oldgirl went down t'other day to call on her and that's the fust Come-Outershe's been to see sence there was any. Why don't you go see her, too,Mr. Ellery? 'Twould be a welcome change from Zeke Bassett and his tribe.Go ahead! it would be the Almighty's own work and the society'd standback of you, all them that's