The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1912-12-27
CHAPTER XIII.
In Which the Sea Mist Sails.

J
there, all of them, and some members
of the Regular society, Captain Zeb
! Mayo, DIR. Parker, Keziah Coffin, Mrs.
! Higgins and Ike. The little company
filed out Of the cemetery, and Captain
Eben Hammond was but a memory in
| Trumet
Keziah fingered to speak a word
with Grace. The girl, looking very
white and worn, leaned on the arm Of
| Captain Nat, whose big body acted as
a buffer between her and oversympa-
| thetic Come-Outers Mrs Coffin silent
! ly held out both hands and Grace took
/ them eagerly.
'Auntie," she whispered, tell me:
| Did letter. Did he"
yes, Il came. l gave it TO him"
"Did-did he tell you? Do you
know"
yes, l know, deary."
did he-is he"
fHe's well, deary. He'll be all
| right. I'll look out for him"
You will, won't you? You won't
let him do anything
Not a thing. Don't worry. We've
had a long talk and he's going to
stay right here and go on with his
work. And nobody else1l ever know,
Oracle"
20 Aunt Keziah! if | could be one
half as patient and brave and sweet
as you are
SSH! here comes Nat Be kind
to him. He's sufferin', too; maybe
more'n you imagine. Here she is,
Nat. Take her back home and be
good to her"
Il tell YOU" broke in the voice of
Captain zeb Mayo, "Keziah, I've been
waitin' for you. Get in my shay and
III drive you back to the parsonage"
Mrs. Coffin accepted the invitation
and seat in the chaise beside Cap
tain Zeb. The captain spoke of the
dead Come-Outer and of his respect
for him in spite of the difference in
creed. He also spoke of the Rev John
Ellery and of the affection he had
come to feel for the young man.
I'm, glad to hear you say so. OF
course Cap'n Elkanah is boss Of the
parish. committee and"
What? No, he amt nuther. He's
head Of it, but his vote counts just one
and no more. What makes you say
that?"
ooh, nuthin'. Only thought maybe,
long as Elkanah was feelin' that Mr..
Ellery want orthodox enough, he
might be goin' to make a change. |
didn't mean to stir you up, Zebedee.
But from things Cap'n Daniels has
said l gathered that he was runnin'
the committee. And, as I'm a friend
of Mr.. Ellery, it"
Friend! Well, som I, amt I? If
you ever hear of Daniels tryin' any
tricks against the minister, you send
for me, that's ALL I'll show him. Boss!
Humph!"
The willy Keziah alighted at the par
sonage gate with the feeling that she
had sOwn seed in fertile ground. She
was quite aware of Captain Zeb's jeal-
ousy of the great Daniels And the
time might come when her parson
needed an influential friend on the
committee and in the Regular society
The news of the engagement be-
tween Captain Nat Hammond and
Grace Van Horne, told by Dr. Parker
to one or two of his patients, spread
through Trumet like measles through
family of small children Annabel
Daniels and her father had not expect
ed it. They were, however, greatly
pleased. In their discussion, which
lasted far into the night, Captain Elk
anah expressed the opinion that the
unexpected denouement was the result
Of his interview with Eben.
Il think, pa she said, that it's our
duty, yours and mine, to treat him just
as we always have. He doesn't know
that we know, and we will keep the
secret And, as Christians, we should
forget and forgive"
Ryan Pepper was another whom the
news of the engagement surprised
greatly. When Lavinia told him of it,
at the dinner table, he dropped the
knife he was holding and the greasy
section of fshball balanced upon it.
Remembering what he had seen in the
grove he could not understand; but
he also remembered, even more vivid
~, what Keziah Coffin had promised
to do if he ever breathed a word. And
he vowed again that that word should
not be breathed.
keziah was the life of the gloomy
parsonage. Without her the minister
would have broken down He called
her Aunt KeZiah" at her request and
she continued to call him John" This
was in private, of course; in public
he was Mr.. Ellery" and she Mrs.
Coffin
In his walks about town he saw
nothing of Grace. She and Mrs. Pound
berry and Captain Nat were still at
the old home and no one save them
selves knew what their plans might
be. Yet oddly enough, Ellery was the
first outsider to learn these plans and
| that frcm Nat himself