Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1913-03-07
CHAPTER XIII.
In Which the Sea Mist Sails.


In Which the Sea Mist Sails.
They buried Captain Eben in the |
little Come-Outer cemetery at the rear
of the chapel. The Come-Outers were
there, all of them, and some members
of the Regular society, Captain Zeb
Mayo, DR.. Parker, Keziah Coffin, Mrs.
Higgins and Ike. The little company
filed out of the cemetery. and Captain
Eben Hammond was but memory in
Trumet.
Keziah fingered to speak word
with Grace. The girl, looking very
white and worn, leaned on the arm OF
Captain Nat, whose big body acted as
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 a letter. Did he"
Yes, II came. gave 1t to him"
"Did-did he tell you? Do you
know"
Yes, know, deary."
Did he's he"
Hes 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 else'll ever know,
Oracle"
20 Aunt Keziah! II l 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"
81 tell you," broke in the voice of
Captain Zeb Mayo, "Keziah, I've been
waitin' for you. Get in my shay and
I'll drive you back to the parsonage"
Mrs. Coffin accepted the invitation
and a seat in the. chase 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 Capn Elkanah is boss Of the
parish committee and"
What? No, he amt nuther q He's
head Of it, but his vote counts just one
and no more. What makes you say
that?"
"Oh, nuthin' Only thought maybe,
long as Elkanah was feelin' that Mr..
Ellery want orthodox enough, he
, might be gotn' to make a change. /
didn't mean to stir you up, Zebedee.
, But from things Cap'n Daniels has
said | gathered that he was runnin'
the committee. And, as I'm a friend
of Mr.. Ellery, it"
'Friendl Well, som l, amt 1? II
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 ieal
ousy of the great Daniels. And the
: time might come when her parsoI
needed an influential friend on tht
, committee and in the Regular society
The news of the engagement be
= tween Captain Nat Hammond anC
Grace Van Horne, told by DR.. Parke
to one or two of his patients, spread
through Trumet like measles through
family of small children. Annabe
, Daniels and her father had not expect
ed it. They were, however, great.
pleased. In their discussion, which
n lasted far into the night, Captain Elk
d anah expressed the opinion that tn
unexpected denouement was the result
e of his interview with Eben.
?, 81 think, pa" she said, that it's on
a duty, yours and mine, to treat him jus
J. as we always have. He doesn't know
that we know, and we will keep tn
It secret. And, as Christians, we shout
forget and forgive"
i. Ryan Pepper was another whom IN
news of the engagement surprise
e greatly. When Lavinia told him Of 4
1t at the dinner table, he dropped tn
L knife he was holding and the greas
is section of fishball balanced upon 1
e. Remembering what he had seen in tn
ID grove he could not understand; bU
lie he also remembered, even more vivit
re ly. what Keziah Coffin had promise
~ to do If he ever breathed a word An
S, he vowed again that that word shoul
rs not be breathed.
~ Keziah was the life of the gloom
t; parsonage. Without her the ministt
If would have broken down. He Gale
BIT her Aunt Keziah" at her request an
t. she continued to call him John" Tn
l was in private, of course; in publ
Id he was "Mr. Ellery" and she "Mr
Or Coffin"
I'd In his walks about town he sa
e. nothing Of Grace. She and Mrs. Poun
- berry and Captain Nat were still
Re the old home and no one save theI
e. selves knew what their plans mig
IN be. Yet oddly enough, Ellery was Il
II first outsider to learn these plans al
that from Nat himself