Thehymnwasoldandfamiliarenough，Heavenknows。Ithadbeenquitepopularatfunerals，andsomewhosattherehadhaditsstrangemelancholyborneuponthemintimeoflossandtribulations，butneverhadtheyfeltitsfullpowerbefore。
　　Accustomedastheyweretoemotionalappealandtorespondtoit，asthesinger’svoicediedawayabovethem，theirverytearsflowedandfellwiththatvoice。Afewsobbedaloud，andthenavoiceaskedtremulously，——
　　“Whoisit？“
　　“It’sMr。Hamlin，“saidSethquietly。“I’veheardhimoftenhummin’thingsbefore。“
　　Therewasanothersilence，andthevoiceofDeaconStubbsbrokeinharshly，——
　　“It’srankblasphemy。“
　　“Ifit’srankblasphemytosingthepraiseo’God，notonlybetterthansomefolksinthechoir，butlikeanangelo’light，Iwishyou’ddoalittleo’thatblasphemingonSundays，Mr。Stubbs。“
　　ThespeakerwasMrs。Stubbs，andasDeaconStubbswasanotoriouslybadsingertheshottold。
　　“Ifhe’ssincere，whydoeshestandaloof？Whydoeshenotjoinus？“askedtheparson。
　　“Hehasn’tbeenasked，“saidSethquietly。“IfIain’tmistakenthisyergatheringthiseveningwasspeciallytoseehowtogetridofhim。“
　　Therewasaquickmurmurofprotestatthis。Theparsonexchangedglanceswiththedeaconandsawthattheywerehopelesslyintheminority。
　　“Iwillaskhimmyself，“saidMrs。Riverssuddenly。
　　“Sodo，SisterRivers；sodo，“wastheunmistakableresponse。
　　Mrs。Riverslefttheroomandreturnedinafewmomentswithahandsomeyoungman，pale，elegant，composed，eventoagraveindifference。Whathiseyesmighthavesaidwasanotherthing；thelonglasheswerescarcelyraised。
　　“Idon’tmindplayingalittle，“hesaidquietlytoMrs。Rivers，asifcontinuingaconversation，“butyou’llhavetoletmetrustmymemory。“
　　“Thenyou——er——playtheharmonium？“saidtheparson，withanattemptatformalcourtesy。
　　“IwasforayearortwotheorganistinthechoirofDr。Todd’schurchatSacramento，“returnedMr。Hamlinquietly。
　　TheblankamazementonthefacesofDeaconsStubbsandTurnerandtheparsonwasfollowedbywreathedsmilesfromtheotherauditorsandespeciallyfromtheladies。Mr。Hamlinsatdowntotheinstrument，andinanothermomenttookpossessionofitasithadneverbeenheldbefore。Heplayedfrommemoryashehadimplied，butitwasthememoryofamusician。Hebeganwithoneortwofamiliaranthems，inwhichtheyalljoined。AfragmentofamassandaLatinchantfollowed。An“AveMaria“fromanoperawashisfirstseculardeparture，buthisdelightedaudiencedidnotdetectit。Thenhehurriedthemalonginunfamiliarlanguageto“OmioFernando“and“Spiritugentil，“whichtheyfondlyimaginedwerehymns，until，withcrowningaudacity，afterafewpreliminarychordsofthe“Miserere，“helandedthembroken-heartedintheTrovatore’sdonjontowerwith“Nontescordardemi。“
　　AmidsttheapplauseheheardthepreachersuavelyexplainthatthosePopishmasseswerealwaysintheLatinlanguage，androsefromtheinstrumentsatisfiedwithhisexperiment。Excusinghimselfasaninvalidfromjoiningtheminalightcollationinthediningroom，andbegginghishostess’spermissiontoretire，heneverthelesslingeredafewmomentsbythedoorastheladiesfiledoutoftheroom，followedbythegentlemen，untilDeaconTurner，whowasbringinguptherear，wasabreastofhim。HereMr。Hamlinbecamesuddenlydeeplyinterestedinaframedpencildrawingwhichhungonthewall。Itwasevidentlyaschoolgirl’samateurportrait，donebyMrs。Rivers。DeaconTurnerhaltedquicklybyhissideastheotherspassedout——whichwasexactlywhatMr。Hamlinexpected。
　　“Doyouknowtheface？“saidthedeaconeagerly。
　　ThankstothefaithfulMelinda，Mr。Hamlindidknowitperfectly。
　　ItwasapencilsketchofMrs。Rivers’syouthfullyerringsister。
　　ButheonlysaidhethoughtherecognizedalikenesstosomeonehehadseeninSacramento。
　　Thedeacon’seyebrightened。“Perhapsthesameone——perhaps，“headdedinasubmissiveandsignificanttone“a——er——painfulstory。“
　　“Rather——tohim，“observedHamlinquietly。
　　“How？——I——er——don’tunderstand，“saidDeaconTurner。
　　“Well，theportraitlookslikealadyIknewinSacramentowhohadbeeninsometroublewhenshewasasillygirl，buthadgotoveritquietly。Shewas，however，troubledagooddealbysomemeanhoundwhowaseverynowandthenrakingupthestorywherevershewent。
　　Well，oneofherfriends——Imighthavebeenamongthem，Idon’texactlyrememberjustnow——challengedhim，butalthoughhehadnoconscientiousconvictionsaboutslanderingawoman，hehadsomeaboutbeingshotforit，anddeclined。Theconsequencewashewascowhidedonceinthestreet，andthesecondtimetarredandfeatheredandriddenonarailoutoftown。That，Isuppose，waswhatyoumeantbyyour’painfulstory。’Butisthisthewoman？“
　　“No，no，“saidthedeaconhurriedly，withawhiteface，“youhavequitemisunderstood。“
　　“Butwhoseisthisportrait？“persistedJack。
　　“Ibelievethat——Idon’tknowexactly——butIthinkitisasisterofMrs。Rivers’s，“stammeredthedeacon。
　　“Then，ofcourse，itisn’tthesamewoman，“saidJackinsimulatedindignation。
　　“Certainly——ofcoursenot，“returnedthedeacon。
　　“Phew！“saidJack。“Thatwasamightyclosecall。Luckywewerealone，wasn’tit？“
　　“Yes，“saidthedeacon，withafeeblesmile。
　　“Seth，“continuedJack，withathoughtfulair，“lookslikeaquietman，butIshouldn’tliketohavemadethatmistakeabouthissister-in-lawbeforehim。Thesequietmenareapttoshootstraight。Betterkeepthistoourselves。“
　　DeaconTurnernotonlykepttherevelationtohimselfbutapparentlyhisownsacredpersonalso，ashedidnotcallagainatWindyHillRanchoduringMr。Hamlin’sstay。ButhewasexceedinglypoliteinhisreferencestoJack，andalludedpatronizinglytoa“littlechat“theyhadhadtogether。AndwhentheusualreactiontookplaceinMr。Hamlin’sfavorandJackwasactuallyinducedtoperformontheorganatHightownChurchnextSunday，thedeacon’svoicewasloudestinhispraise。EvenParsonGreenwoodallowedhimselftobenon-committalastothetruthoftherumor，largelycirculated，thatoneofthemostdesperategamblersintheStatehadbeenconvertedthroughhisexhortations。
　　So，withbreezywalksandgameswiththechildren，occasionalconfidenceswithMelindaandSilas，andtheSabbath“singingofanthems，“Mr。Hamlin’sthreeweeksofconvalescencedrewtoaclose。Hehadlatelyrelaxedhishabitofseclusionsofarastominglewiththecompanygatheredformoresocialpurposesattherancho，andonceortwiceunbentsofarastosatisfytheircuriosityinregardtocertaindetailsofhisprofession。
　　“Ihavenopersonalknowledgeofgamesofcards，“saidParsonGreenwoodpatronizingly，“andthinkIamrightinsayingthatourbrothersandsistersareequallyinexperienced。Iam——ahem——farfrombelieving，however，thatentireignoranceofevilisthebestpreparationforcombatingit，andIshouldbegladifyou’dexplaintothecompanytheintricaciesofvariousgames。Thereisonethatyoumentioned，witha——er——scripturalname。“
　　“Faro，“saidHamlin，withanunmovedface。
　　“Pharaoh，“repeatedtheparsongravely；“andonewhichyoucall’poker，’whichseemstorequiregreatself-control。“
　　“Icouldn’tmakeyouunderstandpokerwithoutyourplayingit，“
　　saidJackdecidedly。
　　“Aslongaswedon’tgamble——thatis，playformoney——Iseenoobjection，“returnedtheparson。
　　“And，“saidJackmusingly，“youcouldusebeans。“
　　Itwasagreedfinallythattherewouldbenofallingfromgraceintheirplayingamongthemselves，inaninquiringChristianspirit，underJack’sguidance，hehavingdecidedtoabstainfromcardplayingduringhisconvalescence，andJackpermittedhimselftobepersuadedtoshowthemthefollowingevening。
　　Itsochanced，however，thatDr。Duchesne，findingtheendofJack’s“cure“approaching，andnothearingfromthatinterestinginvalid，resolvedtovisithimataboutthistime。HavingnochancetoappriseJackofhisintention，oncomingtoHightownatnightheprocuredaconveyanceatthedepottocarryhimtoWindyHillRancho。Thewindblewwithitsusualnocturnalrollickingpersistency，andattheendofhisturbulentdriveitseemedalmostimpossibletomakehimselfheardamongsttheroaringofthepinesandsomeastoundingpreoccupationoftheinmates。Aftervainlyknocking，thedoctorpushedopenthefrontdoorandentered。Herappedattheclosedsittingroomdoor，butreceivingnoreply，pusheditopenuponthemostunexpectedandastoundingscenehehadeverwitnessed。AroundthecentretableseveralrespectablemembersoftheHightownChurch，includingtheparson，weregatheredwithintenseandeagerfacesplayingpoker，andbehindtheparson，withhishandsinhispockets，carelesslyloungedthedoctor’spatient，thepictureofhealthandvigor。Adisusedpackofcardswasscatteredonthefloor，andbeforethegentleandpreciseMrs。
　　Riverswasheapedapileofbeansthatwouldhavefilledaquartmeasure。
　　WhenDr。Duchesnehadtactfullyretreatedbeforethehurriedandstammeringapologiesofhishostandhostess，andwasalonewithJackinhisrooms，heturnedtohimwithagravitythatwasmorethanhalfaffectedandsaid，“Howlong，sir，didittakeyoutoeffectthiscorruption？“