thoughtmaybeMr。Farmerwas——“
　　Neveryoumindwhohewas。Hewasadarnedblackguardandhisnameain’tmentionedinthishouse。That’sallIcantellyouandyoumustn’taskanymorequestions。Why，ifyourUncleZoeth——yes，oryourUncleShadeither——wastohearyouaskin’abouthim——they’d——I
　　don’tknowwhatthey’ddo。I’mgoin’totearthisthingup。“
　　Hewouldhavetornthephotographacross，butthegirlseizedhishands。
　　“Oh，no，youmustn’t，“shecried。“Pleasedon’t。Itisn’tmine。
　　ItbelongstoUncleShad。Youmustn’ttearit——giveittome。“
　　Isaiahhesitated。“Giveittoyou？“herepeated。“What’llyoudowithit？“
　　“I’llputitrightbackwhereIfoundit。Truly，Iwill。Iwill，honest，Mr。Chase。“
　　Isaiahreflected。Then，andwithconsiderablereluctance，hehandedherthephotograph。
　　“Allright，“hesaid，“onlybesureyoudoit。Andlookhere，Mary-
　　’Gusta，don’tyouevertouchitagainanddon’tyouevertelleitherofyourunclesoranybodyelsethatyoufoundit。Youhear？“
　　Mary-’Gustasaidthatsheheard。Sherantothegarretandreplacedthephotographinthepocketofthetrunk。ShedidnotmentionitagainnordidIsaiah，butthereafterwhenheractiveimaginationconstructedaliferomancewithMr。ZoethHamiltonasitshero，thatromancecontainedavillainalso，andthevillain’snamewasEdgarS。Farmer。AndthefirmofHallandCompany，herfather’sfirm，hadafourthandmostmysteriouspartnerwhowasablackguard。
　　CHAPTERVIII
　　ThesummersandwinterscameandwentandMary-’Gusta’sbirthdayscameandwentwiththem。Shegrewtallerandmoremature。HerplaceasassistanthousekeeperwasrecognizednowandevenIsaiahconsultedheronmattersofhouseholdmanagement。Asforheruncles，shemanagedthemwhetherconsultedornot。Theytooktheplaceofthediscardeddolls；shewastoooldfordollsnow，althoughDavidwasstillmotheredandpettedasmuchasever。ButwhenUncleZoethhadacolditwasshewhoinsisteduponhiswrappingupandsawthatthewrapswereready，andifUncleShadwascaughtwearingsockswithholesinthemhewasscoldedandsuppliedwithfreshones。SheselectedtheclothestheyshouldwearandinsistedthattheyblacktheirbootsonSunday。ShehelpedtheminthestoreanditbecameoccasionallypossibleforthemtoleavethatplaceofbusinessatthesametimewithoutengagingtheservicesofAnnabel。Atfirstthepartners，CaptainShadrachespecially，protestedagainstthesupervisionandtheinnovations，butMary-
　　’Gustatactfullyanddiplomaticallycarriedeachpoint，and，afteratime，theCaptainceasedtoprotestandacceptedtheinevitablealmostwithmeekness。
　　“Nouse，Zoeth，“hesaidononeoccasion；“I’vetalkedandtalkedbutI’mwearin’thenecktiejustthesame。Itoldher’twastoogoodtowearweekdaysanditoughttobesavedforSunday，butitain’tSundayandI’vegotiton。Shesaid’twasbecomin’andtheoneI’vebeenwearin’wasn’tandthatshecrocheteditformeandI
　　don’tknowwhatall。SohereIam。GotsoIain’tevenbossofmyownneck。“
　　“Well，’tisbecomin’，“observedZoeth。“Andshedidcrochetitforyou。Inoticedyoudidn’tstophertyin’itonyouevenwhileyouwasvowin’youwouldn’twearit。“
　　Shadrachsighed。“Tothink，“hegroaned，“thatI，Cap’nShadGould，amanthat’shandledasmanyfo’masthandsasIhave，shouldcometobeledaroundbythenosebyaslipofagirl！Byfire，I——Ican’thardlybelieveit。It’sdisgraceful。“
　　Zoethsmiled。“Oh，bestill，Shadrach，“hesaid。“YoubearupunderthedisgraceaswellasanybodyeverIsaw。Youknowperfectlywellyouwastickledtodeathtohavehertiethatnecktieonyou。Youwasgrinnin’likeaChessycatallthetime。“
　　“Iwasn’t，neither。Iwaschokin’，notgrinnin’。Youdon’tknowagrinfromachoke。“
　　Zoethchangedthesubject。“It’samightyprettynecktie，“hedeclared。“Thereain’tanybodyinthistown，unlessit’sPhilanderBearse’swife，thatcancrochetanybetter’nthatgirlofours。“
　　Shadrachsnorted。“Whatareyoutalkin’about？“hedemanded。“EttaBearseneversawthedayshecouldcrochetlikethat。No，nordoanythingelsesowell，either。Lookatthewayourcandy-KanbaAPp点com-tradehaspickedupsinceMary-’Gustafixeduptheshowcase。Youcal’lated’twasallrighttheway’twasaforeandthought’twasfoolishtochange，butshechangeditand——well，we’vesoldathirdagainasmuchcandy。“
　　Zoeth’ssmilebroadened。“SeemsasifIrememberyoursayin’afewthingsaboutthatshowcase，“heremarked。“Yougavemefitsforlettin’herfusswithit。Annabelwasint’otherdayandshesaidfolksthought’twasqueerenoughourlettin’athirteen-year-oldchildrunourstoreforus。“
　　“Shedid，eh？She’sjealous，that’swhatailsher。AndtothinkofHERsayin’it。ThatAnnabel’sallbrass，likeaship’sspyglass。
　　Bythejumpin’Judas！I’mproudofthatshowcaseandI’mproudofMary-’Gusta。Shedon’tmakemanymistakes：Ican’trememberofhermakin’any。“
　　“NeithercanI，noteveninneckties。There，there，Shadrach！I
　　knowyou。Youtalkaboutdisgraceandsuch，butyou’reascrazyaboutMary-’Gustaas——as——“
　　“Asyouare，eh？Well，maybeIam，Zoeth。Whenshewasfirstwilledtous，asyoumightsay，Iusedtowonderhowwe’devergetalongwithher；nowIwonderhowwegotalongwithouther。Ifsheshouldbe——er——tookawayfromus，Idon’tknow——“
　　“Sshh，shh，Shadrach！Don’ttalkaboutanythinglikethat。“
　　Mary-’Gustawasmakinggoodprogressatschool。Atfourteenshegraduatedfromthegrammarschoolandinthefallwastoenterthehighschool。Shewaspopularamonghermates，althoughsheneversoughtpopularity。
　　AtpicnicsandchurchsociablesshehadalwaysasmallcircleaboutherandtheSouthHarnissboyswereprominentinthatcircle。ButMary-’Gusta，althoughshelikedboysandgirlswellenough，nevershowedalikingforonemorethantheotherandshewastoobusyatthehouseandinthestoretohaveheryoungfriendshangingabout。
　　Theybotheredher，shesaid。Asforhavingaparticularfriendoftheothersex，whichsomeofthegirlsinherclassnoolderthansheseemedtothinkanecessaryproofofbeingintheirteens，shelaughedattheidea。ShehadheradoptedunclesandIsaiahtotakecareofandboybeauxweresilly。Talkingaboutthemasthesegirlsdidwassillierstill。
　　Thatsummer——thesummerprecedingMary-’Gusta’sfifteenthbirthday——
　　wastheliveliestSouthHarnisshadknown。Thevillagewasbeginningtofeelthefirstsymptomsofitslaterboomasasummerresort。AnumberofcottageshadbeenbuiltforpeoplefromBostonandNewYorkandChicago，andtherewastalkofanewhotel。Alsotherewastalkofseveralnewstores，butHamiltonandCompanywereinclinedtobelievethismerelytalkanddidnotworryaboutit。
　　TheirtradewasunusuallybriskandthedemandforMary-’Gusta’sservicesassalesgirlinterferedconsiderablywithherdutiesasassistanthousekeeper。
　　Onefine，clearJulymorningshecameuptothestoreearlyinorderthatthepartnersmightgodowntothehouseforbreakfast。Theyhadgoneandshehadjustfinishedplacingonthecountersandinotherlikelyspotsaboutthestoresheetsofstickyflypaper。
　　FliesareanuisanceinSouthHarnissinmidsummerandCaptainShaddetestedthem。Justasthelastsheetwaslaidinplace，ayoungfellowandagirlcamein。Mary-’Gustarecognizedthemboth。Thegirlwastheseventeen-year-olddaughterofawealthysummerresident，aMr。KeithfromChicago。TheKeithshadafinecottageonthebluffattheotherendofthevillage。Theyoungchapwithherwas，sogossipreported，acollegefriendofherbrother。Hissurnamewasprosaicenough，beingSmith，buthisfirstnamewasCrawfordandhishomewassomewhereintheFarWest。Hewasbigandgood-looking，andtheBostonpapersmentionedhimasoneofthemostpromisingbacksontheHarvardFreshmaneleven。Nextyear，sothesportingwritersopined，hewouldalmostcertainlymaketheVarsityteam。MostofMary-’Gusta’sfemininefriendsandacquaintancesratedhim“perfectlysplendid“andregardedEdnaKeithwithenviouseyes。
　　ThismorningbothheandtheKeithgirlwerearrayedinthegayestofsummerregalia。YoungSmith’swhiteflanneltrouserswerecarefullycreased，hisbluesergecoatwaswithoutawrinkle，histieandsockswereaperfectmatch，andhiscapwasofastylewhichtheyouthofSouthHarnissmightbewearingthefollowingsummer，butnotthisone。Takehim“byandlarge，“asCaptainShadrachwouldhavesaid，CrawfordSmithwasanimmaculateandbeautifulexhibit；ofwhichfacthe，beingeighteenyearsofage，wasdoubtlessquiteaware。
　　HeandtheKeithgirlwere，soMary-’Gustalearned，acommitteeoftwoselectedtopurchasecertainsuppliesforabeachpicnic，acombinationclambakeandmarshmallowtoast，whichwastotakeplaceoveratSetuckitPointthatday。SamKeith，Edna’sbrother，andtheothermembersofthepartyhadgoneontoJabezHedges’residence，whereJabezhadpromisedtomeetthemwiththeclamsandotherthingsforthebake。Ednaandherescort，havingmadetheirpurchasesatHamiltonandCompany’s，weretojointhematthe“clam-
　　man’s。“Thenthewholepartywastogodowntothewharfandthesailboat。
　　MissEdna，whowasatalkativedamsel，informedMary-’Gustaofthesefactsatonce。Alsosheannouncedthattheymusthurrylikeeverything。
　　“Yousee，“shesaid，“wetoldSamandtherestwe’dbeattheclam-
　　man’sintenminutes，and，ifwe’renotthere，Samwillbeawfullycross。Hehatestowaitforpeople。Andwe’vebeentoolongalready。It’sallyourfault，Crawford；youwouldstoptohearthatfruitmantalk。Itoldyouyoumustn’t。“
　　The“fruitman“wasMr。GaiusSmall，and，althoughhestammered，helovedthesoundofhisownvoice。ThedemandforadozenorangesfurnishedGaiuswithsubjectsufficientforalengthymonologue