“Eh？Oh——er——SouthHarniss。Littletowndownneartheelbow。Doyouknowit？“
　　Marywassurprised，ofcourse。Theanswerwhichwasonthetipofhertonguewasnaturally，“Why，yes，Ilivethere。“Butshedidnotmakethatanswer，althoughshehasoftenwondered，since，why。Whatshesaidwas：“Yes，IknowSouthHarniss。“
　　“Doyou，indeed？“wentonGreen。“Well，Idon’t，butIhaveknownsomepeoplewholivethereforeversolong。Myfatherknewthembeforeme。Theywerecustomersofhisandtheyhavebeenbuyingofourfirmforyears。TwooldchapswhokeepwhatIbelievetheywouldcalla’generalstore。’Fineoldfellows，bothofthem！
　　Differentascanbe，andcharacters，butpuregoldinside。Ihavehadsomebadnewsconcerningthem。They’reintroubleandI’mmightysorry。“
　　Marywasborednolonger。Sheleanedforwardandaskedbreathlessly：
　　“Whataretheirnames，Mr。Green？“
　　“Eh？Oh，thefirmnameisHamiltonandCompany。Thatissimpleandsaneenough，butthenamesofthepartnerswerecribbedfromthebookofLeviticus，Ishouldimagine——ZoethandShadrach！Ho，ho！
　　Thinkofit！ThinkofwishinganamelikeShadrachuponahelplessinfant。TheS。P。C。A。orC。C。orsomethingoughttobetoldofit。Ho，ho！“
　　Helaughedaloud。Marydidnotlaugh。
　　“They——yousaidtheywereintrouble，“shesaidslowly。“Whatsortoftrouble？“
　　“Eh？Oh，theusualkind。Thekindofgoblin，younglady，whichislikelytogetusbusinessmenifwedon’twatchout——financialtrouble。ThefirmofHamiltonandCompanyhasnotkeptabreastofthetimes，that’sall。Foryearstheydidagoodbusinessandthensomenewcompetitorswithup-to-dateideascametotownand——puff！——
　　good-bytotheoldfogies。Theyareinabadway，I’mafraid，andwillhavetogounder，unless——eh？Butthere！youaren’tparticularlyinterested，Idaresay。ItwasyourmentionofCapeCodwhichsetmegoing。“
　　“Oh，butIaminterested；Iam，really。Theymustgounder，yousay？Fail，doyoumean？“
　　“Yes，thatiswhatImean。Iamverysorry。Ourfirmwouldgoonsellingthemgoodsalmostindefinitelyfor，asIhavesaid，theyareoldcustomersandinawayoldfriends。Buttheyareabsolutelyhonestandtheywillnotbuywhattheycannotpayfor。
　　Wehavesomepitifullettersfromthem——notwhining，youknow，butstraightforwardandfrank。Theydon’taskfavors，buttellusjustwheretheystandandleaveittoustorefusecreditifweseefit。
　　Itisjustoneofthelittletragediesoflife，MissLathrop，butI’mmightysorryforthosetwooldfriendsofmyfather’sandmine。
　　Andtheworstofitisthat，frominquiriesIhavemade，itwouldseemthattheyhavebeensacrificingthemselvesbyspendingtheirmoneylavishlyanduselesslyonsomeoneelse。Theyhaveagirlinthefamily，asortofadoptedniece，whateverthatis，and，notcontentwithbringingheruplikeasensible，respectablecountrygirl，theymustdressherlikeamillionaire’sdaughterandsendherofftosomeextravagantlyexpensiveseminarywhere——Why，whatisthematter？Eh？Goodheavens！WhathaveIbeensaying？Youdon’tknowthesepeople，doyou？“
　　Maryturnedaverywhitefacetowardhis。
　　“Theyaremyuncles，“shesaid。“MyhomeisatSouthHarniss。
　　Pleaseexcuseme，Mr。Green。“
　　Sheroseandwalkedaway。Afewminuteslater，whenMr。Howeapproachedthesofa，hefoundhisfriendsittingthereon，staringatnothinginparticularandferventlyrepeatingunderhisbreath，“Thedevil！Thedevil！Thedevil！“
　　Marygotawayassoonasshecould。HerlooksattractedBarbara’sattentionandtheyoungladyaskedifshewerenotfeelingwell。
　　Maryrepliedthatshewasnot，andalthoughitwasnotseriouspleasemightshebepermittedtogohomeatonce？ShewassenthomeintheautomobileandwhenshereachedherownroomherfirstactwastofindandopenIsaiah’sletterwhichhadarrivedthatafternoon。Withtremblingfingersshehelditbeneaththegasjetandthisiswhatsheread：
　　DEARMARYAUGUSTA：
　　IhadnotoughttowriteyouthisandyourUncleswouldprettynighkillmeiftheyknewIdonesobutIamgoingtojustthesame。
　　Busineshasgonetorackandruin。Hamilton&Co。thankstothoseandotherdarnedstores，ain’tmakingenoughtokeepboddyandsoultogetherandtheyaremakingthemselvessickoverit。Idon’tknowwhatwillbecomeofthemtoifsomethingorsomeboddydoesnotthinkupsomewaytohelpthemovertheshoals。Theydonottellanyoneandleastofalltheywouldentwantyoutobetold，butIthinkyououghttobe。Theyhavedoneawholelotforyou。Can’tyouthinkupsomewaytodosomethingforthem。ForgodSakeswriterightoff。
　　Yourstruly，ISAIAHCHASE。
　　CHAPTERXVII
　　Peoplegrowolder，evenontheCape，wherehurry——exceptbytheautomobilesofsummerresidents——isnotconsideredgoodformandwhereFatherTimeissupposedtositdowntorest。JudgeBaxter，Ostable’sleadingattorney-at-law，hadlivedquietlyandcomfortablyduringtheyearswhichhadpassedsince，asMarcellusHall’slawyer，hereadtheastonishinglettertothepartnersofHamiltonandCompany。Hewasoverseventynow，andbehindhisbackOstablefolksreferredtohimas“oldJudgeBaxter“；butalthoughhisspectacleswerestrongerthanatthattime，hismentalfacultieswerenotperceptiblyweaker，andhewalkedwithasfirm，ifnotsorapid，astride。Sowhen，atelevenintheforenoonofthedayfollowingMary’sdinnerattheHowes’home，theJudgeheardsomeoneentertheouterroomofhisofficesneartheOstablecourthouse，herosefromhischairintheinnerroomand，withoutwaitingforhisclerktoannouncethevisitor，openedthedoorhimself。
　　Thecallerwhosequestiontheclerkwasabouttoanswer，orwouldprobablyhaveansweredassoonashefinishedstaringinawestruckadmiration，wasayounglady。TheJudgelookedatheroverhisspectaclesandthenthroughthemanddecidedthatshewasastranger。Hesteppedforward。
　　“IamJudgeBaxter，“hesaid。“Didyouwishtoseeme？“
　　Sheturnedtowardhim。“Yes，“shesaidsimply。“Ishouldliketotalkwithyouforafewmomentsifyouarenottoobusy。“
　　TheJudgehesitatedmomentarily。Onlytheweekbeforeapersistentandfluentyoungfemalehadtalkedhimintothepurchaseofasetof“LivesoftheGreatJurists，“thesametobepaidforinthirty-fiveinstallmentsoftwodollarseach。Mrs。Baxterhadpronouncedthe“GreatJurists“greathumbugs，andherhusband，althoughhepretendedtofindthe“Lives“veryinteresting，wassecretlyinclinedtoagreewithher。Sohehesitated。Theyoungwoman，evidentlynoticinghishesitation，added：
　　“IfyouareengagedjustnowIshallwait。Icametoseeyouonamatterofbusiness，legalbusiness。“
　　JudgeBaxtertriedtolookasifnothoughtofhisvisitor’shavinganotherpurposehadenteredhismind。
　　“Oh，yes，certainly！Ofcourse！“hesaidhastily，andadded：“Willyouwalkin？“
　　Shewalkedin——totheprivateoffice，thatis——andtheJudge，followingher，closedthedoor。Hisclerkstaredwistfullyathisownsideofthatdoorforafullminute，thensighedheavilyandresumedhiswork，whichwascopyingalistofhouseholdeffectsbelongingtoalatelamentedwhohadwilledthem，separatelyandindividually，togoodnessknewhowmanycousins，first，second，andthird。
　　IntheprivateofficetheJudgeaskedhisvisitortobeseated。Shetookthechairhebroughtforward。Thenshesaid：
　　“Youdon’trememberme，Ithink，JudgeBaxter。IamMaryLathrop。“
　　TheJudgelookedpuzzled。Thenamesoundedfamiliar，buthecouldnotseemtoidentifyitsowner。
　　“PerhapsyouwouldremembermeifItoldyoumywholename，“
　　suggestedthelatter。“IamMaryAugustaLathrop。IthinkperhapsyouusedtocallmeMary’-Gusta；mostpeopledid。“
　　ThentheJudgeremembered。Hisastonishmentwasgreat。
　　“Mary-’GustaLathrop！“herepeated。“Mary-’Gusta！Areyou——？Why，itscarcelyseemspossible！Andyet，nowthatIlook，Icanseethatitis。Blessmysoulandbody！Howdoyoudo？Itmustbealmost——er——sevenoreightyearssinceIhaveseenyou。SouthHarnissisonlyafewmilesoff，butIamgetting——er——olderandI
　　don’tdriveasmuchasIusedto。Butthere！Iamverygladtoseeyounow。AndhowareCaptainGouldandMr。Hamilton？Thereisnoneedtoaskhowyouare。Yourlooksarethebestanswertothat。“
　　Marythankedhimandsaidshewasverywell。Heruncles，too，werewell，sheadded，ortheywerewhenshelastheard。
　　“Iamonmywayhometothemnow，“sheadded。“ForthepasttwoyearsIhavebeenatschoolinBoston。IlefttherethismorningandgotoffthetrainherebecauseIwishedverymuchtoseeyou，JudgeBaxter。Yesterday——lastevening——Iheardsomething——Iwastoldsomethingwhich，ifitistrue，is——is——“
　　Shebitherlip。Shewasevidentlyfightingdesperatelynottoloseself-control。TheJudgewassurprisedanddisturbed。
　　“Why，Mary！“heexclaimed。“IsupposeImaycallyouMarystill；asanoldfriendIhopeImay。Whatisthematter？Whatdidyouhear？
　　Whatdoyouwishtoseemeabout？“
　　Shewascalmenoughnow，butherearnestnesswasunmistakable。
　　“Iheardsomethingconcerningmyselfandmyuncleswhichsurprisedandshockedmedreadfully，“shesaid。“Icanhardlybelieveit，butImustknowwhetheritistrueornot。Imustknowatonce！Youcantellmethetruth，JudgeBaxter，ifyouonlywill。ThatiswhyIcameherethismorning。Willyoutellittome？Willyoupromisethatyouwillanswermyquestions，everyone，withtheexacttruthandnothingelse？Andanswerthemall？Willyoupromisethat？“
　　TheJudgelookedevenmoresurprisedandpuzzled。Herubbedhischinandsmileddoubtfully。
　　“Well，Mary，“hesaid，“IthinkIcanpromisethatifIansweryourquestionsatallIshallanswerthemtruthfully。ButIscarcelyliketopromisetoanswerthemwithoutknowingwhattheyare。A
　　lawyerhasagoodmanysecretsintrustedtohimandheisobligedtobecareful。“
　　“Iknow。ButthisisasecretinwhichIaminterested。Iaminterestedinitmorethananyoneelse。Imustknowthetruthaboutit！IMUST！Ifyouwon’ttellmeIshallfindoutsomehow。WILL
　　youtell？“
　　JudgeBaxterrubbedhischinagain。
　　“Don’tyouthinkyouhadbetteraskyourquestions？“hesuggested。
　　“Yes；yes，Ido。Iwill。Howmuchmoneydidmystepfather，CaptainMarcellusHall，havewhenhedied？“
　　TheJudge’schin-rubbingceased。Hiseyebrowsdrewtogether。
　　“Whydoyouwanttoknow？“heasked，afteramoment。
　　“BecauseIdo。BecauseitisveryimportantthatIshould。Itismyrighttoknow。Washearichman？“
　　“Um——er——no。Ishouldnotcallhimthat。Hardlyarichman。“
　　“Washeverypoor？“
　　“Mary，Idon’texactlyseewhy——“
　　“Ido。Oh，JudgeBaxter，pleasedon’tthinkIamaskingthisforanyselfishreasons。Iamnot，indeedI’mnot！Allmylife，eversinceIwasoldenoughtothinkofsuchthingsatall，Ihavesupposed——Ihavebeenledtobelievethatmystepfatherleftmeplentyofmoney——moneyenoughtopaymyunclesfortakingcareofme，formyclothesandboard，andnow，duringtheselasttwoyears，formystudiesinBoston。Inever，nevershouldhaveconsentedtogotothatschoolifIhadn’tsupposedIwaspayingtheexpensesmyself。Iknewmyuncleswerenotwell-to-do；Iknewtheycouldnotaffordto——todowhattheyhadalreadydoneforme，evenbeforethat。Andnow——lastnight——Iwastoldthat——thattheywereingreatfinancialtrouble，thattheywouldprobablybeobligedtofailinbusiness，andallbecausetheyhadbeenspendingtheirmoneyonme，sacrificingthemselvesandtheircomfortandhappinessinorderthat’anadoptedniecewithextravagantideas’mightbeeducatedaboveherstation；thatisthewaythegentlemanwhotoldmethestoryputit。Ofcoursehedidn’tknowhewastalkingtotheniece，“sheadded，withapatheticlittlesmile；“but，oh，Judge，can’tyouseenowwhyImustknowthetruth——allofthetruth？’
　　Herfingersclaspedandunclaspedinherlap。TheJudgelaidhisownhanduponthem。
　　“There，there，mydear，“hesaidsoothingly。“Tut，tut，tut！