Butthatletterdidnotcome。Theweekpassed，thenanother，buttherewasnowordfromCrawford。Mary’sanxietygrew。EachdayasIsaiahbroughtthemailsheexpectedhimtogiveheranenvelopeaddressedinthefamiliarhandwriting，buthedidnot。Shewasgrowingnervous——almostfearful。Andthencameahappeningtheshockofwhichdroveeverythingelsefromhermindforthetimeandsubstitutedforthatfearanother。
　　ItwasaTuesdayandoneo’clock。MaryandCaptainShadrach，havinghadanearlydinner，hadreturnedtothestore。Zoeth，upontheirarrival，wentdowntothehouseforhisownmeal。Business，whichhadbeenverygoodindeed，wasratherslackjustthenandShadrachandMaryweretalkingtogether。Suddenlytheyheardthesoundofrapidfootstepsinthelaneoutside。
　　“Who’shoofin’ituptothemainroadatthatrate？“demandedtheCaptain，lounginglazilytowardthewindow。“Hasthetownpumpgotonfireorissomebodygoin’forthedoctor？“
　　Heleanedforwardtolook。Hislazinessvanished。
　　“Eh！Jumpin’Judas！“hecried，springingtothedoor。“It’sIsaiah，andrunnin’asiftheOldBoywasafterhim！Here！You！
　　Isaiah！What’sthematter？“
　　Isaiahpoundeduptheplatformstepsandstaggeredagainstthedoorpost。Hisfaceflamedsoredthat，asShadrachsaidafterward，itwas“awondertheperspirationdidn’tbile。“
　　“I——I——I——“hestammered。“I——Oh，dearme！WhatshallIdo？He——
　　he——he’sthereonthefloorand——and——Oh，mygodfreys！I’malloutofwind！WhatSHALLIdo？“
　　“Talk！“roaredtheCaptain。“Talk！Usewhatwindyou’vegotforthat！What’shappened？Singout！“
　　“He’s——he’sallalonethere！“pantedMr。Chase。“Hewon’tspeak，scurcely——onlymoans。Idon’tknow’sheain’tdead！“
　　“Who’sdead？Who？Who？Who？“TheirateShadrachseizedhisstewardbythecollarandshookhim，nottoogently。“Who’sdead？“
　　hebellowed。“Somebodywillbenextdoortodeadrighthereinaminuteifyoudon’tspeakupinsteadofsnortin’likeapuffin’pig。
　　What’shappened？“
　　Isaiahswallowed，gaspedandwavedadesperatehand。“Letgoofme！“heprotested。“Zoeth——he——he’sdowninaheaponthekitchenfloor。He’shada——astrokeorsomethin’。“
　　“GodA’mighty！“criedShadrach，andboltedoutofthedoor。Maryfollowedhimandamomentlater，Mr。Chasefollowedher。Thestorewaslefttotakecareofitself。
　　TheyfoundpoorZoethnotexactlyinaheaponthefloorofthekitchen，butpartiallyproppedagainstoneofthekitchenchairs。
　　Hewasnotunconsciousbutcouldspeakonlywithdifficulty。TheycarriedhimtothebedroomandIsaiahwassentonanothergallopafterthedoctor。Whenthelattercamehegavehispatientathoroughexaminationandemergedfromthesickroomlookinggrave。
　　“Youmustgetanurse，“hesaid。“Thisislikelytolastalongwhile。Itisaslightparalyticstroke，Ishouldsay，thoughwhatbroughtitonIhaven’ttheleastidea。HasMr。Hamiltonhadanysuddenshockorfrightoranythingofthatsort？“
　　Hehadnot，sofarasanyoneknew。Isaiah，beingquestioned，toldofZoeth’scominginfordinnerandofhis——Isaiah’s——handinghimthemorning’smail。
　　“Ifetcheditmyselfdownfromthepost-office，“saidIsaiah。
　　“TherewasacoupleofHamiltonandCompanylettersandtheWellmouthRegisterandoneofthemcirculumadvertisementsaboutSo-
　　and-So’shorseliniment，and，and——yes，seemstometherewasaletterforZoethhimself。Hetook’emallandsotdowninthekitchentolook’emover。Iwentintothedinin’-room。NextthingIknewIheardhimsay，’OGod！’justlikethat。“
　　“Avastheavin’，Isaiah！“putinCaptainShadrach。“You’rewayoffyourcourse。Zoethneversaidthat。That’sthewayItalk，buthedon’t。“
　　“Hedoneitthistime，“persistedIsaiah。“Iturnedandlookedthroughthedoorwayathimandhewasstandin’inthemiddleofthekitchenfloor。Seemstomehehadapieceofwhitepaperinhishand——seem’sifhedid。Andthen，aforeIcouldsayaword，hekindofgroanedandsunkdownin——inapile，asyoumightsay，rightonthefloor。AndIcouldn’tgethimup，norgethimtospeaktome，nornothin’。YethemusthavecometoenoughtomoveafterIleftandtocrawlacrostandleanagainstthatchair。“
　　ThehorselinimentcircularandtheWellmouthRegisterwerethereonthekitchentablejustwhereMr。Hamiltonhadlaidthem。There，also，werethetwolettersaddressedtoHamiltonandCompany。OftheletterwhichIsaiahseemedtorememberasaddressedtoZoethpersonally，therewasnosign。
　　“Areyousuretherewassuchaletter，Isaiah？“askedMary。
　　Mr。Chasewasnotsure；thatistosay，hewasnotsuremorethanaminuteatatime。Theminutefollowinghewasinclinedtothinkhemighthavebeenmistaken，perhapsitwasyesterdayorthedaybeforeorevenlastweekthathisemployerreceivedsuchaletter。
　　CaptainShadrachlostpatience。
　　“Sure’twan’tlastThanksgivin’？“hedemanded。“Areyousureaboutanything？Areyousurehowoldyouare？“
　　“No，bygodfreys，Iain’t！“roaredIsaiahindesperation。“I’msoupsoteversinceIlookedintothatkitchenandseethepoorsouldownonthefloortherethat——thatallI’msureofisthatIain’tsureofnothin’“
　　“Well，Idon’tknow’sIblameyoumuch，Isaiah，“gruntedtheCaptain。“Anyway，itdoesn’tmakemuchdifferenceaboutthatletter，sofurasIsee，whethertherewasoneornot。Whatdidyouwanttoknowfor，Mary？“
　　Maryhesitated。“Why，“sheanswered，“I——perhapsitisfoolish，butthedoctorsaidsomethingaboutashockbeingresponsibleforthisdreadfulthingandIdidn’tknow——IthoughtperhapstheremighthavebeensomethinginthatletterwhichshockedoralarmedUncleZoeth。
　　Ofcourseitisn’tprobablethattherewas。“
　　Shadrachshookhishead。
　　“Iguessnot，“hesaid。“Ican’tthinkofanyletterhe’dgetofthatkind。There’snobodytowriteit。Heain’tgotanyrelationsnigherthanthirdcousin，Zoethain’t。Anyhow，wemustn’tstoptoguessriddlesnow。I’llhuntuptheletterbyandby，iftherewasoneandIhappentothinkofit。NowI’vegottohuntupanurse。“
　　Thenursewasfound，aMrs。DeborahAtkins，ofOstable，andshearrivedthatnight，bagandbaggage，andtookchargeofthepatient。
　　Deborahwasnotornamental，beingelderlyand，asCaptainShadrachsaid，builtfortonnagemorethanspeed；butshewassensibleandcapable。Also，herfeewasnotexcessive，althoughthatwasbynomeanstheprincipalreasonforherselection。
　　“Nevermindwhatitcosts，“saidMary。“Getthebestyoucan。It’sforUncleZoeth，remember。“
　　Shadrach’svoiceshookalittleasheanswered。
　　“Iain’tlikelytoforget，“hesaid。“ZoethandI’vecruisedtogetherforagoodmanyyearsandifoneofushastogounderI’drather’twasme。Ihaven’tgotmuchmoneybutwhatI’vegotishis，andafterthatsolongasIcangettrusted。Butthere，“withanattemptatoptimism，“don’tyoufret，Mary-’Gusta。Nobody’sgoin’
　　underyet。We’llhaveZoethupondeckdoin’thefishers’hornpipeinacoupleofweeks。“
　　Butitwassoonplaintoeveryone，theCaptainincluded，thatmanytimestwoweeksmustelapsebeforeMr。Hamiltonwouldbeabletoappearondeckagain，tosaynothingofdancinghornpipes。Fordayshelayinpartialcoma，rallyingoccasionallyandspeakingatrareintervalsbutevidentlyneverfullyawareofwherehewasandwhathadhappened。
　　“Hewillrecover，Ithink，“saidthedoctor，“butitwillbeaslowjob。“
　　MarydidnotagainrefertotheletterregardingwhichIsaiah’smemorywassobefogged。Infact，sheforgotitentirely。SoalsodidCaptainShad。ForboththeworryofZoeth’sillnessandthecareofthestoreweresufficienttodrivetriflesfromtheirminds。
　　AndforMarytherewasanothertrouble，onewhichshemustkeeptoherself。ThreeweekshadelapsedsinceCrawford’sletter，thattellingofhistwofatefulinterviewswithhisfather，andstillnowordhadcomefromhim。Marycouldnotunderstandhissilence。Invainshecalledherphilosophytoherrescue，strivingtothinkthatafterallitwasbestifsheneverheardfromhimagain，bestthataloveaffairwhichcouldneverendhappilywereendedatonce，bestthatheshouldcometoseethequestionashisfathersawit——bestforhim，thatis，forhisfuturewouldthenbeoneofeaseandhappiness。Allthisshethought——andthenfoundherselfwonderingwhyhehadnotwritten，imaginingallsortsofdirefulhappeningsandfeelingherselfresponsible。
　　CHAPTERXXIII
　　Oneevening，aboutaweekafterMr。Hamilton’ssuddenseizure，Marywasinherroomalone。ShehadagainrereadCrawford’slatestletterandwassittingtheretryingtoimaginethesceneashehaddescribedit。ShewastryingtopictureEdwinSmith，themanwho——
　　ashissonhadsooftentoldher——indulgedthatson’severywhim，waskindnessandparentallovepersonified，andyethadravedandstormedlikeamadmanbecausetheboywishedtomarryher，MaryLathrop。
　　Sherose，openedthedrawerofherbureau，andtookoutthephotographofMr。Smith，theonewhichshowedhimwithouthisbeard，theonetakensincehisillness。Crawfordhadwrittenthatthisphotograph，too，hadbeentakenonthesly。
　　“Dad’sprejudiceagainstphotosisaskeenasever，“hewrote。“HewouldslaughtermeonthespotifheknewIhadsnappedhim。“
　　Thefaceinthepicturewasnotthatofthesavage，unrelentingparentoftheoldplays，whousedtodisinherithissonsanddrivehisdaughtersoutintoblindingsnowstormsbecausetheydaredthwarthisimperialwill。EdwinSmithwasdistinctlyahandsomeman，gray-
　　haired，ofcourse，andstrong-featured，butwithakindratherthanasternexpression。AsMaryhadsaidwhenshefirstsawhislikeness，helookedasifhemighthavehadexperiences。Inthisphotographhelookedverygrave，almostsad，butpossiblythatwasbecauseofhisrecentsickness。
　　ShewaslookingatthepicturewhenIsaiah’svoicewasheardoutsidethedoor。
　　“Hi，Mary-’Gusta，“whisperedMr。Chase。“Ain’tturnedinyet，haveyou？CanIspeakwithyouaminute？“
　　“Certainly，Isaiah，“saidMary。“Comein！“
　　Isaiahentered。“’Twan’tnothin’special，“hesaid。“Iwasjustgoin’totellyouthatDebbyT。cal’latesZoethisalittlemiteeasiertonight。ShejustsaidsoandIthoughtyou’dliketoknow。“
　　By“DebbyT。“IsaiahmeantMrs。Atkins。Maryunderstood。
　　“Thankyou，Isaiah，“shesaid。“Iameversogladtohearit。
　　Thankyoufortellingme。“