Well，nevermind。Yes，I’llwrite，ofcourse。Ihope……No，I
　　can’tsaythat，notnow。I’dbettergoatonce，Ithink，beforeI……Good-by。“
　　Heseizedherhand，pressedittightly，tookhishatfromthetableandhisbagfromthefloorandswungoutofthedoor。Inthedoorwayshestoodlookingafterhim。Atthegateheturned，wavedhishand，andhurriedon。Hedidnotlookbackagain。
　　Whenathalf-pastsixCaptainShadrach，havingleftAnnabelandtheboyinchargeofthestore，camehomeforsupper，Isaiahhadsomenewstotellhim。Itwassurprisingnews。
　　“Youdon’tsay！“exclaimedtheCaptain。“Well，well，Iwanttoknow！AllthewayfromoutWest，eh？Sho！Whereishenow？“
　　Isaiahshookhishead。“That’sthefunnypartofit，he’sgone，“hesaid。
　　“Gone？Gonewhere？“
　　“Idon’tknow。AllIknowishecomeandsaidhewantedtoseeMary-’Gusta——Iwentupandtoldherandshecomedowntoseehim。I
　　stayedupalongofZoethuntilDebbyT。camebackfromhershoppin’
　　cruise。ThenIcomedownstairsagainandhishatandbagwasgone。
　　Therewan’tnobodyhere。“
　　“WherewasMary-’Gusta？Whereisshenow？“
　　“Upinherroom，Ical’late。Iheardhermovin’roundthereaspellago。“
　　Shadrachwentupthestairs，alongthehall，andknockedatMary’sdoor。
　　“Whoisit？“askedafaintvoicewithin。
　　“It’syourUncleShad，Mary-’Gusta。CanIcomein？“
　　“Yes。“
　　Heentered。Therewasnolampandtheroomwasdark。
　　“Whereareyou？“hedemanded。
　　“Here，bythewindow，UncleShad。“
　　Shewassittingintherockerbythewindow。Hecouldnotseeherface，butashebentandkissedhercheekhefounditwet。
　　“Mercyonus！You’vebeencryin’！“hedeclared。
　　“Oh——Oh，no，Ihaven’t！I——“
　　“Rubbish！Yes，youhave，too。Settin’aloneuphereinthedarkandcryin’！Mary-’GustaLathrop，comehere！“
　　Shehadrisenfromtherocking-chair，butheseizedherinhisarms，satdowninthechairhimself，andliftedhertohiskneejustasheusedtodowhenshewasthelittleMary-’Gusta。
　　“Nowthere，dearie，“hesaid。“You’lltellyourUncleShad。Whatisit？“
　　“Oh，nothing，UncleShad，dear。Iwas——I’mfeelingjustalittlesillythisafternoon，Iguess。Youmustn’taskme。“
　　“Allright，Iwon’task——I’lltell。ThatyoungfellerfromoutWest，thefellerwiththeuncommonname——Brown——Jones——Oh，no，Smith，thatwasit——hecamecruisin’aroundhereand——“
　　“UncleShad，howdidyouknow？“
　　“Alittlebirdtoldme。Along-leggedbirdwithoutmuchhairontop——abald-headedeagle，Ical’latehemustbe。Hopsroundourkitchendaytimesandroostsintheatticnights。“
　　“Isaiah！Ofcoursehewouldtell。“
　　“Ofcoursehewould——BEIN’Isaiah。Well，thisSmithcritter，hecameand——and——well，Iguessyou’llhavetotellmetherest。“
　　“Thereisn’tmuchtotell。Hecameand——andthenhewentawayagain。“
　　“Wentaway——where？“
　　“OuttoCarsonCity，Isuppose。“
　　“Ain’thecomin’backanymore？“
　　“No。“
　　“Why？Don’tyouwanthimtocome，Mary-’Gusta？“
　　“Oh，UncleShad，pleasedon’t。Idon’tfeelasifIcouldanswer。
　　Don’taskme。“
　　“There，there，dearie；don’tyouanswernothin’。Yousetstillhereandbemybaby。Iain’thadachancetobabyyouforalongspellanditseemsgood。“
　　Silence。SuddenlytheCaptainfelttheheadwhichnestledagainsthisshoulderstir。
　　“UncleShadrach，“saidMary-’Gusta，“whatdoyoudowhenyouwanttoforget？“
　　“Eh？Wanttoforget？Oh，Idon’tknow！Cal’lateIturntoandsailinandworkalittleharder，maybe。Why？“
　　“Oh，nothing……ButIammuchobligedforthesuggestion。NowI
　　amgoingtowork。Ishallbegintomorrowmorning。Iwishitwastomorrowrightnow。“
　　“Don’t。Jumpin’fire！Don’twishtimeaway；someofusain’tgottoomuchtospare。Butain’tyouBEENworkin’，formercysakes？I
　　shouldsayyouhad。“
　　Anotherintervalofsilence。ThenMarysaid：
　　“UncleShad，agoodwhileago，whenyouaskedmeabout——abouthim，I
　　promisedyouIwouldtellwhentherewasanythingtotell。Iamgoingtokeepmypromise。Hecametodayandaskedme——askedmetomarryhim——notnow，ofcourse，butbyandby。“
　　Shadrachwasnotgreatlysurprised。Neverthelessitwasamomentbeforehespoke。Maryfelthisarmstightenaboutherandsherealizedalittleofthestrugglehewasmaking。Yethistonewasbraveandcheerful。
　　“Yes，“hesaid。“Well，I——Ikindofcal’latedthatwouldcomesomedayorother。It’sallright，Mary’-Gusta。Zoethandmehavetalkeditoverandallwewantistoseeyouhappy。Ifyousaidyestohim，ZoethandI’llsay’Godblessyou’tobothofyou。“
　　Shereachedforhishandandliftedittoherlips。“Iknowyouwould，“shesaid。“Allyourlivesyouhavebeenthinkingofothersandnotofyourselves。ButIdidn’tsayyes，UncleShad。Iamnotgoingtobemarriednoworbyandby。Idon’twanttobe。IamthesilentpartnerofHamiltonandCompany。IamabusinesswomanandI
　　amgoingtowork——REALLYwork——fromnowon。No，youmustn’taskmeanymorequestions。We’lltrytoforgetitall。Kissme，UncleShad，dear。That’sit。Nowyougodowntosupper。Ishallstayhere；Iamnothungrytonight。“
　　CHAPTERXXVI
　　CaptainShaddidaskmorequestions，ofcourse。Heaskednomorethatevening——hejudgeditwisestnottodoso；butthenextday，seizinganopportunitywhenheandhisniecewerealone，heendeavoredtolearnalittlemoreconcerningherreasonsfordismissingCrawford。TheCaptainlikedyoungSmith，hehadbelievedMarylikedhimverymuch，and，althoughhecouldnothelpfeelingaguiltysenseofreliefbecausethedangerthatheandZoethmighthavetoshareheraffectionswithsomeoneelsewas，forthetimeatleast，outoftheway，hewaspuzzledandtroubledbytheabruptnessofthedismissal。Therewassomething，hefeltsure，whichhedidnotunderstand。
　　“Ofcourse，Mary-’Gusta，“hesaid，“Iain’taskin’anything——thatis，Idon’tmeantoputmyoarinaboutwhatyoutoldmelastnight，but——well，yousee，Zoethandmewasbeginnin’tofeelthat’twasprettynighasettledthingbetweenyouandthatyoungman。“
　　Marywassittingatthedesk——sheandherunclewereatthestoretogether——andshelookedupfromtheledgeroverwhichshehadbeenbendingandshookherheadreproachfully。Shelookedtiredandworn，soitseemedtoCaptainShadrach，asifshehadnotsleptwellthenightbefore，orperhapsforseveralnights。
　　“UncleShad，“shesaid，“whatdidItellyou？“
　　“Eh？Why，youtoldme——Youknowwhatyoutoldme，Mary-’Gusta。
　　Whatdoyouaskthatfor？“
　　“BecauseIthinkyouhaveforgottenthemostimportantpartofit。
　　Itoldyouweweregoingtoforgetitall。Andweare。Wearenotgoingtospeakofitagain。“
　　“But，Mary-’Gusta，why——“
　　“No，UncleShad。“
　　“Butdojusttellmethismuch；ifyoudon’tIshan’trestinpeace：
　　youdidn’tsendhimawayonaccountofZoethandme？Itwan’tjustbecauseyouthoughtweneededyou？“
　　“No，UncleShad。“
　　“Then——“