presumelikelyshe’llhavetobe。I’llgofetchher。“
　　“Waitaminute，Mrs。Hobbs，“saidBaxter。“What’sthematter？Hasthechildbeenbehavingbadly？“
　　Mrs。Hobbs’leanfingersclinched。“Behavin’badly！“sherepeated。
　　“Ishouldsayshehad！Ineverwassomortifiedinmylife。Andatherownfather’sfuneral，too！“
　　“Whathasshedone？“
　　“Done？She——“Mrs。Hobbshesitated，glancedatCaptainShadrach，andlefthersentenceunfinished。“Nevermindwhatshedone，“shewenton。“Ican’ttellyounow；IdeclareI’dbeashamedto。I’llgogether。“
　　Shemarchedfromtheroom。Zoethrubbedhisforehead。
　　“Sheseemssortofputout，don’tshe，“heobserved，mildly。
　　Baxternodded。“SusanHobbshasthereputationofgetting’putout’
　　prettyoften，“hesaid。“Shehasatemperanditisn’talongone。“
　　“Hasshebeentakin’careofMarcellus’sgirl？“askedZoeth。
　　“Yes。Asmuchcareasthechildhashad。“
　　CaptainShadsnorted。Itwasevidentthatthehousekeeper’smannerhadnotimpressedhimfavorably。
　　“Humph！“hesaid。“I’dhatetohavehertakecareofme，judgin’bythewayshelookedjustnow。Say，“hopefully，“doyousupposeSHE
　　wastheonefixedthatchair？“
　　TheyheardMrs。Hobbsonthefloorabove，shouting：
　　“Mary-’Gusta！Mary-’Gusta！Whereareyou？Answermethisminute！“
　　“Don’tseemtobeinthatroomshewastalkin’about，“grumbledShadrach。“Tut！Tut！Whatavoicethatis！Gotarasptoitlikearustysaw。“
　　Mrs。Hobbswashearddescendingthestairs。Herface，whenshereenteredthesitting-room，wasredandshelookedmore“putout“
　　thanever。
　　“Sheain’tthere，“sheanswered，angrily。“She’sgone。“
　　“Gone？“repeatedZoethandShadrachinchorus。
　　“Gone？“repeatedtheJudge。“Doyoumeanshe’srunaway？“
　　“No，no！Sheain’trunaway——notforgood；sheknowsbetterthanthat。She’ssneakedoffandhid，Isuppose。ButIknowwheresheis。I’llhaveherhereinaminute。“
　　Shewashurryingoutagain，buttheCaptaindetainedher。
　　“Wait！“hecommanded。“What’sthatyousay？Youknowwheresheis？“
　　“Yes，orIcanguess。Ninechancestooneshe’soutinthatbarn。“
　　“Inthebarn？What’sshedoin“there——playin’horse？“
　　“No，no。She’shidin’inthecarriageroom。Seemsasifthechildwaspossessedtogetoutinthatdustyplaceandperchherselfintheoldcarryall。Shecallsitherplayhouseandyou’dthink’twasHeaventhewayshelovestostaythere。Buttodayofalldays！Andwithherbestclotheson！AndafterIexpresslytoldher——“
　　“Yes，yes；allright。Humph！Well，Zoeth，whatdoyousay？ShallwegotoHeavenandhuntforher？Maybe’twillbetheonlychancesomeofus’llget，youcan’ttell，“withawinkatBaxter。
　　“Hush，Shadrach！Howyoudotalk！“protestedtheshockedMr。
　　Hamilton。
　　“Let’sgoouttothebarnandfindtheyoung-oneourselves，“saidtheCaptain。“Seemsthesimplestthingtodo，don’tit？“
　　Mrs。Hobbsinterrupted。
　　“Youdon’tneedtogoatall，“shedeclared。“I’llgetherandbringherhere。Perhapssheain’tthere，anyway。“
　　“Well，ifsheain’ttherewecancomebackagain。Comeon，boys。“
　　Heledthewaytothedoor。Thehousekeeperwouldhaveaccompaniedthem，buthepreventedherdoingso。
　　“Don’tyoutroubleyourself，ma’am，“hesaid。“We’llfindher。I’molder’nIusedtobe，butIain’tsoblindbutwhatIcanlocateabarnwithoutaspyglass。“
　　“Itwon’tbeanytrouble，“protestedthelady。
　　“Iknow，butitmightbe。We’llgoalone。“
　　Whenthethreewereinthebackyard，andthediscomfitedhousekeeperwaswatchingthemfromthedoor，headded：
　　“Idon’tknowwhythatwomanrubsmyfurthewrongway，butshedoes。IsaiahChasesayshedon’tlikemosquitoes’causetheygetonhisnerves。IneverthoughtIworemynervesonthebackofmyneck，whichiswhereIsaiahgetsskeeter-bitmostly，butanyhow，wherevertheybe，thatHobbswomanbothers’em。There’sthebarn，ain’tit？Don’tlookveryheavenly，butitmayseemthatwayafteraspellint’otherplace。Nowwhere’sthecarriageroom？“
　　Thedoorofthecarriageroomwasopen，andtheyentered。Abuggyandthemuslindrapedsurreywerethere，butnolivingcreaturewasinsight。Theylistened，butheardnothing。
　　“Mary！Mary-’Gusta！“calledBaxter。“Areyouhere？“
　　Noanswer。Andthen，frombeneaththecoverofthesurrey，appearedafattortoise-shellcat，whojumpedlightlytothefloor，yawned，stretched，andblinkedsuspiciouslyatthevisitors。
　　“Humph！“gruntedCaptainShadrach。“There’sonestowaway，anyhow。
　　Maybethere’sanother；I’vehad’emcomeaboardinpairs。“
　　TheJudgewalkedovertothesurrey，andraisedthecover。Frombehinditcameafrightenedlittlesqueal。
　　“Oh，thereyouare！“saidBaxter。“Mary-’Gusta，isthatyou？“
　　Therewasarustle，asob，andthenatimidvoicesaid，chokingly，“Yes，sir。“
　　“Comeout，“saidtheJudge，kindly。“Comeout；herearesomefriendswhowanttomeetyou。“
　　Anothersobandthen：“I——Idon’twantto。“
　　“Oh，yes，youdo。Wewon’thurtyou。Weonlywanttoseeyouandtalkwithyou，that’sall。Come，that’sagoodgirl。“
　　“I——Iain’tagoodgirl。“
　　“Nevermind。Wewanttoseeyou，anyway。Iguessyou’renotverybad。“
　　“Yes，I——Iam。Is——isMrs。Hobbsthere？“
　　“No。Comenow，please。“
　　Amoment’swait，then，frombeneaththecover，appearedasmallfootandleg，thelattercoveredbyablackstocking。Thefootwiggledabout，feelingforthestep。Itfoundit，thecoverwasthrownasideandMary-’Gustaappeared，apatheticlittlefigure，withrumpledhairandtear-stainedcheeks。RoseandRosette，thetwodolls，werehuggedinherarms。
　　JudgeBaxterpattedheronthehead。ZoethandShadrachlookedsolemnandillatease。Mary-’Gustalookedatthefloorandsniffeddolefully。
　　“Mary-’Gusta，“saidtheJudge，“thesetwogentlemenareoldfriendsofyourfather’sand，“withapardonablestretchingofthetruth，“theyhavecomeallthewayfromSouthHarnisstomeetyou。Nowyoumustshakehandswiththem。Theylikelittlegirls。“
　　Mary-’Gustaobedientlymovedforward，shiftedRosettetothearmclaspingRose，andextendedahand。Slowlysheraisedhereyes，sawMr。Hamilton’smild，gentlefaceandthen，besideit，thefaceofCaptainShadrachGould。Withacryshedroppedbothdolls，ranbacktothesurreyandfumbledfranticallywiththedustcover。
　　Baxter，surprisedandpuzzled，ranafterherandpreventedherclimbingintothecarriage。
　　“Why，Mary-’Gusta，“hedemanded，“whatisthematter？“
　　Thechildstruggledandthen，burstingintoastormofsobs，hidherfaceinthedustcover。
　　“I——Ididn’tmeanto，“shesobbed，wildly。“Ididn’tmeanto。
　　HonestIdidn’t。I——Ididn’tknow。Ididn’tmeanto。Pleasedon’tlethim。PLEASE！“
　　TheJudgeheldhercloseanddidhisbesttocalmher。
　　“There，there，child，“hesaid。“Noone’sgoingtohurtyou。“
　　“Yes——yes，theyare。Mrs。Hobbssaidsheshouldn’twonderifheknockedmy——myheadrightoff。“
　　“Knockedyourheadoff！Who？“
　　“Him。“