Whoever you are in there,she commanded sternly,open this door and come out this minute.Do you hear?I'm orderin'you to come out.There was an instant of silence;then a voice from within made answer,a man's voice,and its tone indicated embarrassment.
Madam,it said,I--I am--I will be out in another minute.If you will just be patient--Grace interrupted with a smothered shriek.Keziah brandished the broom.
Patient!she repeated sharply.Well,I like that!What do you mean by--Open that door!Grace,run out and get the--the constable.This command was delivered entirely for effect.The office of constable in Trumet is,generally speaking,a purely honorary one.
Its occupant had just departed for a week's cruise as mate of a mackerel schooner.However,the effect was instantaneous.From behind the door came sounds of hurry and commotion.
Don't get the police on my account,please,said the voice.If you will be patient until I get this--I'm just as anxious to come out as you can be to have me.Of all the ridiculous--Come out then!snapped Keziah.Come out!If you're so everlastin'anxious,then come out.Patience!Of all the cheek!Why don't you come out NOW?
The answer was brisk and to the point.Evidently,the unknown's stock of the virtue which he demanded of others was diminishing.
Well,to be frank,since you insist,snapped the voice,I'm not fully dressed.This was a staggerer.For once Keziah did not have a reply ready.
She looked at Grace and the latter at her.Then,without words,they retreated to the sitting room.
Shall--shall I go for help?whispered the girl.Hadn't we better leave him here and--He doesn't sound like a tramp,does he.What DO you suppose--I hope you won't be alarmed,continued the voice,broken by panting pauses,as if the speaker was struggling into a garment.
I know this must seem strange.You see,I came on the coach as far as Bayport and then we lost a wheel in a rut.There was a--oh,dear!where IS that--this is supremely idiotic!--I was saying there happened to be a man coming this way with a buggy and he offered to help me along.He was on his way to Wellmouth.So I left my trunk to come later and took my valise.It rained on the way and I was wet through.I stopped at Captain Daniels's house and the girl said he had gone with his daughter to the next town,but that they were to stop here at the parsonage on their way.So--there!that's right,at last!--so I came,hoping to find them.The door was open and I came in.The captain and his daughter were not here,but,as I was pretty wet,I thought I would seize the opportunity to change my clothes.I had some dry--er--things in my valise and I--well,then you came,you see,and--I assure you I--well,it was the most embarrassing--I'm coming now.The door opened.The two in the sitting room huddled close together,Keziah holding the broom like a battle-ax,ready for whatsoever might develop.From the dimness of the tightly shuttered study stepped the owner of the voice,a stranger,a young man,his hair rumpled,his tie disarranged,and the buttons of his waistcoat filling the wrong buttonholes.Despite this evidence of a hasty toilet in semidarkness,he was not unprepossessing.
Incidentally,he was blushing furiously.
I'm--I'm sure I beg your pardon,ladies,he stammered.I scarcely know what to say to you.I--
His eyes becoming accustomed to the light in the sitting room,he was now able to see his captors more clearly.He looked at Keziah,then at Miss Van Horne,and another wave of blushes passed from his collar up into the roots of his hair.Grace blushed,too,though,as she perfectly well knew,there was no reason why she should.
Mrs.Coffin did not blush.This young fellow,although evidently not a tramp or a burglar,had caused her some moments of distinct uneasiness,and she resented the fact.
Well,she observed rather tartly,I'm sorry you don't know what to say,but perhaps you might begin by telling us who you are and what you mean by makin'a--er--dressin'room of a house that don't belong to you,just because you happened to find the door unlocked.After that you might explain why you didn't speak up when we first come,instead of keepin'so mighty quiet.That looks kind of suspicious to me,I must say.The stranger's answer was prompt enough now.It was evident he resented the suspicion.
I didn't speak,he said,because you took me by surprise and I wasn't,as I explained--er--presentable.Besides,I was afraid of frightening you.I assure you I hurried as fast as I could,quietly,and when you began to talk--his expression changed and there was a twitch at the corner of his mouth--I tried to hurry still faster,hoping you might not hear me and I could make my appearance--or my escape--sooner.As for entering the house--well,I considered it,in a way,my house;at least,I knew I should live in it for a time,and--Live in it?repeated Keziah.LIVE in it?Why!mercy on us!you don't mean to say you're--She stopped to look at Grace.That young lady was looking at her with an expression which,as it expressed so very much,is beyond ordinary powers of deion.
My name is Ellery,said the stranger.I am the minister--the new minister of the Regular society.Then even Keziah blushed.
