did she do it?"

"Well, doctor, that's kind of a puzzle to me. All I can think is that
she come to realize what it might mean to him, the minister, if he
married a Come-Outer. I think she done it for his sake, to save him,
though what made her realize it all at once I don't know. There's the
part we ain't heard."

"I guess you're right. Something happened between the time she left
Ellery and when you and I reached the tavern. But never mind that, that
doesn't count now. Let's look at things as they are this minute. She's
here and folks know it. As they do know it they'll begin to talk, and
the more they talk the farther from the truth they'll get--most of 'em.
Nat, poor chap, is dead, so her promise to him is canceled. Ellery will
get well if he isn't troubled, and her being with him will help more
than anything else. I can understand now why he broke down."

"Yes, he ain't been himself since it happened."

"Of course, and the last few weeks of worry and night work have helped
to wreck his nerves. Well, as I see it, there's only one thing to do. If
she leaves him he'll go to pieces again, so she mustn't leave. And she
can't stay without an explanation. I say let's give the explanation;
let's come right out with the announcement that they're engaged."

"Whew! that'll stir things up."

"You bet! But let it stir. I like that parson of yours; he's a trump.
And I always liked her, although, generally speaking, I don't love
Come-Outers. And I like her more than ever now, when she risked what she
thought was smallpox to care for him. As I said, she saved his life, and
she ought to have him. She SHALL have him."

"But she's a Come-Outer and--there's the church."

"Well, I know it. But he never was so popular as he is now. And she
isn't by any means a steady-going Come-Outer. Why, Zeke Bassett and
the rest have been finding fault with her and calling her a backslider.
That'll help. Then you trust me to whoop up her heroism and the fact
that without her he would have died. We can do it, Keziah. Come on! I've
tackled a good many jobs, but matchmaking isn't one of 'em. Here goes to
tackle that."

Keziah was delighted; here was work after her own heart. But she still
hesitated.

"Doctor," she said, "you've forgot one thing, that's Gracie herself.
Would she marry him now, knowing it may mean the loss of his ministry
and all, any more than she would at first? I don't believe it."

"That's your part, Keziah. You've got to