surprise; so Goodman Pepperell and his wife merely bowed gravely, and
the Captain, looking fairly pop-eyed in his effort to keep properly
solemn, nodded in return, and they passed into the meeting-house
together.

The Captain sat down with the Goodman on the men's side of the room,
while Daniel went to his place among the boys, leaving Nancy and his
mother seated with the women on the opposite side. It is hard to
believe that a boy could sit through a sermon two hours long with his
friends all about him and such a secret buttoned up inside his jacket
without an explosion, but Daniel did it. He did n't dare do otherwise,
for Gran'ther Wattles ranged up and down the little aisle with his
tithing-rod in hand on the lookout for evil-doers. Once, indeed,
during the sermon there was a low rumbling snore, and Daniel was
horrified to see Gran'ther Wattles lean over and gently tickle the
Captain's nose with the squirrel-tail. The Captain woke with a start
and sneezed so violently that the boy next Daniel all but tittered
outright. Gran'ther Wattles immediately gave him a smart rap on the
head with the knob end of his stick, so it is no wonder that after
that Daniel sat with his eyes nearly crossed in his effort to keep
them fixed on the minister, though his thoughts were far away ranging
Massachusetts Bay with the Lucy Ann of Marblehead.

At last, however, the sermon ended, the final psalm was sung, and
after the benediction the minister passed out of the church and the
congregation dispersed to eat a bite of brown-bread in the church-yard
before assembling again for another two-hour sermon.

The sun was now shining brightly, and, once outside the door, after
the first sermon, the Captain wiped his brow as if exhausted, and a