protest, declaring that she was not tired, but Thankful insisted.

"If you ain't tired now you will be when the excitement's over," she
said. "My conscience is plaguin' me enough about fetchin' you on this
cruise, as it is. Just take it as easy as you can, Emily. Lie down and
rest, and please me."

So Emily obeyed orders and Mrs. Barnes, after drawing the curtains and
asking over and over again if her cousin was sure she was comfortable,
went out. It was late in the afternoon when she returned.

"I've been talkin' until my face aches," she declared. "And my mind is
about made up to do--to do what may turn out to be the craziest thing
I ever DID do. I'll tell you the whole thing after supper, Emily. Let's
let my tongue have a vacation till then."

And, after supper, which, by the way, was no better than the dinner, she
fulfilled her promise. They retired to the bedroom and Thankful, having
carefully closed the windows and door and hung a towel over the keyhole,
told of her half-formed plan.

"Emily," she began, "I presume likely you'll feel that you'd ought to go
back home tomorrow? Yes, I knew you'd feel that way. Well, I ain't goin'
with you. I've made up my mind to stay here for a few days longer. Now
I'll tell you why.

"You see, Emily," she went on, "my comin' down here to East Wellmouth
wa'n't altogether for the fun of lookin' at the heirloom Uncle Abner
left me. The first thing I wanted to do was see it, but when I had
seen it, and if it turned out to be what I hoped it might be, there was