"Very sorry, miss," began the negro, with a deprecatory smile, in
a slow, mild voice.

Thomas burst into a boy's yelling laugh: "Well, if that ain't the best
joke on Gabriel! He'll never hear the last of it when I tell it to the
second officer!"

"Thomas!" cried Lydia, terribly, "you shall _not_!" She stamped
her foot. "Do you hear me?"

The boy checked his laugh abruptly. "Yes, ma'am," he said
submissively.

"Well, then!" returned Lydia. She stalked proudly back to the cabin
gangway, and descending shut herself into her state-room.




V.


A few hours later Deacon Latham came into the house with a milk-pan
full of pease. He set this down on one end of the kitchen table, with
his straw hat beside it, and then took a chair at the other end and
fell into the attitude of the day before, when he sat in the parlor
with Lydia and Miss Maria waiting for the stage; his mouth was
puckered to a whistle, and his fingers were held above the board in
act to drub it. Miss Maria turned the pease out on the table, and took
the pan into her lap. She shelled at the pease in silence, till the