man spoke. The old clock
ticked off the minutes.

Primmie came home first. "Miss Martha said to tell you she would be over
in a few minutes," she announced. "Cap'n Jeth, he's a-comin' around all
right, so Miss Martha and Zach and them think. But, my savin' soul, how
he does hang onto Lulie! Keeps a-sayin' she's all he's got that's true
and honest and--and all that sort of talk. Give me the crawlin' creeps
to hear him. And after that seance thing, too! When that everlastin'
foghorn bust loose the first time, I cal'lated--"

Galusha interrupted. "Primmie," he suggested, gravely, "would you--will
you be--ah--kind enough to go into the kitchen?"

"Hey? Go into the kitchen? Course I will. What do you want in the
kitchen, Mr. Bangs?"

He regarded her solemnly. "I should like to have you there, if you don't
mind," he observed. "This gentleman and I are--we would prefer to be
alone. I'm very sorry, but you must excuse me this time and--ah--go."

"Go? You want me to go out and--and not stay here?"

"Yes. Yes--ah--quite so, Primmie. Ah--good-night."

Primmie departed, slamming the door and muttering indignation. Galusha
sighed once more. Then he relapsed into silence.

Twenty minutes later Martha herself came in. They heard her enter the
dining room, then Primmie's voice in resentful explanation. When Miss
Phipps did come into the sitting room, she was smiling slightly.

"Primmie's heart is broken," she observed. "Oh, don't worry, it isn't
a very serious break. She hasn't had so much to talk about for goodness
knows when and yet nobody wants to listen to her. I told her to tell
Luce about it, but that didn't seem to soothe her much. Luce is Lucy
Larcom, Mr. Cabot," she explained. "He is our cat."

Cousin Gussie, already a much bewildered man, looked even more
bewildered, but Martha did not observe his condition. She turned to his
companion.

"Mr. Bangs," she said, "it's all right. Or goin' to be all right, I'm
sure. Cap'n Jeth is takin' the whole thing a good deal better than I was
afraid there at first. He is dreadfully shaken, poor man, and he seems
to feel as if the last plank had foundered from beneath him, as father
used to say; but, if it doesn't have any worse effect than that, I shall
declare the whole business a mercy and a miracle. If it has the effect
of curin' him of the Marietta Hoag kind of spiritualism--and it really
looks like a cure--then it will be worth all the scare it gave us. At
first all he wo