reputation as a young man with the elders of the village; for he had
early seen how advantageous it was to have a good standing in the
church, and was very orthodox in his faith, and very regular in his
attendance at all the church services. Besides, he was a staunch
champion of the Reverend Mr. Parris in all his difficulties with the
parish, and in return was invariably spoken of by the minister as one of
the most promising young men in that neighborhood.

Jethro resided with his aunt, the widow Sands. She inherited from her
husband the whole of his property. His deed for the land narrated that
the boundary line ran "from an old dry stump, due south, to the
southwest corner of his hog-pen, then east by southerly to the top of
the hill near a little pond, then north by west to the highway side, and
thence along the highway to the old dry stump again aforesaid." There is
a tradition in the village that by an adroit removal of his hog-pen to
another location, and the uprooting and transplanting of the old dry
stump, at a time when nobody seemed to take a very active interest in
the adjoining land, owing to its title being disputed in successive
lawsuits, Jethro, who inherited at the death of his aunt, became the
possessor of a large tract of land that did not originally belong to
him. But then such stories are apt to crop up after the death of every
man who has acquired the reputation of being crafty and close in his
dealings.

We left Jethro, after his interview with Dulcibel, walking on in order
that he might avoid her further company. After going a short distance he
turned and saw that she was riding rapidly homeward. Then he began to
retrace his steps.

"It was bound to come," he muttered. "I have seen she was getting cold
and thought it was Leah's work, but it seems she was true to her promise
after all. Well, Leah is poor, and not of so good a family, but she is
worth a dozen of such as Dulcibel Burton."

Then after some minutes' silent striding, "I hate her though for it, all
the same. Everybody will know she has thrown me off. But nobody shall
get ahead of Jethro Sands in the long run. I'll make her sorry for it
before she dies, the spoiled brat of a Quaker infidel!"

CHAPTER III.

The Circle in the Minister's House.

It would, perhaps be unfair to hold the Reverend Master Parris
responsible for the wild doings that went on in the parsonage house
during the winter evenings of 1691-2, in the face of