Various plans of action as to how he should contrive to support himself and pursue his studies without leaving the neighborhood suggested themselves to Ishmael.  Among the rest, he thought of opening a country school.  True, he was very young, too young for so responsible a post; but in every other respect, except that of age, he was admirably well qualified for the duty.  While he was still meditating upon this subject, he unexpectedly reached the end of his walk and the gate of the cottage.

Reuben and Hannah were standing at the gate.  Reuben’s left arm was around Hannah, and his right hand held an open letter, over which both their heads were bent.  Hannah was helping poor Reuben to spell out its contents.

Ishmael smiled as he greeted them, smiled with his eyes only, as if his sweet bright spirit had looked out in love upon them; and thus it was that Ishmael always met his friends.

“Glad you’ve come home so soon, Ishmael—­glad as ever I can be!  Here’s another rum go, as ever was!” said Gray, looking up from his letter.

“What is it, Uncle Reuben?”

“Why, it’s a sort of notice from the judge.  ’Pears like he’s gin up his v’y’ge to forrin parts; and ’stead of gwine out yonder for two or three years, he and Miss Merlin be coming down here to spend the summer—­leastways, what’s left of it,” said Gray.

Ishmael’s face flushed crimson, and then went deadly white, as he reeled and leaned against the fence for support.  Much as he had struggled to conquer his wild passion for the beautiful and high-born heiress, often as he had characterized it as mere boyish folly, or moon-struck madness, closely as he had applied himself to study in the hope of curing his mania, he was overwhelmed by the sudden announcement of her expected return:  overwhelmed by a shock of equally blended joy and pain—­joy at the prospect of soon meeting her, pain at the thought of the impassable gulf that yawned them—­“so near and yet so far!”

His extreme agitation was not observed by either Reuben or Hannah, whose heads were again bent over the puzzling letter.  While he was still in that half-stunned, half-excited and wholly-confused state of feeling, Reuben went slowly on with his explanations: 

“’Pears like the judge have got another gov’ment ’pointment, or some sich thing, as will keep him here in his natyve land; so he and Miss Claudia, they be a-coming down here to stop till the meeting of Congress in Washington.  So he orders me to tell Katie to get the house ready to receive them by the first of next week; and law! this is Saturday!  Leastways, that is all me and Hannah can make out’n this here letter, Ishmael; but you take it and read it yourself,” said Gray, putting the missive into Ishmael’s hands.

With a great effort to recover his self-possession, Ishmael took the letter and read it aloud.

It proved to be just what Reuben and Hannah had made of it, but Ishmael’s clear reading rendered the orders much plainer.