Captain Obed burst into a laugh. “’Twa’n’t the mackerel’s collar-bone, Miss Howes,” he explained, “though I presume likely that was broke, too, if Alpheus stepped on it.  He was up in the loft of his fish shanty icin’ and barrelin’ fish to send to Boston, and he fell downstairs.  Wonder it didn’t kill him.”

Miss Parker nodded.  “That’s what I say,” she declared.  “And Sarah—­that’s his wife—­tells me the doctors are real worried because the fraction ain’t ignited yet.”

Thankful coughed and then observed that she should think they would be.

“If you don’t mind,” she added, “I think it’s high time all hands went to bed.  It must be way along into the small hours and if we set here any longer it’ll be time for breakfast.  You folks must be tired, settin’ up this way and I’m sure Emily and I am.  If we turn in now we may have a chance to look over that precious property of mine afore we go back to South Middleboro.  I don’t know, though, as we haven’t seen enough of it already.  It don’t look very promisin’ to me.”

The captain rose from the table and, walking to the window, pushed aside the shade.

“It’ll look better tomorrow—­today, I should say,” he observed.  “The storm’s about over, and the wind’s hauled to the west’ard.  We’ll have a spell of fair weather now, I guess.  That property of yours, Mrs. Barnes, ‘ll look a lot more promisin’ in the sunshine.  There’s no better view along shore than from the front windows of that house.  ’Tain’t half bad, that old house ain’t.  All it needs is fixin’ up.”

Good nights—­good mornings, for it was after two o’clock—­were said and the guests withdrew to their bedroom.  Once inside, with the door shut, Thankful and Emily looked at each other and both burst out laughing.

“Oh, dear me!” gasped the former, wiping her eyes.  “Maybe it’s mean to laugh at folks that’s been as kind to us as these Parkers have been, but I never had such a job keepin’ a straight face in my life.  When she said she was ‘debilitated’ at havin’ to give us ham and toast that was funny enough, but what come afterwards was funnier.  The ‘fraction’ ain’t ‘ignited’ yet and the doctors are worried.  I should think they’d be more worried if it had.”

Emily shook her head.  “I am glad I didn’t have to answer that remark, Auntie,” she said.  “I never could have done it without disgracing myself.  She is a genuine Mrs. Malaprop, isn’t she?”

This was a trifle too deep for Mrs. Barnes, who replied that she didn’t know, she having never met the Mrs. What’s-her-name to whom her cousin referred.  “She’s a genuine curiosity, this Parker woman, if that’s what you mean, Emily,” she said.  “And so’s her brother, though a different kind of one.  We must get Cap’n Bangs to tell us more about ’em in the mornin’.  He thinks that—­that heirloom house of mine will look better in the daylight.  Well, I hope he’s right; it looked hopeless enough tonight, what I could see of it.”