Had he run away from her? The thought one moment stung her pride; the next she was deep in despair because Helmford's abrupt departure did not seem to conform to his unfailing courtesy. She knew, of course, that Tom's ugliness was the spring from which all this trouble flowed. The actual cause of Helmford's departure must be his brief struggle with the lout. Pearl had felt some primal passion stir within her when Helmford had so easily overcome the lout. It seemed almost a miracle that one man with only his bare hands could beat another who held the advantage of a stout club. And a studious, seemingly gentle man, like Joe Helmford! Pearl knew nothing about the athletic training our American youth gain at college; nor did she dream that the lanky, apparently "loose hung" man from the fish hatchery was the acclaimed champion boxer of his class. But she knew she had been glad, _glad_ when Helmford struck the blow that knocked Tom Petty to the ground. She saw the swollen and inflamed spot upon the side of the lout's neck which advertised the blow, and she was glad again. Nevertheless she could not bring herself to explain to Cap'n Jonah what had happened, or discuss in any way the disappearance of Joe Helmford. She was relieved that there was so much to do in preparing for the coming of the guests from the "south." One cannot entirely give way to sorrow where one's time is so fully occupied with work. Pearl Holden sought her bed that night so tired that she would have slept soundly in any case. The four families represented by the four wise men from out of the south and their wives, lived near Harwich. They came by train to Paulmouth, from whence Willy Peebles and another driver of an auto car brought them over to the Petty place on the Shell Road. It was a crisp, delightfully cold day, and the extra fires indoors made most of the house comfortable. Still, the visiting women sat around the sitting-room stove with knit shawls over their shoulders and gossiped with Sarah Petty while the men made the usual pilgrimage to the barn to look over Orrin's stock and to swap stories and tobacco. In spite of the fact that Solon Petty was one of the legislators of the Commonwealth, and Enoch, his cousin, carried a large section of the politics of Harwich in his vest pocket, as the saying went, they were longshore born and longshore bred, and would never be anything under their skins save a combination of farmer and fisherman. 'Poley and Perseus Heath were storekeepers. All their long lives (they were now upward of sixty) they had looked, talked, and dressed just alike. So much alike were they that if you addressed, as you supposed, Uncle 'Poley, more than likely you would be answered by Uncle Perse. It was gossip that the twins' wives had certain marks of identification by which they could tell with precision "which was which"; but nobody else had such omniscience regarding the Heath twins.