"Betsy, do you know nothing about it? Can you guess nothing?" Gilbert persisted.
She stole a quick glance at Martha, which he detected, and a chill ran through his blood. His face grew pale.
"Nothin' that fits your case," said Miss Lavender, presently. She saw the renewal of Gilbert's suspicion, and was casting about in her mind how to allay it without indicating something else which she wished to conceal. "This I'll say," she exclaimed at last, with desperate frankness, "that I _do_ know somethin' that may be o' use, when things comes to the wust, as I hope they won't, but it's neither here nor there so far as _you two_ are concerned; so don't ask me, for I won't tell, and if it's to be done, _I'm_ the only one to do it! If I've got my little secrets, I'm keepin' 'em in your interest, remember that!"
There was the glimmer of a tear in each of Miss Lavender's eyes before she knew it.
"Betsy, my dear friend!" cried Gilbert, "we know you and trust you. Only say this, for my sake--that you think my mother's secret is nothing which will part Martha and me!"
"Martha and me. I _do_ think so--am I a dragon, or a--what's that Job talks about?--a behemoth? It's no use; we must all wait and see what'll turn up. But, Martha, I've rather a bright thought, for a wonder; what if we could bring Alf. Barton into the plot, and git him to help us for the sake o' _his_ bein' helped?"
Martha looked surprised, but Gilbert flushed up to the roots of his hair, and set his lips firmly together.
"I dunno as it'll do," continued Miss Betsy, with perfect indifference to these signs, "but then it _might_. First and foremost, we must try to find out what he wants, for it isn't you, Martha; so you, Gilbert, might as well be a little more of a cowcumber than you are at this present moment. But if it's nothin' ag'inst the law, and not likely, for he's too cute, we might even use a vessel--well, not exackly o' wrath, but somethin' like it. There's more 'n one concern at work in all this, it strikes _me_, and it's wuth while to know 'em all."
Gilbert was ashamed of his sensitiveness in regard to Barton, especially after Martha's frank and merry confession; so he declared himself entirely willing to abide by her judgment.