Here Georgina’s needle gave her another jab. She laid down her hemming to listen. This was bringing the story close home, for Belle Triplett was Tippy’s niece, or rather her husband’s niece. While that did not make Belle one of the Huntingdon family, Georgina had always looked upon her as such. She visited at the house oftener than anyone else.
Nobody in the room came right out and said what it was that Dan had done, but by putting the scraps together Georgina discovered presently that the trouble was about some stolen money. Lots of people wouldn’t believe that he was guilty at first, but so many things pointed his way that finally they had to. The case was about to be brought to trial when one night Dan suddenly disappeared as if the sea had swallowed him, and nothing had ever been heard from him since. Judge Huntingdon said it was a pity, for even if he was guilty he thought he could have got him off, there being nothing but circumstantial evidence.
Well, it nearly killed his father and mother and Emmett Potter, too.
It came out then that Emmett was engaged to Belle. For nearly a year he grieved about Dan’s disappearance. Seems he took it to heart so that he couldn’t bear to do any of the things they’d always done together or go to the old places. Belle had her wedding dress made and thought if she could once get him down to Truro to live, he’d brace up and get over it.
They had settled on the day, when one wild, stormy night word came that a vessel was pounding itself to pieces off Peaked Hill Bar, and the life-saving crew was starting to the rescue. Emmett lit out to see it, and when something happened to the breeches buoy so they couldn’t use it, he was the first to answer when the call came for volunteers to man a boat to put out to them. He would have had a medal if he’d lived to wear it, for he saved five lives that night. But he lost his own the last time he climbed up on the vessel. Nobody knew whether it was a rope gave way or whether his fingers were so nearly frozen he couldn’t hold on, but he dropped into that raging sea, and his body was washed up on the beach next day.
Georgina listened, horrified.
“And Belle with her wedding dress all ready,” said Cousin Mehitable with a husky sigh.
“What became of her?” asked the minister’s wife.
“Oh, she’s still living here in town, but it blighted her whole life in a way, although she was just in her teens when it happened. It helped her to bear up, knowing he’d died such a hero. Some of the town people put up a tombstone to his memory, with a beautiful inscription on it that the summer people go to see, almost as much as the landing place of the Pilgrims. She’ll be true to his memory always, and it’s something beautiful to see her devotion to Emmett’s father. She calls him ‘Father’ Potter, and is always doing things for him. He’s that old net-mender who lives alone out on the edge of town near the cranberry bogs.”
Cousin Mehitable took up the tale: