Humph? Eh? Why, it's a
mitten, ain't it?"
It was a mitten, a much worn one, and on the inside of the wrist-hand
were worked three letters.
"K. I. P." read Captain Obed. "What's 'K. I. P.' stand for?"
Imogene, who had joined the group, clapped her hands.
"I know," she cried. "Kenelm Issachar Parker."
Thankful nodded. "That's it," she agreed. "And--and--why, now I come to
think of it, I remember hearin' Hannah pitchin' into Kenelm that first
mornin' after our night at her house, for losin' his umbrella and a
mitten."
"Right you are!" Captain Obed slapped his knee. "And Kenelm was out
somewheres that night afore he and I came over here. He found his
umbrella and he brought it home whole a week or so later. But it wa'n't
whole all that time, because Seth Ellis told me Kenelm brought an
umbrella in for him to fix. All turned inside out it was. Eh? Yes, sir!
We're gettin' nigher port all the time. Kenelm came by this house that
night, because 'twas him that saw your light in the window. I'll bet you
he smashed his new umbrella on the way down from the club and crawled
in here out of the wet to fix it. He couldn't fix it, so he left it
here and came back after it the next day. And 'twas then he dropped this
mitten."
Emily offered a suggestion.
"You said you saw someone hiding behind the henhouse that next morning,
Captain," she said.
"So I did. And I thought 'twas one of Solon Taylor's boys. I'll bet
'twas Kenelm; he'd sneaked over to get the umbrella.
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