CAP'N ERI

By Joseph Crosby Lincoln

CONTENTS

 I. A LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE

 II. THE TRAIN COMES IN

 III. THE "COME-OUTERS'" MEETING

 IV. A PICTURE SENT AND A CABLE TESTED

 V. THE WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET

 VI. THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL RINGS

 VII. CAPTAIN ERI FINDS A NURSE

 VIII. HOUSEKEEPER AND BOOK AGENT

 IX. ELSIE PRESTON

 X. MATCHMAKING AND LIFE-SAVING

 XI. HEROES AND A MYSTERY

 XII. A LITTLE POLITICS

 XIII. CAPTAIN JERRY MAKES A MESS OF IT

 XIV. THE VOYAGE OF AN "ABLE SEAMAN"

 XV. IN JOHN BAXTER'S ROOM

 XVI. A BUSINESS CALL

 XVII. THROUGH FIRE AND WATER

 XVIII. THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY

 XIX. A "NO'THEASTER" BLOWS

 XX. ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND

 XXI. "DIME-SHOW BUS'NESS"

CAP'N ERI

CHAPTER I

A LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE

"Perez, " observed Captain Eri cheerfully, "I'm tryin' to average up withthe mistakes of Providence. "

The Captain was seated by the open door of the dining room, in therocker with the patched cane seat. He was apparently very busy doingsomething with a piece of fishline and a pair of long-legged rubberboots. Captain Perez, swinging back and forth in the parlor rocker withthe patch-work cushion, was puffing deliberately at a wooden pipe, thebowl of which was carved into the likeness of a very rakish damsel witha sailor's cap set upon the side of her once flaxen head. In responseto his companion's remark he lazily turned his sunburned face toward thecane-seated rocker and inquired:

"What on airth are you doin' with them boots?"

Captain Eri tied a knot with his fingers and teeth and then held theboots out at arm's length. 

"Why, Perez, " he said, "I'm averagin' up, same as I told you. Providencemade me a two-legged critter, and a two-legged critter needs two boots. I've always been able to find one of these boots right off whenever Iwanted it, but it's took me so plaguey long to find the other one thatwhatever wet there was dried up afore I got out of the house. Yesterdaywhen I wanted to go clammin' I found the left one on the mantelpiece, notrouble at all, but it was pretty nigh high water before I dug the otherone out of the washb'iler. That's why I'm splicin' 'em together thisway. I don't want to promise nothin' rash, but I'm in hopes that evenJerry can't lose 'em now. "

"Humph!" grunted Captain Perez. "I don't think much of that plan. 'Steadof losin' one you'll lose both of 'em. "

"Yes, but then I shan't care. If there ain't NO boots in sight; I'llgo barefoot or stay at home. It's the kind of responsibleness that goeswith havin' one boot that's wearin' me out. Where IS Jerry?"

"He went out to feed Lorenzo. I heard him callin' a minute ago. That catain't been home sence noon, and Jerry's worried. "

A stentorian shout of "Puss! puss! Come, kitty, kitty, kitty!" came fromsomewhere outside. Captain Eri smiled. 

"I'm 'fraid Lorenzo's gittin' dissipated in his old age, " he observed. Then, as a fat gray cat shot past the door, "There he is! Reg'larprodigal son. Comes home when the fatted ca'f's ready. "

A moment later Captain Jerry appeared, milk pitcher in hand. He enteredthe dining room and, putting the pitcher down on the table, pulledforward the armchair with the painted sunset on the back, produced hisown pipe, and proceeded to hunt through one pocket after the other witha troubled expression of countenance. 

"Where in tunket is my terbacker?" he asked, after finishing the roundof pockets and preparing to begin all over again. 

"I see it on the top of the clock a spell ago, " said Captain Perez. 

"Was that yours, Jerry?" exclaimed Captain Eri. "Well, that's too bad! Isee it there and thought 'twas mine. Here 'tis, or what's left of it. "

Captain Jerry took the remnant of a plug from his friend and said in anaggrieved tone:

"That's jest like you, Eri! Never have a place for nothin' and helpyourself to anything you happen to want, don't make no odds whose 'tis. Why don't you take care of your terbacker, same's I do of mine?"

"Now see here, Jerry! I ain't so sure that is yours. Let me see it. Humph! I thought so! This is 'Navy Plug' and you always smoke 'Sailor'sSweetheart. ' Talk about havin' a place for things!"

"That's MY terbacker, if you want to know, " observed Captain Perez. "I've got yours, Eri. Here 'tis. "

"Well, then, where IS mine?" said Captain Jerry somewhat snappishly. 

"Bet a dollar you've got it in your pocket, " said Captain Eri. 

"Bet ten dollars I ain't! I ain't quite a fool yit, Eri Hedge. I guessI know--well, I snum! I forgot that upper vest pocket!" and from thepocket mentioned Captain Jerry produced the missing tobacco. 

There was a general laugh, in which Captain Jerry was obliged to join, and the trio smoked in silence for a time, while the expanse of waterto the eastward darkened, and the outer beach became but a dusky streakseparating the ocean from the inner bay. At length Captain Perez roseand, knocking the ashes from his pipe, announced that he was going to"show a glim. "

"Yes, go ahead, Jerry!" said Captain Eri, "it's gittin' dark. "

"It's darker in the grave, " observed Captain Perez with lugubriousphilosophy. 

"Then for the land's sake let's have it light while we can! Here, Jerry!them matches is burnt ones. Try this, 'twon't be so damagin' to themorals. "

Captain Jerry took the proffered match and lit the two bracket lamps, fastened to the walls of the dining room. The room, seen by thelamplight, was shiplike, but as decidedly not shipshape. The chronometeron the mantel was obscured by a thick layer of dust. The three gorgeousoil paintings--from the brush of the local sign painter--respectivelyrepresenting the coasting packet Hannah M. , Eri Hedge, Master, and thefishing schooners, Georgie Baker, Jeremiah Burgess, Master, and theFlying Duck, Perez Ryder, Master, were shrouded in a very realistic fogof the same dust. Even the imposing gilt-lettered set of "Lives of GreatNaval Commanders, " purchased by Captain Perez some months before, andbeing slowly paid for on an apparently never-ending installment plan, was cloaked with it. The heap of newspapers, shoved under the couch toget them out of the way, peeped forth in a tell-tale manner. The windowswere not too clean and the floor needed sweeping. Incidentally thesupper table had not been cleared. Each one of the three noted thesethings and each sighed. Then Captain Eri said, as if to change thesubject, though no one had spoken:

"What started you talkin' about the grave, Perez? Was it them clamfritters of Jerry's?"

"No, " answered the ex-skipper of the Flying Duck, pulling at hisgrizzled scrap of throat whisker and looking rather shamefaced. "Yousee, M'lissy Busteed dropped in a few minutes this mornin' while youfellers was out and--"

Both Captain Eri and Captain Jerry set up a hilarious shout. 

"Haw! haw!" roared the former, slapping his knee. "I wouldn't be sofascinatin' as you be for no money, Perez. She'll have you yit; youcan't git away! But say, I don't wonder you got to thinkin' 'bout thegrave. Ten minutes of M'lissy gits me thinkin' of things way t'otherside of that!"

"Aw, belay there, Eri" protested Captain Perez testily. "'Twan't myfault. I didn't see her comin' or I'd have got out of sight. She wascruisin' 'round the way she always does with a cargo of gabble, and, sheput in here to unload. Talk! I never heard a woman talk the way she can!She'd be a good one to have on board in a calm. Git her talkin' abaftthe mains'l and we'd have a twenty-knot breeze in a shake. "

"What was it this time?" asked Captain Jerry. 

"Oh, a little of everything. She begun about the 'beautiful' sermon thatMr. Perley preached at the last 'Come-Outers'' meetin'. That was whatstarted me thinkin' about the grave, I guess. Then she pitched intoSeth Wingate's wife for havin' a new bunnit this season when the old onewan't ha'f wore out. She talked for ten minutes or so on that, and thenshe begun about Parker's bein' let go over at the cable station andabout the new feller that's been signed to take his place. She's all forParker. Says he was a 'perfectly lovely' man and that 'twas outrageousthe way he was treated, and all that sort of thing. "

"She ain't the only one that thinks so, " observed Captain Jerry. "There's a heap of folks in this town that think Parker was a mightyfine feller. "

"Yes, " said Captain Eri, "and it's worth while noticin' who they be. Perez' friend, M'lissy, thinks so, and 'Squealer' Wixon and his gangthink so, and 'Web' Saunders thinks so, and a lot more like them. Parkerwas TOO good a feller, that's what was the matter with him. His talkalways reminded me of washday at the poorhouse, lots of soft soap withplenty of lye in it. "

"Well, M'lissy says that the men over to the station--all exceptLangley, of course--are mad as all git-out because Parker was letgo, and she says somebody told somebody else, and somebody else toldsomebody else, and somebody else told HER--she says it come reelstraight--that the men are goin' to make it hot for the new feller whenhe comes. She says his name's Hazeltine, or somethin' like that, andthat he's goin' to get here to-morrer or next day. "

"Well, " said Captain Eri, "it's a mercy M'lissy found it out. If thatman should git here and she not know it aforehand 'twould kill her sureas fate, and think what a blow that would be to you, Perez. "

He took his old-fashioned watch from his pocket and glanced at the dial. 

"I mustn't be settin' round here much longer, " he added. "John Baxter'sgoin' to have that little patch of cranberry swamp of his pickedto-morrer, and he's expectin' some barrels down on to-night's train. John asked me to git Zoeth Cahoon to cart 'em down for him, but I ain'tgot nothin' special to do to-night, so I thought I'd hitch up and goand git 'em myself. You and Jerry can match cents to see who does thedishes. I did 'em last night, so it's my watch below. "

"Well, _I_ shan't do 'em, " declared Captain Perez. "Blessed if I'd dothe durn things to-night if the President of the United States asked meto. "

"Humph!" sputtered Captain Jerry. "I s'pose you fellers think I'll do'em all the time. If you do you're mistook, that's all. 'Twan't lastnight you done 'em, Eri; 'twas the night afore. I done 'em last night, and I'm ready to take my chances agin if we match, but I'm jiggered ifI let you shove the whole thing off onto me. I didn't ship for cook nomore 'n the rest of you. "

Neither of the others saw fit to answer this declaration of independenceand there was a pause in the conversation. Then Captain Jerry saidmoodily:

"It ain't no use. It don't work. "

"What don't work?" asked Captain Eri. 

"Why, this plan of ours. I thought when we fellers give up goin' tosea reg'lar and settled down here to keep house ourselves and liveeconomical and all that, that 'twas goin' to be fine. I thought Iwouldn't mind doin' my share of the work a bit, thought 'twould be kindof fun to swab decks and all that. Well, 'twas for a spell, but 'tain'tnow. I'm so sick of it that I don't know what to do. And I'm sick oflivin' in a pigpen, too. Look at them dead-lights! They're so dirty thatwhen I turn out in the mornin' and go to look through 'em, I can't tellwhether it's foul weather or fair. "

Captain Eri looked at the windows toward which his friend pointed andsigned assent. 

"There's no use talkin', " he observed, "we've got to have a stewardaboard this craft. "

"Yes, " said Captain Perez emphatically, "a steward or a woman. "

"A WOMAN!" exclaimed Captain Eri. Then he shook his head solemnly andadded, "There, Jerry! What did I tell you? M'lissy!"

But Captain Perez did not smile. 

"I ain't foolin', " he said; "I mean it. "

Captain Jerry thought of the spick-and-span days of his wife, dead thesetwenty years, and sighed again. "I s'pose we might have a housekeeper, "he said. 

"Housekeeper!" sneered Captain Eri. "Who'd you hire? Perez don't, seemin'ly, take to M'lissy, and there ain't nobody else in Orham thatyou could git, 'less 'twas old A'nt Zuby Higgins, and that would beactin' like the feller that jumped overboard when his boat sprung aleak. No, sir! If A'nt Zuby ships aboard here I heave up MY commission. "

"Who said anything about A'nt Zuby or housekeepers either?" inquiredCaptain Perez. "I said we'd got to have a woman, and we have. One of us'll have to git married, that's all. "

"MARRIED!" roared the two in chorus. 

"That's what I said, married, and take the others to board in thishouse. Look here now! When a shipwrecked crew's starvin' one of 'em hasto be sacrificed for the good of the rest, and that's what we've got todo. One of us has got to git married for the benefit of the other two. "

Captain Eri shouted hilariously. "Good boy, Perez!" he cried. "Goin' tobe the first offerin'?"

"Not unless it's my luck, Eri. We'll all three match for it, same as wedo 'bout washin' the dishes. "

"Where are you goin' to find a wife?" asked Captain Jerry. 

"Now that's jest what I'm goin' to show you. I see how things was goin', and I've been thinkin' this over for a consid'rable spell. Hold on aminute till I overhaul my kit. "

He went into the front bedroom, and through the open door they could seehim turning over the contents of the chest with P. R. In brass nailson the lid. He scattered about him fish-lines, hooks, lead for sinkers, oilcloth jackets, whales' teeth, and various other articles, and atlength came back bearing a much-crumpled sheet of printed paper. This hespread out upon the dining table, first pushing aside the dishes to makeroom, and, after adjusting his spectacles, said triumphantly:

"There! There she is! The Nup-ti-al Chime. A Journal of Matrimony. Isee a piece about it in the Herald the other day, and sent a dime fora sample copy. It's chock-full of advertisements from women that wantshusbands. "

Captain Eri put on his spectacles and hitched his chair up to the table. After giving the pages of the Nuptial Chime a hurried inspection, heremarked:

"There seems to be a strong runnin' to 'vi-va-ci-ous brunettes' and'blondes with tender and romantic dispositions. ' Which of them kinds areyou sufferin' for, Perez? Oh, say! here's a lady that's willin' toheave herself away on a young and handsome bachelor with a income of tenthousand a year. Seems to me you ought to answer that. "

"Oh, hush up, Eri! 'Tain't likely I'd want to write to any of them inthere. The thing for us to do would be to write out a advertisement ofour own; tell what sort of woman we want, and then set back and wait foranswers. Now, what do you say?"

Captain Eri looked at the advocate of matrimony for a moment withoutspeaking. Then he said: "Do you really mean it, Perez?"

"Sartin I do. "

"What do you think of it, Jerry?"

"Think it's a good idee, " said that ancient mariner decisively. "We'vegot to do somethin', and this looks like the only sensible thing. "

"Then Eri's GOT to do it!" asserted Captain Perez dogmatically. "Weagreed to stick together, and two to one's a vote. Come on now, Eri, we'll match. "

Captain Eri hesitated. 

"Come on, Eri!" ordered Captain Jerry. "Ain't goin' to mutiny, are you?"

"All right!" said Captain Eri, "I'll stick to the ship. Only, " he added, with a quizzical glance at his companions, "it's got to be settledthat the feller that's stuck can pick his wife, and don't have to marryunless he finds one that suits him. "

The others agreed to this stipulation, and Captain Perez, drawing a longbreath, took a coin from his pocket, flipped it in the air and coveredit, as it fell on the table, with a big hairy hand. Captain Eri didlikewise; so did Captain Jerry. Then Captain Eri lifted his hand andshowed the coin beneath; it was a head. Captain Jerry's was a tail. Under Captain Perez' hand lurked the hidden fate. The Captain's lipsclosed in a grim line. With a desperate glance at the others he jerkedhis hand away. 

The penny lay head uppermost. Captain Jerry was "stuck. "

Captain Eri rose, glanced at his watch, and, taking his hat from theshelf where the dishes should have been, opened the door. Before he wentout, however, he turned and said:

"Perez, you and Jerry can be fixin' up the advertisement while I'm gone. You can let me see it when I come back. I say, Jerry, " he added to the"sacrifice, " who sat gazing at the pennies on the table in a sort oftrance, "don't feel bad about it. Why, when you come to think of it, it's a providence it turned out that way. Me and Perez are bachelors, and we'd be jest green hands. But you're a able seaman, you know what itis to manage a wife. "

"Yes, I do, " groaned Captain Jerry lugubriously. "Durn it, that's jestit!"

Captain Eri was chuckling as, lantern in hand, he passed around thecorner of the little white house on the way to the barn. He chuckledall through the harnessing of Daniel, the venerable white horse. He wasstill chuckling as, perched on the seat of the "truck wagon, " he rattledand shook out of the yard and turned into the sandy road that led up tothe village. And an outsider, hearing these chuckles, and knowing whathad gone before, might have inferred that perhaps Captain Eri did notview the "matching" and the matrimonial project with quite the deadlyseriousness of the other two occupants of the house by the shore. 

CHAPTER II

THE TRAIN COMES IN

There is in Orham a self-appointed committee whose duty it is to see thetrain come in. The committeemen receive no salary for their services;the sole compensation is the pleasure derived from the sense of dutydone. Rain, snow, or shine, the committee is on hand at the station--thenatives, of course, call it the "deepo"--to consume borrowed tobaccoand to favor Providence with its advice concerning the running of theuniverse. Also it discusses local affairs with fluency and more or lesspoint. 

Mr. "Squealer" Wixon, a lifelong member of this committee, was the firstto sight Captain Eri as the latter strolled across the tracks into thecircle of light from the station lamps. The Captain had moored Daniel toa picket in the fence over by the freight-house. He had heard the clockin the belfry of the Methodist church strike eight as he drove by thatedifice, but he heard no whistle from the direction of the West Orhamwoods, so he knew that the down train would arrive at its usual time, that is, from fifteen to twenty minutes behind the schedule. 

"Hey!" shouted Mr. Wixon with enthusiasm. "Here's Cap'n Eri! Well, Cap, how's she headin'?"

"'Bout no'theast by no'th, " was the calm reply. "Runnin' fair, but withlookout for wind ahead. "

"Hain't got a spare chaw nowheres about you, have you, Cap'n?" anxiouslyinquired "Bluey" Batcheldor. Mr. Batcheldor is called "Bluey" for thesame reason that Mr. Wixon is called "Squealer, " and that reason hasbeen forgotten for years. 

Captain Eri obligingly produced a black plug of smoking tobacco, and Mr. Batcheldor bit off two-thirds and returned the balance. After adjustingthe morsel so that it might interfere in the least degree with his vocalmachinery, he drawled:

"I cal'late you ain't heard the news, Eri. Web Saunders has got hisoriginal-package license. It come on the noon mail. "

The Captain turned sharply toward the speaker. "Is that a fact?" heasked. "Who told you?"

"See it myself. So did Squealer and a whole lot more. Web was showin' itround. "

"We was wonderin', " said Jabez Smalley, a member of the committee whosestanding was somewhat impaired, inasmuch as he went fishing occasionallyand was, therefore, obliged to miss some of the meetings, "what kind ofa fit John Baxter would have now. He's been pretty nigh distracted eversence Web started his billiard room, callin' it a 'ha'nt of sin' and awhole lot more names. There ain't been a 'Come-Outers' meetin' 'senceI don't know when that he ain't pitched into that saloon. Now, when hehears that Web's goin' to sell rum, he'll bust a biler sure. "

The committee received this prophecy with an hilarious shout of approvaland each member began to talk. Captain Eri took advantage of thissimultaneous expression of opinion to walk away. He looked in at thewindow of the ticket-office, exchanged greetings with Sam Hardy, thestationmaster, and then leaned against the corner of the buildingfurthest removed from Mr. Wixon and his friends, lit his pipe and puffedthoughtfully with a troubled expression on his face. 

From the clump of blackness that indicated the beginning of the WestOrham woods came a long-drawn dismal "toot"; then two shorter ones. Thecommittee sprang to its feet and looked interested. Sam Hardy came outof the ticket office. The stage-driver, a sharp-looking boy of aboutfourteen, with a disagreeable air of cheap smartness sticking out allover him, left his seat in the shadow of Mr. Batcheldor's manly form, tossed a cigarette stump away and loafed over to the vicinity of the"depot wagon, " which was backed up against the platform. Captain Eriknocked the ashes from his pipe and put that service-stained veteran inhis pocket. The train was really "coming in" at last. 

If this had been an August evening instead of a September one, bothtrain and platform would have been crowded. But the butterfly summermaiden had flitted and, as is his wont, the summer man had flitted afterher, so the passengers who alighted from the two coaches that, withthe freight car, made up the Orham Branch train, were few in number andhomely in flavor. There was a very stout lady with a canvas extensioncase and an umbrella in one hand and a bulging shawl-strap and apasteboard box in the other, who panted and wheezed like the locomotiveitself and who asked the brakeman, "What on airth DO they have such highsteps for?" There was a slim, not to say gawky, individual with a chinbeard and rubber boots, whom the committee hailed as "Andy" and welcomedto its bosom. There were two young men, drummers, evidently, who noddedto Hardy, and seemed very much at home. Also, there was another youngman, smooth-shaven and square-shouldered, who deposited a suit-case onthe platform and looked about him with the air of being very far fromhome, indeed. 

The drummers and the stout lady got into the stage. The young man withthe suit-case picked up the latter and walked toward the same vehicle. He accosted the sharp boy, who had lighted another cigarette. 

"Can you direct me to the cable station?" he asked. 

"Sure thing!" said the youth, and there was no Cape Cod twist to hisaccent. "Git aboard. "

"I didn't intend to ride, " said the stranger. 

"What was you goin' to do? Walk?"

"Yes, if it's not far. "

The boy grinned, and the members of the committee, who had been staringwith all their might, grinned also. The young man's mention of the cablestation seemed to have caused considerable excitement. 

"Oh, it ain't too FAR!" said the stage-driver. Then he added: "Say, you're the new electrician, ain't you?"

The young man hesitated for a moment. Then he said, "Yes, " andsuggested, "I asked the way. "

"Two blocks to the right; that's the main road, keep on that for fourblocks, then turn to the left, and if you keep on straight ahead you'llget to the station. "

"Blocks?" The stranger smiled. "I think you must be from New York. "

"Do you?" inquired the youthful prodigy, climbing to the wagon seat. "Don't forget to keep straight ahead after you turn off the main road. Git dap! So long, fellers!" He leaned over the wheel, as the stageturned, and bestowed a wink upon the delighted "Squealer, " who washolding one freckled paw over his mouth; then the "depot wagon" creakedaway. 

The square-shouldered young man looked after the equipage with an oddexpression of countenance. Then he shrugged his shoulders, picked up thesuitcase, and walked off the platform into the darkness. 

Mr. Wixon removed the hand from his mouth and displayed a mammothgrin, that grew into a shriek of laughter in which every member of thecommittee joined. 

"Haw! haw!" bellowed "Bluey, " "so that's the feller that done Parker outof his job! Well, he may be mighty smart, but if that Joe Bartlett ain'tsmarter then I'm a skate, that's all! Smartest boy ever I see! 'If youkeep on straight ahead you'll git to the station!' Gosh! he'll have towear rubbers!"

"Maybe he's web-footed, " suggested Smalley, and they laughed again. 

A little later Captain Eri, with a dozen new, clean-smelling cranberrybarrels in the wagon behind him, drove slowly down the "depot road. " Itwas a clear night, but there was no moon, and Orham was almost at itsdarkest, which is very dark, indeed. The "depot road"--please bear inmind that there are no streets in Orham--was full of ruts, and althoughDaniel knew his way and did his best to follow it, the cranberry barrelsrattled and shook in lively fashion. There are few homes near thestation, and the dwellers in them conscientiously refrain from showinglights except in the ends of the buildings furthest from the front. Strangers are inclined to wonder at this, but when they become betteracquainted with the town and its people, they come to know that frontgates and parlors are, by the majority of the inhabitants, restricted intheir use to occasions such as a funeral, or, possibly, a wedding. Forthe average Orham family to sit in the parlor on a week evening would bean act bordering pretty closely on sacrilege. 

It is from the hill by the Methodist church that the visitor to Orhamgets his best view of the village. It is all about him, and for the mostpart below him. At night the lights in the houses show only here andthere through the trees, but those on the beaches and at sea shineout plainly. The brilliant yellow gleam a mile away is from the Orhamlighthouse on the bluff. The smaller white dot marks the light onBaker's Beach. The tiny red speck in the distance, that goes and comesagain, is the flash-light at Setuckit Point, and the twinkle on thehorizon to the south is the beacon of the lightship on Sand Hill Shoal. 

It is on his arrival at this point, too, that the stranger first noticesthe sound of the surf. Being a newcomer, he notices this at once; afterhe has been in the village a few weeks, he ceases to notice it at all. It is like the ticking of a clock, so incessant and regular, that onehas to listen intently for a moment or two before his accustomed earwill single it out and make it definite. One low, steady, continuousroar, a little deeper in tone when the wind is easterly, the voice ofthe old dog Ocean gnawing with foaming mouth at the bone of the Cape andgrowling as he gnaws. 

It may be that the young man with the square shoulders and the suit-casehad paused at the turn of the road by the church to listen to thissong of the sea; at any rate he was there, and when Captain Eri steeredDaniel and the cranberry barrels around the corner and into the "mainroad, " he stepped out and hailed. 

"I beg your pardon, " he said; "I'm afraid I'm mixed in my directions. The stage-driver told me the way to the cable station, but I'veforgotten whether he said to turn to the right when I reached here, orto the left. "

Captain Eri took his lantern from the floor of the wagon and held it up. He had seen the stranger when the latter left the train, but he had notheard the dialogue with Josiah Bartlett. 

"How was you cal'latin' to go to the station?" he asked. 

"Why, I intended to walk. "

"Did you tell them fellers at the depot that you wanted to walk?"

"Certainly. "

"Well, I swan! And they give you the direction?"

"Yes, " a little impatiently; "why shouldn't they? So many blocks till Igot to the main street, or road, and so many more, till I got somewhereelse, and then straight on. "

"Blocks, hey? That's Joe Bartlett. That boy ought to be mastheaded, andI've told Perez so more'n once. Well, Mister, I guess maybe you'd betternot try to walk to the cable station to-night. You see, there's onething they forgot to tell you. The station's on the outer beach, andthere's a ha'f mile of pretty wet water between here and there. "

The young man whistled. "You don't mean it!" he exclaimed. 

"I sartin do, unless there's been an almighty drought since I left thehouse. I tell you what! If you'll jump in here with me, and don't mindwaitin' till I leave these barrels at the house of the man that owns'em, I'll drive you down to the shore and maybe find somebody to row youover. That is, " with a chuckle, "if you ain't dead set on walkin'. "

The stranger laughed heartily. "I'm not so stubborn as all that, " hesaid. "It's mighty good of you, all the same. "

"Don't say a word, " said the Captain. "Give us your satchel. Now yourflipper! There you are! Git dap, Dan'l!"

Daniel accepted the Captain's command in a tolerant spirit. He paddledalong at a jog-trot for perhaps a hundred yards, and then, evidentlyfeeling that he had done all that could be expected, settled back into awalk. The Captain turned towards his companion on the seat:

"I don't know as I mentioned it, " he observed, "but my name is Hedge. "

"Glad to meet you, Mr. Hedge, " said the stranger. "My name isHazeltine. "

"I kind of jedged it might be when you said you wanted to git to thecable station. We heard you was expected. "

"Did you? From Mr. Langley, I presume. "

"No-o, not d'rectly. Of course, we knew Parker had been let go, and thatsomebody would have to take his place. I guess likely it was one of theoperators that told it fust that you was the man, but anyhow it got asfur as M'lissy Busteed, and after that 'twas plain sailin'. You comefrom New York, don't you?"

"Yes. "

"Well, you know how 'tis when a thing gits into the papers. Orham ain'tbig enough to have a paper of its own, so the Almighty give us M'lissy, I jedge, as a sort of substitute. She can spread a little news over morecountry than anybody I know. If she spreads butter the same way, shecould make money keepin' boarders. Is this your fust visit to the Cape?"

"Yes. I hardly know why I'm here now. I have been with the Cable Companyat their New York experimental station for some years, and the other daythe General Manager called me into his office and told me I was expectedto take the position of electrician here. I thought it might add to myexperience, so I accepted. "

"Humph! Did he say anything about the general liveliness of thingsaround the station?"

Mr. Hazeltine laughed. "Why, " he answered, "now that you speak of it, I remember that he began by asking me if I had any marked objection topremature burial. "

The Captain chuckled. "The outer beach in winter ain't exactly acamp-meeting for sociableness, " he said. "And the idea of that Bartlettboy tellin' you how to walk there!"

"Is he a specimen of your Cape Cod youngsters?"

"Not exactly. He's a new shipment from New York. Grand-nephew of amessmate of mine, Cap'n Perez Ryder. Perez, he's a bachelor, but hissister's daughter married a feller named Bartlett. Maybe you knew him;he used to run a tugboat in the Sound. "

Mr. Hazeltine, much amused, denied the acquaintance. 

"Well, I s'pose you wouldn't, nat'rally, " continued the Captain. "Anyhow, Perez's niece's husband died, and the boy sort of run loose, as yer might say. Went to school when he had to, and raised Ned whenhe didn't, near's I can find out. 'Lizabeth, that's his ma, died lastspring, and she made Perez promise--he being the only relation theyoungster had--to fetch the boy down here and sort of bring him up. Perez knows as much about bringing up a boy as a hen does about the TenCommandments, and 'Lizabeth made him promise not to lick the youngsterand a whole lot more foolishness. School don't commence here tillOctober, so we got him a job with Lem Mullett at the liv'ry stable. He'sboardin' with Lem till school opens. He ain't a reel bad boy, but heknows too much 'bout some things and not ha'f enough 'bout others. You've seen fellers like that, maybe?"

Hazeltine nodded. "There are a good many of that kind in New York, I'mafraid, " he said. 

Captain Eri smiled. "I shouldn't wonder, " he observed. "The boys downhere think Josiah's the whole crew, and the girls ain't fur behind. There's been more deviltry in this village sence he landed than thereever was afore. He needs somethin', and needs it bad, but I ain'tdecided jest what it is yit. Are you a married man?"

"No. "

"Same here. Never had the disease. Perez, he's had symptoms every oncein a while, but nothin' lastin'. Jerry's the only one of us three that'sbeen through the mill. His wife died twenty year ago. I don't know asI told you, but Jerry and Perez and me are keepin' house down by theshore. That is, we call it keepin' house, but--"

Here the Captain broke off and seemed to meditate. 

Ralph Hazeltine forbore to interrupt, and occupied himself byscrutinizing the buildings that they were passing. They were nearing thecenter of the town now, and the houses were closer together than theyhad been on the "depot road, " but never so close as to be in the leastcrowded. Each house had its ample front yard, and the new arrivalcould smell the box hedges and see, now and then, the whiteness of thekalsomined stones that bordered a driveway. It was too dark for the bigseashells at the front steps to be visible, but they were there, all thesame; every third house of respectability in Orham has them. There wasan occasional shop, too, with signs like "Cape Cod Variety Store, " or"The Boston Dry Goods Emporium, " over their doors. On the platform ofone a small crowd was gathered, and from the interior came shouts oflaughter and the sound of a tin-panny piano. 

"That's the billiard saloon, " volunteered Captain Eri, suddenly wakingfrom his trance. "Play pool, Mr. Hazeltine?"

"Sometimes. "

"What d'ye play it with?"

"Why, with a cue, generally speaking. "

"That so! Most of the fellers in there play it with their mouths. Miss ashot and then spend the rest of the evenin' tellin' how it happened. "

"I don't think I should care to play it that way, " said Ralph, laughing. 

"Well, it has its good p'ints. Kind of all-round exercise; develops thelungs and strengthens the muscles, as the patent-medicine almanac says. Parker played it considerable. "

"I judge that your opinion of my predecessor isn't a high one. "

"Who? Oh, Parker! He was all right in his way. Good many folks in thistown swore by him. I understand the fellers over at the station thoughthe was about the ticket. "

"Mr. Langley included?"

"Oh, Mr. Langley, bein' manager, had his own ideas, I s'pose! Langleydon't play pool much; not at Web Saunders' place, anyhow. We turn inhere. "

They rolled up a long driveway, very dark and overgrown with trees, anddrew up at the back door of a good-sized two-story house. There was alight in the kitchen window. 

"Whoa, Dan'l!" commanded the Captain. Then he began to shout, "Shipahoy!" at the top of his lungs. 

The kitchen door opened and a man came out, carrying a lamp, its lightshining full upon his face. It was an old face, a stern face, with whiteeyebrows and a thin-lipped mouth. Just such a face as looked on withapproval when the executioner held up the head of Charles I. , atWhitehall. There was, however, a tremble about the chin that told ofinfirm health. 

"Hello, John!" said Captain Eri heartily. "John, let me make youacquainted with Mr. Hazeltine, the new man at the cable station. Mr. Hazeltine, this is my friend, Cap'n John Baxter. "

The two shook hands, and then Captain Eri said:

"John, I brought down them barrels for you. Hawkins got 'em here, sameas he always does, by the skin of his teeth. Stand by now, 'cause I'vegot to deliver Mr. Hazeltine at the station, and it's gittin' late. "

John Baxter said nothing, beyond thanking his friend for the good turn, but he "stood by, " as directed, and the barrels were quickly unloaded. As they were about to drive out of the yard, Captain Eri turned in hisseat and said:

"John, guess I'll be up some time to-morrow. I want to talk with youabout that billiard-room business. "

The lamp in Baxter's hand shook. 

"God A'mighty's got his eye on that place, Eri Hedge, " he shouted, "andon them that's runnin' it!"

"That's all right, " said the Captain. "Then the job's in good hands, andwe ain't got to worry. Good-night. "

But, in spite of this assurance, Hazeltine noticed that his driver wassilent and preoccupied until they reached the end of the road by theshore, when he brought the willing Daniel to a stand still and announcedthat it was time to "change cars. "

It is a fifteen-minute row from the mainland to the outer beach, andCaptain Eri made it on schedule time. Hazeltine protested that he wasused to a boat, and could go alone and return the dory in the morning, but the Captain wouldn't hear of it. The dory slid up on the sand andthe passenger climbed out. The sound of the surf on the ocean side ofthe beach was no longer a steady roar, it was broken into splashingplunges and hisses with, running through it, a series of blows likethose of a muffled hammer. The wind was wet and smelt salty. 

"There's the station, " said the Captain, pointing to a row of lightedwindows a quarter of a mile away. "It IS straight ahead this time, andthe walkin's better'n it has been for the last few minutes. Good-night!"

The electrician put his hand in his pocket, hesitated, and then withdrewit, empty. 

"I'm very much obliged to you for all this, " he said. "I'm glad to havemade your acquaintance, and I hope we shall see each other often. "

"Same here!" said the Captain heartily. "We're likely to git togetheronce in a while, seein' as we're next-door neighbors, right across theroad, as you might say. That's my berth over yonder, where you see themlights. It's jest 'round the corner from the road we drove down last. Good-night! Good luck to you!"

And he settled himself for the row home. 

CHAPTER III

THE "COME-OUTERS'" MEETING

The house where the three Captains lived was as near salt water as itcould be and remain out of reach of the highest tides. When Captain Eri, after beaching and anchoring his dory and stabling Daniel for the night, entered the dining room he found his two messmates deep in consultation, and with evidences of strenuous mental struggle written upon theirfaces. Captain Perez's right hand was smeared with ink and there wereseveral spatters of the same fluid on Captain Jerry's perspiring nose. Crumpled sheets of note paper were on the table and floor, and Lorenzo, who was purring restfully upon the discarded jackets of the twomariners, alone seemed to be enjoying himself. 

"Well, you fellers look as if you'd had a rough v'yage, " commentedCaptain Eri, slipping out of his own jacket and pulling his chair upbeside those of his friends. "What's the trouble?"

"Gosh, Eri, I'm glad to see you!" exclaimed Captain Perez, drawing thehand, just referred to, across his forehead and thereby puttingthat portion of his countenance into mourning. "How do you spellconscientious?"

"I don't, unless it's owner's orders, " was the answer. "What do you wantto spell it for?"

"We've writ much as four hundred advertisements, I do believe!" saidCaptain Jerry, "and there ain't one of them fit to feed to a pig. Perezhere, he's got such hifalutin' notions, that nothin' less than a circusbill 'll do him. _I_ don't see why somethin' plain and sensible like'Woman wanted to do dishes and clean house for three men, ' wouldn't beall right; but no, it's got to have more fancy trimmin's than a Sundaybunnit. Foolishness, I call it. "

"You'd have a whole lot of women answerin' that advertisement, nowwouldn't you?" snorted Captain Perez hotly. "'To do dishes for threemen!' That's a healthy bait to catch a wife with, ain't it? I can see'em comin'. I cal'late you'd stay single till Jedgment, and then youwouldn't git one. No, sir! The thing to do is to be sort of soft-soapyand high-toned. Let 'em think they're goin' to git a bargain whenthey git you. Make believe it's goin' to be a privilege to git sech ahusband. "

"Well, 'tis, " declared the sacrifice indignantly. "They might git adum-sight worse one. "

"I cal'late that's so, Jerry, " said Captain Eri. "Still, Perez ain'taltogether wrong. Guess you'd better keep the dishwashin' out of it. I know dishwashin' would never git ME; I've got so I hate the sight ofsoap and hot water as bad as if I was a Portugee. Pass me that pen. "

Captain Perez gladly relinquished the writing materials, and CaptainEri, after two or three trials, by which he added to the paperdecorations of the floor, produced the following:

"Wife Wanted--By an ex-seafaring man of steady habbits. Must be willingto Work and Keep House shipshape and aboveboard. No sea-lawyers needapply. Address--Skipper, care the Nuptial Chime, Boston, Mass. "

The line relating to sea-lawyers was insisted upon by Captain Jerry. "That'll shut out the tonguey kind, " he explained. The advertisement, with this addition, being duly approved, the required fifty cents wasinclosed, as was a letter to the editor of the matrimonial journalrequesting all answers to be forwarded to Captain Jeremiah Burgess, Orham, Mass. Then the envelope was directed and the stamp affixed. 

"There, " said Captain Eri, "that's done. All you've got to do now, Jerry, is to pick out your wife and let us know what you want for aweddin' present. You're a lucky man. "

"Aw, let's talk about somethin' else, " said the lucky one rathergloomily. "What's the news up at the depot, Eri?"

They received the tidings of the coming of Hazeltine with the interestdue to such an event. Captain Eri gave them a detailed account of hismeeting with the new electrician, omitting, however, in considerationfor the feelings of Captain Perez, to mention the fact that it wasthe Bartlett boy who started that gentleman upon his walk to the cablestation. 

"Well, what did you think of him?" asked Captain Perez, when the recitalwas finished. 

"Seemed to me like a pretty good feller, " answered Captain Erideliberately. "He didn't git mad at the joke the gang played on him, forone thing. He ain't so smooth-tongued as Parker used to be and he didn'ttreat Baxter and me as if Cape Codders was a kind of animals, the waysome of the summer folks do. He had the sense not to offer to pay me fortakin' him over to the station, and I liked that. Take it altogether, he seemed like a pretty decent chap--for a New Yorker, " he added, as anafter thought. 

"But say, " he said a moment later, "I've got some more news and it ain'tgood news, either. Web Saunders has got his liquor license. "

"I want to know!" exclaimed Captain Perez. 

"You don't tell me!" said Captain Jerry. 

Then they both said, "What will John Baxter do now?" And Captain Erishook his head dubiously. 

The cod bit well next morning and Captain Eri did not get in from theWindward Ledge until afternoon. By the way, it may be well to explainthat Captain Jerry's remarks concerning "settlin' down" and "restin', "which we chronicled in the first chapter must not be accepted tooliterally. While it is true that each of the trio had given up longvoyages, it is equally true that none had given up work entirely. Somepeople might not consider it restful to rise at four every weekdaymorning and sail in a catboat twelve miles out to sea and haul a wetcod line for hours, not to mention the sail home and the cleaning andbarreling of the catch. Captain Eri did that. Captain Perez was whathe called "stevedore"--that is, general caretaker during the owner'sabsence, at Mr. Delancy Barry's summer estate on the "cliff road. " Asfor Captain Jerry, he was janitor at the schoolhouse. 

The catch was heavy the next morning, as has been said, and by the timethe last fish was split and iced and the last barrel sent to the railwaystation it was almost supper time. Captain Eri had intended callingon Baxter early in the day, but now he determined to wait until aftersupper. 

The Captain had bad luck in the "matching" that followed the meal, andit was nearly eight o'clock before he finished washing dishes. Thisdistasteful task being completed, he set out for the Baxter homestead. 

The Captain's views on the liquor question were broader than those ofmany Orham citizens. He was an abstainer, generally speaking, but hisscruples were not as pronounced as those of Miss Abigail Mullett, whose proudest boast was that she had refused brandy when the doctorprescribed it as the stimulant needed to save her life. Over and overagain has Miss Abigail told it in prayer-meeting; how she "riz up" inher bed, "expectin' every breath to be the last" and said, "Dr. Palmer, if it's got to be liquor or death, then death referred to!"--meaning, it is fair to presume, that death was preferred rather than the brandy. With much more concerning her miraculous recovery through the aid of a"terbacker and onion poultice. "

On general principles the Captain objected to the granting of a licenseto a fellow like "Web" Saunders, but it was the effect that this actionof the State authorities might have upon his friend John Baxter thattroubled him most. 

For forty-five years John Baxter was called by Cape Cod people "as smarta skipper as ever trod a plank. " He saved money, built an attractivehome for his wife and daughter, and would, in the ordinary course ofevents, have retired to enjoy a comfortable old age. But his wife diedshortly after the daughter's marriage to a Boston man, and on a voyageto Manila, Baxter himself suffered from a sunstroke and a subsequentfever, that left him a physical wreck and for a time threatened tounsettle his reason. He recovered a portion of his health and thethreatened insanity disappeared, except for a religious fanaticismthat caused him to accept the Bible literally and to interpret itaccordingly. When his daughter and her husband were drowned in theterrible City of Belfast disaster, it is an Orham tradition that JohnBaxter, dressed in gunny-bags and sitting on an ash-heap, was found byhis friends mourning in what he believed to be the Biblical "sackclothand ashes. " His little baby granddaughter had been looked out for bysome kind friends in Boston. Only Captain Eri knew that John Baxter'syearly trip to Boston was made for the purpose of visiting the girl whowas his sole reminder of the things that might have been, but even theCaptain did not know that the money that paid her board and, as she grewolder, for her gowns and schooling, came from the bigoted, stern oldhermit, living alone in the old house at Orham. 

In Orham, and in other sections of the Cape as well, there is a sectcalled by the ungodly, "The Come-Outers. " They were originally secedersfrom the Methodist churches who disapproved of modern innovations. They"come out" once a week to meet at the houses of the members, and theirsare lively meetings. John Baxter was a "Come-Outer, " and ever sincethe enterprising Mr. Saunders opened his billiard room, the old man'stirades of righteous wrath had been directed against this den ofiniquity. Since it became known that "Web" had made application for thelicense, it was a regular amusement for the unregenerate to attend thegatherings of the "Come-Outers" and hear John Baxter call down fire fromHeaven upon the billiard room, its proprietor, and its patrons. Orhampeople had begun to say that John Baxter was "billiard-saloon crazy. "

And John Baxter was Captain Eri's friend, a friendship that had begun inschool when the declaimer of Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speechon Examination Day took a fancy to and refused to laugh at the littlechap who tremblingly ventured to assert that he loved "little Pussy, hercoat is so warm. " The two had changed places until now it was CaptainEri who protected and advised. 

When the Captain rapped at John Baxter's kitchen door no one answered, and, after yelling "Ship ahoy!" through the keyhole a number of times, he was forced to the conclusion that his friend was not at home. 

"You lookin' fer Cap'n Baxter?" queried Mrs. Sarah Taylor, who livedjust across the road. "He's gone to Come-Outers' meetin', I guess. There's one up to Barzilla Small's to-night. "

Mr. Barzilla Small lived in that part of the village called "down to theneck, " and when the Captain arrived there, he found the parlor filledwith the devout, who were somewhat surprised to see him. 

"Why, how do you do?" said Mrs. Small, resplendent in black "alpaca" andwearing her jet earrings. "I snum if you ain't a stranger! We'll have areel movin' meetin' to-night because Mr. Perley's here, and he sayshe feels the sperrit a-workin'. Set right down there by the what-not. Luther, " to her oldest but three, "give Cap'n Hedge your chair. You canset on the cricket. Yes, you can! Don't answer back!"

"Aw, ma!" burst out the indignant Luther, "how d'yer think I'm goin' toset on that cricket? My laigs 'll be way up under my chin. Make Hart seton it; he's shorter'n me. "

"Shan't nuther, Lute Small!" declared Hartwell, a freckle-facedyoungster, who was the next step downward in the family stair ofchildren. "Set on it yourself. Make him, ma, now! You said he'd haveto. "

"Now, ma, I--"

"Be still, both of you! I sh'd think you'd be ashamed, with everybodyhere so! Oh, my soul and body!" turning to the company, "if it ain'tenough to try a saint! Sometimes seems's if I SHOULD give up. You bethankful, Abigail, " to Miss Mullett, who sat by the door, "that youain't got nine in a family and nobody to help teach 'em manners. IfBarzilla was like most men, he'd have some dis-CIP-line in the house;but no, I have to do it all, and--"

Mr. Small, thus publicly rebuked, rose from his seat in the corner bythe melodeon and proclaimed in a voice that he tried hard not to makeapologetic:

"Now, Luther, if I was you I'd be a good boy and mind ma. "

Even this awe-inspiring command had little effect upon the reluctantLuther, but Captain Eri, who, smiling and bowing right and left, hadbeen working his passage to the other side of the room, announcedthat he was all right and would "squeeze in on the sofy 'side of Cap'nBaxter. " So there was peace once more, that is, as much peace as half adozen feminine tongues, all busy with different subjects, would allow. 

"Why, Eri" whispered John Baxter, "I didn't expect to see you here. I'mglad, though; Lord knows every God-fearin' man in this town has need tobe on his knees this night. Have you heard about it?"

"Cap'n John means about the rum-sellin' license that Web Saunders hasgot, " volunteered Miss Melissa Busteed, leaning over from her seat inthe patent rocker that had been the premium earned by Mrs. Small forselling one hundred and fifty pounds of tea for a much-advertised house. "Ain't it awful? I says to Prissy Baker this mornin', soon 's I heard ofit, 'Prissy, ' s' I, 'there 'll be a jedgment on this town sure's you'rea livin' woman, ' s' I. Says she, 'That's so, M'lissy, ' s' she, and Isays--"

Well, when Miss Busteed talks, interruptions are futile, so Captain Erisat silent, as the comments of at least one-tenth of the population ofOrham were poured into his ears. The recitation was cut short by Mrs. Small's vigorous pounding on the center table. 

"We're blessed this evenin', " said the hostess with emotion, "in havin'Mr. Perley with us. He's goin' to lead the meetin'. "

The Reverend Mr. Perley--Reverend by courtesy; he had never beenordained--stood up, cleared his throat with vigor, rose an inch or twoon the toes of a very squeaky pair of boots, sank to heel level againand announced that everyone would join in singing, "Hymn number onehundred and ten, omitting the second and fourth stanzas: hymn numberone hundred and ten, second and fourth stanzas omitted. " The melodeon, tormented by Mrs. Lurania Bassett, shrieked and groaned, and the hymnwas sung. So was another, and yet another. Then Mr. Perley squeaked tohis tiptoes again, subsided, and began a lengthy and fervent discourse. 

Mr. Perley had been a blacksmith in Ostable before he "got religion, "and now spent the major portion of his time in "boardin' 'round" with"Come-Outers" up and down the Cape and taking part in their meetings. His services at such gatherings paid for his food and lodging. He hadbeen a vigorous horseshoer in the old days; now he preached just asvigorously. 

He spoke of the faithful few here gathered together. He spoke of thescoffing of those outside the pale and hinted at the uncomfortablefuture that awaited them. He ran over the various denominations one byone, and one by one showed them to be worshipers of idols and followersafter strange gods. He sank hoarsely into the bass and quavered up intofalsetto and a chorus of "Amens!" and "Hallelujahs!" followed him. 

"Oh, brothers and sisters!" he shouted, "here we are a-kneelin' atthe altar's foot and what's goin' on outside? Why, the Devil's gothis clutches in our midst. The horn of the wicked is exalted. They'resellin' rum--RUM--in this town! They're a-sellin' rum and drinkin' of itand gloryin' in their shame. But the Lord ain't asleep! He's got his eyeon 'em! He's watchin' 'em! And some of these fine days he'll send downfire out of Heaven and wipe 'em off the face of the earth!" ("Amen!Glory! Glory! Glory!")

John Baxter was on his feet, his lean face working, the perspirationshining on his forehead, his eyes gleaming like lamps under his roughwhite eyebrows, and his clenched fists pounding the back of the chair infront of him. His hallelujahs were the last to cease. Captain Eri had touse some little force to pull him down on the sofa again. 

Then Mrs. Small struck up, "Oh, brother, have you heard?" and they sangit with enthusiasm. Next, Miss Mullett told her story of the brandyand the defiance of the doctor. Nobody seemed much interested except anervous young man with sandy hair and a celluloid collar, who had comewith Mr. Tobias Wixon and was evidently a stranger. He had not heard itbefore and seemed somewhat puzzled when Miss Abigail repeated the "Deathreferred to" passage. 

There was more singing. Mrs. Small "testified. " So did Barzilla, withmany hesitations and false starts and an air of relief when it wasover. Then another hymn and more testimony, each speaker denouncing thebilliard saloon. Then John Baxter arose and spoke. 

He began by saying that the people of Orham had been slothful in theLord's vineyard. They had allowed weeds to spring up and wax strong. They had been tried and found wanting. 

"I tell you, brothers and sisters, " he declaimed, leaning over the chairback and shaking a thin forefinger in Mr. Perley's face, "God has givenus a task to do and how have we done it? We've set still and let theDevil have his way. We've talked and talked, but what have we done?Nothin'! Nothin' at all; and now the grip of Satan is tighter on thetown than it ever has been afore. The Lord set us a watch to keep andwe've slept on watch. And now there's a trap set for every young man inthis c'munity. Do you think that that hell-hole down yonder is goin' toshut up because we talk about it in meetin'? Do you think Web Saundersis goin' to quit sellin' rum because we say he ought to? Do you thinkGod's goin' to walk up to that door and nail it up himself? No, sir! Hedon't work that way! We've talked and talked, and now it's time to DO. Ain't there anybody here that feels a call? Ain't there axes to chopwith and fire to burn? I tell you, brothers, we've waited long enough!I--old as I am--am ready. Lord, here I am! Here I am--"

He swayed, broke into a fit of coughing, and sank back upon the sofa, trembling all over and still muttering that he was ready. There was ahushed silence for a moment or two, and then a storm of hallelujahs andshouts. Mr. Perley started another hymn, and it was sung with tremendousenthusiasm. 

Just behind the nervous young man with the celluloid collar sat a stoutindividual with a bald head. This was Abijah Thompson, known by theirreverent as "Barking" Thompson, a nickname bestowed because of hispeculiar habit of gradually puffing up, like a frog, under religiousexcitement, and then bursting forth in an inarticulate shout, disconcerting to the uninitiated. During Baxter's speech and the singingof the hymn his expansive red cheeks had been distended like balloons, and his breath came shorter and shorter. Mr. Perley had arisen and washolding up his hand for silence, when with one terrific "Boo!" "Barking"Thompson's spiritual exaltation exploded directly in the ear of thenervous stranger. 

The young man shot out of his chair as if Mr. Thompson had fired adynamite charge beneath him. "Oh, the Devil!" he shrieked, and thensubsided, blushing to the back of his neck. 

Somehow this interruption took the spirit out of the meeting. Gigglesfrom Luther and the younger element interfered with the solemnity of Mr. Perley's closing remarks, and no one else was brave enough to "testify"under the circumstances. They sang again, and the meeting broke up. Thenervous young man was the first one to leave. 

Captain Eri got his friend out of the clutches of the "Come-Outers" asquickly as possible, and piloted him down the road toward his home. JohnBaxter was silent and absent-minded, and most of the Captain's cheerfulremarks concerning Orham affairs in general went unanswered. As theyturned in at the gate the elder man said:

"Eri, do you believe that man's law ought to be allowed to interferewith God's law?"

"Well, John, in most cases it's my jedgment that it pays to steer prettyclose to both of 'em. "

"S'pose God called you to break man's law and keep His; what would youdo?"

"Guess the fust thing would be to make sure 'twas the Almighty that wascallin'. I don't want to say nothin' to hurt your feelin's, but Ishould advise the feller that thought that he had that kind of a call to'beware of imitations, ' as the soap folks advertise. "

"Eri, I've got a call. "

"Now, John Baxter, you listen. You and me have been sailin' together, asyou might say, for forty odd years. I ain't a religious man 'cordin' toyour way of thinkin', but I've generally found that the Lord runs thingsmost as well as us folks could run 'em. When there's a leak at one endof the schooner it don't pay to bore a hole at the other end to let thewater out. Don't you worry no more about Web Saunders and that billiardsaloon. The s'lectmen 'll attend to them afore very long. Why don't yougo up to Boston for a couple of weeks? 'Twill do you good. "

"Do you think so, Eri? Well, maybe 'twould--maybe 'twould. Sometimes Ifeel as if my head was kind of wearin' out. I'll think about it. "

"Better not think any more; better go right ahead. "

"Well, I'll see. Good-night. "

"Good-night, John. "

"Perez, " said Captain Eri, next day, "seems to me some kinds of religionis like whisky, mighty bad for a weak head. I wish somebody 'd invent agold cure for Come-Outers. "

CHAPTER IV

A PICTURE SENT AND A CABLE TESTED

Something over a fortnight went by and the three captains had receivedno answers from the advertisement in the Nuptial Chime. The suspenseaffected each of them in a different manner. Captain Jerry was nervousand apprehensive. He said nothing, and asked no questions, but it wasnoticeable that he was the first to greet the carrier of the "mail box"when that individual came down the road, and, as the days passed andnothing more important than the Cape Cod Item and a patent-medicinecircular came to hand, a look that a suspicious person might have deemedexpressive of hope began to appear in his face. 

Captain Perez, on the contrary, grew more and more disgusted with thedelay. He spent a good deal of time wondering why there were no replies, and he even went so far as to suggest writing to the editor ofthe Chime. He was disposed to lay the blame upon Captain Eri'sadvertisement, and hinted that the latter was not "catchy" enough. 

Captain Eri, alone of the trio, got any amusement out of the situation. He pretended to see in Captain Jerry an impatient bridegroom andadministered comfort in large doses by suggesting that, in allprobability, there had been so many replies that it had been foundnecessary to charter a freight-car to bring them down. 

"Cheer up, Jerry!" he said. "It's tough on you, I know, but think of allthem poor sufferin' females that's settin' up nights and worryin' forfear they won't be picked out. Why, say, when you make your ch'iceyou'll have to let the rest know right off; 'twould be cruelty toanimals not to. You ought to put 'em out of their misery quick'spossible. "

Captain Jerry's laugh was almost dismal. 

The first batch of answers from the Chime came by an evening mail. Captain Eri happened to beat the post-office that night and brought themhome himself. They filled three of his pockets to overflowing, andhe dumped them by handfuls on the dining table, under the nose of thepallid Jerry. 

"What did I tell you, Jerry?" he crowed. "I knew they was on the way. What have you got to say about my advertisement now, Perez?"

There were twenty-six letters altogether. It was surprising howmany women were willing, even anxious, to ally themselves with "anex-seafaring man of steady habbits. " But most of the applicants were ofunsatisfactory types. As Captain Perez expressed it, "There's too manyof them everlastin' 'blondes' and things. "

There was one note, however, that even Captain Eri was disposed toconsider seriously. It was postmarked Nantucket, was written on half asheet of blue-lined paper, and read as follows:

"MR. SKIPPER:

"Sir: I saw your advertisements in the paper and think perhaps you mightsuit me. Please answer these questions by return mail. What is yourreligious belief? Do you drink liquor? Are you a profane man? If youwant to, you might send me your real name and a photograph. If I thinkyou will suit maybe we might sign articles. 

"Yours truly, "MARTHA B. SNOW. 

"NANTUCKET, MASS. "

"What I like about that is the shipshape way she puts it, " commentedCaptain Perez. "She don't say that she 'jest adores the ocean. '"

"She's mighty handy about takin' hold and bossin' things; there ain'tno doubt of that, " said Captain Eri. "Notice it's us that's got to suither, not her us. I kind of like that 'signin' articles, ' too. You betshe's been brought up in a seagoin' family. "

"I used to know a Jubal Snow that hailed from Nantucket, " suggestedPerez; "maybe she's some of his folks. "

"'Tain't likely, " sniffed Captain Jerry. "There's more Snows in Nantucketthan you can shake a stick at. You can't heave a rock without hittin'one. "

"I b'lieve she's jest the kind we want, " said Captain Perez withconviction. 

"What do you say, Jerry?" asked Captain Eri. "You're goin' to be thelucky man, you know. "

"Oh, I don't know. What's the use of hurryin'? More 'n likely the nextlot of letters 'll have somethin' better yit. "

"Now, that's jest like you, Jerry Burgess!" exclaimed Perez disgustedly. "Want to put off and put off and put off. And the house gittin' morelike the fo'castle on a cattleboat every day. "

"I don't b'lieve myself you'd do much better, Jerry, " said Captain Eriseriously. "I like that letter somehow. Seems to me it's worth a try. "

"Oh, all right! Have it your own way. Of course, _I_ ain't got nothin'to say. I'm only the divilish fool that's got to git married and keepboarders; that's all _I_ am!"

"Be careful! She asked if you was a profane man. "

"Aw, shut up! You fellers are enough to make a minister swear. _I_ don'tcare what you do. Go ahead and write to her if you want to, only I giveyou fair warnin', I ain't goin' to have her if she don't suit. I ain'tgoin' to marry no scarecrow. "

Between them, and with much diplomacy, they soothed the indignantcandidate for matrimony until he agreed to sign his name to a letter tothe Nantucket lady. Then Captain Perez said:

"But, I say, Jerry; she wants your picture. Have you got one to sendher?"

"I've got that daguerreotype I had took when I was married afore. "

He rummaged it out of his chest and displayed it rather proudly. Itshowed him as a short, sandy-haired youth, whose sunburned face beamedfrom the depths of an enormous choker, and whose head was crowned with atall, flat-brimmed silk hat of a forgotten style. 

"I s'pose that might do, " said Cap'n Perez hesitatingly. 

"Do! 'Twill HAVE to do, seein' it's all he's got, " said Captain Eri. "Good land!" he chuckled; "look at that hat! Say, Jerry, she'll thinkyou done your seafarin' in Noah's ark. "

But Captain Jerry was oblivious to sarcasm just then. He was gazing atthe daguerreotype in a sentimental sort of way, blowing the dust fromthe glass, and tilting it up and down so as to bring it to the mosteffective light. 

"I swan!" he mused, "I don't know when I've looked at that afore. Iremember when I bought that hat, jest as well. Took care of it andbrushed it--my! my! I don't know but it's somewheres around now. Ithought I was jest about the ticket then, and--and I wa'n't BAD lookin', that's a fact!"

This last with a burst of enthusiasm. 

"Ho, ho! Perez, " roared Captain Eri; "Jerry's fallin' in love with hisown picture. Awful thing for one so young, ain't it?"

"I ain't such a turrible sight older 'n you be, Eri Hedge, " sputteredthe prospective bridegroom with righteous indignation. Then he added ina rather crestfallen tone, "But I am a heap older 'n I was when I hadthat daguerreotype took. See here; if I send that Nantucket woman thispicture won't she notice the difference when she sees me?"

"What if she does?" broke in Captain Perez. "You can tell her how 'twas. Talk her over. A feller that's been married, like you, ought to be ableto talk ANY woman over. "

Captain Jerry didn't appear sanguine concerning his ability to "talk herover, " but his fellow-conspirators made light of his feeble objections, and the daguerreotype, carefully wrapped, was mailed the next morning, accompanied by a brief biographical sketch of the original and hisavowed adherence to the Baptist creed and the Good Templar's abstinence. 

"I hope she'll hurry up and answer, " said the impatient Captain Perez. "I want to get this thing settled one way or another. Don't you, Jerry?"

"Yes, " was the hesitating reply. "One way or another. "

Captain Eri had seen John Baxter several times since the evening ofthe "Come-Outers'" meeting. The old man was calmer apparently, and wasdisposed to take the billiard-saloon matter less seriously, particularlyas it was reported that the town selectmen were to hold a specialmeeting to consider the question of allowing Mr. Saunders to continue inbusiness. The last-named gentleman had given what he was pleased to calla "blow-out" to his regular patrons in celebration of the granting ofthe license, and "Squealer" Wixon and one or two more spent a dreary dayand night in the town lock-up in consequence. Baxter told the Captainthat he had not yet made up his mind concerning the proposed Bostontrip, but he thought "more 'n likely" he should go. 

Captain Eri was obliged to be content with this assurance, but hedetermined to keep a close watch on his friend just the same. 

He had met Ralph Hazeltine once or twice since the latter's arrival inOrham, and, in response to questions as to how he was getting on at thestation, the new electrician invariably responded, "First-rate. " Gossip, however, in the person of Miss Busteed, reported that the operators weredoing their best to keep Mr. Hazeltine's lot from being altogether a bedof roses, and there were dark hints of something more to come. 

On the morning following the receipt of the letter from the Nantucketlady, Captain Eri was busy at his fish shanty, putting his lines inorder and sewing a patch on the mainsail of his catboat. These necessaryrepairs had prevented his taking the usual trip to the fishing grounds. Looking up from his work, he saw, through the open door, Ralph Hazeltinejust stepping out of the cable-station skiff. He tucked his sail needleinto the canvas and hailed the young man with a shouted "Good-morning!"

"How do you do, Cap'n Hedge?" said Hazeltine, walking toward the shanty. "Good weather, isn't it?"

"Tip-top. Long 's the wind stays westerly and there ain't noSunday-school picnics on, we don't squabble with the weather folks. The only thing that 'll fetch a squall with a westerly wind is aSunday-school picnic. That 'll do it, sure as death. Busy over across?"

"Pretty busy just now. The cable parted day before yesterday, and I'vebeen getting things ready for the repair ship. She was due this morning, and we're likely to hear from her at any time. "

"You don't say! Cable broke, hey? Now it's a queer thing, but I've neverbeen inside that station since 'twas built. Too handy, I guess. I've gota second cousin up in Charlestown, lived there all his life, and he'snever been up in Bunker Hill monument yit. Fust time I landed in BostonI dug for that monument, and I can tell you how many steps there is init to this day. If that cable station was fifty mile off I'd have beenthrough it two weeks after it started up, but bein' jest over there, Iain't ever done it. Queer, ain't it?"

"Perhaps you'd like to go over with me. I'm going up to the post-office, and when I come back I should be glad of your company. "

"Well, now, that's kind of you. I cal'late I will. You might sing outas you go past. I've got a ha'f-hour job on this sail and then it's mywatch below. "

The cable station at Orham is a low whitewashed building with manywindows. The vegetation about it is limited exclusively to "beach grass"and an occasional wild-plum bush. The nearest building which may bereached without a boat is the life-saving station, two miles below. Theouter beach changes its shape every winter. The gales tear great holesin its sides, and then, as if in recompense, throw up new shoals andbuild new promontories. From the cable-station doorway in fair weathermay be counted the sails of over one hundred vessels going and comingbetween Boston and New York. They come and go, and, alas! sometimesstop by the way. Then the life-saving crews are busy and the Bostonnewspapers report another wreck. All up and down the outer beach arethe sun-whitened bones of schooners and ships; and all about them, andpartially covering them, is sand, sand, sand, as white and much coarserthan granulated sugar. 

Hazeltine's post-office trip and other errands had taken much moretime than he anticipated, and more than two hours had gone by beforehe called for Captain Eri. During the row to the beach the electricianexplained to the Captain the processes by which a break in the cable islocated and repaired. 

"You see, " he said, "as soon as the line breaks we set about findingwhere it is broken. To do this we use an instrument called theWheatstone bridge. In this case the break is about six hundred milesfrom the American shore. The next thing is to get at the company'srepair ship. She lies, usually, at Halifax when she isn't busy, andthat is where she was this time. We wired her and she left for the spotimmediately. It was up to me to get ready the testing apparatus--wegenerally set up special instruments for testing. Judging by thedistance, the ship should have been over the break early this morning. She will grapple for the broken cable ends, and as soon as she catchesour end she'll send us a message. It's simple enough. "

"Like takin' wormwood tea--easy enough if you've been brought up thatway. I think I'd make more money catchin' codfish, myself, " commentedthe Captain dryly. 

Ralph laughed. "Well, it really is a very simple matter, " he said. "Theonly thing we have to be sure of is that our end of the line is readyby the time the ship reaches the break. If the weather is bad theship can't work, and so, when she does work, she works quick. I had myinstruments in condition yesterday, so we're all right this time. "

They landed at the little wharf and plodded through the heavy sand. 

"Dismal-looking place, isn't it?" said Hazeltine, as he opened the backdoor of the station. 

"Well, I don't know; it has its good p'ints, " replied his companion. "Your neighbors' hens don't scratch up your garden, for one thing. Whatdo you do in here?"

"This is the room where we receive and send. This is the receiver. "

The captain noticed with interest the recorder, with its two brasssupports and the little glass tube, half filled with ink, that, whenthe cable was working, wrote the messages upon the paper tape travelingbeneath it. 

"Pretty nigh as finicky as a watch, ain't it?" he observed. 

"Fully as delicate in its way. Do you see this little screw on thecenterpiece? Turn that a little, one way or the other, and the operatoron the other side might send until doomsday, we wouldn't know it. I'llshow you the living rooms and the laboratory now. "

Just then the door at the other end of the room opened, and a man, whomCaptain Eri recognized as one of the operators, came in. He started whenhe saw Hazeltine and turned to go out again. Ralph spoke to him:

"Peters, " he said, "where is Mr. Langley?"

"Don't know, " answered the fellow gruffly. 

"Wait a minute. Tell me where Mr. Langley is. "

"I don't know where he is. He went over to the village a while ago. "

"Where are the rest of the men?"

"Don't know. "

The impudence and thinly veiled hostility in the man's tone wereunmistakable. Hazeltine hesitated, seemed about to speak, and thensilently led the way to the hall. 

"I'll show you the laboratory later on, " he said. "We'll go up to thetesting room now. " Then he added, apparently as much to himself as tohis visitor, "I told those fellows that I wouldn't be back until noon. "

There was a door at the top of the stairs. Ralph opened this quietly. Asthey passed through, Captain Eri noticed that Peters had followed theminto the hall and stood there, looking up. 

The upper hall had a straw matting on the floor. There was another doorat the end of the passage, and this was ajar. Toward it the electricianwalked rapidly. From the room behind the door came a shout of laughter;then someone said:

"Better give it another turn, hadn't I, to make sure? If two turns fixesit so we don't hear for a couple of hours, another one ought to shut itup for a week. That's arithmetic, ain't it?"

The laugh that followed this was cut short by Hazeltine's throwing thedoor wide open. 

Captain Eri, close at the electrician's heels, saw a long room, emptysave for a few chairs and a table in the center. Upon this table stoodthe testing instruments, exactly like those in the receiving roomdownstairs. Three men lounged in the chairs, and standing beside thetable, with his fingers upon the regulating screw at the centerpieceof the recorder, was another, a big fellow, with a round, smooth-shavenface. 

The men in the chairs sprang to their feet as Hazeltine came in. Theface of the individual by the table turned white and his fingers fellfrom the regulating screw, as though the latter were red hot. TheCaptain recognized the men; they were day operators whom he had met inthe village many times. Incidentally, they were avowed friends of theformer electrician, Parker. The name of the taller one was McLoughlin. 

No one spoke. Ralph strode quickly to the table, pushed McLoughlin toone side and stooped over the instruments. When he straightened up, Captain Eri noticed that his face also was white, but evidently not fromfear. He turned sharply and looked at the four operators, who were doingtheir best to appear at ease and not succeeding. The electrician lookedthem over, one by one. Then he gave a short laugh. 

"You damned sneaks!" he said, and turned again to the testing apparatus. 

He began slowly to turn the regulating screw on the recorder. He hadgiven it but a few revolutions when the point of the little glasssiphon, that had been tracing a straight black line on the sliding tape, moved up and down in curving zigzags. Hazeltine turned to the operator. 

"Palmer, " he said curtly, "answer that call. "

The man addressed seated himself at the table, turned a switch, andclicked off a message. After a moment the line on the moving tapezigzagged again. Ralph glanced at the zigzags and bit his lip. 

"Apologize to them, " he said to Palmer. "Tell them we regret exceedinglythat the ship should have been kept waiting. Tell them our recorder wasout of adjustment. "

The operator cabled the message. The three men at the end of the roomglanced at each other; this evidently was not what they expected. 

Steps sounded on the stairs and Peters hurriedly entered. 

"The old man's comin', " he said. 

Mr. Langley, the superintendent of the station, had been in thecompany's employ for years. He had been in charge of the Cape Codstation since it was built, and he liked the job. He knew cable work, too, from A to Z, and, though he was a strict disciplinarian, wouldforgive a man's getting drunk occasionally, sooner than condonecarelessness. He was eccentric, but even those who did not like himacknowledged that he was "square. "

He came into the room, tossed a cigar stump out of the window, andnodded to Captain Eri. 

"How are you, Captain Hedge?" he said. Then, stepping to the table, hepicked up the tape. 

"Everything all right, Mr. Hazeltine?" he asked. "Hello! What does thismean? They say they have been calling for two hours without getting ananswer. How do you explain that?"

It was very quiet in the room when the electrician answered. 

"The recorder here was out of adjustment, sir, " he said simply. 

"Out of adjustment! I thought you told me everything was in perfectorder before you left this morning. "

"I thought so, sir, but I find the screw was too loose. That wouldaccount for the call not reaching us. "

"Too loose! Humph!" The superintendent looked steadfastly at Hazeltine, then at the operators, and then at the electrician once more. 

"Mr. Hazeltine, " he said at length, "I will hear what explanations youmay have to make in my office later on. I will attend to the testingmyself. That will do. "

Captain Eri silently followed his young friend to the back door of thestation. Hazeltine had seen fit to make no comment on the scene justdescribed, and the captain did not feel like offering any. They werestanding on the steps when the big operator, McLoughlin, came out of thebuilding behind them. 

"Well, " he said gruffly to the electrician. "Shall I quit now or waituntil Saturday?"

"What?"

"Shall I git out now or wait till Saturday night? I suppose you'll haveme fired. "

Then Hazeltine's pent-up rage boiled over. 

"If you mean that I'll tell Mr. Langley of your cowardly trick and haveyou discharged--No! I don't pay my debts that way. But I'll tell youthis, --you and your sneaking friends. If you try another game likethat, --yes, or if you so much as speak to me, other than on businesswhile I'm here, I WILL fire you--out of the window. Clear out!"

"Mr. Hazeltine, " said Captain Eri a few moments later, "I hope you don'tmind my sayin' that I like you fust-rate. Me and Perez and Jerry ain'tthe biggest bugs in town, but we like to have our friends come and seeus. I wish you'd drop in once 'n a while. "

"I certainly will, " said the young man, and the two shook hands. Thatvigorous handshake was enough of itself to convince Ralph Hazeltine thathe had made, at any rate, one friend in Orham. 

And we may as well add here that he had made two. For that evening JackMcLoughlin said to his fellow conspirators:

"He said he'd fire me out of the window, --ME, mind you! And, by thunder!I believe he'd have DONE it too. Boys, there ain't any more 'con' gamesplayed on that kid while I'm around--Parker or no Parker. He's white, that's what HE is!"

CHAPTER V

THE WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET

Conversation among the captains was, for the next two days, confined totwo topics, speculation as to how soon they might expect a reply fromthe Nantucket female and whether or not Mr. Langley would dischargeHazeltine. On the latter point Captain Eri was decided. 

"He won't be bounced, " said the Captain; "now you just put that down inyour log. Langley ain't a fool, and he can put two and two together aswell as the next feller. If I thought there was any need of it, I'd justdrop him a hint myself, but there ain't, so I shan't put my oar in. ButI wish you two could have heard that youngster talk to that McLoughlincritter; 'twould have done you good. That boy's all right. "

Captain Jerry was alone when the expected letter came. He glanced atthe postmark, saw that it was Nantucket, and stuck the note behindthe clock. He did his best to forget it, but he looked so guilty whenCaptain Perez returned at supper time that that individual suspectedsomething, made his friend confess, and, a little later when Captain Ericame in, the envelope, bearing many thumb-prints, was propped up againstthe sugar bowl in the middle of the table. 

"We didn't open it, Eri, " said Perez proudly. "We did want to, but wethought all hands ought to be on deck when anything as important as thiswas goin' to be done. "

"He's been holdin' it up to the light for the last ha'f hour, " sneeredCaptain Jerry. "Anybody 'd think it had a million dollars in it. For theland's sake, open it, Eri, 'fore he has a fit!"

Captain Eri picked up the letter, looked it over very deliberately, andthen tore off the end of the envelope. The inclosure was anothersheet of note paper like the first epistle. The Captain took out hisspectacles, wiped them, and read the following aloud:

"CAPTAIN JEREMIAH BURGESS. 

"Sir: I like your looks well enough, though it don't pay to put too muchdependence in looks, as nobody knows better than me. Besides, I judgethat picture was took quite a spell ago. Anyway, you look honest, andI am willing to risk money enough to carry me to Orham and back, thoughthe dear land knows I ain't got none to throw away. If we don't agreeto sign articles, I suppose likely you will be willing to stand half thefare. That ain't any more than right, the way I look at it. I shall cometo Orham on the afternoon train, Thursday. Meet me at the depot. 

"Yours truly, "MARTHA B. SNOW. 

"P. S. --I should have liked it better if you was a Methodist, but wecan't have everything just as we want it in this world. "

Nobody spoke for a moment after the reading of this intensely practicalnote. Captain Eri whistled softly, scratched his head, and then read theletter over again to himself. At length Captain Perez broke the spell. 

"Jerusalem!" he exclaimed. "She don't lose no time, does she?"

"She's pretty prompt, that's a fact, " assented Captain Eri. 

Captain Jerry burst forth in indignation:

"Is THAT all you've got to say?" he inquired with sarcasm, "aftergittin' me into a scrape like this? Well now, I tell you one thing, I--"

"Don't go on your beam ends, Jerry, " interrupted Captain Eri. "Thereain't no harm done yit. "

"Ain't no harm done? Why how you talk, Eri Hedge! Here's a woman thatI ain't never seen, and might be a hundred years old, for all I know, comin' down here to-morrow night to marry me by main force, as you mightsay, and you set here and talk about--"

"Now, hold on, hold on, Jerry! She ain't goin' to marry you unless youwant her to, 'tain't likely. More I think of it, the more I like thewoman's way of doin' things. She's got sense, there's no doubt of that. You can't sell HER a cat in a bag. She's comin' down here to see you andtalk the thing over, and I glory in her spunk. "

"Wants me to pay her fare! I see myself doin' it! I've got ways enoughto spend my money without paying fares for Nantucket folks. "

"If you and she sign articles, as she calls it, you'll have to pay morethan fares, " said Captain Perez, in a matter-of-fact tone. "I think sameas Eri does; she's a smart woman. We'll have to meet her at the depot, of course. "

"Well _I_ won't! Cheeky thing! Let her find out where I am! I cal'lateshe'll have to do some huntin'. "

"Now, see here, Jerry, " said Captain Eri, "you was jest as anxious tohave one of us get married as anybody else. You haven't got to marrythe woman unless you want to, but you have got to help us see the thingthrough. I wish myself that we hadn't been quite so pesky anxiousto give her the latitude and longitude, and had took some sort of anobservation ourselves; but we didn't, and now we've got to treat herdecent. You'll be at that depot along with Perez and me. "

When Captain Eri spoke in that tone his two cronies usually obeyedorders. Even the rebellious Jerry, who had a profound respect for hisyounger friend, gave in after some grumbling. 

They sat up until late, speculating concerning the probable age andappearance of the expected visitor. Captain Perez announced that hedidn't know why it was, but he had a notion that she was about fortyand slim. Captain Jerry, who was in a frame of mind where agreementwith anyone was out of the question, gave it as his opinion that shewas thirty odd and rather plump. Captain Eri didn't hazard a guess, butsuggested that they wait and see. 

But even Captain Eri's calmness was more or less assumed, for he did notgo fishing the next morning, but stayed about the house, whittling atthe model of a clipper ship and tormenting Captain Jerry. The model wasone that he had been at work upon at odd times ever since he gave upsea-going. It had never been completed for the very good reason thatwhen one part was finished the Captain tore another part to pieces, andbegan over again. It was a sort of barometer of his feelings, and whenhis companions saw him take down the clipper and go to work, they knewhe was either thinking deeply upon a perplexing problem or was troubledin his mind. 

Captain Perez sang a good deal, principally confining his musicalefforts to a ballad with a chorus of, | "Storm along, John; | John, storm along; | Ain't I glad my day's work's done!"

Also, he glanced at his watch every few minutes and then went to consultthe chronometer to make sure of the time. 

Captain Jerry went up to the schoolhouse and gave its vacant rooms athorough sweeping for no particular reason except to be doing something. His appetite was poor, and he actually forgot to feed Lorenzo, ahitherto unheard-of slight, and one that brought down upon him a longlecture from Captain Eri, who vowed that loss of memory was a sure signof lovesickness. 

They started for the railway station immediately after supper. As theypassed John Baxter's house they noticed a light in an upper chamber, andwondered if the old man was ill. Captain Eri would have stopped to findout, but Captain Perez insisted that it could be done just as well whenthey came back, and expressed a fear that they might miss the train. Captain Jerry hadn't spoken since they left home, and walked gloomilyahead with his hands in his pockets. 

Mr. "Web" Saunders, fat and in his pink-striped shirtsleeves, sat uponthe steps of his saloon as they went by. He wished them an unctuousgood-evening. The oily smoothness of Mr. Saunders' voice cannot bedescribed with plain pen and ink; it gurgled with sweetness, likemolasses poured from a jug. This was not a special tone put on for theoccasion; no one except his wife ever heard him speak otherwise. 

The response from the three captains was not enthusiastic, but Mr. Saunders continued to talk of the weather, the fishing, and thecranberry crop until a customer came and gave them a chance to get away. 

"Slick! slick! slick!" commented Captain Eri, as they hurried along. "Blessed if he don't pretty nigh purr. I like a cat fust-rate, but I'malways suspicious of a cat-man. You know he's got claws, but you can'ttell where he's goin' to use 'em. When a feller like that comes slidin'around and rubbin' his head against my shin, I always feel like keepin't'other foot ready for a kick. You're pretty sartin to need it one timeor another. "

The train was nearly an hour late this evening, owing to a hot box, andthe "ex-seafaring man" and his two friends peered anxiously out at itfrom around the corner of the station. The one coach stopped directlyunder the lights, and they could see the passengers as they came downthe steps. Two or three got out, but these were men. Then came anapparition that caused Captain Jerry to gasp and clutch at Perez forsupport. 

Down the steps of the car came a tall, coal-black negress, and in herhand was a canvas extension case, on the side of which was blazoned intwo-inch letters the fateful name, "M. B. Snow, Nantucket. "

Captain Eri gazed at this astounding spectacle for a full thirtyseconds. Then he woke up. 

"Godfrey domino!" he ejaculated. "BLACK! BLACK! Run! Run for your lives, 'fore she sees us!"

This order was superfluous. Captain Jerry was already half-way to thefence, and going at a rate which bid fair to establish a record forhis age. The others fell into his wake, and the procession moved acrosscountry like a steeplechase. 

They climbed over stone walls and splashed into meadows. They took everyshort cut between the station and their home. As they came in sight ofthe latter, Captain Perez' breath gave out almost entirely. 

"Heave to!" he gasped. "Heave to, or I'll founder. I wouldn't runanother step for all the darkies in the West Indies. "

Captain Eri paused, but it was only after a struggle that Captain Jerrywas persuaded to halt. 

"I shan't do it, Eri!" he vowed wildly. "I shan't do it! There ain't nouse askin' me; I won't marry that black woman! I won't, by thunder!"

"There! there! Jerry!" said Captain Eri soothingly. "Nobody wants youto. There ain't no danger now. She didn't see us. "

"Ain't no danger! There you go again, Eri Hedge! She'll ask where I liveand come right down in the depot wagon. Oh! Lordy! Lordy!"

The frantic sacrifice was about to bound away again, when Captain Ericaught him by the arm. 

"I'll tell you what, " he said, "we'll scoot for Eldredge's shanty andhide there till she gits tired and goes away. P'raps she won't come, anyhow. "

The deserted fish shanty, property of the heirs of the late NathanielEldredge, was situated in a hollow close to the house. In a few momentsthe three were inside, with a sawhorse against the door. Then CaptainEri pantingly sat down on an overturned bucket and laughed until thetears came into his eyes. 

"That's it, laff!" almost sobbed Captain Jerry. "Set there and tee-heelike a Bedlamite. It's what you might expect. Wait till the rest of thetown finds out about this; they'll do the laffin' then, and you won'tfeel so funny. We'll never hear the last of it in this world. If thatdarky comes down here, I'll--I'll drown her; I will--"

"I don't blame Jerry, " said Perez indignantly. "I don't see much to laffat. Oh, my soul and body there she comes now. "

They heard the rattle of a heavy carriage, and, crowding together at thecobwebbed window, saw the black shape of the "depot wagon" rock past. They waited, breathless, until they saw it go back again up the road. 

"Did you lock the dining-room door, Perez?" asked Captain Eri. 

"Course I didn't. Why should I?"

It was a rather senseless question. Nobody locks doors in Orham exceptat bedtime. 

"Humph!" grunted Captain Eri. "She'll see the light in the dining room, and go inside and wait, more 'n likely. Well, there's nothin' for us todo but to stay here for a while, and then, if she ain't gone, one ofus 'll have to go up and tell her she won't suit and pay her fare home, that's all. I think Jerry ought to be the one, " he added mischievously. "He bein' the bridegroom, as you might say. "

"Me!" almost shouted the frantic Captain Jerry. "You go to grass! Youfellers got me into this scrape, and now let's see you git me out of it. I don't stir one step. "

They sat there in darkness, the silence unbroken, save for an occasionalchuckle from the provoking Eri. Perez, however, was meditating, andobserved, after a while:

"Snow! That's a queer name for a darky, ain't it?"

"That colored man up at Barry's place was named White, " said CaptainJerry, "and he was black as your hat. Names don't count. "

"They say colored folks make good cooks, Jerry, " slyly remarked Eri. "Maybe you'd better think it over. "

The unlucky victim of chance did not deign an answer, and the minutescrept slowly by. After a long while they heard someone whistling. Perezwent to the window to take an observation. 

"It's a man, " he said disappointedly. "He's been to our house, too. Myland! I hope he didn't go in. It's that feller Hazeltine; that's who'tis. "

"Is it?" exclaimed Eri eagerly. "That's so! so 'tis. Let's give him ahail. "

Before he could be stopped he had pulled the saw-horse from the door, had opened the latter a little way, and, with his face at the opening, was whistling shrilly. 

The electrician looked up and down the dark road in a puzzled sort ofway, but evidently could not make up his mind from what quarter thewhistles came. 

"Mr. Hazeltine!" hailed the Captain, in what might be called a whisperedyell or a shouted whisper. "Mr. Hazeltine! Here, on your lee bow. In theshanty. "

The word "shanty" was the only part of the speech that brought light toRalph's mind, but that was sufficient; he came down the hill, left theroad, and plunged through the blackberry vines to the door. 

"Who is it?" he asked. "Why, hello, Captain! What on earth--"

Captain Eri signaled him to silence, and then, catching his arm, pulledhim into the shanty and shut the door. Captain Jerry hastened to set thesaw-horse in place again. 

"Mr. Hazeltine, " said Captain Eri, "let me make you acquainted withCap'n Perez and Cap'n Jerry, shipmates of mine. You've heard me speak of'em. "

Ralph, in the darkness, shook two big hands and heard whispered voicesexpress themselves as glad to know him. 

"You see, " continued Eri in a somewhat embarrassed fashion, "we're sortof layin' to, as yer might say, waitin' to git our bearin's. We ain'tout of our heads; I tell you that, 'cause I know that's what it lookslike. "

The bewildered Hazeltine laughed and said he was glad to hear it. To tell the truth, he had begun to think that something or other hadsuddenly driven his nearest neighbors crazy. 

"I--I--I don't know how to explain it to you, " the Captain stumbled on. "Fact is, I guess I won't jest yit, if you don't mind. It does soundso pesky ridic'lous, although it ain't, when you understand it. What wewant to know is, have you been to our house and is there anybody there?"

"Why, yes, I've been there. I rowed over and dropped in for a minute, as you suggested the other day. The housekeeper--I suppose it was thehousekeeper--that opened the door, said you were out, and I--"

He was interrupted by a hopeless groan. 

"I knew it!" wailed Captain Jerry. "I knew it! And you said there wa'n'tno danger, Eri!"

"Hush up, Jerry, a minute, for the love of goodness! What was she doin', Mr. Hazeltine, this woman you thought was the housekeeper? Did she lookas if she was gettin' ready to go out? Did she have her bunnit on?"

"No. She seemed to be very much at home. That's why I thought--"

But again Captain Jerry broke in, "Well, by mighty!" he ejaculated. "That's nice, now, ain't it! SHE goin' away! You bet she ain't! She'sgoin' to stay there and wait, if it's forever. She's got too good athing. Jest as like 's not, M'lissy Busteed, or some other gab machinelike her, 'll be the next one to call, and if they see that great blackcritter! Oh! my soul!"

"Black!" said Ralph amazedly. "Why, the woman at your house isn't black. She's as white as I am, and not bad-looking for a woman of her age. "

"WHAT?" This was the trio in chorus. Then Captain Eri said:

"Mr. Hazeltine, now, honest and true, is that a fact?"

"Of course it's a fact. "

The Captain wiped his forehead. "Mr. Hazeltine, " he said, "if anybodyhad told me a fortn't ago that I was one of the three biggest fools inOrham, I'd have prob'ly rared up some. As 'tis now, I cal'late I'd thankhim for lettin' me off so easy. You'll have to excuse us to-night, I'mafraid. We're in a ridic'lous scrape that we've got to git out of allalone. I'll tell you 'bout it some day. Jest now wish you'd keep thiskind of quiet to oblige me. "

Hazeltine saw that this was meant as a gentle hint for his immediatedeparture, and although he had a fair share of curiosity, felt therewas nothing else to do. He promised secrecy, promised faithfully to callagain later in the week, and then, the sawhorse having been removed byCaptain Perez, --Captain Jerry was apparently suffering from a sort ofdazed paralysis, --he went away. As soon as he had gone, Captain Eribegan to lay down the law. 

"Now then, " he said, "there's been some sort of a mistake; that's plainenough. More 'n likely, the darky took the wrong satchel when she got upto come out of the car. That woman at the house is the real Marthy Snowall right, and we've got to go right up there and see her. Come on!"

But Captain Jerry mutinied outright. He declared that the sight of thatdarky had sickened him of marrying forever, and that he would not seethe candidate from Nantucket, nor any other candidate. No persuasioncould budge him. He simply would not stir from that shanty until thehouse had been cleared of female visitors. 

"Go and see her yourself, if you're so set on it, " he declared. "Ishan't!"

"All right, " said Captain Eri calmly. "I will. I'll tell her you'rebashful, but jest dyin' to be married, and that she can have you if sheonly waits long enough. "

With this he turned on his heel and walked out. 

"Hold on, Eri!" shouted the frantic Jerry. "Don't you do it! Don't youtell her that! Land of love, Perez, do you s'pose he will?"

"I don't know, " was the answer in a disgusted tone. "You hadn't ought tohave been so pig-headed, Jerry. "

Captain Eri, with set teeth and determination written on his face, walked straight to the dining-room door. Drawing a long breath, heopened it and stepped inside. A woman, who had been sitting in CaptainPerez' rocker, rose as he entered. 

The woman looked at the Captain and the Captain looked at her. She wasof middle age, inclined to stoutness, with a pair of keen eyes behindbrass-rimmed spectacles, and was dressed in a black "alpaca" gown thatwas faded a little in places and had been neatly mended in others. Shespoke first. 

"You're not Cap'n Burgess?" she said. 

"No, ma'am, " said the Captain uneasily. "My name is Hedge. I'm a sort ofmessmate of his. You're Miss Snow?"

"Mrs. Snow. I'm a widow. "

They shook hands. Mrs. Snow calmly expectant; the Captain very nervousand not knowing how to begin. 

"I feel as if I knew you, Cap'n Hedge, " said the widow, as the Captainslid into his own rocker. "The boy on the depot wagon told me a lotabout you and Cap'n Ryder and Cap'n Burgess. "

"Did, hey?" The Captain inwardly vowed vengeance on his chum'sgrandnephew. "Hope he gave us a clean bill. "

"Well, he didn't say nothin' against you, if that's what you mean. If hehad, I don't think it would have made much diff'rence. I've livedlong enough to want to find out things for myself, and not take folks'say-so. "

The lady seeming to expect some sort of answer to this statement, Captain Eri expressed his opinion that the plan of finding out thingsfor one's self was a good "idee. " Then, after another fidgety silence, he observed that it was a fine evening. There being no dispute on thispoint, he endeavored to think of something else to say. Mrs. Snow, however, saved him the trouble. 

"Cap'n Hedge, " she said, "as I'm here on what you might call a bus'nesserrand, and as I've been waitin' pretty nigh two hours already, p'rapswe'd better talk about somethin' besides fine evenin's. I've got to belookin' up a hotel or boardin' house or somewheres to stay to-night, andI can't wait much longer. I jedge you got my letter and was expectin'me. Now, if it ain't askin' too much, I'd like to know where Cap'nBurgess is, and why he wa'n't at the depot to meet me. "

This was a leading question, and the Captain was more embarrassed thanever. However, he felt that something had to be done and that it waswisest to get it over with as soon as possible. 

"Well, ma'am, " he said, "we--we got your letter all right, and, to tellyou the truth, we was at the depot--Perez and me and Jerry. "

"You WAS! Well, then, for the land of goodness, why didn't you let meknow it? Such a time as I had tryin' to find out where you lived andall!"

The Captain saw but one plausible explanation, and that was the plaintruth. Slowly he told the story of the colored woman and the extensioncase. The widow laughed until her spectacles fell off. 

"Well, there!" she exclaimed. "If that don't beat all! I don't blameCap'n Burgess a mite. Poor thing! I guess I'd have run, too, if I'd haveseen that darky. She was settin' right in the next seat to me, and shehad a shut-over bag consid'rable like mine, and when she got up to gitout, she took mine by mistake. I was a good deal put out about it, andI expect I talked to her like a Dutch uncle when I caught up with her. Dear! dear! Where is Cap'n Burgess?"

"He's shut up in a fish shanty down the road, and he's so upsot that Idunno's he'll stir from there tonight. Jerry ain't prejudiced, but thatdarky was too much for him. "

And then they both laughed, the widow because of the ludicrous natureof the affair and the Captain because of the relief that the lady'sacceptance of it afforded his mind. 

Mrs. Snow was the first to become grave. "Cap'n Hedge, " she said, "there's one or two things I must say right here. In the first place, Iain't in the habit of answerin' advertisements from folks that wantsto git married; I ain't so hard up for a man as all that comes to. Next thing, I didn't come down here with my mind made up to marry Cap'nBurgess, not by no means. I wanted to see him and talk with him, andtell him jest all about how things was with me and find out about himand then--why, if everything was shipshape, I might, p'raps, thinkabout--"

"Jest so, ma'am, jest so, " broke in her companion. "That's about theway we felt. You see, there's prob'ly a long story on both sides, and ifyou'll excuse me I'll go down to the shanty and see if I can't git Jerryup here. It'll be a job, I'm 'fraid, but--"

"No, you shan't either. I'll tell you what we'll do. It's awful latenow and I must be gittin' up to the tavern. S'pose, if 'tain't too muchtrouble, you walk up there with me and I'll stay there to-night andto-morrer I'll come down here, and we'll all have a common-sense talk. P'raps by that time your friend 'll have the darky woman some off hismind, too. "

Needless to say Captain Eri agreed to this plan with alacrity. Thewidow carefully tied on a black, old-fashioned bonnet, picked up a fat, wooden-handled umbrella and the extension case, and said that she wasready. 

They walked up the road together, the Captain carrying the extensioncase. They talked, but not of matrimonial prospects. Mrs. Snow knewalmost as much about the sea and the goings and comings thereon as didher escort, and the conversation was salty in the extreme. Itdeveloped that the Nantucket lady had a distant relative who was in thelife-saving service at Cuttyhunk station, and as the Captain knew everystation man for twenty miles up and down the coast, wrecks and maritimedisasters of all kinds were discussed in detail. 

At the Traveler's Rest Mrs. Snow was introduced by the unblushing Eri asa cousin from Provincetown, and, after some controversy concerning theprice of board and lodging, she was shown up to her room. Captain Eriwalked home, absorbed in meditation. Whatever his thoughts were theywere not disagreeable, for he smiled and shook his head more than once, as if with satisfaction. As he passed John Baxter's house he noticedthat the light in the upper window was still burning. 

Captain Perez was half asleep when Eri opened the door of the shanty. Captain Jerry, however, was very much awake and demanded to be toldthings right away. His friend briefly explained the situation. 

"I don't care if she stays here till doomsday, " emphatically declaredthe disgruntled one, "I shan't marry her. What's she like, anyhow?"

He was surprised at the enthusiasm of Captain Eri's answer. 

"She's a mighty good woman; that's what I think she is, and she'd makea fust-class wife for any man. I hope you'll say so, too, when yousee her. There ain't nothin' hity-tity about her, but she's got morecommon-sense than any woman I ever saw. But there! I shan't talk anotherbit about her to-night. Come on home and turn in. "

And go home and turn in they did, but not without protestation from thepair who had yet to meet the woman from Nantucket. 

CHAPTER VI

THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL RINGS

"All hands on deck! Turn out there! Turnout!"

Captain Eri grunted and rolled over in his bed; for a moment or two hefancied himself back in the fo'castle of the Sea Mist, the bark in whichhe had made his first voyage. Then, as he grew wider awake, he heard, somewhere in the distance, a bell ringing furiously. 

"Turn out, all hands! Turn out!"

Captain Eri sat up. That voice was no part of a dream. It belonged toCaptain Jerry, and the tone of it meant business. The bell continued toring. 

"Aye, aye, Jerry! What's the matter?" he shouted. 

"Fire! There's a big fire up in the village. Look out of the window, andyou can see. They're ringing the schoolhouse bell; don't you hear it?"

The Captain, wide awake enough by this time, jumped out of bed, carryingthe blankets with him, and ran to the window. Opening it, he thrust outhis head. The wind had changed to the eastward, and a thick fog had comein with it. The house was surrounded by a wet, black wall, but off tothe west a red glow shone through it, now brighter and now fainter. Theschoolhouse bell was turning somersaults in its excitement. 

Only once, since Captain Jerry had been janitor, had the schoolhousebell been rung except in the performance of its regular duties. Thatonce was on a night before the Fourth of July, when some mischievousyoungsters climbed in at a window and proclaimed to sleeping Orham thatYoung America was celebrating the anniversary of its birth. Since then, on nights before the Fourth, Captain Jerry had slept in the schoolhouse, armed with a horsewhip and an ancient navy revolver. The revolver wasstrictly for show, and the horsewhip for use, but neither was calledinto service, for even if some dare-devil spirits did venture near thebuilding, the Captain's snores, as he slumbered by the front door, weredanger signals that could not be disregarded. 

But there was no flavor of the Fourth in the bell's note this night. Whoever the ringer might be, he was ringing as though it was his onlyhope for life, and the bell swung back and forth without a pause. Thered glow in the fog brightened again as the Captain gazed at it. 

Captain Jerry came tumbling up the stairs, breathless and half dressed. 

"Where do you make it out to be?" he panted. 

"Somewhere's nigh the post-office. Looks 's if it might be Weeks'sstore. Where's Perez?"

Captain Eri had lighted a lamp and was pulling on his boots, as hespoke. 

"Here I be!" shouted the missing member of the trio from the dining roombelow. "I'm all ready. Hurry up, Eri!"

Captain Eri jumped into his trousers, slipped into a faded pea-jacketand clattered downstairs, followed by the wildly excited Jerry. 

"Good land, Perez!" he cried, as he came into the dining room, "Ithought you said you was all ready!"

Captain Perez paused in the vain attempt to make Captain Jerry's hatcover his own cranium and replied indignantly, "Well, I am, ain't I?"

"Seems to me I'd put somethin' on my feet besides them socks, if I wasyou. You might catch cold. "

Perez glanced down at his blue-yarn extremities in blank astonishment. "Well, now, " he exclaimed, "if I hain't forgot my boots!"

"Well, git 'em on, and be quick. There's your hat. Give Jerry his. "

The excited Perez vanished through the door of his chamber, and CaptainEri glanced at the chronometer; the time was a quarter after two. 

They hurried out of the door and through the yard. The wind, as has beensaid, was from the east, but there was little of it and, except for theclanging of the bell, the night was very still. The fog was heavy andwet, and the trees and bushes dripped as if from a shower. There was thesalt smell of the marshes in the air, and the hissing and splashing ofthe surf on the outer beach were plainly to be heard. Also there was theclicking sound of oars in row-locks. 

"Somebody is comin' over from the station, " gasped Captain Jerry. "Don'trun so, Eri. It's too dark. I've pretty nigh broke my neck already. "

They passed the lily pond, where the frogs had long since adjournedtheir concert and gone to bed, dodged through the yard of the tightlyshuttered summer hotel, and came out at the corner of the road, havingsaved some distance by the "short-cut. "

"That ain't Weeks's store, " declared Captain Perez, who was in the lead. "It's Web Saunders's place; that's what it is. "

Captain Eri paused and looked over to the left in the direction of theBaxter homestead. The light in the window was still burning. 

They turned into the "main road" at a dog trot and became part of acrowd of oddly dressed people, all running in the same direction. 

"Web's place, ain't it?" asked Eri of Seth Wingate, who was lumberingalong with a wooden bucket in one hand and the pitcher of his wife'sbest washstand set in the other. 

"Yes, " breathlessly answered Mr. Wingate, "and it's a goner, they tellme. Every man's got to do his part if they're going to save it. I allerssaid we ought to have a fire department in this town. "

Considering that Seth had, for the past eight years, persistentlyopposed in town-meeting any attempt to purchase a hand engine, this wasa rather surprising speech, but no one paid any attention to it then. 

The fire was in the billiard saloon sure enough, and the back portionof the building was in a blaze when they reached it. Ladders were placedagainst the eaves, and a line of men with buckets were pouring water onthe roof. The line extended to the town pump, where two energetic youthsin their shirtsleeves were working the handle with might and main. Thehouses near at hand were brilliantly illuminated, and men and women werebringing water from them in buckets, tin pails, washboilers, and evencoalscuttles. 

Inside the saloon another hustling crowd was busily working to "save"Mr. Saunders' property. A dozen of the members had turned the biggestpool table over on its back and were unscrewing the legs, heedless ofthe fact that to attempt to get the table through the front door wasan impossibility and that, as the back door was in the thickest of thefire, it, too, was out of the question. A man appeared at the open frontwindow of the second story with his arms filled with bottles of variousliquids, "original packages" and others. These, with feverish energy, hethrew one by one into the street, endangering the lives of everyonein range and, of course, breaking every bottle thrown. Some one ofthe cooler heads calling his attention to these facts, he retired andcarefully packed all the empty bottles, the only ones remaining, into apeach basket and tugged the latter downstairs and to a safe place on aneighboring piazza. Then he rested from his labors as one who had doneall that might reasonably be expected. 

Mr. Saunders himself, lightly attired in a nightshirt tucked into apair of trousers, was rushing here and there, now loudly demanding morewater, and then stopping to swear at the bottle-thrower or some otherenthusiast. "Web's" smoothness was all gone, and the language he usedwas, as Abigail Mullett said afterward, "enough to bring down a jedgmenton anybody. "

Captain Eri caught him by the sleeve as he was running past andinquired, "How'd it start, Web?"

"How'd it START? I know mighty well HOW it started, and 'fore I gitthrough I'll know WHO started it. Somebody 'll pay for this, now youhear me! Hurry up with the water, you--"

He tore frantically away to the pump and the three captains joined thecrowd of volunteer firemen. Captain Eri, running round to the back ofthe building, took in the situation at once. Back of the main portion ofthe saloon was an ell, and it was in this ell that the fire had started. The ell, itself, was in a bright blaze, but the larger building in frontwas only just beginning to burn. The Captain climbed one of the laddersto the roof and called to the men at work there. 

"That shed's gone, Ben, " he said. "Chuck your water on the main parthere. Maybe, if we had some ropes we might be able to pull the shedclear, and then we could save the rest. "

"How'd you fasten the ropes?" was the panted reply. "She's all ablaze, and a rope would burn through in a minute if you tied it anywheres. "

"Git some grapples and anchors out of Rogers' shop. He's got a whole lotof 'em. Keep on with the water bus'ness. I'll git the other stuff. "

He descended the ladder and explained his idea to the crowd below. Therewas a great shout and twenty men and boys started on a run after ropes, while as many more stormed at the door of Nathaniel Rogers' blacksmithshop. Rogers was the local dealer in anchors and other marine ironwork. The door of the shop was locked and there was a yell for axes to burstit open. 

Then arose an agonized shriek of "Don't chop! don't chop!" and Mr. Rogers himself came struggling to the defense of his property. In concert the instant need was explained to him, but he remainedunconvinced. 

"We can't stay here arguin' all night!" roared one of the leaders. "He'sgot to let us in. Go ahead and chop! I'll hold him. "

"I give you fair warnin', Squealer Wixon! If you chop that door, I'llhave the law onto you. I just had that door painted, and--STOP! I've gotthe key in my pocket!"

It was plain that the majority were still in favor of chopping, asaffording a better outlet for surplus energy, but they waited while Mr. Rogers, still protesting, produced the key and unlocked the door. Inanother minute the greater portion of the ironwork in the establishmentwas on its way to the fire. 

The rope-seekers were just returning, laden with everything fromclothes-lines to cables. Half a dozen boat anchors and a grapnel werefastened to as many ropes, and the crowd pranced gayly about the burningell, looking for a chance to make them fast. Captain Eri found a partywith axes endeavoring to cut a hole through the side of the saloon inorder to get out the pool table. After some endeavor he persuaded themto desist and they came around to the rear and, taking turns, ran inclose to the shed and chopped at it until the fire drove them away. Atlast they made a hole close to where it joined the main building, largeenough to attach the grapnel. Then, with a "Yo heave ho!" everyone tookhold of the rope and pulled. Of course the grapnel pulled out with onlya board or two, but they tried again, and, this time getting it around abeam, pulled a large portion of the shed to the ground. 

Meanwhile, another ax party had attached an anchor to the opposite side, and were making good progress. In due time the shed yawned away from thesaloon, tottered, and collapsed in a shower of sparks. A deluge of watersoon extinguished these. Then everyone turned to the main building, and, as the fire had not yet taken a firm hold of this, they soon had itunder control. 

Captain Eri worked with the rest until he saw that the worst was over. Then he began the search that had been in his mind since he first sawthe blaze. He found Captain Jerry and Captain Perez perspiringly passingbuckets of water from hand to hand in the line, and, calling them to oneside, asked anxiously:

"Have either of you fellers seen John Baxter tonight?"

Captain Perez looked surprised, and then some of the trouble discerniblein Eri's face was apparent in his own. 

"Why, no, " he replied slowly, "I ain't seen him, now you speak of it. Everybody in town's here, too. Queer, ain't it?

"Haven't you seen him, either, Jerry?"

Captain Jerry answered with a shake of the head. "But then, " he said, "Perez and me have been right here by the pump ever sence we come. Hemight be 'most anywheres else, and we wouldn't see him. Want me to asksome of the other fellers?"

"No!" exclaimed his friend, almost fiercely. "Don't you mention his nameto a soul, nor let 'em know you've thought of him. If anybody shouldask, tell 'em you guess he's right around somewheres. You two git towork ag'in. I'll let you know if I want you. "

The pair took up their buckets, and the Captain walked on from group togroup, looking carefully at each person. The Reverend Perley and someof his flock were standing by themselves on a neighboring stoop, and tothem the searcher turned eagerly. 

"Why, Cap'n Eri!" exclaimed Miss Busteed, the first to identify him, "how you've worked! You must be tired pretty nigh to death. Ain't itawful! But it's the Lord's doin's; I'm jest as sure of that as I can be, and I says so to Mr. Perley. Didn't I, Mr. Perley? I says--"

"Lookin' for anybody, Cap'n?" interrupted the reverend gentleman. 

"No, " lied the Captain calmly, "jest walkin' around to git cooled off alittle. Good-night. "

There was the most likely place, and John Baxter was not there. Certainly every citizen in Orham, who was able to crawl, would be outthis night, and if the old puritan hermit of the big house was notpresent to exult over the downfall of the wicked, it would be becausehe was ill or because--The Captain didn't like to think of the otherreason. 

Mrs. "Web" Saunders, quietly weeping, was seated on a knoll near thepump. Three of the Saunders' hopefuls, also weeping, but not quietly, were seated beside her. Another, the youngest of the family, was beingrocked soothingly in the arms of a stout female, who was singing to itas placidly as though fires were an every day, or night, occurrence. TheCaptain peered down, and the stout woman looked up. 

"Why, Mrs. Snow!" exclaimed Captain Eri. 

The lady from Nantucket made no immediate reply. She rose, however, shook down the black "alpaca" skirt, which had been folded up to keepit out of the dew, and, still humming softly to the child, walked off alittle way, motioning with her head for the Captain to follow. Whenshe had reached a spot sufficiently remote from Mrs. Saunders, shewhispered:

"How d'ye do, Cap'n Hedge? I guess the wust is over now, isn't it? I sawyou workin' with them ropes; you must be awful tired. "

"How long have you been here?" asked the Captain somewhat astonished ather calmness. 

"Oh, I come right down as soon as I heard the bell. I'm kind of used tofires. My husband's schooner got afire twice while I was with him. Heused to run a coal vessel, you know. I got right up and packed my bag, 'cause I didn't know how the fire might spread. You never can tell ina town like this. Ssh'h, dearie, " to the baby, "there, there, it's allright. Lay still. "

"How'd you git acquainted with her?" nodding toward the wife of theproprietor of the scorched saloon. 

"Oh, I see the poor thing settin' there with all them children andnobody paying much attention to her, so I went over and asked if Icouldn't help out. I haven't got any children of my own, but I wasnumber three in a fam'ly of fourteen, so I know how it's done. Oh! thathusband of hers! He's a nice one, he is! Would you b'lieve it, he comealong and she spoke to him, and he swore at her somethin' dreadful. That's why she's cryin'. Poor critter, I guess by the looks she's usedto it. Well, I give HIM a piece of my mind. He went away with a flea inhis ear. I do despise a profane man above all things. Yes, the baby'sall right, Mrs. Saunders. I'm a-comin'. Good-night, Cap'n Hedge. Is'pose I shall see you all in the mornin'. You ought to be careful andnot stand still much this damp night. It's bad when you're het up so. "

She went back, still singing to the baby, to where Mrs. Saunders sat, and the Captain looked after her in a kind of amazed fashion. 

"By mighty!" he muttered, and then repeated it. Then he resumed hissearch. 

He remembered that there had been a number of people on the side ofthe burning shed opposite that on which he had been employed, and hedetermined to have one look there before going to the Baxter homestead. Almost the first man he saw as he approached the dying fire was RalphHazeltine. The electrician's hands and face were blackened by soot, andthe perspiration sparkled on his forehead. 

"Hello, Captain!" he said, holding out his hand. "Lively for a while, wasn't it? They tell me you were the man who suggested pulling down theshed. It saved the day, all right enough. "

"You look as if you'd been workin' some yourself. Was you one of thefellers that got that anchor in on this side?"

"He was THE one, " broke in Mr. Wingate, who was standing at Hazeltine'selbow. "He waded in with an ax and stayed there till I thought he'd burnthe hair off his head. Web ought to pay you and him salvage, Eri. Thewhole craft would have gone up if it hadn't been for you two. "

"I wonder if they got that pool table out, " laughed Ralph. "They dideverything but saw it into chunks. "

"I never saw Bluey Bacheldor work so afore, " commented the Captain. "Iwish somebody'd took a photograph of him. I'll bet you could sell 'emround town for curiosities. Well, I can't be standin' here. "

"If you're going home I'll go along with you. I may as well be gettingdown toward the station. The excitement is about over. "

"I ain't goin' right home, Mr. Hazeltine. I've got an errand to do. Prob'ly I'll be goin' pretty soon, though. "

"Oh, all right! I'll wait here a while longer then. See you laterperhaps. "

The fog had lifted somewhat and as the Captain, running silently, turnedinto the "shore road, " he saw that the light in the Baxter homestead hadnot been extinguished. The schoolhouse bell had ceased to ring, and theshouts of the crowd at the fire sounded faintly. There were no othersounds. 

Up the driveway Captain Eri hurried. There were no lights in the lowerpart of the house and the dining-room door was locked. The kitchendoor, however, was not fastened and the Captain opened it and entered. Shutting it carefully behind him, he groped along to the entrance of thenext room. 

"John!" he called softly. There was no answer, and the house wasperfectly still save for the ticking of the big clock. Captain Eriscratched a match and by its light climbed the stairs. His friend'sroom was empty. The lamp was burning on the bureau and a Bible was openbeside it. The bed had not been slept in. 

Thoroughly alarmed now, the Captain, lamp in hand, went through one roomafter the other. John Baxter was not at home, and he was not with thecrowd at the fire. Where was he? There was, of course, a chance that hisfriend had passed him on the way or that he had been at the fire, afterall, but this did not seem possible. However, there was nothing to dobut go back, and this time the Captain took the path across the fields. 

The Baxter house was on the "shore road, " and the billiard room andpost-office were on the "main road. " People in a hurry sometimes avoidedthe corner by climbing the fence opposite the Baxter gate, going throughthe Dawes' pasture and over the little hill back of the livery stable, and coming out in the rear of the post-office and close to the saloon. 

Captain Eri, worried, afraid to think of the fire and its cause, andonly anxious to ascertain where his friend was and what he had beendoing that night, trotted through the pasture and over the hill. Justas he came to the bayberry bushes on the other side he stumbled and fellflat. 

He knew what it was that he had stumbled over the moment that he fellacross it, and his fingers trembled, so that he could scarcely scratchthe match that he took from his pocket. But it was lighted at last and, as its tiny blaze grew brighter, the Captain saw John Baxter lying facedownward in the path, his head pointed toward his home and his feettoward the billiard saloon. 

CHAPTER VII

CAPTAIN ERI FINDS A NURSE

For a second, only, Captain Eri stood there motionless, stooping overthe body of his friend. Then he sprang into vigorous action. He droppedupon his knees and, seizing the shoulder of the prostrate figure, shook it gently, whispering, "John! John!" There was no answer and noresponsive movement, and the Captain bent his head and listened. Breathwas there and life; but, oh, so little of either! The next thought was, of course, to run for help and for a doctor, but he took but a few stepswhen a new idea struck him and he came back. 

Lighting another match he examined the fallen man hurriedly. The old"Come-Outer" lay in the path with his arms outstretched, as if he hadfallen while running. He was bare-headed, and there was no sign of awound upon him. One coat-sleeve was badly scorched, and from a pocket inthe coat protruded the neck of a bottle. The bottle was empty, but itsodor was strong; it had contained kerosene. The evidence was clear, andthe Captain knew that what he had feared was the truth. 

For a moment he stood erect and pondered as to what was best to do. Whatever it was, it must be done quickly, but if the doctor and thosethat might come with him should find the burned coat and the tell-talebottle, it were better for John Baxter that consciousness and life neverwere his again. There might, and probably would, be suspicion; but herewas proof absolute that meant prison and disgrace for a man whom all thecommunity had honored and respected. 

Captain Eri weighed the chances, speculated on the result, and then didwhat seemed to him right. He threw the bottle as far away from the pathas he could and then stripped off the coat, and, folding it into a smallbundle, hid it in the bushes near by. Then he lifted the limp body, andturned it so that the gray head was toward the billiard saloon insteadof from it. 

Perez and Jerry were still busy with the water buckets when their friendcame panting up the knoll to the pump. 

"Hello, Eri!" said the former, wiping his forehead with his arm. "It's'bout out, ain't it? Why, what's the matter?"

"Nothin'; nothin' to speak of. Put down them buckets, and you and Jerrycome with me. I've got somethin' that I want you to do. "

Nodding and exchanging congratulations with acquaintances in the crowdon the success of the fire-fighting, Captain Eri led his messmates to adark corner under a clump of trees. Then he took each of them by the armand whispered sharply:

"Dr. Palmer's somewheres in this crowd. I want each of you fellers to godiff'rent ways and look for him. Whichever one finds him fust can bringhim up to the corner by the post-office. Whistle when you git there andthe rest of us 'll come. Don't stop to ask questions. I ain't hurt, butJohn Baxter's had a stroke or somethin'. I can't tell you no more now. Hurry! And say, don't you mention to a soul what the matter is. "

A sea-faring life has its advantages. It teaches prompt obedience, forone thing. The two mariners did not hesitate an instant, but bolted inopposite directions. Captain Eri watched them go, and then set off inanother. He was stopped every few moments and all sorts of questions andcomments concerning the fire and its cause were fired at him, but heput off some inquiries with a curt "Don't know" and others with nodsor negatives, and threaded his way from one clump of townspeople toanother. As he came close to the blackened and smoking billiard saloon, Ralph Hazeltine caught him by the arm. 

"Hello!" said the electrician. "Haven't you gone home yet?"

"No, not yit. Say, I'll ask you, 'cause I cal'late you can keep yourmouth shut if it's necessary: Have you seen the Doctor anywheres 'roundlately? He was here, 'cause I saw him when I fust come. "

"Who, Dr. Palmer? No; I haven't seen him. Is anyone hurt? Can I help?"

"I guess not. John Baxter's sick, but--oh, Lord! Here comes Wingate. He'll talk for a week. "

Seth, panting and excited, was pushing his way toward them, shouting theCaptain's name at the top of his voice. 

"Hey, Eri!" he hailed. "I want to know if you'll sign a petition to gitthe town a fire ingyne? I've been talkin' to a couple of the s'lectmenand they--"

"Oh, Mr. Wingate, " interrupted Ralph, "Mr. Mullett's been looking foryou. He's over there by the pump, I think. "

"Who, Lem Mullett? Is that so! He's jest the feller I want to see. Seeyou later, Eri. "

The Captain grinned appreciatively as the convert to the hand-engineproposal disappeared. 

"That wasn't so bad, " he said. "I'm much obliged. Hey! There's thewhistle. Come on, Mr. Hazeltine, if you ain't in a special hurry. Maybewe WILL need you. "

They reached the corner by the post-office to find Dr. Palmer, who hadpracticed medicine in Orham since he received his diploma, waiting forthem. Captain Perez, who had discovered the physician on the Nickersonpiazza, was standing close by with his fingers in his mouth, whistlingwith the regularity of a foghorn. 

"Cut it short, Perez!" commanded Eri. "We're here now. "

"Yes, but Jerry ain't. " And the whistling began again. 

"Dry up, for the land's sake! D'you want to fetch the whole tribe here?There's Jerry, now. Come on, Doctor. "

John Baxter was lying just as the Captain had left him, and the otherswatched anxiously as the doctor listened at the parted lips, and thrusthis hand inside the faded blue waistcoat. 

"He's alive, " he said after a moment, "but unconscious. We must get himhome at once. "

"He heard the bell and was runnin' to the fire when he was took, " saidCaptain Jerry. "Run out in his shirt sleeves, and was took when he gotas fur as here. "

"That's the way I figger it, " said Eri unblushingly. "Lift himcarefully, you fellers. Now then!"

"I warned him against over-exertion or excitement months ago, " said theDoctor, as they bore the senseless burden toward the big house, now asblack as the grave that was so near its owner. "We must find someoneto take care of him at once. I don't believe the old man has a relationwithin a hundred miles. "

"Why don't we take him to our house?" suggested Captain Jerry. "'Twouldn't seem so plaguey lonesome, anyhow. "

"By mighty!" ejaculated Captain Eri in astonishment. "Well, Jerry, I'llbe switched if you ain't right down brilliant once in a while. Of coursewe will. He can have the spare room. Why didn't I think of that, Iwonder?"

And so John Baxter, who had not paid a visit in his native village sincehis wife died, came at last to his friend's home to pay what seemedlikely to be a final one. They carried him up the stairs to the spareroom, as dismal and cheerless as spare rooms in the country generallyare, undressed him as tenderly as their rough hands would allow, robedhim in one of Captain Jerry's nightshirts--the buttons that fastenedit had been sewed on by the Captain himself, and were all sizes andcolors--and laid him in the big corded bedstead. The Doctor hastenedaway to procure his medicine case. Ralph Hazeltine, having beenprofusely thanked for his services and promising to call the next day, went back to the station, and the three captains sat down by the bedsideto watch and wait. 

Captain Eri was too much perturbed to talk, but the other two, althoughsympathetically sorry for the sufferer, were bursting with excitementand curiosity. 

"Well, if THIS ain't been a night!" exclaimed Captain Jerry. "Seem's ifeverything happened at once. Fust that darky and then the fire and thenthis. Don't it beat all?

"Eri, " said Captain Perez anxiously, "was John layin' jest the same waywhen you found him as he was when we come?"

"Right in the same place, " was the answer. 

"I didn't say in the same place. I asked if he was layin' the same way. "

"He hadn't moved a muscle. Laid jest as if he was dead. "

It will be noticed that Captain Eri was adhering strictly to thetruth. Luckily, Perez seemed to be satisfied, for he asked no furtherquestions, but observed, "It's a good thing we've got a crowd to swearhow we found him. There's a heap of folks in this town would be sayin'he set that fire if 'twa'n't for that. "

"Some of 'em will be sayin' it anyhow, " remarked Jerry. 

"Some folks 'll say anything but their prayers, " snapped Eri savagely. "They won't say it while I'm around. And look here! if you hear anybodysayin' it, you tell 'em it's a lie. If that don't keep 'em quiet, let meknow. "

"Oh, all right. WE know he didn't set it. I was jest sayin'--"

"Well, don't say it. "

"My, you're techy! Guess fires and colored folks don't agree with you. What are we goin' to do now? If John don't die, and the Lord knows Ihope he won't, he's likely to be sick here a long spell. Who are wegoin' to git to take care of him? That's what I want to know. Somebody'sgot to do it and we ain't fit. If Jerry 'd only give in and git marriednow--"

But Captain Jerry's protest against matrimony was as obstinate as ever. Even Perez gave up urging after a while and conversation lagged again. In a few minutes the Doctor came back, and his examination of thepatient and demands for glasses of water, teaspoons, and the like, keptPerez and Jerry busy. It was some time before they noticed that CaptainEri had disappeared. Even then they did not pay much attention to thecircumstance, but watched the physician at work and questioned himconcerning the nature of their guest's illness. 

"D'you think he'll die, Doctor?" inquired Jerry in a hushed voice, asthey came out of the sick room into the connecting chamber. 

"Can't say. He has had a stroke of paralysis, and there seem to beother complications. If he regains consciousness I shall think he has achance, but not a very good one. His pulse is a little stronger. I don'tthink he'll die to-night, but if he lives he will need a good nurse, andI don't know of one in town. "

"Nor me neither, " said Captain Perez. 

"Well, A'nt Zuby might come, " suggested Jerry, "but I should hate tohave her nuss me, and as for bein' WELL in a house where she was--whew!"

"A'nt Zuby!" sneered his messmate. "If Lorenzo had a fit and they calledA'nt Zuby he'd have another one and die. A'nt Zuby! I'd 'bout as soonhave M'lissy and be done with it. "

"Yes, I don't doubt YOU WOULD, " was the anything but gentle retort. 

What Perez would have said to this thrust must be surmised, for justthen the dining-room door opened and closed again. 

"There's Eri, " said Captain Jerry. Then he added in an alarmed whisper, "Who on airth has he got with him?"

They heard their friend's voice warning someone to be careful of the topstep, and then the chamber door opened and Captain Eri appeared. Therewere beads of perspiration on his forehead, and he was carrying a shabbycanvas extension-case. Captain Jerry gazed at the extension-case withbulging eyes. 

Captain Eri put down the extension-case and opened the door wide. Awoman came in; a stout woman dressed in black "alpaca" and wearingbrass-rimmed spectacles. Captain Jerry gasped audibly. 

"Dr. Palmer, " said Captain Eri, "let me make you acquainted with Mrs. Snow of Nantucket. Mrs. Snow, this is Dr. Palmer. "

The Doctor and the lady from Nantucket shook hands, the former with apuzzled expression on his face. 

"Perez, " continued the Captain, "let me make you known to Mrs. Snow--Mrs. Marthy B. Snow, "--this with especial emphasis, --"ofNantucket. Mrs. Snow, this is Cap'n Perez Ryder. "

They shook hands; Captain Perez managed to say that he was glad to meetMrs. Snow. Captain Jerry said nothing, but he looked like a criminalawaiting the fall of the drop. 

"Doctor, " continued the Captain, paying no attention to the signals ofdistress displayed by his friend, "I heard you say a spell ago thatJohn here needed somebody to take care of him. Well, Mrs. Snow--she'sa--a--sort of relation of Jerry's"--just a suspicion of a smileaccompanied this assertion--"and she's done consid'rable nussin' in hertime. I've been talkin' the thing over with her and she's willin' tolook out for John till he gits better. "

The physician adjusted his eyeglasses and looked the volunteer nurseover keenly. The lady paid no attention to the scrutiny, but calmlyremoved her bonnet and placed it on the bureau. The room was CaptainEri's, and the general disarrangement of everything movable was only alittle less marked than in those of his companions. Mrs. Snow glancedover the heap of odds and ends on the bureau and picked up a comb. Therewere some teeth in it, but they were distant neighbors. 

"I don't use that comb very much, " said Captain Eri ratherapologetically. "I gin'rally use the one downstairs. "

The new-found relative of Captain Jerry said nothing, but, laying downthe ruin, marched over to the extension-case, opened it, and tookout another comb--a whole one. With this she arranged the hair on herforehead. It, the hair, was parted in the middle and drawn back smoothlyat the sides, and Captain Eri noticed that it was brown with a littlegray in it. When the last stray wisp was in place, she turned calmly tothe Doctor and said:

"Cap'n Baxter's in here, I s'pose. Shall I walk right in?"

The man of medicine seemed a little surprised at the lady's command ofthe situation, but he said:

"Why, yes, ma'am; I guess you may. You have nursed before, I think theCaptain said. "

"Five years with my husband. He had slow consumption. Before that withmy mother, and most of my brothers and sisters at one time or another. I've seen consid'rable sickness all my life. More of that than anythingelse, I guess. Now, if you'll come in with me, so's to tell me about themedicine and so on. "

With a short "Humph!" the physician followed her into the sick room, while the three mariners gazed wide-eyed in at the door. They watched, as Doctor Palmer explained medicines and gave directions. It did notneed an expert to see that the new nurse understood her business. 

When the Doctor came out his face shone with gratification. 

"She'll do, " he said emphatically. "If all your relatives are like that, Cap'n Burgess, I'd like to know 'em; 'twould help me in my business. "Then he added in response to a question, "He seems to be a little betterjust now. I think there will be no change for a while; if there shouldbe, send for me. I'll call in the morning. Gracious! it's almostdaylight now. "

They saw him to the door and then came back upstairs. Mrs. Snow wasbusy, arranging the pillows, setting the room in something likeorder, and caring for her patient's garments, that had been tossedhelter-skelter on the floor in the hurry of undressing. She came to thedoor as they entered Captain Eri's chamber. 

"Mrs. Snow, " said the Captain, "you'd better sleep in my room herelong's you stay. I'll bunk in with Perez downstairs. I'll git my dunnageout of here right off. I think likely you'll want to clean up some. "

The lady from Nantucket glanced at the bureau top and seemed about tosay something, but checked herself. What she did say was:

"P'raps you'd better introduce me to Cap'n Burgess. I don't think we'veever met, if we ARE relations. "

Captain Eri actually blushed a little. "Why, of course, " he said. "Excuse me, ma'am. Jerry, this is Mrs. Snow. I don't know what's gotinto me, bein' so careless. "

The sacrifice shook the nurse's hand and said something, nobody knewexactly what. Mrs. Snow went on to say, "Now, I want you men to go righton to bed, for I know you're all tuckered out. We can talk to-morrow--Imean to-day, of course: I forgot 'twas next-door to daylight now. Ishall set up with Cap'n Baxter, and if I need you I'll call you. I'llcall you anyway when I think it's time. Good-night. "

They protested, of course, but the lady would not listen. She calmlyseated herself in the rocker by the bed and waved to them to go, whichtwo of them reluctantly did after a while. The other one had gonealready. It would be superfluous to mention his name. 

Downstairs again and in Perez' room Captain Eri came in for aquestioning that bade fair to keep up forever. He shut off allinquiries, however, with the announcement that he wouldn't tell them aword about it till he'd had some sleep. Then he would explain the wholething, and they could decide whether he had done right or not. Therewere all sorts of things to be considered, he said, and they had bettertake a nap now while they could. 

"Well, I'd jest like to ask you this, Eri Hedge, " demanded CaptainJerry. "What in time did you tell the Doctor that she was a relation ofmine for? That was a nice thing to do, wa'n't it? I'll have to answermore fool questions 'bout that than a little. What sort of a relationshall I tell folks she is? Jest tell me that, will you?"

"Oh, tell 'em she's a relation by marriage, " was the answer, muffled bythe bed clothes. "Maybe that 'll be true by the time they ask you. "

"I'll BET it won't!" snorted the rebel. 

Captain Perez fell asleep almost immediately. Captain Jerry, tired out, did the same, but Captain Eri's eyes did not close. The surf poundedand grumbled. A rooster, early astir, crowed somewhere in the distance. Daniel thumped the side of his stall and then subsided for another nap. The gray morning light brightened the window of the little house. 

Then Captain Eri slid silently out of bed, dressed with elaborateprecautions against noise, put on his cap, and tiptoed out of the house. He walked through the dripping grass, climbed the back fence andhurried to the hill where John Baxter had fallen. Once there, he lookedcarefully around to be sure that no one was watching. Orham, as a rule, is an early riser, but this morning most of the inhabitants, having beenup for the greater part of the night, were making up lost sleep and theCaptain was absolutely alone. 

Assured of this, he turned to the bush underneath which he had hiddenthe burned coat, pushed aside the drenched boughs with their fadingleaves and reached down for the tell-tale garment. 

And then he made an unpleasant discovery. The coat was gone. 

He spent an agitated quarter of an hour hunting through every clump ofbushes in the immediate vicinity, but there was no doubt of it. Someonehad been there before him and had taken the coat away. 

CHAPTER VIII

HOUSEKEEPER AND BOOK AGENT

There was a knock on the door of Captain Perez's sleeping apartment. 

"Cap'n Hedge, " said Mrs. Snow, "Cap'n Hedge! I'm sorry to wake you up, but it's 'most ten o'clock and--"

"What? Ten o'clock! Godfrey scissors! Of all the lazy--I'll be out in ajiffy. Perez, turn out there! Turn out, I tell you!"

Captain Eri had fallen asleep in the rocker where he had seated himselfupon his return from the fruitless search for the coat. He had had nointention of sleeping, but he was tired after his strenuous work at thefire, and had dropped off in the midst of his worry. He sprang to hisfeet, and tried to separate dreams from realities. 

"Land of love, Perez!" he ejaculated. "Here you and me have beensleepin' ha'f the forenoon. We'd ought to be ashamed of ourselves. Let'sgit dressed quicker 'n chain lightnin'. "

"Dressed?" queried Perez, sitting up in bed. "I should think you wasdressed now, boots and all. What are you talkin' 'bout?"

The Captain glanced down at his clothes and seemed as much surprised ashis friend. He managed to pull himself together, however, and stammered:

"Dressed? Oh, I'm dressed, of course. It's you I'm tryin' to git somelife into. "

"Well, why didn't you call a feller, 'stead of gittin' up and dressin'all by yourself. I never see such a critter. Where's my socks?"

To avoid further perplexing questions Captain Eri went into the diningroom. The table was set, really set, with a clean cloth and dishes thatshone. The knives and forks were arranged by the plates, not piled in aheap for each man to help himself. The Captain gasped. 

"Well, I swan to man!" he said. "Has Jerry had a fit or what's struckhim? I ain't seen him do anything like this for I don't know when. "

"Oh, Cap'n Burgess didn't fix the table, if that's what you mean, " saidthe new nurse. "Cap'n Baxter seemed to be sleepin' or in a stupor like, and the Doctor, when he come, said I might leave him long enough to rundownstairs for a few minutes, so--"

"The Doctor? Has the Doctor been here this mornin'?"

"Yes, he come 'bout an hour ago. Now, if you wouldn't mind goin' upand stayin' with Cap'n Baxter for a few minutes while I finish gettin'breakfast. I've been up and down so many times in the last ha'f hour, Idon't know's I'm sartin whether I'm on my head or my heels. "

The Captain went upstairs in a dazed state. As he passed through whathad been his room he vaguely noticed that the bureau top was clean, andthat most of the rubbish that had ornamented it had disappeared. 

The sick man lay just as he had left him, his white face as colorlessas the clean pillow case against which it rested. Captain Eri rememberedthat the pillow cases in the spare room had looked a little yellow thenight before, possibly owing to the fact that, as the room had not beenoccupied for months, they had not been changed. He reasoned that theimprovement was another one of the reforms instituted by the lady fromNantucket. 

He sat down in the rocker by the bed and thought, with a shiver, of themissing coat. There were nine chances out of ten that whoever found itwould recognize it as belonging to the old "Come-Outer. " The contentsof the pocket would be almost certain to reveal the secret if the coatitself did not. It remained to be seen who the finder was and whathe would do. Meanwhile there was no use worrying. Having come to thisconclusion the Captain, with customary philosophy, resolved to think ofsomething else. 

Mrs. Snow entered and announced that breakfast was ready and thathe must go down at once and eat it while it was hot. She, havingbreakfasted some time before, would stay with the patient until the mealwas over. Captain Eri at first flatly declined to listen to any sucharrangement, but the calm insistence of the Nantucket visitor prevailedas usual. The Captain realized that the capacity for "bossin' things, "that he had discerned in the letter, was even more apparent in the ladyherself. One thing he did insist upon, however, and this was that Mrs. Snow should "turn in" as soon as breakfast was over. One of the threewould take the watch in the sick room while the other two washed thedishes. The nurse was inclined to balk on the dishwashing proposition, saying that she could do it herself after she had had a wink or two, but this the Captain wouldn't hear of. He went away, however, with anunsettled conviction that, although he and his partners might washthe dishes, Mrs. Snow would wash them again as soon as she had anopportunity. "She didn't say so, but she sort of looked it, " heexplained afterward. 

He found his friends seated at the table and feasting on hot biscuits, eggs, and clear, appetizing coffee. They greeted him joyously. 

"Hey, Eri!" hailed Captain Perez. "Ain't this gay? Look at them eggs;b'iled jest to a T. Ain't much like Jerry's h'af raw kind. "

"Humph! You needn't say nothin', Perez, " observed Captain Jerry, hismouth full of biscuit. "When you was cook, you allers b'iled 'em so hardthey'd dent the barn if you'd fired 'em at it. How's John, Eri?"

Captain Eri gave his and the Doctor's opinion of his friend's conditionand then said, "Now, we've got to have some kind of a settlement on thismarryin' question. Last night, when I was up in the room there, it comeacrost me all of a sudden that, from what I'd seen of this Nantucketwoman, she'd be jest the sort of nurse that John needed. So I skippedout while you fellers was busy with the Doctor, found her at the hotel, explained things to her, and got her to come down. That's all there isto that. I ain't made no arrangement with her, and somethin's got to bedone. What do you think of her, jedgin' by what you've seen?"

Captain Perez gave it as his opinion that she was "all right, " andadded, "If Jerry here wa'n't so pigheaded all at once, he'd marry herwithout waitin' another minute. "

Eri nodded. "That's my idee, " he said emphatically. 

But Captain Jerry was as obstinate as ever. He simply would not considerimmediate marriage. In vain his comrades reminded him of the originalcompact, and the fact that the vote was two to one against him; heannounced that he had changed his mind, and that that was all there wasabout it. 

At length Captain Eri lost patience. 

"Jerry, " he exclaimed, "you remind me of that old white hen we usedto have. When we didn't want her to set she'd set on anything from adoorknob to a rock, couldn't keep her off; but when we give in finallyand got a settin' of eggs for her, she wouldn't come nigher to 'em thanthe other end of the hen-yard. Now you might as well make up your mindthat somethin's got to be done. This Mrs. Snow ain't nobody's fool. Weput out a bait that anybody with sense would say couldn't catch nothin'but sculpin, and, by mighty, we hooked a halibut! If the woman wasanything like what you'd think she'd be, answerin' an advertisement likethat, I'd be the fust to say let her go, but she ain't; she's all right, and we need her to nuss John besides. "

"Tell you what we might do, " said Perez slowly; "we might explain to herthat Jerry don't feel that 'twould be right to think of marryin' withCap'n Baxter so sick in the house and that, if she's willin', we'll putit off till he dies or gets better. Meantime, we'll pay her so much tostay here and nuss. Seems to me that's about the only way out of it. "

So they agreed to lay this proposal before the Nantucket lady, CaptainJerry reluctantly consenting. Then Captain Eri took up another subject. 

John Baxter, as has been said, had one relative, a granddaughter, livingsomewhere near Boston. Captain Eri felt that this granddaughter shouldbe notified of the old man's illness at once. The difficulty was thatnone of them knew the young lady's address. 

"Her fust name's Elizabeth, same as her mothers was, " said Eri, "and herdad's name was Preston. They called her Elsie. John used to write to herevery once in a while. P'raps Sam would know where she lived. "

"Jest' cause Sam's postmaster, " observed Perez, "it don't foller that hereads the name on every letter that goes out and remembers 'em besides. "

"Well, if he don't, " said Captain Jerry decidedly, "Mary Emma does. Shereads everything, postals and all. "

Miss Mary Emma Cahoon was the assistant at the post-office, and waspossessed of a well-developed curiosity concerning other people'scorrespondence. 

"Humph!" exclaimed Captain Eri, "that's so. We'll write the letter, andI'll ask Mary Emma for the address when I go up to mail it. "

So Captain Perez went upstairs to take Mrs Snow's place as nurse, whilethat lady "turned in. " Captain Jerry went into the kitchen to wash thedishes, and Captain Eri sat down to write the note that should informElizabeth Preston of her grandfather's illness. It was a very shortnote, and merely stated the fact without further information. Having hadsome experience in that line, the Captain placed very little relianceupon the help to be expected from relatives. 

Dr. Palmer had spread the news as he went upon his round of visits thatmorning, and callers began to drop in to inquire after the sick man. Miss Busteed was one of the first arrivals, and, as Captain Eri hadseen her through the window, he went upstairs and took Perez' placeas temporary nurse. To Perez, therefore, fell the delightful task ofentertaining the voluble female for something like an hour, while shetalked fire, paralysis, and general gossip at express speed. 

Ralph Hazeltine came in a little later, and was introduced to Mrs. Snow, that lady's nap having been but a short one. Ralph was favorablyimpressed with the capable appearance of the new nurse, and so expressedhimself to Captain Eri as they walked together toward the post-office. 

"I like her, " he said emphatically. "She's quiet and sensible andcheerful besides. She looks as if trouble didn't trouble her very much. "

"I jedge she's seen enough of it in her time, too, " observed the Captainreflectively. "Queer thing how trouble acts different on folks. Kindof like hot weather, sours milk, but sweetens apples. She's one of thesweetened kind. And yet, I cal'late she can be pretty sharp, too, if youtry to tread on her toes. Sort of a sweet pickle, hey?" and he laughed. 

Miss Cahoon remembered the Preston girl's address. It was Cambridge, Kirkland Street, but the number, she did declare, had skipped her mind. The Captain said he would chance it without the number, so the letterwas posted. Then, with the electrician, he strolled over to inspect theremains of the billiard saloon. 

There was a small crowd gathered about the building, prominent amongits members being the "train committee, " who were evidently holdinga special session on this momentous occasion. The busy "Squealer, " atrifle enlivened by some of Mr. Saunders' wet goods that had escapedthe efforts of the volunteer salvage corps, hailed the new arrivals asbrother heroes. 

"Well now, Cap'n Eri!" he exclaimed, shaking hands vigorously. "And Mr. Hazeltine, too! How're you feelin' after last night? I says to Web, Isays, 'There's folks in this town besides me that kept you from losin'the whole thing and you ought to thank 'em, ' I says. 'One of 'em 'sCap'n Eri and t'other one's Mr. Hazeltine. If we three didn't work, then_I_ don't know, ' I says. "

"Web found out how the fire started yit?" inquired the Captain withapparent unconcern. 

"No, he hain't for sure. There was a lot of us thought old Baxter mighthave set it, but they tell me it couldn't have been him, cause he wastook down runnin' to the fire. Web, he's sort of changed his tune, anddon't seem to think anybody set it; thinks it catched itself. "

Mr. Saunders, his smooth self again, with all traces of mentaldisturbance gone from his face and all roughness from his tongue, camebriskly up, smiling as if the burning of his place of business was but atrifling incident, a little annoying, of course, but not worth frettingabout. He thanked the Captain and Hazeltine effusively for their serviceof the previous night, and piled the weight of his obligations upon themuntil, as Captain Eri said afterwards, "the syrup fairly dripped off hischin. " The Captain broke in upon the sugary flow as soon as he could. 

"How d'you think it started, Web?" he asked. 

"Well, " replied Mr. Saunders slowly, "I kind of cal'late she startedherself. There was some of the boys in here most of the evenin', and, jest like's not, a cigar butt, or a match, or somethin'dropped somewheres and got to smolderin', and smoldered along tillbime-by--puff!" An expressive wave of a fat hand finished the sentence. 

"Humph!" grunted the Captain. "Changed your mind sence last night. Seemsto me I heard you then swearin' you knew 'twas set and who set it. "

"Well, ye-es. I was considerable shook up last night and maybe I saidthings I hadn't ought to. You see there's been a good deal of hardfeelin's towards me in town and for a spell I thought some feller'dtried to burn me out. But I guess not; I guess not. More I think of it, more I think it catched itself. Seems to me I remember smellin' sort ofa scorchin' smell when I was lockin' up. Oh, say! I was mighty sorry tohear 'bout Cap'n Baxter bein' took sick. The old man was dreadfuldown on liquor, but I laid that to his religion and never had no hardfeelin's against him. How's he gittin' along?"

Captain Eri brusquely replied that his friend was "'bout the same, " andasked if Mr. Saunders intended to rebuild. "Web" didn't know just yet. He was a poor man, didn't carry much insurance, and so on. Thoughtlikely he should fix up again if it didn't cost too much. Did the Doctorsay whether Captain Baxter would pull through or not?

Captain Eri gave an evasive answer and turned away. He was silent forsome little time, and when Ralph commented on "Web's" overnight changeof manner, his rejoinder was to the effect that "ile was bound to rise, but that didn't mean there wa'n't dirty water underneath. " On the wayhome he asked Hazeltine concerning the trouble at the cable station, andhow Mr. Langley had treated the matter. 

Ralph replied that Mr. Langley had said nothing to him about it. It washis opinion that the old gentleman understood the affair pretty well, and was not disposed to blame him. As for the men, they had been asdocile as lambs, and he thought the feeling toward himself was not asbitter as it had been. All of which his companion said he was glad tohear. 

They separated at the gate, and the Captain entered the house to findMrs. Snow wielding a broom and surrounded by a cloud of dust. Perezwas upstairs with the patient, and Captain Jerry, whose habits had beenconsiderably upset by the sweeping, was out in the barn. 

That evening the situation was explained to Mrs. Snow by Captain Eri, inaccordance with the talk at the breakfast table. The lady from Nantucketunderstood and respected Captain Jerry's unwillingness to discuss themarriage question while John Baxter's condition continued critical, andshe agreed to act as nurse and housekeeper for a while, at least, for the sum of six dollars a week. This price was fixed only afterconsiderable discussion by the three mariners, for Captain Eri wasinclined to offer eight, and Captain Jerry but four. 

When Ralph Hazeltine called late in the afternoon of the following day, the dining room was so transformed that he scarcely knew it. The dusthad disappeared; the chronometer was polished till it shone; the tablewas covered with a cloth that was snow-white, and everything movable hadthe appearance of being in its place. Altogether, there was an evidenceof order that was almost startling. 

Captain Eri came to the door in response to his knock, and grinnedappreciatively at his caller's look of wonder. 

"I don't wonder you're s'prised, " he said, with a chuckle. "I ain'tbegun to git over it yit, myself, and Lorenzo's so shook up he ain'tbeen in the house sence breakfast time. He's out in the barn, keepin'Dan'l comp'ny and waitin' for the end of the world to strike, Ical'late. "

Ralph laughed. "Mrs. Snow?" he inquired. 

"Mrs. Snow, " answered the Captain. "It beats all what a woman can dowhen she's that kind of a woman. She's done more swabbin' decks andoverhaulin' runnin' riggin' than a new mate on a clipper. The place isso all-fired clean that I feel like brushin' myself every time I go toset down. "

"How's Captain Baxter?" asked Hazeltine. 

"Seems to be some better. He come to a little this mornin', and seemedto know some of us, but he ain't sensed where he is yit, nor I don'tb'lieve he will fur a spell. Set down and keep me comp'ny. It's my watchjest now. Perez, he's over to Barry's; Jerry's up to the schoolhouse, and Mrs. Snow's run up to the post-office to mail a letter. John'sasleep, so I can stay downstairs a little while, long's the door's open. What's the news uptown? Web changed his mind ag'in 'bout the fire?"

It appeared that Mr. Saunders had not changed his mind, at least socurrent gossip reported. And it may be remarked here that, curiouslyenough, the opinion that the fire "caught itself" came at last tobe generally accepted in the village. For some weeks Captain Eri wastroubled with thoughts concerning the missing coat, but, as time passed, and the accusing garment did not turn up, he came to believe thatsome boy must have found it and that it had, in all probability, beendestroyed. There were, of course, some persons who still suspected JohnBaxter as the incendiary, but the old man's serious illness and respectfor his former standing in the community kept these few silent. TheBaxter house had been locked up and the Captain had the key. 

Hazeltine and his host chatted for a few minutes on various topics. Thegilt titles on the imposing "Lives of Great Naval Commanders, "having received their share of the general dusting, now shone forthresplendent, and the Captain noticed Ralph's eye as it involuntarilyturned toward them. 

"Noticin' our library?" he chuckled. "Perez' property, that is. 'GustyBlack talked him into buyin' 'em. Never met 'Gusty, did you? No, Iguess likely not. She lives over to the Neck, and don't git down to thevillage much. 'Gusty's what you call a business woman. She' always up tosomethin' to make a dollar, and she's as slick a talker as ever was, I guess. She never give Perez no rest till he signed the deed for thembooks. Told him they'd give liter'ry tone to the shebang. Perez startedto read 'em out loud when they fust come, but he had to stop so often tospell out the furrin names that me and Jerry used to go to sleep. Thatmade him mad, and he said, liter'ry tone be durned; he wa'n't goin' towaste his breath readin' us to sleep; so they've been on the shelf eversence. "

Ralph laughed. "So you have book agents, too?" he said. 

"Well, we've got 'Gusty, " was the reply, "and she's enough to keep usgoin'. Gits round reg'lar as clockwork once a month to collect the twodollars from Perez. It's her day now, and I told Perez that that waswhy he sneaked off to Barry's. You see, 'Gusty's after him to buy thehistory of Methuselah, or some old critter, and he don't like tosee her. She's after me, too, but I'm 'fraid she don't git muchencouragement. "

After they had talked a little longer, the Captain seemed to remembersomething, for he glanced at his watch and said, "Mr. Hazeltine, Iwonder if I could git you to do me a favor. I really ought to go downand see to my shanty. Ain't been there sence day afore yesterday, and there's so many boys 'round, I'm 'fraid to leave it unlocked muchlonger. I thought some of the folks would be back 'fore this, but if youcould stay here long enough for me to run down there a minute or two, I'd be ever so much obliged. I'll step up and see how John is. "

He went upstairs and returned to report that the patient was quiet andseemed to be asleep. 

"If you hear him groan, or anything, " he said, "jest come to the doorand whistle. Whistle anyway, if you want me. Ain't nobody likely tocome, 'less it's 'Gusty or the Reverend Perley come to ask 'bout John. If it's a middlin' good-lookin' young woman with a satchel, that's'Gusty. Don't whistle; tell her I'm out. I'll be back in a jiffy, butyou needn't tell either of them so unless your conscience hurts you TOOmuch. "

After the Captain had gone Ralph took down a volume of the "GreatCommanders" and sat down in a chair by the table to look it over. Hewas smiling over the gaudy illustrations and flamboyant descriptionsof battles, when there was a step on the walk outside and knock at thedoor. "Which is it, " he thought, "'Gusty or the Reverend?"

Obviously it was Miss Black. She stood on the mica slab that formed thestep and looked up at him as he swung the door open. She had a smallleather bag in her hand, just as the Captain had said she wouldhave, but it flashed across Mr. Hazeltine's mind that the rest ofthe description was not a fair one; she was certainly much more than"middlin' good-lookin'!"

"Is Captain Hedge in?" she asked. 

Now, from his friend's hints, Ralph had expected to hear a rather sharpand unpleasant voice, --certain disagreeable remembrances of formerencounters with female book agents had helped to form the impressionperhaps, --but Miss Black's voice was mellow, quiet, and rather pleasingthan otherwise. 

"No, " said Mr. Hazeltine, obeying orders with exactitude. "Captain Hedgeis out just now. "

"'Gusty"--somehow the name didn't seem to fit--was manifestlydisappointed. 

"Oh, dear!" she said, and then added, "Will he be back soon?"

Now this was a question unprovided for. Ralph stammered, and thenmiserably equivocated. He really couldn't say just when the Captainwould return. 

"Oh, dear!" said the young lady again. Then she seemed to be waiting forsome further observation on the part of the gentleman at the door. Nonebeing forthcoming, she seemed to make up her mind to act on her owninitiative. 

"I think I will come in and wait, " she said with decision. And comein she did, Mr. Hazeltine not knowing exactly what to do, under thecircumstances. 

Now this was much more in keeping with the electrician's preconceivedideas of a book agent's behavior; nevertheless, when he turned and foundthe young lady standing in the middle of the floor, he felt obliged tobe at least decently polite. 

"Won't you take a chair?" he asked. 

"Thank you, " said the caller, and took one. 

The situation was extremely awkward, but Ralph felt that loyaltyto Captain Eri forbade his doing anything that might urge theself-possessed Miss Black to prolong her visit, so for a time he saidnothing. The young lady looked out of the window and Mr. Hazeltinelooked at her. He was more than ever of the opinion that the "middlin'"term should be cut out of her description. He rather liked herappearance, so he decided. He liked the way she wore her hair; so simplean arrangement, but so effective. Also he liked her dress. It was thefirst tailor-made walking suit he had seen since his arrival in Orham. And worn by a country book agent, of all people. 

Just then Miss Black turned and caught him intently gazing at her. She colored, apparently with displeasure, and looked out of the windowagain. Mr. Hazeltine colored also and fidgeted with the book on thetable. The situation was confoundedly embarrassing. He felt that he mustsay something now, so he made the original observation that it had beena pleasant day. 

To this the young lady agreed, but there was no enthusiasm in her tone. Then Ralph, nervously fishing for another topic, thought of the book inhis hand. 

"I was just reading this, " he said. "I found it quite interesting. "

The next moment he realized that he had said what, of all things, wasthe most impolitic. It was nothing less than a bid for a "canvass, "and he fully expected to be confronted with the necessary order blankswithout delay. But, strangely enough, the book lady made no such move. She looked at him, it is true, but with an expression of surprise andwhat seemed to be amusement on her face. He was certain that her lipstwitched as she said calmly:

"Did you? I am glad to hear it. "

This dispassionate remark was entirely unexpected, and the electrician, as Captain Eri would have said, "lost his bearings" completely. 

"Yes--er, yes, " he stammered. "Very interesting indeed. I--I suppose youmust take a good many orders in the course of a week. "

"A good many ORDERS?"

"Why, yes. Orders for the books, I mean. The books--the 'Great NavalLives'--er--these books here. "

"I beg your pardon, but who do you think I am?"

And it was then that the perception of some tremendous blunder beganto seize upon Mr. Hazeltine. He had been red before; now, he felt theredness creeping over his scalp under his hair. 

"Why, why, Miss Black, I suppose; that is, I--"

Just here the door opened and Captain Eri came in. He took off his capand then, seeing the visitor, remained standing, apparently waiting foran introduction. But the young lady did not keep him waiting long. 

"Are you Captain Eri Hedge?" she asked. 

"Yes'm, " answered the Captain. 

"Oh, I'm SO glad. Your letter came this morning, and I hurried down onthe first train. I'm Elizabeth Preston. "

CHAPTER IX

ELSIE PRESTON

Perhaps, on the whole, it is not surprising that Captain Eri didn'tgrasp the situation. Neither his two partners nor himself had givenmuch thought to the granddaughter of the sick man in the upper room. TheCaptain knew that there was a granddaughter, hence his letter; buthe had heard John Baxter speak of her as being in school somewherein Boston, and had all along conceived of her as a miss of sixteen orthereabouts. No wonder that at first he looked at the stylishly gownedyoung woman, who stood before him with one gloved hand extended, in apuzzled, uncomprehending way. 

"Excuse me, ma'am, " he said slowly, mechanically swallowing up theproffered hand in his own mammoth fist, "but I don't know's I jestcaught the name. Would you mind sayin' it ag'in?"

"Elizabeth Preston, " repeated the visitor. "Captain Baxter'sgranddaughter. You wrote me that he was ill, you know, and I--"

"What!" roared the Captain, delighted amazement lighting up his facelike a sunrise. "You don't mean to tell me you're 'Liz'beth Baxter'sgal Elsie! Well! Well! I want to know! If this don't beat all! Set down!Take your things right off. I'm mighty glad to see you. "

Captain Eri's hand, with Miss Preston's hidden in it, was moving upand down as if it worked by a clock-work arrangement. The young ladywithdrew her fingers from the trap as soon as she conveniently could, but it might have been noticed that she glanced at them when she haddone so, as if to make sure that the original shape remained. 

"Thank you, Captain Hedge, " she said. "And now, please tell me aboutgrandfather. How is he? May I see him?"

The Captain's expression changed to one of concern. 

"Why, now, Miss Preston, " he said, "your grandpa is pretty sick. Oh, Idon't mean he's goin' to die right off or anything like that, " he addedhastily. "I mean he's had a stroke of palsy, or somethin', and he ain'tgot so yit that he senses much of what goes on. Now I don't want tofrighten you, you know, but really there's a chance--a leetle mite ofa chance--that he won't know you. Don't feel bad if he don't, now willyou?"

"I knew he must be very ill from your letter, " said the girl simply. "Iwas afraid that he might not be living when I reached here. They told meat the station that he was at your house and so I came. He has been verygood to me and I--"

Her voice broke a little and she hesitated. Captain Eri was a picture ofnervous distress. 

"Yes, yes, I know, " he said hastily. "Don't you worry now. He's better;the Doctor said he was consid'rably better to-day; didn't he, Mr. Hazeltine? Why, what am I thinkin' of? Let me make you known to Mr. Hazeltine; next-door neighbor of ours; right acrost the road, " and hewaved toward the bay. 

Ralph and Miss Preston shook hands. The electrician managed to uttersome sort of formality, but he couldn't have told what it was. He wasglad when the Captain announced that, if Mr. Hazeltine would excusethem, he guessed Miss Preston and he would step upstairs and see John. The young lady took off her hat and jacket, and Captain Eri lighted alamp, for it was almost dark by this time. As its light shone uponthe visitor's face and hair the crimson flush before mentionedcircumnavigated the electrician's head once more, and his bump ofself-esteem received a finishing blow. That any man supposed to possesstwo fairly good eyes and a workable brain could have mistaken her for anOrham Neck book agent by the name of "'Gusty--'Gusty Black!" Heavens!

"I'll be down in a few minutes, Mr. Hazeltine, " said the Captain. "Setstill, won't you?"

But Mr. Hazeltine wouldn't sit still. He announced that it was late andhe must be going. And go he did, in spite of his host's protestations. 

"Look out for the stairs, " cautioned the Captain, leading the way withthe lamp. "The feller that built 'em must have b'lieved that savin'distance lengthens out life. Come to think of it, I wouldn't wonder ifthem stairs was the reason why me and Jerry and Perez took this house. They reminded us so of the shrouds on a three-master. "

Elsie Preston did her best to smile as her companion rattled on in thisfashion, but both the smile and the Captain's cheerfulness were tooplainly assumed to be convincing, and they passed down the hall insilence. At the open door of the sick room Captain Eri paused. 

"He's asleep, " he whispered, "and, remember, if he wakes up and doesn'tknow you, you needn't feel bad. "

Elsie slipped by him and knelt by the bed, looking into the white, oldface on the pillow. Somehow the harsh lines had faded out of it, and itlooked only old and pitiful. 

The Captain watched the tableau for a moment or two, and then tiptoedinto the room and placed the lamp on the bureau. 

"Now, I think likely, " he said in a rather husky whisper, "that you'dlike to stay with your grandpa for a little while, so I'll go downstairsand see about supper. No, no, no!" he added, holding up his hand as thegirl spoke some words of protest, "you ain't goin' nowheres to supper. You're goin' to stay right here. If you want me, jest speak. "

And he hurried downstairs and into the kitchen, clearing his throat withvigor and making a great to-do over the scratching of a match. 

Mrs. Snow returned a few minutes later and to her the news of thearrival was told, as it was also to Perez and Jerry when they came. Mrs. Snow took charge of the supper arrangements. When the meal was ready, she said to Captain Eri:

"Now, I'll go upstairs and tell her to come down. I'll stay with Cap'nBaxter till you're through, and then p'raps, if one of you'll take myplace, I'll eat my supper and wash the dishes. You needn't come up now. I'll introduce myself. "

Some few minutes passed before Miss Preston came down. When she did soher eyes were wet, but her manner was cheerful, and the unaffected wayin which she greeted Captain Perez and Captain Jerry, when these tworather bashful mariners were introduced by Eri, won them at once. 

The supper was a great success. It was Saturday night, and a Saturdaynight supper to the average New Englander means baked beans. Thecaptains had long ago given up this beloved dish, because, although eachhad tried his hand at preparing it, none had wholly succeeded, and thecaustic criticisms of the other two had prevented further trials. ButMrs. Snow's baked beans were a triumph. So, also, was the brown bread. 

"I snum, " exclaimed Captain Perez, "if I don't b'lieve I'd sooner havethese beans than turkey. What do you say, Jerry?"

"I don't know but I had, " assented the sacrifice, upon whose countenancesat a placidity that had not been there since the night of the"matching. " "'Specially if the turkey was like the one we tried to cooklast Thanksgivin'. 'Member that, Eri?"

Captain Eri, his mouth full, grunted an emphatic assent. 

"Tell me, " said Miss Preston, who had eaten but little, but wasapparently getting more satisfaction from watching her companions, "didyou three men try to keep house here alone?"

"Yes, " answered Eri dryly. "We tried. First we thought 'twas goin' tobe fine; then we thought we'd like it better after we got used to it;finally we decided that by the time we got used to it we'd die, like thehorse that was fed on sawdust. "

"And so you hired Mrs. Snow to keep house for you? Well, I don't see howyou could have made a better choice; she's a dear, good woman; I'msure of it. And now I want to thank you all for what you've done forgrandfather. Mrs. Snow told me all about it; you've been so kind thatI--"

"That's all right! that's all right!" hastily interrupted Captain Eri. "Pity if we couldn't help out a shipmate we've sailed with for years andyears. But you'd ought to have tried some of OUR cookin'. Tell her aboutthe sugar cake you made, Perez. The one that killed the yaller chicken. "

So Captain Perez told it, and then their visitor set them all laughingby relating some queer housekeeping experiences that she and a schoolfriend had had while camping at Chautauqua. Somehow each one felt athome with her. As Captain Eri said afterwards, "She didn't giggle, andthen ag'in she didn't talk down at you. "

As they rose from the table the young lady asked a question concerningthe location of the hotel. The Captain made no answer at the time, butafter a short consultation with the remainder of the triumvirate, hecame to her as she stood by the window and, laying his hand on hershoulder, said:

"Now, Elsie--I hope you don't mind my callin' you Elsie, but I'vebeen chums with your grandpa so long seems's if you must be a sort ofrelation of mine--Elsie, you ain't goin' to no hotel, that is, unlessyou're real set on it. Your grandpa's here and we're here, and there'sroom enough. I don't want to say too much, but I'd like to have youb'lieve that me and Perez and Jerry want you to stay right in this housejest as long's you stop in Orham. Now you will, won't you?"

And so it was settled, and Captain Perez harnessed Daniel and went tothe station for the trunk. 

That evening, just before going to bed, the captains stood by the doorof the sick room watching Elsie and the lady from Nantucket as they satbeside John Baxter's bed. Mrs. Snow was knitting, and Elsie was reading. Later, as Captain Eri peered out of the dining-room window to take afinal look at the sky in order to get a line on the weather, he saidslowly:

"Fellers, do you know what I was thinkin' when I see them two women inthere with John? I was thinkin' that it must be a mighty pleasant thingto know that if you're took sick somebody like that 'll take care ofyou. "

Perez nodded. "I think so, too, " he said. 

But if this was meant to influence the betrothed one, it didn't succeed, apparently, for all Captain Jerry said was:

"Humph! 'Twould take more than that to make me hanker after a stroke ofpalsy. "

And with the coming of Elsie Preston and Mrs. Snow life in the littlehouse by the shore took on a decided change. The Nantucket lady havingsatisfied herself that John Baxter's illness was likely to be a longone, wrote several letters to persons in her native town, which letters, although she did not say so, were supposed by the captains to deal withthe care of her property while she was away. Having apparently relievedher mind by this method, and evidently considering the marriage questionpostponed for the present, she settled down to nurse the sick man and tokeep house as, in her opinion, a house should be kept. The captains knewnothing of her past history beyond what they had gathered from straybits of her conversation. She evidently did not consider it necessary totell anything further, and, on the other hand, asked no questions. 

In her care of Baxter she was more like a sister than a hired nurse. Nowife could have been more tender in her ministrations or more devotedlyanxious for the patient's welfare. 

In her care of the house, she was neatness itself. She scoured and sweptand washed until the rooms were literally spotless. Order was Heaven'sfirst law, in her opinion, and she expected everyone else to keep up tothe standard. Captain Perez and Captain Eri soon got used to the changeand gloried in it, but to Captain Jerry it was not altogether welcome. 

"Oh, cat's foot!" he exclaimed one day, after hunting everywhere for hisSunday tie, and at length finding it in his bureau drawer. "I can't gitused to this everlastin' spruced-up bus'ness. Way it used to be, thisnecktie was likely to be 'most anywheres 'round, and if I looked out inthe kitchen or under the sofy, I was jest as likely to find it. But noweverything's got a place and is in it. "

"Well, that's the way it ought to be, ain't it?" said Eri. "Then allyou've got to do is look in the place. "

"Yes, and that's jest it, I'm always forgittin' the place. My shoes issech a place; my hankerchers is sech a place; my pipe is sech a place;my terbacker is another place. When I want my pipe I look where my shoesis, and when I want my shoes I go and look where I found my pipe. How afeller's goin' to keep run of 'em is what _I_ can't see. "

"You was the one that did most of the growlin' when things was the oldway. "

"Yes, but jest 'cause a man don't want to live in a pigpen it ain't nosign he wants to be put under a glass case. "

Elsie's influence upon the house and its inmates had become almost asmarked as Mrs. Snow's. The young lady was of an artistic bent, and thestiff ornaments in the shut-up parlor and the wonderful oil-paintingsjarred upon her. Strange to say, even the wax-dipped wreath that hungin its circular black frame over the whatnot did not appeal to her. The captains considered that wreath--it had been the principal floraloffering at the funeral of Captain Perez's sister, and there was a lockof her hair framed with it--the gem of the establishment. They couldunderstand, to a certain degree, why Miss Preston objected to theprominence given the spatter-work "God bless our Home" motto, but herfailure to enthuse over the wreath was inexplicable. 

But by degrees they became used to seeing the blinds open at the parlorwindows the week through, and innovations like muslin curtains and vasesfilled with late wild flowers came to be at first tolerated and thenliked. "Elsie's notions, " the captains called them. 

There were some great discussions on art, over the teacups after supper. Miss Preston painted very prettily in water-colors, and her sketcheswere received with enthusiastic praise by the captains and Mrs. Snow. But one day she painted a little picture of a fishing boat and, to hersurprise, it came in for some rather sharp criticism. 

"That's a pretty picture, Elsie, " said Captain Eri, holding the sketchat arm's length and squinting at it with his head on one side, "butif that's Caleb Titcomb's boat, and I jedge 'tis, it seems to me she'scarryin' too much sail. What do you think, Jerry?"

Captain Jerry took the painting from his friend and critically examinedit, also at arm's length. 

"Caleb's boat ain't got no sech sail as that, " was his deliberatecomment. "She couldn't carry it and stand up that way. Besides, the wayI look at it, she's down by the head more 'n she'd ought to be. "

"But I didn't try to get it EXACTLY right, " said the bewildered artist. "The boat's sails were so white, and the water was so blue, and the sandso yellow that I thought it made a pretty picture. I didn't think of thesize of the sail. "

"Well, I s'pose you wouldn't, nat'rally, " observed Captain Perez, whowas looking over Jerry's shoulder. "But you have to be awful carefulpaintin' vessels. Now you jest look at that picture, " pointing to theglaring likeness of the Flying Duck, that hung on the wall. "Jest lookat them sails, every one of 'em drawin' fine; and them ropes, every onein JEST the right place. That's what I call paintin'. "

"But don't you think, Captain Perez, that the waves in that picturewould be better if they weren't so all in a row, like a picket fence?"

"Well, now, that ain't it. That's a picture of the A1 two-mastedschooner Flyin' Duck, and the waves is only thrown in, as you might say. The reel thing is the schooner, rigged jest right, trimmed jest right, and colored jest the way the Flyin' Duck was colored. You understandthem waves was put there jest 'cause there had to be some to set theschooner in, that's all. "

"But you needn't feel bad, Elsie, " said Captain Jerry soothingly. "'Tain't to be expected that you could paint vessels like Eben Lothropcan. Eben he used to work in a shipyard up to East Boston once, and whenhe was there he had to paint schooners and things, reely put the paintonto 'em I mean, so, of course, when it come to paintin' pictures of'em, why--"

And Captain Jerry waved his hand. 

So, as there was no answer to an argument like this, Miss Preston gaveup marine painting for the time and began a water-color of the house andits inmates. This was an elaborate affair, and as the captains insistedthat each member of the family, Daniel and Lorenzo included, shouldpose, it seemed unlikely to be finished for some months, at least. 

Ralph Hazeltine called on the afternoon following Elsie's arrival, andCaptain Eri insisted on his staying to tea. It might have been noticedthat the electrician seemed a trifle embarrassed when Miss Preston cameinto the room, but as the young lady was not embarrassed in the least, and had apparently forgotten the mistaken-identity incident, hisnervousness soon wore off. 

But it came back again when Captain Eri said:

"Oh, I say, Mr. Hazeltine, I forgot to ask you, did 'Gusty comeyesterday?"

Ralph answered, rather hurriedly, that she did not. He endeavored tochange the subject, but the Captain wouldn't let him. 

"Well, there!" he exclaimed amazedly; "if 'Gusty ain't broke her record!Fust time sence Perez was took with the 'Naval Commander' disease thatshe ain't been on hand when the month was up, to git her two dollars. Got so we sort of reckoned by her like an almanac. Kind of thought shewas sure, like death and taxes. And now she has gone back on us. Blessedif I ain't disapp'inted in 'Gusty!"

"Who is she?" inquired Mrs. Snow. "One of those book-agent critters?"

"Well, if you called her that to her face, I expect there'd be squalls, but I cal'late she couldn't prove a alibi in court. "

Now it may have been Mr. Hazeltine's fancy, but he could have sworn thatthere was just the suspicion of a twinkle in Miss Preston's eye as sheasked, innocently enough:

"Is she a young lady, Captain Eri?"

"Well, she hopes she is, " was the deliberate answer. "Why?"

"Does she look like me?"

"Like YOU? Oh, my soul and body! Wait till you see her. What made youask that?"

"Oh, nothing! I was a little curious, that's all. Have you seen her, Mr. Hazeltine?"

Ralph stammered, somewhat confusedly, that he hadn't had the pleasure. The Captain glanced from the electrician to Miss Preston and back again. Then he suddenly realized the situation. 

"Ho! ho!" he roared, slapping his knee and rocking back and forth in hischair. "Don't for the land's sake tell me you took Elsie here for 'GustyBlack! Don't now! Don't!"

"He asked me if I had taken many orders, " remarked the young ladydemurely. 

When the general hilarity had abated a little Ralph penitently explainedthat it was dark, that Captain Eri had said Miss Black was young, andthat she carried a bag. 

"So I did, so I did, " chuckled the Captain. "I s'pose 'twas nat'ralenough, but, oh dear, it's awful funny! Now, Elsie, you'd ought tofeel flattered. Wait till you see 'Gusty's hat, the one she got up toBoston. "

"Am I forgiven, Miss Preston?" asked Hazeltine, as he said good-night. 

"Well, I don't know, " was the rather non-committal answer. "I think Ishall have to wait until I see 'Gusty. "

But Mr. Hazeltine apparently took his forgiveness for granted, for hiscalls became more and more frequent, until his dropping in after suppercame to be a regular occurrence. Young people of the better class arescarce in Orham during the fall and winter months, and Ralph found fewcongenial companions. He liked the captains and Mrs. Snow, and Elsie'ssociety was a relief after a day with the operators at the station. Mr. Langley was entirely absorbed in his business, and spent his evenings inhis room, reading and smoking. 

So September and October passed and November came. School opened inOctober and the captains had another boarder, for Josiah Bartlett, against his wishes, gave up his position as stage-driver, and was sentto school again. As the boy was no longer employed at the livery stable, Captain Perez felt the necessity of having him under his eye, and soJosiah lived at the house by the shore, a cot being set up in the parlorfor his use. His coming made more work for Mrs. Snow, but that energeticlady did not seem to mind, and even succeeded in getting the youngsterto do a few "chores" about the place, an achievement that won theeverlasting admiration of Captain Perez, who had no governing powerwhatever over the boy, and condoned the most of his faults or scoldedhim feebly for the others. 

John Baxter continued to waver between this world and the next. Hehad intervals of consciousness in which he recognized the captains andElsie, but these rational moments were few and, although he talked alittle, he never mentioned recent events nor alluded to the fire. 

The fire itself became an old story and gossip took up other subjects. The "Come-Outers" held a jubilee service because of the destructionof the saloon, but, as "Web" soon began to rebuild and repair, theirjollification was short-lived. As for Mr. Saunders, he was the sameunctuous, smiling personage that he had formerly been. It was a curiousfact, and one that Captain Eri noted, that he never ceased to inquireafter John Baxter's health, and seemed honestly glad to hear of the oldman's improvement. He asked a good many questions about Elsie, too, butreceived little satisfaction from the Captain on this subject. 

CHAPTER X

MATCHMAKING AND LIFE-SAVING

Captain Jerry sat behind the woodshed, in the sunshine, smoking andthinking. He had done a good deal of the first ever since he was sixteenyears old; the second was, in a measure, a more recent acquirement. TheCaptain had things on his mind. 

It was one of those perfect, springlike mornings that sometimes comein early November. The sky was clear blue, and the air was so free fromhaze that the houses at Cranberry Point could be seen in every detail. The flag on the cable station across the bay stood out stiff in thesteady breeze, and one might almost count the stripes. The pines onSignal Hill were a bright green patch against the yellow grass. The seawas a dark sapphire, with slashes of silver to mark the shoals, andthe horizon was notched with sails. The boats at anchor in front of theshanties swung with the outgoing tide. 

Then came Captain Eri, also smoking. 

"Hello!" said Captain Jerry. "How is it you ain't off fishin' a mornin'like this?"

"Somethin' else on the docket, " was the answer. "How's matchmakin' thesedays?"

Now this question touched vitally the subject of Captain Jerry'sthoughts. From a placid, easygoing retired mariner, recent events hadtransformed the Captain into a plotter, a man with a "deep-laid scheme, "as the gentlemanly, cigarette-smoking villain of the melodrama used tolove to call it. To tell the truth, petticoat government was wearing onhim. The marriage agreement, to which his partners considered him bound, and which he saw no way to evade, hung over him always, but he had putthis threat of the future from his mind so far as possible. He had notfound orderly housekeeping the joy that he once thought it would be, buteven this he could bear. Elsie Preston was the drop too much. 

He liked Mrs. Snow, except in a marrying sense. He liked Elsie betterthan any young lady he had ever seen. The trouble was, that betweenthe two, he, as he would have expressed it, "didn't have the peace of adog. "

Before Elsie came, a game of checkers between Perez and himself had beenthe regular after-supper amusement. Now they played whist, Captain Eriand Elsie against him and his former opponent. As Elsie and her partneralmost invariably won, and as Perez usually found fault with him becausethey lost, this was not an agreeable change. But it was but one. Hedidn't like muslin curtains in his bedroom, because they were a nuisancewhen he wanted to sit up in bed and look out of the window; but thecurtains were put there, and everybody else seemed to think thembeautiful, so he could not protest. Captain Perez and Captain Eri hadtaken to "dressing up" for supper, to the extent of putting on necktiesand clean collars. Also they shaved every day. He stuck to the old"twice-a-week" plan for a while, but looked so scrubby by contrast thatout of mere self-respect he had to follow suit. Obviously two females inthe house were one too many. Something had to be done. 

Ralph Hazeltine's frequent calls gave him the inspiration he was lookingfor. This was to bring about a marriage between Ralph and Miss Preston. After deliberation he decided that if this could be done the pair wouldlive somewhere else, even though John Baxter was still too ill to bemoved. Elsie could come in every day, but she would be too busy with herown establishment to bother with the "improvement" of theirs. It wasn'ta very brilliant plan and had some vital objections, but Captain Jerryconsidered it a wonder. 

He broached it to his partners, keeping his real object strictly in thebackground and enlarging upon his great regard for Ralph and Elsie, andtheir obvious fitness for each other. Captain Perez liked the schemewell enough, provided it could be carried out. Captain Eri seemed tothink it better to let events take their own course. However, they bothagreed to help if the chance offered. 

So, when Mr. Hazeltine called to spend the evening, Captain Jerrywould rise from his chair and, with an elaborate cough and severalsurreptitious winks to his messmates, would announce that he guessedhe would "take a little walk, " or "go out to the barn, " or somethingsimilar. Captain Perez would, more than likely, go also. As for CaptainEri, he usually "cal'lated" he would step upstairs, and see how John wasgetting along. 

But in spite of this loyal support, the results obtained from CaptainJerry's wonderful plan had not been so startlingly successful as towarrant his feeling much elated. Ralph and Elsie were good friends andseemed to enjoy each other's society, but that was all that might betruthfully said, so far. 

Captain Jerry, therefore, was a little discouraged as he sat in thesunshine and smoked and pondered. He hid his discouragement, however, and in response to Captain Eri's question concerning the progress of thematchmaking, said cheerfully:

"Oh, it's comin' along, comin' along. Kind of slow, of course, but youcan't expect nothin' diff'rent. I s'pose you noticed he was here fourtimes last week?"

"Why, no, " said Captain Eri, "I don't know's I did. "

"Well, he was, and week a fore that 'twas only three. So that's a gain, ain't it?"

"Sartin. "

"I didn't count the time he stopped after a drink of water neither. Thatwasn't a real call, but--"

"Oh, it ought to count for somethin'! Call it a ha'f a time. That wouldmake four times and a ha'f he was here. "

Captain Jerry looked suspiciously at his friend's face, but itssoberness was irreproachable, so he said:

"Well, it's kind of slow work, but, as I said afore, it's comin' along, and I have the satisfaction of knowin' it's all for their good. "

"Yes, like the feller that ate all the apple-dumplin's so's his childrenwouldn't have the stomach-ache. But say, Jerry, I come out to ask ifyou'd mind bein' housekeeper to-day. Luther Davis has been after mesence I don't know when to come down to the life-savin' station and stayto dinner. His sister Pashy--the old maid one--is down there, and it'ssuch a fine day I thought I'd take Perez and Elsie and Mrs. Snow and, maybe, Hazeltine along. Somebody's got to stay with John, and I thoughtp'raps you would. I'd stay myself only Luther asked me so particular, and you was down there two or three months ago. When Josiah comes backfrom school he'll help you some, if you need him. "

Captain Jerry didn't mind staying at home, and so Eri went into thehouse to make arrangements for the proposed excursion. He had somedifficulty in persuading Mrs. Snow and Elsie to leave the sick man, but both were tired and needed a rest, and there was a telephone at thestation, so that news of a change in the patient's condition could besent almost immediately. Under these conditions, and as Captain Jerrywas certain to take good care of their charge, the two were persuadedto go. Perez took the dory and rowed over to the cable station to see ifMr. Hazeltine cared to make one of the party. When he returned, bringingthe electrician with him, Daniel, harnessed to the carryall, wasstanding at the side door, and Captain Eri, Mrs. Snow, and Elsie werewaiting. 

Ralph glanced at the carryall, and then at those who were expected tooccupy it. 

"I think I'd better row down, Captain, " he said. "I don't see how fiveof us are going to find room in there. "

"What, in a carryall?" exclaimed the Captain. "Why, that's what acarryall's for. I've carried six in a carryall 'fore now. 'Twas a goodwhile ago, though, " he added with a chuckle, "when I was consid'rableyounger 'n I am now. Squeezin' didn't count in them days, 'specially ifthe girls wanted to go to camp-meetin'. I cal'late we can fix it. Youand me'll set on the front seat, and the rest in back. Elsie ain't avery big package, and Perez, he's sort of injy-rubber; he'll fit in'most anywheres. Let's try it anyhow. "

And try it they did. While it was true that Elsie was rather small, Mrs. Snow was distinctly large, and how Captain Perez, in spite of hisalleged elasticity, managed to find room between them is a mystery. He, however, announced that he was all right, adding, as a caution:

"Don't jolt none, Eri, 'cause I'm kind of hangin' on the little aidge ofnothin'. "

"I'll look out for you, " answered his friend, picking up the reins. "Allashore that's goin' ashore. So long, Jerry. Git dap, Thousand Dollars!"

Daniel complacently accepted this testimony to his monetary worth andjogged out of the yard. Fortunately appearances do not count for much inOrham, except in the summer, and the spectacle of five in a carryallis nothing out of the ordinary. They turned into the "cliff road, " thefinest thoroughfare in town, kept in good condition for the benefit ofthe cottagers and the boarders at the big hotel. The ocean was on theleft, and from the hill by the Barry estate--Captain Perez' charge--theysaw twenty miles of horizon line with craft of all descriptionsscattered along it. 

Schooners there were of all sizes, from little mackerel seiners to bigfour- and five-masters. A tug with a string of coal barges behind itwas so close in that they could make out the connecting hawsers. A blackfreight steamer was pushing along, leaving a thick line of smoke like acharcoal mark on the sky. One square-rigger was in sight, but far out. 

"What do you make of that bark, Perez?" inquired Captain Eri, pointingto the distant vessel. "British, ain't she?"

Captain Perez leaned forward and peered from under his hand. "French, looks to me, " he said. 

"Don't think so. Way she's rigged for'ard looks like Johnny Bull. Lookat that fo'tops'l. "

"Guess you're right, Eri, now I come to notice it. Can you make out herflag? Wish I'd brought my glass. "

"Great Scott, man!" exclaimed Ralph. "What sort of eyes have you got? Icouldn't tell whether she had a flag or not at this distance. How do youdo it?"

"'Cordin' to how you're brought up, as the goat said 'bout eatin'shingle-nails, " replied Captain Eri. "When you're at sea you've jest gotto git used to seein' things a good ways off and knowin' 'em when yousee 'em, too. "

"I remember, one time, " remarked Mrs. Snow, "that my brotherNathan--he's dead now--was bound home from Hong Kong fust mate onthe bark Di'mond King. 'Twas the time of the war and the Alabama wascruisin' 'round, lookin' out for our ships. Nate and the skipper--aBangor man he was--was on deck, and they sighted a steamer a good waysoff. The skipper spied her and see she was flyin' the United Statesflag. But when Nate got the glass he took one look and says, 'ThatYankee buntin' don't b'long over that English hull, ' he says. You seehe knew she was English build right away. So the skipper pulled down hisown flag and h'isted British colors, but 'twa'n't no use; the steamerwas the Alabama sure enough, and the Di'mond King was burned, andall hands took pris'ners. Nate didn't git home for ever so long, andeverybody thought he was lost. "

This set the captains going, and they told sea-stories until they cameto the road that led down to the beach beneath the lighthouse bluff. Thelifesaving station was in plain sight now, but on the outer beach, andthat was separated from them by a two-hundred-yard stretch of water. 

"Well, " observed Captain Eri, "here's where we take Adam's bridge. "

"Adam's bridge?" queried Elsie, puzzled. 

"Yes; the only kind he had, I cal'late. Git dap, Daniel! What are youwaitin' for? Left your bathin' suit to home?"

Then, as Daniel stepped rather gingerly into the clear water, heexplained that, at a time ranging from three hours before low tideto three hours after, one may reach the outer beach at this pointby driving over in an ordinary vehicle. The life-savers add to thistime-limit by using a specially built wagon, with large wheels and abody considerably elevated. 

"Well, there now!" exclaimed the lady from Nantucket, as Danielsplashingly emerged on the other side. "I thought I'd done abouteverything a body could do with salt water, but I never went ridin' init afore. "

The remainder of the way to the station was covered by Daniel at a walk, for the wheels of the heavy carryall sank two inches or more in thecoarse sand as they turned. The road wound between sand dunes, riven andheaped in all sorts of queer shapes by the wind, and with clumps of thepersevering beach grass clinging to their tops like the last treasuredtufts of hair on partially bald heads. Here and there, half buried, sand-scoured planks and fragments of spars showed, relics of wrecks thathad come ashore in past winters. 

"Five years ago, " remarked Captain Eri, "there was six foot of waterwhere we are now. This beach changes every winter. One good no'theasterjest rips things loose over here; tears out a big chunk of beach andmakes a cut-through one season, and fills in a deep hole and buildsa new shoal the next. I've heard my father tell 'bout pickin'huckleberries when he was a boy off where them breakers are now. Gooddry land it was then. Hey! there's Luther. Ship ahoy, Lute!"

The little brown life-saving station was huddled between two sand-hills. There was a small stable and a henhouse and yard just behind it. CaptainDavis, rawboned and brown-faced, waved a welcome to them from the sidedoor. 

"Spied you comin', Eri, " he said in a curiously mild voice, that soundedodd coming from such a deep chest. "I'm mighty glad to see you, too?Jump down and come right in. Pashy 'll be out in a minute. Here she isnow. "

Miss Patience Davis was as plump as her brother was tall. She impressedone as a comfortable sort of person. Captain Eri did the honors andeveryone shook hands. Then they went into the living room of thestation. 

What particularly struck Mrs. Snow was the neatness of everything. Thebrass on the pump in the sink shone like fire as the sunlight from thewindow struck it. The floor was white from scouring. There were shelveson the walls and on these, arranged in orderly piles, were canned goodsof all descriptions. The table was covered with a figured oilcloth. 

Two or three men, members of the crew, were seated in the wooden chairsalong the wall, but rose as the party came in. Captain Davis introducedthem, one after the other. Perhaps the most striking characteristic ofthese men was the quiet, almost bashful, way in which they spoke; theyseemed like big boys, as much as anything, and yet the oldest was nearlyfifty. 

"Ever been in a life-saving station afore?" asked Captain Eri. 

Elsie had not. Ralph had and so had Mrs. Snow, but not for years. 

"This is where we keep the boat and the rest of the gear, " said CaptainDavis, opening a door and leading the way into a large, low-studdedroom. "Them's the spare oars on the wall. The reg'lar ones are in theboat. "

The boat itself was on its carriage in the middle of the room. Along thewalls on hooks hung the men's suits of oilskins and their sou'westers. The Captain pointed out one thing after another, the cork jackets andlife-preservers, the gun for shooting the life line across a strandedvessel, the life car hanging from the roof, and the "breeches buoy. "

"I don't b'lieve you'd ever git me into that thing, " said the Nantucketlady decidedly, referring to the buoy. "I don't know but I'd 'bout asliefs be drownded as make sech a show of myself. "

"Took off a bigger woman than you one time, " said Captain Davis. "Wifeof a Portland skipper, she was, and he was on his fust v'yage in abrand-new schooner jest off the stocks. Struck on the Hog's Back offhere and then drifted close in and struck again. We got 'em all, thewoman fust. That was the only time we've used the buoy sence I've beenat the station. Most of the wrecks are too fur off shore and we have togit out the boat. "

He took them upstairs to the men's sleeping rooms and then up to thelittle cupola on the roof. 

"Why do you have ground-glass windows on this side of the house?" askedElsie, as they passed the window on the landing. 

Captain Davis laughed. 

"Well, it is pretty nigh ground-glass now, " he answered, "but it wa'n'twhen it was put in. The sand did that. It blows like all possessed whenthere's a gale on. "

"Do you mean that those windows were ground that way by the beach sandblowing against them?" asked Ralph, astonished. 

"Sartin. Git a good no'therly wind comin' up the beach and it fetchesthe sand with it. Mighty mean stuff to face, sand blowin' like that is;makes you think you're fightin' a nest of yaller-jackets. "

With the telescope in the cupola they could see for miles up and downthe beach and out to sea. An ocean tug bound toward Boston was passing, and Elsie, looking through the glass, saw the cook come out of thegalley, empty a pan over the side, and go back again. 

"Let me look through that a minute, " said Captain Eri, when the rest hadhad their turn. He swung the glass around until it pointed toward theirhome away up the shore. 

"Perez, " he called anxiously, "look here quick!"

Captain Perez hastily put his eye to the glass, and his friend went on:

"You see our house?" he said. "Yes; well, you see the dinin'-room door. Notice that chair by the side of it?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"Well, that's the rocker that Elsie made the velvet cushion for. I wantyou to look at the upper southeast corner of that cushion, and see ifthere ain't a cat's hair there. Lorenzo's possessed to sleep in thatchair, and--"

"Oh, you git out!" indignantly exclaimed Captain Perez, straighteningup. 

"Well, it was a pretty important thing, and I wanted to make sure. Ileft that chair out there, and I knew what I'd catch if any cat's hairsgot on that cushion while I was gone. Ain't that so, Mrs. Snow?"

The housekeeper expressed her opinion that Captain Eri was a "case, "whatever that may be. 

They had clam chowder for dinner--a New England clam chowder, made withmilk and crackers, and clams with shells as white as snow. They werewhat the New Yorker calls "soft-shell" clams, for a Fulton Marketchowder is a "quahaug soup" to the native of the Cape. 

Now that chowder was good; everybody said so, and if the proof of thechowder, like that of the pudding, is in the eating of it, this one hada clear case. Also, there were boiled striped bass, which is good enoughfor anybody, hot biscuits, pumpkin pie, and beach-plum preserves. Therewas a running fire of apologies from Miss Patience and answering volleysof compliments from Mrs. Snow. 

"I don't see how you make sech beach-plum preserves, Miss Davis, "exclaimed the lady from Nantucket. "I declare! I'm goin' to ask you foranother sasserful. I b'lieve they're the best I ever ate. "

"Well, now! Do you think so? I kind of suspected that the plums was alittle mite too ripe. You know how 'tis with beach-plums, they've got tobe put up when they're jest so, else they ain't good for much. I was atLuther for I don't know how long 'fore I could git him to go over to theP'int and pick 'em, and I was 'fraid he'd let it go too long. I only putup twenty-two jars of 'em on that account. How much sugar do you use?"

There was material here for the discussion that country housewives love, and the two ladies took advantage of it. When it was over the femaleportion of the company washed the dishes, while the men walked up anddown the beach and smoked. Here they were joined after a while by theladies, for even by the ocean it was as mild as early May, and the windwas merely bracing and had no sting in it. 

The big blue waves shouldered themselves up from the bosom of the sea, marched toward the beach, and tumbled to pieces in a roaring tumultof white and green. The gulls skimmed along their tops or droppedlike falling stones into the water after sand eels, emerging again, screaming, to repeat the performance. 

The conversation naturally turned to wrecks, and Captain Davis, hisreserve vanishing before the tactful inquiries of the captains andRalph, talked shop and talked it well. 

CHAPTER XI

HEROES AND A MYSTERY

Luther Davis had been commandant at the life-saving station for yearsand "Number One Man" before that, so his experience with wrecks anddisabled craft of all kinds had been long and varied. He told themof disasters the details of which had been telegraphed all over thecountry, and of rescues of half-frozen crews from ice-crested schoonerswhose signals of distress had been seen from the observatory on the roofof the station. He told of long rows in midwinter through seas the sprayof which turned to ice as they struck, and froze the men's mittens tothe oar-handles. He told of picking up draggled corpses in the surf atmidnight, when, as he said, "You couldn't tell whether 'twas a man ora roll of seaweed, and the only way to make sure was to reach down andfeel. "

Captain Eri left them after a while, as he had some acquaintancesamong the men at the station, and wished to talk with them. Miss Davisremembered that she had not fed the chickens, and hurried away toperform that humane duty, gallantly escorted by Captain Perez. TheCaptain, by the way, was apparently much taken with the plump spinsterand, although usually rather bashful where ladies were concerned, hadmanaged to keep up a sort of side conversation with Miss Patience whilethe storytelling was going on. But Ralph and Elsie and Mrs. Snow werehungry for more tales, and Captain Davis obligingly told them. 

"One of the wust wrecks we ever had off here, " he said, "was theBluebell, British ship, she was: from Singapore, bound to Boston, andloaded with hemp. We see her about off that p'int there, jest at dusk, and she was makin' heavy weather then. It come on to snow soon as it gotdark, and blow--don't talk! Seems to me 'twas one of the meanest nightsI ever saw. 'Tween the snow flyin' and the dark you couldn't seetwo feet ahead of you. We was kind of worried about the vessel allevenin'--for one thing she was too close in shore when we see herlast--but there wa'n't nothin' to be done except to keep a weather eyeout for signs of trouble. 

"Fust thing we knew of the wreck was when the man on patrol up thebeach--Philander Vose 'twas--telephoned from the shanty that a ship'slong-boat had come ashore at Knowles' Cove, two mile above the station. That was about one o'clock in the mornin'. 'Bout h'af-past two SimGould--he was drownded the next summer, fishin' on the Banks--telephonedfrom the shanty BELOW the station--the one a mile or so 'tother side ofthe cable house, Mr. Hazeltine--that wreckage was washin' up abreast ofwhere he was; that was six miles from where the longboat come ashore. So there we was. There wa'n't any way of tellin' whereabouts she waslayin'; she might have been anywheres along them six miles, and youcouldn't hear nothin' nor see nothin'. But anyhow, the wreckage keptcomin' in below the cable station, so I jedged she was somewheres inthat neighborhood and we got the boat out--on the cart, of course--andhauled it down there. 

"'Twas a tremendous job, too, that haulin' was. We had the horse andthe whole of us helpin' him, but I swan! I begun to think we'd never gitanywheres. 'Tween the wind and the sand and the snow I thought we'd flapto pieces, like a passel of shirts on a clothes line. But we got thereafter a spell, and then there was nothin' to do but wait for daylight. 

"'Bout seven o'clock the snow let up a little bit, and then we see her. There was a bar jest about opposite the cable station--it's been washedaway sence--and she'd struck on that, and the sea was makin' a cleanbreach over her. There was a ha'f a dozen of her crew lashed in theriggin', but I didn't see 'em move, so I presume likely they was frozestiff then, for 'twas perishin' cold. But we wrastled the boat down tothe water and was jest goin' to launch her when the whole three mastswent by the 'board, men and all. We put off to her, but she was in areg'lar soapsuds of a sea and awash from stem to stern, so we knew therewas nothin' livin' aboard. 

"Yes, siree, " continued the Captain meditatively, "that was a meannight. I had this ear frost-bit, and it's been tender ever sence. Oneof the fellers had a rib broke; he was a little light chap, and the windjest slammed him up against the cart like as if he was a chip. And jestto show you, " he added, "how the tide runs around this place, the bodiesof that crew was picked up from Wellmouth to Setuckit P'int--twenty-milestretch that is. The skipper's body never come ashore. He had a son, nice young feller, that was goin' to meet him in Boston, and that boyspent a month down here, waitin' for his father's body to be washed up. He'd walk up and down this beach, and walk up and down. Pitiful sight asever I see. "

"And they were all lost?" asked Elsie with a shiver. 

"Every man Jack. But 'twas cu'rus about that hemp. The Bluebell wasloaded with it, as I told you, and when she went to pieces the tidetook that hemp and strung it from here to glory. They picked it up all'longshore, and for much as a month afterwards you'd go along the 'mainroad' over in the village, and see it hung over fences or spread out inthe sun to dry. Looked like all the blonde girls in creation had had ahair-cut. "

"Captain Davis, " said Ralph, "you must have seen some plucky things inyour life. What was the bravest thing you ever saw done?"

The life saver took the cigar that Hazeltine had given him from hismouth, and blew the smoke into the air over his head. 

"Well, " he said slowly, "I don't know exactly. I've seen some prettygritty things done 'long-shore here, in the service. When there'ssomebody drowndin', and you know there's a chance to save 'em, you'lltake chances, and think nothin' of 'em, that you wouldn't take if youhad time to set down and cal'late a little. I see somethin' done oncethat may not strike you as bein' anything out of the usual run, but thathas always seemed to me clear grit and nothin' else. 'Twa'n't savin'life neither; 'twas jest a matter of bus'ness. 

"It happened up off the coast of Maine 'long in the seventies. I wasactin' as sort of second mate on a lumber schooner. 'Twas a pitch-blacknight, or mornin' rather, 'bout six o'clock, blowin' like all possessedand colder 'n Greenland. We struck a rock that wa'n't even down on anEldredge chart and punched a hole in the schooner's side, jest abovewhat ought to have been the water line, only she was heeled over so that'twas consider'ble below it most of the time. We had a mean crew aboard, Portugees mainly, and poor ones at that. The skipper was below, asleep, and when he come on deck things was in a bad way. We'd got the canvasoff her, but she was takin' in water every time she rolled, and therewas a sea goin' that was tearin' things loose in great shape. We shippedone old grayback that ripped off a strip of the lee rail jest the sameas you'd rip the edge off the cover of a pasteboard box--never made nomore fuss about it, either. 

"I didn't see nothin' to do but get out the boats, but the skipper hewa'n't that kind. He sized things up in a hurry, I tell you. He drovethe crew--ha'f of 'em was prayin' to the Virgin and t'other ha'fswearin' a blue streak--to the pumps, and set me over 'em with arevolver to keep 'em workin'. Then him and the fust mate and one or twoof the best hands rousted out a spare sail, weighted one edge of it tokeep it down, and got it over the side, made fast, of course. 

"Then him and the mate stripped to their underclothes, rigged a sort ofbos'n's chair over where the hole in the side was, took hammers and apocketful of nails apiece, and started in to nail that canvas over thehole. 

"'Twas freezin' cold, and the old schooner was rollin' like a washtub. One minute I'd see the skipper and the mate h'isted up in the air, hammerin' for dear life, and then, swash! under they'd go, clear under, and stay there, seemed to me, forever. Every dip I thought would be theend, and I'd shet my eyes, expectin' to see 'em gone when she lifted;but no, up they'd come, fetch a breath, shake the salt water out oftheir eyes, and go to work again. 

"Four hours and a quarter they was at it, four hours, mind you, andunder water a good ha'f of the time; but they got that sail nailed fastfin'lly. We got 'em on deck when 'twas done, and we had to carry thefust mate to the cabin. But the skipper jest sent the cook for a pailof bilin' hot coffee, drunk the whole of it, put on dry clothes over hiswet flannels, and stayed on deck and worked that schooner into Portlandharbor, the men pumpin' clear green water out of the hold every minuteof the way. 

"Now, that always seemed to me to be the reel thing. 'Twa'n't a questionof savin' life--we could have took to the boats and, nine chances outof ten, got ashore all right, for 'twa'n't very fur. But no, the skippersaid he'd never lost a vessel for an owner yit and he wa'n't goin' tolose this one. And he didn't either, by Judas! No, sir!"

"That was splendid!" exclaimed Elsie. "I should like to have known thatcaptain. Who was he, Captain Davis?"

"Well, the fust mate was Obed Simmons--he's dead now--but he used tolive over on the road towards East Harniss. The skipper--well, he was afeller you know. "

"'Twas Cap'n Eri, " said Mrs. Snow with conviction. 

"That's right, ma'am. Perez told you, I s'pose. "

"No, nobody told me. I jest guessed it. I've seen a good many folks inmy time, and I cal'late I've got so I can tell what kind a man is afterI've known him a little while. I jedged Cap'n Eri was that kind, and, when you said we knew that skipper, I was almost sartin 'twas him. "

"Well!" exclaimed Ralph, "I don't believe I should have guessed it. I've always liked the Captain, but he has seemed so full of fun andso easy-going that I never thought of his doing anything quite sostrenuous. "

Captain Davis laughed. "I've seen fo'mast hands try to take advantageof that easy-goin' way 'fore now, " he said, "but they never did it butonce. Cap'n Eri is one of the finest fellers that ever stepped, but youcan't stomp on his toes much, and he's clear grit inside. And say, " headded, "don't you tell anybody I told that story, for he'd skin me aliveif he knew it. "

As they walked back toward the station Ralph and Elsie lingered a littlebehind the others, and then stopped to watch a big four-master that, under full sail, was spinning along a mile or two from the beach. Theywatched it for a moment or two without speaking. Elsie's cheeks werebrown from the sun, stray wisps of her hair fluttered in the wind, andher trim, healthy figure stood out against the white sandhill behindthem as if cut from cardboard. The electrician looked at her, and againthe thought of that disgraceful "'Gusty" Black episode was forced intohis mind. They had had many a good laugh over it since, and Elsie hadapparently forgotten it, but he had not, by a good deal. 

She was the first to speak, and then as much to herself as to him. 

"I think they are the best people I ever knew, " she said. 

"Who?" he asked. 

"Oh, all of them! The captains and Mrs. Snow, and Captain Davis and hissister. They are so simple and kind and generous. And the best of it is, they don't seem to know it, and wouldn't believe it if you told them. "

Ralph nodded emphatically. 

"I imagine it would take a good deal to convince Davis or any of thesestation men that there was anything heroic in their lives, " he said. "Asfor Captain Eri, I have known him only a month or two, but I don't knowof anyone to whom I would rather go if I were in trouble. "

"He has been so kind to grandfather and me, " said Elsie, "that I feelas though we were under an obligation we never could repay. When I camedown here I knew no one in Orham, and he and Captain Jerry and CaptainPerez have made me feel more at home than I have ever felt before. Youknow, " she added, "grandfather is the only relative I have. "

"I suppose you will go back to your studies when your grandfatherrecovers. "

"I don't know. If grandfather is well enough I think I shall try topersuade him to come up to Boston and live with me. Then I might perhapsteach. This was to have been my last year at Radcliffe, so my giving itup will not make so much difference. Do you intend to stay here long? Isuppose you do. Your profession, I know, means so much to you, and yourwork at the station must be very interesting. "

"It would be more so if I had someone who was interested with me. Mr. Langley is kind, but he is so wrapped up in his own work that I see verylittle of him. I took the place because I thought it would give me agood deal of spare time that I might use in furthering some experimentsof my own. Electricity is my hobby, and I have one or two ideas thatI am foolish enough to hope may be worth developing. I have had timeenough, goodness knows, but it's a lonesome sort of life. If it had notbeen for the captains--and you--I think I should have given it up beforethis. "

"Oh, I hope you won't. "

"Why?"

"Why--why, because it seems like running away, almost, doesn't it? Ifa thing is hard to do, but is worth doing, I think the satisfaction INdoing it is ever so much greater, don't you? I know it must be lonelyfor you; but, then, it is lonely for Mr. Langley and the other men, too. "

"I doubt if Mr. Langley would be happy anywhere else, and the other menare married, most of them, and live over in the village. "

Now, there isn't any real reason why this simple remark should havecaused a halt in the conversation, but it did. Miss Preston said, "Oh, indeed!" rather hurriedly, and her next speech was concerning the heightof a particularly big wave. Mr. Hazeltine answered this commonplacesomewhat absent-mindedly. He acted like a man to whom a startling ideahad suddenly occurred. Just then they heard Captain Eri calling them. 

The Captain was standing on a sand dune near the station, shouting theirnames through a speaking trumpet formed by placing his hands about hismouth. As the pair came strolling toward him, he shifted his hands tohis trousers pockets and stood watching the young couple with a sort ofhalf smile. 

"I s'pose if Jerry was here now, " he mused, "he'd think his scheme wasworkin'. Well, maybe 'tis, maybe 'tis. You can't never tell. Well, Iswan!"

The exclamation was called forth by the sight of Captain Perez and MissPatience, who suddenly came into view around the corner of the station. The Captain was gallantly assisting his companion over the rough placesin the path, and she was leaning upon his arm in a manner that impliedimplicit confidence. Captain Eri glanced from one couple to the other, and then grinned broadly. The grin had not entirely disappeared whenCaptain Perez came up, and the latter rather crisply asked what the jokewas. 

"Oh, nothin'!" was the reply. "I was jest thinkin' we must be playin'some kind of a game, and I was It. "

"It?" queried Miss Patience, puzzled. 

"Why, yes. I'm kinder like 'Rastus Bailey used to be at the danceswhen you and me was younger, Perez. Old man Alexander--he was thefiddler--used to sing out 'Choose partners for Hull's Vict'ry, ' orsomethin' like that, and it always took 'Ras so long to make up his mindwhat girl to choose that he gin'rally got left altogether. Then he'dset on the settee all through the dance and say he never cared much forHull's Vict'ry, anyway. Seems to me, I'm the only one that ain't choosedpartners. How 'bout it, Perez?"

"More fool you, that's all I've got to say, " replied Captain Perezstoutly. 

Miss Patience laughed so heartily at this rejoinder that Perez beganto think he had said a very good thing indeed, and so repeated it forgreater effect. 

"You want to look out for him, Miss Davis, " said Captain Eri. "He's themost fascinatin' youngster of his age I ever see. Me and Jerry's beenthinkin' we'd have to build a fence 'round the house to keep the girlsaway when he's home. Why, M'lissy Busteed fairly--"

"Oh, give us a rest, Eri!" exclaimed Perez, with even more indignationthan was necessary. "M'lissy Busteed!"

Just then Ralph and Elsie came up, and Captain Eri explained that he hadhailed them because it was time to be going if they wanted to get acrossto the mainland without swimming. They walked around to the back door ofthe station and there found Mrs. Snow and Captain Davis by the hen-yard. The lady from Nantucket had discovered a sick chicken in the collection, and she was holding it in her lap and at the same time discoursinglearnedly on the relative value of Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds, as layers. 

"See there!" exclaimed Captain Eri delightedly, pointing to thesuffering pullet, "what did I tell you? D'you wonder we picked her outfor nuss for John, Luther? Even a sick hen knows enough to go to her. "

They harnessed Daniel to the carryall, and stowed the living freightaboard somehow, although Captain Perez protested that he had eaten somuch dinner he didn't know's he'd be able to hang on the way he didcoming down. Then they said farewell to Captain Davis and his sister andstarted for home. The members of the crew, such of them as were aboutthe station, waved good-by to them as they passed. 

"Things kind of average up in this world, don't they?" said Captain Erireflectively, as he steered Daniel along the soft beach toward the ford. "We're all the time readin' 'bout fellers that work for the Gov'mentgittin' high sal'ries and doin' next to nothin'. Now there's a gang--thelife-savin' crew, I mean--that does what you and me would call almightyhard work and git next to nothin' for it. Uncle Sam gits square there, it seems to me. A few dollars a month and find yourself ain't gilt-edgedwages for bein' froze and drownded and blown to pieces ten months out ofthe year, is it?"

The tide was higher when they came to the crossing than it had been whenthey drove over before, but they made the passage all right, althoughthere was some nervousness displayed by the feminine portion of theparty. When they reached home they found Captain Jerry contentedlysmoking his pipe, the sick man was asleep, and everything was serene. Josiah appeared from behind the barn, where he had been smoking acigarette. 

They pressed Mr. Hazeltine to stay to supper, but he declined, allegingthat he had been away from business too long already. He had beenremarkably silent during the homeward ride, and Elsie, too, had seemedbusy with her thoughts. She was full of fun at the supper table, however, and the meal was a jolly one. Just as it was finished CaptainJerry struck the table a bang with his palm that made the knives andforks jump, and so startled Captain Perez as to cause him to spill halfa cup of tea over his shirt bosom. 

"Land of love!" ejaculated the victim, mopping his chin and his tiewith his napkin. "It's bad enough to scare a feller to death, let alonedrowndin' and scaldin' him at the same time. What did you do that for?"

"I jest thought of somethin', " exclaimed Captain Jerry, going throughone pocket after the other. 

"Well, I wish you'd have your thinkin' fits in the barn or somewhereselse next time. I put this shirt on clean this mornin' and now look atit!"

His friend was too busy to pay any attention to this advice. The pocketsearch apparently being unsatisfactory, he rose from the table andhurriedly made a round of the room, looking on the mantelpiece and underchairs. 

"I had it when I come in, " he soliloquized. "I know I did, 'cause I waswearin' it when I went out to see to the hens. I don't see where--"

"If it's your hat you're looking for, " observed Josiah, "I saw Mrs. Snowhang it up on the nail behind the door. There it is now. "

The reply to this was merely a grunt, which may, or may not haveexpressed approval. At any rate, the hat was apparently the object ofhis search, for he took it from the nail, looked inside, and with a sighof relief took out a crumpled envelope. 

"I knew I put it somewheres, " he said. "It's a letter for you, Elsie. Josiah, here, he brought it down from the post-office when he come fromschool this afternoon. I meant to give it to you afore. "

Captain Eri, who sat next to the young lady, noticed that the envelopewas addressed in an irregular, sprawling hand to "Miss ElizabethPreston, Orham, Mass. " Elsie looked it over in the absent way in whichso many of us examine the outside of a letter which comes unexpectedly. 

"I wonder who it is from, " she said. 

She did not open it at once, but, tucking it into her waist, announcedthat she must run upstairs, in order that Mrs. Snow might come down tosupper. The housekeeper did come down a few minutes later, and, as shewas interested to know more about Luther Davis and his sister, the talkbecame animated and general. 

It was after eight o'clock when Mrs. Snow, having finished washing thedishes--she allowed no one to assist her in this operation since thetime when she caught Captain Jerry absent-mindedly using the dustrag instead of the dishcloth--went upstairs to her patient. Shortlyafterward Elsie came down, wearing her hat and jacket. 

"I'm going out for a little while, " she said. "No, I don't want anyoneto go with me. I'll be back soon. "

Her back was turned to the three captains as she spoke, but, as sheopened the door, the lamplight shone for an instant on her face, andCaptain Eri noticed, or fancied that he did, that she was paler thanusual. He rose, and again offered to accompany her, but met with such afirm refusal that he could not insist further. 

"Now, that's kind of funny, ain't it?" remarked Perez. "I don't b'lieveshe's been out alone afore after dark sence she's been here. "

"Where did you git that letter, Josiah?" asked Captain Eri. 

It may as well be explained here that Captain Perez' grand-nephew was athorn in the flesh to everyone, including his indulgent relative. He wasa little afraid of Mrs. Snow, and obeyed her better than he did anyoneelse, but that is not saying a great deal. He was in mischief in schooltwo-thirds of the time, and his reports, made out by the teacher, wereanything but complimentary. He was a good-looking boy, the image of hismother, who had been her uncle's favorite, and he was popular with acertain class of youngsters. Also, and this was worse, his work atthe livery stable had thrown him in contact with a crowd of men like"Squealer" Wixon, "Web" Saunders, and others of their class, and theyappreciated his New York street training and made much of him. CaptainPerez, mindful of his promise to the boy's mother, did not use thenecessary measures to control him, and Captain Eri and Captain Jerry didnot like to interfere. 

Just now he was seated in the corner, and he looked up with a start, hurriedly folded up the tattered paper book he was reading, stuffed itinto his pocket, and said, "What?"

"Who give you that letter that come for Elsie?"

"Miss Cahoon up at the office. It was in our box, " said the boy. 

"Humph! What are you readin' that's so interestin'?"

"Oh, nothin'. A book, that's all. "

"Let me look at it. "

Josiah hesitated, looked as if he would like to refuse, and thensullenly took the ragged volume from his pocket and handed it to theCaptain, who deliberately unfolded it, and looked at the cover. 

"'Fightin' Fred Starlight, the Boy Rover of the Pacific, '" he readaloud. "Humph! Is it good?"

"Bet your life! It's a red-hot story. "

"I want to know! Who was Mr. Moonshine--what's his name--Starlight?"

"He was a sailor, " was the sulky answer. Josiah was no fool, and knewwhen he was being made fun of. 

The Captain opened the book, and read a page or two to himself. Then hesaid, "I see he knocked the skipper down 'cause he insulted him. Nice, spunky chap; I'd like to have had him aboard a vessel of mine. And hecalled the old man a 'caitiff hound'? Awful thing to call a feller, thatis. I'll bet that skipper felt ashamed. Looks like a good book. I'llborrow it to-night to read while you're doin' your lessons. "

"I ain't got any lessons to do. "

"Oh, ain't you? I thought that was a 'rithmetic over there. "

"Well, I know 'em now. Besides, you ain't got any right to order mearound. You ain't my uncle. Can't I read that book, Uncle Perez?"

Poor Perez! He hesitated, swallowed once or twice, and answered, "Youcan read it after you've studied a spell. You'll let him have it then, won't you, Eri? Now study, like a good boy. "

Captain Eri looked as if he would like to say something further, buthe evidently thought better of it, and tossed the paper novel across toCaptain Perez, who put it on the table, saying, rather feebly:

"There now, it's right there, where you can have it soon's you'vel'arned your examples. Now pitch in, so's the teacher can see how smartyou are. "

His nephew grumblingly got his paper and pencil, took the arithmeticand went to work. No one spoke for a while, Captain Perez twirling histhumbs and looking, as he felt, uncomfortable. Soon Josiah, announcingthat his studies were completed, grabbed the novel from the table, tooka lamp from the kitchen and went off to bed. When he had gone CaptainJerry said, "Perez, you're sp'ilin' that boy. "

"I s'pose I am, I s'pose I am, but I can't bear to be cross to him, somehow. Poor Lizzie, she made me promise I wouldn't be, and I jestcan't; that's all. You understand how 'tis, don't you, Eri?"

The Captain nodded. "I understand, " he said. "I'm sorry I said anything. I hadn't ought to be givin' orders 'bout what's none of my affairs. Whattime is it gittin' to be?"

Captain Jerry announced that it was bedtime, and that he was going toturn in. Perez, still looking worried and anxious, said that he also wasgoing to bed. Captain Eri thought that he would sit up for a while. 

Another hour and still another went by, and the Captain sat there in hisrocker. His two friends were sound asleep. Mrs. Snow called twice fromthe head of the stairs to know if Elsie had come back, and where onearth she could be. Captain Eri's answers were cheery and to the effectthat the young lady had an errand up town, and would be home prettysoon, he guessed. Nevertheless, it might have been noticed that heglanced at the clock every few minutes, and grew more and more fidgety. 

It was after eleven when Elsie came in. She hurriedly and with someconfusion apologized for being so late, and thanked the Captain forsitting up for her. She made no offer to explain her long absenceand, as she went upstairs, Captain Eri noticed that her face was, ifanything, paler than when she went out, and her eyes looked as ifshe had been crying. He wanted to ask her some questions, but didn't, because she evidently did not wish to talk. He pondered over the matterwhile undressing, and for a long time after that lay awake thinking. That the girl was in trouble of some sort was plain, but he could notunderstand why she said nothing about it, or what its cause might be. She had been her bright, happy self all day and a part of the evening. Then she had suddenly changed. The Captain wondered what was in thatletter. 

CHAPTER XII

A LITTLE POLITICS

Elsie, when she came down to breakfast next morning, was quieter thanusual, and to the joking questions of Captain Jerry and Captain Perez, who were curious concerning her "errand" of the previous evening, andwho pretended to believe that she had gone to a dance or "time" withsome "feller" unknown, she gave evasive, but good-humored replies. Captain Eri was on his usual fishing trip, and after breakfast was overPerez departed to the Barry place, and Jerry to his beloved schoolhouse. The sacrifice, whose impending matrimonial doom had not been mentionedfor some time by the trio interested, was gradually becoming his owngarrulous self, and his principal topic of conversation recently hadbeen the coming marriage of the "upstairs teacher"--that is, the ladywho presided over the grammar grade of the school--and the question ofher probable successor. In fact, this question of who the new teacherwas to be was the prevailing subject of surmise and conjecture in thevillage just then. 

When Captain Jerry came back to the house he went out to the barn tofeed Lorenzo and the hens, and attend to Daniel's toilet. He was busywith the curry-comb when Elsie came in. She seated herself on a box, andwatched the performance for a while without speaking. The Captain, whotook this part of his duties very seriously, was too intent on crimpingDaniel's rather scraggy forelock to talk much. At length Miss Prestonbroke the silence. 

"Captain Jerry, " she said, "you have never told me just where you foundgrandfather that night when he was taken sick. On the hill back of thepost-office, wasn't it?"

"Yes, jest on the top. You see, he'd fell down when he was runnin' tothe fire. "

"Captain Eri found him, didn't he?"

"Yep. Whoa there, Dan'l; stand still, can't you? Yes, Eri found him. "

"How was he dressed?"

"Who? John? Oh, he was bareheaded and in his shirtsleeves, jest as herun outdoors when he heard the bell. Queer, he didn't put on thatold white hat of his. I never knew him to be without it afore; but afeller's li'ble to forgit 'most anything a night like that was. Did Eritell you how Perez forgot his shoes? Funniest thing I ever see, thatwas. "

He began the story of his friend's absent-mindedness, but his companiondid not seem to pay much attention to it. In fact, it was evident thather thoughts were somewhere else, for when the Captain asked her aquestion that plainly called for a negative, she replied "Yes, " verycalmly, and didn't seem to know that she had said it. She went intothe house soon after and Captain Jerry, after considering the matter, decided that she was probably thinking of Hazeltine. He derived muchcomfort from the idea. 

When he, too, entered the dining room, Elsie said to him:

"Oh, Captain Jerry! Please don't tell the others that I asked aboutgrandfather. They would think that I was worrying, and I'm not, a bit. You won't mention it, will you? Just promise, to please me. "

So the Captain promised, although he did not understand why it was askedof him. 

When Captain Eri came home that afternoon, and was cleaning his catch atthe shanty, he was surprised to receive a call from Miss Preston. 

"Hello!" he exclaimed. "Come to l'arn the trade?"

Elsie smiled, and disclaimed any intention of apprenticeship. 

"Captain Eri, " she said, "I want to have a talk with you, a businesstalk. "

The Captain looked at her keenly. All he said, however, was, "You don'ttell me!"

"Yes, I want to talk with you about getting me a position. "

"A position?"

"Yes, I've been thinking a great deal lately, and, now that grandfatherseems to be a little better, and I'm not needed to help take care ofhim, I want to do something to earn my living. "

"Earn your livin'? Why, child alive, you don't need to do that. Youain't a mite of trouble at the house; fact is, I don't know how we'd getalong without you, and, as for money, why I cal'late your grandpa ain'tso poor but what, if I let you have a little change once in a while, he'd be able to pay me back, when he got better. "

"But I don't want to use your money or his either. Captain Eri, youdon't know what he has done for me ever since I was a little girl. Hehas clothed me and given me an education, and been so kind and goodthat, now that he is ill and helpless, I simply can't go on using hismoney. I can't, and I won't. "

The tears stood in the girl's eyes, as she spoke, and the Captain, noticing her emotion, thought it better to treat the matter seriously, for the present at any rate. 

"All right, " he said. "'Independence shows a proper sperit and savesgrocery bills, ' as old man Scudder said when his wife run off with thetin-peddler. What kind of a place was you thinkin' of takin'?"

"I want to get the appointment to teach in the grammar school here. MissNixon is going to be married, and when she leaves I want her place--andI want you to help me get it. "

Captain Eri whistled. "I want to know!" he exclaimed. Then he said, "Look here, Elsie, I don't want you to think I'm tryin' to be cur'ous'bout your affairs, or anything like that, but are you sure there ain'tsome reason more 'n you've told me of for your wantin' this place? Iain't no real relation of yours, you understand, but I would like tohave you feel that you could come to me with your troubles jest thesame as you would to your grandpa. Now, honest and true, ain't theresomethin' back of this?"

It was only for a moment that Elsie hesitated, but that moment'shesitation and the manner in which she answered went far towardconfirming the Captain's suspicions. 

"No, Captain Eri, " she said. "It is just as I've told you. I don't wantto be dependent on grandfather any longer. "

"And there ain't a single other reason for--Of course, I ought to mindmy business, but--Well, there! what was it you wanted me to do? Help yougit the place?"

"Yes, if you will. I know Captain Perez has said that you wereinterested in the town-meetings and helped to nominate some of theselectmen and the school-committee, so I thought perhaps, if you usedyour influence, you might get the position for me. "

"Well, I don't know. I did do a little electioneerin' for one or twofellers and maybe they'd ought to be willin' to do somethin' for me. Still, you can't never tell. A cat 'll jump over your hands if she knowsthere's a piece of fish comin' afterwards, but when she's swallowed thatfish, it's a diff'rent job altogether. Same way with a politician. But, then, you let me think over it for a spell, and p'raps to-morrow we'llsee. You think it over, too. Maybe you'll change your mind. "

"No, I shan't change my mind. I'm ever and ever so much obliged to you, though. "

She started toward the door, but turned impulsively and said, "Oh, Captain Eri, you don't think that I'm ungrateful, do you? You norCaptain Perez nor Captain Jerry won't think that I do not appreciateall your kindness? You won't think that I'm shirking my duty, or thatI don't want to help take care of grandfather any longer? You won't?Promise me you won't. "

She choked down a sob as she asked the question. 

Captain Eri was as much moved as she was. He hastened to answer. 

"No, no, no!" he exclaimed. "Course we won't do no such thing. Run rightalong, and don't think another word about it. Wait till to-morrer. I'llhave a plan fixed up to land that school-committee, see if I don't. "

But all that evening he worked at the model of the clipper, and theexpression on his face as he whittled showed that he was puzzled, andnot a little troubled. 

He came back from his fishing next day a little earlier than usual, changed his working-clothes for his second best suit, harnessed Danielinto the buggy, and then came into the house, and announced that he wasgoing over to the Neck on an errand, and if Elsie wanted to go with him, he should be glad of her company. As this was but part of a pre-arrangedscheme, the young lady declared that a ride was just what she needed. 

Captain Eri said but little, as they drove up to the "main road"; heseemed to be thinking. Elsie, too, was very quiet. When they reached thefruit and candy shop, just around the corner, the Captain stopped thehorse, got down, and went in. When he came out he had a handful ofcigars. 

"Why, Captain Eri, " said Elsie, "I didn't know that you smoked cigars. Ithought a pipe was your favorite. "

"Well, gin'rally speakin', 'tis, " was the answer, "but I'melectioneerin' now, and politics without cigars would be like a chowderwithout any clams. Rum goes with some kind of politics, but terbackerkind of chums in with all kinds. 'Tain't always safe to jedge acandidate by the kind of cigars he gives out neither; I've found thatout. 

"Reminds me of a funny thing that Obed Nickerson told me one time. Obedused to be in politics a good deal up and down the Cape, here, and hehad consider'ble influence. 'Twas when Bradley up to Fall River wasrunnin' for Congress. They had a kind of pow-wow in his office--a wholegang of district leaders--and Obed he was one of 'em. Bradley went togit out the cigar-box, and 'twas empty, so he called in the boy thatswept out and run errands for him, give the youngster a ten-dollar bill, and told him to go down to a terbacker store handy and buy another box. Well, the boy, he was a new one that Bradley'd jest hired, seemed kindof surprised to think of anybody's bein' so reckless as to buy a wholebox of cigars at once, but he went and pretty soon come back with thebox. 

"The old man told him to open it and pass 'em round. Well, everybodywas lookin' for'ard to a treat, 'cause Bradley had the name of smokin'better stuff than the average; but when they lit up and got a-goin', Obed said you could see that the gang was s'prised and some disgusted. The old man didn't take one at fust, but everybody else puffed away, andthe smoke and smell got thicker 'n' thicker. Obed said it reminded himof a stable afire more 'n anything else. Pretty soon Bradley bit the endof one of the things and touched a match to it. He puffed twice--Obedswears 'twa'n't more'n that--and then he yelled for the boy. 

"'For the Lord's sake!' he says, 'where'd you git them cigars?' Well, it come out that the boy hadn't told who the cigars was for, and he'dbought a box of the kind his brother that worked in the cotton millsmoked. Obed said you'd ought to have seen Bradley's face when theyoungster handed him back seven dollars and seventy-five cents change. "

They reached that part of Orham which is called the Neck, and pulledup before a small building bearing the sign "Solomon Bangs, Attorney-at-Law, Real Estate and Insurance. " Here the Captain turned tohis companion and asked, "Sure you haven't changed your mind, Elsie? Youwant that school-teachin' job?"

"I haven't changed my mind, Captain Eri. "

"Well, I wanted to be sure. I should hate to ask Sol Bangs for anythingand then have to back out afterwards. Come on, now. "

Mr. Soloman Bangs was the chairman of the Orham school-committee. He wasa short, stout man with sandy side-whiskers and a bald head. He receivedthem with becoming condescension, and asked if they wouldn't sit down. 

"Why, I've got a little bus'ness I want to talk with you 'bout, Sol, " said the Captain. "Elsie, you set down here, and make yourselfcomf'table, and Sol and me 'll go inside for a minute. "

As he led the way into the little private office at the back of thebuilding, and seemed to take it for granted that Mr. Bangs would follow, the latter gentleman couldn't well refuse. The private office wasusually reserved for interviews with widows whose homestead mortgageswere to be foreclosed, guileless individuals who had indorsed notesfor friends, or others whose business was unpleasant and likely tobe accompanied with weeping or profanity. Mr. Bangs didn't object toforeclosing a mortgage, but he disliked to have a prospective customerhear the dialogue that preceded the operation. 

On this occasion the door of the sanctum was left ajar so that Elsie, although she did not try to listen, could not very well help hearingwhat was said. 

She heard the Captain commenting on the late cranberry crop, theexceptionally pleasant weather of the past month, and other irrelevantsubjects. Then the perfumes of the campaign cigars floated out throughthe doorway. 

"Let's see, " said Captain Eri, "when's town meetin' day?"

"First Tuesday in December, " replied Mr. Bangs. 

"Why, so 'tis, so 'tis. Gittin' pretty nigh, ain't it? What are yougoin' to git off the school-committee for?"

"Me? Get off the committee? Who told you that?"

"Why, I don't know. You are, ain't you? Seems to me I heard Seth Wingatewas goin' to run and he's from your district, so I thought, of course--"

"Is Seth going to try for the committee?"

"Seth's a good man, " was the equivocal answer. 

"A good man! He ain't any better man than I am. What's he know aboutschools, or how to run 'em?"

"Well, he's pretty popular. Folks like him. See here, Sol; what's this'bout your turnin' Betsy Godfrey off her place?"

"Who said I turned her off? I've been carrying that mortgage for so longit's gray-headed. I can't be Santa Claus for the whole town. Business isbusiness, and I've got to look out for myself. "

"Ye-es, I s'pose that's so. Still, folks talk, and Seth's got lots offriends. "

"Eri, I ain't denying that you could do a heap to hurt me if you wantedto, but I don't know why you should. I've always been square with you, far's I know. What have you got against me?"

"Oh, nuthin', nuthin'! Didn't I hear you was tryin' to get that Harnissteacher to come down here and take Carrie Nixon's place when she gotmarried?"

"Well, I thought of her. She's all night, isn't she?"

"Yes, I s'pose she is. 'Twould be better if she lived in Orham, maybe, and folks couldn't say you went out of town for a teacher when you couldhave had one right from home. Then, she's some relation of your cousin, ain't she? 'Course, that's all right, but--well, you can't pay attentionto everything that's said. "

"Could have got one right from home! Who'd we get? Dave Eldredge's girl, I suppose. I heard she was after it. "

The conversation that followed was in a lower tone, and Elsie heard butlittle of it. She heard enough, however, to infer that Captain Eri wasstill the disinterested friend, and that Solomon was very anxious toretain that friendship. After a while the striking of matches indicatedthat fresh cigars were being lighted, and then the pair rose from theirchairs, and entered the outer office. Mr. Bangs was very gracious, exceedingly so. 

"Miss Preston, " he said, "Cap'n Hedge tells me that it--er--might bepossible for us--er--for the town to secure--er--to--in short, for us tohave you for our teacher in the upstairs room. It ain't necessary for meto say that--er--a teacher from Radcliffe don't come our way very often, and that we--that is, the town of Orham, would--er--feel itself lucky ifyou'd be willing to come. "

"Of course, I told him, Elsie, " said Captain Eri, "that you wouldn'tthink of comin' for forty-five dollars a month or anything like that. Ofcourse, 'tisn't as though you really needed the place. "

"I understand, I understand, " said the pompous committeeman. "I thinkthat can be arranged. I really think--er--Miss Preston, that there ain'tany reason why you can't consider it settled. Ahem!"

Elsie thanked him, trying her best not to smile, and they were bowedout by the great man, who, however, called the Captain to one side, and whispered eagerly to him for a moment or two. The word "Seth" wasmentioned at least once. 

"Why, Captain Eri!" exclaimed Elsie, as they drove away. 

The Captain grinned. "Didn't know I was such a heeler, did you?" hesaid. "Well, I tell you. If you're fishin' for eels there ain't no useusin' a mack'rel jig. Sol, he's a little mite eely, and you've got touse the kind of bait that 'll fetch that sort of critter. "

"But I shouldn't think he would care whether he was on theschool-committee or not. It isn't such an exalted position. "

Captain Eri's answer was in the form of a parable. "Old Laban Simpkinsthat lived 'round here one time, " he said, "was a mighty hard ticket. Drank rum by the hogshead, pounded his wife till she left him, and wasa tough nut gin'rally. Well, one evenin' Labe was comin' home prettyhow-come-you-so, and he fell into Jonadab Wixon's well. Wonder he wa'n'tkilled, but he wa'n't, and they fished him out in a little while. Hesaid that was the deepest well he ever saw; said he begun to think itreached clear through to the hereafter, and when he struck the water hewas s'prised to find it wa'n't hot. He j'ined the church the nextweek, and somebody asked him if he thought religion would keep him fromfallin' into any more wells. He said no; said he was lookin' out forsomethin' further on. 

"Well, that's the way 'tis with Sol. School-committee's all right, butthis section of the Cape nominates a State representative next year. 

"I mustn't forgit to see Seth, " he added. "I promised I would, andbesides, " with a wink, "I think 'twould be better to do it 'cause, between you and me, I don't b'lieve Seth knows that he's been thinkin'of runnin' for the committee and has decided not to. "

The second member of the school board, John Mullett, was, so the Captainsaid, a sort of "me too" to Mr. Bangs, and would vote as his frienddirected. The third member was Mr. Langworthy, the Baptist ministerand, although two to one was a clear majority, Captain Eri asserted thatthere was nothing like a unanimous vote, and so they decided to callupon the reverend gentleman. 

They found him at home, and Elsie was surprised, after the previousinterview, to see how differently her champion handled the case. Therewas no preliminary parley and no beating about the bush. Miss Preston'sclaim to the soon-to-be-vacant position was stated clearly and withvigor. Also the reasons why she should receive a higher salary than hadpreviously been paid were set forth. It was something of a surprise toElsie, as it had been to Ralph, to see how highly the towns-people, thatis, the respectable portion of them, seemed to value the opinions ofthis good-natured but uneducated seaman. And yet when she consideredthat she, too, went to him for advice that she would not have asked ofother and far more learned acquaintances, it did not seem so surprisingafter all. 

The clergyman had had several candidates in mind, but he was easilywon over to Elsie's side, partly by the Captain's argument, and partlybecause he was favorably impressed by the young lady's appearanceand manner. He expressed himself as being convinced that she would beexactly the sort of teacher that the school required and pledged hisvote unconditionally. 

And so, as Captain Eri said, the stump-speaking being over, there wasnothing to do but to wait for the election, and Elsie and he agreedto keep the affair a secret until she received formal notice of theappointment. This was undoubtedly a good plan, but, unfortunately forits success, Solomon Bangs called upon his fellow in the committee, Mr. Mullett, to inform the latter that he, entirely unaided, had discoveredthe very teacher that Orham needed in the person of John Baxter'sgranddaughter. Mr. Mullett, living up to his "me too" reputation, indorsed the selection with enthusiasm, and not only did that, butalso told everyone he met, so that Captain Perez heard of it at thepost-office the very next afternoon. 

The natural surprise of this gentleman and of Captain Jerry at theirguest's sudden determination was met by plausible explanations fromCaptain Eri, to the effect that Elsie was a smart girl, and didn'tlike to be "hangin' 'round doin' nothin', now that her grandpa was somebetter. " Elsie's own reason, as expressed to them, being just this, thepair accepted it without further questioning. Neither of them attachedmuch importance to the letter which she had received, although CaptainPerez did ask Mrs. Snow if she knew from whom it came. 

The lady from Nantucket was not so easily satisfied. At her firstopportunity she cornered Captain Eri, and they discussed the wholeaffair from beginning to end. There was nothing unusual in thisproceeding, for discussions concerning household matters and questionsof domestic policy were, between these two, getting to be more and morefrequent. Mrs. Snow was now accepted by all as one of the family, andCaptain Eri had come to hold a high opinion of her and her views. Whathe liked about her, he said, was her "good old-fashioned common-sense, "and, whereas he had formerly trusted to his own share of this virtuealmost altogether, now he was glad to have hers to help out. 

The marriage idea, that which had brought the housekeeper to Orham, wasnow seldom mentioned. In fact, Captain Eri had almost entirely ceased toruffle Jerry's feelings with reference to it. Mrs. Snow, of course, said nothing about it. But, for that matter, she said very little aboutherself or her affairs. 

It was a curious fact that the lady from Nantucket had never referred, except in a casual way, to her past history. She had never told how shecame to answer the advertisement in the Nuptial Chime, nor to explainhow so matter-of-fact a person as she was had ever seen that famoussheet. As she said nothing concerning these things, no one felt atliberty to inquire, and, in the course of time, even Captain Perez'lively curiosity had lapsed into a trance. 

Mrs. Snow was certain that Elsie's reason for wishing to obtain theposition of school-teacher was something more specific than theone advanced. She was also certain that the girl was troubled aboutsomething. The root of the matter, she believed, was contained in themysterious letter. As Captain Eri was of precisely the same opinion, speculation between the two as to what that letter might have containedwas as lively as it was unfruitful. 

One thing was certain, Elsie was not as she had formerly been. She didher best to appear the same, but she was much more quiet, and had fitsof absentmindedness that the Captain and the housekeeper noticed. Shehad no more evening "errands, " but she occasionally took long walks inthe afternoons, and on these walks she evidently preferred to be alone. 

Whether Mr. Hazeltine noticed this change in her was a question. TheCaptain thought he did, but at any rate, his calls were none the lessfrequent, and he showed no marked objection when Captain Jerry, who nowconsidered himself bound in honor to bring about the union he had soactively championed, brought to bear his artful schemes for leaving theyoung folks alone. These devices were so apparent that Elsie had morethan once betrayed some symptoms of annoyance, all of which were lost onthe zealous match-maker. Ralph, like the others, was much surprised atMiss Preston's application for employment, but, as it was manifestlynone of his business, he, of course, said nothing. 

At the next committee meeting Elsie was unanimously chosen to fill MissNixon's shoes as trainer of the young idea at the grammar school, and, as Miss Nixon was very anxious to be rid of her responsibilities inorder that she might become the carefree bride of a widower with twosmall children, the shoe-filling took place in a fortnight. 

From her first day's labors Elsie returned calm and unruffled. She hadmet the usual small rebellion against a new teacher, and had conqueredit. She said she believed she had a good class and she should get onwith them very nicely. It should be mentioned in passing, however, thatJosiah Bartlett, usually the ring-leader in all sorts of trouble, was atrifle upset because the new schoolmistress lived in the same housewith him, and so had not yet decided just how far it was safe to go intrespassing against law and order. 

Thanksgiving day came, and the Captains entertained Miss Patience Davisand her brother and Ralph Hazeltine at dinner. That dinner was an event. Captain Eri and Mrs. Snow spent a full twenty minutes with the driver ofthe butcher's cart, giving him directions concerning the exact breedof turkey that was to be delivered, and apparently these orders wereeffectual, for Captain Luther, who was obliged to hurry back to thelife-saving station as soon as dinner was over, said that he was so fullof white meat and stuffing that he cal'lated he should "gobble" all theway to the beach. His sister stayed until the next day, and this wasvery pleasing to all hands, particularly Captain Perez. 

They had games in the evening, and here the captains distinguishedthemselves. Seth Wingate and his wife, and Mr. And Mrs. Obed Nickersoncame in, as did several other retired mariners and their better-halves. Obed brought his fiddle and sat in the corner and played the music fora Virginia reel, and Ralph laughed until he choked to see CaptainJerry--half of his shirt-collar torn loose from the button and flappinglike a sail--convoy stout Mrs. Wingate from one end of the line tothe other, throwing into the performance all the fancy "cuts" and"double-shuffles" he learned at the Thanksgiving balls of a good manyyears before. Captain Perez danced with Miss Patience, who assured himshe had never had such a good time since she was born. The only scofferwas the bored Josiah, who, being a sophisticated New Yorker, sat in thebest chair and gazed contemptuously upon the entire proceeding. He told"Web" Saunders the next day that he never saw such a gang of "crazyjays" in his life. 

Even John Baxter was better that day. He seemed a trifle more rational, and apparently understood when they told him that it was Thanksgiving. There would have been no cloud anywhere had not Mrs. Snow, entering herroom after Elsie had gone to bed, found that young lady awake and cryingsilently. 

"And she wouldn't tell what the trouble was, " said the housekeeper toCaptain Eri, the next day. "Said it was nothin'; she was kind of worried'bout her grandpa. Now, you and me know it wa'n't THAT. I wish togoodness we knew WHAT it was. "

The Captain scratched his nose with a perplexed air. "There's one fellerI'd like to have a talk with jest 'bout now, " he said; "that's theone that invented that yarn 'bout a woman's not bein' able to keep asecret. "

CHAPTER XIII

CAPTAIN JERRY MAKES A MESS OF IT

It was during the week that followed the holiday so gloriouslycelebrated that Captain Jerry made a mess of it, and all with thebest intentions in the world. Elsie had had a hard day at the school, principally owing to the perversity of the irrepressible Josiah, whoselove for deviltry was getting the better of his respect for the newteacher. The boy had discovered that Elsie never reported his badconduct to Captain Perez, and, therefore, that the situation was notgreatly different from what it had been during the reign of Miss Nixon. 

On this particular day he had been a little worse than usual, and, as uneasiness and mischief in a schoolroom are as catching as thechickenpox, Elsie came home tired and nervous. Captain Eri and Mrs. Snowwere certain that this increasing nervousness on the part of their guestwas not due to school troubles alone, but, at any rate, nervous she was, and particularly nervous, and, it must be confessed, somewhat inclinedto be irritable, during the supper and afterward, on this ill-starrednight. 

The beginning of the trouble was when Ralph Hazeltine called. Mrs. Snowwas with her patient in the upper room, Captain Eri was out, andCaptain Perez and Captain Jerry were with Elsie in the dining room. The electrician was made welcome by the trio--more especially by thecaptains, for Miss Preston was in no mood to be over-effusive--and afew minutes of general conversation followed. Then Captain Jerry, inaccordance with his plan of campaign, laid down his newspaper, coughedemphatically to attract the attention of his partner, and said, "Well, Iguess I'll go out and look at the weather for a spell. Come on, Perez. "

"Why, Captain Jerry!" exclaimed Elsie, "you were out looking at theweather only ten minutes ago. I don't think it has changed much sincethen. Why don't you stay here and keep us company?"

"Oh, you can't never tell about the weather 'long this coast. It'slikely to change most any time. Besides, " with a wink that expressedcomprehension unlimited, "I reckon you and Mr. Hazeltine don't care much'bout the company of old fogies like me and Perez. Two's company andthree's a crowd, you know. Ho, ho, ho!"

"Captain Jerry, come back this minute!"

But the Captain chuckled and shook out of the door, followed by theobedient Perez, who, having pledged fealty, stuck to his colors whatevermight happen. 

At another time, Elsie would probably have appreciated and enjoyed thejoke as much as anyone, but this evening it did not appeal to her inthe least. Ralph put in a very uncomfortable half-hour, and then cut hisvisit short and departed. It was rather sharp and chilly outside, but the breeze felt like a breath from the tropics compared with theatmosphere of that dining room. 

It certainly was Captain Jerry's unlucky evening, for he left Perezchatting with a fisherman friend, who had left a favorite pipe in hisshanty and had come down to get it, and entered the house alone. He hadseen the electrician go, and was surprised at the brevity of his call, but he was as far from suspecting that he himself was the indirect causeof the said brevity as a mortal could be. 

He came into the dining room, hung his cap on the back of a chair, andremarked cheerfully, "Well, Elsie, what did you send your company homeso quick for? Land sake! twelve o'clock wa'n't none too late for me whenI was young and goin' round to see the girls. "

But Miss Preston did not smile. On the contrary, she frowned, and whenshe spoke the Captain had a vague feeling that someone had dropped anicicle inside his shirt collar. 

"Captain Jerry, " said the young lady, "I want to have a talk with you. Why do you think it necessary to get up and leave the room whenever Mr. Hazeltine calls? You do it every time, and to-night was no exception, except that by what you said you made me appear a little more ridiculousthan usual. Now, why do you do it?"

The Captain's jaw fell. He stared at his questioner to see if she wasnot joking, but, finding no encouragement of that kind, stammered, "Whydo I do it? Why?"

"Yes, why?"

"Why, 'cause I thought you wanted me to. "

"_I_ wanted you to! Why should you think that, please?"

"Well, I don't know. I thought you two would ruther be alone. I know, when I used to go to see my wife 'fore we was married, I--"

"Please, what has that got to do with Mr. Hazeltine's visits here?"

"Why, why, nothin', I s'pose, if you say so. I jest thought--"

"What right have you to suppose that Mr. Hazeltine is calling on me morethan any other person or persons in this house?"

This was something of a poser, but the Captain did his best. He sat onthe edge of a chair and rubbed his knee, and then blurted out, "Well, I s'pose I--that is, we thought he was, jest 'cause he nat'rally would;that's 'bout all. If I'd thought--why, see here, Elsie, don't YOU thinkhe's comin' to see you?"

This was a return thrust that was hard to parry, but, although theyoung lady's color heightened just a bit, she answered without muchhesitation:

"I don't know that I do. At any rate, I have given you no authority toact on any such assumption, and I DON'T want you to put me again in theridiculous position you did this evening, and as you have done so oftenbefore. Why, his visits might be perfect torture to me, and still Ishould have to endure them out of common politeness. I couldn't go awayand leave him alone. "

Captain Jerry's face was a study of chagrin and troubled repentance. 

"Elsie, " he said, "I'm awful sorry; I am so. If I'd thought I wastorturin' of you, 'stead of makin' it pleasant, I'd never have done it, sure. I won't go out again; I won't, honest. I hope you won't lay it upagainst me. I meant well. "

Now, if Captain Perez had delayed his entrance to that dining roomonly two or three minutes longer, if he had not come in just in time toprevent Elsie's making the explanatory and soothing answer that was onher tongue, events would probably have been entirely different, and agood deal of trouble might have been saved. But in he came, as if someperverse imp had been waiting to give him the signal, and the interviewbetween Captain Jerry and the young lady whom he had unwittinglyoffended broke off then and there. 

Elsie went upstairs feeling a little conscience-stricken, and with anuneasy idea that she had said more than she should have. Captain Pereztook up the newspaper and sat down to read. As for Captain Jerry, he satdown, too, but merely to get his thoughts assorted into an arrangementless like a spilled box of jackstraws. The Captain's wonderful scheme, that he had boasted of and worked so hard for, had fallen to earth likean exploded airship, and when it hit it hurt. 

His first idea was to follow the usual procedure, and take the wholematter to Captain Eri for settlement, but the more he considered thisplan the less he liked it. Captain Eri was an unmerciful tease, and hewould be sure to "rub it in, " in a way the mere thought of which madehis friend squirm. There wasn't much use in confiding to Captain Perez, either. He must keep the secret and pretend that everything was workingsmoothly. 

Then his thoughts turned to Hazeltine, and when he considered the wronghe had done that young man, he squirmed again. There wasn't a doubt inhis mind that Ralph felt exactly as Elsie did about his interference. Captain Jerry decided that he owed the electrician an apology, anddetermined to offer it at the first opportunity. 

And the opportunity came the very next morning, for Mrs. Snow wantedsome clams for dinner, and asked him to dig some for her. The best clamsin the vicinity were those in the flat across the bay near the cablestation, and the Captain took his bucket and hoe and rowed over there. As he was digging, Ralph came strolling down to the shore. 

Mr. Hazeltine's "Good-morning" was clear and hearty. Captain Jerry'swas hesitating and formal. The talk that followed was rather one-sided. Finally, the Captain laid down his hoe, and came splashing over to wherehis friend was standing. 

"Mr. Hazeltine, " he said confusedly, "I kind of feel as if I ought tobeg your pardon. I'm awful sorry I done what I did, but, as I said toElsie, I meant well, and I'm sorry. "

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"Why, for leavin' you and her alone so when you come to the house. Yousee, I never thought but what you'd both like it, and 'twa'n't till sheraked me over the coals so for doin' it that I realized how things was. "

"Raked you over the coals? I'm afraid I don't understand. "

It is unnecessary to repeat the whole of the long and tangledconversation that ensued. The Captain tried to explain, tumbled down, metaphorically speaking, got up again, and started off on another tack. In his anxiety to make his position perfectly clear, he quoted fromElsie's remarks of the previous evening, and then, thinking perhapshe had gone too far, tried to smooth these over by more explanations. Repeating this process several times got him into such a snarl thathe scarcely knew what he was saying. When the agony was over Ralph hadreceived the impression that Miss Preston had said his visits were aperfect torture to her, that she objected to being left alone with him, that she held Captain Jerry responsible for these things, and that thelatter was sorry for something or other, though what it was he, Ralph, didn't know or care particularly. To the Captain's continued apologieshe muttered absently that it was "all right, " and walked slowly awaywith his hands in his pockets. Captain Jerry was relieved by thisexpression of forgiveness. He felt that the situation wasn't what hewould like to have it, but, at any rate, he had done his duty. This wasa great consolation. 

Ralph didn't call that evening or the next. When he did drop in it wasmerely to inquire concerning John Baxter's progress, and to chat for amoment with the captains. His next visit was a week later, and was justas brief and formal. 

If Elsie noticed this sudden change she said nothing. There might havebeen some comment by the others, had not a new sensation so occupiedtheir minds as to shut out everything else. This sensation was caused byJosiah Bartlett, who ran away one night, with his belongings tied up ina brown paper parcel, leaving a note saying that he had gone to enlistin the Navy and wasn't coming back any more. 

There were lively times the next morning when the note was found. Captain Perez was for harnessing up immediately and starting off to findthe lost one, hit or miss. Captain Eri soon showed him the folly ofthis proceeding and, instead, hurried to the railway station and sent atelegram describing the fugitive to the conductor of the Bostontrain. It caught the conductor at Sandwich, and the local constable atBuzzard's Bay caught the boy. Josiah was luxuriously puffing a five-centcigar in the smoking car, and it was a crest-fallen and humiliatedprodigal that, accompanied by the a fore-mentioned constable, returnedto Orham that night. 

But the stubbornness remained, and the next day Perez sought Captain Eriin a troubled frame of mind. 

"Eri, " he said dejectedly, "I don't know what I'm goin' to do with thatboy. He's too many for ME, that boy is. Seems he's been plannin' thisrunnin' away bus'ness for more 'n a month; been doin' errands and oddjobs 'round town and savin' up his money on purpose. Says he won't goback to school again, no matter what we do to him, and that he's goin'to git into the Navy if it takes ten year. He says he'll run away againfust chance he gits, and he WILL, too. He's got the sperit of the OldScratch in him, and I can't git it out. I'm clean discouraged and woreout, and I know that he'll do somethin' pretty soon that 'll disgrace usall. "

"Humph!" exclaimed his friend. "Stuffy as all that, is he? You don'tsay! He ain't a bad boy, that is a REEL bad boy, either. "

"No, that's jest it. He ain't reel bad--yit. But he will be if he ain'tfetched up pretty sudden. 'Course, I know what he needs is to be madeto mind fust, and then preached to afterwards. And I know that nat'rallyI'm the one that ought to do it, but I jest can't--there! If I shouldstart out to give him the dressin' down he needs, I'd be thinkin' of hismother every minute, and how I promised to treat him gentle and not becross to him. But SOMETHIN'S got to be done, and if you can help me outany way I'll never forgit it, Eri. "

Captain Eri scratched his chin. "Humph!" he grunted reflectively. "Hecouldn't git into the Navy, he's too young. More likely to be a stowawayon a merchantman and then roustabout on a cattle boat, or some suchthing. Even if he lied 'bout his age and did git to be a sort ofa ship's boy on a sailin' vessel, you and me know what that meansnowadays. I presume likely 'twould end in his bein' killed in somerumshop scrimmage later on. Let--me--see. Bound to be a sailor, is he?"

"He's dead sot on it. "

"More fool he. Comes from readin' them ridic'lous story books, I s'pose. He ain't been on the water much sence he's been down here, has he?"

"Not more 'n once or twice, except in a dory goin' to the beach, orsomethin' like that. "

"That's so, that's what I thought. Well, Perez, I'll tell you. The boydoes need breakin' in, that's a fact, and I think maybe I could do it. Icould use a young feller on my boat; to go coddin' with me, I mean. Let me have the boy under me--no meddlin' from anybody--for a coupleof months. Let him sign reg'lar articles and ship 'long of me for thattime. Maybe I could make a white man of him. "

"I don't b'lieve he'd do it. "

"I cal'late I could talk him into it. There's some butter on my tonguewhen it's necessary. "

"You'd have to promise not to lay a hand on him in anger. That's what Ipromised his mother. "

"All right, I promise it now. That's all right, Perez. You and me areold shipmates, and bound to help each other out. Just trust him to me, and don't ask too many questions. Is it a trade? Good! Shake. "

They shook hands on it, and then Captain Eri went in to talk to theunreconciled runaway. That young gentleman, fresh from his triumph overhis uncle, at first refused to have anything to do with the scheme. Hewasn't going to be a "cheap guy fisherman, " he was going into theNavy. The Captain did not attempt to urge him, neither did he preach orpatronize. He simply leaned back in the rocker and began spinning sailoryarns. He told of all sorts of adventures in all climates, and with allsorts of people. He had seen everything under the sun, apparently, and, according to him, there was no life so free and void of all restraintas that of an able seaman on a merchant ship, or, preferably, on afisherman; but one point he made clear, and that was that, unless theapplicant had had previous training, his lot was likely to be an unhappyone. 

"Of course, " he said, as he rose to go, "it was my idea to sort of trainyou up so's you could be ready when 'twas time to ship, but long's youdon't want to, why it's all off. "

"I'll go with you, Cap!" said Josiah, whose eyes were shining. 

"Good! That's the talk! You might as well sign articles right away. Waittill I git 'em ready. "

He brought pen, ink, and paper, and proceeded to indite a formidabledocument to the effect that "Josiah Bartlett, able seaman, " was to shipaboard the catboat Mary Ellen for a term of two months. Wages, fivedollars a month. 

"You see, " he said, "I've put you down as able seaman 'cause that's whatyou'll be when I git through with you. Now sign. "

So Josiah signed, and then Captain Eri affixed his own signature with aflourish. 

"There!" exclaimed the Captain, bringing his big palm down on the backof the "able seaman" with a thump that brought water into the eyes ofthat proud youth, "You're my man, shipmate. We sail to-morrer mornin' atfour, rain or shine. I'll call you at quarter of. Be ready. "

"You bet, old man!" said Josiah. 

Captain Perez met his friend as they came out of the parlor. 

"Now, Eri, " he whispered, "be easy as you can with him, won't you?"

The Captain answered in the very words of his crew. 

"You bet!" he said fervently, and went away whistling. Captain Perezslept better that night. 

CHAPTER XIV

THE VOYAGE OF AN "ABLE SEAMAN"

Promptly at a quarter to four the next morning Captain Eri rapped on theparlor door. Josiah, who had been dressed since three, appeared almostinstantly. They walked down to the shore together, and the Captain'seyes twinkled as he noted the elaborate roll in the boy's walk. 

The Mary Ellen was anchored between the beaches, and they rowed off toher in a dory. It was pitch-dark, and cold and raw. Lanterns showed ontwo or three of the other boats near by, and, as Josiah and the Captainpulled up the eelgrass-covered anchor, a dim shape glided past in theblackness. It was the You and I, bound out. Ira Sparrow was at the helm, and he hailed the Mary Ellen, saying something about the weather. 

"It 'll be kind of ca'm for a spell, " replied Captain Eri, "but Iwouldn't wonder if we had some wind 'fore night. Here you, fo'masthand, " he added, turning to Josiah, "stand by to git the canvas on her. "

The mainsail was soon hoisted, and the catboat moved slowly out of thebay. 

"Gee! it's dark, " exclaimed Josiah, "what are you goin' way off herefor? Why don't you go straight out?"

"I gin'rally take the short cut through the narrers, " replied theCaptain, "but I thought you mightn't like the breakers on the shoals, soI'm goin' 'round the p'int flat. "

"Huh! I ain't a-scared of breakers. Can't be too rough for me. Wisht'twould blow to beat the band. "

"Maybe 'twill by and by. Pretty toler'ble slick now, though. "

It was after sunrise when they reached the ledge where codfish most docongregate. The land was a mere yellow streak on the horizon. The stiffeasterly blow of the day before had left a smooth, heavy swell that, tripping over the submerged ledge, alternately tossed the Mary Ellenhigh in air and dropped her toward the bottom. It was cold, and thenewly risen December sun did not seem to have much warmth in it. Anchorover the side, the Captain proposed breakfast. 

The "able seaman" did not feel very hungry, but he managed to swallowa hard-boiled egg and a sandwich, and then, just to show that he hadreached the dignity of manhood, leaned back against the side of thecockpit, lit a cigarette, and observed cheerfully, "This is hot stuff, ain't it, Cap?"

Captain Eri wiped the crumbs from his mouth, leisurely produced hispipe, and proceeded to fill it with tobacco shaved from a chunky plug. 

"What d'you smoke them things for?" he asked contemptuously, referringto the cigarette. "Nobody but dudes and sissies smoke that kind oftruck. Here, take this pipe, and smoke like a man. "

Josiah looked askance at the proffered pipe. 

"Oh, no!" he said magnanimously, "you'll want it yourself. I'll getalong with these things till I git ashore; then I'll buy a pipe of myown. "

"Never you mind 'bout me. I've got two or three more below there, some'eres. Take it and light up. "

The "able seaman" took the reeking, nicotine soaked affair, placed itgingerly between his teeth, held a match to the bowl and coughinglyemitted a cloud of ill-smelling smoke. The pipe wheezed and gurgled, andthe Mary Ellen rocked and rolled. 

"Now, then, " said Captain Eri, "we've sojered long enough. Go below, andbring up the bait bucket and the lines. "

Josiah staggered into the little cabin, reappeared with the heavy codlines and the bucket of mussels, and watched while the Captain "baitedup. "

"All ready!" said the skipper. "Two lines apiece, one over each side. Watch me. "

The cod bit almost immediately, and for ten minutes the work wasexciting and lively. The Captain, watching from the corner of his eye, noticed that his assistant's pipe was wheezing less regularly, and thathis lines were thrown over more and more listlessly. At length he said, "Haven't stopped smokin' so quick, have you? What's the matter--goneout? Here's a match. "

"I guessed I've smoked enough for now. I can't fish so well when I'msmokin'. "

"Bosh! If you want to be a reel sailor you must smoke all the time. Light up. "

Reluctantly the boy obeyed, and puffed with feverish energy. Also heswallowed with vigor. The cod smelt fishy; so did the bait, and thecatboat rolled and rolled. Suddenly Josiah pulled in his lines, and tookthe pipe from his lips. 

"What's the matter?" inquired the watchful skipper. 

"I--I guess I won't fish any more, Cap. Kind of slow sport, ain't it?Guess I'll go in there and take a snooze. "

"I guess you won't! You shipped to fish, and you're goin' to fish. Pickup them lines. "

The boy sullenly turned toward the cabin door. Was he, who had justdeclared himself independent of school restraint, he who had oncebeen the thorn in the flesh of every policeman in the --th ward, to beordered about by this Cape Cod countryman! "Aw, go chase yourself!" hesaid contemptuously. A minute after, when he picked himself up fromthe heap of slimy fish in the bottom of the boat, he saw the Captainstanding solidly on one cowhide-shod foot, while the other was drawneasily back and rested on its toe. When Josiah recovered his breath, theburst of bad language with which he assailed his companion did credit tohis street bringing up. It was as short as it was fierce, however, andended amid the cod and the mussels from the overturned bait bucket. But, as the Captain said afterwards, he was "spunky" and rose again, incoherent with rage. 

"You--you--I'll kill you!" he shrieked. "You promised not to touch me, you lyin' old--"

He tried to get out of the way, but didn't succeed, and this time merelysat up and sobbed as Captain Eri said in even tones:

"No, I'm not lyin'. I promised not to lay a hand on you in anger, that'sall. Fust place, I don't kick with my hands, and, second place, I ain'tangry. Now, then, pick up them lines. "

The "able seaman" was frightened. This sort of treatment was new tohim. He judged it best to obey now and "get square" later on. He sulkilypicked up the codlines, and threw the hooks overboard. Captain Eri, calmly resuming his fishing, went on to say, "The fust thing a sailorhas to l'arn is to obey orders. I see you've stopped smokin'. Light up. "

"I don't want to. "

"Well, I want you TO. Light up. "

"I won't. Oh, yes, I will!"

He eyed the threatening boot fearfully and lit the awful pipe withshaking fingers. But he had taken but a few puffs when it went over theside, and it seemed to Josiah that the larger half of himself went withit. The Captain watched the paroxysm grimly. 

"Sick, hey?" he grunted, "and not a capful of wind stirrin'. You'rea healthy sailor! I thought I'd shipped a man, but I see 'twas only asassy baby. My uncle Labe had a good cure for seasickness. You take abig hunk of fat salt pork, dip it in molasses, and--"

"Oh, d-o-n-'t!" Another spasm. 

"Dip it in molasses, " repeated Captain Eri. 

"Don't, Cap! PLEASE don't!"

"Another thing a sailor learns is not to call his skipper 'Cap. ' Afo'mast hand always says 'Aye, aye, sir, ' when his off'cer speaks tohim. Understand that?"

"Y-e-s. Oh, Lord!"

"WHAT?"

"Ye--I mean aye, aye. "

"Aye, aye, WHAT?"

"Aye, aye, SIR! OH, dear me!"

"That's better. Now pick up them lines. "

Well, 'twas a dreadful forenoon for Josiah; one not to be forgotten. Theboat rolled unceasingly, his head ached, and pulling the heavy cod madehis back and shoulders lame; also, he was wet and cold. The other boatsscattered about the fishing grounds pulled up their anchors and startedfor home, but Captain Eri did not budge. At noon he opened his lunchbasket again, and munched serenely. The sight of the greasy hamsandwiches was too much for the "able seaman. " He suffered a relapseand, when it was over, tumbled on the seat which encircled the cockpitand, being completely worn out, went fast asleep. The Captain watchedhim for a minute or two, smiled in a not unkindly way, and, going intothe cabin, brought out an old pea jacket and some other wraps with whichhe covered the sleeper. Then he went back to his fishing. 

When Josiah awoke the Mary Ellen was heeled over on her side, her sailas tight as a drumhead. The wind was whistling through the cordage, andthe boat was racing through seas that were steel-blue and angry, withwhitecaps on their crests. The sun was hidden by tumbling, dust-coloredclouds. The boy felt weak and strangely humble; the dreadful nausea wasgone. 

Captain Eri, standing at the tiller, regarded him sternly, but there wasthe suspicion of a twinkle in his eye. 

"Feelin' better?" he asked. 

"Ye--aye, aye, sir. "

"Humph! Want to smoke again. Pipe right there on the thwart. "

"No, thank you, sir. "

It was some time before anything more was said. Josiah was gazing atthe yellow sand-cliffs that, on every tack, grew nearer. At length theCaptain again addressed him. 

"Perez ever tell you 'bout our fust v'yage? Never did, hey? Well, Iwill. Him and me run away to sea together, you know. "

And then Captain Eri began a tale that caused the cold shivers to chasethemselves from Josiah's big toe to the longest hair on his head. Itwas the story of two boys who ran away and shipped aboard an Australiansailing packet, and contained more first-class horrors than any one ofhis beloved dime novels. As a finishing touch the narrator turned backthe grizzled hair on his forehead and showed a three-inch scar, souvenirof a first mate and a belaying pin. He rolled up his flannel shirtsleeveand displayed a slightly misshapen left arm, broken by a kick from adrunken captain and badly set by the same individual. 

"Now, " he said in conclusion, "I cal'late you think I was pretty hardon you this mornin', but what do you figger that you'd have got if youtalked to a mate the way you done to me?"

"Don't know. S'pose I'd have been killed, --sir. "

"Well, you would, mighty nigh, and that's a fact. Now, I'll tell yousomethin' else. You wanted to enlist in the Navy, I understand. Youcouldn't git in the Navy, anyway, you're too young, but s'pose youcould, what then? You'd never git any higher 'n a petty officer, 'causeyou don't know enough. The only way to git into the Navy is to gothrough Annapolis, and git an education. I tell you, education counts. Me and Perez would have been somethin' more 'n cheap fishin' andcoastin' skippers if we'd had an education; don't forgit that. "

"I guess I don't want to be a sailor, anyway, sir. This one trip isenough for me, thank you. "

"Can't help that. You shipped 'long with me for two months, and you'llsail with me for two months, every time I go out. You won't run awayagain neither, I'll look out for that. You'll sail with me and you'llhelp clean fish, and you'll mind me and you'll say 'sir. ' You needn'tsmoke if you don't want to, " with a smile. "I ain't p'tic'lar 'boutthat. 

"Then, " went on the Captain, "when the two months is up you'll be yourown master again. You can go back to 'Web' Saunders and 'Squealer' Wixonand 'Ily' Tucker and their tribe, if you want to, and be a town nuisanceand a good-for-nuthin'. OR you can do this: You can go to school for afew years more and behave yourself and then, if I've got any influencewith the Congressman from this district--and I sort of b'lieve I have, second-handed, at any rate--you can go to Annapolis and learn to be aNavy officer. That's my offer. You've got a couple of months to think itover in. "

The catboat swung about on her final tack and stood in for the narrows, the route which the Captain had spoken of as the "short cut. " Fromwhere Josiah sat the way seemed choked with lines of roaring, frothingbreakers that nothing could approach and keep above water. But CaptainEri steered the Mary Ellen through them as easily as a New Yorkcabdriver guides his vehicle through a jam on Broadway, picking out thesmooth places and avoiding the rough ones until the last bar was crossedand the boat entered the sheltered waters of the bay. 

"By gum!" exclaimed the enthusiastic "able seaman. " "That wasgreat--er--sir!"

"That's part of what I'll l'arn you in the next two months, " said theCaptain. "'Twon't do you any harm to know it when you're in the Navyneither. Stand by to let go anchor!"

CHAPTER XV

IN JOHN BAXTER'S ROOM

If Josiah expected any relaxation in Captain Eri's stern discipline hewas disappointed, for he was held to the strict letter of the "shippingarticles. " The Captain even went to the length of transferring Perezto the parlor cot and of compelling the boy to share his own room. Thiswas, of course, a precaution against further attempts at running away. Morning after morning the pair rose before daylight and started for thefishing grounds. There were two or three outbreaks on the part of the"able seaman, " but they ended in but one way, complete submission. Aftera while Josiah, being by no means dull, came to realize that when hebehaved like a man he was treated like one. He learned to steer the MaryEllen, and to handle her in all weathers. Also, his respect for CaptainEri developed into a liking. 

Captain Perez was gratified and delighted at the change in hisgrandnephew's behavior and manners, and was not a little curious tolearn the methods by which the result had been brought about. His hintsbeing fruitless, he finally asked his friend point-blank. Captain Eri'sanswer was something like this:

"Perez, " he said, "do you remember old man Sanborn, that kept schoolhere when you and me was boys? Well, when the old man run foul of ayoungster that was sassy and uppish he knocked the sass out of him fust, and then talked to him like a Dutch uncle. He used to call that kind oftreatment 'moral suasion. ' That's what I'm doin' to Josiah; I'm 'moralsuasionin' him. "

Captain Perez was a little anxious concerning the first part of thiscourse of training, but its results were so satisfactory that heasked no more questions. The fact is, Captain Perez' mind was too muchoccupied with another subject just at this time to allow him to beover-anxious. The other subject was Miss Patience Davis. 

Miss Davis, her visit with her brother being over, was acting ascompanion to an old lady who lived in a little house up the shore, amile or so above the station. This elderly female, whose name was Mayo, had a son who kept a grocery store in the village and was, therefore, obliged to be away all day and until late in the evening. Miss Patiencefound Mrs. Mayo's crotchets a bit trying, but the work was easy andto her liking, and she was, as she said, "right across the way, as youmight say, from Luther. " The "way" referred to was the stretch of waterbetween the outer beach and the mainland. 

And Captain Perez was much interested in Miss patience--very much so, indeed. His frequent visits to the Mayo homestead furnished no end ofamusement to Captain Eri, and also to Captain Jerry, who found pokingfun at his friend an agreeable change from the old programme of beingthe butt himself. He wasn't entirely free from this persecution, however, for Eri more than once asked him, in tones the sarcasm of whichwas elaborately veiled, if his match-making scheme had gotten tired andwas sitting down to rest. To which the sacrifice would reply stoutly, "Oh, it's comin' out all right; you wait and see. "

But in his heart Captain Jerry knew better. He had been wise enoughto say nothing to his friends concerning his interviews with Elsieand Ralph, but apparently the breaking-off between the pair was final. Hazeltine called occasionally, it is true, but his stays were shortand, at the slightest inclination shown by the older people to leave theroom, he left the house. There was some comment by Eri and Mrs. Snow onthis sudden change, but they were far from suspecting the real reason. Elsie continued to be as reticent as she had been of late; her schoolwork was easier now that Josiah was no longer a pupil. 

Christmas was rather a failure. There were presents, of course, butthe planned festivities were omitted owing to a change in John Baxter'scondition. From growing gradually better, he now grew slowly, butsurely, worse. Dr. Palmer's calls were more frequent, and he did notconceal from Mrs. Snow or the captains his anxiety. They hid much ofthis from Elsie, but she, too, noticed the change, and was evidentlyworried by it. Strange to say, as his strength ebbed, the patient's mindgrew clearer. His speech, that in his intervals of consciousness hadheretofore dealt with events of the past, was now more concerned withrecent happenings. But Captain Eri had never heard him mention the fire. 

One afternoon in January Mrs. Snow and Captain Eri were together inthe sick room. The rest of the household was absent on various errands;Captain Perez paying a visit to the life-saver's sister and Elsiestaying after school to go over some examination papers. There was snowon the ground, and a "Jinooary thaw" was causing the eaves to drip, andthe puddles in the road to grow larger. The door of the big stove wasopen, and the coals within showed red-hot. Captain Baxter was apparentlyasleep. 

"Let me see, " said Mrs. Snow musingly, in a low tone. "I've been herenow, two, three, over four months. Seems longer, somehow. "

"Seems almost as if you'd always been here, " replied Captain Eri. "Queerhow soon we git used to a change. I don't know how we got along afore, but we did some way or other, if you call it gittin' along, " he addedwith a shrug. "I should hate to have to try it over again. "

"It's always seemed funny to me, " remarked the lady, "that you men, allsailors so--and used to doin' for yourselves, should have had such atime when you come to try keepin' house. I should have expected it ifyou was--well, doctors, or somethin' like that--used to havin' folkswait on you, but all sea captains, it seems queer. "

"It does, don't it? I've thought of that myself. Anybody'd think we wasthe most shif'less lot that ever lived, but we wa'n't. Even Jerry--andhe's the wust one of the three when it comes to leavin' things at looseends--always had a mighty neat vessel, and had the name of makin' hiscrews toe the mark. I honestly b'lieve it come of us bein' on shore andrunnin' the shebang on a share and share alike idee. If there'd been askipper, a feller to boss things, we'd have done better, but when allhands was boss--nobody felt like doin' anything. Then, too, we begun tooold. A feller gits sort of sot in his ways, and it's hard to give in tothe other chap. 

"Now, take that marryin' idee, " he went on. "I laughed at that a gooddeal at fust and didn't really take any stock in it, but I guess 'twasreal hoss sense, after all. Anyhow, it brought you down here, and whatwe'd done without you when John was took sick, _I_ don't know. I haven'tsaid much about it, but I've felt enough, and I know the other fellersfeel the same way. You've been so mighty good and put up with so manythings that must have fretted you like the nation, and the way you'vemanaged--my!"

The whole-souled admiration in the Captain's voice made the housekeeperblush like a girl. 

"Don't say a word, Cap'n Eri, " she protested. "It's been jest a pleasureto me, honest. I've had more comfort and--well, peace, you might say, sence I've been in this house than I've had afore for years. "

"When I think, " said the Captain, "of what we might have got for thatadvertisement, I swan it makes my hair curl. Advertisin' that way inthat kind of a paper, why we might have had a--a play actress, or Idon't know what, landed on us. Seems 's if there was a Providence in it:seems 's if you was kind of SENT--there!"

"I don't know what you must think of me answerin' an advertisement fora husband that way. It makes me 'shamed of myself when I think of it, Ideclare. And in that kind of a paper, too. "

"I've wondered more times than a few how you ever got a hold of thatpaper. 'Tain't one you'd see every day nat'rally, you know. "

Mrs. Snow paused before she answered. Then she said slowly, "Well, I'ms'prised you ain't asked that afore. I haven't said much about myselfsence I've been here, for no p'tic'lar reason that I know of, exceptthat there wasn't much to tell and it wasn't a very interestin' yarn toother folks. My husband's name was Jubal Snow--"

"You don't say!" exclaimed the Captain. "Why, Jerry used to know him. "

"I shouldn't wonder. Jubal knew a lot of folks on the Cape here. Hewas a good husband--no better anywheres--and he and I had a good lifetogether long as he was well. I've sailed a good many v'yages with him, and I feel pretty nigh as much at home on the water as I do on land. Our trouble was the same that a good many folks have; we didn't cal'latethat fair weather wouldn't last all the time, that's all. 

"It wasn't his fault any more than 'twas mine. We saved a little money, but not enough, as it turned out. Well, he was took down sick and had togive up goin' to sea, and we had a little place over in Nantucket, andsettled down on it. Fust along, Jubal was able to do a little farmin'and so on, and we got along pretty well, but by and by he got so hewa'n't able to work, and then 'twas harder. What little we'd saved wentfor doctor's bills and this, that, and t'other. He didn't like to haveme leave him, so I couldn't earn much of anything, and fin'lly we cometo where somethin' had to be done right away, and we talked the thingover and decided to mortgage the house. The money we got on the mortgagelasted until he died. 

"He had a little life insurance, not enough, of course, but a little. Hewas plannin' to take on more, but somehow it never seemed as if he coulddie, he so big and strong, and we put it off until he got so he couldn'tpass the examination. When the insurance money come I took it to JedgeBriar, a mighty good friend of Jubal's and mine and the one that heldthe mortgage on the house, and I told him I wanted to pay off themortgage with it, so's I'd have the house free and clear. But the Jedgeadvised me not to, said the mortgage was costin' me only six percent. , and why didn't I put the money where 'twas likely to be a goodinvestment that would pay me eight or ten per cent. ? Then I'd be makin'money, he said. I asked him to invest it for me, and he put it into theBay Shore Land Company, where most of his own was. "

"Sho! I want to know!" broke in the Captain. "He did, hey! Well, I hadsome there, too, and so did Perez. Precious few fam'lies on the Capethat didn't. "

"Yes, he thought 'twas the safest and best place he knew of. Theofficers bein' sons of Cape people and their fathers such fine men, everybody said 'twas all right. I got my dividends reg'lar for a while, and I went out nussin' and did sewin' and got along reel well. I keptthinkin' some day I'd be able to pay off the mortgage and I put awaywhat little I could towards it, but then _I_ was took sick and thatmoney went, and then the Land Company went up the spout. "

The Captain nodded. The failure of the company had brought poverty tohundreds of widows. Mrs. Snow's case was but another instance. 

"Let me see, " said the lady. "Where was I? Oh, yes! the Land Company'sfailin'. Well, it failed and the insurance money went with it. It wasdiscouragin', of course, but I had my house, except for the mortgage, and I had my health again, and, if I do say it, I ain't afraid of work, so I jest made up my mind there was no use cryin' over spilt milk, andthat I must git along and begin to save all over again. Then Jedge Briardied and his nephew up to Boston come into the property. I was behindin my payments a little, and they sent me word they should foreclose themortgage, and they did. "

"Well, I swan! The mean sculpins! Didn't you have NOBODY you could goto; no relations nor nothin'?"

"I've got a brother out in Chicago, but he married rich and his wifedoesn't care much for her husband's relations. I never saw her but once, and then one of the first things she asked me was if it was true thatthere was more crazy people in Nantucket than in any other place ofits size on earth, and afore I could answer she asked me what made 'emcrazy. I told her I didn't know unless it was answerin' city folks'questions. She didn't like that very well, and I haven't heard fromJob--that's my brother--for a long time. All my other near relations aredead. 

"So they foreclosed the mortgage, and gave me notice to move out. Ipacked my things, and watered my flowers--I had quite a pretty flowergarden--for the last time, and then come in and set down in the rockerto wait for the wagon that was goin' to move me. I got to thinkin' howproud Jubal and me was when we bought that house and how we plannedabout fixin' it up, and how our baby that died was born in it, andhow Jubal himself had died there, and told me that he was glad he wasleavin' me a home, at any rate; and I got so lonesome and discouragedthat I jest cried, I couldn't help it. But I've never found that cryin'did much good, so I wiped my eyes and looked for somethin' to read totake up my mind. And that Chime paper was what I took up. 

"You see, there'd been a big excursion from Boston down the day before, and some of the folks come down my way to have a sort of picnic. Twoof 'em, factory girls from Brockton, they was, come to the house for adrink of water. They were gigglin', foolish enough critters, but I asked'em in, and they eat their lunches on my table. They left two or threestory papers and that Chime thing when they went away. 

"Well, I looked it over, and almost the first thing I saw was thatadvertisement signed 'Skipper. ' It didn't read like the other trashythings in there, and it sounded honest. And all of a sudden it come overme that I'd answer it. I was lonesome and tired and sort of didn't care, and I answered it right off without waitin' another minute. That's allthere is to tell. When I come here to be housekeeper I wrote the folksthat's takin' care of my furniture--they're reel kind people; I wasgoin' to board there if I had stayed in Nantucket--to keep it till Icome back. There! I meant to tell you this long ago, and I don't knowwhy I haven't. "

The Captain knew why she hadn't. It was easy to read between the linesthe tale of the years of disappointment and anxiety. Such stories arenot easy to tell, and he respected the widow more than ever for thesimple way in which she had told hers. 

"That Land Company bus'ness, " he said, "carried off a good lot of CapeCod money. I never saw but one man that I thought was glad it busted, and that was old Caleb Weeks, over to Harniss. The old man was rich, but closer 'n the bark of a tree--he'd skin a flea for the hide andtaller--and used to be a hard case into the bargain. One time they hada big revival over there and he got religion. The boys used to say whatcaught Caleb was the minister's sayin' salvation was free. Well, anyhow, he got converted and j'ined the church. That was all right, only whilethe fit was fresh he pledged himself to give five hundred dollars tohelp build the new chapel. When he cooled down a little he was sorry, and every time they'd hint at his comin' down with the cash, he'd backand fill, and put it off for a spell. When the Land Company went up hewas the only happy one in town, 'cause he said he'd lost all his money. Course, under the circumstances, they couldn't ask him to pay, so hedidn't. From what I hear he lost as much as fifty dollars. "

They both laughed, and Mrs. Snow was about to answer when she wasinterrupted. 

"Eri, " said a weak voice. "Eri. "

The Captain started, turned sharply, and saw the sick man watching him, his eyes fixed and unwavering. 

"Eri, " said John Baxter again, "come here. "

Mrs. Snow hurried to her patient, but the latter impatiently bade herlet him alone. 

"Not you, " he said, "I want Eri. "

Captain Eri stooped down beside the bed. 

"What is it, John?" he asked. 

"Eri s'pose God called you to break man's law and keep his, what wouldyou do?"

The Captain glanced anxiously at the house-keeper. Then he saidsoothingly:

"Oh, that's all right, John. Don't worry 'bout that. You and me settledthat long ago. How are you feelin' now?"

"I know, I know, " with the monotonous persistence of those whose mindsare wandering, --and then cleanly once more, "Eri, I've been called. "

"Ssh-h! That's all right, John; that's all right. Don't you want Mrs. Snow to fix your piller? P'raps you'd lay a little easier, then. Now, Mrs. Snow, if you'll jest turn it while I lift him. So; that'sbetter now, ain't it, shipmate, hey?" But the sick man muttered anunintelligible something, and relapsed once more into the half-doze, half-stupor that was his usual state. 

Captain Eri sighed in relief. 

"That was queer, wa'n't it?" he observed. 

"He's had two or three of those spells in the last day or two, " was theanswer. 

The Captain wondered what his friend might have said during those"spells, " but he was afraid to inquire. Instead, he asked, "What did thedoctor say when he was here this mornin'?"

"Nothin' very hopeful. I asked him plain what he thought of the case, and he answered jest as plain. He said Cap'n Baxter had failed dreadfulin the last week, and that he wouldn't be s'prised if he dropped offmost any time. Then again, he said he might live for months. "

"I see, I see. "

They were silent for a while, watching the sick man, whose sleep, or stupor, was not as tranquil as usual. Two or three times his eyesopened, and he muttered audibly. 

"I never saw him so restless afore, " commented Captain Eri anxiously. 

"He was so last night. "

"Did Elsie see him?"

"No, I was alone here, and she was asleep in the next room. I got up andshut the door. "

The Captain glanced keenly at the housekeeper, but her face was placidand inscrutable. He shifted uneasily and then said, "Elsie's lateto-night, ain't she? I wonder what's keepin' her. "

"School work, I s'pose. She's workin' harder 'n she ought to, I think. "

"FIRE!"

The word was shouted, and the room rang with it. John Baxter, whoseweakness had hitherto been so great that he could not turn himself inbed, was leaning on his elbow and pointing with outstretched finger tothe open stove door. 

"Fire!" he shouted again. "It's blazin'! It's burnin'! It's wipin' theplague spot from the earth. I hear you, Lord! I'm old, but I hear you, and your servant's ready. Where will it be to-morrer? Gone! burnt up!and the ways of the wicked shan't prevail. "

They forced him back on the pillow, but he fought them fiercely for amoment or two. After they thought they had quieted him, he broke outagain, talking rapidly and clearly. 

"I hear the call, Lord, " he said. "I thank thee for showin' it to me inyour Book. 'And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and alltheir goodly castles, with fire. ' With fire! With fire!"

"Ssh-h! There, there, John! Don't talk so, " entreated the Captain. 

"Where's the kerosene?" continued the old man. "And the matches? Nowsoftly, softly. The shavin's. It's dark. Here, in the corner. Ah, ha!ah, ha! 'And all their goodly castles with fire!' Now, Web Saunders, youwicked man! Now! Burn! I've done it, Lord! I've done it!"

"Hush!" almost shouted the agonized Captain Eri. "Hush, John! Be still!"

"There, there, Cap'n Baxter, " said Mrs. Snow soothingly, laying her handon the sick man's forehead. Somehow, the touch seemed to quiet him; hiseyes lost their fire, and he muttered absently that he was tired. Thenthe eyes closed and he lay still, breathing heavily. 

"Land of love!" exclaimed the Captain. "That was awful! Hadn't I bettergo for the doctor?"

"I don't think so, unless he gits worse. He had jest such a turn, as Itold you, last night. "

"Did he talk like he did jest now?"

"Jest the same. "

"'Bout the same things?"

"Yes. "

The Captain gasped. "Then you knew!" he said. 

"That he set the billiard room afire? Yes. I've always rathersuspicioned that he did, and last night, of course, made me sure of it. "

"Well, well! You haven't said nothin' 'bout it to anybody?"

"Of course not. "

"No, 'course you haven't. You must excuse me--I'm kind of upset, Iguess. Dear! dear! Did you think _I_ knew it?"

"I sort of guessed that you did. "

"Well, I did. I've known it ever sence that night he was found. He hadhis coat on when I found him, and 'twas all burnt, and there was anempty kerosene bottle in his pocket. I hid the coat, and threw thebottle away, and turned him so he was facin' towards the saloon 'steadof from it. And I lied when I told the doctor that he was jest as hefell. There! the murder's out! Now, what do you think of me?"

"Think? I think you did exactly right. "

"You DO?"

"I sartinly do. "

"Well, I snum! I've been over that thing time and time again, and I'vefelt like I was sort of a firebug myself sometimes. I've heard folkslayin' it to fust one and then the other, and cal'latin' that Web did ithimself to git the insurance, and all the time I've known who reallydid do it, and haven't said anything. I jest couldn't. You see, John andme's been brothers almost. But I didn't s'pose anybody else would see itthe same way. "

"Cap'n Eri, do you s'pose I blame you for tryin' to keep your bestfriend out of trouble that he got into by bein'--well--out of his head. Why, land of mercy! He ain't no more to be held responsible than a baby. You did what I'd have done if I'd been in your place, and I respect youfor it. "

The Captain's voice shook as he answered:

"Marthy Snow, " he said, "you're the kind of woman that I'd like to havehad for a sister. "

It was perhaps a half-hour later when Captain Eri started for theschoolhouse to bring Elsie home. John Baxter had not wakened, and Mrs. Snow said she was not afraid to remain alone with him. The thaw hadturned to a light rain and the Captain carried an umbrella. It was darkby this time, and when he came in sight of the schoolhouse he saw alight in the window. 

One of the scholars--a by no means brilliant one--whose principaleducational achievement was the frequency with which he succeeded inbeing "kept after school, " was seated on the fence, doing his best towhittle it to pieces with a new jackknife. 

"Hello, sonny!" said the Captain. "Miss Preston gone yit?"

"No, she ain't, " replied the boy, continuing to whittle. "She's upthere. Mr. Saunders is there, too. "

"Saunders? WEB SAUNDERS?"

"Yup. I see him go in there a little while ago. " Captain Eri startedtoward the schoolhouse at a rapid pace; then he suddenly stopped; andthen, as suddenly, walked on again. All at once he dropped his umbrellaand struck one hand into the palm of the other with a smack. 

When he reached the door, he leaned the umbrella in the corner andwalked up the stairs very softly, indeed. 

CHAPTER XVI

A BUSINESS CALL

That enterprising business man, Mr. "Web" Saunders, opened the door ofhis renovated billiard room a little later than usual the next morning. It was common report about the village that Mr. Saunders occasionallysampled the contents of some of the "original packages" which, bearingthe name and address of a Boston wholesale liquor dealer, came to himby express at irregular intervals. It was also reported, probably byunreliable total abstainers, that during these "sampling" seasonshis temper was not of the best. Perhaps Mrs. Saunders might have saidsomething concerning this report if she had been so disposed, but unlessa discolored eye might be taken as evidence, she never offered any. Theinjury to her eye she explained by saying that something "flew up andhit her. " This was no doubt true. 

But, gossip aside, Mr. Saunders did not seem in good humor on thisparticular morning. A yellow cur, of nondescript breed, taken since thefire, in payment of a debt from "Squealer" Wixon, who had described itas a "fust-class watchdog, " rose from its bed behind the cigar counter, yawned, stretched, and came slinking over to greet its master. "Web"forcibly hoisted it out of the door on the toe of his boot. Its yelp ofpained surprise seemed to afford the business man considerable relief, for he moved more briskly afterward, and proceeded to sweep the floorwith some degree of speed. 

The forenoon trade at the billiard room was never very lively, and thisforenoon was no exception. "Bluey" Batcheldor drifted in, stepped intothe little room the door of which was lettered "Ice Cream Parlor, " andbusied himself with a glass and bottle for a few moments. Then he helpedhimself to a cigar from the showcase, and told his friend to "chalk itup. " This Mr. Saunders didn't seem to care to do, and there was a livelyargument. At length "Bluey's" promise to "square up in a day or so" wasaccepted, under protest, and the customer departed. 

At half-past eleven the man of business was dozing in a chair by thestove, and the "watchdog, " having found it chilly outside and venturingin, was dozing near him. The bell attached to the door rang vigorously, and both dog and man awoke with a start. The visitor was Captain Eri. 

Now, the Captain was perhaps the last person whom the proprietor of thebilliard room expected to see, but a stranger never would have guessedit. In fact, the stranger might reasonably have supposed that thevisitor was Mr. Saunders' dearest friend, and that his call was apleasure long looked forward to. 

"Why, Cap'n!" exclaimed "Web, " "how are you? Put her there! I'm gladto see you lookin' so well. I said to 'Squealer' the other day, s'I, 'Squealer, I never see a man hold his age like Cap'n Hedge. I'll beblessed if he looks a day over forty, ' I says. Take off your coat, won'tyou?"

Somehow or other, the Captain must have lost sight of "Web's" extendedhand. Certainly, the hand was large enough to be seen, but he did nottake it. He did, however, accept the invitation to remove his coat, and, slipping out of the faded brown pea jacket, threw it on a settee at theside of the room. His face was stern and his manner quiet, and in spiteOf Mr. Saunders' flattering reference to his youthful appearance, thismorning he looked at least more than a day past forty. 

But, if Captain Eri was more than usually quiet and reserved, "Web"was unchanged, and, if he noticed that the handshake was declined, saidnothing about it. His smile was sweetness itself, as he observed, "Well, Cap'n, mighty mod'rate weather we're having for this time of year, ain'tit? What's new down your way? That's right, have a chair. "

The Captain had no doubt anticipated this cordial invitation, for heseated himself before it was given, and, crossing his legs, extended hisdripping rubber boots toward the fire. The rain was still falling, andit beat against the windows of the saloon in gusts. 

"Web, " said Captain Eri, "set down a minute. I want to talk to you. "

"Why, sure!" exclaimed the genial man of business, pulling up anotherchair. "Have a cigar, won't you? You don't come to see me very often, and I feel's though we ought to celebrate. Ha! ha! ha!"

"No, I guess not, thank you, " was the answer. "I'll smoke my pipe, ifit's all the same to you. "

Mr. Saunders didn't mind in the least, but thought he would have a cigarhimself. So he lit one and smoked in silence as the Captain filled hispipe. "Web" knew that this was something more than an ordinary socialvisit. Captain Eri's calls at the billiard room were few and farbetween. The Captain, for his part, knew what his companion wasthinking, and the pair watched each other through the smoke. 

The pipe drew well, and the Captain sent a blue cloud whirling towardthe ceiling. Then he asked suddenly, "Web, how much money has ElsiePreston paid you altogether?"

Mr. Saunders started the least bit, and his small eyes narrowed atrifle. But the innocent surprise in his reply was a treat to hear. 

"Elsie? Paid ME?" he asked. 

"Yes. How much has she paid you?"

"I don't know what you mean. "

"Yes, you do. She's been payin' you money reg'lar for more 'n a month. Iwant to know how much it is. "

"Now, Cap'n Hedge, I don't know what you're talkin' about. Nobody's paidme a cent except them that's owed me. Who did you say? Elsie Preston?That's the school-teacher, ain't it?"

"Web, you're a liar, and always was, but you needn't lie to me thismornin', 'cause it won't be healthy; I don't feel like hearin' it. Youunderstand that, do you?"

Mr. Saunders thought it time to bluster a little. He rose to his feetthreateningly. 

"Cap'n Hedge, " he said, "no man 'll call me a liar. "

"There's a precious few that calls you anything else. "

"You're an old man, or I'd--"

"Never you mind how old I am. A minute ago you said I didn't look more'n forty; maybe I don't feel any older, either. "

"If that Preston girl has told you any--"

"She hasn't told me anything. She doesn't know that I know anything. ButI do know. I was in the entry upstairs at the schoolhouse for about tenminutes last night. "

Mr. Saunders' start was perceptible this time. He stood for a momentwithout speaking. Then he jerked the chair around, threw himself intoit, and said cautiously, "Well, what of it?"

"I come up from the house to git Elsie home 'cause 'twas rainin'. I wastold you was with her, and I thought there was somethin' crooked goin'on; fact is, I had a suspicion what 'twas. So when I got up to the doorI didn't go in right away; I jest stood outside. "

"Listenin', hey! Spyin'!"

"Yup. I don't think much of folks that listens, gin'rally speakin', butthere's times when I b'lieve in it. When I'm foolin' with a snake I'djest as soon hit him from behind as in front. I didn't hear much, but Iheard enough to let me know that you'd been takin' money from that girlright along. And I think I know why. "

"You do, hey?"

"Yup. "

Then Mr. Saunders asked the question that a bigger rascal than he hadasked some years before. He leaned back in his chair, took a pull at hiscigar, and said sneeringly, "Well, what are you goin' to do 'bout it?"

"I'm goin' to stop it, and I'm goin' to make you give the money back. How much has she paid you?"

"None of your d--n bus'ness. "

The Captain rose to his feet. Mr. Saunders sprang up, also, and reachedfor the coal shovel, evidently expecting trouble. But if he feared aphysical assault, his fear was groundless. Captain Eri merely took uphis coat. 

"Maybe it ain't none of my bus'ness, " he said. "I ain't a s'lectmannor sheriff. But there's such things in town, and p'raps they'll beint'rested. Seems to me that I've heard that blackmailin' has got folksinto State's prison afore now. "

"Is that so? Never heard that folks that set fire to other people'sprop'ty got there, did you? Yes, and folks that helps 'em gits there, too, sometimes. Who was it hid a coat a spell ago?"

It was Captain Eri's turn to start. He hesitated a moment, tossed thepea jacket back on the settee and sat down once more. Mr. Saunderswatched him, grinning triumphantly. 

"Well?" he said with a sneer. 

"A coat, you say?"

"Yes, a coat. Maybe you know who hid it; I can guess, myself. That coatwas burned some. How do you s'pose it got burned? And say! who used towear a big white hat round these diggin's? Ah, ha! Who did?"

There was no doubt about the Captain's start this time. He wheeledsharply in his chair, and looked at the speaker. 

"Humph!" he exclaimed. "You found that hat, did you?"

"That's what I done! And where do you think I found it? Why, right atthe back of my shed where the fire started. And there'd been a pile ofshavin's there, too, and there'd been kerosene on 'em. Who smashed thebottle over in the field, hey?"

Captain Eri seemed to be thinking. "Web" evidently set his owninterpretation on this silence, for he went on, raising his voice as hedid so. 

"Did you think I was fool enough not to know who set that fire? I knewthe night she burned, and when I met Dr. Palmer jest comin' fromyour house, and he told me how old Baxter was took sick goin' to thefire--oh, yes, GOIN'--I went up on that hill right off, and I hunted andI found things, and what I found I kept. And what I found when I pulledthat burned shed to pieces I kept, too. And I've got 'em yit!"

"You have, hey? Dear! dear!"

"You bet I have! And somebody's goin' to pay for 'em. Goin' to pay, pay, PAY! Is that plain?"

The Captain made no answer. He thrust his hands into his pockets andlooked at the stove dolefully, so it seemed to the man of business. 

"Fust off I thought I'd have the old cuss jailed, " continued Mr. Saunders. "Then, thinks I, 'No, that won't pay me for my buildin' and mybus'ness hurt and all that. ' So I waited for Baxter to git well, meanin'to make him pay or go to the jug. But he stayed sick a-purpose, Ib'lieve, the mean, white-headed, psalm-singin'--"

Captain Eri moved uneasily and broke in, "You got your insurance money, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did, but whose fault is that? 'Twa'n't his, nor any other darned'Come-Outer's. ' It don't pay me for my trouble, nor it don't make mesquare with the gang. I gen'rally git even sometime or 'nother, and I'llgit square now. When that girl come here, swellin' 'round and puttin' onairs, I see my chance, and told her to pay up or her granddad would beshoved into Ostable jail. That give her the jumps, I tell you!"

"You wrote her a letter, didn't you?"

"You bet I did! She come 'round to see me in a hurry. Said she didn'thave no money. I told her her granddad did, an she could git that or goto work and earn some. I guess she thought she'd ruther work. Oh, I'vegot her and her prayin', house-burnin' granddad where I want 'em, andI've got you, too, Eri Hedge, stickin' your oar in. Talk to me 'boutblackmail! For two cents I'd jail the old man and you, too!"

This was the real Mr. Saunders. He usually kept this side of his naturefor home use; his wife was well acquainted with it. 

Captain Eri was evidently frightened. His manner had become almostapologetic. 

"Well, " he said, "I wouldn't do that if I was you, Web. I heard you tellElsie last night she wa'n't payin' you enough, and I thought--"

"I know what you thought. You thought you could scare me. You didn'tknow I had the coat and hat, did you? Well, what I said I stand by. Thegirl AIN'T payin' me enough. Fourteen dollars a week she gits, and she'sonly been givin' up ten. I want more. I want--"

But here Captain Eri interrupted him. 

"I guess that 'll do, " he said calmly. "You've told me what I wantedto know. Ten dollars a week sence the middle of November. 'Bout seventydollars, rough figgerin'. Now, then, hand it over. "

"What?"

"Hand over that seventy dollars. "

"Hand over hell! What are you talkin' 'bout?"

The Captain rose and, leaning over, shook his forefinger in Mr. Saunders' flabby red face. 

"You low-lived, thievin' rascal, " he said, "I'm givin' you a chance youdon't deserve. Either you'll pay me that money you've stole from thatgirl or I'll walk out of that door, and when I come in again the sheriff'll be with me. Now, which 'll it be? Think quick. "

Web's triumphant expression was gone, and rage and malice had taken itsplace. He saw, now, that the Captain had tricked him into tellingmore than he ought. But he burst out again, tripping over words in hisexcitement. 

"Think!" he yelled. "I don't need to think. Bring in your sheriff. I'llmarch down to your house and I'll show him the man that set fire to mybuildin'. What 'll you and that snivelin' granddaughter of his do then?You make off to think a turrible lot of the old prayer-machine 'causehe's your chum. How'd you like to see him took up for a firebug, hey?"

"I ain't afraid of that. "

"You ain't? You AIN'T! Why not?"

"'Cause he's gone where you can't git at him. He died jest afore I leftthe house. "

Mr. Saunders' brandished fist fell heavily on the arm of his chair. Hisface turned white in patches, and then flamed red again. 

"Died!" he gasped. 

"Died. "

"You--you're a liar!"

"No, I ain't. John Baxter's dead. He was a chum of mine--you're rightthere--and if I'd known a sneak like you was after him I'd have beenhere long afore this. Why, you--"

The Captain's voice shook, but he restrained himself and went on. 

"Now, you see where you stand, don't you? Long's John lived you hadthe proof to convict him; I'll own up to that much. I hid the coat; Ismashed the bottle. The hat I didn't know 'bout. I might have told youat fust that all that didn't amount to anything, but I thought I'd waitand let you tell me what more I wanted to know. John Baxter's gone, poor feller, and all your proof ain't worth a cent. Not one red cent. Understand?"

It was quite evident that Mr. Saunders did understand, for hiscountenance showed it. But the bluster was not out of him yet. 

"All right, " he said. "Anyhow, the girl's left, and if she don't payI'll show her granddad up for what he was. And I'll show you up, too. Yes, I will!" he shouted, as this possibility began to dawn on him. "I'll let folks know how you hid that coat and--and all the rest of it. "

"No, you won't. "

"Why won't I?"

"'Cause you won't dare to. You've been hittin' at a sick man through agirl; neither of 'em could hit back. But now you're doin' bus'ness withme, and I ain't sick. If you open your mouth to anybody, --if you leta soul know who set that fire, --I'll walk straight to Jedge Baker, andI'll tell him the whole story. I'll tell him what I did and why I didit. And THEN I'll tell him what you did--how you bullied money out ofthat girl that hadn't no more to do with the fire than a baby. If itcomes to facin' a jury I'll take my chances, but how 'bout you? You, runnin' a town nuisance that the s'lectmen are talkin' of stoppin'already; sellin' rum by the drink when your license says it shan't besold 'cept by the bottle. Where'll YOUR character land you on a chargeof blackmail?

"And another thing. The folks in this town knew John Baxter afore he waslike what he's been lately. A good many of 'em swore by him--yes, sir, by mighty, some of 'em loved him! This is a law-abidin' town, buts'pose--jest s'pose I should go to some of the fellers that used to sailwith him, and tell 'em what you've been up to. Think you'd stay herelong? _I_ think you'd move out--on a rail. "

Captain Eri paused and sat on the arm of his chair, grimly watching hisopponent, whose turn for thinking had come. The face of the billiardmagnate was an interesting study in expression during the Captain'sspeech. From excited triumph it had fallen to fear and dejection; andnow, out of the wreck, was appearing once more the oily smile, thesugared sweetness of the every-day Mr. Saunders. 

"Now, Cap'n Hedge, " purred the reconstructed one, "you and me has alwaysbeen good friends. We hadn't ought to fight like this. I don't thinkeither of us wants to go to court. Let's see if we can't fix the thingup some way. "

"We'll fix it up when you pay me the seventy dollars. "

"Now, Cap'n Hedge, 'tain't likely I've got seventy dollars in my pocket. Seems to me you're pretty hard on a poor feller that's jest been burntout. I think we'd ought to--"

"How much HAVE you got?"

After a good deal of talk and protestation Mr. Saunders acknowledgedbeing the possessor of twenty-six dollars, divided between the cashdrawer and his pocket. This he reluctantly handed to the Captain. 

Then the Captain demanded pen, ink, and paper; and when they werebrought he laboriously wrote out a screed to the effect that WebsterSaunders had received of Elsie Preston forty-four dollars, which sum hepromised to pay on demand. 

"There, " he said, pushing the writing materials across the table. "Signthat. "

At first Mr. Saunders positively refused to sign. Then he intimated thathe had rather wait and think it over a little while. Finally he affixedhis signature and spitefully threw the pen across the room. 

Captain Eri folded up the paper and put it in his pocket. Then he roseand put on his pea jacket. 

"Now, there's jest one thing more, " he said. "Trot out that coat andhat. "

"What do you mean?"

"Trot out that coat and hat of John's. I want 'em. "

"I shan't do it. "

"All right, then. It's all off. I'll step over and see the Jedge. You'llhear from him and me later. "

"Hold on a minute, Cap'n. You're in such a everlastin' hurry. I don'tcare anything 'bout the old duds, but I don't know's I know where theyare. Seems to me they're up to the house somewheres. I'll give 'em toyou to-morrer. "

"You'll give 'em to me right now. I'll tend shop while you go after'em. "

For a moment it looked as though the man of business would rebeloutright. But the Captain was so calm, and evidently so determined to doexactly what he promised, that "Web" gave up in despair. Muttering thatmaybe they were "'round the place, after all, " he went into the backroom and reappeared with the burned coat and the scorched white felthat. Slamming them down on the counter, he said sulkily, "There they be. Any more of my prop'ty you'd like to have?"

Captain Eri didn't answer. Coolly tearing off several sheets of wrappingpaper from the roll at the back of the counter, he made a bundle of thehat and coat, and tucked it under his arm. Then he put on his own hatand started for the door. 

"Good-mornin', " he said. 

The temper of the exasperated Mr. Saunders flared up in a finaloutburst. 

"You think you're almighty smart, don't you?" he growled between histeeth. "I'll square up with you by and by. "

The Captain turned sharply, his hand on the latch. 

"I wish you'd try, " he said. "I jest wish to God you'd try. I've held inmore 'n I thought I could when I come up here, but if you want to starta reel fust-class rumpus, one that 'll land you where you b'long and ridthis town of you for keeps, jest try some of your tricks on me. And ifI hear of one word that you've said 'bout this whole bus'ness, I'll knowit's time to start in. Now, you can keep still or fight, jest as youplease. I tell you honest, I 'most wish you'd fight. "

The door slammed. Mr. Saunders opened it again and gazed vindictivelyafter the bulky figure splashing through the slush. The dog camesneaking up and rubbed his nose against his master's hand; it was animpolitic move on his part. 

"Git out!" roared Web, delighted at the opportunity. "Yougood-for-nothin' pup! How's that set?"

"That" was a kick that doubled the cur up against the settee. As itscrambled to its feet, Mr. Saunders kicked it again. And then the"watchdog" exhibited the first evidence of spirit that it had ever beenknown to show. With a snarl, as the man turned away, it settled itsteeth into the calf of his leg, and then shot out of the door and, withits tail between its legs, went down the road like a yellow cannon ball. 

CHAPTER XVII

THROUGH FIRE AND WATER

It was true--John Baxter was dead. His violent outbreak of the previousafternoon had hastened the end that the doctor had prophesied. There wasno harrowing death scene. The weather-beaten old face grew calmer, and, the sleep sounder, until the tide went out--that was all. It was like apeaceful coming into port after a rough voyage. No one of the watchersabout the bed could wish him back, not even Elsie, who was calm andbrave through it all. When it was over, she went to her room and Mrs. Snow went with her. Captain Eri went out to make his call upon Mr. Saunders. 

The funeral was one of the largest ever held in Orham. The little housewas crowded. Old friends, who had drifted away from the fanatic in hislatter days, came back to pay tribute to the strong man whom they hadknown and loved. There was some discussion among the captains as towho should preach the funeral sermon. Elsie had left this questionto Captain Eri for settlement, and the trio and Mrs. Snow went intoexecutive session immediately. 

"If John had had the settlin' of it himself, " observed Eri, "he'd havepicked Perley, there ain't no doubt 'bout that. "

"I know it, " said Captain Perez, "but you must remember that John wa'n'thimself for years, and what he'd have done now ain't what he'd have done'fore he broke down. I hate to think of Perley's doin' it, somehow. "

"Isn't Mr. Perley a good man?" asked the housekeeper. 

"He's good enough, fur's I know, " replied Captain Jerry, "but I knowwhat Perez means. A funeral, seems to me, ought to be a quiet, soothin'sort of a thing, and there ain't nothin' soothin' 'bout Come-Outer'preachin'. He'll beller and rave 'round, I'm 'fraid, and stir up poorElsie so she won't never git over it. "

"I know it, " agreed Captain Eri. "That's what I've been afraid of. Andyit, " he added, "I should feel we was doin' somethin' jest opposite fromwhat John would like, if we had anybody else. "

"Couldn't you see Mr. Perley beforehand, " suggested Mrs. Snow, "and tellhim jest the kind of sermon he must preach. Tell him it must be quietand comfortin' and--"

"And short. " Captain Eri finished the sentence for her. "I guess that'sthe way we'll have to settle it. I'll make him understand one thing, though--he mustn't drag in rum sellin' and all the rest of it by theheels. If he does I'll--I don't know what I'll do to him. "

The interview with the Reverend Perley that followed this conversationmust have been effective, for the sermon was surprisingly brief and assurprisingly calm. In fact, so rational was it that a few of the moreextreme among the preacher's following were a bit disappointed andinquired anxiously as to their leader's health, after the ceremony wasover. 

The procession of carryalls and buggies followed the hearse to thecemetery among the pines, and, as the mourners stood about the grave, the winter wind sang through the evergreen branches a song so like theroar of the surf that it seemed like a dirge of the sea for the marinerwho would sail no more. As they were clearing away the supper dishesthat night Captain Eri said to Mrs. Snow, "Well, John's gone. I wonderif he's happier now than he has been for the last ten years or so. "

"I think he is, " was the answer. 

"Well, so do I, but if he hadn't been a 'Come Outer' I don't s'poseBrother Perley and his crowd would have figgered that he had much show. Seems sometimes as if folks like that--reel good-hearted folks, too, that wouldn't hurt a fly--git solid comfort out of the feelin' thateverybody that don't agree with 'em is bound to everlastin' torment. Idon't know but it's wicked to say it, but honest, it seems as if themkind would 'bout as soon give up the hopes of Heaven for themselves asthey would the satisfaction of knowin' 'twas t'other place for the otherfeller. "

To which remark the somewhat shocked housekeeper made no reply. 

The following day Elsie went back to her school. Captain Eri walked upwith her, and, on the way, told her of his discovery of her secret, andof his interview with "Web" Saunders. It was exactly as the Captain hadsurmised. The note she had received on the evening of the return fromthe life-saving station was from the proprietor of the billiardsaloon, and in it he hinted at some dire calamity that overshadowed hergrandfather, and demanded an immediate interview. She had seen him thatnight and, under threat of instant exposure, had promised to pay the sumrequired for silence. She had not wished to use her grandfather's moneyfor this purpose, and so had taken the position as teacher. 

"Well, " said the Captain, "I wish you'd have come to me right away, andtold me the whole bus'ness. 'Twould have saved a pile of trouble. "

The young lady stopped short and faced him. 

"Captain Eri, " she said, "how could I? I was sure grandfather had setthe fire. I knew how ill he was, and I knew that any shock might killhim. Besides, how could I drag you into it, when you had done so muchalready? It would have been dreadful. No, I thought it all out, anddecided I must face it alone. "

"Well, I tell you this, Elsie; pretty gin'rally a mean dog 'll bite ifhe sees you're afraid of him. The only way to handle that kind is to runstraight at him and kick the meanness out of him. The more he barksthe harder you ought to kick. If you run away once it 'll be mightyuncomf'table every time you go past that house. But never mind; Ical'late this p'tic'lar pup won't bite; I've pulled his teeth, I guess. What's your plans, now? Goin' to keep on with the school, or go back toBoston?"

Miss Preston didn't know; she said she had not yet decided, and, as theschoolhouse was reached by this time, the Captain said no more. 

There was, however, another question that troubled him, and that seemedto call for almost immediate settlement. It was: What should be donewith Mrs. Snow? The housekeeper had been hired to act as such whileJohn Baxter was in the house. Now he was gone, and there remained theoriginal marriage agreement between Captain Jerry and the widow, andhonor called for a decision one way or the other. Mrs. Snow, of course, said nothing about it, neither did Captain Jerry, and Captain Eri feltthat he must take the initiative as usual. But, somehow, he was not asprompt as was his wont, and sat evening after evening, whittling at theclipper and smoking thoughtfully. And another week went by. 

Captain Perez might, and probably would, have suggested action upon thisimportant matter, had not his mind been taken up with what, to him, wasthe most important of all. He had made up his mind to ask Patience Davisto marry him. 

Love is like the measles; it goes hard with a man past fifty, andCaptain Perez was severely smitten. The decision just mentioned was notexactly a brand-new one, his mind had been made up for some time, but helacked the courage to ask the momentous question. Something the ladyhad said during the first stages of their acquaintance made a greatimpression on the Captain. She gave it as her opinion that a man wholoved a woman should be willing to go through fire and water to win her. Captain Perez went home that night pondering deeply. 

"Fire and water!" he mused. "That's a turrible test. But she's awonderful woman, and would expect it of a feller. I wonder if I could doit; seems 's if I would now, but flesh is weak, and I might flunk, andthat would settle it. Fire and water! My! my! that's awful!"

So the Captain delayed and Miss Patience, who had cherished hopes, foundneed of a good share of the virtue for which she was named. 

But one afternoon at the end of the week following that of the funeral, Perez set out for a call upon his intended which he meant should be adecisive one. He had screwed his courage up to the top notch, and as hetold Captain Eri afterwards, he meant to "hail her and git his bearin's, if he foundered the next minute. "

He found the lady alone, for old Mrs. Mayo had gone with her son, whosename was Abner, to visit a cousin in Harniss, and would not be backuntil late in the evening. Miss Patience was very glad to have company, and it required no great amount of urging to persuade the infatuatedswain to stay to tea. When the meal was over--they washed the dishestogether, and the Captain was so nervous that it is a wonder there was awhole plate left--the pair were seated in the parlor. Then said CaptainPerez, turning red and hesitating, "Pashy, do you know what a fellertold me 'bout you?"

Now, this remark was purely a pleasant fiction, for the Captain wasabout to undertake a compliment, and was rather afraid to shoulder theentire responsibility. 

"No; I'm sure I don't, Perez, " replied Miss Davis, smiling sweetly. 

"Well, a feller told me you was the best housekeeper in Orham. He saidthat the man that got you would be lucky. "

This was encouraging. Miss Patience colored and simpered a little. 

"Land sake!" she exclaimed. "Whoever told you such rubbish as that?Besides, " with downcast eyes, "I guess no man would ever want me. "

"Oh, I don't know. " The Captain moved uneasily in his chair, as if hecontemplated hitching it nearer to that occupied by his companion. "I guess there's plenty would be mighty glad to git you. Anyhow, there's--there's one that--that--I cal'late the fog's thick as ever, don't you?"

But Miss Patience didn't mean to give up in this way. 

"What was it you was goin' to say?" she asked, by way of giving thebashful one another chance. 

"I was goin' to say, Pashy, that--that--I asked if you thought the fogwas as thick as ever. "

"Oh, dear me! Yes, I s'pose likely 'tis, " was the discouraged answer. 

"Seems to me I never see such weather for this time of year. The iceis all out of the bay, and there ain't a bit of wind, and it's warm assummer, pretty nigh. Kind of a storm-breeder, I'm afraid. "

"Well, I'm glad you're here to keep me comp'ny. I've never been solealone in this house afore, and I should be dreadful lonesome if youhadn't come. " This was offered as a fresh bait. 

"Pashy, I've got somethin' I wanted to ask you. Do you think youcould--er--er--"

"What, Perez?"

"I wanted to ask you"--the Captain swallowed several times--"to askyou--What in the nation is that?"

"Oh, that's nothin' only the hens squawkin'. Go on!"

"Yes, but hens don't squawk this time of night 'thout they have somereason to. It's that fox come back; that's what 'tis. "

Miss Patience, earlier in the evening, had related a harrowing tale ofthe loss of two of Mrs. Mayo's best Leghorns that had gone to furnish aSunday meal for a marauding fox. As the said Leghorns were the pride ofthe old lady's heart, even the impending proposal was driven from MissDavis' mind. 

"Oh, Perez! you don't s'pose 'tis the fox, do you?"

"Yes, MA'AM, I do! Where's the gun?"

"There 'tis, behind the door, but there ain't a mite of shot in thehouse. Abner's been goin' to fetch some from the store for I don't knowhow long, but he's always forgot it. "

"Never mind. I'll pound the critter with the butt. Come quick, and bringa lamp. "

The noise in the henyard continued, and when they opened the door it waslouder than ever. 

"He's in the henhouse, " whispered Miss Patience. "He must have gone inthat hole at the side that had the loose board over it. "

"All right, " murmured the Captain. "You go 'round with the lamp and openthe door. That 'll scare him, and I'll stand at the hole and thump himwhen he comes out. "

So, shielding the lamp with her apron, the guardian of Mrs. Mayo'soutraged Leghorns tiptoed around to the henhouse door, while CaptainPerez, brandishing the gun like a club, took up his stand by the hole atthe side. 

Without the lamp the darkness was pitchy. The Captain, stooping down towatch, saw something coming out of the hole--something that was aliveand moved. He swung the gun above his head, and, bringing it down withall his might, knocked into eternal oblivion the little life remainingin the finest Leghorn rooster. 

"Consarn it!" yelled the executioner, stooping and laying his hand onthe victim, "I've killed a hen!"

Just then there came a scream from the other side of the henhouse, followed by a crash and the sound of a fall. Running around the cornerthe alarmed Perez saw his lady-love stretched upon the ground, groaningdismally. 

"Great land of Goshen!" he cried. "Pashy, are you hurt?"

"Oh, Perez!" gasped the fallen one. "Oh, Perez!"

This pitiful appeal had such an effect upon the Captain that he droppedupon his knees and, raising Miss Davis' head in his hands, begged her tosay she wasn't killed. After some little time she obligingly complied, and then, having regained her breath, explained the situation. 

What had happened was this: The fox, having selected his victim therooster, had rendered it helpless, and was pushing it out of the holeahead of him. The Captain had struck the rooster just as Miss Patienceopened the door, and the fox, seizing this chance of escape, had dodgedby the lady, upsetting her as he went. 

"Well, " she said, laughing, "there's no great harm done. I'm sorry forthe rooster, but I guess the fox had fixed him anyway. Oh, my soul andbody! look there!"

Perez turned, looked as directed, and saw the henhouse in flames. 

The lighted lamp, which Miss Patience had dropped as she fell, laybroken on the floor, and the blazing oil had run in every direction. Theflames were making such headway that they both saw there was practicallyno chance of saving the building. The frightened hens were huddled inthe furthest corner, gazing stupidly at the fire. 

"Oh, those poor Leghorns!" wailed Miss Patience. "Those hens Mrs. Mayothought the world of, and left me to look out for. Last thing she askedme was to be sure they was fed. And now they'll be all burned up! WhatSHALL I do?"

Here the lady began to cry. 

"Pashy!" roared the Captain, whom the sight of his charmer's tears haddriven almost wild, "don't say another word. I'll save them hens or gitcooked along with 'em!"

And turning up his coat collar, as though he was going into arefrigerator instead of a burning building, Captain Perez sprang throughthe door. 

Miss Davis screamed wildly to him to come back, and danced about, wringing her hands. The interior of the henhouse was now a mass of blacksmoke, from which the voices of the Captain and the Leghorns floated ina discordant medley, something like this:

"Hold still, you lunatics! ('Squawk! squawk!') Druther be roasted thanhave me catch you, hadn't you? ('Squawk! squawk!') A--kershew! Land!I'm smothered! NOW I've got you! Thunderation! Hold STILL! HOLD STILL, Itell you!"

Just as the agonized Miss Patience was on the point of fainting, thelittle window at the back of the shanty was thrown open and two hens, like feathered comets, shot through it. Then the red face of the Captainappeared for an instant as he caught his breath with a "Woosh!" anddived back again. This performance was repeated six times, the Captain'slanguage and the compliments he paid the hens becoming more picturesqueevery moment. 

At length he announced, "That's all, thank goodness!" and began to climbthrough the window. This was a difficult task; for the window was narrowand, in spite of what Captain Eri had called his "ingy-rubber" make up, Captain Perez stuck fast. 

"Catch hold of my hands and haul, will you, Pashy?" he pleaded. "That'sit; pull hard! It's gittin' sort of muggy in behind here. I'll nevercomplain at havin' cold feet ag'in if I git out of this. Now, then! Ugh!Here we be!"

He came out with a jerk, like a cork out of a bottle, and rolled on theground at his lady's feet. 

"Oh, Perez!" she exclaimed, "are you hurt?"

"Nothin' but my feelin's, " growled the rescuer, scrambling upright. "Iread a book once by a feller named Joshua Billin's, or somethin' likeit. He was a ignorant chap--couldn't spell two words right--but he hadconsider'ble sense. He said a hen was a darn fool, and he was right;she's all that. "

The Captain's face was blackened, and his clothes were scorched, but hisspirit was undaunted. 

"Pashy, " he said, "do you realize that if we don't git help, this wholeshebang, house and all, will burn down?"

"Perez, you don't mean it!"

"I wouldn't swear that I didn't. Look how that thing's blazin'! There'sthe barn t'other side of it, and the house t'other side of that. "

"But can't you and me put it out?"

"I don't dare resk it. No, sir! We've got to git help, and git it in ahurry, too!"

"Won't somebody from the station see the light and come over?"

"Not in this fog. You can't see a hundred foot. No, I've got to go rightoff. Good land! I never thought! Is the horse gone?"

"No; the horse is here. Abner took one of the store horses to go toHarniss with. But he did take the buggy, and there's no other carriagebut the old carryall, and that's almost tumblin' to pieces. "

"I was cal'latin' to go horseback. "

"What! and leave me here alone with the house afire? No, indeed! If yougo, I'm goin', too. "

"Well, then, the carryll's got to do, whether or no. Git on a shawl orsomethin', while I harness up. "

It was a frantic harnessing, but it was done in a hurry, and theramshackle old carryall, dusty and cobwebbed, was dragged out of thebarn, and Horace Greeley, the horse, was backed into the shafts. As theydrove out of the yard the flames were roaring through the roof of thehenhouse, and the lath fence surrounding it was beginning to blaze. 

"Everything's so wet from the fog and the melted snow, " observed theCaptain, "that it 'll take some time for the fire to git to the barn. If we can git a gang here we can save the house easy, and maybe more. Bymighty!" he ejaculated, "I tell you what we'll do. I'll drive across theford and git Luther and some of the station men to come right across. Then I'll go on to the village to fetch more. It was seven when I lookedat the clock as we come in from washin' dishes, so the tide must bestill goin' out, and the ford jest right. Git dap!"

"Hurry all you can, for goodness' sake! Is this as fast as we can go?"

"Fast as we can go with this everlastin' Noah's Ark. Heavens! how themwheels squeal!"

"The axles ain't been greased for I don't know when. Abner was going tohave the old carriage chopped up for kindlin' wood. "

"Lucky for him and us 'tain't chopped up now. Git dap, slow-poke! Betterchop the horse up, too, while he's 'bout it. "

The last remark the Captain made under his breath. 

"My gracious, how dark it is! Think you can find the crossin'?"

"GOT to find it; that's all. 'Tis dark, that's a fact. "

It was. They had gone but a few hundred yards; yet the fire was alreadymerely a shapeless, red smudge on the foggy blackness behind them. Horace Greeley pounded along at a jog, and when the Captain slapped himwith the end of the reins, broke into a jerky gallop that was slowerthan the trot. 

"Stop your hoppin' up and down!" commanded Perez, whose temper wasbecoming somewhat frayed. "You make me think of the walkin' beam on asteamboat. If you'd stop tryin' to fly and go straight ahead we'd dobetter. "

They progressed in this fashion for some distance. Then Miss Davis, fromthe curtained depths of the back seat, spoke again. 

"Oh, dear me!" she exclaimed. "Are you sure you're on the right track?Seems 's if we MUST be abreast the station, and this road's awfulrough. "

Captain Perez had remarked the roughness of the road. The carryall waspitching from one hummock to another, and Horace Greeley stumbled onceor twice. 

"Whoa!" commanded the Captain. Then he got down, lit a match, and, shielding it with his hands, scrutinized the ground. "I'm kind of'fraid, " he said presently, "that we've got off the road somehow. But wemust be 'bout opposite the crossin'. I'm goin' to drive down and see ifI can find it. "

He turned the horse's head at right angles from the way they were going, and they pitched onward for another hundred yards. Then they came outupon the hard, smooth sand, and heard the water lapping on the shore. Captain Perez got out once more and walked along the strand, bendingforward as he walked. Soon Miss Patience heard him calling. 

"I've found it, I guess, " he said, coming back to the vehicle. "Anyhow, it looks like it. We'll be over in a few minutes now. Git dap, you!"

Horace Greeley shivered as the cold water splashed his legs, but wadedbravely in. They moved further from the shore and the water seemed togrow no deeper. 

"Guess this is the crossin' all right, " said the Captain, who hadcherished some secret doubts. "Here's the deep part comin'. We'll beacross in a jiffy. "

The water mounted to the hubs, then to the bottom of the carryall. MissDavis' feet grew damp and she drew them up. 

"Oh, Perez!" she faltered, "are you sure this is the ford?"

"Don't git scared, Pashy! I guess maybe we've got a little to one sideof the track. I'll turn 'round and try again. "

But Horace Greeley was of a different mind. From long experience he knewthat the way to cross a ford was to go straight ahead. The bottom of thecarryall was awash. 

"Port your hellum, you lubber!" shouted the driver, pulling with all hismight on one rein. "Heave to! Come 'bout! Gybe! consarn you! gybe!"

Then Horace Greeley tried to obey orders, but it was too late. Heendeavored to touch bottom with his forelegs, but could not; tried toswim with his hind ones, but found that impossible; then wallowed wildlyto one side and snapped a shaft and the rotten whiffletree short off. The carryall tipped alarmingly and Miss Patience screamed. 

"Whoa!" yelled the agitated Perez. "'Vast heavin'! belay!"

The animal, as much frightened by his driver's shouts as by the water, shot ahead and tried to tear himself loose. The other sun-warped androtten shaft broke. The carryall was now floating, with the watercovering the floor. 

"No use; I'll have to cut away the wreck, or we'll be on our beam ends!"shouted the Captain. 

He took out his jackknife, and reaching over, severed the traces. HoraceGreeley gave another wallow, and finding himself free, disappeared inthe darkness amid a lather of foam. The carriage, now well out in thechannel, drifted with the current. 

"Don't cry, Pashy!" said the Captain, endeavoring to cheer his sobbingcompanion, "we ain't shark bait yit. As the song used to say:

 "'We're afloat, we're afloat, And the rover is free. '

"I've shipped aboard of 'most every kind of craft, " he added, "butblessed if I ever expected to be skipper of a carryall!"

But Miss Patience, shut up in the back part of the carriage like a waternymph in her cave, still wept hysterically. So Captain Perez continuedhis dismal attempt at facetiousness. 

"The main thing, " he said, "is to keep her on an even keel. Ifshe teeters to one side, you teeter to t'other. Drat that fox!" heejaculated. "I thought when Web's place burned we'd had fire enough tolast for one spell, but it never rains but it pours. "

"Oh, dear!" sobbed the lady. "Now everything 'll burn up, and they'llblame me for it. Well, I'll be drownded anyway, so I shan't be there tohear 'em. Oh, dear! dear!"

"Oh, don't talk that way. We're driftin' somewheres, but we're spinnin''round so I can't tell which way. Judas!" he exclaimed, more soberly, "Iremember, now; it ain't but a little past seven o'clock, and the tide'sgoin' out. "

"Of course it is, " resignedly, "and we'll drift into the breakers in thebay, and that 'll be the end. "

"No, no, I guess not. We ain't dead yit. If I had an oar or somethin' tosteer this clipper with, maybe we could git into shoal water. As 'tis, we'll have to manage her the way Ote Wixon used to manage his wife, bylettin' her have her own way. "

They floated in silence for a few moments. Then Miss Patience, who hadbravely tried to stifle her sobs, said with chattering teeth, "Perez, I'm pretty nigh froze to death. "

It will be remembered that the Captain had spoken of the weather asbeing almost as warm as summer. This was a slight exaggeration. Ithappened, fortunately for the castaways, that this particular night, coming as it did just at the end of the long thaw, was the mildest ofthe winter and there was no wind, but the air was chill, and the dampfog raw and biting. 

"Well, now you mention it, " said Captain Perez, "it IS cold, ain't it?I've a good mind to jump overboard, and try to swim ashore and tow thecarryall. "

"Don't you DO it! My land! if YOU should drown what would become of ME?"

It was the tone of this speech, as much as the words, that hit theCaptain hard. He himself almost sobbed as he said:

"Pashy, I want you to try to git over on this front seat with me. ThenI can put my coat 'round you, and you won't be so cold. Take hold of myhand. "

Miss Patience at first protested that she never could do it in theworld, the carriage would upset, and that would be the end. But hercompanion urged her to try, and at last she did so. It was a riskyproceeding, but she reached the front seat somehow, and the carryallstill remained right-side-up. Luckily, in the channel between thebeaches there was not the slightest semblance of a wave. 

Captain Perez pulled off his coat, and wrapped it about his protestingcompanion. He was obliged to hold it in place, and he found the taskrather pleasing. 

"Oh, you're SO good!" murmured Miss Patience. "What should I have donewithout you?"

"Hush! Guess you'd have been better off. You'd never gone after thatfox if it hadn't been for me, and there wouldn't have been none of thisfuss. "

"Oh, don't say that! You've been so brave. Anyhow, we'll die together, that's a comfort. "

"Pashy, " said Captain Perez solemnly, "it's mighty good to hear you saythat. "

It is, perhaps, needless to explain that the "dying" portion ofthe lady's speech was not that referred to by the Captain; theword "together" was what appealed to him. Miss Patience apparentlyunderstood. 

"Is it?" she said softly. 

"Yes--yes, 'tis. " The arm holding the coat about the lady's shouldertightened just a little. The Captain had often dreamed of something likethis, but never with quite these surroundings. However, he was rapidlybecoming oblivious to such trivial details as surroundings. 

"Pashy, " he said huskily, "I've been thinkin' of you consider'blelately. Fact is, I--I--well, I come down to-day a-purpose to ask yousomethin'. I know it's a queer place to ask it, and--and I s'pose it'skind of sudden, but--will--will you--Breakers! by mighty!"

The carryall had suddenly begun to rock, and there were streaks of foamabout it. Now, it gave a most alarming heave, grounded, swung clear, andtipped yet more. 

"We're capsizin', " yelled Perez. "Hang on to me, Pashy!"

But Miss Patience didn't intend to let this, perhaps the finalopportunity, slip. As she told her brother afterward, she would havemade him say it then if they had been "two fathom under water. "

"Will I what, Perez?" she demanded. 

The carryall rose on two wheels and begun to turn over, but the Captaindid not notice it. The arms of his heart's desire were about his neck, and he was looking into her eyes. 

"Will you marry me?" he gasped. 

"Yes, " answered Miss Patience, and they went under together. 

The Captain staggered to his feet, and dragged his chosen bride to hers. The ice-cold water reached their shoulders. And, like a flash, as theystood there, came a torrent of rain and a wind that drove the fog beforeit like smoke. Captain Perez saw the shore, with its silhouetted bushes, only a few yards away. Beyond that, in the blackness, was a light, aflickering blaze, that rose and fell and rose and fell again. 

The Captain dragged Miss Patience to the beach. 

"Run!" he chattered, "run, or we'll turn into icicles. Come on!"

With his arm about her waist Perez guided his dripping companion, asfast as they could run, toward the light. And as they came nearer to itthey saw that it flickered about the blackened ruins of a hen-house anda lath fence. 

It was Mrs. Mayo's henhouse, and Mrs. Mayo's fence. Their adventurousjourney had ended where it began. 

"You see, Eri, " said Captain Perez, as he told his friend the story thatnight, "that clock in the dining room that I looked at hadn't been goin'for a week; the mainspring was broke. 'Twa'n't seven o'clock, 'twasnearer nine when the fire started, and the tide wa'n't goin' out, 'twascomin' in. I drove into the water too soon, missed the crossin', and wejest drifted back home ag'in. The horse had more sense than I did. Wefound him in the barn waiting for us. "

Abner Mayo had piled against the back of his barn a great heap of dampseaweed that he intended using in the spring as a fertilizer. The firehad burned until it reached this seaweed and then had gone no further. The rain extinguished the last spark. 

"Well, by mighty!" exclaimed Captain Perez for at least the tenth time, as he sat in the kitchen, wrapped in an old ulster of Mr. Mayo's, andtoasting his feet in the oven, "if I don't feel like a fool. All thatscare and wet for nothin'. "

"Oh, not for nothin', Perez, " said Miss Patience, looking tenderly downinto his face. 

"Well, no, not for nothin' by a good deal! I've got you by it, andthat's everything. But say, Pashy!" and the Captain looked awed by thecoincidence, "I went through fire and water to git you!"

CHAPTER XVIII

THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY

Captain Perez made a clean breast of it to Captain Eri when he reachedhome that night. It was after twelve o'clock, but he routed his friendout of bed to tell him the news and the story. Captain Eri was not assurprised to hear of the engagement as he pretended to be, for he hadlong ago made up his mind that Perez meant business this time. But thetale of the fire and the voyage in the carryall tickled him immensely, and he rolled back and forth in the rocker and laughed until his sideached. 

"I s'pose it does sound kind of ridic'lous, " said the accepted suitor ina rather aggrieved tone, "but it wa'n't ha'f so funny when 'twas goin'on. Fust I thought I'd roast to death, then I thought I'd freeze, andthen I thought I'd drown. "

"Perez, " said the panting Eri, "you're a wonder. I'm goin' to tell SolBangs 'bout you next time I see him. He'll want you to enter in theraces next Fourth of July. We've had tub races and the like of that, buta carryall sailin' match 'll be somethin' new. I'll back you against thetown, though. You can count on me. "

"Now, look here, Eri Hedge, if you tell a livin' soul 'bout it, I'll--"

"All right, shipmate, all right; but it's too good to keep. You oughtto write a book, one of them kind like Josiah used to read. Call it'The Carryall Pirate, or The Terror of the Channel, ' hey? Gee! you'd befamous! But, say, old man, " he added more seriously, "I'll shake handswith you. I b'lieve you've got a good woman, one that 'll make it smoothsailin' for you the rest of your life. I wish you both luck. "

Captain Perez shook hands very gravely. He was still a little suspiciousof his chum's propensity to tease. It did not tend to make him lessuneasy when, a little later, Captain Eri opened the parlor door andwhispered, "Say, Perez, I've jest thought of some-thin'. What are yougoin' to say to M'lissy Busteed? Her heart 'll be broke. "

"Aw, git out!" was the disgusted answer. 

"Well, I only mentioned it. Folks have had to pay heavy for breach ofpromise 'fore now. Good-night. "

Perez manfully told of his engagement at the breakfast table nextmorning, although he said nothing concerning the rest of his adventures. He was rather taken aback to find that no one seemed greatly surprised. Everyone congratulated him, of course, and it was gratifying to discernthe high opinion of the future Mrs. Ryder held by Mrs. Snow and therest. Captain Jerry solemnly shook hands with him after the meal wasover and said, "Perez, you done the right thing. There's nothin' likemarried life, after all. "

"Then why don't you try it yourself?" was the unexpected question. "Seems to me we'll have to settle that matter of yours pretty soon. Imeant to speak to Eri 'bout it 'fore this, but I've had so much on mymind. I will to-night when he comes back from fishin'. "

Captain Jerry made no further remarks, but walked thoughtfully away. 

So that evening, when they were together in Captain Jerry's room aftersupper, Perez, true to his promise, said:

"Eri, it seems to me we've got to do somethin' 'bout Mrs. Snow. She washired to be housekeeper while John was sick. Now he's dead, and she'llthink it's queer if we don't settle that marryin' bus'ness. Ain't thatso?"

"Humph!" grunted Captain Jerry. "Perez is in a mighty sweat to git otherfolks married jest 'cause he's goin' to be. I don't see why she can'tkeep on bein' housekeeper jest the same as she's always been. "

"Well, I do, and so do you, and you know it. We agreed to thehousekeepin' bus'ness jest as a sort of put off. Now we can't put offno longer. Mrs. Snow come down here 'cause we advertised for a wife, andshe's been so everlastin' good that I feel 'most ashamed every time Ithink of it. No use, you've got to ask her to marry you. He has, hasn'the, Eri?"

"Yes, " answered Captain Eri laconically. 

The sacrifice squirmed. "I hate to ask, " he said. "Why don't we wait aspell, and let her say somethin' fust?"

"That WOULD be nice, wouldn't it? She's that kind of a woman, ain'tshe?" sputtered Perez. "No, you bet she ain't! What she'd say would beto give her opinion of us and our manners, and walk out of the house bagand baggage, and I wouldn't blame her for doin' it. "

"P'raps she wouldn't have me. She never said she would. "

"Never said she would! Have you ever asked her? She's had all this timeto l'arn to know you in, and I cal'late if she was willin' to think'bout it 'fore she ever see you, she'd be more willin' now. Ain't thatso, Eri?"

And again Captain Eri said shortly, "Yes. "

"I wish you'd mind your own consarns, and give me time, " protestedCaptain Jerry. 

"Time! How much time do you want? Land of Goshen! I should think you'dhad time enough. Why--"

"Oh, let up!" snorted the persecuted. "Why don't you git marriedyourself, and bring Pashy over to keep house? What we started to gitin the fust place was jest a wife for one of us that would keep thingsshipshape, and now--"

The withering look of scorn that Perez bent upon him caused him tohesitate and stop. Captain Perez haughtily marched to the door. 

"Eri, " he said, "I ain't goin' to waste my time talkin' to a--a dogfishlike him. He ain't wuth it. "

"Hold on, now, Perez!" pleaded the discomfited sacrifice, alarmed at hiscomrade's threatened desertion. "I was only foolin'. Can't you take ajoke? I haven't said I wouldn't do it. I think a heap of Mrs. Snow; it'sonly that I ain't got the spunk to ask her, that's all. "

"Humph! it don't take much spunk, " replied the successful wooer, forgetful of his own past trepidation. 

"Well, " Captain Jerry wriggled and twisted, but saw no loophole. "Well, give me a month to git up my courage in and--"

"A month! A month's ridic'lous; ain't it, Eri"

"Yes. "

"Well, three weeks, then. "

This offer, too, was rejected. Then Captain Jerry held out for afortnight--for ten days. Finally, it was settled that within one weekfrom that very night he was to offer his heart and hand to the lady fromNantucket. He pledged his solemn word to do it. 

"There!" exclaimed the gratified Captain Perez. "That's a good job done. He won't never be sorry for it, will he, Eri?"

And Captain Eri made his fourth contribution to the conversation. 

"No, " he said. 

Josiah went up to the post-office late in the afternoon of the next day. The "able seaman" was behaving himself remarkably well. He had become areal help to Captain Eri, and the latter said that sailing alone wouldbe doubly hard when his foremast hand went back to school again, whichhe was to do very shortly, for Josiah meant to accept the Captain'soffer, and to try for the Annapolis appointment when the time came. 

The boy came back with the mail and an item of news. The mail, a paperonly, he handed to Mrs. Snow, and the news he announced at the suppertable as follows:

"Mr. Hazeltine's goin' to leave the cable station, " he said. 

"Goin' to leave!" repeated the housekeeper, "what for?"

"I don't know, ma'am. All I know is what I heard Mr. Wingate say. Hesaid Mr. Hazeltine was goin' to get through over at the station prettysoon. He said one of the operators told him so. "

"Well, for the land's sake! Did you know anything 'bout it, Eri?"

"Why, yes, a little. I met Hazeltine yesterday, and he told me thatsome folks out West had made him a pretty good offer, and he didn't knowwhether to take it or not. Said the salary was good, and the whole thinglooked sort of temptin'. He hadn't decided what to do yit. That's allthere is to it. "

There was little else talked about during the meal. Captain Perez, Captain Jerry, and Mrs. Snow argued, surmised, and questioned CaptainEri, who said little. Elsie said almost nothing, and went to her roomshortly after the dishes were washed. 

"Humph!" exclaimed Captain Perez, when they were alone, "I guess yourmatch-makin' scheme's up spout, Jerry. "

And, for a wonder, Captain Jerry did not contradict him. 

The weather changed that night, and it grew cold rapidly. In the morningthe pump was frozen, and Captain Jerry and Mrs. Snow spent some time andmuch energy in thawing it out. It was later than usual when the formerset out for the schoolhouse. As he was putting on his cap, Elsiesuggested that he wait for her, as she had some lessons to prepare, andwanted an hour or so to herself at her desk. So they walked on togetherunder a cloudy sky. The mud in the road was frozen into all sorts offantastic shapes, and the little puddles had turned to ice. 

"That thaw was a weather-breeder, sure enough, " observed Captain Jerry. "We'll git a storm out of this, 'fore we're done. "

"It seems to me, " said Elsie, "that the winter has been a very mild one. From what I had heard I supposed you must have some dreadful gales here, but there has been none so far. "

"We'll git 'em yit. February's jist the time. Git a good no'theastergoin', and you'll think the whole house is comin' down. Nothin' to whatthey used to have, though, 'cordin' to tell. Cap'n Jonadab Wixon used toswear that his grandfather told him 'bout a gale that blew the hair alloff a dog, and then the wind changed of a sudden, and blew it all onagain. "

Elsie laughed. "That must have been a blow, " she said. 

"Yes. Cap'n Jonadab's somethin' of a blow himself, so he ought to be agood jedge. The outer beach is the place that catches it when there'sa gale on. Oh, say! that reminds me. I s'pose you was glad to hear thenews last night?"

"What news?"

"Why, that 'bout Mr. Hazeltine's goin' away. You're glad he's goin', ofcourse. "

Miss Preston did not answer immediately. Instead, she turned and lookedwonderingly at her companion. 

"Why should I be glad, pray?" she asked. 

"Why, I don't know. I jest took it for granted you would be. You didn'twant him to come and see you, and if he was gone he couldn't come, so--"

"Just a minute, please. What makes you think I didn't want Mr. Hazeltineto call?"

And now it was the Captain's turn to stare and hesitate. 

"What makes me think--" he gasped. "Why--you told me so, yourself. "

"_I_ told you so? I'm certain that I never told you anything of thekind. "

Captain Jerry stood stock-still, and if ever a face expressed completeamazement, it was his. 

"Elsie Preston!" he ejaculated, "are you losin' your mem'ry or what?Didn't you pitch into me hot-foot for lettin' him be alone with you?Didn't you give me 'hark from the tomb' for gittin' up and goin' away?Didn't you say his calls was perfect torture to you, and that you had tobe decent to him jest out of common politeness? Now, didn't you?"

"Oh, that was it! No, of course I didn't say any such thing. "

"You DIDN'T! Why, I heard you! Land of love! my ears smarted for a weekafterward. I ain't had sech a goin' over sence mother used to git at mefor goin' in swimmin' on Sunday. And now you say you didn't say it. "

"I didn't. You misunderstood me. I did object to your leaving the roomevery time he called, and making me appear so ridiculous; and I didsay that his visits might be a torture for all that you knew to thecontrary, but I certainly didn't say that they WERE. "

"SUFFERIN'! And you ain't glad he stopped comin'?"

The air of complete indifference assumed by the young lady was atriumph. 

"Why, of course, " she said, "Mr. Hazeltine is a free agent, and I don'tknow of any reason why he should be compelled to go where he doesn'twish to go. I enjoyed his society, and I'm sure Captain Eri and Mrs. Snow enjoyed it, too; but it is quite evident that he did not enjoyours, so I don't see that there need be any more said on the subject. "

Captain Jerry was completely crushed. If the gale described by theredoubtable grandsire of Jonadab Wixon had struck him, he could not havebeen more upset. 

"My! my! my!" he murmured. "And after my beggin' his pardon and all!"

"Begging his pardon? For what?"

"Why, for leavin' you two alone. Of course, after you pitched into meso I see how foolish I'd been actin', and I--honest, I didn't sleepscursely a bit that night thinkin' 'bout it. Thinks I, 'If Elsie feelsthat way, why, there ain't no doubt that Mr. Hazeltine feels the same. 'There wa'n't but one thing to be done. When a man makes a mistake, if heis any kind of a man, he owns up, and does his best to straighten thingsout. 'Twa'n't easy to do, but duty's duty, and the next time I see Mr. Hazeltine I told him the whole thing, and--"

"You DID!"

"Sartin I did. "

"What did you tell him?"

They had stopped on the sidewalk nearly opposite the post-office. Eachwas too much engrossed in the conversation to pay any heed to anythingelse. If the few passersby thought it strange that the schoolmistressshould care to loiter out of doors on that cold and disagreeablemorning, they said nothing about it. One young man in particular, who, standing just inside the post-office door, was buttoning his overcoatand putting on his gloves, looked earnestly at the pair, but he, too, said nothing. 

"Why, I told him, " said Captain Jerry, in reply to the question, "howyou didn't like to have me go out of the room when he was there. Course, I told him I didn't mean to do nothin' out of the way. Then he asked mesome more questions, and I answered 'em best I could, and--well, I guessthat's 'bout all. "

"Did you tell him that I said his visits were a torture?"

"Why--" the Captain shuffled his feet uneasily--"seems to me I saidsomethin' 'bout it--not jest that, you know, but somethin'. Fact is, Iwas so muddle-headed and upset that I don't know exactly what I did say. Anyhow, he said 'twas all right, so there ain't nothin' to worry 'bout. "

"Captain Jeremiah Burgess!" exclaimed Elsie. Then she added, "What MUSThe think of me?"

"Oh, I'll fix that!" exclaimed the Captain. "I'll see him some timeto-day, and I'll tell him you didn't mean it. Why, I declare! Yes, 'tis!There he is, now! Hi! Mr. Hazeltine! Come here a minute. "

A mischievous imp was certainly directing Captain Jerry's movements. Ralph had, almost for the first time since he came to Orham, paid anearly morning visit to the office in order to send an important letterin the first mail. The slamming of the door had attracted the Captain'sattention and, in response to the hail, Mr. Hazeltine crossed the road. 

And then Captain Jerry felt his arm clutched with a grip that meantbusiness, as Miss Preston whispered, "Don't you dare say one word to himabout it. Don't you DARE!"

If Ralph had been surprised by the request to join the couple, he wasmore surprised by the reception he received. Elsie's face was crimson, and as for the Captain, he looked like a man who had suddenly been leftstanding alone in the middle of a pond covered with very thin ice. 

The electrician bowed and shook hands gravely. As no remark seemed to beforthcoming from those who had summoned him, he observed that it wasan unpleasant morning. This commonplace reminded him of one somewhatsimilar that he had made to a supposed Miss "Gusty" Black, and he, too, colored. 

"Did you want to speak with me, Captain?" he asked, to cover hisconfusion. 

"Why--why, I did, " stammered poor Captain Jerry, "but--but Idon't know's I do now. " Then he realized that this was not exactlycomplimentary, and added, "That is, I don't know--I don't know'sI--Elsie, what was it I was goin' to say to Mr. Hazeltine?"

At another time it is likely that the young lady's quick wit would havehelped her out of the difficulty, but now she was too much disturbed. 

"I'm sure I don't know, " she said coldly. 

"You don't know! Why, yes you do? 'Twas--'twas--" The Captain wasfrantically grasping at straws. "Why, we was wonderin' why you didn'tcome to see us nowadays. "

If the Captain had seen the look that Elsie shot at him, as he deliveredthis brilliant observation, he might have been more, instead of less, uncomfortable. As it was, he felt rather proud of having discovereda way out of the difficulty. But Ralph's embarrassment increased. Hehurriedly said something about having been very busy. 

"Well, " went on the Captain, intent on making the explanation asplausible as possible, "we've missed you consider'ble. We was sayin' wehoped you wouldn't give us up altogether. Ain't that so, Elsie?"

Miss Preston's foot tapped the sidewalk several times, but she answered, though not effusively:

"Mr. Hazeltine is always welcome, of course. " Then, she added, turningaway, "Really, Captain Jerry, I must hurry to school. I have a greatdeal of work to do before nine o'clock. Good-morning, Mr. Hazeltine. "

The Captain paused long enough to say, "We'll expect you now, so come, "and then hurried after her. He was feeling very well satisfied withhimself. 

"By mighty! Elsie, " he chuckled, "I got out of that nice, didn't I?"

He received no answer, even when he repeated the remark, and, althoughhe endeavored, as he swept out the schoolroom, to engage the teacher inconversation, her replies were as cold as they were short. The Captainwent home in the last stages of dismalness. 

That afternoon, when Captain Eri returned from the fishing grounds, he found Captain Jerry waiting for him at the shanty. The humiliatedmatchmaker sent Josiah up to the grocery store on an errand, and thendragged his friend inside and shut the door. 

Captain Eri looked at the woe-begone face with some concern. 

"What ails you, Jerry?" he demanded. "Have you--have you spoken to Mrs. Snow 'bout that--that marriage?"

"No, I ain't, Eri, but I'm in a turrible mess, and I don't know why, neither. Seems to me the more I try to do for other folks the wuss off Iam; and, instead of gittin' thanks, all I git is blame. "

"Why, what's the matter?"

"Well, now I know you'll think I'm a fool, and 'll jest pester the lifeout of me. See here, Eri Hedge! If I tell you what I want to, will youpromise not to pitch into me, and not to nag and poke fun? If you don'tpromise I won't tell one single word, no matter what happens. "

So Captain Eri promised, and then Captain Jerry, stammering andhesitating, unburdened his mind of the whole affair, telling of hisfirst reproof by Elsie, his "explanation" to Ralph, and the subsequentdevelopments. Long before he finished, Captain Eri rose and, walkingover to the door, stood looking out through the dim pane at the top, while his shoulders shook as if there was a smothered earthquake inside. 

"There!" exclaimed the injured matrimonial agent, in conclusion. "There's the whole fool thing, and I 'most wish I'd never seen either of'em. I thought I did fust-rate this mornin' when I was tryin' to thinkup somethin' to show why I hailed Hazeltine, but no, Elsie won't hardlyspeak to me. I wish to goodness you'd tell me what to do. "

Captain Eri turned away from the door. His eyes were watery, and hisface was red, but he managed to say:

"Oh, Jerry, Jerry! Your heart's big as a bucket, but fishin' 's more inyour line than gittin' folks married to order is, I'm 'fraid. You stayhere, and unload them fish in the dory. There ain't many of 'em, andJosiah 'll help when he gits back. I'm goin' out for a few minutes. "

He went down to the beach, climbed into a dory belonging to a neighbor, and Captain Jerry saw him row away in the direction of the cablestation. 

That evening, after the dishes were washed and the table cleared, therecame a knock at the door. Mrs. Snow opened it. 

"Why, for goodness sake! Mr. Hazeltine!" she exclaimed. "Come right in. What a stranger you are!"

Ralph entered, shook the snow, which had just begun to fall, fromhis hat and coat, took off these articles, in response to the heartyinvitation of Captain Eri, and shook hands with all present. Elsie'sface was an interesting study. Captain Jerry looked scared. 

After a few minutes' talk, Captain Eri rose. 

"Mrs. Snow, " he said, "come upstairs a little while. I want to talk toyou 'bout somethin'. You come, too, Jerry. "

Captain Jerry looked from Elsie to the speaker, and then to Elsie again. But Captain Eri's hand was on his arm, and he rose and went. 

Elsie watched this wholesale desertion with amazement. Then the dooropened again, and Captain Eri put in his head. 

"Elsie, " he said, "I jest want to tell you that this is my doin's, notJerry's. That's all. " And the door shut. 

Elsie faced the caller with astonishment written on her face. 

"Mr. Hazeltine, " she said icily, "you may know what this means, but Idon't. "

Ralph looked at her and answered solemnly, but with a twinkle in hiseye:

"I'm afraid I can guess, Miss Preston. You see Captain Jerry paidCaptain Eri a call this afternoon and, as a result, Captain Eri calledupon me. Then, as a result of THAT, I--well, I came here. "

The young lady blushed furiously. "What did Captain Eri tell you?" shedemanded. 

"Just what Captain Jerry told him. "

"And that was?"

"What you told Captain Jerry this morning concerning something that youtold him before, I believe. "

There was no answer to this. Miss Preston looked as if she had a mindto run out of the room, then as if she might cry, and finally as if shewanted to laugh. 

"I humbly apologize, " said the electrician contritely. 

"YOU apologize? For what?"

"For my stupidity in believing that Captain Jerry was to be acceptedseriously. "

"You were excusable, certainly. And now I must apologize; also fortaking the Captain too seriously. "

"Suppose we pair the apologies as they do the votes in the Senate. Thenone will offset the other. "

"I'm afraid that isn't fair, for the blunder was all on my part. "

"Well, if we can't pair apologies, suppose we pair blunders. I don'taccept your statement of guilt, mind, but since you are determined toshoulder it, we might put it on one side and on the other we'll put--"

"What?"

"'Gusty' Black. "

And then they both laughed. 

A little later Captain Eri knocked at the door. 

"Is it safe for a feller to come in?" he asked. 

"Well, " said Elsie severely, "I don't know whether talebearers shouldbe admitted or not, but if they do come they must beg pardon forinterfering in other people's affairs. "

"Ma'am, " and the Captain made a profound bow, "I hope you'll be so 'kindand condescendin', and stoop so low, and be so bendin'' as to forgiveme. And, while I'm 'bout it, I'll apologize for Jerry, too. "

"No, sir, " said the young lady decidedly. "Captain Jerry must apologizefor himself. Captain Jeremiah Burgess, " she called up the stairway, "come into court, and answer for your sins. "

And Captain Jerry tremblingly came. 

CHAPTER XIX

A "NO'THEASTER" BLOWS

It had begun to snow early in the evening, a light fall at first, but growing heavier every minute, and, as the flakes fell thicker andfaster, the wind began to blow, and its force increased steadily. Ralph, hearing the gusts as they swooped about the corners of the house, andthe "swish" of the snow as it was thrown against the window panes, several times rose to go, but Captain Eri in each instance urged him tostay a little longer. Finally, the electrician rebelled. 

"I should like to stay, Captain, " he said, "but how do you think I amgoing to get over to the station if this storm grows worse, as it seemsto be doing?"

"I don't think, " was the calm reply. "You're goin' to stay here. "

"Well, I guess not. "

"I guess yes. S'pose we're goin' to let you try to row over to the beacha night like this? It's darker 'n a nigger's pocket, and blowin' andsnowin' great guns besides. Jest you look out here. "

He rose, beckoned to Ralph, and then opened the outer door. He had touse considerable strength to do this, and a gust of wind and a smallavalanche of snow roared in, and sent the lighter articles flying fromthe table. Elsie gave a little scream, and Mrs. Snow exclaimed, "For theland's sake, shut that door this minute! Everything 'll be soppin' wet. "

The Captain pulled the door shut again, and dropped the hook into thestaple. 

"Nice night for a pull, ain't it?" he observed, smiling. "No, sir, I'veheard it comin' on, and I made up my mind you'd have to stay on dry landfor a spell, no matter if all creation wanted you on t'other side. "

Ralph looked troubled. "I ought to be at the station, " he said. 

"Maybe so, but you ain't, and you'll have to put up at this boardin'house till mornin'. When it's daylight one of us 'll set you across. Mr. Langley ain't foolish. He won't expect you to-night. "

"Now, Mr. Hazeltine, " said the housekeeper, "you might jest as well giveit up fust as last. You KNOW you can't go over to that station jest aswell as I do. "

So Ralph did give it up, although rather against his will. There wasnothing of importance to be done, but he felt a little like a deserter, nevertheless. 

"Perez won't git home neither, " observed Captain Eri. "He's snowed in, too. "

Captain Perez had that afternoon gone down to the Mayo homestead to taketea with Miss Davis. 

"Git home! I should think not!" said Mrs. Snow decidedly. "Pashy's gottoo much sense to let him try it. "

"Well, Elsie, " commented Captain Jerry, "I told you we'd have ano'theaster 'fore the winter was over. I guess there'll be gale enoughto satisfy you, now. No school to-morrer. "

"Well, that's settled! Let's be comf'table. Ain't there some of thatcider down cellar? Where's the pitcher?" And Captain Eri hurried off tofind it. 

When bedtime came there was some argument as to where the guest shouldsleep. Ralph insisted that the haircloth sofa in the parlor was just thething, but Captain Eri wouldn't hear of it. 

"Haircloth's all right to look at, " he said, "but it's the slipperieststuff that ever was, I cal'late. Every time I set on a haircloth chair Ifeel's if I was draggin' anchor. "

The cot was declared ineligible, also, and the question was finallysettled by Josiah and Captain Eri going upstairs to the room onceoccupied by John Baxter, while Ralph took that which they vacated. 

It was some time before he fell asleep. The gale seemed to be tearingloose the eternal foundations. The house shook and the bed trembledas if a great hand was moving them, and the snow slapped against thewindows till it seemed that they must break. 

In the morning there was little change in the weather. The snow hadturned to a sleet, half rain, that stuck to everything and coated itwith ice. The wind was blowing as hard as ever. Captain Eri and Ralph, standing just outside the kitchen door, and in the lee of the barn, paused to watch the storm for a minute before they went down to thebeach. At intervals they caught glimpses of the snow-covered roofs ofthe fish shanties, and the water of the inner bay, black and threateningand scarred with whitecaps; then another gust would come, and they couldscarcely see the posts at the yard gate. 

"Think you want to go over, do you?" asked the Captain. 

"I certainly do, if I can get there. "

"Oh, we can git there all right. I've rowed a dory a good many timeswhen 'twas as bad as this. This ain't no picnic day, though, that's afact, " he added, as they crossed the yard, and caught the full force ofthe wind. "Lucky you put on them ileskins. "

Ralph was arrayed in Captain Jerry's "dirty-weather rig, " and although, as Captain Eri said, the garments fitted him "like a shirt on ahandspike, " they were very acceptable. 

They found the dory covered with snow and half-full of slush, andit took some few minutes to get her into condition. When this wasaccomplished they hauled her down to the shore, and Captain Eri, standing knee-deep in water, steadied her while Ralph climbed in. Thenthe Captain tumbled in himself, picked up the oars, and settled down forthe pull to the outer beach. 

A dory, as everyone acquainted alongshore knows, is the safest of allsmall craft for use in heavy weather. It is unsinkable for one thing, and, being flat-bottomed, slips over the waves instead of plowingthrough them. But the high freeboard is a mark for the wind, and to keepa straight course on such a morning as this requires skill, and no smallamount of muscle. Ralph, seated in the stern, found himself wonderinghow on earth his companion managed to row as he did, and steer at thesame time. The strokes were short, but there was power in them, and thedory, although moving rather slowly, went doggedly on. 

"Let me take her, " shouted Ralph after a while, "you must be tired. "

"Who, me?" Captain Eri laughed. "I could keep this up for a week. Thereain't any sea in here. If we was outside now, 'twould be diff'rent, maybe. "

They hit the beach almost exactly at the right spot, a feat which thepassenger considered a miracle, but which the Captain seemed to takeas a matter of course. They beached and anchored the dory, and, bendingalmost double as they faced the wind, plowed through the sand to theback door of the station. There was comparatively little snow here onthe outer beach--the gale had swept it nearly all away. 

Mr. Langley met them as they tramped into the hall. The old gentlemanwas glad to see his assistant, for he had begun to fear that the lattermight have tried to row over during the evening, and met with disaster. As they sat round the stove in his room he said, "We don't need anywrecks inside the beach. We shall have enough outside, I'm afraid. Ihear there is one schooner in trouble now. "

"That so?" asked Captain Eri. "Where is she?"

"On the Hog's Back shoal, they think. One of the life-saving crew toldMcLaughlin that they saw her last night, when the gale first began, trying to make an offing, and that wreckage was coming ashore thismorning. Captain Davis was going to try to reach her with the boat, Ibelieve. "

"I should like to be at the life-saving station when they land, " saidRalph. "It would be a new experience for me. I've seen the crew drilloften enough, but I have never seen them actually at work. "

"What d'you say if we go down to the station?" asked the Captain. "Thatis, if Mr. Langley here can spare you. "

"Oh, I can spare him, " said the superintendent. "There is nothing ofimportance to be done here just now. But it will be a terrible walk downthe beach this morning. "

"Wind 'll be at our backs, and we're rigged for it, too. What d'you say, Mr. Hazeltine?"

Ralph was only too glad of the opportunity to see, at least, the finishof a rescuing expedition, and he said so. So they got into the oilskinsagain, pulled their "sou'westers" down over their ears, and started onthe tramp to the life-saving station. 

The electrician is not likely to forget that walk. The wind was, asthe Captain said, at their backs, but it whistled in from the sea withterrific strength, and carried the sleet with it. It deluged them withwater, and plastered them with flying seaweed and ice. The wet sand camein showers like hail, and beat against their shoulders until they feltthe sting, even through their clothes. Toward the bay was nothing butgray mist, streaked with rain and sleet; toward the sea was the samemist, flying with the wind over such a huddle of tossing green and whiteas Ralph had never seen. The surf poured in in rollers that leaped overeach other's humped backs in their savage energy to get at the shore, which trembled as they beat upon it. The ripples from one wave had nottime to flow back before those of the next came threshing in. Greatblobs of foam shot down the strand like wild birds, and the gurgle andsplash and roar were terrific. 

They walked as near the water line as they dared, because the sand washarder there. Captain Eri went ahead, hands in his pockets and headdown. Ralph followed, sometimes watching his companion, but oftenergazing at the sea. At intervals there would be a lull, as if the stormgiant had paused for breath, and they could see for half a mile over thecrazy water; then the next gust would pull the curtain down again, anda whirl of rain and sleet would shut them in. Conversation meant only aseries of shrieks and they gave it up. 

At length the Captain turned, grinned pleasantly, while the rain dropssplashed on his nose, and waved one arm. Ralph looked and saw ahead ofthem the clustered buildings of the life-saving station. And he was gladto see them. 

"Whew!" puffed Captain Eri as they opened the door. "Nice mornin' forducks. Hey, Luther!" he shouted, "wake up here; you've got callers. "

They heard footsteps in the next room, the door opened, and in came--notLuther Davis, but Captain Perez. 

"Why, Eri!" he exclaimed amazedly. 

"For the land's sake, Perez! What are you doin' here?"

"What are YOU doin' here, I should say. How d'you do, Mr. Hazeltine?"

Captain Eri pushed back his "sou'wester, " and strolled over to thestove. Ralph followed suit. 

"Well, Perez, " said the former, extending his hands over the fire, "it'seasy enough to tell you why we're here. We heard there was a wreck. "

"There is. She's a schooner, and she's off there on the Hog's Back. Luther and the crew put off to her more 'n two hours ago, and I'mgittin' worried. "

Then Perez went on to explain that, because of the storm, he had beenpersuaded to stay at Mrs. Mayo's all night; that Captain Davis hadbeen over for a moment that evening on an errand, and had said that theschooner had been sighted and that, as the northeaster was coming on, she was almost certain to get into trouble; that he, Perez, had rowedover the first thing in the morning to get the news, and had been justin time to see the launching of the lifeboat, as the crew put off to theschooner. 

"There ain't nothin' to worry 'bout, " observed Captain Eri. "It's noslouch of a pull off to the Hog's Back this weather, and besides, I'dtrust Lute Davis anywhere on salt water. "

"Yes, I know, " replied the unconvinced Captain Perez, "but he ought tohave been back afore this. There was a kind of let-up in the storm jestafore I got here, and they see her fast on the shoal with the crewin the riggin'. Luther took the small boat 'cause he thought he couldhandle her better, and that's what's worryin' me; I'm 'fraid she'soverloaded. I was jest thinkin' of goin' out on the p'int to see if Icould see anything of 'em when you folks come. "

"Well, go ahead. We'll go with you, if Mr. Hazeltine's got any of thechill out of him. "

Ralph was feeling warm by this time and, after Perez had put on his coatand hat, they went out once more into the gale. The point of which Perezhad spoken was a wedge-shaped sand ridge that, thrown up by the wavesand tide, thrust itself out from the beach some few hundred yards belowthe station. They reached its tip, and stood there in the very midst ofthe storm, waiting for the lulls, now more frequent, and scanning thetumbling water for the returning lifeboat. 

"Schooner's layin' right over there, " shouted Captain Perez in Ralph'sear, pointing off into the mist. "'Bout a mile off shore, I cal'late. Wicked place, the Hog's Back is, too. "

"Wind's lettin' up a little mite, " bellowed Captain Eri. "We've had thewust of it, I guess. There ain't so much--"

He did not finish the sentence. The curtain of sleet parted, leaving aquarter-mile-long lane, through which they could see the frothing ridgesracing one after the other, endlessly. And across this lane, silent andswift, like a moving picture on a screen, drifted a white turtlebackwith black dots clinging to it. It was in sight not more than a halfminute, then the lane closed again, as the rain lashed their faces. 

Captain Perez gasped, and clutched the electrician by the arm. 

"Godfrey mighty!" he exclaimed. 

"What was it?" shouted Ralph. "What was it, Captain Eri?"

But Captain Eri did not answer. He had turned, and was running at fullspeed back to the beach. When they came up they found him straining atthe side of the dory that Luther Davis used in tending his lobster pots. The boat, turned bottom up, lay high above tide mark in the little covebehind the point. 

"Quick, now!" shouted the Captain, in a tone Ralph had never heard himuse before. "Over with her! Lively!"

They obeyed him without question. As the dory settled right side up twoheavy oars, that had been secured by being thrust under the seats, fellback with a clatter. 

"What was it, Captain?" shouted Ralph. 

"The lifeboat upset. How many did you make out hangin' onto her, Perez?Five, seemed to me. "

"Four, I thought. Eri, you ain't goin' to try to reach her with thisdory? You couldn't do it. You'll only be drownded yourself. My Lord!" hemoaned, wringing his hands, "what 'll Pashy do?"

"Catch a-holt now, " commanded Captain Eri. "Down to the shore with her!Now!"

They dragged the dory to the water's edge with one rush. Then Erihurriedly thrust in the tholepins. Perez protested again. 

"Eri, " he said, "it ain't no use. She won't live to git through thebreakers. "

His friend answered without looking up. "Do you s'pose, " he said, "thatI'm goin' to let Lute Davis and them other fellers drown without makin'a try for 'em? Push off when I tell you to. "

"Then you let me go instead of you. "

"Don't talk foolish. You've got Pashy to look after. Ready now!"

But Ralph Hazeltine intervened. 

"I'm going myself, " he said firmly, putting one foot over the gunwale. "I'm a younger man than either of you, and I'm used to a boat. I meanit. I'm, going. "

Captain Eri looked at the electrician's face; he saw nothing butdetermination there. 

"We'll all go, " he said suddenly. "Mr. Hazeltine, run as fast as theLord 'll let you back to the station and git another set of oars. Hurry!"

Without answering, the young man sprang up the beach and ran toward thebuildings. The moment that he was inside Captain Eri leaped into thedory. 

"Push off, Perez!" he commanded. "That young feller's got a life tolive. "

"You don't go without me, " asserted Perez stoutly. 

"All right! Push off, and then jump in. "

Captain Perez attempted to obey. He waded into the water and gave thedory a push, but, just as he was about to scramble in, he received ashove that sent him backwards. 

"Your job's takin' care of Pashy!" roared Captain Eri. 

Perez scrambled to his feet, but the dory was already half-way acrossthe little patch of comparatively smooth water in the cove. As he lookedhe saw it enter the first line of breakers, rise amid a shower of foam, poise on the crest, and slip over. The second line of roaring wavescame surging on, higher and more threatening than the first. Captain Eriglanced over his shoulder, turned the dory's bow toward them andwaited. They broke, and, as they did so, the boat shot forward into thewhirlpool of froth. Then the sleet came pouring down and shut everythingfrom sight. 

When Ralph came hurrying to the beach, bearing the oars, he foundCaptain Perez alone. 

CHAPTER XX

ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND

Captain Eri knew that the hardest and most dangerous portion of hisperilous trip was just at its beginning. If the dory got throughthe surf without capsizing, it was an even bet that she would stayright-side-up for a while longer, at any rate. So he pulled out of thelittle cove, and pointed the boat's bow toward the thundering smotherof white, his shoulders squared, his hands tightened on the oar handles, and his under-jaw pushed out beyond the upper. Old foremast hands, thosewho had sailed with the Captain on his coasting voyages, would, had theyseen these signs, have prophesied trouble for someone. They were CaptainEri's battle-flags, and just now his opponent was the gray Atlantic. Ifthe latter won, it would only be after a fight. 

The first wave tripped over the bar and whirled beneath him, sendingthe dory high into the air and splashing its occupant with spray. TheCaptain held the boat stationary, waiting for the second to break, andthen, half rising, put all his weight and strength on the oars. Thestruggle had begun. 

They used to say on board the Hannah M. That the skipper never gotrattled. The same cool head and steady nerve that Josiah had admiredwhen the catboat threaded the breakers at the entrance of the bay, nowserved the same purpose in this more tangled and infinitely more wickedmaze. The dory climbed and ducked, rolled and slid, but gained, inch byinch, foot by foot. The advancing waves struck savage blows at thebow, the wind did its best to swing her broadside on, but there was onehundred and eighty pounds of clear grit and muscle tugging at the oars, and, though the muscles were not as young as they had been, there wereyears of experience to make every pound count. At last the preliminaryround was over. The boat sprang clear of the breakers and crept outfarther and farther, with six inches of water slopping in her bottom, but afloat and seaworthy. 

It was not until she was far into deep water that the Captain turnedher bow down the shore. When this was done, it was on the instant, and, although a little more water came inboard, there was not enough to bedangerous. Then, with the gale astern and the tide to help, CaptainEri made the dory go as she, or any other on that coast, had never gonebefore. 

The Captain knew that the wind and the tide that were now aiding himwere also sweeping the overturned lifeboat along at a rapid rate. Hemust come up with it before it reached the next shoal. He must reachit before the waves, and, worse than all, the cold had caused the poorfellows clinging to it for life to loose their grip. 

The dory jumped from crest to crest like a hurdler. The sleet now beatdirectly into the Captain's face and froze on his eyebrows and lashes, but he dared not draw in an oar to free a hand. The wind caught up thespindrift and poured it over him in icy baths, but he was too warm fromthe furious exercise to mind. 

In the lulls he turned his head and gazed over the sea, looking for theboat. Once he saw it, before the storm shut down again, and he groanedaloud to count but two black dots on its white surface. He pulled harderthan ever, and grunted with every stroke, while the perspiration poureddown his forehead and froze when it reached the ice dams over his eyes. 

At last it was in plain sight, and the two dots, now clearly humanbeings, were still there. He pointed the bow straight at it and rowedon. When he looked again there was but one, a figure sprawled along thekeel, clinging to the centerboard. 

The flying dory bore down upon the lifeboat, and the Captain risked whatlittle breath he had in a hail. The clinging figure raised its head, andCaptain Eri felt an almost selfish sense of relief to see that it wasLuther Davis. If it had to be but one, he would rather it was that one. 

The bottom of the lifeboat rose like a dome from the sea that beat androared over and around it. The centerboard had floated up and projectedat the top, and it was about this that Captain Davis' arms were clasped. Captain Eri shot the dory alongside, pulled in one oar, and the twoboats fitted closely together. Then Eri reached out, and, seizing hisfriend by the belt round his waist, pulled him from his hold. Davis fellinto the bottom of the dory, only half conscious and entirely helpless. 

Captain Eri lifted him so that his head and shoulders rested on athwart, and then, setting his oar against the lifeboat's side, pushedthe dory clear. Then he began rowing again. 

So far he had been more successful than he had reason to expect, but thetask that he must now accomplish was not less difficult. He must reachthe shore safely, and with another life beside his own to guard. 

It was out of the question to attempt to get back to the cove; thelanding must be made on the open beach, and, although Captain Eri hadmore than once brought a dory safely through a high surf, he had neverattempted it when his boat had nearly a foot of water in her and carrieda helpless passenger. 

Little by little, still running before the wind, the Captain edged intoward the shore. Luther Davis moved once or twice, but said nothing. His oilskins were frozen stiff and his beard was a lump of ice. CaptainEri began to fear that he might die from cold and exhaustion before theattempt at landing was made. The Captain resolved to wait no longer, butto take the risk of running directly for the beach. 

He was near enough now to see the leaping spray of the breakers, andtheir bellow sounded louder than the howl of the wind or the noisesof the sea about him. He bent forward and shouted in the ear of theprostrate life-saver. 

"Luther!" he yelled, "Lute!"

Captain Davis' head rolled back, his eyes opened, and, in a dazed way, he looked at the figure swinging back and forth with the oars. 

"Lute!" shouted Captain Eri, "listen to me! I'm goin' to try to land. D'you hear me?"

Davis' thoughts seemed to be gathering slowly. He was, ordinarily, a manof strong physique, courageous, and a fighter every inch of him, but hisstrength had been beaten out by the waves and chilled by the cold, and the sight of the men with whom he had lived and worked for yearsdrowning one by one, had broken his nerve. He looked at his friend, andthen at the waves. 

"What's the use?" he said feebly. "They're all gone. I might as well go, too. "

Captain Eri's eyes snapped. "Lute Davis, " he exclaimed, "I never thoughtI'd see you playin' crybaby. Brace up! What are you, anyway?"

The half-frozen man made a plucky effort. 

"All right, Eri, " he said. "I'm with you, but I ain't much good. "

"Can you stand up?"

"I don't know. I'll try. "

Little by little he raised himself to his knees. 

"'Bout as fur's I can go, Eri, " he said, between his teeth. "You lookout for yourself. I'll do my durndest. "

The dory was caught by the first of the great waves, and, on its crest, went flying toward the beach. Captain Eri steered it with the oars aswell as he could. The wave broke, and the half-filled boat paused, was caught up by the succeeding breaker, and thrown forward again. TheCaptain, still trying to steer with one oar, let go of the other, andseizing his companion by the belt, pulled him to his feet. 

"Now then, " he shouted, "stand by!"

The boat poised on the curling wave, went down like a hammer, struck thesand, and was buried in water. Just as it struck, Captain Eri jumped asfar shoreward as he could. Davis sprang with him, but it was really theCaptain's strength that carried them clear of the rail. 

They kept their feet for an instant, but, in that instant, Captain Eridragged his friend a yard or so up the shelving beach. Then they wereknocked flat by the next wave. The Captain dug his toes into the sandand braced himself as the undertow sucked back. Once more he rose andthey staggered on again, only to go down when the next rush of watercame. Three times this performance was repeated, and, as they rose forthe fourth time, the Captain roared, "Now!"

Another plunge, a splashing run, and they were on the hard sand ofthe beach. Then they both tumbled on their faces and breathed in greatgasps. 

But the Captain realized that this would not do, for, in their soakedcondition, freezing to death was a matter of but a short time. He seizedDavis by the shoulder and shook him again and again. 

"Come on, Lute! Come on!" he insisted. "Git up! You've GOT to git up!"

And, after a while, the life-saver did get up, although he couldscarcely stand. Then, with the Captain's arm around his waist, theystarted slowly up the beach toward the station. 

They had gone but a little way when they were met by Ralph Hazeltine andCaptain Perez. 

Mrs. Snow had been, for her, rather nervous all that forenoon. Sheperformed her household duties as thoroughly as usual, but Elsie, towhom the storm had brought a holiday, noticed that she looked out of thewindow and at the clock frequently. Once she even went so far as to tellthe young lady that she felt "kind of queer; jest as if somethin' wasgoin' to happen. " As the housekeeper was not the kind to be troubledwith presentiments, Elsie was surprised. 

Dinner was on the table at twelve o'clock, but Captain Eri was not thereto help eat it, and they sat down without him. And here again Mrs. Snowdeparted from her regular habit, for she ate little and was very quiet. She was the first to hear an unusual sound outside, and, jumping up, ranto the window. 

"Somebody's drivin' into the yard, " she said. "Who on airth would becomin' here such a day as this?"

Captain Jerry joined her at the window. 

"It's Abner Mayo's horse, " he said. "Maybe it's Perez comin' home. "

It was not Captain Perez, but Mr. Mayo himself, as they saw when therubber blanket fastened across the front of the buggy was dropped andthe driver sprang out. Mrs. Snow opened the door for him. 

"Hello, Abner!" exclaimed Captain Jerry, as the newcomer stopped toknock the snow from his boots before coming in, "what have you done toPerez? Goin' to keep him for a steady boarder?"

But Mr. Mayo had important news to communicate, and he did not intendto lose the effect of his sensation by springing it without duepreparation. He took off his hat and mittens and solemnly declined aproffered chair. 

"Cap'n Burgess, " he said, "I've got somethin' to tell you--somethin'awful. The whole life-savin' crew but one is drownded, and Cap'n EriHedge--"

An exclamation from Mrs. Snow interrupted him. The housekeeper claspedher hands together tightly and sank into a chair. She was very white. Elsie ran to her. 

"What is it, Mrs. Snow?" she asked. 

"Nothin', nothin'! Go on, Mr. Mayo. Go on!"

The bearer of ill-tidings, gratified at the result of his first attempt, proceeded deliberately:

"And Cap'n Hedge and Luther Davis are over at the station pretty nighdead. If it wa'n't for the Cap'n, Luther'd have gone, too. Eri took adory and went off and picked him up. Perez come over to my house andtold us about it, and Pashy's gone back with him to see to her brother. I didn't go down to the store this mornin', 'twas stormin' so, but assoon as I heard I harnessed up to come and tell you. "

Then, in answer to the hurried questions of Captain Jerry and Elsie, Mr. Mayo told the whole story as far as he knew it. Mrs. Snow said nothing, but sat with her hands still clasped in her lap. 

"Luther is ha'f drownded and froze, " concluded Abner, "and the Cap'ngot a bang with an oar when they jumped out of the dory that, Perezis afraid, broke his arm. I'm goin' right back to git Dr. Palmer. Theytried to telephone him, but the wire's down. "

"Dear! dear! dear!" exclaimed Captain Jerry, completely demoralized bythe news. "That's dreadful! I must go right down there, mustn't I? Thepoor fellers!"

Mrs. Snow rose to her feet quietly, but with a determined air. 

"Are you goin' right back soon's you've got the Doctor, Mr. Mayo?" sheasked. 

"Why, no, I wa'n't. I ain't been to my store this mornin', and I'm'fraid I ought to be there. "

To be frank, Abner was too great a sensation lover to forfeit theopportunity of springing his startling news on the community. 

"Then, Josiah, you'll have to harness Dan'l and take me down. I mustn'twait another minute. "

"Why, Mrs. Snow!" expostulated Captain Jerry, "you mustn't go downthere. The Doctor's goin', and I'll go, and Pashy's there already. "

But the housekeeper merely waved him aside. 

"I want you to stay here with Elsie, " she said. "There's no tellin' howlong I may be gone. Josiah 'll drive me down, won't you, Josiah?"

There was no lack of enthusiasm in the "able seaman's" answer. The boywas only too glad of the chance. 

"But it ain't fit weather for you to be out in. You'll git soakin' wet. "

"I guess if Pashy Davis can stand it, I can. Elsie, will you come andhelp me git ready, while Josiah's harnessin'?"

As they entered the chamber above, Elsie was thunderstruck to see hercompanion seat herself in the rocker and cover her face with her hands. If it had been anyone else it would not have been so astonishing, butthe cool, self-possessed housekeeper--she could scarcely believe it. 

"Why, Mrs. Snow!" she exclaimed, "what IS it?"

The lady from Nantucket hastily rose and wiped her eyes with her apron. 

"Oh, nothin', " she answered, with an attempt at a smile. "I'm kind offidgety this mornin', and the way that man started off to tell his yarnupset me; that's all. I mustn't be such a fool. "

She set about getting ready with a vim and attention to detail thatproved that her "fidgets" had not affected her common-sense. She waspale and her hands trembled a little, but she took a covered basket andpacked in it cloth for bandages, a hot-water bottle, mustard, a bottleof liniment, and numerous other things likely to be of use. Last of all, she added a bottle of whisky that had been prescribed as a stimulant forJohn Baxter. 

"I s'pose some folks would think 'twas terrible carryin' this with me, "she observed. "A woman pitched into me once for givin' it to her husbandwhen he was sick. I told her I didn't favor RHUBARB as a steady drink, but I hoped I knew enough to give it when 'twas necessary. "

Ralph and Captain Perez were surprised men when the housekeeper, dripping, but cheerful, appeared on the scene. She and Josiah had had astormy passage on the way down, for the easy-going Daniel had objectedto being asked to trot through drifts, and Mrs. Snow had insisted thathe should be made to do it. The ford was out of the question, so theystalled the old horse in the Mayo barn and borrowed Abner's dory to makethe crossing. 

Mrs. Snow took charge at once of the tired men, and the overtaxed MissPatience was glad enough to have her do it. Luther Davis was in bed, and Captain Eri, after an hour's sojourn in the same snug harbor, had utterly refused to stay there longer, and now, dressed in a suitbelonging to the commandant, was stretched upon a sofa in the frontroom. 

The Captain was the most surprised of all when Mrs. Snow appeared. Hefairly gasped when she first entered the room, and seemed to be struckspeechless, for he said scarcely a word while she dosed him with hotdrinks, rubbed his shoulder--the bone was not broken, but there wasa bruise there as big as a saucer--with the liniment, and made himgenerally comfortable. He watched her every movement with a sort ofworshipful wonder, and seemed to be thinking hard. 

Captain Davis, although feeling a little better, was still very weak, and his sister and Captain Perez were with him. Josiah soon returnedto the Mayo homestead to act as ferryman for Dr. Palmer when the lattershould arrive, and Ralph, finding that there was nothing more that hecould do, went back to the cable station. The storm had abated somewhatand the wind had gone down. Captain Eri and Mrs. Snow were alone in thefront room, and, for the first time since she entered the house, thelady from Nantucket sat down to rest. Then the Captain spoke. 

"Mrs. Snow, " he said gravely, "I don't believe you've changed yourclothes sence you got here. You must have been soaked through, too. Iwish you wouldn't take such risks. You hadn't ought to have come overhere a day like this, anyway. Not but what the Lord knows it's good tohave you here, " he added hastily. 

The housekeeper seemed surprised. 

"Cap'n Eri, " she said, "I b'lieve if you was dyin' you'd worry for fearsomebody else wouldn't be comf'table while you was doing it. 'Twouldbe pretty hard for me to change my clothes, " she added, with a laugh, "seein' that there probably ain't anything but men's clothes in theplace. " Then, with a sigh, "Poor fellers, they won't need 'em any more. "

"That's so. And they were all alive and hearty this mornin'. It's anawful thing for Luther. Has he told anything yit 'bout how it come tohappen?"

"Yes, a little. The schooner was from Maine, bound to New York. Besidesher own crew she had some Italians aboard, coal-handlers, they was, goin' over on a job for the owner. Cap'n Davis says he saw right awaythat the lifeboat would be overloaded, but he had to take 'em all, there wa'n't time for a second trip. He made the schooner's crew and theothers lay down in the boat where they wouldn't hinder the men at theoars, but when they got jest at the tail of the shoal, where the sea washeaviest, them Italians lost their heads and commenced to stand up andyell, and fust thing you know, she swung broadside on and capsized. Pashy says Luther don't say much more, but she jedges, from what he doessay, that some of the men hung on with him for a while, but was washedoff and drownded. "

"That's right; there was four or five there when we saw her fust. 'Twas Lute's grip on the centerboard that saved him. It's an awfulthing--awful!"

"Yes, and he would have gone, too, if it hadn't been for you. And youtalk about MY takin' risks!"

"Well, Jerry hadn't ought to have let you come. "

"LET me come! I should like to have seen him try to stop me. The idea!Where would I be if 'twa'n't helpin' you, after all you've done for me?"

"I'VE done? I haven't done anything!"

"You've made me happier 'n I've been for years. You've been so kindthat--that--"

She stopped and looked out of the window. 

"It's you that's been kind, " said the Captain. "You've made a home forme; somethin' I ain't had afore sence I was a boy. "

Mrs. Snow went on as if he had not spoken. 

"And to think that you might have been drownded the same as the rest, "she said. "I knew somethin' was happenin'. I jest felt it, somehow. Itold Elsie I was sure of it. I couldn't think of anything but you allthe forenoon. "

The Captain sat up on the couch. 

"Marthy, " he said in an awed tone, "do you know what I was thinkin' ofwhen I was pullin' through the wust of it this mornin'? I was thinkin'of you. I thought of Luther and the rest of them poor souls, of course, but I thought of you most of the time. It kept comin' back to me that ifI went under I shouldn't see you ag'in. And you was thinkin' of me!"

"Yes, when that Mayo man said he had awful news, I felt sure 'twas youhe was goin' to tell about. I never fainted away in my life that I knowof, but I think I 'most fainted then. "

"And you cared as much as that?"

"Yes. "

Somehow both were speaking quietly, but as if it was useless longer tokeep back anything. To speak the exact truth without reserve seemed themost natural thing in the world. 

"Well, well, well!" said the Captain reverently, and still in the samelow tone. "I said once afore that I b'lieved you was sent here, and nowI'm sure of it. It seems almost as if you was sent to ME, don't it?"

The housekeeper still looked out of the window, but she answered simply, "I don't know. "

"It does, it does so. Marthy, we've been happy together while you'vebeen here. Do you b'lieve you could be happy with me always--if youmarried me, I mean?"

Mrs. Snow turned and looked at him. There were tears in her eyes, butshe did not wipe them away. 

"Yes, " she said. 

"Think now, Marthy. I ain't very young, and I ain't very rich. "

"What am I?" with a little smile. 

"And you really think you could be happy if you was the wife of an oldcodger like me?"

"Yes. " The answer was short, but it was convincing. 

Captain Eri rose to his feet. 

"Gosh!" he said in a sort of unbelieving whisper. "Marthy, are youwillin' to try?"

And again Mrs. Snow said "Yes. "

When Dr. Palmer came he found Luther Davis still in bed, but Captain Eriwas up and dressed, and there was such a quiet air of happiness abouthim that the man of medicine was amazed. 

"Good Lord, man!" he exclaimed, "I expected to find you flat on yourback, and you look better than I've seen you for years. Taking asalt-water bath in mid-winter must agree with you. "

"It ain't so much that, " replied the Captain serenely. "It's the pay Igot for takin' it. "

When the Doctor saw Perez alone, he asked the latter to keep a closewatch on Captain Eri's behavior. He said he was afraid that the exertionand exposure might have affected the Captain's brain. 

Perez, alarmed by this caution, did watch his friend very closely, buthe saw nothing to frighten him until, as they were about to start forhome, Captain Eri suddenly struck his thigh a resounding slap

"Jerry!" he groaned distressfully. "I clean forgot. I've gone back onJerry!"

CHAPTER XXI

"DIME-SHOW BUS'NESS"

Elsie and Captain Jerry were kept busy that afternoon. Abner Mayo's newsspread quickly, and people gathered at the post-office, the stores, andthe billiard room to discuss it. Some of the men, notably "Cy" Warnerand "Rufe" Smith, local representatives of the big Boston dailies, hurried off to the life-saving station to get the facts at first hand. Others came down to talk with Captain Jerry and Elsie. Melissa Busteed'sshawl was on her shoulders and her "cloud" was tied about her head inless than two minutes after her next-door neighbor shouted the storyacross the back yards. She had just left the house, and Captain Jerrywas delivering a sarcastic speech concerning "talkin' machines, " whenDaniel plodded through the gate, drawing the buggy containing Josiah, Mrs. Snow, and Captain Eri. 

For a man who had been described as "half-dead, " Captain Eri looked verywell, indeed. Jerry ran to help him from the carriage, but he jumped outhimself and then assisted the housekeeper to alight with an air of proudproprietorship. He was welcomed to the house like a returned prodigal, and Captain Jerry shook his well hand until the arm belonging to itseemed likely to become as stiff and sore as the other. While thishandshaking was going on Captain Eri was embarrassed. He did not lookhis friend in the face, and most of his conversation was addressed toElsie. 

As soon as he had warmed his hands and told the story of the wreck andrescue, he said, "Jerry, come up to my room a minute, won't you? I'vegot somethin' I want to say. "

Vaguely wondering what the private conversation might be, Jerry followedhis friend upstairs. When they were in the room, Captain Eri closed thedoor and faced his companion. He was confused, and stammered a little, as he said, "Jerry, I've--I've got somethin' to say to you 'bout Mrs. Snow. "

Then it was Captain Jerry's turn to be confused. 

"Now, Eri, " he protested, "'tain't fair to keep pesterin' me like this. I know I ain't said nothin' to her yit, but I'm goin' to. I had a week, anyhow, and it ain't ha'f over. Land sake!" he burst forth, "d'yous'pose I ain't been thinkin' 'bout it? I ain't thought of nothin' else, hardly. I bet you I've been over the whole thing every night sence wehad that talk. I go over it and GO over it. I've thought of more 'n amillion ways to ask her, but there ain't one of 'em that suits me. If Iwas goin' to be hung 'twouldn't be no worse, and now you've got to keepa-naggin'. Let me alone till my time is up, can't you?"

"I wa'n't naggin'. I was jest goin' to tell you that you won't have toask. I've been talkin' to her myself, and--"

The sacrifice sprang out of his chair. 

"Eri Hedge!" he exclaimed indignantly. "I thought you was a friend ofmine! I give you my word I'd do it in a week, and the least you couldhave done, seems to me, would have been to wait and give me the chance. But no! all you think 'bout's yourself. So 'fraid she'd say no and you'dlose your old housekeeper, wa'n't you? The idea! She must think I'm agood one--can't do my own courtin', and have to git somebody to do itfor me! What did she say?" he asked suddenly. 

"She said yes to what I asked her, " was the reply with a half smile. 

Upon Captain Jerry's face settled the look of one who accepts themelancholy inevitable. He sat down again. 

"I s'posed she would, " he said with a sigh. "She's known me for quite aspell now, and she's had a chance to see what kind of a man I be. Well, what else did you do? Ain't settled the weddin' day, have you?" Thiswith marked sarcasm. 

"Not yit. Jerry, you've made a mistake. I didn't ask her for you. "

"Didn't ask her--didn't--What are you talkin' 'bout, then?"

"I asked her for myself. She's goin' to marry me. "

Captain Jerry was too much astonished even to get up. Instead, he simplysat still with open mouth while his friend continued. 

"I've come to think a lot of Mrs. Snow sence she's been here, " CaptainEri said slowly, "and I've found out that she's felt the same way 'boutme. I've kept still and said nothin' 'cause I thought you ought to havethe fust chance and, besides, I didn't know how she felt. But to-day, while we was talkin', it all come out of itself, seems so, and--well, we're goin' to be married. "

The sacrifice--a sacrifice no longer--still sat silent, but curiouschanges of expression were passing over his face. Surprise, amazement, relief, and now a sort of grieved resignation. 

"I feel small enough 'bout the way I've treated you, Jerry, " continuedCaptain Eri. "I didn't mean to--but there! it's done, and all I cando is say I'm sorry and that I meant to give you your chance. I shan'tblame you if you git mad, not a bit; but I hope you won't. "

Captain Jerry sighed. When he spoke it was in a tone of sublimeforgiveness. 

"Eri, " he said, "I ain't mad. I won't say my feelin's ain't hurt, 'cause--'cause--well, never mind. If a wife and a home ain't for me, whyI ought to be glad that you're goin' to have 'em. I wish you both luckand a good v'yage. Now, don't talk to me for a few minutes. Let me gitsort of used to it. "

So they shook hands and Captain Eri, with a troubled look at his friend, went out. After he had gone, Captain Jerry got up and danced three stepsof an improvised jig, his face one broad grin. Then, with an effort, hesobered down, assumed an air of due solemnity, and tramped downstairs. 

If the announcement of Captain Perez' engagement caused no surprise, that of Captain Eri's certainly did--surprise and congratulation on thepart of those let into the secret, for it was decided to say nothing tooutsiders as yet. Ralph came over that evening and they told him aboutit, and he was as pleased as the rest. As for the Captain, he was onlytoo willing to shake hands with any and everybody, although he insistedthat the housekeeper had nothing to be congratulated upon, and that shewas "takin' big chances. " The lady herself merely smiled at this, andquietly said that she was willing to take them. 

The storm had wrecked every wire and stalled every train, and Orham wasisolated for two days. Then communication was established once more, andthe Boston dailies received the news of the loss of the life-saversand the crew of the schooner. And they made the most of it; sensationalitems were scarce just then, and the editors welcomed this one. Thebig black headlines spread halfway across the front pages. There werepictures of the wreck, "drawn by our artist from description, " andthere were "descriptions" of all kinds. Special reporters arrived inthe village and interviewed everyone they could lay hands on. Abner Mayofelt that for once he was receiving the attention he deserved. 

The life-saving station and the house by the shore were besieged byphotographers and newspaper men. Captain Eri indignantly refused to posefor his photograph, so he was "snapped" as he went out to the barn, andhad the pleasure of seeing a likeness of himself, somewhat out of focus, and with one leg stiffly elevated, in the Sunday Blanket. The reporterswaylaid him at the post-office, or at his fish shanty, and begged forinterviews. They got them, brief and pointedly personal, and, thoughthese were not printed, columns describing him as "a bluff, big-heartedhero, " were. 

If ever a man was mad and disgusted, that man was the Captain. In thefirst place, as he said, what he had done was nothing more than anyother man 'longshore would have done, and, secondly, it was nobody'sbusiness. Then again, he said, and with truth:

"This whole fuss makes me sick. Here's them fellers in the crew beengoin' out, season after season, takin' folks off wrecks, and the foolpapers never say nothin' 'bout it; but they go out this time, and don'tsave nobody and git drownded themselves, and they're heroes of a sudden. I hear they're raisin' money up to Boston to give to the widders andorphans. Well, that's all right, but they'd better keep on and git theGov'ment to raise the sal'ries of them that's left in the service. "

The climax came when a flashily dressed stranger called, and insistedupon seeing the Captain alone. The interview lasted just about threeminutes. When Mrs. Snow, alarmed by the commotion, rushed into the room, she found Captain Eri in the act of throwing after the fleeing strangerthe shiny silk hat that the latter had left behind. 

"Do you know what that--that swab wanted?" hotly demanded the indignantCaptain. "He wanted me to rig up in ileskins and a sou'wester and showmyself in dime museums. Said he'd buy that dory of Luther's that I wentout in, and show that 'long with me. I told him that dory was spread upand down the beach from here to Setuckit, but he said that didn'tmake no diff'rence, he'd have a dory there and say 'twas the reel one. Offered me a hundred dollars a week, the skate! I'd give ten dollarsright now to tell him the rest of what I had to say. "

After this the Captain went fishing every day, and when at home refusedto see anybody not known personally. But the agitation went on, for thepapers fed the flames, and in Boston they were raising a purse to buygold watches and medals for him and for Captain Davis. 

Shortly after four o'clock one afternoon of the week following that ofthe wreck, Captain Eri ventured to walk up to the village, keeping aweather eye out for reporters and smoking his pipe. He made severalstops, one of them being at the schoolhouse where Josiah, now back athis desk, was studying overtime to catch up with his class. 

As the Captain was strolling along, someone touched him from behind, and he turned to face Ralph Hazeltine. The electrician had been a prettyregular caller at the house of late, but Captain Eri had seen but littleof him, for reasons unnecessary to state. 

"Hello, Captain!" said Ralph. "Taking a constitutional? You want to lookout for Warner; I hear he's after you for another rescue 'special. '"

"He'll need somebody to rescue him if he comes pesterin' 'round me, " wasthe reply. "You ain't seen my dime show friend nowheres, have you?I'd sort of like to meet HIM again; our other talk broke off kind ofsudden. "

Ralph laughed, and said he was afraid that the museum manager wouldn'tcome to Orham again very soon. 

"I s'pose likely not, " chuckled Captain Eri. "I ought to have kept hishat; then, maybe, he'd have come back after it. Oh, say!" he added, "I've been meanin' to ask you somethin'. Made up your mind 'bout thatwestern job yit?"

Ralph shook his head. "Not yet, " he said slowly. "I shall very soon, though, I think. "

"Kind of puzzlin' you, is it? Not that it's really any of my affairs, you understand. There's only a few of us good folks left, as the fellersaid, and I'd hate to see you leave, that's all. "

"I am not anxious to go, myself. My present position gives me a gooddeal of leisure time for experimental work--and--well, I'll tell you inconfidence--there's a possibility of my becoming superintendent one ofthese days, if I wish to. "

"Sho! you don't say! Mr. Langley goin' to quit?"

"He is thinking of it. The old gentleman has saved some money, and hehas a sister in the West who is anxious to have him come out there andspend the remainder of his days with her. If he does, I can have hisposition, I guess. In fact, he has been good enough to say so. "

"Well, that's pretty fine, ain't it? Langley ain't the man to chuck hisgood opinions round like clam shells. You ought to feel proud. "

"I suppose I ought. "

They walked on silently for a few steps, the Captain waiting for hiscompanion to speak, and the latter seeming disinclined to do so. Atlength the older man asked another question. 

"Is t'other job so much better?"

"No. "

Silence again. Then Ralph said, "The other position, Captain, is verymuch like this one in some respects. It will place me in a countrytown, even smaller than Orham, where there are few young people, noamusements, and no society, in the fashionable sense of the word. "

"Humph! I thought you didn't care much for them things. "

"I don't. "

To this enigmatical answer the Captain made no immediate reply. Aftera moment, however, he said, slowly and with apparent irrelevance, "Mr. Hazeltine, I can remember my father tellin' 'bout a feller that liveddown on the South Harniss shore when he was a boy. Queer old chap hewas, named Elihu Bassett; everybody called him Uncle Elihu. In them daysall hands drunk more or less rum, and Uncle Elihu drunk more. He hada way of stayin' sober for a spell, and then startin' off on a regularjamboree all by himself. He had an old flat-bottomed boat that he usedto sail 'round in, but she broke her moorin's one time and got smashedup, so he wanted to buy another. Shadrach Wingate, Seth's granddad'twas, tried to fix up a dicker with him for a boat he had. They agreedon the price, and everything was all right 'cept that Uncle Elihu stuckout that he must try her 'fore he bought her. 

"So Shad fin'lly give in, and Uncle Elihu sailed over to Wellmouth inthe boat. He put in his time 'round the tavern there, and when he comedown to the boat ag'in, he had a jugful of Medford in his hand, andpretty nigh as much of the same stuff under his hatches. He got afloatsomehow, h'isted the sail, lashed the tiller after a fashion, took anip out of the jug and tumbled over and went fast asleep. 'Twas a stillnight or 'twould have been the finish. As 'twas he run aground on a flatand stuck there till mornin'. 

"Next day back he comes with the boat all scraped up, and says he, 'Shewon't do, Shad; she don't keep her course. '

"'Don't keep her course, you old fool!' bellers Shad. 'And you tight asa drumhead and sound asleep! Think she can find her way home herself?'he says. 

"'Well, ' says Uncle Elihu, 'if she can't she ain't the boat for me. '"

Ralph laughed. "I see, " he said. "Perhaps Uncle Elihu was wise. Still, if he wanted the boat very much, he must have hated to put her to thetest. "

"That's so, " assented the Captain, "but 'twas better to know it thenthan to be sorry for it afterwards. "

Both seemed to be thinking, and neither spoke again until they came tothe grocery store, where Hazeltine stopped, saying that he must do anerrand for Mr. Langley. They said good-night, and the Captain turnedaway, but came quickly back and said:

"Mr. Hazeltine, if it ain't too much trouble, would you mind steppin'up to the schoolhouse when you've done your errand? I've left somethin'there with Josiah, and I'd like to have you git it. Will you?"

"Certainly, " was the reply, and it was not until the Captain had gonethat Ralph remembered he did not know what he was to get. 

When he reached the school he climbed the stairs and opened the door, expecting to find Josiah alone. Instead, there was no one there butElsie, who was sitting at the desk. She sprang up as he entered. Bothwere somewhat confused. 

"Pardon me, Miss Preston, " he said. "Captain Eri sent me here. He saidhe left something with Josiah, and wished me to call for it. "

"Why, I'm sure I don't know what it can be, " replied Elsie. "Josiah hasbeen gone for some time, and he said nothing to me about it. "

"Perhaps it is in his desk, " suggested Ralph. "Suppose we look. "

So they looked, but found nothing more than the usual assortmentcontained in the desk of a healthy schoolboy. The raised lid shut offthe light from the window, and the desk's interior was rather dark. Theyhad to grope in the corners, and occasionally their hands touched. Everytime this happened Ralph thought of the decision that he must make sosoon. 

He thought of it still more when, after the search was abandoned, Elsiesuggested that he help her with some problems that she was preparing forthe next day's labors of the first class in arithmetic. In fact, as hesat beside her, pretending to figure, but really watching her daintyprofile as it moved back and forth before his eyes, his own particularproblem received far more attention than did those of the class. Suddenly he spoke:

"Teacher, " he said, "please, may I ask a question?"

"You should hold up your hand if you wish permission to speak, " was thestern reply. 

"Please consider it held up. "

"Is the question as important as 'How many bushels did C. Sell?' whichhappens to be my particular trouble just now. "

"It is to me, certainly. " Ralph was serious enough now. "It is aquestion that I have been wrestling with for some time. It is, shall Itake the position that has been offered me in the West, or shall I stayhere and become superintendent of the station? The superintendent'splace may be mine, I think, if I want it. "

Elsie laid down her pencil and hesitated for a moment before she spoke. When she did reply her face was turned away from her companion. 

"I should think that question might best be decided by comparing thesalaries and prospects of the two positions, " she said quietly. 

"The two positions are much alike in one way. You know what the life atthe station means the greater portion of the year--no companions ofyour own age and condition, no society, no amusements. The Western offermeans all this and worse, for the situation is the same all the year. Isay these things because I hope you may be willing to consider them, notfrom my point of view solely, but from yours. "

"From mine?"

"Yes. You see I am recklessly daring to hope that, whichever lot ischosen, you may be willing to share it with me--as my wife. Elsie, doyou think you could consider the question from that viewpoint?"

And--well--Elsie thought she could. 

The consideration--we suppose it was the consideration--took so longthat it was nearly dark when Elsie announced that she simply MUST go. Itwas Ralph's duty as a gentleman to help her in putting on her coat, andthis took an astonishingly long time. Finally it was done, however, andthey came downstairs. 

"Dearest, " said Ralph, after the door was locked, "I forgot to haveanother hunt for whatever it was that Captain Eri wanted me to get. "

Elsie smiled rather oddly. 

"Are you sure you haven't got it?" she asked demurely. 

"Got it! Why--why, by George, what a numbskull I am! The old rascal! Ithought there was a twinkle in his eye. "

"He said he should come back after me. "

"Well, well! Bless his heart, it's sound and sweet all the way through. Yes, I HAVE got it, and, what's more, I shall tell him that I mean tokeep it. "

The gold watches from the people to the heroes of the Orham wreck havingbeen duly bought and inscribed and the medals struck, there came up thequestion of presentation, and it was decided to perform the ceremony inthe Orham town hall, and to make the occasion notable. The Congressmanfrom the district agreed to make the necessary speech. The HarnissCornet Band was to furnish music. All preparations were made, and itremained only to secure the consent of the parties most interested, namely, Captain Eri and Luther Davis. 

And this was the hardest task of all. Both men at first flatly refusedto be present. The Captain said he might as well go to the dime museumand be done with it; he was much obliged to the Boston folks, but hisown watch was keeping good time, and he didn't need a new one badlyenough to make a show of himself to get it. Captain Davis said very muchthe same. 

But Miss Patience was proud of her brother's rise to fame, and didn'tintend to let him forfeit the crowning glory. She enlisted Captain Perezas a supporter, and together they finally got Luther's unwilling consentto sit on the platform and be stared at for one evening. Meanwhile, Captain Jerry, Elsie, Ralph, and Mrs. Snow were doing their best to winCaptain Eri over. When Luther surrendered, the forces joined, and theCaptain threw up his hands. 

"All right, " he said. "Only I ought to beg that dime museum feller'spardon. 'Tain't right to be partial this way. "

The hall was jammed to the doors. Captain Eri, seated on the platformat one end of the half-circle of selectmen, local politicians, and minorcelebrities, looked from the Congressman in the middle to Luther on theother end, and then out over the crowded settees. He saw Mrs. Snow'spleasant, wholesome face beaming proudly beside Captain Jerry's red one. He saw Captain Perez and Miss Patience sitting together close to thefront, and Ralph and Elsie a little further back. The Reverend Mr. Perley was there; so were the Smalls and Miss Abigail Mullett. MelissaBusteed was on the very front bench with the boys, of whom Josiah wasone. The "train committee" was there--not a member missing--and at therear of the hall, smiling and unctuous as ever, was "Web" Saunders. Inspite of his stage fright the Captain grinned when he saw "Web. "

Mr. Solomon Bangs, his shirt-bosom crackling with importance, introducedthe Congressman. The latter's address was, so the Item said, "a triumphof oratorical effort. " It really was a good speech, and when it touchedupon the simple sacrifice of the men who had given up their lives in thecourse of what, to them, was everyday work, there were stifled sobs allthrough the hall. Luther Davis, during this portion of the address, sat with his big hand shading his eyes. Later on, when the speaker wassounding the praises of the man who "alone, forgetful of himself, bravedthe sea and the storm to save his friends, " those who looked at CaptainEri saw his chair hitched back, inch by inch, until, as the finaloutburst came, little more than his Sunday shoes was in sight. He hadretired, chair and all, to the wings. 

But they called him to the platform again and, amid--we quote from theItem once more--"a hurricane of applause, " the two heroes were adornedwith the watches and the medals. 

There was a sort of impromptu reception after the ceremony, when CaptainEri, with Mrs. Snow on his arm, struggled through the crowd toward thedoor. 

"'Twas great, shipmate, and you deserved it!" declared magnanimousCaptain Jerry, wringing his hand. 

"'Tain't ha'f what you ought to have, Eri, " said Captain Perez. 

"I haven't said much to thank you for savin' Luther, " whispered MissPatience, "but I hope you know that we both appreciate what you done andnever 'll forgit it. "

Ralph and Elsie also shook hands with him, and said some pleasantthings. So did many others, Dr. Palmer among the number. Altogether, thejourney through the hall was a sort of triumphal progress. 

"Whew!" gasped the Captain, as they came out into the clear air and themoonlight, "let's hope that's the last of the dime-show bus'ness. "

"Eri, " whispered Mrs. Snow, "I'm so proud of you, I don't know what todo. "

And that remark was sweeter to the Captain's ears than all those thathad preceded it. 

They turned into the shore road and were alone. It was a clear winternight, fresh, white snow on the ground, not a breath of wind, and thefull moon painting land and sea dark blue and silver white. The surfsounded faint and far off. Somewhere in the distance a dog was barking, and through the stillness came an occasional laugh or shout from thepeople going home from the hall. 

"Lots of things can happen in a few months, can't they?" said Mrs. Snow, glancing at the black shadow of the shuttered Baxter homestead. 

"They can so, " replied the Captain. "Think what's happened sence lastSeptember. I didn't know you then, and now it seems 's if I'd alwaysknown you. John was alive then, and Elsie nor Ralph hadn't come. Perezhadn't met Pashy neither. My! my! Everybody's choosed partners butJerry, " he chuckled, "and Jerry looked the most likely candidate 'longat the beginnin'. I'm glad, " he added, "that Ralph's made up his mind tostay here. We shan't lose him nor Elsie for a few years, anyhow. "

They paused at the knoll by the gate. 

"Fair day to-morrer, " observed the Captain, looking up at the sky. 

"I hope it 'll be fair weather for us the rest of our days, " said Mrs. Snow. 

"You've HAD it rough enough, that's sure. Well, I hope you'll have asmooth v'yage, now. "

The lady from Nantucket looked up into his face with a happy laugh. 

"I guess I shall, " she said. "I know I've got a good pilot. "