Cap'n Eri ..............................................................................................................................................................1

Joseph Crosby Lincoln .............................................................................................................................1

CHAPTER I. A LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE....................................................................................1

CHAPTER II. THE TRAIN COMES IN .................................................................................................7

CHAPTER III. THE "COMEOUTERS'" MEETING.........................................................................13

CHAPTER IV. A PICTURE SENT AND A CABLE TESTED ...........................................................19

CHAPTER V. THE WOMAN FROM NANTUCKET .........................................................................26

CHAPTER VI. THE SCHOOLHOUSE BELL RINGS ........................................................................34

CHAPTER VII. CAPTAIN ERI FINDS A NURSE.............................................................................40

CHAPTER VIII. HOUSEKEEPER AND BOOK AGENT..................................................................46

CHAPTER IX. ELSIE PRESTON........................................................................................................53

CHAPTER X. MATCHMAKING AND LIFESAVING....................................................................60

CHAPTER XI. HEROES AND A MYSTERY .....................................................................................66

CHAPTER XII. A LITTLE POLITICS .................................................................................................73

CHAPTER XIII. CAPTAIN JERRY MAKES A MESS OF IT ............................................................81

CHAPTER XIV. THE VOYAGE OF AN "ABLE SEAMAN"............................................................86

CHAPTER XV. IN JOHN BAXTER'S ROOM....................................................................................90

CHAPTER XVI. A BUSINESS CALL .................................................................................................97

CHAPTER XVII. THROUGH FIRE AND WATER ..........................................................................104

CHAPTER XVIII. THE SINS OF CAPTAIN JERRY.......................................................................114

CHAPTER XIX. A "NO'THEASTER" BLOWS................................................................................122

CHAPTER XX. ERI GOES BACK ON A FRIEND..........................................................................127

CHAPTER XXI. "DIMESHOW BUS'NESS"..................................................................................134

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

The Captain was seated by the open door of the dining room, in the rocker with the patched cane seat. He was

apparently very busy doing something with a piece of fishline and a pair of longlegged rubber boots.

Captain Perez, swinging back and forth in the parlor rocker with the patchwork cushion, was puffing

deliberately at a wooden pipe, the bowl of which was carved into the likeness of a very rakish damsel with a

sailor's cap set upon the side of her once flaxen head. In response to his companion's remark he lazily turned

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

"Why, Perez," he said, "I'm averagin' up, same as I told you. Providence made me a twolegged critter, and a

twolegged critter needs two boots. I've always been able to find one of these boots right off whenever I

wanted it, but it's took me so plaguey long to find the other one that whatever wet there was dried up afore I

got out of the house. Yesterday when I wanted to go clammin' I found the left one on the mantelpiece, no

trouble at all, but it was pretty nigh high water before I dug the other one out of the washb'iler. That's why I'm

splicin' 'em together this way. I don't want to promise nothin' rash, but I'm in hopes that even Jerry can't lose

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

"Yes, but then I shan't care. If there ain't NO boots in sight; I'll go barefoot or stay at home. It's the kind of

responsibleness that goes with 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 cat ain't been home sence noon, and

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

"I'm 'fraid Lorenzo's gittin' dissipated in his old age," he observed. Then, as a fat gray cat shot past the door,

A moment later Captain Jerry appeared, milk pitcher in hand. He entered the dining room and, putting the

pitcher down on the table, pulled forward the armchair with the painted sunset on the back, produced his own

pipe, and proceeded to hunt through one pocket after the other with a troubled expression of countenance.

"Where in tunket is my terbacker?" he asked, after finishing the round of pockets and preparing to begin all

"Was that yours, Jerry?" exclaimed Captain Eri. "Well, that's too bad! I see it there and thought 'twas mine.

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

"That's jest like you, Eri! Never have a place for nothin' and help yourself 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

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

"Bet ten dollars I ain't! I ain't quite a fool yit, Eri Hedge. I guess I knowwell, I snum! I forgot that upper

vest pocket!" and from the pocket 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 water to the eastward darkened, and the outer beach became but a dusky streak

separating the ocean from the inner bay. At length Captain Perez rose and, knocking the ashes from his pipe,

"Then for the land's sake let's have it light while we can! Here, Jerry! them matches is burnt ones. Try this,

Captain Jerry took the proffered match and lit the two bracket lamps, fastened to the walls of the dining room.

The room, seen by the lamplight, was shiplike, but as decidedly not shipshape. The chronometer on the

mantel was obscured by a thick layer of dust. The three gorgeous oil paintingsfrom the brush of the local

sign painterrespectively representing the coasting packet Hannah M., Eri Hedge, Master, and the fishing

schooners, Georgie Baker, Jeremiah Burgess, Master, and the Flying Duck, Perez Ryder, Master, were

shrouded in a very realistic fog of the same dust. Even the imposing giltlettered set of "Lives of Great Naval

Commanders," purchased by Captain Perez some months before, and being slowly paid for on an apparently

neverending installment plan, was cloaked with it. The heap of newspapers, shoved under the couch to get

them out of the way, peeped forth in a telltale manner. The windows were not too clean and the floor needed

sweeping. Incidentally the supper table had not been cleared. Each one of the three noted these things and

each sighed. Then Captain Eri said, as if to change the subject, though no one had spoken:

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

"No," answered the exskipper of the Flying Duck, pulling at his grizzled scrap of throat whisker and looking

rather shamefaced. "You see, M'lissy Busteed dropped in a few minutes this mornin' while you fellers was

"Haw! haw!" roared the former, slapping his knee. "I wouldn't be so fascinatin' as you be for no money,

Perez. She'll have you yit; you can't git away! But say, I don't wonder you got to thinkin' 'bout the grave. Ten

"Aw, belay there, Eri" protested Captain Perez testily. "'Twan't my fault. I didn't see her comin' or I'd have

got out of sight. She was cruisin' 'round the way she always does with a cargo of gabble, and, she put 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' abaft the mains'l and we'd have a twentyknot breeze in a shake."

"Oh, a little of everything. She begun about the 'beautiful' sermon that Mr. Perley preached at the last

'ComeOuters'' meetin'. That was what started me thinkin' about the grave, I guess. Then she pitched into

Seth Wingate's wife for havin' a new bunnit this season when the old one wan't ha'f wore out. She talked for

ten minutes or so on that, and then she begun about Parker's bein' let go over at the cable station and about the

new feller that's been signed to take his place. She's all for Parker. Says he was a 'perfectly lovely' man and

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

"Yes," said Captain Eri, "and it's worth while noticin' who they be. Perez' friend, M'lissy, thinks so, and

'Squealer' Wixon and his gang think so, and 'Web' Saunders thinks so, and a lot more like them. Parker was

TOO good a feller, that's what was the matter with him. His talk always reminded me of washday at the

"Well, M'lissy says that the men over to the stationall except Langley, of courseare mad as all gitout

because Parker was let go, and she says somebody told somebody else, and somebody else told somebody

else, and somebody else told HERshe says it come reel straightthat the men are goin' to make it hot for

the new feller when he comes. She says his name's Hazeltine, or somethin' like that, and that he's goin' to get

"Well," said Captain Eri, "it's a mercy M'lissy found it out. If that man should git here and she not know it

aforehand 'twould kill her sure as fate, and think what a blow that would be to you, Perez."

"I mustn't be settin' round here much longer," he added. "John Baxter's goin' to have that little patch of

cranberry swamp of his picked tomorrer, 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't got nothin' special to do tonight, so I

thought I'd hitch up and go and git 'em myself. You and Jerry can match cents to see who does the dishes. I

"Well, _I_ shan't do 'em," declared Captain Perez. "Blessed if I'd do the durn things tonight if the President

"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 last night 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 if I let you shove the whole thing off onto me. I didn't

Neither of the others saw fit to answer this declaration of independence and there was a pause in the

"Why, this plan of ours. I thought when we fellers give up goin' to sea reg'lar and settled down here to keep

house ourselves and live economical and all that, that 'twas goin' to be fine. I thought I wouldn't mind doin'

my share of the work a bit, thought 'twould be kind of fun to swab decks and all that. Well, 'twas for a spell,

but 'tain't now. I'm so sick of it that I don't know what to do. And I'm sick of livin' in a pigpen, too. Look at

them deadlights! They're so dirty that when I turn out in the mornin' and go to look through 'em, I can't tell

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

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

"A WOMAN!" exclaimed Captain Eri. Then he shook his head solemnly and added, "There, Jerry! What did

Captain Jerry thought of the spickandspan days of his wife, dead these twenty years, and sighed again. "I

"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 that you could git, 'less 'twas old A'nt Zuby Higgins, and that would be actin' like the

feller that jumped overboard when his boat sprung a leak. No, sir! If A'nt Zuby ships aboard here I heave up

"Who said anything about A'nt Zuby or housekeepers either?" inquired Captain Perez. "I said we'd got to

"That's what I said, married, and take the others to board in this house. Look here now! When a shipwrecked

crew's starvin' one of 'em has to be sacrificed for the good of the rest, and that's what we've got to do. One of

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

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

"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

He went into the front bedroom, and through the open door they could see him turning over the contents of

the chest with P. R. in brass nails on the lid. He scattered about him fishlines, hooks, lead for sinkers,

oilcloth jackets, whales' teeth, and various other articles, and at length came back bearing a muchcrumpled

sheet of printed paper. This he spread out upon the dining table, first pushing aside the dishes to make room,

"There! There she is! The Nuptial Chime. A Journal of Matrimony. I see a piece about it in the Herald the

other day, and sent a dime for a sample copy. It's chockfull of advertisements from women that wants

Captain Eri put on his spectacles and hitched his chair up to the table. After giving the pages of the Nuptial

"There seems to be a strong runnin' to 'vivacious brunettes' and 'blondes with tender and romantic

dispositions.' Which of them kinds are you sufferin' for, Perez? Oh, say! here's a lady that's willin' to heave

herself away on a young and handsome bachelor with a income of ten thousand a year. Seems to me you

"Oh, hush up, Eri! 'Tain't likely I'd want to write to any of them in there. The thing for us to do would be to

write out a advertisement of our own; tell what sort of woman we want, and then set back and wait for

Captain Eri looked at the advocate of matrimony for a moment without speaking. Then he said: "Do you

"Think it's a good idee," said that ancient mariner decisively. "We've got to do somethin', and this looks like

"Then Eri's GOT to do it!" asserted Captain Perez dogmatically. "We agreed to stick together, and two to

"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 settled that the feller that's stuck can pick his wife, and don't have to marry unless

The others agreed to this stipulation, and Captain Perez, drawing a long breath, took a coin from his pocket,

flipped it in the air and covered it, as it fell on the table, with a big hairy hand. Captain Eri did likewise; so

did Captain Jerry. Then Captain Eri lifted his hand and showed the coin beneath; it was a head. Captain

Jerry's was a tail. Under Captain Perez' hand lurked the hidden fate. The Captain's lips closed in a grim line.

Captain Eri rose, glanced at his watch, and, taking his hat from the shelf where the dishes should have been,

"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 of trance,

"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 it is to manage a

Captain Eri was chuckling as, lantern in hand, he passed around the corner of the little white house on the

way to the barn. He chuckled all through the harnessing of Daniel, the venerable white horse. He was still

chuckling as, perched on the seat of the "truck wagon," he rattled and shook out of the yard and turned into

the sandy road that led up to the village. And an outsider, hearing these chuckles, and knowing what had gone

before, might have inferred that perhaps Captain Eri did not view the "matching" and the matrimonial project

with quite the deadly seriousness of the other two occupants of the house by the shore.

There is in Orham a selfappointed committee whose duty it is to see the train come in. The committeemen

receive no salary for their services; the sole compensation is the pleasure derived from the sense of duty done.

Rain, snow, or shine, the committee is on hand at the stationthe natives, of course, call it the "deepo" to

consume borrowed tobacco and to favor Providence with its advice concerning the running of the universe.

Mr. "Squealer" Wixon, a lifelong member of this committee, was the first to sight Captain Eri as the latter

strolled across the tracks into the circle of light from the station lamps. The Captain had moored Daniel to a

picket in the fence over by the freighthouse. He had heard the clock in the belfry of the Methodist church

strike eight as he drove by that edifice, but he heard no whistle from the direction of the West Orham woods,

so he knew that the down train would arrive at its usual time, that is, from fifteen to twenty minutes behind

"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 with lookout for wind ahead."

"Hain't got a spare chaw nowheres about you, have you, Cap'n?" anxiously inquired "Bluey" Batcheldor. Mr.

Batcheldor is called "Bluey" for the same reason that Mr. Wixon is called "Squealer," and that reason has

Captain Eri obligingly produced a black plug of smoking tobacco, and Mr. Batcheldor bit off twothirds and

returned the balance. After adjusting the morsel so that it might interfere in the least degree with his vocal

"I cal'late you ain't heard the news, Eri. Web Saunders has got his originalpackage license. It come on the

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

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

"We was wonderin'," said Jabez Smalley, a member of the committee whose standing was somewhat

impaired, inasmuch as he went fishing occasionally and was, therefore, obliged to miss some of the meetings,

"what kind of a fit John Baxter would have now. He's been pretty nigh distracted ever sence Web started his

billiard room, callin' it a 'ha'nt of sin' and a whole lot more names. There ain't been a 'ComeOuters' meetin'

'sence I don't know when that he ain't pitched into that saloon. Now, when he hears that Web's goin' to sell

The committee received this prophecy with an hilarious shout of approval and each member began to talk.

Captain Eri took advantage of this simultaneous expression of opinion to walk away. He looked in at the

window of the ticketoffice, exchanged greetings with Sam Hardy, the stationmaster, and then leaned against

the corner of the building furthest removed from Mr. Wixon and his friends, lit his pipe and puffed

From the clump of blackness that indicated the beginning of the West Orham woods came a longdrawn

dismal "toot"; then two shorter ones. The committee sprang to its feet and looked interested. Sam Hardy came

out of the ticket office. The stagedriver, a sharp looking boy of about fourteen, with a disagreeable air of

cheap smartness sticking out all over 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 Eri knocked the ashes from his pipe and put that servicestained veteran in his pocket. The

If this had been an August evening instead of a September one, both train and platform would have been

crowded. But the butterfly summer maiden had flitted and, as is his wont, the summer man had flitted after

her, so the passengers who alighted from the two coaches that, with the freight car, made up the Orham

Branch train, were few in number and homely in flavor. There was a very stout lady with a canvas extension

case and an umbrella in one hand and a bulging shawlstrap and a pasteboard box in the other, who panted

and wheezed like the locomotive itself and who asked the brakeman, "What on airth DO they have such high

steps for?" There was a slim, not to say gawky, individual with a chin beard and rubber boots, whom the

committee hailed as "Andy" and welcomed to its bosom. There were two young men, drummers, evidently,

who nodded to Hardy, and seemed very much at home. Also, there was another young man, smoothshaven

and squareshouldered, who deposited a suitcase on the platform and looked about him with the air of being

The drummers and the stout lady got into the stage. The young man with the suitcase picked up the latter

and walked toward the same vehicle. He accosted the sharp boy, who had lighted another cigarette.

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

The boy grinned, and the members of the committee, who had been staring with all their might, grinned also.

The young man's mention of the cable station seemed to have caused considerable excitement.

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

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

"Two blocks to the right; that's the main road, keep on that for four blocks, then turn to the left, and if you

"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 stage turned, and

bestowed a wink upon the delighted "Squealer," who was holding one freckled paw over his mouth; then the

The squareshouldered young man looked after the equipage with an odd expression of countenance. Then

he shrugged his shoulders, picked up the suitcase, and walked off the platform into the darkness.

Mr. Wixon removed the hand from his mouth and displayed a mammoth grin, that grew into a shriek of

"Haw! haw!" bellowed "Bluey," "so that's the feller that done Parker out of his job! Well, he may be mighty

smart, but if that Joe Bartlett ain't smarter then I'm a skate, that's all! Smartest boy ever I see! 'If you keep on

A little later Captain Eri, with a dozen new, cleansmelling cranberry barrels in the wagon behind him, drove

slowly down the "depot road." It was a clear night, but there was no moon, and Orham was almost at its

darkest, which is very dark, indeed. The "depot road"please bear in mind that there are no streets in

Orhamwas full of ruts, and although Daniel knew his way and did his best to follow it, the cranberry

barrels rattled and shook in lively fashion. There are few homes near the station, and the dwellers in them

conscientiously refrain from showing lights except in the ends of the buildings furthest from the front.

Strangers are inclined to wonder at this, but when they become better acquainted with the town and its

people, they come to know that front gates and parlors are, by the majority of the inhabitants, restricted in

their use to occasions such as a funeral, or, possibly, a wedding. For the average Orham family to sit in the

It is from the hill by the Methodist church that the visitor to Orham gets his best view of the village. It is all

about him, and for the most part below him. At night the lights in the houses show only here and there

through the trees, but those on the beaches and at sea shine out plainly. The brilliant yellow gleam a mile

away is from the Orham lighthouse on the bluff. The smaller white dot marks the light on Baker's Beach. The

tiny red speck in the distance, that goes and comes again, is the flashlight at Setuckit Point, and the twinkle

It is on his arrival at this point, too, that the stranger first notices the sound of the surf. Being a newcomer, he

notices this at once; after he 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 one has to listen intently for a moment or two before his

accustomed ear will single it out and make it definite. One low, steady, continuous roar, a little deeper in tone

when the wind is easterly, the voice of the old dog Ocean gnawing with foaming mouth at the bone of the

It may be that the young man with the square shoulders and the suitcase had paused at the turn of the road

by the church to listen to this song of the sea; at any rate he was there, and when Captain Eri steered Daniel

and the cranberry barrels around the corner and into the "main road," he stepped out and hailed.

"I beg your pardon," he said; "I'm afraid I'm mixed in my directions. The stagedriver told me the way to the

cable station, but I've forgotten whether he said to turn to the right when I reached here, or to the left."

Captain Eri took his lantern from the floor of the wagon and held it up. He had seen the stranger when the

"Yes," a little impatiently; "why shouldn't they? So many blocks till I got to the main street, or road, and so

"Blocks, hey? That's Joe Bartlett. That boy ought to be mastheaded, and I've told Perez so more'n once. Well,

Mister, I guess maybe you'd better not try to walk to the cable station to night. You see, there's one thing

they forgot to tell you. The station's on the outer beach, and there's a ha'f mile of pretty wet water between

"I sartin do, unless there's been an almighty drought since I left the house. I tell you what! If you'll jump in

here with me, and don't mind waitin' 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 you over. That is," with a chuckle, "if you ain't dead

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

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

Daniel accepted the Captain's command in a tolerant spirit. He paddled along at a jogtrot for perhaps a

hundred yards, and then, evidently feeling that he had done all that could be expected, settled back into a

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

"Noo, not d'rectly. Of course, we knew Parker had been let go, and that somebody would have to take his

place. I guess likely it was one of the operators that told it fust that you was the man, but anyhow it got as fur

as M'lissy Busteed, and after that 'twas plain sailin'. You come from New York, don't you?"

"Well, you know how 'tis when a thing gits into the papers. Orham ain't big 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 more

country than anybody I know. If she spreads butter the same way, she could make money keepin' boarders. Is

"Yes. I hardly know why I'm here now. I have been with the Cable Company at their New York experimental

station for some years, and the other day the General Manager called me into his office and told me I was

expected to take the position of electrician here. I thought it might add to my experience, so I accepted."

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

Mr. Hazeltine laughed. "Why," he answered, "now that you speak of it, I remember that he began by asking

The Captain chuckled. "The outer beach in winter ain't exactly a campmeeting for sociableness," he said.

"Not exactly. He's a new shipment from New York. Grandnephew of a messmate of mine, Cap'n Perez

Ryder. Perez, he's a bachelor, but his sister's daughter married a feller named Bartlett. Maybe you knew him;

"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 when he didn't,

near's I can find out. 'Lizabeth, that's his ma, died last spring, and she made Perez promisehe being the

only relation the youngster hadto 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 Ten Commandments, and 'Lizabeth made him promise not to

lick the youngster and a whole lot more foolishness. School don't commence here till October, so we got him

a job with Lem Mullett at the liv'ry stable. He's boardin' with Lem till school opens. He ain't a reel bad boy,

but he knows too much 'bout some things and not ha'f enough 'bout others. You've seen fellers like that,

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

Captain Eri smiled. "I shouldn't wonder," he observed. "The boys down here 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 there ever was

afore. He needs somethin', and needs it bad, but I ain't decided jest what it is yit. Are you a married man?"

"Same here. Never had the disease. Perez, he's had symptoms every once in a while, but nothin' lastin'. Jerry's

the only one of us three that's been through the mill. His wife died twenty year ago. I don't know as I told

you, but Jerry and Perez and me are keepin' house down by the shore. That is, we call it keepin' house,

Ralph Hazeltine forbore to interrupt, and occupied himself by scrutinizing the buildings that they were

passing. They were nearing the center of the town now, and the houses were closer together than they had

been on the "depot road," but never so close as to be in the least crowded. Each house had its ample front

yard, and the new arrival could smell the box hedges and see, now and then, the whiteness of the kalsomined

stones that bordered a driveway. It was too dark for the big seashells at the front steps to be visible, but they

were there, all the same; every third house of respectability in Orham has them. There was an occasional

shop, too, with signs like "Cape Cod Variety Store," or "The Boston Dry Goods Emporium," over their doors.

On the platform of one a small crowd was gathered, and from the interior came shouts of laughter and the

"That's the billiard saloon," volunteered Captain Eri, suddenly waking from his trance. "Play pool, Mr.

"That so! Most of the fellers in there play it with their mouths. Miss a shot and then spend the rest of the

"Well, it has its good p'ints. Kind of allround exercise; develops the lungs and strengthens the muscles, as

"Who? Oh, Parker! He was all right in his way. Good many folks in this town swore by him. I understand the

"Oh, Mr. Langley, bein' manager, had his own ideas, I s'pose! Langley don't play pool much; not at Web

They rolled up a long driveway, very dark and overgrown with trees, and drew up at the back door of a

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

The kitchen door opened and a man came out, carrying a lamp, its light shining full upon his face. It was an

old face, a stern face, with white eyebrows and a thinlipped mouth. Just such a face as looked on with

approval when the executioner held up the head of Charles I., at Whitehall. There was, however, a tremble

"Hello, John!" said Captain Eri heartily. "John, let me make you acquainted with Mr. Hazeltine, the new man

"John, I brought down them barrels for you. Hawkins got 'em here, same as he always does, by the skin of his

teeth. Stand by now, 'cause I've got 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 his seat and

"John, guess I'll be up some time tomorrow. I want to talk with you about that billiardroom business."

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

"That's all right," said the Captain. "Then the job's in good hands, and we ain't got to worry. Goodnight."

But, in spite of this assurance, Hazeltine noticed that his driver was silent and preoccupied until they reached

the end of the road by the shore, when he brought the willing Daniel to a stand still and announced that it was

It is a fifteenminute row from the mainland to the outer beach, and Captain Eri made it on schedule time.

Hazeltine protested that he was used 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 and the passenger climbed out. The sound of the surf

on the ocean side of the beach was no longer a steady roar, it was broken into splashing plunges and hisses

with, running through it, a series of blows like those of a muffled hammer. The wind was wet and smelt salty.

"There's the station," said the Captain, pointing to a row of lighted windows a quarter of a mile away. "It IS

straight ahead this time, and the walkin's better'n it has been for the last few minutes. Goodnight!"

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

"I'm very much obliged to you for all this," he said. "I'm glad to have made your acquaintance, and I hope we

"Same here!" said the Captain heartily. "We're likely to git together once in a while, seein' as we're nextdoor

neighbors, right across the road, as you might say. That's my berth over yonder, where you see them lights.

It's jest 'round the corner from the road we drove down last. Goodnight! Good luck to you!"

The house where the three Captains lived was as near salt water as it could 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 their faces. Captain Perez's right hand was smeared with ink and there were

several 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 two mariners,

"Well, you fellers look as if you'd had a rough v'yage," commented Captain Eri, slipping out of his own

jacket and pulling his chair up beside those of his friends. "What's the trouble?"

"Gosh, Eri, I'm glad to see you!" exclaimed Captain Perez, drawing the hand, just referred to, across his

forehead and thereby putting that portion of his countenance into mourning. "How do you spell

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

"We've writ much as four hundred advertisements, I do believe!" said Captain Jerry, "and there ain't one of

them fit to feed to a pig. Perez here, he's got such hifalutin' notions, that nothin' less than a circus bill '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 be all right; but no, it's got to have more fancy trimmin's than a Sunday bunnit.

"You'd have a whole lot of women answerin' that advertisement, now wouldn't you?" snorted Captain Perez

hotly. "'To do dishes for three men!' 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 you wouldn't git one. No, sir! The thing to do is to be sort of

softsoapy and hightoned. Let 'em think they're goin' to git a bargain when they git you. Make believe it's

"Well, 'tis," declared the sacrifice indignantly. "They might git a dumsight worse one."

"I cal'late that's so, Jerry," said Captain Eri. "Still, Perez ain't altogether 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 of soap and hot

Captain Perez gladly relinquished the writing materials, and Captain Eri, after two or three trials, by which he

"Wife WantedBy an exseafaring man of steady habbits. Must be willing to Work and Keep House

shipshape and aboveboard. No sea lawyers need apply. AddressSkipper, care the Nuptial Chime, Boston,

The line relating to sealawyers 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 was inclosed,

as was a letter to the editor of the matrimonial journal requesting 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

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

They received the tidings of the coming of Hazeltine with the interest due to such an event. Captain Eri gave

them a detailed account of his meeting with the new electrician, omitting, however, in consideration for the

feelings of Captain Perez, to mention the fact that it was the Bartlett boy who started that gentleman upon his

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

"Seemed to me like a pretty good feller," answered Captain Eri deliberately. "He didn't git mad at the joke the

gang played on him, for one thing. He ain't so smoothtongued as Parker used to be and he didn't treat Baxter

and me as if Cape Codders was a kind of animals, the way some of the summer folks do. He had the sense not

to offer to pay me for takin' him over to the station, and I liked that. Take it altogether, he seemed like a

"But say," he said a moment later, "I've got some more news and it ain't good news, either. Web Saunders has

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

The cod bit well next morning and Captain Eri did not get in from the Windward Ledge until afternoon. By

the way, it may be well to explain that Captain Jerry's remarks concerning "settlin' down" and "restin'," which

we chronicled in the first chapter must not be accepted too literally. While it is true that each of the trio had

given up long voyages, it is equally true that none had given up work entirely. Some people might not

consider it restful to rise at four every weekday morning and sail in a catboat twelve miles out to sea and haul

a wet cod line for hours, not to mention the sail home and the cleaning and barreling of the catch. Captain Eri

did that. Captain Perez was what he called "stevedore"that is, general caretaker during the owner's

absence, at Mr. Delancy Barry's summer estate on the "cliff road." As for Captain Jerry, he was janitor at the

The catch was heavy the next morning, as has been said, and by the time the last fish was split and iced and

the last barrel sent to the railway station it was almost supper time. Captain Eri had intended calling on

The Captain had bad luck in the "matching" that followed the meal, and it was nearly eight o'clock before he

finished washing dishes. This distasteful task being completed, he set out for the Baxter homestead.

The Captain's views on the liquor question were broader than those of many Orham citizens. He was an

abstainer, generally speaking, but his scruples were not as pronounced as those of Miss Abigail Mullett,

whose proudest boast was that she had refused brandy when the doctor prescribed it as the stimulant needed

to save her life. Over and over again has Miss Abigail told it in prayermeeting; how she "riz up" in her 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 license to a fellow like "Web" Saunders, but it

was the effect that this action of the State authorities might have upon his friend John Baxter that troubled

For fortyfive years John Baxter was called by Cape Cod people "as smart a skipper as ever trod a plank." He

saved money, built an attractive home for his wife and daughter, and would, in the ordinary course of events,

have retired to enjoy a comfortable old age. But his wife died shortly after the daughter's marriage to a

Boston man, and on a voyage to Manila, Baxter himself suffered from a sunstroke and a subsequent fever,

that left him a physical wreck and for a time threatened to unsettle his reason. He recovered a portion of his

health and the threatened insanity disappeared, except for a religious fanaticism that caused him to accept the

Bible literally and to interpret it accordingly. When his daughter and her husband were drowned in the

terrible City of Belfast disaster, it is an Orham tradition that John Baxter, dressed in gunnybags and sitting

on an ashheap, was found by his friends mourning in what he believed to be the Biblical "sackcloth and

ashes." His little baby granddaughter had been looked out for by some kind friends in Boston. Only Captain

Eri knew that John Baxter's yearly trip to Boston was made for the purpose of visiting the girl who was his

sole reminder of the things that might have been, but even the Captain did not know that the money that paid

her board and, as she grew older, for her gowns and schooling, came from the bigoted, stern old hermit,

In Orham, and in other sections of the Cape as well, there is a sect called by the ungodly, "The

ComeOuters." They were originally seceders from the Methodist churches who disapproved of modern

innovations. They "come out" once a week to meet at the houses of the members, and theirs are lively

meetings. John Baxter was a "ComeOuter," and ever since the enterprising Mr. Saunders opened his billiard

room, the old man's tirades of righteous wrath had been directed against this den of iniquity. Since it became

known that "Web" had made application for the license, it was a regular amusement for the unregenerate to

attend the gatherings of the "ComeOuters" and hear John Baxter call down fire from Heaven upon the

billiard room, its proprietor, and its patrons. Orham people had begun to say that John Baxter was

And John Baxter was Captain Eri's friend, a friendship that had begun in school when the declaimer of

Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech on Examination Day took a fancy to and refused to laugh at the

little chap who tremblingly ventured to assert that he loved "little Pussy, her coat is so warm." The two had

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 lived just across the road. "He's gone to

Mr. Barzilla Small lived in that part of the village called "down to the neck," and when the Captain arrived

there, he found the parlor filled with the devout, who were somewhat surprised to see him.

"Why, how do you do?" said Mrs. Small, resplendent in black "alpaca" and wearing her jet earrings. "I snum

if you ain't a stranger! We'll have a reel movin' meetin' tonight because Mr. Perley's here, and he says he

feels the sperrit aworkin'. Set right down there by the whatnot. Luther," to her oldest but three, "give Cap'n

"Aw, ma!" burst out the indignant Luther, "how d'yer think I'm goin' to set on that cricket? My laigs 'll be

"Shan't nuther, Lute Small!" declared Hartwell, a frecklefaced youngster, who was the next step downward

in the family stair of children. "Set on it yourself. Make him, ma, now! You said he'd have to."

"Be still, both of you! I sh'd think you'd be ashamed, with everybody here so! Oh, my soul and body!" turning

to the company, "if it ain't enough to try a saint! Sometimes seems's if I SHOULD give up. You be thankful,

Abigail," to Miss Mullett, who sat by the door, "that you ain't got nine in a family and nobody to help teach

'em manners. If Barzilla was like most men, he'd have some disCIPline in the house; but no, I have to do it

Mr. Small, thus publicly rebuked, rose from his seat in the corner by the melodeon and proclaimed in a voice

Even this aweinspiring command had little effect upon the reluctant Luther, but Captain Eri, who, smiling

and bowing right and left, had been working his passage to the other side of the room, announced that he was

all right and would "squeeze in on the sofy 'side of Cap'n Baxter." So there was peace once more, that is, as

much peace as half a dozen feminine tongues, all busy with different subjects, would allow.

"Why, Eri" whispered John Baxter, "I didn't expect to see you here. I'm glad, though; Lord knows every

Godfearin' man in this town has need to be on his knees this night. Have you heard about it?"

"Cap'n John means about the rumsellin' license that Web Saunders has got," volunteered Miss Melissa

Busteed, leaning over from her seat in the patent rocker that had been the premium earned by Mrs. Small for

selling 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 of it, 'Prissy,' s' I, 'there 'll be a jedgment on this town sure's you're a livin'

Well, when Miss Busteed talks, interruptions are futile, so Captain Eri sat silent, as the comments of at least

onetenth of the population of Orham were poured into his ears. The recitation was cut short by Mrs. Small's

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

The Reverend Mr. PerleyReverend by courtesy; he had never been ordainedstood up, cleared his throat

with vigor, rose an inch or two on the toes of a very squeaky pair of boots, sank to heel level again and

announced that everyone would join in singing, "Hymn number one hundred and ten, omitting the second and

fourth stanzas: hymn number one hundred and ten, second and fourth stanzas omitted." The melodeon,

tormented by Mrs. Lurania Bassett, shrieked and groaned, and the hymn was sung. So was another, and yet

another. Then Mr. Perley squeaked to his 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 "ComeOuters" up and down the Cape and taking part in their meetings. His

services at such gatherings paid for his food and lodging. He had been a vigorous horseshoer in the old days;

He spoke of the faithful few here gathered together. He spoke of the scoffing of those outside the pale and

hinted at the uncomfortable future that awaited them. He ran over the various denominations one by one, and

one by one showed them to be worshipers of idols and followers after strange gods. He sank hoarsely into the

bass and quavered up into falsetto and a chorus of "Amens!" and "Hallelujahs!" followed him.

"Oh, brothers and sisters!" he shouted, "here we are akneelin' at the altar's foot and what's goin' on outside?

Why, the Devil's got his clutches in our midst. The horn of the wicked is exalted. They're sellin'

rumRUMin this town! They're asellin' rum and drinkin' of it and gloryin' in their shame. But the Lord

ain't asleep! He's got his eye on 'em! He's watchin' 'em! And some of these fine days he'll send down fire 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 perspiration shining on his forehead, his eyes

gleaming like lamps under his rough white eyebrows, and his clenched fists pounding the back of the chair in

front of him. His hallelujahs were the last to cease. Captain Eri had to use some little force to pull him down

Then Mrs. Small struck up, "Oh, brother, have you heard?" and they sang it with enthusiasm. Next, Miss

Mullett told her story of the brandy and the defiance of the doctor. Nobody seemed much interested except a

nervous young man with sandy hair and a celluloid collar, who had come with Mr. Tobias Wixon and was

evidently a stranger. He had not heard it before and seemed somewhat puzzled when Miss Abigail repeated

There was more singing. Mrs. Small "testified." So did Barzilla, with many hesitations and false starts and an

air of relief when it was over. Then another hymn and more testimony, each speaker denouncing the billiard

He began by saying that the people of Orham had been slothful in the Lord's vineyard. They had allowed

"I tell you, brothers and sisters," he declaimed, leaning over the chair back and shaking a thin forefinger in

Mr. Perley's face, "God has given us a task to do and how have we done it? We've set still and let the Devil

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 the town than it ever has been afore. The Lord set us a watch to keep and we've slept on

watch. And now there's a trap set for every young man in this c'munity. Do you think that that hellhole

down yonder is goin' to shut up because we talk about it in meetin'? Do you think Web Saunders is goin' to

quit sellin' rum because we say he ought to? Do you think God's goin' to walk up to that door and nail it up

himself? No, sir! He don'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 chop with and fire to burn? I tell you, brothers, we've

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 a hushed silence for a moment or two, and then a storm of hallelujahs and

shouts. Mr. Perley started another hymn, and it was sung with tremendous enthusiasm.

Just behind the nervous young man with the celluloid collar sat a stout individual with a bald head. This was

Abijah Thompson, known by the irreverent as "Barking" Thompson, a nickname bestowed because of his

peculiar habit of gradually puffing up, like a frog, under religious excitement, and then bursting forth in an

inarticulate shout, disconcerting to the uninitiated. During Baxter's speech and the singing of the hymn his

expansive red cheeks had been distended like balloons, and his breath came shorter and shorter. Mr. Perley

had arisen and was holding up his hand for silence, when with one terrific "Boo!" "Barking" Thompson's

The young man shot out of his chair as if Mr. Thompson had fired a dynamite charge beneath him. "Oh, the

Somehow this interruption took the spirit out of the meeting. Giggles from 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. The nervous young man was the first

Captain Eri got his friend out of the clutches of the "ComeOuters" as quickly as possible, and piloted him

down the road toward his home. John Baxter was silent and absentminded, and most of the Captain's

cheerful remarks concerning Orham affairs in general went unanswered. As they turned in at the gate the

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

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

"Guess the fust thing would be to make sure 'twas the Almighty that was callin'. I don't want to say nothin' to

hurt your feelin's, but I should advise the feller that thought that he had that kind of a call to 'beware of

"Now, John Baxter, you listen. You and me have been sailin' together, as you might say, for forty odd years. I

ain't a religious man 'cordin' to your way of thinkin', but I've generally found that the Lord runs things most

as well as us folks could run 'em. When there's a leak at one end of the schooner it don't pay to bore a hole at

the other end to let the water out. Don't you worry no more about Web Saunders and that billiard saloon. The

s'lectmen 'll attend to them afore very long. Why don't you go up to Boston for a couple of weeks? 'Twill do

"Do you think so, Eri? Well, maybe 'twouldmaybe 'twould. Sometimes I feel as if my head was kind of

"Perez," said Captain Eri, next day, "seems to me some kinds of religion is like whisky, mighty bad for a

Something over a fortnight went by and the three captains had received no answers from the advertisement in

the Nuptial Chime. The suspense affected each of them in a different manner. Captain Jerry was nervous and

apprehensive. He said nothing, and asked no questions, but it was noticeable 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 and nothing more

important than the Cape Cod Item and a patentmedicine circular came to hand, a look that a suspicious

Captain Perez, on the contrary, grew more and more disgusted with the delay. 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 of the

Chime. He was disposed to lay the blame upon Captain Eri's advertisement, and hinted that the latter was not

Captain Eri, alone of the trio, got any amusement out of the situation. He pretended to see in Captain Jerry an

impatient bridegroom and administered comfort in large doses by suggesting that, in all probability, there had

been so many replies that it had been found necessary to charter a freightcar to bring them down.

"Cheer up, Jerry!" he said. "It's tough on you, I know, but think of all them poor sufferin' females that's settin'

up nights and worryin' for fear they won't be picked out. Why, say, when you make your ch'ice you'll have to

let the rest know right off; 'twould be cruelty to animals not to. You ought to put 'em out of their misery

The first batch of answers from the Chime came by an evening mail. Captain Eri happened to beat the

postoffice that night and brought them home himself. They filled three of his pockets to overflowing, and he

dumped them by handfuls on the dining table, under the nose of the pallid Jerry.

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

There were twentysix letters altogether. It was surprising how many women were willing, even anxious, to

ally themselves with "an exseafaring man of steady habbits." But most of the applicants were of

unsatisfactory types. As Captain Perez expressed it, "There's too many of them everlastin' 'blondes' and

There was one note, however, that even Captain Eri was disposed to consider seriously. It was postmarked

"Sir: I saw your advertisements in the paper and think perhaps you might suit me. Please answer these

questions by return mail. What is your religious belief? Do you drink liquor? Are you a profane man? If you

want to, you might send me your real name and a photograph. If I think you will suit maybe we might sign

"What I like about that is the shipshape way she puts it," commented Captain Perez. "She don't say that she

"She's mighty handy about takin' hold and bossin' things; there ain't no doubt of that," said Captain Eri.

"Notice it's us that's got to suit her, not her us. I kind of like that 'signin' articles,' too. You bet she's been

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

'Tain't likely," sniffed Captain Jerry. "There's more Snows in Nantucket than you can shake a stick at. You

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

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

"Now, that's jest like you, Jerry Burgess!" exclaimed Perez disgustedly. "Want to put off and put off and put

"I don't b'lieve myself you'd do much better, Jerry," said Captain Eri seriously. "I like that letter somehow.

"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

"Aw, shut up! You fellers are enough to make a minister swear. _I_ don't care what you do. Go ahead and

write to her if you want to, only I give you fair warnin', I ain't goin' to have her if she don't suit. I ain't goin' to

Between them, and with much diplomacy, they soothed the indignant candidate for matrimony until he

agreed to sign his name to a letter to the Nantucket lady. Then Captain Perez said:

He rummaged it out of his chest and displayed it rather proudly. It showed him as a short, sandyhaired

youth, whose sunburned face beamed from the depths of an enormous choker, and whose head was crowned

"Do! 'Twill HAVE to do, seein' it's all he's got," said Captain Eri. "Good land!" he chuckled; "look at that hat!

But Captain Jerry was oblivious to sarcasm just then. He was gazing at the daguerreotype in a sentimental

sort of way, blowing the dust from the glass, and tilting it up and down so as to bring it to the most effective

"I swan!" he mused, "I don't know when I've looked at that afore. I remember when I bought that hat, jest as

well. Took care of it and brushed itmy! my! I don't know but it's somewheres around now. I thought I was

"Ho, ho! Perez," roared Captain Eri; "Jerry's fallin' in love with his own picture. Awful thing for one so

"I ain't such a turrible sight older 'n you be, Eri Hedge," sputtered the prospective bridegroom with righteous

indignation. Then he added in a rather crestfallen tone, "But I am a heap older 'n I was when I had that

daguerreotype took. See here; if I send that Nantucket woman this picture won't she notice the difference

"What if she does?" broke in Captain Perez. "You can tell her how 'twas. Talk her over. A feller that's been

Captain Jerry didn't appear sanguine concerning his ability to "talk her over," but his fellowconspirators

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 his avowed adherence to the Baptist creed and

"I hope she'll hurry up and answer," said the impatient Captain Perez. "I want to get this thing settled one way

Captain Eri had seen John Baxter several times since the evening of the "ComeOuters'" meeting. The old

man was calmer apparently, and was disposed to take the billiardsaloon matter less seriously, particularly as

it was reported that the town selectmen were to hold a special meeting to consider the question of allowing

Mr. Saunders to continue in business. The lastnamed gentleman had given what he was pleased to call a

"blowout" to his regular patrons in celebration of the granting of the license, and "Squealer" Wixon and one

or two more spent a dreary day and night in the town lockup in consequence. Baxter told the Captain that he

had not yet made up his mind concerning the proposed Boston trip, but he thought "more 'n likely" he should

Captain Eri was obliged to be content with this assurance, but he determined to keep a close watch on his

He had met Ralph Hazeltine once or twice since the latter's arrival in Orham, and, in response to questions as

to how he was getting on at the station, the new electrician invariably responded, "First rate." Gossip,

however, in the person of Miss Busteed, reported that the operators were doing their best to keep Mr.

Hazeltine's lot from being altogether a bed of roses, and there were dark hints of something more to come.

On the morning following the receipt of the letter from the Nantucket lady, Captain Eri was busy at his fish

shanty, putting his lines in order and sewing a patch on the mainsail of his catboat. These necessary repairs

had prevented his taking the usual trip to the fishing grounds. Looking up from his work, he saw, through the

open door, Ralph Hazeltine just stepping out of the cablestation skiff. He tucked his sail needle into the

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

"Tiptop. Long 's the wind stays westerly and there ain't no Sundayschool picnics on, we don't squabble

with the weather folks. The only thing that 'll fetch a squall with a westerly wind is a Sundayschool picnic.

"Pretty busy just now. The cable parted day before yesterday, and I've been getting things ready for the repair

"You don't say! Cable broke, hey? Now it's a queer thing, but I've never been inside that station since 'twas

built. Too handy, I guess. I've got a second cousin up in Charlestown, lived there all his life, and he's never

been up in Bunker Hill monument yit. Fust time I landed in Boston I dug for that monument, and I can tell

you how many steps there is in it to this day. If that cable station was fifty mile off I'd have been through it

two weeks after it started up, but bein' jest over there, I ain'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

"Well, now, that's kind of you. I cal'late I will. You might sing out as you go past. I've got a ha'fhour job on

The cable station at Orham is a low whitewashed building with many windows. The vegetation about it is

limited exclusively to "beach grass" and an occasional wildplum bush. The nearest building which may be

reached without a boat is the lifesaving station, two miles below. The outer beach changes its shape every

winter. The gales tear great holes in its sides, and then, as if in recompense, throw up new shoals and build

new promontories. From the cable station doorway in fair weather may be counted the sails of over one

hundred vessels going and coming between Boston and New York. They come and go, and, alas! sometimes

stop by the way. Then the lifesaving crews are busy and the Boston newspapers report another wreck. All

up and down the outer beach are the sunwhitened bones of schooners and ships; and all about them, and

partially covering them, is sand, sand, sand, as white and much coarser than granulated sugar.

Hazeltine's postoffice trip and other errands had taken much more time than he anticipated, and more than

two hours had gone by before he called for Captain Eri. During the row to the beach the electrician explained

to the Captain the processes by which a break in the cable is located and repaired.

"You see," he said, "as soon as the line breaks we set about finding where it is broken. To do this we use an

instrument called the Wheatstone bridge. In this case the break is about six hundred miles from the American

shore. The next thing is to get at the company's repair ship. She lies, usually, at Halifax when she isn't busy,

and that is where she was this time. We wired her and she left for the spot immediately. It was up to me to get

ready the testing apparatuswe generally set up special instruments for testing. Judging by the distance, the

ship should have been over the break early this morning. She will grapple for the broken cable ends, and as

"Like takin' wormwood teaeasy enough if you've been brought up that way. I think I'd make more money

Ralph laughed. "Well, it really is a very simple matter," he said. "The only thing we have to be sure of is that

our end of the line is ready by the time the ship reaches the break. If the weather is bad the ship can't work,

and so, when she does work, she works quick. I had my instruments in condition yesterday, so we're all right

"Dismallooking place, isn't it?" said Hazeltine, as he opened the back door of the station.

"Well, I don't know; it has its good p'ints," replied his companion. "Your neighbors' hens don't scratch up

The captain noticed with interest the recorder, with its two brass supports and the little glass tube, half filled

with ink, that, when the cable was working, wrote the messages upon the paper tape traveling beneath it.

"Fully as delicate in its way. Do you see this little screw on the centerpiece? Turn that a little, one way or the

other, and the operator on the other side might send until doomsday, we wouldn't know it. I'll show you the

Just then the door at the other end of the room opened, and a man, whom Captain Eri recognized as one of the

operators, came in. He started when he saw Hazeltine and turned to go out again. Ralph spoke to him:

The impudence and thinly veiled hostility in the man's tone were unmistakable. Hazeltine hesitated, seemed

"I'll show you the laboratory later on," he said. "We'll go up to the testing room now." Then he added,

apparently as much to himself as to his 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. As they passed through, Captain Eri

noticed that Peters had followed them into the hall and stood there, looking up.

The upper hall had a straw matting on the floor. There was another door at the end of the passage, and this

was ajar. Toward it the electrician walked rapidly. From the room behind the door came a shout of laughter;

"Better give it another turn, hadn't I, to make sure? If two turns fixes it so we don't hear for a couple of hours,

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

Captain Eri, close at the electrician's heels, saw a long room, empty save for a few chairs and a table in the

center. Upon this table stood the testing instruments, exactly like those in the receiving room downstairs.

Three men lounged in the chairs, and standing beside the table, with his fingers upon the regulating screw at

the centerpiece of the recorder, was another, a big fellow, with a round, smoothshaven face.

The men in the chairs sprang to their feet as Hazeltine came in. The face of the individual by the table turned

white and his fingers fell from the regulating screw, as though the latter were red hot. The Captain recognized

the men; they were day operators whom he had met in the village many times. Incidentally, they were

avowed friends of the former electrician, Parker. The name of the taller one was McLoughlin.

No one spoke. Ralph strode quickly to the table, pushed McLoughlin to one side and stooped over the

instruments. When he straightened up, Captain Eri noticed that his face also was white, but evidently not

from fear. He turned sharply and looked at the four operators, who were doing their best to appear at ease and

not succeeding. The electrician looked them over, one by one. Then he gave a short laugh.

He began slowly to turn the regulating screw on the recorder. He had given it but a few revolutions when the

point of the little glass siphon, that had been tracing a straight black line on the sliding tape, moved up and

The man addressed seated himself at the table, turned a switch, and clicked off a message. After a moment

the line on the moving tape zigzagged again. Ralph glanced at the zigzags and bit his lip.

"Apologize to them," he said to Palmer. "Tell them we regret exceedingly that the ship should have been kept

The operator cabled the message. The three men at the end of the room glanced at each other; this evidently

Mr. Langley, the superintendent of the station, had been in the company's employ for years. He had been in

charge of the Cape Cod station 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, would forgive a man's getting drunk occasionally, sooner than

condone carelessness. He was eccentric, but even those who did not like him acknowledged that he was

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

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

"Everything all right, Mr. Hazeltine?" he asked. "Hello! What does this mean? They say they have been

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

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

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

"Mr. Hazeltine," he said at length, "I will hear what explanations you may have to make in my office later on.

Captain Eri silently followed his young friend to the back door of the station. Hazeltine had seen fit to make

no comment on the scene just described, and the captain did not feel like offering any. They were standing on

the steps when the big operator, McLoughlin, came out of the building behind them.

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

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

"If you mean that I'll tell Mr. Langley of your cowardly trick and have you dischargedNo! I don't pay my

debts that way. But I'll tell you this,you and your sneaking friends. If you try another game like that,yes,

or if you so much as speak to me, other than on business while I'm here, I WILL fire youout of the

"Mr. Hazeltine," said Captain Eri a few moments later, "I hope you don't mind my sayin' that I like you

fustrate. Me and Perez and Jerry ain't the biggest bugs in town, but we like to have our friends come and see

"I certainly will," said the young man, and the two shook hands. That vigorous handshake was enough of

itself to convince Ralph Hazeltine that he had made, at any rate, one friend in Orham.

And we may as well add here that he had made two. For that evening Jack McLoughlin said to his fellow

"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' games played on that kid while I'm aroundParker or no Parker. He's white,

Conversation among the captains was, for the next two days, confined to two topics, speculation as to how

soon they might expect a reply from the Nantucket female and whether or not Mr. Langley would discharge

"He won't be bounced," said the Captain; "now you just put that down in your log. Langley ain't a fool, and

he can put two and two together as well as the next feller. If I thought there was any need of it, I'd just drop

him a hint myself, but there ain't, so I shan't put my oar in. But I wish you two could have heard that

youngster talk to that McLoughlin critter; 'twould have done you good. That boy's all right."

Captain Jerry was alone when the expected letter came. He glanced at the postmark, saw that it was

Nantucket, and stuck the note behind the clock. He did his best to forget it, but he looked so guilty when

Captain Perez returned at supper time that that individual suspected something, made his friend confess, and,

a little later when Captain Eri came in, the envelope, bearing many thumbprints, was propped up against the

"We didn't open it, Eri," said Perez proudly. "We did want to, but we thought all hands ought to be on deck

"He's been holdin' it up to the light for the last ha'f hour," sneered Captain Jerry. "Anybody 'd think it had a

Captain Eri picked up the letter, looked it over very deliberately, and then tore off the end of the envelope.

The inclosure was another sheet of note paper like the first epistle. The Captain took out his spectacles, wiped

"Sir: I like your looks well enough, though it don't pay to put too much dependence in looks, as nobody

knows better than me. Besides, I judge that picture was took quite a spell ago. Anyway, you look honest, and

I am willing to risk money enough to carry me to Orham and back, though the dear land knows I ain't got

none to throw away. If we don't agree to sign articles, I suppose likely you will be willing to stand half the

fare. That ain't any more than right, the way I look at it. I shall come to Orham on the afternoon train,

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

Nobody spoke for a moment after the reading of this intensely practical note. Captain Eri whistled softly,

scratched his head, and then read the letter over again to himself. At length Captain Perez broke the spell.

"Is THAT all you've got to say?" he inquired with sarcasm, "after gittin' me into a scrape like this? Well now,

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

"Ain't no harm done? Why how you talk, Eri Hedge! Here's a woman that I ain't never seen, and might be a

hundred years old, for all I know, comin' down here tomorrow night to marry me by main force, as you

"Now, hold on, hold on, Jerry! She ain't goin' to marry you unless you want her to, 'tain't likely. More I think

of it, the more I like the woman'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 and talk the thing over, and I glory in her spunk."

"Wants me to pay her fare! I see myself doin' it! I've got ways enough to spend my money without paying

"If you and she sign articles, as she calls it, you'll have to pay more than fares," said Captain Perez, in a

matteroffact tone. "I think same as Eri does; she's a smart woman. We'll have to meet her at the depot, of

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

"Now, see here, Jerry," said Captain Eri, "you was jest as anxious to have one of us get married as anybody

else. You haven't got to marry the woman unless you want to, but you have got to help us see the thing

through. I wish myself that we hadn't been quite so pesky anxious to give her the latitude and longitude, and

had took some sort of an observation ourselves; but we didn't, and now we've got to treat her decent. You'll

When Captain Eri spoke in that tone his two cronies usually obeyed orders. Even the rebellious Jerry, who

They sat up until late, speculating concerning the probable age and appearance of the expected visitor.

Captain Perez announced that he didn't know why it was, but he had a notion that she was about forty and

slim. Captain Jerry, who was in a frame of mind where agreement with anyone was out of the question, gave

it as his opinion that she was thirty odd and rather plump. Captain Eri didn't hazard a guess, but suggested

But even Captain Eri's calmness was more or less assumed, for he did not go fishing the next morning, but

stayed about the house, whittling at the model of a clipper ship and tormenting Captain Jerry. The model was

one that he had been at work upon at odd times ever since he gave up seagoing. It had never been completed

for the very good reason that when one part was finished the Captain tore another part to pieces, and began

over again. It was a sort of barometer of his feelings, and when his companions saw him take down the

clipper and go to work, they knew he was either thinking deeply upon a perplexing problem or was troubled

Captain Perez sang a good deal, principally confining his musical efforts to a ballad with a chorus of,

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

Captain Jerry went up to the schoolhouse and gave its vacant rooms a thorough sweeping for no particular

reason except to be doing something. His appetite was poor, and he actually forgot to feed Lorenzo, a hitherto

unheardof slight, and one that brought down upon him a long lecture from Captain Eri, who vowed that loss

They started for the railway station immediately after supper. As they passed John Baxter's house they

noticed a light in an upper chamber, and wondered if the old man was ill. Captain Eri would have stopped to

find out, but Captain Perez insisted that it could be done just as well when they came back, and expressed a

fear that they might miss the train. Captain Jerry hadn't spoken since they left home, and walked gloomily

Mr. "Web" Saunders, fat and in his pinkstriped shirtsleeves, sat upon the steps of his saloon as they went by.

He wished them an unctuous goodevening. The oily smoothness of Mr. Saunders' voice cannot be described

with plain pen and ink; it gurgled with sweetness, like molasses poured from a jug. This was not a special

tone put on for the occasion; 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 the cranberry 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'm always suspicious of a catman. You know he's got claws, but you can't tell

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 time or another."

The train was nearly an hour late this evening, owing to a hot box, and the "exseafaring man" and his two

friends peered anxiously out at it from around the corner of the station. The one coach stopped directly under

the lights, and they could see the passengers as they came down the steps. Two or three got out, but these

were men. Then came an apparition that caused Captain Jerry to gasp and clutch at Perez for support.

Down the steps of the car came a tall, coalblack negress, and in her hand was a canvas extension case, on

the side of which was blazoned in twoinch letters the fateful name, "M. B. Snow, Nantucket."

Captain Eri gazed at this astounding spectacle for a full thirty seconds. 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 halfway to the fence, and going at a rate which bid

fair to establish a record for his age. The others fell into his wake, and the procession moved across country

They climbed over stone walls and splashed into meadows. They took every short cut between the station and

their home. As they came in sight of the latter, Captain Perez' breath gave out almost entirely.

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

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

"I shan't do it, Eri!" he vowed wildly. "I shan't do it! There ain't no use askin' me; I won't marry that black

"There! there! Jerry!" said Captain Eri soothingly. "Nobody wants you to. There ain't no danger now. She

"Ain't no danger! There you go again, Eri Hedge! She'll ask where I live and come right down in the depot

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

"I'll tell you what," he said, "we'll scoot for Eldredge's shanty and hide there till she gits tired and goes away.

The deserted fish shanty, property of the heirs of the late Nathaniel Eldredge, was situated in a hollow close

to the house. In a few moments the three were inside, with a sawhorse against the door. Then Captain Eri

pantingly sat down on an overturned bucket and laughed until the tears came into his eyes.

"That's it, laff!" almost sobbed Captain Jerry. "Set there and teehee like a Bedlamite. It's what you might

expect. Wait till the rest of the town finds out about this; they'll do the laffin' then, and you won't feel so

funny. We'll never hear the last of it in this world. If that darky comes down here, I'llI'll drown her; I

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

They heard the rattle of a heavy carriage, and, crowding together at the cobwebbed window, saw the black

shape of the "depot wagon" rock past. They waited, breathless, until they saw it go back again up the road.

It was a rather senseless question. Nobody locks doors in Orham except at 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 to do but to stay here for a while, and then, if she ain't gone, one of us '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

"Me!" almost shouted the frantic Captain Jerry. "You go to grass! You fellers got me into this scrape, and

They sat there in darkness, the silence unbroken, save for an occasional chuckle from the provoking Eri.

"That colored man up at Barry's place was named White," said Captain Jerry, "and he was black as your hat.

"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 minutes crept slowly by. After a long while

"It's a man," he said disappointedly. "He's been to our house, too. My land! I hope he didn't go in. It's that

Before he could be stopped he had pulled the sawhorse from the door, had opened the latter a little way,

The electrician looked up and down the dark road in a puzzled sort of way, but evidently could not make up

"Mr. Hazeltine!" hailed the Captain, in what might be called a whispered yell or a shouted whisper. "Mr.

The word "shanty" was the only part of the speech that brought light to Ralph's mind, but that was sufficient;

he came down the hill, left the road, and plunged through the blackberry vines to the door.

Captain Eri signaled him to silence, and then, catching his arm, pulled him into the shanty and shut the door.

"Mr. Hazeltine," said Captain Eri, "let me make you acquainted with Cap'n Perez and Cap'n Jerry, shipmates

Ralph, in the darkness, shook two big hands and heard whispered voices express themselves as glad to know

"You see," continued Eri in a somewhat embarrassed fashion, "we're sort of layin' to, as yer might say, waitin'

to git our bearin's. We ain't out of our heads; I tell you that, 'cause I know that's what it looks like."

The bewildered Hazeltine laughed and said he was glad to hear it. To tell the truth, he had begun to think that

"III 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 sound so pesky ridic'lous, although it ain't, when you understand it. What we want to

"Why, yes, I've been there. I rowed over and dropped in for a minute, as you suggested the other day. The

housekeeperI suppose it was the housekeeperthat opened the door, said you were out, and I"

"I knew it!" wailed Captain Jerry. "I knew it! And you said there wa'n't no 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 look as if she was gettin' ready to go out? Did she have her bunnit

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's goin' to stay there and wait, if it's forever. She's got too good a thing. Jest as

like 's not, M'lissy Busteed, or some other gab machine like her, 'll be the next one to call, and if they see that

"Black!" said Ralph amazedly. "Why, the woman at your house isn't black. She's as white as I am, and not

The Captain wiped his forehead. "Mr. Hazeltine," he said, "if anybody had told me a fortn't ago that I was one

of the three biggest fools in Orham, I'd have prob'ly rared up some. As 'tis now, I cal'late I'd thank him for

lettin' me off so easy. You'll have to excuse us tonight, I'm afraid. We're in a ridic'lous scrape that we've got

to git out of all alone. I'll tell you 'bout it some day. Jest now wish you'd keep this kind of quiet to oblige me."

Hazeltine saw that this was meant as a gentle hint for his immediate departure, and although he had a fair

share of curiosity, felt there was nothing else to do. He promised secrecy, promised faithfully to call again

later in the week, and then, the sawhorse having been removed by Captain Perez,Captain Jerry was

apparently suffering from a sort of dazed paralysis,he went away. As soon as he had gone, Captain Eri

"Now then," he said, "there's been some sort of a mistake; that's plain enough. More 'n likely, the darky took

the wrong satchel when she got up to come out of the car. That woman at the house is the real Marthy Snow

But Captain Jerry mutinied outright. He declared that the sight of that darky had sickened him of marrying

forever, and that he would not see the candidate from Nantucket, nor any other candidate. No persuasion

could budge him. He simply would not stir from that shanty until the house had been cleared of female

"All right," said Captain Eri calmly. "I will. I'll tell her you're bashful, but jest dyin' to be married, and that

"Hold on, Eri!" shouted the frantic Jerry. "Don't you do it! Don't you tell her that! Land of love, Perez, do you

"I don't know," was the answer in a disgusted tone. "You hadn't ought to have been so pigheaded, Jerry."

Captain Eri, with set teeth and determination written on his face, walked straight to the diningroom door.

Drawing a long breath, he opened it and stepped inside. A woman, who had been sitting in Captain Perez'

The woman looked at the Captain and the Captain looked at her. She was of middle age, inclined to stoutness,

with a pair of keen eyes behind brassrimmed spectacles, and was dressed in a black "alpaca" gown that was

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

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

"I feel as if I knew you, Cap'n Hedge," said the widow, as the Captain slid into his own rocker. "The boy on

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

"Well, he didn't say nothin' against you, if that's what you mean. If he had, I don't think it would have made

much diff'rence. I've lived long enough to want to find out things for myself, and not take folks' sayso."

The lady seeming to expect some sort of answer to this statement, Captain Eri expressed his opinion that the

plan of finding out things for 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 this point, he endeavored to think of something else to

"Cap'n Hedge," she said, "as I'm here on what you might call a bus'ness errand, and as I've been waitin' pretty

nigh two hours already, p'raps we'd better talk about somethin' besides fine evenin's. I've got to be lookin' up

a hotel or boardin' house or somewheres to stay tonight, and I 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'n Burgess is, and why

This was a leading question, and the Captain was more embarrassed than ever. However, he felt that

something had to be done and that it was wisest to get it over with as soon as possible.

"Well, ma'am," he said, "wewe got your letter all right, and, to tell you the truth, we was at the

"You WAS! Well, then, for the land of goodness, why didn't you let me know it? Such a time as I had tryin'

The Captain saw but one plausible explanation, and that was the plain truth. Slowly he told the story of the

colored woman and the extension case. The widow laughed until her spectacles fell off.

"Well, there!" she exclaimed. "If that don't beat all! I don't blame Cap'n Burgess a mite. Poor thing! I guess

I'd have run, too, if I'd have seen that darky. She was settin' right in the next seat to me, and she had a

shutover bag consid'rable like mine, and when she got up to git out, she took mine by mistake. I was a good

deal put out about it, and I expect I talked to her like a Dutch uncle when I caught up with her. Dear! dear!

"He's shut up in a fish shanty down the road, and he's so upsot that I dunno's he'll stir from there tonight. Jerry

And then they both laughed, the widow because of the ludicrous nature of the affair and the Captain because

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, I ain't in the habit of answerin' advertisements from folks that wants to 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'n Burgess, not by no means. I wanted to see him and talk with him, and tell him jest all about how

things was with me and find out about him and thenwhy, if everything was shipshape, I might, p'raps,

"Jest so, ma'am, jest so," broke in her companion. "That's about the way we felt. You see, there's prob'ly a

long story on both sides, and if you'll excuse me I'll go down to the shanty and see if I can't git Jerry up here.

"No, you shan't either. I'll tell you what we'll do. It's awful late now and I must be gittin' up to the tavern.

S'pose, if 'tain't too much trouble, you walk up there with me and I'll stay there tonight and tomorrer I'll

come down here, and we'll all have a commonsense talk. P'raps by that time your friend 'll have the darky

Needless to say Captain Eri agreed to this plan with alacrity. The widow carefully tied on a black,

oldfashioned bonnet, picked up a fat, woodenhandled umbrella and the extension case, and said that she

They walked up the road together, the Captain carrying the extension case. They talked, but not of

matrimonial prospects. Mrs. Snow knew almost as much about the sea and the goings and comings thereon as

did her escort, and the conversation was salty in the extreme. It developed that the Nantucket lady had a

distant relative who was in the lifesaving service at Cuttyhunk station, and as the Captain knew every

station man for twenty miles up and down the coast, wrecks and maritime disasters of all kinds were

At the Traveler's Rest Mrs. Snow was introduced by the unblushing Eri as a cousin from Provincetown, and,

after some controversy concerning the price of board and lodging, she was shown up to her room. Captain Eri

walked home, absorbed in meditation. Whatever his thoughts were they were not disagreeable, for he smiled

and shook his head more than once, as if with satisfaction. As he passed John Baxter's house he noticed that

Captain Perez was half asleep when Eri opened the door of the shanty. Captain Jerry, however, was very

much awake and demanded to be told things right away. His friend briefly explained the situation.

"I don't care if she stays here till doomsday," emphatically declared the disgruntled one, "I shan't marry her.

"She's a mighty good woman; that's what I think she is, and she'd make a fustclass wife for any man. I hope

you'll say so, too, when you see her. There ain't nothin' hitytity about her, but she's got more commonsense

than any woman I ever saw. But there! I shan't talk another bit about her tonight. Come on home and turn

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

Captain Eri grunted and rolled over in his bed; for a moment or two he fancied himself back in the fo'castle of

the Sea Mist, the bark in which he had made his first voyage. Then, as he grew wider awake, he heard,

Captain Eri sat up. That voice was no part of a dream. It belonged to Captain Jerry, and the tone of it meant

"Fire! There's a big fire up in the village. Look out of the window, and you can see. They're ringing the

The Captain, wide awake enough by this time, jumped out of bed, carrying the blankets with him, and ran to

the window. Opening it, he thrust out his head. The wind had changed to the eastward, and a thick fog had

come in with it. The house was surrounded by a wet, black wall, but off to the west a red glow shone through

it, now brighter and now fainter. The schoolhouse bell was turning somersaults in its excitement.

Only once, since Captain Jerry had been janitor, had the schoolhouse bell been rung except in the

performance of its regular duties. That once was on a night before the Fourth of July, when some

mischievous youngsters climbed in at a window and proclaimed to sleeping Orham that Young 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 was strictly for show, and

the horsewhip for use, but neither was called into service, for even if some daredevil spirits did venture near

the building, the Captain's snores, as he slumbered by the front door, were danger signals that could not be

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 only hope for life, and the bell swung back and forth without a pause. The red

"Somewhere's nigh the postoffice. Looks 's if it might be Weeks's store. Where's Perez?"

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

Captain Eri jumped into his trousers, slipped into a faded pea jacket and clattered downstairs, followed by

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

Captain Perez paused in the vain attempt to make Captain Jerry's hat cover his own cranium and replied

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

Perez glanced down at his blueyarn extremities in blank astonishment. "Well, now," he exclaimed, "if I

The excited Perez vanished through the door of his chamber, and Captain Eri glanced at the chronometer; the

They hurried out of the door and through the yard. The wind, as has been said, was from the east, but there

was little of it and, except for the clanging of the bell, the night was very still. The fog was heavy and wet,

and the trees and bushes dripped as if from a shower. There was the salt smell of the marshes in the air, and

the hissing and splashing of the surf on the outer beach were plainly to be heard. Also there was the clicking

"Somebody is comin' over from the station," gasped Captain Jerry. "Don't run so, Eri. It's too dark. I've pretty

They passed the lily pond, where the frogs had long since adjourned their concert and gone to bed, dodged

through the yard of the tightly shuttered summer hotel, and came out at the corner of the road, having saved

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

Captain Eri paused and looked over to the left in the direction of the Baxter homestead. The light in the

They turned into the "main road" at a dog trot and became part of a crowd of oddly dressed people, all

"Web's place, ain't it?" asked Eri of Seth Wingate, who was lumbering along with a wooden bucket in one

"Yes," breathlessly answered Mr. Wingate, "and it's a goner, they tell me. Every man's got to do his part if

they're going to save it. I allers said we ought to have a fire department in this town."

Considering that Seth had, for the past eight years, persistently opposed in townmeeting any attempt to

purchase a hand engine, this was a rather surprising speech, but no one paid any attention to it then.

The fire was in the billiard saloon sure enough, and the back portion of the building was in a blaze when they

reached it. Ladders were placed against the eaves, and a line of men with buckets were pouring water on the

roof. The line extended to the town pump, where two energetic youths in their shirtsleeves were working the

handle with might and main. The houses near at hand were brilliantly illuminated, and men and women were

bringing water from them in buckets, tin pails, washboilers, and even coalscuttles.

Inside the saloon another hustling crowd was busily working to "save" Mr. Saunders' property. A dozen of

the members had turned the biggest pool table over on its back and were unscrewing the legs, heedless of the

fact that to attempt to get the table through the front door was an impossibility and that, as the back door was

in the thickest of the fire, it, too, was out of the question. A man appeared at the open front window of the

second story with his arms filled with bottles of various liquids, "original packages" and others. These, with

feverish energy, he threw one by one into the street, endangering the lives of everyone in range and, of

course, breaking every bottle thrown. Some one of the cooler heads calling his attention to these facts, he

retired and carefully packed all the empty bottles, the only ones remaining, into a peach basket and tugged the

latter downstairs and to a safe place on a neighboring piazza. Then he rested from his labors as one who had

Mr. Saunders himself, lightly attired in a nightshirt tucked into a pair of trousers, was rushing here and there,

now loudly demanding more water, and then stopping to swear at the bottlethrower or some other

enthusiast. "Web's" smoothness was all gone, and the language he used was, as Abigail Mullett said

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

"How'd it START? I know mighty well HOW it started, and 'fore I git through I'll know WHO started it.

He tore frantically away to the pump and the three captains joined the crowd of volunteer firemen. Captain

Eri, running round to the back of the building, took in the situation at once. Back of the main portion of the

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 front was only just beginning to burn. The Captain climbed one of the ladders to the roof

"That shed's gone, Ben," he said. "Chuck your water on the main part here. Maybe, if we had some ropes we

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

"Git some grapples and anchors out of Rogers' shop. He's got a whole lot of 'em. Keep on with the water

He descended the ladder and explained his idea to the crowd below. There was 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'

blacksmith shop. Rogers was the local dealer in anchors and other marine ironwork. The door of the shop was

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 remained unconvinced.

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

"I give you fair warnin', Squealer Wixon! If you chop that door, I'll have the law onto you. I just had that door

It was plain that the majority were still in favor of chopping, as affording a better outlet for surplus energy,

but they waited while Mr. Rogers, still protesting, produced the key and unlocked the door. In another minute

the greater portion of the ironwork in the establishment was on its way to the fire.

The ropeseekers were just returning, laden with everything from clotheslines to cables. Half a dozen boat

anchors and a grapnel were fastened to as many ropes, and the crowd pranced gayly about the burning ell,

looking for a chance to make them fast. Captain Eri found a party with axes endeavoring to cut a hole through

the side of the saloon in order to get out the pool table. After some endeavor he persuaded them to desist and

they came around to the rear and, taking turns, ran in close to the shed and chopped at it until the fire drove

them away. At last they made a hole close to where it joined the main building, large enough to attach the

grapnel. Then, with a "Yo heave ho!" everyone took hold of the rope and pulled. Of course the grapnel pulled

out with only a board or two, but they tried again, and, this time getting it around a beam, pulled a large

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 the saloon, tottered, and collapsed in a shower of sparks. A deluge of

water soon extinguished these. Then everyone turned to the main building, and, as the fire had not yet taken a

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 saw the blaze. He found Captain Jerry and Captain Perez perspiringly passing

buckets of water from hand to hand in the line, and, calling them to one side, asked anxiously:

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

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

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. He might be 'most anywheres else, and we wouldn't see him. Want me to ask

"No!" exclaimed his friend, almost fiercely. "Don't you mention his name to a soul, nor let 'em know you've

thought of him. If anybody should ask, tell 'em you guess he's right around somewheres. You two git to work

The pair took up their buckets, and the Captain walked on from group to group, looking carefully at each

person. The Reverend Perley and some of his flock were standing by themselves on a neighboring stoop, and

"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 it awful! But it's the Lord's doin's; I'm jest as sure of that as I can be, and I says so

"No," lied the Captain calmly, "jest walkin' around to git cooled off a little. Goodnight."

There was the most likely place, and John Baxter was not there. Certainly every citizen in Orham, who was

able to crawl, would be out this night, and if the old puritan hermit of the big house was not present to exult

over the downfall of the wicked, it would be because he was ill or because The Captain didn't like to think

Mrs. "Web" Saunders, quietly weeping, was seated on a knoll near the pump. Three of the Saunders'

hopefuls, also weeping, but not quietly, were seated beside her. Another, the youngest of the family, was

being rocked soothingly in the arms of a stout female, who was singing to it as placidly as though fires were

an every day, or night, occurrence. The Captain peered down, and the stout woman looked up.

The lady from Nantucket made no immediate reply. She rose, however, shook down the black "alpaca" skirt,

which had been folded up to keep it out of the dew, and, still humming softly to the child, walked off a little

way, motioning with her head for the Captain to follow. When she had reached a spot sufficiently remote

"How d'ye do, Cap'n Hedge? I guess the wust is over now, isn't it? I saw you workin' with them ropes; you

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

"Oh, I come right down as soon as I heard the bell. I'm kind of used to fires. My husband's schooner got afire

twice while I was with him. He used 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 in a town like this. Ssh'h, dearie," to the baby,

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

"Oh, I see the poor thing settin' there with all them children and nobody paying much attention to her, so I

went over and asked if I couldn't help out. I haven't got any children of my own, but I was number three in a

fam'ly of fourteen, so I know how it's done. Oh! that husband of hers! He's a nice one, he is! Would you

b'lieve it, he come along 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 used to it. Well, I give HIM a piece of my mind. He went away

with a flea in his ear. I do despise a profane man above all things. Yes, the baby's all right, Mrs. Saunders. I'm

acomin'. Goodnight, Cap'n Hedge. I s'pose I shall see you all in the mornin'. You ought to be careful and

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

He remembered that there had been a number of people on the side of the burning shed opposite that on

which he had been employed, and he determined to have one look there before going to the Baxter

homestead. Almost the first man he saw as he approached the dying fire was Ralph Hazeltine. The

electrician's hands and face were blackened by soot, and the 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

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

"He was THE one," broke in Mr. Wingate, who was standing at Hazeltine's elbow. "He waded in with an ax

and stayed there till I thought he'd burn the hair off his head. Web ought to pay you and him salvage, Eri. The

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

"I never saw Bluey Bacheldor work so afore," commented the Captain. "I wish somebody'd took a

photograph of him. I'll bet you could sell 'em round 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 getting down toward the station. The

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

The fog had lifted somewhat and as the Captain, running silently, turned into the "shore road," he saw that the

light in the Baxter homestead had not been extinguished. The schoolhouse bell had ceased to ring, and the

Up the driveway Captain Eri hurried. There were no lights in the lower part of the house and the diningroom

door was locked. The kitchen door, however, was not fastened and the Captain opened it and entered.

Shutting it carefully behind him, he groped along to the entrance of the next room.

"John!" he called softly. There was no answer, and the house was perfectly still save for the ticking of the big

clock. Captain Eri scratched a match and by its light climbed the stairs. His friend's room was empty. The

lamp was burning on the bureau and a Bible was open beside it. The bed had not been slept in.

Thoroughly alarmed now, the Captain, lamp in hand, went through one room after the other. John Baxter was

not at home, and he was not with the crowd at the fire. Where was he? There was, of course, a chance that his

friend had passed him on the way or that he had been at the fire, after all, but this did not seem possible.

However, there was nothing to do but 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 and postoffice were on the "main road."

People in a hurry sometimes avoided the corner by climbing the fence opposite the Baxter gate, going

through the Dawes' pasture and over the little hill back of the livery stable, and coming out in the rear of the

Captain Eri, worried, afraid to think of the fire and its cause, and only anxious to ascertain where his friend

was and what he had been doing that night, trotted through the pasture and over the hill. Just as he came to

He knew what it was that he had stumbled over the moment that he fell across it, and his fingers trembled, so

that he could scarcely scratch the 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 face downward in the path, his head pointed toward

For a second, only, Captain Eri stood there motionless, stooping over the body of his friend. Then he sprang

into vigorous action. He dropped upon his knees and, seizing the shoulder of the prostrate figure, shook it

gently, whispering, "John! John!" There was no answer and no responsive movement, and the Captain bent

his head and listened. Breath was 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 steps when a new idea struck him and he came back.

Lighting another match he examined the fallen man hurriedly. The old "ComeOuter" lay in the path with his

arms outstretched, as if he had fallen while running. He was bareheaded, and there was no sign of a wound

upon him. One coatsleeve was badly scorched, and from a pocket in the coat protruded the neck of a bottle.

The bottle was empty, but its odor was strong; it had contained kerosene. The evidence was clear, and the

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 those that might come with him should find the burned coat and the telltale

bottle, it were better for John Baxter that consciousness and life never were his again. There might, and

probably would, be suspicion; but here was proof absolute that meant prison and disgrace for a man whom all

Captain Eri weighed the chances, speculated on the result, and then did what seemed to him right. He threw

the bottle as far away from the path as he could and then stripped off the coat, and, folding it into a small

bundle, hid it in the bushes near by. Then he lifted the limp body, and turned it so that the gray head was

Perez and Jerry were still busy with the water buckets when their friend came panting up the knoll to the

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

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

Nodding and exchanging congratulations with acquaintances in the crowd on the success of the firefighting,

Captain Eri led his messmates to a dark corner under a clump of trees. Then he took each of them by the arm

"Dr. Palmer's somewheres in this crowd. I want each of you fellers to go diff'rent ways and look for him.

Whichever one finds him fust can bring him up to the corner by the postoffice. Whistle when you git there

and the rest of us 'll come. Don't stop to ask questions. I ain't hurt, but John 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 seafaring life has its advantages. It teaches prompt obedience, for one thing. The two mariners did not

hesitate an instant, but bolted in opposite directions. Captain Eri watched them go, and then set off in another.

He was stopped every few moments and all sorts of questions and comments concerning the fire and its cause

were fired at him, but he put off some inquiries with a curt "Don't know" and others with nods or negatives,

and threaded his way from one clump of townspeople to another. As he came close to the blackened and

"No, not yit. Say, I'll ask you, 'cause I cal'late you can keep your mouth shut if it's necessary: Have you seen

the Doctor anywheres 'round lately? He was here, 'cause I saw him when I fust come."

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

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

"Hey, Eri!" he hailed. "I want to know if you'll sign a petition to git the town a fire ingyne? I've been talkin' to

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

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

The Captain grinned appreciatively as the convert to the hand engine proposal disappeared.

"That wasn't so bad," he said. "I'm much obliged. Hey! There's the whistle. Come on, Mr. Hazeltine, if you

They reached the corner by the postoffice to find Dr. Palmer, who had practiced medicine in Orham since

he received his diploma, waiting for them. Captain Perez, who had discovered the physician on the Nickerson

piazza, was standing close by with his fingers in his mouth, whistling with the regularity of a foghorn.

"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 others watched anxiously as the doctor

listened at the parted lips, and thrust his hand inside the faded blue waistcoat.

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

"He heard the bell and was runnin' to the fire when he was took," said Captain Jerry. "Run out in his shirt

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

"I warned him against overexertion or excitement months ago," said the Doctor, as they bore the senseless

burden toward the big house, now as black as the grave that was so near its owner. "We must find someone to

take care of him at once. I don't believe the old man has a relation within a hundred miles."

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

"By mighty!" ejaculated Captain Eri in astonishment. "Well, Jerry, I'll be switched if you ain't right down

brilliant once in a while. Of course we will. He can have the spare room. Why didn't I think of that, I

And so John Baxter, who had not paid a visit in his native village since his wife died, came at last to his

friend's home to pay what seemed likely to be a final one. They carried him up the stairs to the spare room, as

dismal and cheerless as spare rooms in the country generally are, undressed him as tenderly as their rough

hands would allow, robed him in one of Captain Jerry's nightshirts the buttons that fastened it had been

sewed on by the Captain himself, and were all sizes and colorsand laid him in the big corded bedstead. The

Doctor hastened away to procure his medicine case. Ralph Hazeltine, having been profusely thanked for his

services and promising to call the next day, went back to the station, and the three captains sat down by the

Captain Eri was too much perturbed to talk, but the other two, although sympathetically sorry for the sufferer,

"Well, if THIS ain't been a night!" exclaimed Captain Jerry. "Seem's if everything happened at once. Fust that

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

It will be noticed that Captain Eri was adhering strictly to the truth. Luckily, Perez seemed to be satisfied, for

he asked no further questions, but observed, "It's a good thing we've got a crowd to swear how 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 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 anybody sayin' it, you tell 'em it's a lie. If that don't keep 'em quiet, let me know."

"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 I hope he won't, he's likely to be sick here a long spell. Who are we goin' to git

to take care of him? That's what I want to know. Somebody's got to do it and we ain't fit. If Jerry 'd only give

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 the

patient and demands for glasses of water, teaspoons, and the like, kept Perez and Jerry busy. It was some time

before they noticed that Captain Eri had disappeared. Even then they did not pay much attention to the

circumstance, but watched the physician at work and questioned him concerning the nature of their guest's

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

"Can't say. He has had a stroke of paralysis, and there seem to be other complications. If he regains

consciousness I shall think he has a chance, but not a very good one. His pulse is a little stronger. I don't think

he'll die tonight, but if he lives he will need a good nurse, and I don't know of one in town."

"Well, A'nt Zuby might come," suggested Jerry, "but I should hate to have her nuss me, and as for bein'

"A'nt Zuby!" sneered his messmate. "If Lorenzo had a fit and they called A'nt Zuby he'd have another one

What Perez would have said to this thrust must be surmised, for just then the diningroom door opened and

"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 top step, and then the chamber door

opened and Captain Eri appeared. There were beads of perspiration on his forehead, and he was carrying a

shabby canvas extensioncase. Captain Jerry gazed at the extensioncase with bulging eyes.

Captain Eri put down the extensioncase and opened the door wide. A woman came in; a stout woman

dressed in black "alpaca" and wearing brassrimmed spectacles. Captain Jerry gasped audibly.

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

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

"Perez," continued the Captain, "let me make you known to Mrs. SnowMrs. Marthy B. Snow,"this with

They shook hands; Captain Perez managed to say that he was glad to meet Mrs. Snow. Captain Jerry said

"Doctor," continued the Captain, paying no attention to the signals of distress displayed by his friend, "I

heard you say a spell ago that John here needed somebody to take care of him. Well, Mrs. Snowshe's

aasort of relation of Jerry's"just a suspicion of a smile accompanied this assertion"and she's done

consid'rable nussin' in her time. I've been talkin' the thing over with her and she's willin' to look out for John

The physician adjusted his eyeglasses and looked the volunteer nurse over keenly. The lady paid no attention

to the scrutiny, but calmly removed her bonnet and placed it on the bureau. The room was Captain Eri's, and

the general disarrangement of everything movable was only a little less marked than in those of his

companions. Mrs. Snow glanced over the heap of odds and ends on the bureau and picked up a comb. There

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

The newfound relative of Captain Jerry said nothing, but, laying down the ruin, marched over to the

extensioncase, opened it, and took out another comba whole one. With this she arranged the hair on her

forehead. It, the hair, was parted in the middle and drawn back smoothly at the sides, and Captain Eri noticed

that it was brown with a little gray in it. When the last stray wisp was in place, she turned calmly to the

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

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

"Five years with my husband. He had slow consumption. Before that with my 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

anything else, I guess. Now, if you'll come in with me, so's to tell me about the medicine and so on."

With a short "Humph!" the physician followed her into the sick room, while the three mariners gazed

wideeyed in at the door. They watched, as Doctor Palmer explained medicines and gave directions. It did

"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 better just

now. I think there will be no change for a while; if there should be, send for me. I'll call in the morning.

They saw him to the door and then came back upstairs. Mrs. Snow was busy, arranging the pillows, setting

the room in something like order, and caring for her patient's garments, that had been tossed helterskelter on

the floor in the hurry of undressing. She came to the door as they entered Captain Eri's chamber.

"Mrs. Snow," said the Captain, "you'd better sleep in my room here long's you stay. I'll bunk in with Perez

downstairs. I'll git my dunnage out 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 to say something, but checked herself.

"P'raps you'd better introduce me to Cap'n Burgess. I don't think we've ever 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.

The sacrifice shook the nurse's hand and said something, nobody knew exactly what. Mrs. Snow went on to

say, "Now, I want you men to go right on to bed, for I know you're all tuckered out. We can talk

tomorrowI mean today, of course: I forgot 'twas nextdoor to daylight now. I shall set up with Cap'n

Baxter, and if I need you I'll call you. I'll call you anyway when I think it's time. Goodnight."

They protested, of course, but the lady would not listen. She calmly seated herself in the rocker by the bed

and waved to them to go, which two of them reluctantly did after a while. The other one had gone already. It

Downstairs again and in Perez' room Captain Eri came in for a questioning that bade fair to keep up forever.

He shut off all inquiries, however, with the announcement that he wouldn't tell them a word about it till he'd

had some sleep. Then he would explain the whole thing, and they could decide whether he had done right or

not. There were all sorts of things to be considered, he said, and they had better take a nap now while they

"Well, I'd jest like to ask you this, Eri Hedge," demanded Captain Jerry. "What in time did you tell the Doctor

that she was a relation of mine for? That was a nice thing to do, wa'n't it? I'll have to answer more fool

questions 'bout that than a little. What sort of a relation shall I tell folks she is? Jest tell me that, will you?"

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

Captain Perez fell asleep almost immediately. Captain Jerry, tired out, did the same, but Captain Eri's eyes

did not close. The surf pounded and 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

Then Captain Eri slid silently out of bed, dressed with elaborate precautions against noise, put on his cap, and

tiptoed out of the house. He walked through the dripping grass, climbed the back fence and hurried to the hill

where John Baxter had fallen. Once there, he looked carefully 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 been up for the greater

part of the night, were making up lost sleep and the Captain was absolutely alone.

Assured of this, he turned to the bush underneath which he had hidden the burned coat, pushed aside the

drenched boughs with their fading leaves and reached down for the telltale garment.

He spent an agitated quarter of an hour hunting through every clump of bushes in the immediate vicinity, but

there was no doubt of it. Someone had been there before him and had taken the coat away.

"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 lazyI'll be out in a jiffy. Perez, turn out there! Turn out, I

Captain Eri had fallen asleep in the rocker where he had seated himself upon his return from the fruitless

search for the coat. He had had no intention of sleeping, but he was tired after his strenuous work at the fire,

and had dropped off in the midst of his worry. He sprang to his feet, and tried to separate dreams from

"Land of love, Perez!" he ejaculated. "Here you and me have been sleepin' ha'f the forenoon. We'd ought to

"Dressed?" queried Perez, sitting up in bed. "I should think you was dressed now, boots and all. What are you

The Captain glanced down at his clothes and seemed as much surprised as his friend. He managed to pull

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

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

To avoid further perplexing questions Captain Eri went into the dining room. The table was set, really set,

with a clean cloth and dishes that shone. The knives and forks were arranged by the plates, not piled in a heap

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

"Oh, Cap'n Burgess didn't fix the table, if that's what you mean," said the 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 run

"Yes, he come 'bout an hour ago. Now, if you wouldn't mind goin' up and 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, I don't

The Captain went upstairs in a dazed state. As he passed through what had been his room he vaguely noticed

that the bureau top was clean, and that most of the rubbish that had ornamented it had disappeared.

The sick man lay just as he had left him, his white face as colorless as the clean pillow case against which it

rested. Captain Eri remembered that the pillow cases in the spare room had looked a little yellow the night

before, possibly owing to the fact that, as the room had not been occupied for months, they had not been

changed. He reasoned that the improvement was another one of the reforms instituted by the lady from

He sat down in the rocker by the bed and thought, with a shiver, of the missing coat. There were nine chances

out of ten that whoever found it would recognize it as belonging to the old "ComeOuter." The contents of

the pocket would be almost certain to reveal the secret if the coat itself did not. It remained to be seen who

the finder was and what he would do. Meanwhile there was no use worrying. Having come to this conclusion

Mrs. Snow entered and announced that breakfast was ready and that he must go down at once and eat it while

it was hot. She, having breakfasted some time before, would stay with the patient until the meal was over.

Captain Eri at first flatly declined to listen to any such arrangement, but the calm insistence of the Nantucket

visitor prevailed as usual. The Captain realized that the capacity for "bossin' things," that he had discerned in

the letter, was even more apparent in the lady herself. 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 three would take the watch in the

sick room while the other two washed the dishes. 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 an unsettled conviction that, although he and his partners might wash

the dishes, Mrs. Snow would wash them again as soon as she had an opportunity. "She didn't say so, but she

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

"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

"Humph! You needn't say nothin', Perez," observed Captain Jerry, his mouth full of biscuit. "When you was

cook, you allers b'iled 'em so hard they'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 condition and then said, "Now, we've got to have

some kind of a settlement on this marryin' question. Last night, when I was up in the room there, it come

acrost me all of a sudden that, from what I'd seen of this Nantucket woman, she'd be jest the sort of nurse that

John needed. So I skipped out 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 is to that. I ain't made no arrangement with her, and

somethin's got to be done. What do you think of her, jedgin' by what you've seen?"

Captain Perez gave it as his opinion that she was "all right," and added, "If Jerry here wa'n't so pigheaded all

But Captain Jerry was as obstinate as ever. He simply would not consider immediate marriage. In vain his

comrades reminded him of the original compact, and the fact that the vote was two to one against him; he

announced that he had changed his mind, and that that was all there was about it.

"Jerry," he exclaimed, "you remind me of that old white hen we used to have. When we didn't want her to set

she'd set on anything from a doorknob to a rock, couldn't keep her off; but when we give in finally and got a

settin' of eggs for her, she wouldn't come nigher to 'em than the other end of the henyard. Now you might as

well make up your mind that somethin's got to be done. This Mrs. Snow ain't nobody's fool. We put 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 was anything like what you'd think she'd be, answerin' an advertisement like that, 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 her that Jerry don't feel that 'twould be

right to think of marryin' with Cap'n Baxter so sick in the house and that, if she's willin', we'll put it off till he

dies or gets better. Meantime, we'll pay her so much to stay here and nuss. Seems to me that's about the only

So they agreed to lay this proposal before the Nantucket lady, Captain Jerry reluctantly consenting. Then

John Baxter, as has been said, had one relative, a granddaughter, living somewhere near Boston. Captain Eri

felt that this granddaughter should be notified of the old man's illness at once. The difficulty was that none of

"Her fust name's Elizabeth, same as her mothers was," said Eri, "and her dad's name was Preston. They called

her Elsie. John used to write to her every once in a while. P'raps Sam would know where she lived."

"Jest' cause Sam's postmaster," observed Perez, "it don't foller that he reads the name on every letter that goes

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

Miss Mary Emma Cahoon was the assistant at the postoffice, and was possessed of a welldeveloped

"Humph!" exclaimed Captain Eri, "that's so. We'll write the letter, and I'll ask Mary Emma for the address

So Captain Perez went upstairs to take Mrs Snow's place as nurse, while that lady "turned in." Captain Jerry

went into the kitchen to wash the dishes, and Captain Eri sat down to write the note that should inform

Elizabeth Preston of her grandfather's illness. It was a very short note, and merely stated the fact without

further information. Having had some experience in that line, the Captain placed very little reliance upon the

Dr. Palmer had spread the news as he went upon his round of visits that morning, and callers began to drop in

to inquire after the sick man. Miss Busteed was one of the first arrivals, and, as Captain Eri had seen her

through the window, he went upstairs and took Perez' place as temporary nurse. To Perez, therefore, fell the

delightful task of entertaining the voluble female for something like an hour, while she talked fire, paralysis,

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 favorably impressed with the capable appearance of the new nurse, and so expressed

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

"I jedge she's seen enough of it in her time, too," observed the Captain reflectively. "Queer thing how trouble

acts different on folks. Kind of like hot weather, sours milk, but sweetens apples. She's one of the sweetened

kind. And yet, I cal'late she can be pretty sharp, too, if you try to tread on her toes. Sort of a sweet pickle,

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 letter was

posted. Then, with the electrician, he strolled over to inspect the remains of the billiard saloon.

There was a small crowd gathered about the building, prominent among its members being the "train

committee," who were evidently holding a special session on this momentous occasion. The busy "Squealer,"

a trifle enlivened by some of Mr. Saunders' wet goods that had escaped the efforts of the volunteer salvage

"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, I says, '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 's Cap'n Eri and t'other one's Mr. Hazeltine. If we

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

"No, he hain't for sure. There was a lot of us thought old Baxter might have set it, but they tell me it couldn't

have been him, cause he was took down runnin' to the fire. Web, he's sort of changed his tune, and don't seem

Mr. Saunders, his smooth self again, with all traces of mental disturbance gone from his face and all

roughness from his tongue, came briskly up, smiling as if the burning of his place of business was but a

trifling incident, a little annoying, of course, but not worth fretting about. He thanked the Captain and

Hazeltine effusively for their service of the previous night, and piled the weight of his obligations upon them

until, as Captain Eri said afterwards, "the syrup fairly dripped off his chin." The Captain broke in upon the

"Well," replied Mr. Saunders slowly, "I kind of cal'late she started herself. 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 till bimebypuff!" An expressive wave of a fat hand finished the

"Humph!" grunted the Captain. "Changed your mind sence last night. Seems to me I heard you then swearin'

"Well, yees. I was considerable shook up last night and maybe I said things I hadn't ought to. You see

there's been a good deal of hard feelin's towards me in town and for a spell I thought some feller'd tried 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 of a scorchin' smell when I was lockin' up. Oh, say! I was mighty sorry to hear 'bout

Cap'n Baxter bein' took sick. The old man was dreadful down on liquor, but I laid that to his religion and

Captain Eri brusquely replied that his friend was "'bout the same," and asked 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. Thought

likely he should fix up again if it didn't cost too much. Did the Doctor say whether Captain Baxter would pull

Captain Eri gave an evasive answer and turned away. He was silent for some little time, and when Ralph

commented on "Web's" overnight change of 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 way home he asked Hazeltine

concerning the trouble at the cable station, and how Mr. Langley had treated the matter.

Ralph replied that Mr. Langley had said nothing to him about it. It was his opinion that the old gentleman

understood the affair pretty well, and was not disposed to blame him. As for the men, they had been as docile

as lambs, and he thought the feeling toward himself was not as bitter as it had been. All of which his

They separated at the gate, and the Captain entered the house to find Mrs. Snow wielding a broom and

surrounded by a cloud of dust. Perez was upstairs with the patient, and Captain Jerry, whose habits had been

That evening the situation was explained to Mrs. Snow by Captain Eri, in accordance with the talk at the

breakfast table. The lady from Nantucket understood and respected Captain Jerry's unwillingness to discuss

the marriage question while John Baxter's condition continued critical, and she 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 after

considerable discussion by the three mariners, for Captain Eri was inclined to offer eight, and Captain Jerry

When Ralph Hazeltine called late in the afternoon of the following day, the dining room was so transformed

that he scarcely knew it. The dust had disappeared; the chronometer was polished till it shone; the table was

covered with a cloth that was snowwhite, and everything movable had the appearance of being in its place.

Captain Eri came to the door in response to his knock, and grinned appreciatively at his caller's look of

"I don't wonder you're s'prised," he said, with a chuckle. "I ain't begun to git over it yit, myself, and Lorenzo's

so shook up he ain't been in the house sence breakfast time. He's out in the barn, keepin' Dan'l comp'ny and

"Mrs. Snow," answered the Captain. "It beats all what a woman can do when she's that kind of a woman.

She's done more swabbin' decks and overhaulin' runnin' riggin' than a new mate on a clipper. The place is so

"Seems to be some better. He come to a little this mornin', and seemed to know some of us, but he ain't

sensed where he is yit, nor I don't b'lieve he will fur a spell. Set down and keep me comp'ny. It's my watch

jest now. Perez, he's over to Barry's; Jerry's up to the schoolhouse, and Mrs. Snow's run up to the postoffice

to mail a letter. John's asleep, so I can stay downstairs a little while, long's the door's open. What's the news

It appeared that Mr. Saunders had not changed his mind, at least so current gossip reported. And it may be

remarked here that, curiously enough, the opinion that the fire "caught itself" came at last to be generally

accepted in the village. For some weeks Captain Eri was troubled with thoughts concerning the missing coat,

but, as time passed, and the accusing garment did not turn up, he came to believe that some boy must have

found it and that it had, in all probability, been destroyed. There were, of course, some persons who still

suspected John Baxter as the incendiary, but the old man's serious illness and respect for his former standing

in the community kept these few silent. The Baxter house had been locked up and the Captain had the key.

Hazeltine and his host chatted for a few minutes on various topics. The gilt titles on the imposing "Lives of

Great Naval Commanders," having received their share of the general dusting, now shone forth resplendent,

"Noticin' our library?" he chuckled. "Perez' property, that is. 'Gusty Black talked him into buyin' 'em. Never

met 'Gusty, did you? No, I guess likely not. She lives over to the Neck, and don't git down to the village

much. 'Gusty's what you call a business woman. She' always up to somethin' 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 them books. Told

him they'd give liter'ry tone to the shebang. Perez started to read 'em out loud when they fust come, but he

had to stop so often to spell out the furrin names that me and Jerry used to go to sleep. That made him mad,

and he said, liter'ry tone be durned; he wa'n't goin' to waste his breath readin' us to sleep; so they've been on

"Well, we've got 'Gusty," was the reply, "and she's enough to keep us goin'. Gits round reg'lar as clockwork

once a month to collect the two dollars from Perez. It's her day now, and I told Perez that that was why he

sneaked off to Barry's. You see, 'Gusty's after him to buy the history of Methuselah, or some old critter, and

he don't like to see her. She's after me, too, but I'm 'fraid she don't git much encouragement."

After they had talked a little longer, the Captain seemed to remember something, for he glanced at his watch

and said, "Mr. Hazeltine, I wonder if I could git you to do me a favor. I really ought to go down and 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 much longer. I thought some of the folks would be back 'fore this, but if you could 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

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

"If you hear him groan, or anything," he said, "jest come to the door and whistle. Whistle anyway, if you

want me. Ain't nobody likely to come, 'less it's 'Gusty or the Reverend Perley come to ask 'bout John. If it's a

middlin' goodlookin' young woman with a satchel, that's 'Gusty. Don't whistle; tell her I'm out. I'll be back

in a jiffy, but you needn't tell either of them so unless your conscience hurts you TOO much."

After the Captain had gone Ralph took down a volume of the "Great Commanders" and sat down in a chair

by the table to look it over. He was smiling over the gaudy illustrations and flamboyant descriptions of

battles, when there was a step on the walk outside and knock at the door. "Which is it," he thought, "'Gusty or

Obviously it was Miss Black. She stood on the mica slab that formed the step and looked up at him as he

swung the door open. She had a small leather bag in her hand, just as the Captain had said she would have,

but it flashed across Mr. Hazeltine's mind that the rest of the description was not a fair one; she was certainly

Now, from his friend's hints, Ralph had expected to hear a rather sharp and unpleasant voice,certain

disagreeable remembrances of former encounters with female book agents had helped to form the impression

perhaps,but Miss Black's voice was mellow, quiet, and rather pleasing than otherwise.

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

Now this was a question unprovided for. Ralph stammered, and then miserably equivocated. He really

"Oh, dear!" said the young lady again. Then she seemed to be waiting for some further observation on the

part of the gentleman at the door. None being forthcoming, she seemed to make up her mind to act on her

"I think I will come in and wait," she said with decision. And come in she did, Mr. Hazeltine not knowing

Now this was much more in keeping with the electrician's preconceived ideas of a book agent's behavior;

nevertheless, when he turned and found the young lady standing in the middle of the floor, he felt obliged to

The situation was extremely awkward, but Ralph felt that loyalty to Captain Eri forbade his doing anything

that might urge the self possessed Miss Black to prolong her visit, so for a time he said nothing. The young

lady looked out of the window and Mr. Hazeltine looked at her. He was more than ever of the opinion that the

"middlin'" term should be cut out of her description. He rather liked her appearance, so he decided. He liked

the way she wore her hair; so simple an arrangement, but so effective. Also he liked her dress. It was the first

tailormade walking suit he had seen since his arrival in Orham. And worn by a country book agent, of all

Just then Miss Black turned and caught him intently gazing at her. She colored, apparently with displeasure,

and looked out of the window again. Mr. Hazeltine colored also and fidgeted with the book on the table. The

situation was confoundedly embarrassing. He felt that he must say something now, so he made the original

To this the young lady agreed, but there was no enthusiasm in her tone. Then Ralph, nervously fishing for

The next moment he realized that he had said what, of all things, was the most impolitic. It was nothing less

than a bid for a "canvass," and he fully expected to be confronted with the necessary order blanks without

delay. But, strangely enough, the book lady made no such move. She looked at him, it is true, but with an

expression of surprise and what seemed to be amusement on her face. He was certain that her lips twitched as

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

"Yeser, yes," he stammered. "Very interesting indeed. II suppose you must take a good many orders in

"Why, yes. Orders for the books, I mean. The booksthe 'Great Naval Lives'erthese books here."

And it was then that the perception of some tremendous blunder began to seize upon Mr. Hazeltine. He had

been red before; now, he felt the redness creeping over his scalp under his hair.

Just here the door opened and Captain Eri came in. He took off his cap and then, seeing the visitor, remained

standing, apparently waiting for an introduction. But the young lady did not keep him waiting long.

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

Perhaps, on the whole, it is not surprising that Captain Eri didn't grasp the situation. Neither his two partners

nor himself had given much thought to the granddaughter of the sick man in the upper room. The Captain

knew that there was a granddaughter, hence his letter; but he had heard John Baxter speak of her as being in

school somewhere in Boston, and had all along conceived of her as a miss of sixteen or thereabouts. No

wonder that at first he looked at the stylishly gowned young woman, who stood before him with one gloved

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said slowly, mechanically swallowing up the proffered hand in his own mammoth

fist, "but I don't know's I jest caught the name. Would you mind sayin' it ag'in?"

"Elizabeth Preston," repeated the visitor. "Captain Baxter's granddaughter. You wrote me that he was ill, you

"What!" roared the Captain, delighted amazement lighting up his face like a sunrise. "You don't mean to tell

me you're 'Liz'beth Baxter's gal Elsie! Well! Well! I want to know! If this don't beat all! Set down! Take your

Captain Eri's hand, with Miss Preston's hidden in it, was moving up and down as if it worked by a

clockwork arrangement. The young lady withdrew her fingers from the trap as soon as she conveniently

could, but it might have been noticed that she glanced at them when she had done so, as if to make sure that

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

"Why, now, Miss Preston," he said, "your grandpa is pretty sick. Oh, I don't mean he's goin' to die right off or

anything like that," he added hastily. "I mean he's had a stroke of palsy, or somethin', and he ain't got so yit

that he senses much of what goes on. Now I don't want to frighten you, you know, but really there's a

chancea leetle mite of a chancethat he won't know you. Don't feel bad if he don't, now will you?"

"I knew he must be very ill from your letter," said the girl simply. "I was afraid that he might not be living

when I reached here. They told me at the station that he was at your house and so I came. He has been very

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

"Yes, yes, I know," he said hastily. "Don't you worry now. He's better; the Doctor said he was consid'rably

better today; didn't he, Mr. Hazeltine? Why, what am I thinkin' of? Let me make you known to Mr.

Hazeltine; nextdoor neighbor of ours; right acrost the road," and he waved toward the bay.

Ralph and Miss Preston shook hands. The electrician managed to utter some sort of formality, but he couldn't

have told what it was. He was glad when the Captain announced that, if Mr. Hazeltine would excuse them, 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 a lamp, for it was almost dark by this time. As its light shone upon the visitor's face

and hair the crimson flush before mentioned circumnavigated the electrician's head once more, and his bump

of selfesteem received a finishing blow. That any man supposed to possess two fairly good eyes and a

workable brain could have mistaken her for an Orham Neck book agent by the name of "'Gusty'Gusty

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

But Mr. Hazeltine wouldn't sit still. He announced that it was late and he must be going. And go he did, in

"Look out for the stairs," cautioned the Captain, leading the way with the 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 if them stairs was

the reason why me and Jerry and Perez took this house. They reminded us so of the shrouds on a

Elsie Preston did her best to smile as her companion rattled on in this fashion, but both the smile and the

Captain's cheerfulness were too plainly assumed to be convincing, and they passed down the hall in silence.

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

Elsie slipped by him and knelt by the bed, looking into the white, old face on the pillow. Somehow the harsh

The Captain watched the tableau for a moment or two, and then tiptoed into the room and placed the lamp on

"Now, I think likely," he said in a rather husky whisper, "that you'd like to stay with your grandpa for a little

while, so I'll go downstairs and see about supper. No, no, no!" he added, holding up his hand as the girl spoke

some words of protest, "you ain't goin' nowheres to supper. You're goin' to stay right here. If you want me,

And he hurried downstairs and into the kitchen, clearing his throat with vigor and making a great todo over

Mrs. Snow returned a few minutes later and to her the news of the arrival 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

"Now, I'll go upstairs and tell her to come down. I'll stay with Cap'n Baxter till you're through, and then

p'raps, if one of you'll take my place, I'll eat my supper and wash the dishes. You needn't come up now. I'll

Some few minutes passed before Miss Preston came down. When she did so her eyes were wet, but her

manner was cheerful, and the unaffected way in which she greeted Captain Perez and Captain Jerry, when

The supper was a great success. It was Saturday night, and a Saturday night supper to the average New

Englander means baked beans. The captains had long ago given up this beloved dish, because, although each

had tried his hand at preparing it, none had wholly succeeded, and the caustic criticisms of the other two had

prevented further trials. But Mrs. 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 have these beans than turkey. What do you

"I don't know but I had," assented the sacrifice, upon whose countenance sat a placidity that had not been

there since the night of the "matching." "'Specially if the turkey was like the one we tried to cook last

"Tell me," said Miss Preston, who had eaten but little, but was apparently getting more satisfaction from

"Yes," answered Eri dryly. "We tried. First we thought 'twas goin' to be 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 the horse that

"And so you hired Mrs. Snow to keep house for you? Well, I don't see how you could have made a better

choice; she's a dear, good woman; I'm sure of it. And now I want to thank you all for what you've done for

"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 and years. But you'd ought to have tried some of OUR cookin'. Tell her about the

So Captain Perez told it, and then their visitor set them all laughing by relating some queer housekeeping

experiences that she and a school friend had had while camping at Chautauqua. Somehow each one felt at

home with her. As Captain Eri said afterwards, "She didn't giggle, and then ag'in she didn't talk down at you."

As they rose from the table the young lady asked a question concerning the location of the hotel. The Captain

made no answer at the time, but after a short consultation with the remainder of the triumvirate, he came to

"Now, ElsieI hope you don't mind my callin' you Elsie, but I've been chums with your grandpa so long

seems's if you must be a sort of relation of mineElsie, you ain't goin' to no hotel, that is, unless you're real

set on it. Your grandpa's here and we're here, and there's room enough. I don't want to say too much, but I'd

like to have you b'lieve that me and Perez and Jerry want you to stay right in this house jest as long's you stop

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

That evening, just before going to bed, the captains stood by the door of the sick room watching Elsie and the

lady from Nantucket as they sat beside 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 a final look at the sky in order to get a

"Fellers, do you know what I was thinkin' when I see them two women in there with John? I was thinkin' that

it must be a mighty pleasant thing to know that if you're took sick somebody like that 'll take care of you."

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

And with the coming of Elsie Preston and Mrs. Snow life in the little house by the shore took on a decided

change. The Nantucket lady having satisfied herself that John Baxter's illness was likely to be a long one,

wrote several letters to persons in her native town, which letters, although she did not say so, were supposed

by the captains to deal with the care of her property while she was away. Having apparently relieved her

mind by this method, and evidently considering the marriage question postponed for the present, she settled

down to nurse the sick man and to keep house as, in her opinion, a house should be kept. The captains knew

nothing of her past history beyond what they had gathered from stray bits of her conversation. She evidently

did not consider it necessary to tell 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. No wife could have been more tender in

In her care of the house, she was neatness itself. She scoured and swept and washed until the rooms were

literally spotless. Order was Heaven's first law, in her opinion, and she expected everyone else to keep up to

the standard. Captain Perez and Captain Eri soon got used to the change and gloried in it, but to Captain Jerry

"Oh, cat's foot!" he exclaimed one day, after hunting everywhere for his Sunday tie, and at length finding it in

his bureau drawer. "I can't git used to this everlastin' sprucedup bus'ness. Way it used to be, this necktie was

likely to be 'most anywheres 'round, and if I looked out in the kitchen or under the sofy, I was jest as likely to

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

"Yes, and that's jest it, I'm always forgittin' the place. My shoes is sech 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 shoes is,

and when I want my shoes I go and look where I found my pipe. How a feller's goin' to keep run of 'em is

"Yes, but jest 'cause a man don't want to live in a pigpen it ain't no sign he wants to be put under a glass

Elsie's influence upon the house and its inmates had become almost as marked as Mrs. Snow's. The young

lady was of an artistic bent, and the stiff ornaments in the shutup parlor and the wonderful oilpaintings

jarred upon her. Strange to say, even the waxdipped wreath that hung in its circular black frame over the

whatnot did not appeal to her. The captains considered that wreathit had been the principal floral offering

at the funeral of Captain Perez's sister, and there was a lock of her hair framed with it the gem of the

establishment. They could understand, to a certain degree, why Miss Preston objected to the prominence

given the spatterwork "God bless our Home" motto, but her failure to enthuse over the wreath was

But by degrees they became used to seeing the blinds open at the parlor windows the week through, and

innovations like muslin curtains and vases filled with late wild flowers came to be at first tolerated and then

There were some great discussions on art, over the teacups after supper. Miss Preston painted very prettily in

watercolors, and her sketches were received with enthusiastic praise by the captains and Mrs. Snow. But

one day she painted a little picture of a fishing boat and, to her surprise, it came in for some rather sharp

"That's a pretty picture, Elsie," said Captain Eri, holding the sketch at arm's length and squinting at it with his

head on one side, "but if that's Caleb Titcomb's boat, and I jedge 'tis, it seems to me she's carryin' too much

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

"Caleb's boat ain't got no sech sail as that," was his deliberate comment. "She couldn't carry it and stand up

that way. Besides, the way I 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 sand so yellow that I thought it made a pretty picture. I didn't think of the size of

"Well, I s'pose you wouldn't, nat'rally," observed Captain Perez, who was looking over Jerry's shoulder. "But

you have to be awful careful paintin' vessels. Now you jest look at that picture," pointing to the glaring

likeness of the Flying Duck, that hung on the wall. "Jest look at them sails, every one of 'em drawin' fine; and

"But don't you think, Captain Perez, that the waves in that picture would be better if they weren't so all in a

"Well, now, that ain't it. That's a picture of the A1 twomasted schooner 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 understand them waves was put there jest 'cause there had to

"But you needn't feel bad, Elsie," said Captain Jerry soothingly. "'Tain't to be expected that you could paint

vessels like Eben Lothrop can. Eben he used to work in a shipyard up to East Boston once, and when he was

there he had to paint schooners and things, reely put the paint onto 'em I mean, so, of course, when it come to

So, as there was no answer to an argument like this, Miss Preston gave up marine painting for the time and

began a watercolor of the house and its inmates. This was an elaborate affair, and as the captains insisted

that each member of the family, Daniel and Lorenzo included, should pose, it seemed unlikely to be finished

Ralph Hazeltine called on the afternoon following Elsie's arrival, and Captain Eri insisted on his staying to

tea. It might have been noticed that the electrician seemed a trifle embarrassed when Miss Preston came into

the room, but as the young lady was not embarrassed in the least, and had apparently forgotten the

Ralph answered, rather hurriedly, that she did not. He endeavored to change the subject, but the Captain

"Well, there!" he exclaimed amazedly; "if 'Gusty ain't broke her record! Fust time sence Perez was took with

the 'Naval Commander' disease that she 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 she was sure, like death and taxes. And now

"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

Now it may have been Mr. Hazeltine's fancy, but he could have sworn that there was just the suspicion of a

"Like YOU? Oh, my soul and body! Wait till you see her. What made you ask 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 his chair. "Don't for the land's sake tell

When the general hilarity had abated a little Ralph penitently explained that it was dark, that Captain Eri had

"So I did, so I did," chuckled the Captain. "I s'pose 'twas nat'ral enough, but, oh dear, it's awful funny! Now,

Elsie, you'd ought to feel flattered. Wait till you see 'Gusty's hat, the one she got up to Boston."

"Well, I don't know," was the rather noncommittal answer. "I think I shall have to wait until I see 'Gusty."

But Mr. Hazeltine apparently took his forgiveness for granted, for his calls became more and more frequent,

until his dropping in after supper came to be a regular occurrence. Young people of the better class are scarce

in Orham during the fall and winter months, and Ralph found few congenial companions. He liked the

captains and Mrs. Snow, and Elsie's society was a relief after a day with the operators at the station. Mr.

Langley was entirely absorbed in his business, and spent his evenings in his room, reading and smoking.

So September and October passed and November came. School opened in October and the captains had

another boarder, for Josiah Bartlett, against his wishes, gave up his position as stagedriver, and was sent to

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 so Josiah lived at the house by the shore, a cot being set up in the parlor for his

use. His coming made more work for Mrs. Snow, but that energetic lady did not seem to mind, and even

succeeded in getting the youngster to do a few "chores" about the place, an achievement that won the

everlasting admiration of Captain Perez, who had no governing power whatever over the boy, and condoned

John Baxter continued to waver between this world and the next. He had intervals of consciousness in which

he recognized the captains and Elsie, but these rational moments were few and, although he talked a little, he

The fire itself became an old story and gossip took up other subjects. The "ComeOuters" held a jubilee

service because of the destruction of the saloon, but, as "Web" soon began to rebuild and repair, their

jollification was shortlived. As for Mr. Saunders, he was the same unctuous, smiling personage that he had

formerly been. It was a curious fact, and one that Captain Eri noted, that he never ceased to inquire after John

Baxter's health, and seemed honestly glad to hear of the old man's improvement. He asked a good many

questions about Elsie, too, but received little satisfaction from the Captain on this subject.

Captain Jerry sat behind the woodshed, in the sunshine, smoking and thinking. He had done a good deal of

the first ever since he was sixteen years old; the second was, in a measure, a more recent acquirement. The

It was one of those perfect, springlike mornings that sometimes come in early November. The sky was clear

blue, and the air was so free from haze 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 the steady breeze, and one might almost count the

stripes. The pines on Signal Hill were a bright green patch against the yellow grass. The sea was a dark

sapphire, with slashes of silver to mark the shoals, and the horizon was notched with sails. The boats at

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

Now this question touched vitally the subject of Captain Jerry's thoughts. From a placid, easygoing retired

mariner, recent events had transformed the Captain into a plotter, a man with a "deeplaid scheme," as the

gentlemanly, cigarettesmoking villain of the melodrama used to love to call it. To tell the truth, petticoat

government was wearing on him. 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 put this threat of the future from his mind

so far as possible. He had not found orderly housekeeping the joy that he once thought it would be, but even

He liked Mrs. Snow, except in a marrying sense. He liked Elsie better than any young lady he had ever seen.

The trouble was, that between the two, he, as he would have expressed it, "didn't have the peace of a dog."

Before Elsie came, a game of checkers between Perez and himself had been the regular aftersupper

amusement. Now they played whist, Captain Eri and Elsie against him and his former opponent. As Elsie and

her partner almost invariably won, and as Perez usually found fault with him because they lost, this was not

an agreeable change. But it was but one. He didn't like muslin curtains in his bedroom, because they were a

nuisance when he wanted to sit up in bed and look out of the window; but the curtains were put there, and

everybody else seemed to think them beautiful, so he could not protest. Captain Perez and Captain Eri had

taken to "dressing up" for supper, to the extent of putting on neckties and clean collars. Also they shaved

every day. He stuck to the old "twiceaweek" plan for a while, but looked so scrubby by contrast that out of

mere selfrespect he had to follow suit. Obviously two females in the house were one too many. Something

Ralph Hazeltine's frequent calls gave him the inspiration he was looking for. This was to bring about a

marriage between Ralph and Miss Preston. After deliberation he decided that if this could be done the pair

would live somewhere else, even though John Baxter was still too ill to be moved. Elsie could come in every

day, but she would be too busy with her own establishment to bother with the "improvement" of theirs. It

wasn't a very brilliant plan and had some vital objections, but Captain Jerry considered it a wonder.

He broached it to his partners, keeping his real object strictly in the background and enlarging upon his great

regard for Ralph and Elsie, and their obvious fitness for each other. Captain Perez liked the scheme well

enough, provided it could be carried out. Captain Eri seemed to think it better to let events take their own

So, when Mr. Hazeltine called to spend the evening, Captain Jerry would rise from his chair and, with an

elaborate cough and several surreptitious winks to his messmates, would announce that he guessed he would

"take a little walk," or "go out to the barn," or something similar. Captain Perez would, more than likely, go

also. As for Captain Eri, he usually "cal'lated" he would step upstairs, and see how John was getting along.

But in spite of this loyal support, the results obtained from Captain Jerry's wonderful plan had not been so

startlingly successful as to warrant his feeling much elated. Ralph and Elsie were good friends and seemed to

enjoy each other's society, but that was all that might be truthfully said, so far.

Captain Jerry, therefore, was a little discouraged as he sat in the sunshine and smoked and pondered. He hid

his discouragement, however, and in response to Captain Eri's question concerning the progress of the

"Oh, it's comin' along, comin' along. Kind of slow, of course, but you can't expect nothin' diff'rent. I s'pose

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

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

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

Captain Jerry looked suspiciously at his friend's face, but its soberness 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

"Yes, like the feller that ate all the appledumplin's so's his children wouldn't have the stomachache. But

say, Jerry, I come out to ask if you'd mind bein' housekeeper today. Luther Davis has been after me sence I

don't know when to come down to the life savin' station and stay to dinner. His sister Pashythe old maid

oneis down there, and it's such 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 thought p'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 back

Captain Jerry didn't mind staying at home, and so Eri went into the house to make arrangements for the

proposed excursion. He had some difficulty 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 the station, so that news of a change in the

patient's condition could be sent almost immediately. Under these conditions, and as Captain Jerry was

certain to take good care of their charge, the two were persuaded to go. Perez took the dory and rowed over to

the cable station to see if Mr. Hazeltine cared to make one of the party. When he returned, bringing the

electrician with him, Daniel, harnessed to the carryall, was standing at the side door, and Captain Eri, Mrs.

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

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

"What, in a carryall?" exclaimed the Captain. "Why, that's what a carryall's for. I've carried six in a carryall

'fore now. 'Twas a good while ago, though," he added with a chuckle, "when I was consid'rable younger 'n I

am now. Squeezin' didn't count in them days, 'specially if the girls wanted to go to campmeetin'. I cal'late

we can fix it. You and me'll set on the front seat, and the rest in back. Elsie ain't a very big package, and

Perez, he's sort of injyrubber; 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 his alleged elasticity, managed to find room between them is a mystery. He,

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

"I'll look out for you," answered his friend, picking up the reins. "All ashore that's goin' ashore. So long,

Daniel complacently accepted this testimony to his monetary worth and jogged out of the yard. Fortunately

appearances do not count for much in Orham, except in the summer, and the spectacle of five in a carryall is

nothing out of the ordinary. They turned into the "cliff road," the finest thoroughfare in town, kept in good

condition for the benefit of the cottagers and the boarders at the big hotel. The ocean was on the left, and

from the hill by the Barry estateCaptain Perez' chargethey saw twenty miles of horizon line with craft of

Schooners there were of all sizes, from little mackerel seiners to big four and fivemasters. A tug with a

string of coal barges behind it was so close in that they could make out the connecting hawsers. A black

freight steamer was pushing along, leaving a thick line of smoke like a charcoal mark on the sky. One

"What do you make of that bark, Perez?" inquired Captain Eri, pointing to the distant vessel. British, ain't

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. Look at that fo'tops'l."

"Guess you're right, Eri, now I come to notice it. Can you make out her flag? Wish I'd brought my glass."

"Great Scott, man!" exclaimed Ralph. "What sort of eyes have you got? I couldn't tell whether she had a flag

"'Cordin' to how you're brought up, as the goat said 'bout eatin' shinglenails," replied Captain Eri. "When

you're at sea you've jest got to git used to seein' things a good ways off and knowin' 'em when you see 'em,

"I remember, one time," remarked Mrs. Snow, "that my brother Nathanhe's dead nowwas bound home

from Hong Kong fust mate on the bark Di'mond King. 'Twas the time of the war and the Alabama was

cruisin' 'round, lookin' out for our ships. Nate and the skippera Bangor man he waswas on deck, and

they sighted a steamer a good ways off. The skipper spied her and see she was flyin' the United States flag.

But when Nate got the glass he took one look and says, 'That Yankee buntin' don't b'long over that English

hull,' he says. You see he knew she was English build right away. So the skipper pulled down his own flag

and h'isted British colors, but 'twa'n't no use; the steamer was the Alabama sure enough, and the Di'mond

King was burned, and all hands took pris'ners. Nate didn't git home for ever so long, and everybody thought

This set the captains going, and they told seastories until they came to the road that led down to the beach

beneath the lighthouse bluff. The lifesaving station was in plain sight now, but on the outer beach, and that

"Yes; the only kind he had, I cal'late. Git dap, Daniel! What are you waitin' for? Left your bathin' suit to

Then, as Daniel stepped rather gingerly into the clear water, he explained that, at a time ranging from three

hours before low tide to three hours after, one may reach the outer beach at this point by driving over in an

ordinary vehicle. The lifesavers add to this timelimit by using a specially built wagon, with large wheels

"Well, there now!" exclaimed the lady from Nantucket, as Daniel splashingly emerged on the other side. "I

thought I'd done about everything a body could do with salt water, but I never went ridin' in it 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 the coarse sand as they turned. The road wound between sand dunes, riven and

heaped in all sorts of queer shapes by the wind, and with clumps of the persevering beach grass clinging to

their tops like the last treasured tufts of hair on partially bald heads. Here and there, half buried,

sandscoured planks and fragments of spars showed, relics of wrecks that had come ashore in past winters.

"Five years ago," remarked Captain Eri, "there was six foot of water where we are now. This beach changes

every winter. One good no'theaster jest rips things loose over here; tears out a big chunk of beach and makes

a cutthrough one season, and fills in a deep hole and builds a new shoal the next. I've heard my father tell

'bout pickin' huckleberries when he was a boy off where them breakers are now. Good dry land it was then.

The little brown lifesaving station was huddled between two sand hills. There was a small stable and a

henhouse and yard just behind it. Captain Davis, rawboned and brownfaced, waved a welcome to them from

"Spied you comin', Eri," he said in a curiously mild voice, that sounded odd 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 is

Miss Patience Davis was as plump as her brother was tall. She impressed one as a comfortable sort of person.

Captain Eri did the honors and everyone shook hands. Then they went into the living room of the station.

What particularly struck Mrs. Snow was the neatness of everything. The brass on the pump in the sink shone

like fire as the sunlight from the window struck it. The floor was white from scouring. There were shelves on

the walls and on these, arranged in orderly piles, were canned goods of all descriptions. The table was

Two or three men, members of the crew, were seated in the wooden chairs along the wall, but rose as the

party came in. Captain Davis introduced them, one after the other. Perhaps the most striking characteristic of

these men was the quiet, almost bashful, way in which they spoke; they seemed like big boys, as much as

"This is where we keep the boat and the rest of the gear," said Captain Davis, opening a door and leading the

way into a large, lowstudded room. "Them's the spare oars on the wall. The reg'lar ones are in the boat."

The boat itself was on its carriage in the middle of the room. Along the walls on hooks hung the men's suits

of oilskins and their sou'westers. The Captain pointed out one thing after another, the cork jackets and

lifepreservers, the gun for shooting the life line across a stranded vessel, the life car hanging from the roof,

"I don't b'lieve you'd ever git me into that thing," said the Nantucket lady decidedly, referring to the buoy. "I

"Took off a bigger woman than you one time," said Captain Davis. "Wife of a Portland skipper, she was, and

he was on his fust v'yage in a brandnew schooner jest off the stocks. Struck on the Hog's Back off here and

then drifted close in and struck again. We got 'em all, the woman fust. That was the only time we've used the

buoy sence I've been at the station. Most of the wrecks are too fur off shore and we have to git out the boat."

He took them upstairs to the men's sleeping rooms and then up to the little cupola on the roof.

"Why do you have groundglass windows on this side of the house?" asked Elsie, as they passed the window

"Well, it is pretty nigh groundglass now," he answered, "but it wa'n't when it was put in. The sand did that.

"Do you mean that those windows were ground that way by the beach sand blowing against them?" asked

"Sartin. Git a good no'therly wind comin' up the beach and it fetches the 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 down the 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 the galley,

"Let me look through that a minute," said Captain Eri, when the rest had had their turn. He swung the glass

"You see our house?" he said. "Yes; well, you see the dinin'room door. Notice that chair by the side of it?"

"Well, that's the rocker that Elsie made the velvet cushion for. I want you to look at the upper southeast

corner of that cushion, and see if there ain't a cat's hair there. Lorenzo's possessed to sleep in that chair,

"Well, it was a pretty important thing, and I wanted to make sure. I left that chair out there, and I knew what

I'd catch if any cat's hairs got 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 dinnera New England clam chowder, made with milk and crackers, and clams

with shells as white as snow. They were what the New Yorker calls "softshell" clams, for a Fulton Market

Now that chowder was good; everybody said so, and if the proof of the chowder, like that of the pudding, is

in the eating of it, this one had a clear case. Also, there were boiled striped bass, which is good enough for

anybody, hot biscuits, pumpkin pie, and beach plum preserves. There was a running fire of apologies from

"I don't see how you make sech beachplum preserves, Miss Davis," exclaimed the lady from Nantucket. "I

declare! I'm goin' to ask you for another 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 a little mite too ripe. You know how 'tis

with beachplums, they've got to be put up when they're jest so, else they ain't good for much. I was at Luther

for I don't know how long 'fore I could git him to go over to the P'int and pick 'em, and I was 'fraid he'd let it

go too long. I only put up twentytwo 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 female portion of the company washed the dishes, while the men walked up and

down the beach and smoked. Here they were joined after a while by the ladies, for even by the ocean it was

The big blue waves shouldered themselves up from the bosom of the sea, marched toward the beach, and

tumbled to pieces in a roaring tumult of white and green. The gulls skimmed along their tops or dropped like

falling stones into the water after sand eels, emerging again, screaming, to repeat the performance.

The conversation naturally turned to wrecks, and Captain Davis, his reserve vanishing before the tactful

Luther Davis had been commandant at the lifesaving station for years and "Number One Man" before that,

so his experience with wrecks and disabled craft of all kinds had been long and varied. He told them of

disasters the details of which had been telegraphed all over the country, and of rescues of halffrozen crews

from ice crested schooners whose signals of distress had been seen from the observatory on the roof of the

station. He told of long rows in midwinter through seas the spray of which turned to ice as they struck, and

froze the men's mittens to the oarhandles. He told of picking up draggled corpses in the surf at midnight,

when, as he said, "You couldn't tell whether 'twas a man or a roll of seaweed, and the only way to make sure

Captain Eri left them after a while, as he had some acquaintances among the men at the station, and wished to

talk with them. Miss Davis remembered that she had not fed the chickens, and hurried away to perform that

humane duty, gallantly escorted by Captain Perez. The Captain, by the way, was apparently much taken with

the plump spinster and, although usually rather bashful where ladies were concerned, had managed to keep

up a sort of side conversation with Miss Patience while the storytelling was going on. But Ralph and Elsie

and Mrs. Snow were hungry for more tales, and Captain Davis obligingly told them.

"One of the wust wrecks we ever had off here," he said, "was the Bluebell, British ship, she was: from

Singapore, bound to Boston, and loaded 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 got dark, and blowdon't talk! Seems to me

'twas one of the meanest nights I ever saw. 'Tween the snow flyin' and the dark you couldn't see two feet

ahead of you. We was kind of worried about the vessel all evenin'for one thing she was too close in shore

when we see her lastbut there wa'n't nothin' to be done except to keep a weather eye out for signs of

"Fust thing we knew of the wreck was when the man on patrol up the beachPhilander Vose

'twastelephoned from the shanty that a ship's longboat had come ashore at Knowles' Cove, two mile

above the station. That was about one o'clock in the mornin'. 'Bout h'afpast two Sim Gouldhe was

drownded the next summer, fishin' on the Bankstelephoned from the shanty BELOW the stationthe one

a mile or so 'tother side of the cable house, Mr. Hazeltinethat wreckage was washin' up abreast of where 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 was layin'; she might have been anywheres along them six miles, and you couldn't

hear nothin' nor see nothin'. But anyhow, the wreckage kept comin' in below the cable station, so I jedged she

was somewheres in that neighborhood and we got the boat outon the cart, of courseand hauled it down

"'Twas a tremendous job, too, that haulin' was. We had the horse and the whole of us helpin' him, but I swan!

I begun to think we'd never git anywheres. 'Tween the wind and the sand and the snow I thought we'd flap to

pieces, like a passel of shirts on a clothes line. But we got there after a spell, and then there was nothin' to do

"'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 stationit's been washed away senceand she'd struck on that, and the sea was makin' a clean breach

over her. There was a ha'f a dozen of her crew lashed in the riggin', but I didn't see 'em move, so I presume

likely they was froze stiff then, for 'twas perishin' cold. But we wrastled the boat down to the water and was

jest goin' to launch her when the whole three masts went by the 'board, men and all. We put off to her, but she

was in a reg'lar soapsuds of a sea and awash from stem to stern, so we knew there was nothin' livin' aboard.

"Yes, siree," continued the Captain meditatively, "that was a mean night. I had this ear frostbit, and it's been

tender ever sence. One of the fellers had a rib broke; he was a little light chap, and the wind jest slammed him

up against the cart like as if he was a chip. And jest to show you," he added, "how the tide runs around this

place, the bodies of that crew was picked up from Wellmouth to Setuckit P'inttwentymile stretch 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 boy spent a month down here, waitin' for his father's body to be washed up. He'd walk up and down

"Every man Jack. But 'twas cu'rus about that hemp. The Bluebell was loaded with it, as I told you, and when

she went to pieces the tide took 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 'main road' over in the village, and see it hung over

fences or spread out in the sun to dry. Looked like all the blonde girls in creation had had a haircut."

"Captain Davis," said Ralph, "you must have seen some plucky things in your life. What was the bravest

The life saver took the cigar that Hazeltine had given him from his mouth, and blew the smoke into the air

"Well," he said slowly, "I don't know exactly. I've seen some pretty gritty things done 'longshore here, in the

service. When there's somebody drowndin', and you know there's a chance to save 'em, you'll take chances,

and think nothin' of 'em, that you wouldn't take if you had time to set down and cal'late a little. I see somethin'

done once that may not strike you as bein' anything out of the usual run, but that has 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 was actin' as sort of second mate on a lumber

schooner. 'Twas a pitchblack night, or mornin' rather, 'bout six o'clock, blowin' like all possessed and colder

'n Greenland. We struck a rock that wa'n't even down on an Eldredge chart and punched a hole in the

schooner's side, jest above what 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 canvas off

her, but she was takin' in water every time she rolled, and there was a sea goin' that was tearin' things loose in

great shape. We shipped one old grayback that ripped off a strip of the lee rail jest the same as you'd rip the

"I didn't see nothin' to do but get out the boats, but the skipper he wa'n't that kind. He sized things up in a

hurry, I tell you. He drove the crewha'f of 'em was prayin' to the Virgin and t'other ha'f swearin' a blue

streakto the pumps, and set me over 'em with a revolver to keep 'em workin'. Then him and the fust mate

and one or two of the best hands rousted out a spare sail, weighted one edge of it to keep it down, and got it

"Then him and the mate stripped to their underclothes, rigged a sort of bos'n's chair over where the hole in the

side was, took hammers and a pocketful of nails apiece, and started in to nail that canvas over the hole.

"'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 the end, 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 of their eyes, and go to

"Four hours and a quarter they was at it, four hours, mind you, and under water a good ha'f of the time; but

they got that sail nailed fast fin'lly. We got 'em on deck when 'twas done, and we had to carry the fust mate to

the cabin. But the skipper jest sent the cook for a pail of bilin' hot coffee, drunk the whole of it, put on dry

clothes over his wet flannels, and stayed on deck and worked that schooner into Portland harbor, the men

"Now, that always seemed to me to be the reel thing. 'Twa'n't a question of savin' lifewe could have took to

the boats and, nine chances out of ten, got ashore all right, for 'twa'n't very fur. But no, the skipper said he'd

never lost a vessel for an owner yit and he wa'n't goin' to lose this one. And he didn't either, by Judas! No,

"That was splendid!" exclaimed Elsie. "I should like to have known that captain. Who was he, Captain

"Well, the fust mate was Obed Simmonshe's dead nowbut he used to live over on the road towards East

"No, nobody told me. I jest guessed it. I've seen a good many folks in my time, and I cal'late I've got so I can

tell what kind a man is after I've known him a little while. I jedged Cap'n Eri was that kind, and, when you

"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 and so easygoing that I never thought of his doing anything quite so strenuous."

Captain Davis laughed. "I've seen fo'mast hands try to take advantage of that easygoin' way 'fore now," he

said, "but they never did it but once. Cap'n Eri is one of the finest fellers that ever stepped, but you can't

stomp on his toes much, and he's clear grit inside. And say," he added, "don't you tell anybody I told that

As they walked back toward the station Ralph and Elsie lingered a little behind 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. They

watched it for a moment or two without speaking. Elsie's cheeks were brown from the sun, stray wisps of her

hair fluttered in the wind, and her trim, healthy figure stood out against the white sandhill behind them as if

cut from cardboard. The electrician looked at her, and again the thought of that disgraceful "'Gusty" Black

episode was forced into his mind. They had had many a good laugh over it since, and Elsie had apparently

"Oh, all of them! The captains and Mrs. Snow, and Captain Davis and his sister. 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."

"I imagine it would take a good deal to convince Davis or any of these station men that there was anything

heroic in their lives," he said. "As for Captain Eri, I have known him only a month or two, but I don't know of

"He has been so kind to grandfather and me," said Elsie, "that I feel as though we were under an obligation

we never could repay. When I came down here I knew no one in Orham, and he and Captain Jerry and

Captain Perez have made me feel more at home than I have ever felt before. You know," she added,

"I don't know. If grandfather is well enough I think I shall try to persuade him to come up to Boston and live

with me. Then I might perhaps teach. This was to have been my last year at Radcliffe, so my giving it up will

not make so much difference. Do you intend to stay here long? I suppose you do. Your profession, I know,

"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 very little of him. I took the place because I thought it would give me a good

deal of spare time that I might use in furthering some experiments of my own. Electricity is my hobby, and I

have one or two ideas that I am foolish enough to hope may be worth developing. I have had time enough,

goodness knows, but it's a lonesome sort of life. If it had not been for the captainsand youI think I

"Whywhy, because it seems like running away, almost, doesn't it? If a thing is hard to do, but is worth

doing, I think the satisfaction IN doing it is ever so much greater, don't you? I know it must be lonely for you;

"I doubt if Mr. Langley would be happy anywhere else, and the other men are married, most of them, and live

Now, there isn't any real reason why this simple remark should have caused a halt in the conversation, but it

did. Miss Preston said, "Oh, indeed!" rather hurriedly, and her next speech was concerning the height of a

particularly big wave. Mr. Hazeltine answered this commonplace somewhat absentmindedly. He acted like

a man to whom a startling idea had suddenly occurred. Just then they heard Captain Eri calling them.

The Captain was standing on a sand dune near the station, shouting their names through a speaking trumpet

formed by placing his hands about his mouth. As the pair came strolling toward him, he shifted his hands to

his trousers pockets and stood watching the young couple with a sort of half smile.

"I s'pose if Jerry was here now," he mused, "he'd think his scheme was workin'. Well, maybe 'tis, maybe 'tis.

The exclamation was called forth by the sight of Captain Perez and Miss Patience, who suddenly came into

view around the corner of the station. The Captain was gallantly assisting his companion over the rough

places in the path, and she was leaning upon his arm in a manner that implied implicit confidence. Captain

Eri glanced from one couple to the other, and then grinned broadly. The grin had not entirely disappeared

when Captain Perez came up, and the latter rather crisply asked what the joke was.

"Oh, nothin'!" was the reply. "I was jest thinkin' we must be playin' some kind of a game, and I was It."

"Why, yes. I'm kinder like 'Rastus Bailey used to be at the dances when you and me was younger, Perez. Old

man Alexanderhe was the fiddlerused to sing out 'Choose partners for Hull's Vict'ry,' or somethin' like

that, and it always took 'Ras so long to make up his mind what girl to choose that he gin'rally got left

altogether. Then he'd set on the settee all through the dance and say he never cared much for Hull's Vict'ry,

anyway. Seems to me, I'm the only one that ain't choosed partners. How 'bout it, Perez?"

Miss Patience laughed so heartily at this rejoinder that Perez began to think he had said a very good thing

"You want to look out for him, Miss Davis," said Captain Eri. "He's the most fascinatin' youngster of his age

I ever see. Me and Jerry's been thinkin' we'd have to build a fence 'round the house to keep the girls away

"Oh, give us a rest, Eri!" exclaimed Perez, with even more indignation than was necessary. "M'lissy

Just then Ralph and Elsie came up, and Captain Eri explained that he had hailed them because it was time to

be going if they wanted to get across to the mainland without swimming. They walked around to the back

door of the station and there found Mrs. Snow and Captain Davis by the henyard. 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

discoursing learnedly on the relative value of Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds, as layers.

"See there!" exclaimed Captain Eri delightedly, pointing to the suffering pullet, "what did I tell you? D'you

wonder we picked her out for nuss for John, Luther? Even a sick hen knows enough to go to her."

They harnessed Daniel to the carryall, and stowed the living freight aboard somehow, although Captain Perez

protested that he had eaten so much dinner he didn't know's he'd be able to hang on the way he did coming

down. Then they said farewell to Captain Davis and his sister and started for home. The members of the

crew, such of them as were about the station, waved goodby to them as they passed.

"Things kind of average up in this world, don't they?" said Captain Eri reflectively, as he steered Daniel along

the soft beach toward the ford. "We're all the time readin' 'bout fellers that work for the Gov'ment gittin' high

sal'ries and doin' next to nothin'. Now there's a gangthe lifesavin' crew, I meanthat does what you and

me would call almighty hard 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 giltedged wages for bein' froze and drownded and blown to

The tide was higher when they came to the crossing than it had been when they drove over before, but they

made the passage all right, although there was some nervousness displayed by the feminine portion of the

party. When they reached home they found Captain Jerry contentedly smoking his pipe, the sick man was

asleep, and everything was serene. Josiah appeared from behind the barn, where he had been smoking a

They pressed Mr. Hazeltine to stay to supper, but he declined, alleging that he had been away from business

too long already. He had been remarkably silent during the homeward ride, and Elsie, too, had seemed busy

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 Captain Jerry struck the table a bang with his palm that made the knives and forks jump, and so

startled Captain Perez as to cause him to spill half a cup of tea over his shirt bosom.

"Land of love!" ejaculated the victim, mopping his chin and his tie with his napkin. "It's bad enough to scare

a feller to death, let alone drowndin' and scaldin' him at the same time. What did you do that for?"

"I jest thought of somethin'," exclaimed Captain Jerry, going through one pocket after the other.

"Well, I wish you'd have your thinkin' fits in the barn or somewheres else next time. I put this shirt on clean

His friend was too busy to pay any attention to this advice. The pocket search apparently being

unsatisfactory, he rose from the table and hurriedly made a round of the room, looking on the mantelpiece

"I had it when I come in," he soliloquized. "I know I did, 'cause I was wearin' it when I went out to see to the

"If it's your hat you're looking for," observed Josiah, "I saw Mrs. Snow hang it up on the nail behind the door.

The reply to this was merely a grunt, which may, or may not have expressed approval. At any rate, the hat

was apparently the object of his search, for he took it from the nail, looked inside, and with a sigh of relief

"I knew I put it somewheres," he said. "It's a letter for you, Elsie. Josiah, here, he brought it down from the

postoffice when he come from school this afternoon. I meant to give it to you afore."

Captain Eri, who sat next to the young lady, noticed that the envelope was addressed in an irregular,

sprawling hand to "Miss Elizabeth Preston, Orham, Mass." Elsie looked it over in the absent way in which so

She did not open it at once, but, tucking it into her waist, announced that she must run upstairs, in order that

Mrs. Snow might come down to supper. The housekeeper did come down a few minutes later, and, as she

was interested to know more about Luther Davis and his sister, the talk became animated and general.

It was after eight o'clock when Mrs. Snow, having finished washing the dishesshe allowed no one to assist

her in this operation since the time when she caught Captain Jerry absentmindedly using the dust rag instead

of the dishclothwent upstairs to her patient. Shortly afterward Elsie came down, wearing her hat and

"I'm going out for a little while," she said. "No, I don't want anyone to go with me. I'll be back soon."

Her back was turned to the three captains as she spoke, but, as she opened the door, the lamplight shone for

an instant on her face, and Captain Eri noticed, or fancied that he did, that she was paler than usual. He rose,

and again offered to accompany her, but met with such a firm refusal that he could not insist further.

"Now, that's kind of funny, ain't it?" remarked Perez. "I don't b'lieve she's been out alone afore after dark

It may as well be explained here that Captain Perez' grandnephew was a thorn in the flesh to everyone,

including his indulgent relative. He was a little afraid of Mrs. Snow, and obeyed her better than he did anyone

else, but that is not saying a great deal. He was in mischief in school twothirds of the time, and his reports,

made out by the teacher, were anything but complimentary. He was a goodlooking boy, the image of his

mother, who had been her uncle's favorite, and he was popular with a certain class of youngsters. Also, and

this was worse, his work at the livery stable had thrown him in contact with a crowd of men like "Squealer"

Wixon, "Web" Saunders, and others of their class, and they appreciated his New York street training and

made much of him. Captain Perez, mindful of his promise to the boy's mother, did not use the necessary

measures to control him, and Captain Eri and Captain Jerry did not like to interfere.

Just now he was seated in the corner, and he looked up with a start, hurriedly folded up the tattered paper

Josiah hesitated, looked as if he would like to refuse, and then sullenly took the ragged volume from his

pocket and handed it to the Captain, who deliberately unfolded it, and looked at the cover.

"'Fightin' Fred Starlight, the Boy Rover of the Pacific,'" he read aloud. "Humph! Is it good?"

"He was a sailor," was the sulky answer. Josiah was no fool, and knew when he was being made fun of.

The Captain opened the book, and read a page or two to himself. Then he said, "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 he

called the old man a 'caitiff hound'? Awful thing to call a feller, that is. I'll bet that skipper felt ashamed.

Looks like a good book. I'll borrow it tonight to read while you're doin' your lessons."

"Well, I know 'em now. Besides, you ain't got any right to order me around. You ain't my uncle. Can't I read

Poor Perez! He hesitated, swallowed once or twice, and answered, "You can 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, but he evidently thought better of it, and

tossed the paper novel across to Captain Perez, who put it on the table, saying, rather feebly:

"There now, it's right there, where you can have it soon's you've l'arned your examples. Now pitch in, so's the

His nephew grumblingly got his paper and pencil, took the arithmetic and went to work. No one spoke for a

while, Captain Perez twirling his thumbs and looking, as he felt, uncomfortable. Soon Josiah, announcing that

his studies were completed, grabbed the novel from the table, took a lamp from the kitchen and went off to

"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 jest can'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

Captain Jerry announced that it was bedtime, and that he was going to turn in. Perez, still looking worried and

anxious, said that he also was going 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 his rocker. His two friends were sound

asleep. Mrs. Snow called twice from the head of the stairs to know if Elsie had come back, and where on

earth she could be. Captain Eri's answers were cheery and to the effect that the young lady had an errand up

town, and would be home pretty soon, he guessed. Nevertheless, it might have been noticed that he glanced at

It was after eleven when Elsie came in. She hurriedly and with some confusion apologized for being so late,

and thanked the Captain for sitting up for her. She made no offer to explain her long absence and, as she went

upstairs, Captain Eri noticed that her face was, if anything, paler than when she went out, and her eyes looked

as if she 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 matter while 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 not understand 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

Elsie, when she came down to breakfast next morning, was quieter than usual, and to the joking questions of

Captain Jerry and Captain Perez, who were curious concerning her "errand" of the previous evening, and who

pretended to believe that she had gone to a dance or "time" with some "feller" unknown, she gave evasive,

but goodhumored replies. Captain Eri was on his usual fishing trip, and after breakfast was over Perez

departed to the Barry place, and Jerry to his beloved schoolhouse. The sacrifice, whose impending

matrimonial doom had not been mentioned for some time by the trio interested, was gradually becoming his

own garrulous self, and his principal topic of conversation recently had been the coming marriage of the

"upstairs teacher"that is, the lady who presided over the grammar grade of the schooland the question of

her probable successor. In fact, this question of who the new teacher was to be was the prevailing subject of

When Captain Jerry came back to the house he went out to the barn to feed Lorenzo and the hens, and attend

to Daniel's toilet. He was busy with the currycomb when Elsie came in. She seated herself on a box, and

watched the performance for a while without speaking. The Captain, who took this part of his duties very

seriously, was too intent on crimping Daniel's rather scraggy forelock to talk much. At length Miss Preston

"Captain Jerry," she said, "you have never told me just where you found grandfather that night when he was

"Yes, jest on the top. You see, he'd fell down when he was runnin' to the fire."

"Who? John? Oh, he was bareheaded and in his shirtsleeves, jest as he run outdoors when he heard the bell.

Queer, he didn't put on that old white hat of his. I never knew him to be without it afore; but a feller's li'ble to

forgit 'most anything a night like that was. Did Eri tell you how Perez forgot his shoes? Funniest thing I ever

He began the story of his friend's absentmindedness, but his companion did not seem to pay much attention

to it. In fact, it was evident that her thoughts were somewhere else, for when the Captain asked her a question

that plainly called for a negative, she replied "Yes," very calmly, and didn't seem to know that she had said it.

She went into the house soon after and Captain Jerry, after considering the matter, decided that she was

"Oh, Captain Jerry! Please don't tell the others that I asked about grandfather. 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 asked of him.

When Captain Eri came home that afternoon, and was cleaning his catch at the shanty, he was surprised to

The Captain looked at her keenly. All he said, however, was, "You don't tell me!"

"Yes, I've been thinking a great deal lately, and, now that grandfather seems to be a little better, and I'm not

"Earn your livin'? Why, child alive, you don't need to do that. You ain't a mite of trouble at the house; fact is,

I don't know how we'd get along without you, and, as for money, why I cal'late your grandpa ain't so 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, you don't know what he has done for me ever

since I was a little girl. He has clothed me and given me an education, and been so kind and good that, now

that he is ill and helpless, I simply can't go on using his money. 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

"All right," he said. "'Independence shows a proper sperit and saves grocery bills,' as old man Scudder said

when his wife run off with the tinpeddler. What kind of a place was you thinkin' of takin'?"

"I want to get the appointment to teach in the grammar school here. Miss Nixon is going to be married, and

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't some reason

more 'n you've told me of for your wantin' this place? I ain't no real relation of yours, you understand, but I

would like to have you feel that you could come to me with your troubles jest the same as you would to your

It was only for a moment that Elsie hesitated, but that moment's hesitation and the manner in which she

"No, Captain Eri," she said. "It is just as I've told you. I don't want to be dependent on grandfather any

"And there ain't a single other reason for Of course, I ought to mind my business, but Well, there! what

"Yes, if you will. I know Captain Perez has said that you were interested in the townmeetings and helped to

nominate some of the selectmen and the schoolcommittee, so I thought perhaps, if you used your influence,

"Well, I don't know. I did do a little electioneerin' for one or two fellers 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 knows there's a piece

of fish comin' afterwards, but when she's swallowed that fish, 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 tomorrow we'll see. You think it over,

"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 nor Captain Perez nor Captain Jerry won't think that I do not appreciate all your

kindness? You won't think that I'm shirking my duty, or that I don't want to help take care of grandfather any

"No, no, no!" he exclaimed. "Course we won't do no such thing. Run right along, and don't think another

word about it. Wait till tomorrer. I'll have a plan fixed up to land that schoolcommittee, see if I don't."

But all that evening he worked at the model of the clipper, and the expression on his face as he whittled

He came back from his fishing next day a little earlier than usual, changed his workingclothes for his second

best suit, harnessed Daniel into the buggy, and then came into the house, and announced that he was going

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 prearranged scheme, 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"; he seemed to be thinking. Elsie, too, was very

quiet. When they reached the fruit and candy shop, just around the corner, the Captain stopped the horse, got

"Why, Captain Eri," said Elsie, "I didn't know that you smoked cigars. I thought a pipe was your favorite."

"Well, gin'rally speakin', 'tis," was the answer, "but I'm electioneerin' now, and politics without cigars would

be like a chowder without any clams. Rum goes with some kind of politics, but terbacker kind of chums in

with all kinds. 'Tain't always safe to jedge a candidate by the kind of cigars he gives out neither; I've found

"Reminds me of a funny thing that Obed Nickerson told me one time. Obed used to be in politics a good deal

up and down the Cape, here, and he had consider'ble influence. 'Twas when Bradley up to Fall River was

runnin' for Congress. They had a kind of powwow in his officea whole gang of district leadersand

Obed he was one of 'em. Bradley went to git out the cigarbox, and 'twas empty, so he called in the boy that

swept out and run errands for him, give the youngster a tendollar 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

kind of surprised to think of anybody's bein' so reckless as to buy a whole box of cigars at once, but he went

"The old man told him to open it and pass 'em round. Well, everybody was 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 agoin', 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, and the smoke and smell got thicker 'n' thicker. Obed said it reminded him of a

stable afire more 'n anything else. Pretty soon Bradley bit the end of one of the things and touched a match to

it. He puffed twiceObed swears 'twa'n't more'n thatand 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'd bought a box of the kind his brother that worked in the cotton mill smoked. Obed

said you'd ought to have seen Bradley's face when the youngster handed him back seven dollars and seventy

They reached that part of Orham which is called the Neck, and pulled up before a small building bearing the

sign "Solomon Bangs, AttorneyatLaw, Real Estate and Insurance." Here the Captain turned to his

companion and asked, "Sure you haven't changed your mind, Elsie? You want that schoolteachin' job?"

"Well, I wanted to be sure. I should hate to ask Sol Bangs for anything and then have to back out afterwards.

Mr. Soloman Bangs was the chairman of the Orham schoolcommittee. He was a short, stout man with sandy

sidewhiskers and a bald head. He received them with becoming condescension, and asked if they wouldn't

"Why, I've got a little bus'ness I want to talk with you 'bout, Sol," said the Captain. "Elsie, you set down here,

As he led the way into the little private office at the back of the building, and seemed to take it for granted

that Mr. Bangs would follow, the latter gentleman couldn't well refuse. The private office was usually

reserved for interviews with widows whose homestead mortgages were to be foreclosed, guileless individuals

who had indorsed notes for friends, or others whose business was unpleasant and likely to be accompanied

with weeping or profanity. Mr. Bangs didn't object to foreclosing a mortgage, but he disliked to have a

On this occasion the door of the sanctum was left ajar so that Elsie, although she did not try to listen, could

She heard the Captain commenting on the late cranberry crop, the exceptionally pleasant weather of the past

month, and other irrelevant subjects. Then the perfumes of the campaign cigars floated out through the

"Why, so 'tis, so 'tis. Gittin' pretty nigh, ain't it? What are you goin' to git off the schoolcommittee for?"

"Why, I don't know. You are, ain't you? Seems to me I heard Seth Wingate was goin' to run and he's from

"A good man! He ain't any better man than I am. What's he know about schools, 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

"Who said I turned her off? I've been carrying that mortgage for so long it's grayheaded. I can't be Santa

Claus for the whole town. Business is business, and I've got to look out for myself."

"Eri, I ain't denying that you could do a heap to hurt me if you wanted to, but I don't know why you should.

"Oh, nuthin', nuthin'! Didn't I hear you was tryin' to get that Harniss teacher to come down here and take

"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 could have had one right from home. Then, she's some relation of your cousin,

ain't she? 'Course, that's all right, butwell, you can't pay attention to 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

The conversation that followed was in a lower tone, and Elsie heard but little of it. She heard enough,

however, to infer that Captain Eri was still the disinterested friend, and that Solomon was very anxious to

retain that friendship. After a while the striking of matches indicated that fresh cigars were being lighted, and

then the pair rose from their chairs, and entered the outer office. Mr. Bangs was very gracious, exceedingly

"Miss Preston," he said, "Cap'n Hedge tells me that itermight be possible for userfor the town to

secureertoin short, for us to have you for our teacher in the upstairs room. It ain't necessary for me to

say thatera teacher from Radcliffe don't come our way very often, and that wethat is, the town of

"Of course, I told him, Elsie," said Captain Eri, "that you wouldn't think of comin' for fortyfive dollars a

month or anything like that. Of course, 'tisn't as though you really needed the place."

"I understand, I understand," said the pompous committeeman. "I think that can be arranged. I really

thinkerMiss Preston, that there ain't any reason why you can't consider it settled. Ahem!"

Elsie thanked him, trying her best not to smile, and they were bowed out 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" was

The Captain grinned. "Didn't know I was such a heeler, did you?" he said. "Well, I tell you. If you're fishin'

for eels there ain't no use usin' a mack'rel jig. Sol, he's a little mite eely, and you've got to use the kind of bait

"But I shouldn't think he would care whether he was on the school committee or not. It isn't such an exalted

Captain Eri's answer was in the form of a parable. "Old Laban Simpkins that 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 was a

tough nut gin'rally. Well, one evenin' Labe was comin' home pretty howcomeyouso, and he fell into

Jonadab Wixon's well. Wonder he wa'n't killed, but he wa'n't, and they fished him out in a little while. He

said that was the deepest well he ever saw; said he begun to think it reached clear through to the hereafter,

and when he struck the water he was s'prised to find it wa'n't hot. He j'ined the church the next week, and

somebody asked him if he thought religion would keep him from fallin' into any more wells. He said no; said

"Well, that's the way 'tis with Sol. Schoolcommittee's all right, but this section of the Cape nominates a

"I mustn't forgit to see Seth," he added. "I promised I would, and besides," 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

The second member of the school board, John Mullett, was, so the Captain said, a sort of "me too" to Mr.

Bangs, and would vote as his friend directed. The third member was Mr. Langworthy, the Baptist minister

and, although two to one was a clear majority, Captain Eri asserted that there was nothing like a unanimous

They found him at home, and Elsie was surprised, after the previous interview, to see how differently her

champion handled the case. There was no preliminary parley and no beating about the bush. Miss Preston's

claim to the soontobevacant position was stated clearly and with vigor. Also the reasons why she should

receive a higher salary than had previously been paid were set forth. It was something of a surprise to Elsie,

as it had been to Ralph, to see how highly the townspeople, that is, the respectable portion of them, seemed

to value the opinions of this goodnatured but uneducated seaman. And yet when she considered that she,

too, went to him for advice that she would not have asked of other and far more learned acquaintances, it did

The clergyman had had several candidates in mind, but he was easily won over to Elsie's side, partly by the

Captain's argument, and partly because he was favorably impressed by the young lady's appearance and

manner. He expressed himself as being convinced that she would be exactly the sort of teacher that the school

And so, as Captain Eri said, the stumpspeaking being over, there was nothing to do but to wait for the

election, and Elsie and he agreed to keep the affair a secret until she received formal notice of the

appointment. This was undoubtedly a good plan, but, unfortunately for its success, Solomon Bangs called

upon his fellow in the committee, Mr. Mullett, to inform the latter that he, entirely unaided, had discovered

the very teacher that Orham needed in the person of John Baxter's granddaughter. Mr. Mullett, living up to

his "me too" reputation, indorsed the selection with enthusiasm, and not only did that, but also told everyone

he met, so that Captain Perez heard of it at the postoffice the very next afternoon.

The natural surprise of this gentleman and of Captain Jerry at their guest's sudden determination was met by

plausible explanations from Captain Eri, to the effect that Elsie was a smart girl, and didn't like to be "hangin'

'round doin' nothin', now that her grandpa was some better." Elsie's own reason, as expressed to them, being

just this, the pair accepted it without further questioning. Neither of them attached much importance to the

letter which she had received, although Captain Perez did ask Mrs. Snow if she knew from whom it came.

The lady from Nantucket was not so easily satisfied. At her first opportunity she cornered Captain Eri, and

they discussed the whole affair from beginning to end. There was nothing unusual in this proceeding, for

discussions concerning household matters and questions of domestic policy were, between these two, getting

to be more and more frequent. Mrs. Snow was now accepted by all as one of the family, and Captain Eri had

come to hold a high opinion of her and her views. What he liked about her, he said, was her "good

oldfashioned commonsense," and, whereas he had formerly trusted to his own share of this virtue almost

The marriage idea, that which had brought the housekeeper to Orham, was now seldom mentioned. In fact,

Captain Eri had almost entirely ceased to ruffle Jerry's feelings with reference to it. Mrs. Snow, of course,

said nothing about it. But, for that matter, she said very little about herself 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 she came to answer the advertisement in the Nuptial Chime, nor to explain

how so matteroffact a person as she was had ever seen that famous sheet. As she said nothing concerning

these things, no one felt at liberty to inquire, and, in the course of time, even Captain Perez' lively curiosity

Mrs. Snow was certain that Elsie's reason for wishing to obtain the position of schoolteacher was something

more specific than the one advanced. She was also certain that the girl was troubled about something. The

root of the matter, she believed, was contained in the mysterious letter. As Captain Eri was of precisely the

same opinion, speculation between the two as to what that letter might have contained was as lively as it was

One thing was certain, Elsie was not as she had formerly been. She did her best to appear the same, but she

was much more quiet, and had fits of absentmindedness that the Captain and the housekeeper noticed. She

had no more evening "errands," but she occasionally took long walks in the afternoons, and on these walks

Whether Mr. Hazeltine noticed this change in her was a question. The Captain thought he did, but at any rate,

his calls were none the less frequent, and he showed no marked objection when Captain Jerry, who now

considered himself bound in honor to bring about the union he had so actively championed, brought to bear

his artful schemes for leaving the young folks alone. These devices were so apparent that Elsie had more than

once betrayed some symptoms of annoyance, all of which were lost on the zealous matchmaker. Ralph, like

the others, was much surprised at Miss Preston's application for employment, but, as it was manifestly none

At the next committee meeting Elsie was unanimously chosen to fill Miss Nixon'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 in

order that she might become the carefree bride of a widower with two small children, the shoefilling took

From her first day's labors Elsie returned calm and unruffled. She had met the usual small rebellion against a

new teacher, and had conquered it. She said she believed she had a good class and she should get on with

them very nicely. It should be mentioned in passing, however, that Josiah Bartlett, usually the ringleader in

all sorts of trouble, was a trifle upset because the new schoolmistress lived in the same house with him, and

so had not yet decided just how far it was safe to go in trespassing against law and order.

Thanksgiving day came, and the Captains entertained Miss Patience Davis and 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 of the butcher's cart, giving him directions concerning the exact breed of turkey that was to be

delivered, and apparently these orders were effectual, for Captain Luther, who was obliged to hurry back to

the lifesaving station as soon as dinner was over, said that he was so full of white meat and stuffing that he

cal'lated he should "gobble" all the way to the beach. His sister stayed until the next day, and this was very

They had games in the evening, and here the captains distinguished themselves. Seth Wingate and his wife,

and Mr. and Mrs. Obed Nickerson came in, as did several other retired mariners and their betterhalves.

Obed brought his fiddle and sat in the corner and played the music for a Virginia reel, and Ralph laughed

until he choked to see Captain Jerryhalf of his shirtcollar torn loose from the button and flapping like a

sailconvoy stout Mrs. Wingate from one end of the line to the other, throwing into the performance all the

fancy "cuts" and "doubleshuffles" he learned at the Thanksgiving balls of a good many years before.

Captain Perez danced with Miss Patience, who assured him she had never had such a good time since she was

born. The only scoffer was the bored Josiah, who, being a sophisticated New Yorker, sat in the best chair and

gazed contemptuously upon the entire proceeding. He told "Web" Saunders the next day that he never saw

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

her room after Elsie had gone to bed, found that young lady awake and crying silently.

"And she wouldn't tell what the trouble was," said the housekeeper to Captain 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 to

The Captain scratched his nose with a perplexed air. "There's one feller I'd like to have a talk with jest 'bout

now," he said; "that's the one that invented that yarn 'bout a woman's not bein' able to keep a secret."

It was during the week that followed the holiday so gloriously celebrated that Captain Jerry made a mess of

it, and all with the best intentions in the world. Elsie had had a hard day at the school, principally owing to

the perversity of the irrepressible Josiah, whose love for deviltry was getting the better of his respect for the

new teacher. The boy had discovered that Elsie never reported his bad conduct to Captain Perez, and,

therefore, that the situation was not greatly 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 the chickenpox, Elsie came home tired and nervous. Captain Eri and Mrs. Snow were

certain that this increasing nervousness on the part of their guest was not due to school troubles alone, but, at

any rate, nervous she was, and particularly nervous, and, it must be confessed, somewhat inclined to be

The beginning of the trouble was when Ralph Hazeltine called. Mrs. Snow was with her patient in the upper

room, Captain Eri was out, and Captain Perez and Captain Jerry were with Elsie in the dining room. The

electrician was made welcome by the triomore especially by the captains, for Miss Preston was in no mood

to be overeffusiveand a few minutes of general conversation followed. Then Captain Jerry, in accordance

with his plan of campaign, laid down his newspaper, coughed emphatically to attract the attention of his

partner, and said, "Well, I guess 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 the weather only ten minutes ago. I don't

think it has changed much since then. Why don't you stay here and keep us company?"

"Oh, you can't never tell about the weather 'long this coast. It's likely to change most any time. Besides," with

a wink that expressed comprehension unlimited, "I reckon you and Mr. Hazeltine don't care much 'bout the

company of old fogies like me and Perez. Two's company and three's a crowd, you know. Ho, ho, ho!"

But the Captain chuckled and shook out of the door, followed by the obedient Perez, who, having pledged

At another time, Elsie would probably have appreciated and enjoyed the joke as much as anyone, but this

evening it did not appeal to her in the least. Ralph put in a very uncomfortable halfhour, and then cut his

visit short and departed. It was rather sharp and chilly outside, but the breeze felt like a breath from the

It certainly was Captain Jerry's unlucky evening, for he left Perez chatting with a fisherman friend, who had

left a favorite pipe in his shanty and had come down to get it, and entered the house alone. He had seen the

electrician go, and was surprised at the brevity of his call, but he was as far from suspecting that he himself

He came into the dining room, hung his cap on the back of a chair, and remarked cheerfully, "Well, Elsie,

what did you send your company home so quick for? Land sake! twelve o'clock wa'n't none too late for me

But Miss Preston did not smile. On the contrary, she frowned, and when she spoke the Captain had a vague

"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 tonight was no exception,

except that by what you said you made me appear a little more ridiculous than usual. Now, why do you do

The Captain's jaw fell. He stared at his questioner to see if she was not joking, but, finding no encouragement

"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

"What right have you to suppose that Mr. Hazeltine is calling on me more than any other person or persons in

This was something of a poser, but the Captain did his best. He sat on the edge of a chair and rubbed his

knee, and then blurted out, "Well, I s'pose Ithat is, we thought he was, jest 'cause he nat'rally would; that's

'bout all. If I'd thoughtwhy, see here, Elsie, don't YOU think he's comin' to see you?"

This was a return thrust that was hard to parry, but, although the young lady's color heightened just a bit, she

"I don't know that I do. At any rate, I have given you no authority to act on any such assumption, and I

DON'T want you to put me again in the ridiculous position you did this evening, and as you have done so

often before. Why, his visits might be perfect torture to me, and still I should have to endure them out of

"Elsie," he said, "I'm awful sorry; I am so. If I'd thought I was torturin' 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 up against me. I meant

Now, if Captain Perez had delayed his entrance to that dining room only two or three minutes longer, if he

had not come in just in time to prevent Elsie's making the explanatory and soothing answer that was on her

tongue, events would probably have been entirely different, and a good deal of trouble might have been

saved. But in he came, as if some perverse imp had been waiting to give him the signal, and the interview

between Captain Jerry and the young lady whom he had unwittingly offended broke off then and there.

Elsie went upstairs feeling a little consciencestricken, and with an uneasy idea that she had said more than

she should have. Captain Perez took up the newspaper and sat down to read. As for Captain Jerry, he sat

down, too, but merely to get his thoughts assorted into an arrangement less 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 like an

His first idea was to follow the usual procedure, and take the whole matter to Captain Eri for settlement, but

the more he considered this plan the less he liked it. Captain Eri was an unmerciful tease, and he would be

sure to "rub it in," in a way the mere thought of which made his friend squirm. There wasn't much use in

confiding to Captain Perez, either. He must keep the secret and pretend that everything was working

Then his thoughts turned to Hazeltine, and when he considered the wrong he had done that young man, he

squirmed again. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Ralph felt exactly as Elsie did about his interference.

Captain Jerry decided that he owed the electrician an apology, and determined to offer it at the first

And the opportunity came the very next morning, for Mrs. Snow wanted some clams for dinner, and asked

him to dig some for her. The best clams in the vicinity were those in the flat across the bay near the cable

station, and the Captain took his bucket and hoe and rowed over there. As he was digging, Ralph came

Mr. Hazeltine's "Goodmorning" was clear and hearty. Captain Jerry's was hesitating and formal. The talk

that followed was rather onesided. Finally, the Captain laid down his hoe, and came splashing over to where

"Mr. Hazeltine," he said confusedly, "I kind of feel as if I ought to beg your pardon. I'm awful sorry I done

"Why, for leavin' you and her alone so when you come to the house. You see, I never thought but what you'd

both like it, and 'twa'n't till she raked me over the coals so for doin' it that I realized how things was."

It is unnecessary to repeat the whole of the long and tangled conversation 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 from Elsie's remarks of the previous evening, and then,

thinking perhaps he had gone too far, tried to smooth these over by more explanations. Repeating this process

several times got him into such a snarl that he scarcely knew what he was saying. When the agony was over

Ralph had received the impression that Miss Preston had said his visits were a perfect torture to her, that she

objected to being left alone with him, that she held Captain Jerry responsible for these things, and that the

latter was sorry for something or other, though what it was he, Ralph, didn't know or care particularly. To the

Captain's continued apologies he muttered absently that it was "all right," and walked slowly away with his

hands in his pockets. Captain Jerry was relieved by this expression of forgiveness. He felt that the situation

wasn't what he would like to have it, but, at any rate, he had done his duty. This was a great consolation.

Ralph didn't call that evening or the next. When he did drop in it was merely to inquire concerning John

Baxter's progress, and to chat for a moment with the captains. His next visit was a week later, and was just as

If Elsie noticed this sudden change she said nothing. There might have been some comment by the others,

had not a new sensation so occupied their minds as to shut out everything else. This sensation was caused by

Josiah Bartlett, who ran away one night, with his belongings tied up in a brown paper parcel, leaving a note

There were lively times the next morning when the note was found. Captain Perez was for harnessing up

immediately and starting off to find the lost one, hit or miss. Captain Eri soon showed him the folly of this

proceeding and, instead, hurried to the railway station and sent a telegram describing the fugitive to the

conductor of the Boston train. It caught the conductor at Sandwich, and the local constable at Buzzard's Bay

caught the boy. Josiah was luxuriously puffing a fivecent cigar in the smoking car, and it was a crestfallen

and humiliated prodigal that, accompanied by the a forementioned constable, returned to Orham that night.

But the stubbornness remained, and the next day Perez sought Captain Eri in a troubled frame of mind.

"Eri," he said dejectedly, "I don't know what I'm goin' to do with that boy. He's too many for ME, that boy is.

Seems he's been plannin' this runnin' away bus'ness for more 'n a month; been doin' errands and odd jobs

'round town and savin' up his money on purpose. Says he won't go back 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 again fust chance

he gits, and he WILL, too. He's got the sperit of the Old Scratch in him, and I can't git it out. I'm clean

discouraged and wore out, and I know that he'll do somethin' pretty soon that 'll disgrace us all."

"Humph!" exclaimed his friend. "Stuffy as all that, is he? You don't say! He ain't a bad boy, that is a REEL

"No, that's jest it. He ain't reel badyit. But he will be if he ain't fetched up pretty sudden. 'Course, I know

what he needs is to be made to mind fust, and then preached to afterwards. And I know that nat'rally I'm the

one that ought to do it, but I jest can'tthere! If I should start out to give him the dressin' down he needs, I'd

be thinkin' of his mother every minute, and how I promised to treat him gentle and not be cross to him. But

SOMETHIN'S got to be done, and if you can help me out any way I'll never forgit it, Eri."

Captain Eri scratched his chin. "Humph!" he grunted reflectively. "He couldn't git into the Navy, he's too

young. More likely to be a stowaway on a merchantman and then roustabout on a cattle boat, or some such

thing. Even if he lied 'bout his age and did git to be a sort of a ship's boy on a sailin' vessel, you and me know

what that means nowadays. I presume likely 'twould end in his bein' killed in some rumshop scrimmage later

"More fool he. Comes from readin' them ridic'lous story books, I s'pose. He ain't been on the water much

"Not more 'n once or twice, except in a dory goin' to the beach, or somethin' like that."

"That's so, that's what I thought. Well, Perez, I'll tell you. The boy does need breakin' in, that's a fact, and I

think maybe I could do it. I could use a young feller on my boat; to go coddin' with me, I mean. Let me have

the boy under meno meddlin' from anybodyfor a couple of months. Let him sign reg'lar articles and ship

"I cal'late I could talk him into it. There's some butter on my tongue when it's necessary."

"You'd have to promise not to lay a hand on him in anger. That's what I promised his mother."

"All right, I promise it now. That's all right, Perez. You and me are old 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 the unreconciled runaway. That young

gentleman, fresh from his triumph over his uncle, at first refused to have anything to do with the scheme. He

wasn't going to be a "cheap guy fisherman," he was going into the Navy. The Captain did not attempt to urge

him, neither did he preach or patronize. He simply leaned back in the rocker and began spinning sailor yarns.

He told of all sorts of adventures in all climates, and with all sorts of people. He had seen everything under

the sun, apparently, and, according to him, there was no life so free and void of all restraint as that of an able

seaman on a merchant ship, or, preferably, on a fisherman; but one point he made clear, and that was that,

unless the applicant had had previous training, his lot was likely to be an unhappy one.

"Of course," he said, as he rose to go, "it was my idea to sort of train you up so's you could be ready when

"Good! That's the talk! You might as well sign articles right away. Wait till I git 'em ready."

He brought pen, ink, and paper, and proceeded to indite a formidable document to the effect that "Josiah

Bartlett, able seaman," was to ship aboard the catboat Mary Ellen for a term of two months. Wages, five

"You see," he said, "I've put you down as able seaman 'cause that's what you'll be when I git through with

So Josiah signed, and then Captain Eri affixed his own signature with a flourish.

"There!" exclaimed the Captain, bringing his big palm down on the back of the "able seaman" with a thump

that brought water into the eyes of that proud youth, "You're my man, shipmate. We sail to morrer mornin'

"You bet!" he said fervently, and went away whistling. Captain Perez slept better that night.

Promptly at a quarter to four the next morning Captain Eri rapped on the parlor door. Josiah, who had been

dressed since three, appeared almost instantly. They walked down to the shore together, and the Captain's

The Mary Ellen was anchored between the beaches, and they rowed off to her in a dory. It was pitchdark,

and cold and raw. Lanterns showed on two or three of the other boats near by, and, as Josiah and the Captain

pulled up the eelgrasscovered anchor, a dim shape glided past in the blackness. 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 I wouldn't wonder if we had some wind 'fore

night. Here you, fo'mast hand," he added, turning to Josiah, "stand by to git the canvas on her."

"Gee! it's dark," exclaimed Josiah. "what are you goin' way off here for? Why don't you go straight out?"

"I gin'rally take the short cut through the narrers," replied the Captain, "but I thought you mightn't like the

"Huh! I ain't ascared of breakers. Can't be too rough for me. Wisht 'twould blow to beat the band."

It was after sunrise when they reached the ledge where codfish most do congregate. The land was a mere

yellow streak on the horizon. The stiff easterly blow of the day before had left a smooth, heavy swell that,

tripping over the submerged ledge, alternately tossed the Mary Ellen high in air and dropped her toward the

bottom. It was cold, and the newly risen December sun did not seem to have much warmth in it. Anchor over

The "able seaman" did not feel very hungry, but he managed to swallow a hardboiled egg and a sandwich,

and then, just to show that he had reached the dignity of manhood, leaned back against the side of the cockpit,

Captain Eri wiped the crumbs from his mouth, leisurely produced his pipe, and proceeded to fill it with

"What d'you smoke them things for?" he asked contemptuously, referring to the cigarette. "Nobody but dudes

and sissies smoke that kind of truck. Here, take this pipe, and smoke like a man."

"Oh, no!" he said magnanimously, "you'll want it yourself. I'll get along with these things till I git ashore;

"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 it gingerly between his teeth, held a match

to the bowl and coughingly emitted a cloud of illsmelling smoke. The pipe wheezed and gurgled, and the

"Now, then," said Captain Eri, "we've sojered long enough. Go below, and bring up the bait bucket and the

Josiah staggered into the little cabin, reappeared with the heavy cod lines and the bucket of mussels, and

"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 was exciting and lively. The Captain, watching

from the corner of his eye, noticed that his assistant's pipe was wheezing less regularly, and that his lines

were thrown over more and more listlessly. At length he said, "Haven't stopped smokin' so quick, have you?

Reluctantly the boy obeyed, and puffed with feverish energy. Also he swallowed with vigor. The cod smelt

fishy; so did the bait, and the catboat rolled and rolled. Suddenly Josiah pulled in his lines, and took the pipe

"II 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. Pick up them lines."

The boy sullenly turned toward the cabin door. Was he, who had just declared himself independent of school

restraint, he who had once been the thorn in the flesh of every policeman in the th ward, to be ordered

about by this Cape Cod countryman! "Aw, go chase yourself!" he said contemptuously. A minute after, when

he picked himself up from the heap of slimy fish in the bottom of the boat, he saw the Captain standing

solidly on one cowhideshod foot, while the other was drawn easily back and rested on its toe. When Josiah

recovered his breath, the burst of bad language with which he assailed his companion did credit to his street

bringing up. It was as short as it was fierce, however, and ended 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

"YouyouI'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 merely sat up and sobbed as Captain Eri said

"No, I'm not lyin'. I promised not to lay a hand on you in anger, that's all. Fust place, I don't kick with my

The "able seaman" was frightened. This sort of treatment was new to him. He judged it best to obey now and

"get square" later on. He sulkily picked up the codlines, and threw the hooks overboard. Captain Eri, calmly

resuming his fishing, went on to say, "The fust thing a sailor has to l'arn is to obey orders. I see you've

He eyed the threatening boot fearfully and lit the awful pipe with shaking fingers. But he had taken but a few

puffs when it went over the side, and it seemed to Josiah that the larger half of himself went with it. The

"Sick, hey?" he grunted, "and not a capful of wind stirrin'. You're a healthy sailor! I thought I'd shipped a

man, but I see 'twas only a sassy baby. My uncle Labe had a good cure for seasickness. You take a big hunk

"Another thing a sailor learns is not to call his skipper 'Cap.' A fo'mast hand always says 'Aye, aye, sir,' when

Well, 'twas a dreadful forenoon for Josiah; one not to be forgotten. The boat rolled unceasingly, his head

ached, and pulling the heavy cod made his back and shoulders lame; also, he was wet and cold. The other

boats scattered about the fishing grounds pulled up their anchors and started for home, but Captain Eri did not

budge. At noon he opened his lunch basket again, and munched serenely. The sight of the greasy ham

sandwiches was too much for the "able seaman." He suffered a relapse and, when it was over, tumbled on the

seat which encircled the cockpit and, being completely worn out, went fast asleep. The Captain watched him

for a minute or two, smiled in a not unkindly way, and, going into the cabin, brought out an old pea jacket

and some other wraps with which he covered the sleeper. Then he went back to his fishing.

When Josiah awoke the Mary Ellen was heeled over on her side, her sail as tight as a drumhead. The wind

was whistling through the cordage, and the boat was racing through seas that were steelblue and angry, with

whitecaps on their crests. The sun was hidden by tumbling, dustcolored clouds. The boy felt weak and

Captain Eri, standing at the tiller, regarded him sternly, but there was the suspicion of a twinkle in his eye.

It was some time before anything more was said. Josiah was gazing at the yellow sandcliffs that, on every

"Perez ever tell you 'bout our fust v'yage? Never did, hey? Well, I will. Him and me run away to sea together,

And then Captain Eri began a tale that caused the cold shivers to chase themselves from Josiah's big toe to the

longest hair on his head. It was the story of two boys who ran away and shipped aboard an Australian sailing

packet, and contained more firstclass horrors than any one of his beloved dime novels. As a finishing touch

the narrator turned back the grizzled hair on his forehead and showed a threeinch scar, souvenir of a first

mate and a belaying pin. He rolled up his flannel shirtsleeve and displayed a slightly misshapen left arm,

"Now," he said in conclusion, "I cal'late you think I was pretty hard on you this mornin', but what do you

"Well, you would, mighty nigh, and that's a fact. Now, I'll tell you somethin' else. You wanted to enlist in the

Navy, I understand. You couldn't git in the Navy, anyway, you're too young, but s'pose you could, what then?

You'd never git any higher 'n a petty officer, 'cause you don't know enough. The only way to git into the Navy

is to go through Annapolis, and git an education. I tell you, education counts. Me and Perez would have been

somethin' more 'n cheap fishin' and coastin' 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 is enough for me, thank you."

"Can't help that. You shipped 'long with me for two months, and you'll sail with me for two months, every

time I go out. You won't run away again neither, I'll look out for that. You'll sail with me and you'll help

clean fish, and you'll mind me and you'll say 'sir.' You needn't smoke if you don't want to," with a smile. "I

"Then," went on the Captain, "when the two months is up you'll be your own master again. You can go back

to 'Web' Saunders and 'Squealer' Wixon and 'Ily' Tucker and their tribe, if you want to, and be a town

nuisance and a goodfornuthin'. OR you can do this: You can go to school for a few years more and behave

yourself and then, if I've got any influence with the Congressman from this districtand I sort of b'lieve I

have, secondhanded, at any rate you can go to Annapolis and learn to be a Navy officer. That's my offer.

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." From where Josiah sat the way seemed choked with lines of roaring, frothing

breakers that nothing could approach and keep above water. But Captain Eri steered the Mary Ellen through

them as easily as a New York cabdriver guides his vehicle through a jam on Broadway, picking out the

smooth places and avoiding the rough ones until the last bar was crossed and the boat entered the sheltered

"That's part of what I'll l'arn you in the next two months," said the Captain. "'Twon't do you any harm to

If Josiah expected any relaxation in Captain Eri's stern discipline he was disappointed, for he was held to the

strict letter of the "shipping articles." The Captain even went to the length of transferring Perez to the parlor

cot and of compelling the boy to share his own room. This was, of course, a precaution against further

attempts at running away. Morning after morning the pair rose before daylight and started for the fishing

grounds. There were two or three outbreaks on the part of the "able seaman," but they ended in but one way,

complete submission. After a while Josiah, being by no means dull, came to realize that when he behaved like

a man he was treated like one. He learned to steer the Mary Ellen, and to handle her in all weathers. Also, his

Captain Perez was gratified and delighted at the change in his grandnephew's behavior and manners, and was

not a little curious to learn the methods by which the result had been brought about. His hints being fruitless,

he finally asked his friend pointblank. Captain Eri's answer was something like this:

"Perez," he said, "do you remember old man Sanborn, that kept school here when you and me was boys?

Well, when the old man run foul of a youngster 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 of treatment 'moral suasion.' That's

Captain Perez was a little anxious concerning the first part of this course of training, but its results were so

satisfactory that he asked no more questions. The fact is, Captain Perez' mind was too much occupied with

another subject just at this time to allow him to be overanxious. The other subject was Miss Patience Davis.

Miss Davis, her visit with her brother being over, was acting as companion to an old lady who lived in a little

house up the shore, a mile 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 Patience found Mrs. Mayo's crotchets a bit trying, but the work was easy and to her liking, and

she was, as she said, "right across the way, as you might say, from Luther." The "way" referred to was the

And Captain Perez was much interested in Miss patiencevery much so, indeed. His frequent visits to the

Mayo homestead furnished no end of amusement to Captain Eri, and also to Captain Jerry, who found poking

fun at his friend an agreeable change from the old programme of being the butt himself. He wasn't entirely

free from this persecution, however, for Eri more than once asked him, in tones the sarcasm of which was

elaborately veiled, if his match making scheme had gotten tired and was 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 enough to say nothing to his friends concerning

his interviews with Elsie and Ralph, but apparently the breakingoff between the pair was final. Hazeltine

called occasionally, it is true, but his stays were short and, at the slightest inclination shown by the older

people to leave the room, he left the house. There was some comment by Eri and Mrs. Snow on this sudden

change, but they were far from suspecting the real reason. Elsie continued to be as reticent as she had been of

Christmas was rather a failure. There were presents, of course, but the planned festivities were omitted owing

to a change in John Baxter's condition. From growing gradually better, he now grew slowly, but surely,

worse. Dr. Palmer's calls were more frequent, and he did not conceal from Mrs. Snow or the captains his

anxiety. They hid much of this from Elsie, but she, too, noticed the change, and was evidently worried by it.

Strange to say, as his strength ebbed, the patient's mind grew clearer. His speech, that in his intervals of

consciousness had heretofore dealt with events of the past, was now more concerned with recent happenings.

One afternoon in January Mrs. Snow and Captain Eri were together in the sick room. The rest of the

household was absent on various errands; Captain Perez paying a visit to the lifesaver's sister and Elsie

staying after school to go over some examination papers. There was snow on the ground, and a "Jinooary

thaw" was causing the eaves to drip, and the puddles in the road to grow larger. The door of the big stove was

open, and the coals within showed red hot. Captain Baxter was apparently asleep.

"Let me see," said Mrs. Snow musingly, in a low tone. "I've been here now, two, three, over four months.

"Seems almost as if you'd always been here," replied Captain Eri. "Queer how 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 added with

"It's always seemed funny to me," remarked the lady, "that you men, all sailors soand used to doin' for

yourselves, should have had such a time when you come to try keepin' house. I should have expected it if you

waswell, doctors, or somethin' like thatused to havin' folks wait on you, but all sea captains, it seems

"It does, don't it? I've thought of that myself. Anybody'd think we was the most shif'less lot that ever lived,

but we wa'n't. Even Jerryand he's the wust one of the three when it comes to leavin' things at loose

endsalways had a mighty neat vessel, and had the name of makin' his crews toe the mark. I honestly b'lieve

it come of us bein' on shore and runnin' the shebang on a share and share alike idee. If there'd been a skipper,

a feller to boss things, we'd have done better, but when all hands was bossnobody felt like doin' anything.

Then, too, we begun too old. A feller gits sort of sot in his ways, and it's hard to give in to the other chap.

"Now, take that marryin' idee," he went on. "I laughed at that a good deal at fust and didn't really take any

stock in it, but I guess 'twas real hoss sense, after all. Anyhow, it brought you down here, and what we'd done

without you when John was took sick, _I_ don't know. I haven't said much about it, but I've felt enough, and I

know the other fellers feel the same way. You've been so mighty good and put up with so many things that

The wholesouled admiration in the Captain's voice made the housekeeper blush like a girl.

"Don't say a word, Cap'n Eri," she protested. "It's been jest a pleasure to me, honest. I've had more comfort

andwell, 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 that advertisement, I swan it makes my hair

curl. Advertisin' that way in that kind of a paper, why we might have had aa play actress, or I don't know

what, landed on us. Seems 's if there was a Providence in it: seems 's if you was kind of SENTthere!"

"I don't know what you must think of me answerin' an advertisement for a husband that way. It makes me

'shamed of myself when I think of it, I declare. And in that kind of a paper, too."

"I've wondered more times than a few how you ever got a hold of that paper. 'Tain't one you'd see every day

Mrs. Snow paused before she answered. Then she said slowly, "Well, I'm s'prised you ain't asked that afore. I

haven't said much about myself sence I've been here, for no p'tic'lar reason that I know of, except that there

wasn't much to tell and it wasn't a very interestin' yarn to other folks. My husband's name was Jubal Snow"

"I shouldn't wonder. Jubal knew a lot of folks on the Cape here. He was a good husbandno better

anywheresand he and I had a good life together 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'late that 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 to give up goin' to sea, and we had a little place over in Nantucket, and settled

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 he wa'n't able to work, and then 'twas harder. What little we'd saved went for doctor's bills

and this, that, and t'other. He didn't like to have me leave him, so I couldn't earn much of anything, and fin'lly

we come to where somethin' had to be done right away, and we talked the thing over and decided to mortgage

"He had a little life insurance, not enough, of course, but a little. He was plannin' to take on more, but

somehow it never seemed as if he could die, he so big and strong, and we put it off until he got so he couldn't

pass the examination. When the insurance money come I took it to Jedge Briar, a mighty good friend of

Jubal's and mine and the one that held the mortgage on the house, and I told him I wanted to pay off the

mortgage with it, so's I'd have the house free and clear. But the Jedge advised me not to, said the mortgage

was costin' me only six per cent., and why didn't I put the money where 'twas likely to be a good investment

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,

"Sho! I want to know!" broke in the Captain. "He did, hey! Well, I had some there, too, and so did Perez.

"Yes, he thought 'twas the safest and best place he knew of. The officers 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 kept thinkin' some day I'd be able to pay off the mortgage and

I put away what little I could towards it, but then _I_ was took sick and that money went, and then the Land

The Captain nodded. The failure of the company had brought poverty to hundreds of widows. Mrs. Snow's

"Let me see," said the lady. "Where was I? Oh, yes! the Land Company's failin'. Well, it failed and the

insurance money went with it. It was discouragin', 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, and that I must git along and begin to save all over again. Then Jedge Briar died

and his nephew up to Boston come into the property. I was behind in my payments a little, and they sent me

"Well, I swan! The mean sculpins! Didn't you have NOBODY you could go to; no relations nor nothin'?"

"I've got a brother out in Chicago, but he married rich and his wife doesn'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 that there

was more crazy people in Nantucket than in any other place of its size on earth, and afore I could answer she

asked me what made 'em crazy. 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 from Jobthat's my brotherfor a long time. All my other

"So they foreclosed the mortgage, and gave me notice to move out. I packed my things, and watered my

flowersI had quite a pretty flower gardenfor the last time, and then come in and set down in the rocker

to wait for the wagon that was goin' to move me. I got to thinkin' how proud Jubal and me was when we

bought that house and how we planned about fixin' it up, and how our baby that died was born in it, and how

Jubal himself had died there, and told me that he was glad he was leavin' me a home, at any rate; and I got so

lonesome and discouraged that 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 to take up my mind. And that Chime paper was what I

"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. Two of 'em, factory girls from Brockton, they was, come to the house for a

drink 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 three story papers and that Chime thing when they went away.

"Well, I looked it over, and almost the first thing I saw was that advertisement signed 'Skipper.' It didn't read

like the other trashy things in there, and it sounded honest. And all of a sudden it come over me 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 all there is to tell. When I come here to be housekeeper I wrote the folks that's takin' care of

my furniturethey're reel kind people; I was goin' to board there if I had stayed in Nantucketto keep it till

I come back. There! I meant to tell you this long ago, and I don't know why I haven't."

The Captain knew why she hadn't. It was easy to read between the lines the tale of the years of

disappointment and anxiety. Such stories are not easy to tell, and he respected the widow more than ever for

"That Land Company bus'ness," he said, "carried off a good lot of Cape Cod 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 treehe'd skin a flea for the hide and tallerand used to be a hard case into the

bargain. One time they had a big revival over there and he got religion. The boys used to say what caught

Caleb was the minister's sayin' salvation was free. Well, anyhow, he got converted and j'ined the church. That

was all right, only while the fit was fresh he pledged himself to give five hundred dollars to help 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 back and fill, and put it off for a spell. When the Land Company went up he was 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

The Captain started, turned sharply, and saw the sick man watching him, his eyes fixed and unwavering.

Mrs. Snow hurried to her patient, but the latter impatiently bade her let him alone.

"Oh, that's all right, John. Don't worry 'bout that. You and me settled that long ago. How are you feelin'

"I know, I know," with the monotonous persistence of those whose minds are wandering,and then cleanly

"Sshh! 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's better now, ain't it,

shipmate, hey?" But the sick man muttered an unintelligible something, and relapsed once more into the

The Captain wondered what his friend might have said during those "spells," but he was afraid to inquire.

"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 dreadful in the last week, and that he wouldn't be s'prised if he dropped off most any

They were silent for a while, watching the sick man, whose sleep, or stupor, was not as tranquil as usual. Two

"No, I was alone here, and she was asleep in the next room. I got up and shut the door."

The Captain glanced keenly at the housekeeper, but her face was placid and inscrutable. He shifted uneasily

The word was shouted, and the room rang with it. John Baxter, whose weakness had hitherto been so great

that he could not turn himself in bed, was leaning on his elbow and pointing with outstretched finger to the

"Fire!" he shouted again. "It's blazin'! It's burnin'! It's wipin' the plague 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

They forced him back on the pillow, but he fought them fiercely for a moment or two. After they thought

"I hear the call, Lord," he said. "I thank thee for showin' it to me in your Book. 'And they burnt all their cities

wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.' With fire! With fire!"

"Where's the kerosene?" continued the old man. "And the matches? Now softly, 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, you wicked

"There, there, Cap'n Baxter," said Mrs. Snow soothingly, laying her hand on the sick man's forehead.

Somehow, the touch seemed to quiet him; his eyes lost their fire, and he muttered absently that he was tired.

"Land of love!" exclaimed the Captain. "That was awful! Hadn't I better go for the doctor?"

"I don't think so, unless he gits worse. He had jest such a turn, as I told you, last night."

"That he set the billiard room afire? Yes. I've always rather suspicioned that he did, and last night, of course,

"No, 'course you haven't. You must excuse meI'm kind of upset, I guess. Dear! dear! Did you think _I_

"Well, I did. I've known it ever sence that night he was found. He had his coat on when I found him, and

'twas all burnt, and there was an empty kerosene bottle in his pocket. I hid the coat, and threw the bottle

away, and turned him so he was facin' towards the saloon 'stead of from it. And I lied when I told the doctor

that he was jest as he fell. There! the murder's out! Now, what do you think of me?"

"Well, I snum! I've been over that thing time and time again, and I've felt like I was sort of a firebug myself

sometimes. I've heard folks layin' it to fust one and then the other, and cal'latin' that Web did it himself to git

the insurance, and all the time I've known who really did do it, and haven't said anything. I jest couldn't. You

see, John and me's been brothers almost. But I didn't s'pose anybody else would see it the same way."

"Cap'n Eri, do you s'pose I blame you for tryin' to keep your best friend out of trouble that he got into by

bein'wellout of his head. Why, land of mercy! He ain't no more to be held responsible than a baby. You

"Marthy Snow," he said, "you're the kind of woman that I'd like to have had for a sister."

It was perhaps a halfhour later when Captain Eri started for the schoolhouse to bring Elsie home. John

Baxter had not wakened, and Mrs. Snow said she was not afraid to remain alone with him. The thaw had

turned to a light rain and the Captain carried an umbrella. It was dark by this time, and when he came in sight

One of the scholarsa by no means brilliant onewhose principal educational achievement was the

frequency with which he succeeded in being "kept after school," was seated on the fence, doing his best to

"No, she ain't," replied the boy, continuing to whittle. "She's up there. Mr. Saunders is there, too."

"Yup. I see him go in there a little while ago." Captain Eri started toward the schoolhouse at a rapid pace;

then he suddenly stopped; and then, as suddenly, walked on again. All at once he dropped his umbrella and

When he reached the door, he leaned the umbrella in the corner and walked up the stairs very softly, indeed.

That enterprising business man, Mr. "Web" Saunders, opened the door of his renovated billiard room a little

later than usual the next morning. It was common report about the village that Mr. Saunders occasionally

sampled the contents of some of the "original packages" which, bearing the name and address of a Boston

wholesale liquor dealer, came to him by express at irregular intervals. It was also reported, probably by

unreliable total abstainers, that during these "sampling" seasons his temper was not of the best. Perhaps Mrs.

Saunders might have said something concerning this report if she had been so disposed, but unless a

discolored eye might be taken as evidence, she never offered any. The injury to her eye she explained by

But, gossip aside, Mr. Saunders did not seem in good humor on this particular morning. A yellow cur, of

nondescript breed, taken since the fire, in payment of a debt from "Squealer" Wixon, who had described it as

a "fustclass 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 of pained

surprise seemed to afford the business man considerable relief, for he moved more briskly afterward, and

The forenoon trade at the billiard room was never very lively, and this forenoon was no exception. "Bluey"

Batcheldor drifted in, stepped into the little room the door of which was lettered "Ice Cream Parlor," and

busied himself with a glass and bottle for a few moments. Then he helped himself to a cigar from the

showcase, and told his friend to "chalk it up." This Mr. Saunders didn't seem to care to do, and there was a

lively argument. At length "Bluey's" promise to "square up in a day or so" was accepted, under protest, and

At halfpast eleven the man of business was dozing in a chair by the stove, and the "watchdog," having found

it chilly outside and venturing in, was dozing near him. The bell attached to the door rang vigorously, and

Now, the Captain was perhaps the last person whom the proprietor of the billiard room expected to see, but a

stranger never would have guessed it. In fact, the stranger might reasonably have supposed that the visitor

was Mr. Saunders' dearest friend, and that his call was a pleasure long looked forward to.

"Why, Cap'n!" exclaimed "Web," "how are you? Put her there! I'm glad to 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 be blessed if he

Somehow or other, the Captain must have lost sight of "Web's" extended hand. Certainly, the hand was large

enough to be seen, but he did not take 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 the side of the room. His face was stern and

his manner quiet, and in spite Of Mr. Saunders' flattering reference to his youthful appearance, this morning

But, if Captain Eri was more than usually quiet and reserved, "Web" was unchanged, and, if he noticed that

the handshake was declined, said nothing 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't it? What's new down your way?

The Captain had no doubt anticipated this cordial invitation, for he seated himself before it was given, and,

crossing his legs, extended his dripping rubber boots toward the fire. The rain was still falling, and it beat

"Why, sure!" exclaimed the genial man of business, pulling up another chair. "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, if it's all the same to you."

Mr. Saunders didn't mind in the least, but thought he would have a cigar himself. So he lit one and smoked in

silence as the Captain filled his pipe. "Web" knew that this was something more than an ordinary social visit.

Captain Eri's calls at the billiard room were few and far between. The Captain, for his part, knew what his

The pipe drew well, and the Captain sent a blue cloud whirling toward the ceiling. Then he asked suddenly,

Mr. Saunders started the least bit, and his small eyes narrowed a trifle. But the innocent surprise in his reply

"Yes, you do. She's been payin' you money reg'lar for more 'n a month. I want to know how much it is."

"Now, Cap'n Hedge, I don't know what you're talkin' about. Nobody's paid me a cent except them that's owed

"Web, you're a liar, and always was, but you needn't lie to me this mornin', 'cause it won't be healthy; I don't

Mr. Saunders thought it time to bluster a little. He rose to his feet threateningly.

"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

"She hasn't told me anything. She doesn't know that I know anything. But I do know. I was in the entry

Mr. Saunders' start was perceptible this time. He stood for a moment without speaking. Then he jerked the

"I come up from the house to git Elsie home 'cause 'twas rainin'. I was told 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 door I

"Yup. I don't think much of folks that listens, gin'rally speakin', but there's times when I b'lieve in it. When

I'm foolin' with a snake I'd jest as soon hit him from behind as in front. I didn't hear much, but I heard enough

to let me know that you'd been takin' money from that girl right along. And I think I know why."

Then Mr. Saunders asked the question that a bigger rascal than he had asked some years before. He leaned

back in his chair, took a pull at his cigar, 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?"

The Captain rose to his feet. Mr. Saunders sprang up, also, and reached for the coal shovel, evidently

expecting trouble. But if he feared a physical assault, his fear was groundless. Captain Eri merely took up his

"Maybe it ain't none of my bus'ness," he said. "I ain't a s'lectman nor sheriff. But there's such things in town,

and p'raps they'll be int'rested. Seems to me that I've heard that blackmailin' has got folks into State's prison

"Is that so? Never heard that folks that set fire to other people's prop'ty got there, did you? Yes, and folks that

It was Captain Eri's turn to start. He hesitated a moment, tossed the pea jacket back on the settee and sat

"Yes, a coat. Maybe you know who hid it; I can guess, myself. That coat was burned some. How do you

s'pose it got burned? And say! who used to wear a big white hat round these diggin's? Ah, ha! Who did?"

There was no doubt about the Captain's start this time. He wheeled sharply in his chair, and looked at the

"That's what I done! And where do you think I found it? Why, right at the back of my shed where the fire

started. And there'd been a pile of shavin's there, too, and there'd been kerosene on 'em. Who smashed the

Captain Eri seemed to be thinking. "Web" evidently set his own interpretation on this silence, for he went on,

"Did you think I was fool enough not to know who set that fire? I knew the night she burned, and when I met

Dr. Palmer jest comin' from your house, and he told me how old Baxter was took sick goin' to the fireoh,

yes, GOIN'I went up on that hill right off, and I hunted and I found things, and what I found I kept. And

what I found when I pulled that burned shed to pieces I kept, too. And I've got 'em yit!"

"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 and looked at the stove dolefully, so it

"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 my bus'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 apurpose, I b'lieve, the mean, whiteheaded, psalmsingin'"

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 'ComeOuter's.' It don't pay me for my

trouble, nor it don't make me square with the gang. I gen'rally git even sometime or 'nother, and I'll git square

now. When that girl come here, swellin' 'round and puttin' on airs, I see my chance, and told her to pay up or

her granddad would be shoved into Ostable jail. That give her the jumps, I tell you!"

"You bet I did! She come 'round to see me in a hurry. Said she didn't have no money. I told her her granddad

did, an she could git that or go to work and earn some. I guess she thought she'd ruther work. Oh, I've got her

and her prayin', houseburnin' granddad where I want 'em, and I've got you, too, Eri Hedge, stickin' your oar

in. Talk to me 'bout blackmail! 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 nature for home use; his wife was well

"Well," he said, "I wouldn't do that if I was you, Web. I heard you tell Elsie last night she wa'n't payin' you

"I know what you thought. You thought you could scare me. You didn't know I had the coat and hat, did you?

Well, what I said I stand by. The girl AIN'T payin' me enough. Fourteen dollars a week she gits, and she's

"I guess that 'll do," he said calmly. "You've told me what I wanted to know. Ten dollars a week sence the

middle of November. 'Bout seventy dollars, rough figgerin'. Now, then, hand it over."

The Captain rose and, leaning over, shook his forefinger in Mr. Saunders' flabby red face.

"You lowlived, thievin' rascal," he said, "I'm givin' you a chance you don't deserve. Either you'll pay me that

money you've stole from that girl or I'll walk out of that door, and when I come in again the sheriff 'll be with

Web's triumphant expression was gone, and rage and malice had taken its place. He saw, now, that the

Captain had tricked him into telling more than he ought. But he burst out again, tripping over words in his

"Think!" he yelled. "I don't need to think. Bring in your sheriff. I'll march down to your house and I'll show

him the man that set fire to my buildin'. What 'll you and that snivelin' granddaughter of his do then? You

make off to think a turrible lot of the old prayermachine 'cause he's your chum. How'd you like to see him

"'Cause he's gone where you can't git at him. He died jest afore I left the house."

Mr. Saunders' brandished fist fell heavily on the arm of his chair. His face turned white in patches, and then

"No, I ain't. John Baxter's dead. He was a chum of mineyou're right thereand if I'd known a sneak like

"Now, you see where you stand, don't you? Long's John lived you had the proof to convict him; I'll own up to

that much. I hid the coat; I smashed the bottle. The hat I didn't know 'bout. I might have told you at fust that

all that didn't amount to anything, but I thought I'd wait and 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 his countenance showed it. But the bluster was not

"All right," he said. "Anyhow, the girl's left, and if she don't pay I'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

"'Cause you won't dare to. You've been hittin' at a sick man through a girl; neither of 'em could hit back. But

now you're doin' bus'ness with me, and I ain't sick. If you open your mouth to anybody,if you let a soul

know who set that fire,I'll walk straight to Jedge Baker, and I'll tell him the whole story. I'll tell him what I

did and why I did it. And THEN I'll tell him what you didhow you bullied money out of that girl that

hadn't no more to do with the fire than a baby. If it comes 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 be sold 'cept by the bottle. Where'll YOUR character land you on a charge of

"And another thing. The folks in this town knew John Baxter afore he was like what he's been lately. A good

many of 'em swore by himyes, sir, by mighty, some of 'em loved him! This is a law abidin' town, but

s'posejest s'pose I should go to some of the fellers that used to sail with him, and tell 'em what you've been

Captain Eri paused and sat on the arm of his chair, grimly watching his opponent, whose turn for thinking

had come. The face of the billiard magnate was an interesting study in expression during the Captain's

speech. From excited triumph it had fallen to fear and dejection; and now, out of the wreck, was appearing

"Now, Cap'n Hedge," purred the reconstructed one, "you and me has always been good friends. We hadn't

ought to fight like this. I don't think either of us wants to go to court. Let's see if we can't fix the thing up

"Now, Cap'n Hedge, 'tain't likely I've got seventy dollars in my pocket. Seems to me you're pretty hard on a

After a good deal of talk and protestation Mr. Saunders acknowledged being the possessor of twentysix

dollars, divided between the cash drawer and his pocket. This he reluctantly handed to the Captain.

Then the Captain demanded pen, ink, and paper; and when they were brought he laboriously wrote out a

screed to the effect that Webster Saunders had received of Elsie Preston fortyfour dollars, which sum he

At first Mr. Saunders positively refused to sign. Then he intimated that he had rather wait and think it over a

little while. Finally he affixed his signature and spitefully threw the pen across the room.

Captain Eri folded up the paper and put it in his pocket. Then he rose and put on his pea jacket.

"All right, then. It's all off. I'll step over and see the Jedge. You'll hear from him and me later."

"Hold on a minute, Cap'n. You're in such a everlastin' hurry. I don't care anything 'bout the old duds, but I

don't know's I know where they are. Seems to me they're up to the house somewheres. I'll give 'em to you

For a moment it looked as though the man of business would rebel outright. But the Captain was so calm, and

evidently so determined to do exactly what he promised, that "Web" gave up in despair. Muttering that

maybe they were "'round the place, after all," he went into the back room and reappeared with the burned coat

and the scorched white felt hat. Slamming them down on the counter, he said sulkily, "There they be. Any

Captain Eri didn't answer. Coolly tearing off several sheets of wrapping paper from the roll at the back of the

counter, he made a bundle of the hat and coat, and tucked it under his arm. Then he put on his own hat and

"You think you're almighty smart, don't you?" he growled between his teeth. "I'll square up with you by and

"I wish you'd try," he said. "I jest wish to God you'd try. I've held in more 'n I thought I could when I come up

here, but if you want to start a reel fustclass rumpus, one that 'll land you where you b'long and rid this town

of you for keeps, jest try some of your tricks on me. And if I hear of one word that you've said 'bout this

whole bus'ness, I'll know it's time to start in. Now, you can keep still or fight, jest as you please. I tell you

The door slammed. Mr. Saunders opened it again and gazed vindictively after the bulky figure splashing

through the slush. The dog came sneaking up and rubbed his nose against his master's hand; it was an

"Git out! " roared "Web," delighted at the opportunity. "You good fornothin' pup! How's that set?"

"That" was a kick that doubled the cur up against the settee. As it scrambled to its feet, Mr. Saunders kicked

it again. And then the "watchdog" exhibited the first evidence of spirit that it had ever been known to show.

With a snarl, as the man turned away, it settled its teeth into the calf of his leg, and then shot out of the door

and, with its tail between its legs, went down the road like a yellow cannon ball.

It was trueJohn Baxter was dead. His violent outbreak of the previous afternoon had hastened the end that

the doctor had prophesied. There was no harrowing death scene. The weather beaten old face grew calmer,

and, the sleep sounder, until the tide went outthat was all. It was like a peaceful coming into port after a

rough voyage. No one of the watchers about the bed could wish him back, not even Elsie, who was calm and

brave through it all. When it was over, she went to her room and Mrs. Snow went with her. Captain Eri went

The funeral was one of the largest ever held in Orham. The little house was crowded. Old friends, who had

drifted away from the fanatic in his latter days, came back to pay tribute to the strong man whom they had

known and loved. There was some discussion among the captains as to who should preach the funeral

sermon. Elsie had left this question to Captain Eri for settlement, and the trio and Mrs. Snow went into

"If John had had the settlin' of it himself," observed Eri, "he'd have picked Perley, there ain't no doubt 'bout

"I know it," said Captain Perez, "but you must remember that John wa'n't himself 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."

"He's good enough, fur's I know," replied Captain Jerry, "but I know what Perez means. A funeral, seems to

me, ought to be a quiet, soothin' sort of a thing, and there ain't nothin' soothin' 'bout ComeOuter' preachin'.

He'll beller and rave 'round, I'm 'fraid, and stir up poor Elsie so she won't never git over it."

"I know it," agreed Captain Eri. "That's what I've been afraid of. And yit," he added, "I should feel we was

doin' somethin' jest opposite from what John would like, if we had anybody else."

"Couldn't you see Mr. Perley beforehand," suggested Mrs. Snow, "and tell him jest the kind of sermon he

"And short." Captain Eri finished the sentence for her. "I guess that's the way we'll have to settle it. I'll make

him understand one thing, thoughhe mustn't drag in rum sellin' and all the rest of it by the heels. If he does

The interview with the Reverend Perley that followed this conversation must have been effective, for the

sermon was surprisingly brief and as surprisingly calm. In fact, so rational was it that a few of the more

extreme among the preacher's following were a bit disappointed and inquired anxiously as to their leader's

The procession of carryalls and buggies followed the hearse to the cemetery among the pines, and, as the

mourners stood about the grave, the winter wind sang through the evergreen branches a song so like the roar

of the surf that it seemed like a dirge of the sea for the mariner who would sail no more. As they were

clearing away the supper dishes that night Captain Eri said to Mrs. Snow, "Well, John's gone. I wonder if he's

"Well, so do I, but if he hadn't been a 'Come Outer' I don't s'pose Brother Perley and his crowd would have

figgered that he had much show. Seems sometimes as if folks like thatreel goodhearted folks, too, that

wouldn't hurt a flygit solid comfort out of the feelin' that everybody that don't agree with 'em is bound to

everlastin' torment. I don't know but it's wicked to say it, but honest, it seems as if them kind would 'bout as

soon give up the hopes of Heaven for themselves as they would the satisfaction of knowin' 'twas t'other place

The following day Elsie went back to her school. Captain Eri walked up with her, and, on the way, told her of

his discovery of her secret, and of his interview with "Web" Saunders. It was exactly as the Captain had

surmised. The note she had received on the evening of the return from the lifesaving station was from the

proprietor of the billiard saloon, and in it he hinted at some dire calamity that overshadowed her grandfather,

and demanded an immediate interview. She had seen him that night and, under threat of instant exposure, had

promised to pay the sum required for silence. She had not wished to use her grandfather's money for this

"Well," said the Captain, "I wish you'd have come to me right away, and told me the whole bus'ness. 'Twould

"Captain Eri," she said, "how could I? I was sure grandfather had set the fire. I knew how ill he was, and I

knew that any shock might kill him. Besides, how could I drag you into it, when you had done so much

already? It would have been dreadful. No, I thought it all out, and decided I must face it alone."

"Well, I tell you this, Elsie; pretty gin'rally a mean dog 'll bite if he sees you're afraid of him. The only way to

handle that kind is to run straight at him and kick the meanness out of him. The more he barks the harder you

ought to kick. If you run away once it 'll be mighty uncomf'table every time you go past that house. But never

mind; I cal'late this p'tic'lar pup won't bite; I've pulled his teeth, I guess. What's your plans, now? Goin' to

Miss Preston didn't know; she said she had not yet decided, and, as the schoolhouse was reached by this time,

There was, however, another question that troubled him, and that seemed to call for almost immediate

settlement. It was: What should be done with Mrs. Snow? The housekeeper had been hired to act as such

while John Baxter was in the house. Now he was gone, and there remained the original marriage agreement

between Captain Jerry and the widow, and honor called for a decision one way or the other. Mrs. Snow, of

course, said nothing about it, neither did Captain Jerry, and Captain Eri felt that he must take the initiative as

usual. But, somehow, he was not as prompt as was his wont, and sat evening after evening, whittling at the

Captain Perez might, and probably would, have suggested action upon this important matter, had not his

mind been taken up with what, to him, was the most important of all. He had made up his mind to ask

Love is like the measles; it goes hard with a man past fifty, and Captain Perez was severely smitten. The

decision just mentioned was not exactly a brandnew one, his mind had been made up for some time, but he

lacked the courage to ask the momentous question. Something the lady had said during the first stages of

their acquaintance made a great impression on the Captain. She gave it as her opinion that a man who loved a

woman should be willing to go through fire and water to win her. Captain Perez went home that night

"Fire and water!" he mused. "That's a turrible test. But she's a wonderful woman, and would expect it of a

feller. I wonder if I could do it; seems 's if I would now, but flesh is weak, and I might flunk, and that would

So the Captain delayed and Miss Patience, who had cherished hopes, found need of a good share of the virtue

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 a decisive one. He had screwed his courage up to the top notch, and as he

told 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, whose name was Abner, to visit a cousin

in Harniss, and would not be back until late in the evening. Miss Patience was very glad to have company,

and it required no great amount of urging to persuade the infatuated swain to stay to tea. When the meal was

overthey washed the dishes together, and the Captain was so nervous that it is a wonder there was a whole

plate leftthe pair were seated in the parlor. Then said Captain Perez, turning red and hesitating, "Pashy, do

Now, this remark was purely a pleasant fiction, for the Captain was about to undertake a compliment, and

"Well, a feller told me you was the best housekeeper in Orham. He said that the man that got you would be

"Land sake!" she exclaimed. "Whoever told you such rubbish as that? Besides," with downcast eyes, "I guess

"Oh, I don't know." The Captain moved uneasily in his chair, as if he contemplated hitching it nearer to that

occupied by his companion. "I guess there's plenty would be mighty glad to git you. Anyhow,

"What was it you was goin' to say?" she asked, by way of giving the bashful one another chance.

"I was goin' to say, Pashy, thatthatI asked if you thought the fog was as thick as ever."

"Seems to me I never see such weather for this time of year. The ice is all out of the bay, and there ain't a bit

of wind, and it's warm as summer, pretty nigh. Kind of a stormbreeder, I'm afraid."

"Well, I'm glad you're here to keep me comp'ny. I've never been sole alone in this house afore, and I should

"I wanted to ask you"the Captain swallowed several times"to ask youWhat in the nation is that?"

"Yes, but hens don't squawk this time of night 'thout they have some reason to. It's that fox come back; that's

Miss Patience, earlier in the evening, had related a harrowing tale of the loss of two of Mrs. Mayo's best

Leghorns that had gone to furnish a Sunday meal for a marauding fox. As the said Leghorns were the pride of

the old lady's heart, even the impending proposal was driven from Miss Davis' mind.

"There 'tis, behind the door, but there ain't a mite of shot in the house. Abner's been goin' to fetch some from

"Never mind. I'll pound the critter with the butt. Come quick, and bring a lamp."

The noise in the henyard continued, and when they opened the door it was louder than ever.

"He's in the henhouse," whispered Miss Patience. "He must have gone in that hole at the side that had the

"All right," murmured the Captain. "You go 'round with the lamp and open the door. That 'll scare him, and

So, shielding the lamp with her apron, the guardian of Mrs. Mayo's outraged Leghorns tiptoed around to the

henhouse door, while Captain Perez, brandishing the gun like a club, took up his stand by the hole at the side.

Without the lamp the darkness was pitchy. The Captain, stooping down to watch, saw something coming out

of the holesomething that was alive and moved. He swung the gun above his head, and, bringing it down

with all his might, knocked into eternal oblivion the little life remaining in the finest Leghorn rooster.

"Consarn it!" yelled the executioner, stooping and laying his hand on the 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 corner the alarmed Perez saw his ladylove stretched upon the ground, groaning

This pitiful appeal had such an effect upon the Captain that he dropped upon his knees and, raising Miss

Davis' head in his hands, begged her to say she wasn't killed. After some little time she obligingly complied,

What had happened was this: The fox, having selected his victim the rooster, had rendered it helpless, and

was pushing it out of the hole ahead of him. The Captain had struck the rooster just as Miss Patience opened

the door, and the fox, seizing this chance of escape, had dodged by the lady, upsetting her as he went.

"Well," she said, laughing, "there's no great harm done. I'm sorry for the rooster, but I guess the fox had fixed

The lighted lamp, which Miss Patience had dropped as she fell, lay broken on the floor, and the blazing oil

had run in every direction. The flames were making such headway that they both saw there was practically no

chance of saving the building. The frightened hens were huddled in the furthest corner, gazing stupidly at the

"Oh, those poor Leghorns!" wailed Miss Patience. "Those hens Mrs. Mayo thought the world of, and left me

to look out for. Last thing she asked me was to be sure they was fed. And now they'll be all burned up! What

"Pashy!" roared the Captain, whom the sight of his charmer's tears had driven almost wild, "don't say another

And turning up his coat collar, as though he was going into a refrigerator instead of a burning building,

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 black smoke, from which the voices of the Captain and the Leghorns floated in

"Hold still, you lunatics! ("Squawk! squawk!") Druther be roasted than have me catch you, hadn't you?

("Squawk! squawk!") A kershew! Land! I'm smothered! NOW I've got you! Thunderation! Hold STILL!

Just as the agonized Miss Patience was on the point of fainting, the little 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 Captain

appeared for an instant as he caught his breath with a "Woosh!" and dived back again. This performance was

repeated six times, the Captain's language and the compliments he paid the hens becoming more picturesque

At length he announced, "That's all, thank goodness!" and began to climb through the window. This was a

difficult task; for the window was narrow and, in spite of what Captain Eri had called his "ingyrubber" make

"Catch hold of my hands and haul, will you, Pashy?" he pleaded. "That's it; pull hard! It's gittin' sort of

muggy in behind here. I'll never complain at havin' cold feet ag'in if I git out of this. Now, then! Ugh! Here

He came out with a jerk, like a cork out of a bottle, and rolled on the ground at his lady's feet.

"Nothin' but my feelin's," growled the rescuer, scrambling upright. "I read a book once by a feller named

Joshua Billin's, or somethin' like it. He was a ignorant chapcouldn't spell two words right but he had

consider'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 his spirit was undaunted.

"Pashy," he said, "do you realize that if we don't git help, this whole shebang, house and all, will burn down?"

"I wouldn't swear that I didn't. Look how that thing's blazin'! There's the barn t'other side of it, and the house

"I don't dare resk it. No, sir! We've got to git help, and git it in a hurry, too!"

"Not in this fog. You can't see a hundred foot. No, I've got to go right off. Good land! I never thought! Is the

"No; the horse is here. Abner took one of the store horses to go to Harniss with. But he did take the buggy,

and there's no other carriage but the old carryall, and that's almost tumblin' to pieces."

"What! and leave me here alone with the house afire? No, indeed! If you go, I'm goin', too."

"Well, then, the carryll's got to do, whether or no. Git on a shawl or somethin', while I harness up."

It was a frantic harnessing, but it was done in a hurry, and the ramshackle old carryall, dusty and cobwebbed,

was dragged out of the barn, and Horace Greeley, the horse, was backed into the shafts. As they drove out of

the yard the flames were roaring through the roof of the henhouse, and the lath fence surrounding it was

"Everything's so wet from the fog and the melted snow," observed the Captain, "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. By mighty!"

he ejaculated, "I tell you what we'll do. I'll drive across the ford 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 looked at the clock as we

come in from washin' dishes, so the tide must be still goin' out, and the ford jest right. Git dap!"

"Fast as we can go with this everlastin' Noah's Ark. Heavens! how them wheels squeal!"

"The axles ain't been greased for I don't know when. Abner was going to have the old carriage chopped up for

"Lucky for him and us 'tain't chopped up now. Git dap, slowpoke! Better chop the horse up, too, while he's

It was. They had gone but a few hundred yards; yet the fire was already merely a shapeless, red smudge on

the foggy blackness behind them. Horace Greeley pounded along at a jog, and when the Captain slapped him

with the end of the reins, broke into a jerky gallop that was slower than the trot.

"Stop your hoppin' up and down!" commanded Perez, whose temper was becoming somewhat frayed. "You

make me think of the walkin' beam on a steamboat. If you'd stop tryin' to fly and go straight ahead we'd do

They progressed in this fashion for some distance. Then Miss Davis, from the curtained depths of the back

"Oh, dear me!" she exclaimed. "Are you sure you're on the right track? Seems 's if we MUST be abreast the

Captain Perez had remarked the roughness of the road. The carryall was pitching from one hummock to

"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 we must be 'bout

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 out upon the hard, smooth sand, and heard the water lapping on the shore.

Captain Perez got out once more and walked along the strand, bending forward as he walked. Soon Miss

"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

Horace Greeley shivered as the cold water splashed his legs, but waded bravely in. They moved further from

"Guess this is the crossin' all right," said the Captain, who had cherished some secret doubts. "Here's the deep

The water mounted to the hubs, then to the bottom of the carryall. Miss Davis' feet grew damp and she drew

"Don't git scared, Pashy! I guess maybe we've got a little to one side of the track. I'll turn 'round and try

But Horace Greeley was of a different mind. From long experience he knew that the way to cross a ford was

"Port your hellum, you lubber!" shouted the driver, pulling with all his might on one rein. "Heave to! Come

Then Horace Greeley tried to obey orders, but it was too late. He endeavored to touch bottom with his

forelegs, but could not; tried to swim with his hind ones, but found that impossible; then wallowed wildly to

one side and snapped a shaft and the rotten whiffletree short off. The carryall tipped alarmingly and Miss

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 and rotten shaft broke. The carryall was now floating, with the water covering

"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. Horace Greeley gave another wallow, and

finding himself free, disappeared in the darkness amid a lather of foam. The carriage, now well out in the

"Don't cry, Pashy!" said the Captain, endeavoring to cheer his sobbing companion, "we ain't shark bait yit. As

"I've shipped aboard of 'most every kind of craft," he added, "but blessed if I ever expected to be skipper of a

But Miss Patience, shut up in the back part of the carriage like a water nymph in her cave, still wept

"The main thing," he said, "is to keep her on an even keel. If she teeters to one side, you teeter to t'other. Drat

that fox!" he ejaculated. "I thought when Web's place burned we'd had fire enough to last for one spell, but it

"Oh, dear!" sobbed the lady. "Now everything 'll burn up, and they'll blame me for it. Well, I'll be drownded

"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, "I remember, now; it ain't but a little past seven o'clock, and the tide's

"Of course it is," resignedly, "and we'll drift into the breakers in the bay, and that 'll be the end."

"No, no, I guess not. We ain't dead yit. If I had an oar or somethin' to steer 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, by lettin'

They floated in silence for a few moments. Then Miss Patience, who had bravely tried to stifle her sobs, said

It will be remembered that the Captain had spoken of the weather as being almost as warm as summer. This

was a slight exaggeration. It happened, fortunately for the castaways, that this particular night, coming as it

did just at the end of the long thaw, was the mildest of the winter and there was no wind, but the air was chill,

"Well, now you mention it," said Captain Perez, "it IS cold, ain't it? I've a good mind to jump overboard, and

It was the tone of this speech, as much as the words, that hit the Captain hard. He himself almost sobbed as he

"Pashy, I want you to try to git over on this front seat with me. Then I can put my coat 'round you, and you

Miss Patience at first protested that she never could do it in the world, the carriage would upset, and that

would be the end. But her companion urged her to try, and at last she did so. It was a risky proceeding, but

she reached the front seat somehow, and the carryall still remained rightsideup. Luckily, in the channel

Captain Perez pulled off his coat, and wrapped it about his protesting companion. He was obliged to hold it in

"Oh, you're SO good!" murmured Miss Patience. "What should I have done without you?"

"Hush! Guess you'd have been better off. You'd never gone after that fox if it hadn't been for me, and there

"Oh, don't say that! You've been so brave. Anyhow, we'll die together, that's a comfort."

It is, perhaps, needless to explain that the "dying" portion of the lady's speech was not that referred to by the

Captain; the word "together" was what appealed to him. Miss Patience apparently understood.

"Yesyes, 'tis." The arm holding the coat about the lady's shoulder tightened just a little. The Captain had

often dreamed of something like this, but never with quite these surroundings. However, he was rapidly

"Pashy," he said huskily, "I've been thinkin' of you consider'ble lately. Fact is, IIwell, I come down

today apurpose to ask you somethin'. I know it's a queer place to ask it, andand I s'pose it's kind of

The carryall had suddenly begun to rock, and there were streaks of foam about it. Now, it gave a most

But Miss Patience didn't intend to let this, perhaps the final opportunity, slip. As she told her brother

afterward, she would have made him say it then if they had been "two fathom under water."

The carryall rose on two wheels and begun to turn over, but the Captain did not notice it. The arms of his

The Captain staggered to his feet, and dragged his chosen bride to hers. The icecold water reached their

shoulders. And, like a flash, as they stood there, came a torrent of rain and a wind that drove the fog before it

like smoke. Captain Perez saw the shore, with its silhouetted bushes, only a few yards away. Beyond that, in

the blackness, was a light, a flickering blaze, that rose and fell and rose and fell again.

With his arm about her waist Perez guided his dripping companion, as fast as they could run, toward the light.

And as they came nearer to it they saw that it flickered about the blackened ruins of a henhouse and a lath

It was Mrs. Mayo's henhouse, and Mrs. Mayo's fence. Their adventurous journey had ended where it began.

"You see, Eri," said Captain Perez, as he told his friend the story that night, "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, 'twas nearer

nine when the fire started, and the tide wa'n't goin' out, 'twas comin' in. I drove into the water too soon,

missed the crossin', and we jest drifted back home ag'in. The horse had more sense than I did. We found him

Abner Mayo had piled against the back of his barn a great heap of damp seaweed that he intended using in

the spring as a fertilizer. The fire had burned until it reached this seaweed and then had gone no further. The

"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, and toasting his feet in the oven, "if I don't feel like a fool. All that scare and wet for

"Oh, not for nothin', Perez," said Miss Patience, looking tenderly down into his face.

"Well, no, not for nothin' by a good deal! I've got you by it, and that's everything. But say, Pashy!" and the

Captain looked awed by the coincidence, "I went through fire and water to git you!"

Captain Perez made a clean breast of it to Captain Eri when he reached home that night. It was after twelve

o'clock, but he routed his friend out of bed to tell him the news and the story. Captain Eri was not as surprised

to hear of the engagement as he pretended to be, for he had long ago made up his mind that Perez meant

business this time. But the tale of the fire and the voyage in the carryall tickled him immensely, and he rolled

"I s'pose it does sound kind of ridic'lous," said the accepted suitor in a 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, and then I thought I'd

"Perez," said the panting Eri, "you're a wonder. I'm goin' to tell Sol Bangs 'bout you next time I see him. He'll

want you to enter in the races next Fourth of July. We've had tub races and the like of that, but a carryall

sailin' match 'll be somethin' new. I'll back you against the town, though. You can count on me."

"All right, shipmate, all right; but it's too good to keep. You ought to 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 be famous!

But, say, old man," he added more seriously, "I'll shake hands with you. I b'lieve you've got a good woman,

one that 'll make it smooth sailin' for you the rest of your life. I wish you both luck."

Captain Perez shook hands very gravely. He was still a little suspicious of his chum's propensity to tease. It

did not tend to make him less uneasy when, a little later, Captain Eri opened the parlor door and whispered,

"Say, Perez, I've jest thought of some thin'. What are you goin' to say to M'lissy Busteed? Her heart 'll be

"Well, I only mentioned it. Folks have had to pay heavy for breach of promise 'fore now. Goodnight."

Perez manfully told of his engagement at the breakfast table next morning, 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 discern the high opinion of the future Mrs.

Ryder held by Mrs. Snow and the rest. Captain Jerry solemnly shook hands with him after the meal was over

and said, "Perez, you done the right thing. There's nothin' like married 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. I meant to speak to Eri 'bout it 'fore this, but I've had so much on my mind. I will

So that evening, when they were together in Captain Jerry's room after supper, Perez, true to his promise,

"Eri, it seems to me we've got to do somethin' 'bout Mrs. Snow. She was hired to be housekeeper while John

was sick. Now he's dead, and she'll think it's queer if we don't settle that marryin' bus'ness. Ain't that so?"

"Humph!" grunted Captain Jerry. "Perez is in a mighty sweat to git other folks married jest 'cause he's goin' to

be. I don't see why she can't keep 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 the housekeepin' bus'ness jest as a sort of put off.

Now we can't put off no longer. Mrs. Snow come down here 'cause we advertised for a wife, and she's been

so everlastin' good that I feel 'most ashamed every time I think of it. No use, you've got to ask her to marry

The sacrifice squirmed. "I hate to ask," he said. "Why don't we wait a spell, and let her say somethin' fust?"

"That WOULD be nice, wouldn't it? She's that kind of a woman, ain't she?" sputtered Perez. "No, you bet she

ain't! What she'd say would be to give her opinion of us and our manners, and walk out of the house bag and

"Never said she would! Have you ever asked her? She's had all this time to 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 that so, Eri?

"I wish you'd mind your own consarns, and give me time," protested Captain Jerry.

"Time! How much time do you want? Land of Goshen! I should think you'd had time enough. Why"

"Oh, let up!" snorted the persecuted. "Why don't you git married yourself, and bring Pashy over to keep

house? What we started to git in the fust place was jest a wife for one of us that would keep things shipshape,

The withering look of scorn that Perez bent upon him caused him to hesitate and stop. Captain Perez

"Eri," he said, "I ain't goin' to waste my time talkin' to aa dogfish like him. He ain't wuth it."

"Hold on, now, Perez!" pleaded the discomfited sacrifice, alarmed at his comrade's threatened desertion. "I

was only foolin'. Can't you take a joke? I haven't said I wouldn't do it. I think a heap of Mrs. Snow; it's only

"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

This offer, too, was rejected. Then Captain Jerry held out for a fortnightfor ten days. Finally, it was settled

that within one week from that very night he was to offer his heart and hand to the lady from Nantucket. He

"There!" exclaimed the gratified Captain Perez. "That's a good job done. He won't never be sorry for it, will

Josiah went up to the postoffice late in the afternoon of the next day. The "able seaman" was behaving

himself remarkably well. He had become a real help to Captain Eri, and the latter said that sailing alone

would be doubly hard when his foremast hand went back to school again, which he was to do very shortly,

for Josiah meant to accept the Captain's offer, 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 paper only, he handed to Mrs. Snow, and

"I don't know, ma'am. All I know is what I heard Mr. Wingate say. He said Mr. Hazeltine was goin' to get

through over at the station pretty soon. He said one of the operators told him so."

"Why, yes, a little. I met Hazeltine yesterday, and he told me that some folks out West had made him a pretty

good offer, and he didn't know whether to take it or not. Said the salary was good, and the whole thing looked

There was little else talked about during the meal. Captain Perez, Captain Jerry, and Mrs. Snow argued,

surmised, and questioned Captain Eri, who said little. Elsie said almost nothing, and went to her room shortly

"Humph!" exclaimed Captain Perez, when they were alone, "I guess your matchmakin' scheme's up spout,

The weather changed that night, and it grew cold rapidly. In the morning the pump was frozen, and Captain

Jerry and Mrs. Snow spent some time and much energy in thawing it out. It was later than usual when the

former set out for the schoolhouse. As he was putting on his cap, Elsie suggested that he wait for her, as she

had some lessons to prepare, and wanted an hour or so to herself at her desk. So they walked on together

under a cloudy sky. The mud in the road was frozen into all sorts of fantastic shapes, and the little puddles

"That thaw was a weatherbreeder, sure enough," observed Captain Jerry. "We'll git a storm out of this, 'fore

"It seems to me," said Elsie, "that the winter has been a very mild one. From what I had heard I supposed you

"We'll git 'em yit. February's jist the time. Git a good no'theaster goin', and you'll think the whole house is

comin' down. Nothin' to what they used to have, though, 'cordin' to tell. Cap'n Jonadab Wixon used to swear

that his grandfather told him 'bout a gale that blew the hair all off a dog, and then the wind changed of a

"Yes. Cap'n Jonadab's somethin' of a blow himself, so he ought to be a good jedge. The outer beach is the

place that catches it when there's a gale on. Oh, say! that reminds me. I s'pose you was glad to hear the news

"Why, that 'bout Mr. Hazeltine's goin' away. You're glad he's goin', of course."

Miss Preston did not answer immediately. Instead, she turned and looked wonderingly at her companion.

"Why, I don't know. I jest took it for granted you would be. You didn't want him to come and see you, and if

"Just a minute, please. What makes you think I didn't want Mr. Hazeltine to call?"

Captain Jerry stood stockstill, and if ever a face expressed complete amazement, it was his.

"Elsie Preston!" he ejaculated, "are you losin' your mem'ry or what? Didn't you pitch into me hotfoot 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 to be decent to him jest out of common

"You DIDN'T! Why, I heard you! Land of love! my ears smarted for a week afterward. I ain't had sech a goin'

over sence mother used to git at me for 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 room every time he called, and making me

appear so ridiculous; and I did say that his visits might be a torture for all that you knew to the contrary, but I

"Why, of course," she said, "Mr. Hazeltine is a free agent, and I don't know of any reason why he should be

compelled to go where he doesn't wish 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 enjoy ours, so I don't see that there need be any more

Captain Jerry was completely crushed. If the gale described by the redoubtable grandsire of Jonadab Wixon

"Why, for leavin' you two alone. Of course, after you pitched into me so I see how foolish I'd been actin', and

Ihonest, I didn't sleep scursely a bit that night thinkin' 'bout it. Thinks I, 'If Elsie feels that 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 he is any kind of a man, he owns up, and does his best to straighten things out. '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"

They had stopped on the sidewalk nearly opposite the postoffice. Each was too much engrossed in the

conversation to pay any heed to anything else. If the few passersby thought it strange that the schoolmistress

should care to loiter out of doors on that cold and disagreeable morning, they said nothing about it. One

young man in particular, who, standing just inside the postoffice door, was buttoning his overcoat and

"Why, I told him," said Captain Jerry, in reply to the question, "how you 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 me

some more questions, and I answered 'em best I could, andwell, I guess that's 'bout all."

"Why" the Captain shuffled his feet uneasily"seems to me I said somethin' 'bout itnot jest that, you

know, but somethin'. Fact is, I was so muddleheaded and upset that I don't know exactly what I did say.

"Captain Jeremiah Burgess!" exclaimed Elsie. Then she added, "What MUST he think of me?"

"Oh, I'll fix that!" exclaimed the Captain. "I'll see him some time today, 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 an early morning visit to the office in order to send an important letter in the

first mail. The slamming of the door had attracted the Captain's attention and, in response to the hail, Mr.

And then Captain Jerry felt his arm clutched with a grip that meant business, as Miss Preston whispered,

If Ralph had been surprised by the request to join the couple, he was more 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 left

The electrician bowed and shook hands gravely. As no remark seemed to be forthcoming from those who had

summoned him, he observed that it was an unpleasant morning. This commonplace reminded him of one

somewhat similar that he had made to a supposed Miss "Gusty" Black, and he, too, colored.

"Whywhy, I did," stammered poor Captain Jerry, "butbut I don't know's I do now." Then he realized

that this was not exactly complimentary, and added, "That is, I don't knowI don't know's I Elsie, what

At another time it is likely that the young lady's quick wit would have helped her out of the difficulty, but

"You don't know! Why, yes you do? 'Twas'twas" The Captain was frantically grasping at straws. "Why,

If the Captain had seen the look that Elsie shot at him, as he delivered this brilliant observation, he might

have been more, instead of less, uncomfortable. As it was, he felt rather proud of having discovered a way out

of the difficulty. But Ralph's embarrassment increased. He hurriedly said something about having been very

"Well," went on the Captain, intent on making the explanation as plausible as possible, "we've missed you

consider'ble. We was sayin' we hoped 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, turning away, "Really, Captain Jerry, I must

hurry to school. I have a great deal of work to do before nine o'clock. Goodmorning, Mr. Hazeltine."

The Captain paused long enough to say, "We'll expect you now, so come," and then hurried after her. He was

He received no answer, even when he repeated the remark, and, although he endeavored, as he swept out the

schoolroom, to engage the teacher in conversation, her replies were as cold as they were short. The Captain

That afternoon, when Captain Eri returned from the fishing grounds, he found Captain Jerry waiting for him

at the shanty. The humiliated matchmaker sent Josiah up to the grocery store on an errand, and then dragged

"What ails you, Jerry?" he demanded. "Have youhave you spoken to Mrs. Snow 'bout thatthat

"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 I am; and, instead of gittin' thanks, all I git is blame."

"Well, now I know you'll think I'm a fool, and 'll jest pester the life out of me. See here, Eri Hedge! If I tell

you what I want to, will you promise not to pitch into me, and not to nag and poke fun? If you don't promise I

So Captain Eri promised, and then Captain Jerry, stammering and hesitating, unburdened his mind of the

whole affair, telling of his first reproof by Elsie, his "explanation" to Ralph, and the subsequent

developments. Long before he finished, Captain Eri rose and, walking over 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 fustrate this mornin' when I was tryin' to think up somethin'

to show why I hailed Hazeltine, but no, Elsie won't hardly speak to me. I wish to goodness you'd tell me what

Captain Eri turned away from the door. His eyes were watery, and his face was red, but he managed to say:

"Oh, Jerry, Jerry! Your heart's big as a bucket, but fishin' 's more in your line than gittin' folks married to

order is, I'm 'fraid. You stay here, and unload them fish in the dory. There ain't many of 'em, and Josiah 'll

He went down to the beach, climbed into a dory belonging to a neighbor, and Captain Jerry saw him row

That evening, after the dishes were washed and the table cleared, there came a knock at the door. Mrs. Snow

"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, from his hat and coat, took off these articles, in

response to the hearty invitation of Captain Eri, and shook hands with all present. Elsie's face was an

"Mrs. Snow," he said, "come upstairs a little while. I want to talk to you 'bout somethin'. You come, too,

Captain Jerry looked from Elsie to the speaker, and then to Elsie again. But Captain Eri's hand was on his

Elsie watched this wholesale desertion with amazement. Then the door opened again, and Captain Eri put in

"Elsie," he said, "I jest want to tell you that this is my doin's, not Jerry's. That's all." And the door shut.

"I'm afraid I can guess, Miss Preston. You see Captain Jerry paid Captain Eri a call this afternoon and, as a

result, Captain Eri called upon me. Then, as a result of THAT, Iwell, I came here."

The young lady blushed furiously. "What did Captain Eri tell you?" she demanded.

"What you told Captain Jerry this morning concerning something that you told him before, I believe."

There was no answer to this. Miss Preston looked as if she had a mind to run out of the room, then as if she

"For my stupidity in believing that Captain Jerry was to be accepted seriously."

"You were excusable, certainly. And now I must apologize; also for taking the Captain too seriously."

"Suppose we pair the apologies as they do the votes in the Senate. Then one will offset the other."

"Well, if we can't pair apologies, suppose we pair blunders. I don't accept your statement of guilt, mind, but

since you are determined to shoulder it, we might put it on one side and on the other we'll put"

"Well," said Elsie severely, "I don't know whether talebearers should be admitted or not, but if they do come

"Ma'am," and the Captain made a profound bow, "I hope you'll be so 'kind and condescendin', and stoop so

low, and be so bendin'' as to forgive me. And, while I'm 'bout it, I'll apologize for Jerry, too."

"No, sir," said the young lady decidedly. "Captain Jerry must apologize for himself. Captain Jeremiah

Burgess," she called up the stairway, "come into court, and answer for your sins."

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 and faster, the wind began to blow, and its force increased steadily. Ralph, hearing the

gusts as they swooped about the corners of the house, and the "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 to stay a little longer.

"I should like to stay, Captain," he said, "but how do you think I am going to get over to the station if this

"I guess yes. S'pose we're goin' to let you try to row over to the beach a night like this? It's darker 'n a nigger's

He rose, beckoned to Ralph, and then opened the outer door. He had to use considerable strength to do this,

and a gust of wind and a small avalanche of snow roared in, and sent the lighter articles flying from the table.

Elsie gave a little scream, and Mrs. Snow exclaimed, "For the land's sake, shut that door this minute!

"Nice night for a pull, ain't it?" he observed, smiling. "No, sir, I've heard it comin' on, and I made up my mind

you'd have to stay on dry land for a spell, no matter if all creation wanted you on t'other side."

"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 give it up fust as last. You KNOW you

So Ralph did give it up, although rather against his will. There was nothing of importance to be done, but he

Captain Perez had that afternoon gone down to the Mayo homestead to take tea with Miss Davis.

"Git home! I should think not!" said Mrs. Snow decidedly. "Pashy's got too much sense to let him try it."

"Well, Elsie," commented Captain Jerry, "I told you we'd have a no'theaster 'fore the winter was over. I guess

"Well, that's settled! Let's be comf'table. Ain't there some of that cider down cellar? Where's the pitcher?"

When bedtime came there was some argument as to where the guest should sleep. Ralph insisted that the

haircloth sofa in the parlor was just the thing, but Captain Eri wouldn't hear of it.

"Haircloth's all right to look at," he said, "but it's the slipperiest stuff that ever was, I cal'late. Every time I set

The cot was declared ineligible, also, and the question was finally settled by Josiah and Captain Eri going

upstairs to the room once occupied by John Baxter, while Ralph took that which they vacated.

It was some time before he fell asleep. The gale seemed to be tearing loose the eternal foundations. The house

shook and the bed trembled as if a great hand was moving them, and the snow slapped against the windows

In the morning there was little change in the weather. The snow had turned to a sleet, half rain, that stuck to

everything and coated it with 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 the beach. At intervals they caught glimpses of the snowcovered roofs of the fish shanties, and the

water of the inner bay, black and threatening and scarred with whitecaps; then another gust would come, and

"Oh, we can git there all right. I've rowed a dory a good many times when 'twas as bad as this. This ain't no

picnic day, though, that's a fact," he added, as they crossed the yard, and caught the full force of the wind.

Ralph was arrayed in Captain Jerry's "dirtyweather rig," and although, as Captain Eri said, the garments

They found the dory covered with snow and halffull of slush, and it took some few minutes to get her into

condition. When this was accomplished they hauled her down to the shore, and Captain Eri, standing

kneedeep in water, steadied her while Ralph climbed in. Then the Captain tumbled in himself, picked up the

A dory, as everyone acquainted alongshore knows, is the safest of all small craft for use in heavy weather. It

is unsinkable for one thing, and, being flatbottomed, slips over the waves instead of plowing through them.

But the high freeboard is a mark for the wind, and to keep a straight course on such a morning as this requires

skill, and no small amount of muscle. Ralph, seated in the stern, found himself wondering how on earth his

companion managed to row as he did, and steer at the same time. The strokes were short, but there was power

"Who, me?" Captain Eri laughed. "I could keep this up for a week. There ain't any sea in here. If we was

They hit the beach almost exactly at the right spot, a feat which the passenger considered a miracle, but which

the Captain seemed to take as a matter of course. They beached and anchored the dory, and, bending almost

double as they faced the wind, plowed through the sand to the back door of the station. There was

comparatively little snow here on the outer beachthe gale had swept it nearly all away.

Mr. Langley met them as they tramped into the hall. The old gentleman was glad to see his assistant, for he

had begun to fear that the latter might 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 any wrecks inside the beach. We shall have

"On the Hog's Back shoal, they think. One of the lifesaving crew told McLaughlin that they saw her last

night, when the gale first began, trying to make an offing, and that wreckage was coming ashore this

"I should like to be at the lifesaving station when they land," said Ralph. "It would be a new experience for

me. I've seen the crew drill often enough, but I have never seen them actually at work."

"What d'you say if we go down to the station?" asked the Captain. "That is, if Mr. Langley here can spare

"Oh, I can spare him," said the superintendent. "There is nothing of importance to be done here just now. But

"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 finish of a rescuing expedition, and he said so.

So they got into the oilskins again, pulled their "sou'westers" down over their ears, and started on the tramp to

The electrician is not likely to forget that walk. The wind was, as the Captain said, at their backs, but it

whistled in from the sea with terrific strength, and carried the sleet with it. It deluged them with water, and

plastered them with flying seaweed and ice. The wet sand came in showers like hail, and beat against their

shoulders until they felt the sting, even through their clothes. Toward the bay was nothing but gray mist,

streaked with rain and sleet; toward the sea was the same mist, flying with the wind over such a huddle of

tossing green and white as Ralph had never seen. The surf poured in in rollers that leaped over each 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 not time to flow back before those of the next came threshing in. Great blobs of foam shot

down the strand like wild birds, and the gurgle and splash and roar were terrific.

They walked as near the water line as they dared, because the sand was harder there. Captain Eri went ahead,

hands in his pockets and head down. Ralph followed, sometimes watching his companion, but oftener gazing

at the sea. At intervals there would be a lull, as if the storm giant had paused for breath, and they could see

for half a mile over the crazy water; then the next gust would pull the curtain down again, and a whirl of rain

and sleet would shut them in. Conversation meant only a series of shrieks and they gave it up.

At length the Captain turned, grinned pleasantly, while the rain drops splashed on his nose, and waved one

arm. Ralph looked and saw ahead of them the clustered buildings of the lifesaving station. And he was glad

"Whew!" puffed Captain Eri as they opened the door. "Nice mornin' for ducks. Hey, Luther!" he shouted,

They heard footsteps in the next room, the door opened, and in camenot Luther Davis, but Captain Perez.

Captain Eri pushed back his "sou'wester," and strolled over to the stove. Ralph followed suit.

"Well, Perez," said the former, extending his hands over the fire, "it's easy enough to tell you why we're here.

"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

Then Perez went on to explain that, because of the storm, he had been persuaded to stay at Mrs. Mayo's all

night; that Captain Davis had been over for a moment that evening on an errand, and had said that the

schooner had been sighted and that, as the northeaster was coming on, she was almost certain to get into

trouble; that he, Perez, had rowed over the first thing in the morning to get the news, and had been just in

"There ain't nothin' to worry 'bout," observed Captain Eri. "It's no slouch of a pull off to the Hog's Back this

"Yes, I know," replied the unconvinced Captain Perez, "but he ought to have been back afore this. There was

a kind of letup in the storm jest afore I got here, and they see her fast on the shoal with the crew in the

riggin'. Luther took the small boat 'cause he thought he could handle her better, and that's what's worryin' me;

I'm 'fraid she's overloaded. I was jest thinkin' of goin' out on the p'int to see if I could see anything of 'em

"Well, go ahead. We'll go with you, if Mr. Hazeltine's got any of the chill out of him."

Ralph was feeling warm by this time and, after Perez had put on his coat and hat, they went out once more

into the gale. The point of which Perez had spoken was a wedgeshaped sand ridge that, thrown up by the

waves and tide, thrust itself out from the beach some few hundred yards below the station. They reached its

tip, and stood there in the very midst of the storm, waiting for the lulls, now more frequent, and scanning the

"Schooner's layin' right over there," shouted Captain Perez in Ralph's ear, pointing off into the mist. "'Bout a

"Wind's lettin' up a little mite," bellowed Captain Eri. "We've had the wust of it, I guess. There ain't so

He did not finish the sentence. The curtain of sleet parted, leaving a quartermilelong lane, through which

they could see the frothing ridges racing one after the other, endlessly. And across this lane, silent and swift,

like a moving picture on a screen, drifted a white turtleback with black dots clinging to it. It was in sight not

more than a half minute, then the lane closed again, as the rain lashed their faces.

But Captain Eri did not answer. He had turned, and was running at full speed back to the beach. When they

came up they found him straining at the 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 cove behind the point.

"Quick, now!" shouted the Captain, in a tone Ralph had never heard him use before. "Over with her! Lively!"

They obeyed him without question. As the dory settled right side up two heavy oars, that had been secured by

"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 this dory? You couldn't do it. You'll only be

drownded yourself. My Lord!" he moaned, wringing his hands, "what 'll Pashy do?"

They dragged the dory to the water's edge with one rush. Then Eri hurriedly thrust in the tholepins. Perez

His friend answered without looking up. "Do you s'pose," he said, "that I'm goin' to let Lute Davis and them

"I'm going myself," he said firmly, putting one foot over the gunwale. "I'm a younger man than either of you,

Captain Eri looked at the electrician's face; he saw nothing but determination there.

"We'll all go," he said suddenly. "Mr. Hazeltine, run as fast as the Lord 'll let you back to the station and git

Without answering, the young man sprang up the beach and ran toward the buildings. The moment that he

Captain Perez attempted to obey. He waded into the water and gave the dory a push, but, just as he was about

Perez scrambled to his feet, but the dory was already halfway across the little patch of comparatively

smooth water in the cove. As he looked he 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 waves came surging on, higher and more

threatening than the first. Captain Eri glanced over his shoulder, turned the dory's bow toward them and

waited. They broke, and, as they did so, the boat shot forward into the whirlpool of froth. Then the sleet came

When Ralph came hurrying to the beach, bearing the oars, he found Captain Perez alone.

Captain Eri knew that the hardest and most dangerous portion of his perilous trip was just at its beginning. If

the dory got through the surf without capsizing, it was an even bet that she would stay rightsideup for a

while longer, at any rate. So he pulled out of the little cove, and pointed the boat's bow toward the thundering

smother of white, his shoulders squared, his hands tightened on the oar handles, and his underjaw pushed

out beyond the upper. Old foremast hands, those who had sailed with the Captain on his coasting voyages,

would, had they seen these signs, have prophesied trouble for someone. They were Captain Eri's battleflags,

and just now his opponent was the gray Atlantic. If the latter won, it would only be after a fight.

The first wave tripped over the bar and whirled beneath him, sending the dory high into the air and splashing

its occupant with spray. The Captain held the boat stationary, waiting for the second to break, and then, half

They used to say on board the Hannah M. that the skipper never got rattled. The same cool head and steady

nerve that Josiah had admired when the catboat threaded the breakers at the entrance of the bay, now served

the same purpose in this more tangled and infinitely more wicked maze. The dory climbed and ducked, rolled

and slid, but gained, inch by inch, foot by foot. The advancing waves struck savage blows at the bow, the

wind did its best to swing her broadside on, but there was one hundred 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 were years of

experience to make every pound count. At last the preliminary round was over. The boat sprang clear of the

breakers and crept out farther and farther, with six inches of water slopping in her bottom, but afloat and

It was not until she was far into deep water that the Captain turned her 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 be

dangerous. Then, with the gale astern and the tide to help, Captain Eri made the dory go as she, or any other

The Captain knew that the wind and the tide that were now aiding him were also sweeping the overturned

lifeboat along at a rapid rate. He must come up with it before it reached the next shoal. He must reach it

before the waves, and, worse than all, the cold had caused the poor fellows clinging to it for life to loose their

The dory jumped from crest to crest like a hurdler. The sleet now beat directly 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 the

spindrift and poured it over him in icy baths, but he was too warm from the furious exercise to mind.

In the lulls he turned his head and gazed over the sea, looking for the boat. Once he saw it, before the storm

shut down again, and he groaned aloud to count but two black dots on its white surface. He pulled harder than

ever, and grunted with every stroke, while the perspiration poured down his forehead and froze when it

At last it was in plain sight, and the two dots, now clearly human beings, were still there. He pointed the bow

straight at it and rowed on. When he looked again there was but one, a figure sprawled along the keel,

The flying dory bore down upon the lifeboat, and the Captain risked what little breath he had in a hail. The

clinging figure raised its head, and Captain Eri felt an almost selfish sense of relief to see that it was Luther

The bottom of the lifeboat rose like a dome from the sea that beat and roared over and around it. The

centerboard had floated up and projected at 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 two boats fitted closely together. Then

Eri reached out, and, seizing his friend by the belt round his waist, pulled him from his hold. Davis fell into

Captain Eri lifted him so that his head and shoulders rested on a thwart, and then, setting his oar against the

So far he had been more successful than he had reason to expect, but the task that he must now accomplish

was not less difficult. He must reach the 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; the landing must be made on the open beach,

and, although Captain Eri had more than once brought a dory safely through a high surf, he had never

attempted it when his boat had nearly a foot of water in her and carried a helpless passenger.

Little by little, still running before the wind, the Captain edged in toward the shore. Luther Davis moved once

or twice, but said nothing. His oilskins were frozen stiff and his beard was a lump of ice. Captain Eri began to

fear that he might die from cold and exhaustion before the attempt at landing was made. The Captain resolved

He was near enough now to see the leaping spray of the breakers, and their bellow sounded louder than the

howl of the wind or the noises of the sea about him. He bent forward and shouted in the ear of the prostrate

Captain Davis' head rolled back, his eyes opened, and, in a dazed way, he looked at the figure swinging back

"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 man of strong physique, courageous,

and a fighter every inch of him, but his strength 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 years drowning one by one, had broken his

Captain Eri's eyes snapped. "Lute Davis," he exclaimed, "I never thought I'd see you playin' crybaby. Brace

"'Bout as fur's I can go, Eri," he said, between his teeth. "You look out 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 as well as he could. The wave broke, and the halffilled boat paused, was caught

up by the succeeding breaker, and thrown forward again. The Captain, still trying to steer with one oar, let go

The boat poised on the curling wave, went down like a hammer, struck the sand, and was buried in water.

Just as it struck, Captain Eri jumped as far shoreward as he could. Davis sprang with him, but it was really

They kept their feet for an instant, but, in that instant, Captain Eri dragged his friend a yard or so up the

shelving beach. Then they were knocked flat by the next wave. The Captain dug his toes into the sand and

braced himself as the undertow sucked back. Once more he rose and they staggered on again, only to go

down when the next rush of water came. Three times this performance was repeated, and, as they rose for the

Another plunge, a splashing run, and they were on the hard sand of the beach. Then they both tumbled on

But the Captain realized that this would not do, for, in their soaked condition, freezing to death was a matter

of but a short time. He seized Davis by the shoulder and shook him again and again.

And, after a while, the lifesaver did get up, although he could scarcely stand. Then, with the Captain's arm

They had gone but a little way when they were met by Ralph Hazeltine and Captain Perez.

Mrs. Snow had been, for her, rather nervous all that forenoon. She performed her household duties as

thoroughly as usual, but Elsie, to whom the storm had brought a holiday, noticed that she looked out of the

window and at the clock frequently. Once she even went so far as to tell the young lady that she felt "kind of

queer; jest as if somethin' was goin' to happen." As the housekeeper was not the kind to be troubled with

Dinner was on the table at twelve o'clock, but Captain Eri was not there to help eat it, and they sat down

without him. And here again Mrs. Snow departed 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, ran to the window.

"Somebody's drivin' into the yard," she said. "Who on airth would be comin' here such a day as this?"

It was not Captain Perez, but Mr. Mayo himself, as they saw when the rubber blanket fastened across the

front of the buggy was dropped and the driver sprang out. Mrs. Snow opened the door for him.

"Hello, Abner!" exclaimed Captain Jerry, as the newcomer stopped to knock the snow from his boots before

coming in, "what have you done to Perez? Goin' to keep him for a steady boarder?"

But Mr. Mayo had important news to communicate, and he did not intend to lose the effect of his sensation

by springing it without due preparation. He took off his hat and mittens and solemnly declined a proffered

"Cap'n Burgess," he said, "I've got somethin' to tell you somethin' awful. The whole lifesavin' crew but

An exclamation from Mrs. Snow interrupted him. The housekeeper clasped her hands together tightly and

The bearer of illtidings, gratified at the result of his first attempt, proceeded deliberately:

"And Cap'n Hedge and Luther Davis are over at the station pretty nigh dead. If it wa'n't for the Cap'n,

Luther'd have gone, too. Eri took a dory and went off and picked him up. Perez come over to my house and

told 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 as soon 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'n got a bang with an oar when they

jumped out of the dory that, Perez is afraid, broke his arm. I'm goin' right back to git Dr. Palmer. They tried

"Dear! dear! dear!" exclaimed Captain Jerry, completely demoralized by the news. "That's dreadful! I must

"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 the opportunity of springing his startling news on

"Then, Josiah, you'll have to harness Dan'l and take me down. I mustn't wait another minute."

"Why, Mrs. Snow!" expostulated Captain Jerry, "you mustn't go down there. The Doctor's goin', and I'll go,

"I want you to stay here with Elsie," she said. "There's no tellin' how long I may be gone. Josiah 'll drive me

There was no lack of enthusiasm in the "able seaman's" answer. The boy was only too glad of the chance.

"I guess if Pashy Davis can stand it, I can. Elsie, will you come and help me git ready, while Josiah's

As they entered the chamber above, Elsie was thunderstruck to see her companion 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, but the

"Oh, nothin'," she answered, with an attempt at a smile. "I'm kind of fidgety this mornin', and the way that

man started off to tell his yarn upset me; that's all. I mustn't be such a fool."

She set about getting ready with a vim and attention to detail that proved that her "fidgets" had not affected

her commonsense. She was pale and her hands trembled a little, but she took a covered basket and packed in

it cloth for bandages, a hotwater bottle, mustard, a bottle of 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 for John 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 husband when he was sick. I told her I didn't favor RHUBARB as a steady drink,

Ralph and Captain Perez were surprised men when the housekeeper, dripping, but cheerful, appeared on the

scene. She and Josiah had had a stormy passage on the way down, for the easygoing Daniel had objected to

being asked to trot through drifts, and Mrs. Snow had insisted that he should be made to do it. The ford was

out of the question, so they stalled the old horse in the Mayo barn and borrowed Abner's dory to make the

Mrs. Snow took charge at once of the tired men, and the overtaxed Miss Patience 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 suit belonging to the commandant, was stretched

The Captain was the most surprised of all when Mrs. Snow appeared. He fairly gasped when she first entered

the room, and seemed to be struck speechless, for he said scarcely a word while she dosed him with hot

drinks, rubbed his shoulderthe bone was not broken, but there was a bruise there as big as a saucerwith

the liniment, and made him generally comfortable. He watched her every movement with a sort of worshipful

Captain Davis, although feeling a little better, was still very weak, and his sister and Captain Perez were with

him. Josiah soon returned to the Mayo homestead to act as ferryman for Dr. Palmer when the latter should

arrive, and Ralph, finding that there was nothing more that he could do, went back to the cable station. The

storm had abated somewhat and the wind had gone down. Captain Eri and Mrs. Snow were alone in the front

room, and, for the first time since she entered the house, the lady from Nantucket sat down to rest. Then the

"Mrs. Snow," he said gravely, "I don't believe you've changed your clothes sence you got here. You must

have been soaked through, too. I wish you wouldn't take such risks. You hadn't ought to have come over here

a day like this, anyway. Not but what the Lord knows it's good to have you here," he added hastily.

"Cap'n Eri," she said, "I b'lieve if you was dyin' you'd worry for fear somebody else wouldn't be comf'table

while you was doing it. 'Twould be 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 the place." Then, with a sigh, "Poor fellers, they won't

"That's so. And they were all alive and hearty this mornin'. It's an awful thing for Luther. Has he told

"Yes, a little. The schooner was from Maine, bound to New York. Besides her own crew she had some

Italians aboard, coalhandlers, they was, goin' over on a job for the owner. Cap'n Davis says he saw right

away that 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 the others lay down in the boat where they wouldn't hinder the men at the oars,

but when they got jest at the tail of the shoal, where the sea was heaviest, them Italians lost their heads and

commenced to stand up and yell, 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 does say, that some of the men hung on with him

"That's right; there was four or five there when we saw her fust. 'Twas Lute's grip on the centerboard that

"Yes, and he would have gone, too, if it hadn't been for you. And you talk about MY takin' risks!"

"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'

"It's you that's been kind," said the Captain. "You've made a home for me; somethin' I ain't had afore sence I

"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. I told Elsie I was sure of it. I couldn't think of anything but you all the

"Marthy," he said in an awed tone, "do you know what I was thinkin' of when 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 if I went under I shouldn't see you ag'in. And

"Yes, when that Mayo man said he had awful news, I felt sure 'twas you he was goin' to tell about. I never

Somehow both were speaking quietly, but as if it was useless longer to keep back anything. To speak the

"Well, well, well!" said the Captain reverently, and still in the same low tone. "I said once afore that I b'lieved

you was sent here, and now I'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've been here. Do you b'lieve you could be

Mrs. Snow turned and looked at him. There were tears in her eyes, but she did not wipe them away.

"And you really think you could be happy if you was the wife of an old codger like me?"

"Gosh!" he said in a sort of unbelieving whisper. "Marthy, are you willin' to try?"

When Dr. Palmer came he found Luther Davis still in bed, but Captain Eri was up and dressed, and there was

"Good Lord, man!" he exclaimed, "I expected to find you flat on your back, and you look better than I've

"It ain't so much that," replied the Captain serenely. "It's the pay I got for takin' it."

When the Doctor saw Perez alone, he asked the latter to keep a close watch on Captain Eri's behavior. He

said he was afraid that the exertion and exposure might have affected the Captain's brain.

Perez, alarmed by this caution, did watch his friend very closely, but he saw nothing to frighten him until, as

they were about to start for home, Captain Eri suddenly struck his thigh a resounding slap

Elsie and Captain Jerry were kept busy that afternoon. Abner Mayo's news spread quickly, and people

gathered at the postoffice, the stores, and the billiard room to discuss it. Some of the men, notably "Cy"

Warner and "Rufe" Smith, local representatives of the big Boston dailies, hurried off to the lifesaving

station to get the facts at first hand. Others came down to talk with Captain Jerry and Elsie. Melissa Busteed's

shawl was on her shoulders and her "cloud" was tied about her head in less than two minutes after her

nextdoor neighbor shouted the story across the back yards. She had just left the house, and Captain Jerry

was delivering a sarcastic speech concerning "talkin' machines," when Daniel plodded through the gate,

For a man who had been described as "halfdead," Captain Eri looked very well, indeed. Jerry ran to help

him from the carriage, but he jumped out himself and then assisted the housekeeper to alight with an air of

proud proprietorship. He was welcomed to the house like a returned prodigal, and Captain Jerry shook his

well hand until the arm belonging to it seemed likely to become as stiff and sore as the other. While this

handshaking was going on Captain Eri was embarrassed. He did not look his friend in the face, and most of

As soon as he had warmed his hands and told the story of the wreck and rescue, he said, "Jerry, come up to

Vaguely wondering what the private conversation might be, Jerry followed his friend upstairs. When they

were in the room, Captain Eri closed the door and faced his companion. He was confused, and stammered a

little, as he said, "Jerry, I'veI've got somethin' to say to you 'bout Mrs. Snow."

"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'you s'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 we had that talk. I go over it and GO over it. I've thought of more 'n a million ways to ask her, but there

ain't one of 'em that suits me. If I was goin' to be hung 'twouldn't be no worse, and now you've got to keep

"I wa'n't naggin'. I was jest goin' to tell you that you won't have to ask. I've been talkin' to her myself, and"

"Eri Hedge!" he exclaimed indignantly. "I thought you was a friend of mine! I give you my word I'd do it in a

week, and the least you could have 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'd lose your old housekeeper, wa'n't you? The

idea! She must think I'm a good onecan't do my own courtin', and have to git somebody to do it for me!

Upon Captain Jerry's face settled the look of one who accepts the melancholy inevitable. He sat down again.

"I s'posed she would," he said with a sigh. "She's known me for quite a spell 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?" This with

Captain Jerry was too much astonished even to get up. Instead, he simply sat still with open mouth while his

"I've come to think a lot of Mrs. Snow sence she's been here," Captain Eri said slowly, "and I've found out

that she's felt the same way 'bout me. I've kept still and said nothin' 'cause I thought you ought to have the

fust chance and, besides, I didn't know how she felt. But today, while we was talkin', it all come out of

The sacrificea sacrifice no longerstill sat silent, but curious changes of expression were passing over his

"I feel small enough 'bout the way I've treated you, Jerry," continued Captain Eri. "I didn't mean tobut

there! it's done, and all I can do is say I'm sorry and that I meant to give you your chance. I shan't blame you

"Eri," he said, "I ain't mad. I won't say my feelin's ain't hurt, 'cause'causewell, never mind. If a wife and

a home ain't for me, why I ought to be glad that you're goin' to have 'em. I wish you both luck and a good

v'yage. Now, don't talk to me for a few minutes. Let me git sort 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 steps of an improvised jig, his face one broad grin. Then, with an effort, he

If the announcement of Captain Perez' engagement caused no surprise, that of Captain Eri's certainly

didsurprise and congratulation on the part of those let into the secret, for it was decided to say nothing to

outsiders as yet. Ralph came over that evening and they told him about it, and he was as pleased as the rest.

As for the Captain, he was only too willing to shake hands with any and everybody, although he insisted that

the housekeeper had nothing to be congratulated upon, and that she was "takin' big chances." The lady herself

The storm had wrecked every wire and stalled every train, and Orham was isolated for two days. Then

communication was established once more, and the Boston dailies received the news of the loss of the

lifesavers and the crew of the schooner. And they made the most of it; sensational items were scarce just

then, and the editors welcomed this one. The big black headlines spread halfway across the front pages. There

were pictures of the wreck, "drawn by our artist from description," and there were "descriptions" of all kinds.

Special reporters arrived in the village and interviewed everyone they could lay hands on. Abner Mayo felt

The lifesaving station and the house by the shore were besieged by photographers and newspaper men.

Captain Eri indignantly refused to pose for his photograph, so he was "snapped" as he went out to the barn,

and had the pleasure of seeing a likeness of himself, somewhat out of focus, and with one leg stiffly elevated,

in the Sunday Blanket. The reporters waylaid him at the postoffice, or at his fish shanty, and begged for

interviews. They got them, brief and pointedly personal, and, though these were not printed, columns

If ever a man was mad and disgusted, that man was the Captain. In the first place, as he said, what he had

done was nothing more than any other man 'longshore would have done, and, secondly, it was nobody's

"This whole fuss makes me sick. Here's them fellers in the crew been goin' out, season after season, takin'

folks off wrecks, and the fool papers never say nothin' 'bout it; but they go out this time, and don't save

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 and orphans. Well, that's all right, but they'd better keep on and git the

The climax came when a flashily dressed stranger called, and insisted upon seeing the Captain alone. The

interview lasted just about three minutes. When Mrs. Snow, alarmed by the commotion, rushed into the

room, she found Captain Eri in the act of throwing after the fleeing stranger the shiny silk hat that the latter

"Do you know what thatthat swab wanted?" hotly demanded the indignant Captain. "He wanted me to rig

up in ileskins and a sou'wester and show myself in dime museums. Said he'd buy that dory of Luther's that I

went out in, and show that 'long with me. I told him that dory was spread up and down the beach from here to

Setuckit, but he said that didn't make 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 dollars right now to tell him the rest of what I had to say."

After this the Captain went fishing every day, and when at home refused to see anybody not known

personally. But the agitation went on, for the papers fed the flames, and in Boston they were raising a purse to

Shortly after four o'clock one afternoon of the week following that of the wreck, Captain Eri ventured to walk

up to the village, keeping a weather eye out for reporters and smoking his pipe. He made several stops, one of

them being at the schoolhouse where Josiah, now back at his desk, was studying overtime to catch up with

As the Captain was strolling along, someone touched him from behind, and he turned to face Ralph

Hazeltine. The electrician had been a pretty regular caller at the house of late, but Captain Eri had seen but

"Hello, Captain!" said Ralph. "Taking a constitutional? You want to look out for Warner; I hear he's after you

"He'll need somebody to rescue him if he comes pesterin' 'round me," was the 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 of sudden."

Ralph laughed, and said he was afraid that the museum manager wouldn't come to Orham again very soon.

"I s'pose likely not," chuckled Captain Eri. "I ought to have kept his hat; 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 that western

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 feller said, and I'd hate to see you leave, that's all."

"I am not anxious to go, myself. My present position gives me a good deal of leisure time for experimental

workandwell, I'll tell you in confidencethere's a possibility of my becoming superintendent one of

"He is thinking of it. The old gentleman has saved some money, and he has a sister in the West who is

anxious to have him come out there and spend the remainder of his days with her. If he does, I can have his

"Well, that's pretty fine, ain't it? Langley ain't the man to chuck his good opinions round like clam shells. You

They walked on silently for a few steps, the Captain waiting for his companion to speak, and the latter

Silence again. Then Ralph said, "The other position, Captain, is very much like this one in some respects. It

will place me in a country town, even smaller than Orham, where there are few young people, no

To this enigmatical answer the Captain made no immediate reply. After a moment, however, he said, slowly

and with apparent irrelevance, "Mr. Hazeltine, I can remember my father tellin' 'bout a feller that lived down

on the South Harniss shore when he was a boy. Queer old chap he was, named Elihu Bassett; everybody

called him Uncle Elihu. In them days all hands drunk more or less rum, and Uncle Elihu drunk more. He had

a way of stayin' sober for a spell, and then startin' off on a regular jamboree all by himself. He had an old

flatbottomed boat that he used to sail 'round in, but she broke her moorin's one time and got smashed up, 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 agreed on the price, and everything was all right 'cept that Uncle Elihu stuck out that he

"So Shad fin'lly give in, and Uncle Elihu sailed over to Wellmouth in the boat. He put in his time 'round the

tavern there, and when he come down to the boat ag'in, he had a jugful of Medford in his hand, and pretty

nigh as much of the same stuff under his hatches. He got afloat somehow, h'isted the sail, lashed the tiller

after a fashion, took a nip out of the jug and tumbled over and went fast asleep. 'Twas a still night or 'twould

have been the finish. As 'twas he run aground on a flat and stuck there till mornin'.

"Next day back he comes with the boat all scraped up, and says he, 'She won't do, Shad; she don't keep her

"'Don't keep her course, you old fool!' bellers Shad. 'And you tight as a drumhead and sound asleep! Think

Ralph laughed. "I see," he said. "Perhaps Uncle Elihu was wise. Still, if he wanted the boat very much, he

"That's so," assented the Captain, "but 'twas better to know it then than to be sorry for it afterwards."

Both seemed to be thinking, and neither spoke again until they came to the grocery store, where Hazeltine

stopped, saying that he must do an errand for Mr. Langley. They said goodnight, and the Captain turned

"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 gone that Ralph remembered he did not know

When he reached the school he climbed the stairs and opened the door, expecting to find Josiah alone.

Instead, there was no one there but Elsie, who was sitting at the desk. She sprang up as he entered. Both were

"Pardon me, Miss Preston," he said. "Captain Eri sent me here. He said he left something with Josiah, and

"Why, I'm sure I don't know what it can be," replied Elsie. "Josiah has been gone for some time, and he said

So they looked, but found nothing more than the usual assortment contained in the desk of a healthy

schoolboy. The raised lid shut off the light from the window, and the desk's interior was rather dark. They

had to grope in the corners, and occasionally their hands touched. Every time this happened Ralph thought of

He thought of it still more when, after the search was abandoned, Elsie suggested that he help her with some

problems that she was preparing for the next day's labors of the first class in arithmetic. In fact, as he sat

beside her, pretending to figure, but really watching her dainty profile as it moved back and forth before his

eyes, his own particular problem received far more attention than did those of the class. Suddenly he spoke:

"You should hold up your hand if you wish permission to speak," was the stern reply.

"Is the question as important as 'How many bushels did C. sell?' which happens to be my particular trouble

"It is to me, certainly." Ralph was serious enough now. "It is a question that I have been wrestling with for

some time. It is, shall I take the position that has been offered me in the West, or shall I stay here and become

superintendent of the station? The superintendent's place 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

"I should think that question might best be decided by comparing the salaries and prospects of the two

"The two positions are much alike in one way. You know what the life at the station means the greater

portion of the yearno companions of your own age and condition, no society, no amusements. The

Western offer means all this and worse, for the situation is the same all the year. I say these things because I

hope you may be willing to consider them, not from my point of view solely, but from yours."

"Yes. You see I am recklessly daring to hope that, whichever lot is chosen, you may be willing to share it

with meas my wife. Elsie, do you think you could consider the question from that viewpoint?"

The considerationwe suppose it was the considerationtook so long that it was nearly dark when Elsie

announced that she simply MUST go. It was Ralph's duty as a gentleman to help her in putting on her coat,

and this took an astonishingly long time. Finally it was done, however, and they came downstairs.

"Dearest," said Ralph, after the door was locked, "I forgot to have another hunt for whatever it was that

"Got it! Whywhy, by George, what a numbskull I am! The old rascal! I thought there was a twinkle in his

"Well, well! Bless his heart, it's sound and sweet all the way through. Yes, I HAVE got it, and, what's more, I

The gold watches from the people to the heroes of the Orham wreck having been duly bought and inscribed

and the medals struck, there came up the question of presentation, and it was decided to perform the

ceremony in the Orham town hall, and to make the occasion notable. The Congressman from the district

agreed to make the necessary speech. The Harniss Cornet Band was to furnish music. All preparations were

made, and it remained only to secure the consent of the parties most interested, namely, Captain Eri and

And this was the hardest task of all. Both men at first flatly refused to be present. The Captain said he might

as well go to the dime museum and be done with it; he was much obliged to the Boston folks, but his own

watch was keeping good time, and he didn't need a new one badly enough to make a show of himself to get it.

But Miss Patience was proud of her brother's rise to fame, and didn't intend to let him forfeit the crowning

glory. She enlisted Captain Perez as a supporter, and together they finally got Luther's unwilling consent to

sit on the platform and be stared at for one evening. Meanwhile, Captain Jerry, Elsie, Ralph, and Mrs. Snow

were doing their best to win Captain Eri over. When Luther surrendered, the forces joined, and the Captain

"All right," he said. "Only I ought to beg that dime museum feller's pardon. 'Tain't right to be partial this

The hall was jammed to the doors. Captain Eri, seated on the platform at one end of the halfcircle of

selectmen, local politicians, and minor celebrities, looked from the Congressman in the middle to Luther on

the other end, and then out over the crowded settees. He saw Mrs. Snow's pleasant, wholesome face beaming

proudly beside Captain Jerry's red one. He saw Captain Perez and Miss Patience sitting together close to the

front, and Ralph and Elsie a little further back. The Reverend Mr. Perley was there; so were the Smalls and

Miss Abigail Mullett. Melissa Busteed was on the very front bench with the boys, of whom Josiah was one.

The "train committee" was therenot a member missing and at the rear of the hall, smiling and unctuous

as ever, was "Web" Saunders. In spite of his stage fright the Captain grinned when he saw "Web."

Mr. Solomon Bangs, his shirtbosom crackling with importance, introduced the Congressman. The latter's

address was, so the Item said, "a triumph of oratorical effort." It really was a good speech, and when it

touched upon the simple sacrifice of the men who had given up their lives in the course of what, to them, was

everyday work, there were stifled sobs all through the hall. Luther Davis, during this portion of the address,

sat with his big hand shading his eyes. Later on, when the speaker was sounding the praises of the man who

"alone, forgetful of himself, braved the sea and the storm to save his friends," those who looked at Captain

Eri saw his chair hitched back, inch by inch, until, as the final outburst came, little more than his Sunday

But they called him to the platform again and, amidwe quote from the Item once more"a hurricane of

There was a sort of impromptu reception after the ceremony, when Captain Eri, with Mrs. Snow on his arm,

"'Twas great, shipmate, and you deserved it!" declared magnanimous Captain Jerry, wringing his hand.

"I haven't said much to thank you for savin' Luther," whispered Miss Patience, "but I hope you know that we

Ralph and Elsie also shook hands with him, and said some pleasant things. So did many others, Dr. Palmer

among the number. Altogether, the journey through the hall was a sort of triumphal progress.

"Whew!" gasped the Captain, as they came out into the clear air and the moonlight, "let's hope that's the last

And that remark was sweeter to the Captain's ears than all those that had preceded it.

They turned into the shore road and were alone. It was a clear winter night, fresh, white snow on the ground,

not a breath of wind, and the full moon painting land and sea dark blue and silver white. The surf sounded

faint and far off. Somewhere in the distance a dog was barking, and through the stillness came an occasional

"Lots of things can happen in a few months, can't they?" said Mrs. Snow, glancing at the black shadow of the

"They can so," replied the Captain. "Think what's happened sence last September. I didn't know you then, and

now it seems 's if I'd always known you. John was alive then, and Elsie nor Ralph hadn't come. Perez hadn't

met Pashy neither. My! my! Everybody's choosed partners but Jerry," he chuckled, "and Jerry looked the

most likely candidate 'long at the beginnin'. I'm glad," he added, "that Ralph's made up his mind to stay here.

"You've HAD it rough enough, that's sure. Well, I hope you'll have a smooth v'yage, now."