, 1912-03-21
CHAPTER XIII.
THEY GO A-sAILING.

swan white. her ensign and
colors folding and unfolding.
lifting and sinking as the aft
ernoon breeze stirred them. was max
Ing ready for sea. and many Of the
villagers had come down to the water
front TO sec her off.
wonder what poor devil of a pirate
is going To ave his bones turned over
this triCy' said the station agent to
Mr.. Donovan. who. among others on
the station platform. watched the drab
anchor as it clanked jerkily upward to
the bows. leaving n swivel and a boil
on the waters which had released it so
grudgingly.
II guess it amt goin' t. be any OF
pirate this time" replied Mr.. Donovan
with a pleasurable squeeze of the peck
etbook over his heart.
Hi! There she goes, Good luck!'
cried the station agent. swinging his
hat with gusto.
The voyagers were gathered about
the stern rail. and a handkerchief or
two tiuttered in the wind. For an
hour they tarried there, keeping in
VIC" nv tttCh "oouCu III III Ut
white cottages Nesting at their base.
And turn by turf there were glimpses
of the noble old house at the top of
the hill. And some looked upon 1t for
the last time.
I've had a jolly time up there"
said Fitzgerald. The gulls swooped
as they crossed and r~ecrossed the
milky wake. Better time than l de-
served"
Are you still worried about that
adventure?" Laura demanded. "Dis-
miss it from your mind, and let 1t be
as If we had known each other for
many years"
"Do you really mean thatr'
ITO be sure l do" pr&.nptly. But
Mrs. Coldfeld had given me a guar
antee before l addressed you"
There never was a girl quite like
this one. He purloined a sidelong
glance at her. The rich pigment in
the blood mantled her cheeks, and In
her eyes there was still a bit of cap
tive sunshine. He knew now that
what had been only a possibility was
an assured fact. Never before had he
cursed his fathers friends. but he did
so now silently and earnestly, for
their pilfering fingers and their plau-
sible lies had robbed his fathers son
Of u fine inheritance. Money. Never
had he desired 1t so keenly. What
earthly chance had he? Unconscious
ly he shrugged.
"You are shrugging!" she cried. not
ing the expression, for If he was Sc
cretly observing her she was surrepti-
tiously contemplating his own advan-
tages.
did l shrugT"
"You certainly did"
"well." candidly. lit was the thought
Of money that made me do it
81 detest II too"
"Good heavens. 1 didn't say l de-
tested 1t! What / shrugged about
was my own dreary lack of it"
Bachelors do not require much"
"That's true, but l no longer desire
to remain Il bachelor" The very thing
tnat saved MIN was the added laughter.
forced, miserably forced. Fool! The
words had slipped without his think
Ing.
"Graciousl That sounds horribly like
u proposal" She beamed upon him
merrily.
And his heart sank, for he had been
earnest enough for all his blTnder.
Manlike, he did not grasp h fact that
under the circumstance merrimeut wa
all she could offer him il she would
save him from his own stupidity.
Then of n sudden the red rim OF re
sun vanished behind the setting Ian l.
scape, and all the grim Loneliness II
the sea rose up TO greet them,
ut is lonely. Let us go and prepare
for dinner, Look" pointing to "a
bright star far down the east. And