1 -AN: 
 
 DOWN 
 THE 
 
 SANDS 
 
 GOLD 
 
 J 
 
 i^H . 
 
 MARY
 

 
 UP AND DOWN 
 THE SANDS OF GOLD
 
 UP AND DOWN 
 THE SANDS OF GOLD 
 
 BY 
 
 MARY DEVEREUX 
 
 Author of " From Kingdom to Colony " 
 
 BOSTON 
 LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 
 
 1901
 
 Copyright, spof, 
 BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 55ntttrsttg -^rrss 
 
 JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A.
 
 A TOKEN OF GRATITUDE 
 
 TO 
 
 MY MOTHER 
 
 2135179
 
 ff The ocean old, 
 Centuries old ; 
 
 Strong as youth, and as uncontrolled, 
 Paces restless to and fro, 
 Up and down the sands of gold, ' ' 
 
 LONGFELLOW.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 9 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE heat of a clear summer day beat upon the 
 earth. Along the dusty highway the delicate 
 wild roses bloomed fair and sweet. By the 
 pools, the rushes, tall and stately, seemed to gaze at 
 their own reflection in the water beneath; and the 
 reeds down near the shore swayed with a slow grace, 
 like waltzers, to the music of the waves that mur- 
 mured as they lapped the rocks. The late July fields 
 sent up their dry fragrance to the glowing sky, and 
 across the meadows the heat went rolling and rock- 
 ing, mixed with the scent of newly-cut grass, and 
 then, reaching the shore, was lost in the sea. 
 
 Out on one of the many rocky headlands sat 
 Doctor Jasper. Back of him the little town receded 
 to meet the hills, rising, tier upon tier, far away to 
 the west. Below him the lichen-covered ledges fell, 
 low and lower, down to the sea, where the tide 
 just at the turn was tossing and lifting the thick 
 growth of olive-green and brown seaweed, and show- 
 ing the brighter colors of the undergrowing masses. 
 
 The Doctor's eyes, lazily overlooking the harbor, 
 wandered out to the line that seemed to join sea and 
 sky, where now and again a sail would slowly 
 shadow into ship-shape. And a prayer of thanks-
 
 2 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 giving was in his heart as there came to him the 
 keen realization of all this peace, and he contrasted 
 it with a few weeks before, when there was sounding 
 in his ears the din of war. 
 
 El Caney, and the days that followed, with all 
 their sickening horrors, seemed strange to remember 
 as actualities in the face of this summer day of rest- 
 fulness by the same sea that knew Cuba's far-off 
 shore. And he was glad to think of them as parts 
 of a dream from which he had awakened none too 
 soon. 
 
 Upon the next headland down shore was a curious- 
 looking building, very small and brown, brown as 
 an autumn leaf, and quite as guiltless of paint. 
 
 The door opening toward the street was always 
 closed during the summer; and over it, securely 
 nailed, sign-like, was something calculated to awaken 
 wonder in the mind of an inquisitive visitor. It was 
 a long, narrow strip of board, upon which the once 
 red paint had been weather-beaten to a dull brown ; 
 and the faded lettering, in black and white, read: 
 " Betsey Brett." 
 
 The odd little building was Uncle Darb's shoe- 
 shop and fish-market, combined ; and the proprietor 
 was " Uncle Darb " to all the town. 
 
 One fall night, years before, during a northeast 
 gale, this board, battered and soaked, had come rid- 
 ing in on the crest of a great breaker, all that was 
 left to tell of some perished craft and her crew. It 
 was picked up by Uncle Darb; and Eben, his 
 apprentice, had nailed it above the door of the shop, 
 which came to be spoken of as the " Betsey Brett."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 3 
 
 And the place was, in its way, quite as much of a 
 resort for certain privileged ones, as were pretentious 
 club-houses. 
 
 An opening in the east side led out to a rudely 
 made platform, surrounded by a strong railing, which 
 served as a back for the wooden benches built along 
 three sides. The whole was roofed with tarred can- 
 vas, and of this material also was the door of the 
 summer entrance, looped up and back in a way to 
 afford free access to the shop within. But when the 
 east winds and fall storms blew up a promise of 
 " rheumatiz " for Uncle Darb's bones, this opening 
 was boarded up, the street door was opened, and the 
 cobwebs and dust brushed from the small windows 
 either side of it. 
 
 Out on the platform of the " Betsey Brett " this 
 summer afternoon, one bench and the half of another 
 were filled by the old gaffers who had long been 
 habitues of the place, while Uncle Darb, perched 
 upon a high stool in their midst, was scanning the 
 horizon through his spyglass. 
 
 Below, at the base of the headlands, the waves 
 
 " With their ain eerie croon, 
 Working their appointed work, 
 And never, never done," 
 
 filled in the pauses, which were many and long, in 
 the old men's talk. 
 
 They looked as wise as old Greek philosophers; 
 but if any wisdom really existed within them it must 
 have been strictly guarded, for no atom of it ever 
 escaped.
 
 4 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 They had been coming to the " Betsey Brett " so 
 regularly, and for so many years, that the matter had 
 resolved itself into a sort of club basis. A large 
 placard upon the side-wall of the building, over 
 where the thread of a path led around to the plat- 
 form, proclaimed : " Private Property." And yet 
 these privileged old gaffers knew that at certain 
 hours, and with the regularity of the tides and 
 seasons, they were expected at the platform, there to 
 sit, and smoke, and look wise ; to gaze out over the 
 sea and ships ; to lay down laws their own for 
 earth and man. 
 
 Uncle Darb, resting the glass across his duck-like 
 legs, broke an unusually long silence by remarking, 
 " Doctor Noel Jasper seems to be sort o' settled 
 here." 
 
 " He be," assented the most ancient of the gaffers, 
 taking the pipe from his mouth; whereat they all 
 fixed their faded old eyes upon the silent Doctor, as 
 though he had become an object of the most absorb- 
 ing interest. 
 
 " Wa'n't he here last fall ? " inquired a second of 
 the lot, turning his face slowly toward the one who 
 had just spoken. 
 
 But Uncle Darb, in his capacity of chairman, took 
 it upon himself to answer the question. 
 
 " Yes ; but only for a few days, when he brought 
 Tom Leslie's body home." 
 
 " How was thet ? " asked another one. " Ye see 
 I was back in the country, visitin' my daughter 
 Mirandy, 'bout thet time; an' I never knew nothin' 
 'bout it."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 5 
 
 " Wa'l," said Uncle Darb, twisting himself half-way 
 around, "'twas like this: The Doctor an' Tom met 
 an' took up together somewheres over in Europe, 
 when Tom was travellin' there ; an' they took a big 
 shine to each other. An' then when Tom got 
 hurt climbin' that mountain, the Doctor was with 
 him, an' nursed him till he died. An' then he gev 
 up the rest o' his own trip, an' brought poor Tom 
 back." 
 
 " Thet was the way of it, was it? " 
 
 " Yes. But he only stayed here till the funeral was 
 over, an' then he was off ag'in." 
 
 " I 've heerd tell thet Cap'n Nat Leslie's thought a 
 deal o' him ever sence, an' 'vited him down here 
 more 'n onct. But they say he 's a great traveller, an' 
 don't stay in one place very long." 
 
 This came in a wheezy voice from a thin little gaffer 
 in the angle of the benches. 
 
 " That 's so, too," said Uncle Darb. " They say 
 he's been purty much everywheres, an' to all sorts o' 
 strange places. I heerd Cap'n Nat tellin' o' how he 
 went down to Cuby when the war broke out, to see 
 what he could do for the boys, as he knew all bout 
 the country an' climate. But he did n't like the way 
 things was run, an' ended by gittin' sick himself; an' 
 so he come back ag'in. I guess he 's an indepen- 
 dent sort o' chap, an' one as likes to have things his 
 own way." 
 
 The others nodded in acquiescence; and Uncle 
 Darb went on, "I heerd someone say he'd taken 
 board for all summer at Marm Bessly's." 
 
 " He hev," intoned the patriarch.
 
 6 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "Hum," said Uncle Darb reflectively; "she's a 
 rattler, an' no mistake. She can jest raise cummins 
 she can. D' ye mind the time old Pop Bessly was 
 livin', an' she sent him out one day to bring in the 
 clean clothes offn the line? " 
 
 " No," replied the asthmatic little gaffer in the 
 corner. 
 
 " She says to him as she pushed him out'n the 
 door, says she, 'An' mind don't ye so much as 
 tech 'em with your dirty fingers.' Ho ho ! " roared 
 Uncle Darb; and all the gaffers echoed him, showing 
 many toothless gums as they opened their mouths 
 in ecstasies of laughter. 
 
 Their merriment aroused Doctor Jasper, who 
 glanced smilingly toward them; but the gaffers' 
 eyes, without their spectacles, could discern neither 
 smile nor frown so far away. Uncle Darb alone 
 caught and returned the friendly look ; and then he 
 once more consulted his spyglass, while the others 
 gave their undivided attention to their pipes. 
 
 Beneath the headland where the Doctor sat, two 
 old sailors, with a younger man, were getting a sloop 
 ready to start out. 
 
 "Sam," came the gruff voice of one of the elder 
 men, the tones sounding hollow and half-smothered, 
 his head being within one of the several small stow- 
 aways of the craft, " look up-street, an' see ef 'n ye 
 don't see Cap'n Jack now." 
 
 This was the third time Doctor Jasper had heard 
 the same command given ; and young Sam Ayres, 
 having obeyed his father's orders, answered as twice 
 before, " Nary sign o' him." And this in turn was
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 7 
 
 followed by a grumble of impatience from the senior 
 Ayres. 
 
 The other member of the waiting party was a 
 sailor of sixty or thereabouts, who stood, hands in 
 pockets, gazing seaward, his stocky figure swaying 
 with the boat's motion, and his teeth tightly clench- 
 ing a short black pipe from which clouds of blue 
 smoke ascended about his silvered head. 
 
 " Patience, mate, er bit longer," he said, turning 
 toward old Ayres ; and although he spoke in would- 
 be soothing tones his voice was like the low rumble 
 of distant thunder. " I promised ther lad we 'd wait; 
 I promised him true. An' he don't git away from 
 his grandame's apron strings ev'ry day." 
 
 " She 's like as not hinderin' him now," growled 
 old Ayres, his voice less hollow as his red face came 
 out into the daylight, while he drew the back of one 
 hand across his lips, in a way to suggest that some- 
 thing other than fishing tackle or tarred rope was 
 stowed in the cuddy. 
 
 He had scarcely spoken when young Sam called 
 from the rocks where he had been standing to obtain 
 a better view down the road, " There, Uncle Billy, 
 he 's comin'." 
 
 Doctor Jasper, who knew but few of the towns- 
 people, looked up to see what this " Cap'n Jack " 
 might be like. And in doing so he found himself 
 watching, in a mechanical sort of way, old Mrs. Wil- 
 cox's stout figure as she waddled down the street, 
 wrapped (although the day was warm) in a vividly red 
 shawl. Then he was reminded of his country's flag, 
 as he saw something blue mingling with the red.
 
 8 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 The blue and the red appeared to pause and con- 
 verse. Presently they separated ; and the blue, com- 
 ing nearer, proved to be a lad of six or seven, clad 
 in a flannel suit of that color, and who, seeing Sam, 
 took off his broad-brimmed straw hat and swung it 
 joyously as he greeted him in a curiously sweet 
 voice. 
 
 As he came up the rocks past Doctor Jasper, the 
 latter's keen eyes noted how nobly he was fashioned 
 for such a little fellow, with a finely shaped head, set 
 firmly upon a round white neck, and with a dash of 
 brown over cheeks and ears glowing with a healthful 
 rosiness. The face was winsome, and the features 
 had not lost their baby softness and roundness. 
 
 His thick, curly hair, closely cropped, glittered like 
 gold-dust, and the frank eyes that glanced shyly at 
 the Doctor were tawny as the sea sand under the glow 
 of the afternoon sun. 
 
 " Hurry up, ye young monkey, if yer want ter board 
 ther ' Pretty Sally,' " Uncle Billy called out, his smiling 
 face belying the gruff tone, as he looked at the child, 
 to see him caught in the strong arms of young Sam 
 Ayres, and carried, with a clatter of feet, and much 
 laughter, down the rocks and aboard the " Pretty 
 Sally," where he was deposited carefully upon an 
 extra sail heaped in the bow.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE sail of the " Pretty Sally " being set, and her 
 anchor lifted, she started slowly out into the 
 harbor, where the wind, blowing steadily, 
 soon quickened her speed, until before long she 
 began to grow dim in the far-off, pearly haze. 
 
 Doctor Jasper, watching idly, saw her fade away 
 like drifting smoke; and the sun's warmth begin- 
 ning to make itself disagreeable, he was thinking of 
 betaking himself to the cool half-light of his own 
 room, when his attention was drawn to a girl's 
 voice, singing, and seeming to come from beneath 
 his feet. 
 
 The song was "The Armorer's Daughter;" and 
 although she sang but a few lines of it, he came to 
 know all of them only too well before the summer 
 was gone. 
 
 " The armorer's daughter is young and fair, 
 
 (Flowers are sweet in the summer-tide) 
 The sun shines full on her loose gold hair, 
 
 (Wanderers rest where the roads divide). 
 Strays a youth in the noonday heat ; 
 
 Lute on shoulder he saunters by; 
 'A cup of water, I prithee, sweet, 
 
 Ways are long when the roads are dry.' 
 
 " Scores of travellers come and go ; 
 
 All may linger, but one may stay, 
 Cease from wandering to and fro, 
 Rest for many a summer day.
 
 I o Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 ' Sweet, my love, we must say farewell,' 
 (Cold and faint is the autumn sun) ; 
 
 ' Now must I break from thy beauty's spell.' 
 (Leaves fall fast when the summer's done.) 
 
 " ' Northward far, by a steel-gray sea, 
 
 A proud king's daughter, all clothed in red, 
 Crowned with rubies, now waits for me. 
 
 She it is I must surely wed. 
 Speak one sorrowing word to me,' 
 
 (Flowers are sweet in the summer-tide), 
 ' Farewell, sweet lady ! ' ' Farewell! ' said she, 
 
 (Wanderers rest where the roads divide). 
 
 " So she watches him out of sight, 
 
 Standing still, where the roads divide. 
 End must come to a month's delight, 
 
 Roses die with the summer-tide. 
 Slow and faltering grows her tread, 
 
 (Winds are chill on a winter's night), 
 Pale her lips that once were red, 
 
 (Fair are the frost-flowers, cold and white). 
 
 " Now the winter is gone and past, 
 
 Violets bloom in the early spring. 
 Rests the armorer's maid at last, 
 
 Soft green grass for a covering. 
 White buds bloom at her feet and head, 
 
 (Flowers are sweet in the summer-tide), 
 Well she sleeps in her narrow bed, 
 
 (Wanderers rest where the roads divide)." 
 
 The voice was a strong, rich contralto which 
 Doctor Jasper thought he recognized ; and the singer 
 was evidently within one of the many little caves 
 that ran in under the rocks beneath him. 
 
 The gaffers, to judge by their craned necks and 
 fixed eyes, were trying to make her out from their
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 1 1 
 
 projecting perch upon the platform of the " Betsey 
 Brett." And Uncle Darb, who had walked to the 
 edge, and was looking in the same direction, now 
 called out, "Hi, there, Miss Marg'ret!" 
 
 "Ship ahoy, Uncle Darb!" answered a girlish 
 voice, with a note of laughter underlying it. 
 
 " I 've sent them lobsters up to the house. Eben 
 got in from the pots sooner 'n I thought he would." 
 
 "Oh, yes; very well; thank you," came back 
 rather disjointedly, for she was now climbing out, 
 and making her way to the headland beyond, where 
 Doctor Jasper saw her standing a few minutes later. 
 
 A tall, lithe girl of nineteen, her smooth skin 
 somewhat darkened by tan, with fearless, honest 
 eyes, blue as the sea, and a boyish crop of short, 
 curly brown hair which the sunlight touched with 
 bronze glintings; low-cut shoes on her shapely 
 little feet displayed from beneath a rather short 
 black skirt; small gloveless hands half-slipped into 
 the jacket pockets ; hat tilted over the nose, and a 
 book under her arm. 
 
 She stepped lightly from ledge to ledge, uncon- 
 scious of the Doctor's presence, pausing once or 
 twice with her back toward him, and seeming to be 
 looking off over the sea. 
 
 He arose to join her. But before he could speak, 
 she glanced around in a startled way, a quick color 
 flushing her cheeks, and then smiled as she recog- 
 nized him. 
 
 "I wonder," said Uncle Darb to the gaffers, "I 
 wonder how Cap'n Leslie '11 feel when his Peggy 
 comes to go? "
 
 i 2 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " Eh ? " grunted the gaffers in an inquiring chorus, 
 as they all watched the man and girl turn their 
 backs to the sea, and take the way leading up into 
 the town. 
 
 "I mean," and Uncle Darb adjusted his glass for 
 another look seaward, "when Marg'ret Leslie comes 
 to get married; I wonder how Cap'n Nat "11 weather 
 that gale? No other gal in town can compare with 
 her; she beats the hull lot of 'em." 
 
 To this there was no response. But the gaffers 
 sat in solemn silence, gazing at one another, while 
 they wagged their grizzled heads and tried to look 
 discriminating. 
 
 Margaret Leslie and Doctor Jasper were mean- 
 while sauntering in the shade of the great horse- 
 chestnuts and elms that arched the road leading in 
 eccentric windings to what was known as "the old 
 Leslie place," which had for its master and mistress 
 the Captain and his only daughter. 
 
 Yet while by courtesy and right of inheritance 
 Margaret was the old homestead's mistress, Eliza, 
 the Captain's housekeeper (and in her own estima- 
 tion the most reliable head of the house), would 
 have experienced something of a shock had she been 
 called upon to acknowledge as such the girl who 
 was to her the same child whose soiled pinafores 
 she had washed and ironed years before, and whose 
 torn frocks she had so often mended, while scolding 
 the wearer for " actin' jest like a torn-boy ! " 
 
 The gable-roofed and dormer-windowed house had 
 been the home of several generations of Leslies. It 
 was a large, square, old-fashioned frame mansion,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold i 3 
 i 
 
 painted white, with green blinds, and, standing 
 well back from the street, was almost hidden in a 
 grove of gigantic elms which made it a picture of 
 inviting coolness on a hot day. 
 
 In the rear of the house was a large, irregularly 
 laid-out garden, where, amongst the vegetables, sweet 
 flowers bloomed riotously all the summer through. 
 Then came a lawn, or "bleaching-ground; " and 
 back of this the orchard, so thickly intergrown that 
 in spring it was a perfect sea of blossoms; and 
 where later, underneath the foliage and ripening 
 fruit, scarcely a ray of sunlight was able to find its 
 way. 
 
 "I heard you singing," Doctor Jasper was saying 
 to Margaret. " Have you a cave in the rocks where 
 you retire at times, to become a Lorelei, and lure 
 the passing sailor to his fate? I could see that 
 you were charming the old fellows on the ' Betsey 
 Brett. ' " 
 
 His voice was deep and full, accentuating its 
 would-be gravity; but this was belied by the gleam 
 showing in his gray eyes. 
 
 The girl looked up at him and laughed. "I don't 
 think you have paid me much of a compliment," she 
 said. 
 
 "Why not? I think old men have often a very 
 keen sense of the sweetness of music especially 
 sea-faring men. And I have always found Jack 
 much more sentimental than his land brother." 
 
 "Yes," she assented; "that is doubtless true. 
 But I really have a cave of my own, where I go to 
 sit and read or sew. I must show it to you some
 
 14 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 time; and then I suspect you '11 want to rent a share 
 of it." 
 
 " I think it might be very possible, for I have 
 already found several things in the life here which 
 I should be most happy to share." And he looked 
 down srrjilingly into her bright face. 
 
 She flushed slightly, and was silent, until he 
 asked, " How long have you been the possessor of 
 this valuable property?" 
 
 " Oh, ever so long. When I was only a little girl 
 I used to play there. Our mother died when Tom 
 and I were small children ; and our great-aunt San- 
 ley, who lived with us and brought us up, was rather 
 a severe disciplinarian. I think I must have had 
 even more ' pepper ' in my make-up then, although 
 papa tells me I have a generous supply now at 
 times; for she and I sometimes made each other 
 very unhappy. And, when climaxes came, I would 
 run away to the cave with my dolls, and stay there 
 until the weather cleared." 
 
 " It strikes me as an excellent thing to have a 
 cave to which one can retire occasionally," said 
 the Doctor, with a moody look which seemed to 
 clash with what might have been the facetiousness 
 of his words and tone, this, however, changing to 
 that of reminiscence, together with a touch of sad- 
 ness, as he continued, "Now I remember a cave 
 in Norway, that we that is He stammered, 
 and then paused. 
 
 Margaret glanced up at his face ; and her sympa- 
 thetic nature quick to reflect the feelings of those 
 near her, as a sheet of placid water throws back
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 15 
 
 whatever may be over it led her to understand 
 what he would have said. 
 
 "You mean last year, when " Then she, too, 
 stopped, as her voice grew tremulous. 
 
 It was the bringing to her and her father of all 
 that was left of Tom Leslie, that had made Doctor 
 Jasper known to them. And she knew that her 
 brother's frank-hearted, winning nature had found 
 a place in the elder man's friendship which long 
 years might not have acquired for another. 
 
 The Doctor felt that he and Margaret were near- 
 ing dangerous ground; for he had never, despite his 
 profession, been able to accustom himself to a 
 woman's tears. And he was greatly relieved when 
 a sudden diversion was created by a huge dog rush- 
 ing toward the girl, as if welcoming her home. 
 
 "Fin, be still. Quiet, boy!" she said, tottering 
 at his rough onslaught, but patting his head as he 
 now stood beside her. Then, at her command, he 
 strode sedately along, proudly swaying his plume- 
 like tail, and lifting his great brown eyes to her 
 face. 
 
 "What a noble fellow he is!" said the Doctor, 
 looking admiringly at him. 
 
 " He is a perfect old darling ! " Margaret ex- 
 claimed with smiling animation. "I think every- 
 thing of him, for he is almost human. Don't you 
 think it is a dreadful thing, Doctor, to realize there 
 is no Heaven for dogs or horses ? " 
 
 "What reason have we for thinking there is not? 
 To me all life is sacred, and every form of it a part 
 of the same grand and perfect creation. And how
 
 1 6 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 dare we, who cannot even explain life, be it ever so 
 imperfect and poor, how dare we presume to say 
 what and where its end is to be? Take Fin, for 
 instance: Why may we not share the Indian's be- 
 lief that when he goes to the happy hunting- 
 grounds, 
 
 " ' His faithful dog shall bear him company ? ' ' 
 
 Margaret smiled approvingly; and he asked, "Did 
 you never happen to consider how many times the 
 Bible gives us good reason for thinking that horses 
 are not incompatible with Heavenly surroundings? " 
 
 Her eyes widened with a look of pleased surprise. 
 
 "Does it? I never thought of it before." And 
 she glanced at him rather wonderingly. 
 
 "Certainly it does. There were the horses that 
 came down with the fiery chariot, to take away the 
 prophet Elijah. And Saint John, in Revelations, 
 tells of the different horses and riders he saw." 
 
 "Yes, I remember. And if we may dare to think 
 of horses being there, then why not dogs ? I am 
 sure that dogs are as near to humanity as horses are; 
 and both of them often show more of it than some 
 people I have known. Yes, and intelligence, too." 
 
 "I should say so." The Doctor spoke with an 
 emphasis suggesting personal experience, and that 
 of a far from pleasant nature. 
 
 "Well," Margaret added smilingly, "I love horses 
 and dogs so dearly that I should like to make some 
 part of your creed my own." 
 
 "Why not all of it?" 
 
 The inquiry came so abruptly as to cause her to
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 1 7 
 
 look questioningly into his face. But, seeing the 
 half-quizzical smile showing under his moustache, 
 her eyes reflected it as she asked, "You aren't a 
 Buddhist, are you, for, now that I think of it, you 
 lived several years in India?" 
 
 "By no means." And his smile deepened. 
 "Yet," he continued, now more soberly, "don't 
 you know that Christians may learn many real, 
 Christ-taught truths from much of the advanced 
 philosophy and thought of the Orient? Buddhism 
 itself is truly a religion of tolerance and humanity." 
 
 "I know very little of India or its religions," 
 Margaret admitted frankly; "and somehow my 
 childhood's idea of it has never entirely faded from 
 my mind. I have always fancied it to be a great 
 mass of coral, red coral, growing, grass-like, over 
 the land. I probably had this idea from the old 
 hymn that tells about 'India's coral strand.' And 
 then I always think of a lot of pious men and women 
 marching around, with books in their hands, saving 
 black people, who are on their knees to them, wait- 
 ing meekly to be saved." 
 
 Doctor Jasper joined in her laugh. "You remind 
 me of something Mrs. Bessly said the other day. 
 She was telling of some lady who went abroad as a 
 missionary, and paraded about among the heathen, 
 holding a prayer book in one hand and a sun um- 
 brella in the other, saving heathen souls." 
 
 They had reached the gate; and, at Margaret's 
 invitation, he went in to sit with her under the 
 trees.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 SHE transferred the hat from her curly head to 
 her lap, ruffling up her hair in a boyish fash- 
 ion, as she loosened its flattened rings. Then 
 for a moment or two she looked at Doctor Jasper 
 with abstracted eyes, before she inquired, " Have 
 you met any of the Harwoods yet ? " 
 
 Before he could reply there came a cheery, "Hel- 
 loa, my lad!" from an open doorway of the house; 
 and a stout, elderly man a combination of " old 
 salt" and "gentleman of the old school," for he 
 had the look of the one and the bearing of the 
 other crossed the stretch of lawn to where the 
 two were sitting. 
 
 He waved a shapely brown hand to the Doctor by 
 way of salutation; and the tone of his rich bass 
 voice was of itself a caress, as, with " Helloa, my 
 Peg ! " he patted her cheek. Then, having seated 
 himself in a capacious chair, he proceeded to make 
 ready for use a long clay pipe, while he asked, 
 glancing smilingly from one to the other, "What 
 sort of a plot are you two hatching, that you look 
 so solemn ? " 
 
 Margaret laughed happily. " I was only asking 
 Doctor Jasper if he had met any of the Harwoods ; 
 that was all."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 1 9 
 
 "And I was about to answer that I had not," the 
 Doctor added, as he took a long and very black cigar 
 proffered by his host. 
 
 " Aye, aye, Captain Jack Harwood ! A fine 
 man ; a truly fine man he was. None finer can 
 answer when Gabriel pipes all hands aloft." 
 
 "Papa Leslie!" exclaimed Margaret, as if in re- 
 proof at his nautical way of expressing serious things. 
 
 "Never mind, lass," he said, laughing at her. 
 "It's true; and if my way of putting it is wrong, 
 you know I don't mean to be wicked." 
 
 Then, leaning back in his chair, he continued, 
 "Whenever I hear the name of Harwood, it's him 
 I always think of first Captain Jack. Ah, but 
 he was a handsome lad, with the look of a young 
 prince! When he and I started out on our first trip 
 as twelve-year-old cabin boys, with old Floyd Stan- 
 ley 'Musky Dingo,' the boys called him Jack 
 Harwood had all the sailors looking after him as if 
 he were a girl ; and after a few days out, any one of 
 them would have done as much for him as for his 
 own sweetheart. Now there was old Jap, the darkey 
 cook, who thought ' Captain Jack ' (for they gave 
 him the title then, the same as they do his little 
 grandson) shouldn't eat what most cabin boys had 
 to put up with. And so we fared as never cabin 
 boys did before aboard ship; for Jack would never 
 touch a dish that wasn't filled for two. He was 
 always generous, as boy or man; and they used to 
 say he'd give away his head if it hadn't been 
 spliced to his shoulders. And deviltry he was 
 chock-full of it."
 
 20 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 The Captain leaned back in his chair, and began 
 to chuckle and shake in a way possible only to stout 
 men who laugh inwardly. 
 
 The clay pipe having been lit, was now placed 
 between the laughing, clean-shorn lips, and clenched 
 firmly by the white teeth. 
 
 Doctor Jasper was about to speak of the boy 
 little Captain Jack he had seen that morning, but 
 was checked by Margaret inquiring if he would not 
 like to go with her some day to call upon a few of 
 the old people in the town. 
 
 "Now there's Miss Toxie, for instance," she be- 
 gan, when her father exclaimed : 
 
 "What Sarah Abigail?" And he began to 
 chuckle once more. 
 
 This led the Doctor to inquire who she might be. 
 
 " She used to be a ' school-marm ' when papa was 
 a boy," answered Margaret. "She is a quaint old 
 lady, and seems to like to have me come and see 
 her occasionally. She makes knitted dolls and 
 animals, for stores, and all sorts of odd things, 
 which she sells. She is past seventy, but is so indus- 
 trious as to often make me feel ashamed of myself for 
 being so idle." 
 
 "Peg Pegaway mine; avast there, my lass," her 
 father said reproachfully. 
 
 "Well, she does, Papa. And she never tires of 
 telling me what a nice boy you were; although she 
 says you were much given to mischief. " 
 
 "Aye, aye; that was so, especially the last part 
 of it," the Captain admitted. " But how time softens 
 and changes all things, to be sure. Now I doubt if
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 21 
 
 she could count the doses of her ' kertholerker ' she 
 has given me." 
 
 " Her what ? " There was so much astonish- 
 ment in the Doctor's voice and wide-opened eyes, 
 that Margaret and her father laughed. 
 
 Then the Captain explained : " Why, you see, that 
 was the name she had for it; and I never met the 
 word anywhere else, in all my voyagings by sea and 
 land. She was a cantankerous old maid when I was 
 a lad, for she had inherited a rich supply of ' pep- 
 per, ' in the shape of temper, from her father, old 
 Deacon Toxie. She wanted to discipline the boys 
 in her own fashion, and stopped at nothing to carry 
 her point. 
 
 "This 'kertholerker,' as she called it, was her 
 sceptre. It was a common clothes-pin sewed up 
 in red flannel, and sprinkled with cayenne pepper. 
 ' Now, boys,' she would say, ' if you don't behave 
 yourselves, I shall have to get my kertholerker.' 
 And then, if we did n't behave, down our little 
 throats the 'kertholerker' would be poked." 
 
 "She doesn't look now as if she could ever have 
 thought of doing such a thing," said Margaret. 
 
 "Doesn't she, my dear?" her father asked. 
 "Burnt out, I should say she was, like an extinct 
 volcano. And I remember well how ' burnt out ' 
 my poor throat used to feel from the ' kertholerker ' 
 treatment." 
 
 He gave his pipe a few double-quick puffs to 
 keep it going, and then went on in a reminiscent 
 way, " The old Deacon was a great character ; that 
 is, after his own peculiar fashion. He was a shin-
 
 22 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 ing light in the Methodist Church here, and as 
 the old women say ' a forlorn hope of a man as 
 ever was. ' I remember that when the small-pox 
 epidemic was with us he would get this off about 
 every Sunday." 
 
 The Captain rose from his chair, and spreading 
 his hands out in front of him, looked down into the 
 upturned faces of an imaginary audience, while he 
 intoned, in a most ridiculously nasal twang, 
 
 " One o' this con-gre-ga-tion, 
 Hevin' a near re-la-tion 
 Under the o-pe-ra-tion 
 O' sufferin' in-oc-u-la-tion, 
 Desires prayers." 
 
 He sat down, mopped his face, and resumed his 
 pipe, looking pleased at his guest's unrestrained 
 mirth. 
 
 "I haven't laughed so much in a month," said the 
 Doctor, as he rose to go. 
 
 "It will do you good," his host declared emphati- 
 cally. " Never forget the old saying, my lad, 
 
 " ' Care to our coffin adds a nail, no doubt ; 
 But every grin so merry draws one out.' 
 
 And the more of them we can draw out, the bet- 
 ter, say I. And that reminds me to tell you to be 
 sure and report here for church and dinner to- 
 morrow." 
 
 "And perhaps we can go and call on Miss Toxie 
 afterwards," Margaret added. 
 
 Leaving the Captain and his daughter under the 
 trees, Doctor Jasper walked back a part of the way
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 23 
 
 he and Margaret had come. Then he turned off 
 into what was little more than a lane, with houses 
 along one side of it, their windows looking out 
 toward an old wharf, and a rising headland, partly 
 rock and partly grass, while beyond these stretched 
 the sea. 
 
 The largest, and what was known as the " smart- 
 est " of these houses belonged to his landlady, Mrs. 
 Bessly, a bustling, thrifty widow with jetty hair, 
 beady black eyes, an odd, protruding forehead, and 
 a profile like a hickory nut. 
 
 She was a woman of many and diversified manner- 
 isms, one of the most marked being a curious trick 
 of twirling her thumbs, one over the other, as she 
 talked. And talking was something she did inces- 
 santly, with a rush that made the listener feel in- 
 clined to breathe for her. 
 
 Indeed, like the heroine of one of our popular 
 writers, Mrs. Bessly might be said to "rain the nine 
 parts of speech for forty days and forty nights." 
 
 It was she herself who now let the Doctor in, after 
 keeping him waiting while she unfastened the door. 
 It was always kept locked, as were nearly all the 
 other front doors in town, this one being so rarely 
 opened that it did so in a shuffling, hesitating way, 
 as if remonstrating at the disturbance of its rest. 
 And when at length Mrs. Bessly accomplished her 
 task, she peered out for a moment, holding fast to 
 the door, before admitting her lodger. 
 
 Then, as he came in, she began, in her character- 
 istic manner, "Oh, Doctor, be it you? It's goin' 
 to rain, d 'ye know. An' I 'm so glad, an' Eph ain't.
 
 24 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 But it's too bad for Eph, for he 's jest got the last 
 coat o' paint on his new dory this very arternoon, 
 an' now he 's got to cover it as best he can. But o' 
 course the paint 's bound to be streaky-like. An' 
 Eph 's been up town for the letters, an' there 's one 
 I put on your bureau. " But she pronounced it 
 " bee-u-ree. " 
 
 Her words ended in almost a shriek ; for as Doc- 
 tor Jasper mounted the stairs her voice had risen 
 with him, until he turned from her sight at the 
 landing above. 
 
 Here stood a handsome old mahogany desk, upon 
 the top of which was a life-size plaster bust of Gen- 
 eral Cass, purchased years before at an auction sale. 
 
 In the dim, greenish light of the always darkened 
 hall, the gallant General looked even more stern and 
 gloomy-browed than in life. But, as though to re- 
 lieve his sombreness of aspect, there was around his 
 neck, and dangling low upon his manly bosom, an 
 improvised necklace, composed of several dried star- 
 fish attached to a piece of string. This gave him a 
 somewhat volatile appearance, and one altogether 
 at variance with his reputation ; and the effect was 
 not lessened by the many pink conch shells sur- 
 rounding him upon all sides. 
 
 One framed picture hung upon the wall. It was 
 in its way a wondrous thing, some rather wormy- 
 looking trees, and a stream, spanned by an impos- 
 sible bridge, and then disappearing in what was 
 probably intended to be a mass of clouds. All this 
 was worked in gray and dirty-green worsteds, on 
 silver cardboard; and under it was the plaintive
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 25 
 
 question, in letters marvellous as to curls and 
 twirls, "Shall We Gather At The River?" 
 
 A window at the farther end of the hall, over the 
 stairs, was open; and the wind was beginning to 
 sound through the slats of the closed blinds in a 
 way to confirm Mrs. Bessly's promise of a shower. 
 
 Directly opposite this window, was the door of 
 Doctor Jasper's room; and as he opened it, an extra 
 gust of wind sent the loose papers flying from his 
 table like a flock of startled birds. 
 
 Making haste to close the door man-fashion, 
 by pushing his shoulders against it he crossed the 
 cool, darkened room, and threw open the blinds of 
 the two windows looking directly out toward the 
 sea. 
 
 On the wharf some fishermen were lounging and 
 smoking, as indeed fishermen might be found doing 
 any day, and all day, talking of the war, of fish- 
 ing prospects, and kindred topics. In the harbor, 
 and out on the water, large and small craft could be 
 seen scudding homeward; and along the headlands, 
 the tall grasses swaying in the rushing blast seemed 
 beckoning them to their moorings.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 DOCTOR JASPER gathered the papers and re- 
 stored them to the table, taking the precau- 
 tion to secure them by a paperweight in the 
 shape of a large, grandfatherly-looking volume, 
 marked on the back, " Burton's Anatomy of Melan- 
 choly." Then, having lit a cigar, he took the letter 
 from its conspicuous place upon his "bee-u-ree," and 
 sat down by the window. 
 
 An expression the very reverse of pleasurable 
 came to his face as his eyes fell upon the handwrit- 
 ing, and he sighed impatiently. The letter said : 
 
 " DEAR NOEL, Why will you persist in being so entirely 
 unlike other brothers? I often think of Mama's high ambi- 
 tions for you, and wonder what she would have said of all 
 your * outlandish notions,' as Aunt Stanton calls your pref- 
 erence for cutting people up, and feeding them on pills and 
 powders ; to say nothing of burying yourself in unheard-of 
 parts of the earth, instead of sitting about in civilized 
 garments, in civilized places, with our own set. 
 
 " The Russels have joined us here ; and Auntie says it 
 will be gross neglect upon your part if you do not devote 
 some weeks of your ' vacation,' as you call it, to us. Mars- 
 ton was telling us of your writing him about setting that old 
 sailor's legs, or arms, last week ; or was it his ribs that were 
 out of proper working order? And you gave this as an 
 excuse for not running up to that last dinner-party of ours, 
 just before we left.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 27 
 
 " Now don't bury yourself alive all summer in that horrid 
 little place where I am told they have pie three times a 
 day, and dinner and dessert all spread out upon the table at 
 the same time, with manners and garments to match. 
 Join us here, won't you, before we leave for Newport? We 
 are pining for your society, and Annie Russel is prettier 
 than ever. The English nabob has followed the Russels 
 here, and is Annie's faithful shadow, although Philips tells 
 me sub rosa that he has already proposed, and been 
 rejected. 
 
 " How you can let your best interests drift away from you 
 so is more than I can understand. You are thirty-eight 
 years old, and it is your positive duty to settle down as a 
 married man, although I realized long ago that you were 
 incapable of loving any one. But Annie is an unusually 
 sweet and lovable girl. And besides, she has family, and 
 fortune, two things well worth considering, whatever you 
 may say. 
 
 " Between ourselves, you must have seen what I have 
 known for two years ; and so you have only to speak. I 
 would sooner have her for a sister than any other girl I 
 know. 
 
 " Now you will come, won't you ; if you do not, I shall 
 really be tempted to wonder if some fisherman's daughter in 
 that desolate little place by the sea may not, after all, have 
 taken you captive. And I may think other uncharitable 
 things, which you invite by being so queer, and so unlike 
 
 the rest of us. 
 
 " Your devoted sister, 
 
 " MARIAN/' 
 
 Doctor Jasper started impatiently from his chair, 
 and with a sharp exclamation of disgust, half stifled 
 by the cigar between his teeth, began tearing the
 
 28 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 letter into small bits, when he heard a vigorous 
 pounding of knuckles upon the outside of his door. 
 
 He had scarcely time to answer when it was 
 opened with a bang, and Mrs. Bessly seemingly 
 flew in, accompanied by a rush of wind that made 
 the edges of the papers under Burton's ponderous 
 work curl and flutter frantically. 
 
 " Land-sakes ! " she exclaimed. And turning 
 quickly about, she ran across the hall and charged 
 wildly at the open window, which, as usual, refused 
 to budge, even after she twisted the old-fashioned 
 button which held it in place, and pulled at it until 
 her florid face bloomed anew. 
 
 It remained stubborn. But she doubled her 
 goodly-sized fist, and fell upon the refractory sash 
 with sledge-like blows, until at length it yielded, 
 and she brought it down with a vicious slam, as if 
 it were an enemy overcome. 
 
 " Now, then ! " she gasped, but in a tone of tri- 
 umph, as she turned again and entered the room 
 from which Doctor Jasper had been watching her 
 through the open door. 
 
 "Now, then!" she repeated. "It's jest hateful, 
 the way winders an' doors stick, if ye let 'em stay 
 in one fix for awhile. They seem to git settled- 
 like, in a way o' their own, an' bound they '11 keep 
 so till the end o' time, jest like some folks." 
 
 She ran the folds of her apron over her red face, 
 and made a curious sniffling noise, as if some unseen 
 power might be tickling her nose with an invisible 
 feather. Then, dropping the apron, she clasped her 
 hands and began twirling her short fat thumbs.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 29 
 
 "I was down to Mary-Alice's this arternoon, Doc- 
 tor, an' she was worry in' some over the baby. I 
 don't think it 's nothin' but teeth. Miss Shales 
 was there, an' she said so, too; Bixby Shales's 
 widder, ye know, thet ye gev sumthin' to for thet 
 queer stummick-ache she got one night last week. 
 Ye remember her comin' in here an' settin' by my 
 kitchin stove, an' sayin' to me, ' Miss Bessly, ' says 
 she, 'did ye ever hev a pain an awful pain,' she 
 says^ ' in yer chest, low down, an' not jest yet in 
 yer stummick, thet sort o' ached clean through to 
 yer backbone?' An' says I, 'No, Betsey, I don't 
 b'lieve I ever did. But if I was you, I 'd jest let 
 me go upstairs an' ask Doctor Jasper if he can't 
 give ye somethin' thet 's soothin' for sech a pain.' 
 An' she was a-sayin' to me this very arternoon thet 
 the stuff ye gev her jest ironed thet pain out as 
 smooth as satin for her thet self-same night. An' 
 Miss Shales 'greed with me 'twas teeth was the 
 matter with Benny; Benny 's the name o' the baby, 
 ye know. An' now here 's thet Florence boy down- 
 stairs, the little one they call ' Sparrer-legs, ' an' 
 'Wind-legs,' 'cause he 's thet thin-legged; an-' Mary- 
 Alice wants to know if I would n't beg ye to step in 
 an' tek a look at Benny 'fore night sets in, for she 's 
 thet worried. Oh, ye will, won't ye now? I was 
 sure ye would. An' ye must tek yer umbrell', for 
 I 'm sure ye '11 hev somethin' more 'n wind to come 
 Jiome in. I '11 hev supper ready 'gainst the time ye 
 git back, so don't tek up nowhere else." 
 
 She was gone before he could speak; and as he 
 started to take out his storm-coat he heard an em-
 
 30 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 phatic thump in the hall below, proclaiming her 
 arrival at the bottom of the stairs. 
 
 A few minutes later, as he opened the side door 
 to go forth to the anxious Mary-Alice, his ears were 
 assailed by the sound of rattling stove-covers from 
 the kitchen; and then Mrs. Bessly's voice was raised 
 in song, as she demanded to know 
 
 " Why should we mourn departed friends, 
 Or quake at Death's alar-r-rums ? " 
 
 The gusts of wind that came sweeping down rent 
 the ragged clouds moving eastward ; and over the 
 sea was a rush of gold-brown glory from the hidden 
 sun. But other and swiftly-moving black clouds 
 were rapidly bringing up the storm that on the 
 farthest hills to the south was already showing in 
 "a fringe of rain;" and the cooled air smelled of 
 parched earth, wetted. 
 
 Mary-Alice lived in a small frame building whose 
 architecture or lack of it reminded one of the 
 toy "Noah's Ark" of childhood's days. Like all 
 its near-by fellows, it faced the sea, and, from its 
 dooryard, steps led down to a platform where were 
 fastened several dories, the property of shiftless Bob 
 Russel, the decidedly worse-half of Mary-Alice. 
 
 Every morning, in the gray dawn, Bob Russel 
 (known to his familiars as "Dizzy Heave-Ho ") 
 rowed out to his lobster pots or fishing nets; his 
 objective point being determined by whichever edi- 
 ble he might have orders for from the families he 
 supplied. Every afternoon, with similar regularity, 
 he was in bed, dreadfully sea-sick, a weakness
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 3 1 
 
 from which he derived his nickname. And what- 
 ever rest and quiet failed to accomplish in allaying 
 his discomfort, whiskey was certain to bring about 
 before evening. 
 
 He was a man of forty odd years; and for twenty 
 of them this thing had gone on with such regularity 
 that his friends long ago ceased to speak of it jok- 
 ingly. For that " Dizzy Heave-Ho " should go out 
 in his boat every morning, to return, sea-sick, at 
 noon, and then go to bed, all this had come to be 
 as much a matter of course as was the rising of the 
 sun. 
 
 He now stood leaning against the open doorway 
 of his house, a little, dried-up man, in nonde- 
 script clothing of a color like the leaves and grass 
 in November; and he greeted Doctor Jasper with 
 a short, quick nod, keeping his hands in his 
 pockets, and scarcely removing his eyes from his 
 two children, who were near the door, cleaning 
 fish. 
 
 One of them was a tall, lanky girl, with tow-like 
 hair flying all about her face and neck; the other an 
 enormously fat boy with sleek black hair. And as 
 the Doctor came near, the girl was saying, " An' you 
 said I was cryin'; an' I wa'n't not!" 
 
 Before the boy could reply, his father called out 
 in no gentle tones, " Here you, Tom, an' you, Sary- 
 Ellen, ye 'd better be scuttlin' over thet. Ther 
 rain '11 come down soon, an' then ye '11 ketch suthin' 
 ter cry for. " 
 
 " It looks as if we were going to get some 
 weather," the Doctor remarked, as, in response to
 
 32 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 the suggestive waggle of Bob's dirty thumb toward 
 the open door, he stepped into the house. 
 
 "Time we did," said Bob, coming far enough to 
 look inside, and then retreating hastily, as a thin- 
 ner, taller, and younger edition of Mrs. Bessly came 
 from another room and greeted the Doctor. 
 
 A gray shawl was over her head and shoulders; 
 and this partially covered the puny, weazen-faced 
 baby she held upon one arm. 
 
 "I don't guess it'll hurt the baby, if I did tek 
 him out jest now, for all he looks like the little 
 end o' nothin', whittled out to a p'int," she said, 
 in a nasal, high-pitched voice. "Ye see, Doctor, 
 he won't set nowheres an' let me leave him ; an' 
 this hull place looks as if the Devil hed held an 
 auction here, an' hed n't sold nothin'. I 've hed 
 Sary-Ellen hang out our best-room carpet this 
 mornin' in the sun. It hed got moths in it; an' 
 how, the land knows ! An' I hed to fetch it in 'fore 
 the storm come." 
 
 Now that she paused, Doctor Jasper looked at the 
 ailing Benny. 
 
 He found that Mrs. Bessly and the Widow Shales 
 had been correct in ascribing the trouble to " teeth. " 
 But the preternaturally old face, the glittering eyes, 
 and abnormally large head of the infant, presaged 
 far graver developments in the near future. 
 
 "I thank ye kindly for comin'," the mother said, 
 when he had told her the result of his examination 
 and given her a few simple directions to follow. " I 
 wanted Bob to go for ye earlier," and she raised her 
 voice, so that it might reach him of whom she spoke,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 33 
 
 as he lounged outside ; " but, as is ever the case with 
 me or the children, 'want was the master.' I was 
 thet mortified, an hour back, 'cause Miss Loleta hed 
 to come herself, with Mammy Zabette behind her 
 with a basket, for them lobsters Madam Harwood 
 hed ordered; an' thet lazybones never told me a 
 word about 'em. " 
 
 Her husband, now feeling called upon to defend 
 himself, began to expostulate in a whining voice 
 from outside the door, but taking care to remain 
 beyond the reach of her vision. 
 
 " Look here, Mary-Alice, ye know I was in bed. 
 An' I laid out ter git 'em up there in plenty o' time 
 myself; only I didn't wake up." 
 
 "Yes, ye did," replied Mary-Alice scornfully; 
 "an" ye might hev knowed thet folks like them 
 don't calc'late to wait till dark for orders thet 's to 
 be filled for tea. But yer head grows more an' more 
 like a barnacle ev'ry day ye live. It 's nothin' but 
 a cracklin' shell, clean through, with nothin' in it 
 to think with. Miss Loleta, she was so sweet an' 
 smilin'-like, thet I felt all the more 'shamed. Most 
 folks would hev jest started an' raised cummins, so 
 they would." 
 
 "Oh, come now," he remonstrated, his pipe of a 
 voice getting a little more of a growl in it. "Ye 're 
 mekin' an everlastin' rumpus 'bout not much o' 
 nothin'." 
 
 " Not much o' nothin' ! " his wife repeated shrilly. 
 "Well, when ye git no more orders from Madam 
 I 'm thinkin' ye may " 
 
 But here Doctor Jasper intervened by speaking of 
 
 3
 
 34 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 the child he had seen that same day, and asked if he 
 was Madame Harwood's only grandson. 
 
 "Oh, little Cap'n Jack," Mrs. Russel answered in 
 a much milder tone, and smoothing the scanty locks 
 upon her baby's head, as he lay, with half-closed 
 eyes, along her arm. "Yes, the only one; an' a 
 blessed one he is. Miss Loleta 's the only gran'- 
 daughter. A beauty she is, a perfect beauty ; but 
 she 's never one thet 's foolish with her good looks. 
 Lots o' young men in this town goes to meetin' 
 early, on purpose to see her come in. Ye 've seen 
 her, I s'pose ? " 
 
 "Not that I am aware of," he replied. 
 
 " Well then, ye hev n't, surely ; for any one seein' 
 Loleta Harwood would be 'ware of it to their dyin' 
 day, 'specially if they was men-folks. But there, 
 the Harwoods do keep so to theirselves thet it 's 
 no wonder, not livin' here long, ye 've not seen her. 
 They go to the Tiscopal Church; thet is, the chil- 
 dren do, when they go anywheres. The old Madam 
 ain't been seen in a church this many a year. Oh, 
 land-sakes ! What a flash ! " 
 
 She held the baby closer, as there came another 
 blinding flash, followed by the rattle and roar of 
 thunder. Then the rain poured down in a pelting 
 rush that sent Sary-Ellen and Tom flying with the 
 fish and cleaning paraphernalia, giggling as they 
 ran to find shelter. 
 
 Bob Russel stepped within the doorway, and 
 standing with his back to the room, remarked sen- 
 tentiously, as he shook the ashes from his pipe, 
 "Well, it's come."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 35 
 
 "Yes," the Doctor said with a smile; "and I must 
 go." 
 
 "Wait a bit," remonstrated Mary-Alice. "It'll 
 hold up, I guess." 
 
 But he was prepared for the rain, and, declining 
 her invitation, went his way.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 AS the Doctor walked hurriedly along the shore 
 he noticed the " Pretty Sally " moored by the 
 wharf. Her canvas was snugged, and the 
 elder Ayres looking, in his yellow oil-skins, much 
 like an animated smoked ham fussing about some- 
 thing aboard. 
 
 Uncle Billy was coming up the wharf steps, with 
 a rubber garment huddled about his head and shoul- 
 ders in a way to have made his identity doubtful to 
 such as were not familiar with his short legs; and 
 from a piece of stout twine held in his hand dangled 
 several codfish, with their tails trailing along like 
 the gowns of fine ladies. 
 
 He was shouting in his foghorn-like voice to 
 some one unseen, but evidently within one of the 
 many buildings along by the wharf, " Nobody but 
 er fool would put up sail ter be blowed ter rags 
 outside o' harbor, ef'n he was all snug an' safe 
 inside o' one." 
 
 Then, seeing the Doctor, he greeted him with a 
 hoarse salutation, which the latter returned as he 
 passed along and hurried to the house. 
 
 He let himself in by the side door; and while on 
 his way to the kitchen, to hand his dripping coat 
 to Mrs. Bessly, he heard her voice, raised loud in 
 rapturous exclamation.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 37 
 
 " Oh, the lovin's ! My precious jewel, but yer feet 
 is soakin'. An' what '11 yer gran'ma be thinkin' all 
 this time, but thet ye 're in a wat'ry grave, or sailin' 
 over one. But Eph '11 soon tek that off' n her mind, 
 when he gits up there to tell her." 
 
 As Doctor Jasper entered the kitchen, he saw, 
 sitting in a chair close to the stove, the little lad, 
 Captain Jack. And before him on her knees was 
 Mrs. Bessly, drawing a pair of huge yarn stockings 
 over his small white feet, from which she had evi- 
 dently just removed the dampened black silk hose 
 and steel-buckled shoes now in front of the fire. 
 
 The child glanced up shyly at the big man who 
 stood in the doorway looking down with kindly eyes 
 from his six feet of height. Then his face flushed, 
 as Mrs. Bessly, whose back was to the Doctor, kissed 
 his little bare legs, gleaming white as alabaster. 
 
 "Gold an' silver, an' all things precious, so he is! 
 By the time we hev tea, yer shoes an' stockin's'll be 
 dry as tinder; an' then Eph '11 carry ye home. An 
 I should n't wonder ef'n the rain held up by thet 
 time. But anyhow, ye must wait till yer shoes an* 
 stockin's be dry-like." 
 
 Captain Jack looked smilingly into her good- 
 natured face. 
 
 " I don't reckon I could run far up the street with 
 these on," he said, holding up one foot for inspec- 
 tion, clad as it was in Eph's stocking. And then 
 came that same sweet laugh that had struck upon 
 Doctor Jasper's ear when Sam Ay res caught the boy 
 up and carried him down the rocks, a few hours 
 before.
 
 38 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 He could not resist joining in it; and this caused 
 Mrs. Bessly to turn around so quickly that she 
 nearly lost her balance. But, recovering herself by 
 a violent effort, she arose and faced about. 
 
 " So ye 're back ! An' oh, land-sakes, let 's tek 
 yer coat, Doctor Jasper. An' 't was teeth, wa'n't 
 it ? An' I said so. But there, I 'm so glad ye went, 
 for Mary-Alice '11 b'lieve what ye tell her; an' she's 
 so clean beat out these days with work, it 's no need 
 to add ' worry to weary.' An' ain't this a shower, 
 though? I've sent Eph up to tell Madam Har- 
 wood that Uncle Billy brought Cap'n Jack to me 
 all bundled up in rubber, dry ez dry. Only the 
 precious started to walk, an' got his feet an' legs 
 splashed-like. He's jest the tender thing, so he is; 
 an' he loves his old Bess, don't he ? An' I 'm jest 
 goin' to hev ye set in the front room 'long with 
 Doctor Jasper, till me an' Jane gits tea on the 
 table." 
 
 As she paused to take breath, the Doctor hurried 
 upstairs, to make such changes of apparel as the 
 day's happenings had rendered needful. And when 
 he came down a few minutes later, he found Captain 
 Jack alone in the front room, sitting on the horse- 
 hair-covered sofa, his small legs, with the yarn 
 stockings, under him, Turk fashion. 
 
 He was looking at a scrap-book, one that had 
 been begun by Mrs. Bessly in her girlhood, or, at 
 all events, many years ago. 
 
 The binding was of flowered wall-paper and faded 
 green ribbons. And inside was a motley and gro- 
 tesque collection of woodcuts, most horrible to an
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 39 
 
 artistic eye; newspaper clippings relative to divers 
 (and mostly sentimental) subjects ; some poems, 
 written in ink, evidently original autographic 
 efforts of Mrs. Bessly's companions and acquain- 
 tances; cards of invitation to weddings and other 
 festive occasions, some of them brave with silver 
 edgings, and with bow-knots of the same in the 
 upper corners. 
 
 As Doctor Jasper entered the room, Captain Jack 
 looked up at him very soberly from under his black- 
 fringed lids; then, nodding his small head toward 
 the book, he said, " I s'pose you could read all 
 this." 
 
 "Why, yes; can't you?" the Doctor replied with 
 equal gravity, as he seated himself by the child, 
 while marvelling at his great beauty, and thinking 
 it was a pity he was not a girl. 
 
 "No-o; not much. lean read some things, 
 though." Then, pointing to one of the pages, 
 "This one does look like something so very nice 
 that I do wish I could read what it says." 
 
 The Doctor looked closer, and saw some strag- 
 gling branches of leaves and coral, done with pen 
 and ink, and framing a poem, executed with many 
 flourishes of chirography. At the end of the verses 
 was drawn a mermaid, and at the top of them was 
 another, suggesting the 
 
 " Sweet little Cherub, sitting up aloft." 
 
 "Shall I read it for you?" he asked, his face as 
 solemn as that of a theologian. 
 
 "Oh, if you please." And the child, nestling
 
 40 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 more closely, fixed his luminous eyes upon the 
 man's handsome profile, and clasped his small hands 
 in an expectant way, as the book was drawn gently 
 from his lap. 
 
 TO MISS SUSAN ABORN 
 A SAILOR'S EPITAPH 
 
 In Life's hard bustle, o'er the troubled seas, 
 
 Through many a gateway, and many a prosperous breeze, 
 
 Through summer's heat, and winter's chilling blast, 
 
 From torrid to the frigid zone I 've passed, 
 
 Through sickly climes, where each contagious breath 
 
 Spreads desolation by untimely death. 
 
 One hundred voyages, through unnumbered toils, 
 
 I 've sailed, at least five hundred thousand miles; 
 
 Been taken, sunk, and oftentimes cast away ; 
 
 Yet weathered all, in this close port to lay, 
 
 Where a safe rest my wretched bark hath found, 
 
 Obliged to anchor for the want of wind. 
 
 And here at rest I doubtless shall remain 
 
 Till the last trump calls up all hands again. 
 
 What further perils I shall then go through 
 
 No human foresight ever yet could show. 
 
 But doubtless He who led through earth and sea 
 
 Will doubtless lead me through Eternity. 
 
 When Doctor Jasper came to the end his eyes 
 sought Captain Jack's face. 
 
 "What does it all mean?" the child demanded, 
 knitting his smooth brows. And in his wondering 
 interest he carelessly uncoiled his legs, and was 
 obliged to clutch hastily at his companion's arm to 
 save himself from sliding off the slippery sofa. 
 
 " I think it means that whoever wrote it wanted to
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 41 
 
 say something pretty, and did n't quite know how to 
 do it." 
 
 The Doctor's lips twitched a little as his eyes 
 retraced the line so quaintly suggestive of appre- 
 hension for the future 
 
 " What further perils I shall then go through." 
 
 "Are you smiling at it? " the child asked quickly. 
 "It did make me to feel, when you read it, like 
 when the wind sounds in the rigging of a boat; the 
 same way it will sound in keyholes, and down chim- 
 neys. Uncle Billy says it is ' sailors' sighs.' ' 
 
 The Doctor looked with greater interest at the 
 sensitive little face as he asked, "What does Uncle 
 Billy mean by that?" 
 
 " Why, dead sailors, you know. He says they do 
 make sighs like that, when they have a chance to, 
 to let us hear them. Coming home this afternoon, 
 they did sigh like everything; and I did wish I 
 could let them know I was sorry for them. That 
 was you, wasn't it," he added, speaking with more 
 animation, while the dreaming look left his eyes, 
 "sitting on the rocks, when Sam did take me down 
 to the boat? " 
 
 " Yes. Did you have a fine sail ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " He clasped his hands again, with an 
 eagerness that imperilled his equilibrium, so that he 
 was compelled to clutch once more at the Doctor's 
 arm. And this time it went around the little form, 
 and remained there. 
 
 Noel Jasper was a man not easily impressed ; for 
 although his nature was not lacking in consideration
 
 42 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 for his fellows (and this took a tender form toward 
 some of them those who appealed to his sympa- 
 thies), yet his affections lay deep, and were entirely 
 distinct from the sentiments and impulses likely to 
 affect most men possessed of this same almost 
 womanish tenderness. 
 
 He had travelled much, and had always been a 
 close student, both of books and human kind. And 
 the result had been to make him, at times, and with 
 a sort of regret, feel that he had but little in com- 
 mon with the people and affairs of this "day and 
 generation. " 
 
 He was neither a cynic, nor yet a pessimist; he 
 had too much spirituality and faith, too much 
 humanity, to belong to either class. He was simply 
 indifferent, willing to let the world go its way, and 
 desiring to pursue his own, free from its obligations 
 and exactions. He felt somehow that he was living 
 at the wrong time, either too soon, or else too late; 
 and he found it impossible to bring himself into 
 anything like close touch with the people and affairs 
 constituting the world about him. He seemed to 
 have discovered its taken as a whole insincerity 
 and hollowness; to have probed the motives which 
 influence so great a part of its doings. And while 
 he found a few individual exceptions to the general- 
 ity of its people and these he appreciated all the 
 more because of their rarity he was much like one 
 who, witnessing a play from behind the scenes, sees 
 the glaring paint and flimsy pasteboard, the paste 
 and pinchbeck, all the pretence and sham that 
 appear solid and real to those in front.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 43 
 
 This being so, he found himself puzzled to account 
 for the feeling already awakened within him by this 
 boy, whom he had seen for the first time only a few 
 hours before. 
 
 To be sure, little Captain Jack was a lovable 
 child, marvellously so, with his almost startling 
 beauty and sweet voice; with his quaint manners, 
 his odd mingling of ingenuousness and dignity, 
 of impulsiveness and gravity. 
 
 But there was more than this which had so quickly 
 found the way to reach such unusual depths in Doc- 
 tor Jasper's unimpressionable nature; something he 
 was unable to fully understand, and could only 
 accept as a fact. It was not only that the child 
 was to him a revelation of innocent and sweet 
 humanity, but he seemed to embody that which the 
 man's heart had but until now unknown to him- 
 self missed, and needed. 
 
 This was why his strong arm held the little fellow 
 so closely, and why his grave face took an unwonted 
 expression as he looked down at the bright hair and 
 lustrous eyes. 
 
 It may be that so quick are the intuitions of 
 childhood some of this feeling made itself known 
 to Captain Jack, for he gave a soft sigh of content, 
 and snuggled close to his big friend. 
 
 "Tell me about your trip," the Doctor suggested. 
 " Did you catch any fish ? " 
 
 "Yes; I did catch two fish, but the first was only 
 a pollock. And was not Uncle Billy enragt 
 angry, I mean! // etait trh, I mean," and the 
 child spoke more slowly as he corrected himself in
 
 44 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 a curiously stiff fashion, " he was so very provoked. 
 Sam Ayres had been for so long catching only pol- 
 lock, and it was cod that Uncle Billy did want. 
 And when I did catch my pollock, Uncle Billy did 
 bite its head off; and he did say that it should 
 be an ' exarmple ' to the other pollock. And I did 
 think that perhaps it did make the others to go off, 
 for we did catch no more pollock, but only cod." 
 
 Doctor Jasper smiled at the terrifying "ex- 
 armple," but made no comment; and the child went 
 on, "I did see Miss Margot in her cave, under the 
 rocks where you were waiting. Do you know Miss 
 Margot ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes. Do you ? " 
 
 "Know her? Of course I do right well. She 
 does come to see Loleta, and sometimes we go to 
 see her. And please do not let her know I did tell 
 you, but" in a whisper "she is my sweetheart. 
 I do love her best of any one I know, 'cept Loleta." 
 
 "Don't you think you are beginning rather young, 
 my boy?" inquired the Doctor, somewhat taken 
 aback, but trying not to smile. 
 
 " Huh ? " And the child looked up with puzzled 
 eyes. 
 
 "Don't you think Miss Margaret will beat you in 
 growing, and that some big man will come and carry 
 her away ? " 
 
 "Oh!" in a tone of relief, "that was what you 
 did mean?" Then, with entire confidence, "No, 
 'cause I will ask grandmere to plant me, like a 
 flower; and I can grow up quick, and marry Miss 
 Margot myself."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 45 
 
 Doctor Jasper could not well help laughing at 
 this odd conceit. But seeing a hurt look cloud the 
 child's face, he bent and kissed the soft cheek as 
 he asked, " What put such an idea as that into your 
 head ? " 
 
 Captain Jack looked up, his eyes filled with con- 
 fiding affection. 
 
 " It was n't put there, for I did think of it while I 
 did watch for some flowers to grow in our green- 
 house ; some that did come from far away, where we 
 did live. They will not grow here, out of doors, 
 grandmere does say; and it is because the wind 
 from the sea does eat them up, if they show their 
 heads above the ground. When the seeds were put 
 into the dirt I did watch for them to come up. And 
 they popped up so nice and green in such a little 
 time, that I did think perhaps I could be planted in 
 the dirt, and grow up quick. And then I would tell 
 Miss Margot, so that she should watch for me, the 
 same as I did watch the flowers." 
 
 "I think," said the Doctor, looking at him sol- 
 emnly, "that you will have to get a fairy to make 
 you grow up in the way the flowers do." 
 
 "A fairy?" And the child's eyes became wide- 
 open. "But I think I do not like a fairy." 
 
 " Did you ever see one ? " 
 
 " No. But Louis says they do have tails, and do 
 bite." 
 
 "Louis! Who is Louis?" inquired the Doctor. 
 
 "He is a nigger. Zabette is his grandmere; and 
 he can walk on his hands, and turn somersaults. 
 He did promise to teach me how, and once he did
 
 46 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 hold me, while I did try. And Zabette did box his 
 ears, and did say grandmere would be enragt. But 
 I think I will try again some day." 
 
 " And who is Zabette ? " 
 
 "Zabette," the child repeated, looking up into 
 the man's face as if wondering why any one should 
 find it necessary to ask such a question. " Why, 
 Zabette is Zabette ; that is who she is. She is 
 my mammy, and she was Loleta's mammy; and she 
 does brush grandmere's hair. And" confiden- 
 tially " she does know why Loleta does wear a 
 glass locket. And she doesn't like her to wear it, 
 for I did hear her beg Loleta to take it off; and 
 once she did ask her to throw it away." 
 
 Doctor Jasper refrained from asking any more 
 questions, for fear that Captain Jack might prattle 
 of things better left unmentioned. But the child 
 added, as he pointed to the raindrops fringing the 
 outside of the window panes, "Those are like the 
 things stuck into Loleta's locket. And she does 
 sometimes look at it nights, and does sit so still, 
 with her hands over her face, that I was afraid she 
 was crying. But I knew she would not like me to 
 ask her, and so I didn't." 
 
 The door was now thrust ajar rather gently ; then, 
 with decided emphasis, kicked wide open, and the 
 blue print gown and carroty locks of Jane, Mrs. 
 Bessly's niece, came through. 
 
 The girl's freckled hands were filled with dishes, 
 upon which her eyes were fixed with keen watchful- 
 ness ; and her aunt followed close behind, bearing a 
 large, blue-flowered platter, heaped with crimson 
 lobster.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 47 
 
 The two burdens were borne to the table, and 
 deposited carefully upon the expanse of snowy cloth, 
 relieved by an occasional oasis of glass or china, 
 and in whose centre stood, looming over all, a big 
 glass pitcher, holding a small haystack of tiger 
 lilies splashed with freckles almost rivalling those 
 adorning Jane's small hands.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE shower was over, and some rays of pale 
 sunlight struck sparkles from the polished 
 tableware. The china was quaint, and spot- 
 less, and the glass was the commonest of common 
 mould. But the homely cleanliness of everything 
 was full of comfort. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly placed Captain Jack at her right 
 hand, and bade Jane heap up his plate, while she 
 herself began to pour the tea. 
 
 The room was soon filled with the fragrance of 
 the steaming infusion, which was brewed from some 
 of a carefully hoarded lot brought from China by 
 Captain Aborn, Mrs. Bessly 's eldest brother, dead 
 now some two years since, and laid away in the 
 well-kept plot where her husband was the only other 
 tenant. 
 
 It was to this plot that the good woman went upon 
 occasional Sundays, bearing two huge bouquets, 
 made in a style peculiar to herself, and in the con- 
 struction of which she took great pride. They were 
 cone-shaped, the apex ending in a tuft of quivering 
 grass, and the whole arrangement so unyielding 
 that they might have been used as missiles without 
 displacing a single flower. 
 
 Eph soon came to the table, and filled the only 
 vacant chair. His hands were red, his face glow- 
 ing, and his hair damp from recent ablutions.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 49 
 
 Mrs. Bessly, always consistent in "tongue-tang" 
 (as Uncle Billy called her flow of words), did the 
 greater part of the talking, for the reason that Jane 
 and Eph, from habit, and Doctor Jasper, from a 
 keen enjoyment of quiet fun, permitted her to not 
 only lead, but monopolize, the conversation. 
 
 "Eph," she said, "pass Doctor Jasper the let- 
 tuce" (pronouncing it " lettiss "). "It's cool an' 
 crisp, like it hed ought to be; an' it was all washed 
 an' sparklin' with raindrops when I brought it in 
 out'n the garden. An', Doctor, would n't ye like 
 some o' these preserves? I put 'em up myself, ye 
 know; an' I mind the day last fall thet I done it. 
 September, it was, an' Hannah-Ellen Rounds hed 
 come in to set a spell with me thet arternoon. She 
 was beginnin' a new quilt. The brick-house pat- 
 tern, it was; an' she was puttin' some pieces of her 
 brother's pants into it. Reddy Florence, he was, 
 an' called ' Wind-legs,' an' ' Sparrer-legs,' jest like 
 his nephew, thet come here this arternoon from 
 Mary-Alice. I mind I was thinkin', as I skimmed 
 the preserves, an' Hannah-Ellen set by, stitchin' 
 away, 't was lucky she wa'n't forced to mek her 
 quilt out o' nothin' else but his pants, as 't would 
 hev teken a few thousand pair for it. I mind how 
 Uncle Billy took the wind out'n Reddy's sails once, 
 when he was puttin' on airs, an' tryin' to tek Uncle 
 Billy down a peg, jest to show-off afore some young 
 lady cousins o' hisn from Boston. Reddy hed 'em 
 out sailin'; an' when they come in, Uncle Billy was 
 settin' on the wall, danglin' his stumpy legs over 
 the water. An' Reddy says to him, ' If ye put yer legs
 
 50 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 one atop the other, ye might 'most git into my boat.' 
 An' says Uncle Billy, ' Yes, an' if ye feel so much con- 
 sarned 'bout my legs, mebbe ye '11 lend me one o' yourn 
 a minute, to clean out my pipe. I want somethin' to 
 run through the stem, it draws so drattedly. ' ' 
 
 Jane, whose ideas of propriety were evidently 
 shocked by the freedom with which her aunt men- 
 tioned certain members of the human body, looked 
 up at her with what the good woman would have 
 called a "wish" expression. 
 
 But Mrs. Bessly had again taken up the tale if 
 indeed she had dropped it and was saying, "An' 
 there Hannah-Ellen set, stitchin' away, an' tellin' 
 me how the Widder Griggs hed gone south, some- 
 where, to the hospital, to nurse the last one she hed 
 left of her hull lot o' good-for-nothin' boys. An' a 
 good soul she was, never thinkin' a thought for her 
 own comfort; an' her clothes, 'though gen'rally 
 clean, thet torn an' worn thet she sort o' 'minded 
 one o' the kings of Israel, in grief, when they were 
 everlastin'ly rentin' I mean rendin', their raiment. 
 An' while she was talkin', the bell on the old 
 Methodist Meetin' House begun to toll so solemn 
 an' slow-like, it sort o' gev one the horrors. An' it 
 did Hannah-Ellen, too. For we was jest lookin' at 
 each other, never speakin', an' the tollin', tollin', o' 
 thet bell (never a cheery one at the best o' times) 
 went on soundin'. I felt like Job, I guess, when 
 'the hair of his flesh stood up.' I knew somethin' 
 was 'up;' an' sure 'nough, the hull o' Kyles's new 
 brick store, thet he was so proud of, was afire. An' 
 it jest burnt to the ground."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 51 
 
 She stopped to breathe. And Doctor Jasper took 
 advantage of the opportunity to remark, " The town 
 does n't indulge in many fires, I take it, judging by 
 the rust and cobwebs I saw on the engine, as I 
 passed the house yesterday morning, when the doors 
 were standing open." 
 
 "Eph b'longs to that company," Jane announced 
 timidly; and the young man added that he had 
 joined it recently, to fill one of the vacancies left 
 by the war. 
 
 "It's been all soldierin' an' drillin' hereabouts, 
 ye see, Doctor," he explained, "till the boys went 
 away. An' now we 're pitchin' in to shine up things 
 'bout the town, the old engine 'mong the rest. We 
 was airin' out the house yesterday, an' cleanin' up; 
 that was the reason ye saw the door open. We cal- 
 c'lated on finishin' the job to-day, but didn't; but 
 we'll surely do it to-morrer. " 
 
 " To-morrer ! " gasped Jane. And Mrs. Bessly, 
 fixing her eyes upon Eph much as Macbeth might 
 have stared at the ghost of murdered Banquo, ex- 
 claimed, " Ephraim Benjamin Bessly, to-morrer is 
 the Sabbath!" 
 
 " Lawk, Ma, so it is. Why, I 've clean lost a 
 day." 
 
 "I shouldn't wonder," his mother assented with a 
 grim smile; "for you're everlastin'ly losin' some- 
 thin' or other." 
 
 Then her face took a look of alarm, as she arrested 
 Captain Jack's hand on its way to his mouth. 
 
 " Here, my precious lamb, don't ye drink any 
 milk with thet lobster ye 're eatin' ; it '11 mek ye
 
 52 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 sick ez sick. Now, Jane," turning to her niece, 
 "what air ye thinkin' of, anyhow, to give him milk, 
 when he 's eatin' lobster, with vinegar on it ? Ye 
 know how p'tic'lar Madam is 'bout sech things." 
 Then again to the child, "Don't ye tech it, my 
 precious." 
 
 Captain Jack only smiled as he put down the 
 glass; and Mrs. Bessly gave her attention once 
 more to Doctor Jasper. 
 
 "Hev another cup o' tea, Doctor? No? Well, 
 there 's jest 'nough for another cup, an' I '11 tek it 
 myself; for I never b'lieve in throwin' away any o' 
 this tea. An' what I '11 do when it's gone, as I've 
 no brother to bring it over the sea to me any more, 
 I 'm sure I hate to think. Marm Ayres asked me to 
 hev a cup o' tea one day last week, when I went to 
 set with her awhile; an' any one might see she was 
 in greatest distress with her rheumatiz thet day. 
 An' land! No wonder she'd be in some kind o' 
 distress, drinkin' sech stuff! 'T was for all the 
 world like dry hay an' some o' her old man's ter- 
 backer mixed up an' b'iled together." 
 
 Captain Jack, who had been listening attentively, 
 now spoke up. 
 
 " Mr. Ayres does like tea, too cold tea. He 
 does say so, and does always keep a big brown jug 
 of it in the cuddy of the ' Pretty Sally; ' and he does 
 drink it ever so much." 
 
 " Humph ! " Mrs. Bessly remarked, with signifi- 
 cant emphasis, and actually winked at Doctor Jas- 
 per; while Eph laughed aloud. 
 
 "Yes, he does," the child insisted, as though his 
 statement had been questioned.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 53 
 
 Mrs. Bessly patted his shoulder. " O' course; we 
 all know thet, my gold an' silver. An' for my 
 part, I 'd sooner drink Sam Ayres's cold tea than 
 his wife's hot stuff; 'though I couldn't say I much 
 admire either sort." 
 
 Eph, having finished, now arose to go. But as 
 he was about to close the door, his mother bade him 
 not to forget that after a while he was to take Cap- 
 tain Jack home. 
 
 "No danger o' my forgettin', when I promised 
 Madam I 'd do it," the young man replied, thrust- 
 ing his head through the doorway as a turtle might 
 project that member from its shell. 
 
 "Well, no," said Mrs. Bessly reflectively, as the 
 head disappeared. "Thet's so, 'specially when 
 there's sech fair things to see at Madam's; an' I 
 bet you hev a weakness for sech, jest like the rest 
 o' yer crowd." 
 
 "What fair things has grandmere, for Eph to 
 see?" inquired Captain Jack. He had finished 
 eating, and his curly head was bent forward until 
 his chin touched his chest, this being to assist Jane 
 in untying the tapes that held his bib in place. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly did not reply until she had slowly 
 brushed the crumbs from her capacious lap, and 
 shook them into her plate. 
 
 " Why, flowers, o' course ; all them lovely flowers. 
 An' the place itself; it's the fairest in town." 
 Then, as the bib was being folded by Jane's deft 
 fingers, she picked the child up in her arms and 
 carried him to the sofa. 
 
 " Ye must ask our Doctor to come an' see ye," she
 
 54 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 said; "an' then he '11 see how intrancin' the flowers 
 be, an' the hull place, jest like a dream o' beauty. 
 There, now, do ye sit on the end o' thet sofy, an' 
 I '11 be back in a minute or two with yer shoes. 
 Then ye can trot around as much as ever ye like." 
 
 Going to the window, she raised the sash with a 
 bang that shook off the shining drops outside, and 
 startled a catbird from its seclusion in the thick 
 growth of rose-bushes beneath. 
 
 "Now come, Jane," she said, facing about again, 
 " let 's hev these dishes out'n the way. An' d' ye 
 ketch surer holt on thet platter, or ye '11 send it to 
 keep company with its mate, down in the pile at 
 the foot o' the garden. Land-sakes ! " 
 
 Her voice was lifted in dismay, as she glanced 
 through the window looking toward the back of the 
 house. 
 
 "Whatever hez brought them plagues o' chickens 
 out at this time o' day ? There 's thet old Sancho 
 of a rooster, jest leadin' the way for his ladies, an' 
 with the airs of a lord bishop, 'round to my flower 
 bed; an' they'll scratch it up like sixty. Jane, go 
 an' shoo 'em back. But no, I '11 go myself, an' jest 
 mek sure they're locked in this time." 
 
 She hurried from the room with an emphatic 
 tread that rattled the china ornaments, whales' 
 teeth, and other sundries upon the "what-not." 
 And shortly thereafter, loud and animated cack- 
 lings, mingled with the sound of her own voice, 
 proclaimed the rout of the offending Sancho and 
 his numerous family. 
 
 A soft rush of cooled breeze was now coming
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 55 
 
 through the opened window. And outside, a robin's 
 song thrilled the air, as the bird rocked amid the 
 dripping leaves of the one large tree an elm 
 near the door. 
 
 Looking eastward, not a cloud was in sight; and 
 a pleasant day for the morrow was promised by the 
 glorious tints of sunset colorings that reached even 
 to the horizon. The sky's opaline hues ran on and 
 up, into a pale lemon, and that again into orange, 
 until, reaching the zenith, the orange turned to 
 glowing gold. And this, continuing down into the 
 west, was merged in splendid liquid light, from 
 which Venus sparkled like a diamond amid the 
 laces of a bride. 
 
 But what Mrs. Bessly said to Jane, when she came 
 into the kitchen, was : 
 
 "It's cleared off jest beautiful, with the air as 
 sweet as fresh cream, an' the sky lookin' for all 
 the world like as if the angels was blowin' soap- 
 bubbles." 
 
 Doctor Jasper sat beside Captain Jack, looking 
 out to the northeast, where Bramble Island lay upon 
 the empurpled sea, the evening mists beginning to 
 veil it bluely. 
 
 The child's eyes were meanwhile bent attentively 
 upon the man's fine head and strong profile, show- 
 ing as though set amid clouds of incense, as he sat 
 smoking. 
 
 To most men and women it was an inscrutable 
 face, its healthful paleness accentuated by the blue- 
 black of the thick moustache, the heavy arched eye- 
 brows, and the crisp waving hair that would break
 
 56 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 into curling rings over the not high, but finely 
 formed forehead. 
 
 There was a set, almost stern, look about the 
 broad, rounded chin. And this was matched by 
 the usually grave regard of the steadfast, wide- 
 apart eyes, deeply shadowe-d by 'such long, curling 
 lashes as are oftenest possessed by a child. 
 
 But there was nothing else about Doctor Jasper 
 that was either childish or effeminate, although he 
 was a remarkably handsome man. He was, and 
 emphatically, a "manly-looking man," his head, 
 face, and figure suggesting the ideal warrior of old 
 crusading days. And no one who knew him could 
 fail to be impressed by his innate knightliness. 
 
 Captain Jack presently attracted his attention by 
 trailing a small finger along the muscular wrist and 
 hand nearest him, as he said very softly, " I do like 
 you so much." 
 
 The agate-hued eyes were turned from where the 
 glories of the sunset lay spread ; and as they rested 
 upon the earnest, uplifted face, a smile stole into 
 them, a smile that warmed like the sun brighten- 
 ing through clouds. 
 
 The child felt the gentleness and tenderness of 
 the man, and added, while he nestled still closer to 
 him, "You do look like my soldier, in grandmere's 
 room." 
 
 " Do I ? " the Doctor said, removing the cigar from 
 his lips. "And who is he?" 
 
 "He's a picture; grandmere does know his name, 
 'cause she says he was her ' ancestor.' Loleta does 
 lift me up, when I like, to let me kiss him."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 57 
 
 Then, with a sigh, " I do wish he was real, to kiss 
 and to love. And I do wish that all of him was 
 painted, and not only just his head. He was a sol- 
 dier, like " hesitatingly " like Mrs. Bessly says 
 you are. And oh," - in a low, awed voice "did 
 you ever kill anybody?"
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 BEFORE Doctor Jasper could reply, the door 
 was flung open, and Mrs. Bessly entered the 
 room in her usual animated way. The long 
 black silk stockings now dry were hanging 
 across her arm ; and two small shoes, held by her 
 first and third fingers, seemed to advance of them- 
 selves, assuming what is known in dancing lessons 
 as "The First Position." 
 
 The worthy woman, as was her wont, sent her 
 voice before her. 
 
 " Here they be, all nice an' dry, my precious; an' 
 Eph 's waitin' to tek ye home pick-a-back. An' so 
 ye '11 keep 'em so, for the streets is swimmin'. 
 Ain't the sunset lovely, Doctor Jasper?" 
 
 With this she went down on her knees, and began 
 drawing the yarn socks from the child's feet. 
 
 He watched her a moment, and then turned to 
 look out of the window. But his eyes soon came 
 back to Doctor Jasper's face, as he said, " The sky 
 and water all around Bramble Island do look like 
 gold. Don't you s'pose Saint Brandon's fairy island 
 must look like that? " 
 
 Mrs. Bessly gazed at him in silent wonder. But 
 the Doctor asked, " How do you happen to know 
 anything about Saint Brandon's island, my young 
 friend?"
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 59 
 
 "Oh, Miss Margot did tell me; and Loleta did 
 read to me of it." And a far-away look came to his 
 eyes as he added, " Often I do wonder if there are 
 any ' water-babies ' out there in the ocean." 
 
 "Well, cummins!" gasped Mrs. Bessly, in 
 amazement. Then, the first little shoe being in 
 place, she fell upon its steel buckle with her gathered- 
 up apron, and began polishing it vigorously. 
 
 Captain Jack puckered his brows, and looked in- 
 quiringly at the Doctor. 
 
 " I did ask Uncle Billy about it one day, and he 
 said, ' No doubt a heap of 'em.' But I did hear Mr. 
 Ralph, the minister's son, who was here last sum- 
 mer, say to Uncle Billy that he was not to tell me 
 such ' stuff.' And after that, when I did ask Uncle 
 Billy, he only laughed, and did tell me to wait till 
 I was a man, and sort my knowledge 'cordin' to my 
 size." 
 
 Both shoes being on, the child had slidden down 
 to the floor, and now tried to imitate Uncle Billy's 
 slow, rumbling tones, while he put his small fists 
 into his pockets, and screwed up his face in a futile 
 effort to make his frank young eyes take a semblance 
 of the old sailor's shrewd little optics. 
 
 As Mrs. Bessly struggled to her feet, Jane came 
 in with Captain Jack's hat, and announced that Eph 
 was waiting for him. 
 
 "Won't you come to see me again? " the Doctor 
 asked, laying a caressing hand on either side the 
 winsome face, and smiling into the upturned eyes. 
 
 "O' course he will," Mrs. Bessly answered for 
 him. " He comes here often, 'cause he knows that
 
 60 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 his old Bess couldn't live without him." And 
 catching his head in her goodly-sized hands, she 
 leaned over to kiss him. 
 
 But he laughingly evaded her, and came closer to 
 the Doctor. 
 
 " Do you truly want me to come and see you ? " he 
 asked eagerly. " Then you will come and see me, 
 won't you? I 'd like to show you my fishes, that do 
 live in a pond, in grandmere's green-house; and my 
 monkey, Topaz, and Bijou, my parrot. He does n't 
 like any one 'sides Loleta and me. Won't you surely 
 come? " 
 
 Doctor Jasper nodded, still smiling into the plead- 
 ing little face; and in response to the whispered, 
 "Put your ear down," he bent his head. A soft 
 cheek was pressed against his own, and he heard, 
 scarcely uttered, "I do love you ! " 
 
 Before he could reply to this sweet confidence, 
 Captain Jack snatched his hand and kissed it. 
 Then he dashed out of the room. 
 
 A minute later, Eph passed the window, with the 
 lad perched upon his shoulder. And Doctor Jasper 
 heard a startled exclamation, followed by a childish 
 laugh, as Mrs. Bessly, thrusting a portion of her per- 
 son out of the window, screamed lustily, " Eph, - 
 Eph, ye '11 git the child soaked, stickin' him into 
 them lilacs! Jest look sharp, now, will ye?" 
 
 She drew herself hastily inside the room, and 
 giving utterance to a profound sigh, collapsed, so to 
 speak, into a low-backed rocking-chair, and smoothed 
 her apron down with a few business-like strokes. 
 
 Having done this, she commenced a vigorous
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 6 1 
 
 rocking, accompanied by the inevitable twirling of 
 her thumbs. 
 
 But, strange to say, it was Doctor Jasper who 
 spoke first. 
 
 "Mrs. Bessly, how comes this little Captain Jack 
 by his strong French accent, and his odd way of 
 speaking English?" 
 
 "Well, ye see, Doctor," she began, glad to talk 
 once more, "ye see he's some French, more 's 
 the pity. His gran'father, old Cap'n John Har- 
 wood, thet 's been dead an' buried this many a year, 
 was as fine a man as ever trod the streets o' this 
 town, or any other, I 'm thinkin'. But he was thet 
 headstrong an' hot-headed, an' his sisters (they're 
 all dead an' gone) was tJiet proud ! When he wrote 
 home thet he 'd married a Creole, down somewhere 
 in Louisiana, they was hoppin', I tell ye. They 
 was mad clean through ; 'cause, ye see, they thought 
 't was a nigger he 'd married. But o' course 't was 
 'cause she b'longed to one o' them old French 
 fam'lies down there. An' if John Harwood's sisters 
 was proud, they soon found their pride wa' n't a drop 
 in the bucket 'longside o' Madam Harwood's. Not 
 thet I 'm misnamin' her, land forbid ! For if she 
 don't never set her foot inside o' church or Dorcas 
 meetin', an' if there 's some in town as calls her 
 proud an' hard, not one of 'em ever heerd of her 
 turn in' a beggar 'way from her door. Poor an' needy 
 folks flock to her like crows to a corn-field." 
 
 "And so she is of French extraction," the Doctor 
 remarked; "and the boy must be accustomed to 
 speaking French."
 
 62 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "As to thet," said Mrs. Bessly, who had recov- 
 ered her breath, "Cap'n Jack can rattle away like 
 Johnny Crapaud himself, to beat the Dutch. But 
 Madam likes him, so she says, to talk our own lingo 
 best, though to be sure she an' Loleta oftenest speak 
 to him in French, an' they are everlastin'ly rattlin' 
 away to one another in French. They set a heap by 
 each other them three, Madam, Loleta, an' the 
 child. They don't seem to care much for anybody 
 else's company. Madam never hed but one child 
 of her own, an' he was Jack Harwood, named for 
 his father. She sent him away, down 'mong her 
 own folks, to be brought up, when he wa' n't more 'n 
 five years old ; an' she 's been always mostly off to 
 furrin countries with her husband." 
 
 "Then she has never spent much of her time 
 here," suggested the Doctor, who found himself 
 quite interested in the story. 
 
 "No; when they wa' n't in furrin parts, o' late 
 years, they was with her own folks, down in Louisi- 
 ana an' Cuba. Her son grew up, an' married, an' 
 died, down there; an' all o' Cap'n Harwood's folks 
 was dead afore thet. He died, too, right arter his 
 son; the same sort o' fever carried 'em both off. 
 Then Madam come up here for a spell, jest long 
 enough to sort o' settle up things at the old Har- 
 wood place ; an' then the house was shet up for an- 
 other spell. Old Goody Farren lived in it, with 
 her good-for-nothin' old man, both of 'em deef as 
 beetles, an' kept the place. An' less'n four years 
 ago Madam come back, bag an' baggage, this 
 time. All her folks was gone, an' she hed her
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 63 
 
 son's children with her a girl in her teens, with 
 a face thet 's turned more 'n half the boys' heads in 
 town, an' little Cap'n Jack. Now Loleta ain't in 
 no ways foolish with her good looks, an' she's ever 
 a kind word for everybody. But for all thet, she 's 
 got a good mite o' thet sort o' queenliness, jest 
 like Madam. It 's a sort thet meks folks feel some- 
 times thet, for all her winnin' ways, she thinks most 
 folks dirt under her feet." 
 
 She stopped ; and the continued rotary movement 
 of her thumbs brought to Doctor Jasper the thought 
 that perhaps this had some connection with her 
 mental processes, and that she might be winding 
 herself up. But he did not think there could be 
 much more for her to tell about the Harwoods, and 
 deemed it the better plan to have it out at once. 
 
 "Does she go out much Miss Loleta?" he 
 asked; and then he rather wondered at himself for 
 having put the question. 
 
 "No. Marg'ret Leslie's the only one thet can 
 claim to any intimate knowin' o' her, or Madam 
 either; an' thet ain't sayin' much, I 'm thinkin'. 
 But o' course I 'm talkin' 'bout outside folks. Now 
 I 've knowed Madam, off an' on, all my life. When 
 I was a young girl, up in Sue Trebbles's store, trim- 
 min' bonnets, many's the change o' ribbons an' 
 flowers I done for her. An' I always do preservin' 
 an' picklin' for her, an' sort o' look arter things at 
 house-cleanin' time. The cleanin' o' thet house 
 ain't no small job, I can tell ye. An' sech bu-tee- 
 ful things as is in it." 
 
 Her hands were still raised in ecstasy, and her face
 
 64 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 was filled with an enthusiastic light, as the Doctor 
 arose and started out for his usual evening stroll. 
 
 The twilight was falling fast, and the ocean turn- 
 ing ashen under a glittering new moon. Far down 
 in the west a bronze, as of autumn leaves, had 
 stolen all the sunset glory from the sky; while 
 overhead, and in the east, the stars were already 
 out, in smoky, silvery sparkles. 
 
 The lights of the town were visible, if one looked 
 up the street from the old wharf; but they only 
 shone out softly here and there, like fireflies. On 
 the wharf a number of men were sitting or standing, 
 some of them talking, all of them smoking; and the 
 group nearest to Doctor Jasper, as he passed along, 
 had for its centre Uncle Billy and another old man, 
 unmistakably a sailor. 
 
 Uncle Billy's rumbling tones fell upon the Doc- 
 tor's ear: 
 
 " Smother me, messmet', if I don't agree it 's a 
 heritage o' woe for ye. But d' ye see, ye was one 
 as would n't o' took notice, not if ther Indies hed 
 been uphove by an airthquake, an' floated 'longside. 
 Ye allers took too much an' too tight a turn with 
 yer jawin' tackle, an' folks mostly got ter win'ard o' 
 ye. An' so why not yer boy ? O' course I know he 
 floundered clean out o' soundin's when he went away 
 for a soldier; an' he was too much given ter hevin' 
 papsy-lals ter be strong 'nough for sich. An' then 
 it was thet ye ought ter hev made up-sail, an' borne 
 down on tJiet craft afore he got any sort o' anchorage 
 on thet ground. An' now thet ye 've woke up to it, 
 fate's stepped in an' took a good strong hitch with
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 65 
 
 ther haulin' part o' yer wishes. An' so here ye be, 
 with yer tackle stopped short from travellin' by 
 Davy Jones hisself. " 
 
 Doctor Jasper did not hear the old sailor's reply 
 to this quaint consoling; for he had passed along, 
 and now stopped to lean upon the sea-wall, while 
 he looked down into the water, lying like a black 
 crystal floor, the reflected stars showing in it like 
 dimmed lotos blossoms. 
 
 For a few minutes the quiet was broken only by 
 the sound of the lapping waves. Then he heard the 
 dip of oars from a dory, vaguely discernible some 
 little distance away, and several boyish voices broke 
 out with " Sweetest Story Ever Told." 
 
 "One of poor Tom's songs," he said to himself, 
 with a deep sigh, as he walked slowly on, up toward 
 the "Betsey Brett." 
 
 Buried in his own thoughts, he went by its street- 
 barred door, and followed the path around the rocks 
 that stretched along its other side, and jutted far 
 out over the water. 
 
 The platform was well filled, as appeared from 
 the sound of voices coming from it, by the bright 
 little gleams from lit pipes, and the odor of not- 
 over-sweet tobacco. And Doctor Jasper could see 
 the glimmer of many coatless sleeves; for it was 
 never in style to wear more than a "wescut," as it 
 was called, over the shirt. 
 
 After a few more minutes of looking and musing^ 
 the Doctor turned and picked his way back along 
 the path over the rocks, to the road, and sauntered 
 homeward. 
 
 S
 
 66 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 The townsfolk were early-to-beds, and he gener- 
 ally followed their example. And so it was not 
 long before his lamp was extinguished; then, draw- 
 ing aside the curtains, he stood by the window and 
 took a farewell look at the water. 
 
 Uncle Billy and his sorrowing shipmate, with all 
 the others, had gone, and the wharf was black and 
 quiet, the waves lapping its rickety old steps and 
 rocking the craft moored near-by.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE bars of warm sunshine lying across the 
 room awakened him the following morning: 
 E5 O " 
 
 and looking at his watch, he found it to be 
 almost eight o'clock. 
 
 The early sharpness of the sea air had its edge 
 already dulled by the heat; and there was that 
 curious droning hush over land and water which 
 makes so real the calmness of an old-fashioned and 
 holy-kept Sabbath. 
 
 It was a hot morning, surely. The sea lay like 
 green glass, with far-out ridges of curling foam that 
 dazzled lazily when the pale beams of sunshine 
 struck them, lance-like, from the dim blue overhead. 
 The haze of the sea-line ran the water into the sky ; 
 and the beryl-green of the horizon went blending into 
 the soft blue, until it looked as if it were all water, 
 or all sky. 
 
 Breakfast over, the Doctor betook himself with 
 some reading matter out to the grassy part of the 
 headland to wait until the first church bell should 
 sound; this being the signal for all the other bells 
 to ring for fifteen minutes, by way of announcing 
 that morning services would begin in half an hour. 
 
 The tide was just turning, and a wandering breeze 
 came from the sea, with enough strength in it to 
 keep the water in the rock-pools trembling. And
 
 68 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 these pools were many, for the tide had been very 
 high the night before. 
 
 Presently Bob Russel came along, looking very 
 unnatural and uncomfortable in Sunday garments 
 and clean linen. Sarah-Ellen walked beside him ; 
 and the man had a sheepish look as he met Doctor 
 Jasper's eyes. But he remarked in his usual awk- 
 ward way, "It's near time ter up-keleg, an' mek a 
 stretch for church." 
 
 The Doctor responded courteously, and resumed 
 his reading, while the breeze slowly wafted the smoke 
 of his cigar from under his moustache, then to whip 
 it out in airy spirals, and dance it away. 
 
 The first bell rang out, its clangings reverberating 
 like the strokes of hammers upon brass as they 
 echoed noisily over the sea. But, like Noah's dove, 
 this was the harbinger of better things; for the 
 mellow sound of a deeper-toned bell now took up 
 the call, soon followed by all the others, until the 
 drowsy quiet was utterly dispelled. 
 
 Reaching the Leslie house, Doctor Jasper was 
 hailed from within by the Captain's cheery voice. 
 The front door stood wide open, and the greenish 
 light, filtering down through the big elms near the 
 porch, made the white of the old-fashioned glass 
 bell-knob glitter a reflected emerald. 
 
 " Come in, lad, come in," the old sailor called out, 
 as he appeared in the doorway of a room opposite 
 the entrance. A lighted pipe was in one hand, and 
 the other flourished a bright silk handkerchief. 
 
 " This is the sort of weather to make a man hail 
 a catspaw. Whew, it 's enough to boil the very
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 69 
 
 blue from the sky. But I think we '11 have a fresh 
 breeze whistling over us by late afternoon." 
 
 " Then I wish it was ' late afternoon ' at this very 
 moment," said the Doctor, passing into the dusky 
 coolness of the oak-floored, walled, and ceiled hall, 
 where a huge ship's lantern swung from overhead. 
 
 " And yet you and Peg are going to church in all 
 this blaze ! " 
 
 The Captain spoke in a most deprecating way, 
 while he returned the younger man's cordial hand- 
 clasp. 
 
 " That 's for Miss Margaret to decide," was the 
 answer, as they went into the sitting-room. " I am 
 entirely at her service." 
 
 " Which means," said the Captain, with a know- 
 ing smile, " that you could easily survive the blow 
 of being made to stop indoors. Well, the. lass is 
 above-stairs, putting on her silver buckles and furbe- 
 lows, and will be below shortly. And then, mark 
 my words, young man, not only you, but I, will 
 be faced about and marched to church. It 's the 
 same tale pretty much every Sunday, and has been, 
 all my life, for that matter." 
 
 The Captain's tone of enforced resignation brought 
 a smile to Doctor Jasper's face as he sank rather 
 listlessly into a chair and passed his handkerchief 
 over his forehead. 
 
 " You see," the Captain continued, " where my 
 mother left off (and she poor, dear soul began 
 with me before I could talk well enough to object) 
 my little sister Margaret took me in hand. And, 
 like my Peg, for all she had plenty of pepper,
 
 jo Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 she 'd such a coaxing way with her that you could 
 never bear to tell her how your way was n't the same 
 as her own. And now it 's my little Peggy who 
 keeps me to a proper Sunday course." 
 
 His fingers had been beating a gentle tattoo upon 
 an empty glass standing on the table; but now he 
 brought them to a sudden stop. 
 
 " Bless my soul ! What can I have been thinking 
 of, not to ask you to have a nip? No? Don't you 
 think you'd better? It's brandy; and that's cool- 
 ing, you know. Well, what will you have? Try 
 some whiskey; it's half as old as you are." 
 
 But the Doctor assured him that he really cared 
 for nothing. 
 
 " Well, perhaps you 're as well off without grog, of 
 any sort. But as for me, the ocean was ever my 
 home more than the land ; and to the ocean I go for 
 habits and ways. A man can't well live aboard ship 
 without his grog ; although if I 'd ever caught myself 
 stowing away more than my head could carry, I 'd 
 have managed somehow to go without it. By the 
 way, our little minister, Lyle, is a great trumpeter 
 for temperance. Did n't I hear you say you 
 admired him? Now if yon do, and would like to 
 keep up your admiration, take my advice, lad, and 
 only look at him Sundays, when he 's perched aloft 
 in his pulpit; but belay all else." 
 
 "Why so, Captain?" the Doctor inquired, laugh- 
 ing at his host's nautical lingo. " He is certainly an 
 eloquent little speaker." 
 
 "So he is, lad, so he is. I admit that he can 
 handle the gospel ship properly, and tighten all the
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 71 
 
 shrouds with little or no help. But for me there is 
 ever a kink amidships if I have to face him on the 
 same level ; that is, talk to him on week-days. And 
 I have heard the same thing from others. You see 
 he has more brain and ballast than most of the clergy 
 about here; and he knows it, too. But he has a 
 trick of talking to you in a way that makes you feel 
 as though he always keeps going straight to wind- 
 ward, spars erect, and spanker-boom amidships; 
 while all the rest of us poor sinners are on our beam- 
 ends,' points off our course, and sagging like a billy- 
 boy to leeward." 
 
 There was a clack of heels upon the oaken steps of 
 the staircase, accompanied by the rustle of feminine 
 garments ; and Margaret's voice called out, " Papa, I 
 hear you saying very dreadful things of somebody. 
 And now I 'm coming to put on your hat and coat, 
 for we must start for church this very minute." 
 
 The Captain, by a wink and a smile, telegraphed a 
 sort of "Didn't I tell you?" to Doctor Jasper, and 
 then glanced with a sigh at his own cool neglige.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 MARGARET came into the room and greeted 
 Doctor Jasper in her usual bright way. 
 Then, going around to her father's chair, 
 she patted his cheek with her soft palm as she said 
 gently, " Now come, Papa, or you '11 be making us 
 late for service." 
 
 He winked again at the Doctor, forgetting that his 
 face was mirrored for Margaret's eyes in the large, 
 old-fashioned glass directly opposite them. She 
 said nothing, but smiled at their guest, who well 
 understood this little by-play, having seen it enacted 
 before. 
 
 Then the Captain looked up at Margaret, and 
 began, in a hesitating, " wobbly " fashion, " It 's very 
 warm, Peggy; and I really think I 'm getting a bit of 
 a er headache. And so I " 
 
 " And so " Margaret finished the sentence for 
 him " you will come right out into the air, which 
 will be the best thing in the world for you. And I 
 am quite sure the walk to church will make your 
 head feel right." 
 
 With this she rumpled his hair, but ever so gently, 
 and then began putting on her gloves. 
 
 The Captain groaned dismally, but was still smil- 
 ing at Doctor Jasper. 
 
 " Dear Papa Leslie," Margaret entreated, " we 
 shall be late; and your boots squeak so dreadfully!
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 73 
 
 I have often thought they did it in order to mortify 
 me into being early ; for it has made me blush to see 
 the way people stare, as you walk up the aisle when 
 you are late. And then they turn and look up into 
 the choir, at me, in a' very severe way, as if they con- 
 sidered me responsible for the racket you made." 
 
 " There, there, lass," and he arose, laughing, from 
 his chair; "say no more about my shortcomings. 
 I '11 get my coat right away, and will come bootless, 
 if you say so." Then, as he returned the kiss she 
 gave him, "Why, the Doctor will think I've a 
 regular vixen of a girl." 
 
 She made no reply, but turned her smiling eyes, 
 darkened by the broad brim of her black hat, to 
 meet Doctor Jasper's look. 
 
 " Now you walk along," the Captain said, "you 
 and the Doctor, and I '11 be right after you." 
 
 As Margaret and the Doctor paused on the porch, 
 while she unfurled her parasol, she turned her head 
 and called softly, " Papa, we will go through the 
 lane, to Vine Street, as that will be all of ten minutes 
 shorter." 
 
 The Captain's voice came from some region at the 
 rear of the hall ; and its jerky accents gave a hint that 
 he was struggling into his coat. 
 
 "All right, lass; just as you say. I'll follow 
 in your wake." 
 
 The low humming of the bees made a soft bass to 
 the feeble treble of the birds, who seemed almost 
 overcome by the heat. The scent of drying grass 
 mingled with the flowers. And now and then there 
 came through this sweetness a rushing of seaweed
 
 74 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 odor; for the tide was yet far out, and the wind on 
 shore. 
 
 " Do you know, Miss Margaret, I am developing 
 a new sensation that of curiosity?" said Doctor 
 Jasper, as he opened the old iron gate, and let it 
 clang behind him when he followed her out. 
 
 "What do you mean?" And a flash of smiling 
 interest chased away the look of anxiety that had 
 accompanied her wistful glance toward the house. 
 
 " Why," he said, " I never heard the name of 
 * Loleta ' until yesterday; and I think it such a 
 charming one that I am quite anxious to see if it 
 corresponds with the young lady who bears it." 
 
 " Do you mean Loleta Harwood?" 
 
 " Yes. Mrs. Bessly and her daughter have been 
 singing her praises to me; and last evening her 
 brother took tea with us. He is a winsome little 
 chap, and I like him very much. I am hoping Miss 
 Loleta will come to service this morning, as I am 
 curious to see her. Does she at all resemble her 
 small brother? " 
 
 " Yes ; I think there is a marked likeness between 
 them. She may be at service ; but she comes very 
 irregularly, although Madame keeps the old family 
 pew." 
 
 " Madame, I understand, never comes herself," 
 he said, wondering at the interest the subject had for 
 him. 
 
 Margaret turned completely around, and paused a 
 moment to look for her father, before she answered, 
 " Only once in a great while, to some one's wedding 
 or funeral."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 75 
 
 " And this ' Madame/ as everybody calls her, 
 she must be rather an unusual character, from all I 
 hear." 
 
 " She is, unusual in many ways. She must 
 have been marvellously beautiful as a girl; indeed 
 she is very handsome now, and looks far too young 
 to be Loleta's grandmother. She seems to be very 
 fond of her grandchildren ; and yet I have often sus- 
 pected that they were almost as much afraid of 
 her as I am." 
 
 "Afraid of her," the Doctor repeated inquiringly. 
 "It seems to me I should be utterly routed if I met 
 a lady who could make you feel afraid of her. Why 
 is it, what is there about Madame Harwood to 
 frighten one? " 
 
 " Nothing so very terrible," was the smiling reply. 
 " What I mean is that she is always kind and cour- 
 teous ; but yet there seems to be a sort of freezing 
 air about her, something that makes me feel so 
 unnatural when I am with her that I find it hard 
 work to talk or act like myself. I think she is of 
 a cold disposition; one of the kind who say very 
 little we can feel to be spontaneous." 
 
 "Those who are always acting playing a part," 
 he suggested. 
 
 "Precisely," said Margaret. "And yet when I 
 look into her big eyes, and recall what I have heard 
 of her, and all I know of her kindness to the poor 
 and suffering, when I think of all this, I some- 
 times feel that she may have sorrows of which the 
 rest of us know nothing. And then, too, she has 
 lived so much in other lands, and being in a sense
 
 j6 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 foreign-born to begin with, this would perhaps 
 make her feel strange to our ways of living, and 
 appear different from people I 've been accustomed 
 to meet. But," pausing again for another backward 
 look, "why on earth doesn't papa come? " 
 
 The Doctor also halted; but seeing the Captain's 
 broad shoulders coming around a corner, they saun- 
 tered slowly on. 
 
 "I should think," said the Doctor, "that to be so 
 very individual and self-contained as Madame Har- 
 wood would seem to be, must make one rather lone- 
 some. It may be that hers is one of those cases of 
 a naturally warm heart, lying buried in numerous 
 coffins, fashioned by ' the world, the flesh, and 
 the ' old gentleman we don't care to mention in 
 polite society. I have known people of that sort; 
 and they usually have to pass through so many wrap- 
 pings in order to come out, that they can never give 
 us anything like a frank or proper expression of 
 their real natures. Such people form a class by 
 themselves; and it is no easy matter to stir them 
 into even a resemblance of common, every-day 
 humanity." 
 
 His thoughts had turned to several he knew in his 
 own world, amongst them his sister and frivolous 
 old aunt. And he spoke with such an undertone of 
 bitterness that Margaret stole a surprised look into 
 his face. 
 
 "I'm afraid I have let my own mood give too 
 strong a color to my words," she made haste to say, 
 with a mistaken idea of what was in his mind. " I 
 surely did n't intend to give you any unkind thoughts
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 77 
 
 of our neighbor. You must wait until you meet her, 
 and " 
 
 She broke off to exclaim joyously, "Oh, here is 
 papa at last ! " 
 
 Then looking again, as if to assure herself, she 
 added impatiently, "There, he has let old Mrs. 
 Lander waylay him. And she is so terribly deaf, 
 and you have to say everything over and over so 
 many times, that it takes five minutes to ask her 
 how she does, and to let her know that you think 
 it 's a fine day." 
 
 She had now come to a halt, and stood facing her 
 father, as if to show him that she proposed to wait 
 until he joined her. 
 
 This he tried to do, putting into his pocket the 
 handkerchief with which he had been mopping his 
 face, and then resuming his hat. 
 
 The old lady had meanwhile laid a black-cottoned 
 hand upon his arm, and peered up at him earnestly 
 while she seemed to be saying some final words. 
 But the Captain turned hastily from her, and hurried 
 onwards. 
 
 " You bad Papa ! " was all Margaret said ; but 
 there was a wonderfully contented look in her eyes. 
 She kept him well in hand after that, and they 
 mounted the stone steps of the church just as the 
 bell was sounding its final warning. 
 
 " You bad Papa ! " Margaret said again, as they 
 reached the door. "Why did n't you start earlier, 
 or come with us, so as to take things easier, and 
 keep cool ? " 
 
 He attempted no defence, but only smiled at her;
 
 78 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 and, regardless of all the just-let-out Sunday-school 
 children gazing at them, and of the neighbors com- 
 ing in, he caught her firm white chin in his brown 
 fingers and gave her head a little waggle. 
 
 She left them as soon as they were inside, and 
 passed up the old worm-eaten stairs that wound, 
 turret-fashion, to the dusky region above, known as 
 the "choir seats." 
 
 The Captain, with a profoundly solemn visage and 
 air, marched slowly up the aisle, with Doctor Jasper 
 in his wake, to the pew of oak, high-backed, and 
 shut in like all the others by a hinged door that 
 fastened with a snap-catch. 
 
 He motioned the Doctor in by an impressive wave 
 of the hand, and followed, snapping the door noisily 
 behind him. Then, flushing deeply, as if at the 
 disturbance he had been making, he sat down has- 
 tily and heavily, and bent to put his cherished 
 Panama hat under the seat, doing it in a would-be 
 suppressed way that was utterly dissipated by the 
 sound of ominous cracklings, as if the back and 
 sides of the pew were threatening to part company 
 beneath his weight. 
 
 The light overhead was so dim that the oaken 
 beams and carvings looked like grotesque demons 
 and goblins sailing on vampire wings, with clutch- 
 ing hands outspread. Three of the six little stained 
 glass windows were tilted outward on their pivots ; 
 and the droning sound of straying bees came in on 
 the salt-laden breeze now beginning to stir gently 
 amid the gnarled old trees close along the sides of 
 the church.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 79 
 
 As was usual in the congregation, the women out- 
 numbered the men, who were interspersed here and 
 there amongst the petticoats; and they all wore 
 expressions half of protestation wholly of sorrow. 
 
 Old Sam Ayres, the sexton, who was still out 
 by the turret stair, was the only man who had not 
 this broken-down and entirely uncomfortable cast of 
 countenance. But he was quite sure to assume it a 
 little later on, along with his seat, when the service 
 should begin. 
 
 About the altar all was dim, save only the gold 
 lettering of The Commandments, inscribed upon two 
 tablets reaching from the chancel floor almost to the 
 ceiling. 
 
 Doctor Jasper's eyes happened to be resting upon 
 "Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Wife," 
 when he became aware (" out of the tail of his left 
 eye," as Captain Leslie would have said) of a 
 familiar little head on the opposite side of the 
 aisle, and a short distance in front of him. 
 
 Looking more directly, he saw, above the high 
 pew-back, Captain Jack's forehead, and half of his 
 expressive eyes, these latter smiling a happy recog- 
 nition. Some shimmering white covering over a 
 woman's graceful shoulder made a background for 
 the child's head; and glancing from this to the 
 lovely throat-line, Doctor Jasper saw the most 
 beautiful woman he had ever beheld. 
 
 The cheek and chin were exquisite in their round- 
 ing; the ear like a little pink and white shell; the 
 nose small, and purely Grecian; the lovely mouth 
 slightly pouting, with the lips daintily curved.
 
 8o Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 She sat with bowed head and lowered lids, her 
 broad-brimmed white hat casting a shadow over the 
 tawny hair, so like the child's, and contrasting so 
 oddly with long curling lashes, black as night, as 
 were also the eyebrows, slightly arched, and their 
 narrow lines drawn as though with a pencil. 
 
 To Doctor Jasper she had a saint-like look, accent- 
 uated perhaps by her expression and attitude, and 
 in unison with the holy hush of the place. 
 
 She sat directly underneath a brass tablet, let into 
 the wall, and telling in verse the virtues of a dead 
 and gone Harwood, who gave rather more than did 
 his fellows toward the building of this same church, 
 nearly two hundred years ago. 
 
 The Doctor recalled one Monday forenoon, some 
 weeks before, when he had wandered into the 
 church (seeing the door open, and old Ayres within, 
 "tidy in' up," as he expressed it, "arter Sunday 
 doin's") ; and how the verse upon this tablet had so 
 struck his fancy that he copied it into his note- 
 book. 
 
 It said : 
 
 " Blest are the men of peaceful lives, 
 Who quench the coals of growing strife. 
 They shall be called the heirs of bliss, 
 The sons of God the God of Peace." 
 
 He had then concluded that this particular indi- 
 vidual must have been famous as a peacemaker, and 
 that probably his powers as such were called for, 
 and shown to good advantage, in carrying out the 
 building of this very edifice.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 81 
 
 His beautiful descendant looked to be entirely in 
 keeping with his earthly reputation and Heavenly 
 promise, as she sat beneath his tablet, motionless, 
 with drooped head, dainty, and wholly lovable. 
 
 It was thus that Doctor Jasper always thought 
 of her afterwards. The dim light, the solemn hush 
 of the place, the low, tremulous sweetness of the 
 organ, all these made a sacred setting for her. 
 
 His eyes and thoughts were filled with this, when 
 Captain Leslie leaned toward him, and, under cover 
 of the louder tones of the organ, whispered hoarsely, 
 "That's our sweet beauty over there. Isn't she 
 well worth looking at?" 
 
 The abrupt inquiry brought Doctor Jasper some- 
 what to his senses. He gave himself a mental 
 shake, and smiled back into Captain Jack's eyes. 
 Then, turning his head away, he gave his attention 
 to the marvellous headgear of a lady in front of him, 
 this being of a style that impelled the Captain to 
 remark to Margaret, after service, "Jane Clunes 
 managed to rig herself up such a gaff in the shape 
 of top-hamper as I never, in all my voyagings, ran 
 foul of before." 
 
 Mr. Lyle, a smooth-faced, wiry-haired little man, 
 read the service in a mellow, pleasant voice, never 
 very loud, but with an enunciation so distinct as to 
 penetrate farther than had it been stronger-toned. 
 
 The singing in most of which the congregation 
 joined was at times such as might have led one to 
 say, in the words of Saint Paul, " The whole creation 
 groaneth." 
 
 But the second hymn was much better than the 
 6
 
 82 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 first. The tune was "Toplady," with the words, 
 " Rock of Ages ; " and it rang out in a grandly tri- 
 umphant strain that thrilled Doctor Jasper's heart. 
 
 He could hear Margaret's voice above all the 
 others. And there was another voice that came to 
 him, sweet and pure, and clearly true as 
 
 " Silver bugles, playing on a frosty morn." 
 
 Looking again at Loleta Harwood, he saw her 
 lips apart, and her eyes, with a rapt shining in 
 them, straying toward the dusky carvings overhead. 
 
 He was conscious of a keen sense of regret when 
 her voice was stilled; and for several seconds after- 
 wards he felt the vibrations with which its sweet- 
 ness had filled his ears. 
 
 As the rector left the altar, and ascended the high 
 pulpit to deliver his sermon, Doctor Jasper was 
 quick to observe the way in which Captain Jack 
 snuggled his curly head against the shoulder beside 
 him. It spoke volumes of love love confiding, 
 and reciprocated. 
 
 There was the usual half-suppressed rustling, and 
 a dry little cough here and there, as the worshippers 
 composed themselves to listen. A big bee came 
 whirling in through one of the open windows, and 
 made a few erratic circlings over the nearest heads. 
 Then, as if provoked at seeing no available flowers 
 to light upon, it flew out again with an extra loud 
 buzzing. 
 
 When the stillness seemed to weigh more heavily, 
 it was broken by Mr. Lyle's voice; and the sermon 
 began.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 83 
 
 It was addressed to certain sorrowing hearts 
 amongst his people, who had recently known sick- 
 ness and death, and to those desolated by the loss 
 of dear ones whom the war had taken away. 
 
 Said the little man in conclusion : " If you had 
 never experienced sorrow, you might never have 
 cared nor thought to go deeper than the worry and 
 fret of your lives here below, day after day, often- 
 times year after year. 
 
 "When the sun goes down, and takes away his 
 happy light, your world is in darkness; and only 
 in this darkness can you hook up and see the 
 stars. Yet these Heavenly lights are always there, 
 always over your earth; but the shining sun 
 blinds your eyes to them. 
 
 "So, if the sun always shone, you would never 
 see God's stars. So, if your hearts were always 
 filled with the light of happiness, and there came 
 none of the dense darkness that only a great sorrow 
 can bring, you would perhaps never come to know 
 His promise and love. 
 
 "Broken spirits need healing; broken hearts need 
 consoling, such healing and consoling as can 
 come alone from Him, the greatest of all healers. 
 And this consoling it is that abides lastingly; for 
 sorrows that try the heart are sure to give it kind- 
 lier thoughts for others. And this wears away much 
 of our earthly natures, which are ugly in God's 
 sight. 
 
 "Just as the rocks on the seashore, standing far 
 back, out of reach of the tide, are rough and ugly in 
 their natural shapes, and the pebbles that lie about
 
 84 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 them are soiled and dusty, with sharp corners whose 
 jaggedness cuts and hurts the unwary feet wandering 
 over them, so is the spirit likely to be of those 
 who escape sorrow and suffering. But those who 
 are refined and purified by chastening are like the 
 rocks and pebbles down where the tides wash over, 
 beating and tumbling them about, so that they 
 become smooth and polished, often perfect in form, 
 with no sharp points to cut, no roughness to cause 
 pain and discomfort. 
 
 " All such true hearts and good need not to 
 preach in words. They can do their Master's work, 
 living their own lives by their own firesides. For 
 the love of high and holy things that makes their 
 goodness within this will be felt by others, just as 
 the sunshine warms, and the breeze cools, although 
 we cannot touch them. 
 
 "This is the spiritual light that Christ has given 
 us, and that He bids us give one another. To each 
 of you, singly, it may appear as would the light 
 from each one of these church windows to some one 
 passing by in the darkness outside, at night. But 
 for us within, holding service, there would be a 
 flood of light diffused all about. 
 
 "And so, diffused for others, is the light and life 
 of one who is a faithful follower of Christ's teach- 
 ings. And this light will lead you more surely 
 through all the darkness of your lives than will any 
 beacon light lit by men's hands to shine out over 
 the sea for safe-guiding the ships into our harbor."
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE wayward bee, or another of its kind, had 
 buzzed in and out many times. During the 
 benediction it flew in again, and darted up 
 into the dusky organ-loft, from whence came a low, 
 sweet accompaniment to the silent prayer of the 
 kneeling worshippers. And now, as though its up- 
 ward flight were a signal, the organ swelled out in 
 loud, triumphant tones, as the people rose and began 
 hurrying into the aisles. A few exchanged hand- 
 shakes across the pew-backs; but the most of them 
 preserved a funereal demeanor until they arrived 
 outside. 
 
 As Captain Leslie and Doctor Jasper went through 
 the door, they were joined by Margaret, who was 
 nodding to old men and women alike, and smiling 
 as blithely upon them as upon her younger and 
 more aristocratic friends. Her father, too, was 
 dropping kindly chat to right and left as he slowly 
 wound his way in and out. 
 
 On the gravel path that ran from the little porch 
 down to the street, Doctor Jasper saw Loleta Har- 
 wood. And he noted with a cultivated man's lik- 
 ing for what is pleasant to see how exquisitely the 
 creamy-white gown fitted the curves of her perfect 
 figure, and with what queenly erectness she carried 
 herself. Small Captain Jack stood beside her, with
 
 86 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 one hand outstretched, waiting to be clasped when 
 she opened her white sunshade. 
 
 She had stopped to do this, looking over her 
 shoulder as she replied to the question of an old 
 lady back of her. And the Doctor now saw more 
 fully than before the sweet archness of the deli- 
 cately tinted face, the faultless mouth, and glori- 
 ous eyes. 
 
 These last were all the more pronounced, framed 
 and set off as they were by the waves of light-brown 
 hair that broke into little rings over her forehead 
 and about her ears, to turn a glistening copper color 
 where the sunshine reached in under the broad 
 brim of her white hat, trimmed with water-lilies 
 and grasses. 
 
 "Oh, there's Loleta!" exclaimed Margaret; and 
 she hurried on, leaving her father and Doctor Jasper 
 to follow. 
 
 Loleta was now walking slowly along, with Cap- 
 tain Jack's hand clasped in her own. The child, 
 looking back, had caught sight of the Doctor, and 
 seemed desirous to linger, pulling at the detaining 
 hand, and gazing up wistfully into her face as he said 
 something to her. But she only shook her head. 
 
 Margaret now joined them. But after going a few 
 steps, chatting with Loleta, she fell back to meet 
 her father and Doctor Jasper, while the other two 
 walked away. 
 
 " I tried to make Loleta promise to come and see 
 us; it's weeks since I was there," Margaret said 
 half-apologetically to the Doctor, as she came beside 
 him.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 87 
 
 "Do you keep strict tally, lass," her father asked, 
 looking at her quizzically, "and put it all down in 
 your log? " 
 
 "I don't count calls, if that's what you mean, 
 Papa. But the last time I was at the Harwood 
 house I stayed all the afternoon; and as that was 
 the third time since Loleta has been to see me, I 
 felt as though I ought to wait for her. I think 
 sometimes," she added a little impatiently, "that 
 Madame Harwood would like it better if no one 
 ever came to see Loleta." 
 
 " I reckon you 're a bit off your course, my lass, 
 when you talk after that fashion," said her father. 
 " And yet I must say that Madame seems more 
 hardened and cold to young folks' ways and frolics 
 than she used to be. But " with an encouraging 
 smile "never you mind, Peg. Never lay up any- 
 thing against her, even if she may at times seem to 
 hang in the wind a little, because she tells me her- 
 self that you 're a prime favorite of hers. And you 
 must never fear to make advances to old neighbors 
 and friends, such as Madame Harwood has been to 
 me these thirty years and over. But, for the matter 
 of that, " and he looked at her proudly, " I ' ve no 
 doubt you could weather Old Nick himself, if you 
 cared to try." 
 
 Whatever might have been Margaret's reply was 
 diverted by Doctor Jasper speaking of the memorial 
 verse in honor of the departed Harwood. 
 
 "Oh, yes," she said; "I remember it very well, 
 for Tom and I used to spell it out, before we could 
 read much; and I got him to copy it into a little
 
 88 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 book I keep for such odds and ends as take my 
 fancy. By the way, Doctor, there is something in 
 the book I would like you to see something Tom 
 wrote the day he went away." 
 
 Her voice had been faltering; then she stopped 
 suddenly, while Captain Leslie's laughing eyes grew 
 grave with the heartache that sprang into them. 
 
 The wound made by Tom's death had not healed, 
 for all their buoyancy of nature. It would never 
 heal, until father and sister should meet him again 
 on the other side. They made little outward show 
 of grief, even to each other, but went about with 
 cheery faces and smiling lips. And yet, down, far 
 down in their hearts was a sorrow all the greater for 
 being repressed. 
 
 A fresher, cooler breeze seemed to be waiting 
 under the shadowing old elms as the three walked 
 up the flagged path from the gate ; and Doctor Jas- 
 per, taking off his hat, was grateful to feel its touch 
 upon his cheeks and head. As for the Captain, he 
 pushed his hat so far back on his head that one 
 might well wonder what kept it from falling off, as 
 he marched like a drum-major before the other two, 
 up into the house. 
 
 "Go get off your sarcenet and fallals, Peg," he 
 said. " I '11 take care of the Doctor." And he pro- 
 ceeded to throw open the blinds, letting in a goodly 
 number of flies along with the cool green light that 
 stole from outside. Then he muttered something 
 not altogether in the nature of a blessing (judging 
 from his suppressed tone) as he clumsily readjusted 
 the screens.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 89 
 
 This being accomplished, he started to brew two 
 refreshing drinks, moving about with a nimble tread 
 that was wonderfully light for so heavy a body. 
 Meanwhile he sang softly to himself, interspersing 
 his vocal performances with occasional remarks of a 
 general nature, and questions to the Doctor, who 
 sat looking out of the window. 
 
 There was a gnarled old apple tree near by, and 
 he was recalling how brown it was with the autumn 
 coloring that crisp day in the past October when, 
 sitting in this same place, he heard Margaret and 
 her father descending the stairs to receive the mes- 
 sage with which dying Tom Leslie had charged 
 him. 
 
 Poor Tom had been sleeping many months in the 
 old burying ground. And he himself was here once 
 more, and lingering for what, he could hardly say, 
 except that having been worn out, in body and mind, 
 he was here, finding new peace and rest, trying to 
 make himself over. 
 
 The Captain was still mixing, and singing. 
 
 "A little more liquor, I say. Don't you, my lad? 
 And then the water that is, for you. As for me, 
 I agree with Paddy when he said, ' First the rum, 
 then a little water, and then the rum, and then a 
 little more rum. And every drop of water you put 
 in after that, spoils the punch. ' 
 
 " ' And press with vigor on, 
 A heavenly race demands.' 
 
 Now a dash of lemon, and there you are ! " 
 
 He gave a great sigh of content, and subsiding
 
 90 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 into a capacious arm-chair opposite the Doctor, pro- 
 ceeded with grave deliberation to fill a long clay 
 pipe. 
 
 While doing this he craned his neck so as to look 
 out of the window at the sails. 
 
 "I told you we'd be having wind aloft, my lad; 
 and there it is. Look at the ' Sabbath-breakers ' out 
 there in the bay; they '11 be having the parson after 
 them." 
 
 A moment later he asked abruptly, "By the 
 way, Doctor, is Mrs. Bessly taking good care of 
 you? " 
 
 "Oh, yes. I 'm quite at home there by this time, 
 quite one of the family. Mrs. Bessly is an odd 
 sort of woman, isn't she? I have found her quite a 
 tonic, in her way, and just the tonic I seem to 
 need these days." 
 
 "Yes; she's an original, without any doubt. 
 And I 'm glad she 's making you comfortable, and 
 that you like it there. But somehow I don't feel it 
 to be just the thing for you to be living there, while 
 there are three empty rooms in this house, one of 
 them Tom's, and you my boy's best friend." 
 
 " You are very kind ; and I may yet claim your 
 hospitality. But my own people have always found 
 fault with me for being altogether too independent ; 
 and there 's nothing like consistency, you know. 
 And then, Captain, you see I am so accustomed to 
 Mrs. Bessly and her ways that the strangeness has 
 all worn off, and it's quite like home," 
 
 He wished to stay the oft-repeated argument he 
 knew was trembling upon the Captain's lips, and
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 91 
 
 to do this without seeming unappreciative of his 
 kindness. 
 
 The older man turned his eyes away and smoth- 
 ered a sigh. Then, after taking a few puffs at his 
 pipe, he said resignedly, "Well, I suppose I '11 have 
 to belay. But I 'm glad that all the strangeness is 
 gone, as you say ; for, from what I have had of it, - 
 and I 'm glad to say it 's only a little, the first few 
 days, and more especially, nights, in new quarters, 
 don't make a pleasant memory. Nothing fits; there 
 are 'always too few or too many chairs; and whether 
 few or many, they 're pretty sure to seem like centi- 
 pedes as to the number of legs they carry for you to 
 run foul of in the dark. All the furniture is sure to 
 be in the road to something else, walk you fore or 
 aft, or any other way. " 
 
 The Doctor laughed. "But this is only because 
 one is not accustomed to them. Once you get used 
 to your surroundings, everything seems all right, 
 and in place." 
 
 "In other words, young man," said the Captain, 
 looking at his friend in an odd way, "you make 
 yourself over on the plan of your surroundings, and 
 so suit your ship, if she starts out in failing to suit 
 you." 
 
 "Well," the Doctor answered, willing to adapt 
 himself to his companion's mood, "you might put 
 it in that way, I suppose, although the matter never 
 struck me so before." 
 
 "What a fine thing it would be," the Captain 
 went on discursively, "what a very fine thing, if 
 we could all be as accommodating about our friends
 
 92 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 and neighbors ; for we rarely give over striving to 
 have them made over to suit our own notions. And 
 when they don't, or won't, make over, we can by no 
 means get used to them. What do you think about 
 it, my lad ? " 
 
 "I think, Captain," Doctor Jasper answered so- 
 berly, " that your proposition is a pretty broad one, 
 and that it covers rather more ground than I care 
 to go over upon such a warm Sunday as this, even 
 with the assistance of so cooling a drink as the one 
 you 've concocted for me. But " a very friendly 
 light showing in his eyes "I am perfectly willing 
 to say that I am sure I could never wish to have 
 either you or Miss Margaret made over upon any 
 plan of my own, even if I had one." 
 
 It was easy to see that the Captain was very much 
 pleased; but he only said laughingly, "Why, my 
 lad, you 're as neat of lingo as if you 'd kissed the 
 blarney stone. But, speaking of my Peg," and 
 his face became serious again, "I '11 say this, even 
 if she is my own, and it 's hardly becoming, as some 
 might call it, for me to be talking of her, that a 
 realer, truer woman does n't walk the earth. She 's 
 straight up and down, clinched in solid cast-iron 
 principles and grit, and faithful to the hand that 
 steers her. She has a sound heart my little Peg; 
 thank God for that ! " 
 
 The Doctor, familiar as he was with the Captain's 
 manner of speech, was not surprised to hear him 
 talk about his daughter as he might speak of his 
 ship. And so he only smiled as he said, looking 
 over at his host, who was puffing again at his long
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 93 
 
 pipe, "I don't think any one seeing Miss Margaret 
 could have any doubts as to the truth of what you 
 have said, Captain. And I never saw a happier face 
 than hers." 
 
 There came, as he spoke, the thought of another 
 face, upon which his eyes had rested for the first 
 time that morning. He was thinking of the tawny 
 hair, and those wondrous eyes ; of the perfect feat- 
 ures and creamy skin ; of the beauty and purity of 
 the entire picture. He had met many women, and 
 in many climes; but none of them had affected him 
 as did this one, the mere sight of whom seemed to 
 have stirred into activity the very depths of his 
 strong nature. 
 
 "Aye," the Captain was saying, "and I might as 
 well try to catch the sunshine that makes diamonds 
 upon the water as to try and explain the happiness 
 she diffuses about the old house and in her daddy's 
 soft heart. I have seen many fine girls in my time, 
 Doctor. But, for the most part, there's the same 
 difference between them and my Pegaway that there 
 would be between being shut up in the hot air of 
 a ball-room, with a lot of gabbling idiots you feel 
 forced to hold your own with for manner's sake, and 
 a nice sea-breeze, when you can sit on the deck of 
 your own ship, sailing through a smooth sea, with 
 the one you love, and who knows you best, sitting 
 alongside you as you smoke. And the stars so 
 thick, and looking to be so close, that you feel the 
 Lord and His angels to be nearer than common." 
 
 Captain Leslie's voice had become wonderfully 
 soft and gentle; his chin was sunk on his breast,
 
 94 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 and the gone-out pipe held carelessly in his droop- 
 ing hand. It was evident that his thoughts were 
 wandering in the past, amid other scenes, with the 
 mother of his " Pegaway " for a companion. 
 
 His musings were interrupted by the appearance 
 of Margaret, looking fresh and cool despite her 
 black draperies. But these were so sheer as to 
 show the dimples that made little nicks in each 
 elbow ; and fastened to her dress was a great water- 
 lily. 
 
 "See," she said, pointing to the flower; "isn't 
 it beautiful? I found a big bowl full of them, up 
 in my room ; and Eliza said that Madame Harwood 
 sent a quantity of them to me, that Louis, one 
 of her darkeys, brought them just after we left for 
 church. " 
 
 She had come close enough to her father for him 
 to bury his nose in the fragrant blossom ; and, hav- 
 ing done this, he kissed her. But the salutation 
 caused her to exclaim, as she rubbed her reddened 
 cheek, "Oh, Papa! Your face scratches just as the 
 blackberry bushes used to ! " 
 
 "How can that be," he demanded, "when I shaved 
 myself as usual this morning? " 
 
 "I surely don't know. But I really think, Papa," 
 looking at him seriously, " that I must learn 
 how to shave you." 
 
 "No doubt you could, lass," and he winked at 
 Doctor Jasper. " No doubt at all. But that is one 
 thing you '11 have to try your hand at on another 
 man before I '11 let you practice on me." 
 
 Their laughter was joined in by Eliza, who had
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 95 
 
 come to announce that dinner was ready ; and out to 
 the dining-room they went. 
 
 As they were seating themselves, Eliza called 
 attention to the dish of water-lilies upon the table. 
 
 "An' you ought to see that 'pool,' as they call 
 it, up to Madam's," she said. "There 's a fountain 
 plays in the middle of it; an' last summer the lilies 
 was like a lovely white an' green carpet all 'round 
 the water." 
 
 This brought to Doctor Jasper's mind Mrs. 
 Bes-sly's description of the marble satyr who spouted 
 water through a bunch of reeds, or, as she expressed 
 it, "a stone satire, blowin' water through a lot o' 
 holler sticks." And he was still smiling at the 
 recollection as he turned to Captain Leslie with, 
 " So that was Miss Harwood we saw at church this 
 morning? " 
 
 "Yes. And wasn't I right in calling her 'our 
 sweet beauty,' Doctor?" 
 
 " Entirely so. She is very lovely, and must be 
 greatly admired." 
 
 "'Greatly admired,' say you, my lad? Well, she 
 might have any quantity of admirers ; but you see 
 Madame has a taut hand, and nobody dares go near the 
 girl. But it's a fact, that when she brings the whole 
 broadside of her beauty to bear, she 's hard to beat. 
 And she 's a fine lass, Doctor, aside from her beauty ; 
 she could n't be otherwise, with Jack Harwood's blood 
 in her veins. She is bound to have a brave nature, and 
 good, one that will never fail to lay hold of the 
 proper rope for a friend in trouble, and pull with all 
 its might, singing cheerily as it drags. But she 's not
 
 96 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 likely to find a mate in this town ; for Madame is 
 much too proud to permit it." 
 
 Eliza, who had been nodding her head in affirmation 
 of what the Captain was saying, now added, " All the 
 young fellers are crazy 'bout Loleta Harwood ; but 
 she don't even look at one of 'em. Now there was 
 that Trowbridge boy Asa, old Deacon Trowbridge's 
 son. Everybody knows he was dead in love with 
 her ; an' yet I don't b'lieve she ever knew there was 
 sech a chap livin'. But that did n't seem to make no 
 difference to him, judgin' by the way he used to write 
 poetry 'bout her, an' was always hangin' 'round places 
 where he hoped he might see her, an' makin' a per- 
 fect fool of himself 'bout her. An' then when the 
 war come on, an' he said he was goin' to fight the 
 Spaniards, an' make a mark in the world, some said 
 they guessed he was thinkin' to git her to take notice 
 of him. But, for all any one ever saw, she took no 
 more 'count of his bein' in Cuba than she did before. 
 An' now they say he got to drinkin' down there ; an' 
 that was what killed him, 'stead o' the wound he got 
 in the first fight they had." 
 
 " If that is so," remarked the Captain, " then I 'm 
 not surprised at his taking to drink when he found 
 himself away from home-rule, and surrounded by 
 temptations. Poor devil, what can be expected of 
 a boy brought up as he was? " 
 
 " I ain't seen none o' the Trowbridges these late 
 years," Eliza said. " But Asa's father, the old Deacon, 
 was a most worthy man." 
 
 " Ugh ! " grunted the Captain, in a way not to be 
 mistaken.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 97 
 
 But Eliza, with gathering severity in her eyes, re- 
 peated, " He was, Captain, a most worthy man ; an' 
 he was a self-made man too ; I 've often heard him 
 say so himself." 
 
 "You have, have you?" said the Captain, grimly. 
 "Then, my good Eliza, all I have to say is this, 
 that Providence ought to have been very thankful 
 that Deacon Trowbridge took the job into his own 
 hands."
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 IN the late afternoon there was a pleasant breeze. 
 The heat, no longer uncomfortable, had warmed 
 out the strongest fumes of the weeds, and of the 
 mint growing along the roads, until the air was spicy 
 with their odors, as the three Margaret, her father, 
 and Doctor Jasper went off for a stroll about the 
 less populated part of the town. 
 
 They took it very leisurely; and as they turned 
 their steps homeward, Captain Leslie proposed going 
 through the street that led past the Harwood place, 
 this being the shortest. 
 
 They had not gone far before Margaret said, 
 "There's the Harwood house, Doctor Jasper." And 
 looking ahead of him he saw it for the first time. 
 
 It was of stone, and stood some little distance back, 
 upon a knoll, from which the ground fell away sharply, 
 and then stretched a level lawn to the street. 
 
 About it was a grove of tall elms that made dim 
 the gravelled walk leading from the iron gates to the 
 steps of the spacious piazza, about whose columns 
 wound a mass of vines that made a wall of green 
 over the lattice, and followed it around the side 
 of the house. The lilac-colored blossoms festooned 
 amid the green marked it as a wistaria ; and Doctor 
 Jasper remembered hearing Mrs. Bessly mention a
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 99 
 
 certain " lovely mysterious vine, growin' all over the 
 porch." 
 
 Many were the sweet scents from the flower-beds 
 and rare shrubs. And amid the perfume came the 
 sound of the water playing through the bunch of 
 reeds the satyr held to his mouth, and then splashing 
 into the gleaming pool that reached almost to his 
 marble hips. 
 
 As they walked slowly by, looking through the 
 closed gate, the clear notes of a mocking-bird rang 
 out from the open windows of the large conservatory. 
 
 " It is indeed a beautiful place," Doctor Jasper 
 said, half to himself, and as though thinking more 
 than his words expressed. 
 
 " Aye, that it is," assented the Captain ; " and 
 made so by Jack Harwood, after he brought his 
 bride home to it. It was always a fine old place; 
 but not fine enough for Madame, he thought. And 
 so he made it over in the fashion you see. And it 's 
 as fine within as without, Doctor, and would seem to 
 have everything about it to bring happiness. And 
 yet I '11 bet that my little Peg is far happier in our 
 old-fashioned craft than is Loleta in all her splendor; 
 that is, if the girl's looks indicate the wind and weather 
 of her home life." 
 
 Margaret did not affirm this in words ; but the look 
 she gave her father was good proof of there being 
 little amiss with her at the present moment. 
 
 " I have a warm place in my heart for anything 
 that was Jack Harwood's," he continued, as they 
 strolled along ; " and so I like Margaret to get 
 Loleta down to the house whenever she can manage
 
 i oo Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 it. For although I should be sorry to do anything 
 likely to run foul of Madame's notions for her grand- 
 daughter, still I have a lass of my own who gives me 
 my bearings as to the looks of one sailing a happy 
 course. And it 's all wrong, say I, dead wrong, 
 that Jack Harwood's granddaughter should have that 
 look in her eyes, and that down-droop at the corners 
 of her pretty mouth, when you catch her face off- 
 guard. Young folks should be kept happy, and then 
 they won't grow into sour old folks, which the Lord 
 knows they do sometimes, in spite of well, thun- 
 der ! " 
 
 The Captain's voice had an unusual ring, as he 
 scowled up at the sky, where the sun, now gone down, 
 had left a haze of rose and carnelian, amid which Venus 
 glittered fitfully. 
 
 " Papa Leslie ! " exclaimed Margaret, in laughing 
 reproof. " You look just like the big bear ' that lived 
 in a wood growly, growly, growly.' " 
 
 The scowl was gone instantly, and his eyes turned 
 to her with their wonted smile. 
 
 They had now reached the home gate ; and he 
 said, turning to the Doctor, " Come in, my lad, and 
 have a cup of tea with us, and a smoke with me, after- 
 wards. And Peg you shall sing ' Haul the Bow- 
 line ' for the Doctor and your old Daddy. But, bless 
 my stars! It is Sunday evening, isn't it? But you 
 shall sing ' Pegaway ' for us, Sunday or no." 
 
 Half an hour or so after tea was over, Margaret 
 came into the room where the two men were smok- 
 ing, and handed Doctor Jasper a small leather-bound 
 book.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 101 
 
 "There," she said, pointing to one of the pages, 
 " that is what I spoke to you about, what Tom 
 wrote for me that last afternoon." 
 
 She went over to the piano, and sitting with her 
 back to him, began running her fingers softly over 
 the keys, while the Captain puffed slowly at his pipe 
 as he stared fixedly at his sister Margaret's gypsy 
 face, which seemed to be looking back at him from 
 out its heavy frame. 
 
 This is what the Doctor was reading: 
 
 " Calm sleeps the sea, when storms are o 'er, 
 
 With bosom silent and serene, 
 When but the planks along the shore 
 Reveal that wrecks have been. 
 
 " So some frail leaf, like this, may be 
 
 Found floating on Life's endless tide, 
 The sole remaining trace of me, 
 To say I lived and died." 
 
 He made a movement to close the book, but was 
 checked by Captain Leslie's outstretched hand. 
 
 The Captain took the little volume and held it for 
 some time, his eyes fixed upon the page. Then he 
 laid it gently on the table, and drew the back of one 
 hand across his eyes. 
 
 He resumed his pipe, and a silence fell over them, 
 broken at last by his saying, " Come, Peg, my lass, 
 sing ' Pegaway ; ' it will do all of us good." 
 
 Margaret struck some minor chords that had a 
 sullen, resonant boom, like that of the surf along 
 shore; and these softened into a gentle murmuring, 
 like the outgoing tide, as she sang,
 
 IO2 
 
 Pegging away, 
 All the long day ; 
 
 Stitching ever, till set of sun. 
 Tides ebb and flow, 
 Hours come and go ; 
 
 Rest comes, after the work is done. 
 
 " Pegging away, 
 All the long day ; 
 
 White sails drifting across the sea. 
 Tides ebb and flow, 
 Days come and go ; 
 
 Voyage soon over for you and me. 
 
 " Pegging away, 
 All the long day ; 
 
 Shine and shadow, spring and fall. 
 Tides ebb and flow, 
 Men come and go ; 
 
 God, the Father, is over all." 
 
 As Dr. Jasper walked home in the dim moonbeams 
 that bathed the old town, scarcely a light was to be 
 seen, save here and there from some window close up 
 under the quaint roofs. 
 
 Up on the hill the hill that was God's Acre, and 
 rising higher than all the land about it the moon- 
 light was flooding the stones, making the black ones 
 blacker and the white ones whiter, and giving to all a 
 calmness that the sunlight never bestows. 
 
 The whole scene seemed a part of Margaret's song ; 
 and as the sound of the sea came to his ears he softly 
 hummed the refrain 
 
 " Tides ebb and flow, 
 Men come and go ; 
 God, the Father, is over all."
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE next morning turned out to be what Mrs. 
 Bessly called " a real bangy day," far too 
 breezy for the trip Dr. Jasper has proposed 
 taking upon the " Pretty Sally." And as he sat down 
 to the usual seven o'clock breakfast, the wind, blowing 
 from the north and northeast, came in fierce, fitful 
 gushings that slammed left-open doors and poorly- 
 fastened window shutters. 
 
 Yet it was a happy, shining morning, with a wide 
 blue heaven full of liquid luster, softened by many 
 small clouds blowing into the southwest, their white- 
 ness glorified as their ragged peaks and chasms sailed 
 past the sun. The sea was like rough green glass, 
 with but little sparkling in its sullen tossing water. 
 There had evidently been a severe storm not very far 
 away. 
 
 The day passed without incident ; and in the late 
 afternoon Dr. Jasper went up to have his usual game 
 of cribbage with Captain Leslie. 
 
 The following morning proved more propitious as 
 to wind and weather. And at an early hour young 
 Sam Ayres played a lively reveille with a long fishing 
 pole upon the slats of Doctor Jasper's closed blinds, 
 this being the signal that all was ready for the " Pretty 
 Sally's " trip to the mackerel nets. 
 
 They returned about noon ; and as the Doctor 
 came ashore he found himself face to face with
 
 104 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Margaret Leslie, standing with little Captain Jack at 
 the top of the wharf steps. 
 
 After a quick but smiling acknowledgment of his 
 greeting, she exclaimed, " Oh, dear ! Has Uncle 
 Billy escaped me, Doctor Jasper? Jacques and I 
 were in my cave, and saw you come in ; Madame let 
 him come down to visit me this morning. We have 
 planned a picnic to Skuttle-Hump for some day this 
 week, if Uncle Billy will take us. Papa persuaded 
 Madame to say that Loleta and Jacques might go with 
 me ; and we want you. Of course you '11 go, won't 
 you?" 
 
 " Most assuredly I will," he replied heartily ; for 
 had there been no other inducement, the hope of 
 meeting Loleta was sufficient of itself. 
 
 "Very well; that's settled. And I Ve asked Mrs. 
 Bessly, who says she will look after things, and help 
 us generally. You see papa can't go, nor Eliza, and 
 so I thought I 'd better ask Mrs. Bessly." 
 
 While she was speaking, Doctor Jasper had ex- 
 tended his hands to Captain Jack; and the child's 
 small hands were instantly laid within the large ones, 
 there to be held fast. 
 
 Margaret, observing this, said impulsively, " Is n't 
 he a little sweetheart?" And as she laid her hand 
 caressingly upon his head, Doctor Jasper noted the 
 quick flush that came to the lad's cheek, and the 
 adoration showing in the upward glance he cast 
 toward the girl's bright face. 
 
 Uncle Billy now appeared, some extra shades 
 of red giving a richer tinge to his always florid 
 countenance, as he trundled before him, in a waver-
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 105 
 
 ing, awkward fashion, an uncommonly large wheel- 
 barrow. 
 
 He halted when he saw the others, and said, as if 
 in answer to the Doctor's look, " Goin' ter tek my 
 ketch up ter Pebblcs's, as I promised, 'though he 
 don't allers give ther best price." 
 
 " D' ye think ye can find 'em in that barrer, 
 Uncle Billy?" 
 
 This inquiry came facetiously from young Sam 
 Ayres, who had now joined them. 
 
 Uncle Billy paid no attention to him, and clutched 
 the handles as though suspecting the barrow might 
 take a notion to run away. Then, as the others 
 laughed at Sam's question, the old man pretended 
 to look very sternly at Captain Jack. 
 
 But this by-play was quickly succeeded by a broad 
 smile, as, with a quaint tenderness in touch and tone, 
 he put one of his great brown paws on the child's 
 shoulder, and said, " Here, ye young monkey, come, 
 go "long." 
 
 Captain Jack, nothing loath, sprang into the barrow, 
 taking care not to touch the shining mackerel that 
 Sam was covering with some bagging. 
 
 But Margaret objected, saying that she had pro- 
 mised to keep him with her until he was sent for, or 
 she herself took him home. 
 
 " But Uncle Billy can ride me home," the child 
 suggested; "can't you, Uncle Billy?" 
 
 " Wa'l, yes, I can ; an' then, come ter think, no, I 
 can't," the old sailor answered. " Yer see I 've got 
 ter go an' do ther marketin', which is why I Ve got 
 this here barrer o' John Dean's. An' then whatever
 
 1 06 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 would yer grandma say, ter see ye ridin' home in a 
 dirty barrer, an' atop a lot o' bundles, or some dirty 
 fish?" 
 
 Margaret added coaxingly, "Now listen, Jacques: 
 You are forgetting what a lovely time we are going 
 to have, after I arrange something with Uncle Billy. 
 I must talk to him now, and get him to say, ' Yes,' 
 before he runs away again." 
 
 She now proceeded to unfold her plans and wishes 
 to the old man. 
 
 He listened attentively, taking both hands from 
 the barrow-handles, in order that he might give his 
 bald head a vigorous mopping with the brilliant 
 bandanna always reposing in the top of his hat, while 
 he gazed steadily into Margaret's animated face, 
 about which the sea breeze had set her short curls 
 stirring, as she talked in her eager, impulsive way, 
 the color going and coming in her cheeks, her white 
 teeth showing, her happy eyes shining. 
 
 When she finished, he dropped the handkerchief 
 into the crown of his hat, and replaced that battered 
 article upon his head. Then, taking a fresh hold 
 upon the handles, he said, "Wa'l, Miss Marg'ret, 
 terday be a Chuesday, be n't it? An' I can't go. 
 An' We'n'sday nor Thursday I can't go. An' why? 
 'Cause both them days I've promised ter hold 
 my craft ter sail parties, at notice, thet 's comin' 
 down from ther city ter look over ther premises 
 on Bramble, out there, for thet children's home, or 
 convent, or whatever they say ther island 's been 
 sold for." 
 
 " Is it really so, then," Margaret inquired, " that
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 107 
 
 the island has been bought for a home for nuns and 
 orphans? " 
 
 "Yes, thet it be more 's ther pity," he grunted 
 dismally. " It '11 be a fine thing for ther poor 
 younkers; but it '11 be ther revarse for townsfolk, in 
 ther supplies 'o mumps, an' measles, an' feviers, an' 
 what-not, thet '11 be floatin' 'round on ther breezes, 
 free o' charge. An' so ye see, Miss Marg'ret," he 
 added more briskly, returning to the subject in hand, 
 " I can't tek ye out this week, no-how ; for ye see 
 Saturday must be my tidyin'-up-day 'long shore." 
 
 " Why, yes, you can, Uncle Billy ; you have Friday 
 left." 
 
 " But ye surely would n't think o' startin' out 
 pleasurin' on a Friday ? " said the old sailor, looking 
 at her uneasily. 
 
 " Of course I would ! " she exclaimed, with an 
 amused side glance at Doctor Jasper. 
 
 " Wa'l, wa'l," and Uncle Billy's eyes spoke marked 
 disapproval. But, after a pause, he sighed deeply, 
 as if resigned to fate, and added, " Then I s'pose I 
 might as well give in, an' call it Friday." 
 
 " And if anything happens, then of course you '11 
 blame it to me." 
 
 She smiled at the old man, who looked sheepish, 
 and mopped his head once more as he said coax- 
 ingly, " I'll hev ther ' Pretty Sally' in good trim for 
 ye; an' but s'pose we say Saturday, Miss Marg'ret, 
 an' I '11 let tidyin'-up go for onc't." 
 
 " No, Uncle Billy," she answered decisively; "my 
 heart is set upon Friday, and Friday it is. And we '11 
 start at nine o'clock, wind and weather favoring."
 
 io8 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " So be 't," he grumbled ; and once more grasping 
 the handles of his barrow, he trudged along. 
 
 Margaret watched him a few moments, and then 
 turned to the Doctor. 
 
 " Is n't it odd," she said, " how superstitious old 
 sailors are about Friday?" 
 
 " I Ve known other people who were the same," he 
 answered. " I have often had cause to be amused, 
 yes, and wonder, as well, at the pet superstitions 
 of intelligent and well-educated people." 
 
 " Have you none yourself? " she inquired teas- 
 ingly. " Have n't you even a little one hidden away 
 somewhere? " 
 
 "Well, I '11 be honest with you, and admit that it 
 makes me feel a bit uncomfortable to have a bird 
 of any sort fly into my room from out of doors, or 
 into that of any one of whom I am fond. I cannot 
 explain why this should be so, but it is nevertheless 
 a fact." 
 
 Here Captain Jack, who had stood with uplifted 
 eyes, drinking in all the Doctor said, exclaimed 
 eagerly, " Oh, I do know what you mean ! For 
 when a bird does fly in, it does mean that some one 
 is going to Heaven." 
 
 A troubled look shot across Doctor Jasper's face 
 as he asked, " Why, my boy, who ever told you such 
 stuff as that?" 
 
 The abruptness of the question, no less than the 
 Doctor's manner, seemed to have hurt the child, for 
 he said timidity, " It is really true, for Zabette did 
 tell me about a little girl she knew. And a white 
 dove did fly through her window, and in few days
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 109 
 
 she went away to Heaven, and her body was what 
 they call 'dead.' " 
 
 Margaret and Doctor Jasper exchanged expressive 
 glances ; and the latter said, laying his hand gently 
 upon the child's head, " That is quite wonderful, my 
 little man ; but it is n't just what I wanted to tell 
 Miss Margaret. See here," he added in a more 
 animated tone, " I remember something she said 
 awhile ago of the fine time you and she were going 
 to have ; and I am beginning to wonder if I am to 
 have any part of it." 
 
 Captain Jack laughed and looked up at Margaret, 
 who said, " Let us go and sit in our orchard for 
 a while. It is cool there; and I told Eliza we would 
 have lunch out under the trees. I know she has 
 some goodies all ready for Jacques and me; and, 
 Doctor, I 'm sure we '11 have plenty for you. So 
 come along, won't you, and share them with us?" 
 
 " Certainly I will," he replied ; " and with a great 
 deal of pleasure. Is the Captain at home?" he 
 inquired, as they strolled toward the Leslie house. 
 
 " No. He went over to Pilot's-Head this morning 
 with Captain Piffet, to see about something or other, 
 and so we decided to wait dinner until he gets back. 
 And there's no telling when that will be when he goes 
 off on a day's trip like this." 
 
 Down in the orchard it was cool and pleasant, 
 with a dimness like that of cathedral aisles, as the 
 light stole through the long avenues between the 
 rows of apple and pear trees. Some rustic chairs, 
 upon one of which was a guitar; a large bench, par- 
 tially covered by a bright rug ; a table, and a couple
 
 no Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 of hammocks swinging near, showed the place to be 
 a resort serving as an " out-door room." 
 
 There was a white cloth spread over the table, 
 upon which Eliza was now placing sundry eatables. 
 And the Doctor, having seated himself, was idly 
 watching Margaret, who had taken the guitar and 
 was tuning it. 
 
 Suddenly there came a joyous cry from Captain 
 Jack, who was swinging in one of the hammocks. 
 
 " Loleta, Loleta ! Here does come my Lo- 
 leta ! " And he dashed away through the trees. 
 
 It seemed as though the girl were fated to make 
 pictures for Doctor Jasper to carry in his memory. 
 The first was with the dim lights of the church about 
 her, as she sat with drooped head and downcast lids, 
 a breathing embodiment of all that was beautiful and 
 womanly. 
 
 And this second one was no less lovely, as he saw her, 
 dressed entirely in white, pause by one of the flower- 
 beds and stand motionless, looking as pure and sweet 
 as the stately day-lilies beside her. Then as she 
 came closer, moving with a slow, lissome grace, 
 Doctor Jasper looked into her eyes. 
 
 They were eyes such as he had never seen before : 
 so large, and long-lashed ; so soft, and yet so bril- 
 liant; eyes that held such a magnetism and mystery 
 in their depths. 
 
 But he was not permitted to look long upon them. 
 The white lids fell quickly ; and he came to his every- 
 day senses, as Margaret introduced them to one 
 another. 
 
 Loleta was the first to speak; and he did not fail
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 1 1 1 
 
 to note the low, sweet voice, and the accent so like 
 that of the boy. 
 
 " I have come for our dtfde," she said, smiling at 
 Captain Jack, who made a sudden dart and caught 
 one of her slender white-gloved hands. 
 
 " But you will stop a little while, won't you, 
 Loleta," said Margaret, rather urgently, " and take a 
 cup of chocolate with us? We are going to have a 
 sort of picnic lunch ; and now that you are here, it 's 
 simply perfect. You need n't bother any more," she 
 added, turning to Eliza; "if we should need any- 
 thing, I '11 come for you." And taking hold of the 
 good woman's shoulders, she faced her toward the 
 house, and gave her a gentle push. 
 
 " Now, Loleta, you must make us all happy by 
 sitting down in this chair, as if you were going to 
 stay a while. And please try to get that far-away 
 look out of your eyes, and act as if you knew where 
 you are, and whom you are with." 
 
 Loleta complied so far as to seat herself; and a 
 smile came to her lips as Margaret continued, " If 
 you don't take care, I 'm afraid we '11 see you as 
 absent-minded an old lady as Eliza's grandmother, 
 who once lost her temper because she could n't get 
 one of her overshoes on her foot. And finally her 
 daughter had to tell her that she was trying to pull it 
 on over the other one." 
 
 "Has the worthy Eliza inherited any of this?" 
 gravely inquired Doctor Jasper, as he received his 
 chocolate from Margaret. " I have never happened 
 to notice anything about her to indicate a dreaming 
 mind, or one much given to introspection."
 
 ii2 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Loleta had already been served ; and he watched 
 her as she slowly drew off her gloves, revealing a 
 pair of beautiful white hands, the oval-nailed fingers 
 flashing with many gems. Then he turned to Mar- 
 garet, who was answering his question. 
 
 " No ; but her sister did. They say that once she 
 went to meeting, bonnetless, and several other times 
 without thinking to take out her curl-papers. And 
 once, when she was going away in the stage, and 
 went down to Culman's to put her name on the slate, 
 so that they would call for her, she tried and tried to 
 make a mark, until she found herself trying to write 
 with a new thimble she had just bought." 
 
 All this appeared to tickle little Captain Jack, who 
 was regarding Margaret with the look his expressive 
 eyes usually held for her. 
 
 " It strikes me," remarked the Doctor, " that you 
 and the Captain have reason to congratulate your- 
 selves upon the fact that Eliza has none of this family 
 trait ; for otherwise there is no telling what dreadful 
 things might happen. Suppose, for instance, that 
 some fine morning she should make the fire with the 
 beefsteak, and then broil the wood for breakfast. 
 I remember " - with a smiling glance at Captain 
 Jack " an extreme case, where an absent-minded 
 woman was about to give her child a piece of 
 bread and butter. But she buttered the youngster's 
 head, and then tried to rock the loaf of bread to 
 sleep." 
 
 The others all laughed happily, as young people 
 will ; and Captain Jack, laying his hand caressingly on 
 the man's sleeve, said with a familiar tenderness in look
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 1 1 3 
 
 and tone, " Ah, man Docteur, I do think that is much 
 funnier than what Miss Margot did tell." 
 
 It was most unusual for the child to show such a 
 side of his reserved nature to any one, excepting 
 Margaret, outside his home circle. And knowing 
 this, she glanced across the table to see if Loleta had 
 noticed it. 
 
 The latter seemed to be looking at both Doctor 
 Jasper and Captain Jack, and in a way so curious as 
 to make Margaret wonder if she could be jealous 
 
 Her face bore such an expression of uneasiness 
 and disapproval that Margaret, wishing to try and 
 divert her thoughts, whatever they might be, said 
 laughingly, " I think we all have fits of being absent- 
 minded. At least I hope so, when I recall some of 
 the stupid things I have caught myself doing." 
 
 "You surely never had occasion to go to church 
 in curl-papers," remarked the Doctor, smiling at 
 her, and then at Captain Jack, who had withdrawn 
 his hand, while his eyes wandered with an appre- 
 ciative twinkle to the curls on Margaret's uncovered 
 head. 
 
 "No," she affirmed. "But people do stupid 
 things, even if their hair curls. Only the other 
 day I started downstairs to see old Mrs. Doane, and 
 found I was trying to keep cool by fanning myself 
 with a hair-brush." 
 
 They laughed again; and the Doctor said, "Yes; 
 but that was not so bad, because you did n't disobey 
 the eleventh commandment, and get found out. 
 That is, you would n't have been, had you not told 
 
 upon yourself." 
 
 8
 
 1 14 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "And you do always tell upon yourself, Margot," 
 added Loleta, with a smiling glance at her. 
 
 The look that Margaret had wondered at was 
 gone, and Loleta seemed to have forgotten the cause 
 which awakened it. 
 
 "Do I?" was the laughing query. "I don't mean 
 to, and don't wish to; for how often it is that, by 
 keeping still, people get credit for all manner of 
 things they could never do, even if they ever thought 
 of trying. " 
 
 "There is little doubt as to that," said the Doc- 
 tor; "history is full of such cases. And we all 
 know how people have acquired high renown and 
 position simply because they knew enough to be 
 close-mouthed. And then again how often it is that 
 people's intentions are misunderstood, and a wrong 
 construction placed upon their acts." 
 
 Margaret glanced at him quickly, to see him look- 
 ing at Loleta; and it occurred to her that he was 
 thinking of what they had said Sunday about 
 Madame Harwood. 
 
 But this was not in his mind. The fact was, that 
 he found it almost beyond his power of self-control 
 to keep his eyes from dwelling too fixedly upon 
 the girl's marvellous beauty, in spite of the fear he 
 had that his face might be reflecting too clearly the 
 admiration with which he was filled. 
 
 There was something about her that drew his gaze 
 as naturally and irresistibly as the Polar star draws 
 the needle's point toward its far-away brightness. 
 And so, however he might seek to force his eyes 
 elsewhere, it was only to have them drawn back to 
 the lovely face before him.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 1 15 
 
 Loleta appeared to be entirely unconscious of 
 this. Indeed she had scarcely looked at him at all, 
 her luminous eyes wandering from Margaret's bright 
 face, to fill with tender love as they rested upon 
 little Captain Jack. 
 
 But now they were turned slowly to Doctor Jas- 
 per, as he added, " What we have been talking about 
 reminds me of a poem I ran across in an old maga- 
 zine I was reading yesterday." 
 
 " What was it ? " 
 
 Loleta spoke with some show of interest, and for 
 the first time she looked into Doctor Jasper's eyes 
 with deliberate intentness. 
 
 "The poem told an odd story," he replied, "un- 
 like anything I remember to have seen before. It 
 was about a beautiful woman who lived in a small 
 village, and was reputed to be selfish, and vain, and 
 heartless. It was in time of war, and the village 
 was attacked by the enemy when there were only a 
 few men to protect it. One of these, an old priest, 
 left his altar to assist his people, and saw some of 
 the enemy's soldiers murdering a young boy. He 
 ran to the lad's rescue, when a soldier shot him in 
 the back, and killed him. The woman, meanwhile, 
 had sought shelter in the church, believing this to 
 be the safest place, and tried to hide behind the 
 altar. But as some of the enemy came into the 
 church, she ran out to implore mercy, and was 
 killed." 
 
 " Well ? " asked Loleta, as the Doctor paused. 
 
 "Here comes the moral, if such it can be called: 
 It was said afterwards that the good old priest was
 
 1 1 6 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 shot while running away, like a coward; and the 
 woman they told how brave she had shown herself 
 to be, and how she had been slain while trying to 
 protect the deserted altar." 
 
 "That shows how much human judgment is 
 worth," was Margaret's half -scornful comment 
 
 "Yes," assented Loleta, looking once more at 
 Doctor Jasper, with as it seemed to him anew 
 light shining in her eyes. "And when I do read of 
 the battles, and see all the praise given to the offi- 
 cers, and the brave deeds of them, and see how 
 much they do write of their own doings, I have 
 thought how sad it was, and unfair, that so little 
 was said of the poor soldiers and sailors, but for 
 whose being steadfast and brave these same officers 
 would never have won the glories that made them to 
 be written down as heroes. " 
 
 "It is the fate of private soldiers to be a mere 
 body a machine, you know." 
 
 The Doctor spoke somewhat abstractedly, for he 
 was wondering if another pair of eyes like Loleta' s 
 had ever been put into a woman's head. 
 
 "And yet every man of them has a heart and mind 
 to feel," said Margaret; "yes, and a body to suffer, 
 and a pair of legs to save it by running away from 
 the enemy." 
 
 Doctor Jasper laughed. 
 
 "Very true. But it has always been the same 
 story; and it always will be, while wars last." 
 
 '' What crazy things we read of soldiers doing on 
 the battle-field," Margaret remarked, after a short 
 silence. "Now there was Mr. Lyle's brother "
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 1 17 
 
 Here Captain Jack cut in. 
 
 " Whenever I do hear Mr. Lyle say that we ought 
 to forgive our enemies, 'cause God does say so, I 
 always do wonder something." 
 
 The child hesitated, and glanced at Loleta, who 
 was shaking her head at him in gentle reproof at the 
 impulsive interruption. 
 
 "What is it? " Margaret asked smilingly. 
 
 "I do wonder," gravely replied the young theolo- 
 gian, "why He will never forgive the Devil, 'cause 
 the Devil is the only enemy He has." 
 
 He did not see the illy-suppressed smiles upon the 
 faces about him, for his eyes were bent upon the 
 chocolate he was stirring. And a sunbeam stole 
 across his cheek, and lingered for an instant upon 
 his small fingers, as Margaret murmured to Doctor 
 Jasper, " Out of the mouths of babes ! " 
 
 "What is that you did say, Miss Margot?" the 
 child asked, looking at her. 
 
 "I say the sun is getting at us here, sweetheart," 
 the girl replied, caressing his smooth cheek, "and 
 that we '11 have to move farther back under the 
 trees." 
 
 When they had left the table, she took the guitar, 
 and finished tuning it. 
 
 "Now," she announced, "we must have some 
 music; and Loleta must sing for us." Then, glanc- 
 ing toward Captain Jack, who was lying on the 
 ground, out of earshot, " Loleta, where does the 
 child get such queer ideas?" 
 
 "He was always so," Loleta said, with a wistful 
 smile. " I do remember one evening, at his bed-
 
 1 1 8 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 hour, down in Cuba, we could not find him. And 
 at last I did almost fall over him, sitting on the top 
 step of a veranda; his elbows were on his knees, and 
 his chin in his palms. A tiny one he was then 
 in dresses still. When I exclaimed, he did say that 
 he was looking at the stars. And he said to me, ' I 
 think, Loleta, that God did not make the stars at 
 all good this night. See how they do go so, and 
 'most out.' And he did shut and open his eyes, 
 like the stars, trembling." 
 
 "He is certainly a very dear little fellow," said 
 the Doctor, in, for him, a markedly impulsive way, 
 while he wondered to himself at the strange thrills 
 her soft voice and quaint speech had sent quivering 
 through him. " About the dearest I ever met ; and 
 I have grown very fond of him." 
 
 Margaret saw the same look come to Loleta' s 
 face as when Captain Jack had called his new friend 
 " mon Docteur" 
 
 Doctor Jasper also saw it this time; and the 
 gleam that sprang into her eyes as she glanced at 
 the child reminded him of nothing so much as a 
 lioness he had seen watching her young at play.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 D y u have this day made to order for us, 
 Uncle Billy?" Margaret asked laughingly. 
 She was sitting near him aboard the 
 "Pretty Sally," clad in a suit of blue serge, with a 
 yachting cap set upon the short, curling locks that 
 framed a face looking as happy and bright as the 
 day itself. 
 
 Loleta was next to her, holding a large sun-shade 
 that sheltered them both; and beyond them was 
 Mrs. Bessly, attired for comfort alone, and wearing 
 a hat whose brim was almost broad enough to have 
 served for a flying topsail, had Uncle Billy wished 
 to send one aloft. 
 
 "Belike, Miss Marg'ret," was the old sailor's 
 irresponsive reply. "But there surely be no fault 
 ter be found with this here day." 
 
 He sat, tiller in hand, looking straight ahead, 
 with a protuberance showing like an affliction of 
 mumps (or perhaps "mump," as it was confined to 
 one cheek), where a huge quid of tobacco was 
 stowed, rather than chewed, the waiver of masti- 
 cation being out of deference to his lady passengers. 
 
 There was a steady wind, and the keel of the 
 " Pretty Sally " slid along like the runners of a 
 sleigh over frozen snow, while the water sputtering 
 past her sides fell behind in swirling white hills.
 
 1 20 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Young Sam Ayres, lying along the deck, with an 
 arm around a backstay, was looking alternately at 
 the sky, the water, and at Loleta; while a friend of 
 his, known (because of a brilliantly-hued nose) as 
 "Currant Jelly," was near him, ready to lend a hand 
 in case of need; but only then, as Uncle Billy and 
 Sam were understood to be sailing the "Pretty 
 Sally " this day. 
 
 Doctor Jasper, with a white cap pulled well down 
 over his forehead, sat apart from the others, watch- 
 ing the arrow-straight wake of foam as it melted 
 away behind them. He turned presently to Uncle 
 Billy and inquired as to the depth of water. 
 
 "Can't say as ter here'bouts, Doctor Jarsper. 
 But ter match well with ther harbor, it must be 
 consider'ble. " 
 
 "How deep is it in the harbor? " 
 
 "Sixty foot an' over, purty much ev'rywhere. " 
 
 " Pretty deep water, that, Uncle Billy. " 
 
 "Yes," the old man said. "There is a mighty 
 deal o' water goes ter ther mekin' o' this here har- 
 bor, 'specially when it comes ter fall storms, with 
 ther wind blowin' big guns." 
 
 They were interrupted by a sharp exclamation 
 from Mrs. Bessly, who, while engaged in looking 
 after things in general, had a particular eye to the 
 welfare of Captain Jack. 
 
 "Set still, my precious, now do! Ye 're as rest- 
 less as the brass fish atop the town-house, thet 
 whirls 'round in ev'ry breeze thet blows!" 
 
 This was after she had made a wild clutch at the 
 child, who now came clambering back to her from
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 121 
 
 his third or fourth trip to Sam Ayres' place above 
 the cockpit. 
 
 He laughed in his own gleeful way; and Margaret 
 said, "I guess somebody is very happy to-day." 
 
 " Who, the fish up on the town-house ? " he 
 asked quickly, a roguish twinkle in his eyes, as he 
 looked into her smiling face. 
 
 She tried to appear serious. " Now, Jacques, 
 would you be happy, if you were nailed to a rod ? " 
 
 "But I 'm not brass, like the fish; and so it would 
 hurt me." 
 
 " And when you are hurt, you are not happy ? " 
 She had taken him by the chin, the better to hold 
 his attention. 
 
 He looked at her intently, and puckered his fore- 
 head as though endeavoring to fathom an abstruse 
 problem. 
 
 "No, Miss Margot," he answered softly; "I do 
 think nobody can be happy when they are hurted." 
 And his eyes sought Loleta, who was looking at 
 him wistfully. 
 
 She had been very quiet from the time they 
 started, sitting with her small gloved hands clasped 
 in her lap, and her eyes, under the shading brim of 
 her straw sailor hat, glancing back nervously, now 
 and then, toward the fast receding shore. 
 
 Just before starting, her reply to Margaret's 
 anxious questionings was that she was well, and 
 that nothing was the matter. But her lovely face 
 was paler than usual, and she seemed to be laboring 
 under some strain which she was trying to suppress, 
 and from which she might hope for relief in her
 
 122 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 present surroundings and the anticipated pleasures 
 of the day. 
 
 Doctor Jasper had taken careful note of this, his 
 own feelings and intuitions making his professional 
 senses all the more acute; and, concluding that 
 something was troubling the girl, he refrained from 
 intruding himself upon her attention more than was 
 necessary. 
 
 To judge from his attitude and looks, he might 
 have been supposed to be listening. But the fact 
 was that he had been paying but slight heed to what 
 was going on about him. 
 
 His mind was filled with new thoughts, new 
 feelings and hopes; these last, to be sure, vague, as 
 yet, but seeming to assume more definite form each 
 time his eyes rested upon the beautiful face of 
 Loleta Harwood. ^ 
 
 He had begun to realize the wonderful delight he 
 found in being near her, to be near her even when 
 as now she was silent and distrait, seemingly 
 unconscious of his presence. 
 
 He had, since their first meeting, been making a 
 study of the girl, and, by comparing her with women 
 he already knew, trying to place her in the proper 
 niche. But there was so little about her that he 
 had ever seen in the others, and so much that they 
 lacked; she was so entirely distinct and unusual 
 in her individuality; there seemed to be so much 
 to mystify and evade him, that he finally gave 
 up the idea of placing her anywhere except upon 
 a pedestal, apart from and above any woman he had 
 ever met.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold i 23 
 
 She recalled the description of Petrarch's Laura, 
 "A nature that reposed upon its own fine sensa- 
 tions." He felt satisfied that her face was a frank 
 expression of her mind, and he accepted its loveli-' 
 ness and delicacy as typifying her inborn refinement, 
 and purity of soul. 
 
 Yet his knowledge of humanity told him that 
 her nature had another side, and one it would be 
 well not to awaken. And he easily imagined how 
 those wondrous eyes could flash, those sensitive 
 nostrils dilate, that gentle voice ring out, were 
 anything to arouse the tigress he felt assured lay 
 sleeping within her. 
 
 Presently they were all watching a clumsy-looking 
 craft crossing their way ahead, with sails steady 
 enough to have belonged to a painted canvas. 
 
 Uncle Billy, glancing at it, had announced, 
 "Thet 's ther ' Black-Eyed Susan.' " 
 
 And Margaret's eyes twinkled as she asked, 
 "Where is her 'Sweet William,' Uncle Billy?" 
 
 "Eh, where's her who, Miss Marg'ret?" in- 
 quired the old man in turn, and appearing per- 
 plexed. "What's thet ye said?" 
 
 "Why, Uncle Billy," she answered laughingly, 
 "you surely remember Sweet William, 
 
 " ' high upon the yard, 
 Rocked by the billows to and fro.' 
 
 Don't you remember?" 
 
 "Oh, him; it 's him ye mean, be it? Aye, aye." 
 His air of briskness was palpably assumed; and 
 
 it was plain that he was trying to recall the memory
 
 1 24 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 of some old shipmate to whom he supposed she was 
 referring. 
 
 Here young Sam bawled out, "There's Cap'n 
 Tanner's 'Black-Eyed Susan,' Uncle Billy!" 
 
 "As I was jest a-sayin'," the old man shouted 
 back, a touch of sarcasm in his gruff voice. Then, 
 happening to glance over his shoulder, he re- 
 marked, " Here we be goin' past Danger- Head, 
 Doctor Jarsper." 
 
 "I guess you say that to aggravate me," was the 
 Doctor's reply, as he looked toward the rocky island. 
 " You know I have always wanted to land there, and 
 explore the place. " 
 
 " Have you ? " exclaimed Margaret. " And so 
 have I. I have always been crazy to set foot upon 
 that terrible-looking rock. Let us try it when we 're 
 coming back, Uncle Billy. It will be dead low tide 
 this afternoon, and just the chance we want. Don't 
 you say so, Loleta? " 
 
 "I should like " Loleta began. 
 
 But Mrs. Bessly, who had not deigned to turn 
 herself about to look at the frowning rock-pile, 
 said excitedly, "Land-sakes, Marg'ret! Now don't 
 ye do it, or even think o' doin' it. It 's awesome 
 'nough to look at, 'thout goin' onto it." 
 
 "But just think of our all living here so long, and 
 sailing by it so often, and yet never landing there," 
 Margaret answered, with a little note of impatience. 
 " I, for one, propose to go there to-day. And you '11 
 take me, won't you, Uncle Billy?" 
 
 She looked at the old man in a way that, had he 
 been forty years younger, would have left him no
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 125 
 
 volition in the matter. As it was, he seemed very 
 uneasy, and glanced at the Doctor, as if for help. 
 But none came, and he began, although feebly, to 
 remonstrate. 
 
 "Now ye see, Miss Marg'ret, Doctor Jarsper '11 
 tell ye it won't do for leddies ter 
 
 But she cut him short. "Indeed he will tell me 
 nothing of the kind, for he knows I would pay no 
 attention to it." And there was something of defi- 
 ance in the look she shot at the Doctor. 
 
 "But he only smiled good-naturedly. "Don't 
 worry about that, Miss Margaret, for I '11 do all I 
 can to get you there; especially as I would like to 
 get upon it myself." 
 
 " There now, Uncle Billy ! " And Margaret 
 nodded triumphantly at the old sailor, who said 
 nothing, but grunted dismally and shook his head. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly now interposed, saying by way of 
 compromise, "Well, we'll see 'bout it when we 
 come back; for we surely can't go nigh the place 
 now." 
 
 " Now now ! " Uncle Billy echoed the word 
 with scornful disapproval. " Not in them breakers. 
 I should say not, as any one with half an eye could 
 see. We 'd be pounded ter pieces in less 'n no time, 
 like a bit o' wet paper you 'd put yer finger through. 
 Ther time to do it" and he now affected an air 
 of resignation "is when we come back; an' we 
 must manage ter strike it at low tide or there- 
 'bouts. Then we '11 hev ter stand off with ther 
 ' Pretty Sally ' a couple o' hundred yards or so, an' 
 go ashore in ther small boat. I '11 tek ye myself,
 
 I 26 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 for I 'd never trust no one else with ye an' ther boat 
 'round them rocks." 
 
 "Well," said Margaret, "you've been there be- 
 fore, for you 've told me so. And I guess you can 
 put us ashore all right." 
 
 Loleta had been listening rather interestedly, the 
 talk, and what it promised, seeming to divert her 
 thoughts. 
 
 "Uncle Billy," she now inquired, "were you ever 
 really on Danger- Head ? " 
 
 "Wa'l, yes, Miss. When I was a young man, 
 seven of us went there for larks on ther rocks. But " 
 
 with a suggestive shake of the head " we did n't 
 stay there for long. " 
 
 "Why not?" queried Margaret, her face alight 
 with curiosity. 
 
 Uncle Billy rubbed the back of his head, knock- 
 ing his ancient hat over one ear in a most rakish 
 fashion, before he answered irresponsively, "Wa'l, 
 
 it's a fearsome sort o' place, an' no mistek. " 
 "Yes; we all know that," said Doctor Jasper, 
 
 smiling quizzically. "We all know that, Uncle 
 Billy. But did you see anything or find anything? 
 That 's what we are after now." 
 
 "No-o," the old man acknowledged finally, but 
 with apparent reluctance; adding, however, as a 
 reason, " but we did n't try very hard ter find any- 
 thin' out o' ther common." 
 
 " What is it that has given the place such a bad 
 name?" the Doctor continued more seriously. 
 " It seems to be surrounded by an atmosphere of 
 mystery and terror, as though it were a sort of
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 127 
 
 'bugaboo.' But who knows anything positive in 
 regard to it? " 
 
 "Wa'l," Uncle Billy answered slowly, "ever 
 sence I kin rec'lect anythin' I mind hearin' 'bout 
 sounds o' queer cries an' whistles comin' over ther 
 water from Danger-Head at night-times." 
 
 "An' so hev I," chimed in Mrs. Bessly. "An* 
 there's always been tales of it's bein' used for smug- 
 glin', an' hidin' away goods. An' some folks say 
 the pirates used to come there with their plunder, 
 in past times, an' store it away for safe-keepin'. " 
 
 "Yes; thet 's all so," assented Uncle Billy, while 
 she was gathering her breath for another chapter. 
 " Ye see, Doctor Jarsper, 'bout all ther young fellers 
 o' ther town went off v'yagin' as soon as they got big 
 'nough. Thet was ther main end of a man's life; 
 an' ter get atop it was a thing callin' for steady an' 
 wearin' work. So there was suthin' for 'em ter do 
 'sides prowlin' 'round their own back-doors ter find 
 out ther truth o' sech yarns as was told 'bout Danger- 
 Head. An' so, ye see, Doctor, they never inwesti- 
 gated 'em." 
 
 The old man's thoughts seemed to have taken a 
 retrospective turn, and a note of sadness was in his 
 voice as he went on, " I tell ye, Doctor Jarsper, thet 
 sailors now'days ain't ther men, an' ships ain't ther 
 craft, they used ter be when I fust took ter goin' ter 
 sea. Ther ships ain't nothin' but a lot o' iron an' 
 steel, chock-a-block with machinery an' all sorts o' 
 flubdubs; an' as for ther sailors they ain't nothin' 
 but a lot o' slobs." 
 
 No one not even Mrs. Bessly seemed inclined
 
 128 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 to question the truth of this broad indictment; and 
 Uncle Billy appeared to feel considerably better for 
 having uttered it. 
 
 Indeed nothing was said for a time, while they all 
 watched the frowning pile of Danger-Head fall off 
 to leeward, the sea lashing into spume as it rose 
 and fell against its rough sides, while now and 
 again a greater height of flying spray would go cry- 
 ing up into the caverns, there to meet an oncoming 
 mass, soaring toward it with a stormy rush. And 
 this increasing volume of water, pressed between 
 the narrow walls, sent up vast showers of foam, 
 from which the drops flew like glinting hailstones, 
 as the light flashed through them. 
 
 "Oh, it is very dreadful, I do think," Loleta mur- 
 mured at last, as if to herself. 
 
 And Captain Jack, who had not taken his eyes 
 from the gloomy-looking pile of rocks, asked 
 solemnly, " Don't you think, Uncle Billy, that a 
 dragon does have his home there?" 
 
 "Ther good Laird forbid!" ejaculated the old 
 man, with simulated terror. But he added reas- 
 suringly, as if to remove any fears he might have 
 awakened in the child's mind, "Ye see, my lad, 
 dragons don't live nowheres 'cept in England, 'long 
 o' Saint George. This here climate wouldn't suit 
 'em, noways." 
 
 Danger-Head had receded until it resembled noth- 
 ing so much as the crown and a very black crown 
 of the typical "caubeen," supposed to be worn by 
 Paddy when upon his native soil. The sea was blue 
 and peaceful, dimpled with glintings of sunshine.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 1 29 
 
 And when they reached Skuttle-Hump the last tip 
 of Danger-Head was gone. 
 
 Uncle Billy's passengers were soon ashore; and 
 then Sam rowed back for the old man and " Currant 
 Jelly," who had been making things snug aboard 
 the sloop. 
 
 Soon after Uncle Billy had joined the others, he 
 turned to Mrs. Bessly, and announced with unusual 
 dignity, " Now, Marm Bessly, I be goin' ter mek 
 ther chowder." 
 
 -"Oh, ye be, be ye?" And she gave a disdainful 
 sniff, indicative of doubts as to his ability. 
 
 "Thet I be," he replied loftily; "an' Sam '11 
 know how ter do all ther helpin' I '11 need. So, 
 Marm, d'ye please mek yerself ter home, an' enj'y 
 yerself with ther rest of 'em, down on ther shore." 
 
 She took him at his word, and was soon seated 
 upon one of the few scattered rocks, well embedded 
 in the narrow strip of beach encircling the little 
 island, while she permitted Captain Jack to make 
 himself happy by burying her feet in the sand, 
 by no means a slight task, so far as concerned the 
 quantity of material to be handled. 
 
 Doctor Jasper and the two girls, glad to be re- 
 leased from the confinement of the boat, were 
 strolling leisurely along the edge of the water, 
 idly watching its ever-changing effects, when young 
 Sam came to announce the completion of Uncle 
 Billy's chowder. 
 
 The members of the little party were not long 
 in gathering around the capacious kettle, while 
 the old man, ladle in hand, prepared to do the 
 
 9
 
 130 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 honors as soon as " Currant Jelly " had distributed 
 the plates. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly examined her steaming portion criti- 
 cally. Then, after tasting it, she gave an audible 
 sniff, meanwhile stirring the savory mess vigorously 
 with her spoon. 
 
 "Uncle Billy," she said, "this is muddled-head." 
 
 "O* course, what else?" he grunted, looking 
 down at her rather aggressively. 
 
 " Well," and her tone was slightly sarcastic, 
 "'t ain't exactly what I call ' chowder,' 'though I'll 
 own it's quite tasty, considerin'. " With this she 
 partook of a second spoonful. 
 
 "Considerin' what?" Uncle Billy demanded, his 
 face a tinge redder, if possible, than from his labors 
 over the fire. 
 
 "Oh, nothin'," was the evasive reply. 
 
 "Thank ye, Marm," he said, with a grim polite- 
 ness which seemed to trouble her a little; for, as 
 if wishing to declare a truce, she remarked, after 
 sampling it once more, - 
 
 " It tastes jest like what I mek myself." 
 
 Then she seemed to be gathering her forces again; 
 for, looking at him intently, she added, "I've med 
 it the same way for years, by the receipt Sally Han- 
 son gave me." 
 
 The old man appeared quite uneasy, and muttered 
 something the others could not hear. 
 
 "Ye mind Sally, Uncle Billy? O' course ye 
 do." 
 
 There was a sly insinuation sounding in Mrs. 
 Bessly 's voice, which caught the attention of Doc-
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 131 
 
 tor Jasper and the girls, who stopped their own 
 talk, and seemed to be listening. 
 
 Uncle Billy noticed this, and looked at Mrs. 
 Bessly with a distinct spark of anger in his eyes, 
 as he blurted out, "O' course I do, not hevin' 
 growed old 'nough ter lose my own mind." But he 
 hastened to change the subject, by calling the Doc- 
 tor's attention to a schooner sailing past. 
 
 The gypsy-like meal was soon finished, and the 
 girls went down to the shore with Captain Jack and 
 Sam, while Doctor Jasper, pausing first to light a 
 cigar, followed slowly after them. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly seemed inclined to remain where she 
 was, upon a piece of rock, chewing a blade of 
 grass ruminatingly, while Uncle Billy and "Cur- 
 rant Jelly " were getting together the pans and 
 dishes. 
 
 Presently she said, looking up at the old man, as 
 he stood near her, " Uncle Billy, I wonder, speakin' 
 o' Sally Hanson, thet ye 've never got married in all 
 these years. " 
 
 "Sho'," he replied, coloring up again, and glanc- 
 ing uneasily over his shoulder, as if to be assured 
 of the increasing distance between themselves and 
 Doctor Jasper's retreating form. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly's face grew stern. " Ye need n't say 
 ' Sho' to an old 'quaintance like me. Don't I mind 
 the ring ye fired through Sally Hanson's door one 
 Valentine's day? Carnelian, it was, with a heart on 
 it ; an' it was wrapped in a piece o' paper thet hed 
 verses writ on it." 
 
 He tried to grin; but the effort was a failure, and<
 
 132 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 ended by his lowering his shaggy eyebrows, as if he 
 was in deep thought, and seeking to recall the incident 
 of which she had spoken. 
 
 After a little by-play of this sort, which Mrs. Bessly 
 watched with a smile of keen derision, the old man 
 said, " Now thet ye speak of it, it seems ter me I 
 mind suthin' o' ther matter. An' I remember copyin' 
 them varses out'n a book she used ter like ter read." 
 
 " Ye did n't ever s'pose any one thought ye med 
 'em up yerself, did ye?" Mrs. Bessly asked with 
 marked sarcasm. " I 've read 'em lots o' times, an' 
 b'lieve I can speak 'em now." 
 
 " Never mind, don't ye ! " Uncle Billy protested, 
 in a very weak-sounding voice. And he began to 
 look around in a helpless way, as if meditating flight. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly's only reply was to take the grass from 
 her mouth and throw it aside with a violence sugges- 
 tive of its being something excessively hateful, as she 
 repeated in a high-pitched, sing-song voice, 
 
 44 Green be the turf above thee, 
 
 Friend of my better days ; 
 None knew thee but to love thee, 
 Nor named thee but to praise." 
 
 A broad smile came to her face as she added, " I 
 mind how peppery Sally was when she read 'em ; for 
 she said ye seemed to want her dead an' buried 'fore 
 her time." 
 
 " It were only ther last two lines I meant," Uncle 
 Billy tried to explain; "an" somehow they didn't 
 look ship-shape, settin' sail all by theirselves, 'thout 
 they was in ther wake o' t' other two."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 133 
 
 With this he turned his back to her, and gazed out 
 over the water, while a peculiar look gathered in his 
 eyes. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly watched him, and the smile slowly left 
 her face. Then she arose and strolled away to join 
 the others, down on the beach, while the old man 
 went off in another direction. 
 
 " I guess she's thinkin' ter set her cap for Uncle 
 Billy!" 
 
 This was from the unnoticed but discerning " Cur- 
 rant Jelly," in a confidential way to himself. And 
 the idea so tickled his fancy that he began to laugh, 
 just as young Sam came up and threw his long length 
 upon the grass. 
 
 " What 's the matter? " he inquired. " What be 
 ye laughin' at? " 
 
 Then, when " Currant Jelly " had described the 
 little passage (referring to it as a " scrap") between 
 Mrs. Bessly and Uncle Billy, the two laughed in 
 chorus, rolling about in the grass like light-hearted 
 school-boys.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE far-away murmuring of the sea was like the 
 sound one hears in a huge shell, held close to 
 the ear. And the breeze buffeting the stiff 
 grasses, where an occasional grasshopper was shrill- 
 ing his note, brought the sound of Loleta's singing 
 from down on the shore: 
 
 " Scores of travellers come and go ; 
 
 All may linger, but one may stay, 
 Cease from wandering to and fro, 
 Rest for many a summer day." 
 
 But it was not "Currant Jelly" and young Sam 
 Ayres who heard the words. It was Doctor Jasper, 
 who had urged the girl to sing " The Armorer's 
 Daughter," while Margaret, chin in her palm, sat 
 looking away with dream-filled eyes over the limitless 
 sea. 
 
 Farther along the shore Mrs. Bessly was building 
 sand-houses with Captain Jack, and decorating them 
 gayly with pebbles and bits of shells. 
 
 " Ah, what a happy day ! " 
 
 Margaret spoke with a sigh in her voice, as the last 
 note of Loleta's song died away. 
 
 " So very, very happy," Loleta echoed, with a 
 curious little shiver that caused Dr. Jasper to look at 
 her in a fashion noticed only by Margaret's quick
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold i 35 
 
 eyes. Then he sighed in turn, and smoked fast and 
 furiously. 
 
 It was a very quiet sea at which they were looking. 
 The tide was on the ebb, with but little wind stirring; 
 and the green water ran frothily upon the beach as 
 the lessening waves came curving in with glass-clear 
 backs. 
 
 Uncle Billy came along presently and remarked as 
 to the condition of the wind and tide; and what he 
 said caused Margaret to start up from her comfortable 
 lounging, as she exclaimed, " Oh, then, don't let us 
 leave so late that we '11 not have plenty of time for 
 Danger-Head ! " 
 
 " So ye 've med up yer mind ter thet, Miss 
 Marg'ret," the old man queried, as she stood smiling 
 teasingly into his troubled face, nodding her curly 
 head as she put on the cap she had been swinging in 
 her left hand, while the other one, resting on her 
 hip, gave her somewhat of a defiant air. 
 
 " Aye, aye, then," he said resignedly, turning away. 
 " I s'pose it 's time we was gettin' ready ter mek a 
 start." And he rolled off to summon young Sam 
 and " Currant Jelly" and have them row aboard with 
 the " truck," as he called the chowder cooking and 
 serving impedimenta. 
 
 The sun was sending long beams of light across sea 
 and land, for the afternoon was now well along. The 
 grasshoppers' song was getting louder and more 
 continuous; the singers more numerous. And each 
 one of the little party felt regretfully that the " happy 
 day " was fast drawing to a close. 
 
 " Good times and happy days always seem to go
 
 136 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 so much faster than the other sort," said Margaret, 
 half to herself, as she was handed aboard the " Pretty 
 Sally." 
 
 " I do think the other sort do never go for 
 some ! " 
 
 Loleta had heard Margaret's sadly-uttered words, 
 and spoke with a sudden, intense bitterness that made 
 the other girl and Doctor Jasper turn and look at her 
 inquiringly. But, if she noticed this, she paid no 
 attention to it, being occupied in getting out some 
 soft wraps, for the air was beginning to have a cool- 
 ness in it. 
 
 Nothing more was said ; but the Doctor saw how 
 the droop had returned to her mouth, and that same 
 weary expression to her eyes. 
 
 This made him conscious of a strong feeling of 
 resentment against some one or something he 
 knew not whom nor what ; but he wondered if it were 
 possible that Madame Harwood could be unkind to 
 her granddaughter. 
 
 They were now under way; and presently Captain 
 Jack held up a wriggling grasshopper, which Loleta 
 was urging him to let go. 
 
 " But he crawled on me, and I did catch him," the 
 child explained, as though this were sufficient reason 
 for holding on to his visitor. 
 
 " Yes, but you will surely let him go now," said 
 Loleta. "See him twist; you must be hurting him. 
 How would you like it that a great giant should catch 
 you by one leg and hold you in the air?" 
 
 "I'm sure I would keep still, Loleta; and then I 
 would not be hurted," was the ready reply.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 137 
 
 " Yes ; but the poor grasshopper cannot think, as 
 you can, and he must be frightened. See his poor 
 legs, so little and thin ! " 
 
 " I don't want to hurt him," the child declared. 
 " But I do guess I '11 put him away under the seat ; 
 and then when we get home I will let him skip off 
 into the grass." 
 
 " Then he '11 probably tell the other grasshoppers 
 about the wonderful island of Skuttle-Hump," said 
 Doctor Jasper, smiling at the boy; " and how he was 
 caught by a great big giant, who held him up in the 
 air by one leg. And they will all think your grass- 
 hopper is a mighty traveller from foreign lands." 
 
 Captain Jack laughed merrily as he deposited the 
 insect carefully under the seat, while Mrs. Bessly, as 
 though the Doctor's remark had reminded her of 
 something, inquired if he had ever read Pelton's 
 travels. 
 
 " No," he replied; " not that I remember." 
 
 "I did, last winter," she went on to say; "an* it 
 was thet interestin'. I 'm more 'n sorry, d' ye know, 
 as I grow older, to think I never took none o' the 
 chances I hed when I was young, to go to Indy." 
 
 Here Uncle Billy called Loleta's attention to the 
 end of one of her wraps, streaming out, and threaten- 
 ing to get too near the water. 
 
 As she leaned forward to catch it, Doctor Jasper 
 reached out and drew it toward her, and their hands, 
 for the first time, met. 
 
 Her own was ungloved ; and the light contact of 
 her soft fingers thrilled him strangely. 
 
 " Thank you," was all she said ; and he was happy
 
 138 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 in having been able to do something even so little 
 for her. 
 
 " If the missionaries can ever git them heathen 
 women to quit burnin' theirselves up with their hus- 
 bands," Mrs. Bessly continued, her mind still dwell- 
 ing upon India, " they '11 hev done somethin' worth 
 talkin' 'bout. I never heerd o' sech wicked crazi- 
 ness never! Ketch me, I say, burnin' myself up 
 in any sech way ! " And she gave a mild snort of 
 indignation. 
 
 Uncle Billy had been looking at her fixedly, and 
 his thoughts must have been very much out of the 
 common ; for as she finished, he muttered, " Blow 
 me ! " and turning his head, actually sacrificed a 
 freshly-stowed quid. 
 
 They were now drawing closer to Danger-Head, 
 which had for some time lifted its shoulders of jagged 
 rock out of the level of heaving waters ahead ; and it 
 was not long before the anchor of the " Pretty Sally " 
 was thrown out, and the little craft dipping gentle 
 courtesies to the gloomy-looking pile only a few 
 hundred yards away. 
 
 " What are you going to Danger-Head for, Uncle 
 Billy?" inquired Captain Jack, as the old man 
 dropped nimbly into the dory he had drawn along- 
 side. 
 
 It had been decided to leave the child on board the 
 sloop ; and Loleta had easily persuaded him to remain 
 with young Sam and " Currant Jelly." 
 
 "Wa'l, fr instance, I guess; an' thet's 'bout 
 ther truth," Uncle Billy drawled out, his shaggy brows 
 meeting in a deep scowl as he worked at one of the
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 139 
 
 oars, which, as Mrs. Bessly expressed it, was " actin' 
 up," by reason of a thole-pin being out of proper 
 gear. 
 
 The child looked puzzled at this vague answer, but 
 said no more, as Loleta, preparing to follow Margaret, 
 paused to drop a kiss on his cheek. 
 
 " We will be gone only a short time, Jacques," she 
 said ; " and when I do get back you shall know all 
 about it. You will be a good &#/, and stay here with 
 Sam." 
 
 -"I'd like to stay myself, so I would," Mrs. Bessly 
 declared, as she gathered her skirts preparatory to 
 taking her place .in the dory. " But I know, Marg'ret, 
 thet your pa, an' Madam, would n't never forgive me 
 if I let you two girls do sech a thing, an' I not be 
 'long with ye. But mind, both o' ye, if anythin' 
 happens, I tell ye now, once for all, I wash my hands 
 o' the hull responsibility. I don't want none o* ye to 
 go ; an' so I tell ye." 
 
 " But nothing is going to happen, Bess," said 
 Margaret gayly, from her place in front of Uncle Billy, 
 who, for the first time in his life, refused to return 
 her smile, but appeared even more depressed than 
 before. 
 
 " It ain't ther sort o' place ter call up very cheerful 
 feelin's," he remarked a few minutes later, glancing 
 over his shoulder at the rocky front they were slowly 
 approaching. 
 
 "That's true, Uncle Billy; it does seem rather 
 lonesome," Margaret admitted in a low voice as they 
 all looked at the sombre mass, its towering blackness 
 now beginning to rear itself above their heads, and then
 
 140 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 to creep out, and over them, until it was as if they 
 were floating under a rocky sky. 
 
 Everything was becoming more shadowy and mys- 
 terious; even the darkened water had an uncanny 
 sound, as it lapped the shelving granite. 
 
 "It is indeed awful," Loleta murmured; while 
 Doctor Jasper looked around with increasing interest, 
 but said nothing. 
 
 " Shall I row back out'n here then, Miss Marg'ret? " 
 asked Uncle Billy, with marked alacrity, and resting 
 upon his oars. 
 
 " Oh, no the idea ! " she exclaimed ; and Doctor 
 Jasper added, " Certainly not. We could n't think of 
 giving up our cherished scheme now, when we are 
 so near its attainment." And so the old man rowed 
 on. 
 
 There was a steady breeze from the south and south- 
 west, with a gentle swell rolling slowly from that quar- 
 ter, this being something Uncle Billy noticed with 
 not over-pleased eyes. The water around them, 
 pitchy from the shadow of the overhanging cliffs, 
 sank suddenly in great hollows, to rise again with a 
 sullen slowness that gave time to see the bulwark of 
 rock that ran down, a sheer wall of wet blackness, into 
 the depths beneath. 
 
 "Ye '11 not stop long ashore, will ye, Miss 
 Marg'ret? Don't let her, Doctor Jarsper, if ye can 
 help it." 
 
 Uncle Billy's gruff voice had a wheedling note. 
 But his appeal met with no response ; and he went 
 on searching for the iron ring he expected to find 
 bolted to the rock.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 141 
 
 It was soon found, a very large and heavy affair, 
 and colored, from its many coatings of rust, like an 
 oak leaf in autumn. 
 
 Doctor Jasper, under the old man's direction, now 
 grasped the low, shelving rock, and sprang upon it. 
 Then, while Uncle Billy lay firmly on his oars, he 
 assisted the others from the boat. 
 
 " Oh, land-sakes ! How be we ever goin' to git 
 off'n this ag'in?" Mrs. Bessly inquired shrilly. 
 
 Although she addressed no one in particular, 
 Uncle Billy was not slow in replying to her question. 
 He had not forgotten their rencontre at Skuttle-Hump ; 
 and the opportunity now presented was one not to 
 be lost. 
 
 " I 'm thinkin', Marm," he said, speaking in a dis- 
 jointed fashion, for he was now out of the boat, and 
 stooping to secure the painter to the iron ring, " I 'm 
 thinkin' it'll be with our legs, much ther same way 
 as we 've got on." 
 
 She cast a disdainful glance at his broad back, and 
 then, with much dignity, turned and picked her way 
 amongst the loosened bits of rock to a farther-away 
 ledge, where Doctor Jasper and the two girls were 
 already standing. 
 
 The great mass of granite lifted itself like a watch- 
 tower of gigantic proportions set amid many smaller 
 structures ; and between some of these there ran 
 what looked like a path. 
 
 It was sprinkled here and there with sand, that 
 gleamed white in the darkness cast by the rocks 
 overhead ; and all about lay tangled bits of sea-moss, 
 shells, and pieces of wreckage.
 
 142 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Uncle Billy, puffing a little from his exertions, 
 soon joined the others. 
 
 " Jest foller me," he said, taking the lead, " as I 
 s'pose ye must see all ther sights. But, for ther mat- 
 ter o' thet, they 're mostly 'bout ye now. But then 
 there 's ther cave it 's said smugglers used years 
 back ; an' thet I know is ther end o* this here path." 
 
 They toiled silently after him up the narrow way 
 that seemed to lead straight to the topmost peak. 
 But, when almost there, it took a sharp turn to the 
 left, and disappeared around some rocks. 
 
 Upon reaching this point they found that Uncle 
 Billy had vanished, and while they stood wondering, 
 his voice was heard, sounding from the hollow depths 
 below, and telling them to come on. 
 
 " He must have gone down under these rocks," 
 said Doctor Jasper, as he now took the lead. 
 
 " I Ve heerd tell there was a cave here," remarked 
 Mrs. Bessly, who brought up the rear of the little 
 procession; " but I never b'lieved it." 
 
 "Were you never here before?" Loleta asked, as 
 they went slowly forward. 
 
 " Never; an' never '11 be ag'in, if I know myself," 
 was the emphatic reply. " I Ve hed no sech hank- 
 erin' ; an' I don't guess the rest o' the folks has, 
 neither. The men hev been away to sea, an' 
 women-folks in town hev been too busy to bother 
 'bout it." 
 
 They had been going down, winding in and out 
 among the rocks ; and her voice had a weird sound, 
 mingling as it did with the roar of the water dashing 
 against the north side of the island.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 143 
 
 They soon came upon Uncle Billy, and found 
 themselves in what appeared to be a narrow passage, 
 with glistening white sand underfoot, the jagged 
 rocks making a wall upon either side, and hanging 
 so lw above them that Doctor Jasper was obliged to 
 stoop as he passed along. 
 
 The light from the opening, and through tiny 
 clefts overhead, stole in with a subdued softness ; and 
 the sound of the waves seemed farther away, like the 
 echo of a distant sea. 
 
 -" I am quite convinced," said the Doctor, turning 
 to the others, " that Uncle Billy is leading us into 
 the presence of a goblin, or some other fearful thing, 
 such as we have never seen. Now, Miss Margaret, I 
 wonder who the goblin will gobble first, you or 
 Miss Harwood?" 
 
 " For the land-sakes, Doctor, don't be talkin' so," 
 urged Mrs. Bessly, who was looking uncomfortable. 
 "The place is fearsome 'nough anyhow; an' sech 
 talk don't mek it any cheerier. I can jest feel the 
 cold chills start at my heels, an' work up my back, 
 to the top hair o' my head." 
 
 " Don't be alarmed, Mrs. Bessly ; I '11 promise to 
 protect you," laughed the Doctor. " You see I can 
 easily fly back to the boat with you ; for I am very 
 sure it will be either Miss Harwood or Miss Margaret 
 whom the goblin will take. You know it is always 
 innocent young maidens who are demanded in the 
 menu of mythical animals." 
 
 The general drift of the Doctor's remarks, to say 
 nothing of some of the words he used, evidently 
 threw the good woman off her bearings, for she
 
 144 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 remained silent; and Loleta asked, as she looked 
 about her, " Why do you not say a lovely mermaid 
 does live here? " 
 
 " Yes, or even a number of them," Margaret added 
 laughingly ; " or the queen of them all, who, if we 
 could see her, would grant us three wishes." 
 
 " Well," exclaimed Mrs. Bessly, who had again 
 brought herself to her proper course, " mine 'd be to 
 be home in my own kitchen in jest about one 
 jiffy!" 
 
 "No, Bess, no such thing," Margaret said, still 
 laughing. " You would wish for a treasure ship, and 
 so would I, for you, so that you could sit down 
 and take things easy for the rest of your life, 
 and " 
 
 Her voice trailed away into the increasing gloom, 
 as they reached still darker depths among the rocks. 
 
 Uncle Billy, who had again disappeared a few 
 minutes before, was now heard shouting to them. 
 
 " Say, Doctor Jarsper, please look an' mek sure 
 ye Ve got some matches. I ain't got none left ; an' 
 mebbe ye '11 want ter strike a bit o' light for ther 
 leddies, when ye come ter where I be." 
 
 The Doctor relieved the old man's anxiety; and 
 then, followed by the others, pushed along. 
 
 They soon came to a door-like opening, which 
 they passed through, and went around another short 
 turn, to descend several ridges that seemed like 
 steps cut into the rock. They were obliged to walk 
 slowly, their movements being guided by Uncle 
 Billy's voice, now heard farther away, and as if 
 coming from somewhere within the earth.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 145 
 
 When they at length reached him, they found 
 themselves in a funnel-shaped chamber, rock-walled 
 and roofed, with a sanded floor. The light, dim 
 and veiled, was sufficient to show the utter wild- 
 ness of the place. 
 
 After they had finished looking about, Uncle 
 Billy led them around the corner of one of the 
 walls, where, through an aperture resembling a win- 
 dow, they could look down some eight or ten feet 
 to a smaller cavern, over whose sandy floor a faint 
 light was diffused, glimmering from unseen crevices 
 in the rocky ceiling. And as they stood here in 
 silence they heard the sea's hoarse murmurings 
 along the walls without, like the roll of far-off 
 thunder. 
 
 The girls clung to each other as they looked 
 down, Uncle Billy having called their attention to 
 what appeared to be bits of packing-cases, and a 
 stave or two, which he took to be evidences of 
 "smugglin' goin's on." 
 
 "I wish we could get down there," said Margaret, 
 a half-formed intention showing itself in her voice. 
 
 "Oh, land-sakes, Marg'ret, don't ye think o' doin' 
 sech a thing," Mrs. Bessly remonstrated. " Do come 
 along now, Uncle Billy; let's start back." And she 
 went so far as to pull the old man's sleeve. 
 
 "And so it seems that no ogre makes his head- 
 quarters here, after all," said Doctor Jasper, as he 
 looked around. 
 
 "Ugh!" grunted Uncle Billy. "Surely, Doctor 
 Jarsper, ye never s'posed anybody hed an abidin* 
 place here'bouts ? " 
 
 10
 
 146 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "I didn't know but that perhaps some one might 
 be here," the Doctor replied soberly, and in a spec- 
 ulative tone. 
 
 And the two girls could not help laughing at 
 the puzzled expression upon Uncle Billy's face as he 
 made haste to say, "No, sir; this wa'n't never fit for 
 ther 'bidin' place of anythin', man or beast." 
 
 "Unless it might be the mermaid Loleta men- 
 tioned," Margaret suggested gravely. 
 
 " Or why not the old sea-king Neptune him- 
 self," added Loleta, with seeming seriousness. And 
 Doctor Jasper felt a sudden happiness to see the 
 sparkle that came to the girl's eyes, and the smile 
 dimpling about the corners of her lips, putting to 
 flight all their downward curving. 
 
 Uncle Billy's mind was evidently devoid of frivol- 
 ity, either of imagination or language; for, after 
 looking at them gravely, he muttered, "Wa'l, - 
 I 'm flabbergasted ! " 
 
 "The noise of the sea outside does sound to me 
 like voices; do not you think so? It is like many, 
 many voices, singing down in the depths. And it 
 does sound very lonely." 
 
 Loleta spoke abruptly, after a moment's silence, 
 while she and Margaret leaned through the opening 
 once more, to take another look down at the tell-tale 
 debris on the floor of the cavern below them. 
 
 Her words were addressed to no one; but they 
 made Doctor Jasper turn quickly toward her. 
 
 Her face gleamed like a pearl; and the sadness 
 of her voice was accentuated by the curious rever- 
 beration.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 147 
 
 "It does," he said, without taking his eyes from 
 her face. "It sounds like 'the voice of the Great 
 Creator,' that little Paul Dombey heard. And it 
 surely must speak to all of us as it spoke to him." 
 
 This brought Mrs. Bessly to the front again. 
 "Now I'm goin' strai-ght out'n here; an' if the 
 rest o' ye want to stay, an' keep on talkin' dretful, 
 I s'pose ye may hev the privilege to pick an' choose 
 yer own hair-raisin' enj'yment." 
 
 She turned to go, when Uncle Billy laid a detain- 
 ing hand upon her arm. 
 
 "One minute, Marm," he said, with unmistak- 
 able decision. "I'll tek ther pilotin' o' this here 
 craft, if ye please, Marm Bessly." Then, looking 
 at the others, he asked, " Ye 've seen enough, ain't 
 ye?" 
 
 "Yes, until next time," answered Margaret 
 gayly. 
 
 But Mrs. Bessly muttered, "There'll be no next 
 time for me, if I know it. One dose o' this is 
 'nough to last the rest o' my born days." 
 
 "Well, I must admit," said the Doctor, as they 
 began moving along in Indian file, "I must admit 
 that at times of high tides, and when rough winds 
 blow, with the sea roaring and howling about the 
 place, I should not care particularly to be down in 
 that lowest cave." 
 
 " O' course not, nor anybody else, if they 'd own 
 up, honest, an' say jest what they think." 
 
 Mrs. Bessly now spoke rather more cheerfully, 
 probably because they were retracing their steps, 
 and she felt also that Doctor Jasper was somewhat
 
 148 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 in accord with her in regard to certain features of 
 Danger-Head. 
 
 " Do you suppose the tide ever manages to get in 
 here, Uncle Billy?" inquired Margaret. 
 
 "Nary time," he answered, without turning his 
 head. "Nary, bless ye. Why, Miss Marg'ret, thet 
 sand down there 's affidavy to an old sailor's eye 
 thet it 's tight as ther hair on a dog. There 's nary 
 a drop o' tide, high or low, ever got in 'tween-decks 
 o' ther low place, or ther place where we stood." 
 
 A few minutes later, and the last turn was made, 
 bringing them out into the light, which at first 
 seemed strangely green, and dazzled their eyes as 
 they looked about them. 
 
 Off to their right would arise a sharp little shower 
 of spray, followed by the swift rush of a wave pour- 
 ing through the rifts. And this, after falling upon 
 the rocks with a roar that filled their ears with 
 echoes, seemed to halt, as though the waters were 
 restrained in their fury by the grim barriers; then 
 the smaller streams would go tinkling back back 
 and down into the darkness beneath. 
 
 "This sou'west wind 's a hurryin' up ther tide; an' 
 it's comin' fast," Uncle Billy said rather nervously. 
 
 This was sufficient to reawaken Mrs. Bessly's 
 fears, and her voice, as well. 
 
 " Let 's hurry up an' git out o' this place. I feel 
 as if we 'd all be drownded corpses if we don't git 
 away pretty quick." 
 
 They hastened forward until the sea lay before 
 them once more, glistening with many colors, and 
 tossing its cloud-shadows from wave to wave. The
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 149 
 
 sails of a passing craft showed like yellow silk in 
 the primrose light, and the water about the " Pretty 
 Sally " seemed eddying with sparkles. 
 
 Suddenly there was heard a sharp exclamation 
 from Uncle Billy, as he clambered hurriedly down 
 the rocks to where the dory was fastened ; and Mrs. 
 Bessly, stopping short, clasped her hands, as she 
 said in a half triumphant, "Didn't-I-tell-you-so?" 
 voice, " There, now ! " 
 
 " What is it ? " Doctor Jasper asked quickly. He 
 was standing lower down on the rocks, a little back 
 of the others; and raising his head, he tried to look 
 over Mrs. Bessly 's not over-narrow shoulders toward 
 the ledge where Uncle Billy stood, hands in pockets, 
 gazing intently at something within the little boat. 
 
 "Tide's stove a hole in her; thet's what," the old 
 man answered ruefully, without removing his eyes 
 from the spot in the boat's side, where the water was 
 coming in. 
 
 The others looked at each other without speaking, 
 and with varying expressions. Doctor Jasper's eyes 
 happened to be resting upon Loleta's face; and it 
 seemed to him that her beauty showed in a new 
 light, her look of amazement being brightened by the 
 gleam of Margaret's laughter reflected in her eyes. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly was, as usual, the first to utter her 
 thoughts. 
 
 "Now, Uncle Billy, what be we to do?" she 
 asked despairingly. 
 
 The old man remained silent, and Doctor Jasper 
 said, "What do you advise, Uncle Billy? How 
 are we to get back to the sloop?"
 
 1 50 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Uncle Billy, as was his habit when perplexed, 
 proceeded to rub the back of his head, until his hat 
 became perched over one eye, causing him to assume 
 the rakish air already mentioned. Then, looking 
 up, he replied with much deliberation, " Wa'l, Doc 
 tor Jarsper, ye see I might row ye out one at a time, 
 if thet one 'd keep bailin', an' took no offence at wet 
 feet. But there ain't time for more 'n two sech 
 trips, an' mebbe only one, as ther tide rises dretful 
 fast here'bouts ; an' ye can see for yerself how it 's 
 comin' in. Ther wind 's drawin' 'round a bit 
 nor'ardly, an' briskin' at thet; an' so it'll bring 
 ther water up all ther faster an' rougher. An' 
 so " now speaking with decision " no sech 
 trips is ter be thought on; for I might not be able 
 ter get back here myself, onc't I left for ther 
 sloop." 
 
 "Oh, no, Uncle Billy!" exclaimed Margaret, now 
 looking alarmed. " You must not leave this place 
 without taking all of us with you." 
 
 She spoke hurriedly and earnestly, the laughter 
 gone from her eyes, as it was from Loleta's. 
 
 "Not I, my lass," was the assuring reply. "I '11 
 hail Sam, an' tell him ter sail home for 'nother 
 boat; an' then he'll come an' tek us all off when 
 ther tide 's low ag'in. Ther only bad thing be this 
 we'll hev ter mek up our minds ter be content 
 with Danger-Head for a sleepin'-place. " 
 
 He turned toward the sloop, and making a trum- 
 pet of his big brown hands, sent a mighty shout 
 over the water, one that quickly brought a respon- 
 sive bellow from Sam, who could be seen standing
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 1 5 1 
 
 in sharp silhouette against the glory of sunset about 
 the " Pretty Sally. " 
 
 Presently, after a duet of shouts, Uncle Billy's 
 becoming still more megaphone-like in quality, those 
 on board the sloop signified that they understood 
 the situation, and could be seen making prepara- 
 tions to sail away. 
 
 Just before they started, Loleta said, "Please, 
 Uncle Billy, ask Sam to tell grandmere himself, so 
 that she will on no account feel alarmed." 
 
 "Yes," Margaret added hastily; "and have him 
 tell papa, too, have him go to the house him- 
 self." 
 
 And Mrs. Bessly came in with this suggestion, 
 made with all the grimness and irony of which her 
 manner and voice were capable: "An* while he's 
 about it, Uncle Billy, he might jest as well go up 
 an' tell Eph an' Jane, so they won't be thinkin' o' 
 dividin' my worldly goods 'tween theirselves, thinkin' 
 I 'm gone over Jordan. " 
 
 This was entirely lost upon the old man; for hav- 
 ing roared forth his final instructions, he turned his 
 back upon the "Pretty Sally," and, declining Doc- 
 tor Jasper's aid, hauled the dory up on the rocks, 
 away from the incoming tide. This done, and hav- 
 ing emptied the water from the boat, they both 
 climbed to where Mrs. Bessly and the two girls had 
 withdrawn to avoid the spray flying in over the 
 lower ledges. 
 
 Uncle Billy sat down, and inquired if any one 
 would object to his lighting his pipe. 
 
 Loleta smiled, and shook her head, while Mar-
 
 152 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 garet answered with a hearty "Of course not." But 
 there was a look of protest in Mrs. Bessly's eyes. 
 
 This the old man failed to observe, or, if he 
 did, it was much the same thing; for he took the 
 matches Doctor Jasper handed him, and having lit 
 his pipe, smoked away complacently, as they all 
 watched the fast disappearing sail of the "Pretty 
 Sally." 
 
 No one spoke, until Uncle Billy took the pipe 
 from his mouth, and waving it comprehensively, 
 said in an encouraging way, "'Though ther wind is 
 briskin' a bit, there 's nothin' to worry us in ther 
 shape an' weight of it. It '11 be fairly warm till 
 well inter the night, out here on the rocks; thet is, 
 warm 'nough for Doctor Jarsper an' me. Ther young 
 leddies, an' you, Marm Bessly, had best fix on thet 
 cave down below. " 
 
 "Did you ever know any real facts about that 
 cave, Uncle Billy?" Margaret asked, with just a 
 suspicion of anxiety in her voice. 
 
 "Wa'l," he said, after a moment's deliberation, 
 "when I was a small lad, I used ter hear things 
 'bout it, an' 'bout Danger-Head, as I 've told ye. 
 But they was all yarns from others, ye see; an' so 
 I couldn't mek affidavy ter seein' or hearin' anythin' 
 myself." 
 
 "What was it you heard?" she urged. "Tell us 
 some of the stories." 
 
 " There wa' n't much, after all, Miss Marg'ret, 
 come ter sift 'em down," he replied carelessly, as if 
 he thought she needed reassuring. " Ye see any 
 old woman in town, or any sailor, could tell ye how
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 153 
 
 there used ter come queer whistles an' sounds over 
 ther water from here'bouts. " 
 
 Margaret seemed disappointed, and rather impa- 
 tient, at this tame result of her questioning. 
 
 "I've heard all that before," she said. "But 
 can't you give us some better idea of what the 
 sounds were like?" 
 
 "Oh, nothin' much; only sort o' wild cries," the 
 old man replied uneasily, and evidently wishing to 
 leave- the subject. 
 
 " Pooh ! " exclaimed Margaret. " Is that all ? 
 The 'wild cries,' as you call them, probably came 
 from sea gulls." 
 
 This appeared to nettle him, for he said, with 
 more earnestness than he had yet shown, " Now, 
 Miss Marg'ret, ye know well 'nough thet sea gulls' 
 cries don't carry so far. An' ther town-folks know 
 ther noise made by gulls, an' surely would n't tek 
 so much 'count o' their squawkin' as ter hand down 
 for over a hundred years ther fact o' hevin' heerd 
 'em." 
 
 "Well, Uncle Billy, I've heard all my life about 
 the awful things of Danger-Head; but beyond the 
 story of strange cries having been heard over the 
 water, I have never been able to learn anything 
 positive. And now that I 've been here on the 
 rock, I don't believe a single word of these silly 
 tales. And what's more, I don't believe any sen- 
 sible person ever did." 
 
 Uncle Billy had been smoking placidly; and when 
 she finished, he took the pipe from his mouth, as if 
 about to reply. But his eyes only rested for a
 
 154 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 moment upon her wilful face, and then he began 
 smoking again. 
 
 "As to the noises," said Doctor Jasper, "I should 
 think the racket made by the winds and waves was 
 sufficient of itself to give color to the stories. " 
 
 "For them as loves ther sea, an' studies it, 
 there 's 'bout most any thin' ye may choose ter find 
 in ther shape o' queer sounds. " 
 
 The old man had just knocked the ashes from his 
 pipe, and used it to emphasize his words, speaking 
 not only with the air of one who knew all about the 
 subject, but as if wishing to have it dropped. 
 
 And so it was, for the discussion came to an end. 
 But Mrs. Bessly, who had been silent for a surpris- 
 ingly long time, now said in a dolorous tone, " An' 
 here we be, talkin' as if we was hevin' 'nother pic- 
 ,nic, an' was sure 'bout gittin' home all right, jest 
 as we was on Skuttle-Hump. An" now jest s'pose 
 the winds come on to blow, so we can't git off'n 
 here for days an' days ! What should we ever do, 
 Uncle Billy, s'posin' it does?" 
 
 She sat too far away from him to see the twinkle 
 in his eyes as he replied, " Wa'l, Marm, ther sailors 
 hev this sayin' 'mong theirselves : ' S'posin' yer aunt 
 hed whiskers what a rum uncle she 'd mek ! ' An' 
 so, Marm Bessly, by yer leave, we won't do no 
 s'posin' whatsomever. An'," now speaking seri- 
 ously, and looking at Loleta, who seemed listening 
 to the talk, but not inclined to join in it, "don't any 
 of ye be worryin', not a bit. I tek it thet ther 
 wind can't change much till mornin'. Sam '11 bring 
 back Uncle Darb's big dory, thet 's copper-bottomed,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 155 
 
 an' strong as a rock. An' so we'll git off'n here all 
 right when ther tide's runnin' out, even if it should 
 happen ter blow a bit. I was a fool, anyhow, ter 
 let ye risk comin' over here in thet cockle-shell o' 
 mine, Miss Marg'ret. " And he glanced ruefully 
 toward the dory lying just below them. 
 
 "Never mind, Uncle Billy," she said cheerfully. 
 " If any one is to be blamed, you can put the most 
 of it upon me, for I was the one who first insisted 
 upon coming. Then you can put some on Doctor 
 Jasper, and a very little bit on Loleta." 
 
 "An' is thet what ye think I 'd do, Miss Marg'ret, 
 when I stands afore Cap'n Leslie, try an' hide 
 'hind wimmen's petticoats?" 
 
 The old man's voice was decidedly indignant, and 
 so was the unusually severe look he gave Margaret. 
 But all this disappeared as she said, " Of course you 
 would n't, Uncle Billy. But then you know I did 
 insist upon coming; and so I shall tell papa the 
 truth, if you don't. Neither you nor Mrs. Bessly 
 wanted me to come." 
 
 "Thet I didn't!" came the latter's emphatic 
 affirmation. " I was ag'in it from the very first."
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 GREAT had been the glory of the sunset, light- 
 ing the sea and sky so long that the twilight 
 stole down unnoticed, and was all the more 
 brief. 
 
 Darkness and night followed swiftly. The sea, 
 far out, turned to an ashen floor, as the stars came 
 forth. And the turmoil of the near-by waters raged 
 and roared, as they dashed about the rocky bulwarks 
 of Danger-Head. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly and the girls were still sitting on the 
 ledge above the useless dory; but Uncle Billy and 
 Doctor Jasper had gone off together, somewhere, 
 about the rocks, out of sight and hearing. 
 
 Presently Margaret turned to Loleta and asked, 
 "Aren't you beginning to feel hungry ?" 
 
 "Yes, I am, Margot," came the low reply; "I am 
 very hungry." 
 
 " I feel awful peckish myself," agreed Mrs. Bessly. 
 "I wish we'd brought the basket from the boat, for 
 there was consider'ble left over in it." 
 
 "We will, next time," said Margaret, a smile 
 sounding in her voice. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly groaned, but, for a wonder, held her 
 peace. 
 
 "I could never care to come upon this rock 
 again," declared Loleta, pressing her hands over
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 157 
 
 her ears, while she rested her elbows in her lap. 
 " It does make one's head tired the noise. It is 
 so distracting, when it keeps on, and on, and the 
 wind blows, and blows." 
 
 " I think it is perfectly glorious ! " exclaimed Mar- 
 garet, holding high her head, while her short curls 
 blew about in the breeze ; and Loleta could see how 
 large her eyes had become. " It always makes me 
 feel like a warrior to be where I can see and hear 
 the sea in a big blow. It makes me feel like doing 
 some great deed, that shall go ringing down through 
 the ages, and lift my memory up to where men and 
 women would look upon me in some such way as 
 they do upon Joan of Arc. It is well worth giving 
 up what we call ' life,' to have it go out as hers did, 
 when one is young. And life would be little worth 
 keeping if one had to go crawling along through 
 years and years, like a mole." 
 
 The girl seemed filled with a strange enthusiasm, 
 and Loleta looked at her wonderingly. But Mrs. 
 Bessly only ejaculated, "Land-sakes, Marg'ret, how 
 you do go on ! " And rising from her seat, she 
 moved a short way off, and became absorbed in 
 looking at the distant little town, where faint lights 
 now began to shine. 
 
 Loleta had not removed her eyes from Margaret's 
 face. And now she took her hands from her ears 
 and crossed them in her lap, as she said softly, - 
 her own face filled with an earnestness the fast- 
 growing twilight could not hide, " Do you not 
 think, Margot, that it is far more difficult for the 
 one to be brave who does have to crawl along
 
 1 58 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 through years and years, than for the one whose 
 life may go out suddenly in such a blaze of glory, 
 as you have said, the one whom all her world 
 might praise, and say of her, ' It is well; and she 
 was good and noble!' Do you not think this?" 
 
 " Loleta, you are crying!" Margaret exclaimed in 
 amazement, as she bent her face closer to the other. 
 And touching her cheek, she found it to be wet. 
 
 Loleta shrank back in silence. Then she glanced 
 nervously toward Mrs. Bessly, who was moving off 
 over the rocks, and was soon some distance away, 
 with her draperies fluttering in the wind. 
 
 "What is it, dear? " Margaret asked in a whisper, 
 coming still closer to Loleta, and drawing her hand 
 between her own warm palms. "You surely don't 
 feel troubled about Jacques ? " 
 
 " Oh, no. I suppose of course he will get home 
 safely, as he has so many times before, when he has 
 been sailing with Sam." 
 
 "Of course he will. Are you frightened for fear 
 we '11 not get home safely ourselves? You mustn't 
 worry about that, for everything will be all right." 
 
 "No, no, Margot; it is not that. For myself," 
 she added, with a sudden passionate impulse, " I do 
 wish I never need to go home. I do wish I could 
 end it all right here, now this very moment." 
 And she flung her head down on Margaret's shoulder. 
 
 The calm-natured New England girl was not so 
 startled as she might have been ; for once or twice 
 before she had seen something like this reckless 
 outbreak upon Loleta' s part, and had set it down 
 as due to her tropical heritage.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 159 
 
 But now there seemed to be a deeper passion con- 
 trolling her; for she placed her lips close to Mar- 
 garet's ear, and said in a low tone, full of despair, 
 " Margot, you do not know ; you never will never 
 can, know! " 
 
 " Know what ? " Margaret asked, now really con- 
 cerned, for she had never seen, her friend in quite 
 such a mood as this. 
 
 "How tired I am of living; of going on, and on, 
 with nothing bright to which I can look forward, 
 with only the curse that does seem to be cast over 
 my life." 
 
 She was now sitting up, and once more framed 
 her face in her hands. 
 
 "Nonsense, nonsense," said Margaret cheerily, 
 determined to do what she could to prevent any 
 farther outbreak, by treating the matter lightly. 
 "You mustn't talk in that way, dear, or I '11 have 
 to tell you about Simon Soggs. " 
 
 " Simon Soggs ! " repeated Loleta, now in a tone 
 of surprise. "And who might this Simon Soggs 
 be ? " 
 
 She spoke as if making an effort to find some- 
 thing which might change the current of her 
 thoughts. 
 
 Margaret laughed, happy to have succeeded so 
 well. 
 
 " No one I ever knew, dear ; only I happened to 
 read about him the other day. I can't recall all of 
 it now, but remember enough of what Simon was 
 told, and what he said, to use him as the medicine 
 you seem to be needing just now; although I must
 
 160 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 say that I cannot imagine why you should feel as 
 you do. " 
 
 Loleta did not answer; and Margaret, without 
 farther preliminary, began: 
 
 " ' Let us give thanks,' the Deacon said, 
 And then the proclamation read. 
 ' Give thanks for what, and what about ? ' 
 Asked Simon Soggs, when church was out. 
 ' Give thanks for what ? I don't see why. 
 The rust 's got in and spoiled my rye.' " 
 
 "And then," said Margaret, still more encouraged 
 by the changed expression she saw upon Loleta' s 
 face, " Simon goes on to give a long list of woes 
 that have befallen him and his. And it ends in this 
 way: 
 
 " The Deacon answered, sad and low, 
 ' Simon, it fills me with surprise 
 Ye don't see where your duty lies. 
 Kneel right straight down, in all the muss, 
 An' thank the Lord it ain't no wuss.'" 
 
 Loleta sighed ; but Margaret could see a faint 
 smile touch her lips, as she said, " You are a sweet, 
 good friend, Margot mine, and I am glad that you 
 may never know trouble, as I do. But it was fool- 
 ish of me that I did talk so; and you will forget it." 
 
 Her questioning tone was full of wistfulness, and 
 Margaret could only reply by a quick hand-clasp; 
 for Mrs. Bessly suddenly reappeared close to them 
 and inquired, " What under the canopy can them 
 two men be doin' now?" She pointed toward Uncle 
 Billy and Doctor Jasper, who could be seen moving
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 161 
 
 over the rocks, to the right, on the side facing the 
 town and harbor. 
 
 "They are piling up stuff for a fire," answered 
 keen-eyed Margaret, glancing in the direction indi- 
 cated ; "and I " 
 
 But Mrs. Bessly interrupted her by exclaiming, 
 " Land-sakes, girls, I've jest found some crackers 
 in my pocket!" 
 
 " Oh, Mrs. Bessly ! " they cried, as with one 
 voice; and Loleta's unhappiness appeared to have 
 been put aside. 
 
 " Yes ; seven crackers. An' as luck would hev it, 
 they 're big ones, too. I remember now thet I put 
 'em in my pocket this arternoon, thinkin' Cap'n 
 Jack might want 'em. Now we'll divide 'em fair, 
 an' leave a share for the Doctor an' Uncle Billy." 
 
 Margaret took a bite of her cracker, and uttered a 
 little sigh of satisfaction. 
 
 " If," she said reflectively, "we are so glad to get 
 something to eat, when we had such a hearty meal 
 only a little while ago, how must it be with poor 
 shipwrecked sailors, who starve for days and days 
 at sea, tossing about in an open boat, and under the 
 burning sun? " 
 
 "Uncle Billy went through thet onc't," remarked 
 Mrs. Bessly, as she slowly mumbled her dry prov- 
 ender; "when he was a young man, an' was ship- 
 wrecked somewheres 'round the Cape o' Good Hope. 
 But I 'd 'vise ye not to speak 'bout it to him; for 
 they say thet some o' the party et up one o' their- 
 selves. " 
 
 Both girls exclaimed with horror, and Mrs. Bessly
 
 162 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 added with gruesome emphasis, "I'll mention no 
 names; but thet 's the story o' the crew thet Uncle 
 Billy an' two other men was the only survivin' 
 members of. An' he 's never seemed inclined to 
 speak o' the p'tic'lars o' thet cast in '-away." 
 
 "But, Bess," said Margaret expostulatingly, "do 
 you really believe that Uncle Billy " 
 
 Mrs. Bessly checked farther inquiry by waving the 
 hand that held a half-eaten cracker. 
 
 "Never mind what I b'lieve, Marg'ret, or what 
 I don't. I jest tell the story as I 've heerd it, an' 
 leave you to do yer own b'lievin'." 
 
 "It's perfectly horrible," Margaret went on; 
 "and I '11 not believe that he could ever do such 
 a thing." But Doctor Jasper now joined them, and 
 no more was said. 
 
 He looked closely at the cracker which Mrs. 
 Bessly, with a characteristic flow of words, held 
 out to him. 
 
 "Cracker, is it? No, thank you. I'm not quite 
 starved yet; and if worse comes to worse, Uncle 
 Billy and I can try to rig up a hook and line, and 
 catch some fish off the rocks. He has just been 
 telling me how deliciously he can cook a fish by 
 wrapping him in a seaweed overcoat." 
 
 "I can do thet very same thing myself," declared 
 Mrs. Bessly, with a sniff. 
 
 And she was about to enlarge upon the theme 
 when Margaret said, " Doctor, I see that you are 
 going to make a signal fire." 
 
 "Yes; and there's enough wreckage lying about 
 these rocks to make a dozen of them. Uncle Billy
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 163 
 
 says we will keep watch, he and I. And we'll 
 light the fire at about two o'clock in the morning, 
 and have it well going, as that is about the time we 
 may expect to hear a hail from Sam." 
 
 "And what of us?" Loleta inquired a little ner- 
 vously. " What are we to do all night ? " 
 
 " I agree with Uncle Billy in advising you ladies 
 to go down into that cavern, where it will be per- 
 fectly dry and warm, and where you will be fairly 
 comfortable. We have been making a fire there; 
 and it is blazing away in a fashion to make the place 
 almost inviting." 
 
 "Sartain; thet 's ther sensiblest thing for ther 
 leddies, " chimed in Uncle Billy, who had just come 
 up; "for, Miss Marg'ret, ye 'd ketch yer death, 
 roostin' out on these here rocks in ther night- 
 damp." 
 
 "Very well," replied Margaret resignedly. 
 
 And Loleta murmured, as if thinking aloud, "If 
 that it could only be more quiet down in there." 
 
 Uncle Billy did not dwell upon the matter; but, 
 lighting a piece of dry wreckage, to show the way, 
 he led them back and down into the cave. 
 
 If it had been impressive before, with the sun- 
 shine lying bright and warm over the rocks and sea 
 outside, it was far more than that now, with the 
 night about them, and the increased volume of sound 
 from the higher tide without. 
 
 Even stout-hearted Margaret slipped her fingers 
 through Mrs. Bessly's arm, and she could feel 
 Loleta clutching like a timid child at her gown. 
 
 Uncle Billy stuck his improvised torch into a
 
 164 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 cleft of the rocks, and then he and Doctor Jasper 
 piled more wreckage upon the already cheering 
 fire. 
 
 "I 've med it here in ther corner," the old man 
 explained, "where ther smoke '11 mostly go over 
 inter t'other cavern, an' out'n some o' ther chinks 
 aloft. Ye see it won't seem lonesome-lek, when ye 
 hev light, an' a warm in' fire." 
 
 "An' if any of us should die in the night," Mrs. 
 Bessly added dolefully, " it '11 be more comfortin' to 
 be able to see friends 'round us." 
 
 Uncle Billy, who was still fixing the fire, turned 
 to her with a most disapproving look, as he replied 
 gravely, " When a man comes ter die, Marm Bessly, 
 it 's my notion he 's all alone 'board his craft, even 
 if it's manned by as big a crew o' relations an' sor- 
 rowin' friends as 't would tek ter handle a man-o'- 
 war. No matter how many's about, he's alone 
 all alone. An' it 's likewise my b'lief, Marm, thet 
 right then 's where angels gits in their work. They 
 comes aboard an' teks ther wheel ; an' they keeps us 
 company till our souls leave ther old hulk. Then 
 they steers us inter ther new port. An' thet 's why 
 so many goes with smiles on their faces." 
 
 He had gradually drawn himself up to his not 
 very great height, and his rugged, weather-beaten 
 face seemed touched by a transfiguring light as he 
 expressed in these homely words his theory of man's 
 passing away. 
 
 Doctor Jasper and the two girls looked at him, 
 their faces showing an increasing respect for the 
 good-hearted, simple-minded old sailor. And when
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 165 
 
 he finished, even Mrs. Bessly's busy tongue was at 
 a loss for anything to say in reply. 
 
 Hundreds of echoes gathered in the more distant 
 parts of the rocky chamber; and these scarce had 
 time to sigh away their voices before another riot- 
 ous billow recalled them in yet louder tones of 
 moaning, until the noise became still more sonor- 
 ous and enlarged, like booming thunder. 
 
 "Listenin' only seems to mek it sound worser," 
 Mrs. Bessly remarked, with a spasmodic attempt at 
 briskness, although her voice was attuned to the 
 minor key. "It's certainly awful ; an' I'll never, 
 never, if I live to Methuselah's years, forgit this 
 night." 
 
 Then another silence fell over them, to be broken 
 again by Mrs. Bessly, to whom keeping quiet was a 
 seeming impossibility. This time she did not con- 
 tent herself with impersonal remarks, but addressed 
 her words to Uncle Billy. 
 
 "D'ye know I 've jest been thinkin', Uncle Billy, 
 what a fine thing 't would hev been if old Miss Bliss 
 hed knowed o' this place years ago, when she was 
 town-talk for bein' so sot on hevin' Emma-Jane 
 marry thet rich old Hawksey, from over seas." 
 
 If the old man heard her, he gave no indication of 
 it, and kept his eyes fixed upon the fire. But Doc- 
 tor Jasper, as if for the lack of something better to 
 do, asked, "Why so, Mrs. Bessly?" 
 
 " Why, she was so fierce, keepin' Emma-Jane 
 locked up, tryin' to mek her change her mind, an* 
 see the sense o' not throwin' herself away on a poor 
 man, when a rich one was tryin' to get her to marry
 
 1 66 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 him. An' I guess Miss Bliss might hunt the world 
 over, an' never hev found a better place to shet her 
 girl away by herself than right here." 
 
 "Who was she, Bess?" Margaret inquired, with 
 some slight show of interest. 
 
 "Why, Marg'ret!" And Mrs. Bessly's tone was 
 tinged with surprise. " She was Emma-Jane Bliss, 
 she thet married homely Jonas Cally, an' stayed 
 in this town to this day, tied to her husband's shoe- 
 maker's shop. Thet is, she did, till they both died, 
 last year. An' to think she might hev been drivin' 
 'round London-town with her own carriage, an' in 
 silks an' diamonds." 
 
 "I thought her name was Imogene," said Mar- 
 garet, with a half-concealed yawn, and not appearing 
 greatly interested in the love story of Emma-Jane. 
 "I 'm sure that is the name on her gravestone." 
 
 "Well, like'nough; an' 'cordin' to her ma's tell, 
 it was. Miss Bliss was a fanciful soul, an' named 
 her children out'n books she 'd read. But the folks 
 as hed sense always spelt it Emma-Jane; an' Emma- 
 Jane she was, for most of 'em. Now there was the 
 twins. You may read on their gravestones (thet is, 
 if they ain't covered with tickets) thet they was Enos- 
 Gomoliah an' Vennie-Rosalie. Them was names to 
 kill 'most any soul in their early youth, which the 
 inscriptions tell ye was the time they went. An' 
 thet minds me o' somethin' thet hed n't ought to be 
 let stay; an' thet's the tickets" (of course she meant 
 lichens) "on lots o' the old stones. Why, t'other 
 Sunday arternoon me an' Mary-Alice was up in the 
 buryin'-ground, an' she was readin' the verses on old
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 167 
 
 Cap'n Spencer's first wife's gravestone. The last 
 line was somethin' 'bout, ' Dry up your tears, an' 
 prepare to follow me.' An* ye bed to look close to 
 see any more letter in' after ' Dry up,' for the lickets 
 was all over the rest. Mary-Alice bed to scrape a 
 lot of 'em off before we could mek out what it said." 
 
 The girls had by this time spread some wraps on 
 the sandy floor, partly up against the rocky wall, 
 and were half-lying, half-sitting upon them, close 
 together, Loleta's head being near Margaret's shoul- 
 der, and her eyes still downcast, as she leaned upon 
 one elbow, with her cheek against her palm. 
 
 Although Margaret joined Doctor Jasper in laugh- 
 ing at Mrs. Bessly's rambling story, Loleta only 
 smiled, and then came again that same pitiful 
 drooping about the corners of her mouth. 
 
 This did not escape the Doctor's keen eyes, and 
 he turned away, wondering what sort of an old 
 dragon her grandmother must be, that she should 
 make the girl's life so miserable. 
 
 "I 've no doubt," he said to himself, "that the 
 poor child is this very moment dreading the scold- 
 ing she knows is awaiting her at home." 
 
 The firelight sent strange flickerings around the 
 cave, stirring up the dense shadows, making them 
 wave and dance ; and from without, an ever-increas- 
 ing sound rolled in from the sea. 
 
 Presently Uncle Billy arose and went outside, 
 returning in a few minutes to say, "Ther moon's 
 gittin' up, an' ther wind 's still a quiet breezin' 
 from ther west-sou'west. Tekin' things altogether, 
 it 's a mighty fine night."
 
 1 68 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " Cannot we go outside to take a look ? " Margaret 
 asked. "And then we'll try to get some sleep, 
 won't we, Loleta? I, for one, am getting the ' sand- 
 man ' into my eyes." 
 
 Mrs. Bessly declined to go out; and so the two 
 girls went with Doctor Jasper, finding their way 
 easily along the rocky path to the first plateau 
 outside, where they stood and looked off over the 
 sea. 
 
 The moon, now riding high, shed a soft light that 
 sent gleams over the restless water, showing here 
 and there the white crest of a wave rising higher 
 than those about it, and then falling away into the 
 darkness. There was ever the dull roar of pent-up 
 waves, sending an awesome roll trembling in all the 
 air about Danger-Head; and the fresh wind, damp 
 with night, blew into the watchers' faces the spray- 
 cold breath of the sea. 
 
 Doctor Jasper's eyes turned to Loleta's face; and 
 there was sufficient light for him to see a shade of 
 sadness upon it. 
 
 " Are you frightened ? " he asked, softly, stepping 
 closer to her. 
 
 She raised her eyes to his, but only for an instant. 
 Then, turning them away again, she answered rather 
 shortly, "No." 
 
 A moment afterwards, she looked at him again, 
 as though conscious that he was still regarding her. 
 But Margaret spoke, and Loleta turned away once 
 more, slipping her hand through the other girl's 
 arm. 
 
 " Of course there 's nothing to fear," Margaret was
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 169 
 
 saying. " It will be dead low tide again by four 
 o'clock in the morning, and Uncle Billy says we 
 shall get off all right. Come, Loleta, let 's go back 
 to our den, and see if we can't go to Nodland in 
 spite of all the noise." 
 
 The two girls sat far into the night, half-awake, 
 leaning against each other, and partly against the 
 wall at their backs, while the sound of the waves 
 came unceasingly to their ears. 
 
 Now it was the rumble made by the countless feet 
 of a great host, marching ever marching. Then 
 the surging changed to music, the martial music 
 of this mighty army whose tread still sounded in 
 their ears. It was like the call of thousands upon 
 thousands of silver-voiced trumpets, and the roll of 
 innumerable drums. 
 
 At last, amid all this tumult of sound, Loleta fell 
 into a dreaming sleep. 
 
 She was lying upon a great disk of purest silver, 
 and could see the curling ends of her unbound hair, 
 blown by the rushing winds that tossed them about 
 the edges of her glistening support. 
 
 She dared not raise her head, as she lay prone, 
 with out-flung arms, for she was conscious of being 
 lifted to immeasurable heights amid the stars of 
 Heaven, of flashing white wings all about, of 
 angel powers, bearing her swiftly upward. 
 
 On and up she was borne, until such a flood of 
 dazzling light fell upon her face that she cried out, 
 and covered her eyes. Then a sweet voice said, 
 she could see no one "You are at the Gate of 
 Heaven, but may not enter; for you are as the
 
 170 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 clouds driven by the wind, as wandering stars, for 
 whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever !" 
 
 "Ah! That is me, surely!" she cried out with a 
 sobbing voice, and stretching forth her arms, awoke 
 to see Margaret staring at her in alarm. But under 
 Loleta's startled gaze, this turned to laughter. 
 
 " Well, Loleta, I hope it surely ' is me ' ! What 
 on earth were you dreaming about?" 
 
 " Something so very strange, Margot ; and yet it 
 was beautiful. Did I wake you ? " 
 
 "No, indeed," with a little yawn. "I have not 
 really been asleep; but I thought you were, until 
 just now, when you caught my arm, and cried out, 
 ' That is me, surely!' But," with another yawn, "I 
 am so sleepy, Loleta, and yet I cannot get asleep, 
 tired, and yet I don't want to keep still. Now just 
 look at Bess, over there, slumbering like all the 
 Seven Sleepers boiled down into one. I wonder if 
 it 's because she has such a clear conscience? " 
 
 "Oh, Margot," Loleta sighed wearily, and not 
 heeding the playful words, "must it not surely be 
 time for them to come for us?" 
 
 Margaret went over to the fire, and held her 
 watch so that its dial might catch the now faint 
 light. 
 
 " It 's almost three. So it is time to awaken Bess, 
 and then go outside. This fire won't last much 
 longer; and a while ago I put the last scrap of stuff 
 upon it." She nodded toward the huge pile of 
 askes, in the midst of which one feeble spear of 
 flame was waving from some charred bits of wood. 
 
 To arouse Mrs. Bessly was no easy task. She
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 171 
 
 slept soundly; but her mind and tongue seemed to 
 be in full activity, for she rattled forth voluble 
 orders to Jane whenever the girls tried to awaken 
 her. 
 
 And so they sat and waited for her to open her 
 eyes, and satisfy herself that Jane was not present. 
 But her voice would die away in murmurs, which 
 soon resolved themselves into a gentle snore. 
 
 Uncle Billy had given Doctor Jasper the "first 
 watch," as he called it, wishing to be on deck him- 
 self later, when Sam should return. And so it was 
 one o'clock when the Doctor left the old man 
 crouched on the rocks by the ready-to-light fire, 
 and threw himself down upon the warm, soft sand, 
 just inside the passage leading to the cavern. 
 
 He did not go to sleep for some time, but lay 
 there in the dark, listening to the waves, and begin- 
 ning to weave new schemes from the new dreams. 
 
 Little as he knew of Loleta, few times as he 
 had seen her, love had already come to him; such a 
 love, so persistent and absorbing, as comes only to 
 men of his nature, his education and experience, his 
 knowledge of the world, and understanding of its 
 people. 
 
 This love was the new object of his life, divert- 
 ing him from all else, and taking his entire being 
 to itself. 
 
 Did she love him? No; not yet. But this mat- 
 tered little now. He was thinking of his own love 
 for her, how true it was, and how strong. It was 
 as he told himself perfectly unselfish ; and when 
 it should become known to her, she would surely let
 
 172 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 him clear the shadows from her young life, and make 
 her happy by his love and devotion. 
 
 But what were these shadows ? What was it that 
 led Captain Leslie and Margaret to speak as they 
 did of her and her life, a life that, so far as the 
 world could see, was surrounded by all that wealth 
 and luxury could offer to make it happy and 
 complete? 
 
 What was it that so often brought such a look of 
 sadness almost despair to her girlish face, and 
 such a strange light into her wonderful eyes? What 
 was the mystery lying back of all this, and was it 
 one that would ever be unveiled to him? 
 
 " Loleta! " What an odd name, and how well it 
 suited her? 
 
 How beautiful she was how dainty, and sweet, 
 how different from all the world about her ! He 
 thought of her as she was now, with her loveliness 
 and femininity, seeking refuge in the rough cave so 
 near to him ; and his heart thrilled as he realized 
 that she was, in a way, under his own protection. 
 
 Then after a while his thoughts began to grow 
 hazy, and the surging of the waves became less and 
 less distinct, until at last it came to his swooning 
 senses as if the waters, too, were dreaming of love 
 and peace. 
 
 And so, laying a seal upon his eyelids, they lulled 
 him to slumber.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 WHAT was it that awakened him, or only 
 seemed to awaken him, so alert were all his 
 senses as he sprang to his feet and listened? 
 
 A faint cry came, dying even as it came. Then 
 he heard a loud shout from Uncle Billy, and saw a 
 line of red light flickering above the rocks, showing 
 that the signal fire was lit. 
 
 He hastened to summon the girls and Mrs. Bessly ; 
 and in a few minutes they were all gathered about 
 Uncle Billy, straining their eyes to make out a sail 
 moving phantom-like near the place where the " Pretty 
 Sally " had been anchored the afternoon before. 
 
 The night was not quite gone. There was a faint 
 darkness ; and the moon, almost set, was making a red 
 streak among some ragged clouds that came down 
 like the steps of a throne to the sea, where now and 
 then the surge would rear an unbroken mass. Over 
 them was a great lake of unfathomable blue, in which 
 the stars appeared to be floating; and they seemed 
 near enough to be " teched with a pole," as Mrs. 
 Bessly remarked to the Doctor. 
 
 It was Uncle Barb's big dory that came to the 
 rocks, with that worthy himself pulling one oar, and 
 old Sam Ayres the other. They had little to say, 
 but both of them gave strict attention to handling
 
 174 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 the boat, while Uncle Billy made the arrangements 
 for embarking his passengers. 
 
 And indeed it required all their skill and strength 
 to do this, lest the dory should be dashed too roughly 
 against the ledges that made a barrier to keep away 
 the seething, foaming mass of waters which, farther 
 along, where the rocks rose higher and more sheer, 
 rolled, with angry mutterings, in and upwards. 
 
 Uncle Billy was the last to step into the dory ; and 
 a grunt of relief mingled with his order to " pull 
 away." 
 
 " We 're well out'n thet," he growled, as they left 
 the rock ; and the two veteran oarsmen answered 
 with a hearty " Aye, aye." 
 
 Then old Sam asked, " What possessed ye, any- 
 how, Bill, to go on sech a galliwantin' ? " 
 
 " I coaxed him to go," Margaret answered 
 promptly ; " for I have wanted all my life to get 
 on Danger-Head and walk about." 
 
 Old Sam gaped at her, and said nothing more. 
 But Uncle Darb chuckled so openly that she de- 
 manded to know what he was laughing at. 
 
 " It 's allus the same with you child or young 
 woman," he said, still grinning. 
 
 "Why, what do you mean? " she asked, looking 
 sharply into his good-natured face. 
 
 "I've often thought 'twas a pity you was a gal; 
 for I snum ! you 're darin" as any boy. D' ye 
 mind the time down in the Cove, when you was a 
 little gal in pinnies, playin' with hump-backed Trask 
 Evans an' that big Averill boy that was sech a bully, 
 the one that fell off'n the mast an' was drownded,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 175 
 
 two years back, out somevvheres in the south seas? 
 He come down an' begun callin' Trask names, an' 
 makin' fun o' his hump. An' he threw some dirt 
 on your pinny, thinkin' to make you cry, as you was 
 stickin' up for Trask. An' by the great horned 
 Hokey ! if you did n't whip off your tier, an' wrap 
 his head in it, an' git him down before he could say 
 'Jack Robinson'! An' then you well nigh thumped 
 the life out'n him. Ho ho! " 
 
 Uncle Billy, and even old Ayres, joined in the 
 laugh; and Margaret, glancing a little uneasily 
 toward Doctor Jasper, made haste to say, " Never 
 mind, Uncle Darb, you '11 see that before many 
 years I '11 be settled down into as prim an old maid 
 as ever the town saw." 
 
 " Surely, Miss Marg'ret, you don't think o' keepin' 
 the Cap'n's house for him all that time ! " And 
 Uncle Darb grinned again, as he looked askance at 
 the Doctor, who sat behind him. 
 
 But the girl's face was calm and colorless, and she 
 vouchsafed no reply. 
 
 The craft awaiting them was Uncle Darb's old 
 schooner, the " Daniel Webster," brought because of 
 its having a cabin to protect the ladies from the 
 dampness and cold. 
 
 Captain Leslie's hearty voice was the first to greet 
 them as the dory came alongside. And Margaret 
 had no sooner gained the deck than he clasped her 
 in his arms and asked with a good deal of anxiety, 
 "All right, Peggy, my dear?" 
 
 "Perfectly so, Papa." was the reassuring answer; 
 " and I have had quite enough of being ' Rocked in
 
 176 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 the cradle of the deep.' I never seemed to un- 
 derstand those words as I do now, for the noise 
 over there on Danger-Head is something beyond 
 anything I ever heard, or could imagine." 
 
 "I should think so, you madcap." And he kissed 
 her. Then, in his usual jolly tone, "Why, helloa, 
 Mrs. Bessly ! Here you are, too ; and how are you 
 after your night's dissipation ? " 
 
 " All right, Captain ; all right, like Jane Hadden's 
 plates, jest as good as new, only a little cracked. 
 An' the noise o' the ragin' seas over them rocks is 
 'nough to crack any poor mortal's ears, to say 
 nothin' o' plates." 
 
 "And you, my lass, are you all right, like the 
 rest of the marooners?" This was to Loleta, as she 
 came slowly toward him. 
 
 " Oh, yes," she said wearily, but trying to smile. 
 " Only I am very sleepy." 
 
 " No doubt of it. But you '11 have all day to make 
 up for what you lost last night." 
 
 He now turned to Doctor Jasper, who had been 
 keeping himself somewhat in the background. 
 
 "You are a fine fellow, aren't you?" And he 
 slapped him on the shoulder. " I gave you credit 
 for more dignity, a man of your profession, to say 
 nothing of your years. And here I find you going 
 high-jinksing along with my Peg, just like all the rest 
 of us." 
 
 "I have nothing to say, Captain," was the meek 
 reply, " only to admit the offence, and ask what my 
 sentence is to be." 
 
 " The same for you, as the others, that every one
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 1 77 
 
 of you follow me to the cabin, and get something to 
 eat and drink. Come, Loleta, my dear, come with 
 me. Heave-ho, Peg, bring along the Doctor and 
 Mrs. Bessly. And you too, Uncle Billy ; fall in, my 
 lad, and pipe all hands below." 
 
 The liquid light of dawn was trembling over the 
 sea when they reached the old wharf and climbed 
 the steps ; and far down in the east the sky was shot 
 across as by a hand alight, where, like gates of brass, 
 the day was opening for the coming sun. 
 
 The Captain brought the party to a standstill at the 
 top of the steps, while he consulted his watch. 
 
 " Now, Loleta," he said, " I think I '11 let my 
 Peg help me to take you home, as she can make 
 peace with your grandmother, in case it's called 
 for. And then, besides, I don't suppose Madame 
 will care particularly to see me at this hour of the 
 day." 
 
 " Ye don't want me to go, do ye, Captain? " 
 
 There was a subdued plaintiveness in Mrs. Bessly's 
 voice, and she cast a longing glance at her house 
 across the deserted street, where all the blinds were 
 closed, and nothing seemed alive. 
 
 " No, no, indeed, Mrs. Bessly," Loleta answered 
 quickly; "you must surely be very tired." 
 
 And Margaret added, " Yes, Bess, you must be 
 tired enough of us and our pranks. So go home, and 
 sleep it all off; and I '11 try to be good, and not get 
 you into any more such scrapes." 
 
 Mrs. Bessly looked at the girl with loving, but 
 heavy eyes, and after bidding them all good-by, 
 started across the street. But before going many 
 
 12
 
 178 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 steps she turned and asked, " Be ye comin' home 
 now, Doctor Jasper?" 
 
 He hesitated, and they all looked at him as Mrs. 
 Bessly went on to say, " 'Cause if ye be n't, I '11 leave 
 the back door unlocked." 
 
 The Doctor glanced at Loleta, and then said that 
 he would go along with Captain Leslie. 
 
 The old town was not yet awake, and they met 
 no one. But as they reached the door of the Har- 
 wood house, it was flung wide open before the 
 Captain's extended hand could press the electric 
 button, and a gigantic negress, with brightly tur- 
 baned head and huge gold rings swinging from 
 her ears, exclaimed joyously, " Mom Momsel 
 Loleta ! " 
 
 With this she caught the girl in her arms, while 
 she went on speaking excitedly, pouring forth a most 
 curious patois, partially English, partially African 
 and French, the whole winding up with, " La, la, - 
 we 's 'feared a boat 'd sunk wid ye ! " 
 
 Loleta took all this impassively, although with 
 kindly eyes, as she gently pushed the woman to one 
 side and asked the others to enter the house. 
 
 As soon as they were inside, Mammy Zabette, 
 for she it was, after a quaint courtesy to Captain 
 Leslie and Margaret, and a sharp glance at Doctor 
 Jasper, announced, " M'me is in lillie boudoir, waitin'. 
 Pauvre, pauvre, an' her stan' an' walk de flo' all 
 'de night ! " 
 
 The Captain went with Loleta along the handsome 
 hall ; and Doctor Jasper, as he followed with Margaret, 
 was almost wishing that he had gone to bed like a
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 179 
 
 sensible man, such was the really quaking feeling that 
 now possessed him at the thought of standing in the 
 presence of this terrible grandmother of the woman 
 he loved. 
 
 Then he heard the Captain's hearty voice, saying, 
 " Here she is, Madame, all safe and sound ; and, like 
 the sea bird's feathers, she '11 stand any amount 
 of storm and wetting without the prettiness being 
 lost." 
 
 " Always gallant, my dear Captain Nat," answered 
 another voice, the contralto of Loleta's soprano. The 
 next minute Doctor Jasper raised his eyes in acknowl- 
 edgment of the Captain's introduction, and saw 
 Madame Harwood. 
 
 A single glance was sufficient to satisfy him how 
 entirely at fault was the mental picture he had formed 
 of her; for he found himself looking at a remarkably 
 beautiful woman, who bore her five and fifty years 
 lightly, and with superb queenliness. 
 
 Slightly above the medium height of her sex, her 
 figure was that of a girl, and her face perfectly 
 rounded, with the skin soft and smooth as thirty years 
 before. 
 
 It was startlingly white, by contrast with the large 
 black eyes, the long lashes and strongly marked 
 brows, and masses of jetty hair, carefully dressed in 
 a becoming, but oddly individual fashion. 
 
 Her eyes were wonderful in their varying expres- 
 sions, one instant luminous and soft, and the next 
 showing a fire that suggested a will which brooked 
 no opposition. 
 
 Doctor Jasper set her down at once as a woman
 
 180 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 of marvellous magnetism and force, proud and self- 
 reliant; one born, not to serve, but to be obeyed, 
 not to cajole, but to command ; a woman capable 
 of the most intense affection and the bitterest 
 resentment. 
 
 The hand she extended in smiling greeting was 
 small and soft. But as he felt the firm clasp of 
 the supple fingers he knew it was a hand that 
 could punish, as well as reward ; one that, full as 
 it might be of good works, would never swerve 
 from the fulfilment of duty, nor falter in executing 
 justice. 
 
 Her entire appearance was so different from any- 
 thing he had anticipated, that, rather taken aback, 
 he actually stammered while apologizing for his 
 appearance at such an early hour. 
 
 But Captain Leslie covered his embarrassment by 
 saying, " Avast there, my lad ! Madame 's too used to 
 sailor and shipboard ways to stand on ceremony 
 with those who come to bring her grandchild back 
 to her." 
 
 As for Madame Harwood herself, she added gra- 
 ciously, " Make no excuses, I beg, Doctor Jasper. 
 You see me now because I have been so anxious, 
 and my anxiety would not permit me to rest." 
 
 She turned from him to Loleta. " Are you quite 
 sure that you are all right, my bebJ, and none the 
 worse for your adventure? " 
 
 Her voice sank to a low sweetness, as she put one 
 arm around the girl, while her great black eyes 
 seemed to be devouring the lovely face. 
 
 " Indeed yes, Grandmere." And Loleta smiled, as
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 181 
 
 she turned quickly to drop a kiss upon the fingers 
 caressing her cheek. " I know you will say it was 
 foolish for us to go on Danger-Head. But we all 
 did very much wish to explore there; and Uncle 
 Billy did think we could safely do as we wished, 
 although he and Mrs. Bessly did not really want 
 us to go." 
 
 " It would have been all right, Madame Harwood, if 
 the rocks had not made a hole in Uncle Billy's dory," 
 Margaret hastened to say; while Doctor Jasper, still 
 wondering within himself, looked furtively at this 
 strangely beautiful woman, so majestic and imperious 
 of mien, and yet with such a fascination in her subtle 
 caressing of manner and voice, something alluring, 
 but all the more puzzling by contrast with her 
 queenly hauteur and fiery eyes. 
 
 " A wonderful woman," was what he remembered 
 Captain Leslie had called her. And surely she was 
 all of this. 
 
 " Now, lass, come home, and be tucked in your 
 own bunk." 
 
 The Captain's voice recalled Doctor Jasper to him- 
 self. And then, after a few more words, they took 
 their leave. 
 
 Margaret yawned unreservedly during the walk 
 home, and stumbled in a way to cause her father to 
 remark that she was conducting herself like Billy 
 Arms, the " town drunkard." 
 
 " I can't help it, Papa," she said, as she tripped 
 again. " I am simply dying for sleep. I shall go to 
 bed the very moment I get home, and stay there 
 until to-morrow morning. But, all the same, I 'm
 
 l82 
 
 glad to be able to say all the rest of my life that I Ve 
 been on Danger-Head." 
 
 " That 's right, Pegaway : stick to your colors, even 
 if you 're sinking." And the Captain laughed, as he 
 patted her cheek.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 ALTHOUGH it was Saturday, there was washing 
 to be done at Mrs. Bessly's; and Irish Nora 
 an outside help in time of need was on 
 hand to do it. 
 
 She was leaning over the tub, hard at work, when 
 Mrs. Bessly said solemnly, apropos of the washer- 
 woman's lament over the recent death of an acquain- 
 tance, " The dead, Nora, are better off'n we be." 
 
 " No doubt, no doubt," Nora agreed, as she 
 scrubbed away. " But I 'm layin' me bets, Miss 
 Bessly, that 's alive ye 'd sooner be, like ye are this 
 minute, than tucked away under a grass quilt in the 
 buryin' ground." 
 
 There was no reply to this ; and Nora went on, as 
 she reached for the soap, " I often think that the big 
 washin's I have to do here won't be half so tirin' as to 
 be settin' 'round on clouds av glory, pickin' at harps. 
 An' it 's often I do be wonderin" how it is I 'm ever 
 goin' to play the harps at all at all, unless it's that 
 they do be havin' music t'achers in Hivin'; for the 
 divil a note can I play, except on the sort o' pianny 
 I 'm playin' on now." And she put renewed vigor 
 into her performance upon the wash-board. 
 
 " What on earth 's got into ye, to talk in sech a way 
 as thet?" demanded Mrs. Bessly, with marked 
 disapproval.
 
 184 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " Oh, will, will," was the good-natured but irrespon- 
 sive answer, " 'p'r'aps 't will be the natur avus to play 
 an' sing, whin we 're angels, jist like the birds on the 
 trees, wid their tra-la-la, tra-la-loo." 
 
 Mrs. Bessly apparently aroused herself for argu- 
 ment, for she sniffed once or twice, and asked rather 
 scornfully, " An" d' ye s'pose, Nora, thet when we 're 
 angels we roost 'round on trees an' things, jest 
 like birds, doin' nothin' but sing all the time? If 
 ye do " 
 
 But Jane called her aunt for something or other, 
 and the discussion ended. 
 
 Down in the Leslie orchard Margaret was swinging 
 in a hammock, the shadows from the trees chasing 
 one another over her like wafting smoke, while she 
 was thinking about the unusual circumstance of 
 Madame Harwood having invited them Doctor 
 Jasper, her father, and herself to take tea with her 
 that evening. 
 
 Doctor Jasper's thoughts were also busy with this 
 same invitation as he sat by a window in his room at 
 Mrs. Bessly's, reviewing as he had done more than 
 once since his unseasonable advent at the Harwood 
 house some hours before the odd individuality and 
 strange beauty of Loleta and her grandmother. 
 
 Looking out over the sea, and with his hands 
 clasped behind his head, he had been thinking deeply, 
 besides smoking a good many more cigars than he 
 would have recommended another man to consume. 
 
 During this time he had seen Captain Jack go by 
 with Uncle Billy; and the child had called out that 
 he was going to the old man's " bungalow."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 185 
 
 The road leading to this grew narrower after pass- 
 ing Mrs. Bessly's gate. Then, when it had run a 
 little farther inland, it turned, and ended at an inlet 
 called " Lobster Cove." 
 
 Along one side was a straggling line of quaint old 
 houses, utterly devoid of paint, and with tiny, four- 
 paned windows that had overlooked the sunrisings 
 across the harbor for more than a hundred years. 
 They had been warped by wind and weather until 
 they seemed to lean wearily against each other, as 
 though quite worn out through long battling with the 
 elements. 
 
 In front of the last house the road began to slant 
 upward, until it came to a plateau, through whose 
 occasional greensward the rocks and boulders cropped 
 out like worn patches upon a fine garment. And 
 perched aloft on the highest point, which was par- 
 tially levelled off, was the small, squat wooden struc- 
 ture known as Uncle Billy's " bungalow." 
 
 Unlike its neighbors lower down, it was bright with 
 white paint and green trimmings, while curtains of 
 turkey-red calico were hung before its small windows, 
 whose well-cleaned panes glittered brilliantly in the 
 sun. 
 
 The rock upon which it stood crowned the top of 
 the hill, which fell away in gradual slopes upon three 
 sides, while on the fourth, facing the sea, was a 
 steep declivity, down which a path led to a small 
 beach, where several dories were now lying; and 
 amongst them, bottom side up, was the unfortunate 
 boat that had come to grief against the rocks of 
 Danger-Head.
 
 1 86 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Uncle Billy and Captain Jack having reached the 
 bungalow, the former took from his pocket a huge 
 key, with which, after considerable clatter, he un- 
 locked the rather diminutive door. Then, throwing 
 it open, he invited his small guest to enter. 
 
 "Never" to use the old sailor's own words 
 " was there ther twinkle of a petticoat seen 'bout ther 
 place." And yet no woman's hand could have 
 arranged or kept the interior with more scrupulous 
 neatness. 
 
 Of the two rooms downstairs, that in the rear was 
 a kitchen and wash-room combined, from which a 
 ladder gave access to a bunk aloft, while the front 
 room served as a parlor and " living-room." It was 
 small and square, with a low ceiling, bright, as were 
 also the side-walls, with whitewash. 
 
 Between the windows was a home-made book-case 
 and " what-not," of pine, whose former use was 
 revealed when the visitor became seated ; for then 
 could be seen underneath, in large black letters, 
 " Pride of England Soap." An immense Bible 
 crowned the top shelf, while the lower ones were 
 crowded with a most motley and unusual collection 
 of articles, a lot of shells, two spy-glasses, some 
 corals and sponges, queer dried seaweeds, and dried 
 star-fish. Then there was a pair of whale's teeth, 
 one of them unadorned, but its mate showing a 
 brilliant painting of an ogling young lady in a very 
 pronounced Spanish costume. 
 
 A number of ships' pictures hung upon the walls, 
 the most of them cheap prints ; and with them were 
 a few charts, these being well " pricked," the
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 1 87 
 
 markings showing a vessel's course from port to 
 port. 
 
 Uncle Billy had but few diversions; and one of 
 them was to sit with a pipe, after his solitary supper, 
 and make some of his own " v'yages " over again, or, 
 when his imagination served, to prick out new and 
 strange ones on the charts. 
 
 The open fire-place had a rudely made mantel- 
 shelf over it, piled promiscuously with models of 
 ships, and many rare shells, amid which a great fan 
 of coral made a lace-like background for an immense 
 mug of coarse yellow ware, depicted whereon, in 
 indigo blue, was a tombstone, under a weeping wil- 
 low, and surrounded by a group of seemingly sorrow- 
 ful young people ; while underneath, in large letters, 
 was the legend, " My Mother's Grave." And at the 
 end of the shelf was a handsome old ginger jar, out 
 of whose mouth hung a variety of fish-hooks, attached 
 to lines that disappeared within. 
 
 A large and very noisy clock hung by the door 
 leading to the kitchen ; and five frolicking cats were 
 playing in the broad bands of sunshine streaming 
 across the spotless wooden floor. 
 
 As Captain Jack entered the room he made a 
 dive at the felines; but they scattered in a mo- 
 ment, and disappeared like magic. They were 
 Uncle Billy's "family;" and, as he followed the 
 child through the door, he addressed them like so 
 many associates. 
 
 " Shipmets ahoy ! Ahoy, ahoy, there, my lads. 
 Come out an' welcome Cap'n Jack an' me 'board 
 ship, why don't ye? Ye 're actin' purty, be n't ye,
 
 1 88 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 hidin' as if ye was bashful? Come out, I say, for 
 there 's work ter be done on ther beach, 'mong ther 
 boats. That there dory 's got ter be stopped sound 
 an' tight, ther fust thing." 
 
 Thus admonished, the " shipmets " came forth 
 sneakingly from their various hiding-places. 
 
 Adam, a very large tortoise-shell, went and seated 
 himself in the open doorway, as if to take a look at 
 the work Uncle Billy had in contemplation. Moses 
 and Aaron, two jetty, green-eyed grimalkins, came 
 from under the kitchen stove, just as the Queen 
 of Sheba, a white cat with golden eyes, sprang to 
 the floor from a curtained shelf; and Ebenezer, a 
 most unmitigatedly yellow specimen, sidled up and 
 coquetted about the old man's legs, while he looked 
 askance at the boy. 
 
 "All bu-tees, be n't they, ev'ry one on 'em?" 
 Uncle Billy said admiringly, as he put down some 
 parcels he had brought, and turned to Captain Jack, 
 who was stooping to caress Ebenezer. 
 
 "Yes. But I do like the Queen of Sheba best; 
 and yet she will never let me pet her." 
 
 " Jest lek ther rest o' her sex, my lad," the old 
 man declared ; " ye see she 's got cap-tious notions." 
 
 " Huh? " And Captain Jack looked up inquir- 
 ingly into the good-natured face above him. 
 
 " I mean, thet lek some fair leddies, she leks ter 
 mek b'lieve she teks no sort o' stock in folks dancin' 
 'tendance on her. But jest ye let her 'lone, an' pet 
 ther rest o' ther lot ; then see how quick my leddy '11 
 come purrin' 'round ye. An' now, my lad, I 'm goin' 
 down ter ther beach, 'bout thet dory. Ye'd best
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 189 
 
 come 'long, an' see how ter do it for yerself some o' 
 these fine days." 
 
 " Do you mean when I am a sailor, Uncle Billy? 
 For you know I shall be one when I 'm big." 
 
 " Not jest a common sailor-man, Cap'n Jack," the 
 old man said, his eyes beginning to twinkle, " for ye 
 see thet would n't read well in hist'ry. Ye must 
 1'arn ter be a commodore. Nothin' short o' commo- 
 dore '11 do ye. Hi, Commodore Harwood, I salute 
 ye!" 
 
 With this he straightened himself up and threw 
 one foot back, while he brought his hand to his peak 
 in regular man-o'-war fashion, to the great delight of 
 his small companion. 
 
 The two, accompanied by all the cats, were soon 
 down on the beach; and Uncle Billy, having laid 
 aside his bunch of oakum, drove Ebenezer and 
 Moses away from the tar bucket. Then, with his hat 
 hanging on the back of his head, he proceeded to 
 thump and sound the bottom and sides of the injured 
 dory, puffing and humming to himself the while. 
 
 At length, as he began to stop the gap, the hum- 
 ming resolved itself into something like a tune, until 
 finally he opened his lips and growled forth what he 
 doubtless intended as a song : 
 
 " There was a little man, and he hed a little horse ; 
 
 High diddle, low diddle, dee ! 
 An' he tied a little cat-skin ter his tail, 
 High diddle, low diddle, dee ! " 
 
 This was for the edification of Captain Jack, who 
 sat with clasped hands and eager eyes, watching the 
 old man.
 
 1 90 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Presently he asked with a sly smile, " Tell me, 
 Uncle Billy, how is it you do spell ' rheumatism ' ? " 
 
 This was an old and much worn joke between 
 these two ; but, no matter how often repeated, it was 
 always enjoyed by both of them. 
 
 Uncle Billy paused in his work, and cocked his 
 hat to one side of his head. Then, giving a queer 
 twist to his face, he drawled out, " Wa'l, Cap'n, when 
 ther sailor-man says it on goin' inter ther tavern 
 says it ter ther landlady, it's ' rum-it-is-'m.' An' then 
 when he gits too much o' thet rum aboard, it's 
 ' room-it-is-'m ! ' ' 
 
 They both laughed loud and long, while several 
 of the cats came from some seaweed at which they 
 had been sniffing, and rubbed against Uncle Billy's 
 legs. 
 
 After a while the old man said, " What d' ye think 
 I found 'long shore last week, my lad ? " And he 
 began to fumble in his pockets. 
 
 "What was it, Uncle Billy? Please tell me," the 
 child asked eagerly, watching for the reappearance 
 of the old sailor's big brown fingers. 
 
 " This." And he laid a bright golden button in 
 the small hand outstretched for it. " 'T was washed 
 ashore, most lekly ; an' I found it lyin' in a tangle o' 
 chips an' seaweed. P'r'aps some poor woman might 
 hev hed it on when she went down in a wreck, for 
 it's surely thet sort o' frippery." 
 
 Captain Jack looked thoughtfully at the shining 
 button, as he touched it gently with his small fore- 
 finger. 
 
 "What shall you do with it, Uncle Billy?" he
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 191 
 
 asked, lifting his tawny eyes to the kindly ones bent 
 upon his face. 
 
 "Why, I 'lowed thet I'd give it to ye, thet is, 
 if ye wanted it. I Ve no sort o' use for sech stuff." 
 
 " Oh, will you?" the child exclaimed delightedly. 
 " I should like to show it to Loleta; and she can tell 
 me a story about it." 
 
 " Why, how kin she," was the inquiry, " when she 
 don't know nothin' o' ther p'tic'lars?" 
 
 " She does often guess such things ; and they are 
 such lovely stories ! " 
 
 " Wa'l, then, my lad, mebbe she '11 guess out all 
 'bout thet little bit o' gold, jest for ther sake o' 
 pleasurin' ye." And his eyes wandered out con- 
 tentedly over the sea, blue as lapus-lazuli, its surface 
 scarcely ruffled by the soft breeze coming joyously 
 toward the land. 
 
 " Uncle Billy, what do you s'pose the shells and 
 pebbles do think when the sea does first wash over 
 them, when the tide does come in?" 
 
 Captain Jack had placed the button carefully in 
 his pocket, and was now ready to take up another 
 line of investigation. 
 
 " I don't 'xactly know, my lad," replied the old 
 man, looking down lovingly into the bright face. 
 " P'r'aps they think jest ther same as clams, an' 
 sweetmeats, an' sech-like ; an' thet 's sort o' joyful, 
 I guess, for ye Ve heerd o' bein' as ' happy as a 
 clam,' hev n't ye? An' yet " ruminatingly " I 
 can't say as I ever heerd o' sech things thinkin'. 
 An' if clams can't think, how can rocks, an' shells, 
 an' ther like?"
 
 192 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " I don't know, Uncle Billy; only I sometimes do 
 think I can hear shells laugh inside." 
 
 " Ah, lad, lad, what fancies ye hev in thet small 
 head o' your'n." 
 
 The old sailor wagged his own grizzled head, 
 and went to work again, with the boy sitting on the 
 sand, as he looked off over the water and sang softly 
 to himself, while Moses and Aaron, in company with 
 Ebenezer, came and rubbed trustingly against him.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 MARGARET, her father, and Doctor Jasper 
 took tea that evening at the Harwood house. 
 Captain Jack was seated next to his grand- 
 mother; and he surveyed the Doctor with exceed- 
 ingly friendly and satisfied eyes. 
 
 "Does not he look like our soldier, Grandmere, 
 man Docteur, as I said?" he had whispered eagerly 
 to Madame, who interrupted her talk with Captain 
 Leslie to say gently, and in a low tone, " Sh h, won 
 douce." But she glanced smilingly at the Doctor, 
 knowing that he had heard the child's words. 
 
 Doctor Jasper had been looking at her admir- 
 ingly ; for if she appeared queenly when he saw her 
 for the first time, dressed simply, and after an all- 
 night's anxious vigil, she was still more so now, 
 attired richly, and in the most exquisite taste. 
 
 Loleta sat opposite, robed in some sheeny green 
 stuff that reminded him of the spray-bedewed sea- 
 weed along shore ; and other than a single strand of 
 tiny pearls about her neck, she wore no ornament. 
 
 He looked from her to her beautiful grandmother, 
 and then at the great clusters of sweet-smelling 
 flowers in the centre of the table. Then his eyes 
 went back again to the fair young face, and the 
 imperious one near it. 
 
 13
 
 1 94 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 In after years he could never think of this scene, 
 and of these two, without associating with them the 
 cream and snow-white, the pale violet and dark 
 purple petals of the flowers that filled all the air 
 with their fragrance. 
 
 The mild light of many candles in tall silver can- 
 delabra and girandoles, hung thickly with glass 
 drops, filled the room ; and the warm air was per- 
 meated by the faint, sweet odor of the melting wax. 
 
 It was a delight to Doctor Jasper, while seeming 
 to listen, as did the others, to the bright reminiscent 
 talk of Madame Harwood and the Captain, to watch 
 the girl opposite him, about whose words and looks 
 was a subtle transparency, at once intangible and 
 irresistible, coupled as it was with an intellectual 
 refinement that was intensely fascinating. 
 
 But as to Madame Harwood, while enjoying keenly 
 her brilliancy and wit, as well as the satisfaction she 
 afforded his senses, the Doctor could not quite rid 
 himself of the feeling that as he had suggested 
 one day to Margaret she was "playing a part." 
 
 Not that there was any indication even to his 
 acute discernment of hypocrisy or insincerity, 
 not the slightest lack of hospitality or heartiness. 
 But it seemed at least to him as if back of her 
 bright manner and flow of words there lay an anxiety 
 she was endeavoring to put aside, or to overlook 
 for the time being, but which shadowed her mood, 
 despite her strong will and powers of self-control. 
 
 There was something of this same thing about 
 Loleta. But it was even less pronounced, and would 
 have escaped Doctor Jasper's notice, had it not
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 195 
 
 been for what he saw, or thought he saw, in her 
 grandmother. And, as he recalled the girl's bearing 
 during their outing of the day before, he wondered 
 if her present nervousness was not a reflection of 
 Madame Harwood's mood, rather than from anything 
 arising within herself. 
 
 This feeling, which had become impressed upon 
 his mind shortly after they seated themselves at the 
 table, grew in strength as he noted the strange light 
 that would now and again gather in Madame's black 
 eyes, and how her brows would lower and contract 
 for an instant, and the quick glances she cast toward 
 the door when it was opened by Zabette, who 
 attended upon Captain Jack, leaving the dapper 
 mulatto butler to serve the others of the company. 
 
 " I know very little of shells or seaweeds," he 
 made haste to reply to a question she asked him; 
 "that is, from a scientific standpoint." 
 
 " I should say this was a good place and time to 
 acquire such knowledge, if you care to, my lad," said 
 the Captain laughingly. 
 
 Before Doctor Jasper could answer, Madame Har- 
 wood spoke to him again, now looking at him some- 
 what curiously. 
 
 " You have never been here before, I believe? " 
 
 He glanced toward Captain Leslie and Margaret ; 
 but they were joking with each other, and neither of 
 them had heard Madame Harwood's remark. 
 
 " Never to stop any time, until now," he replied, 
 " until I came here last month." 
 
 Captain Jack now broke in impetuously, addressing 
 the Doctor.
 
 1 96 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " I do know something about seaweeds." 
 
 "Eh, what's that?" inquired the Captain, who 
 sat at the other end of the table. " What 's that you 
 say, young man? " 
 
 " I do know all about the sort they call ' puppy- 
 dogs' tails,' " answered the lad. 
 
 Every one smiled, even Mammy Zabette, who 
 was removing a plate from in front of him. 
 
 " Down at Uncle Billy's I did find some in the 
 sand the other day," he went on. " And he did 
 show me how to float it in the water, and slip some 
 paper under it; and then how to keep it stuck on the 
 paper, when I did pull it out very carefully. It did 
 lie on the paper, stuck out, and did look just like 
 Mrs. Wilson's poodle-dog's tail, 'cept it was green." 
 
 They laughed at this, and Captain Leslie said, " I 
 know the sort you mean, my lad, for I have fixed it 
 in the same way, many a time, when I was a young- 
 ster. Aye, and so has your grandfather, as well ; for 
 we used to collect and press seaweeds when we were 
 boys together." 
 
 At this allusion to her husband Doctor Jasper saw 
 Madame Harwood's white lids droop until the black 
 lashes touched her cheeks ; and glancing at Loleta, 
 he noted the loving look with which her eyes sought 
 her grandmother's face. 
 
 But the next minute Madame, with a gay laugh, told 
 of some incident connected with one of their sojourns 
 in Russia. And as the Doctor listened to her 
 graphic words and unaffected mirth he found it 
 difficult to understand what he had heard in regard 
 to her reserve and hauteur.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 197 
 
 In truth she puzzled him very much. He felt that 
 no one could look upon her without realizing how 
 truly she was entitled to be called " La Grande 
 Dame ; " and he was satisfied that there was some- 
 thing very hard and cold in her nature. Yet he 
 could not fail to see how her manner toward both 
 her grandchildren, as well as theirs toward her, 
 seemed utterly inconsistent with any possible unkind- 
 ness, either of act or thought. 
 
 " Who knows, my dear Captain Nat," she said pre- 
 sently in reply to a prophecy the old sailor had 
 made concerning himself, as they were about leaving 
 the table, " who shall say " and she laughed 
 gayly "but that some coming year may see you 
 sailing over our oceans again, the oceans you and I 
 have crossed so many times, and which we know so 
 well ; yes, and love so well." 
 
 Her black eyes smiled a little mockingly into Mar- 
 garet's blue ones, now holding the wistful light that 
 sometimes gathered tears, when her father expressed 
 a longing for the sea. 
 
 But the girl only smiled herself, although faintly, 
 and shook her head. 
 
 She had the faculty of avoiding argument, in small 
 matters as well as large, dreading it as something 
 leading very often to general, all-around unpleasant- 
 ness. And Margaret could never feel happy unless 
 everything about her was in accord. 
 
 As they passed from the dining-room Doctor 
 Jasper was surprised to hear the clear whistle of 
 some notes that were decidedly familiar to him, 
 none other than the army call of "Taps."
 
 198 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Loleta saw his start of surprise, and smiled at it. 
 
 " That is my troopial ; he hangs in the little 
 ' den,' as grandmere does call it. Come and see 
 him." 
 
 They all followed her into a medium-sized room, 
 octagon-shaped, and whose furnishings were like 
 those of a museum ; for it was rilled with curiosities 
 gathered from many quarters of the world. 
 
 There were south sea trophies, long, sharp 
 spears ; garments and mats of quaintly woven grasses 
 and feathers; two immense shields, shaped like the 
 back of a turtle, and resounding like a drum-head 
 when struck ; barbarous-looking knives and hatchets ; 
 ivory spoons and ornaments; Chinese carvings, and 
 musky smelling woods, together with ivory idols 
 from the far east. And upon an exquisitely carved 
 cabinet of ebony there was a wondrously wrought 
 fan of sandal-wood, that made the neighboring air 
 sweet with its mystic fragrance. 
 
 Then there were alabaster dishes and boxes and 
 vases, from Italy; and copies, in the same mineral, 
 of Saint Peter's and the Leaning Tower. In fact the 
 mantel, side-tables, and hearth were littered with 
 curios from almost every country and clime. 
 
 A few easy chairs, with coverings made from 
 Egyptian saddle-bags, were in the centre of the 
 floor, and over one of them hung the gayly-hued 
 mantle of a toreador. 
 
 The troopial's gilded cage was hanging by one of 
 the windows. He was a bright, lively fellow, his 
 jetty coat brilliant with dashes of orange, and his 
 breast a glow of the same color.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 1 99 
 
 He had so Loleta explained formerly be- 
 longed to some southern friends, army people, 
 and had caught many of the bugle calls. 
 
 As they stood watching him he gave " Taps " once 
 more, while he fluttered about proudly. Then he 
 sounded "Reveille" with surprising effect. 
 
 Madame asked the gentlemen if they would smoke 
 here, in the "den," or go out upon the piazza facing 
 the sea. 
 
 "It will be cooler and pleasanter out there," she 
 said, as she led the way; "and we can sit and enjoy 
 the music the girls will give us." 
 
 Then turning to Doctor Jasper, she asked, " Have 
 you a special liking for any particular composer?" 
 
 "Yes, Madame, Beethoven." 
 
 "He is also my favorite above all others," she 
 said with an odd smile. "His music has for me, as 
 I think it must have for all who understand it, the 
 sound of the sea, and of its winds. And these 
 winds blow pleasanter to us rovers than do the land 
 breezes. What say you, Captain Nat ? " 
 
 "You speak the truth, Madame," he replied; and 
 there was a seeming touch of sadness to his voice. 
 
 " Please don't talk in that way, Madame Harwood," 
 Margaret said earnestly, although she was smiling. 
 "You '11 have papa running away from me, for he is 
 just pining for a sail across the seas; I can hear it 
 in his voice." And she clung closely to him as 
 they followed their hostess toward the music-room, 
 whose windows opened out to a broad piazza. 
 
 " I do so love the sea," Madame said, still speaking 
 to the Doctor as they stepped outside. " And when
 
 2oo Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 the spray flies about here, as it does during easterly 
 storms and very high winds, I almost feel that I am 
 on the ocean once more." 
 
 Captain Leslie was listening; and a sigh sprang 
 to his lips as he seated himself. Margaret heard it, 
 "but said nothing, as she drew Captain Jack close 
 to her, so that he might snuggle himself under her 
 light wrap, as the two sat together. 
 
 The men had just lit their cigars when Loleta, 
 who had remained in the music-room, began the 
 first movement of the Moonlight Sonata. 
 
 It was full of all that Madame Harwood had said, 
 and fuller of other things for Doctor Jasper. 
 
 The noise of the sea, and the murmur of the 
 winds, seemed interwoven with the sounds coming 
 from within, under the skilful fingers that sent the 
 weird melodies throbbing and beating out into the 
 night, under the sky and stars. 
 
 The winds seemed to sink and swoon in the 
 chords, like voices lifting themselves up to where 
 eyes hopeful or despairing were seeking God 
 amid the stars that burned so calmly in the silent 
 skies, voices full of tender entreaties that fainted 
 for replies, pauses of sorrow that passed into sighs 
 of misery. 
 
 Then, fluttering back on the clear, sweet tones, 
 came eddies of tenderest melody, falling upon the 
 soul as does the benediction that follows prayer. 
 
 And then it all died away into a silence that of 
 itself was throbbing. 
 
 It was several minutes before this was broken, 
 save by the sounds of the sea and the night winds,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 201 
 
 which seemed to be echoing the passionate music, 
 but faintly, like organ notes dying away amid the 
 aisles of a great cathedral. 
 
 All this had spoken to Noel Jasper's soul, even 
 as his soul spoke to him of its love. Her presence, 
 her voice, her music, they thrilled him in a way 
 unknown before in all his life, and his heart throbbed 
 to paining. 
 
 No one spoke. Madame Harwood sighed, moved 
 softly, and drew the black lace closer about her 
 white face and graceful shoulders, while the light 
 that came through the open windows struck sparkles 
 from the many gems upon her snowy fingers. 
 
 Music it was that broke the silence. Loleta was 
 playing the D flat Major Prelude of Chopin; that 
 wistful-sounding melody, touched throughout with 
 such a sadness, a plaintiveness like that which 
 stirs amid the leaves before a summer rain, and 
 when it patters on the roof, and then comes from 
 the eaves in tinkling drops, that soothe, even when 
 stirring restless thoughts, and dim the window- 
 panes like passionate tears. 
 
 As the last echoes of this died away, Loleta came 
 out. She said nothing; but seating herself near 
 Margaret, who was huddled within her wrap, with 
 little Captain Jack close to her, picked up a guitar 
 and held it out. 
 
 "Oh, no," Margaret said quickly. "I cannot, 
 Loleta, at least not now." 
 
 Doctor Jasper had turned to Loleta, wishing to 
 tell her how greatly he had enjoyed the music. Yet 
 when he tried to speak, he was silent; for conven-
 
 202 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 tional words seemed tame, and he dared not utter 
 his thoughts. 
 
 But Captain Leslie appeared to find no difficulty 
 in expressing himself; and he did so in his usual 
 nautical way, causing Madame Harwood to laugh 
 softly to herself. 
 
 " No, no, " Margaret repeated to Loleta. " I can 
 sing nothing. But I will gladly play for you, if you 
 will sing." 
 
 Doctor Jasper was looking at Madame Harwood, 
 and saw her start as one of the servants came out 
 upon the piazza. He was a bright-appearing lad of 
 twelve, with a skin like caft-au-lait, curling hair, 
 big, shining eyes, and intensely red lips. 
 
 "What do you come here for, Louis?" his mis- 
 tress demanded sternly. 
 
 The boy clutched at his curls in a frightened 
 way. 
 
 " If ye pleasy, Mam, Zabette done sen' me fo' 
 Miche Jacques; an' I done been 'roun' evvy place. 
 An' den I yeh de talk, an' - 
 
 His fast-faltering voice became hopelessly lost, 
 and he stood staring helplessly at Madame Harwood. 
 
 "Very well," she said quietly, and, as it seemed 
 to Doctor Jasper, with an air of relief. "Come, 
 Jacques, mon bijou" she added, turning to where 
 the child was sitting. 
 
 He shyly kissed Margaret's bended face, and stole 
 out from her clasping arms and warm wrap to bid 
 the others good-night. 
 
 Loleta handed the guitar to Margaret, and rose, 
 as if intending to accompany him. But Madame
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 203 
 
 Harwood spoke quite sharply to her in French, bid- 
 ding her to sit down again. 
 
 Loleta stood a moment as if irresolute; then, with 
 dropped lids, she seated herself silently. 
 
 " Sing for Doctor Jasper some of our Creole songs, 
 ma mte," her grandmother said, a curious insistence 
 sounding in her voice. 
 
 "Yes," added Margaret, as she began to strum 
 softly upon the guitar; "and I'll play the accom- 
 paniment." 
 
 "Pipe away, lass, do," urged Captain Leslie. 
 "I should love to hear you." 
 
 "What shall it be, Margot?" 
 
 As she asked this, Loleta looked up at the stars; 
 and Doctor Jasper thought he saw the glitter of tears 
 in her eyes. 
 
 "Let me see," replied Margaret. "It must be 
 something I know, if I am to play the accompani- 
 ment. But you must sing two, at least." 
 
 " No, no, oh, no ! " was the pleading answer. 
 "One is quite enough." 
 
 Doctor Jasper here interposed. " Let us secure 
 one, at least, Miss Margaret," he said smilingly. 
 " If you disclose your entire programme too soon, 
 we may not have any at all." 
 
 She did not reply, but began playing an accom- 
 paniment, and softly hummed a few bars. Then she 
 broke off to say, "That 's the first one we '11 have, 
 Loleta, if you please; I don't know the name of it." 
 
 "It is called ' Quand Mo Te,' " Madame Harwood 
 said. "It is a slave song; and the music is very 
 characteristic."
 
 204 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Margaret once more struck up the accompaniment, 
 and Loleta sang. 
 
 Doctor Jasper called himself a fairly good French 
 scholar; and yet the words might have been Arabic, 
 for all the connected meaning they conveyed to him. 
 But they floated out on the quaint music with a 
 pathos which was poignantly sweet. 
 
 When the song was ended he said something to 
 this effect; and Madame Harwood's low laugh jarred 
 him a little as she replied, " Our slaves mangled the 
 French in their own fashion, and it is perplexing to 
 one not a native. The words of many of our songs 
 have a fine African ring ; but one must not attempt 
 to translate them into English, and hope to keep up 
 the illusion, for most of the words are rank nonsense." 
 
 Doctor Jasper made some appropriate reply, and 
 then turned to Margaret, who was still touching the 
 guitar. 
 
 " Are n't you going to carry out the rest of your 
 programme ? " he asked. 
 
 "Certainly I am," she replied absently, as if her 
 thoughts had been straying. 
 
 Her father noticed this, and asked laughingly if 
 she had not yet awakened from the long sleep she 
 took after her Danger-Head picnic. 
 
 " Danger-Head ! " Madame Harwood echoed. " I 
 should think that none of you could ever wish to 
 hear the name again." 
 
 " Why, Madame, I would not have missed that 
 experience for a great deal," said the Doctor, with 
 such an undertone of seriousness that she looked at 
 him sharply and questioningly.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 205 
 
 "Indeed no," added Margaret, now thoroughly 
 alert; "none of us would, I am sure, except per- 
 haps Mrs. Bessly and Uncle Billy. But come, 
 Loleta," -turning to her, "now for that other 
 song I was thinking about. You know it goes this 
 way." And she hummed it. 
 
 "That is one of the prettiest of all," said Madame 
 Harwood. "In character it is much like the Span- 
 ish gypsy music. Both of them have the same curi- 
 ous repetitions in minor monotone, like some of the 
 Oriental melodies especially the Arabic." 
 
 As Loleta' s second song came to an end Doctor 
 Jasper saw a large meteor shoot across the sky ; and 
 a servant being in the act of lighting one of the upper 
 rooms, a brilliant gleam illumined the wings of an 
 enormous bat that happened to be flying past. 
 
 This peculiar circumstance brought to his mind 
 the recollection of a large painting at home, which, 
 in his childhood, had held for him a horrible 
 fascination. 
 
 It represented the fall of Lucifer from Heaven. 
 
 The banished angel was sinking through the air 
 upon great dusky wings, toward the vaporous abyss 
 beneath. The radiance of the Paradise he had lost 
 still shone over and around him, lighting palely his 
 dark curls and olive skin, and giving an added 
 glitter to the black eyes gazing at the onlooker in 
 imperious and fiendish delight. 
 
 The thought came and unwittingly to the 
 Doctor, of how suggestive of this painted terror of 
 his childhood was Madame Harwood' s dark beauty, 
 lighted by the dim glow from the music-room.
 
 206 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 He was looking at her with this in his mind, 
 when she turned her eyes slowly toward him and 
 asked, "Are you practising here, Doctor Jasper? " 
 
 "No, Madame; that is, only in a very small and 
 desultory way. I have been called upon to help two 
 or three of Uncle Billy's and Mrs. Bessly's relatives 
 and friends; but, beyond this, I haven't attempted 
 to poach upon good Doctor Mix's preserves." 
 
 "As I thought." And there was sufficient light 
 for him to see the smile curling her lips. "Stop- 
 ping here for a rest, during the summer days? " 
 
 " I do not yet know as to that, Madame. " 
 
 There was something in his tone that gave to her 
 own a note of surprise as she asked, " Is it possible 
 that you can like this sleepy old town well enough 
 to think of remaining here? " 
 
 "I can very readily believe such to be the fact," 
 he answered smilingly. But he saw her eyes 
 flash, and her brows contract, making him aware of 
 having said something that for some reason did not 
 quite please her. And during the rest of the even- 
 ing he noticed that her manner toward him grew 
 more reserved. 
 
 He thought of this later on, when he was alone 
 in his room; and it came to him for the first time 
 to wonder seriously what he was to do, should his 
 heart's wish meet with a denial. 
 
 He asked himself how it would be with him if his 
 love should not be returned, or if Madame Harwood 
 should refuse to let it run a smooth course. 
 
 He recalled the saying that " sublunary happiness 
 consists principally in being well deceived."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 207 
 
 Was he being well deceived? Was it possible 
 that this wonderful dream now and so suddenly 
 absorbing all his energies and hopes, and making 
 his life a new and more desirable thing, was this 
 to meet with shipwreck and disaster? The very 
 thought made him feel as if it were already so. 
 
 Then somewhat aside from this, and as a matter 
 affecting his personal pride, was the thought of the 
 alteration in Madame Harwood's manner toward him. 
 This made him uneasy almost angry. 
 
 During the latter part of the evening she as has 
 been said seemed to withdraw more within her- 
 self. Her bearing toward him underwent a marked 
 change; and when he took his leave she either for- 
 got, or omitted intentionally, to ask him to call 
 again. Then, too, it appeared as if she tried to 
 prevent Loleta from showing him other than the 
 scantest courtesy when they parted. 
 
 He knew that Captain Leslie had been aware of 
 this, for he caught the look of unsmiling astonish- 
 ment his usually laughing eyes bestowed upon 
 Madame Harwood, and the. glance he exchanged 
 with Margaret. 
 
 He had noted as well how almost fatherly was the 
 Captain's tender good-night to Loleta, and recalled 
 how silent Margaret and her father were as they 
 walked home, scarcely speaking until their own 
 gate was reached, and he parted with them. 
 
 His mind dwelt upon these things for a long 
 time; and when at last he fell asleep, it was to 
 dream. 
 
 Again he was looking at the painting of Lucifer;
 
 208 
 
 but now the face was that of Madame Harwood, smil- 
 ing mockingly at him from out of flowing draperies. 
 
 She was pointing to the water beneath her, where, 
 fast-bound to black timbers, rising and falling in 
 the rough sea that tumbled her unbound hair, he 
 saw Loleta, her straining eyes gazing up into his 
 own. 
 
 The full moon lay low down in the sky, sending a 
 baleful path along the water; and slowly down this 
 path floated a great hulk, coming nearer and nearer, 
 until he feared it would pass over her. 
 
 Closer and yet closer it came, until, with a wild, 
 choking cry, he stretched out his arms to rescue her 
 from the deadly peril, and so awoke. 
 
 The horror of his dream was so real, that it was 
 long before he was able to sleep again. And so he 
 lay with wide-open eyes, listening to the beating of 
 the surf; and this, which usually rested him, now 
 filled his mind with vague forebodings.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE following Monday was, as to breeze and 
 sunshine, what Uncle Billy described as 
 " serperlative ; " and, in the afternoon, Doc- 
 tor Jasper, still restless and very much out of sorts, 
 was easily persuaded to join the old man and the 
 senior and junior Ayres when they went out to their 
 joint nets with the "Pretty Sally." 
 
 He had gone to church the day before ; but with 
 such new feelings and thoughts as made that other 
 Sunday seem many weeks past. And he had come 
 away after service with a far greater disappointment 
 than his common-sense tried to tell him he had 
 any reason to feel. For there were other Sundays 
 ahead; and, better still, many other days when he 
 might hope to see Loleta. 
 
 And so why should he be so downhearted on 
 account of that particular Sunday when the Har- 
 wood pew was empty? 
 
 After the nets were emptied and reset, and the 
 little craft was turned about for home, the mood he 
 had been able to shake off for a time seemed to 
 return in full force. He sat silent, and away from 
 the others, his abstracted eyes looking indifferently 
 at the glories of the sunset, until its splendor faded 
 away, and the night came down. 
 
 14
 
 21 o Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 The hollow flush that still lingered in the west 
 had grown pallid and vague as the boat touched the 
 steps of the old wharf. The green water had taken 
 a darker shade; and over in the east the first star 
 was blinking weakly through the clouds. 
 
 Doctor Jasper went ashore, and walked slowly 
 toward Mrs. Bessly's, his head bowed, and his mind 
 filled with strange and anxious thoughts. 
 
 If these few days had been productive of such a 
 heavy heart, because of the uncertainty of happiness 
 for the future, what, he asked himself, would the 
 sure wrecking of all his dreams and hopes mean for 
 him? 
 
 "Dear, deary me, Doctor Jasper," said Mrs. 
 Bessly a little later, as they sat at tea, and she 
 peered with kindly eyes across the table, "ye 
 hevn't got a headache, I hope." 
 
 He answered, "No," in an absorbed way, as he 
 listlessly stirred the contents of his cup; but he 
 did not lift his eyes. 
 
 " Mebbe it 's the lamplight thet meks ye look 
 so sort o' pindlin'-like. An' I thought mebbe 
 the sun was too much for yer head, 'though thet 
 ought to be used to sech things, hedn't it? Ye 
 hardly ever go out thet ye don't tek up on the 
 water." 
 
 The Doctor made some sort of reply. But he ate 
 his supper without saying much of anything, while 
 Mrs. Bessly continued to cast furtive and anxious 
 glances at him. And, although she meandered on 
 in her usual florid style, she refrained from any more 
 personal remarks.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 211 
 
 But the good woman was truly solicitous in regard 
 to him. He had come to her somewhat broken up 
 by reason of his unsatisfactory war experience; and 
 she had from the first taken it upon herself to 
 assume a rather motherly supervision of him and 
 his doings. 
 
 As soon as tea was over he lit a cigar and went 
 out for a stroll. And as Mrs. Bessly and Jane were 
 washing the dishes, the former said, apropos of some 
 remark her niece had made about the Doctor, "Now 
 if it was spring, I 'd surely surgest sassafras tea for 
 him. But bein' as it ain't, I don't know 'bout it. 
 And then, too, he bein' a doctor, he ought to know 
 jest what sort o' physikin' his stummick, or liver, 
 or whatever it is, needs. But I must own up thet 
 his clear skin an' bright eyes don't look as if neither 
 of 'em was out o' kilter." Then, in a tone of rap- 
 ture, "Ain't his eyes jest beautiful, Jane!" 
 
 The girl did not reply, but opened her own eyes 
 still wider at her aunt's unusual appreciation of per- 
 sonal attractiveness. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly did not seem to expect any answer, 
 for she went on talking, and polishing a platter. 
 
 "An' I jest hope them eyes o' his'n are tekin' in 
 all they should, these days, 'bout Marg'ret Leslie; 
 for he '11 find no likelier girl in the hull world. To 
 be sure, there's Loleta Harwood; but she's not his 
 sort, not at all. An' 'sides, he's scursely seen 
 'nough o' her to mek him think o' her." 
 
 Jane had carried a pile of clean dishes to the 
 closet, and her voice sounded muffled as it came 
 through the partly-closed door.
 
 212 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " P'r'aps, though, he has been thinkin' of her, an' 
 that 's what 's ailin 1 ' him now!" 
 
 "What!" And Mrs. Bessly whirled around on 
 her heels to face this startling bomb from so unex- 
 pected a quarter. " D' ye know what ye 're sayin', 
 Jane, or be ye gone clean crazy? Who ever heerd 
 sech nonsense? But there, I've no bus'ness to 
 be talkin' 'bout sech things myself, neither. But 
 mind, Jane Bessly, don't ye never breathe another 
 sech word ag'in, or ye '11 mek more trouble than ye 
 kin ever undo. Jest s'pose Madam should hear o' 
 yer sayin' sech a thing, or any o' the help up at 
 their house ! " 
 
 "I meant no harm," said the girl, with a scared 
 look, as she emerged from the closet. 
 
 "Sho," replied her aunt, now with an affectation 
 of indifference, "it ain't nothin' but his stummick 
 or liver, if it's anythin' at all." 
 
 The days came and went, one much like the other, 
 in this quiet old place by the sea. Each day brought 
 something that seemed to be new, and yet the new 
 was the same thing over again. But with it was 
 always a vague expectation of its being different 
 to-morrow. 
 
 This came to be Doctor Jasper's mood during 
 most of the hours. He was now living in the world 
 created anew for those who are in love, for whom 
 is wrought the miracle of a new Heaven and a new 
 earth. 
 
 Summing up the number of times he had seen 
 Loleta, they were not many; and they were to him 
 like so many dreams. To be sure, he had never
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 213 
 
 seen her without Margaret or little Captain Jack 
 being present, always one, and often both of them. 
 But this did not matter so very much, for he had 
 seen her, and heard her voice; he had her looks 
 and words to treasure. And for the world of love 
 wherein he was living, a glance from her lustrous 
 eyes was a volume, a few words from her lips 
 made a library for many a day's perusal. 
 
 Nearly two weeks had passed since that night on 
 Danger-Head, and there had been no more similar 
 excursions, although he and Captain Jack had made 
 several fishing trips with Uncle Billy. And once, 
 Margaret and her father had sailed down with him 
 to Skuttle-Hump, where the grasshoppers were now 
 becoming scarcer, and the golden-rod beginning to 
 flaunt its yellow tufts. 
 
 The Doctor suspected although from no definite 
 reason that Loleta had been prevented by her 
 grandmother from joining in any of these outings. 
 It was, as Margaret said one day, " Simply the same 
 old refrain : ' Loleta could not go. ' ' 
 
 Once, since that evening at the Harwood house, 
 Doctor Jasper had called there, going with Captain 
 Leslie, and at the latter's suggestion. But it was a 
 very stiff ceremony as compared with the former 
 visit, and he was glad when the Captain rose to 
 go. They saw only Madame Harwood and Captain 
 Jack, who insisted upon fetching Topaz, his marmo- 
 set, into the room, to be seen and caressed by mon 
 Docteur. As for Loleta, her grandmother explained 
 that she had been suffering all the afternoon with a 
 severe headache, and was then sleeping.
 
 214 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 The Doctor's relatives had given him over to his 
 "barbarous pursuits," as they saw fit to call his 
 present manner of life, and were enjoying them- 
 selves in their own fashion for the remainder of 
 the season, as he was informed by an occasional 
 letter from his aunt or sister. 
 
 And so he drifted and dreamed, while the summer 
 days went by. 
 
 Then came a day when most of the townsfolk 
 were shut within-doors by one of the gales due 
 along shore at this time of the year. 
 
 It was a day with a jagged horizon of black waves, 
 their rock-like forms set against a windy back- 
 ground of ashen skies, while overhead the clouds 
 came driving like ragged tendrils, streaming out as 
 the wind tossed and tore them. 
 
 The sea broke thunderingly along the shore in 
 great rollers, shattered on the rocks and headlands, 
 then to fall in showers of foam and spray. And 
 these, recoiling along the beach, left gleaming rows 
 and masses of tangled seaweed, fragments of wreck- 
 age, disturbed shells, and glittering pebbles. 
 
 Doctor Jasper sat by his closed window, reading, 
 or watching the tumult of the sea, as the inclination 
 took him, having declined Mrs. Bessly's urgent in- 
 vitation to come down into "the settin' room," 
 where she had made a fire to " drive out the storm. " 
 
 Up at the Leslie house Captain Nat was fuming, 
 as he wandered back and forth between the fire 
 and window, pausing now and again to look out, 
 with Fin, gravely sedate, marching alongside him. 
 
 The Captain and Margaret had been playing many
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 2 1 5 
 
 games of cribbage and backgammon, until they both 
 were wearied. And he was now saying to her, 
 " I 've stopped home again to-day, to please you, 
 my lass; but to-morrow, storm or shine, I '11 please 
 myself, and go down to Pilot's-Head. Peter has 
 got to be seen about those potatoes, if for nothing 
 else." 
 
 Margaret, who had been huddled comfortably in 
 a big cushioned chair by the fire, now came to the 
 window, and clasping her hands around her father's 
 arm, rubbed her cheek against his rough coat. 
 
 " Now, Papa Leslie, you 're getting cross. And 
 no wonder; for this weather is enough to spoil the 
 temper of a saint, to say nothing of an old sailor's. 
 But it surely can't last much longer; do you think 
 it can?" 
 
 He took a hand from his coat-pocket to stroke her 
 hair, as he still looked critically at the sky, show- 
 ing through the tossing branches of the elms. 
 
 "I 've been thinking this is about the last of it, 
 Peggy; and it's high time, too. But I'll go to- 
 morrow and see about those potatoes, even if the 
 wind veers, and brings up more storm." 
 
 She looked up at him and laughed, as she tickled 
 him under the chin with her slender forefinger. 
 But he pulled down her hand, saying, while he tried 
 in vain to keep a smile from wrinkling the corners 
 of his mouth, "I shall! And so you needn't try 
 any of your wheedling, my lass." 
 
 But the storm was gone next morning, and bright 
 sunshine flooded the drenched land. A joyous 
 breeze was blowing, and piles of white clouds
 
 2 1 6 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 swept across the blue sky, checkering the leaping 
 sea with acres of violet shadows, and making the 
 rocky headlands seem to open and close under the 
 alternations of sun and shade. The gulls flew 
 screaming about, or hung, poised with exquisite 
 grace, to the stiff breeze. The surf along shore 
 shone like snow, the falling breakers adding to its 
 whiteness ; and inshore the trees tossed their limbs 
 boisterously, while the flying leaves danced and 
 glanced glitteringly in the sun. 
 
 By nine o'clock, Captain Leslie, happy as any 
 schoolboy out for a holiday, was on the way to 
 Pilot's-Head. Margaret was with him; and he had 
 borrowed a neighbor's horse and buggy, which 
 especially the former he was managing with much 
 of that skill for which sea-faring men are famed. 
 
 Margaret, who was a bit nervous, had just said, 
 " Now, Papa, please watch the horse, and stop look- 
 ing at everything else. I 'm sure you 're not notic- 
 ing the way he seems trying to go over toward that 
 ditch. He '11 certainly upset us if you 're not 
 careful." 
 
 "Not the slightest fear of it, lass," was the cheery 
 reply. "Let the poor beast get a bunch of green 
 stuff now and then, if he wants it; and that's all 
 he is after now. Such things are good for him. 
 But I'll confess to you, my dear, that if a horse 
 could be handled by hoisting him, like a sail, or 
 could be rounded to by throwing out an anchor, or 
 if I could steer him with a rudder, instead of these 
 reins, I should feel more at home. But don't you 
 worry, Peg, my girl; I drove this same fellow the
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 217 
 
 last time I went down to the Head, and we got on 
 famously with each other." 
 
 Doctor Jasper had called at the Captain's house, 
 and not finding him at home, stopped a short time 
 in the well-stocked library. Then, taking Fin for 
 a companion, he went off for a ramble. 
 
 It was well along in the afternoon when he re- 
 turned to Mrs. Bessly's; and not many minutes 
 after he was seated in his room there came an un- 
 certain, hesitating knock at the door. 
 
 To his quick "Come in," there was no responsive 
 action, but only the same irresolute, subdued tapping. 
 
 " Come in ! " he called again, and louder than 
 before, wondering if his visitor were deaf. 
 
 This time the invitation was so far accepted that 
 the knob was turned carefully, and the door moved 
 slowly on its hinges. Then a whiff of tobacco 
 smoke entered the apartment, followed by the 
 shaggy head of old Sam Ayres. 
 
 "Alone, be ye?" he queried, peering about in 
 a way indicative of suspicion. 
 
 "Why, yes; of course I am," the Doctor said, 
 somewhat surprised. " What do you want ? " And 
 rising, he placed a chair opposite the one he had 
 vacated, and invited his unusual visitor to enter. 
 
 Sam Ayres' loose-jointed body followed his un- 
 kempt head into the room ; and after softly closing 
 the door, he turned to look carefully at the latch, 
 to assure himself that it was really fastened. He 
 then tiptoed over to the chair Doctor Jasper had 
 placed for him, and seated himself gingerly, hold- 
 ing his wreck of a hat in his nervous hands.
 
 2 1 8 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "Jane, downstairs, said for me to come right 
 up; Marm Bessly 's out," he began, by way of ex- 
 planation. "An* I hed to see ye p'tic'lar 'bout 
 suthin'." 
 
 His voice seemed to sound even hoarser than 
 usual; and his eyes shifted about uneasily, taking 
 in all the details of the room, but avoiding Doctor 
 Jasper's face. 
 
 "Oh, that's all right, Mr. Ayres," the Doctor 
 said good-naturedly. " And now what can I do for 
 you?" 
 
 "I hed to come to tell ye suthin'," the old man 
 repeated, speaking slowly, and with a curious look 
 coming into his eyes, which now, at last, met Doc- 
 tor Jasper's. 
 
 " Yes ? " the latter said inquiringly. 
 
 "Bill sent me." 
 
 "Uncle Billy?" 
 
 "Yes." Then in what was meant to be a whis- 
 per, " Suthin' queer hev took place." 
 
 "Indeed; and what is it?" But Doctor Jasper's 
 voice did not express any great amount of interest. 
 
 "A strange man hev su'cided," came in the same 
 hoarse sotto voce. 
 
 "What?" And the Doctor's voice showed more 
 animation. 
 
 " Ez I tell ye. He killed hisself up to Cove." 
 
 Then, in his own clumsy fashion, old Ayres went 
 on to tell how, that same forenoon, some boys who 
 had been in swimming at "the Cove" came rushing 
 down the beach with the story that after finishing 
 their bath, and while they were sitting on the rocks,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 2 1 9 
 
 drying themselves, a strange man had come reeling 
 and gesticulating along the shore, and waded out 
 until the water reached almost to his waist. Then, 
 as he stood there with his back to them, they saw 
 him hold something up to his head, something 
 that flashed brightly in the sun. A second later 
 they heard the report of a pistol, saw the man sway 
 forward, and then fall beneath the water. 
 
 The tide was coming in; and the men, taking a 
 boat, and with the boys to guide them, had little 
 difficulty in locating the body. 
 
 Looking over the side of the boat, down through 
 the green water where the seaweed grew rank, they 
 could see the dead man, lying face down, with his 
 arms spread out. 
 
 "They drawed him up with some boat-hooks," 
 old Sam ended by saying, "an' 'twas Uncle Billy 
 hisself thet grabbed holt o' his shoulder as it come 
 out'n the water. An' then the man's head dropped 
 forrard in a pitiful sort o' way, Doctor Jarsper; an' 
 he be a man with most onusual broad shoulders an 
 chest. Then Billy yelled for us to pull ashore; 
 an' so we did. We brung him to the old wharf, jest 
 out here, sir; an' there he lies this minute, on some 
 old sails. Lots hev seed him, but not a man jack 
 on 'em ever laid eyes on him afore. I 've been up 
 here twice for ye, but ye wa' n't in ; an' Billy told 
 me to step over ag'in, an' tell ye he was waitin' for 
 ye now. Old Doctor Mix's out'n town, an' his 
 'sistant ain't no good; an' Billy says ^there's got to 
 be a doctor, to say what 's to be done." 
 
 Doctor Jasper, who had been listening inter-
 
 220 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 estedly, now arose; and the two men were soon 
 upon their way to the old wharf. 
 
 The sun was low, but not yet set ; and the light- 
 house lamp was lit. One lonely fisherman, his dory 
 well-filled with the afternoon's catch, was letting 
 his oars lie idle, while he dipped his old felt hat 
 into the water, and then sent the superfluous drops 
 out in a bright shower, as he swirled it around be- 
 fore replacing it upon his head. 
 
 Several men fishermen and sailors were stand- 
 ing about near the building where lay the body of 
 the dead stranger; and from a group sitting upon 
 an overturned dory, Uncle Billy came forward. The 
 others remained as they were, while he, with the 
 Doctor and old Ayres, went along to the locked 
 door of the shed -like place. 
 
 The old sailor produced a large key; and having 
 with much dignity unfastened the door, they all 
 entered, a stream of light going in with them, and 
 a rush of wind that sounded dismally in the gloomy 
 place. 
 
 Fishing tackle and nets lay scattered about, with 
 here and there a stray oar, or a weather-beaten sail. 
 And some oil-skins, topped by wide-brimmed sou'- 
 westers, hung on pegs against the farthest wall, 
 looking like reckless and despondent seamen who 
 had hanged themselves. 
 
 Uncle Billy, without a word, led the way to some 
 piled-up canvas, from which he threw back the rem- 
 nant of a sail. And there before them lay the un- 
 known dead. 
 
 Doctor Jasper went upon his knees to look with
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 221 
 
 closer scrutiny at the corpse. It was that of a hand- 
 some man, still young, and with the form of an ath- 
 lete. The features were regular, and clean-cut; the 
 well-rounded jaw had a firm look; and a thick brown 
 moustache almost concealed the rather heavy lips. 
 
 The Doctor observed all these details ; and he saw 
 that the man had been dead several hours. Then 
 he passed his hand slowly over the wide-open, star- 
 ing blue eyes ; but their lids would not close. 
 
 "Ain't he grand-looking?" said Uncle Billy. 
 
 The old man stood with hands thrust deep in his 
 pockets ; and he was smoking a short black pipe as 
 he gazed down into the uncovered face, over which 
 the light now came streaming in. 
 
 There was no reply; and after waiting a moment, 
 he asked, "Know him, Doctor, ever seed him 
 afore?" 
 
 Doctor Jasper still looked fixedly at the dead face 
 as he answered, " No. " 
 
 Uncle Billy now took a hand from one pocket, and 
 removed the pipe from his mouth. 
 
 "There wa'n't nothin' in his clothes," he said; 
 "an" nary a mark on 'em ter trace him by. An' ' 
 
 There came a queer sound from behind them, and 
 they all turned, to see little Captain Jack standing 
 close by, staring with terrified eyes at the dead man, 
 while his winsome face, usually so bright, and so 
 often beaming with merriment, was now strangely 
 distorted by terror. 
 
 "Shiver my timbers, lollypopl How come ye to 
 be here?" exclaimed Uncle Billy, making a motion 
 to take hold of him. But the child sprang against
 
 222 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Doctor Jasper, clutching him tightly, and burying 
 his face in his friend's neck. 
 
 The Doctor said nothing; but, rising to his feet, 
 he held Captain Jack closely, and hurried out, leav- 
 ing the living men to cover the dead. 
 
 While they were doing this, Uncle Billy growled, 
 " Old begum of a grandame, tyin' him up, when 
 there ain't no need o' tyin', an' then lettin' him 
 loose at this hour o' ther day, ter see sights thet 
 mek old sea-dogs sick ! " 
 
 Doctor Jasper did not pause when they were out- 
 side the door, but took the child out to a headland 
 that overlooked all the harbor. And here, away 
 from every one, he sat down and drew the little lad 
 into his lap, while he smoothed his hair and spoke 
 soothingly to him. 
 
 But Captain Jack made no answer, and only clung 
 all the closer, quivering now and then as with a 
 nervous chill. 
 
 "You ought not to be down here at this hour of 
 the day, my dear little boy," the Doctor said, his 
 caressing tone dulling any edge of rebuke there 
 might be in his words. " How comes it that you 
 are?" 
 
 The child's voice was hysterical with fright as he 
 told how Mammy Zabette had come down to find a 
 woman living near the wharf, and that he had accom- 
 panied her ; that he wished to see mon Docteur, and 
 she had let him go over to Mrs. Bessly's; and that 
 there he met a boy who told him where his friend 
 could be found. 
 
 Then the clasping arms slightly loosened their
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 223 
 
 hold about the Doctor's neck; and drawing back to 
 look into the face above him, the child broke out 
 impetuously, "Ah, won Docteur, I do want to tell 
 you something. Only you must never, never tell 
 of it ; for I cannot think what grandmere would say 
 to me that I did talk of it to any one." 
 
 "Never mind about it now," the Doctor replied 
 quietly, for he felt worried about the little fellow, 
 whose eyes were still filled with a strange terror. 
 " Wait until some other time, my boy, when you " 
 
 "But no!" cried Captain Jack still more ex- 
 citedly. "I do want to tell you now right away. 
 Please, mon Doctenr ! It is of a dream I did have, 
 and I must tell you now of it." And he looked 
 pleadingly into the man's troubled face. 
 
 For a few moments Doctor Jasper said nothing, 
 but turned his face away from the small uplifted 
 one, the tremulous lips and lovely eyes still plead- 
 ing with eloquent silence. 
 
 He could not have explained to himself what it 
 was that had made him feel a reluctance to encour- 
 age the child's confidence; but he was aware, for 
 some reason he did not now understand, that he 
 would rather not put the impulse aside. 
 
 Then, refusing to follow this instinct, and telling 
 himself impatiently that, after all, it was only a 
 childish dream he was about to hear, something 
 whose telling might divert Captain- Jack's thoughts 
 from the gruesome sight upon which he had so 
 unfortunately stumbled, the Doctor thrust away his 
 misgivings. 
 
 And so, with his love for the boy adding its argu-
 
 224 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 ment to his own judgment as to what was best for 
 him to do, he turned his eyes back to the agitated 
 little face, and said, as he hugged the slight form 
 still closer, "Very well, my little man; tell me all 
 about it. " 
 
 Captain Jack drew a long, sighing breath, and 
 began at once, speaking now hurriedly, and again 
 more composedly, as he was affected by what he was 
 saying : 
 
 "It was such a strange dream that I did have, mon 
 Docteur. Loleta says I did dream it, and so does 
 Mammy Zabette, too. It did happen, oh, so long, 
 long ago. And I was ill, away off somewhere, I 
 don't know where; in a place I was in when I was 
 a bebt, I do think. 
 
 "I do remember the white dresses I did have. I 
 do remember the big trees, with queer big leaves, 
 like I did never see here. And oranges, woods 
 and woods, all filled with oranges. It was hot 
 always hot days. And Mammy Zabette was there, 
 and did fan me when I did sit still or lie down, 
 with a great big thing that did hang from the top 
 of the room. And she did make it fan with a string 
 that did make it to feel like the wind blew cool. 
 
 " Grandmere and Loleta did live with me there. 
 And Loleta did often cry, and did hug and kiss me ; 
 and I did hear grandmere say to her that she did not 
 like her to. And once a big man did take me, and 
 did run through the woods with me for a long time. 
 And we did get to where were many other men ; and 
 they did make a big fire in the woods at night. The 
 man that did take me away I was 'fraid of him, for
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 225 
 
 he was very cross ; and he did say he would never 
 take me back to Loleta, never. And then I did 
 wake up, and I was in my little bed at grandmere's. 
 And they did say it was just a dream." 
 
 The curious feeling still remained in Doctor Jasper's 
 mind, but with added strength and clearer surmising, 
 as he listened silently to all this ; and a graver and 
 more troubled look grew in the gray eyes that again 
 gazed out seaward over the small head lying against 
 his broad chest. 
 
 But a more startling turn was now given to his 
 thoughts; for the child raised himself to his knees, as 
 he said with still greater and increasing excitement, 
 " Afterwards I did wake up, crying and screaming, 
 for I did think the man had come for me again. And 
 oh, mon Docteur" and he held him with frantic little 
 hands, " I had 'most forgotten it all, for I did not 
 dream for so long ; but that man I did see you look- 
 ing at is like the man who did take me away from 
 Loleta. And don't, don't let him get me again, 
 will you? " 
 
 The words ended in a broken sob, muffled by the 
 protecting folds of Doctor Jasper's coat. 
 
 He said nothing, but hugging Captain Jack still 
 closer, pondered over what he had heard. 
 
 Was it, as the child had been led to believe, merely 
 a dream of his baby days, brought into vivid recollec- 
 tion by what his active brain (aided by an exceedingly 
 acute nervous organization) had conjured into a like- 
 ness between the dead stranger and this other man, 
 for whom he had all the terror he would have felt 
 toward an actual abductor? 
 
 '5
 
 226 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Was this all there was to it ; or had the events of 
 the past hour recalled to the lad's mind a real experi- 
 ence, an event in which the suicide had been an 
 actor; and was it the suddenly awakened remem- 
 brance of this which had brought him into such a 
 condition of nervousness and fear? 
 
 These were the questions that flashed through 
 Doctor Jasper's mind. But he did not undertake to 
 answer them at present; for, putting aside all other 
 thoughts, he set himself to the task of quieting the 
 now almost hysterical child. 
 
 " Why now, Captain Jack," he said gently, " don't 
 you know that all this was only a dream? Your 
 sister and Zabette both tell you so; and surely you 
 are not such a baby as to be frightened by dreams, 
 and cry about them." 
 
 " But this is not like other dreams," the child per- 
 sisted, still shivering ; and the Doctor, in his own 
 mind, could not but agree with him. 
 
 But he only said, " Now, see here, my little boy, 
 that man you saw can hurt no one. He can never 
 speak again, nor move, for he is dead. You know 
 what it is to be dead, don't you, to shut your 
 eyes, and go to sleep, and wake up in another 
 world?" 
 
 " Yes, I know." Captain Jack lifted his head 
 once more, and bent it back, the better to look into 
 the Doctor's eyes. " And is he truly dead, and can't 
 he ever walk any more? " 
 
 " No, my dear, never again." 
 
 " Then of course he can't touch me, can he, mon 
 Docteur? But," with a sigh, " he does frighten me
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 227 
 
 so ! Do you s'pose it is very wicked that I do feel 
 not sorry because he is dead?" 
 
 Doctor Jasper did not answer the question, but 
 gave the child a hug, and kissed the anxious little 
 face. 
 
 "Come now," he said, "you must not think any 
 more about that dream. Let us go and find Mammy 
 Zabette ; and then I will walk home with you." 
 
 "Oh, will you?" 
 
 The boy was now smiling. And, as the two arose, 
 a small brown hand was slipped into that of the 
 Doctor, the sensitive fingers lying like the soft touch 
 of rose leaves in the broad palm that clasped them. 
 
 Mammy Zabette was soon found, and the three 
 set out for Madame Harwood's house. Captain Jack 
 held tight to Doctor Jasper's hand, swinging it back 
 and forth, as they walked along side by side, while 
 the old negress kept behind, although preserving all 
 her majesty of bearing, and looking, with her jetty 
 skin and gayly turbaned head, like a wayward bit of 
 the tropics, curiously out of place in this little spot 
 by the northern sea. 
 
 A few stars were out when they reached the gate ; 
 and here the Doctor paused, not quite determined to 
 go no farther, and yet not feeling like risking a snub- 
 bing from Madame Harwood. 
 
 While he stood hesitating, Captain Jack whispered 
 eagerly, " Put down your ear." He did so, and felt 
 how much too warm was the little face that touched 
 his cheek. 
 
 " You will never say anything of the dream I did 
 tell you ? "
 
 228 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 The words were full of entreaty. And Doctor 
 Jasper kissed the child, while he answered, " Never," 
 as solemnly as he would have given his word to 
 another man. 
 
 As he raised his head he caught the distant glim- 
 mer of something white in the shrubbery. Captain 
 Jack saw it as well, and exclaiming joyously, " I do 
 see my Loleta ! " he dashed up the walk and into the 
 bushes where the white dress had disappeared. 
 
 The Doctor now turned to Mammy Zabette, who 
 had reached the gate, and told her briefly of what 
 had happened, urging her to see that Captain Jack 
 was kept away from the wharf for several days, as the 
 fright he had experienced was very great, and a 
 repetition might be dangerous. 
 
 "I goin' t' see misef dat" hesitatingly " wat 
 I yeh dey talk 'bout," she replied in her queer gut- 
 tural tones. "Eh-h-h! Wat '11 Madame say? Wat 
 kin I tell? Aie aie ! " 
 
 " Well, there is this about it," he said, cutting 
 short her lamentations, which seemed to him rather 
 more demonstrative than the circumstances warranted, 
 unless what he had heard from Captain Jack was 
 something more than the story of a dream : " You 
 had better be sure that the boy does n't look at the 
 dead man again." 
 
 He had decided not to go in, and so went back to 
 his lodgings, wondering what he ought to do, if 
 indeed anything. And, in the end, he concluded to 
 follow the wise man's advice, that, " Not knowing 
 what to do, do nothing."
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE next morning, shortly after breakfast, Mrs. 
 Bessly informed Doctor Jasper that Mammy 
 Zabette was at the door, and wished to speak 
 with him. 
 
 He went out; and there in the sunshine stood the 
 negress, looking more black and solemn than ever, 
 as she gravely bowed, in response to his " Good- 
 morning, Zabette; what can I do for you?" 
 
 " Pleasy, sah, Docteur" she began, " de &#/sort o' 
 talk 'bout wan'in' t' see ye, mos' all night; an' 
 Madam say, pleasy woan' ye call. De &$/ seem 
 nair well, an' no sleep much." 
 
 She stopped ; but before he could ask for more 
 details in regard to Captain Jack, she spoke again, 
 now glancing nervously about. 
 
 '* An', Docteur, fo' I goes home, pleasy kin I see 
 dat drownded man? De &$/, he will talk so much 
 'bout eem ; an' I yeh de talk 'bout eem yist'day, an' 
 I bin done wan'in' t' see eem." 
 
 Her manner, rather than the request itself, started 
 a curious train of thought in the Doctor's mind; 
 but he was careful that none of this should be 
 reflected in his face. 
 
 He looked out toward the sea for a moment or 
 two, to avoid the searching eyes he was conscious 
 that Zabette had bent upon his face. Then, taking
 
 230 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 his hat from the hall table, he said, " Very well ; 
 come with me. But I must first see if I can get the 
 key from Uncle Billy." 
 
 He found the old man busy about the wharf, and, 
 without giving any reason for the request, asked for 
 the key. 
 
 It was soon forthcoming ; and Doctor Jasper, fol- 
 lowed by Zabette, proceeded to the door of the 
 building wherein the dead man lay. 
 
 "We 're 'lowin' ter bury him this arternoon, 
 Doctor Jarsper," Uncle Billy called after him; "thet 
 is, if ye think it '11 be doin' ther squar' thing." 
 
 To this the Doctor only responded by a nod oi 
 assent as he opened the door. 
 
 He kept close to Zabette, and going directly to 
 the pile of canvas, uncovered the body, turning 
 quickly as he did so, that he might observe her face 
 when she looked upon the lifeless features. 
 
 He had his own reasons for this ; and he was now 
 satisfied of their being good ones, and that his sus- 
 picions were not without foundation. 
 
 Zabette's eyes no sooner fell upon the silent face 
 than they dilated wildly. Then, giving utterance to 
 a sharp cry, she threw her apron over her turbaned 
 head, while her voice came in disjointed ejaculations 
 from its folds. 
 
 An old sailor who had followed them unnoticed, 
 stood staring, open-mouthed, through the doorway. 
 But he saw nothing unusual; for Doctor Jasper, 
 after telling Zabette that there was little sense in her 
 looking at the body, if it had such an effect upon 
 her, led her from the shed, and far enough away to
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 231 
 
 be out of the man's hearing, first, however, request- 
 ing him to lock the door, and take the key to Uncle 
 Billy. 
 
 Turning to the negress, he now said with sudden 
 earnestness, " No one in town has been able to 
 identify that man; and this, if possible, should be 
 done before he is buried. Do you know who he is, 
 or anything about him? " 
 
 She would not meet his eyes, but glanced uneasily 
 toward the shed, as she stammered, " Me, me 
 know eem, me? " And, groaning again, she once 
 more covered her head. 
 
 " Stop that, if you please," the Doctor said sternly, 
 as he pulled the apron from her face. " You must 
 tell me, if you can, who this man is. I want to know 
 if you ever saw him before? " 
 
 The woman's eyes were staring with fright ; yet 
 back of it was an unmistakable intelligence. At 
 first she gurgled and gasped hysterically. But, after 
 a few seconds of this, she evidently gained control 
 over herself, for her face settled into sullen gloom, 
 as she twisted her strong black fingers in her snowy 
 apron, and said, looking away from Doctor Jasper's 
 searching eyes, " I neeva' been meet eem ; on'y he 
 got de face lak She stopped and shuddered. 
 
 " Yes," the Doctor asked impatiently; " like who, 
 or what? " 
 
 " Lak nair one ! " 
 
 Her voice was now steadier than his own ; and 
 the words came out defiantly, while her great dusky 
 eyes looked him squarely in the face. 
 
 " Lak nair one," she repeated. " It's on'y dat et 's
 
 232 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 nair a chahmin' face." Then, glancing again at the 
 shed, " I doan' wan' look no mo', bu. mus' go, for 
 Madame be vvan'in' me. Will I tell her le Docteur '11 
 come? " 
 
 He pulled his hat down over his nose, and re- 
 garded her with moody eyes. He was quite sure 
 that she had been lying to him ; and he was equally 
 certain that it would be useless to accuse her of 
 falsehood, or attempt to obtain any farther informa- 
 tion from her. So he simply bade her tell Madame 
 Harwood that he would come up at once to see 
 Captain Jack. 
 
 A few minutes later, while crossing the street, he 
 met Uncle Billy, who stopped him to ask, " It '11 be 
 all right, Doctor Jarsper, don't ye think, if we read 
 ther sarvices over thet poor chap durin* ther day? " 
 
 " I think, Uncle Billy," was the reply, " that I 'd 
 wait until evening; but no longer, on any account. 
 That will give every one a chance to see him ; and 
 perhaps there will be somebody to recognize him. 
 But of course you know the whole matter is in the 
 hands of the Medical Examiner, and that he is the 
 one to say when the poor fellow shall be buried." 
 
 "Yes, I know all 'bout thet," said the old man. 
 " But ye see he ain't o' much 'count, an' '11 do jest as 
 we say 'bout it. As ter more people seein' him, I 
 guess ev'rybody hev seen him by this time; an' 
 they all pipe ther same tune 'never clapped eyes 
 on him afore.' Was he crazy, d" ye think, Doctor 
 Jarsper?" 
 
 " Most men are crazy who do such a thing as that, 
 Uncle Billy."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 233 
 
 The Doctor spoke in a general way, and rather 
 abstractedly; for his thoughts, as well as his eyes, 
 were fixed upon Mammy Zabette, who was just dis- 
 appearing around the corner. 
 
 " I guess ye 're 'bout right as ter thet, Doctor; for 
 they must surely be crazy, ter go poppin' their craft 
 inter a harbor there 's never no gittin' out of, an' 
 never waitin' ter be axed by Providence, thet hev 
 charge o' thet harbor, which, as ye know, be one thet 
 never gives a sign till yer berth 's all snug an' ready 
 for ther lyin' in dock. He must hev been clean daft 
 ter do sech a thing ; an' he so young an' han'some, 
 poor chap!" 
 
 The old sailor rolled away, sighing and grumbling. 
 
 As Doctor Jasper entered the Harwood house, 
 directly opposite him was the doorway of the con- 
 servatory, through which he could see the palms, 
 and the lemon and orange trees, reaching almost 
 to the glass roof. Amongst them were gleams of 
 many colored flowers ; and a jet of sparkling water, 
 spouting from the shell in a marble Cupid's dimpled 
 hands, flung a silvery spray high into the odorous air. 
 
 When Pierre, the butler, closed the front door, the 
 hall became dusky, while all the light seemed to be 
 concentrated beyond, in the conservatory, with the 
 palm and orange trees. And from out of this light 
 Doctor Jasper saw Loleta coming slowly to meet him. 
 
 Her eyes were so solemn, and her face so pale 
 and smileless, that he was startled. Yet, lover-like, 
 as to the smallest detail of her appearance, he 
 noticed how the hair was massed about her head, 
 and caught by a carved shell comb, whose contrast 

 
 234 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 set rich shades playing in its tawny waves, and how 
 the same wonderful hair broke into short curls over 
 her brows and around her little ears, and how her 
 neck, round and tender as a child's, gleamed like 
 snow from the pale blue of her gown. 
 
 She gave him her hand in an oddly mechanical 
 sort of way, never removing her eyes from his face, 
 and with no trace of a smile showing, as she said, 
 " Will you come first into the ' den,' where grandmere 
 does wait to see you ? " 
 
 He bowed silently, wondering with a queer dread 
 in his heart what could have happened to make her 
 look and act as she did ; and she, speaking no other 
 word, led the way to the so-called " den," and there 
 left him. 
 
 Madame Harwood received him most graciously. 
 She chatted gayly, and smiled a great deal ; but he 
 felt that the gayety was forced, while the smiles seemed 
 only to make her more incomprehensible, as she sat 
 there with head erect, imperious as ever. 
 
 There was a creamy cactus fastened in her dark 
 gown ; and as she talked, her white jewelled fingers 
 toyed with it until the stem broke, and it fell into her 
 lap. She did not appear to notice this ; and when, 
 as she rose to take Doctor Jasper upstairs, the 
 blossom fell to the floor, she trod upon it. 
 
 He saw the act; and, trifling as it was in itself, 
 he could not help comparing Loleta's life to this 
 flower. And he queried as to whether her grand- 
 mother was not perhaps unthinkingly toying 
 with it, and might not possibly crush it. 
 
 While they were talking, he had endeavored to lead
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 235 
 
 the conversation to bear upon the suicide, hoping 
 to find some clue though what, he even yet could 
 not have explained. But still he had the feeling (and 
 Zabette's emotion had strengthened it) that Madame 
 and some of her household might, if they would, 
 furnish information as to his identity. 
 
 But all his attempts were parried in a way so grace- 
 ful, and yet so firm, with such perfect calmness 
 and finesse, that he was forced to abandon the effort, 
 and retire from the field unsatisfied, utterly 
 defeated. 
 
 When at length she had led the way up the great 
 oaken staircase, she paused before a closed door on 
 the floor above, and begged him in a low voice to be 
 sure and not permit the child to speak ot what seemed 
 to have made him ill. Then, after tapping gently, 
 she opened the door, and ushered him into a large 
 room, where, upon a lounge, amidst a pile of brightly- 
 hued stuffs, lay little Captain Jack. 
 
 The small monkey was perched beside the child, 
 gazing gravely into his face, which was turned toward 
 Loleta, whose hand he clasped, as she sat by him, 
 reading aloud. 
 
 Long after this did Doctor Jasper's memory retain 
 the modulations of that low, sweet voice. And her 
 face came to him again and again, looking as it did 
 then, so sadly wistful. 
 
 The monkey, catching sight of a stranger, fled, 
 chattering noisily; and Captain Jack, looking up, 
 smiled brightly, stretching out his arms to put them 
 about the Doctor's neck, as his big friend bent over 
 him.
 
 236 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " My Topaz does n't know you as well as I do, 
 mon Doctcur" he said lovingly, " or he would n't run 
 away. I am so glad you did come. Here, Topaz, 
 come and see mon Docteur" 
 
 But the monkey only chattered all the livelier, as 
 he skipped across the room to seek refuge in the 
 ample skirts of Mammy Zabette, who sat by an open 
 window, busy with her needle, and appearing to pay 
 no heed to what was going on. Her lids were down- 
 cast, and she seemed intent upon her work ; but now 
 and again her deep-set black eyes encountered 
 Doctor Jasper's in a quick glance that told him she 
 was on guard.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 MADAME HARWOOD had closed the door 
 when Doctor Jasper entered the room ; but 
 she shut herself on the outer side, and he did 
 not see her again. And as he seated himself near 
 Captain Jack, Loleta moved away, as if not caring to 
 take part in their conversation. 
 
 All this was not unnoticed by him ; and feeling 
 piqued at the girl's manner and act, he devoted his 
 entire attention to the child. 
 
 In a moment, however, he was diverted by an ex- 
 clamation from Mammy Zabette. 
 
 " Shoo, shoo, ye drefful little beastie," she was 
 saying in a suppressed voice, as she shook her skirts 
 free from the nestling monkey. 
 
 "Don't you like monkeys, Zabette?" he asked, 
 pleasantly enough, willing to propitiate her. 
 
 " Me?" she said, seeming surprised that he should 
 speak to her. " No, sah ; doan' lak no monkeys. I 
 bleeb dey's all trick niggahs once, an' got voodooed." 
 
 " Mammy Zabette ! " Loleta spoke sharply, with a 
 note of warning in her voice ; and she glanced sig- 
 nificantly toward Captain Jack. 
 
 The negress shot a startled look at the listening 
 child, and muttered, " Mah tongue, it do git too 
 wagglety, fo' sho'."
 
 238 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 And so it appeared ; for the lad fixed his bright 
 eyes upon her face as he exclaimed, " Voodooed ! 
 That 's what you did say old Zeke was, away off in 
 that other place, where I did dream. You said that 
 Zeke was voodoo, 'cause he did have a big bird. A 
 pelican, I think it must have been ; for in grand- 
 mere's book I did see a picture of a pelican, and it 
 did look like the bird I remember Zeke had. And 
 he did have, oh, such heaps of black cats and kittens. 
 And I did hear you say he was voodoo." 
 
 "Jacques, dear, don't," Loleta said earnestly, as 
 she came and leaned over him, so that Doctor Jasper 
 could not see her face. 
 
 And Mammy Zabette murmured, " Eh-h-h, aie ! 
 De brains ob dat bebc ! Who 'd bleebed it? " 
 
 " You know you promised not to talk about such 
 things," Loleta went on, while she trailed her fingers 
 gently over the boy's face. " You must forget all 
 about your dreams, for they only make you ill ; and 
 so you must only talk to le Docteur, who came all the 
 way up here this morning to see you. You must let 
 him see if you will need some medicine, as grand- 
 mere did say. And perhaps, if he has the time, he 
 will tell you a story." 
 
 She had turned toward the Doctor ; and her face 
 bore the first approach to a smile he had seen there. 
 
 Here came a knock at the door, which Mammy 
 Zabette opened quickly, and growled something in 
 an undertone to whoever was outside. 
 
 Then a high-pitched voice answered, " Missus tol' 
 me I wa' cum up hyar fo' t' say t' Miss Loleta dat 
 she want speak wid her d'rec'ly."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 239 
 
 " I will come, Riar," her young mistress said. 
 And, with a hurried apology to Doctor Jasper, she 
 crossed over to the door, which Zabette still held 
 open, disclosing a slim little mulatto girl of ten or so, 
 who peered inquisitively into the room. 
 
 Loleta paused on the sill and asked, " Do you 
 think he does need any medicine, Doctor Jasper? " 
 
 " Well," he replied, merely glancing at her, and 
 then turning his eyes back to his small patient, " per- 
 haps a little quieting powder, and something in the 
 way of a tonic, later on. You see " looking at her 
 again " it 's mostly a matter of the nerves. The 
 child's organization is very acute and sensitive 
 wonderfully so ; and it has been a good deal shaken 
 up. But I think we '11 manage to bring him out in 
 proper shape again, eh, my boy?" And he once 
 more withdrew his eyes from Loleta's face, to look 
 into that of Captain Jack. 
 
 " Now, you Riar, g' 'long! Fin' yo' bis'ness 'g'in; 
 an' hit ain't up hyar nowhar," said Zabette to the 
 staring yellow girl. Then she closed the door, and 
 returned to her seat by the window, where she took 
 up her sewing, and now permitted the monkey to 
 cuddle in her skirts. 
 
 It was not very long before Captain Jack was talk- 
 ing and acting in much his usual fashion; and the 
 Doctor, who had been exerting himself to keep the 
 child's active mind properly occupied, was greatly 
 relieved to see the lovely eyes grow less unnaturally 
 bright, and a healthier color come to the cheeks and 
 lips. He taxed his memory and imagination for 
 anecdotes calculated to prevent him from thinking
 
 240 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 of yesterday's fearful sight ; and so well did he suc- 
 ceed, that at last, when he arose to go, Captain Jack's 
 condition was almost normal, and he held on to his 
 friend, begging him to come again, and very soon. 
 
 " Well, yes perhaps," the Doctor said, smiling 
 down into the winsome little face. " And if I don't, 
 then Mammy Zabette must bring you down to see 
 me. I have n't any monkey to show you, like Topaz ; 
 nor any goldfish, nor birds. But I have some other 
 things I am sure you 'd like to look at." 
 
 "Have you, what are they?" was the eager 
 question. 
 
 " I 've a big magnifying glass, for one thing ; and 
 I '11 rig it up, so that you can look through it. Did 
 you ever see the teeth of a bee, or the feathers on a 
 moth?" 
 
 " Why, no, mon Docteur" And the child's eyes 
 were wide with wonder. " Do they really have such 
 things? And is it that bees do bite with their teeth, 
 when we think it is that they do sting? " 
 
 The Doctor smiled again. " You shall take a look 
 through the glass, and see for yourself, in a day or 
 two, if you '11 be a good boy, and take the medicine 
 I Ve told Zabette about giving you." 
 
 Then, with an embrace and kiss, he bade the little 
 fellow good- by. 
 
 Mammy Zabette went down to let him out ; and as 
 he stepped upon the veranda he turned around and 
 scrutinized her face searchingly as he said, " Mind 
 that you don't let Jacques out of the house until after 
 to-morrow, for fear he might come down to the 
 wharf. And don't forget that powder to-night, as it
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 241 
 
 will make him sleep as he ought. And, above all 
 things, don't let him hear you talk about that dead 
 man." 
 
 " 'Deed an' 'deed, I talks ter eem 'bout nuthin' ob 
 de sort," she replied sharply, her eyes flashing resent- 
 ment at his imputing to her such a lack of discretion. 
 
 Doctor Jasper went that same afternoon with Cap- 
 tain Leslie, to take a final look at the suicide, and 
 found two sailors, under Uncle Billy's supervision, 
 engaged in sewing the body in a piece of canvas, 
 preparatory to placing it in the rude coffin lying 
 near. The necessary authority had been given ; and 
 it was left with Uncle Billy to see that the unknown 
 dead should be properly interred. 
 
 " First we puts him inter his canvas jacket, sea- 
 fashion, an' then inter his wooden overcoat, land- 
 fashion," the old man said grimly. " An' ter-night 
 he goes underground, poor lad, or inter ther town 
 vault." 
 
 " And no one knows who he is, where he came 
 from, nor anything at all about him," Captain Leslie 
 added musingly, as he looked away from the mummy- 
 like bundle, and out through the shed. 
 
 " Nary," was Uncle Billy's terse affirmation. 
 
 " It seems very strange to me," the Captain con- 
 tinued, " the man coming to this place, where he 
 is entirely unknown, and then killing himself." 
 
 " Don't it now ? " Uncle Billy again agreed. " But 
 so be 't ; an' I reckon he '11 sleep jest as sound, arter 
 all. Queer taste he hed, though, at his age, ter be 
 in sech a hurry ter find his way inter Davy Jones's 
 locker." 
 
 16
 
 242 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Doctor Jasper and the Captain did not remain long, 
 but went out, leaving Uncle Billy and the other men 
 to finish their task. 
 
 The Doctor was wishing that he could follow his 
 impulse, and unburden his mind to Captain Leslie, 
 tell him what he knew and thought about this 
 mysterious affair. But he reminded himself of how 
 he became possessed of such facts as had reached 
 him, and that his lips were sealed by his promise to 
 Captain Jack. Then, taking everything into account, 
 there was vastly more to think, than to know, about 
 the matter; and he had no right to put suspicions 
 and conclusions into words. 
 
 So he kept his own counsel, although the doing 
 of it made him feel uncomfortable. 
 
 He took tea and spent the evening at the Leslie 
 house. And next day he went with the Captain to 
 Pilot's-Head, behind the same horse, and feeling the 
 same lack of confidence in his friend's equine accom- 
 plishments that Margaret had shown. 
 
 That evening at the tea-table he was treated to a 
 lengthy dissertation from Mrs. Bessly in regard to 
 the stranger's suicide. 
 
 " An' one must forever wonder," was her conclu- 
 sion, " what med him do sech a thing ; an' he thet young 
 an' han'some, an' not one livin' soul to say they knew 
 him. They put him in the town vault, ye know, last 
 night, so Mary-Alice told me. She an' Miss Philips 
 happened to be comin' through the buryin' ground, 
 an' they stopped a minute to speak to old Ayres; 
 an' they was jest puttin' his coffin into the box. 
 An' the sight of it, an' thinkin' 'bout it, med her
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 243 
 
 thet sick. I s'pose we '11 never know the rights o' 
 the case." 
 
 When tea was over Doctor Jasper went out, and, 
 crossing the street, stood a while on the wharf, look- 
 ing off to where the sea lay motionless. 
 
 The tide was full, lapping the wharf steps, and 
 jostling the small boats at their moorings ; and where 
 several dories chanced to be together, they sidled up 
 against one another, as if having a secret conference. 
 
 After leaving the wharf, he wandered on, and up 
 to the top of one of the headlands, where he threw 
 himself down upon the dry grass, whose feathery 
 heads were nodding in the wind. 
 
 Westward, the sky was still flushed with rose and 
 gold, and the rays from the lighthouse twinkled un- 
 certainly in the yellow air. But, later on, as the sun- 
 set faded into gray, they came out sharply bright. 
 
 And still Doctor Jasper sat there, his head between 
 his palms, looking with wide, unseeing eyes, out upon 
 the water, until the gray of the twilight was gone, the 
 darkness had fallen, and the stars were out The 
 lighthouse lamp shone like one of them, making a 
 broad path of golden brightness across the black 
 water at his feet. 
 
 " Loleta Loleta! " the sea seemed to say to him 
 as it lapped the rocks ; and the wind that the night 
 was bringing from the water whispered in his ears, 
 "Loleta!"
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 A FEW mornings after this Mrs. Bessly brought 
 Doctor Jasper a note, holding it gingerly be- 
 tween her forefinger and thumb, covered by 
 the folds of her gingham apron. 
 
 " Ye see I did n't want to speck it, Doctor Jasper ; 
 an' ye must excuse my looks. Jane 's gone down to 
 the store to see 'bout some butter, an' I was jest 
 a-scrubbin' the dryin'-room floor, when the nigger 
 boy from Madam's brought this. He says he 's to 
 wait for an answer." 
 
 Doctor Jasper's heart was beating hard and fast as 
 he took the note and read it; but Mrs. Bessly's sharp 
 eyes saw nothing unusual in his calm face and steady 
 hands. 
 
 She stood waiting at the door until he looked up 
 and said, " Don't stop, Mrs. Bessly. I will answer this, 
 and bring it down myself, if you '11 kindly tell the 
 messenger to wait." 
 
 It was from Loleta, saying that Uncle Billy wanted 
 to take Jacques sailing with him that same afternoon, 
 down to Echo Island, some five miles away, and that 
 Madame Harwood wished her to ascertain if he was to 
 be one of the party, as otherwise she did not deem it 
 best to let the child go, although thinking the sail 
 might do him good, as he was seemingly not yet 
 quite as he should be. Then it went on to tell the
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 245 
 
 Doctor that he would have been asked to call again, 
 before this, had it not been that Madame was indis- 
 posed, and in a way that made it impossible for them 
 to see any one. 
 
 When he had finished reading the note, Doctor 
 Jasper looked around in a curiously shamefaced 
 fashion. Then, assured that Mrs. Bessly was gone, 
 he quickly raised the paper and placed it against his 
 lips. 
 
 After he had written his reply and delivered it to 
 the waiting Louis, he went out to hunt up Uncle Billy, 
 and arrange for going with him to Echo Island. 
 
 " I 'm only too glad ter hev ye go, Doctor Jarsper," 
 the old man declared heartily, looking up from the 
 oarlock he was oiling. 
 
 The Doctor had found him on the beach below his 
 bungalow, with his cats around him, all except the 
 Queen of Sheba, who sat perched with much majesty 
 upon an inverted bucket near by. 
 
 "Ye see," Uncle Billy added in explanation, " I told 
 Madam thet me an' young Sam was goin' out jest for 
 pleasurin'. An' so we was ; but more ter get Cap'n 
 Jack on ther water 'n anythin' else. Sam told me ther 
 young monkey 'd been sick, an' so yest'day I went up 
 ter see how he was. An* land love ye, Doctor 
 Jarsper, but how glad ther youngster seemed ter be 
 ter see me ! He wanted, fust thing, ter know when I 
 was goin' out sailin', an' 'minded me of a promise I 'd 
 med ter tek him down ter Echo Island. So I jest 
 laid out ter go this arternoon." 
 
 Then looking into the Doctor's face, he said inquir- 
 ingly, " I wonder now if Miss Marg'ret 'd lek ter go ? "
 
 246 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 His shrewd eyes squinted in a way that made the 
 Doctor smile, as he replied, " I happen to know, 
 Uncle Billy, that Miss Margaret has other engage- 
 ments for this afternoon, and that the Captain is 
 away from home for the day." 
 
 This last bit of information caused the old sailor to 
 chuckle. 
 
 " Laird, but it's funny ter see Cap'n Nattekin' a 
 turn at farmin', goin' down ev'ry few days ter 
 Pilot's-Head, ter look over his land, thet he thinks is 
 calc'lated ter raise better cabbages an' taters on than 
 his own garden here. Old Peter Cohen pertends ter 
 be lookin' arter ther garden-truck on sheers ; an' I '11 
 bet his own sheer '11 never be so small as Cap'n 
 Nat's. But, bless ye, 't would n't be no airthly use 
 ter tell Cap'n Nat so. ' Live an' let live,' says he. 
 An' so it be for all as hev anythin' in common with 
 Cap'n Nat Leslie, be it gardens ashore, or grub 'board 
 ship." 
 
 " By the way, Uncle Billy," said the Doctor, who 
 was thinking of other things than Captain Leslie's 
 vegetables, "you must be very careful not to say 
 anything about that fellow who killed himself, I 
 mean when Captain Jack is with us. And you had 
 better warn Sam, in case I don't have a chance to 
 do it." 
 
 " No call ter tell him, or me neither, 'bout thet, 
 Doctor Jarsper. Ther old nigger woman up ter 
 ther house swooped down on Sam as he stood by 
 ther gate axin' one o' them little nigs 'bout Cap'n 
 Jack. An' she done thet same thing ter me, when I 
 went up ter sit 'long with ther lad under ther trees
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 247 
 
 for a spell. Laird, Laird," and his face took an 
 expression of mingled amusement and disgust, " I 
 don't see how them folks can stand sech an everlastin' 
 lot o' niggers 'round 'em all ther time." 
 
 After a while he asked Doctor Jasper to come 
 up to the bungalow. The invitation was readily 
 accepted ; and it was not long before the two were 
 sitting near the open doorway, smoking, while they 
 sipped some cooling beverages of the old sailor's 
 making. It was a rarely perfect day, and the danc- 
 ing sunshine seemed to lie like happy laughter upon 
 land and sea. 
 
 " Coin' ter be a serperlative arternoon for a sail," 
 Uncle Billy remarked, between the whiffs of his 
 pipe. 
 
 Doctor Jasper assented, while he rubbed Aaron's 
 head and ears, that feline having made himself com- 
 fortable in the lap which he recognized as that of a 
 friend. 
 
 " Did ye ever hev any relations here'bouts, Doctor 
 Jarsper?" the old man inquired presently. 
 
 " Not so far as I know. In fact I never heard of 
 any of my people being in this part of the country. 
 Why?" 
 
 " Wa'l, there was some Jarspers used ter live 'round 
 here, back in ther sixties. There was old Reuben 
 Jarsper an' his twin brother Richard; an' I tell ye 
 they was a queer pair. They set great store by one 
 'nother, them two did ; an' when Reuben died, 
 Richard would n't let nobody else tech him, but jest 
 went ter work an' laid him out hisself. An' he put 
 him inter his Sunday-best coat, which was a blue
 
 248 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 % 
 
 one, with brass buttons, an' with tails long 'nough for 
 an admiral's pennant. Ther tails o' thet coat hed 
 been Reuben's pride, ye see, an' Richard med up his 
 mind they should show for all they was wuth. So he 
 cut 'em ofif'n behind, an' sewed 'em on in front, 
 where all hands could tek 'em in durin' ther buryin' 
 sarvices. An' Becky Sanderson (she was own sister 
 ter 'Currant Jelly's' gran'dad) she said thet when 
 Gabriel come ter pipe all hands aloft he would n't 
 know which branch o' ther sarvice Reuben b'longed 
 ter ; for from ther front, it might be ther army, but 
 lookin' at him from ther back, it 'd surely be ther 
 navy." 
 
 The Doctor's laughter caused Aaron to hastily 
 vacate his lap and betake himself a little distance 
 away, where he stood gently lashing his sleek flanks 
 with his long tail, while he looked dreamily out to 
 sea, as though greatly bored by the frivolous talk 
 and conduct of men. 
 
 The afternoon was, as to wind and weather, all 
 that the morning had promised ; and the two o'clock 
 sun saw the " Pretty Sally " well under way for Echo 
 Island. 
 
 Doctor Jasper was sitting aft, his arm encircling 
 Captain Jack; and, while not appearing to do so, he 
 was watching the child with keen attention. 
 
 Uncle Billy also cast many a furtive glance at his 
 idol ; but neither of the men made any allusion to the 
 pale little face or the dark-circled eyes. And Sam 
 Ayres seemed too busy managing the craft to let his 
 attention be diverted by any indulgence more serious 
 than whistling.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 249 
 
 " What do you think, Uncle Billy, the bottom of 
 the sea is like?" inquired Captain Jack, looking 
 down into the water. 
 
 "What do I think, my poppet?" the old sailor 
 replied, his loving eyes bent upon the pale, winsome 
 face. " Why, bless yer young heart, I knows what it 
 is lek, hevin' been told by them as hev been down 
 ter see for theirselves, in clothes med o' purpose ter 
 keep out ther water, an' with a rubber pipe thet went 
 out'n their mouth, up aloft, 'bove ther water, so they 
 could be breathin' land air all ther time." 
 
 "For true? "the child exclaimed, his sweet voice 
 filled with wonder. 
 
 " Aye, true as preachin'. An' ther bottom o f 
 ther ocean 's a reg'lar garding o' bu-tee, full o' 
 'mazin' fine tlyngs. There be trees sproutin', an' 
 flowers, lek none ye see on land, an' as big as wagon 
 wheels. An' there be weg't'bles growin' there most 
 wonderful ter see; an' things all lace-lek, o' ther 
 color o' dyin' dolphins, a-shinin' an' wavin' 'round, all 
 sparklin' an' blazin'. None o' ther bottom kin be 
 seen most times, for ther flowers, an' trees, an' 
 weg't'bles, an' shells." 
 
 Doctor Jasper knew that Uncle Billy was not 
 much addicted to story-reading. And yet he now 
 queried to himself if the old man had not been 
 taking his cue from some of Jules Verne's wonder- 
 ful romances. 
 
 But he said nothing, and kept his eyes fixed upon 
 Captain Jack, who turned his face to him as Uncle 
 Billy stopped to take breath, and also to light his 
 pipe, which had gone out while he was talking.
 
 250 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " I do think that it is there where mermaids and 
 water-babies do live. Don't you, mon Docteur ? " 
 And he snugged himself still closer into the stalwart 
 
 oo 
 
 arm that was around him so firmly. 
 
 But Uncle Billy was not to be balked, for he felt 
 himself entitled to the floor. And so he, by virtue 
 of his superior knowledge of all matters relating to 
 the sea, proceeded to answer the child's question. 
 
 " I never heerd tell o' nuthin' livin" there, 'cept 
 fishes, Cap'n Jack. But, as I say, it 's as bee-u-tiful 
 as ther Garden of Eden ; an' with nary a merman, 
 or mermaid, either, ter play Adam an' Eve, an' with 
 nary a Sarpint." 
 
 Here young Sam struck in. " Seems t' me it 's 
 wuth while ter be drownded, if it 's lek thet down 
 there." 
 
 Doctor Jasper glanced at him warningly. And 
 Uncle Billy turned to him with a savage scowl as he 
 said, " Davy Jones 's got more cabins an' bunks 'n 
 one, my lad ; an' some of 'em 's far from bein' so 
 pleasure-givin'. An' I think ther worst o' ther hull 
 lot is resarved for sech young fellers as talks too 
 much, an' slops all over theirselves." 
 
 " Oh, aye," Sam replied vaguely, flushing to the 
 back of his ears as he realized what an unhappy slip 
 he had made. 
 
 Uncle Billy had meantime been replenishing his 
 pipe. And now he said, with the evident purpose of 
 putting the talk upon a new course, " Say, Doctor 
 Jarsper, what d'ye think o' the new-fangled way 
 o' singin' ' chantin',' I think they calls it thet's 
 gittin' inter so many o' ther churches now days?
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 251 
 
 Leastwise 't was new ter me, when I was in ther city 
 one time over Sunday, an' drifted inter one o' ther 
 fine churches there." 
 
 " I 'm not sure that I understand you, Uncle Billy," 
 answered the Doctor, wishing to draw the old man 
 out. "What was it like?" 
 
 " Like ? Wa'l, not meanin' no harm, 't was 
 ter my ears lek ther bloomin'est, crazy, all-fired 
 screechin' o' cats, an' beatin' o' tomtoms. Ye see 't 
 was this here way : Ther leddies an' lads, they all 
 stood up where ther organ was ; an' they let go first. 
 An' then ther organ took a hand at thumpin'. Then 
 they all screeched ag'in ; an' ther organ, it thumped 
 ag'in. It were sort o' lek this, ' Glory be,' bump, 
 bump, bump, ' ter ther Father/ bump, bang, an' so 
 on, till it come ter ther endin', ' Amen ! ' An' then 
 it seemed a puzzler as ter whether ther screechin' 
 ' Amen ' or ther bang-whang o' ther organ 'd git 
 there loudest." 
 
 His voice had been growing husky, causing him to 
 rub his throat two or three times, as if it needed 
 lubricating. And as he was finishing his musical 
 critique he gradually edged along toward the cuddy, 
 so timing himself that as the final words came from 
 his dry lips, his head and shoulders were just in- 
 side the little door. Then, seeming to remember 
 the obligations of hospitality, he turned around 
 to ask hoarsely, " Won't ye hev suthin', Doctor 
 Jarsper? " 
 
 The Doctor smiled as he shook his head, and the 
 old man turned away again. And there soon fol- 
 lowed convulsive movements of his arms, shoulders,
 
 2 5 2 UP and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 and head, such as to show that his own views were 
 not in accord with those of his guest. 
 
 The latter had sometime since drawn Captain Jack 
 into his lap, where he half sat, half lay, his head 
 resting against the Doctor's broad shoulder. 
 
 There the child remained until they reached Echo 
 Island, when he had become so much like his former 
 self as to announce in a very lively manner that he 
 was hungry. 
 
 The anchor was thrown out, and the little party 
 went ashore in the dory, taking with them some cod- 
 fish Uncle Billy had caught during the trip. There 
 was also an iron pot and a basket of vegetables, all 
 being with reference to the proposed chowder. 
 
 They had a jolly afternoon of it, Sam playing 
 " mumble-the-peg " with Captain Jack, who actually 
 induced Uncle Billy and Doctor Jasper to join in 
 that exciting game. And the child laughed in a way 
 that did them all good when the dignified Doctor 
 was compelled to lie down with his face to the ground 
 and draw the peg with his strong white teeth, getting 
 his moustache generously filled with the moist earth. 
 The sun's rays were well aslant when they made sail 
 for home ; and the Doctor congratulated himself as he 
 saw how much better was the child's color, and that 
 the circles were almost gone from beneath his eyes. 
 
 As they entered the harbor, the sun had gone 
 below the hills back of the town, and a faint flushing 
 of pink was telling of an ended day. 
 
 Captain Jack was very quiet, lying close up against 
 the Doctor. But presently he roused himself to hear 
 what Uncle Billy was saying to young Sam.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 253 
 
 " She were never much of a craft at best. An' 
 thersun hed fried 'bout all ther pitch out'n her seams, 
 till she leaked lek ther old sieve thet she was. An' 
 ther cap'n, Laird ! He were a lunatic, for temper. 
 I Ve knowed him ter em'ty a six-shooter down ther 
 deck, jest ter sort o' mek a peaceful atmosphere 
 aboard. Durin' one scrap o' ther sort he went an' 
 drilled a hole through ther mate, by mistek. An' 't 
 was quite frequent thet he scooted arter ther cook an' 
 ther cabin boy, chasin' 'em with a handspike. Onct 
 he Ump ! " Uncle Billy interrupted himself to 
 exclaim, " I 'm blowed if there ain 't thet old moun- 
 tain o' tar ! " He was looking hard at the wharf, 
 where, sure enough, stood Mammy Zabette, her gay 
 turban making a brilliant spot upon the dusking 
 background. 
 
 The sea was sunless and darkening, only the fields 
 ashore holding a last semblance of brightness, when 
 the " Pretty Sally " came alongside the wharf, and 
 Doctor Jasper, swinging Captain Jack ahead of him, 
 stepped off.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 EATED upon a pile of lumber near the top of 
 the steps was Mrs. Bessly, her white apron 
 over her head, for the air had a touch of chilli- 
 ness compared with the temperature of her kitchen, 
 where she usually was busy at this hour. And the 
 fact of her being where she was, together with her 
 unwontedly solemn face, signified that something 
 was very much amiss. 
 
 Near her stood Zabette, looking, as Doctor Jasper 
 thought, even gloomier than usual. 
 
 The negress spoke up at once, addressing Captain 
 Jack. 
 
 " Stay hyar wid Missey Bessly, honey, till I 
 speaks wid le Docteur one minute." And before 
 the child could remonstrate she had drawn the Doc- 
 tor to one side, turning her back to the others as 
 she said hastily, her voice filled with suppressed 
 woe, " Madame, we t'ink she done hab stroke, sair. 
 She lay still so still, all 'cept one han', dat jes' 
 wave up an' down up an' down. We doan' dar', 
 at first, sen' fo' le Docteur. But now she so help- 
 less, Miss Loleta, she say pleasy woan' ye come wid 
 de chile an' me right 'way, an' see Madame." 
 
 "When did this happen?" he asked, almost be- 
 fore she had finished. "At what time was Madame 
 taken in this way?"
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 255 
 
 "Mos' two hours 'go, w'en I was out'n de house, 
 doin' arrans. " 
 
 " And no one was with her but that girl ? " he 
 demanded, speaking with unconscious fierceness. 
 
 Zabette started, looking at him as if puzzled by 
 his manner. But she ignored the question, and said 
 still more urgently, "Woan' ye pleasy come right 
 away, Mos'r le Docteur?" 
 
 "Why, of course I will;" but he was still scowl- 
 ing at her. " I '11 come at once." 
 
 Mrs. Bessly now approached. "Ye be goin' up 
 to Madam, be n't ye? " she inquired; but he did not 
 seem to hear her. 
 
 Captain Jack, who had been looking on with won- 
 dering eyes, came and took hold of the Doctor's 
 hand. 
 
 "Grandmere is ill," he said, his voice all of a 
 tremble. "Mrs. Bessly does say so; and I do want 
 to go to her. Take me home, please, man Docteur. 
 Mrs. Bessly says for me to stay with her; but I do 
 want to go home." 
 
 The Doctor stooped to soothe him, while Zabette, 
 rolling her hands in her apron, looked at the child 
 with her eyes full of tears. 
 
 "An' yo' is comin' home, mon bijou, wiv' yo' 
 Mammy Zabette," she said in a low, coaxing voice. 
 "Right away yo' is comin'." 
 
 Still clasping the little hand tightly as they 
 walked along, Doctor Jasper told him quietly that, 
 as his grandmother was not very well, he should go 
 with Zabette when they reached home, and not come 
 to her room.
 
 256 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "I will be good, and stay away," the child prom- 
 ised, pressing the Doctor's hand as he swung it back 
 and forth. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly stood a few moments where they had 
 left her, in the middle of the street, looking after 
 the three figures. Her kind heart was being torn 
 between the impulse that was driving her to the 
 Harwood house, to offer any assistance she could 
 render, and the fear that she might not be wanted 
 there. Then with this was the knowledge that her 
 whole baking of bread and pies would be ruined, 
 and go for nothing, if she left them to their fate. 
 
 " Plague take it," she muttered petulantly. " How 
 contrary lots o' things do happen in this world ! If 
 I hed n't let Jane go over to Conley's for thet extra 
 cotton, an' hed n't tried to be so smart myself, 
 mekin' bread to-day, when I hed pies an' cake to 
 bake, an' mekin' 'em all myself, too, I 'd been free 
 to let my heels foller my wish, an' go straight up 
 to Madam's this very minute. Dear me, the days 
 o* man is short, an' full o' sorrow an' sin; yes, an' 
 so be wimmin's. An' there 's Madam at death's 
 door, I guess; an' what's to become o' them chil- 
 dren, I wonder?" 
 
 She slammed her gate less noisily than usual, and 
 went back to her baking. 
 
 At the Harwood gate, the fingers of the little 
 hand that had been swinging Doctor Jasper's arm 
 to and fro like a pendulum were suddenly closed 
 tightly, as Captain Jack lifted his face, with troubled 
 eyes and parted lips, to bid his friend good-by. 
 Then, as Zabette took his other hand to lead him
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 257 
 
 away, he made a movement as if to resist, and cling- 
 ing to the Doctor, burst out impulsively, "This day, 
 before I did go, grandmere did take me in her lap 
 and kiss me many times. She said I did look like 
 the picture of grandpere Harwood, that was painted 
 of him when he was a little boy; and she did ask 
 if I would grow up brave and good, like him. And 
 I told her ' Yes,' and that I would be good like she 
 was, too. And then she did hug me up close, like 
 Loleta does. And she did never do so before, 
 never once; and I did wonder why she did do it now. 
 And I do think she was crying, for her cheek was 
 wet, and it did make my forehead and one of my 
 eyes wet." 
 
 " Never mind about it now, dear," the Doctor said 
 gently, as he stooped to kiss the upturned face. 
 " I will do all I can to make your grandmere feel well 
 again ; and you will always remember to be good 
 and brave, as she said. And now if you '11 go with 
 Mammy Zabette, I '11 come and see you after a while, 
 and we can have a nice talk." 
 
 "Sure for true?" His tone seemed to imply a 
 slight doubt. 
 
 "Yes, surely; even if you have gone to bed." 
 
 This assurance seemed to dispel the child's sad- 
 dened intuitions, for he went dancing gayly up the 
 path with the grave-faced negress. 
 
 She had asked Doctor Jasper to wait a moment at 
 the front door; and having called Pierre, she gave 
 Captain Jack into his charge, and went with the 
 Doctor upstairs. 
 
 The faint tinkle of the fountain in the conserva- 
 17
 
 258 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 tory filled a silence that seemed gloomy with a com- 
 ing tragedy as Doctor Jasper ascended the wide 
 staircase, where the bronze triton's trident held the 
 lamp, which gave forth a low, uncertain light, mak- 
 ing dark shadows, like lurking phantoms. 
 
 Through a wide-opened window in the upper hall 
 he saw the darkening sea, with several sails fading 
 away to the eastward, the sight bringing to his mind 
 one of Loleta's songs : 
 
 " Ships were sailing into the distance, 
 Down to the lands where the sun has gone. 
 The rough, fresh wind blew in our faces, 
 The shadows of night came slowly on." 
 
 Were not "The shadows of night," so woeful for 
 her, poor child were they not now gathering about 
 her? 
 
 Mammy Zabette stopped before an open door, and 
 motioned him to enter. The large room was lit by 
 a few wax candles ; and some of the windows were 
 open, with their lace curtains caught back to let in 
 the air. 
 
 As Doctor Jasper glanced quickly about, he was 
 vaguely impressed with the brightness of the apart- 
 ment, and with the luxury and taste of its furnishings. 
 
 But his eyes did not linger upon these, for he saw 
 Loleta sitting in a cushioned recess, behind the 
 looped-back curtain. Unconscious of his entrance, 
 she was leaning forward, with her elbows resting 
 upon the cushion of a carved, high-backed chair, and 
 her hands clasped behind her head. 
 
 As he came toward her she looked up. Then,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 259 
 
 without a word, she arose and went with him to the 
 side of the bed where lay the unconscious woman. 
 
 Doctor Jasper said nothing, but looked intently at 
 the dark, beautiful face upon the pillow, the black 
 lashes throwing such heavy shadows that it was only 
 when a stray beam of light stole under them that 
 the eyes could be seen, glinting in a way to show 
 that they were partially unclosed. 
 
 He made his examination rapidly, forced all the 
 while to be mindful of the girl opposite, standing 
 there motionless, her sorrowing eyes regarding him 
 with the trustfulness of a child. 
 
 He took the small hand nearest him, its fingers 
 weighted with sparkling rings, and felt for the 
 pulse. This hand was nerveless and quiet; but its 
 mate was reaching up, as if striving to get higher 
 and still higher. When Loleta caught and held it, 
 it became passive; but no sooner did she lay it upon 
 the coverlid, than again it began to reach and reach, 
 in a way pitiful to see. 
 
 The Doctor's diagnosis was soon completed. It 
 told him that a blood vessel had burst in the brain ; 
 and he knew that Madame Harwood was dying. 
 She was almost gone already; for her heavy breath- 
 ing, and the motion of her hand, these were 
 purely mechanical. 
 
 He arose from his chair and went to an open win- 
 dow, whither Loleta followed him. Whether or not 
 they were proffered, he never knew; but he found 
 himself holding both her hands, while, and as gently 
 as he could put it into words, he told her the truth. 
 
 She did not cry out, did not even speak, but
 
 260 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 only looked up into his face, her eyes wide-open and 
 dazed, and still letting her hands lie within his. 
 
 Not until he had finished did she withdraw them, 
 saying softly, "You are kind, very, very kind," 
 and then went back to the curtained recess where 
 he first saw her. 
 
 His professional duty was now fulfilled, and he 
 could do nothing more. But every feeling within 
 him cried out in protest at the thought of leaving 
 this girl alone with the old negress, to face and 
 realize the dreadful end which must soon be forced 
 upon her. As a man, and loving her, there was but 
 one thing for him to do; and taking a note-book 
 from his pocket he scribbled a few lines to Mrs. 
 Bessly, telling her that she need not sit up to let 
 him in, as he should stop where he was for the 
 night, and asking her to come to the Harwood house 
 early the next morning. 
 
 Then, mindful of his promise to Captain Jack, he 
 asked Zabette to take him to the child. 
 
 She led him to another part of the house, where 
 he found the boy in bed, but with eyes wide open ; 
 and, as the candle-light fell on his face, he sprang 
 up eagerly. 
 
 " Ah, man Docteur, you did come ! " 
 
 "Of course I came; didn't I promise you I 
 would?" And, putting his hand in front of the 
 light, he placed the candlestick upon the floor. 
 
 "I am so glad you did come; and I do love you 
 so," the child murmured, stroking the strong hand 
 and wrist, as Doctor Jasper seated himself by the 
 small brass bedstead.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 261 
 
 "You are a dear little chap," he said, patting the 
 tawny head ; " and I love you as much as you love 
 me. But I can't stay very long with you now, for 
 I must go back to your grandmere." 
 
 Captain Jack looked up at him sharply. 
 
 " Why, what is she doing? " he asked nervously. 
 
 "She is lying in bed," was the guarded reply. 
 
 "Oh, then," in a tone of relief, "she is asleep." 
 
 "Yes, she is asleep." 
 
 "And will she be all well when she does wake 
 
 up 
 
 "Yes, I think she will, when she wakes. But 
 now I must go back to her. Good-night, my dear 
 little man." And kissing the child, he left him 
 to nestle down amid his pillows, while he himself 
 returned to the sick room. 
 
 Zabette met him at the door, and told him that 
 her young mistress begged he would go down to the 
 dining-room, where Pierre had set out a repast for 
 him. 
 
 The Doctor had not thought of it before, but now 
 realized that he was very hungry; and the belief 
 that Loleta had cared to think of his comfort would 
 have incited an appetite, even had it been lacking. 
 
 One can be woefully in love, or woeful with sor- 
 row, and yet know hunger. But Doctor Jasper's 
 appetite would not have been so keen, had he 
 known that it was the negress, and not her half- 
 stunned young mistress, who had paid this attention 
 to his welfare. 
 
 The night wore on slowly and drearily, with the 
 tall clock in the lower hall telling the hours and
 
 262 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 their divisions, as its silver chimes rang out like 
 warning cries. 
 
 Except for the same pitiful movement of the arm 
 and hand, Madame Harvvood had not stirred ; not an 
 eyelash had quivered since Doctor Jasper entered 
 the house. Only that one little hand, ever reach- 
 ing, reaching, with a motion as unceasing and 
 monotonous as the swing of the pendulum in the 
 clock below. 
 
 Mammy Zabette sat beside the bed, fanning her 
 dying mistress, never pausing, even when she nodded, 
 overcome by drowsiness; and in the dusky light it 
 was hard to distinguish where the line of her closed 
 lids ended on the black cheeks. 
 
 Loleta, refusing to leave her grandmother for a 
 moment, sat in a large cushioned chair, over in the 
 darkest corner of the room, and might have been 
 asleep, so motionless and quiet was she. 
 
 The night had been growing closer. The window 
 in the curtained recess had been opened for air; and 
 here Doctor Jasper sat, in a clumsily carved heir- 
 loom of a chair, one that to an imaginative mind 
 might have suggested the likelihood of an ancestor's 
 ghost coming back to occupy it. 
 
 Through the open window came the sound of the 
 sea, the sea Madame Harwood had always loved so 
 well, and over whose depths she had sailed so often 
 by the side of her beloved one. And now that she 
 lay drifting away from the shadows of earth, the 
 mournful booming of the surf was a fitting requiem 
 to lull her to eternal sleep. 
 
 So ran Doctor Jasper's thoughts, when a sudden
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 263 
 
 pause in the heavy breathing came like a shock to 
 dissipate them, and brought him to the full posses- 
 sion of his senses. 
 
 A moment later and he was bending over the pil- 
 low. There came a long, soft, shuddering sigh, 
 and then silence. Leaning still closer in the dim 
 light, he saw that the lids were lifted from her eyes, 
 and that the arm and hand lay motionless by her 
 side; and he knew that all was over. 
 
 The muscles of the strangely beautiful face were 
 already beginning to harden, and the great dark 
 eyes had that unutterably sad look seen only in 
 those of the dying, or the dead, a look as if the 
 discarded body were watching the spirit's flight into 
 realms of light, such as it might never share. 
 
 Doctor Jasper closed the eyes tenderly, and 
 looked up to see Loleta standing opposite, with 
 clasped hands, and gazing with something like hor- 
 ror at the still form lying between them. 
 
 "It is all over, my child. She suffers no more, 
 and is at peace." His voice and look, no less than 
 his words, were as though he had laid his palm 
 gently upon the head of a little child one grieved, 
 or hurt. 
 
 The girl made no answer, nor did she look at 
 him. But, bending over, she rested her head be- 
 side the dark one on the pillow ; and he heard her 
 repeat, over and over again, " Elle mouret, elle 
 mourct ! Grandmere Grandmere, take me! Ah, 
 take me, too ! " 
 
 Aroused by this from her drowsiness, Zabette gave 
 a wild cry, and dropped on her knees by the bed,
 
 264 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 burying her face in the coverlid, while she gave 
 voice to fiercely intense sobs. 
 
 Then Loleta started up, and, without a word, 
 turned quickly and left the room. 
 
 As soon as she was gone Doctor Jasper spoke to 
 the negress, who was continuing her lamentations, 
 now in French, and now in broken English. Re- 
 ceiving no reply, he took her by the shoulders, bid- 
 ding her to quiet herself, and go instantly to her 
 young mistress. 
 
 She arose clumsily, her outburst somewhat sub- 
 dued, although she was still sobbing; and bending 
 over, she peered into the dead face. Then she drew 
 the sheet over the rigid features as she muttered, 
 " Courri, courri! Eh-h-h ! Gone, gone; an' yo' 
 nevvah spik wid yo' poo' ol' Zabette, -nevvah no 
 mo'. Yo' Zabette, she dress yo' fo' yo' bridal-day, 
 an' now she dress yo' fo' yo' buryin'. Eh-h-h! 
 Seems lak I mus' crazy die. Oh-h-h ! Ma monrri! " 
 
 As the faithful creature, still sobbing and mutter- 
 ing, turned to go, the Doctor again bade her but 
 more gently than before see to it that Miss 
 Loleta had some sleep, and to let him know if she 
 did not. He then told her to send one of the men- 
 servants to him, and added that he should remain 
 at the house until morning. 
 
 Zabette glanced toward the bed, and went slowly 
 away. Pierre came soon afterwards; and to him 
 Doctor Jasper gave some necessary directions. 
 
 Then, when he was alone, he went into the alcove, 
 and drawing the curtains, shut himself in and sat 
 by the window to wait for day to come.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 265 
 
 He looked out over the gardens and fields, sloping 
 away to the water, where they ended in a small cove, 
 whose gray sand curved like a sickle. At either end 
 great piles of rock loomed up like sentinels, upon 
 whose scarred breasts the tides swayed thick growths 
 of seaweed, while imagination could define their 
 set lips, and their eyes all unmindful of the toy- 
 ing water beneath them gazing fixedly out to sea. 
 
 Just before dawn there came some vivid flashes of 
 lightning, and a rush of wind that soughed dismally 
 through the elms ; then followed an impetuous patter 
 of drops. And, after a short, angry downpour, the 
 black clouds began to lift, and were soon rolled up 
 and away into the south, where they hung like sable 
 draperies. 
 
 And now, as though rejoicing in this majesty of 
 a day's birth, a bird in the near-by meadow made 
 the cooled air sweet with its morning song. 
 
 Ah, Nature, is there anything more heartless to 
 a sorrowing soul than art thou? 
 
 Death lies cold and awful in its mystery. Hearts 
 are breaking; the world seems to hold naught save 
 darkness and despair. 
 
 And still the day comes, smiling and happy! 
 The birds sing, and dawn's rose-flush over sea and 
 land melts into gold, as the glorious sun brings an- 
 other day to awaken the living, be they happy or 
 sorrowful, to awaken all but the dead for whom 
 they mourn !
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 " And thrice the twilight rose and fell 
 About a land where nothing seemed the same 
 At morn or eve, as in the days gone by." 
 
 DOCTOR JASPER had called twice at the 
 Harwood house, to be told each time by 
 Mammy Zabette that " Missy Loleta she 
 say woan' yo' pleasy 'scuse? An' dat doan' be 
 nuffin' yo' kin do; an' merci." 
 
 He saw nothing of Captain Jack; and the Leslies 
 father and daughter had gone to the city for a 
 visit of several days. 
 
 During this time of unusual loneliness many new 
 thoughts had come to his mind, and all the old ones 
 had returned, amongst them the wonder about the 
 strange suicide, and the indefinable feeling that con- 
 nected him with the Harwood household. 
 
 His moody abstraction easily caught the attention 
 of Mrs. Bessly, who confided to a neighbor her be- 
 lief that Doctor Jasper, to judge from his altered 
 appearance and manner, must surely be in love; 
 and that of course it could be with none other than 
 Margaret Leslie. 
 
 "He used to be thet sociable," she said to her 
 friend, "so ready to talk, seemin' pleased to hev 
 me tell yarns o' the old place an' people, an' all
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 267 
 
 'bout the old times. An' now, land-sakes! Ye 
 might raise cummins right under his very nose, an' 
 he 'd only look at ye as if he was goin' to drop off 
 asleep. " 
 
 One evening in the early twilight he rowed him- 
 self around to the cove where the Harwood estate 
 ended at the water, and going within several yards 
 of the beach, rested on his oars, while the tide 
 gently set his boat shoreward. 
 
 The wind was from the land, and came with a 
 warm rush, laden with the scent of newly-cut grass 
 turning to hay on the upper meadows. And with it 
 there was brought to his ears the sound of voices. 
 
 One of these made his pulse beat in the way it 
 had learned of late; and he twisted his fingers in 
 the seaweed upon the tall rocks alongside him, so 
 that his dory should not drift farther inshore. 
 
 He heard Captain Jack say, " Please do sing for 
 me." And then came that other voice, not quite 
 so strong as when last he heard its singing, but 
 sweeter than ever. 
 
 The words were enunciated so clearly that he 
 could distinguish each one; and they poured into 
 his heart a flood of pain and passion. 
 
 " I am as but a broken reed 
 
 Beside the rushing river; 
 And at my feet the waves flow on 
 Forever and forever. 
 
 " The purple clouds of evening red 
 
 Are mirrored in the river. 
 The sun will rise, and suns will set, 
 Forever and forever.
 
 268 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " Through moon and sunlight spring and fall 
 
 Beside the rushing river, 
 I am as but a broken reed, 
 Forever and forever." 
 
 Such a heart-break sounded in her voice that he 
 unconsciously stretched out his arms to her in the 
 gathering dusk. 
 
 He started to row away, when a low murmur from 
 Captain Jack came to him. Then he heard Loleta 
 say, "Jacques, why should a btbt like you so love to 
 hear that dismal song? " 
 
 The child answered, "'Cause I do like 'Forever 
 and forever. ' ' 
 
 "Yes," she said; "but nothing is forever. Even 
 the river does not really go on forever, although the 
 song does say so. Suns will not always rise and 
 set; nothing nothing is forever." 
 
 She spoke as though not to the child, but in an- 
 swer to some thought of her own. And Noel Jasper 
 added to her words, " Only love ! Love is, and ever 
 was, and ever will be, the one thing eternal and 
 forever ! " 
 
 It was quite dark when he reached the wharf. 
 And after delivering the dory to its owner, a 
 lame old sailor, he crossed the street and found 
 Eph and Jane hanging, lover-like, over the gate. 
 As they greeted him, Mrs. Bessly came from the 
 house. 
 
 "Be thet you, Doctor Jasper?" she asked, try- 
 ing to make him out in the darkness. "Cap'n 
 Leslie's jest been down here, lookin' for ye. Him 
 an' Marg'ret got back an hour ago."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 269 
 
 "Is that so? Then I guess I '11 go right over and 
 see them." 
 
 He said this with such eagerness that daylight 
 would have shown him the volumes spoken by Mrs. 
 Bessly's lifted brows and puckered lips, volumes 
 from that never-ending library of "I told you so." 
 
 "Hi, lad, is that you?" was the Captain's 
 hearty greeting, its very sound bringing cheer to 
 Doctor Jasper's thoughts. 
 
 He felt that it was the voice of a friend one 
 whom he could trust. And, as he grasped the cor- 
 dially extended hand, he became possessed by a 
 resolve to tell Captain Leslie the story of his long- 
 ings and hopes. 
 
 This he did before long, when Margaret, who was 
 feeling tired, had gone to her chamber for the night, 
 and the two men sat alone in the comfortable room 
 where they had smoked many a pipe and cigar to- 
 gether, and played innumerable games of chess and 
 cribbage. 
 
 Before they had talked many minutes, Captain 
 Leslie inquired about the Harwood children. 
 
 "They are both well ; that is, so far as I can hear," 
 Doctor Jasper replied, with assumed indifference. 
 
 "Hear!" the Captain repeated, with a touch of 
 irascibility. " Why, man-alive, do you mean to tell 
 me that you haven't been up there to see for your- 
 self how they are ? " 
 
 " I have been there twice ; but Miss Loleta wished 
 to be excused, so Zabette told me. And when I 
 asked if I could be of any service, she answered 
 that I could not."
 
 270 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "Hum-m-m," came from the Captain's lips, as he 
 gently rubbed his chin, and looked at his friend 
 through the clouds of fleecy smoke. 
 
 "Hum-m-m," he repeated, and paused, as though 
 waiting for the Doctor to add something. 
 
 But it was several moments before the latter 
 spoke. And when he did, it was with an earnest- 
 ness which Captain Leslie thought was hardly called 
 for by anything they had been discussing. 
 
 "Captain," he said, raising his eyes from the 
 floor, and looking the other man in the face, " there 
 is a certain matter I would like very much to talk 
 with you about, if you don't mind ; something that 
 is very close to my heart, and in regard to which I 
 should like your opinion." 
 
 Captain Leslie's genial face took an odd expres- 
 sion, and an unwonted shrewdness showed in his 
 eyes, as he answered, "Pipe away, my lad, as I 
 would say to my Tom, if he were here. Let me 
 know what 's in the wind, and what I can do for 
 you; and remember that you can count on Nat 
 Leslie every time." 
 
 The Doctor thanked him warmly. Then, with a 
 little hesitation, and a good deal of what the Cap- 
 tain would have called "shy-floundering," he put 
 his friend in possession of his secret. 
 
 While he was doing this, another, and very dif- 
 ferent look, was growing upon Captain Leslie's 
 face, a look that might have told Doctor Jasper 
 another secret, had he not been so taken up with 
 his own. 
 
 Before long the Captain leaned forward, and rested
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 271 
 
 his face on his hand; and when the story was fin- 
 ished, he was silent for a while, sitting with his 
 eyes partially covered by his palm, and his elbow 
 upon the chair arm. 
 
 At length, after a long, deep sigh, he dropped his 
 hand upon his knee, and gazed earnestly into Doc- 
 tor Jasper's face. Then his own resumed much of 
 its natural expression, and he smiled, while he said 
 in his usual animated way, "See here, my lad, - 
 the older I grow, the more I wonder at the chap, 
 whoever he was, who first made a fat baby, with 
 wings spliced to his shoulders, typify love, when a 
 giant, or, better yet, a raging tornado, would be so 
 much more to the point. It seems to me that, for 
 most men, love is the proper thing for reaping and 
 mowing, yes, and for ploughing under; and outside 
 parties can rarely form any sort of a right idea as to 
 the choice who it is aimed at. And " after a 
 moment's pause "so you 've got it, have you, my 
 lad?" 
 
 He spoke as if it were an attack of fever, or 
 some other more or less unpleasant and dangerous 
 disease. 
 
 "Well, well," he added, before the Doctor could 
 reply, and for a moment that same peculiar look 
 returned to his face, "and so it is Loleta?" 
 
 "Yes," but the Doctor did not look at him - 
 "it is Loleta." 
 
 "Then, my lad, all I 've to say is this: If Madame 
 were alive, I should have my doubts as to your 
 course being an easy one to sail. But, as matters 
 are, it seems to me a perfectly clear one."
 
 272 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "Perhaps," rather dubiously; "if she can care 
 for me. " 
 
 "Tut, tut," said the Captain, his voice now full 
 of cheer and encouragement; "why do you sit and 
 allow ' perhaps' to cut any figure in the matter? I 
 know that old fellows like me are only too ready to 
 put their gray heads into a bag of latter-day virtues, 
 and pipe away to the tune of ' I never did so when / 
 was young.' And that 's a tune I always try to shy 
 clear of, perhaps because it would be a hard one 
 for me to sing. And yet I '11 be frank with you, my 
 lad, and say that I don't think that, at your age, I 'd 
 have done what you seem to be doing, but would 
 have braced up, and shown more confidence. Re- 
 member this, that a true woman's love is a rare 
 thing to possess, and that it 's worth making a big 
 fight to gain. Compared with a man's love, it 's 
 solid silver alongside plated ware. You know that 
 time and using never dull the real article; but they 
 can rub the silver from the plated metal, and let the 
 pinchbeck show through in ugly spots." 
 
 His manner had now become earnest; and he 
 added, with a sudden accession of feeling, " Now, 
 take my little Peg, you 'd better believe that no 
 man with electro-plated love had better come around 
 her, not while I am alive. She is pure silver, 
 through and through. But the same is true of Jack 
 Harwood's lass. And so I say to you, go to her 
 like a man, and take nothing in the shape of ' No,' 
 for an answer. " 
 
 That night, Doctor Jasper, as was his habit before 
 retiring, looked out at the sea and sky. His heart
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 273 
 
 was almost jubilant; and he said to himself, "I will 
 see her, and then 
 
 There was a smear of moon only a little way up 
 in the dark sky that melted down below it into the 
 obscure sea-line; and here and there were glintings 
 of stars. 
 
 The waters came rolling in with a sullen roar, for 
 the coming tide was a high one. Its waves were 
 washing over the spot where Loleta had been sitting 
 that evening with Captain Jack; and before morn- 
 ing the spray, glancing from the full tide, would be 
 blown across the pillars of the porch in front of the 
 closed windows of the music-room. 
 
 Up over this were Loleta's apartments, the two 
 windows of her bedroom looking out seaward, 
 through the columns of the balcony. And here was 
 swung a hammock, in which, until a late hour this 
 same night, a woman's white draperies glimmered, 
 pearl-like, in the gloom. 
 
 It was Loleta, there alone, the wind ruffling her 
 loosened hair and the laces about her wrists and 
 throat. 
 
 The room within was full of the rich daintiness 
 with which her grandmother's tender love had sur- 
 rounded her. 
 
 The walls were silvery green, with a frieze of 
 white lilacs; and the rugs scattered over the pol- 
 ished dark wood floor were the same silvery green, 
 with more white lilacs wrought upon them. 
 
 The bedstead and dressing-table of some rare 
 Arabian wood were heavily carved and delicately 
 scented. And upon the table wax candles were now 
 
 18
 
 274 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 burning in silver girandoles whose many glass pen- 
 dants sparkled like dewdrops caught in cobwebs. 
 
 One window opened, door-like, upon the balcony. 
 In the other was an octagon seat, piled, like the 
 divan at the opposite side of the room, with a riot 
 of cushions, whose coverings were of curious for- 
 eign stuffs. And the chairs, carved from the same 
 wood as the bedstead and dressing-table, were cov- 
 ered with silvery green, the predominating color of 
 the room. 
 
 Amongst the pictures upon the walls was a paint- 
 ing of Captain Jack, in his third year, with a cheru- 
 bic mouth and wealth of sunny curls, and with eyes 
 in color like those clear streams in the woods that 
 run out from amongst the roots of trees. 
 
 There was another portrait of a low-browed 
 beauty whose dusky loveliness and flashing black 
 eyes were yet like Loleta. This was her young 
 mother. 
 
 The candles had burned low before the girl came 
 in from the balcony. She did not stop, but, closing 
 the window, passed through the room into a darkened 
 one beyond, where Captain Jack lay asleep. And 
 the door she left open caused a draught, which set 
 atune an JEolian .harp fitted into an opposite window. 
 
 "Loleta, my Loleta," the child murmured, as 
 he partially awakened. And as she bent over him 
 he stretched up his arms and clasped them around 
 her neck. 
 
 "Loleta," he sighed again. 
 
 "Yes; oui, mon btbt" she said softly, her lips 
 against his throat.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 275 
 
 "Loleta," once more, "if an angel did fall out of 
 Heaven, do you s'pose he would be hurted? " 
 
 The oddity of the question brought a laugh to her 
 lips, as she kissed him again, saying gently, " You 
 are dreaming, mon btbt, and yet awake. Now you 
 must go to sleep." 
 
 It was not long before they were both sleeping, 
 with the door between them set wide-open. And 
 the night winds wandered amid the strings of the 
 harp as if 
 
 " Spirit hands from unseen lands " 
 were straying over them.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THE next morning ushered in a fair day, with 
 a breeze that had in it a touch of autumn 
 briskness, until the sun neared noon. 
 
 Captain Leslie had driven down once more to 
 Pilot's-Head, taking Margaret with him. Doctor 
 Jasper was at the house when they started ; and the 
 Captain had said to him, with a prodigious amount 
 of winking behind his daughter's back, "Now, don't 
 be lonely, my lad. Stop here, if you like, or take 
 a walk, and then come back to us. We shall surely 
 expect you to supper; and I hope you '11 feel like 
 playing a little cribbage this evening. We'll have 
 a talk and a smoke, later on, when Peggy goes off to 
 ' dance with the sandman. ' ' 
 
 Then to Margaret, "Now, my lass, are the sails 
 all set, and the anchor up? Then off we go." 
 
 And now to the horse, " Hi, you lazy Carrots, - 
 git!" 
 
 With this he slapped the reins and awakened the 
 old beast, who was soon ambling off up the street, 
 guided in the Captain's usual erratic fashion. 
 
 As they drove away, Margaret looked back smil- 
 ingly to say, "We shall surely expect to find you 
 here waiting for us, and supper." 
 
 Doctor Jasper went into the house and sat awhile 
 in the library, absorbed by his dreams and hopes,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 277 
 
 half fearing, yet wholly wishing, to know whether 
 he was to gain or lose that for which he was longing 
 as he had never longed for anything before. 
 
 As the hall clock struck eleven, he arose, and, 
 picking up his hat, went out of doors, turning his 
 steps toward the Harwood place. 
 
 This he was not long in reaching; and, as he 
 unlatched the gate, he saw Loleta, far back toward 
 the side of the house, near a little rustic pavilion. 
 
 It was a distinct relief to him when he caught 
 sight of the gleam of her white gown amid the 
 green of the shrubbery, for he had been dreading 
 to see her clad in the sable garments which cus- 
 tom might have induced her to wear. A broad- 
 brimmed hat was hanging from her arm, and as 
 she bent over the flowers, the sunniness of her hair 
 seemed to blend with their bright hues. 
 
 He opened the gate softly, and went in, trying 
 not to attract her attention too soon, for fear that 
 she might fly before he could speak to her. But 
 she saw him before he had taken many steps, and 
 waited, with calm eyes and faintly smiling lips, 
 until he stood before her. 
 
 "You are well?" he asked, with an eagerness he 
 could not hide, while he retained possession of the 
 little hand she had extended. 
 
 "Oh, yes; quite well," as she gently withdrew it. 
 "And you?" 
 
 "Me? I am always well," he answered, speaking 
 quite shortly. 
 
 He could scarcely have told himself why, but 
 somehow her perfect serenity jarred upon him.
 
 278 Up and E)own the Sands of Gold 
 
 Had he pressed himself for the reason, he would 
 have found it in the contrast her apparent com- 
 posure afforded to his own perturbed condition of 
 mind. 
 
 "Ah, then," she said, with a little laugh; "if you 
 are always well, you are one truly to be envied." 
 
 The only notice he took of this was to smile into 
 her uplifted eyes, as he asked, "And Captain Jack, 
 is he also well?" adding, in a tone that made 
 her lids droop, "It seems so very long since I have 
 seen either of you." 
 
 " Jacques ? Oh, yes. He has gone with Mammy 
 Zabette, for a walk. " 
 
 She spoke with a lightness that seemed to wil- 
 fully ignore the deliberate seriousness of what he 
 had just said. 
 
 "I wonder you did not meet them," she added, 
 "as it was to the Tapley's house they did go, on an 
 errand; and that is near to Mrs. Bessly's." 
 
 He explained that he had not come directly from 
 there, but from Captain Leslie's. 
 
 " Ah, Margot is then at home ? I am glad ; and 
 it must be for you a pleasure." 
 
 She said it with an air of perfect frankness ; as if 
 sure of the happiness he must find in Margaret's 
 society, and as though it were quite an understood 
 thing that such was the case. 
 
 This, feeling as he did, his heart filled with pas- 
 sionate love for Loleta herself, was hard to bear. 
 
 "Let us go into the summer-house," he said, 
 almost brusquely. "Don't you think it will be 
 pleasanter there ? "
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 279 
 
 Had Loleta been looking at him she would have 
 seen an expression in his gray eyes that no woman's 
 heart could have well misunderstood. 
 
 She led the way silently into the little pavilion, 
 but made no movement to seat herself; and so he 
 also remained standing. Between them was a small 
 rustic table; and her slender fingers began to tap 
 impatiently upon this, as she stood with lowered 
 eyes, while he looked into her lovely face as if try- 
 ing to read the answer to what he was about to say. 
 
 Presently he asked abruptly, " Why did you speak 
 in that way of Margaret's return, as if it was such 
 an unalloyed pleasure to me? " 
 
 "That way?" lifting her eyes, while her brows 
 arched in surprise. " I am sure I do not know. I 
 did only think of the bonne camaraderie between you 
 two, as it did seem to me. And then she is so 
 bright, so happy-natured, always, is Margot. " 
 
 She was, despite her show of indifference, evi- 
 dently troubled, or embarrassed, by the intent look 
 of his eyes, for she now took a rose from her gown 
 and began to play with it nervously. 
 
 "Good comradeship," said Doctor Jasper slowly, 
 taking advantage of the expression she had used. 
 "I wish you and I might always have bonne camara- 
 derie between us. May it not be so, will you not 
 promise me it may be so for the future? " 
 
 She did not answer. And he urged, "Tell me, 
 may it not be so ? " 
 
 At this she exclaimed in a voice whose bitterness 
 startled him, "I? Ah, no!" 
 
 " And why not ? " he demanded quickly, resting
 
 280 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 his hands upon the little table as he leaned over it 
 toward her, trying to look into her averted face. 
 
 "I will tell you," she replied, speaking very low, 
 and with such a sadness in hei; voice as he had never 
 heard before. " It is because I can have no wish 
 for any other camaraderie than Jacques may give 
 me." 
 
 As her eyes met his, she raised her head and 
 asked, while seeming to make an effort to push 
 away what his face now told her, " Have you never 
 heard of ' clouds driven by a wind, wells that hold 
 no water, stars for whom is reserved the blackness 
 of darkness forever? ' I am of these; and such have 
 no care, no, nor right to ask for bonne camarade- 
 rie. I cannot care for such things, and do not wish 
 to talk with you of such." 
 
 " Loleta ! " 
 
 It was the first time she had ever heard him utter 
 her name. Her face paled, and he thought he saw 
 an angry light come into her eyes. 
 
 "Loleta, Loleta," he repeated, his low voice 
 vibrant with intense feeling as it dwelt lovingly 
 upon the name. And he saw the anger, if such 
 it was, fade away, leaving a new wistfulness in the 
 lustrous eyes, while a faint quivering touched her 
 lips. 
 
 Bending his face nearer to hers, he made a mo- 
 tion as if to take the rose, with which she was still 
 playing. 
 
 She did not resist; and, as their hands met, there 
 was but one meaning for her in the firm clasp of his 
 strong fingers, a meaning that compelled her to
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 281 
 
 lift her eyes to meet the look in his illumined 
 face. 
 
 She stood as if dazed ; until, reading naught but 
 love in her upraised eyes, he bent over and laid his 
 lips upon her own. 
 
 With a half-suppressed cry of alarm, she pulled 
 her hands away, and stepping back, covered her face 
 with them. Then she stood silently, with bowed 
 head, her hands over her face, while the jewels on 
 her white fingers twinkled like little mocking eyes 
 full of derisive laughter. 
 
 He also stood and waited, his lips tingling with 
 that kiss, and his blood coursing madly. But his 
 firm chin and square jaw were set rigidly, and his 
 gray eyes became darker as they watched her; for 
 he felt that she was angry with him. 
 
 After what seemed many minutes, she looked up, 
 and he saw that some violent emotion possessed her, 
 for there were tears in her eyes, and her lips quiv- 
 ered pitifully. 
 
 " How dared you do that ? " she exclaimed at last, 
 brushing the tears aside, and making an effort to 
 control the trembling of her lips. 
 
 The lines of his eyes narrowed, and he raised his 
 chin higher; but his voice was as low and tender as 
 before. 
 
 "To lay, for the first time in a man's life, the 
 best, highest, and purest love, love eternal and 
 divine, at a woman's feet, it seems to me that 
 this, calls for neither apology nor excuse." 
 
 She looked away from him, and moved back. But 
 he followed her, asking impetuously, "Will you not
 
 282 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 even answer me? Loleta, Loleta, I love you, 
 do you not understand ? I think I have loved you 
 since the first moment I saw you. Your love will 
 make a Heaven of my world, can you not give it 
 to me? I pray you to speak, for I cannot live an- 
 other day and not know that I have your love, or 
 the chance of winning it!" 
 
 But she drew still farther away, putting out one 
 hand with an imperious gesture. 
 
 "Answer me, you must answer me," he com- 
 manded, rather than urged. "Or say nothing, but 
 come to me. Then I shall " 
 
 "Stop wait!" she exclaimed. "No!" for he 
 had extended his arms toward her "do not touch 
 me!" 
 
 She looked down, and twisted her fingers together 
 nervously. 
 
 "Yes, I will answer you. And it is this I have 
 to say: That you mistake, that you have mistaken 
 something I have said or looked. It grieves me 
 much very much; but I cannot let you talk to 
 me so never. No " after a moment's pause 
 " never ! " 
 
 He approached closer, and attempted to take her 
 hands. But she held them before her repellingly, 
 as she recoiled from him. 
 
 " Is it that you will not understand ? " she cried 
 wildly. "Well, then, listen to this that I do 
 detest you when you do talk so to me. Go go, 
 I say. But no, it is I who will go ! " And she 
 was gone before he could speak. 
 
 He did not offer to follow her, but threw himself
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 283 
 
 down upon a rustic bench. And presently, scarcely 
 knowing it, he found himself watching a colony of 
 ants gathered at his feet. 
 
 They were apparently in a state of great perturba- 
 tion over the peril likely to come from the tip of the 
 boot intruding so dangerously near themselves and 
 their homes. 
 
 He noticed this, and smiled in a hard, bitter way, 
 as he thought, " How much better off in the hands 
 of fate are we, with all our schemes and dreams, 
 than are these little crawling wretches, hundreds of 
 whom I could crush with one step, even as fate has 
 crushed me and my hopes ? " And he muttered 
 aloud, " She says she detests me, detests me for 
 loving her!" 
 
 "Ah, mon Docteur!" came joyously, and a small 
 body dashed impetuously against him. 
 
 The man felt a strange comfort as he put his arms 
 about the little form. 
 
 "Will you not kiss me, Captain Jack? " he asked. 
 And the answer came quickly, when the child's lips 
 touched his cheek and more than once. 
 
 As the Doctor looked at him he saw a puzzled 
 wonder in the luminous eyes, as though the lad's 
 sensitive nature had felt the touch of pain in his 
 friend's voice. 
 
 "I will fetch Loleta," he said, springing from the 
 Doctor's arms. But a detaining hand caught him 
 almost roughly. 
 
 " No, no ; I have seen her, and she has gone into 
 the house. I must be going too, pretty soon, after 
 I 've had a little visit with you."
 
 284 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 This appeared to allay the child's anxiety, and he 
 began to talk away in his usual nervous, disjointed 
 fashion. 
 
 "Did you ever hear of the king who did throw a 
 golden goblet into the sea ? I think I do know 
 where it is, or where one just like it is." 
 
 The announcement was made with an air of pro- 
 found mystery. 
 
 "No; you don't tell me?" the Doctor said, with 
 feigned amazement 
 
 "But I did tell you," the child insisted. "It 
 is up at Planche's Gully, down through the water, 
 in the seaweed, under a rock. I am going to tell 
 Uncle Billy, and ask him to look for it. Jenny and 
 I did see it this very morning. Do you know Mrs. 
 Tapley's Jenny?" 
 
 " No, I can't say that I do. " 
 
 "Well, she 's only just a little girl; and she does 
 have a stick-out on her back. Mammy Zabette does 
 say she is a bumpback." 
 
 "I guess you mean humpback, don't you, my little 
 man? " And the Doctor smiled mechanically. 
 
 "Oh, yes, I do remember; it is a hump. But it 
 was made to grow, Mrs. Tapley says, from a bump. 
 Oh, man Docteur" with a merry laugh, "that does 
 be poetry, bump, hump hump, bump. I did " 
 now very seriously " make up a poetry once, and 
 Loleta did write it for me, so as to have it all right. 
 If you like, I can speak it to you; but you must 
 never tell any one about it." 
 
 "I would like very much to hear it; and I prom- 
 ise never to tell." His face was sober enough to
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 285 
 
 satisfy the questioning look of an older person than 
 the one to whom he spoke. 
 
 Captain Jack dismounted from the Doctor's knee, 
 his movement starting into flight a plump robin that 
 had been picking from left to right, on its way into 
 the summer house. Then he removed his hat; and 
 the light caught his short-cropped curls in a way to 
 remind Doctor Jasper of how it had glistened from 
 the gems on Loleta's fingers a little while before. 
 
 The child stood perfectly erect, and throwing out 
 his chest, repeated, in a manner that betokened 
 careful training: 
 
 " Little boys and little girls, 
 With your little golden curls, 
 Let the goodness have the best ; 
 Let the badness be the least." 
 
 Then, replacing his hat, he silently and solemnly 
 resumed his seat upon the Doctor's knee, while he 
 heaved a deep sigh of satisfaction, as if in the con- 
 templation of a great work well performed. 
 
 "That is very fine indeed, Captain Jack; how 
 came you to think of it? " And the Doctor actually 
 caught himself smiling. 
 
 "I don't know; only that it did just come. And 
 now I will tell you something more; but it is a story 
 about a princess. I did make it myself, the other 
 day; and grandmere did say I should make it for 
 my English lesson, and that it would make me re- 
 member. But I don't know why she did smile, or 
 why did Loleta, when she wrote it for me, just like 
 I told her. Grandmere did say she would have me
 
 286 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 fix some of the words. But " with a little sigh 
 " they were not fixed ; and so I do only know it as 
 it was when I did make it." 
 
 "So much the better. I would rather have it just 
 as you made it, and before any of the words were 
 fixed." 
 
 "Would you? Well, then listen. It was on 
 the top of a high, high hill, the castle was, where 
 she did live. And there did come many gallant 
 knights to sue the princess." 
 
 " To do what ? " asked the Doctor in considerable 
 amazement. 
 
 "To sue her, of course," Captain Jack repeated, 
 looking into his friend's grave face as though sur- 
 prised to find him so ignorant. "Do you not 
 know?" 
 
 "Don't you mean that they came to woo her?" 
 the Doctor suggested. 
 
 " Perhaps," with a good deal of doubt. " May be it 
 is as you do say, for you see I did never speak any- 
 thing only French, until we did come here to live. 
 After that, grandmere would not let me speak it to 
 any one, 'cause she did want me to speak only Eng- 
 lish. But I do get all pixilated sometimes." 
 Now Doctor Jasper laughed. 
 
 " You need not laugh at me," the child said re- 
 proachfully. " That is what Uncle Billy, and Sam, 
 and Mrs. Bessly, and Jane, and Eph, it is what 
 they all do say." 
 
 " Never mind, my dear," the Doctor replied sooth- 
 ingly ; " that 's all right. And now, as Uncle Billy 
 would say, ' heave ahead ' with your princess."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 287 
 
 " Oh, yes. Well, you see her father was a king, 
 and did keep her shut up in a room, behind the 
 curtains. And when the knights did come, she did 
 enrage from the curtains. And she did wear a cap 
 all adored with pearls." 
 
 "Well, well, my little Monsieur Malaprop," the 
 Doctor interrupted, again laughing aloud. " Do you 
 know, Captain Jack, that you have made me laugh 
 twice? And I thought not very long ago that I 
 should never laugh again." 
 
 "Why not?" Captain Jack inquired with much 
 concern, looking intently into the man's sobered 
 face. He seemed to have forgotten all about his 
 princess, and what happened after she " enraged " 
 from the curtains, wearing her pearl-" adored " cap. 
 
 " Oh," the Doctor began, scarcely knowing what 
 answer to make, and wishing he had not put his 
 thoughts into words, "I don't feel quite right; that's 
 all." 
 
 "Does your head ache?" the child asked with 
 evident solicitude. 
 
 "Yes, a little, perhaps. But" looking at his 
 watch " now I must be going. Be sure that you 
 remember where you left off telling me about your 
 princess ; and the next time I see you we '11 have 
 the rest of the story." 
 
 " Very well," said Captain Jack, resignedly, as he 
 slipped from off the Doctor's knee. "But please 
 tell me before you go, who is ' Monsieur Malaprop,' 
 is he a French gentleman? " 
 
 " Yes ; sometimes French, and sometimes English. 
 I guess he belongs to every nation. Some day we'll
 
 288 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 have another nice sail with Uncle Billy, and then I 
 will tell you about him, and you shall tell me all 
 about your princess." 
 
 Captain Jack accompanied him to the gate, and, 
 after a good-by kiss, scrambled up to perch upon 
 one of the pillars standing either side of the entrance, 
 so as to watch his beloved Docteur out of sight.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 DOCTOR JASPER walked slowly away, bending 
 his steps toward the old burial ground, where 
 he stopped to sit a few minutes by Tom 
 Leslie's grave. 
 
 The Harwood plot was not far off; and he now 
 saw for the first time the marble cross upon which 
 was carved : 
 
 " Leonie, Beloved Wife of John Harwood." 
 
 She lay beside her husband, and beyond him 
 rested three of his unmarried sisters. 
 
 There were several blackened stones in the plot, 
 telling of Harwoods who had lived and died far 
 back in the seventeen hundreds, and on down 
 through later years. The clover and grasses were 
 growing deep and sweet above the mounds ; and 
 here the bees were straying with peaceful hummings. 
 
 Moss and gray lichens spangled the blackness amid 
 and over the lettering upon the stones, and ivy trailed 
 its dark green luxuriantly. 
 
 The world's fret and jar seemed to have receded 
 far away from Doctor Jasper as he sat with un- 
 covered head beside the grave of Tom Leslie. The 
 gently waving larches and evergreens sent down 
 checkered shadows over him, while he dreamed 
 
 19
 
 290 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 again of the days when they were together, so short 
 a time ago, and yet seeming with all that had be- 
 fallen since years back. 
 
 Then his thoughts passed from their turmoil to 
 the contrast of the silent forms and hushed voices 
 of those who lay about him. 
 
 Their ears were deaf to either praise or blame; 
 their songs and laughter forever hushed ; their tears 
 dried ; their cold hands folded over hearts that once 
 had beaten hot as his own, filled as his was with love 
 and longing, dreams and plans. Doubtless these 
 same hearts had ached, as his did now. 
 
 He raised his eyes to a fleet of white clouds sail- 
 ing overhead, looking like the wings and draperies of 
 a company of angels on their way to earth. Then 
 his gaze fell again to the scene about him, and he 
 suddenly encountered the sharp eyes of old Sam 
 Ayres, who was fussing with a dismal arrangement 
 intended to fence a near-by enclosure. 
 
 It was of iron, as was also its small, cramped- 
 looking gate, adorned with a clumsy weeping-willow. 
 There were smaller specimens of the same tree 
 dotted along the fence, and above each of them was 
 a horribly suggestive combination of skull and cross- 
 bones; while the whole affair shone with glittering 
 black paint. 
 
 Captain Leslie, speaking of it, had said to the 
 Doctor, " Why it was that old Deacon Berry, the 
 schoolmaster, should choose such a piratical-looking 
 fence, is something I never could understand. It 
 was a clear case of sailing under false colors, for the 
 Deacon, who was the very soul of meekness, to tack
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 29 1 
 
 to his mainmast the emblem of Black-beard and his 
 cut-throat followers." 
 
 Old Berry had slept for many years within this 
 plot, in company with others of his family. And 
 his surviving daughter, coming to the town for a 
 visit, was having Ayres straighten the fence, which 
 was certainly very much askew. 
 
 " Tis the frost hev hove it," the old fellow declared 
 to Doctor Jasper, shaking his head mournfully as he 
 pointed to the erratically aligned fence. " Susan 
 Berry Dolittle hev come down here ev'ry year from 
 the place she lives at, since I Ve been sexton ; an' 
 it's allers the same old tune she pipes: 'Now, Sam'l 
 Ayres, what do I pay ye- for, ev'ry year, I 'd like to 
 know, but to look arter the grass an' plants? An' 
 ev'ry year the fence is as crooked as a ram's horn,' 
 says she. An' I tell her, jest as I tell you, sir, 't is 
 the frost hev hove it. An' I wonder it ain't hove to 
 pieces, seein' as it 's hed to weather so many frosts." 
 
 The Doctor now thought to ask him where they 
 had buried the unknown suicide. 
 
 Sarn faced about, and took off his hat, to scratch 
 his gray head. Then he pointed with a claw-like 
 hand to the far end of the burying ground, where the 
 stone front of a large vault loomed up. 
 
 " He lies in there, sir. Thet's the town vault; an' 
 there he was let lie. It hed n't been opened for nigh 
 onto twelve years ; an' the bones piled up on the floor, 
 'cause o' busted boxes, looked awesome, I tell you. I 
 hed to clean 'em out ; an' I buried 'em in a heap, 
 over in thet corner," pointing in an opposite direction. 
 
 Doctor Jasper turned his back on such ghastly
 
 292 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 talk, to take his way down through the town to Mrs. 
 Bessly's. And later in the afternoon he went over 
 again to Captain Leslie's. 
 
 It was late when the Captain and Margaret returned. 
 Both of them were quite tired ; and Margaret, more 
 quiet than usual, failed to notice the Doctor's pre- 
 occupied air, or the quick, questioning glances her 
 father shot at him. 
 
 While they were at the table Eliza kept up a lively 
 flow of gossip that rather entertained the others. 
 And after tea, when her father and the Doctor sat 
 down to their cribbage, Margaret went to the piano. 
 
 She remained there for a time, touching the keys 
 softly and vaguely, wandering from one thing to 
 another, until at length, with an apology for being so 
 sleepy, she said good-night. 
 
 As soon as he heard her close the door of her 
 room, the Captain lost all interest in the game, and 
 said, as he threw down his cards, " Well, my lad? " 
 
 "It's very far from being well, I can assure you." 
 And the Doctor made a rueful attempt at a smile. 
 " To tell you the truth, Captain, it's all wrong." 
 
 "Aye?" There was a world of interrogation in 
 that one small word, as the Captain uttered it. 
 
 Doctor Jasper explained the matter to his friend, 
 who listened with increasing interest, until finally he 
 seemed to get excited, and, springing from his chair, 
 began pacing the floor. 
 
 " I Ve the welfare of Jack Harwood's lass at heart 
 as truly as my Peg 's," he declared ; " and I don't 
 like to think of her being in that big lonesome house, 
 with only the child."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 293 
 
 Then, pausing in his march, he asked, " But you '11 
 surely not take ' No ' for an answer, my lad? " 
 
 " I don't know whether I will or not," was the 
 unsatisfactory reply. 
 
 " You don't know ! " exclaimed the Captain. 
 " Why, man-alive, what do you mean by being so 
 easily downed? Cheer up, I say. Shame on you ! " 
 
 " But she said she detested me." 
 
 "What's that?" the Captain inquired quickly. 
 " Say it again." 
 
 "Those were her very words that she detested 
 me." 
 
 " But how did she act when she said it, did she 
 seem to be very fierce?" 
 
 " I think I might safely say that she did." And a 
 bitter smile touched the Doctor's lips. 
 
 " Then," said the old sailor, speaking very calmly, 
 " to put it plainly, my lad, she lied ! " 
 
 " Sir ! " A bright flush leaped into Doctor Jasper's 
 face, as he looked up in mingled amazement and 
 anger. 
 
 " Hold on a bit, my lad ; hold on." The Captain 
 came and threw himself into a chair directly in front 
 of the Doctor, upon whose knee he placed a restrain- 
 ing hand. 
 
 " I mean," he said, emphasizing each word by a 
 thump of his brown fist, " that the speech did n't come 
 from the girl's heart, and that she did n't mean what 
 she said." 
 
 "Do you really think so?" asked the younger 
 man, but with an air of little hope. 
 
 "Think so? Of course I do; I'd be willing to
 
 294 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 stake anything upon it. Now look here, my lad, 
 do you go back, and ask her all over again. Don't 
 take another 'No,' but make her say 'Yes;' and 
 keep at her until she does." 
 
 " As to the first, I don't think I will ; and as to the 
 last, I am very certain that I cannot." 
 
 He spoke with moody calmness; but Captain 
 Leslie laughed in an odd sort of way. 
 
 "You don't think you will, eh? Well, that's the 
 sound, but not the sense of it, to my way of thinking. 
 Now you Ve no need to tell me anything more, for 
 I am old enough to see things for myself. And to 
 me your meaning is as plain, at the bottom of all 
 your talk, as the fish I can see swimming under the 
 surface of the water in Margaret's aquarium over 
 there." 
 
 "Well?" the Doctor said, with a sigh. But he 
 looked gratefully into his friend's kindly eyes, and 
 seemed to find a glimmer of hope in his earnestly 
 spoken words. 
 
 " I want to set you on a right course, my lad, and 
 not have you go floundering about like a rudderless 
 craft. And so I '11 tell you, as you 're so down in the 
 mouth, 'though I am not sure that I ought to say 
 so much, but I '11 tell you that the girl is every whit 
 as soft on you, as you are on her." 
 
 " What are you saying, what do you mean ! " 
 exclaimed the Doctor excitedly, springing to his feet 
 and laying his hand on Captain Leslie's shoulder as 
 he looked down into the laughing face. 
 
 " I mean just what I say, and think I speak the 
 truth. But sit down again, lad ; sit down and listen."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 295 
 
 His hand closed over the one resting on his 
 shoulder; and still holding it, while the Doctor 
 resumed his seat, he went on, " How do I know it? 
 you'll ask; and I will tell you. How did I know 
 when to prepare for storms, and when to look for 
 calms, when to take in sail, and when to get every 
 spare rag ready to be set, and all this when I was 
 a much younger man than you are to-night? What 
 did the good Lord give me senses and understanding 
 for? To use them, of course. I saw the girl look- 
 ing at you one day, when you happened not to be 
 noticing." 
 
 " Well ? " Doctor Jasper said again, a new expres- 
 sion coming into his eyes. 
 
 " It was like the curtain being drawn suddenly 
 from before a cabin window, like standing in a 
 dark night, and looking into the cabin when it is lit 
 up. I saw it all there, my lad, inside. I saw that 
 she loved you." 
 
 His voice had become lower in its tone; and he 
 spoke reverently, as of a holy thing. 
 
 " I wish I could believe that you saw truly." The 
 feeling of hope that had entered Doctor Jasper's 
 heart now sent a tremble into his voice. 
 
 " I did see rightly, my lad ; I 'm sure I did," the 
 Captain insisted. " I have n't the slightest doubt of 
 it. And Jack Harwood's lass is not one who would 
 have a light or frivolous mind about such a matter." 
 
 o 
 
 " Then," asked the Doctor, still unsatisfied, and 
 dwelling upon facts, " why did she say that she 
 detested me ? " 
 
 The Captain laughed. " I guess she was shenan-
 
 296 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 nagging, that was all, just as the best of women will 
 sometimes do ; and she did n't mean what she said. 
 Now I tell you to go and see her again, and find 
 out for yourself if I am not right. And as long 
 as. it does n't mean scuttling a ship or kidnapping 
 a woman, you may count upon me for sympathy, 
 and what 's much more to the purpose help, if 
 I have the last within my power." 
 
 " You have already given me any quantity of 
 both." And Doctor Jasper grasped his friend's 
 hand. 
 
 " Fiddlesticks, lad, fiddlesticks ! And still I am 
 glad to have you think so ; for it 's mighty hard for 
 a man when he can't get the lass that 's taken his 
 heart. Love is a queer thing, and affects men very 
 differently. Some of them seem to have the gift of 
 pretty talk, and so get what they want all the quicker, 
 while others are as dumb as an oyster. Now I was 
 one of the sort who could never talk soft never. 
 For all I loved my lass so as to lose sleep, and not 
 be able to eat properly, for fear she might be think- 
 ing of giving herself to another man, all I could say 
 to her was, when the time came, ' I wish you 'd marry 
 me, Emily.' And she had to trust the future to give 
 her the full soundings of my love", something she 
 never managed to get, after all, through the many 
 years we were aboard the same craft." 
 
 He leaned back in his chair, and blew his nose 
 violently. Then, with a dreamy look in his eyes, he 
 continued in a softened tone, "Do you know, my lad, 
 it 's a great thing to be on the sea, with the one you 
 love by your side ? Sometimes, when I can't sleep,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 297 
 
 and lie in the dark, thinking, there comes the mem- 
 ory of tropical nights we sailed through, with the 
 dew glittering like diamond-dust upon the rails and 
 skylights, and the moon, big and yellow, in the south- 
 ern sky ; or, perhaps, no moon, but only the stars. 
 And such stars as they were, so big, and bright, as 
 no northern skies can show, and with the southern 
 cross, like a banner of Heaven, among them. And 
 my ship driving along, calm and peaceful as Heaven 
 itself, while close to my heart was all I loved best." 
 
 He sighed ; and his voice sank into a silence the 
 other man did not care to break. 
 
 Presently the Captain reached for his pipe. He 
 rilled it slowly and carefully from the earthen jar 
 beside him, saying nothing more until he had lit it 
 and thrown away the match. 
 
 "Ah, my lad," and his voice now sounded trem- 
 ulous "old times are the best and happiest, as 
 perhaps you '11 come to see, when you are down the 
 hill as far as I am. But " speaking more animatedly, 
 and a smile coming to his lips and eyes " of course 
 I can't expect you to agree with me upon that point 
 at least not to-night; and perhaps you never will. 
 Only mind what I tell you stick to a straight 
 course, and make the lass say, ' Yes ; ' and never give 
 up hope, so long as she has power to say anything."
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 MORE days passed; and they found Doctor 
 Jasper drifting aimlessly along, his heart 
 alternating between hope and despair. 
 
 He had called twice at the Harwood house. The 
 first time he was, to his surprise, informed by Pierre 
 that his mistress, accompanied by Jacques and Za- 
 bette, had gone to the neighboring city to spend a 
 few days ; and calling again after he knew of their 
 return, his summons was answered by the old negress, 
 who told him that her mistress was engaged, and 
 could receive no one. 
 
 The autumn had come; and all about the hillsides 
 nearest the shore were the fish-flakes, thickly spread 
 with drying cod. 
 
 The yellow sunbeams of the afternoon slanted 
 across the upper meadow, where old and young Sam 
 Ayres were gathering their last load of hay ; and the 
 bright light made the prickle of an unshaven beard 
 glisten upon the old man's cheeks like hoar-frost on 
 the red leaves and hedges. 
 
 " Sam," he was saying, while he looked sharply 
 about the field, "where did the little lad go? " the 
 question referring to Captain Jack, who had been 
 waiting to ride to the barn upon this last load. 
 
 " The old nigger woman come 'long, an' got him 
 to go with her. Did n't ye see me lift him over the
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 299 
 
 wall ? She told him she was goin' down to Planche's 
 Gully ; an' I guess he went 'long to play with hump- 
 backed Jenny." 
 
 " It beats me holler," said his father, " the sewin' 
 them Harwood women hev for folks to do for 'em. 
 When Madam was 'live thet black wench was ever- 
 lastin'ly goin' down to Planche's Gully for M'ria 
 Tapley to do sewin' ; an' seems to me it 's the same 
 with the young un." 
 
 " Well, dad," laughed young Sam, " you don't have 
 to pay the bills." 
 
 " Shet yer head for sass," the old man growled ; 
 and the discussion was dropped. 
 
 An hour later, Doctor Jasper sat in his room, look- 
 ing as he had been for the past hour out of the 
 window. There was an open book upon his lap, but 
 it was long since he had glanced at it. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly suddenly appeared in the doorway. 
 She was quite breathless, and waited a moment to 
 recover herself. Then, in the manner peculiar to 
 some people, she asked, and answered, her own 
 question. 
 
 " Captain Jack ain't here, be he ? " And she 
 looked about as if the Doctor might be suspected of 
 having concealed the child somewhere. 
 
 " He is not, as you say," was the answer, given 
 with a smile. 
 
 " Mammy Zabette 's downstairs, lookin' for him," 
 Mrs. Bessly went on. " She says she took him down 
 to Planche's Gully, an' went in to see Miss Tapley for 
 a minute, leavin' him to play with Jenny. An' now 
 she can't find hide or hair of either of 'em."
 
 300 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " There is Uncle Billy," said the Doctor, as he spied 
 him on the wharf; " perhaps he can tell where the 
 youngster is." And raising his voice, he called to 
 the old man, who only shook his head. 
 
 " Oh, well," Mrs. Bessly suggested ; " like as not 
 he 's took hisself off home." 
 
 She turned to go ; but the Doctor stopped her, to 
 say that he was about starting for Captain Leslie's, 
 where he should take tea. 
 
 When he reached the Leslie house, Eliza told him 
 that the Captain was still up-town, but that Margaret 
 was in the orchard. 
 
 He was sufficiently at home about the place to join 
 her unannounced, and found her watching a flock of 
 pigeons, who were feeding upon some grain she had 
 scattered. She stood with her side toward him, a 
 bunch of salvias in her belt making a scarlet gleam 
 against her black gown; and she did not see him 
 until he spoke to her. 
 
 " Now that you are here," she said, after greeting 
 him with her customary cheeriness, " let us sit down 
 and be comfortable. Papa won't be long away ; and 
 when he comes we '11 go in and have tea. Then after- 
 wards you and he can play cribbage, and do all the 
 talking you like. But now I have something to say 
 to you." 
 
 "Yes?" he asked, as they seated themselves. And 
 he wondered to see the blood rise to her cheeks. 
 
 A moment afterwards she sprang up, saying nerv- 
 ously, " No, don't let 's sit down. We '11 walk, and 
 then I can talk to you better." 
 
 With this she laid her hand upon his arm in a way
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 301 
 
 that led him to turn and look at her. But there was 
 a perfect unconsciousness in the act, and in the light 
 clasping of her pretty fingers, a smaller edition of 
 her father's shapely ones. 
 
 " I wanted to speak to you of Loleta," she added, 
 looking up into his face. 
 
 He started, and turned his head away, as she took 
 her hand from his arm and stood before him with 
 downcast eyes, one foot gently tapping the ground. 
 
 "You know she has returned from the city?" she 
 said interrogatively. 
 
 " Yes ; I was there yesterday." 
 
 " Oh, were you? I saw her this morning, and she 
 did not speak of it." And Margaret's eyes rested 
 rather curiously upon the Doctor's face. 
 
 " I did not see her ; Zabette said she was engaged, 
 and could see no one," he explained shortly, looking 
 off, while an unusual scowl knitted his brows. 
 
 There was a pause, and then Margaret said, " She 
 went to the city so she told me to settle some 
 business matters of her grandmother's. It seems odd, 
 does n't it, to think of Loleta having to look after any- 
 thing of that sort?" 
 
 He was still looking away, and seemed not to have 
 heard her query, for he made no response. 
 
 " See here," she said impetuously, " why don't you 
 want me to talk with you about Loleta? Papa told 
 me " She paused, seeming embarrassed, and a little 
 startled, as he wheeled toward her suddenly, appear- 
 ing, as she thought, a bit angry. 
 
 There was another pause, while they stood looking 
 at each other, until Margaret, taking heart of grace,
 
 302 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 said frankly, " Why do you care object, I mean, 
 because papa told me? He and I tell one another 
 everything. We were speaking of how lonesome 
 Loleta must be, and of how beautiful she is; and 
 then he told me that you you " 
 
 A deeper flush of color now came to her face, and 
 she looked at him with something very like anger in 
 her sparkling eyes. 
 
 " Don't look quite so savage," he said, trying to 
 smile. And at this she laughed, a queer, low 
 laugh, holding no merriment. 
 
 They walked along in silence until Doctor Jasper 
 spoke again. 
 
 " There was very little for your father to tell, after 
 all, except that I love her. And yet how much there 
 is in that ! So much that I could n't tell, if I tried, 
 and would only bore you if I made the attempt." 
 
 She looked at him oddly for an instant, then, with 
 a little shiver, turned her head away. 
 
 " Are you laughing at me for being such an idiot? " 
 he asked, a resentful suspicion sounding in his voice, 
 as he tried to look into her averted face. 
 
 At this she turned toward him, and the sea-blue 
 eyes flashed so angrily that they scarcely seemed to 
 be her own. And yet, to Doctor Jasper's surprise, he 
 saw, or thought he saw, tears in them. 
 
 "I I laugh!" she exclaimed. "Oh, but you 
 are cruel ! " 
 
 "Cruel!" he echoed wonderingly. "What do you 
 mean by that? " 
 
 " To to think me so unfeeling," she stammered, 
 dropping her eyes. Then, lifting them, now free
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 303 
 
 from tears, if indeed any had been there, " I don't 
 wonder that you love her. And I am glad ; for she 
 deserves all, and the very best all, of any man's love." 
 
 She stopped, and he was about to speak, when she 
 put her hand to her throat with a quick, nervous mo- 
 tion, utterly unlike the calm Margaret to whom he 
 had been accustomed. 
 
 But this was only for a second ; and then her brave 
 eyes met his unflinchingly, as she said, "What I 
 wanted to tell you was that I hope you will get her 
 to say, ' Yes,' and that you will take her away from 
 here ; for I am sure she is very unhappy where she is. 
 It seemed dreadful in that house to-day, so lonely." 
 
 " I thank you very much for your kind wishes," 
 he replied quietly; " but she does n't love me." 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed Margaret, looking greatly 
 amazed. 
 
 " I say that she does n't care for me." 
 
 Margaret was silent, her face showing still more 
 surprise. 
 
 " The fact is," the Doctor confessed, attempting to 
 smile, " she told me that she detested me." 
 
 " What did you do, that provoked her to say such a 
 thing?" The question was put with a demure curi- 
 osity that was most tantalizing. 
 
 He made no reply to it, and was beginning to feel 
 uneasy, when she said, looking at him in that same 
 odd way, " Let me tell you, as your friend, that I 
 don't believe her." 
 
 " What do you mean? " he demanded eagerly, for 
 here was a repetition of the Captain's opinion. 
 
 "It may not be right for one woman to betray
 
 304 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 another," she replied guardedly. "But I am your 
 friend; and I love Loleta very dearly, and wish to 
 see her happy. I am quite sure you have the power 
 to make her so, the ability, as well as the desire. 
 And it is dreadful to think of her being all alone, as 
 she is now." 
 
 A new light came into his eyes, and he looked at 
 her in silence for a moment before he said slowly, 
 " You almost make me feel like trying again." 
 
 " Trying again ! " she repeated after him, with a 
 note of something like scorn in her voice. " Of 
 course you '11 try again, and again, until you win 
 her." 
 
 Then her manner and tone changed, and she 
 added earnestly, " Loleta is entirely unlike any one I 
 ever knew. At times she is so strange as to almost 
 frighten me. She has never, since I 've known her, 
 acted as if she were really happy. But I am sure 
 she cares for you, and very, very much, if you can 
 make her admit it." 
 
 They were now at a standstill ; and, turning quickly, 
 Doctor Jasper took both her hands. 
 
 " Margaret," and there was a huskiness in his 
 deep voice, " God bless you for the hope you have 
 given me. I cannot be too grateful for having such 
 a true friend as you have shown yourself to be." 
 
 "And papa, too; you mustn't forget him. He 
 is your friend ; and here he comes ! " 
 
 She spoke with a gayety almost hysterical, as she 
 pulled her hands away; and he looked at her 
 closely, now feeling certain there would be tears in 
 her eyes.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 305 
 
 But this time he was surely mistaken, for they were 
 as undimmed as his own. And he smiled, as there 
 came to his mind old Dan Maloney's remark, made 
 that very morning, as he stood at the door of his 
 little shanty to have his wrist (dislocated the night 
 before) examined. 
 
 " Ah, Docthur, dear," he had said, " but wimmin 
 be quare things." 
 
 And he would have shown himself still wiser had 
 he added the withering commentary furnished by his 
 brawny wife, who called from within, " An' if they 
 do be quarer than min, thin I do give up that they 're 
 quare indade. For, by the same token, the min 
 is blind as moles, so they be, and as consayted as 
 paycocks that goes sthruttin' up an' down all their 
 days, seein' nothin' that 's under their fate ! " 
 
 "Hi, there, my lad, how goes it? Come in to 
 supper, you two ; Eliza says it 's all ready." 
 
 The Captain, who had appeared at the corner of 
 the house, stood waiting until they came up. 
 
 "Now," he said, "we'll have something to eat; 
 and then we '11 pass the evening in our usual wildly 
 hilarious manner." 
 
 The glow of sunlight was going fast, and the twi- 
 light came creeping over the town and harbor, and 
 up each mast and spar, like a miser seeking for every 
 glint of his gold. The tide was not yet fully in ; and 
 one small gleam of light that came, brass-hued, out 
 of the western sky, was reflected and held steadily in 
 the little pools among the rocks. 
 
 An hour later, Margaret, at the piano, had started 
 to sing "The Armorer's Daughter," when Doctor
 
 306 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Jasper, who stood looking out of the window, turned 
 and exclaimed, " Oh, no, not that, please ! " 
 
 This silenced her at once, and the next instant her 
 fingers were ringing out a gay waltz. Then they 
 wandered into a quaint introduction, followed by a 
 low accompaniment; and looking over at him, she 
 said, " I have a new song of the sea ; listen, and tell 
 me if you like it." 
 
 He came and stood by the piano ; and beginning 
 anew, she sang: 
 
 " Seldom seems a sky so bright 
 As the sunset sky to-night. 
 Yet it lieth far away, 
 While I walk in twilight gray. 
 
 " Lo ! but here a bit of tide, 
 Hemmed by rock on either side, 
 Gleams, and in its self-content 
 With a gleam yon sky hath sent. 
 
 " Tide, thy wall of rock about 
 Cannot shut that gleam without ! 
 Sky, couldst thou withhold thy might 
 From that lonely pool to-night? " 
 
 There was a sadness in Margaret's voice that gave 
 a deep, poignant meaning to the words, and one that 
 touched Doctor Jasper's mood like a sympathetic 
 hand. 
 
 " I like it very much," he said, in reply to her in- 
 quiring look. " And I want to tell you this that it 
 is a great comfort to have such an understanding 
 friend as yourself."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 307 
 
 She did not reply, but kept on running her fingers 
 softly over the keys. 
 
 Outside, on the piazza, Captain Leslie stood look- 
 ing seaward through the gathering darkness, his 
 hands deep in the pockets of his loose coat, and the 
 smoke of his cigar speeding quickly away from him. 
 It promised to be a thick night ; and there was 
 already a sharp wind, bearing a suspicion of damp- 
 ness, which might mean rain, or perhaps was only the 
 drift of the ocean. 
 
 Something suddenly appeared to the Captain's 
 vision. It was something or somebody quite small; 
 and whoever it was bobbed several odd little courtesies 
 from the grass below, as a childish voice announced, 
 "Please, sir, I 'm Sary-Ellen." 
 
 "Oh, you are, are you?" he said encouragingly. 
 " Well, my small friend, what do you want, out by 
 yourself at this hour of the evening? " 
 
 " Please, sir, they sent me to see if the little Har- 
 wood boy was here." 
 
 "The deuce they did! And who are 'they?' 
 Who told you to come here and inquire about 
 him?" 
 
 " Uncle Billy, an' the big colored lady from the 
 Harwood house, an' a lot o' folks on the beach. They 
 can't find him nowheres, an' they 've been lookin' 
 ever so long." 
 
 The Captain began to feel a bit troubled. " Where 
 are they all?" he asked, "those people who have 
 been looking for the boy? " 
 
 " Down on the beach, sir, by Planche's Gully." 
 
 "Well," he said, "you run and tell them I'm
 
 308 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 coming right down there. Here," as the child 
 started to go, " hold on, Mary-Jane, or Ellen-Sarah, 
 or whatever your name is, here 's a quarter to buy 
 yourself some candy." 
 
 Sarah-Ellen clutched the money with delighted 
 surprise, bobbed once more, and fled away through 
 the dusk. 
 
 As the Captain went inside for his hat and stick, he 
 met Eliza, and thought it worth while to make some 
 inquiries of her. 
 
 " Land-alive," she said, when he had told her of 
 the little girl's errand, " hev n't they found thet boy 
 yet? Zabette was 'round here 'fore five o'clock to 
 see if he hed n't run up here to see Marg'ret. Where 
 on earth d' ye s'pose he can be? " 
 
 Margaret looked serious, but had little to say; and 
 Doctor Jasper, taking his hat, said that he would 
 accompany her father. 
 
 They started at once, and had not gone far before 
 they met several men and women straggling along 
 the road and beach above Planche's Gully. Mammy 
 Zabette was amongst them; and upon recognizing 
 Captain Leslie and the Doctor she exclaimed de- 
 spairingly, " Den de b'ebt no wid yo', an' no bin t' yo' 
 house?" 
 
 The Captain answered her; and, in reply to his 
 own questions, she said that having been sent down 
 to see Mrs. Tapley about some work, she stopped at 
 the Ayres' hay-field for Captain Jack, and took him 
 with her. 
 
 She had left him to play with little Jenny Tapley, 
 while she went within ; and, after coming from Mrs.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 309 
 
 Tapley's house, she stepped across the street to 
 Mailing's shoe-shop, to see about some slippers for 
 herself. 
 
 When she came out the child was not in sight, and 
 she called him, but without receiving any reply. 
 Then, after looking about, she concluded that he had 
 gone home, and followed along after him. But he 
 was not at the Harwood house, and could be found 
 nowhere. 
 
 This was the substance of her story ; and it awak- 
 ened a strong anxiety in the minds of Doctor Jasper 
 and the Captain. 
 
 " Where does the little Tapley girl say she left 
 him ? " the former asked. 
 
 " Why, sah, le Docteur, dey doan' fin' her, eider, 
 not nowhar'." 
 
 He questioned her sharply as to the length of 
 time she was at Mrs. Tapley's, and in Mulling's shop, 
 the Captain listening intently to every word, while he 
 tapped the ground nervously with his cane. 
 
 Presently some one touched his shoulder ; and, turn- 
 ing around, he saw a somewhat familiar face, although 
 the dusk made the features uncertain. 
 
 " It 's me, Cap'n, ' Curran' Jelly,' " the newcomer 
 said in a hoarse whisper. " I want to speak to ye." 
 And he moved a little way off. 
 
 The Captain followed ; and when out of earshot of 
 the others, " Currant Jelly" said in the same low 
 voice, " As I was passin' Planche's Gully late this 
 arternoon I see ther lad an* ther little humpback gal 
 a-foolin' 'round an old tub of a dory thet 's been tied 
 to ther shore three weeks past. He was rockin' it,
 
 310 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 an' laughin' ; an* she set in ther stern, holdin' onto 
 both sides, and laughin' too. An', Cap'n, ther tide 
 was a-goin' out fast; an' ye know thet down there it 
 allers tears out an' in like all possessed." 
 
 "Anything else?" The Captain's stick beat the 
 ground harder than before, and his voice was as 
 hoarse as the one to which he had been listening. 
 
 " Well, Cap'n, ther boat 's gone ; Miss Tapley an' 
 some o' ther rest of us hev jest found it out. An' 
 now don't ye think ye 'd best tell ther nigger woman 
 thet Cap'n Jack is likely to hev drifted out to sea a 
 spell? An' be sure to tell her thet a lot of us are 
 calkerlatin' to go arter him right away." 
 
 Captain Leslie was about to reply, but " Currant 
 Jelly " had disappeared. 
 
 The Captain went back to where the others were 
 standing, and assuming an air of calmness he was far 
 from feeling, let Zabette understand as much as he 
 thought proper of what he had heard, doing it in a 
 way calculated to encourage, rather than alarm her. 
 Then he advised her to go home at once, and tell 
 her mistress that men had been sent out to find the 
 child, and that he himself, with Margaret, would 
 soon be up to see her. 
 
 " I think you 'd better look after matters yourself, 
 and find Billy; don't you, my lad? " he said, turning 
 to Doctor Jasper as Zabette moved away. 
 
 " Surely," was the reply; " and I '11 do it at once." 
 
 " I '11 join you later," the Captain added ; " but 
 first I must take Margaret up to Loleta. I know 
 Billy will need no urging; and of course you'll go 
 with him. And if some one has run across the chil-
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 3 1 i 
 
 dren, which I think very likely, we '11 have the young 
 monkey safe in his bunk long before morning. You 
 see the tide will be coming in by eleven o'clock ; and 
 the wind is turning to blow on shore. I don't think 
 their boat can have drifted far away." 
 
 With this he started to join Margaret, while Doctor 
 Jasper went to look for Uncle Billy. 
 
 The old man was soon found ; and with him were 
 both of the Ayres, and " Currant Jelly," all of them 
 preparing the " Pretty Sally " for her quest. 
 
 They gladly made room for the Doctor, and were 
 soon under way, accompanied by several other boats; 
 for the news of the child's disappearance had spread 
 quickly, and he was a favorite with every one. 
 
 After they had gone, those who were left continued 
 to wander about the shore and rocks, talking in sub- 
 dued tones, and straining their eyes, as they looked 
 into the darkness. 
 
 When Captain Leslie returned from the Harwood 
 house, several other men joined him as he sat on the 
 steps of the old wharf. All the jollity was gone from 
 his handsome face, and his eyes were fast hollowing, 
 from their steady watching for the searchers' 
 appearance. 
 
 At last, and just as the stars were paling, the 
 " Pretty Sally " swung to her moorings. And 
 Captain Leslie's heart gave a leap, while those about 
 him set up a cheer, as the old dory from Planche's 
 Gully was seen, towed astern. 
 
 But there was no answering shout from the little 
 sloop. Uncle Billy's face was set, and Doctor Jasper's 
 a shade whiter, when they came toward the wharf.
 
 312 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Young Sam Ayres' eyes looked as if he had been 
 crying, as he slowly mounted the steps, and said to 
 the Captain, loud enough for all to hear, " It 's only 
 the little girl Jenny, sir, thet we've found." 
 
 Captain Leslie jumped to his feet, and there was 
 dead silence as the elder Ayres came up the steps, 
 followed by Doctor Jasper and Uncle Billy. Old 
 Sam held the little girl in his arms; and, as they 
 reached the topmost step, Uncle Billy brushed past 
 him, and was the first to speak : 
 
 " We overhauled ther old craft, Cap'n, an' found 
 ther poor little gal 'most scar't ter death ; an' she 's 
 told us ther story. It seems thet she were in the 
 dory, alone, when ther rope snapped. An' whether 
 Cap'n Jack jumped for ther boat then, or hed a-holt 
 of it all ther time, she can't seem ter say. But his 
 hands hed a-holt o' ther gun'al' for a minute, while 
 she looked inter his face ; an' then ther water was 
 goin' over it. Ye know how ther tide churns in thet 
 there gully, whether it be comin' or goin' ; an' she 
 jest heerd him give a sort o' gasp, an' his holt seemed 
 ter give 'way, an' he went under." 
 
 The old sailor's voice was so strained as to sound 
 entirely unlike his usual gruff tones ; and when he 
 came to the end it sank so as to be indistinct. 
 
 Captain Leslie had been sitting upon a pile of 
 lumber, and his face was growing white and stern. 
 Beside him stood Doctor Jasper, feeling as he had 
 throughout the night, as if the surf were roaring 
 in his ears, while the pain and pity of it all numbed 
 him past speaking. 
 
 Some of the women were sobbing aloud ; and they
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 3 1 3 
 
 all crowded around the pale, sickly-looking girl who 
 stood shivering in their midst, glancing about vainly 
 for some relative in the crowd, and apparently too 
 much dazed to go home alone. 
 
 Eph now came hurriedly along, searching for 
 Captain Leslie and the Doctor. His mother had just 
 returned from the Harwood house ; and she sent him 
 to tell the Captain that Loleta had insisted upon 
 Margaret (who had been with her all night) return- 
 ing home with Mrs. Bessly, as she preferred to be 
 alone. 
 
 " Perhaps it 's just as well," muttered the Doctor. 
 Then laying his hand on Eph's shoulder, he added, 
 his voice sounding as unnatural as had Uncle Billy's, 
 " I want you to go up there right away, and tell 
 her tell Miss Harwood, that I shall come shortly, 
 and that I am sorry to have no good news for her. 
 And don't tell her anything but that, Eph, not 
 another word." 
 
 " All right, Doctor; I '11 be careful," said the kind- 
 hearted fellow, in a softened voice, as he shuffled 
 away. 
 
 There was a short interchange of ideas, accom- 
 plished with very few words ; and then Captain Les- 
 lie and the Doctor decided upon what was to be 
 done. 
 
 A large dory was manned, and the Captain took 
 his position in the bow. 
 
 " Pull away, Billy," he said ; for the faithful old 
 sailor had doggedly refused to let one of the younger 
 and fresher men take his oar. And, as he bent to 
 his self-chosen task, his labored breathing and hag-
 
 314 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 gard face told the story of what he was holding in 
 check. 
 
 Along the horizon, in the east, the bright dawn 
 was beginning to touch all things with the yellow 
 light that was the forerunner of the sun; and the 
 purpled gloom of the shadows over the western hills 
 was climbing up and away.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 THEY pulled a straight course for Planche's 
 Gully, where a few of those left upon the 
 wharf had, by walking along the shore, arrived 
 a little before them. These first-comers were look- 
 ing carefully about, taking note of things on land, 
 while the eyes of those in the boat scanned the 
 water, and the small wood and stone barricade that 
 helped to keep off the violence of the incoming 
 tides. 
 
 They saw where the old dory had been fastened. 
 And there was the long black rope, rising and sink- 
 ing like a snake, while its unravelled strands were 
 turned seaward, like skeleton fingers pointing to an 
 unnamed horror. 
 
 The first ray of sunlight had shot, clearly level, 
 over the sea, when, as the searchers in the boat 
 peered in under the timbers that upheld an old, dis- 
 used warehouse, more than one pair of eyes saw a 
 small object swaying in the water. 
 
 A groan burst from some of them, making those 
 on shore stop where they were, motionless and silent, 
 although they could not see what was so plain to the 
 others. 
 
 It was Captain Jack. His blue sailor shirt had 
 caught and wound itself when the tide was higher 
 than now about a snag in one of the posts forming 
 a support for the floor above. And here he had
 
 3 1 6 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 remained, moving backward and forward, with the 
 sluggish water. 
 
 It was Doctor Jasper's arm that reached below the 
 surface, to encircle the little body. And as he did 
 this the waves tossed one small hand so that it fell, 
 icy-cold, upon his wrist, as if now, even in death, the 
 child were greeting him with the same loving caress 
 he had so often bestowed in life. 
 
 Captain Leslie made no attempt to hide the tears 
 that coursed down his cheeks. And Uncle Billy, his 
 head framed in his arms as they rested against the 
 gunwale of the boat, was sobbing like a woman, 
 heedless of his oar, which another man caught and 
 held. 
 
 Tenderly, as something most precious, the child 
 was drawn into the boat. Uncle Billy, without a 
 word, stretched out his arms to receive the small 
 inert form and then placed it across his knees, while 
 he looked into the white face upon which his tears 
 fell unheeded. 
 
 Only once did the old man speak, and then it was 
 to mutter hoarsely, " He be gone gone, Doctor 
 Jarsper ; an' I doubts if I ever weather sech a bitter 
 heritage o' woe ! " 
 
 It was the Doctor again who, when they reached 
 the old wharf, carefully wrapped the child in the 
 warm blanket Mrs. Bessly had brought out, while 
 Uncle Billy crouched by, clutching its folds, and 
 stroking them in a dazed way, as if still striving to 
 do something for his beloved little comrade. 
 
 They all excepting Captain Leslie, who went 
 home to Margaret returned to the boat, and rowed
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 317 
 
 directly to the little cove at the foot of the Harwood 
 estate. Here the dory was soon beached ; and Doc- 
 tor Jasper, with Captain Jack in his arms, stepped 
 ashore, followed only by young Sam Ayres, until 
 Uncle Billy said brokenly, " Let me look at him once 
 more, Doctor J-arsper, jest once more." 
 
 The Doctor nodded, and all the men left the dory, 
 standing with uncovered heads, while he laid his 
 precious burden upon the grass and gently pushed 
 the blanket away from the still face. 
 
 Uncle Billy went on his knees and gazed with 
 streaming eyes at the white features, while he took 
 one cold little hand and stroked it softly, as he had 
 done so often before. 
 
 The lids were over the eyes, for Doctor Jasper had 
 bandaged them with his handkerchief, which he only 
 removed now, when Loleta was about to see the child. 
 
 There was a smile on the lips, whose rare sweetness 
 was in nowise disturbed ; and the early sunshine was 
 making glintings amid the gold of the short curls, 
 from which the sea-water was dried away. 
 
 Doctor Jasper, as he looked down into the beau- 
 tiful face, was thankful to know that when the boy 
 was brought to Loleta her eyes would find nothing 
 unnatural in his appearance; for he seemed as if only 
 sleeping, and smiling in his dreams. 
 
 The men turned slowly away to the boat, Uncle 
 Billy being the last to go, when the Doctor, again 
 wrapping the blanket about the little body, lifted it 
 and took his way alone through the meadows, up to 
 the back of the house. 
 
 As he hoped, Loleta, with all the servants, was
 
 3 1 8 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 watching from the front, all except Venus, a Vir- 
 ginia negress, who flung the door wide open as she 
 saw him approach. 
 
 " Oh, t'ank de Lawd, you 'se got him ! " she ex- 
 claimed joyfully. " Is he sick, or on'y 'sleep, de 
 bressed lamb?" But looking again into Doctor Jas- 
 per's face, she gave a loud cry. 
 
 " Be quiet ! " he said sternly. " Go and tell Za- 
 bette to come here at. once, but without alarming 
 your mistress. But here, first of all, show me where 
 I can take him. Remember that your young mis- 
 tress must not see must not know, until I can 
 speak with her." 
 
 The woman, deaf to his words, continued her 
 lamentations ; and he was about to speak again, when 
 an inner door opened, and there was Loleta, with 
 Zabette back of her. 
 
 The girl seemed turned to stone, as she stared into 
 Doctor Jasper's eyes. Then, like a haughty queen, 
 she turned and said, pointing to another room, 
 "Take him in here." 
 
 He followed her into the little apartment, and 
 waited silently until Zabette, her whole form con- 
 vulsed with hard, dry sobs, took the child from him, 
 and sat down, the little body across her lap, with the 
 head resting in the curve of her arm, and against her 
 breast, as all during his short life he had done so 
 many times before. 
 
 The tinkling of the fountain in the conservatory 
 came to them, and the mocking-bird and troopial 
 were singing merrily, as though belonging to a world 
 and life set apart from grief and sorrow.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 319 
 
 The darkey, Louis, had attempted to enter the 
 room, but Zabette motioned him back fiercely; and 
 Venus, who was his mother, followed him away. 
 
 All this time Loleta and Doctor Jasper stood facing 
 each other. She looked at him dully, as if waiting 
 for him to speak ; and it was as if all capacity for 
 emotion lay swooning within her. 
 
 Before he could open his lips, Zabette partially 
 removed the blanket, and Loleta's eyes fell upon the 
 white face and tawny head, upon the stiffened form, 
 the nerveless hanging hands ; and such a low cry of 
 anguish broke forth as smote his very soul. 
 
 A moment later and he thanked the God of Mercy 
 for the rain of tears that followed. 
 
 Taking the child from Zabette, she sat down upon 
 the floor, rocking herself back and forth as she held 
 him close to her breast, murmuring over him inco- 
 herently, now in French, now in English, until the 
 Doctor, unable longer to bear the sight of her agony, 
 and yet scarcely conscious of what he was doing, 
 stepped forward and laid his hand upon her shoulder. 
 
 " Let me alone ! " she cried out wildly, but without 
 looking up. "He is mine, do you hear? I tell 
 you he is mine, pauvre petit ! Mon bcbe ! You are 
 my own, my very own bcbe ; and they did make me 
 disown you, for pride's sake. Pride, pride ! " and 
 she laughed hysterically. " What have I to do with 
 pride, now that my bcbe is gone, gone, like grand- 
 mere ? I do tell you, and do you go out and shout 
 it to all the world, that he is my own baby, mine, 
 mon douce bcbe ! " 
 
 Doctor Jasper started back as from the stroke of
 
 320 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 an unexpected lash, for her words seemed to pour a 
 flood of light upon things he had felt, but not under- 
 stood, upon surmises amid which he had been 
 groping aimlessly for weeks. 
 
 But he had no time to think of this, for Loleta's 
 strained voice broke, and she fell back swooning 
 against Zabette. 
 
 He hastened to take the child; and having laid 
 him upon a couch, he lifted Loleta, and bade the old 
 negress lead the way to her mistress' chamber. 
 
 It was the first time he had held her in his arms ; 
 but, so tense was the strain upon his feelings, and so 
 complicated had his thoughts become, that he gave 
 the fact no heed, nor did any emotion, save a dazed 
 wonder, touch him as he bore her along quickly, and 
 placed her upon the divan in her own room. 
 
 He made Zabette promise to give her a sleeping 
 powder he would send, and that she would summon 
 him -instantly, if she thought he was needed, whether 
 her mistress wished it or not. Then, at the first sign 
 of returning consciousness, he left them together. 
 
 Pausing by the couch in the little room downstairs, 
 he took one more long look into Captain Jack's sweet 
 face ; and having drawn a bright-hued cover over 
 him, he passed out of the house, with a whirl of 
 thoughts dinning madly through his aching head. 
 
 The cove was empty. The men had not waited 
 for him; and he was glad that it was so. 
 
 He reached his room unmolested, Mrs. Bessly 
 having left the outer door unlocked ; and having pre- 
 pared the powder, he determined to take it up him- 
 self, as the surest way to have it delivered. And,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 321 
 
 aside from this, he felt as if he dared not yet trust 
 himself to be alone with his thoughts. 
 
 When he reached the Harwood house he saw only 
 Mammy Zabette, and learned from her that Loleta 
 was now sitting beside the bed in the child's room, 
 where they had placed him. 
 
 He handed the powder to the negress, with strict 
 injunctions as to its being administered, if necessary, 
 and was about turning to go, when she said, fumbling 
 uneasily with the door-knob, " Pleasy, sah, Mos'r le 
 Doctenr, yo' vvoan' mind nothin' Missy Loleta say? 
 She wur gone crazy, fo* sho'." 
 
 The Doctor glanced at her almost angrily ; but all 
 he said was, " Never mind about that, but be sure 
 and send for me if there is anything I can do, no 
 matter what it is. Tell your mistress I am anxious 
 to be of service to her." 
 
 With this he went away in the bright morning 
 sunshine, his heart oppressed by a strange heaviness 
 and dread. 
 
 This time he found Mrs. Bessly standing by her gate, 
 her eyes red from lack of sleep, as well as from weep- 
 ing. And so were those of Mary-Alice and a kind- 
 hearted neighbor, with whom she was talking in un- 
 naturally subdued tones, as they stood with shawls 
 over their heads and shoulders. 
 
 They all turned to look at him. But dreading 
 their questions, he gave them a short " Good-morn- 
 ing," and went into the house, whither Mrs. Bessly 
 followed him at once. 
 
 " Now, land-sakes, Doctor, do ye jest come right 
 out to the dinin'-room an' hev some hot coffee I 've 
 
 21
 
 322 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 med for ye, even if ye don't tech another thing. Me 
 an' Jane hev been keepin' a nice hot breakfast, hopin' 
 ye 'd feel like eatin' somethin'." 
 
 He acquiesced, to her evident satisfaction. And, 
 for a wonder, she was silent for a time, sitting down 
 after he was served-, and looking at him wistfully out 
 of her moist eyes, while she sniffed occasionally, and 
 rubbed her little fat nose with her apron, in an 
 absent-minded way. 
 
 He drank the coffee, and was about to go, when 
 she said in a very calm voice, so phenomenally 
 calm that he was startled into eying her, and think- 
 ing of his immediate surroundings, " D' ye know I 'm 
 not a mite surprised at what's happened? " 
 
 He looked at her with something like interest. 
 
 " No," she went on, with more of her usual man- 
 ner; " not a mite surprised; for Madam's hands an' 
 fingers were as limber an' nat'ral as mine be this very 
 minute." 
 
 "What do you mean? " he inquired, wondering 
 what might be coming. 
 
 " Why, Doctor, did ye never hear thet when a 
 person lies dead, an' their hands an' fingers stays 
 warmish an' limber-like, it 's a sure sign thet another 
 one o' the fam'ly 's goin' to foller 'fore long? " 
 
 He smiled faintly, in spite of himself. 
 
 " No, Mrs. Bessly ; I can't say that I ever heard of 
 such a thing before." 
 
 " Ye don't say so," she said, appearing surprised. 
 " Well, I hev, all my life, an' b'lieve in it ; an' so 
 does lots o' folks." 
 
 Two days later, Doctor Jasper, Captain Leslie,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 323 
 
 and Margaret stood with a number of others by a 
 small open grave in the Harwood plot. 
 
 Loleta was not there; and Mammy Zabette had 
 remained with her young mistress. But old Venus, 
 the cook, with her son Louis, whose merry yellow 
 face was now full of grief; Pierre, the elegant; old 
 black Sam, the coachman ; Rosa, the pert housemaid, 
 and the small Riar, these mingled with the crowd, 
 and represented the Harwood house. All of them 
 had been brought by Madame from the south, and, 
 after the manner of their race, they were loud and 
 hysterical in their sorrow over their " little Massa." 
 
 Some of Captain Jack's sailor friends, led by 
 Captain Leslie, carried him to the burying ground. 
 Loleta had asked them to do this. And although he 
 said nothing, the Captain wondered, as did Margaret, 
 that Doctor Jasper was passed by, while Uncle Billy 
 and young Sam Ayres had been selected to serve. 
 
 The service was simple and short; and as Mr. 
 Lyle's voice ceased, a signal was given, and the little 
 white casket was lifted. Then it sped away into the 
 earth ; and as it was lost to view, Uncle Billy, whose 
 eyes had never left it, turned quickly, and pushing 
 his way through the crowd, disappeared. 
 
 " And I have lived to see the last of the Harwoods 
 laid away ! Poor little chap, poor, dear little 
 boy ! " 
 
 So spoke Captain Leslie, while he wiped the 
 moisture from his eyes. It was that same night, and 
 he was smoking out under the trees, with Margaret 
 close beside him, one hand clasping his arm as they 
 paced slowly up and down.
 
 324 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Alone in his room, Doctor Jasper was sitting in the 
 dark, his elbows on the window-sill, and his hands 
 holding his burning head, where thoughts aroused by 
 Loleta's wild words were rioting, mingled with the 
 sad impressions left by the day's events. 
 
 And through them all ran the question : What had 
 Loleta said, what did she mean?
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 THE golden-rod's intense yellow was gilding all 
 the woods and rocks. The "Black-eyed 
 Susans" had usurped the places of their deli- 
 cate little briar-rose cousins, and their yellow heads 
 showed aggressively along the roads and in the fields. 
 The butterflies fluttered about on mottled wings, and 
 the locusts shrilled forth lustily. The shadows were 
 lengthening ; the crickets and katydids getting ready 
 for their farewell concerts. Autumn came early to 
 the shore ; and there was already a faint smell of 
 ripened leaves in the air of early morning and late 
 evening. 
 
 Captain Leslie could not but notice how strangely 
 quiet Doctor Jasper had become; but he refrained 
 from any expression of wonder, or even of curiosity, 
 feeling that it would be presuming upon his friend's 
 confidence. And Margaret, when the Doctor was 
 not observing, looked often at the troubled eyes and 
 saddened face, while she wondered within herself as 
 to the real cause. 
 
 " I never did see a man so changed never," Mrs. 
 Bessly had declared to herself, and also to her confi- 
 dantes. " I do hope he ain't pestered with no sort o' 
 liver trouble, or with nothin' else real serious. But 
 there," as if a new thought had come to her "I
 
 326 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 should guess thet he, bein' a doctor, an' a fine one at 
 thet, could tek care o' himself." 
 
 It was to quote Mrs. Bessly again a " misty, 
 moisty" afternoon, and the weather had been much 
 the same all day. The sky was not to be seen, nor 
 scarcely the earth, the dense fog that shut them away 
 drifting, smoke-like, with a drizzle of rain falling 
 through it. 
 
 Her stout boots gave her the tread of a trooper as 
 she came into the room where Jane was crocheting, 
 and the girl raised her eyes, to see her aunt equipped 
 in out-of-doors array, with a marvel of antiquity on 
 her head, doing duty as a hat. 
 
 She paid no heed to Jane's inquiring eyes, but 
 dived into a small closet, from which she soon 
 emerged or retreated, owing to its narrowness 
 with a huge cotton umbrella. And as she backed 
 out, holding it aloft, like a banner, it gave a sudden 
 lurch, knocking over a paste-board box upon the 
 mantel-shelf. 
 
 " Oh, land-sakes ! " she cried impatiently, as the 
 box-cover flew off at a wild angle, sending to the 
 floor a shower of buttons, newspaper clippings, sun- 
 flower seeds, some string, a lot of thread, knitting- 
 needles, some pens, an ivory crochet-needle, and a 
 big lump of beeswax. 
 
 " Never mind, Aunt; I '11 pick 'em up," said Jane, 
 soothingly, and kneeling even as she spoke. 
 
 " When sech a thing as thet happens," remarked 
 Mrs. Bessly, looking down at the girl, " it 's to my 
 mind a livin' example o' ' the total depravity of 
 inanimate things.' "
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 327 
 
 This was rather too much for Jane's comprehen- 
 sion ; and so all she said was to ask from her lowly 
 place on the floor, " Are you goin' out in this 
 weather? " 
 
 " O' course I be," her aunt replied, with a touch 
 of irritation. " What be ye thinkin' of, to ask? 
 Don't ye know I Ve got to go to ' Mothers' Meetin' ' 
 this arternoon? " 
 
 " Oh, I forgot about that," murmured Jane very 
 humbly, as she crawled from beneath the table, 
 where she had been searching for a vagrant spool of 
 thread. 
 
 " Dear-lands," Mrs. Bessly went on to say, as she 
 looked out of the steam-dimmed window panes, 
 through which the soaked garden showed but vaguely, 
 "it's a dretful messy day, be n't it? I shouldn't 
 wonder, though, if we hed a breezin' up 'fore dark, 
 which ain't sayin* it'll clear; forthet'll most likely 
 mek the storm worse. But there ! " and she brought 
 the iron-shod end of the mammoth umbrella down 
 upon the floor, " to ' Mothers' Meetin' ' I must go, an' 
 tek back them tyers, an' git some more, even if I 
 don't do nothin' else. Ye see, Jane," now giving a 
 more personal coloring to her remarks, " we Ve laid 
 out to mek a hundred o' them tyers, an' another lot 
 o' big aprons, for women, after the tyers is done for 
 the children; an' so it's no use o' thinkin' 'bout the 
 weather. It won't be long 'fore them leaves '11 be 
 all red an' gold colored. I declare ! I s'pose it 's 
 human nature to like best what ye can't hev. But 
 'long 'bout now, when I think o' winter comin', an' 
 the flakes o' snow, an' sparklin' o' frost, I think I
 
 328 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 like winter best. Then when it 's winter, an' I feel 
 all wizzled up with the cold, I think o' the blades o' 
 grass, an' the green leaves, comin' in the spring, an' 
 all the sweet-smellin' flowers in the summer; an' I 
 git to wishin' winter was over an' gone." 
 
 Then, coming back again to the practical affairs of 
 life, "Now, mind, Jane, don't ye let Eph tech thet 
 cold mutton in the closet, for I calc'late mekin' a 
 stew out'n it, sech as Doctor Jasper likes. He 's 
 sure to be home to dinner to-morrer, an' supper 
 too, most likely, as he ain't been in the house all 
 day." 
 
 During the latter part of this flow of words, Jane 
 had been, so to speak, launching her aunt out of the 
 front door. And, having taken the water gallantly, 
 Mrs. Bessly unfurled her vast expanse of umbrella, 
 and sailed away with all the dignity of a battle-ship, 
 her emphatic footsteps sending many brown drops 
 flying about her stout ankles and upheld skirts. 
 
 At the Leslie house, before a bright wood fire 
 Eliza had kindled, in defiance of the warm-blooded 
 Captain's feeble remonstrances, he and Doctor Jasper 
 sat playing cribbage. 
 
 Later in the afternoon, Margaret who had been 
 out doing some errands came in, wrapped in a 
 warm woollen cloak, a storm hat on her head, and 
 her face looking, in its tintings, like one of the 
 mother-of-pearl roses on her ebony portfolio. 
 
 " Hi, my Pegaway," her father said, looking up at 
 her as she entered, " you are a true sailor's lass for 
 not minding the weather." 
 
 " Of course I am," was her smiling assent. " The
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 329 
 
 rain is rather warm; and it's glorious to feel it on 
 one's face." 
 
 " Then it does n't wash off the paint, eh? " laughed 
 the Captain. 
 
 And Eliza, who had just arrived with some more 
 wood, added, "An" jest see how it's made your 
 hair curl ! " 
 
 "Nature's own curling-tongs," Margaret replied 
 with a laugh. 
 
 " Speaking of tongs," remarked her father, " re- 
 minds me of fire. And here is Eliza, with another 
 cord of wood, when we 're nearly done brown already, 
 because she insists upon it that she thinks, and says 
 you think 
 
 " Now, Papa Leslie," Margaret interrupted, paus- 
 ing at the door to look back at him, and with a world 
 of tenderness in her voice, although she was laugh- 
 ing, " never mind what either of us thinks ; for you 
 know very well how that dreadful rheumatism lies in 
 wait for you just such weather as this. And yet you 
 scold because Eliza and I won't let you invite it to 
 walk in and take possession. No, sir," very em- 
 phatically, " the fire keeps it away from you ; so a 
 fire there must be." And she went her way, singing 
 softly to herself as she climbed the stairs. 
 
 "Isn't she a treasure ship?" the Captain said, 
 taking " one for his heels," as he turned the jack. 
 " Just a perfect treasure ; and, thank the Lord, heart- 
 whole. I sometimes hope she '11 never marry my 
 brave little Pcgaway ! " 
 
 Loleta's wild words had been ringing night and 
 day in Doctor Jasper's brain. He could not but
 
 330 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 feel that they had some deep meaning ; and yet he 
 had scarcely dared let himself believe this could be 
 what she seemed to wish him to understand. He 
 could only wonder, and hope, saying to himself that 
 he would wait until he could see her ; for he felt that 
 then she would tell him, and all would be well. 
 
 The first two times he had called, he was told by 
 Zabette that her mistress said she was sorry, but 
 would have to be excused. The third time he was 
 received; but Loleta's sad face was an invincible 
 barrier, keeping back all he most longed to tell, and 
 ask. 
 
 As he sat here with Captain Leslie, and examined 
 his cards, the thought came to him of how lonely 
 she must be ; and he said to himself, " Poor little 
 girl!" 
 
 Then he looked at the Captain, and added aloud, 
 " I wonder if Margaret has been to the Harwood 
 house? " 
 
 " No, not since day before yesterday ; an' then 
 she saw nobody," spoke up Eliza, who was fixing 
 the fire. " Thet poor girl 's 'bout heart-broke, they 
 say, an' ain't seen a soul since the funeral. An' no 
 wonder Madam Harwood goin' so sudden, an' 
 then the child, the way he did, so soon after, has 
 been dretful." 
 
 "I think I will go up there this evening, Cap- 
 tain," said the Doctor, as Eliza left the room. 
 
 "Do, my lad. Do, and hoist your true colors 
 again; and go in to win. Now is a good time, for 
 it 's downright cruelty for the girl to be living up 
 there alone, among all those niggers, in the way she
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 331 
 
 is doing. It 's lucky she has plenty of money, so 
 that she'll never know want, poor little lass." 
 
 Early in the evening Doctor Jasper was on his 
 way to the Harwood house. There was a moan in 
 the rising wind; the mist was less dense, the drizzle 
 more like rain; and the air had grown cold enough 
 to be biting. 
 
 Just outside Captain Leslie's gate he almost ran 
 into Uncle Billy. 
 
 " Hello, Doctor Jarsper ! " exclaimed the old man. 
 "Be thet ye, sir? It 's a narsty night, be n't it? " 
 
 "Pretty wild, Uncle Billy." 
 
 "Anybody sick, sir? " 
 
 " Not that I know of ; why ? " 
 
 "It 's only 'cause I happen ter meet ye abroad in 
 sech a blowout as this here; thet 's all. I'm glad 
 there ain't nobody sick. Laird, Laird, it 's 
 'nough o' sorrow we've been hevin' for a spell. 
 My old heart 's thet sick over ther little chap, Doc- 
 tor, thet I doubt if I '11 ever be ther same man 
 ag'in. I seem ter keep hearin' thet sweet voice o' 
 his'n pipin' in my ears, an' thet laugh o' his'n, 
 ringin' out for all ther world lek sweet bells 
 soundin' 'cross ther water. Wa'l, we be surely 
 grass, as ther preacher says, flourishin' up so brave, 
 most times, ter git < cut down unbeknownst, an' 
 hauled in when we ain't thinkin'. But I won't 
 keep ye no longer. Good -night, Doctor Jarsper, 
 good-night, sir. Steady yer helm, an' keep ter yer 
 bearin's." And the old man plodded along.
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 MAMMY ZABETTE answered Doctor Jas- 
 per's ring. And he thought she appeared 
 pleased, as, with an elaborate courtesy, she 
 invited him in, and motioned him to a room at one 
 side of the entrance. 
 
 He looked through the open door and saw Loleta 
 sitting before the fire. The leaping flames van- 
 quished the dimmed light of the lamps, and set the 
 pictures and bric-a-brac dancing and shaking in the 
 quivering radiance that touched tenderly the hair, 
 throat, and face, standing out like an exquisite 
 cameo against the dark wainscoting of the room. 
 
 He entered softly, and was almost beside her 
 chair, when she turned her head and saw him. 
 
 The troubled sweetness of her upward glance, her 
 pale face and tear-stained eyelids these betokened 
 the conflict of many emotions ; but, whether of the 
 past or present, he could only surmise. And over 
 all there was to him a subduing sense of loneliness. 
 
 She arose to greet him, and tried to smile. But 
 the movement of her lips faded out swiftly to their 
 former expression as she drew her hand from his 
 clasp. 
 
 It was as if she was disconcerted by the eager 
 look of his gray eyes. She seemed troubled, and 
 moved her head uneasily from side to side, while
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 333 
 
 she resumed her chair, and motioned him to take 
 one a little way off. 
 
 "Are you displeased because I came so soon 
 again ? " he asked, seating himself. 
 
 "Oh, no." 
 
 She spoke in a tone of weariness, and as if noth- 
 ing mattered sufficiently to make her pleased or 
 otherwise. 
 
 He went on, his love sounding in the gentle 
 caressing of his voice, " It is so long since I could 
 speak to you, Loleta ; and my heart has been almost 
 broken, as I thought of you." 
 
 She turned to him with a frightened look, and put 
 out her hand, as if to stay his words. 
 
 "No no, you must not talk to me so. If you 
 will do it, then I shall have to feel sorry that you 
 did come." 
 
 " You say I must not talk to you so ? But I must, 
 and I will ! I can no more help it than I can help 
 breathing." His voice was low and gentle, but none 
 the less full of decision. 
 
 This appeared to startle her; and, seeing the fear 
 that came to her face, he arose quickly and went to 
 where she was sitting. 
 
 Her face drooped, and her eyelids fell, as he knelt 
 and placed his hands over the trembling ones lying 
 in her lap. 
 
 "Why will you not trust me?" he pleaded, his 
 deep voice tremulous with entreaty. "Why is it 
 that you will not listen to me? Oh, Loleta, give 
 me an opportunity to prove my words, and my love. 
 For Heaven's sake be kind to me. Cannot you say
 
 334 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 you will try to love me? Do this, and my life shall 
 prove my love. Say only that you will try and 
 learn to love me, and that you will trust in me." 
 
 She raised her head, and he saw tears in her eyes. 
 
 "It is no question of trust," she said quietly, with 
 an entire change of expression; "and I do grieve to 
 seem so hard and cold. There should never be any 
 unkindness between you and me never anything 
 but kindness. But I must be honest, and tell you 
 that for me it is all despair, that hope and love 
 are things dead for me." 
 
 Her voice broke, and his hands stole up to her 
 shoulders, holding them gently, but with a firm 
 pressure. She was sobbing now, with her face 
 against his arm, and was not seeming to heed that 
 he bent over until his lips touched her hair. 
 
 And so he knelt, feeling the first sensation of 
 anything like happiness, in knowing that she per- 
 mitted him to touch her. 
 
 No word was spoken until the struggle passed, 
 and she became more calm. Then she drew herself 
 up suddenly and motioned him away. 
 
 He arose and seated himself again, now venturing 
 to draw his chair nearer to her; but his eyes never 
 left her face. There was a look of dogged determi- 
 nation back of their great tenderness ; and this she 
 must have seen, for she hastened to speak, her voice 
 quite calm, and sweet as ever. 
 
 " You have been so good and kind very, very 
 kind ; and so you will be always, I do feel assured. 
 But do not mistake me, nor what I intend you shall 
 understand. And now," she added, with an air of
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 335 
 
 resolution, " I must tell you of a truth, of some- 
 thing that is right for you to know, and right for me 
 to tell." 
 
 "Tell me nothing!" he broke in impetuously. 
 "Tell me only that you believe in my love for you, 
 that you will let me love you always, and forever! 
 Tell me only " 
 
 She held up her hand to stop him. 
 
 " Again I must ask of you not to do that not to 
 speak to me in that way. Please do not. You see 
 it was only that I was influenced by old memories, 
 just now, and did feel lonely. And the thought 
 came to me of how fond the btbt was always of 
 you." 
 
 Again her voice broke, and he made a quick 
 motion as though to go to her. But she made a 
 repellent gesture, and lifting her head with an air 
 that recalled Madame Harwood's queenliness of 
 manner, said more calmly, "Now you will listen to 
 me, for you must listen, and I must tell; and I will 
 weep no more. If Jacques were here I should per- 
 haps try to play the part always, and to the end 
 the part that grandmere did wish. But now it is 
 that it does not matter." 
 
 She spoke the last words in the same tired way as 
 at first, all her energy seeming to have departed. 
 
 "It is that nothing does matter," she continued, 
 "except that I think I should be honest, and tell 
 the truth. I should like it if, through you, Margot 
 and all might know it, too." 
 
 Doctor Jasper felt that he was about to hear 
 something it would be hard for him to bear; and
 
 336 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 he steadied himself for it, as would a swimmer 
 against an oncoming wave. 
 
 "Do you remember all I did say to you that 
 morning that dreadful morning?" she asked, after 
 a moment's silence. 
 
 "I thought you didn't know what you were say- 
 ing poor little girl," he answered quietly. 
 
 Their eyes met steadily; and she did not look 
 away as she said with pronounced deliberation, " I 
 did know very well what I did say; and it was all 
 true." 
 
 She waited, as if thinking he would speak. But 
 he did not; nor was there the least change in the 
 look he still bent upon her. 
 
 *' You shall now listen to me, and never interrupt 
 by one word. Then you will understand how it all 
 is for me." 
 
 He bowed silently. 
 
 " I was very wilful when I was a little girl ; but 
 always so happy, so very happy, in our beautiful 
 home, so far away that it does all seem to me like 
 only a happy dream. Grandmere was so kind to me 
 always; for you see I was all she had left, all the 
 rest were dead and gone. Of love I never thought, 
 until I did meet TossoValle; and then I was not 
 yet sixteen. He was a Greek; and it was quite by 
 accident that we did meet and know each other. 
 
 " I will not take the time to tell you every word. 
 But I did see him often, and he did compel me to 
 be secret; and I did deceive grandmere for a long 
 time. He did always seem to live in a ship, that 
 was anchored often in our river. And it was there
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 337 
 
 he did take me one day, and only Mammy Zabette 
 did know of it ; and he did pay a priest to marry us. 
 
 "The priest did tell Mammy Zabette, before he 
 left the ship, that he was troubled, for fear all was 
 not well; and he did tell her where she would find 
 him always. 
 
 " I did meet this man my husband many 
 times. And Mammy Zabette was faithful to me, 
 and did never tell grandmere of my wickedness. 
 
 "Then one night he did sail away did leave 
 me. Then I did become very ill; and then it was 
 that I did tell grandmere everything. 
 
 " She did find out from Mammy Zabette the name 
 of the priest, and did go to him; and he did tell her 
 it was not well for me, but that I was the wife of 
 Tosso Valle. And he did bring men to grandmere 
 who did know; and they did show her that Tosso 
 Valle was a very wicked man. 
 
 "They did say he had fled from his own country, 
 and was an adventurer, and was in league with the 
 Cuban insurgents, and did promise to bring them 
 guns, and supplies; but that he had not done so. 
 They did say that the Spanish had offered a price 
 for him for his capture; and one of the men, who 
 had known him a long time, said that it was for 
 murder he had fled from Greece. 
 
 "Then grandmere did send me with Mammy 
 Zabette off to the plantation she did have in Cuba, 
 but where she did never live, and knew no one; and 
 afterwards she did come to me herself. It was a 
 lovely place, by a large river. And then when 
 Jacques " Here the strained voice became infin- 
 
 22
 
 338 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 itely sweet and soft; and Loleta's eyes strayed over 
 to Doctor Jasper. 
 
 He sat with an elbow resting upon the table, his 
 hand shading the eyes that had, from the first, been 
 fixed upon her face. And he looked more as might 
 a physician listening to a patient than a man hear- 
 ing the story of the woman he loved. 
 
 Loleta recovered herself quickly, and went on, a 
 strange hardness now sounding in her voice, unlike 
 anything he had ever heard there before. 
 
 " Grandmere did say that as soon as we could, we 
 should come here, to grandpere Harwood's house 
 by the sea, to live for always. And she did tell me 
 that if I did let all the world think Jacques was her 
 grandson, and never claim him as my own bebe 
 that then I might keep him with me. If I would 
 not, then he must be given away. 
 
 "Do you wonder that I did consent to this, that 
 I should consent to anything, so that I might keep 
 him with me? " 
 
 It was a direct question, and she paused, as if 
 expecting him to answer it. But he looked at her 
 as before, although a new tenderness was beginning 
 to show in his eyes. 
 
 " You must not think grandmere was hard-hearted ; 
 it was only that she did love me the best, and that 
 she was proud of the name. And she did tell me 
 that she did have to pay great sums of money to 
 that man, to make him keep away from us. 
 
 "I did love him once; I am sure I did very 
 much, else I should not have listened to him at 
 first, when he asked me to deceive grandmere. But
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 339 
 
 when I did know of all the dreadful things he had 
 done, I was afraid. And when he did care for the 
 money, taking it to give up my love, then I had to 
 detest him." 
 
 Doctor Jasper had taken his hand from his face, 
 the better to look at her, for her voice told him that 
 the tigress was aroused. And it brought something 
 like comfort to his aching heart, as he noted the 
 way in which she uttered these last words, to see 
 the dislike abhorrence, flashing from her eyes, 
 and dilating her thin nostrils. 
 
 But the outburst did not last. It soon passed 
 away, and there returned that same calm almost 
 weary, manner and voice.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 "fTAHE reason grandmere did leave our lovely 
 
 home in Louisiana our home by the 
 
 river, was that he might never find us 
 
 again. But when Jacques was not quite three years 
 
 old, he did find out where we were, in Cuba; and 
 
 he did suspect about Jacques, when he did see him. 
 
 But of course we did not know then what he thought, 
 
 nor the wicked scheme he did have in his mind. 
 
 "One day when Mammy Zabette did have the 
 &$/out in an orange grove quite far from the house, 
 this man did steal him. And afterwards it did 
 prove that he had arranged it all ; for he did give 
 his ship a signal, and his men sailed away, and we 
 did think they took the child with them. 
 
 "But that was only to deceive us; for he himself 
 stayed on shore with Jacques, until he met some 
 others of his men inland, farther up the island, in 
 the woods, where they were hiding away. Then 
 he did send a message to grandmere, asking for 
 more money. She did send it, and so we got our 
 bebe back. But he was ill so very ill ; there 
 was a fever coming on him when we did get him 
 back. 
 
 " When he was well, we did come to this place. 
 And we did always tell him pauvre btbt y that it
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 341 
 
 was only a dream; for he did never seem to forget 
 about it, and it did always terrify him. 
 
 "We had been here only three years, when the 
 agents grandmere did employ to pay money to Tosso 
 Valle for her, and to keep her informed of his move- 
 ments, did warn her that he had now found out 
 again where we were; and grandmere was dis- 
 tracted, to know what to do, fearing that he might 
 come here, and not knowing what he might say or 
 do. Then we did hear he was ill, he did have 
 that raving disease that does come from too much 
 drink ; and they did write to her that his head was 
 not quite right, after that. And so she did pay 
 them to care for him, and keep him safely in an 
 asylum, in a city far from here. 
 
 "One night he did come here to this house; but 
 no one saw him besides grandmere and Mammy 
 Zabette. He did want money again, always, only 
 money; and grandmere did tell me afterwards that 
 he was like a madman. We had feared he would 
 come; for a few days before this we did have a 
 letter that said he had escaped from his nurse. 
 
 " It was the day before we had to stay on Danger- 
 Head that poor grandmere and I did learn of his 
 escape from the asylum; and she did fear what he 
 might do to us to Jacques and me. Then, when 
 he did come, she did talk to him bravely, never let- 
 ting him see her fear; and she did give him a little 
 money all she did have by her. But she did tell 
 him that if he would let her hide him in the house, 
 and would keep quiet, and promise to go away the 
 next morning, when it should be dark, that she
 
 342 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 would give him more money. He did always seem 
 ready to do as she wished for money, as grand- 
 mere well knew." 
 
 Loleta's voice grew harder as she said this. And 
 Doctor Jasper, in the light now thrown upon that 
 day to which she had referred, marvelled, with a 
 new admiration stirring his pity, that she could 
 have controlled herself as she did, could have 
 disguised the awful anxiety she must have been 
 enduring. 
 
 But he said nothing, and waited for her to resume; 
 for she had made a short pause. 
 
 "She did think to telegraph to the asylum, and 
 have somebody come to take him, and shut him 
 away as a madman; for she did say that he was 
 mad, and she feared he was dangerous. But he did 
 climb out of the window that same night, and did 
 wander away. 
 
 " It was he who did that awful thing, out in 
 
 the water; and the poor bebe did see you and Uncle 
 
 Billy looking at him. And it was that, and all the 
 
 trouble with him, that did cause grandmere to die. 
 
 Then my bebe was taken, and I am punished ! " 
 
 Doctor Jasper tried to speak; but once more did 
 that little hand enjoin him to silence. 
 
 "Now you know how wicked I ^ have been, that I 
 did cause so much sorrow and trouble to others. 
 And I ask that you will tell Captain Leslie, and 
 Margot, and all every one who did know us here, 
 and all who did know my grandpere Harwood. I 
 want them to know the truth, for I am going away." 
 
 "Where are you going?" he inquired, in quite a
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 343 
 
 matter of fact manner, although the emotion he had 
 been suppressing gave a touch of huskiness to his 
 voice. 
 
 " Never mind," was the evasive reply. 
 
 "When?" he demanded, now speaking somewhat 
 sharply, as if annoyed at her momentary reticence. 
 
 "It is that you must never mind that, either," 
 she said, still with a sweet patience sounding in 
 her steady tones. 
 
 "Never mind!" he repeated, springing to his 
 feet, and the repressed passion now breaking forth. 
 "But I do mind, and must, and will! Loleta, can 
 you know what you are saying to me ? " 
 
 He came close to her once more, and looked down 
 into her face. 
 
 "What have you and I to do with all you have 
 been telling me? God knows how pitiful how 
 dreadful, it is, my poor little girl; but it lies far 
 back of the present, and is a closed chapter of your 
 life. No!" as she lifted her hand again, "I will 
 not stop. And you must listen to me, even as I 
 have listened to you. /have something to tell you ; 
 and it is that now, to-morrow, all the days of the fu- 
 ture, are ours yours and mine. Let us take them, 
 and keep them, and be happy. Loleta," and the 
 passion in his voice gave place to pleading, " Loleta, 
 do not send me away from you again. Let me stay 
 with you, tell me that you will let me love you 
 all the rest of my days, and that you will let me 
 try to make you happy try and make you forget 
 all this cruel past of yours." 
 
 She arose, and stood silent, with downcast eyes.
 
 344 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "Tell me," he repeated entreatingly ; "only say 
 that you will try to love me much, or little, as 
 you will. I promise to be unspeakably grateful for 
 whatever love you give me be it ever so little. 
 Tell me that you will know how truly I love you. 
 Only say this to me now; I ask no more." 
 
 She raised her eyes slowly. 
 
 " Why should I say what cannot be true ? Why 
 should I say it, when I have been tearing my heart 
 open to tell you the truth so much that is bitter, 
 and so dreadful for me to speak about ? And all to 
 prove to you that what you ask cannot be." 
 
 He moved back a step, saying in a dull, hard way, 
 " Then you do not love me. " 
 
 " So you do say." 
 
 " Do you say so ? " he asked like a flash. 
 
 She looked away from him, moving her head in 
 that same restless way. 
 
 " Who can say ? " came at last, slowly and brok- 
 enly, as she turned her face still farther from his 
 reproachful gaze. 
 
 But he did not seem to have heard her, and an 
 ugly light came to his eyes as he exclaimed bitterly, 
 "Then you still love that scoundrel!" 
 
 "Spare the dead," she said gently, "those who 
 cannot defend themselves." But he paid no heed 
 to this. 
 
 " Do you tell me that you still love him ? " he 
 cried, catching her wrists with a fierceness to which 
 he gave no thought. 
 
 Her lips quivered, and her eyes met his with a 
 sorrowfulness he never forgot ; but she said nothing.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 345 
 
 "Is it possible that you can still care for him," 
 he persisted, "that man who ruined your life, and 
 who, as you tell me yourself, bartered your love for 
 the money your grandmother gave him, and whose 
 conduct, as I know now, was the cause of her death ? 
 Do you mean me to believe that you still love him? 
 Let me know the truth." 
 
 The white lids fell over her eyes, and she tried to 
 withdraw her hands from his tight clasp, as she said 
 - and her voice had a strangled sound, " It does 
 seem all wrong, and very dreadful to me. I cannot 
 let you say such things to me. I cannot forget so 
 easily; and to-night I do think I never shall." 
 
 This last came slowly, deliberately, and as if 
 through her clenched teeth. 
 
 It was all; and releasing her hands, he turned 
 and left her. 
 
 As the outer door closed behind him, he thought 
 he heard a cry, coupled with his own name; but he 
 told himself that this could not be. 
 
 And so, with throbbing head and burning eyes, 
 he turned his face homeward, his heart aching more 
 than ever with the misery of the story he had heard 
 from her lips, and the realization of his denied and 
 hopeless love. 
 
 The night was so dark that it was difficult for him 
 to see anything. Many of the street lamps had been 
 blown out, and he was forced to arouse himself, in 
 order that he might find his way, and buffet with 
 the wind, now sweeping in a furious gale from the 
 southeast, with the rain rushing before it like 
 masses of feathers.
 
 346 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 At length he leaned against Mrs. Bessly's door, 
 and finding it fastened, knocked loudly. 
 
 The noisy summons brought Jane flying to answer 
 him, her face rather white, and looking a bit more 
 scared than usual. 
 
 As he entered the house, the wind, rushing in 
 with him, seemed to fill it with the storm, extin- 
 guishing the lamp always kept burning upon the 
 small table in the hall. 
 
 Jane cried out with dismay; and Doctor Jasper 
 made haste to close and lock the door, just as Mrs. 
 Bessly opened another one, causing a broad beam of 
 light to fall across the far end of the hall. 
 
 " Land-sakes ! " came in her shrill voice. "Jane 
 Bessly, what's up?" 
 
 "I 'm up, for one, Mrs. Bessly," replied the Doc- 
 tor; "or nearly so, as I 'm almost at the top of the 
 stairs. I just came in, and have left my storm-coat 
 down there with Jane, as it 's pretty wet." 
 
 She hurried out into the hall, and looked up and 
 down. 
 
 " Land-alive the lamp 's out ! " 
 
 "Yes, Aunt; but the wind done it," explained 
 Jane, as if to exculpate herself. "An" here I be, 
 comin' to'ards you; so don't move. I 've got Doc- 
 tor Jasper's coat, an' it's soakin'." 
 
 "Tek it into the kitchen to dry; the fire's pretty 
 good yet, as I 've been fixin' some merlasses an' 
 brown sugar, for Eph's cold." 
 
 Then, with a shiver, "The witches must surely 
 be out this night; it's awful, so it is, to hear the 
 gale. It'll mek wrecks 'nough 'long shore; an' I
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 347 
 
 thank the Lord I ain't got no folks at sea. It 's a 
 comfort to know Eph's tucked in his bed, 'way up 
 under the eaves, even if he 's got sech a cold. But 
 I guess this stewed quaker'll knock it higher 'n a 
 kite." 
 
 By this time she had followed Jane and Doctor 
 Jasper's coat into the kitchen; and the Doctor had 
 locked himself in his room. 
 
 All night the rain came down with furious rat- 
 tlings on the window panes, sounding as if demons 
 were throwing gravel against the glass; and the 
 note of the tempest roared out of the black sky, 
 mingled with shrill cryings and groanings from the 
 rushing wind. 
 
 Doctor Jasper lay for the greater part of the night 
 listening to the raging of the storm; the uproar 
 without seeming to deaden although only in a 
 measure that within his mind. 
 
 Even now, and taking matters as they appeared, 
 there would come a persistent doubt as to Loleta 
 being wholly indifferent to him. 
 
 Captain Leslie had said that she certainly was 
 not. And then there was Margaret ! Margaret was 
 a woman, and she knew Loleta well. It would 
 scarcely seem possible that she could be mistaken 
 in such a matter. 
 
 He recalled Loleta's voice at different times, and 
 the look of her eyes; and these seemed to tell him 
 that she cared more for him than she would admit. 
 And, more than all, he thought again and again of 
 the face laid against his arm, as she wept, and he 
 had almost held her to him.
 
 348 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 But why should she persist in her denial, and how 
 could he make her confess to what he had hoped 
 and still dared to hope was the truth? What 
 opportunity would there be for this, now that she 
 was going away, intending that he should not know 
 when, nor where, she was going ? 
 
 But this was not so great a matter; for the earth 
 was not large, and he would search it, and find her, 
 wherever she might be. And perhaps some day she 
 would permit him to serve her, even though she 
 could not give him his heart's desire. 
 
 He might be patient, and wait until the end of 
 time, if only he could be near her, to care for, and 
 protect her, free to love her before the world. 
 
 And so the night wore on, and the tempest raged, 
 without and within.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 FEW people were to be seen in the streets next 
 day. Several wrecks had come ashore in the 
 early morning; and nearly all the towns-folk 
 who ventured out had gone down to the beach, the 
 wind making the weaker ones totter as they struggled 
 against it. 
 
 The water was an uproar of trampling seas, roll- 
 ing and coiling in mighty combers that dashed thun- 
 deringly upon the sands, and crashed against the 
 rocks, filling the air with salt rain and smoke-like 
 spray. 
 
 Men and women, with occasionally a child, their 
 hair and garments streaming in the blast, stood 
 about, overlooking the wild scene, or exchanging 
 opinions as to suggestive bits of wreckage that had 
 been washed upon the beach below the headlands. 
 
 Here the breakers, lifting upwards, darted out 
 long, flickering tongues of white spume that fell 
 against the rocks in ponderous hills; and these again 
 streamed downward, hissing amid the seaweeds that 
 floated out into their seething cauldrons. 
 
 As Doctor Jasper stood with many others upon 
 the highest point of one of the headlands, he found 
 it difficult to command his eyesight; indeed all his 
 senses were dulled by the violence of the gale and 
 the uproar of the waters.
 
 3 50 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 And yet all this seemed to accord with the tur- 
 moil that had come into his life, making it numb, 
 and dumb, save when a realization of its full mean- 
 ing shot across his deadened brain, even as a fierce 
 gleam of lightning illumines all things in the dark 
 storm of a summer night. 
 
 Every one was watching a craft off to the south- 
 east. At first a mere smudge upon the hard green 
 of the tossing seas, it had grown into a clearly de- 
 fined shape. And Uncle Darb, spyglass to his eye, 
 bawled out, "Her foremasts 's fell, an' her main- 
 yards 're in two. I'm 'fraid she's a goner." 
 
 The voices of those about him had been beating 
 against the gale with notes shriller than those of 
 the wind and sea; but now a deep silence fell over 
 them. 
 
 The vessel was sufficiently close for all to note that 
 she was not under control, but was drifting with the 
 send of the sea and the force of the gale drifting 
 straight for the beach below them. 
 
 The tempest would throw her high up, on the 
 very crest of the waves, where she would hang for 
 an instant, poised upon the dark ridge. Then she 
 would swoop down, as the supporting sea rushed 
 away in a flattening plain of hissing white foam, 
 leaving nothing to be seen but the masts, standing, 
 hair-like lines, above the howling fury of it all. 
 
 It was a marvel to see how she would rise from 
 these depths. But it was only to draw each time 
 nearer to the rift of rocks lying between her way- 
 ward course and the beach. 
 
 "I only see two men 'board o' her," announced
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 3 5 1 
 
 Uncle Darb, his eye still glued to the glass. "I 
 can only see two, an' they seem to be lashed to the 
 main riggin'; the rest's prob'ly washed away. 
 Damme, but I'll try myself, an' see if I can't rig 
 the sort o' craft that can go to rescue poor devils 
 in any kind o' sea. It 's downright onhuman, so it 
 is, for us to be standin' here, not able to raise a 
 hand for the savin' o' them men out there." 
 
 The red shirts of these sailors could be seen, 
 gleaming like two tiny, flame-colored spots, grow- 
 ing in size as they rose and fell in the furious tum- 
 blings of the sea. 
 
 At length the craft struck the rocks, as was shown 
 by a fiercer smother of spray bursting around her; 
 and in the midst of this the masts reeled and fell. 
 Then a mighty sea roared over her; and when it 
 was spent the red spots were gone. 
 
 One of the men was washed ashore, where many 
 kind hands were waiting to give him succor. Doc- 
 tor Jasper started to offer his assistance; but seeing 
 the white head of old Doctor Mix in the throng, 
 he remained upon the headland, where others still 
 watched for the missing red shirt to show in the 
 breakers along the beach. 
 
 But it did not appear. The man lay out in the 
 sea, along with one portion of the now halved ves- 
 sel that seemed fixed upon the rocks, while the 
 other a black, jagged fragment was nearing the 
 shore. 
 
 All the heart was gone out of Doctor Jasper, or 
 he could not have turned his back upon such a 
 scene as this. But he left the headland, and went
 
 352 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 to his room, where Mrs. Bessly had lit a fire, with 
 the result that the air was filled with a far from 
 pleasant odor, coming from a highly endorsed polish, 
 with which she had tried to change the rusty com- 
 plexion that summer days and salt air had given the 
 queer little stove. 
 
 He told her that he was not chilly, and to her 
 manifest chagrin requested her not to keep the 
 fire going. Then, taking a book, he seated himself 
 as if to read; but as soon as she left the room he 
 threw the book aside and turned to look out of the 
 window. 
 
 This was the first of the September gales: and it 
 had come in full force and fury, the sea running so 
 high that the white flash of breakers was tossed to 
 the uppermost step of the old wharf's stairs. 
 
 But at sunset the storm was broken, and the 
 clouds that had lain as night over the face of day 
 opened in the west, like sable-hued curtains, show- 
 ing the glory floating behind them. The radiance 
 flashed upon the waters, heaving still, but no longer 
 the towering ranges of hills that had chased one 
 another in endless succession all the morning. 
 
 The clouds, looking like gigantic demon wings, 
 rolled swiftly through the sky. Under them, against 
 the motionless black of the eastern horizon, the 
 white lighthouse stood out like a height of snowy 
 marble, the sudden gush of sunset glory making 
 its lantern glasses sparkle like innumerable fiery 
 stars. The spite was gone from the wind, although 
 it still blew briskly, and the noise of the surges 
 boomed loud from over the bar.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 353 
 
 Doctor Jasper did not go out again. And he felt 
 the first sensation of anything like content with life 
 when he realized that the day was done, and he might 
 soon try to sleep again, sleep, and so forget. 
 
 "Land-sakes! Ain't this been a gale, though!" 
 exclaimed Mrs. Bessly, as they sat at the tea-table. 
 "An' seek a wind, 'nough to blow away yer ears 
 an' eyes, an' lay yer nose on yer cheeks, flat ez flat." 
 
 "How 'bout yer tongue, Ma?" inquired Eph, his 
 implied disrespect somewhat modified by the twinkle 
 in his eyes. 
 
 "Benjamin Ephraim Bessly!" his mother began; 
 but, seeing his smiling eyes and mouth, she ended 
 good-naturedly, " I always was called a ' great dis- 
 courser ; ' guess I was born so. " 
 
 Before Doctor Jasper retired that night he had 
 determined to have a talk with Captain Leslie, and 
 as soon as he could. He decided to tell him what 
 Loleta had imparted, and ask for advice as to his 
 own course. 
 
 The next morning's sun had it all its own way, 
 for the storm was gone. 
 
 The Doctor went early to Captain Leslie's, and 
 founcf Margaret alone, looking over some old scrap- 
 books. She told him that her father had left only 
 a few minutes before, and was intending to go down 
 to Pilot' s-Head, to see if the storm had damaged his 
 crops. 
 
 He had now gone to see if he could procure a con- 
 veyance; and in half an hour, if he did not return, 
 she was to meet him at the Post-Office, that is, if 
 she decided to accompany him. 
 
 23
 
 354 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "Now, Doctor, I really don't care to go. So why 
 won't you go up and meet papa at the Post-Office, 
 and take my place ? " 
 
 Her keen perception had told her that some new 
 anxiety had come to him, and that he wished to see 
 her father. 
 
 " Why should I go ? " he asked with sullen indiffer- 
 ence. 
 
 " Now, see here," she said a little testily. "Why 
 do you ask such a foolish question, when I 'm sure 
 you are wishing to see papa, and talk with him 
 about something very important?" 
 
 "Well, you are right; for I want to see him, and 
 talk to him." 
 
 He made the admission in such a lifeless way that 
 she looked at him with renewed interest. 
 
 Then she asked quietly, " What is it, may I 
 know?" 
 
 "Oh, Margaret," he burst out impetuously, for 
 the sympathy in her voice had unmanned him; "you 
 don't know how miserably unhappy I am." 
 
 "What is it?" she asked again, and in the same 
 calm fashion. 
 
 " I will tell you, for she said she wished you to 
 know. But I am sure you will tell no one else 
 not another soul. " And he paused, waiting for her 
 promise. 
 
 " Certainly not, if you tell me not to." 
 
 "Do you remember the stranger who shot him- 
 self? "' he asked abruptly. 
 
 "Of course I do," looking at him rather won- 
 deringly.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 355 
 
 "Well, that man was Loleta's husband. They 
 were married some years ago, and little Captain 
 Jack was their child." 
 
 Margaret's calmness was utterly routed by this 
 startling revelation. 
 
 " What what do you mean ? " she gasped, drop- 
 ping the book she had been holding. 
 
 "It is true perfectly true. She told me all 
 about it last night. Poor little girl, it was a piti- 
 ful story; and she has been much sinned against. 
 But don't ask me to tell you anything more now, 
 for I can't endure to talk about it. I want to see 
 your father, and think I '11 go up town, as you 
 advised me." 
 
 She followed him silently to the outer door, for 
 she saw it would be misery for him to be ques- 
 tioned; and then she herself was almost too dumb- 
 founded to talk. But as he was about to go, the 
 expression of his face, together with his listless 
 manner, awoke a vague uneasiness in her mind; and 
 this made her say, as she looked up at him with 
 troubled eyes, "You'll surely come back here be- 
 fore night? " 
 
 He stopped, his hand upon the knob of the half- 
 opened door, and seemed to be pondering. 
 
 "You will go with papa to Pilot's-Head," she 
 urged, "and then come back with him to supper?" 
 
 "Yes," he answered absently; "I think I will 
 surely come back." And he turned away, without 
 seeming to see the hand she held out to him.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 THE day passed, growing grayer toward its 
 close, as if another gale might be preparing. 
 The light was beginning to fade; and as 
 neither Doctor Jasper nor her father had returned, 
 Margaret was still sitting upstairs in her cosey little 
 room. 
 
 A few faint sparkles came from the fireplace, 
 where, between the iron dogs, lay all that was left of 
 the fire Eliza had built in the afternoon. Margaret 
 felt chilly, partially from the nervousness that pos- 
 sessed her, and had drawn a great stuffed chair up 
 to the heat and glimmer; for there was yet sufficient 
 light to make the ruby in the old-fashioned ring on 
 her finger gleam out blood-red, as she sat with 
 elbows on her knees, and her chin sunk in her palms. 
 
 It had been a long, lonely day for the girl, and 
 she had spent it aimlessly, while the wind whistled 
 through the trees, whipping off the leaves, and cried 
 down the chimneys in a way that sounded eerie 
 enough. And now, with the sunshine gone, it was 
 all the drearier. 
 
 Would her father ever come? And was Doctor 
 Jasper with him? 
 
 Perhaps something dreadful had occurred. Yes- 
 terday, such a supposition would have seemed ab- 
 surd. But now, after the surprise of the morning,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 357 
 
 and thinking of it all the long afternoon, Margaret's 
 heart and mind were so wrought upon that she could 
 even contemplate the possibility of Doctor Jasper 
 having, in a moment of despair, thrown himself into 
 the sea. 
 
 The thought made her shiver, and wish more than 
 ever for her father's return ; for, whatever might 
 happen, he was sure to know what was wisest to do. 
 
 She arose and went to the window. It promised 
 to be a wild night. The lighthouse lamp was lit, 
 making a path faint and glimmering, over the 
 rough water at its base. To the southeast lay a 
 great bank of ragged clouds, from which dark 
 streamers radiated dver the sky, like the skirmishers 
 of an army; and amid these the evening star twin- 
 kled uncertainly. 
 
 Raising the sash, she leaned out; and as the odor 
 of the salt spray came driving in, she gave an ecstatic 
 little sniff; for the girl dearly loved the sea. 
 
 Then, glancing at the star, gleaming with a pearly 
 light out of the cloud-drift, she was reminded of 
 something which caused her to sing to herself, 
 
 " Ah, never again, in the sweet spring-time, 
 
 Shall we wander my love and I, 
 When the tremulous stars through fleecy bars 
 Look out of the western sky." 
 
 She stopped, and laughed softly. 
 "Oh, fiddlesticks! Of course they'll 'wander,' 
 the same as all lovers do. And so shall I, some day. 
 
 " ' Goosey, goosey, gander, 
 Where shall I wander ? ' 
 
 And I wish papa would ' wander ' home."
 
 358 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 It was growing so dark that she could scarcely 
 make out the dividing line betwixt sea and shore ; 
 and the air seemed filled by the booming of the surf 
 over the bar. 
 
 She closed the window and resumed her chair, 
 wishing for no other light than that from the dying 
 fire, although the corners of the room were darken- 
 ing with shadows. 
 
 Presently she heard steps in the passage, followed 
 by a knock at the door, which was opened by Eliza. 
 " Why, Marg'ret ! " she exclaimed, peering through 
 the gloom. " Hev n't ye a lamp, or any candles? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ; but I can see well enough, and so I 
 didn't take the trouble to light them. What is it 
 you want? " 
 
 " Cap'n says for ye to come down to tea. An' 
 Doctor Jasper's here with him." 
 
 " Why, Eliza," said Margaret indignantly, as she 
 started from her chair, " you promised to call me as 
 soon as the Doctor came. And why did n't you tell 
 me papa was home? " 
 
 " Well, well ! " Eliza answered rather sharply. " I 
 was thet busy with the jam all the afternoon, an' it 
 did act so like all possessed, I never thought o' 
 nothin' else. Yer pa come in unbeknownst to me, till 
 I heard him an' Doctor Jasper talkin' in the smokin'- 
 room. It seems like there must be somethin' wrong, 
 for they Ve been talkin' ever since ; an' thet 's an 
 hour ago. I went in jest now to say tea was ready ; 
 an* the Cap'n looked thet solemn, an' Doctor Jasper 
 was white ez white." 
 
 " Very well ; I '11 come right down," was all this
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 359 
 
 lively picture elicited from Margaret. But her 
 thoughts were not untroubled. 
 
 She found her father and the Doctor talking 
 earnestly, and the former was saying with an un- 
 wonted air of gravity, " I tell you, my lad, that noth- 
 ing proves more to a man of my years what a fool 
 he has been, than to look back at times in his life 
 when he is forced to own that he had about as much 
 idea of the proper course to steer, as if his head had 
 been tied up in a tarred bag. If we wish to be big 
 men to those who come after us, we should keep no 
 log-books, but always remember to sing, ' I never 
 did so when / was young.' Then, you see, they '11 
 never have a chance to find out what blooming idiots 
 we were." 
 
 Seeing Margaret, he paused, and holding out a 
 hand, drew her down and kissed her. Then he made 
 some joking remark, and they all went in to tea. 
 
 The Captain watched Doctor Jasper narrowly, for 
 he looked ill, and ate scarcely anything. And there 
 seemed to be good reason for this anxiety ; for when 
 tea was over, and the Doctor tried to leave the table, 
 he fell back, fainting, into his chair. 
 
 He was removed at once to Tom's chamber, and 
 placed in bed. Then, leaving him in Eliza's charge, 
 the Captain hurried away in search of Doctor Mix. 
 
 As Margaret accompanied her father to the door, 
 her pale face arrested his attention, for he took her 
 by the chin and kissed her. 
 
 " See here, Pegaway, you Ve been crying. Now 
 don't spoil your pretty eyes again, lass. I 'm afraid 
 he has n't been taking a proper amount of food ; and
 
 360 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 all his worries atop of that, have keeled him over. 
 But I '11 set old Mix after him mighty quick, and 
 you '11 see t' other doctor bob up like a cork." 
 
 He kissed her again, patted her cheek, and was gone. 
 
 She stood a few minutes where he had left her, 
 looking up at the elm branches tossing against the 
 sky. And the tears started once more, as she 
 thought, " How much misery seems to have come 
 to us, and all about us, beginning with Tom's going 
 away! It was so peaceful, and we were all so happy; 
 and now such dreadful things are happening all the 
 time ! " 
 
 Doctor Mix said that his patient was threatened 
 with something very much like brain fever; but he 
 thought a quiet day or two in bed, and a few more 
 quiet ones indoors, with proper medicine and dieting, 
 would enable it to be broken up without serious 
 results. And so it proved. 
 
 It was the sixth day afterwards, and Sunday. 
 Doctor Jasper had meantime seen no one but Doc- 
 tor Mix, Captain Leslie, and Eliza. But he was 
 now sitting in the little smoking-room, with Mar- 
 garet; and they could hear the last echo of the bells 
 ringing for afternoon service. 
 
 The Captain had gone to church, more, it must be 
 admitted, to please Margaret, than from any over- 
 whelming desire of his own. And he had left her 
 to look after the Doctor, whom he sternly com- 
 manded to stay within doors until the next day. 
 
 Eliza also had gone out, in company with Mrs. 
 Bessly, who stopped to see how her lodger was 
 getting on.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 361 
 
 Her heart overflowed at the sight of his white face 
 and sunken eyes; and as she passed out through the 
 gate, she said, " Land-sakes, 'Liza, what's come 
 over him? Why, jest to look at his face meks a 
 body feel fit to cry." 
 
 It was so warm that the windows were open ; and 
 the Sabbath's drowsy hush was broken only by the 
 faint sound of the surf. 
 
 "Haven't you something to tell me, Margaret? 
 Haven't you seen her?" 
 
 Doctor Jasper spoke eagerly, as he leaned forward 
 in his chair. 
 
 The girl hesitated, as if not quite knowing what 
 to say; and she seemed to be looking at something 
 through the open window. 
 
 "Answer me," he insisted. "Tell me some- 
 thing, no matter what it is." 
 
 "Well," said Margaret, speaking very slowly, "I 
 have seen her." 
 
 "Tell me, then, how was she how is she 
 when did you see her? Tell me how she looked, 
 and what she said. Tell me everything." 
 
 The words came like a torrent, and his voice 
 showed no sign of weakness. 
 
 " Mercy on us ! " Margaret exclaimed in playful 
 protest. "Don't go so fast." But her" eyes were 
 not in accord with her manner. "What a perfect 
 shower of questions! And which one shall I answer 
 first?" 
 
 "Don't trifle with me," he pleaded, "but tell me 
 all you know." 
 
 She did not meet his searching look, but turned
 
 362 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 her eyes away as she said, "I saw her Friday, 
 although I had been there once before, when she 
 could not, or would not, see me. But she saw me 
 Friday, and told me all, and more, than you did." 
 
 She stopped, as though the subject was ended; 
 but Doctor Jasper would not have it so. 
 
 "There is surely something more than that," he 
 declared somewhat impatiently. 
 
 " Well, it is only that she has found places in the 
 city for all the servants, except Mammy Zabette; 
 and they have gone to their new homes." 
 
 " And Loleta is she going away ? " 
 
 "Yes; and Mammy Zabette with her." 
 
 "Where is she going?" And he fixed his eyes 
 on Margaret's face as if to find the answer before 
 she could utter it. 
 
 "I don't know." 
 
 " You don't know ! " he exclaimed. " Why how 
 is that? She surely did not refuse to tell you? " 
 
 "Yes, she did; she wouldn't tell me where she 
 was going, but said she would write to me after a 
 time." 
 
 "When does she expect to leave?" 
 
 Margaret looked at him, looked at him keenly, 
 as though calculating how much it would be safe 
 to tell. 
 
 "When?" he repeated, with the same impatience 
 he had shown before. 
 
 " She has she has gone ! " 
 
 "What!" he cried, springing to his feet. 
 
 "She has gone; she went yesterday."
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 HE fell back in his chair and looked at Mar- 
 garet, who said nothing more, but arose and 
 walked over to the window, keeping her 
 back toward him. She could not bear to see his 
 ghastly face; neither did she wish him to see the 
 tears she could not keep from falling. 
 
 After what seemed to both of them a long silence, 
 she said, without turning around, " Loleta would 
 not tell me where she was going, although I begged 
 her to do so. She said she had mapped out her 
 future life whatever was left to her some time 
 ago; and that Mammy Zabette would always be 
 with her. She also said that she might possibly 
 come back here after a while; but she could not say 
 when, if ever. But she promised that she would 
 write to me before long, and perhaps tell me more 
 about her plans." 
 
 "And is that all?" 
 
 His voice had such a dead, far-off sound that she 
 looked at him over her shoulder as she said, " No, 
 not all ; for I told her you had been ill, and asked 
 her for some message, because I knew you 'd 
 like " 
 
 "Oh, you splendid girl!" he cried, the color 
 rushing to his face. "What did she say?"
 
 364 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Her back was toward him again, and she was 
 covertly wiping the tears from her cheeks. 
 
 " Don't expect too much," she replied, with a touch 
 of bitterness. " She only said I was to tell you 
 ' Good-by ' for her ; that she was sorry you were ill, 
 and hoped you 'd soon be as well as ever." 
 
 "And that was all she said!" His voice had a 
 sound of utter despair. 
 
 "Yes; all she said," with the slightest possible 
 emphasis upon the final word. 
 
 But this was sufficient to make a new hope show 
 in his face. 
 
 "What do you mean by putting it in that way? " 
 he demanded. "For Heaven's sake go on, tell 
 me all there is to tell, and don't compel me to drag 
 it from you bit by bit." 
 
 At this she turned and faced him. 
 
 "She said no more than I have told you. But 
 the way she looked and acted made me understand 
 a great deal more.. She cried cried bitterly." 
 
 " Poor little girl ! " he said softly. " Poor, dear 
 little girl!" 
 
 Margaret once more looked out of the window; 
 and a few minutes later, the Doctor, without speak- 
 ing, went to his own room, where he shut himself 
 in for the remainder of the clay. 
 
 As soon as he was gone, Margaret gave way, and 
 had a good cry. Then, following the Doctor's ex- 
 ample, she betook herself to her room, where she 
 spent some time in looking over letters and odd 
 relics belonging to her dead mother, this being the 
 girl's favorite occupation for rainy days, and one
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 365 
 
 indicating an attack of the blues when indulged in 
 at any other time. 
 
 Captain Leslie insisted upon the Doctor stopping 
 where he was during the rest of his stay in the little 
 town; and the latter accepted gratefully the hospi- 
 tality of the old sailor, who seemed to look upon 
 him as another son. 
 
 He was waiting with all the patience he could 
 command for Margaret to receive the promised let- 
 ter; but it did not come. The passing days became 
 long and tedious, more and more so, as they 
 dragged slowly away. It was only when listening 
 to the Captain's nautically-tinged and heart-warm- 
 ing philosophy, or to Mrs. Bessly's characteristic 
 rattle (during an occasional visit to his old quar- 
 ters), or when down on the shore or off sailing, 
 with Uncle Billy, that he was forced away from the 
 gloom of his thoughts, and into the daylight of 
 something approaching a living interest. 
 
 It was when sitting one afternoon out on one of 
 the headlands, near the "Betsey Brett," and feeling 
 even more lonesome and low-spirited than usual, 
 that he suddenly became filled with a determination 
 to go in search of Loleta. 
 
 As the resolve fixed itself in his mind he won- 
 dered how he could have been so dull as not to 
 think of it long before. But this he finally attrib- 
 uted to his sickness, and the unnatural mental con- 
 dition in which he had been since the girl went 
 away. 
 
 He would start at once, and go first to Cuba; for 
 it was there he thought she might have gone, to
 
 366 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 seek a new peace in her former home, amid sur- 
 roundings more familiar perhaps more loved, than 
 here, where so much tragedy had darkened her young 
 life. The island had by this time become fairly 
 quiet; and he felt no misgivings as to his being able 
 to find her, being familiar with the country, and 
 having, by reason of his army experience, unusual 
 facilities for accomplishing his object. 
 
 The sun was almost set, and a broad belt of gold 
 lay along the west. It was not the purple and gold 
 of summer, but a clear, cold yellow, showing in 
 streaks between the few violet clouds. The air was 
 very still; and in the mists of the eastern horizon 
 the tender new moon hung like shimmering silver 
 over the dusking sea. 
 
 The voices of men counting dried fish came 
 from the big shed-like building over by the flakes, 
 where Uncle Darb and some of his gaffers were 
 at work; and a stronger, clearer voice shouted out 
 the score for the tallyman in the usual colloquial 
 fashion. 
 
 " One, er ma-noo I " 
 
 " Score two ! " 
 
 "Tray!" 
 
 " Score four ! " 
 
 "Tally!" 
 
 As the Doctor started toward Captain Leslie's, 
 the lights had begun to twinkle from the windows 
 all about him, suggesting the cosiness and comforts 
 within. 
 
 This reminded him to go to Mrs. Bessly's for 
 some trifles of personal belongings; and, as she
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 367 
 
 would surely be home at this hour, he could bid 
 her good-by. 
 
 He found her on the back porch, skirts pinned up, 
 and with a small red-and-black checked shawl for 
 head-covering and wrap. A goodly portion of the 
 porch was piled high with pumpkins, while Jane 
 and Eph were busy bringing more. 
 
 "Good evenin', Doctor Jasper. We're surely 
 goin' to hev a frost to-night; don't ye think so? 
 I do; an' we're tryin' to git al-1 the punkins under 
 cover, so they won't git teched. Ain't they jest 
 golden bu-tees, though? I was always famous for 
 my punkin turnovers, an' promise ye a big taste o' 
 the first lot I mek. " 
 
 "I'm sorry, Mrs. Bessly; but I'll not be able to 
 sample them, for I am going away to-morrow." 
 
 "Is thet so? I want t' know. Well, land- 
 sakes, how we'll miss ye; 'though p'r'aps I ben't 
 jest the one to say so." 
 
 " Why not ? " he said warmly. " Who has been 
 kinder to me than you have? It will always be a 
 pleasure for me to remember my summer here with 
 you." 
 
 "Will it, though?" she asked, glowing with 
 satisfaction. "Well, now, 'twas a pleasure for all 
 of us to do for ye, Doctor; an' I hope ye '11 come 
 back next summer, 'long o' the birds an' flowers. 
 An' I'm sure ye '11 be jest as welcome." 
 
 She now lifted her voice. "Here, Eph, Jane! 
 Come an' tell Doctor Jasper good-by, for he 's goin' 
 'way in the mornin'." 
 
 "Yes," he said to Eph; "and I'm now on my
 
 368 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 way to Oilman's store, to put my name on the 
 slate, for the stage to call for me to-morrow. Do 
 you think I will find the place open ? " 
 
 "Surely, Doctor. Ye don't ketch old Culman 
 lettin' the boys shet up the store door till ev'rybody 
 else's door in town 's shet good an' fast for the 
 night. I 'd be glad to go up there for ye, only 
 ma's truck 's got to be brought in from the frost. 
 An' thet can't be done 'less I keep on workin' as 
 long 's there 's light 'nough to see by, which won't 
 be much longer." 
 
 Doctor Jasper soon gathered the small articles for 
 which he had come. Then, having bade them all 
 good-by, he went out of the gate for the last time, 
 standing a few moments to look across the street at 
 the old wharf, and out over the sea. 
 
 Nothing was stirring but the boats, and these only 
 from the rush of chilly air out of the northeast, mak- 
 ing them move restlessly at their moorings. 
 
 Over in the west, where the yellow had been, the 
 clouds were gone, and there was a clear patch of 
 sun-glow, in color a faint brassy rose, against which 
 the branches of the elms, now bare of leaves, were 
 sharply outlined ; and the far-away hills were blue- 
 black. 
 
 As he turned to go down the street the memory 
 of little Captain Jack came to him so suddenly and 
 vividly that he almost fancied he could see the 
 small, blue-clad figure stirring amid the shadows. 
 
 Sweet little lad ! And Loleta seemed almost as 
 much a memory as the child himself. So, indeed, 
 did all the past summer hours.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 369 
 
 Full of these thoughts, he took it as something 
 rather remarkable that when he entered Culman's 
 store the first words he heard were of his dear little 
 companion. 
 
 A tall, thin man, sitting on the counter, was say- 
 ing, as he swung his long legs, "Y-a-s, now thet 
 little Cap'n Jack 's gone, ther last o' ther Harwoods 
 is laid away. An' they was jest about ther finest 
 race in ther town." 
 
 "Speakin' o' Harwoods, an' layin' folks 'way," 
 said a dumpy little man perched upon a mackerel 
 keg, off in the shadows, " 'minds me o' meetin' old 
 Sam Ayres this arternoon. He said he 'd a big lot 
 o' money from Miss Loleta; an' she ordered him ter 
 tek that feller as shot hisself out in Cove, last 
 summer, an' bury him over in a plot she named. 
 What 's left over in ther matter o' money, arter 
 thet 's paid for, Sam 's ter keep for hisself. 'Sides 
 thet, he 's ter put up a plain white stun, with ther 
 all-firedest outlandish rigmarole on it for a name ye 
 ever read. Sam says he '11 hev nigh fifty dollars left 
 over for hisself. It must be scrum, hevin' money 
 ter heave 'round in thet fashion. It 's lek hevin' 
 money ter burn." 
 
 By this time quite a knot of listeners had gath- 
 ered; and Doctor Jasper, while adding his name to 
 the scant list of those wishing to be called for by 
 the stage, had been absorbing the little man's words. 
 
 He was one of Uncle Darb's gaffers Israel 
 Goodin by name. The long-legged man sitting on 
 the counter Reddy Banks was another; and in 
 the crowd were several more. 
 
 24
 
 370 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "Where did ye see old Ayres, an' hear all this?" 
 inquired one of them; and Doctor Jasper added, 
 "Was that all he said?" 
 
 Israel bridled with gratified vanity at having 
 attracted the Doctor's attention, while those stand- 
 ing in front of him fell back, and looked on with 
 respectful interest. 
 
 "W-a-1," was the drawling answer, "thet's 'bout 
 all. 'T wa'n't more 'n an hour back since I see 
 him. He was fillin' his pails at ther town pump." 
 
 The Doctor hurried away in search of old Sam, 
 whom he found at supper. Upon coming to the 
 door he repeated all that Goodin had said, adding 
 his own theory as to the cause of Miss Loleta's 
 action, that she had run across some of the dead 
 man's relations, who were probably ashamed of him, 
 and had given her the money to have him buried 
 properly. 
 
 " Like all ther Harwoods, she 's thct soft-hearted," 
 he said, adding, as if struck by a new thought, " But 
 jest step inside a minute, Doctor Jarsper. I 'd like 
 ter fetch ther paper, so ye can see for yerself the 
 name. P'r'aps ye may know ther fam'ly." 
 
 He brought the letter, and put it into the Doc- 
 tor's eager hands. A quick glance showed that it 
 bore no date, nor the name of the place from which 
 it had been written. 
 
 " Where is the envelope this letter came in ? " he 
 asked, speaking so sharply as to cause old Sam to 
 look at him with surprise. 
 
 "The env'lope? W-a-1, now," scratching his 
 head. "Oh, yes, I fired it inter ther water."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 371 
 
 " The deuce you did ! " And Doctor Jasper looked 
 as though he would like to shake him. "I don't 
 suppose you happened to notice the postmark on 
 it?" 
 
 "Nary." 
 
 It was maddening to hold a paper fresh from her 
 hands, but with no clue not the slightest, by 
 which to trace it back to its starting point. And 
 the letter itself contained nothing more than he had 
 already heard. 
 
 " How d' ye say thet there name she 's writ out 
 ther name I 'm ter hev put on ther stun ? " asked the 
 old man, as Doctor Jasper was turning to go. "Or 
 be it only a motto, in some furrin lingo? " 
 
 "It's the man's name," was the Doctor's curt 
 reply. 
 
 "Jest speak it out, sir, won't ye please? Ye 're 
 sech a scholard thet I know ye '11 give it to me 
 straight." 
 
 "Tosso Valle, that 's the name she says you are 
 to put on the stone. Good-night, Mr. Ayres, and 
 much obliged to you; and I trust you will be care- 
 ful in carrying out Miss Harwood's instructions. 
 And good-by, for I 'm going away in the morning." 
 
 He gave a hearty shake to the old man's hand, 
 and hastened off, leaving him muttering to himself. 
 
 "Tossel Valle, or be it Value-y? Smother me, 
 what a name! Anybody 'd say thet 'Curtain' 'd 
 sound better for his last name, ther fore one bein' 
 ' Tossel. ' Now what could ye expect of a man 
 hevin' a mother sech a heathen as ter stow him 
 with sech a name for life?"
 
 372 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Doctor Jasper found Margaret and her father 
 waiting tea for him. And, as they seated them- 
 selves at the table, he realized again the loyal 
 friendship of these two, and could not but feel sor- 
 row at the thought of his speedy departure. This 
 made it rather hard work for him to announce his 
 sudden determination; but he finally did so. 
 
 Margaret, after an exclamation of surprise, re- 
 mained silent. Eliza was voluble in her expres- 
 sions of regret. And the Captain said heartily, 
 but with a sad look, " Well, my lad, you may wan- 
 der far, and make many fine friends; but you'll 
 never find truer ones than you leave here." 
 
 " I am quite certain as to that, Captain ; and yet 
 at the same time I feel happy to hear you say so." 
 
 "Won't you be coming back to us before sum- 
 mer, my lad?" 
 
 "That is more than I can tell, sir. But I will 
 surely come before the summer is over; that is, if 
 I 'm alive." 
 
 "Well," Eliza said soberly, with a queer glance 
 at him, "please don't come if ye ain't alive." 
 
 " Why do you say that ? " asked Margaret. " Do 
 you admit that you believe in ghostly visitors? " 
 
 Eliza looked solemn, but did not reply. 
 
 "Answer me," Margaret insisted, waking up to 
 something like her usual gayety. " Do you believe 
 in ghosts ? " 
 
 "Fiddle!" was all the reply she received; and 
 then she appealed to her father. 
 
 "Now, Papa, I want you to make her tell us if 
 she ever had a ghost come to see her."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 373 
 
 "How ye do run on, Marg'ret," Eliza now said. 
 " But if I told ye what I was thinkin' of, ye 'd only 
 laugh." 
 
 She affected reluctance; but there was with it a 
 suspicion of her being amenable to urging. 
 
 "No, indeed," said Margaret; "none of us will 
 do any such thing. As for myself, I am in just 
 the mood for what you are going to say. It was 
 only this morning that I was reading 
 
 " ' My bones are buried in yon kirk yard, 
 
 So far beyant the sea ; 
 'T is only that my blithesome ghost 
 Is speaking now to thee ! ' 
 
 That 's a fine beginning for you, Eliza; so do go on 
 and tell us." 
 
 "I was only thinkin' o' Jane Ellis," was the 
 reply, "who lived down this way years ago. She 
 was engaged to Bob Parks; an' he was, I'm sorry 
 to say, a perfect limb. He was startin' off on a 
 v'yage, an' she asked him to promise surely to come 
 back for Thanksgivin' dinner; he was startin', ye 
 know, in early summer. An' he told her, laughin'- 
 like, yet meanin' it all the time, thet he'd come 
 surely, alive or dead, or somethin' like thet." 
 
 "And did he?" Margaret queried, as Eliza 
 stopped to take a sip of tea. 
 
 " Well, in course o' time it come to be nigh onto 
 Thanksgivin', an' Jane Ellis nat'rally hed her mind 
 full 'bout Bob. One night she dreamt thet he come 
 an' stood 'longside her bed, all drippin' wet; an' he 
 spoke to her, while he pulled at the seaweed he was
 
 374 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 sort o' draped in. An' what he said was this: 'I 
 be at the bottom o' the sea, Jane, an' so I can't 
 come home for Thanksgivin'. ' 
 
 " She screamed out, an' they all come runnin' to 
 her; an' she told 'em her dream. But she told me 
 arterwards thet it wa'n't no dream at all, but thet 
 Bob really come to her. Anyhow, he was drownded 
 thet very v'yage. " 
 
 The evening passed like many others before it. 
 The Captain and Doctor Jasper smoked, while Mar- 
 garet sang for them ; and later on, when she had 
 gone to her room, the two men had a few games of 
 cribbage. 
 
 Margaret had sung "Pegaway," and "The Arm- 
 orer's Daughter," for Doctor Jasper, and had gone 
 her way smilingly. But as she ascended the stairs, 
 her black lashes held the glitter of what had made 
 her backward glance seem wonderfully bright to her 
 father and their guest, as she bade them "Good- 
 night."
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 WHEN Doctor Jasper awakened the next morn- 
 ing he saw the autumn sunshine standing 
 like a wall of silver through the glass of 
 his half-closed windows. 
 
 The sea was purple near-by; but farther out, it 
 was ash-colored, and lively with little surges. 
 
 When breakfast was over, they all took a farewell 
 walk down by the shore, passing the " Betsey Brett," 
 where, now that winter was coming, the door was 
 open to the street, and the platform deserted. 
 
 As they stood watching the sails dip and rise 
 against the blue of the sky, Uncle Darb came along, 
 looking as if something was wrong; and Captain 
 Leslie hailed him. 
 
 The old man stopped, and appeared uneasy. But 
 finally, in reply to the Captain's inquiry, he growled 
 out, " No, I ain't sick, Cap'n ; but I 've been makin* 
 a fool o' myself. Ye see yest'day I was tekin' some 
 fellers from New York out for a sail; an' they 'd a 
 lot o' stuff they called ' shampain. ' An' ' sham ' 
 stuff it was, I tell ye, as consarned the look, an' 
 taste, compared with the power o' mischief it hed 
 in it. It was sweet, innocent-tastin' juice, an' I 
 did n't think 't would do any more harm than so 
 much sugar an' water. So, wishin' to be perlite, I 
 drunk whenever they offered me a glass, thinkin' an'
 
 376 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 carin' little for sech leddies' drink, as it seemed to 
 be. But spike my old guns, Cap'n ! I got a head 
 onto me that saw stars, an' 'nough fireworks for two 
 Fourth o' Julys. An' I say it 's a disgrace to an 
 old man like me, seasoned with ther fieriest o' rum." 
 
 Captain Leslie laughed, and the Doctor had to 
 smile. But as Uncle Darb did not seem to appre- 
 ciate their levity, Margaret hastened to say, "Doc- 
 tor Jasper is going away, Uncle Darb, going to 
 leave this very morning; and you '11 have to say 
 ' Good-by ' to him now, for it 's time for us to go 
 back to the house, and watch for the stage." 
 
 " Wa'l, I 'm sure we 're none of us glad over that 
 news, Doctor Jasper; but I wish ye all sorts o' 
 good luck." And he gave a hearty shake to the 
 Doctor's extended hand. 
 
 "Thank you, Uncle Darb; and I hope to find you 
 well and hearty when I return next summer." 
 
 "Hope so, I'm sure, thank 'ee, an' expect ye 
 will," a broad smile brightening the old man's 
 face. " Me, an' the boats, an' the sea, we stay 
 here right along from year to year; an' we '11 all 
 give ye a hearty welcome back." 
 
 When the stage drew up at the gate Captain 
 Leslie and Eliza superintended the carrying out 
 and disposal of the luggage, being ably seconded by 
 Uncle Billy, who had appeared at the last minute, 
 while Mrs. Bessly and Eph stood just inside the 
 gate, waiting for Doctor Jasper to appear. Mary- 
 Alice also was there, with little Benny in her arms, 
 and Mary-Ellen hiding shyly behind her mother's 
 skirts.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 377 
 
 When the Doctor came downstairs he found Mar- 
 garet leaning against the piano. She was quite 
 pale, and her eyes looked as if she had been crying. 
 
 "Good-by, Margaret," he said, advancing to take 
 her hand. But, to his consternation, she gave a 
 choking sob, and turned from him. 
 
 This was so unlike her that he stood dumb, eye- 
 ing her in perplexity. 
 
 "Don't stand looking at me in that way," she 
 said presently, turning to him with an unnatural 
 little laugh, and wiping her eyes with her handker- 
 chief. " You remind me of the way papa used to 
 glare at me years ago, when I didn't want to take 
 my medicine. And it 's the same sort of thing now, 
 for it will be dreadfully lonesome when you are 
 gone; and then you know so many things have hap- 
 pened. But there," with another queer little laugh, 
 and tossing her curly head, "I '11 take my medicine 
 now, Doctor, and have it over with. Of course I '11 
 keep you informed of everything you want to know, 
 and perhaps more too. And now good-by; for I 
 hear papa calling you." 
 
 He said nothing, but, moved by a sudden im- 
 pulse, bent over and kissed her upon the forehead. 
 And as he did so her color returned, and she gave 
 him a startled upward glance he did not soon forget. 
 
 The farewells were soon said to those outside, 
 Captain Leslie coming last, and holding fast to 
 the Doctor's hand until the latter mounted the 
 crazy little steps leading to the open door of the 
 stage. 
 
 "God bless you, my lad!" he said. "Good-by;
 
 378 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 and come back when you can, and as soon as you 
 can. " 
 
 Then, " Sheet home ! " he called out gayly, wav- 
 ing his hand to the driver, who had formerly been a 
 sailor. And Uncle Billy bawled, "Aye, overhaul 
 yer clewlines, an' stand away ! " 
 
 With this buoyant speeding the stage started, rat- 
 tling along the narrow streets, and out through the 
 old town into the main highway, lined with stone 
 walls that shut in and divided the many farms. 
 
 Doctor Jasper first spent an entire month in the 
 city, wandering about all day in search of the face 
 he never for a moment forgot. And his evenings 
 were passed at some one or another place of amuse- 
 ment or recreation, although with but a faint hope 
 of finding success amid such surroundings. 
 
 He then went to the joint home of the only other 
 members of his family his sister and aunt. But 
 he remained with them only a short time, and then, 
 to their great disappointment, left again, announc- 
 ing his intention to go abroad. 
 
 He had resolved to carry out his original plan, 
 and go to Cuba, feeling satisfied that there Loleta 
 was to be found. And a few days later he was in 
 Havana. 
 
 Here he remained for over a week, looking about, 
 and acquiring all possible information ; but he found 
 nothing to indicate that she was, or had been, in the 
 city. Nor could he find any trace of her in other 
 parts of the island, which he visited one after the 
 other, as he was able to secure transportation. 
 
 It was during one of these trips that he went to
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 379 
 
 Madame Harwood's former home, being able to locate 
 it through information gained from residents there- 
 about. 
 
 He found that she had disposed of the property to 
 a Spaniard, who afterwards sold it to be converted 
 into a hotel. But the splendid mansion had been 
 destroyed, and the once beautiful surroundings now 
 showed a picture of utter desolation. 
 
 Upon his return to Havana he found a letter from 
 Margaret, telling him that she had received one 
 from Loleta. It was written from Paris, where she 
 and Mammy Zabette were stopping at a convent, 
 the Mother Superior of which had been a life-long 
 friend of Madame Harwood. And although she men- 
 tioned her intention of returning to America, there 
 was no intimation as to when this would be. 
 
 He took the first steamer for New York, arriving 
 there just in time to catch one of the French liners 
 bound for Havre. Thence he hastened to Paris, 
 where, as best he might, he made a tedious and 
 ever-baffled search among the convents and nun- 
 neries in and about that city. 
 
 But all to no purpose. Either the people in 
 charge would not tell him the truth, or else he 
 failed to discover the particular retreat that held 
 the object of his search. And the end of it all found 
 him as completely at sea as though he had not come 
 at all.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 MEANWHILE the bluebirds were calling to 
 each other in the old town across the ocean, 
 and the frogs were piping shrilly from the 
 low places. 
 
 Spring had come again; and one of the gaffers 
 prophesied to Uncle Darb, while they stood by Cul- 
 man's ancient stove, redder from rust than with heat, 
 "Ther bull-paddicks sing so loud I guess we'll hev 
 a wet season. " 
 
 Walking in the sunset glow, along the already 
 dusty road, on her way home from a visit to Tom's 
 grave, Margaret stopped to lean upon the old turn- 
 stile, while a smile dimpled the corners of her 
 mouth, as she listened to the same trio of frogs 
 judging from the sound to which her father had 
 called her attention, when, as a much smaller girl, 
 she had passed along this same road one spring 
 evening with him and Tom. And she recalled how 
 the scent of growing things, fresh and sweet as now, 
 then filled the air. 
 
 This frog trio was led by a shrill treble, that sang 
 as Tom translated it, 
 
 " Here he comes ! Here he comes! " 
 To which a deeper voice seemingly responded, 
 " There he goes ! There he goes ! "
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 381 
 
 While a tremendous bass-profundo rounded it out 
 with, 
 
 " Good Lord ! Good Lord ! " 
 
 She walked on, across the short-cut of the fields, 
 all odorous with spring blooms, and the air thrilling 
 with the robins' evening songs, when suddenly she 
 saw Mrs. Bessly and Jane standing in front of her, 
 both of them in festal array. 
 
 "Land-alive, Marg'ret Leslie, your gray dress 
 meks one think of a ghost, meetin' you here in the 
 fields at this time o' day!" 
 
 "But the thought must stop right there, Bess," 
 replied the girl laughingly, "for there is nothing 
 ghostly in what my gray dress covers." 
 
 "I don't know 'bout thet," Mrs. Bessly asserted, 
 looking critically at her. "It seems to me ye ain't 
 nigh as plump as usual, an' don't look so well. 
 What did 'Liza give ye this spring sas'fras, or 
 dandelion? " 
 
 "Neither," answered Margaret, laughing all the 
 more. 
 
 "Thet 's teetotally wrong," said Mrs. Bessly, who 
 evidently looked at the matter in a serious light. 
 "Ye ought to hev been dosed with one or t'other. 
 Or, come to think of it, I guess gentian 's the thing 
 ye need; an' it ain't too late yet. Jest tek my 
 advice, an' tek some gentian tea." 
 
 "Can't I take your advice without taking the 
 tea?" was the quizzical query. 
 
 While Mrs. Bessly seemed to be pondering over 
 it, Jane ventured to ask timidly, "What d'ye hear 
 from Doctor Jasper? "
 
 382 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "Yes; where is he now, an' be he comin' here 
 this summer?" her aunt added quickly, appearing 
 to forget all about the gentian as she looked in- 
 tently at Margaret through the fast gathering dusk. 
 
 " He 's in Paris, and has not told papa whether he 
 is coming here this summer." 
 
 Her voice had an unusual touch of coldness, for 
 the inquisitiveness in Mrs. Bessly's sharp eyes was 
 not to be mistaken. 
 
 But the good woman only said, "Well, do tell! 
 Ye 'mind me o' what Irish Nora said to Uncle 
 Darb's Eben, when he come 'round this mornin' 
 with a cod. Ye know he broke his arm a couple 
 o' weeks ago." 
 
 " What was that? "asked Margaret, rather indif- 
 ferently. 
 
 " Why, she says to him, ' Hev ye it in slats ? ' 
 'No,' says he. 'Oh,' says she, 'in paris, then.' 
 Jest as if his arm was in furrin parts." 
 
 Margaret laughed, but only from kindness; and 
 Mrs. Bessly went on, " By the way, me an' Jane 's 
 been to Tillie English's weddin'. She married 
 thet limb, Tom Manley; but let 's hope he '11 settle 
 down, an' try to 'mount to somethin'. Thet old 
 shoutin' Methody aunt o' Tillie's, from Vermont, 
 seemed to be runnin' things. She 's as rich as dirt, 
 ye know; an' she hed thet cousin o' her'n, old Dea- 
 con Hipstey, down with her, to tie the knot. I 
 s'pose he 's a good 'nough man, even if he does tek 
 snuff, an' talk through his nose. But I do wish he 
 wouldn't keep everlastin'ly sayin' 'Amen.' It 
 sounds for all the world like a flock o' sheep,
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 383 
 
 bleatin' out ' B-a-a ' every minute. An' he sort o' 
 twiddles his voice, jest as if he was hevin' the 
 * Amens ' jounced out'n him when he was ridin' 
 over a rough road full o' piled-up sins. Dear-lands ! 
 Didn't we hev a lot o' sposh this spring, when the 
 snow come to go ? " 
 
 That evening at the tea-table Captain Leslie 
 ended a long silence by sighing profoundly. 
 
 "Dear me," he said, "how I wish the lad would 
 come home ! You don't know, Peggy, how I miss 
 him." 
 
 She did not reply, but busied herself in tendering 
 Fin a choice bit of cake. 
 
 The Captain looked at her keenly, and was about 
 to speak again, when Eliza said, "I met Lydia 
 Tishu up-town this mornin', an' she says they're 
 beginnin' to bring down things for the place over 
 on Bramble Island." 
 
 "Yes," the Captain assented; "I was down on 
 the shore this afternoon, when they were taking 
 several boat-loads of stuff across. One of the men 
 told me the sisters and children are coming here 
 right away." 
 
 "Well," and Eliza's voice had a grieved tone, 
 "it's a real affliction to hev an orphan asylum over 
 there. Like as not we'll be hevin' another visita- 
 tion o' smallpox, or perhaps yallar fever." 
 
 "Quite a cheerful prospect, that," remarked the 
 Captain, as he rose from the table. Then he 
 tramped off; and presently his strong, mellow voice 
 was heard trolling forth, in a distant part of the 
 house,
 
 384 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " And out of her bosom there grew a red rose, 
 And out of her lover's, a brier; 
 
 And they grew, and they grew, to the church steeple's top, 
 And then they could grow no higher. 
 So there they entwined in a true lover's knot, , 
 For all lovers true to admire-ire-ire, 
 For all lovers true to admire."
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 A FEW weeks later and all the fields were green 
 in summer dress, although the short young 
 grass in Eliza's bleaching ground, and out 
 under the trees in the orchard, had not yet come to 
 feathery heads. And here and there, amid the 
 green, a dandelion, close-set, gleamed like a golden 
 button. 
 
 The time of blossoms had come; and the trees 
 were thick with fleecy white and pink. 
 
 It was now that Doctor Jasper, still in Paris, 
 received a letter from Margaret that put an end 
 to his futile inquiries, and sent all his surmises fly- 
 ing to the winds. 
 
 Loleta was back, but not at the old home; for the 
 house had caught fire one night in the early spring, 
 and was entirely consumed. She was on Bramble 
 Island, with the sisters. 
 
 A fortnight later Doctor Jasper was at the Leslie 
 house, for the jubilant Captain would not hear of 
 his taking quarters anywhere else. 
 
 The same old stage rolled him into town one 
 afternoon, just as the sun was beginning to send 
 level slants across the hills and fields, and over the 
 sea, stretching, blue as sapphire, out to the eastern 
 horizon.
 
 386 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Uncle Billy was the first to greet him, at the 
 Post-Office, where the stage stopped to leave the 
 modest mail pouch. The old man happened to be 
 lounging by the door. But he straightened himself 
 in a trice, and hurried forward to grasp the Doctor's 
 extended hand, while he grinned so expansively as 
 to make it a wonder that his teeth did not forget to 
 keep their firm clinch upon the stem of his short pipe. 
 
 " Laird Laird ! But it 's a pleasant sight ter 
 see ye ag'in, Doctor Jarsper! It seems a long time 
 since ye went away." 
 
 He stopped, and seemed to swallow something; 
 then, with the smile all gone, he added, " How the 
 sight o' ye 'minds me o' Cap'n Jack, an' ther good 
 times we all used ter hev last summer! He were a 
 gentle, noble little chap, wa'n't he, Doctor Jarsper, 
 with ther sort o' hand ready ter ketch holt o' sech 
 shipmets as might need help. An' when sech teks 
 holt, it 's ther sort as never lets go. Seems ter me, 
 Doctor Jarsper, meanin' no offence landlubbers 
 never hev ther same sort o' hearts as is found so 
 common 'mongst old sailors." 
 
 "I agree with you there, Uncle Billy," said the 
 Doctor, smiling at the old man's earnestness; "and 
 I am glad to be back among the old sailors. Is the 
 ' Pretty Sally ' in the water yet ? " 
 
 "Thet she be, an' has been for weeks. Won't ye 
 soon be wantin' ter tek a trip in her? " 
 
 "Of course I will," was the hearty reply, with a 
 wave of his hand, as the driver came from the Post- 
 Office and scrambled to his seat, the horses having 
 already started off.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 387 
 
 That evening, when tea was over, the Doctor and 
 Margaret walked down to the headland opposite 
 Bramble Island, although no word had been spoken 
 of her who was there. Captain Leslie had said, 
 " Before it gets dark, Pegaway, you 'd better take 
 the lad down to have a look at his old friend the sea, 
 while I stretch my legs by going up town after the 
 mail, if old Steve hasn't shut up shop." 
 
 As they stood looking across the water, a large 
 fishing smack came speeding along under full sail, 
 with a small boat she had in tow pitching and roll- 
 ing about, forced to follow, and yet as if struggling 
 bravely to keep a course of its own. 
 
 "That little boat," Doctor Jasper said, after call- 
 ing Margaret's attention to it, "seems to me like 
 myself, as I have been for the past seven or eight 
 months." 
 
 She did not appear to have heard him, for she 
 looked up and said abruptly, "I haven't told you 
 that Mammy Zabette is dead." 
 
 " Indeed ! When did that happen ? " 
 
 "Not very long ago, over in Paris; and that was 
 one reason why Loleta came back here. She told 
 me she felt so lonesome, and was homesick. It was 
 about the same time that the house was burned ; and 
 how this happened has always been a mystery. The 
 fire broke out at night, and in the morning that 
 lovely place was nothing but a heap of ashes and 
 rubbish, although the fire engine and a big crowd 
 got there as soon as they could." 
 
 "Poor child she seems fated," he said under his 
 breath.
 
 388 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "Doesn't she?" For Margaret had caught the 
 words. "And the way Mammy Zabette went was 
 so dreadful, too. They found her in her room ; and 
 the doctor said she had been dead several hours. It 
 seems she had heart disease." 
 
 "All this must have been terrible for the poor 
 child. When did you last see her?" 
 
 " Day before yesterday, in the afternoon ; and I 
 shall probably see her again to-morrow. She comes 
 over every few days in one of the small boats, for 
 provisions." 
 
 There was something in the look Doctor Jasper 
 now gave Margaret which she understood fully. 
 
 "The Bramble Island boat always lands down in 
 the cove by Uncle Billy's bungalow," she added. 
 " Of course you know where it is, and remember 
 what a fine place it is to beach a dory. And " 
 still more significantly "they always come over in 
 the afternoon, between three and four o'clock, or a 
 little later." 
 
 "I '11 watch to-morrow," the Doctor said to him- 
 self. But he might just as well have spoken aloud, 
 for he knew that Margaret had, in her own way, 
 been telling him how he might see Loleta, and 
 speak with her. 
 
 Before long they turned from the sea and the 
 black shadows brooding over it, and took their way 
 leisurely to the Harwood place. 
 
 A new moon hung low in the western sky ; but 
 there was still sufficient light to reveal the ruin and 
 desolation that lay over the once beautiful home. 
 
 The trees showed great ugly gaps amid their
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 380 
 
 trunks and limbs, where burning timbers had fallen 
 upon them. The water of the pool gleamed only 
 here and there from under the debris which almost 
 filled it; and the marble satyr lay toppled over. 
 Only the little pavilion, so distinct in Doctor Jas- 
 per's memory, had kept its familiar appearance. 
 
 " Is n't it dreadful? " said Margaret, as they stood 
 looking about them. 
 
 " Indeed it is. And just think of how much has 
 happened since you and I first came up this path 
 together ! " 
 
 " Let me see," she said contemplatively. " It was 
 that night, or rather the morning, after our Danger- 
 Head exploit, was n't it? " 
 
 " Yes ; and it seems years ago." 
 
 " So it does," she said softly. " But," with a more 
 cheerful air, " never mind ; for after a while things 
 will come quite as you wish. And, when they do, 
 I don't think the pleasant things of the past will 
 seem so long ago, as when they are now contrasted 
 with an unpleasant present. I have always found 
 it so." 
 
 The words ended with a sigh, which, faint as it 
 was, Doctor Jasper heard. 
 
 " What is it, if I may ask, that you think might 
 come, and make the gone-by time seem less far away 
 to you?" 
 
 He spoke lightly, his voice seeming to have caught 
 some of her own usual brightness. 
 
 " Nonsense ! " she said, " you know perfectly well 
 that I was thinking only of you. Come let 's go 
 home."
 
 39 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 The moon was now sinking behind the hills back 
 of the town, while the wind stirred the tender leaves 
 of the rose-vines budding upon the pavilion, and 
 gently rippled the water about the half-submerged 
 face of the satyr, who seemed to be looking up at 
 the darkening sky. 
 
 The only light in Mrs. Bessly's house came from 
 the dining-room, where were two lamps, one of them 
 a large, old-fashioned affair, its crystal bowl showing 
 the clear oil within, and specklessly brilliant without 
 from frequent polishings at the skilful hands of Jane, 
 who now sat close to it, absorbing " James Mount- 
 joy, or, I've Been Thinking." 
 
 Eph, newspaper in hand, was reading aloud to his 
 mother, who was rapidly lowering the basketful of 
 socks and stockings upon the table before her. 
 
 She had just observed the fast increasing collec- 
 tion of moths and other insects about the lamp, most 
 of them upon their backs, and with spasmodically 
 agitated legs, suggestive of suffering. 
 
 " Land-sakes ! What a mess on the tablecloth ! 
 Talk o' the slaughter o' the innercents by Herod ! 
 This lamp is surely a slaughterer of innercent bugs. 
 Jane, go an' shet the back entry door, for thet's 
 where they must be comin' in." 
 
 Eph, who had paused during his mother's inter- 
 ruption, now resumed: "An' Mrs. Grubbs's friends 
 an' sorrowin' relations will long remember thankfully 
 that she always indulged the hope " 
 
 " Thet she did cantankerous old hypocrite ! " 
 exclaimed Mrs. Bessly, spitefully, as she held her 
 needle against the light, squinting at it over her
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 391 
 
 glasses while she thrust the yarn through its eye, 
 doing this with a stabbing motion. 
 
 " That she always indulged the hope," Eph went 
 on, " an' so died, peacefully rejoicin'." 
 
 As he laid the paper down, his mother said, " I 
 seen Doctor Jasper ag'in, when I was comin' from 
 the store. Him an' Marg'ret Leslie was walkin' 
 down to the shore. I s'pose we '11 hear next thet 
 they 're to be married." 
 
 " He looked han'some, did n't he, Ma, when we 
 seen him comin' in the stage? " said Eph. " I wish 
 I could travel in furrin parts." 
 
 "So's to grow han'some?" inquired Jane, an 
 unwonted twinkle in her eyes. 
 
 Eph looked at her severely ; but, before he could 
 think of a fitting reply, his mother gave the matter 
 a new turn, by saying with light sarcasm, " Well, Eph, 
 if ye calc'late to travel many miles from home I 'd 
 Vise ye to tek along an extry chest o' socks, for the 
 way ye tramp holes in 'em is the beatenest ! "
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII 
 
 THE next afternoon found Doctor Jasper among 
 the rocks near the end of the little cove be- 
 low Uncle Billy's bungalow, whose fastened 
 door and windows gave evidence of the old man's 
 absence upon the water. 
 
 The sea glittered, joyously bright, with here and 
 there many-colored patches, made by the cloud 
 shadows passing over it. The day was unusually 
 warm for the season ; and the heat was making a 
 dizzy, mist-like atmosphere between the town and 
 Bramble Island, lying empurpled by the distance. 
 
 The clock on the town hall had clanged out four 
 strokes a quarter of an hour before, and he began to 
 fear she was not coming. But five minutes later a 
 bare-armed, brown-faced lad beached a rowboat 
 upon the smooth sand. 
 
 Loleta was in the bow ; and Doctor Jasper watched 
 her with hungry eyes as she rose and sprang ashore. 
 
 A long black cloak fell to her feet, giving her a 
 nun-like appearance, although she did not wear the 
 dress of the order, while about her head was wound 
 a black lace scarf, through which her hair gleamed 
 all the more brightly. 
 
 He thought that her face seemed thinner, and 
 more pearly, than of old ; but it was none the less 
 beautiful.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 393 
 
 She stood looking off over the water, while the 
 boy secured the boat. Then, turning to him, she 
 said, " Tony, here is the list ; you will take it straight 
 to Mr. Culman. Tell him I did send you, and I 
 think you will find everything quite right. I will 
 meet you here when you return." 
 
 He took a large basket from the boat, and trudged 
 away, whistling cheerfully, while Loleta hurried off in 
 an opposite direction from where Doctor Jasper had 
 remained partially concealed. 
 
 The latter followed her, as she went rapidly along ; 
 and he knew that the way she was taking led directly 
 across the fields to the old burying ground. 
 
 He walked slowly, for he could not bring himself 
 to hasten. He was fearing his fate, now that this 
 as it seemed to him the final chance had come, 
 wherein he was either to win or lose her. 
 
 The grass in the burying ground was short, and the 
 graves undulated to the farthermost walls, like billows 
 of the sea. The marble cross marking where Madame 
 Harwood lay gleamed whiter than anything about, 
 except the small slab near-by that told of little Cap- 
 tain Jack's sleeping place. 
 
 These two graves were between Loleta and Doctor 
 Jasper, as they stood once more face to face. 
 
 She had a look that told of troubled days and 
 restless nights. Her eyelids were heavy, with shad- 
 ows about them. But the eyes she raised to him 
 were filled with a sweeter and calmer light than he 
 had ever seen them hold ; and a smile came to her 
 lips as she frankly extended her ungloved hand. 
 
 The man had long been schooling himself for this
 
 394 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 interview, which he felt would be decisive of his 
 hopes. His mind had pictured how she would look, 
 what her manner would be, and the way in which she 
 would meet him. 
 
 He had thought of what he would say to her, of 
 the arguments he would use, even going so far as to 
 formulate the words with which he would once more 
 plead his love. 
 
 But now all this went for nothing. The sight of 
 her, a living reality ; her wondrous beauty appeal- 
 ing to him more than ever by contrast with her 
 sombre garb ; her look of weariness and care, these 
 put to flight all his mental preparations and rehearsals. 
 
 There came instead, and stronger than ever, that 
 hungry longing for her; that craving for her and her 
 love ; the feeling that now, as she stood there before 
 him, she must be his, forever, his to care for, to 
 protect, and to make happy. 
 
 And so the words that issued tremulously from his 
 lips were, " Loleta, I have found you at last ! Will 
 you not love me now? " 
 
 The lids drooped over her eyes, and the smile 
 that had welcomed him was gone, as she turned 
 her head away, with the same restless motion as that 
 night when he had bared his heart to her. 
 
 Then their eyes met again, as she said, the words 
 coming slowly, " Surely, after all these months, you 
 do not come to me now to ask me all over again? " 
 
 The look in the passionate face, so far above her 
 upraised one, made her lids fall again as he ex- 
 claimed, " But I do, Loleta ! I come for that, and 
 for nothing else. You and your love are now all I
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 395 
 
 can find worth living for. You know that I love 
 you ; but you cannot know the depth and strength 
 of my love. And I could tell you so again and 
 again, without ever tiring." 
 
 "No?" she said questioningly, and with a weary 
 smile. " But have you never thought that I might 
 tire of it, even if you did not? " 
 
 He drew back, the color leaving his face ; and, 
 stretching out his hands, he cried reproachfully, 
 " How can you trifle with me and my love, as 
 true a love as ever a man had for a woman?" 
 
 "Trifle, I trifle?" she repeated. "I do think I 
 can never feel to trifle with anything again." 
 
 Her voice was filled with bitterness, and the corners 
 of her lips curled down in a way that killed their 
 smiling. 
 
 But, paying no regard to this, he went on impetu- 
 ously, determined to clear all his doubts. 
 
 " Do you know that I believe you love me, Loleta, 
 although you will not tell me so?" 
 
 He saw the start she gave. And he saw as well 
 the anger come to her eyes, as she drew herself up 
 haughtily. 
 
 But this only intensified his feelings, and made him 
 still more recklessly persistent. 
 
 " Some silly, old-time notion that Madame Har- 
 wood drilled into you is making you cruel to me, and 
 to yourself! " 
 
 " Ah ! " with a gasp. " Do you dare to think 
 that?" 
 
 " Yes, I do," he answered doggedly ; " for I can find 
 no other explanation of what you say and do, unless
 
 396 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 you care nothing whatever for me and my happiness. 
 And this I cannot permit myself to believe." 
 
 " And will you stand there," she demanded indig- 
 nantly, ignoring what he had said, " and argue to me 
 unkindly of her of my grandmere ? " 
 
 " No," he replied, now more calmly; " not unkindly 
 
 of her, for I know she loved you very dearly. But I 
 
 will say this : That she was very proud, and very hard 
 
 one who would trample love ruthlessly underfoot, 
 
 where pride spoke." 
 
 Loleta waited a moment, as though seeking how 
 best to express her meaning; then she said gently, 
 " It is but right that we should bear with the seeming 
 pride and hardness of those to whom we owe love and 
 respect; and especially when it is called out because 
 of our own acts, which to them do seem wicked and 
 degraded. You must remember that once I did 
 repulse her bitterly ; and that she did still love me, 
 and did try to protect me from all the trouble my 
 wickedness did cause. And you must remember as 
 well that I did love her then, and that I do love her 
 now." 
 
 She had placed her hand and arm closely about 
 the marble cross, as if to protect the memory of 
 her who slept beneath. And there was defiance, 
 mingled with reproach, in the look she gave him. 
 
 But, paying no attention to this, nor to her words, 
 he asked suddenly, " Loleta, will you answer me? " 
 
 "What shall I answer?" 
 
 She spoke listlessly, as if tired, and wishing the 
 interview to end. 
 
 " Do not play with my words," he said, " and do
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 397 
 
 not seem to play with my feelings. Such things are 
 not like you, and are unworthy of you. I want you 
 to answer what I have asked ; I 've no heart to talk 
 of anything else. Say that you will love me; or, if 
 you do not, that you will try to love me. I want you 
 to tell me that you will be my wife." 
 
 He had gone around the graves, and, standing be- 
 side her, took both her hands, as he looked down 
 into her eyes. 
 
 She glanced into his face as though afraid of him, 
 while she repeated in a tone he could scarcely hear, 
 " Your wife ! " 
 
 " Yes, Loleta, my wife ! Answer me ; do not say 
 anything but ' Yes.' It must be ' Yes,' Loleta." 
 
 " But I must say No ! And I do say it." 
 
 The words were cried out, as she snatched her 
 hands from his clasp. 
 
 "Why have you come back here why will you 
 talk to me so?" she asked wildly. "Why will you 
 not leave me alone? I am with the sisters; and it is 
 there I do find the peace I need. It is there I shall 
 live and die. And, if I do have to see you like this, 
 I shall not come again from the island." 
 
 His eyes had been growing stony, and his face gray. 
 And now he stepped slowly backwards, until the two 
 graves were once more between them. 
 
 " I beg you to forgive me, and to believe that I will 
 trouble you no more," he said, all the passion and 
 fire gone from his voice, and the tenderness as well. 
 " I ask your pardon for being so stupid as to have 
 doubted that you really detest me, as you said long 
 ago, that my love is an unwelcome thing to you."
 
 398 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " But you are mistaken," she replied, speaking again 
 very gently; " for I do not detest you not now." 
 
 "Never mind about it," he said coldly; "for it 
 must matter nothing to either of us. Shall I go back 
 with you to the boat, or do you prefer to return alone? " 
 
 " Alone," was the reply, her voice sounding smoth- 
 ered and mechanical, like an echo of his last word. 
 
 He lifted his hat and walked quickly away. And 
 shortly afterwards, from one of the headlands, he 
 watched the boat that bore her off, until it was only a 
 little speck nearing the beach along Bramble Island. 
 
 Over in the west the heads and shoulders of pon- 
 derous storm-clouds were shaping themselves above 
 the bluish obscurity, with here and there a sheen of 
 bronze upon them ; and into this the sun went down 
 as into a stormy sea.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX 
 
 WE be goin' ter hev a big storm 'fore ther 
 night 's far on," one of Uncle Barb's gaffers 
 called out to a passer-by; for the platform 
 and benches were well filled for the summer season. 
 
 Doctor Jasper heard the announcement with a 
 sense of gratitude, and looked with absolute pleasure 
 at the threatening sky. 
 
 Before returning to Captain Leslie's, he went 
 around to Mrs. Bessly's house, and found her at the 
 gate, dickering with a tin-man, whose cart, piled high 
 with pans, pails, and dippers, well-nigh filled the nar- 
 row street. 
 
 He was an itinerant trader, who had paid Mrs. 
 Bessly visitations for many seasons ; although, such 
 was the closeness of her bargainings, that he had been 
 heard to express his thanks for the keen-witted widow 
 having left him his " clothes to wear." 
 
 She now brought her negotiations to a speedy 
 end, and having greeted Doctor Jasper effusively, 
 ushered him into the dining-room, where Jane was at 
 work sorting out the longest feathers from a heap of 
 chicken plumage. 
 
 The girl welcomed him with evident pleasure, while 
 Mrs. Bessly, after wiping some invisible dust from a 
 chair, invited him to be seated.
 
 400 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "Well, now, Doctor Jasper," she began, "do tell us 
 some o' the interestin' sights ye've seen." And, 
 seating herself opposite him, she leaned back com- 
 fortably, prepared to be entertained. 
 
 But she was fated to disappointment ; for he was 
 in no humor for talking about anything concerning 
 himself. 
 
 " I don't think I could tell much that would inter- 
 est you," he said, adding, with a glance at the table, 
 and hoping to change the subject, " Those feathers 
 look like the coat of my old friend Sancho." 
 
 " They be," she answered. " Eph got a new 
 rooster t' other day ; an' Sancho, the old fool, started 
 in to show him the law. An' now Sancho 's dead." 
 
 The Doctor, not caring to learn the details of the 
 tragedy, asked the news of the past winter. 
 
 This was sufficient to set into motion Mrs. Bessly's 
 thumbs and tongue ; and she regaled him with much 
 gossip of marriages, deaths, and births, some of it 
 concerning people of whom he now heard for the 
 first time. 
 
 " They Ve got a new minister up at the Presbyte- 
 rian Church," she announced, among other things. 
 "An* most folks is glad Mr. Twombly 's gone ; for he 
 was gittin' dretful tiresome, an' seemed to be crazy 
 'bout prayin' in public. O' course one expects to 
 hev meetin', an' sech things, opened with prayer; 
 but Mr. Twombly 'd open a dance with prayer, if 
 he could be got to go to one. Why, Doctor, I 
 honestly b'lieve thet if he was to open a clam for 
 bait, down on the beach, he 'd hev to do it with 
 prayer."
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 401 
 
 Having thus exhausted one theme, she took up 
 another. 
 
 " Wa'n't it a shame for the Harwood house to burn 
 up ? An' there 's Loleta, all thet 's left o' the fam'ly, 
 stayin' with them nuns over on Bramble Island. 
 Some folks in town is thinkin' hard o' her for doin* it. 
 But then ye know Madam was a Papist when she 
 got married ; an' so 's all her folks." 
 
 The mention of Loleta's name brought back th*e 
 ordeal through which he had passed that same after- 
 noon. But he crushed down the thought of it, and 
 answered gravely, " The nuns the sisters, of the 
 Roman Catholic Church are good and brave wo- 
 men, Mrs. Bessly, and deserve nothing but praise for 
 the work they have accomplished." 
 
 "Ugh ugh," she grumbled, trying to bite the 
 thread with which she was sewing, her face being 
 partially buried in the folds of the work she had 
 picked up. And raising her head, she asked rather 
 suspiciously, "Be any o' your folks Papists? " 
 
 He perceived her drift, and smiled faintly. 
 
 " No, Mrs. Bessly ; we are all Episcopalians." 
 
 " ' Piscopalians ! Is thet so? D' ye know thet when 
 I first heerd o' high an' low ' Piscopals, I thought it 
 meant rich, an' poor. An' lots o' folks hev the same 
 notion." 
 
 He laughed, and asked with something of his old- 
 time manner, " What is the name of the new minister 
 you were speaking about? And have you been to 
 hear him yet?" 
 
 " Oh, yes ; me an' Eph went to hear him two 
 Sundays ago. His name's Redmond, an' his hair's 
 
 26
 
 402 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 fiery red ; an' I keep thinkin' his name ought to be 
 Redhead. But I don 't like his preachin' a mite." 
 
 'Why not? " the Doctor inquired, glad to be enter- 
 tained in her well remembered fashion. Indeed this 
 had been his chief reason for seeking her, hoping, as 
 he did, that it might serve, for a time at least, to 
 change the current of his thoughts. 
 
 " He hollers so, an' thumps the Bible. I kept 
 thinkin' how Miss Harriet Spencer 'd feel, if she was 
 to come back to life an' see him pound an' bang thet 
 Bible she gev the church a year 'fore she died. It 's 
 edged with goldy-lookin' bands, with two big clasps 
 o' the same stuff, whatever it is. An' it seemed a 
 shame to see thet Redhead double up his fist an' 
 pound it, jest as if he thought to thump savin' 
 grace into sinners by hollerin' at 'em, an' poundin' 
 as he did. An" then it was 'nough to spoil the 
 Bible." 
 
 She stopped, but only to take breath ; and then 
 she was off again. 
 
 " Hev ye seen Lawyer Abbey's house, up on the 
 ridge, thet he'sfixin' over so grand? He's put a 
 big portfolio on the south side, where the driveway 
 comes up." 
 
 "A what, did you say, Mrs. Bessly?" 
 
 " Why, a ' portfolio,' they call it ; but mebbe I ain't 
 got the name to sound as it should. It's furrin 
 Spanish, most likely." 
 
 " Don 't you mean ' porte-cochere] Mrs. Bessly?" he 
 asked soberly, as he turned to pick up the gay little 
 duster which Jane had just finished. 
 
 " Well, p'r'aps thet 's the right name for the thing.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 403 
 
 An' to mek it, they bed to tear down more 'n half 
 thet bu-tee-ful ivory vine thet 's been growin' there 
 ever since I can remember. Lawyer Abbey's uncle 
 planted it." 
 
 She laid the sewing in her lap, and resting her 
 hands upon it, began revolving her thumbs. 
 
 " He used to teach school over to'ards Pilot's-Head ; 
 me an' my two brothers went to him for three winters. 
 A bashful man he was, an' half blind, bein' thet near- 
 sighted ; an' he was forever hevin' somethin' happen 
 to mek folks laugh. Once 't was s'posed he was 
 sparkin' Hannah Ellis, rich old Doctor Ellis's daughter. 
 One evenin' he 'd been callin* there ; an' when he 
 come to leave, an' was backin' an' bowin' out'n the 
 room, like he always did, for manners, he bobbed his 
 head up underneath the bird's cage. An' whack ! 
 the bottom fell out, an' the water, seed, an' sand all 
 come showerin' over him, an' into his hair, which 
 was always so oiled up ye could smell him miles 
 off. An' another night he was bowin' hisself away, 
 while she an' some friends was sittin' on the piazzer. 
 An' there bein' no railin' 'round it, I 'm blest if he 
 did n 't back hisself clean off, his long legs flyin' up 
 in the air like a big letter V, 'fore their very faces. 
 Thet ended his courtin' Hannah Ellis, for they all 
 laughed fit to kill theirselves, an' Hannah loudest 
 of all. An' old Abbey marched home madder 'n a 
 wet hen." 
 
 Doctor Jasper laughed heartily, much to Mrs. 
 Bessly's satisfaction, for her sharp eyes had noted the 
 changed appearance of his face. She felt, too, an 
 alteration in his manner; and it troubled her.
 
 404 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " I wonder now, if Marg'ret 's sech a goose as to 
 hev said ' No/ to him? " she queried to herself, as she 
 watched him go up the street. " Thet is, if he 's 
 asked her. An' I bet thet 's the main thing 's brought 
 him back."
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 IT was dark from the storm-clouds that had spread 
 overhead, when the Doctor reached Captain 
 Leslie's. The lighthouse lamp shone but feebly 
 into the mists gathering thickly about Bramble Island ; 
 and he found himself wondering how it would be if 
 the sea should wash over it entirely, and carry away 
 the woman he loved. 
 
 " But I '11 think no more to-night," he said im- 
 patiently, and almost aloud ; for he felt as if a giant 
 hand were holding his brain to a miserable thinking 
 and wondering over her. 
 
 Several times during the evening Margaret's eyes 
 met his with a questioning look. But, having no 
 moment alone with her, he held his peace ; and with 
 little regret, as he was in no mood for talking. 
 
 All night the surges rolled high, and the wind 
 came in rushing blasts that whipped the pouring rain. 
 But the uproar only served to lull Doctor Jasper's 
 worn-out senses and strained nerves. 
 
 The next morning, as he and Margaret sat together, 
 he told her the story of the day before. 
 
 She listened in silence ; and he ended by asking 
 her, " Don't you now admit that you were mistaken? " 
 
 "In thinking Loleta cared for you? "she said, 
 blushing, and not looking at him. 
 
 "Yes."
 
 406 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " Well, n-o," was her slow reply. " I cannot be- 
 lieve so, even now." 
 
 " I know so," he declared emphatically. " And I 
 shall let her alone for the future." 
 
 "Will you?" There was manifest doubt in 
 Margaret's glance and voice. 
 
 " Indeed I shall," he repeated firmly. " I believe, 
 or at least I 'd like to hope, that I still retain a little of 
 my self-respect." 
 
 " And out of her bosom there grew a red rose, 
 And out of her lover's, a brier-ier-ier," 
 
 carolled Captain Leslie somewhere in the distance ; 
 and there was a smile in the quick look Margaret 
 gave Doctor Jasper. But she said no more. 
 
 The weeks went by, and he saw nothing of Loleta. 
 He did not try, but kept away from the beach and 
 the burying ground. Margaret brought reports of 
 her after going with Uncle Billy to Bramble Island ; 
 and this was all. 
 
 It was early in July when the Doctor was sum- 
 moned to his aunt, who had been laid low by illness. 
 And he took himself to task for the feeling of reluct- 
 ance with which he obeyed his sister's urgent request 
 that he should come at once. 
 
 The old lady recovered after a short time, with her 
 fondness for the world in nowise impaired. And her 
 nephew forced himself, from a feeling of duty, to 
 remain with her for a while. 
 
 But at the beginning of the third week there came 
 a letter from Margaret ; and as he read it, his heart 
 seemed to stop its beating.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 407 
 
 "The time has come when I must tell you something. 
 And please do not blame me as much as I blame myself, 
 fearing that I have made a mistake in not telling you 
 before. 
 
 " Loleta is ill. She has been ill almost two weeks, but 
 not seriously until within a few days. Doctor Mix had 
 reported her as getting along favorably ; and so I did not 
 write, as I knew you must be occupied with your aunt, 
 and I felt that she must need your care. And then I did 
 not wish to alarm you without good reason. But now I 
 must tell you of this, for Loleta has wanted you." 
 
 There was nothing more. But, coming from the 
 always blithe Margaret, the words had a hinting of 
 something between the lines, enough to fill him 
 with anxiety, and determine him to return at once. 
 
 Loleta had wanted him ! This of itself would have 
 brought him to her from the ends of the earth, and 
 throttled any feeling of duty toward any one or any- 
 thing else. 
 
 He was hastily packing a valise, when his aunt and 
 sister fell upon him with many inquiries as to the 
 reason for his sudden departure. But this only added 
 irritation to the alarm which already possessed him. 
 
 " Don't ask me anything," he replied impatiently. 
 " I must go, and as soon as I can get away. That 
 is all I can say now. It is entirely my own affair, 
 and need interest no one else." 
 
 " And when will you return? " they asked in a duet. 
 
 " I don't know; but I '11 write and tell you. Don't 
 ask me to talk about it now." 
 
 When he was gone, his aunt, alone with her niece, 
 said fretfully, " I wonder what it is, Marian, that takes
 
 408 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 Noel off so suddenly? I wish he would stop at home 
 with us." 
 
 " That seems to be something he never cares to do 
 nowadays," replied the niece, her angry eyes con- 
 tradicting the calmness of her voice. 
 
 " Suppose," her aunt went on, speculatively, " he 
 has been having a love affair with some one down 
 there, some girl with vulgar manners, and a loud 
 voice, for such are the only sort who can live in that 
 place, judging from all I Ve heard. Oh, dear ! I 
 wish he was more like other people, and not so 
 eccentric and self-willed ! " 
 
 But she whose hands held Noel Jasper's heart was 
 now lacking the strength to be even so loud of voice 
 as when her gentle tones last came to his ears. 
 
 He had parted from her with bitter sorrow raging 
 in his heart, almost wishing that he might come to 
 hate her, rather than know such utter hopelessness. 
 
 But there was nothing of this now nothing but 
 love for her to whom he was returning with all the 
 haste he could command. 
 
 And yet, rapidly as the train sped along, how 
 slowly the miles seemed to diminish, how wearily 
 the time dragged ! 
 
 The gloom of his forebodings made the sunny 
 landscape actually painful to him. Why should the 
 fields be green, and the trees filled with ripening 
 fruit; why should the birds sing, and nature put on 
 its brightest face, when she whom he loved was, 
 perhaps, fast nearing the dark shadows? 
 
 For must not this be true, when she could tell 
 Margaret that she wanted him? And what could
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 409 
 
 he think but that, despite all her denials, despite 
 everything, she loved him ? 
 
 The thought of this, even now, set his pulse to 
 beating passionately. 
 
 The sight of the old town, with its familiar aspect 
 and faces of the sea, sparkling under the glory of a 
 sunset sky this seemed like the greeting of stanch 
 friends, who, knowing his anxiety, sought to temper 
 it with sympathy, and give him new hope. 
 
 He went directly to the Leslie house, where Eliza, 
 her face unusually grave, met him at the door. She 
 greeted him quietly, and took him at once to the 
 little smoking-room, where he found the Captain 
 alone ; for Margaret was with the sick girl. 
 
 The Doctor having declined his friend's urgent 
 offer of refreshment, they went out immediately in 
 search of Uncle Billy. The old man lost no time in 
 getting a boat ready; and shortly thereafter Doctor 
 Jasper stepped upon the beach at Bramble Island. 
 
 He met Margaret and Doctor Mix at the door 
 of the main building, and, addressing himself to the 
 latter, made a few rapid, searching inquiries bearing 
 upon Loleta's symptoms and condition. 
 
 Doctor Mix answered his questions fully, saying 
 that the fever was nearing its crisis; and he added 
 that, in his own opinion, there was little in her favor. 
 
 Permission was readily obtained for Doctor Jasper 
 to see the patient ; then he and Margaret went to the 
 sick chamber. 
 
 He crossed over to where Loleta was lying, upon 
 a small cot, perfectly quiet, as if sleeping. And 
 standing there, looking down at the changed face
 
 4i o Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 and tawny head, so boyish in contour (for her hair 
 had been cut), a measureless depth of emotion swept 
 over him. 
 
 He felt as never before how truly it was that 
 the melancholy accidents of her life had made suffer- 
 ing and sorrow so familiar as to have become its 
 keynote, banishing all hope of happiness or love. 
 His thoughts went backward, over the rough path 
 her tender feet had been forced to tread ; and his 
 heart ached until the pain went to his throat. 
 
 " Oh, my darling my poor little girl ! " 
 
 This was all he could whisper, as he sank to his 
 knees by her side. 
 
 She had wanted him ! 
 
 She was lying unconscious, and as his judgment 
 told him very close to another world. And she 
 had wanted him ! 
 
 This gave him a comfort such as he had never felt 
 in all his loving her. 
 
 There was a quivering of the white lids ; then her 
 eyes opened wide. But, although she looked steadily 
 into his face, he knew that she did not recognize him. 
 
 She began muttering rapidly in French, and then 
 exclaimed in English, " Do you hear? I must go! 
 They are calling me, and I must go ! It is that they 
 are calling me ! " 
 
 Then the lids fell again over the gold-brown eyes, 
 that seemed to be looking at unseen forms. 
 
 Margaret, who had been standing at the window, 
 now came to the bedside and looked at the white, 
 still face. 
 
 " She will quiet down now," she whispered softly ;
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 41 1 
 
 " then she will waken again, and be quite sensible 
 for a time. That is the way she has been doing all 
 night and all day. Now tell me," the girl added, 
 tears glittering in her eyes, " do you agree with all 
 that Doctor Mix said to you?" 
 
 "As to most of it yes; I am forced to agree 
 with him." 
 
 He spoke hopelessly, his voice filled with agony. 
 
 Margaret appeared to have become years older 
 since Doctor Jasper last saw her. She had, notwith- 
 standing her father's misgivings, and Eliza's warmly 
 expressed disapproval, insisted upon remaining with 
 Loleta these past two days, and sharing the sister's 
 vigil. And well had she redeemed the promise made 
 to Doctor Mix, when he warned her that he must 
 not trust her to do this unless she could retain full 
 control of her nerves and feelings. 
 
 She was now holding one restless little hand, that 
 had begun to flutter pitifully, although the eyelids 
 did not lift again. 
 
 The fingers quieted at her touch, as she knelt 
 beside the cot; and raising her face to the Doctor, 
 now standing opposite, she whispered " She is asleep 
 again." 
 
 He was thoroughly familiar with the disease which 
 had taken so powerful a hold upon Loleta. And, 
 now that she was quiet, he examined into her con- 
 dition with a care greater than had been stirred into 
 action during all his career as a physician. 
 
 There was little he could find to encourage the 
 slightest hope. But he was certain there would be 
 no decided change within forty-eight hours, and that
 
 412 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 it would be entirely safe for him to return as he 
 knew that he must to Captain Leslie's house for 
 the night. 
 
 Margaret insisted as before upon staying with 
 Loleta; and Doctor Jasper sailed back to report 
 to her father, whom he found, watching for his 
 return, upon the old wharf. 
 
 As he reached the top step, Captain Leslie laid 
 a hand upon his shoulder. 
 
 " So here you are, my lad ? And I 'm glad you 
 have come." Then he added, before the Doctor 
 could reply, " Don't say a word until you Ve had 
 something to eat and drink. Come right along to 
 the house with me, and have supper. Only one 
 thing first tell me if my Pegaway is all chipper 
 and lively." 
 
 ' She is well, Captain, and wished me to tell you 
 so, with her love." 
 
 " Then that 's all I want to hear just now ; so come 
 along." 
 
 Mrs. Bessly, with several brown paper parcels in 
 her arms, was standing at her gate ; and seeing the 
 two men coming from the wharf, she crossed the 
 street to speak with them. 
 
 " Do tell me, Doctor Jasper," she inquired anx- 
 iously, "how be Loleta Harwood?" 
 
 " She is very sick, Mrs. Bessly ; very sick indeed." 
 
 " O' course, o' course. But she '11 git well fast 
 'nough, won't she?" 
 
 "We must hope so." 
 
 He made a strong effort to control his voice. But, 
 to the woman's alert eyes and quick intuitions, its
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 413 
 
 husky tone, together with the look he now cared 
 nothing if all the world should see in his face these 
 told their own tale. 
 
 Her eyes dimmed as she asked with prompt sym- 
 pathy, " Is there anythin' I can do, Doctor ? " 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " Nothing. She has the best of care, and every- 
 thing possible is being done for her." 
 
 They went on up the street, and she slowly entered 
 the house. Her face bore an expression of awed 
 amazement; and, marvellous to say, she was silent 
 for some little time. 
 
 But later on, when she took the caddy from the 
 closet and began measuring out the tea, she said to 
 her niece, " Jane Bessly, d' ye know Loleta Har- 
 wood 's dyin' ? An' I b'lieve it 's her thet Doctor 
 Jasper 's been eatin' his heart out for all this time." 
 
 " I thought so all along, Aunt," Jane remarked 
 timidly. 
 
 " Oh, ye did, did ye?" Mrs. Bessly demanded, her 
 voice losing its softness. " I 'd like to know how 
 many years of experience an' times o' love-mekin' 
 give ye wisdom to know so much more 'n your 
 elders?" 
 
 " Well, Aunt, I always thought so just the same," 
 said the girl, with no show of resentment, but rather 
 an undertone of apology for having ventured to think 
 at all. 
 
 Mrs. Bessly grumbled something, but now in a 
 less aggressive tone ; and, as she bustled back and 
 forth during her preparations for tea, she gave utter- 
 ance to her train of thought :
 
 414 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 " To think how them Harwoods hev been scooted 
 out'n the world in the past few years ! There was 
 a time, an' not more 'n twelve years back, thet ye 
 could n't open the door an' fire out a bootjack 
 'thout like 's not hittin' a passin' Harwood ; an' all 
 of a sudden they 're scarcer 'n huckleberries in winter. 
 An' now here 's Loleta, the most bu-tee-ful o' the 
 hull lot, dyin' over there on Bramble Island. It 's 
 comfortin' to know thet Marg'ret Leslie 's with her, 
 'though the Captain must be nerved over thet, too. 
 An' lands ! I hope Marg'ret don't ketch nothin'. 
 I do wish the town hed never sold Bramble Island, 
 for all them children to be bringin' sickness 'mong 
 us."
 
 CHAPTER XLI 
 
 ANOTHER day passed, and Loleta had not 
 been conscious. And when Doctor Jasper 
 reached the island early in the second even- 
 ing, Doctor Mix told him what he knew already 
 that the crisis was now at hand, with its fiat of death, 
 or of renewed life. Then the worthy man, glad to 
 leave the younger one in charge, went off in the 
 boat with Uncle Billy, who had brought Doctor 
 Jasper over this time to remain until morning. 
 
 He walked rapidly across the narrow strip of sward 
 lying between the beach and buildings, the whole 
 place now seeming as familiar to him as if he had 
 spent months there. 
 
 The outer door was opened by a nun, who bade 
 him go directly upstairs, where Margaret and one 
 of the sisters were expecting him. 
 
 He paused as Margaret opened the door of the 
 sick-room, and his eyes sought the corner where 
 Loleta's head lay shining amid the snowy pillows. 
 
 She appeared to be sleeping, and her hands lay, 
 white and nerveless, upon the coverlid. 
 
 Crossing the room quickly he stood a moment 
 looking down at her; then, bending over, he care- 
 fully slipped the tips of his fingers under one frail 
 wrist.
 
 4i 6 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 The pulse was very weak, and fluttered uneasily. 
 
 He did not remove his hand, but stood leaning 
 over the bed, and rinding comfort in touching her. 
 But he looked away from the sleeping face, as if fear- 
 ing she might be awakened or disturbed by the agony 
 burning in his eyes. 
 
 Margaret had seated herself by a window, and was 
 looking out at the growing night; but, now and 
 again, her handkerchief stole to her eyes. And the 
 sister had retired to a far corner of the room, whence 
 came the soft clicking of her beads. 
 
 And so the minutes came and went, until Doctor 
 Jasper gently released Loleta's wrist. Then, passing 
 noiselessly from the room, he left the house, not paus- 
 ing until he reached the beach. 
 
 Here, battling with his agony, he stood looking out 
 over the sea, to where, far down in the east, shone a 
 lone planet; and a sudden calm fell upon him. 
 
 But it was the calm that comes from despair ; for 
 now it was as if he had always known what the end 
 might be. 
 
 His thoughts wandered from much that had been 
 torturing him, as he stared mechanically at the star. 
 It was burning clearer each moment, and seemed ap- 
 pealing to him, as if bearing sympathy from a higher, 
 holier world. 
 
 He recalled Loleta's words, when she said, with 
 such a hard curving of her sweet mouth, " Clouds 
 driven by a wind ; stars for whom is reserved the 
 blackness of darkness forever ! I am of these ! " 
 
 He understood them now, and realized, in the light 
 that had come to him, how pitifully true they were ;
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 417 
 
 how they seemed to sum up the story of her life 
 its sacrifices and miseries. 
 
 Up and down he paced, while the light grew dim- 
 mer ; for there was no moon, only the radiance 
 from the stars glistening overhead. The tide came 
 creeping up until it reached his feet; then it began 
 to recede, leaving broader the little stretch of sand. 
 And still he paced up and down, following the water- 
 line as it withdrew from the shore, his untiring feet 
 making scarcely a mark upon the firm, smooth sur- 
 face of the beach. 
 
 The shining planet had risen high enough to be 
 merged with its fellows, when Margaret's voice 
 sounded at his elbow. 
 
 " She is asking for you ; and I left her with the 
 sister, until I could find you." 
 
 He was gone before she had finished speaking; 
 and standing once more beside Loleta's bed, he bent 
 to catch the words she was striving to utter. 
 
 Her eyes were lifted to his face ; and in them was 
 a light whose meaning he feared. 
 
 Her words were scarcely audible. But love's ears 
 are keen, and the faint voice had no need to strive 
 long. 
 
 Turning to the calm-faced sister, he asked her to 
 leave them alone ; and, after an instant's hesitation, 
 she glided softly away. 
 
 Kneeling by the cot, he passed his arm beneath 
 the pillows, raising her a little, until the curly head, 
 so like Captain Jack's, lay against his shoulder. 
 Then, bending still closer, he whispered, "What is 
 it, Loleta?" 
 
 27
 
 4i 8 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 "Am I to die?" 
 
 He shivered, and trembled, despite the effort he 
 made to control himself. He was silent ; but it was 
 a silence of heaving shoulder and breast; the silence 
 of a ghastly face ; of a close hand-clasp. 
 
 "Answer me, please," came to his ears as from 
 afar-off. " I do have no fear none." 
 
 Still he could not speak, and dared not try, lest his 
 voice should betray him. 
 
 He thought that he felt her, ever so softly, nestle 
 closer to him. Then she whispered and the words 
 struck thrillingly through his mad grief, " I want 
 you to put my hand upon your cheek, while I do 
 say it." 
 
 "Say what?" he gasped, lifting his head so that 
 his face lay close to her own, so close that their 
 eyes almost touched. And he beheld in hers a light 
 like the shining majesty of death. 
 
 Then softly, the sweet voice dying away like that 
 of a tired child falling happily asleep in its mother's 
 arms, the words came distinctly to him : 
 
 " God bless and keep my heart's dearest ! " 
 
 He thought her mind was wandering. Or was his 
 own becoming unbalanced? But he lifted her hand 
 and placed it on his cheek. 
 
 The white lids were raised once more ; the great 
 eyes, clearly intelligent, but full of an unspeakable 
 sadness, met his. 
 
 She smiled, and whispered, " Yes, if it is that I am 
 going, I may say it. And I did love you always 
 always ! " 
 
 Her fingers wandered weakly from his cheek, to
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 419 
 
 touch his hair. Then they fell away, and she was 
 still. 
 
 With a new life seeming to mingle with the blood 
 in his veins, yet half distracted between hope and 
 despair, he tried to hush the beating of the heart that 
 pillowed her head, holding close the death-like form, 
 as if to shield it from the grim presence hovering so 
 near. 
 
 Could it be that she had been given to him for 
 this one brief moment, and was then to be taken 
 away forever? 
 
 If this must be, he felt that he could never more 
 believe in a merciful God. 
 
 So, fighting off despair, and clinging fiercely to 
 hope, it was as if his own strong vitality must be pour- 
 ing into her feeble heart-beats. 
 
 He could not have told how long it was before he 
 dared raise his face to look at her. And when he 
 did, it was no shame to his manhood that the un- 
 voiced prayer of his heart sprang to tears of thanks- 
 giving, dimming the eyes that saw tiny drops of 
 moisture like dew in a white lily's cup lying 
 upon her forehead. 
 
 He knew that death was defeated. 
 
 Truly it was that she was not dead, but in that 
 dreamless slumber which must last many hours, and 
 whose ending would be the prelude to recovery. 
 
 Noiselessly, as a spider spinning its web, his strong 
 arms gently let their precious burden slip back upon 
 the pillow; and kneeling there, he laid his head 
 against the bed, while his thankful tears had their way.
 
 420 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 He was roused by the gentle pressure of a hand 
 upon his shoulder, and lifting his head, saw Margaret 
 standing beside him, her eyes fixed upon Loleta's face. 
 
 He rose silently, while she glanced questioningly 
 at him, and back again to the still form. 
 
 Laying a finger upon his lip, he beckoned her from 
 the room, the door of which he closed softly. 
 
 "She is not dead?" whispered the girl, resting a 
 hand on his arm. 
 
 He shook his head, and a smile illumined his 
 haggard face. 
 
 " She will live ; only we must be careful to let her 
 sleep as long as possible." 
 
 " Thank God ! " murmured Margaret, her voice 
 choked by glad tears of relief. 
 
 " Amen, and Amen ! " said Noel Jasper, with rever- 
 ent gratitude.
 
 CHAPTER XLII 
 
 TWO days later, Mrs. Bessly, looking from a 
 window, saw Margaret hurrying homeward 
 from the wharf; and, presuming that Uncle 
 Billy had brought her from Bramble Island, she lost 
 no time in sallying out to interview him. 
 
 She found the old man preparing to go home, and 
 was struck by a curious expression, as of repressed 
 excitement, in his unusually florid face. 
 
 " What under the canopy has Marg'ret Leslie come 
 home in sech a hurry for, Uncle Billy? I hope it 
 ain't 'cause Loleta's dead." 
 
 Uncle Billy's reply assumed the form of chuckles. 
 
 "Dead?" he repeated, with a jocoseness really 
 unsuited to the word. " Wa'l, scurcely, Marm." 
 And he laughed unrestrainedly. 
 
 "Whatever is ailin' ye?" demanded Mrs. Bessly, 
 with rising indignation. 
 
 "Can't ye let a feller larf a bit? Laird it's 
 'nough o' larfin' out t' other side o' ther mouth we Ve 
 all hed o' late," he replied, his face sobering. 
 
 " But what 's up, what was ye laughin' at? " she 
 insisted, scenting a choice piece of gossip. 
 
 " Wa'l," he replied, the twinkle returning to his 
 eyes, and the corners of his mouth widening again, 
 " it 's only thet I heerd over on Bramble, jest now,
 
 422 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 
 
 thet we 're all ter go weddinin'. There ain't goin' ter 
 be no funeral jest yet, Marm Bessly ; but ye must be 
 gittin' out yer weddin" finery." 
 
 He began to chuckle once more ; but Mrs. Bessly 
 took the matter seriously, and looked severely at the 
 old man. 
 
 " D' ye mean to tell me Doctor Jasper an' Loleta 
 Harwood 's goin' to git married ? " 
 
 " So he told me hisself, not an hour back, soon 's 
 she gits well, which she 's doin' fast; an' me an' Miss 
 Marg'ret was talkin' it over as we come 'cross. I 
 were s'prised, Marm," the old man added, lowering 
 his voice, while he glanced about to ssure himself 
 there were no listeners ; " I were s'prised ter see how 
 pleased Miss Marg'ret seemed ter be herself over it. 
 Ye see I 've been clean out o' my soundin's, for I 'd 
 reckoned thet Doctor Jarsper an' Miss Marg'ret 
 
 " Shoo ! " interrupted Mrs. Bessly, as if Uncle Billy 
 were an offending rooster invading her flower bed. 
 " What crazy nonsense hev ye been gittin' into thet 
 old head o' yourn? Men can never see beyond their 
 own noses." 
 
 She spoke with an air of lofty superiority, entirely 
 unmindful of her recent conversation with Jane, and 
 as if glad to feel that one menber of her own sex 
 to wit, herself was blessed with unerring insight. 
 
 Up at the Leslie house, Margaret, held close in her 
 father's arms, was crying softly. 
 
 " My lass, my Pegaway," the Captain said, patting 
 her on the back, and rumpling the short curls half- 
 buried in his coat, " it 's not like you to do this ; but 
 you 're all tuckered out, playing sick-nurse. I 'm
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 423 
 
 glad the Doctor made you come home ; for now Eliza 
 must turn in and nurse you" 
 
 She looked up at him and laughed, although a little 
 hysterically, and remonstrated at his solicitude, adding 
 that she felt as she did on account of being so glad 
 that Loleta was past all danger, and that everything 
 promised to come out all right. Then her voice broke, 
 and she buried her face once more against his breast, 
 sobbing in a way that troubled him. 
 
 " Now see here, my lass ! It 's time I took com- 
 mand of this ship, and I 'm going to do it So I tell 
 you that not one step to Bramble Island do you go 
 again until you are more like yourself. If it's all 
 settled between the Doctor and Loleta, and she has 
 but to get well and marry him, and then be carried 
 off to Europe, to be dry-docked with him in a flood 
 of happiness, you are needed there no more; but 
 your old daddy always needs you." 
 
 His arms tightened their clasp as a harder sob 
 came from the folds of his coat; and the sound 
 brought to his eyes a look such as those of a tender- 
 hearted mother might have shown. 
 
 Presently he spoke again ; and his voice held a 
 deeper note, with a tremulousness which softened it 
 still more. 
 
 " Your old daddy's world could have no sun in it 
 without you ; and he 's not going to let any man or 
 woman on earth, no matter who they are, upset his 
 Pegaway. So mind me, lass, you are to stay with 
 me, in this house ; and nothing short of death or an 
 earthquake shall take you to Bramble Island again 
 until I say so."
 
 CHAPTER XLIII 
 
 OVER the hills a glittering cloud-column stretched 
 westward to the almost down sun. Restless 
 waves, breaking far out upon invisible rocks, 
 made a long line of discolored foam, blown in circular 
 masses to the sands of gold, over which strands of 
 torn seaweed lay, tossed about, or heaped in uneven 
 furrows where the fall storms had lashed the sea to 
 strew them. 
 
 The full-set sails of incoming craft were showing a 
 touch of sunset light, faintly pink, as the vessels ap- 
 proached their haven, cutting the water so quietly as 
 to leave scarcely a ripple upon its surface. 
 
 The tide was fast coming in. The waves were be- 
 ginning to chase one another with more ponderous 
 bounds about the rock-piles. And the dry yellow 
 sand was being engulfed by little gurgling ripples, 
 every third or fourth of them reaching an inch or so 
 higher than those that came before, and stirring the 
 pebbles into a swishing remonstrance. 
 
 Up in the old burying ground the stillness was 
 broken only by the crickets hidden in the withering 
 grass, and the far-away roar of the breakers pounding 
 alongshore. To the west ran the wooded hills, their 
 frost-turned leaves making a picture of glory against 
 the cloudless blue of the sky. To the east was the 
 bluer sea, restless, and far-reaching.
 
 Up and Down the Sands of Gold 425 
 
 For more than an hour of the late afternoon an old 
 man had been pottering about one of the plots, re- 
 moving vagrant leaves, and plucking the stray weeds. 
 
 It had been truly " a labor of love," sought and 
 undertaken with no one's knowledge save his own. 
 
 He reached stiffly for a loosely tied bunch of feath- 
 ery chrysanthemums lying on the grass, and turned 
 himself about with painful slowness to place them 
 upon the small mound near which he knelt 
 
 " My little lad," he murmured, as he laid them down 
 with clumsy tenderness, "d'ye sleep well, I wonder? 
 I don't ; for I hev ter spell ' rheumertism ' 'bout ev'ry 
 way it 's ter be spelt, by ther pain o' nights. But it 's 
 a great comfort ter come up here ter set, an* think o' 
 good things, angels, an' Heaven, an' ther like. My 
 old mother 's over there waitin' ; an' so be you, Cap'n 
 Jack. I 'm sure ye 're watchin' an' waitin' ter see 
 Uncle Billy's old hulk come sailin' in 'mong all ther 
 finer craft thet's anchored 'long ther Heavenly shore, 
 safe from ragin' storms an' tearin' winds." 
 
 He rose laboriously, and removed the battered hat 
 from his silvered head. 
 
 " Good night t' ye, my little lad ; I 'm goin' home 
 now ter ther bungalow. An' when ther bells strike 
 for my turnin' in ter my Heavenly bungalow, my 
 everlastin' prayer '11 be thet you '11 be ther one our 
 good Lord lets come ter tow this old hulk inter 
 harbor." 
 
 THE END
 
 A NOTABLE AMERICAN ROMANCE 
 
 FROM KINGDOM 
 TO COLONY 
 
 By MARY DEVEREUX 
 
 Author of " UP AND DOWN THE SANDS OF GOLD " 
 
 A Charming Story of Marblehead in the Revolution 
 
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 It gives a truer picture of the country and its people than does the record 
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 early days. -Philadelphia North American 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN, & COMPANY, Publishers 
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 Pronounced Mrs. Campbell's Best Work 
 
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 TRUTH DEXTER 
 
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