^ 
 
 ^^0^^=^ 
 
 ^^^^^ 
 
 ^^^^^^^Hl'"' 
 
 176^0100 
 
 
 tATCH YARNS;" ETC* 
 
 
 
 
 I I I m mmmmmmmmm
 
 f'^ B 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 A) 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 L I E) R.AFLY 
 
 OF THL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 or ILLINOIS 
 
 823 
 D759i 
 
 V. 1
 
 IN ONE TOWN 
 
 A NOVEL. 
 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR OF 
 
 "anchor-watch yarns," etc. 
 
 Many ways meet in one town."— King Henry V. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 WARD & DOWNEY, 
 
 12 YORK STREET, COYENT GARDEN. 
 
 18 8 6. 
 
 [All Rights reserved.]
 
 COLSTON AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH,
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PROLOGUE, 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1 
 
 |3art i\n Jirst. 
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 DESCRIBES AN OLD-FASHIONED SEAPORT, AND A STORMY 
 INTERVIEW, ... 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 GIVES A PEEP AT THE INTERIOR OF A SHIPBROKER's 
 OFFICE, ...... 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ^ CONTAINS SOME IDLE CONVERSATION, 
 
 i\ CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ^ A sailor's WIFE, ...... 
 
 i^ CHAPTER V. 
 
 X DISCUSSES THE AFFAIRS OF THE SHIPBROKER'S CLERK, 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 THE skippers' SYMPOSIUM, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AFTER LONG YEARS, 
 
 13 
 
 31 
 
 58 
 
 68 
 
 80 
 
 92 
 
 111
 
 VI CONTENTS. 
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCES ONE OF THE SMARTEST CRAFTS AFLOAT, AND page 
 
 ONE OF THE SMARTEST OF SKIPPERS, . . 127 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 LOST, OR NOT LOST ? . . . . .139 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CONTAINS AN EXTRACT FROM THE " SLOUGHFORD GAZ- 
 ETTE," AND RECORDS SOME CONVERSATION, . 151 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DALTON AND MRS m'cORMICK RECEIVE A SHOCK, . . 162 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 IN WHICH THE LANDLADY OF THE " BOLD DRAGOON " COM- 
 PLETELY LOSES HER TEMPER, . . . 169 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 NIXON FINDS HIMSELF IN STRANGE COMPANY, AND 
 
 BEHOLDS HIS FATE, .... 180 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AT THE SHIPBROKER's HOUSE, .... 196 
 
 CHAPTER Vllt. 
 
 IN WHICH THE SHIPBROKER RELATES A STORY, . . 211 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 IN WHICH DALTON BREAKS A GOOD RESOLUTION, . . 222 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A BURGLARY, ...... 238
 
 IN ONE TOWN.
 
 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 PROLOGUE, 
 
 NE evening, late in August, a young* 
 man stood on a wooden bridge which 
 spanned a broad river. He was lean- 
 ing with folded arms against the parapet of the 
 drawbridge, gazing dreamingly at the quivering 
 belt of light which the sun, sinking redly behind 
 a western hill, sent across the unruffled waters. 
 ^ The tide was still flowing, but the flood was well- 
 nigh spent, for no motion seemed to disturb the 
 waters. The day had been calm and sultry, but 
 with the going down of the sun a soft breeze came 
 up from the south. 
 
 VOL. I. A
 
 2 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 The traffic on the bridge had ahnost ceased ; 
 occasionally a foot-passenger went by, and from 
 some small pleasure boats which passed at intervals 
 under the drawbridge, the hum of conversation, and 
 the clank of oars in their rowlocks, reached the 
 young man's ears. 
 
 He turned round as the refulgence died out of 
 the waters, and walked to the opposite side of the 
 bridge. Here he leant against the parapet, and 
 stood gazing down the stream. In front of him 
 lay a long stretch of river, and on each side of the 
 river was shipping. A few vessels rode at anchor 
 in the channel, and when the sun had set, their 
 anchor lights, pale and indistinct, were hoisted 
 into the dusky rigging. Along the quays on both 
 sides the lamps were being slowly light, and like 
 stars breaking through the early night came the 
 lights from the windows of the houses built on 
 the slopes rising from the quays. In the south, 
 behind the lines of shipping, a heavy, low-lying 
 bank of cloud hung like a pall in mid air. 
 
 For some time the young man remained almost 
 motionless. Half unconsciously he was drinking in 
 the quiet beauty of the scene. With the ebbing
 
 PKOLOGUE. 3 
 
 of the tide the boats ceased to go up the stream, 
 and no sound now reached his ears save the rhythmic 
 ripple of the river as it licked the wooden piers of 
 the bridge. 
 
 Lifting his head, he was surprised to find that 
 night was rapidly setting in — he had not observed 
 the growth of the darkness until he saw the pale 
 stars overhead. As he looked again down the 
 stream, the lights on the quays and the lights 
 from the houses on the hillsides seemed to have 
 grown suddenly deeper and fuller. 
 
 Taking out his watch, he thought, " It must be 
 near nine o'clock." 
 
 It wanted a quarter of the hour. 
 
 "It may be many, many years," he moodily re- 
 flected, "until I shall look upon the dear old 
 river again. Perhaps I may not come back to it 
 until I have grown old and world-worn, and then 
 I shall stand here once more, and think of all the 
 days I have passed within sight of it, and of all 
 the delicious hours I have spent paddling up and 
 down and across it. Perhaps I may never see it 
 again — but no ! I could not die happy if I were 
 to die away from you, old river," he murmured,
 
 4 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 stretching- out his arms embracingly. " Bah ! " he 
 cried, drawing back his arms, a big sob ready to 
 burst from his compressed lips, " I am growing 
 maudlin." 
 
 He dashed his hand across his eyes, and look- 
 ing down the stream, watched the blurred lights — 
 for his eyes were wet with tears — from the lamps 
 along the quays, the reflections from many of them 
 finding their way into the river, and sending 
 long spears of dull yellow flame out into the 
 stream. The cloud bank in the south had grown 
 denser and blacker, and was moving menacingly 
 towards him, blotting out the stars in its progress. 
 The ebb tide had been gradually gathering 
 strength, and was gurgling rapidly through the 
 openings of the bridge. The murmur of voices 
 from the river, and the clank, now clear and 
 ringing, from the oars in the rowlocks of boats 
 returning with the tide, drew the young man's 
 attention from his gloomy musings. Now and 
 then the sound of music and of laughter from 
 the boats as they passed beneath him caused a 
 smile to flit across his face. He had again for- 
 gotten the lapse of time, when the melancholy
 
 PROLOGUE. 5 
 
 boom of the town clock sounded in his ears and 
 startled him. 
 
 " Nine ! " he cried, as the last echo of the clock 
 died away. 
 
 It was quite dark, and the night air had grown 
 chilly. No one had crossed the bridge for over a 
 quarter of an hour. He looked around him. He 
 tried to convince himself that he heard every 
 moment the hollow sounds of approaching foot- 
 steps. He peered through the darkness, and every 
 moment he fancied he could distinguish a well- 
 known figure advancing towards him along the 
 bridge, which seemed now like some shrub-bordered 
 avenue. He was fast growing impatient. Could 
 anything have happened ? Surely she would not 
 disappoint him wilfully on this — the last night ? 
 No. This was she at last ! He could not be 
 mistaken this time. 
 
 He walked rapidly towards her. 
 
 " My darling Susie ! " he cried, seizing her hands, 
 ^' I had almost given up all hope of seeing you." 
 
 " Have you been waiting long, Dick ? " 
 
 " I think I have been here an hour, perhaps two 
 hours. Really I could not tell you how long. Of
 
 6 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 course, I did not expect you before nine, darling ; 
 but I thought I would spend my last night here 
 in company of my old friend the river." 
 
 "And are you really going away in the morn- 
 ing, Dick ? I can't believe I am to see you no 
 more for months and months. But perhaps you 
 are glad to be going away," she pouted. " You 
 seem quite happy." 
 
 " Yes, ever so happy while you are near me,"" 
 pressing her gloved hand and raising it to his 
 lips. Then with a mingling of bitterness and 
 sadness in his voice, " And yet it seems almost 
 inhuman that I could be light-hearted even for a 
 moment after — after what has happened." 
 
 They now reached the drawbridge. 
 
 " I have been very low-spirited all the day^ 
 Susie," he said, drawing her gently towards the 
 parapet. " I have been standing here since the 
 sun went down, full of all sorts of gloomy 
 memories and dark forebodings." 
 
 " The river at night always makes me sad, 
 too," she murmured. " I should be afraid to cross 
 the bridge after dark. Listen, Dick, to the 
 water rushing through the piers. All night that
 
 PEOLOGUE. 7 
 
 noise will be in my ears. It makes me quite 
 nervous to listen to it," she cried, with a slight 
 shiver. 
 
 " Oh, don't blame the dear old river ! I won't 
 let anyone say a word against it. It has too many 
 pleasant memories for me. Susie, my darling," he 
 cried, swiftly seizing both her hands, and looking 
 ardently into her dark, luminous eyes, " will you 
 ever forget me ; will you ever cease to care 
 for me?" 
 
 The girl cast down her eyes, and drawing her 
 right hand from his clasp, and laying it tenderly 
 on his right hand, she whispered, — 
 
 " Why need you ask me that, Dick ; you know 
 I will never, never forget you." 
 
 " My own darling ! " he cried, pressing both her 
 hands ; then in a quieter and graver tone, " but 
 suppose I were to be a very, very long time away 
 from you ; suppose I did not get on in the world ; 
 suppose it were years and years — never is such 
 a long time," he smiled sadly — " before I could 
 come back to claim you — would you still be true 
 to me ? " 
 
 " You will be much more likely to forget me,
 
 » IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 than I to forget you. But you won't be very 
 long away, Dick, will you ? " she asked tear- 
 fully. 
 
 " Not longer than I can help, you may be quite 
 sure ; but, indeed, darling, my future does not look 
 very rosy just now. We must both have hope and 
 courage, I suppose." 
 
 " You look so solemn now, Dick," she murmured. 
 Then, after a little pause, " You have made my 
 hands so hot. Do, please, let them go." 
 
 He released them at once. He wanted ever so 
 much to take her in his arms and kiss her; but 
 he had never attempted to kiss her, and he feared 
 she would repulse him. Why should she snatch 
 her hands away from him ? He could never under- 
 stand girls. In a somewhat careless tone he 
 said, — 
 
 " I suppose you must soon go home, Susie ? It 
 must be near ten now. I hope I shall not be the 
 means of getting you into trouble with your mother. 
 I would not have pressed you to come here to- 
 night, only I could not bear the thought of part- 
 ing from you in your own house ; your mother's 
 eyes never seem to leave me while I am near you.
 
 PROLOGUE. y 
 
 If I had known, though, that your good-bye would 
 have been such a cold one, I would not have asked 
 you to meet me here." 
 
 " You are vexed now, Dick," she whispered, look- 
 ing up at him with half-closed eyes. " What have 
 I done to vex you ? It is you who are cold, not I." 
 
 He glanced swiftly at her. Then in a moment 
 his arms were round her, and he kissed her 
 passionately on lips, eyes, and cheek. 
 
 When he released her, she sighed, and, placing 
 one hand caressingly on his cheek, asked, in a 
 low, tremulous whisper, — 
 
 "Did you ever kiss anyone before, Dick — I 
 mean anyone like — like me ? " 
 
 " Never, my darling ! " he cried. Then, taking 
 her white, plump hands, and holding them on 
 his shoulders, he said, " Now, Susie, dearest, look 
 me straight in the eyes, and tell me that you 
 love me, and will never, never love anybody 
 €lse. Say it to me, dearest." 
 
 " I love you, my darling Dick " — and then, 
 ashamed of her boldness, she hung her head. 
 
 " My beauty ! " he murmured. Clasping her 
 once more round the waist, he bent down, and.
 
 10 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 placing his lips close to her ear, cried, — "I love 
 you ! I love you ! I love you ! " 
 
 The boom of the town clock startled them. 
 To both it sounded like a knell. 
 
 " There, Dick, dearest, let me go," she cried 
 nervously. " That is ten o'clock striking ; I did 
 not think it was so late. Is that rain ? " 
 
 He held out his hand ; a few heavy raindrops 
 fell one by one on the palm. Looking up at the 
 sky he found that the stars were no longer visible. 
 The cloud had come up from the south, and 
 stretching itself out, had made the night supremely 
 dark. The river seemed like a great dull sheet 
 of bronze, the reflection from the lamps on the 
 quays looking like dimly-polished patches on the 
 metal. The distant lights from the quiet town 
 and the anchor lights of the vessels were fainter 
 and duller. 
 
 " I fear there will be a rainstorm before long," 
 he said. " You must get home at once. Come, 
 dearest." 
 
 Taking her hand caressingly, he drew her arm 
 through his, and they walked hurriedly along the 
 bridge.
 
 PROLOGUE. 11 
 
 " You were vexed with me a while ago, Dick," 
 she whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder, 
 and looking up at him, " because I took my hands 
 away. I think I was almost going to kiss you 
 then myself." 
 
 He stared at her in amazement. 
 
 " Yes," she went on, " you must think me too 
 forward and wicked, Dick ; but I may not 
 see you again for so long — and I could not bear 
 the thought of parting from you without a kiss ; 
 and do you know, Dick, I thought it would 
 be so strange and so cold to keep my gloves 
 on ! That was why I took my hands away, 
 Dick." 
 
 " My darling ! " he cried rapturously. 
 
 They were now approaching the gate of the 
 bridge, and for a moment they stood still. He 
 was in such a whirl of intoxication that he could 
 only stare in wonderment at the young face so 
 temptingly near him. He knew he had many 
 things to say, many questions to ask, many plans 
 to arrange ; but he could not formulate his thoughts 
 into words. 
 
 " You would never have kissed me," she mur-
 
 12 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 mured — " I mean really kissed me — if I had not 
 almost asked you. Would you, Dick ? " 
 
 He blushed deeply and stammered. 
 
 " I don't know — I was half afraid of you — oh, 
 my darling, darling little girl ! I will kiss you 
 now, though — do, dearest, for the last time, before 
 the sound of the river dies out in our ears."
 
 art the cjirai 
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 DESCRIBES AN OLD-FASHIONED SEAPORT, AND 1 
 STORMY INTERVIEW. 
 
 LOUGHFORD was an oddly - built, old- 
 fashioned seaport town in the south of 
 Ireland. It was situated some dozen 
 miles from the mouth of a broad river, the Slough, 
 which flowed alongside the town almost due east 
 and west, and, for q, considerable distance higher 
 up than the town, was navigable for ships of large 
 tonnage. The quay at the southern side of the 
 river was about a mile in length, and represented 
 the base of an equilateral triangle with regard to 
 the town itself; and from it there was a gradual
 
 14 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 ascent until the summit of a hill some five hundred 
 feet above the level of the river was reached. 
 
 This quay was wide, and along it were built 
 houses of various sizes and various styles of archi- 
 tecture. No one house resembled another; each 
 possessed a distinct individuality of its own. A 
 four-storey house, the ground floor a grocer's shop, 
 might be found, flanked on one side by a two- 
 storey building, the ground floor a nautical instru- 
 ment maker's shop, and on the other side by a 
 large ungainly - looking building — a corn store — 
 studded with innumerable small window frames, 
 whose wooden shutters, painted a dull, heavy brown, 
 did duty for glass. 
 
 There was no private dwelling - house on the 
 quay ; every building was either a shop, a store, 
 or an ofiice. Where a fascia board appeared over 
 a shop window, the proprietor took care to an- 
 nounce that he appealed chiefly to seafarers. The 
 grocer had " Ship's stores supplied here," painted 
 over his window ; the draper, " Seamen's apparel 
 of all sorts at cost prices ; " the baker, " Ship's 
 biscuits — best quality;" the butcher, "Prime beef 
 and pork for ship's use." Even the one vendor
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 15 
 
 of agricultural implements, who dwelt on the quay, 
 made it known that there was a forge at the back 
 of his premises for the use of vessels. The princi- 
 pal coal and corn stores were also situated on the 
 quay, and, almost as a matter of course, the Custom 
 House. 
 
 Parallel with the quay, a little higher up in the 
 town, was a long street, called Princes Street, and 
 here the naiitical element was considerably toned 
 down. The shops in Princes Street were patron- 
 ised chiefly by the resident population and by the 
 farming classes. There were several private dwell- 
 ing-houses here, tenanted by those who had business 
 in the stores or offices on the quay. 
 
 In the more elevated part of the seaport dwelt 
 the dealers in pigs and cattle, and the shopkeepers 
 who lived chiefly by them and by the farmers 
 who visited the town on market days ; but as 
 this story will attempt to deal only with the mari- 
 time element, there is no occasion to linger in this 
 purely terrestrial quarter. 
 
 On the outskirts of Sloughford at the western 
 end were a number of straggling streets grouped 
 together in a higgledy - piggledy fashion. The
 
 16 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 streets consisted mainly o£ thatched cottages, and 
 low two-storey houses, some o£ them in a woe- 
 fully dilapidated condition. These houses were 
 tenanted by labourers, who for the most part 
 worked on the quay; 'long-shore folk who made 
 out, somehow, a precarious living amongst the 
 shipping ; artisans ; and a sprinkling of cattle- 
 dealers and shopkeepers. This suburb was neither 
 wholly outside the bounds of Sloughford, nor 
 wholly within them, and was known as "Yellow 
 Hill," a title it probably derived from the fact 
 that the soil was yellow clay. Yellow Hill was 
 situated on the highest land about the town, and 
 almost overhung the river above the bridge. In 
 many places ruins of old Danish castles and forti- 
 fications might be seen, and on the summit of the 
 hill three sides of a large Anglo - Norman castle 
 stood almost intact. 
 
 On the outskirts of the town, at the eastern end,. 
 was the aristocratic suburb of River View. The 
 houses here were all of a modern type, and were 
 more showy-looking than any of the buildings in 
 Sloughford town. Here dwelt merchants and ship- 
 owners who were wealthy, or supposed to be wealthy.
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. IT 
 
 Along the river bank, on the side opposite to 
 Sloughford, ran a long, narrow quay, lined Vv'ith 
 large warehouses, stores, and timber yards. Tliere 
 were a few dwelling-houses at this side of the 
 river, which was called Bankside, and in one of 
 them. Woodbine Cottage, dwelt Captain John 
 M'Cormick's wife — it could scarcely be called the 
 residence of Captain M'Cormick, for even when 
 his ship lay in the Slough, the master of the Water 
 Nyviph not unfrequently took up his quarters 
 in the cabin of the ship. 
 
 As at the Sloughford side of the river, there 
 was a gradual slope in the ground at Bankside, 
 and . the front windows of Woodbine Cottage^ 
 which was built about midway up the slope of 
 the hill, commanded an almost uninterrupted view 
 for two or three miles of the windings of the river 
 to the eastward. 
 
 Bankside was connected with Sloughford by a 
 wooden bridge, the entrance to which, at the 
 town side, was at the extreme upper end of the 
 quay. During the daytime there was a consider- 
 able and continuous traffic across the wooden 
 bridge, as the most fertile portion of the country 
 VOL. L B
 
 18 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 lay at the Bankside part of the river, and there 
 was no other means of approaching Sloughford 
 from the opposite side except by crossing the 
 bridge — the only one which spanned the river 
 for twenty miles from its mouth. 
 
 Standing on the bridge and gazing down the 
 river, it would be impossible not to be struck by 
 the fantastic appearance of Sloughford — the long 
 line of ships at either side of the river, stretching 
 itself almost as far as the eye could reach, for at 
 the lower end of the quay an abrupt bend in the 
 river shut out a further view of the stream — the 
 long line of oddly-grouped houses at the town 
 side, dimly visible through a tangled network 
 of rigging — the disjointed, uneven line of stores 
 at Bankside, buildings which could exist nowhere 
 but in a maritime town, and which seemed im- 
 pregnated with a weird nautical spirit. And on 
 a still summer evening, when the sun was sinking 
 behind Yellow Hill, its last red rays glancing 
 along the polished spars of the shipping at Bank- 
 side and lighting up the old-fashioned window 
 panes of the houses until the narrow panes seemed 
 so many tongues of flame, you would fain close your
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 19 
 
 eyes, and listening to the ripple of the river, 
 fancy you had left the busy haunts of men behind 
 jou, and had been favoured with some old-world 
 vision, strangely beautiful, and full of peace. 
 
 At the upper end of the southern quay, not far 
 from the entrance to the wooden bridge, stood 
 the "Bold Dragoon," a public-house whose history 
 was lost in the mist of ages. A local historian 
 had on one occasion unearthed documents which 
 purported to give an account of Sloughford during 
 the Cromwellian era. Prior to the occupation of 
 the seaport by the Protector the public house 
 had been in existence, and, according to the local 
 historian, was identical with a well-known house 
 of entertainment called the " Jolly Sailors." Slough- 
 ford had offered a determined resistance to the 
 Cromwellians, and in the end had capitulated on 
 honourable terms. One of the Roundhead troopers 
 was afflicted with an inordinate thirst, and as 
 soon as his company entered the town he rushed 
 headlong to the nearest hostelry, which happened 
 to be this " Jolly Sailors." While slaking his 
 thirst he discovered that the landlady was a 
 remarkably handsome woman, and the trooper in-
 
 20 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 stantly fell head over ears in love with her. He 
 asked a few questions, learned she was a widow,, 
 proposed, and was married to the lady within a 
 week. Then, bidding defiance to the nautical 
 patrons of the house, he took down the old sign 
 of the " Jolly Sailors," and got a brand-new one 
 painted — a portrait of himself on horseback in full 
 fig. This legend was generally accepted, but there 
 were other theories propounded with regard to 
 the oriffl'n of -the sion. At all events the weather- 
 beaten horse and horseman painted on the board 
 which swung and creaked over the door of the 
 public-house had certainly seen many summers- 
 and winters go by. 
 
 The present landlady of the " Bold Dragoon "" 
 was Miss Julia Walsh. She was a half - sister 
 of a certain Captain John M'Cormick, of whom 
 mention has already been made, and who will 
 figure prominently in the earlier portion of this 
 story. Miss Walsh had entered into occupation 
 about five years before her half-brother had elec- 
 trified Sloughford by declaring himself the accepted 
 suitor of a young lady who lived inside a social 
 circle where, it was supposed, the pluckiest master-
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 21 
 
 mariner would not dream of finding a breathing 
 space. 
 
 Under the preceding regmie the " Bold Dra- 
 goon " had fallen into ill-repute, and was the 
 resort of the lowest class of sailors and 'lontr- 
 shore folk, who were supplied with drink so 
 vile that the local authorities had been obliged 
 to interfere, and had refused to grant a renewal 
 of the licence. The house had then been shut 
 up and offered for sale. M'Cormick, who was a 
 shrewder man of business than sailors usually are, 
 purchased the interest in the lease for a small 
 sum. Then he brought influence to bear on the 
 local magistrates, and guaranteed to remodel the 
 premises, structurally and morally, if a new licence 
 were granted to his sister. He obtained the licence 
 with some difficulty, and he carried out his pro- 
 mise faithfully. 
 
 When the " Bold Dragoon " again opened its 
 doors to the public, it was altogether a reformed 
 place of entertainment for man and beast. Neither 
 M'Cormick nor his sister knew anything about the 
 business of a public-house, and for a few years 
 they had to submit to being plundered by every
 
 22 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 one — customers, tradespeople, and attendants. But 
 Miss Walsh did not despair, and gradually the 
 business began to work smoothly and profitably. 
 The brightness and cleanliness of the house under 
 the new management were almost sufficient to 
 scare away the class who had previously sup- 
 ported the " Bold Dragoon," and after a short 
 time it became the resort of a superior class of 
 customers — the coasting and foreign skippers and 
 mates, and a sprinkling of the farmers who came 
 to town on market days, and who possessed a 
 keen scent for "a good drop." 
 
 One room was set apart for the sole use of 
 the coasting master - mariners and their friends, 
 and another for the foreign skippers. The former 
 was known to seafarers as the " Nest ; " and as 
 it is only with the " Nest " this veracious chronicle 
 will occasionally have business, it will be unneces- 
 sary to describe the apartment rendered sacred to 
 the foreign mariners. 
 
 The Nest was a long, low-ceilinsred room behind 
 the shop, the entrance being through a short, nar- 
 row passage at one end of the counter. The doorway 
 — the door itself stood generally wide open — faced
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 23 
 
 the only window in the room. A deal table, care- 
 fully scoured every morning, occupied the centre of 
 the floor, and two long moveable forms lay at 
 either side of the table. There was a large old- 
 fashioned fireplace at the far end of the room, 
 with an open space in front capable of accommo- 
 dating about half a dozen chairs. A few maps and 
 charts decorated the white-washed walls, and an 
 old barometer, an heirloom in the M'Cormick 
 family, was hung near the doorway. 
 
 Julia Walsh was about thirty-eight years of age. 
 Like her brother, she was tall and large b(5ned ; 
 but, unlike him, she was thin and sharp-visaged. 
 She believed herself to be a woman placed by cir- 
 cumstances altogether out of her natural sphere, 
 but she knew the wisdom of pocketing her pride ; 
 and as she always lived in the hope that the " Bold 
 Dragoon" would be hers after her brother's death, 
 and as it was virtually hers while he lived, she 
 did her best to make herself popular with her 
 customers, without, however, unbending too much. 
 
 The majority of the frequenters of the "Bold 
 Dragoon " looked upon " Miss Julia," as they called 
 her, as a vastly-superior personage ; but a few of
 
 24 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 the skippers, while pretending to regard her with 
 feehngs of reverence and awe, were often ungallant 
 enough to try and make her ridiculous. 
 
 The landlady had one desire — a desire no one 
 even guessed the strength of — namely, to make a 
 good match. She knew her brother did not wish 
 her to marry. He had often tried to demonstrate 
 to her the wisdom of remaining single, and he had 
 always held the threat over her head that he would 
 evict and disinherit her if she married without 
 , consulting him and obtaining his consent. 
 
 M'Cormick's reason for not wishing that his sis- 
 ter should take a partner for life was chiefly because 
 he felt certain she would marry a man who would 
 be in some respects objectionable, and this would, 
 he thought, serve to w^iden the breach existing 
 between himself and his wife. Besides, he did not 
 wish to see his hard-earned money squandered on 
 some worthless member of society, and he was con- 
 vinced his sister's choice would fall either on some 
 good-looking ne'er-do-well, or on some plausible 
 scoundrel, with perhaps a little money, who hap- 
 pened to be on the look-out for a comfortable 
 home in his declining years.
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 25 
 
 It may be seen, therefore, that John M'Cormick's 
 estimation of his step-sister's taste and judgment 
 was not a very high one. Indeed there was no 
 love lost between John M'Cormick and Julia Walsh. 
 The former acted the part of protector towards 
 the latter altogether from a sense of duty, and 
 in respect for the memory of his mother, whose 
 child Julia was. 
 
 During the afternoon of the fourteenth of 
 March, some twenty years ago, M'Cormick had a 
 short interview with his sister, which resembled 
 the month of March in the manner of its 'pro- 
 verbial beginning and ending. He had been in 
 a particularly unpleasant mood on account of a 
 serious quarrel with his wife — serious at least on 
 his part, for Mrs M'Cormick always treated her 
 husband with infinite scorn whenever, as was too 
 often the case, he chose to pick a groundless 
 quarrel with her. 
 
 " Look here, Julia ! " he said abruptly to his 
 sister, as they stood in the foreign skippers' room, 
 " I know very well things won't go far wrong 
 while I am in Sloughford and can keep my eye 
 on you ; but I have heard a few stories about
 
 26 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 you lately, and if I find you carrying on with 
 any fellow without consulting me, you will find 
 yourself in the wrong boat, I can tell you. I 
 have always meant to act fairly by you. Don't 
 think your tossing your head makes any impres- 
 sion on me, madam ! God knows I have done 
 my duty by you ever since my mother made 
 you over to me ; but I'll stand no nonsense. 
 This place " — here he stamped his foot violently 
 on the floor, and struck the table a heavy blow 
 — " is mine — mine, I tell you. It may belong to- 
 you one day if you don't go flying in my face,, 
 but if you do, look out for squalls ! " 
 
 " Indeed ! " sneered Miss Julia, her bosom heaving 
 with a rage which she found herself powerless 
 to control. " I know well the cause of your 
 anxiety for my future welfare. It's all the non- 
 sense that doll-faced chit, your wife, is putting 
 into your head." 
 
 " Chit ! " cried M'Cormick furiously. " How dare 
 you ! How dare you speak like that to me of 
 my wife ! Get out of the house, woman. Get out 
 of miy house ! Do you hear me ? " 
 
 Miss Walsh saw that she had made a false
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 27 
 
 move, and had angered her brother beyond 
 measure. She therefore determined to be diplo- 
 matic, and burst into tears. 
 
 "Yes, I'll go. I'll leave the place," she sobbed. 
 " I could not stand being treated by you as 
 you have treated me now. You have been very 
 good to me, and it breaks my heart to see you 
 constantly viewing my actions in a wrong light.'* 
 And she sank on a chair, and sobbed as if her 
 heart would break. 
 
 M'Cormick's rough heart was touched by this 
 spectacle of a broken-hearted woman — what man 
 can resist a woman's tears ? — and, his voice losing 
 all its former harshness, he said, — 
 
 " Don't get on like that, Julia. I'm a mad- 
 man when my cursed temper gets the better of 
 me." He caught her hands and took them not 
 ungently from her eyes. " There," he said, " for- 
 get it all. I know I'm a brute — but you don't 
 know how it angers me to hear my wife spoken 
 slightingly of." 
 
 "You must allow, John," whined Miss Walsh, 
 " that it is very hard on me to have you con- 
 stantly taxing me with carrying on flirtations
 
 28 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 instead of minding the business and making 
 money — for that's what you mean, I know. I 
 give you my word you wrong me." 
 
 *' But why do you drag my " wife's name into 
 our disputes, Julia ? " 
 
 " Because I know she hates me. She looks 
 upon me as the dirt beneath her feet," cried Miss 
 Walsh, her temper for the moment getting the 
 better of her discretion. 
 
 " Let me tell you that you are quite mistaken. 
 I never heard Susan say one single word that 
 could lead me to believe that she hated you. 
 So far as I know, she never said anything against 
 you in all her life." 
 
 " Said anything," sneered Miss Walsh, in an 
 undertone ; " she's too cunning for that." 
 
 Fortunately her brother did not hear this re- 
 mark. The mere thought of his wife had softened 
 his wrath more effectually even than his sister's 
 bogus tears, and had put him into a pleasant 
 humour. His sister saw^ he had not overheard 
 her hasty words, and determined to be more 
 prudent. 
 
 M'Cormick was silent for a few minutes. Then
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 29 
 
 he said, " Well, Julia, I'll bid you good-bye now, 
 for this will be an extra busy day. Don't think 
 too badly of me. I have been a lot put out 
 latterly over many things. Don't fret yourself 
 about leaving this place. There is such a thing 
 as a will, even if I were to die suddenly — but I 
 mustn't say anything. I'll take care lawyers 
 or bankers don't get hold of Tny will. I know a 
 safer place not many hundred yards off from 
 here. Good-bye, Julia ; I sha'n't see you again 
 before I sail." 
 
 Miss Walsh bade her brother a tender and tear- 
 ful farewell, and saw him to the door. 
 
 Then she retired behind the counter, and seating 
 herself before a small desk smoothed her hands 
 and smiled complacently. She had learned one 
 fact, at all events, which caused her to feel re- 
 markably comfortable. Her brother had made his 
 will. He had treated her handsomely in it; of 
 that she was quite certain. He would not have 
 hinted mysteriously at a will unless it were one 
 by which she would be a gainer beyond her ex- 
 pectations. At the very least he had left her the 
 " Bold Dragoon," and, no doubt, a lump of hard
 
 30 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 cash with it. She had been anxious that he 
 should make his will, for a sailor's life is so 
 uncertain — and she was quite under the impression 
 that everything would go to her brother's wife if 
 he died intestate. 
 
 Another fact she had got hold of, or almost 
 got hold of, was that the will had been, or 
 would be, left in charge of Mr Butler, the ship- 
 broker. There was no one else in Sloughford 
 whom her brother trusted implicitly. She would 
 send for Butler's clerk. Madden. He was a com- 
 municative young fellow, and she had no doubt he 
 was acquainted with all his employer's business 
 secrets. Yes, Madden was the very person to aid 
 her in discovering the nature of her brother's will. 
 She would write a note to him asking him to 
 call upon her the following evening, when her 
 brother would have sailed from the port. She 
 could never know an easy mind until the contents 
 of the will were discovered.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 GIVES A PEEP AT THE INTERIOR OF A SHIPBROKER'S 
 OFFICE. 
 
 HE offices o£ James Butler, shipbroker, 
 were situated on the quay, about a 
 hundred yards lower down than the 
 " Bold Dragoon." The house was an unpretentious 
 one-storey building, with a rough - plastered front 
 and a high red-tiled roof. It stood between a 
 grocer's shop and a ship-chandler's. The former 
 was a somewhat imposing - looking structure of 
 three storeys, and the latter was about the same 
 size as Butler's house, but offered a strong con- 
 trast to it by reason of a projecting eave, a bright 
 yellow-washed front, and a slated roof. 
 
 Butler's father had been a shipbroker in Slough- 
 ford, but late in life he had fallen in for a con-
 
 32 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 siderable sum of money and a small property in 
 Devonshire. He had then left his native town and 
 settled down in Ilfracombe. James Butler, who 
 was an only son, had accompanied his father to 
 Ilfracombe. He was then about twenty-two years 
 of age. In less than ten years his father suc- 
 ceeded in frittering away his money and his pro- 
 perty in mining speculations, and died penniless. 
 His son had led a comparatively idle life during 
 these years, occasionally renewing his acquaintance 
 with Sloughford and its people. 
 
 When he was thirty -two years of age he re- 
 turned abruptly to his native town, bringing with 
 him a young girl, the only child of his dead sister. 
 He took a private house of modest dimensions in 
 Princes Street, and started as a ship-agent in his 
 present office on the quay. 
 
 There were three shipbrokers in Sloughford at 
 the time when this story opens. One confined 
 himself exclusively to foreign or foreign - going 
 ships ; another, a retired sea-captain named Thorn- 
 hill, divided with Butler, who was now in his 
 forty-eighth year, the chief business of the port 
 — the coasting ships' business. Butler occasionally
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 3S 
 
 dabbled in foreign waters, and he had an interest 
 in a few of the smaller ships belonging to the 
 port, for during the sixteen years he had been in 
 business at Sloughford, he had been successful far 
 beyond his expectations. He employed two clerks, 
 Arthur Madden and Michael Ryan ; and there was- 
 also attached to his establishment a messenger, or 
 " runner," Edward Murphy — usually called Foxy 
 Ned. 
 
 James Butler was a little above the medium 
 height, and was somewhat sparely built. His 
 clean-shaven face was pale and careworn. His 
 eyes were dark and passionless in repose, but 
 when he smiled a lambent flame illumined them. 
 Those who knew Butler liked to see him smile. 
 His clearly - cut features ordinarily bore an ex- 
 pression which was rather cold and repellant, but 
 when he smiled, people felt they were in the 
 presence of a man whose heart was full of kind- 
 liness and sympathy. 
 
 The shipbroker was on terms of that peculiar 
 
 kind of familiarity which breeds not contempt,. 
 
 with all classes in his native town. Still his 
 
 nearest friends were obliged to admit that there 
 
 VOL. I. c
 
 34 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 was a strange, inexplicable reserve about him 
 which made them shy of prying into his affairs. 
 People wondered why he did not marry, but no 
 one cared to ask him why he preferred a single life. 
 
 Those who had business transactions with him 
 found they could place implicit trust in James 
 Butler. He was sharp-witted, unspeculative, and 
 straightforward. In Sloughford no one was held 
 in higher esteem, either by his equals in the 
 social scale, or by his inferiors, or superiors. His 
 superiors, or at least those who chose to fancy 
 themselves his superiors, were sometimes defer- 
 ential, always respectful, in his presence. 
 
 But whatever the inhabitants of Sloughford 
 thought of him, there was one class which almost 
 worshipped him — the coasting skippers — whether 
 natives of Sloughford or elsewhere, who had known 
 him for years, and who had come to look upon 
 him as the apotheosis of the shipbroker. Butler 
 did not seek, nor did he covet, anything bordering 
 on hero-worship. He was attached in a peculiar 
 way to his business, and to those by whose help 
 he had succeeded in making a comfortable pro- 
 vision for himself ; and he treated all skippers.
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 35 
 
 whether young or old, rich or poor, in a fatherly- 
 fashion ; and they on their part were all eager to 
 prove themselves worthy of his regard. Some of 
 his clients — not half-a-dozen, perhaps — he singled 
 out for his especial marks of friendship, and for a 
 few he could scarcely restrain his unexpressed con- 
 tempt ; but the majority was looked upon by him 
 in the same liofht as a erood schoolmaster looks 
 upon his pupils ; and he endeavoured to show that 
 ^' favouritism " had no place in his composition. 
 
 On the ground-floor of the shipbroker's office 
 there were two rooms, divided by a long, narrow 
 passage. At one end of the passage was the 
 entrance door, and at the other end a door, usually 
 bolted, which opened on to a small yard where coals 
 and wood, for office use, and lumber, were scattered 
 in reckless confusion. 
 
 The private business of the place, such as the 
 correspondence and the consultations with mariners 
 or merchants, was conducted in the office at the left- 
 hand side of the passage. Here also the business 
 of the foreign-going ships was transacted. The 
 general office, where the coasting ships' business 
 was done, and where the coasting skippers sat, and
 
 so IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 smoked, and chatted, read the newspapers, and 
 signed their shipping documents, was at the 
 right-hand side of the passage. 
 
 Butler was usually to be found in the office at 
 the right-hand side, for he always seemed most 
 happy wlien he was in the midst of a throng of 
 merchant captains — arguing with them, advising them^. 
 adjusting their squabbles, listening to their good 
 stories, or to their tales of trouble and hardship. 
 
 During the winter months there was always a 
 roaring fire in this office, and there in the long 
 evenings Butler, when the business of the day was 
 well-nigh finished — after four o'clock the business 
 proper of a shipbroker is virtually at an end for 
 the day — he would take a chair and form one of 
 the semi- circular group seated around the fireplace. 
 He sat with his friends the skippers solely because 
 it afforded him a harmless pleasure, and was ob- 
 livious to the fact that the skippers looked upon 
 his presence in their midst as an act of conde- 
 scending good-nature. When Butler was chatting 
 with them they were as much delighted as a 
 parcel of schoolboys playing leap-frog with their 
 tutor.
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 87 
 
 It was amusing to watch the countenances and 
 ihe actions of the skippers, when the shipbroker 
 ^' took the chair." The mariner who, prior to But- 
 ler's approach, had arrogated to himself the poker, 
 placed that fire-iron quietly and reverentially in a 
 position where it might be easily grasped by the 
 " governor." The mariner who had been carrying 
 all before him by sheer weight of his trumpet- 
 like voice, during a dispute as to the respective 
 merits of Wellington and Napoleon, lowered his 
 voice and said, "You'll put us all right, governor, 
 won't you ? You see, I have been trying to prove 
 to the boys here that old Boney really won the 
 battle of Waterloo, and I'm blessed but they think 
 ^tis daft I am. They'll take it from you though, 
 governor, if you put it to them straight." " Excuse 
 me, sir," another skipper would observe, rising and 
 a-pproaching the half-open door, " there's a nasty 
 draught coming in there, right at your back." 
 ^' This is a warmer corner of the fire, Mr Butler. 
 Would you oblige by changing seats with me ? " 
 " I'll put a fresh shovelful of coals on the fire, sir, 
 if you don't object." 
 
 And so on, each skipper vying with the other
 
 38 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 to render the shipbroker as comfortable as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 During the evenino- of* the fourteenth of March,, 
 Butler was seated at the fire at the general office 
 — sometimes called Ryan's office, as Michael Ryan 
 had his desk there — in the company of half-a- 
 dozen mariners. 
 
 A drowsy silence had fallen upon the group. The 
 worry of the day's business was over, and the ship- 
 broker was indulging in a quiet nap. The skippers, 
 fearful of disturbing him, had ceased to speak, and 
 were now endeavouring — some of them in vain — 
 to resist the soporific influence of the glowing fire. 
 
 We will take advantage of the silence, and in- 
 troduce the skippers one by one. 
 
 That plump, bullet-head, little man with the 
 twinkling blue eyes and the pasty complexion is 
 Captain Patrick Carmody. His button-shaped nose 
 looks like a bit of sealing wax stuck on a piece of 
 whitey-brown paper. He wears no hair on his face 
 except that bristly black tuft on his chin, which 
 lends him a somewhat ferocious aspect. His coun- 
 tenance, it must be confessed, is a pretty fair index 
 of his temperament, for he is extremely irritable.
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 39 
 
 One of his fellow-skippers has dubbed him " Carp- 
 ing Pat ; " but the nickname is seldom mentioned 
 in Carmody's hearing. He has a large family, 
 and is sadly henpecked. 
 
 The low-sized, bow-legged man who wears the 
 sou'-wester, and who is now sitting alongside Car- 
 mody, is Captain Anthony Arkwright. Though 
 not a native of Sloughford, he is a well-known 
 figure to young and old in that seaport. He is 
 a master-mariner retired from business. He is fond 
 of donning a sou'-wester on the smallest possible 
 provocation — a threatening sky is sufficient excuse 
 — in order that you may not forget that he has 
 been a seaman, and is still at heart a seaman. 
 For many years he has traded in and out of the 
 port, and he has now settled down in Sloughford, 
 having scraped together a very slender fortune — 
 "a pittance," he terms it. He often hints mysteri- 
 ously at " better days," and sometimes he makes 
 mention of " a parent on the male side," who was 
 connected largely with house property ; but no 
 one has ever discovered whether Arkwright senior 
 was the owner of property, the agent, the archi- 
 tect, or one who carried a hod. He is exces-
 
 40 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 sively fond of long words and uncommon phrases, 
 and with the aid of a powerful magnifying glass 
 — he is a trifle near-sighted — he studies Webster's 
 dictionary at every possible opportunity. His 
 friends try to refrain from laughing at his verbal 
 eccentricities, for he is too good-natured to be 
 made a butt of ; but frequently he becomes a 
 most irritating companion. Usually he wears his 
 hands deep in his breeches pocket, and seldom 
 withdraws them except for the purpose of light- 
 ing a pipe, grasping a tumbler, or rubbing the 
 side of his nose nervously with his forefinger. 
 jSTow and again Captain Arkwright indulges too 
 freely in the wine of his adopted country ; but 
 he is, after a fashion, a shrewd little man, and 
 he has the good taste, when he has drunk too 
 deeply, not to expose his condition to the mock- 
 ing light of day. When he is overcome by pota- 
 tions, his mode of progression through the streets 
 of Sloughf ord — almost deserted after nightfall — is 
 peculiar. He does not, like the ignorant lands- 
 man, reel or stagger, but with the instinct of a 
 true-born tar, he makes " short tacks." When he is 
 desirous of turning a corner, he steadies himself
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 41 
 
 for a moment on one leg — a marvellous feat for 
 a tipsy man — and suddenly (hiccuping " 'Bout 
 ship ! ") wheels round the other leg ; and then he 
 continues to make further short tacks until neces- 
 sity compels him to turn another corner. In this 
 manner he generally continues to " beat a pas- 
 sage " safely to his own hall door. " Captain 
 Arkwright on a wind" is a figure well remem- 
 bered by old Sloughfordians. 
 
 That pale, hollow-cheeked, restless man with 
 the bright red hair and the white fanatical fore- 
 head is Captain James Sullivan. He is slightly 
 crazy about matters sanatorial : otherwise he is as 
 dull and uninteresting a specimen of humanity as 
 one could find in a seaport town. Sullivan is 
 constantly discovering some wondrous and infallible 
 means for restoring health and prolonging life. 
 Nearly every voyage he changes his mind, and 
 abandons one infallible nostrum for another still 
 more infallible. He is not selfish or secretive ; 
 in fact, his most ardent desire is to benefit hu- 
 manity at large by his marvellous discoveries. 
 
 The fat, heavily-built man, in the faded blue 
 monkey-jacket, who is seated — his arms folded
 
 42 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 across his broad chest — near Arkwright, is Captain 
 John Broaclers. He has seen some fifty-five sum- 
 mers, but at first sight you would fancy he was^ 
 not more than forty years of age. His great round 
 cheeks almost shut out a view of his leaden- 
 coloured, expressionless eyes. His nose is broad 
 and flat, and his oily-looking face is hairless. It 
 is not easy to discover the line of demarcation 
 between his chin and his neck. It seems as if 
 Nature's plastic hand had been smoothed over 
 his features at an early period, and had rubbed 
 away all corners and squareness. He is not a 
 man of great conversational powers : his sentences 
 are usually brief ; but the end of every sentence 
 is punctuated with an impressive, self-satisfied 
 snort. Broaders is not given to levity, and 
 w^hen he does condescend to smile, he tries to 
 convey the impression that he has conferred a 
 priceless boon upon you. When he walks through 
 the streets he holds his head high, and swings 
 his arms. He seldom stops to gaze about him,, 
 but seems ever burdened with weighty business 
 cares. He drinks heavily, but he seldom loses 
 his physical or his mental balance, for his constitu-
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 43 
 
 tion is a powerful one. He has a theory that 
 every man, as a matter of course, consumes as 
 much ardent spirits as his constitution will stand. 
 A moderate drinker he regards as a man in a poor 
 state of health. A total abstainer in his eyes is one 
 whose life is not worth a week's purchase. 
 
 The light-haired, full-bearded, delicate man, from 
 whose countenance a foolish smile is seldom absent, 
 is Captain Cummins. He is ten years younger 
 than Broaders. Although he is narrow of chest 
 and round of shoulders, he is outwardly a superior 
 specimen of the coasting mariner. His black' coat 
 is fairly well cut, and his soft felt hat and 
 snow - white shirt front help to contrast him 
 favourably with the badly-dressed pair between 
 whom he is now sitting — namely, Captains Sullivan 
 and Broaders. Cummins has already buried two 
 wives, and is eager to marry a third. He is 
 aware that his smile is very fetching to feminine 
 eyes, and his chiefest delight is to win a smile 
 from ladies' eyes. He is indeed an arrant flirt ; 
 but there is a method in his amatory folly. He 
 seldom makes downright love to any woman who 
 is not possessed of attractions more substantial than
 
 44 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 mere p'oocI looks. It is his intention to mate with 
 
 o 
 
 the landlady of some thriving public-house, and 
 then to retire from the sea, with all its dangers and 
 delights. 
 
 Standing at one side of the fireplace, his elbow 
 on the mantelpiece, his head supported by his 
 hand, is a wiry-looking, slovenly-dressed man with 
 small head and squarely-cut features. He is tall, 
 fully five feet eleven inches ; slender of build, and 
 straight as a whip. A back view of him reminds 
 you of a colossal Dutch doll. His cast of counten- 
 ance is' severe — perhaps the scar across his cheek 
 has something to do with his severe aspect — 
 but his smile is a pleasant one. At present his 
 mental and physical energies are concentrated on 
 an efibrt to tickle surreptitiously Arkwright's 
 ear with a long straw. He appears to enjoy him- 
 self immensely at that w^orthy mariner's uneasiness 
 whenever he has succeeded in compelling him to 
 rub his ear ; and it is not difficult to determine 
 that the big Dutch doll is fond of practical joking 
 in any shape or form. Indeed, Captain Tom 
 Bendall has the reputation of being the most in- 
 corrigible practical joker afloat. His pranks, it
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 45 
 
 must be added, are of a very mild quality ; but the 
 business of the sea is so serious that a freak which 
 to a landsman would seem to be very milk-and- 
 waterish, would to a seafarer taste strongly of 
 brine. Bendall enjoys his own jokes immensel}^ 
 and he is subject to fits of chuckling which often 
 threaten to induce convulsions. 
 
 Last, but not least, among the oddly-assorted 
 group in the shipbroker's office, is that painfully 
 well-dressed — for a seafarer — person who is now 
 busy taking a reef in the string which secures- 
 his umbrella. This is Captain Augustine Flynn 
 You may observe that he has a very solemn, nay 
 funereal, cast of countenance, and that he is the 
 only member of the group who wears a silk hat 
 or carries an umbrella. He is called " the Bishop " 
 by his companions, doubtless on account of his 
 didatic discourse, his carefully-shaven face and 
 well- washed hands, and his clean linen and silk 
 hat — the mariners of Sloughford evidently con- 
 sidering his tastes and sympathies distinctively of 
 an episcopal nature. He always speaks slowly 
 and with earnestness, and he giv^es one the im- 
 pression that he is addressing a congregation from
 
 4G IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 the pulpit. In his voice there is a peculiar and 
 mournful cadence which causes those who are "bad 
 sailors " to feel quite giddy. At one moment it 
 seems as if the Bishop were speaking from the 
 crest of the mounting wave and next moment as 
 if he had fallen headlong into the trough of the 
 sea, ay, to the very bottom of the ocean. He has 
 to endure a good deal of chaff from his nautical 
 friends, especially in connection with his silk hat 
 and umbrella. Bendall, however, is the only 
 skipper with whom Flynn ever cares to expos- 
 tulate. Although Captain Tom has a sincere 
 regard for the Bishop, he can never resist the 
 temptation of playing some childish pranks with 
 the " crozier," as he calls Flynn 's umbrella, or 
 with the " mitre," as he calls the hat. Sometimes 
 it seems impossible to stave off a downright 
 quarrel between Captains Bendall and Flynn, but 
 coasting master-mariners of the old school were 
 peculiar in the matter of quarrels. They would 
 abuse each other in such a manner that a 
 stranger might reasonably imagine blows would 
 rapidly take the place of words ; but somehow 
 they appeared to forget their ill-humour with
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 47 
 
 peculiar rapidity, and, instead of blows, hard words 
 would be followed by remarkably soft speeches. 
 
 The shipbroker and his friends were suddenly 
 roused from their reveries by the entrance of 
 Captain John M'Cormick, a big, raw-boned man 
 with sad, stern, grey eyes. 
 
 " Good evening, governor. Good evening, lads," 
 he smiled — not a pleasant smile by any means. 
 *' Enjoying yourselves, as usual ! " 
 
 It was easy to see that the master of the Water 
 Nyrtijih was in an excitable mood. 
 
 " Won't you sit down and join our little party ? " 
 asked Butler, rubbing his eyes, wheeling round his 
 chair, and facing the newcomer. 
 
 " No, governor. Not now, thank you. Much 
 obliged all the same. I want to have a few 
 words with you privately — you'll excuse me, skip- 
 pers, won't you ? I know you'll all be thinking 
 every minute an hour until the governor is back 
 with you again. I won't keep him long, I pro- 
 mise you. Excuse me, won't you ? " 
 
 " Certainly, certainly," chorused the skippers, 
 rising when the shipbroker rose.
 
 48 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " I am sorry," said the latter, " that you won't 
 be sociable, M'Cormick, but if you want to say 
 anything privately to me, you had best come into 
 the other office. Madden is gone for the evening." 
 
 M'Cormick and Butler then left Ryan's office, 
 crossed the passage, and entered the office at the 
 other side — " Madden's office," as it was called. 
 
 The skippers re-seated themselves around the fire. 
 
 " Big Mac looks a bit scared," said Captain 
 Cummins, when the door of Madden's office was- 
 closed. 
 
 " Oh I the usual complaint, no doubt. A row 
 with the missus," sneered Captain Carmody. " The 
 governor has always to be brought to Castle 
 M'Cormick when Jack is after having a row 
 with Jill." 
 
 " He's a rum customer is John M'Cormick," 
 snorted Captain Broaders. " I often wonder the 
 woman that's married to him doesn't cut and 
 run. They say he bangs her about when he's in 
 a temper." 
 
 " Believe half what you hear, neighbour," said 
 Captain Bendall sententiously. " He's too fond of 
 Mrs Mac for that sort of work, believe me."
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 49- 
 
 " Quite a case o£ love in a cottage," laughed 
 Captain Carmody derisively. " Woodbine Cottage,. 
 to wit." 
 
 "Fie, fie, Pat!" said the Bishop. "I wonder 
 at you to be exhibiting such a carping, nasty 
 manner. If a man doesn't happen to live peace- 
 ably and quietly with his wife, should that be 
 made the subject of ribald jests in a public office ? " 
 
 But the skippers were wrong as to the cause of 
 M'Cormick's visit. 
 
 When Butler closed the door of Madden's 
 office behind himself and the master of* the 
 Water Nymvph, he turned up the gas at full 
 flare, and said, — 
 
 " Well, M'Cormick, what is troubling you now ? " 
 
 " I want you to do me a favour, Mr Butler. 
 I hope you don't think I'm too great a trouble 
 to you." 
 
 " Not at all, my dear sir. I am always hajppy to 
 be of service to an old friend like yourself; but 
 you mustn't ask me for a loan of a thousand 
 pounds just now," he laughingly added. "Times 
 are bad." 
 
 " Ah ! I'm glad to see you laugh, sir. I can't face 
 
 VOL. L J)
 
 50 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 you when you are serious-looking. No ! It isn't 
 money I want, though I don't forget long ago when 
 you did me many a good turn in that line. There 
 isn't a man like you, sir — " 
 
 " Surely," interrupted the shipbroker, " you didn't 
 come here to pay me compliments ? " 
 
 " No, sir," replied M'Cormick sheepishly. " I want 
 you to take charge of some documents of importance 
 — of the greatest importance — to me. That's what 
 brings me here to-night." 
 
 " And why not place documents of importance with 
 a lawyer or a banker ? " 
 
 " Because I don't want to — prying, blabbing lot ! 
 There, excuse my temper, sir ; but you know I'd 
 rather trust you than all the banks or lawyers in 
 Christendom ; and when I take a crotchet into my 
 head, it isn't easy to drive it out." 
 
 " Yes, I am aware of that. All right, M'Cormick, 
 I'll lock your papers up, if that is what you want ; 
 but I hope there is nothing of money value, for I 
 would not like the risk. This place could easily be 
 broken into, if a thief thought it worth his while to 
 break into it. As a rule, I don't keep money here at 
 night — more from habit than through fear, I must
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 51 
 
 admit — for I'm not over anxious to place tempta- 
 tion in anybody's way." 
 
 " There is nothing worth stealing, I assure you ; 
 the documents could not possibly be of the slightest 
 use to anyone except myself." 
 
 " You're a strange man, M'Cormick. Come, 
 what's the matter with you to-night ? You look 
 troubled. Out with it! By the way — you must 
 excuse me for not asking you before — how is Mrs 
 M'Cormick? Quite well, I hope?" 
 
 " Quite well, sir, thank you. I am troubled. 
 I have been quarrelling with myself, and with 
 her, and with everyone." 
 
 " I thought there was to be an end of that." 
 
 " Don't look so sternly at me, Mr Butler- 
 Heaven knows I hate myself. I can't help my 
 temper. It masters me — and she's as good as 
 gold, sir, ten thousand times too good for a 
 fellow like me. But she tvon't care for me, and 
 it drives me wild sometimes when I think of it." 
 
 M'Cormick paused, and waited for a few minutes, 
 hoping the shipbroker would say something; but 
 Butler was silent. 
 
 " I made my will the other day, and although
 
 52 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 I haven't been altogether bad to her in it, I haven't 
 been half ffood enougrh — and still I don't know. 
 Why should she, who hates me, despises me, have 
 my money ? Sometimes I'm half-crazy, and think 
 of blowing out my brains, and leaving her without 
 a penny-piece." 
 
 " Sit down, M'Cormick. You are talkino- rubbish 
 now — pure rubbish. Have you been drinking ? " 
 
 " No. Nothing to upset me." 
 
 " Well, sit down, man, and talk sense. Take 
 that stool. There, that's better. If your will is 
 a foolish or a vindictive one, burn it, burn it at 
 once, or get a new will drawn up before you 
 sail." 
 
 " No time for that now, even if I were so 
 inclined." 
 
 " Well, when you come back from Quebec. But 
 destroy the present w^ill if you have treated your 
 wife unfairly in it." 
 
 " How would she be situated suppose I were to 
 die without a will ? " 
 
 " Let me see," said the shipbroker, biting his 
 thumb ; " she would, I think, get half of every- 
 thing."
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 53 
 
 '' And the other half ? " 
 
 " Would go to your sister. She is the only other 
 relative you have." 
 
 "Damn her!" 
 
 " For shame, M'Cormick ! It is shocking to 
 hear you speak, as you sometimes do, of your 
 sister." 
 
 " I am sorry for making use of coarse expres- 
 sions before you, Mr Butler ; but I don't look 
 upon Julia as a sister at all ; and she made 
 mischief in the beginning between my wife and 
 myself. No, I won't destroy my will. Til let 
 it stand until I return. On the voyage I'll have 
 time to think over everything." 
 
 M'Cormick, who was seated on a high stool 
 at the office desk, now buried his face in his 
 hands. 
 
 Butler, who had been standing with his back 
 towards the fireplace, with a puzzled expression on 
 his face, approached the master of the Water Nymph^ 
 and placing his hand on his shoulder, said gently, — 
 
 " Look here, John M'Cormick ; you know I have 
 a sincere regard for you. Why can't you turn over 
 >a new leaf ? Quick-tempered as you are, there is
 
 54 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 only one point on which you are utterly unreason- 
 able." 
 
 " My wife ! " said M'Cormick, lifting his head. 
 " Why, can't she see I'd give my eyes for a word 
 or a token of affection from her ! " and he dashed 
 his hand roughly across his face. 
 
 "Be a man, M'Cormick ! " said the shipbroker 
 tenderly ; " you are to blame, not she. No woman 
 would stand your absurd outbursts of temper. In- 
 stead of treating your wife kindly aud gently in the 
 beginning, you thought fit to show yourself in your 
 worst light to her. You abused her, bullied her^ 
 and sulked, because she couldn't see a young Adonis 
 in you. And now you are surprised she has not 
 learnt to love you," 
 
 " She hates and despises me." 
 
 " Nonsense. You know better ; and if she did,. 
 you have only yourself to blame, Eemember I 
 implored you, when you asked my advice, not 
 to make Susan Neville marry you. I knew 
 there was little likelihood of your living happily 
 together. There was the difference in ages for 
 one thing ; and then you ought to have re- 
 flected that, while you were brought up and
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 55 
 
 lived the best part of your life among the 
 roughest of the rough, she was reared in the 
 midst of refinement. 
 
 " Curse refinement ! " 
 
 " Ay, that was what you always said ; but what 
 is the good arguing or lecturing ? What's done 
 can't be undone ; and if you would only determine 
 even now, earnestly determine, to win your wife's 
 regard by kindness, I am confident you would 
 succeed." 
 
 " I don't believe it. But, Mr Butler, I'm taking 
 up your time." 
 
 M'Cormick got off the stool and placed his hand 
 in the breast-pocket of a capacious overcoat. 
 
 "I'll leave this case in your hands, sir, and 
 I'll ask you to give me your word you'll 
 tell nobody about it or about our conversation 
 to-night." 
 
 "Yes, I will give you my word." 
 
 M'Cormick handed the shipbroker a tin case 
 fastened with a small padlock. Butler took his 
 keys from his pocket and opened the heavy door 
 of the office safe. 
 
 " Will it be all right there ? " inquired M'Cormick.
 
 56 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " Certainly. No one except Madden has a 
 duplicate of the key of the safe door, and no one 
 except myself has the key of this inside drawer 
 where you see me now placing your case. I sup- 
 pose the will is here ? " tapping the case as he 
 placed it in the inside of the safe. 
 
 " Yes, sir. I didn't mean to tell you about my 
 will when I came in, but it slipped on me some- 
 how. I didn't want anyone to know about it ; 
 but after all I suppose it's only so much waste 
 paper, for I'll make up my mind to alter it and 
 leave her everything. I feel better since I had a 
 talk with you. I always feel better after a talk with 
 you. I'm sorry now I'm going to sail to-morrow." 
 
 " I wish you had left the documents with your 
 lawyer, or at the bank, for I have responsibilities 
 enough without this," said Butler, closing the 
 door of the safe. " I do hope you have put no- 
 thing of money value into the case. • Someone 
 may hear — it may slip from yourself, for. your 
 tongue often runs away with you — that you have 
 been depositing papers of value with me, and as I 
 told you, I can give you no guarantee of the 
 security of an office like this."
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 57 
 
 "Don't have the slightest uneasiness, sir. No 
 one knows the object of my visit here, and no 
 one will know of it from me. Besides, as I have 
 already assured you, I am asking you to take 
 charge of nothing which could be of the smallest 
 value to anybody. But won't you promise me to 
 be silent about it — about everything that passed 
 between us to-night ? " asked M'Cormick, his hand 
 on the handle of the office door. 
 
 " I never break my word, whatever it may cost 
 me," said the shipbroker, turning down the gas.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CONTAINS SOME IDLE CONVERSATION. 
 
 I HE following day the barque Water 
 Nynfiph, six hundred and seventy tons 
 register, lay at anchor in the river 
 Slough, ready to proceed to sea. The wind was 
 from the east ; and as the Water Nyrti'ph was 
 notoriously a fast sailer, and her commander and 
 sole owner notoriously a " driver," it was ex- 
 pected, should the easterly wind last, that the 
 barque would arrive at her port of destination, 
 Quebec, in less than three weeks. 
 
 A group of coasting skippers — the same group 
 which had congregated in Butler's office the pre- 
 vious evening — stood on the quay of that seaport,, 
 and shook their heads ominously when they saw
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 5D 
 
 the tug-boat paddling towards the barque about 
 eleven o'clock in the forenoon. 
 
 The day was dull. Overhead, ragged gloomy- 
 looking patches of cloud were borne swiftly across 
 the sky ; the air was raw and biting ; and the 
 river, a muddy-green mass of water, was swollen 
 and angry-looking. The shrill melancholy cry of 
 the seagull was heard high above every other 
 sound which reached the quay. No wonder then 
 that the Sloughford skippers were not in high 
 spirits, and that they were little inclined for con- 
 versation, as they stood gazing at the black* rest- 
 less hull of the barque. 
 
 Captain Carmody was the first to break the 
 silence. 
 
 " Mark my words, boys," he cried, turning round 
 and addressing the group, " the Wateo' Nymph will 
 get a peppering in the Western Ocean this trip." 
 
 "It's a toss-up between the ice and the equi- 
 noctials," said Bendall, hastily taking a straw from 
 Ark Wright's ear and putting his hand behind his 
 back ; " but I'm game to lay odds on the ice. What 
 say you, neighbour Arkwright ? " 
 
 " Too anticipatory by a calendar month is my
 
 €0 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 ultimatum," said Arkwright, scratching his ear. 
 " Big Jack's impetuosity will, as you suggest. Cap- 
 tain Bendall, eventuate in his annihilation." 
 
 " The barque isn't as young as she used to 
 be," said Sullivan. " There's no hiding the fact 
 that we all grow older as the years go by, and 
 still we neglect to set up a stock of health for 
 our old age. Now, perhaps I haven't told you, 
 neighbours, I've just discovered that salt in large 
 quantities — " 
 
 " Oh, man, dear," interrupted Carmody, " for 
 the love of goodness will you not be bothering 
 us with yourself and your nostrums. 'Tis fairly 
 persecuted we are between your crazes and Ark- 
 wright's jawbreakers." 
 
 Having silenced Captain Sullivan, Carmody lifted 
 one hand to his forehead, and shading his eyes, 
 cried, — 
 
 " There they go at the anchors, boys ; and, if 
 I'm not very much mistaken, that's Mrs M'Cormick 
 herself that's being rowed ashore in the boat. 
 Well," taking down his hand and staring fiercely 
 at his companions, as if one or all of them had 
 seriously offended him, "I only hope big Jack
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. Gl 
 
 won't fall foul of an iceberg, and make a widow 
 of the decent woman." 
 
 " That oughtn't to cause her a great deal of 
 grief," snorted Broaders. 
 
 "Better say that to M'Cormick himself, John,"" 
 rejoined Captain Martin Cummins. " He'd make a 
 widow of your missus pretty quick, John, if he 
 heard you talking like that." 
 
 " Well," said Captain Arkwright, " I would not 
 cast imputations against the lady if she didn't 
 lament herself into a sarcophagus after her husband, 
 supposing he was to collide with an iceberg, for 
 he's got the most extremely heinous temper — " 
 
 " What are you saying, man ? What ails you at 
 all ? What sort of things are them sarphocasuses 
 you are getting into your head this time ? " asked 
 Carmody. " You ought to have one of them shoved 
 down your gullet. I hate to hear a man talking- 
 like you, Arkwright, at your time of life, too. I 
 wish you'd learn sense, man." 
 
 Arkwright laughed scornfully, but said nothing. 
 
 "Ah, she's a nice, beautiful woman," sighed 
 Cummins softly, as if he were awaking from a 
 pleasant dream. "Not," he added, quickly and
 
 <)2 IN ONE TOWN, 
 
 nervously, "that I wish Jack M'Cormick any mis- 
 hap, all the same." 
 
 " What on earth are you driving at, Cummins ? " 
 asked Bendall. 
 
 An angry look stole into Cummins' eyes, but he 
 made no reply to his tormentor. 
 
 " What is it you're driving at, Cummins ? " 
 again demanded Captain Tom. " I'm blest if I 
 don't think you were dreaming already of making- 
 love to big Mac's widow. Oh, dear ! oh, dear ! 
 what is the world coming to at all ? " 
 
 " Mind your own business, Tom Bendall ! " 
 snarled Cummins. "You have a deal of impudence 
 to be meddling in what doesn't concern you ; and 
 I'd have you to know — " 
 
 " Fie ! fie ! gentlemen," interrupted Captain Flynn, 
 ' I must speak at last, for I am fairly shocked 
 at your conversation. You have no right — I ad- 
 dress myself to you all — to talk in this light 
 and frivolous manner of any man's wife ; and it 
 ill becomes you, Tom Bendall, to be laughing 
 and joking about making love to widows that 
 are far, let us hope and pray " — here he lifted 
 his eyes reverently and made a sweeping gesture
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 63 
 
 with his left hand, a wonderfully small, well-formed 
 hand for a seafarer — " far, I repeat, from being 
 widows yet. Fie, lie, lie ! And you too, Pat," 
 addressing Carmody ; " for I think it was you that 
 began this light and dangerous conversation into which 
 most of you have drifted as it were into a whirl- 
 pool. Oh, fie, fie ! to let your tongues scandalise you ! " 
 
 " Hear, hear ! " cried Arkwright excitedly, with- 
 drawing his hands from his pocket; and rubbing 
 his nose violently, he made a mental note to look 
 up the word " scandalise." He knew all about 
 ^' scandalised mainsails," but " scandalised tongues " 
 puzzled him. 
 
 " Bravo Bishop ! Let 'em have it hot and 
 strong," cried Captain Carmody, almost at the same 
 moment that Arkwright spoke. Then shading his 
 eyes again with his hand, he continued, in a rasp- 
 ing tone, — " There's no mistake about it. That is 
 Mrs Mac herself in the boat. Doesn't see enough 
 of the dear man ashore, I suppose. Well, wonders 
 will never cease. What a pair of turtle-doves her- 
 self and Jack have turned themselves into 1 Well, 
 I'm blessed ! " 
 
 " It would be a merciful dispensation of Provi-
 
 64 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 dence, sir, if you were ! " exclaimed Arkwright in- 
 dignantly. " And what business have you, pray, to 
 sneer at anybody ? Faugh ! If there's one thing I 
 despise more than another it is innuendo." 
 
 " In-new what ? " asked Carmody, with rising- 
 temper. 
 
 " Shame, shame, gentlemen ! " groaned the Bishop. 
 " I don't see what right any of you have to take 
 it for granted that John M'Cormick and his wife 
 are not a united pair." 
 
 " The Lion and the Unicorn ! " laughed Carmody 
 mockingly. 
 
 Owing to a lifelong study of the Royal Arms on 
 the doors of various Custom Houses, he had arrived 
 at the belief that these animals were emblematic of 
 a loving and undying partnership. 
 
 " Ah," murmured the Bishop dreamily, " I remem- 
 ber her well before John M'Cormick forced her inta 
 matrimony with himself." 
 
 " Forced her ! " exclaimed Arkwright ; " then you 
 mean to impute that she did not marry of her 
 own free will. You know," he added apologeti- 
 cally, " I am not as much at home about the his- 
 tories of our worthy townfolk as the rest of you.
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 65 
 
 being partly an alien by birth. What is her story,. 
 Captain Flynn ? I do not inquire through motives 
 of ignorant curiosity, but merely for wholesome in- 
 formation." 
 
 "You see," said the Bishop, who was ever eager 
 for a quiet gossip, " she was engaged to a youngs 
 fellow belonging to the town, a son of a wealthy 
 merchant, Dalton by name." 
 
 " I remember him. Rather a reckless sort of man. 
 Shot himself, didn't he ? " 
 
 " No. He died suddenly, nevertheless ; and — I 
 know how matters have got mixed in your head — 
 ruin was the result, not only to his family, but to 
 others, for his death was the cause of dragging 
 down the present Mrs M'Cormick's father, and he 
 shot himself. Now do you see where you got hold 
 of the wrong end of the yarn ? " 
 
 " I do. I do. Thing's ivill get blended promiscu- 
 ously in a man's mind. Well ? " 
 
 " The Nevilles — that's Mrs M'Cormick's people — 
 were ruined ; the Daltons — the young man's name 
 was Richard Dalton — were ruined. 
 
 " Yes, yes. I apprehend. He is at sea now, this 
 
 Richard Dalton — master of a ship, is he not ? " 
 VOL. I. E
 
 66 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " He is. A nice, agreeable young man, too, as far 
 as my recollection goes. Well, the widow — Mrs 
 Neville, I mean — got to the end of the tether — a 
 clean-swept hold, if I may so remark it — a couple 
 of years after her husband's untimely death — for 
 there was something saved out of the wreck to keep 
 her going — and then John M'Cormick, attracted by 
 the beauty of his present lady, proposed, and 
 her mother forced her to accept him, to save the 
 family." 
 
 " Mrs Neville is not alive at present, is she ? " 
 
 " No. She did not live long after the marriage 
 of her daughter. Poor lady ! I fear she is not over 
 happy." 
 
 " Mrs Neville ? " 
 
 " No, the daughter." 
 ' " M'Cormick, I should say, was a most uncongenial 
 man." 
 
 " Most uncongenial," echoed the Bishop, who had 
 himself a penchant for odd words and absurd phrases. 
 
 " Well, Anthony," said Carmody, " have yourself 
 and the Bishop got the lockjaw yet? Come, boys," 
 addressing his companions, " who'll stand drinks 
 round at the ' Nest ? ' We may as well wish a
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 67 
 
 prosperous voyage to the Water Nyiwph, and wash 
 your tongues clean at the same time." 
 
 " I don't mind if I stand," said Bendall, " al- 
 though there's a big crowd of you here — but hang 
 the expense ! It will all come out of the main 
 hatch." 
 
 " Tom, you are a queer fellow," smiled Captain 
 Oummins. 
 
 " There she goes ! " snorted Broaders, pointing to 
 the Water Nymph. " Let's give Big Jack a parting 
 salute." 
 
 The skippers took off their hats, and waving them, 
 shouted " Safe voyage ! " 
 
 " I wonder Mac isn't on the poop to return our 
 salute," said Cummins. " Well, I wish him no harm, 
 I'm sure, even though he has no manners." 
 
 " I'll take odds he eats his Easter Sunday dinner 
 in Quebec," said Captain Bendall, " for I admire his 
 pluck. But up anchor, my bullies ! the sun is over 
 the mainyard, and it's time to wet our whistles."
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A S A I L O e'S wife. 
 
 HEN the skippers on the quay had 
 begun to discuss M'Cormick's affairs^ 
 domestic and maritime, Mrs M'Cormick 
 was seated alone in the cabin of the Water 
 Nyrti])h. A black cashmere dress enveloped her 
 slight, graceful figure. The broad collar of creamy 
 lace round her neck, and the lace cufis at her 
 wrists, challenged attention to the whiteness of her 
 throat and hands. A heavy mantle lay on the 
 seat alongside her, and her hat and gloves were 
 on the cabin table. She wore no jewellery — neither 
 bracelet, brooch, nor earrings — and on her slender 
 finger there was but one ring — the wedding ring. 
 As Mrs M'Cormick sat at the cabin table, one 
 hand supporting hei* chin, her thoughts flew back
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 09 
 
 to the time when she had been a little girl. The 
 tears sprang to her eyes as she called to mind 
 her father, whom she loved, and whose idol she 
 was — her reckless, handsome father, whose large 
 dark eyes and a little of whose spirit she in- 
 herited. Her memories of her mother were not so 
 pleasurably sad, for her mother had always been 
 cold and selfish. How strange was the contrast 
 between the refinement of her father's home and 
 surroundings, and the coarseness of her present cir- 
 cumstances ! She was growing impatient at^ the 
 delay. Why had her husband, knowing how she 
 hated the ship, sent for her this morning ? And 
 the constant tramp, tramp of the heavy-booted 
 sailors overhead. How it irritated her ! 
 
 The sound of footsteps descending the cabin 
 .stairs changed the current of her thoughts. 
 
 "Well, Susan," said Captain M'Cormick, seating 
 himself near his wife and picking up one of her 
 gloves. " I hope I haven't worn your patience out 
 altogether. There's always something wrong at 
 the last moment when a ship wants to get to sea. 
 Look here, Susan," he continued abruptly, after a 
 short awkward pause, " why can't you try to care a
 
 70 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 little bit for me ? You needn't smile. I'm serious. 
 You know," he went on hurriedly, " I'd give my eyes 
 to feel you loved me. I own I'm not good enough 
 for you — anyone need only look at the pair of us 
 to tell that you're miles above me ; but — but, you 
 might show a little bit of affection towards me 
 sometimes. Don't look so frightened, child. Here 
 we are nearly seven years man and wife, and I 
 have never said half as much to you since the 
 week we were married." 
 
 M'Cormick spoke with a strange tremor in his 
 rough voice. His wife was still silent. She did 
 not know what to say. She felt confused and 
 dazed by her husband's unexpected words. 
 
 " I know I am not what people call a good hus- 
 band," continued M'Cormick, after another awkward 
 pause, " but can you blame me altogether ? " You 
 drove me wild with your coldness and your haughti- 
 ness. And when I found you could not or would 
 not care for me, you made my wretched temper 
 forty thousand times worse than ever." 
 
 "11" 
 
 "Yes. I don't want to blame you. I suppose 
 you had no wish to do so. But can you blame
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 71 
 
 mne, I ask you again ? I haven't been a bad hus- 
 band in some respects, at any rate. I have never 
 stinted you about money. Have I ? " 
 
 He spoke fiercely, and the glove which he had 
 been twisting round his fingers was now torn 
 down the middle. 
 
 " I never said you did, John," replied Mrs M'Cor- 
 mick, in a tremulous tone. Her husband's vehemence 
 frightened her, and she scarcely knew what she was 
 saying. " Indeed, indeed, you have been very kind 
 and considerate to me in many ways. But surely,'* 
 she continued, recovering herself and looking up into 
 M'Cormick's face, " you did not expect to find a 
 love-sick wife in me. I told you," she continued^ 
 with the faintest of smiles, " I had no heart, and 
 you declared you were perfectly content to take 
 me without a heart." 
 
 " I was a liar ! " exclaimed M'Cormick gruffly 
 — " but there, don't let us say any more about 
 it. It's no use, no use." And leaning forward 
 on the cabin table, he buried his face in his 
 hands. 
 
 Susan M'Cormick did not consider she was un- 
 truthful when she declared she was heartless, so
 
 72 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 far, at least, as her husband was concerned. She 
 believed her heart had died within her the day 
 she had written her last letter to Dick Dal ton. But 
 something in M'Cormick's voice touched her ; some 
 new^ chord seemed to vibrate within her. Had she 
 been just to the man with w^hom, however unwill- 
 ingly, she had cast her lot ? Was it right that 
 she should have made no effort to render him less 
 miserable ? for, almost for the first time, it struck 
 her how profoundly miserable her husband was. 
 What right had she, after all, to be cold to him 
 whom she had vowed, falsely vowed, no doubt, to 
 love, honour, and obey ? Had duty no claim upon 
 her ? Would it not have been far better to have 
 bowed to circumstances, and to have made up her 
 mind to be a dutiful wife, and at least show some 
 tokens of affectionate regard to the man beside her ? 
 Might not she herself — were she to look upon the 
 matter in a purely selfish light — have been infinitely 
 happier had she done so ? Was caste everything ? 
 Could not the human heart bridge over seemingly 
 impassable gulfs of social distinction ? She never 
 doubted that her intelligence was far superior to her 
 husband's, that her sympathies and tastes were widely
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 73 
 
 -different from his, but was this a justifiable plea for 
 her own conduct ? 
 
 These thoughts passed rapidly, and perhaps vaguely, 
 through her mind, and she almost felt her heart go 
 out to the rough, ungainly-looking man who sat 
 dose beside her with bowed head. She was on the 
 point of saying something tender to him. 
 
 Raising his head, and gazing sadly at his wife, 
 M'Cormick instinctively felt that some great unhoped- 
 for change was coming over her, and with a quick, 
 glad cry, he put his arm round her waist. 
 
 She freed herself instantly. She was not yet 
 prepared for love-making. 
 
 " Come," said M'Cormick, with a trace of temper. 
 " I have a right to place my arm round you if I like, 
 Am I so hateful that my touch disgusts you ? Oh ! 
 I'm sick of it, sick of it ! " he exclaimed, standing up 
 and moving away from the table. 
 
 " John, John," cried Mrs M'Cormick, affected by 
 the despairing tone of his voice, " don't be so down- 
 hearted, like a good fellow. Sit down again. Do sit 
 down. You are the nearest in the world to me now, 
 and although I did not marry you of my own free 
 will, and although we have not got on very well
 
 74 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 together, I would be very, very sorry to fret you. 
 If you will only believe me, I like you better than 
 anyone else in the world now. There, won't that 
 satisfy you ? " 
 
 She smiled, and her husband again seated himself 
 at her side. His compressed lips trembled visibly. 
 He silently stretched out his hand, and clasped his- 
 wife's hand. 
 
 For a few minutes there was silence in the cabin ; 
 husband and wife sat with bowed heads, each 
 anxious to break the silence, neither knowing how 
 to break it. At last Mrs M'Cormick, lifting her 
 head, spoke, — 
 
 " You told me this morning that you were anxious 
 to see me on some business matter before you sailed." 
 
 " Yes," he replied, a little wearily. " I wanted to 
 say a few words to you. I have been worried and 
 troubled a good deal ; perhaps that is some excuse 
 to offer for my surliness lately. The fact is," he 
 continued with more energy, " I have made my 
 will." 
 
 " Made your will. Surely that could not have 
 caused you trouble." 
 
 " It has — it does. It has troubled me a good deal
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 75^ 
 
 since I made it, because I haven't treated you fairly.. 
 I should at anyrate have consulted you, Susan ; 
 but I was out of sorts as usual. However, I promise 
 you it won't be my last will. I feel a changed man 
 since last night." 
 
 "And is that your only trouble now — I mean 
 about your will ? " 
 
 " No. I have had all sorts of strange presenti- 
 ments latterly." 
 
 " You indulging in presentiments ? About what,, 
 pray ? 
 
 " Death ! " 
 
 " Oh, nonsense, John I " cried his wife, with an 
 involuntary shudder ; " you never looked in better 
 health." 
 
 " Health hasn't much to do with it. I have had 
 horrible dreams about drowning." 
 
 " Probably the result of late suppers." 
 
 " You tvill make fun of it, I see ; but you don't 
 know how strongly the impression has got hold of 
 me that I sha'n't make many more voyages." 
 
 " Why make one more, then ? You told me long 
 ago you could easily aiford to give up the sea." 
 
 " And would you be contented," asked M'Cormick
 
 76 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 ■eagerly, " if I did ? I am afraid you see a great deal 
 too much of me as it is." 
 
 " Why do you think so badly of me ? " she asked, 
 with a mixture of tenderness and petulance. "By 
 all means give up the sea, if I am the only stumbling- 
 block. I have no fancy for it any more than your- 
 self. I hate the sea." 
 
 " Ay ! " interrupted her husband, shaking his head ; 
 ^' and, I fear, those who live by it." 
 
 " You wrong me again. Stop ashore by all means. 
 Believe me, I am asking you to do so from my heart. 
 Let us go away somewhere, anywhere. I begin to 
 detest Sloughford. There, forgive my hastiness. 
 Sometimes memories of the old town make me sad 
 beyond measure. I don't hate it ; I love it. But 
 won't you give up the sea, John ? " 
 
 " I will, I will. I would have done so long: aa^o, 
 but I feared you would run away from me, or do 
 something desperate," he smiled, " if I were to be 
 always at your side. Oh, Susan ! you don't know 
 what a load you have lifted from me. God bless 
 you, old girl. I'll look for a master for the Water 
 Nymrtph at once — I mean," he went on, after a 
 momentary pause, his thoughts rapidly changing
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP, 77 
 
 from his wife to his other love, his ship — " after 
 the year is out. I'm bent on making three North 
 American voyages this season." 
 
 "Why not get someone else to make them for you?" 
 
 " Oh, that would never do, Susan," he laughed. 
 " I must see the year out. I must make those 
 three voyages myself. I'm bent on it." 
 
 " You are a strange man. A few moments ago 
 you were complaining of presentiments of drowning 
 — I may tell you I don't attach the slightest im- 
 portance to presentiments of any sort — but if my 
 mind were troubled about the sea, and if I were 
 in your position, I'd very soon bid good-bye to the 
 best ship afloat." 
 
 " Ah ! Susan, you were never cut out for a sailor's 
 wife." Mrs M'Cormick smiled faintly. "You don't 
 know the anxiety a sailor feels to make a good 
 finish. I'll give up the sea with a contented mind 
 if I can carry three cargoes of deals to Sloughford 
 this season, for that won't be a bad year's work, I 
 I can inform you, and it will help to make things 
 more comfortable for us. It will give the old craft 
 a good name, and she'll sell all the better. But 
 about the will, old girl."
 
 78 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " What about it ? " She spoke a little sharply. 
 Somehow the term " old girl " grated harshly on 
 her ears, notwithstanding all her good resolutions. 
 
 " Now that I come to think of it, I ought not 
 to say anything about it, for I promised Butler I 
 wouldn't. The will is in his charge. You must 
 not let anyone know I have told you of it. After 
 all, it is only so much waste-paper. Don't think I 
 am growing crazy yet, but my memory seems all 
 rickety lately. My real anxiety was to tell you 
 not to think I was going to act badly by you, 
 should you by any chance come to hear from 
 Butler that I had made a will without consulting 
 you. I'd have altered the whole thing this morn- 
 ing if I had time to go ashore, for I mean you to 
 have everything, everything, Susan. I hate myself 
 — God knows I do — for having ever said a harsh 
 word to you." 
 
 M'Cormick was about to lling his arms around 
 his wife's neck, when a loud voice from the cabin 
 stairs startled him. 
 
 "Just on the high water, skipper. Excuse me 
 for interrupting you, sir; but she'll be tending if 
 we don't get the anchors up at once."
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 79 
 
 " All right, Mr Mate," cried M'Cormick. 
 
 Then standing up, he turned to his wife and said 
 hurriedly, — 
 
 " We must get on deck, Susan." 
 
 Mrs M'Cormick rose, and her husband took up 
 her mantle. 
 
 " Won't you forgive me ? " he asked, helping her 
 ivith her mantle. " That Manx man in the tug 
 will be swearing his head off if I don't make a 
 start at once. I'll write to you from Quebec. 
 Oood-bye, my dearest old girl," he cried, seizing 
 her hands and kissing her. "At all events we 
 part good friends, don't we, if nothing more ? " 
 
 " Something more, I hope," replied his wife. " I 
 feel now how badly I have behaved towards you 
 — but let us say no more about it," pressing his 
 hand. " Let our actions in the future prove we 
 are in earnest." 
 
 " Agreed ! " he cried joyously. " Now, good-bye 
 once more." 
 
 And, with a lighter heart than he had known 
 for many a day, the captain of the Water Nymph 
 led the way up the cabin staircase.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 DISCUSSES THE AFFAIRS OF THE SHIPBEOKER'S CLERK. 
 
 RTHUR MADDEN was not a native of 
 Sloughford, and of his early history the 
 Sloughfordians knew little or nothing. 
 He had appeared one morning, about ten years prior 
 to the sailing of the Water Nymph, at his desk in 
 Butler's office. Nobody seemed to know where 
 or how the shipbroker had picked up his new 
 clerk, and nobody cared to catechise Butler. 
 
 Madden's account of himself was simple. He had 
 been born and brought up in Swansea. His parents 
 had died while he was quite a child, and some 
 friends had sent him to school. When he had left 
 school he had been placed in the office of a Swan- 
 sea shipbroker, and his coming to Sloughford was- 
 due to the appearance of an advertisement in a
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 81 
 
 Swansea newspaper. Butler had advertised for a 
 clerk who could speak French and Italian, and he 
 had applied for the situation. 
 
 He was still at the sunny side of thirty ; but he 
 was stout enough to be described as corpulent. His 
 hair was dark and closely cropped, and a long 
 black moustache covered his upper lip. The ex- 
 pression of his features in repose was inanimate and 
 passionless ; but when he smiled his cold blue eye 
 grew bright and lit up his face. His lips as he 
 smiled would part widely, disclosing a set of white 
 even teeth. His nostrils would become visibly 
 distended, and the lines round his cheeks deeply 
 furrowed. Some reckoned him a good-looking 
 man ; others went so far as to term him positively 
 handsome. 
 
 Madden possessed a temper which it seemed im- 
 possible to ruffle. He was loud of voice, boisterous 
 even ; and his laugh was contagious. He was pop- 
 ular in Sloughford, yet he could not boast of having- 
 many friends. He had no respect for youth or age, 
 rich or poor ; and he would sacrifice anything for the 
 sake of a joke. He looked upon women in general 
 
 as a somewhat inferior class of beings. As a rule he 
 VOL. L F
 
 82 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 did not seek the society of the softer sex, but he was 
 always ready and willing to make love ; and as he 
 was never in earnest, he usually succeeded in win- 
 ning the affections of those whom he singled out for 
 conquest. Love-making with him was a harmless 
 pastime, and it was useless to suggest to him that 
 there was a serious side to the matter. Among his 
 many conquests he could reckon that of Maggie 
 Ryan, the sister of his fellow-clerk, Michael Ryan. 
 Maggie, a pale, delicate girl, some eight or ten years 
 Madden's junior, looked upon herself as his future 
 wife, and the knowledge of this conviction of hers 
 was a source of serious mental trouble to the 
 young man. Maggie was the only girl of his ac- 
 quaintance whose hopes and disappointments ever 
 cost him a thouofht. He was well aware she was 
 deeply in love with him, and to the best of his 
 ability, he simulated a deep affection for her. He 
 felt her sensitive nature would receive an ugly shock 
 if he were to throw her over. " I may change my 
 mind one of these days," he sometimes mused, " and 
 l^ecome a marrying man. After all, Maggie is posi- 
 tively a nice-looking girl. She is awfully in lo\'e 
 with me, and we might get on very well together. I
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 83 
 
 know I ought to be more candid with her ; but it 
 would quite upset her if I were to break away 
 from her altogether. Poor little girl 1 How stupid 
 women are ! " Usually his musings ended in a 
 laugh, as he conjured up pictures of himself 
 hampered with the cares of married life. 
 
 Michael Ryan, whose affection for his sister was 
 deep and unbounded, was pained beyond measure 
 at Madden's frivolous conduct with resrard to Mao-ofie, 
 but Michael was too mild-spirited to remonstrate 
 with his fellow-clerk. Madden played the payt of 
 small tyrant over Ryan, not because his nature 
 was a tyrannical one, but he had an ever-present 
 desire to ward off anything that might worry him, 
 and he felt that Ryan would, if he only got the 
 opportunity, take him to task about his conduct 
 towards Maggie. 
 
 When he received Miss Walsh's message the 
 morning the Water Nymph sailed from Sloughford, 
 he was a little puzzled to imagine what the 
 landlady could require him for. At first he sup- 
 posed she wished him to aid her in recovering 
 some debt which one of Butler's many clients 
 •owed her ; but Miss Walsh had contrived to sur-
 
 84 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 round her letter with such a halo of mystery that 
 he concluded it was something of a diiferent nature 
 from commonplace debt - collecting which was at 
 the bottom of the invitation to the " Bold Dragoon." 
 
 He had no knowledge of the existence of M'Cor- 
 mick's will ; but when Miss Walsh told him that., 
 in her opinion, the document was in Butler's pos- 
 session, Madden felt he was in duty bound to 
 declare he knew all about it, and that it would 
 be a comparatively easy matter for him to give 
 the landlady the information she required. Of 
 course, he assured her, he would take care that 
 everything would be kept strictly secret. 
 
 His intention w^as to play some practical joke 
 on Miss Walsh, but at the moment he could not 
 decide what the nature of the joke ought to be. 
 To assure her, after a decent interval had elapsed, 
 that she had been left everything by her half- 
 brother, and that the master of the Water Ny^nph 
 was a millionaire, would probably result in some 
 piece of extravagant conduct on the part of the 
 landlady, and in Madden 's eyes nature had destined 
 her exclusively as a subject for sound practical 
 joking.
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 85 
 
 After leaving the " Bold Dragoon " he walked 
 down the quay, and it suddenly occurred to him 
 that something profitable to himself might be made 
 out of M'Cormick's will. He readily believed it 
 was to be found in Butler's possession ; and if he 
 <iould gain any advantage by ascertaining how 
 M'Cormixik had devised his property, he saw no 
 reason why he should not gain that advantage, 
 and many reasons why he should. He would 
 endeavour to think out some plan for getting a 
 peep at the will, and afterwards he could make 
 up his mind whether he would confine himself to 
 playing the fool with Miss Walsh, or not. If 
 Butler had the document, his niece might, possibly, 
 be able to give him some information about it. 
 If it lay in the office safe there could be little 
 difficulty in placing his hands upon it. Yes, he 
 would try to discover if Miss Cadogan knew 
 anything. 
 
 He was a constant visitor at the shipbroker's 
 house, and Helen always seem pleased to see him. 
 
 " By George ! " he cried, forgetting for the mo- 
 ment M'Cormick and everything connected with 
 him, " what an ass I have been ! There is one
 
 86 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 of the handsomest girls in the town, and I have 
 never even thought of making love to her. She 
 is young, and I suppose the governor will leave 
 everything to her ; so I may call her wealthy. 
 She is lively, and always in good humour — in 
 fact, the one girl in Sloughford that would suit 
 me exactly. How stupid of me never to have 
 thought of her before. Well, I'll make up for 
 lost time this evening, if I only get a chance. 
 There's nothing like going straight to the point 
 with women." 
 
 He hastily turned up a side street, and in a 
 few minutes the hall door of Butler's hospitable 
 house had closed behind him. Madden, to his 
 intense delight, found Miss Cadogan alone in the 
 drawing-room. 
 
 "Your uncle is out, I am told," he said, shaking 
 hands with Butler's niece. 
 
 " Yes," she said. " He has gone to see a friend 
 this evening. Won't you sit down ? " 
 
 " Thank you." 
 
 "I don't think uncle will be long away. Have 
 you anything to say to him ? or can I do any- 
 thing for you ? "
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 8T 
 
 " Oh, nothing particular. The fact is, I thouglit 
 I would call, as I happened to be in Princes 
 Street." 
 
 " We don't often see you here. Uncle is always 
 pleased when you do happen to call." 
 
 "It is awfully good of him. I wonder he can 
 bear the sight of me after office hours; but, Miss 
 Cadogan," lowering his voice, and imparting into 
 his words all the tenderness he could command,, 
 "much as it gratifies me to know that the gover- 
 nor takes an interest in me, there is one ojher 
 thing you could, if you liked, tell me, which would 
 give me even greater pleasure." 
 
 M'Oormick's will had again vanished from his^ 
 thoughts. 
 
 " What is that, Mr Madden ? " asked Helen, her 
 cheeks colouring. 
 
 "Well," stammered Madden, who now found he 
 was unable, easily as love-making came to him, to 
 plunge in medias res as rapidly as he could 
 desire. " Might I ask you a very pointed 
 question ? " 
 
 " Really, I can't imagine what you mean by a 
 pointed question," said Helen, standing up.
 
 OS IN ON? TOWN. 
 
 " Miss Cadogan, one moment ! I am sure you 
 will answer me — are yow pleased when I call — 
 I should say, are my visits here objectionable to 
 • you?" 
 
 " Objectionable ! Why should they be ? What a 
 strange question to ask ? " 
 
 " Perhaps I do not put the matter in the right 
 way. I mean — I mean — do you wish me to — 
 Oh, you must surely guess what I mean," he 
 cried, his face growing crimson from embar- 
 
 ' (DO 
 
 rassment. 
 
 " Really, I do not understand you, Mr Madden." 
 " Miss Cadogan ! " cried Madden, rising, and 
 seizing her hand, which she quickly drew away, 
 "need I say I have a sincere, a most sincere re- 
 gard for you ? " 
 
 It struck him there was something absurd in 
 this observation, so he thought it would be best 
 now to make one supreme effort, and have the 
 worst of it over. 
 
 " You know — you must know — that I love you." 
 "Are you endeavouring to amuse yourself at my 
 expense, Mr Madden ? " she asked indignantly. 
 
 " Amuse myself ! ' he cried. " Is it likely ? It
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 89 
 
 is not a thing to treat as a joke. I am quite 
 in earnest, Miss Cadogan. I do wish you to be- 
 lieve I am quite in earnest. Pray believe me. 
 It is a matter which will decide my future 
 happiness or misery." 
 
 " Really ! I have always looked upon you as a 
 gentleman incapable of being serious about any- 
 thing. Please do not indulge in this sort of fun 
 in my presence, or you will compel me to speak to 
 my uncle about it." 
 
 " Oh, it is too bad. It is positively too bad," he 
 cried. " Miss Cadogan, what do you take me for ? 
 Do you really and truly believe I would make a 
 jest of a matter so sacred ? " Then, with an air of 
 mingled resignation and despair, he murmured, — " I 
 a,m sorry if I have said anything to displease or 
 offend you. It was unwise, perhaps, to have spoken 
 so abruptly ; but the promptings of my heart carried 
 me away. I could not help myself. But I beg, I 
 pray, you will believe man was never more earnest 
 than I am. I had no right, I own, to take advan- 
 tage of your uncle's absence this evening ; but Mr 
 Butler has always been so kind and generous to me 
 that I thought he might possibly not object to my
 
 90 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 paying my addresses to his niece. Good-bye, Miss^ 
 Cadogan," mournfully, " I can only regret you will 
 not believe in the sincerity of my declaration." 
 
 Helen could scarcely believe he was in earnest. 
 For years she had been accustomed to meet Mad- 
 den, but she had never for a moment dreamt of 
 regarding him in any other light than that of an 
 ordinary acquaintance. She had always been glad 
 to see him, for Madden's unfailing high spirits 
 always enlivened her uncle, and her uncle's happi- 
 ness occupied the first place in her thoughts. She 
 scarcely knew now whether she ought to be seri- 
 ously offended or whether she ought to be gratified,, 
 or whether she ought to insist upon regarding 
 Madden's declaration of love as a dangerous kind 
 of joke. The declaration had been so abrupt and 
 unexpected that she was confused, and knew not 
 what to think or what to say. However, she felt 
 it was best to put an end to the present em- 
 barrassment at once. Extending her hand, she 
 said, — 
 
 " Good-bye, Mr Madden. I am sorry if I have 
 really wounded your feelings." 
 
 Madden was now standing near the door, and
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 91 
 
 was quite as anxious as Helen to put an end to the 
 interview. 
 
 " Good-bye, Miss Cadogan," taking her hand and 
 raising it to his lips. " Perhaps ere we meet again 
 you will have learned to think less badly of me." 
 
 She made no answer, but stood with her bent 
 head and crimson cheeks as he bowed and made a 
 hasty exit.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE SKIPPER S' SYMPOSIUM. 
 
 HERE was a gathering of the clans in 
 the "Bold Dragoon." All the skippers 
 who had been watching the departure 
 of the Water Nyviph earlier in the day, with the 
 -exception of Captain Augustine Flynn, lounged into 
 the Nest while Madden was engaged in conversa- 
 tion with Miss Walsh. 
 
 Every man, as he seated himself round the fire- 
 place, gripped his trousers above the bend of the 
 knee, and with a couple of jerks drew the end of 
 the trousers leg about three inches above his boots. 
 Captain Arkwright, who always wore shoes, ex- 
 posed four or five inches of sock. The unwritten 
 law evidently regulated the sock exposure at three 
 inches, but Captain Arkwright's words and deeds 
 were generally in inverse proportion to his stature.
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 9S' 
 
 For nearly an hour the skippers sat ahnost in 
 silence. All were drinking very slowly: some were 
 smoking ; and occasionally one of the mariners would 
 close his eyes and fall quickly asleep. 
 
 " I wonder," snorted Captain Broaders, about eight 
 o'clock, " Augy Flynn hasn't turned up. He told 
 me he would join us this evening. Look here, 
 Bendall, you must let tlie man alone. I know it's- 
 your fault he fights so shy of us lately." 
 
 Bendall, who was leaning forward, his elbows on 
 his knees, and his hands supporting his liead^ sat 
 upright in his chair, and was about to reply to 
 Broaders, when Carmody's shrill voice vibrated 
 through the room : 
 
 " In the name of Heaven ! what's that you are 
 doing, Captain Sullivan ? " 
 
 Sullivan was holding a lump of salt over his glass 
 of grog, and was crushing the salt with the fore- 
 finger and thumb of his left hand. 
 
 " Ah ! " said Sullivan, his pale face brightening. 
 " I'm glad you have taken notice of me. Salt in 
 large quantities, let me tell you, is the grand secret 
 of long life and health. I use it with everything 
 now — food and drink. When I wake up in the
 
 "94 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 night I swallow big spoonfuls of it. I know 'tis 
 a bit nasty until you get used to it. But there's 
 nothing good in the world that isn't nasty." 
 
 " You must have the stomach of a horse and 
 the brains of an ass ! " exclaimed Carmody, with a 
 grimace. 
 
 " Try a little of it, Pat," said Sullivan coax- 
 ingly. 
 
 " Take it aw^ay man, take it away I " cried Car- 
 mody, drawing back his chair. 
 
 " Oh, you needn't be frightened," smiled Sullivan 
 — " but," in a serious and impressive tone, " you 
 may believe me this is the grandest medicine in 
 the world," pocketing the lump of salt. " And I 
 can tell you more, boys," he continued ; " salt-water 
 baths — none of your common salt water, but thick, 
 heaps of salt, regular brine — them are the things 
 for health. I intend having a pickle bath every 
 morning ashore for the future." 
 
 " You'll be petrifying yourself one of those fine 
 days," snorted Broaders. 
 
 " Or turning yourself into a pillar of salt," added 
 Bendall, with a chuckle. 
 
 Captain Flynn had entered the room as Bendall
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 1)5 
 
 spoke, and, without saluting the assembled mariners, 
 he exclaimed, — 
 
 " Fie, fie, Tom ! How dare you give way to this 
 wretched blasphemy ? Don't you know well, Tom, 
 that you're talking out of Holy Writ when you 
 speak of pillars of salt." 
 
 "Oh dear, oh dear!" chuckled Bendall. " 'Tis a 
 pillar of the church you ought to be yourself. Sit 
 down, Captain Flynn, and make yourself comfort- 
 able. What will you drink ? " 
 
 The Bishop placed his umbrella behind the half- 
 open door, drew off his heavy woollen gloves, 
 advanced to the fireplace, and murmured in a 
 reverential tone, — 
 
 " I think I'll try a little gin and water — very 
 weak, Tom." 
 
 " Have a lump of Sullivan's salt in it, will you ? " 
 asked Bendall, making a mental note as to the 
 position of the Bishop's umbrella. " A glass of 
 gin, if you please, Miss Julia," nodding to the land- 
 lady, who entered the room after Flynn. 
 
 " Yes, try a little of it in your grog," cried Sulli- 
 van, taking the salt from his pocket and offering it 
 to the bewildered Flynn. "I have discovered — "
 
 96 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " Oh, don't be for ever pestering us with your 
 crazes!" exclaimed Carmody angrily. "Now, I tell 
 you, if you say another word about salt in my 
 presence, I'll knock you down. Mark me now." 
 
 " Gentlemen, gentlemen," murmured the Bishop^ 
 " I'm fairly surprised at you. ' Let dogs,' as some 
 holy poet says, ' delight to bark and bite, but 
 grown men should be different quite.' — Thank you^ 
 Miss Julia," to the landlady, who now handed him 
 a glass. " So your good brother has gone from 
 amongst us to-day." 
 
 " Yes, Captain Flynn. He ought to make a 
 quick run this time. The wind is still blowing 
 strong from the east." 
 
 o 
 
 "I wouldn't be surprised, though, if there was a 
 shift before long," put in Bendall, who w^as anxious 
 to find an excuse for getting nearer to Flynn's 
 umbrella. "I wonder how is the glass," rising 
 and approaching the barometer, of which he seemed 
 to make an intent and prolonged study. 
 
 "By the way. Miss Julia," said the Bishop,, 
 "wasn't that young Mr Madden I saw leaving the 
 house just as I was coming in ? " 
 
 " Yes," stammered the landlady. " He was look-
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 9T 
 
 ing for the skipper of that Italian barque lying 
 near the bridge. He's a nice young gentleman — 
 I mean Mr Madden." 
 
 " Upstart," snorted Broaders. 
 
 " Puppy," snarled Carmody. 
 
 " Fie, fie ! gentlemen," said the Bishop, waving- 
 his hand. " You should never speak badly of the 
 absent when they're not present. Oh, Miss Julia^ 
 I knew there was something I had to say to 
 you. I observed my mate at the counter outside. 
 That man is a shocking ruffian when he drinks 
 too much. Oblige me by giving him nothing 
 stronger than ginger wine this evening ; for he 
 has a heavy family depending on him, a very 
 heavy family, Miss Julia; and I want him to be 
 at his work early in the morning. What a curse 
 drink is ! " he sighed, taking a mouthful of his gin. 
 
 "All right. Captain Flynn. I'll look after him^ 
 and see that he doesn't get intoxicated here at 
 any rate." 
 
 " It's your turn to stand now, Captain Augy,"" 
 snorted Broaders. " All our glasses are running dry." 
 
 "Well, gentlemen, name your drinks individually 
 
 to Miss Julia." 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 98 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " Same again ! " chorused all the skippers, except 
 Arkwright, who was fast asleep ; and the landlady 
 left the room. 
 
 " Charming creature ! " smiled Cummins, who had 
 been twirling his thumbs and staring with a va- 
 cant stare into the fire until the cry of " Same 
 again," in which he had automatically joined, 
 aroused him. 
 
 " Getting pretty well up in years now," snorted 
 Broaders. 
 
 " Ah ! if she would only try large quantities of 
 salt ! " sighed Sullivan. 
 
 " Oh, I wasn't thinking of Miss Julia," explained 
 the now wide-aw^ake Cummins. " I was thinking 
 of John M'Cormick's wife." 
 
 ' Ton my song, Martin Cummins, you're a queer 
 hsh," laughed Bendall, who had by this time suc- 
 ceeded in concealing under his long pilot-cloth 
 overcoat the Bishop's umbrella, and stood leaning 
 against the corner of the mantelpiece. " What's 
 coming over you at all ? " 
 
 " Mind your own business, Bendall ! " exclaimed 
 Cummins angrily. 
 
 " Did you begin to load yet, Tom ? " asked Flynn,
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 99 
 
 <ireacling high words, and therefore anxious to divert 
 the current of the conversation. 
 
 " No, skipper. We're not out of the doctor's hands 
 jet ; and I fear we'll have to rip the decks out of 
 her after all." 
 
 Here Miss Walsh entered the Nest with a tray, 
 ^nd handed the glasses round to the skippers. 
 
 " Mind what I told you about my mate, Miss 
 Julia. I hope you're watching him, for he's a 
 shocking blackguard when he gets too much drink 
 aboard." 
 
 " I'm looking after him. Captain Flynn," smiled 
 Miss Walsh, leaving the room. 
 
 " Now, look here, Bendall," cried Cummins, who 
 had been gradually making up his mind to put a 
 stop to Bendall's impertinence, " let me tell you 
 once for all, sir, that I won't have you trying to 
 poke your fun at me. Remember who you are, 
 -and who I am, sir. You're a fellow — I say it be- 
 fore all the gentlemen here," he went on rapidly 
 ^nd excitedly — " who hasn't got a certificate ; and 
 I have one, sir. If anybody doubts my word, here 
 it is," fumbling in his breast-pocket and producing 
 a dirty, greasy parchment. " I'm a captain, sir, a
 
 100 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 captain — a title you have no right to, Tom Bend- 
 all, let me tell you." 
 
 The majority of coasting skippers o£ a past genera- 
 tion were uncertified master - mariners ; and those 
 who possessed either a certificate of competency or 
 a certificate of service were mightily vain of the 
 possession, many of them fully believing they had 
 as much right, legally and morally, to the title 
 of captain as an officer wearing Her Majesty's 
 uniform, 
 
 Bendall laughed, and taking off his hat made a low^ 
 bow to Cummins. The action jerked the handle of 
 Flynn's umbrella through the breast of Captain 
 Tom's coat. He hastily tried to cover the handle, 
 but the Bishop caught a glimpse of his beloved 
 " crozier," and, jumping to his feet, he tore open 
 Bendall's coat, and pulled the umbrella forth from 
 its hiding-place. All the skippers burst forth into 
 noisy laughter, caused partly by Bendall's discomfi- 
 ture and partly by the exhibition of Flynn's wrath. 
 Even the slumbering Arkwright bobbed his head 
 up and down and smiled inanely in his sleep. 
 
 " It's a shame, Tom ; a downright, dirty shame," 
 fumed the Bishop. " A man might as well be
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 101 
 
 preaching sermons to milestones as trying to knock 
 'Common sense and common decency into your empty 
 brains." 
 
 " I couldn't help it, neighbour. Indeed I couldn't," 
 murmured Bendall apologetically, but scarcely able 
 to smother a laugh. " Ton my song, I meant no 
 harm. I wish to Heaven, Captain Augy, you'd burn 
 the crozier, and take the temptation out of my 
 road." 
 
 The Bishop sat down and turned his back to- 
 wards Bendall, and tapping his teeth with •his 
 finger-nails, exclaimed, — 
 
 " 'Tis the height of ignorance — the height of ig- 
 norance. There's neither sense nor meaning in your 
 empty brains, Captain Bendall." 
 
 " Tom, you're a queer fellow," chuckled Cummins, 
 determined now to apologise in a roundabout fashion 
 for the insult he had a short time previously offered 
 Bendall. 
 
 " Well, boys," said Bendall, " I am sorry for my 
 bad behaviour. And I can tell you all that there 
 isn't a man coming into this port, or into any other 
 port, for the matter of that, I have a greater regard 
 for than Augy Flynn."
 
 102 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 "You're a queer fellow, Tom," again chuckled Cum- 
 mins, scarcely knowing how to show he w^as sorry 
 for his conduct, while sustaining at the same time 
 the superiority of his position. " I hope you bear 
 me no ill-will, Tom, on account of my remarks a 
 short time ago. There's not a man in the room, 
 let me tell you, barring myself and Augy Flynn, 
 that's got a certificate any more than yourself; but 
 for all that I hope I didn't hurt your feelings, Tom?" 
 
 " Not in the least," said Bendall. " When I put 
 as many ships ashore as you have put, maybe I'll be 
 looking to the Board of Trade myself for a ticket." 
 
 "I consider you have a great deal of impudence,. 
 Bendall, to attempt to address me in that fashion," 
 snarled Cummins. " But," with a sneer, " what 
 can you expect from a man who hasn't a cer- 
 tificate ? " 
 
 " Miss Julia," cried Bendall to the landlady, who 
 had entered the room in response to a summons 
 from the bell, " we'll all have our glasses filled 
 again — don't mind Captain Arkwright's as he isn't 
 done snoring yet. And, Miss Jalia, you might put 
 a taste of ginger into Captain Cummins' grog. He 
 looks as if he wanted something to warm him^.
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 103 
 
 poor fellow ! Look how pale he is ! I'm sure the 
 man is love-sick." 
 
 " Tom, you're a queer fellow," laughed Cummins. 
 " Isn't he, my dear ? " to the landlady. 
 
 " Captain Cummins," said Miss Walsh, " I do 
 wish you would keep your proper distance, and 
 address me by my proper name ; " and the land- 
 lady flounced out of the room. 
 
 '' Well, well," muttered Cummins, " the contrari- 
 ness of females is something wonderful. That 
 woman is becoming as high and mighty as Mrs 
 M'Cormick herself. Ah ! " his mouth broadening 
 with a grin, "all that tossing of the head is put 
 on just because there's a lot of you boys here. 
 When I come in by myself there's a lump of differ- 
 ence in Miss Julia's manners, I can tell you. Now 
 it was only the other day — " 
 
 Here he suddenly stopped as Miss Walsh entered 
 the room with the liquor. She scowled at Cummins, 
 and retired to the shop without addressing a word 
 to any of the skippers. 
 
 " Miss Julia is quite right," said Bendall. " I 
 don't think a certified man ought to be insinuating 
 that he's thinking of getting a third wife before
 
 104 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Number two is a twelvemonth under the sod. 
 How much, now, if it is a fair question, do the 
 undertakers allow you ofi* the regulation charges, 
 Captain Cummins, or is the work done by con- 
 tract for you ? " 
 
 " Tom, you're a queer fellow," laughed Cummins, 
 who was rather vain of having outlived two help- 
 mates. 
 
 " I wish you had more ballast in you, Tom," 
 said the Bishop, turning round. He had now re- 
 covered from his fit of ill-humour. " You mean 
 well, I'm sure ; but life is too serious a matter for 
 this constant frivolity. You can't expect to live 
 for ever in this vale of tears — " 
 
 " Try large quantities of salt," put in Sullivan, 
 eagerly. 
 
 " So help me ! " cried Carmody, breaking off 
 abruptly a conversation with Broaders, " I'll not 
 stand your infernal nonsense any longer, skipper 
 Sullivan. No sooner are you done pestering us 
 with one craze than you start another. Last voy- 
 age you nearly drove me mad with some rubbish 
 about lucifer matches. Have done now : do you 
 mind me ? "
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 105 
 
 " Oh ! ho ; ho ! " yawned Arkwright, awaking 
 from slumber and stretching out his arms. " Why, 
 bless me ! " he cried, rubbing his eyes, " I must 
 have been ingratiating myself with a prolonged 
 repose." 
 
 " Oh, don't mention it," drawled Bendall. 
 
 " Why, in Heaven's name, can't you talk plain ? " 
 asked Carmody. 
 
 " Talk plain," laughed Arkwright, a contemptuous, 
 dignified laugh. "I flatter myself, sir, my discourse 
 is homely, scholarly, and gentlemanly. Whenjuy 
 late lamented parent on the male side was build- 
 ing-" 
 
 " Castles in the air. What a pity you didn't 
 stick to carrying a hod yourself ! " 
 
 "Sir," said Arkwright, with asperity, "your lan- 
 guage is ignorant and unseemly. You seem con- 
 stantly oscillating between ignorance and unseemli- 
 ness, and verging on downright insolence." 
 
 " Why didn't they send you into Parliament ? 
 'Tis a shocking loss to the country." 
 
 " I flatter myself I should not disgrace the first 
 assemblage of European gentlemen," smiled Ark- 
 wright, twirling his thumbs.
 
 106 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " Well, don't be pestering us with your dictionary 
 words, anyhow. I can tell you it isn't manners to- 
 be trying to choke yourself with jawbreakers every 
 time you open your mouth." 
 
 " Oh, gentlemen, gentlemen," expostulated the 
 Bishop, " let us change the subject ; for it seems 
 to me that some of you are slowly but surely 
 drifting into abusive language — and it ill becomes^ 
 you, Captain Carmody, to be constantly hurting 
 the feelings of your neighbours. Fie, fie ! Pat." 
 
 " I quite agree with you, Captain Augy," said 
 Bendall. "Let us talk of something more pleasant 
 than Sullivan's salt and Ark Wright's book-learn- 
 ing. There's my friend Cummins there, thinking 
 to himself as hard as he can. Now, I'll take my 
 davy he's wondering which of his numerous lady 
 friends will be the next Mrs Cummins. Am I 
 right, skipper ? " 
 
 " Tom, you're a queer fellow. There's no use 
 at all in trying to be vexed with you. Put it 
 there, Tom." 
 
 And Cummins and Bendall shook hands warmly. 
 
 " I wonder," snorted Broaders, " did big Mac get 
 out of the harbour on the ebb ? "
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 107 
 
 " Of course he did!" exclaimed Carmody. " What's 
 to hinder him, with a tug boat ahead of him to- 
 drag him out ? " 
 
 " What a charming example of femininity his good 
 wife is ! " said Arkwright. " Superior personage I 
 What an expensive education she must have been 
 inculcated with ! " 
 
 " Ay ! boarding - school education," snarled Car- 
 mody, as if some one had offered him a personal 
 insult. " Boarding schools, indeed ! where they 
 teach girls to scratch the strings of a harp. and 
 sew alphabets on canvas. 'Twould be fitter for 
 them to show them how to darn a man's socks and 
 sew buttons on his shirt, I can tell you." 
 
 " You're a vulgar, unintellectual specimen of 
 humanity," said Arkwright contemptuously. . 
 
 " Ah, don't be bothering us, man, with your 
 cackling ! I'm sick and tired, I am, of listening to- 
 your noise." 
 
 " If you're sick, skipper," began Sullivan, " try 
 large—" 
 
 " I'll choke you with your own salt if you say 
 another word ! " cried Carmody, his eyes blazing 
 with fire.
 
 108 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " Oh dear ! oh dear ! " laughed Bendall. " You're 
 a nice agreeable lot of companions. You're after 
 disgusting our friend the Bishop altogether." 
 
 " You never said a truer word, Tom. It's quite 
 disgraceful to hear grown men squabbling in a 
 Christian land. I'm ashamed of you, Pat. We all 
 have our little failings; and I'd be the last man to 
 fling the stone ; but your temper, Captain Carmody, 
 is something fulsome." 
 
 " For half the complement of insulting obser- 
 vations you have addressed to me, sir," said Ark- 
 wright, gaining courage at the Bishop's speech, 
 " you would, in some countries, find yourself in- 
 carcerated within the precincts of a miserable dun- 
 geon, where — " 
 
 " Oh dear ! oh dear ! " interrupted Bendall ; " your 
 remarks, skipper Arkwright, are heavy enough to 
 sink a lifeboat. Take a sip out of your grog be- 
 fore you choke yourself right out." 
 
 For several minutes there was silence in the Nest. 
 The silence was broken by the Bishop. 
 
 " Oh ! ho ! ho ! " he yawned, taking out his watch 
 and replacing it in his fob ; " it's time to be going, 
 gentlemen."
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 10^ 
 
 The mariners all stretched out their arms and 
 yawned vigorously. Then each man stooped and 
 drew down the legs of his trousers. 
 
 " I'm going your way, Jim," said Carmody to 
 Sullivan. 
 
 Both men rose, and yawning again, stamped 
 noisily on the floor. 
 
 " Give us a hornpipe before you go, Pat," said 
 the Bishop. 
 
 " Ah, not to-night," smiled Carmody, stamping 
 again. " I'm too stifl" in the joints. Some other 
 time." 
 
 "Well, we'll excuse you to-night, Pat, as it is sa 
 late," said the Bishop, rising ; " but I'll stand no 
 nonsense next time. Come along, Martin," tapping- 
 Cummins on the shoulder. " We have no home 
 but our ships, so let us bear one another company 
 down the quay." 
 
 All the skippers had now risen from their 
 seats. 
 
 " Captain Bendall," said Arkwright, " our homes 
 are located in the same direction, and yours, too,. 
 Captain Broaders." 
 
 " Don't forget your umbrella," cried Bendall, as
 
 110 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 the Bishop and Cummins were about to leave 
 the room. 
 
 " Thank you for the reminder, Tom ; I have it 
 in my hand." 
 
 And the symposium at the Nest was broken up.
 
 CHAPTER VI I. 
 
 AFTER LONG YEARS. 
 
 RS M'CORMICK was in an unusually 
 excitable mood the morning after the 
 departure of the Water Nymph. The 
 previous evening she had been dull and depressed 
 beyond measure, and had spent a restless, sleepless 
 nio'ht. Her husband's words and manner had left 
 a strong impression upon her. She felt her con- 
 duct towards M'Cormick during their seven years 
 of married life had been unjust and cruel, and she 
 was full of o'ood resolutions for the future. She 
 would endeavour to begin life anew — to forget the 
 past and everything belonging to it. She hoped, 
 she prayed they would go far away from Slough- 
 ford — the change of scene would be certain to effect 
 a change in herself.
 
 112 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 But with the morning came the reaction. 
 
 After breakfast she sat at the window of the sit- 
 tincr-room, which overlooked the river, and strup'P-le 
 as she might with herself, she could not shut out 
 memories of many years ago. With tears coursing 
 slowly down her cheeks she remained for a lono' 
 time — she knew not how long — gazing at the ships 
 and barges sailing up with the tide. Then, as she 
 rose from her chair, her eyes caught the outline of 
 the old wooden bridge, and with a smothered sob 
 she turned away her head and began to pace up 
 and down the room, her hands clasped tightly in 
 front of her. 
 
 " My God, my God ! " she cried, " I thought I had 
 lived it down. I wonder if I shall ever see him 
 again, — ever know if he has forgiven me. What 
 have I done that all my life should be spoiled, all 
 the sunshine and happiness taken out of it ? " 
 
 She stopped abruptly as she passed the window,, 
 and stood staring in the direction of the bridge. 
 
 " Oh ! I am a fool — I am worse. It is sinful 
 as well as silly to give way to such thoughts. 
 She sank into a seat, a sad smile curving her 
 mouth. "I wonder what would poor John say if
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 118 
 
 he were only to see me playing tragedy just now^ 
 and know what my thoughts were. I must not 
 allow myself to think of the past ever again. I 
 must, I will, shut my eyes to it. I have been too 
 much alone latterly. I suppose that is why I am 
 so low-spirited. I wonder Helen has not come over 
 to see me. I must write to her." 
 
 She got up and went through the half - open 
 folding-doors into the adjoining room. This room 
 overlooked the garden, and in it Mrs M'Cormick 
 usually spent the better part of the day. But 
 now the river had a fascination for her, and as if 
 she were performing some guilty deed she brought 
 a small writing-desk stealthily from the inner 
 room and placed it on a table near the window. 
 
 As she was about to sit down, the sound of 
 footsteps crunching the gravel outside reached her 
 ears. Looking through the curtains, she stood for 
 a moment breathless, her eyes almost burstings 
 from their sockets, and her face pale as a winding- 
 sheet. Then the blood rushed quickly to her 
 cheeks, and with a low cry — half sob, half moan — 
 she started back, pressing her palms to her throb- 
 bing temples. 
 
 VOL. L H
 
 114 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Ere she had time to regain self-possession, her 
 visitor was announced, and stood in the room close 
 to her. 
 
 She turned round, her cheeks still scarlet, her 
 heart throbbing violently, and stretched out her hand 
 in silence. 
 
 Her visitor grasped the extended hand, and said 
 in a grave, quiet tone, — 
 
 " You are astonished to see me again. I do not 
 wonder. Believe me, I never meant to meet you, 
 but fate — I suppose I must call it fate — sent me 
 here." 
 
 " Sit down, won't you ? " said Mrs M'Cormick, 
 motioning him to a chair near the fireplace : her 
 visitor's coldness put her almost at her ease. " You 
 won't mind my finishing this note, I hope. I am 
 in a hurry to send it to the post." 
 
 Without waiting for any reply, she took up her 
 pen and began to write. If her visitor had watched 
 her closely, he could see that her fingers trembled 
 so violently that she could scarcely hold the 
 pen. 
 
 After a few minutes, during which time the pulsing 
 of her heart had gradually ceased to be a serious
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 115 
 
 trouble to her, she folded the note and placed it in 
 an envelope. Then she asked her visitor to ring 
 the bell. A ruddy-cheeked, healthy-looking young 
 woman entered the room. Mrs M'Cormick closed the 
 desk, and handed the note to a young woman, her 
 maid. She was quite at ease now ; quite at ease. 
 
 " He doesn't care in the least for me. He has been 
 wiser than I. He has lived it down. Thank God ! " 
 
 " Well, Mr Dalton," she began,— 
 
 " Don't, please," he interrupted, with a trace of 
 bitterness. " It almost makes me laugh to hear you 
 call me Mr Dalton ; and " — his voice growing more 
 gentle — " it sounds too brutally cold after all these 
 years. You never called me so in all your life 
 before." 
 
 " But everything has altered very much since I 
 saw you last." 
 
 " Yes," he said, sadly and slowly. " I need scarcely 
 be reminded of that." 
 
 "I wonder you recognised me. People tell me I 
 have altered considerably during the past five or six 
 years. Sometimes when I look in the glass I fancy 
 I am quite forty — and I'm not quite forty yet," she 
 -added, with a feeble attempt at a smile.
 
 116 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " ]N o. You will be only twenty-seven next May — 
 the fifth o£ May, is it not ? " 
 
 " What a memory you have ! " 
 
 " Yes," quite softly. " A long memory for some 
 things, Susie." 
 
 " Don't ; for God's sake don't call me that !" she 
 gasped, involuntarily pressing her fingers to her 
 eyes. " No one has ever called me Susie since a 
 certain night long ago — when — when — God ! help 
 me, I cannot bear it all." 
 
 Here Mrs M'Cormick found that she could no 
 longer check her sobs, and rising hastily she went 
 to the window, and with tear-blinded eyes pressed 
 her cheeks to the cool windoAV panes. After a few 
 moments she came back to her chair. 
 
 Dalton had in the meantime sat with folded arms,, 
 staring moodily into the fire which flickered in the 
 small fire-grate. 
 
 " I am quite upset to-day," she said, breaking the 
 silence ; " I have a bad headache, and my nerves are 
 all unstrung. I don't know what ails me. You 
 must not mind me. I shall be all right presently. 
 Tell me all about yourself. What have you been 
 doing ? What brings you to Sloughford ? "
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 117 
 
 " To tell you all about myself for the past seven 
 •or eight years — it will be eight years next August 
 since I saw you last — would be tiresome and un- 
 interesting, I fear, Mrs M'Cormick." 
 
 " You may call me by my Christian name if you 
 like," she interrupted. " It will sound less strange 
 in my ears —but," with a little gasp, " you must never 
 do so again after to-day. I think I can promise you 
 I won't feel uninterested in your story." 
 
 " Thank you. I haven't very much to tell, indeed ; 
 but if you are sure I sha'n't bore you, I'll give^you 
 a very brief account of myself since I saw you last. 
 May I go on ? " 
 
 " Yes. I suppose you are married ? " 
 
 She would have given worlds to recall the words 
 as she looked at his face ; but she could not have 
 restrained herself. She was burning with curiosity 
 to know if he had entirely forgotten her, — if he had 
 formed new ties more binding than the old ones. 
 
 " Married ! " he said bitterly. " Didn't I tell you 
 I had a long memory ? Why should I marry ? You 
 are all alike. You love your ease ; you would do 
 Anything rather than endure a little worry — a little 
 trouble. None of you know what love really means*
 
 118 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Love — what do you know of love, may I ask ? Oh I 
 I am sick of the word. I hate you all ; I despise you 
 all. You broke my heart, woman ! " 
 
 He turned and looked at her fiercely. He had 
 determined to be cool and collected all through the 
 interview ; but now he found he had lost control 
 over himself. He was unable to keep back the tears 
 which welled into his eyes. 
 
 " Oh, Susie, Susie ! " he cried piteously. " Why 
 could you not have waited for me ? I would have 
 worked for you, slaved for you, waited for you half 
 a lifetime. " What am 1 saying ? " he moaned, rising 
 from his chair and pacing up and down the room,. 
 as Mrs M'Cormick had paced it a short time before. 
 " I am mad ; I thought I had forgotten you — or hated 
 you." 
 
 Fortunately for Mrs M'Cormick, she was struck by 
 the fact that his actions now resembled hers before 
 she had taken her writing-desk from the inner 
 room ; and this saved her from breaking down 
 utterly. She set herself thinking how curious it 
 was that in such a short space of time a man who 
 she thought had ceased to remember her existence, 
 and who, for aught she knew to the contrary, was.
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 119 
 
 at the other end of the world, or dead, should almost 
 imitate her words — yes, even her very actions. Then 
 she fancied, or rather tried to fancy, he was 
 burlesquing her movements. It was so funny. 
 Yes, that was exactly the way she had stumbled 
 against a chair. He stopped and looked out of the 
 window. She had done the same. Could anything 
 be more amusing ? — and she burst into a hysterical 
 fit of laughter. 
 
 He turned round, and laughed too — a strange 
 hollow laugh, that sounded like mockery in her 
 ears. Then he found she was crying bitterly. 
 
 " Susie, Susie," he said, approaching her, going 
 down on one knee, and clasping her hand, " what 
 is it ? What have I said ? I scarcely know, myself. 
 Do forget my roughness — my pettishness. I could 
 not help it. Do forgive me ! " 
 
 She took her hand away, and motioned him to 
 sit down. In silence he resumed his seat, and after 
 a pause Mrs M'Cormick spoke, — 
 
 " We have both been very foolish just now, I 
 fear. Please forget it all for ever. Promise me 
 you will." 
 
 " Then you are not vexed with me ? "
 
 120 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " No ; but promise me you will forget all that 
 has just happened. " I don't knew what ails me 
 this morning. I feel quite upset. Don't think I am 
 always such a stupid person. You were going to tell 
 me about yourself, when something interrupted you." 
 
 " You know a little of my story already. After I 
 made up my mind to try what luck the sea would 
 bring me, I went a long voyage, and on my return 
 to Liverpool I got your last letter. I did not storm 
 or rage at the awful news it told me, but I think 
 it very nearly drove me mad. However, I'm not 
 going to dwell upon that portion of the past. I 
 determined to stick to the sea." 
 
 " How strange you should have gone to the sea ! 
 I hate the sea." 
 
 " I don't. I love it. After some six years of 
 knocking about, I passed for master in the foreign 
 trade. I had little difficulty in getting a ship out of 
 Liverpool, owing to my father's connection there 
 long ago. I entered Sloughford harbour yesterday 
 in a barque of two thousand tons. You should just 
 see my ship. All Sloughford w^as out this morning 
 to look at her. They say she is the largest ship 
 that ever came up to the quays."
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 121 
 
 "You seem quite enthusiastic about your pro- 
 fession." 
 
 " I am enthusiastic about it. I love my ship. She 
 is a beauty. She is my sweetheart and wife, and 
 there is no danger she will throw me over, so long 
 AS I remain faithful to her." 
 
 "You are unkind, Dick. I did not throw you 
 over — if that is what you mean." 
 
 She bit her lip as she said this. The words had 
 been uttered without premeditation. 
 
 " Oh no ! Of course you didn't. You simply ^did 
 what pleased you best. I do not blame you, I assure 
 you. No doubt you had almost forgotten the fact 
 of my existence." 
 
 He was again excited, and had apparently forgotten 
 his resolution and his promises. 
 
 " You should not talk to me like that, nor should I 
 have said to you half the things I have said. You 
 must not attempt to refer to the past again." 
 
 She spoke hurriedly and sharply, her cheeks 
 glowing, and her eyes dilated and wild looking. 
 
 " Forgive me ! I forgot myself. I know I have 
 no right to come here and whine. I am ashamed of 
 myself. I fancied I had no place in your memory.
 
 122 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Why should I have any ; or why should you be- 
 annoyed when I say so ? " 
 
 She was softened by his quiet tone, in which she 
 could trace a cry of despair. 
 
 " You are cruel," she murmured. " You know it 
 broke my heart, too. Every word of my last letter 
 to you was true, bitterly true — but is it right we 
 should speak to one another thus ? Let us bury the 
 past for ever." 
 
 " I cannot truthfully promise you that. Believe 
 me, though, I did not mean to break down as I 
 have done — I am disgusted with my weakness^ 
 my unmanliness. But memories crowded in upon 
 me so thick — " 
 
 " You must banish these memories. You must 
 promise me you will never in any way allude to 
 what has passed between us now or long ago. If 
 you do not promise, I swear I shall never open my 
 lips to you again. Do you realise my position and 
 yours ? " 
 
 " I promise. But you need not think I intend to 
 persecute you with reproaches. Perhaps we may 
 never meet again after to-day." 
 
 After a pause.
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. 12^i 
 
 " How did you find me out ? Did Mr Butler 
 give you my address ? " 
 
 " No — but how stupid of me ! I have ahiiost lost 
 sight of the object of my visit here. When my 
 ship was coming into the harbour yesterday, w^e 
 met a barque sailing out — the Water Nymjph — 
 your husband's ship." 
 
 " Yes, my husband's ship. Surely my husband 
 did not send you here ? " 
 
 " Strangely enough, he did — with a message." 
 
 " You astonish me. I should have thought •you 
 would be about the last person in the world he 
 would have selected to convey a message to me." 
 
 " Why ? " with a smile. 
 
 She was vexed for having spoken, and for the 
 evident assumption on Dalton's part that her hus- 
 band still had cause to remember that Dalton and 
 she had once been sweethearts. 
 
 " You are wrong," she said scornfully. " You need 
 not think he has ever had cause to remember — any- 
 thing. But I know he always disliked you, because 
 you were what he calls a fine gentleman." 
 
 Dalton was nettled by the answer, and bit his lip 
 at the words " fine gentleman."
 
 124 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " I am a line gentleman no longer," he said. " I 
 am only a master-mariner — just a trifle better than 
 a common sailor." 
 
 " You don't look a bit like one, at any rate,'' she 
 smiled. " No one alive would take you for a sailor." 
 
 " I don't know whether you intend to be com- 
 plimentary or the reverse — " 
 
 " Pray do not let us squabble," she cried im- 
 patiently. " I was not thinking of compliments or 
 insults. Please tell me about the message from 
 my husband." 
 
 " He sent you this," taking a letter from the 
 breast-pocket of his coat, and handing the letter 
 to Mrs M'Cormick. " He did not know that I 
 would be the bearer of the note," he explained. 
 ^' He left it with the master of the pilot-cutter, and 
 told him to give it to the captain of the first ship 
 entering the harbour, and to ask that captain to 
 deliver the letter with his own hands. So now 
 you know why it is that I have come here this 
 morning. Otherwise I should never have crossed 
 your threshold." 
 
 " I expect you were surprised when you read the 
 address on the envelope. How strange ! " dreamily.
 
 THE SAILING OF THE SHIP. Igo- 
 
 " ' Surprised ' is scarcely a strong enougli word. 
 But," rising, " I have paid you an unconscionably 
 long visit. My ship will be a month here dis- 
 charging. Shall I see you befoi-e I sail ? " forgetful 
 once more of his resolutions never to look again at 
 the woman who had jilted him. 
 
 " I don't know. You must never see me alone 
 again. But you know Helen Cadogan, do you not ? " 
 
 " Butler's niece ? Yes, I think I remember her. 
 She was at school somewhere when I left Slough- 
 ford. Butler will introduce me to her if she has 
 forgotten me. He is doing the business of my ship 
 here, of course." 
 
 " We visit one another occasionally. If she and 
 her uncle accompany you, I don't think I would 
 have any objection to seeing you." 
 
 " You are very kind." There was a touch of 
 sarcasm in his voice. Her coldness chilled him. 
 " Good-bye," he said, holding out his hand. 
 
 And then as he looked at her and reflected it was 
 the last time they might meet alone again, and that 
 their paths in this world lay wider apart than ever, 
 a strange longing to kiss her lips, to hold her in 
 his arms once more, even were it only for an instant.
 
 126 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 seized him. Instinctively Mrs M'Cormick divined 
 his thoughts. Rising, she rang a small handbell 
 which lay on the table, and then opening the door 
 of the sitting-room smiled, — 
 
 " Don't mind my turning you out so abruptly. 1 
 had no notion it was so late ; and I have a visit to 
 pay in the neighbourhood this afternoon." 
 
 He seized her hand and raising it to his lips, 
 <;ried, — 
 
 " Susie — for the last time, Susie — good-bye ! " 
 
 " Good-bye," she murmured, pressing his hand. 
 " Good-bye." 
 
 When the door closed after him she burst into a 
 passionate fit of weeping. 
 
 " I must never see him again. Never, never. 
 May God pity me and forgive me — for I love him 
 still 1 I love him, God help me ! "
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCES ONE OF THE SMARTEST CRAFTS AFLOAT, 
 AND ONE OF THE SMARTEST OF SKIPPERS. 
 
 BOUT three weeks after the Water 
 Nymph sailed from Sloughford, a 
 strange brigantine was observed mak- 
 ing for the entrance of that harbour, and the 
 pilot-cutter swiftly bore down upon her and put 
 a man in charge. 
 
 "Tw^elve days from St John's, Newfoundland, 
 captain ! Why, a steamboat might with reason be 
 proud of a passage like that. 'Tis a clipper she 
 is, an' no mistake ! " 
 
 " Right, sonny ! Guess you'll find there ain't
 
 128 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 many smarter crafts afloat than the Greenhach, of 
 St John, New Brunswick, nor many smarter 
 men than Angus K Nixon — that's me, pilot." 
 
 The first speaker was the sea pilot who had 
 just been hoisted on board the Greenback, and 
 the second speaker was the master of that rakish- 
 looking craft. 
 
 Angus K Nixon might indeed be justly proud 
 of his vessel, and justly elated at having made 
 such a rapid passage across the Atlantic, for it 
 would not be easy to find a neater-looking trad- 
 ing brigantine ; and a twelve days' sail from St 
 John's, Newfoundland, to the south coast of Ire- 
 land was, as Captain Nixon woidd term it,, 
 " doing it pretty tidy," even with the assistance 
 of strong westerly winds and a buoyant cargo — 
 oil in casks and dried cod-fish. 
 
 Nixon was five feet ten inches in height, and 
 thirty - four years of age. He had high cheek 
 bones, lantern jaws, a straight nose of a purple 
 hue, a wide mouth, a long upper - lip, restless- 
 grey eyes, and a narrow forehead. His raven 
 black hair was allowed to wander below his 
 coat collar, and was carefully oiled. He was clean
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 129 
 
 shaven, and his chin rivalled his nose in the 
 depth of its purple tint. 
 
 Nixon had been taught the business of seaman- 
 ship in the worst school afloat. From the age 
 of twelve until, in the natural course of things, 
 he left the forecastle to become one of the 
 " after guard," he had been accustomed to the 
 roughest usage, the most unseaworthy vessels, and 
 the companionship of the most degraded and reck- 
 less class of seamen. He had been badly fed, 
 badly paid, and worked like a galley slave ; so 
 it was not a matter for wonder that noble sen- 
 timents, noble aspirations, and noble deeds had 
 no place in the mechanism of Angus R. Nixon. 
 Still he seemed to thrive. " Only a copper-fas- 
 tened constitution, bolted through and through, 
 could have comed right straight along as I have 
 comed," he would often remark. 
 
 As a matter of course, he made a most tyran- 
 nical mate, and was cordially detested by the 
 fo'c'stle hands. It must not be supposed he was 
 more tyrannical than hundreds of other mates — 
 very likely he was not nearly so overbearing as 
 
 many — but certainly he was held in greater de- 
 VOL. I. I
 
 130 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 testation by sailors than the bulliest of "bully 
 mates." The principal cause of the hatred arose 
 from the fact that Angus was a cheat and a 
 coward. Few sailors would have thought very 
 badly of him for being a bit of a cheat, per- 
 haps ; fewer still would have blamed him for 
 being a tyrant ; but no sailor has any affection 
 or respect for a combination of cheat and coward. 
 
 It seemed as if Nixon lived chiefly for the 
 pleasure of cheating. His essays in this line 
 too, were, it must be confessed, of the meanest 
 kind. He was too cowardly to be a cheat of 
 dangerous proportions. It would aflbrd him greater 
 delight to earn a penny dishonestly than to earn 
 a pound honestly ; and he would at any time 
 prefer to throw away a pound than to allow 
 any one to diddle him out of a penny. 
 
 He got into trouble afloat and ashore times with- 
 out number ; but as his attempts at obtaining money 
 or advantages dishonestly were always conducted on 
 so diminutive a scale, and he was such a cringing 
 coward whenever he was found out, few had ever 
 thought to " make an example " of him. 
 
 About eight months before the arrival of the Green-
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 131 
 
 back in Sloughford harbour, Nixon was serving as 
 first mate on board a North American timber trader, 
 and this ship was fortunate enough in mid -Atlantic 
 to fall in with a derelict barque laden with cotton. 
 It was fine weather, and the crew of the timber 
 trader succeeded in bringing their prize, which had 
 evidently been abandoned too early, safe into port. 
 Nixon's portion of the salvage was sufficient to 
 supply him with the purchase-money of a brigan- 
 tine, called the Cordelia, carrying about two hun- 
 dred and twenty tons, and also enabled him^ to 
 spend a large sum of money on re-decking, refasten- 
 ing, and generally overhauling the brigantine. 
 
 He did not like the name of his purchase ; he 
 could not imagine what Cordelia meant ; and he 
 did not care to run the risk of being laughed at 
 for his ignorance. He consulted several learned 
 nautical men, and after having made them too 
 jolly to be captious, he asked them what a Cor- 
 delia was. 
 
 Most of them shook their heads. One of them 
 thought it was a foreign name for a small rope ; 
 another fancied it was the name of a chain of 
 mountains ; another was almost certain it was an
 
 132 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Italian word for ginger wine. The most learned of 
 the learned mariners, a grave and reverend signior 
 of sixty, asked for time to hunt up the word. 
 
 " Without committing myself, I reckon it's a word 
 for a sort of flower ; but I have some dictionaries 
 and things in my state-room, Nixon," said he, " and 
 you just hold on till to-morrow, and I'll tell you 
 what it means right straight away." 
 
 The old man met Nixon the next day with a 
 beaming countenance. 
 
 " I've discovered the secret, my boy. I've wormed 
 it out," he cried. " There ain't nothing like books 
 arter all when a man's in a quandary. And what 
 do you think, my boy : they've gone and spelt the 
 dashed name wrong. Blest if they ain't ! Sich 
 ignorance, when a man has only to look a thing 
 up ! C-o-r-d-e-l-i-e-r — that's how to spell it. It's a 
 nickname for a lot of old monks. That's what it is." 
 
 " Old monks ! " ejaculated Nixon scornfully. " I'll 
 have none of their sort on the stern of my ship, 
 you bet. Now, skipper, tell me what in your 
 opinion's the most beautiful thing in nater ? " 
 
 " Greenbacks, sonny. Greenbacks," replied the 
 maritime bookworm, who hailed from Boston city.
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 133 
 
 " P'raps you're right," drawled Nixon. " P'raps 
 you ain't. For my part, I prefers a plain, straight 
 up and down British sovereign ; but as you've said 
 ^ Greenbacks,' and as you've warned me off those 
 cussed monks, as ain't Ush, fowl, or good red 
 herring, why I'll get my craft rechristened The 
 Greenback, for I calculate she'll be about the next 
 most beautiful thing in nater when I takes her 
 out of dry dock." 
 
 Although he spoke jauntily, and with apparent 
 cheerfulness, about the purchase of the brigantine, 
 still a canker-worm was srnawincr at Nixon's heart. 
 It was ever present to his mind that he had ob- 
 tained the salvage money through no special skill 
 of his own, — that his meeting with the derelict 
 ship was merely a piece of good luck which might 
 have fallen to the least wide-awake of mariners. 
 This wounded his sense of vanity ; for, considering 
 that, according to his own estimate, he was the 
 most cunning tar who ever boxed a compass, it 
 was rather rough upon him that he had never 
 been able to save money by his cunning. And 
 the weakest point in Nixon's mental armour was 
 his vanity. He was vain of everything connected
 
 184 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 with hiiuselt' — vain of his conversational powers^ 
 vain of his adroitness, vain even of his personal 
 appearance, which was scarcely prepossessing. Any 
 one who thought it worth while to pander to 
 Nixon's vanity found little difficulty in smiting him 
 hip and thigh. 
 
 After the Greenback ' had taken on board, at St 
 John's, the cargo of fish and oil. Captain Nixon 
 determined he would go in for cheating on a higher 
 scale than heretofore. 
 
 " I'll fly foi- higher game, I will," he chuckled. 
 " I'll astonish the half- dead-and-alive sogers I come 
 across, I will. When I get my headpiece in 
 proper working order, you may bet your life 
 Captain Kidd will be a trifle to leeward in 
 some respects of Angus K Nixon. Yes, siree." 
 
 The Greenback's passage across the Atlantic 
 had been so rapid that the skipper found he 
 had scarcely sufficient time for planning any 
 special cheating campaign against the first shore 
 folk he would meet — the Sloughfordians. He was 
 almost sorry when he saw the Sloughford pilot- 
 boat bearing down upon him. 
 
 " Dang it ! " he muttered ; " say as they may,,
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 185 
 
 ' 'tis a good wind blows nobody ill.' A touch of 
 a nor'-easter would have given me a darned sight 
 more time to think out how I am to get clear 
 of this port with flying colours. 'Tis a bit strange, 
 it is, that a smart man like me thinks so tarna- 
 tion slow ; but when I think a thing out, you bet 
 there ain't many as can act as quick. I'd just 
 like, I would, to fleece every mother's son of 'em 
 in this 'ere port — and I'll do it, too, when my 
 brain gets into proper working order, after the 
 anchor's down." 
 
 When the pilot got on board he stood hard by 
 the wheel, and to Captain Dixon's delight, was 
 evidently lost in amazement at the brightness of 
 everything around him, and at the beauty of the 
 curve in the Greenback's decks, for even a sea 
 pilot can admire the line of beauty. After Angus 
 had, with a constrained eflbrt of modesty, declared 
 that there not many smarter men afloat than he, 
 the pair were silent for some minutes. 
 
 " What sort of a port is yourn ? " asked the 
 skipper, breaking the silence, " for I reckon I'm a 
 stranger here, and" — w4th a guffaw — "you mustn't 
 go risking your salvations trying to take me in."
 
 136 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 "Well then, sir, I may tell you, and tell no lie, 
 that it is the finest and honestest port that a 
 vessel ever dropped her anchor in. Fine-aisy goin' 
 people everywhere, and heaps of water. You could 
 lay afloat, in a manner of speaking, chock alongside 
 the quays ; but no doubt, captain, you'll be dis- 
 charging at a wharf, and there, at any rate, you'll 
 have twenty feet under you at low water." 
 
 " I'm glad to hear that, pilot ; for I wouldn't 
 care to let my craft touch the ground for a con- 
 sideration. She's that sharp, she is, she'd heel 
 right over if she tried to lay aground. That's so, 
 pilot." 
 
 " Ah, 'tis a beauty she is, captain. I fancies 
 this minute 'tis aboard a yacht I am ; and 'tisn't 
 every day you come across a fine, handsome gentle- 
 man like yourself even in the grandest of yachts. 
 I suppose now she's a purty strong draught of water, 
 your honour ? " 
 
 " You bet. She's a good thirteen feet aft this 
 minute." 
 
 " Well, that's a comfort anyhow, skipper ; for 
 you see we're paid accordin' to the draught of 
 water, and when you runs over twelve feet they
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 137 
 
 puts you on a higher scale. Thirteen feet ! I'd 
 have gone away contented with ten feet on my 
 ticket, I would ; but you see how aisy it is to be 
 mistaken ! There isn't a man born would think she'd 
 go over ten feet, to look at her in the trim she is." 
 
 Captain Nixon could scarely contain his rage. He 
 had been quite under the impression that pilotage 
 fees in Sloughford harbour were chargeable on the 
 tonnage of the ship, and he had unwittingly stated 
 his real draught of water. In ports where pilotage 
 fees are chargeable on the draught, it was quite a 
 common practice to give a false return, and both 
 harbour authorities and pilots were either too indol- 
 ent or too unsuspicious to "hook" a strange vessel. 
 A clever pilot generally contrived to ascertain the 
 real draught in a roundabout, inoffensive way. 
 
 " Guess you chaps here are too smooth-faced for 
 me, pilot," said Nixon, after a long pause. " If 
 your townies are all as honest as you, a fellow will 
 have to keep his weather eye open very wide." 
 
 " Honest, captain ! Why, there is as unsuspecting 
 and as decent a crowd along the quays of the town 
 as ever drew the breath of life. An infant might 
 play with 'em ! "
 
 138 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Nixon paused again and took a careful survey 
 of the pilot, who looked as childlike and bland 
 as the " Heathen Chinee." The pilot, thinking that 
 the skipper was evidently not quite satisfied about 
 the honesty and guilelessness of the Sloughfordians^ 
 burst out with, — 
 
 " You seems to doubt me, captain. I declare to- 
 you, if you were to lie asleep on the quays with 
 your mouth open, there isn't a soul in the place 
 would steal a tooth out of your head — and that's 
 what you can't say of every port." 
 
 Captain Nixon seemed more puzzled than ever. 
 " Those Sloughfordians," he thought, " are either 
 about as smart as they make 'em, or else they're 
 the most con-founded set of idiots that ever 
 breathed ; but trust me to take their bearings. I 
 rather reckon I'll get a trifle to wind'ard of them 
 before they see the last of the Greenback." 
 
 " Waal, pilot, I'll just go below and have a bit 
 of a wash-up before the tug boat gets a grip of our 
 rope."
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 LOST, OR NOT LOST? 
 
 HEN the brigantine was approaching the 
 town, a small boat came alongside, and 
 Madden and Ryan clambered up the 
 side of the Greenback. 
 
 "Waal," asked Captain Nixon, who was now, 
 with brightly scrubbed face, standing on the poop, 
 " what's your business, gents ? I'm the boss of this 
 show." 
 
 " Good morning, captain," said Madden. " We 
 represent Butler, Mr James Butler, ship-agent ; and,'^ 
 tendering a card, " we have come to ask you for 
 the ship's business." 
 
 " Oh ! " drawled Nixon. " That's your game, is 
 it ? Waal, gents, I ain't going to give you my 
 business, so you can hook it over the side as quick
 
 140 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 as you like. I was recommended at St John's to 
 another broker — Thornhill by name." 
 
 " Thornhill ?" exclaimed Madden, frowning. "Thorn- 
 hill ? Are you quite sure that's the name ? Thornhill !" 
 
 " Quite sure, sonny. I have got it wrote down 
 in black and white, I have." 
 
 " Thornhill," repeated Madden. Turning to his 
 fellow-clerk, who stood silently at his side, " Ryan, 
 have ever heard of a Mr Thornhill, a shipbroker in 
 Sloughford ? I need scarcely ask you, but I never 
 like to be too positive about things." 
 
 "Thornhill?" said Ryan, in a weak, faltering tone; 
 " no, I don't think I ever heard the name." 
 
 " Oh, you must be making some mistake, captain," 
 a,ddressing himself again to Nixon. " If there were 
 such a man, it would be impossible that neither of 
 us should not have heard of him." 
 
 " Don't you fret, sonny. I wasn't born yesterday, 
 nor the day before. I know my way about, I do. 
 Thornhill is the name. I have got it wrote down, 
 and Angus R. Nixon — that's me, stranger — ain't the 
 sort of man to make a mistake over a name." 
 
 "Well, I am puzzled, I confess," said Madden, 
 biting his thumb, and still frowning. " Thornhill, a
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 141 
 
 shipbroker, in Slough ford ! " Then, his countenance 
 beaming with a smile, " By gad ! you are right, 
 captain. Of course I know the man you mean. 
 Well, well, how stupid of me to forget ! You must 
 know, him, Ryan. Don't j^ou remember that poor,, 
 broken-down old fellow, that has a sort of dungeon 
 in an attic, which he calls an office ? Ah ! you 
 must know him. Up a little side street otf the 
 quay he lives — you have to mount a ladder to get 
 up to his attic. Think, man ! " 
 
 " Now that you bring his place to my recollec- 
 tion, of course I remember the man." 
 
 " Of course. Oh ! good morning. Captain Nixon," 
 with a loud, mocking laugh ; " I'd be very sorry 
 to take anything out of that poor buffer's way. 
 Poor old Thornhill ! I ought to have remembered 
 him at once — many a little job we gave him. But 
 you put him out of my thoughts when you spoke 
 of him as the ship agent who was about to trans- 
 act the business of a vessel like yours. Oh, give 
 him your business by all means, captain ! You'll 
 be as manna in the desert to the poor old fellow." 
 
 Nixon looked puzzled ; Madden's apparent sin- 
 cerity was fast telling upon him.
 
 142 IX ONE TOWX. 
 
 " Tell Thomhill we were aboard;*' went on Madden 
 volubly, " but would not dream of interfering with 
 him. Madden is my name, captain — Arthur Madden. 
 I think we had better be on the move, Ryan. Well, 
 _good day, captain. I hope you're not scant of breath 
 — you'll have plenty of exercise trying to mount to 
 that attic of your agent's ; it will be quite as good 
 as a little ramble in the country. I think the ladder 
 wants a rung or two near the top, but I'm not quite 
 sure about that. However, you had better be care- 
 ful, for it would be a serious matter for a heavy 
 man like you to miss your footing — a broken neck 
 is rather a large order. And," lowering his voice and 
 adopting a confidential and condescending tone, " he'll 
 want to make you stand him drinks till morning, 
 but you must not listen to his palaver. Of course 
 he can't advance you any money, but don't let that 
 trouble you. If you should want a few pounds when 
 you get your ship moored, don't be shy of coming to 
 our office for it. My governor, James Butler — you 
 will remember the name, I hope — wouldn't like to 
 see a strange skipper in a fix. Poor old Thomhill ! 
 Come along, Ryan. We are taking up too much of 
 Captain Nixon's valuable time."
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. ] 43 
 
 " Stop ! " cried Angus, completely befooled : " I 
 <loii't want to put the business of my craft into 
 the hands of any old, half-stai-ved broker, with an 
 office in an attic. I must see into this when I g-et 
 ashore." 
 
 " Charity, Captain Nixon, charity," interrupted 
 Madden. " You can take my word for it, you will 
 be performing a noble act of self-sacrifice." 
 
 " Self-sacrifice Ixj hanged ! Business is business 
 with Angus R. Nixon — that's me, gents. You just 
 hang on here, and I think I'll make up my mind 
 to fetch you my papers. You appear a pretty tidy 
 sort of man, you do, Mr Madden." 
 
 " Really, captain," smiling, " you are too compli- 
 mentary. I am sincerely obliged for your promise, 
 but my governor would not think of injuring a poor 
 old man like Thornhill. How stupid of us, Ryan, 
 to forget the name when Ciiptain Nixon mentioned 
 it ! No doubt he'll pull you thi*ough somehow at the 
 < 'ustom House, if he can manage to pick up any sort 
 of a decent coat ; but I must say it was not very nice 
 of your friends at St John's to give you the old 
 chap's name." 
 
 " My friends be hanged ! " cried Nixon. " I'll take
 
 144 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 precious good care I don't put any of my limbs out 
 of joint by climbing up a rickety ladder." 
 
 " Well, if you are quite determined not to go to 
 Thornhill, you can't do better than put your ship in 
 our charge, captain. I would be the last in the world 
 to interfere with your arrangements ; but it would 
 pain me to see a beautiful little craft like yours get 
 into bad hands." 
 
 " Come below, gents," said Nixon, leading the way 
 down the companion staircase. 
 
 Madden and Ryan followed the master of the 
 Greenback, and the trio soon were seated around 
 the cabin table. 
 
 " Anything strange or wonderful on the passage 
 over ? " inquired Madden, placing the ship's papers 
 in the breast-pocket of his coat. 
 
 " Waal, not much," drawled Nixon, with a self- 
 satisfied air. " We was in too big a hurry, we was. 
 to trouble about anything — except it might be dodg- 
 ing the ice for a couple of days. — Ah, by-the-bye,'^ 
 he cried, standing up, " we fell in with some wreck- 
 age. I rather expect the crew of the ship it once 
 belonged to are hobnobbing it now with old Davy 
 Jones. Got foul of an iceberg, I reckon ; and I ain't
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 145 
 
 generally far astray in my reckonings. Come on 
 deck, gents, and have a look at my bit of flotsam 
 and jetsam." 
 
 Madden was now anxious to get away from the 
 ship as quickly as possible, fearing Thornhill or one 
 of his clerks might board her at any moment and 
 create a little scene. However, he could not refuse 
 to have a look at the wreckage picked up by the 
 brigantine. So Nixon and the visitors went on deck. 
 
 Ryan remained near the companion in order to 
 speak to the pilot, and Madden and the skipper 
 walked to the main hatch. 
 
 On the deck, forward of the hatch, lay a large,, 
 ungainly slab of timber, apparently a portion of a 
 ship's stern. Madden, who was a trifle near-sighted, 
 stooped, and knelt on one knee in order to examine 
 some letters which w^ere painted on the timber. 
 
 Instantly he rose to his feet, alarm plainly de- 
 picted in his good-humoured face. 
 
 The master of the Greenback gazed in amazement 
 at him. 
 
 Ryan, who had been walking slowly towards 
 
 the main hatch, ran quickly forward when he saw 
 
 his fellow- clerk jump to his feet. 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 146 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " What's the matter ? " asked Nixon and Ryan 
 almost in the same breath. 
 
 " It is M'Cormick's ship ! " exclaimed Madden. 
 " Look, Ryan," pointing to the wreckage on the 
 deck. " WATER F, and underneath, SLO. That's 
 Water Nymph, of Sloughford. It must be." 
 
 Ryan stood staring stupidly at the letters painted 
 on the rough, splintered slab o£ timber. 
 
 Turninsr to Nixon, who could not understand the 
 cause of the sudden excitement. Madden, still point- 
 ing to the deck, explained, — 
 
 " There can be little doubt that you have picked 
 up a portion of the stem of a barque hailing from 
 this port. Do you really think she is lost ? " 
 
 " Think ! " said Nixon. " There ain't no thinking 
 necessary. She's down among the dead men as 
 sure as my name is Angus, and that's pretty sure, 
 stranger. I picked up a lot of broken timber that 
 was knocking about when we was a few days 
 out from St John's ; but I reckoned it wasn't no 
 manner of use in holding on to anything as 
 hadn't a clue to the vessel's name. I got rid of 
 all the lumber except this bit. The ship that 
 owned it once, you mark me, was broken into
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 147 
 
 matches by the ice — the coon that sailed her kept 
 too northerly a course, and perhaps a bad look-out. 
 That's what he did. You look a trifle skeered, you 
 •do, young man." 
 
 " Yes ; it gave me a bit of shock. Come along, 
 Ryan. Good day, Captain Nixon," grasping the mari- 
 ner's hand. " Our runner will meet you when you get 
 ushore, and show you our office. We must be off now." 
 
 Madden turned to Ryan as he got into the boat, 
 and said, — 
 
 " That's a strange piece of news, isn't it ? Now, 
 don't you get telling every one about it. Try 
 and keep your tongue quiet until to-morrow. 
 Here, take the oars ! I'll steer. Run her alongside 
 the first landing-place we meet. I must see old 
 Cheevers before he goes to press with to-morrow's 
 ' Gazette.' Pull man ! The New Bruns wicker will 
 be so busy mooring his ship, that it's a thousand 
 to one he'll forget all about his bit of wreckage 
 until he awakes in the morning. Old Cheevers 
 ought to make a little sensation in his dead-and- 
 alive old paper — bereaved and beautiful widow — 
 afflicted sister — gallant but ill-fated mariner. Poor 
 old Jack M'Cormick 1 "
 
 148 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " What a fellow you are, Madden ! " 
 
 " Pull, man ! We'll never get ashore at this rate. 
 I'd like to see old Thornhill when he finds how 
 beautifully we got to windward of him over the 
 Greenback. He was speaking about her to me 
 yesterday. You were very near selling me with 
 your stupid replies. ' Oh, yes ' — 'of course ' — 
 ' quite so.' Why can't you have more go in 
 you ? Why can't you pluck up courage for once 
 in your life ? " 
 
 " Thornhill will be punching your head one of 
 these fine days, if you don't look out." 
 
 " Will he ? Two could play at that game. Look 
 at that for muscle ! " laying his fingers on his arm. 
 " Pull harder, can't you ? Now then, a good, sweep- 
 ing stroke. That's it. Bravo ! Why, you'll be 
 developing muscle yourself one of these fine days 
 if you don't look out." 
 
 Ryan smiled feebly. His exertions with the oars 
 were telling upon him rapidly. His cheeks were 
 a bright red, and the sweat poured down his face. 
 Laying down the oars, he panted, — 
 
 "You must give me a breathing space. I'm 
 quite done up."
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 149 
 
 Madden did not offer to take the oars. He lolled 
 on the stern, toying with the tiller of the boat. 
 
 " I'm just thinking," said Ryan, wiping his brow 
 with his handkerchief, " that the governor will 
 kick up a deuce of a row if he hears of the way 
 you go on down the river. That New Brunswick 
 skipper will be so vexed that he'll tell Thornhill 
 all you said about him." 
 
 " Not he," smiled Madden. " You just leave Blue 
 Nose to me. I'll make it right with him , this 
 evening before he pays a visit to the shore. I 
 know the sort of man I have to deal with. I 
 certainly shouldn't like the governor to be upset 
 by any complaints from Thornhill. The governor 
 is too absurdly particular. Conscience makes a 
 regular coward of him. If it hadn't been for my 
 bounce, we'd never have got the GreenhacJcs papers." 
 
 " Talking of conscience," said Ryan shyly ; " might 
 I ask if you have a spark of it left ? " 
 
 " Why, what on earth do you mean ? " 
 
 " You know what I mean. Maggie is regularly 
 breaking her heart." Lifting his head and looking 
 defiantly at Madden : " You have no right to make 
 Sb fool of her. I tell you I won't stand it."
 
 1 50 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 He gripped the oars and began to pull slowl}^ 
 to the shore. 
 
 For a moment Madden felt, and looked, uneasy. 
 
 " Don't be interfering in what doesn't concern 
 you," he cried, recovering himself. " What business 
 have you to meddle w^ith my affairs ? " 
 
 " What business have I ? " laughed the other 
 scornfully. " I'll tell you what business I have. 
 You have led her to believe you were going to^ 
 marry her, and for some time you have been gradu- 
 ally trying to back out of your promises — I know 
 the reason why. You need not think you'll frighten 
 me now by glaring at me in that way. I'm too* 
 much in earnest. I tell you if you break my 
 sister's heart, I'll be her avenger." 
 
 " You ! " ' 
 
 " Yes. I." 
 
 " You are mad, Ryan. You don't know what 
 you're saying, man. Look out ! Quick. You'll 
 run right into the landing-place. Back water — 
 quick I "
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 CONTAINS AN EXTRACT FROM THE " SLOUGHFORD 
 GAZETTE," AND RECORDS SOME CONVERSATION. 
 
 iN Princes Street were situated the offices 
 of the rival newspapers, the " Sloughford 
 Weekly Gazette" and the "Sloughford 
 Weekly Chronicle " — not that their rivalry was of 
 the ordinary kind, both journals being almost non- 
 political. 
 
 The " Gazette " lived by the shipping interest ; the 
 " Chronicle " appealed chiefly to the shopkeepers and 
 to the farmers who dwelt in the neighbourhood of 
 Sloughford. The " Gazette " prided itself on its 
 intimate knowledge of shipping affairs. The 
 " Chronicle " occasionally attempted to be scholarly, 
 and when in this mood it endeavoured to secure 
 an aristocratic audience ; but as the only aristocratic,
 
 1.52 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 or would-be aristocratic, families of which the 
 town, or its neighbourhood, could boast were, or had 
 been, connected in some way with the sea, the 
 "Chronicle" in appealing to them was nothing if not 
 delicately flavoured with salt, and usually came to 
 grief over some intricate nautical point. The 
 " Gazette," on the other hand, occasionally at- 
 tempted to discuss agricultural affairs, and when it 
 did so it fared no better than the " Chronicle " dis- 
 cussing matters maritime. It was on such occasions 
 that editorial venom was exhibited in its most 
 dangerous aspect ; and sometimes the jeers and the 
 sneers of the rival editors resulted in quarrels which 
 threatened to assume alarming proportions. 
 
 The editor of the " Gazette," who was the pro- 
 prietor of his paper, avowed an infinite contempt 
 for the editor of the " Chronicle," who was also 
 proprietor of his paper; and the latter gentleman 
 avowed an infinite contempt for the former. They 
 never met socially, and when business brought 
 them together, the only difficulty was to discover 
 which of the Sloughford men of letters had suc- 
 ceeded in moulding all his features into the more 
 bitter and comprehensive sneer.
 
 A MESSAGE FEOM THE DEEP. 153 
 
 The day after the Greenback arrived in the 
 ."Slough was publication day at the office of the 
 •" Sloughford Weekly Gazette," and, prompted by 
 Madden, Mr Cheevers, the editor, penned a florid 
 and tearful quarter of a column anent the supposed 
 loss of the Water Nymph. 
 
 " The New Brunswick schooner Greenback, com- 
 manded and owned by Captain Angus R. Nixon, a 
 gentlemanly and intelligent master-mariner, brings 
 -us a piece of intelligence which will cast a gloom 
 over at least two happy homesteads. Captain Nixon 
 picked up in mid-Atlantic a portion of a ship's stern 
 having painted upon it ' Water N ' and ' Slo.' It would 
 be idle, nay, criminal, on our part were we to shut 
 our eyes to the awful gravity which attaches itself 
 to this wooden messenger from the deep. It will be 
 remembered by such of our readers as take an interest 
 in maritime affairs, that the barque Water Nymph, 
 commanded by that gallant and daring seaman John 
 M'Cormick, sailed, full of high hope, out of this port 
 on the 15th of March. Since that date no intelligence 
 of the barque has reached Sloughford. Many were of 
 opinion that it was rash of Captain M'Cormick to 
 brave at such a period of the year — when the frozen
 
 154 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 waters of the north were breaking up, sending across 
 the bosom of the ocean countless masses of drifting* 
 ice — the dangers of the sad Atlantic. To be brief, we 
 fear — it has ever been our motto not to mince matters 
 — the ill-fated barque is no more — her last long voy- 
 age has terminated. We hope, we earnestly pray, 
 that our conviction may prove an erroneous one, our 
 conclusions hasty and ill-timed ; but, nevertheless, we 
 would say to all — and their name in Sloughford is 
 legion — who take an interest in the fate of the gallant 
 M'Cormick, be prepared for the worst ! We may add 
 — should our surmise prove itself to have been built 
 upon a solid foundation of fact — there is little room 
 for doubt that Captain M'Cormick leaves his (must 
 we say it ?) bereaved widow, and his grief-stricken 
 half-sister comfortably, nay, amply provided for. 
 This should afford them some little consolation in 
 their hour of tribulation. The Water Nymiph, as is 
 pretty generally knowm, was the sole property of the 
 brave but ill-starred M'Cormick, and we understand 
 she is fully insured." 
 
 Richard Dalton walked into Butler's office 
 about eleven o'clock on the day that the " Gazette "
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 155 
 
 announced the supposed loss of the Water Nyin2^h. 
 He had come straight from his ship, and had not 
 heard anything of the news brought by the Greenhack. 
 
 Since he had made up his mind to see Mrs M'Cor- 
 mick never again, he had been quite restless and 
 miserable. In the evenings he usually came on 
 deck, and looking over the bulwarks on the high 
 white poop of the Atalanta, his eyes would turn 
 towards the bridge, associated foi* him with me- 
 mories of kisses, of vows made but to be broken. 
 Then gradually, dreading lest any one might ^ob- 
 ser^•e him, he would gaze, full of bitter thoughts, 
 at a white speck visible high up the Bankside 
 slope through the branches of budding trees. He 
 seldom went ashore. He had no desire to renew 
 his acquaintance with any one in Sloughford. Hi& 
 only visitors were Madden and Butler ; the former 
 came almost every day on business, the latter twa 
 or three times a week to have a chat. 
 
 Dalton learned from the shipbroker the history of 
 Sloughford for the years he had been absent, and of 
 the people in whom he once had an interest. He 
 found that nearly all those he had known when a 
 lad had either gone over to the great majority, or had
 
 156 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 left the ever-changing town. Once he mustered up 
 •courage to ask Butler how M'Cormick and his wife 
 got on together — if he thought the latter was happy 
 and contented. 
 
 " Happy ! " said Butler, somewhat evasively. " Why 
 should she not be happy ? She has everything a 
 woman who is not over- ambitious could wish for — 
 a pretty house, plenty of money, and good wishes of 
 everyone that knows her. I grant you," he added, 
 " I could wish, for M'Cormick's sake and for his 
 wife's sake, that Susan Neville had not married a 
 man who has lived the best part of his life in an 
 atmosphere so different from hers, and who is so 
 much older than she is ; but one can't have every- 
 thing in this world. I certainly think she is not 
 deserving of pity, my dear fellow," he continued, 
 seeing that Dalton did not offer to speak. " Of 
 course I know all about the old affair between 
 you both; but you were quite a youngster then, 
 and young men get over these troubles. As for 
 women," he smiled — " well, women easily make up 
 their mind to forget. Are you satisfied now ? " 
 
 " Oh, Mr Butler," said Dalton, a little uneasily , 
 ^' you must not think I troubled you with questions
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 157 
 
 about Mrs M'Cormick because I was thinking of 
 what is past and gone for ever. I was anxious^ 
 to hear from you, who are such an old friend, if 
 M'Cormick treated her well — you know what I 
 mean. Her husband used to be looked upon as a 
 most violent-tempered man. But there, I suppose 
 marriage tones one down. Of course it is no 
 business of mine," he added, as if he were vexed 
 with himself. "But I am so glad to hear she has 
 no cause to be sorry for her bargain." 
 
 Butler was on the point of saying he feared ^she 
 had often cause to regret her act of self-sacrifice,, 
 but it struck him it would be highly injudicious 
 to make any such statement to a former lover of 
 Susan, and he wisely held his peace. 
 
 When Dalton entered Butler's office the day of 
 the announcement in the " Gazette," he was sur- 
 prised to find the ordinarily placid shipbroker in 
 a state of great excitement. 
 
 "This looks like bad news, shocking news; but 
 what a shame it is for the ' Gazette ' to put hastily 
 forward the worst side of the case ! There is cer- 
 tainly a brighter side. Don't you think so, Dalton ? "
 
 158 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " Really I don't know what you are talking about. 
 What has the ' Gazette ' — I should have thought the 
 old rag had died a natural death long ago — been 
 doing now to upset you ? " 
 
 " Is it possible you have not heard the news ? 
 Everyone on the quay is discussing it." 
 
 " No. I have heard no new^s this morning that 
 interests me." 
 
 " Not heard about the Water JSfymph ? " 
 
 " What about her ? What is it ? " 
 
 Dalton's heart gave a violent throb at the mention 
 of M'Cormick's ship. 
 
 " Read for yourself," handing him a copy of the 
 " Gazette." 
 
 Dalton hastily and excitedly ran his eye through 
 the paragraph. Then, with beating heart he read 
 the oddly-worded quarter of a column slowdy from 
 beginning to end. Laying down the newspaper, he 
 said, — 
 
 " I consider that the most stupid and unfair speci- 
 men I have seen for many a day, of jumping to 
 conclusions." 
 
 "I am glad indeed that you think so. There is 
 a glimmer of hope at any rate."
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 159 
 
 " Of course there is." He tried hard to prevent 
 himself from thinking that possibly there was little 
 hope. " Surely, if a piece of planking is picked up 
 at sea, it does not argue that the ship it may 
 have belonged to has gone down. What the New 
 Brunswicker picked up may not be a portion of 
 the Water Nymph's stern at all." 
 
 " There is a strong probability, though, that it is.' 
 
 " I grant you that. But, supposing the barque is 
 lost, why conclude the crew are lost ? It is absurd. 
 It is grossly unfair to shock the feelings of M'Cor- 
 mick's relatives, by publishing such a piece of 
 rubbish. I wonder some one hasn't srone to the 
 ■' Gazette ' office and wrung the editor's neck." 
 
 " Oh, you must not be too hard on old Cheevers. 
 He has to make his paper sell." 
 
 " It is too bad, too bad," Dal ton murmured, his 
 thoughts now far away from Mr Cheevers, and the 
 " Sloughford Gazette." " I hope," he added, after a 
 momentary pause, " she — I mean Mrs M'Cormick — 
 has not seen this," taking up the newspaper again, 
 and glancing through the paragraph. 
 
 " I am afraid she has. I believe she takes Mr 
 -Cheever's paper. However, I sent Helen — my niece
 
 160 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 — over to Bankside immediately after breakfast to- 
 break the news to her in case she had not heard it 
 already. I fear Helen was too late. I wish I could 
 have gone over to Woodbine Cottage myself, but I 
 am tied to the office to-day. Madden and Ryan are 
 at the Custom House, and Murphy has gone down 
 the river. Women always say or do something 
 foolish at a time like this. Look here, Dalton, I 
 know you don't care to renew your acquaintance with 
 Susan M'Cormick ; but you might put conventionality 
 aside for to-day, and run across to Bankside." 
 
 Dalton who had been standing moodily at the desk 
 bit his lip at the shipbroker's proposal. He would 
 like to go, and yet he felt it would be unwise. He 
 would not care to meet her at such a time, and 
 perhaps she would be displeased if he went. Then 
 he reflected that Miss Cadogan was with Susan, and 
 the presence of a stranger — for he had not attempted 
 to renew his acquaintance with Butler's niece — 
 would prevent any awkwardness from arising. He 
 might be of some real use ; he might be able to 
 make Susan more easy in her mind. 
 
 It would be idle to deny that Dalton experienced 
 a wild thrill of hope at the prospect of M'Cormick
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 161 
 
 being no more ; but he had the grace to check tlie 
 feehng instantly, and to despise himself for having 
 entertained it for a moment. Besides, he remembered 
 what Butler had, somewhat untruthfully, told him 
 respecting the relations between Susan and her 
 husband ; and in any case, thought Dalton, this piece 
 of news would shock a wife terribly, even supposing 
 she was not violently attached to her husband. And 
 what reason had he to think she did not love him ? 
 He had better do as Butler suggested. 
 
 Accordingly, giving the shipbroker an assurance 
 that he would endeavour to convince Mrs M'Cormick 
 that there was no need to attach any importance to 
 the surmises of the " Gazette," Dalton set out for 
 Woodbine Cottage. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DALTON AND MRS M'CORMICK RECEIVE A SHOCK. 
 
 N order to reach Woodbine Cottage, Dal- 
 ton had to cross the old wooden bridge. 
 As he passed through the gates a dull, 
 depressing feeling, born of memory and disap- 
 pointed hopes, seized hold of him and saddened 
 him beyond measure. He was now standing upon 
 the spot where Susan and he had lingered, had 
 kissed each other the night before he had left his 
 native town, many years ago. For a moment he 
 stood still. 
 
 " I cannot face her," he mused, " and talk plati- 
 tudes about hope and resignation. What does it 
 matter to me if M'Cormick is no more — what does 
 it matter to me ? Oh, no, no, no, a thousand times 
 no ! I must not harbour such thoughts," putting
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 163 
 
 out his hands as if to ward off some evil spirit. 
 He walked forward again, endeavouring to think 
 of something, anything, which would take his 
 mind away from the Water Nymjjh and every one 
 connected with her. But the effort was in vain. 
 He found himself constantly wondering could the 
 " Gazette's " surmises be correct ; and, if they were 
 correct, was it possible that after a time Susan 
 would listen to him, would give him some faint 
 hope of future happiness. Did she still care for 
 him ? Sometimes he fancied she did. Sometimes 
 he fancied she did not. But what was the use 
 oi all this weighing of impossibilities ? Was it not 
 his intention and desire now to quiet her mind 
 by assurances of the safety of the barque, and how 
 could he hope to simulate a confident tone if he 
 allowed himself to drift into thoughts and indulge 
 in hopes which he felt were, under the circum- 
 stances, unworthy of any honourable man ? 
 
 In this unquiet frame of mind he reached the 
 gate of Woodbine Cottage. 
 
 As he walked up the gravelled path leading to 
 the house, he was surprised to see Arthur Madden 
 standing at the window. A lady stood alongside
 
 164 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Madden. Dalton had no doubt this was Mrs 
 M'Cormick, but he kept his eyes fixed on the 
 ground. 
 
 When he entered the sitting-rooin he found 
 Madden was alone. 
 
 " She has gone away," reflected Dalton sadly. 
 " She will not see me. Perhaps it is all for 
 the best." 
 
 " I am surprised to And you here, Mr Madden," 
 he said, shaking Arthur's hand. " Your governor 
 told me about an hour ago that you were up to 
 your eyes in business at the Custom House," seat- 
 ing himself on a low chair near the window. 
 
 " So I was. I ought to be there now, I know ;. 
 but I heard some news at the Custom House,, 
 and as I had a punt at the quay, I thought I'd 
 just pull across to Bankside and tell the good 
 people here the latest intelligence. Miss Cadogan 
 was in the room when you opened the gate. She 
 has gone upstairs to Mrs M'Cormick." 
 
 Then it was not Susan he had seen at the win- 
 dow. The discovery caused him to feel, he could 
 not tell why, strangely happy. 
 
 " You said you came here with some news, Mr
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 165 
 
 Madden. Might I ask what tlie news is about ? 
 I fancied you were going to tell me." 
 
 " Of course I was. The news is about the Water 
 Nymph. What other news could interest Slough- 
 ford to-day ? We all seem to have Water Nymiph 
 on the brain. — Hallo ! " he cried, " there's that vessel 
 tacking again. I must catch her name this time," 
 lifting an opera-glass to his eyes, and leaning on 
 the sill of the half-open window. 
 
 What could Madden's news be ? Why had he 
 hesitated to tell him ? It was something, perhaps, 
 which would make him happy or miserable for 
 ever. Madden must have some important intelli- 
 i^'ence to relate, or he would not have come across 
 specially with it. Had the barque arrived safely ; 
 or had her crew been picked up ? Or had the 
 ^' Gazette's " surmises been confirmed ? What did that 
 fellow at the window mean by his silence ? Was 
 he tantalising him purposely ? He dared not show 
 Madden he was over-anxious to know what the 
 news was. Madden would perhaps guess the cause 
 of his anxiety, and he would not wish him to do 
 so for worlds. And yet why should he not ask 
 him again ? Was not every one curious about
 
 166 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 the matter? Had not Madden himself declared 
 so a few minutes ago ? He would ask him again. 
 He could not sit there idly, his fate, it might be,, 
 trembling^ in the balance. 
 
 He moved uneasily in his chair, and looked up 
 at Madden, who was still at the window, tiu-ning 
 the opera - glass slowly round as if to catch sight 
 of some moving object. 
 
 " Well, w^ell," cried the shipbroker's clerk, almost 
 flinging the opera-glass from his hand, and turning- 
 round. " This is positively tormenting ! " 
 
 " What is it ? " asked Dalton. 
 
 "A vessel is beating up the river, and I just 
 caught a glimpse of her name, but am not quite 
 sure of it 3^et. She's on the othei tack now, so 
 I must wait a bit. I wish there was some regu- 
 lation to make ships have their names painted on 
 the bows." 
 
 " No doubt if the Board of Trade heard the pre- 
 sent regulations were a source of inconvenience or 
 discomfort to you, they would at once alter the 
 whole system of navigation," said Dalton, now com- 
 pletely out of temper. 
 
 " I didn't know you went in for such sledge-
 
 A MESSAGE FKOM THE DEEP. 167 
 
 hammer sarcasm," rejoined Madden, with a good- 
 humoured laugh. " Do you suffer from liver ? " 
 
 Dalton burst into laughter. 
 
 " That is the second time to-day that I have 
 been asked about my liver. Have you seen Mrs 
 M'Cormick since you came ? " 
 
 "No. Miss Cadogan tells me that she is dread- 
 fully upset at the news ; but she promises to come 
 downstairs in a few moments." 
 
 "You have some fresh news for her. You said 
 so when I came in. What is it, might I ask ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ! I had almost forgotten. I am rather 
 inclined to look upon it as important too — but I 
 have lost sight of my ship." 
 
 " Bother your ship ! " 
 
 " If I am right about her, I think, with a little 
 skill, a good sensation poster might be got out by 
 the ' Gazette.' " 
 
 " Oh, damn the ' Gazette 1 ' " 
 
 " What an impatient fellow you are. You would 
 take an interest in the ship, too, if you had only 
 the patience to hear me out — that is, if my eyes 
 did not deceive me a moment ago." 
 
 " Why ? What do you mean ? " cried Dalton,,
 
 168 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 rising from his chair, a vague terror possessing 
 him. 
 
 " Oh, don't look as if you had seen a ghost ! 
 Come here." 
 
 Dalton went to the window. 
 
 Madden, still holding the opera - glass by his 
 side, pointed to the river. " Do you see those 
 ships there ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 There were some half-dozen vessels, large and 
 small, beating up the stream with the flood. 
 
 " One of them, unless I'm very much mistaken 
 - — there she goes ! " he cried, lifting the opera-glass 
 to his eyes. " Now then," following the movements 
 of the ship. " Round you go ! That's it ! Lovely ! 
 . . . . I'm right," he cried, looking curiously at 
 Dalton — " Water Nymph." 
 
 " Water Nymph ! " shouted Dalton, seizing the 
 opera-glass. " The Water Nymph in the river again!" 
 
 A low cry startled both men. Dalton knew the 
 cry came from the woman he loved. He turned 
 swiftly round. 
 
 The folding-doors had been opened as Madden 
 cried out the name of the ship.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 IN WHICH THE LANDLADY OF THE " BOLD DRAGOON 
 COMPETELY LOSES HER TEMPER. 
 
 HE next day a woman draped in black 
 toiled up the slope to Woodbine Cot- 
 
 tage. 
 
 Arriving at the door, she knocked 
 loudly, and gave the bell a vigorous tug. 
 
 " Is your mistress at home ? " she inquired, as 
 the servant opened the door. 
 
 " Yes, ma'am ; but — " 
 
 " But what ? Tell her I wish to speak to her. 
 You know me, don't you ? " 
 
 "Yes, ma'am." 
 
 " Well, don't stand staring at me. Let me pass. 
 I know my way," entering the hall and opening 
 the door of the sitting-room. 
 
 The servant mounted the stairs, evidently angered 
 and bewildered.
 
 170 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " The way that girl stared at me — impudent 
 hussy ! " fumed Miss Walsh, seating herself in a 
 comfortable chair. " One would think I w^as a 
 natural curiosity. I hope her mistress will not keep 
 me waiting long. I wish that stupid man, Madden,, 
 had kept his word, and found out all about John'& 
 will for me — it would have saved me this tiresome 
 walk. I'll give Mistress Susan a piece of my mind 
 if she is not straightforward." 
 
 Mrs M'Cormick was sitting at the window of her 
 dressing-room when the servant entered and told 
 her that Miss Walsh was downstairs. She had not 
 yet recovered from the excitement and the shock 
 of the previous day. Her cheeks were deadly white,, 
 and her eyes seemed unnaturally large and dark. 
 
 The previous day Madden had reached the house 
 only a few minutes before Dalton. He was sur- 
 prised and delighted to find Helen alone in the sit- 
 ting-room, but he had barely time to say that he 
 w^as the bearer of some important news for Mrs 
 M'Cormick when he saw Dalton approaching the 
 house. Helen went upstairs when Dalton's knock 
 was heard at the hall door, and Madden felt he 
 owed the newcomer a grudge for the interruption,.
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 171 
 
 for he had almost plucked up courage to declare a 
 second time his passion for Helen. 
 
 He guessed that the master of the Atalanta was 
 still in love with Mrs M'Cormick, and he deter- 
 mined to tantalise him by saying there was further 
 news about the Water Nymph, and he would then 
 seek some opportunity of shifting the conversa- 
 tion. 
 
 At first he had been staring through the opera- 
 glass simply for the purpose of keeping Dalton in 
 suspense, but he was himself excited when he saw 
 something which looked like Water Nyiii'ph on the 
 stern of a vessel beating up the river. 
 
 "I'll give Dalton a bit of a shock," he thought, 
 " by informing him the Water Nyr)ii)h is in the 
 Slough. It won't be a lie — although it won't be 
 exactly the truth — so he can't kick up a row with 
 me afterwards. If he does, I can assure him I dis- 
 tinctly stated this craft was a brig. What a lark 
 it will be to watch his face when I tell him ! I 
 know the fellow would give his eyes to be certain 
 the barque was in Davy's locker." 
 
 Susan had seen the statement in the " Sloughford 
 Gazette " before Helen's arrival. Although she had
 
 172 IX OXE TOWN. 
 
 hoasted to her husband that she had no belief in 
 presentiments, yet she had been indulging in them 
 for several days, and when she read the newspaper 
 she had sustained only a dull, stupefying shock. 
 For some time she had been unaccountably uneasy. 
 Her husband's words and manner the day she had 
 last seen him had impressed her strongly, and 
 filled her with forebodings of evil. The letter 
 which Dalton had given her, and which she had 
 read over and over again, as if it had been her 
 first love-letter, filled her ears with the despairing 
 cry of a man w^ho knew his end was not far off. 
 In the letter M'Cormick made but one reference 
 to the future, and that reference was ominous — 
 it concerned his will. 
 
 When she laid down the " Gazette," she felt as- 
 sured her husband was no more. For a long time 
 she sat thinking calmly of her unromantic married 
 life. One by one all M'Cormick's good qualities 
 and actions stood out in bold contrast with his 
 faults and failings. The shadow of death shut out 
 the ill deeds, and as the shadow faded gradually 
 his good deeds passed before her mental vision in 
 glaring colours. Suddenly she burst into a pas-
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. I7«i 
 
 sionate fit of weeping, disturbed only by Helen's 
 advent. 
 
 They talked together over the news brought by 
 the Greenback, and gradually Mrs M'Cormick ex- 
 perienced a sense of relief. The news might not 
 be true. Helen's uncle considered no importance 
 should be attached to it. Perhaps she had been 
 fretting without cause. 
 
 Then Madden's arrival caused a diversion, and soon 
 afterwards Helen brought Susan word that Dalton 
 was also below, and that both men wished to see her. 
 
 A reaction had now set in. A wild, feverish hope 
 surged within Susan's breast. She knew she was 
 wicked beyond measure to indulge in such a hope 
 even for a moment. But memories of her old, her 
 only, lover would not be driven out. 
 
 She started violently from her chair, a crimson 
 glow suffusing her cheeks. With a sob in her throat, 
 she made some inarticulate remark to Helen, and 
 led her silently down the stairs. She beckoned 
 Helen to follow her into the sitting-room at the 
 back, for she could not yet face one of the visitors. 
 She must first succeed in banishing from her mind 
 all guilty thoughts of him.
 
 174 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Through the folding- doors she could hear faintly 
 the voices of the men in the outer room. At last 
 she fancied she was prepared to meet her old lover, 
 and she silently opened the folding-door. As she did, 
 she heard Madden's words and Dalton's cry — a cry of 
 wild despair, which she could not restrain herself from 
 echoing; and she remembered nothing more for hours. 
 
 When Susan had recovered sufficiently, she learned 
 the truth — at least what Sloughford accepted as the 
 truth — from Helen's lips, namely, that a boat be- 
 longing to the Water Nymph had been picked up, 
 keel upwards ; and there could be now little doubt 
 the barque and all on board had been lost. 
 
 A doctor was sent for, and he recommended an 
 immediate change of scene, and suggested a neigh- 
 bouring watering-place. 
 
 Susan had been told she must not for some time 
 see anyone who might excite her or cause her to 
 brood over her husband's death. She knew it was 
 unwise to go down downstairs to Miss Walsh, but she 
 thought she was sufficiently calm to see her, and 
 she felt it might appear unkind if she were to allow 
 her husband's sister to go away without a word 
 sympathy.
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 175 
 
 When she entered the sitting-room, her visitor's 
 mourning caused Susan to experience a horrible 
 sensation — it brought the fact of M'Cormick's loss 
 home to her in a swift, deadly way. Any lingering 
 doubts she might have entertained were swept away 
 by the crape and bombazine. 
 
 Then she found herself wondering how her visitor 
 had managed to deck herself out in mourning so 
 very rapidly. She held out her hand in silence, and 
 she could not repress a shudder as she felt the clasp 
 of Miss Walsh's black-cotton gloved fingers. 
 
 " This is terrible news, isn't it ?" said Miss Walsh, 
 lifting her veil. " Poor, dear, John ! " She made a 
 desperate but unsuccessful attempt to burst into tears 
 -as she spoke. 
 
 " Yes," said Susan, sitting down. " But I beseech 
 you not to give way now. Do not let us talk 
 over what has happened. The shock has made me 
 very weak, and I have been forbidden to speak about 
 what has happened, for a little time ; but I could not 
 let you go away without seeing you." 
 
 " You are kindness itself," sneered Miss Walsh. 
 '* I am not going to distress you by any exhibition of 
 natural grief. Poor, dear John ! It relieves me a
 
 176 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 littlo to give vent to my feelings," patting her eyes 
 with a black-bordered handkerchief. " There, I'm 
 better now," with a prolonged snuffle ; '' and I must 
 ask you, painful as it is for me to touch upon 
 such a subject, for some information about my poor 
 dear brother's worldly affairs." 
 
 " Unfortunately, you could not come to a worse 
 person. At present I am not in a position to give 
 you any information." 
 
 " You decline to do so. Very well, madam, I 
 must only endeavour to compel you. I came here 
 with every intention of being reasonable, but allow 
 me to tell you I am not going to be snubbed by 
 you or by anyone else." 
 
 " It is very wrong to speak to me in that fashions- 
 Miss Walsh. I have no desire to be uncommuni- 
 cative, but the fact is, I cannot tell you anything 
 now. You have no right to distress me. I told 
 you I was far from being well. Perhaps if you 
 called on Mr Butler — " 
 
 " Rubbish ! " interrupted Miss Walsh. " You are 
 the person to give me the information I require. 
 You are well aware my brother made a will. Can 
 you deny that ? "
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 177 
 
 " I don't want to deny or to assert anything, but 
 I must decline to carry on a conversation of this 
 kind." 
 
 " Oh ! must you, indeed ? You know well where 
 the will is, and what is in it to ; and you think you 
 can play with me ; but I am no child, madam." 
 
 " This is very absurd, Miss Walsh. I cannot 
 understand you. Why will you not believe me ? 
 It would be of little advantage to hide anything 
 from you — and is it not rather heartless to talk 
 of wills ? We cannot be certain of anything yet. 
 We must and we ought to have hope." 
 
 " Oh ! the barque is lost right enough ; and well 
 you know it. There is no use in trying to wriggle 
 out of the truth in that way." 
 
 Miss Walsh's brutality aroused whatever was com- 
 bative in Susan, and disgusted her beyond measure. 
 She had endeavoured to be gentle and forbearing 
 with her visitor, feeling that a sister's grief should 
 be respected, and that the sudden shock had upset 
 Miss Walsh ; but it was no longer possible to sup- 
 pose that her visitor possessed a spark of sisterly 
 feeling, and Susan made up her mind to leave the 
 room without further parley. 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 178 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Rising, she said, in as quiet a tone as she could 
 command, — 
 
 "I do not see that anything but unpleasantness 
 can result by prolonging our conversation." 
 
 " Then you absolutely refuse to tell me anything ? " 
 cried Miss Walsh furiously, rising with a bound from 
 her chair, an ugly glitter in her stony eyes. 
 
 " I have nothing to tell you at present." 
 
 " I'll let you see whether you have or not. You 
 want to cheat me out of my rights. That's what 
 you want to do. It's all a game between yourself 
 and your friend Butler, but I'll find a way to make 
 both of you speak." 
 
 Susan had now opened the door of the sitting- 
 room. 
 
 "Ah! you're running off, are you? All right, my 
 lady," following Susan into the hall, and shouting 
 and shaking her fist as Mrs M'Cormick tremblingly 
 ascended the staircase. " I knoAv all about your 
 goings on lately w4th young Dalton. I'll make a 
 show of you all over Sloughford. I'll drag your 
 name in the dirt ! " 
 
 It is impossible to say what further threats Miss 
 Walsh might have delivered herself of had she re-
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 179 
 
 mained longer at the foot of the stairs, but suddenly 
 she found herself thrust along the hall. Before she 
 ■could arm herself against an attack, the hall door 
 opened, and with another thrust Miss Walsh was 
 propelled by Mrs M'Cormick's muscular maid into 
 the outer air.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 NIXON FINDS HIMSELF IN STKANGE COMPANY, 
 AND BEHOLDS HIS FATE. 
 
 !HE Greenback was not ordered into a 
 discharging berth until the second day 
 after her arrival in the Slough. 
 The master of the schooner was exceedingly 
 wroth when he discovered that Madden had be- 
 fooled him about Thornhill. However, the ship- 
 broker's clerk was confident he knew the temperament 
 the man with whom he had to deal, and when he 
 saw the Greenback alongside the wharf, he went 
 on board with a swaggering gait and a jaunty air. 
 He demonstrated to Nixon the unwisdom of 
 making a row : such a course, he argued, could 
 not mend matters, and every one in Sloughford
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 181 
 
 would only laugh at the manner in which the 
 stranger had been taken in, if the storv once be- 
 <3ame public property. 
 
 " If you cannot make up your mind to forgive 
 me," Madden went on volubly, " there is nothing 
 for it but to hand over your ship's papers to 
 Thornhill — of course we would not dream of de- 
 taining them in our office against your will. After 
 all, you will find we can do as well for your in- 
 terest as anyone else, and I shall take care that 
 the little subterfuge of mine shall be a strict secret 
 between ourselves. You must admit, Captain Nixon, 
 that competition is so keen in these days a man 
 should have his wits about him and be up to 
 -all sorts of tricks and dodges in order to do any 
 good. Moreover you are not the injured party — 
 if anybody is really injured — in this case. Thorn- 
 hill is the man who would have the most cause 
 for complaint, but he need never be the wiser if we 
 both agree, like sensible men, to hold our tongues." 
 
 After some deliberation, Nixon decided upon 
 accepting Madden's view of the situation. 
 
 " Waal, let it be ! I'll forgive your little trick, 
 if 1 can't forget it. You were a size too sharp
 
 182 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 for me the day afore yesterday ; but I wasn't pre- 
 pared for falling foul in this forgotten corner of 
 the globe of any but the most dead-and-alive set 
 of sogers. I was off my guard, I was, and that 
 is how you got to win'ard of me so mighty easy. 
 But don't you go calculating, young man, you're 
 going to find a softy again in Angus R. Nixon. 
 If you do, you'll discover yourself a long w^ay to 
 leeward in your calculations." 
 
 " Oh, Captain Nixon, I'd want to be a thorough 
 stupid if I did not know I was dealing with a 
 man whose head is as hard as hickory. But even 
 Solomon himself, and those daring seafarers, the wise 
 men of Gotham, were sometimes caught napping." 
 
 Nixon was flattered at being compared with 
 Solomon and with any collection of wise men. He 
 had never heard of the Gotham wiseacres, but as 
 Madden declared they were seafarers, he felt there 
 was a professional as well as a mental relationship 
 existing between them and him. 
 
 " I rather like you, young man," said the skip- 
 per, after making up his mind he would allow 
 the Greenback's papers to remain in Butler's hands. 
 "It ain't often I takes a fancy to new^ hands, but
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 183 
 
 your headpiece seems to be screwed on pretty 
 tight, it do ; and that's what suits me down to- 
 the ground. You understand me, don't you ? " 
 
 "Perfectly. It is a case of the sympathy which 
 naturally exists between two great minds. Look 
 us up at the office during the day. If you like, 
 I'll show you round the town this evening as 
 soon as I get done with my work. By the way, 
 your log-book seems to be rather in a mess. You 
 have scarcely made an entry in it." 
 
 " No. That's what fixes me ; but keep it dark. 
 I'm rather backward at that sort of work, some- 
 how. What's to be done ? " 
 
 "It would have been a very simple matter, but 
 for the wreckage you picked up. There will be 
 some sort of inquiry over the loss of the Water 
 Nyinph, so we shall have to be cautious. We 
 must have an hour or so together this evening. 
 Your ship ought to have been reported by this 
 time ; but as you haven't started at discharging, I 
 suppose it won't make much difterence." 
 
 "Yes. The officer in charge here told me I'd 
 get into a row over it." 
 
 " Oh, we'll make it all square ? I'll get the log-
 
 184 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 book to rights before morning. I'll doctor it. I 
 rather like that kind o£ work ; it gives such play 
 to the imagination." 
 
 " Risky game, ain't it ? " 
 
 " Sometimes. I was very near getting into 
 trouble last week. A fat, unromantic Welshman 
 hadn't made an entry in his log from start to fin- 
 ish, and he was so infernally stupid I could get 
 nothing out of him in the shape of information, so 
 I had to work the whole voyage out myself." 
 
 " And, of course, you made a mess of it." 
 
 " Of course I didn't. But I chased that craft 
 with an albatross for weeks, and introduced bits 
 of the 'Ancient Mariner' here and there. The col- 
 lector of customs happened to look through the 
 log, and he thought he had got hold of a salt-water 
 Shakespeare, so he asked the old skipper to dinner. 
 I heard it was about the most amusing thing on 
 record — the collector trying to draw out the liter- 
 ary skipper,, and the poor old skipper thinking the 
 collector was a raving lunatic. But," observing 
 that Nixon did not enjoy the joke, " I am wasting 
 your valuable time. Captain Nixon, and my own, 
 too, I fear. I'll say bye-bye for the present."
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 185 
 
 The master of the Greenback Joungecl into Butler's 
 •office during the afternoon, and was conducted by 
 Foxy Ned into Ryan's office. 
 
 " Mr Madden and the governor are inside, cap- 
 tain," said Ned, pointing to the office to the left of 
 the passage, " so you'd better take a seat in here 
 for the present. Mr Michael " — to Ryan, — " this is 
 the captain of the Greenback!' 
 
 About half-a-dozen skippers were seated round 
 the fire. Amongst them were the Bishop, whose 
 ship was going to sail in the morning ; Bendall, 
 whose ship was still under repair ; and Carmody, 
 who was in extra ill-humour — his craft was taking 
 in a cargo of oats, and was being delayed an un- 
 reasonably long time. Captains Cummins, Broaders, 
 and Sullivan had gone to sea during the previous 
 week ; and Captain Arkwright was probably slum- 
 bering in the " Nest." 
 
 After exchanging a few words with Ryan, who 
 was still nervous about facing the New Bruns- 
 wicker, the master of the Greenback took a chair 
 and joined in the conversation going on among the 
 .skippers. 
 
 " You are the o^entleman, I believe," said the
 
 186 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Bishop, " who was the first bearer of the sad news 
 about the Water Nymj)h." 
 
 " Yes. Did you know the master ? " 
 
 " Know him ! Ah, indeed I did, captain. I can 
 remember the time when we were gay, heedless young- 
 sters, playing leap-frog and pegging tops together." 
 
 Bendall laughed loudly. 
 
 " What ails you, Tom Bendall ? It's very ignor- 
 ant, I can tell you, and moreover very unseemly, 
 to be grinning away there when people are talking 
 of such serious matters." 
 
 " Oh, dear ! oh, dear I " chuckled Bendall. " I was 
 just picturing you, Captain Augy, playing leap-frog 
 with your top hat planted well over your ears, and 
 pegging a top with your umbrella made fast under 
 your arm." 
 
 Carmody, who had been indulging in a fit of 
 silent anger, laughed a short, rasping laugh, which 
 seemed to irritate the Bishop even more than 
 Bendall's interruption. 
 
 " It's disgusting, fairly disgusting ! " said the 
 Bishop, wheeling round his chair and turning his 
 back on Carmody. 
 
 ' Don't you take on so," said Nixon. " You was
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 187 
 
 going to say something to me, I think, when these 
 gentlemen here interrupted you." 
 
 "Yes, captain. I was going to ask your opinion 
 about the Water Nyinph. It seems a vessel has 
 arrived in Liverpool which picked up one of the 
 barque's boats, bottom up. I suppose you have 
 heard this already ? " 
 
 " No ; indeed I have not. I have only just come 
 ashore." 
 
 " Mr Madden — Mr Butler's clerk— heard so at the 
 Custom House, so I suppose there can be little 
 doubt now as to John M'Cormick. What's ydbr 
 opinion, Captain Nixon ? " 
 
 " Waal, my opinion is easily given, stranger. 
 Your friend's ship is at the bottom of the Atlantic, 
 and so is every man Jack of her crew. I said so 
 to Mr Madden the day I arrived in the river, and 
 when I says a thing straight, I aint generally far 
 astray." 
 
 " Sad ! Terribly sad ! " murmured the Bishop. 
 " Well, well, it may be all our fate one of these 
 fine days," shaking his head solemnly. 
 
 " Those that are born to be hanged needn't have 
 much to fear of drowning," smiled Carmody.
 
 188 IX ONE TOWN. 
 
 " A very ignorant and a very foolish remark, Pat. 
 I wonder at you," droned the Bishop. 
 
 " How curious it was," said Bendall, " that a 
 vessel of the same name should have arrived at 
 the quay yesterday ! " 
 
 " Is that so ? " said Nixon. " Yes, it is a bit curi- 
 ous. A barque ? " 
 
 "No, a brig." 
 
 " What's curious about it ? " snarled Carmody. 
 " I never heard such a parcel of nonsense. Curious ! 
 I suppose there are forty ships of the same name 
 knocking about. It's mighty easy to amuse you 
 all. Curious ! Faugh ! " 
 
 " I hope you're getting on faster with the loading, 
 Pat ? " said the Bishop soothingly, turning round and 
 facing Carmody again. " Did you get much oats on 
 board yesterday ? " 
 
 " Not as much as would make a meal for a genet. 
 'Tis enough to put a man in a fair rage." 
 
 Butler and Madden now entered Ryan's office. 
 Madden shook hands with Nixon cordially, and 
 turning to the shipbroker, said, — 
 
 " This is the master of the New Brunswick 
 schooner."
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 189 
 
 "Welcome to Sloughford ! " said Butler, "although 
 you haven't been the bearer of good news. Mr 
 Madden and I were speaking about you a few 
 minutes ago." 
 
 " Nothing bad, I hope," smiled Nixon. 
 
 " No. We were discussing the loss of the barque 
 whose wreckage you fell in with. It seemed strange 
 to me at first that her stern had been torn away if 
 she ran into the ice." 
 
 " Easily explained, sir. No manner of doubt 'twas 
 owing to a bad look-out, and very likely the disaster 
 came off in the night time. I reckon there was a 
 heap of confusion on board, and some one brought 
 her round with a crash, stern on to the ice. That's 
 how I reckon it was, and Angus R, Nixon — that's me, 
 Mr Butler — ain't often far astray in his reckonings, 
 I said as much the first time your clerk came aboard 
 my little craft." 
 
 "Evidently the poor fellows are all lost," sighed 
 the shipbroker. "I suppose there was no time to 
 launch the boats. It's a sad affair. It has quite 
 upset me." 
 
 " Ay, indeed ! " murmured the Bishop. " Poor John 
 M'Cormick ! He looked so full of life and hope the
 
 190 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 last time we saw him in the office here, sir. Ah, the 
 sea is a poor profession ! It's only fit for dogs, or the 
 very dregs of humanity." 
 
 " Was there anything found in the boat the Liver- 
 pool ship picked up ? " asked Bendall. 
 
 " Was there anything found in the boat 1 " sneered 
 Carmody. " Was there anything found in a boat 
 picked up bottom upwards ? Did any man ever hear 
 such a question ? I suppose there was nothing more 
 in her than is in your head this minute, Tom Bendall 
 — emptiness." 
 
 " Pat, Pat," cried the Bishop, shaking his forefinger 
 at Carmody, " is there any use in my talking to you 
 at all? Fie! fie! Pat." Then turning to the ship- 
 broker, — " I wonder, sir, did poor John perish w^ell 
 off"?" 
 
 " I don't know ; but I fancy he made a good deal 
 of money latterly. Sometimes I have hopes we 
 shall, in spite of everything, hear something more 
 of M'Cormick." 
 
 " Never ! " said Nixon emphatically. 
 
 " May I ask, captain," inquired Carmody, " where, 
 how, and when you obtained the gift of prophecy ? " 
 
 " I don't understand you, sir."
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 191 
 
 " It isn't to be expected you could understand Pat 
 Oarmody ail in a minute," said the Bishop apologeti- 
 cally. "You mustn't heed him, Captain Nixon. He's 
 a well-meaning man, but very hasty in his remarks." 
 
 " I don't want a character from you, at any rate, 
 Augy Flynn," cried Carmody, with blazing eyes. 
 
 " Oh, dear ! oh, dear 1 " chuckled Bendall. 
 
 Butler for some minutes had been paying little or 
 no attention to the conversation of the skippers. He 
 stood with his back against the mantelpiece, thinking- 
 how he ought to act with regard to M'Cormick's will. 
 If M'Cormick was dead, he ought to produce the will 
 at once ; and yet he could not divest himself of a 
 lingering doubt as to the fate of the Water JVym2yh. 
 If M'Cormick was still in the land of the livinsr, it 
 would be better to make no mention of the tin case 
 now lying in the safe, for the will in his possession 
 might not be M'Cormick's last will. Mrs M'Cormick 
 had not, on her husband's own admission, been treated 
 fairly, and the master of the Water Nymph had pro- 
 mised faithfully to reconsider the matter. Husband 
 and wife had, he knew, parted on much better terms 
 than usual. If he gave up the will, some effort would 
 •probably be made by those whom the will might
 
 192 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 benefit to establish the fact of the loss of the barque. 
 This would be sure to upset Mrs M'Cormick, and in 
 her present state of health any unusual excitement or 
 worry might be a serious injury to her. 
 
 His reveries and the conversation of the skippers- 
 were suddenly interrupted by the entrance of a lady 
 dressed in black. 
 
 " I want a word with you at once, Mr Butler," said 
 the lady, lifting her veil. " Can we have a few 
 minutes together ? " 
 
 " Certainly," said Butler. " If you will come- 
 with me into the other office we can talk there." 
 
 The features 6f this lady were unfamiliar to the 
 master of the Greenback, but he felt a fluttering 
 at his heart as he, in company with the other 
 mariners, sat staring at Miss Walsh. 
 
 After the landlady of the "Bold Dragoon" had 
 left Ryan's office with Butler, the Bishop in- 
 formed Nixon that the visitor was John M'Cor- 
 mick's half-sister. The New Brunswicker also learned 
 that she was unmarried and had expectations. 
 
 " The very thing for me," he thought. " Women 
 folk never seemed to interest me before ; but this- 
 party, I reckon, would just about suit me."
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. IDS 
 
 It would be impossible to discover any element 
 of beauty or grace in Miss Walsh's features. The 
 lines were hard, determined, and angular, and 
 there was a certain air of masculinity in her ap- 
 pearance which repelled most men. Perhaps it 
 was this very masculinity which attracted the 
 skipper of the Greenback. If he had met the lady 
 for the first time behind the counter of the '^ Bold 
 Dragoon," he would not, in all probability, have 
 devoted a second thought to the consideration of 
 her charms ; but her dramatic entrance, and ^the 
 defiant manner she had adopted when addressing 
 the shipbroker, made their mark on the ordinarily 
 unimpressionable " Blue Nose." 
 
 " A woman like that," he mused, " knows her 
 way about, you may bet. No nonsense there. 
 None of your whining, whimpering, good-for-no- 
 thing baby faces, that raddles their jaws and coal- 
 tars their eyebrows, and has as much false hair in 
 their clothes-chest as would make a shore mooring 
 for a full-rigged ship. I'd best make a move in 
 that direction, I had." 
 
 Accordingly he bade good-bye to his companions, 
 
 and told Madden, who was busy writing at Kyan's 
 VOL. I. N
 
 194 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 desk, that he would return to the office in the course 
 of an hour. 
 
 Miss Walsh was still in Madden's office with the 
 shipbroker, but Nixon made up his mind she would 
 not remain there very long. 
 
 " Women of that sort don't lose no unnecessary 
 time," he argued. " She'll be back to headquarters 
 before many more minutes are over." 
 
 As he came into the passage he saw Foxy Ned 
 — a scrubby-faced, shabbily-dressed little man — 
 leaning, in a reverie, against the jamb of the 
 office door. He tapped Ned on the shoulder, and 
 asked which was the way to the " Bold Dragoon." 
 
 " I'll show you the road with pleasure, captain," 
 said Ned briskly, rosy visions of gratuitous drinks 
 tilling all the odd corners of his mind. 
 
 " I can find my way without a bodyguard. Just 
 you direct me straight, my red-headed filibuster. 
 I know the sort of games you like to play, better 
 than you can tell me. You chaps have as keen 
 a scent for cheap drinks as a red Injun, you 
 have ; but you aint going to come the soger over 
 Angus R. Nixon — that's me, whisky face. You 
 tell me the shortest cut right straight away, that's
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 195 
 
 what you'll do ; or I'll be having a little talk with 
 your master." 
 
 With a half-suppressed growl. Foxy Ned told 
 Nixon where the " Bold Dragoon " was situated. 
 
 " You think yourself mighty clever, don't you, 
 Misther Blue Nose ? " growled Ned, as Nixon 
 walked away. " But if I don't make the loss of 
 that drink cost you a sight more than a barrel of 
 beer, you insultin' vagabone, may I never put a 
 pewther measure to my lips again. I'll lead you 
 the life of a dog, believe me, while you're in 
 this port anyhow ; or my name isn't Edward 
 Murphy ! "
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AT THE SHIPBROKER's HOUSE. 
 
 [ALTON had now little, if any, doubt as to- 
 the fate of M'Cormick. He was con- 
 vinced the Water Nyiyvph had been lost 
 with all hands. Still, he knew that nothing could be 
 proved satisfactorily, and it was useless for him tO' 
 indulge in foolish dreams. 
 
 His ship was discharging very slowly, and pro- 
 bably a fortnight would elapse before the last of the 
 cargo would be taken away. He now felt wretched 
 as he thought of the delay. He was anxious to leave 
 Sloughford at once. He dared not trust himself to 
 meet Susan, with the knowledge that her husband, in 
 all probability, no longer stood between them. 
 
 Did Susan care for him ? and if she did, would it 
 not be all the better they did not see each other for
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 197 
 
 a lono' time ? How lono^ ^ It must be years. Mar- 
 riaeje she could not think of so lono- as there was no 
 absolute certainty with regard to M'Cormick's fate. 
 Why should he dream of marriage ? It was absurd. 
 Susan had most likely ceased long ago to care for 
 him. Had she ever cared for him ? If she had, could 
 she not have waited ? 
 
 He was constantly tortured with conflicting 
 thoughts. At one time he fancied Susan had never 
 ceased to remember him, and would perhaps listen to 
 him again if she were convinced she was free. Tlien 
 he reflected that his long absence, the great change 
 Susan had passed through — the life she had led for 
 the years she was the wife of M'Cormick, the new 
 ties and duties she had taken upon herself — must 
 have blotted him effectually from her heart. Had 
 her heart been ever his ? Never ! She was like all 
 •other women, fickle, deceitful. And if she did, after 
 .a lapse of years, consent to listen to a renewal of his 
 declaration of love, might not M'Cormick return ? — 
 such things had happened often before — and then for 
 a second time the cup of happiness would be dashed 
 from his lips. He must trample his hopes and desires 
 under foot once more.
 
 198 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Towards evening he came ashore, and walked to- 
 Butler's office. He found the shipbroker alone in 
 Madden's office. 
 
 " I am glad you looked me up this evening, Dalton," 
 said Butler. " I should like to have a long chat with 
 you. I am troubled very much, and perhaps you 
 could help me out of my difficulty." 
 
 " I shall be only too pleased if I can be any assist- 
 ance to you. You seem rather out of sorts." 
 
 " Yes. I had a most unpleasant quarter of an 
 hour to-day — but this isn't a very comfortable place 
 to indulge in a confidential chat. You had best 
 come home with me and have a cup of tea. I don't 
 think you have met my niece since your arrival 
 here. Too bad of you to make such a stranger of 
 yourself." 
 
 " I met Miss Cadogan yesterday at Woodbine- 
 Cottage." 
 
 " Of course. I had forgotten. She told me all 
 about it. Mrs M'Cormick is sadly upset, I fear. 
 She is going out of the town." 
 
 " Going out of town ! Where ? " 
 
 " Not very far. To Rosspoint. The doctor said 
 she had better get away from Sloughford at once, and
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 199 
 
 Rosspoint is very quiet just now. But we had better 
 make a start before anyone conies to detain me here. 
 I can hear Captain Carmody in Ryan's office now. 
 What a shrill voice he has ! It goes through me like 
 a knife." 
 
 Butler and Dalton left the office, and were soon 
 seated in the shipbroker's drawing-room. 
 
 Helen made no reference to the scene at Wood- 
 bine Cottage. She had learned one secret, namely, 
 that Susan was in love with Dalton. Her woman's 
 instinct divined at once the cause of Susan's cry. 
 
 After tea, the two men settled themselves down 
 for a chat ; and Helen, at her uncle's request, seated 
 lierself at the piano. 
 
 " I am going to tell you a bit of a secret, at least 
 what I considered a secret until to-day," began Butler, 
 leaning back in his armchair and folding his arms. 
 " And I am then going to ask your advice." 
 
 " I am too inexperienced, I fear, to advise anyone," 
 smiled Dalton. 
 
 " Well, let me be the judge of that. Now, to 
 begin at the beginning. The evening before the 
 Water Nymph sailed from Sloughford, John M'Cor- 
 mick came to my office and left in my care his will.
 
 200 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 . . . Helen," he said, turning his face towards his 
 niece, " play ' The Last Glimpse of Erin ' for us." 
 
 Dalton was glad the shipbroker had turned his 
 head away, even for a moment. The mere mention 
 of the Wate7' Nymph made him experience a momen- 
 tary sensation of mingled curiosity and uneasiness. 
 ^' Isn't that the ' Coulin ' Miss Cadogan is playing ? " 
 he inquired, as the shipbroker again turned his face 
 towards Dalton. 
 
 " Yes. It is the same air — the ' Coulin ' and ' The 
 Last Glimpse of Erin.' " 
 
 " How strange," said Dalton, " that you should 
 have asked Miss Cadogan to play ' The Last Glimpse 
 of Erin ' just after speaking of M'Cormick and his 
 ship!" 
 
 " I never thought of that," said the shipowner, 
 drawing his eyebrows together. " It is odd. The 
 air is an especial favourite of mine, particularly 
 when I am not in a very bright humour; it's 
 melancholy, strange to say, has a soothing effect upon 
 me. But to go back to the Water JVymph. M'Cor- 
 mick left me his will, with a strict injunction not 
 to tell anyone I had the document. He assured me 
 no one except himself and the man who drafted
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 201 
 
 the will knew of its existence — how other people 
 managed to find out that such a document existed 
 puzzles me — and as he had not treated his wife 
 well in it, he promised to make a new will when 
 he returned from Quebec." 
 
 " What a pity he did not destroy the will before he 
 sailed, if he felt uneasy about its contents ! " 
 
 "Yes. It was a pity. I strongly advised him to 
 do so. But he was a strange, incomprehensible man. 
 I never could understand him. Well, judge of my 
 astonishment when his half-sister called on me to- 
 day and insisted upon my producing her brother's 
 will. I could not tell her a lie when she asked me 
 point-blank if I had the document in my possession." 
 " I suppose there is no reasonable room for doubt 
 that M'Cormick is no more." 
 
 " None now, I should say. I am quite puzzled 
 how I ought to act. I promised M'Cormick I would 
 not let anyone see his will. He may possibly, not 
 probably I own, be still alive ; and if so, I have no 
 right to break my promise to him. I thought I 
 would ask some one's advice, and you came into the 
 office just as I had arrived at that determination. 
 Two heads, you know, are better than one."
 
 202 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " I confess I am in a puzzle what to say. I sup- 
 pose it would be best to give up the will to Mrs 
 M'Cormick. She is the proper person to decide 
 whether its contents should be made known at 
 present or not. At least that is my opinion." 
 
 " I think that is an admirable suggestion, Dalton." 
 
 The last strains of the " Coulin " had now died 
 away. Turning towards Helen, her uncle said, — " You 
 might sing it for us now, dear — that is, if Captain 
 Dalton is not tired of it." 
 
 " Tired of it ! " exclaimed Dalton. " Certainly not. 
 Do, please. Miss Cadogan, sing it. It is such a long, 
 time since I ever heard any music. I haven't heard 
 the ' Coulin ' for — well, for more years than I should 
 like to mention." 
 
 Helen, who had overheard some of the conversa- 
 tion about the Water Hyiivph, experienced an un- 
 accountable depression while she had been playing. 
 The sadness of the melody usually had little effect 
 upon her — custom had made her callous to it. With 
 a smile, however, she nodded to Dalton, and took a 
 volume of songs from the music waggon at her side. 
 
 " I thought I heard a tap at the door," said Butler,, 
 in an undertone, looking at Dalton.
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 203 
 
 " So did I." 
 
 Butler rose, and advancing noiselessl}^ across the 
 carpet, opened the door, 
 
 Helen's clear voice rang out, — 
 
 " Though the last glimpse of Erin luith sorroiv I 
 see," as the door was opened wide. 
 
 A servant appeared at the doorway, and said, " Mrs 
 M'Cormick, if you please, sir." 
 
 Susan, who had heard the words of the song, and 
 whose thoughts instantly flew back to the day she 
 had said good-bye to her husband in the cabin of 
 the Water Nyviph, tottered into the room. 
 
 Butler started forward and placed his arm round 
 Mrs M'Cormick. Almost immediately she recovered ^ 
 a delicate pink flush stealing into her cheeks. 
 
 "Thank you, Mr Butler," she said. "I had no 
 right, I suppose, to tax my strength by such a 
 long walk." 
 
 Helen was now at her side, and led her to a 
 chair. Dalton, who had risen from his chair in 
 alarm as he beheld Mrs M'Cormick enter the 
 room, shook hands with her, and went back ta 
 his seat. 
 
 " It was indeed very wrong of you," said Butler^
 
 204 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 ^' to overtax your strength — I presume you have 
 walked from Bankside ? " 
 
 " Yes," she smiled. " But don't make me feel un- 
 comfortable by reminding me of my misdeeds. I 
 am all right now. I was very anxious to see you, 
 Mr Butler ; and you know, I suppose, that I am 
 o^oing: out of town to-morrow." 
 
 " Why did you not send for me ? " 
 
 " I did not want to give you so much trouble. 
 I have been always too great a trouble to you, 
 I fear." 
 
 Butler shook his head. 
 
 " Perhaps you will excuse me for saying ' Good 
 evening ? ' " said Dalton, standing up. " I suppose," 
 -addressing himself to Susan, " I must bid you 
 _good-bye, Mrs M'Cormick. We are not likely to 
 meet again." 
 
 Butler looked inquiringly at Mrs M'Cormick. 
 
 " Please don't go. Captain Dalton," she said, a 
 little uneasily. " What I have to say to Mr Butler 
 will not occupy many minutes. I fear I have in- 
 terrupted him and you by coming in." 
 
 " N — no. Not at all," stammered Butler. 
 
 " Yes ; I know I did. Helen and I will run off
 
 A MESSAGE FEOM THE DEEP. 205 
 
 together for a few minutes, and let you finish your 
 conversation. Come, Helen," she said, rising and 
 placing her arm round Helen's waist. 
 
 " We shall give you just ten minutes, uncle." 
 
 " Very well," said Butler, opening the door. " How 
 ill that woman looks, Dalton," he frowned, coming- 
 back to his chair. 
 
 "Yes. I wonder could anything particular have 
 disturbed her mind to-day ? " 
 
 " I cannot tell. Stop ! " he cried. " I know what 
 it is — at least I fancy I do." 
 
 " No further news about her husband's ship ? " 
 
 " No. I am sure that virago, Miss Walsh, has 
 been paying her a visit. I was on the point of 
 putting the question to that charmingly offensive 
 lady in the office to-day, but something drove it 
 out of my head. That must be it. No doubt 
 she has been tormenting Mrs M'Cormick about 
 the will." 
 
 " You told me that M'Cormick assured you no 
 one knew of its existence ? " 
 
 " So he said ; but he was such an absent-minded 
 man at times, and so fond of letting his tongue 
 run away with him, that he may have told his
 
 206 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 sister. Besides, the will which I hold was drawn 
 up by somebody ; and, of course, whoever did draft 
 it knows its contents." 
 
 " I am sure, then, the best thing for you to do 
 is to take legal advice upon the matter, and find 
 out some means of saving Mrs M'Cormick from 
 persecution." 
 
 " I will do so to-morrow. Here are the ladies," 
 he said, rising as a tap was heard at the door. 
 
 Mrs M'Cormick and Helen entered the room. 
 
 " Well, uncle," inquired Helen, " have you both 
 said all you have to say to each other ? " 
 
 " Not all ; but for the present we are finished." 
 
 " Then, Captain Dalton, I'll ask you to accom- 
 pany me to the piano, and turn over some music 
 for me, while Mrs M'Cormick and my uncle have 
 a little chat. We are all determined to be brimful of 
 business and mysterious consultations this evening." 
 
 Dalton and Helen crossed to the other end of the 
 room. Mrs M'Cormick sat down near Butler. He 
 drew his chair close to hers. 
 
 " Now, Captain Dalton, what shall I play for 
 you ? " asked Helen, stooping and turning over soine 
 music in the waggon.
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 207 
 
 "Anything you please. Only let it be lively this 
 time. I am quite low-spirited. That melancholy 
 * Coulin ' has not died out of my ears yet." 
 
 Helen looked up at him, and smiled. 
 
 " I wish uncle was not so fond of melancholy 
 airs," she said. Then, in an undertone, " And I 
 wish somebody would endeavour to silence Miss 
 Walsh, or at least discover some means for keeping 
 her away from Mrs M'Cormick. She has almost 
 worried her out of her wits." 
 
 Dalton drew his eyebrows together. Butler was 
 right in his surmise. 
 
 " To-day ! " 
 
 Helen nodded ; and rising, said, — 
 
 " Now, I think I have something that ought to 
 please you, although I know it is very wicked to 
 indulge in anything lively at such a time as this. 
 However, Mrs M'Cormick will know, I am sure, that 
 it isn't from want of sympathy," and, seating herself 
 <xt the piano, she commenced to play an arrangement 
 of Irish dance music. 
 
 Dalton, with half-averted glance, was looking at 
 Susan, and wondering what she had to say to the 
 shipbroker. He could see they were both deeply
 
 208 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 interested in their conversation. He had forgotten 
 his duties at the piano, when Helen's " Turn over, 
 please," caused him to start. 
 
 " I am afraid," murmured Helen, as he fumbled 
 over the leaves of the music, " you take more interest 
 in somebody than in my poor music." 
 
 He coloured and stammered an apology. In a few 
 moments he found himself again glancing towards. 
 Susan. What was she handing Butler ? It must be 
 — yes, it was — the very letter which he had given to 
 her the day he arrived in Sloughford. Butler was 
 placing it in his pocket without reading it. No' 
 doubt the letter contained something which required 
 his consideration. 
 
 The music had now ceased. Mrs M'Cormick turned 
 and said, — 
 
 " I am afraid I have been very rude, Helen ; and I 
 am afraid I am going to be still more rude to Captain 
 Dalton, for I am going to take you away from the 
 piano. I must get home at once." 
 
 Dalton felt a thrill of delight at the prospect of 
 escorting Susan to Woodbine Cottage. Already an 
 ill-defined project to stand with Susan on the bridge, 
 in the place where they had kissed each other years
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 201) 
 
 affo, and to discover if her heart was still his own, 
 floated through his mind. 
 
 " May I have the pleasure of seeing you home, Mrs 
 M'Cormick ? " he said shyly. 
 
 " No, no," she replied. " I don't want any escort. 
 Thank you very much, Captain Dalton ; but really I 
 would prefer to go home alone. You see I am deter- 
 mined to be rude this evening." 
 
 " Go home alone ! " said Butler, rising from his 
 chair. "Indeed, you shall do nothing of the sort. 
 Come, Helen, get on your things." 
 
 " Really, Mr Butler," began Susan. 
 
 " The question admits of no argument," he inter- 
 rupted, with a wave of his hand. " Helen and I 
 require a walk badly ; it is purely a piece of selfish- 
 ness on our part." 
 
 " Be it so then. It is too bad of me to be such 
 a trouble to you." 
 
 " Now, you ladies had better be off to your room. 
 You will come over to Bankside with us, Dalton, 
 won't you ? " 
 
 A slight flush came into Susan's cheeks as the 
 shipbroker asked the question. She had an in- 
 stinctive dread of crossing the bridge in company 
 VOL. I. o
 
 210 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 with her old lover, even if he and she were not 
 alone. 
 
 Dalton stammered an apology. He thought he had 
 better get back to his ship ; it had just occurred to 
 him that he had some accounts to go through. 
 
 " Nonsense ! " said Butler. " You will come, of 
 course, I want most particularly to have a chat with 
 
 you."
 
 CHAPTER VII I 
 
 IN WHICH THE SHIPBROKER RELATES A STORY. 
 
 FTER, leaving the house, Helen and Susan 
 went forward, arm in arm, followed •by- 
 Butler and Dalton. 
 
 For some time the shipbroker was silent ; then, turn- 
 ing to his companion, he said, somewhat abruptly, — 
 
 " Will you promise not to be offended with me if I 
 speak to you on a subject which concerns you very 
 closely, and which you may think should not concern 
 me in the least ? " 
 
 Dalton guessed what the subject was, and in a 
 nervous, agitated manner answered, — 
 
 " I promise you not to be offended at anything you 
 may say. I know well you would not speak to me 
 unless you had an excellent reason for doing so." 
 
 " Thank you. I fear I am going to tread on very
 
 212 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 delicate ground, and there is nothing I abhor more 
 than meddling in matters which do not concern me ;: 
 but in this case I feel I have a duty to perform." 
 
 " Please, then, don't hesitate to speak to me." 
 
 " Well, to be quite candid with you, I fancy you 
 remember only too well the relations which long ago 
 existed between you and Susan M'Cormick. Don't 
 answer me if you don't wish to do so. If you can 
 tell me you look upon her merely as a friend, that 
 love has no place in your regard for her, then I need 
 not trouble you by making any further reference to 
 the subject, and can only say I am sorry for what I 
 have said." 
 
 Dalton paused. He could not exactly understand 
 what Butler meant by questioning him about his 
 love for Susan. Could Butler have learned any 
 further news about M'Cormick ? He was almost 
 afraid to ask. Should he be perfectly candid with 
 the shipbroker ? What could he gain by being 
 uncandid ? 
 
 " I cannot truthfully declare that love has no place 
 in my regard for Mrs M'Cormick," he said, in a low 
 tone. Then lifting his head, and speaking almost 
 defiantly, " I cannot help myself. I know it i&
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 213 
 
 foolish — wicked, if you will, but I love her. She is 
 never out of my thoughts. You cannot convince me 
 more strongly than I can convince myself of the folly 
 and the danger of my passion ; but I shall take care 
 it brings injury to no one except myself." 
 
 " You are excited now, Dalton ; I did not mean to 
 excite you. I want you to listen to me calmly." 
 
 " It is very silly of me," said Dalton apologetically, 
 ^' to play the part of broken-hearted lover to you." 
 
 " I do not see anything silly in your admission ; I 
 see only the danger that may result." 
 
 " How ? You surely do not think I would tell Mrs 
 M'Cormick what I have told you now ? " 
 
 " You may be sorely tempted. Don't be frightened, 
 Dalton ; I am not going to preach you a sermon." 
 
 " You misjudge me altogether." 
 
 " No. You misjudge yourself. Besides, there is 
 another side to the question." 
 
 " What is the other side ? " 
 
 " Ah ! " said Butler, shaking his head, " I cannot 
 ^ive the other side of the question ; I only draw my 
 own conclusions ; and we are all liable to make 
 mistakes." 
 
 Dalton was mystified. The shipbroker and he had
 
 214 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 now reached the bridge gate. Helen and Susan were 
 standing at the gate. 
 
 " We thought we had lost you altogether," said the 
 former. " Mrs M'Cormick insists that we have come 
 quite far enough with her, and wants us to turn back." 
 
 " Nonsense," said Butler. " Captain Dalton and I 
 are enjoying the walk immensely, and it would be 
 quite a shame if Mrs M'Cormick were to send us back 
 now. Can't you and she find anything to talk about,, 
 Helen ? " 
 
 " Oh, indeed we can, uncle. I suppose the fact is 
 she is worried by my chatter." 
 
 " To prove distinctly that I am not, I shall now 
 insist upon your accompanying me to the very door 
 of my house, and then I shall inveigle you inside, a& 
 a punishment for your persistency. If the walk up 
 the hill causes you to feel worn out to-morrow you 
 will have only yourself to blame, Helen." 
 
 The two women walked briskly forward, Butler 
 and Dalton following slowly. 
 
 " I am delighted to see Mrs M'Cormick in better 
 spirits. There was quite a colour in her cheeks as 
 she spoke," said the shipbroker. 
 
 " Yes," said Dalton, a little sadly.
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 215 
 
 He had noticed that Susan had not once looked in 
 his direction as they stood at the gate. 
 
 " Now, Dalton, I must tell you what I wished to 
 say to you to-night. You are in love with Mrs M'Cor- 
 mick. Let it be granted that she is not aware o£ the 
 fact, and that you will leave Sloughford shortly with- 
 out uttering one word of love in her presence. But 
 you do not know the measure of your own strength 
 or your own weakness. You will, I am sure, do all 
 in your power to act rightly, to live down the love 
 which possesses you. You will go away from Sloiigh- 
 ford, perhaps, with the determination of never coming 
 back to it. But remember you made up your mind 
 long ago to forget her, and you found yourself unable 
 to do so. After many years, you acknowledge you 
 admire her as much as ever." 
 
 " As much ! A thousand times more, if that were 
 possible." 
 
 " Very well. The same thing will happen again. 
 You will find an attraction here which drags you 
 irresistibly to her side, and then, if she listens to 
 you—" 
 
 " If she only would." 
 
 " There ! You see I told you I knew the strength
 
 216 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 and weakness of your character better than you did 
 yourself." 
 
 " I did not mean what I said just now. I would 
 not dare to talk of love to her." 
 
 "I don't know. I should not care to answer for 
 you. Perhaps it may seem strange to you that I 
 should speak to you as I have spoken to-night, but I 
 know — believe me when I say I know — the terrible 
 danger of your position and hers, should both of you 
 ever forget your duty. I dread what might possibly 
 happen, more than words could tell. Listen to me. 
 I will tell you a story — I can vouch for the truth of 
 every word of it, strange and improbable as it may 
 appear. When you hear it, you will see the danger 
 in a clearer light than you have ever seen it before, 
 and you will know why I am so much in earnest to- 
 night." 
 
 There was a wild, haggard expression on Butler's 
 face, which impressed Dalton even more than the 
 earnestness of the shipbroker's speech. Although 
 the night air was cool, large drops of sweat trickled 
 down Butler's cheeks. He lifted his hat, and taking 
 his handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his brow. 
 
 " You are distressing yourself, Mr Butler," said
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 217 
 
 Dalton. "It is too bad that I should be the cause 
 of so much trouble to you." 
 
 A tender smile flitted across Butler's face. 
 
 " I am afraid I am thinking more of Susan than 
 of you. I have learned to look upon her almost as 
 a daughter. Now for my story. A friend of mine, a 
 young man — younger than you, Dalton — lived within 
 easy distance of a large seaport — not Sloughford, I 
 may tell you. He was fond of ships, and was in the 
 habit of visiting the seaport as often as he conveni- 
 ently could. His father was at the time moderately 
 wealthy, and had a strong desire that his son should 
 make a good match. The son was, I am afraid, rather 
 A harum-scarum young fellow, and his father, who 
 was stern and reserved, had often warned him that 
 he would disown him if he ever formed a connection 
 without obtaining his consent. During one of the 
 young man's visits to the seaport which I spoke of 
 he fell in love at first sight — such things do happen, I 
 believe — with a very pretty girl. He learned that 
 the girl had married, about a twelvemonth previously, 
 the master of a ship trading out of the port. Her 
 husband was a brute — a coarse, unsympathetic, jeal- 
 ous man, who bullied and beat her before they had
 
 218 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 been married two months. Shortly before my friend 
 saw this young girl for the first time, a rmnour reached 
 the port that the husband's ship had foundered at sea, 
 and that all hands had perished. The rumour was 
 afterwards confirmed ; but just as in the case of the 
 Water Nymph, there was no absolute proof that the 
 crew had gone down with the ship. To cut the matter 
 short, my friend and the supposed widow fell mutu- 
 ally in love. The former knew that his father would 
 not for a moment listen to his son's forming a con- 
 nection with the widow of a merchant captain. The 
 young people were both very fond and very foolish, 
 and decided upon living together secretly, the young 
 man promising, and fully intending, to marry the 
 woman as soon as positive proof could be obtained 
 of the loss of her husband. The great dread which 
 the woman experienced was the dread that her hus- 
 band might one day return to claim her, and if he 
 heard that she had been unfaithful, she had no doubt 
 he would stop short at nothing — not even murder it- 
 self. However, her lover, with great difficulty, suc- 
 ceeded in inducing her to go away with him. She 
 had no relatives in the seaport, and she told those 
 w^ho knew her that she intended living with some
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 21^ 
 
 friends in another part of the country. She quitted 
 the seaport, leaving behind her no suspicion of her 
 real intentions. Some time afterwards a son was 
 born, and when the boy was about two years of 
 age, a strange and startling rumour reached the 
 young people's ears — " 
 
 " The husband was alive ! " interrupted Dalton 
 excitedly. 
 
 "Yes. Fortunately the connection has been kept 
 a strict secret. My friend's father never suspected 
 his son had disobeyed him, and the people in the 
 seaport had almost forgotten the existence of the 
 woman. The husband was alive, and was on his 
 way back to the seaport. My friend was almost 
 frantic with despair. He knew he had no claim 
 to another man's wife, and the woman's fears of 
 violence on her husband's part came back to her 
 with fourfold strength. He would follow her to 
 whatever part of the earth she might fly. There 
 was nothing for it but to go back to the seaport 
 to await her husband's coming. She did so ; it 
 was like going back to the grave. But what could 
 she do ? what could her lover do ? She succeeded 
 in allaying her husband's suspicions. He did sus-
 
 220 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 pect something had gone wrong during his absence, 
 but he was, after a fashion, fond of his wife — 
 about the only good quality in his coarse nature — 
 and he was, I suppose, anxious to deceive himself 
 into the belief that the account which she gave 
 of herself was correct. At all events, husband and 
 wafe are still, I believe, living together. My friend 
 never saw the woman he loved with all his heart 
 and soul since the day they parted years and years 
 ago. Their son does not know who his parents 
 are. My friend's life has been utterly spoiled. 
 He is — I have it from his own lips — as much in 
 love to-day with the woman he would have mar- 
 ried, as he was when they first met. The man 
 — he is getting old and grey now — dare not tell 
 the secret to his own son. If he did so, the son 
 might possibly let the secret slip from him. And 
 one of the greatest troubles the father has to 
 endure is to see his son drifting into frivolous, 
 perhaps evil ways, without being able to hold out 
 the strong arm of a parent, and snatch him back. 
 Is not that a strange and a dreadful story of spoilt 
 lives, Dalton ? " 
 
 " It seems almost incredible."
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 221 
 
 " I told you I could vouch for the truth of every 
 word of it." 
 
 " And is the secret known to no one except your 
 friend and the woman he loved, and to yourself ? " 
 
 " To those alone. Now, do you wonder, Dalton, 
 that I have a horror of anything occurring between 
 you and Susan M'Cormick ? " 
 
 "I do not indeed," cried Dalton, seizing Butler's 
 hand, " and I shall take warning. Thank you, my 
 best of friends, for your story." 
 
 A heavy tear-drop fell on Dalton's hand. He 
 looked swiftly at the shipbroker's face. The tears 
 were coursing down his cheeks.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 IN WHICH DALTON BREAKS A GOOD RESOLUTION. 
 
 HE two men walked on in silence. At 
 first Dalton was under the impression 
 that the shipbroker's story was an in- 
 vention — a forecast of what might happen should 
 he forget the peculiar position which Susan held — 
 neither a wife nor a widow. It was almost in- 
 credible that a case bearing such a strong resem- 
 blance to his own should have occurred within the 
 experience of his friend. But the shipbroker's 
 earnestness, and the pathos which found its way 
 into his voice as he proceeded with his narrative, 
 compelled the young man to believe he was listen- 
 ing to a true tale. It was all very strange. What 
 connection could Butler have with the story ? The 
 hero of it must be a very dear friend, or the ship-
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 223 
 
 broker would not have been so deeply affected by 
 the recital. Could it be that Butler was the hero 
 of his own story ? 
 
 They were now near the garden gate of Wood- 
 bine Cottage. The elder man suddenly halted, 
 and, turning towards the younger man, said, — 
 
 " I don't want you to brood too much over what 
 I have told you. Forget the story itself, if you 
 -can ; but bear the moral attached to it in your 
 memory." 
 
 Before Dalton could make any reply, both men 
 heard behind them the sound of rapidly approach- 
 ing footsteps and the rustle of a dress. In a 
 moment Helen was at her uncle's side. 
 
 " You bqth deserve a scolding," she said. " Both 
 Susan and I have been waiting for you at the gate 
 for fully five minutes. She has sent me to fetch 
 you in at once. And could you guess who is in 
 the house, uncle ? " 
 
 " I am not very good at guessing," smiled Butler 
 Then, with a frown, " I hope it is not Miss 
 Walsh." 
 
 " No, thank goodness ! It is Mr Madden." 
 
 " Arthur ! " cried Butler, with an uneasy start.
 
 224 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 ^' What brings him here at such an hour, I 
 wonder ? " 
 
 " I don't know, uncle. I suppose he wished to- 
 say good-bye to Susan. But I hope you are not 
 going to stand here any longer. The air is grow- 
 ing chilly." 
 
 " Just a moment, dear. Tell Mrs M'Cormick we 
 shall come directly." 
 
 " Very well, uncle. I shall depend on Captain 
 Dalton to make you keep your word. Uncle some- 
 times grows so fond of studying the stars that it 
 is impossible to move him." 
 
 "Unfortunately, Miss Gadogan," smiled Dalton,. 
 " there are no stars to study to night. Perhaps^ 
 we shall have a peep at them by-and-by. I think 
 it will rain very shortly." 
 
 " Yes," said Butler, gazing skywards, " we shall 
 have rain — heavy rain, too, I fear. You had better 
 get back to the house at once, Helen." 
 
 When Helen left them, Butler said, — 
 
 " I wonder what could bring Arthur here." 
 
 " Madden ! How can I tell ? " 
 
 Unintentionally, he spoke a little sharply. He had 
 felt a pang of jealousy, which he was trying in vain to-
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 225 
 
 convince himself was wholly unjustifiable and silly. 
 Could it be possible that Butler's good-looking clerk 
 was in love with Susan ? and might it not be 
 that Susan was in love with him ? Absurd ! Stilly 
 try as he might to banish it, a jealous doubt 
 clung to him. Madden was a devil-may-care fel- 
 low, who would push his suit with headlong reck- 
 lessness : and was it not strange that for the second 
 time he found Butler's clerk at Woodbine Cottage ? 
 Could it be possible that Susan was encourag- 
 ing his visits ? He must not harbour such • a 
 thought. 
 
 Disgusted with himself, and kicking the ground 
 impatiently, he turned towards Butler, with the 
 intention of oflfering an apology for the ill-tem- 
 pered manner in which he had spoken. The 
 shipbroker had evidently forgotten he was not 
 alone. 
 
 With his head thrown slightly back, he stood 
 gazing at the sky, and Dalton observed that his lips 
 were trembling, as if he were trying to repress some 
 violent emotion. 
 
 The younger man somehow dreaded to disturb the 
 reveries of the elder man. Melancholy is as often. 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 226 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 as contagious as laughter, and Dalton felt terribly 
 depressed as he glanced in silence at his friend. Then 
 he bent his head slightly and stared straight in front 
 of him. 
 
 Over the roofs of the Bankside stores could 
 be seen a narrow, lurid belt of river at the 
 Sloughford side. The black hulls of the ships 
 which lined the quays stood out like silhouettes 
 against the lower part of the town, and through 
 the spars and rigging the lights on the quay 
 struggled feebly. Over the spars the lights on the 
 hillside twinkled ; and over the town hung a lum- 
 inous haze. 
 
 Slowly Dalton turned round until he faced 
 the north. Then the dim outline of the bridge 
 arrested his wandering gaze, and, full of bitter 
 thoughts, he lifted his eyes from the bridge. 
 The clouds were sluggish and low-lying ; but in 
 the north-west, behind Yellow Hill, a faint, pale 
 light lit up the sky. Again his eyes sought the 
 bridge, and in a moment he addressed Butler ab- 
 ruptly,— 
 
 "I think we had better get indoors, Mr Butler. 
 There is a break in the sky on the north-west. The
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 227 
 
 wind is going to shift into that quarter directly, and 
 we shall have heavy rain." 
 
 He had scarcely spoken when the raindrops came 
 pattering to the ground. Both men hurried towards 
 the house. 
 
 When they entered they found Madden had been 
 doing his best to amuse the ladies. Consciously 
 or unconsciously, Madden never entered into ^ve 
 minutes' conversation without relating some anec- 
 dote, more or less funny, concerning his own 
 savings or doings. He had just been telling 
 some stories — invented for the occasion — about 
 Nixon. 
 
 Susan had at first tacitly declined to enjoy Mad den's 
 anecdotes. The mention of the Greenback distressed 
 her, and she could not understand the want of taste 
 which Butler's clerk exhibited in introducing any re- 
 ference to the New Brunswicker. Then she saw that 
 he had actually forgotten the connection between the 
 Greenback and her affairs, and how could she blame 
 him for his forgetfulness ? Moreover, it was impos- 
 sible to resist Madden when he had once made up 
 his mind to be amusing, and Mrs M'Cormick soon 
 — though she hated herself for doing so — joined in
 
 228 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Helen's and Madden's laughter, for Madden always- 
 laughed loudest at his own jokes. 
 
 Dalton was surprised to see that a great change 
 had taken place in Susan's manner and appearance ; 
 and though her laughter was faint, and had a hollow 
 ring, it jarred upon his ears. She looked utterly 
 unlike the pale-faced woman who had startled him 
 by her entrance into Butler's drawing-room a short 
 time previously. Could the change be owing to 
 Madden's presence ? 
 
 Butler shook Madden's hand, and said, — 
 
 " Well, Arthur, what brings you this way to- 
 night ? " 
 
 " I was over at Bankside, sir, about that Sunder- 
 land brig, and I thought as I was so near Wood- 
 bine Cottage I ought to run up and say ' Good-bye '' 
 to Mrs M'Cormick." 
 
 It struck Dalton that it was not a little strange 
 the shipbroker should have greeted his clerk, whom 
 he met almost every day in the year, with a hand- 
 shake ; but he put the action down to Butler's good- 
 nature — a desire on his part to put Madden quite at 
 his ease. 
 
 Susan and Helen had moved to the window, and
 
 A MESSAGE FKOM THE DEEP. 229 
 
 now sat listening to the heavy patter of the rain against 
 the glass. The men stood together near the fireplace, 
 and after some desultory conversation, Dalton rose 
 and went towards the window. The blinds were up, 
 and Mrs M'Cormick had drawn back the curtains. 
 Looking at the sky, Dalton, addressing himself to 
 Susan, said, — "I think the rain has almost ceased. 
 The nor'-wester is chasing the clouds helter-skelter 
 before it. What do you say if we go outside and 
 enjoy the air and the view ? " And lowering his 
 voice, " I fancy, Miss Cadogan, your uncle and Mr 
 Madden have something to say to each other alSout 
 business." 
 
 The ladies rose, and Dalton, raising his voice 
 slightly, said, — "Mr Butler, we three are going into 
 the garden to have a peep at the night. You 
 will excuse us, won't you ? The proposal is mine, 
 so I have taken it upon myself to make the 
 apology." 
 
 When Dalton opened the hall door, he found the 
 rain had not quite ceased. 
 
 " I am afraid I have been too rash," he smiled 
 "but the shower will soon be over. How refresh- 
 ing the air here is ! "
 
 230 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Helen proposed that they should stand in the 
 porch until the rain had cleared off, and Susan made 
 no objection ; so they stood looking at the opposite 
 side of the river almost in silence. 
 
 When Butler found himself alone with Madden,, 
 he began, — 
 
 "I am so sorry we missed the bank this after- 
 noon. I have always a morbid fear of leaving 
 money in the office at night." 
 
 "Don't trouble your head about it, sir. What 
 could happen to it ? " 
 
 "Who was the last in the office this even- 
 ing ? " 
 
 Madden started, and answered in a hesitating 
 manner, — 
 
 "I was — at least," with a short, uneasy laugh,, 
 " I locked the place up under the impression I was."' 
 
 " Sure you locked the safe ? " 
 
 " Quite sure, sir." 
 
 "I know it is a trifle absurd on my part to 
 feel uneasy about that money, but it is the first 
 time I have ever left a large sum in the office 
 at night." 
 
 "I wish you wouldn't trouble about it. Oh, I
 
 A MESSAGE FEOM THE DEEP. 231 
 
 had almost forgotten to tell you, sir. It is easy to 
 account now for the delay about discharging the 
 Atalanta's cargo. There is a strange rumour afloat 
 this evening about Sutcliffe." 
 
 " What is it ? " 
 
 "They say he has disappeared." 
 
 " Disappeared ? " 
 
 "Well, absconded is the better word, perhaps." 
 
 "You astonish me. Is there any reason al- 
 leged ? " 
 
 "It is supposed he found himself in difficulUes, 
 and didn't care to face his creditors. But I fancy 
 that there is something more than mere bankruptcy 
 at the bottom of it." 
 
 "This won't be very good news for the cap- 
 tain of the Atalanta. How does he stand with 
 Sutcliff*e?" 
 
 "I think he has drawn the greater part of his 
 freight already, and he ought to have sufficient 
 cargo still on board to cover the remainder. Per- 
 haps we had better ask him about it." 
 
 "Don't upset him to-night, Arthur. He is not 
 in very good spirits, I fancy. We can tell him in 
 the morning. Nothing will be gained by disturbing
 
 232 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 Ms mind now. You're quite sure the money was 
 all right in the safe when you locked up ? " 
 
 " Quite sure, sir." 
 
 "By Jove! it is much later than I thought. Has 
 the rain cleared off, Arthur ? " 
 
 Madden rose and went to the window. 
 
 "Yes, I think the rain has ceased. The wind is 
 very high — quite a little gale ! " 
 
 " I had better call Helen, and tell her we must 
 he starting for home immediately." 
 
 He rose from his chair, and, advancing towards 
 the open door of the room, he called his niece's 
 name. 
 
 " I suppose you are coming with us, Arthur ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 Helen now entered the room. She was mis- 
 chievously anxious to leave Mrs M'Cormick and 
 Dal ton alone for a few minutes, and her uncle's 
 summons afforded her the opportunity she had 
 been seeking. She saw that Susan's high spirits 
 had again deserted her, and she was convinced her 
 friend's melancholy had something to do with 
 Dalton's departure — the Atalanta would be sailing 
 from Sloughford in about a week, and it was
 
 A MESSAGE FEOM THE DEEP. 233 
 
 not likely that Susan and her old lover would 
 meet again. Therefore, when she entered the room 
 she determined to find some pretext for making 
 a short delay there in company with her uncle 
 and Madden. 
 
 For some moments after Helen left them, neither 
 Dalton nor Mrs M'Cormick seemed inclined to talk. 
 Then, feeling that the silence was awkward, Dalton 
 spoke. His voice was low and full of sadness. 
 
 " I suppose I shall not see you again for a long 
 time. I wonder shall I ever see you again ? " 
 
 " How can I tell ? Life is full of changes." 
 
 So wrapt was he in his own melancholy, that 
 he had not observed the alteration in Susan's voice 
 and manner since she had come out into the 
 porch ; nor could he see, in the dim light, that 
 her cheeks were no longer bright, her dark eyes 
 dull and lustreless. 
 
 " I am glad to find you in good spirits on this 
 the last night I may see you for years and years ; 
 and yet I am not altogether glad. There is a good 
 deal of selfishness in my nature, I fear. Mr Madden 
 seems to amuse you." 
 
 " Sometimes," she sighed. " I have been in a
 
 234 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 strangely fickle mood to-day, and why I cannot- 
 tell, except it is that the prospect of a change 
 from these dull walls behind us has lifted a weight 
 from my heart. This morning I felt that nothing 
 on earth could drive away my gloomy thoughts ^ 
 but I am always either unreasonably happy or 
 unreasonably miserable." 
 
 " And in which mood are you at this moment, 
 may I ask ? " 
 
 " The melancholy mood. Oh ! I am growing 
 old and irritable, I suppose. But why should I 
 trouble you about my tantrums ? Let us find 
 some more interesting subjects for conversation 
 — the weather, for instance," she added, with a 
 faint laugh. 
 
 He looked at her in a startled way. Yes, she 
 was changed. What could have caused the 
 change ? 
 
 "It is quite fine now," he said gently, holding 
 out his hand and gazing at the sky. " Let us 
 walk as far as the gate. The freshness of the air 
 will revive you." 
 
 They stepped out of the porch and walked down 
 the garden path.
 
 A MESSAGE FKOM THE DEEP. 235 
 
 " I am a regular weather - glass myself," said 
 Dalton, endeavouring to divert Susan from intro- 
 spection. "Until the clouds were chased from the 
 sky by this glorious breeze, I was as depressed as 
 a man could wish to be; now I feel quite boyish^ 
 How I love a good nor'-wester ! It has blown years 
 out of my life to-night." 
 
 Mrs M'Cormick was silent. Her thoughts 
 were gradually wandering back to the olden 
 time. 
 
 " I can scarcely realise," continued Dalton, in a 
 tender tone, " that I am about to say good-bye to 
 you. Why must it be always good-bye ? " 
 
 He had forgotten the present ; once more he was 
 with the past; and he was addressing the 
 woman at his side as if nothing had occurred 
 to disturb the course of the old love, as if 
 the impassable barrier of her marriage had never 
 been raised. She felt there was some strange change 
 in his voice and manner, and she trembled 
 violently. 
 
 " How chilly it has grown ! " she said, shrugging 
 her shoulders. " We must return to the house at 
 once." She spoke in as cold and as quiet a tone
 
 236 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 o£ voice as she could command. " What will my 
 guests think of me for having neglected them ? It 
 is very stupid of me." 
 
 She turned to walk back to the house. 
 
 Dalton swiftly caught her hands. 
 
 " Susie ! Susie ! " he cried. " Is this to be our 
 good-bye ? Our parting years ago would have been 
 a cold one but for you, my love, my love. We 
 are going to part again, perhaps for ever. Have 
 you nothing to say to me — no word I can carry 
 with me ? " 
 
 " I do not understand you. Let us go back. 
 You forget." 
 
 She did not withdraw her hands ; nor could she 
 tell why she allowed them to remain clasped in 
 his. She felt completely dazed. All she knew was 
 that his eyes were looking into hers with a wild, 
 tender, wistful gaze, and that the old love, for years 
 a slumbering fire, had burst into flame within her. 
 She tried to collect her thoughts, to rush madly 
 away from the danger; but she could not utter a 
 word, and her limbs were powerless. He felt her 
 hands trembling violently within his own, and he 
 saw that her cheeks were deadly white, that her
 
 A MESSAGE FKOM THE DEEP. 287 
 
 bosom heaved convulsively. Scarcely knowing what 
 he did, he seized her in his arms and kissed her 
 lips passionately. 
 
 His kisses sent the blood into her cheeks and 
 recalled her wandering senses. With a quick, angry 
 movement she freed herself from his embrace. 
 
 At that moment Butler's figure stood out in the 
 porch.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A BURGLAEY. 
 
 'UTLEE'S office was opened every morning 
 at eight o'clock by Foxy Ned. At 
 nine Madden and Ryan were expected 
 to be at their respective desks. Butler usually 
 arrived a little before ten o'clock. 
 
 On the night of his visit to Woodbine Cottage 
 the shipowner had been quite restless. A sum of 
 money, about a hundred and forty pounds in gold, 
 had been placed in his hands by the master of a 
 ship after bank hours, and was lying in the office 
 safe. As he had declared to Madden, he entertained 
 a morbid fear of leaving money in the office at night. 
 It sometimes had happened that he had received 
 large sums in the evening, and it had always been 
 his habit to take the money to his dwelling-house;
 
 A MESSAGE FEOM THE DEEP. 239 
 
 but on this occasion Madden had pooh-poohed the 
 notion of there being any danger in leaving money 
 in the office, and Butler had decided to leave the 
 gold in the safe. 
 
 The next morning he rose early, and without dis- 
 turbing his household he left Prince's Street about 
 half-past seven, and soon found himself standing 
 outside his office door. With a sigh of relief he 
 took a door-key from his pocket and put it into 
 the keyhole. As he did so the door opened slightly. 
 Astonished and alarmed — he knew he had not 
 turned the key in the lock — he pushed the door 
 open and entered the passage. He stooped and 
 examined the lock. There appeared to be nothing 
 the matter with it. " How very stupid of Arthur," 
 he thought, " to leave the door unlocked ! It gave 
 me quite a fright. He shall have a sound railing 
 for his neoflio-ence." 
 
 He walked up the passage, and as his eyes grew 
 more accustomed to the dim light in the passage, 
 he saw that the back door was slightly open. He 
 also noticed that the doors of the two offices, usually 
 closed at night, were wide open. He advanced hastily 
 towards the end of the passage, and almost with the
 
 240 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 same glance saw the position o£ affairs in Madden's 
 office and in Ryan's. 
 
 The floors were littered with papers and books. 
 Desks were thrown open and drawers were scattered 
 about in every direction. 
 
 He entered Madden's office. There were no 
 shutters to the windows in either office. A yellow 
 linen blind which admitted the daylight was drawn 
 down every evening, and the windows were pro- 
 tected on the outside by horizontal iron bars. There 
 was sufficient light to see plainly what had happened 
 during the night. The door of the safe had been 
 forced open, and its contents were scattered on 
 the floor. The two interior drawers of the safe 
 were lying on the floor, bottom upwards ; one drawer 
 had held the gold ; in the other M'Cormick's tin box 
 had been placed. 
 
 Fearful lest some one might still be lurking on 
 the premises he quickly drew up the window- 
 blind; the dim yellow light was changed to a 
 bright white light, which found its way into every 
 nook and cranny in the office. He then crossed 
 the passage and drew up the blind in Ryan's 
 office. Here the litter and confusion were greater
 
 A MESSAGE FKOM THE DEEP. 241 
 
 than in Madden's office. Butler had to walk 
 almost ankle deep in papers and books in order 
 to reach the window. After drawing up the blind 
 he saw that some o£ the upturned drawers on 
 the ground had been completely smashed. " The 
 thieves lost their temper here, I suppose," he mut- 
 tered, "and finding nothing worth stealing, vented 
 their displeasure on my unoffending property." He 
 had no doubt about the gold; he was quite con- 
 vinced it had been the object of the burglary. 
 Nevertheless he returned to Madden's office and 
 turned up the iron drawer in which the money had 
 been deposited. As he expected, the gold was gone. 
 His eye now caught, in a distant corner of the office, 
 the glitter of the tin box which held M'Cormick's 
 will. He picked his way leisurely through the 
 litter on the floor and picked up the case. 
 
 An expression of alarm came into his face. The 
 padlock had been opened, and the case was empty. 
 
 For almost a minute he stood motionless. Then 
 with a smile he walked to the safe, and placing M'Cor- 
 mick's case on the top of the safe, he reflected : — 
 
 " How stupid of me to be so much alarmed ! No 
 
 doubt the will is somewhere on the ground. Why 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 242 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 should a burglar trouble his head about a piece of 
 parchment ? I must have a search for it immediately." 
 
 He walked out of the office, locking the door after 
 him, and advanced down the passage. As he came to 
 the front door a man, entering the office hurriedly, 
 stumbled against him. 
 
 " Beg pardon, sir," said Foxy Ned, astonished to 
 find his master in the office at such an hour. " I'm a 
 thrifle behind time, I know ; but it won't occur again, 
 sir ; it won't occur again. The fact is — " 
 
 " Go round at once to the Prince's Street Police 
 Barracks, and fetch a constable here." 
 
 " A constable, sir ! " cried Ned, in alarm. " You 
 wrong me, sir. There was never a man served you 
 more faithful and honest all these years than my own 
 self, Mr Butler. I hope you don't believe I'd do a 
 dirty turn against you, sir." 
 
 Ned's mind was, and had been for some days, 
 wholly occupied in the concoction of a small swindle, 
 and he was unable to divest himself of the notion 
 that the shipbroker could see into the innermost 
 workings of his brain. 
 
 " I don't quite understand you, Ned," said Butler, 
 with a quiet smile ; " unless it is that you are suffering
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 243 
 
 from a guilty conscience. The office has been broken 
 into during the night." 
 
 " Broken into, sir ! Glory be to heaven ! you don't 
 say so ! Broken into ! " 
 
 In his astonishment he forgot the respect he owed 
 to his employer, and he rushed past him into the 
 office. Butler saw him dart into Eyan's office, and in 
 a few moments Ned was again at the front door, his 
 face the picture of surprise and vexation. 
 
 " Shocking, sir ! Shocking ! " he cried. " I'll run 
 round to the barracks this minute. Broken into I 
 There's no mistake about it, sir ; it must have been 
 a desperate gang that did it — a desperate, blood- 
 thirsty gang." 
 
 " Don't stand chattering there. Be off at once, like 
 a good man." 
 
 Ned hobbled away, breaking into a gentle trot as 
 he advanced. The disastrous nature of the burglary 
 had come home to him with peculiar force. In a dis- 
 used cupboard in Ryan's office Ned usually kept a 
 certain black bottle, and when he went into the 
 office he found the bottle on the floor — empty. 
 
 Butler went back to Madden's office and com- 
 menced the search for the will. He had not been
 
 244 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 many minutes so engaged when Foxy Ned returned, 
 in company with a stout, red-faced sergeant of police. 
 
 " I brought the sergeant himself, sir," said Ned 
 breathlessly. " If there's a man in the country that 
 can ferret out a thief or a blackguard, the sergeant is 
 that man. He's the grandest — " 
 
 " That will do, Ned. Go out and stand at the door 
 until I have a few words privately with your friend." 
 
 Butler then informed the policeman, who made 
 entries in his note-book of all the salient facts, what 
 he knew concerning the condition of affairs in the 
 office the previous evening, and the condition of them 
 when he had entered the premises at half -past seven 
 o'clock. So full were his thoughts of the will that he 
 forgot to make any mention of the gold which had 
 been in the safe. 
 
 "But what could be the object of breaking 
 into a place like this ? " asked the policeman. " It 
 is well known you don't keep money here." 
 
 " But there was money here last night." 
 
 " Much ? " 
 
 " A hundred and forty pounds in gold, and some 
 loose silver in the cash-box — two or three pounds, 
 I think."
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 245 
 
 " Phew ! " whistled the sergeant. " That alters 
 the view o£ the case. Let us first discover how 
 the entry was effected. The motive is plain enough 
 now." 
 
 The two men went into the pasasge. 
 
 " Back door forced in," said the sergeant, examin- 
 ing the door. " Lock smashed, and bolt filed through. 
 It was the bolt that the difficulty was with," looking 
 at Butler ; " the lock wasn't worth three-halfpence. 
 "■ Entry effected through the backyard from the 
 outside,' making an entry in his notebook. No 
 doubt about that, I think." 
 
 " How on earth could the entry be effected from 
 the inside ? " asked Butler. 
 
 " I don't know, I'm sure," replied the sergeant, 
 with a cunning twinkle in his eyes. 
 
 Butler was puzzled. " Stupid fellow ! " he thought. 
 
 " Now, sir," said the sergeant, " let us have a 
 look at the front door. No force used here evi- 
 dently," he observed, stooping down and examining 
 the lock and the iron staple in the jamb of the 
 door, into which the lock-bolt fitted. " Lend me 
 your key, Mr Butler." 
 
 The shipbroker took the key from his pocket,
 
 246 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 and the sergeant put it into the keyhole, and, turn- 
 ing the key, shot out the bolt. Giving the bolt 
 a push with the palm of his hand, he forced the bolt- 
 easily back. " No difficulty about this lock either. 
 You see a child could have forced it. Might I ask> 
 sir, who was the last to leave the office last night 
 — who locked it up ? " 
 
 " My confidential clerk." 
 
 " Mr Madden ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 " What's the matter, sergeant ? " 
 
 "Nothing, sir. Now let us see if we can find 
 any clue to the thieves. Was it commonly known 
 about this money in the safe ? " 
 
 "No. At least I am not aware that anyone 
 knew I had kept it in the office except my two 
 clerks." 
 
 " Mr Madden and Mr Ryan ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "Well, if you don't object, I'll make an exami- 
 nation of Mr Madden's office with you." 
 
 "I wish you would, sergeant; and if you could 
 help me to discover a document which was taken
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 247 
 
 out of my safe, I promise you will not regret 
 having found it." 
 
 "All right, sir. Was the document a valuable 
 one — I mean could it by any plan be converted 
 into hard cash ? " 
 
 " No. It was of no value in the sense you 
 mean, sergeant. What a dreadful litter the place 
 is in ! " 
 
 "Was the gold loose?" 
 
 " No ; it was tied up in a small canvas bag. I 
 am not in so much trouble about the gold. That 
 can be replaced ; but the parchment cannot." 
 
 For upwards of half-an-hour the police-sergeant 
 -and Butler searched the floor for the missing docu- 
 ment. Butler could not tell what shape or size 
 the will was ; but he was confident the material 
 on which it was drafted was parchment. He knew 
 that nautical folk as a rule believed a document 
 was worthless from a legal point of view unless it 
 were drawn upon parchment. Therefore he desired 
 the policeman to confine his efforts to sorting out 
 from the medley of documents on the floor any 
 parchments he might meet. This simplified matters 
 considerably, and before nine o'clock Butler had
 
 248 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 made up his mind the will had been stolen. There 
 were ten parchments on the desk — six certificates 
 of registry, three certificates of classification, and 
 the Bishop's certificate of competency. 
 
 " Let us go into the other ofiice now," said Butler. 
 " Perhaps you had better have a look round there, 
 and then I suppose you will examine the yard at the 
 back before you make a report." 
 
 " Yes ; I am very sorry our search has been un- 
 successful, sir. Might I ask you another question ? 
 How many people knew where this document you 
 have been looking for was locked up ? " 
 
 " I am not aware that anyone alive, except myself,, 
 knew that case," pointing to M'Cormick's tin box, 
 " was locked up in the safe. This," pointing with his 
 foot to an upturned iron drawer on the floor, " was 
 a private drawer of mine." 
 
 " The very place, of course, anyone would naturally 
 conclude you would keep an important document." 
 
 " Granted ; but I don't see what light that throws 
 upon your part of the business, which is, I presume^ 
 to catch the thieves." 
 
 " I am not so sure of that." 
 
 " How ? What do you mean ? "
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 249 
 
 " Oh, nothing, sir. Had we not better examine the 
 other office ? " 
 
 When the two men entered Ryan's office, the quick 
 eye of the policeman caught sight of a small bundle 
 lying under the desk. Going down on his knees, he 
 drew the bundle out, and, slowly rising, he placed it 
 on the desk. 
 
 " A burglar's kit ! " he cried, opening out what 
 seemed to the shipbroker a small piece of carpet. 
 " Look here, Mr Butler, isn't that beautiful ? I 
 haven't seen anything half so neat since I joined the 
 force." 
 
 The shipbroker could not see any beauty in the 
 tools now laid out for his inspection. Indeed, one of 
 them, a long, heavy chisel, with a large gap in the 
 end of it, sent a thrill of horror through him. 
 
 " Roll that thing up, sergeant." 
 
 The policeman tenderly wrapped up the collection 
 of bright skeleton keys and dull jemmies, and then his 
 spell of ecstasy was over. With a frown he said, — 
 
 " This puts a new aspect on the case. Those tools 
 
 were never made in Sloughford. My suspicions are 
 
 all knocked on the head— unless," he 'added, as if to 
 
 himself, " the kit was left here as a blind." 
 
 VOL. I. ^
 
 250 IN ONE TOWN. 
 
 " I don't understand you. What were those wonder- 
 ful suspicions of yours, sergeant ? " 
 
 " Suspicions ! " exclaimed the policeman, with well- 
 feigned astonishment. " I have no suspicions — not 
 yet, at any rate." 
 
 " But a moment ago you said you had." 
 
 " A mistake, sir. Quite a mistake of mine if I did 
 say so." 
 
 " Stupid man ! " reflected Butler again. " I wish 
 a less conceited member of the force had been sent 
 here." 
 
 It was now about a quarter after nine, and Foxy 
 Ned, who was standing outside the office door, saw 
 Madden and Ryan approaching leisurely arm-in-arm. 
 He ran to meet them. 
 
 " Shocking work, Mr Arthur ! Shocking work, Mr 
 Michael ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 " What is it ? " asked both men, standing still. 
 
 " The office has been broken into. The peelers are 
 in the place. Such a mess you never saw." 
 
 " Broken into ! How do you mean ? What do you 
 mean ? " cried Madden, his cheeks turning suddenly 
 white. 
 
 " You'll see soon enough, sir. The back door
 
 A MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP. 251 
 
 smashed open ; the front door broke open ; the safe 
 and everything in it thrown about the floor. The 
 master is inside himself, ready to tear his hair off; 
 and no wonder." 
 
 " Let us hurry in, Madden. Don't stand there 
 listening to Ned's gabble. You see the governor was 
 right about not leaving money in the place." 
 
 " Hold on a minute. Ned gave me such a devil of 
 a shock. I thought at first something might have 
 happened to the governor. Now," heaving a deep 
 sigh, " I am ready." 
 
 " I expect you will find Ned has been drawing the 
 long bow a little," said Ryan, as the two men hurried 
 towards the office. 
 
 " I hope — I mean, I think not. He hasn't the 
 imagination to invent a back and front door smashed 
 open, not to mention a safe thrown all over the floor." 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 COLSTON AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
 
 /