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diff --git a/43414-0.txt b/43414-0.txt index 92f82ce..10a673c 100644 --- a/43414-0.txt +++ b/43414-0.txt @@ -1,25 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rilla of the Lighthouse, by Grace May North - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Rilla of the Lighthouse - -Author: Grace May North - -Release Date: August 7, 2013 [EBook #43414] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RILLA OF THE LIGHTHOUSE *** - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43414 *** Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at @@ -7465,361 +7444,4 @@ winning way: “I want you to love me. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Rilla of the Lighthouse - -Author: Grace May North - -Release Date: August 7, 2013 [EBook #43414] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RILLA OF THE LIGHTHOUSE *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> <div class="img"> <img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Rilla of the Lighthouse" width="600" height="697" /> @@ -8462,375 +8428,7 @@ love me. I am Rilla of the Lighthouse.”</p> -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Rilla of the Lighthouse, by Grace May North - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RILLA OF THE LIGHTHOUSE *** - -***** This file should be named 43414-h.htm or 43414-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/4/1/43414/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Rilla of the Lighthouse - -Author: Grace May North - -Release Date: August 7, 2013 [EBook #43414] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RILLA OF THE LIGHTHOUSE *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - "Clear out! Go away! We don't want any landlubbers here!" - (Page 23) - - - - - RILLA - OF THE LIGHTHOUSE - - - By GRACE MAY NORTH - - - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - Akron, Ohio New York - - Copyright MCMXXVI - _Made in the United States of America_ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - I. Rilla. 3 - II. A Gift From the Sea. 12 - III. A First Adventure. 22 - IV. A Shipwrecked Mariner. 33 - V. A Swim in the Night. 41 - VI. A Searching Party. 46 - VII. The Heart of Cap'n Ezra. 53 - VIII. A Secret Told. 57 - IX. A First Letter. 66 - X. The Hoped for Message. 71 - XI. A Party for Two. 78 - XII. Wee Irishy Cakes. 86 - XIII. Neighborliness. 95 - XIV. The Storm. 102 - XV. Three More Girls. 108 - XVI. An Expected Surprise. 113 - XVII. The Blue Jewels. 120 - XVIII. Memories. 125 - XIX. The Owner of the Box. 129 - XX. New Year's Eve. 139 - XXI. Christmas in February. 144 - XXII. Facing Realities. 149 - XXIII. The Storm. 153 - XXIV. High Cliff Seminary. 162 - XXV. Muriel Finds a Friend. 174 - XXVI. Muriel Receives a Letter. 183 - XXVII. Muriel Begins Her Studies. 191 - XXVIII. A Lesson in Tennis. 196 - XXIX. Joy Kiersey. 204 - XXX. Joy's Secret. 214 - XXXI. The Tennis Game. 218 - XXXII. Wainwater Castle. 225 - XXXIII. The Poetry Contest. 235 - XXXIV. Marianne Wins the Prize. 242 - XXXV. Muriel Writes a Letter. 253 - XXXVI. Muriel Visits Tunkett Again. 262 - XXXVII. Muriel Surprised. 269 - XXXVIII. Muriel Visits Windy Island. 276 - XXXIX. A Letter from Gene. 288 - XL. Joy and Faith Visit Tunkett. 292 - XLI. Muriel Hears from Her Father. 298 - XLII. Muriel Meets Her Father. 304 - XLIII. Rilla of the Lighthouse. 308 - - - - - RILLA OF THE - LIGHTHOUSE - - - - - CHAPTER I. - RILLA. - - -"Here yo', Shags! What yo' got thar, ol' dog? Haul it out! Like it's a -treasure from a ship that's gone down. Ahoy, thar, Shagsie! Here comes a -crashin' big wave. Whoo! Wa'n't that-un a tarnal whopper? An' yo' lost -yer treasure, sure sartin! Sharp ahead now, ol' dog, d'y see it anywhar?" - -The wind-blown girl and the big shaggy dog stood side by side on the -narrow, pebbly strip of beach and gazed intently at the whirling, -seething water where a breaker of unusual size had crashed high, sending -these two for a moment scrambling up the rocks. - -Back of them towered an almost perpendicular cliff, on top of which stood -the Windy Island Lighthouse, severe in outline, but glaring red and white -in color that it might be readily observed in the daytime by pilots who -were strangers in those dangerous waters. - -Many a shoal there was under the tossing, turbulent waves, unsuspected by -the unwary mariner, and, in the heavy fogs that often hung like wet, -impenetrable blankets over that part of the New England coast, many a -vessel would have crashed to its destruction had it not been for the -faithful Captain Ezra Bassett, who had been keeper of the light since -Rilla was a baby. - -The dog's sight must have been keener than that of the girl, for a moment -later he dashed away up the narrow strip of beach and began to bark -furiously at some object that was tossing on an incoming wave. The girl -raced after him, her hazel eyes glowing with excitement, her long brown -hair, with a glint of red in it, unfastened, flying back of her. - -"'Tain't the same thing, Shagsie!" she shouted to her companion. "'Tain't -what yo' was tryin' to fetch ashore down below by the rocks. This-un is -more like a box or suthin!" - -The eager expression in the girl's big, starlike eyes changed to one of -concern and anxiety. - -"Shags," she cried, "thar's been a wreck, that's sure sartin, but -'twa'n't hereabouts, 'pears like." She shaded her eyes with one hand, and -gazed searchingly out toward the horizon, but in another moment her eager -interest returned to the box. "Look, yo' ol' dog. It's ridin' high. We'll -get it, yo' see if we don't. Yi-hi! Here she comes. Heave ahead now, -Shagsie!" - -The dog raced around, barking wildly, but the barefooted girl plunged -deep into the seething foam, caught a banded box of foreign appearance -and held on with all her strength while the undertow tried to drag her -treasure away, but the wave receded and the box was left high. - -"We got it, ol' Shags. We got it!" she cried triumphantly, tossing back -her sun-shimmered hair, for, when she had stooped, it had fallen about -her face. This hindered the freedom of her movements, and so, snatching -up a wet green ribbon of seaweed, she tied her hair back with it. Another -wave was rushing, roaring shoreward. One quick seaward glance told her -that it was going to be the biggest one yet. - -Could she get the box high enough to be out of reach of that next -breaker? How she tugged! But her efforts were fruitless, for with a -deafening thud the wave crashed over her, lifting the box to which she -still clung and hurling them both farther up the beach. - -The girl was drenched but exultant and miraculously unhurt. - -"We've got it now, sure sartin, Shags, ol' dog." Flushed and breathless, -she sank down on the banded box for a moment to rest, but the dog, -sniffing at it, barked his excitement. - -"Yo'd like to know what's in it, would yo'?" queried the laughing girl. -"Well, sir, so would I, but like as not we'd better get it into Treasure -Cave 'fore we open it, like as not we'd better." - -As the girl spoke she glanced up at the lighthouse, towering above her. - -"Grand-dad's still asleep, I reckon, but 'twa'n't be long now afore he's -wakin', so we'd better heave to and hist her." - -Rilla had found a leather handle on one end of the box, and holding fast -to this, slowly and with great effort she began dragging it up the rocks -and about half an hour later, as a reward for her perseverence, she -disappeared with it into a small opening in the cliff, and not a moment -too soon, for a stentorian voice, high above her, called, "Rilly gal, -where be yo'? Don' yo' know as it's past time for mess?" - -"Yeah, Grand-dad. We was just a-comin'," Which was the truth, for having -safely hidden the box in her Treasure Cave, the girl had suddenly thought -that she must go at once and prepare her grandfather's evening meal. - -"Shagsie," she confided, "ol' dog, we'll have to wait over till tomorrer -to know what's in it. We'll come an' look as soon as its sun-up. Yo-o! -How I hope it's suthin' wonderful!" - -When Muriel Storm entered the kitchen of the small house adjoining the -light, her grandfather gazed at her keenly from under his shaggy grey -brows. "A severe, unforgiving man," some folks called him, but he hadn't -looked long at the darling of his heart before his expression changed, -softened until those grey eyes that had often struck terror to an -offending deckhand shone with a light that was infinitely tender. - -"Well, Rilly gal, fust mate of the Lighthouse Craft, I cal'late ye've -been workin' purty hard this past hour doin' nothin'. 'Pears like yer -purty het up lookin'." - -The girl made no reply, though she laughed over her shoulder at the old -man, who, with his cap pushed back, sat by the stove in his wooden -armchair, smoking his corncob pipe in solid comfort. - -This was the hour that he liked best, when his gal was cooking his -evening meal and chattering to him of this and that--inconsequential -things--telling him how the lame pelican that had been away for a week -had returned, but not alone, for a beautiful pelican that wasn't lame at -all had been with him, or, when she wasn't chattering, she was singing -meeting-house songs in her sweet untrained voice while she fried the fish -and potatoes, but tonight the old captain noted that the girl was -unusually silent, that her cheeks were almost feverishly red, and there -was a sudden clutching dread in his heart. Just so had the other Rilly, -this girl's mother, looked and acted the day before she ran away and -married the young man from the city. The eyes under the shaggy grey brows -were hard again, and Rilla, noting in the face of the grand-dad she so -loved the expression she dreaded, ran to him, fork in hand and pressing -her cheek against his forehead, she cried: - -"Oh, Grand-dad, what set yo' thinkin' o' that? Yo' know I wouldn't be -leavin' yo'. I love yo', Grand-dad; I'll allays, allays stay, an' be yer -fust mate." - -"Clear to the end of the v'yage? Take an oath to it, Rilly?" - -It might have seemed ludicrous to an onlooker, but there was no one to -see as the girl, with an earnest, almost inspired expression on her truly -beautiful face, stood up and lifting her hand, seemingly unconscious that -it held a fork, said in a voice ringing with sincerity, "I call God to -witness that I'll never go away from yo', Grand-dad, without yer -permittin' it." - -Then there was one of those sudden changes that made Rilla so -irresistable. "Grand-dad," she cried, teasingly, as she stooped and -looked with laughing eyes directly into the grey ones that were softening -again, "I'm only sixteen, come next month, and why 'tis yo' worry so -'bout my marryin', sartin is puzzlin'. I don't even know a boy 'ceptin' -Mrs. Sol Dexter's Buddy, and he's not as high as one of the barrels in -his ma's store." - -"Yer heavin' oil on troubled waters, and the sea's smoothin' down," the -old captain said as he drew his chair up to the table and took up his -knife and fork preparatory to eating the good supper that Rilla had -placed before him. But, instead of beginning, he remarked: "I can't -figger out why I keep thinkin' of city fellers this week past. They don't -any of 'em come to Tunkett at this time o' the year. That thar summer -hotel at the pint is closed as tight as a clam that can't be opened -without smashin' it, an' so are the cottages, as the rich folks call them -gray shanties they loaf around in every summer, so I figger yer ol' -grand-dad must be gettin' hallucinations." - -When the supper dishes had been washed and put away, Rilla found her -grandfather sitting just outside the door smoking his beloved corncob -pipe and watching the sunset. She went out and sat on a wooden stool at -his feet. Rilla loved to sit quietly with folded hands while the glow was -fading in the west and dream dreams. Just as the last flush was paling -the old man rose. - -"Time to put the light on, Rilly gal," he said. - -She heard his heavy steps climbing the spiral stairs. Fainter and fainter -they grew, and then, a moment later, just as the first stars glimmered -through the dusk, the great light flashed over the sea and began slowly -turning, for the lighthouse was on an island one mile from shore, and the -waters all about it were illumined. - -For a moment Rilla saw a fishing boat that was nearly becalmed and would -have trouble reaching port that night. - -"It's ol' Cap'n Barney, like's not. He's allays late gettin' in." - -The girl rose and went indoors. Shags, who had been lying silently at her -feet, accompanied her. "Good-night, Grand-dad," she said, standing on -tiptoe to kiss the old man, who stood erect in spite of his many years. - -Then almost shyly she added: "Grand-dad, when I come sixteen yer goin' to -tell me all about it, like yo' promised, aren't yo', Grand-dad?" - -A grunt, which could hardly be interpreted in the affirmative, was the -only reply, and yet neither had it been negative. - -Kissing him again, Rilla went to her snug little room over the kitchen, -and Shags followed, for he always slept just outside her closed door. - -Rilla did not light the kerosene lamp that stood on the small table. The -moon was rising and she liked its light best. For a moment she stood at -the open window, facing the town, which in the fall and winter was so -dark and quiet in the evening, but in summer, when the city people were -in their cabins on the point, it was pulsing with life, color and music. -Rilla never visited the town in summer. She was then practically a -prisoner on the small rocky island. For a long time she stood watching -the waves that lifted silvery crests in the moonlight. "I wonder who my -dad was," she thought, as she had many times before. "I wonder why he -never came for me, after my girl-mother died." Forgotten was the box in -Treasure Cave. - -Many had been the moods of Rilla that day, but when she had undressed in -the moonlight she knelt, not by the bedside, but facing the window. -Looking up toward the peaceful, starry sky, she whispered softly, "God in -Heaven, bless my grand-dad, and--and my father--who never came for me. -Amen." - -Soon she was asleep, little dreaming that the next day was to bring into -her hitherto quiet and uneventful life her first real adventure. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - A GIFT FROM THE SEA. - - -Sunrise and the memory of the treasure box came at the same time. Rilla -was dressed in a twinkling. She did not even stop to peer into the bit of -broken mirror which Mrs. Sol Dexter had given her, hoping that with it -would go the proverbial seven years of bad luck. Mrs. Sol Dexter kept the -general store and postoffice in the fishing village of Tunkett. - -She was absolutely honest, was Mrs. Sol, but not inclined to be generous. -If the scales tipped one cranberry too many, out came that cranberry! She -had never before been known to give anything away, but something which -might bring bad luck she had been willing to part with. - -It had been a happy day for Rilla, that one, when for the first time she -had acquired a real mirror. - -It was, of course, after the summer season, or she would not have been in -town at all. And on that same day her grand-dad had given her a whole -quarter to spend just as she wished and she had asked Mrs. Sol Dexter for -two hair ribbons, one to match the sunrise and one like the green in the -hollow of a wave just before it turns over when the sun is shining on it. - -"Queerest gal, that!" Mrs. Dexter confided to her husband, Cap'n Sol, the -next time he came in from one of his sea "v'yages." - -"She must get all them sunset notions from her pa's side. I recollect -hearin' he was an artist fellow." - -"Wall," the good-natured man had replied, "if that pore gal gets any -comfort out'n 'em, I'm sure sartin glad. She's little more'n a prisoner -most o' the year over thar on Windy Island. Jest because her ma ran off -'n' married up wi' that city feller, ol' Ezry Bassett is tarnal sartin -the same thing'll happen to Rilly. But I cal'late them thar city fellars, -on the whole, ain't hankerin' to splice up with lighthouse keepers' gals -nor grand-gals, neither." - -When Rilla had reached home that never-to-be-forgotten day when she had -purchased something all by herself and for the very first time, she had -slipped up to her room with the broken mirror and she had tied on both of -the new hair ribbons, one red and one green. They weren't the shades that -she had really wanted, but they were the prettiest that Mrs. Sol Dexter -had in stock. Then she gazed long at her reflection in the mirror. -Once--just once--her grand-dad had told her that she was the "splittin' -image" of her mother, who had died when she was only seventeen. - -"I've allays wished as I had a photygraf of her," Rilla had thought. "Now -I can be lookin' in the mirror an' pretendin' it's a picture of my -mother, only _she'd_ be lots sweeter lookin'. Mrs. Sol Dexter said as how -the summer folks called _her_ beautiful." - -There was always a wistful, yearning expression in the hazel eyes of the -girl when she thought of her mother. - -But all this had happened the autumn before. Bad luck had _not_ befallen -Rilla--she didn't even know that a broken mirror was supposed to bring -bad luck--and that is probably why it had not done so; for we get, in -this world, what we expect very often, and this little lass, who lived so -close to nature, was always expecting something wonderful to happen and -she found real joy in the simplest things. - -The dog, lying just outside the door, lifted a listening ear the moment -his little mistress had stepped out of bed and he was eagerly waiting -when she softly opened the door. - -"Sh! Shagsie, ol' dog, don' be barkin'," the girl cautioned. "Grand-dad's -put the light out an' he's gone back to his bunk for 'nother forty winks. -You'n I'll have time to see what's in the box. Sh-h! Soft now!" - -The dog's intelligent brown eyes were watching the face of his mistress -and he seemed to understand that he must be very quiet. If Muriel tiptoed -as she went down the curving flight of steps to the kitchen, so too did -Shags. As she passed the door of her grand-dad's bedroom she could hear -his even breathing. - -It was not unusual for Rilla and Shags to climb to the top of the crags -to watch the sunrise, and so, even if her grandfather had awakened, he -would have thought nothing of it, but it was not to the highest point of -the cliff that the girl went. - -Instead, she clambered down what appeared to be a perilous descent, but -both she and the dog were as sure-footed as mountain goats, and they were -soon standing on the out-jutting ledge in front of a small opening which -was the entrance to her Treasure Cave. - -Eager as the girl was to learn the secret that the box contained, she did -not go in at once, but paused, turning toward the sea. The waves, lifting -snowy crests, caught the dawning glory of the sky. Impulsively she -stretched her arms out to the sun. - -There was something sacred to this untaught girl about the rebirth of -each day, and the glory of the sky and sea was reflected in her radiant -upturned face. Only for a brief while did the pageantry last, and the -world--Rilla's world, all that she knew--was again attired in its -everyday garb, sky-blue, sea-green, rock-grey, while over all was the -shining sun-gold. - -Stooping, for the cave door was too small to be entered by so tall a girl -were she standing erect, Rilla disappeared from the ledge and Shags -followed her. The cave within was larger than one might suppose, and was -lighted by wide crevices here and there in its wall of rocks through -which rays of sunlight slanted. The continuous roar of the surf, crashing -on the rocks below, was somewhat dulled. - -Rilla leaped forward with a little cry of joy. - -"Shags," she called gleefully, "it's still here! 'Twa'n't a dream-box -arter all. I sort o' got to thinkin' in the night it might be." She -clapped her hands, for there were moments when Rilla was a very little -girl at heart, much younger than her years, and yet at other times, when -she was comforting her old grand-dad and soothing away his imaginary -fears, she was far older than fifteen. - -Shags was now permitted to bark his excitement, which he did, capering in -puppy fashion about the banded box of foreign appearance. - -The girl looked at it with her head on one side. "How in time are we to -get into it, ol' dog?" she inquired as she stooped to examine the box. -"'Pears like we'll have to smash it. Here yo', Shags, what's that tag-end -yer tuggin' on? Yo-o! It's the answer to the riddle, like's not! That -strap's got a buckle on it, an' it's mate's the same. Heave ho! Open she -comes. Easy as sailin' down stream." As the girl spoke she lifted the -cover of the box and uttered a cry of mingled joy and amazement. - -"Thunder sakes! Tarnell!" she ejaculated, unconsciously using both of her -grandfather's favorite exclamations at once. - -"Shagsie, ol' dog, will you be lookin'! There's a mirror inside the cover -as hasn't a crack in it. Yo-o! It comes out. There now, stood up it's as -tall as I am." As the girl talked to her interested companion she lifted -the mirror-lined cover and placed it against the wall of the cave. -Meanwhile the curious dog was dragging something from the box. Rilla -leaped forward to rescue whatever it might be. "Lie down, sir, and mind -orders," she commanded. "I'm skipper o' this craft." After rescuing the -mysterious something which the dog had evidently considered his rightful -share of the booty, the girl knelt and examined the contents of the box. -She then turned glowing eyes toward her comrade, who had minded her and -was watching her intently, his head low on his outstretched paws. "Land a -Goshen!" she ejaculated. "Shagsie, ol' dog, what'd yo' think? This here -box is full o' riggin's for a fine lady such as comes from the city for -the summer, 'pears like, though I've never seen 'em close to." - -Awed, and hardly able to believe her eyes, Rilla lifted a truly wonderful -garment from the trunk--it was silk--and green, sea-green like the heart -of a wave just before its foamy crest curls over in the sun. - -It was trimmed with silvery, spangly lace. - -"It's a dress to wear, 'pears like, though thar's not much to it as yo' -could call sleeves, an', yo-o! Shagsie, will yo' look? Here's slipper -things! Soft as the moss on the nor'east side o' a rock an' green, wi' -silver buckles." Then the girl's excited, merry laughter rang out as she -drew forth another treasure. "Don' tell me yo' don' know what this here -is, Shagsie," she chuckled. "Maybe yo' think it's a green spider-web, but -'tisn't; no, sir, it's got a heel and a toe to it! That's a stockin', ol' -dog. Now, who'd----" She paused and listened intently. Ringing clear -above the booming crash of the surf she heard her grand-dad calling. -Quickly she ran to the opening. - -"Rilly gal, tarnation sakes, whar be you? Never seem to be around mess -time lately. The kettle's singin' like a tipsy sailor and 'bout to dance -its cap off." - -"Comin', Grand-dad," the girl thrust her head out to reply, in a quieter -moment, when a wave was receding; then hastily, but with infinite care, -she knelt and smoothed the silken folds of the shimmering green gown, -replaced the mirror-lined top, strapped it down and then covered the -whole with an old sail cloth which had been one of Rilla's former -stowed-away treasures. - -If the girl had been excited the night before, she was much more so this -early morning. However, her grand-dad was preoccupied and did not notice -the flushed cheeks and eager, glowing eyes of his "fust mate." Silently -he ate his quarter of apple pie, gulped down a huge cup of steaming -coffee. It was plain to the girl who watched him that he was thinking of -something intently. - -Rilla was counting the minutes that would have to elapse before she -revisited the cave, when her grand-dad pushed his armchair back from the -table and arose. - -"Rilly gal," he peered over his spectacles at the girl, "I've got to -navigate to town this mornin'. Oil and supplies are gettin' tarnicky low, -'pears like. Equinoxial storms are due in port mos' any day now, so we'll -not put the v'yage off any longer. Fust mate, be gettin' into yer -sea-goin' togs." - -Muriel's heart sank. "Oh, Grand-daddy, do I _have_ to go?" The piercing -grey eyes under shaggy brows turned toward the girl questioningly. Had he -heard aright? Could it be _his_ "gal" begging _not_ to be taken to town, -when usually it was right the other way. - -Then he laughed. "What a suspicious ol' sea-dog I am," he ruminated. -"Mabbe the gal's rigged up some new fancy notion down in that cave o' -her'n." Aloud he said heartily. "All right, fust mate, stay anchored if -ye want to. I'm thinkin' thar's nothin' on Windy Island to molest ye. -Thar's the gun in the corner if yer needin' it, but Shags, here, will -protect ye, won't ye, ol' skipper?" - -The dog leaped alongside as the old man went down the steep, wet stairs -that led to the wharf, near which a dory was floating. - -The girl stood in the open door, and with shaded eyes watched the -scudding sailboat until, as was his custom, her grand-dad turned to wave -to her as he passed the first buoy. - -There were many buoys, painted in varying bright colors, that the skipper -of each incoming fishing smack might have no trouble in locating his own -particular mooring place. On a moonlighted night, when the sailing boats -were all in, it was indeed a pretty sight to see the flotilla, some newly -painted and others weather-stained, bobbing on the choppy waters of the -bay. - -Windy Island, though only a quarter of a mile wide, was nearly a mile -long, and protected one of the snuggest little harbors to be found along -that wild, rugged coast. - -As soon as the kitchen was shipshape, Muriel raced toward the outer edge -of the cliff, calling "Yo-o, come on, Shagsie, ol' dog. We'll cruise back -to the cave." - -But Rilla did not enter her Treasure Cave again that day, for in another -moment, and quite unexpectedly, she was launched upon her very first real -adventure. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - A FIRST ADVENTURE. - - -Muriel did not have to call a second time to her shaggy friend, for up -the steep, wet steps from the wharf the dog leaped and lifted -intelligent, inquiring eyes. "Don' let's go to the cave fust off, -Shagsie." The girl always talked to her four-footed companion as though -she were sure that he could understand. "Let's go to that pebbly beach -war yo' found suthin' yesterday an' lost it. Mabbe it got washed up shore -agin, whatever 'twas. Mabbe now! What say, ol' Shags?" - -Knowing that a reply was expected when his mistress stooped and stroked -his head, the dog yapped eagerly, then raced alongside of the barefooted -girl, who followed an infrequently used trail which ambled along toward -the north end of the island, where the beach was wildest. - -The shore, however, could not be seen until one was nearly upon it. When -it came within the vision of the girl she stood still so suddenly that -Shags, having kept on, was several lengths ahead before he was conscious -that he was alone. - -He turned back inquiringly. "Sh! Keep still!" the girl whispered, her -hazel eyes growing darker and wider as she gazed, almost as though she -were frightened at something just below on the rocky beach. - -What she saw was not really fear-inspiring. A youth, dressed in white -flannels, who appeared to be but little older than Rilla, was standing -with his hands in his pockets gazing at a flat-bottomed, weather-stained -sailboat, in which he had evidently just landed and which he had drawn as -high as he could up on the shore. - -He turned with a start when an angry voice called, "Clear out! Go away! -We don' want any landlubbers here!" - -The lad, however, did not seem to be in the least intimidated by this -outburst from the rocks above him. - -Looking up, he actually smiled. A barefooted girl with red-brown hair -blowing in the wind and with a shaggy yellow and white dog at her side -was, to his thought, a picture more to be admired than feared. - -And, for that matter, Eugene Beavers, himself, was not fear-inspiring. He -had clear grey eyes, a keen, thin face, and a firmly rounded chin. -Indeed, Gene, as his best friends called him, was not only a good looking -lad but one whom young and old trusted unquestioningly. - -But with Rilla one thought was uppermost. One of those terrible creatures -so dreaded by her grand-dad had dared to land on her very own island. -There could be no mistake that he was "city folks," for no boy living on -the coast would have such a pale face nor would he be dressed in white -flannels. - -"If yo' don' board yer boat an' ship off instanter I'll send Shags at -yo', I will!" Rilla was wrathful because her first command had not been -obeyed. At this the lad laughed, not rudely, but with merry good nature. -It seemed to him truly humorous that this barefooted, wind-blown girl -should be ordering him out to sea. Rilla, however, believed that he was -laughing at her. Stamping her foot and pointing at the boy, her eyes -flashing, she cried, "Shags, at him, ol' dog." - -The faithful creature plunged down the rocky trail, growling as fiercely -as he could, but as he approached the youth toward whom his mistress was -pointing he paused uncertainly. The smiling lad, unafraid, was holding -out a welcoming hand. "Come here, good dog," he said coaxingly. - -Shags, being friendly by nature, and not in the least understanding the -present need for ferocity, actually wagged his tail and permitted the -strange boy to stroke his head. This was too much for Rilla. - -Her grand-dad had said that the dog would protect her, but he hadn't done -it. With an angry half sob, she turned and scrambled up the rocks. A -second later, when the boy looked up, the girl was not to be seen. -Shrugging his shoulders, he turned back to converse with his newly -acquired companion. Gene dearly loved dogs and Shags had instinctively -recognized in him a friend, but not so Rilla. She was convinced that all -boys from the city were enemies, for had not her grand-dad said so time -and again? - -Running to the lighthouse, the girl seized the gun that stood in the -corner and raced back again. The next time that Gene Beavers looked up, -there she stood with a gun pointed directly at him. - -"Now'll yo' take orders?" her voice rang out angrily, her eyes dark with -excitement. "Now'll yo' put out to sea?" - -The lad looked puzzled and then troubled. For the first time he was -conscious that this stormy girl really feared him, and yet he could not -get near enough to explain to her why he had landed on Windy Island. - -What should he do? What could he do? Rilla said no more, but, while he -was hesitating, there was a sudden report and a bullet whizzed over his -head. It was evidently merely a choice between which kind of an end to -his life he preferred. Pushing the boat into the water in a quiet, -rock-sheltered spot, he leaped in and shoved off. - -However, he had not gone two lengths from shore when he heard the girl -shouting lustily: "Come back here, yo' landlubber! Don' yo' know yer -boat's sinkin'? Tarnation sakes, what kind o' an old hulk yo' got thar?" - -The gun had been thrown down and the girl scrambled down to the edge of -the beach. The boat, having left the shelter of the rocks, was caught in -the surf. Seizing the oars, Gene let the sail flap as he tried to regain -the land. The leak which had driven him to shore in the beginning was -causing the boat to rapidly fill with water. Then, to complete his -feeling of helplessness, an unusually large breaker was thundering toward -him. - -"Jump the gunnel, quick, or yo'll flounder!" the girl commanded. - -The lad obeyed. Leaping into the swirling water, which was nearly chin -deep, he swam toward the shore, and not a moment too soon, for the -breaker lifted the boat high and crashed it to splinters on the rocky -point. - -The boy and the girl stood near each other watching the annihilation of -the craft and the angry after-swirl of dark green waters. - -Then, turning to his companion, he smiled. "Well, little Miss Storm -Maiden," he said, "you have saved my life, I guess, by your quick -command, although you really wanted to shoot me, since your dog wouldn't -eat me up." - -"How'd yo' know my name was Storm?" the truly amazed girl inquired. "I -hadn't tol' yo' nothin'." - -"I didn't know it. Is that your name?" - -The girl nodded. "Ye-ah! Muriel Storm, though Grand-dad calls me Rilly." - -"My name," the boy told her, "is Eugene Beavers, and my friends call me -Gene. My home is in New York, but I am visiting your Doctor Winslow in -Tunkett. He and my dad are old friends. I've been sick and had to leave -college right at the beginning of the term, so dad shipped me off down -here to----" - -Before he could finish his sentence, Muriel, who had been looking at him -steadily, exclaimed: "Yer shiverin' wi' the cold. The surf's like ice. -Yo' be gathering driftwood for a fire; make a tarnal whopper, while I get -some matches." - -Again the girl scrambled up the trail among the rocks and the dog went -with her. For a moment the lad stood gazing out at sea, as he ruminated, -an amused twinkle in his eyes: - -"And here I thought that Tunkett at this time of the year would be -stupid, the summer colony being closed, but I never had an adventure more -interesting than this one." - -Gene had a goodly pile of driftwood collected when Rilla reappeared on -the rocky cliff. Instead of the gun, she was carrying a covered bucket -and a thick china cup. - -Although her manner of approaching him could not really be called -friendly, yet it was not as hostile as her former attitude had been. She -held up the cup toward him and filled it with steaming hot tea. "Drink -that!" she commanded; then added, "Though likely 'twill mos' scald yo'." - -How the lad wanted to laugh. Just before he had left the city his sister -Helen had dragged him to an afternoon tea (or was it a bazaar?) and there -some prettily dressed girls had surrounded him, offering him dainty -porcelain cups half filled with fragrant orange pekoe. He was expected to -purchase one of them for the sake of the cause. Not wishing to offend any -of the fair friends of Helen Beavers, he had purchased them all, and -then, when unobserved, he had slipped away to freedom. - -Again a maiden--a storm maiden, at that--was offering him tea. The cup -wasn't porcelain and the girl was not effusively gracious to him as those -others, who all greatly admired him, had been. This wild island girl was -merely trying to warm him up that he need not freeze from his unexpected -plunge into the icy surf. There was another point of difference between -the two tea parties, Gene thought as he drank the hot, and almost bitter, -beverage. His one desire at the other had been to escape, but at this tea -party he found himself more interested than he had been in a long time. - -Gene had several moments alone in which to meditate, for Rilla, having -glanced at the sun, had suddenly scrambled up the rocks, and, shading her -eyes, had looked long toward the town. Being satisfied that her grand-dad -had not left Tunkett, she returned and lighted the dry wood, which soon -snapped and crackled. Then, rising, she put her hands on her hips and -unsmilingly gazed at the boy with dark, expressive eyes. After a moment's -solemn scrutiny she inquired: "How come yo' to be cruisin' 'round in that -ol' leaky hulk? Even a water rat'd had better sense." - -There seemed to the lad to be a note of scorn in the girl's voice, and -yet she had brought him tea. - -Gene lowered the cup and smiled at her. Usually his smile was contagious, -it was so genuinely good natured. "I don't blame you in the least for -calling me names," he told her. "I just landed in Tunkett yesterday, and -not knowing how to pass the time away, I went down to the wharf and asked -a small freckle-faced boy if I could hire a boat. He said I could have my -pick for a dollar an hour. He was going with me to where his boats were -tied, I suppose, but just then some woman in the store called and away he -ran. So I took the first boat I came to. I didn't notice that it leaked -until I was rounding the island." - -"That was little Sol--Mis' Dexter's boy--he rents boats to summer folks. -He asks a tarnal whoppin' price for 'em, 'pears like." - -"Well, his sail will cost me more than one dollar," the lad told her, his -eyes twinkling, "for I'll have to pay for the wreck, I suppose." Then he -added: "Miss Storm Maiden, why don't you smile? I've been here an hour, I -do believe, and although you have looked at me angrily and scornfully and -solemnly, you have not as yet smiled at me. - -"I can't be smilin' when I know I'm doin' what's agin my grand-dad's -orders, but I _tried_ to mind him. I tried to ship yo' off'n Windy -Island. I sure did." The lad was puzzled. "I'll testify that you tried -hard enough, but _why_ did you, Storm Maiden? Surely you weren't afraid -of me. I don't understand." - -Then, in a few words, the girl told of her grand-dad's dislike for "city -folks," though she did not tell him what caused that dislike. - -"Am I the very first boy you have ever talked with?" the lad asked in -amazement. - -Rilla, still solemn, nodded. "Ye-ah," she said, "an' I'm tarnal sartin I -don' know what to do with yo', bein' as yer boat's wrecked. Grand-dad'll -be back by noon and it's most that now." A swift glance at the sun had -told Rilla the time. "Yo'll have to hide in Treasure Cave, that's what! I -can't come to see yo' thar; 'twouldn't be honest to Grand-dad; but I'll -let down a basket of grub on a rope. Then, when Cap'n Barney comes in -from the fishin' shoals where he goes every day I'll hail him an' tell -him to take yo' to town. He don' mind city folks the way Grand-dad does." - -As she talked, Rilla led the way along the shore and paused at the foot -of the perilous cliff above which towered the lighthouse. - -"Thar's a sail cloth in the cave as yo' can wrap up in and keep warm," -she said. Then she pointed out the steep trail. - -The lad looked at it and secretly wondered if he could make it. Then, -turning, he held out his right hand, his cap in the other, as he said -earnestly: "Miss Muriel Storm, I thank you for everything." Then he -started to climb. The girl watched him anxiously. "Steady there!" she -cautioned. "Keep an even keel." - -The lad reached the ledge in safety and turned to wave his cap; then, -stooping, he entered the cave, and none too soon, for, right at that very -moment, a stentorian voice from the top of the cliff called, "Rilly gal, -where be ye?" - -"Comin', Grand-dad!" the girl replied. Then she raced along the strip of -pebbly beach, the dog at her heels. - -Rilla's heart was pounding with tumultuous excitement. How she wished -that she could go to her grandfather and tell him the whole truth, but -she did not dare. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - A SHIPWRECKED MARINER. - - -Cap'n Ezra Bassett was removing his rubber boots when Rilla entered the -room. The tea kettle was singing cheerily on the stove. She had refilled -it when she had made tea for Gene. - -Again the old man noticed the flushed, excited appearance of the girl. -"Rilla gal," he said as he tugged at one boot, "what in tarnation have -you got stowed away in that cave o' yourn that you're so plumb interested -in? I swan I can't figger it out. Maybe I'd better take a cruise down -that way and be inspectin' below decks." - -Luckily Rilla's back was turned as she hurriedly pared potatoes for the -frying. If her grand-dad had seen her face at that moment his suspicions -would indeed have been aroused. When she did turn with the black iron -spider to put upon the stove, she was greatly relieved to see that the -old captain was removing his second boot and that he did not mean to -carry out his threat to visit the cave. - -"Grand-dad," she began, hoping to lead his thoughts into other channels, -"was thar anythin' new as yo' heard of in town?" - -One might have supposed by his sudden explosive ejaculation that the new -channel into which his thoughts had turned was not a pleasant one. - -"Ye-ah, by thunder!" he said. "One of those good-for-nothin' city fellars -landed in Tunkett last night, so Mis' Sol was sayin', though what he's -doin' 'round here at this time o' the year nobody knows. I sure sartin -was plaguey glad yo'd stayed anchored here on Windy Island. I don't want -yo' to run afoul of any city folks--gals neither--with hifalutin' -notions; they're all a parcel o'----" The old man's speech was -interrupted by a crash. Rilla had dropped a dish, an unheard-of -proceeding, for she was as sure-fingered as she was sure-footed usually. -Luckily the china was thick and apparently unbreakable. - -"The grub's ready, Grand-dad," she said, as she poured into his cup the -strong, steaming tea. The old man was pleased to note how little interest -his "gal" took in the despised city folks, and he beamed across the table -at her as he continued: "Sho now, Rilly, here's some news on a dif'rent -tack. Cap'n Barney's laid up in drydock with rheumatics. Like's not he -won't be able to navigate that craft o' his for a week or two." - -The girl's face paled. "Oh, Grand-dad, I'm that sorry," she said, but her -thought was inquired: "How can that city chap get to the mainland if -Cap'n Barney don' take him?" - -Rilla had no other intimate friends among the fishermen who would be -passing that evening on their homeward way from the Outer Ledge where -they went at dawn each day after cod. - -Captain Barney she loved next to her grand-dad, for had he not helped -bring her up? One of her earliest recollections was of that kindly -Irishman holding her on his knee and telling her wonderful tales of fairy -folk who lived on that far away and dearly loved Emerald Isle where his -boyhood had been spent. Never had the girl wearied of listening to tales -of the mermaids who dwelt in caves under the cliffs and of the "Little -Folk" who went about among the peat cabins helping the peasants. - -"But thar's nothin' the loike of thim over here," old Cap'n Barney would -end, with a sigh, "lest be it's you, Rilly lass." - -When the noon meal was over, Captain Ezra pushed back his chair. "Wall, -fust mate, I reckon I'll cruise down to the shanty for a spell an' -overhaul the kit. Holler if ye need me." Rilla, with rapidly beating -heart, stood in the open door and watched her grand-dad as he slowly -descended the steep stairs leading to the little wharf near which bobbed -the anchored dory. About twenty feet up the beach was the shanty in which -Cap'n Ezra kept his fishing tackle and the supplies for the lighthouse. - -It was hard indeed for the girl, who was as honest as old Cap'n Ezra -himself, to be doing something of which her grand-dad would disapprove, -and yet she couldn't let a boy starve even if he had come from the city. - -Quickly she filled a basket with food and tied it firmly to one end of a -long rope. Going to the edge of the cliff, back of the lighthouse, she -called "Yo-o!" - -The boy appeared and stood on the ledge looking up. He waved his cap in -greeting and then, catching the swinging basket, he untied it. - -Rilla drew up the rope and let down a pail of tea; then she knelt and -leaning over as far as she could with safety she called: "Like's not -you'll have to bunk thar all night. Cap'n Barney didn't go fishin' -today." - -Then, before Gene could question her concerning some other manner of -reaching the mainland, the girl disappeared. - -The boy laughed as he re-entered the cave. "Robinson Crusoe's island was -not half as interesting as this one," he thought as he ate with a relish -the homely fare which the basket contained. He had not realized that he -was ravenously hungry. When the feast was over, the lad rose and looked -long out at sea, trying to discover the approach of a boat that might be -signaled. - -He knew that if he did not soon return to Tunkett his host, Doctor -Winslow, would become alarmed. Too, he was constantly on the alert for -the possible approach of Rilla's grandfather. "What an old ogre he must -be," the lad thought, "if his grand-daughter is afraid to tell him of the -near presence of a shipwrecked mariner." - -As the hours slipped by and no boat came within signaling distance, Gene -was tempted to walk boldly out from his hiding place and tell the keeper -of the light that he wished to be taken to town, but the "storm maiden" -had seemed so truly distressed at the mere thought that her grandfather -might learn of the presence of a "city boy" on Windy Island that, out of -chivalry, he decided to heed her wishes. - -Muriel had just replaced the rope in the toolhouse when she heard her -grandfather's voice booming from the foot of the steep stairway. - -"Ye-ah, Grand-dad, I'm comin'," the girl replied, wondering what was -wanted of her. Could he have seen her taking the basket of food to the -cave, she questioned. But, since he was still on the lower shore farthest -from the cliff, this was not possible. She found the old man busily -mending a net which was stretched out on the sand in front of the shanty. - -"Rilly gal," he said, smiling up at her, "thar's a tarnation lot o' tears -in this ol' net. Have you time, fust mate, to be helpin' with the mendin' -of it?" - -"Indeed I have, Grand-dad. All the time there is till sundown," Muriel -replied, almost eagerly. The girl's conscience had been making her very -unhappy. It was the first time in the fifteen years they had spent -together that Muriel had kept anything from her grandfather. Every -little, unimportant thing which had occurred during the almost uneventful -days had been talked over with him and the old man would not have -believed it possible for his "gal" to have been secretive, and yet, -during the three hours that followed while these two sat on low stools -mending the many tears in the net, Cap'n Ezra glanced often across at the -girl, who, with bent head and flushed cheeks, was working industriously. -Never before had he known his "gal" to be so silent. Usually her happy -chatter was constant when they were working together. The shaggy grey -brows were almost unconsciously contracted and the heart of the old man -was troubled. At last, rising, he went around and stood beside his -grand-daughter. Placing a hand upon her bent head, he asked kindly, "Fust -mate, tell me all about it. Tell your ol' grand-dad what's troublin' yo'. -Have yo' run afoul, Rilly gal, of anything that's hurt yo'?" - -The hazel eyes that were lifted were clear in their gaze. "No, Grand-dad, -not that," she replied. Then, as she said no more, but bent again over -her task, the old man, with folded arms, stood, gazing long across the -shimmering waters and toward the town. When he spoke there was almost a -wistful note in his voice. "Barney's been tellin' me that I'm not doin' -right by yo', Rilly gal," the old man began. "He was sayin' that I should -be sendin' yo' away to school to educate yo', like other gals. Is that -what's a-troublin' yo', fust mate? Are yo' hankerin' to leave yer ol' -grand-dad and----" - -He could say no more, for the girl, having leaped to her feet, clasped -her hands over his mouth. "Grand-dad," she lovingly rebuked him, "how can -yo' be askin' that? Didn't I promise I'd never be leavin' yo'? I don't -want to go. I'd be skeered, like's not, all alone in the big world. I -want to allays stay anchored here in the safe harbor of yer love, -Grand-dad." - -The girl had slipped around and nestled in the arms of the old man, -lifting eyes that were brimmed with unshed tears. - -There she was held so close, so sheltered, and when at last Cap'n Ezra -spoke he said, "I don't know what set me to thinkin' of all this, lest -'twas that Barney said that gals had a natural hankerin' for young folks, -an' I s'pose maybe they have. It's like pairin' off a gay little pleasure -yacht with an ol' weather-stained hulk that's most ready to sink, -an'----" - -"Oh, Grand-dad, don't be talkin' that way," the girl implored. "Yo're -goin' to live as long as I do. I couldn't be livin' without yo.'" - -The old man tried to laugh naturally. "What a pair of loons we be," he -said, "trying to sink a ship afore it strikes a shoal, seems like." He -was rebuking himself for having made his "gal" cry. - -They were soon busy again at the mending, but, although Rilla tried to -chatter as was her wont, the old man often found his thoughts wandering. -At last he said, "Most sundown, fust mate. Time for mess, I'm thinkin'." - -All that evening Rilla's thoughts were with Gene Beavers. She had not -found another opportunity to slip away to take food to him and yet the -basket she had taken at noon had contained enough for the day. - -That night, when she knelt by her open window, her prayer was not only -for her grand-dad, and for the father who never came, but also for her -old friend, Cap'n Barney, and for her new friend, Gene Beavers. - -Her last waking thought was that in the morning she would go to her -grand-dad and tell him all that had happened and that never, just never -again, would she deceive him. Then with a happier heart she fell asleep. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - A SWIM IN THE NIGHT. - - -Meanwhile Gene Beavers had seated himself upon the ledge of rocks below -the cave and had waited, now and then glancing up, hoping that the "storm -maiden" might appear with a message for him, but the afternoon hours -dragged away and she did not come. Then, at last, to his joy, he saw that -the fishing boats were, one by one, leaving the Outer Ledge and sailing -toward home. Scrambling down the steep cliff trail, the lad ran along the -beach and went far out on the rocky point. There he stood eagerly -awaiting the approach of the boats, ready, when he believed that he was -observed, to signal to them. But, because of the direction of the wind -and the lowness of the tide, the fishing boats gave Windy Island a wide -berth. One boat did turn on a tack and for a moment seemed to be bearing -directly toward the point. Taking off his white coat, Gene waved it -frantically, but the lone fisherman was busy with the ropes just then and -did not look up. A second later the boat swung about on another tack and -Gene realized, with a sinking heart, that he could depend no longer upon -the fishermen to take him to the mainland. - -Walking slowly around the island, he stopped suddenly, for he had heard -voices not far ahead of him. Quickly he stepped behind a sheltering -boulder, and none too soon, for it was at that moment that Cap'n Ezra had -risen and had announced that it was nearly sundown and time for the -evening meal. From his hiding place Gene observed all that happened. He -noted how troubled was the truly beautiful face of his "storm maiden." -Perhaps she was anxious about him. He almost hoped that she was. - -The net was put away in the shanty and the old man followed the girl up -the steep steps. Some time elapsed before Gene stepped out from his -hiding place. Walking out upon the small wharf, the lad stood looking at -the dory which was anchored nearby. If only he could borrow that boat, he -thought. He could row to town and hire someone to tow it back. But even -this he could not do without appealing to Captain Ezra, who, a few -moments before, had shouldered the oars and carried them up to the -lighthouse. - -As the lad stood gazing out over the water of the harbor the afterglow of -the sunset faded, the first stars came out and dusk gathered about him. -He shivered, for the night air seemed suddenly chill and damp. - -Until then Gene had not been greatly concerned about his mishap, -considering it rather in the light of an interesting and novel adventure. -His host, Doctor Winslow, luckily, had planned being away all of that -day. "When he returns his housekeeper, Miss Brazilla Mullet, will inform -him that I did not appear for the mid-day meal, as I had assured her that -I would," Gene thought, "and he will probably be greatly alarmed. It will -be easy enough to trace me to the dock where I hired the boat at so early -an hour this morning, and as I did not return it, he will naturally think -that I have met with disaster. If only I could make the mainland within -the next hour I might be able to save mine host much unnecessary -anxiety." - -Suddenly a daring plan suggested itself. - -The summer before, Gene had won the championship of his athletic club in -a two-mile handicap swimming race. It was only one mile to Tunkett, and, -moreover, the wind, blowing gently in from sea, would aid him greatly. -Surely he could make it, for, if he wearied, he could float on his back -until he was rested. Then another thought came to remind him of his -recent illness. Was it not to regain his strength that he had come to -Tunkett, having left college at the beginning of the fall term? When he -had won that championship he had been in the best of trim. Shrugging his -shoulders, Gene Beavers argued no more with himself. There seemed to be -no other alternative, and so, pulling off his shoes and socks and -throwing them to the beach with his white flannel coat, he went to the -end of the small wharf and plunged in. As Rilla had said, the water was -icy cold, and the lad struck out vigorously to keep warm. It never would -do for him to have a chill. - -On and on he swam, now and then lifting his head to assure himself that -he was keeping a straight course toward the town wharf, on the end of -which were three lights, two red and one white. How glad he was to see -them. The long, glimmering reflections stretched toward him and yet they -seemed farther away than they had appeared from Windy Island. - -Gene was nearing the silent, shadowy anchored fleet of fishing boats when -he suddenly realized that his strength was failing rapidly. If only he -could reach an unoccupied buoy which he saw bobbing not far ahead of him. - -For a moment he rested upon his back, but when he tried to turn again -that he might swim, he felt too weak to make the effort. Then he was -terrorized with the sudden realization that the tide had changed and that -he was drifting slowly away from the little fleet and out toward the open -sea. - -Gene made another herculean effort to turn over and swim, and so great -was his determination, he did succeed. Luckily the rising night wind -aided him and just then a wave, larger than the others lifted him on its -rolling crest and hurled him up on the cask-like buoy, and there he -clung. He had little hope of being able to long retain his hold, as his -fingers were numb with cold and his arms ached. Too, he felt drowsy, or -was it faint? - -It was at that moment that his "storm maiden" knelt in her open window, -and looking toward the starry heavens, asked God to care for her new -friend, Gene Beavers. - -Meanwhile, as the lad had surmised, Doctor Winslow was searching for his -guest. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - A SEARCHING PARTY. - - -It was nearing midnight and the huge lamp in the tower above the cliff -was mechanically swinging in its great iron frame, hurling its beacon -rays far out to sea, slowly, rythmically turning. For a brief moment the -Outer Ledge was revealed, deserted and surf washed, then the almost even -roll of waves were illumined, their white crests flashing in the dazzle -of light, to be again engulfed in darkness. Slowly the lamp turned toward -the town, where the three lanterns, two red and one white, still burned -on the end of the wharf to guide a homeward belated fisherman, then the -little fleet of fishing boats and the cask-like buoy were for a moment -revealed. The summer colony of boarded-up cabins was next illumined; too -the low, rambling inn that would not be opened for many months; then -again the wide path of light swung out to sea and started once more on -its circling sweep that would continue until dawn. - -It was the custom of Captain Ezra to waken at midnight to be sure that -the mechanism of the lamp was in perfect order. He was just descending -the spiral stairway after a visit of inspection when there came an -imperative pounding without. - -Shags, sleeping outside of Rilla's door, heard it and leaped to his feet -with an ominous growl. - -The girl, startled from slumber, sprang from her bed and dressed quickly. -She had often done this before when a crashing thunder storm had awakened -her, and she wanted to be on watch with her grand-dad. Her first -conscious thought had been that the expected equinoctial storms had come, -but when the knocking continued and a man's voice called, "Cap'n Ezra, -quick! Open the hatch," a new fear clutched at the heart of the girl. - -Perhaps the summons had something to do with Gene Beavers, the lad from -the city. She had not been able the evening before to hail him from the -top of the cliff, but surely he could have kept warm if he wrapped well -in the sail cloth, and there had been food enough in the basket for two -days at least. - -Muriel was soon hurrying down the short flight of stairs that led from -her small room above the kitchen. Her grand-dad had already flung the -door wide open and there Rilla saw several longshoremen in slickers and -sou'westers, who were carrying lanterns. Doctor Winslow was in the lead, -and his white, drawn face plainly told how great his anxiety had been. - -"Lem, ol' pal, what's gone wrong?" Captain Ezra inquired. He drew the -physician, who had been a friend of his boyhood, into the kitchen, which -was still warm, as the fire in the stove had but recently died down and a -few embers were burning. - -"Ez," Doctor Winslow began, when the men had entered and closed the door, -"have you seen a young boy, a chap about eighteen, sailing anywhere near -Windy Island today? You've heard me speak of Dan Beavers, who was a -college mate of mine. Well, this is his son. He came to Tunkett to try to -regain his strength after a serious illness. Truth is, he ought not to -have attempted to sail a boat alone. I wouldn't have permitted it if I -had been at home, but I had several calls to make across the marshes, and -when I go there I make a day of it." - -The old sea captain was shaking his grizzled head as his friend talked. -"No, Lem," he replied when the other paused. "I reckon yer off'n yer -bearin's, I ain't sighted a city chap cruisin' 'round in these waters, -not since the colony closed, but, for onct, I wish I had, bein' as it's -some-un b'longin' to yo', mate." - -A cry from Rilla caused them all to turn and look at her as she stood in -the open stair door. Running to Doctor Winslow, she caught his hand. -"Uncle Lem," she said, "I know where he is, if it's a lad named Gene -Beavers that yo're wantin'." - -Then, seeing the inquiring expression on the face of Captain Ezra, she -hurried on to explain: "His boat was wrecked, Grand-dad, that's how he -come to be here, but I didn't dare to tell yo', yo're that sot agin city -chaps. I didn't do anythin' that yo' wouldn't want me to, Grand-dad. I -didn't go near the cave where he was, not once in all the afternoon. Yo' -know I didn't, for I stayed right with yo' a-mendin' the net." - -"I figger yo' did the best yo' could, fust mate," the old man replied; "I -cal'late it's me that's bungled matters, makin' yo' skeered to come and -tell things straight out. But like's not we'll find the boy sleepin' in -the cave. Don't let's hang out distress signals till we're sure we're -goin' to sink." As he talked he put on his slicker and cap, as the night -wind was cold. Then, taking a lighted lantern, Cap'n Ezra, after bidding -Rilla to liven up the fire and put the kettle on, opened the door and led -the way to the top of the cliff. Making a trumpet of his hands, he -shouted: "Ho, there, down below! Yo're wanted up on deck." - -Then they waited, listening, but the crashing of the surf was all that -they heard. One of the younger men who was used to scaling cliffs, -however steep, climbed down to the ledge and held his lantern so that the -small cave was illumined. After a moment's scrutiny he called up to the -anxious group: "Empty as an ol' clam shell. Nothin' in there but a box -an' a sail cloth that's spread out flat an' concealin' nobody." - -When Muriel heard the men returning, she threw open the door and her -eager glance scanned the group, hoping to find among them her new friend, -Gene Beavers. "He wa'n't thar, fust mate," the old sea captain said -gloomily, "an' I figger it's all my fault for bein' so tarnal sot agin -city chaps. I reckoned, one bein' a scoundrel, they all was, like's not." -Then, turning to Doctor Winslow, he added with spirit: "Lem, we won't -give up yit. We'll throw out a drag net if need be. I'm goin' along, -wherever yo' cruise to. Rilly gal can tend to the light for a spell. I -couldn't rest easy if I wa'n't tryin' to help locate the lad. The heft of -this trouble comes from me being so tarnal sot about things." - -The physician placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Look here, Ez," he -said, "neither you nor Rilla are to blame. The lad has not used good -judgment, but older men than he is have failed in that, now and then. You -mustn't come with us. A heavy fog is rolling in and you might be needed -any moment right here at the light. Some ship may send in a distress -signal and Rilla is only a little girl, after all, only fifteen, and we -mustn't ask her to assume so serious a responsibility." - -While the physician was talking, the girl whom he had called "little" was -pouring the tea she had made into four heavy cups and one of these she -took to Doctor Winslow, saying, "Uncle Lem, drink this, please do, 'fore -you go out agin into the wet fog, an', too, thar's a cup for each of -you." - -The men seemed glad for the warmth of the beverage and then, when the -cups had been drained, they started out, calling back that they would -swing the red lanterns in a circle three times from the end of the town -wharf if Gene Beavers was found that night. - -When they were gone, Rilla removed her grandfather's slicker and he sank -down in his armchair and buried his face in his hands. - -Muriel stood at his side, her arm about his neck, not knowing what to -say. - -Reaching up, the old man clasped the girl's hand in his big brown one as -he said: "Rilly gal, I figger yer ma was right, arter all. 'Dad,' says -she, many's the time, 'it's hate that brings the sorrow an' trouble to -the world an' it's love that brings in the happiness.' Like's not my -little gal'd be livin' now if I'd tried seein' things _her_ way; if I'd -welcomed the man she wanted to marry, 'stead of hatin' him an' turnin' -him out. He went, when I tol' him to, an' he took my gal. I reckon it's -that same sort o' hate that's fetched this trouble to my ol' messmate, -Lem Winslow. I'm done wi' it, Rilly gal, done wi' hate, though I figger -mos' likely it's too late." - -Muriel felt a hot tear splash on her hand. Pressing her fresh young cheek -against the leathery one, she implored, "Don' be talkin' that way! How's -it too late, Grand-dad? We'll begin all over, shall we, yo' an' me; we'll -begin lovin' and not hate anyone at all, shall we, Grand-dad?" - -The old man did not reply, but he held the girl's hand in a tighter -clasp. Then rising and going to the window, he stood for a moment looking -out into the darkness, waiting until the circling light would reveal the -dory containing the three men. - -"That fog is so tarnal thick, they're like to lose their bearin's an' -thar'd be no savin' 'em if they got drug into the surf at the pint." - -Then, after a moment of intense thought, the old man whirled, his face -set with a new determination. "Rilly gal, I'm goin' to do it," he cried. -"I'd oughtn't to, but I'll take the chance." Then, noting the inquiring -expression of the girl's face, the old man explained: "I'm a-goin' to -hold the big lamp so 'twill shine steady toward town till they get into -port. The Outer Ledge'll have to stay dark for a spell. It's a big -chance. I'd ought not to take it, but, by giggers, I'm goin' to!" - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - THE HEART OF CAP'N EZRA. - - -Meanwhile the three men in the dory had pushed away from the small wharf -on Windy Island and had started rowing into the thick, almost -impenetrable blanket of fog, which, having swept in from the sea, had -settled down over the inner harbor. - -They could hear the melancholy drawn-out wail of the foghorn which was -beyond the Outer Ledge. The two longshoremen who were with the doctor -rowed toward the faint glimmer of red light, which could hardly be -distinguished. In fact, there were times when the lights on the town -wharf could not be seen at all, and once, when the roaring of the surf -seemed nearer than it should be, they realized with sinking hearts that -they had lost their bearings. Then it was that one of them uttered an -exclamation of astonishment and alarm. "The big light!" he cried. "What'd -ye s'pose has happened to it? Look ye! 'Tisn't swingin' like it should -be. It's hittin' a course straight toward town." - -Doctor Winslow, at the rudder, turned and looked over his shoulder at the -looming black mass that was Windy Island. "Ezra is doing it to guide us," -he said, "but he's taking a big chance." Then a sudden cry of warning: -"Starboard, hard! We almost ran head-on into that old buoy that hasn't -anchored a fishing smack since Jerry Mullet's boat went to the bottom." - -"The big light came jest in the nick o' time, I swan if it didn't," Lute, -in the bow, declared, as with a powerful stroke, he turned the dory so -that it slipped past the buoy, barely scraping it. - -"Straight ahead now. Give the fleet a wide berth," the doctor called. The -men were pulling hard when one of them stopped rowing and listened. "Doc -Winslow," he said, "tarnation take it, if I didn't hear a ghost right -then a-moanin' in that old hulk of Sam Peters'. Like's not it's a warning -for us of some kind." - -Being superstitious, the longshoreman was about to pull away harder than -before, when the doctor commanded: "Belay there! Hold your oars! That's -not a ghost. There's someone in that boat. More than likely it's old Sam -himself having one of his periodical spells. He won't need help if it is, -but I can't pass by without finding out what is wrong. Thank heaven the -light is steady, if all's well on the outer shoals." - -It took but a moment, the fog being illumined, for the dory to draw up -alongside of the boat that belonged to the frequently intoxicated -fisherman Sam Peters. Not a sound did they hear as they made fast. - -"I reckon 'twa'n't nothin', arter all." Hank Walley was eager to return -to shore. "Like as not 'twa'n't." - -Doctor Winslow listened intently. He, too, was anxious to reach the home -port, knowing that, not until then, would his friend Captain Ezra start -the big light swinging on its seaward course; but he lingered one moment. -"What ho! Sam there?" he called. But there was no reply. The good doctor -was about to give the command "Shove off. Get under way," when the sharp -eyes of the youngest man, Lute, noted a movement of some dark object he -had supposed was furled sail. Instantly he had leaped aboard the smack. -Holding his lantern high, he uttered a cry that brought the doctor to his -side. "By time!" Lute shouted. "It's the boy himself, but if he ain't -dead, he's durn close to it." - -It was indeed Gene Beavers, who, after resting a while on the cask-like -buoy, had managed, with almost superhuman effort, to climb aboard the old -fishing boat. Then he had lost consciousness; in fact, his breathing was -so slight that the words of the longshoreman seemed about to be -fulfilled. - -The doctor did what he could to revive the lad; then wrapped him in an -old sail cloth. - -Ten minutes later, Rilla, standing by the side of Captain Ezra at a -window in the tower, uttered a glad cry. "They're swingin' 'em, -Grand-dad. They're swinging the two red lights! They've found him. -They've found Gene Beavers." - -"God be thanked!" the old man said, as he started the big lamp turning on -its usual course. The fog had lifted out at sea and he scanned the dark -waters anxiously, eagerly. It had been a tremendous chance that he had -taken, and none but his Creator knew how constantly he had been praying -to the One who rules the sea that all might be well. It was a strange -thing for Captain Ezra to pray, but it seemed easier since hate had been -banished from his heart. Muriel noticed a new expression in the face of -the old man when, the next morning after breakfast, he said to her, -beaming over his spectacles: "Put on yer Sunday riggin's, Rilly gal. -You'n me air goin' to cruise over to Tunkett an' find out if that city -fellar is shipshape an' sailin' on even keel." - -The girl went around the table, and stooping, she pressed her warm young -cheek against the wrinkled, leathery forehead. - -The old man reached for her hand and held it in a firm clasp. Neither -spoke, but both knew that, at last, the hatred of many years had left the -heart of Captain Ezra. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - A SECRET TOLD. - - -Doctor Winslow was just leaving the room of his patient when he heard a -familiar voice in the lower hall. Hurrying down the wide stairway, he saw -standing near the door Cap'n Ezra with Muriel at his side. - -"How's the lad comin'?" the keeper of the light asked eagerly, when -greetings had been exchanged and the story of the finding of Gene had -been told briefly. - -"He'll pull through, I hope and believe," the doctor replied. "He is -sleeping now and since he is so thoroughly exhausted he may sleep for a -long time, but when he has recovered enough to sit up, I'll send over to -the island for you, Rilla, if your grand-dad will permit you to come. -Sometimes pleasant companionship does more than medicine to help young -people to recuperate." - -"I'd like to come," Muriel replied almost shyly, and yet eagerly. Then -her hazel eyes were lifted inquiringly. "May I, Grand-dad?" - -It was a hard moment for the old man who had been hating city folks for -many years, but he hesitated only a second, then he said: "Lem, I sort o' -feel as all this has been my fault and if yo' think the boy'll get on -even keel quicker if fust mate here is on deck, now and then, yo' can -count on it, Rilly gal will come." - -Doctor Winslow held out his hand. "Thanks, Ezra," he said hastily. -"You're more like what you used to be long ago and I'm mighty glad to see -it." Then in an earnest tone, he added: "Gene will take the place to -Muriel of the older brother that every girl in this world ought to have, -some one near her own age to fight her battles, to protect her when the -need arises. That's the sort of a friend Gene will be to your little -girl, Ezra. I'll give you my word on it, because I know him, as I knew -his father before him. A finer man never lived, and like the father is -the son." - -When Cap'n Ezra and Muriel were again on the main road, the girl said, -"Grand-dad, bein' as we're in Tunkett, let's go over and s'prise Uncle -Barney." - -When Rilla had been a very little girl, at Doctor Winslow's suggestion, -she had adopted that good man as an uncle, but when Captain Barney heard -her prattling "Uncle Lem" he declared that he wasn't going to be left out -of the family circle as far as she was concerned, and from that day the -kindly old Irishman had been proud indeed to be called "Uncle Barney" by -the little maid who was the idol of his heart. - -They found the fisherman sitting in the sun in front of his cabin. He was -whittling out a mast for a toy schooner that he was making for Zoeth -Wixon, a little crippled boy who lived in the shack about an eighth of a -mile farther along on the sand dunes. - -Captain Barney looked up with a welcoming smile. Indeed his kindly Irish -face fairly beamed when he saw who his visitors were. Rising, he limped -indoors and brought out his one best chair, a wooden rocker with a gay -silk patchwork tidy upon it. - -All of the fisherfolk in the neighborhood had put together the Christmas -before and had purchased the gift for the old bachelor, who was always -doing some little thing to add to their good cheer. - -"His house is that empty lookin', with nothin' to set on but boxes and -casks," the mother of little Zoeth had said, "an' he's allays whittlin' -suthin' to help pass the time away for my little Zo, or tellin' him yarns -as gives him suthin' to think about fo' days. I'd like to be gettin' -Cap'n Barney a present as would make his place look more homelike." - -"So, too, would I," Mrs. Sam Peters had chimed in. "When my ol' man was -laid up for two months las' winter, like's not we would have starved if -it hadn't been for the fine cod that Cap'n Barney left at our door every -day, an' fish bringin' a fancy price then, it bein' none too plenty." - -When these women told their plan, it was found that all the families -scattered about on the meadows near the sea had some kindness of Cap'n -Barney's to tell about, and when the donated nickles and dimes and even -quarters were counted, the total sum was sufficient to purchase a rocker -in Mis' Sol Dexter's store. True, it had been broken a little, but Sam -Peters, having once been ship carpenter, soon repaired it until it looked -like new. - -As for the patchwork tidy, the little crippled boy himself had been -taught by his mother how to make that. Where to get the pretty silk -pieces had indeed been a problem, for not one of the fishermen's wives -had a bit of silk in her possession. It was then that Mrs. Sol Dexter did -an almost unprecedented thing. She told how, the year before, her store -would have burned up had it not been that "Cap'n Barney," being there at -the time, had leaped right in and had thrown his slicker over the blaze -that had started near where the gasoline was kept. "He knew how it might -explode any minute," she said when recounting the tale, "but he took the -chance." While she talked, Mrs. Sol was actually cutting a piece off the -end of each roll of ribbon that she had in stock, and then she cut off -lace enough to edge the tidy. - -Captain Barney had been greatly pleased with the gift, and although he -never sat on it himself, he never ceased admiring the chair and often -wished his old mother in Ireland might have it in her cabin. - -The visitors had not been there long, however, when Captain Ezra said, -"Rilly gal, why don't yo' cruise around a spell? Yo'd sort o' like to go -over to Wixon's, wouldn't yo' now, and see Lindy and Zoeth?" - -The girl was indeed glad to go, for Lindy Wixon was near her own age. As -soon as she was out of hearing, Captain Barney looked up from his -whittling. "Well, skipper," he inquired, "what's the cargo that yo're -wantin' to unload?" - -Cap'n Ezra Bassett puffed on his favorite corncob pipe for several -thoughtful moments before he answered his friend's question. Then, -looking up to be sure that his "gal" was not returning, he uncrossed his -legs and leaned forward. - -"Barney, mate," he solemnly announced, "I've writ that letter I tol' you -I was goin' to, some day. I reckon I've put in, shipshape, all I know -about Rilly's father, but I don' want her to have it till arter yo've -buried me out at sea. I cal'late that'll be time enough for Rilly to look -him up. He's like to take better care of her, when I'm gone, than any one -else, bein' as he is her own folks." - -Captain Barney bristled. "I dunno as to that," he declared. "'Pears to me -that Lem Winslow or mesilf ought to be her guardeen if yo' go to cruisin' -the unknown sea ahead of us. How'r we to know her own pa cares a tarnal -whoop for her. He hasn't been cruisin' 'round these waters huntin' her -up, has he? Never's been known to navigate this way, sence--sence--" He -paused. Something in the face of his friend caused him to leave his -sentence unfinished. Ezra Bassett arose and looked around both corners of -the shack. All that he saw was a stretch of rolling white sand with here -and there a clump of coarse, wiry grass or a dwarfed plum bush. - -Evidently satisfied that there was no one near enough to hear, he -returned and, drawing his old armchair nearer the one occupied by Captain -Barney, he said in a low tone: "I reckon 'twa'n't his fault, so to speak. -I reckon 'twa'n't." Then, noting the surprised expression in the face of -his friend, he continued: "Truth is, he doesn't even know there _is_ a -little gal; fact was, he never did know it." Then he hurried on to -explain. "He'd gone West on business that couldn't wait, 'pears like, an' -my gal reckoned as how that would be a mighty good time to come to Windy -Island and get me to forgive her and him. They was livin' in New York, -but she didn't get farther'n Boston when the little one came. I got a -message to go to her at once. I went, but when I got there the doctor -said as they both had died. _That_ was the message they'd sent on to him, -but; arter all, a miracle happened. The baby showed signs of life -an'--an' what's more, she lived. I tol' the doctor he needn't send -another message to the father. I said as I was the grand-dad, I'd tend to -it and take care of the baby till he came." - -While the old man talked, he had been studying a clump of wire grass in -the sand at his feet. Pausing, he cast a quick glance at his listener, -and then, as quickly looked away and out to sea. For the first time in -the many years of their long friendship there was an accusing expression -in the clear blue eyes of the Irishman. - -"D'y think yo've acted honest, Ez?" Captain Barney inquired. "Wa'n't it -the same as stealin' his gal?" - -At that Captain Ezra flared. "Didn't _he_ steal _my_ gal fust, if it -comes to that? Turn about's fair play, ain't it?" - -The old Irishman shook his head. "Dunno as 'tis, Ez," he said slowly. "I -reckon a person's a heap happier doin' the right thing himself, whether -the other fellar does it or not." - -Captain Ezra Bassett felt none too comfortable. "Wall," he said, "that's -why I wanted to have this talk with yo'. I got to thinkin' lately of what -would become of Rilly if I should get a sudden call across the bar, as -the meeting-house hymn puts it, without havin' left any word, or made any -provisions; so I reckoned I'd tell yo' as how I've writ that letter. I -put it in the iron box on the shelf way up top o' the tower where I keep -the tools for regulatin' the light." - -Captain Barney nodded. He knew the shelf well, for he had often helped -clean the big lamp or aided in some needed adjustment. - -"Where'd yo' reckon he is now--Rilla's dad?" he asked after they had -puffed awhile in thoughtful silence. - -"Dunno," was the reply. "Never heard sense. I allays suspicioned as how -he might have stayed anchored out West, but I _do_ know where Rilly gal -can go to find out, if need be, an' I've put the address in the letter." -Then the old man rose, looking the picture of rugged health. "Not that -I'm expectin' to start in a hurry on the long v'yage for which no charts -have been made," he said, "but I sort o' got to thinkin' it's well to be -beforehanded, an'----" - -He did not finish the sentence, for a breeze, sweeping over the dunes, -brought to them, not only the soft, salt tang of the sea, but also the -notes of a girlish song. Both men turned to see a picture which rejoiced -their hearts. Rilla, swinging her Sunday best hat by its ribbon strings, -was skipping toward them over the hard sand, her long red-brown hair -blowing about her shoulders, her face radiant as she sang. - -Captain Ezra beckoned to her. "Yo-ho, Rilly gal!" he called. "It's -mid-morning by the sun and the big lamp's to have a fine polishin' today. -I reckon the storms'll come most any time now and the light needs to be -its brightest then." Turning to Captain Barney, he said in a low voice: -"Keep it dark, mate, 'bout the letter in the box--till I'm gone--then -tell her." - -When his two best friends had departed, Captain Barney sat long in front -of his shack. He wondered what was to come of it all, but only the future -could reveal that. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - A FIRST LETTER. - - -Muriel had almost forgotten the banded box of foreign appearance which -she had in her Treasure Cave. So many things of unusual interest had -occurred of late that even so wonderful a box had taken a secondary place -in her thoughts. - -That afternoon Captain Ezra devoted to polishing the lamp, a task he -would not permit Rilla to share, saying that peeling potatoes and the -like was her part of the drudgery, and, as he never helped her with that, -neither should she help with the lamp. - -Muriel did not insist, for she believed that her grand-dad took a great -deal of pride in tending to the big light all by himself. "I reckon he'd -think he was gettin' old if he had to be helped," the girl soliloquized -as she walked along the top of the bluff, the dog at her side. - -They descended the trail toward that part of the beach where she had -first seen the lad. For a time she stood silently gazing down at the spot -where he had been on that never to be forgotten day. Suddenly she laughed -aloud. Stooping, she patted the head of her long-haired companion. - -"Shagsie, ol' dog," she chuckled gleefully, "yo' wouldn't be eatin' Gene -Beavers up even when I tol' yo' to, would yo' now?" Then merrily she -added: "I'll tell yo' a secret, ol' dog, if yo' won't be tellin' it." -Then she whispered into the long shaggy ear: "I reckon I'm _glad_ now -that yo' wouldn't." Then, springing up, she scrambled down the rocks and -ran along the narrow pebbly beach, the dog racing and barking at her -heels. When they were just below the lighthouse Rilla paused and looked -up at the small entrance to her cave. - -"Shags," she suggested, "let's take another look at the treasure." -Together they slowly ascended the perilously steep cliff where one unused -to climbing could barely have found a foothold. - -When the cave was reached Rilla uttered a little cry of eagerness, for -under one of the straps on the box was a folded bit of paper. - -Opening it, she looked at it, her cheeks flushed, her eyes glowing. - -Doctor Winslow had tried to teach the girl to read, but, since he was the -resident physician in a New York hospital most of the year, he had been -able to make but little headway. Each autumn he took from one to two -months' vacation, returning to the home of his boyhood for what he called -an absolute rest, but the fisherfolk, who loved him, flocked to him for -advice and help, and the kind, elderly man welcomed them gladly. Too, he -gave to every one who came a bit of optomistic philosophy which did much -toward keeping them well and happy during the months of his absence. - -Muriel had seated herself upon the closed box and studied the note. -Luckily the words were simple and plainly printed. She picked out one -here and there that she knew, then suddenly rising she went to a crevice -in the rocks and brought forth a Second Reader which the doctor had given -her. She knew every word in it, but she could not always recognize the -same words if they were out of the book. After an hour's diligent search, -comparing the printed words with those in the note, she looked up, her -expression joyous, exultant. - -"Shagsie, ol' dog, I can read it! I can read every word. It's the fust -letter as I ever had, an' Gene Beavers, 'twas, as left it for me." Then, -as the faithful dog seemed to be interested, the girl slowly read aloud: - - "Dear Storm Maiden:--I am going to try to reach town tonight. I hope to - see you again, but if I do not I want you to know how much I like you. - I wish girls were all as brave and kind as you are. Thank you and - goodbye. - - "Your friend, - "Gene Beavers." - -When the reading was finished the girl sat for a long time looking out of -the small opening at the gleaming blue waters beyond the cliff and her -expression grew wistful and almost pensive. For the first time in her -fifteen years she was wishing she had "learnin'." Suddenly she sprang up, -her face brightening. "Shags," she said, "many's the time Uncle Lem has -said 'regrettin' doesn't get you anywhere. It's what you're doin' _now_ -that counts.' We'll learn to read, Shags, ol' dog! I dunno how, but we're -goin' to!" - -That evening as Rilla sat close to her grand-dad she wanted to ask him if -she might attend the Tunkett school, but he seemed hardly to know that -she was there so occupied was he with his own thoughts, and so she -decided to await a more opportune time. - -The truth was that Captain Ezra could not forget the accusing expression -in the Irish blue eyes of his old mate, nor the question, "D'y reckon -yo're actin' honest, Ez? Hasn't it been the same as stealin' his little -gal?" - -That night, long after Muriel was asleep in her loft room, Captain Ezra -sat at the kitchen table trying to compose a letter to the father of -Rilla, but each attempt was torn to shreds and many times the old man -stealthily crossed the kitchen floor and placed the bits in the stove. - -At last he thought, "I reckon Barney's right, but thar's no tarnation -hurry. I've signed articles to tend to this light till I'm a long ways -older'n I am tonight." - -So thinking, he went to his bed, meaning soon to send the letter to -Muriel's father, but one thing and another occupied his time and the -letter remained unwritten. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - THE HOPED FOR MESSAGE. - - -Each morning when Rilla had finished her task of "swabbing decks," as -Captain Ezra called it, and had put the kitchen and small bedrooms into -shipshape (there were no other rooms in the lean-to adjoining the light), -she would stand in the open door gazing out across the harbor, waiting, -watching for what she barely confessed to herself. But on the third day -her anxiety concerning her new friend's condition overcame her timidity -at broaching the subject and after breakfast she ventured: "Grand-dad, -will yo' be cruisin' to town today?" - -The old man shook his head. "No, Rilly gal," he replied, "I wasn't -plannin' to. Yo' don' need 'nother hair ribbon, do yo', or----" He had -been filling a lantern as he spoke, but suddenly he paused and looked up. -"Sho, now, fust mate, are yo' prognosticatin' 'bout that city chap?" - -He arose and looked out across the water, shading his eyes with his big -leathery hand. - -"I reckon 'tis mos' time for Lem to be lettin' us know how things are -comin'. I sartin do hope the young fellar is navigatin' that frail craft -of his into smoother waters. 'Pears like Doctor Lem ought to----" - -He said no more, for the girl had suddenly clutched his arm as she cried -excitedly: "Look yo', Grand-dad! I'm sure sartin there's little Sol -puttin' out from the wharf in that Water Rat boat o' his. Now he's -dippin' along and scuddin' right this way." - -"Yo-o! I reckon he has a message for us. More'n like, Uncle Lem is -sendin' him." - -The two gazed intently at the small boat, which did indeed seem to be -headed directly for Windy Island. Rilla, her heart tripping, -unconsciously held tighter to the arm of the old man. - -"Pore little girl," he thought, "was she that lonesome for young -company?" He sighed and placed a big hand over the slender brown one. He -felt the tenseness of the girl's arm. "Grand-dad," she said tremulously, -"what if the message is that Gene Beavers has died. I reckon 'twould be -all my fault. I'd ought to have brought him right up to the house an' -tol' you straight out just what had happened." - -Anxiously they watched the oncoming boat. The wind, which had been fitful -all the morning, dwindled to the softest breeze, then a calm settled over -the harbor and the sail of the Water Rat flapped idly. - -"Why don't little Sol row?" Muriel exclaimed impatiently. Then, eagerly, -"Grand-dad, may I go out in the dory an' meet him? May I?" - -"No use to, Rilly gal. The wind's veered an' thar goes Sol now on a tack. -Yo' can't be rowin' zigzag all over the harbor." Then, as the boy seemed -to be leisurely sailing away from the island, the old man stooped and -picked up his lantern. - -"Sho, fust mate," he said, "I reckon we're 'way off our bearin's. Little -Sol wa'n't headin' this way, 'pears like. Just cruisin' about aimless, -like he often does." - -The girl also decided that this was the truth, and so she went indoors to -procure the week's mending. When she returned to the armchair outside the -lighthouse she saw that the Water Rat was scudding over the dancing waves -in quite the opposite direction. - -Captain Ezra had climbed the tower. Rilla seated herself and soon her -fingers flew as she sewed a patch upon a blue denim garment, while her -thoughts returned to Gene Beavers. She recalled that he had looked frail, -but she had supposed his paleness was due to the fact that he lived in -the city. Too, she realized that she had been hoping for days that Doctor -Winslow would send a message telling her that Gene Beavers was sitting up -and that she might visit him, for, wonder of wonders, her grand-dad had -said that she might go. - -Looking up from the garment a few moments later, her glance again swept -over the gleaming waters of the harbor. The Water Rat was nowhere to be -seen. Alarmed, the girl sprang to her feet and ran to the top of the -steep flight of steps leading down to the shore. Her anxiety was quickly -changed to joy, for clattering up toward her was the freckle-faced boy, -and a grin of delight spread over his homely features when he saw her. - -"Rilly, look't that, will yo'?" he sang out as he held up a silver -dollar. "Made it as easy as sailin'. Yo' couldn't guess how, I bet. Could -yo' now?" - -The girl shook her head and then listened eagerly, breathlessly, hoping -that in reality she did know. Nor was she wrong. - -"Well," the boy confided, "that city guy that's up to Doc Winslow's, he -'twas guv it to me, if I'd fetch a note over to Windy Island and hand it -to Cap'n Ezra and to no one else, says he." - -Rilla's eyes shone like stars. Running to the door at the foot of the -spiral stairs that led up to the light, she shouted: "Grand-dad! Yo-o! -Are yo' a-comin' down or shall we come up? Little Sol's here an' he's got -a message for yo'." - -"Sho now, is that so? I snum yo' was right, arter all, in yer -calcalations, Rilly gal," the beaming old man said as he descended the -circling flight of stairs. "What's in the message that Lem sent? Is the -city fellar----" - -"We dunno," Muriel interrupted. "'Twas Gene Beavers himself as sent the -note and he said as it was to be given to no one but just yo'." - -The old sea captain was pleased. The boy was square and aboveboard, that -was evident. "Wall," he said as he reached the ground, "little Sol, hist -up the message." - -The small boy thrust his hand in one of his pockets, but drew it empty. -"Jumpin' frogs!" he ejaculated. "If I didn't go an' change my jacket -arter the city guy give me that letter. I reckon as how I'll have to go -back arter it." But suddenly his expression changed and he beamed up at -them. "By time, I rec'lect now! I stowed it in here for safe keepin'." As -he spoke he removed his cap and took the note from the ragged lining. He -handed the envelope to the captain and then started running toward the -steps leading to the beach, but the old man recalled him. "Ho, thar, -little Sol, lay to a spell. I reckon there may be an answer to go ashore -with you." - -The boy returned slowly and the girl eagerly watched the captain as he -read the message which the note contained. Muriel knew by the expression -in her grandfather's face that the old-time struggle was going on in his -heart, but it didn't last long. - -"Is Gene Beavers a-sittin' up?" the girl asked. - -"'Pears like he is," Captain Ezra said as he folded the note and placed -it in his pocket. "Lem's writ for you to cruise over to town with little -Sol and stay a spell." - -Muriel's face shone, but, after glancing at the sun, she inquired: -"Wouldn't I better wait till arter mid-day? Who'll be fryin' the fish and -pertaters for yo', Grand-dad?" - -The old man's heart rejoiced, for his "gal" was really thinking of him -first, after all, but his hearty laughter pealed out as he replied: "When -yo' was a little un who'd yo' s'pose fried cod for the two of us if -'twa'n't me? I was steward o' the lighthouse craft long afore yo' signed -articles to sail along as fust mate." - -Impulsively the girl threw her arms about the neck of the old man and -kissed his leathery cheek. She took this opportunity to whisper into his -ear: "Yo're that good to me, Grand-dad! I'll never be leavin' you, never, -never, never!" - -Instinctively the girl knew what was in the thought of the old man. -Little Sol was eager to return to the mainland that he might display to -his mother the first silver dollar that he had ever earned and so the -happy girl climbed to the little room over the kitchen and put on what -her grand-dad called her "Sunday riggin's." She hesitated just a moment -between the red hair ribbon and the green, then choosing the latter, she -peered into the broken bit of mirror to tie it as best she could on her -red-brown hair. Then seizing her flower-wreathed hat by its strings, down -the stairs she skipped. Shags, sensing the holiday spirit that was in the -air, barked joyfully when she appeared and was quite crestfallen when he -was told that he must stay and help grand-dad guard the light. - -The old man stood at the top of the steps and swung his cap when Muriel, -sitting in the stern of the Water Rat, turned at the first buoy and waved -to him. - -In the heart of Captain Ezra, for the second time in many years, there -was a prayer that the One at the helm might guide his "gal" aright. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - A PARTY FOR TWO. - - -Brazilla Mullet, the elderly spinster sister of Jabez Mullet, who drove -the stage, had been the doctor's housekeeper for many years. She and her -brother occupied the neat little cottage just beyond the hedge, and -Jabez, when he was not driving, was gardener for both places. - -Half an hour after Gene Beavers had sent the note to Windy Island by -little sol from the glassed-in end of Doctor Winslow's veranda he had -been eagerly watching the road. - -Miss Brazilla busied herself in the rooms adjoining that she might hear -the boy's slightest movement. Doctor Winslow had cautioned her that Gene, -who was restless because of his prolonged inactivity, must not be -permitted to leave the couch, where he was comfortably propped to a -position that was half reclining by many pillows. - -The doctor himself, after having written the note to Captain Ezra, had -been suddenly called on an emergency case out at the Life Saving Station -on The Point, and that was why Gene had been the one to give instructions -concerning the delivery of the message. - -"What time is it now, Miss Brazilla?" the boy asked. - -"It's nigh to eleven, Master Gene," the housekeeper appeared in the -doorway to remark, "an' I'm hopin' the pore gal will get here in time for -a bite with yo'. In all the years I've heerd tell about that child she's -never tuk a meal off Windy Island. 'Twill be a reg'lar party for Rilla, -that it will--if she's let to come. I don't want to be disappointin', -Master Gene, yo' and doctor settin' so much store on her comin', but I -know Cap'n Ezra purty well and a man more sot in his opinion don't -live--not in Tunkett anyhow, an' many's the time I've heerd him say that -his gal should never ever set eyes on city folks, if _he_ could be -helpin' it." - -If the elderly spinster, Miss Brazilla, might be said to have a failing -it was loquacity, and Gene moved restlessly. - -Instantly she was at his side. "There now, dearie," the really -kind-hearted woman exclaimed self-rebukingly, "I'd ought to've pushed -that couch farther to the starboard side o' this deck." Then she laughed -apologetically. "That salt water language will crop out now'n then, try -as I may to talk fine, like city folks. There! Is that better? The sun -don't shine right into your eyes now like it did. Wall, as I was sayin', -if Rilly can come in time to eat with yo', 'twill be a reg'lar party for -her an'----" - -Poor Gene, realizing that Miss Brazilla was launched again upon another -flood of conversation, tried to think of a way to politely interrupt, if -an interruption ever can be polite. The word "party" caught his -attention. Many a time he had heard his sister Helen say, "It's never a -real party unless there's ice cream." Maybe all girls felt that way. - -The housekeeper was actually turning to leave, having reached a period, -and Gene made haste to inquire: "Miss Brazilla, is there any place in -Tunkett where we could get some ice cream?" - -The amazed spinster shook her head, on which the rather sparse red-grey -hairs were drawn back and down with oily smoothness. - -"Why, no, Master Gene, not arter the summer colony folks go. When the hot -weather's on, Mrs. Sol makes it." - -"Telephone her, please, Miss Brazilla, and ask her if she couldn't make -some right away now and put strawberries in it. Tell her that she may -name her own price." - -Miss Mullet lifted her hands in amazement. "Land o' Goshen!" she -ejaculated. "Ice cream with strawberries in October." - -Then noting that the lad had dropped back among the pillows and closed -his eyes as though he were suddenly very weary, the good woman slipped -away to do his bidding, strange as it might seem. "Sick folks take -notions," she said to herself, "but this is the tarnal queerest I ever -heerd of." - -Half an hour later there was a timid rap on the side door. Miss Brazilla -hurried to open it, and, as she had hoped, there stood Muriel Storm. - -Gene had fallen into a light slumber, which had greatly refreshed him, -and when he awakened he heard Muriel's voice. "Top o' the morning to you, -Storm Maiden," he called. "Do hurry! I'm eager to see if you look as I -remember you." - -But she did not, for the Muriel with her long red-brown hair neatly tied -back with a wide green ribbon, which Miss Brazilla had made for her into -a truly beautiful butterfly bow, did not look quite like his memoried -picture of that stormy girl who with long hair wind-blown about her -shoulders, had ordered him to leave the Lighthouse Island or be devoured -by her dog. - -Almost shyly the girl, in her neat green gingham dress, paused in the -open doorway, hardly knowing what to do. Gene held out a frail white -hand. "Won't you come and shake hands with me?" he asked. "I'm sorry that -I can't come to you, but I have had orders to lie here until mine host -decrees otherwise." - -The girl, touched by the boy's paleness, forgot her embarrassment and -went toward him, placing her strong brown hand in the one he had -stretched forth to greet her. Then, seating herself in the wicker chair -nearest, she said: "I hope yo're forgivin' me, Mr. Beavers, for makin' it -so that yo' had to swim." - -"It was I who used poor judgment," the boy told her. "Don't feel that you -were in the least bit to blame." Then, smiling up at her in his -friendliest fashion, he added: "We are only in our teens, you and I, and -that's not so very grown up. Don't you think you could call me Gene and -permit me to call you Muriel? It's a beautiful name." - -"'Twas my mother's." The boy thought he had never heard that word spoken -with greater tenderness. Shyly, the girl was saying: "An' I'd be that -pleased if yo' would call me the whole of it Thar's no one as calls me -Muriel. Folks here jest call me Rilly." - -"Then I will gladly. Now, Muriel," the lad leaned on his elbow, "the best -way for two people to become acquainted is by asking questions. Won't you -tell me how you pass your time, what books you read, and----" - -Gene paused, almost startled by the sudden flush that had crimsoned the -cheeks of his guest. When it was too late he tried to prevent her from -having to make the admission, but falteringly she made it. "I can't read -books," she said. Then the resolve of the day before gave her new -courage, and lifting her head and looking directly into his eyes with an -eager expression, she added: "But I'm goin' to learn. I don' know how, -but I'm goin' to." - -"Of course you are, Muriel," was his hearty response. "And if I am laid -up long in 'dry dock for repairs,' as Mr. Jabez Mullet calls my -confinement, perhaps you will let me help you. _I_ had to be helped, you -know. We all do, just in the beginning." The lad's smile was winsome. -Then he quickly added: "There are the noon bells from the church tower, -and if I'm not mistaken, Miss Brazilla is coming to serve our lunch." - -Muriel sprang up when the housekeeper appeared. "Why, Miss Brazilla, me -settin' here and lettin' yo' wait on me! Mayn't I help somehow? I'm real -handy at it." - -"So you are, Rilly. Fetch that little wicker table over here and stand it -near the couch. Then draw your chair and set opposite. Yo're company -today, just like a grand young lady, and yo've nothin' to do but eat." - -Muriel went to the far end of the veranda to get the small wicker table, -and when she turned she was amazed to see Miss Brazilla and Gene -exchanging nods and smiles. What could it mean, the girl wondered. - -The lunch was daintily served and Gene became so interested in his -companion's tales of storms and wrecks at sea, simply yet dramatically -told, that he ate far more heartily than he would have done alone. Miss -Brazilla made no comment, but she was secretly pleased. - -Having cleared the table, she surprised Muriel by bringing in two dishes -heaped with ice cream in which were preserved strawberries. - -Gene Beavers was to pay a fabulous price for that out-of-season dessert, -but when he saw the glad light dawning in the hazel eyes of his guest he -decided it was well worth it. - -"I only had ice cream once before," she confessed, "an' that was when -Mis' Sol had some left over that was like to melt." - -After lunch Muriel told her host that he ought to sleep a while, and, -when she assured him that she could stay all afternoon, the truly weary -lad consented to rest, while Rilla helped Miss Brazilla in the kitchen. - -An hour later when the lad awakened, refreshed, he saw that Muriel was -again in the comfortable wicker chair at his side, looking with great -interest at the beautifully colored pictures in a large book that she -held. - -She glanced up glowingly when she heard a movement on the couch. "The -readin' in it is about the sea, I reckon, from the pictures of boats and -pirates," she told him. - -"It is indeed," Gene exclaimed with enthusiasm. "That's Treasure Island. -If you'll prop me up more I'll read to you, if you wish." - -Some time later, when Dr. Winslow returned, he found Gene reading aloud -from his favorite book, while Muriel, leaning forward, listened hungrily. - -"Well, little Nurse Rilla," the good man exclaimed, "our patient is much -better, I can see that at a glance. I'm sorry to hurry you away, but your -boatswain Sol is waiting for you down at the gate. Your grand-dad told -him to sail you back to Windy Island along about this time, but you're to -come again and often." - -That night Captain Ezra pushed his armchair back from the table, and -while he was lighting his pipe he looked at his "gal," his eyes -twinkling. "Rilly," he said, "yo've been gabblin' faster'n chain -lightnin' one hour by the clock, an' things are sort o' muddled in my -mind. I dunno, for sure sartin, whether it's Billy Bones or Gene Beavers -yo've been over to the mainland a visitin'." - -"Both of 'em, thanks to yo', dear ol' Grand-dad," Muriel said. Then, -kissing him good-night, she went up to her little loft room. But when she -was snugly in her bed it was not of Billy Bones that she dreamed. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - WEE IRISHY CAKES. - - -Muriel awakened the next morning with a song in her heart that she was -soon expressing in clear, sweet notes which told the listener how glad, -glad the singer was just to be alive. - -Captain Ezra, busying himself near the open kitchen door, sighed softly -as he realized that this wordless song was different from the others that -Muriel had sung in the mornings that were past as she prepared their -simple breakfast. - -There had been words to those other songs, sometimes hymns that the -lassie had memorized from having often heard them repeated at the -meeting-house, whither she had been permitted to go when the summer -colony was closed. Then again, there had been times when she had set -words of her own to the meeting-house tunes; lilting melodies they were -of winging gulls and of the mermaids who lived in the sea. But this -morning there was a new and eager joyousness in the girl's singing. For -the first time in her fifteen years, the gates of her prison had been -flung wide and she had stepped out into a strange world, timidly, -perhaps, but soon forgetting herself in her delight at what she had -found, a world of books, of young companionship, of adventure and -romance. Muriel, even if she were again imprisoned, would never be quite -the same. But the newly awakened love in the heart of Captain Ezra had -been the key that had opened the door for his "gal," and she was now free -to come and go as she wished, because he trusted her. She would not leave -him without telling him nor would he detain her if she wished to go. - -"Top o' the mornin' to you, Grand-dad," she called, when the fish were -done to a turn and the potatoes were crispy brown. "I've a mind to be -bakin' today," she continued when he was seated at the table. "Some o' -those wee Irishy cakes that Uncle Barney taught me how to make, just like -his 'auld' mother did. He's allays askin' for 'em when he docks at Windy -Island. He's been laid up so long, I cal'late the taste of 'em might be -cheerin' him, wouldn't you reckon they might, Grand-dad?" - -The young arms were about the old man's neck and her fresh young cheek -rested against the forehead that was leathered by exposure to the sun and -wind and beating rain. - -There was a twinkle in the grey eye that was nearest her. - -"I cal-late as 'twould add to ol' Cap'n Barney's cheer if the stewardess -herself toted them cookies to his stranded ol' craft on the dunes. Was -that what yo' was figgerin' on doin', fust mate?" - -"If yo'd like to take me, Grand-dad." This very demurely. The old sea -captain put down his knife and fork and laughed heartily. - -"I reckon a gal who knows how to sail a boat better'n most folks don' -need a boatman to cruise her over to the mainland. Sho now, Rilly! -Navigate yer own craft. The embargo's lifted, as the newspapers put it. -Come and go when it's to yer likin'. Jest be lettin' me know." Then he -added, as though it were an after-thought: "When yo' carry yer cargo o' -cakes to town, if I was yo' I'd leave a few at Miss Brazilla's cottage. I -reckon yer new friend might be likin' the taste o' suthin' differ'nt." - -Muriel's cheeks were rosy. "Grand-dad," she protested, "I wa'n't thinkin' -of Gene Beavers, honest I wa'n't! I just reckoned 'twasn't fair for me to -be spendin' a whole arternoon wi' a _new_ friend when an ol' one who's -been lovin' me for years back is laid up in drydock an' needs me even -more." - -The hazel eyes looked across the table so frankly that the teasing -twinkle faded in the grey eyes and an expression of infinite tenderness -took its place. - -"I reckon I understand, fust mate," the old man said. "Cap'n Barney's got -a heart in him as big as the hold in a freight boat, but thar's a -powerful lot of loneliness in it, for all that he's allays doin' -neighborly things for the folks on the dunes. Barney's been hankerin' for -years to be goin' back to his ol' mother, but she keeps writin' him to be -stayin' in America, and that she'll come to keep his house as soon as her -duty's done, but she don' come, for it's this un' and that un' over thar -that's in need of her ministrin'. Some day, I reckon, Barney'll pull up -anchor and set sail for his Emerald Isle." - -"Oh, Grand-dad," Rilla said, with sudden tears in her eyes, "you'n me'll -be that lonely if he goes." - -During the morning, while Muriel busied herself with making the little -"Irishy" cakes, she did not sing, nor was she thinking of Gene Beavers, -for all of her thoughts were of her dear friend, old Captain Barney. -Somehow she hadn't realized before how lonesome he must be so far away -from kith and kin. The fisherfolk living about him on the dunes were not -from his country, nor were their interests his interests. They loved him, -but could not understand him, for, as Mrs. Sam Peters had said one day to -a group of the wives: "How can a body understand a man with grey hair on -the top o' his head who believes in the fairies?" - -Muriel understood him, and so no wonder was it that they two were the -closest of friends. - -Long rows of pert looking little cakes with spiral peaks were on the -white pine shelf when Cap'n Ezra heard the welcome call for mess. - -"Yo, Rilly gal," he exclaimed, "looks like a baker shop for sure sartin. -How much a dozen are yo' askin' for yer wares?" - -"Yo're to have a dozen for the takin', Grand-dad," the girl, flushed from -the heat of the stove, told him beamingly. "Yo're share o' 'em is on the -table waitin' yer comin'." - -"So they be," the old man declared as he caught sight of the plate heaped -with little cakes near his place. "Yo' wouldn't be leavin' yer ol' -Grand-dad out, would yo', fust mate?" - -"Leave yo' out, Grand-dad?" The questioner seemed amazed that such a -suggestion could be made. "Why, if all the folks in all the world were to -go somewhar's else an' I still had you, I'd be that happy an' content." - -The girl said this nestled close in the old man's arms, and over her head -he wiped away a tear. - -"Thunderation fish-hooks!" he exclaimed gruffly. "What a tarnal lot o' -sentiment, sort of, we two folks do think lately. I reckon your -grand-dad's cruisin' into his second childhood faster'n a full rigged -schooner can sail ahead of a gale." - -Laughingly Muriel skipped to the stove and carried the black iron spider -to the table to serve Captain Ezra. - -"I reckon it's better off we are when we are childlike, Grand-dad," she -said. Then with sweet seriousness she added: "You know the Good Book -tells that it's only them that becomes like a child again that can enter -the Kingdom of Heaven." Taking her place opposite the old man, the girl -sat for a moment looking out of the open window at the shining waters of -the bay. - -"I reckon it means that we must be trustin' like a little child is, -knowin' our Father in Heaven _wants_ to take care of us. I reckon we'd -ought to be like little Zoeth was the day that Mr. Wixon got mad an' was -goin' to cruise off and leave his fam'ly forever. He was packin' up his -kit, sayin' hard words all the time, when little cripple Zoeth clumped -over to him, and slippin' that frail hand o' his into the big one, he -said, trustin' like: 'Ma says yer goin' away forever, but I _know_ -'tain't so. Yo're _my_ dad and yer wantin' to take care o' me, aren't -yo', Dad?' - -"Yo' recollect that Mr. Wixon stayed, and, what's more, Mis' Wixon, she -changed, too. She stopped peckin' about suthin' all the time an' tried to -figure out what she could do to make her home happy, an' she _did_ it, -Grand-dad. I reckon that little ol' shack o' the Wixons is the happiest -home on the dunes." Then, taking up her knife and fork, she added: "I -cal'late that's what the Good Book means, just trustin' an' bein' -happy-hearted like a child." - -An hour later Captain Ezra stood at the top of the steep steps leading -down the cliff and watched while his "gal" rowed the dory over toward the -mainland. - -The girl looked up at the first buoy and waved to the one she loved most -in all the world. - -Little Sol was down on the wharf, and with him were several small boys -and girls, rather unkempt, rough mannered little creatures, for the wives -of the fishermen hadn't much money to spend and the children were -permitted to grow up as untutored as water rats. When Rilla landed they -ran to her with arms outstretched. "Rilly, Rilly," they clamored, "be -tellin' us a story 'bout the mermaid that lived in a cave an----" - -"An' how the tail on her changed to two legs an' she was married to a -prince," the oldest among them concluded. Many a time Muriel had told -them this story. - -"I reckon I haven't time today," Rilla said with a quick glance at the -sun. Then suddenly she thought of something. In her basket there were two -packages. In the larger one there were cakes for Uncle Barney. That could -not be touched. But in the smaller one there were cakes which she had -planned leaving at the Mullet cottage for Gene. After all, it was hardly -fair when he had all the goodies he wished and these raggedy children -almost never had anything but fish and potatoes. "I cal'late I have time -to be givin' yo' each a little cake," Muriel announced. - -Placing her basket on a roll of tarred rope, she opened the smaller -package and passed around the crispy little cakes and when she saw the -glow in the eyes that looked up at her she was glad of her decision. "Now -we'll be learnin' the manners," she laughingly told the children, who -gazed at her with wide-eyed wonder. "Each of yo' be makin' a bow and say, -'Thank you, Rilly.'" - -A fine lady had come to Windy Island the summer before to visit the light -and with her had been a fairy-like girl of seven. Muriel had been baking -cakes that day and had given her one. To her surprise, the child had made -the prettiest curtsy and had said, "Thank you, Miss Muriel." - -Whatever strange thing Rilla might ask the children to do they would at -least attempt it, and so, holding fast with grimy fingers to the precious -cakes, they watched the older girl as she showed them how to curtsy. Then -they tried to do likewise, the while they piped out, "Thank yo', Rilly!" - -"Now, dearies, allays do that arter yo've been given anythin' nice," she -bade them. "Ye-ah, Rilly, we-uns will," was the reply that followed her. -But it was rather muffled, for the cakes were being hungrily devoured. - -Muriel wished that she could give each child another, but she could not -open Uncle Barney's package, and so, turning to wave goodbye, she left -the wharf and set out across the dunes in the direction of the Irishman's -cabin. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - NEIGHBORLINESS. - - -As Muriel neared the shanty on the sand dunes in which lived her dearly -beloved friend, Captain Barney, she was conscious of unusual noises -issuing therefrom. Surely there was some kind of a commotion going on -within the humble dwelling. Separating the sounds as she approached, she -recognized one as laughter (none but Linda Wixon laughed like that), then -there was the clumping of little Zoeth's crutches, and his shrill, -excited chatter. This was followed by a hammering and a chorus of -approving feminine voices. - -Muriel hastened her steps. It was impossible to run in the soft sand. -"What can be goin' on in Uncle Barney's shack?" she wondered. "I reckon -he's givin' a party, though I cal'late that isn't likely, he bein' laid -up----" Her thoughts were interrupted by the genial Irishman himself, who -appeared around the corner of the shanty carrying an old rusty stovepipe -which he had replaced with a new one. Rilla noticed that he was stepping -as spryly as ever he had. - -"Top o' the mornin' to you, mavourneen," he called. "It's great news I'm -after havin'. Me ol' mither as I've been hungerin' for a sight of these -tin year past is comin' at last to live here on the dunes, and the heart -o' me is singin' a melody like 'The harp that once through Tara's halls -the soul of music shed'; but 'twas Tommy Moore said it that way, not your -ol' Uncle Barney. That's what poets are for, I reckon, to be puttin' into -words for us the joy we can only be feelin'." Then, as they reached the -open front door of the shack, Captain Barney called: "Belay there, folks, -and be makin' yer best bows to our neighbor from across the water." - -"Yo-o, Rilly! It's yo' that's come just in time to be tellin' what yo' -reckon's the best place to be hangin' the pictures." It was -fifteen-year-old Lindy Wixon who skipped forward and caught her friend by -the hand as she went on to explain: "I got 'em wi' soap wrappers. I went -all over Tunkett collectin'. Every-un was glad, an' more, to give 'em -when they heard as Cap'n Barney's ol' mither is comin' at last. We want -to purty up the shack so 'twill look homey an' smilin' a welcome to her -the minute she steps into the door." - -"Oh-h, but they're handsome!" Muriel said, clasping her hands. Zoeth was -standing near looking eagerly up into the face of his beloved friend. -"Which of 'em do you reckon is purtiest?" he queried; then waited her -reply as though it were a matter of great importance. - -Muriel gazed long at the three brightly colored prints which had been -hung on three sides of the room. "I dunno, honest," she said, "they're -all that beautiful, but I sort o' like the one wi' the lighthouse in it -best. The surf crashes over those rocks real natural, now don't it?" - -Zoeth clapped his thin little hands. "That thar's the one I chose, too, -Rilly. I knew yo'd choose it." - -Sam Peters, who had at one time been a ship carpenter, was busily -hammering at one side of the room where a long low window looked out -toward the sea. "That thar's a windy-seat my Sam is makin'," his wife -explained to Muriel. "They've one up to Judge Lander's where I go Mondays -to wash, and when I was tellin' Mis' Lander how we was plannin' to purty -up Cap'n Barney's shack, bein' as his ol' mither's comin', she said if we -had a couch or a windy-seat she'd be glad to donate some pillas as she -had in the attic, an' when she fetched 'em down, if thar wa'n't a -beautiful turkey-red couch cover amongst 'em." - -The window-seat was fast nearing completion and so the group turned -admiring eyes from the pictures to the handiwork of Sam Peters. - -"Make way, thar!" his wife was heard to exclaim a moment later from the -rear. Everyone turned to see that portly woman approaching, a somewhat -faded turkey-red lounge cover dragging one fringed corner, while four -pillows of as many different colors were in her arms. - -Lindy and Muriel sprang forward to assist her, but Mrs. Sam would permit -them to do nothing but hold the pillows, while she herself placed them at -what she believed to be fashionable angles. - -Then with arms akimbo, she stood back and admired the result. - -She was sure that Mrs. Judge Lander herself could not have arranged the -pillows with more artistic effect. "We'd ought to _all_ of us fix our -cabins up that fine," she announced, "an' I'm a-goin' to." - -"That red's powerful han'some," Mrs. Jubal Smalley remarked. "Thar'd -ought to be a plant settin' on the window sill, just atop o' it." - -No one noticed when little Zoeth slipped away, but they all saw him -return triumphantly bearing his greatest treasure, a potted geranium -which had three scarlet blossoms. With cheeks burning and eyes glowing, -the little fellow placed it upon the window sill. "It's for yer mither to -keep," he said, looking up at the Irishman, who was deeply touched, for -well he knew how the little fellow had nursed the plant, which the year -before Lindy had rescued from a rubbish heap in the summer colony. - -Out of his savings Captain Barney had purchased from Mrs. Sol a table and -four straight chairs. - -When everything was shipshape and Sam Peters was packing away his tools, -Captain Barney spoke. "Neighbors," he began, "in the name of me ol' -mither I want to be thankin' yo'. It's a hard life she's been havin' in -the ol' country, what wi' raisin' tin of her own an' two that she tuk as -were left orphants. Says she, when no one else wanted 'em, 'I'll take -'em, the poor darlints. If thar's allays room for one more, the saints -helpin', we'll stretch that room so 'twill hold the two of 'em.' An' now -that the last of 'em is growd, it's aisy I want her to be takin' it. She -can be drawin' the rocker as yo' all gave me up to the open door an' she -kin jest be settin' an' rockin' an' restin' an' lookin' out at the sea. -'Twill be nigh like Heaven for me ol' mither, an' it's thankin' ye again -I am for all ye've been doin'." - -Somebody tried to say something, but it ended in a sincere handshaking, -and many eyes were moist. Then Muriel and her dear friend were left -alone. With an arm about the girl he loved, the old man stood looking out -at sea. - -"Rilly gal," he said at last, "how kind folks are in this world. It's a -pleasant place to be livin'." - -Captain Barney did not realize that the fisher folk about him were but -returning a bit of the loving kindness which he had shown to them in -their many hours of need. - -Glancing at the clock, he said briskly: "Nigh two, Rilly gal. Yer Uncle -Barney must be gettin' ready for the three-forty train up to Boston." - - * * * * * * * * - -That evening, when Muriel was telling her grandfather all that had -happened, she said: "Grand-dad, I dunno why 'tis, but I feel sorto' as -though things are comin' out different from the way Uncle Barney's -plannin'." - -"I reckon that's along of the fact that he's had his heart sot so many -times on his old mither's cruisin' over the big pond, but suthin' allays -kept her anchored, seemed like, on 'tother side." - -Then, as the old man rose, he looked out toward the darkening east. -"Storm's a-breedin' at last, Rilly gal. I swan I never knew an equinoxial -to hold off so long. I reckon 'twa'n't git here till 'round about -mornin'." Then he added: "I dunno why 'tis, Rilly gal, but I'm sort o' -dreadin' the big storm this year." - -The girl shuddered. A cold night wind was rising. "Grand-dad," she -pleaded, "let's go in an' be readin' in the Good Book." - -Every night since the one on which he had cast hate out of his heart the -old man had tried to read from the New Testament to Muriel, and though he -stumbled over many of the longer words, the girl caught the spirit of it -and retold it with her own interpretation. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - THE STORM. - - -The expected storm arrived the next day, although not in its usual fury. -However, as there was no real need for Muriel or her grandfather to cross -the bay, which was wind-lashed into white-capped, choppy waves, they -remained in the house. - -"Queer the way our reg'lar crasher of a storm is delayin' this year," -Captain Ezra said on the third night after the rains began. Muriel, who -was washing cups at the time, suddenly whirled, and throwing her arms -about the old man, regardless of her soapy hands, she cried passionately: - -"I'd be glad if they never came, Grand-dad. I don't know why 'tis, but -when the lightning zigzags all aroun' like a sword of fire, the thunder -seems to roar, 'Some day I'll crash yer light that's tryin' to defy me.'" - -The old captain looked truly distressed. "Rilly gal," he said, "I wish -yo' didn't take such queer notions. You're jest like yer mother was -before yo'. She used to come singing down from the top o' the cliff and -tell me yarns 'bout what the wind and the waves had been tellin' her. Lem -used to say she'd ought to be sent somewhar's an' taught to write -stories. That'd be a good channel, he opinioned, to let out the notions -that was cooped up in her head, an' here yo' are jest like her." - -The old man looked so truly distressed that the girl exclaimed -contritely: "Yo' dear ol' Grand-dad, if it's worryin' yo', I'll try to be -diff'rent. I might be like Lindy Wixon now. She don't have any queer -notions. - -"I asked her once if she wouldn't like to visit the star that's so bright -in the evenin', an' she stared like she thought I was loony, honest she -did." Then, stooping, the girl laughingly peered into the troubled eyes -beneath the shaggy grey brows. "How would yo' like to change gals, -Grand-dad? I kin----" - -"Belay there, fust mate. That tack's crazier than the fust." Then lifting -a listening ear, he added: "The wind's rising. I reckon the big storm is -crusin' this way arter all." But Captain Ezra was wrong, for, although -the wind blew a gale and the leaden clouds were hurled low above the -light and the rain now and then fell in wind-driven sheets, changing at -times to hail that rattled against the windows, still the tempest that -often came in the fall was delayed. Perhaps, indeed, as the captain began -to hope, it was not coming at all that year, for, whenever it had passed, -it had taken its toll of lives and boats, however faithfully the warning -light flashed its beacon rays out through the storm. - -There was a week of inclement weather, and Muriel often stood in the warm -kitchen looking out across the waters of the bay that were sometimes -black under the sudden squalls and sometimes livid green when the sun and -rain were struggling together for mastery, but the girl's thoughts were -not of the weather but of what might be happening in Tunkett. - -In fancy she looked into the newly adorned cabin where Captain Barney had -lived alone for so many years, but, try as she might, she could not -picture there the old "mither" he had so yearned to see. - -Then in imagination she visited the glassed-in veranda of Doctor -Winslow's home, but it was empty and the windows of the house were -covered with heavy wooden blinds. - -Shuddering, she turned back into the room to find that the fire in the -stove was dying down. It was cold; that was why she was shivering, she -decided. Maybe her grand-dad was right. She was becoming too fanciful. - -Putting on an armful of dry driftwood, she began to sing as she prepared -the evening meal, and her old grandfather, who came down the spiral -stairs, having set the light to whirling, felt cheered when he heard the -musical voice of his "gal." - -The next morning, to the joy of Muriel, there were only a few vagrant -clouds in the sky and the stars were shining when she arose. - -It seemed as though never before had there been such a glory in the east -as there was when Apollo drove his flaming chariot, the sun, high above -the horizon, once more triumphing over Jupiter Pluvius, the God of Rain, -but of mythology Muriel, as yet, knew nothing. - -What she did know, and it set her heart and voice to singing an anthem of -gladness, was that the storm was over and that she might sail to Tunkett -and inquire after her dear friends, the old and the new. - -Her grandfather, too, wished to visit the store of Mrs. Sol, for the -supply of oil must be replenished. It would never do to let it get below -a certain depth in the great tank which contained it, for there might -come a storm of unusual length and fury and the light must be kept -burning. - -Muriel felt more optimistic, for we are all somewhat mercurial for -temperament, and it is much easier to believe that all is well when the -sun is shining, and yet, is not the sun always shining just behind the -clouds that never last? - -At the wharf they parted, the old sea captain going at once to the store, -while Muriel hastened up the main road toward the home of Dr. Winslow. As -she neared it she suddenly stood still and gazed her dismay, hardly able -to believe what she saw. "Arter all, 'twa'n't queer notions," she said in -a low voice. "'Twas true!" And indeed it was. The physician's blinds were -barred over the windows. Doctor Winslow had received word from the -hospital in New York over which he presided that if he would shorten his -vacation this year it would be greatly appreciated, and as Gene Beavers -had gained strength enough to travel, he had accompanied the physician. - -Miss Brazilla Mullet, from a window of her cottage on the other side of -the low evergreen hedge, saw Muriel standing as though stunned and she -hurried out with a letter. "Gene Beavers left it for you, Rilly," she -said, "an' he wanted me to tell you that he's gettin' stronger, an' as -soon's he's able to travel alone he's comin' back, if only for a day, to -be tellin' you goodbye; but like's not he's told you all that in the -letter." Then, as the air was nippy with frost, Miss Brazilla hurried -indoors again. Rilla placed the letter in the pocket of her coat and -walked back to meet her grandfather. - -Together they had planned to visit the cabin on the dunes and see Captain -Barney, but they did not go, for, when Muriel beheld her grand-dad -emerging from the store, she knew by his expression that he, too, had sad -news to tell her. - -"No need to go to Barney's, fust mate," he said. "He's not there an' the -cabin's shut up tight's a clam. 'Pears that when he got to Boston and met -the incomin' steamer the young priest that was comin' over with his ol' -mither tol' him as how she'd been all ready to start, an' then wa'n't -strong enough to make the v'yage. 'Twas best, the priest said, it bein' -stormy all the way, but she'd sent word that she'd come in the spring." - -"That's how it's been for years," the girl declared. "But where is Uncle -Barney? What did he do?" Rilla's voice was tremulous and eager. - -"He signed articles to sail back on the same boat as steward, an' he had -the young priest write to Mrs. Sol to shut up his cabin but to leave -things shipshape as he'd cruise back in the spring and bring his ol' -mither." - -There were tears in the eyes of the girl, and, as she held close to his -arm, Captain Ezra felt her tremble. "Grand-dad, we'd better be hurryin' -home," she said. "The sky's cloudin' fast an' it's gettin' colder." - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - THREE MORE GIRLS. - - -Upon reaching Windy Island that cold, grey, late afternoon, Muriel went -at once to her Treasure Cave to procure the primer which her Uncle Lem -had given her, and by the aid of which she could read other books and -letters containing the simplest words. This she carried to her room above -the kitchen adjoining the lighthouse. But it was not until the following -morning, when her tasks were finished, that she was able to slip away to -decipher the message from Gene. A drizzling rain was keeping them both -indoors. The old captain, never content when he was idle, had brought to -the warm kitchen a net that he was mending. - -"I'm getting strong by the day," the little letter told the girl, "and -the hope of seeing you very soon again, Muriel, good friend, helps me -more than anything else." - -What would the girls in his home set have thought could they have seen -that letter which had been written in the greatest sincerity, for with -none of them did Gene have a serious friendship. They knew him merely as -the good-looking, always good-natured brother of their favorite, Helen -Beavers, with whom they bantered merrily. Gene liked them all well -enough, but they wearied him with their constant chatter of tennis -tournaments and teas, and their ceaseless laughter. No wonder that his -pal, David Davison, had often said that most girls seemed to be afflicted -with "giggleitis," but not so Muriel. - -As Gene sat alone hour after hour in a hospital, the windows of which -looked out across the Hudson, he thought often of the sweet seriousness -of the truly beautiful face of his "storm maiden." Those hazel eyes had -looked into his very soul, and how thankful he was that he had nothing in -that soul that he wished to conceal. - -She had laughed, now and then, spontaneously, joyfully, but she was very -different from the modern girl who laughed continually because she -thought it becoming. He couldn't conceive of Muriel doing anything merely -to gain admiration. - -"She's a bully good pal, that's what; so is sis; but there aren't many -girls like those two," was his conclusion. - -Gene had still another month of enforced vacation, as the doctor had -declared that he would not permit him to return to college until after -the holidays. Under other circumstances the lad would have fretted about -this, but as it was he knew that he was actually eager to spend at least -the larger part of that month in Tunkett. - -But Gene was not left long alone, for on the very first Saturday after -his arrival in the New York hospital, his sister Helen and two of her -best friends from the boarding school farther up the Hudson appeared -unexpectedly to visit him. - -Gladys Goodsell and Faith Morley were attractive maidens, clad in -fashionably tailored suits, with muffs to keep their gloved hands warm, -for, in spite of the dazzling brightness of the day, the air was -stingingly cold. - -"Oh, brother," Helen protested when she was told that as soon as he was -stronger he was going back to Tunkett, "what _can_ you see in that -outlandish village?" Then to her friends she added: "I went down there -one week-end with Doctor Winslow, who is an old friend of father's, but I -can assure you that I shall never go again, that is, not out of season. -Such queer people as I saw! Honestly, I had to pinch myself to be sure -that I hadn't stepped into one of Joseph Lincoln's stories, and, as for -understanding what the natives said, well, I just couldn't." - -"Maybe you didn't try very hard, Sis." This from the lad who was keeping -his new friend a secret in his heart. - -"Maybe I didn't," was the merry reply, "but if I were going to write a -comic story that's where I'd go for my characters and illustrations. -Girls, I do wish you might see the clothes worn by the wives of the -fishermen. I am sure the dressmaker who made them must have come over in -the ark." - -As Gene listened, lying back among the pillows of his -half-reclining-chair, he glanced at the costumes of his fair visitors, -then, turning, he looked out toward the Hudson, but it was not the steely -blue river that he saw but a girl in a nondescript calico dress with hair -wind-blown who was ordering him to leave her island. Looking back at his -sister, he said: "You are right, Helen, about the clothes. They are -different." - -When at last the girls arose, Helen leaned affectionately over her -brother's reclining-chair. "I don't know what possesses you to want to go -to Tunkett of all places during this coming month." Then, wheedlingly: -"We're going to have a series of parties at the school just before the -holidays, and then there's to be that annual affair over at West Point. -Please reconsider, brother dear. Go down for a week or two if you really -think that it will do you good, but I beg of you, do come back for the -holiday fun. Now, promise me!" - -Gene took the gloved hand of his sister, whom he did indeed love dearly. -"I'll promise to consider, sister mine," he said; then added: "But I'm -hardly in trim for night frolics just now." - -Helen noticed how pale and suddenly weary her brother looked and, -stooping, she kissed him tenderly on the forehead as she said softly: -"Gene, dear, if you are still in Tunkett, I'll come down there and spend -Christmas with you. Since mother and father are in Europe, you and I will -want to be together." - -There was a grateful expression in the lad's eyes and then he closed -them, for he found that he was indeed very tired. - -Helen motioned the girls to leave quietly, which they did. What would -these three city maidens have thought had they known Gene's real reason -for wishing to return to Tunkett, for surely the village itself held -little to attract one in the severe months of early winter? - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - AN EXPECTED SURPRISE. - - -The weather clerk may have been purposely perplexing during those first -days of December, for, after having imprisoned Rilla and her grandfather -on Windy Island for two long, inclement weeks, they awakened one morning -to find a gleaming blue sky that merged on the far horizon with the -deeper turquoise of the ocean. - -A fortnight had passed since she had received the letter from Gene, and -yet he had not come. Because of the rains, Rilla and her grandfather had -not again visited the town. There was oil enough in the tank to last -another month, nor was there anyone in Tunkett whom they wished to see. - -Of course, there had been no mail, for little Sol had sailed close to the -island one day and Rilla, hailing him, had asked him to bring the letters -if any should arrive. She was expecting two, one from Gene and one from -Uncle Barney, and indeed her kind Uncle Lem now and then wrote to her or -sent a picture postcard of some interesting building or park in the great -city where he resided ten months out of every year. - -But the heart of Rilla was filled with a joyful anticipation on that -first sparkling day after the storms. As soon as her tasks indoors were -finished she called to her shaggy playfellow and, donning her crimson tam -and sweater-coat, away she raced toward the outer cliff. There she paused -and seemed to be watching for someone or something. - -A moment later, her eyes gladdened and she leaned forward eagerly. A -flock of gleaming white-winged seagulls appeared and Muriel, taking from -her pocket a paper bag, opened it and tossed a fragment of bread into the -air. Instantly there was a rush of wings and the birds circled and -swooped about her, catching the bits of food as they fell. Now and then a -piece dropped far down the cliff and two or three birds would dive -through the air, each hoping to be the first to obtain it. - -When the bag was empty Muriel turned to find Shags lying some distance -back of her, his head low on his paws, his limpid brown eyes watching -every move that she made. - -Muriel had taught him that he must be very quiet when she was feeding the -birds, but when she tossed the crumpled bag out upon the breeze and stood -watching it fall into the sea, Shags seemed to know that he need be still -no longer. Leaping to his feet, he joined his mistress and then together -they raced along on the top of the cliff to the side of the island -nearest the town. Again the girl paused, this time shading her eyes as -she gazed out over the dancing blue waters. - -"Thar's a sail comin', Shagsie, ol' dog," she said, "but that's nothin' -onusual. 'Pears like I'm 'spectin' somethin' to happen every day, when it -used to be nothin' ever happened, much, that was different. I cal'late -that it's some fisherman late in startin' for the Outer Ledge. Sam -Peters, like as not. He's powerful shiftless when it comes to gettin' -started." - -But, nevertheless, as the girl sauntered around the top of the cliff and -toward the light, she glanced often at the sailboat which seemed to be -bearing directly toward Windy Island. - -At last her expression of hopeful eagerness changed to one of radiant -certainty. "Shagsie," she cried exultantly, "it _is_ little Sol's boat, -arter all. I reckon he's fetchin' some mail. Come on, ol' dog. Let's race -to the dock." - -The girl and dog ran joyfully along the top of the cliff, but at the top -of the steep flight of stairs that led to the beach Rilla paused and -looked intently at the boat, which, ahead of a brisk wind, was scudding -into port. - -"Thar's some-un else in it," she said in a low voice, "and--and, oh-o, -Shagsie, it _is_ Gene Beavers. He's come!" - -The passenger in little Sol's sailboat was indeed the lad whom Rilla had -expected. When he landed on the small and mossy dock over which the waves -often washed he was met by a girl whose beautiful face reminded him of -sunrise, so radiant was the expression shining there, but, after little -Sol had been paid and told to return promptly at five, the girl's joy at -the arrival of her friend changed to alarm when she noted how very pale -he was. - -"Yo' oughtn't to've made the v'yage yet, I reckon," she said. "Yo' look -all tuckered out. Why did Uncle Lem let yo' come so soon? Yo'd ought t' -be in bed still, that's whar yo'd ought t' be, Gene Beavers." - -"Storm Maiden, stop scolding me! A fine welcome you're giving me. I -thought--I hoped that you might be pleased to see me, and now I'm almost -afraid that you're going to set your dog on me." This was said teasingly, -but it was answered by a reproachful expression in the clear hazel eyes -of the girl. - -Then, as Captain Ezra, at that moment, appeared at the top of the steep -steps, the lad went up two at a time, perhaps with some idea of showing -Muriel how strong he really was, but he had overestimated his strength, -for when the top was reached the captain's strong arms were all that kept -him from falling. - -"Boy," the old man said, "what in tarnal creation are yo' cruisin' around -for in rough water wi' yer mast broken and yer rudder gone?" - -The lad looked up from the bench outside of the light to which the -captain had led him. "Am I that much of a wreck?" he asked, smiling -whimsically. Then he confessed: "I believe I had overestimated my -strength. Lying there all day I had no way of telling how weak I really -was. I used to get so tired of doing nothing and I thought if only I -could get back here where the salt air is so exhilarating maybe I'd get -strong sooner, but I'd better be taking the train back tonight, I'm -thinking." - -Muriel had gone at once to the kitchen and had a roaring fire in the -stove and the kettle on to boil when the old man and the lad entered. - -How Gene laughed, a little later, when, having been made comfortable in a -high-backed wooden rocker, which had been drawn close to the fire, his -"storm maiden" again handed him a thick cup filled with a steaming -beverage. - -"Muriel," he said, "you and I seem destined to have morning teas -together. Do you recall our first one down on the beach when you -threatened to shoot me?" - -The girl whirled about and put her finger to her lips; then glancing at -her grandfather, whose back was toward them, she said in a low voice: -"Don' tell that. I don' know what possessed me that day. I reckon I was -that angered, bein' as yo' wouldn't take orders." - -"I'll mind you from now on forever after, Muriel, good friend," the lad -began. Then added with sudden seriousness: "I realize from my recent -misadventures that I am not possessed of any too sound a judgment." - -A happy day they had, although Gene spent nearly all of it in the rocker -near the fire. - -As the clock chimed the hour of four, the lad arose as he said: "I ought -to be getting back to town. I would better take the evening train if----" - -Captain Ezra gently pushed the lad down into the chair. "Tarnation -sakes!" he exclaimed. "Do yo' reckon I'd let a friend of Doctor Lem's -leave this craft with underpinnin's as shaky as yours are? Not by a long -sight! Yo' oughtn't to've come, but, bein' as yo're here yo're goin' to -stay a spell." - -Then the boy confessed. "But Doctor Winslow does not even know that I -came. He was to be gone for a few days and so I--I----" - -The old sea captain grunted. "He'll know soon enough. When little Sol -comes, give him a message for his ma to wire back to the big city. Tell -Doctor Lem that yo're goin' to try Rilla's nursin' for a while." - -If there was a twinkle in the grey eyes of the old man, there was also a -heaviness in his heart. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - THE BLUE JEWELS. - - -Gene Beavers received a night-letter from Doctor Winslow on the following -day, and it contained its full quota of words. The sentiment of it was: - - "You scamp, you ought to be well chastised for running away, but, after - all, Nurse Rilla may be able to do more for you than your old Uncle - Lem, so stay as long as Ezra Bassett will keep you. Learn to tend the - light so that you may be of use if the need arises." - -"May I?" Gene asked, looking up eagerly from the letter into the face of -the old man, who sat near the stove, cap pulled well down over his eyes, -smoking hard on his corncob pipe. - -There was a struggle going on in the heart of Captain Ezra. Here was one -of those city chaps who for years he had hated on general principles -settling down in his home, it would seem, to be a boarder for an -indefinite length of time. Then another thought presented itself as the -captain noticed how frail the lad really was, and he questioned his own -heart: "What if 'twas yo're boy needin' some-un to help him get strong, -Ezra Bassett? How would yo' want him to be treated? Turned out and let to -drift on the rocks, maybe? I snum--No!" - -The old man rose and vigorously shook the ashes down from the stove -before he replied: "Sure, yo' can be larnin' all thar is to know about -the light, I reckon, if 'twould interest yo', son, but Lem knows I'm -jealous of that big lamp. I won't even let Rilly gal polish up the lens." - -The girl, her face flushed from the heat of the stove, where she stood -frying fish and potatoes in a big black skillet, laughed over her -shoulder as she said: "I reckon Grand-dad loves the lamp better'n he does -me, I reckon he does!" Then it was that the expression of infinite -tenderness which Gene had noticed before appeared in the eyes of the old -man as he replied earnestly: "Thar's nothin' this world holds that I love -better'n you, fust mate"; then he added, in another tone, "An', you -rascal, you know it." - -Gene slept on a cot in the kitchen, and as the days passed his strength -rapidly returned. The weather continued sunny and bracing and although it -was nearing the holiday season the midwinter blizzards had not arrived. - -Muriel had told the lad all about the treasure box in her cave. A week -after the arrival of the boy on Windy Island they were climbing about on -the cliffs when they found themselves near the small opening to the cave. -"Come on in. I'll show yo' the box," Rilla said. - -Gene, really curious concerning the treasure that had been given up by -the sea, went in and watched with interest as the girl lifted the -mirror-lined cover of what he recognized to be a water-tight steamer -trunk of foreign make. - -The sea-green dress, he agreed, was wonderful. "I judge that it is -Parisian," he said. Then, as he saw the question in her hazel eyes, he -told about the City of Paris, where he had been the summer before. He -described the beautiful shops, the lights, the damsels, and the rare and -exquisite fabrics from which their gowns were fashioned. - -"I reckon this box belongs to one of those beautiful ladies," Muriel said -at last. - -Gene nodded. "I haven't a doubt about it," he agreed. "Have you looked -through it thoroughly to see if you could find the name of the owner?" - -The girl shook her red-brown head. "I cal'lated thar'd been a wreck, for -'twas a high storm as sent this box in. 'Twa'n't hereabouts, but I reckon -it was far out at sea." - -"Undoubtedly you are right, Muriel, but let's look for some possible clue -as to the former owner's identity." - -The lad and the girl, as eager as two children, were on their knees in -the soft sand of the cave. The dress had been carefully laid to one side. -A small box of exquisite workmanship was found and when the cover was -lifted the girl uttered an exclamation of joy, and in the dim light Gene -thought her eyes like stars. - -No wonder that Muriel was elated, for in that box there was a set of -jewels of the most entrancing blue. Never had she seen anything just like -it in the sea or in the sky. It seemed to be alive, that color! There was -a necklace of them and two lantern-like earrings, a brooch and a ring. - -Muriel gazed at them awed by their loveliness, her hands tight clasped. -As Gene watched her, he wished that all girls might be as utterly -unconscious of self as she was. Not a move did she ever make to attract -him. She was as natural in all that she did as were the seagulls that -circled over the cliff. - -His thoughts were interrupted by Muriel, who looked up with a troubled -expression in her eyes. "Gene," she said, "'tisn't right for me to keep -'em. They aren't mine, and I cal'late they're wurth a power o' money. -Aren't they?" - -The boy nodded. "A fortune, I judge." - -"I'd like to give 'em back to the gal as lost 'em, if I knew who 'twas." - -Gene had idly lifted from the jewel case a locket and had opened it. On -one side was the portrait of a proud, beautiful girl, and on the other -was a picture of himself. He snapped it shut and, replacing it in the -box, he rose rather abruptly, saying: "Muriel, let's finish our search -for the owner's name at some future time. Shall we? You know we started -out to dig clams." - -Muriel was rather surprised, but as her patient did seem weary, she -replaced the green dress and went with him to the beach below. - -Gene wanted time to think. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - MEMORIES. - - -The next morning Captain Ezra asked Gene if he would like to go to the -Outer Ledge and spend the day fishing, as the supply in the barrel was -getting low. The lad was glad to go, and, as Muriel had baking to do, she -was equally pleased to be alone. - -Long, silent hours these were for Gene as he sat with the captain waiting -for the coming of the fish that seemed reluctant to be caught in the -early morning. Long, thoughtful hours. Now and then the lad even forgot -where he was until a wave, larger than the others, rocked the boat and -recalled to him his whereabouts. He was living over again a chapter in -his past. - -It had happened the summer before. His dear mother, who was perfect in -every other way, had one obsession (many mothers seemed to have it, he -concluded), and that was that she wanted the idol of her heart, her only -son, to make a fashionable marriage. - -During their last vacation, with his sister Helen, he had joined his -parents in Paris, where Mr. Beavers was employed as resident -representative of large American interests, he himself having a -controlling share. - -Mrs. Beavers had suggested a jaunt about the continent and had joined a -small exclusive party, one of the younger members of it being just the -sort of a girl she desired as a comrade for her son. - -Marianne Carnot, the descendant of a long line of illustrious French -folk, had been educated in London and although she was a dark, sparkling -beauty of the French type, she spoke excellent English with a delightful -accent which but added to her charm. - -Gene's mother, in her eagerness to interest her son in this girl (for -Monsieur Carnot was a diplomat of fabulous wealth), had been truly -discouraged, for they had neither of them cared greatly (or so it would -seem) to be in each other's company. When the pleasant journey through -Italy, Switzerland and France was ended, Mrs. Beavers could not see that -the two most frequently in her thoughts had been greatly impressed with -each other. - -They had come to the parting of their ways and Gene had never again seen -Marianne nor had they corresponded. But the locket! How had Marianne -procured the snapshot of him? Then he recalled one day in Rome when she -had told him to stand by a famous statue and look his prettiest. He had -supposed that a photograph of the statue was what she had really wished -to procure, but he had been mistaken, evidently. Could it have been that -Marianne had liked him especially? He was sure that this was not true. He -also recalled that his mother had assured Mademoiselle Carnot that she -ought to spend at least one year in an American boarding school. -Evidently the French girl had been voyaging across the great Atlantic -when her small steamer trunk had been lost. - -Did that mean that Marianne had also met with disaster? - -He decided that he would write his sister at once and inquire if she knew -aught of her friend of the summer before. - -When Gene reached Windy Island that night, upon one thing he had decided. -He would tell Muriel the entire story. The next morning an opportunity -presented itself. The girl was darning in the sunny kitchen when Gene -came in from the shed on the shore where he and Captain Ezra had been -cleaning fish and packing it away in the barrel which was kept very cold -in a wet hole in the sand. - -Muriel looked up with a welcoming smile. Just such a smile was ever -awaiting the coming of her grand-dad. - -Gene sat upon the broad arm of a chair nearby and twirled his cap. -"Muriel, good friend," he said, "I know to whom your box belongs." - -The girl looked up amazed, not understanding. - -"Gene, how could yo'? We didn't find a name or nothin'." - -"Yes, we found something. That is, I did." - -Those hazel eyes were again looking into the very soul of the boy, but he -did not flinch. He had done nothing of which he was ashamed. - -He slid down into the chair, and leaning forward, looked directly back at -her. "I didn't tell you at once, because I wanted to think it all over. I -was so surprised I couldn't quite understand myself what it could mean, -but I do now, in part at least. May I tell you the story?" - -The girl nodded and her hands lay idly in her lap, though still holding -the sock she had been darning. - -Gene told her all from the beginning. He wondered what her first remark -would be when he paused. It was: "I reckon yo're mother wouldn't wish yo' -to be friends with me, Gene Beavers. I cal'late yo'd better go back to -the city soon, to the kind of folks she'd want yo' to be associatin' -with." - -"Nonsense, Muriel!" The lad had risen, and thrusting his hands deep in -his pockets, he stood looking out of the window for a long time, silent, -thoughtful. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - THE OWNER OF THE BOX. - - -They did not again visit the box in Treasure Cave. As he had planned, -Gene had written a long letter to his sister telling her that he was -getting strong and well, describing his interesting life on Windy Island, -but Muriel, for some reason, he did not mention. - -He ended his epistle by telling his sister about the small steamer trunk -which had been cast ashore by a storm and then asked if Helen had heard, -lately, from Marianne Carnot. A week passed and no reply was received. -Gene, growing every day more rugged and ruddy, had actually forgotten -that his sister had said if he did not return to New York to spend the -holidays with her, that she would visit him. - -It was a glorious day, about a week before Christmas, and the air was -invigoratingly cold. "I'll race yo' around the island on the beach," -Muriel called, as she and Gene started out for their customary morning -hike when their tasks were finished. - -"You won't beat," the boy, whose laughing face was beginning to bronze -from the sun and wind, shouted that his voice might be heard above the -booming of the surf on the rocks near. - -"Won't I?" Muriel turned merrily to defy him. - -"I snum you won't!" Gene liked to borrow words from the old sea captain's -lingo now and then. "Nor will I, for that matter," the lad confessed. -"Shags will. Now, one, two, three, go!" - -Away they ran. Muriel was quickly in the lead, Shags bounding at her -heels, and the lad a close third. When they reached the north end of the -island they found that the tide was high, which meant that they had to -await the receding of the waves before they could round the point on the -sand. Luck was with Muriel, for when she reached the rocks there was a -clear wet space ahead of her and around she darted, but Gene was held up -while another breaker crashed in, and so, as they neared their final -goal, the little wharf on the town side of the island, the girl was in -the lead. - -Her red-brown hair was blown, her cheeks were flushed, her eyes -sparkling, and as she whirled to exult over the lad, he thought he had -never seen a more beautiful picture. He caught both of her hands, but his -bantering remark died as he stared at the dock back of Muriel, hardly -able to believe his eyes. - -"My sister Helen has come," he said in a low voice, "and someone is with -her." Instantly he recognized the someone. It was Marianne Carnot. - -"I'll go back to the light," Muriel told him. "Yo're sister'll want to -see yo' alone, an' she won't care for the like o' me." - -Gene leaped to her side when the girl turned away. "Muriel Storm," he -said, and there was a note of ringing sincerity in his voice, "you are a -princess compared to most girls. Come with me, please, to greet my -sister." - -She went reluctantly. She recalled what he had told her about his mother -wishing him to care for this French girl of wealth and family and his -sister Helen would probably feel the same way. Perhaps they would not be -kind to her. How she wanted to run up to the light to the sheltering arms -of her grandfather. But Gene held her hand in a firm clasp until they -reached the top of the steps leading to the small wharf; then, releasing -her, he went to greet the newcomers, turning at once to introduce Muriel. -There was indeed a curling of the lips and a slight if almost -imperceptible lifting of the eyebrows, but the "storm maiden" in Muriel -had awakened, and it was with a proudly held head that she said: "Miss -Carnot, I'm that glad to be able to return yo're box, if 'tis yo'r'n." - -"It is indeed mine," Marianne replied haughtily. "I will bid the man who -rowed us over to get it, if you will tell him where it is. Later you -shall receive the reward which my father offered for the return of my -trunk." - -Muriel, her cheeks burning, was nevertheless about to comply when Gene -leaped forward, saying: "I will show the oarsman where the trunk is, -Rilla. You need not come." - -Luckily, at that moment the island girl heard her grandfather's voice -booming her name from the door of the light. Gene heard it, too, and he -was glad that it offered his "storm maiden" an escape from further -humiliation which he was powerless to prevent. - -Later, when the trunk had been placed in the boat, and when Marianne was -looking through its contents to be sure that nothing had been removed or -ruined, Helen took the opportunity of speaking alone with her brother. -She was truly glad to note that his health had been restored and she -implored him to return with her for the holidays. - -"Surely, brother," Helen said, "you are strong enough now, and since it -was to gain your strength that you came, why should you remain any -longer? Gladys and Faith told me not to return without you. They both -like to dance with you, and Marianne, I know has been eager to see you. -She is hurt, I can tell, because you pay her so little attention today." - -Then glancing toward the lighthouse, where Muriel was standing close to -her grand-dad, Helen added in a lower voice: "Of course, I know there is -nothing serious in this companionship, Gene, but what would our mother -say?" - -What, indeed! - -"Of course I shall be returning soon," was all that he would say, "as I -want to be back at college by the beginning of the winter term." Gene -spent a long, thoughtful hour alone on the cliff when his sister and the -proud Marianne were gone. Muriel was busy preparing the noon meal, but -she, too, was thoughtful. Her friend was well enough now to return to the -city and ought she not urge him to go? Just before the visitors had been -rowed over to Tunkett, Helen had ascended the flight of stairs leading to -the light, and, taking the hand of the girl who lived there, she had -said, almost pleadingly: "Won't you please advise my brother to come home -for the holidays? I can't stay with him here and it's going to be so -lonely for me with mother and father away. I would go to them, but the -vacation at midwinter will be too short." - -There were tears in the eyes that looked at Muriel with the same frank, -candid expression that was also her brother's. - -"I reckon he should be goin'," Muriel had answered. "I cal'late he's -strong enough now, and he'll be wantin' to get back to college arter a -spell." - -Helen had smiled her gratitude, and pressing the slim brown hand that she -held in her own, that was gloved, she had said hurriedly: "Thank you, -Miss Muriel. Please don't tell brother that I made this request. He might -feel that I was interfering." - -Then she had added, "I know _our_ mother would wish it." - -Helen, ever considerate and kind, did not mean what Muriel believed that -she did. There was a deep crimson flush in the cheeks of the island girl, -but just at that moment Marianne had appeared at the top of the stairs to -coldly announce that she was ready to depart. - -"I'm coming," Helen had called. Then, because she was too much like her -brother not to ring true, she held out her hand again to Muriel and had -said most sincerely: "I want to thank you and your grandfather for having -done so much toward restoring Gene's health. Goodbye." - -"I reckon I'll be glad when they're all gone," Muriel thought, the flush -again creeping to her cheeks. "If Grand-dad an' I aren't good enough to -be associated with I cal'late when Gene comes in, I'll tell him he must -be goin'." - -A moment later she heard his clear, merry whistle as he rounded the -house. To his surprise, when he entered the kitchen, she did not turn to -greet him with her usual friendly smile. - -Had those girls made his "storm maiden" self-conscious? was his first -almost wrathful thought. Throwing his cap to a chair near, he leaped to -the kitchen table, where the girl stood busily stirring a cornmeal -mixture for baking. The lad saw the flushed cheeks and at once he -understood. Catching her hands, regardless of the spoon, he whirled her -about. "Storm Maiden," he said, "what did Marianne Carnot say that has -hurt you?" He felt, as a brother might, he assured himself, a desire to -fight the world to defend this girl. The quivering lips smiled just a -little. - -"She didn't say nothin'," Then Rilla added: "Gene, I've been ponderin' -while yo've been out, an' I reckon yo'd better go back to the city now. I -cal'late maybe--maybe----" How she dreaded to hurt him, but she had -decided that he must go, but she did not have to finish the sentence. - -Gene turned away and took up his cap. "Very well, Muriel," he said. "I -promised to mind every command, and if this is one of them, I'll go -tomorrow." Captain Ezra secretly rejoiced when he heard that the lad was -soon to depart. It was hard for him to share his "gal." He liked Gene, to -be sure, better than he did any boy he had ever known. In fact, he hadn't -supposed "city folk" could be so genuine; willing to clean fish or turn a -hand to anything however commonplace. To be sure Doctor Winslow might be -called "city folks," for he had spent most of his time in New York for -nearly thirty years, but when all was said, he was really a native of -Tunkett. - -Muriel tried to laugh and chatter during the meal that followed, but Gene -found it hard to do so. He was still feeling rebellious. He was so sure -Marianne Carnot had hurt his "storm maiden." - -"She should have remained in Europe if she does not approve of American -democracy," his indignant thought was declaring. "But in Muriel she has -met her superior," another thought championed, adding: "I hope the future -will prove it and humiliate her snobbishness." - -After Gene's departure the delayed blizzard arrived with unusual fury. -The mountainous waves crashed against the rocks as though determined to -undermine the light, high on the cliff above them; but when each fuming, -frothing wave had receded the tower, strong and unshaken, stood in the -midst of driving hail and wet snow, but its efforts to shine were of -little avail, for its great lamp could merely cast a halo of glow and a -small circle of light out into the storm. - -Woe to the mariners, if any there were, who went too near the Outer Ledge -while the blizzard raged. - -"Rilly gal, I cal'late yer city friend got away jest in time," Captain -Ezra said on the third day of the blizzard, which had continued with -unabated fury. "It'd be tarnal risky navigatin' tryin' to cruise him over -to Tunkett today, which was when he cal'lated leavin', wa'n't it, fust -mate?" - -The old sea captain sat by the stove, smoking. It was warm and cheerful -in the kitchen, but with each fresh blast of wind the house shook, while -the very island itself seemed to tremble now and then as an unusually -large wave crashed over it on the seaward side. - -Muriel turned to look out of the window toward the town, but all that she -could see was the grey, sleeting, wind-driven rain. - -Turning back into the warm kitchen, she took her darning basket and sat -near the stove. After a thoughtful moment, she spoke: "I reckon things -allays happen for the best," she began, "though it's hard for us to see -it that way jest at fust; but later on, we do. 'Pears thar's a plan, -Grand-dad, and if so, then thar's Some-un doin' the plannin'. If we -really believe that, then we won't be worryin' and frettin' about how -things'll turn out; we'll jest be content, _knowin'_ that somehow they're -comin' out for the best." - -The keen grey eyes of the old man were intently watching the girl, who, -all unconscious of his scrutiny, sat with red-brown head bent over her -darning. - -"I cal'late yo're right, fust mate," he said at last. "It makes the -v'yage seem a tarnal lot safer if yo're sure thar's a skipper in command -that's not goin' to let yo' wreck yer craft on the rocks. Like be you'll -sail in purty rough waters sometimes, but I cal'late thar's allays a -beacon light shinin' clear and steady through the storm o' life, waitin' -to guide you to a safe harbor if yo're watchin' for it and willin' to be -guided." - -Then the grey eyes of Captain Ezra began to twinkle. "Rilly gal," he -said, "I reckon Parson Thompkins over to Tunkett'd think we was tryin' to -have a meetin' without him presidin' at it." - -The girl smiled across at the old man whom she loved. Then, rolling two -socks together, she arose to prepare the noon meal. - -The captain tilted back his chair. "The sermon now bein' concluded," he -announced, "it's time for the singin'." - -In a clear, sweet voice Muriel sang his favorite of the meeting-house -hymns. Peace and joy were within that humble home while the tempest raged -without. But that night, when she was snug in her bed in her room over -the kitchen, Muriel lay awake for a long time listening to the roar of -the storm and the crash of the surf and tried to picture what her friend -Gene was doing at that hour. - -But his world was not her world and the island girl could not even -imagine the gayety into which Helen and Gladys and Faith had lured him -that New Year's Eve. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - NEW YEAR'S EVE. - - -The street lights in New York were barely distinguishable because of the -storm which raged for many miles north and south along the Atlantic -coast. - -There were few pedestrians out, although it was still early evening, and -but a scattering of closed vehicles. In one of these sat Helen Beavers, -Marianne Carnot and Gene. The French girl shivered and drew her costly -grey furs closer about her. - -"So this is your winter," she said. "I would like it better in the south -where it is always summer." She shrugged her slim shoulders and tried to -peer out of the small, rain-drenched window. - -The skidding car was turning into a fashionable side street. Soon they -were gliding up the drive of a private residence. They stopped under a -wide, sheltering portico and when the door was flung aside Gene leaped to -the pavement to help the girls alight. - -Brights lights burned within a handsome grey stone house, and a moment -later the door was opened to admit them into a festive scene where there -was youth and music, laughter and joy. - -It was the home of Faith Morley's Aunt Louise, and this was one of the -parties to attend which the girls had begged Gene to return to the big -city. - -An hour later when he had danced, first with Faith, his hostess, and then -with Helen and Gladys Goodsell, he went in search of Marianne, whom he -found talking with a tall, lank youth in military uniform. The proud girl -paid scant attention to the newcomer. Gene, knowing that it was his duty, -if not his pleasure, to ask each of his sister's friends to dance with -him, waited until there was a pause in their conversation before making -the request. The French girl thanked him effusively, of course, but -declined, saying that she did not dance the old-fashioned American waltz. -Then she turned back to the young cadet, who, if the truth were known, -was boring her exceedingly. Gene excused himself and, seemingly -unnoticed, walked away. - -The slow, dreamy waltz music was being played by the palm-hidden -orchestra and as it was the only dance for which Gene cared, he sought -his sister, but was just in time to see her glide away with his pal, -David Davison. He did not care to dance with anyone else. He felt too -weary to be entertaining and so he slipped across the hall into the dimly -lighted library, where a log was burning on the wide hearth, casting its -warm glow over the low bookshelves and the statues and beautiful -paintings. - -He was glad no one was there. He wanted to be alone, to rest, he assured -himself. But what he really wished was to remember. - -He sank down into the big, comfortable chair in front of the fire which -had recently been deserted by Mr. Morley. An open book and a magazine lay -nearby. - -How good it seemed to be away from the noise, if laughter and chatter and -music could be called by a name so plebian. - -Then he listened to the other sounds as he sank deeper into the soft -depths of the chair and relaxed, stretching out before the warmth of the -blaze. - -How the storm whistled and moaned about the house and down the chimney. -Closing his eyes, he tried to picture what the storm would be like about -Tunkett. He glanced at the small clock over the mantle. Ten-thirty. The -house adjoining the tower would be in darkness, but the great lamp would -be swinging. Perhaps the blizzard was keeping Muriel awake, and he -wondered what she might be thinking about. - -Just then he happened to recall what his sister had said to him that -morning, and, knowing Helen, he also knew that she had meant it kindly. -Putting her hands on his shoulders, she had looked into his eyes, saying: -"Dear brother, you wouldn't allow yourself to care for someone of whom -your mother could not be proud. This friend of yours, Muriel Storm, is a -fine girl, I am sure, but she could not associate with your friends, and -our mother's heart would be broken if you really cared for her." - -Of course he and Muriel did not care for each other in the way to which -Helen had referred. They were just jolly good comrades.' Why were people -always romancing? He was glad that Muriel did not fit into the scene that -was being enacted in the brilliantly lighted room across the hall. He -liked her best as she was. - -At midnight his sister found him and her glance was reproachful at first, -but when she saw how truly weary he looked she rebuked herself for having -kept him up late so soon after his illness. - -She remembered how solicitous Muriel had been that he should not -overwork. Was she, Helen, less considerate as a sister than this island -girl as a friend? - -When they were again in the closed car, Marianne retired into the depth -of her furs and ignored their existence, pretending that she was too -weary for conversation, but Helen understood. - -Marianne, she knew, wished all boys to think her the most charming girl -they had ever met, and though Gene was polite, he had not been devoted. - -"Poor brother," Helen thought, as she glanced at his face, pale in spite -of its recent tanning. Aloud she said: "Gene, this is the last night that -I am going to drag you around to a dance. I know that you ought to just -rest, if you are to go back to college next month." - -Gene said nothing, but reached for his sister's hand and held it in a -loving clasp. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - CHRISTMAS IN FEBRUARY. - - -It was the first week in February before Captain Ezra thought it wise for -him to cross the turbulent waters of the bay. It was indeed necessary for -him to make the voyage then, as the oil had dropped to what he called -"low tide mark," and after that the faithful keeper of the light never -delayed longer than necessary before refilling the tank. - -The wind had subsided and the sun came out, revealing the island white -with drifts of snow, and, too, there was ice on the stairs leading down -to the little wharf. The ever-thoughtful Muriel, upon hearing her -grand-dad say that he must go down and get the dory out of the boathouse, -skipped ahead with a kettle of boiling water, and, after thawing the ice, -swept the steps dry that her grand-dad might not slip. - -The old man, coming out of the house just then, his fur cap drawn over -his ears and his red knitted muffler tied about his neck, looked lovingly -at the girl who always seemed to be planning something for his comfort or -happiness. - -Why, just then, he should have thought of Muriel's father whom he had -"robbed," as Barney put it, he could not have told. What that father had -lost no one knew better than Captain Ezra. "Ho! Rilly gal, yo've swabbed -the decks clean, I snum." Then he added: "Fust mate, I cal'late yo'd -better get under cover. It's cold enough to freeze a volcano, 'pears -like." - -As he spoke, his breath frosted on the nipping air. The girl, rosy -cheeked, was without hat or coat, and so, kissing her grand-dad on the -tip of his nose (little else was visible) and telling him not to slip, -and to be sure to bring her a pocketful of letters, she darted indoors. - -She felt radiantly happy that glorious morning, and if she had been -familiar with the poems of Robert Browning she would have sung, "God's in -His Heaven; all's right with the world!" But, instead, her wordless song -reverberated through the small house until her tasks were finished; then, -putting on her leggins, her crimson tam and sweater-coat, and taking a -small bag of bread crumbs, she waded through the snow to the cliff to try -to find her feathered friends. - -She called and waited, soon calling again. Then from out a sheltered cave -in a cliff nearby they came, circling about her in the clear, crisp air, -uttering their discordant cries, which, however, were music to the ears -of the girl, who knew that they were notes of joy and welcome to the -friend who fed them through the bitter cold months of winter when fish -were scarce and hard to catch. - -Muriel did not toss the fragments of bread this time, for she knew if she -did so they would sink into the soft depths of snow and be lost; and so -she brushed a rock clear and placed the feast upon it. Down the birds -swooped, unafraid. It was too cold to remain long out of doors, and -moreover Muriel wished to have a nice hot dinner awaiting the coming of -her grand-dad. - -An appetizing odor of coffee and sizzling bacon greeted the old man when, -two hours later, he opened the door and entered the kitchen. The girl, -flushed of cheek and eager-eyed, turned to greet him. "Any mail, -Grand-dad?" Muriel's heart was pounding fast when she asked the question. - -The old man laughed as he thrust his hand into the deep pocket of his -leather coat. - -"Mrs. Sol said that if I hadn't cruised to town today she was of nine -minds to hire the lighter to fetch yer mail over. She was feared the -floor of her store'd heave in with the weight of it," he said. - -The girl's excited laughter rang out. "Oh, Grand-dad," she said, "why -does your coat bulge so queer like? I cal'late you've fetched somethin' -hid under it." - -She pounced upon him and drew forth the bulgy something, which proved to -be a large square package. The wrappings were soon removed and there was -the most wonderful book, "Treasure Island," illustrated in the most -beautiful blues and greens and gold. How Muriel loved color. - -"Gene sent it," she said, as she lifted the card with its painted wreath -of holly and mistletoe. - -But Muriel then had no time to look at the book, as letters were being -produced from that great pocket. The girl gasped when she saw them and -then she clapped her hands. - -"Grand-dad," she exclaimed, unbelievingly, "are they all for me? I reckon -Mis' Sol did think 'twas a powerful lot o' mail, bein' as I never had -more'n one and a card before at a time." - -There were four letters from Gene, who had written one each week since he -had left Windy Island. He knew his Storm Maiden could not write and so he -did not expect answers. What he did not know was that the blizzard had -prevented her receiving them as they arrived each week. There was another -letter from Ireland and a Christmas card and a parcel from Uncle Lem. -There were pretty hair ribbons in the parcel. - -"Christmas in February," Muriel laughed; then added: "The blizzard sort -o' got the calendar mixed, didn't it, Grand-dad?" - -Muriel took her new treasures up to her room and placed them on the top -of her chest of drawers. She sighed as she looked at the letters and -longed to know the messages they contained. It would take her until -spring, she feared, to decipher them, as she would have to study them -word by word with the aid of the Second Reader. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - FACING REALITIES. - - -March came and April followed. Muriel thought that never before had there -been so lovely a spring. The returning birds surely sang more wonderful -songs than in the springs that were past. The melting snow on the cliffs -trickled down, forming sparkling miniature waterfalls. Then, after a warm -spell, out of every crevice in the rocks wild flowers blossomed. - -The girl, running to the highest peak one glorious morning, flung her -arms out toward the sky, letting the wind blow her red-brown hair as it -would, and if Gene had seen his Storm Maiden at that moment he would have -had a third picture of her that he would never wish to forget. - -"Oh, it's glad I am to be livin'," she said aloud. "The world is so -wonderful and friends are so kind. I'm that happy, so happy." The birds, -her birds, were soon circling about her, for, although there was plenty -for them to eat, Muriel fed them just for the joy of it. - -"I love every one of yo'," she told them. "An' yo', too, poor ol' lame -pelican," she called to a larger bird that descended when the flock of -white gulls had swooped down to the sea, one of them having sighted a -luckless fish that was glinting too near the surface of the water. - -Then, scrambling down to her Treasure Cave, the girl brought from its -hiding place in a crevice the well-worn Second Reader. Going out on the -sun-flooded ledge, she sat for a moment just gazing at the sparkling surf -that was crashing far beneath her. - -Thrusting her hand into her pocket, she drew forth a letter bearing the -New York postmark. It was the last that she had received from Gene, -having been left at the lighthouse by little Sol. - -Muriel had been in the middle of breadmaking then, but all the hour she -had been filled with eager anticipation, for in his last letter Gene had -told her that in the spring he was to have a vacation (he had been at -college since the beginning of the midwinter term), and that even if he -could only spare a day for it, he was going to visit Windy Island. - -Muriel, while finishing the baking, had been happily wondering how her -comrade would look after his month's confinement at his studies. Perhaps -the bronze from the wind and the sun would be worn away and again he -would be pale as he was when she had first known him. How she hoped not! -She wanted him to keep every bit of the strength he had gained during his -month's visit on Windy Island. - -Muriel removed the letter, her heart beating rapidly. She was sure that -in it he would tell the day of his coming. Soon, very soon, she hoped, as -she wished him to see how lovely her rock-ribbed island home was when the -wild flowers blossomed. - -During the past months Muriel had become familiar with many of the simple -words that Gene used in writing to her and she had to refer less -frequently to the well-worn Second Reader. - -With comparative ease she read the few lines: - - "Dear Friend Muriel: - - "I hoped to have good news to tell you today, but, after all, I am not - to have my longed-for visit with you. Last night Helen received a - cablegram from our father telling us to join them at once in London, - and so we are to depart without delay, as Dad has reserved passage for - us on the steamship 'The Liverpool,' which leaves its dock tomorrow at - dawn. - - "Dear good friend, don't forget me! I don't know what this command from - our father means. I surely hope that mother is not ill, but, of course, - it is a command which Helen and I must obey. I shall write you, - however, as soon as I reach the other side of the broad Atlantic. - - "Tell your grandfather, please, how grateful I am and ever shall be to - him for having permitted me to share his home for that wonderful, - never-to-be-forgotten month. - - "Muriel, come what may, believe me when I say that next to Helen your - friendship is dearer to me than that of any girl whom I know. - - "This letter sounds as though I hardly expect to come back to the only - country under the sun, but that isn't true. Heaven willing, I'll return - when I'm twenty-one, if I have to remain over there until then. - - "Goodbye, Storm Maiden, your closer-than-a-brother friend, - - "Gene." - -The sun was still shining and the waves sparkling, the birds still -singing and the flowers blooming when Muriel had deciphered the message -in that letter, but the glory of the day was gone for her and there was -no echo of song in her heart. - -She arose, saddened, and after replacing the Second Reader in its niche, -climbed the steep trail up the cliff and returned to the light. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - THE STORM. - - -The wonderful weather continued and, if there was loneliness in the heart -of the girl because her friend and comrade seemed to be so far, so very -far away, it was unnoticed by the old man who loved her, for whenever he -was near, her clear voice rang out its sweetest and her welcoming smile -always awaited him. - -June came, and Captain Ezra, returning from town about noon on a day that -was a-gleaming with blue in sky and sea (as only a day in June can be), -produced a letter. - -How the girl hoped that it was from her friend across the water, but, -instead, it was from Doctor Winslow. In it he stated that he was coming -to Tunkett for a week's rest, as he had had a most strenuous winter, and, -since he was not as young as he had been, he felt the need now and then -of a period of relaxation. He was eager to see his comrade of boyhood -days. He recalled the happy, carefree times when, barefooted, they had -tramped over the salt meadows, swam together, breasting even the outer -breakers, or had fished, talking quietly for hours of their plans for the -future, which had proved so unlike. - -"Ez, old pal," the doctor had written, "I want especially to talk over -with you something which has been much in my thoughts of late, and that -is the future of the girl whom you love so dearly and whom, for that -matter, we both love. - -"You are not as unreasonable now as you formerly were, and so I again -shall broach the subject of Muriel's education. As I have said before, I -wish to pay her tuition as my share, for am I not her Uncle Lem? - -"You and I are advanced in years, Ezra, and we're not always going to be -here to protect Muriel. Think how unfitted she now is to face the world -with no knowledge whatever of its ways; but more of this later when I -come." - -Although there was disappointment in the heart of the girl because the -letter had not been from Gene, she was indeed glad to hear that she was -so soon to see her dear Uncle Lem, as it had been many months since his -town house had been boarded up and he had departed for the big city. - -"Lem's to put into port next Tuesday," the old man said. "I reckon he's -right about the iddication idee. I cal'late yo'd ought to be gittin' some -larnin' into that purty head o' yo'rn. Not but that yo're suitin' me to a -'T' jest as yo' are, but Lem knows best, I reckon." - -There was a sad note in the voice of the old man and a suspicion of -moisture in the grey eyes that looked so lovingly at his "gal." Quickly -he turned away to hide them. He had been selfish long enough and life was -"tarnel unsartin" at best. - -Then he recalled the long-delayed letter that he planned writing to -Muriel's own father. He had an address that his daughter had once sent to -him, and in the accompanying note she had written: "Dad, a letter sent -here will always reach my husband or me. Please write that you have -forgiven me, for I do so love you." - -That note from Muriel's girl-mother (with the address to which they were -to write if they wished to reach her father) was in the iron box hidden -in the tower near the great lamp, the very box of which Captain Ezra had -told Captain Barney. - -"If I should be tuk sudden-like," the old man had said, "I want yo' to go -to the tower, get that box, Barney, an' have some-un write to the father -o' my gal." - -Captain Ezra was thinking of these things as he sat smoking. - -"I snum, I'll get that thar letter written next Sunday as sure sartin as -I'm keeper of the light," he resolved as he rose to go to bed. - -The next day the first intense heat wave of summer swept over Tunkett. -The air was depressing. Muriel listlessly went about the tasks of the -day. It seemed an effort even to sing, which she always tried to do to -make the little home more cheerful. Never, never, should her dear old -grand-dad know how lonely and disappointed she was because Gene had not -even written to her. It was nearing July and as yet she had not heard of -his safe arrival in Liverpool. - -Boats did go down, now and then, the girl knew; and when she thought of -this she asked anxiously: "Grand-dad, thar hasn't been a wreck on the -seas anywhar that you've heard of, has thar?" - -Captain Ezra shook his head. "No, Rilly, fust mate; and I sure sartin -hope thar's none comin'." - -The next evening, when the old man came in to supper, he reported that -the stifling air seemed, if anything, more hot and breathless, and also -that clouds were gathering rapidly. "I reckon we're glad o' that," was -his comment. Then as he stood, looking out at the deepening twilight, he -continued: "Thar's heat lit'nin' over to the west. Like's not we'll soon -have a thunder storm. I sort o' hope we will have one. 'Twill cool off -this stiflin' air an----" - -The girl turned toward him, her face white. - -"Oh, Grand-dad," she implored, and her voice quivered, "I'm hopin' it -won't come here with its crashin' an' threatenin'. I allays seem to hear -it say, 'Some day I'll get----'" - -The old man put his hand over the girl's mouth as he said tenderly: -"Rilly gal, don't be talkin' that way. What did yo'n I say 'tother day -'bout thar bein' a skipper at the helm as we could trust. Didn't yo'n I -agree that his commands was allays for the best, whatever they seemed -like to us? I reckon we'd better be rememberin' it." - -Then, as he looked thoughtfully out at the storm-threatening sky, he -said: "Fust mate, hold fast to that idee like it was your life -preserver." - -Muriel clung to her grandfather, sobbing "I will, Grand-dad." - -The old man smoothed his "gal's" hair, wondering vaguely at her fear and -evident grief. Doctor Lem had said that Rilly had a very unusually active -imagination and that they must be patient with her when they could not -understand. - -To change the girl's thoughts the old man remarked: "I s'pose likely as -not Lem landed in Tunkett today." - -"I hope so," the girl replied, as she returned to the setting of the -table for supper. Captain Ezra puffed on his corncob pipe a moment, then -said: "I reckon he'll be over long 'bout tomorrer. I snum I'll be glad to -see ol' Lem. We two's been sort o' mates ever since we was young-uns. -Lem, even as a boy, was straight as the mast o' a schooner in all his -doin's." For a few moments the old man smoked in silent thought. Then -aloud: "I reckon Lem's love would be the best port fer my gal to anchor -in if--if----" Instantly the girl's arms were around his neck. -"Grand-dad," she implored, "don' say it. You're goin' to live's long as I -do, an' longer, like's not." Then, as an ominous rumbling of thunder -pealed in the distance, Muriel held him closer. "Grand-dad," she said, -"it's coming." - -The old man looked out of the window at the gathering blackness. Then, -loosening her arms, he leaped to his feet. "Rilly gal," he cried, as she -still clung, "let me go! The lamp's not turnin'. Somethin's happened to -it." - -Away he hurried. The girl stood in the little kitchen where he had left -her, with hands hard clasped. She heard his rapid steps ascending the -spiral stairs. She waited, almost breathless, wondering why the circle of -swinging light did not pass the window. There must have been a hitch in -the machinery. That, however, was nothing to worry about. It had happened -before. - -Then came a vivid flash of fire that zigzagged across the sky. A torrent -of rain swept over the island. - -Flash followed flash with scarcely a second between, and crash on crash -of deafening thunder. Then another sound was heard in the midst of the -reverberating roar, a sound of splintering glass, of stone hurled upon -stone. - -Muriel's prophecy had been fulfilled; the storm had wrecked the lamp that -for so many years had defied it. - -With a terrorized cry the girl leaped to the door of the tower, and, -heedless of danger to herself, she climbed the spiral stairway, shouting -wildly that her call might be heard above the fury of the storm: -"Grand-dad, I'm comin'!" But the rain and wind beat her back; then the -terrible reality surged over her. The lamp--the tower, both were gone! -They had been hurled to the ground by the storm. Muriel knew no more, for -she had swooned. - -Hours later she was found by Doctor Lem and several longshoremen who had -crossed the tossing waters of the bay to discover why the light was not -throwing its warning beams out into the darkness. - -Carefully, tenderly they lifted her. She had been bruised by rocks that -had fallen while she lay there, though of this she had not been -conscious. Doctor Lem and two of the men had taken her back to town and -had waited until she had revived; then, leaving her in the care of the -physician's housekeeper, Brazilla Mullet, the men, in the cold, grey -dawn, had returned to the island to find the keeper of the light, who had -been faithful even unto death. - -Muriel had been too dazed to really comprehend what had happened and -Doctor Lem thought best to have the burial service at once and not wait -until the grand-daughter could attend. - -"Poor little gal," Brazilla Mullet wiped her eyes on one corner of her -apron, "she's lost her best friend, I reckon, but she's got a powerfully -good one left in Doctor Lem, though she's little carin' jest now." - -The girl, who had been lying so listlessly in the spare room bed, opened -dazed eyes and gazed a brief moment at the kind woman, who endeavored to -smile though her lips trembled. - -"Everythin's like to be fer the best," Miss Brazilla Mullet said. "Doctor -Lem's goin' to carry out yer grand-dad's wishes, Rilly. He's goin' to be -yer guardeen now an' take yo' back wi' him to the city an' when yer well -agin yer goin' to school up thar to be iddicated wi' the best of 'em." - -Then the good woman saw that the lips of the girl were moving, though she -was not addressing her, and, leaning closer, she heard the words: -"Grand-dad, I'm rememberin'. I'm a-holdin' fast to the promise I made yo' -like 'twas my life preserver. But, oh, Grand-dad, it's so hard to, so -hard to, all alone." - -Then for the first time tears came and Muriel sobbed as though she would -never stop, but the housekeeper was glad, for tears would bring the -relief she needed. - -And Brazilla Mullet was right. Muriel gradually became stronger, and when -the doctor's spring vacation was ended, without once looking over the bay -toward Windy Island, the girl went back with him to the city. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - HIGH CLIFF SEMINARY. - - -The High Cliff Seminary was surely well named, for from the windows of -its grey stone turrets one had a sweeping view of the surrounding country -with its lovely woodlands, its wide meadow where grain was yellowing or -stacked in the sun, with here and there a nestling town, a suburb of the -big city that was several miles nearer the sea. Directly beneath were the -sheer cliffs and then the broad, busy Hudson. - -On the sun porch, one Saturday afternoon in September, a group of girls -was gathered. It was evident that they were all old friends, as indeed -they were since they had attended High Cliff Seminary the year previous. -Among them were Faith Morley, Gladys Goodsell and Marianne Carnot. - -Leaning back in a comfortable cushioned wicker chair, Marianne looked at -the other through partly closed eyes. - -"Your democracy in America is crude, n'est-ce pas?" she said, shrugging -her shoulders and looking toward the far end of the long glassed-in -veranda. - -There, all alone, stood a girl dressed in dark blue whose red-brown hair -was neatly fastened at her neck. With hands idly clasped in front of her, -she watched the boats plying up and down the great river, and, oh, the -loneliness, the bleak, grey loneliness in the heart of the girl. - -Without a glance at the curious group at the other end of the sun porch, -she soon turned and went within. - -"Well, I confess democracy is carried rather far in this particular -instance," the plump, good-natured Gladys Goodsell remarked. "Not that I -care greatly. We do not have to associate with her, whoever she is, -unless we so desire." - -"Doesn't anyone know who she is?" Catherine Lambert inquired. - -The questioner did not look at the French girl, nor would she have been -able to interpret the meaning of the slight sneer that appeared on the -dark, handsome face for a fleeting second even if she had seen it. - -Marianne had told no one that she had met Muriel the year before on Windy -Island, and Muriel herself, though conscious of the presence of Marianne -Carnot, was so numbed with grief that she cared little that she was being -snubbed. - -The coming of that "crude island girl" to this fashionable school had -angered Marianne, but the memory of Gene's very evident preference for -Muriel's companionship had aroused in the heart of the French girl a -desire to make the other suffer, but she would bide her time. - -"Is it true that she cannot speak the English language correctly?" The -tone of the questioner was horrified in the extreme. - -Faith Morley nodded, adding hastily (because her heart was kind): "But -that in itself is not vital, for surely she can learn to speak correctly, -but--but of course her family is rather impossible." - -"A lighthouse-keeper's grand-daughter!" This from Adelaine Stuart, whose -family tree was always shown to each new pupil at High Cliff, if she -chanced to be one whom Adelaine wished to impress. That her father was -imprisoned for having robbed widows and orphans with his wildcat schemes -she did not tell. - -"But, Faith, you know something of the girl's story. Why don't you tell -it?" This from Gladys. - -Faith hesitated. Would Helen wish her to tell, and yet surely there was -nothing in what she knew that ought to be kept secret. - -"Well, what I know is not much," Faith confessed. "Muriel Storm is an -acquaintance of Gene Beavers and----" - -Exclamations of amazement interrupted the speaker. - -Conscious of the shock and surprise her statement had caused in the -group, Faith hurried on to explain. "You remember Gene had to leave -college last fall because of a collapse of some kind." Several nodded. -"Well, he then went to Tunkett, a sea-coast town, to recuperate, and -while there he met the keeper of the light who was Muriel's grandfather. -They did a good deal, Helen told me, to help Gene regain his health." -This last, rather defiantly. Faith, unlike the others, was not a snob at -heart. - -Nor, for that matter, was Gladys. "Poor girl," she now put in. "I do feel -sorry for her. Anyone who watches her for five minutes can tell that she -has a broken heart." - -"Why that? What has happened to her?" Adelaine Stuart was curious. - -"I wonder if any of you recall that terrible electric storm that we had -last June," Faith continued. "I remember how it crashed over New York. -Old-timers said there had not been one as severe in twenty years. Well, -it was during that storm that the lighthouse was struck by lightning, the -old man was instantly killed and the girl hurled beneath the debris. She -was unconscious hours later when she was finally rescued. All summer long -she has been in a hospital in the city under the care of some physician -whose home was formerly in that same sea-coast town. He it is who is -sending her here." They saw that the girl about whom they were talking -left the veranda, apparently without having noticed them. - -Faith went on: "Years ago Doctor Winslow's sister and our Miss Gordon -were friends." Miss Gordon was the charming middle-aged woman who -presided over High Cliffs. "Then this Muriel Storm not only belongs to a -class of fisherfolk, but she is also a charity pupil." Adelaine Stuart -tried to show by her tone and expression the pride and scorn which should -be exhibited by one possessed of a family tree. - -"I shall write my mother," she concluded, "and if I am not much mistaken -Miss Gordon will consider it greatly to her advantage to at once dismiss -that girl." - -"I shall do the same," Phyllis Dexter echoed. "We ought not to be forced -to breathe the same air with--with----" - -"Une bourgeoise," Marianne concluded the sentence for her. - -The others did not notice when Faith Morley slipped away. She rebuked -herself for not having thought of it before. Surely her dear friend Helen -Beavers would wish her to be kind to the girl whose grandfather had been -kind to Gene. - -Faith paused outside of a room on the third floor of High Cliff Seminary -and listened. Surely someone within was sobbing. Again her loving heart -rebuked her. How many, many hours during the last week that the island -girl had been in their midst had she sobbed like this and no one had come -to comfort her? Muriel was in none of Faith's classes and so she seldom -saw her. Nor did she eat with the other pupils in the main dining hall, -for, temporarily, she was seated at the right of Miss Gordon at the -teachers' table, there being a vacant chair which soon would be occupied -by Miss Humphrey, the English teacher, whose leave of absence had not yet -expired. - -The problem of finding a seat for poor Muriel at first had been a hard -one for Miss Gordon to solve, for she knew full well how heartless and -snobbish were many of the daughters of her wealthy patrons. - -When she received a message from Miss Humphrey stating that she would not -return for another fortnight, the principal talked the matter over with -the faculty and Muriel was then invited to sit with the teachers until -the absent one should return. This would give Miss Gordon time to -discover if any of the pupils were kindly disposed toward Muriel, and if -so, she could then be placed at one of the three long tables in the main -dining hall at which the young ladies were seated. - -The teachers' table was in a curtained alcove, and so many of the girls -were not even aware of the fact that Muriel dined there. Moreover, it had -been Doctor Lem's wish that the island girl should receive private -instruction, and as Miss Humphrey was the only teacher whose time could -be arranged to make this plan possible, Muriel's studies had not as yet -begun. - -Every day Miss Gordon sent for the girl to come to her room at the -twilight hour. At first she did this for the sake of Doctor Lem, whose -sister had been her dear friend, but after a time she did it gladly, for -she found in the soul of this untutored girl much that it would be a joy -to awaken and develop. - -But, of course, there were many hours every day when Muriel was left -alone. Oh, so alone. While the other girls were at their classes she -wandered about the extensive, parklike grounds that grew wilder and more -beautiful, so Muriel thought, a quarter of a mile down the Hudson and -away from the school. - -There she found a spot on an overhanging ledge where a young pine tree -was clinging, none too securely, to the bank, for after each storm the -earth beneath it loosened and a day was coming when that small pine and -the ledge on which it stood would be hurled down the steep cliff into the -blue waters seething far below. - -The cliff on which the light had stood the island girl had thought high, -but this was a sheer wall of rock that rose twice as far from the water -toward the sky. The little pine had grown very dear to the girl who so -loved nature, and often she would sit on the ledge, her cheek pressed -against the rough bark, her eyes gazing far up the river, seeing not the -boats of all kinds that were plying back and forth, hearing not the -discordant sounds of screeching tugs or warning whistles, but picturing -in memory the island she so loved and the lighthouse standing as it had -for so many, many years, and tears gathered in her eyes as, in a dream, -she saw her grandfather again as he had looked on that -never-to-be-forgotten day, and then suddenly she would sob and hold her -arms out, calling, "Grand-dad! Grand-dad, come and get your Rilly gal!" -On one of these occasions she had cried herself weary, and for a moment -she had slept on the little overhanging ledge. Her grand-dad seemed to -come to her and say so plainly that she heard his voice: "Fust mate, -didn't you'n me agree that we'd trust the Skipper at the helm, knowin' -His guidin' to be for the best?" - -"Yeah, Grand-dad," she said aloud, sitting up and looking about. Then she -rose and drew back, shuddering, for she had been very close to the edge -of the overhanging ledge. How easy it would be to fall off and---- The -girl turned and ran all the way back to the school. That had been the day -before and today she was staying indoors, half afraid to visit the ledge. - -She sat up and looked toward the door when she heard a knock. "Come in!" -she called, leaping to her feet. Her visitor, she supposed, would be -either Miss Gordon or the maid of that corridor. - -When Muriel saw a strange girl in the hall she felt rebellious, believing -that she had called out of unkind curiosity, but Faith held out her right -hand as she said graciously: "Miss Storm, I am Faith Morley, one of your -schoolmates. I am sorry that I have not been up to see you sooner. Helen -Beavers and Gene are dear friends of mine, as perhaps you do not know, -and I am convinced that they would wish me to be your friend, too." Then, -feeling that the sentiment could be put in an even more kindly way, she -added impulsively: "Truly, I want to be your friend. May I?" - -Tears gathered slowly in the clear hazel eyes and the lips that replied -quivered: "Thanks, but I dunno why you'd be carin' for my frien'ship. If -you do, though, I'm glad." - -They sat in chairs near each other, and Faith, looking for the first time -with eyes that really saw Muriel, decided that she had a most interesting -face. There was far more depth of character expressed in it than in many -of the pretty doll faces of the pupils at High Cliffs. For one wild -second the visitor groped for a subject of conversation that would -interest this island girl. Of course she might have gossiped about the -other pupils in the school, but Faith had been taught never to talk of -persons, but rather of things and events. She now recalled having heard -Helen say that Muriel had never been farther inland than Tunkett, while -she, Faith, had circled the globe with her parents two years before. Then -her eyes fell upon the copy of "Treasure Island," Muriel's gift from -Gene. - -"Do you enjoy that book?" the visitor asked. - -"I can't read," Muriel replied simply, "but I love the sea an' the life -on it. Cap'n Barney often told me tales of sea adventure an' Gene Beavers -read to me out of this book." - -Faith's dark eyes lighted. "Oh, Muriel," she exclaimed, "my father gave -me such an interesting book about the sea for my birthday, and I'm -reading it now. I'd just love to read it aloud to you if you would enjoy -hearing it. Of course it will come in your reading course, in time. Shall -I get the book?" - -There was real eagerness in Faith's voice, and also in her heart, for she -yearned to help this girl who as yet hadn't been given a chance. - -Muriel was indeed pleased with the suggestion and so Faith went at once -to her room, returning a few moments later with a beautifully illustrated -copy of "Two Years Before the Mast." - -"Muriel," she announced when she opened the door, this time without -knocking, "I wonder if you know how lucky you are. You have the nicest -room in the school. This round cupola room with so many windows, and such -a sweeping view in three directions, is the one that many of us hope each -year will be given to us." - -Then she laughed. "Honestly, I do not eavesdrop, but I happened to be in -the reception room the first day of this term and heard Adelaine Stuart's -mother offering to pay extra if her spoiled darling could have it. But -Miss Gordon said it had been reserved for you. - -"Think of that, young lady. Moreover, you are doubly lucky, for, not only -have you the nicest room in the school, but you are invited to spend an -hour every evening with the idol of all our hearts, the adorable Miss -Gordon." - -Muriel smiled at her new friend's enthusiasm. "'Twa'n't last long, -though," she replied. "I mean, Miss Gordon's just bein' kind to me now -because she knows as I'm lonesome an' she'n Uncle Lem are friends." - -Faith looked pityingly at the girl whose shadowed eyes plainly showed -that many hours had been spent in tears. - -"Muriel," she suggested, "suppose you lie on the window seat. Pile those -pillows under your head and try to rest while I read. I'm afraid you are -holding yourself too tense these days, as our gym teacher tells us." - -Muriel did as she was bidden and Faith continued: "Now, take a deep -breath and drop down on the pillows with every muscle relaxed. Listen -idly while I read until you fall asleep. I really think that restful -sleep is what you most need." - -Then Faith read for an hour. Muriel was greatly interested, but she was -also very weary, and after a time she did fall into the first restful -sleep that she had had since she arrived at the school. - -Faith drew a cover over her new friend and stole out, but she did not go -directly to her own room. Instead she went to the office of Miss Gordon. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV. - MURIEL FINDS A FRIEND. - - -Miss Gordon looked up from her desk, at which she was writing when, at -her request, the door of the office opened. "Oh, good afternoon, Faith, -dear," she said when she saw the little brown maid who stood there, for -nut-brown the girl surely was, hair, eyes and skin being dark. - -"Can you spare a moment?" Faith asked, not wishing to interrupt, for she -knew that her mission could be postponed. - -"As many as you wish. Come in and sit down. I know by your eager -expression that you have something to ask or to tell. What is it, dear?" - -"It's about Muriel Storm, Miss Gordon, that I wish to speak. I have been -with her for the last two hours." - -The principal looked her pleasure. "Oh, Faith," she said, "I'm so glad if -you are taking an interest in poor, heart-broken Muriel. There is -wonderful material in that girl and you are the one pupil in the whole -school whom I had thought of asking to befriend her, but I decided to -wait and see if there were any who would be kind to her without my having -asked it as a favor." - -"I, too, think that Muriel is very unusual," the girl declared warmly. -"When I visited her room today I felt at once that yearning one would -feel for any helpless thing that was hurt, but soon I became interested -in her for herself alone. I never before saw a face that registers -emotion more wonderfully, as Miss Burns calls it in our drama class." - -"You are right," Miss Gordon replied. "I soon found that Muriel loved -nature passionately, and what do you suppose we have been doing during -the evening hour that we have spent together this week? Reading and -listening to the great nature poems! And, dear, one night when the girl -came to me she said, almost shyly: 'Miss Gordon, I _heard_ a little verse -today when I was out with my pine,' and then she told it. Although -crudely worded, that little poem promises much. It described the surf -beating on the rocks of her Windy Island home and of a lame pelican which -is unable to compete with the more active birds in its struggle for -existence, and depends largely on Muriel for its sustenance. She had been -thinking of this bird friend, it seemed, and of the nature poems that I -had read when this little verse came to her thought." - -"Miss Gordon, do you think that this untaught island girl is really a -poet at heart?" - -"I think just that. But, dear, Muriel is not untaught. True it is that -she cannot speak our language. She knows nothing of science or numbers, -but she has been taught high ideals by one of nature's noblemen, her -grandfather. Too, she has been taught the folk-lore of Ireland by another -whom she calls Captain Barney, and nature, the winds, sky, storm, birds -and sea have taught her much else. There are few girls at High Cliffs who -are as well grounded in things worth while as is our Muriel Storm. Now, -dear, what is it you wish to say?" - -Faith hesitated, then said: "I was thinking that it might be pleasant for -Muriel to sit in the dining hall with us." Then she added, flushing: "Of -course, Miss Gordon, it is pleasant for her to be with you, but----" - -The older woman placed a hand upon Faith's as she said: "Dear, I -understand, and also I have been waiting for this to happen. I wanted to -place her where she would be happy and not unkindly treated. What is your -suggestion?" - -"I was wondering if Phyllis Dexter, who sits between Gladys Goodsell and -me, could not be placed at the long table with her friend Adelaine -Stuart. Every day she wishes that she were there, and then Muriel could -sit next to me. Gladys will be very kind to her." - -There was a glad light in the eyes of the principal. She touched a button -twice in rapid succession and the head waitress soon appeared. The change -was ordered and then when the maid had departed Miss Gordon arose. -"Dear," she said, "in fifteen minutes the supper bell will ring. Will you -take Muriel with you to the dining hall?" - -"Oh, thank you, Miss Gordon! I am so glad that I have had this talk with -you." - - * * * * * * * * - -Muriel was just waking from her siesta on the window seat, feeling -wonderfully refreshed, when she heard the bell which meant that she had -but fifteen minutes in which to prepare for the evening meal. - -Again there came a tap on her door and this time Muriel called eagerly, -"Come in." She was sure that it would be Faith, and impulsively she -whirled about, saying: "Will you be forgivin' me for fallin' asleep when -you was readin' to me?" Faith caught the outstretched hands as she -replied: "Yes, Muriel, if you will grant me a great privilege." - -The island girl did not know that word, and, as usual, her face -registered her perplexity. Faith laughed. Then, more seriously: "Dear, I -would not hurt your feelings for worlds, but I was wondering if you would -like me to help you to speak as we do?" She looked anxiously into the -clear hazel eyes and to her joy she saw a glad light dawning there. "Oh, -I'd be thankful if you'd care that much." - -"Very well, we'll begin on the sentence you said a moment ago." Muriel -slowly repeated it correctly after Faith. Then she exclaimed happily: -"There's a rift in the clouds for me an' the sun's a-gleamin' through." -There were sudden tears, but also a shining smile as she added: "'Twill -be a long while before I can get the speakin' right, but I'll try." - -The last bell for supper was pealing through the corridors and Faith, -catching the hand of Muriel, hurried her away. - -There were groups of girls in twos and threes going down the circling -stairway, and although many of them greeted Faith, none even smiled at -her companion, but there were three who swept past with their heads held -high. These snobbish girls were Marianne Carnot, Adelaine Stuart and -Phyllis Dexter. - -But a second later skipping feet were heard back of them and plump, -good-natured Gladys Goodsell caught Faith by the arm. "Belovedest -friend," she said, after nodding at Muriel, "where hast thou been this -afternoon? Didst forget that we were to play tennis at four?" - -Faith turned, truly contrite. "I'll have to confess that I did forget, -Gladys. I am so sorry. Are you very hurt with me?" - -A jolly laugh rang out at this reply. "Getting angry would take more -energy than I have to expend." Then, more seriously: "I know my friend -Faith too well to think that she would neglect an engagement if she -recalled it, and, as it happened, Catherine Lambert was pining to have -someone play singles, and so I made her happy." - -They had reached the large, pleasant dining hall and saw many girls who -were already there standing behind their chairs. Purposely, Faith delayed -her companion near a window overlooking the garden of asters. The island -girl's eyes were aglow as she looked out. - -"It's pretty they are," she said; "the like of 'em I've not seen. We had -the wild ones but no planted flowers." - -Gladys, who did not in the least understand what was happening, glanced -over at Faith, who, in a moment when she could not be observed by Muriel, -placed her finger on her lips and nodded, as much as to say, "Do as I do -and I'll explain later." - -Gladys had chummed with Faith and Helen Beavers during the three years -they had been at High Cliffs and understood the sign language of her -friend almost as well as she did the spoken word. So she knew that -something unexpected was about to happen, and that she was to take her -cue from Faith. - -Although Muriel occupied the seat formerly that of Phyllis Dexter, the -change had not pleased that proud girl, who had so wished to be placed -next to her particular friend, Adelaine Stuart. Instead she found herself -placed between two seniors in whom she was not remotely interested. The -truth of the matter was that Miss Gordon had long been observing the -three girls, Marianne, Phyllis and Adelaine, and thought it wise to keep -them apart whenever it was possible. - -When Muriel, looking almost happy for the first time since her arrival at -High Cliffs, was seated, she felt a compelling gaze and glanced across -the room. There she saw Marianne watching her through half-closed lids. -There seemed to be in the French girl's expression a threat that -endangered her new-found joy and peace. But Faith, who also had seen, -reached under the table and, finding Muriel's hand, she held it in a -close, protecting clasp, and the island girl knew that come what might -she would not have to stand alone. - -Saturday dawned gloriously bright, for it was Indian summer on the -Hudson. The air was soft and balmy, the sunshine hazy and a dreamy little -breeze rustled the few yellowing leaves that were still clinging to the -trees. - -"Just the day for a hike," Faith announced at breakfast. - -Catherine Lambert, who sat across the table, looked up eagerly and in -answer to the speaker's question, "Who wants to go?" she at once replied, -"I do." - -"Muriel is to be the guest of honor." Faith smiled lovingly at the girl -next to her. "Gladys, how about you?" - -"I thought we were to practice for the tennis tournament today. There is -only a month left, you know." - -"That's right. So we were. But, Gladys, if you will go hiking with us -today I'll promise to practice tennis every afternoon next week from four -to five, my free time, on one condition." - -Her friend looked at her inquiringly. "Name it," she said. - -"That fifteen minutes each day may be devoted to teaching Muriel our -favorite game." - -"Agreed. Who knows but that she may be just the champion player for whom -we are looking," Gladys good naturedly declared with sincere fervor. - -And Catherine chimed in with: "Oh, wouldn't it be great if we could make -a player out of Muriel? We haven't anyone on our side as light on her -feet or as quick as Marianne Carnot. Just because of that I've actually -been afraid that we might lose out on the great day." Then, to the -wide-eyed listener, Faith explained: "On Thanksgiving every year we have -a tennis tournament. Marianne and her friends are the opponents of Gladys -and her chums. Of course, naturally we are eager to win. Now, Muriel, if -you are willing, we will train you. Not that we expect you really to -bring victory to our side; that would be asking too much, since Marianne -Carnot was the champion tennis player in the English boarding school that -she attended before she came to America. She has three medals to prove -her frequently made boast, and, moreover, we have seen her play." Then, -as the surveillant of the dining hall gave the signal, the pupils rose -and left. - -In the lower corridor, near the office of the principal, Faith paused. -"Wait a minute," she said softly. "I am going to ask Miss Gordon if we -may take our lunch. I do not have to return to the school until three -o'clock, just in time for my violin lesson." - -The permission was readily granted and then the four girls went to their -rooms to dress for the hike. - -Muriel was happier than she had supposed she would be ever again, and she -actually smiled at her reflection as she donned her sport skirt, sweater -and tam. - -When she was dressed, Muriel stood gazing idly from her window. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - MURIEL RECEIVES A LETTER. - - -When Muriel Storm returned from the hike to the woodlands and found upon -her desk a letter from Gene Beavers she did indeed rejoice, and without -stopping to remove her hiking apparel, she curled up on her window seat -to read the missive, which, as usual, was couched in the simplest words. - -The two weeks of tutoring which Muriel had received from Faith had helped -her to read with far greater ease. The lad told of his long illness which -had resulted from the cold, stormy weather, the rough voyage and the -damp, foggy climate of London. - -He had seen nothing of the city since his arrival, but even though they -were living in one of the fashionable outlying districts, he could hear -the distant roar of the traffic, and now he yearned to be back on Windy -Island, where only were to be heard the sounds of nature. - -When Gene wrote that letter he knew nothing of the tragedy of the -lighthouse, for although Faith had mentioned it in a letter to Helen, his -sister had thought best not to sadden him with news that might be a shock -to him, for she well knew how greatly he admired the old man who had been -keeper of the light. - -However, she had been glad to tell him that Muriel Storm was attending -the High Cliff Seminary. This did not really surprise him, for often he -had heard Doctor Winslow say that, as soon as he could convert the old -sea captain to his point of view, he, at his own expense, intended -sending the girl, of whom he was fond, to some good boarding school. - -Little did Muriel dream that Gene's proud mother had sent for him that -she might get him away from the degrading influence of the fisherfolk -with whom he had been staying and about whom she had heard from -Marianne's father, who was a business friend of Mr. Beavers. - -Then for months she positively forbade the boy to write to the "island -girl," but at length, when his illness lasted so long, the mother -consented to permit Gene to write if he would promise to remain in -England until he was twenty-one. By that time he would have forgotten -that daughter of the common people, for she, of course, would be unable -to travel, and so they would not meet. - -For a long time after the reading of the epistle Muriel sat with the -letter lying in her lap as she gazed with unseeing eyes at the busy -Hudson. If only she knew how to write! As yet she had never answered one -of Gene's letters, nor had he expected a reply. Of course, Faith, Gladys -or Catherine Lambert, all dear friends, would gladly pen a letter at her -dictation, but that would not be quite the same. She wanted to write the -very first letter all by herself. - -She wondered how long it would be before she could learn. - -It was nearing five o'clock when there came a rap-i-tap upon her door, a -signal meaning that Faith awaited without. - -In reply to Rilla's "Come in!" the door opened. - -"Muriel Storm, I do believe that you have been day-dreaming again! Why -haven't you removed your hiking togs? I came up to tell you that Miss -Widdemere wishes us to gather in the study hall at five-fifteen for the -first class of the year in politeness." - -The island girl sprang up and hastily began to change her costume. "A -class in politeness, is it?" she repeated, in a puzzled tone of voice. -"What does one have to be learnin' in that kind of a class?" - -Faith sat on the window seat to wait until her friend was ready to -accompany her. "Oh, it's a sort of society stunt, so to speak," she -explained. "We practice curtsies for grace, make seven different -varieties of calls, more or less, are taught what to do with our hands -and feet, how to be a hostess and how to be a guest. Oh, yes, and what to -do and what not to do if we're ever presented to a queen." Faith was -purposely exaggerating. She really believed the class in politeness -rather unnecessary, since the young ladies came from homes where they -learned from babyhood all that they would need to know. - -She had forgotten for the moment that Muriel had not had these same home -advantages. - -"Oh, I wish I didn't have to be goin' to it," the island girl said as she -turned away from the mirror, again dressed in her dark blue school -uniform. "I'll be that awkward, an' I don't know nothin' about manners." -Her voice was so truly distressed and the expression on her face so -tragic that Faith sprang up from the window seat and, slipping a -protecting arm about her friend, she said: "Dear, I'll ask Miss Widdemere -to excuse you today; that is, just let you watch the others, and then, -this evening, I'll come up to your room and teach you the curtsy. It -would hardly be fair to ask you to begin with the others when many of -them practiced during the whole of last year." - -Faith had suddenly recalled overhearing a conversation when she was on -her way to the cupola room. Adelaine Stuart and the French girl had been -just ahead of her and she had distinctly heard the former say: "If it is -your desire to humiliate that lighthouse person wait until she has to -take the part of hostess in politeness class. That will show her up -before the whole school." - -The rest of the sentence Faith had not heard, as she had passed the two -schemers with her head held high, but when she came to think it over she -wondered why Marianne Carnot wished to harm Rilla, whom she barely knew. - -Faith resolved to stay close to Muriel to protect her, if she could, from -whatever humiliation Adelaine and Marianne might be planning, and it was -indeed lucky for the island girl that she had so staunch a friend. - -Faith was glad to find that the Mistress of the Manners Class was still -in her office, and thither she led Muriel. - -The young teacher glanced up and bade them enter. Then Faith asked: "Miss -Widdemere, have you met our new pupil, Muriel Storm?" - -There was a brightening expression in the kind grey eyes back of the -large, dark-rimmed glasses. The teacher advanced, her right hand -extended. - -"No, indeed, and I am most pleased to meet you. A lucky new pupil you are -to have the friendship of our Faith." This with a loving glance at the -girl who stood at Muriel's side. - -"Yes, ma'am. Thanks!" - -Miss Widdemere's glance was puzzled, though not unkindly critical. It was -not customary for girls from the North to say "ma'am," but perhaps this -new pupil was a Southerner. The teacher was even more perplexed when -Faith beckoned to Gladys Goodsell, who stood near awaiting her friend, -and said: "Will you take Muriel to the classroom? I wish to speak with -Miss Widdemere for a moment." - -When the door was closed, in as few words as possible Faith told the -tragic story of Muriel's coming to High Cliffs. - -"She has never had an opportunity to learn the ways of social life, Miss -Widdemere," the girl said earnestly, "but when you know her better you -will think her very unusual, I am sure." - -Then, as she was eager to create a favorable impression, she added: -"Muriel has beautiful fancies and our Miss Gordon believes that she is to -be a real poet some day." - -"What a loyal friend your friends have in you, Faith? What is your -request?" - -It was granted as soon as heard. "Muriel may listen and watch," the -teacher declared, "but we will not ask her to take part until you tell me -that you have coached her sufficiently in private." - -Then, as the bell in the corridor was announcing that laggards must make -haste, these two went to the study hall, where the pupils were assembled. -Some were seated on the desk tops, others standing in groups chatting, -but when Miss Widdemere appeared all arose, and facing her, made deep -curtsies. Muriel alone remained erect, not knowing what to do. - -Marianne, gazing across the room through half-closed lids, smiled and -nudged her companion. - -"She's as graceful as a hitching post," Adelaine replied, loud enough to -be heard by several who stood near. - -Muriel felt their gaze and flushed with embarrassment. - -"The young ladies will now arrange their chairs in a large semi-circle, -the vacant space in the center to represent a parlor." Miss Widdemere -waited until the confusion was over and the pupils seated before -continuing: - -"We will now select a hostess and ten guests to attend an afternoon tea. -Whom do you name as hostess, Phyllis?" She had turned toward that young -girl because she had risen. "I name Muriel Storm," said Phyllis, who had -been well coached by the girls who sat next to her. - -Miss Widdemere sent a keen glance in their direction, and she said, -rather coldly: "Young ladies, partly because of Muriel Storm's recent -bereavement, we are not expecting her to share in our imaginary social -functions for a month at least." - -Marianne Carnot added in an undertone heard only by those about her, "And -the other 'partly' is that she couldn't if we did expect it." - -Faith eventually was chosen as hostess and Muriel intently watched every -move made by her friend. How graceful she was and how gracious! A slip of -a Japanese girl, who was the daughter of the chef of the school, appeared -dressed in an attractive native costume and played the part of maid for -this class. When she was older she, too, would be trained for the sphere -that she was to fill. - -That evening Faith found her friend both discouraged and homesick. - -"It's out of place I am among you all," she said. "I'd ruther be back -with my seagulls, I'm thinkin'. I'll never take to bowin' and goin' to -teas." - -Faith laughed merrily; then shaking a finger at Rilla, prophesied: "The -day is coming when you may be asked to be hostess for a lord or an earl -or someone like that; then won't you be glad that you learned how at High -Cliff Seminary?" - -The idea was so absurd that even Muriel laughed. - -"Me hostess at an earl's tea party? You're allays sayin' you have no -imagination, but I'm thinkin' you have some and to spare." - -Laughter brought a better humor, as it always does, and for an hour that -evening Muriel permitted her friend to teach her the first positions to -be made in the curtsy. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII. - MURIEL BEGINS HER STUDIES. - - -A fortnight passed and during that time Miss Gordon and Faith had started -Muriel's development in several directions. In fact, the younger of her -teachers soon triumphantly announced that not a pupil at High Cliff -Seminary could make a more graceful curtsy than Muriel. - -The day before the expected arrival of Miss Humphrey, who was to tutor -the island girl, she confided to Faith that she just knew that she could -make far greater headway with writing and reading if she might continue -practicing them with her best friend than she could with a teacher, -however learned, who was strange to her. It was evident to the three -girls who were her closest comrades that Muriel dreaded the first hour -that she was to spend with Miss Humphrey. - -As usual, the island girl seemed almost to foreknow what was going to -happen, and when the moment arrived Muriel retreated within herself so -entirely that, at the close of a very trying hour, Miss Humphrey went -down to the office of Miss Gordon and remarked: "I must confess that I am -extremely disappointed in your prodigy. Her English is deplorable. To -correct it will take indefinite patience and far more time than I can -spare from my legitimate classwork. Is there not some one who could -undertake her instruction during the fall term in the fundamentals?" If -Miss Gordon was discouraged her voice did not betray it, when, after a -thoughtful moment, she replied: "I am sorry that I asked you to undertake -the tutoring of the island girl. I hoped that you would see in her the -possibilities of an unusual nature that I still contend are there, but it -will, as you say, require infinite patience to develop them. Perhaps I -had better make some other arrangement, at least until Muriel has caught -up with your Junior English class." - -There was real relief pictured on the face that was lined before its -time. Rising, Miss Humphrey said: "I am indeed glad that we are agreed on -this matter and if Muriel Storm is advanced enough at the midwinter term -to enter the junior class I will do all that I can to aid her, but this -dialect which she now speaks must be overcome, and that means tireless -prompting on the part of some constant companion." - -Miss Gordon also arose and said, not unkindly: "Give Doctor Winslow's -protege no more thought until the midwinter term begins." Then the -principal added, with a brightened smile: "I'll prophesy that Muriel will -then be prepared to enter your sophomore class and not your junior." - -"Impossible!" Miss Humphrey declared with conviction. - -"Wonders never cease!" laughed Miss Gordon, who now wished to end the -interview. - -"But who will tutor Muriel Storm that she is to make such phenomenal -progress?" With her hand on the knob of the open door Miss Humphrey -awaited the answer. - -"I shall," Miss Gordon replied. - -Joy was in the heart of the island girl when she heard this wonderful -news. - -"Oh, I'm that glad, Miss Gordon," she exclaimed the following evening -when, just after dinner, she was summoned to the attractive little -apartment in a remote wing of the school to which the principal retired -when the tasks of the day were over. - -The larger of the two rooms was a library and study in which there was a -wide fireplace, and on either side long, vine-hung windows that -overlooked the Hudson. Low shelves circled the walls and they were filled -with book-friends, actually read and loved by their owner. Here and there -were soft-toned copies of famous paintings and a few charming originals -in water color. Too, there were ferns growing in the wicker window-boxes -and a blossoming plant on a low wicker stand. The comfortable, inviting -chairs of the same weave were cushioned with soft hues and a shade on the -reading lamp harmonized. The little room just beyond, in which Miss -Gordon slept, had disappearing windows on all sides, and at night, when -these were opened, only the screens sheltered her from the out-of-doors -she so loved. As the principal had prophesied, Muriel, in this congenial -atmosphere, blossomed not only rapidly but also beautifully. No one but -Faith guessed how her friend was advancing and she did not have to guess. -She knew. - -Miss Gordon had sent for Faith on the very day that Miss Humphrey had -visited the office, and together they had divided the work and the joy of -assisting Muriel. - -In the beginning the principal had merely planned asking Faith's advice; -it had not been her desire to burden the girl, but at once Faith had -said: "Oh, Miss Gordon, I have not told you that for the past two weeks I -have been instructing Muriel in penmanship and also in reading and -spelling. It is a great pleasure to me to aid her, and if you are willing -I shall continue our little class." - -The principal's sweet face brightened. "Thank you, Faith. If you will -tutor Muriel in the fundamentals, I will gladly instruct her in the -higher branches." - -Then she added, and there was a twinkle in the sweet grey-blue eyes: -"Miss Humphrey would never be able to understand it, but I actually enjoy -reading poetry to that island girl. She sits on a low stool at my feet -and with those liquid hazel eyes she drinks into her very soul the beauty -of the thought and the music of the rhythm." - -"Miss Gordon," Faith said, "don't let us tell anyone of Muriel's -progress. Let's keep it a secret until the midwinter term. I would like -to surprise Miss Humphrey--and--and others." Faith was thinking of -Marianne, whom she knew wished to humiliate Muriel. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - A LESSON IN TENNIS. - - -Faith and Muriel were studying together the next morning, which chanced -to be Saturday, when they heard a hurrying of feet in the corridor and -then a merry banging on the door. - -"Come in," Muriel called. The door was flung open and in bounced Gladys -Goodsell and Catherine Lambert, wearing tennis shoes and carrying their -racquets and balls. - -"Top o' the morning to you," Gladys sang out. - -"The coast is clear!" Catherine announced almost at the same time. - -The two, who were seated at a small table strewn with papers and books, -looked up inquiringly. - -"What coast and how clear?" Faith inquired. - -Gladys threw herself down upon the window seat while Catherine perched on -the foot of the bed. - -"Marianne Carnot and Adelaine Stuart have gone to the city for the day. -Think of that! They left on the mail boat at nine o'clock sharp, -chaperoned by Miss Widdemere, and are to return at six-thirty P. M. Were -we ever in greater luck?" - -Still the listeners were puzzled. - -"Faith Morley, put on your thinking bonnet! Don't you know that we have -been just pining to have an opportunity to instruct Muriel in the -beginnings of tennis without being spied upon by our arch-enemy, whatever -that may mean. Anyway, it sounds much grander than just enemy." - -"That is true," Faith replied, "but this morning Muriel and I were -planning to study. Can't we play this afternoon?" - -Faith had not told the others that in reality she was trying to instruct -the island girl in spelling the simplest words, but Muriel was quite -willing that these two dear friends might know, and so she said: "Teacher -Faith, I think I'm gettin' a notion of what you mean about the lesson, -and if you'd like to be teachin' me tennis, I'd love to be learnin' it." - -"Very well," Faith said as she arose, glad indeed to join in the outdoor -game they all so enjoyed. "I haven't a thing to do until my violin lesson -at three o'clock, although I think I had better practice for an hour -before Herr Professor arrives on the scene today. Last Saturday he said, -'Mees Morley, the practice is less of late, why for?'" Then she added: -"Into your sport skirt, Muriel, and if you haven't tennis shoes I'll loan -you a pair. Fare-thee-well. I'll be back in a twinkling." - -Faith skipped away to her room to change her dress. Catherine and Gladys -announced that they would go ahead to the court and practice until the -others joined them. - -Ten minutes later Faith reappeared, holding a pair of tennis shoes. She -found Muriel studying the primer. Rilla looked up with laughter in her -hazel eyes. "D-e-a-r," she announced. "It's the beginning of a letter. I -wonder how long 'twill be before I can be writin' one that a person could -be readin'?" - -She was putting a burnt orange tam atop of her red-brown hair as she -spoke, and then she slipped on a sweater of the same becoming hue. - -"Who are you so eager to write to, anyway?" Faith was curious. - -"Oh, it's several friends I have that I'd like to be writin' to," Muriel -began; then, chancing to glance at the chart made for her by Faith to aid -in correcting the mistakes she so frequently made, she repeated, very -slowly and thoughtfully: "I have several friends to whom I wish to -write." - -"That's great!" Faith exclaimed, her face glowing with pleasure. "Think -ahead of each word that you say for a few weeks, dear, and soon you will -find that it will be hard for you to speak incorrectly." Then, slipping -her arm within that of her friend, she added: "The champion tennis -players will now descend to the court." - -Faith chatted gaily as they went down the wide stairs, out through the -basement door, crossed the garden, where few flowers were blossoming, as -the nights were frosty, and toward the tennis courts. - -Muriel, however, was silent. She was wondering how long it would be -before she could write a letter to Gene unaided. - -"Greetings!" Gladys called as Muriel and Faith approached. She waved her -racket and then, as the ball, sent with a smash by Catherine, landed in -the court just back of her, she whirled with a sudden swift movement, -caught it on the first bound and sent it flying back over the net. The -island girl stared at her in amazement. - -"Why, Gladys, it's like a top you're whirling!" she exclaimed. "Is it me -that's expected to learn such antics?" - -The other three laughed, and Catherine, catching the ball, walked around -the net to join the group. - -"We don't expect you to do such expert playing as that for this -tournament," Faith assured her. "In fact, we do not expect you to take -part in any of the actual contest games until next spring, but you might -as well begin your training. It's jolly good fun, if nothing more." - -Muriel sighed audibly and Faith laughed. "Rilla," she said, and the -island girl heard her grand-dad's pet name for her for the first time -since she had arrived at High Cliffs, "have you been worrying for fear we -did expect you to play against Marianne Carnot on that fateful day? -Indeed not! Catherine Lambert is the only pupil in this school who can -even approach Marianne in skill and dexterity. You know the English are -great for outdoor sports of all kinds." - -"But it's French Marianne is, I thought." - -"Her father is a Frenchman, but he is connected with English and American -shipping interests. It's a huge concern, I don't know just what, but I -have heard Marianne say that their ships circle the globe. Because of -this, Monsieur Carnot resides in England, where his daughter attended a -school, and she takes every opportunity to assure us it was really -intended only for the daughters of the lesser nobility, if you know what -or who they may be." - -"I plead total ignorance," Gladys declared. "I'm glad that I'm an -American. My dad made every penny that he possesses, and honestly, too. -Grand-dad happened to own vast farmlands which the City of New York -wished to possess, and for which it paid a fabulous price, hence the -grand-daughter of a farmer is attending High Cliffs with the daughters of -the lesser nobility, if any happen to be here." - -Catherine Lambert laughed. "Well, since we four are not guilty, let's -cease chatting and go to batting." - -"Cathy, I believe you are trying to be a poet," Faith remonstrated. -"Don't, dear, we'd hate to have our best tennis player take to -day-dreaming." - -"No danger of that! I simply couldn't write a poem if my life depended -upon it. Now, let's explain the game. Muriel, here is a racket for you." - -Catherine looked over at Faith, who smilingly nodded, and said: "Keep up -the good work, Cathy. If you leave out any leading points Gladys and I -will supply them." - -"Very well, if I am appointed instructress, I will proceed to instruct," -Catherine said. Then she added in a tone of mock seriousness: "Miss -Storm, before you is a tennis court, the boundaries of which are outlined -in white. A net, you will perceive, is stretched across the center, and -the opponents stand two on either side. Comprenez vous?" Then, noting the -pupil's puzzled expression, she translated: "Do I make it clear?" Muriel -nodded. - -Catherine continued: "The first player to serve the ball is selected and -the game begins. Now, the object of the server is to send the ball over -the net in such a manner that it will be difficult for the opponent to -reach it before it bounds twice. It may be returned after the first -bounce, but not after the second." Then, turning to the others: "Now, -shall we begin? Muriel will learn more by actual practice than by any -amount of explanation. I will take her for my partner." - -"Oh, Catherine, you'll be sorry if you do," Muriel laughingly protested. - -"No, she won't," Faith returned. "Catherine could win the game singly -against any two girls in this school if Marianne were not an opponent." - -Then the game began. Gladys served and the ball fell easily within -Muriel's reach, but she stood and gazed at it. For a fraction of a second -Catherine waited, then realizing that Muriel did not understand that she -was expected to return the ball, she leaped to the other side and, zip, -it went flying gracefully back over the net. After that it was kept in -the air, one volley shot following another in quick succession until -Faith had the misfortune to throw it into the net, then they all paused -for a breathing spell. - -Muriel shook her head. "You might's well give up the notion of teachin' -me. Such spinnin' around I never could do." - -Faith laughed. "Don't be discouraged. We all felt just that way in the -beginning. Now, Gladys, let's sit beneath this juniper tree and let -Muriel get some actual practice." - -This they did, and during the next half hour Muriel did some leaping and -running that made the observers decide that, when she understood the -rules of the game, she would play at least as well as the majority. - -"The luncheon bell is ringing," Faith sang out at last. The players -stopped and the others, gazing at Muriel, suddenly realized she was truly -beautiful. Her loosened hair clustered in moist ringlets about her -flushed face, her orange colored tam was jauntily askew, and her eyes -were glowing. "That was great fun," she said, when the garden door was -reached. "Thank you all for tryin' to teach me." - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX. - JOY KIERSEY. - - -That had been the first of many hours of practice on the tennis courts. -Running races with Shags and rowing had been the only two outdoor sports -Muriel had known. For that reason, perhaps, she thoroughly enjoyed -tennis, and how her friends did enjoy watching her. - -Every afternoon from four to five o'clock they had the court to -themselves, that being the hour when Marianne Carnot was practicing her -vocal lessons on the other side of the school. These three friends did -not wish Marianne to even suspect that Muriel was being drilled. Not that -they had any hope of winning the game, which was but a fortnight away. In -fact, it would be unwise to permit so new a player as Muriel to even take -part, they decided. Joy Kiersey, who usually played with Catherine -Lambert, had been ill, and was not yet strong enough to practice, -although she assured the girls that she would not fail them on the day of -the tournament. - -"We have a strong team," Faith told Muriel one noon at lunch, "when Joy -is with us, but not so strong when she isn't." - -"I haven't met Joy Kiersey as yet, have I?" Rilla said this slowly, -thoughtfully, and hence more correctly. - -Faith was pleased, but made no comment. "No," she replied. "Joy did not -return at the beginning of the term, and although she has been in High -Cliffs for a week now, she remains in her room most of the time. We -thought that we would call upon her this afternoon during the free -period, and I planned asking you to accompany us." - -Muriel shook her head. "Don't," she said. Then twinkles appeared in her -clear hazel eyes. "I dunno how to make a call. We haven't had that yet in -politeness." - -Faith, however, did not smile. "This afternoon, dear, you follow me and -do just what I do and then, at least, you will be as correct a guest as I -am." - -"Miss Gordon said that we might go," Gladys leaned forward to remark, -"and Joy is eager to have a real visit with us." - -"We haven't had an opportunity since she came to confer about the game." -This from Catherine. - -"Maybe she'd ruther I didn't come." - -Faith looked reproachfully at her friend, then said softly that no one -else might hear: "Rilla, you are forgetting our new rule. Think a -sentence before you say it." - -Muriel flashed a bright smile at the speaker, thought a moment, then -repeated: "Perhaps your friend, Joy Kiersey, would rather that I did not -come." - -"Not so, Rilla." Faith was glad to be able to add truly: "Joy asked -especially about you. She was watching us yesterday as we returned from -the court and she inquired who you were, and what do you suppose she -said?" - -"I can't guess. Something dreadful, like's not--I mean--I suppose." - -"Not a bit of it! Joy asked who the girl was who carried herself as -though she were a princess." - -Muriel looked blank. "Who was she talking about? If 'twas me, then she -was just makin' fun." - -"No, dear. Joy wouldn't do that. You don't realize it, of course, but -there are times when you carry yourself, shall I say proudly? Or----" -Faith hesitated, groping for a word, then laughingly confessed, "I don't -know just how to express it." - -"As though she had a family tree like Adelaine Stuart," Gladys put in. - -Muriel laughed; then said earnestly: "I come from a long line of good, -honest New England seafaring folk and I'm proud of it. My grand-dad stood -erect, the way I suppose you mean that I do. Summer folk often spoke of -it. I remember one man visitin' the light said grand-dad was like a -Viking. Queer how I remembered that word all this time. I suppose because -I wondered what it meant." - -"Oh, I know all about Vikings," Gladys boasted. "Listen and you shall -hear. Between the eighth and eleventh centuries the coasts of the British -Isles were visited by the Norsemen, called Vikings, or sea-rovers, who -contributed much to the romantic history of medieval Europe." - -"My! What a lot we know," Catherine Lambert teased as she beamed across -the table, and Gladys merrily retorted: "Well, why shouldn't I know it -today, since I only learned it yesterday. But don't ask me anything about -it next week." - -Then, as the signal was given, the girls arose and left the dining hall. - -Little did Muriel guess that these dear friends had planned the call upon -Joy that she might have an actual experience that would fit her for the -dreaded class in politeness. - -The afternoon tea was a delightful affair. Joy, who seemed to Muriel to -be the embodiment of loveliness, welcomed them to her sunny, -flower-filled room with a graciousness which at once won the heart of the -island girl. - -"Miss Joy Kiersey, may I present my friend Miss Muriel Storm?" was the -form of introduction chosen. - -"I am indeed glad to make the acquaintance of so dear a friend of our -Faith," was the sincere response as Joy extended her hand and clasped -that of the new member of their little clan. "Now, everybody find a place -to curl up somewhere and let's chat for half an hour while the kettle -boils. Dear Miss Gordon granted a special dispensation today and yonder -on the tea table is seen the flame of my alcohol lamp that will soon -persuade the tiny teakettle to start its song." - -"Oh, what an adorable teakettle that is! I love copper things, don't you, -Muriel?" Gladys exclaimed, forgetting for the moment that the island girl -might not be familiar with things antique. Faith replied for her friend, -then added: "Joy's latest hobby, it is quite evident, is collecting -baskets. You have a dozen new ones, I do believe." - -Their hostess nodded, and pointing to a large, round and nearly flat -basket lying near the hearth: "I found that in Nevada last summer when we -were visiting Lake Tahoe. It was made by the Washoe Indians and I think -that I prize it most of all, and yet that Washoe water bottle on the -mantel is interesting as a curiosity." - -After the bottle-shaped basket had been admired Gladys asked: "Did you -find people different in the West?" - -"I like the real Westerner," Joy replied, "but there was one thing that -was always like a discord to me, and that was the manner of introduction -used by many of them. They say, 'Meet my friend.' It is so harsh and so -abrupt. If they would say, 'I would like you to meet my friend,' it would -seem more gracious." - -Muriel, listening, resolved that she would never use that crude form of -introduction. - -"Hark!" Catherine Lambert said softly. "I hear a voice calling to us." - -Joy uncurled from the big chair which the girls had insisted that she -occupy. "Oh, the little copper teakettle is singing." Then to Faith, -"Will you pour today, Miss Morley?" - -No one looked at Muriel, and as she did in all things as her friends did, -the serving of tea and wafers passed without a mishap. - -When the bell in the corridor announced the hour of five o'clock Faith -rose. "Time to depart," she said. Then to their hostess, "Joy, I am so -glad that you are better. We have had a delightful time at your tea party -and shall hope to see you soon in Pickle Pantry." - -This was the name that Faith jokingly gave the room that she shared with -Gladys, for that maiden being extremely fond of sweet pickles, always had -a bottle of them stowed away in most unexpected places. - -"Girls," Joy said remorsefully, "we haven't made a single plan for the -game. However, I'll be at the court tomorrow at four." - -As Faith and Muriel ascended the stairs toward the cupola room, whither -they were going for a half-hour review of spelling, the former asked: -"Isn't Joy a dear?" - -"I love her," Muriel said. Then she asked: "Are you sure she is real?" - -Faith turned with puzzled eyes. "Real? Do you mean sincere?" - -The island girl shook her head. "No, indeed, I know she is that! I mean -that she looks like the gold and white fairy folk Uncle Barney used to -tell about--and they always disappeared." - -Faith smiled. "Joy is our Dresden China girl, and, oh, Muriel, how I do -hope she will grow strong. Her mother took her West last year believing -the invigorating air of the Rockies would help her; but even now she -hasn't the strength that we who love her desire. The world has need of -girls like our Joy," she concluded. - -Joy Kiersey, to the delight of her friends, appeared at the court next -afternoon. Her soft, golden hair was like an aureole of sunshine about -her head, for when she began to play she tossed her pale blue tam on a -bench, where earlier she had flung her sweater-coat of the same color. - -Joy and Catherine played singles for a while, the two being the experts -of the team. Faith, Gladys and Muriel sat nearby watching with admiring -eyes. - -Time after time Joy was able to smash a ball over the net in such a -manner that it fell dead before Catherine could return it. - -"That's our only hope," Faith confided to Muriel, "that play of Joy's! -It's a trick that her Harvard brother taught her and, watch as closely as -we may, we cannot acquire it. Her brother, it seems, made Joy promise -that she would not teach it to the other girls unless it might be in an -emergency of some kind." - -"If Marianne Carnot and Adelaine Stuart are to play against Joy and -Catherine," Muriel said, her eyes glowing with enthusiasm, "they will -have to be wonderful players to win." - -"You would think so," Gladys chimed in, "but you have never seen Marianne -run. She seems to be everywhere at once. It doesn't matter on what part -of the court we place a ball, there that French girl is, ready to return -it, often with a volley, and her aim is true. However, Joy does excel in -the smash stroke, and so, if she is strong enough to play, we may win." - -Soon Joy declared that she wanted to rest and watch while the others -played. - -Faith buttoned the girl who had been ill into her blue sweater-coat and -then wrapped a soft golden scarf about her, although Joy declared that -she did not need it. "You're warm now," Faith told her, "but there's a -decided nip in the air today, and we must be careful of our champion." - -At first Muriel was self-conscious, for she knew that Joy's sweet blue -eyes were watching her, not critically but with interest. - -Suddenly, however, her attention was attracted by the falling of the ball -on the extreme opposite side of the court. Of course Catherine would run -for it, Muriel thought, but when she saw that maiden slip, Muriel ran as -though her feet were shod with the wings of the wind. Over the net the -ball went and Catherine was ready to volley it back when Gladys returned -it. - -Joy wanted to shout her delight. How she longed to sing out: "Girls, -Marianne may be able to run, but Muriel flies!" But, instead she kept -very quiet. She saw that the island girl was beginning to forget herself, -and she did not wish to say anything that would cause her -self-consciousness to return. - -Soon Joy realized that she had over-estimated her own strength, for a -sense of weariness was creeping over her. She rose, meaning to tell the -girls that she had better go to her room, but she fell back on the bench, -her face pale. Joy had fainted. Faith, rebuking herself for having -permitted the frail girl to play at all, was quickly at her side, as were -the others. - -Joy soon opened her eyes and found her head resting on Faith's shoulder. - -"I'm sorry if I frightened you," she said. Then with a sigh she -concluded: "I guess I'll have to give up trying to play in the -tournament." - -"Never mind, Joy dear. We would far rather have you regain your strength -slowly than win all of the tennis honors that could come to us," Faith -assured her. - -With the assistance of loving arms, Joy returned to the school and was -soon made comfortable in her padded blue silk kimono. Muriel and Gladys -brought wood and made a fire on the hearth, while Catherine went -kitchenward to fill the copper teakettle with boiling water. - -The next day Joy felt as well as she had before, but the girls were -unanimous in declaring that she must not play tennis again until spring. -Then it was that Joy made a resolution. - - - - - CHAPTER XXX. - JOY'S SECRET. - - -When Joy realized that she would be unable to play in the tournament, -which was the formal closing of the tennis season at High Cliffs, she -resolved to teach Muriel the trick which her brother had taught her which -would send a ball over the net with a smash and kill it before it -bounced. The island girl knew the rules of the game, it would seem, and -how light she was on her feet and how swift! If she could master that -trick in one week, there still might be hope of winning. Muriel was -sitting at her desk studying spelling early the next morning when there -came a tap on her door. She thought it was the maid of that corridor and -called, "Come in." But when she saw the blue and gold apparition standing -in the open doorway she sprang to her feet and held out both hands. "Oh, -Joy!" she exclaimed. "It is good of you to come to see me. Do you think -you're strong enough to be walkin' that far?" - -The visitor sank down in the big, comfortably upholstered wicker chair -near the hearth, where a bed of coals glowed. "I feel all right this -morning," she said, "but after yesterday's experience I am convinced that -I am not strong enough as yet to play in the tournament; and, Muriel, if -you will promise not to share the knowledge without my permission, I will -teach you the trick that my brother taught me." - -Muriel's hazel eyes were wide. "But, Joy," she ejaculated, "why is it me -you would be teachin' when Faith, Catherine and Gladys all play so much -better?" - -Joy smiled as she replied: "I have two excellent reasons. One is that the -other girls are busy with their classes nearly all of each day, while you -and I are not. As yet I have not started the regular work. And so you and -I could go down to the court at an hour when it would be unoccupied. My -other reason is that you are the only one on our side who can run as does -our rival, Marianne Carnot." - -Muriel flushed with pleasure. "I'd be that pleased if I could help win -the game," she said. "I'll gladly try, though I'm not expectin' to be -able to learn the trick." - -"Try is all that any of us can do in this world, it would seem," Joy said -as she arose. "I see that you are studying, and I, too, must get at my -French. Madame Van de Heuton is helping me keep up with the class, as -Mother plans a visit to the continent next summer if I am strong enough." -Joy hesitated, then continued: "Muriel, would you like to study French -with me? The review from the very beginning would do me just worlds of -good." There were sudden tears in the eyes of the island girl. "How kind -you all are to be helpin' me," she said, adding: "If you think I'll be -needin' the French, I'll try." - -"Indeed you will need it, some time." Then Joy suggested that they go to -the court at two, when every other pupil would be occupied indoors. -Muriel said that she would. At the door Joy turned, and lifting a finger, -slender as a fairy-wand, she whispered, "Mums the word! Don't even tell -Faith, will you?" - -Luckily the court was hidden from the school by a group of evergreen -trees and so no one observed the two conspirators that afternoon. -Patiently Joy explained the play, and Muriel, who was used to quick -thought and action in her sailboat, was an apt pupil. - -At the end of the first half hour Joy declared that practice was all that -the island girl needed to perfect her in the smash stroke. "Meet me every -day at this hour," her instructress said, as they returned to the school -by a roundabout path, keeping their rackets well hidden. - -With each succeeding day Joy's pleasure in her pupil increased. She did -not have to expend much energy herself, as when the ball fell dead she -merely picked it up and tossed it over the net. At first Muriel succeeded -only once in a while, but on the fifth day she never failed. - -And yet, at the practice hour with the other girls, not once did Rilla -betray the fact that she knew the smash stroke. Joy wanted to surprise -them on the day of the tournament. - -Faith, Gladys and Catherine wondered why Joy seemed to be so excited -about the coming game, indeed almost jubilant. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXI. - THE TENNIS GAME. - - -A glorious autumn day dawned, and great was the excitement at High -Cliffs, for many interesting events were to take place before the setting -of the sun, foremost among them being the contest for the tennis -championship. - -Joy had told the three with whom she had expected to play that she wished -they would continue their plans and permit Muriel to take her place. - -Catherine Lambert had stared in amazement. "Joy," she exclaimed, "you -don't think that Muriel Storm can play well enough to enter the -tournament, do you?" Then added: "Not but that I would be glad indeed to -play with Muriel, but since she has had scarcely a month's practice I -merely thought her hardly well enough prepared; and, of course, we don't -want to fail so completely that we will be laughed at by the entire -school." - -Joy, for one impulsive moment, was inclined to tell Cathy the whole -truth, but her better judgment prevailed, for she thought it very -possible that Muriel might become self-conscious when she found herself -playing before so many spectators and perhaps forget the trick she had so -recently learned. After all it would be better not to praise the island -girl's playing too much, for she might fail. - -Joy stood looking out of her open window at the blue Hudson for a long, -thoughtful moment before she inquired: "With whom are you planning to -play, Catherine?" Her voice showed no trace of the disappointment that -she truly felt because Muriel was not to be chosen. - -"Jane Wiggins plays very well, indeed," was the reply. "I watched her for -half an hour yesterday while she was practicing on the court. She doesn't -really belong to either side, although she said that Marianne Carnot had -asked her to substitute. She is to sit on a bench nearby and be ready to -run into the game if one of the players slips or wrenches her ankle or -anything of that sort. When I spoke to Jane she said that she had not -really promised Marianne that she would substitute, and that she would -much rather play in the game." - -Joy smiled. "Oh, course, Cathy dear, you girls are to do the playing, I -am not; and you must select whoever you wish, but I had hoped that you -would want Muriel to play with you." - -"Suppose we place Muriel on the bench to substitute for us. Of course, -any player is likely to slip and be out of the game," Gladys suggested. - -This was agreed upon and to Joy fell the task of telling Muriel that she -had not been chosen. When the others had gone, Joy went to the cupalo -room and knocked. Muriel, she found, was already dressed in the short -skirt and bloomers which the girls of High Cliffs were permitted to wear -for their outdoor sports. - -"What is it, Joy? What have you to tell me?" Rilla asked, for one glance -at the lovely face of their Dresden China girl assured her that something -was wrong. It was with a sigh of relief that she heard what had happened. - -"Oh, I'm that pleased," she said, "an' I do hope you're not mindin', but -I most couldn't sleep last night with worryin' about the games. I was so -afraid that our side would lose, and if it did I knew that it would be my -fault. Yesterday I happened to be out by the courts and saw Marianne -Carnot and Adelaine Stuart practicin', and such playin' as they can do." - -Then, peering into the troubled blue eyes of her friend in the same -coaxing way that she had often peered under the shaggy grey brows of her -grand-dad, she said: "Please forgive me, Joy, for bein' glad about it, -since you've tried so hard to teach me the stroke, an' if you're wishin' -it, I will sit on the bench and be substitute, but I haven't much hope of -our side winnin' since I saw those two play." - -With this arrangement Joy had to be content and she went back to her room -to dress, not as one of the players, but in her warm all-over coat, since -she was just to stand around and watch, for the air was invigoratingly -cold. - -Although the bloomer suits worn by the players all were a light tan, -their tams and sweater-coats were of various colors. Many eyes followed -the dark, handsome French girl whose chosen hue was that of a cherry. She -knew that it was most becoming to her, but since there were no lads about -to impress, she cared little what manner of appearance she might be -making. However, she did want to win the game by fair means or foul since -her opponents were the girls who had befriended Muriel Storm, the one -person in the whole world whom she wished to humiliate. - -Marianne lifted her finely arched black eyebrows ever so slightly as she -glanced across the net to the spot near the evergreens where the five -opponents were gathered. - -"Have they chosen Muriel Storm for substitute?" she inquired, her voice -expressing her mingled surprise and amazement. "They must be courting -defeat." - -"But how can she play at all?" This from Adelaine Stuart. "I have never -seen her practicing on these courts and surely before she came she had no -opportunity to learn." - -Marianne shrugged her shoulders. "Let us rejoice that they have chosen -her, although, of course, they may not need a substitute; but if they do, -it will mean an easy victory for us." - -"More honor, though, if we had good players to defeat, I should think," -Phyllis Dexter ventured. - -But there was no time for further conversation as Miss Widdemere, who was -to keep score, had arrived and was calling the names of the first four -who were to take their places and select the server. - -Five games were to be played and the side winning three out of five would -be proclaimed champion. - -Although Jane Wiggin was a fairly good player, she had not practiced with -Catherine and was greatly handicapped thereby and the opponents easily -won the first game. Marianne scarcely noticed when her few admirers among -the watchers clapped and shouted. The victory had been too easy to be -flattering, she thought. - -The next game was played by Gladys and Faith on one side and by two of -Marianne's friends on the other and there was far more enthusiasm among -the spectators when Catherine's side won a victory. - -Jane Wiggin, knowing that it was her poor teamwork that had lost the -first game, sincerely wished that she had not agreed to play at all; but -it was too late to withdraw. Though she did her best and though it was a -hard-fought game, Catherine's side lost. The score stood two games for -Marianne and one for Catherine. - -Joy made her way among the onlookers and sat on the substitute's bench -next to Muriel. "Oh, if only I had my bloomers on," she said in a low -voice. "I would take Jane's place even if I had to stay in bed for a -week. But in these long skirts I just couldn't run, so there is no use -trying." - -As she spoke, she glanced at the face of her friend and saw that she was -intently watching every play being made by Gladys and Faith, who, as -before, upheld the honor of their side and again won. - -Two games for each side; but, of course, since Jane was to play in the -fifth, Catherine's group had no hope of final victory. - -Jane knew this as well as did the others and she was so nervous when she -took her place on the court that she could barely hold her racket. It was -her turn to serve and she batted so blindly that the ball fell far -afield. Then, to the surprise of the onlookers, she burst into tears and -ran from the court and toward the school as fast as she could go. For a -moment Catherine was panic-stricken; but what was happening? - -Muriel had leaped to the court that had been so unexpectedly deserted by -Jane and had served the ball without observing the sarcastic smile of her -French opponent. Marianne returned the serve with a volley, expecting to -see the island girl miss; but, instead, the ball was returned with that -smash stroke which had made Joy's playing famous. Marianne did her -swiftest running but before she reached the spot the ball had fallen dead -and did not bounce. - -Amazed, the French girl's brows contracted and, for the next few moments, -she did her very best playing; but time after time Muriel smashed the -ball over the net. If Marianne was close, then the ball fell back of her; -if she was on the outer edge of the court, then the ball just cleared the -net. - -The spectators crowded near. There was a breathless interest. What could -it mean? No one at High Cliffs knew the stroke except Joy Kiersey. -Suddenly a light dawned upon Faith. Joy had taught Muriel her trick -stroke and that was why she had been so disappointed when Jane Wiggin had -been asked to play. - -A shout arose from the onlookers and there was a sudden rush toward the -island girl and everyone was congratulating her. - -Muriel had won the game, and once more Marianne had been defeated by "une -burgeoise." - - - - - CHAPTER XXXII. - WAINWATER CASTLE. - - -On the day that Muriel was winning the tennis tournament, Gene Beavers -sat in the library of their home on the outskirts of London, thinking -"Oh, to be near the Hudson now that Indian summer is there." - -It was a glorious morning and the lad was tempted to go for a longer -stroll than usual when his sister burst in with, "Oh, Gene, something -wonderful has happened! You couldn't guess what, not in a thousand -years." - -"Well, since I'm not an Egyptian mummy, there isn't much use trying," was -the smiling response; but his thought was, "How I wish it were that -Muriel Storm has come to England." - -"Mother is overjoyed," Helen was saying. "It's the one thing for which -she has been longing and yearning ever since we came, and perhaps for -that very reason she has wished it into existence. Now can you guess?" - -The lad shook his head. "I'm not much good at riddles, Sis," he -confessed. "What is it?" - -"An invitation!" was the triumphant announcement as Helen brought the -hand which had been back of her to the front and held high a white -envelope which bore a crest. - -Gene sank down in a comfortable armchair, the interest fading from his -face. "Is that all?" he asked. "A stupid bore, I would call it. How you -women folk can be so enthusiastic about invitations to receptions and -teas is more than I can understand." - -His sister sat on an arm of his chair. "But, Gene," she said, "you have -often wished that you might stroll around in those park-like grounds of -the Wainwater estate." - -The lad again assumed an expression of interest. "I'll agree to that," he -declared. "They are wonderfully alluring. Several times, when I have been -out for a stroll, I have gone down the Wainwater Road and have paused at -the least-frequented gate in the high hedge to gaze in among the trees, -hoping to catch a glimpse of a fawn, and yesterday I saw one drinking -from the stream. Such a graceful, beautiful creature, and it looked up at -me, not at all afraid." - -"I know that gate," Helen said. "I stood there a moment only yesterday, -but what I especially admired was the picturesque view one gets of the -castle-like home which is at least a quarter of a mile back from the -road, among the great old trees. I have read about such places, with -galleries where ancestral paintings are hung, and I'd just love to see -the inside of one." - -"You probably will never have the opportunity," her brother began; but he -was interrupted with: "Have you already forgotten this wonderful -invitation?" Helen again held up the crested envelope. - -"But you haven't told me to what or by whom you are invited," the lad -replied. - -"We, all of us, are invited to Wainwater Castle by the elderly Countess -herself, and the invitation was obtained by Monsieur Carnot." Then, -noting the slight frown, she hurried on to explain: "You know, dear, that -the Viscount of Wainwater really controls the business, the American -interest of which our father represents, but it seems that his honorable -lordship, if that is what he is called, is more interested in the arts, -and leaves the direction of matters financial to Monsieur Carnot." - -Then, noting that Gene had turned away and was looking rather listlessly -out of the window, his sister added: "Brother, dear, doesn't anything -interest you any more? I did so hope that you would be glad to visit this -beautiful estate with mother and me. Father and Monsieur Carnot will be -unable to attend, and we counted upon you to escort us." - -The lad looked up with a sudden brightening smile. Rising, he slipped an -arm about the girl as he said lovingly: "Your brother isn't much of a -social ornament, but he ought to be glad, indeed, that his mother and -sister really want his companionship." The girl looked pityingly into the -pale face that had been tanned and ruddy with health on that long ago day -when she had visited him on Windy Island. - -Impulsively, she took both his hands. "Brother," she said, "it was wrong -of mother to make you leave America just when you were well again and all -because you were enjoying the friendship of a lighthouse-keeper and his -grand-daughter. Some day I shall tell mother the truth, which is that you -and I both hate, _hate_, HATE all this catering to and aping after the -English nobility." Then, inconsistently, she added: "Nevertheless, I _am_ -curious to see the inside of the Wainwater mansion. However, if an -English nobleman asks me to marry him, I shall reply that I prefer an -American." - -This last was called merrily over her shoulder as she left her brother, -who, though amused, heartily endorsed her sentiment. - -Mrs. Beavers, who had been greatly elated by the invitation which she had -received from the Countess of Wainwater, obtained all the information she -believed they would require. Being Americans, they, of course, did not -know the correct way of addressing an elderly countess and her -middle-aged son, the viscount. They had a private rehearsal the evening -before the great event, which amused the young people. "Mumsie," Helen -said gleefully, "this reminds me of 'The Birds' Christmas Carol,' when -those adorable Irish children were drilled in manners before attending a -dinner party. Then to give them a proper sense of family pride, didn't -their mother say, 'And don't forget that your father was a policeman'?" - -Mrs. Beavers did not smile. "Helen, dear, it is very important that we -know the proper thing to do and say on all occasions," was her only -reply. - -The next afternoon, as they were being driven to the castle-like -Wainwater home, Mrs. Beavers looked admiringly at Helen and Gene. Any -mother, even a countess, might be proud of them, she assured herself. - -However, being Americans, they did not seem to be as greatly impressed -with the fact that they were to visit a peer of the realm as this -particular mother might wish. - -Helen had been just as elated when she was on the way to see an old -historical ruin, and as for Gene Mrs. Beavers glanced at him -apprehensively. He did not seem to be even thinking of the honor which -had been conferred upon them. Indeed, whenever his mother beheld that -far-away, dreamy expression in his eyes, she feared that he was thinking -of that "dreadful girl, the lighthouse-keeper's grand-daughter," nor was -she wrong. At that moment Gene was wondering what Muriel might be doing -and resolved to write her upon his return. - -Notwithstanding the fact that it was a glorious, golden afternoon in -October, the windows of the castle were darkened and the salon within was -brilliantly lighted and thronged with fashionably dressed gentry from the -countryside and from London when the arrival of the Beavers was -announced. The elderly countess, as Gene afterwards said, would be just -his ideal of a lovable grandmother if she could be transplanted to a New -England fireplace and away from so much grandness. - -There was, indeed, an amused twinkle in the sweet gray-blue eyes of the -little old lady who, during the first hour, sat enthroned, not being -strong enough to stand and receive. - -Gene was idly watching the colorful scene about him, feeling weary indeed -and almost stifled with the fragrance of flowers and perfumes, when he -felt rather than saw that the countess was watching him. Glancing toward -her, he found that he had been right, for she was beckoning to him. - -Quickly the lad went to her side, and in her kind, grandmotherly way she -said: "Dear boy, you look very tired. Why not go out in the park for a -while? Perhaps you will find there my son. He will be glad to meet you. -Follow the stream to a cabin." - -Gene thanked the dear little old lady for her suggestion and after -telling his mother and sister his plan, he went out. He soon forgot the -brilliantly lighted salon in his joy at being alone once again with -nature. He had been ill so long that as he looked back over the days and -months they seemed to stretch behind him illimitably and grey, except -where they were made golden by his dreams of Muriel. - -Dear, brave, wonderful Muriel! Gene knew now all that had happened; the -death of Captain Ezra, the lighthouse-keeper, who had been so kind to -him, and about the fashionable boarding school to which Doctor Lem had -sent his protege. - -The kindly physician had received a note from Gene one day stating that -since he never heard from Muriel he would greatly appreciate it if, from -time to time, he would write and tell him of the island girl. - -It had not been hard for the older man to read between the lines and he -had replied at once, telling all that had happened to Muriel. - -But only the pleasant part of the letter from Doctor Lem was being -recalled by the lad as he followed the fern-tangled banks of a stream -that wound its picturesque way deeper and deeper into the wooded park. -Suddenly Gene paused. Surely he heard the bird-like notes of a flute. He -peered among the trees, but saw no one. Then, as he advanced, the music -was hushed and he decided that, perhaps, it had been the song of a hermit -thrush. There was a dense growth of evergreen trees just ahead of him. -They crowded so close to the edge of the water that the lad paused, -thinking that he would better go back, but, noticing a wet, mossy rock -near, he stepped out upon it, and, to his delight, saw just beyond the -pines the rustic cabin of which the countess had spoken. - -Eager and interested, the lad half ran up the path, soft with pine -needles, and tapped upon the door, wondering if the cabin were deserted. -"Come in," a deep voice called. - -Gene opened the door and entered a large, square, rustic room which -seemed to be both a hunting lodge and a den. A man whose face seemed too -young for its crowning of grey was lounging in a deep, comfortable chair -in front of a wide fireplace on which a log was burning. He wore a -crimson velvet jacket and he was reading. Other books and magazines were -placed on a low table near. Too, there was a flute, the notes of which -Gene had heard. - -The man smiled a welcome. "American?" he inquired. Gene said that he was. -"Good!" motioning to a chair beyond the hearth. - -"Lost?" was the next question. "No, sent," the lad replied, then seated -himself and told how he chanced to be there. - -"My lady mother must have thought that you and I would like to know each -other," the man said. "You are the son of our American representative?" - -"Yes, Eugene Beavers also is the name of my father." - -"Fine man! Then, you've been ill?" - -"A long time. Breakdown in college." - -"Over-study or over-athletics?" The older man asked this with a quizzical -smile. - -"Both perhaps. Neglected books while training for the big game, then -broke down cramming for midwinter exams." - -"Like London?" - -"No, I think it's beastly." - -The Englishman laughed. "That doesn't sound American. What place do you -like better?" - -"Tunkett, Massachusetts." Then it was the turn of the lad to laugh. "That -place, of course, means nothing to you. It isn't even on the map. Just a -fishing hamlet." - -The viscount leaned forward and with the iron tongs moved the position of -the log that it might burn faster. - -His next remark astonished the lad, who thought he never had met a man he -liked better. - -"Come over here, Gene Beavers, and spend a week with me; or, better -still, we might take a hiking trip through Scotland." - -"Honest Injun?" The lad's face glowed eagerly, boyishly. - -"Honest Injun." - -Thus was begun a friendship between the Viscount of Wainwater and Gene -Beavers. People marveled at it, for, though many sought the friendship of -the viscount, few were permitted to enter the seclusion in which he chose -to live. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIII. - THE POETRY CONTEST. - - -"Girls, have you heard that Miss Gordon has offered a prize for the best -poem written by a student in any of her English literature classes?" - -Faith nodded. "I heard, but I haven't entered. I can't make two lines -rhyme." - -"Nor could I," Gladys Goodsell said, and laughed over her shoulder at the -newcomer, for she was on the hearth rug roasting marshmallows over the -fire. - -"Who of our clan is going to try for the prize beside myself?" inquired -the flushed and excited Joy Kiersey. "Oh, I'd be the happiest, you can't -think how happy, if only I could win it." - -"Why, Joy!" Gladys changed her position that she might divide her -attention between the fire and the group of friends. "Why are you so -eager to win the prize?" - -"Maybe it's a basket that Joy covets." This merrily from Faith. - -The golden head shook in the negative. "I adore writing poems," she -confessed. "I wrote dozens of them last summer, but, then, the scenery in -Colorado and along Lake Tahoe would have inspired a stump to write -verse." - -A month had passed since the tennis tournament and Joy's strength had -returned to her almost miraculously, and, to the delight of her friends, -she was able to join them in their daily tramps across the snowy fields -and she had even suggested a coasting party for the first moonlight -night. - -Too, she had taken her place in the classes and was going ahead of the -others, as she always did when she was strong enough to really study. - -Catherine Lambert looked up from the mysterious pink thing upon which she -was sewing. "It's a Christmas gift," was all that she would tell about -it. - -In fact, all were sitting about the rose-shaded lamp in Muriel's room -that stormy Friday night, sewing upon gifts equally pretty and -mysterious. That is, all except Gladys, their youngest, who said that her -fingers were thumbs when it came to sewing, and that she would far rather -sit on the rug before the fire and roast marshmallows. One by one she -placed the delicious golden puffs upon a warm plate, and when there was a -goodly heap of them, she arose, saying: "Put away your sewing, girls, and -partake of the refreshments for which I have spent the last nickle I will -have until my Christmas money comes." - -"Poor Gladys," laughed Joy, as she perched upon the arm of the chair in -which Muriel was seated. The island girl glanced up with a softening -light in her eyes as she felt the caress upon her red-brown hair. How -close these two had grown in the last month. Not that Muriel's love for -Faith had lessened; in fact, all of these five girls were very dear to -each other, and yet between Joy and Muriel, who were so unlike, there was -growing a love the strength of which even they hardly knew. Joy, -exquisite, dainty and as jubilant as her name suggested, had been -surrounded from babyhood with every luxury, while Muriel had known but -the bare necessities. - -"Whose names are entered?" Faith asked, as she put her sewing into a -dainty workbag and took one of the marshmallows. - -Joy counted them off on her fingers. "Dorothy Daggert first and foremost, -and, since she is a senior and always wins A-1 in everything that she -writes, there will be little hope for any of the rest of us. Four others -in the senior class have entered, two in the sophomore, and, girls, what -do you think? One of them is Marianne Carnot!" - -Faith's expression registered astonishment. "You must be mistaken," she -said. "Marianne is in my class and she never writes verse, even when we -may choose the form for our composition." - -Miss Gordon had entered Muriel's name as one competing and it was because -of this fact, as yet unknown to either Rilla or Joy, that Marianne Carnot -had also entered her name. - -Miss Gordon looked up brightly one evening a fortnight later when she -heard a familiar tap on the door of her little apartment. - -"Good evening, Muriel," she said in response to the greeting from the -girl who had entered. "I have some news for you. Can you guess what it -is?" - -"No, Miss Gordon, unless," and the hazel eyes were eager, "Uncle Lem is -coming for that long-promised visit." - -"Not that," the older woman smiled. "However, I have a letter from Doctor -Winslow and in it he assures us both that just as soon as his duties will -permit he shall avail himself of our invitation. The news has something -to do with your school work." - -Muriel had taken her usual seat, a low rocker on the side of the -fireplace opposite her teacher. Miss Gordon, looking at the truly -beautiful face of the girl, and at the soft crown of hair that was like -burnished copper in the glow of the firelight, felt more than ever -convinced that Muriel had inherited much from that unknown father. - -"Am I to be placed in one of the classes?" There was almost dread in the -voice that asked the question. - -Miss Gordon laughed. "Your expression, dear, is not complimentary to Miss -Humphrey, but, truly, Muriel, she is wonderfully kind beneath her -nervous, flustery manner, but it isn't that. I am too selfish to give up -teaching you. If you are satisfied with your present tutor, I assure you -I am more than pleased with my pupil." - -Tears sprang to the hazel eyes. The girl leaned forward, her expressive -face telling more than words could. - -"I'll study that hard and be as little trouble as I can if only you'll -keep me just this year out, Miss Gordon." Then she inquired: "Now, may I -know the news?" - -"It is about the poetry contest that I was thinking when you came in. I -have been looking over the poems that have entered and although several -are good, I believe that your verses, 'To a Lonely Pelican,' are best; -but, of course, as you know, dear, I am not to be the judge." - -"Who is, Miss Gordon?" Muriel asked. - -"An old friend of mine who is Professor of English in Columbia -University. The poems are to be sent him unsigned and he will decide -which reveals the most talent." - -She was looking over a dozen neatly written contributions to the contest -as she spoke. Taking one from among them, the older woman smiled at the -girl. "Muriel," she said, "I am surprised to see how prettily Joy Kiersey -can write verse. This plaint of a Washoe Indian maid who yearns for the -days when her wigwam home was beside the lake that bears her name, and -for the young Indian brave who came to her in a bark canoe across the -star-reflecting waters, shows feeling and is artistically done. I believe -that it will win second place." - -"Oh, Miss Gordon," Muriel's voice was eager, "may I withdraw my poem--if -you think it might win?" - -The older woman looked up amazed. "Dear," she said, not understanding -this unusual request, "may I know your reason?" - -"I want Joy to win. She loves to write verse and she said it would please -her dad. He thinks it is wonderful because his daughter is talented. He -is so plain, just a business man without a bit of the artist in his -nature." - -Miss Gordon had surmised that a very tender love was binding these two -girls each day closer and closer and yet she hardly thought it fair to -permit Muriel to make the sacrifice. Joy, she knew, would not wish it. - -"Has Marianne Carnot entered a poem yet?" the island girl asked. - -Miss Gordon's expression was hard to interpret. "No, and I very much -doubt her doing so," she had just said when there came a tap on the door. -Muriel answered the summons. A maid stood there with a rolled manuscript. -"It's for Miss Gordon," she said. "Mam'selle Carnot asked me to bring -it." - -A moment later Miss Gordon looked up from the finely written -contribution. "Muriel," she announced, "you will not need to withdraw -your poem, for this is by far the best. It is marked original, and, -though I marvel at it, I may not question the honor of a pupil of High -Cliffs. A week from today we will know whose poem has been awarded the -prize." - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIV. - MARIANNE WINS THE PRIZE. - - -"I can't understand it in the least, and what's more, I don't believe -it's so." This from Catherine Lambert, who sat on a low bench buckling -her skates. - -The tennis courts had been flooded and the shining blue expanse of ice -delighted the girls of High Cliffs, who enjoyed outdoor frolics. - -"But, Cathy, Miss Gordon herself made the announcement, and who are we to -deny it?" Faith remonstrated. "However, as I said before, I never knew -Marianne Carnot to write verse and when one is a natural poet, one -scribbles in rhyme all of the time." - -Muriel and Joy were skating toward the bench, their faces flushed beneath -their jaunty tams. - -"That's fine sport," Rilla declared as they glided up. "At least I can -stand now, thanks to the patience of all of you girls, but I never will -be content until I can do the whirls and figure eights as well as -Catherine." - -Laughingly Cathy held out her hands. "Come, I'll give you a lesson!" - -But Gladys detained them, saying: "Shall we tell the girls the bad news?" - -"Bad news on a day as sparkling as this?" Joy began. Then, as she glanced -from one face to another, she exclaimed: "I know what it is! You have -heard who has won the poetry contest." - -"Have you really?" This eagerly from Muriel. How she did hope that the -prize had been awarded to Joy. But, remembering what Miss Gordon had -said, she almost knew the name that she would hear. - -"Girls," Catherine Lambert said emphatically, "I'm just sure that -Marianne Carnot is a plagiarist." - -Faith put a warmly gloved hand on the arm of her friend. "That's a very -serious accusation, Cathy. I really do not think that we ought to make it -unless we have more evidence than we have at present." - -Catherine whirled about and her dark eyes flashed. "I suppose you'd stand -by and see your best friends cheated out of the prize rather than call -that snobbish French girl a thief, which she is, of course, if she has -copied that poem and presented it as her own." - -"We will have to prove it first, I think," Faith replied quietly. - -But Catherine, who was not at all meek, retorted: "Well, how are we going -to prove it? Of course, she is too clever to copy one of Tennyson's or -any other poem with which we are all familiar. Now, I think the way for -Miss Gordon to find out the truth of this matter would be to lock -Marianne in a classroom and tell her she will have to stay there until -she writes another poem of equal merit." - -Gladys laughed. "Poor Marianne! She would be in there for the rest of her -natural life, I fear. Genius doesn't work that way. There was a pupil -here two years ago who composed music and said the inspiration came to -her at the queerest hours. Once she went to the music room at three -o'clock in the morning, and poor Miss Humphrey, who slept just above, was -terribly frightened. She thought the music room was haunted. Maybe -Marianne is the same way. Maybe she has had the one inspiration of her -lifetime." - -The dark eyes of Catherine flashed toward Gladys scornfully. "Since when -have you taken to championing Marianne Carnot? Perhaps you would like to -be numbered among her friends, and----" - -Gladys flushed and was about to retort when Joy laughingly exclaimed: -"What a tempest in a teapot we are trying to brew!" Then, more seriously: -"If Marianne wins the prize unfairly, her own heart will punish her. Now -I suggest that we all take hands and play cartwheel on the ice until the -gong rings." - -Half an hour later, flushed and warm, they were trooping back to the -school when little Peggy Paterson ran out to meet them, calling: "Muriel -Storm, Miss Widdemere wants you to stop at her office before you go to -your room. The mail just came." - -Muriel's heart leaped. Would there be a letter from Gene? - - * * * * * * * * - -There were two letters for Muriel bearing foreign postmarks. One of them -was addressed in a writing strange to the girl, and she tore it open, -almost with dread, but this was quickly changed to joy, for the letter -was from her dear Uncle Barney. - -The good priest had written it for him, as he did so want Rilly to know -that, Heaven willing, he and his old mother would sail for America in the -spring. - -"It's lonely I am for a look at me gal, an' it's lonely I am for me cabin -down by the sea, an' it's lonely me cabin has been this long spell, -closed there, a-waitin' for me," the letter ran. - -The sympathetic young priest who had been scribe had written the letter -just as the kindly old Irishman had dictated it, and it sounded so like -her beloved Uncle Barney that, for a moment, it was hard for Muriel to -keep from crying. - -"'Twill be a different place that he'll be findin'," she thought, "with -the lighthouse but a tumbled down heap of rocks and with grandfather -gone. Oh, I'm that glad Uncle Barney's coming. I'll ask Uncle Lem to take -me to Tunkett just as soon as they are back." - -Then Muriel opened the other envelope, which was addressed in a -handwriting with which she was familiar, as Gene wrote very often to his -"storm maiden." - - "Dear Rilla," the lad had written, "such an adventure as I have had! At - last the dull grey monotony of living in England has ceased, for I have - met the most interesting man, and, for some reason unknown to me, he - invites my companionship. I really can't believe that I interest him, - for all I do is listen while he talks so wonderfully about everything - that is inside books and out. If there is one corner of this earth that - he hasn't visited, I can't imagine where it is. Oh, yes, Tunkett! I - don't suppose he has ever been there. In fact, it's such an - out-of-the-way place I don't suppose anybody ever would find it unless - he happened to be born there, as Uncle Lem was, and I, of course, went - to visit him. Did I hear you inquire, 'Who is your new friend?' - - "Muriel, I suppose I ought to be greatly impressed with the fact that - he is a viscount. People over here treat him as though he were made of - a very superior kind of clay, my mother among them, but the viscount - himself isn't a bit flattered by the adulation he receives. He calls it - 'tommyrot,' and whenever there are social functions at the castle - (honest Injun, Rilla, that's what they call the turreted stone pile in - which he lives), he retires to his rustic log cabin in the woods, which - is so hedged in that strangers could not even guess that it was there - unless they happened to stumble on it. - - "I wish I could tell you about the man himself and do justice to him, - but I simply can't. He has the most boyish face I ever saw crowned with - grey hair. He tells me that he is forty-five years old, but he seems - nearer my age than any chap of twenty I ever met. - - "The first time I met him he suggested a hike through Scotland. It - seemed a good deal of an undertaking, for I wasn't very strong (just - beginning to take short walks), but every day I grew stronger, and what - a week it was. - - "The Viscount of Wainwater with a pack on his back was not recognized - by anyone. The boy in his nature was very much in evidence that week. - He sang as we tramped along the deserted highways and sometimes I knew - that he was improvising. Then it was that I made a discovery. He is the - Waine Waters whose vagabond poems so often appear in American - magazines. - - "One night we stopped at an out-of-the-way inn. We had been tramping - over a snow-covered moor and, as we sat near the great fireplace where - peat was burning, he began to scribble and at last he looked up and - asked, 'Shall I read it to you?' I nodded, and, Muriel, that poem was a - gem. It was called 'The Moor in Winter,' and told of the quiet trust - that is in the heart of all nature, for, although the moor lies covered - with snow, it is dreaming of the spring that is to bring back the bird - song and the heather. - - "I asked Waine (he told me to call him that) for a copy of the poem, - and he gave it to me. I had planned sending it to you. I had it a week - later when I returned. I took it to the library to show mother, but, - finding that Monsieur Carnot and father were there, I turned away. I - have never seen it since. I must have dropped it and the maid probably - thought it merely a scrap and burned it. I'll ask Waine for another - copy some day, but just now, with his countess mother, he has gone away - for a fortnight. - - "Isn't it about time that you were writing a first letter to your - brother-friend, - - "Gene Beavers. - - "P. S.--I have never mentioned you to Waine, but if you are willing, - I'd like to show him that copy of 'The Lonely Pelican' which Doctor - Winslow sent me. Shall I? - - "Y. B., F. G." - -Scarcely had Muriel finished reading this letter when Joy burst in with, -"Rilla, Miss Gordon has called an assembly for two o'clock this -afternoon. We are all so excited, for this is only done on very especial -occasions. What do you suppose has happened?" - -"I wonder if it has anything to do with the contest?" Faith said softly, -as she and Muriel found unoccupied chairs near their three friends, who -were already seated. - -"My opinion is that Miss Gordon merely wishes to announce the name of the -winner of the prize, and as we would not again be assembled until Monday, -except in the dining hall and chapel, she has taken this method of -bringing us together." And Joy was right. - -Miss Gordon's smile, as she entered with Miss Humphrey and Miss -Widdemere, was so pleasant that it at once quieted the fears of the -senior girls that something had gone wrong. - -"Although only a small group of you are interested in the poetry -contest," she began, "I wish you all to hear the three poems that have -been pronounced best by a most able judge, who is the Professor of -English literature at Columbia. - -"The first prize has been awarded to Marianne Carnot, the second to -Muriel Storm, and the third to Joy Kiersey." - -There was a rustle among the girls, all of whom turned to look at the -honored three. - -Muriel and Joy were not surprised at the announcement that the winner had -been Marianne Carnot, but they had not known that a second and third -prize had been offered. - -They made no whispered comment, however, as Miss Gordon was again -speaking. "I am going to ask the three girls, beginning with Joy, then -Muriel, and then Marianne, to come to the platform and read aloud the -really excellent poems which they have submitted." - -Faith noticed that the eyes of this kind principal never left the dark, -handsome face of the French girl, and she also noticed that Marianne did -not look up even when her name was mentioned. - -After all, Faith decided, the meeting had a deeper purpose than that for -which it had been called. - -Joy, with her flower-like face flushed, read the poem, which she really -knew by heart, so sympathetically, and the plaint of the Indian maid so -appealed to her listeners, that they wondered how the other two poems -could be better. - -Muriel's poem, although showing more real talent, was not read as well, -and the pupils were still inclined to believe that Joy's should, at -least, have had second place. - -"Now, Marianne." - -Faith and Catherine watched the French girl, and for that matter, so did -Miss Gordon and Miss Humphrey, but the winner of the first prize seemed -to be in no way disconcerted. She stood up and her dark eyes looked -directly into those of Miss Gordon as she took the manuscript. - -Everyone had to acknowledge that Marianne read well, but what was she -reading? From the very announcement of the title, Muriel had leaned -forward, her breath coming in little gasps, her face suddenly pale, her -hands clasped tensely. - -Marianne, having read her poem through to the end, walked down the aisle -between the girls to her former seat, but she could not resist sending a -glance of triumph toward Muriel. The clear hazel eyes that looked back at -her were scornful and accusing. Marianne quickly seated herself, a deep -red flush suffusing her face. - -Within her heart was the certainty that Muriel knew, but how could she? - -And Muriel did know, for the title of the poem which Marianne had read -was "Winter on the Moor." Muriel left the other girls directly after the -meeting and hurried to her own room. She wanted to be alone to think, but -this she was not permitted to do. Almost immediately there came a tap on -her door and Faith was admitted. With her hands on the shoulders of her -friend, she looked deep into the hazel eyes. - -"Tell me, dear," she said. "I will keep it a secret if you wish. What is -troubling you?" - -Muriel turned and taking Gene's letter from its envelope, she read aloud -his description of the viscount and the poem by Waine Waters entitled -"The Moor in Winter." - -"The very poem that won the prize for Marianne," Faith exclaimed. "Her -father must have found and sent it to her. What shall you do about it? -Marianne will, of course, be expelled when the truth is known. Last year -when Miss Gordon enumerated the ideals of High Cliffs, she mentioned -plagiarism as being one of the greatest of misdemeanors." - -"I shall not mention it," was the quiet reply. "Now let us forget it." - -The poetry contest was soon a thing of the past, for everyone was -thinking and planning for the Christmas holidays that were but two weeks -away. - -However, it was noticeable that Marianne Carnot never again chose verse -as the form of her compositions. Her classmates were not interested -enough to speculate about it, but Miss Gordon and Miss Humphrey believed -that some day they would know the truth. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXV. - MURIEL WRITES A LETTER. - - -Meanwhile Muriel had a problem of her own to settle. She had been invited -to spend the holidays in the homes of her two best friends, and did not -know what to do, as she wished to accept both invitations, but that, of -course, was impossible. Then it was that the matter was decided for her -in a most unexpected and delightful manner. Doctor Winslow had been a -frequent Sunday visitor at the school (for was not his protege one of the -pupils?) and each time there had been a cozy party in Miss Gordon's -charming "den." - -The kindly physician had noticed an expression of weariness in the eyes -of the older woman as though the responsibility of training so many girls -was bearing heavily upon her and he had suddenly decided that what she -needed was a complete change of scene; and, as he had often heard Miss -Gordon express a desire to visit Tunkett, he offered his home to her and -to Muriel for the midwinter vacation, assuring them that he had already -communicated with his housekeeper, who lived in a neighboring cottage, -and that both Brazilla Mullet and her brother Jabez would look after -their every comfort. - -Muriel was seated in her low chair on the side of the fireplace opposite -Miss Gordon when that little woman, her eyes glowing, her cheeks faintly -flushed, read aloud the letter which she had received from the brother of -her long-ago classmate. - -"Oh, Miss Gordon, shall we go? How wonderful it would be," Muriel -exclaimed. "You'll just love Tunkett and the dear queer people. Of course -they don't seem queer to me, but they surely are different. I can't -imagine them living anywhere else but just in Tunkett. I love them all, -every one of them, even old Cap'n Sam Peters, I do believe. Grand-dad -used to say that Cap'n Sam was too lazy to haul in a cod even when he had -him well hooked. Then there's Mrs. Sam Peters and all the other -fisherfolk. - -"How happy little Zoeth Wixon will be when he sees me! I hope no one will -tell him that I'm coming. I want to surprise him and Shags. Oh, Miss -Gordon, won't Shags be the happiest dog in all this world when he hears -my voice? Nobody knows how lonely I've been for my shaggy comrade, but it -made Zoeth so happy to keep him and I couldn't have him here. I must take -everyone of them a Christmas present. What fun that will be! Little Zoeth -used to call me his 'story-gal' because I told him the tales Uncle Barney -had told to me. Oh, I know what I'll do. I'll buy him a book full of -pictures of fairies and giants. Zoey is going to the village school this -winter and if I choose a book with short words in it and big print, he -may be able to read the stories all by himself. - -"Now what shall I get for Linda Wixon? Something bright and pretty to -wear. That's what she was always wishing for," Muriel ended breathlessly. - -Miss Gordon leaned back in the shadow and watched the eager face of the -girl whose hair was growing coppery in the firelight. Then suddenly -Muriel's eyes filled with tears and her lips quivered. "I'm trying not to -think how lonely I'll be without Grand-dad," she said, "but somehow I'd -rather go home this first Christmas than anywhere else. I really would." -Then she added ruefully: "Miss Gordon, here I am chattering on just as -though we were _really_ going, and you haven't even said that you like -the plan. Would you rather go somewhere else, for, if you would, I can -visit Faith or Joy, for they have both invited me." - -"I really want to go with you to Tunkett, Muriel," was the earnest reply. -"I think it is a beautiful plan. I want to just rest and feel the sweep -of the salt wind, and forget, for a time, that I have the responsibility -of training sixty-two young ladies in the ways that they should go." - -Then, as was their wont, these two who understood each other sat quietly -gazing into the fire, dreaming their dreams. To Miss Gordon, who for so -many years had had no one to lean upon, it seemed indeed wonderful to -find someone at last who wanted to plan for her comfort and happiness, -and lonely Muriel felt that she would rather spend this first Christmas -since her grand-dad had gone with the simple folk who had known him and -loved him. Faith and Joy indeed were disappointed when they heard that -their beloved Muriel was not to spend the holidays with them in their New -York homes. - -These girls had planned to share their island friend and many were the -surprises they had in store for her, but when they realized how much it -meant to Rilla to go to the little fishing village that she called home, -they did not let her know of the plans they had made for her pleasure, -nor need they be entirely abandoned, merely postponed. - -"How I do wish you could both come down to Tunkett for a week-end while I -am there," Muriel exclaimed one day when Joy and Faith had dropped into -her cupola room for a moment. - -"Is there a hotel in the town?" Joy asked eagerly. - -How Rilla laughed. "Nothing like the one to which Miss Widdemere took us -last week when we were in New York," she said. "However there is an inn -very like the one about which you were reading, Faith, in that magazine -story. In fact, the fishing village might almost have been Tunkett, I do -believe. Perhaps all New England coast towns are much alike." - -"That settles it," Faith declared. "I've always wanted to really see with -my own eyes a village like the one in that story, haven't you, Joy?" - -Their Dresden China girl laughingly agreed that the one desire of her -life was to visit just such a place, and that, if all went well, they -would surprise Muriel by appearing at the inn in Tunkett for at least one -week-end of the vacation which was but a fortnight away. - -"Oh, what jolly fun that will be," Rilla exclaimed. "Girls, I believe -something wonderful is going to happen to me during the Christmas -holidays. I feel it, though I can't tell what it is to be." - -"I sincerely hope so," Faith said. Then, after a hesitating moment, she -asked: "Dear, have you ever wished that you might know who your own -father is?" - -Muriel's face grew suddenly pale and there were tears in her eyes. - -"Why should I want him," she said slowly and in a voice quivering with -emotion, "since he did not care for me?" - -Faith's arms were about her. "Dear, dear girl," she said, "do forgive me -for having spoken of your father. I didn't know. I didn't understand." - -"Nor do I understand." Muriel smiled through her tears as she held out a -hand to her other dearest friend, who stood silently near, her sweet face -expressing tender sympathy. "I know nothing whatever about my father. If -Grand-dad knew about him, he never told me. He had promised to tell me -all about my girl-mother's marriage when I was eighteen years of age. I -am nearly that now, but Grand-dad is not here. I do not believe that -anyone else knows. I have often wanted to ask Uncle Barney, but since -Grand-dad died I haven't seemed to care. I have felt that if my own -father could desert his baby girl, surely he would not want her when she -was grown." - -How deeply Faith regretted that she had spoken to Muriel of her unknown -father, but it was done and could not be helped. - -All that day, as Rilla went about her tasks, she could think of nothing -else. How she hoped that some day she would find that she had been -wronging the man whom her girl-mother had loved. - -How wonderful it would be, she thought, to have someone who would be her -very own to love her as her grand-dad had loved her. Everyone was kind, -but no one could quite take the place in the heart of Muriel of the three -for whom she prayed ever since she was a child--the girl-mother who had -died, the grand-dad who had sheltered her, and the father who never came. -How she loved them all, and how she longed for them. - -Why, just then, she should have thought of her brother-friend she could -not have told, but she did think of him, and she resolved that just as -soon as the lessons for the day were done she would write Gene Beavers -that first letter for which he had so long and patiently waited. - - * * * * * * * * - -Gene Beavers was just leaving the house in which he lived with his -parents and sister on the outskirts of London when a maid recalled him to -give him the morning mail. She wondered at the sudden brightening of his -expression. He glanced at the several envelopes, tossed all but one back -upon the hall table unopened, slipped that one into his pocket and again -went out. He wanted to read this very first letter from his "storm -maiden" by the stream in the Wainwater Woods. He was on his way to spend -the day with his boon companion, the viscount. Wonderful days they were -that these two spent together, sometimes galloping across country on -horseback and at other times hiking, stopping in lovely secluded places -to rest, read and dream. - -A stranger would not have guessed that the lad had so recently been an -invalid, for his face once more was bronzed by the wind and sun, and in -his eagerness to reach his destination, he fairly ran down the deserted -highway. Having reached a sheltered spot, he threw himself down upon the -bank of the stream, took the letter from his pocket and looked admiringly -at the neat and really pretty handwriting. He had known that Muriel did -not intend to send him a letter until she could write well and form her -sentences correctly, but, even so, he was surprised with the contents of -her missive. - - "Dear Brother-Friend," he read: - - "When I first came here, I felt as one of my white gulls might if after - years of winging through the sunlit air, being swept hither and thither - and yon by restless winds, of dipping into the surf when it would, it - had suddenly found itself in a cage, barred in. But now I am glad that - I was caught and kept in a cage, for I have learned much. I have always - known how to dream, Brother-Friend, but, oh, the wonder of it, for now - I can write my dreams and send them to the far-away place where you - are. - - "This cannot be a real letter but I did so want to tell you that the - cage door is to be open for two long weeks, and that I am going with - our dear Miss Gordon, whom you know, to spend the Christmas vacation at - Tunkett. How I wish that you were going to be there, as you were last - year. - - "Do you remember the day we raced with Shags on the sand, and your - sister came and Marianne Carnot? How long, long ago that seems. - - "The bell calling us to Politeness Class is ringing, and I'll have to - say goodbye for now, but I'll write you from Tunkett and tell you how - everything and everyone looks. You quite won the heart of Brazilla - Mullet. Shall you write to me while I am there? - - "Your Sister-Friend, - Rilla of the Storms. - - "P. S.--Of course you may show 'The Lonely Pelican' to your new friend - if you wish, although it will not interest a real poet, as Miss Gordon - tells me that Waine Waters truly is. - - "M. S." - -Leaping to his feet, Gene continued on his way to the cabin hidden in the -depths of the wood, where his comrade, the Viscount of Wainwater, was -impatiently awaiting his coming. - -The older man was growing restless. He seldom remained so long in -England, and he was preparing to start on a journey, perhaps to the Nile, -and he wanted Gene to be his traveling companion. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXVI. - MURIEL VISITS TUNKETT AGAIN. - - -Doctor Winslow accompanied Miss Gordon and Muriel to the little coast -village of Tunkett. It was twilight when the leisurely train at last -stopped at the station and Jabez appeared through the flurry of snow -driving the doctor's old horse and two-seated buggy. The side curtains -were up and on the back seat the woman and the girl were soon made -comfortable. - -How Miss Gordon was enjoying every moment of the quaint experience of -being suddenly transported from the atmosphere of a fashionable girls' -school and from the most modern city in the world to this old-fashioned -hamlet which had changed but little in one hundred years. - -The wagon jolted along, for the road was full of frozen ruts, and Muriel -laughed gleefully as she was thrown against the older woman. She knew -that she was laughing to keep from crying, but, oh, how hard it was, how -much harder even than she had supposed that it would be, this coming back -to Tunkett and no grand-dad there to meet her. But she would lock her -grief in her heart, she bravely resolved, and devote the next two weeks -to bringing rest and recreation to the dear friend who had devoted so -much of her free time during the past months to teaching and helping her. - -As they turned into the road, the booming of the breakers could plainly -be heard and the penetrating cold, salty wind from the sea reached even -the sheltered back seat; but, before Miss Gordon or Muriel could be -chilled, they were turning into a driveway, and, with unexpected -suddenness, Methuselah stopped at a stepping block near the side veranda. - -"Don't have to say whoa to this ol' horse," Jabez boasted. "Allays knows -when he's put into the home port and just whar he's to dock without -tellin'." - -Doctor Winslow laughed as he sprang out and unfastened the side curtains -preparatory to assisting Miss Gordon to alight. - -"Jabez," he exclaimed, "you and Methuselah belong to a mutual admiration -society, don't you?" - -"We're fust rate friends, if that's what yer meanin'," the old man -declared with a chuckle, "but horses are much the same as humans, I take -it; if you like them, why turn about they like you." Then, as the -suitcase had been removed, he picked up the reins. "Heave ahead, -Methuselah, we'll cruise down to your anchorage." - -Miss Gordon laughed. "Does the old horse understand what he means?" -"Indeed, he does," the physician assured her; then, as the side door -opened letting out into the snowy dusk a welcome flood of light, he -called to the thin, neatly dressed woman who appeared there: "Here we -are, Brazilla, bag and baggage! Miss Gordon, this is the sister of Jabez -Mullet and the maker of the most famous chowder on the coast." - -The housekeeper accepted Miss Gordon's hand, but turned at once to the -tall, slender girl who stood in the background smiling at her just a bit -wistfully. "Rilla, Rilla Storm, 'tain't you! It can't be! They've gone -and made you over into a young lady such as comes here summers to the -point." - -The housekeeper actually was wiping tears from her eyes with one corner -of her immaculate apron. In a moment the girl's arms were about her. -"'Tis me, Brazilla. Maybe my clothes are different, but my heart's the -same. I couldn't ever change inside." Doctor Winslow had led Miss Gordon -into the warm, cheerful living room, and so, for a moment, the two old -friends were alone in the entry. - -"I dunno what made me cry," Miss Mullet was saying. "You can't guess what -it means to me havin' you come for Christmas, Rilla. I sorter wish Gene -Beavers was comin', too. It'd be kind of a family gatherin'. But thar, -I'm forgettin' the biscuits that's in the oven and me wantin' 'em to be -just the crispy brown the way Doctor Lem likes 'em." - -For a moment Muriel stood alone in the entrance hall, thinking of all -that had happened since she stood there before. Then she heard a sweet -voice calling to her. "Yes, Miss Gordon, I'm coming," she replied. - -Half an hour later all were seated about a festive board and Miss Gordon -declared that of such delicious homey cooking she had not partaken since -she was a girl. - -A kerosene lamp, with a rose-colored shade, hung above the middle of the -table and on the snowy cloth were the old-fashioned white dishes with -gold borders that had belonged, in the long ago, to the mother of Doctor -Lem. - -The physician glanced over a flowering rose geranium which adorned the -center of the table and smiled at Miss Gordon, who sat opposite, as he -exclaimed with sincere appreciation: "You are right, Helen; I have -traveled the world over, but nowhere have I found anyone who can cook to -please me as can Brazilla Mullet." - -That was what Doctor Lem said, but in the silent moment that followed his -thoughts added that it was indeed pleasant to see the sweet face of Miss -Gordon smiling at him from the other end of the table. The old house had -not really been a home to him since his sister and mother had died but a -few months apart. - -The color in Miss Gordon's checks deepened as she met his gaze, or, -perhaps, it was but the reflection from the rose-colored lampshade. - -"Brazilla, do tell me the news," Muriel was saying. "I'm just sure that -something interesting must have happened. Have you seen Shags, and poor -little crippled Zoeth lately, and how are Mrs. Sol and little Sol -and----" - -"One question at a time if you want them answered, Rilla," Doctor Lem -smiled at the girl, who was seated at his right. - -"I see little Zoey every day, and Shags, too," Miss Brazilla replied, -"and as for news, I should say there was some. Hasn't Doctor Lem told -you--oh, I guess he wants to surprise you with it," she concluded as she -caught a glance from the physician's smiling grey eyes which she rightly -interpreted. - -"You'll be surprised, all right," Jabez remarked, "an' glad, too, like -the rest of us was." - -"Oh, Uncle Lem, when am I to know?" The girl turned eager, glowing eyes -toward the physician and searched his face, but his expression was -inscrutable. - -"What has happened? I do believe that it is something about the Wixons." - -Brazilla rose just then to replenish the biscuits, and when she returned -she exclaimed beamingly: "Jabe and I have another surprise for you, -Rilla, and this one even Doctor Lem don' know. He'll be jest as s'prised -an' pleased as you'll be." - -"Oh, goodie!" ejaculated Muriel in little girl fashion. "Then there are -two surprises awaiting me. When am I to find them out?" - -"Tomorrow, if the weather's fine, or even if 'tisn't. I don't suppose -that foul weather could keep you anchored in port when ye've friends -expectin' you over on the sand dunes." This from Jabez. - -"I should say not," the girl retorted. "The wildest tempest that ever -raged over this coast couldn't keep me from going to see Zoey and Shags -the first thing tomorrow morning. There's one thing, though, I'm sort of -dreading, and that's seeing dear old Uncle Barney's cabin boarded up and -looking so lonesome." - -Then, turning to Captain Mullet, she continued: "Jabez, some day soon -will you sail Miss Gordon and me over to Windy Island? I want to find my -lame pelican if he is there and feed the gulls." - -"Yeah, Rilla, I'll cruise ye over thar mos' any time the wind's right." - -"Don't take any chances," Doctor Winslow warned. - -He suddenly realized that the two who would be passengers were very -precious to him and he did not want to lose them. Then he rebuked -himself. It was presumptuous for a man nearing sixty to think that as -wonderful a woman as Miss Gordon could care for him. He would put the -thought from him and think of her only as a dear friend. - -Doctor Lem returned to the city that night, but promised to run down -again in a few days and if possible remain over Christmas. Miss Gordon -and Muriel retired early to the big upper chamber, where a glowing bed of -embers on the hearth was sending forth its warmth, but it was long before -either of them slept, for each was dreaming dreams as they listened to -the intermittent wail of the foghorn, to the distant boom of the surf on -the rocks, and to the rush and swish of the snow beating against the -windows. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXVII. - MURIEL SURPRISED. - - -Muriel had intended to arise very early the next morning, but so late had -she fallen asleep, though she had retired early enough, that it was not -until Brazilla came to make a fire on the hearth that the girl awakened. - -Miss Gordon, too, opened her eyes, and Muriel, sitting up in bed, -exclaimed joyfully: "Oh, what a wonderful day! All out-of-doors is white -and sparkling; the sky is so blue and the sunshine so bright. - -"Brazilla, would right after breakfast be too soon to start out to find -those two surprises?" - -"You'll have to wear my leggins, I'm thinkin'," Brazilla declared. "The -snow'll be above your shoe-tops easy and more than that at the drifts." - -An hour later Muriel appeared in the doorway of the large sun-flooded -living room and Miss Gordon glanced up at her from the book she was -reading. - -"Why, Muriel, you look stouter than usual," was her puzzled comment. - -"No wonder," Rilla laughingly confessed. "I do believe that Brazilla has -put on me two layers of everything that she could find, including the -leggins and her warm red hood. Jack Frost will have a hard time finding a -place to nip. Goodbye, Miss Gordon. I'll be back by noon. I know that you -are going to have a wonderful two hours just resting and reading." Then -she was gone. - -"I never knew that one could have so many different kinds of emotions at -the same time," Muriel was thinking as she started down the snowy road -that led to the sand dunes where stood the scattered homes of her -fisherfolk friends. - -A queer looking settlement it was, for each squatter had built his cabin -facing in whatever direction his particular fancy had suggested. A few -had preferred to face the town and others had their front dooryards on -the side toward the sea, but as there were from one hundred to two -hundred feet of sand dune between each shack no one interfered with his -neighbor. - -Muriel purposely went a roundabout way to avoid passing the boarded-up -cabin of her Uncle Barney. Tears sprang to her eyes as she thought of -him. How she longed to see that dear, faithful old man who had been her -grand-dad's closest friend and comrade through many years, but she would -have to wait until spring. Even then she doubted if he would be able to -bring his old mother, who was very feeble. - -She did not even glance in that direction when she reached the sand -dunes, but went at once to the cabin of the Wixons. - -She whistled the old familiar call. A short, joyous bark was heard in -reply, the cabin door opened and out leaped a dog, grown larger, perhaps; -her own beloved Shags! If there had been in her heart a fear that he -might have forgotten her, it was soon dispelled. The joy expressed in -every move that he made told as plainly as words could have done that -here was the one person in all the world whom he loved best. Down on the -snow the girl knelt, her arms were about her shaggy friend, her face for -a moment hidden in the long, silky hair at his neck. Oh, how hard it was -not to sob! - -"Shagsie! My Shagsie!" the girl cried, but just at that moment the joyous -voice of a boy was heard. Looking up, Rilla saw a little lad emerging -from the cabin. She sprang to her feet and stared in uncomprehending -amazement. - -Surely it was Zoeth; but where were his crutches? He was running toward -her down the recently shoveled path, his arms held out to her. - -"Zoey!" Muriel exclaimed, catching the little fellow and holding him -close. "You're not crippled any more. Darling laddie, what has happened?" - -The small boy clapped his hands and hopped up and down. "I wanted to -s'prise you. I tol' Doctor Lem not to tell you. He did it, Rilla! He -mended me, an' he's been months doin' it! He's goin' to send me to a -boys' school next year, Rilla. Doctor Lem says he's going to make me into -a shipbuilder." How the lad's eyes were glowing. "You know how Uncle -Barney used to teach me to make little ships and how I'd love to draw -pictures of 'em. Well, Doctor Lem looked 'em over once, and that's how he -got the notion of sendin' me away to a school whar I could learn how to -do it right." - -In the midst of this joyous chatter, the small boy stopped as though he -had suddenly thought of something. "Rilly," he said, his face eagerly -questioning, "you didn't come along by the sand dunes, did you?" - -Muriel gazed down at the snow or out at the ocean, anywhere but ahead -where she knew she would have to see the boarded-up cottage toward which -Zoeth was fairly dragging her. Shags bounded along at her side barking -joyfully. - -At last the child could keep quiet no longer. "Why don't you look, -Rilly?" he queried eagerly. "Why don't you look?" - -He had stopped directly in front of the cabin which had been so much in -her thoughts, and so Muriel was obliged to lift her eyes. Why, what could -it mean? The windows were not boarded up as she had expected to find -them. There was smoke coming out of the chimney and a geranium was -blossoming on the sun-flooded window sill. For a moment the girl felt -rebellious. - -Was some one else living in Uncle Barney's house? She was sure that he -would not wish it to be occupied until he came, and yet, on second -thought, she knew that it could be inhabited only with his consent. Then -she looked down at her companion's glowing face. All at once she read the -meaning of the happy light that she saw in his eyes. "Zoey," she cried. -"Uncle Barney has come back?" At the sound of his name, the door was -thrown open and the bronzed old sea captain sprang out and caught the -amazed girl in his arms. - -"Oh, I'll just have to cry now," Rilla sobbed as she clung to him. "I've -tried so hard not to. I tried to be brave when I saw Shags and Zoey, but, -Uncle Barney, how I have wanted you since my grand-dad left me." - -"I know, I know, colleen. Cry all you want to. It's yer Uncle Barney that -understands. It's me as lost me ol' mither, an' so arter all, she niver -can come to see the little home I had a-waitin' for her here by the sea; -but, dearie, it's better off she is in the lovely land she's gone to." -Then, almost shyly, he added: "But I didn't come back alone, Rilly. 'Twas -me mither's dyin' wish that I bring Molly O'Connell to be keepin' the -little cabin for me. Dry yer tears now, mavourneen, and come in an' meet -me Molly, and try to be lovin' her, too, for yer ol' Uncle Barney's -sake." - -He led the girl into the cabin and called to someone who was busy in the -kitchen corner. Muriel decided at once that it would not be hard to love -the Irish woman, who, though elderly, was as blooming as a late rose, -with her ruddy cheeks and twinkling blue eyes that held in their merry -depths eternal youth. - -"Molly's the wife I've been waitin' for ever since she was a gal," Uncle -Barney said as he laid an arm lovingly on the shoulders over which a gay -red and yellow plaid shawl was folded. - -Then he told how they had been sweethearts when they were lad and lassie -in the long, long ago, but that his Molly had married another, and that -was why Barney had come to America to live, but he had always been -faithful to his first love, and at last they were to be together through -the sunset of life. "This little ol' cabin's a real home now, Rilly gal," -the old man said, "an' it's yer home, too, colleen, if ever yer needin' -it." - - * * * * * * * * - -An hour later, when Muriel stood in Doctor Lem's kitchen warming her -fingers over the fire in the great old-fashioned stove, she said: -"Brazilla, I hardly know which of your two surprises was the most -wonderful. To think that dear, brave little Zoey is to have his chance -and all because of that kind man, Doctor Winslow. I am sure that Zoeth -Wixon will make us all proud of him, but weren't you surprised when Uncle -Barney came home with a wife?" - -"I reckon I was. Nothin' could surprise me more 'less 'twould be Doctor -Lem's comin' home with a wife; but that's not likely to happen, though I -sure sartin wish it might." - -Just at that moment Muriel thought of something. She had noticed the -night before that Doctor Winslow often had looked over the rose geranium -at lovely Miss Gordon, and surely in his eyes there had been---- - -Her thoughts were interrupted with: "Rilly, 'sposin' yo' take in the -platter o' fried fish an' tell Miss Gordon as everything's dished up an' -ready." - - - - - CHAPTER XXXVIII. - MURIEL VISITS WINDY ISLAND. - - -Uncle Barney had done a good deal of thinking since he had returned to -his cabin in the sand dunes. He was recalling a visit he had received -from Captain Ezra Bassett a short time before he set sail for Ireland. It -was then that Muriel's grand-dad had told him all that he knew of the -girl's own father, and at the end of the story he had said: "If anything -happens to me, Barney, like as not Rilla's own dad would be the right one -for her to go to. You can allays reach him by writin' to the address -that's in the little iron box whar the tools 'r' kept for fixin' the -light." - -How well Barney remembered that little iron box. It had been on many a -sea voyage when Ezra had been in command of the two-masted schooner The -Stormy Petrel, and the faithful Irishman had been first mate. - -Then, when the older man had settled on Windy Island, Barney had often -seen the box in the small closet at the top of the tower where the oil -can, tools and cleaning rags were kept. - -What ought he to do about it? he ruminated as he sat near his glowing -stove on the day following Muriel's visit and smoked pipe after pipe in -thoughtful silence. - -Ought he to tell the girl, and yet, now that the tower was but a fallen -heap of stones, would it be possible for them to find the little iron -box? - -"It's colleen herself as shall do the decidin'," he at last determined. -Rising, he put on his heavy coat, cap and the scarlet muffler that Molly -had knitted for him and telling his good wife that he might not be back -until late, he started walking toward the home of Doctor Winslow. - -Muriel was out on the veranda sweeping away the light snow that had -fallen in the night. "Top o' the morning to you, Uncle Barney," she -called as she waved the broom. "Have you come to invite me to take a -cruise with you?" - -The old man smiled up at her as he ascended the steps, and yet, so well -did the girl know him, that she at once sensed that something was -troubling him. However, it was in his usual cheerful manner that he -replied: - -"It's a mind reader that you are, Rilly gal, for 'twas that very thing I -was after thinkin'. I cal'lated I'd cruise over to Windy Island, this -mornin' and I was hopin' as how you'd like to go along as crew." - -There were sudden tears in the hazel eyes of the girl as she held the old -man's warmly mittened hand in a firm clasp. - -"Uncle Barney," she said with a suspicion of a sob in her voice, "I'd -rather be goin' there for the first time with you than with anyone else -in all the world, perhaps because my grand-dad loved you just as he would -had you been his brother." - -"I know, I know," the kind-hearted Irishman assured her. Then to hide his -own emotion he hurried on to say: "Bundle up warm, Rilly gal, for though -'tis sunny, the air is powerful nippin'. I reckon you'd better be tellin' -your folks as how you may be late comin' back to sort o' get 'em out of -the notion o' worryin'. Tell 'em yer ol' Uncle Barney'll land you in the -home port safe an' sound along about sunset." - -Although Muriel was surprised to hear that they might remain so long on -Windy Island, she made no comment but skipped into the house to put on -her wraps and tell Miss Gordon of the planned voyage. Uncle Barney had -not said that he wished only Muriel to accompany him, but the girl was -sure that the captain had something that he wished to say to her alone. -Perhaps her grand-dad had asked him to sometime tell her about the -marriage of her girl-mother. How she hoped this might be so. But of her -thoughts Muriel said nothing as they tramped together out on the -snow-covered wharf near which the captain's dory was anchored. - -It was not until they were sailing in the smoother waters on the -sheltered side of the island that Ezra Bassett's old friend told the girl -he had so loved why he had brought her that day to visit the ruined -lighthouse. - -"Uncle Barney," the girl looked across at him hopefully, eagerly, "won't -you be telling me all that you know about my girl-mother and my father." - -"Well, colleen dearie, thar ain't much to tell. Your pa, it 'peared like -to us as saw him, was a poor artist fellow as came one summer to this -here coast to make pictures. Yer ma, darlin', was jest like yo' are now; -the two of yo' couldn't be told apart. That artist fellow met up wi' her -in the store, Mrs. Sol tol' me, an' nothin' would do arter that but he -must make a paintin' of that other Rilla a-settin' up on the rocks. He -was mighty takin' in his ways, I'll say that for him, an' upstandin', -too. I'd a-sworn from the little I saw of him that he'd be a square -dealer, but like be I was wrong, for when your grand-dad got wind of him -courtin' his gal, fer that's what it had come to by the end of the -summer, ol' Ezra tol' him to clear out. Yo're ma pleaded pitiful-like, -but yo' know that look yer grand-dad used to get when he was sot, an' sot -hard. That's the way he looked then. Wall, the next day that artist -fellow was gone, but so, too, was the gal ol' Ezra Bassett had set sech a -store by." The kindly Irishman dreaded telling the rest of the story as -it reflected no credit to the honor of the lighthouse-keeper and he was -glad indeed to find that the dock had been reached. Nor did the girl -question him. - -Even Captain Barney did not know how hard it was for Muriel to climb the -snow-covered flight of steps that led to the only home her girlhood had -ever known, and then, when the top was reached, to see that home lying -one rock heaped upon another, the whole jagged mass covered with a -sparkling white blanket. - -"The little iron box that you were telling me about, Uncle Barney," Rilla -began as she smiled bravely up at her companion, "since it was kept near -the lamp, don't you think that in falling they would lie near each -other?" - -The old man nodded. "I reckon so," he replied, "an' yet thar's no -tellin'. A reg'lar tornado 'twas a-racin' along the coast that day, and -what with the lightnin' hitting the tower and the wind twistin' it, -things that fell might o' got purty much scattered about, seems like." - -Going to the old shed at the foot of the steps, the captain procured -shovels and a broom and together they began to remove the snow from the -rocks that were nearest. - -"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," the girl declared when -they had worked for an hour and had not discovered the great lamp which -for so many years had swung its circling light over the darkened sea. - -"Seems powerful quare to me whar that big lantern can be," the old man -said at last, as he leaned on the handle of his shovel to rest. "'Pears -like it ought've fallen on top o' the heap, bein' as it was the highest -up; but 'tisn't here, sure sartin." - -Muriel, standing on the uncovered rocks, looked down at him. "Uncle -Barney," she said, "do you suppose that someone has carried the lamp away -to sell for old iron?" - -The captain shook his head. "No, Rilly gal, I reckon not. It's government -property and no one'd be likely to cart it away." - -At noon they went down to the little beach shed. The Irishman made a fire -in the rusty old stove and they sat near, appreciating its warmth while -they ate the good lunch that Molly had prepared. - -"Oh, Uncle Barney," the girl exclaimed half an hour later, "it's me as is -goin' to take the crumbs and left-over bits to the top of the cliff and -see if I can coax the seagulls from the caves; that is, if they are -there." - -It was well that Brazilla Mullet had insisted that the girl wear her -thick woolen leggins, for she had to wade through deep, unbroken drifts -of snow to reach the spot where so often she had stood to feed her bird -friends; but though she called and called, the gulls that in former -winters had appeared from the warm caves in the rocks did not respond; -not even the lone pelican which she had hoped would come. - -Almost sadly the girl was turning away when she chanced to look over the -steep cliff and there, half way down, firmly wedged between an outjutting -ledge and a small twisted pine, she saw something that sent her leaping -back toward the fallen tower. - -"Uncle Barney," she called excitedly. "Come quick! I've found it! I've -found the lamp!" - -The old Irishman was soon at her side. Rilla looked up with tears in her -eyes as she said: "Poor thing, how forlorn it looks with the glass broken -and the sides crushed in." The old man held fast to the girl, for she was -perilously near the snow-hidden edge of the cliff. - -"I reckon we'd better not try to go down to it," he said, after a moment -of silent observation. "Thar's nothin' to hold on to till ye get to that -ledge an' it's plain to see that the box isn't alongside o' the lamp. -Howsome-ever, it bears out my notion that things was hurled hither and -yon when the tower fell so thar's no tellin' whar the little box landed." - -Then, drawing the girl back to a place of greater safety, he continued, -as he glanced at the sky: "It's gettin' toward midafternoon, colleen, an' -those blizzardy lookin' clouds over on the horizon ar' spreadin' fast. I -reckon as how we'd better put off huntin' for the box till arter thar's -been a thaw; then, likie's not, we'll find it easy when the snow's gone." - -"All right, Uncle Barney," the girl replied. "We will do just as you -think best, but how I do wish that, just for a moment, I might visit my -dear old Treasure Cave. Don't you suppose that if we went along the beach -I might be able to climb up to it? I've been there many a time in winter -and I know just where my steps are even under the snow." - -The girl's eyes were so glowingly eager that the old man could not -refuse. "Wall, wall, Rilly gal," he said, "I reckon we'd have time to -poke around a while longer if 'twould be pleasin' to you. The storm's -likely to hold off till nigh dark." - -"Oh, thank you, Uncle Barney." Muriel caught the old man's mittened hand -and led him along at a merry pace, breaking a path in the snow just ahead -of him. At last they reached the very spot where many months before -Muriel had stood when she had beheld a city lad for the first time. - -"D'ye ever hear from Gene Beavers nowadays?" the captain asked when Rilla -recalled to him the incident of which she had been thinking. - -"Indeed I do, and, oh, Uncle Barney, such wonderful times as Gene is -having. He has a new friend in England whom he calls Viscount of -Wainwater." - -The old man gazed at his companion in uncomprehending amazement. - -"The Viscount of Wainwater is it? Rilly, can I be hearin' right? Why, -gal, he's as big a man as thar is in all England barrin' the king -himself. He's what folks call a philanthropist, though thar's them as -calls him an Irish sympathizer; but 'tisn't the Irish only that he's -benefactin', but all as are down-trodden. Why, Rilly, he 'twas that -bought a whole township over in Connaught and tore down the mud huts and -had decent little cabins built for the old folks to be livin' in. Many's -the time he's ridden by on that han'some brown horse of his an' stopped -at me mither's door for a bit of refreshment an' it was me ol' mither -that couldn't talk of anything for days but of how foine a gintleman was -the Viscount of Wainwater. It's curious now, ain't it, that Gene Beavers -is arter knowin' him. It sartin is an honor to be a friend of the -viscount." - -As the captain talked, Muriel, surefooted on the rocky paths that she had -followed since childhood, led him down to the beach, where the sand had -been swept clear of snow by the prevailing winds. They walked around the -island and stood just beneath the cave to which Muriel had carried every -little treasure that had been given her by her few friends or that had -been tossed high on the beach by the sea. The trail looked very steep and -slippery to the old man. "Rilla gal," he said, "I reckon I'll stay here a -bit and he waitin' for ye while ye do yer explorin'." - -The girl, her cheeks rosy, her eyes glowing, laughed back at him over her -shoulder, for she was already half way up the trail. - -When Muriel reached the shelving rock in front of her cave she turned and -waved to the old man, who stood watching far below, then stooping, she -disappeared. - -To her amazement, she found that the place was flooded with light. The -reason she quickly discerned. Great rocks, hurled from the falling tower, -had crashed through the roof of the cave and were piled high on its -floor. Eagerly the girl began to search among them for the box. - -When fifteen minutes had passed and she did not reappear, the old captain -became anxious and climbed to the opening. - -"Wall, I'll be gigger-switched!" he exclaimed, "if here ain't the door to -the closet whar the tools for the big lamp was kept." - -Muriel, with a delighted cry, sprang toward him, but stumbled over some -small hard object which had been almost imbedded in crumbled sandstone. - -It was the long-sought little iron box, but it was locked. - -The old man was as excited as the girl. He took the small box which -Muriel lifted toward him and examined it. "The lock don't matter," he -replied. "Thar's tools in the cabin that'll open it soon enough. Come -now, 'twon't do to be delayin' any longer. Can't ye hear the threatenin' -sound the wind is makin'? It's moanin' into the cave here like a -graveyard full of ghosts let loose." - -When they were again on the beach the girl saw that the captain was -indeed a weather prophet, for the leaden-grey clouds were being hurled -toward them by a wind that was momentarily increasing in velocity. -Luckily it came from over the sea and the water between the island and -Tunkett would still be sheltered. - -They were soon in the dory scudding toward the home port, but barely had -they landed when the snow began to fall so thick and fast that they could -scarcely see each other. - -The wind from the sea fairly blew them up the street toward the home of -Doctor Winslow. For a moment the old Irishman drew the girl under the -shelter of an evergreen tree while he said hurriedly: - -"Rilla gal, I reckon 'twould be best if I sent the letter, bein' as that -was yer grand-dad's wish, an', like's not, ye'd better not be mentionin' -it to anyone yet fer a spell, not knowin'----" The old man paused. He did -not want to hurt the girl's feelings by saying that after all these years -her own father might not care to claim his daughter. - -"You are right, Uncle Barney," was the reply. "I'll not say a word, but, -oh, how I do, do hope that my own father will love me." - -That evening the little iron box was opened, the address found and Molly, -who at one time had been a school mistress in Connaught, penned the -letter that was sent speeding to its destination on the midnight train. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIX. - A LETTER FROM GENE. - - -When Muriel entered the house she found awaiting her a letter from Gene, -and strange indeed was the postmark, for with his good friend, the -Viscount of Wainwater, the lad was traveling in foreign lands. - -There were several sheets of thin paper and these were covered with such -fine handwriting that it took the girl much longer than usual to decipher -them. - -She retired to the doctor's den directly after the evening meal, and -having made a fire on the hearth, she curled up in a big, comfortable -chair near the reading table, for she felt that she wanted to be alone -while she had this visit with the far-away lad who called himself her -brother-friend. - -The first part of the epistle was devoted to descriptions of their -travels and adventures. - -Then came some personal news items, the most astonishing of these being -that Monsieur Carnot had received a cablegram informing him that Marianne -was leaving High Cliffs Seminary at once and would return to France to -complete her education. Her reason for this unexpected action was not -given. - -Another page was devoted to the viscount. "Sister-friend," Gene had -written, "how I do hope that some day you may meet this wonderful man -whose conversation is to me more delightful than any book I have ever -read, whose considerate thoughtfulness of all whom we meet, especially -those who are poor or in trouble, makes him more a nobleman than does his -title. - -"I have saved until the close of this long, rambling letter a bit of news -that will rejoice your heart, even as it did mine. You will recall that -you told me that I might show your poem, 'The Lonely Pelican,' to my -poet-friend, Wayne, but that you would rather that I did not tell him -about yourself, although why you made the request I am sure I cannot -guess. Muriel, I don't want you ever to be ashamed of who you are, for -though your parents were simple fisherfolk, you are a princess among -girls. I am as proud to know you as I am to know the Viscount of -Wainwater. This was his comment when he finished reading your little -poem: 'Gene, I would be glad had I written that. It is a lovely thing.' - -"Muriel, some day may I tell him about you; how your little girlhood was -spent cradled out there on Windy Island among the wild sea waves, -companioned by that splendid old man who was one of nature's truest -noblemen, and with only birds and Shags for playmates? He will better -understand your poem. Address your next letter to Cairo, care of the -American Consul." - -For a long time Muriel sat curled up in that deep cushioned chair gazing -into the fire and dreaming dreams. How strange, how unreal, that she, the -daughter of a long line of seafaring people, should be the friend of a -lad who was the chosen comrade of a viscount, and yet Gene had spoken -truly, no man could be more noble than her own grandfather. - -Then came a tap on the closed door and the pleasant voice of Miss Gordon: -"Nine o'clock, dear. You know our resolution--to retire at that hour." -Instantly Muriel was on her feet, rebuking herself for having left Miss -Gordon alone. Opening the door, she said: "Won't you come in? It won't -matter, will it, if we stay up a little later this evening? I would like -you to read this wonderful letter from Gene Beavers." - -And so it was that Miss Gordon was ensconced in the big comfortable chair -and with Muriel on a stool at her feet, the older woman read the letter -aloud. "What a privilege it is for your friend Gene to have the -companionship of that prince among men. I have often greatly admired the -verses of Wayne Waters, and, dear----" The older woman paused and looked -thoughtfully into the fire. - -As she had hesitated, Muriel glanced up questioningly. "I had thought -that I would not tell you," Miss Gordon continued, "but now I believe -that I will. Before we left High Cliffs, Miss Humphrey found a poem in a -new magazine, the title of which was 'The Moor in Winter.'" - -"Oh, Miss Gordon, then you have found out about Marianne and----" - -"You knew all the time, Muriel, and did not tell me?" The girl bowed her -head. "Yes. Gene had written telling me about that poem." Suddenly -looking up, she inquired: "Is that why Marianne is leaving High Cliffs?" - -"Yes," was the reply. "Miss Humphrey is acting principal during my -absence and she has expelled the young plagiarist." - - - - - CHAPTER XL. - JOY AND FAITH VISIT TUNKETT. - - -The blinding snowstorm which had started the night before, as Muriel and -Captain Barney had returned from Windy Island, increased in fury during -the night and even Muriel did not care to battle through the elements the -next day to visit the cabins on the dunes. She indeed was curious to see -the address to which the letter was to be sent and she looked eagerly out -at the storm, wondering how long it would last. - -Miss Gordon was so interested in her book that she did not notice -Muriel's suppressed excitement. The girl could think of nothing but the -letter and its possible reception by the Mr. Storm, who, of course, was -her father. - -What if this unknown father might prove to be someone for whom she could -not care? But she put that thought away from her. Of course she would -dearly love the man whom her girl-mother had loved and trusted. - -Then she wondered how far the letter would have to travel to reach him -and how long a time would elapse before she would have a reply. Would -that reply bid her go to another part of America to live? - -It was midmorning when the girl's revery was interrupted by the ringing -of the telephone. Skipping to the doctor's study, she lifted the receiver -and upon hearing the voice at the other end her face brightened. - -"Oh, Uncle Lem, I'm so glad you were able to get away. Yes, I'll send -Jabez right down to the station. You want Brazilla to make a double -quantity of clam chowder. Why, Uncle Lem, how hungry you must be. All -right, I'll tell her. Good-bye." - -"Oh, isn't that the jolliest!" Muriel beamed at Miss Gordon, whose book -had been dropped to her lap when she learned that Doctor Winslow was in -town. Into the kitchen the girl skipped when Jabez had been notified. - -"What can I do to help?" Rilla asked, and Brazilla replied: "Well, maybe -you'd better fetch out the best cloth and set the table extra fine. I -reckon another log on the hearth would make the dinin'-room more cheerful -like. Then thar's a geranium on the south window sill that blossomed this -morning. You might put that in the middle." - -"Put it in the middle of the fire?" the girl asked merrily. Then she -whirled about and kissed the astonished housekeeper on the forehead. - -"Oh, Brazilla," she exclaimed, "please don't mind my nonsense. I'm so -excited about something that I can't tell yet that I don't know what I am -about." - -"Wall, I should say, Rilly, that suthin' onusual must a-gone to yer head. -You don't act at all natural, an' yer cheeks are so red." - -Then, anxiously, the good woman added: "You don't feel feverish, do you?" - -"No, Brazilla. Honest Injun, I'm all right. Now I'll get busy." - -The table was all set, and most attractive it looked when the joyous -ringing of sleighbells was heard in the drive. - -Muriel waited until she heard a stamping of feet on the front porch, then -she threw open the door and uttered a cry of joy, for with the good -doctor were her two best friends. - -"Oh, Joy! Faith! What a wonderful surprise!" In spite of their snowy -garments she hugged them both, then whirling and shaking a finger at the -doctor, she accused: "Now I know why you pretended to be so ravenously -hungry and ordered a double portion of clam chowder." - -"Guilty!" The doctor kissed his glowing-eyed ward; then, leaving the -girls with their hostess, he went into the living-room in search of Miss -Gordon. He found her standing by the fireplace. - -"Helen," he said impulsively as he advanced toward her, "you can't know -what it means to me to find you waiting to welcome me by my own -hearth-side which for so many years has been deserted and lonely; so -lonely, Helen, since mother left." - -Just why there were tears in the sweet grey eyes that were lifted to him -Miss Gordon could not have told, for the realization had come to them -both that this was truly a moment for rejoicing; but all that the little -woman said was, "I've been lonely, too, Lemuel." - -Just at that moment into the room danced Muriel, leading the two laughing -girls, whose heavy wraps had been removed. - -The older woman turned to greet them and the physician went to his own -room to prepare for his evening meal. - -"Isn't this just like a party?" Rilla exclaimed half an hour later when -they were seated about the long table. "Oh, girls, I had been hoping that -you would come for a week-end, as you had promised, but how did you -happen to be with Uncle Lem?" - -"We met Doctor Winslow in the station at New York and when we told him -that we were coming to stay at the inn in Tunkett for a few days he -declared that we must be your guests in his home, and, of course, we were -only too glad to accept." - -Many times during the evening repast the physician's eyes wandered to the -face of his ward. Her cheeks were glowing, almost feverishly, and the -light in her eyes was unnatural and her excited chatter, he was sure, was -not entirely because of the unexpected arrival of her friends. - -When they were leaving the table, he drew her aside, saying, "Muriel, I -would like to see you in my study." - -The girl excused herself and accompanied him. As soon as the door was -closed, the physician turned and placed his cool hand on her cheeks and -brow. He said: "Little girl, are you ill or has something happened that -is troubling you?" - -To his great surprise Muriel threw her arms about his neck and began to -sob. - -"No, Uncle Lem, nothing troubles me; that is, it doesn't yet. Uncle -Barney has written a letter to my own father to tell him about me, and, -oh, Uncle Lem, what if he should not care for me? Every night since I was -little I've prayed for that dear father who never came for me, and I've -prayed God to send him to me some time because my girl-mother so loved -him; but now that at last he is to know about me I am so afraid that he -will not want me." - -This, then, had been the real cause of her feverish excitement. - -The physician drew Muriel down beside him upon a couch and asked her to -tell all that had happened. He had never known about the address in the -little iron box, for although he had been a close friend of Ezra -Bassett's in their boyhood, the physician had been away much of the time -in later years. - -"Dear," he said comfortingly, "do not be fearful. The little that I have -heard of your artist father leads me to believe that, although evidently -poor, he was possessed of high ideals and was very talented. I cannot -believe that he has purposely neglected you all of these years. Now dry -your tears and go back to your friends with a happy heart and be sure -that the tender love you have given your father is now to be returned to -you." - -When the girl had left him, the physician bent his head on his hands. And -so he was to lose Muriel. One by one those who were dear to him had left -him and in his old age he was to be alone, for it would be presumptuous -on his part to ask so lovely a woman as Miss Gordon to share the little -he had to offer. But at that moment he recalled the tears in the grey -eyes and the break in the voice that had said, "I, too, have been -lonely." - -Rising, he thought, "I will go to Helen and ask her if she cares to share -my home." - - - - - CHAPTER XLI. - MURIEL HEARS FROM HER FATHER. - - -Once again it was spring. The trees about High Cliffs Seminary were pale -green and pink with unfolding fresh young leaves and in the orchard back -of the school the cherry, peach and apple trees were huge bouquets of -fragrant bloom, spreading a feast for the bees that hummed cheerily among -the flowers. Now and then a meadow lark sent its shaft of song rejoicing -through the sunlit morning from somewhere beyond the tennis courts where -three girls were playing, with but little animation, however, as the -first real spring weather was too warm to be invigorating. - -"I wish we knew what has happened to sadden our Rilla," Catherine Lambert -said when, the set having been finished, the girls sat on a bench to -rest. - -"She came back to school after the Christmas holidays so joyous that I -thought some wonderful thing had happened like a romance or----" - -"A romance and Muriel not yet eighteen years of age!" This protestingly -from Faith. But Catherine, heeding not the interruption, continued: "But -that could not have been it, for now she seems very sad. I should think -that you two girls who are so intimate with her might ask what has -happened. Surely she is troubled about something." - -"I wish I could _truly_ say that I have noticed no change in Muriel," Joy -remarked, as she looked meditatively toward the orchard; "but I cannot, -for she is changed. She studies harder than ever before, if that can -possibly be. Miss Gordon told me that she had never known a pupil at High -Cliffs to make such progress." - -"I wonder if Miss Gordon knows what is troubling Muriel? I am sure that -she would, if anyone did," Faith said, but Joy shook her head. "No, Miss -Gordon does not know, for last week she asked me to come to her apartment -at an hour when Muriel was occupied in the music room and she asked me if -I had noticed a change in Rilla, and if so, had I any idea what had -occasioned it. I said that we all realized that Muriel seemed sad, but -that we did not know the reason. Then Miss Gordon declared that she would -write Doctor Winslow, who has been in the South for a month with a -patient, and ask him what he thought might be troubling his ward. If this -source of possible information fails, Miss Gordon will ask Rilla -herself." - -While these three friends were discussing Muriel as they sat out by the -tennis court, that maiden was seated alone beneath the little pine tree -that had been her comforter in those first lonely days before she had -become acquainted at High Cliffs. In her hand she held a letter and there -were unshed tears in her eyes. Although her Uncle Barney's name was -signed at the close of the missive, Muriel knew that Molly had penned it -for him. - -"Dearie," the girl read, "there's no news yet, though it does seem like -there ought to be. Here 'tis May and the letter we wrote was sent last -December. Folks do say, 'no news is good news,' but I reckon this time, -colleen, 'tisn't so. If your father was living he'd have sent some sort -of an answer. It would be going against nature not to. - -"If he hadn't lost the letter with the address on it, or if we could -remember it, we'd write again. 'Twas a name I'd never heard before, nor -had Molly. I reckon that old letter got into the stove, somehow, and so -there's no way to write again. Seems like I can never forgive myself if -the fault is mine. Your loving Uncle Barney." - -So, after all, the dream ended. Muriel was never to know the father she -had loved so long. With a sigh that was half a sob, she arose and walked -slowly back toward the school, when she saw one of the younger pupils -racing toward her. - -"Muriel Storm, you're wanted in the parlor. There's someone to see you. -It's a man and he's elegant looking." - -Muriel's heart leaped. Could it be that her father had come, after all? - -When Muriel appeared in the doorway of the reception room, Miss Gordon -rose, as did the man who was at her side. - -Advancing with outstretched hands, the principal said: "Dear girl, why -didn't you tell me about it? I wasn't at all prepared for the message -that this gentleman has brought to us." Then turning to the man, who was -gazing with unconcealed interest at the tall, beautiful girl, Miss Gordon -added: "Muriel, this is Mr. Templeton of London. He has come at the -request of your father, who is not strong enough just now to make the -voyage, and, if you desire, you are to return with Mr. Templeton at once. -Your passage has been engaged on a steamship leaving Hoboken tomorrow at -daybreak." - -The girl gazed from one to the other as though scarcely able to -comprehend. Then, slowly, a light dawned in her clear hazel eyes and she -said: "My father, my own father, he wants me?" - -Mr. Templeton was deeply moved and stepping forward he took both hands of -the girl as he said sincerely: - -"Indeed, Miss Muriel, he does want you. I never saw a man more affected -than he was when he learned that he had a daughter living. He wanted to -come to you at once, but he has been ill and his physician advised -against the voyage as the sea is none too quiet in the spring. And so I -have been sent to accompany you to your father if you will trust me." - -The girl's questioning gaze turned toward Miss Gordon, who smilingly -nodded. "It is right, dear, that you should go," she said. "I have -telephoned to Dr. Winslow and he will be here this afternoon. Now you had -better go to your room. I will send a maid to help you pack." - -Upon leaving the reception room Muriel had gone at once in search of her -best friends and had found them all in Joy's room. - -"We've been hunting for you everywhere," Faith said. "We wanted you to -make a fourth on the courts, but you were nowhere about, so we had to -play alone." - -Then the speaker paused and gazed intently at the morning glow in the -face of her friend. "Why, Muriel," she exclaimed, "of late you have -seemed troubled, but now you are radiant. Tell us what has happened." - -Although every moment was needed for preparing for departure, Muriel -paused long enough to tell these, her dearest friends, that at last her -own father had been found. - -"Rilla, it's like a chapter in a story-book, isn't it?" Joy exclaimed. -"Don't you feel strange and unreal?" - -Muriel laughed. "I suppose that I do, but girls, I haven't time now to -feel anything, for I must pack and be ready to leave for New York on the -evening boat. Uncle Lem is going to keep me at the hospital tonight, and -I am to meet my escort at Hoboken tomorrow morning before daybreak." - -It had been a whirl of a day and when at last came the hour for parting -with Miss Gordon and the girls who had been such loyal friends, Muriel -suddenly realized that, though she was to gain much, she also was losing -much. - -"I don't believe anything in the world could take me from you all but -just my father," she said. - -"I'll prophesy that you'll see us soon," Miss Gordon said briskly, for -she knew the tears were near. Luckily the whistle of the boat at that -moment warned the friends that they must go ashore, but they stood on the -dock and waved until the small craft was out of sight. - -Then it was that Muriel recalled a letter that Miss Widdemere had given -her at the last moment. Taking it from her coat pocket, she saw that it -was from Gene, who was again in London. - - - - - CHAPTER XLII. - MURIEL MEETS HER FATHER. - - -To the surprised delight of Muriel, both Uncle Barney and little Zoeth -were at the boat to bid her goodbye. Doctor Winslow had at once wired the -good news to the old man who had been instrumental in finding the girl's -long-lost father and his deeply furrowed, weather-beaten face shone with -joy as he held out his arms to Rilla, heeding not at all the jostling -throng of voyagers who were eager to board the greater steamer. - -"Who is your pa, Rilly gal? What'd the lawyer chap tell yo' about him?" -Muriel shook her head. "I don't know a bit more about it than you do, -Uncle Barney," she confessed. "My father wished me to form my own opinion -when I met him, and so he asked Mr. Templeton to make no attempt to -describe him to me. I'm glad really. One never can picture people as they -truly are. All that matters to me is that he is my father." - -Then Doctor Lem returned, having attended to the baggage, and they all -accompanied Rilla to her stateroom. "Take good care of Shags for me," -were her last words to Zoeth, "and tell him I'll come back after him as -soon as ever I can." - -Then Muriel leaned over the rail and waved to her loved ones on the -crowded wharf until the huge steamer had swung out into the channel. - -The voyage, although of great interest to the girl, who so loved the sea, -was uneventful, and in due time England was reached. - -"And so this is London," Muriel said one foggy morning as she glanced out -of the window of the conveyance which Mr. Templeton had engaged to take -them to their destination. "I am so glad that my father does not live in -the city." Then she inquired: "Is he a farmer, Mr. Templeton?" Rilla -recalled that when in Tunkett the young man had seemed to be very poor, -but he might have sold paintings enough since then to have bought a farm. - -Mr. Templeton's expression was inscrutable. "Why, yes, Miss Muriel; in a -way your father might be called a farmer. All kinds of vegetables and -stock are raised on his place. But--er--he doesn't wield the pitchfork -himself these days. He is rather too prosperous for that." - -How glad the girl was when they were out on the open road. The hawthorn -hedges were white with bloom and so high that in many places they could -not see over them into the parklike grounds they were passing. - -Suddenly Muriel touched Mr. Templeton's arm and lifted a glowing face. -"Hark!" she whispered. "Did you hear it? Over there in the hedgerow. -There it is again. Oh, I know him! Miss Gordon has often read the poem. - - "'That's the wise thrush. He sings each song twice over - Lest you think he could never recapture - That first fine, careless rapture.' - -"Do you like Browning's poetry, Mr. Templeton?" - -"Well, really, Miss Muriel, I've never had much time to read verse; been -too busy studying law. But your farmer-father sets quite a store by the -poets, he tells me." - -"I'm so glad!" was the radiant reply. Then the girl fell to musing. How -she hoped that her dear mother knew that at last she was going to the -poor artist whom she had so loved. - -"How long will it be before we reach the farming district, Mr. -Templeton?" The girl was again gazing out of the window at her side. -"These homes that we are passing are like the great old castles I have -read about in Scott's books and Thackeray's." - -"We will soon reach our destination," was the non-committal reply of her -companion. Then, leaning forward, he spoke a few words to the man at the -wheel. - -They turned down a side road that narrowed to a winding lane. There the -conveyance stopped and Mr. Templeton directed Muriel to a picturesque -cabin half hidden among trees, in front of which ran a shallow babbling -stream. "Your father awaits you in there," he said. - -As one in a dream Muriel crossed the rustic bridge and approached the -cabin. It was just the sort of a home that an artist would build, she -thought. - -Timidly she knocked on the closed door. It was flung open by a man -nearing middle age, perhaps, but whose youthful face was radiant with a -great joy. Taking both her hands, he gazed at her devouringly. Then, -drawing her to him, he crushed her in his arms as he said, his voice -tense with emotion: "My Rilla's own little girl, and my girl, too." - - - - - CHAPTER XLIII. - RILLA OF THE LIGHTHOUSE. - - -It was June, one year since Muriel Storm had arrived in England, and -again she was returning to the home of her ancestors, after a long trip -to Switzerland, where Gene had visited her and her father. During this -year, Muriel had acquired from her father an ease of manner which well -fitted her for the position she was to fill. - -Invitations to the debut of Lady Muriel were crossing the Atlantic. They -were addressed to the four girls at High Cliffs who had befriended her -when she was supposed to be only the grand-daughter of a -lighthouse-keeper. Others bearing the Wainwater crest were addressed to -dwellers in Tunkett--to Doctor Winslow and his lovely wife; to Brazilla -Mullet and her brother, Jabez Mullet; to Uncle Barney and his Molly. - -In London Mrs. Beavers and Helen received their invitation. There was a -flush of pleasure on the elder lady's face as she read the message on the -crested card. "Helen," she said, "will wonders never cease? The Viscount -of Wainwater has a daughter. Probably she has been away at school all -these years and that is why we have not heard of her." Then, as her gaze -wandered to a handsome pictured face on a table near, she added: "I am -glad now that Gene did not care for Marianne Carnot." - -Helen laughed. "Mother, dear," she said, "what a matchmaker you are! It -is unfortunate that brother seems to care for Muriel Storm." - -"Daughter," replied Mrs. Beavers haughtily, "I wish you never again to -mention the name of that seafaring girl in my presence. I am so glad that -your brother will be home from college in time to attend the debut." - - * * * * * * * * - -The day of the great event had arrived. Helen and her mother were dressed -and waiting for the carriage to convey them to Wainwater Castle. But the -elder woman was troubled, for though the boat from America had docked and -the train from Liverpool had arrived two hours before, yet Gene had not -come. Then she heard his voice in the lower hall, asking, "Where is my -mother?" - -Catching her outstretched hands, he exclaimed admiringly: "Did ever a -chap have so beautiful a mother?" Not waiting for a reply, he added -wheedlingly, "Mother, darling, are you as hard-hearted as ever?" - -"I am never hard-hearted, son, where you are concerned. What do you -mean?" - -"Mother mine, I have come to ask your permission to marry the most -wonderful girl in this world, whose name is Muriel Storm. Am I right in -believing that you really care for my happiness?" - -"Yes, my son, I care for nothing else; it will be a great disappointment -to me to have you marry the daughter of a lighthouse-keeper, but if you -are convinced she is the girl you love, I will welcome her for your -sake." - -"Mother, mother," he cried, "you will never regret those words!" - -Soon after the last guest had arrived at the castle, the orchestra was -stilled, and the viscount spoke. "Friends and neighbors, I have invited -you here tonight to rejoice with us. I wish to announce the engagement of -my daughter to one of the finest lads I have ever known, Gene Beavers. -And now it gives me great pleasure to present to you my daughter, the -Lady Muriel of Wainwater." - -Mrs. Beavers was scarcely able to believe what she had heard and seen. As -one in a trance, she advanced, and Gene leaped to meet her and placed -Muriel's hand in that of his mother. "My boy--I don't understand--I -thought--is this--" - -Impulsively the girl held out her other hand as she said in her most -winning way: "I want you to love me. I am Rilla of the Lighthouse." - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---Preserved the copyright notice from the printed edition, although this - book is in the public domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected a few typos (but left nonstandard spelling and - dialect as is). - ---Rearranged front matter to a more-logical streaming order and added a - Table of Contents. - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Rilla of the Lighthouse, by Grace May North - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RILLA OF THE LIGHTHOUSE *** - -***** This file should be named 43414.txt or 43414.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/4/1/43414/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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