e the Mary Anne lay on the beach for repairs. So his
fellow-workmen said when they told the story afterwards, remembering
even this trivial incident.

He was in a strange frame of mind, too, they noticed, silent and heavy
and absent. He did not work well, but lagged over his labor, stopping
every now and then to pass the back of his hand over his brow as if to
rouse himself.

"Yo' look as if yo' an' th' missus had had a fallin' out an' yo'n getten
th' worst o' th' bargain," one of his comrades said by way of rough
jest.

They were fond of joking with him about his love for his handsome,
taciturn wife. But he did not laugh this time as he usually did.

"Mind thy own tackle, lad," he said dully, "an I'll mind mine."

From that time he worked steadily among them until it was nearly time
for the tide to rise. The boat they were repairing had been a difficult
job to manage, as they could only work between tides, and now being
hurried they lingered longer than usual. At the last minute they found
it must be moved, and so were detained.

"Better leave her until th' tide ebbs," said one, but the rest were not
of the same mind.

"Nay," they argued, "it'll be all to do o'er agen if we do that. Theer's
plenty o' time if we look sharp enow. Heave again, lads."

Then it was that with the help of straining and tugging there came a
little lurch, and then it was that as the Mary Anne slipped over on her
side one of the workers slipped with her, slipped half underneath her
with a cry, and lay on the sand, held down by the weight that rested on
him.

With his cry there broke out half a dozen others, and the men rushed up
to him with frightened faces. . "Are yo' hurt, Seth, lad?" they cried.
"Are yo' crushed or owt?"

The poor fellow stirred a little and then looked up at them pale enough.

"Bruised a bit," he answered them, "an' sick a bit, but I dunnot think
theer's any bones broke. Look sharp, chaps, an' heave her up. She's a
moit o' weight on me."

They went to work again one and all, so relieved by his words that they
were doubly strong, but after toiling like giants for a while they were
compelled to pause for breath. In falling the boat had so buried herself
in the sand that she was harder to move than ever. It had seemed simple
enough at first, but it was not so simple, after all. With all their
efforts they had scarcely stirred her an inch, and their comrade's
position interfered with almost every plan suggested. T