ebody bound north. Once in a while they stopped there to leave
a mail or something. He was set in his notions, and let two or three
proper explorin' expeditions go by him because he didn't like their
looks; but when I was there he had got restless, fearin' he might be
taken away or something. He had all his directions written out straight
as a string to give the right ones. I wanted him to trust 'em to me,
so I might have something to show, but he wouldn't. I suppose he's dead
now. I wrote to him an' I done all I could. 'Twill be a great exploit
some o' these days."

I assented absent-mindedly, thinking more just then of my companion's
alert, determined look and the seafaring, ready aspect that had come to
his face; but at this moment there fell a sudden change, and the
old, pathetic, scholarly look returned. Behind me hung a map of North
America, and I saw, as I turned a little, that his eyes were fixed upon
the northernmost regions and their careful recent outlines with a look
of bewilderment.

VII. The Outer Island

GAFFETT WITH HIS good bunk and the bird-skins, the story of the wreck
of the Minerva, the human-shaped creatures of fog and cobweb, the great
words of Milton with which he described their onslaught upon the crew,
all this moving tale had such an air of truth that I could not argue
with Captain Littlepage. The old man looked away from the map as if it
had vaguely troubled him, and regarded me appealingly.

"We were just speaking of"--and he stopped. I saw that he had suddenly
forgotten his subject.

"There were a great many persons at the funeral," I hastened to say.

"Oh yes," the captain answered, with satisfaction. "All showed respect
who could. The sad circumstances had for a moment slipped my mind. Yes,
Mrs. Begg will be very much missed. She was a capital manager for her
husband when he was at sea. Oh yes, shipping is a very great loss." And
he sighed heavily. "There was hardly a man of any standing who didn't
interest himself in some way in navigation. It always gave credit to a
town. I call it low-water mark now here in Dunnet."

He rose with dignity to take leave, and asked me to stop at his house
some day, when he would show me some outlandish things that he had
brought home from sea. I was familiar with the subject of the decadence
of shipping interests in all its affecting branches, having been already
some time in Dunnet, and I felt sure that Captain Littlepage's mind had
now r