great deal in this reception; and you will, to begin with, forgive my
asking you, on your word of honour, if on your journey hither you
have overtaken or met or recognized any one hailing from Falmouth.
You do not answer,' he added, after yet another pause.

"'Why, as to that, sir,' said I, 'since leaving Falmouth I have
neither met nor overtaken any one of my acquaintance. But, since you
put it to me precisely, I will not swear that I have not recognized
one. A few minutes ago, standing at the head of the lane here, I saw
a man cross it, presumably from this garden, and take the path
leading through the plantation yonder. It certainly strikes me that
I knew the man, and I followed him down the lane here to make sure.'

"'Why?' the Major asked me.

"'Because, sir,' said I, 'it did not seem possible to me that the
man I mean could have any business here; besides which, an hour or
two before leaving Falmouth I had passed him in the street, and
though he had, indeed, the use of his legs, he was too far gone in
liquor to recognize me.'

"'His name?' the Major asked.

"'Coffin, sir,' said I; 'usually known as Captain Coffin, or Captain
Danny.'

"'A drunkard?' he asked.

"'A man given to liquor,' said I, 'by fits and starts; but mild
enough in an ordinary way. You might call him the least bit touched
in the upper story; of a loose, rambling head, at all events, as I
can testify, who have taught him navigation--or tried to.'

"The Major, though he could not see me, seemed to study me with his
blind eyes. He stood erect, with the bundle clipped under his left
arm; and the bundle I made out to be a flag, rolled up and strapped
about with its own lanyard.

"'One more question, Captain Branscome,' said he. 'This Captain
Coffin, as you call him--is he, to the best of your knowledge, an
honest man?'

"I answered that I had heard question of Coffin's sanity, but never
of his honesty.

"'His sanity, eh?' said the Major; and I could see he was hung in
stays, but he picked up his wind after a second or two, and paid off
on another tack. 'Well, well,' he said, 'we'll drop talking of this
Coffin, and turn to the business that brings you here. What is it?
For I take it you've walked all the way from Falmouth for something
more than the sake of a chat over old times.'

"I remember, ladies, the words he used, though not the tone of them.
To tell the truth, though my ears received 'em, I was not listening.
I stood