f ordination, in order to make it available for the
coming Sunday. His wife then vanished with the little ship in her hand,
and the visitor appeared. A talk went on in low tones.

After a ten minutes' stay he departed as secretly as he had come. His
errand was the cause of much whispered discussion between the vicar and
his wife during the evening, but nothing was said concerning it to the
outside world.

44. SANDBOURNE--A LONELY HEATH--THE 'RED LION'--THE HIGHWAY

It was half-past eleven before the Spruce, with Mountclere and Sol
Chickerel on board, had steamed back again to Sandbourne. The direction
and increase of the wind had made it necessary to keep the vessel still
further to sea on their return than in going, that they might clear
without risk the windy, sousing, thwacking, basting, scourging Jack Ketch
of a corner called Old-Harry Point, which lay about halfway along their
track, and stood, with its detached posts and stumps of white rock, like
a skeleton's lower jaw, grinning at British navigation. Here strong
currents and cross currents were beginning to interweave their scrolls
and meshes, the water rising behind them in tumultuous heaps, and
slamming against the fronts and angles of cliff, whence it flew into the
air like clouds of flour. Who could now believe that this roaring abode
of chaos smiled in the sun as gently as an infant during the summer days
not long gone by, every pinnacle, crag, and cave returning a doubled
image across the glassy sea?

They were now again at Sandbourne, a point in their journey reached more
than four hours ago. It became necessary to consider anew how to
accomplish the difficult remainder. The wind was not blowing much beyond
what seamen call half a gale, but there had been enough unpleasantness
afloat to make landsmen glad to get ashore, and this dissipated in a
slight measure their vexation at having failed in their purpose. Still,
Mountclere loudly cursed their confidence in that treacherously short
route, and Sol abused the unknown Sandbourne man who had brought the news
of the steamer's arrival to them at the junction. The only course left
open to them now, short of giving up the undertaking, was to go by the
road along the shore, which, curving round the various little creeks and
inland seas between their present position and Knollsea, was of no less
length than thirty miles. There was no train back to the junction till
the next morning, and Sol'