, Cap'n,
I would have had her?"

"True; an' it's that what's held my hand many's the time. Yer not havin'
her has crippled us both. But a summer on the mainland ain't a-goin' t'
swamp us, Janet. With the _Comrade_ tied to David's wharf, an' me here,
what's goin' t' happen to a--a girl like you?"

Janet looked across the summer sea.

"What? Sure enough, Cap'n Daddy, just what? And I ought to be earning my
keep."

"I'm goin' t' set ye up with some gal fixin's what I've saved fur ye.
Yer mother's things! Ye ain't never seen them. S'pose we take a look
now. A summer, with runnin's over t' the Station, will be real
interestin', Janet. An' ye must tell me everythin'. There ain't no
reason why ye shouldn't sail over every little while, but I do hope
ye'll make yerself useful somehow. It will help bime by. An' I'm gettin'
stiff." He arose awkwardly and strode toward the tiny house. Janet
followed, trailing her fish net robe and humming lightly.

The house was composed of three small rooms with a lean-to, where of
late years Billy had slept. From the middle room, which was the living
room, a ladder, set against the wall, led to the loft overhead. The man
slowly climbed upward, and Janet went after.

The space above was hardly high enough for an upright position, so man
and girl sat down upon the floor, and it happened that a locked chest
stood between them.

"Janet, ye ain't never seen these things, have ye?"

"No, Cap'n Billy." The mocking laugh was gone from the face.

"Ye ain't got no sense of curiosity 'bout anythin', Janet--not even yer
mother. Most girls would have asked questions."

This seemed like a rebuke, and Janet kept silent.

"Ain't ye got no curious feelin' 'bout yer mother?"

"Cap'n Billy, you haven't ever let me miss anything in all my life. I
s'pose that's why I haven't asked. I never knew her, did I, Cap'n Billy?
You made up for everything."

This unnerved Billy.

"That's logic," he nodded, "an' it's good-heartedness, as well; but,
Janet, I'm goin' to tell ye somewhat of yer mother." He took a key from
his pocket, unlocked the chest and raised the lid.

"Them things is hers!" he said reverently. "Little frocks--" Three he
laid out upon the floor. Cheap, rather gaudy they were, but of cut and
fashion unknown to the beach-bred girl. "And little under-thin's, an' a
hat, an' sacque; shoes--just look at them, Janet! Little feet they
covered, but such willin' little feet, always a-trottin' 'bout t