teacher. It's no credit to me; 'twas just bull luck and
for the fun of jarrin' Heman. But I did it. And, because I did it, the
Atkins crowd--and that means most everybody now--haven't any love for
you. My tryin' for school committee was really just to give you a fair
chance in your position. I was licked, so the committee's two to one
against you. Don't you see that you mustn't have anything to do with me?
Don't you SEE it?"

She shook her head.

"I see that common gratitude alone should be reason enough for my trying
to help you," she said. "But, beside that, I know you are right, and I
SHALL help, no matter what you say. As for the teacher's position, let
them discharge me. I--"

"Don't talk that way. The youngsters need you, and know it, no matter
what their fool fathers and mothers say. And you mustn't wreck your
chances. You're young--"

She laughed.

"Oh, no! I'm not," she said. "Young! Cap'n Whittaker, you shouldn't joke
about a woman's age."

"I ain't jokin'. You ARE young." As she stood there before him he was
realizing, with a curiously uncomfortable feeling, how much younger she
was than he. He glanced up at the mirror, where his own gray hairs were
reflected, and repeated his assertion. "You're young yet," he said, "and
bein' discharged from a place might mean a whole lot to you. I'm
glad you take such an interest in Bos'n, and your comin' here on her
account--"

He paused. Miss Dawes colored slightly and said:

"Yes."

"Your comin' here on her account was mighty good of you. But you've got
to keep out of this trouble. And you mustn't come here again. That's
owner's orders. Why, I'm expectin' a boardin' party any minute," he
added. "I thought when you knocked it was 'papa' comin' for his child.
You'd better go."

But she stood still.

"I shan't go," she declared. "Or, at least, not until you promise to
let me try to help you. If they come, so much the better. They'll learn
where my sympathies are."

Captain Cy scratched his head.

"See here, Miss Phoebe," he said. "I ain't sure that you fully
understand that Scripture and everything else is against us. Did Angie
turn loose on you the 'Whom the Lord has joined' avalanche?"

The schoolmistress burst into a laugh. The captain laughed, too, but
his gravity quickly returned. For steps sounded on the walk, there was a
whispering outside, and some one knocked on the dining-room door.

The situation was similar to that of the evening when the Bo