idn't the woman say something of having an invalid daughter?" inquired
the Captain. "I think I heard her speak of one yesterday at the
station."

"Yes, poor thing," said Mrs Gilmour. "She's got spinal complaint, and
we saw her lying on the sofa in the queer little parlour crammed with
curiosities that Nell took such a fancy to. She seems a very nice girl,
so happy and contented although in such a helpless state! Her old
mother, whom I know you thought fussy and selfish, is quite devoted to
her."

"Humph!" ejaculated the Captain, taking no notice of Mrs Gilmour's
allusions to his original impression of the stout personage with whom
Rover had, so to speak, entangled them into an acquaintance. "Perhaps
some of that old port wine of mine would do the girl good, eh, ma'am?"

"Not a doubt of it, she looks so pale and delicate," replied Mrs
Gilmour. "But there will be plenty of time to think about that to-
morrow. Let us go on now to the beach, or it will be too late for us to
do so before dinner."

"Come on then, I'm yours obediently," said the Captain with his usual
chirpy chuckle. "By Jove, though, I think I've had pretty nearly
walking enough for one day for an old fellow turned sixty."

This time they steered clear of the castle, the exciting memories of the
previous evening being too vivid in Mrs Gilmour's mind to allow the
boys to go near the treacherous footing of the rampart again.

Instead of going thither, they turned their footsteps rather to the
eastern portion of the shore; where a shelving, shingly beach sloped
gradually down to the water, and thus no danger to be feared of Master
Bob or any one else plunging in suddenly without warning, as happened
unfortunately before.

Here, everything was new to the young people; the wet pebbles glistening
like jewels after a last polish from the receding tide; the masses of
many-hued seaweed; the quaint shells; and the rippling waves, laughing
in the sunshine, and sportively throwing up in their joyous play little
balls of foam or spindrift, which the buoyant south-westerly breeze,
equally inclined for fun and frolic, tossed about here and there high in
the air, until they were lost to sight in the distance beyond the
esplanade.

One or two silver-grey gulls, with white waistcoats on, as if going to
some nautical dinner-party, were hovering above and occasionally making
dashes down in their swooping curvilinear flight to pick up stray tit-
bits from the ti