t made the acquaintance of the much-praised "Devonshire
cream." Served with wild strawberries, or any other fruit, this thick
cream is truly delicious, and unlike anything else. The meal itself
was partaken of in the Annex, a larger, newer house across the way,
but having finished, the party returned to the original hostelry. It
is the tiniest house imaginable, and the little rooms are so crowded
with furniture, the landlord's collection of fine old china, and
knick-knacks of all sorts, that John endangered many valued treasures
by his awkward movements. Once, in passing some people in the hall,
his elbow struck a small cabinet of blue china, and there would have
been a terrible catastrophe had not Mrs. Pitt arrived upon the scene
at the opportune moment.

"Oh, bother!" exclaimed John, very much irritated, and more ashamed of
his clumsiness than he cared to show. "How can a fellow have room to
breathe in a bandbox like this! Come along, Philip; I'm going down to
talk some more with those sailors."

The old fishermen who can no longer follow their loved trade sit
sunning themselves comfortably on the doorsteps of their Clovelly
homes, gazing dreamily out to sea. When Mrs. Pitt, Barbara, and Betty
went to find the boys toward tea-time, they discovered them sitting by
a group of these old cronies, who were ensconced upon a bench
affording a beautiful view of the lower part of the town, the bay, and
the cliffs of the rugged coast. The tide had filled the little
harbor, and numerous small boats with copper-colored sails bobbed
about on the opal waters; near the Red Lion Inn stood a row of
sleepy-looking mules waiting for the start up the street.

The men had been exchanging fishermen's yarns, much to the pleasure of
their audience, but when the ladies appeared, they commenced telling
ghost-stories or curious bits of folk-lore. One tale especially amused
the girls, although John thought he preferred the wild adventures of
the sea.

After looking long out over the bay, the particular old salt who was
then entertaining them, removed the pipe from between his teeth, and
began the following. Mrs. Pitt took pains to remember it, and this is
how it reads to this very day in her journal:

"The father of a certain fair young girl had been carried off by
smugglers, and kept for 'a year and a day,'--until a large sum of
money was finally paid for his release. He only lived a short time
after his return home, however, and his daug