her, she
put her arms around the old man's neck, and kissed his weather-beaten
cheek.

"What's been troubling you, father? _I'll_ drive the worry away." She
held his rough hand in hers, and waited for him to speak.

"You're a good gal, Rosebud; you're a great comfort. But, Lord bless me,
you're as sensitive as a young fawn. There's nothing the matter with
_me_, except when now and again I get a fit of the blues; but you've
drove 'em away, da'rter; you've drove 'em clean away. Now, just you run
in and attend to your house; and leave me to go into town, where I've
a bit of business to attend to--there's a good gal." He kissed his
daughter's smooth, white forehead, and she ran indoors, smiling and
happy.

The Pilot resettled the peaked cap on his head, stumped down the
garden-path, and passed out of his gate and along the road. His steps
led him to the main street of the town, where he entered the Kangaroo
Bank, the glass doors of which swung noiselessly behind him, and he
stood in front of the exquisite clerk of Semitic origin, who dealt out
and received over the broad counter the enormous wealth of the opulent
institution.

"Good morning, Captain Summerhayes."

"'Mornin'," said the Pilot, as he fumbled in the inside pocket of his
coat.

At length he drew out the draft and handed it to the clerk, who turned
it over, and said, "Please endorse it."

The old sailor took a pen, and with infinite care wrote his name on the
back of the document.

When the clerk was satisfied that everything was in order, he said,
"Two-hundred-and-fifty pounds. How will you take it, Captain?"

"_I_ don't want to take it," answered the Pilot gruffly. "I'll put it
along with the other."

"You wish to deposit it?" said the clerk. "Certainly. You'll need a
form."

He drew a printed slip from a box on the counter, and filled it in.
"Sign here, please," he said, indicating with his finger the place of
signature.

"No, no," said the old man, evidently annoyed. "You've made it out in
_my_ name. It should be in my da'rter's, like all the rest have been."
The clerk made the necessary alteration, and the Pilot signed.

"If you call in this afternoon, I'll give you the deposit receipt," said
the clerk.

"Now, really, young man, an't that a bit slow? D'you think I've got
nothing better to do than to dodge up and down from the port, waitin'
for your precious receipts?"

The clerk looked surprised that anyone should question his dictum fo