words of love which he had spoken to her on the beach, spoken as she
had never heard them before, and they carried her along dreamy paths
into a happy visionary future.

CHAPTER XV

"Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho!
Ships may come and ships may go,
But I sail on forever!"

Certainly, no audience would be moved to tears, either by the quality of
the voice, or by the ditty that was thus rendered. And yet, there was a
blue-eyed, fair-haired girl, seated on the rocks below her father's
place, whose eyes filled with tears as she listened. Elizabeth thought
she was prepared to fulfill the promise made to her father three days
ago, but, now that the opportunity was upon her, she felt her resolution
slipping away. She loved her dear old friend as never in all her life.

The singer rounded a projection of sandy beach just beyond the rock-pile
where the girl was sitting. He was hurrying up the shore in the
direction of his home, his dejected figure revealing his utter
loneliness, despite the lightness of his song. His brow was puckered,
more with furrows of perplexity than with lines of anger, as he made his
way with labored difficulty up the steep incline from the beach.

"Oh, Uncle Josiah!" involuntarily cried the girl as she caught a glimpse
of the haggard face.

The old man stopped, turned about, and looked up.

"Now, ain't this surprising good luck to find you here!" he exclaimed.
"I was just thinking about you, Beth."

"Do your thoughts of me always make you sing like that?"

"That there song ain't got much music, and I cal'late it don't improve
to speak of with my voice," he answered, his swarthy face breaking into
a broad smile. "It must sound funny for an old fish like me to be
serenading a young lady like you. Glad you liked the entertainment,
Beth."

"I didn't say I liked it. It made me feel very bad," she said, loosening
a stone with the point of her shoe and sending it rolling to the water's
edge.

"Well, I don't just rec'lect that you spoke favorable on that p'int. I
honest didn't know you was about else I'd tried something more fitting
to the occasion. Fact is, Beth, I was singing to keep my spirits up."

"You should be happier than you look, then, for your singing is better
than a vaudeville show."

"You ain't none too partic'lar about classing me, be you?"

"Singing isn't in your line, and if I were you I'd not try it."

"Beth, what's wrong? You don't seem real glad to se