, he has heart-trouble too, come to think. But I must be getting
back to the vessel."

"So soon?"

"Yes, we've got to go to sea. I'm like Dave Warner in that I'm going
to sea too."

"But nobody's driving you away." She had her eyes on Clancy's face
then.

He didn't look up--only stared into his glass.

She was silent for a full minute. Clancy said nothing. "Nobody's
driving you away," she said again.

At that Clancy looked at her. "There's no telling," he said at first,
and then hastily, "Oh, no--of course nobody's driving me to sea."

"Then what's your hurry?"

I got up and went to the door then. I heard the sound of a scraping
chair and then of Clancy standing up. A moment's quiet and then it
was: "No, dear, I can't stay--nobody's driving me away, I know that.
I'm sure you wouldn't--not with your heart. And you've a good heart if
you'd only give it a chance. But I can't stay."

"And why not? You won't, you mean. Well, I never thought you were
_that_ kind of a man."

"No? Well, don't go to giving me any moral rating. Don't go to
over-rating me--or maybe you'd call it under-rating. But you see, it's
my friend that's calling."

"And you're going out in this gale?"

"Gale. I'd go if it was a hundred gales. Good-by--and take care of
yourself, dear."

"And will you come back if you don't find him?"

"Lord, Lord, how can I say? Can anybody say who's coming back and who
isn't?"

He went by me and out the door. She looked after him, but he never
turned--only plunged out of the house and into the street and I right
after him.

XXXVIII

THE DUNCAN GOES TO THE WEST'ARD

Getting back to the vessel Clancy was pretty gloomy. "That's
settled. We can't chase them as far to the east'ard as the big
banks--a three hundred mile run to the nearest edge of it and tens of
thousands of square miles to hunt over after we'd got there. And it
would be child's work anyway to ask Maurice to leave her on the bank.
Who'd take his place even if Dave would stand for it? 'Twould mean
laying up a dory or taking his dory-mate too. Maurice wouldn't leave
her anyway, even if he believed he'd never get home--no real fisherman
would. And yet there it is--Dave in a devil of a mood, and a vessel
according to all reports that won't live out one good easterly.
And there's a crazy crew aboard her that won't make for the most
careful handling of a vessel. Oh, Lord, I don't see anything for
it, but, thank the Lord, Maurice has bee