s. Raynor's offer; but I did
not save any time by it, for the wind fell off toward evening, and for
hours there was no wind at all, and it was late the next afternoon when
we reached the point where I went ashore."

"Did you see anything of Miss Raynor in all that time?" I inquired.

"Yes," he replied; "she was on deck a great deal, and I had several
conversations with her."

"With her alone?" I asked.

"Yes," said he. "Mrs. Raynor is a great reader and fond of naps, and I
think that the young lady was rather tired of the companionship of her
uncle and the other gentleman, who were very much given to smoking, and
was glad of the novelty of a new acquaintance. On my part, I felt it my
duty to talk to her as much as possible, that I might faithfully report
to you all that she said, and thus give you an idea of the state of her
mind."

"Humph!" I exclaimed; "but what did she say?"

"Of course," continued Walkirk, "a great deal of our conversation was
desultory and of no importance, but I endeavored, as circumspectly as I
could, so to turn the conversation that she might say something which it
would be worth while to report to you."

"Now, Walkirk," said I, "if I had known you were doing a thing of that
sort, I should not have approved of it. But did she say anything that in
any way referred to me?"

"Yes, she did," he answered, "and this is the way it came about.
Something--I think it was the heat of the windless day--caused her to
refer to the oppressive costume of the sisters of the House of Martha,
and she then remarked that she supposed I knew she was one of that
sisterhood. I replied that I had been so informed, and then betrayed as
much natural interest in regard to the vocations and purposes of the
organization as I thought would be prudent. I should have liked to bring
up every possible argument against the folly of a young lady of her
position and prospects extinguishing the very light of her existence in
that hard, cold, soul-chilling house which I knew so well, but the
circumstances did not warrant that. I was obliged to content myself with
very simple questions.

"'How do the sisters employ themselves?' I inquired.

"'In all sorts of ways,' she said. 'Some nurse or teach, and others work
for wages, like ordinary people, except that they do not have anything
to do with the money they earn, which is paid directly to the house.'

"'I think,' I then remarked, 'that there are a good many employments
wh