ricks, but what it does it
does cleverly, thanks to The Padre."

"Oh yes," responded Mrs. Falchion, still looking at the cable; "The
Padre, I know, is very clever."

"He is more than clever," bluffly replied Mr. Devlin, who was not keen
enough to see the faint irony in her tones.

"Yes," responded Mrs. Falchion in the same tone of voice, "he is more
than clever. I have been told that he was once very brave. I have been
told that once in the South Seas he did his country a great service."

She paused. I could see Ruth's eyes glisten and her face suffuse, for
though she read the faint irony in the tone, still she saw that the
tale which Mrs. Falchion was evidently about to tell, must be to Galt
Roscoe's credit. Mrs. Falchion turned idly upon Ruth and saw the look in
her face. An almost imperceptible smile came upon her lips. She looked
again at the cable and Phil Boldrick's eyrie, which seemed to have a
wonderful attraction for her. Not turning away from it, save now and
then to glance indolently at Mr. Devlin or Ruth, and once enigmatically
at myself, she said:

"Once upon a time--that is the way, I believe, to begin a pretty
story--there were four men-of-war idling about a certain harbour of
Samoa. One of the vessels was the flag-ship, with its admiral on board.
On one of the other vessels was an officer who had years before explored
this harbour. It was the hurricane season. He advised the admiral not to
enter the harbour, for the indications foretold a gale, and himself was
not sure that his chart was in all respects correct, for the harbour had
been hurriedly explored and sounded. But the admiral gave orders, and
they sailed in.

"That day a tremendous hurricane came crying down upon Samoa. It swept
across the island, levelled forests of cocoa palms, battered villages to
pieces, caught that little fleet in the harbour, and played with it in
a horrible madness. To right and left were reefs, behind was the shore,
with a monstrous surf rolling in; before was a narrow passage. One
vessel made its way out--on it was the officer who had surveyed the
harbour. In the open sea there was safety. He brought his vessel down
the coast a little distance, put a rope about him and in the wild surf
made for the shore. I believe he could have been court-martialled for
leaving his ship, but he was a man who had taken a great many risks of
one kind and another in his time. It was one chance out of a hundred;
but he made it--he go