Festus had erroneously
retaliated upon Bob, in his peculiar though scarcely soldierly way.
Finding that he did not even now approach him, John went on his way, and
thought over his intention of preserving intact the love between Anne and
his brother.

He was surprised when he next went to the mill to find how glad they all
were to see him. From the moment of Bob's return to the bosom of the
deep Anne had had no existence on land; people might have looked at her
human body and said she had flitted thence. The sea and all that
belonged to the sea was her daily thought and her nightly dream. She had
the whole two-and-thirty winds under her eye, each passing gale that
ushered in returning autumn being mentally registered; and she acquired a
precise knowledge of the direction in which Portsmouth, Brest, Ferrol,
Cadiz, and other such likely places lay. Instead of saying her own
familiar prayers at night she substituted, with some confusion of
thought, the Forms of Prayer to be used at sea. John at once noticed her
lorn, abstracted looks, pitied her,--how much he pitied her!--and asked
when they were alone if there was anything he could do.

'There are two things,' she said, with almost childish eagerness in her
tired eyes.

'They shall be done.'

'The first is to find out if Captain Hardy has gone back to his ship; and
the other is--O if you will do it, John!--to get me newspapers whenever
possible.'

After this duologue John was absent for a space of three hours, and they
thought he had gone back to barracks. He entered, however, at the end of
that time, took off his forage-cap, and wiped his forehead.

'You look tired, John,' said his father.

'O no.' He went through the house till he had found Anne Garland.

'I have only done one of those things,' he said to her.

'What, already! I didn't hope for or mean to-day.'

'Captain Hardy is gone from Pos'ham. He left some days ago. We shall
soon hear that the fleet has sailed.'

'You have been all the way to Pos'ham on purpose? How good of you!'

'Well, I was anxious to know myself when Bob is likely to leave. I
expect now that we shall soon hear from him.'

Two days later he came again. He brought a newspaper, and what was
better, a letter for Anne, franked by the first lieutenant of the
Victory.

'Then he's aboard her,' said Anne, as she eagerly took the letter.

It was short, but as much as she could expect in the circumstances, and
informed them