dead!"

We hadn't said more than a word or two to each other for a week;
indeed, till yesterday we had to shout in each other's ear to be
heard at all. My father filled a pipe and said, "Don't be a fool."

"I see your hand shaking," said I.

Said he, "That's with the cold. At my age the cold takes a while to
leave a man's extremities."

"But," I went on in an obstinate way, "suppose she is dead?"

My father answered, "She is a well-built woman. The Lord is good."

Not another word than this could I get from him. That evening--the
wind now coming easy from the south, and the swell gone down in a
wonderful way--as I was boiling water for the tea, we saw a dozen
fishing-boats standing out from the Islands. They ran down to within
two miles of us and then hove-to. The nets went out, and the sails
came down, and by and by through the glass I could spy the smoke
coming up from their cuddy-stoves.

"They might have brought news," I cried out, "even if 'tis sorrow!"

"Maybe there was no news to bring."

"'Twould have been neighbourly, then, to run down and say so."

"And run into the current here, I suppose? With a chance of the wind
falling light at any moment?"

I don't know if this satisfied my father: but I know that he meant it
to satisfy me, which it was pretty far from doing. Before daylight
the boats hoisted sail again, and were well under the Islands and out
of sight by breakfast-time.

After this, for a whole long week I reckon I did little more than
pace the ship to and fro; a fisherman's walk, as they say--three
steps and overboard. I took the three steps and wished I was
overboard. My father watched me queerly all the while; but we said
no word to each other, not even at meals.

It was the eighth day after the fishing-boats left us, and about four
in the afternoon, that we saw a brown sail standing towards us from
the Islands, and my father set down the glass, resting it on the
gunwale, and said:

"That's Old John's boat."

I took the glass from him, and was putting it to my eye; but had to
set it down and turn my back. I couldn't wait there with my eye on
the boat; so I crossed to the other side of the ship and stood
staring at the Lighthouse away on the sky-line, and whispered:
"Come quickly!" But the wind had moved a couple of points to the
east and then fallen very light, and the boat must creep towards us
close-hauled. After a long while my father spoke again:

"That will be