it to hear from the people
I've referred them to, especially those farthest away, it might be
double that time. That would keep me waiting clear into October. And
then suppose somebody were ahead of me, and I shouldn't get the place,
there'd be all that time lost. It would be tragic to have the little
ship I'd waited for so long, drift in a wreck."

"That's why I always hold that it's best to send out more than one,"
said the Captain. "Launch a whole fleet of 'em, is my advice. What makes
life a tragedy for most people is that they put all their hopes on just
one thing. They load all they've got on one vessel and then strain their
eyes for a lifetime waiting for it to come back with all their hopes
realized. But if they'd divide their interests and affections around a
bit, and start them off in different directions, there'd never be a
danger of total wreck. If one went down, there'd be some other cargo to
look forward to."

It was a pet subject of the old man's, and Mary made haste to ward off
his usual monologue by saying, "I'll certainly take your advice, Captain
Doane. You'll see me down here to-morrow with a whole harbor full of
little ships. I'll launch all the applications that my family will
allow."

The figure of speech pleased her, and as she walked on to the store a
vision of blue sea rose before her. On it she seemed to see a fleet of
little boats with white sails swelling in the wind. On each sail was a
letter and all together they spelled "Great Expectations."

"It's funny," thought Mary, "how such a picture popped right up in front
of me. Now, if Joyce had such a fancy she'd do something with it. It
would suggest a title design or a tail piece of some kind. Oh, why
wasn't I born with a talent for writing! My head is just full of things
sometimes that would make the loveliest stories, but when I try to put
them on paper it's like trying to touch the rainbows on a bubble. The
touch makes them vanish instantly."

It was some crash towelling that she was to call for at the store.

When she opened the door, the place seemed deserted, but she picked her
way, among barrels and boxes, saddles and hams, to the dry-goods
department in the rear. Through the open back door she could see two men
in the yard, one repairing a chicken-coop, and the other standing with
his hands in his pockets, watching the job. The man with the hammer and
saw, she knew. He was the manager of the store. The other was a new
clerk, wh