ir Harbor was off the ways
before she married Phillips?" he said. "Judah told me it was
afterwards."

"He's wrong. No, the thing had been running two years when that
confounded.... Humph! You never met Egbert Phillips, did you, Cap'n?"

"No."

"You've heard about him?"

"Only what Judah told me the other day."

"Humph! What did he tell?"

"Why, he--he gave me to understand that this Phillips was a pretty
smooth article."

"Smooth! Why, Kendrick, he is.... But there, you'll meet him some day
and no feeble words of mine could do him justice. Besides all my words
are getting too feeble to waste--even on anything as beautiful as Egbert
the great.... And that condemned doctor will be here pretty soon, so we
must get on.... Ah.... Well, he came here to teach singing, Phillips
did, and he had all the women in tune before the first lesson was over.
They said he was wonderful, and he was--good God, yes! They kept on
thinking he was wonderful until he married Lobelia Seymour."

"Then they changed their minds, eh?"

"Humph! You don't know women, do you, Cap'n? Never mind, you've got time
enough left to learn in.... No, they didn't change their minds. They
thought Egbert was as wonderful as ever, but they agreed that Lobelia
had roped him in. _She_ had roped _him_ in! Oh, lord!... Well, they were
married and went to Boston to live. Afterwards they went to Europe. Five
years ago they came back here for a week's visit. Cahoon tell you about
that?"

"No."

"Probably he didn't know about it. They did, though, and stayed here
with me, of course. Lobelia settled that, I imagine--one of the times
when she settled something herself. And while she was here she and I
settled something else. She added a codicil to her will making the fifty
thousand dollars in my possession and the house and Seymour land a gift,
absolute, to the Fair Harbor. And she appointed me as sole trustee of
the fund and financial manager of the home, with authority to appoint my
own successor. And her husband didn't know a thing about it. Didn't
when they went away; I'm sure I don't know whether he does now or not,
but he didn't then. No, sir, we settled the Fair Harbor fund and
Egbert's hash, so far as it was concerned. Ha, ha! And a blessed good
job, too, Kendrick.... Hand me that glass of water, will you? Thanks."

He drank a swallow or two of water and lay back upon the pillow. Captain
Sears was a little anxious. He suggested that, perhaps, he had be