rejoinder. "You
didn't expect to find me any other way, did you? Kendrick, I wasn't so
far off when I talked about that graveyard trip, eh?... Umph--yes. How
much time did Sheldon say you might have with me?... Don't fool around
and waste any of it. How many minutes--come?"

"Five."

"Humph! He might have made it ten, blast him! Well, then listen. When
I'm gone you're going to be the head of that Fair Harbor place. You're
going to keep on being the head, I mean. I've fixed it so you'll get
your salary."

"But, Judge----"

"Hush! Let me do the talking. Good Lord, man," with an attempt at a
chuckle, "you wouldn't grudge me any of the little talk I have left,
would you? You are to keep on being the head of the Fair Harbor--you
_must_ for a year or so. And Elizabeth Berry is to be the manager and
head, under you--if she wants to be. Understand?"

"Why, yes. But, Judge, how----"

"I've fixed it, I tell you. Wait a little while and you'll know how. But
that isn't what I want to say to you. Lobelia is dead."

"What?"

"Don't keep asking me what. Listen. Lobelia Seymour--hanged if I'll call
her Lobelia Phillips!--is dead. She died over a month ago. I got a
letter this afternoon mailed in Florence by that husband of hers. There
it is, on that table, by the tumbler.... Yes, that's it. Don't stop to
read it now. Put it in your pocket. You will have time to read it. Time
counts with me. Now listen, Kendrick."

He paused and asked for water. The captain put the glass to his lips. He
swallowed once or twice and then impatiently jerked his head aside.

"There are two things you've got to promise me, Kendrick," he whispered,
earnestly. "One is that, so long as you can fight, that condemned Egbert
Phillips shan't have a cent of the Fair Harbor property, endowment fund,
land or anything else. Will you fight the scamp for me, Kendrick?"

"Of course. The best I know how."

"You know more than most men in this town. I shouldn't have picked you
for your job if you didn't. That's one thing--spike Egbert's guns.
Here's the other: Look out for Elizabeth Berry."

The captain was not expecting this. He leaned back so suddenly that his
chair squeaked. The sick man did not notice, or, if he did, paid no
attention.

"She's Isaac Berry's daughter," he went on, "and Ike Berry was my best
friend. More than that, she's a good girl, a fine girl. Her mother is
more or less of a fool, but that isn't the girl's fault. Keep an eye on
her,