not detailed at all. Judah, standing behind him with an armful of wood,
must have had similar feelings, for he whispered, hoarsely, "Creepin'
Moses, Cap'n Sears, is that the Prince of Wales, or who?"

The man, standing in the path above the gardens, stopped to look about
him. And at that moment, from the vine-covered Eyrie emerged Miss Elvira
Snowden. She had evidently been there for some time, reading--she had a
book in her hand--and as she came out she and the stranger were brought
face to face.

Sears and Judah saw them look at each other. The man raised his hat and
said something which they could not hear. Then Miss Snowden cried "Oh!"
She seemed intensely surprised and, for her, a good deal flustered.
There was more low-toned conversation. Then Elvira and the stranger
turned and walked back up the path toward the house. He escorted her in
a manner and with a manner which made that walk a sort of royal
progress.

"Who was that?" asked Sears, as much of himself as of Judah.

But Mr. Cahoon had, by this time, settled the question to his own
satisfaction.

"It's one of them slick critters peddlin' lightnin' rods," he declared,
with conviction. "When you sight somebody that looks like a cross
between a minister and one of them stuffed dummies they have outside of
the stores in Dock Square to show off clothes on, then you can 'most
generally bet he's peddlin' lightnin' rods. Either that or paintin'
signs on fences about 'Mustang Liniment' or 'Vegetine' or somethin'.
Why, a feller like that hove alongside me over in our yard one
time--'twas afore you come, Cap'n Sears--and I give you my word, the
way he was togged up I thought----"

The captain did not wait to hear the Cahoon thought. He walked away. In
a few minutes he had forgotten the stranger, having other and more
important matters on his mind. There was a question concerning the Fair
Harbor cooking range which was perplexing him just at this time. It
looked as if they might have to buy a new one, and Sears, as
superintendent of finances, hated to spend the money that month.

He limped up the slope and along the path to the side door. And when he
entered that door he became aware that something unusual was going on.
The atmosphere of the Fair Harbor for Mariners' Women was, so to speak,
electrified, it was vibrant with excitement and mystery.

There was no one in the dining room, and no one in the sitting room. Yet
in each of these apartments were numerous e