the cheek of
his old mother, who sat cowering over the fire, but brightened up on
hearing his voice, and then upon the forehead of his daughter Nora, the
cheerfulness of whose greeting, however, was somewhat checked when she
observed the intoxicated state of her father.

Nora had a face which, though not absolutely pretty, was intensely
winsome in consequence of an air of quiet womanly tenderness which
surrounded it as with a halo. She was barely eighteen, but her soft
eyes possessed a look of sorrow and suffering which, if not natural to
them, had, at all events, become habitual.

"Who is this little boy, father?" she said, turning towards Billy
Towler, who still stood in the doorway a silent but acute observer of
all that went on.

"Oh, that? why--a--that's my noo 'prentice just come down from
Gravesend. He's been helpin' for some time in the `hang'" (by which Mr
Jones meant the place where his fish were cured), "and I'm goin' to take
him to sea with me next trip. Come in, Billy, and make yourself at
home."

The boy obeyed with alacrity, and made no objection to a cup of tea and
slice of bread and butter which Nora placed before him--supper being
just then in progress.

"You'd better get aboard as soon as may be," said Jones to Jim Welton
somewhat sternly. "I didn't expect you to leave the sloop tonight."

"And I didn't intend to leave her," replied Jim, taking no notice of the
tone in which this was said; "but I thought I'd come up to ask if you
wished me to begin dischargin' early to-morrow morning."

"No, we're not going to discharge," returned Jones.

"Not going to discharge!" echoed Jim in surprise. "No. I find that
it's not worth while discharging any part of the cargo here. On the
contrary, I mean to fill up with bloaters and run over with them to the
coast of France; so you can go and stow the top tier of casks more
firmly, and get ready for the noo ones. Good-night."

The tone in which this was said left no excuse for Jim to linger, so he
bade the household good-night and departed.

He had not gone far, however, when he was arrested by the sound of a
light footstep. It was that of Nora, who had followed him.

"Nora!" exclaimed the young sailor in surprise, returning quickly and
taking one of the girl's hands in both of his.

"Oh, Jim!" said Nora, with a look and tone of earnest entreaty, "don't,
don't forsake him just now--if the love which you have so often
professed for me be true, d