ed in getting the youngster
to do a few "chores" about the place, an achievement that won the
everlasting admiration of Captain Perez, who had no governing power
whatever over the boy, and condoned the most of his faults or scolded
him feebly for the others.

John Baxter continued to waver between this world and the next. He
had intervals of consciousness in which he recognized the captains and
Elsie, but these rational moments were few and, although he talked a
little, he never mentioned recent events nor alluded to the fire.

The fire itself became an old story and gossip took up other subjects.
The "Come-Outers" held a jubilee service because of the destruction
of the saloon, but, as "Web" soon began to rebuild and repair, their
jollification was short-lived. As for Mr. Saunders, he was the same
unctuous, smiling personage that he had formerly been. It was a curious
fact, and one that Captain Eri noted, that he never ceased to inquire
after John Baxter's health, and seemed honestly glad to hear of the old
man's improvement. He asked a good many questions about Elsie, too, but
received little satisfaction from the Captain on this subject.

CHAPTER X

MATCHMAKING AND LIFE-SAVING

Captain Jerry sat behind the woodshed, in the sunshine, smoking and
thinking. He had done a good deal of the first ever since he was sixteen
years old; the second was, in a measure, a more recent acquirement. The
Captain had things on his mind.

It was one of those perfect, springlike mornings that sometimes come
in early November. The sky was clear blue, and the air was so free from
haze that the houses at Cranberry Point could be seen in every detail.
The flag on the cable station across the bay stood out stiff in the
steady breeze, and one might almost count the stripes. The pines on
Signal Hill were a bright green patch against the yellow grass. The sea
was a dark sapphire, with slashes of silver to mark the shoals, and
the horizon was notched with sails. The boats at anchor in front of the
shanties swung with the outgoing tide.

Then came Captain Eri, also smoking.

"Hello!" said Captain Jerry. "How is it you ain't off fishin' a mornin'
like this?"

"Somethin' else on the docket," was the answer. "How's matchmakin' these
days?"

Now this question touched vitally the subject of Captain Jerry's
thoughts. From a placid, easygoing retired mariner, recent events had
transformed the Captain into a plotter, a man with a "deep-