Alice,"
but even, as I thought, more perfectly finished, and with two masts.

"A schooner-yacht," my cousin continued, triumphantly. "Oh, Willie, I
like it a great deal better than even the 'Fair Alice.' Is it yours,
George?" he inquired.

"No, sir," answered Groves, quickly; "guess again."

"I don't know any one else, unless it's Willie."

"Near it, but not right; try again, sir; somebody else that's not very
far off."

My cousin coloured with a wild flush of delight; but though he stooped
down to finger the new yacht in a sort of tender way, as if he loved it,
he hesitated to make another guess, and I broke in impatiently,--

"Aleck, why are you so nonsensical as to pretend you don't see it's for
you?"

"That's it indeed, Master Gordon; you'll understand what I meant about
the sailing match now;" and the old sailor's face lit up afresh with
kind enjoyment, as he marked the absorbing pleasure which his present
was giving.

Another moment, and Aleck was almost hugging the old man: "Oh, how very,
very, very kind of you to make it for me; I like it better a great deal
than anything I have ever seen, better than the 'Fair Alice' even, and I
did think that nicer than anything else. May I have it out on the water
to-day; and couldn't we sail them both together as you said."

There was no time for answering him, as he ran on immediately into a
minute individual examination of all the details of the little vessel,
calling for attention and admiration in every case: "Look at the
bowsprit, and then the rudder; see how delicately it moves; the royal is
beautiful, and there are three flags; do look, Willie, mine will be the
admiral's vessel, and I can signal to you."

I looked, but said very little, though Aleck was too much absorbed with
his own enjoyment to notice this, and kept appealing to me for
sympathetic interest during the whole operation of unreefing the sails
and launching the yacht for a trial sail in the Cove.

Nothing certainly could look more graceful and pretty than did the
little vessel, as it bent to the breeze, and steadily kept its course
out towards the mouth of the Cove. Aleck clapped his hands exultingly,
and ran forward to slip the rope across, as the tide was already pretty
high, and still rising. Then slowly brought the treasure back again, and
surveyed it at his leisure in one of the little creeks, where the
shelter of the rocks prevented it from speeding off again on its
journey. Frisk, to