er by the arm to shake her, "how
dare you use such a word?"

"I heard it in church," said Beth, in an injured tone.

"Look here, Beth," said her father, rescuing her from her mother's
clutches, and setting her on the table--he had been talking aside with
the police officer--"I want you to promise something on your word of
honour as a lady, just to please me."

Beth's countenance dropped: "O papa!" she exclaimed, "it's something I
don't want to promise."

"Well, never mind that, Beth," he answered. "Just promise this one
thing to please me. If you don't, the people will try and kill you."

"I don't mind that," said Beth.

"But I do--and your mother does."

Beth gave her mother a look of such utter astonishment, that the poor
lady turned crimson.

"And perhaps they'll kill me too," Captain Caldwell resumed. "You see
they nearly did to-night."

This was a veritable inspiration. Beth turned pale, and gasped: "I
promise!"

"Not so fast," her father said. "Never promise anything till you hear
what it is. But now, promise you won't say bad luck to any of the
people again."

"I promise," Beth repeated; "but"--she slid from the table, and nodded
emphatically--"but when I shake my fist and stamp my foot at them
it'll mean the same thing."

It was found next morning that Bap-faced Flanagan and Tony-kill-the-cow
had disappeared from the township; but Murphy remained; and Beth was not
allowed to go out alone again for a long time, not even into the garden.
All she knew about it herself, however, was, that she had always either
a policeman or a coastguardsman to talk to, which added very much to her
pleasure in life, and also to Anne's.

CHAPTER IX

One of the interests of Captain Caldwell's life was his garden. He
spent long hours in cultivating it, and that summer his vegetables,
fruits, and flowers had been the wonder of the neighbourhood. But now
autumn had come, vegetables were dug, fruits gathered, flowers
bedraggled; and there was little to be done but clear the beds, plant
them with bulbs, and prepare them for the spring.

Now that Captain Caldwell had made Beth's acquaintance, he liked to
have her with him to help him when he was at work in the garden, and
there was nothing that she loved so much.

One day they were at work together on a large flower-bed. Her father
was trimming some rose-bushes, and she was kneeling beside him on a
little mat, weeding.

"I'm glad I'm not a flower," she sudden