evening, Mrs. Banks," which met her. She pointed out to Captain
Barber, that his refusal to dismiss Mr. Green was a reflection upon
her veracity, and there was a strange light in her eyes and a strange
hardening of her mouth, as the old man said that to comply with her
request would be to reflect upon the polite seaman's veracity.

Her discomfiture was not lessened by the unbecoming behaviour of
her daughter, who in some subtle manner, managed to convey that her
acceptance of her mother's version of the incident depended upon the way
she treated Mr. Frank Gibson. It was a hard matter to a woman of spirit,
and a harder thing still, that those of her neighbours who listened to
her account of the affair were firmly persuaded that she was setting her
cap at Captain Barber.

To clear her character from this imputation, and at the same time to
mark her sense of the captain's treatment of her, Mrs. Banks effected
a remarkable change of front, and without giving him the slightest
warning, set herself to help along his marriage to Mrs. Church.

She bantered him upon the subject when she met him out, and,
disregarding his wrathful embarrassment, accused him in a loud voice of
wearing his tie in a love-knot. She also called him a turtledove.
The conversation ended here, the turtledove going away crimson with
indignation and cooing wickedly.

Humbled by the terrors of his position, the proud shipowner turned more
than ever to Captain Nibletts for comfort and sympathy, and it is but
due to that little man to say that anything he could have done for his
benefactor would have given him the greatest delight. He spent much of
his spare time in devising means for his rescue, all of which the old
man listened to with impatience and rejected with contumely.

"It's no good, Nibletts," he said, as they sat in the subdued light of
the cabin one evening.

"Nothing can be done. If anything could be done, I should have thought
of it."

"Yes, that's what struck me," said the little skipper, dutifully.

"I've won that woman's 'art," said Captain Barber, miserably; "in 'er
anxiety to keep me, the woman's natur' has changed. There's nothing she
wouldn't do to make sure of me."

"It's understandable," said Nibletts.

"It's understandable," agreed Captain Barber, "but it's orkard. Instead
o' being a mild, amiable sort o' woman, all smiles, the fear o' losing
me has changed 'er into a determined, jealous woman. She told me herself
it was