anquillity of the day and the apparent peace of the four figures that
gazed so immovably out upon the reach of blue, an electrical current of
suspense was evident in the four tense forms. They were not looking at
the bay, exquisite as it was in its cerulean beauty. Instead, the head
of each man was turned toward the road that skirted the harbor and
wound its way between the pines at the foot of the hill where the white
cottage stood.

"He'd oughter be comin' pretty soon, hadn't he?" Captain Phineas
ventured at last, unable longer to restrain his impatience. "He said
four o'clock in his letter. It must be 'most that, don't you think?"

"Mighty nigh unto it," replied Captain Benjamin. "As I reckon it,
havin' made the necessary allowances for my watch losin'
three-an'-a-quarter minutes an hour, it should be about four now."

"It ain't but a quarter of four," sniffed Captain Jonas with an air of
superiority. "That timepiece of yours, Benjamin, ain't worth the
silver that was put into it. What's the use of havin' a watch that
keeps you figgerin' backwards an' forards, an' doin' sums all day? I
wouldn't be bothered with it."

Captain Benjamin bridled with indignation.

"I don't see but my watch is good as yours," retorted he. "The only
difference is I'm addin' from mornin' 'til night while you're
substractin'."

The discomfited Captain Baker frowned.

"Mine comes out even minutes, anyhow," announced he. "If it does shoot
ahead some, it don't keep me reckonin' in fractions like yours does.
I'd see myself in Davie Jones's locker 'fore I'd go addin'
three-quarter minutes together from sunrise to sunset."

"Oh, addin' fractions is mighty good trainin' for Benjamin," put in the
peace-loving Captain Phineas, with a chuckle. "It keeps his arithmetic
brushed up. I'll bet you he could beat you at a sum, Jonas."

The triumphant Captain Benjamin observed a complacent silence.

"Let Benjamin an' his watch alone, Jonas," drawled Zenas Henry,
speaking for the first time. "Somebody in the house has got to be up
on mathematics, an' it may as well be Benjamin as another. I'm only
sorry his ticker holds him just to addin'; if it would only make him
multiply an' divide some, an' take him into square root 'twould give
him a liberal all-round education. Still, there's always hopes it may
take a new turn. The last time it went overboard there was indications
that 'twouldn't be long before 'twould be leadin' him into alge