s face was so mixed that it puzzled me,
but he did not look satisfied with his letter, for he kept drawing it
out again, and shaking it, and peeping into the envelope as if he had
lost something. At last he put the whole thing into his pocket with a
resigned air, and drove his hands through his black curls, saying,

"The squire all over, GOD help him!"

"What has he done now?" I asked.

"Sent me twenty pounds, and forgotten to enclose it!"

CHAPTER XIV.

"Thus the merry Pau-Puk-Keewis
Danced his Beggar's Dance to please them,
And, returning, sat down laughing."--_Hiawatha_.

"GOD be thanked, the meanest of His creatures
Boasts two soul-sides; one to face the world with,
One to show a woman when he loves her."
ROBERT BROWNING.

The fact that when we got back to the _Water-Lily_, Alister found the
captain dead drunk in his cabin, sealed our resolution to have nothing
more to do with her when we were paid off, and our engagement ended (as
had been agreed upon) in the Georgetown harbour. There was no fear that
we should fail to get berths as common seamen now, if we wanted them;
and there was not a thing to regret about the _Slut_, except perhaps
Alfonso, of whom we were really fond. As it turned out, we had not even
to mourn for him, for he cut cable from the _Water-Lily_ too, having
plans of his own, about which he made a great deal of mystery and
displayed his wonted importance, but whether they were matrimonial or
professional, I doubt if even Dennis knew at the time.

Alister _had_ something to lose. It was not a small consideration to
give up his mate's berth, but he said the whole conduct of the ship was
"against his conscience," and that settled the matter, to him.

When we were our own masters once more, we held another big council
about our future. If I went home at once, I must, somehow or other, get
back to Halifax before I could profit by Uncle Henry's arrangement. If
Dennis went home, he must equally depend on himself, for there was no
saying when the Squire would, or would not, find out and rectify his
omission. Alister's mother had sent him some stamps for postage, and his
paternal relative had sent him a message to the effect that having had
neither word nor wittens of him for a considerable period, and having
feared the worst, he was thankful to learn of