a
man of a very good heart, she did not believe that he was capable of
advising her in the perplexities which her wealth had thrown about her.

Still, she talked to him and told him what she thought she could make
him properly understand, and so, from one point to another, she went on
until she had given the ex-sailor a very good idea of the state of her
mind in regard to what she was doing, and what she thought she ought to
do.

When Mrs. Cliff had finished speaking, Burke thrust his hands into his
pockets, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the ceiling of the
room, the walls, and the floor. He wanted to say something, but he was
not prepared to do so. His mind, still nautical, desired to take an
observation and determine the latitude and longitude of Mrs. Cliff, but
the skies were very much overcast.

At this moment Willy Croup knocked at the parlor door, and when Mrs.
Cliff went to her, she asked if the gentleman was going to stay to
dinner.

Mrs. Cliff was surprised. She had no idea it was so late, but she went
back to Mr. Burke and urged him to stay to dinner. He consented
instantly, declaring that this was the first time that anybody, not his
mother, had asked him to dinner since he came into his fortune.

When Mrs. Cliff had excused herself to give some directions about the
meal, Burke walked about the parlor, carefully examining everything in
it. When he had finished his survey, he sat down and shook his head.

"The trouble with her is," he said to himself, "that she's so dreadfully
afraid of running ashore that she will never reach any port, that's
what's the matter!"

When Mrs. Cliff returned, she asked her visitor if he would like to see
her house, and she showed him over it with great satisfaction, for she
had filled every room with all the handsome and appropriate things she
could get into it. Burke noticed everything, and spoke with approbation
of many things, but as he walked behind his hostess, he kept shaking his
head.

He went down to dinner, and was introduced to Willy Croup, who had been
ordered to go and dress herself that she might appear at the meal. He
shook hands with her very cordially, and then looked all around the
little dining-room, taking in every feature of its furnishing and
adornment. When he had finished, he would have been glad to shake his
head again, but this would have been observed.

When the dinner came on, however, Mr. Burke had no desire to shake his
head. It w