the
flippant sacrilege of this young man, or be subjected to his influence
in any way."

"There is no cause for alarm. I shall have as little to do with him as
possible."

"An excellent resolve. And now, will you grant me a request?"

"Certainly."

"I have no right to exact a promise. I only suggest that while on this
boat you avoid, as far as possible, his companionship."

"I promise."

They both arose. His voice and manner were always impressive, even in
ordinary conversation. But now a moisture gathered in the maiden's eyes
as he gazed benignly into her face, and murmured in tones tremulous with
feeling:

"May Heaven bless you, my daughter, for your noble spirit, and for your
unswerving devotion to a holy cause."

Then they went below to breakfast.

The girl was hungry; Father Burke was not. The undulations of the boat
so tempered his appetite that food had lost its charm. A cup of tea and
a bite of toast were the limits of his endeavor. Even these descended
under protest and threatened to return. When the heretic--the victim of
the plot--appeared soon after and took his seat at the table, he noticed
that the greetings he received, while friendly and all that etiquette
required, were less cordial than on the day before.

And this was emphasized later, when he joined Miss Marshall on the deck.
After a moment's conversation, she spoke of letters to be written, and
went below.

And once again, to make sure that this disgrace was no fancy of his own,
he approached her as she sat reading, or at least, with a book in her
hand. In his best and most easy manner, he inquired:

"Did you ever hear of the Magdalen Islands, Miss Marshall?"

She looked up, and nodded pleasantly.

"Well, we are passing them now."

"Indeed!"

"They are off there to the westward, between twenty and thirty miles
away, but out of sight, of course."

Amiably she inclined her head in recognition of the news, but made no
reply.

It began to be awkward for Pats. But he resolved to suppress any outward
manifestations of that state. This task was all the harder, as his legs
embarrassed him. He knew them to be thin,--of a thinness that was
startling and unprecedented,--and now, as he confronted the northeast
wind, their shrunken and ridiculous outlines were cruelly exposed. He
was sensitive about these members, and he thought she had glanced
furtively in their direction. However, with his usual buoyancy he
continued:

"And now we l