ldren and some old men, but the able-bodied men belonged mostly to
the Labrador fleet, or manned a two-three small vessels that made
regular voyages to the Island of St. Jago to fetch home salt for the
pickling. My mother, besides working at the factory, kept a
boarding-house for seamen. In this she was helped by my only sister,
a middle-aged woman and single. My mother was a widow. She kept her
house very respectable, but the business was slight, the town being
empty of men most of the year.

"In the autumn of 'ninety-eight, arriving home with salt as usual
from St. Jago, I found a stranger lodging in the house. He had come
over from Carbonear with a party of clerks, and had taken a fancy to
the place--or so he said; besides which, it had been recommended to
him for his health, which was delicate. He was a common-spoken man,
aged between fifty and sixty, and looked like a skipper that had
hauled ashore; but he never talked about the sea in my hearing, and
he never mixed with the few seamen who came to the house. He rented
a separate room and kept to it. His habits were simple enough, and
his manner very quiet and friendly, though he spoke as little as he
could help, unless to my sister. My mother liked him because he paid
his way and seemed content with whatever food was put before him.
The only thing he complained about was the cold.

"I had been at home for three weeks and a little more when one
evening, as I was passing downstairs from my bedroom in the attic,
this Mr. Shand--that was the name he gave us--called me into his room
and showed me a small bird he had picked up dead on the beach.
He did not know its name, and I was too ignorant to tell him.
He stood there looking at it under the lamp when my sister came
upstairs with a note and word that the messenger was waiting outside
for an answer. Mr. Shand took the note and read it under the lamp.
Then he turned to the fire, and stood with his back to us for a
moment. I saw him drop the note into the fire. He faced round to us
again and said he to my sister: 'Mary, my dear, here is something I
want you to keep for me. Do not look at it to-night; and when you
do, show it to no one but your brother here.' With that he gave her
the very packet you have in your hand, shook hands with us both, and
went downstairs. We never saw him again. The weather was thick,
with some snow falling, and the snow increased towards midnight.
We waited up till we were tir