spruced up into young gentlemen
again. Freddy's rosy cheeks were set off by a natty little sailor suit and
cap; while Dan scarcely recognized himself in one of the rigs presented by
Brother Francis, that bore the stamp of a stylish tailor, and that had
been sponged and pressed and mended by the kind old wardrobian until it
was quite as good as new.

The day was bright and beautiful, sky and sea seemed smiling on each other
most amicably. The "Sary Ann" was in the best of spirits, and the wind in
the friendliest of moods.

"Sit steady, boys, and don't be philandering!" warned Brother Bart,
anxiously. "It looks fair and aisy enough, but you can drown in sun as
well as storm. Keep still there, laddie, or ye'll be over the edge of the
boat. Sure it's an awful thing to think that there's only a board between
ye and the judgment-seat of God."

And Brother Bart shook his head, and relapsed into meditation befitting
the peril of his way; while the "Sary Ann" swept on, past rock and reef
and shoal, out into the wide blue open, where the sunlit waves were
swelling in joyous freedom, until the rocks and spires of Beech Cliff rose
dimly on the horizon; white-winged sails began to flutter into sight;
wharves and boat-houses came into view, and the travellers were back in
the busy world of men again.

"It feels good to be on God's own earth again," said Brother Bart, as he
set foot on the solid pier, gay just now with a holiday crowd; for the
morning boat was in, and the "Cliff Dwellers," as the residents of the old
town were called at livelier seaside resorts, were out in force to welcome
the new arrivals.

"This is something fine!" said Dud to Jim, as they made their way through
the chatting, laughing throng, and caught the lilt of the music on the
beach beyond, where bathers, reckless of the church bells' call, were
disporting themselves in the sunlit waves. "It's tough, with a place like
this so near, to be shut up on a desert island for a whole vacation. I
say, Jim, let's look up the Fosters after Mass, and see if we can't get a
bid to their house for a day or two. We'll have some fun there."

"I don't know," answered easy Jim. "Killykinick is good enough for me. You
have to do so much fussing and fixing when you are with girls. Still, now
we are here, we might as well look around us."

So when Mass in the pretty little church was over, and Brother Bart, glad
to be back under his well-loved altar light, lingered at his p