ing between the old-fashioned neatly-written lines. "It's
Pete Patterson and the meat shop for me in the fall and good-bye to St.
Andrew's and 'pipe dreams' forever! Aunt Winnie has to come back, with her
blue teapot on her own stove and Tabby purring at her feet again or--or"
(Dan choked at the thought) "they'll be having a funeral Mass at the
Little Sisters for her."

And Dan lay awake a long time that night looking at the stars, and
stifling a dull pang in his young heart that the heights of which he had
dreamed were not for him. But he was up betimes next morning, his own
sturdy self again. Old Neb had a bad attack of rheumatism that made his
usual early trip impossible.

"They will be looking for us," said Dan. "I promised those college girls
camping at Shelter Cove to bring them fresh fish for breakfast."

"Let them catch for themselves!" growled old Neb, who was rubbing his
stiffened arm with whale oil.

"Girls," said Dan in boyish scorn. "What do girls know about fishing? They
squeal every time they get a bite. I'll take Freddy to watch the lines
(Brother Bart isn't so scary about him now), and go myself."

XIX.--A MORNING VENTURE.

After some persuasion from Captain Jeb, who declared he could trust matey
Dan's navigation now against any wind and tide, Brother Bart consented to
Freddy's morning sail with his sturdy chum.

"Sure I know Dan loves laddie better than his own life," said the good old
man anxiously, as he watched Neb's ragged sail flitting off with the two
young fishermen. "But it's only a boy he is, after all."

"Mebby," said Captain Jeb, briefly. "But thar's boys wuth half a dozen
good-sized men, and matey is that kind. You needn't scare about any little
chap that ships with him. And what's to hurt him, anyhow, Padre? You've
got to let all young critters try their legs and wings."

And Freddy was trying his triumphantly this morning. It was one of Dan's
lucky days, and the lines were drawn in again and again, until the college
girls' breakfast and many more silvery shiners were fluttering and gasping
in old Neb's fish basket. Then Dan proceeded to deliver his wares at
neighborly island shores, where summer campers were taking brief holidays.
Some of these islands, more sheltered than Killykinick, were fringed with
a thick growth of hardy evergreens, hollowed into coves and inlets, where
the waves, broken in their wild, free sweep, lapped low-shelving shores
and invited gentle advent