urying her face upon her
breast, she sobbed as if her heart would break. The maddening tension
of long years had at last given way, and tears, unknown before, brought
a blessed relief.

CHAPTER XVII

CAPTAIN SAM'L GOES HOME

As Mrs. Tobin walked with her husband from the shore the evening she
took him off the "Eb and Flo," she maintained a rigid silence. The
captain was well accustomed to this mood, and it always affected him
more than the scolding. He knew then that his wife's anger was more
than ordinary, and it was necessary for him to use all the diplomacy at
his command.

"I've been thinkin', Martha, that you need a holiday," he at length
ventured. "Ye haven't taken one fer a long time now. A trip to
Fredericton would do ye a world of good. Yer nephew wrote fer ye to
come an' see him."

Mrs. Tobin, however, was not inclined to discuss this subject, dear
though it was to her heart. She had often planned such a trip, but she
had something more serious to think about just now. She strode rapidly
forward, causing the captain to puff at a great rate in his effort to
keep up with her. He became annoyed.

"Say, Martha," he panted, "I'm not used to sich a gait as this, even if
you are. Yer hittin' the ground so fast an' hard with them boots of
yours that it's gittin' hot. I kin almost see the grass smokin'.
Phew, I'm all in!" He slowed down, pulled out his handkerchief, and
mopped his brow. "Go on, if ye want to. I'll be home after a while."

This appeal had some effect, for Mrs. Tobin stayed her steps a little.

"Thar, that's better, Martha," the captain encouraged.

"Ye kin slow up when ye want to. I wish to goodness ye'd slow up in
other ways. Ye've been settin' me a lively pace ever since we was
married, an' it's gittin' faster every year. Me heart can't stand much
more, so if yer not keerful ye'll be lookin' around fer another husband
before long. But I pity him, poor chap, an' if I only knew who he
might be I'd give him a note of warnin' while I'm in the flesh."

It was quite evident that Mrs. Tobin was longing to express her
feelings in no uncertain language, but as she had made up her mind to
treat Samuel with silent contempt, it would not do to make any reply.
She was greatly agitated, however, to find that this method was not so
effective as in the past. Her husband was getting beyond her, and it
worried her a great deal.

The captain was not slow to notice this, and it plea