got that barn built, for Eben'll never get it
right. But anyhow, now that you've eased your mind, Jim, put on a
smile and tell me something interesting,' Well, there it was. They'd
been so scared to tell him and he knew it all the time. Strange how
nature looks out for us, ain't it, and lets us know what we should know
when the time comes? Did I never tell you the yarn about Henry getting
the fish hook in his nose, Mistress Blythe?"

"No."

"Well, him and me had a laugh over it today. It happened nigh unto
thirty years ago. Him and me and several more was out mackerel fishing
one day. It was a great day--never saw such a school of mackerel in
the gulf--and in the general excitement Henry got quite wild and
contrived to stick a fish hook clean through one side of his nose.
Well, there he was; there was barb on one end and a big piece of lead
on the other, so it couldn't be pulled out. We wanted to take him
ashore at once, but Henry was game; he said he'd be jiggered if he'd
leave a school like that for anything short of lockjaw; then he kept
fishing away, hauling in hand over fist and groaning between times.
Fin'lly the school passed and we come in with a load; I got a file and
begun to try to file through that hook. I tried to be as easy as I
could, but you should have heard Henry--no, you shouldn't either. It
was well no ladies were around. Henry wasn't a swearing man, but he'd
heard some few matters of that sort along shore in his time, and he
fished 'em all out of his recollection and hurled 'em at me. Fin'lly
he declared he couldn't stand it and I had no bowels of compassion. So
we hitched up and I drove him to a doctor in Charlottetown, thirty-five
miles--there weren't none nearer in them days--with that blessed hook
still hanging from his nose. When we got there old Dr. Crabb jest took
a file and filed that hook jest the same as I'd tried to do, only he
weren't a mite particular about doing it easy!"

Captain Jim's visit to his old friend had revived many recollections
and he was now in the full tide of reminiscences.

"Henry was asking me today if I remembered the time old Father Chiniquy
blessed Alexander MacAllister's boat. Another odd yarn--and true as
gospel. I was in the boat myself. We went out, him and me, in
Alexander MacAllister's boat one morning at sunrise. Besides, there
was a French boy in the boat--Catholic of course. You know old Father
Chiniquy had turned Protestant, so the