e tears sprang into my eyes--

"Have love; not love alone for one,
But man as man thy brother call,
And scatter like the circling sun
Thy charities on all."

CHAPTER IX

EYLLEN'S WATER WITCH

Two women sat weaving baskets. They were not Aleut Indians, and barely
escaped being Russians; but were of mixed blood so common on the
Aleutian Islands.

The younger one broke the silence.

"I'm tired of baskets! I want to do something else," she said, with a
yawn.

"Run out upon the hills awhile, but first finish the row you are doing,
then put all away in a safe place. No Russian leaves her work scattered
to get lost or soiled," said the older woman.

"Am I a Russian lady?" queried the girl, apparently about the age of
eighteen.

"You may be if your father comes to take you to Russia with him. But by
this time he is likely dead;--there is no telling. It is three years
since we saw him, and he promised to come again in two." And the woman
sighed.

"Oh, he may come at any time, and I am going to the top of the hill to
look for him now," said the girl with youth's hopefulness, as she
hastened to obey her aunt.

"Don't set your mind on it, for sailor men are very uncertain; only they
are pretty sure to roll around the whole world, making excuses that
ships take them whether they will or not. A poor excuse for not coming
is better than none." Then as the door closed behind the girl she added,
"I wish he would send money to buy her clothes; it would be as little as
he could do, for she is not my child, but my sister's. I, too, wish he
would come, for a cold winter we have had taking much coal and many
furs, and my money is nearly gone. To be sure when the steamers come
with their hundreds of people bound for the gold fields we shall sell
some of our baskets, but it will be weeks before they arrive," and she
pulled industriously at the long strands of dried grass she was weaving
into her basket.

While her aunt meditated on these and various other matters the girl,
Eyllen, glad to get away from the cabin and basket-making, crossed the
foot bridge over the small stream which ran behind the house and began
to ascend the high bluff which she claimed as her watch tower. If she
could only discern her father's ship in the distance, how surprised her
aunt would be!

On the islands the winter was over. The month of May had come with its
many attendant delights. Snow had gone from the ground in the little
se