arly.

Her gown was of simple pink cotton, and on her head she wore a large
peaked straw hat, which gave her a quaint old-world appearance.

Her brown hair had escaped from beneath this large head-gear, and blew
about in pretty, untidy curls round her neck and shoulders. In her hand
was a roll of music, which she had just brought from the church, where
she had been practising for the morrow's mass.

The girl was Marie Gourdon, only daughter of old Jean Baptiste Gourdon,
fisherman of Father Point. As far as the educational advantages of Father
Point and Rimouski could take her Marie had gone, but that was not saying
much. Her father was fairly well-to-do for that part of the world, and
had sent her, at an early age, to the convent of Rimouski. There she was
brought up under the careful training of Mother Annette, the superioress,
and received enough musical instruction to enable her to act as organist
at the Father Point church, and to direct the choir at Grand Mass.

Marie Gourdon was rather a lonely girl, although she had more outside
interests than many of her age. She had few companions, for most of the
young girls of the district obtained situations in Quebec, or some of the
large towns, finding the dullness of Father Point insupportable. Her
father and brother had this summer been on long fishing expeditions, one
taking them even so far as the Island of Anticosti, so that Marie was
left much to her own devices. Noel McAllister, it is true, was often
here, but neither his mother nor M. Bois-le-Duc seemed to like to see him
in Marie Gourdon's society.

This evening she had been thinking over these things after
choir-practice. Lately she had found time pass very slowly. Her father
and brother had come home early in the evening, but went off directly
after supper to skin the seals, and she would see no more of them that
night. In all probability in a few days they would go on another
expedition.

A quick footstep crunching the sand and a voice saying, "Good evening,
Marie," made the girl turn round to see Noel McAllister standing beside
her.

She sprang to her feet and exclaimed, with a certain glad ring in her
voice:

"Oh! Noel, is that you? I am so pleased you are back."

"Yes, Marie, it is I, not my ghost, though you look as if you had seen
one. And are you pleased to see me?"

"Of course I am. I think you need scarcely ask that question."

"And what have you been doing, my dear one, since I have been a