work--which had,
however, made but little progress since their father had run in,
two hours before, to say that the Swan was signaled in the
Sound--now rose, and each made a formal courtesy, and then held up
her cheek to be kissed, according to the custom of the day; but
there was a little smile of amusement on their faces that would
have told a close observer that, had their mother not been present,
their greeting would have been a warmer and less ceremonious one.

"Well, well, Roger," Mistress Beggs went on, "it is marvelous to
see how fast you grow! Why, it is scarce six months since you
sailed away, and you seem half a head taller than you were when you
went! And so the Swan has returned safely, without damage or
peril?"

"No damage to speak of, Cousin Mercy, save for a few shot holes in
her hull, and a good many patches on her side--the work of a
Moorish corsair, with whom we had a sharp brush by the way."

"And was there loss of life, Roger?"

"We have come back nine hands shorter than we sailed with, and
there are a few on board still unfit for hard work."

"And did you fight, Cousin Roger?" Dorothy Beggs asked.

"I did what I could with my bow, until I got alongside, and then
joined in the melee as well as I could. The heathen fought bravely,
but they were not a match for our men; being wanting in weight and
strength, and little able to stand up against the crushing blows of
our axes. But they are nimble and quick with their curved swords;
and the fierceness of their faces, and their shouting, would have
put men out of countenance who had less reason to be confident than
ours."

"And the trading has gone well?" asked Mistress Beggs, who was
known to have a keen eye to the main chance.

"I believe that my father's well satisfied, Cousin Mercy, and that
the venture has turned out fully as well as he looked for."

"That is well, Roger.

"Do you girls go on with your work. You can sew while you are
listening. I will go and see that the preparations for dinner are
going on regularly, for the maids are apt to give way to talk and
gossip, when they know that the Swan is in."

As soon as she had left the room, the two girls threw down their
work and, running across to Roger, saluted him most heartily.

"That is a much better welcome," Roger said, "than the formal
greetings you before gave me. I wonder what Cousin Mercy would have
said, had she chanced to come in again."

"Mother guessed well enough wh