' man as you,"
said Ruby.

"Mayhap not. It is not always the gravest looking that have the gravest
thoughts."

"But you don't mean to say that you never think sense," continued Ruby,
"when you sit looking at the waves?"

"By no means," returned his companion; "I'm only talking of the way in
which one's thoughts will wander. Sometimes I think seriously enough.
Sometimes I think it strange that men can look at such a scene as that,
and scarcely bestow a thought upon Him who made it."

"Speak for yourself, friend," said Ruby, somewhat quickly; "how know you
that other men don't think about their Creator when they look at His
works?"

"Because," returned Selkirk, "I find that I so seldom do so myself, even
although I wish to and often try to; and I hold that every man, no
matter what he is or feels, is one of a class who think and feel as he
does; also, because many people, especially Christians, have told me
that they have had the same experience to a large extent; also, and
chiefly, because, as far as unbelieving man is concerned, the Bible
tells me that `God is not in all his thoughts.' But, Ruby, I did not
make the remark as a slur upon men in general, I merely spoke of a
fact,--an unfortunate fact,--that it is not natural to us, and not easy,
to rise from nature to nature's God, and I thought you would agree with
me."

"I believe you are right," said Ruby, half-ashamed of the petulance of
his reply; "at any rate, I confess you are right as far as I am
concerned."

As Selkirk and Ruby were both fond of discussion, they continued this
subject some time longer, and there is no saying how far they would have
gone down into the abstruse depths of theology, had not their converse
been interrupted by the appearance of a boat rowing towards the rock.

"Is yonder craft a fishing boat, think you?" said Ruby, rising and
pointing to it.

"Like enough, lad. Mayhap it's the pilot's, only it's too soon for him
to be off again with letters. Maybe it's visitors to the rock, for I
see something like a woman's bonnet."

As there was only one woman in the world at that time as far as Ruby was
concerned (of course putting his mother out of the question!), it will
not surprise the reader to be told that the youth started, that his
cheek reddened a little, and his heart beat somewhat faster than usual.
He immediately smiled, however, at the absurdity of supposing it
possible that the woman in the boat could be Minnie, and