dry calm of his answer that seemed to stir Martin to uncontrollable
anger.

"It is like you, Reuben Hallowell," he said, "to be willing to ruin my
plans by your foolish scruples just when a real prize is within reach.
But I vow you shall not do it. You shall be a wealthy man in spite of
yourself, and let me remind you that, two years ago, before we built
the _Huntress_, you were a precious poor one."

The Hallowell partners were not brothers, but cousins, with Cicely's
father much the older of the two. They had inherited the business from
their fathers, for such an ill-assorted pair would never have been
joined together from choice. Many of their discussions ended in stormy
words, but never before had Martin's dark face showed such white-hot,
quivering rage as when he arose now, gathered up his papers, and went
away to his own room, closing the door smartly behind him. Cicely got
up also and went down the long countingroom to where her father sat by
the fire.

"I heard what you and Cousin Martin were saying," she told him
hesitatingly, "I am afraid you did not remember that I was there. But
it does not matter, for I did not understand what Cousin Martin was so
angry about."

"There is no reason why you should not understand," her father
replied, rather slowly and wearily, she thought, "although sometimes
I am not certain that I understand these troubled times myself. Across
the seas the Emperor Napoleon, a long-nosed, short-bodied man of
infinite genius for setting the world by the ears, has been warring
with England for the last ten years and more. He and the British, with
their blockades and embargoes and Orders in Council have long been
striving to ruin each other, yet have achieved their greatest success
in ruining a peaceable old gentleman in America who relies on his
ships to bring him a livelihood. To oppress neutral shipping leads in
the end to war, although I vow that often Congress must have felt that
it should toss up a penny to determine whether the declaration should
be against France or England. Some stubborn British minister, however,
decided to countenance the stealing of sailors from our ships to fill
up the scanty crews of their own navy, and a stubborn British nation
felt that it must back him, so in the end the war was with England."

"And have we not won many glorious victories?" asked Cicely.

"Ay, there have been victories; out of her fleet of seven hundred and
thirty sail, England has lost