made by any of the Withrow's crew.
That was Thursday afternoon, and still no word of the Duncan.

"Good for you, Joey," said Clancy when he heard of that. "Even if
Maurice don't come it's better to lose your money and shut them up.
But don't worry--he'll come. Do you think he's been standing and
looking at this easterly--it's all along the coast to Newf'undland I
see by the papers--and not swing her off? He's on his way now, and
swinging all he's got to her, I'll bet. Wait and see."

"My," said my cousin Nell, "and so you bet your pile on the Johnnie
Duncan whether she's in or not?--and if she don't reach here in time
you lose it all?" and told it all over to her Will Somers, to whom I
learned she was now engaged. And from that time on I noticed that
Alice Foster beamed on me like an angel.

Minnie Arkell was home for the race just as Clancy had prophesied. She
had come with some of her friends down from Boston three or four days
before this, in the same steam-yacht she had been aboard of at Newport
in June. Meeting me she asked me about our passage home on the Colleen
Bawn, and I told her of it. She listened with great interest.

"Is Tom O'Donnell as fine-looking as he used to be--with his grand
figure and head and great beard? I remember some years ago I used to
think him the finest-looking man I ever saw."

I told her that I guessed she'd think him fine-looking yet if she'd
seen him to the wheel of the Colleen Bawn with the six-pound shot
whistling by him, and he never so much as letting on he knew they were
there. Her eyes shone at that. Then she offered to take any bets I
made off my hands. "You can't afford to take your little savings out
of the bank and bet it on a vessel that may not be here in time. I'll
take it off your hands--come!"

That was an attractive side to her--caring but little for money--but I
wasn't letting anybody take my bets off my hands. I still believed
that Maurice would be home, though that was seven o'clock Thursday
evening. I knew he would be home if he only guessed that his friends
were betting on his vessel--and they not even knowing whether she was
to be home in time for the race. And if he weren't home, I was ready
to lose my little roll.

XXVII

IN CLANCY'S BOARDING-HOUSE

From Minnie Arkell, whom I met at the door of her own house, I went to
Clancy's boarding house. I did not find Clancy then and I went off,
but coming back again I found him, and a very busy man h